The final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on Serbia’s 24 April 2016 early parliamentary elections recommends a comprehensive review of legislation to further improve election process.  

The report, while finding the elections were efficiently administered and held in a competitive environment, spells out key areas that would benefit from such a review, including unclear rules on candidate registration, inadequate regulation of campaign finance, deficiencies and loopholes in dispute resolution mechanisms, an absence of sanctions for some violations and the lack of provisions on election observation.

The report, published on 29 July 2016, notes that, while fundamental freedoms were respected and candidates were able to campaign freely, biased media coverage, undue advantage of incumbency and a blurring of the distinction between state and party activities hindered a level playing field for contestants. To this end, the report recommends specific campaign regulations, including the introduction of ceilings on campaign expenditures and preventing the misuse of administrative resources and the abuse of office.  

In noting the absence of an effective mechanism for monitoring media conduct during the campaign, the report recommends clarifying the competences of the media regulatory body in investigating and sanctioning breaches of legislation in a timely manner.

A review of the election appeals system to guarantee an effective and timely remedy for all complaints, and particularly in cases related to electionday irregularities and election results, is also among the report’s recommendations.

Additional recommendations relate to providing unrestricted access of citizen and international observers to the entire electoral process, including voting, counting and tabulation, and enhancing the transparency of the tabulation of results.

Related Stories

• OSCE/ODIHR final report on Serbia’s parliamentary elections notes respect for fundamental freedoms, recommends steps to further improve election process
• Parliamentary Elections
• International election observers in Serbia to hold press conference on Monday

The final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on Serbia’s 24 April 2016 early parliamentary elections recommends a comprehensive review of legislation to further improve election process.  

The report, while finding the elections were efficiently administered and held in a competitive environment, spells out key areas that would benefit from such a review, including unclear rules on candidate registration, inadequate regulation of campaign finance, deficiencies and loopholes in dispute resolution mechanisms, an absence of sanctions for some violations and the lack of provisions on election observation.

The report, published on 29 July 2016, notes that, while fundamental freedoms were respected and candidates were able to campaign freely, biased media coverage, undue advantage of incumbency and a blurring of the distinction between state and party activities hindered a level playing field for contestants. To this end, the report recommends specific campaign regulations, including the introduction of ceilings on campaign expenditures and preventing the misuse of administrative resources and the abuse of office.  

In noting the absence of an effective mechanism for monitoring media conduct during the campaign, the report recommends clarifying the competences of the media regulatory body in investigating and sanctioning breaches of legislation in a timely manner.

A review of the election appeals system to guarantee an effective and timely remedy for all complaints, and particularly in cases related to electionday irregularities and election results, is also among the report’s recommendations.

Additional recommendations relate to providing unrestricted access of citizen and international observers to the entire electoral process, including voting, counting and tabulation, and enhancing the transparency of the tabulation of results.

Related Stories

• OSCE/ODIHR final report on Serbia’s parliamentary elections notes respect for fundamental freedoms, recommends steps to further improve election process
• Parliamentary Elections
• International election observers in Serbia to hold press conference on Monday

Ensuring Digital Accessibility in K-12 Schools in a Technology-Driven Era  Center For American Progress

1. Kanguva Twitter Review: Netizens LAUDS Suriya's Performance But Call Film's Execution 'Clumsy'  Times Now
2. Kanguva Movie Review: An earnest Suriya gives his all for a Siva film that doesn’t give him enough  The Indian Express
3. Kanguva Movie Review: Suriya's Visually Superlative Film Has Grand Vision But Fails To Realise It  News18
4. Kanguva first reviews: Suriya ‘shed his blood and sweat’ but the movie ‘is tiring’, say fans  Hindustan Times
5. Kanguva: Here's how much Suriya, Bobby Deol and Disha Patani got paid for Siva's directorial  TOI Etimes

1. Kanguva first reviews: Suriya ‘shed his blood and sweat’ but the movie ‘is tiring’, say fans  Hindustan Times
2. Kanguva movie review: Suriya-starrer has great ideas, but sub-par execution spoils it  India Today
3. Kanguva Movie Review: An earnest Suriya gives his all for a Siva film that doesn’t give him enough  The Indian Express
4. Kanguva X reviews: 'Hard to save a script like that,' say netizens on Suriya's colossal pan-India outing  Business Today
5. Kanguva: Here's how much Suriya, Bobby Deol and Disha Patani got paid for Siva's directorial  TOI Etimes

Suriya revealed how Jyothika's career skyrocketed but it took a good couple of years to stabilize and reach that level.

In a recent interview, the star revealed his favourite Malayalam film and said how Fahadh Faasil's Aavesham struck a chord with him. During a conversation with Gold FM, Suriya was asked to talk about his recent favourite Malayalam film, and he picked Fafa's role in Aavesham.

Godavarikhani near Ramagundam, Mancherial among locations likely to get facilities for IT firms 

Kanguva is set to take third biggest opening in Tamil Nadu this year after Thalapathy Vijay's The Greatest of All Time and Rajinikanth's Vettaiyan.

OM Philippines send staff to assess the earthquake damages in Surigao City and provide needed disaster relief training.

1. Kanguva Box Office Day 1 Advance Booking: Suriya Starrer Jumps By 353%, Already Enters Biggest Tamil Openers Of 2024!  Koimoi
2. 5 Reasons To Watch Suriya and Bobby Deol Starrer 'Kanguva' In Theatres  Zee News
3. Waiting for Suriya's 'Kanguva', watch these blockbuster films by National Award-winning actor for free  India TV News
4. Kanguva budget and actor salaries: Suriya took Rs 39 crore, Bobby Deol earned Rs 5 crore for his role – How much money others charged for the film  The Financial Express
5. Kanguva Movie Release, Review Live Updates: Suriya-starrer has already earned over Rs 7.3 crore before opening day  The Indian Express

Suriya: కోలీవుడ్ స్టార్ హీరో సూర్య ప్రధాన పాత్రలో తెరకెక్కిన సినిమా కంగువా. ఈ సినిమాకు డైరెక్టర్ శివ దర్శకత్వం వహిస్తున్నారు. పాన్ ఇండియా లెవెల్ లో తెరకెక్కిన ఈ సినిమా నవంబర్ 14 గ్రాండ్ గా విడుదల కానుంది. దీంతో మూవీ మేకర్స్ ప్రమోషన్లలో బిజీ బిజీగా ఉన్నారు. ఇందులో భాగంగానే ముంబైలో ప్రెస్ మీట్ నిర్వహించారు.

The advance booking of Suriya's Kanguva predicts a bumper opening for the Koratala Siva film.

Malum, Filistin bombardıman altında. Daha doğrusu Filistin’den kalan, açık hava hapishanesinde yaşayan Müslüman kardeşlerimiz ramazanda oruçlu olarak kurban ediliyor. Peki biz ne yapıyoruz? Birleşmiş Milletlere başvuruyoruz. Ne kadar garip değil […]

The post Filistin, Suriye, İsrail ve Ahir Zaman first appeared on Amerikada Birgün.

Keep track of your fitness level over time by using various methods to measure your fitness progress.

Measuring and tracking RSS while a fairly simple concept, is really anything but. Unlike websites, RSS have the added caveat of potential syndication, making accurate tracking a challenge to anyone but the extremely tech savvy. It is not unrealistic for marketers to want to know how many subscribers they have, which items in their feeds attract the most interest, or how many click-throughs are generated as a result of an RSS feed.There are a number of 3rd party providers who focus on tracking the consumption of RSS feeds. Some solutions are rudimentary but likely sufficient for a small business testing the waters with RSS. Other RSS tracking solutions are more complex and while they can come close to being accurate, with syndication there is no solution that tracks with 100% accuracy.

Measuring RSS Feeds

Measuring and tracking RSS while a fairly simple concept, is really anything but. Unlike websites, RSS have the added caveat of potential syndication, making accurate tracking a challenge to anyone but the extremely tech savvy. It is not unrealistic for marketers to want to know how many subscribers they have, which items in their feeds attract the most interest, or how many click-throughs are generated as a result of an RSS feed.

Measuring RSS Feeds

Measuring and tracking RSS while a fairly simple concept, is really anything but. Unlike websites, RSS have the added caveat of potential syndication, making accurate tracking a challenge to anyone but the extremely tech savvy. It is not unrealistic for marketers to want to know how many subscribers they have, which items in their feeds attract the most interest, or how many click-throughs are generated as a result of an RSS feed.There are a number of 3rd party providers who focus on tracking the consumption of RSS feeds. Some solutions are rudimentary but likely sufficient for a small business testing the waters with RSS. Other RSS tracking solutions are more complex and while they can come close to being accurate, with syndication there is no solution that tracks with 100% accuracy.

Measuring RSS Feeds

We look to John’s intriguing vision of the Temple and the two witnesses in Revelation 11:1-14, aided by the visions of two earlier prophets in Ezekiel 40 and Zechariah 4. John’s images help us to understand that the bitter-sweet scroll pertains to us, and our witness in a God-defying world, as we follow the slaughtered-standing Lamb wherever He goes.

Aim/Purpose: Although many computer science measures have been proposed, visualizing individual students’ capabilities is difficult, as those measures often rely on specific tools and methods or are not graded. To solve these problems, we propose a rubric for measuring and visualizing the effects of learning computer programming for elementary school students enrolled in computer science education (CSE), which is independent of the programming language being used. Background: In this research, we proposed a rubric based on existing CSE standards and criteria having a programming education-learning goal. We then applied this rubric to actual lessons to visualize the educational effects. Methodology: The proposed new rubric for teaching computer programming, based on existing standards and criteria, was applied to fourth- and sixth-grade students in Japan. We assessed which skills were cultivated through quizzes before and after the teaching. Contribution: This paper contributes on how to make and utilize a rubric for programming education in computer science. We evaluated and visualized the proposed rubric’s learning effects on children and found that our proposed rubrics are independent of any particular method or tool. Findings: The results of this survey are twofold: (1) we proposed a rubric of programming education in computer science, independent of the programming tools used and (2) we succeeded in visualizing students’ learning stages by applying the proposed rubric to programming education conducted in a Japanese elementary school. Recommendations for Practitioners: Evaluating educational effects in CSE is important. In particular, graded assessments of learner abilities can reveal individual characteristics. This research is useful for assessing CSE because it focuses specifically on programming education. Recommendation for Researchers: The rubric’s suggestions and quality improvements in CSE help learners assess their learning progress and will clarify the cultivated computer science skills. Impact on Society: This research evaluates CSE based on a rubric in the programming education field. Future Research: Future work is needed to improve the proposed rubric’s quality and relevance. Also, this rubric should be applied to many classes to increase the number of evaluations and analyses.

The phenomenon of cloud computing and related innovations such as Big Data have given rise to many fundamental changes that are evident in information and data. Managing, measuring and developing business value from the plethora of this new data has significant impact on many corporate agendas, particularly in relation to the successful implementation of business intelligence and analytics (BI&A). However, although the influence of Big Data has fundamentally changed the IT application landscape, the metrics for measuring success and in particular, the quality of information, have not evolved. The measurement of information quality and the antecedent factors that influence information has also been identified as an area that has suffered from a lack of research in recent decades. Given the rapid increase in data volume and the growth and ubiquitous use of BI&A systems in organisations, there is an urgent need for accurate metrics to identify information quality.

Keitaro NAKASAI,Shin KOMEDA,Masateru TSUNODA,Masayuki KASHIMA, Vol.E107-D, No.11, pp.1444-1448
To automatically measure the mental workload of developers, existing studies have used biometric measures such as brain waves and the heart rate. However, developers are often required to equip certain devices when measuring them, and can therefore be physically burdened. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of non-contact biometric measures based on the nasal skin temperature (NST). In the experiment, the proposed biometric measures were more accurate than non-biometric measures.
Publication Date: 2024/11/01

Key in ensuring the effectiveness of conservation efforts and maintaining ecosystem health, measuring biodiversity can benefit greatly when remote sensing data comes into the equation. A new EU BON related paper, published in the journal Ecological Indicators, proposes open source solutions for measuring the important Rao's Q index, when it comes to remote sensing data.

Abstract: 

Measuring biodiversity is a key issue in ecology to guarantee effective indicators of ecosystem health at different spatial and time scales. However, estimating biodiversity from field observations might present difficulties related to costs and time needed. Moreover, a continuous data update for biodiversity monitoring purposes might be prohibitive. From this point of view, remote sensing represents a powerful tool since it allows to cover wide areas in a relatively low amount of time. One of the most common indicators of biodiversity is Shannon's entropy H′, which is strictly related to environmental heterogeneity, and thus to species diversity. However, Shannon's entropy might show drawbacks once applied to remote sensing data, since it considers relative abundances but it does not explicitly account for distances among pixels’ numerical values. In this paper we propose the use of Rao's Q applied to remotely sensed data, providing a straightforward R-package function to calculate it in 2D systems. We will introduce the theoretical rationale behind Rao's index and then provide applied examples based on the proposed R function.

Original Source: 

Rocchini, D., Marcantonio, M., Ricotta, C. (2017). Measuring Rao's Q diversity index rom remote sensing: an open source solution. Ecological Indicators, 72: 234-238. [5years-IF: 3.649] DOI:10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.07.039

Washington – Gauging the effectiveness of federal and state-run OSHA programs is one of the Department of Labor’s biggest challenges, according to the DOL Office of Inspector General.

Geneva — A new guidebook from the International Labor Organization is intended to help employers compile data on key performance indicators related to safety and health.

Washington — A new law permanently restores a recently expired excise tax rate increase on coal production, which will help fund health care and other benefits for coal miners who have black lung disease.

The offering combines Johnson Controls OpenBlue suite of connected solutions, and the ability to monitor and manage security devices across vendors.

Managing the tangled network of contractors and subcontractors with whom your business partners is a complex, time-consuming challenge.

A 49-year-old subcontracting pipefitter was hit in the chest and knocked backward by a pressurized 12-inch diameter vertical section of a polyvinyl chloride pipe during a hydrostatic pressure test of a fire suppression system.

This white paper is filled with expert tips on building and maintaining an effective PPE program. Learn about your obligations regarding PPE and empower your employees to protect themselves on the job.

Written by J. J. Keller’s workplace safety experts, this white paper offers valuable guidance and insights to help establish an effective PPE program at your company. Download a free copy and keep your employees safe!

Washington – NIOSH has developed a sound level meter mobile app designed to measure noise exposure in the workplace.

The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) is constantly working with industry leaders to maintain information and training about safety practices and updates on safety equipment on construction sites. Here, they share more about their practices to keep you safe on the jobsite. 

The post Promising Practices for Ensuring Kinship/Grandfamily Access to SNAP was curated by information for practice.

As Dyslexia Awareness Week (07-13 October 2024) arrives this week, digital transformation specialists Sherwen Studios are advocating for retailers to reconsider how accessible their website is for users affected by dyslexia.

Calculations and measurements of polarization-dependent soft X-ray scattering intensity are presented during a magnetic hysteresis cycle. It is confirmed that the dependence of the intensity on the magnetic moment can be linear, quadratic or a combination of both, depending on the polarization of the incident X-ray beam and the direction of the magnetic moment. With a linearly polarized beam, the scattered intensity will have a purely quadratic dependence on the magnetic moment when the magnetic moment is parallel to the scattering plane. However, with the magnetic moment perpendicular to the scattering plane, there is also a linear component. This means that, when measuring the hysteresis with linear polarization during a hysteresis cycle, the intensity will be an even function of the applied field when the change in the magnetic moment (and field) is confined within the scattering plane but becomes more complicated when the magnetic moment is out of the scattering plane. Furthermore, with circular polarization, the dependence of the scattered intensity on the moment is a combination of linear and quadratic. With the moment parallel to the scattering plane, the linear component changes with the helicity of the incident beam. Surprisingly, in stark contrast to absorption studies, even when the magnetic moment is perpendicular to the scattering plane there is still a dependence on the moment with a linear component. This linear component is completely independent of the helicity of the beam, meaning that the hysteresis loops will not be inverted with helicity.

The current body of evidence on dementia care does not reflect the experiences of diverse populations, including people of different races, ethnicities, ages, genders, sexual orientations, and abilities, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

To address enduring and evolving nuclear threats, the U.S. needs a higher prioritized and more integrated program for monitoring, detecting, and verifying nuclear test explosions, nuclear weapon stockpiles, and the production of fissile material, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

This Guidance Document is a product of the National Academies’ Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education, which presents information and identifies guidance based on existing research literature.

Human control over technology was a concern thousands of years ago when early humans sought to ensure safe use of fire. Later, control over horse-drawn wagons and eventually steam engines led to debates about how to make the most of their benefits while limiting dangers. Now questions of control are central in the design of AI-infused technologies, for which some advocates envision full machine autonomy while others promote human autonomy.

DNA, our genetic material, normally has the structure of a twisted rope ladder. Experts call this structure a double helix. Among other things, it is stabilized by stacking forces between base pairs. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have succeeded at measuring these forces for the very first time on the level of single base pairs. This new knowledge could help to construct precise molecular machines out of DNA.

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A BT cloud-based virtual contact centre helps Etihad deliver own-language service excellence to guests from 37 countries

Efficient weight controls and checkweighing systems on bakery production lines are integral to meeting consumer expectations and ensuring compliance with net weight regulations.

August marked the completion of the gluten-free labeling rule development process. Published in August 2013 by FDA, the final rule put parameters around the voluntary use of the terms “gluten-free,” “free of gluten,” “no gluten” and “without gluten” on food labels.

Corrosion in fire sprinkler systems can go undetected until it's too late, causing damage or loss of life. Traditional ITM protocols can accelerate corrosion, but new advancements offer better prevention and monitoring for protecting lives and property.