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African (Urban) Youth Languages
Ellen Hurst
A growing phenomena in urban centers on the African continent in the latter half of the 20th century and start of the 21st century has been what have been described as Urban Youth Languages,' although the 'urban' moniker is increasingly being dropped as these phenomena spread out from cities to rural areas. The term tends to refer to language phenomena such as Sheng or Engsh in Kenya, Tsotsitaal in South Africa, Nouchi in Ivory Coast, Camfranglais in Cameroon, and many more, both named and unnamed. These language styles are used and innovated predominantly by young people, and in this way they are distinguished from the large urban vernaculars present in African urban centers such as urban Wolof.
African (Urban) Youth Languages usually utilize a dominant urban language as the grammatical base, such as Swahili in Nairobi Sheng and Zulu or Sotho in Johannesburg Tsotsitaal, and they feature a great deal of lexical borrowing from other languages present in Africa's highly multilingual urban contexts, such as the colonial languages and the local African languages common to a particular urban center. They also may utilize the dominant European language as the grammatical base, such as French in the case of Camfranglais, with borrowings from English and African languages. They strikingly draw on metaphor and pop culture in the innovation of new terms. These varieties are 'languages relexicalised,' in Halliday's terms, and are used by young people for creativity and entertainment, to have fun with peers, to affirm in-group relations, and to indicate status.
Clinical Linguistics
Louise Cummings
Clinical linguistics is the branch of linguistics that applies linguistic concepts and theories to the study of language disorders. As the name suggests, clinical linguistics is a dual-facing discipline. Although the conceptual roots of this field are in linguistics, its domain of application is the vast array of clinical disorders that may compromise the use and understanding of language. Both dimensions of clinical linguistics can be addressed through an examination of specific linguistic deficits in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, craniofacial anomalies, adult-onset neurological impairments, psychiatric disorders, and neurodegenerative disorders. Clinical linguists are interested in the full range of linguistic deficits in these conditions, including phonetic deficits of children with cleft lip and palate, morphosyntactic errors in children with specific language impairment, and pragmatic language impairments in adults with schizophrenia.
Like many applied disciplines in linguistics, clinical linguistics sits at the intersection of a number of areas. The relationship of clinical linguistics to the study of communication disorders and to speech-language pathology (speech and language therapy in the United Kingdom) are two particularly important points of intersection. Speech-language pathology is the area of clinical practice that assesses and treats children and adults with communication disorders. All language disorders restrict an individual's ability to communicate freely with others in a range of contexts and settings. So language disorders are first and foremost communication disorders. To understand language disorders, it is useful to think of them in terms of points of breakdown on a communication cycle that tracks the progress of a linguistic utterance from its conception in the mind of a speaker to its comprehension by a hearer. This cycle permits the introduction of a number of important distinctions in language pathology, such as the distinction between a receptive and an expressive language disorder, and between a developmental and an acquired language disorder. The cycle is also a useful model with which to conceptualize a range of communication disorders other than language disorders. These other disorders, which include hearing, voice, and fluency disorders, are also relevant to clinical linguistics.
Clinical linguistics draws on the conceptual resources of the full range of linguistic disciplines to describe and explain language disorders. These disciplines include phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and discourse. Each of these linguistic disciplines contributes concepts and theories that can shed light on the nature of language disorder. A wide range of tools and approaches are used by clinical linguists and speech-language pathologists to assess, diagnose, and treat language disorders. They include the use of standardized and norm-referenced tests, communication checklists and profiles (some administered by clinicians, others by parents, teachers, and caregivers), and qualitative methods such as conversation analysis and discourse analysis. Finally, clinical linguists can contribute to debates about the nosology of language disorders. In order to do so, however, they must have an understanding of the place of language disorders in internationally recognized classification systems such as the 2013 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) of the American Psychiatric Association.
Communicative Repertoires in African Languages
Anne Storch
Even though the concept of multilingualism is well established in linguistics, it is problematic, especially in light of the actual ways in which repertoires are composed and used. The term "multilingualism" bears in itself the notion of several clearly discernable languages and suggests that regardless of the sociolinguistic setting, language ideologies, social history and context, a multilingual individual will be able to separate the various codes that constitute his or her communicative repertoire and use them deliberately in a reflected way. Such a perspective on language isn't helpful in understanding any sociolinguistic setting and linguistic practice that is not a European one and that doesn't correlate with ideologies and practices of a standardized, national language. This applies to the majority of people living on the planet and to most people who speak African languages. These speakers differ from the ideological concept of the "Western monolingual," as they employ diverse practices and linguistic features on a daily basis and do so in a very flexible way. Which linguistic features a person uses thereby depends on factors such as socialization, placement, and personal interest, desires and preferences, which are all likely to change several times during a person's life. Therefore, communicative repertoires are never stable, neither in their composition nor in the ways they are ideologically framed and evaluated. A more productive perspective on the phenomenon of complex communicative repertoires puts the concept of languaging in the center, which refers to communicative practices, dynamically operating between different practices and (multimodal) linguistic features. Individual speakers thereby perceive and evaluate ways of speaking according to the social meaning, emotional investment, and identity-constituting functions they can attribute to them. The fact that linguistic reflexivity to African speakers might almost always involve the negotiation of the self in a (post)colonial world invites us to consider a critical evaluation, based on approaches such as Southern Theory, of established concepts of "language" and "multilingualism": languaging is also a postcolonial experience, and this experience often translates into how speakers single out specific ways of speaking as "more prestigious" or "more developed" than others. The inclusion of African metalinguistics and indigenuous knowledge consequently is an important task of linguists studying communicative repertoires in Africa or its diaspora.
Conversation Analysis
Jack Sidnell
Conversation analysis is an approach to the study of social interaction and talk-in-interaction that, although rooted in the sociological study of everyday life, has exerted significant influence across the humanities and social sciences including linguistics. Drawing on recordings (both audio and video) naturalistic interaction (unscripted, non-elicited, etc.) conversation analysts attempt to describe the stable practices and underlying normative organizations of interaction by moving back and forth between the close study of singular instances and the analysis of patterns exhibited across collections of cases. Four important domains of research within conversation analysis are turn-taking, repair, action formation and ascription, and action sequencing.
Deixis and Pragmatics
William F. Hanks
Deictic expressions, like English 'this, that, here, and there' occur in all known human languages. They are typically used to individuate objects in the immediate context in which they are uttered, by pointing at them so as to direct attention to them. The object, or demonstratum is singled out as a focus, and a successful act of deictic reference is one that results in the Speaker (Spr) and Addressee (Adr) attending to the same referential object. Thus,
(1)A:Oh, there'sthat guy again (pointing)B:Oh yeah, now I see him (fixing gaze on the guy)
(2)A:I'll have that one over there (pointing to a dessert on a tray)B:This? (touching pastry with tongs)A:yeah, that looks greatB:Here ya' go (handing pastry to customer)
In an exchange like (1), A's utterance spotlights the individual guy, directing B's attention to him, and B's response (both verbal and ocular) displays that he has recognized him. In (2) A's utterance individuates one pastry among several, B's response makes sure he's attending to the right one, A reconfirms and B completes by presenting the pastry to him. If we compare the two examples, it is clear that the underscored deictics can pick out or present individuals without describing them. In a similar way, "I, you, he/she, we, now, (back) then," and their analogues are all used to pick out individuals (persons, objects, or time frames), apparently without describing them. As a corollary of this semantic paucity, individual deictics vary extremely widely in the kinds of object they may properly denote: 'here' can denote anything from the tip of your nose to planet Earth, and 'this' can denote anything from a pastry to an upcoming day (this Tuesday). Under the same circumstance, 'this' and 'that' can refer appropriately to the same object, depending upon who is speaking, as in (2). How can forms that are so abstract and variable over contexts be so specific and rigid in a given context? On what parameters do deictics and deictic systems in human languages vary, and how do they relate to grammar and semantics more generally?
Becky Childs
The field of dialectology, the study of the language of an area or group of people, has a long tradition within linguistics. From the earliest dialect studies, a focus on rigorous methodological practices has been an ever-present component of this discipline. Traditional methodologies can be seen in the work of the early dialect atlases, which relied heavily on mail questionnaires or fieldworkers that would chronicle the pronunciation, grammatical features, and lexicon of residents of particular regions. More recent technological innovations, such as GIS and online survey methods and applications, have brought multidisciplinary approaches to the study of dialects, as well as allowing for broader and more robust studies of geographic areas and social groups.
The influence and interface of dialectology on various linguistic disciplines is noteworthy. Dialectological methods have most commonly been utilized in historical linguistics, sociolinguistics/language variation and change, and language endangerment/documentation. Within each of these disciplines, the adoption of methods from dialectology has allowed for the systematic study of language across geographic and social space, as well as across time.
Diglossia in North Africa
Lotfi Sayahi
Diglossia refers to a situation where two linguistic varieties coexist within a given speech community. One variety, labeled the 'high variety', is used in formal domains including education, while the other variety, labeled the 'low variety', is used principally in instances of informal extemporaneous communication. The domains of use, however, are not strictly separate and especially so with the increase in electronic modes of communication. This results in what has been described as diglossic code-switching, and the gradual encroaching of, in the case under consideration here, vernacular Arabic upon the domains of use of Standard Arabic.
While the genetic relationship between the two varieties is central in the definition of a classical diglossic situation as in the case of Arabic, the concept of diglossia has often been extended in the literature to cover situations of a functional distribution between languages that are genetically distant, such as with the situation of Spanish and Guaraní in Paraguay.
In North Africa, vernacular Arabic is in a classical diglossic distribution with Standard Arabic, while the Berber languages are often described as existing in a situation of extended diglossia with Arabic. However, distinguishing between diglossia as it exists between the Arabic dialects and Standard Arabic and the situation of bilingualism that involves Arabic, Berber, and European languages provides the best framework for describing the linguistic situation in North Africa. Diglossia is a key element in understanding the mechanisms of the region's language contact and change as it plays a central role in shaping language attitude, language policy, and language planning.
Early Modern English
Terttu Nevalainen
In the Early Modern English period (1500–1700), steps were taken toward Standard English, and this was also the time when Shakespeare wrote, but these perspectives are only part of the bigger picture. This chapter looks at Early Modern English as a variable and changing language not unlike English today. Standardization is found particularly in spelling, and new vocabulary was created as a result of the spread of English into various professional and occupational specializations. New research using digital corpora, dictionaries, and databases reveals the gradual nature of these processes. Ongoing developments were no less gradual in pronunciation, with processes such as the Great Vowel Shift, or in grammar, where many changes resulted in new means of expression and greater transparency. Word order was also subject to gradual change, becoming more fixed over time.
Endangered Languages
Chris Rogers and Lyle Campbell
The reduction of the world's linguistic diversity has accelerated over the last century and correlates to a loss of knowledge, collective and individual identity, and social value. Often a language is pushed out of use before scholars and language communities have a chance to document or preserve this linguistic heritage. Many are concerned for this loss, believing it to be one of the most serious issues facing humanity today. To address the issues concomitant with an endangered language, we must know how to define "endangerment," how different situations of endangerment can be compared, and how each language fits into the cultural practices of individuals. The discussion about endangered languages focuses on addressing the needs, causes, and consequences of this loss.
Concern over endangered languages is not just an academic catch phrase. It involves real people and communities struggling with real social, political, and economic issues. To understand the causes and consequence of language endangerment for these individuals and communities requires a multifaceted perspective on the place of each language in the lives of their users. The loss of a language affects not only the world's linguistic diversity but also an individual's social identity, and a community's sense of itself and its history.
Jenny Audring
Gender is a grammatical feature, in a family with person, number, and case. In the languages that have grammatical gender—according to a representative typological sample, almost half of the languages in the world—it is a property that separates nouns into classes. These classes are often meaningful and often linked to biological sex, which is why many languages are said to have a "masculine" and a "feminine" gender. A typical example is Italian, which has masculine words for male persons (il bambino "the.
Across the languages of the world, gender systems vary widely. They differ in the number of classes, in the underlying assignment rules, and in how and where gender is marked. Since agreement is a definitional property, gender is generally absent in isolating languages as well as in young languages with little bound morphology, including sign languages. Therefore, gender is considered a mature phenomenon in language.
Gender interacts in various ways with other grammatical features. For example, it may be limited to the singular number or the third person, and it may be crosscut by case distinctions. These and other interrelations can complicate the task of figuring out a gender system in first or second language acquisition. Yet, children master gender early, making use of a broad variety of cues. By contrast, gender is famously difficult for second-language learners. This is especially true for adults and for learners whose first language does not have a gender system. Nevertheless, tests show that even for this group, native-like competence is possible to attain.
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What is Slack?
Imagine all your team communication in one place, instantly searchable, available wherever you go. That's Slack. All your messages. All your files. And everything from Twitter, Dropbox, Google Docs, Asana, Trello, GitHub and dozens of other services. All together.
What is Gitter?
Free chat rooms for your public repositories. A bit like IRC only smarter. Chats for private repositories as well as organisations.
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Hall is group chat, IM and video chat for companies and teams. Available free for the web, desktop and mobile. FREE anytime, anywhere.
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Great product, great company
April 14, 2014 12:51
Slack filled a very complicated role and did it elegantly.
Its very well designed and easy to use. Adding integrations can be complicated but their documentation with images makes it very easy.
Also I contacted support and get a relevant answer quickly!
All this on the free plan, you better bet we will be upgrading soon.
Simple to use but user accounts could be handled better.
November 14, 2014 18:14
Slack is gorgeous and runs on multiple platforms - that's benefit #1. You can easily talk on your iMac then switch to your Android device on the fly.
The one thing I don't really like about it is how it handles multiple organization accounts.
I am a software consultant so I typically work with multiple teams over the months and it's odd to 'log into the right account'. It's not intuitive at all.
I would like there to be a way for users to easily pick a 'Persona' and not accidentally post to the wrong company.
This is insane: Slack could never crash again
July 05, 2018 09:08
Today the impossible happened, our beloved Slack crashed sending chaos into offices around the globe. "Wow, how am I now going to vote for the flavour of our new office candy???", I thought. But even though it might not have felt like it, everything else around us was still working: the world was still spinning, South Korea was winning over Germany at the World Cup, and today's quotas and goals had to be met. In these situations, people most often turn towards traditional messaging tools like messenger, WhatsApp or email and hope for the best — that Slack will be back up soon. However, these temporary remedies are not without their complications: undelivered messages that you thought were read, lost documents, mental breakdowns, wasted time, etc.… In general, for us it creates a problematic gap in our office chat history.
But what if I told you that these crashes could potentially never occur again?
Yes, this is real life, and it's exactly what mesh technology is about so we are going to explain it. In this scenario, if Slack ran with mesh networks, its users would not have been affected by its current technology's single point of failure, which in this case was the crash of the server.
Lol okay, how is this possible bc this is real life???
Mesh networks might not sound familiar to everyone so let's compare it with other well-known networking topologies. Consider a Local Area Network (LAN), where devices are connected to a central access point (imagine it like a star with the central access point in the middle and the devices located at the ends). Be it LAN or wifi, the idea is the same, so when I send a message on Slack, it first arrives at the Slack server (the central access point) and from there it is sent to the recipient.
In mesh networks, devices are directly connected to each other. They form a local network using existing connectivity technologies such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi as "connectors". Devices can act as "routers" and forward messages and files to others, enabling the content to hop between them until it reaches a destination. This eliminates the need for a central entity.
Let's apply this concept to today's crisis. If slack ran on top of mesh networks, their consumers would still be able to communicate and send files even though they were not connected to the crashed server. Once it was up and running again, all their group conversations which would have taken place during the outrage would be uploaded back to Slack's server once they were back online.
Honestly, it's that simple. To Slack, it would not only be convenient for its customers in situations like these (because we would never have Slack crashes), it would also considerably reduce their own infrastructure costs and prevent them from having moments that they might find embarrassing.
So slack, if you see that mesh networks could potentially help you, come talk to us.
HypeLabs https://hypelabs.io
March 18, 2018 13:02
Internal Communications made easy
Amazing Integrations
May 06, 2014 10:31
Hall works great with services such as github, crashlytics, bitbucket etc to give your team real time information on activities going on in those sites without having to visit them individually. It gives our team some peace of mind knowing that all our information to coming directly to us when we need it!
Sportsy uses Slack
Team Communication
Frontify uses Slack
antwonlee uses Slack
Use for some notification. We use HipChat for our team collaboration.
tolgaakyuz uses Slack
Packet uses Slack
Slack is our hub, we live there to help bring our virtual team members into the fold.
FineDine Tablet Menu uses Slack
nrise uses Slack
커뮤니케이션을 하는 데에 있어 slack 만큼 좋은 툴은 없습니다.
Clever uses Slack
We switched from Slack to Hipchat and have been very happy - we no longer have issues when connecting and disconnecting from our VPN, and robust editing of previous messages is a useful feature.
StackShare uses Slack
I first heard about Slack from my friend Matt (shout out to Final!). He was helping me out with some Rails issues so we started using Slack and I liked it. Specifically, the chat interaction. But also all the integrations. I wasn't thinking of it as a tool to end all tools at first, just a chat tool with some cool integrations. Then I created a Slack account for StackShare, and that's when things got real.
Sentry got easier to stay on top of, Heroku was easier to see activity from, discussions were more fluid, and the mobile app was killer. Most of the tools I use either don't have a mobile app or have shitty ones. Slack is like a replacement for all the mobile apps my tools should have.
I don't find Slack particularly useful for focused discussions, so I doubt it will replace email anytime soon for us. Things like product discussions/debates are best via email. It forces you to think before you type and have a clear back and forth with someone.
Small gripe: I wish Slack would disable email notifications by default, I still haven't figured out how to turn those off.
njb-said uses Slack
Team Communication
Koxzi95 uses Slack
Team communication.
NowKash Inc uses Slack
Retrospring uses Slack
Team communication for new features, moderation of reports and others
cjsaylor uses Slack
All build, CI, and github notifications go to our dev channel. This also is where we discuss and share documents.
tombola uses Slack
Communication with team
DNT uses Slack
Team communication, and team awareness.
pyramania uses Slack
Team communication / CI notifications
SmartLogic uses Slack
Our team is partly distributed, but we would still use Slack even if it weren't. Keeping conversations asynchronous ensures nobody will be kicked out of "flow" during their most productive hours.
Endource uses Slack
Team communications
Segment (Social Network) uses Slack
We use Slack for all team communications.
Giftstarter uses Slack
We use Slack to be awesome super heroes at work.
maze-le uses Slack
GrantKevin uses Slack
Easy to use for collaboration among all team members
AlexandreProenca uses Slack
Used to my community communications
chrisDeFouRire uses Slack
Internally and with our clients, we communicate mostly through slack. We're a remote team, so Slack is our communication backbone
Refractal uses Slack
Slack is a lifesaver, not only for our day to day team communications and it's direct links into our other tools, but for Beta testing as well, with our custom Slack bot in our beta group being an invaluable asset to avoid giving our testers direct JIRA access.
Online.me uses Slack
Yet Analytics uses Slack
Alerts, notifications, and team communication
lispur uses Slack
Team communication and archiving of some assets.
One Legal uses Slack
Email is outdated, this is our internal communications tool.
Sparta uses Slack
All internal communication.
annamuth uses Slack
XtianB uses Slack
Communication between team members
SHOUTca.st uses Slack
All internal communication + feeds of tickets/invoices/social media/...
dotmos uses Slack
All developer and admin communications.
Jemsoft uses Slack
Team communication and alerts.
Markremark uses Slack
Team communication
OnlineCity uses Slack
Almost all company communication happens in slack, it's the beating heart of OnlineCity.
nbelot uses Slack
Roon Labs uses Slack
Distributed team collaboration
LogansUA uses Slack
Team communication
Takkaa uses Slack
Team collaborators.. yeay!
megmorsie uses Slack
I have used Slack to communicate with other developers during and after conferences and to replace email notifications from some of the sites I work on at KHM Travel Group.
Domraider uses Slack
Alerting, push on mobile
4 All Digital ltd uses Slack
All comms
tiferrei uses Slack
Team management and communication.
tomstaijen uses Slack
Team chat and application insight (alerts).
romaninsh uses Slack
Our team uses slack for internal communication and commercial support.
GameRaven uses Slack
Team chat
itzMe uses Slack
For team members not based in the head office and for working with external contractors Slack provides a great tool to communicate, stay in touch and share ideas.
TruFlow Design uses Slack
When we need to talk shop, but don't need to see each other.
Lumanu uses Slack
As a remote company we rely on Slack for most of our communication. Ease of sharing links, creating private conversations, and developing bots makes it a solid communication tool.
Giant Swarm uses Slack
Slack is our internal communication tool of choice. We also use Slack to provide support to customers and integrate some administrative tools.
brown2rl uses Slack
Internal communications & collaboration
Undisclosed, Do Not Contact or Spam Please uses Slack
Udacity uses Slack
Team coordination, and centralized reporting of deployments, code commits, code review comments, and exceptions in our live stack.
andreikun uses Slack
Group Chat, Error notifications from API, Build Process Notifications and Continous Integration Notifications. Jira Notifications about task changes.
yevgnenll uses Slack
카톡보다 더 자주 보는게 슬랙입니다. bot에 대해 학습해보고 싶습니다.
cooniur uses Slack
Bots rock!
exana uses Slack
So we know who's up for lunch.
AlexanderSix uses Slack
Team communication and other general shenanigans.
aharrisonwatt uses Slack
A vital communication tool used primary coordinate with my PM. Just a important office communication tool in general.
Itbid uses Slack
Know-how de equipo de desarrollo
ralic uses Slack
Algorithm practice and prepare for interview and follow software project discussion.
softwareantelope uses Slack
Stay in touch and record comments, chat about progress and record information that comes to light in the development and support of your project.
Fleischers uses Slack
Chatting and keeping track of notifications from integrations
nerogit uses Slack
하루 계획 & 회고,
개발 관련 webhook,
trello web hook,
marketing 채널 운영
pranspach uses Slack
Company-wide & team communication
RickyCook uses Slack
cyzest uses Slack
커뮤니케이션 툴 활용 / Jira 및 Sentry 와 연동, 이슈 및 에러 모니터링
thibmaek uses Slack
Get notified of build status, deployment status, github changes and internal communication for the team.
lyndonwong uses Slack
Collaboration, messaging, notifications.
PSESD uses Slack
Team communication
tpp6me uses Slack
Intra-team communication.
andrewKing03 uses Slack
Chatting with team members and viewing GitHub commits and Zendesk tickets
Oomba uses Slack
Slack is our primary communication tool both within a single team and company as a whole.
MyklClason uses Slack
Slack is very nice for team chats.
rqtaylor uses Slack
Great for communicating at work. Also have a family Slack to keep in better contact with my brothers and parents.
ogelacinyc uses Slack
Sud Web uses Slack
We use Slack for day to day exchanges, confcalls and notification center from external services.
SaberEsPoder uses Slack
Slack is our go-to communication tool and it's slowly replacing emails across all departments of the company. We built our own Slack Bot to help us with simple DevOps stuff; Honeybadger notifies us in real time of errors happening on production in our monitoring channel; CircleCI reports builds status and deployment info as well.
davidrock uses Slack
Chat with team mates
Vinceveve uses Slack
Team communication, robot integration the central point for everybody
rigells uses Slack
communicate with coworker
Clarabridge CX Social uses Slack
Used as main communication tool for the whole team.
OurHood uses Slack
Slack is our communication platform among the employees.
papaver uses Slack
irc for the masses. currently use it with all my clients. great for communication and notes. was introduced a couple of years ago, but originally started using irc 15 years ago.
AngeloR uses Slack
NUU uses Slack
Webhooks for bug/alert/build/deploy notifications
sjehutch uses Slack
Real time notifications and collaboration
Coding Raven, LLC uses Slack
kfancy uses Slack
Slack is hands down the best business and developer collaboration tool out there. I use it regularly.
TOMIS uses Slack
Daily communication and standups between all team members
blairg23 uses Slack
Team communications
kycfeel uses Slack
요즘은 조금 시들하지만 한때 찬란했던 업무용 메신저. 탄탄한 기본 기능에 정말 다양한 플러그인을 만들고 배포할 수도 있어 팀 활동에 사용중. 개인 관리 서버의 모니터링 도구와 Slack을 연결해 푸시 알림도 받고 있다.
edilsalvador uses Slack
Team Collaborations and Application Integration
morrisclay uses Slack
Team communication & integration in micro services as notification system
melanconz uses Slack
Used for communication.
cslasher uses Slack
Business communication, part of the requirement.
Eventvods uses Slack
Team communication and collaboration.
Ataccama uses Slack
Slack is used as a company-wide communication tool. In addition, we've got a few channels set up to notify developers about build failures, thrown exceptions on production servers and stuff like that.
Macronimous Web Solutions Pvt Ltd uses Slack
We use Slack for our internal and customer projects
HomeUnion uses Slack
Using Slack for all internal product and Engineering team communication, application Alerts & Notifications
kerongon uses Slack
Team Chat
SwedishBotMafia uses Slack
Binded uses Slack
We use Slack as our primary way to communicate.
vertigra uses Slack
Collect messages from services (ci, coverage and etc) in one place
anandundavia uses Slack
Can be integrated with the chatbot
In Situ Training uses Slack
Internal communication
mfloris uses Slack
Team comunication
Harba uses Slack
Communication between teams and inside teams.
AFielding uses Slack
We communicate via slack, last week we sent 1619 messages amongst one another.
StoriesOnBoard uses Slack
Slack integration
anirbandas18 uses Slack
Chat Application
Micrantha uses Slack
really wanted unix fortunes in slack which I use
codeprefect uses Slack
Communication and Collaboration
fileee GmbH uses Slack
Slack is our main tool for companywide discussion and sharing.
PayParty uses Slack
Our main tool for internal communications and also automated notifications.
andrewgatenby uses Slack
Team comms is essential. The R&D team is distributed over two offices, as well as the chance that people are working from home. Slack provides lots of options of keeping individuals and groups up to date. We also use it to integrate into services such as Github and Sentry.
shridhardalavi uses Slack
Slack is an instant messaging and collaboration system It unifies your entire team communications, making your workflow, well, flow a lot better. It is a cloud-based set of proprietary team collaboration tools and services. Slack teams allow communities, groups, or teams to join through a specific URL or invitation sent by a team admin or owner.
thanhbn87 uses Slack
anasancho uses Slack
Project management and team work .
dflynn1024 uses Slack
We use this to collaborate with the DLX team. Our deployment pipeline (Octopus Deploy) sends release notifications to the team on Slack.
LUMA Institute uses Slack
International team communication. DevOps.
danielkovacs uses Slack
Communication between team members, and VSTS integrations (webhooks)
rluijk uses Slack
Team Collaboration
JINJA Ltd. uses Slack
Slack, yes, no WeChat or DingDing.
Mission Bio uses Slack
Group chat with team members spread across multiple time zones.
elbstack uses Slack
We try to put everything into Slack and avoid external tools whenever possible.
Flux Work uses Slack
GIF! (mic drop)
janos uses Slack
Slack is as one of notification channels for new version releases.
Promethean TV uses Slack
The PrometheanTV organization uses Slack for team and customer communication and collaboration needs.
Artifex Technology Development uses Slack
team communications
le-yo uses Slack
Team Communication
Stylus Apparel uses Slack
For chats, efficient communication, and of course for meme sharing
Nayemk uses Slack
I'm jobs I'm software engineer
MyData Global uses Slack
All community communications.
royolsen uses Slack
Developer communication and collaboration
SahilMak uses Slack
Communication between trainees
WifiDabba India PVT LTD uses Slack
Quick code sharing, team collaboration & team chatting.
LukazDane uses Slack
Main means of company communication.
Ridermansb uses Gitter
Communication with the team.
smiller171 uses Gitter
My favorite chat tool for open source
datapile uses Gitter
We haven't found a better way to communicate directly with the core contributors and developers for many open source projects we utilize on GitHub (Scala, Scala-js, Sinatra, Apache top-level projects, just to name a few).
It is a solid piece of software that appeals to us who have used Slack in the past, and the tight integration with a single GitHub repository or organization for each Gitter room just makes sense in our eyes.
Appernetic uses Gitter
Gitter is used for support
hanssens uses Gitter
Using Gitter for open source talks and directly communicating with contributors.
mickdekkers uses Gitter
Many GitHub communities are on Gitter. It's a great place to ask and answer questions related to open-source frameworks and libraries.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Desk Leila
Colored desk modern design customizable in different colors and sizes.
Availability: In stock
Regular Price: €179.00
-23%( Save: €33.61 )
€138.00 ( Excl. Tax: €113.11 )
Cheerful and colourful desk with shaped top to wave. Useful for study and play of children.
- Melamine resins structure
- ABS edgebanding
- Desk Top thickness 2,2 cm
The desks are made of melamine-faced panels on both sides, in matte finish of various colors, class E1, according to EEC Regulation, low emission of formaldehyde. Are resistant to impact, abrasion, subject to change over time and are easy to clean.
- H. 74 x W. 124,5 x D. 51,5/73 cm
The order will be processed by our logistics service, through the best-specialized partners in dealing with fragile product.
Shipping costs will depend on volume weight (the value is given by a conversion factor that translates volume into taxable kilograms).
To calculate shipping costs add products to the cart and specify the postcode.
The products ordered will be delivered with packaging at street level. Assembly and delivery at floor are excluded. All costs for any additional services are charged to the customer.
Please contact Customer Support for special needs on deliveries: email@example.com
(During the summer, or before Christmas, delivery times may be delayed because of reduced service by couriers).
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The Customer, within 14 days of receipt the purchased goods, may exercise the right of withdrawal.
The customer must send the formal communication of withdrawal before that period expiry.
For more information on product's return and the right of withdrawal, please see our Terms and Conditions by clicking here.


text:
Ideally Amber jewellery should be cleaned after every time you wear it to prevent a build up of oil from your skin. Amber jewellery is easy to clean but do not to get it wet, as water will turn amber cloudy. Find a soft, clean cloth and dip it into warm very mild soapy water then wring it out really well until it feels dry. There should be no dripping water left. Do not use detergents of any kind as they WILL damage the amber. Take your wrung out cloth and wipe over the amber then use a dry cloth to dry it immediately after wiping. If you are cleaning more than one piece, clean each piece in turn rather than leaving the amber to dry by itself, or it may turn cloudy.
If you are unfortunate enough to have got grease marks from cosmetics on your amber then put a couple of drops of sweet almond oil or olive oil onto a cloth and very carefully and gently and rub until the mark has disappeared, then wipe again with a dry cloth. Oil can be used simply as a polish for amber jewellery.
The general rules of thumb are the same as for any piece of delicate jewellery; dont get it wet, avoid wearing for housework, gardening, sport, swimming or sunbathing and do not apply hairspray and perfume before wearing amber jewellery, apply first and wait until your skin is completely dry. Amber can chip if treated roughly so it is best stored in a soft cloth or bag.
CLICK HERE to see Jewellery of the Planet's range of AMBER Jewellery
|Nothing looks better than the brilliant sparkle of clean amber!
Surfing, ethnic and tribal jewellery.
This site and all contents are © 2018 Jewellery of the Planet
Email: Click Here
Telephone: 01964 440360


text:
The Braves Card is your single source card for purchasing foods and services at UNCP. It is also your identification card for UNCP events and athletics. If you lose your Braves Card please contact the Braves Card Office at 910.521.6845 or email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Our office is located in the Auxiliary Services Building.
Mission Statement
The staff of the Braves Card Office is committed to providing UNC Pembroke with a high-quality, single card system that allows convenient and efficient access to all card-related services. The Braves Card Office is dedicated to providing the campus community with courteous, timely, efficient, and effective service including seeking new, expanded uses of the card through improved advanced technology. Our services include ID card production, and related payment and account maintenance capabilities.


text:
App Description
Color known patterns on the taste, feel the present of artists.
You ever wanted to create an unforgettable work of art? With this unique collection of patterns of a coloring which envelops broad range of styles and movements, fans of painting of all age, can experiment now this coloring, changing colors and shades of the most known masterpieces of art. In a series black-and-white images of the art treasures written by the greatest artists in the history among which Botticelli, Vermeer, Goya, Decontaminates, Van Gogh and Picasso.
To color these magnificent patterns, young artists can use all opportunities of our program. Selecting any color from very rich palette, to regulate density and paintbrush thickness. And I leaked to increase the image for more detail plotting. But if you decided to write the masterpiece - that safely select one of five available pure canvases. Also create the masterpiece.
And simply you remember that there is no correct or wrong method to color these artworks. Research own creative potential, mixing different styles and artists. Why to you not to try Puantilistichesky technique Sulfur on painting of other artists and to look at what will turn out? Or, change gloomy from the point of view of El Greco color and tone to Toledo to see effect of this free interpretation.
App Changes
- March 16, 2013 Initial release
- March 28, 2013 Price decrease: $3.99 -> $1.99
- March 30, 2013 Price increase: $1.99 -> $3.99
- April 12, 2013 Price decrease: $3.99 -> $1.99
- April 13, 2013 Price increase: $1.99 -> $3.99
- June 05, 2013 Price decrease: $3.99 -> $0.99
- June 09, 2013 Price increase: $0.99 -> $3.99
- June 07, 2014 Price decrease: $3.99 -> $1.99
- June 27, 2014 Price increase: $1.99 -> $3.99


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And What I Think About It...
I thought I was well informed about the proper use of the apostrophe, but I visited a webpage about apostrophes tonight and found a rule that surprised me.
Another common error is using an apostrophe to indicate a plural number set. "The low temperature will be in the 40's" is incorrect. There should be no apostrophe in 40s. Similarly, decades should not have apostrophes unless they are possessing something.
Source: How to Use Apostrophes -WikiHow
I investigated further and found similar information:
Years in a decade are often marked with an s only: the 1930s, the '70s.
Source: Uses of the Apostrophe
It is no longer considered necessary or even correct to create the plural of years or decades or abbreviations with an apostrophe:
-He wrote several novels during the 1930s.
Source: Google Answers: Grammar--Plural of Abbreviation
I'm positive that back in the Dark Ages, I was taught to add an apostrophe before the -s. when writing the plural of a number. And the last two quotes above do hint that an apostrophe in the plural of numbers was once acceptable. I found two examples in reference books that suggest this, also.
The Little, Brown Handbook (by H. Ramsey Fowler and Jane E. Aaron, published by HarperCollins Publishers Inc., New York, 1992, p. 425) says that letters, numbers, and words can be made plural by italicizing (or underlining) and then adding an apostrophe plus -s. But the following is added:
Exception: References to the years in a decade are not underlined and often omit the apostrophe. Thus either 1960's or 1960s in acceptable as long as usage is consistent.
From a 1977 edition of The Gregg Reference Manual (by William A. Sabin, published by McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, 1977, p. 125-126.)
Numbers expressed in figures are pluralized by the addition of s alone.
in the 1980s
temperature in the 40s
sort these 1040s and W-2s
NOTE: Some authorities still sanction the use of an apostrophe before the s. However the apostrophe is functionally unnecessary except where confusion might otherwise result.
Well, I can change. I'll give up the apostrophe in the plurals of numbers. When I see a number plural that's written the old-fashioned, incorrect way in the blog archives, I'll edit it. I do want to use proper punctuation.
I draw the line on my efforts to be correct, though. I'm not going to do proper footnotes. This is only a blog, not a research paper. I'll include the information about the darned book, and if you want a proper footnote, go ahead and write one.


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LIVINGSTON, NJ - TheAlternativePress.com reported earlier today that Madison Public Schools were on lockdown due to an unrelated incident in Morristown. The lockdown was later lifted. It now appears that the lockdown was the result of an incident near Morristown Medical Center involving 54-year-old Donald Ebert of Livingston, who is now barricaded inside his home on Wynnewood Avenue in Livingston. He is armed and considered dangerous.
Ebert allegedly pistol-whipped a woman near the Medical Center. After fleeing the Center, he returned to his home at 31 Wynnewood Road and is refusing to leave the residence.
The Livingston Police Department is on the scene as are Essex County units.
The Alternative Press will continue to provide information as it becomes available.


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With the largest supply of fishing accessories available, you'll always be prepared when heading out on the water. No matter what fishing gear you're looking for, Sportsman's Warehouse has it.
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A paedophile has got extra time in jail after a boy victim found the courage to talk about abuse which happened more than 30 years ago.
John Moss, now 49, was already in prison after abusing children in the Alfreton area over a 14-year period, ending in 1993.
He has now pleaded guilty to one charge of indecent assault between 1979 and 1981. At Derby Crown Court on February 26, he was jailed for a year and put on the Sex Offenders' Register for a decade.
Moss, who lived in Nottingham before being jailed, was initially sent to prison for seven years but lodged an appeal and this term was reduced. He had admitted four charges of indecent assault on a female, five indecent assaults on a male and three counts of indecency with a child.
When he was sentenced in 2011, Judge Ebrahim Mooncey told him: "There comes a time when truth does catch up."
Moss's barrister said he handed himself over to police when allegations were made in 2010 after he had "carried the guilt around with him for many years".
Moss of Maud Street, Nottingham "took himself to the police station and made admissions," the court heard.
The offences began when Moss was aged 15. He told a girl victim: "Don't tell anyone or the bogeyman will get you."
And at the age of around 26, he abused an eight-year-old girl and told her it was "our little secret."
The new sentence will be served at the same time as the previous one. His earliest release date is in July.
Detective constable Karen Horner, who investigated the latest case, said: "However old allegations are, we will investigate. People will always be believed."


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NEWS : TUE, OCT 22, 2013 at 9:49 AM
Yes, THAT Comets on Fire.
Last seen in action (and very memorable action at that) at our own 20th anniversary festival back in 2008, the fine, furry gentle-dudes of Comets on Fire recently announced that they will be playing some shows in the UK this November, as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival. And now they have, even more recently, announced that they are adding an Oakland date (Nov. 26 at The White Horse Inn)!
With the exception of the glaring lack of a Seattle date (WTF, guys?), this is unequivocally great news. We're biased, sure. We've put out a couple of Comets on Fire records and we're still totally interested in selling them. But, we have seen this band, some of us a bunch of times, at least one of us on the very night his second son was due to be born, and it's really impossible to describe, with mere words and the meager skill we seem to be able to muster in their use, just how much fun a Comets on Fire show is. And, right now, there are three more of them. We know you'll make the right decision here.
There is a press release about all of this here.
And, the Comets on Fire blog has the straight dope from the band, including insight on how all of this came together.
Welcome back, guys. It's been way too long.


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Gutted, this film was awful - no wonder Disney forced US cinemas to show it on their largest screens for a minimum of 4 weeks. From the opening 5 mins this film was a farce, at first I thought I was watching a sequel to spaceballs with the 'your mum' jokes and a certain scene which looked like a cross between Mary Poppins and superman but then the jokes come to an abrupt stop when you see what they do to Luke, totally betraying his character.
Well, let's start with most disapointing aspect: All, that was in TFA, all of this unresolved plot points were thrown away. Thanks, Disney, my expectations about you were right. 0 points for you. It's seems to me, that people forgot or even didn't know, that movies are stories at first and visuals at second. And this is second disapointing aspect of film: A ridiculous exchange from plot to visuals. 0 points for you, Disney. Repeating a scenes from original trilogy is not an issue here. It's just a symptom of one of the worst problems of this film: Lack of understanding and appreciation of source material. I don't know if director is a Star Wars fan, but I know something for sure: Fans never mix their favorites with mud! 0 points for you, Disney.
And in the end... we have... 0 points! What a surprise!
They've killed the saga with this movie and turned it into a joke anyone who's a starwars fan of old who's been waiting for the end of this saga had just been kicked in the teeth. This movies plot was very weak as was the script direction humour and lore everything was off the mark even the language felt wrong for a starwars movie. The rebellion who won 30 years ago and should of been in power have been reduced to the resistance the what? Yeah the resistance instead of the rebellion. We were expecting a Fin and Rey movie discovering the force and becoming jedi and we were treated to the po dameron show they should of stuck to their guns and killed him off in the first of the trilogy. Still they've done the same lame thing with the bf2 single player campaign which is utter trash. The director claims to be a starwars fan but i have my doubts. Was that Yoda using force lightening to burn the tree? Isn't force lightening a dark side force? It has been in every piece of starwars so far. After bf2 and these two terrible movies I'm done with starwars the franchise for me finished at return of the Jedi. Blank Disney and Blank Rian or whatever his name is I'll be boycotting them both from now on.
This is the worst and most awful Star Wars movie yet. The movie is terrible. It doesn't fit into any of the other movies. Logically the movie falls apart worse than any other Star Wars movie yet. Most of the movie centers around a rebel (I won't call it resistance, that was a stupid and unnecessary name change from The Force Awakens) group of transports that are running out of gas getting chased by the Empires most powerful fleet. Don't ask me why but apparently the imperial fleet has nothing that is faster than rebellion transports and their tie fighters seem to all be broken down at once.
If you ever wanted to see Luke Skywalker milk an alien. Then this movie will cover that base. If you want to see General Leia surrounded by a bunch of women to make modern feminist happy this movie has you covered. If you want virtue signaling about how awful rich people are this movie has you covered. At one point Leia busts through a door by using the force. When this happens you will expect the spice girls to run into the room and yell GIRL POWER. You will also get to see Leia fly through space like Superman. Because that is exactly what every Star Wars fan has wanted for 30 years. What you won't get is an amazing lightsaber battle featuring Luke. You will get to see a bunch of AT-AT's fire at a projection of Luke, though. Because that is what we've all been waiting for since the Return of the Jedi. Did I mention this movie is awful?
If you wanted an actual Star Wars movie that embraced the spirit of the original then do not see this movie. This is a Disney movie. For some reason, they felt the need to pepper every serious scene there is in the movie with awful humor. The movie opens with one X-Wing flying right up to the imperial fleet. For some reason instead of blowing up the X-Wing, the Admiral of the imperial fleet starts arguing with Poe. I actually thought I was watching a bad commercial. I could not believe this was the start of a Star Wars mo
Disney decided to create a corporate, streamlined product with no narrative substance. Best example of this fact comes from incoherent or non-existent character development in Kylo Ren, Tri, and most explicitly Finn. Trash.
2. Who are Rey's parents? 'These are not the parents we are looking for, move along.' In a quick quip Kylo Ren invalidates all deeper interest, revealing that Rey's parents were no-name deserters. So, no mystery to hold onto there. Unless… this is a clumsily written misdirection from a truth that would be deeper & the only logical possibility...In that this epic has no other Force lending fertile couples other than Leia & Han Solo, Rey IS Kylo Ren's sister. For now, she is not. Her parents were nobodies.
3. We finally get to see Snoke in the flesh. He is very impressive with powers not shown before in SW-the ability to mind bridge other force users to his own ends. His origin, why he is so powerful, his aims & other abilities- never to be known. Before we could develop a better understanding or compelling fear of him, he allowed a carelessly placed lightsaber to be easily used to kill him.
4. I went in to the first showing, open to the joys of suspended disbelief, & with the Force of will to like this Star Wars movie irregardless of any incongruities & the occasional Jar Jar. The only problem was, by any measure of that far far away galaxy, this was not a Star Wars movie. It's just Mickey's Revenge on the Jedi.
This epic chase slogged us over an hour of nothingness. Suddenly we are transported to the 18th century suspense of a seagoing ship taking 3 days to driftingly overtake another. So let's spare the further detail which will be suffered by those who still choose to see this film (code: bring a pillow & eye covers for act two). Yet we still have to get to the burning heart of the 4 mysteries we shared going into TLJ.
1. What about Luke Skywalker? 2. Who are Rey's parents? 3. Who is Snoke? 4. Will The Last Jedi use TFA as a springboard to broaden the SW universe?....1. Luke Skywalker, the heart of the SW universe & all that we know him to be, is suddenly debased & expendable. The new Luke no longer believes in the Force. He is easily bested by a novice. To make matters worse, he betrays family-his nephew, Ben Solo, causing the storm to follow. This means that all his personal arc & the prophecy fulfillment (SW I-VI) of Luke bringing balance to the force, which he did with his father, is negated. Luke's most powerful trait, his belief in Good is also lost. SW VIII invalidates all of the greatest Star Wars' values & achievements by debasing the fundamentals of who Luke Skywalker is. Simply put, we should not have bothered to spend the previous 4 decades watching Star Wars & sharing the values in the Jedi allegories, lore & collections we all so treasure. It all means diddly now. Luke ends worse than he began.-And Yoda, evidently unimpressed that his teachings led Luke to save the galaxy years before, pops up for a few seconds to second the notion that it all has to burn.
Luke's three final accomplishments were to argue with a teenage girl as if he was still the same teenager we all met on long long ago on Tatooine, to lose belief in all that he earned through the Star Wars epics, & to die without just cause.
There are so many many problems with this movie, and these problems are well vetted by other users, so no need to rehash. But there are legitimate reasons to hate this movie well beyond the blindly dismissive buzzwords like "toxic masculinity" and "stubborn fanboys".
I will just give one example of how terrible this movie is. There is one scene in a casino where an alien dressed like Mr. Monopoly Pennybags (monocle and tuxedo) tries putting coins in BB-8, mistaking the droid to be a slot machine. Later in the movie, BB-8 fires these coins and kills stormtroopers. Let that sink in.
I've polled 30+ friends/family/co-workers on this movie. My admittedly informal poll found that those that thought the movie to be terrible were older, male, successful, traditional values, and of higher IQ (not all mutually exclusive). Anybody that was a big fan of the original trilogy categorically loathed the movie. Those that loved the movie (I found very few) were typically children and younger adult females.
If you loved the movie, I'm very happy for you. In fact, I'm jealous. But just know the way in which you are entertained is very different than the way in which I am entertained. Disney horrifically changed the tonality and subsequent audience for these films. They clearly pivoted the brand. I think I speak for many people given the negative user scores and quickly eroding gross receipts.
To that point, sadly I will not be going to Solo or Episode IX on opening weekend as I typically do. I may not go at all. I'll wait for the reviews first. This movie was so bad that it made me stop caring about Star Wars
Why did they use a collection of impossibly slow bombers flying DIRECTLY AT a 'Dreadnought'? (No you can't simply blame Poe for the mission, Leia was his superior, she could've overridden him.
And I'd say worst of all, they wrote Luke out of the film after a cowardly way of facing Kylo Ren, while not writing out Leia. This is THE worst Star Wars film yet made, the prequels were objectively better films than this monstrosity, and felt more like Star Wars films. Compared to this pathetic attempt at a family-friendly Star Wars.
There are some great scenes in that movie. But sadly, the price for seeing them is too high. There is no consistency in the characters, the arcs or the setting. Things happen without reason. There is no payoff to anything that was promised by the first movie in the new trilogy and to my discontent, there is no narrative coherence. Also but not the worst: cringy, childish/cartoonish and partially obstrusive humor, strange choices made by the characters, hollow performances, weird romance and a pointless 30 minute detour? Why can Rei use all the jedi tricks without proper training? Purple Lady had a very late realization. Casino planet? A lot of wasted potential. I'm flabbergasted. Switching directors mid-trilogy seems to be a poor choice in hindsight. I think I just should stop caring, it's not worth it anymore.
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Working JT65A can sometimes be very frustrating. Today 10m was open and quite a bit of DX was coming in but the sum total of my afternoon's endeavours was precisely two QSOs.
This mode does eat up time. I called several stations to no avail: either they didn't hear me or replied to someone else. A couple of stations I called faded out in mid-QSO so I never received any rogers. I tried calling CQ and had a couple of replies, but they never came back after I sent their report.
It takes two minutes each time to find out if the other guy can even hear you. So you can spend a lot of time on abortive contacts.
On well, there's always tomorrow!


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Super Monkey Ball 2: Sakura Edition Review
Not too long ago, we put Super Monkey Ball 2 through its paces on the iPhone. It was good, not great, and now Sega has ported its batch of cute monkeys over to the iPad. Super Monkey Ball 2: Sakura Edition is essentially just a super sized version of Super Monkey Ball 2.
Sakura Edition extends the feature set from its predecessor in an impressive way. Sega has packed on an additional 10 levels to bring the total count to around 125. Also included are a couple of new minigames that are decent. Up to four players can get down in Monkey Base, a Brickbreaker-style game that gives everyone their own corner of the iPad.
More fun than a ball full of monkeys.
The visuals also took leap in fidelity along the way, too. Everything is 3D rendered, and for the most part the graphics are on point. On some levels, though, the frame rate struggles to keep up with all the activity.
The tilt controls we had issues with in the iPhone version haven't gone away with the iPad's bulkier size. Apparently Sega wasn't listening when we requested some alternate control schemes.
Overall this is a good port, but there are still a few bruises in this banana.
Editor's Note: This review covers the content exclusive to the iPad version of this game. For the full game review, click here.


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TEHRAN, June 17 (UPI) -- Pakistan could face financial penalties if it fails to act decisively on the construction of a natural gas pipeline from Iran, an authority said.
Pakistani and Iranian leaders in March met along their shared border for a ceremony to mark the formal construction of a $7.5 billion natural gas pipeline from Iran.
The project has faced a series of delays since it was proposed as the so-called Peace Pipeline in the 1990s. India was included as an early partner but has since stayed on the sidelines in part because of economic pressure from the United States.
Iran and Pakistan in 2011 said they would move ahead on their agreements for the pipeline without India. An official source who spoke to Iran's semiofficial Fars News Agency on condition of anonymity said Pakistan could face penalties if it does not make a formal commitment.
"If Pakistan doesn't revise its behavior on the construction of the peace pipeline, it will be fined based on the bilateral agreement [with Iran]," the source was quoted as saying Saturday.
The pipeline could carry as much as 300 billion cubic feet of natural gas to Pakistan if constructed. The Pakistani government said the pipeline could help tackle an ongoing domestic energy crisis though the Iranian source said frustrations were growing because of the lack of concrete developments.


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Pioneer Space Saver Photo Albums can help you create an ultra-compact photo library. Each Space Saver Photo Album contains 144 slip-in pockets that hold photos up to 4" x 6".
It's a good light album, but the plastic pages are not clear and transparent. The photographes look blurry when you put the pictures in due to the cloudy plastic sheets.
I bought 4 albums recently, and I wished I had bought 1 first to see.
Bought these on the recommendation of Ali Edwards and they are really helping with my photo organization. I use them to gather my photos by event and category - like a staging area - and then I can easily browse later for the stories I want to scrapbook. Love them because of how little space they take, easy viewing, the plastic outer sleeve and the side labels.
I love these albums. They do not take up much room at all and they just hold the photos. I do a lot of scrapbooking. My three year old already has a school album, dance album, and 4 albums of everything else so you can see I take a lot of pictures. It is nice to have something to keep them in, in order, and that does not take up a lot of room.
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This holiday season, we have much to be thankful for. Our Bailey-Holt House residents still cannot return to their home, but the outpouring of support we have received for our Bailey-Holt House Emergency Fund has inspired us and allowed us to push on in our mission to reopen Bailey-Holt House as soon as possible.
It's been over three weeks since the evacuation of Bailey-Holt House and the yearning for home grows strong. Early this week, residents were able to go back and retrieve a few things from their rooms. One reminded us that when you've been homeless, every leaving is traumatic because you just never know.
I made a pledge last week that I will spend New Year's Eve with the women and men who live at Bailey-Holt House. I intend to keep my promise. With enough support and funding we can replace our ruined infrastructure and reopen. The holidays are a hard time for many, and to separate them from their community only makes it harder.
Maya Angelou perhaps says it best, "The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." It's time to come home.
One Comment
I for one can't wait until the door reopen. The housing staff made sure i found a safe and present place to stay, and did not stop their. Each day Shelia called to check on me. And When the "scoundrels" did nothing Bailey House still provided. While it hurts me to know some have turned, and try to spread their negative attitude towards BH and the staff. I for one will not stop praising them for being Family. You go Bailey House, with a thumbs up SNAP!


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Joseph DeTrani, a long-time CIA official who served as a U.S. envoy in talks with North Korea regarding its nuclear activities, will open the hackers' conference on August 2 with a speech about weapons of mass destruction and cyber technology. Former Air Force General Robert Elder, who created one of the U.S. military's first cyber units, will speak the following day. Def Con founder Jeff Moss said the two had been invited long before his July 11 request that federal officials stay away from the convention to defuse tensions over the U.S. mass surveillance programs leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. Moss said that having former U.S. officials at the conference could be useful to the hacking community because they are uniquely placed to help explain the government's position on the surveillance programs. "Being former, not current, they might be able to speak more freely and offer a more nuanced perspective," said Moss, who is known in hacking circles as The Dark Tangent. "They would probably offer more credible perspective that people are not going to just dismiss out of hand and say 'Of course you are going to say that. That's your job,'" he said in an interview.
Def Con - short for Defense Condition, in military speak - has since 1992 been bringing together people with a common interest in software, computer architecture, and any high-tech system that can be hacked. It typically attracts a small contingent of officials from the CIA, NSA, FBI, and military among hackers, researchers, security workers, activists and others. The conference this year is expected to draw 15,000 people.
DeTrani told Reuters that after his speech he will address surveillance programs, if asked.
"Everything I've heard about these programs is that they were authorized with oversight. From what I know Americans were not spied upon," he said. "Hopefully nobody throws marshmallows at me and says 'You wacko, go back to North Korea.'"
DeTrani stepped down as a senior advisor to the Director of National Intelligence in May 2012, ending more than three decades in government, the bulk of the time at the CIA.
His speech will be followed by several panels led by critics of government surveillance. The American Civil Liberties Union is holding a Friday afternoon session on "NSA surveillance and more." Representatives of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a group that has filed lawsuits against the NSA over surveillance programs, will review "the year in digital civil liberties."
Elder, who is currently an engineering professor at George Mason University, plans to talk about applying lessons from military operations to protecting computer networks.
He said that while he knows nothing more about the Snowden case than what he has read in the paper, he expects the issue will come up. "I expect there to be some tension," he said.


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Sun staff photos can be ordered by visiting our SmugMug site.
PEPPERELL -- Russell Schott, a corporate attorney and a 33-year Pepperell resident, was one of the key figures who organized the Statewide Pipeline Resistance Relay Walk, a month-long rolling rally held in June and July against the 129-mile natural-gas pipeline project proposed by Kinder Morgan Energy Partners. The pipeline would run through many undeveloped lands, including conservation lands, and residential neighborhoods between the western state border to Dracut. Kinder Morgan plans to submit pre-filing paperwork with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in September.
Q: What's the latest in the protest activities?
A: We are at a little bit of a slow point because Kinder Morgan has not yet filed the pre-FERC filing that they said they are going to do in September. We are waiting for that.
In the meantime, the fundraising activity is going on. Once Kinder Morgan files (its applications), we will probably need some experts helping us so that we can intervene in the process. We will need some technical help to counter the argument for the real need for natural gas in New England and also the ability to prove the environmental impact of the construction of this pipeline.
Q: How did you get involved in the pipeline protest?
A: I'm on the board of Nashoba Land Trust in Pepperell. We were notified by Kinder Morgan that they wanted to survey our property. It first came to (Pepperell) Town Hall and Paula Terrasi, who is our town conservation agent and also happens to be on the board of the land trust, told us about it.
Q: How did you manage to organize the statewide walk in a month?
A: I was already on the Events Committee, (comprising people from various groups leading protests against the pipeline project).
The job of the Events Committee is to come up with ideas to draw attention to our fight against the pipeline project. (During an anti-pipeline meeting in Groton, resident) Diane Hewitt talked about doing a statewide walk.
It turned out the Events Committee already had the same idea. We thought it would make more sense to do it as a relay than having it all on the same weekend, and we would hopefully get media attention and political attention and draw excitement when it reaches individual towns.
Q: What is the key to effectively organizing a statewide event like that?
A: The first thing was to find people in every single town to walk.
The (committee's efforts) covered everything from publicity to working with local police departments and town officials to recruiting walkers. The idea was always to have as many walkers as possible.
Q: What was the takeaway from the rolling rally?
A: More than anything, it's the fact that there are a lot of people who are concerned.
Q: What is your biggest concern?
My biggest concern about this project is that the decision is not being made in Massachusetts, but rather it's being made in Washington. The whole process to date has been done behind closed doors. It doesn't seem like there was any evaluation of alternatives.
Q: Do you think residents are gaining some ground?
A: Yes. As the result of the statewide walk and the (final) rally in Boston, we were getting quite a bit of publicity for the entire month of July. I think politicians realized that their constituents were very concerned about this. What resulted from that was Gov. Deval Patrick saying he was withdrawing his support for the time being (for the idea to charge electricity rate-payers an extra to help fund the Kinder Morgan pipeline construction) and put everything on hold. So we think it was a pretty good win.
Q: What's the message you want to get across?
A: The message has to go to governmental officials and FERC, and it's that this gas pipeline is not needed and there are better alternatives.
We should be looking at solar, wind and emerging technologies that people have not probably thought about. We should be looking into the future, not the past.
Q: Are you optimistic about the chance of pipeline opponents winning?
A: I'm cautiously optimistic. I think we attracted a lot of attention from local politicians and environmental groups in Massachusetts. I think there are a lot of questions that came up as to if there is really a need for a 36-inch-diameter pipeline.
Why can't they use the existing right of way? Why can't they fix the existing pipes for leaks?
Q: What's your next step?
A: I'm going to a fundraising event tonight. Hopefully, we will be helping to raise some money so that we can get the right people to help fight the FERC battle.
Follow Hiroko Sato on Twitter and Tout @SatoLowellSun.


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posted by Thom Holwerda on Mon 24th Sep 2012 15:07 UTC, submitted by MOS6510
"I've been programming professionally for about 3 years at this point, and I've noticed some interesting patterns in other programmers I've worked with. One of the key differentiators among programmers is motivation. I'm not referring to an individual's passion to simply be successful in their career, but rather the type of work they want to pursue. The thing they want to do with computers every day, the types of problems they are interested in solving."


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Tottenham have confirmed they have struck a deal with Belgian club Standard Liege to sign defender Zeki Fryers.
Spurs have been quick to strengthen their squad in the current transfer window as they pursue of a top-four finish this season.
The 20-year-old, who has been capped by England in three youth categories, can play left-back or in central defence.
Fryers started his career at Manchester United and was restricted to just two appearances because of injuries prior to his move to Liege last August, when Spurs were credited with an interest in the defender.
A statement from Tottenham read: "We're delighted to announce that we have reached agreement with Standard Liege for the signing of Zeki Fryers."
Source: SkySports


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Alexander's Alley
Alexander's Alley
Alexander's Alley, located on 140th Street and Alexander Avenue in the Bronx, is named for a family of Mott Haven landowners and developers, Robert, Ellen, and their son Edwin Alexander. Very little is known about the family.
The Bronx gets its name from a Swedish sea captain named Jonas Bronck. In 1639, Bronck sailed for New Amsterdam and settled in the area which now bears his name. The captain purchased approximately 500 acres of land from the Dutch West India Company, and traded tools, clothes and utensils with local Native Americans for additional property. He built a stone home in what is now Morrisania, and owned one of the largest collections of books in the colony. Bronck's estate also hosted a peace conference with the Weckquasgeck Indians in 1642.
Born in 1798, Jordan L. Mott was largely responsible for the economic and residential development of this area. Inventor of the coal-burning stove, cupola furnace, and various modern kitchen and bathroom fixtures, Mott purchased the land west of Third Avenue in 1841. Establishing an ironworks where present day Third Avenue meets the East River, he developed the remaining land into a small suburban neighborhood, called Mott Haven, for local industrial workers and their families. Encouraging additional commercial growth, Mott also built a nearby canal and successfully advocated the extension of the Harlem River Railroad (later known as Metro-North's Harlem Line) through Mott Haven. Within a short time, Mott Haven developed into a significant Bronx residential and industrial area renowned for its booming manufacturing industry.
Today the Bronx neighborhood of Mott Haven is bounded on the north by East 149th Street and St. Mary's Park, on the east by an extension of East 149th Street and the East River, and on the south and west by the Harlem River.
Parks acquired this small plot of land in 1937. The park opened a year later, with the name Mott Haven Health Center Playground. Mayor John V. Lindsay (1921-2000) approved plans for the reconstruction of the park in 1963, and the park reopened in December of 1964 as a sitting area.
This park offers a serene, secluded setting for the public with green benches, checker tables, and small gardens.


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Leukemia is a type of blood cancer that begins in the bone marrow. Bone marrow is the soft tissue in the center of the bones, where blood cells are produced.
The term leukemia means white blood. White blood cells (leukocytes) are used by the body to fight infections and other foreign substances. Leukocytes are made in the bone marrow.
Leukemia leads to an uncontrolled increase in the number of white blood cells.
The cancerous cells prevent healthy red cells, platelets, and mature white cells (leukocytes) from being made. Life-threatening symptoms can then develop as normal blood cells decline.
The cancer cells can spread to the bloodstream and lymph nodes. They can also travel to the brain and spinal cord (the central nervous system) and other parts of the body.
Leukemias are divided into two major types:
- Acute (which progresses quickly)
- Chronic (which progresses more slowly)
The main types of leukemia are:
Acute lymphocytic leukemia(ALL) Acute myelogenous leukemia(AML) Chronic lymphocytic leukemia(CLL) Chronic myelogenous leukemia(CML) Hairy cell leukemia
Appelbaum FR. The acute leukemias. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldmans Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Saunders; 2011:chap 189.
Kantarjian H, OBrien S. The chronic leukemias. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldmans Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Saunders; 2011:chap 190.
Review Date:
Reviewed By:
Yi-Bin Chen, MD, Leukemia/Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.


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February 28, 2010
Sunday today, the day of the big hockey game between Canada and the USA. You can feel the excitement in the air, unless of course you are standing anywhere near Fernando in which case there is a palpable sense of distaste, one might almost say disgust. 'Why would so many grown men want to get together to expend so much energy trying to determine who can better bash around a small black cylinder, and why would so many otherwise intelligent people want to watch them do it? One side or the other is obviously going to win. It's just a question of whether or not they can do it with minimal bloodshed.' In all fairness, I should mention that he distains soccer as well.
So while he's reading his books about ethics and morality in the developing Canadian psyche and their influence in an ever more fragile worldview, we Canadian will get together this afternoon with one worldview and one worldview only: to pound the slack-ass Americans to a pulp and to gloat while doing so!
Peace be on you brother.
With all the excitement about the Olympics and the palpable nationalism that one encounters everywhere, I am having a hard time with my theory that the games should not be nationalist, that athletes should compete as individuals only, not as representatives of a particular country. My concern is what if the fourth best skier from Latvia is better than the best skier from Canada, or the other way around of course. Why is that skier excluded from the games just because he is from Latvia and Latvia can have only so many entrants. The problem with this comes when you have to consider team sports. Teams have to come from somewhere although I suppose you could make the argument that there could be 2 teams from one country, but it seems that they have to come from countries of some sorts. They could come from different leagues I guess, say the NHL for instance, or the Belgian Cup League (yes, there is such a thing). Even with this is method though it is difficult to avoid the national ties.
But when I see another gold medal winner, or any other colour for that matter, with a maple leaf on his/her sleeve, I find myself getting all teary eyed and wishing that I didn't have such international thoughts about equality and brotherhood. Why can't I just be happy and excited about us winning a bunch of medals and not worry about the poor skiers in Latvia?
And by the way, I would like to point out that, while Canada may have won first place in 13 events, well over 60 Canadians won gold medals and I'm not even counting the silvers and bronzes. I figured this out and I'm not even a nationalist.


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Called the National Ignition Facility, it will use 192 of the world's most power lasers to ignite a hydrogen fuel pellet, fusing its atoms, and producing enormous amounts of energy from that fusion.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Secretary of State George Shultz toured the facility on Monday. First, they received a private, classified briefing by lab director George Miller on the lab's operations, which includes stewardship of the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile.
The lab broke ground on the National Ignition Facility in 1997, and it is now 99 percent completed. It is scheduled to begin operations in March 2009.
Laboratory Director George Miller told the visitors that the National Ignition Facility "represents the culmination of more than 50 years by the scientists of the world to achieve fusion in the laboratory" adding that it will produce "the possibility of limitless clean energy."
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, center, tours the National Ignition Facility with George Schultz, far right. (Photo courtesyLawrence Livermore National Lab)
The laser facility has multiple missions - research to support the nuclear weapons stockpile, research into the origins of the universe, and research to help pave the way for the future use of fusion energy.
The lab's first ignition attempt is set for 2010, with a goal of reaching nuclear fusion in 2011.
Governor Schwarzenegger described what is expected to happen when the 192 beams of light enter the hydrogen target the size of a pencil eraser.
"The impact will unleash a burst of fusion energy up to 500 billion watts of power and, just to show you what this is, generating the power of the United States and multiply that by a thousand. So that's what we are talking about, the energy this will create," the governor said.
California's fast-growing population needs not just more energy but more clean energy to fight global warming and keep the environment clean. The fusion energy that National Ignition Facility is expected to produce creates no greenhouse gases.
"What's most exciting about it is the potential to revolutionize our energy future," Schwarzenegger said. "Scientists here will work to harness that fusion energy and turn it into a viable long-term nuclear power source. And I have said many times that nuclear power ought to be part of our future energy supply, assuming that it is safe and the waste issue is addressed."
"If successful, this new endeavor, called The Life Program, would generate an endless amount of megawatts of carbon-free power - and that's the important thing, of carbon-free power - but without the drawbacks of the conventional nuclear plants, which means that there is no risk of a reactor melting down or anything like this," the governor said. "The nuclear waste is minimized. In fact, it would even replace or reduce existing nuclear stockpiles, since live engines can burn nuclear waste."
Schwarzenegger said he expects that within 10 to 12 years a fusion energy demonstration project will be up and running. "This is monumental, a monumental change," he said.
Schultz said, "Science is something that deserves support, because in the end science will support us and our future."
Ed Moses, principal associate director of the facility, who led the tour, said that energy security, and the creation of clean energy, is a key component of national security.
But not everyone is enthusiastic about the National Ignition Facility.
The local anti-nuclear group Tri-Valley CAREs has opposed the facility since 1994, believing that it may encourage nuclear proliferation.
Tri-Valley CAREs Executive Director Marylia Kelly says, "The NIF is the most costly element of the Department of Energy's tockpile Stewardship" program, and is intended to train a new generation of bomb designers and enhance U.S. capability to develop new and modified nuclear weapons."
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights reserved.


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SILC Showcase
Showcase May 2014:Spatial Ability Mediates the Gender Difference in Middle School Students' Science Performance
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Spatial Ability Mediates the Gender Difference in Middle School Students' Science Performance
Colleen M. Ganley1, Marina Vasilyeva2, Alana Dulaney2
1Florida State University and 2Boston College
Research has shown that gender differences persist in some areas of science, both in terms of test performance and in the choice of science-related careers. Specifically, while we see a decreasing gender gap in biology and medicine, there is still a substantial under-representation of women in college majors and career choices in the physical sciences, computer science, and engineering (National Science Foundation [NSF], 2013; Snyder & Dillow, 2011). Similarly, gender differences in test scores are often more evident in physical science and engineering, compared to the biological sciences (Martin, Mullis, & Stanco, 2012; NCES, 2012).
There are a number of potential explanations for both the underrepresentation of women in STEM careers and the gender differences in science performance. Among these are differences between men and women in their attitudes and interests in science, as well as differences in particular cognitive skills. One type of cognitive skill – the ability to generate and manipulate mental representations of objects, termed spatial skills –has received particular attention in the context of examining gender differences in science. Spatial skills are related to science performance and show well-documented gender differences (Kozhevnikov, Motes, & Hegarty, 2007; Voyer, Voyer & Bryden, 1995). Yet no study to date has directly examined spatial skills as a potential mediator of gender differences in science performance.
In two studies we focused on spatial skills to help us better understand gender differences in the science test performance of eighth-grade students. Specifically, we asked: Can spatial skills help to explain the gender difference in science test performance?
In Study 1, we administered the Mental Rotation Test, a spatial skills assessment that measures 3D mental rotation ability, to 113 eighth-grade students (13-15 year-olds). This task involves visualizing and rotating 3D images in one's mind (Vandenberg & Kuse, 1978; see example in Figure 1). We also obtained students' scores on a state-administered science test (and English/Language Arts test as a covariate). We then investigated how gender differences in mental rotation were related to gender differences in science test scores.
Figure 1. Sample item from the Vandenberg Mental Rotation Test.
We found gender differences on the portions of the test that measured physical science content (such as earth and space science, chemistry, physics) and technology/engineering content. There was no gender difference, however, on the life sciences portion of the test. This pattern parallels the one reported in large-scale studies (Martin et al., 2012; NCES, 2012).
We also found that boys obtained higher scores than girls on the mental rotation assessment, similar to what other researchers have reported (e.g., Voyer et al., 1995). Importantly, we found that after students' scores on the mental rotation assessment were taken into account, there was no longer a gender difference in physical science scores and the size of the gender difference in technology/engineering scores became substantially smaller. In other words, gender differences in mental rotation skills helped to explain at least a portion of the gender difference in science scores.
In a second analysis, we approached this question from another perspective, by examining gender differences on test items that were more highly correlated with scores on the mental rotation test, compared to items that were less correlated with mental rotation scores. We found that gender differences were larger on test items that were highly correlated with mental rotation scores (see Figure 2).
In Study 2, we further explored the role of spatial skills in the relation between gender and science performance in a larger sample. Specifically, we examined the science test performance of 73,245 eighth-grade students from the entire state of Massachusetts. We used this data to determine whether test items found to be more highly correlated with mental rotation scores in Study 1 were more likely to show gender differences within the Study 2 sample.
First, we found a similar pattern of results for gender differences in science test performance, where there was a larger gender difference in physical science content and technology/engineering content than on the life sciences portion. Most importantly, we found a larger gender difference on test items that were more strongly related to mental rotation test performance than on items that were not as strongly related to mental rotation scores (see Figure 2). This suggests that the relation found with a small group of students in Study 1 might hold with the larger state population.
Figure 2. Gender differences in performance on science test items varying in the degree of correlation with mental rotation score.
One important finding of this research is that boys outperformed girls on some portions of the state science test, which is intended to measure mastery of school-taught content. This gender difference was found in the eighth grade, a time when most boys and girls are exposed to the same science content in the same classrooms. This suggests that perhaps boys have had greater exposure to relevant extracurricular experiences, which increase spatial skills and/or science performance.
Both within our small sample, where we could directly test it, and within the larger sample, where we indirectly tested it, we found that gender differences in spatial skills were indeed useful in explaining gender differences in science test scores. It is critical to consider these findings in the context of research suggesting that spatial skills can be improved through training (Terlecki, Newcombe, & Little, 2008; Uttal et al., 2013) and is therefore a good target for intervention. Taken in this context, our findings suggest that one way that we might be able to improve students' science performance and diminish the gender difference in science scores is to promote the development of spatial skills. For example, a focus on the teaching of spatial skills in the home and at school, through activities such as building with blocks and doing puzzles, has the potential to train the type of thinking that might facilitate students' science learning.
- ♦ Kozhevnikov, M., Motes, M. A., & Hegarty, M. (2007). Spatial visualization in physics problem solving. Cognitive Science, 31, 549–579. doi:10.1080/15326900701399897
- ♦ Martin, M. O., Mullis, I. V. S., & Stanco, G. M. (2012). TIMSS 2011 international results in science. Chestnut Hill, MA: TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Boston College. Retrieved from http://timssandpirls.bc.edu/isc/publications.html
- ♦ National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). NAEP data explorer. Washington, DC: Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/naepdata/
- ♦ National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. (2013). Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering: 2013 (Special Report NSF 13-304). Arlington, VA: Author. Retrieved from: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/
- ♦ Snyder, T. D., & Dillow, S. A. (2011). Digest of education statistics 2010 (NCES 2011-015). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
- ♦ Terlecki, M. S., Newcombe, N. S., & Little, M. (2008). Durable and generalized effects of spatial experience on mental rotation: Gender differences in growth patterns. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 22, 996–1013. doi:10.1002/acp.1420
- ♦ Uttal, D. H., Meadow, N. G., Tipton, E., Hand, L. L., Alden, A. R., Warren, C., & Newcombe, N. S. (2013). The malleability of spatial skills: A meta-analysis of training studies. Psychological Bulletin, 139, 352–402. doi:10.1037/a0028446
- ♦ Vandenberg, S. G., & Kuse, A. R. (1978). Mental rotations, a group test of three-dimensional spatial visualization. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 47, 599–604. doi:10.2466/pms.19126.96.36.1999
- ♦ Voyer, D., Voyer, S., & Bryden, M. P. (1995). Magnitude of sex differences in spatial abilities: A meta-analysis and consideration of critical variables. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 250–270. doi:10.1037//0033-2909.117.2.250