Skip to content
Losing face? The symbolism of facial mutilation
22 Nov, 2012
Facial mutilation is a repugnant crime, but its medieval use as a punishment may have had some symbolic significance. Penny Bailey explores a Wellcome Trust-funded project on the history of facial disfigurement as a punishment.
In August 2010, 'Time' magazine's front cover featured a photograph of a young Afghan woman, Bibi Aisha, whose nose had been hacked from her face by her in-laws as punishment for fleeing her abusive marriage.
The world was appalled. At Swansea university, historian Dr Trish Skinner was struck by references to the 'medieval' nature of the act. "It got me wondering whether facial mutilation really was a typically 'medieval' act, and how we tend to apply this term to modern cases without really considering what separates us from the Middle Ages."
With a Wellcome Trust fellowship, she now plans to examine the comparison more closely by looking at punitive facial mutilation in the Middle Ages: what crimes it punished, what theories of government, justice and religion underpinned the penalty, and what the people of the time thought about the practice.
An important strand of the project will explore what medical recourse people had if they were wounded or mutilated. There were two kinds of medieval medic: 'learned' physicians, concerned with analysing humoral imbalances and the effects of the elements or seasons on the body as per the classical texts, and surgeons (often barber-surgeons), who did the urgent, bloody, practical work of setting bones and sewing up wounds. Skinner will be exploring the extent of the overlap between the work of these two types of practitioner (which medical history has tended to see as entirely separate).
Empire in the East
The emperors of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire had to look as 'godlike' and perfect as the heavenly authority they represented, making facial mutilation an ideal political weapon. In 695, Justinian II's political opponents cut off his nose, displacing him from the imperial throne for ten years; when returned, he wore a gold prosthesis. And a century later, Empress Irene had her nine-year-old son Constantine blinded so that she wouldn't have to relinquish power to him.
The choice of mutilation in each case is interesting. While blinding and nose-cutting were both disfiguring, blinding had the additional pragmatic advantage of severely disabling someone, so they couldn't effectively lead an army or wield a weapon. Why did Justinian's enemies not blind him and prevent his return to power?
The answer may lie in the deeper symbolic meanings that different body parts had in the Middle Ages. "There was a real sense that the eyes are the window to the soul," says Skinner. "Lips could be cut or slit for blasphemy, and the nose had very, very strong associations with betrayal in medieval times. I've also found later associations between the nose and penis in the literature."
Justinian's missing nose may therefore have acted both as a symbol of emasculation and as a warning that he would betray the people's trust in him if allowed to rule. "Facial mutilation as a punishment wasn't just about looking awful or disabling someone physically, it meant much more than that. That's why you have to be very cautious drawing very simple comparisons across time."
Kingdoms in the West
The Western Roman Empire had disintegrated by the fifth century and barbarian tribes had taken over its former territories, forming Europe's first kingdoms. The new rulers were determined to assert their royal authority, and nose-cutting and blinding were common, widely recorded penalties for treason – specifically for rebellion against the king.
How did their new subjects respond? With apparent equanimity, on the whole, it seems. "The reports of many chroniclers and clerics of the time are very matter-of-fact. They say things like: 'So-and-so's son-in-law challenged him and was blinded.' That's the end of the matter." Whether this means such acts were widely accepted as normal, Skinner has yet to determine.
One writer did express a degree of concern that might resonate with us today. Gregory of Tours, a Frankish bishop living in seventh-century Gaul, chronicled the events he witnessed, including cases of facial mutilation, in ten volumes of early Frankish (Merovingian) history.
"It's a really intelligent text to read," says Skinner. "Gregory thinks about what he sees going on, and he lets you know when he thinks things are right or wrong. As a bishop he doesn't like the tortures and mutilations he witnesses. But he sees it's justified sometimes." He appears to condone the penalty when three rebels who attempted to assassinate King Childebert II had their noses cut off and were set free to be ridiculed. "They're expected to survive and act as an example to deter other people from treason." Elsewhere, however, Gregory sees facial mutilation as an indication of the ruler's excessive cruelty, condemning King Chilperic for ordering all 'criminals', regardless of the crime, to have their eyes torn out.
His mixed feelings made him unusual for his time. "Gregory sometimes seems to share our modern horror of facial mutilation, but I've yet to find anyone else who is as explicit in their condemnation."
Crime and punishment
To complicate the issue further, at the same time it was being used as a punishment for treason, facial mutilation also became a punishable crime. To curb the violence endemic in their kingdoms and establish public order, Europe's new kings turned for help to the Empire they had helped bring down.
"All of these peoples had invaded somewhere that already had a tradition – more or less – of Roman law," says Skinner. "And one of the things they all seem to think they have to do, if they're going to look like legitimate kings, is to mirror that tradition and issue written laws, rather than continue their own traditions of tribal courts."
The first of these early law codes appeared in the Frankish Kingdom in the fifth century – setting out fixed financial penalties for specific misdeeds. "One of the crimes in these law codes that comes up again and again is deliberately injuring somebody else. They go into absolutely amazing detail about which bit of the body it is you're injuring – face, head, skull, hair, down to literally fingers and toes." Mirroring our modern notion of justice, the state began to step in and impose a solution, to 'keep the King's peace'.
Yet while his subjects could be fined for it, facial mutilation remained a punishment a king could lawfully order for high treason or attempts on his life. This contrast has prompted medieval historians to debate the motivations behind these purportedly 'anti-violence' laws. Did they really represent the king's view of justice? Or were they simply an assertion of power?
An eye for an eye
The tensions inherent in medieval notions of crime and punishment, justice and law, echo across the centuries to today. In Afghanistan, Bibi Aisha's in-laws argued that, in the tradition of their Pashtun tribe, a dishonoured husband was said to have 'lost his nose'. Her punishment in kind was therefore a 'just' one, endorsed by tradition and tribal 'law'.
But the state intervened – as it did in medieval times to stop people taking the law into their own hands – and the punishment became a crime. Bibi's father-in-law was arrested, and the provincial police chief made a statement to the global media, declaring the act to be "against Afghan-ism, against Afghan and sharia laws", and spoke of bringing the perpetrator "to justice".
What that justice would involve remains to be seen. Sharia law sanctions eye-for-an-eye retributive justice – 'qesas' – for intentional injury or murder (qesas can't be used to punish other crimes, including unintentional bodily harm). A prominent example is the case of Majid Movahedi, who in 2009 was sentenced by an Iranian court to be blinded in both eyes for throwing acid in the face of a woman who rejected him. (His victim was to carry out the sentence herself, dropping five drops of sulphuric acid into each of his eyes – but she pardoned him at the last minute.)
If ordered by a sharia court, the blinding of Movahedi or cutting off the nose of Bibi's father-in-law would – by definition – be legal. But that wouldn't settle the question of whether it would be just. Is it right to cut off someone's nose for having done so to someone else – or to blind someone with acid for having thrown acid in someone else's face?
On some gut level, the punishment does seem to fit the crime, and it's understandable that a victim might feel that no other penalty could really be adequate. On the other hand, it's hard to feel entirely easy about the idea of judicial mutilation, whatever the crime. Movahedi's sentence, when first announced, was condemned by media and human rights organisations around the world as 'barbaric' and 'medieval'.
The latter comparison isn't entirely accurate: punitive blinding and nose-cutting in the Middle Ages seem to have been a less precise match between crime and punishment, normally used for treason. It may be, however, that the symbolic meanings of body parts in the Middle Ages imbued such punishments with a sense of inherent legitimacy. Skinner's research will shed further light on how notions of crime and justice underpinning facial mutilation have evolved or persisted over the centuries.
This feature also appears in issue 72 of Wellcome News
Image: A barber having


Request an Exam Copy
"For what is exalted among people is an abomination before God" (Luke 16:15) - Mondays with Mounce
Categories Mondays with Mounce
Note: you can watch the blog on my YouTube channel.
Before I get into the Greek, I think it is helpful for us to stop and ask ourselves if we really believe this. Think about the things that we value, to which we aspire, what we respect in other people, what we secretly long for. How many of these things are actually "detestable" (NASB), an "abomination" (ESV), "revolting" (CSB) in God's eyes? I suspect the list is rather long.
The Greek of this verse is pretty simple, but it does illustrate several points.
"What is exalted among men (τὸ ἐν ἀνθρώποις ὑψηλὸν)" shows the use of the article (τό) to turn an adjective (ὑψηλὸν) into a noun. The prepositional phrase ἐν ἀνθρώποις is in the first attributive position even though usually a prepositional phrase is in the second attributive position when performing this function. "Abomination" (βδέλυγμα) is in the predicate position and therefore we need to supply the verb "is." Does ἐνώπιον simply mean "before" or does it carry the nuance of being in someone's presence, hence, "in the sight of God"?
The translation is straight forward, and there is no real debate about what it means, although I suspect its application is much more difficult. But look at how much "interpretation" was needed, albeit a simple enough interpretation that a first year student could do it. The myth of "literal" translation is that you can see the Greek structure behind the English. Good luck on even this simple of a sentence.
A word-for-word translation is: "the in men exalted abomination before the God."
1. "The... exalted" is turned into a noun and you have to figure out the precise meaning of τό. Context suggests Jesus is primarily thinking of wealth.
2. Is ἀνθρώποις referring to males or people? Beyond that, you have to determine what is the most effective word to create the contrast between that which is human and God. Regardless of a translation's decision on how to handle ἄνθρωπος in general, it is a special situation when ἄνθρωπος contrasts with the divine. This is one of the few situations in which I like (or at least am getting comfortable with) the word "human" since it sets up a strong contrast with θεός. But "mankind" also works, and the word is still in wide use in English. You could even go with "man" to emphasize the humanness, although ἀνθρώποις is plural. But my point is, there is no "literal" translation. You have to decide which words express the meaning best.
3. There is no verb ἐστίν, but "is" must be added for the translation to be English.
4. And then there is the "among" (ἐνώπιον). You have two choices. BDAG has, "(1) pert. to a position in front of an entity, before," and "(2) pert. to being present or in view, in the sight of, in the presence of, among." Most translation go with the latter, but my point is that this is an interpretive position.
So even with a sentence this simple, it is highly doubtful that a first year Greek student, much less someone who does know any Greek, could see the Greek structure behind the English. Let's stop assuming that you can.
But back to my point. Which of my goals and aspirations are in fact an abomination in the sight of God? How about a working knowledge of Greek? That can't be an abomination, right? We just want to know God's word better.
My guess is that if knowing God and his word better truly is your motivation, then it is a good thing. But if we are pursuing Greek for self-gratification, for respect in the academic community, to have the ability to lord our knowledge of Greek over the people to whom we preach and teach, then even something as precious as knowing Greek is an abomination.
Something to think about. Motives are tricky things.
What Is the Mark of the Beast?
What Is the Mark of the Beast? This post is adapted from material found in Craig Keener's Revelation online course. The book of Revelation speaks of s...
Thank you!
Sign up complete.


text:
Families and Researchers Working Together to Find Answers
Thank you for your interest in joining the Registry!
The goal of the Registry is to expand understanding of Williams syndrome so that better treatments can be developed in the future. We (WSA) believe that connecting families and researchers through the Registry will make it easier to do important research.
To begin the short registration process, as a researcher, click the link below.
By joining the Registry, you can: review the Registry's data; take advantage of Registry services to recruit study subjects; and be provided with selected medical records/information that families share with the Registry.
- Click the "Researcher Registration" button above
- Choose a username and password
- Create an account

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


text:
The Interregional Contest-Exhibition of Children's Art "Alaska-Siberia" starts in Krasnoyarsk. The project, dedicated to the feat of Soviet pilots during the Great Patriotic War, one of the series of events devoted to the 80th Anniversary of the ALSIB Air Route, is supported by the Krasnoyarsk Regional Branch of the Russian Geographical Society. Schoolchildren between 12 and 18 are invited to take part.
The works of the winners of the Contest will be exhibited in Krasnoyarsk during the International Scientific and Practical Conference "Alaska - Siberia. 80th Anniversary of the Krasnoyarsk Air Route". The founder of the project is the Krasnoyarsk City Administration, the organizer is the municipal budgetary institution of additional education "Children's Art School No. 1 named after V.I. Surikov".
As part of the preparation for the Contest, Krasnoyarsk schoolchildren met with the head of the Trassa ("Air Route") search team, the head of the commission of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Branch of the Russian Geographical Society for the preservation of historical memory Alexander Matveev. He provided the young artists with detailed information about the air route along which planes were transported from the USA to the USSR, as well as about the heroic and tragic pages of its history.
The theme of the Contest is "Polar Aviation. Contribution to the Victory in the Great Patriotic War". The organizers of the project note, that in the history of the USSR, the USA and Canada there is an example of a common cause and successful cooperation for the sake of jointly fighting the plague of the 20th century - fascism. And the pilots who worked on the ALSIB Air Route, together with the pilots fighting at the front, brought closer the memorable day - May 9, 1945.
Students of children's art schools, art studios of palaces of culture, centers of children's creativity are invited to take part in the Contest.
The Contest-Exhibition is held in the following categories:
- painting (any technique: watercolor, gouache, tempera, acrylic);
- graphics (all types of unique and printed graphics, any technique: ink, pencil, etc.).
The works have to be submitted by October 25, 2022 in one of the following ways:
- in person, on weekdays, from 10 am to 5 pm (Children's Art School No. 1 named after V.I. Surikov, Lenina St., 79);
- by mail, to the organizer's address: 660049, Krasnoyarsk, Lenina St., 79, with a note: "For the Contest "Alaska - Siberia".

source: m-a-p/FineFineWeb


text:
Extinction: When an observed behavior goes away entirely because of the reinforcement procedure that has been applied to the situation. An extinction burst, occurs when the reinforcement that caused a behavior has been removed, initially there will be an increase in the observed behavior. This is an attempt of the subject to try to obtain the motivational operant by causing more behaviors. After the outburst, the behavior then decreased to the point of extinction.
An example of this can be seen at a vending machine that does not deliver a soda after you have paid and pushed the button. In previous experience, putting in money and pushing the button delivers the soda. This behavior has a strong history of reinforcement. When the situation changes and the soda machine stops delivering the soda, the reaction is to start pushing the buttons madly. The soda button pushing behavior previously delivered soda. Now it does not. More button pushing ensues. The mad button pushing is the extinction burst. After the extinction burst, the button pushing behavior is decreased and then stops.
Warning: Thinning the schedule of reinforcement may actually entrench the behavior more effectively, making extinction more difficult to obtain in the future. Extinction involves reducing the maintaining reinforcers to absolute zero.
Resistance to extinction refers to the amount of responding by an individual after reinforcement has been removed. Intermittent schedules of reinforcement, thinner schedules and variable schedules are associated with a greater resistance to extinction.
Possible unwanted side effects of extinction:
- Increased behavior (extinction burst)
- Spontaneous recovery – the behavior comes back for a brief time for no apparent reason
- Some desirable behaviors are sometimes accidentally "ignored" and may cease
Note: Increasing the opportunities for extinction may actually reduce target behavior more quickly. Increasing the opportunities for extinction means that there are more offers for the chance for the behavior to be emitted and the reinforcement denied more often. This will speed up the extinction process.
Resistance to Extinction: Refers to an individual continuing to respond even after reinforcement has been removed from the equation. Some things that can cause resistance to extinction include: thinner reinforcement schedules, intermittent schedules of reinforcement, and variable schedules of reinforcement. All these things cause behavior to persist.
Extinction is highly recommended to use in any case where punishment procedures are implemented. Additionally, in any case of punishment or extinction, introduce the correct replacement behavior.


This section provides a list of common configuration plan issues to check.
 - If you selected a configuration plan to deploy, and it is not taking effect on the server, open the SAR file containing the configuration plan. You can find the file location from the Deployment tab in Oracle JDeveloper. Example 43-55 provides details.
 Example 43-55 Archive Message
 Wrote Archive Module to
 /scratch/myhome/jdevWorkarea/mywork/Application11/FirstComposite/deploy/sca_
 FirstComposite_rev1.0.jar

 - Open the JAR file and ensure that it contains the soaconfigplan.xml file. This file is generated during deployment based on the configuration plan you selected.
 - If this file is not present, try deploying the composite application again to ensure that you have correctly selected the configuration plan in the Deploy Configuration page of the deployment wizard.
43.9.6.3 Deploying to a Managed Oracle WebLogic Server
If you start a managed Oracle WebLogic Server without starting an Oracle WebLogic Administration Server (known as running in independence mode) and attempt to deploy a SOA composite application from Oracle JDeveloper, you receive the following error:
Deployment cannot continue! No SOA Configured target servers found
The Oracle WebLogic Administration Server must be running. Deployment uses the Oracle WebLogic Administration Server connection to identify the servers running Oracle SOA Suite. In addition, do not create an application server connection to a managed Oracle WebLogic Server; only create connections to an Oracle WebLogic Administration Server.
You can also receive a similar error if the condition of the SOA-configured Oracle WebLogic Server is not healthy. This condition displays in the Health column of the Servers page of Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console.
You can use WLST to deploy SOA composite applications to a managed Oracle WebLogic Server without starting an Oracle WebLogic Administration Server. See Section 43.7.5.1, "How to Manage SOA Composite Applications with the WLST Utility" for details.
43.9.6.4 Deploying to a Two-Way, SSL-Enabled Oracle WebLogic Server
Deployment from Oracle JDeveloper to a two-way, SSL-enabled Oracle WebLogic Server is not supported.
43.9.6.5 Deploying with an Unreachable Proxy Server
You can receive an error similar to that shown in Figure 43-27 during SOA composite application deployment if you have a proxy server set in Oracle JDeveloper that is not reachable from your host.
Figure 43-27 Deployment Error Message
Description of Figure 43-27 follows
Description of "Figure 43-27 Deployment Error Message"
A valid proxy setting is necessary for accessing a SOA Infrastructure (for example, soa_server1) outside the network. If the SOA Infrastructure is within the network, perform one of the following actions:
To change the proxy setting:
 1. From the Tools menu, select Preferences > Web Browser and Proxy.
 2. Perform one of the following tasks if the SOA server is within the network:
 1. Deselect Use HTTP Proxy Server if you can directly access the SOA Infrastructure without any proxy.
 2. In the Exceptions field, enter the hostname of the unreachable SOA server.
43.9.6.6 Releasing Locks to Resolve ADF Task Form EAR File Deployment Errors
If you deploy a SOA composite application JAR file and ADF task form EAR file, and the SOA JAR file is deployed successfully, but while deploying the EAR file, the following errors are displayed:
[wldeploy] weblogic.management.ManagementException: [Deployer:149163]The
domain edit lock is owned by another session in non-exclusive mode - this
deployment operation requires exclusive access to the edit lock and hence
cannot proceed. If you are using "Automatically Aquire Lock and Activate
Changes" in the console, then the lock will expire shortly so retry this
operation.
This error means you must first release the lock from Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console to successfully deploy the EAR file.
 1. Log in to the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console.
 2. Below the console banner at the top of the page, click Preferences > User Preferences.
 3. Deselect Automatically Acquire Lock and Activate Changes.
 4. Click Save and note that buttons such as Lock and Edit and Release Configuration are visible.
 Note the following description that is displayed in the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console:
 Automatically acquire the lock that enables configuration editing and
 automatically activate changes as the user modifies, adds and deletes items
 (for example, when the user clicks the 'Save' button). This feature is not
 available in production mode.

This error can occur regardless of the deployment method you are using (for example, deploying through Oracle JDeveloper or through ant scripts).
43.9.6.7 Increasing Memory to Recover from Compilation Errors
If you receive out-of-memory errors during compilation of a SOA composite application, perform the following step to increase memory.
 1. Under the scac element, increase the memory setting. For example:
 <jvmarg value="-Xmx512M"/>

43.9.6.8 Oracle JDeveloper Compilation Error When Property Alias Definition is Missing for a Receive Activity with a Correlation Set
When a property alias definition is missing for a receive activity with a correlation set, the Oracle JDeveloper compiler fails with SCAC-50012 error.


getCurrentPosition (Client API reference)
Returns the current location using the device geolocation capability.
Available for
This method is supported only for the mobile clients.
Syntax
Xrm.Device.getCurrentPosition().then(successCallback, errorCallback)
Parameters
Parameter Name Type Required Description
successCallback Function Yes A function to call when the current geolocation information is returned. A geolocation object with the following values is passed to the function.:
- coords: Contains a set of geographic coordinates along with associated accuracy as well as a set of other optional values such as altitude and speed.
- timestamp: Represents the time when the object was acquired and is represented as DOMTimeStamp.
errorCallback Function Yes A function to call when the operation fails. An object with the following properties will be passed:
- code: The error code. Number.
- message: RLocalized message describing the error details. String.
If the user location setting is not enabled on your mobile device, the error message indicates the same. If you are using an earlier version of the model-driven apps mobile client or if geolocation capability is not available on your mobile device, null is passed to the error callback.
Return Value
On success, returns a geolocation object with the values specified earlier in the successCallback function.
Exceptions
See Web service error codes
Remarks
For the getCurrentPosition method to work, the geolocation capability must be enabled on your mobile device, and the model-driven apps mobile clients must have permissions to access the device location, which isn't enabled by default.
Example
Xrm.Device.getCurrentPosition().then(
 function success(location) {
 Xrm.Navigation.openAlertDialog({
 text: "Latitude: " + location.coords.latitude +
 ", Longitude: " + location.coords.longitude
 });
 },
 function (error) {
 Xrm.Navigation.openAlertDialog({ text: error.message });
 }
);
Xrm.Device


text:
To register for Peace Camp 2021: June 27-July 1 click here
Salford Mennonite Church Peace Camp
Each summer Salford organizes a free week of Peace Camp for children from our church and local community. We meet Sunday through Thursday starting at 5:00 p.m.
Children who have completed kindergarten through fifth grade are invited to attend. At Peace Camp children practice peace with ourselves, peace with the earth, and peace with others. Christ's affirmation in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the Peacemakers", is the central theme for our week together.
Key objectives of the week are:
We conclude our time together with a program for parents and families on Thursday evening when the children share favorite experiences and what they have learned through the week.


Skip to main content
Open Access Publications from the University of California
UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations bannerUC Berkeley
Design of a Passive Dual Joint Stance Assistance Knee Exoskeleton
 - Author(s): Pillai, Minerva Vasudevan
 - Advisor(s): Kazerooni, Homayoon
 - et al.
Lower Extremity Exoskeleton technology has been geared towards benefiting medical and augmentation fields. Functional modularity in exoskeleton design allows practitioners to prescribe exoskeletons which can be geared towards the user's needs and abilities. While most modular knee exoskeleton technology either live in the realm of medicine or augmentation, a stance assistive knee exoskeleton can benefit both able bodied individuals as well as individuals with decreased quadriceps function or knee weakness.
Fully passive systems are lower cost but have limited functionality. Powered systems have diverse functionality but are expensive and large. Microcontroller controlled resistive knees are more functionally diverse than fully passive system, but only provide system resistance to motion and can be expensive.
Passive microcontroller controlled systems can lead to a low cost and functionally versatile system. By embedding some of the required functionality into the mechanical hardware of the system, the burden on the microcontrollers and need for sensors is reduced. To determine the required functionality the characteristic behavior of the knee during level walking and stair descent were studied. Characteristics for a stance assistive knee joint exoskeleton are derived using biomechanics data.
These characteristics are
1) The joint provides resistance to flexion during stance
2) The joint does not impede extension during stance
3) The joint can enter free mode under load at any knee angle
4) The joint has very low impedance / is free while extending and flexing during swing
A dual jointed architecture with a clutch connected across one joint and a torque generator connected across the other is developed to mechanically achieve requirements 1 and 4. By requiring the clutch or torque generator to provide resistance in one direction but no impedance in the other, characteristic 2 is achieved. By controlling the locking and unlocking of the clutch, characteristic 3 is achieved. The torque generator and clutch requirements can be fulfilled by several passive mechanical components.
Several passive mechanical components were analyzed. It was determined that using a wrap spring clutch as the clutch and using a gas spring as the torque generator provides the required characteristics. This combination requires only a small actuator to lock and unlock the clutch. This combination also allows the restoration of energy during extension after it is stored during the resistance phases. This hardware combination results in a stance assistance knee exoskeleton which is relatively small, light and can further help reduce the metabolic cost associated with wearing an exoskeleton. A simplified controller was implemented to gauge system performance.
Additional applications for the hardware architecture are proposed. These applications include use of the knee exoskeleton with a modular hip. The hardware is not limited to use as a knee exoskeleton. It can be used to reduce the erector spinae muscles forces in the back, if it is installed at the user's hip. Experiments are proposed to evaluate the effect of the device on the biological joint torque and user's metabolic cost.
Main Content
Current View


text:
The complete archaeological sequence of the site of Salut has been singled out by the Italian Mission to Oman (IMTO), directed by Alessandra Avanzini. The Mission of the University of Pisa started its investigations in March 2004, in agreement with the Office of HE the Adviser to HM the Sultan for Cultural Affaires of Muscat and with the contribution of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After a preliminary deep sounding (2004) to verify the stratigraphical sequence, the IMTO realized the great potential value of the site and its importance for ancient history of Oman and for Eastern Arabia.
Since 2005, two archaeological campaigns are conducted annually. The rich and interesting results of excavations at the site and the surrounding plain will be exposed in this Virtual Museum.


points on curve secp256k1 form a group E(Fp) over field Fp.
p = 2^256 - 2^32 - 2^9 - 2^8 - 2^7 - 2^6 - 2^4 - 1 is prime.
n is the order of group E, n=115792089237316195423570985008687907852837564279074904382605163141518161494337
Is n prime too?
Is E(Fp) a cyclic group?
Theorem. Working over a finite field, the group of points E(Fp) is always either a cyclic group or the product of two cyclic groups.
 - n has to be a prime such that (Gx, Gy) * n = slope is infinity. Hopefully someone can answer the other part – Wizard Of Ozzie Jun 21 '15 at 0:34
The comment stating n "has to be prime" is a bit confusing.
The order of base point "has" to be prime in the sense that this is a requirement in the particular documents defining standard curves—for example, in SECG, which includes secp256k1. Bitcoin's base point order r is prime.
In SECG, it is also stated that cofactor of secp256k1 curve is 1, which makes n = r × 1, again prime. A group of prime order is obviously cyclic.
 - Thank you for your answer! So E(K) is a cyclic group, r = n is prime and then each element of E(K)* has order n --> each element could have been the base point. Is there a reason SEC chose G = 02 79BE667E F9DCBBAC 55A06295 CE870B07 029BFCDB 2DCE28D9 59F2815B 16F81798 as base point? – arulbero Jun 21 '15 at 6:37
 - _USER_ re SEC defined G: great question. Anyone know why? Why not start at x=0? – Wizard Of Ozzie Jun 21 '15 at 14:17
 - _USER_ Of Ozzie The point "O" is the only one that cannot be chosen, because order of O is 1. To generate safely a public key starting from G, G's order must be a prime number, as large as possible; in our case each element except O has the same order, n. – arulbero Jun 21 '15 at 17:42
 - 1
 _USER_@arulbero It's likely the base points in SECG were chosen randomly. It's also likely that this had led to some controversy since then. References are not very easy to locate, sorry. – akater Jun 22 '15 at 18:22
Your Answer


text:
HRMCAR › OECD Core Competencies
The OECD Competency framework
The OECD Competency framework comprises core competencies which are presented in three clusters. The first cluster groups the delivery related competencies, the second has interpersonal competencies and the third relates to strategic competencies.
What are core competencies?
Core Competencies can be defined as personal attributes or underlining characteristics, which combined with technical or professional skills, enable the delivery of a role/job. Competencies state the expected areas and levels of performance, tell us what is valued and rewarded. The Core Competencies do not define our technical roles and accountabilities, nor does it include the technical skills necessary to do our jobs.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


The End of Emotional Privacy
A bodysuit that reads and stores people's emotions and allows you to "feel" how others are feeling. The project applies infrared sensor technology to simulate thermal vision and "read" emotions. By standing in front of it, the user's emotions are read and mapped as heat into the back of the bodysuit. In a context of growing concern over privacy, where corporations know who we are and what we want, 'The End of Emotional Privacy' suggests a future in which our emotional states are monitored, manipulated, and monetised.
Initial research: senses
This diagram shows how through senses get that from the world that our mind transforms into a perception of what the world is.
*This data is received through certain types of stimuli. These receptors send impulses in certain patterns, to send information about the intensity of a stimulus.
The if conditional and the purpose
Considering we have 5 senses, intuition has always been known as our "6th" sense. What if intuition was a sense, for real? That made me think about empathy, then, what if empathy was a sense?
This project will be developed around this question, seeking to find a solution to amplify empathy by exploring emotions and how to understand them. The goal is to be able to feel what others are feeling.
The statement: "emotions are heat"
"Emotions are guesses that your brain constructs at the moment when millions of brain cells work" – Lisa Feldman Barret
Guesses are predictions. Therefore, how people really feel?
Among all the methods that are being used at this moment to explore emotions, such as heart rate, face tracking, brain waves or skin conductivity, we decided to give a chance to body heat.
The idea and the device
An empathy amplifier that detects emotions* around you, by sending heat notifications, developed as a wearable bodysuit, so you can easily feel the heat.
*happiness, fear, sadness, anxiety
Based on how senses work, we created a flowchart and we replicated it in order to create a circuit logic.
Simulation of how a sense works and how to recreate it with Arduino
And this is the diagram for the full prototype:
The process
The first prototype was based on over 100 embedded wires, and 16 DIY heatpads made with conductive thread on a lace pad as base.
A work in process following the diagram
Detail of the custom heat pads I build with conductive thread
For the second prototype, I focused on using only conductive thread. The combination is Karl Grimm conductive thread for the connections, and silver-plated conductive thread to build the DIY heat pads. Before I got to that conclusion, I burned several fabrics, broke a few Arduinos, and considered buying chunky heat pads instead of wasting time in building my own. But I managed and they warmed up nicely.
As the project had to be exhibited one month, instead of the lace pads I've got the back of the bodysuit embroidered so the feeling of warmth was more noticeable on cotton (over than the nylon of my black lace pads) as well as being way more resistant to the touch of hundreds of users during the exhibition.
Getting emotional data
"The End of Emotional Privacy" aims to make people reflect on the fact that our emotions could be used as data. All the values that the IR sensor is reading, are sensed to a private database for personal further analysis, so whoever is wearing it, could learn how to me empathic.
This is an example of values of that database:
The values highlighted in red are the ones indicating that someone was in front of the wearable as it is detecting their heat.
What if all this emotional data is not used just for personal use, but is managed by big corporations? Then, they could be sending us ads when we are more vulnerable to buy.
In order to make the prototype more interactive for the exhibition format, I made a simple real time data visualisation with p5.js which displayed on a screen the emotion that the sensor just read. The sensor read values from 0 to 80ºC in an angle of 60º, working by proximity. Knowing that:
0 – Standby
No data is read, the IR sensor is waiting to have someone in front of it.
1 – Sad
The IR got temperature values between 0 and 24.
2 – Happy
The values are greater than 24 and smaller than 27.
3 – Anxious
For values greater than 27 but smaller than 55.
4 – Fearful
The last state – values greater than 55, smaller than 80.
Press coverage
The project was exhibited in the Museum of Design of Barcelona, DHUB Barcelona, among other projects for a month.
In this clip extracted from the Spanish national news, you can see some of the other projects, as well as a short interview that I had:
I also appeared in Barcelona's local tv:
I even took part in a documentary about privacy from Catalonia's national television. Here is the link to the chapter. I appear from minute 7.
This is just a terrible screenshot of the interview.
And here is the link to an article of a national newspaper that interviewed me too.
'The End of Emotional Privacy' is a project made during the Master in Advanced Interaction, IAAC (2018).


text:
Sanitation Inspection Guidelines for Family Care Homes: Food Protection Mobile App
The intent of the Sanitation Inspection Guidelines for Family Care Homes: Food Protection
How does it work?
mobile app is to help the family home caregiver understand the sanitation inspection process and reasons behind the sanitation requirements. Each sanitation requirement is designed to help the caregiver keep children healthy and safe. This app can be used as a reference before, during, and after your annual sanitation inspection. These guidelines are organized in the same order as the Sanitation Inspection Report the inspector uses while visiting your facility. Food must be protected at every step of the process. If foods are purchased from an unapproved source, the caregiver can not be assured that the food has been handled properly. Excessively dented cans can produce botulism if the seal has been broken


0
$\begingroup$
I'm currently looking into Chapter 26 of Types and Programming Languages and am a bit confused by the "intuition" for Full F<: (p. 395):
A type T = ∀X<:T1.T2 describes a collection of functions from types to values, each mapping subtypes of T1 to instances of T2. If T1 is a subtype of S1, then the domain of T is smaller than that of S = ∀X<:S1.S2, so S is a stronger constraint and describes a smaller collection of polymorphic values.
Why is S a stronger constraint due to the fact that T's domain is smaller than S's?
$\endgroup$
0
$\begingroup$
Consider these assertions:
 1. all the cats in my house are grey
 2. all the cats in my town are grey
The second assertion implies the first, since any cat in my house is also in my town, so by the assertion it must be grey. In other words, "cats in my town" is a superset of "cats in my house", so the second assertion is stronger (it applies to more cats).
In the same way, the type S = ∀X<:S1.T2 is stronger than T = ∀X<:T1.T2 since S1 is a supertype of T1. A program of type S must work in all cases (types X) where a program of type T would work, and possibly even more cases.
$\endgroup$
3
 - $\begingroup$ Thanks for your response, @chi. So, it's stronger because it means programs can make fewer assumptions about X? This might explain the bit about describing "a smaller collection of polymorphic values". Let's say S1 is Top, then we have values λX<:Top.t for some term t. In regard to X, t can only use the knowledge that X is a subtype of Top, so there are certain subterms that cannot appear in t, e.g. applying a value of type X to another. If λX<:(Top→Top).u, u could contain subterms of that form. Is that the correct explanation or line of thought? $\endgroup$ – ixampal Oct 21 '18 at 3:45
 - $\begingroup$ @ixampal Yes, that looks correct. For instance, a program of type ∀X<:Top. X->X must be the identity, since there are no operations it can perform on the X-typed argument. Instead, ∀X<:U. X->X can use its argument according to the operations of U, so it might be the identity, but could also be something else. If U is a type that represents pairs of the same type, then a program could swap the pair components. $\endgroup$ – chi Oct 21 '18 at 7:57
 - $\begingroup$ Thanks for confirming. I was intuitively on board with the typing rule for Full F<: from the discussion on contravariance with arrow types. My confusion came from somehow looking at the "stronger constraint" in the explanation text as referring to something limiting the types X can take, not the whole programs. Missing the forest for the trees. All good now. $\endgroup$ – ixampal Oct 21 '18 at 8:13
Your Answer
By clicking "Post Your Answer", you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.


text:
Missouri Physical, Cultural & Historical Features
Additions and/or corrections to the database are encouraged! Simple Add/Edit Procedure.
- Physical Features are the natural features of the Earth's surface.
- Cultural Features are landscape features that were created or shaped by humans.
- Historical Features are features that no longer exist on the landscape.


lp0 on fire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
lp0 on fire (also known as Printer on Fire) is an outdated error message generated on some Unix and Unix-like computer operating systems in response to certain types of printer errors. lp0 is the Unix device handle for the first line printer, but the error can be displayed for any printer attached to a Unix or Linux system. It indicates a printer error that requires further investigation to diagnose, but not necessarily that it is on fire.
Printer flammability[edit]
In the late 1950s, high speed computerized printing was still a somewhat experimental field. The first documented fire-starting printer was a Stromberg-Carlson 5000 xerographic printer (similar to a modern laser printer, but with a CRT as the light source instead of a laser), installed around 1959 at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and modified with an extended fusing oven to achieve a print speed of one page per second. In the event of a printing stall, and occasionally during normal operation, the fusing oven would heat paper to combustion. This fire risk was aggravated by the fact that if the printer continued to operate, it would essentially stoke the fire with fresh paper at high speed. However there is no evidence of the "lp0 on fire" message appearing in any software of the time.[1]
As the technology matured, most large printer installations were drum printers, a type of impact printer which could print an entire line of text at once through the use of a high speed rotary printing drum. It was thought[by whom?] that in the event of a severe jam, the friction of paper against the drum could ignite either the paper itself, or, in a dirty machine, the accumulated paper and ink dust in the mechanism. Whether this ever happened is not known; there are no reports of friction-related printer fires.
The line printer employed a series of status codes, specifically ready, online, and check. If the online status was set to "off" and the check status was set to "on," the operating system would interpret this as the printer running out of paper. However, if the online code was set to "on" and the check code was also set to "on", it meant that the printer still had paper, but was suffering an error (and may still be attempting to run). Due to the potentially hazardous conditions which could arise in early line printers, Unix displayed the message "on fire" to motivate any system operator viewing the message to go and check on the line printer immediately.[2]
In the early 1980s, Xerox created a prototype laser printer engine and provided units to various computer companies. To fuse the toner, the paper path passed a glowing wire. If paper jammed anywhere in the path, the sheet in the fuser caught fire. The prototype UNIX driver reported paper jams as "on fire." Later print engine models used a hot drum in place of the wire.
Phrase origins[edit]
Michael K. Johnson ("mkj" of Red Hat and Fedora fame) wrote the first Linux version of this error message in 1992,[3][4] however he as well as Herbert Rosmanith and Alan Cox (all Linux developers) have acknowledged that the phrase existed in Unix in different forms prior to his Linux printer implementation.[5][6]
Since then, the lp printer code has spread across all sorts of POSIX-compliant operating systems, which often still retain this legacy message.
Modern printer drivers and support have improved and hidden low-level error messages from users, so most Unix/Linux users today have never seen the "on fire" message. However, a few people still run into it today with varying levels of amusement or confusion.[7][8] The "on fire" message remains in the Linux source code as of version 6.0-rc3.[9]
The message is also present in other software modules, often to humorous effect. For example, in some kernels' CPU code, a CPU thermal failure could result in the message "CPU#0: Possible thermal failure (CPU on fire ?)"[10] and similar humor can be found in the phrase halt and catch fire.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
 1. ^ "LLNL war story concerning the SC5000 and the Radiation Printer". Retrieved November 14, 2011.
 2. ^ "Mailing list post relating the history of the lp0 on fire error". Retrieved September 11, 2007.
 3. ^ "[PATCH] Linux-0.98.3 (October 27, 1992)". GitHub. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
 4. ^ "Incomplete information - mjk's musings". May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
 5. ^ "Linux Kernel Mailing List archive: Michael K. Johnson Re: GLOAT BLOAT (Was: Boot messages, Ideas for v2.1)". June 24, 1996. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
 6. ^ "Reddit comment from user mcdanlj". May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
 7. ^ "Help, my printer port is on fire!!!". Archived from the original on November 3, 2006. Retrieved September 11, 2007.
 8. ^ "Linux kernel source code for USB printers".
 9. ^ "lp.c « char « drivers - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree". git.kernel.org. Retrieved 2022-08-29.
 10. ^ "CPU#0: Possible thermal failure (CPU on fire ?)". Retrieved December 21, 2014.


Can you really resist a video called "Cat Smells Another Cat's Fart?"
No, you can't.
Much like our feline friend cannot resist sniffing another cat's butt, you are drawn to this clip because "Cat Smells Another Cat's Fart" is why the internet was invented.
Fun fact -- way back in the '60s when the internet was merely some sort of abstract idea, all those poindexters in their lab coats and ties pushed the tape on their glasses onto the bridges of their noses and proclaimed, "We need to create this interconnected series of computer networks so people can watch videos of cats not only breaking wind, but other cats sniffing their rear ends in the derision and annoyance that only cats can adequately express." Cats smelling farts are the original cat videos of the internet.
So, how about that? In addition to seeing a cat sniff a fart, you got a lesson in the obscure history of the World Wide Web. Animals should pass gas more often, right?


text:
I guess I was too much into NIME-organization back in March, to notice the launch of the The Million Song Dataset. It contains no audio, but 300 GB worth of metadata about 1 million popular music songs. This sounds like hours of great fun for music researchers around the world, and will probably also be a great resource for music students working on MIR-applications. I would also expect that it is possible to use this for a number of creative applications.
Here is a quote from the press release:
For far too long, researchers and engineers working on Music Information Retrieval (MIR) have been forced to pay a hefty ante before being able to conduct their research: namely, they've had to build a set of data on which test their theories and hone their algorithms.
It may have started as a flippant suggestion for how to solve that problem, but The Million Song Dataset is now real, and anyone can download it. A collaboration between The Echo Nest and Columbia University's LabROSA department (Laboratory for the Recognition and Organization of Speech and Audio), The Million Song Dataset has four main objectives:
- To encourage research on algorithms that scale to commercial sizes
- To provide a reference dataset for evaluating research
- As a shortcut alternative to creating a large dataset with The Echo Nest's API
- To help new researchers get started in the MIR field.
What could you say but thanks!


Impingement jets are known to be efficient mechanisms for the exchange of heat between fluid and structure. They are generally used in industry for cooling, heating or drying. Several experimental and numerical studies have been realized to study convective heat transfers and/or to correlate the convective heat transfers to the wall with the unsteady flow of the jet (O'Donovan et al. [9] [10]). But these studies have been performed at low Mach number whereas higher Mach number are found in industrial applications as fan cooling processes for instance (M = 0.5 to 0.8). So, we propose to study the influence of Mach number of the impingement flow, ranging from 0.1 to 0.8, on convective heat exchange between a circular jet and a round axisymmetric plate. The aerodynamic of the fluid and the heat transfers depend on the following parameters: the D hydraulic diameter of the jet, the H distance to the wall, the Re Reynolds number of the flow, the M Mach number and the Tj temperature of the jet. The local convective heat transfer coefficients are experimentally determined by an inverse method based on a measurement of steady state temperature fields by infrared thermography (Fe'not et al. [2]) for 1 ≤ H/D ≤ 5 and 0.1 ≤ M ≤ 0.8. An experimental study of radial velocity fluctuations of the fluid in nearby wall has also been realized from hot wire anemometry. A spatial and temporal turbulent study (turbulence spectrum, integral turbulent scales, dissipation rate) allows to correlate convective heat transfer to the wall to aerodynamic phenomena.
This content is only available via PDF.
You do not currently have access to this content.


text:
On 2001-12-08 09:47, SEG9585 wrote:
Since photons in a wave of light always move at the speed of light, if the frequency of one wave was higher than another, wouldnt the higher-frequency's wave take longer to get somewhere than the light with a lower frequency over a long distance, (on a longitudal line). Since the frequency is higher, the waves are shorter and go up and down alot more than the straighter, low-frequency photon flow. This would mean the higher-frequency photon has to travel faster through its waves to keep up with the other wave, which is impossible Can someone clear this up for me?
Also, do waves travel in a mere line up and down, or does it sort of swirl as it travels?


text:
Debt of Gratitude: A Filipino Social Phenomenon
"Scratch my back and I will scratch yours." - This describes the prevailing Filipino social phenomenon of debt of gratitude. It is an attempt of one to repay the other, who in the past had done something good or beneficial to him or her. This has been magnified by other social phenomena such as the continued emigration of Filipino workers outside the Philippines, such that remittances are actually in the form of payment to their families, as an expression of long-lasting debt of gratitude. This is just an example of how this phenomenon has shaped the Filipino society and culture.
In this blogpost, an in-depth analysis will be made to showcase the advantages and disadvantages of this phenomena, as various concepts and ideas revolving around it are enumerated throughout the discussion.
1. It exists in any type of relationship; familial, working, spiritual and others.
Because of man's social nature, there will be periods of self-sufficiency and vulnerability. During time of vulnerability, one needs help of others to pursue one's desire. It is therefore easy to ask for help, rather than attempt to do it alone. The Church could help in a way through advices, and through its teachings. The family ofcourse is an important social aspect that supports an individual unconditionally. Furthermore, work superiors and colleagues have contributed for one's survival. All of these relationships are source of debt of gratitude. As long as there is something good to one, a mere "thank you" is not enough since the person owes debt in gratitude to others from that time on.
2. It is an implied contract between at least two entities.
Debt of gratitude is about reciprocity. There is an exchange of benefits, regardless of what form it is. The magnitude of benefits varies from a little gift to an eternal familial loyality to an institution or a person. The challenge with this benefits is that it is non-consummable. It is therefore not sufficient to repay one or twice or thrice, for goodness is unquantifiable. The goodness will never be repaid, and the obligation exists as long as there is someone who remembers it. It is type of unwritten contract without expiry, validity and concreteness.
3. It is a result of colonialism.
Unfortunately, debt of gratitude stems from the Philippines' colonial past. Filipinos were made to believe that they are still unprepared for self-rule. It is therefore required for the colony to seek protection from external invasion, given that the colony is militarily and economically weak and small to defend itself. However, it is safe to say that colonialism is created European concept. The British, Spaniards, French, German, Dutch, Italians and other major European "superpowers" raced to conquer the world. They self-proclaimed dominion over land masses, disrespecting aborigines and traditions of the lands they dominated. Therefore, European colonizers are also responsible for this Filipino social phenomenon. They made their subjects believe that they are not independent amd capable, and the only way to exist is to be slaves, servants and parasites to their colonizing nation.
4. It is encouraged by religious teachings through stewardship.
To be generous and of service of others is the primary teaching of the Church. It is stated in passages of holy scriptures. However, the interpretations have gone to way varied. To be subservient is quite different from offering service to others. Offering service is quite limited to time, place and situation. On the other hand, to be subservient is limitless and self-sacrificial. These acts has been enshrouded in the rationale of stewardship, such that everyone encouraged to take care of each other, thereby making it obligatory to help others and expect others to do the same. There is no end for this exchange, and this is where others abuse and have been abused. There is therefore a need to delineate, what is enough and what is too much, an act itself contrary and in dilemma against Church teachings.
5. It is a means to address competition.
To answer why there is a need for debt of gratitude. It is actually reciprocal means to survive a highly-competitive social environment. Resources are scarce, such that building alliances and support groups is a must, rather optional. One could compare debt of gratitude as a currency in a hunting society, hungry and always in need of food and resources. This is quite similar living in a country of over 100 million people. There is always a constant struggle to outwit and outdo others. That is the ultimate problem, which in part or wholly resolved through debt of gratitude.
6. It fuels corruption and nepotism.
Benefits is the focus of debt of gratitude. In the Philippine society, there exists three types of benefits, legal, illegal and everything in between. Because there exists a very large gray zone in the social structure, people are given the leeway to decide on their own to interpret what is right and wrong. Here is where debt of gratitude interplays, the same leeway and decision power is utilized to yield something good, as a payment for debt of gratitude. Instead of selecting the best applicants for the government positions, the deciding power will give it to a close relative or recommended applicants of a person the individual owes debt of gratitude. In this way, corruption and nepotism magnifies and trickles in all sectors of the society.
7. It breeds conflicts and dilemmas.
To remain loyal to person one owes debt of gratitude or to follow the truth and justice is something usual dilemma created by debt of gratitude. Wrongdoings are tolerated to accomodate someone to do good. Moreover, people are forced to be in conflict with others by showing loyalty to a person. There is no value in objectivity and self-judgment in debt of gratitude. What is important is to repay someone for an act, which is in the first place, not repayable and subjective.
8. It usually involves money and authority.
Money and authority are two most powerful encouraging factors in debt of gratitude. For money to grow, a person needs someone to work and help him or her for it. Through debt of gratitude, it convenient and easy to fulfill this task. In the same way, to go up the ladder of social class, one requires the helping hand of another, who is superior in money and power. Money and power have become exchange vehicles in paying debt of gratitude. The problem occurs when power and interests overlaps with one and another, creating a bigger power struggle among power-thirsty entities.
9. It is Filipino's way of fulfilling social ethical obligations.
No one is an island. We are all made to believe on this. There is no one who will expess dissent on this principle. That is just a way of life. This is true for Filipinos as well. Naturally helpful to others, Filipinos will wholeheartedly share time, resources and money to be of help of others. This is the main advantage of debt of gratitude, knowing there are still people who care. The non-existence of debt of gratitude means the non-existence of care itself, and perhaps love. However, justifying mainly the incorrectness of debt of gratitude is in itself not sufficient if it is only based on love and care. There must limitations to using these reasons so as to avoid abuse and perpetual exploitation.
10. It is a form of perpetual modern-day slavery and indebtness.
Since the nature of goodness is unrepayable, one who owes debt of gratitude will never be capable of giving back to the person, who did good to him. The more significant the benefit one has received, the more timeless debt of gratitude become. Worse, family members are made to honor this debt even after the death of the primary person in debt. The person who gave the benefit will never be satisfied, with any kind of service or act. Debt of gratitude becomes eternal and irrevocable. The person who received the benefit will work harder and harder for a debt, in reality, he or she is not capable of paying, resulting to dependent relationship nearing to the concept of slavery.
I have to admit that during I wrote this blogpost, I was influenced by a personal experience related to debt of gratitude. I am honestly irritated by the situation, so it would seem that I am quite biased and negative in my perspective on this Filipino social phenomena. I made an attempt to balance how I wrote the article, at least. It is therefore upon the reader's judgment. However, I think a pessimistic point-of-view is needed to balance the discussion. Debt of gratitude has long been tolerated by the Filipino society. Its incorrectness has been continuously ignored and unchallenged, and sometimes hailed by the government as a form of sacrifice and heroism. Objectively, every Filipino deserves to determine what he or she wants without being influenced by social phenomena thay hinders his or her utmost potential, freedom and happiness.


text:
The Burris farm wagons
A collection of turn-of-the-century farming and ranching machinery has been on display for the past 30 years at the Burris Ranch headquarters south of Albuquerque, N.M., reminding passersby that agriculture was as diverse historically as it is today.
The farm implements and ranch wagons belong to Elizabeth Burris, who moved with her late husband, Weldon, to southwestern New Mexico in 1949 to establish a cattle ranch. The fertile valley of northern Socorro County, nourished by the Rio Grande River, supported the Pueblo Indians' ancient farming practices and, since the time of Spanish explorers, a rich ranching culture.
The Burrises leased the Lajoya Land Grant from its owner, a Montana man named Campbell whose first name Mrs. Burris does not remember, although he was known locally as 'Gen. Campbell.'
In time, the couple bought the Lajoya property, as well as other New Mexico ranches, including the Lazy E near Deming, in Luna County on the Mexican border. In 1972, they received the farming implements as a gift from Campbell, to thank them for their long lease of his land.
The farm implements, which are representative of Midwestern rather than New Mexican traditional farming, include a sulky plow, a small disk, cultivators, a dump rake, an iron-wheeled sickle mower and a road grader. Some pieces were long ago painted a dark green with red trim to match the wagons. The grader is a Galion brand; the name is cast into the machine. It was used on the Burris Ranch in Deming.
On display along with the implements, and intended to represent New Mexico's ranching heritage, are two vintage wooden wagons, which Mrs. Burris said probably are John Deeres. Deere & Company began selling such wagons in the 1880s.
Remnants of dark green and red paint remain on both; one is a supply wagon and the other is a chuck wagon, its faint 'Lazy E' lettering still visible. Mrs. Burris said both she and her husband traveled the range on trail rides with these wagons many times from Deming to Bosque, N.M. Chuck wagons were an important piece of equipment to the cowhands on long cattle drives. All would gather round the chuck wagon to eat their fill of breakfast at morning's first light, and return to it later in the day for their lunch and supper.
Little traffic passes the Burris Ranch headquarters these days, and few stop to ask about the vintage equipment on display, but Mrs. Burris said she plans to just keep it in place. FC
- Charles Perry is a freelance photographer and writer who lives in Belen, N.M.


27 days old
Laboratory Technician, Chemical, San Pedro, CA
Kelly Services
Gardena, CA 90247
**Laboratory Technician, Chemical, San Pedro, CA**
**Position Type:** Temp-to-Hire
**Shift:** 1 st, MondayFriday
**Pay:** $18-20/hour depending on experience
Performs laboratory tests to determine chemical and physical characteristics or composition of solid, liquid, or gaseous materials for such purposes as quality control, process control, or product development by performing the following duties. Responsible for supporting the QC laboratory through reagent compounding. Perform ID testing, physical property testing and general laboratory upkeep. Individual will be responsible for performing batch reviews on finished products in accordance to cGMP regulations.
**ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES** include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
+ Sets up, adjusts and operates laboratory equipment and instruments such as microscopes, centrifuge, agitators, viscosimeter, chemical balance scales, spectrophotometer, gas chromatograph, colorimeter, and other equipment.
+ Tests solutions used in processes such as anodizing, waterproofing, cleaning, bleaching, and pickling for chemical concentration, specific gravity, or other characteristics.
+ Tests samples of manufactured products to verify conformity to specifications.
+ Records test results on standardized forms and writes test reports describing procedures used.
+ Prepares graphs and charts.
+ Cleans and sterilizes laboratory equipment.
+ Calibrates laboratory instruments.
+ Prepares chemical solutions according to standard formulas.
+ Adds chemicals or raw materials to process solutions or product batches to correct or establish formulation required to meet specifications.
+ Associate's degree (A. A.) or equivalent from two-year college or technical school AND six months to one year related experience and/or training
**For Immediate Consideration, Apply Today! Questions? Call Grace at _PHONE_, Email at, or schedule a time to connect directly follow the link:** ****
**About Kelly** ****
Before you go...
Share this job:
Laboratory Technician, Chemical, San Pedro, CA
Kelly Services
Gardena, CA 90247
Join us to start saving your Favorite Jobs!
Sign In Create Account
Powered ByCareerCast


text:
The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 is a highly versatile and powerful laptop that combines the functionality of a laptop and the convenience of a tablet in one sleek and compact device. It offers excellent performance, a stunning display, and a range of useful features, making it an ideal choice for both work and leisure activities.
With its innovative design, powerful processor, and long battery life, the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 is a top contender in the market for those seeking a high-performance and versatile laptop.
The Evolution Of 2-in-1 Laptops
The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 is an impressive addition to the evolution of 2-in-1 laptops. With its sleek design and powerful performance, it offers a versatile computing experience for users.
Definition And Introduction To 2-in-1 Laptops
2-in-1 laptops have revolutionized the way we work and play by combining the functionality of a laptop and the versatility of a tablet. These devices feature a touchscreen display that can be detached or flipped around, allowing users to switch between laptop and tablet modes seamlessly. With their sleek design and portability, 2-in-1 laptops have gained popularity among professionals, students, and tech enthusiasts alike.
Brief History And Evolution Of 2-in-1 Laptops
2-in-1 laptops have come a long way since their inception. The concept of a hybrid laptop originated in the early 2000s, but it wasn't until the introduction of the Microsoft Surface in 2012 that the market for 2-in-1 laptops truly took off. This groundbreaking device paved the way for other manufacturers to explore the potential of convertible laptops.
Over the years, advancements in technology have allowed for thinner designs, more powerful processors, and longer battery life in 2-in-1 laptops. Manufacturers have also focused on improving the responsiveness and accuracy of the touchscreens, making them more enjoyable to use. These innovations have made 2-in-1 laptops a viable alternative to traditional laptops and tablets.
Accessibility And Convenience Offered By 2-in-1 Laptops
One of the main attractions of 2-in-1 laptops is their accessibility and convenience. With the ability to switch between laptop and tablet modes, users can adapt to different tasks and environments with ease. Whether you're taking notes in a meeting, watching movies on a plane, or editing a document at your desk, a 2-in-1 laptop offers the versatility to meet your needs.
Moreover, the portability of 2-in-1 laptops makes them ideal for those on the go. The compact size and lightweight design allow users to carry them effortlessly in their backpacks or handbags. No longer do you have to carry a separate laptop and tablet. Everything you need is neatly packed into a single device.
Additionally, 2-in-1 laptops often come with features such as stylus support, multi-touch gestures, and keyboards that can be detached or backlit. These features enhance the overall user experience, making tasks like drawing, taking handwritten notes, and typing more intuitive and enjoyable.
Dell Xps 13 2-in-1: The Perfect Blend Of Power And Flexibility
Versatility In Design: Flipping And Folding Options
The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 is not your ordinary laptop. With its innovative convertible design, this cutting-edge device offers a level of versatility that is hard to match. Whether you need a traditional laptop for work or a tablet for casual browsing, this 2-in-1 device has got you covered.
Explanation Of Dell Xps 13 2-in-1 Convertible Design
The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 features a unique convertible design that allows you to flip and fold the screen to fit different usage scenarios. Its flexible hinge enables smooth transitions between four different modes: laptop, tent, stand, and tablet.
|Laptop||The default mode, perfect for productivity tasks such as writing, coding, and creating presentations.|
|Tent||Ideal for watching movies, video conferences, or showcasing presentations, as the touchscreen is easily accessible.|
|Stand||Great for hands-free viewing while working with touch-based apps or collaborating on projects.|
|Tablet||A fully functional tablet mode, providing the ultimate portability for browsing, reading, and media consumption.|
Benefits And Drawbacks Of Flipping And Folding Options
The flipping and folding options of the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 offer a range of benefits for users. First and foremost, the ability to switch between different modes provides unparalleled flexibility in adapting to various tasks and environments. Whether you are crunching numbers on a spreadsheet or binge-watching your favorite show, this device can be easily adjusted to suit your needs.
Additionally, the tablet mode is a game-changer for those who prefer a more portable and lightweight option. The sleek design and touch-enabled screen make it a pleasure to use in tablet mode, allowing for intuitive navigation and effortless interaction with apps and content.
However, it's worth noting that the folding and flipping mechanism may come with some drawbacks too. The complex hinge system that enables the versatile design makes the device slightly bulkier and heavier compared to a traditional laptop. This may not be an issue for those who prioritize versatility, but it's something to consider if ultra-portability is a top priority.
In conclusion, the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1's flipping and folding options provide an enhanced user experience with their ability to adapt to different usage scenarios. Whether you're a student, professional, or casual user, this versatile device offers the best of both worlds – the power of a laptop and the flexibility of a tablet. With its sleek design and innovative features, it's no wonder that the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 is a favorite among tech enthusiasts.
Unleashing Creativity: Touchscreen And Stylus Support
One of the most exciting features of the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 is its touchscreen display and stylus support. This combination opens up a world of creative possibilities, allowing users to take their artistic endeavors to new heights. In this section, we will delve into the integration and functionality of the touchscreen display, the precision and responsiveness of the stylus pen, and the creative applications and possibilities that come with touchscreen and stylus support.
Integration And Functionality Of Touchscreen Display
The integration and functionality of the touchscreen display on the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 are truly remarkable. With this feature, users can interact with their device in a more intuitive and natural way. Whether it's zooming in and out of images, scrolling through web pages, or swiping through documents, the touchscreen display provides a seamless and effortless experience. The responsive and fluid touch capabilities make navigation a breeze, making it easy to access various applications and features with just the touch of a finger.
Precision And Responsiveness Of The Stylus Pen
For those who crave even more precision and control, the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 also comes with stylus pen support. This innovative accessory allows users to take their creativity to the next level. The stylus pen is exceptionally precise and responsive, providing a natural and lifelike drawing experience. With pressure sensitivity and tilt support, every stroke is captured with remarkable accuracy, allowing artists and designers to create intricate details and bring their visions to life.
Creative Applications And Possibilities With Touchscreen And Stylus Support
The touchscreen and stylus support on the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 open up a world of creative applications and possibilities. Whether you're an artist, designer, or student, the ability to draw, sketch, annotate, and create directly on the screen is invaluable. From digital art to handwritten notes, the touchscreen and stylus pen provide a new level of convenience and functionality. With a wide range of creative software available, users can explore their artistic talents, design stunning visuals, and unleash their creativity like never before.
Moreover, the compatibility of the touchscreen and stylus support with popular design and note-taking applications ensures a seamless workflow. Whether you prefer Adobe Photoshop, CorelDRAW, Microsoft OneNote, or other creative tools, the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 delivers an exceptional experience, allowing you to unleash your creativity without any limitations.
In conclusion, the touchscreen and stylus support on the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 truly unleash creativity in a way that was not possible before. The integration and functionality of the touchscreen display, along with the precision and responsiveness of the stylus pen, provide an unparalleled experience. With a wide range of creative applications and possibilities, this device empowers artists, designers, and students to bring their imagination to life, making the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 the perfect companion for those seeking innovative and versatile tools.
The Power Within: Performance And Battery Life
When it comes to portable productivity, the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 is a force to be reckoned with. This revolutionary device combines high-performance functionality with an exceptional battery life, providing users with the power they need to tackle any task throughout the day. In this section, we will explore the processing power and performance capabilities of the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1, as well as the impact of Intel processors and SSD storage on its overall performance. Additionally, we will delve into the battery life and efficiency of this remarkable device, ensuring that users can stay productive all day long.
Processing Power And Performance Capabilities Of Dell Xps 13 2-in-1
Designed to deliver seam


Example sentences for: advisable
How can you use "advisable" in a sentence? Here are some example sentences to help you improve your vocabulary:
 - There's still some dark sand exposed during low tide, mixed with broken coral, so it is advisable to wear shoes if you want to swim in the sea.
 - If large volumes of synthetic reconstituted water will be needed, it may be advisable to mix 1 L portions of concentrated stock solutions of NaHCO3, MgSO4, and KCl for use in preparation of the reconstituted waters.
 - Moreover, if it is deemed advisable to have the names in alphabetical order to make it easy to find a given street, it would be a simple matter to put Karachi Street between Istanbul and Lisbon Streets, Bach Boulevard between Jerusalem and Copland Boulevards followed by Debussy.
 - If large quantities of high quality deionized water are needed, it may be advisable to supply the laboratory grade water deionizer with preconditioned water from a CULLIGAN®, CONTINENTAL®, or equivalent, mixed-bed water treatment system.
Search for example sentences
Loading Loading...


text:
FG Adopts Quality Control To Address Agric Produce Rejection
Federal Government through the Ministry of Agriculture has affirmed that issues bordering on a rejection of Nigerian produce outside the country would a thing of the past as it put in place Quality Control checks and Standardisation mandate.
Dr Mohammed Umar, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, who represented the Minister, Audu Ogbeh stated this while speaking at the three-day Agriproduce Exportation Summit organised by the Agricultural and Rural Management Institute (ARMTI) Ilorin with the theme: "Smallholders and Rural Agro Producers' Inclusive in Exportation."
He said that this was to ensure best practices in the food handling chain and linking stakeholders and farmers to quality consumption, export drive and for the Agricultural Development Action Plan.
According to him, a major emphasis has been on stimulating the export of these produce towards increasing the nation's foreign exchange earnings.
"In doing this, we are giving attention to meeting the taste and preferences of not only the local but also international consumers in our production choices.
"Government regulations and policies that are well informed, beneficial and backed with relevant research being put in place to execute the mandate professionally," he said.
However, he advised all stakeholders in the sector to be abreast of the standards and conventions for food and agricultural products.
He said that adequate knowledge of regulations and standards was key to reducing the incidence of rejection of the country's products at the international market, stressing that this is important as the country is now leaning towards exportation following noticeable growth in agricultural and food production in the country.
Dr Olufemi Oladunni, Executive Director of ARMTI, said that the agricultural export opportunities are huge and accessible to all players, including smallholder farmers, adding that agriproduce exportation holds a lot of potential that should be unlocked in the country.
He also said that understanding the processes and procedures to export and raising sufficient funds are some of the challenges limiting stakeholders, especially the smallholders and rural agro producer from exploring potentials.
"What we seek to do during this summit is to develop a framework which can be rolled out and implemented within any part of the agricultural sector to encourage smallholder farmers into agro exportation.
"This framework will be such that every state, local government and individual groups can key in and activate this model for proper positioning to turn out export-ready products," he said.
Dr Solomon Sunday, a Commodity Certification Officer in Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) urged intended exporters to seek guidelines from the service before export, stating that this would help to avoid rejection of the country's agricultural commodities.
He also stated that for agricultural produce to meet international standards, farmers needed to get it right from the farm.


text:
Author(s): Powers, Shawn; Murphy, Leah; Banerjee, Abhijit; Pritchett, Land; Zeitlyn, Benjamin; Rose, Pauline; Hunt, Fran; Banerji, Rukmini; Crouch, Luis; Glewwe, Paul
Organisation(s): Health and Education Advice and Resource Team
Pages: 29 p.
Despite increasing numbers of children being enrolled in school, their learning outcomes are often of poor quality. This report looks at the issues and research on poor quality student learning outcomes and what inputs can create the enabling learning environment needed to address this. The report begins with a brief section on the context of the education system in Bangladesh. A key global evidence paper is then presented which provides an overview of many of the issues related to poor learning outcomes in developing countries.


text:
During these unprecedented times, corporate treasurers must deal with a difficult and uncertain new normal.
Drawing relevance of data analytics to the treasury function, Börries Többens – senior manager, finance advisory, KPMG writes: "Analytics serves to derive specific measures/decisions from findings and is upstream from the decision itself. After a decision, however, it comes back into play, since it helps to determine whether or not the decision/measure has led to the desired outcome and if this was effective and efficient. A cash position thus does not come under analytics, and nor does liquidity planning, derived from a mix of posted receivables and liabilities and corporate planning."
According to Sam Wong of EY, there are many areas where the treasury function can use data analytics.
He adds: "In asset and liability management, treasurers can leverage data such as foreign exchange; market value assumptions; mark-to-market (M2M); bank data; rates and spread to conduct analytics for insights into stress testing; interest rate risk management and fund transfer pricing; balance sheet strategy; and multi-factor behaviour models for consolidation.
"In hedging of interest rate risk and FX risk, treasurers can turn to economic fundamentals for each country, and analyse currency to determine the necessary time to hedge. Analytics allows a more efficient process to run simulations to test the effectiveness of hedges and to price complex derivatives.
"Additionally, in cash management treasurers can run detailed transaction analysis to institute cash culture programmes; compress payment terms; accelerate initial customer contact for collections; and consolidate the number of collection paths. On the same note, data analytics can be applied to reconcile the fixed asset book to tax differences and review source data to reconstruct accurate tax fixed asset records for compliance."
Craig Davis of KPMG sums up the significance of data analysis for a treasurer: "Corporate treasury is increasingly becoming critical for the financial health, growth and successes of all organisations. Most corporate treasury groups rely on multiple data sources and solutions to address business needs.
"This approach only brings increased operational difficulties and introduces further risk, rather than addressing actual challenges. At a time when many companies are looking to reduce their IT expenditure, data analytics can offer clear benefits in terms of reduced costs, better forecasts and improved decision-making for critical treasury functions."
Data analytics 101 for treasurers
Here is a mix of traditional and contemporary data analytics techniques that help treasurers to visualise flows and discover hidden patterns, from which the business can draw benefits, ranging from significant savings to strengthened internal controls, and monitoring.
Trend analysis as a data management technique helps treasurers in spotting actionable patterns in the presented information. Corporate treasurers can use this technique to analyse the trend of the company by comparing its financial statements, either with the trend of market or results of the company's past performance.
Revenue and cost analysis of a company's income statement can be arranged on a trend line for multiple reporting periods and examined for trends and inconsistencies. For example, a sudden spike in expense in one period followed by a sharp decline in the next period can indicate to the treasurer that an expense was booked twice in the first month.
When used internally, trend analysis could be one of the most useful management tools available to the corporate treasurer. Trend analysis could be used as a data analytics technique in the following ways:
- Examining revenue patterns to see if sales are declining for certain products, customers, or sales regions.
- Examining expense report claims for evidence of fraudulent claims.
- Examining expense line items to see if there are any unusual expenditures in a reporting period that require additional investigation.
- Extending revenue and expense line items into the future for budgeting purposes, to estimate future results.
Horizontal and vertical analysis
EY's 2016 research, The DNA of the CFO, found that finance leaders are under intense pressure to balance their responsibility for financial stewardship with their role in developing the organisation's future strategy in an age of increased regulation and widespread digital disruption.
Horizontal and vertical data analysis can provide a corporate treasurer with forward-looking reporting since these techniques aim at ascertaining the trend and changes in the financial performance of the company over time and the impact of a particular factor in an accounting year.
In horizontal financial analysis, the comparison is made between an item of financial statement, with that of the base year's corresponding item. On the other hand, in vertical financial analysis, an item of the financial statement is compared with the common item of the same accounting period. While horizontal analysis could be helpful in intra-company comparison, vertical analysis can help in both intra and inter-company comparison.
Regression analysis is a set of statistical methods used for the estimation of relationships between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. It can be utilised to assess the strength of the relationship between variables and for modelling the future relationship between them.
According to Treasury Today, regression calculations could be used in the treasury function to determine the extent to which specific variable factors, such as interest rates or the price of a commodity, influence movements in the price of an asset. In receivables management, for example, the impact of early-payment discounts offered to customers might also lend itself to regression analysis.
One application of regression analysis for treasuries is explained in this article by Darren Greway. He says: "Regression analysis is flexible and may be tailored to the hedging program and risk management objective. Whatever test you decide to use, you must ensure that it accurately reflects the risk you are hedging and that it is applied consistently. Reliability, consistency and flexibility come at the cost of complexity and time. A small hedge program might be effectively managed within a spreadsheet, but for a larger program or multiple hedge programs, a dedicated software solution is the most cost-effective and audit-proof way to implement regression."
Summary data analysis
Summary data analysis is used to count key core indicators, such as the company's annual operating income, annual consumption costs, and annual net profit, which are often the data that decision-makers are most concerned about. Such analysis will certainly count as business intelligence instead of reports.
Bob Stark, head of product and market strategy at Kyriba, says with such business intelligence, treasurers can help their CFOs sleep more soundly: "Quality reporting is a core requirement of treasury, as treasurers are asked to deliver a wide range of reports for management and oversight. Business intelligence helps solve this problem by relying on data visualization instead of displaying rows and columns of data. Dashboards enable business conclusions and outlying information to (figuratively) pop out of the screen, drawing attention to the KPIs and explanatory information that the CFO really wants to see. Instead of forcing executives to scan through reports, business intelligence tools leverage visual features in addition to offering a dynamic "on the fly" interactivity that static reports can never offer."
Treasurers could represent the analysis for this data analytics technique by combining it with a great dashboard for the CFO and the board's perusal towards decision making.
Data comparison analysis
Data has no significance without comparison, and the same is true in financial data analysis. Through the comparison of various indicators, the treasurer can reveal the financial status, operating conditions and cash flow of the company.
One such application is discussed by Ingo Schorn, the head of treasury and Katja Lehner part of the treasury front office at Andreas Stihl, where comparison allows access to a wide range of data and helps to base detailed analysis.
The reference standards for comparative analysis to a corporate treasurer could be:
- Time comparison: Comparing with the actual data of the previous period and the same period of last year
- Entity comparison: Comparing with the data of peers in the same industry
- Result comparison: Comparing with the plan or budget data
- Structural comparison: Based on the composition analysis, compare the structure of the two data and analyse the changes in financial indicators
Data analytics to the rescue
The challenges faced by businesses have become a new front in the battle over the coronavirus. The rapidly changing situation around the coronavirus spread can be taken as an opportunity to combat the worrying outlook.
Though no one has a playbook for this, the measures that corporate treasurer can take in response by adding data analytics to their arsenal might help them over the long term.


text:
Offshore wind hampered by port capability
Analysis of 96 European ports as part of Carbon Trust report reveals few are fully equipped to undertake quay-side operations necessary to support the floating offshore wind sector.
As part of the 'Floating Wind Joint Industry Report', marine consultancy LOC Renewables, together with WavEC and Cathie Associates, examined the logistical challenges relating to floating offshore, including port capability.
"By highlighting the infrastructure challenges facing floating wind we are enabling them to be tackled head-on," said Dr RV Ahilan, joint CEO of LOC Group.
"As the industry develops the necessary technologies to make floating offshore wind commercially viable, there is an urgent need for investment in port infrastructure to avoid delays in the deployment of large-scale floating offshore windfarms."
The report notes that one of the major problems is that few European ports are capable of accommodating all the quay-side manufacturing and assembly required for building and operating large-scale floating windfarms.
For a start, it will require a suitably large onshore area for component set-down and production lines. An area for wet storage of assembled units will also be needed and the port should be close to other operation-capable ports.
But LOC's research revealed that existing port infrastructure is largely insufficient: of 96 European ports analysed, only a few in Scotland, Norway and Spain were suitable for the development and operation of floating offshore windfarms.
LOC said that without a plan to develop a network of appropriate ports, the lack of suitable infrastructure for commercial floating offshore windfarms will lead projects to suffer from increased costs and longer operational lead times. If an assembly port is further from the windfarm site, for example, long and costly tow operations will be necessary.
In terms of vessels and equipment, the report further concluded that current installation and support vessels used for fixed foundation windfarms are likely to prove insufficient and new ones will need to be developed to meet the demands of floating offshore projects.
In particular, if construction is to be carried out offshore, the industry will need to invest in new vessels with greater lifting capacity.
By Anne-Marie Causer
Latest Press Releases
TRELLEBORG LAUNCHES NEW AND IMPROVED FENDER SELECTION TOOL, REDUCING HOURS OF MANUAL CALCULATIONS TO A FEW CLICKS
Trelleborg's marine and infrastructure operation has launched a new and improved online tool for sim... Read more
Large manufactures are keen to support and supply large orders but often the smaller ones attract le... Read more
AST iRAMS Maritime Fuel Saving Analysis Read more
Building for an inland location with Damen Technical Cooperation Read more
On 2nd May, 2019 Damen Shipyards Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Askeri Fabrik... Read more


streams use MRCP to control media resources on external media servers, such as speech synthesizers for TTS and speech recognizers for ASR. The Cisco gateway, running a voice application, and the media servers providing speech recognition and speech synthesis, maintain a client/server relationship through an RTSP connection; the gateway is the RTSP client and the RTSP server is the streaming media server providing speech recognition and speech synthesis.
While doing speech recognition, the gateway creates a separate G.711 u-law RTP stream to the media server, enabling the gateway to simultaneously perform speech synthesis or play audio files using a different codec.
If speech recognition or synthesis is not working, Table: Speech Recognition or Synthesis Fails lists some possible causes and the actions that you can take.
Table: Speech Recognition or Synthesis Fails
Possible Causes Suggested Actions
Server is not configured either on the Cisco gateway or in the VoiceXML document.
Verify that the server location is configured by using at least one of these methods:
 - Globally on the gateway by using the ivr asr-server or ivr tts-server command. Refer to the Cisco IOS TCL and VoiceXML Application Guide.
 - With the com.cisco.asr-server or com.cisco.tts-server property in the VoiceXML document. Refer to the Cisco VoiceXML Programmer's Guide.
Gateway cannot access external ASR or TTS server or server is not running.
Ping the external server to make sure that the gateway has connectivity.
RTSP or MRCP errors are occurring between the gateway and the media server.
See the Troubleshooting ASR and TTS Server Functionality.
Troubleshooting ASR and TTS Server Functionality
SUMMARY STEPS
 1. debug vxml error and debug vxml event
 2. debug mrcp error
 3. debug rtsp error, debug rtsp session, and debug rtsp socket
DETAILED STEPS
1. Use the debug vxml error and debug vxml event commands to verify that the external media server is reachable and its location is configured on the gateway or in the VoiceXML document. In the following example, the application failed because the media server is not configured on the gateway or in the VoiceXML document.:
 Router# debug vxml error
 Router# debug vxml event
 *Jan 5 18:24:19.507: //62/36CA25A68036/VXML:/vxml_vapp_tts:
 tftp://demo/sample/banking.vxml at line 17: vapp_tts() fail with vapp error 1
 **Jan 5 18:24:19.507: //62/36CA25A68036/VXML:/vxml_event_proc:
 *Jan 5 18:24:19.507: <event>: event=error.badfetch status=0
 *Jan 5 18:24:19.507: //62/36CA25A68036/VXML:/vxml_default_event_handler:
 use default event handler
 *Jan 5 18:24:19.507: //62/36CA25A68036/VAPP:/vapp_session_exit_event_name: Exit Event
 error.badfetch
 *Jan 5 18:24:19.507: //62/36CA25A68036/VAPP:/vapp_session_exit_event_name: Exit Event
 error.badfetch
 *Jan 5 18:24:19.507: //62/36CA25A68036/VAPP:/vapp_session_exit_event_name: Exit Event Name
 already set to error.badfetch
 *Jan 5 18:24:19.507: //62/36CA25A68036/VXML:/vxml_vapp_terminate: vapp_status=0 ref_count 0
 *Jan 5 18:24:19.507: //62/36CA25A68036/VXML:/vxml_vapp_terminate: vxml session terminating
 with code=ERROR
 vapp status=VAPP_SUCCESS vxml async status=VXML_ERROR_BAD_FETCH
In the following example, the application failed because the media server is either unreachable or is not running.
 *Jan 5 18:36:44.451: //83/ECD9B163804B/VXML:/vxml_media_done: : media play failed to setup
 with VAPP error=31, protocol_status_code=0
 *Jan 5 18:36:44.451: <event>: event=error.com.cisco.media.resource.unavailable status=0
 *Jan 5 18:36:44.451: //83/ECD9B163804B/VXML:/vxml_default_event_handler:
 use default event handler
 *Jan 5 18:36:44.451: //83/ECD9B163804B/VAPP:/vapp_session_exit_event_name: Exit Event
 error.com.cisco.media.resource.unavailable
 *Jan 5 18:36:44.451: //83/ECD9B163804B/VAPP:/vapp_session_exit_event_name: Exit Event
 error.com.cisco.media.resource.unavailable
 *Jan 5 18:36:44.451: //83/ECD9B163804B/VAPP:/vapp_session_exit_event_name: Exit Event Name
 already set to error.com.cisco.media.resource.unavailable
 *Jan 5 18:36:44.451: //83/ECD9B163804B/VXML:/vxml_vapp_terminate: vapp_status=0 ref_count 0
2. Use the debug mrcp error command to verify the connection between the gateway and the server. The following example shows the error when the RTSP connection to the server fails:
 Router# 'debug mrcp error
 *May 9 20:29:09.936:Connecting to 10.1.2.58:554 failed
The following error occurs when the response from the server is incorrect:
 *May 9 20:29:09.936:Response from 10.1.2.58:554 failed
 *May 9 20:29:09.936:MRCP/1.0 71 422 COMPLETE
The following error occurs when the recognize request comes out of sequence:
 *May 9 20:29:09.936:act_idle_recognize:ignoring old recognize request
3. Use the debug rtsp error, debug rtsp session, and debug rtsp socket commands to verify the RTSP connection with the media server, for example:
The following message displays if the RTSP connection fails:
 *Sep 25 15:02:32.052: //-1//RTSP:/rtsplib_connect_to_svr: Socket Connect failed:
 172.19.140.31:554
The following message displays if the RTSP client receives an incorrect response from the server:
 *Sep 25 15:03:35.062: //-1//RTSP:/rtsp_process_single_svr_resp: Parse Server Response failed,
 172.19.140.31:554
The following message displays if the codec configured on the IP side is not G.711:
 *Sep 25 15:05:15.765: //-1//RTSP:/rtsplib_rtp_associate_done: Association mismatch
Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)
Personal tools