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Trainz/AM&C/Dealing with Asset Errors
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Dealing with Asset Errors.
"'Errors, Faults, Faulty assets, Bad Content, Faulty content" are all synonyms in Trainz-speak for the same situation: An asset was distributed with malformed components, a missing component, or has become incompatible with newer software releases despite working in an earlier Trainz version. This later kind of error or fault occurs when the asset needs an tweak to conform to a newer level of asset technology, and are the most prevalent. Assets missing a texture (component) can be 'patched' and made to work, if not with the exact same appearance as used by the content creator. Whatever the flaw, it is frequently something which can be 'fixed' by simple hand edited changes into the files, most often only inside the text ini files of the asset contained in the assets defining folder(s) which one opens using third party tools in the operating system folder.
Currently, the best Error fixing advice on these pages is found here at Trainz/AM%26C/Fixing_Assets, which covers the most frequently occurring error messages in a text searchable format, allowing entry of the key phrase in the error message to read up on how to fix it.
Necessary tools.
The necessary third party software effective in dealing with Trainz assets is virtually all obtainable as .
Be familiar with.
It is assumed the reader has read through and gained a working understanding of the materials presented on the following pages before proceeding with the below:
Goals of this Module.
"This module will give the reader a working knowledge of the following Trainz knowledge topics:"
Assessing an older model.
We're use below unchanged config to give the new Trainzer a tour of asset normal features:
What is/is not important.
At first glance many engine traincar assets may seem to be very complicated to the new Trainzer hoping to fix a faulty asset. The significance of the trainz-build value is poorly understood, even by many content creators involved in Trainz since it's earliest. A key is to understand Greg Lane and the original programming team evolved the key more complicated data structures of an asset back in 2003–04 and they've changed little since but for extra capabilities.
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298883
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46022
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=298883
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Trainz/Beginning
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Introduction to Trainz.
Trainz simulators, once they've hooked you as an interest, grows to become first and foremost a hobby and, often a passion. Trainz has a large international participation and many sub-communities going back to 1998–99 when Model Railroad Hobby Clubs were consulted by Auran about what they'd want in a product, and early modelers began making content for a game yet to be published. That group of clubs has done nothing but grow from those pre-release Trainz design days when their interest was rewarded with a rare and coveted Trainz 0.9 CDROM version, a Beta Test release several months before the advent of both Microsoft Trains Simulator (MSTS) and the 'Trainz 1' commercial product release. How large and how widespread has the community grown you ask. Last fall a reliable source, counted over 800 '3rd Party' Trainz websites, not counting Auran/N3V's several urls. These sites generally are hosted by and organized by a group of content creators, the talented guys and gals who make digital models the rest of us ooh and aw at that manifest and populate the Trainz Universe we are visiting in the moment. Trainz can become a lifestyle, or a large part of yours, for underneath the simulator fun is also an active friendly community, actually many communities and sub-communities meeting in internet communicated bliss to share common interests.
So early on, we recommend you browse the web forums as much or more time as that of when you try to run Trainz. There is no doing but a lot of learning new things—for the forums (plural) will both give you insights and a deeper sense of what can be done, but learn something of persons to whom you might relate and befriend, and broaden your view of the Trainz world that can not be gotten any other way. Finally, finding what areas of interests (again plural) are associated and grouped with others will be of great value to you when you finally get up the nerve to ask a question, or need to go look for an answer to a vexing issue of the moment. Most likely, the wily veterans of the game have seen or done something similar already. And you will have questions—we all do and did, and still do for the Trainz experience is immense and widely varied depending upon what parts of the game you end of settling into most often.
You don't have to be a " to enjoy but to get the most out of the software requires the drive to want to make something, because Trainz has its warts, its confusions, and its faults and flaws. The inspiration of having a vision, a goal that entices you will help you past the rough days as it does us all. You will see your share of griping if you just visit and follow new posts, so no need to sugar coat it. Helping you understand some of the more negative attitudes will take amassing the exposure to the hurly-burly there and all the gems in the rough as well.
When all is said and done, Trainz can present a seemingly endless mountain of learning curves to surmount, and this book is all about helping you up those slopes in the least time intensive, least frustrating way possible. Our program is to expose you to skills building by introducing a task, giving a example to follow, then challenge you to repeat what we've shown how to do. In the processes we'll be putting up lots of images, written explanations, and starting all of it with a video series matched to the screenshots you'll see here.
It evolves, dude!
Trainz is however an ongoing, evolving, ever changing dynamic system of modeling in a 3D real time interactive graphical 'Virtual World' and was one of the first 'game classed' software packages which did a good job of simulation in such a milieu. It is far easier to simulate for example a flight simulator, for by and large, the graphical world demands are far off and indistinct. One of the key and unique features of Trainz is we humans can go anywhere in the virtual world, virtually at any moment, and just look around (letting that Train look after itself) or change things (the junction points of a ladder in a railyard) and experience the world with an intimacy which wasn't generally possible in most games which tightly controlled player placement and views. This is very much still the case even in specialize game virtual environments such as are generated in the play-stations and Nintendos and Xbox game consoles. Just try to run far from the path in Left for Dead -- the game environment scope is designed to channel you, to limit strongly where you can go, so what they have to simulate as an environment.
In Trainz a route designer defines the whole world, but you are free to trespass everywhere in it from being underwater (can be weird or annoying) to flying high above (in satellite mode or as a hawk might) and can take on superpowers of sorts and walk through walls--the later case proving no matter how good the illusion, the world is indeed virtual; something made of mathematical constructs called polygon meshes with cladding over virtual surfaces called textures — which together with the game engine are rendered to us as objects we see with our " color and depth in three dimensions (unless we trespass inside, breaking the illusion).
In the Trainz graphical worlds one can design and create boats, planes, automotive or truck vehicles and drive them as well as our beloved Trainz with far more cars than could fit on a 'Basement Railroad Empire' physical model railroad--and in Trainz the dynamic operation of that mass of cars (a consist in railroad parlance) changes the dynamic operating behavior of the train. If you load a string of coal cars the train becomes different to drive. If you try to accelerate a loaded train too fast, the wheels will slip and you could well go backwards. This makes Trainz endlessly different, for there is always a new possibility to explore if you are adventurous enough to tinker and customize to suit yourself.
And that customization is another strength of Trainz. The software is extensible and expansive enough you can mess around with trial and error and may do things no one else thought possible before. Admittedly after sixteen years development (Trainz software was conceived in 1996 by Greg Lane, began taking shape in 1998 with aid of Model Railroad Clubs, then was first released in beta test in mid-2000 A.D.) the major 'new things' are being done by users with a software bent, for they invariably involve interactive scripting efforts to interact with the virtual world generated in Trainz.
Trainz Strengths.
Add it all together, and the product longevity and success is understandable. Today's driving experience is much unchanged from the Train UTC (v1.5) improvements added in Trainz second year. Don't like the hotkeys, remap them in their . 's tools, controls and capabilities are still much like the original well planned interface in Trainz 1.0, while today's CM operates with improvements, not jarring changes just like , but for measured improvements. The same can be said for most aspects of operating Trainz—they've gotten better without needing to master new alien aspects so unlike far too many new software releases.
Trainz's major strength? Trainz stability over time with gradual user-prompted improvements software upgrade to software upgrade. This is proved beyond doubt in its backward compatibility. Original Trainz assets developed for the Beta version along with a covey of model railroading enthusiasts, still find their way into innumerable routes with amazing regularity. There is much to choose from, and a lot to learn, but losing a favorite and having to unlearn the old operations and relearn new skills is not a likely circumstance a Trainzer needs to worry about. That keeps the users happy as they can focus on creating new and interesting assets, not on how to adapt to the irritating and unnecessary changes in a newest release because someone decided to change an user interface.
Trainz Warts.
Errors, Faults, Faulty assets, Bad Content, Faulty content are all synonyms in Trainz-speak for the same situation:
An asset was always (rare) or "has become somewhat incompatible" with the newer Trainz release preference for , and needs some data adjustments. Some few exist that were uploaded and distributed with malformed components (usually a missing), or assets wherein one or more files got corrupted—often these represent first efforts by young Trainzers eagerly seeking to share and get feedback without the sense to find another way to share the beta-test file. Good News is these won't be found because you downloaded a quality route and they hitch-hiked into the download as dependencies... bad assets wouldn't find such a place! Since 2014, a ongoing DLS clean-up effort has been fixing assets that are actually faulty, and often updating those to newer version status. Similar vocal outcrys and letters to N3V management have spurred a much greater and obvious result in cutting off errors from ever download, by 'Cleaning up Faulty Content' on the Trainz Download Station itself. With over 300,000 assets in late 2014, this process, while long under way, will take a lengthy time. It is still be ongoing now years after the 'TANE Community Edition' was released in November (Beta version) and December 2014 (go fund me bonus package rewards-another Beta release) and the main release finally reached market in May 2015
* It is possible, Ian Woodmore's running on PEV's and Andi06's can cure the matter in the right hands.
* If nothing else, someone with enough experience to be sure there is no solution will confirm "your 'this should be discarded' notion".
* Always include the asset's kuid and your version, as well as the colloquial 'TS10' or whatever. "The more you help yourself, the more help you'll get and fastest when you ask when stuck. The failures are learning experiences too, and will stand you in good stead by building asset know-how and your confidence."}}
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Solitaire card games/All in a Row
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This game is akin to Golf and Tri Peaks. The game's objective is to put the entire deck into the foundation.
The cards are dealt to the tableau in columns of four. The foundation (the "row") can be started from any column, and afterwards it is built with cards incremented or decremented from the previous card by one (where kings and aces wrap).
Only the top cards of each pile in the tableau are available for play.
The game ends if there are no more top cards that can be moved to the Black Hole. The game is won if all of the cards end up in the Black Hole.
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75960
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=298897
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Solitaire card games/Betsy Ross
|
This game is largely similar to Calculation except that there isn't a tableau, and there is only one waste pile instead of four
Play.
To begin the game, four cards (regardless of suit) are removed from the deck and placed in a row: an ace, a two, a three, and a four. Another four cards are placed in a row below those four cards: a two, a four, a six, and an eight. The table below shows how this is arranged:
The cards on the second row compose the foundations themselves, while the cards on the row above denote how the cards should be built on the foundations. The foundation placed under the ace starts with the two and it is built in ones. The foundation under the two starts with the four and it is built in twos, and so on. The table below shows how the foundations should be built:
The game is won when every card from the stock is built on the foundations. The game is lost, however, if it ends with cards still on the wastepile that cannot be transferred to the foundations.
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298906
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3327574
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=298906
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A-level Mathematics/AQA/MS2B
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Discrete Random Variables.
Expected Value.
The expected value, shown by E(X) or sometimes referred to as the mean, can be calculated from a given probability distribution. It can be defined as <math>\sum x_ip_i</math> where <math>p_i</math> is the probability for value <math>x_i</math>. For example :
A spinner has the probability distribution
E(X) can be calculated by summing all the values times their respective probabilities :
<math> (1 * 0.2) + (2 * 0.2) + (3 * 0.5) + (4 * 0.1) = 2.5 </math>
E(X2) and E(X)2.
At times, you will be required to calculate E(X2) and E(X)2 (For use in calculating the variance of a discrete random variable, for example)
The value of E(X)2 is simply your value of E(X), squared. Using the same spinner from the previous example, our value of E(X)2 would be <math> 2.5^2 = 6.25 </math>
E(X2) is a little more challenging, however. Suppose we are using the same spinner as before when we calculated E(X) and E(X)2. Calculating the expected value of <math>x ^ 2</math> means we must square all out values of <math>x</math> (which is the values the spinner can land on). This gives us the probability distribution
From here, we can calculate our value for E(X2) the same as if we were calculating E(X) :
<math> (1 * 0.2) + (4 * 0.2) + (9 * 0.5) + (16 * 0.1) = 7.1 </math>
Note that our values for E(X2) and E(X)2 are not equal!
Expected value for E(kX) and E(X + k), where k is a number.
To calculate the value of E(kX), we need to move the value of k outside of the brackets. This leaves us with kE(X). E(X) can now be calculated normally, and then multiply by the value of K. For our spinner example, the value of E(2X) is 2E(X), where E(X) = 2.5. Our value for E(2X) must then be 5.
To calculate the value of E(X + k), we need to move the value of k outside of the brackets again. We are left with E(X) + k and can calculate the value normally. For our spinner example, the value of E(X + 3) is E(X) + 3, which is 5.5.
Variance.
The variance of a discrete random variable is defined as the expectation of square minus the square of expectation or in other words : <math> Var(X) = E(X^2) - E(X)^2 </math>. In turn, the standard deviation(σ - Lower case greek letter sigma) of a discrete random variable is defined as the square root of the variance or : <math>\sqrt{Var(X)}</math>
For our spinner example, the value of E(X2) that we calculated was 7.1 and our value for E(X)2 was 6.25. Therefore, our value for the variance of this spinner would be : <math> Var(X) = 7.1 - 6.25 = 0.85 </math>
Our value for the standard deviation of the spinner would be : <math> \sqrt{0.85} = 0.9219544457 = 0.9220 (4. sf) </math>
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298909
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1015207
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=298909
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Topology/Cohomology
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Introduction.
"Cohomology" is a strongly related concept to homology, it is a contravariant in the sense of a branch of mathematics known as category theory. In homology theory we study the relationship between mappings going down in dimension from n-dimensional structure to its (n-1)-dimensional border. However, in cohomology the maps are reversed, and instead of chain groups we study groups of mappings from those groups.
Although this description may imply that somehow cohomology theory is no more or less powerful than homology theory, this impression would be wrong, as it turns out that the cohomology of a space is often more powerful. Further knowing the homology of a space gives us the cohomology and the cohomology greatly restricts what homology a space can have.
Hom(A,B) and Categorical Duals.
This construction is at the core of category theory which has been successful in acting as a foundational theory for large parts of algebraic topology. For now what we need is the idea that the dual of a group <math>C</math> is <math>C^*=Hom(C,G)</math> and <math>(C^*)^*=Hom(Hom(C,G),G)</math>
Cochain Complex.
In homology theory we used the chain complex
<math>\cdots C_n \xrightarrow{\partial_n} C_{n-1} \cdots</math>
to form our homology groups <math>H_n(X)=Ker(\partial_n) / Im(\partial_{n+1})</math>. Using that as our inspiration, we form
<math>\delta^n:C^*_{n-1}\to C^*_n</math>
where <math>C^*_n=Hom(C_n,G)</math> for a given group G. Our cochain complex is as follows
<math>\cdots Hom(C_n,G) \xrightarrow{\delta^n} Hom(C_{n-1},G) \cdots</math>
To find our cohomology groups <math>H^n(X;G)</math> note that this is relative to our chosen group <math>G</math> so for a given method we have to choose <math>G</math> appropriately.
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274873
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=298911
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Topology/History
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It could be said that mathematics in general owes its credibility to ancient Greece's Euclid. What is probably his most famous work, "Elements", revolutionized the concepts of geometry and mathematics as a whole through the presentation of a simple logical method. This method is summarized by Leonard Mlodinow:
First, make terms explicit by forming precise definitions and so ensure mutual understanding of all words and symbols. Next, make concepts explicit by stating specific axioms or postulates so that no unstated understandings or assumptions may be used. Finally, derive the logical consequences of the system employing only accepted rules of logic, applied to the axioms and to previously proved theorems .
Throughout its history, many mathematicians have influenced the development of topology. While Johann Benedict Listing is not credited with a memorable discovery in terms of the field of topology, he is still considered one of the founding fathers. This is because he gave topology its name. While he published very little on topology, he is remembered for "Vorstudien zur Topologie", which was the first document to use the word topologie (English: topology) to describe the field. He is also often credited with discovering the Möbius strip independently of August Ferdinand Möbius .
The origins of topology date back to the eighteenth century and the , a problem of relative position without regard to distance . While this problem is often regarded as the birth of graph theory, it also inspired Euler's development of the topology of networks . Königsberg, now Kaliningrad, was founded in 1255 and became a prosperous seaport . The city resides on the banks of the Praegel, now Pregolya, River. Citizens could use seven bridges that crossed the Praegal, but the question of whether or not one could pass through the town and use each bridge exactly once would turn out to be the catalyst in the creation of the mathematical field of topology. Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler would be the one to discover the answer was no. He determined that the graph defined by the location of the bridge was not what is now called a Eulerian graph . This solution entitled "The Solution of a Problem Related to the Geometry of Position" was submitted to the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg in 1735 .
Euler is also well known for his research in the combinatorial qualities of polyhedra. He considered the edges (<math>e</math>), which he called "acies", the faces (<math>f</math>), or "hedra", and the vertices (<math>v</math>), called "angulus solidus". Euler realized the importance of these three properties claiming that they "completely determine the solid". His research resulted in the well-known "Polyhedral Formula": <math>v-e+f=2</math>. However, Euler's formula applies only to convex solids . In 1813 Antoine-Jean L'Huilier recognized this limitation of the formula and provided a generalization for a solid with <math>g</math> holes: <math>v-e+f=2-2g</math>. This was the first known result of a topological invariant .
August Ferdinand Möbius was one of the main contributors of the topological theory of manifolds. In 1865, Möbius presented an article in which he decomposed several orientations of surfaces in polygonal nets. His most famous example was a non-orientable surface, which is now called the Möbius strip.
The Russian born mathematician Georg Ferdinand Ludwig Philipp Cantor, the father of set theory, is another mathematician to whom we owe credit for topology. Concepts of set theory and cardinality are fundamental for the study of topology. Today, Cantor is a truly celebrated mathematician, especially considering that set theory and the idea of infinity do not seem to have a truss of mathematical ideas from which they could have been developed. Sadly, these ideas were not welcomed by a nineteenth century world, and Cantor spent many years of his adult life struggling with public criticism. A German mathematician by the name of David Hilbert described Cantor's discoveries in the infinite domain as an "astonishing product of mathematical thought" . In 1877, Cantor showed that the points on a 2-dimensional square had a one-to-one correspondence with the points on different line segments, and this caused others to begin asking questions about the idea of dimension, leading to the development of dimension theory .
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, many mathematicians challenged themselves with more abstract problems. Maurice René Fréchet, a French mathematician, helped these mathematicians considerably in 1906. He explained that if a distance can be defined between two different mathematical entities, then real and complex number concepts can be applied . Fréchet, along with Schoenflies, Hausdorff, and others, would be one of the first to study "general topology" . Fréchet developed the theory of metric spaces, which was based on Cantor's theory of sets .
German mathematician Felix Hausdorff followed in Cantor's footsteps with regard to set theory. In fact, Hausdorff was one of the first to teach set theory. In the summer 1901, he had 3 students . The idea that a topology possesses a lattice of open subsets had been around almost as long as the idea of topology itself, but Hausdorff was the first to emphasize the importance of these sets in defining topological concepts .
French mathematician and physicist Henri Poincaré discovered his talent at an early age. In fact, he took first place in a national mathematics competition while he was still in school. Poincaré was the first to study Fuchsian groups, dealing mainly with their underlying geometry and topology . Poincaré is most famous for "The Poincaré Conjecture" which states the following:
A compact smooth "n"-dimensional manifold that is homotopy equivalent to the "n"-sphere <math>S^n</math> must in fact be homeomorphic to <math>S^n</math>. One can think of a compact manifold as a manifold that lives in a finite region of <math>\mathbb{R}^n</math> for some <math>n</math> and that has no boundary .
This conjecture would not be proven until 2003 by Grigory Perelman .
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Trainz/Driver
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About Driver.
Trainz Driver is the part of the Trainz program suite that allows you to control trains on a layout and is the" 'really doing things' (missions)" or interactive 'Gameplay' part of the software system, and the part the new Trainzer first becomes comfortable with. For some of us, it was the challenge and difficulty of a difficult task which originally hooked us on the game.
Introduction.
The Trainz Driver, a is the active gameplay mode of Trainz, and the one New Trainz users will experience first. It may surprise the new user—Driver is probably the least used of the three main Trainz run-time modules by the dedicated Trainz ethusiasts—who are more likely such as: 'World building' that map asset (route), and writing & debugging sessions (and their interactions with that Surveyor map), or researching and digitally modeling it's special assets—like historic landmark buildings and period street styles visible from around the rails proper.
Most avid Trainzers are dedicated hobbyists who prefer and enjoy the many seductions of the creative side of the hobby to the entertainment side, not that we don't drive, just not all that often in relative terms. OTOH, there is a strong core of Trainzers with ten years of Trainzing who do nothing but drive. Trainz has the flexibility to satisfy all the shades of grey in between the two extremes.
Operations and scenarios.
Trainz Operations can be as simple as driving a light engine around a circle of track or as complicated as operating a large , with many different trains arriving for you to manage by giving the apropos commands hopping busily between consists, directing the railyard operations.
Driver game play adventures, designed 'scenarios' in the standard sense the word are called as opposed to (the latter sense capitalized herein, an older tech) with titles depending on the technology of how they are constructed. But regardless of their classification and or identifying data base keywords in the , both are the "scripted interactive activities" using a special extensible programming language—making canned activities presenting Driving challenges
Most such scenarios, of whichever data class, put you into the cabin of the locomotives and usually require you to "perform to some "task and standard" "(e.g. keep to a schedule, this type of drive is frequently scored, so you can beat your former best) or sort and place traincars in the correct places {{TG|switching|Switching scenarios}}) and many combinations of these in problem solving and skills hurdles. One might think driving a vehicle stuck between two rails with no way to turn to be simple, and perhaps easier than turning a supertanker—"banish the thought", for the Trainz physics model lends realism to the task which increases significantly in difficulty as that loco adds a few cars of a consist, and increases again and again every time more cars are added, or get loaded and changes again when they get unloaded. Trainz will keep you on your toes.
Camera location, directional angles from that co-ordinate axis, and zoom are how we see inside the Trainz virtual world—they define a viewpoint from which we observe, all generated by the graphics engine. They place us within the game graphics.
Cameras.
}} The Mouse, mouse wheel, and keyboard arrow keys {{kpb|↑}}, {{kpb|←}}, {{kpb|→}}, & {{kpb|↓}} are used to position, zoom, and move this camera about including through objects. {{bullR
}} Use {{kpb|RMBh}} and drag the tool pointer (cursor) right, left, up or down screen away from screen center to slide the camera around, or rotate the view angle. (Surveyor Options settings dependent, customize to suit self: two controls pan and rotation) {{bullR
}} This lets us use {{kpb|LMB}} and clicks using the 'mouse pointer' (tool tip) to operate junctions, turn valves, turn the DCC Mode dial, operate slider controls, and generally toggle or select button options, and like actions.
Cameras.
There are four main camera modes available in Driver to allow you to enjoy your train from any angle. The external camera and free camera modes also allow tipping of the view—in effect letting you use your "galactic conqueror's anti-gravity belt" to fly and look down at the scene of interest. All but the tracking camera allow zooming using a mouse wheel rotation or key board. The modes are switchable by mouse click or hotkeys;the camera control buttons are situated on the top right of the Driver screen, just below the game time, current speed and speed limit indicators. From left to right and correspond to hotkeys {{kp|1}} to {{kp|4}}, they are, Cab View, External View, Tracking View and Free or Roaming View. Some scenario writers will lock out one or more of these, to increase the driving challenge. Coupling a consist, once you get a little practice from the external mode a bit above and Trainz and Trainz UTC didn't have the Free Camera mode at all.
Trainz Controls Modes.
In Driver it is possible to control trains in two ways: either DCC mode or Cab mode. When launching a driver session you are often asked which one to use, and then Trainz Driver operates in your chosen mode, what used to be—for the remainder of the session—but it is now possible to use the GUI Options Drop down menu to switch to the other mode (Session writer permitting).
Both modes have a set of {{wp|hotkeys}} (cheat links to the page top-right) which allow keyboard control {{col|as well as mouse {{kp|RMBh+drag}} tool-tip|blue}} modes, which are arranged to be very intuitive and so the same key has a similar function in every mode and locomotive type. In fact, the major key controls are a double set—one for left handed and right handed drivers and flipped mouse modes.
Driver controls, "and this should be no surprise given a bit of thought", and driver operations will vary somewhat in CAB mode; in particular when in a different locomotive and especially between steam locomotives and diesel-electric classes. Electric locos also have a somewhat modified throttle set-up, having (correctly modeling) real prototype throttles with 32 instead of the 8 throttle settings of a Diesel or diesel-electric.
One seemingly, "but in time pressured situations, then not so trivial difference" is British locomotive and railway conventions have the operator on the left side of the cabin, drive with oncoming travel to their right side, and have signals on the left side of the tracks (normally to the outside on double trackage corridors).
In contrast, the fast accelerating, quick stopping, short consists result in light rail and commuter locos ("people movers") which often have the operating controls centered, and the North American convention has the operator on the right side of the cabin, the signals right, and oncoming traffic normally passes on the left. Light rail and metro commuter services conventions are more situationally-driven for such railways often have tight turns and constrained track spaces (i.e. in tunneled caverns under cities!) so signalling can be found in such tight quarters any side, and travel directions depend more on the needs of connections with spur lines than on ideal main line practices, but with a nod to the national convention if, and where possible.<br>
The British and American conventions were born in the age of Steam locomotives, and each convention also places normal trackage used for express travel to opposite sides and so also the signals relative to the direction of forward travel.
DCC Mode.
DCC mode is designed to operate with a less realistic physics model than Cab mode, and is useful for people who wish to have a play with a layout or manage a lot of trains without getting too in-depth in operations with one particular locomotive. Route builders will often tour their developing route to spot places which are in need of further attention, to see if that panorama is as stunningly beautiful as they'd intended.
The more realistic and more challenging of the two driving modes in Trainz.
{{TG|C|CAB Mode}}.
Train consists in CAB mode operate very differently for the full physics of each traincar is simulated, as is the delay for the air brakes systems versus train lengths come into play and to begin to have significant effect, as does wheel slippage on the Locos, speed of acceleration, over heating the power plant, having failures and a host of other Real World physical modeling that is one of the attributes of Train simulators where once," 'for a long while,' "Trainz software separated itself ahead of other competing packages.
In {{TL|Cab Mode}} the user can operate the driver's controls inside the 3D virtual cab by Click-N-Drag with the mouse, as well as use a superset of the hotkeys that are available in {{TL|DCC mode}}; most of which operate similarly but with a few important differences, and there are a few other differences driving locomotives with Diesel, Diesel-Electric, Electric, and Steam Loco prime mover technologies.
Cab mode involves operating locomotives from their cabs and pulling levers and pressing switches for reversers, regulators, brakes and other controls, just like on a real locomotive. Instead of the DCC dial you get the Heads Up Display, which displays useful information such as throttle position, brake position and brake pipe pressure. Driving locomotives in cab mode is discussed in detail elsewhere in this Wikibook.
See pages:
Managing Multiple Trains.
At the bottom left of the Driver screen in TRS2004 and above is a portrait of a man. He is the driver for your train. If you have placed multiple trains with {{TL|AI Driver}}s then you can click above your {{TG|C|consist's}} driver-portrait to expand the left bar to show the drivers for the other locomotives in the session and then double-clicks to select them and their trains.
To operate two or more trains simultaneously is relatively straightforward - of course the easiest way is to simply set each locomotive up to run and leave them to it. The problem with this method is that the locomotives will simply travel until either the session ends, you stop them manually or they derail - they will not obey switches, signals or buffers. This is where your drivers come in handy.
The most effective way to run multiple trains in a session is to give orders to the drivers. The long rectangular pane at the bottom of the Driver screen shows the orders for the currently selected driver. The symbol closest to the driver's portrait is his current order, with other orders progressing from left to right across the pane. To assign an order to your driver simply right-click in the order pane and choose an order from the menu. The most common orders are 'Drive To', 'Drive to Trackmark', 'Drive Via Trackmark' (In TS2009 and later the word 'Navigate' is used instead of 'Drive'), 'Load' and 'Unload'. When carrying out orders. the drivers will drive the train, keep to the speed limits and obey signals. They will also change switches (turnouts/points), provided that the path is clear and that no other driver is already in control of them. The degree of success to which drivers execute their orders is largely dependent on how effectively the layout is signalled and tracked. Whilst carrying out orders the driver is in control of the train - the DCC control or HUD is inaccessible. To go back to manual control tell your driver to 'stop train'; He will bring the train to a standstill and the DCC control or HUD will reappear.
Scenarios and sessions.
Driver Scenarios were modular interactive scripted software elements which acted as a adjunct to Trainz Driver, and provided the first game experience offering task challenges, scoring, and switching operations. Crude ability to load and load trains off-camera enabled distribution of cars and then picking up the same during the same gaming session; this involved substituting whole train consists, and was dependent upon the earliest cars equipped with {{TRC|queues}}s and their load sub-containers, as well as the first versions of the script libraries, now so much a part of Trainz. {{TL|Sessions}} supplanted use of scenarios as the {{TG|TrainzScript}} module was not directly integrated into the game, whereas the session editor was part of {{TL|Surveyor}}.
Trainz Driver Sessions are scripted Driver activities that create an interactive game play episode with tasks, conditions, and standards set by the {{TL|Session creator}}. Sessions were introduced in {{TL|Trainz 2004}} as a better, easier user friendly replacement for {{TL|scenario}}s. Sessions are written using the {{TL|Session editor}} API in Surveyor, so were integrated into the game with mini-map features visible, and so easier to make than scenarios which used a separate {{TL|TrainzScript}} editor module.
"main topic coverage: {{TL|Scenarios}}"
Scenarios.
Scenarios were available from {{TL|Trainz 1.3}} (Trainz updated to SP3) into {{TL|TS12}}{{efn|Scenarios were available from {{TL|Trainz 1.3}} (Trainz updated to SP3) into {{TL|TS12}}... "but based on personal experience", often older scenarios were unrunnable in newer Trainz releases, (though CM was happy to import them from the DLS then evaluate them with having faults) because of code incompatibilities. Changes (usu. mandatory values checks or defines [variable initializations]) not present in Trainz, Trainz UTC nor TRS2004—so had incurable faults in the eyes of newer {{TL|CM}}'s, since the Trainz Scenarios code was unavailable to tweak and fix). As John Citron would indubitably say of the programmer's: "They fixed it!", while meaning the opposite. Running these, are one reason to keep an older version of Trainz healthy and running.
}}, but some older scenarios were sometimes defeated (unrunnable, though CM was happy to import them) by changes (usu. mandatory values checks or defines not present in Trainz, UTC nor TRS2004—so had incurable faults) in the script libraries of newer Trainz releases.
Unlike their functional replacement, {{here|Sessions}}, writing a Trainz scenario relied upon the external Auran application {{TL|TrainzScript}}, and relied upon a much higher needed level of programming ability and knowledge.
Support for Scenarios will not be continued after {{TL|TS12}}'s service packs.
"main topic coverage: {{TL|sessions}}"
Sessions.
Sessions came about because the Trainz of the day had trouble keeping context when switched back and forth from the Scenario editor and Surveyor modules, where one had to track what was to happen step by step. The solution was to incorporate the necessary scripts as other {{TL|Rules}} configurable in the {{TL|Session Editor}} API added to TRS2004 and up, along with an expansion of the standard script libraries made part of Trainz after Trainz 1.3{{efn|A version by version differential comparison of these using freeware tool kdiff3 shows the script libraries have been astonishingly stable, Trainz release to Trainz release, with at worst, half a dozen script files showing changes. Explorations by computer engineer/author, Fabartus}}. This was not, and is still not an optimal solution, but it beats returning to Trainz Surveyor and only having a black screen displayed, or a disconnected mouse.
Other Controls.
Switches.
Switches (also known as turnouts or points) are controlled by a large set of arrows over them, the current selected path (left or right) is shown by the green arrow. It is possible to have a maximum of 3 diverging tracks from a switch, and in that case there are three arrows. Click the set of arrows to select which path to take.
By default, no current version of Trainz uses with animated turnouts with blades due to the way that track is laid in Surveyor. Hpwever third party-created animated turnouts are available from the DLS, although they work in a slightly different way.
If you click a switch and the direction does not change, there could be one of three reasons why:
Signals.
Although not technically a control, signals are of course worth mentioning as a basic feature of Driver. Trainz features two basic types of signal, the modern colour light and the traditional semaphore. Signals are generally placed in 'blocks', but this is covered in more depth elsewhere in this wikibook. A feature of Driver is that if you hover your mouse over a signal aspect, Trainz will explain why the signal is showing that aspect. This is especially useful when a train reaches a signal at 'danger', as you can hover your mouse pointer over the signal to find out why it is at danger. Driver will then say for example, 'block is in use by another train'. If you then click on the red aspect, Driver will take you to the cause of it; for example in this case Driver will focus on the train currently fouling the block. The same system also works of the line is closed - Driver will take you to the closed turnout so that you can change it if required.
Couple/Decouple mode.
There is no overt control to enable coupling—it is always enabled unless a {{TL|session rule}} has the specific {{TN|traincar}} {{TN|coupler}}s locked. This rule is rarely used, and observed mainly in some older tutorials written by the old Auran Development 'Brew Crew'.
Decoupling can be activated by mouse click on the decouple button or more speedily and easily by using the hotkey {{kp|CTRL|D}}. Should one enter decouple mode, using the mouse tooltip near a coupling of a pair of traincars will show that coupler pair in red with an exaggerated red icon; if one changes one's mind, or wishes to recouple some pair just decoupled by mistake, retoggle the coupling mode on, highlight the same coupler pairs and click to restore connections between the two traincars.
Basic Driving in DCC Mode.
By another name: ("simulated") {{BL|Digital Command Control}}. The simpler of the two driving modes in Trainz. The 'DCC' term comes from the world of model railways where DCC chipsets automate railcar behaviors, but in Trainz, really applies to the "{{BL|dial type controllers}}" used in electric powered Model Railroading, and copied as a mode in the game/simulator.
In Trainz, the term refers to a simulated "dial controller" or" the 'power pack' "that will be somewhat familiar to anyone that has played with a typical (non-Lionel) model railroad such as {{wp|H.O. Scale}} trainsets from toy and department stores. This can be moved with {{kb|LMB+drag}} operations to rotate clockwise or anti-clockwise, which with a standard set up speed-up more in the forwards-direction, or speed-up more in the reverse-direction. If the dial is half rotated, or some large rotation, the opposite rotation just slows the train, the top, or twelve-O'clock position corresponding to no throttle, which in DCC will also be 'stop-the-train', as well.
In CAB mode ("and assuming a standard {{wp|QWERTY keyboard}} arrangement") the keys in the "four slanted-vertical columns" under the {{kp|1}}—{{kp|4}} keys all have something to contribute to driving a trains Locomotive. In DCC, only those under the {{kp|2}} key, the slanted column {{kp|W}}, {{kp|S}} and {{kp|X}} do anything to control train motion. These have near equivalent throttle effects in CAB mode, so getting the two confused is unlikely.
Last but not least, the DCC Mode greatly simplifies the physics of driving a long train, but does not protect you from spastic activities. While juking the dial control to high accelerations may work fine in the tutorials and some "Easy" class scenarios, there are game physics {{TL|Rules}} under the control of the session writer, and quite a few of those look with frowny faces on spastic behaviors which would, in a real train, break couplers or cause a derailment.
So long as a session is gamed in an arcade physics level, rapid changes in the accelerations from dial changes are not likely to bite you, however... if you form that "bad habit", be prepared to spend time replaying a scenario you'd almost finished then messed up by such maladroit insensitivity to real train behavior. You've been warned. The surest way to have success with this simulator is to always drive with care, meaning accelerate carefully in small bites—and think two to five steps ahead. Sometimes the later, means working it out on paper first. (My, how old fashioned! "But if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!")
Other Screens.
Map View.
Map View shows a 2d birds-eye representation of the layout and all consists on it. It can be useful for learning a new layout or navigating a complex one—provided you develop the skills to interpret the symbols, notations, and more usefully, know how to toggle them on and off, so things cluttering the view disappear and stop confusing the view. The Map View button on the bottom right of the Driver screen, but if you're like most of us, will find the hotkeys {{kp|M}} or {{kp|CTRL|M}} far more useful. The keys operate as toggles, so shuts it off as well; the {{kp|CTRL|M}} hotkey opens and closes the mini-map in Surveyor, so using "that" becomes habit for route builders since M has other uses "('Move' something)" in various Surveyor tools and doesn't work there for maps.
Key Map controls, all act as toggles:
Waybills.
In TRS2004 and later, the {{TL|interactive industries}}, when they get below a certain stock level, send a waybill (shipping order) to the waybill menu which can be opened by mouse click in the lower right corner of the screen. These show you where products are most needed, and can be used in free play.
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298926
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3371989
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=298926
|
Adventist Adventurer Awards and Answers/Sand
|
Sing a Bible song about sand..
The Wise Man Built His House
The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock
And the rain came tumbling down
Oh, the rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
And the wise man's house stood firm.
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
And the rain came tumbling down
Oh, the rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
And the foolish man's house went "splat!" [clap hands once]
So, build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ
Build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ
Build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ
And the blessings will come down
Oh, the blessings come down
As your prayers go up
The blessings come down
As your prayers go up
The blessings come down
As your prayer go up
So build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Make your own colored sand..
Supplies:
Preparation
Scoop a little sand into plastic baggies.
Add around 10-15 drops of food coloring.
Seal the baggie and shake it up.
Let the sand dry and have fun playing. We left our sand right in the open baggies and let it dry overnight. If you wanted to play right away, you could spread the sand out on a tray and it would dry much sooner.
Create at least 2 sand art projects..
Sand art bottles:
Picture frames
Pre-glued pictures
Make a sand castle
Clothespin butterfly
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298938
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46022
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=298938
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Python Programming/Idioms
|
Python is a strongly idiomatic language: there is generally a single optimal way of doing something (a), rather than many ways: “There’s more than one way to do it” is "not" a Python motto.
This section starts with some general principles, then goes through the language, highlighting how to idiomatically use operations, data types, and modules in the standard library.
Principles.
Use exceptions for error-checking, following EAFP (It's Easier to Ask Forgiveness than Permission) instead of LBYL (Look Before You Leap): put an action that may fail inside a <code>try...except</code> block.
Use context managers for managing resources, like files. Use <code>finally</code> for ad hoc cleanup, but prefer to write a context manager to encapsulate this.
Use properties, not getter/setter methods.
Use dictionaries for dynamic records, classes for static records (for simple classes, use collections.namedtuple): if a record always has the same fields, make this explicit in a class; if the fields may vary (be present or not), use a dictionary.
Use <code>_</code> for throwaway variables, like discarding a return value when a tuple is returned, or to indicate that a parameter is being ignored (when required for an interface, say). You can use <code>*_, **__</code> to discard positional or keyword arguments passed to a function: these correspond to the usual <code>*args, **kwargs</code> parameters, but explicitly discarded. You can also use these in addition to positional or named parameters (following the ones you use), allowing you to use some and discard any excess ones.
Use implicit True/False (truthy/falsy values), except when needing to distinguish between falsy values, like None, 0, and [], in which case use an explicit check like <code>is None</code> or <code>== 0</code>.
Use the optional <code>else</code> clause after <code>try, for, while</code> not just <code>if</code>.
Imports.
For readable and robust code, only import modules, not names (like functions or classes), as this creates a new (name) binding, which is not necessarily in sync with the existing binding. For example, given a module <code>m</code> which defines a function <code>f</code>, importing the function with <code>from m import f</code> means that <code>m.f</code> and <code>f</code> can differ if either is assigned to (creating a new binding).
In practice, this is frequently ignored, particularly for small-scale code, as changing a module post-import is rare, so this is rarely a problem, and both classes and functions are imported from modules so they can be referred to without a prefix. However, for robust, large-scale code, this is an important rule, as it risks creating very subtle bugs.
For robust code with low typing, one can use a renaming import to abbreviate a long module name:
import module_with_very_long_name as vl
vl.f # easier than module_with_very_long_name.f, but still robust
Note that importing submodules (or subpackages) from a package using <code>from</code> is completely fine:
from p import sm # completely fine
sm.f
Operations.
b, a = a, b
To access an attribute (esp. to call a method) on a value that might be an object, or might be <code>None</code>, use the boolean shortcircuiting of <code>and</code>:
a and a.x
a and a.f
Particularly useful for regex matches:
match and match.group(0)
Use <code>in</code> for substring checking.
Data types.
All sequence types.
Use <code>enumerate</code> if you need to keep track of iteration cycles over an iterable:
for i, x in enumerate(l):
Anti-idiom:
for i in range(len(l)):
x = l[i] # why did you go from list to numbers back to the list?
Python sequences do have an <code>index</code> method, but this returns the index of the first occurrence of a specific value in the sequence. To find the first occurrence of a value that satisfies a condition, instead, use <code>next</code> and a generator expression:
try:
x = next(i for i, n in enumerate(l) if n > 0)
except StopIteration:
print('No positive numbers')
else:
print('The index of the first positive number is', x)
If you need the value, not the index of its occurrence, you can get it directly through:
try:
x = next(n for n in l if n > 0)
except StopIteration:
print('No positive numbers')
else:
print('The first positive number is', x)
The reason for this construct is twofold:
For mutable sequences, use <code>del</code>, instead of reassigning to a slice:
del l[j:]
del l[:i]
Anti-idiom:
l = l[:j]
l = l[i:]
The simplest reason is that <code>del</code> makes your intention clear: you're truncating.
More subtly, slicing creates another reference to the same list (because lists are mutable), and then unreachable data can be garbage-collected, but generally this is done later. Deleting instead immediately modifies the list in-place (which is faster than creating a slice and then assigning it to the existing variable), and allows Python to immediately deallocate the deleted elements, instead of waiting for garbage collection.
In some cases you "do" want 2 slices of the same list – though this is rare in basic programming, other than iterating once over a slice in a <code>for</code> loop – but it's rare that you'll want to make a slice of a whole list, then replace the original list variable with a slice (but not change the other slice!), as in the following funny-looking code:
m = l
l = l[i:j] # why not m = l[i:j] ?
You can create a sorted list directly from any iterable, without needing to first make a list and then sort it. These include sets and dictionaries (iterate on the keys):
l = sorted(s)
l = sorted(d)
Tuples.
Use tuples for constant sequences. This is rarely necessary (primarily when using as keys in a dictionary), but makes intention clear.
Strings.
Use <code>in</code> for substring checking.
However, do "not" use <code>in</code> to check if a string is a single-character match, since it matches substrings and will return spurious matches – instead use a tuple of valid values. For example, the following is wrong:
def valid_sign(sign):
return sign in '+-' # wrong, returns true for sign == '+-'
Instead, use a tuple:
def valid_sign(sign):
return sign in ('+', '-')
To make a long string incrementally, build a list and then join it with <code>"</code> – or with newlines, if building a text file (don't forget the final newline in this case!). This is faster and clearer than appending to a string, which is often "slow." (In principle can be <math>O(nk)</math> in overall length of string and number of additions, which is <math>O(n^2)</math> if pieces are of similar sizes.)
However, there are some optimizations in some versions CPython that make simple string appending fast – string appending in CPython 2.5+, and bytestring appending in CPython 3.0+ are fast, but for building Unicode strings (unicode in Python 2, string in Python 3), joining is faster. If doing extensive string manipulation, be aware of this and profile your code. See Performance Tips: String Concatenation and Concatenation Test Code for details.
Don't do this:
s = "
for x in l:
# this makes a new string every iteration, because strings are immutable
s += x
Instead:
s = ".join(l)
You can even use generator expressions, which are extremely efficient:
s = ".join(f(x) for x in l)
If you do want a mutable string-like object, you can use <code>StringIO</code>.
Dictionaries.
To iterate through a dictionary, either keys, values, or both:
for k in d:
for v in d.values:
for v in d.itervalues:
for k, v in d.items:
for k, v in d.iteritems:
Anti-patterns:
for k, _ in d.items: # instead: for k in d:
for _, v in d.items: # instead: for v in d.values
FIXME:
<code>dict.get</code> is useful, but using <code>dict.get</code> and then checking if it is <code>None</code> as a way of testing if the key is in the dictionary is an anti-idiom, as <code>None</code> is a potential value, and whether the key is in the dictionary can be checked directly. It's ok to use <code>get</code> and compare with <code>None</code> if this is not a potential value, however.
Simple:
if 'k' in d:
# ... d['k']
Anti-idiom (unless <code>None</code> is not a potential value):
v = d.get('k')
if v is not None:
# ... v
Use <code>zip</code> as: <code>dict(zip(keys, values))</code>
Modules.
re.
Match if found, else <code>None</code>:
match = re.match(r, s)
return match and match.group(0)
...returns <code>None</code> if no match, and the match contents if there is one.
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298964
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134830
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=298964
|
Introduction to Philosophical Logic/Predicate Calculus
|
Predicate calculus, also called Logic Of Quantifiers, that part of modern formal or symbolic logic which systematically exhibits the logical relations between sentences that hold purely in virtue of the manner in which predicates or noun expressions are distributed through ranges of subjects by means of quantifiers such as “all” and “some” without regard to the meanings or conceptual contents of any predicates in particular. Such predicates can include both qualities and relations; and, in a higher-order form called the functional calculus, it also includes functions, which are “framework” expressions with one or with several variables that acquire definite truth-values only when the variables are replaced by specific terms. The predicate calculus is to be distinguished from the propositional calculus, which deals with unanalyzed whole propositions related by connectives (such as “and,” “if . . . then,” and “or”).
The traditional syllogism is the most well-known sample of predicate logic, though it does not exhaust the subject. In such arguments as “All C are B and no B are A, so no C are A,” the truth of the two premises requires the truth of the conclusion in virtue of the manner in which the predicates B and A are distributed with reference to the classes specified by C and B, respectively. If, for example, the predicate A belonged to only one of the B’s, the conclusion then could possibly be false—some C could be an A.
Modern symbolic logic, of which the predicate calculus is a part, does not restrict itself, however, to the traditional syllogistic forms or to their symbolisms, a very large number of which have been devised. The predicate calculus usually builds upon some form of the propositional calculus. It then proceeds to give a classification of the sentence types that it contains or deals with, by reference to the different manners in which predicates may be distributed within sentences. It distinguishes, for example, the following two types of sentences: “All F’s are either G’s or H’s,” and “Some F’s are both G’s and H’s.” The conditions of truth and falsity in the basic sentence types are determined, and then a cross-classification is made that groups the sentences formulable within the calculus into three mutually exclusive classes—(1) those sentences that are true on every possible specification of the meaning of their predicate signs, as with “Everything is F or is not F”; (2) those false on every such specification, as with “Something is F and not F”; and (3) those true on some specifications and false on others, as with “Something is F and is G.” These are, respectively, the tautologous, inconsistent, and contingent sentences of the predicate calculus. Certain tautologous sentence types may be selected as axioms or as the basis for rules for transforming the symbols of the various sentence types; and rather routine and mechanical procedures may then be laid down for deciding whether given sentences are tautologous, inconsistent, or contingent—or whether and how given sentences are logically related to each other. Such procedures can be devised to decide the logical properties and relations of every sentence in any predicate calculus that does not contain predicates (functions) that range over predicates themselves—i.e., in any first-order, or lower, predicate calculus.
Calculi that do contain predicates ranging freely over predicates, on the other hand—called higher-order calculi—do not permit the classification of all their sentences by such routine procedures. As was proved by Kurt Gödel, a 20th-century "Moravian-born American mathematical logician", these calculi, if consistent, always contain well-formed formulas such that neither they nor their negations can be derived (shown tautologous) by the rules of the calculus. Such calculi are, in the precise sense, incomplete. Various restricted forms of the higher-order calculi have been shown, however, to be susceptible to routine decision procedures for all of their formulae.
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298966
|
3332924
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=298966
|
Biomedical Engineering Theory And Practice/Biomaterials
|
Introduction.
The United States National Institute of Health Consensus Development Conference defined a biomaterial as ‘‘Any substance (other than a drug) or combination of substances, synthetic or natural in origin, which can be used for any period of time, as a whole or as a part of a system which treats, augments, or replaces any tissue, organ, or function of the body’’ (Boretos and Eden, 1984). Biomaterials area has grown over for 50 years. Biomaterils as a field uses ideas from medicine, biology, chemistry, materials science and engineering. In addition, biomaterials researchers should consider ethics,law and the health care delivery system.
Biomaterials can be divided into metals, ceramics, polymers, glasses, carbons, and composite materials. Table 1 shows a few applications
for synthetic materials in the body. It contains many materials that are often classified as “biomaterials.” Metals, ceramics, polymers, glasses, carbons, and composite materials are listed in this table. Such materials are used as molded or machined parts, coatings, fibers, films, foams,fabrics, liquid and powder. Table 2 presents the size of the commercial market for biomaterials and medical devices.The global biomaterial market would reach $88.4 billion by 2017 from $44.0 billion in 2012. The biomaterial market grows continually and globally because of increased investiments, funding and grant by government, active collaboration, technology advancement, increasing application of biomaterials and growing number of elderly people.
Table 1. Types of Biomaterials, characteristics and applications
Table 2. Biomaterials and Healthcare market
Reference.
A Brief review: Biomaterials and their application, Amogh Tathe et al,Int J Pharm Pharm Sci, Vol 2, Suppl 4, 1923
Biomaterials by Joon B. Park, Roderic S. Lakes
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298970
|
75960
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=298970
|
Bartending/Title page
|
Wikibooks Bartending Guide
A Collaborative Guide to Bartending That Anyone Can Edit
Authors.
This book was written by many people, they are too innumerable to list out individually by hand. Each page of this book has a tab in the upper right hand corner labelled "View History". Clicking on that tab will allow you to see a list of every change that has been made to that page and who made the change, effectively allowing you to view a list of all authors.
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298986
|
31195
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=298986
|
Project Management/PRINCE2/Controlling a Stage
|
Projects under PRINCE2 are divided into "stages", which are logical parts of projects each of which are completed before the next can begin. Controlling a Stage deals with the inputs and outputs of a single stage: construction/receival and issuing of work packages; tracking and reporting progress through the stage; and capturing and acting on issues.
The key activities of this process are explained below.
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298987
|
31195
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=298987
|
Project Management/PRINCE2/Glossary
|
An input or output that is created from a Product Description. A product can be tested, and may be tangible or intangible.
The description of a product, defining its characteristics, purpose, and quality criteria. Produced as soon as a requirement for a product is agreed upon.
|
298988
|
396820
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=298988
|
Biomedical Engineering Theory And Practice/Biomaterials/4.1. Introduction
|
The National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference defined a biomaterial as ‘‘Any substance (other than a drug) or combination of substances,synthetic or natural in origin, which can be used for any period of time, as a whole or as a part of a system which treats, augments, or replaces any tissue, organ, or function of the body’’ (Boretos and Eden, 1984).
|
299017
|
453220
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299017
|
Crowdsourcing/Gamification/Recognition and badging in Wikipedia
|
Within Wikipedia, three types of "achievements" can get recognition:
Each of these results in badges that users can display publicly, but which are optional.
Content that passes a formal quality review (including Good Article, Featured Article, or Featured Picture) reflects well on the users who create or improve it. Users can add badges to their profile to show which quality content they have been involved with. This helps the user’s reputation and credibility within the site.
MediaWiki software records many measures of user activity: edits to articles, comments to other users and so on. So Wikipedia "could" have been configured to post a colourful badge on a user’s profile announcing each thousand edits they make, or every hundred vandal edits reverted. Instead, it mostly relies on users voluntarily giving each other badges. Barnstars are informal awards that users can give each other. They reward good work in a particular topic area or good deeds such as reverting a great amount of vandalism. Since Barnstars come from other contributors, not automatically from software, the practice encourages positive interactions between users and a feeling of real appreciation. The positive incentivising effect of barnstars has been confirmed by experiment.
It would be technically possible for these barnstars to automatically appear in a trophy cabinet for each user. In reality, the contributor chooses whether or not to show off these awards. This is how differences in intrinsic/extrinsic motivation is handled: those who want to socially signal their achievements can build trophy cabinets; others who are not interested in awards can treat badges as just a personal message of thanks.
Contributors with a competitive mindset can be extremely productive, so long as they do not interfere with or discourage others. Then again, a project built exclusively around competition will repel the intrinsically-motivated people. Some of the awards internal to Wikipedia direct competitive instincts towards collaboration with others: this is visible in some Barnstars, such as the Barnstar of Diplomacy or the Teamwork Barnstar. Getting articles or images reviewed is partly an individual achievement but requires working constructively with a reviewer and responding to feedback. Hence many of the badges and awards that are available within Wikipedia, along with other initiatives such as mentorship between users, incentivise friendly co-operation. This is not to say that Wikipedia has the ideal mix, since more could be done to make it friendly and welcoming.
Service Awards are badges users can add to their profiles to recognise a total number and duration of edits. Although it is a rough measure of seniority, edit count is largely meaningless as a measure of quality: an individual edit can fix a typo, introduce a typo, or add ten thousand words of excellent encyclopedic text. The service awards include “Experienced editor”, “Veteran editor” and similar, or alternatively “Grognard Mirabilaire”, “Tutnum”, and similar deliberately ludicrous terms. So depending on their attitudes to their edit count, Wikipedians have three options for displaying their experience as editors: collect service awards, ignore them as irrelevant, or collect silly service awards. As of January 2014, about 500 English-language Wikipedians describe themselves as “Veteran Editors” versus about 100 for the equivalent “Tutnum”.
|
299018
|
453220
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299018
|
Crowdsourcing/Gamification/Summing up
|
While contributors appreciate attribution, and can earn status from the quality or quantity of their work, explicit gamification and badging are not essential to successful crowdsourcing. In fact they are potentially disastrous if enforced when the project’s goal is one that contributors already admire, such as free education or advancing science.
Status and badges motivate some people, and creating and awarding badges is an opportunity for creative expression and social interaction. Designed well, badges can direct competitive instincts into collaborative behaviour. Then again, personalities differ: badges that appeal to one contributor might seem offensively infantile to another.
|
299019
|
453220
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299019
|
Crowdsourcing/Gamification
|
Some computer games have an addictive quality which comes from having many “achievements”, frequently reminding players of their progress. Each new achievement gives a sense of accomplishment for the player, and since the steps are relatively minor, the next reward is just around the corner. The term “gamification” applies when a large task is broken into many relatively minor, achievable goals which are salient in the form of points or trophies. We might ask if successful crowdsourcing requires gamification; for instance, is Wikipedia gamified? The answer is actually not straightforward.
|
299020
|
453220
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299020
|
Crowdsourcing/In practice/Division of labour for a scholarly database
|
Improving a highly specialised scientific database might seem the sort of task that needs to be kept to experts rather than opened up to the general public. In fact, it fits the earlier description of tasks that benefit from crowdsourcing. It can be broken down into many small, independent steps, each of which can be checked individually, and at least some of the necessary skills are widely available. A crowdsourcing project does not have to leave everything to the public but can invite them to build on something created by professionals.
The Pfam protein families database, used extensively by biochemists, has benefitted from a bi-directional linking with Wikipedia. Encyclopedia articles have been populated with information from Pfam and corrections or expansions can be fed back into it. This puts the Pfam data where it will be very easily found and used by researchers, students and other users, with links to the official site for verification. It also puts any errors where they can be seen and acted upon. The Pfam maintainers realise that minor errors can occur in a large database, but they use that as a reason to make the data as visible as possible rather than as an argument against publication.
Changes to the Wikipedia articles are not copied immediately into the database, but are collected by a script and manually checked. The Pfam maintainers write:
With a more controversial topic (such as current politicians) the proportion of vandal edits would be much higher, but protein families are stable enough that anyone editing an article is at least trying to improve it.
So there is a role for the public to play in maintaining a scholarly database. Since “the public” includes highly qualified people, this role is not restricted to low-value contributions. Collaboration between the professional Pfam community and interested members of the public would be impossible to arrange prospectively, but thanks to wiki technology and shared data they can work in parallel.
|
299026
|
453220
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299026
|
Crowdsourcing/In practice
|
This section looks at some crowdsourcing projects related to research and education and how they illustrate the principles described in earlier sections. The next section will look in more detail at crowdsourcing related to digital media.
|
299027
|
793
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299027
|
Crowdsourcing/Restoration and reuse of images
|
The educational and research value of images or other digital media can be enhanced by additional work:
Image collections often have content and expertise but not the capacity to do this in detail for every one of their images.
So it makes sense to work with a community of volunteers who appreciate such images and care about enhancing them.
Wikimedia Commons hosts the digital media files that are embedded in Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia sites. Its content is freely reusable, either because its copyright has lapsed or it has been given a relevant free licence. It has reached many millions of files, partly as a result of partnerships with museums, libraries, and other cultural institutions. Its purpose is not just to host media but also to enable crowdsourced improvements.
|
299028
|
453220
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299028
|
Crowdsourcing/Restoration and reuse of images/Keeping everybody happy
|
Not everybody wants images to be restored. Many who want to use an image in a paper or blog post will prefer a cleaned-up version. On the other hand, some researchers are primarily interested in exactly what is removed by image restoration: the texture of the paper, the degradation of an old photograph. Wikimedia Commons' solution to this trade-off is to allow access to multiple versions. This is an example of non-paternalism: giving choices to the user rather than making them on their behalf.
There are two senses in which Commons gives access to multiple versions of a file. A slightly changed file can be uploaded as a new version: the software will show the most recent by default but older versions are still available. , shared by the British Library, has nicely vivid colours as a result of digital restoration. The older, unrestored versions are still linked under "File history".
More substantial changes can be uploaded as a separate version with a link back to the original. Freedom to do this comes naturally from the free licences. A major change might be a drastic restoration or it might create a derivative work, for example from a group photo.
The Commons page for each file shows where the file is embedded on other Wikimedia sites, including Wikipedia. Daily view statistics for Wikipedia pages are also public. This data is all machine-readable, allowing the creation of software tools that track total views of a batch of images. This is how the British Museum can demonstrate more than 27,000 uses of its images across Wikimedia by the start of 2014 and how the Archivist of the United States was able to announce one billion hits during 2013 on the National Archives’ content shared through Wikimedia.
|
299029
|
453220
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299029
|
Crowdsourcing/Restoration and reuse of images/Image restoration
|
Restoration can include cropping, fixing colour balance, contrast, orientation and hiding damage. It is achievable with widely available software, including free software such as GIMP. This is an ideal task for crowdsourcing.
Volunteers will not work systematically through an entire archive but will pick the images they find interesting or which are most likely to be valued by the wider community. Wikipedia volunteer Durova’s motivation is clear when she writes about restoring a picture of the Wright Brothers’ first flight from an original provided by the US Library of Congress:
This may contrast with motivations of professionals, who want to get a whole batch of work finished. The trade-off for professionals is that crowdsourcing might speed up restoration of the whole batch, but working efficiently might require them to concentrate their own effort on the less interesting parts of the collection.
|
299030
|
453220
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299030
|
Crowdsourcing/Restoration and reuse of images/Contextualisation
|
Getting digital content reused in research and education is partly about giving it a useful context, which could be an article explaining its significance, or a worksheet that describes an educational use. Contextualisation is potentially an enormous amount of work, unless you realise that academics and informal learning communities seek photographs, diagrams and other media for their materials. They will provide the context if the media are suitable and if the barriers to doing so are minimal.
Lowering the barriers for these audiences means lowering the legal barrier by giving them permission in advance to copy and reuse: this is what free licensing achieves. It also means putting content where they are looking for it. These are arguments for sharing through Commons in addition to the content holder’s own site.
Wikipedia articles are the clearest example of a context that brings digital media to a large audience, and this is a key reason for sharing material via Commons. Just because an image is relevant to a topic does not necessarily mean it can be embedded in the Wikipedia article. This will come down to the consensus of Wikipedians working on that article about how many images are needed and which have sufficient relevance, technical quality, and aesthetic appeal. If you have a portrait of a historical figure whose Wikipedia article lacks a picture, then there will be no problem adding it. On the other hand, if you have an image related to Henry VIII of England, getting it into that already-developed article is going to require discussion with the article's contributors.
|
299031
|
453220
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299031
|
Crowdsourcing/Restoration and reuse of images/Summing up
|
Restoration and improvement of digital media are ideal applications for crowdsourcing. Wikis and free licensing can connect media collections with remote institutions or hobbyists who want interesting content to work on. Wikimedia Commons offers these benefits as well as the crucial ability to embed media in Wikipedia pages. To get these benefits, content holders need the courage to open up their content and metadata for editing by others.
|
299032
|
793
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299032
|
Crowdsourcing/Restoration and reuse of images/Improving image metadata
|
Once an image is uploaded to Commons, its description and metadata are open for editing by anyone, just like Wikipedia. Possible changes include:
The more discoverable files are on Commons, the more likely they are to be found. So it is strongly advisable to include a full catalogue description and meaningful categories when the files are uploaded. There are Wikimedia noticeboards and mailing lists which can be used to raise awareness of media collections that are being shared.
A set of images shared by the US Library of Congress included one from the aftermath of the Wounded Knee Massacre. That image showed "scattered debris" according to the catalogue description. With the image substantially cleaned up by a Commons volunteer, the "debris" was identifiable as four corpses of Sioux people. The Library's description was updated to reflect this, as was the programme of an exhibition featuring the photograph.
Other media.
Similar restoration and improvement can happen with audio, and free software for editing and clean-up is widely available as it is for images. An example is an interview with British politician Tony Benn which has been cleaned up for use in , fixing the frequency balance and removing pauses. Commons has relatively little audio content and its requirement for unrestricted formats means that OGG and FLAC audio files are used rather than the more familiar (but patent-encumbered) MP3.
|
299033
|
453220
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299033
|
Crowdsourcing/Further reading
|
Although aimed at biomedical projects, the rules here are abstract enough to be broadly applicable:
This article is aimed at experts who want to improve Wikipedia, but many of the points apply to lay contributors and to working with other collaborative communities:
There are several books about how to contribute to Wikipedia as an individual user. This one is more about the cultural factors that contribute to Wikipedia’s success:
In this popular book, Clay Shirky looks at crowdsourcing in more depth:
For specific ideas on how academic and cultural projects can work with Wikimedia projects, see created as part of the Jisc/Wikimedia UK partnership.
|
299037
|
134830
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299037
|
Digital Electronics/Building Circuits with Breadboards
|
One of the best ways to learn how digital circuits work is to build them with an inexpensive solderless breadboard.
They typically come in three sizes
|
299043
|
453220
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299043
|
Professionalism/Medical Ghostwriting
|
Medical ghostwriting is a covert practice among the medical community by which the authors who significantly contribute to medical literature are not given credit, and the authors listed have not substantially contributed to the paper.
Introduction.
Medical ghostwriting typically involves the use of hired writers from marketing companies to write research papers based on data provided from pharmaceutical companies. These hired authors are not given actual credit on the paper. Instead, credit is given to a respected researcher or physician in the field who has little or no involvement in the research or writing process. This practice appears to be primarily used by larger pharmaceutical companies seeking to strategically use these published medical papers to promote the use of their products.
The Ghostwriting Culture.
Ghostwriting's presence in the medical industry can be largely attributed to an ambivalent culture that does little to prevent it. There are four major participants in the ghostwriting industry. Ghostwriters are the true authors behind many medical research papers. Honorary authors are the medical professionals who sign their name to papers despite having minimal participation in the paper's creation. The pharmaceutical industry hires the ghostwriters and recruits the honorary authors for these papers. And ultimately medical journals receive these papers to be published.
Ghostwriter's Perspective.
The ghostwriters often view themselves as someone who is simply helping a researcher get their papers published quickly and in the best journals. One writer remarks, "I believe I provide a service to those who need assistance presenting their findings to the scientific community. If you have a great study but present it badly you won’t be seeing it anytime soon in NEJM." It is also viewed by some as an honorable job because they can write better than researchers and these papers will eventually be used to help people.
Honorary Author's Perspective.
Honorary authors are often asked by pharmaceutical companies to simply attach their name to ghostwritten papers, but this is not the only method used. Sometimes these authors are asked to be research consultants, leading to unaware physicians attaching their names to papers they had nothing to do with.
Many honorary authors attach their names to ghostwritten papers for authorship credit. In the research community it is very important to have published papers, and in some cases, researchers have a quota of papers they need to reach. As a result, some researchers are willing to attach their names to papers they had little to do with.
There is also a lack of strict guidelines on how to handle ghost-authorship in many medical research communities. The ultimate effect is a culture that sees ghostwriting as something common, and accepted.
"“The section on ghostwriting in WAME's code of ethics was "fairly thin and not very explicit," ... it was unclear that it would cover this type of authorship. There wasn't anything that specifically addressed the relationship between pharmaceutical industry's medical-education companies and ghost authorship.” -Martha Gerrity, co-editor of the Journal of General Internal Medicine"
Pharmaceutical Company's Perspective.
Pharmaceutical companies see research papers not just as a tool to disseminate information, but also as a means to advertise a drug they want to sell on the market. Ghostwriters are told to write in a way that favors the company's product, "My job was to draft a monograph that would profile the product's benefits, one of which, according to the client, was that although the bleeding could be severe, it was at least something that women could anticipate." Pharmaceutical companies also frequently attempt to publish many papers about the same research but with different honorary authors, making the case for using their drug even stronger. See Marketing of pharmaceuticalsfor more information.
Journal's Perspective.
Historically journals have been lax on ghostwriting guidelines, partially leading to ghostwriting's current prevalence. Most medical journals lack specific rules on ghostwriting. However, journals are starting to adopt stricter standards for what they allow and what constitutes ghostwriting. "More than 600 biomedical journals have adopted guidelines for responsible and accountable authorship " Journals that do claim to have strict guidelines on authorship place the blame on the authors. The chief editor of PLoS Medicine, Ginny Barbour, claimed, “we are a journal that has very tough policies, very explicit policies on ghostwriting and contributorship, and I feel that we’ve basically been lied to by authors.” In general, journals treat ghostwriting as a problem of the authors rather than a problem with their own standards.
What Makes an Author.
The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) considers authorship based on four criteria:
An author should meet all four criteria to have their name placed on the paper, otherwise they should just be acknowledged in the paper. All authors must be able to identify the contributions of each of their co-authors, and should be confident in the integrity of each co-author.
Authorship Requirements Among Top Medical Journals.
"Science" requires that all authors of a manuscript are listed, and have seen and approved the manuscript, its content and its submission to the journal. Any changes made must be approved by all authors. Also, authors must be able to explain their contributions to the manuscript. "Science" also requires that all funding sources and affiliations of the authors are noted so there is no source of bias.
"Nature" journals do not require all authors to sign the letter of submission. Changes to the author list need to be approved by a letter signed by all authors. In the manuscript, authors need to write a statement outlining the contributions of each author. The senior member of the group needs to accept responsibility for the author's contributions, as well as making sure that the data used is preserved and retrievable.
The "New England Journal of Medicine" (NEJM) follows the criteria stated by the ICMJE. Authors must sign a statement attesting that they fulfill the requirements. Also, any change in authorship must be approved by all authors.
Comparisons to plagiarism.
The concept of ghostwriting is essentially plagiarism. Scientists are putting their name on articles they did not write. If students did this it would be considered plagiarism. However, the comparison isn't black and white. Some ghostwriters participate in the entire writing process, researching, writing and editing the paper. Some will only write while some will solely edit. Some ghostwriters do get acknowledged by the authors while others remain completely anonymous. The comparison comes down to what medical journals consider when proper and legal consent was given to leave the ghostwriters name off the manuscript.
Case Study: Adriane Fugh-Berman.
Adriane Fugh-Berman is an Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology at the Georgetown University Medical Center, and an expert of botanical medicine and dietary supplements. In 2004 she was asked by a medical education and communications company to author a review article about the interactions of warfarin, an anticoagulant, with herbs. The invitation mentioned that the study was funded by a drug company, which to Fugh-Berman had no clear link to the drug or herbal products. She asked for more information about the company, and heard nothing back until August 24, 2004 when she received a completed draft of the article with her name on the cover page. The marketing company requested that she review the article and return any comments or changes she wanted to make. She was also informed that the sponsoring company had a drug that would compete with warfarin, and wanted to prime the market for the arrival of their new drug.
The Corporate Coauthor.
Fugh-Berman responded to this company's request with an emphatic no, and reminded herself to keep an eye out for this article. However, a few months later the article ended up on her desk again, but this time she was being asked to peer-review it for the "Journal of General Internal Medicine". She immediately notified the journal's editors that this article had been ghostwritten, and urged the editors not to publish it. The journal complied, and instead published an article written by Fugh-Berman, "The Corporate Coauthor". This article was one of the first exposés on the medical ghostwriting culture. It describes her interactions with the marketing company and exposed the process by which honorary authors are asked to be authors of such papers. Fugh-Berman endorses two methods to combat ghostwriting. First, journals should follow the example of the "American Family Physician", which requires authors to fill out a questionnaire with specific situations to determine conflicts of interest. With this system authors have to actively lie to hide an unacknowledged author, "You can lie, but you can't say that you didn't understand the question. And I think that that's important. ... You don't want people deciding for themselves what are relevant conflicts of interest because nobody thinks their conflicts of interest are relevant." Second, Fugh-Berman advocates a public database that contains known conflicts of interest and ethical transgressions of authors. This database could then be used by medical journals when trying to determine if an article is ghostwritten or has a corporate sponsor.
Pharmed Out.
In 2006 Adriane Fugh-Berman helped to found an advocacy group called "PharmedOut". The mission of this organization is to advance evidence-based prescribing of drugs and to encourage physicians to choose unbiased sources for continued medical education. PharmedOut has published several articles that highlight marketing methods that pharmaceutical companies used to influence prescribing, and hosts an annual concert to discuss the role of the pharmaceutical industry in the medical community.
Other Cases of Medical Ghostwriting.
Woo Suk Hwang.
Dr. Woo Suk Hwang, a South Korean scientist was linked to a paper with fraudulent authorship. In the two papers Hwang published in "Science" it was found that the data had been fabricated and thus the papers were retracted. A coauthor on this paper, Dr. Gerald Schatten, a scientist from the University of Pittsburgh tried to clear his name from this scandal, but was found guilty of "scientific misbehavior." He confirmed that he had helped write the manuscript, but didn't participate in the data collection and was rarely in contact with the other scientists. Investigators concluded that Schatten deserved credit for being an author, however assuming senior authorship was a mistake. By putting his name on this paper, Schatten enhanced his reputation and received substantial personal financial benefit in the short-term. But Schatten neglected his responsibilities of maintaining the integrity of the paper and assuming that all coauthors approved the manuscript for submission, and this came back to hurt him in the long-run.
Theory of Beneficial Skepticism.
The Theory of Beneficial Skepticism is the general lesson that Adriane Fugh-Berman can teach about what it means to be a professional. It is impossible to prepare for every situation that will occur in a professional setting. Fugh-Berman had never been asked to be an honorary author before the warfarin-herb case in 2004, so she was not familiar with the methods and motivations of the medical education and communications companies. However, when approached she dealt with the situation as a skeptic. She asked for more information about the drug company and their reason for sponsoring the article, and refused to respond until she received a satisfactory response. Fugh-Berman teaches us that approaching unfamiliar situations with skepticism allows us to discern the underlying motivations of participants and to make informed ethical decisions.
|
299046
|
3304668
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299046
|
International Postage Meter Stamp Catalog/Turkey
|
=Turkey=
A – Frank with scalloped single-line frame line
B – Frank with simulated-perforation outer frame line and straight inner frame line
C – Franks with straight frame lines along all sides
D – Frank without outer frame line and with town mark attached
E – Frank with frame lines at top and bottom only, top line always with indented semicircles
F – Frank with frame lines at top and bottom only, top line always straight
G – Frank with complete simulated-perforation outer frame line and no inner frame line
NOTE: For more detailed information about the meter stamps of Turkey, see "Die Absender- und Postfreistempel der Türkei", by Otto Gleixner, self-published 1995, Seefeld, Germany.
<br>
GROUP A: Small upright frank with scalloped single-line outer border.
<br>
<br>
A1. Francotyp “C” (MV), 1937. [$200]
Star and Crescent in circle at top, “TÜRK POSTALARI” at bottom.
Only about ten examples known.
TM: SC
V/F: 000
GROUP B: Double frame lines with simulated-perforation outer border and straight-line inner border.
<br>
SUB-GROUP BA: Star and crescent in field at right center.
<br>
<br>
<br>
BA1. Universal “MultiValue” (MV), 1954.
Nearly square frank inscribed “KURUS” above boxed “POSTALARI” at bottom.
Text in frank is sanserif.
Star and crescent face left towards the center of the frank.
A. Large crescent, 9 mm tall
B. Small crescent, 6.5 mm tall
TM: SC, DC
V/F: 000(½) 000 0000 00000
<br>
BA2. Universal “MultiValue” (MV).
As Type BA1B but text in frank with serifs.
TM: DC
V/F: 000 0000
a. Printed in black
<br>
BA3. Universal “MultiValue” (MV). ["Scarce"]
As Type BA1 but crescent faces right towards the outside of the frank.
TM: DC
V/F: 00000
BA4. Postalia (MV), 1955.
Frank smaller than Types BA1 and 2, and value figures small and narrow.
Star and crescent face left towards the center of the frank.
A. Wide spacing between TM and frank. Large crescent 9 mm tall. Right frame line stops at star and crescent field
B. Wide spacing between TM and frank. Small crescent 6 mm tall. Right frame line turns inward at star and crescent field
Ca. Narrow spacing between TM and frank, crescent field 11 x 10.5 mm with 13 lines
Cb. As "Ca", crescent field 9 x 10.5 mm with 13 lines
Cc. As "Ca" and "Cb", crescent field 9 x 9 mm with 10 or 11 lines
TM: DC, SC
V/F: 000 0000
<br><br><br><br><br>
<br>
BA5. Postalia (MV).
As Type BA4Cc but the star and crescent face right.
TM: DC, BIC
V/F: 0000 00000
<br>
BA6. Postalia (MV).
As Type BA5 “LIRA” at lower left above “POSTALARI” unboxed.
Crescent faces right.
TM: BIC
V/F: 0000
<br>
BA7. Postalia (MV).
Similar to Types BA5 and BA6 but with narrow field of dashes added left of the value figures.
“LIRA” is centered above boxed “POSTALARI”.
TM: DC
V/F: 0000
BA8. Pitney Bowes-GB “Automax” (MV), 1966.
Square frank wider than previous BA types.
“KURUS” above boxed “POSTALARI” at bottom.
Crescent faces left.
M# with “P.B.” prefix below frank.
TM: DC
V/F: =000 =0000
<br>
<br>
BA9. Francotyp “Cc” (MV), 1967.
“KURUS” above boxed “POSTALARI” at bottom.
Crescent faces center of frank.
A. Narrow frank, 24 x 30 mm
B. Wide frank, 28 x 30 mm
TM: DC
V/F: 000 ◆000 0000 00000
<br>
BA10. Francotyp “Cc” (MV). ["Scarce"]
As Type BA9 but Crescent faces right.
“LIRA” centered above boxed “POSTALARI” at bottom.
TM: DC
V/F: ◆000
SUB-GROUP BB: Star and crescent in field at left center.
<br>
<br>
BB1. Postalia (MV).
Tall, narrow frank
Small crescent faces right into center of frank.
A. Wide spacing between TM and frank ("Scarce, not shown")
B. Narrow spacing
TM: DC
V/F: 0000 00000
BB2. Pitney Bowes-GB “Automax” (MV), 1986.
Large, square frank.
Crescent faces right into center of frank.
With “LIRA” above boxed “POSTALARI” at bottom.
TM: DC
V/F: =000 =0000
SUB-GROUP BC: Star and crescent in field at top right.
<br>
<br>
BC1. Sima (MV), 1971. ["Scarce"]
Frank 26 x 29 mm.
Wide spacing between TM and frank.
TM: DC
V/F: 000
<br>
BC2. Satas “Rotary” (MV), 1961.
Frank similar to Type BC1 but smaller.
Medium spacing between TM and frank.
Date figures tall or short.
A. Frank 23-24 x 25-26 mm
B. Frank 25 x 27 mm ["Scarce"]
TM: DC
V/F: ★00 ★000
a. With hour figure between TM and frank
b. With backwards “F” symbol left of value figures
BC3. Satas “Baby” (MV), 1965.
As Type BC2 but even smaller, 21 x 25 mm.
Date figures large.
TM: SC
V/F: ★00
SUB-GROUP BD: Without star and crescent.
<br>
<br>
BD1. Francotyp-Postalia (MV), 1988.
“LIRA” in field at right center.
“POSTA” alone at bottom.
The size of the frank can vary from somewhat narrow ("shown") to nearly square.
TM: DC, BIC
V/F: 000 0000
<br>
BD2. Francotyp-Postalia (MV), 1986.
Similar to Tytpe BD1 but narrow field at right containing only lines.
“LIRA” centered above “POSTA” at bottom.
TM: DC
V/F: 000000
GROUP C: Frank with straight frame lines at all sides.
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
C1. Postalia (MV).
Upright frank with large panels at top and bottom.
Country name in top panel, "POSTA" in bottom panel.
A. Fixed zero and “LIRA” centered in line field at right
B. Two fixed zeros above “LIRA” in line field at right
TM: DC
V/F: 00000 000000
C2. Hasler “Mailmaster” (MV).
Very wide frank.
"LIRA" imbedded in lines at right of value figures.
Without M#.
TM: DC
V/F: 0000+0
C3. Neopost “Electronic” (MV).
Square to slightly wide frank with panels at top and bottom.
Side frame lines open opposite top panel.
Country name at top, "POSTA" at bottom.
A. "LIRA" below one fixed zero at right
B. “LIRA” below three fixed zeros at right
C. “Kr” at right
Without M#.
TM: DC
V/F: ≋000 (+fixed zeros)
C4. Unidentified, probably Neopost (digital).
Frank wider than tall.
Value figures near bottom of frank with large "Kr" at right.
Found in both blue and red.
TM: DC
a. With time of day above the date inside the town mark.
V/F: 0000
C5. Frama "EPS3000" (MV).
Frank wider than tall with closely spaced horizontal line fields at the sides.
Value figures centered with "Kr" embedded in line field at right.
Without meter number but with "F" ("for Frama"?) at bottom left.
TM: DC
V/F: 0000
GROUP D: Town mark and frank joined, without outer border.
<br>
D1. Pitney Bowes “R” (MV), 1959 or earlier. ["Rare"]
Town mark and value box joined by horizontal line field containing star and crescent.
“KURUS at bottom of value box.
One machine known, “P.B. 1".
TM: SC
V/F: ≋00 :
NOTE: Proofs are known from 1953. They are more common than postally used examples. The proofs have star and crescent facing right and have dashes at the sides of the meter number.
D2. Pitney Bowes “5300” (MV). ["Scarce"]
Similar to Type D1 but slightly wider design with larger value box fully enclosed except for space at top containing "KURUS".
Country name is not as tall as with C1.
M# with “P.B. prefix below star and crescent.
TM: SC
V/F: ≋.00 ≋00 :
GROUP E: Frank with frame lines at top and bottom only, top line always with indented semi-circles.
<br>
SUB-GROUP EA: Star and crescent at right.
<br>
EA1. Pitney Bowes-GB “5000” (MV), 1977. ["Scarce"]
Value figures are lowered in relation to date figures.
Field of horizontal lines between TM and value box with “KURUS”/M# below.
Crescent faces left.
TM: DC
V/F: ≋000
a. Solid bar in place of M#
EA2. Pitney Bowes-GB “6500” (MV).
Value figures are at same level as date figures.
M# with “P.B.A” prefix.
“KURUS” below value figures.
Crescent faces left.
TM: DC, BIC, or SC with box surrounding date
V/F: ≋000
EA3. Pitney Bowes-GB “6500” (MV).
As Type EA2 but Crescent faces right.
“LIRA” below value figures.
TM: DC, or SC with box surrounding date
V/F: ≋000
SUB-GROUP EB Star and crescent at left.
<br>
EB1. Pitney Bowes-GB “5000” (MV), 1976. ["Scarce"]
Star and crescent facing right between TM and value box.
"POSTALARI" below upper panel line.
Value figures are lowered in relation to date figures.
“KURUS”/M# below.
TM: DC
V/F: ≋000
a. Solid bar in place of M#
EB2. Pitney Bowes-GB “5000” (MV).
As Type EB1 but “POSTALARI” breaks upper panel line.
“LIRA” alone at lower left.
Without M#.
TM: DC
V/F: ≋000
EB3. Pitney Bowes-GB “6500” (MV).
Value figures are at same level as date figures.
"POSTALARI" at lower right.
Crescent faces right.
M# with “P.B.A” prefix.
A. Line field at right intact, "KURUS" below value figures ("not shown")
B. As A but with fixed zero imbedded in line field at right
C. As A but with "LIRA" below value figures
TM: DC, SC with box surrounding date
V/F: ≋000 ≋0000
SUB-GROUP EC: Without star and crescent.
<br>
<br>
<br>
EC1. Pitney Bowes-GB “5000” (MV).
Value figures lowered in relation to date figures.
Center space between the horizontal line fields is 17 mm wide “POSTA” above value figures.
“LIRA” inside line field at right.
Without M#.
A. Line field at right contains only “LIRA” A
B. Line field at right contains fixed zero and “LIRA”
C. As B, but “LIRA” lowered with fixed zero above it
TM: DC
V/F: ≋000 ≋000+0
<br>
<br>
EC2. Pitney Bowes-GB “5000” (MV).
As Type EC1 but center space between the horizontal line fields is wider at 22 mm, and line fields at sides are narrower.
Without M#.
A. Line field at right contains only “LIRA”
B. Line field at right contains two fixed zeroes above “LIRA”
C. Line field at left contains "POSTA". Line field at right contains two fixed zeroes. "LIRA" breaks lower frame lines
TM: DC, SC
V/F: ≋000 ≋000+00
<br>
<br>
EC3. Pitney Bowes-GB “6500” (MV).
Similar to Type EC2 but value figures at same level as date figures.
Seven horizontal lines at left below country name.
“POSTA” at bottom center.
“LIRA” inside line field at right.
Without M#.
A. “LIRA” alone in line field at right intact
B. Fixed zero next to “LIRA” in line field at right
C1. Two fixed zeros at right; “LIRA” below zeros with line above and below. No line above “POSTA”.
C2. As C1 but no line above “LIRA”. Complete line above “POSTA”.
TM: SC with box around date, DC
V/F: ≋000 ≋000+0 ≋000+00
EC3.1. Pitney Bowes-GB “6500” (MV).
Similar to Type EC3 but nine horizontal lines at left below country name.
Fixed zero and “LIRA” in line field at right.
TM: SC with box around date
V/F: ≋000+0
EC4. Pitney Bowes-GB “6600” (MV).
Large frank with widely spaced lines at the sides
“POSTA” embedded in line below value figures.
“LIRA” left of value figures.
Zero imbedded in line field at right.
TM: DC
V/F: ≋0000
EC5. Pitney Bowes-GB “A900” (MV), 1994.
Short frank with narrowly spaced lines at the sides.
A. “POSTALARI” below value figures, “LIRA” in line field at left.
B. “LIRA” below value figures, “POSTA” in line field at left, fixed zero in line field at right.
Value figures large.
Without M#.
TM: DC
V/F: ≋0000 ≋00000
<br><br><br><br><br>
EC6. Pitney Bowes-GB “EasyMail” (digital).
Two columns of numbers at left of town mark.
“POSTA” left of value figures.
"LIRA" centered at bottom below value figures.
M# with "PB" prefix below "POSTA"
TM: DC
V/F: ≋000000
GROUP F: Frank with frame lines at top and bottom only, top line always straight.
<br>
SUB-GROUP FA: Star and crescent at left center.
<br>
FA1. Hasler “Mailmaster” (MV), 1981.
Line field at right 5 mm wide.
“KURUS” below value figures.
ME with “H” prefix at lower left.
TM: DC
A. Line field at right intact
B. Fixed zero imbedded in line field at right ("not shown")
V/F: 00000 00000+0
FA2. Hasler “Mailmaster” (MV).
Similar to Type FA1 but wider line field at right (9 mm) with narrower center opening.
“LIRA” below value figures.
M# with “H” prefix.
TM: DC
V/F: 0000 00000
SUB-GROUP FB: Without star and crescent.
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
GROUP G: Frank with complete simulated-perforation outer frame line.
<br>
G1. Pitney Bowes-GB "6900” (MV), 2005 or earlier.
Horizontal frank with “TURKIYE CUMHURIYETI” at top and "YKr" at bottom.
Hash marks at left contain "POSTA" at center and "PB" at bottom.
Narrower hash marks are at right.
Without meter number.
TM: DC
V/F: ≋000
G2. Pitney Bowes (MV), 2010 or earlier.
Frank similar in design to Type G1 but with "Kr" at right of value figures and nothing below.
Single column of numbers at left of the TM.
Meter number with PB prefix at lower left.
TM: DC containing time above date
V/F: 00000
<br>
Return to main catalog → ../
Return to top → Turkey
|
299089
|
2712960
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299089
|
Handbook of Management Scales/Integration
|
Integration (alpha = 0.80, CR = 0.80).
Description.
Three relational competencies were identified: communication, cooperation and integration.
Definition.
Integration refers to the process of combining efforts to integrate supplier and customer information and inputs into internal planning (Swink et al., 2007).
Items.
To what extent do the statements apply to the relationship of your company with your suppliers and customers? (1 – strongly disagree; 7 – strongly agree):
Integration (alpha = 0.90).
Description.
Based on learning theory and multilevel thinking, measures were developed and validated for four types of team learning processes, as “team learning originates in individual intuition, is amplified through interpretation and integration, and manifests itself at the team level via the codification of collective cognition and action”.
Definition.
Integration is defined as “the process of developing shared understanding among individuals and of taking coordinated action through mutual adjustment” (Crossan et al., 1999, p. 525).
|
299095
|
23543
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299095
|
Trainz/Overview of Trainz releases
|
A brief outline of Trainz history.
Trainz was developed over 3–4 years beginning about 1996 in consultation and in collaboration with various model railroading clubs by Australian game developer , which had by then established itself as one of the premier gaming companies in Australia under the stewardship of chief programmer Greg Lane, Paul Olsen in graphics development and Graham Edelsten as CEO. The latter two are still officers running the Auran company. Trainz was released nearly three-quarters-a-year after but it was the latter which gained the attention and affections of the long time Railroading hobbiest communities for it allowed what MSTS did not, an ease and power in developing a layout as one liked and desired. It's early releases were a pale shadow of what was to come but when released in late 2001 the input of interested model railroaders quickly lead to a succession of improvements and extended capabilities.
Improve and conquer.
This became a pattern, accumulate major changes whilst setting up the evolution and making incremental changes and bug fixes through releases, each making a stable code software step. Trainz service packs unlike many commercial packages are free, and so the improvements continued steadily through releases in 2005 and Trainz 2006, which leveraged the stable and hard won game engine and features such as interactive industries being released with a powerful database manager, upload manager and download manager known as , the father of today's CM utility which is little changed but for refinements. MSTS by contrast has barely been updated, and only difficult to develop 3rd party expansions have improved on the base product designed to run on the Pentium cpu processors of the early 2000s.
Troubles in Trainzland.
In 2005–2007 Auran over extended developing a different computer game (Fury) and Trainz and Auran both survived bankruptcy proceedings but the game now was managed under which renewed Trainz development leading to the "World Builder Edition, and has continued to grow and evolve beating back several competitors over the ensuing decade years. Auran Development Pty Ltd became Auran Holdings Pty Ltd after the bankruptcy reorganization and still retains the rights to the program. The original chief engineer, and indeed most of the professional staff were lost during the dark months, and even the busy web site went dark for five weeks. N3V quickly hired back staff members willing to return, notably chief programmer Chris Bergmann who had joined the company in 2000. Bergmann can be frequently found inteacting on the Auran web board as 'Windwalkr'. (e.g. Google "{{Col|Site:forums.auran.com Windwalkr|blue")
Localisation.
Multilingual language support has been built into Trainz since Trainz 1.3, increased in the best selling {{TL|TRS2004}} and expanded in the hugely popular {{TL|TRS2006}} (TR06) release in 2005. Next followed a handful of regionally focused releases including three in English based on the TR06 technologies which focused enclosed content featuring "regional routes of interest", albeit with some changes to unimportant graphics (skins) but some incremental alterations of data definitions portending events to come. These differed from TRS2004 and TRS2006 in the philosophy of bundled included content—instead of a potpourri of widely varying routes and their regional assets, the regionally focused routes were {{TG|S|scenery}} and {{TG|T|trackside asset}} biased by their thematic localizations, and tended to include less assets overall but perhaps more or interest to those also developing virtual railways in that same world region.
Other TRS2006 spinoffs were European regional releases: ({{TL|TRS2007}} (France & French speaking lands) and {{TL|TRS2007|2008}} (German and Eastern European routes) which expanded the product's language offerings and soon added a rich supply of Europe and Eastern European routes. This same time span saw three English releases known as Trainz Classics ({{TL|TC1&2}} and {{TL|TC3}})—offerings partnered with third party content creators which delivered "professional quality" routes with a bounty of specialty assets and also offered slightly new technologies (V2.7 & V2.8, game engine advancements are usually first included in an English release), when N3v Games assumed control of publication and development.
Year 2008 saw and end to 'game stagnation' with the release of {{TL|TS2009|TS2009: World Builders Edition}} sporting improvements mainly in Surveyor, 2009 the evolved dual-mode {{TL|TS2010|TS2010: Engineer's Edition}}, {{TL|TS2012|TS2012: 10th Anniversary Edition}} (aka TS12 or Trainz Simulator 2012) which is the latest Microsoft Windows installment in the franchise and was released in April of 2011 and it's SP1 upgrades in late 2011. In 2012–2013 N3V games released Trainz MAC under the iOS operating system as well as tablet computer versions.
Two targeted releases are in development for 2014, the later a full 64bit version with highly upgraded graphics known now as TANE or T:ANE, "Trainz: A New Era" with funding in part supported by a modest amount raised by KickStarter pledges.
|
299104
|
46022
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299104
|
International Postage Meter Stamp Catalog/Uganda
|
=Uganda=
<br>
<br>
1. Neopost "Frankmaster" / "305" (MV). [$20]
Frank with simulated perforation outer border and inner box surrounding value figure.
Leaves at sides of value box.
“POST/ PAID” centered at bottom.
Spacing variable between TM and frank.
M# with “N” prefix.
TM: DC
V/F: 00·00
<br>
2. National Cash Register (MV). [$150]
Post Office stamp.
Frameless design printed on orange-yellow labels, never directly to covers.
Date at top above “UGANDA” underlined and curved with groups of three arcs at sides.
Value figures in center and impression counter number at right.
At bottom is ID letter “A” between arcs with “KAMPALA” at bottom.
Only Meter “A” known.
V/F: –00.00
|
299114
|
396820
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299114
|
Topology/Eilenberg–Steenrod axioms
|
The Eilenberg–Steenrod axioms are properties that homology theories of topological spaces have in common. The quintessential example of a homology theory satisfying the axioms is singular homology, developed by Samuel Eilenberg and Norman Steenrod, which we have already met.
One can define a homology theory as a sequence of functors satisfying the Eilenberg–Steenrod axioms. The axiomatic approach, which was developed in 1945, allows one to prove results, such as the Mayer–Vietoris sequence, that are common to all homology theories satisfying the axioms.
If one omits the dimension axiom (described below), then the remaining axioms define what is called an extraordinary homology theory. Extraordinary cohomology theories first arose in K-theory and cobordism theory.
Formal definition.
The Eilenberg–Steenrod axioms apply to a sequence of functors <math>H_n</math> from the category of pairs ("X", "A") of topological spaces to the category of abelian groups, together with a natural transformation <math>\partial : H_{i}(X, A) \to H_{i-1}(A)</math> called the boundary map (here "H""i" − 1("A") is a shorthand for "H""i" − 1("A",∅)). The axioms are:
<math> \cdots \to H_n(A) \to^{\!\!\!\!\!\! i_*} H_n(X) \to^{\!\!\!\!\!\! j_*} H_n (X,A) \to^{\!\!\!\!\!\!\partial_*} H_{n-1}(A) \to \cdots.</math>
If "P" is the one point space then "H"0("P") is called the coefficient group. For example, singular homology (taken with integer coefficients, as is most common) has as coefficients the integers.
Consequences.
Some facts about homology groups can be derived directly from the axioms, such as the fact that homotopically equivalent spaces have isomorphic homology groups.
The homology of some relatively simple spaces, such as "n"-spheres, can be calculated directly from the axioms. From this it can be easily shown that the ("n" − 1)-sphere is not a retract of the "n"-disk. This is used in a proof of the Brouwer fixed point theorem.
Dimension axiom.
A "homology-like" theory satisfying all of the Eilenberg–Steenrod axioms except the dimension axiom is called an extraordinary homology theory (dually, extraordinary cohomology theory). Important examples of these were found in the 1950s, such as topological K-theory and cobordism theory, which are extraordinary "co"homology theories, and come with homology theories dual to them.
|
299116
|
75960
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299116
|
Solitaire card games/Bisley
|
Gameplay.
Here is the method of game play:
The game is won when all cards end up in the foundations. It actually does not matter where the ace and king foundations of each suit would meet and how many cards the ace and king foundations of each suit will have. At the end of one game for example, the K♠ is the only one on its foundation while the rest of spade cards are built on the A♠; the A♣ remains unbuilt because all club cards are built on the K♣; the A♥ is built up to 4♥ while the K♥ is built down to 5♥; and the A♦ is built up to 8♦ while the K♦ is built down to 9♦. In fact, the ace and king foundation of a suit can meet anywhere.
|
299139
|
396820
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299139
|
Elementary Spanish/ser estar
|
Adjectives:.
Emotion.
happy: alegre / felíz
sad: triste
mad: enojado/a
busy: ocupado/a
relaxed: relajado/a
nervous: nervioso/a
calm: tranquilo/a
worried: preocupado/a
afraid: asustado/a
confused: confundido/a
tired: cansado/a
shy: timido/a
sick: enfermo/a
anxious: ansioso/a
bored: aburrido/a
annoyed: irritado/a
overwhelmed: abrumado/a
depressed: deprimido/a
stressed: estresado/a
Physical.
tall: alto/a
short: bajo/a
thin: delgado/a
fat: gordo/a
intelligent: inteligente
smart: listo/a
nice: amable
good: bueno/a
mean: malo/a
old: viejo/a
young: joven
funny: divertido/a
funny: gracious/a
|
299154
|
520910
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299154
|
Structured Query Language/Managing Indexes
|
Indexes are a key feature of all SQL databases. They provide quick access to the data. Therefore almost all implementations support a CREATE INDEX statement.
Nevertheless, the CREATE INDEX statement is not part of the SQL standard! The reason for this is unknown. Possibly it is a deliberate decision against all implementation issues. Or it results from the wide range of different syntaxes realized by vendors and the lack of finding a compromise.
On this page, we offer some basic ideas concerning indexes and the syntax which is common to a great number of implementations.
CREATE [UNIQUE] INDEX <index_name> ON <table_name> (<column_name> [, <column_name>]);
The Concept of Indexes.
DBMSs offer quick access to data stored in their tables. One might think that such high-speed access is due to the fast hardware of modern computers: millions of CPU cycles per second, I/O rates in the range of milliseconds, access to RAM within micro- or nanoseconds, etc. That is true, but only partly so. Instead, the use of intelligent software algorithms, especially in the case of handling large amounts of data, is the dominant factor.
Consider a request to the DBMS to determine, whether or not a person with a certain name can be found in a table with 1 million entries. With a primitive, linear algorithm, the system has to read 500,000 rows (on average) to decide the question. The binary search algorithm implements a more sophisticated strategy that answers the question after reading 20 rows or less. In this case, this choice of algorithm leads to a factor of 25,000 in performance. In order to really grasp the magnitude of this improvement, you may want to multiply your salary by 25,000.
Admittedly this comparison between the linear access and the binary search algorithm is a little bit simple. First, DBMS usually read blocks containing multiple rows and not single rows. But this didn't change the situation. If a block contains 100 rows, modify the above example from 1 million to 100 million rows. Second, the binary search algorithm assumes that the data is ordered. This means that during data entry, there is an additional step for sorting the actual input into the existing data. This applies only once and is independent of the number of read accesses. In summary, there is additional work during data entry and much less work during data access. It depends on the typical use of the data whether the additional work is worthwhile.
The index is an additional storage holding data that is copied or deducted from the original data in the table. It consists only of redundant data. What parts make up the index? In the common case of a binary search strategy, the index holds the original values of the tables column plus a back-reference to the original row. In most cases, the index is organized as a balanced tree with the column's value as the tree's key and the back-reference as additional information for each key.
The binary search algorithm is one of many options for building indexes. The common characteristics of indexes are that they: consist only of redundant information; use additional resources in the sense of CPU cycles, RAM or disc space; and offer better performance for queries on large data sets. In the cases of small tables or tables with many indexes, it is possible that the disadvantages (in performance or resource usage) outweigh the benefits of using an index.
Basic Index.
If an application retrieves data by a certain criterion - e.g., a person name for a phone book application - and this criterion consists of a tables column, this column should have an index.
CREATE INDEX person_lastname_idx ON person(lastname);
The index has its own freely selectable name - "person_lastname_idx" in this example - and is built on a certain column of a certain table. The index may be defined and created directly after the CREATE TABLE statement (when there is no data in the table) or after some or a huge number of INSERT commands. After it is created, the DBMS should be in the state to answer questions like the following quicker than before.
SELECT count(*)
FROM person
WHERE lastname = 'Miller';
The index may be used during the evaluation of the WHERE clause. The DBMS has the choice between - on the one hand - reading all "person" rows and counting such where the lastname is 'Miller' or - on the other hand - reading the index (possibly with binary search) and counting all nodes with value 'Miller'. Which strategy is used depends on a lot of decisions. If, for example, the DBMS knows that about 30% of all rows contain 'Miller', it may choose a different strategy than if it knows that only 0.3% contains 'Miller'.
A table may have more than one index.
CREATE INDEX person_firstname_idx ON person(firstname);
What will happen in such a situation to a query like the following one?
SELECT count(*)
FROM person
WHERE lastname = 'Miller'
AND firstname = 'Henry';
Again, the DBMS has more than one choice to retrieve the expected result. It may use only one of the two indexes, read the resulting rows and look for the missing other value. Or it reads both indexes and counts the common back-references. Or it ignores both indexes, reads the data and counts such rows where both criteria apply. As mentioned it depends on a lot of decisions.
Multiple Columns.
If an application typically searches in two columns within one query, e.g. for first- and lastname, it can be useful to build one index for both columns. This strategy is very different from the above example, where we build two independent indexes, one per column.
CREATE INDEX person_fullname_idx ON person(lastname, firstname);
In this case the key of the balanced tree is the concatenation of last- and firstname. The DBMS can use this index for queries which ask for last- and firstname. It can also use the index for queries for lastname only. But it cannot use the index in queries for firstname only. The firstname can occur at different places within the balanced tree. Therefore it is worthless for such queries.
Functional Index.
In some cases an existing index cannot be used for queries on the underlying column. Suppose the query to person names should be case-insensitive. To do so the application converts all user-input to upper-case and use the UPPER function to the column in scope.
-- Original user input was: 'miller'
SELECT count(*)
FROM person
WHERE UPPER(lastname) = 'MILLER';
As the criterion in the WHERE clause looks only for uppercase characters and the index is built in a case-sensitive way, the key in the balanced tree is worthless: 'miller' is sorted at a very different place than 'Miller'. To overcome the problem, one can define an index, which uses exactly the same strategy as the WHERE criterion.
CREATE INDEX person_uppername_idx ON person(UPPER(lastname)); -- not supported by MySQL
Now the 'UPPER' query can use this so-called functional index.
Unique Index.
The Primary Key of every table is unique, which means that no two rows can contain the same value. Sometimes one column or the concatenation of some columns is also unique. To ensure this criterion you can define a UNIQUE CONSTRAINT, or you can define an index with the additional UNIQUE criterion. (Often UNIQUE CONSTRAINTS silently use UNIQUE INDEX in the background.)
CREATE UNIQUE INDEX person_lastname_unique_idx ON person(lastname);
Unique indexes can only be created on existing data, if the column in scope really has nothing but unique values (which is not the case in our database example).
Drop an Index.
Indexes can be dropped by the command:
DROP INDEX <index_name>;
|
299155
|
520910
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299155
|
Structured Query Language/Managing Rights
|
For multiuser systems like DBMSs, it is necessary to grant and revoke rights for manipulating its objects. The GRANT command defines which user can manipulate (create, read, change, drop, ...) which object (tables, views, indexes, sequences, triggers, ...).
GRANT <privilege_name>
ON <object_name>
TO [ <user_name> | <role_name> | PUBLIC ]
[WITH GRANT OPTION];
The REVOKE statement deprives the granted rights.
REVOKE <privilege_name>
ON <object_name>
FROM [ <user_name> | <role_name> | PUBLIC ];
The example statement grants SELECT and INSERT on table "person" to the user "hibernate". The second statement removes the granted rights.
GRANT SELECT, INSERT ON person TO hibernate;
REVOKE SELECT, INSERT ON person FROM hibernate;
Privileges.
Privileges are actions that users can perform. The SQL standard supports only a limited list of privileges, whereas real implementations offer a great bunch of different privileges. The list consists of: SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, CREATE <object_type>, DROP <object_type>, EXECUTE, ... .
Object Types.
The list of object types, to which privileges may be granted, is short in the SQL standard and long for real implementations. It consists of tables, views, indexes, sequences, triggers, procedures, ... .
Roles / Public.
If there is a great number of users connecting to the DBMS, it is helpful to group users with identical rights to a role and grant privileges not to the individual users but the role. To do so, the role must be created by a CREATE ROLE statement. Afterward, users are joined with this role.
-- Create a role
-- (MySQL supports only predefined roles with special semantics).
CREATE ROLE department_human_resources;
-- Enrich the role with rights
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON person TO department_human_resources;
GRANT SELECT, INSERT ON hobby TO department_human_resources;
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON person_hobby TO department_human_resources;
-- Join users with the role
GRANT department_human_resources TO user_1;
GRANT department_human_resources TO user_2;
Instead of individual usernames, the keyword PUBLIC denotes all known users.
-- Everybody shall be allowed to read the rows of the 'person' table.
GRANT SELECT ON person TO PUBLIC;
Grant Option.
If a DBA wants to delegate the managing of rights to special users, he can grant privileges to them and extend the statement with the phrase 'WITH GRANT OPTION'. This enables the users to grant the received privileges to any other user.
-- User 'hibernate' gets the right to pass the SELECT privilege on table 'person' to any other user.
GRANT SELECT ON person TO hibernate WITH GRANT OPTION;
|
299159
|
40302
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299159
|
IB Environmental Systems and Societies/Acid deposition
|
Topic 5.8: Acid Deposition.
Key Vocabulary:.
-Acid Deposition: The accumulation of acids or acidic compounds on the surface of the Earth, in lakes or streams, or on objects or vegetation near the Earth’s surface, as a result of their separation from the atmosphere.
-Dry Deposition: Emitted from industrial complexes, vehicles and urban areas.
-Wet Deposition: Acids that dissolve in cloud droplets, (rain, snow, mist, and hail) that reach the ground.
-Acid Rain: rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions, can have harmful effects on plants and infrastructure.
Assessment Statements:.
-5.8.1: Outline the chemistry leading to the formation of acidified precipitations
*refer to Figure 5.14 on the back*
-5.8.2: Describe three possible effects of acid deposition on soil, water, and living organisms.
* (1) increased levels of dissolved metals such as copper, aluminum, zinc, and lead. (2) breaks down lipids in the foliage and damages membranes which can lead to plant death. (3) an impoverished (poor) species structure.
-5.8.3: Explain why the effect of acid deposition is regional rather than global.
*Acid deposition is regional rather than globally because it is predominantly focused in a certain area. Such as in the 1980s and 1990s it affected Sweden, eastern North America, Germany, Belgium, and Norway amongst others.
-5.8.4: Describe and evaluate pollution management strategies for acid deposition.
*burn less fossil fuel (this requires a government initiative in order to switch to nuclear or Hydro-power)
*allow decomposition of plants to return nutrients to the soil and offset the acidification process.
*burn coal in presence of crushed limestone in order to reduce the acidification process
*switch to low sulfur fuel (oil/gas plus high-grade coal)
Causes of Acidification:.
-Human Activities - Acidification is largely related to human activity. Many countries produce the pollutants and they may be deposited many hundreds of kilometers from their point of origin. However, there are variations within areas receiving acid rain. Some storms produce more acid rain than usual; lime-rich soils and rocks are better able to absorb and neutralize the acidity.
-Natural Sources/Causes - Bog moss secretes acid, heathers increase soil acidity and conifer plantations acidify soils. Litter from conifers is acidic and not easily broken down – the Sitka spruce is non-native to Britain and specialized decomposing bacteria are absent. This leads to the accumulation of an acid humus layer in the soil.
-Volcanoes are also important sources of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. For example, before the eruption of the Soufriere volcano in 1995, Montserrat had some of the finest cloud forest in the Caribbean.
|
299189
|
2983037
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299189
|
Professionalism/The Loss of Ocean Ranger
|
On February 15, 1982, the Ocean Ranger, a mobile offshore drilling platform, sank off the coast of Newfoundland Canada. All 84 lives aboard were lost. It remains the biggest accident in the Canada’s offshore petroleum industry. Post-accident studies showed that it was not a catastrophic technological failure; rather, a result of a combination of a failure of the Ocean Drilling & Exploration Company (ODECO) training policy, the lax safety training of the crew, and the lacking seaworthiness of the lifeboats on board. Due to the sinking of the Ocean Ranger, improvements in safety regulations for offshore drilling companies, technological innovations in survivability, continued escape evacuation and rescue (EER) research, and improved safety training procedure have helped decrease the number of offshore drilling incidents. The Ocean Ranger sinking showed that technological improvements are only as effective as the training and management structures of its users.
Ocean Ranger Background.
The Ocean ranger was designed by ODECO engineers incorporated for ODECO International of New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Norwegian firm of Fearnley & Eger A/S. It was built at the Hiroshima yard of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries .
Structure.
The Ocean Ranger rig consisted of two pontoons, eight vertical columns, an upper hull with two decks, and a supporting framework of braces and trusses. The two pontoons each contained 16 tanks that served as storage for ballast water, fuel oil, and drill water. The pontoons were connected to the upper hull by eight watertight vertical columns. Each of the four corner columns contained three chain lockers for storing the anchor chains. There were two upper deck openings that led to each chain locker. Although the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) designated these openings as the first point of down-flooding, there were no coverings provided for these openings, no drainage system in the chain lockers, no means installed for pumping out water, and no alarm system to indicate flooding. The Ballast control room was considered a dry area, but it was not protected from sea water. There was no protection provided for the console in case of a port light break, and the console was not designed to be watertight.
Manual.
The Ocean Ranger's safety manual described how to keep the rig level and stable, how to operate it safely during transit, mooring, drilling and storms, and how to handle severe damage. On January 21, 1977, the manual received final ABS approval but ABS disclaimed any responsibility for the adequacy of the instructions contained in the operating manual. The ABS certified only the Ocean Ranger's construction but not its safety design or operation. However, ABS’s official stamp could have led third parties to conclude that the approval applied to the manual as a whole. As a result, the Ocean Ranger’s operating procedures were never thoroughly reviewed.
The manual was deficient in several respects :
Manning and Operation.
Post-accident research showed that the command structure of the Ocean Ranger was deficient. The electrical and mechanical systems on the Ocean Ranger were maintained by two electricians, an electronics technician, two motormen and two mechanics . They shared responsibility for the maintenance of the system, but no single person fully understood the function and operation of the entire system. Thus, no one was able to detect and remedy the situation during a severe accident. The crew structure of the Ocean Ranger reflected a predominant interest in an efficient industrial endeavor. The marine operations which ensured the stability and safety of the rig were relegated to a subordinate role, comparable to that of any other support group. Evidence shows that at the time of the loss, the Ocean ranger was undermanned by a minimum of 3 certificated lifeboatmen and 2 able-bodied seamen . Additionally, in practice, the crew training on the Ocean Ranger was not consistent with ODECO’s stated training program. Three formal employees testified on the public hearing that 80 weeks of training were required. In reality, less than 40 weeks of training were practiced .
February 15th 1982.
Weather.
A series of weather forecasts issued by Newfoundland Oceans Research and Development Corporation (NORDCO) indicated that the weather conditions at the drill site would deteriorate during the early hours of Sunday, February 14th, as a deep low centre approached the area. At 1:30 a.m. on Saturday February 13th, NORDCO forecast that wind speeds of 60 knots and maximum sea heights of 22 feet could be expected at the drill site by mid-afternoon on Sunday . By 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, the forecast was changed to maximum wind speeds of 70 knots and maximum sea heights of 24 feet. Then, at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, NORDCO revised its forecast predicting potential wind speeds of 90 knots and maximum sea heights of 40 feet by 2:30 p.m, and warned against continued drilling during the storm .
Cause of the Incident.
The actual sinking of the Ocean Ranger was caused by winds of 68 knots and seas of approximately 50 feet . With the greater sea heights, the large waves and strong winds caused failure to the portlights of the ballast control room. The rough weather caused the windows to break, and this failure allowed seawater to enter the ballast control room .
The Ocean Ranger’s ballast control console and communications equipment malfunctioned due to the water entering the room. This control room was used to control the pumps and valves that kept the rig balanced and stable. The susceptibility of this console to water damage was a serious design deficiency for a craft working in a marine environment.
Control Room Malfunction.
Because of the malfunction of the control panel, employees onboard the Ocean Ranger took matters into their own hands. A rod and bushing, part of the ballast control system, was used to control valves manually in the event of a failure of the automatic controls . Due to the limited knowledge about the operations of the vessel during an emergency, operators wrongly believed that inserting the rod closed the valves to the stability rigs where seawater from the storm was flooding. In fact, this opened the valves, allowing the seawater to flood in.
Capsizing of the Ocean Ranger.
At approximately 1 a.m. on Monday February 15th, 1982, the Ocean Ranger started emitting distress calls, indicating that they were abandoning the rig . Rescue teams were sent out to aid the MODU, but were not able to get to the rig in time. At 3:00 a.m., the Ocean Ranger capsized and sank into the Atlantic Ocean approximately 166 miles east of St. John’s Newfoundland in about 260 ft of water.
All 84 people aboard the Ocean Ranger died. 22 bodies were recovered between February 15th and February 24th 1982, and had died as a result of hypothermia. The remaining 62 bodies of crew-members remain missing. Out of the 84 people, 46 of were Mobil employees, and 38 were contractors from various other service companies.
Effect of The Ocean Ranger.
Lawsuits and ODECO's Fate.
In October of 1983, the families of The Ocean Ranger crew reached settlement with the ODECO Company and its partners. Individual settlements from $25,000 to $270,000 were awarded. The total settlement was approximately $20 million . In 1993 11 years after the loss of the Ocean Ranger, the Diamond M Corporation purchased all outstanding ODECO company stock from Murphy Oil, ODECO’s parent company .
Following the Ocean Ranger and EER Research.
The flowchart above shows the events that occurred directly following the sinking of the ocean ranger. In 1983, the East Coast Petroleum Operators Association published a report on offshore safety which analyzed the current state of affairs. The Royal Commission on the Ocean Ranger Marine Disaster (RCOMD) published parts I and II of their report on the ocean ranger; this report identified the primary causes of the ocean ranger disaster and the primary action items to prevent such an event from being repeated. In 1985 and 1987 respectively a federal government investigation into the Ocean Ranger disaster occurred and a five year update report on regulatory improvements since the Ocean Ranger was published.
Parts I and II of the RCOMD report identified three primary groups involved in the Ocean Ranger sinking: government, industry, and researchers.
At the time of the Ocean Ranger sinking, the majority of research into EER was focused on technology. Following the Ocean Ranger sinking, there was a noticeable increase in EER research .
Piper Alpha.
In July of 1988 the Piper Alpha , an offshore oil drilling platform in the North Sea burned down. This resulted in the deaths of 167 of the 228 crew members onboard. Prior to the fire the Piper Alpha was responsible for 10% of the oil and gas production in the North Sea. The Cullen Report published in 1990 conlculded that there was no technological faul onboard the Piper Alpha platform. The fire was due to the failure of the safety management systems and of the command and control structure responsible for preventing and managing emergencies. This resulted in a shift in focus in EER research, from a mostly technological focus to a combination of technology and systems. .
Improvements Since Ocean Ranger.
Technology.
Individual survivability has been improved through new immersion suits. Evacuation methods from the platforms have been renovated through life boat launch system enhancements and the seaworthiness of evacuation vehicles has also been improved. The reliability and effectiveness of search rescue and recovery has been increased through improved capabilities of the search and rescue aircrafts. Despite these advances, some manufactures of immersion suits and lifeboats refuse to interrupt current production lines to design and develop new equipment for offshore energy industry systems because in maritime, offshore oil drilling companies make up a small percentage of revenue compared to world shipping fleets.
Research.
Petroleum Research Atlantic Canada (PRAC) was created and has led to the creation of "Communities of Interested" which create specific research areas and prevent redundancies in research. However, due to the "cyclical nature" of the offshore industry some research is lost in the complexity of the operations resulting in inefficiencies and duplication of research. In addition escape, evacuation, and rescue (EER) research follows a "pattern of disaster", it focuses on fixing the element of technological capability found lacking in the last disaster. As a result relatively little EER research breaks new ground.
Regulation.
New safety regulations in offshore drilling platforms require more frequent equipment checks and safety drills. The survival equation was changed. Safety regulations enacted to respond to specific disasters are appropriate when the regulation is enacted but the regulation quickly becomes irrelevant due to technological advancements. Safety regulations in mobile offshore drilling must add consideration for future advancements in technology.
EER Standards & Procedures.
Advances in safety equipments and standards address EER problems that existed in the 1990's. However, due to international nature of offshore drilling, some countries refuse to implement EER standards created without their influence. This leads to delay in modernization of certain offshore technological standards.
Training.
New safety training procedures incorporate recent updates to EER standards. In addition, personnel onboard offshore platforms are required to participate in safety training prior to deployment onboard platforms. Despite these improvements, changes in adult learning theory have not been efficiently applied to employee training. Current training requirements may not fully reflect the needs of a modern learner, making EER training less effective.
|
299201
|
3304668
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299201
|
International Postage Meter Stamp Catalog/Ukraine
|
=Ukraine=
A - Provisional issues without country inscription.
B - Frank is octagon
C - Frank is rectangle
PO - Special stamps generated only in Post Offices
NOTE: Town marks for Ukraine are of three types, single circle with bars above and below date, broken inner circle with frame around date, and double circle with inner circle flat on the bottom. These are respectively designated SC, BIC, and DC in this section.
<br>
GROUP A: Provisional issues without country inscription in the frank.
<br><br>
<br>
<br><br>
A1. Kuibyshev (MV).
As USSR Type DA3 but with the "K"s removed from the sides.
Upright octagon with double-line outer border and “ПОЧТА / CCCP” below value box.
A. Star at top of frank is solid containing a negative hammer & sickle
B. Star at top of frank is outlined containing a positive hammer & sickle
TM: BIC with Soviet markings "CCCP" above hammer & sickle at top
V/F: 000
<br>
A2. Kuibyshev (MV). [$10]
As Type A1 but blank at top and sides and “ПОЧТА” alone at bottom.
Value and date figures horizontal.
TM: BIC with Soviet markings "CCCP" above hammer & sickle at top
V/F: 000
A3. Perm (MV). [$10]
As USSR Type DB1 but frank is blank at bottom.
Frank with single line outer border and inner box around value figures.
Hammer and sickle in star at top.
“ПОЧТА” and “CCCP” stacked at sides.
Value figures stacked, and date figures vertical.
TM: BIC with Soviet markings "CCCP" above hammer & sickle at top
V/F: 000
<br>
A4. Kuibyshev (MV). [$10]
As USSR Type DB2 but frank is blank at bottom.
Date and value figures horizontal.
TM: BIC with Soviet markings "CCCP" above hammer & sickle at top
V/F: 000
<br>
A5. Perm (MV). [$10]
Upright octagon with single-line outer border and “ПОЧТА” stacked at left.
Blank at top, right and bottom.
Value figures stacked, and date figures vertical.
The country name "УКРАЇНА" appears in the town mark but not in the frank.
TM: DC
V/F: 000
GROUP B: Frank is upright octagon.
<br>
<br>
<br>
B1. Perm (MV).
Ukrainian national symbol at top, “ПОШТА” stacked at left, and “УКРАЇНИ” stacked at right.
Value figures stacked, and date figures vertical.
A. Symbol at top without border
B. Symbol at top is within a shield
TM: SC, BIC
V/F: 000
NOTE: Variations in size and shape of the frank are known.
<br>
<br>
B2. Kuibyshev (MV).
As Type B1B but date and value figures are horizontal.
A. Large frank with large inscriptions
B. Small frank with small inscriptions
TM: SC
V/F: 000
<br>
B3. Perm (MV).
As Type B2 but blank at top.
Value figures stacked, and date figures vertical.
TM: BIC
V/F: 000
<br>
B4. Perm (MV).
As Type B3 but with “ПОШТА” at left and “УКРАЇНА” at right.
TM: SC
V/F: 000
<br>
B5. Perm (MV).
Frank with a large dot at top and another at bottom.
“ПОШТА” at left and “УКРАЇНИ” at right.
Value figures stacked, and date figures vertical.
TM: SC
V/F: 000
<br>
B6. Perm (MV).
Post horn at top, “KOП" at bottom.
“ПОШТА” at left, and “УКРАЇНИ” stacked at right.
Value figures stacked, and date figures vertical.
TM: BIC
V/F: 000
<br>
B7. Perm (MV).
As Type B6 but with town name “ЧЕРНIГIВ” at bottom.
Value figures stacked, and date figures vertical.
TM: SC
V/F: 000
<br>
B8. Kuibyshev (MV). [$10]
Frank with double line frame and without inner box around value figures.
Date and value figures horizontal.
“ПОШТА” at top, and “УРАЇНИ” at bottom.
This appears to be an error, with “K” omitted from “УКРАЇНИ”.
Blank at sides.
TM: BIC
V/F: 000
GROUP C: Frank is rectangle.
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
GROUP PO: Postage stamps generated only by special Post Office meters.
<br>
<br>
PO1. Onega (MV). ["Appears to be rare"]
Frameless, text-only frank applied to tape, never directly to cover.
Date at top above town line, meter identification, and value figures with transaction number at bottom.
Town name “КИЕВ —100” and meter number “KACCA 01” seen.
V/F: —0.00
<br>
PO2. Uiskra "341" (MV). ["Appears to be scarce"]
Frameless design on tape as Type PO1 but without country name, town line and meter identification.
Date is right justified at top right.
At bottom is one line of data containing a transaction number at left, value figures at center, and an additional number at right.
V/F: *****0.00
<br>
NOTE: Metal hand stamp impressions that strongly resemble meter stamps are used to frank mail in the Ukraine. They were probably made by the same factory in Perm that manufactured most of the country's meters. These hand stamps are always found without town mark and are nearly always applied on tape or label rather than directly to the cover. Such conditions occasionally apply to true meter stamps (see Type C2) and thus are not a foolproof means of differentiating the meter stamps from the hand stamps.
<br>
Return to main catalog ⇒ ../
Return to top ⇒ Ukraine
|
299209
|
846780
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299209
|
Professionalism/China Airlines Flight 611
|
On May 25th 2002, China Airlines Flight 611 (CAL611, Cl611, or Dynasty 611) disintegrated in midair just 20 minutes after takeoff upon reaching the cruising altitude of 35,000 feet over the Taiwan Strait, killing all 209 passengers and 19 crew members on board. Failure to act in a professional manner at both organizational and individual levels might be the root cause of this tragic incident.
=Background=
Investigation.
The investigators used ballistic trajectory analysis to determine which section of the airplane was the first to break off. Columbia STS 107 flight accident investigation team also used this analysis to reveal that the Flight Day 2 (FD2) object became loose during liftoff. The analysis revealed that the breakup initiated from the aft fuselage or the tail section and narrowed the investigation.<br>
The investigator focused on the item number 640 which was located precisely where the analysis told them the breakup had started. Unlike other pieces that showed sign of overload fracture, this piece showed sign of fatigue fracture. In other words, the piece number 640 had separated from the body of the airplane gradually overtime, not ripped apart violently and suddenly in midair like any other pieces.<br>
This piece also had a doubler plate, which was the equivalence of a patch on a punctured tire. It suggested that this section of the airplane had been repaired before.<br>
Tailstrike.
When the plane was 6 months old (February 7th, 1980), the tail of the airplane struck the runway while landing at Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong. This incident is usually referred to as a tailstrike.
Maintenance records stated that preliminary inspection found the serious abrasion damage on fuselage tail portion bottom skin. The maintenance crews scheduled a temporary repair replacement with a permanent repair within four months.<br>
Maintenance records stated that the permanent repair was accomplished in accordance with the Boeing Structural Repair Manual (SRM) and China Airlines engineering recommendations on May 25th, 1980.<br>
The record was as follows:<br>
Item number 640 told the investigators a different story. Maintenance records clearly stated that the tail section was removed before the installation of the doubler plate. However, the damaged skin was not removed but instead sanded down. The plate was also 10% less than the recommended size, which was 125 inches long and 23 inches wide. Note that this recommended plate size was meant for a temporary repair. Moreover, the investigators could not obtain any other engineering process records for this permanent repair, i.e. work cards; inspector signoffs; detailed description of the process. The scratch was well hidden underneath the doubler plate from 1980 onward.<br>
Overtime, cabin pressurization applied stress to the damaged area. The stress was far beyond the fatigue stress design values, and thus initiated a fatigue crack. The crack continued to grow undetected with every flight cycle. On May 25th, 2002, the crack reached its critical length and transferred the load to an undamaged area, which eventually became overloaded. Consequently, the plane broke off in midair.
Mysterious stains.
China Airlines came close to preventing this incident. When China Airlines performed the repair assessment program (RAP) on the accident aircraft on November 02, 2001, the inspectors took pictures of all the repaired doublers. Two of those pictures were from the aft lower lobe fuselage. They showed a mysterious dark-brown stains around the doubler plate. The investigator revealed that the dark-brown stains was nicotine stains.<br>
Around 1995, China Airlines started to ban smoking on board. Cabin pressurization forced the smoke out through the cracks. Overtime, the smoke left the nicotine stains outside of the plane. These stains were an indication of a possible hidden cracks beneath the doubler plate, which means that the cracks had been there long before 1995. Still, China Airlines was not treating the tailstrike accident as a major repair.
=Connections to Professionalism=
Structure of Business Organization.
During the permanent repair conducted after the temporary repair, China Airlines decided to minimize the cost by disregarding the instructions suggested by the SRM. Consequently, the poor repair led to the accident in 2002. Besides the financial loss, China Airlines also lost the trusts from both the investors and customers. The company shares plummeted by 25%. Its reputation was slaughtered as it became the “least safety airline.” After the accident, Delta Airlines also withdrew its previously proposed partnership. <br>
As business organizations maximize their profitability while being obligated to exercise their expertise and judgment that meet their clients’ best interests, they face one important dilemma. Because their clients trust that the business organizations operating professionally, business organizations have freedom to set the balance between profit and ethic responsibility. It is vital that every companies be prudent and focus on the long run benefits. In this China Airlines Flight 611 case, the company chose to cut the cost to gain short run profit, but lost much more in the long term.
Sense of responsibility.
Another possible cause of China Airlines Flight 611 accident was that China Airlines entrusted the repair to the maintenance team, but the team did not carry on the job properly. The fact that a trailstrike accident rarely caused significant damage suggested that the maintenance team might be affected by the normalization of deviance. In the permanent repair, the damaged areas were not removed and the doubler plate used was smaller than the recommended size. <br>
Moreover, there was the diffusion of responsibility involved. Even though, the inspectors discovered the nicotine stains (Figure 2), they did not take any actions as they might have felt that it was not their responsibility and the others would deal with that. All in all, it is evident that the maintenance team did not work meticulously. If they had, they would not have fallen into the status quo trap. They would be alarmed about the nicotine stains, immediately sought the cause of the stain, and eventually discovered the cracks underneath the plate. When the maintenance team conducted the permanent repair, they should have kept in mind that it was their responsibility to ensure the safety of the customers.
Integrity.
In a business organization, managers’ responsibility is to ensure the company profitability. The technicians, on the other hand, are specialized in technical knowledge, and thus have the duty to carry on the technical tasks properly. They have to identify the potential risks and notify the managers. In the China Airlines Flight 611 case, the maintenance team just followed the order from the managers, conducted the poor permanent repair, and logged the record incorrectly. They also failed as professionals by not dissuading the company from cutting the repair cost. If they held on to their ethics, they would have refused the unethical cost cutting and prevented the accident. Therefore it is important for individual to value integrity and understand when to challenge authority.
Mindfulness.
Traps in judgment.
Flawed repair during the maintenance and failure during subsequent routine inspections may be attributed to the following traps working in isolation/concert:
Maintenance.
Maintenance technicians might have judged that it was unnecessary to remove the damaged skin having not done so for other tailstrikes due to a combination of status-quo, sunk-cost, and framing traps:
Inspection.
Inspectors missed the damage mostly because it was covered up and difficult to spot. Arguably, if they had been more thorough in their inspections, they might have spotted the poor maintenance. This slight negligence might be due to confirming-evidence trap, and two of the estimating & forecasting traps:
Awareness and Mindfulness are two sides of the same coin; a mindful state of mind results in greater awareness, which "can" eradicate the distortions ingrained into the way our minds work (see Evidence from Neuroscience) through self-knowledge (know thyself).
Mindfulness to overcome barriers to self-knowledge.
A two-component model of Mindfulness is proposed to overcome these barriers.
Improving attention.
Mindfulness begins by focusing attention on breadth, other sensations, thoughts, and feelings. Through practice, strong concentration to maintain awareness is developed. Research showed that this sustained attention/vigilance is related to increased attention span, higher memory capacity, reduced stress. Together, these lead to greater awareness of any bias in judgment.
Eliminating ego.
The second component involves nonevaluative observation about experience. Of the 7 essentials of mindfulness, 5 are directly related to the elimination of ego:
Loss of ego leads to lowered reactivity and defensiveness to self-threatening information (even when facing death). Self-verification and self-enhancement motives are reduced, and traps that rely on ego--status-quo, sunk-cost, and over confidence--are overcome.
Mindfulness in the world.
Several mainstream companies realize the many benefits of mindfulness (its effectiveness in overcoming traps in judgment is just one among many), and the following have implemented mindfulness programs: Google (Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute), Apple, McKinsey & Company, Deutsche Bank, and General Mills
. Influence of Mindfulness has also expanded to schools, universities, and other sectors. For instance, University of Virginia launched the Contemplative Science Center in 2012 with the following goal:
=Conclusion=
Failure to act in a professional manner at both organizational and individual levels is the root cause of a catastrophe. An organization that focuses on profitability is usually faced with the issues of safety. Such organization frequently considers economic motivations over safety, which might result in the company growth in the short run. This type of an organizational culture might interfere with employees' professionalism, shaping a "two plus two equals five" environment, and thus violate their professional integrity and ethics. However, the fault does not lie wholly with an organization. Individuals have rights and choices to object and remain adamant in their judgements, despite the risk of losing their jobs. Traps in decision making also contribute to the failure. Practicing mindfulness can eradicate the distortions ingrained into the way our minds work through self-knowledge and thereby improve our awareness of these traps. Hence, the risk of a catastrophe can be reduced by conducting ourselves in a professional manner.
=Future extension=
=References=
|
299214
|
98013
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299214
|
International Postage Meter Stamp Catalog/United Arab Emirates
|
=United Arab Emirates=
A – Stamps generated by machines in private and commercial use
PO – Stamps generated by machines in post offices
GROUP A: Stamps generated by machines in private use.
<br>
A1. Pitney Bowes “5000” series (MV).
Frank with simulated perforation border, inscribed “U.A.E./POSTAGE PAID” at top.
M# with “P.B.” prefix breaks frame line at lower left.
Date figures raised in relation to value figures.
TM: DC
V/F: ≋000
A2. Pitney Bowes “6300” (MV).
Similar to Type A1 but “POSTAGE PAID” at bottom.
Date and value figures on same level.
M# with “P.B.” prefix does not break frame line.
TM: DC
V/F: ≋000
A3. Pitney Bowes “6900” (MV).
Similar to Type A2 but taller frank.
M# with “PBE” prefix breaks bottom left frame line.
TM: DC, SC
V/F: ≋000
A4. Pitney Bowes “6600” (MV).
Very similar to Type A3 but wider and value figures are larger.
M# with “PB” prefix does not break frame line.
TM: DC
V/F: ≋000
A5. Pitney Bowes-GB “A900” series (MV).
Frank similar to Type A2 but without straight inner border lines, and the curved inscription at top is not in a banner.
Value figures large.
A. M# with “PB” prefix.
B. M# with “PBF” prefix.
TM: DC
V/F: ≋0000
<br>
A6. Postalia “D2/D3” (MV).
Frank nearly square.
M# with “PA” prefix centered at bottom.
TM: DC
V/F: 000 0000
A7. Francotyp-Postalia “T-1000” (digital).
Frank very similar to Type A6 but M# with “F/PA” prefix.
With “BHS” instead of “FILS” at left of value figures.
Date figures are taller, and value figures are digital.
TM: DC
V/F: 00.00
A8. Frama “M/E” (MV).
Horizontal frank with simulated perforation border, inscribed “United Arab Emirates” across bottom.
M# with small “FR” prefix above at left.
Value figures thick.
TM: DC
V/F: 0000
<br>
A9. Hasler “Mailmaster” (MV).
Very similar to Type A8 but M# with “H” prefix, and value figures thinner.
Frank width can vary, from 35 to 38 mm.
TM: DC
V/F: 0000
<br>
A10. Pitney Bowes (digital).
Similar to Type A5 but with two columns of numbers left of the town mark.
TM: DC
V/F: ≋00000
A11. Hasler "Mailmaster F204” (MV).
Horizontal rectangle with Arabic text at top and "UNITED ARAB EMIRATES" above ID number at bottom.
At left, post horn logo and stacked "P/P".
At right "POSTAGE PAID" in Arabic above English.
M# CN 11 seen.
TM: unknown, probably DC ("shown is a proof without TM")
V/F: "POSTAGE PAID"
NOTE: This stamp does not show a postage value, only "POSTAGE PAID". It has the appearance of being from a non-metered bulk mail printer, but it is from a Hasler "Mailmaster" meter. Although no postage amount shows, the postage generated by the machine is metered. Our only knowledge of the stamp is from the Hasler record sheet for the order. It was prepared for the Bahrain Services & Maintenance Company (BASMA B.V.) of Manama in 1987. The stamp shown above is affixed to this sheet. We haver not verified if the stamp was actually placed into use.
A12. Secap "Alpha” or "Minipost" (MV), 2000 or earlier.
Similar to Type A8 but both country names, Arabic and English, are at the top.
The frank is nearly square with "FILS" left of the value figures and nothing to their right.
Meter number with "SE" prefix at lower left.
TM: DC
V/F: 0000
A13. Frama "Sensonic 2" (MV).
Similar to Type A8 but the value figures are larger.
Meter number with "FR" prefix.
TM: DC
V/F: 00.00
A14. Satas "Baby" (MV). ["Appears to be rare"]
Small square frank with single-line simulated perforation border.
"POSTAGE PAID" in Arabic and English read up vertically at left.
Meter number without prefix above "United Arab Emirates" at bottom.
Meter number 1101 seen.
TM: BIC
V/F: 0000
GROUP PO: Stamps generated by machines in Post Offices.
<br>
PO1. Zebra "S4M" (digital).
This stamp is a label for registered mail but it includes the postage amount as well as the registration information.
Covers found with this label have no other postage indicators and so it is also a postage stamp.
Below the bar code are two lines of text:
* First line: Registration Number, Date, Value
* Second line: Destination, Origin, Weight (g), Payment Type
V/F: Amt: (0)(0)0.00Dhs
<br><br>
PO2. Unknown (digital).
Similar to Type PO1, but with narrower barcode and revised text:
* First line: Registration Number, Date, Value
* Second line: Origin, Destination, Staff ID, Weight (kg)
* Third line: Optional line giving type of mailing
V/F: Amt: (0)(0)0.00AED
|
299216
|
3332924
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299216
|
Biomedical Engineering Theory And Practice/Biomaterials/Introduction to biomaterials
|
The United States National Institute of Health Consensus Development Conference defined a biomaterial as ‘‘Any substance (other than a drug) or combination of substances, synthetic or natural in origin, which can be used for any period of time, as a whole or as a part of a system which treats, augments, or replaces any tissue, organ, or function of the body’’ (Boretos and Eden, 1984). Biomaterials area has grown over for 50 years. Biomaterils as a field uses ideas from medicine, biology, chemistry, materials science and engineering. In addition, biomaterials researchers should consider ethics,law and the health care delivery system.
Biomaterials can be divided into metals, ceramics, polymers, glasses, carbons, and composite materials. Such materials are used as molded or machined parts, coatings, fibers, films, foams,fabrics, liquid and powder.
|
299248
|
40302
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299248
|
Manx/Resources
|
Online Resources</br>
There is no Manx television network (TV in the Isle of Man is broadcast from the UK and Ireland). Most newspapers and magazines are published in English. However, there are occasionally Manx broadcasts on Manx Radio. In addition there is an excellent animated series in Manx called "Manannan". Manannan is an alternative name for Isle of Man and also the name for the Celtic sea god after whom the island is named.
|
299348
|
3388243
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299348
|
Professionalism/Amy Stroupe and BB&T
|
Amy Stroupe and BB&T is a professional ethics case that concerns whistleblowing. Amy Stroupe was hired by BB&T on August 1, 2005 as a certified fraud examiner (CFE) in Charlotte, N.C., and her courage as a whistleblower and dedication to encourage transparency within BB&T are tribute to her professionalism. In February, 2007, concerns were raised about a series of suspicious loans made by a BB&T financial center manager in a real estate development, and Stroupe was notified by a retail service officer. In her investigative report, she indicated that a BB&T employee had helped Village of Penland's developer design a $100 million Ponzi scheme. BB&T fired Stroupe soon after a meeting with the FBI, claiming that she had violated company policies during her investigation, though she countered in court that she was fired as punishment for pushing too hard on the investigation. She sued BB&T under Sarbanes-Oxley Act whistleblower provisions, Section 806, and the federal judge in the case ruled that BB&T must reinstate Stroupe with back pay.
Professional Career.
Early Career.
Prior to her career at BB&T, Amy Stroupe worked for the Cleveland County, N.C., Sheriff's Office as a detective.
Whistleblowing and BB&T.
Stroupe began working for BB&T at their Shelby branch on August 1, 2005, and while employed she excelled at her job as a corporate investigator. In her 90 day review report, her supervisor wrote, “Amy is an asset to the BB&T Corporate Investigations team. Amy has established herself as a consistent contributor to the investigative team.” During her two years with BB&T, she had five positive performance reviews.
In February 2007, Stroupe was alerted about suspicious loans with Peerless Development Group. A branch manager named Bryan Drum had approved $20 million in loans for a development called the Villages of Penland. Several suspicious patterns were apparent: all loan applicants were from out of state, the lots were appraised at a higher value than they were worth, all loans had the same appraiser and closing attorney, and Peerless used funds from their account to pay for some customer’s loans. Additionally, Drum was the only employee who worked with the Peerless loans. She first notified her supervisor, Brian Prater, and the Direct Retail division of her findings, but when no action was taken, she notified the Regional Portfolio administrator. Later, Stroupe informed the FBI; Charlie Mattox, Drum’s supervisor; and several other BB&T employees including the Regional President. In one meeting, an employee noted that the case “looks like securities fraud." Upon further investigation, Stroupe found that Drum had been given a $10,000 bonus for the amount of loans he approved, and Drum had developed an incentive program between Peerless and its customers in which Peerless could pay its customer’s loans. She also visited the Villages of Penland and found little development had been done on any of the lots. Despite her findings, Mattox did not immediately terminate Drum; instead he approved three additional Peerless loans that were already in the process of being approved. He contacted Stroupe advising her to work on other investigations and claimed that many parts of her report about Drum were false. In April 2007, Drum was fired, and in retaliation, Mattox moved Stroupe from the Shelby branch to the Charlotte headquarters.
On May 22, 2007, a BB&T attorney prevented Stroupe’s report to the FBI from being sent since it contained incriminating information. BB&T would not only be liable for the $20 million they loaned but also for $120 million loaned to Peerless through other banks. The following day, the attorney stopped Stroupe from attending a meeting with FBI officials stating that she would answer any question they asked her. Afterwards it was apparent that BB&T denied any involvement in the scandal and failed to mention Bryan Drum. Despite resistance from upper management, Stroupe continued to investigate the scandal, and in retaliation, BB&T fired her on June 20, 2007 stating that she had wrongfully discussed the details of her investigation with unauthorized personnel. At this time, her boss said, “Amy, it’s become obvious that you cannot conform to a corporate setting; therefore, we are terminating your employment."
Aftermath.
After termination, Stroupe filed a complaint with OSHA, but after months of investigation, they found that her claims lacked any merit. She appealed under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and won three years later, winning her job back with back pay plus interest. Her case is notable because it is one of the 3.6% that have won under the SOX act.
Whistleblowing.
Whistleblowing refers to making a disclosure that evidences illegal or improper government or corporate activities. By disclosing information about corruption, fraud, mismanagement and other wrongdoing, whistleblowers have helped save billions of dollars in public funds while preventing emerging scandals and disasters from worsening.
Perception and Protection.
Perceptions of whistleblowers tend to vary. While sources such as Time have often praised whistleblowers for their actions, others have accused them of being traitors. Since whistleblowers' broad spectrum of public perception deepens the riskiness of their actions, civil society has played a large role in protecting whistleblowers from public retaliation, legal liability, and cultural barriers. In recent decades, many non-governmental organizations such as Transparency International, Government Accountability Project, Public Concern at Work, and the Open Democracy Advice Centre have arisen to inspire legislative protection for whistleblowers apropos their risks and publicize corruption across international workplaces. Efforts to improve and expand whistleblowing legislation have helped protect whistleblowers from their risks, while also easing detection of corruption and enhancing accountability in corporate and political environments. Though the threshold for whistleblower protection is difficult to define, current principles regarding whistleblowing legislation suggest protection should be granted for disclosures made with a reasonable belief of wrongdoing at the time of disclosure. Though these principles don’t always translate into legislation, they help direct the formulation of new and improvement of current legislation.
United States Legislation.
Whistleblowing's history is deep. In 1863, the United States False Claims Act allowed citizens to sue on the government's behalf in cases of fraud and collect rewards for doing so. This action is often known as qui tam, a writ originating in Roman times as a law enforcement mechanism. Whistleblowing was modernly campaigned by Ralph Nader in the 1960s when he launched a movement to encourage scientists, engineers, and other professionals to "blow the whistle" on unethical principles by their employers. Following his drive and tragedies like the Challenger disaster of 1986, many whistleblowing laws were passed such as the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, which protects government employees from management retaliation and is considered to be among the most important pieces of whistleblower legislation. Scandals have also encouraged more recent legislation. In the 2002, the Enron and Worldcon scandals inspired the adoption of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires international corporations that are either owned in part by United States companies or traded on United States stock exchanges to adopt whistleblowing procedures. Supporting such federal legislation, the National Conference of State Legislatures has adopted unique laws protecting whistleblowers for different states.
BB&T.
Organizational Culture.
BB&T was part of the financial climate of the mid-to-late 2000s. The estate boom was in full swing, and there was pressure to approve loans without much investigation. According to attorneys of victims of the Village of Penland scheme, it is now hard to support the claim that banks involved conducted any due diligence investigations that the general public would expect. BB&T has maintained that it was a victim of the scheme, citing their loss of $20 million. These losses occurred after the scheme was revealed, however, and BB&T’s prior actions leave doubt regarding it’s innocence.
Though Stroupe first alerted her bosses in March, 2007, they dismissed her concerns. She sought out other superiors in the company and even went to the Associated Press, but met with similar results. Even if BB&T was not complicit with the scheme, its culture hindered it’s undoing and reaped the rewards in the meantime. Developer Tony Porter had promised investors returns as high as 10%, but instead of questioning that number, BB&T turned a blind eye. If BB&T was indeed a victim, why were they not concerned by Stroupe’s reports of foul play? According to federal judge Stanley Tureck, BB&T actually aided the fraud.
Repercussions.
BB&T faced very few consequences after Stroupe revealed the Penland Village ponzi scheme. The court ruling ordered BB&T to pay Stroupe three years salary and rehire her, but they never actually brought Stroupe back to the company. They merely placed her on the payroll without any responsibilities, claiming they had laid off all investigative staff in the region and her position therefore no longer existed. BB&T stated that it intended to appeal the ruling, but after being granted several extensions for their briefing, allowed their appeal to be dismissed. Stroupe returned to her previous job in law enforcement at the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office.
Several people faced trial and were sentenced because of the Penland Village scheme, including the developers Tony Porter, Frank Amelung, and John Foster. No individual from BB&T was accused of any wrongdoing.
Most of the attention on BB&T in the aftermath of the ruling was directed towards its other interests and its CEO, Kelly King. The director of N.C. Policy Watch, Rob Schofield expressed concern that the ruling would damage BB&T’s other business components.
Several banks sued individual investors to recover their loans, and some have settled. Many of those affected, however, are in financial ruin because of the scheme. Investors were left with monthly payments as high as $9,000 on land that is worth a small fraction of what they paid for.
Conclusions.
Whistleblower Protection.
There are 18 different acts which protect whistleblowers within the United States. The Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX) is the primary protection act which defends individuals who report financial fraud with “strong and unprecedented anti-retaliation protection for corporate employees.” This act has been unsuccessful in protecting whistleblowers, however, yielding a win rate of 3.6% in initial trials and 6.5% in appeals. The case of Amy Stroupe and BB&T shows that federal reporting of misconduct can be successful under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, but this result is rare. Other whistleblowing cases such as Nicholas P. Tides & Matthew C. Neumann v. The Boeing Company resulted in failure using SOX. The motion failed because the court ruled that “leaks to the media are not protected” under Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
The purpose for excluding media leaks from protection is to protect confidentiality of corporate financial records. Multiple issues arise, though, from prohibiting reports to the media. First, reporting misconduct internally or to federal authorities is less effective because of pressure from agencies. The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board found that “agencies have the power to influence employees’ decisions about reporting wrongdoing” and around one-third of people who realized misconduct received pressure to not report. Second, reporting of fraud through federal agencies is inherently a much slower and labor intensive process than simply providing information to media outlets. Lastly, a conflict of interest is present for federal agencies that are obligated to protect whistleblowers who harm corporations, even though these agencies receive money from corporations through lobbying. BB&T and Boeing each have given millions of dollars annually to the U.S. government through lobbying. The pressures and problems with financial fraud reporting support the need for inclusion of media leaks in whistleblower protection laws, particularly under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Professionalism.
The case of Amy Stroupe and BB&T provides multiple possible characteristics that define professional ethics. Stroupe willingly defied her superiors within her company by reporting internal financial fraud. She chose to risk her job to maintain her integrity through reporting the truth, even under pressure to keep quiet. After she realized this risk through her termination, she continued the fight against BB&T in court and won. Her courage to defy, not only in her initial reporting but also in her legal pursuits, is potentially a strong characteristic of professionals in any field. Stroupe’s willingness to risk her job also shows courage, and is another potential characteristic of professionalism.
Her victory has set an example for others showing that those that defy their employers to maintain their integrity can still ultimately achieve success. Stroupe stated following her victory in court against BB&T that she has “a lot more courage and confidence” and that “the experience has made [her] as determined as ever to report the truth.” Stroupe’s experience supports the conclusion that professional actions inspire further professional actions, especially if these actions reward the actor. This lesson, if true, motivates the rewarding of professional actions in general. In the case of Amy Stroupe, this lesson validates the argument that whistleblower protections should be improved so that other professionals can be protected just as Stroupe was.
|
299391
|
23543
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299391
|
Trainz/AM&C/Third Party Content
|
What is 3rd Party Content.
Third party content is any Trainz compatible asset made available by private communications or publicly available channels that you have not written the software for (created) yourself nor which is offered by N3V Games as official content in one release or another. "Third party content is the magic in the box", since there are thousands of us contributing to the rich panoply of resources, most of it freeware, that enrich and make the Trainz modeling experience untouchable relative to the occasional short-lived competing product. Other simulators run faster, have less quirks, better graphics, but none offer either the huge asset library that is the Download Station, the community camaraderie nor the world building ease and capabilities of Trainz s toolset in any version since UTC.
Using the DLS website.
The TRS2004 pre-release days (2003) saw the establishment of the , a shopping cart based website with search tools which many of us still find to be very useful to search out and explore the Content on the Download Station without getting between us and the lists, which are more like typical web-based shopping sites.
Auto-ContentManager Downloading.
Trainz releases ever since UTC beta tested the nascent DLS have made two or more data ownership entries in the which allow the "via your browser" (which can see the registry) to open and use the installed local computer installation's downloader, the FTP protocol handler parts in post-CMP ContentManager.exe modules.
Notes, Footnotes & References.
Config.txt files are endemic and ever present in Trainz assets, for no asset can be defined without this type of . The keyword-value_of_key pairing must always be kept in mind in editing or creating Trainz content. The contains values and containers which are most common in asset defining config.txt files.
Notes.
Footnotes.
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299421
|
4468995
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299421
|
Biomedical Engineering Theory And Practice/Oncology
|
Oncology is a part of medicine which treat Cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an oncologist.
Overview of Oncology.
Oncology is the medical specialty that focuses on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer, which is a group of diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells in the body. Oncologists are medical doctors who specialize in the field of oncology and play a crucial role in the care of cancer patients. Here's an overview of oncology:
Key Aspects of Oncology:
Subspecialties of Oncology:
Oncology is a dynamic and rapidly evolving field that seeks to improve cancer outcomes, enhance patient quality of life, and advance our understanding of the disease. Advances in research and technology continue to drive innovation in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
Cancer: Terminology and classification.
Cancer is a complex group of diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells in the body. Understanding the terminology and classification of cancer is essential for accurate communication and effective treatment. Here are key terms and concepts related to cancer terminology and classification:
A neoplasm is an abnormal growth of cells that forms a mass or lump. Neoplasms can be benign (not cancerous) or malignant (cancerous).
Malignant tumors, also known as cancers, are composed of cells that can invade nearby tissues and spread to other parts of the body (metastasis). They have the potential to be life-threatening if not treated.
Benign tumors are non-cancerous growths that typically do not invade nearby tissues or spread to other parts of the body. They are often not life-threatening and can usually be removed with surgery.
Metastasis is the process by which cancer cells spread from the primary tumor to other parts of the body through the bloodstream or lymphatic system.
Carcinomas are cancers that originate in epithelial cells, which are found in the skin and the linings of organs. They are the most common type of cancer and include subtypes like adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.
Sarcomas are cancers that arise from connective tissues such as bone, muscle, cartilage, and fat. They are less common than carcinomas.
Leukemias are cancers of the blood-forming tissues, such as bone marrow and the lymphatic system. They result in the abnormal production of blood cells.
Lymphomas are cancers that originate in the lymphatic system, which is part of the immune system. They can be classified as Hodgkin lymphoma or non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
These tumors originate in the brain or spinal cord and can be either benign or malignant.
Staging is a system used to describe the extent of cancer spread. It helps determine prognosis and guide treatment decisions. Stages range from 0 (early, localized cancer) to IV (advanced, metastatic cancer).
Grading assesses the degree of abnormality of cancer cells compared to normal cells. It provides information about how aggressive the cancer is likely to be. Grading is often classified as low-grade, intermediate-grade, or high-grade.
The original tumor where cancer first develops is called the primary tumor.
A secondary tumor, or metastatic tumor, is a tumor that has spread from the primary tumor to other parts of the body.
An oncogene is a gene that, when mutated or overexpressed, contributes to the development of cancer. Oncogenes promote cell growth and division.
A tumor suppressor gene helps regulate cell division and prevent the formation of tumors. Mutations in these genes can lead to uncontrolled cell growth.
Understanding these terms and classifications is essential for healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers. Proper communication and a clear understanding of cancer terminology contribute to informed decision-making, effective treatment, and improved patient outcomes.
Introduction to anti-cancer drugs and side effects.
Anti-cancer drugs, also known as anticancer or chemotherapy drugs, are medications designed to target and inhibit the growth of cancer cells. They play a crucial role in cancer treatment by interfering with the processes that allow cancer cells to multiply and spread. While these drugs can be effective in treating various types of cancer, they often come with a range of side effects due to their impact on both cancerous and normal cells in the body.
Mechanisms of Action:
Anti-cancer drugs work through various mechanisms to halt the growth and division of cancer cells. Some common mechanisms include:
Common Side Effects:
Anti-cancer drugs can affect both cancerous and normal cells, leading to a range of side effects. The severity of these side effects can vary depending on the specific drug, dosage, treatment duration, and individual patient factors. Some common side effects include:
Managing Side Effects:
Medical professionals take steps to manage and minimize the impact of side effects, such as adjusting dosages, prescribing supportive medications, and recommending lifestyle changes. Patient education and communication with the healthcare team are essential to effectively manage side effects and maintain the patient's quality of life during treatment.
It's important to note that advancements in medical research and technology continue to improve both the effectiveness of anti-cancer drugs and the management of their side effects. Patients undergoing cancer treatment should work closely with their healthcare providers to understand the potential side effects and develop a personalized plan for managing them.
Side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are two common approaches to treating cancer. While they can be highly effective in targeting and destroying cancer cells, they can also cause a range of side effects due to their impact on healthy cells and tissues. Here are some of the common side effects associated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy:
Chemotherapy Side Effects:
Radiotherapy Side Effects:
Managing Side Effects:
Both chemotherapy and radiotherapy can have a significant impact on a patient's quality of life. Medical professionals work closely with patients to manage and mitigate these side effects. Supportive medications, lifestyle adjustments, and close communication with the healthcare team are crucial for minimizing the impact of side effects and ensuring the patient's well-being during treatment. It's important for patients to report any side effects they experience so that their treatment plan can be adjusted accordingly.
Introduction to the major tumor types: breast, lung, colorectal, ovarian, upper GI and prostate cancer and melanoma.
Breast Cancer.
Breast cancer is a type of cancer that forms in the cells of the breast tissue. It is the most common cancer among women worldwide. The cancer can begin in different parts of the breast, such as the ducts that carry milk (ductal carcinoma) or the glands that produce milk (lobular carcinoma). Early detection through self-exams, mammograms, and other screenings is crucial for successful treatment. Treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and hormone therapy.
Lung Cancer.
Lung cancer develops in the cells of the lungs, primarily due to long-term exposure to carcinogens like tobacco smoke. There are two main types: non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Lung cancer is often diagnosed at advanced stages, which makes treatment challenging. Treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy.
Colorectal Cancer.
Colorectal cancer refers to cancers that develop in the colon (large intestine) or rectum. It usually starts as small, noncancerous growths called polyps, which can turn cancerous over time. Regular screenings like colonoscopies can help detect and remove polyps before they become cancerous. Treatment includes surgery to remove the tumor, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and targeted therapy.
Ovarian Cancer.
Ovarian cancer forms in the ovaries, which are part of the female reproductive system. Symptoms are often vague and can include abdominal discomfort, bloating, and changes in bowel habits. Ovarian cancer is often diagnosed at advanced stages. Treatment involves surgery to remove the tumor and affected tissue, followed by chemotherapy.
Upper Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancer.
Upper GI cancer includes cancers that affect the esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, and gallbladder. These cancers can be challenging to diagnose early due to their location and vague symptoms. Treatment depends on the specific type and stage of cancer but may involve surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and targeted therapy.
Prostate Cancer.
Prostate cancer develops in the prostate gland in males. It's a slow-growing cancer that often doesn't cause symptoms in its early stages. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing is used for early detection. Treatment options include active surveillance (closely monitoring the cancer), surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy. It can be quite challenging since the prostate glands are small and commonly over looked.
Melanoma.
Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that originates in the cells that produce melanin, the pigment responsible for skin color. It often starts as a mole or other skin growth that undergoes changes in color, size, or shape. Early detection is important for successful treatment. Treatment involves surgery to remove the tumor, as well as targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and chemotherapy for advanced cases.
Clinical trial issues in oncology.
Clinical trials in oncology (cancer research) play a critical role in advancing understanding of cancer biology, developing new treatments, and improving patient outcomes. However, they also come with various challenges and issues that researchers, patients, and regulatory bodies need to address. Here are some of the key clinical trial issues in oncology:
Efforts are ongoing to address these challenges through improved trial designs, enhanced patient engagement, increased collaboration among researchers and institutions, and the development of innovative trial methodologies. As technology and understanding of cancer continue to evolve, these issues are likely to evolve as well, shaping the landscape of oncology clinical trials.
|
299422
|
1514312
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299422
|
Biomedical Engineering Theory And Practice/Health Informatics
|
Reference.
Health Informatics: Practical Guide for Healthcare and Information Technology Professionals (Fifth Edition) by Robert E. Hoyt, Nora Bailey , Ann Yoshihashi
Wikipedia, health informatics
International Medical informatics Association
|
299431
|
520910
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299431
|
Structured Query Language/Like Predicate
|
Since its first days, SQL includes a basic form of pattern matching on strings. The feature is part of the WHERE clause and is triggered by the keyword LIKE. It knows two meta-characters: '_' (underscore) and '%' (percent).
SELECT *
FROM <table_name>
WHERE <column_name> LIKE <like_criterion>; -- The like_criterion can contain '_' and/or '%'
Over time, additional functionality has been incorporated to the standard. This concerns regular expressions, which are similar to those defined by POSIX, and regular expressions as defined by the XQuery 1.0 / XPath 2.0 function fn:matches. Finally the SQL application package ISO/IEC 13249-2:2003 Part 2: Full-Text defines methods and functions for information retrieval on fulltext.
LIKE.
The LIKE predicate compares a column of type CHAR or VARCHAR (string) with a pattern. This pattern is also a string, but it may contain two characters with a special meaning. The '_' (underscore) represents exactly one arbitrary character, and '%' (percent) represents a string of zero, one or more characters. All other characters represent themselves.
The first example retrieves all rows from table "person" with a first name starting with the two characters 'Jo', eg: 'John', 'Johanna' or 'Jonny W.'. As the meta-character '%' represents also zero characters, rows with the first name 'Jo' are also retrieved.
SELECT *
FROM person
WHERE firstname LIKE 'Jo%';
The next example retrieves all rows from table "person" with a last name similar to 'Meier', eg: 'Meyer' or 'Maier'. The two underscores represents exactly two (arbitrary) characters. Consider, that there may be unexpected results like 'Miler' (but not 'Miller').
SELECT *
FROM person
WHERE lastname LIKE 'M__er';
The definition of the two meta-characters '_' and '%' implies a problem: What if one wants to search for these characters itself? The solution is the same as in other programming languages: one defines an escape mechanism to mask the meta-characters and prefix the meta-character in the pattern by this escape character. In SQL the syntax is:
WHERE <column_name> LIKE <like_criterion> ESCAPE <escape_character>;
-- Retrieve one of the meta-characters: 'Electric_Motor' but not 'Electric Motor'
SELECT *
FROM parts
WHERE partname LIKE 'Electric\_Motor' ESCAPE '\';
-- Retrieve the escape character itself: 'Electric\Motor' but not 'Electric Motor'
SELECT *
FROM parts
WHERE partname LIKE 'Electric\\Motor' ESCAPE '\';
The escape character can be any character; it is not limited to the backslash, eg.: ... ESCAPE '!'
POSIX Semantic.
In an outdated version of the SQL standard, there was the keyword SIMILAR, which introduced a pattern match in the sense of POSIX. Nowadays, it is deprecated.
Some implementations offer pattern matching in this sense, but use arbitrary keywords like REGEXP, REGEXP_MATCHES, REGEXP_LIKE or operators like '~' to activate the feature.
XQuery Semantic.
The SQL standard defines the keyword LIKE_REGEX to activate pattern matching as defined by the XQuery 1.0 / XPath 2.0 function fn:matches.
Full-Text.
The SQL standard is complemented by "ISO/IEC 13249 SQL Multimedia and Application Packages". Part 2 "Full-Text" defines routines and methods for information retrieval in text documents. It deals with objects like: word, phrase, sentence, and paragraph. There are special constructs; to search for words or phrases, search words within a definable distance, thesaurus features like broader terms of a word, soundex-similarity, ranking of results, and much more. The central method of these features is CONTAINS.
-- Retrieve rows with 'word_1' and 'word_2' (in this order) within a sequence of 10 words.
SELECT *
FROM t1
WHERE CONTAINS(' "word_1" NEAR "word_2" WITHIN 10 WORDS IN ORDER ') = 1;
Such features are far beyond pattern matching - but it is the natural next step. SQL implementations offer them mostly in combination with special text indexes.
|
299444
|
3428223
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299444
|
Professionalism/BP Texas City Refinery Explosion
|
On March 23, 2005, an explosion occurred at the isomerization process unit of the BP’s Texas City Refinery located in Texas City, Texas. The explosion killed 15 workers and injured more than 170 others.
Background.
The Texas City Oil Refinery was built in 1934 and purchased by BP in 1999. It had been previously owned and operated by Amoco since its creation. Under Amoco ownership the refinery had a history of postponing major upgrades due to a cost saving management style. As of 2005, the Texas City refinery was the second largest refinery in the state and third largest in the country, processing up to 437,000 barrels of crude oil per day. It is currently the fifth largest such refinery in the country. The Texas City Refinery is unique in that it can process over 50 different types of crude oil into a wide variety of products ranging from traditional gas and diesel to jet fuel.
Explosion.
On March 23, 2005, 15 people were killed and another 180 injured after an explosion occurred at the Texas City Refinery. The explosion was a direct result of a malfunction of hardware in the isomerization unit. At approximately 2:00 AM, engineers routinely turned on the hydrocarbon intake valve to release highly flammable liquid hydro-carbons into a raffinate splitter tower. During routine operations, this tower is supposed to fill to around 6 feet of fluid before a sensor will advise the engineers to cease hydro-carbon release. However, on this day, the safety alarm failed to go off and by the time engineers were able to identify that the tower was over-filling at around 3:30 AM, the level of hydro-carbons had reached 13 feet. This level was maintained during the night until normal day operations began again at around 9:30 AM. At this time, however, operators kept pumping fuel into the splitter tower but failed to open the outtake valve, and because the splitter tower warning system had already failed, flammable fluid built up in the tower to over 20 times the normal height, or approximately 138 feet while the sensors indicated the level was at a normal 10 feet.
At 12:40 PM a high pressure alarm was activated and the furnaces heating the splitter tower were turned off, and the outtake valve was finally opened. The quick release of liquid that had been heated far beyond normal specifications overloaded the heat in the heat exchange unit causing the liquid going into the tower to be over 150 degrees hotter than normal. Once this liquid mixed in with the already high level of fluid in the splitter tower, it boiled and expanded forcing a rush of flammable liquid hydro-carbons to spill out of the safe-guard release tube, filling up the blow-down drum and causing a "geyser-like" release of flammable liquid hydro-carbons into the atmosphere for about a minute, leaving a large flammable vapor cloud. At 1:20 PM, the cloud was ignited by a diesel pickup truck located about 20 feet from the blow-down drum, causing a series of explosions across the plant as fuel storage units were reached by the growing fire.
Aftermath.
Immediately after the explosion on March 23, 2005, members of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) were on site to determine the root cause of the accident and where blame and responsibility should be placed. In the end, BP was held liable for the event and ordered to pay out over $1.6 Billion to upwards of 1000 different claimants ranging from employees families to neighbors within a mile radius of the plant who had their windows blown out in the explosion. The CSB published a scathing review of BP's practices in the United States. BP has since sold both of its largest refineries in the United States as public pressure to maintain safety standards has led these ventures to become less economical than the UK plant sites. Also released was a report from former US Secretary of State James Baker that highlighted the flaws and lack of commitment to safety inherent to BP on a company wide scale. The trial to settle the fine to be paid by BP generated lots of public interest and was fought by Brent Coon & Associates, culminating in $50 Million being paid by BP in August of 2010.
Factors Leading to Explosion.
Multiple factors worked in tangent to lead to the eventual failures that resulted in the refinery explosion. Such factors included technical failures, human errors, as well as organizational and regulatory failings. In the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board reports, organizational failings such as corporate cost-cutting and failure to invest in safety infrastructure as well as the lack of safety culture were listed as the major contributing factors to the explosion. These underlying issues manifested in the technical failures such as the undersized blow down drum which started the cascade leading to the eventual catastrophe.
Managerial Transitions.
Since BP’s acquisition of Amoco who owned the plant before 1998, there have been five plant manager transitions in the six year leading up to the explosion (1999-2005). This rapid change in management at the plant contributed to a lack of leadership accountability as managers are not held accountable to mishaps after their departure. The lack of leadership accountability in turn led to the lack of safety investments due to managers’ short event horizon and desire to demonstrate ability to comply with lean operation and corporate directives.
Human Factors.
Human errors also played a major role in the Texas City Refinery explosion. Due to lack of funding and focus on safety, employees were often undertrained and lacked adequate supervision for process startup or changeover. Plant employees at the time had been working 12-hour days for 30 days in a row, often with 2 hour commutes. These employee weaknesses combined and factored into the lack of immediate response to stop the progression of events leading up to the explosion.
Aging Plant.
Technical issues also contributed to the demise of the refinery. The plant was constructed in 1937 and was 70 years old and dilapidated at the time of explosion. In the 30 years prior to the explosion, which dates before BP acquisition of Amoco, there were already 23 fatalities. A report by an independent auditing agency, the Telos group, cited broken alarms and gauges and outdated and undersized equipment. After the explosion, the final report by U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board cited a plethora of technical failings such as inadequate pressure relief valves and undersized raffinate towers. Geoffrey Gioja, a co-author of the Telo’s group audit, stated 'We have never seen a site where the notion 'I could die today' was so real." A particularly revealing fact of the state of the plant is that workers for a time passed a billboard commemorating two colleagues scalded to death by boiling water in 2004.
Organizational Failure.
BP's lack of culture for safety and accountability represented an organizational failure that penetrated through BP's corporate levels. This was particularly evident in the fact that instead of investing in much needed safety renovations, in 1999, senior executives made a 25% cut in fixed costs for the Texas City Refinery. This fixed cost cut exerted financial pressure on managers, making allocation of resource toward much needed safety improvements even more unlikely. BP’s organizational and culture failure also includes the inability to accept fault and constructive criticism. Even after the disaster, BP denied fault for cutting Texas City Refinery costs with the suggestion that the cut was not a "directive" but a "challenge" to achieve desired safety target without compromising profitability. The mentality of the BP executives at the time may best be exemplified by BP exec John Manzoni, who was asked to visit the refinery while on vacation. John Manzoni later commented "we spent the day there -at the cost of a precious day of my leave."
Lack of Economic Incentives.
The plant explosion and BP's lack of safety culture may both be partially explained by the lack of economic incentives for safety. Prior to the explosion, Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found what they called 300 "egregious, willful violations", for which OSHA only enforced a maximum fine of $21m. Considering that BP's yearly revenue was $254b around 2005, the 21 million dollar fine was not a justifiable punishment and was not effective in eliciting improvements on plant safety and safety culture from BP. This fine was incidentally also significantly lower than the projected $1bn required for safety improvements, which meant that it was much more economical for BP to pay the fine rather than implementing safety measures.
Related Incidents.
BP has faced intense scrutiny for multiple industrial disasters that have occurred in the past decade. Ongoing criticism of safety measures following the Texas City refinery explosion led to Tony Hayward replacing Lorde Browne as CEO in 2007. However, safety incident investigations have continued to attribute cost cutting and efficiency goals as components of BP industrial disasters.
Prudhoe Bay Oil Spill.
On March 2, 2006, an estimated 267,000 gallons of crude oil leaked through a corroded pipeline in western Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Members of Congress criticized BP for failing to inspect the pipeline, which had not been checked for corrosion since 1998, and for ignoring other signals that should have raised concerns. A 1992 test detected the presence of calcium in the pipeline but did not raise any concerns about corrosion. BP Alaska pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of discharging oil in violation of the U.S. Clean Water Act, but only paid $20 million in fines for knowing neglect of corroding pipelines.
"Deepwater Horizon" Oil Spill.
A gas explosion on April 20, 2010 aboard the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig claimed 11 lives and discharged an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Oil flowed for 87 days until the well was capped on July 15. It is considered the largest marine oil spill disaster in history.
Numerous investigations investigated the causes of the explosion and resulting spill. Most notably, the U.S. government September 2011 report attributed the majority of blame to BP but also faulted the rig owner Transocean and cement contractor Halliburton, noting financial pressures may have dominated safety concerns and poor communication led to unqualified individuals making decisions in their own company’s best interest. Transocean was also faulted for providing financial bonuses to workers based on the speed which they completed safety repairs.
Jesse Gagliano, a Halliburton technical adviser, testified that he raised concerns about the high probability of a gas leak in the days before the disaster. He recommended 21 centralizer devices be installed to strengthen the cement wall and prevent leaks. BP ultimately installed 6 – a job that Gagliano and Halliburton approved and documented as having been conducted properly. While testifying, BP released a statement stating “If Halliburton had significant concerns about its ability to provide a safe and high-quality cement job in the Macondo well, then it had the responsibility and obligation to refuse to perform the job. To do otherwise would have been morally repugnant.”
The U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against BP, claiming “gross negligence and willful misconduct.” BP ultimately paid more than $4.5 billion in fines, the largest of its kind. BP was also banned from seeking new government contracts for “lack of business integrity.” The spill also led to the ouster of BP CEO Tony Hayward in July 2010, who was widely condemned for stating “There’s no one who wants this over more than I do, I’d like my life back.”
Conclusions and Generalizations.
Direct causes of industrial disasters are rarely apparent. Less tangible factors, including poor manufacturing cultures, inadequate communication, and emphasis on efficiency over safety can in conjunction precipitate industrial accidents. The U.S. September 2011 Deepwater Horizon report noted “root causes are systematic and, absent significant reform in both industry practices and government policies, might well recur.” Economic motivations of commercial corporations frequently compete with safety maintenance, resulting in compromising decisions which save companies' time and money in the short run. Such shortsighted economic incentives may distort professional integrity and ethics and often lead to industrial disasters.
|
299448
|
3181019
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299448
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North Carolina/Culture/Events/State Fair
|
In North Carolina, the state fair has played an important role since its inception in 1853. The North Carolina State Fair was started by the North Carolina Agricultural Society, the brain child of Dr. John F. Tompkins. It originally was designed as a fair for the promotion of agriculture and industry.
In modern day, the North Carolina State Fair has begun to hold a carnival as part of the fair. In addition to a carnival, year round events have begun on the state fairgrounds. J. S. Dorton was the first person to add year round events to the calendar. The fair is no longer under the control of the North Carolina State Agricultural Society. The fair is now run by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
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299463
|
3105109
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299463
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Punjabi/Grammar/Postposition
|
ਸੰਬੰਧਕ (Postposition).
Postpositions in Punjabi link nouns, pronouns and phrases to other parts of the sentence in the same way prepositions do in English, the difference being that postpositions follow the noun whereas the prepositions precede it. Some Punjabi postpositions are
From a functional standpoint a postposition can be "complete postposition", "incomplete postposition" or "mixed postposition". A "complete postposition" can independently act as postposition such as ਦਾ, ਦੇ, ਦੀ, ਨੇ, ਤੋਂ etc. An "incomplete postposition" can act as postposition only as a part of postpositional phrase such as ਕੋਲ, ਬਿਨਾ in ਦੇ ਕੋਲ, ਤੋਂ ਬਿਨਾ etc. A "mixed postposition" can, either independently or in combination with some other postposition, act as postposition such as ਉਤੇ in ਮੇਜ ਉਤੇ or ਮੇਜ ਦੇ ਉਤੇ etc.
Inflection of postpositions.
Some postpositions inflect(change form) to conform in number, gender or case to the following noun or phrase. For example compare ਸੀਤਾ ਦਾ ਪੈੱਨ with ਰਾਮ ਦੀ ਕਿਤਾਬ. Postposition ਦਾ in the first phrase agrees with ਪੈੱਨ in number and gender, both being singular and masculine. In the second phrase ਦੀ agrees with ਕਿਤਾਬ in number and gender, both being singular and feminine. Now take another example ਮੋਹਨ ਦੀਆਂ ਕਿਤਾਬਾਂ. Here again ਦੀਆਂ agrees with ਕਿਤਾਬਾਂ in number and gender, both being plural and feminine. The rules for change of form of such postpositions are generally the same as applicable to adjectives.
At times a postpositional phrase is used instead of a single postposition. For example phrase ਮੇਜ ਦੇ ਉਪਰ ਕਿਤਾਬ contains postposition ਦੇ ਉਪਰ. In such cases the second part of the composite postposition inflects like a noun, that is there is no concord with the following noun or phrase but the concord is with the following verb. See for example ਮੇਜ਼ ਦੇ ਉੱਪਰੋਂ ਕਿਤਾਬ ਚੁੱਕੀ.
Uninflected postpositions.
Many postpositions do not inflect at all. The postpositions ਨੇ, ਨੂੰ and ਤੋਂ always immediately follow the noun. When ਨੇ and ਨੂੰ succeed certain pronouns they are converted into suffixes like ਮੈਨੂੰ, ਤੈਨੂੰ, ਉਹਨੂੰ, ਉਹਨੇ, ਇਹਨੇ etc. When ਤੋਂ follows some pronouns it becomes ਥੋਂ and results in ablative case form of those pronouns, e.g. ਮੈਥੋਂ, ਤੈਥੋਂ etc.
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299471
|
3371989
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299471
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Professionalism/Kenneth Kendrick and Peanuts
|
Kenneth Kendrick is the whistleblower in the 2009 salmonella outbreak from contaminated peanuts. Kendrick disclosed information about factory conditions at the Peanut Corporation of America that prompted the FDA to recall over 3,600 peanut products.
Background.
From September 2008 to April 2009, a salmonella outbreak occurred across 46 states, resulting in 714 illnesses and 9 deaths. The outbreak was first traced back to peanut butter produced in a Georgia facility owned by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). After whistleblowing efforts by Kenneth Kendrick, the outbreak was linked to unsanitary conditions at PCA plants in both Georgia and Texas, resulting in a recall of over 3,600 separate peanut products, including those of large-scale manufacturers such as Keebler and Whole Foods.
In 2006, Kendrick worked as an assistant manager for the PCA plant in Plainview, Texas. During his four months there, he used the Texas Department of Health anonymous reporting service to cite rat and bird feces contaminating the peanut products, but his concerns were ignored. In 2009, after hearing reports about the Georgia PCA plant, Kendrick decided to publicize his case. Working with the Government Accountability Project (GAP) and STOP Foodborne Illness, Kendrick told his story on Good Morning America. Because of Kendrick's efforts, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigators were able to tie salmonella cases to PCA products from both plants, prompting more product recalls.
Case Outcomes.
Kendrick has reported many personal repercussions from whistleblowing, stating "Me coming forward has pretty much ruined my life." His difficulties have have ranged from professional, including being fired from his job in 2009, to personal, including depression and the dissolution of his marriage from the stress of public scrutiny. Kendrick's experience is similar to that of other whistleblowers, many of whom, according to GAP, are negatively affected despite "putting ethics into practice."
Beyond Kendrick, the case had ramifications for PCA. PCA, which had about 300 employees, went bankrupt in February of 2009. They have also been the target of multiple civil suits since the outbreak.
Food Safety and Modernization Act.
In early 2011, the FDA's Food Safety and Modernization Act was signed into law following a series of deadly food-borne illnesses, including the 2009 salmonella outbreak. It was designed to better enable the prevention of food-related illness through easier recalls and mandatory safety standards for both produce and processed foods. A smaller clause furthers this objective by granting increased protection to whistleblowers. Under the new law, employees are not allowed to be fired or denied promotions for reporting unsafe conditions and the burden of proof shifts from whistleblowers to employers in cases of wrongful termination. Critics have stated the law may lead to general complaints instead of reliable reports of violations; however, this remains to be seen after rules take effect in spring of 2014.
Litigation.
Investigations into PCA led to the indictment of four PCA officials in early 2013. After FDA inspections of both PCA plants found unsafe conditions, the Federal Bureau of Investigation joined the case. Investigators found multiple instances of criminal activity, including obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and fraudulent products introduced to interstate commerce. On multiple occasions, PCA officials falsified safety certificates and sold products after they had tested positive for salmonella. These findings led to 75 counts of indictment, including felony charges, which could give PCA officials up to 20 years in prison.
The Roles of Key Participants.
Peanut Corporation of America.
Founded in 1977, the Peanut Corporation of America supplied peanuts, peanut butter, peanut meal, and peanut paste for large snack distributors, including Kellogg, Sara Lee, Little Debbie and others, as well as the government, for schools, disaster relief, and the military. PCA sustained strong profits by buying "the cheapest peanuts they could find", relying on minimum wage labor and cutting costs wherever possible. The CEO and owner of PCA, Stewart Parnell, had grown up in the low-cost peanut industry and ran PCA's three processing facilities in Plainview, Texas; Suffolk, Virginia; and Blakely, Georgia from a converted garage next to his home in Lynchburg, Virginia. The company had a history of food quality issues, repeatedly failing the inspections of prospective buyers and facing a lawsuit in 1990 after regulators found unacceptably high levels of aflatoxin, a toxic mold, in a shipment to the American Candy Company PCA officials repeatedly shipped product without waiting for confirmation of salmonella lab results, falsified certificates of analysis, and lied to customers and the regulatory agencies about their test results and quality protocols, even after the nationwide outbreak of salmonella. They also failed to register the Texas plant with both national and state regulatory agencies, avoiding routine health inspection and remaining under the radar of government scrutiny.
Food and Drug Administration.
A 1990 Food and Drug Administration inspection revealed that a PCA shipment had been contaminated with aflatoxin, a toxic mold, resulting in a recall and lawsuit. Eleven years later, a Nov 15, 2001 FDA inspection again finds aflatoxins in PCA peanuts, noting “ill-repaired equipment” and other concerns at the plant.> The FDA returned to inspect the Blakely plant in June of 2008 after a Canadian distributer refused a PCA shipment containing metal shipments; however, all concerns were corrected on site. In January of 2009, more than four months after the beginning of the salmonella outbreak, the CDC found a contaminated container of King Nut peanut butter sourced from the Blakely, GA PCA plant and the FDA began their investigation which would eventually expand to all three PCA facilities and revealed PCA’s unlawful and unethical practices.
State Regulatory Agencies.
Critics argue that the PCA salmonella outbreak demonstrates a failure of state regulatory agencies, which play a major role in registering food producers and inspecting facilities. Salmonella contaminated products managed to make it to market from both the Georgia and Texas facilities, demonstrating a failure of state regulatory bodies both in the rigor of their inspections and their capacity to keep track of food producers.
Georgia Department of Agriculture.
The Blakely plant inspections conducted by the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) from 2006 though 2008 (the period when the contaminated products were processed) revealed no major issues at the plant. In fact, Former employees describe the plant as “filthy and nasty” and yet the GDA repeatedly rated the facility as “exceeds expectations/excellent” and “superior”. With approval from the state regulatory agency, PCA continued uninhibited until the FDA investigation forced them to seize operations.
Texas Department of Health and Department of Agriculture.
The Texas plant, where Kendrick briefly worked, was operating completely under the radar of state regulatory agencies. The Plainview facility received organic certification from the Texas Department of Agriculture but never registered as a food producer with the Texas Department of Health(TDOH). As a result the plant went four years without regulatory inspection. After the PCA incident the TDOH conducted a statewide investigation and found 355 food producers who also had been operating without the proper licensing in Texas.
Ethics Considerations.
The PCA salmonella outbreak resulted from a system-wide failure. This US food safety system is a complex network of players aimed at keeping consumers safe from tainted food. Several cognitive biases and other effects contributed to the failure of the system. While many may have been in play, this case exemplifies risk compensation, the bystander effect, and the tuneout effect.
Risk Compensation.
The consequences or risks from selling salmonella infected peanut butter are obvious: people may be harmed and the company will lose sales and possibly go bankrupt. The purpose of regulation, like the FDA’s, may be viewed as increasing the consequences by imposing further penalties for risk taking. This nudges a company to assume less risk. Yet the more pernicious effect of risk compensation is likely present. Risk compensation is a well-accepted theory that when the consequences of behaving riskily are reduced, risky behavior increases. People have some sort of internal risk assessment that is adjusted when the variables change. In the PCA case, because the regulated corporation knew it had the safety net of the regulators, it stopped policing itself as well. The risk to the public of receiving contaminated food wound up close to where it started, and the effectiveness of the regulators in the system was reduced. It can be argued that Kendrick himself displayed risk compensation when he learned Nestlé had refused PCA peanuts. He assumed other companies would follow Nestlé so that even if he left PCA, the public would be safe.
Bystander Effect.
When a system has many players, sometimes each player pulls a little less weight than would normally be expected. This is known as the bystander effect, also known as diffusion of responsibility. In the PCA case, the abundance of regulators (the Texas Department of Health, Texas Department of Agriculture, and FDA) encouraged each to act as a bystander. Each regulator may have assumed the others would pick up the slack. Rather than diffusion of responsibility, this case might have been simple confusion of responsibility. Both would be flaws in the system.
Tuneout Effect.
Sometimes people have the tendency to pay less attention to warning signs the more frequently they are set off. The tune out effect occurs when cautions of risk become less potent the more they are issued. It is a corollary of
normalization of deviance, which is where deviant behavior becomes more accepted over time. The effect is similar to the tendency of people to rarely treat car alarms as an actual car burglary. False positives can be especially detrimental to the efficacy of a warning system. In the case of PCA however, true positives (warnings of actual health concerns) were treated as false positives and ignored. Over time, the regulators and other bodies may have tuned out the warnings from PCA, including Kendrick's. In the mid 1980s, some companies gave the PCA plants failing grades and refused to do business. In the early 1990s, lawsuits were brought against PCA for toxins in their product, and the FDA was aware. Upon inspecting the plant, one owner said “It was just a time bomb waiting to go off, and everybody in the peanut industry in Georgia, Virginia and Texas--they all knew.” The tune out effect partially explains why although the regulators and PCA knew of the risks, they did nothing, even after Kendrick reported violations the first time, in 2006.
This same effect occurred in other ethics case studies, for instance the Challenger accident. Repeated concerns over the O-rings were raised, but each successful launch reassured executives. By the tenth launch, the concerns fell on deaf ears; the executives had tuned them out. Similarly, concerns had been raised about PCA in the past, but no one had died of salmonella thus far. By the time Kendrick came along, the regulators were tired of hearing of the risks. Kendrick's concerns had faded to background noise. In these cases, unfortunately, the more the concerns were raised, the more they were tuned out, and the less effect they had.
Conclusion.
A number of cognitive biases probably played a role in the case of PCA and Ken Kendrick. What is the general takeaway from a case of the failure of big system?
With large systems, the effects can be faraway or distant. A small decision by one player can lead to large consequences for others, with many players involved in the propagation. Stewart Parnell decided to ignore a few Salmonella tests and people he did not know died as a result. Cognitive biases played a role in allowing this decision to propagate. With these large systems, subconscious cognitive biases may compound into bigger problems that are not realized until catastrophe strikes. When scaling from individual decision-making to large social structures, these biases deserve extra attention.
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299474
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134830
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299474
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Cryptography/Breaking transposition ciphers
|
Earlier, we discussed how
../Permutation cipher/ and
../Transposition ciphers/
work for people who know the secret key.
Next, we'll discuss how, in some cases, it is possible for a person who only has the ciphertext -- who doesn't know the secret key -- to recover the plaintext.
The frequency distribution of the letters in any transposition or permutation ciphertext is the same as the frequency distribution for plaintext.
breaking columnar transposition ciphers.
The frequency distribution of digrams can be used to help break columnar transposition ciphers.
breaking turning grille ciphers.
Turning grilles, also called Fleissner grilles, ...
A guess at some sequence of two or more consecutive holes of the grill in one position of the grill (by a "known word" or an expected common digraph)
can be "checked" by seeing if those holes, after the grill is rotated a half-turn,
produce reasonable digraph.
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299475
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3936783
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299475
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Punjabi/Grammar/Adjective
|
1. descriptive - ਵਰਣਨਯੋਗ
2. Distributive - ਵੰਡ
3. Demonstrative. - ਪ੍ਰਦਰਸ਼ਨਕਾਰੀ
4. Interrogation. - ਪੁੱਛਗਿੱਛ
5. Number. - ਨੰਬਰ
6. Proper. - ਸਹੀ
7. Possessive. - ਕਬੂਲਣ ਵਾਲਾ
8. Quantitative. - ਮਾਤਰਾ
written by(ਸਿੱਧੂ ਸਾਬ)
ਵਿਸ਼ੇਸ਼ਣ (Adjective).
An adjective is a modifier which modifies or qualifies a noun or pronoun. There can be
Inflection of Adjectives.
Some adjectives change form to conform to number and case of the modified noun or pronoun. These adjectives bear gender and change form for number and case. For example, ਸੋਹਣਾ, ਕਾਲਾ and ਗੋਰਾ are all inflected adjectives for masculine gender and ਸੋਹਣੀ, ਕਾਲੀ and ਗੋਰੀ are the corresponding forms for feminine gender.
Inflected adjectives change like nouns taking different cases. Different forms of ਸੋਹਣਾ are ਸੋਹਣਾ, ਸੋਹਣੇ and ਸੋਹਣਿਆਂ. Inflectional form of feminine form ਸੋਹਣੀ are ਸੋਹਣੀ and ਸੋਹਣੀਆਂ.
Uninflected adjectives.
This class of adjectives do not change form for gender, number or case e.g. ਲਾਲ, ਮਿਹਨਤੀ, ਮਸ਼ਹੂਰ, ਦਿਲਚਸਪ etc.
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299478
|
396820
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299478
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Professionalism/Balancing Individual Rights vs Welfare of Society
|
George W. Bush and "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques".
Background.
On September 11, 2001, 19 hijackers crashed four jetliners into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, killing more than 3,000 people in the largest terrorist attack on U.S. soil. In the wake of these terrorist attacks, the Bush administration launched the global war on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq to defeat terrorists and their organizations. Controversy has abounded over his support of so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques". Many critics view these “enhanced techniques” as torture whereas supporters view these techniques as imperative to national security.
Enhanced interrogation methods include sensory deprivation, prolonged periods in stress positions, sleep deprivation, hypothermia, and waterboarding. Between 2002 and 2003 the CIA considered these techniques to be legal arguing that terror detainees were not protected by the Geneva Conventions' ban on torture. Since 2001 approximately 100 detainees, including those held by the CIA, have died during interrogations. Some of these deaths may be linked to torture. Most of these interrogations have been conducted outside of US legal jurisdiction in "black sites," which are secret prisons operated by the CIA, to facilitate the United States’ War on terror.
Critics believe the use of torture could have counterproductive military effects as it can cause captors to resist cooperation and give false information. Following the futile advice can have negative economic consequences, and this use of torture may intensify the enemy combatants will to fight. Scholars have tried to verify the effectiveness of torture with little success. Metin Basoglu, MD, PhD and Professor of psychiatriatry, explained that, “torture generates intense hatred and desire for vengeance against the perpetrators, radicalizing even ordinary people with no strong political view.”
Proponents believe the United States is acting within the international treatment guidelines for enemy combatants, and CIA director George J. Tenet has expressed that about one-third of the Al-Qaeda leadership have been captured or eliminated as a direct result of interrogation. Among these include Ramzi bin al-Shibh a key facilitator for the September 11 attacks and Omar al-Faruq who led plans to blow up US embassies around Asia. In addition, the U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack articulated that “the United States is treating enemy combatants in U.S. government control, wherever held, humanely and in a manner consistent with the principles of the Third Geneva convention of 1949.”
Decisions.
The Bush administration experienced repeated policy change over the rights of enemy detainees and the use of interrogation techniques.
On September 18, 2001, in response to the terrorist attacks, President Bush signed the Authorization for Use of Military Force. The act gave the president the authority to use necessary and appropriate force against contributors to the attacks. However, the United States Supreme Court case Hamdi v. Rumsfeld limited the power us this act by determining that detainees who are U.S. citizens have the right to due process and to challenge their enemy combatant label. The Bush administration believed that if an individual was caught in arms against the U.S. it is constitution to define them as an enemy combatant without access to the court systems. In response, on October 17, 2006, Bush signed into law the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which allowed the U.S. government to prosecute unlawful enemy combatants by a military tribunal rather than a civilian trial and denies them access to habeas corpus. While it also bars the torture of detainees, it allows the president to determine what constitutes torture. On March 8th, 2008, Bush vetoed legislation that would ban the CIA from using harsh interrogation methods such as waterboarding saying that "the bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the War on Terror". Furthermore, he said that, “This is no time for Congress to abandon practices that have a proven track record of keeping America safe,” illustrating how he has prioritized the security of the United States.
A United States survey found that only 25% of Americans believe the use of torture against suspected terrorists can never be justified. Even with a majority of Americans in support, President Bush was forced to make the tough decision between national security and the human rights of the detainees. He made the decision to take a very supportive stance on enhanced interrogation, asserting that they do not constitute torture and instead provide critical information to preserving American lives, enough though it may infringe upon human rights.
A Controversial Legacy.
Controversy still surrounds the efficacy of enhanced interrogation practices in the War on Terror, and ultimately, Bush’s decisions on the matter have left a contested legacy. In a 2009 Gallup poll, 55% of Americans believed the use of harsh interrogation techniques was justified. Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel at Human Rights Watch, said Bush "will go down in history as the torture president" for defying Congress and allowing the CIA to use interrogation techniques "that any reasonable observer would call torture." However, supporters credit Bush's counterterrorism policies with preventing another major terrorist attack from occurring post 9-11.
In his memoir, Decision Points, published in 2010, Bush considered his biggest accomplishment to be keeping "the country safe amid a real danger" and defended his administration's enhanced interrogation techniques, specifically the waterboarding of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, saying, "I'd do it again to save lives."
Overall, scholars have recognized Bush’s presidency as one of the most consequential; a host of substantive decisions, policies, and events that he presided over includes No Child Left Behind, Medicare, the Patriot Act, the War on Terror, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2008 financial crisis. This has led to extreme perceptions of his leadership: A CNN poll conducted in April of 2013 reveals that 80% of Republicans call Bush’s presidency a success, but only 43% of independents calling it a success, and nearly 90% of Democrats calling it a failure. Princeton University scholar Julian Zelizer has called Bush’s presidency a “transformative one”.
HeLa Cell Line.
The HeLa cell line was the first immortal cell line discovered and is still among the most commonly used. Like other immortal cell lines, such as A549, HEK 293, and Jurkat, it has played a role in medical testing and contributed to major breakthroughs. The cell line was derived from the cervical cancer cells of Henrietta Lacks. She was diagnosed with cancer in 1951 and received radiation therapy at Johns Hopkins. As was standard procedure in that time period, samples of her healthy tissue and cancerous tissue were taken for comparison. 8 months later, on October 4th, 1951, Henrietta passed away. Physician George Otto Gey was given Henrietta Lacks' cell samples and, when he cultured them, he noted the "cells did something they'd never seen before: They could be kept alive and grow." Due to the genetic abnormality of the cancer cells, they were immune to the Hayflick Limit that made the useful life of cells 3 or 4 days.
Controversy.
While tissue sampling was standard procedure and something she would have consented to as part of her treatment, she did not know what was to become of those cells. She did not consent to her cells being cultured in perpetuity. Henrietta's descendants settled the property rights with the National Institutes of Health in 2013 for a hand in controlling the future of the line and acknowledgements in scientific papers. The central question surrounds whether a person has property rights to their discarded biological tissue. The issue reached the Supreme Court of California in the case Moore v Regents of the University of California in 1990. The family of John Moore wanted a share of the profits from his cell line, purported to have had a 3 billion dollar commercial value over a six year period. The Court decided that Moore has no property rights to his tissue and issued a statement that the "Court needs to balance between protecting rights of patients and the threat of ‘civil liability’ and the hindering of medical research."
Individual Rights.
Western culture has strong views on the sanctity of the human body, with Apostle Paul and John Locke, two of the most important philosophers in influencing the western thinking, shaping opinions on the human body and personal rights. Apostle Paul stated in 1 Cor 6:19-20 that "Your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit." John Locke stated that "Every man has a property in his own person. This nobody has a right to, but himself." They would contend that Henrietta Lacks has the right to prevent her cells from being immortalized and manipulated.
Welfare of Society.
The HeLa cell line was crucial in the development of a safe and effective polio vaccine. Prior to the development of the HeLa cell line, researchers spent more time developing and maintaining short lived cultures than they spent running experiments. Jonas Salk was able to get large quantities of robust cells to test his vaccine on, accelerating the process of vaccine creation. The polio vaccine decreased the incidence of polio in America from 21,000 cases in 1952 to 61 cases in 1965, following the introduction of the polio vaccine in 1955.
Consequentialism vs. Deontology.
Consequentialism, coined by philosopher Gertrude E. M. Anscombe in 1958, holds that the consequences of one’s conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgment on its rightness or wrongness. In the above cases, one could argue that enhanced interrogation, or the use of HeLa cell line is ethical if there is a net positive gain by society. Many scholars, however, doubt the efficacy of enhanced interrogation practices and cite many negative consequences, such as its effect on the perpetrator and its resulting perception of US foreign policy, lending argument to the unethicality of enhanced interrogation even by consequentialist standards.
Contrasting consequentialism is the idea of deontology, where the rightness or wrongness of an act is judged based on its intrinsic character. With many individuals considering enhanced interrogation as torture, it would be considered highly unethical by deontological ethics. On the other hand, some may believe that the use of discarded biological tissues does not truly wrong an individual, thus deeming our second case as ethical even by deontological standards.
Bush’s decisions to support enhanced interrogation techniques and the use of the HeLa cell line are complex and controversial issues that deal with weighing the human rights of an individual against the welfare of a population. While there is no right answer to these problems, consequentialism and deontology provide two opposing moral frameworks with which to consider their ethicality, and may help a professional in making decisions that strike a balance the between the consequentialist systems that make peoples' lives better versus the deontological morality of those systems.
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Professionalism/Conrad Gorinsky, the Wapishana, and Biopiracy
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Biopiracy is the commercial exploitation of biological or genetic material, as medicinal plant extracts, usually without compensating the indigenous peoples or countries from which the material or relevant knowledge is obtained . It falls under the category of Bioprospecting, the umbrella term for discovering and commercializing new products based on biological resources. It usually involves examining organic material from exotic environments such as rain forests or hot springs. Bioprospecting has existed since prehistoric times, as people examined plants and deduced their medicinal properties. It's extremely significant today, as over the past 30 years 46% of new chemical entities marketed worldwide have come from substances found in nature .
The line between Bioprospecting and Biopiracy is sometimes hard to distinguish. In 1993, the Convention on Biological Diversity was established in order to promote bilateral agreements between indigenous areas and Western researchers. They have proven successful in helping indigenous areas receive benefits from pharmaceutical companies. However, some argue that these bilateral agreements are not sufficient in preventing biopiracy due to the inability to monitor contracts, adequately inform indigenous people, and ensure that they receive a significant portion of revenue .
Cunaniol and Rupununine.
The present case of potential biopiracy centers on two chemical drugs - cunaniol and rupununine - that were extracted from plants used by the Wapishana tribe by the biochemist Conrad Gorinsky.
The Wapishana.
The Wapishana people are an indigenous Guyanese and Brazilian Amazonian tribe. The greenheart tree, from which rupununine is derived, and the cunani bush tree, from which cunaniol is derived, are considered sacred and serve important practical and ritualistic functions for the Wapishana. The tribe uses a greenheart nut preparation called tipir as a contraceptive and to treat hemorrhage and infection. The tribe uses cunani, which is toxic to fish but harmless to humans, to facilitate fishing. The Wapishana independently identified the usefulness of these plants and has specific rules for their usage, which is meant to be conducted only by Wapishana. They do not believe in the commercial ownership of land or knowledge.
Conrad Gorinsky.
The son of a German rancher and an Atorad woman, Conrad Gorinsky was raised on ranch lands near the Wapishana people's land. Since Wapishana membership is social rather than hereditary, Gorinsky was never considered Wapishana. The Atorad tribe is now all but extinct. He studied and received his PhD in biochemistry at Oxford University and later returned to Guyana to learn about the Wapishana's use of plants. He learned about tipir and cunani from a Wapishana guide and studied the plants' chemical extracts after which he identified two bioactive chemicals with therapeutic potential which he named rupununine and cunaniol. He applied for and was granted patents on both chemicals in both the United States and Europe , and he did so without the consent of the Wapishana. Dr Gorinsky's primary goal in patenting molecules naturally generated by living eco-systems was to demonstrate that the living eco-systems carried a value beyond the logging value of the forest.
Response of the Wapishana.
The Wapishana were less than thrilled upon hearing about the patents on their revered plants: "When the Wapishana chiefs heard what the biochemist had done, they accused him of stealing the knowledge of their ancestors and elders in order to sell it to pharmaceutical companies. As one Wapishana woman put it, 'This knowledge has always been with the Wapishana. It's part of our heritage and now it is being taken from us without payment.'" The Wapishana contested both of Gorinsky's patents but were only able to get the patent on cunaniol revoked. Ultimately though, Gorinsky let all of the patent fees concerning both his cunaniol and rupununine lapse due to the alienation by and pressure of the Wapishana and conservation groups.
Biopiracy: Good or Bad?
The use of “traditional knowledge” to advance Western medicine has resulted in the development of many influential drugs such as pilocarpine (from the Brazilian plant "Pilocarpus jaborandi") , albuterol, salmeterol, and isoproterenol (from the plant "Ephedra" used in Chinese traditional medicine) , and prostratin (from a Samoan plant). The distinction between biopiracy and bioprospecting is sometimes difficult to distinguish, but biopiracy usually involves the commercial exploitation of indigenous people. Valuable chemical compounds derived from plants are more easily identifiable when collected with indigenous knowledge. Approximately 1/10,000 chemicals derived from mass screening of plants, animals, and microbes results in a potentially profitable drug. Alternatively, Shaman Pharmaceuticals, a company that collects plants by talking to indigenous people and watching them work, reports a 50% success rate on screening of plants for useful bioactivity. Often samples are collected and new drugs derived without considering the rights or well-being of the indigenous people who open their lands and cultures to foreign bioprospectors, as was the case with Conrad Gorinksy and the Wapishana. The following are two short cases that demonstrate the difficulty of distinction.
Eli Lilly.
Eli Lilly derived vinblastine and vincristine from the Madagascar rosy periwinkle plant in the 1950s. Eli Lilly & Co. began marketing the extract as Oncovin in the early 1960s to treat Leukemia and Lyphoma. Eli Lilly makes revenues reported of about $100 million per year off of the extracts, yet neither the shamans who gave the knowledge to Lilly’s researcher nor the Madagascar government have received any type of payments.
The Hoodia Cactus.
For thousands of years, African tribesmen have eaten the Hoodia cactus to stave off hunger and thirst on long hunting trips. Used extensively in the San region in South Africa, the South African Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) patented Hoodia’s appetite-suppressing element as a potential treatment for obesity in 1995. In 1997, they licensed the element to Phytopharm, a British Biotech company, who then licensed it to Pfizer in 1998. In 2002, the San filed a lawsuit claiming that they were being exploited by this use of their knowledge. Although they now receive compensation, it is not much, as they only receive 6-8% of the royalties made by CSIR from Pfizer. As a result, Pfizer is not affected by the lawsuit filed by the San .
Biopiracy benefits most while harming few.
Defenders of biopiracy argue that there is no legal basis for prohibition of this behavior, as traditional knowledge does not constitute private property. Jim Chen, a Professor at Michigan State University College of Law, writes “ethnobiological knowledge already lies in a public domain of sorts, albeit perhaps a very small public consisting of the members of an indigenous tribe whose culture itself is endangered.” Pharmaceutical companies use the endangerment of these tribes in the justification of their practices, claiming rights to produce such medicines because they possess the biotechnology capable of making genetic and biological assets marketable that indigenous populations do not currently or ever will have. Among these companies are Eli Lilly and Pfizer.
Utilitarian ethics also claim biopiracy is permissible because the benefits outweigh the risks. They assert that medicinal value is brought to the first world without imposing significant expenses to the indigenous cultures from whose knowledge a drug is derived. Drug patenting in developed nations ostensibly does not prevent the native peoples from continuing to use their traditional application of the biological compound, and therefore no real harm is done. Scientists argue that advancements in science and human health can be made while causing minimal detriment to people in the third world or they can allow those in the first world to continue to suffer. One scientist, who was criticized for going into the Amazon seeking new anti-cancer compounds without obtaining the informed consent of the indigenous society, offered the following defense: “While we continue to talk about worry about biopiracy, fewer people are out there actually studying the Amazon, which is a serious form of scientific neglect. Of course biopiracy happens, but we have to balance this against not researching the rainforest at all. Ultimately that is much more damaging to mankind.”
Biopiracy harms indigenous people and arises from lapses of professionalism.
A report of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) "suggests a figure of $5.4 billion" that biopiracy cheats third world countries out of per year. . Big pharmaceutical companies exploit developing countries through biopiracy wherein they pay developing governments millions of dollars for exclusive rights to biodiversity prospecting and then pay them millions of dollars in royalties while the companies make billions of dollars in profit. Developing countries agree to short term gains since they don't have the technology to utilize their own biodiversity resources as lucratively as the companies. Patent and IP rights secured by the companies restrict the countries' ownership of their own resources and their sovereignty is diminished.
Clear guidelines and protocols for engaging in mutually beneficial arrangements concerning the commercialization of indigenous knowledge combined with proper compensation of indigenous people and developing countries are contained in the Nagoya protocol, adopted into the Convention on Biological Diversity on October 29, 2010. . As of the date of its adoption, the United States has neither signed nor ratified the protocol. Further, US patent law does not consider oral tradition, or non-documented IP or prior art, when considering new patent applications. The disregard of traditional knowledge as a form of prior art and the failure of the US to acknowledge international guidelines on benefit-sharing with indigenous peoples facilitate biopiracy events and allowed Gorinsky to act in his own, rather than in both his and the Wapishana's, best interests.
In a 2006 interview, Gorinsky claimed that he "wanted to help the Wapishana...to sell their knowledge to the outside world without being exploited by governments and western multinationals" and that to do that he "needed to establish legal title to their genetic heritage." . This contrasts sharply with his statement in a 2000 interview: "Tough, isn't it?...I was not the only person looking at the greenheart...[the Wapishana] just inherited the greenheart. They don't own it. I have invested in this with my own money." . The disparity in these sentiments calls Gorinsky's integrity into question. Through a lapse in his professional training and a breach of trust in his exclusive relationship with his Wapishana guides and teachers, Gorinsky sought to profit from the traditional knowledge of the Wapishana without a their permission and without a clear intention to compensate them. These lapses, both on the individual and corporate levels, harm indigenous people and developing countries by outsourcing the control of biodiversity resources, many of which form the foundation of the economies and livelihoods of both groups.
Conclusion.
Biopiracy provides a good example where the application of stakeholder management is needed. Ed Freeman states “Every business creates, and sometimes destroys, value for customers, suppliers, employees, communities and financiers. The idea that business is about maximizing profits for shareholders is outdated and doesn’t work well, as the recent global financial crisis has taught us…The task of executives to create as much value as possible without resorting to tradeoffs. Great companies endure because they manage to get stakeholder interests aligned in the same direction.” Pharmaceutical companies must learn to align their interests with those of the indigenous cultures or risk losing access to the vast biodiversity and traditional knowledge that they possess.
Large-scale genetic sequencing technology enables multinational companies to more effectively and lucratively utilize biodiversity resources that are generally located in developing countries that lack such technology. This technological gap facilitates inequitable distribution of the profits of biodiversity resources in cases where the companies are able to negotiate highly profitable deals skewed towards their own profit. This can be generalized to demonstrate the potential for exploitation that those with technological means may engage in at the expense of those without.
Despite the disparity in the technological and economical means of the stakeholders, the Convention on Biological Diversity has acknowledged the threat and extent of exploitation that arises through biopiracy. The adoption of the Nagoya protocol facilitates equitable distribution of bioversity resources and the profits therein derived through their utilization. Corporate responsibility and indigenous advocacy can work together to ensure fair utilization of knowledge to the benefit of all.
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Professionalism/Adderall in Academics
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Background.
Adderall is a prescription stimulant that is used to treat fatigue, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), attention deficit disorder (ADD), and narcolepsy. The drug is an amphetamine, a class of drug that stimulates a person’s nervous system by increasing the release of dopamine. The release of dopamine increases alertness and impulsiveness, thus decreasing inattentiveness.
The United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) classifies substances into five schedules based on the drug's medical use and dependency potential with Schedule I as the most dangerous. Schedule I drugs, such as heroin and LSD, are considered the most dangerous because they have no current medical use and have the highest potential for abuse. Adderall is a Schedule II drug, which indicates a current medical use but with a high potential for abuse.
Some of the negative side effects of taking Adderall include loss of appetite, headaches, difficulty sleeping, disrupted heart rhythm, increased blood pressure, long term cardiovascular problems, and strokes. Taking Adderall for prolonged periods may cause withdrawal effects such as fatigue, disorientation, and depression.
Adderall in Universities.
During his commencement speech to the University of Virginia class of 2013, comedian Stephen Colbert recited the school's honor pledge with a slight modification: “On my honor, I pledge that I have neither given nor received help on this assignment…so help me Adderall.” This was a reference to the growing trend in the unprescribed use of Adderall on college campuses. A 2011 national Monitoring the Future study reports: “1 in every 10 college students in the United States has engaged in non-medical use of prescription stimulants in the past year.” This number has been increasing with time. Although purchasing or taking Adderall without a prescription is illegal, many students feel as though it is the only option when faced with continuing academic rigors. A 2012 survey from the American College Health Association revealed that 80% of college students have felt overwhelmed by all they had to do in the past year and 45% have felt things were hopeless. These students take various measures to handle the workload of their courses and in order to meet their expectations for success. Many students have turned to Adderall for assistance because it increases concentration and allows them to focus on their work with no distractions, including the need to eat or sleep. Jared Gabay a senior at Auburn University explains the appeal of using the study drug: "I'm more driven. I don't focus on anything else. If I have a paper, that's all I'm doing. No distractions, no socializing, just on with it." He adds that he used to get C's in his classes but with the help of Adderall his grades have improved to A's and B's.
Based on the 2015 National College Health Assessment at the University of Wisconsin, 7.9% of the population reported the use of stimulants with a prescription, being a commonplace at the university and part of student culture. Once finals roll through, many scavenge for the use of Adderall illegally from others who are prescribed the drugs in hopes to do well in exams. Student have been trained to think "hard work and incredibly impressive resumes" leads them to "happiness" which is what the "American Dream is all about". Being the best leads to the high pressure culture of competition between students. Of the students who use Adderall on a recreational basis, 89.5% of students report the involvement in binge drinking and are three to eight times more likely to use marijuana and prescription tranquilizers. The reasons for increased Adderall abuse in universities are the higher diagnoses rates in the past year resulting in higher rates of manufacturing and prescriptions, overprescription, lack of education about contraindications, and the ease of "illicit distribution channels among peers".
Controversy.
Arguments Supporting Adderall.
Academic Pressure.
The term “Academic Doping" was coined to describe the use of stimulants to achieve academic excellence. Usage ranges from active participation to last resort study tactics. Due to immense academic pressures in the university setting, they have become ubiquitous. An economics major from Columbia University says, “If you don't take them, you'll be at a disadvantage to everyone else." Because Adderall usage is so widespread, it not perceived as cheating or even an unfair advantage by many students. A 2011 graduate of Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis said: “Adderall was a better option than failing and a better option than actually cheating — the traditional type of cheating." In his research on Adderall at the University of Kentucky, DeSantis discovered reoccurring themes in how students justified their use of Adderall. He found that they often compare Adderall to “party drugs” such as cocaine and marijuana. Since they are using it to perform better in school rather than to get high or buzzed, they believe that the use of Adderall is morally justifiable. One student in the study commented: “Adderall is definitely not a drug. No way. It is a study tool. You don’t get high or anything like that. I take it to do good in school. How can that be bad?”
Moral Obligation.
Another perspective supporting the use of Adderall in academics stems from a more philosophical root. According to these pro-Adderall participants, Adderall not only shouldn't be considered cheating, but it also should be used to enhance academic performance. “There is a moral obligation to enhance our capacities for reason, intelligence, and self-control," says James Hughes, the Trinity College director of Institutional Research and Planning. This perspective purports that use of performance-enhancing drugs is a moral obligation of humans as it improves our cognitive capabilities.
Henry Greely of Stanford Law School echoes this thought: "We should welcome new methods of improving our brain function...Safe and effective cognitive enhancers will benefit both the individual and society." This opinion maintains that all safe, performance-enhancing methods are positive and ethically sound.
Arguments Against Adderall.
Unsafe Practice.
Just because Adderall can be taken safely, does not mean users fully understand the risks. Despite FDA warnings, many users believe that it is not addictive and that it cannot “ruin your life like coke or other drugs like it.”
However, users can grow dependent on Adderall. Once users understand the effects, increased procrastination or unhealthy work habits can compensate for the boost in motivation and concentration. In some cases, users become addicted, unable to focus without medication. To combat this, a student group at the University of Colorado at Boulder started a campaign to bring awareness to some of the unexpected consequences associated with abusing Adderall. The campaign consists of a series of memes, or cartoons, printed on cards and distributed around campus. Each meme featured an exasperated cartoon student who has discovered a negative side effect of Adderall with a "#AdderallProblems" caption. Examples included "Sat down at night to crank out a ten-page paper. Ten hours later, I'd color-coded my sock drawer...twice #AdderallProblems", "Stayed up all night studying, slept through the test #AdderallProblems" and "Yelling at yourself to stop talking to yourself #AdderallProblems."
Unfair Advantage.
Adderall usage is not seen as conventional cheating, like plagiarism or copying a test. However, if it results in improved performance, even in the short run, it can be seen as a form of cheating. One student from the University of Texas at Austin saw it as "outside aid that wasn't approved for," ultimately "putting somebody else at a disadvantage." Adderall and Ritalin can only be obtained through a prescription and to purchase the drug through illegal means requires connections and money. Furthermore, students that have conditions such as ADHD and Narcolepsy who require these drugs for treatment, feel as though it is a misuse of the prescription. "Adderall allows those students who are given a disadvantage by this disease to keep up and be on the same level academically as those who do not have ADHD." Students are not the only ones who feel as though unprescribed use of Adderall and Ritalin is unfair. Some universities have recognized the use of these study drugs as an honor code violation. In 2010, Wesleyan University decided to add an "Adderall Clause" to their honor code, which states that students must complete their work without "improper assistance", which includes prescription drugs in the definition.
Effects of Adderall.
Depression from Adderall.
Adderall is used to treat people with ADHD or narcolepsy, which affects certain brain neurotransmitters including dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin to reduce symptoms of hyperactivity and improve focus and concentration. For people who don't have these diseases can experience a high, sensing euphoria, energy, increased focus and concentration, and a boost of self-confidence, being the most commonly abused drug. Once the Adderall wears off, it can cause symptoms of withdrawal or a "crash" including sleep problems, sluggishness, anxiety, irritability, panic attacks, and depression. Being a stimulant, it can cause mood disorders when off it since it changes the chemistry of the brain and is a stimulant of the central nervous system. Withdrawal symptoms tend to be more severe for those who abuse the use of Adderall and take it in very high doses.
Students who are correctly diagnosed with ADHD even with the right dosage have a high risk for developing a major depressive disorder. This may be related to the long-term problems from early in life - having trouble in school, with parents and peers, and developing a low self-esteem. The pressures of school and competition are some of the main contributors including the notion of being the model student in school.
Among the students who are diagnosed with ADHD from ages 2 -17, 2 out of 3 have at least one other mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder, 1 out of 3 have anxiety, and 17% with depression. Adderall in effect with other antidepressants are considered as a potential treatments for depression to counteract the effects of withdrawal from Adderall. This is only for severe cases and not "standard" depression since it can be an addiction potential, the effects of the antidepressant fades quickly, there's an increased dependency and tolerance, and it can worsen the depression experienced in withdrawal.
Adderall and Professionalism.
In the 1970s, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi began to explore the idea of a state of complete and effortless focus and attention. He called this state "flow" and described it as a "single-minded immersion" where a person is both highly challenged and highly skilled in the activity they are doing. Csikszentmihalyi argued that those who often experience "flow" in their lives will be the happiest. This feels dissimilar to the immersion of an Adderall user. Adderall induces this immersion artificially, and this immersion is not necessarily driven by some combination of challenge and skill. Instead, it is driven by a deadline.
The Ends Justify the Means.
Ignoring the legal aspect of Adderall usage, it difficult to determine whether it is ethical. It is possible that medicinal augmentation is the future of human cognition, but Adderall users appear to have something in common.They want to perform at a more efficient rate. If this is the primary motivation is to finish the current task, then a deeper understanding of self and one's connection to the world may be superfluous. Professor Michael Bishop, Chair of Iowa State University's Department of Philosophy and Religion, states: this "perverts the central mission of a university," because a quality education is so much more than the "temporary acquisition of facts," the "ability to solve problems," or to "articulate views." The questions in the professional world are not answered in the form of multiple choice or short answer essays. The professional world requires judgment, "a critical examination of the assumptions that guide one's life,"and one must be weary when dealing with things that appear both convenient and sustainable.
Diagnosis of ADHD by Physicians.
Over-Diagnoses.
With debate of whether ADHD is considered as a "real disease", it is agreed widely that it is over-diagnosed significantly. Medications are not always the best or only option. According to a study in 2010 in the Journal of Health Economics, the youngest of kindergartners were 40% more likely to be diagnosed and twice as likely to take ADHD medications than older students. Physicians making diagnoses for children in early stages of development, thus not distinguishing between normal development immaturity and ADHD. Many doctor visits last 15 to 20 minutes, resulting in a diagnosis without thorough history and examination of the child's case. There is no standardized clinical test to diagnose adequately but rather physicians only ask questions such as "Do you get distracted easily?" or "Is it hard for you to concentrate on one task?" Being distracted from video games or other electronic devices are linked to typical behavior of children with ADHD, which can be fixed with a choice of taking action rather than a pill. Not only is it over-diagnosed, but it is over-prescribed, giving large amounts of dosage which can cause unusual behaviors and addiction.
Over-Prescription.
A possibility of the over-prescription of drugs may be from the inadequate training physicians receive while in medical school, residency or continuing medical education. In a survey conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, 57% of doctors believe in the responsibility of preventing prescription drug diversion and abuse, yet only one third of physicians rated the training as adequate. Meaning two out of three physicians currently in practice lack the knowledge and skills to diagnose addictive drugs. The surplus from over-prescription can result in the dealing of Adderall among students illicitly, leading to substance abuse. More than 20% get access through family members or classmates and only 14.8% retrieve from drug dealers but the most common way of attaining prescription drugs for ADHD is through friends who are diagnosed with ADHD at 63%.
Adderall in the Workplace.
The gamut of performance enhancing methods in any discipline lie on a spectrum of cheating, from well-accepted practices to serious, punishable cheating. Adderall use's place on the spectrum of academic performance enhancement lies between these extremes and is constantly changing.Students that regularly abuse Adderall in College are continuing their practices in the workforce. The pressure to constantly meet deadlines and fear of job loss enables employees to find methods to stay awake longer and focus more. Because of this, abuse and emergency room visits associated with Adderall have risen dramatically in newly graduated employees.
Misuse in Professional Environments.
In an article titled "Workers Seeking Productivity in a Pill Are Abusing A.D.H.D. Drugs", "New York Times" writer Alan Schwarz reported on the growing trend of stimulant abuse in the workplace. Through interviews, Schwarz found that many of the users cite professional pressure to excel and surpass expectations.
An estimated 4% of the U.S. adult population has diagnosed symptoms of ADHD such as inattention, hyperfocus, and disorganization. Many of these adults are receiving prescriptions for stimulants to combat these symptoms. QuintilesIMS reported that in 2012 roughly 16 million Adderall prescriptions were written for adults between ages 20 and 39. According to ExpressScripts, within that group the largest increase in prescriptions from 2008 to 2012 was in the young professional group aged 26 to 34 which almost doubled to 640,000 from 340,000. These users cite the benefit of Adderall in increasing alertness and preventing fatigue. In one of Schwarz's interview with a dentist in eastern Pennsylvania, the dentist prescribed herself Adderall and other stimulants because she could see 15 patients a day rather than 12.
These benefits come with serious risks as Adderall can cause withdrawal symptoms and affect judgement when combined with fatigue. The health and safety implications of Adderall misuse have motivated organizations like the Federal Aviation Administration to forbid pilots to use amphetamines under any circumstances. While traditional drug screenings catch amphetamine abuse, these screenings may happen once in an employee's hiring process and then never again.
Adderall in Sports.
Adderall is also used for athletic performance enhancement. Its perception in the sporting can further help explain its use in academics.
Professional athletes use Adderall to improve focus. Because of this, Adderall is regulated as a performance enhancing drug by major US sports leagues. The NBA, MLB, NFL, NCAA, and MLS have all banned Adderall use without a prescription. In the NHL even use with a prescription is prohibited. Still, pressure to perform drives athletes to abuse such stimulants.
National Football League (NFL).
The NFL has handed out a significant number of Adderall related suspensions. In 2012, of 19 players suspended for failed drug test, 8 were linked to Adderall use. However, because NFL confidentiality policy prohibits the discussion of drug test results, players are free to blame any failed test on Adderall. In sports, where Adderall is less stigmatized than steroids or hard drugs, athletes failing tests are inclined to make the "Adderall Excuse." Stimulants remain less stigmatized as the impact of the advantage they provide is debated. Cleveland Clinic sports medicine physician Rick Figler says the advantage is tangible, as "...it parlays into an increased ability to work out harder; or if they're going through testing to perform testing better; if they're studying a playbook to memorize the playbook." NFL Players have also weighed in. Cornerback Richard Sherman was quoted claiming that half the league uses Adderall, and that the league has to allow it. Sherman later denied the statement, saying he was misquoted. Retired NFL punter Pat McAfee tweeted on February 3, 2017: "First day of retirement I tried adderal for my first time... completely understand why it's considered a PED in the league.. #Limitless."
Major League Baseball (MLB).
Major League Baseball faces its own Adderall problem. Baseball not only requires significant focus on both sides of the game, but also demands constant play and frequent travel from its athletes. Stimulants promise to help them stay focused and alert, even when faced with a packed schedule and tiring road trips. While it's estimated that just 4.4% of the population suffers from ADHD or another condition that warrants stimulant treatment, 9.9% of active MLB players in 2013 had a prescription. In 2014, 9.3% had such prescriptions, and still 8 players were suspended for using Adderall without a prescription. While steroids have long held the PED spotlight in the MLB, stimulants are commanding growing attention.
E-Sports.
The effects of Adderall have made it a popular for competitive esports, allowing players to stay awake longer for more practice time, and increased their hand-eye coordination and focus. Competitive gamers have been public about using Adderall to improve their sense of awareness. Kory "SEMPHIS" Friesen, a professional Counter Strike: Global Offensive player, admitted during an interview that him and his team were "all on Adderall" during a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament in 2015. The ESL have collaborated with the Nationale Anti Doping Agentur to enforce anti-performance enhancing drug policy in order to maintain a spirit of fair play within esports. However, there is debate regarding how much effort is really going into enforcing players to not take unprescribed Adderall. Some players accuse esport competition holders of ignoring Adderall abuse in order to prevent negative press. Professional Halo 3 player Alex Buck said "Imagine if Halo and other esports titles actually prohibited the use of adderall and similar substances at events and didn't turn a blind eye to it."
Esports' revenue has increased 38% from 2017 to 2018, and is expected to increase by 48% in 2018. The risk of adding policies that could prevent popular players from competing may be preventing companies from taking a harder stance on Adderall abuse in esports.
Analogy: Steroids in Sports.
Anabolic steroid use in the sports world is analogous and can help explain why Adderall use exists in such gray area. There are socially acceptable performance supplementing substances such as engineered supplements or drinks, such as Gatorade. There is also conventional cheating, such as bribing judges or referees. However, anabolic steroids lie somewhere in between, similar to Adderall. Both steroids and Adderall are drugs with serious potential health consequences, but are used under pressure to succeed to achieve greater performance. Both substances can be used legally with a valid prescription, but use of both is prohibited for performance enhancement. Just as steroids do not make athletes stronger without work, Adderall does not ensure better grades for students. While large sports organizations have officially banned the use of steroids, Adderall presents a new issue for sports organizations, academic communities, and the professional environment.
Adderall in the Military.
The military has used amphetamines since World War II to help soldiers fight fatigue and increase focus. The military’s annual spending on stimulants increased to $39 million in 2010, up from the $7.5 million spent in 2001, and over a five-year period Adderall and Ritalin prescriptions written for service members increased from 3,000 to 32,000. In an anonymous survey of fighter pilots, 61% who used stimulants reported them "essential to mission accomplishment", as some squadrons spend thirteen to fourteen hours airborne in a given 24-hour period. Ironically, the military will not accept new recruits who have used ADHD medication within the past year.
Adderall and PTSD.
In 2012, the New York Times contended that the rising number of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) cases could in part stem from stimulant usage. Both stimulants and emotional experiences trigger the release of norepinephrine, which helps form long-lasting memories. This explains why people are more likely to remember emotionally arousing events. Because PTSD involves the recollection of a traumatic event, it is possible that stimulants can exacerbate the disorder. Studies suggest that increased norepinephrine levels lead to a higher risk of relapse when reexposed to stressors. Additionally, a study conducted at Harvard showed beta blockers, which weaken the effects of norepinephrine, lessen the symptoms of PTSD in patients compared to placebo treatment. Active-duty service members must remain sharp, but stimulant usage may subject soldiers to dangerous long-term health complications.
Ethics of Adderall Production.
When Shire Pharmaceuticals introduced Adderall in the 1990s, the drug came into favor with students, laborers, and the military. Demand grew, but in the early nineties, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) allowed for less than 500 kg of amphetamine to be commercially produced each year. To avoid shortages of stimulants, Congress voted to increase the quota annually. Votes may have been swayed by corporations like Shire, who, in 2017, spent over $3 million lobbying. By 2017, the amount of amphetamine approved for annual production was 42,400 kg. A possible cause of the increasing demand for stimulants is the overdiagnosis of ADHD in children and adolescents, leading to the overprescription of Adderall and other stimulants. 75% of children with ADHD aged 2-5 receive drugs as treatment, whereas only half receive behavioral therapy, and in 2016, the Centers for Disease Control warned that doctors may be overprescribing medication to this younger demographic. Meanwhile, prescriptions stimulant sales in 2012 were reported at $9 billion in the US alone, five times what they were a decade earlier.
In 2014, Shire Pharmaceuticals was fined $56.5 million for violating the False Claims Act. They had stated that Adderall “normalizes” children with ADHD, among other claims not supported by clinical research. Shire was fined again in 2017 in violation of the False Claims Act for $350 million. The False Claims Act allows patients and health care providers to make informed treatment decisions, yet Shire continues to prioritize their economic interests. Recently, Shire partnered with celebrity spokespeople to spread public awareness of adult ADHD, an attempt to capitalize on a growing market. The effectiveness of ADHD treatment with Adderall cannot be denied, but the intentions of Shire Pharmaceuticals are called into question.
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299490
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46022
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299490
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Trainz/AM&C/PEVtools
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PEVtools and Fixing Assets.
Long time Trainz user and retired electrical engineer PEV (Peter Villaume) has written some tools for fixing content, applicable to several Trainz generations, useful for maintenance and modification of assets in running TS2009—TS2012 thru TRS19. These install under the manufacturer 'PEVSoft', and are quite safe—since as a private individual PEV isn't going to pay an annual certification fee, just ignore warnings by Windows or other security software.
Since they operate on Trainz data-primitives (Meshes and texture files), there actually is no Trainz release where they are inapplicable, with a little basic knowledge of how to adapt Windows to work with them. Some, like TrainCar Viewer2.exe will baulk, if an asset antedates TS2009 (actually 's less than 2.9); Both TRS2006 and TANE, are known to clear out and delete local batch files installed in it's respective ..\editing folder if there is an software update or database rebuild (by command request). Rewriting the batch utilities for a slightly different folder launch point (or to just be an archive from which to re-copy the deleted ones back where you want them) is all that is needed to keep the toolbox in play!
<br>
# Images2TGA,
# PM2IM,
# QuickShadows, and especially
# Mesh Viewer2.
Acquiring and Installing PEVs tools.
PEV's tools will be maintained by the community on one website or another as they are invaluable. Peter V. is a real programmer situated on the opposite (or Sydney) side of Australia from N3V/Auran's small town location on the Gold Coast near Brisbane, but ceased hosting his tools on his own website in mid-2013 when the task was taken over by Trainz fan Shane Turner on .
Tutorials for PEV's Tools.
John King's Trainz Resources NewsLetter published a series of tutorials on PEV's Trainz Tools.
They covered:
Images2TGA "for manipulating all image types used in Trainz"
PM2IM "for conversions of Progressive Meshes to Indexed Meshes"
QuickShadows "for creating simple shadows where needed"
AttachmentMaker "add attachments to assets in minutes"
Reprints of these are available from Shane's downloads page.
Attachment Maker.
A program to add attachment points to existing assets by creating an invisible mesh with those points. Very simple and quick to use; add attachments in minutes.
Images2TGA.
A program to "uncompress" N3V's " files" as they are internally packed and stored during the processing by when . This exposes the various raw image files and makes them and their 's available to manipulation and adjustments. Images2TGA enables unpacking and viewing of all image types used in Trainz through TS2012.
TANE and TRS19 have expanded the list of allowable texture source files, and the utility probably won't work with .PGA files. The TGA on the title is merely a reflection of those being the original preferred image format for texture files.
The program can also convert any image to another format, as well as add and manipulate alpha images. You can attach your favorite image editor to allow opening of images for edit from within Images2TGA. The program handles the latest compressed textures and allows conversion of these images to other formats. The trawl feature can be used to convert textures to TGAs.
A tool program to convert the really outdated Auran progressive meshes (PM) to indexed meshes (IM). An option is provided to alter specular values that can cause unwanted shine on object surfaces.
PM2IM.
Note: many texture faults can be fixed by re-extracting the .im file with PEV's PM2IM program, use it standalone from inside Windows (Open to point it to the asset folder) or can be put in a batch in ..\editing or launched (first) from inside 's drop down menu.
Trainz Mesh Viewer 2.
This program is able to display complete traincars and textured meshes, allowing viewing of the partial or total asset.
* Note: Bogeys on some traincars using a single bogey type may not display properly with one legal configuration of the , but do for the alternative (simple version). When you see a single wheel centered in a two wheel bogey, you'll be observing this first hand.
QuickShadows.
PEV has also written a tool for creating asset shadow meshes and with embedded texture fixes (updates of older assets), called QuickShadows for Traincars, bridges, and the few other asset types which require such from TRS2004 when the feature began for such assets through TS12. Quickshadows will take any Trainz mesh and create a shadow mesh based on the input it gets fed. TANE make's dynamic shadows for everything, supposedly so at this writing we infer adding such to assets will be more for the sake of completing compatibility with older versions than of actual necessity.
Quickshadows has several modes for making traincar shadow meshes, which should be experimented with to find a proper minimal polygon shadow for the asset. Clicking the Low Poly shadows option should resorted to only for a complex traincar, such as locomotives. For most rolling stock and buildings, the simple shadow click box settings do fine.
Alternative local PM2IM.bat.
If you want to see what is happening despite fast modern computer executions, you can trick out a batch file with some status messages and" 'wait-for-keypress' delays" such as this file incorporates:
Note the presence of FNR.exe in the above, and a different root directory for PEVtools "on 'that' "computer install.
Compare that with the PEV installed file: (with "added full pathspec" REM line as a ID-header.)
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299491
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46022
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299491
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Trainz/AM&C/Setting up PEVtools
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Acquiring and Installing PEVs tools.
For the foreseeable future, PEV's tools will be maintained by the community on one website or another as they are invaluable. Peter V. is a real programmer situated on the opposite (or Sydney) side of Australia from N3V/Auran's small town location on the Gold Coast near Brisbane, but ceased hosting his tools on his own website in mid-2013 when the task was taken over by Trainz fan Shane Turner on .
Some fine points.
Windows can set associations with file types either through "Folder Options" in the menuing or by using a option. The former method limits one to one application per type, the second can be finessed to know of several applications which can open said file type, then present the short list when asked to" 'open with' "but defaulting to a preferred application by using .
Setting file associations.
Setting a file association is simplest when there is a file type you need to manipulate, use, or process.
PEVtools batch files.
Notes, Footnotes & References.
Config.txt files are endemic and ever present in Trainz assets, for no asset can be defined without this type of {{TRC|p=Computer Science container}}. The keyword-value_of_key pairing must always be kept in mind in editing or creating Trainz content. The {{TBS|5=TrainzBaseSpec}} contains values and containers which are most common in asset defining config.txt files.
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299498
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2882103
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299498
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A-level Computing 2009/AQA/Problem Solving, Programming, Operating Systems, Databases and Networking/Problem Solving/Reverse Polish notation
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Reverse Polish notation is an alternative way of writing mathematical expressions.
Infix expressions.
You will already be familiar with infix expressions where the operator is between two operands. E.g. 4 + 5 where the numbers 4 and 5 are the operands and + is the operator. The operators you will need to be familiar with are + (addition), - (subtraction), * (multiplication), / (division) and ↑(exponent).
When we write expressions in infix notation it can be confusing as to which operation should be performed first. For example, in the expression 4 + 5 * 6 we only know that the multiplication operation should be performed first because we have learnt the BIDMAS (or equivalent) rules. A computer does not automatically know this and would have to be programmed with the rules in order to carry out these operations correctly.
Reverse Polish notation (RPN).
RPN is a way of getting round this and provides a way to write expressions without the need for brackets. This makes it much easier for a computer to evaluate the expressions. RPN places the operator after the operands it is to operate on. E.g. 54 + 20 would be written as 54 20 + in RPN.
Examples.
Q: Write the infix expression "x + y" in Reverse Polish notation<br>
A: "x y +"
Q: Write the infix expression "(x - y)*7" in RPN<br>
A: "x y - 7 *"
Q: Write the RPN expression "x 2 ↑" in infix form<br>
A: "x2"
Q: Write the RPN expression "x y + x y - *" in infix form<br>
A: "(x + y)*(x - y)"
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299504
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3097823
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299504
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Punjabi/Grammar/Parts of speech
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Parts of Speech.
English speakers reading this Wikibook are likely already familiar with the concept of parts of speech from English grammar. Parts of speech in Punjabi are similar. These are ਨਾਂਵ (noun), ਪੜਨਾਂਵ (pronoun), ਕਿਰਿਆ (verb), ਵਿਸ਼ੇਸ਼ਣ (adjective), ਕਿਰਿਆ ਵਿਸ਼ੇਸ਼ਣ (adverb), ਸੰਬੰਧਕ (postposition), ਯੋਜਕ (conjunction) and ਵਿਸਮਿਕ (interjection). We will study these concepts in following chapters.
# ਕਰਤਾ ਕਾਰਕ subjective or nominative case is used for the doer of the verb's action.
# ਕਰਮ ਕਾਰਕ objective case is used for the object of the action of the verb.
# ਕਰਨ ਕਾਰਕ instrumental or agentative case is used for the instrument with which the action of the verb is done or the agent through which it is done.
# ਸੰਪ੍ਰਦਾਨ ਕਾਰਕ dative case is used for indirect object of verb that is the beneficiary of the action of the verb or receives something.
# ਅਪਾਦਾਨ ਕਾਰਕ ablative case is used for something that is moving away from or is being given away by the subject.
# ਸੰਬੰਧ ਕਾਰਕ postpositional case is that which establishes a relation with subject.
# ਅਧਿਕਰਣ ਕਾਰਕ locative case is used for the place where or on/in/under which something is placed.
# ਸੰਬੋਧਨ ਕਾਰਕ vocative case is the address to another person, etc.
Inflection and Declension.
Grammar, in large part, deals with functionality related to word forms. Change of word forms due to its grammatical functionality, in general, is called inflection and in the case of noun, pronoun and adjective declension. We shall examine the rules of inflection and declension in this module.
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299507
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46022
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299507
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Punjabi/Grammar/Participle
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ਕਿਰਦੰਤ - Participle.
A derivative of a root verb when used as a noun, an adjective or an adverb is called a participle.
Let us examine the following four sentences or phrases
* ਸਿਪਾਹੀ ਮਰਦੇ ਗਏ - sepoys went on dying.
* ਮਰਦੇ ਨੂੰ ਬਚਾਇਆ ਗਿਆ - the dying (person) was saved.
* ਮਰਦੇ ਸਿਪਾਹੀ ਨੂੰ ਬਚਾਇਆ ਗਿਆ - the dying sepoy was saved.
* ਸਿਪਾਹੀ ਨੇ ਮਰਦਿਆਂ ਵੀ ਹਥਿਆਰ ਨਹੀਂ ਸੁਟੇ - sepoy did not lay down arms even while dying.
In the first example ਮਰਦੇ is used as a verb of the subject ਸਿਪਾਹੀ. Now contrast it with the second example where ਮਰਦੇ is used as a noun rather than a verb. In the third example the same word ਮਰਦੇ is used as an adjective of the noun ਸਿਪਾਹੀ. Finally ਮਰਦਿਆਂ, a derivative of the same root verb ਮਰ is used as an adverb. Thus a derivative from a verb may be used as a noun, an adjective or an adverb besides a verb. <br>
Participles are classified into four classes viz., (a) ਭਾਵਾਰਥ ਕਿਰਦੰਤ - infinitive participle, (b) ਵਰਤਮਾਨ ਕਿਰਦੰਤ - present participle, (c) ਭੂਤ ਕਿਰਦੰਤ - past participle and (d) ਪੂਰਨ ਕਿਰਦੰਤ - perfect participle.
Rule 1. ਭਾਵਾਰਥ ਕਿਰਦੰਤ or infinitive participle is obtained from the root verb by adding ਨਾ or ਣਾ and though it coverys an action like a verb it has no tense i.e. it does not tell us the time of the action. See for example
*ਭਾਗਾਂ ਵਾਲਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਮਰਨਾ ਸੁਖਾਲਾ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ (persons with good deeds die easy).
Here ਮਰਨਾ is used as a noun and therefore is an infinitive participle. See another example
*ਤੁਹਾਡਾ ਸਾਡੇ ਘਰ ਆਉਣਾ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਚੰਗਾ ਲੱਗਿਆ (we liked your coming to our house).
Here ਆਉਣਾ is also used as a noun and therefore is an infinitive participle.
Rule 2. The present participle is formed by adding ਦਾ and its variants (ਦੀ, ਦੇ, ਦੀਆਂ) to the root verb. In the following examples
*ਮਰਦੇ ਨੂੰ ਬਚਾਇਆ ਗਿਆ and ਮਰਦੇ ਸਿਪਾਹੀ ਨੂੰ ਬਚਾਇਆ ਗਿਆ
the participle ਮਰਦੇ is in the present tense and therefore it is the ਵਰਤਮਾਨ ਕਿਰਦੰਤ - present participle. See one more example
*ਉਹਨੇ ਪੜ੍ਹਦੇ ਬੱਚੇ ਨੂੰ ਸਕੂਲੋਂ ਹਟਾ ਲਿਆ (he made the studying child drop out from school).
Here ਪੜਦੇ in ਪੜ੍ਹਦੇ ਬੱਚੇ is an adjective and therefore present participle.
Rule 3. An important exception to the above rule is when the root verb ends in a vowel or a vowel followed by ਹ. In such cases the vowel gets nasalized to as in ਰੋਂਦਾ from ਰੋ, ਪੀਂਦਾ from ਪੀ, ਖਾਂਦਾ from ਖਾ, ਖੋਂਹਦਾ from ਖੋਹ, ਪੀਂਦਾ from ਪੀ etc.
Rule 4. The present participle of some verbs ending in ਆ is formed by adding ਉ to the root verb, nasalizing it and then adding ਦਾ or its variants as in ਆਉਂਦਾ from ਆ, ਗਾਉਂਦਾ from ਗਾ, ਨ੍ਹਾਉਂਦਾ From ਨ੍ਹਾ, ਪਾਉਂਦਾ from ਪਾ etc. The present participle changes according to number/gender.
Rule 5. When the root verb ends in ਆ past participle is formed by adding ਇਆ to the root verb as in ਗਾਇਆ from ਗਾ, ਪਾਇਆ from ਪਾ.
Rule 6. If the root verb ends with a consonant the past participle is formed by adding sihari to the end consonant followed by ਆ as in ਸੁਣਿਆ from ਸੁਣ, ਲਿਖਿਆ from ਲਿਖ, ਤੁਰਿਆ from ਤੁਰ etc.
Rule 7. Like present participle the past participle also changes by number/gender. A distinguishing feature however is that the past participle changes according to the number/gender of the subject if the verb is intransitive or the object if it is transitive.
See this example: ਵਿਦਿਆਰਥੀ ਨੇ ਪੜ੍ਹ ਕੇ ਸੁਣਾਇਆ - student narated by reading. Here ਪੜ੍ਹ ਕੇ indicates an action which is completed. It modifies the verb ਸੁਣਾਇਆ and therefore is participle. The participle which indicates a completed action is called perfect participle
Rule 8. Perfect participle is formed by the adding ਕੇ to the root verb.
Rule 9. Unlike the present and past participles perfect participle does not have number/gender variations.
ਪੂਰਨ ਕਿਰਦੰਤ - perfect participle.
We have dealt with participles at some length. The reason is that besides the above uses of the participles, the same participle forms are used in verbs which we shall examine in tenses. We now give below some more examples.
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299511
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3345492
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299511
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Professionalism/Edward Snowden and the NSA
|
In June 2013, Edward Snowden leaked top secret NSA documents to the media, revealing the existence of numerous global surveillance programs to the public, including Boundless Informant,Prism, and XKEYSCORE. His leaks have been described as the most significant in U.S. history.
Background.
Snowden’s decision was very calculated, and his background and motivations are important in understanding his decision. Edward Snowden did not follow a typical path to government employment as a high-level technical expert. In 2004, Snowden enlisted in the US Army Reserve as a special forces candidate, wishing to fight in the Iraq War to "help free people from oppression." He was discharged after four months of training due to injuring both legs in a training accident and worked briefly as a security specialist in Maryland. In 2006, Snowden attended a career fair where he was offered a position at the CIA. Despite no formal training, Snowden had very little trouble advancing through the ranks. He had a natural talent with computers, referring to himself as a "computer wizard" and was quickly admitted for training in a CIA program for technology specialists. At this time, Snowden was a strong supporter of the government, reportedly saying that anyone who leaks secret documents should be “shot in the balls.”
However, Snowden’s outlook changed with experience. In 2007, the CIA stationed Snowden in Geneva with diplomatic cover. In this position, Snowden maintained computer network security as the "top technical and cybersecurity expert" in the country and worked closely with CIA operatives. During his time in Geneva, Snowden had experiences with CIA operations that caused him to begin questioning the government's methods. Specific examples of CIA abuse of power mentioned by Snowden have been disputed as infeasible.
It is believed that Snowden began collecting top secret documents with the intent to leak around this time. By 2008, Snowden had enough documents to form a substantial leak, but held off due to hopes that President Obama would institute security reforms. In 2009, Snowden quit work with the CIA and began work at Dell as a NSA sub-contractee, managing computer systems for multiple government agencies. During this time, Snowden collected over 50,000 classified documents, but was still uncertain if leaking was the right thing to do.
The turning point for Snowden came on March 15, 2013, when Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lied under oath to Congress about information collected by the NSA on American citizens. Three days later, Snowden quit his job as lead technologist for the NSA's information-sharing office in Hawaii to work at the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton. According to Snowden, this choice was driven by an intention to more effectively gather data on the NSA's worldwide surveillance activity and meant turning down a lucrative position at the NSA's Tailored Access Operations. Snowden made digital copies of upwards of 1.5 million documents during this time, turning them over to journalists after fleeing to Hong Kong. After a brief stay there, Snowden went to Russia, where he now resides under temporary asylum.
The Leak.
Snowden's first leak led to the USA Freedom Act of 2015. This put an end to the collection of phone records and metadata but left Prism and XKEYSCORE untouched. Snowden's leaks caused public distrust in the NSA and federal government. Snowden justifies his actions by saying he just wanted the public to know what the government was doing. He felt it was unjust that "even if you're not doing anything wrong you're being watched and recorded."
Size and scope.
Glenn Greenwald of The Guardian, the first news outlet to interview Snowden, originally received 10,000 files from Snowden. The director of the National Security Agency, Keith Alexander, initially estimated that 200,000 documents were taken. Later, this estimate was changed to 1.7 million documents, 200,000 of which were leaked to journalists in Hong Kong . Snowden claims that he gave up all classified documents to the journalists in Hong Kong, but the NSA estimates that he still had access to 1.5 million leaked documents. Many of these documents don't directly relate to the NSA's surveillance program and the Washington Post reported that 30,000 documents dealt with military capabilities and weapon systems. In 2018, U.S. intelligence officials reiterated that they were still counting the scope of the Snowden's documents. They were on their seventh classified assessment of these leaks and had observed damage to five categories of classified information.
Prism.
On June 6, 2013, Snowden leaked his first document about the NSA monitoring U.S. telephone metadata. A day later, June 7,2013, Snowden leaked an NSA powerpoint about Prism. Prism is an NSA surveillance program that takes data directly from the servers of Google, Microsoft, Apple, and six other large tech companies. The NSA claims to have direct access to these servers while the companies involved refute that claim. A slide shows that data from Microsoft has been collected since 2007. According to Snowden, Prism "is the biggest single contributor to its intelligence reports."
XKEYSCORE.
XKEYSCORE is the NSA’s largest surveillance program. XKEYSCORE is an expansion of the U.S. interception stations to the Internet. The NSA has tapped into the fiber optic cables that make up the Internet to collect data such as searches, emails, user keystrokes, usernames, and passwords. This allows the NSA to receive data from users worldwide. The ability to track keystrokes gives the NSA access to anything with a username password combination. Large amounts of U.S. citizen data are collected in their searches, giving the NSA unauthorized access to our devices. Even though NSA employees are trained to avoid U.S. citizen data in their searches, experts believe that isn’t very effective. With all of that searchable data, the NSA can use XKEYSCORE as its personal form of Google. The NSA is able to search the data based off of location, keywords in the user’s search or messages, and individual users. Snowden said that he could "wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant, to a federal judge to even the president, if [he] had a personal email.”
Regardless of his decision, Snowden asserted his own moral judgement onto society in leaking. By not taking action, Snowden would have decided that government secrecy trumped the needs for an informed public. Interviews with Snowden suggest that he made a decision that agreed both with his morals and that most closely matched those of society. When Bradley Manning leaked, the public was most upset with his disclosure of documents that put soldiers in danger. Snowden was careful to avoid leaking any information that might lead to U.S. servicemen being injured but potentially negatively impacted U.S. national security.
Tempora.
In 2011, the British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) launched the surveillance program Tempora. This program intercepts internet communications through fiber optic cables, similar to XKEYSCORE, enabling the GCHQ to process and search phone calls, emails, Facebook messages, etc. Consisting of two separate projects, and , the goal was to aggregate phone communications and online activity . Interceptors were placed on an estimated 200 fiber optic cables, giving the GCHQ access to 10 gigabits of data each second. In order to decrease this massive amount of data, Tempora utilizes Massive Volume Reduction, where data is only saved if it sets off predefined triggers . Between the NSA and the GCHQ, a combined 550 analysts were assigned to analyze this stream of data, looking for possible threats to national security. Snowden told The Guardian, "It's not just a US problem. The UK has a huge dog in this fight."
Motivation.
Snowden considered leaking government documents back in 2008, but was hopeful that President-Elect would approach spying/data collection with more transparency . Snowden's hopes weren't realized in the President's first term, and In the summer of 2012 Snowden made his first batch of illegal downloads. However, Snowden's turning point came in March of 2013, when he saw the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, directly lie under oath to Congress. "Seeing that really meant for me there was no going back" he said in an interview with The Guardian. Snowden cites that his unprecedented level of access to national information exposed him to a broad range of ethical dilemmas. Whereas the average employee would only encounter one or two instances of this in their life, his work saw these "abuses" frequently and fostered a culture of acceptance. Snowden's feeling of wrongdoing kept building as his concerns fell on deaf ears. Coming to the realization that these actions need to be judged by the public and not somebody "simply hired by the government," he came to his final decision. Snowden's "sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them." In December 2013, a U.S. federal judge, Richard J. Leon of Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, found the NSA's systematic collection of phone data to be unconstitutional. In a statement from Moscow following this ruling, Snowden emphasized that he "acted on the belief that the N.S.A.'s mass surveillance programs would not withstand constitutional challenge."
Speaking out against one’s superiors is a difficult decision. In Edward Snowden’s case, the outcome of blowing the whistle was unpredictable. Rather than dealing with a clear, quantifiable physical risk, Snowden was grappling with a complex moral issue. The effect on society from leaking classified information was not obvious. Snowden had to use his professional judgement to make a decision on behalf of society without knowing the exact outcome of his actions.
In the Challenger Shuttle Explosion, and other similar cases investigated, the goals of the organization – safety and security – were often aligned with those of whistleblowers. Snowden, however, was not hired to carry out moral judgements. As late as 2007, Snowden was an ardent supporter of security and the right to secrecy of the government. The interests of the public did not necessarily line up with those of his organization, and Snowden was forced to choose between the NSA and society. In this situation, professional ethics mandate an individual to align themselves with society. As the long term goals of any government agency is to help society, it can also be argued that Snowden was simply preventing the NSA from circumventing its own goal. Snowden’s willingness to leak the documents despite his prior beliefs lends support to his decision .
Snowden's Flight.
Snowden has come under criticism for fleeing the United States after leaking. Senator Chuck Schumer stated, “Others who have practiced civil disobedience in the past have stood up and faced the charges because they strongly believed in what they were doing. Mr. Snowden is a coward who has chosen to run.” In fleeing the US, Snowden put himself beyond the reach of the judicial system and shielded himself from public response. As the saying goes, “Don’t commit the crime if you can’t do the time.” However, could Snowden expect a fair trial in the US, and should he be required to face the consequences of his actions if the public supports him?
Daniel Ellsberg has stated his support for Snowden’s decision to flee. Though Ellsberg remained in the US after leaking the Pentagon Papers (and was ultimately acquitted due to prosecutorial misconduct), he believes the political climate has changed, and Snowden would not receive a fair trial today. Ellsberg points out Bradley Manning’s immediate incarceration and deplorable conditions, in addition to the ubiquitousness of the surveillance state. Ellsberg also notes that if Snowden truly helped the US (as he believes), then he shouldn’t have to face extended prison time.
The classified nature of Snowden’s case makes it difficult to compare to similar acts of civil disobedience. Snowden had few avenues to change the laws he thought were unjust. Though many have pointed out existing whistleblower protections, these usually did not apply to Snowden as a government contractor. Furthermore, Snowden’s superiors already approved of these data collection programs in the first place, so whistleblowing wouldn’t bring them any new information. Snowden’s legal advisor Ben Wizner asks, "Was he supposed to call the Senate Intelligence Committee and say, 'I'd like to report to you a program you approved in secret...'?" This leaves breaking the law and appealing to the public as the only viable way for Snowden to have effected change in the NSA.
Snowden would have faced almost certain prison time had he stayed in the US. Bradley Manning received 35 years of confinement for his actions, and the Obama administration has taken a very strong stance against leakers. Perhaps the only option for Snowden to avoid serving time would be for President Obama to grant him clemency. However, the White House has ruled out this route for the foreseeable future, even though the government has admitted mistakes in its handling of the NSA and made changes to its programs. Many believe that granting clemency would be politically disastrous for the Obama Administration, and note that the government’s refusal to commute Snowden’s sentence could just be politically infeasible instead of an act of righteousness.
Secrecy is necessary for any government to function, and Snowden took an oath to uphold the NSA’s secrecy when he joined as a contractor. Part of professionalism is adhering to one’s commitments, and Snowden broke these when he leaked classified information. Snowden believed the extenuating circumstances of his situation justified his decision to leak and flee, and he believes that public support of his decision would vindicate his actions. However, Snowden could not be sure the public reaction to his disclosure before making them. If the public response had been negative, Snowden should have returned to the US to face the consequences of his actions.
There is no easy or correct answer to the question of whether Snowden should have fled the US. In a perfect justice system, citizens must face the consequences of their actions when they break the law. In this case, by making a decision on behalf of society, Snowden should face the consequences that society dictates. However, our justice system is imperfect, and the consequences for Snowden’s actions wouldn’t necessarily represent society’s decisions. The usual routes to changing the system were closed off to Snowden. Ultimately, fleeing is an extraordinary act to be reserved for extraordinary circumstances. Whether these circumstances applied to Snowden remains up for debate.
Government Response.
Edward Snowden’s professional ethics led his decision to leak classified information, but more than just his professionalism played a role throughout this controversy. Many government officials had to address concerns in the public because of the leaks, while also taking a hard stance against Snowden for breaking the law. Shortly after the 2013 leaks, President Obama ordered the review of government surveillance programs to ease public distrust. President Obama stated, “It is not enough for me, as president, to have confidence in these programs. The American people need to have confidence in them as well.” A team of five security and policy experts, along with a team from the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board reviewed various surveillance programs. A presidential policy directive was released in January of 2014 based on information in reports from these two review teams, and assessments by the presidential administration. In early 2015, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) issued a public report on enacted reforms for surveillance in the US. This included five-year limits on US holdings of non-citizen personal information and a three-year limit on FBI issued gag orders for user information from companies.
The policy changes initiated in response to Snowden’s leaks were minimal, and many surveillance concerns remained unaddressed, mainly the continued collection of bulk telephone metadata, and the collection of ‘incidental’ data on U.S citizens. Elizabeth Goitein, the co-director of the Brennan Center Justice’s program on liberty and national security, stated, “From a big picture analysis, there’s been a whole lot of developments without a whole lot of movement. These reforms feel more like gestures.”
Not long after the ODNI released their public reform report, the USA Freedom Act was passed. The name of the new legislation itself, Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ending Eavesdropping, Dragnet-collection, and Online Monitoring Act, serves well to garner support from the public. This was the successor to the USA Patriot Act which had allowed for the indiscriminate monitoring of personal information in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This new legislation prohibited the collection of bulk customer data, raised transparency in Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) cases, and allowed technology firms to inform the public when government agencies requested sensitive information. This new reform had garnered even the praise of Edward Snowden, but some individuals argued that instead of ending illegal monitoring by agencies like the NSA, it instead laid a legal framework for continued monitoring under governmental endorsement.
In September of 2020, the US court of appeals issued a verdict stating that NSA’s warrantless collection of American telephone data violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and was unconstitutional. Edward Snowden commented on Twitter, “I never imagined that I would live to see our courts condemn the NSA’s activities as unlawful and in the same ruling credit me for exposing them.” In December 2020, as President Trump was nearing the end of his first term, some congressional members had proposed that Edward Snowden be a potential recipient of a presidential pardon. Despite Trump calling Edward Snowden ‘a spy who should be executed,’ Trump had expressed willingness to add Snowden to his list of pardons. Many congressional members expressed opposition to this pardoning, however. Newt Gingrich stated, “Snowden did enormous damage to the United States and I can’t imagine any reason for pardoning him.” A house republican, Liz Cheney, echoed this by saying, “He’s responsible for largest, most damaging leak of classified information in US history.”
There is no consensus of professional ethics among political officials central to this controversy. Edward Snowden’s actions had been a public service, but to the detriment of the US government. While there is some praise for his actions, Snowden broke the law and defied the trust of many government agencies. Politicians had retained the view of Snowden as a traitor, even after the NSA’s actions were deemed unconstitutional. The misalignment of Snowden’s ethics to act in society’s interests, and for those of officials to condemn the actions of a criminal kept him from receiving the presidential pardon.
Snowden in the Modern Day.
Edward Snowden fled to Russia on temporary asylum. According to the Guardian at the time, "the former NSA contractor has not been granted political asylum, which would have allowed him to stay in Russia permanently. However, Kucherena [Snowden's Lawyer] said Snowden would be able to extend his residency permit for a further three years when it runs out and after five years would be eligible to apply for Russian citizenship." Russia’s compliance in harboring Snowden strained US-Russian relationships. Russia's actions were in direct defiance of the White House, causing embarrassment for the United States. In response to Russia's decision, US Justice Department spokesman, Peter Carr, stated, "It remains our position that Mr. Snowden should return to the United States and face the charges filed against him...If he does, he will be accorded full due process and protections"
In an interview with PEN America in 2015, Snowden explained, "People say I live in Russia, but that's actually a little bit of a misunderstanding. I live on the Internet, and that’s where I spend all of my time.”
Since the leak, Snowden has become an outspoken digital citizen. Snowden is active on Twitter, chiming in on issues related to digital privacy, mass surveillance, whistleblowing, and oversteps of government. .
Snowden has taken a strong stance against the FBI in the San Bernardino encryption debate. Snowden believes the FBI is acting unconstitutionally and against the interests of Americans: “Unbelievable: FBI sneaks radical expansion of power through courts, avoiding public debate… remember when the @FBI was concerned about compliance with court orders?”. Snowden has also taken interest in the Panama Papers leak, tweeting: “The #PanamaPapers led to raids, resignations, and regulations. Yet the source enjoys no legal protection. A whistle poisoned by law.” Snowden expresses his concern over politicians involved in the scandal: “Resignation of Iceland's PM may explain why the UK PM is so insistent public has no right to know a PM's "private" finances. #PanamaPapers.” He takes aim at the James Cameron, “UK Twitter right now: "Let's hope Cameron resigns." With respect, hope is not a strategy. #PanamaPapers.”
In 2014, Snowden joined a non-profit organization called Freedom of the Press. This organization is “dedicated to helping support and defend public-interest journalism focused on exposing mismanagement, corruption, and law-breaking in government.” . In 2016, Snowden became president of the organization and has continued to serve Freedom of the Press through 2021.
Snowden has also been interviewed by major news agencies, such as the BBC, the Guardian, and NBC. In an interview with the Guardian, Snowden says, “If I end up in chains in Guantánamo I can live with that.”. Snowden explained to the BBC in 2015 that “Smartphones can be taken over” . In a 2014 interview with NBC, Snowden emphasizes that while he condemns mass surveillance, stating, “I take the threat of terrorism seriously”.
"Last Week Tonight" host, John Oliver, did an interview with Snowden in Moscow in 2015 that garnered much attention.
In a 2016 film directed by Oliver Stone titled "Snowden", actor Joseph Gordan depicted Snowden’s experiences working with government agencies, leaking sensitive information, and immediate fallout from his actions . The film received moderate ratings and earned $37 million on a $40 million budget .
Controversy Over His Memoir.
On September 17th 2019, Edward Snowden released a memoir titled "Permanent Record" in which he described the story of his upbringing, his career as a government agent, his rational for leaking the sensitive government secrets, and an analysis of how government surveillance has evolved since . Upon release, Snowden was subject to a lawsuit by the United States Government. Snowden did not submit his memoir to the CIA and NSA for a pre-publication review, which the lawsuit claims is a violation of the non-disclosure agreements that Snowden signed with these agencies. The US government sought to recover all proceeds earned by the memoir, an action established in precedent by the Supreme Court in Snepp v. United States. Supporting the lawsuit, Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen stated that “Edward Snowden violated his legal obligations to the United States, and therefore, his unlawful financial gains must be relinquished to the government.” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia George Terwilliger asserted that “Intelligence information should protect our nation, not provide personal profit,” and that the lawsuit “will ensure that Edward Snowden receives no monetary benefits from breaching the trust placed in him.”
Snowden defended his refusal to submit his book for pre-publication review in an interview with Trevor Noah on the Daily Show. He admitted that his actions violated Standard Form 312, a secrecy agreement that prevents agents from releasing agency secrets. However, he also shared the oath of service that he took as a government agent, that he will “support and defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Snowden claimed that the actions he witnessed while working for these agencies violated the constitution, which pitted his commitment to the oath of service against his secrecy agreement. When addressing his decision not to submit his book to the CIA for approval, Snowden asked Trevor Noah whether he would let the CIA revise the memoir and “edit your life story,” to which Noah replied, “I would not.” Snowden responded, “Me neither” .
On Returning to the US.
In the same 2019 interview with Trevor Noah, Edward Snowden shared his reservations about returning to the United States. Snowden affirmed that his “ultimate goal will always be to return back to the United States.” However, his return to the United States is contingent on what he considers a “fair trial.” Snowden goes on to describe how the Government allows no defense for sharing confidential information with a journalist and will actively forbid a jury from hearing a defense or rational for a defendant’s actions. He contrasts this against a murder case, where a defendant could plead self-defense and potentially justify their actions (justifiable homicide). Until Snowden is assured that he will be able to defend his case to a jury, he intends to remain in exile .
In the meantime, Snowden and his wife, Lindsay Mills, were granted permanent residence in Russia in October of 2020 . Snowden and his wife have also applied for dual citizenship to protect their newborn son. In a November 1st tweet, Snowden writes, “After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our son. That's why, in this era of pandemics and closed borders, we're applying for dual US-Russian citizenship” . 2021 marks the 8th year in exile for Edward Snowden, and it is impossible to predict if or when he and his family will return to the United States. However, he continues to hold true to his ideals, as conveyed in a January tweet, “I would rather be without a state than without a voice.”
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Professionalism/Bernie Madoff's Ponzi Scheme
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When Bernie Madoff's asset management business was uncovered as a Ponzi scheme in December 2008, his clients lost more than $50 billion dollars in deposits overnight. Madoff's operation is widely believed to be the largest Ponzi scheme ever attempted.
In the reporting and analysis that inevitably follow these sorts of headline events, there is a tendency to focus on the unique badness of the perpetrator. Men like Madoff often end up portrayed in a movie super-villain archetype: Individuals of exceptional ability and intelligence, who are restrained by no moral code of conduct.
However, this view of events brings us up short. If our understanding of these types of events teaches only that "Smart bad people can hurt you", then we have gained nothing of practical value. If we wish to take away generalization lessons from cases like Madoff's, we must be willing to examine events with a broader lens, and scrutinize not just those who acted maliciously, but also those who failed to act.
Bernie Madoff.
Bernie Madoff was the founder and executive chairman of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. Madoff Investment Securities was primarily a “market maker” - a company that profits by facilitating trades on various securities. At the time the scandal broke, they were the sixth-largest market maker. They were quite innovative, and pioneered the use of computer systems in market making, creating technology which eventually spawned the NASDAQ.
They also had a secondary side business of financial advising and asset management. This part of the company was eventually exposed as a massive fraud.
Ponzi scheme.
Madoff's asset management business claimed that it invested client assets using a highly secretive trading strategy. In reality, it was actually operating as a Ponzi scheme - no money was being invested, and all investor payouts came from the deposits of new and existing investors.
Ponzi schemes typically draw in investors by offering rates of return high above the market average. Madoff's fund was more subtle - rather than offering sky-high returns, it simply delivered strong consistent returns in all market conditions.
Throughout the 80's and 90's, the unerring consistency of the Madoff fund gained a reputation among the investment community. Charities and wealthy individuals enthusiastically entrusted their money to Madoff, who by now had a reputation as a "financial wizard".
The scheme's unraveling.
On December 9, 2008, Madoff confessed to his adult sons that the entire asset management business was a Ponzi scheme, and that it was out of money.
At the time, the fund had obligations of more than $68 billion to it's investors. However, it had less than $200 million in available cash to satisfy withdrawals.
Based on advice from their lawyer, the sons turned their father in to the FBI. Bernie Madoff was arrested on December 11, 2008, and is now serving a sentence of 150 years in federal prison.
Investors at the time of Madoff's arrest had almost all of their assets wiped out. This affected the Jewish community in New York particularly strongly, as Madoff had provided investment services for many Jewish organizations and wealthy individuals in the city.
The SEC.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has three goals: to facilitate capital formation, maintain a fair & efficient market, and protect investors. The collapse of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme was one of the largest and most notable failures in the SEC’s history, leading to sweeping changes within the organization on how it identified and dealt with investment management fraud.
Harry Markopolos.
Investigations into Madoff’s investment strategy started as early as 1999 when Harry Markopolos, a portfolio manager at an investment firm, was tasked with replicating the strong returns that Madoff claimed to attain using a split-strike conversion strategy. Within a few hours, Markopolos had determined that Madoff could not have produced his returns through strictly legal means. Markopolos continued building his case against Madoff until he had compiled a formal complaint that he submitted to the Boston office of the SEC in the spring of 2000. This report was met with inaction from the SEC, and so Markopolos submitted an even more extensive complaint in 2001. This report, too, was ignored.
During his investigation into Madoff Investment Securities, LLC, Markopolos found that the fund was accepting foreign money, which he interpreted as being connected to criminal organizations outside of the United States. Although he began to fear that his life may be in danger by continuing to try to expose the fraud, Markopolos produced one final report in 2005 in which he identified 29 distinct red flags that should raise suspicion about Madoff’s fund. The report, titled “The World’s Largest Hedge Fund is a Fraud,” included a preface about the sensitivity of the information as well as a summary of the impact the scheme would have on the financial industry if it did in fact turn out to be fraudulent.
Failure to Regulate.
Two main factors contributed to the SEC’s failure to act on the available information. First, the organization’s structuring meant that the Boston office that Markopolos originally alerted of discrepancies in Madoff’s investment figures had no authority to act in New York. The Boston office could only encourage the New York office to launch an investigation, which was hindered by poor relations between the two offices. In addition, many of the employees at the SEC were lawyers, untrained in understanding the numbers behind the financial organizations they were monitoring, and were therefore unprepared to identify fraud when it did occur.
Second, a whistleblower from within the SEC claimed that there was an unofficial policy at the New York SEC office to avoid taking cases dealing with investment management fraud. The whistleblower noticed that such cases rarely proceeded to formal investigations, so she confronted a supervisor about the issue, only to receive the reply: “We don’t do investment management cases in this group.” Limited resources available to the SEC combined with the large number of investment managers may have contributed to this policy, although the persistence shown by Markopolos and the ease of exposing a Ponzi scheme should have encouraged the watchdog agency to make exceptions where sufficient evidence existed.
Even in the face of numerous warnings from outside sources, the SEC failed to take the appropriate action in regulating a segment of the public sphere that it alone had the authority to regulate. This negligence facilitated Madoff’s fraud, which would not have been possible if the SEC had taken the standard of care that would be expected when dealing with such a large investment fund.
Investors.
From the moment the Madoff scandal broke, the many groups that invested in his fund were labeled as "victims." The reality of the situation was not so simple, however. The people that invested in Madoff's fund were not run-of-the mill or uneducated investors. Most of Madoff's clients were banks, hedge funds, very wealthy individuals, or charitable foundations. These were all groups who were sophisticated enough that they should have been incredibly suspicious of Madoff's returns.
Madoff's investors exhibited two sets of behavior that were strange of well-informed and educated investors. First, they refused to investigate the suspiciously good returns that they received. Second, many of the investors did not diversify into anything but Madoff's fund, violating one of the central tenets of investment.
Willful Deception.
With results as good as Madoff's few investors wanted to look for a reason to distrust him. Madoff used that bias to powerful ends, creating a web of illusion that fed the biases. First, he created an air of exclusivity around himself that offered an unspoken explanation of his success: that it was only for the few that were in the know. Madoff rarely approached potential investors directly, choosing instead to let suitors come to him. Second, he fed off of the bystander effect. Potential investors saw that other individuals and institutions trusted him, so they saw no need to question anything. In their mind, the largest hedge fund in the world was either a complete fraud that would decimate the financial system, or they were the only ones not reaping the rewards of Madoff's fund. It was much easier for them to believe the latter.
Moral Hazard.
Another reason why Madoff's scam lasted for so long was that he was unknowingly aided by a network of feeder funds that guided money into Madoff's hands. The list of investors were not random, but highly related. This created a network effect around Madoff. People with direct access to his fund would charge fees for allowing those farther out in the network the privilege to invest. Many banks gained a significant amount of income by simply directing people to Madoff. They had a strong incentive, a classic example of Moral Hazard, to ignore suspicious returns.
A Rare Warning.
There were a few banks that did take a closer look at Bernie Madoff's suspicious results, however. Credit Suisse was one of those banks. A group led by Oswald Gruebel, the head of private banking, met with Madoff in 2000. Gruebel asked a series of pertinent questions: Why did the firm have an obscure auditor? Why wasn't a third-party holding his clients' assets? Why wouldn't he reveal how much money he was running? After only a few questions, Madoff ended the meeting, saying, "You guys, if you are not happy with the returns you are getting, you can take your money" . Gruebel recommended that all Credit Suisse clients withdraw their money from Madoff funds. Only about half of the money was taken out. Those that remained lost everything.
Perceptive Greed.
There is a darker side to Madoff's clients than just ignorance or greed, however. Many of his clients invested in his fund not in spite of his suspicious returns, but precisely because the returns seemed so phony. These clients believed that Madoff was "front-running" money. In other words, they thought he was using information illegally gleaned from the legitimate part of his business to conduct a form of insider trading. Madoff himself has claimed that banks knew he was committing fraud, but chose to do nothing about it. In 2008, just days after the scam was exposed, Swiss bank Union Bancaire Privee gave their reasons for investing with Madoff: "in essence, the perceived edge was Madoff's ability to gather and process market-order-flow information to time the implementation of the split-strike option strategy" . Although disguised in financial lingo, the bank was essentially admitting that they assumed Madoff was front running. Swiss banker Werner Wolfer put it more succinctly: "They were convinced that the risk was only that the Securities and Exchange Commission would do something about breaches of the Chinese wall in the Madoff organization. [In the worst case] what could be expected was that at a certain point the SEC could say stop."
Ultimately, many of Madoff's investors correctly saw that his results could not have been legitimate. They were simply incorrect on the method of fraud. By turning a blind eye to the fraud they expected, front-running, they instead were caught unaware by the fraud they did not expect: a massive Ponzi scheme. While portrayed as victims, many of Madoff's clients were also responsible for the scheme, either through knowing or unknowing participation. In the end, they were convicted by their own greed.
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Professionalism/Jordan Belfort and Stratton Oakmont
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The story of Jordan Belfort and Stratton Oakmont became popularized when Martin Scorcese released his film The Wolf of Wall Street. The film depicted the revelrous behavior of Jordan Belfort, portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, and the other executives at Stratton Oakmont. While a life of sex, drugs, and parties made for a high grossing film, stealing money from unsuspecting clients should be at the epicenter of any discussion on Jordan Belfort, and the Wolf of Wall Street did not give this enough attention. Through his penny stock boiler room, Belfort stole over 200 million dollars from investors. Belfort's obsession with making money combined with no thought of long term sustainability led to this behavior. The ethical boundary was continuously being pushed to new limits as Belfort and Stratton Oakmont saw immediate monetary success resulting from their fraud. In the words of Belfort, "its easier to get rich quick when you don't follow the rules."
Jordan Belfort.
Stratton Oakmont fraud and conviction.
Stratton Oakmont Inc. operated as a boiler room that sold penny stocks. It was founded by Jordan Belfort and Kenny Greene, and was later bought by Danny Porush. The company made millions illegally by defrauding its investors using a "pump and dump" operation. Belfort and several of his executives would artificially inflate a particular company's stock and then have an army of brokers sell it to unsuspecting investors. This would cause the stock to rise, guaranteeing Belfort and his associates a substantial profit. Soon, the stock would fall back to reality, with the investors bearing a significant loss. The brokers would follow a script that Belfort had written himself using high pressure sales tactics. They first would approach with a well known stock to gain the clients trust. Then once the client had created an account with Stratton Oakmont, the brokers would sell them an inflated stock. At its peak in the 1990s, the firm employed more than 1,000 brokers. The employees were urged to live by the motto, "Don't hang up until the customer buys or dies." Belfort personally took over $200,000,000 an estimated 1,513 investors, many of whom earn normal wages. For example, Dr. Alfred E. Vitt, a retired dentist, reportedly lost $250,000. Like Vitt, many other investors reported similar losses.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission learned of Stratton Oakmont's illegal actives and began investigating them in 1992. Two years later, the company reached a settlement with the SEC agreeing to a lifelong ban from working in the securities industry. Further legal trouble followed in 1996, when the National Association of Securities Dealers ejected Stratton Oakmont from its association. The company was ordered to be liquidated and to off its fines and settlements the following year. Belfort pleaded guilty to securities fraud and money laundering. In 2003, he was sentenced to 4 years in prison and charged a $110 million fine. He only spent 22 months in jail and has yet to fully pay back his fine. Danial Porush, who took over Stratton after Belfort, was ordered to pay $200,425,851.31.
Restitution.
On July 8, 2003, Jordan Belfort was sentenced by John E. Gleeson to restitution of $110,362,993.87 at a rate 50% of his gross annual income plus interest. Upon his release from prison, he was to begin these payments and endure a three year supervised release period. As of October 4, 2013, he has paid $11, 629,143.64, 10.4 million of which were forfeited funds. According to a report from 2008, 362 of 3,378 former Stratton customers (not limited to just Belfort's clients) who have filed claims have received restitution after filing claims with the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. Lorretta, E Lynch, United States Attorney of the Eastern District of New York, requested that Gleeson find Belfort in default of his restitution payments, due to his failure to pay his restitution at the mandated annual rate. This includes 2010, a year when he did not make any payments at all toward his restitution. Belfort and his attorneys argued that they were no longer bound to the 50% annual rate after the supervised release period. As of 2008, 362 of 3,378 former Stratton customers (not limited to just Belfort's clients) who have filed claims have received restitution after filing claims with the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. In October of 2013, federal prosecutors withdrew their default request to negotiate a new settlement with Belfort's lawyers. That year Belfort was also accused of illegally relocating to Australia to hide his assets; however, US attorneys retracted that accusation as well.
Life After Prosecution.
After being released from prison, Jordan Belfort wrote two books, "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Catching the Wolf of Wall Street," based on his life before prison. Red Granite, a Los Angeles based production company, purchased the rights for these titles from Belfort for $1,045,000 of which $250,000 went directly to restitution payments. The film, "The Wolf of Wall Street," was highly successful, grossing 66.1 million dollars in its first two weeks. Belfort adamantly claims that 100% of his income from the film will go to the Stratton victims.
Belfort now travels the world as a motivational speaker. He teaches his "Straight Line Persuasion" technique, a technique modeled by his persuasion methods at Stratton Oakmont, to thousands of businesses; and in many of his talks, he emphasizes the importance of morals in business. He has worked with roughly 395 businesses, including Virgin America, Delta Airlines, and the Melbourne Storm, and offers three different speaking packages— 3-hour speeches, 3- day intensive training programs, and ongoing consultations. Because of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a, most of his financial records have been kept under seal by the government; however, many have estimated that he earns $30,000 per speech. In a recent article, he said he makes "as much as fifty grand" for one of his speeches. In addition to his in-person talks, he offers DVD, costing up to $1,997.00, to anybody wishing to learn his "Straight Line Persuasion" technique. Belfort also has ownership in two companies: Wolf Holdings and Global Motivation. Jordan Belfort owns 50% of Global Motivation, which makes $110,000 in revenue annually.
Although many of his assets were forfeited to the government, Belfort’s new profession has allowed him to continue living an extravagant lifestyle. He is currently living in a 4,000 square foot beachfront home, estimated to be worth $3,593,724, in Hermosa Beach, CA.
Public Perception.
The Wolf of Wall Street made Jordan Belfort a celebrity in both a positive and negative light. On Facebook he has almost 100,000 doting fans who absorb posts of his lavish lifestyle, videos of his motivational speeches, and advertisements for the Wolf of Wall Street books and movie. You can see these people's admiration for Belfort in comments such as, "seen ure movie last night and read the book jordan what a inspirational story and very talented guy, i could read ure book again, good that ure helping people today." On the other hand, Joel Cohen, the lead prosecutor in the Stratton Oakmont case, believes that the film portrays Belfort too sympathetically and in the end advertises Belfort as a motivational speaker. In addition, many of Belfort and Stratton Oakmont's victims are upset by Scorsese's film, which hardly mentions the pensions and life savings stolen from them.
Belfort uses social media to promote his efforts towards fulfilling his restitution obligations, but he is once again lying to his unsuspecting followers. On Facebook Belfort posted, “For the record, I am not turning over 50 percent of the profits of the books and the movie, which was what the government had wanted me to do. Instead, I insisted on turning over 100 percent of the profits.” In reality, Belfort received $940,000 for selling the film rights to his books and of that paid $21,000 in restitution and then received $24,000 dollars in an income tax deduction. Belfort actually profited from his restitution, but it is apparent that he can still find people to buy his products.
Ethical Considerations.
Greed and Impulsivity.
It is apparent that greed played a substantial role in Belfort's decision making, but greed alone is not sufficient. Reflecting on his time at Stratton Oakmont, Belfort said, "it was my desire for instant gratification. I wanted money now". Belfort's desire for instant gratification led to a toxic and unsustainable business. Someone equally greedy as Belfort, but with a longer time horizon, might not have engaged in this type of business. Time horizon's are reflective of a person's impulsivity and play a huge role in decision making. With greed, the time horizon defines when a person would like to maximize their wealth. Belfort's time horizon was immediate and lacked any sustainability. This immediate time horizon is necessary for a pump and dump business. A pump and dump relies on the fact that new clients will always be available to replace the ones that have been plundered. However, as the pool of potential clients gets smaller and the firm's reputation worsens, finding new clients becomes a more difficult task. In addition, as the pump and dump becomes more successful, the scrutiny of the law increases. While Belfort was not indicted until 1998, by 1994 Stratton Oakmont made headlines with a fraud settlement of 2.5 Million dollars. While this case was settled, recently elected Alabama Securities Commissioner, Joseph Borg, had begun leading a multi-state task force with the sole objective of prosecuting Belfort and Stratton Oakmont. The unsustainable nature of this business shows that greed alone did not drive the unethical behavior. Belfort's short time horizon and impulsivity was a necessary ingredient.
Belfort is not alone in being impulsively inclined to cheat for financial gain. The presence of wealth has been proven to increase people's tendency to cheat, and it is exacerbated by environments consisting of performance based reward systems and money centered cultures . The incentive system Belfort created for his brokers was virulent, and the culture made money omnipresent. This incentive system offered huge commissions to its brokers, and created a business where there was no necessary duty for brokers towards clients. Because penny stocks have a 50% commission, the success of companies Stratton Oakmont sold was irrelevant since Stratton Oakmont had already profited. In addition, Stratton Oakmont was known for its overindulgent office parties and corporate retreats. Belfort wanted money to constantly be on the minds of his employees. This tumultuous environment created an unethical and unsustainable business.
Belfort's Revised View on Ethics.
Belfort states in an interview that often ethics get in the way of short term profits. He blames his actions on a combination of bad luck and a desire for instant gratification. In another interview with the Daily Mail, he explained, "I'm a wolf who became a more benevolent character." He has recently developed the "Straight Line Persuasion System" that teaches people the art of persuasion. He claims that the system is so powerful that it can be used to manipulate people, as he did prior to his arrest. On the sales website for the program he says that he used the same tactics for the wrong reasons, and claims to have straightened up his act.
This new Jordan Belfort is a changed man. His professional mantra has taken a moral 180 to become: "Success in the absence of ethics and integrity is not success, it’s failure." He believes himself to be more valuable as a ethics proponent because he learned his lesson the hard way. He further states the his writing his book caused him to do a lot of self-relefction and to see fault in his values. In an interview with an austrailian newspaper he stays “... I lost my ethical way and I destroyed myself because I was missing other parts of the equation. When I wrote my book I was able to really see what my mistakes were, what my values were, and at the heart of my mistake was that my values were bankrupt.” On the other hand, it is unclear whether Belfort has truly reformed. On the "About Jordan" section of the website where Belfort sells his "Straight Line Persuasion System," he brags about the amount of money he was making at Stratton Oakmont. He associates that success with his sales and managerial skills and does not mention the involvement of fraud. It is apparent that Belfort remains deceptive in selling his products and unclear whether Belfort truly is a changed man.
|
299526
|
153973
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299526
|
Professionalism/Iridium 33 and Kosmos 2251
|
Most people underestimate the impact of satellites on their daily lives. Satellites are used in telecommunications, television, radio, weather-tracking, and more. In January 2011, there were an estimated 22,000 man-made objects in orbit, of which about 1,000 objects are active satellites (about 5% of all man-made objects).. The other 95% of man-made objects are orbital debris such as fuel cells from previous spacecraft. Given the vastness of space, the probability of a satellite collision is perceived to be low. John Campbell, executive vice president for government programs for Iridium Communications Inc., endorses the “Big Sky” theory, which states that "space is so vast that the chances of a collision are infinitesimal." In 2007, Campbell estimated “the risk of a collision on any individual conjunction is about 1 in 50 million,” adding later that “clearly that risk is greater than zero.”
The collision.
On February 10, 2009, Iridium 33, an active American commercial satellite, collided with the derelict Russian satellite Kosmos 2251. This was the first collision between two intact satellites in orbit. Iridium 33 was part of a constellation of 66 active satellites owned and operated by Iridium Communications Inc. The Iridium constellation is a system of satellites used for worldwide voice and data communication for hand-held satellite phones and other transceiver units . Kosmos 2251 was owned by Russian Spaces Forces, a branch of the Russian military whose responsibilities include satellite operations. The Kosmos 2251 satellite was a communications relay station launched in June 1993 and decommissioned by 1995 . The collision produced thousands of new pieces of space debris. Although much of it burned up in the atmosphere, the remaining debris still present a risk for future space launches. The debris temporarily created a dangerous space environment and made debris fields in surrounding orbits unpredictable. As of July 2009, the US Space Surveillance Network (SSN) has cataloged 382 pieces of debris (14 pieces of which have already decayed from orbit) associated with Iridium 33 and 893 pieces of debris (27 pieces of which have decayed) associated with Kosmos 2251.
Failures by satellite tracking technology.
High velocities and uncertain orbits make satellites difficult to track. Precise, up-to-date positions are difficult to obtain. Calculations made by CelesTrak, a satellite tracking website run by software development company AGI, predicted that the two satellites would miss by approximately 584 meters. CelesTrak constantly tracks satellites in orbit and displays near-future collision warnings. According to CelesTrak, the Iridium 33 and Kosmos 2251 approach was not the closest approach on the February 10, 2009 report, nor were the satellites predicted for closest approach anytime within the coming week. John Campbell of Iridium asserted that there was no warning of the collision.
Ethics of the collision.
The events leading up to and following the collision reveal each groups' ethical decisions. Two years before the collision, the Chinese purposefully destroyed a weather satellite in orbit. The 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test brought international attention to the space debris issue.
Iridium Communications.
In response to the Chinese test, John Campbell expressed concerns that the test had increased the number of “serious conjunctions” on the Iridium constellation by 15%. “Serious conjunctions” are close approaches between two objects in orbit. They help assess the probability of collision and provide warning to satellite owner-operators. The Department of Defense’s Joint Space Operations Center (JspOC) provided Iridium with a daily conjunction report. Iridium got over 400 of these reports each week across the entire Iridium constellation. Campbell questioned the error in these reports, saying it was too large for the reports to be useful. He speculated that such error could cause the firm to maneuver into a new collision whilst avoiding another. Besides, there are significant costs for such maneuvers. They require depleting on-board fuel, which reduces the lifespan of the satellite and interrupts its mission. Satellite owner-operators must weigh the risk of collision (the loss of the entire satellite) against fuel costs. Thus, Iridium’s response to possible collisions was to “grit our teeth and hold our breath; that’s our action.”
In the aftermath of the Iridium-Kosmos collision, there was speculation that Iridium had warnings of a close approach, yet failed to act. The communications company claims sometime between 2007 and 2009, JspOC stopped providing collision warning for the Iridium constellation. Iridium still could have gained access to other commercial tracking systems. After the collision, Iridium spokeswoman, Liz DeCastro said “Iridium didn't have information prior to the collision to know that the collision would occur.” A possible collision was beyond Iridium's event horizon. The communications company's inaction to obtain tracking for possible collisions is irresponsible of the owner-operator.
In a 2009 summer briefing, Campbell stated the collision proved network resiliency and that the loss of one satellite had minor effects on the network. Iridium was able to recover relatively easily from the collision. Perhaps Iridium decided they could not afford the resources to deal with the decision-making and maneuvering necessary to safely and properly operate their satellites. By ignoring the close approach, Iridium decided to accept the risk of a collision.
United States Military.
The United States military maintains the best and most complete satellite catalog in the world, but it only observes a limited list of satellites for collisions and the data it makes publicly available is not very precise. In Iridium's press release, Liz DeCastro stated, “if the organizations that monitor space had that information available, we are confident they would have shared it with us.” Iridium shifts responsibility to the DoD and federal space-monitoring agencies. In the aftermath of the Chinese anti-satellite event, the US government was one of the most vociferous voices about orbital debris. However, it appears the actual funding, priority, and cooperation between commercial and military parties did not match the political rhetoric. If the American military had knowledge of a possible collision and did not inform Iridium, it would be guilty of the sin of omission. The government had the ability to act on an injustice, but chose to remain idle.
Russian Space Forces.
The Russian Space Forces neglected a defunct satellite in busy low earth orbit, where many satellites' orbits intersect. They treated space as a dumping ground, with little consideration for others who use this shared space. Iridium 33 was launched by Russia, and therefore Russia was required to register the satellite with the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs. Interestingly, the country failed to do so and could legally be charged with non-compliance under international law.
Similar ethical cases.
The ethical issues posed in the Iridium 33 and Kosmos 2251 collision can be generalized in the broader ethical arena. Three cases are considered: space debris, ocean dumping from cruise ships, and Olympic venue abandonment. These issues relate through tragedy of the commons and environmental Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Vast open shared spaces often lead firms to believe they are operating in "terra nullius", or “land belonging to no one.” Firms recognize the costs of proper disposal in these spaces are greater than the costs of the individual waste they discharge into "terra nullius". But when all firms hold this path dependence, a “fouling of our own nest” occurs through the tragedy of the commons. CSR is when firms go above and beyond the requirements of law and their own interests to do social good and, in these cases, protect the commons.
Olympic venue abandonment.
Olympic committees often make use of temporary athletic venues, similar to how space agencies launch limited-life satellites into orbit. A satellite can be used for ten years and later neglected, much like an Olympic venue is often used for a few weeks during the Games and later abandoned. The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground was built on a reclaimed industrial site. Following the Olympic Games, the Beijing Olympic Committee promised the venue would be converted into a "beachside bathhouse". Instead, it was left abandoned and vandalized. Olympic Committees must practice CSR to determine a definitive plan for these venues, otherwise the “temporary” venues of the Sochi Winter games may face a similar fate.
Ocean dumping.
Similar to the spread of space debris into various orbits following a collision, ocean currents allow ocean dumping to affect third parties across the globe. Much like space, the laws surrounding waste disposal in the high seas are ambiguous and ethical boundaries are often crossed. The cruise industry highlights these issues.
The average 3,000 person cruise ship dumps around 21,000 gallons of sewage a day and 8 times more graywater. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) established MARPOL, The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, in 1973. MARPOL is the international law regarding dumping practices, however, there are more stringent laws certain flag-bearing ships need to obey if they are from certain countries. For instance, the U.S. imposes stricter law for ships operating under its flag or in its waters, as outlined in the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972. This poses an ethical quandary for U.S. flag-bearing cruises trying to remain competitive internationally. This was demonstrated in July 1999, when Royal Caribbean was fined $18 million for falsifying records and lying to the U.S. Coast Guard about dumping practices over a ten year period. This fine pales in comparison to Royal Caribbean’s 2001 profits of $1 billion and is less than what the firm would have paid had they disposed the waste legally. Incentives affect behavior when it comes to self-policing operations in the commons, and Royal Caribbean took the easy way out.
Tragedy of the commons.
Satellite owner-operators, cruise liners, and Olympic organizers need to acknowledge their CSR when considering proper disposal of limited-life equipment and waste after use. People and organizations who operate in, and benefit from, a shared space often neglect proper disposal to the detriment of the greater good. Abuse of these shared spaces represent a tragedy of the commons.
Marginal preventative costs now can save companies massive industry-wide monetary and social costs in the long run. Space, the oceans, and public space belong to everyone. It is the ethics of disposal decisions that affect the use of these shared spaces for future generations. Social groups must firmly consider their environmental CSR and ethics to prevent future tragedy of the commons. For Iridium and the Russian Space Forces, such measures could have prevented the collision of two satellites and a massive space debris fallout, which is now the burden of future generations.
|
299544
|
715252
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299544
|
Serbian/Dialectology
|
In Serbian language have four ways of pronunciation: "shtokavian", "kajkavian", "chakavian", "torlakian".
Shtokavian dialect.
In Shtokavian have three ways of pronunciation: "ikavian" (letter "jat" have change in "i", Croatia), ijekavian (letter "jat" have change in "ije" or "je", Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia) and "ekavian" (letter "jat" have change in "e", Serbia, in few examples "jat" have change in "i", example: nIsam (I'm not)).
Eastern Shtokavian dialects are: Šumadija-Vojvodina dialect, Zeta-south Sandžak dialect, Eastern Herzegovinian, Kosovo-Resava dialect, Smederevo-Vršac dialect, Prizren-Timok dialect, Prizren-South Morava dialect, Svrljig-Zaplanj dialect and Timok-Lužnica dialect.
Western Shtokavian dialects are: Eastern Bosnian dialect, Younger ikavian dialect or Bosnia-Dalmatia dialect and Slavonia dialect.
Other dialects.
Other dialects are: Gora dialect or Našinian dialect, Užice dialect, Crna trava dialect (this dialect have special letters, "Ss" (dz), "f" have change in "v", Bulgarian semivoice "ь" have change in "a", this dialect haven't "prelazak "l" u "o"(traverse in "l" to "o"), in this dialect have not "đ", in this dialect have noniotatied "jd" (pođem-pojdem)), Šatrovian (incorrect way of speaking, example: word pivo (beer) pivo-vopi, word fudbal (football) fudbal-dbalfu), Anglo-Serbian dialect, Romano-Serbian (dialect of Roma people in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro), Bunjevac dialect and Šokac dialect.
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299551
|
98013
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299551
|
International Postage Meter Stamp Catalog/United Nations
|
=United Nations=
A – Forerunner stamps, from setup period in the United States prior to 1951
B – Stamps used in the United States headquarters
C – Stamps used in Switzerland branch offices
D – Stamps used in Austria branch offices
<br>
GROUP A: Meter stamps used by the United Nations while organizing its headquarters in New York.
<br>
A1. Pitney Bowes “R" (MV), 1945.
This is United States Type IA3 with various town marks and slogans used by the United Nations prior to implementation of their own designs.
TM: SC
V/F: . 00 : ≋00 :
Five town marks and five slogans were used. The slogans are:
A. Town mark NEW YORK
A1. Meter 108314
A1a. no slogan [$50]
A1b. slogan I [$150]
A1c. slogan II [$50]
A1d. slogan IV [$100]
A2. Meter 109534, slogan I [$150]
A3. Meter 113436
A3a. no slogan [$50]
A3b. slogan II [$5 for philatelic FDC, otherwise $20]
A4. Meter 1365611, no slogan [$50]
A5. Meter 151461, no slogan [$150]
A6. Meter 152077, no slogan [$200]
A7. Meter 182488
A7a. no slogan [$15]
A7b. slogan V [$50, FDC $75]
A8. Meter 186840, no slogan [$50]
A9. Meter 186897
A9a. no slogan [$25]
A9b. slogan V [$50]
B. Town mark GREAT NECK
B1. Meter 113436
B1a. no slogan [$75]
B1b. slogan II [FDC $25, otherwise $200]
B2. Meter 180705, slogan V [$75]
C. Town mark LAKE SUCCESS
C1. Meter 113436, slogan II [FDC $15, otherwise $25]
C2. Meter 115515
C2a. no slogan [$25]
C2b. slogan II [$75]
C2c. slogan III [$60]
C2d. slogan IV [Extremely rare, known only by a single cut-out. Value uncertain]
C3. Meter 116728
C3a. no slogan [$50]
C3b. slogan IV [$100]
C4. Meter 126118
C4a. no slogan [$10]
C4b. slogan III [$25]
C4c. slogan IV [$100]
C4d. slogan V [$25]
C5. Meter 138421
C5a. no slogan [$20]
C5b. slogan IV [$100]
C5c. slogan V [$25]
C6. Meter 150815
C6a. no slogan [$75]
C6b. slogan IV [$125]
D. Town mark LONG ISLAND CITY
D1. Meter 162110, slogan V [$500]
D2. Meter 163706
D2a. no slogan [$400]
D2b. slogan V [$500]
NOTE: Unless otherwise noted catalog values are for service use (non-philatelic) on full cover.
<br>
A2. Pitney Bowes (MV), 1949. [$75]
This is United States Type GA1 with town mark "WASHINGTON D.C." used by the United Nations prior to implementation of their own stamp designs.
Meter 92289 only.
TM: SC
V/F: 0 00
NOTE: "Shown at right is an example of a United States Type G1 stamp, not the exact stamp used by the United Nations."
GROUP B: Meter stamps used at United Nations headquarters in New York.
<br>
B1. Pitney Bowes “R" (MV), 24 October 1951.
Horizontal design without outer frame.
UN building between TM and value figures.
“UN/POSTAGE” above value figures and “CENTS” below.
M# “–1–” through “–4–” with “P.B.” prefix at bottom center.
TM: SC
V/F: ≋00 : (The value figures for M# 1 used a colon where the dots were more closely spaced - see note to US Type IA4.1)
a. With “POSTAGE” missing below “UN”. Meter #3 used between June and September 1977 [$15]
B2. Pitney Bowes “6500” (MV), 1983.
Similar to Type B1 but wider design, without “CENTS” below value figures.
M# 1 through 6 (till 1991) and 15000 through 15006 (from 1991 to 1995).
A. TM with "NEW YORK" at top and "N.Y." at bottom.
B. TM with "UNITED NATIONS" at top and "N.Y." at bottom.
V/F: ≋0.00≋
B3. Pitney Bowes “Paragon” (MV), 1995.
Similar to Types B1 and B2 but larger design.
Value figures enclosed within a box.
“UNITED NATIONS’ above the box, “UN POSTAGE” inside the box at the bottom.
“PB METER” above meter number.
Numbers reported are 0015007 through 0015020 plus 699995.
V/F: ≋0.00≋
<br>
B4. Pitney Bowes “Gem” (digital), 2005.
With large square digital data field at left.
Town line “MAILED FROM ZIP CODE 10017” across bottom.
V/F: $000.00o
C1. Hasler “F88" (MV), 1969.
Frank with line ornaments in each corner, a large “P” at each side, UN logo at top, and “NATIONS UNIES” at bottom.
The UN logo is raised slightly in relation to the upper line ornaments.
Meter number below frank, M# 3401 only.
TM: BIC
V/F: 0000
a. Without meter number [$50]
b. With "= I 107 =" below meter number
C2. Hasler “Mailmaster” (MV), 1986.
Similar to Type C1 but the UN logo is even with the upper line ornaments, and the value figures are slightly smaller.
M# 21997 only.
TM: DC
V/F: 0000
a. With Swiss cross removed from bottom of TM
GROUP D: Meter stamps used at United Nations offices in Austria.
<br>
Sub-Group DA: For use at UN business offices. TM with “WIEN” only.
<br>
DA1. Postalia (MV), 1979.
Upright rectangle with double straight-line border.
“VEREINTE / NATIONEN” at top, “GROSCHEN” at bottom.
Value figures small and narrow
TM: SC with “WIEN” at top
V/F: 00000
<br><br><br><br><br>
DA2. Francotyp “Cc” (MV), 1979.
Very similar to Type DA1 but value figures larger and with leading diamond.
TM: SC with “WIEN” at top
V/F: ♦000 ♦0000
<br><br><br><br><br>
DA3. Frama (MV), 1979.
Very similar to Type DA2 but wider value figures and with slightly narrower spacing between the frank and town mark.
Frank 30mm tall.
TM: SC with “WIEN” at top
V/F: 0000
<br><br><br><br><br>
DA4. Frama (MV), 1979.
Similar to previous DA types but shorter frank, 26mm, and with 5-bank value figure.
TM: SC with “WIEN” at top
V/F: 00000
<br><br><br><br><br>
DA5. Pitney Bowes “5000” (MV), 1979.
Horizontal frank with single straight-line border.
“VEREINTE/ NATIONEN/ GROSCHEN” in three lines at top above value figures.
The date figures are raised in relation to the value figures.
TM: SC with “WIEN” at top
V/F: ≋0000
<br><br><br><br><br>
DA6. Pitney Bowes “A/B900” (MV).
Plain, rectangular frank as with Type DA5.
“VEREINTE NATIONEN” in one line at top with “EURO CENT” immediately below.
M# with “P” prefix at bottom.
TM: SC with “WIEN” at top.
V/F: ≋0000
<br><br><br><br><br>
DA7. Pitney Bowes-GB “6300” (MV).
Small frank wider than tall.
“VEREINTE NATIONEN” in two lines at top, with “GROSCHEN” at bottom right.
TM: SC with “WIEN” at top.
V/F: 0000
<br><br><br><br><br>
Sub-Group DB: For use at the UN post office, TM includes “VEREINTE NATIONEN”.
<br>
DB1. Postalia (MV), 1979.
Wide rectangle with “1400WIEN-VEREINTE NATIONEN” at top, “NACHGEBUHR” at bottom.
With large “S” between date at left and value figures at right.
Used for collecting Postage Due.
V/F: 000.00
<br>
DB2. Satas (MV), 1980.
Similar to Type DA1 but TM SC containing “WIEN – VEREINTE NATIONEN” at top and post code at bottom.
With hour figure between TM and frank.
V/F: 0000
DB3. Pitney Bowes “6300” (MV), 1981.
Small horizontal frank with double-line border.
“VEREINTE/NATIONEN” at top and “GROSCHEN” at bottom right.
TM as with Type DB2
V/F: ≋0000
DB4. Hasler “Mailmaster” (MV).
Similar to Type DB2 but without hour figure.
Inscriptions in frank are smaller than with Type DB2.
TM as with Type DB2
V/F: 00000
NOTE: At least two meters used in the United Nations office in Vienna have Austrian rather than United Nations franks but the town marks contain “VEREINTE NATIONEN WIEN” in one case and “WIEN – VEREINTE NATIONEN” in the other. They are both shown below. See Austria Types HA1.3 and PO-B1.
<br>
Return to main catalog ⇒ ../
Return to top ⇒ United_Nations
|
299555
|
3395618
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299555
|
Professionalism/Freedom Industries and the Elk River
|
On January 9, 2014, residents of Charleston, West Virginia alerted the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection of a licorice smell in the air. The source of the odor was found to be a leaking 35,000 gallon storage tank containing a chemical used in processing coal slurry. By the time the leak was detected, approximately 10,000 gallons of the chemical had run onto the ground surrounding the tank, and some had entered the Elk River. Water intake facilities downstream from the spill were shut down, cutting off water to 300,000 residents in the area. More than 100 people were hospitalized with symptoms of exposure to the chemical.
Background.
Freedom Industries.
Key Figures.
Freedom Industries was founded by Carl Kennedy II and Gary Southern in 1986 (according to the company website, though filings with the WV secretary of state indicate the business was formed in 1992), and includes the storage facility on the Elk River and a chemical mixing facility in Nitro, WV . Kennedy served as president of Freedom Industries until 2005 when he was indicted for funneling federal tax withholdings (summing over $1 million) to his own accounts. Kennedy served 22 months in prison, being released early from a 40 month sentence for aiding in a drug investigation. Kennedy was replaced in 2006 as president by an old friend named Dennis Farrell, with whom Kennedy had partnered in a number of other ventures, including opening a sports bar in downtown Charleston in 2002 . By his own account, Farrell nearly ran the company out of existence during his time as president . In 2013, Southern took over as president of Freedom Industries, and Farrell became a "top executive" . On Dec. 31, 2013, 10 days before the chemical spill, Freedom Industries was acquired by Cliff Forrest, a Pennsylvania coal magnate, and merged with Delaware company "Crete Technolgies" .
Etowah Terminal Facility.
The Elk River spill originated at the Etowah Terminal Facility, a chemical storage location owned by Freedom Industries. The storage facility stands approximately 1.5 miles up stream from the river's confluence with the Kanawha River and the American Water company water treatment plant . It was purchased from Pennzoil in 1992, and its gasoline storage tanks converted to hold chemicals used in processing coal slurry from mining operations. On site were 14 storage tanks capable of storing 4 million gallons of chemicals. Three tanks contained the chemical 4-methycyclohexanemethanol (MCHM).
Response to the Incident.
Freedom Industries.
Freedom Industries president claims in interviews that his company became aware of the spill at 10:30 AM. However, when investigators arrived that day at 11:15, Farrell (who claimed to be the president), indicated that he was not aware of any problem. At 12:05, after investigators had discovered the spill, Freedom
Industries reported the incident to the WV Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) . Following the spill, Freedom has made few comments to the press. However, the night after the chemical spill, acting president Gary Southern addressed reporters on site. Southern is criticized for giving misleading information and vague responses to questions, including the extent of the spill and a timeline for its cleanup. Southern has been ridiculed for drinking from a bottle of water during the interviews in which reporters questioned him about the loss of drinking water for over 300,000 WV residents. Eight days after the chemical spill, Freedom Industries filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, freezing liability suits against Freedom while a bankruptcy judge sorts through creditor claims. Freedom Industries's bankruptcy attorneys have proposed the theory that the cause of the spill may have been a frozen water main, forcing a "sharp object" through the bottom of the tank, shifting further blame to the West Virginia American Water Company .
West Virginia American Water.
The water treatment plant down stream of the Etowah River Terminal was notified of the spill by the DEP around noon and had already begun filtering water. At 4 PM, the facility became aware that the filters had become saturated and were no longer effective . At 5:45 the facility sent out a notice to customers to stop using the water .
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
In response to questioning regarding regulatory practices of the Etowah River Terminal, WVDEP cabinet secretary Randy Huffman released a statement reiterating that, according to state and federal chemical classifications, MCHM was not considered "hazardous". According to Huffman, Freedom Industries did not require a special permit to store the chemicals .
Causes of the Incident.
Facility Inspections and Condition of Storage Tanks.
According to Larry Zuspan, who is in charge of emergency planning for Charleston, West Virginia does not require regular inspections of chemical storage locations. The last confirmed inspections of the Etowah Terminal Facility occurred in 2010 and 2012, but state officials say the integrity of the MCHM storage tanks would not have been thoroughly assessed.
The condition of the storage tanks containing MCHM at the Freedom Industries facility before the spill is not entirely clear. West Virginia requires tanks like this to have containment areas for detection and containment of leaks. Freedom Industries had apparently not filed a state required plan for protecting groundwater from leaks, although it did possess a stormwater runoff permit. According to a Chemical Safety Board spokesman, the containment wall surrounding the storage tank was cracked and degraded. In its bankruptcy filing, Freedom Industries alleges that a water main, owned by American Water and running beneath the leaking storage tank, caused the ground to heave as it froze, forcing an object through the base of the tank .
Dissemination of Stored Chemical Characteristics.
Freedom Industries submitted information about chemicals being stored by Freedom Industries at the Etowah Terminal Facility to the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. This report included MCHM as a chemical representing "immediate (acute) hazards." The American Water Company was apparently not aware of this filing, and did not have an up-to-date emergency plan incorporating the Etowah Terminal Facility. A spokesperson for American Water asserted that the company had received incomplete information about the nature of the chemical, and that a communication from Freedom Industries on the morning of the spill led American Water to make an incorrect determination that their processing facility could remove MCHM from the water supply.
Even if American Water had known about the contents of the storage tanks, that information may have been of little use. The chemical safety information provided by Eastman Chemical, the manufacturer of the MCHM stored at the Freedom Industries site, is largely incomplete. Pages of a 2011 safety data sheet contain the phrase "No data available" to describe significant sections of toxicological and ecological information.
Uncertainty about the properties of MCHM, as well as local and state emergency planning groups' lack of knowledge about the chemicals stored at the Freedom Industries site, contributed to delayed reaction to the leak.
Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.
The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 is the primary way by which the Environmental Protection Agency enforces safety measures upon companies which introduce and use new chemicals.
Required Testing of New Chemicals.
The TSCA has created hundreds of pages of safety data since 1976 which has helped keep harmful chemicals in properly regulated environments and out of our air and water. The EPA's New Chemicals Program under the TSCA has created dozens of recommended testing outlines in documents readily available to the public and industry online . These new testing procedures have also helped to increase the data available to the public especially in the form of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Material Safety Data Sheets which can be easily accessed by the general populace through a number of online databases.
Existing Chemicals as of 1976.
When the TSCA was passed in 1976, the problem was encountered as to what would be done about the chemicals that were currently in use. The legislation was written so that all new chemicals that were introduced into the market had strict testing requirements which provided most of the safety data we have today. Additionally, chemicals which were currently on the market were divided into two groups, those which were an "unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment" and those that were not . Those that were considered an "unreasonable risk" were required to go through the same testing that any new chemical would be forced to go through while those that were not were simply allowed to continue to be used in industry without any additional testing. This in essence grandfathered in a whole slew of chemicals that could be used for nearly any purpose so long as certain blanket restrictions were kept to. So when the TSCA was passed, 62,000 chemicals slipped through the cracks without any meaningful testing. This category of chemicals was later found to include asbestos and chlorofluorocarbons which each have also been shown to cause a rather "unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment" in more recent years.
EPA Initiatives.
In part because of the MCHM spill in West Virginia and in part become of some of the holes in the TSCA that led to some of the health risks posed by asbestos and chlorofluorocarbons, the EPA has created a "multi-pronged strategy to ensure the safety of chemicals." This strategy includes identifying new chemical risks, trying to make industries move towards safer chemicals, and increasing public access to chemical data . However, it appears as though the EPA is being far too reliant on the help of industry in their strategy, and it is simply not plausible to expect that a company like Freedom Industries would be looking to aid the EPA whether by moving towards using safer chemicals or by helping to provide the EPA with better safety data. The EPA's last prong of attempting to identify other potentially dangerous chemicals seems unrealistic as well given the EPA's track record with asbestos, chlorofluorocarbons and now MCHM. This casts doubt on the level of professionalism at the EPA or whether anything can truly be done by the EPA without legislative action or statewide initiatives.
Effects on Human Health.
National Toxicology Program's Findings.
In July of 2014, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) was nominated by both the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct studies of the chemicals spilled into the Elk River. This nomination comes 6 months after the incident occurred in January to provide additional research that will assist the West Virginia Bureau of Public Health in responding to public health concerns. Before the NTP’s study, there were limited data on the effects of human exposure to the chemicals. 4-methylcyclohexanemethanol (MCHM) was the primary spilled agent but dipropylene glycol phenyl ether (DiPPH) and propylene glycol phenyl ether (PPH) were also present but in lower amounts. Initial efforts included evaluation of potential toxicity based on similar chemicals that were extensively studied. During this preliminary analysis, the NTP had limited concerns on significant or long lasting health effects. This is in line with the CDC and ATSDR’s finding: if the water contained less than 1 part per million (ppm) for MCHM and 1.2 ppm for PPH then there was little likelihood to be associated with any “adverse health effects.”
The NTP’s plan to conduct studies on the chemicals and their potential health effects involved a variety of experimental approaches. The studies were completed after a year long research program. The plan includes testing with rodents and other lower animal species, as well as computer modeling. The NTP focused on the effects of MCHM on fetal and early life development in rats as well as the effects on growth and development of other wildlife (fish and worms). Additionally, the NTP studied the effect of spilled chemicals on cells and cellular components to identify processes that were sensitive to the effects.
The NTP identified a potential health effect of exposure to MCHM. When studying pregnant rats that were exposed to MCHM infused drinking water, the NTP found lower weights in rat fetuses. Based on this finding, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources immediately performed a study on birth weights of children whose mothers were categorized as at risk to the exposure of MCHM. Their studies on the development in fish and worms show that there weren’t any effect from MCHM. Finally, the NTP conducted experiments on potential DNA mutation and genetic damage when testing on bacteria. Chemicals that mutate DNA are classified with a tendency to have links with cancer. Although there was DNA mutation in bacteria, the NTP asserted that their finding does not necessarily equate to DNA mutation in humans.
In conclusion the NTP’s studies support the adequacy of the drinking water screening levels that were recommended by the CDC at the time of the spill. Within their tests, the chemicals that did produce effects were at dosage levels that were considerably higher than the CDC’s recommended drinking water screening levels. Most importantly, the NTP provided knowledge of the effects of MCHM, DiPPH, and PPH on human health. Information that we did not have before.
Impacts.
Public Impact.
The 4-methylcyclohexane methanol chemical leak from Freedom Industries into the Elk River was one of the most significant chemical spills in U.S. history and left thousands without water for days. The coal mining history and years of coal draining make Elk River the only non-contaminated water source in the region.
Charleston residents’ lives were disrupted due to the spill and were forced to use water provided by the local governments and the National guard. Commercial companies were also forced to shut down due to water dependency for manufacturing and cooling . The Charleston residents are skeptical of information provided by the CDC and the local government. Based on a few animal studies, CDC claimed that 1 PPM (parts per million) of MCHM in drinking water would not cause any adverse effects but recommended pregnant women to consider alternative water sources until MCHM is undetectable . CDC reached an unwarranted conclusion without further investigation was a red flag to the residents and resulted in the distrust of the public. Even after the residents were asked to resume normal water use when the concentration of MCHM in the river had dropped four days after the incident, there have been reports of strange smells and sediments in the water supply. CDC did conduct a pure MCHM oral study after the recovery and determined that the “no observed effect level was 100 mg/kg/day”.
Within a month of the spill, over 60 business owners protested against the lack of regulations and signed a petition to impose enhanced regulations and enforcement . Efforts to improve regulations had been made for years but it was not until the Elk River spill that problem was stressed. In the early 2000, Mr. Frank Lautenberg began working on a bill that requires the EPA to begin regulating exceptionally dangerous chemicals and to start to test a hundred more chemicals for toxicity annually, in addition to allowing the state to enact stronger regulations . Despite the effort, the bill was blocked by state lawmakers with large chemical industries, and Mr. Lautenberg passed away in 2013.
The Elk River chemical spill brought attention again to the problem. Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, joined by Senator David Vitter of Louisiana and Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico and assisted by the American Chemistry Council, made the bill more industry friendly . The adjusted bill required the EPA to review over 64,000 unregulated chemicals, at a pace of 10 chemicals a year. It will also take away states’ ability to enact tougher regulations. On June 22, 2016, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act was signed into law .
Despite the effort, some remain skeptical of the efforts. Senator Chris Walter said that with “just 10 chemicals a year, given how many chemicals are out there, seems like a drop in the bucket”. Michael Walls, a vice president of the American Council, responded that “today there’s no requirement. So the number of chemicals ultimately reviewed by the EPA will be increased”.
Environmental Impact.
MCHM was found to be biodegradable in conditions similar to the Elk River and the sediment was found to absorb the chemical from the water. Over 10 months after the chemical leak, the sediment had absorbed the chemical, indicating sediment may be a long-term source for MCHM. The sediment retained significant amounts of the chemical despite MCHM being biodegradable. The air quality of the nine affected counties decreased. The spill plume resulting from the spill extended at least 390 miles, extending past state lines into Louisville, Kentucky. The odor released as a result of the spill indicates the presence of the chemical in the air or nearby water sources, with licorice smells indicating MCHM and sweeter, fruitier odors indicating the presence of a MCHM component in the air or water.
Previous literature on MCHM investigated a similar compound, methylcyclohexanol. Through these studies, MCHM was determined to not be deadly to animals in high concentrations, which was then used by the CDC to determine MCHM was not deadly to humans at 1 PPM. The impacts of MCHM on fish are largely unknown. The study, however, resulted in the death of 50 percent of the animal test subjects, raising questions on the accuracy of 1 PPM safety level. The impacts of MCHM on humans, wildlife, and the environment have not been well documented, and previous literature has not been sufficient to determine any long-term effects.
Economic Impact.
A study has determined the economic impacts of the spill long-term are negligible, but there were short-term impacts due to closing of local businesses. The Charleston economy was greatly impacted by the loss of potable tap water. Restaurants in particular suffered, as they were forced to close due to legal requirements to provide tap water to customers. Researchers estimated the spill cost the state $61 million due to closing local businesses and affected 75,000 workers. This affected lower-wage workers more than higher-wage workers, which comprises 41% of the area’s workforce. These economic impacts do not factor in the costs required for cleanup.
Residents of the nine affected counties were forced to purchase bottled water for consumption, cooking, and bathing. Prices for water bottles were increased as the demand grew, increasing financial burden. The State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey encouraged citizens to report price increases on water bottles to the office's consumer protection division and claimed these increases are “just plain wrong”.
Conclusion.
The questionably professional leadership of Freedom Industries together with lax inspection requirements likely contributed to the degradation of chemical storage tanks at the Etowah Terminal Facility. Minimal safety data and miscommunication about the nature of the spilled chemical led to a delay in shutting down water intakes, possibly contributing to the hospitalization of over 100 people. Regulatory gaps appear to have caused the MCHM stored by Freedom Industries to be left out of emergency management procedures for American Water, state, and local emergency planning departments. More frequent inspections and stricter requirements for classification of industrial chemicals may have mitigated the effects of the Elk River spill, or avoided it entirely. However, it would be inappropriate to place the blame for this leak on regulatory gaps alone. Perhaps if executives at Freedom Industries had more recognition of their responsibility to the residents of Charleston, they would have proactively shared information about their operations and ensured that reasonable containment and cleanup plans were in place.
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299557
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23543
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299557
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Trainz/Assets
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Note to newcomers.
The words Assets" and "Content are frequently used interchangeably on the because they are the same except for context. In a strict sense, an 'asset' needs a container to become 'content', so we can split hairs over the difference between an , the and the Content of an or the Contents of a (Its bundled software, i.e. both Content and so has a base collection of assets with a CM ready to add new assets from the DLS to all newcomers).
An Asset does not exist (within a particular Trainz Install) 'as content' just by residing somewhere on your computer's drive or network because you downloaded it Access to the Asset can not be just by a association (link or call), but one in which the dependent asset is incorporated into the operational database of the install— because it is available as an independent asset or to be used by an independent 'parent' asset, which itself makes it an dependency asset (e.g. a Locomotive Bogey) placed in the container (a Locomotive digital model, a self-defining asset). An 'engine-sound' asset would obviously belong to a KIND engine-spec class of asset.
The most important container to individuals is her local data base (Selected by using 'The local content' filter (or tab) in) which lists assets—initially just Routes and Sessions for us all; but then assets added to the base data cabinets).
Some items are optional. Some rolling stock parts only apply to powered rolling stock.
Asset titles.
Remembering that Content and assets are often used interchangeably in Trainz-speak, these are pages in the Wikibook on the subject of Assets that do not involve intermediate or advanced topics:
Asset Organization.
Trainz assets all start as data in the same folder, usually when edited, the folder will generally be named after the listed in the mandatory parts of the in a —the central data self-defining that sets up each asset. As one discovers when one begins two key data elements define what else must be defined inside such config.txt ini files: category-class, which loosely defines certain enumerated types describing the way the content creator means for the asset to be used (e.g. various types of rolling stock, scenery, interactive like signals, etc.) and the KIND specification container specifying certain sub-elements as are necessary.
In Trainz, all such sub-element associations are not necessarily independent assets, but some are called (Meaning a sub-data type, a structure with particular properties and members—but which unlike a Kind can be used as a sub-element in a variety of Kinds in a parent child relationship) and which are included in various and whose active effects (subsequent processing) are based on the tag and the Kind specifying that child.
Driver Session or Scenario
Route, Map or "Layout".
The category-class tag is to Map, the manuals, Trainz menus and surveyor controls refer to 'Routes' and route building and route builder tools, while the Model railroading Hobbiest world refers to a Layout. In each case, it is meant the data set defining a virtual world which in Trainz starts with a single Base map board.
The following assets are attached to map assets:
Ground Textures
Buildings
Other structures such as windmills, lighthouses, etc
Electricity pylons
Vegetation
Roads
Road signs and signposts
"Vehicles", Static Road types —somewhat confusing to the new comer, these are also sometimes classed as buildings or scenery assets.
"Track" —including tunnels and spline engineered (extendable) bridges.
"Trackside Objects" —includes a ton of general content: (signals, speedboards, gantry's, electrical panels etc.)
Industries (including passenger stations)
Products
Rolling Stock.
"Rolling Stock", such as Locomotives (engines), passenger cars (carriages), and freight cars (wagons) are placed on a map in the Surveyor editor module, but actually are attached in the related Trainz , while being enumerated (listed in a reference table of kuid codes) in the map.
These asset types are component parts of rolling stock assets:
Bogies (US English: Trucks)
Enginespec
Enginesound
Hornsound
Interior
Pantograph
Scenery Assets.
s are the life blood of Trainz virtual reality world's, and can range from complex scripted interactive elements such as signals and other "Trackside" interactive objects such as Turntables, switch-motors, switch-levers, and diamond crossings, crossings to allow roads, and of course trees, shrubbery, motor cars and Trucks (lorries), buildings of all shapes and sizes or colors. The group is vast, and selecting between the various optional elements is one of the things that separates a good route builder from the excellent virtual modeler.
HTML, media, and TrainzScript assets.
Media assets in Trainz serve various functions.
"Sounds" —Sound file types are used to create background noises such the soft murmur of a brook, the raucous cawing of a crow, the sound of a distant church bell or a noisy bustling industrial area with jack hammers. They are essential aural scenery items, serving much the same function as a well designed three-dimensional scenery building (e.g. a Tree species, or fancy house). Many are attached and part of more dynamic objects and triggered solely when there is a specific action (The noise of a mechanical switch changing the position of junction points).
"HTML Assets" —
"Rules" —rules are little applets fronting for a script asset used inside . They provide 'software hooks' and enable the Session to communicate values with the gameplay software.
"Driver Commands" —are user modifiable rules that can be changed during driving Sessons or provided as s task commands to be executed one at a time.
* Allowed Driver Commands are controlled by the Driver Commands Rule, and that limits the optional choices to us humans in the drop down Driver Command menu when playing a session in Driver. This means if the session designer doesn't want you to navigate via a trackmark, or allow auto-coupling or decoupling, you have to modify the session in the (auto-cloning the bundled route and session into your personal version) to access such a rule afterwards in the new modified session.
"Scenario TSO File" —Scenario support file, the main program of a Trainz Scenario
"Scenario GS or GSE File" —Scenario, Rule, and session support s. Often called Gamescript files, the second variety is encrypted, so locked from user editing. That status is almost always the case for any published asset.
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299561
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3226541
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299561
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Professionalism/Perry Fellwock and the NSA
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In 1972, Perry Fellwock, a former NSA analyst and Air Force Security Service veteran, exposed the National Security Agency and its worldwide surveillance network in an interview with Ramparts magazine under the alias Winslow Peck. The National Security Agency was formally established in 1952 by President Truman in a memorandum which revised the National Security Council Intelligence Directive (NSCID) 9. Since the memorandum was a classified document, prior to Fellwock's interview there was little public knowledge of the existence much less the capabilities of the NSA. The secrecy that has clouded the NSA since its inception is the root of the moniker 'No Such Agency'.
During his time working for the NSA, Fellwock was stationed at an Istanbul listening post for two years monitoring Soviet air and ground forces and penetrating communications defenses. In 1968, Fellwock left the NSA and volunteered for service in Vietnam. Assigned to the Air Force Security Service, Fellwock flew on Airborne Radio Direction Finding missions to locate and monitor Vietcong military positions. He transferred to the Air Force Reserves in 1969 and attempted to return to college. In the wake of the Kent State shootings, he dropped out of school after one semester and joined the Anti-Vietnam War movement. Today, Fellwock lives in Long Island where he makes a living as an antiques dealer.
Perry Fellwock the Whistleblower.
Fellwock Learns the Truth.
When Perry Fellwock started as a communications interceptor and analyst for the NSA, he was under the impression that he was working to preserve world peace and prevent World War 3. Instead, Fellwock discovered some disturbing truths that had been kept secret from the American public. During his time at the NSA, Fellwock witnessed the shady back-channel dealings of NSA personnel and the U.S. Government. Fellwock learned that the reason the NSA had to preserve its level of secrecy had less to do with its role in the intelligence community and more with the limitless scope of its mission. He claimed that Soviet aggression had been purposefully exaggerated to justify increased military spending, that the government's account of the Vietnam War was a lie, and that most NSA employees (including himself) were guilty of corruption.
Quite a few people in NSA are into illegal activities of one kind or another. It's taken to be one of the fringe benefits of the job. You know, enhancing your pocketbook. Practically everybody is into some kind of smuggling. People inside NSA got involved with the white slave trade...There's no customs or anything like that for NSA people. Myself, I was involved in the transportation of money. A lot of us would pool our cash, buy up various restricted currencies on our travels, and then exchange it at a favorable rate...It's hard for me to relate to the whole thing now. Looking back, it's like that was another person doing those things and feeling those feelings."
Despite these shocking realizations and his feelings of guilt, Fellwock kept silent and removed himself from the situation by volunteering in Vietnam. Due to his exposure to unfiltered military reports, Fellwock gained insight into the war being kept secret from the rest of the world. Disgusted by what he learned, Fellwock left the military and intelligence community to return to civilian life. Upon returning to the U.S., Fellwock joined the anti-war movement but chose not to disclose any of the classified information. Eventually, Fellwock was overcome by guilt and contacted Ramparts with his desire for an interview.
Fellwock Blows the Whistle.
When Fellwock decided to blow the whistle on the NSA, he claimed he was inspired by Daniel Ellsberg (a whistle-blower who had leaked the Pentagon Papers a year earlier and was currently facing charges of espionage). Fellwock wanted to come forward for quite some time but was fearful of government retaliation. Fellwock used the alias Winslow Peck to protect his relatives, but was well aware that the NSA would quickly discover that he was the interviewee. Fellwock's main goal in exposing the NSA was to expose their extensive abuses of power and government appointed secrecy. As a part of the anti-war movement, Fellwock felt that his interview would spur enough public outrage to force the U.S. to end the war effort.
These are some of the most severe accusations Fellwock made during his Ramparts interview:
All trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific telephone calls to or from the U.S. are tapped. Every conversation, personal, commercial, whatever, is automatically intercepted and recorded on tapes...The treaty [UKUSA Agreement] is a one-way street. We violate it even with our Second party allies by monitoring their communications constantly.
Fellwock accused the NSA of illegally monitoring the phone calls of U.S. citizens and violating the Geneva Code by intercepting communist radio transmissions. Even more seriously, he accused them of violating a treaty which the United States had established (the UKUSA Agreements of 1947) by spying on their own allies.
After giving detailed explanations of the vast surveillance and military advantages the United States held over the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the interviewer asked:
The implications of what you're saying are very serious. In effect, it means that based on your knowledge there is no real "balance of terror" in the world. Theoretically, if we know where every Soviet missile installation, military aircraft and missile submarine is at every moment, we are much closer than anyone realized to a first-strike capacity that would cripple their ability to respond.
Fellwock responded with a simple affirmative, "Check". He had similar experiences when working for the Air Force Security Service during the Vietnam War. Fellwock determined that President Nixon's justifications for his war-time policies, primarily the narrative of North Vietnam invading South Vietnam, were inconsistent with surveillance reports. Fellwock's message to the public: "There's no invasion".
In his most recent interview with Gawker journalist Adrian Chen in 2013, Fellwock stated his intended message, "Most people in those days thought that the NSA and CIA worked for the U.S. government. But they don't. They're an entity unto themselves. This community operates outside of the Constitution."
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Fellwock Takes Responsibility.
Fellwock's decision to speak out against the NSA gave him a reason to be concerned, as the consequences for whistle-blowing can be extreme. Before deciding to release the interview, Fellwock and the editors of Ramparts contacted a lawyer from Daniel Ellsberg's defense team for advice. His primary fears were that he and his interviewers would be tried for espionage by the NSA. Despite the risks, they released the article. Luckily for Fellwock, the NSA could not bring charges against him without further incriminating themselves in the public eye. When asked for his thoughts on the actions of recent NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden, Fellwock explained that he believes Snowden is a patriot who did the right thing. However, Fellwock disagrees with Snowden's decision to flee the country saying, “I think he [Snowden] should have stayed here and faced the consequences". By hiding from the repercussions, Snowden compromised the value of his actions.
The Revolving Door.
The revolving door is a political term that refers to “the movement of personnel between roles as legislators and regulators and the industries affected by the legislation and regulation”. This can lead to regulatory capture which is “the process by which regulatory agencies eventually come to be dominated by the very industries they were charged with regulating. Regulatory capture happens when a regulatory agency, formed to act in the public's interest, eventually acts in ways that benefit the industry it is supposed to be regulating, rather than the public.” This environment can lead to the internal corruption that can eventually prompt whistle-blowing.
To illustrate the revolving door concept, I’ll draw upon the Enron scandal. To summarize, as a result of deregulation for Enron, they were able to falsify their financial earnings. So even when their profits were plummeting, they were able to hide it. By misrepresenting earnings, they were able to maintain the revenue provided my investors who were not privy to the real financial situation of Enron. There was a revolving door between Enron (industry) and Arthur Anderson (regulator) that enabled this to happen. Enron hired more than 80 accountants from Arthur Anderson with large pay raises. This meant that sometimes auditors were reviewing accounting work of a former boss or colleague. Richard Causey was initially the head of the Enron Audit team for Arthur Anderson eventually left the auditing firm to join Enron. He soon became Enron’s Chief Accounting Officer. Causey was close friends with David Duncan, the new head of Anderson’s Enron audit team who was now going to be reviewing him.
This type of interchanging of personnel between regulatory agencies and industry creates an environment of corruption. To bring this back to Booze Allen and the Fellwock case “It is no longer possible to determine the difference between employees of the NSA and employees of companies such as Booz Allen”. The revolving door is a consistent theme in upper level corruption that can prompt whistle-blowers to act.
Recurrent Whistle-blower Themes.
The themes which led Perry Fellwock to whistle-blowing were not a unique phenomenon. They are recurrent circumstances which have led others to blow the whistle on powerful organizations at their own peril. Four themes in particular lead to the creation of a whistle-blower:
When an employee, representative, soldier, or official feels strongly their organization and its superiors aware of systematic wrong doing and do nothing to abate it, the formula to create a whistle-blower is set. Taking action is usually the hardest part for these people so it is likely that there are many people who have experienced these themes and remained silent
Other Whistle-blowers.
Prior to Fellwock, Daniel Ellsberg released top-secret papers from the Pentagon in order to bring about a stop to the Vietnam War. The professionalism characteristics Fellwock displayed were also apparent in Ellsberg's actions. Ellsberg had a lot power and thus an immense amount of responsibility given his professional career. He decided to act on his self-knowledge, and took responsibility for his actions. He endured prosecution and ridicule from the American public, but successfully defended his position as a professional.
After Fellwock, Edward Snowden disclosed thousands of classified documents that exposed several global surveillance programs run by the NSA, Five Eyes, and other European constituents. Snowden claims to have done this because he believes what these organizations are doing are unconstitutional and solicit consent from the public. He acted on his self-knowledge, but did not remain in the United States to endure any possible repercussions. Snowden does not fit the model that has been laid out for professionalism by Fellwock although his actions were similar.
In the private sector, Alayne Fleischmann worked as a securities lawyer for JP Morgan Chase during the time right before the subprime mortgage crises. She worked inside the diligence department which was responsible for checking and approving the quality and accuracy of mortgage backed securities. She notices a pattern of fraud as securities were sold to investors with ratings inconsistent with their real value. The head of the diligence department not only condoned misrepresenting the securities, but even ordered subordinates to falsify ratings. Fleischmann informed a JP Morgan Chase superior that the bank is committing fraud, but she was ignored. A short time later she was laid off. When the securities began to fail she offered her testimony to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and to the Department of Justice (DOJ) before retelling her story to media outlets. Fleischmann was never called to testify in front of a grand jury or in court and JP Morgan Chase negotiated a settlement with the DOJ. The DOJ claimed to have an expert witness which they used as leverage during the negotiations; Fleischmann later learned that she was the expert witness.
Bradley Manning was a Private in the U.S. Army who was responsible for the largest leak in U.S. history via Wikileaks. Manning disclosed documents and archives on the conduct of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, including information about civilian death totals or ‘collateral damages’. Manning has said: “If you had free reign over classified networks… and you saw incredible things, awful things… things that belonged in the public domain, and not on some server stored in a dark room in Washington DC… what would you do?” He was assigned a data job and granted high-level clearances where he was able to access the secretive safe-guarded information. His leak was similar to Snowden’s in that neither tried to get help from outside organizations before deciding to blow the whistle. It is likely in both cases that the whistle-blowers believed their direct superiors and the leaders of their organizations were aware of the sensitive information and its significance, but were never going to act on it. Manning received a 35 year prison sentence for his actions.
Conclusion.
Perry Fellwock had a lot power with the NSA which meant he also had a huge personal responsibility. Ultimately, although indirectly, he influenced the fate of the people he surveilled. The technological capability at his disposal took an emotional and psychological toll on his life. His professionalism is identified by three key characteristics:
Fellwock found himself in an undisciplined organization with many rouges and little accountability. He knew classified information about the U.S. government's unethical back-channeling which combined with his first hand experiences in Vietnam led him to develop a strong sense of guilt. From that guilt Fellwock gained his self knowledge, knowing he could not in good conscience sit by and allow such atrocities to continue. Fellwock then acted on his new found self-knowledge by exposing the NSA in hopes that public knowledge of their misdoings would spur the public into opposition. After his interview, Fellwock proceeded to take responsibility for his actions by remaining in the American public prepared for any consequences. The possible repercussions for his actions were intimidating, but he remained visible knowing that to hide would only serve to discredit him and hinder his efforts.
Fellwock’s circumstances are more common than even he probably realized. Many organizations privy to secrecy suffer from a lack of internal accountability. Low-level associates often find it hard to overlook unethical behavior and become discouraged with internal justice systems after witnessing their ineffectiveness. Often these associated find themselves in a professional conundrum; where should their loyalties lie, with the organization or with the public, and what ethical courses of action will actually make a difference? These decisions greatly impact how they are perceived by the public.
Fellwock, Ellsberg, Snowden, and Manning were subjected to severe consequences for whistle-blowing. Fellwock and Ellsberg are worthy to be defined as professionals in this case study; these gentlemen displayed all three key characteristics. Snowden, however, is not worthy of the professional definition as set forth by the actions Perry Fellwock and Daniel Ellsberg pioneered. The inability of Snowden to remain vulnerable to consequences disqualifies him from this definition of a professional. Manning also falls short of a professional; while she did take responsibility for her actions, she did not use all of the internal systems to alert the proper people of the issues and she stole directly from her organization while still in their service. Fleischmann sets the standard for professionalism as she did not cooperate with the malpractices, alerted her boss’ superiors of the major problem, did not disclose information to the public for eight years, and cooperated fully with the government’s investigations. A general lesson that can be learned from these similar cases is that when an employer challenges an employee's personal ethics by forcing their own upon them, they damage that employees loyalty to them, and the probability of that employee rebelling increases.
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299593
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1015207
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299593
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Professionalism/Operation Red Wings and the Rules of Engagement
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Background and History of Rules of Engagement.
The rules of engagement (ROE) delineate when military personnel are allowed to use force. They provide guidance for situations such as determining when it is appropriate to take action against civilians, return hostile fire, and take prisoners. The ROE also identify when soldiers are required to ask for directions from higher authority. It is made overtly clear that a soldier's right to self defense is not limited by the ROE. The rules encompass military, legal and political components, ensuring that U.S. soldiers are acting in accordance with international and domestic war policies. Although all ROE follow the same basic guidelines, adjustments are made to them depending on the mission.
The ROE originated during the Cold War when nuclear warfare was feared as possible retaliation for any military wrongdoings. To prevent incidents and outline allowable actions, the United States government established the ROE. The media's increased role during wartime also contributed to the creation of the ROE because small mishaps began to be highly publicized.
Operation Red Wings.
Background.
On June 28, 2005, a four-man Navy SEAL team (Lt. Michael Murphy, Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Danny Dietz, Sonar Technician 2nd Class Matthew Axelson and Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Marcus Luttrell) was conducting a reconnaissance mission to scout the terrorist Ahmad Shah in the Hindu Kush of Afghanistan. While hiding out, the SEAL team encountered three unarmed goat herders, including one teenage boy. The team was then faced with an ethical decision. Should they free the goat herders and risk being compromised or kill unarmed civilians to protect themselves? Eventually, the team leader Lt. Murphy decided to uphold the ROE and let the goat herders go. About an hour later, the four SEALs were surrounded by more than a hundred Taliban warriors. A firefight erupted and the Taliban militia forced the team to retreat further.
Lt. Michael Murphy.
Lt. Murphy is credited with risking his own life to save the lives of his teammates. He moved into the open to gain a better position to transmit a call for help. Moving away from the protective mountain rocks, he knowingly exposed himself to increased enemy gunfire. Lt. Murphy made contact with the SOF Quick Reaction Force (QRF) at Bagram Air Base and requested assistance. He provided his unit’s location and the size of the enemy force while requesting immediate support for his team. In 2007, Lt. Murphy was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his brave actions during the battle.
Attempted Rescue.
An MH-47 Chinook helicopter, with eight additional SEALs and eight Army Night Stalkers aboard, was sent in as part of an extraction mission to pull out the four embattled SEALs. They knew the risk going into an active enemy area in daylight. On its way to help, the Chinook was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, killing all 16 men aboard. On the ground, the four SEALs, Murphy, Luttrell, Dietz and Axelson, continued the fight. By the end of the two-hour gunfight, Lt. Murphy, Axelson and Dietz had been killed.
Marcus Luttrell: The Lone Survivor.
The fourth SEAL, Luttrell, was badly injured and knocked unconscious by a rocket propelled grenade. Gratefully, a local named Mohammad Gulab came to his aid and carried him to a nearby village where he was kept for three days. The Taliban came to the village several times demanding that Luttrell be turned over to them. The villagers refused. One of the villagers made his way to a Marine outpost with a note from Luttrell, and U.S. forces launched an operation that rescued him from enemy territory on July 2, 2005.
Professionalism of Mohammad Gulab.
Mohammad Gulab assisted Luttrell due to an Afghan code of honor known as Pashtunwali. Pashtunwali is a non-written ethical code and traditional lifestyle which the indigenous Pashtun people follow. Among its main principles includes nanawatai, which refers to providing asylum to a person against his enemies and to protect him at all costs. Gulab did not defend Luttrell for personal gain, but out of a sense of honor that transcended generations, two thousand years of Pashtunwali tradition.
Gulab and his fellow villagers that harbored and saved the life of Lutrell are still proud of their courageous action and would do it again despite of the consequences that followed. In the face of Taliban threats to overrun Sabray, the villagers protected, gave first aid to, fed, and clothed Luttrell. Soon after he saved Luttrell, Gulab was forced to abandon his home and his possessions due to Taliban death threats. He is now living in California, unlikely to ever be able to return to his still threatened village. “I have no regrets for what my family, my fellow villagers and I have done,” said Gulab in an interview, “We knew what the Taliban’s reaction would be from the day we carried him in our door.”
Decision Making in Operation Red Wings.
Organizational Culture.
One of the likely factors that guided Lt. Michael Murphy in his decision to let the goat herders free was the organizational culture of the U.S. military. The theory of organizational culture states that “cultural norms, values, beliefs, and assumptions” unconsciously guide and direct the behavior of members in an organization.
The organizational culture of the U.S. military is characterized by a “highly structured and authoritarian way of life with a mission-focused, goal-oriented approach, … [a] strict sense of discipline, tending to adhere to rules and regulations, … [and] decisive leadership that expects loyalty of subordinates.” All three of these aspects of the military organizational culture played a role in the decision-making in Operation Red Wings. The mission-focused mindset led Lt. Murphy to make a decision based on the goal of following his commands orders, rather than based on maximizing the safety of himself and his comrades. The strict adherence to rules led Lt. Murphy to follow the ROE regardless of the circumstances. Lt. Murphy displayed decisive leadership by taking control of the situation and following through with the decision. The other three soldiers, who were subordinate to Lt. Murphy, were loyal to his decision and followed commands. While organizational culture was not the sole determinant in Lt. Murphy’s choice, it appeared to play a significant role.
Integrity.
Lt. Murphy and his team exemplified integrity in their decision to follow the ROE and the Navy SEAL Code. Integrity is a hallmark of a professional, particularly when performing a virtuous action, such as following the ROE even if it means risking your own life.
One of the core principles of the Navy SEAL Code is “serve with honor and integrity on and off the battlefield.” Additionally, this code states that SEALs “voluntarily accept the inherent hazards of [their] profession, placing the welfare and security of others before [their] own.” Lt. Murphy followed both this code and the ROE with integrity. He accepted the hazard to himself and his comrades in choosing to release the shepherds, while placing their welfare above that of his SEAL team.
Consequentialism.
Another factor that played a role in Lt. Murphy’s decision was consequentialism, which is the view that “the morally right action is the one with the best overall consequences.” Lt. Murphy weighed the potential consequences of choosing to kill the shepherds or let them go. In the event he killed the shepherds, he would have received punishment from his superiors for violating the ROE, both his SEAL team and the U.S. military would have likely been condemned by the media, and his team would have unethically killed unarmed civilians and a child. Lt. Murphy knew that letting the herders go would result in a higher chance of death for him and his SEAL team, but he decided that this outcome had better overall consequences than the alternative.
My Lai Massacre.
In a comparable case, the soldiers in the My_Lai_Massacre during the Vietnam_War chose not to follow the ROE. In this incident, U.S. Army soldiers “killed at least 175-200 Vietnamese men, women, and children,” only 3 or 4 of whom were confirmed enemy Viet Cong. One of the rules of engagement for use of surface weapons in the Vietnam War was “surface commanders may initiate direct fire against positively identified enemy targets.”
The mass killing of unarmed and innocent Vietnamese civilians at My Lai violated the ROE of the Vietnam War, and as a result platoon leader William Calley was convicted of premeditated murder. By defying the rules, Calley breached the rule-following organizational culture of the U.S. military and acted unethically. Lt. Michael Murphy might have survived had he decided to defy the rules and kill the goat herders in Operation Red Wings, but that unethical decision might also have resulted in punishment like Calley. Rather than punishment for disobedience, Lt. Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor for his brave and professional decision.
Conclusion.
Professionals are trained to make judgment calls in scenarios where there is no clear right or wrong solution. Outsiders often use hindsight to criticize these type of decisions, ignoring the tough circumstances of the situation when the decision had to be made. Lt. Michael Murphy and his SEAL team made the decision to follow the ROE, resulting in all of their deaths except for Marcus Luttrell. While this decision resulted in a failure of the mission, Lt. Murphy acted in accordance with the established rules, maintaining his professional integrity even in the threat of death. Many outsiders use hindsight to claim that Lt. Murphy made the wrong decision. However, in the moment it is difficult or even impossible to determine when it is ethically “right” to follow or break rules when human lives are at stake. Thus the outcome of a decision, such as the success or failure of a mission, cannot be the only factor in determining whether or not that decision was ethical or professional.
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299602
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2983037
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299602
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Professionalism/Greenwashing
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Greenwashing is a form of marketing aimed at increasing a company's profits by deceptively portraying a company’s products and policies as environment friendly. Company expenditures focused on marketing rather than environmental action often indicates Greenwashing. Greenwashing takes many forms and ranges from changing the company’s logo or name to depicting environmentally hazardous material as eco-friendly.
A contrast between greenwashing and responsible environmental choices makes for a compelling study of professionalism.
Background Information.
The contemporary environmental movement built momentum during the late 1960's as indicated by this by this Google n-gram of the word "environmental". These concerns did not fade. Surveys from the early 1990's reveal consumer concerns. 77 percent of people in one survey stated that a company’s environmental reputation affected their purchase decision and 84% of another considered corporate environmental crimes more serious than insider trading or price fixing. Public environmental concern holds fast today. Every April 22, People worldwide celebrate Earth Day.
Greenwashing capitalizes on public concern about the environment. Jerry Mander first referred to greenwashing as "ecopornography" in the 1970's. During this era, the anti-nuclear movement began and catalyzed greenwashing propaganda. The nuclear power division of Westinghouse ran advertisements which said “everywhere, extolling the anti-polluting virtues of atomic power” and “reliable, low-cost… neat, clean, safe” In the late 1960s to early 1970s, public utilities invested eight times more on marketing than on research to reduce environmental impact. In the year 1969 alone, the investment topped $300 billion, and this momentum continued into the 1970's. Disasters like Bhopal, Chernobyl, and Exxon Valdez in the 1980's catalyzed the environmental movement. In response, increasingly deceptive and sophisticated greenwashing became more prevalent.
Greenwashing Cases.
Greenwashing takes many forms. For example, ARCO, an oil company, planted palm trees and created artificial waterfalls to conceal its Los Angeles facility. Dow Chemical, the largest producer of chlorine in the world, used a picture of the Earth to promote its ongoing “commitment” to the environment. Mitsubishi Corporation cleared 100 year old Canadian Aspen forests to produce six to eight million pair of disposable chopsticks a day and marketed them as “chopsticks that protect nature.”
BP.
BP, formerly known as British Petroleum, is currently a leader of the world's oil and gas industry, operating in about 80 countries. BP has been known for marketing itself as pro-environmentalism since the early 2000s. However, its marketing and investments, both before and after Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill], have shown that the company largely does not live up to its claims.
Marketing.
In 2000, BP launched a high-profile $200 million public relations campaign designed to portray the company as environmentally-friendly. The company introduced a new slogan, "Beyond Petroleum," and changed its 70-year-old shield logo to a cheerful yellow and green sunburst logo . The shape represents the sun and the colors represent heat, light, and nature. This company re-branding campaign was designed to highlight new initiatives to move "beyond petroleum," such as reducing the company's emissions to pre-1990 levels by 2010.
Investments.
In reality, BP's investments in oil operations dwarfed its investments in renewable energy. BP spent $26.5 billion to buy Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), an oil and gas extraction company, compared to a mere $45 million to buy Solarex, a solar energy company . During the campaign, BP also continued to invest in Canadian tar sands . If exploited the tar sands could cause significant environmental damage.
In 2008, BP invested over $1.5 billion on renewable energy. In the same year, they invested over $20 billion in fossil fuel. Antonia Juhasz, an energy analyst, noted that 4% of investments in non-fossil fuels should not qualify as “Beyond Petroleum."
Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
In April 2010, The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill killed 11 workers, released millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, and cost BP as much as $8 billion. After the spill, BP spent over $500 million to rebuild its brand image, a third of the amount BP invested into renewable energies in 2008. Examples of BP's marketing investments include TV ads and search term bids. BP released TV ads with BP CEO Tony Hayward, showing clean-up efforts and clean beaches. BP successfully bid for several search terms related to oil spill, “to make it easier for people to find out more about our efforts in the Gulf and make it easier for people to find key links to information on filing claims, reporting oil on the beach and signing up to volunteer,” according to BP spokesman Toby Odone.
At the end of 2010, BP did not improve its alternative energy offerings. In fact, BP started scaling down its renewable energy investments to pay for the costs of the spill. BP sold wind farms worth as much as $3.1 billion and increased production of oil by 24%. In 2011, BP closed BP Solar and its solar operations after 40 years of business. In 2012, BP shut down BP Biofuels. In 2013, BP announced it was selling some of its wind power assets, as part of what a BP spokesperson referred to as their "continuing effort to become a more focused oil and gas company and re-position the company for sustainable growth into the future."
Ecolabels.
Overview.
An ecolabel is a third party certification that identifies a product as environmentally friendly. There are over 458 ecolables worldwide; some are even granted by the U.S. government. Popular ecolabels include the Leed certification for energy efficient buildings and the Energy Star certification for appliances. Ecolabels are one of the main ways in which consumers are informed of a product's "green" status. Consequently, many companies seek to obtain ecolabels for marketing purposes.
One type of greenwashing occurs when non-environmentally friendly companies successfully obtain ecolabels. Legitimately environmentally friendly companies thus face increased pressure from these competitors, especially given the higher cost of making one’s product environmentally friendly. Additionally, other businesses may feel the need to obtain ecolabels to catch up, even if they do not qualify for them. This makes it difficult for a rushed customer to separate green companies from greenwashing companies. Such a case occurs with the recyclable label. Recycled or recyclable labels imply that a product can either be recycled or was made from recycled products. However, these products may use a large amount of energy, or may contain harmful byproducts during use or manufacturing. This adds further potential for customer manipulation.
Furthermore, some ecolables have unreliable or illegitimate third party validation processes. This dilutes the meaning of ecolabels, making it harder for legitimate ecolabels to be taken seriously. The industry risks losing its credibility.
Tested Green.
Tested Green is an example of an ecolabel with improper validation processes. According to the Federal Trade Commission, between February 2009 and April 2010, Tested Green advertised, marketed, and sold environmental certifications using both the website www.testedgreen.com and mass e-mails to prospective consumers.The company’s marketing claimed that Tested Green was the "nation’s leading certification program with over 45,000 certifications in the United States." They offered a "rapid certification" for $190 and a "pro certification" for $550. After receiving payment, Tested Green simply gave businesses the Tested Green logo and a link to a verification page where they could advertise the certification.
The FTC found that Tested Green had sold fraudulent environmental certifications for hundreds of dollars, and told more than 100 customers that its certifications were endorsed by two independent firms – which Tested Green actually owned. The FTC settlement bars Tested Green and its owner Jeremy Ryan Claeys from making misrepresentations when selling any product. Claeys ran the scam while campaigning to be the secretary of state of Kansas, and later went on to become a Kansas state representative.
Corporate Environmental Responsibility.
Ray Anderson and Interface Flor.
In a 1999 Fortune article, the founder of the carpet tile company Interface, Ray Anderson admits, “For the first 21 years of the company's existence, I never gave one thought to what we were taking from the earth or doing to it.” That all changed when, in 1994, he read Paul Hawken's "The Ecology of Commerce". In it, Hawken writes of the imperative for corporations to mitigate environmental problems. Hawken states, “Businesspeople must either dedicate themselves to transforming commerce to a restorative undertaking, or march society to the undertaker.”
Anderson said to himself, "If Hawken is right and business and industry must lead, who will lead business and industry? Unless somebody leads, nobody will. ... Why not us?" He then challenged Interface's employees to lead the industrial world to sustainability. Thereafter, Interface has been on a mission "to protect, restore, innovate and educate." Through "Mission Zero" they aim to eliminate all of their negative environmental impacts by the year 2020.
Interface uses many diverse strategies in each of 5 areas to reach their goal. These areas are: energy, climate (emissions), waste, facilities, and transportation. In 2013, 100% of the energy used at 5 of the 7 Interface factories came from renewable sources. From 1996 to 2013, emission per unit product were cut by 71%. They attempt to eliminate waste in the broadest sense, defining waste as "any cost that does not produce value to customers." including "everything from scrap materials and defective product to misdirected shipments or incorrect invoices." Many Interface corporate and retail facilities are LEED certified and the company offsets transportation emissions by partnering with EPA SmartWay and Subaru and programs such as Trees for Travel.
Ultimately, these efforts represent a broadening of Interface's realm of responsibility. Anderson reports that, together, these efforts have resulted in a 90% reduction in emissions relative to sales.
Conclusion.
Ray Anderson believes “We are, each and every one, a part of the web of life. The continuum of humanity, sure, but in a larger sense, the web of life itself. And we have a choice to make during our brief, brief visit to this beautiful blue and green living planet: to hurt it or to help it.” Anderson was particularly concerned about "our children's future." In response to Anderson's vision, the Interface employee, Glenn Thomas, wrote:
“Without a name, an unseen face, and knowing not your time or place, <br> Tomorrow's child, though yet unborn, I met you first last Tuesday morn. <br>A wise friend introduced us two. And through his sobering point of view <br>I saw a day that you would see, a day for you but not for me….”
In contrast to companies and individuals who greenwash, Anderson and Interface employees are worried about people outside of the conventional realm of responsibility. It seems that professionals consider the impact of their decision in a broader context.
Numerous examples of greenwashing and corporate environmental responsibility exist. The impact of greenwashing could also be further explored by investigating how greenwashing affects company profits, which companies use eco-labels, and how greenwashing influences consumer behavior.
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299608
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46022
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299608
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Trainz/AM&C/Faulty Assets On DLS
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About this page.
This is an incomplete list of faulty assets found on the DLS in fresh downloads. It is subject to change and rapid changes at that. The hope is by providing a public list of what needs fixed that is accessible both in web searching and to those involved in the DLS Cleanup efforts, we can better guide and expedite the cleansing faulty content so it stops biting users.
How to prepare data entries.
The template takes three placeholder arguments or parameters and was purpose defined to make it easy to convert" 'cut buffer captured' lists" of ,<KUID:xxx:yyy> information as presents in its main view pane.
"The process assumes or other program editor supporting REGEX search and replace (SAR)".
Group 1.
(may also be in the wrong place)
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299615
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847512
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299615
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GBA Development/Nintendo e-Reader
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Nintendo e-Reader.
Once you have written your own new custom GBA program, you could potentially distribute it to other people—if they have a e-Reader—in the form of "e-Cards".
The e-Reader scans special cards printed with a "Dot Code".
Cards may be swiped in either direction (left or right).
When a program comes on two or more cards,
the cards do not need to be swiped in any particular order.
Tim Schuerewegen was successful in cracking the "dot code" code and was able to turn some homebrew programs into cards, playable on the e-Reader device. Using a special program, one is able to convert program data into a card stripe, and print it onto a piece of paper that can then be scanned and interpreted by the e-Reader.
For example, a homebrew NES game by Snobro, "BombSweeper" (a Game & Watch title clone), as well as numerous tech demos ("hello world," "Mario sprite," etc.) were made into executable files that could be converted into dot code.
Each card can hold up to two code strips.
A long code holds 2.2 kilobytes of information.
A byproduct of the homebrew effort was that a method of "dumping" the data encased in the dot code of e-Cards was discovered. This led to a modified version of the e-Reader ROM image being created that can accept these "dumps" and interpret them for use in an emulator.
Homebrew cards can be created from any NES, Z80, or ARM game by first compressing it with nvpktool.exe and then converting into BMP images with nedcmake.exe.
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299625
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3573121
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299625
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Professionalism/Air France Flight 447
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Background.
Flight Path.
On May 31st, 2009, Air France Flight 447 (AFF447) departed from Rio de Janeiro-Galeao International Airport at 7:03pm local time and was scheduled to arrive at the Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport 11 hours later. . A few hours after takeoff, AFF447 crashed into the southern Atlantic Ocean killing all 228 people aboard. The AFF447 aircraft was an Airbus A330-200.
Pilots.
Three pilots were aboard the flight so that each could take a break during the 12 hour flight. The flight captain was Marc Dubois, who had logged over 11,000 flight hours. The other two co-pilots, David Roberts and Pierre Cedric-Bonin, had each logged 6,600 and 3,000 flight hours respectively.
Two Year Mystery.
AFF447 disappeared beyond radar coverage and into darkness in the early morning hours. The loss of the flight was a mystery; no other plane had ever disappeared without a trace. There were no distress signals or any signs of the impending crash. With no evidence, it seemed as if the plane just fell out the sky without reason.
Upon learning about the crash of the flight, the French Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses (BEA) instigated an international search effort. On the sixth day of the search, the first debris and bodies were found 38 nautical miles north of the last known position. . However, when the debris was first recovered, the reasons behind the plane crash were unknown without the black box.
The Black Box.
A black box is an orange flight data and voice recording device equipped in the cockpit of commercial and corporate jets. It has become crucial for plane crash investigations by providing recordings final moments before an accident. To help locate the black box after a crash, each recorder has an underwater locator beacon, which is activated as soon as it comes in contact with water. It can be exceedingly difficult to find the black box before the locator beacon battery life ends at 30 days. The search for the black box from AFF447 lasted nearly two years, until robot submarines finally located the coveted black box. .
Accident Sequence of Events.
At approximately 1 hour and 36 minutes into the flight, the plane headed into a tropical storm unlike other planes in their proximity. About two hours into the flight, the Captain Dubois exchanged places with Roberts and retired to the back to sleep. Bonin was left in charge of the main controls. Unable to ascend to their desired altitude because of the higher external temperature, the co-pilots were forced to fly through the clouds. Approximately ten minutes after the pilot retired, the pitot tubes on the plane froze and caused the auto-pilot to disengage. At this point, Bonin manually took over control of plane and forced the plane into a steep climb. A stall warning went off immediately and persistently. Bonin failed to push the plane into a dive, despite training to do so. Roberts, unable to see that Bonin is pulling back on the side stick, notices that the plane is climbing and tells Bonin to descend. The vertical speed toward the ocean is accelerating and Bonin is still pulling back on the stick giving the plane barely enough forward speed to keep going. The stall warning continues to sound. After a few minutes, Captain Dubois returns to the cockpit. From his seat behind the two pilots, Captain Dubois is also unable to tell that Bonin is pulling back on the stick. The pilots do not understand the nature of the problem. Bonin finally proclaims that he has had the stick pulled back the whole time and Robert finally puts the nose of the plane down. At this point, there is not enough time left to build up speed during the dive to pull the plane back upward. 1 second later the plane crashes into the ocean.
Responsible Parties.
Airbus.
Airbus, known for their fly-by-wire aircrafts, was the manufacturer of the AFF447 A330 aircraft. The fly-by-wire system has replaced the conventional manual flight controls in an aircraft cockpit with electronic controls. Rather than having heavy mechanical equipment to transmit signals from the cockpit found in conventional aircrafts, the fly-by-wire system transmits electronic signals based off of movement of flight controls in the cockpit. This includes side stick controls, which are on both sides of the cockpit and move independently of one another. Side sticks are used to raise and lower the nose of the plane only when the aircraft is not in auto-pilot. If the pilot on the right side of the cockpit is pulling back on the stick, the pilot on the left side of the cockpit does not see or feel it. Usually pilots enjoy the fly-by-wire side sticks because they require minimum effort. However, when auto-pilot disengages, the pilots may not be capable of manually controlling the plane.
On AFF447, Roberts was unaware of Bonin's actions because they did not affect his side stick. Airbus has been criticized in the aftermath of this deadly crash for their aircraft model. A common criticism is that the Airbus A330 model is too reliant on auto-pilot systems. Traditional aircraft designs like Boeing planes, use control yokes, not side sticks, and the yokes are connected allowing for physical feedback communication between the pilots. Some claim that if AFF447 was a Boeing plane rather than Airbus, Roberts would have immediately noticed Bonin’s error and corrected it well before crashing. However, Airbus has a comparable safety record to traditional Boeing planes, so Airbus has not modified their implementation of fly-by-wire technology.
Air France.
Air France is another potential responsible party, especially since they are responsible for pilot training. After the deadly crash, some questioned whether or not the pilots had been trained to deal with a stall under stressful conditions when auto-pilot was disengaged. Today pilots are accustomed to full automation flying, so when a technical malfunction occurs resulting in solely manual controls, stress arises and pilots may act irrationally. When AFF447 lost the airspeed readings from the pitot tubes, Bonin irrationally pulled back on the side sticks.Ideally, pilots should calmly manage such situations, but these pilots did not receive training in manually flying the aircraft under those conditions.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) knew there were serious problems with the model of Thales pitot tubes installed in many of the Airbus A330s before the AFF447 disaster. Not all of the A330 fleet was equipped with the malfunctioning pitot tubes, so Air France questioned whether or not to change out all of their A330 aircraft’s pitot tubes. Two months after the deadly crash, EASA mandated that all existing Thales pitot tubes be immediately replaced with the revised version. Some fingers were pointed at Air France saying it is not the pilot’s responsibility to know how to cope with technical failures with auto-pilot. Moving forward a new question exists: Should machine manufacturers be fully responsible for fact checking humans?
Pilot Error.
Despite Airbus and Air France's role in the crash, the primary source of error is largely attributed to pilot errors in communication and Bonin's actions. From transcript analysis, it is clear that Bonin was under a great amount of stress. Bonin, only 32 years old, had 8,000 flight hours less than the flight captain. The combination of stress and inexperience resulted in Bonin's flawed decision-making.
Decision-making under pressure
The SRK classification model states that there are three tiers of decision-making: skill, rule, and knowledge-based. In skill based mode, smooth completion of a task is performed without conscious thought. It is indicative of familiarity with the environment and the task. Rule-based behavior applies a pre-packaged set of acceptable behaviors if a given situation occurs. Knowledge based actions are performed with a high-level of conscious thought and usually occur in novel situations where a person lacks experience.
Bonin's inexperience sent him into knowledge-based, rather than skill-based, mode. A common error in knowledge-based mode is a person's inability to correctly diagnose the causes of a problem under significant time-pressure because of lack of expertise. Bonin, who was under significant stress, incorrectly diagnosed the situation. Similar errors have been seen in studies of rookie police officers. In one study, rookie and elite officers decision-making were compared under a staged high-pressure situation where an assailant brandished either a cell phone or a gun. The rookie officers were 43.36% more likely to incorrectly assess the situation due to inexperience and fire when the assailant carried a cell phone.
The second error in decision-making resulted from Bonin's incorrect assessment. He transitioned into rule-based mode and incorrectly applied a rule to the wrong situation. Take off/go around switch (TO/GA) is a common pilot maneuver used during take off to gain altitude and speed. Because the plane was losing altitude and speed, Bonin thought he should apply TO/GA. In the transcript he explicitly states,"I'm in TOGA, huh?" Experts agree that his assessment was illogical because TO/GA is ineffective at high altitudes. Bonin's assessment of TOGA led him to pull back on the control column, the exact action that would cause the plane to stall and crash.
Over-reliance on Technology.
Bonin's decision-making was the result of a high pressure situation and inexperience. Experts say that Bonin and Roberts should have been able to compensate for simple mechanical errors The overall unpreparedness of Bonin and Robert's to fly in high altitude situations when the autopilot disengaged suggests an over-reliance on technology.
As automated flight systems have advanced, pilots have taken a passive role in flying. One pilot stated in regards to a recent flight,"I didn't fly. The computer flew. I sat in the front office monitoring systems." The lack of involvement of pilots has resulted in degradation of their flying skills. The FAA recently reported that pilot over-reliance may result errors such as: insufficient cross verification, not recognizing autopilot or autothrottle disengagement, or not maintaining target speed, heading, or altitude. Each of these errors were seen in the case of flight 447.This phenomena has been termed "Automation Addiction" in aviation. Although the automated systems are regarded as safer than humans when functioning, the inability of humans to take over and make critical decisions when necessary is highly dangerous. The results can be seen in the outcome of AFF447,Asiana Airlines Flight 214, and potentially Malaysia Flight 370. One solution that has been recommended is allowing pilots to fly manually more often.
Over-reliance on technology in other areas of life can also be dangerous, such with GPS. The resultant outcomes have been termed "Death by GPS". People are blindly trusting the GPS, even when prompted to travel down remote backgrounds in dangerous terrain. This often results in being stranded, and some cases, death.
Autonomous Cars.
In 2012, there were 33,561 motor vehicle crash fatalities in the United States. Given the danger of driving, self-driving cars represent a way to improve safety and efficiency when driving. As self-driving technology develops, it will be imperative to question how to utilize the safety potential of technology to the fullest, while also allowing drivers to maintain essential skills in the event of an emergency. One solution to this has been Stop-and-Go Pilot which was developed by Mercedes. Stop-and-Go allows the car drives itself, but only operates when the driver's hands are on the wheel.
Conclusion.
In the wake of the crash of AFF447, blame was directed in several directions. The brunt of the blame was on the pilots for communication and decision-making errors due to an over-reliance on auto-pilot. The situation of the AFF447 pilots poses a new obligation of professionals in all fields. The current role of a professional to be able to question the status quo when necessary and maintain their professional opinion despite external pressure. With the increasing prevalence of automated technology, professionals will now be required to not only question managers, but to question the tools and machines they use.
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299629
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3181019
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299629
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Agile Software Engineering Cheatsheets
|
About This Book.
Why this book? I do and teach Agile, and I love check-lists.<br>
Besides, It’s a brave new world out there and people are busy and have precious little attention for books, courses and lectures. Our attention span is youtube-size at best. 10 minutes is all we have.
In this reality, expecting people to read books to learn something is becoming less realistic, and even when we do read a book, a year later, we have forgotten 99% of its content. And now comes the time when we need that knowledge and we are back at square one.
What I needed was cheat sheet for individual topics so I could remind myself (and others) how to do something specific, troubleshoot something as a coach, or have a focused discussion about a specific topic, just as I was walking into it. These lists have helped me and others, so I hope it can help you as well, and perhaps you’ll even want to contribute. So here it is. Enjoy and contribute. This is (and will always remain) work in progress.
About The Author.
I am Sagi Smolarski, Lead Coach at AgileSparks.com. I have been working with, teaching and coaching Agile since 2001, when a project I was managing started using eXtreme Programming. Since then I have worked with dozens of teams and companies, and I am still learning.
You can contact me at sagi at agilesparks.com.
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299645
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453220
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299645
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Professionalism/Google Street View and Wi-Spy
|
Introduction.
Google launched Street View in 2007 to provide street-level panoramic views in major cities, complementing satellite and aerial photography . Imagery is collected using specialized vehicles equipped with 9 cameras facing in all directions, and areas not accessible by cars have been mapped using snowmobiles, tricycles, divers, boats, and free-walking camera-people. As of 2012, Google Street View had collected 20 petabytes of imagery covering 5 million miles of roads in 39 countries. This breadth and depth of coverage has led to novel applications, including cross-cultural education , wildlife photography, virtual sightseeing, and immersive tours of businesses . The service raises new privacy challenges since it publishes high-resolution images of people, homes, and vehicles. Google uses automatic feature recognition to blur out faces and license plates before publishing, although the algorithms sometimes fail to obscure people with distinctive facial hair, for example.
While collecting imagery on-the-ground, Google also has many opportunities to collect non-image data not accessible during aerial and satellite photography. Specifically, their vehicles pass through hundreds of thousands of WiFi hotspots, recording their positions at all times, and can collect information to improve WiFi-based positioning services using specialized software. Additionally, many WiFi networks are unencrypted, enabling anyone in range of the wireless router to use the connection or intercept information being sent across the network. When first investigated in 2010 by a small German regulatory agency, Google denied intercepting such information: Google “does not collect or store payload data”. However, in what became known as the "Wi-Spy" scandal, it was soon revealed that Google had been collecting hundreds of gigabytes of payload data since 2007 in 30 countries, and that much of this information was personal and sensitive. For example, first names, email addresses, physical addresses, and a conversation between two married individuals planning an extra-marital affair were all cited by the FCC. A few weeks later, Google’s Senior VP of Engineering and Research Alan Eustace admitted “We are acutely aware that we failed badly here” .
Initially, Google represented the data collection software as the work of a rogue engineer, referenced in FCC investigation as “Engineer Doe.” In April 2012, the identity of the engineer was revealed to be Marius Milner, a “hacker” who “know[s] more than [he] want[s] to about Wi-Fi” according to his LinkedIn page. However, depicting his actions as the work of an individual at odds with the company is problematic, since management signed off on his detailed specifications before implementation, and outside analysts noted that his actions were consistent with an “engineering mindset” prevalent at Google: “grab the data first and worry about filtering it later” .
Role of Corporate Culture.
The WiSpy case illustrates that corporate cultures and practices can facilitate ethics violations. At Google, several factors contributed to the ethics failure in this case. First, any engineer on the project could modify the source code without notifying others on the team. Second, the project managers claim that they did not read the documentation pertaining to the detection of wireless network. Milner stated that the packet sniffing details would need to be discussed with the product’s legal counsel, but the review was never conducted. Finally, Google repeatedly blocked requests by the FCC to furnish emails and documentation that were pertinent to the case.
The fact that any engineer on the Street View project could modify code without notifying colleagues or supervisors, provided that the changes are thought to be beneficial, is what allowed the ethics breach to occur in large part. According to the interviewed engineers who worked on the project, no one but Milner knew that packet data was being collected from unencrypted networks. A second engineer was assigned to review and verify Milner’s code line-by-line, but this engineer also claimed that he did not know what the code was used for, stating that his job was limited to verifying proper syntax and correct operation before the code was checked into Google’s source repository. With this little oversight, it seems possible for a “rogue employee,” as Google insists Milner was, to do virtually anything and remain undetected.
The fact that the managers did not read the documentation that Milner provided is also highly problematic. They claimed that they had “pre-approved” all of Milner’s work, giving him free reign over his component of the project, and so they did not need to verify his work. Interestingly, Milner did not make any attempt to obfuscate his activities, and he expressly mentioned in the documentation that he was capturing data frames from packets on unencrypted networks. Furthermore, Milner notes in his documentation that while he does not believe that his packet snooping plans are problematic, they should be discussed with the legal counsel for the project. This never happened. Again, this lack of oversight is surprising: any employee who has been “pre-approved” can design applications that could do virtually anything.
The corporate culture at Google also contributed to this ethical failure. According to Al Hilwa, an analyst at IDC, the organization has a “collect data first, filter it later” mentality that encourages employees to record as much data and as many metrics on the users as possible without considering whether the data is even useful or should be collected. Milner himself wrote in his documentation that “[a]nalysis of the gathered data [was] a nongoal (though it [would] happen).” Furthermore, Google is very secretive and self-protecting. The company repeatedly disregarded or incompletely responded to requests from the FCC for emails and documentation. From the FCC report:
“Google’s document production included no e-mails, and the Company admitted that it had ‘not undertaken a comprehensive review of email or other communications’ because doing so ‘would be a time-consuming and burdensome task.’ Google also failed to identify any of the individuals responsible for authorizing its collection of Wi-Fi data or any employees who had reviewed or analyzed Wi-Fi communications collected by the Company.” When emails were finally furnished, a total of 5 emails were provided. The contents of these emails are quite telling; several emails comprise a conversation between a Street View project manager and Milner. Milner wrote “We store the whole body of all non-encrypted data frames. One of my to-do items is to measure how many HTTP requests we’re seeing.” After Doe performed some basic analysis on the collected data, he told the manager “You might recall asking me about URLs seen over Wi-Fi from the [StreetView] cars… I got round to running a quick mapreduce. Out of 300M wi-fi packets, there were 70K HTTP requests for 32K unique URLs.” The manager replied “Are you saying that these are URLs that you sniffed out of Wifi packets that we recorded while driving?” Milner replied “[T]he data was collected during daytime when most traffic is at work (and likely encrypted),” which is an elaborate way of saying “yes.”
Some of the strategies that Google employed in handling the WiSpy case recall Arthur Andersen’s policy of plausible deniability. Provided that Google as a corporation can claim that it is unaware of ethics violations, it can portray failings as the result of “rogue engineers.” According to the New York Times, Milner has stated that “Depicting his actions as the work of a rogue ‘requires putting a lot of dots together,’” indicating that others were likely involved in the case but the organization denied their involvement.
Fines for Ethics Violations.
This case also illustrates the difficulty in holding companies accountable for ethics violations. While the FCC found that the Wi Spy program does not violate the law, it did fine Google $25,000 for interfering with their investigation. This represents merely 6 seconds of Google’s profits. Ultimately, Google was fined $7 million, to be payed to the various states’ Attorneys General who took part in the class action lawsuit . While this is still a small amount, the plaintiffs considered it a symbolic victory. Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen claimed that the agreement would "ensure that Google will not use similar tactics in the future to collect personal information". However, even while the civil suit was being decided, Google was fined $22.5 million for disregarding users’ browser privacy settings. This shows how little impact the case had on Google’s operations.
The small effect of ethics penalties on corporations is observable in many cases. In 2013, the investment bank HSBC was fined $1.9 billion for a money laundering scandal. The bank had failed to monitor hundreds of billions of dollars in wire transfers, because it had dismantled its auditing program to save costs. This allowed drug cartels in Mexico to move billions of dollars through HSBC’s services. Despite the fine, HSBC still made $13 billion in profit that year, and its gains from the illegal transactions were never considered.
These cases are even more stark when compared to those of individuals convicted of similar crimes. The hacker Andrew “weev” Auernheimer was sentenced in 2012 to pay $373,000, and spend 41 months in prison, for stealing personal information from AT&T . Auernheimer was able to access the information on a publicly-viewable web page on the AT&T site, and sent the details to the company. The rhetoric in his case was a world away from the FCC Wi Spy ruling, where the FCC compared Google’s activities to listening to a public radio broadcast. Prosecutors for the Auernheimer case likened his actions detonating a nuclear power plant in New Jersey . While Auernheimer was released this year, due to an error in his trial’s proceedings, he still spent 10 months in prison. No one from Google was imprisoned for their collection of personal data; neither were any HSBC employees for laundering money. This shows how ethical behavior is held to different standards on the individual and corporate levels, in regards to legal rulings.
|
299657
|
1514312
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299657
|
Biomedical Engineering Theory And Practice/Further reading
|
Overview.
Wikipedia,Biomedical engineering
Bureau of Statistics, Occupational OutLook Handbook, Biomedical Engineer
Introduction.
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Human_Anatomy/Terminology_and_Organization
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terms_for_anatomical_location
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_medical_roots,_suffixes_and_prefixes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_motion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronyms_in_healthcare
Physiologic System.
Wikibook,Human Physiology
Physiological Modeling and Simulation.
Compartment Models of Physiologic system.
Physiome Project
Wikipedia,Pharmacokinetics
http://www.gnu.org/software/mcsim/
Basic_Physics_of_Nuclear_Medicine/Dynamic_Studies_in_Nuclear_Medicine
Bioelectric phenomena.
Wikipedia,Electrophysiology
Neuro engineering.
Wikipedia, Neural Engineering
Biomechanics.
Wikipedia,Biomechanics
Biomaterials.
Biomaterials Science: An Introduction to Materials in Medicine by Buddy D. Ratner, Allan S. Hoffman, Frederick J. Schoen, Jack E. Lemons
Wikipedia,Biomaterials
Medical Imaging & Analysis.
Wikipedia,Medical imaging
Biotechnology.
Wikipedia,Biotechnology
Biosensors & Biochips.
Wikipedia,Biochip
Wikipedia,Biosensor
Health Informatics.
Health Informatics: Practical Guide for Healthcare and Information Technology Professionals ISBN-10: 1105437558
Wikipedia,Health informatics
Clinical Engineering.
Wikipedia,Clinical engineering
The Mathematical Tools.
R programming
How to use R
|
299720
|
520910
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299720
|
Structured Query Language/Quantified Comparison
|
There are use cases in which an application wants to compare rows or columns not with a fixed value - e.g.: 'WHERE status = 5' - but with a result of a query which is evaluated at runtime. A first example of such dynamic queries are which return exactly one value: '... WHERE version = (SELECT MAX(version) ...)'. Additionally, sometimes there is the need to compare against a set, which contains multiple values: '... WHERE version <comparison> (SELECT version FROM t1 WHERE status > 2 ...)'.
To do so, SQL offers some special comparison methods between the table to be queried and the result of the subquery: IN, ALL, ANY/SOME, and EXISTS. They belong to the group of so-called "predicates".
* The IN predicate retrieves rows that correlate to the resulting values of the subquery.
* The ALL predicate (in combination with <, <=, =, >=, > or <>) retrieves rows which correlate to all values of the subquery (boolean AND operation).
* The ANY predicate (in combination with <, <=, =, >=, > or <>) retrieves rows which correlate to any value of the subquery (boolean OR operation). The keyword SOME can be used as a synonym for ANY, so you can exchange one against the other.
* The EXISTS predicate retrieves rows, if the subquery retrieves one or more rows.
IN.
The IN predicate - as described in - accepts a set of values or rows.
SELECT *
FROM person
WHERE id IN
(SELECT person_id FROM contact); -- Subquery with potentially a lot of rows.
The subquery selects a lot of values. Therefore it is not possible to use operators like '=' or '>'. They would merely compare single values. But the IN predicate handles the situation and compares "person.id" with every value of "contact.person_id" regardless of the number of "contact.person_id" values. This comparisons are mutually linked in the sense of boolean OR operations.
The IN predicate can be negated by adding the keyword NOT.
WHERE id NOT IN
ALL.
The ALL predicate compares every row in the sense of a boolean AND with every value of the subquery. It needs - in contrast to the IN predicate - an additional operator, which is one of: <, <=, =, >=, > or <>.
SELECT *
FROM person
WHERE weight > ALL
(SELECT weight FROM person where lastname = 'de Winter');
Common hint: If there is no NULL special marker in the subquery it is possible to replace the ALL predicate by equivalent (and more intuitive) operations:
MySQL hint: Because of query rewrite issues the ONLY_FULL_GROUP_BY mode shall be disabled, e.g. by the command: set sql_mode='ANSI'.
ANY/SOME.
The key words ANY and SOME are synonyms, their meaning is the same. Within this Wikibook, we prefer the use of ANY.
The ANY predicate compares every row in the sense of a boolean OR with every value of the subquery. It needs - in contrast to the IN predicate - an additional operator, which is one of: <, <=, =, >=, > or <>.
SELECT *
FROM person
WHERE weight > ANY
(SELECT weight FROM person where lastname = 'de Winter');
Common hint: If there is no NULL special marker in the subquery it is possible to replace the ANY predicate by equivalent (and more intuitive) operations:
MySQL hint: Because of query rewrite issues the ONLY_FULL_GROUP_BY mode shall be disabled, e.g. by the command: set sql_mode='ANSI'.
EXISTS.
The EXISTS predicate retrieves rows, if the subquery retrieves one or more rows. Meaningful examples typically use a .
SELECT *
FROM contact c1
WHERE EXISTS
(SELECT *
FROM contact c2
WHERE c2.person_id = c1.person_id -- correlation criterion between query and subquery
AND c2.contact_type = 'icq');
The example retrieves all contacts for such persons, which have an ICQ-contact.
The EXISTS predicate can be negated by adding the keyword NOT.
WHERE NOT EXISTS
|
299752
|
3332924
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299752
|
Biomedical Engineering Theory And Practice/Overview
|
The field of Biomedical Engineering.
Bioengineering/Biomedical Engineering is an interdisplinary of engineering, biology and medicine in order to improve human health. People who understand Biomedical Engineering partially would have various background. They could be doctors or nurses in the special area(dentist, oncologist, radiologist, plastic surgeon, medical examiner, hospital or clinic team member and so on). They may be engineers or scientists in organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, polymer chemistry, plant biology, animal biology, electronics, computer science, statistics and so on.
According to a survey of Yahoo,Finance, Biomedical Engineering is one of the best areas in which to work.
Preparation and Career Path.
Biomedical engineering entry-level education is Bachelor’s degree. But, college graduates with a degree in engineering or science occasionally may qualify for some engineering jobs, especially in highly demanded special part. Generally, to lead a research team, a biomedical engineer needs a graduate degree. Some biomedical engineers attend dental or medical school to specialize in applications of patient care. Some earn law degrees to work as patent attorneys.
Pre-university course.
During the middle and high school, students interested in biomedical engineering should take courses in several of the following subjects. It is the same as for any other engineering discipline, except that some life science course work should also be included.
* Algebra II * Precalculus
* Biology * Physics
* Calculus * Second Language
* Chemistry * Trigonometry
* Computer Science
University course and industry.
Those interested in Bioengineering should consider reviewing engineering programs that are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.(ABET). ABET accreditation focus on an evaluation of an engineering program’s student achievement, program improvement, faculty, curricular content, facilities, and institutional commitment. Tryengineering Search shows a list of universities all over the world which have accredited degree programs in bioengineering/Biological Engineering/Biomedical Engineering. In a typical 4-years Bachelor's curriculum, the first 2 years are spent studies on basic science, mathematics, introductory engineering and other selective and various classes. In the last 2 years, most courses focus on the engineering, usually with a concentration in special branch and some students have a chance to work with the professors and graduate students in the lab.
The next chart shows Bioengineers employed in various industry area.
Professional Organization.
The following is a list of professional organization related to biomedical engineer.
Reference.
Wikipedia,Biomedical engineering
Bureau of Statistics, Occupational OutLook Handbook, Biomedical Engineer
|
299753
|
3325817
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299753
|
CASP
|
This Wikibook is a study guide for Advanced Security Practitioner Certification (CASP).
Introduction.
The CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP) Certification is
|
299756
|
23543
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299756
|
Trainz/AM&C/Running more than one Trainz
|
The new Trainz user is well advised to scout the bargain websites and Amazon.com's 3rd party partners and try to acquire various older Trainz releases. This is because the bundled content in a Trainz release varies quite a bit in the main, based on the routes bundled with the release, and there are many routes with dependencies on the DLS you may want to explore that will be calling for said assets. Each is worthwhile passing time with, as is, but getting a set really allows exploration of Trainz capabilities and an appreciation of each's Trainz era. Running multiple Trainz at once is entirely possible and workable with the computers in this day and age. Two Gigs of memory are bargain machines, and Terabyte drives are now cheap, whereas a Trainz install generally fits easily inside 4-5 Gb, even with thousands of added assets. The data bases are really pretty compact, since not only data compression techniques are in play, but so is the fact an asset in the data base is binarily organized into only a few small files. A source asset folder uses many small files, each requiring a minimum disk footprint of at least 4 kb (on small drives, below 250 Mb capacity) and 8 kb/file or 16-32 kb/file on larger drives on 32 bit computers. Most computers today have been 64 bits, which enables the minimum file footprint to shrink back once more, and drives have grown enormously in the past decade, so space is no longer any limitation, nor has memory space for a long time.
Further, many Auran coded assets (still) fall into the category: "Not on the DLS", meaning if they were used in the many (more than 2,500) routes uploaded to the DLS, you are in the same state as looking for third party content that is not on the DLS: getting the hated Unknown asset error message in the pop-ups when finishing downloading in the DLH.
In other words, Trainz stubbornly refuses to know about it's own published assets if the code hasn't been added to the DLS, and prior policy was damn little would be added after N3V took over management of the DLS and development of new releases. Predicting whether 'it' will be 'there' is much like 16th century weather forecasting-- look out a window and hope for the best.
Many common assets were tied directly to Auran's original work with meshes and scriptlets geometrically increasing the number of broken assets when the new TANE base data included mainly newly composed data types, albeit compliant overall to the old (more basic) capabilities and data sets of the TS09—TS12 era even as TANE's promised features were evolving many by adding necessary new tags and values to support new features. Subsequent to their rethink, N3V Games made a huge effort to put up working older era source content and eventually also provided a way for Content Creator's to upgrade their legacy content so many large DLS assets require (routes and their sessions, many legacy rolling stock assets accrued over nearly two decades of busy Trainz enthusiasts efforts.)
Handling Problems.
If you run more than one version of the same Trainz release, there is sometimes difficulty remembering which you launched. This is particularly vexing when running TS10-SP3 or SP4 and TS09-SP4, both of which tag the Content Manager with their common TBV '3.3'.
|
299772
|
23543
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299772
|
Trainz/containers/mesh-table container
|
KIND Hierarchy.
The "mesh-table" container is a top-level entry used by almost every Asset Type that presents a visible digital shape when rendered, which also means any place-able asset. Even sound effects assets have a minimal 2 triangle mesh or rectangle (asset creator's option) and only those assets which are always dependencies, such as HTML files or Ground Textures will not.
The mesh-table is a list of mesh subcontainers with no standalone tags. Tags are parsed in a standardised format, but not all content types (i.e. KINDs) support the full range of tags listed below. Each mesh derives its name from the subcontainer's tag name, a reserved data keyword or identifier. These identifier names are used to refer to specific meshes from within the mesh-table and also from scripts in interactive or animated assets, providing the commonality of definition and reference necessary to interface the static code of an asset definition with the interactive flexibility of dynamic operation states detectable by suitable software.
"Main article, see: "
Known Dependent Parent Types.
The Content Types listed here use the mesh-table container as part of their definition.
The following config containers also reference back to their Asset's mesh-table container in some fashion:
See also:
Level of Detail (LOD).
For discussions of LOD see , and
This simple configuration will be seen in many pre-TS09 assets using IM meshes:
Simple mesh-table container.
Pre- (v2.5) assets originated using older Progressive Meshes (PM meshes) tech (v1.0--v2.6 era, depreciated by v2.5) most often use the (older & original) Trainz convention of 'suffixed' subfolder names matching the config file's <code>definition</code> and the convention of naming subfolders "using that string" concatenated with the "appended suffixes" '_body', '_art', and '_shadow' to define both subfolders in an asset root, and the main mesh, texture, or texture.txt files in such subfolders. In addition to these "standardized 'named by suffixes' subfolders", the tag was an early upgrade that, like today's mesh-table containers component tags, provided a pathspec to a night folder which had widely varying names (though many content creator's used simple 'night' and 'nightmode' subfolder names, while others followed the suffixed convention and concatenated <code>asset-filename+_night</code>.
This convention has been replaced by direct definitions of paths using the entries and entries, freeing the content creator from using said suffixes for asset component groups. Hence often newer assets use a single root folder and may have no subfolders.
<br>
In any case, the nightmode tag signified and was assigned both the folder name and the mesh name within for the night display. The post-UTC equivalent is a 'night' mesh container within the mesh table:
e.g. a v1.3 locomotive asset <kuid:86105:6225>, in config.txt file's asset-filename "KansasCitySouthernSD40-2" has subfolders kansascitysouthernsd40-2_art and kansascitysouthernsd40-2_body, and if shadows had been installed should have had a kansascitysouthernsd40-2_shadow sub-folder.
The Content Manager of Post-TC3 versions will not always find and interpret either PM or IM meshes in the sub-folder schema/standard for older content, and will generate the fault message "Error: Unable to load mesh file: 'filename_shadow.pm'" even if present, or worse, are converted to IM.
Mesh subcontainer.
Each mesh subcontainer supports the following tags. Each tag is shown here with its default value.
mesh-asset <NULLKUID>
mesh "
anim "
lod-level 255
mesh-season 255
att "
att-parent "
opacity 1.0
position 0,0,0
orientation 0,0,0
auto-create 0
use-parent-bounds 0
should-respond-to-clicks 1
animation-loop-speed 0
critical-animation 1
effects {
night-mesh-base ""
Supported Tags.
Each mesh subcontainer supports the following tags.
Type: File
Default: "
Compulsory: No
Desc: The animation file (.kin) exported from the 3D modelling tool and/or . This may include a sub-path.
Type: Float
Default: 0
Compulsory: No
Desc: This tag must be present if the asset is to animate when placed. If this tag is not present when placed the animation will not play by default, but may play if controlled by script. A different value (e.g. 0.5, 2.0) may be used in the tag to play the animation at a different speed from that created in the 3D modelling tool.
Type: Attachment point
Default: "
Compulsory: No
Desc: The mesh (and animation if present) is inserted at a mesh attachment point rather than the origin (without this line the mesh is placed relative to the origin of the parent model).
Type: Mesh name
Default: Defaults to "default" which is the parent mesh
Compulsory: No
Desc: The tag tells Trainz in which mesh the attachment point is located. The insertion attachment point is located within the mesh ‘name’ , as listed in the config.txt.
Type: Bool
Default: 0
Compulsory No
Desc: The model is generated automatically when placed, or when you load a map which includes the model. In some instances you don’t want the mesh visible (as this may be controlled through script). If auto-create is 0 the mesh will not be visible when placed.
Type: Bool
Default: 1 (TBD: surely this should be false (0))
Compulsory: No
Desc: "critical-animation" indicates that this mesh's animation generates events which are critical to the script system's behavior. If your asset is not scripted, does not use scripted animation events, or only uses the events for display purposes and will not break if the occasional event is missed, this tag should be set to "false (0)". Leaving this flag set to "true (1)" is a significant performance penalty.
Type:
Default: "
Compulsory: No
Desc: TBD
Type: | | | |
Default {}
Compulsory: No
Desc: The can contain a list of effect subcontainers. The effect subcontainers support the following generic tags.
kind "
name "
Each effects subcontainer supports additional tags depending on the effect kind. The following effect kinds are supported:
*
*
Type: Bool
Default: True(1)
Compulsory: No
Desc: If true, this tag causes the non-stitched mesh to be linked into the Trainz lighting model. This causes the mesh to respond to directional lighting changes, such as the angle of the sun or train headlights. This is also necessary for normal maps to work correctly. Zeroing this tag will remove the mesh from the Trainz lighting model. Generally speaking, you should never zero this tag- almost every effect that can be achieved through this approach can be better served by using an appropriate normal map or appropriate geometry detail.
This tag has no effect on stitched meshes, which are always affected by the Trainz lighting. Since the content creator has no direct influence over which meshes are subject to , and all indirect influences are subject to change between Trainz editions, it is strongly recommended that this tag is avoided to ensure that results are consistent.
Type: Int (0-8)
Default: 255
Compulsory: No
Desc: The object LOD level at which this mesh is displayed. The default value (255) indicates that this mesh is visible at all detail levels. See also for the 'mesh-detail-level' tag.
Type: Mesh name
Default: " (will raise error if null)
Compulsory: Yes (3.4)
Desc: The ‘main’ mesh name. This may include a sub-path. ie: mesh nightwindows/nightwindows.im, where the file nightwindows.im has been placed in the subdirectory nightwindows. Use .im files or reference an file if you wish your asset to have ‘Level of Detail’ mesh reduction.
The mesh name can also refer to an IM file in a mesh asset library if the mesh-asset tag is specified.
Type:
Default: <NULLKUID>
Compulsory: No
Desc: Specifies a mesh asset library to be used in conjunction with the 'mesh' tag. The mesh name specified in the 'mesh' tag must be located in this asset as Content Manager not check for the existence of the mesh. If the mesh is not located in the root folder of the mesh asset then include the path as part of the mesh name in the 'mesh' tag.
Type: Floatlist
Default: 0,0,0
Compulsory: No
Desc: This tag defines a minimum and maximum scaling value for the mesh, where 1.0 is the size as modelled. Each instance of the mesh that exists in the world will randomise within this range. Randomisation will not change between runs or between Trainz editions, but may change based on factors such as the position of the mesh in the world. This tag is currently only supported on SpeedTree assets; attempts to use this tag on other assets results in undefined behaviour.
Type: Int (0-250)
Default: 255
Compulsory: No
Desc: The season index for which this mesh is displayed. The default value (255) indicates that this mesh is visible in all seasons. See also .
Type: Mesh name
Default: ""
Compulsory: No
Desc: This night mesh is linked to the specified mesh and is visible only at night. It is invisible if the specified mesh is invisible, (if the auto-create 0 line were used so the specified mesh can be controlled by script).
Type: Float (0.0 - 1.0)(See below)
Default: 1.0
Compulsory: No
Desc: Specifies the overall transparency of the mesh. Values other than 0.0 or 1.0 employ alpha blending and a value of 0.0 has the same effect as hiding the mesh. Note that this tag is buggy in TS2009 prior to SP4.
Type: Floatlist (radians)
Default: 0,0,0
Compulsory: No
Desc: Orientation of X,Y,Z axes. Allows a submesh to be rotated relative to its insertion point. To reverse a mesh by 180 degrees about the Z axis, add the tag: orientation 0,0,3.14159
Type: Floatlist (metres)
Default: 0,0,0
Compulsory: No
Desc: Position of the mesh using X,Y,Z axes relative to its insertion point.
Type: Float
Default: TBD
Compulsory: No
Desc: TBD (should this be in ?)
Type: Bool
Default: True(1)
Compulsory: No
Desc: If set to false (0) on a mesh that is part of an asset, it will remove that mesh from the calculation of the 'bounding box' that will be used to check whether the user clicked on that particular asset. This is useful for light ray effects or animations which are significantly outside the normal bounding volume, and may cause movement to focus on the wrong asset. For instance, a traincar may need a mesh marked with should-respond-to-clicks set to false in order to ensure that the click is detected for the correct traincar when it is part of a consist. First introduced with TS12 SP1 HF4 (build 61388). Default value (True) is the prior behavior (the mesh "will" be considered part of the bounding box for the purpose of registering clicks).
Type: Bool
Default: TBD
Compulsory: No
Desc: TBD (should this be in)
Type: Bool
Default: False(0)
Compulsory: No
Desc: When enabled, this tag indicates that render culling should occur using the whole object's bounding box rather than this mesh's bounding box. Bounding boxes on individual meshes may not update correctly when animation moves the object's geometry any significant distance from the bind position. This flag can help mitigate such effects, at a tiny performance penalty.
Mesh-Table Example.
The following is an example of a simple mesh-table which implements two levels of detail. Generally, asset designers should be attempting mesh reductions of upto four lod levels LOD0, LOD1, LOD2 and LOD4.
|
299779
|
3097823
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299779
|
Stokes' theorem
|
In differential geometry, Stokes' theorem is a statement about the integration of differential forms which generalizes several theorems from vector calculus. It is named after Sir George Gabriel Stokes (1819–1903), although the first known statement of the theorem is by William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) and appears in a letter of his to Stokes in July 1850. The theorem acquired its name from Stokes's habit of including it in the Cambridge prize examinations. In 1854, he asked his students to prove the theorem on an examination.
Introduction.
The fundamental theorem of calculus states that the integral of a function "f" over the interval ["a", "b"] can be calculated by finding an antiderivative "F" of "f":
<math>\int_a^b f(x)\,\mathrm dx = F(b) - F(a).</math>
Stokes' theorem is a vast generalization of this theorem in the following sense.
So the fundamental theorem reads:
<math>\int_{[a, b]} f(x)\,dx = \int_{[a, b]} dF = \int_{\{a\}^- \cup \{b\}^+} F = F(b) - F(a).</math>
General formulation.
Let "M" be an oriented smooth manifold of dimension "n" and let <math>\alpha</math> be an "n"-differential form that is compactly supported on "M". The integral of <math>\alpha</math> over "M" is defined as follows: Let {"fi"} be a partition of unity associated with a locally finite cover {"Ui"} of (consistently oriented) coordinate neighborhoods, then the integral
<math>\int_M \alpha \,</math>
is defined to be
<math>\sum_i \int_{U_i} f_i \, \alpha ,\,</math>
where each term in the sum is evaluated by pulling back to R"n". This is well-defined.
Stokes' theorem reads: If <math>\omega</math> is an ("n" − 1)-form with compact support on "M" and ∂"M" denotes the boundary of "M" with its induced orientation, then
<math>\int_M \mathrm {d}\omega = \oint_{\partial M} \omega.\!\,</math>
Here "d" is the exterior derivative, which is defined using the manifold structure only.
The theorem is often used in situations where "M" is an embedded oriented submanifold of some bigger manifold on which the form <math>\omega</math> is defined.
Topological reading.
Let "M" be a smooth manifold. A (C∞-)singular "k"-simplex of "M" is a smooth map from the standard simplex in R"k" to "M". The free abelian group "Sk" generated by singular "k"-simplices is said to consist of singular "k"-chains of "M". These groups, together with boundary map ∂, defines a chain complex. The corresponding homology (resp. cohomology) is called the (C∞-)singular homology (resp. cohomology) of "M".
On the other hand, the differential forms, with exterior derivative "d" as the connecting map, form a cochain complex, which defines de Rham cohomology.
Differential "k"-forms can be integrated over a "k"-simplex in a natural way, by pulling back to R"k". Extending by linearity allows one to integrate over chains. This gives a linear map from the space of "k"-forms to the "k"-th group in the singular cochain "Sk*", the linear functionals on "Sk". In other words, a "k"-form
<math>\omega</math> defines a functional
<math>I(\omega)(c) = \int_c \omega \,</math>
on the "k"-chains. Stokes' theorem says that this is a chain map from de Rham cohomology to singular cohomology; the exterior derivative "d" behaves like the "dual" of ∂ on forms. This gives a homomorphism from de Rham cohomology to singular cohomology. On the level of forms, this means
de Rham's theorem shows that this homomorphism is in fact an isomorphism. So the converse to 1 and 2 above hold true. In other words, if {"ci"} are cycles generating the "k"-th homology group, then for any corresponding real numbers {"ai"}, there exist a closed form <math>\omega</math> such that
<math>\int_{c_i} \omega = a_i ,</math>
and this form is unique up to exact forms.
Special cases.
The general form of the Stokes theorem using differential forms is more powerful and easier to use than the special cases. Because in Cartesian coordinates the traditional versions can be formulated without the machinery of differential geometry they are more accessible, older and have familiar names. The traditional forms are often considered more convenient by practicing scientists and engineers but the non-naturalness of the traditional formulation becomes apparent when using other coordinate systems, even familiar ones like spherical or cylindrical coordinates. There is potential for confusion in the way names are applied, and the use of dual formulations.
Kelvin-Stokes theorem.
This is the (dualized) 1+1 dimensional case, for a 1-form (dualized because it is a statement about vector fields). This special case is often just referred to as the "Stokes' theorem" in many introductory university vector calculus courses. It is also sometimes known as the curl theorem.
The classical Kelvin-Stokes theorem:
<math> \int_{\Sigma} \nabla \times \mathbf{F} \cdot d\mathbf{\Sigma} = \oint_{\partial\Sigma} \mathbf{F} \cdot d \mathbf{r}, </math>
which relates the surface integral of the curl of a vector field over a surface <math>\Sigma</math> in Euclidean three-space to the line integral of the vector field over its boundary, is a special case of the general Stokes theorem (with "n" = 2) once we identify a vector field with a 1 form using the metric on Euclidean three-space. The curve of the line integral (∂Σ) must have positive orientation, meaning that "d" "r" points counterclockwise when the surface normal (d Σ) points toward the viewer, following the right-hand rule.
It can be rewritten for the student acquainted with forms as
<math>\iint\limits_{\Sigma}\left(\frac{\partial R}{\partial y}-\frac{\partial Q}{\partial z}\right)\,dy\,dz </math><math> +\left(\frac{\partial P}{\partial z}-\frac{\partial R}{\partial x}\right)\,dz\,dx </math><math> +\left(\frac{\partial Q}{\partial x}-\frac{\partial P}{\partial y}\right)\,dx\,dy </math> <math> =\oint\limits_{\partial\Sigma}P\,dx+Q\,dy+R\,dz</math>
where "P", "Q" and "R" are the components of F.
These variants are frequently used:
<math> \int_{\Sigma} \left(g \left(\nabla \times \mathbf{F}\right) + \left(\nabla g \right) \times \mathbf{F} \right) </math><math> \cdot d\mathbf{\Sigma} </math> <math>\ = \oint_{\partial\Sigma} g \mathbf{F} \cdot d \mathbf{r}, </math>
<math> \int_{\Sigma} \left(\mathbf{F} \left(\nabla \cdot \mathbf{G} \right) - \mathbf{G}\left(\nabla \cdot \mathbf{F} \right) + \left(\mathbf{G} \cdot \nabla \right) \mathbf{F} - \left(\mathbf{F} \cdot \nabla \right) \mathbf{G} \right) \cdot d\mathbf{\Sigma} </math> <math>\ = \oint_{\partial\Sigma} \left(\mathbf{F} \times \mathbf{G}\right) \cdot d \mathbf{r}.</math>
In electromagnetism.
Two of the four Maxwell equations involve curls of 3-D vector fields and their differential and integral forms are related by the Kelvin-Stokes theorem. Caution must be taken to avoid cases with moving boundaries: the partial time derivatives are intended to exclude such cases. If moving boundaries are included, interchange of integration and differentiation introduces terms related to boundary motion not included in the results below:
Divergence theorem.
Likewise the Ostrogradsky-Gauss theorem (also known as the Divergence theorem or Gauss' theorem)
<math>\int_{\mathrm{Vol}} \nabla \cdot \mathbf{F} \ d_\mathrm{Vol} = \oint_{\partial \mathrm{Vol}} \mathbf{F} \cdot d \mathbf{\Sigma}</math>
is a special case if we identify a vector field with the "n"−1 form obtained by contracting the vector field with the Euclidean volume form.
Green's theorem.
Green's theorem is immediately recognizable as the third integrand of both sides in the integral in terms of "P", "Q", and "R" cited above.
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299782
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3181019
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299782
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Uniq
|
Uniq is a line-oriented Unix command-line tool dealing with adjacent identical lines, available on many platforms.
Options.
Command-line options aka switches of uniq:
Command-line options aka switches of some versions of uniq:
Links
Examples.
Examples of uniq use:
Versions.
A version of GNU uniq for MS Windows is available from GnuWin32 project, as well as from Cygwin.
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299853
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23543
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299853
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Trainz/containers/queues container
|
The queues" Container is a top-level entry used by various .
The queues Container is a list of "queue subcontainers" (Queues) with no standalone tags. Queues are used by certain asset types (such as and) to establish runtime memory space allocation to 'hold' , and to define the legal values of their contents.
"Each queue subcontainer uses the following format:"
Supported Tags.
Each queue subcontainer supports the following tags. Each tag is shown here with its default value.
size 0
product-kuid <KUID:0:0>
initial-count 0
passenger-queue 0
per-hour 120
animated-mesh "
custom-attachments "
attachment-points
allowed-products
allowed-categories
conflicts-with-queues
Data Type: Positive Integer
Data element description: The maximum size of the queue, in other words this is the maximum amount of product the queue can 'hold'.
Data Type: KUID
Data element description: Used in conjunction with the 'initial-count' tag, product-kuid specifies the initial type in the queue.
Data Type: Positive Integer
Data element description: Used in conjunction with the 'product-kuid' tag, initial-count specifies the initial amount of product in the queue.
Data Type: Boolean
Data element description: Specifies that the queue can hold passengers.
Data Type: Positive Integer
Data element description: This flag is used for passenger stations and sets the base number of passengers that will accumulate over the period of one hour.
Data Type: String
Data element description: Specifies the name of an animated mesh from the mesh table. This mesh is used to visually represent the amount of product in the queue while in game and should animate from empty to full.
Data Type: String
Data element description: Specifies that this queue has custom attachment points. Custom attachments are used in game to visually represent the amount of product in the queue. An 'attachment-points' container is used to list the custom attachments.
Data Type: String Container
Data element description: The 'attachment-points' container lists all of the mesh attachment points used to visually represent the amount of product in the queue. When the queue is empty the meshes attached on these points will be invisible, as the queue fills they will be progressively shown. The number of attachment points cannot exceed the total queue size.
Data Type: KUID Container
Data element description: Lists the KUIDs of all of the assets that can accumulate in the queue. Allowing a product category means that all products of this category are allowed, they therefore do not need to be specified in the " subcontainer.
allowed-categories.
allowed-products.
Allowed-products can be considered a list of specific products when a class of products, as that specified by above is too broad or otherwise inappropriate.
Data Type: KUID subcontainer
Data element description: Lists the KUIDs of all of the various assets that can accumulate in the queue.
allowed-products
0 <kuid2:xxxxx:yyyyyy:1>
1 <kuid:wwwwww:zzzzzz>
Data Type: String Container
Data element description: Sets a number of queues that this queue conflicts with. If any of the conflicting queues have any product in them, then a conflictable product cannot be added to this queue.
queues-ID.
queues-ID is a placeholder for an content creator specified identifier name (so is variable). Names of identifiers (queues-ID) are used by other parts of Trainz software to identify and interact with the data initialized in the queue data structures.
Stock Car in this case has nothing to do with NASCAR but is the older livestock useage: sheep, pigs, cows, etc.
Examples in industries.
Industry types involve a companion or sister container: which are presented as well below to best demonstrate the interworkings and associations.
Consumption only Industry.
This meat packing industry outputs nothing, acting as a livestock consumer.
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299855
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23543
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299855
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Trainz/Kinds/kind product
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Product data type tag.
KIND Product defines a "product type" for use with Trainz interactive industries. Products are not directly place-able within the game, but , and s each may be configured to consume, produce, or contain the various product types and with" 'Trainz Interactive Industries' "(See), giving Trainz it's important real feel and allowing various fun scenario taskings. Individual product s may be visible to the user in-game, and new users are cautioned that loaded trains drive differently than one which is not pulling all that additional weight.
Child Classes.
=Supported Tags=
A KIND Product supports the following tags and declarations and definitions. Each tag is show here with its default value.
kind "product"
instance-type "resource"
mass 0.9
product-category <NULL KUID>
product-texture "
icon-texture "
allows-mixing 1
Type: Enumerated String
Compulsory: Yes from 1.5 up
Desc: Identifies the asset as Kind Product.
Type: Boolean
Compulsory: Yes from 3.4 up
Desc: If set to '1', this product type may be mixed with other products in a single product queue. This is appropriate for some classes of boxed goods, for example, but not appropriate for most gases, liquids, or solid bulk loads such as gravel or coal.
Type: String (image file name including path)
Compulsory: No
Desc: The "icon-texture" tag defines an icon which is used when referring to this product in-game, for example in a configuration panel.
Type: String
Compulsory: Yes from 3.4
Desc: This tag describes how products of this type are created (instanced) within a and may be one of the following values:
Type: Float
Compulsory: Yes from 3.4
Desc: Determines the mass (in kilograms) of a single unit (or, single instance) of this product. This is used when calculating the mass of a loaded KIND Traincar instance.
Type: Kuid
Compulsory: Yes
Desc: Each product type may be assigned to a single KIND Product-category.
Type: String (image file name including path)
Compulsory: No
Desc: The "product-texture" tag allows the specification of a local texture file to use when this product is visible as a bulk load. (TBD: link to product queue description.)
List of Products.
"This list is likely never going to be comprehensive as content creator's will play!" ~:)) However the following search will likely show you most of what you may be looking for:
Search: Category Commodity OR Author #-3 AND NOT Category Rolling Stock}}. Add 'Installed True' to limit the search to local items only.
TS10 and TS12 Built-Ins.
Each Product must be declared as one of the four legal types:
A quick examination shows these group products by the way they move, store, and pack. While water and gasoline and Crude Oil all pour (as do some bulk loads), the Product Kind specification of each sets them apart... particularly in their respective weights. The same is true for bulk loads. Builders sand isn't the same as Locomotive Sand and neither will most gravels have the same characteristics. Similarly Ores and Coal (types) will have differences.
The early Trainz commodity (Products) System provided just these basic products:
A Sub-page listing 411 combined other Built-In (TS12 with TS10's JAs—a superset of TS09's so TRS2006's—as well) products are listed here: Trainz/Kinds/kind product/List of Built-In Products.
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299864
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3371989
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299864
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CASP/Risk
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Implement security and privacy policies and procedures based on organizational requirements.
Use common business documents to support security.
Business Partnership Agreement (BPA).
Use general privacy principles for PII – Personally Identifiable Information/ Sensitive PII
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299874
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3304668
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https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299874
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International Postage Meter Stamp Catalog/Uruguay
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=Uruguay=
A – Private use stamps with simulated perforation border"
B – Private use stamps with open design, incomplete outer border"
C - Private use stamps with straight line border
PO – Stamps generated by meters in post offices
NOTE: The typing scheme for Uruguay has been completely revised from the printed catalog. Apologies to those inconvenienced by this.
GROUP A: Private use franks with simulated perforation outer border.
Sub-group AA: Frank contains small central circle holding the meter number.
NOTE: See Type PO1 for a design nearly identical to Sub-group AA.
<br>
<br><br><br><br><br><br>
AA1. Universal “NZ” (FV-6), 1924.
Upright frank with simulated perforation outer border and sunburst design at center.
“URUGUAY” curved.
M# in small circle at center of sunburst.
“CENTESIMOS” in ribbon at bottom.
M# without prefix.
A. Straight-line TM in black including company name with or without advertising [$35]
B. As A, but in red [$35]
C. Single circle TM in black including arc at bottom [$10]
D. As C, but in red [$10]
Values: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 15
NOTE: Brown town marks for Type AA1 are known. They are probably a blend of red and black inks rather than a deliberate brown.
AA2. Universal “Midget” (FV-3/5), 1929. [$10]
Similar to Type AA1, but the central circle is larger and the meter number has an “M” prefix.
M#s M1-M19.
TM: DC, nil
Values: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 25
Sub-group AB: Frank without a small central circle.
<br>
AB1. Francotyp “C” (Universal “MultiValue”) (MV), 1932. [$10]
Upright frank with value figures in center.
“URUGUAY” straight. M# below frank.
Wide spacing between TM and frank with S# high.
M#s 20-22 and 314 without prefix, and M21.
Date figures without stops.
TM: SC
V/F: 000 (A)
a. Official use, M# 20 and 314
<br>
AB2. Universal “MultiValue” (MV). [$25]
Frank nearly identical to Type AB1, but spacing is narrower and TM is lowered.
Small date figures with stop after the month.
TM: DC
V/F: 000 (A)
<br>
AB3. Universal “Automax” (MV). [$25]
Frank inscribed with the abbreviation "R O del U" instead of the full country name.
Frank with single outer frame line and with ornament at top.
With TM lowered as with Type AB2.
TM: DC
V/F: =00.ooo (A)
<br>
AB4. Francotyp “C” (MV), 1931.
Similar to Type AB1 but frank is larger and with large meter number with “F” prefix outside the frame line at left.
A. Large frank, 28 mm wide [$10]
B. Frank 24 mm wide [$15]
TM: SC
V/F: 000 (A) 0.00 (O)
AB5. Universal “MultiValue” (MV), 1940.
Square frank with single, simulated perforation frame line.
Value figures variable in thickness.
M# with “MV –“ prefix below frank.
A. With “CENTESIMOS” at bottom of frank, TM on same level as frank
B. As A, but TM lowered, date figures small
C. With “N$ | CTS” at bottom of frank, TM on same level as frank
TM: DC
V/F: 0000 (O) 00oo (O) 000 (A,O) 00000 (O) 0000 (A,O) 000000 000oo (A,O)
AB6. Pitney Bowes-GB “Automax” (MV).
Very similar to Type AB5 but value figures are of uniform thickness.
M# with “MV –“ prefix below frank.
A. With “PESOS” at bottom of frank, TM on same level as frank
B. As A, but “N$ | CTS” at bottom of frank
C. As B, TM lowered, date figures small
TM: DC [$10]
V/F: =0.oo =00oo =00.oo =0000oo
AB7. Hasler “F88” (MV).
Upright frank with single, wavy line frame line.
Frank 24-26 mm wide.
Without M# but with license number (PERMISO) at bottom of frank.
A. With “PERMISO No” and number
B. With “PERMISO No” and number above “N$ Cts.”
C. With “PERMISO No” and number above “N$”
D. With “N$ | CTS” alone at bottom
TM: DC
V/F: 0000 00,oo 000oo 000.oo 0000oo
a. With unengraved block after “PERMISO No”
b. Post Office stamp: TM with “DIR. NAL. DE CORREOS”
c. Post Office stamp: TM with “DIRECCION GENERAL DE CORREOS”
d. Post Office stamp: TM with “CORREO” at top or bottom
e. Air mail only, TM with “SERVICO AEREO” at top
f. TM with ornament at bottom
<br>
AB8. Satas (MV). [$20]
Frank as Type AB5 but meter number with “S” prefix.
TM: SL
V/F: ★0.oo
<br>
AB9. Hasler “F88” (MV).
As Type AB8 but much larger, frank 29 mm wide.
All examples seen have “PERMISO No” and number above “N$ Cts.” at bottom.
TM: DC
V/F: 000,oo
a. Post Office stamp: TM contains “DIR. NAL. DE CORREOS”
<br>
AB10. Pitney Bowes-GB “Simplex” (LV-21). [$25]
Smaller frank with panel at bottom.
M# with “S” prefix in small boxes in lower corners with line between.
TM: DC
Values seen: 5, 7, 25
AB11. Francotyp “Cc” (MV).
Frank very similar to Types AB1 and AB2.
Scroll at bottom containing currency indicator.
Permit number with or without “PERMISO No” prefix at bottom of the town mark.
Distance between center of date and value figures is 40 mm.
A. With “CENTESIMOS” in scroll at bottom
B. With “$ | Cts.” in scroll at bottom
TM: SC
V/F: ◆000 ◆000 o (small fixed zero cuts frame line) ◆000 o (larger fixed zero doesn't cut frame line)
a. With unengraved block below frank
<br><br><br><br><br>
AB12. Francotyp “Cm 7000/10000” (MV).
As Type AB11 but distance between TM and frank is 36-37 mm, and the value figures are narrower.
M#, with or without “MAQ.” prefix, at bottom of TM.
A. With “CENTESIMOS” in scroll at bottom
B. With “$ | Cts.” in scroll at bottom
C. With “N$ | Cts.” in scroll at bottom
D. With “N$ ” in scroll at bottom
TM: SC, DC
V/F: ◆000 ◆0000
a. Post Office stamp: Town mark with “DIR. NAL. CORREOS” at top, machine ID number at bottom
GROUP B: Private use franks with open design without complete outer frame line.
<br>
<br>
B1. Pitney Bowes “R” (MV), 1950.
Horizontal design with TM incorporated into the frank.
Balance, coat of arms and horse and bull design between value box and TM.
P# with “P.B.PERM.No” prefix below horse and bull.
M# in 5000 series.
TM: SC
V/F: ≋ 00 : ★ 00 : ★00oo ("breaks right frame lines")
B2. Pitney Bowes “DM” (LV-?), 1954.
Similar to Type B1 but much smaller.
“P.B.” low outside TM at left.
P# with “PERM.No” or “PERMISO No” prefix below horse and bull.
M# in 5000 series.
TM: SC
Values: 01 through at least 20
B3. Neopost "105" (LV). [Appears to be scarce]
Winged helmet design with "REPUBLICA O. DEL" in ribbon above "URUGUAY" at top.
Fancy ornaments at center above the value figures at bottom center.
M# with "RN" prefix inside arcs at the lower corners.
TM: DC
Values: 0.01 to ?
GROUP C: Private use franks with straight outer frame lines.
<br>
<br>
C1. Postalia (MV).
Upright frank with single, straight-line frame and image of a walking or standing bird at top center.
“CORREOS” stacked in panel at left, and URUGUAY” stacked in panel at right.
Panel at bottom contains “PERM.PLIA.” over the permit number.
A. Wide spacing between TM and frank. “Centesimos” above bottom panel
B. Narrow spacing between TM and frank. “Centesimos” above bottom panel
C. Wide spacing. “PESOS” above bottom panel
D. Narrow spacing. “PESOS” above bottom panel
E. Wide spacing. "N$ | CTS" above bottom panel
TM: DC
V/F: 000 0000 00000 ("breaks inner frame line at right")
C2. Hasler "Mailmaster" (MV).
Horizontal frank with single straight-line frame and no inner frame lines.
"REPUBLICA O. DEL" above "URUGUAY" at top, "PERMISO No" and permit number at bottom.
TM: DC
V/F: 00.00 000,00
a. Permit number negative against a solid field
b. Date present without TM
NOTE: In addition to variety b, other permit number variations exist including the use of different size digits in the number.
GROUP PO: Stamps from machines used only in Post Offices.
<br>
PO1. Universal “NZ” (FV-6), 1924. [$10]
Nearly identical to Sub-group AA design but the circle at the center of the frank is blank, and the town mark is quite different.
The meter number flanks the town mark, with a large letter “A” at left and a Roman numeral (I through IV) at right.
TM: SC
Values: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12
PO2. Francotyp-Postalia “T1000” (digital).
Similar to Type AB12 but the frank is square rather than upright.
Spacing between TM and frank is very narrow.
The value figures are also very narrow.
TM: DC
One seen with TM as DIR. NAC. DE CORREOS / E005 – FP
V/F: 000.00
PO3. Frama “Sensonic” (digital).
Wide frank with thick frame line consisting of three rows of closely spaced dots.
Country name at top, blank at bottom.
Value figures large and tall.
TM: DC
One seen with TM as ADM. NAC. CORREOS / PERM.00
V/F: $ 000.00
PO4. Francotyp "Cc/Ccm" (MV).
The frank consists of the value figures only, without outer frame.
The town mark contains "DIR. NAL. DE CORREOS".
No country name in the stamp.
TM: DC
V/F: ◇0000
<br><br><br>
PO5. Francotyp "Taxograph" (MV), 1991 or earlier. ["Appears to be rare"]
Both the frank and town mark are rectangles.
The frank is a simple square with "URUGUAY" at top and "N$ | cts" at lower right. The left frame line has an opening in the center containing the machine number reading up.
<br>
The town/date mark is a smaller rectangle with rounded corners. It contains "MAQ No" and the machine number at bottom. The frame is open at right and can contain a large narrow "R" when used to frank registered mail.
Between the TM and frank is a postal slogan, "UTILICE EN SU CENEFICIO EL CODIGO POSTAL" ("use the postal code in your office"). Other slogans also may have been used.
V/F: 00000
<br>
Return to main catalog ⇒ ../
Return to top ⇒ Uruguay
|
299876
|
3304668
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299876
|
International Postage Meter Stamp Catalog/Uzbekistan
|
=Uzbekistan=
<br>
GROUP A: Provisional issues without country inscription in the frank.
<br>
<br>
<br>
GROUP B: Upright octagon with "O'ZBEKISTON" and "POCHTASI" (Uzbekistan Post) stacked at each side.
<br>
<br>
|
299880
|
3304668
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299880
|
International Postage Meter Stamp Catalog/Vanuatu
|
=Vanuatu=
A - issues of the Condominium, inscribed “Nles HEBRIDES / NEW HEBRIDES”
B - issues of the republic, inscribed “VANUATU”
<br>
GROUP A: Frank contains “Nles HEBRIDES / NEW HEBRIDES”.
<br>
A1. Satas “J” (MV), 1974. ["Scarce"]
Small upright frank with single-line simulated perforation border open at the middle of the sides.
Country name in French and English at top, "POSTAGE" over "POSTES" at bottom
Date figures tall.
M# with “SJ” prefix.
TM: SC
V/F: ★00
<br><br><br>
A2. Satas “P” (MV). ["Scarce"]
As Type A1 but hour figure between TM and frank.
M# with “SP” prefix.
TM: SC
V/F: ★000
<br><br><br>
GROUP B: The frank contains “VANUATU”.
<br>
B1. Satas “J” (MV). ["Scarce"]
As Types A1 and A2 but with "VANUATU" at top.
M# with “SJ” prefix.
TM: SC
V/F: ★00
<br><br><br>
B2. Pitney Bowes-GB “6300” (MV). ["Scarce"]
Open design with lines above and below value figures.
7-pointed star at left.
TM ring is thick.
M# “PB37001” seen.
TM: SC
V/F: ≋0.00
<br><br><br>
B3.1 Neopost “205” (MV). ["Very scarce"]
Open frank with foliage at sides.
“VANUATU” at top, "POSTAGE PAID" above meter number at bottom.
Meter number “6639” seen, possibly with prefix which is not identifiable.
TM: SC with tall date figures
V/F: 000
<br><br><br>
B3.2 Neopost “2205” (MV). ["Scarce"]
Very similar to Type B3.1 but with smaller "VANUATU" flanked by foliage that rises higher than on B3.1.
One M# seen “887U”.
TM: BIC with short date figures
V/F: 0.00
<br><br><br>
B4. Pitney Bowes-GB “6300” (MV).
Horizontal frank consisting of horizontal lines with outer frame line along bottom only.
M# reading down at right.
M# with “PB” prefix.
TM: SC with thick ring
V/F: ≋0 00
<br><br><br>
B5. Pitney Bowes-GB “6300” (MV).
Similar to Type B4 but with outer frame line around entire frank.
M# with “PB” prefix.
TM: DC
V/F: ≋0.00
<br><br><br>
B6. Unidentified, possibly Neopost “205” (MV).
Plain rectangular frame with "VANUATU” at top, "POSTAGE PAID" at bottom.
No meter number.
TM: SC with tall date figures
V/F: 0.00
<br><br><br>
|
299881
|
23543
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299881
|
Trainz/AM&C/scenery assets
|
Introduction.
Trainz scenery assets are the heart and soul of Trainz' ability to depict a three-dimensional alternate reality in creating and allowing us to operate or build virtual worlds. They can be amazingly simple, or extremely complex dynamic animated objects which include . After the TS2009 data model solidified, a former similar grouping of assets, "Trackside" objects (with attachments to track splines, usually containing an offset and direction from the track they are attached onto) were gradually altered to a new standard which uses a , so that both used the same base
|
299882
|
3226541
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299882
|
Biomedical Engineering Theory And Practice/Physiological Modeling and Simulation
|
The higher efficiency and lower cost of computational resources have an enormous impact on modeling and design. The easy availability of powerful computer workstations and software or programming languages (e.g., MATLAB, LabView, wxMaxima, R and so on) allow for the interactive design of high-performance, robust controllers. The risk of failure often precludes the design and evaluation of controllers in live humans, so that devices and treatments are often tested on computer and animal models first. In the past, animals have been the preferred, but this approach is continually reevaluated as animals are rarely perfect models of human diseases and conditions. Tissue cultures start to satisfy some of this need, and computer modeling and simulation may also do this need. Today, computer models is used to (1) demonstrate feasibility,(2) increase confidence in controller designs by complementing animal studies, (3) help design better animal and clinical experiments, and (4) reduce the number of required animal and human experiments. In the future, use of the computer model would be extended.
Basic Models of Physiologic Systems-Compartment Models.
This analysis involves dividing the physiological system into a number of interconnected compartments - where a compartment can be any anatomical, physiological, chemical or physical subdivision of a system. A basic assumption is that the tracer is uniformly distributed throughout a compartment. Among various compartment models, the simplest is the single compartment model.
Single Compartment Model.
Figure 4.1 shows a single compartment model that the flow of a tracer through a blood vessel follows an ideal bolus injection. The compartment in the system is closed except for the inflow and outflow of the trace, and the tracer is injected as illustrated. In this theory, the tracer will mix immediately and uniformly throughout the compartment according to its injection. And its quantity will reduce with time depending on the rate of outflow.
The variables used in the system are:
If we define the fractional turnover, "k", as the ratio of these two parameters, i.e.
which can be rewritten as:
And the solution to this equation is:
where "qo" is the quantity of tracer present at time, "t" = 0.
This equation is plotted in Figure 4.2.
Two Compartment Model-a closed system.
In a closed system the tracer simply moves between the two compartments without any overall loss or gain as shown in Figure 4.3. Therefore,
<math>\frac{dq_1}{dt} = k_{21} q_2 - k_{12} q_1</math> and <math>\frac{dq_2}{dt} = k_{12} q_1 - k_{21} q_2</math>.
Since there is no loss of tracer from the system,
<math>q_1 + q_2 = \text{constant} = q_0\,\!</math>
Therefore,
As the quantity of tracer in Compartment #1 decreases, the quantity in Compartment #2 increases, and vice versa. And when the tracer is injected into Compartment #1 at time, t = 0,
So, at the initial stage
The solutions to this system are:
and
Figure 4.4 shows one of these system if the volume of the compartment are the same.
Two Compartment Model - Open Catenary System.
Two compartments connected like chain and the last compartment have a sink as shown in Figure 4.5.
In this model,
<math>\frac{dq_1}{dt} = -k_{12} q_1</math> and <math>\frac{dq_2}{dt} = k_{12} q_1 - k_{20} q_2</math>
The solutions to these equations are:
<math>q_1 = q_0\ \text{exp}(-k_{12}t)</math>
and
<math>q_2 = q_0 \frac{k_{12}}{k_{12} - k_{20}}\lbrack \text{exp}(-k_{20}t) - \text{exp}(-k_{12}t)\rbrack\,</math>
and the behaviour of "q"1 and "q"2 is shown in Figure 4.6.
Two compartment Model- Open Mammillary System.
The central compartment have a sink which is not related to the other compartment. Although these compartments do not necessarily have a physiological significance,
common designations are:
In this case,
<math>\frac{dq_1}{dt} = -k_{10}q_1 - k_{12}q_1 + k_{21}q_2</math>
and
<math>\frac{dq_2}{dt} = k_{12}q_1 - k_{21}q_2</math>
At "t" = 0:
<math>q_1 = q_0\,\!</math> and <math>q_2 = 0\,\!</math>
So,the solutions are:
<math>q_1 = q_0 \left \lbrack \frac{k_{21} - a_1}{a_2 - a_1} \text{exp}(-a_1t) + \frac{k_{21} - a_2}{a_1 - a_2}\text{exp}(-a_2t) \right \rbrack</math>
and
<math>q_2 = \frac{q_0 k_{12}}{a_2 - a_1} \lbrack \text{exp}(-a_1t) - \text{exp}(-a_2t) \rbrack</math>
Respiratory Model and Control.
'See also A Mathematical Model of the Human Respiratory Control System
Neural Networks for Physiological Control.
'See also Distributed neural networks for controlling human locomotion: lessons from normal and SCI subjects.
The term neural networks usually refer to a class of computational algorithms that are loosely based on the computational structure of the nervous system.In other words,the design of a neural network includes the specification of the neuron, the architecture, and the learning algorithm.
External Control of Movements.
'See also External Control of Movements
The Fast Eye Movement Control System.
'See also Wikipedia,eye movement
|
299892
|
973
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299892
|
Learning C With Game Concepts/Introduction
|
This book attempts to introduce the C Language to new users while making the learning process interesting and giving them code to play with and modify as they continue educating themselves. The author of this book is a novice C programmer, writing for beginners, so I may not always use the best practice. Users who are interested in a more indepth understanding of the C language are recommended to check out the excellent C_Programming Wikibook.
I'm new to sharing code with others, so I feel I should state that the code included in this Wikibook is generated by the author and any resemblance to code out in the wild is not intentional unless it is something basic like the implementation of a data structure (linked list, heap, etc).
Work Environment.
This book recommends beginners use a Linux distribution, such as Linux Mint or Ubuntu. Although I'm unfamiliar with C programming on Windows, Microsoft's Visual C++ compiler should be able to compile C code, if it is available to you. The C language is easy to start learning in the Unix/Linux environment because the Gnu C Compiler (GCC) is included by default on most distributions. GCC is a command line utility that transforms C source code into machine instructions (binary). For writing your code, you'll need a Text Editor or Integrated Development Environment (IDE). An easy to use IDE is Geany, which you can find using your package manager on Linux.
Text Editors can be as basic as notepad or as complex as Vim and Emacs.
A Basic Program.
Let's cover variables and standard IO in one fell swoop.
intro.c
int main {
char input[50]; // # of characters we can read from standard input.
char name[50]; // variable to contain a name
printf("What is your name good sir?\n");
fgets(input, sizeof(input), stdin);
sscanf(input, "%s", &name);
printf("Ah, %s, a pleasure to meet you.\n", name);
return(0);
Before we compile this, let's review what our code does.
Header Files.
The #include statement at the start of the program lets the compiler know that we want to use a library. Libraries in C are called Header files and end in the ".h" file extension. The C language contains standard libraries to perform all sorts of common tasks. STDIO, as the name implies, contains various functions for printing and reading.
Main Function / Statements.
At the heart of every C program is the Main function. It contains the body of the program and is the first function called when the program is started. All functions follow this syntax:
datatype functionName (datatype argument) {
statement;
return (datatype); // The datatype before the function name lets the
// compiler know this is the kind of variable we will return.
A statement can be a variable declaration (x = 100) or a function call (CallingFunction). All statements end with a semicolon and it is good practice to give every statement its own line. It's also important to check your code carefully to make sure you aren't missing any semicolons.
Data Types.
There are 3 basic data types in C that we must use to declare our variables. We declare them using data types so
the compiler knows exactly what each variable contains. They include:
In our example we use char, but add brackets and a number after it. The syntax Variable[#] lets the compiler know that instead of a single character, we want an Array (string of characters).
Input/Output.
We are using 3 functions from STDIO: printf, fgets, and sscanf. Our stdin and stdout comes from the command line where we will run the code.
Printf prints a string (as denoted by quotation marks) to standard output. If placeholders are present in the string (%letter) it will also print variables. Fgets reads in a line from standard input and puts it in our variable called Input. Sscanf looks at our variable called input and transfers it over to the variable called name. We'll want to use Input again when we get user input, so we can't leave our information in there or we'll overwrite it!
Returns.
Return statements can return 1 datatype or variable from a function. The simplest example of why we use returns is to see if something is true or false. If you have a function called isCapital and call it on a letter, for example, isCapital('a') we would return(False). If we called isCapital('B'), we'd have our function return(True). The function that called the isCapital function would be designed to make a decision based on the value we returned.
Functions don't need to return a value though. Sometimes you may see 'void' used before a function. This means that the function doesn't return a datatype at all.
Compilation.
Now that we've covered what our code does, let's compile and run it. Navigate to the folder that your C program is contained in. If you are unfamiliar with BASH, you'll need to learn about the cd and ls commands. From the command terminal type:
gcc intro.c -o intro
This command calls the compiler (GCC) to compile Intro.c and output an executable called Intro. If for some reason your file is not set as an executable after compilation, you can type:
chmod +x intro
To run your executable, type:
./intro
That wasn't as simple as printing "Hello World" but hopefully it wasn't too difficult to follow. As you continue reading, things should start to make more sense as you begin recognizing common patterns in programming.
Experiment #1.
Before we move on, take a moment to tweak our Intro program. Declare an int variable called age. Change the first print statement to ask your age and use the integer placeholder %d to print your age in the second print statement.
A Modular Lifestyle.
It would be very difficult to read large programs if we kept all of our functions and variables in one file. Suppose also, that we create a great function and want to use it in all of our programs, how would we do that?
If we want our reusable function to do what our last program did, we just take all the statements from before, put them in a function with a unique name, and place them in a header file.
greet.h
int Greet {
char input[50]; // # of characters we can read from standard input.
char name[50]; // variable to contain a name
printf("What is your name good sir?\n");
fgets(input, sizeof(input), stdin);
sscanf(input, "%s", &name);
printf("Ah, %s, a pleasure to meet you.\n", name);
return(0);
Greet.h can now be included in our program like STDIO, and we don't even need to compile it before using it. The only difference is that instead of sharp brackets <> we use quotes "". If your main program and your header file are in the same folder, #include "Greet.h" is all you need to specify. If they are in different folders, you'll need to provide the fullpath for the compiler #include "fullpath/Greet.h"
main_prog.c
int main {
Greet; // We declared this function in greet.h
return(0);
When main_prog.c is compiled, the compiler looks for the header files and includes them in the compilation.
gcc main_prog.c -o main_prog
main_prog, the executable, will contain the machine instructions for the main program and the Greet file.
./main_prog
What is your name good sir?
Theodore Roosevelt
Ah, Theodore Roosevelt, a pleasure to meet you.
|
299896
|
3097823
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299896
|
Models and Theories in Human-Computer Interaction
|
Goal.
We will develop content for a new wikibook where we critically assess models and theories relevant to the field of Human Computer Interaction.
Foreword.
Being that the nature of the field of Human Computer Interaction is that it is interdisciplinary, theories and models proceed and are adapted from many other disciplines. There are but a few of which we could call "genuinely native" HCI theories and models. To complicate matters, computerized systems change at a vertiginous pace and changes are often surreptitious. It seems as if Kurzweil was not as far off from fact with his predictions. Through this course, we will learn, critique, apply, and expand theories and models to make them relevant to the state of the field.
Looking through the Association of Computer Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer Human Interaction's (SIGCHI) repository, this researcher has not been able to zero in on a book that addresses the needs of a course in models and theories for our discipline. Therefore, we will use our textbook and articles to guide our discussion and we will collaborate in documenting the state of matters through this WikiBook.
Dr. Z
|
299917
|
3226541
|
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki?curid=299917
|
Biomedical Engineering Theory And Practice/Bioelectric phenomena
|
'See also Wikipedia,Electrophysiology.
Electrophysiology is the branch of the biomedical engineering dealing with the study of electric activity in the body. Electrophysiology includes the study of the production of electrical activity and the effects of that electrical activity on the body. It involves measurements of voltage change or electrical current flow by electrodes in various systems, from single ion channel proteins to single neurons (particularly action potentials) and whole tissues like the heart.
Membrane Potential.
Our Body is electrically neutral but our body cells are surrounded by a membrane made up of a lipid bilayer with proteins embedded in it. The membrane have a role as an insulator and a diffusion barrier to the movement of ions. Ion transporter/pump proteins push ions across the membrane to get concentration gradients across the membrane, and ion channels allow ions to move across the membrane down those concentration gradients. Ion pumps and ion channels are electrically same to a set of batteries and resistors in the membrane. Within membrane and outside membrane, one charge may predominates. Opposite charges try to attract and energy must be used to separate them. Conversely when opposite charges bring together, energy is liberated. Therefore separated electrical charges have potential energy.
In electrically active tissue, voltage can be measured by inserting an electrode at two point, for instance one inside and one outside the cell, and is called the potential difference or difference in electrical potential. Voltage is the ability to drive an electric current across a resistance. Flow of electrical charge from one point to another is called current. The amount of charge moving between two points depends on voltage and resistance (hindering of flow of charge). So, the simplest definition of a voltage is given by Ohm's law:
<math>V=IR</math>
where I is the current through the conductor in units of amperes, V is the potential difference measured across the conductor in units of volts, and R is the resistance of the conductor in units of ohms. Current is proportional to voltage (the greater the voltage, the greater the current) and is inversely proportional to resistance (the greater the resistance, the less the current).
In the body, electrical currents correspond to the flow of ions across cellular membranes and any resistance is provided by the membrane themselves. Various ion channels occur in the plasma membranes and classified as being either passive or active:
Ions move along chemical gradients (due to diffusion) and along electrical gradients (move toward an opposite charge); therefore ions flow along electrochemical gradients.
In non-excitable cells, and in excitable cells in their baseline states, the membrane potential has a relatively steady value, called the resting potential. The opening and closing of ion channels can cause a departure from the resting potential. This is called a depolarization if the interior voltage moves to a more positive membrane potential, or a hyperpolarization if the interior voltage becomes more negative . In excitable cells, a sufficiently large depolarization can make an action potential, in which the membrane potential changes rapidly and clearly for a short time (on the order of 1 to 100 milliseconds), often reversing its polarity.
Changes in membrane potential (specially if induced by activation of ligand-gated channels) are also defined as either:
Transport Membrane.
Membrane transport means the movement of particles (solute) across or through a membranous barrier In the cell, these membranous barriers is composed of a phospholipid bilayer. The phospholipids orient themselves automatically so that the hydrophilic (polar) heads are nearest the extracellular and intracellular mediums, and the hydrophobic (non-polar) tails align between the two hydrophilic head groups like the principle of the soap in the water.
Membrane transport depends on the permeability of the membrane, transmembrane solute concentration, and the size and charge of the solute. Solute particles can pass through the membrane via three mechanisms: passive, facilitated, and active transport. Some of these transport mechanisms need the input of energy and use of a transmembrane protein, whereas other mechanisms do not accept secondary molecules.
Passive transport.
Passive transport rely on the concentration gradient, hydrophobicity, the size and charge of the solute. In passive transport, small uncharged solute particles diffuse across the membrane until both sides of the membrane have reached an equilibrium that is similar in concentration.
Fick's first law.
Fick's first law could be used to describe the passive transport of molecules across membranes.
<math>\bigg. J = -D \frac{\Delta c}{\Delta x} \bigg. </math>
where
Facilitated transport.
Facilitated diffusion is a kind of passive transport mediated by transport proteins imbedded within the cellular membrane.
Active transport.
Active transport is the movement of particles through a transport protein from low concentration to high concentration at the expense of metabolic energy.
Primary active transport.
Primary active transport directly uses metabolic energy to transport molecules across a membrane. Most of the enzymes that perform this type of transport are transmembrane ATPases.Based on the transport mechanism as well as genetic and structural homology, These ATP-dependent ion pumps can be classified into four types:
The P-, F- and V-types only transport ions, while the ABC superfamily also transports small molecules.
Secondary active transport.
Secondary active transport is known as "coupled transport" or "co-transport" as energy is used to transport molecules across a membrane; however, compared to primary active transport, there is no direct coupling of ATP; instead, the electrochemical potential difference by pumping ions out of the cell is used.
In August 1960, in Prague, Robert K. Crane presented for the first time his cotransport mechanism for intestinal glucose absorption. Cotransporters can be divided as symporters and antiporters depending on whether the substances move in the same or opposite directions.
Ion Channels.
Ion channels are pore-forming membrane proteins whose functions is establishing a resting membrane potential, shaping action potentials and other electrical signals by gating the flow of ions across the cell membrane, controlling the flow of ions across secretory and epithelial cells, and regulating cell volume.
Well-known laboratory techniques for ion channels could be voltage clamp, patch clamp techniques.
Ion channels are different from other ion transporter proteins:
Ion channels are located within the plasma membrane of over 300 types of cells and many intracellular organelles. They are often described as narrow, water-filled tunnels that accept only specific type ions. This characteristic is called selective permeability. Ion channels are integral membrane proteins, formed as assemblies of several proteins. Such "multi-subunit" assemblies usually make a circular arrangement of identical or homologous proteins closely packed around a water-filled pore through the plane of the lipid bilayer membrane .
Ion channels are synthesized and inserted into the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum. They are glycosylated in the Golgi, and transported and inserted into target membranes by membrane fusion. They are controlled by phosphorylation, trafficking, ubiquitination, reversible interactions with other signaling proteins and second messengers, proteolytic cleavage, and other modifications. Ion channels are related to various biological processes that cause rapid changes in cells, such as muscle contraction, epithelial transport of nutrients and ions, T-cell activation and pancreatic beta-cell insulin release. Ion channels are a frequent target in order to find out the new drugs.
Voltage-gated Ion Channels.
Voltage-gated Ion Channels are protein channels that can be opened or closed in response to changes in the electric potential across a cell membrane. They have an important role in excitable neuronal and muscle tissues, causing a rapid and coordinated depolarization in response to triggering voltage change. They generally consist of several subunit proteins which make a pore according to their electrochemical gradients.
Examples include:
The process in the sodium and potassium voltage-gated channels is follows:
Ligand-gated Ion Channels.
Ligand-gated ion channels are protein channels which open to accept ions such as Na+, K+, Ca2+, or Cl- to pass through the membrane in response to the binding of a chemical messenger like ligand,neurotransmitter and so on.
These proteins typically consist of at least two domains: a transmembrane domain which includes the ion pore, and an extracellular domain which includes the ligand binding location. LGICs are categorized into three superfamilies: the cysteine-loop channels, ionotropic glutamate channels and the purinergic receptor channels.They are usually pentameric with each subunit including 4 transmembrane helices constituting the transmembrane domain, and a beta sheet sandwich type, extracellular, N terminal, ligand binding domain. The cysteine-loop channels bind to the chemical messenger such as the chemical neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh), glycine (gly), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), or serotonin (5-HT). The ionotropic glutamate receptors (gluR) are tetramers of homologous subunits, forming a central pore strikingly similar to the voltage-gated superfamily, but with reverse topological orientation in the membrane. The purinergic receptor channels (P2XR) is opened by extracellular nucleotides such as ATP.
G protein-gated Ion Channels.
Generally, G protein-gated ion channels are specific ion channels placed in the plasma membrane of cells that are directly activated by associated proteins. G proteins also known as guanosine nucleotide-binding proteins is a heterotrimer of three subunits: α-, β-, and γ- subunits. The α-subunit (Gα) typically binds the G protein to G protein-coupled receptor. This receptor protein has a large, extracellular binding domain which will bind its respective ligands such as neurotransmitters and hormones. Once the ligand is bound to its receptor, a conformational change occurs. This conformational change in the G protein leads Gα to bind GTP. This allows to another conformational change in the G protein, causing the separation of the βγ-complex (Gβγ) from Gα. At this point, both Gα and Gβγ are active and can continue the signal transduction pathway.
G protein-gated ion channels are primarily found in central nervous system neurons and atrial myocytes, and affect the flow of potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+), sodium (Na+), and chloride (Cl-) across the plasma membrane.
Donnan Equilibrium.
The charged particles like ions near a semi-permeable membrane sometimes fail to distribute evenly across the two sides of the membrane. Usually, it happens as a different charged substance could not pass through the membrane and creates an uneven electrical charge. For example, the large anionic proteins in blood plasma do not permeate to capillary walls. Because small cations are attracted, but are not bound to the proteins, small anions will cross capillary walls away from the anionic proteins more readily than small cations.
Nernst potential.
The Nernst equation is used to calculate the potential of an ion of charge "z" across a membrane. This potential is determined using the concentration of the ion both inside and outside the cell:
<math>E = \frac{R T}{z F} \ln\frac{[\text{ion outside cell}]}{[\text{ion inside cell}]} = 2.303\frac{R T}{z F} \log_{10}\frac{[\text{ion outside cell}]}{[\text{ion inside cell}]}.</math>
For monovalent cations,z= 1:
<math>E = -60 mV \ln\frac{[\text{ion outside cell}]}{[\text{ion inside cell}]}</math>
Resting Potential.
The negative charge that exists intracellularly and not electrically active, is the resting potential. As potassium is also the ion with the most negative equilibrium potential, usually the resting potential can be no more negative than the potassium equilibrium potential.All cells as well as neurons have a resting potential. But in neurons and in muscle fibers, the resting potential is very important, since all electrical activity will be changes from this resting potential. The resting potential can be calculated with the Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz voltage equation using the concentrations of ions as for the equilibrium potential including the relative permeabilities, or conductances, of each ionic species.
The Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz voltage equation for <math>M</math> monovalent positive ionic species and <math>A</math> negative:
<math>E_{m} = \frac{RT}{F} \ln{ \left(\frac{ \sum_{i}^{N} P_{M^{+}_{i}}[M^{+}_{i}]_\mathrm{out} + \sum_{j}^{M} P_{A^{-}_{j}}[A^{-}_{j}]_\mathrm{in}}{ \sum_{i}^{N} P_{M^{+}_{i}}[M^{+}_{i}]_\mathrm{in} + \sum_{j}^{M} P_{A^{-}_{j}}[A^{-}_{j}]_\mathrm{out}} \right) }</math>
This results in the following if we consider a membrane separating two <math>\mathrm{K}_{x}\mathrm{Na}_{1-x}\mathrm{Cl}</math>-solutions:
<math>E_{m, \mathrm{K}_{x}\mathrm{Na}_{1-x}\mathrm{Cl} } = \frac{RT}{F} \ln{ \left(\frac{ P_{Na^{+}}[Na^{+}]_\mathrm{out} + P_{K^{+}}[K^{+}]_\mathrm{out} + P_{Cl^{-}}[Cl^{-}]_\mathrm{in} }{ P_{Na^{+}}[Na^{+}]_\mathrm{in} + P_{K^{+}}[K^{+}]_{\mathrm{in}} + P_{Cl^{-}}[Cl^{-}]_\mathrm{out} } \right) }</math>
Graded potential.
Graded potentials are changes in membrane potential which arise from the summation of the individual actions of ligand-gated ion channel proteins, and decrease over time and space.They do not typically involve voltage-gated sodium and potassium channels.
There are 3 primary types of graded potentials:
Action potential.
In physiology, an action potential is the brief (about one-thousandth of a second) reversal of electric polarization of the membrane of a excited cells such as nerve cell (neuron), muscle cell, endocrine cell and so on.. In neurons, an action potential happens when a neuron sends information down an axon, away from the cell body. In other types of cells, they activate intracellular processes. In muscle cells, for example, an action potential produces the contraction required for all movement. In beta cells of the pancreas, they induce release of insulin. Action potentials in neurons are also known as "nerve impulses" or "spikes", and the temporal sequence of action potentials generated by a neuron is called its "spike train". A neuron that emits an action potential is often said to "fire".
Action potentials are generated by specific voltage-gated ion channels embedded in a cell's plasma membrane. These channels are shut when the membrane potential is near the resting potential of the cell, but stimulation of the cell by neurotransmitters or by sensory receptor cells partially opens channel-shaped protein molecules in the membrane. Sodium diffuses into the cell, shifting that part of the membrane toward a less-negative polarization. If this local potential reaches a critical state called the threshold potential (measuring about −60 mV), sodium channels open completely. Sodium floods inside the cell quickly depolarizes to an action potential of about +55 mV. The declining phase of the action potential is from the closing of sodium channels and the opening of potassium channels, which let a charge about equal to the stage which the cell leaves in the form of potassium ions. Therefore, protein transport molecules pump sodium ions out of the cell and potassium ions in. This restores the original ion concentrations and the membrane is ready for a new action potential.
Biomagnetism.
Biomagnetism is the phenomenon of magnetic fields "created" by living organisms; it is a subset of bioelectromagnetism. It examines the electric, electromagnetic, and magnetic phenomena which arise in biological tissues.
Maxwell Equations.
Maxwell's equations describe how electric charges and electric currents create electric and magnetic fields. Therefore, when there are bioelectric fields there always are also biomagnetic fields, and vice versa (Maxwell, 1865)
where
Reciprocity.
Table. Measurement of Fields
Volume Conductor Theory.
Volume conductor models are a basis for source analysis in Magnetocardiography (MCG), Electrocardiography (ECG),Electroencephalography (EEG) and Magnetoencephalography (MEG). Volume conduction in bioelectromagnetism, can be defined as the transmission of electric or magnetic fields from an electric primary current source through biological tissue towards measurement sensors. Volume conductor means a continuously conductive medium.The brain, meninges, skull, and scalp make a volume conductor throughout which currents created by ionic flow can be measured.
For instance,in Electrocardiogram(ECG), it is possible to place electrodes on the body surface and measure cardiac potentials as the body behaves as a conductor of the electrical currents by the heart. In the resting, polarized state, no potential difference would exist between the positive and negative electrodes(i.e., isoelectric - flat red line). Within ventricles, when the left side of the tissue becomes depolarized (representing firing of the SA node), a wave of depolarization starts to spread across the ventricles. During this time, some part temporarily remains positive on the outside (polarized) and while some is negative (depolarized); thus, there is a separation of charges which induce a potential difference between the two electrodes. As the wave of depolarization moves toward the positive electrode, conventionally, a positive voltage (upward deflection) is recorded. The voltage reaches its maximal positive value when half the part is depolarized. Once the entire ventricle mass is depolarized (all cells negative on outside), there is no longer be a potential difference and the voltage is the same to the polarized state. When repolarization occurs, starting first with the left side (SA nodal region) then moving across the ventricle, there will once again be both positive and negative charges on the surface of the ventricle, but this time, the negative charges will be closest to the positive electrode. The wave of repolarization sweeping across the ventricle away from the negative electrode and toward the positive electrode causes, conventionally, a negative voltage (upward deflection in ventricles. It is different according to the part.) to occur. Finally, when all of the cells are repolarized, the measured voltage difference will once again be the same to the initial stage until another wave of depolarization occurs.
The Human Body as a Volume Conductor.
The human body would be thought as a resistive, piecewise homogeneous and linear volume conductor. Most of the tissue is isotropic. The muscle is, however, strongly anisotropic, and the brain tissue is anisotropic,too.
Resistivity for various tissues
Electrophysiological technique.
Classical electrophysiological techniques.
The principal types of electrodes are:
The principal sample preparations include:
Optical electrophysiological technique.
Optical electrophysiological techniques were invented to overcome the limitations of classical techniques. In classical techniques, electrical activity could be observed at approximately a single point within a volume of tissue. Classical techniques need to singularize a distributed phenomenon. Interest in the spatial distribution of bioelectric activity prompted development of molecules capable of emitting light in response to their electrical or chemical environment. Examples are voltage sensitive dyes and fluorescing proteins.
With one or more such compounds administrated via perfusion, injection or gene expression, the distribution of electrical activity may be observed and recorded. According to the development of optical instrument and computer software, three dimensional molecular level experiments become possible.
Experimental Techniques.
Voltage clamp technique.
Through voltage clamp techniques, it became possible to understand the mechanisms involved in an action potential that is changing with voltage and time as it travels down an axon.
An experimenter "clamp" the cell potential at a chosen value. In other words, it is to measure how much ionic current crosses a cell's membrane at any given voltage. It is important as a lot of the ion channels in the membrane of a neuron are voltage-gated ion channels, which open only when the membrane voltage is within a range.
The data obtained from these experiments were validated by mathematical reconstruction of an action potential.
Patch clamp technique, newer voltage clamp tool since 1990.
The patch clamp technique is a specialized version of the voltage clamp. The patch clamp micropipette is a micropipette with a relatively large open tip diameter(diameter of about one micron) with a polished surface rather than a sharp point.
This patch pipette is pressed against a cell's surface and gentle suction is applied through the microelectrode to draw a piece of the cell membrane (the 'patch') inside its tip. The suction causes the pipette to form a tight seal with the cell's membrane with an electrical resistance of several gigaohms. This configuration is the "cell-attached" mode, and it is useful for studying the activity of the ion channels in the patch of membrane.
There are multiple patch clamp configurations for various experimental observations. If more suction is applied, the small patch of membrane in the electrode tip can be displaced, leaving the electrode sealed to the rest of the cell. This "whole-cell" mode provides very stable intracellular recording. A disadvantage is that some components of the intracellular fluid could be diluted as the intracellular fluid of the cell mixes with the solution inside the recording electrode.
The "perforated patch" technique tries to minimize these problems. Instead of suction, it uses small holes on the patch with small amounts of an antifungal or antibiotic agent, such as amphothericin-B, nystatin, or gramicidin. As the antibiotic molecules diffuse into the membrane patch, they form small perforations in the membrane, allowing ions to pass through the holes freely. The problem is that it takes long to allow the antibiotic to diffuse in the cell. And the electric resistance can be higher and the patch can be rupture by the antibiotic.
This technique was developed by Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann who received the Nobel Prize in 1991.
Single electrode voltage clamp tool.
Until the late 1970s the use of two microelectrodes to control the voltage in nerve and muscle cells had become a well established to measure the membrane current. But, the two-electrode voltage clamp technique faced limits in two application areas. First, as a second electrode penetrate in small cells, it caused damage. Second, in in vivo preparations the cells were commonly out of sight. Both of these problems can be resolved if the voltage clamp is implemented with a single electrode.
The Single Electrode Voltage Clamp is a special purpose circuit clamping arrangement where a single microelectrode is used both to measure the membrane voltage and to pass the current necessary to control the voltage level. A fast electronic switch alternates the connection to the microelectrode between these two functions.
Planar patch clamp technique,novel automated patch clamp tool.
Planar patch clamp systems is beginning to replace manual patch clamping since 1990 by research lab and companies. In classical patch clamp technique, the patch pipette is moved to the cell using a micromanipulator under optical control. Relative movements between the pipette and the cell should be avoided to keep the cell-pipette connection intact. In planar patch configuration the cell is placed by suction – relative movements between cell and aperture can be excluded after sealing. An Antivibration table is not necessary. Chips are typically made from silicon, glass, PDMS, polymide. The automated patch clamp systems are usually more complex and expensive but have the advantage of parallel and hands-free operation including a large amount of data within a short time.
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