text:
by Yoichi Shimatsu
Former editor of the Japan Times, now an environmental
consultant and a commentator on Asian affairs for CCTV-9
(News Analysis Media)
South Korean Prime Minister Lee
Myung-bak has claimed "overwhelming evidence" that
a North Korean torpedo sank the corvette Cheonan on March
26, killing 46 sailors. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton claimed that there’s "overwhelming evidence" in
favor of the theory that North Korea sank the South
Korean Navy warship Cheonan. But the articles of proof
presented so far by military investigators to an official
inquiry board have been scanty and inconsistent.
There’s yet another possibility, that a U.S.
rising mine sank the Cheonan in a friendly-fire accident.
In the recent U.S.-China strategic talks in
Shanghai and Beijing, the Chinese side dismissed
the official scenario presented by the Americans and
their South Korean allies as not credible. This conclusion
was based on an independent technical assessment by the Chinese
military, according to a Beijing-based military affairs consultant
to the People Liberation Army.
Hardly any of the relevant facts that counter
the official verdict have made headline news in either South
Korea or its senior ally, the United States.
The first telltale sign of an official smokescreen
involves the location of the Choenan sinking - Byeongnyeong
Island (pronounced Pyongnang) in the Yellow Sea. On the westernmost
fringe of South Korean territory, the island is dominated
by a joint U.S.-Korean base for anti-submarine warfare (ASW)
operations. The sea channel between Byeongnyeong and the
North Korean coast is narrow enough for both sides to be
in artillery range of each other.
Anti-sub warfare is based on sonar and acoustic
detection of underwater craft. Since civilian traffic is
not routed through the channel, the noiseless conditions
are near-perfect for picking up the slightest agitation,
for example from a torpedo and any submarine that might fire
North Korea admits it does not possess an underwater
craft stealthy enough to slip past the advanced sonar and
audio arrays around Byeongnyeong Island, explained North
Korean intelligence analyst Kim Myong Chol in a news release. "The
sinking took place not in North Korean waters but well inside
tightly guarded South Korean waters, where a slow-moving
North Korean submarine would have great difficulty operating
covertly and safely, unless it was equipped with AIP (air-independent
2 | 3 Next
Korea Claim Questioned (2)
U.S. Mine Sink SKorean Ship? (2)


text:
Russia Ties Renewal of Supplies to Ukraine's First Chunk of DebtEnergy | October 31, 2014, Friday // 07:45| views
EU Energy Commissioner G?nther Oettinger was representing the bloc in the three-way talks in Brussels. Photo by EPA/BGNES
As soon as Ukraine transfers the first chunk of debt worth USD 1.4 B, Russia will renew gas deliveries, Economy Minister Alexander Novak says.
At a meeting held in Brussels with officials from the outgoing EU Commission, Russia and Ukraine, the two countries' ministers signed an agreement setting the final price of supplies, set to gradually decrease over the next year.
Ukrainian utility Naftogaz will have to pay USD 378 per 1000 cubic meters of gas until end-2014 and USD 365 until March, 2015.
Prices for the same volume was earlier envisaged to drop to USD 285. But Russian news agency RIA says Gazprom will take into consideration the price of oil to set one for gas in 2015.
A source told AFP news agency that Ukrainians "had enough money" to pay off their debt. At the same time Ukraine's Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan announced Kiev would make transfers from an aid fund already set up with the help of foreign contributors, and not directly with EU intervention.
Ukraine will now have to transfer USD 1.451 B in November and the flow of gas will instantly continue, Novak asserted. The next tranche of USD 1.6 B is due until end-December.
Paying off the USD 3.1 B within the next two months will be a prerequisite if Ukraine wants to have stable gas deliveries in January.
Kiev and Moscow have been locked in a gas dispute since this spring, with the former refusing to pay off debts to Gazprom. In June the Russian energy concern introduced prepayment for gas deliveries and halted supplies.
We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!

domain: finance


|Publication number||US7562712 B2|
|Application number||US 10/906,213|
|Publication date||Jul 21, 2009|
|Filing date||Feb 9, 2005|
|Priority date||Apr 16, 2004|
|Also published as||CA2504084A1, CA2504084C, US20050230122|
|Publication number||10906213, 906213, US 7562712 B2, US 7562712B2, US-B2-7562712, US7562712 B2, US7562712B2|
|Inventors||Brian W. Cho, Philippe Gambier, John R. Whitsitt, Arin Basmajian, Jose F. Garcia, Youel G. Hilsman, III|
|Original Assignee||Schlumberger Technology Corporation|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (24), Referenced by (16), Classifications (13), Legal Events (2) |
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
Setting tool for hydraulically actuated devices
US 7562712 B2
A tool is actuated in a well based on one or more issued commands being interpreted and implemented by the apparatus. The apparatus comprises a power generation module that multiplies pressure delivered downhole to enable actuation of the tool without requiring delivery of the higher actuation pressure along the entire wellbore. An actuation module may be used in combination with the power generation module to control operation of the power generation module in response to command signals sent downhole.
1. A modular setting tool for use in a well comprising:
a sensing and actuation module receptive to at least one input source; and
a power generation module acting upon an output from the sensing and actuation module to supply sufficient energy to set a downhole tool in the well, the power generation module comprising:
a housing having an inlet port and an outlet port in fluid communication with a chamber disposed within the housing;
a piston moveably disposed in the chamber, the piston having a first surface area on the end nearest the inlet port larger than a second surface area on the opposite end of the piston near the outlet port; and
a control line in fluid communication with the outlet port.
2. The setting tool of claim 1 in which the at least one input source is a pressure pulse, an electromagnetic signal, an acoustic signal, or a pressure source.
3. The setting tool of claim 1 in which the sensing and actuation module comprises a command compartment and a trigger.
4. The setting tool of claim 3 in which the command compartment comprises a battery, a sensor, and a microprocessor.
5. The setting tool of claim 4 in which the sensor senses a pressure pulse, an electromagnetic signal, an acoustic signal, or a sustained pressure.
6. The setting tool of claim 1 in which there is a plurality of pistons arranged in series and having an ultimate piston to further amplify the pressure applied by the ultimate piston.
7. The setting tool of claim 1 in which the piston collapses an atmospheric chamber as the piston is displaced.
8. The setting tool of claim 1 further comprising one or more rupture disks disposed in the sensing and actuation module.
9. The setting tool of claim 1 in which the power generation module further comprises a rupture disk disposed in the inlet port.
10. The setting tool of claim 1 in which the power generation module further comprises a back-up actuation device.
11. The setting tool of claim 10 in which the back-up actuation device comprises an auxiliary rupture disk.
12. The setting tool of claim 11 in which the back-up device further comprises a check valve.
13. The setting tool of claim 1 in which the power generation module further comprises a compensation feature.
14. The setting tool of claim 13 in which the compensation feature is a spring.
15. The setting tool of claim 1 in which the power generation module further comprises a full throttle feature.
16. The setting tool of claim 15 in which the full throttle feature comprises a full throttle piston disposed in the chamber and a full throttle port in the housing.
17. The setting tool of claim 1 in which the power generation module has an adjustable setting feature.
18. The setting tool of claim 17 in which the adjustable setting feature comprises at least two pistons in which a first piston operates alone or in conjunction with the other pistons to intensify the pressure applied by the first piston.
19. The setting tool of claim 18 in which the other pistons are selectively enjoined from moving with the first piston via a pin inserted through openings in the pistons.
20. The setting tool of claim 1
in which the power generation module further comprises:
a rupture disk disposed in the inlet port; and
a sleeve to protect the rupture disk from premature rupture.
21. The setting tool of claim 20 in which the power generation module further comprises an adjustment spring.
22. The setting tool of claim 1 in which the power generation module further comprises an open port to allow fluid communication between the exterior of the housing and the outlet port.
23. The setting tool of claim 22 in which the power generation module further comprises a filter disposed in the open port.
24. The setting tool of claim 22 in which the power generation module further comprises an equalization port to allow fluid communication between the exterior of the housing and a central region of the chamber.
25. The setting tool of claim 1 in which the power generation module further comprises a velocity valve.
26. The setting tool of claim 1 in which the downhole tool is a valve, a packer, a flow control device, or a sampler.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 60/521,395 filed on Apr. 16, 2004.
1. Field of Invention
The present invention pertains to a setting tool used in a well, and particularly to a setting tool for hydraulically actuated devices.
2. Related Art
It is often desirable to actuate a downhole tool such as a packer, valve, or test device, for example, after placing the tool in a desired location in a well. Typical prior art devices require a separate intervention run using a tool such as a mechanical actuator run on a slickline or an electrical actuator run on a wireline. Other existing tools require a communication link to the surface such as a hydraulic or electrical control line run in with the tool.
The present invention provides for an apparatus and method to actuate a tool in a well based on one or more issued commands being interpreted and implemented by the apparatus.
Advantages and other features of the invention will become apparent from the following description, drawings, and claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a setting tool for hydraulically actuated devices constructed in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of an example completion assembly having the setting tool of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of an embodiment of the setting tool of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of an embodiment of a control command compartment used in the setting tool of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of an embodiment of a power generation module used in the setting tool of FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 shows a schematic view of an embodiment of a trigger device used in the setting tool of FIG. 1.
FIG. 7 shows a schematic view of an alternative embodiment of a power generation module used in the setting tool of FIG. 1.
FIG. 8 shows a schematic view of an alternative embodiment of a power generation module used in the setting tool of FIG. 1.
FIG. 9 shows a schematic view of an alternative embodiment of a power generation module used in the setting tool of FIG. 1.
FIG. 10 shows a schematic view of an alternative embodiment of a power generation module used in the setting tool of FIG. 1
FIG. 11 shows a schematic view of an alternative embodiment of a power generation module used in the setting tool of FIG. 1.
FIG. 12 shows a schematic view of an alternative embodiment of a power generation module used in the setting tool of FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 shows a setting tool 10. Setting tool 10 is preferably a modular tool designed to actuate a completion element or downhole device such as a packer, valve, sampler, or other downhole apparatus without intervention. This may be achieved, for example, using signals such as pressure pulses, electric or electromagnetic signals, or by delivering pressure downhole. Other input signals such as acoustic or seismic signals could be used. Setting tool 10 can respond to those various inputs and can be used in a large number of applications. The input signals may be sent through tubing, through fluid in the tubing or annulus (including air), through a control line or fluid in the control line, through earth formations, or through casing. Setting tool 10 can be used in a variety of environments, with different sized casings, and across various ranges of hydrostatic pressure and temperature.
Setting tool 10 is preferably not integral with a specific application tool such as the packer 15 shown in FIG. 2, though it could be so incorporated if desired. The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 has a sensing and actuation module 12 and a power generation module 14. Sensing and actuation module 12, when present, senses the input command and initiates actuation of the downhole device via the actuation module. The actuation module causes power generation module 14 to act as described further below, thereby activating the desired downhole device. This allows a wide range of functionality for setting tool 10. Setting tool 10 can operate in a wide range of hydrostatic pressures, and can be sensitive, say, to a pressure pulse of only a few hundred pounds per square inch. Setting tool 10 can be variously conveyed into the well, including on tubing 16. Setting tool 10 may also be used having just the power generation module 14, using, for example, a system of rupture discs that allow power generation module 14 to actuate the downhole device upon rupture of the discs.
FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of setting tool 10 having three main modules: a command compartment 18, a trigger 20, and a power module or intensifier 22. Command compartment 18 (FIG. 4) preferably comprises batteries 21, sensors 23 such as pressure gauges, and microprocessors 25 or other electronic devices. Trigger 20 can be strategically placed in the well to increase the reliability of setting tool 10. Trigger 20 can be electronically controlled to actuate the completion element or downhole device at some desired time.
Intensifier 22 (FIG. 5) can have a series of atmospheric chambers 27 a, 27 b and 27 c, preferably in series, to produce a multiplier effect on the pressure delivered. In some embodiments, intensifier 22 is linked to the hydrostatic pressure acting on it and delivers a multiple of that pressure as its output. The pressure delivered may also be increased or decreased depending on the number of pistons 89 used and the hydrostatic pressure conditions. As shown in FIG. 12, a system of rupture discs 91 (91 a, 91 b, and 91 c) may be used to allow the tool to operate intelligently and reduce operator error. The discs 91 act as plugs dependent on the hydrostatic pressure and allow the desired number of pistons 89 (89 a, 89 b, and 89 c) to be used with no operator intervention. At low pressures, all pistons 89 are used. As the hydrostatic pressure increases, rupture disc 91 a ruptures, thereby flooding chamber 27 a and deactivating piston 89 a. As the hydrostatic pressure further increases, rupture disc 91 b ruptures and only piston 89 c is used in actuation. In this manner, the operator does not have to choose which piston to use. Rather, the rupture discs will allow proper selection of the pistons per downhole conditions.
Trigger 20 is preferably a normally closed valve with a cartridge-actuated device that may be opened when desired. It is preferably located between intensifier 22 and the completion element or downhole tool to be set. That placement allows setting tool 10 to always operate in a “safe” mode as it sets the completion element. FIG. 6 is an example of one embodiment of trigger 20. If trigger 20 fails to operate, rupture discs 91 may be used to enable the completion element to be set by simply pressuring up the tubing.
The power module 22 shown in FIG. 7 is a module that is generally placed below a hydraulically-actuated device and operates in response to hydrostatic pressure upon rupturing a burst (rupture) disc. A first burst disc 29 is ruptured with surface activation pressure. The hydrostatic pressure plus the applied pressure enters a first chamber 31 and pushes a piston 43 such that it tries to collapse a second (atmospheric) chamber 33. Since the piston area of first chamber 31 is larger than the piston area in a third chamber 35, the pressure in third chamber 35 is intensified. The intensified pressure from third chamber 35 is communicated to the hydraulically-actuated device via a control line 37.
A thermal compensation feature 39 allows for fluid expansion as transport fluid heats up on the way downhole, and is achieved by ensuring there is sufficient room for piston 43 to move (to the right) as fluid in third chamber 35 expands (e.g., with temperature). To create this piston travel distance, a spring 41 is placed in chamber 31. Spring 41 may also be activated during assembly if third chamber 35 is overfilled. In this case, when the pressure in third chamber 35 is released, spring 41 pushes piston 43 back to the proper position so that minimum travel is assured.
A full throttle feature 45 is an option shown in FIG. 8, and allows setting through large ports 47. When the first burst disc 29 is ruptured, piston 43 and a full throttle piston 49 travel away from each other. Full throttle piston 49 moves to the right, collapsing a fourth chamber 51 and at the same time opening up greater access to setting piston 43 via ports 47. This allows the stroking of setting piston 43 to be accomplished in the “full throttle mode” as opposed to setting through the ruptured burst disc port 53.
In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the internal pistons 43, 49 are balanced so there are no undue stresses acting on the internal seals (O-rings). This increases the reliability of setting tool 10. All chambers have a test port to verify the seals are functional prior to running in hole.
A secondary setting feature 55 is shown in FIG. 7 as an arrangement of check valve 57 and a second burst disc 59. Check valve 57 protects second burst disc 59 from internal pressure from control line 37. Also the arrangement maintains a small, trapped atmospheric chamber between check valve 57 and second rupture disc 59. This makes it possible to rupture second burst disc 59 with minimal applied pressure. Without the trapped atmospheric pressure, the full rating of second burst disc 59 would need to be applied at the surface. In many applications that may not be possible.
An adjustable setting area feature 61 that allows the ratio of pressure intensification of intensifier 22 to be adjusted is shown in FIG. 9. This design splits the piston into two portions having a small piston 63 and at least one large piston 65. The embodiment shown has multiple large pistons 65. Through a port 67 in a housing 69 of intensifier 22, a rod 71 is installed into one or more of the large pistons 65. Depending on the length of rod 71, various pistons 65 are restrained from movement. That allows the pressure intensification to be easily adjusted.
An adjustable protection sleeve 73 is shown in FIG. 10. This feature is an option for use in high-pressure applications. Protection sleeve 73 isolates burst disc 29 in high hydrostatic pressure conditions (such as may result from heavy fluid or a pressure test). Typically, the last step prior to setting a packer presents the highest-pressure condition: the tubing hanger pressure test. Prior to running setting tool 10 downhole, protection sleeve 73 can be set to a position corresponding to the anticipated hydrostatic and test pressure conditions by compressing or extending an adjustment spring 75. The C-ring 77 keeps protection sleeve 73 in a closed position. Under the high-pressure hydrostatic conditions adjustment spring 75 provides sufficient force to keep protection sleeve 73 in the closed state, isolating first burst disc 29. However, during the tubing hanger pressure test, the hydrostatic and applied pressures overcome the spring force and move protection sleeve 73 to the left, dropping C-ring 77 into a recess 79. When pressure is released, first burst disc 29 is uncovered and intensifier 22 works as described above.
The embodiment shown in FIG. 11 shows an open port concept in which chamber 35 is in fluid communication with the exterior of intensifier 22 via autofill port 81. A filter 82 may be placed in port 81 to prevent particulates in the well fluid from entering chamber 35 and control line 37. A velocity valve 85 near the end of piston 43 may be used to avoid premature setting of the downhole tool. Equalizing port 87 prevents an atmospheric chamber from becoming trapped in chamber 33.
Although only a few exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures. Thus, although a nail and a screw may not be structural equivalents in that a nail employs a cylindrical surface to secure wooden parts together, whereas a screw employs a helical surface, in the environment of fastening wooden parts, a nail and a screw may be equivalent structures. It is the express intention of the applicant not to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112, paragraph 6 for any limitations of any of the claims herein, except for those in which the claim expressly uses the words ‘means for’ together with an associated function.
|Cited Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
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|US3577783 *||Jan 10, 1969||May 4, 1971||Schlumberger Technology Corp||Tool to take multiple fluid measurements|
|US4796699 *||May 26, 1988||Jan 10, 1989||Schlumberger Technology Corporation||Well tool control system and method|
|US5101904 *||Mar 15, 1991||Apr 7, 1992||Bruce Gilbert||Downhole tool actuator|
|US5101907 *||Feb 20, 1991||Apr 7, 1992||Halliburton Company||Differential actuating system for downhole tools|
|US5146983 *||Mar 15, 1991||Sep 15, 1992||Schlumberger Technology Corporation||Hydrostatic setting tool including a selectively operable apparatus initially blocking an orifice disposed between two chambers and opening in response to a signal|
|US5203414||Apr 22, 1992||Apr 20, 1993||Schlumberger Technology Corporation||Method of anchoring a device in a wellbore including opening an orifice between two chambers in response to an electrical signal and moving a piston in response to hydrostatic pressure when the orifice is opened|
|US5392856||Oct 8, 1993||Feb 28, 1995||Downhole Plugback Systems, Inc.||Slickline setting tool and bailer bottom for plugback operations|
|US5819853 *||Aug 8, 1995||Oct 13, 1998||Schlumberger Technology Corporation||Rupture disc operated valves for use in drill stem testing|
|US5839508 *||Jun 19, 1996||Nov 24, 1998||Baker Hughes Incorporated||Downhole apparatus for generating electrical power in a well|
|US5893413 *||Jul 16, 1996||Apr 13, 1999||Baker Hughes Incorporated||Hydrostatic tool with electrically operated setting mechanism|
|US6050342||May 7, 1998||Apr 18, 2000||Scheumberger Technology Corporation||Apparatus and method for setting a compression set packer|
|US6439306 *||Feb 17, 2000||Aug 27, 2002||Schlumberger Technology Corporation||Actuation of downhole devices|
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|US6564876||Feb 9, 2001||May 20, 2003||Schlumberger Technology Corporation||Packer|
|US6684950||Feb 28, 2002||Feb 3, 2004||Schlumberger Technology Corporation||System for pressure testing tubing|
|US7000705 *||Nov 5, 2001||Feb 21, 2006||Omega Completion Technology Limited||Hydraulic setting tool with pressure multiplier|
|US20020070015||Dec 6, 2001||Jun 13, 2002||Armell Richard A.||Down-hole tool hydraulic force intensifier|
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|US20040045724 *||Nov 5, 2001||Mar 11, 2004||Mark Buyers||Hydraulic setting tool with pressure multiplier|
|US20070056745 *||Sep 14, 2005||Mar 15, 2007||Schlumberger Technology Corporation||System and Method for Controlling Actuation of Tools in a Wellbore|
|GB2280013A|| ||Title not available|
|GB2300441A|| ||Title not available|
|Citing Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US7793733 *||Aug 28, 2008||Sep 14, 2010||Baker Hughes Incorporated||Valve trigger for downhole tools|
|US7836961 *||Mar 5, 2008||Nov 23, 2010||Schlumberger Technology Corporation||Integrated hydraulic setting and hydrostatic setting mechanism|
|US8210267 *||Jun 4, 2007||Jul 3, 2012||Baker Hughes Incorporated||Downhole pressure chamber and method of making same|
|US8286717||May 5, 2009||Oct 16, 2012||Weatherford/Lamb, Inc.||Tools and methods for hanging and/or expanding liner strings|
|US8517115||Jan 26, 2011||Aug 27, 2013||Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.||Setting tool|
|US8567515||Oct 11, 2012||Oct 29, 2013||Weatherford/Lamb, Inc.||Tools and methods for hanging and/or expanding liner strings|
|US8689885||Mar 12, 2011||Apr 8, 2014||Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.||Bi-directional flapper/sealing mechanism and technique|
|US8733448||Mar 12, 2011||May 27, 2014||Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.||Electrically operated isolation valve|
|US8733458||Jan 17, 2011||May 27, 2014||Schlumberger Technology Corporation||Method and apparatus for setting a packer|
|US8757274 *||Jun 7, 2012||Jun 24, 2014||Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.||Well tool actuator and isolation valve for use in drilling operations|
|US8783343||Aug 22, 2013||Jul 22, 2014||Weatherford/Lamb, Inc.||Tools and methods for hanging and/or expanding liner strings|
|US20110168403 *||Jan 7, 2011||Jul 14, 2011||Schlumberger Technology Corporation||Wirelessly actuated hydrostatic set module|
|US20130000922 *||Jun 7, 2012||Jan 3, 2013||Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.||Well tool actuator and isolation valve for use in drilling operations|
|WO2011085215A2 *||Jan 7, 2011||Jul 14, 2011||Schlumberger Canada Limited||Wirelessly actuated hydrostatic set module|
|WO2012103243A2 *||Jan 25, 2012||Aug 2, 2012||Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.||Setting tool|
|WO2013012509A2 *||Jun 19, 2012||Jan 24, 2013||Baker Hughes Incorporated||Remote manipulation and control for subterranean tools|
|Dec 27, 2012||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4
|Feb 9, 2005||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION, TEXAS
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:CHO, BRIAN W.;GAMBIER, PHILIPPE;WHITSITT, JOHN R.;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:015668/0791;SIGNING DATES FROM 20050127 TO 20050204


The City of Decorah is notifying residents that curbside leaf collection will be extended a few days to allow residents to push out any remaining leaves.
All leaves must be pushed into the street by the end of the day on Sunday, Nov. 21. The Street Department will be picking up leaves the week of November 22, but no leaves can be placed in the street after Sunday, Nov. 21.
Leaves can continue to be deposited in the designated area at the City’s Yard Waste Site on Trout Run Road which is currently open from sunup to sundown, seven days per week.
Contact the Street Department at 382-2157 with any questions.


text:
Remember my bunny house, and the magical story of the doll houses that my parents built?
Well...here's the original. The first. Hewn from the trunk of a massive pine that fell across our road during one tumultuous, stormy winter's night when I was small. My father cut it into segments in the morning, removed the debris from the road, and hauled the best piece home to his studio. He cut down the branches, sliced off one side, and carved out the insides. He chiseled the stubs of the branched into windows and cut out arched doorways. He built balconies from plywood, and ladders from stained and sanded scrap.
Mike and I hauled it down from my mother's pristine attic, where it has nestled among the stacks that store both my parents' paintings from over the decades. She brought down two neatly labeled boxes of doll house furniture and, much the worse for wear but still achingly beautiful (more on that in a later post) the miniature dolls that originally inhabited it. In place of some of the more fragile and time-worn pieces, my mother bought Q a family of rabbits to take occupancy of the tree house.
An instant hit, as you can imagine.
The curtains (hand sewn by my mother) are dusty, the ribbons falling down from their original swags. The handmade rugs are curled and tattered with age and loving use. The tiny silk flowers and moss that originally decorated the outside of the tree are crumbled and grey, some torn away by tiny fingers, some simply disintegrated with light and time. But the main structure of this fabulously-conceived piece holds true and strong. The walls are as polished, glowing and beautifully-carved as ever, the three floors so solid that, in spite of its massive weight, you can carry it by them without a single nail easing loose. The wheels still roll, the balconies are straight and true, and the roof - raised just a bit and slanted front to back, in a nod to modern architecture, on pegs in order to leave a sort of modernist clerestory at the top of the house - is still flush and sturdy.
Look at the perfect, regular marks of my father's chisel in the arch of that doorway, in the chute of that window. My father, born so poor that he lived in a one-room, dirt-floor shack with his parents and 11 surviving siblings, went on to be the valedictorian of his highschool class, in spite of the fact that English was not his first language. Following that, he won, in his 20s, a prestigious spot as one of the government-sponsored WPA artists who decorated government buildings throughout the Midwest with his spectacular historical murals, and later a Fulbright grant, and places in many of the world's most prestigious museums as well as the Library of Congress. Trained only as an apprentice to a prominent artist of the time, he was also a self-taught architect who designed and built from the ground up one of the houses we lived in during my childhood.
It's no wonder, then, that this miniature oeuvre is such an enduring work of art, design and construction. It feels like a posthumous honor to him, then, to see the next generation of our family enjoying the work of love that he created for me one long, cold winter's day when I was small.
This one's for you, Papa. I hope you are somewhere beautiful watching this now and listening to my loving words. OX - Your MaiTai.

domain: artistic


text:
Time Out says
Maillard is a new steak destination that puts Thai wagyu—imported breeds, Nong Khairaised beef, to be precise—on a show. Choose from different cuts of beef aged in-house from the display indicating their parts and marbling scores and expect them to be cooked to your preference with Indian clarified butter.
Soi Sathorn 11
|Opening hours:||Open Tue- Sun 17:00-22:00|

domain: food


text:
I don’t typically blog about my TV appearances, except it’s been quite awhile since I’ve had the opportunity to represent Stampin’ Up!, and to have that chance twice in one week is worth noting!
Stampin’ Up! participated in the second annual Pinners Conference this weekend. We were a sponsor, which gave us the opportunity to promote our classes and Make & Takes offered at the conference. The classes, featuring Paper Pumpkin, were the focus on KUTV’s Fresh Living on Wednesday at the studio.
Friday’s promotion of the event was filmed at the venue, and I made one of the Make & Takes (cute Christmas tags) at our booth. Again, it was a little nerve-wracking because I only planned on showing projects and not making them, but it was much less so than Wednesday’s appearance.
Several employees worked hard to get ready for and work the two-day event. When I arrived yesterday and saw all the cheerful employees and the fabulous booth, I couldn’t have been more proud! The booth was designed to look like a Christmas tree lot and was filled with product and inspiration for the holidays.
While I’m always glad to promote Stampin’ Up!, next time we’re invited to appear on TV, it’s someone else’s turn! Oh, wait…that would be Sara! She’ll be on The Today Show in December. I’ll keep you posted.


text:
Presentation on theme: "Using Bloom’s Taxonomy"— Presentation transcript:
1 Using Bloom’s Taxonomy Reading ActivitiesUsing Bloom’s Taxonomy
2 Remembering Recognise, Describe, Identify, Retrieve, Name… Make a list of the main events of the storyMake a time line of eventsMake a facts chartWrite a list of the pieces of information you can rememberMake a chart showing the events of the storyMake an acrostic poemName all the characters in the storyWhat animals were in the story?
3 Understanding Interpret, Exemplify, Summarise, Paraphrase, Explain, Classify, Compare Cut out or draw pictures to show a particular eventIllustrate what you think the main idea may have beenMake a cartoon strip showing the sequence of eventsMake a colouring bookWhat do you think could have happened next?Write and perform a play based on the storyRetell the story in your own wordsWrite a summary report of the eventPrepare a flow chart to illustrate the sequence of eventsExplain why a character acted the way they did
4 Applying Implement, carry out, use Take a collection of photographs to demonstrate a particular pointMake up a puzzle gamePaint a familiar scene from the storyWrite a textbook about this topic for otherConstruct a model to show how it worksMake a diorama to illustrate an eventMake a scrapbook about the text readMake a model to include relevant information about an eventMake a story map for part of the story
5 Analysing Compare, attribute, organise, deconstruct Make a flow chart to show the critical stagesConstruct a graph to illustrate selected informationMake a family tree showing relationshipsDevise a play about the topicPrepare a report about the area of studyWhich events could not have happened?What do you see as other possible outcomes?What was the turning point of the story?Design a questionnaire to gather informationWrite an advert to sell a new product
6 Evaluating Check, critique, judge, hypothesis Is there a better solution to…?Was the main character a good or bad person? Why?List 5 strengths & 5 weaknesses of the main character or plotConduct a debate about an issue from the bookMake a booklet about 5 rules you see as important. Convince othersWhat changes would you make to turn the bad guy into the hero?How would you rate this book and recommend it to others?
7 Creating Design, construct, plan, produce Write about your feelings in relation to the storyRewrite the ending of the story changing it from happy to sad or vice versaCompose a song relating to part of the storyRewrite the story, changing the to a fantasy or futuristic settingInvent a machine to do a specific task from the storyCreate a new product based on your story. Give it a name & plan a marketing campaignDesign a CD, book or magazine cover for the story

domain: library


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With a stay at Su Casa at Venice Beach in Venice, you'll be on the beach and minutes from Venice Beach and close to Santa Monica Pier. This beach apartment is within close proximity of Muscle Beach Venice and Santa Monica Place.
Make yourself at home in one of the 12 air-conditioned rooms featuring refrigerators and microwaves. Complimentary wireless Internet access keeps you connected, and cable programming is available for your entertainment. Bathrooms have shower/tub combinations and complimentary toiletries. Conveniences include phones, as well as coffee/tea makers and irons/ironing boards.
Make use of convenient amenities, which include complimentary wireless Internet access and wedding services.
Enjoy a satisfying meal at a restaurant serving guests of Su Casa at Venice Beach.
Business, Other Amenities
Self parking (subject to charges) is available onsite.

domain: travel


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Private hard money lenders – Is not of these lenders incredibly different of a bank vendors. Unlike the bank lenders, these lenders do not sell the paper to external establishments. They are hundreds of investors who look for a significant return about the investments. Their decision making is private and their guidelines are really favorable to the majority of real estate purchasers.
I personally use the second strategy to be able to larger chunks of cash anywhere from twenty to sixty thousand dollars in profits per deal. It takes a bit more time to generate those profits than begin strategy only one deal generates much funds. This strategy called retailing.
Some companies sold fantastic leads as well companies. well; let’s just say I couldn’t believe had been still in business. But all in all, beneficial averaged the actual good along with the bad, There we were still capable to make amazing living solely on buying internet guides.
In the meantime, while you are waiting to approved using the Florida Real Estate Commission, you need to take a sixty three hour course from fl judge school. The domain name of that course is FREC course I.
Many investors wonder the hho booster is legal to sell a property in probate. It isn’t. If the executor of the estate decides the property is to be or could be sold this is good to go. The executor gets the court’s permission and relative’s permission and also the property could be sold.
Deal using your head, not with your cardio. We all prefer to deal with individuals that we love. However, don’t settle on a real estate agent, just because he or she reminds you of checklist of supplies kids. Be hard nosed and go for the a machine that you undoubtedly can provide you the best deal for the home. It’s also helpful to discuss the sale of house with family, who are people which a vested interest receiving the most from it.
A good mentor assists gain working experience much quicker and with less difficulty compared to books and courses. Mentors help you navigate deals and overcome any show stopping challenges that may arise. Mentors are your safety net in areas where you not know where you’re headed. In case you are serious about taking your real estate investments to the other level, a mentor makes it possible to get there quicker basically much less risk than if you had been to perform it alone.
He gave extraordinary value for a good Fort Lauderdale modern homes with private elevators price, and was truly giving his customers On average they bought. And they kept coming back, month in and month out- sometimes for many years. Well, to make a long story short.one day the barber got right disagreement and among his customers (who was a pretty rich businessman). They disagreed over what was more important- price or quality.


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OneDX's physician and patient portals integrate with backend electronic health records (EHRs); picture archive and communication systems (PACS); radiology information systems (RIS); and other interfaces to instantly load patient results without the need to install additional client-side hardware. The platform manages viewing, downloading and exchange of large imaging studies, allowing providers to fulfill meaningful use (MU) criteria in a HIPAA-compliant manner.
In 2016, Southern Nevada's Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging (SDMI) selected the OneDX portal to enable referrer online exam ordering with automated insurance pre- authorization requests to providers. Other OneDX clients include Zwanger-Pesiri (ZP) Radiology, in Long Island, New York; Advanced Radiology Consultants (ARC) in Shelton, Conn; and TRA Medical Imaging in Tacoma, Wash.
About OneDX – Westport, Conn.-based OneDX furnishes technology solutions that allow health care information to be accessed and exchanged swiftly and securely. For more information, direct inquiries to firstname.lastname@example.org, visit www.onedx.com or call (877) 798-5773.
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/onedx-platform-consolidates-diagnostic-test-ordering-in-the-cloud-300409411.html

domain: medical


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Countdown to christmas hallmark channel 2015 schedule. Countdown to christmas hallmark channel 2015 schedule. Dates and times for the " Countdown to Christmas" programming event on Hallmark Channel. Hallmark Channel.
With all the hustle television viewers look forward to curling up with a good movie , bustle of the holidays Hallmark Channel’ s. Find out the schedule of brand new original movies premiering during Hallmark Channel' s Countdown to Christmas!
The Fox Broadcasting Company simply Fox, commonly referred to as the Fox network is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by the Fox Entertainment Group subsidiary of 21st Century Fox. COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS is here on Hallmark Channel! Don’ t see your favorite movie on the calendar? This holiday season with festive movies all day , enjoy Hallmark Channel' s Countdown to Christmas all night!
Check out the November lineup of Hallmark Channel' s " Countdown to Christmas" movie schedule. This is an incomplete list of television programs formerly or currently broadcast by History/ H2 in the United States.
I' m less than thrilled with the Hallmark Christmas news. Apr 29, · [ CHRISTMAS TV SCHEDULE. Schedule of Christmas movies playing on the Hallmark Channel in. Get the schedule of holiday movies during Hallmark Channel' s Countdown to Christmas!
Mar 20 · PLOT: from Hallmark: Excited about meeting her upscale , slightly intimidating future mother- in- law fresh faced Melanie makes the trek to her fiancé' s home for Christmas. Get the schedule of the original premieres and top mystery movies on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. Dec 08 the beloved, Stephanie Nichols has happily taken the reins at the Christmas Shop, · PLOT: Storyline via Hallmark: After her parents’ retirement old- fashioned holiday boutique they opened 40 years ago. Hallmark Channel' s * Countdown to Christmas * ~ All NEW.
I think that Hallmark.

domain: entertainment


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Bedford Night rayon challis print features white and grey flowers on black. Sew this on its own for a semi-sheer blouse, or pair with the preceding companion fabric, VF213-41. They can be stitched together in one garment, like a contrasting neckline and hem on a loose tunic. We couldn’t resist working in Liesl & Co.’s “Afternoon Tea Blouse” into this catalog. You’ll appreciate their softness against your skin, as well as the coolness rayon inherently provides.
VF213-42 Bedford Night - White and Grey Floral Print on Black Rayon Challis Fabric
This fabric is featured in our Summer 2021 Catalog. Scroll down to view color coordinated fabrics from this collection. Order a subscription to receive home delivery of the catalog and swatches every other month.
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domain: design


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Gluten is a protein contained in the grains wheat, barley, rye, and oats. It is a unique protein based on its structure that lends a doughy/elastic consistency to flours derived from these grains. This is why over the centuries, gluten-containing grains have come to be used so extensively in breads and other baked goods.
Gluten sensitivity implies that there is an ongoing immune reaction to gluten in the diet, usually detected as antibodies against a subprotein of gluten called gliadin. Although recently these antibodies were looked for only in the blood and are found in 12% of the general American public, the research of Dr. Kennith Fine has revealed that these antibodies can be detected in the stool in as many as 35% of what are otherwise normal people (U.S. and International patents pending). If high risk patient populations are tested, or people with symptoms, the percentage usually exceeds 50%. It makes sense that the antibodies are more easily detected in the intestine because the immune system reaction to food is mainly a response occurring inside the intestinal tract. Thus, the end product of intestinal transit, stool, is the most logical (albeit more messy) place to look. This is the rationale of the new tests developed by EnteroLab.
The nature of the toxicity, although to some extent stems directly from the chemical nature of gluten, is mostly due to a reaction that occurs by the immune system of individuals in possession of certain genes that recognize gluten for the foreign protein that it is and hence toxic. The immune system genes in control of this reaction are actually not rare, and may be present in up to 60% of Americans based on the research of Dr. Kenneth Fine. It is speculated that the structure of gluten may be similar to an infectious agent (for example a virus) and that is really why the gene is present in the immune system in the first place. However, there are other, as of yet undetermined, genes that control whether or not a toxic reaction will occur, and further, whether and how much the reaction will result in damage to the intestine and other tissues such as the thyroid. Many thyroid problems may be linked to gluten intolerance. Click here to read about thyroid issues.
The following grains and foods should not be eaten by anyone that has gluten sensitivity. Eating only a small amount of gluten has an adverse effect for months if a person has an autoimmune reaction.
These gluten grains are not tolerated:
Other Sources of Gluten:
- Modified Food Starch
- Croutons, Stuffing and Breading
- Beer, Ale, Malt Vinegar
- Soy Sauce (unless it says “wheat free”)
- Barley Malt
- Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
Beers, ales, lagers and malt vinegar should be avoided. They are made from gluten containing grains.
Many commercial products such as hot dogs, sausages, cold cuts, soups, baked beans, some nutritional supplements and prescription drugs utilize gluten containing grains as stabilizers and fillers. Check the labels.
The following foods are tolerable, they are non-gliadin grains and are safe to eat:
- Gluten-free Oats
- Corn (organic)
- Soy (organic)
- Wheat Grass
- Barley Grass
Soy contains a smaller amount of gliadin than other grains. Depending upon your level of tolerance soy may or may not be a problem. Avoid soy isolate used in protein powders and bars, it contains eight times the concentration of gliadins as regular soy. Some people who are gluten sensitive can not tolerate wheat grass or barley grass.
If you have specific allergies to certain non-gluten grains, avoid them also. Mucus membranes may heal over a period of 6-12 months, as the membrains heal many allergies may disappear.
There are a number of good web sites. www.glutenfreeinsd.com includes eating out suggestions in San Diego as well as other educational information and links.
www.enterolab.com has good information about what tests work and why and allows you to order Enterolab genetic tests for gluten intolerance. They also offer a great page on frequently asked questions.


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Young Children’s Health and Wellbeing Across the Transition to School: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis
(Cambridge University Press, 2016-04-29)
This paper reports on the systematic search and review of the literature relating to the health and wellbeing of young children across the transition to school. It identified 56 papers (including empirical studies, reviews, ...


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Asia is not for the faint-hearted.
That's the conclusion I drew from learning that Standard Chartered Bank, an Asia-focused lender, will close its global equities business and axe 4,000 jobs by the end of the year. It is exiting the equity capital markets business completely, and the brunt of job losses will be felt in Asia.
Standard Chartered Bank can trace its history back to the mid-19th century. It played a major role in the expansion of trade with Asia following the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the extension of the telegraph to China in 1871.
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For it to pull out now signals a serious lack of faith in Asia's future prospects.
I leave it to the management and major shareholders to answer whether it is a sensible decision.
What I do know though is that it's risky to doubt Asia's long-term prospects. Ping An Insurance Group offers a valuable lesson in this regard.
The deal HSBC wishes it could forget
In early December 2012, Dhanin Cheravonon Thailand's richest man bought HSBC's 15.6% stake in Ping An Insurance.
HSBC had spent years building up the stake, and the sale was prompted by the bank's three-year recovery plan following the 2008 financial crisis. They were selling to ensure their long-term survival.
But was it worth it?
Since the announcement, Ping An's share price is up 44.3%, while HSBC's is down 9.7%.
That's the price you pay for betting against Asian stocks.
The good news for us is that I believe there's still more to gain from Ping An and I've got three reasons why now is the time to buy.
The richest man in China is backing Ping An
The Ping An deal was the second time the three parties collaborated. In 2013, they also set up Zhong An Online Property Insurance, China's first online insurance seller.
The three founders are commonly referred to as the three Mas' - Jack Ma, (Alibaba's executive chairman), Tony Ma (Tencent's chairman) and Ma Mingzhe (Ping An's chairman).
For Ping An to be getting attention from these gentlemen is very encouraging. But they're not the sole factor why the future looks bright for Ping An.
China's central bank has given Ping An a big boost
Among them were subsidiaries of Ping An, Tencent and Ant Financial Services Group (an affiliate of Alibaba controlled by Jack Ma).
While it does not guarantee that all companies will receive final permission, this move could be a game changer for the industry and for Ping An.
Currently the central bank provides basic information about borrowers' credit history. But if these internet companies are allowed to change the system, they could allow additional insight into how likely people are to default on loans.
It would boost Ping An's ability to analyse client's wealth, risk appetite, price sensitivity, social network and devise better marketing and product strategy.
Now let's look at the final reason why Ping An should do well.
Asia's GWP is set to overtake the US
As expected, China will account for 38% of Asia's total GWP, up from 33% in 2013.
Ping An has been doing well over the last few years. But the big question is: can they maintain this momentum?
A fantastic opportunity
However, Ping An Insurance's GWP and annualised new premium growth trajectory has been the steadiest among key Asian life insurers, so I'm inclined to believe in them.
China has a reputation for misallocating capital and resources, but I regard Ping An Insurance as being part of the solution rather than the problem. When some of Asia's leading investors are putting their own monies into the stock, it is tough to be bearish about its long-term growth prospects.
Lars is our resident emerging markets expert, with 17 years of 'on the ground' experience hunting down profit opportunities in Asia.
Lars spent ten years living in Malaysia and Thailand, seeking out strategic opportunities, before moving to London to manage the Oracle Asia Absolute Fund.
In short, Lars has real knowledge of where the opportunities in Asia are. Sign up to his free newsletter, The New World, here.
How does the new multiple ISA rule work?
As we enter the 2024/25 tax year, new ISA rules now let savers hold multiple ISAs of the same type. But is this change available to all ISA holders?
By Vaishali Varu Published
Should you ease into retirement with part-time work?
Some savers are delaying retirement due to inflation and the cost-of-living crisis. Could going part-time boost your pension pot as you ease into your golden years?
By Katie Williams Published


"The inflection point is here": how Covid is driving digital transformation in health
It’s been one of the most challenging years for healthcare providers, but Salesforce sees lasting change from accelerated digital transformation
Covid has put unprecedented strain on every sector, but none so much as healthcare. During the peak of the pandemic waves, the NHS had to significantly scale back many areas of non-COVID care. Access to health services for people with pre-existing conditions dropped by an estimated 20%. The BMA reported that there were an estimated 1.3 to 1.5 million fewer elective admissions, 274,000 to 286,000 fewer urgent cancer referrals, and 2.5 and 2.6 million fewer first outpatient attendances. The resulting backlog is now worse than many expected and some are speculating that it could extend long after the country gets a handle on the virus. David Maguire, Senior Analyst at The King’s Fund, predicts that Covid’s impact on waiting times “will be felt for years to come.”
But with great challenge comes innovation, and that’s why Salesforce, the world’s largest provider of customer relationship management (CRM) software, believes the time is ripe to drive lasting change. “The backlog is building consistently,” says Jane Tyacke, the company’s Director of Strategy and Business Development for Public Sector Healthcare. “But we see that as an opportunity to re-imagine delivery of outpatient and elective care services,” she says. “There’s no better time than now to rethink how we can engage the patient in the delivery of these services.”
Louise Ashbrook, Salesforce’s Regional Vice President for Healthcare, says this is an inflection point for health. “The situation with COVID has been difficult for many, but we are seeing accelerated digital transformation and digital patient care within the healthcare space,” she says. “We want to support the NHS as they move to a more digitally engaged world.”
“There’s no better time than now to rethink how we can engage the patient in delivery of these services.”
One of the most hotly-discussed topics at the nexus of health and digital technology is “integrated care,” a model for care delivery that aims to join up services and provide a seamless patient experience. Just last month, the Department for Health and Social Care published an integrated care policy paper that aims to “shape a system that’s better able to serve people in a fast-changing world.” The paper proposes legislation to reduce bureaucracy, incentivise collaboration between health bodies, and increase accountability of healthcare decision makers. “It’s all about bringing the same standards of service and integration that we expect elsewhere into how we deal with healthcare,” Tyacke says.
But there are major hurdles to achieving integration. As Ashbrook points out, there are many different entities in the healthcare ecosystem (the NHS, social care organisations, voluntary organisations, etc.) and information sharing is a challenge. “There’s often complexity in the handoff,” she says. “We've all probably experienced an elderly relative in hospital, and they're ready to be discharged but can’t because they don't have the right things in place for them to be looked after in the community.”
Tyacke says that’s because data sharing has always been “a bit of a sticking point.” “Sharing data across different entities, even just within the NHS, is incredibly challenging,” she says. Tyacke, who has years of experience implementing digital and IT strategies for NHS Trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), says that even when complex system integration was needed, getting multiple organisations to sign-up to a data sharing agreement was “three times more time consuming than building the technology.”
“We're seeing an exciting acceleration in adoption of digital patient care, we are keen to support the NHS as they move to a more digitally engaged world”
Underlying all these issues is what Tyacke calls “separate access to separate systems” – precisely what CRM technology is designed to solve. Salesforce Health Cloud, for example, integrates data from different electronic patient record systems to create a panoramic view of a single patient. “It’s an intuitive data tool,” she says. “There are a lot of other competitors who can manipulate data and bring data together, but then they need separate systems that enable patients to access their own records.” Health Cloud integrates all these functionalities and includes omni-channel communication features that allows healthcare professionals to collaborate and offer patient care personalised to the patient. “I really do feel like we have a unique proposition,” Tyacke says.
Ashbrook says that proposition can be understood very simply: taking existing data and providing a different front-end view. “Really all we’re doing is reimagining how things have always been done,” she says. “We’re taking information that already exists and reorganising it at a level of engagement to enable joined up care.”
Such a simple idea has countless applications. By using different configurations of their platform, Salesforce has been able to address some of the most pressing issues that have arisen from the pandemic. A number of countries and 35 US states have used Salesforce for contact tracing, for example, and the Republic of Ireland notably teamed up with the company and IBM to create a nationwide vaccination management solution. “These are all solutions built rapidly on the Salesforce platform,” says Ashbrook. “So we know we can deliver a number of different solutions into integrated care.”
“Now is the right time to start leveraging digitally enabled patient engagement solutions to help with the challenges of re-setting patient services post the peak of the second wave of the COVID pandemic,” Ashbrook adds. “These are things we know we can really help with, bringing industry service and engagement ideas to the healthcare sector.”
Documents released by Cabinet Office reveal that 16 months of messages were lost after prime minister switched phones
Citizens will be presented with details of five or more hospitals or other options
Six in seven practices have yet to join digital service launched nine months ago
UKHSA signs deals with BT and O2 to provide insights into ‘behavioural changes post-pandemic’
The traditional reactive approach to cybersecurity, which involves responding to attacks after they have occurred, is no longer sufficient. Murielle Gonzalez reports on a webinar looking at...


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Doctors have long been publicising the importance of folic acid, and new research has highlighted this even further.
According to a new study published by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in its publication Morbidity and Mortality report, fortifying grain foods with folic acid has saved about 1,300 babies every year from being born with serious defects of the spine and brain.
This new study found that the number of babies born in the US with these defects, known collectively as neural tube defects (NTDs), has reduced by 35 percent since 1998. This figure happens to coincide with the fortification of B vitamin folic acid in the same year.
Speaking after the release of these statistics, author Siobhan Dolan commented that this, more than ever, should drive mums to ensure they are getting a good source of folic acid.
“All women capable of having a baby should be taking a multivitamin containing folic acid every day. It is also good to eat foods that contain folate
, the natural form of folic acid, including lentils, green leafy vegetables, black beans, and orange juice,” said Siobhan.

domain: news


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➤ Stocks rise as U.S.-China trade talks confirmed; Japanese equities plunge.
➤ Chinese central bank cuts reserve requirement for lenders.
➤ Fed chair to take part in panel discussion with predecessors.
Wall Street looks set to rebound from the effects of Apple Inc.'s recent revenue warning as optimism regarding trade negotiations between the U.S. and China appeared to help market sentiment.
A U.S. delegation is set to visit Beijing to discuss trade with their Chinese counterparts at a vice-ministerial level next Monday and Tuesday, the Chinese commerce ministry said earlier today. The news came after Apple cut its revenue outlook due to weaker iPhone sales in China, a move seen by analysts as an impact of the trade rift between the two economic powerhouses.
Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, flagged that a "heck of a lot" of U.S. companies other than Apple could see weaker earnings in 2019 as Washington and Beijing attempt to resolve their ongoing trade dispute. "And I think that puts a lot of pressure on China to make a deal," Hassett added.
The Shanghai SE Composite rebound 2.05% amid the trade developments and after data showed Chinese business activity rising to a five-month high in December 2018. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed 2.24% higher, with Bank of China Ltd., Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and China Construction Bank Corp. all up more than 1% after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged to cut banks' reserve requirement ratios to boost the domestic economy. The People's Bank of China announced a 1-percentage-point cut in the ratio hours later.
The Nikkei 225 index started 2019 with a 2.26% drop as Japanese equities caught up with recent losses across the globe on their return from holiday. The yen slipped 0.31% against the dollar as of 6:30 a.m. ET but remained near ¥108 levels, while the yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds stood at negative 0.03%.
European stocks edged higher, with the FTSE 100 adding 1.36% and France's CAC 40 gaining 1.35%. Germany's DAX index surged 1.76%, helped by shares in the auto sector amid the U.S.-China trade developments. Shares in Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Continental AG and Daimler AG all rose more than 2%.
Sterling appreciated 0.38% versus the dollar, while the euro edged 0.16% higher as annual inflation in the single-currency area decelerated more than expected in December 2018 to 1.6%.
The dollar index ticked down 0.13% to 96.18 while 10-year Treasury yields added 5 basis points to 2.61% ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's appearance at a panel discussion in Atlanta, where he will join his predecessors Janet Yellen and Ben Bernanke to discuss monetary policy.
As the Fed gets closer to a "neutral" rate, where it would be neither spurring nor hindering economic growth, some investors doubt that the central bank will proceed with its projections of two interest rate hikes in 2019. Powell has noted that the central bank will monitor U.S. data even more closely for the future path of rate hikes, bringing today's U.S. employment numbers into focus.
ING strategists expect wages to keep rising, supporting confidence and spending. "This should eventually allow the Fed to deliver further tightening this year (we look for two hikes) and support the dollar particularly when the market is now pricing a partial cut by the end of this year."
Meanwhile, Brent crude oil rallied 2.39% to $57.11 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange. S&P Global Ratings lowered its average annual price assumption for Brent to $55 per barrel for 2019 from $65 per barrel, citing concerns over the outlook for global demand growth in light of the U.S.-China trade dispute and a slowing Chinese economy, among other things.
More from S&P Global Market Intelligence:
The year without a bank failure
Large M&A deals sailed through a stormy 2018
Analysts: Potential Huawei ban could hurt UK 5G rollout
New REIT seeks to capitalize on federal Opportunity Zone program
Bristol-Myers, Celgene to face crowded cancer market together in $74B union
Bank M&A to be key theme in Germany in 2019, amid talk of 'super landesbank'
European insurers 'disappointed' as work continues to iron out Solvency II kinks
The day ahead:
8:30 a.m. ET — U.S. employment situation (Econoday consensus: nonfarm payrolls 180,000 monthly, unemployment rate 3.7%, average hourly earnings 0.3% monthly, 3.0% yearly)
8:30 a.m. ET — Canada IPPI
8:30 a.m. ET — Canada labor force survey
9:45 a.m. ET — U.S. PMI services index (Econoday consensus: 53.4)
10:15 a.m. ET — U.S. Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks
10:15 a.m. ET — U.S. Fed's Raphael Bostic speaks
10:30 a.m. ET — U.S. EIA natural gas report
11 a.m. ET — U.S. EIA petroleum status report
1 p.m. ET — U.S. Baker-Hughes rig count


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Screenshot TGV-Express (source DVD Kairos)
A bus is a microcosm of African Life.
(De Bruijn/ van Dijk/ Foeken 2001:1)
If we think of African journeys we image two different reasons for travelling. Either we see migration, scores of refugees set in motion by civil wars, hunger or dreams of a better future, or we catch sight of Western tourists on adventure trips and safaris. On the one hand, pictures of misery dominate our imagination, on the other hand, exotic moments create a postcard-idyll. However, many African societies are highly mobile beyond from refugee movements or traditional nomadism of the Tuareg. Mirijam de Bruijn, Rijk van Dijk and Dick Foeken (2001:1) point out, that we need attention of movement and mobility to understand Africa.
Mobility is a frequently-used topic in African movies. In the last twenty years, a shift in development took place, away from traditional and rural stories towards modern and global depictions of African life. In the same way, the visual and narrative style of films and the choice of film locations have changed (Mbye 2000). Whereas formerly, there was a focus on the traditional African society, today, mainly current problems are shown. These films provide us an insight into many parts of African culture. Hence a close look on travels in African movies can help us to understand a culture in motion (cf. Shohat/ Stam 1996:145).
There are several motives to go on a journey: tourism, research, homecoming, escape and a lot of other personal reasons, which are too many to specify here. Likewise, the filmic depictions of a journey in African cinema are multifaceted.
The number of productions of African films is larger as it often appear. The countries with a large output of films are mostly excluded when we look at the African film. Although Egyptian, Southafrican, Nigerian and Ghanaian films belong to the film culture of the continent just like films from the Senegal, Mali or Burkina Faso.
Looking at the relevant literature, we can notice a tendency to understand African film as a form of genre, which indeed is geographically fixed, but rather defined through stylistic pattern. Mostly films from francophone Africa are represented in this context.
Jonathan Haynes (2000:9) describes that the African film theorists (and film critics) understand African movies mainly as Panafrican film because of some marketing and ideological reasons. For national cinematographies, respectively for films from different ethnic groups, the stylistic borderlines are soon too narrow, and the output of moving pictures are quite too low. However, I travel on this narrow path and take an exemplary look on films, which belong to the genre "African film“. I give an insight in several problems, without going into greater detail. First I give a short overview on how African films show different motivations for being on a journey, thereafter I analyze the film TGV-Express (Senegal/Frankreich 1997, Moussa Touré).
The film Flame (Zimbabwe 1996, Ingrid Sinclair) deals with escape and migration in consequence of the experiences of a civil war. Two women, who join the guerrilla, because of oppression in their country, are in the focus of the story. As a result of their fight, they have to hide themselves in rough terrain and move only between the guerrilla bases. The pictures show a barren but picturesque landscape: Savanna, bush and attractive rock formations give an impression of South-East-African geography.
The akin film Daressalam (France/Burkina Faso 2000, Issa Serge Coelo) includes a similar landscape. The camera-movements present extraordinary landscapes, which are shown in long shots and wide angle, often filmed in diffused lighting. These pictures have a particular significance, which moves between romance and "Heimatgefühl". Thus, the fight for independence gets a new quality, which highlights the home. Whereas Flame settles its story in former Rhodesia, the location in Daressalam is vague and stands for an imaginary place in Africa. Thus, it refers to the Panafrican idea.
Souleymane Cissé's Waati (Engl. Time, Mali 1995) links this Panafrican idea with the search for an African identity. The film narrates the story of a woman, who escapes from his oppressor, a cruel boer. Her journey brings her out of apartheid South Africa via Zimbabwe to West Africa. She follows the quest for identity in different levels and visits several cultures of the Subsaharian Africa. On her Panafrican (culture-) journey, she meets the Tuareg on the edge of the desert, sees woodcarved masks and celebrations of the Rastafarian cult. With this acquired knowledge, she returns to a South Africa in change.
Waati evokes an African identity, which includes its proud of the cultural diversity. The landscape takes a step back behind the symbols of the storyline. A lion establishes, in the form of cross-fadings or as an amulet, the bonds between the countries of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Cote d'Ivoire and Mali. The journey appears like a searching of the own identity, like a voyage of initiation of the continent. Jean-Michel Frodon (1995) describes Waati as a representative of the African film, which makes full use of the African history, geography and language. Waati emphasises the African, nevertheless Cissé has produced a modern, transnational film, which simply “overflies” national boundaries.
Already in his previous movie Yeelen (Engl. Light, Mali 1987, Souleymane Cissé) these themes exist. Time and space coordinates vanish during the film and step back behind the relations of the characters (cf. Diawara 1992:165). The travel shifts to the inside and ends in the glistening light of cognition. Magic actions are the trigger of motivation for an escape, which becomes a journey. Todd Sanders (2001:43-44) notices in his description of the Ihanzu people in Tanzania, that traveling in Africa can not only be assigned to general structural factors, rather magical occurrences and witchcraft often play the essential role. In Yeleen, the magic-initiated journey to the African identity leads via the way of pre-colonial rites and myths.
When migrants return home, they often search for the question of their belonging, for values, and the African culture. Many films deal with the consequences of migration and depicture the postcolonial traveler (cf. Korte 2000:150). Mostly they tell a story of one person looking for his African roots. In the Guinean film I.T.- Immatriculation Temporaire (Frankreich/Guinea 2000, Gahité Fofana) a man, grown up in France, travels in search of his unknown father. Also in the film Vacances au Pays (Cameroon 2000, Jean-Marie Téno) a man comes back from his French diaspora, but he feels himself as a stranger in his old home Cameroon. Postcolonial travel and remigration are popular topics of many film directors. Usually their work is autobiographic. They betake themselves to personally shaped places of their memories, let it be a bar, a village celebration or a cinema like in Bye Bye Africa (Chad 1999, Mahamat Saleh Haroun). These films take the spectator on an inner travel, on the search for the own roots and the reasons of the alienation to them.
Another path goes Little Senegal (France/Germany/Algeria 2001) of the Tunisian director Rachid Bouchareb. Alloune, an old tourist guide of a historic fort outside Dakar, follows the traces of the slaves, which were deported from the fort to America two hundred years ago. Today mainly Afro-American tourists visit the fort. Alloune tries to reconstruct his own family history and travels from Dakar via Lousiana to New York, where he searches the descendants of his family. In addition to the fact that the film shows the African cultural heritage on both sides of the Atlantic, it is a fascinating travel movie, which presents the western metropolis in another perspective.
Because of the African kind of movement of the Senegalese actor, New York appears quieter than usual and is set in a new context. The African view at New York is not equal to the fascinating, lively image of the city rather it seems grounded between the skyscrapers. In the foreground stands the individual in his social environment, not the crowd, traffic or architecture. The accentuation of the humanity seems exemplary. Allounes touristic interest amounts to an old Afro American kiosk owner and her family. For him, this woman is the link to his relatives and ancestors. Nevertheless, New York as the site is crucial, owing to its image as a cultural melting pot and due to the neighborhoods of the former Senegalese slaves.
In the African film, visual reference points seem to step behind for the benefit of human relation. Ancestor worship, magic and symbols, like the lion in Waati, can amplify these relations on a metaphorical level, just as they keep the contact to ancestors and the own history with many rites.
When we turn our attention back on traveling it is obvious, that, among the many motivations for a journey, the mere touristic reasons for a travel are missing. However, the occasions to start a journey are numerous. The film TGV-Express combines various of them, as defined by the initial citation, which describes the bus as a microcosm of African life (de Bruijn/ R. Van Dijk/ Foeken 2001:1).
The TGV Express is an intercity bus in Senegal, who got its name from its driver Rambo, according to the French high speed train. The bus ride goes from Dakar to Guinea's Capital Conakry. First, it seems that the journey is a good deal for Rambo, but his business is already in danger before the departure. The military proclaims, that the Bijango rebels in the east of the country have started a revolution, because their totem was stolen for an exhibition in a museum. Since the bus route is tangent to the territory of the Bijangos, this potential risk leads to many cancellations of the journey. Only a small group of illustrious passengers goes with the bus on the risky trip. Just like in a road movie, on the way human problems are discussed and adventures experienced.
The starting point of the journey is a bus station, somewhere at the edge of Dakar. It shows a colorful mosaic of busses and different people with the same intention: to move away from this place. The position on the outskirts of the city is not unusual, but the place can not be located. It is a station of transit, not a place of stay. Unlike Little Senegal, in which the view over the ocean creates a feeling of wideness, bus stations mediate another dimension of space. The spectator prepares himself for an exhausting journey – the distance becomes a physical experience in virtue of the long travel time and the miserable road conditions.
Screenshot TGV-Express (source DVD Kairos)
The different travel motivations of the passengers stay hidden at the beginning of the film. Only over the course of the story line the film presents the diverse stories of the voyagers. It reveals absurd reasons, which are narrated with a banal serenity. The characters of the passengers are one-dimensional and act for different stereotypes of the Senegalese society. Next to the driver Rambo and his assistant Djemba, a polygamist travels to his next wife with half a dozen goats on the roof of the bus. A recently fired minister and his wife are picked up on the road during the journey. While sitting in this bus, he is promoted to the forthcoming prime minister, whom the commander of the Bijangos eyes to kidnap for the enforcement of their aims. A dealer is on the flight, and two marabouts are on the way to a congress. Only the travel reasons of the two female passengers remain untold.
When we have a look on the different forms of traveling which TGV-Express presents, we notice that the pure touristic journey is not visible, even if it is the source of crisis in the country. The state interprets the highly profitable tourism business superior to the religious culture and decides to exhibit the totem in a museum. Tourism appears as a stranger; it is something that does not belong to the indigene culture. In parts, we can see this is in the indifference of the passengers towards this theme. Migration, escape and banishment (based on different reasons) are depicted parenthetically. Like the landscape, signs of refugees are passing by: the refugee camp, which is built up near the bus station, the refugee trek which they meet on the way, abandoned villages, or reports of hunger and death.
Adventure and cultural anthropology research travels, the film does not make a difference between them, are typified by a French ethnology couple. They travel through West Africa in the "footsteps of Abu Bakr“. The bus community does not like the two very much and snidely puts them on a level with "Indiana Jones“. An adventure for one person probably is normality for others. The other passengers see the journey in an ordinary personal context. Their motivation is the need to move from one place to another.
The magic journey is represented by two marabouts on their way to a conference. Although they belong to different religions - one follows the animistic belief, the other is an Islamic marabout - their later agreement is a sign of the religious syncretism in Africa.
Magic and magical travel play a special role in the African perception of this film. The marabouts accompany the travel with their rituals. They magically invoke rain and give a breakdown service, for which they souse the French woman with goat blood. The magical journey of the marabouts is not only characterized by daily routines; it is also used as an element of power. One of the marabouts, in a bout of temper, relocates the bus to somewhere. A cattle herd appears and vanishes again in fume. In TGV-Express, magical traveling is a support of daily living, an element of power as well as a spiritual experience.
Mostly the film presents pictures out of the side-windows of the bus. These views to the outside are floating. Cities and landscapes pass by without noteworthy geographic marks or distinctive buildings. In contrast to this fragmented pictures, the faces of the passengers in the bus are filmed in Close-Ups. The landscape is rarely shown in Wide Angle, and Long Shots are used in most parts for the moving bus. The outside views are always led back in the frame of the windows. For Karsten Witte (1989:56), the aesthetic of space in the African film is organized by a continues movement, which is conditioned by Long Shots. On the contrary, TGV-Express shows a change between the organic motion of landscape and portraits of the protagonists. The relevance of the Long Shot and the organic movement is replaced by Close-Ups of the travelers. The wideness of the scenery is guided in the limitedness of the bus.
The landscape glides by and forms a background scenario. It changes arbitrarily from forest to grassland, to savanna and back. Explicit touristic pictures are rare. The landscape does not present attributes; hence places cannot be identified. Only fragments of tree formations create a kind of African romance. There is an ambivalence of inside and outside. Stereotyped Long Shots show the bus in motion from the outdoor. The scenery around the bus does not seem to be impassable. The roads offer no real adventure qualities. There are not the great wonders of nature, rock prominences and extreme geographical conditions, but rather facets of Senegal, which are displaced of pathos and given back to the own culture.
The nature in TGV-Express, despite its beauty and dangers, is shown as trivial. An encounter with the wilderness in the film appears hardly threatening. Only the poor quality of many roads - the bus drives over brown runways with holes, which are filled with water of previous rainfalls - is able to evoke a sense of exotic, but this thematic is not concretized in the film.
Settlements perform the task to give a short time shelter during the transit. They are no real destinations. Neither Dakar nor Conakry is presented in the typical manner of a travel movie. The tourist gaze is faded out. Merely at the first stop for an overnight stay the viewer gets an impression of the African nightlife. While the passengers go to their accommodation, one guest roams through the bustling colony. Hip-Hop music fills the air, performed by two musicians on a stage.
This brief episode of the journey is hidden for the bulk of the passengers. The one who goes out of the hostel, gets into trouble: drug dealers, whose he seemingly owes money, beat him up. There is a discrepancy between the security, which an accommodation in the city should provide against the wilderness, and the hasty escape of the travel group out of the city, back into the wilderness. Thus, the journey itself becomes a protection against the threat, which exists in the civilization.
The danger is embodied by the humans, like the drug dealers or the Bijangos. Nobody knows that amongst the passengers of the bus is the rebel leader Kalinga. He guides the bus to a camp of the Bijangos. The first contact with the Bijangos is amusing. We see the cliché of the barely clothed savages. They wear bast skirts, dance with spears and speak an unknown language. The savages escort the bus to the deepest bush. These ethnologic pictures and the feeling of adventure satisfy the western spectator. With the arrival at the camp, modern clothed rebels welcome the travel group. They have all the amenities of a modern society. The greeting by the savages in TGV-Express remains a funny episode. The rebels do not claim an own national identity, but only the autonomic power over their culture.
- The map is not very up to date.
- No, 18th century.
(Film dialogue TGV EXPRESS)
Ramaswamy (2002:154) describes, for the Indian context, the image of the nation in the form of a map, the "National Geo-Body“, not only as power over the space, but also as a possibility and form of expression of patriotic sentiments. In TGV-Express, the map is in the hands of the Frenchman Roger. He considers that he knows the surrounding with the map, and he sets the direction for a part of the journey. The native passengers and Rambo allow Roger to guide them, if only they arrive where they want to go. But the map has crucial faults: It hails from a previous century, some roads are not marked or do not exist anymore, and some rivers are now small streams. The idea to orientate oneself with an over hundred years old map implies the assumption, that in Africa nothing changes fast. With the help of the map, Roger has the ability to become the master of the wilderness and the "savages“. That the European science, in the African opinion, get entangled itself in romanticized misapprehensions, becomes apparent by the misinterpretations of the researcher couple in the course of the film. Roger interprets the voting of the native passengers in the beginning, to decide whether they should take along the French ethnologists, as a greeting ritual. Also the misinterpretation, that Europeans would not be harmed, confirms his false image of the African society. Finally, the map leads him in the wrong direction. The couple is captured by the Bijangos and is left behind by the group of the bus. For Roger the map, as well as the life of Abu Bakr, played a decisive role for his orientation, even though neither the geography nor the history provided an indication for this purpose.
Screenshot TGV-Express (source DVD Kairos)
Edward Casey (2002:265) sees a link between geography and history. He describes geography as the knowledge about the world, which exists at places. He refers geography to cartography. In his opinion, history is the knowledge about the human past at these places. He explains further that “to be” means to be at the place. The representation of the world on a map adverts to the occupation of the landscape and a claim to leadership, which the French researcher as “ruler of the lore” about the places seemingly owns. Rogers tries to share his historic knowledge about the legendary Malian king Abu Bakr with the other passengers, who are not interested in his stories.
TGV-Express points also to another level in the context of geography and history. Rogers occupation of Africa bases on a historic knowledge about the continent. The orientation with the help of a map, which dates back from the 18th century, and the effort to continue a historic journey in a modern overland bus seems to be absurd. This reflects the criticism on the white-man, who comes to Africa with incorrect knowledge but a dominant behaviour. African history is different. It is passed down in an oral tradition, not as facts or topographic points on paper, but as stories about persons and social structures of societies. Thereby, in historical terms, mobility is deeply enrooted in the African society (cf. H. van Dijk/ Foeken/ van Til 2001:14), without that it has to be subsumable. That the French remain in the bush is a symbolic devaluation of maps in the wilderness. African mobility functions without their use. The only one who had faith in the map falls behind on the route. In this context, the link between geography and history is not relevant anymore, the human relations all the more.
On the way from Dakar to Conakry, the bus arrives at the international border between Senegal and Guinea. But the film gives little attention to the crossing of that border. It exists, not in the form of barriers and officers, but as a place of stopover and change. Only a small, unimpressive signboard refers to the existence of a border. Instead of the depiction of the bureaucratic procedures at the transit, the film allegorizes the crossing as a poem about the “guest”, spoken by an unknown person. Here, the passengers transact important business, change their clothes, and the time is used to clean the bus. There exists a feeling of “borderlessness”, which can be understand in a global Panafrican context, that borders are irrelevant. In an anti-colonial viewing, borders are arbitrarily installed barriers. The film abolishes them by its nonobservance and reinterpretation.
When the TGV Express arrives in the capital of Guinea, it is welcomed by a parade. At first sight, this parade is directed towards the ex-minister, who presents himself as an emancipator. At second sight, it is not clear, to whom the triumphal procession is really directed. It seems similar to the ship-parades in Europe and America at the beginning of the 20th century for the welcoming of transatlantic ships. The passengers of the bus recur from an adventure and their "captain“ Rambo deserves the honor to guide the bus in the front.
Screenshot TGV-Express (source DVD Kairos)
The terminal stop of the TGV Express is somewhere in the nowhere, outside of the city. The passengers go separate ways and disappear from the sight of the camera. The meaning of the bus station as a place of arrival gets a new emphasis. There is no real arrival. It is only the place of transit. The journey ends here, and the passengers slide out of the pictures, out of the frame. Only the story of the polygamist is narrated to the end before the TGV Express leaves again to Dakar, with women on the way to a conference about feminism. Alone the drug dealer boards the bus again for the way back. The travel stays an episode. We see an extract, which does not claim to be representative.
The oral told history of many African villages begins with the dangers and adventures, which their founders underwent “en route” on the way to the present-day village (cf. H. van Dijk/Foeken/van Til 2001:14). TGV-Express queues itself in this tradition. Especially the West African cinema often incorporates itself in the context of oral tradition. Interesting is the film in regard of a culture in movement, in which the bus transports stories as well as histories. In doing so, traveling plays a crucial role. TGV-Express appears as an initiation travel of a continent, which wants to lay aside its faults like drugs, corruption or the oppression of women. The bus community stands together and learns to accept each other to reach the destination. The travel becomes to an inner travel of alteration.
Other forms of travel are less important. The tourism threatens the own culture from outside, and research expeditions are viewed with a lack of understanding. There is no recapture of the landscape through pictures or fixation of landmarks or geographic attributes on a map. The images of the film serve the transportation of stories. This reflects the self-conception of an oral culture. The culture creates an African identity (cf. Diawara 1992:159-160).
Let us return to our starting point of the examination of traveling in African cinema. The African film shows us many variations of travel motivations on the continent in the African point-of-view. Liberation- and anti-colonial films try to give the landscape a patriotic feeling. Panafrican movies present an Africa across borders, in which the ideas of identity are embodied through culture. The search for the history, for the traditions and values of an African society, as well as the integration of the role of magic, is in many cases associated with traveling. Especially, we discover that travel and movement are essential parts of a culture. Like de Bruijn, van Dijk und Foeken have noticed: A bus is a microcosm of African Life.
Casey, Edward (2002) "Landscape Experienced and Re- presented“, in: Edward Casey (ed.) Representing Place, Landscape, Painting and Maps, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.
de Bruijn, Mirijam, Han van Dijk ans Rijk van Dijk (2001) "Cultures of travel“, in: Mirjam de Bruijn et al. (eds.) Mobile Africa, African Dynamics, Vol. 1, Leiden, Boston, Köln:Brill, 63-88.
de Bruijn, Mirijam, Rijk van Dijk and Dick Foeken (eds.) (2001) Mobile Africa, African Dynamics, Vol. 1, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill.
Diawara, Manthia (1992) African Cinema, Indiana University Press: Bloomington.
Frodon, Jean-Michel (1995) "A Patchwork of Time" [Rev. Of Soulemane Cissé's film latest Waati (trans. Time). World Press Review, Vol. 42.9 (Sept. 1995): 44.
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Ramaswamy, Sumathi (2002) "Visualising India's geo-body: Globes, maps, bodyscapes“, in: Contributions to IndianSociology February 2002 36: 151-189.
Sanders, Todd (2001) "Territorial and magical migrations in Tanzania", in: Mirjam de Bruijn et al. (eds.) Mobile Africa, African Dynamics, Vol. 1, Leiden, Boston, Köln:Brill, 27-46.
Shohat, Ella and Robert Stam (1996) "From the imperial Family to the transnational spectatorship in the age of globalisation“, in: Wilson Rob (ed.) Global/ Local, London: Duke University Press.
van Dijk, Han, Dick Foeken and Kiky van Til (2001) "Population Mobility in Africa", in: Mirijam de Bruijn et al. (eds.) Mobile Africa, African Dynamics, Vol. 1, Leiden, Boston, Köln:Brill, 9-26.
Witte, Karsten (1989) "Überlegungen zum Afrikanischen Film – Blickvermeidung und Blickverschärfung", in: Filmbulletin Vol. 5/89, 51-59.
Bye Bye Africa: Chad 1999, dir. Mahamat Saleh Haroun, Arabic and French.
Daressalam: Frankreich/Burkina Faso 2000, dir. Issa Serge Coelo, Arabic and French.
Flame: Zimbabwe 1996, dir. Ingrid Sinclair, English.
I.T.- Immatriculation Temporaire: Frankreich/Guinea 2000, dir. Gahité Fofana, French.
Little Senegal: France/Germany/Algeria 2001, dir. Rachid Bouchareb, Wolof, English, French and Arabic.
TGV-Express: Senegal/Frankreich 1997, dir. Moussa Touré, Wolof and French.
Vacances Au Pays: Cameroon 2000, dir. Jean-Marie Téno, French.
Waati: Mali 1995, dir. Souleymane Cissé, Bambara, transl. Time.
Yeleen: Mali 1987, dir. Souleymane Cissé, Bambara, transl. Light.
Christopher, Michael (2011) “A Bustrip to Postcoloniality. On the road with the TGV-Express”, in: manycinemas 2, 68-81
online: http://manycinemas.org/TGV-Express.html, [Accessed: 01/05/2017].
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.


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The summer rowing season is approaching and we will be running a four week learn to row course! This will give you an opportunity to learn the basics of rowing with other uni students. The sessions will be very relaxed and are designed for you to have a go and see what its like!
The next sessions will be:
Monday 1st May from 6-7pm
Monday 8th May from 6-7pm
Monday 15th May from 6-7pm
Monday 22nd May from 6-7pm
The fee for the four weeks will be $50.00, paid on the first session or via the UniSA Sport website. After the final session, we will supply a BBQ!
During these sessions, you’ll learn how to be safe on and off the water, take the rowing technique learnt on land and apply it in the boat, row as part of a crew and handle rowing equipment (boats, blades, riggers, rowing machines).
We hope to see you there!

domain: hobby


text: If like us you fell madly in love with Roll The Dice’s self-titled debut album for Digitalis last year, you’ll need no further inducement to check out this badboy. Newly signed to The Leaf Label, the Swedish duo herald their upcoming sophomore full-length with a limited 12” and digital EP comprised of two long pieces recorded live in Gothenburg last summer. Both tracks appear in studio form on that debut LP, but sound all the more organic and stirring rendered on the fly before a clearly appreciative audience. ‘Undertow’ is kosmische techno for the supine ravers and serious synth heads, its crisp arpeggiations redolent of C2 and Delia & Gavin. ‘The New Black’ is more cryptic and aloof to begin with, but soon builds up a heady aggregate of landcruising pulsation and glistening, glittering sci-fi melodies. Palpably unsequenced and semi-improvised, this set stylishly updates the analogue minimalism of Manuel Gottsching, Tangerine Dream and Conrad Schnitzler with a very 21st century grasp of dub-space and machine-swing. Recommended.


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- In an interview in the latest issue of Famitsu celebrating twenty years of Final Fantasy, translated by Develop, series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi
has spoken candidly about the development conditions that surrounded the birth of the series' first outing.
Final Fantasy hit after Dragon Quest had proved that role-playing games were a viable genre on the NES. "There were four games that were following on from Dragon Quest," reminisced Sakaguchi. "Final Fantasy was one of those challengers."
Yet despite the groundwork that Dragon Quest had laid before, getting the word out about the game was difficult. "I took an in-development ROM to the editor of 'Family Computer Magazine', but was turned away. They told me they didn't deal with games like that. Only Famitsu dealt with Final Fantasy in any grand way, for which I'm still very thankful."
However, development of the game didn't go smoothly, even within Square. The development team was comprised of seven people - not a small number given the era - but Sakaguchi could tell that things weren't quite right.
"Hiromichi Tanaka [producer of Final Fantasy XI as well as various other Square titles] was heading the other team in Square, and they had about 20 people. That's how I knew we really weren't...