Taiwanese 臺灣人
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Distance learning at the local heronry! A juvenile watching attentively from an Alder, and picking up a few tips, as the adults begin nest building and repairs close by (Nottingham, UK) (5499)
At the neighborhood middle school during the initial shelter in place last spring.
Most San Jose schools will continue distance learning when classes resume on August 12.
Lunch benches at the neighborhood elementary school. Happy to see students return to school this week as so many have struggled with distance learning.
Update - According to the news, 30% of the students returned to in person classes on 4/23/21...
more students at the elementary level than middle and high school.
The Sphynx - Pulled this image from the archives of a young female Bobcat posing at a riverbank in the golden hour. Absolutely love this species, and the challenge they pose for photography. Back in 2017 I had never even seen one and fast forward 4 years later, I have photographed them in variety of different habitats and as close as 6-7 feet in distance! Learning a lot about this species from friends has really helped me understand when, where, and how to locate and photograph them.
In this particular case, I pulled back to maintain depth of field and shot wide open to obtain the best background separation I could. It really helped that this young cat was enamored with my huge lens and followed me/watched me for nearly 2 hours! Some hikers and dog walkers walked by and she would hide and I would think it was over, but after checking if the coast was clear, she would pop right back on logs & rocks. I took over 700 images and couldn't believe it.
Along with diurnal raptors, owls, & hummingbirds, wild felines are my favorite subjects. So far, the Bobcat is the only wild feline that I have photographed. Next on my list is Canada Lynx and Cougar - both of which are much more elusive. I also really hope to photograph Snow Leopards, Pallas's Cat, Asiatic Lions, and Bengal Tigers in my ancestral land. Until then, I am always thrilled to hone my skills as a naturalist and wildlife photographer by photographing the abundant yet extremely elusive Bobcat.
Species: Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
Location: Northern California, CA, USA
Equipment: Nikon D850 + Nikkor 500mm f/4G Lens, Handheld
Settings: 1/400s, ISO: 900, f/4 @500mm, +0.3 EV
I think his expression sums up how many of us feel after more than a year of social distancing, working from home, wearing masks, zoom meetings, distance learning, etc. . . .
A lot of restoration and maintenance work happening on the UC Berkeley campus during this year of considerable emptiness. Very few students/faculty to be seen, as the school is engaging in mostly distance learning.
Happy Monochrome Thursday!
HDM!
kudos to those around the world who are doing distance learning, to their parents and to their teachers, during this lockdown pandemic time..
321/365 aDaD "a duck a day" day271 74daysleft
with the loosening restrictions in some places,
how many people will remember their masks?
will stay home? work from home? do distance learning?
keep the 6 feet (2 meters) social distancing?
wash their hands for the full 20 seconds?
are we tired of all the rules?
or will we keep them up to keep others safe?
333/365 aDaD "a duck a day" day283 81daysleft
New paper published: www.scielo.br/j/icse/a/YDCsvyNgpjp9Nm5n5mbBdxN/?lang=en#
Novo artigo publicado: www.scielo.br/j/icse/a/YDCsvyNgpjp9Nm5n5mbBdxN/?lang=pt
Fruto da minha pesquisa de doutorado / from my doctoral research
Resumo
O artigo apresenta uma cartografia dos acontecimentos vivenciados em um curso durante a pandemia com estudantes e profissionais da área da Saúde, adaptado para o ensino a distância e tomando fundamentalmente os conceitos de presença e experiência. Envolvendo criatividade e meditação e tendo como metodologia a fotografia contemplativa, a atividade objetivou apresentar a potência das práticas contemplativas e do Círculo Narrativo na criação de um espaço de acolhimento e de ampliação da percepção, permitindo que o tema da humanização seja abordado experiencialmente. Por meio das narrativas dos participantes e por meio de imagens e palavras, apresentam-se os impactos e sofrimentos vividos, bem como a percepção das potencialidades das frestas, ou seja, das aberturas. Tais frestas, criadas ou descobertas, geraram experiências coletivas de acolhimento e afetos disparados pela imagem, permitindo que os acontecimentos se tornassem interpelativos e criassem sentidos em dias tão difíceis.
Fotografia contemplativa; Meditação; Saúde; Ensino; Pandemia
Resumen
El artículo presenta una cartografía de los acontecimientos vivido en un curso durante la pandemia con estudiantes y profesionales del área de la salud, adaptado para la enseñanza a distancia, tomando fundamentalmente los conceptos de presencia y experiencia. Envolviendo creatividad y meditación y teniendo como metodología la fotografía contemplativa, el objetivo de la actividad fue presentar la potencia de las prácticas contemplativas y del Círculo Narrativo en la creación de un espacio de acogida y de ampliación de la percepción, permitiendo que el tema de humanización se aborde experimentalmente. Por medio de las narrativas de los participantes, utilizando imágenes y palabras, se presentan los impactos y sufrimientos vividos, así como la percepción de las potencialidades de las grietas, es decir, de las aberturas. Tales grietas, creadas o descubiertas, generaron experiencias colectivas de acogida y afectos, disparados por la imagen, permitiendo que los acontecimientos pasasen a ser interpelativos y creasen sentidos en días tan difíciles.
Fotografía contemplativa; Meditación; Salud; Enseñanza; Pandemia
Abstract
This study presents a cartography of the events experienced in a course during the pandemic, with health students and professionals, adapted for distance learning, using fundamentally the concepts of presence and experience. Involving creativity and meditation and using contemplative photography as a methodology, the activity aimed at presenting the potential of contemplative practices and the Narrative Circle in creating a space for welcoming and expanding perception, allowing the partakers to approach humanization in a experimental way. Through the participants’ narratives, using images and words, we could witness the impacts and sufferings they experienced, as well as the perception of the potentialities of the gaps, in other words, the openings. Created or discovered, such gaps generated collective experiences of acceptance and affection, triggered by images, transforming the events into questions and creating meanings in such challenging days.
Contemplative photography; Meditation; Health; Teaching; Pandemic
3 January 2021: Update on The Corona Pandemic – During the week from 24 to 30 December an average of 1,600 people/day tested positive for the novel coronavirus. This is down 31% on the 7-day rolling average for the previous week. Despite that the positive trend continues, virologists are urging us to remain vigilant. Up until now there is no evidence that the British stain is widespread in Belgium, but they say that we can’t rule out that it is in circulation. Therefore, they insist that also people with mild complaints, be they children or adults, are tested. They say that in England infections are shifting towards younger age groups and although there is still no conclusive evidence that children are the motor behind the spread of the virus, they are arguing to start testing children under the age of 12 as soon as they are having the slightest symptoms. Based on this the government decided that the measures currently in force in schools to curb the spread of coronavirus will not be relaxed before next month’s half-term break. The current situation whereby all primary school children and those in the first and second years of secondary school attend classes full time will remain in force. Those in the third year of secondary school and above will continue to be taught 50% at school and 50% by digital distance learning methods. Also, the number of rapid coronavirus tests available to schools will be extended from sometime next week. Today’s picture was taken during yesterday’s hike in the muddy fields of the Flemish Ardennes – Flemish Ardennes, Belgium.
Aleksey Dudoladov, a student at the Omsk Institute of Water Transport, is surfing the Internet on a birch tree in the village of Stankevichi, Omsk Region.
Like many other students, the young man is now on distance learning. Dudoladov recorded a video message to the governor of the region, Alexander Burkov, on the TikTok social network. Alexey said that he could not attend pairs at Zoom at the Institute of Water Transport, because there is no good Internet in his village. To catch a net, he regularly has to climb a birch tree in a nearby forest.
13 April 2021: Between 3 and 9 April 3,485 new cases were reported each day on average, 19 percent less than the week before that. The number of people in hospital and on intensive care remains high. There are currently 3,048 patients with COVID-19 that are being cared for in hospitals. Of these 899 patients are on intensive care wards. Despite the four-week “Easter pause” implemented by the Government at the end of March, the coronavirus figures in Belgium have not dropped low enough for a full reopening of schools, according to the education sector. Therefore, as of next week pupils aged 15-18 will still only be able to physically attend school half-time, with half-time distance learning still in place. Kindergartens, primary schools, and the first grade of secondary education will be able to go to school full-time. Net-net, we’re back to the same situation as before the Easter holidays. On display today are the empty chalk circles on the St Peter’s Square. The circles were painted on the square to allow students to enjoy the spring sunshine safely and stick to the corona measure that restricts gatherings to only four people in the outdoors – Ghent, Belgium
21 October 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – The number of coronavirus infections in Belgium continues to rise considerably. It is predicted that there will be more than 500 COVID-19 patients on the intensive care wards by the end of the week. Knowing that the maximum capacity of ICU wards in Belgium is 2,000 and that it always takes at least two weeks before measures start to have an impact on the evolution of the curves it goes without saying that we are cutting it very close. There were a couple of additional bummers yesterday… First, our laboratories are no longer able to cope with the increased demand of PCR tests. Therefore, the government announced that people will only get tested when they are showing symptoms. Being tested upon return from a red travel zone or after being in contact with someone who had tested positive, used to be mandatory. Hopefully the strategy of testing as many people as possible will resume as soon as the labs have cleared their backlog. Second, all schools in the Flemish part of Belgium will go into code orange. The aim is that all children can continue to attend school. However, additional measures will become into force and if schools wish they can organise distance learning. The corona crisis is a long ride against the wind – De Haan, Belgium.
Jesse is a distance learning administrator by day, surf-rock maestro by night! If you like surf music then you'll love the Flying Faders: theflyingfaders.com/
Afro Auntie wanted to see the manual, as she had studied chinese at Folk High School's distance learning course some years ago.
Two important things became clear already in the first paragraph: because of its big size cloth shelves should be assembled in its final location and no tools were needed.
The young woman here is beautiful, and I love the reflection of the keyboard in her sunglasses ... but I gotta tell ya: the combination of grass and green-glow on the back of her laptop is out of this world. I have to admit that I used some color saturation to pump up the colors a little ... but not much. This photograph made itself: I just happened to be in the right place, at the right time, to point my camera in the right direction and push the shutter-button...
Note: this photo was published in a May 26, 2009 blog titled "Memorial Day Weekend Link Love." And it was published in a June 3, 2009 blog titled "THE NEW COMMENTARIAT." It was also published in a Jun 25, 2009 Romanian blog titled "Vom avea wireless în Craiova?" It was also published as an illustration in a Sep 2009 Mahalo blog titled "Bryant Young," at www-dot-mahalo-dot-com-slash-bryant-dash-young, even though it has nothing to do with the football player of that name....
Moving into 2010, the photo was published in a Jan 15, 2010 blog titled "Die Fußball WM live auf dem Laptop: Aber wie?" And it was published in a Mar 5, 2010 blog titled "Two Simple Ways to Make Every Action Count." It was also published in a Jun 27, 2010 blog titled " „Isch hab Rücken!“ – mit dem Laptop auf dem Boden sitzen." And it was published in a Jul 6, 2010 blog titled "7 Ways To Bump Your Frequent Flyer Earning Up A Notch." It was also published in a Jul 7, 2010 blog titled "Know Your Laptop's Temperature Limits to Avoid Summer Meltdowns." And I just discovered that the photo was published in a May 26, 2010 blog titled "Memorial Day Weekend Link Love." It was also published in a Jul 9, 2010 blog titled "Links: Let Your Mind Wander, Credit Cards, Paranoid Collaborators, and More." And it was published in a Jul 11, 2010 blog titled "Modern Muses," as well as a Jul 20, 2010 blog titled "What Does It Mean to be a Nomad?" It was also published in a Jul 24, 2010 blog titled "夏の外出でパソコンを持ち歩く時に気をつけるべき9つのポイント,"which I think means "Summer Laptop" And it was published in a Sep 2, 2010 blog titled "5 Essential Web Marketing Tools for Small Green Businesses." It was also published in a Sep 10, 2010 blog titled "No mundo online." And, for no obvious reason at all, it was published in a Sep 30, 2010 blog titled "credit card programs, which is better, cash back (i.e. 4% on American Express) or frequent flyer miles bonus?" It was also published -- again, for no obvious reason -- in an Oct 13, 2010 "Credit Card Trends Daily" blog titled "Discover How To Maximize the Potentials of a Low APR Credit Card." And it was published in a Nov 1, 2010 blog titled "The Secret to Doing Your Best Work Effortlessly , as well as a Nov 2, 2010 blog titled "Thing 11: My Flickr Experience." It was also published in an undated (mid-Nov 2010) blog titled "Make Travel a Part of Your Life Again with Airline Miles Credit Cards." It was also published in an undated (late Nov 2010) blog titled " Make Travel Affordable and Easy with Airline Miles Credit Cards." And it was published in an undated (Dec 2010) blog titled "Are You One of the Millions That Could Benefit from an Airline Miles Credit Card?" It was also published in an Dec 19, 2010 blog titled "Airline Miles Credit Card Comparison," and it was published in a Dec 23, 2010 blog titled "Idée cadeau : Vivre léger."
Moving into 2011, the photo was published in a Feb 20, 2011 Polish blog titled "Prowadzisz fan page? Sprawdź, czy Twoja aktywność nie trafia w próżnię," as well as a Feb 20, 2011 Girl Log blog , with the same caption and detailed notes that I had written on this Flickr page. It was also published in a Feb 22, 2011 blog titled "WNBA's L.A. Chapter Presents Bookwoman Day On Saturday." And it was published in a Mar 11, 2011 blog titled "Top 10 Reasons to Work Online." It was also published in an Apr 1, 2011 Work At Home Careers blog, with the same caption and detailed notes that I had written on this Flickr page. And it was published in an Apr 4, 2011 blog titled "당신의 길을 가라." It was also published in an Apr 8, 2011 blog titled "Internet gratuit, c’est possible!", as well as an Apr 11, 2011 blog titled "Enola the Welder, Woman Welder at Heil Company." And it was published as an illustration in an undated (late Apr 2011) Book Drum website. It was also published in an Apr 25, 2011 blog titled "What Kind Of Blogs Do Women Love?" as well as an Apr 25, 2011 blog titled "Article Marketing Domination Review: The Definative Resource For Article Marketing." And it was published in an Apr 26, 2011 blog titled "„The innere Schweinehund does not live here anymore“." And it was published in an Apr 30, 2011 blog titled "MacBook Air battery better than advertised." It was also published in a May 4, 2011 blog titled "How To Keep Your Laptop Cool." And it was published in an undated (late May 2011) blog titled "8 Reasons I Love My Laptop." It was also published in a May 25, 2011 blog titled "i2011年夏モデルが出そろったので検討してみた."
Moving into June, the photo was published in a Jun 3, 2011 blog titled "3 Things I’ve Learned about Blogging – And Life," as well as a Jun 9, 2011 Marketing-En-Web blog, with the same caption as what I had written on this Flickr page. And it was published in a Jun 13, 2011 blog titled "トップへデスクトップパソコンパソコン関連." It was also published in a Jun 17, 2011 blog titled "ノートパソコン使用時の姿勢の直し方を示した動画," as well as a Jun 17, 2011 blog titled "8 Personal Finance Basics to Tackle NOW." It was also published in a June 10, 2011 blog titled "The Real Social Life of Wireless Public Spaces." And it was published in a Jun 27, 2011 blog titled "„Isch hab Rücken!“ – mit dem Laptop auf der Wiese sitzen, as well as a Jun 28, 2011 blog titled "Taking your blog mobile: are you geared up?," as well as a Jun 28, 2011 Page i blog titled "Mac Book Airの販売は近い？ 米Best Buyで販売一時停止." It was also published in a Jul 11, 2011 e-Portalik blog titled "Play: Więcej Internetu dla abonentów, nowe modemy." And it was published in a Jul 29, 2011 blog titled "Apple now has more cash than the US Government."
Moving into 2012, the photo was published in a Jan 15, 2012 blog titled "Nice Credit Card With Cash Back photos." It was also published in a Jan 23, 2012 blog titled "アメリカの若者たちの間で“愛の証”としてパスワードを共有することが流行." And it was published in a Jan 31, 2012 blog titled "Where Do I Start? How to Stop Dreaming and Get Moving" It was also published in a Feb 3,2012 blog titled "WM3600Rがあまりにも優れているので前機種WM3500Rとライバル機種URoad-8000を比較してみた," as well as a Feb 3, 2012 Nice Online Learning photos blog, with the same caption and detailed notes that I had written on this Flickr page. And it was published in a Feb 10, 2012 Gizmodo blog titled "An Apple Patent for Displays That Optimize Themselves According to Your Surroundings." It was also published in a Mar 9, 2012 blog titled "How I Use Technology When I'm Traveling." And it was published in a Mar 15, 2012 blog titled "5 Reasons Not to Delete Your Emails." It was also published in a Mar 28, 2012 blog titled "Benefits of a Merchant Account for your Online Store." It was also published in an Apr 15, 2012 blog titled "5 FAQ about sunglasses," as well as an Apr 16, 2012 blog titled "E voi fate vedere il vostro profilo Facebook ai vostri figli?", as well as an Apr 19, 2012 blog titled "Googling Your Symptoms Will Make You Sick," and an Apr 20, 2012 blog titled "tSurvival Survey: What is your weekend prepping project?" It was also published in an Apr 30, 2012 blog titled "144 Places to Educate Yourself Online for Free," and it was published in a May 2, 2012 blog titled "Universities introduce distance-learning courses." It was also published in a May 24, 2012 blog titled "TWITTERFITTER – DEN NYE FEMINISMEN," as well as a May 31, 2012 blog titled "Escola virtual d’estiu Espiral." And it was published in an undated (early Jun 2012) Lurvely blog titled, with great imaginative creativity, "Photo by Ed Yourdon," as well as a Jun 1, 2012 Gigazine blog titled "節電でも最も利用を控えたくない家電は年齢・性別問わず「パソコン」." And it was published in what appears to be the home page of an undated (early Jun 2012) blog titled Social Blog Marketing. It was also published in an undated (early Jun 2012) blog titled "How to make money online by outsourcing data entry projects," as well as an undated (early Jun 2012) Colorado Springs Information Center blog titled "A Fresh Start To Finding A Job." It was also published in a Jun 21, 2012 blog titled "6 Little-Known Facts that Could Affect Your Air Miles." And it was published in a Jun 28, 2012 blog titled "Offenes WLAN in Zürich: Die Stadt will sparen und ein Netz wie in Bern."
Moving into the second half of 2012, the photo was published in a Jul 1, 2012 blog titled "Tlc: gli operatori europei vogliono adeguati ritorni sugli investment." And it was published in a Jul 3, 2012 blog titled "How To Run Your Blog While You Are on the Move." It was also published in a Jul 8, 2012 PolySquare blog titled (I think) "엮인글 주소가 복사되었습니다." And it was published in a Jul 19, 2012 blog titled "Jugendliche sind immer länger online," as well as a Jul 19, 2012 blog titled "Where to find free wifi at the London Olympics." It was also published in a Jul 28, 2012 blog titled "What You're Actually Looking At When You Look At Facebook." And it was published in a Sep 2, 2012 blog titled "What Every Business Owner Should Understand About Article Marketing!" It was also published in a Sep 8, 2012 blog titled "Ask The Trainers: What Is Your Best Low (or no) Cost Marketing Tactic?" And it was published in a Sep 13, 2012 blog titled "Online-Shops: der Vergleich." I've discovered that it was also published in a Sep 5, 2012 blog titled "Online Reputation Management for Sex Bloggers." It was also published in an Oct 3, 2012 blog titled "Wat zoekt Generatie Y?", as well as an Oct 21, 2012 blog titled "Le paradox Facebook." And it was published in an Oct 15, 2012 blog titled "http://www.bloggingbistro.com/two-new-social-networks-to-try-recmnd-me-and-pocular/." It was also published in a Nov 13, 2012 blog titled "Varied Article Marketing Techniques to Try With Your Business." And it was published in an undated (mid-Nov 2012) blog titled "Legitimate Work From Home Jobs." It was also published in a Dec 5, 2012 blog titled "Ask LH: Can I Leave My Gadgets In A Hot Car?" And it was published in a Dec 29, 2012 blog titled "Work from home in your own online business."
Moving into 2013, the photo was published in a Jan 4, 2013 blog titled "Learn How To Make Your Article Submission A Big Success With These Tips." And it was published in a Jan 15, 2013 blog titled "10 erros comuns nos blogs." It was also published in a Jan 22, 2013 blog titled "Guest Post: New Year, New Career," as well as a Jan 25, 2013 blog titled "You Need Great Content If You Want Your Article To Succeed." And it was published in a Feb 8, 2013 Italian blog titled "Esserci o non esserci… sul web – 1^ Parte." It was also published in a Feb 10, 2013 blog titled "Making Long Distance Relationships Work." And it was published in a Feb 11, 2013 blog titled "Hack Like a Pro: How to Remotely Install a Keylogger onto Your Girlfriend's Computer," as well as a Feb 16, 2013 blog titled "Lent Reflection: Focusing on Work and Rest." It was also published in a Feb 19, 2013 Finnish blog titled "Näin synkronoit Lumiasi Mac-tietokoneen kanssa." And it was published in a Feb 27, 2013 blog titled "Will MOOCs be the End of the College Campus?" It was also published in a Mar 1, 2013 blog titled "病気の発症にも影響！？情報化社会を生きるあなたが病気から自分を守るスキル“健康リテラシー”." And it was published in a Feb 27 , 2013 blog titled "Will MOOCs be the End of the College Campus?" It was also published in a Mar 22, 2013 blog titled "72% Of Professors Who Teach Online Courses Don’t Think Their Students Deserve Credit," as well as a Mar 23, 2013 blog titled "Když ovládnete svoji mysl, ovládnete svůj život." And it was published in a Mar 27, 2013 Dutch blog titled "MOOC's hype of heilige graal?" It was also published in an Apr 2, 2013 blog titled "30 sources to keep you updated on business and marketing," and an Apr 3, 2013 blog titled "Blackberry Mobile Phones Technical Gadgets Providing Overwhelming Functionalities," as well as an Apr 4, 2013 blog titled "Job Searching Tips When Moving to Tasmania." And it was published in an Apr 21, 2013 blog titled "Zarabiaj na poradnikach internetowych!," as well as an Apr 25, 2013 blog titled "WO dynamisch masculien," and an Apr 26, 2013 blog titled "The Importance of Your Online Reputation."
Moving on, the photo was published in a May 1, 2013 blog titled "Here's More Proof It's Time To Switch To An Online Bank." And it was published in a May 2, 2013 blog titled "Veränderung durch Digitalisierung der Entwicklung." It was also published in an undated (mid-May 2013) blog titled "10 Reasons To Start a Travel Blog." And it was published in a May 15, 2013 blog titled "Does your PR Agency Know How to Connect?", as well as a May 16, 2013 blog titled "The Best Financial Software." It was also published in a May 22, 2013 blog titled "Women Manage Credit Better Than Men, Study Says." And it was published in a Jun 2, 2013 blog titled "Twitter rende più facile modificare il nostro profilo," as well as a Jun 5, 2013 blog titled "Medium is a platform for writers, not readers" and a Jun 5, 2013 blog titled "私なりのGoogle検索順位をアップさせる方法." It was also published in a Jun 11, 2013 blog titled "Leren van online studeren," as well as a Jun 12, 2013 blog titled "Higher Ed, Listen To Your Facebook Fans." And it was published in a Jun 27, 2013 blog titled "子どもができたらプログラミングを習わせたい ," as well as a Jun 27,2013 blog titled "After 10 years, Google purges Blogger of all "adult" sites." It was also published in a Jul 8, 2013 blog titled "Aantal flexwerkers gestegen," and a Jul 12, 2013 blog titled "Online Jobs for Your Teen This Summer," as well as a Jul 22, 2013 blog titled What I like best about being a Spotter….," and a Jul 20, 2013 Slate France blog titled "LES RELATIONS À DISTANCE FAVORISENT L'INTIMITÉ DANS LE COUPLE" and a Jul 22, 2013 blog titled "Как организовать поиск работы в Краснодаре." And it was published in a Jul 26, 2013 Selmicro blog, with the same caption and detailed notes that I had written on this Flickr page. It was also published in an undated (mid-August 2013) blog titled "Get Your Name Out There With These Wonderful Tips." And it was published in a Sep 10, 2013 blog titled "Students Battle School Districts Over First Amendment Rights On Social Media."
Moving into 2014, the photo was the first of my Flickr archives to be published -- in a Jan 1, 2014 blog titled "The Evils of Social Media." It was also published in a Jan 10, 2014 blog titled "スモールビジネスを選択する判断基準 10のチェック項目." And it was published in a Mar 13, 2014 blog titled "Outil B2B : le troc entre professionals." And it was published in a May 1, 2014 blog titled "What gives a website game-changer status? Or, how to have a website that sells." It was also published in an Aug 12, 2014 blog titled "More sunlight exposure reduces risk of shortsightedness."
Moving into 2015, the photo was published in an undated (mid-January 2015) German blog titled Jugendliche und Datenschutz in Sozialen Netzwerken
15 April 2021: Between 5 and 11 April 3,435 new cases were reported each day on average, 19 percent less than the week before that. 3,127 patients are currently in hospital with Covid. 945 are in intensive care, the highest level since the UK variant hit our shores.
Despite the fact that the pressure on hospitals remains extremely high, and that of all the patients who are admitted, about one-third of them go on to intensive care, the government announced yesterday a strategy for relaxation of the coronavirus-fighting measures.
From Monday 19 April, schools will reopen but pupils in the second and third grades of secondary education (aged 15-18) will only be able to physically attend school half-time, with half-time distance learning still in place. Also, the ban on non-essential travel to and from Belgium will be lifted. Travelers returning from a red zone will still have to quarantine and will be required to get tested on day 1 and 7 of their return.
From Monday 26 April, non-essential shops and non-medical contact professions can reopen fully again and our “outdoor bubble,” will be increased from four to ten people.
The next two milestones will be based on the progress of the vaccination campaign. The first milestone is when seven out of ten people over 65 years old will have received their first vaccine dose, and two to three weeks will have seen the optimal effect on their immune system. This is expected around 8 May. From then on, the terraces of the hospitality sector will be able to reopen, and customers can be served outside. The same day, the curfew will be lifted.
The second milestone will be when almost all over-65s and vulnerable people have been vaccinated. This is expected in early June. From then on, events will again be possible and more will also be possible indoors.
Net-net, a very ambitious plan that triggered mixed reactions. Subject experts would have preferred a more cautious plan with relaxation dates pegged to thresholds that take account of the number infections and bed occupancy whilst others would have preferred a more aggressive deconfinement strategy.
On display today is another vignette of Ghent during this unprecedented crisis – Ghent, Belgium.
La DAD in Italia nel 1933.
L'Ente Radio Rurale, costituito negli anni '30, fu incaricato di organizzare programmi radiofonici rivolti in particolare agli alunni del primo ciclo delle scuole rurali e agli agricoltori dei villaggi del Regno e fornire loro una radio dedicata.
Le trasmissioni scolastiche ebbero inizio nell'aprile 1934 a cadenza trisettimanale (il lunedì, il mercoledì e il sabato alle ore 10.30 per una durata di circa 30 minuti. Gli alunni si dovevano sintonizzare in un ascolto simultaneo, sotto la vigile sorveglianza dell'insegnante. Il progetto didattico prevedeva un primo momento di preparazione all'ascolto gestito dal docente, un momento centrale in cui era protagonista la radio che raccoglieva gli studenti in ossequioso ascolto e un ultimo momento di scrittura dei contenuti dei programmi (fonte: www.indire.it).
Anche la macchina fotografica di questo scatto è degli anni '30:
Balda Baldina, Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 2,8/50mm.
Ilford FP4+, Ilfosol3 1+9, 4m 15s.
CanoScan 9000F Mark II
lockdown, shelter in place, stay at home, work from home, distance learning, essential services, curfew-- all phrases we are now becoming familiar with and using to "flatten the curve" and not allow the Covid-19 pandemic to overwhelm our hospitals and medical people, for whom we are so very grateful!! it appears that 21 states and the district of columbia are in some form of the shelter in place, as of 3/24
283/365 aDaD "a duck a day" day242
Coronavirus had closed school for the forseeable future, but after just one week, Fredericksburg Academy is up and running with online classrooms. Rachel has taken over the dining room, which seems to be working out so far. We'll see what happens when Ben starts his distance learning on Monday. I'm grateful Fredericksburg Academy was able to get this lined up in such short order.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=qdzbjUWu2VU ... let’s focus on beautiful in life & things that make us happy 🌸🌸 www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/03/11/coronavirus-live-... My on-campus classes were canceled & distance learning will start in a week... Whether it’s all hysteria or something serious we living in some really crazy times that show once again; let’s focus on beautiful in life, on things that matter, love those we love even more & not hate when love is an option ♥️ ...
“Courage did not come from the need to survive, or from a brute indifference inherited from someone else, but from a driving need for love which no obstacle in this world or the next world will break.”
Gabriel Garcí-a Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
Don’t remember last time I read a romantic book. Probably a few years ago and by the same author. Since “this” situation started the title of this book doesn’t leave my head. It really stuck to me.
P.S. I also want to add how thankful & proud I am of people who commit & work outside of their homes; doctors, teachers, pharmacists, nurses, supermarket associates and etc ... Big thanks to everyone who’s out there. It’s like a war zone from virus to economy to hysteria but we’ll make it. ♥️
Yesterday I had to go to Southampton to pick my son up from Uni. Having completed a practical element to his syllabus he now is returning to distance learning.
Not being one to not take advantage of a photo opportunity I took a comfort break on the outskirts of Southampton. A shot I have admired for many years is the one at Millbrook overlooking the freightliner terminal. I decided to try a shot and give it the Stapleton Road Epic treatment.
Here we see 66783 "The Flying Dustman" working the 1438 Eastleigh East Yard to Westbury.
I asked myself ( not that I really care ) is moving two pieces of old track essential work ?... Topical !
Tagged By: evo_alkuwari
Model: evo_alkuwari
1- My name is Majid Al-Ahmadi and i born in 1 of Aug 1987.
2- I’m working and studying Bachelors of Business Management Administration (Distance learning) .
3-Things i love for sure my family, my friend and everyone who respect me the way i am.
4- My hobbies Photography, Drawing, Playing Guitar, Sport and the best for me riding horses and swimming, Shopping at the morning time, having adventure.
5- I dislike Waiting, Not being accurate in appointments, Noise, Nagging and cheating.
6- My Fav no number is (3) because my best friends are 3, My first letter was 3 and also i gave chance for anyone 3 times .
7- I love flickr so much XO xo XO xo.
8- In flickr i hate the most people who add me without writting a comment so how do they accept me to write for them.
and i like the poeple who always keeping touch with me and i really appirciateit for everything.
9- I like to listen to popular song, specially (Gipsy Kings) , when i exersise i listen to linkin park and seether.
10- Action and comedy movies are my best.
I joined to flickr for not to be a great photographer, but to be a great person
I tagge :
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Technical Specs :
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon EF 18-55mm F/ 3.5-5.6 USM
Focal Length: 39mm
Aperture: F/6.3
Shutter: 2.5sec
ISO: 100
Exposure: Manual
Other: On tripod
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This picture cannot be used without my permission.
Comments with large photos will be deleted.
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Photo By M Al-Ahmadi
© All rights reserved 2009
Stata computer science building on the MIT campus early one morning. Architect Frank Gehry.
www.technologynewsworld.info/2007/08
Web sites using this photo:
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flickrcc.bluemountains.net/index.php?terms=classroom&...
reganmian.net/blog/2008/04/06/opencourseware-around-the-w...
www.epictrip.com/Cambridge-tourism-l11153,Massachusetts.html
bri-fi.blogspot.com/2008/07/there-no-question-where-you-s...
reganmian.net/blog/2008/09/24/ocwc-logan-08-news-and-refl...
flickrcc.trainingo2.net/index.php?terms=classroom&edi...
www.dopplr.com/place/us/ma/cambridge
www.mintra.no/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&...
www.marianne2.fr/La-ville-ecolo-c-est-pas-cher-et-en-plus...
www.chron.com/channel/momhouston/photogallery/Top_25_part...
www.quinnnorton.com/said/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/quinn...
physicsbuzz.physicscentral.com/2009/10/building-inspirati...
espacodecorado.com/2010/04/escadas-edificios-casas-o-mode...
thetechnologeek.com/mit-reflection/
www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/topic/boston
moso-technology.com/blog/2010/08/rationalizing-distance-l...
www.chron.com/channel/momhouston/photogallery/Top_25_part...
blog.dc-geeks.com/2012/06/this-week-in-geek-20120618.html
physicsbuzz.physicscentral.com/2009/10/
www.postgrad.com/blog/what-makes-mit-the-best-university-...
mashable.com/2011/11/11/free-online-education/
modernlearners.com/what-you-should-know-this-week-19/
pitchpublishprosper.com/spotlight-mit-program-science-wri...
geekfeminism.org/2011/11/02/wednesday-geek-woman-anne-str...
blogs.wgbh.org/innovation-hub/2013/12/6/china-becoming-mo...
physicsbuzz.physicscentral.com/2009/10/building-inspirati...
grist.org/article/10-cities-drearier-than-seattle/
www.flickr.com/groups/1361036@N25/pool/page7/
www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecitiescollective/to...
blogs.wgbh.org/innovation-hub/2013/12/6/china-becoming-mo...
physicsbuzz.physicscentral.com/2009/10/
www.postgrad.com/blog/what-makes-mit-the-best-university-...
www.oldkids.cn/blog/view.php?bid=477636
247wallst.com/special-report/2019/01/08/states-with-the-b...
In late November, 2019, I was in Ålesund, Norway, for a meeting an archaeological project at a site near that charming city. Fortunately, there was time for a little sightseeing.
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The studies
PRIVATE TEACHING
Bjørknes Privatskole has for a number of years run private tuition in subjects within general field of study. Many come to us after regular high school to get "a new chance": To get into the dream study - to get help to open the gate to universities and colleges - or simply to improve the academic basis to be able to function well in a society where "competence" is a core value. Some also apply to Bjørknes as an alternative to regular upper secondary school. We have offers in classrooms (in Oslo and Ålesund) and online.
SUBJECTS - NORWEGIAN, ENGLISH, MATHEMATICS, NATURAL SCIENCES, RECENT HISTORY, SOCIAL SCIENCE - are offered as pure distance learning courses online with Bjørknes teachers as tutors.
Online studies give you maximum flexibility. Following the teaching in a regular school class will be difficult for many to combine with work and family.
Many also live far away from current schools. By taking the subjects as online studies, you can complete your education or achieve full study competence without having to quit your job or move away from home.
We want flexibility to be a living part of our brand: Our starting point is the individual person who applies to us, and who gets their first encounter with the school through a personal counseling interview.
Based on the wishes and needs the applicant presents there, we jointly set up a scheme that will lead to the goal. Bjørknes students take public exams as private students in all subjects. Everyone, both teachers and students, knows that exams are coming. Therefore, we work systematically throughout this learning period towards this final goal.see www.bjorknes.no
www.studie.no/skoler/bjoerknes-privatskole-oslo-og-alesun...
For the Daily Dog Challenge 9/6 -- The Same But Different
For 52 Weeks for Dogs -- 36/52
So, Rose is gearing up for distance learning this year like a lot of kids! She's ready to learn in a whole new way, and probably eventually help me with distance teaching too. She's even got a modern Apple for the teacher this year.
You can read more about Rose at TalesAndTails.com.
April 2021: Lockdown, home office and distance learning.
Outside is snowing again.
So at least we eat colorful.
Bologne en Italie. La ville a une forme très caractéristique, entre les murs de la vieille ville et la banlieue plus récente qui s’étend au sud. C'est ici que se trouve la plus ancienne université d'Europe, il me semble que l’anecdote est appropriée pour une semaine de rentrée scolaire !
Bologna, Italy, has a very characteristic shape, with the walls of the old city visible and the newer suburbs extending and enveloping the hills to the South. The area has the oldest university in Europe and as schools are opening this week, hopefully without distance-learning after covid, it seemed like a good picture to share. Stay safe, stay smart, and never stop learning!
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
513D1541
Bologne en Italie. La ville a une forme très caractéristique, entre les murs de la vieille ville et la banlieue plus récente qui s’étend au sud. C'est ici que se trouve la plus ancienne université d'Europe, il me semble que l’anecdote est appropriée pour une semaine de rentrée scolaire !
Bologna, Italy, has a very characteristic shape, with the walls of the old city visible and the newer suburbs extending and enveloping the hills to the South. The area has the oldest university in Europe and as schools are opening this week, hopefully without distance-learning after covid, it seemed like a good picture to share. Stay safe, stay smart, and never stop learning!
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
513D0136
Bologne en Italie. La ville a une forme très caractéristique, entre les murs de la vieille ville et la banlieue plus récente qui s’étend au sud. C'est ici que se trouve la plus ancienne université d'Europe, il me semble que l’anecdote est appropriée pour une semaine de rentrée scolaire !
Bologna, Italy, has a very characteristic shape, with the walls of the old city visible and the newer suburbs extending and enveloping the hills to the South. The area has the oldest university in Europe and as schools are opening this week, hopefully without distance-learning after covid, it seemed like a good picture to share. Stay safe, stay smart, and never stop learning!
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
513D0140
Because of Covid and distance learning my wife ( retired schoolteacher) is homeschooling our 6 year old granddaughter.
If your teacher wore Steampunk* attire to class, would you sit up and pay attention?
Suppose you got to attend a science lab dressed from from top to toe in the wildest, most gadget-loaded outfit you could imagine?
We know why we do things in virtual worlds:
We can teach concepts in ways that are not possible in RL
We can use virtual environments to engage our students, so they really learn
We can overcome geographical and other barriers to collaborative projects
VWBPE helps educators (and students!) network with each other. Your participation in the VWBPE community is why we keep planning these annual conferences. While considerably less expensive than face-to-face physical gatherings and far easier to attend, there are still costs involved with virtual conferences like VWBPE.
We are always grateful for the donations we receive of both time and funding.Our fundraising socials are not solely for raising money, but also for ongoing networking and especially for showing appreciation for the community’s support.
Most of all, we love to have fun together, and who would pass up an opportunity to get a little outrageous in the process?! *Taken from the VWBPE Board of Directors announcement. Come join us!
Image may contain: 1 person
According to the authors of a new book, The Fastest Billion – the story behind Africa’ s Economic Revolution, Africa’ s current sustained growth level is set to not only continue but rise over the next four decades so that, come 2050, the continent’ s GDP will equal the combined GDPs of the US and the EU at current prices. There is a possibility that Africa’ s growth could outstrip that of Asia over this time span. Some have described this scenario as over-optimistic and an exercise in wishful thinking. But the authors of the book put forward sound arguments based on analyses of trends going back centuries to support their thesis. Editor Anver Versi talked to the book’ s lead author, economist Charles Robertson, to outline the case for a defence of the theory.
The one thing most economists and historians are agreed upon is that we have not yet discovered a magic formula that allows us to explain why civilizations rise and fall when they do. The best we can do is in retrospect and assign this or that cause to the rise of this power and the decline of that power but what triggers the change that turns a humdrum nation into a mighty empire, or what series of events bring about the collapse of a mighty power continues to baffle us. There are so many ifs and buts, so many accidental turns, so much good fortune or bad fortune involved in the destiny of nations that crystal ball gazing by crunching numbers has shown up many prophets of the future to be little more than educated idiots.
Take this passage quoted by Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and the former MD of the World Bank, in a foreword to The Fastest Billion: “Imagine a continent torn by multiple wars, beset by ethnic and religious warfare, malnutrition, disease and illiteracy – all of it complicated by poorly drawn borders, a still potent post-colonial stigma and the incessant meddling of outside powers.
“With a single exception, per capita income hovers at $400, primary school education reaches only a fraction of the region’s vast population and its authoritarian rulers ensure any revenues generated by the region’s rich natural resources are spent on personal, rather than national priorities. Prospects for pulling the multitudes who live at, or just above, subsistence levels seem remote, at best.”
The above passage surely describes Africa? Wrong. It describes Developing Asia in the mid 1970s, “an area of the world,” writes Okonjo-Iweala, “that had endured 200 years of decline, imperial domination and economic stagnation before beginning on the path that would transform it into the most economically vibrant zone on earth.”
So much for ‘ expert’ prediction! While the description of Developing Asia given above was accurate, the conclusion that therefore it was doomed to failure has been shown to be so much hogwash. The error was to omit any reference to the human spirit and to assume that the people would continue to live in the misery that history had dumped them into. In fact, any sensible reading of history would show that the world’ s great empires more often than not rose out of the ashes of defeat and destruction. If there is a pattern to discern, it is that those people who are most able to adapt and adopt to their times that emerge stronger and richer while those that become rigid and inflexible are fated to wither and decline.
History also shows that the need to adapt and adopt is strongest among people who face the most challenging environments and that necessity is, indeed, the mother of invention. It was true of war-torn, famine-riddled Europe in the Middle Ages and it has been true for the Asia described above. But when the turning point arrives, by whatever mysterious routes it is reached, the ascent is often rapid and spectacular.
“In the 1960s,” author Robertson told me, “all the indicators pointed to Burma (now Myanmar) as the success story while Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia were riven by deadly ethnic violence and civil strife. Today, Singapore is 59 times richer than Myanmar and perhaps the most successful country in the world.”
Okonjo-Iweala writes: “Just as SSA has suffered through its despots and destitution, so the seedlings of transformation have pushed through the African soil. As an increasing number of economists, investors and financial policy makers have realised, SSA has emerged from its own malaise, into a dawn that promises growth to rival, if not surpass, that recorded by Asia’s Tigers over the past two decades.”
Harsh lessons
At the heart of the argument presented by the book is the observation that all societies move through various stages of development to arrive at what we now consider advanced stages. The theory is that Africa has now arrived at the same level of economic, social and political development as China, Korea and India 20-30 years ago and that given the geo-economic structure of the world, is poised to grow along the same type of trajectory as the Asian Tigers but perhaps at a faster pace, due to its advantages in possessing vast natural resources, huge tracts of cultivable land and a population structure in which productive youth will outnumber the elderly or the very young.
Robertson describes the four phases of the global economic transformation that began 200 years ago. These four phases saw countries move from agrarian to industrial states, from tyranny to pluralistic middle-class societies and increasingly into economies driven by the information age.
“These stages of growth have become the benchmarks by which we recognise a nation’s economic progress and its population’s steady journey from subsistence towards unprecedented prosperity and political pluralism now enjoyed by the world’s most advanced countries,” writes Robertson. “The process will not be complete by 2050, but Africa is set to be the final beneficiary of this revolution.”
What is more, says Robertson, the most remarkable progress will occur in the next two generations. “We expect the billion Africans who in the past decade have already experienced the fastest growth the continent has ever seen to become the fastest two billion, and Africa’ s GDP to increase from $2 trillion today to $29 trillion in today’ s money by 2050.” By that date, the argument goes, Africa will produce more GDP than the US and Eurozone combined do today.
But how can we know this is not another false dawn, I wanted to know. After all, Africa has experienced periods of rapid growth in the past, in the 1960s and ’70s before falling back into stagnation and worse. How can we know that this time things will be different?
Robertson’s response is that at independence, African nations, most of which were artificial constructs held together only by colonial administrative networks, were innocents abroad and not at all prepared for the sophisticated, cut-throat world into which they were suddenly plunged. The colonial structures were replaced by neo-colonial ones which sought, above all, to maintain the status quo of Africa as the source of cheap raw materials for the North’s industrial engines. The struggle for spheres of political and ideological influence during the Cold War pushed African national interests out of sight and led to the championing of dictators such as Mobutu Sese Seko as open agents for Western interests.
Many of Africa’s civil wars at this time were over valuable mineral resources and were supported, financed and armed by outside forces. Apartheid South Africa, acting as a Western outpost in Africa, caused considerable destabilisation in Southern Africa through murderous wars and devastated national economies at all levels through the use of land mines, many of which remain hidden in place to this day.
Even the best African leaders were inexperienced and easily duped by sharp practices from the developed world. IMF and World Bank policies, which were primarily designed to extract debt-service revenues through exports, damaged agriculture almost beyond repair and conditionalities that forced governments to cut spending on education and health. Growth figures from this era mask the fact that a good deal of it was debt. Grandiose white elephant projects ate up precious foreign revenues and income from resources were looted by local elites in conjunction with their foreign collaborators. Trillions of dollars were siphoned out of Africa.
These were harsh lessons but Africans learnt them – some more quickly than others. Yvonne Mhango, an economist with Renaissance Capital, teams up with Robertson to describe the change. “More wealth has been created in Africa in the past 10 years than at any point in the continent’s history. It is a transformation that is both bottom up – new businesses and even whole sectors have sprung up and engulfed the continent – and top down.
“Governments have got policy spectacularly right and created the low-debt, low-inflation, much-improved macro conditions that have enabled growth to take off. Africa’s private sector is thriving, supported by better governance. The consequences,” they write, “have been a quintupling of exports, record inflows of foreign direct investment and a doubling of per capita GDP.”
Africa’s public debt, once regarded as a huge rock crushing a starving continent, is now among the lowest of any continent. Thanks to debt forgiveness by the IMF and the World Bank, many African nations today enjoy improved currency stability, low public debt/GDP ratios and low budget deficits. Governments have been able to increase the maturity of their lengths of their domestic debts to 10 years, and in the case of Kenya, to even 30 years.
The contrast to the West, the book says, is stark. “If developed market finance ministers were offered three wishes today, many would ask for Africa’s public debt ratio, Africa’s budget balance and Africa’s growth.” The book points out that if Germany, Japan and the US had applied to join the Eurozone in recent times, they would have been rejected as they would have failed to meet the prudent ratios enshrined in the Maastricht criteria. On the other hand, the vast majority of Africa’ s top performing nations would have met the Maastricht public finance criteria with ease.
Sustaining growth
While Africa has got its macro economic management right, the heady heights envisioned for the continent will depend primarily on whether or not Africa can sustain its growth levels. This in turn will depend on several factors – good governance, greater democratisation, political stability, continuing global demand for commodities, greater diversification into manufacturing and services, FDI, energy generation, deeper provision of banking and financial services, support for SMEs, better quality of education, technology and skills transfer, reduction of corruption and an accelerated creating and improvement of infrastructure. The book deals with each one of these factors and comes to the conclusion that by and large, Africa is on track to deliver on all fronts. However, the authors are quick to acknowledge that not all African countries will develop at the same rate or to the same extent. Countries under authoritarian or military rule, those still mired in conflicts or those whose economies are still severely underdeveloped are likely to either stagnate or fall behind. The general trend however, is positive.
For example, according to Freedom House, the number of democracies in Africa has risen from only three in 1990 to 19 in 2012, of which nine are completely free democracies and Africa’s share of the number of people killed in violent conflict, once among the highest, has been dropping steadily. Today, only the DRC, Somalia and Sudan are among the top 10 most deadly countries in the world and only five of SSA’s 48 countries come in the top 30. This includes South Africa and Uganda, where the causes of death are less to do with political violence but due to homicides.
On the crucial question of growth rates, the book says Africa is today at the same stage as India was after its 1991 reforms and developing Asia was in the 1980s.
Africa’s mean growth rate of 5.6% in the 2000s is more than double its rate of 2.2% in the 1990s and is higher than the global average. Given the similarities between the growth curves of India after 1990 and Africa today, “to maintain an average SSA growth rate equal to what India achieved on its growth trajectory, countries with per capita GDP below $10,000 should grow by 7.3% this decade, 8.6% in the 2020s, 10.5% in the 2030s and a remarkable 12.6% from 2040–49,” says the book. According to this scenario, in 2038, roughly 300m Nigerians will be enjoying an average per capita income of $10,000 and their GDP will have reached $3 trillion, similar to Germany today. By 2050, Kenya’ s GDP will reach $1 trillion, Ethiopia $1.5 trillion and Uganda $755bn.
However, these are best-case projections that will be fiercely contested by other economists. Just as Western economists got their growth projections for Asia in the 1970s and for Africa in 2000 horribly wrong, the figures for Africa above could also err in the other direction and prove over-optimistic. Only time will tell whose crystal ball was fuzzy and whose was clear. What we do know is that real life has the happy – or at times the unhappy – knack of making complete nonsense of economic projections.
What we can count on however is that the pace of economic development is getting faster. “The pace of accelerating growth never happens overnight,” Charles Robertson told me. “What took the UK centuries can now be a matter of decades, even years. The US and Germany ‘ borrowed’ and then improved on UK technology in the 19th century, Japan did the same more quickly in the 20th century and China accelerated the process still further over the past 30 years. Today Africa has the greatest room to boom on the back of two centuries of global progress.”
Technological leapfrogging
Robertson points out that many of the ills and malaise associated with Africa were the norm in 17th and 18th century Europe. In fact, Europe and Asia have had absolute autocratic rule through the system of hereditary monarchs for far longer in their histories than they have had democratic government. The longest stretch of authoritarian rule in Africa is just a shade over 40 years and it is on its way out in most of the continent. It should also be borne in mind that Europe’s rise owes a great deal – some historians claim it owes virtually all – to colonisation of resource-rich foreign lands and the exploitation of native labour. This generated the capital and provided the raw materials to usher in the industrial revolution which came in response to the opportunities provided by cheaply produced raw materials such as cotton, sugar, tea, coffee and minerals including vast quantities of gold from Africa and Latin America.
The rise of the Asian Tigers, on the other hand, has been generated by the application of technology to traditional modes of production and mass production of goods for export. Africa is on the same path.
Interestingly, the largest inflows of FDI into Africa came in 2011, rising by 27% to $80bn (and expected to reach $150bn by 2015). What is significant about these new inflows is that 30% of the capital invested in Africa has gone to manufacturing, 38% to infrastructure and only 28% in extraction. This is in sharp contrast to earlier trends when most of FDI went into extractive industries. The implication is that this investment, which produces tangible goods and services, is the real driver of per capita GDP growth as it creates jobs and new skills.
With growth levels low in the OECD countries, Africa is becoming an increasingly attractive destination given the very high returns from the continent. Another catalyst for growth is that productivity gains are made ever easier by technological transfers: “The pace of technological innovation globally is now so rapid, and so easy to transfer to Africa – as evidenced by the boom in mobile phone technology and the rolling out of broadband – that Africa is not just the recipient of technology but via M-Pesa banking, an exporter of it.”
In other words, Africa is ideally poised to leapfrog centuries of industrial development and benefit from the achievements of the information age. It has an added advantage in that it does not have to carry baggage from the past and can slip easily into ultra-modern production and distribution modes. If these trends persist, then there is every chance that the growth figures projected by The Fastest Billion can be achieved.
Human development
What about human development? Sustained economic growth is virtually impossible without considerable human development. Here too we learn that Africa is improving faster than other developing regions. Primary school enrolment, according to the book, was already 96% on average across the continent and secondary school enrolment should reach 50% by 2020 and be close to 100% by 2050. The authors expect to see a 72% real increase in healthcare and 69% rise in education from today’s levels: “We expect health care spending to rise 16-fold by 2050, from $123bn to $1,944bn in today’s money, helped by public expenditure rising from 2.8% of GDP to 4.1%.”
The rate of urbanisation, essential to make the transition from rural subsistence to urban consumerism, is keeping pace with China’s at around 50%. This has created a boom in the construction industry and inspired the development of modern, purpose-built cities in Kenya and Ghana. Large infrastructure projects should allow easier and cheaper movement of people and goods, boosting intra-African trade and making African exports more competitive. The introduction of low cost airlines should take the sting out of tedious road travel and felicitate commerce and movement.
Africa’s century?
For a considerable time to come, Africa’s revenues will continue to depend on the extraction and export of commodities. Here too, the continent finds itself in a good place. Oil revenues that averaged around $34bn per year in SSA in the 1990s more than trebled to $124bn by 2005 and have doubled again to around $250bn. It is also likely to become one of the biggest producers and exporters of natural gas in the near future while new oil and gas discoveries in East Africa are expected to transform economies in this sub-region.
It is estimated that only 20% of Africa’ s sub-soil minerals have been discovered so far. In a world increasingly reliant on natural resources to fuel industries, Africa’s advantage can be considerable.
The Fastest Billion makes a sober case that Africa’s rise is virtually inevitable given current world trends. Add to the economic argument that progress, for example in the field of education, which is being revolutionised by distance learning (some of it provided free), in financial services through innovative models, in an expansion of trade through the internet and the creative energy released by the private sector, could be faster than anticipated, and the prediction that this century will belong to Africa begins to take on a solid shape.
*The Fastest Billion, published by Renaissance Capital.
Authors: Charles Robertson with Yvonne Mhango, Michael Moran, Arnold Meyer, Nothando Ndebele, John Arron, Johan Snyman, Jim Taylor, Dragan Trajkov, Sven Richter, Bradley Way.
- See more at: africanbusinessmagazine.com/uncategorised/why-africa-will...
I was walking with my camera in my hand, not yet actively looking for strangers, I was mostly checking the streets I often roam and seeing what the light was like when I noticed Arthur smoking. I walked up to him and asked if he’d let me take his picture. He was very enthusiastic about the project. I knew a church with painted doors just across the street that might make a nice background and Arthur agreed to walk with me there and obliged me by taking off his mask.
Arthur studies languages at the university of Caen. He came from Lille in the north of France to study here. He studies English, Spanish and Portuguese. Before he took up languages, Arthur studied performing arts for a semester. Arthur told me studying was tough at the moment with everything being done through distance learning. “There is no student life” which in French not only carries the meaning of studying but also partying and going out, something that is next to impossible at the moment considering all the bars and restaurants are closed and there is a 6pm curfew. Though Arthur did mention the fact that he has made friends since he moved in Caen. He likes calling his friends and taking pictures of his friends with his phone.
Arthur’s enthusiasm for the 100 strangers project encouraged me a lot.
I hadn’t foreseen the fact that his cap would cast shadows around his eyes and I failed to notice it on the spot. Something to keep in mind when next I meet someone wearing a cap. While I have slowed down when compared to the first few stranger street portraits I shot, I still need to slow down a little more both the shooting and my conversation, I need to work the scene more, take the time to review my shots and improve upon them.
What drew me to the 100 strangers project in the first place, years before I started it, was always the human side of it. Not just the photos but the stories, the idea of meeting people which to a shy introvert looked like a skill that was impossible to pick up. Meeting people these days, seeing the masks come down, seeing new faces, talking with people feels like a breath of fresh air. We might be social distancing, that’s no reason to remain estranged.
Thank you very much Arthur!
This picture is #8 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
This is my 3rd submission to the Human Family Group. To view more street portraits and stories visit The Human Family Flickr Group page
Je marchais avec mon appareil photo à la main, pas encore en train de chercher des inconnus de façon active mais plutôt en train de faire un premier tour dans les rues que j’arpente habituellement afin de me faire une idée de la lumière ce jour là quand j’ai aperçu Arthur qui était en train de fumer. Je l’ai abordé et lui ai demandé si je pouvais le prendre en photo. Il a été très enthousiaste par rapport au challenge 100 strangers. J’avais mémorisé qu’il y avait une église tout prêt dont les portes peintes feraient un arrière plan qui pourrait être intéressant. Arthur a accepté de traverser la rue pour y aller et a enlevé son masque.
Arthur est étudiant en LEA à l’université de Caen où il étudie l’anglais, l’espagnol, le portugais et il est originaire de Lille. Avant d’entrer en LEA, Arthur a fait arts du spectacle pendant un semestre. Arthur m’a dit qu’être étudiant était compliqué en ce moment, tout se fait en distanciel. « Il n’y a pas de vie étudiante. » Avec tous les bars et les restaurants fermés, le couvre feu et les diverses mesures de distanciation sociales, les espaces de liberté individuelle se réduisent. Heureusement depuis qu’il est arrivé à Caen, Arthur s’est fait des amis. Il aime prendre des photos, appeler ses amis et prendre des photos d’eux avec son téléphone.
L’enthousiasme d’Arthur pour le challenge 100 strangers m’a beaucoup encouragé.
Je n’avais pas prévu le fait que sa casquette projetterait des ombres autour de ses yeux et je ne l’ai pas remarqué au moment où je l’ai pris en photo. Il faudra que je garde cela à l’esprit la prochaine fois que je rencontrerai quelqu’un qui porte une casquette ou un chapeau. Bien que j’ai déjà ralenti dans ma façon de procéder et de prendre des inconnus en photo, je dois encore ralentir un peu à la fois dans les conversations et dans les portraits que je prends. Je dois prendre le temps de vérifier les photos que j’ai prises et essayer d’en prendre de meilleures à partir des erreurs que je fais initialement.
Ce qui m’a attiré dans le projet 100 strangers en premier lieu, des années avant de commencer mon projet, a toujours été le côté humain, pas uniquement les photos, mais les histoires. L’idée d’aborder des inconnus, pour quelqu’un de timide, avait l’air impossible. Ces derniers temps, aborder des inconnus, voir les masques tomber, voir de nouveaux visages, parler avec des gens qui au fur et à mesure de la conversation ne sont plus tout à fait des inconnus est rafraîchissant. Il me paraît d’autant plus important d’apprendre à se connaître, de se rencontrer, de ne plus être des inconnus en cette période où tout est fait pour nous isoler.
Merci beaucoup Arthur!
Cette photo est la #8 dans mon projet 100 strangers. Apprenez-en plus au sujet du projet et visionnez les photos prises par d’autres photographes sur la page Flickr du groupe 100 Strangers
C’est ma troisème participation au groupe The Human Family. Pour voir plus de portraits de rue et d’histoires, visitez la page Flickr du groupe The Human Family
Stranger #11 – Angèle
It had been snowing during the night, the streets had been sprayed with salt. It was sunny, cold and rather windy. I was starting to feel cold, I don’t wear gloves when I shoot it just feels cumbersome and awkward to me to operate a camera with gloves and my hands were numb and getting painful. I noticed Angèle sitting on a bench, she wasn’t wearing gloves either. Her legs were folded, she had a sketchpad balanced on her right leg and even though it was literally freezing, she was drawing. I asked her if I could take her picture just the way she was, drawing there. She agreed and resumed drawing, thoroughly absorbed, never appearing self-conscious nor looking at the camera. I made a few exposures, trying to take a picture that would capture the way she was, sitting on that bench, drawing as people were walking by. Some of the shots I took were okay, especially when I managed to time my pressing the shutter release with the wind brushing her hair off her face and showing her eyes, all in all they were passable candid shots. Worse, they felt impersonal and in that moment, there were only a few angles I could try crouching in the road of that semi pedestrian street, the idea I was missing would only occur to me later.
Angèle studies applied arts and design. She doesn’t enjoy enjoy design as much from what I gathered, designing objects is too “square”, she prefers drawing. Angèle has been drawing since she was 3, she even draws during her classes. For a while she’s been having classes once every two weeks, part of the measures taken to try and slow down the epidemic has been to split classes in halves, half the students remain at home for week 1 and do distance learning while the other half attend in person and they switch every other week. Angèle told me it wasn’t always easy to stay upbeat but that she tries not to look at the negative side. I think drawing helps her.
That’s when I knew what I needed to capture, what I needed to have a memory of, it wasn’t for the 100 strangers challenge that I needed that moment it was something I needed to remember for myself, not just seeing Angèle drawing in the cold but that particular moment when I felt a kinship with Angèle, when she stopped being a stranger, when I related to her. I crouched so as to take a picture of her at eye level. I focused on the eye closest to the lens, closing down the aperture to f/3.5 since I was quite close to her in order to get her face in focus and let the background fall off.
I asked if I could jot down some notes because there were things I knew I’d be unable to remember otherwise and she asked me if she could sketch me “that way we’ll be even” as she put it. I was happy to oblige. I was impressed with her sketch, Angèle didn’t seem all that satisfied, telling me her hands were numb with the cold. I asked her if I could take a picture of the sketch she’d made of me, I didn’t think to ask her if she’d be okay with me putting a picture of her sketch as a comment, I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I’m happy with the portrait I took of her, not because of any skill that I displayed but because it’s the memory of a moment I enjoyed. I wish I’d thought to ask her if I could take pictures of her hands as she drew, just fill the frame with her hands and her sketches, I love craftsmanship and hands working their craft (their witchcraft). Then again, considering how cold it was it might have been uncomfortable for her to draw in the cold much longer for the camera. I know just enough about drawing to understand how much invisible work goes into being able to draw the way Angèle does. In her sketches is the watermark of thousands of hours of practice. I’m grateful that I was lucky enough to meet Angèle.
Thank you very much Angèle!
This picture is #11 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
This is my 6th submission to the Human Family Group. To view more street portraits and stories visit The Human Family Flickr Group page
Il avait un peu neigé dans le courant de la nuit et en tout début de matinée. Les rues avaient été salées. Il faisait ensoleillé, froid et il y avait du vent. Je commençais à avoir froid, je ne porte pas de gants quand je sors faire des photos, manipuler un appareil photo avec des gants n’est pas assez pratique, j’avais les mains engourdies et légèrement douloureuses. J’ai aperçu Angèle qui était assise sur un banc, elle ne portait pas de gants non plus. Elle avait les jambes croisées et sur sa jambe droite elle avait un carnet dans lequel elle dessinait malgré le froid. Je lui ai demandé si je pouvais la prendre en photo telle qu’elle était, en train de dessiner. Elle a accepté et a repris ses dessins, absorbée par ce qu’elle faisait, sans embarras ni regard vers l’objectif. J’ai pris quelques photos, tentant de capturer ce moment, la façon dont elle observait et dessinait alors que les gens étaient en mouvement autour d’elle. Certaines des photos que j’ai prises d’Angèle étaient acceptables, en particulier celles où j’ai réussi à la prendre en photo alors que le vent écartait ses cheveux de son visage et où l’on pouvait voir ses yeux. Dans l’ensemble, c’étaient des photos candides passables. Pire, c’étaient des photos impersonnelles et sur le moment il n’y avait qu’un certain nombre d’angles par lequel je pouvais aborder ces photos, accroupi sur la route de cette rue semi-piétonne, l’idée qui me manquait ne me viendrait que par la suite.
Angèle étudie les sciences et technologies du design et des arts appliqués. Elle apprécie moins le design et tout ce qui a à voir avec les objets c’est « trop carré », elle préfère le dessin. Angèle dessine depuis qu’elle a 3 ans, y compris en classe. Depuis quelques temps, elle a cours une semaine sur deux. Parmi les mesures prises pour tenter de ralentir l’épidémie, les classes ont été scindées en demi-groupes qui vont en cours une semaine sur deux et sont en distanciel quand ils ne sont pas en cours. Angèle m’a dit que ce n’est pas évident de garder le moral mais qu’elle essaie de ne pas voir le négatif. Je crois que dessiner l’aide.
C’est à ce moment là que j’ai compris ce que je devais capturer, le souvenir que j’avais besoin de garder, moins pour le défi que pour moi, un moment que je devais conserver : pas juste observer Angèle en train de dessiner dans le froid, mais ce moment où j’ai ressenti une affinité avec Angèle, où je me suis identifié à ce qu’elle disait. Je me suis accroupi pour la prendre en photo de façon à être au même niveau que ses yeux. J’ai fait la mise au point sur l’œil qui se trouvait le plus proche par rapport à l’objectif, j’ai légèrement fermé le diaphragme à f/3.5 puisque je me trouvais assez proche d’elle afin d’avoir son visage net et laisser l’arrière plan se dissoudre.
Je lui ai demandé si je pouvais prendre quelques notes, il y avait des choses dont je n’aurais pas pu me souvenir sans noter et elle m’a demandé si elle pouvait me dessiner «comme ça on est quittes» comme elle l’a joliment formulé. J’étais ravi de lui rendre service. J’ai été impressionné par son dessin, elle a un excellent coup de crayon. Angèle ne m’a pas paru aussi satisfaite de son croquis, elle m’a dit que ses mains étaient engourdies par le froid. Je lui ai demandé si je pouvais prendre une photo du dessin qu’elle avait fait de moi, je n’ai pas pensé à lui demander si elle m’autorisait à le mettre en commentaire, je n’avais pas réfléchi jusque là. Je suis content du portrait que j’ai pris d’elle, pas à cause de la moindre compétence dont j’aurais fait preuve mais parce que c’est un souvenir d’un moment que j’ai apprécié. Je regrette de ne pas avoir pensé à lui demander si je pouvais prendre des photos de ses mains quand elle dessinait. J’aurais aimé remplir le cadre avec ses mains et ses dessins, j’adore l’art, l’artisanat, le savoir faire et j’adore voir et photographier des mains en train de travailler leur art (leur magie). Cela dit, compte tenu du froid, il aurait peut être été inconfortable voire douloureux pour Angèle de dessiner le temps que je prenne ses mains en photo. J’en sais juste assez sur le dessin pour comprendre quelle somme de travail invisible se trouve derrière la capacité d’Angèle à dessiner comme elle le fait. Dans ses dessins on peut lire en filigrane les milliers d’heures de pratique pour en arriver là. Je suis reconnaissant d’avoir eu la chance de rencontrer Angèle.
Merci beaucoup Angèle!
Cette photo est la #11 dans mon projet 100 strangers. Apprenez-en plus au sujet du projet et visionnez les photos prises par d’autres photographes sur la page Flickr du groupe 100 Strangers
C’est ma sixième participation au groupe The Human Family. Pour voir plus de portraits de rue et d’histoires, visitez la page Flickr du groupe The Human Family