Tag: we

How our sense of taste changes as we age

Taste is a complex phenomenon. We do not experience the sensation through a single sense (as we would when we see something using our sense of sight, for example) but rather it is made up of the five senses working together to allow us to appreciate and enjoy food and drink. Initial visual inspection of

Eating more of this nutrient supports muscle strength as we age

If protein is the king of muscle mass food, nitrate might just be the king of muscle strength food. A new Australian study has found eating nitrate-rich vegetables like spinach, rocket and lettuce significantly improves muscle strength and physical function as we age. Power food … the nitrates in spinach, the vegetable which fuelled Popeye’s

We Need to Stop With the #BoyMom Nonsense

If you look on Instagram, you’ll find 6.6 million #BoyMom posts and only 2 million #GirlMom posts. I’m guilty of it. Many are. We take pride in our kids. And because of that, we sometimes take pride in the uncontrollable pieces of them, like their gender. But when you dig a little deeper and really

Preeclampsia: We can do more

Each year, more than 10,000 pregnant women in Australia suffer from preeclampsia and 30,000 die from it on a global level. The condition, characterized by high blood pressure, can be fatal and have long-term health effects for both mothers and babies. It causes the death of 780 babies each day. These numbers, according to Dean

'We wouldn't be making jokes about heart disease'

A 20-something sees a meme on Facebook, chuckles, and tags their friend. "Can't have seasonal depression if you're depressed all year 'round," the meme's text reads. Over the past few years, changes in the Facebook algorithm have led to feeds of most young people being taken over by memes commented on or "liked" by their

Why We Should Start Taxing Sugary Soft Drinks In Australia

More Australians are overweight and obese than every before. Obesity alone is estimated to cost Australian taxpayers over $5.3billion per year. The Grattan Institute is calling for the government to implement a tax on non-alcoholic sugary beverages in a bid to halt growing obesity rates. The proposed tax, similar to the way cigarettes and leaded

Why we need to figure out a theory of consciousness

Understanding the biology behind consciousness (or self-awareness) is considered by some to be the final frontier of science. And over the last decade, a fledgling community of “consciousness scientists” have gathered some interesting information about the differences between conscious and unconscious brain activity. But there remains disagreement about whether or not we have a theory


Question lists

Q: Which desert is mapmaker Ralph Fiennes charting in The English Patient? a) Gobi, b) Kalahari, or c) Sahara?

A: c) Sahara

Choose your quiz questions


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Clinks supports, represents and campaigns for the voluntary sector working with offenders. Clinks aims to ensure the sector and all those with whom they work, are informed and engaged in order to transform the lives of offenders and their communities

Pro Bono Economics matches volunteer economists with charities wishing to address questions around measurement, results and impact.

The Outcomes Star™ both measures and supports progress for service users towards self-reliance or other goals. The Stars are designed to be completed collaboratively as an integral part of keywork.

GtD is built on a detailed understanding of the information systems used in criminal justice, youth justice, health, and education.  It was established to meet a growing demand from organisations to have regular information to manage their work.  This demand has been given further impetus with a greater need to produce clear outcome data for funders and commissioners.

Project Oracle is a children and youth evidence hub that aims to improve outcomes for young people in London. We do this by building the capacity of providers and funders to develop and commission evidence-based projects, creating an ecosystem in which evidence is widely gathered, used and shared. We also work with specific "cohorts" or sub-sets of the sector to embed good practice, and at a national and international level to promote the wider use of evaluation and evidence.


Hicham Chajai

Hicham Chajai est né en France d’origine marocaine. Pendant ses études d’ingénieur à Paris, il a eu l’opportunité d’assister à des cours de calligraphie avec le maître syrien Frédéric Fattal. Celui-ci lui a enseigné les techniques rigoureuses du Diwani et du Koufi. Hicham Chajai a ensuite parcouru diverses régions du monde pendant ses études et sa vie professionnelle. Sa créativité et sa passion lui ont permis de développer sa propre expression.

Poussé par sa forte volonté de construire des ponts entre les peuples, il a organisé diverses expositions, ateliers et séminaires avec des entreprises, des universités ainsi qu’au sein du réseau des Centres Culturels Français. À travers l’Europe, l’Afrique et le Moyen-Orient, des échanges continus avec des artistes locaux l’ont aidé à innover et à partager ses connaissances.

Le voyage à travers ce site vous donnera un aperçu de son esprit innovant. Vous pouvez le contacter si vous voulez explorer avec lui de nouvelles idées pour la calligraphie.

La Calligraphie est l’Art d’écrire de belles lettres. Cet Art a été largement développé dans le monde arabo-musulman. Le Diwani, le Thuluth, le Koufi, et le Farsi comptent parmi les styles incontournables créés au gré du temps et des empires. Les règles strictes dans la construction de l’alphabet n’ont rien enlevé à l’expression de la beauté, de l’harmonie et de l’émotion. Cette combinaison parfaite a permis à la calligraphie arabe de devenir un art authentique. La calligraphie peut être trouvée sur une grande variété de supports tels que livres saints, tableaux, documents officiels, ornements architecturaux, etc.

Ces dernières années, la Calligraphie Moderne a exploré de nouvelles frontières et adopté de nouvelles formes d’expression. La créativité des calligraphes a permis la pérennisation de cette combinaison harmonieuse de la technicité avec la beauté, des mathématiques avec les émotions. Les styles historiques sont toujours vivants et de nouveaux styles florissent s’inspirant des techniques particulières de la peinture, de la sculpture, des dessins 3D, du street art, etc.

Hicham Chajai présente sur ce site sa nouvelle vision de la calligraphie. Bon voyage !!!

    Arabic calligraphy is a millenary art that harmoniously links tradition and modernity.

    Its history is extraordinary. As it spread from Andalusia to China, passing through Maghreb, the Middle East, Turkey and Iran along the way, calligraphers continually enriched the art with new styles, new techniques and new influences.

    This course focuses on Diwani style, using an innovative pedagogical approach adapted to all levels that will make learning easier through the combination of short moves and simplified schematics.

    You will find advice on how to select your pen, ink and paper in the “tools” section.

    The First Step section focuses on 24 geometrical shapes. These are derived by breaking down the letters of the alphabet into simple elements. Click on the thumbnail to see the corresponding technical folder, which contains schematics and animation. This approach will help you learn the letters more efficiently and will also liberate your imagination once you get started with art creation.

    The alphabet section is also interactive, with an identical structure. Exercises are organized by level. Through these exercises, you will learn to combine letters in a word and link them to the typographic style.

    Art exercises are presented in the last section. From a simple shape such as a drop, these exercises will show you the mechanisms for transforming linear writing into an artistic figure. The objective is to help you develop the autonomy that will enable you to create your own artwork.

    2.  HISTORY

    Writing is a system of conventional graphic signs that allows communication within a group of people who speak a common language. The most ancient system of writing that we know of dates from around 3.500 BC and was found in Mesopotamia in the city of Uruk. It was the handwriting of the Sumerians, and because of its geometrical aspect it was called “cuneiform.”

    This kind of writing was mainly used for commercial and administrative purposes.

    The Sumeric language was supplanted by the Accadic as the region’s language of exchange, and then later replaced by Aramaic around 2.000 BC. The Aramaic language is graphically characterized by 22 letters. This particularity distinguished it from the past systems, which were composed of hundreds of signs.

    From Aramaic, many different kinds of writing were generated, including the important Semitic group. Arabic writing is one component of this group (Early Aramaic, Nabatean, Arabic).

    Initially Arabic writing was very simple and without artistic elements, but the arrival of Islam with the transcription of the Holy Qur’an dramatically changed this writing. Orthographic reforms and new developments also appeared, along with a wide diffusion.

    Arabic calligraphy was developed not only through the Arabic language but also through other languages that adopted the Arabic alphabet, such as Turkish (before Ataturk’s reform) and Persian. This is a reminder of the fact that for centuries, peoples of other idioms from Andalusia to Indonesia were using this alphabet and consequently greatly influenced its artistic development.

    Starting from the simple transcription of a text, we arrived eventually at calligraphy, one of the pillars of the Arab Islamic arts. The Islamic prohibition on figurative representation in all religious monuments reinforced the artistic development of this expression. Calligraphy is used not only in the pictorial arts, but also in handicrafts (lamps, plates, etc.) and architecture.

    Calligraphic art often celebrates a divine message (verses of the Qur’an, hadith of the Prophet), but is also used for proverbs, poems or as a purely decorative element with the repetition of patterns.

    As mentioned above, the reproduction of the Qur’an had a major role in the development of calligraphy. In fact the expansion of Islam and the conversion of the non-Arab populations of the new Muslim areas opened calligraphy up to the artistic contribution of hundreds of new calligraphers with different artistic influences and training. Thus, over 15 centuries, many different historical and geographical contexts produced different styles and even some parallel evolutions, because of the plurality of cultural centers.

    Many individual calligraphers influenced the history of Arabic calligraphy (al-khatt al-arabi), transforming it and helping it evolve from a simple ensemble of lines into the art of the line. (Al-khatt means line as well as calligraphy.)

    After the systematic review of the Qur’an required by the Caliph Uthmaan, Abuu al-Aswad al-du’alii introduced a system of vocalization (tashkil) with colored dots. Each vowel was represented with a specific color.

    These calligraphers introduced the diacritic dots, which are the dots that are written above or below letters to distinguish between homographic letters that are otherwise easily mistaken for one another.

    A lexicographer from Basra, he invented some signs to indicate short vowels and other orthographic indications:

    fath_a / kasrah / _dammah /
    was_la, connection sign /
    tashdid, doubling sign /
    sukuun, sign of absence of a vowel after a consonant
    tanwiin, nunation of a final vowel, desinence of a word

    IBN MUQLA (IX century)
    Ibn Muqla lived during the Abbasid era and was involved in calligraphy as well as in politics, the humanities and geometry. No original manuscript survives of his summary of calligraphy, only copies. He was one of the first to formulate a theoretical vision for this art. He established the basics of proportionate writing (al-khatt al-mansub), based on three fundamental elements:

    · the dot (nuqta), which is the origin of every line and is used to measure the dimensions of the letters
    · the line (khatt), which is a succession of dots, represented by the letter “alif”
    · the circle, the diameter of which is defined by the size of the “alif. It represents the space within which each letter must be drawn.

    IBN AL BAWWAB – Abuu Al-Hassan Ibn Hilal Al Kaatib Al Baghdaadi Ibn Al-Bawwaab (X-XI century )
    A student of Ibn Muqla, he continued to develop the aesthetic concepts of his master, underlining the importance of equilibrium, measure and space. Moving beyond the concept of harmony between letters, he created the concept of elegance. From his concepts arose the Persian school of calligraphy.

    Furthermore, he and his master established the six basic styles that every good calligrapher had to study: aaqlaam as-sitta: muh_aqqaq, riih_aan, thuluth, nashkh,tawqii’ variation of thuluth,riqaa’ simplified version of tawqii’.

    A musician, poet, and philosopher as well as calligrapher, it was his innovation to cut the top of the calam (a reed pen used in Arabic calligraphy) at an oblique angle in order to accentuate the differences while writing between the thick and thin parts of the letters. From him arose the Turkish school of calligraphy.

    Calligraphers used to have a very important position in society. The technical skills of calligraphy reached such a level that it was impossible to copy them without very extensive training. Calligraphers were pillars of the political power. Calligraphy also played an important role in the spread of religion and in the symbolization and personification of power.
    Since the development of modern communication technologies, calligraphers have lost this specific role in society. Nevertheless, the practice of calligraphy has not lost its strength, thanks to its artistic development.
    Modern calligraphers are always inventing news tools, new fonts, and new bases adapted to their vision of the art.
    As an example, Hassan Massoudy introduced the use of very wide and colorful letters where the objective is more to create a feeling or an emotion than to deliver a written message.

    3.  STYLES

    Over the centuries, the development of calligraphy occurred within different historical periods (Omayyad, Abbasid, etc.) and in multiple regions. These circumstances gave birth to many different schools (Persian, Turkish, Maghrebian, Indian, Chinese, etc.) and of course to different fonts and styles

    Kufi: The kufi style takes its name from the city where it was born: Kufa in Iraq. This style developed during the era of the second caliph Omar. Kufa was at that time the political and cultural capital of the Islamic world.

    Kufi style is characterized by the use of geometric shapes such as straight lines, angles and concave lines. This style does not have strict composition rules, so it is more flexible for ornaments.

    One of the first styles in Arabic calligraphy, Kufi used to be the most favoured for copying the Qur’an. There are more than 60 variants of Kufi style. Some of the principal variants are:
    · the muraqa’–flowery or leafy
    · the muz-far–ascendant and braided
    · the handasii–with geometrical letters

    Kufi style was largely used for the incision of coins and for the decoration of monuments.
    Thuluth: The Thuluth style was created from the Tumar style by the Baghdad school. Thuluth means one-third. In fact, the tumar calam was reduced to one-third, from 24 horsehair wide to 8. The standard format of the paper (110×74 cm) was also called tumar.
    This ratio of one-third appears in many other aspects of this style, for example:
    · in the proportion between the straight lines and the curved ones
    · in the aspect of the letters (head, body, tail)

    The thuluth is the most complete style for the gestures, and studying it gives the student versatility in approaching all the other styles. It may be used for all kinds of geometrical compositions: squared, round or specular.
    This style is frequently used to decorate religious buildings.
    Nashkh: This style was encoded in the X century by Ibn Muqla and his brother. It can be defined as the style of the “half.” For the vertical lines, the pen is oriented in such a way that only half of a full width is drawn. For horizontal lines, the full width is used.
    The main objectives of this style are readability and simplicity, not composition. Therefore it is widely used for all kinds of manuscripts and even as typography for books and newspapers.
    Nastalik (farsi): This style was created in the XIV century in Persia by Miir ‘aali bn hasan, who modified the cut of the calam.
    Nastalik is a contraction of two names–nashkh and talik–which correspond to two styles. Nastalik results from the fusion of these styles. It is used without vocalization and mainly to write the Persian language. During centuries, it was particularly used for writing the texts of miniatures and the transcriptions of poems. Today it is also used in countries such as Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan which use an Arabic-based alphabet.
    Diwani: This style was created in response to the desire of the Ottoman powers to have a script different from the one used by the religious community and the scientists. The Ottomans created a style for the diwan (chancellery) in order to edit imperial orders and for internal use by the sultan and his court. The diwani style was encoded by Ibraahiim Muniif in the XV century. At the end of this century, this style was so successful that it spread out to become one of the major calligraphic styles.
    Extremely versatile, it is characterized by a 30-degree inclination of its lines, and by the harmony between strict rules of construction and freedom of composition. It results in balanced words in a rich and highly artistic composition.
    Among the most famous compositions with Diwani, you can find the Tughraa, which is the official seal of the sultan.
    Riqa’a: The name of this style should not be confused with the name of riqaa,a variation of thuluth.
    A Turkish invention, the riqa’a style was used along with diwani for the chancellery’s official documents. Moreover this style was used for the comments and notes written on the side of the Qur’an, not to be confused with the main text itself.
    Its rules were established very late in the second part of the XIX century by the Turkish master Mumtaz Mustapha, counselor to the Ottoman sultan Abdelmajid khan. Though the first examples are dated from the end of the IX century, its use is relatively recent. It was born out of the need for a simple, easy to copy calligraphy.
    The Riqa’a is characterized by the same way of holding and cut of the calam as in diwani, and by an economy of moves, long lines, simplicity and small-sized letters. In fact the « alif, » which is usually eight points tall, is reduced to three points tall. Moreover because it is a very simplified style, it has limited possibilities of composition and no vocalization. Nowadays, this style is used a lot for the press.
    Maghribii: The Maghrebi (or Maghribii) is a style influenced by the kufi and the Andalusian styles. It is mainly used in the three countries of Maghreb, but also in other Arabic-speaking countries including Sudan and Mauritania.
    The three main types of this style are the Andaluusii, the Qayrawani (from the city of Qayrawan) and the Fasi (from Fes).
    The Maghrebi is used frequently in manuscripts and architectural decorations (for instance the Alhambra) and it has no strict rules. The calam has a particular cut: the angles are rounded and it has a central incision on the top of the reed to stock the ink

    4.  TOOLS

    The calam is one of the oldest writing tools. Antique Egyptians were already using it on papyrus. Made out of reed, rigid and flexible at the same time, its edge is cut in such a way that writing delivers charming and delicate plain and thin lines.

    Step 1: Select a bamboo reed approximately 1-2 cm in diameter and 20 cm long

    Step 2: Cut the edge of the reed strongly with a sharp knife in order to get a beak shape.

    Step 3: Carve the head of the calam with two identical and curved cuts, one on the right and one on the left, leaving a beak of about 4 cm

    Step 4: Put the pen on a hard surface to cut the beak at an angle of 30 degrees

    Step 5: File the edge with sandpaper for adjustment. This will help your pen slide comfortably on your paper.

    The ink: In the past, the different calligraphic schools had different recipes for the ink that were adapted to the characteristics of the support to be used, i.e., paper, leather, etc.

    The ink was mainly prepared with plants or animal fats, to which were added different kinds of dusts or sulfate for color and natural glues for consistency. For practical reasons, each calligrapher kept only a small quantity of ink in a little container. Before beginning to write, he would mix concentrated ink with water and a small quantity of sugar (for its fixing power). Thanks to these recipes the ink dries at surface and gets darker with time.

    The chemical inks (commonly called Chinese Ink) now used are dry quickly and maintain their stability well over time.

    Traditionally, the calligrapher used to put a wad of crude silk inside the little container. Nowadays, an alternative can be a small piece of nylon tights. This helps to control the quantity of ink on the nib of the reed pen and thus prevent big drops on the paper.

    The paper: Papyrus was the most favoured support and was preferred to parchment, which does not let the reed pen slip freely. As writing is performed from right to left, this latter characteristic is important. Shining paper from China started to arrive, but without success despite the fact that the reed pen could slide easily. In the IX century, similar kinds of paper were crafted in Baghdad and Samarkand. The use of this paper later spread throughout the Mediterranean area and then all over Europe.

    The paper can be easily coloured with natural pigments such as saffron or coffee. The pigments are boiled in water in which you soak the paper for few minutes and then leave to dry.

    Pen: Metallic pen are easier to use than traditional reed pens. Unfortunately, most calligraphic pens are designed for Latin calligraphy with perpendicular cut instead of oblique. Nevertheless, these pens can be used for Arabic calligraphy, with the inconvenience that the position of the hand will be less comfortable.

    In the tutorial, the pens that are used are the metallic Pilot Parallel pens (6 mm and 3,8 mm), which provide a nice distribution of the ink flow. A calligraphy pen holder with metal nibs will also provide excellent results.

    An alternative method for getting oblique cuts can be to use a left-handed Latin pen.

    Ink: Standard scholar Chinese ink is more than enough for beginners, as it dries quickly and does not interfere with slippage.

    Paper: Glossy paper is preferred, because the pen will slide easily more easily (for example, the back of calendar pages).

    The objective of this module is to make you familiar with how to hold the calligraphic pen and the use of ink. You will also learn to draw the main curves of this calligraphic style.

    All the curves in this module are obtained by separating letters into elementary shapes. By focusing on these elementary shapes, you will learn and understand the Arabic letters much more efficiently. This geometrical approach will enhance your imagination for your personal artistic creations.

    I recommend that you start this module with the chapters « Holding the pen » and « Using ink. »

    Each box in the table contains a link to a chapter describing the elementary curve with:

    · a scheme describing the geometric rules that builds the curve
    · a sequence showing the right order to draw the curve
    · some advice providing you with the main tips
    · a short video

    A legend describing all signs used in the chapter is located below the video.

    6.  ALPHABET

    The Arabic alphabet comprises 28 letters and is written from right to left. The shape of a letter varies according to its position within the word–isolated, beginning, median or final. Unlike the Latin alphabet, Arabic has no capital letters.

    Some letters are never linked with the adjacent letter on the left side, even inside a word. For this reason, a word can be discontinuous.

    Some letters are homographic, that is, they share the same body but their diacritic dots vary from one to three and are located either above or below the body. Therefore, you can form 28 letters with only 19 bodies.

    Another characteristic of Arabic script is the absence of short vowels. Vowels are identified by small signs located either above or below the corresponding letter. As these signs are not compulsory, the Arabic language can become very difficult to read.


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Truffle Media Update for May 1, 2012, Agvocacy 2.0 Farmer Social Media Training

Marketing and Agriculture Posts To Help You

  1. Applications Being Accepted For Agvocacy 2.0 Farmer Social Media Training - The application for the third-annual Agvocacy 2.0 social media training conference is now available. The two-day event in Kansas City, MO, will explore how farmers can effectively share agriculture’s message using social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, blogs and mobile applications [blog].
  2. Develop Your Data Journalism - The Data Journalism Handbook has just been released, containing case studies on how people are using data in journalism. How does data journalism apply to agriculture? When the Environmental Working Group wanted to make a point about their position on farm subsidies, they did not just write an article or blog post about it. They made the Farm Subsidies Database, an easy web tool for anyone to look up subsidies by state, Congressional district, ZIP code, etc. Right or wrong, this approach gained a ton of press and follow-up posts on multiple blogs, reinforcing EWG's point of view with the general public. What kinds of agriculture data can be organized into usable tools to help the public better understand agriculture [book]?
  3. NAMA Wrap-up - You can discover what you may have missed at the 2012 National Agri-Marketing Association Annual Conference on the page. Also, Twitter was one of the channels to quickly see what was happening during the conference. The list of who Tweeted is at , the top three Tweeters were @iowastatenama, @agriblogger and @rebeccahannam, and all the tweets from April 17-21 are at [blog].
  4. SwineCast Video: What is the African Swine Fever Situation in Russia? - African Swine Fever, aka Asfarviridae, a swine specific virus that does not effect humans, is a hardy virus. Dr. Lisa Becton, Director of Swine Health Information & Research, National Pork Board, digs into the specifics of this disease, the pig symptoms, and what can be done when an outbreak occurs. Is the US prepared [video]?
  5. PoultryCast Audio: How Will The Antimicrobial Regulation Revisions Affect Poultry? - The American Veterinary Medical Association is working to limit losses in the antimicrobial area of the animal health toolbox, as Dr. Christine Hoang notes in the brief segment from the recent National Institute for Animal Agriculture Annual Meeting [audio].
  6. DairyCast Audio: EPA and Agriculture's Side? - Attorney and Illinois farmer Gary Baise once played a role in the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. He tells the annual meeting of the National Institute for Animal Agriculture that the agency is now establishing regulations that will end modern agriculture [audio].

The Truffle Media Networks team


Coverage of the Bucks’ run in the NBA Playoffs 🏀

Apple and Google charter buses vandalized on highway

The latest robot from Google can twirl with the grace of a figure skater and jump over tall obstacles. The company's Boston Dynamics unit recently showed off a new robot called Handle. Resembling a human with a torso, two arms and legs, Handle's feet have been replaced by wheels.

Buses carrying Apple and Google employees to and from work in the San Francisco Bay Area have been the target of flying objects.

On Tuesday, four buses carrying Apple staffers and one shuttling Google employees were involved in a series of incidents on Interstate 280. Another incident, involving an Apple bus, occurred last week.

The California Highway Patrol told CNN Tech several windows were shattered in the five cases.

It’s unknown who is behind the incidents, but considering the buses were unmarked, the perpetrator might not be targeting one specific company, according to CHP Officer Art Montiel.

The California Highway Patrol is working with tech companies to investigate.

“We are not certain as to what caused the damage, but there haven’t been any injuries,” Montiel told CNN Tech.

Apple, Google and other tech giants like Facebook provide daily charter buses to shuttle employees from San Francisco and Oakland to their Silicon Valley headquarters.

The incidents occurred during morning and evening commute times.

Related: Tech buses to become permanent in San Francisco

Beginning in 2013, protesters criticized the shuttle buses for being disruptive and dangerous, and considered them symbols of gentrification in San Francisco.

These shuttle buses have been targeted with vandalism before. In 2014, protesters climbed and vomited on top of a Yahoo bus.

Apple and Google did not respond to requests for comment.


Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Master of Science

Roberts, William A.

2nd Supervisor

Sherry, David F.

Episodic memory is a unique, personal memory that contains what happened, where it happened, and when it happened. Although episodic-like memory (ELM) in non-human animals has been shown using what-where-when (WWW) memory paradigms, it has not previously been shown in dogs. Dogs are an excellent candidate for developing translational models of neurodegenerative disorders related to episodic memory, including Alzheimer’s disease. Dogs were tested on experiments that involved spatially and temporally unique odour sequences. Dogs were tested to see if they remembered the odours, their locations, and their time of presentation by choosing the earlier-exposed odour at the test. Findings suggest that dogs can encode ELM, can flexibly use WWW memory on unpredictable tests, and can solve a similar what-where task without odours. My study reveals the usefulness of utilizing olfactory cues to study ELM, and its potential usefulness in examining other aspects of cognition in dogs.


Kellie Dupree

Sascha Cordner / WFSU-FM

A legislative effort is underway to make it a separate crime in Florida to cause the death or injury of an unborn child. the bill doesn’t differentiate based on intent or the child’s stage of development.

It’s currently a crime to cause or contribute to the death of what’s called an “unborn quick child,” —that is, a fetus that can live outside the womb. But legislation filed by Lakeland Senator Kelli Stargel and Seminole Representative Larry Ahern would expand the definition to include any pregnancy.


Enneagram 3 and 4 relationship deal breakers

50 Things That Should Be Relationship Dealbreakers | Thought Catalog

3 Popular Relationship Deal Breakers That Actually Aren't For many women, our list of deal breakers is so long it's hard to find any man who fits the are considered a happy-stable conflict type among married couples. INFJs are known for being perfectionists in relationships. and agendas, and this will be a major deal-breaker for them in any relationship. . You'll also get a 3-day email course for understanding your personality type better!. I'm not talking about romantic relationships, especially. Type 4w5 3. they do something to acknowledge my existence positively 4. . If all of the above exists and I see one big deal breaker (something I can't stand) then I.

Express your own desires and needs.

Enneagram 6 relationship problems : Enneagram

Develop comfort in expressing anger. Recognize and work with the polarity in the two types. A tendency toward excess, going from impulse to action, an all-or-nothing style of attending my way or the highway stanceinsensitivity regarding impact on others. What To Appreciate In Perfectionists. Restraint, conscientiousness, high ethical standards, striving for improvement, industry, fairness, attention to detail. Practice moderating impulsivity and impact. Type 1, the Perfectionist, and Type 9, the Mediator Synergies and Challenges Key Conflicts Perfectionists and Mediators often join together in attending to detail and leading an orderly, steady life.

Inattention to feelings, excessive focus on work and accomplishments, desire for recognition, and shared focus of wanting approval and constructing a good image. Support and care, relationship orientation, generosity, positivity, flexibility, and sensitivity to the needs and feelings of others.

Encourage the Observer to move forward into life and feelings. Positivity and support, open-heartedness, engagement in life, social skills, generosity, and relationship focus. Move into feelings and stay engaged in life. Allow for dependency and nurturance. Thus, while appreciating Givers support and care, Loyal Skeptics may back off from or confront what they experience as too much attention.

A cycle of ever-increasing conflict can occur as the Epicure, feeling smothered and limited, can respond with escapism and rationalization and the Giver with angry outbursts and emotionality, possibly resulting in alienation and deterioration and even destruction of the relationship. Disowned needs and desires, preoccupation with relationship and connection, and tendency to become inadvertently emotionally controlling.

The many interests and ideas, healthy self-interest, idealism, flexibility, and the shared optimism and quest for happiness Key Tasks for Building and Sustaining Relationship. Develop autonomy the separate or independent self. Work on providing the Epicure with space while maintaining connection.

Power and strength, assertiveness, encouragement and support of desires, zest for life, directness, and protectiveness. Practice holding ground, expressing self directly, and claiming own needs. Work at accepting, not changing, the Protector. Develop the separate or independent self. Become aware of and moderate intrusiveness and emotionality that the Protector experiences as controlling.

They may become alienated and lonely leading eventually to termination the relationship. Pressure to move ahead, focus mainly on tasks and goals, impatience with analysis, shared difficulty in expressing personal feelings, and tendency to cut corners.

Practice trusting in plausible positive actions. Be clear about own position and feelings. Pay attention to and express positives. Reduce tendency to either defer or challenge. Since both types avoid painful feelings and negatives, difficulties can reach crisis proportions before they are faced. This cycle of blame creates pain and anger in both. If the difficulties are not faced, alienation can take place and the relationship can dissolve.

Shared optimism and go-getter energy, mental quickness and inventiveness, positive possibility orientation, flexibility, and the playful adventuresome spirit. Allow in painful feelings and seeming negatives and encouraging the Epicure to do likewise.

  • 50 Things That Should Be Relationship Dealbreakers

Practice slowing the fast pace and allow in receptive force. Develop patience by noticing the tendency toward impatience and releasing from it. Positive active energy, accomplishment and solution orientation, disciplined goal focus, practicality, and caring through doing.

Allow in painful feelings and seeming negatives, encourage the Performer to do likewise. Come more into the present moment and away from future planning.

Type 3, the Performer, and Type 8, the Protector Synergies and Challenges Key Conflicts Performers and Protectors can join together in pursuit of shared goals with vigor and determination. However, control and competition struggles can emerge unbuffered by softer feelings. A cycle of escalating conflict can ensue with the Protector picking up on the changes of position on the part of the shape-shifting Performer, leading to more provocation of the all-or-nothing style of confrontation.

Hurtful fights, withdrawal, and disruption of the relationship may ensue leading to termination the relationship.

Strait-forwardness, big life energy, support for goals, action orientation, courage of convictions, and strength of purpose. Welcome negative feedback and challenge. Pay attention to own true feelings. Encourage the Protector to express his or her softer more vulnerable side. They both suffer from questions about their own identity and have hidden feelings of shame and worthlessness. These two types secretly compare themselves with others and have more or less openly competitive tendencies.

Much will depend on how narcissistically wounded each person is—and therefore how much they will be vying for approval, attention, and recognition. Both Threes and Fours need attention and to feel appreciated, although Threes will be more able to openly seek these things.

Fours will typically want far more emotional involvement and intimacy than Threes are comfortable with or even capable of providing.

A related problem is that neither type really sees the other as they are: Fours may see Threes as a rescuer and as embodiment of everything they lack, whereas Threes may see Fours as an exotic, mysterious sexual or artistic trophy that enhances their desirability.


Energy & Green Tech

UK reaches jolly good milestone in days without coal

The UK has gone more than five days without burning coal, the longest streak without burning the fuel since the Industrial Revolution, said Bloomberg. It breaks the previous record from earlier this year, a total of 90 hours.

System uses 'deep learning' to detect cracks in nuclear reactors

Computer Sciences

What an artificial intelligence researcher fears about AI

As an artificial intelligence researcher, I often come across the idea that many people are afraid of what AI might bring. It's perhaps unsurprising, given both history and the entertainment industry, that we might be afraid ...

Energy & Green Tech

Nuclear power is set to get a lot safer (and cheaper) – here's why

Energy & Green Tech

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One Of The Good Days

A Look Into My Autistic Brain

SOBBING BREAKDOWNS, or the narrow averting of them, aren’t just something that happens on a bad day. This is one of the things I’m not sure people understand about the autistic brain.

Today at my nonprofit project, since the weather was nice and we had enough people on hand, we had our first visiting hours since relocating in late December. The first public visitors, in fact, that the goats have had for two months or so, since we’d closed up shop before the move in order to focus our weekends on doing the necessary work.

We spent the morning filling in what we think are old, sunken-in gopher holes to rid the field of trip hazards, and afterward, while some volunteers worked on finishing the smaller of the two shelters, I spent most of the day staffing the gate, greeting people, letting them know they could come in, and doing some version of my rules patter.

Over the course of four hours or so, we had a steady stream of visitors, but not too many at any one time, and there were no hassles to deal with or warnings to give out. Everyone behaved themselves, enjoyed themselves, and everything about the day went smoothly.

Nonetheless, on the way back home, just a few minutes into having stopped to run a grocery errand, I had something of an executive functioning crash and found myself toward the back of the store, unable to make a decision about which way to move, or what I needed to do next. It didn’t last long, but it happened, and when that happens in public it’s at least a tiny bit terrifying.

By the time I actually made it home, while the sobbing breakdown didn’t come, I could feel it, hovering around the edges. I guess considering its options?

An outside observer would look at the day, look at how it went, see the crisp, sunny winter day, the work getting done without struggle or strife, the people enjoying getting to visit inside with the goats, and probably not understand getting to the end and having one’s brain seize up, and one’s emotional state threaten to crumble.

But that’s what the autistic brain is like. Not all the time. Not every day. But, yes, even on some of the good days. Even with a routine script of sorts that you use when having to be socially performative with people, even if you’re talking to them about something that means something to you personally, all those moments, together with the finishing up the backfill around the yard hydrant and carting buckets of dirt around, they can be too much.

Even when no single part of it all, nor even the entire thing taken as a whole, is, per se, “bad”.

You can maybe start to see why I’m still in a year-long autistic burnout that flared up when I tried to go back to steady, daily paid employment last year. Why I’ve not yet tried again. Why I’m flailing impotently at Social Security to give me something to hold onto while I try to find out if I even can.

Yes, today was a good day. But the way my brain is wired doesn’t always care about good or bad. Sometimes it just cares about impact.

But imagine what the bad days are like.

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Bix Mediocre


Aylesbury to Swansea distance by car and plane

What is the Aylesbury to Swansea distance? To answer the question and find out how far is Aylesbury from Swansea you need to check out the map below and look up the table. Driving distance from Aylesbury to Swansea is 0 miles or 0 km by car. Check out straight line distance if you are taking the flight. How long does it take to get from Aylesbury to Swansea? Approximate time of driving is .

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Flight distance

To get to your destination, please, use the map with marked route for your trip. To see more distances you can use mileage calculator box at the top of the page. Go to weather in Swansea today and tomorrow to find out about conditions for your upcoming trip.

See the return route - Distance from Swansea to Aylesbury

How far is Aylesbury from Swansea?

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Reasons for IT Talent Shortage

Is there a justifying talent shortage in the IT industry.

I would have to say there is.

Partly because the number of jobs has increased.

So the Demand exceeds the Supply.

Classic economics.

And why is that?

Partly because of the pace at which technology changes.

If I, as a programmer, decide to learn a new technology, chances are, it will be replaced within a short period of time, by some newer technology.

So I must decide, strategically, what I think will be a valuable, marketable, sustaining skill in the future, and go in that direction.

However, even with this approach, the number of languages required to 'keep up' is overwhelming to say the least.

Here's my recent blog post on what I plan to learn:

So you can never really get ahead in the IT industry.

You may get to use the cutting edge technology for a brief period, and shortly thereafter something will surpass it.

And that may intimidate many future IT professionals.

Let's say they want to become an architect or engineering, they learn the trade and are set for life.  Perhaps get some industry publications from time to time to learn the latest trends but they don't have to relearn everything each 6 months.

Musicians are not required to learn completely new instruments every 6 months, they learn one or two and make a career out of it.

And like I've said before, programming is just one side to the job, learning business rules, project life cycles, industry jargon like PCI, sarbane oxley, etc. are required to be learned on the job.

Another reason is the geek factor.

Most programmers are smart and competing with people every day is another reason people may choose to stay away from IT.

Being an IT profession is not easy, and I believe that constant change, steep learning curve and competition to be the main reason for the shortage of IT programmers today.

And there you have it!


E’ cucina was born from a passion for cooking and pastry of the two founders, Martina Cortelazzo and Alessandro  Lasferza. E’ cucina is a cooking school with its own headquarters in Verona dedicated  to courses for adults, children, culinary events, cooking shows, dinners at home, cooking teams for companies, events such as “When I grow up I will be a chef”, cooking classes for foreigners. The school uses an effective interactive technique under the guidance of expert chefs. The school collaborates with some chefs who work on a regular basis and offers a wide range of different experiences in each program with chefs  who have  significant experience both  in local and national restaurants. The venue can accommodate up to 15 participants each  course with suitable space and equipment.

Corsi di Cucina

maggio, 2019

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20mag19:3022:30Michelin stars restaurants: Ristorante Perbellini Isola Rizza menu

22mag19:3022:30Sushi and sashimi

24mag19:3022:30Cooking classes for couples: vegetarian menu

24mag19:3022:30pastry: Madeleines & CO.

27mag19:3022:30Basic course of cuisine for beginners 4 lessons

29mag19:3022:30Bread with seeds and fruits

31mag19:3021:30Cooking classes for beginners: the fish

31mag19:3022:30Pastry: Icecream by Zeno

31mag19:3022:30Michelin stars at èCucina: Joia Restaurant of Pietro Leemann


Stitching into bark

stitching into bark.jpg

I've recently collected a few pieces of bark from the forest floor when out walking, enjoying the different textures. I'm hoping to dry out the pieces that I've collected and then experiment with stitching into them

A friend Glen, the Wonky Carpenter, gave me some dried out hazel bark, and I drilled some holes into it, then did some stitching into it, using plant dyed raw silk threads.

Wondering how to preserve it. I do like the natural decay of plant materials, I'm also interested to find ways of preserving them, ways that don't alter their natural look.

My friend Keith has recommended the use of polythylene glycol. I'll try that.


little angel theatre, schools residency & putting on a puppet show

Since 2009, Little Angel Theatre has had a puppeteer in residence at Thornhill Primary School, Islington. Through a series of projects and workshops, their puppeteer works with every pupil in the school on projects which link to various areas of the curriculum including literacy, design technology, art and science. they provide pupils with opportunities to design, make and manipulate puppets, and share their work across the school. In addition they train staff in using puppetry with pupils.

for FUTHER information WATCH THIS on bbc bitesize...

For beginning any unit on designing a puppet, or some other moving toys, this clip provides a detailed stimulus or talking point on initial design intention. In this case, the focus is primarily on the characterisation of the puppet; however, the principle of a clearly focussed design intention is transferrable to many different contexts. The clip is also useful for understanding the importance of comparing possible designs with their final use in mind. For example, the glove puppet is the appropriate design if the puppet will need to pick up objects within the show.


Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Classroom Essentials For Schools and Teachers

As we near August, it's time for schools to restock their classroom supplies. While much of the attention will be paid to replenishing paper or markers and other obvious essentials, it's also a good time to think about ways to make the classroom more efficient without draining the budget. OfficeSupply.com has several items and categories to explore that makes teaching easier while saving schools money.

Literature organizers are a nice start, serving as a simple and affordable mailbox for individual class members. Teachers can put assignments, graded papers, or other notes and comments in boxes, or students can use them to turn in homework. Organizers are sold with different pocket counts, so the right product can be ordered based on the class size. It's an example of the many organizers and sorters around. You can also consider a sorter that organizes papers or magazines and sits on the desk, wall or floor. There are also reference systems that put protected pages of paper in a convenient display for easy access.

One function of the classroom is to promote a positive learning environment. Putting thought into classroom decor is an important step. Whether it's decorations, posters, or bulletin board sets, you can create a fun atmosphere that emphasizes lessons. Charts and calendars help track important information, dates, and incentives in a way that's easy for students to understand.

Teachers should also think about ways to keep themselves organized. Shop for specialized class management tools like record books and other accessories. Also, a desk is still a desk, and organizers for both the desktop and the drawer will help keep the clutter under control and make sure you don't lose precious time trying to find your materials.

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We are 11 days away from our celebration dinner and fundraiser.  Emmaus has a mission to help our community in promoting mental health.  One of our core values is “Outreach: to provide an outreach into the community that integrates Christian truth and psychological understanding, meeting people where they are at in their faith journey.”  What does that mean?  Well first off we are distinctively Christian.  Our therapist represent varying perspectives within the Christian tradition, but our worldview is decidedly Christian.  We also are all Licensed Professional Therapists that provide quality care for our clients.  Finally we strive to respect all who would come to seek our services.  That means that we are sensitive to providing care to all regardless of faith that they might profess.  We simply meet people where they are at and provide the most competent care which is our Christian calling.

Would you consider supporting our mission.  As a not for profit organization we can receive donations.  Your donations will help extend our healing mission and support those who would otherwise be unable to receive care.  You can attend our celebration dinner and/or give through our donation link.  Thank you for your prayers and support.


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Thesis statement about identity theft

If you want to change the world, thesis statement about identity theft up your pen and write. Add citations directly into your paper, Check for unintentional plagiarism and check for writing mistakes.

Need to save your citations for later? Biometrics is the technical term for body measurements and calculations. It refers to metrics related to human characteristics. Biometric identifiers are the distinctive, measurable characteristics used to label and describe individuals.

Biometric identifiers are often categorized as physiological versus behavioral characteristics. Physiological characteristics are related to the shape of the body. More traditional means of access control include token-based identification systems, such as a driver’s license or passport, and knowledge-based identification systems, such as a password or personal identification number. Many different aspects of human physiology, chemistry or behavior can be used for biometric authentication. The selection of a particular biometric for use in a specific application involves a weighting of several factors.

Universality means that every person using a system should possess the trait. Uniqueness means the trait should be sufficiently different for individuals in the relevant population such that they can be distinguished from one another. Permanence relates to the manner in which a trait varies over time. More specifically, a trait with ‘good’ permanence will be reasonably invariant over time with respect to the specific matching algorithm. In addition, acquired data should be in a form that permits subsequent processing and extraction of the relevant feature sets. Acceptability relates to how well individuals in the relevant population accept the technology such that they are willing to have their biometric trait captured and assessed. Circumvention relates to the ease with which a trait might be imitated using an artifact or substitute.

Proper biometric use is very application dependent. Certain biometrics will be better than others based on the required levels of convenience and security. No single biometric will meet all the requirements of every possible application. The block diagram illustrates the two basic modes of a biometric system. Second, in identification mode the system performs a one-to-many comparison against a biometric database in an attempt to establish the identity of an unknown individual. The system will succeed in identifying the individual if the comparison of the biometric sample to a template in the database falls within a previously set threshold. The first time an individual uses a biometric system is called enrollment.

During the enrollment, biometric information from an individual is captured and stored. In subsequent uses, biometric information is detected and compared with the information stored at the time of enrollment. Note that it is crucial that storage and retrieval of such systems themselves be secure if the biometric system is to be robust. The matching program will analyze the template with the input. Multimodal biometric systems use multiple sensors or biometrics to overcome the limitations of unimodal biometric systems. For instance iris recognition systems can be compromised by aging irises and finger scanning systems by worn-out or cut fingerprints. Multimodal biometric systems can fuse these unimodal systems sequentially, simultaneously, a combination thereof, or in series, which refer to sequential, parallel, hierarchical and serial integration modes, respectively.

Fusion of the biometrics information can occur at different stages of a recognition system. In case of feature level fusion, the data itself or the features extracted from multiple biometrics are fused. Spoof attacks consist in submitting fake biometric traits to biometric systems, and are a major threat that can curtail their security. Multi-modal biometric systems are commonly believed to be intrinsically more robust to spoof attacks, but recent studies have shown that they can be evaded by spoofing even a single biometric trait. It measures the percent of invalid inputs that are incorrectly accepted. In case of similarity scale, if the person is an imposter in reality, but the matching score is higher than the threshold, then he is treated as genuine. This increases the FMR, which thus also depends upon the threshold value.

It measures the percent of valid inputs that are incorrectly rejected. The ROC plot is a visual characterization of the trade-off between the FMR and the FNMR. In general, the matching algorithm performs a decision based on a threshold that determines how close to a template the input needs to be for it to be considered a match. The value of the EER can be easily obtained from the ROC curve. The EER is a quick way to compare the accuracy of devices with different ROC curves. In general, the device with the lowest EER is the most accurate.

This is most commonly caused by low-quality inputs. Within automatic systems, the probability that the system fails to detect a biometric input when presented correctly. Template capacity: the maximum number of sets of data that can be stored in the system. An early cataloging of fingerprints dates back to 1891 when Juan Vucetich started a collection of fingerprints of criminals in Argentina. Francis Galton’s theory of fingerprints and physiognomy.

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Professor Pena-Guzman Discusses Animal Suicide

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

VICE -- David Pena-Guzman from San Francisco State University has written extensively on the subject, and believes animals are capable of self-destructive behavior. “There is also evidence that animals have rich emotional lives,” he says, “and experience negative emotions such as PTSD, depression, complicated grief and so on, which are commonly recognized as precursors to suicide.”

Some pets, argues Pena-Guzman, can actually die of grief when they lose their owner, just as we are gutted when they pass away. “Animals whose human companions die can be devastated by the loss,” he says. “In some cases, they sink into a depression so deep and so dark that they simply lose their will to live. They stop eating and die.”


Top 10 Countries with Strongest Armies in the World

Armies are considered an important part of a country and its security. Every year, a large fortune is allocated out of the budget for fighting battles. Countries take special initiatives to strengthen themselves militarily. If we try to compare the armies of the different nations to gauge the countries with strongest armies, it would probably not be possible to do so hypothetically. However, without leading to a bloodbath, we can have a fair idea about the military strengths of countries by taking into account the arsenal in their possession, advanced technologies implemented, training, power and number of allies, size of the army, budget allocated, etc. While it is a rather subjective issue, several organizations, such as Business Insider, conduct their own studies to rank the military powers. Let’s take a look at the Top 10 Countries with Strongest Armies.

10. Japan

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Current Research
Below is some information about the umbrella research projects which are currently taking place in our laboratory.
Gut symbionts of arthropods: Trichomycetes, also known as gut fungi, are obligate arthropod endosymbionts that grow attached to the lining of the digestive tracts of their hosts. Traditionally, they were thought to be fungi belonging to the Zygomycota, however, using molecular sequence data it was shown that the Eccrinales are not true fungi. Rather, they are more closely related to protists that are part of the basal lineage that gave rise to true fungi and animals (Cafaro 2005). This lineage of protists, variously called DRIPs, Mesomycetozoa and Icthyosporea, was identified relatively recently using molecular data, and included another former member of the Trichomycetes, the Amoebidiales. As an ecological group, the trichomycetes are generally thought to be commensals. However, there is evidence that some may contribute nutrients to their hosts and that others can actually kill their hosts. Our major goal is to understand trichomycetes as an ecological group within a phylogenetic context.

Microbes associated with arthropods: Our laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico–Mayagüez has been collecting and isolating fungi and actinomycetes from diverse tropical arthropods. Several isolates from the tropical ants are waiting to be sequenced, but preliminary results were presented at local meetings. Currently, 18 undergraduate students are following this line of research as part of their course work and testing the efficiency of these isolates to suppress fungal growth in natural populations of ants, termites and beetles.


Why Are There A Lot Of People Taking A Vacation?

A lot of people in the corporate world are actually feeling tired and stress recently. Because of this, there is a need for the businessmen to take a break and go for a vacation. If you can relate to this, then it is time for you to relax and take a vacation. Aside from that, you need to also take a break and think about unwinding yourself. For sure, you will have a day off and then use that day to take a vacation. The truth is that some people these days also don’t like the stress of thinking about having a vacation.

If you don’t want to be stress about it, you need to plan your vacation early. Some people think that planning for it is not easy because they lack time, but that is not something they should worry about.

The important thing is that you know the steps that you can consider. What you are going to do is to plan for the date of your vacation. For sure, your company would understand if you take a time off.

It has been said that there is more freedom given to a businessman than to a worker of the company. The truth is that a lot of businessmen these days always go out for a vacation.

They don’t only have the money but as well as the time to do it. Do you know that opportunities just come especially when you take a time off?

You can easily do so once you let your body relaxed and renewed. The truth is that a lot of researches have proven this to be true. Aside from that, it has also been said that it keeps up your healthy body.

You can also be productive in the workplace if you feel good at yourself. If you want this idea, just read this article for some helpful tips.
As the owner of the business, you can learn how to handle it properly according to your plans. It will also teach you about having the freedom you are looking for.

If you want to keep your body healthy, then let this be an inspiration on your part. Everyone who came from a good vacation can tell you how it feels. The truth is that most businessmen would go on a vacation once they are done doing a very tedious and stressful work.

It is a nice feeling knowing that you are finish with everything you are doing. It is a nice feeling knowing that you are staying a nice vacation home rental with a lot of entertainment around you. Most of these vacation places have their own beach for you to enjoy with beautiful trees that can make you feel relax.

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Dead Can Dance spotify:track:2cGrJoPgxcv5u5hJDN8bUf Dionysus I understand this Dead Can Dance 'rivival' is a letdown for some due to the direction taken, but as a newcomer to this party I absolutely love it! The thick layer of atmosphere in the sound creates a warm mystical soundscape which intrigues the listener.It's tribal, folky, mysterious, colorful and energetic.


Find your monitoring system:

Lotek Argos Solutions

The Argos system consists of data collection platforms - sensors and transmitters - aboard NOAA and EUMETSAT polar-orbiting satellites. Argos products manufactured by Lotek and Sirtrack provide an accurate means of monitoring the movements of wildlife, birds and marine species through a variety of habitats and climates.

ArgosTrack Collars for Wildlife

Lotek's ArgosTrack systems provide position and other sensor data ideally suited to wildlife behaviour and habitat utilization studies.

Argos for Birds

Solutions include PinPoint Argos tags and Sirtrack Argos tracking systems for birds, with various attachment options.

Argos for Marine Applications

Sirtrack also manufactures and supplies Argos systems for marine applications. Options include fin tag and glue-on attachment versions.


TO DIE IN VIENNA (Film Rights)

Film Rights - 2015 (database listings)Freddie Makin, a civilian surveillance contractor in Vienna, has been watching a Chinese academic named Jiang Cheng for the past year. When Freddie interrupts a break-in at his apartment, the intruder escapes, only to return to try and kill him. Now Freddie has to figure out who is trying to kill him and why, all while hiding the past that he’s been running away from.

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Hollywood Is Already Here. What Are You Waiting For?


Customer feedback is not a new concept; it has been around since the advent of trade. With the increase in social media tools, there are now plenty of ways your customers can tell you about their experience with your products, services, organization and brand. Customers can now easily criticize or applaud you.

The challenge for organisations is whether they actually put this feedback to good use for the benefit of the customer and the organization. To be able to get good feedback, one needs to first ensure that they have measures to capture it well, a topic I will capture in the next article.

Customer, Feedback, Planning
Customer feedback

The main purpose of this article is to address what actionable measures can be put in place to improve the experience of your customers.

  1. Action

    It is easy to assume that since one is receiving or collecting feedback, that it is being put to good use or any use at all. Make sure you are doing something meaningful with customer feedback. Follow up on all form of feedback immediately. It strengthens the customer’s confidence, establishes faith and makes them more inclined to pass on personal recommendations to others.

  2. Turn the feedback into innovation

    A culture or mindset of turning customer observations, ideas and feedback obtained from the customers should be cultivated in the organization. This is key because in many instances the users of your products and services have ideas that you may not have considered. Having a culture in place ensures that the product team gets access to the feedback which can be translated to innovation in the products and services. This can only be guaranteed if there are set structures in place to capture the feedback {more on this next week} and to put actionable steps to leverage the feedback.
    One way to do this is to create a channel e.g. an excel spreadsheet, where the captured feedback and the expected outcome of this feedback is purposefully shared with all the relevant team members in a timely fashion so that it can be put to action immediately.

  3. Identify emerging needs

    Analyse the feedback to identify the needs that have not yet been solved by your products and services. These needs may not yet have been clearly stated by the customer, but create a culture of digging deeper into the comments given by your customers. These emerging needs give you a peek into future demands for your product or service.

  4. Feel the emotion

    It is important to get a feel of the emotional tone your customers express when they give you feedback. Match this with your expectations of what you had hoped your customer would experience when using your products / services. Take note to see if the tones are consistent across customers. In many cases it is the emotional connection to your brand that is stronger than the rational one. A 2004 McKinsey Report [] asserts that “70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated”. It is therefore important to listen closely to what is being communicated about your products and brand and respond to it.Customer, experience, emotions

  5. Monitor customer behavior

    With the advent of online tools, it is now easier to see what your customers are doing and draw conclusions from their online behavior. Using various web analytics tools, you can identify challenges in their shopping experience and therefore work to plug the holes. For example you may find that a high percentage of the customers exit your website on a certain page or spend very little time in certain areas. These are red flags which need to be addressed when spotted. The data gathered by observing customer behavior on your website can be enhanced further through additional feedback tools to understand these trends e.g. surveys and chat tools.

Your current challenge might not be collecting feedback but actually acting on and making good use of it to improve your customer’s experience with your organization.

@TODO – Next steps

  1. Track customer feedback.
  2. Make it available to all team members
  3. Use it as a source of ideas for features and improvements
  4. Use it to key you in on how your customers FEEL


No boundaries: Everyone Welcome

Many of the evangelical leaders - ones I love and respect - are painting borders. Putting up fences. To them, it's their job to assess me. I'm either in or out, from their perspective. If I believe one way or have this or that problem, I'm either welcome or not. Sounds like a "clique" at least. "Cult" is a tough term to swallow. But a big chunk of evangelical christendom totters on the brink of apostasy. Sounds like Pharisees are taking over, doesn't it?