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Mythology’s Role in Ancient Politics and War Mythology’s Role in Ancient Politics and War In ancient times, people often viewed the world through the lens of their beliefs and traditions. Mythologies of ancient cultures were much more than collections of old stories and legends – they were the core of a nation’s identity, and the foundation of their political power and social structure. Across time and through many civilizations, myths and old tales were closely entwined with political ideologies, doctrines, military efforts, and society’s belief in authority. In many ways, the myths became instrumental for legitimizing great conquests, wars, and regime changes. They promoted unity in a society and strengthened the position of a ruling class. So, in many ways, our history is founded upon myths. But what role exactly did it play? War Justified Through Myth From the beginning of the earliest of world civilizations, myths abounded in them. And it was to them that ancient leaders frequently turned to when needing to justify conquest and war. In this sense, they often legitimized war as a “divine” right. This means that they placed the gods and heroes of their pantheon into an active role within these wars, and thus created an imperative for their people to ****** in them as well. For example, in Mesopotamia, religion and mythology were closely connected to wars and expansions, as well as political legitimacy. The rulers of Akkadia and Sumeria often invoked the will of their pantheons, in a way to justify their expansionist campaigns. Most notable was the famed King Sargon of Akkad (~2334 to 2279 BC), who attributed his successes in war to the favor of the goddess of war and love, Ishtar (Inanna). Being endorsed by a deity was not just symbolic, as it implied that the gods too “willed” the expansion of Akkad. This justified the wars of Sargon and gave them the backing of a higher power. Bronze head of an Akkadian ruler, likely of Sargon the Great, from Nineveh. (Eric de Redelijkheid / CC BY-SA 2.0) Read more… Top image: An Akkadian General strategizes with his advisors. Source: JustLight / Adobe Stock By Aleksa Vučković Source link #Mythologys #Role #Ancient #Politics #War Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Deep ***** Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Deep ***** In an exclusive interview, Axel Torvenius, the creative director of MachineGames, delves into the creative journey behind Indiana Jones and The Great Circle. With over 43 years of lore to explore, Torvenius and his team face the challenge of bringing something fresh to the beloved franchise while staying true to its iconic roots. From the narrative-driven design to the careful crafting of puzzles and character dynamics, Torvenius shares insights into how MachineGames is redefining the Indiana Jones experience. Source link #Indiana #Jones #Great #Circle #Deep #***** Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Pediatricians say sharing books with children is the best holiday gift of all Pediatricians say sharing books with children is the best holiday gift of all Credit: Andy Kuzma from Pexels A book can inspire joy and stir the imagination. Even better this holiday season is the gift of sharing that book with your child. Turning the pages of a high-quality, print book filled with colorful pictures and rich, expressive language is best. While touchscreens and other electronic devices may be popular, they are typically passive or solitary experiences for children and do not offer the same benefits of interactivity and relationship building. Starting from infancy, reading aloud helps build the foundation for healthy social-emotional, cognitive, language and literacy development. Sharing books helps with language development and vocabulary, and gets them ready to listen and learn in school. And over the past decade, research has found that reading together helps foster positive interactions, strengthening the safe, stable and nurturing relationships young children must have to thrive. The ********* Academy of Pediatrics recommends reading to your child every day, even if only for a few minutes, and making it part of the bedtime routine. Each evening, set aside 20 to 30 minutes with screens off for sharing books. Remember that the experience should be fun. You don’t have to finish a story if your child loses interest. Let your child choose the book, even if it means reading the same book over and over. You can invite your child to “read” to you from a familiar book that they have memorized. Ask about the illustrations or what your child thinks will happen next. You can say, “Can you find all the blue things?” or “Show me all the things that can fly.” Point out colors, shapes, numbers and letters and respond with enthusiasm to your child’s questions and comments. Local libraries offer a wide variety of children’s literature, including ****** tales, poetry and nursery rhymes, as well as nonfiction books on subjects children love, such as the ocean or dogs. Follow your child’s interests in choosing books. Children’s librarians can help you with high-quality book selections on a wide range of topics. And during the holidays, consider building your home library and reinforcing the value of great books by giving them as gifts. By age 4, a child can typically tell you which books they want to share with you, pretend to read a favorite book aloud to you, and tell you how a story is like things they have seen or done. They may ask you questions about books you are enjoying together or “correct” you if you skip a word or page in a favorite book. As children grow older, reading can help develop character and values that are important to your family. In fact, a really great book has the power to counterbalance negative outside influences and teach children important lessons as they grow. It might be a book on kindness after your child experienced or witnessed cruelty. It might be a book on expressing emotions after your child saw or heard scary news coverage, or maybe a book on understanding differences after your child saw someone who looked different than they expected. Books are great conversation starters. They are also just a lot of fun and can help create wonderful memories, particularly during the holidays when you’re spending extra time together. A shared reading experience, as a tender, magical and loving time spent with your child, is truly a gift. It speaks to the heart of what parenting is. The AAP and Reach Out and Read have compiled a list of books—organized by age and topic—to help you raise children who are aware of the world around them, curious, brave, kind and thoughtful. 2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Citation: Pediatricians say sharing books with children is the best holiday gift of all (2024, November 11) retrieved 11 November 2024 from This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. Source link #Pediatricians #sharing #books #children #holiday #gift Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Raspberry Pi 5 overclocked to 3.6 GHz by ScatterBencher — but exotic cooling didn’t help push clocks any faster than air Raspberry Pi 5 overclocked to 3.6 GHz by ScatterBencher — but exotic cooling didn’t help push clocks any faster than air Expert overclocker Pieter-Jan Plaisier, AKA ScatterBencher, has again turned his focus to the humble Raspberry Pi. In a recent video walkthrough, the ********* tech enthusiast prepared a Raspberry Pi 5, alongside a plethora of advanced hardware and software tools, to try and push our favorite single board computer to 4 GHz or beyond. Sadly, ScatterBencher didn’t really achieve what he set out to do, as with all his esoteric cooling craft and lashings of liquid nitrogen he still hit a wall at 3.6 GHz – which had been achievable on a stock device with air cooling. 3.6 GHz Pi 5 | World’s Fastest Raspberry Pi 5 8GB – YouTube Watch On ScatterBencher’s Raspberry Pi 5 overclocking efforts had previously plateaued at 3.0 GHz on air. Since that time, the expert overclocker consulted with Tom’s Hardware presenter and editor Les Pounder on the Pi Cast. This conversation led him to Jeff Geerling’s guide on the NUMA (Non-Uniform Memory Access) Emulation Patch, which we have also discussed on the site, here. With software alone – the latest Raspberry Pi OS and the NUMA patch, ScatterBencher saw much better results than he had previously achieved. Early in his video, he shows that it was a cinch to move past 3.0 GHz, using only the latest software and simple air cooling. A graph shows he could get the Raspberry Pi to run nearly 30% faster than stock with appropriate air cooling. The Raspberry Pi 5’s Broadcom BCM2712 SoC runs at a stock frequency of 2.4 GHz. Satisfied with the software side of things, ScatterBencher naturally anticipated some further steps up the overclocking ladder, setting up at Elmor Labs Taipei office. The first step was to run the Pi with liquid nitrogen (LN2) cooling. Due to the topography of components on the Pi PCB, some LN2 pots that ScatterBencher was familiar with weren’t suitable. However, a thin, tall **** was found which sat nicely on the SoC. A quick test run saw the LN2-cooled Pi SoC achieve 3.2 GHz on LN2, and it could run Geekbench, with no issues. The overclocking expert gradually increased clocks but found a barrier at 3.6 GHz, after which the Pi would lock up / ******, whatever he did. ScatterBencher adjusted the LN2 cooling down to around -90 degrees Celsius and didn’t get any better results, complaining of a lack of temperature scaling. Below this temperature a Raspberry Pi will exhibit other issues, explained the overclocker, so it is kind of a hard limit in cooling the SBC. Turning attention to power delivery, ScatterBencher decided to use the Elmor Ample-X1 power card. First, he removed some inductors, added thicker power wires, and then checked everything was still OK. Now, with the Ample-X1 connected and stronger power delivery in place, ScatterBencher could increase voltages above 1.2V – moving the needle up to 1.55V – but again no scaling was achieved… ScatterBencher pondered why he saw no scaling with lower temperatures, or higher voltages – two of the best tools in an overclocker’s toolbox. He mused whether there was a Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) locking issue, or if there were other components in the SoC that were being unintentionally upclocked but hitting limits. Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. However, there was still an avenue that had been left unexplored. The standard Raspberry Pi 5 crystal runs at a fixed 54 MHz. This was removed with hot air and replaced with an Elmor Labs ECB (external clock board). Sadly, even with the oscillator adjustments available, ScatterBencher hit the same ‘frequency wall’ of 3.4 GHz for benchmarking, and 3.6 GHz for just running the OS without significant load. In summary, ScatterBencher found that 4 GHz is a frequency too far for the Raspberry Pi 5. Even with the best tools at his disposal (LN2, power, oscillator mods etc) – only 3.6 GHz was achievable. That’s the same limit he saw with ambient cooling, he said. Nevertheless, the skilled overclocker was happy with the journey – learning more about the Pi, Arm, and Linux on the way. Source link #Raspberry #overclocked #GHz #ScatterBencher #exotic #cooling #didnt #push #clocks #faster #air Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Shigeru Ishiba wins new term as PM in parliament run-off Shigeru Ishiba wins new term as PM in parliament run-off ********* Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has won a run-off vote in parliament to stay in his post, after an election setback last month that saw his coalition lose its majority in the lower house. Ishiba, 67, took over as prime minister from Fumio Kishida, who stepped down in September amid a series of scandals that rattled public trust in the ******** Democratic Party (LDP) party. In an extraordinary parliament session on Monday, Ishiba defeated Yoshihiko Noda, the leader of the main opposition party Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. Ishiba will now have to navigate hostilities within his party, economic woes and a ******* of flux in international relations. As the leader of a ********* government, he also faces the challenge of having to heed to demands from the opposition bloc for any future bills or budget to pass – with fears of potential political gridlock in a hung parliament. A former defence minister, Ishiba gained a reputation in ********* politics for being openly critical of figures in his party, including Kishida and Japan’s longest-serving leader Shinzo Abe. That reputation scored him points among voters, even as it ruffled feathers within his own party. Ishiba was named the leader of Japan’s ruling LDP – and consequently the country’s prime minister – on 1 October, following a tight race among LDP candidates. Days after taking office, he called a snap election for the parliament’s lower house in an attempt to consolidate his mandate. The election gamble *******, however, as the LDP lost its parliamentary majority in its worst result in over a decade. “The ********* people expressed their strong ******* for the LDP to do some reflection and become a party that acts in line with the people’s will,” Ishiba told national broadcaster NHK after that election. Ishiba’s cabinet will mostly remain the same, but the members who have lost their seats in the election will be replaced. The long-ruling party has become increasingly unpopular as Japan finds itself in the throes of economic challenges including soaring inflation, a sluggish economy and a weak yen. In recent years, the LDP has also come under scrutiny over political scandals including its ties to the controversial Unification ******* and allegations that its politicians had concealed millions of dollars in fundraiser donations. When Kishida announced in August that he would step down as prime minister, he cited both cases as reasons for the party’s crisis of trust. Ishiba faces another challenge on the foreign policy front, as Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election could mean more of his protectionist policies and potential new trade tariffs, especially on ********* steel. Ishiba previously vowed to reform the LDP, revive the economy and double defence spending. He had also voiced support for socially ******** policies, including marriage equality and allowing couples to have separate surnames – though he has since called for further discussion on the issues, in line with the LDP’s more ************* stance. Source link #Shigeru #Ishiba #wins #term #parliament #runoff Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Study Shows Mysterious Denisovans Interbred with Humans Multiple Times Study Shows Mysterious Denisovans Interbred with Humans Multiple Times The mysterious Denisovans, perhaps the most elusive of all the archaic hominin species, emerged following their divergence from Neanderthals approximately 400,000 years ago. Like Neanderthals, these extinct cousins of modern humans made important contributions to the human genome, which helped shape our evolution and make us what we are today. But as new research has revealed, the story of the Denisovan genetic exchange with early humans was more complex than previously known. In a new study just published in the journal Nature Genetics, two scientists affiliated with Trinity College Dublin’s Smurfit Institute of Genetics, lead author Dr. Linda Ongaro and her colleague Dr. Emilia Huerta-Sanchez, reviewed all the existing literature on Denisovan and human interbreeding, and were able to identify three separate periods when Denisovans were breeding with early humans regularly. They also found that the Denisovans had split into two distinct populations at some point, but that both of these had interbred with human ancestors, adding yet another layer of complexity to these interactions. Chart showing migration patterns and evolutionary history of Denisovans (and other ancient hominins). (John D. Croft/CC BY-SA 3.0). As Dr. Ongaro explained in a Trinity College Dublin press release, genetic experts have been able to figure all of this out through the in-depth study of the human genome. “By leveraging the surviving Denisovan segments in modern human genomes, scientists have uncovered evidence of at least three past events whereby genes from distinct Denisovan populations made their way into the genetic signatures of modern humans.” The complex and surprisingly frequent interactions between Denisovans and early humans are intriguing, given the scarce nature of the recovered Denisovan ******** (only a few individual bones or pieces of bones and teeth have been found). It is known that the Denisovans first appeared in Eurasia during the Pleistocene epoch, because of these few fossils, but beyond that the genetic fingerprint they left in the human genome is the only real evidence that reveals anything about their existence. The Denisovans Live On, Inside the Human Genome Based on all the research Drs. Ongaro and Huerta-Sanchez reviewed, it seems that at their peak of population the Denisovans inhabited an extensive geographic area, extending from the frozen climate of Siberia to the high altitudes of the Tibetan Plateau, and likely to the east and down into Southeast Asia and Oceania as well. The diversity in their range and the climates they inhabited suggests they may have been quite adaptable, and they are known to have passed some of that adaptability along to the human evolutionary line, through interbreeding with early humans and some of their archaic ancestors. What is known for sure now is that before they all disappeared about 50,000 years ago, there were two distinct Denisovan populations. One of them lived in the Altai Mountains of Siberia (among other places), where the Denisova ***** (the site where most Denisovan fossils have been discovered) is located. The second lived on the Tibetan Plateau and left behind one striking fossil—part of a jawbone with two molars still embedded—in that region’s Baishiya Karst *****, and they developed separately from the more well-known group that lived in Siberia. Denisova *****, located in Altai Mountain region of Siberia. (Демин Алексей Барнаул /.CC BY-SA 4.0.). Each of these groups left their mark in the human genome, Dr. Ongaro noted. For example, the Tibetan group had a high level of tolerance to low-oxygen conditions, which would have been common at high altitudes. They passed that along to humans to at least some extent, through the lasting contributions they made to humanity’s collective gene pool. Meanwhile, the Siberian population that endured extreme cold developed a heightened immune response and a more efficient capacity for burning **** for calories, and the Denisovan genes associated with the latter have been found in Inuit populations that survive in the Arctic. These are just some of the ways that Denisovan DNA has benefited humans. Previous research has found that Denisovan genetic material is most common in Aboriginal Austalians, Papuans, Near Oceanians, Polynesins, Fijians, Eastern Indonesians, and the Aeta people from the Philippines. Anywhere from two to six percent of the DNA of these groups can be traced back to the Denisovans, and it likely confers various benefits that have yet to be discovered. A Complex Picture of Human Evolution Emerges While the primary focus of her research was on the Denisovan-human connection, Dr. Ongaro believes this is only one part of a much more complex picture. These interactions actually occurred within the context of a broad and inclusive pattern of archaic hominin interbreeding, she asserts, that saw Denisovans, Neanderthals, early ***** sapiens, and possibly other archaic species exchanging genetic materially quite liberally. “It’s a common misconception that humans evolved suddenly and neatly from one common ancestor,” she said. “The more we learn, the more we realize interbreeding with different hominins occurred and helped shape the people we are today.” It is possible that some human populations contain bits and pieces of Denisovan DNA that has yet to be detected. This situation could change with more extensive research into the human genome, but archaeology also has an important role to play in learning more about who the Denisovans were, how they lived, and where and when they would have been most likely to interact with humans. Denisovan molar recovered from Denisova *****, Siberia. (Thilo Parg/CC BY-SA 3.0). “Integrating more genetic data with archaeological information—if we can find more Denisovan fossils—would certainly fill in a few more gaps.” Dr. Ongaro acknowledged. The spread of Denisovan DNA through various human populations certainly shows they traveled farther than just Siberia and the Tibetan Plateau, and if archaeologists are eventually able to discover more ******** in other locations it could go a long way toward solving the mystery of who the Denisovans really were. Top image: Piece of Denisovan jawbone with two attached molars, recovered from Baishiya Karst ***** on Tibetan Plateau. Source: Dongju Zhang/CC BY-SA 4.0. By Nathan Falde Source link #Study #Shows #Mysterious #Denisovans #Interbred #Humans #Multiple #Times Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

This Shin Megami Tensei board game features 72 intricate ****** figurines This Shin Megami Tensei board game features 72 intricate ****** figurines The popular Shin Megami Tensei video game series . A ********* company called Icrea is behind the effort and is on November 12 to raise funds for the project. SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI THE BOARD GAME (the company asked us to use all caps) is a “full-scale board game project” complete with 72 “high quality and detailed ****** figures.” Collecting demons and adding them to your party is a major part of the game, so these figurines should help with immersion. It’ll also help with getting random ****** figurines lost in the couch. Icrea/Atlus There’s a board with various locations from the franchise and plenty of series-specific cards to rifle through. The company says a game should take anywhere from three to four hours. The title has already generated a fair amount of excitement at both Gen **** and the most recent Tokyo Game Show. We don’t know exactly when this will be available for purchase. You know how Kickstarter timelines work. There are going to be a bunch of stretch goals, however, should the company reach the initial financial threshold. It’s a Shin Megami Tensei board game with dozens of cool-looking ****** figurines. It shouldn’t have any trouble finding financial backers. For the uninitiated, Shin Megami Tensei first came out in 1992 for the Super Famicom in Japan. There have been plenty of sequels throughout the years. Shin Megami Tensei V , but has since received a full-featured refresh called Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. To view this content, you’ll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the “Content and social-media partners” setting to do so. The Persona series is also a spinoff of the franchise. This leads to a very serious question. Persona board game when? I want to wander around a fake high school and eat ramen with a motley crew of characters. Source link #Shin #Megami #Tensei #board #game #features #intricate #****** #figurines Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Optimism and uncertainty as Middle East awaits Trump’s return Optimism and uncertainty as Middle East awaits Trump’s return Frank Gardner Trump had a warm relationship with Saudi Arabia during his first term in office As leaders of dozens of ***** and Islamic nations gather in the Saudi capital for a summit, there is widespread speculation about what a second Trump presidency will mean for the region. In sharp contrast to the fears voiced in Europe about Donald Trump’s famous unpredictability, Gulf ***** countries tend to view him as a force for stability. Writing in the officially approved ***** News opinion column, the prominent UAE business leader Khalaf al-Habtoor says: “In a Middle East where security is paramount, Trump’s focus on strengthening alliances and curbing extremist forces offers a way forward.” Here in Saudi Arabia, Trump is viewed much more favourably than Joe Biden. Trump chose Riyadh for his first overseas trip as President in 2017, an idea reportedly brokered by Rupert Murdoch. Through his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Trump enjoys warm relations with the de facto Saudi ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known by his initials, MBS. The crown prince has never forgiven or forgotten Biden saying that Saudi Arabia needed to be made a pariah for its attitude to human rights. Reuters Trump’s previous administration brokered the historic Abraham Accords between ******* and several ***** League states Trump’s record in office is a mixed one when it comes to the Middle East. On the one hand he pleased ******* and upset the ***** world by recognising Jerusalem as *******’s capital as well as *******’s annexation of the occupied Golan Heights. But he also secured the Abraham Accords in 2020 which saw the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco establish full diplomatic relations with ******* and Sudan agree to do so. Trump was, and is, hawkish on Iran. In 2018, he pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal, the so-called ****** Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Calling it “the worst deal in history”, he shared the views of many governments in the region that the deal, aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions, ******* to tackle Iran’s ballistic missile programme while enriching the Revolutionary Guards with money then used to fund proxy militias around the region. In 2020, to Iran’s fury but to the satisfaction of many in the Gulf ***** states, Trump ordered the ************** of Qasem Soleimani, the leader of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force. But today’s Middle East is not the same as the one when Trump left the White House. ******* is at war with ****** and Hezbollah, and exchanged blows with both the Houthis in Yemen and their backers in Iran. Under the Biden administration US influence in the region is seen to have waned with a White House largely ineffective at restraining its close ally, *******, as it wages war in Gaza and Lebanon. Reuters Regional powers Iran and Saudi Arabia restored diplomatic ties last year Trump’s return to the White House is thought likely to give ******* a freer hand to strike targets in Iran – like oil and nuclear facilities – that the Biden administration said were off limits. “His staunch support for ******* and aggressive stance towards Iran’s destabilising efforts made him a key ally in the region, and his return to power is expected to intensify efforts to limit Iran’s influence,” former ******** intelligence officer Joshua Steinrich says. But something else has changed in the region. Brokered by China, Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to put aside their differences, ending seven years of hostility, characterised most visibly by the war in Yemen where the Saudi air force bombed Iran-backed Houthi rebels. On Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s military chief flew to Tehran to meet his Iranian counterpart, with both countries now talking about deepening their co-operation on defence and security. Ever since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, Saudi Arabia and its Sunni ***** neighbours in the region have viewed Iran as a major threat to their security. But the surprise 2019 drone strike on Saudi oil facilities, attributed to Iran-backed militants in Iraq, was an uncomfortable reminder to the Gulf ***** states as to just how vulnerable they were to ******* by Iran. So today, with an ***** and Islamic summit calling for an end to the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, there is both optimism and a degree of uncertainty about what a second Trump presidency will mean for the Middle East. Source link #Optimism #uncertainty #Middle #East #awaits #Trumps #return Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

HBO Unveils New Footage From The Last Of Us Season 2 HBO Unveils New Footage From The Last Of Us Season 2 It’s become an HBO tradition for the season finale of one show to be accompanied by clips of future original series. Before The Penguin’s season finale, that trend continued with an advance look at the shows coming to HBO and Max in the last two months of 2024 and all of 2025. The final show in the mix was naturally HBO’****** video game adaptation, The Last of Us Season 2. There’s not a lot to see, since the trailer doesn’t linger on The Last of Us for too long. But viewers do get a glimpse at the emotional gulf between Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) over the choices he made the save her life in Season 1. The camera does linger on Joel’s guitar, which he passes on to Ellie in the game. There’s also a quick look at Catherine O’Hara’s character, a therapist who was created for the show. She may be the only person whom Joel willingly shares the secret about his estrangement from Ellie. The placement of The Last of Us Season 2 at the end of the video may mean it won’t arrive until late in 2025. The Last of Us co-director Neil Druckmann, who is prominently involved with the show, has stated that its adaptation of The Last of Us Part 2 will take multiple seasons. Druckmann has also teased the potential for The Last of Us Part 3. HBO’s video teased the arrival of Dune: Prophecy later this month, as well as Creature Commandos in December. That animated series will mark the first chapter of the new DC Universe and build momentum towards next year’s Superman reboot movie. Additionally, the sizzle reel featured clips from Peacemaker Season 2, which will somehow also tie into the new DC U despite the previous season being set in the DC Extended Universe. Trying to reconcile that may cause our brains to bleed. The rest of the new and returning shows, including The White Lotus, The Gilded Age, and The Righteous Gemstones, are also arriving on HBO in 2025. Source link #HBO #Unveils #Footage #Season Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

What Strictly Come Dancing can teach us about how (and how not) to give feedback What Strictly Come Dancing can teach us about how (and how not) to give feedback Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Feedback is a big part of the Strictly Come Dancing experience. Every week, after performing their dance, each professional-celebrity couple waits breathlessly to hear what the four judges made of their routine. Will it be “fab-u-lous” or a “disaster”? As a feedback researcher and an avid Strictly fan, I listen closely too. Feedback is really important if a learner is to progress, and sometimes the Strictly judges give the dancers useful tips they can use to improve. But—more often—they don’t. We can use specific criteria to work out whether feedback will be effective or not. This applies both to Strictly and to other contexts, such as the education system. Feedback should clarify what good performance is. This means that learners need to be clear about their goals if they are to close the learning gap—the distance between where they are and where they want to be. On Strictly, the judges’ comments often lack any real clarity and are rather generalized. They often don’t point out specific goals that the celebrity dancer should be aiming towards. For example, in series 20, judge Motsi Mabuse commented: “You stayed in character … And I just love your development. A little bit more action. A little bit more understanding like, but I loved it. “ However, judges do sometimes give specific details about necessary changes, and even some use of modeling to aid understanding. Here, in series 19, Anton Du Beke added to this feedback by demonstrating the correct positioning to the dancer: “Now you go left with your head … if there’s too much the more you go left, the more it tips to the right … What I want is to look slightly to the left and lean to the left and then you won’t go right. “ This example of feedback gives the learner much clearer criteria for success, which they can then implement themselves. Learning through discussion Feedback should also encourage dialogue—conversation—between a teacher and learner around learning. Genuine meaningful dialogue means that learners can clarify meaning, ask further questions and immediately correct misunderstandings. In other words, the feedback message is more likely to be understood. This doesn’t tend to take place on Strictly. The judges hold a position of power and feedback is essentially gifted from the “expert” to the “novice”. The dancers—both ******** and professional—are voiceless, other than to thank the judges for the gift of their feedback. If they are not, they are instructed to know their place, as in this exchange between judge Len Goodman and professional dancer Brendan Cole, from series eight, summarized here: Len Goodman: The first half I loved, because it was proper jive, but you got caught up in the story of the time warp and the last three quarters of it was all the time warp. Brendan Cole: No … it was the last 20 seconds … I made sure of it. Len Goodman: I can only tell you what I saw and what I felt. Brendan Cole: Then you need to go to Specsavers. Len Goodman: What you want to do … is turn up, keep up and shut up. This expert-novice relationship is common in other learning environments, such as the classroom. However, to disregard the voice of the learner altogether dismisses the fact that it is the learner who needs to construct their own meaning of the feedback. Telling someone something does not mean that they will understand it, and dialogue in feedback is crucial to reach this understanding. Feedback also needs to provide opportunities for the learner to close the gap between current and desired performance. Research on learning progress has emphasised how important it is for the learner themselves to identify the gap in their knowledge or performance, and then actively monitor, take action and evaluate their own progress. However, on Strictly, there is no space for the learners to identify their own targets. Only the judges get to do this—and only the judges get to evaluate and reward, through the scoring system, whether a target has been met. Achievable goals The learning gaps identified by a teacher or judge need to be within reach, but also with a degree of challenge, so that these goals are both achievable and lead to definite progress in learning. But some of the feedback given to ******** dancers on Strictly would be more appropriate for a professional dancer, such as this from Craig Revel Horwood: “You’re very placed when you dance … next time you need to really try and invent an inner rhythm. I loved all the Spanish port de bras though.” Learners also need the opportunity to try the same activity again to close the gap in their learning, but the format of Strictly means that a specific dance will not usually be revisited. The ******** dancers have limited opportunity to demonstrate whether they have improved in a specific area. This is possible, though, if feedback applies to more than one style of dance. Judge Anton Du Beke commented: “I spoke to you a few weeks ago about your left [arm], well your hold in general … Your left arm is amazing now, please don’t change that anymore. You’ve got a great left arm, well done you.” Strictly does not represent a typical teacher-pupil relationship. But some key features—the score and feedback given by the all-powerful judges, the focus on the score table and the measure of success being the end result, rather than the learning along the way—is reminiscent of the *** education system. Assessors or inspectors will always hold the position of power as they are the ones that ultimately pass judgment. English education policy consistently prioritizes final educational outcomes, such as exam results, over the learning process and these outcomes determine a school’s position on a league table. Schools must submit to a final judgment on their quality given by an assessor in a position of power—an Ofsted inspector. Just like the dancers, schools need to distill and apply anything constructive that can be gleaned from Ofsted judgements, despite feedback not necessarily being particularly helpful. Feedback can and should be better—both on Strictly and in more traditional learning environments. Provided by The Conversation This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Citation: What Strictly Come Dancing can teach us about how (and how not) to give feedback (2024, November 11) retrieved 11 November 2024 from This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. Source link #Strictly #Dancing #teach #give #feedback Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Our reviewer called this air fryer “simply the best kitchen appliance I’ve ever owned” – and it’s 40% off for ****** Friday Our reviewer called this air fryer “simply the best kitchen appliance I’ve ever owned” – and it’s 40% off for ****** Friday Right now, you can get the Dreo ChefMaker air fryer at Amazon for $215.64 (was $359). The ChefMaker is one of the best air fryers we’ve ever tested, and with 40% off, it’s also one of the hottest ****** Friday deals we’ve seen so far. Our reviewer Michelle Rae Uy called the ChefMaker “simply the best kitchen appliance I’ve ever owned” and awarded it a full five stars out of five. It’s easily one of the best air fryers we’ve tested. In fact, the only negative Michelle could name was the price, and with this enormous discount, that’s no longer an issue. Today’s best Dreo ChefMaker deal During testing, every recipe we prepared turned out perfectly. We were particularly impressed by Chef Mode, which uses the temperature probe together with a water atomizer to achieve consistently great results when cooking meat. Just insert the probe, set a preset, and the ChefMaker will handle the rest. It really works. Looking for something more compact, or under $100? Take a look at our guide to the best ****** Friday air fryer deals, where we’re rounding up all the biggest discounts from brands like Ninja and Instant ****. More of today’s ****** Friday sales Amazon: TVs, smart home & air fryers from $12.99 Apple: AirPods, iPads, MacBooks from $89.99 Best Buy: $1,000 off 4K TVs, laptops & headphones Cheap TVs: smart TVs at Best Buy from $69.99 Christmas trees: top-rated trees from $54.99 Dell: best-selling Inspiron & XPS laptops from $279.99 Dreamcloud: mattress deals from $349 + free shipping Holiday: decor, lights, Christmas trees & PJs from $10.99 Home Depot: 40% off tools, appliances & furniture Lowe’s: holiday decor, appliances & tools from $17.31 Nectar: up to 50% off all mattresses Nordstrom: 46% off boots, coats, jeans & jewelry Samsung: $1,500+ off TVs, phones, watches & appliances Target: save on furniture, tech & clothing Walmart: cheap TVs, ****** vacs, furniture & appliances Source link #reviewer #called #air #fryer #simply #kitchen #appliance #Ive #owned #****** #Friday Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Burkina Faso machete video prompts investigation Burkina Faso machete video prompts investigation Burkina Faso’s armed forces say they are investigating a gruesome video that purports to show military volunteers hacking apart a ***** body with machetes, while gloating to the camera. Work is under way to verify the video and the people shown in it “so that they can be held accountable for their actions, if the facts are proven,” the general staff said in a statement. The West ******** nation is ruled by the military, who seized power almost three years ago promising to end the chronic insecurity that has forced two million people from their homes. But efforts to defeat armed groups and Islamist fighters have so far *******, with an estimated 40% of the country under their control. The video in question began circulating at the weekend. It shows a corpse whose head and arms have been severed, and the stomach cut open. “We beat them,” one of the men in the video shouts in Burkina Faso’s Dioula language. “It will all end this year. May **** bless the VDP,” shouts another. VDP is short for the Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland. Burkina Faso has a tradition of armed community militias for whom the government created an official role in 2020, which has since been expanded under the military government. Some of the men in the video are wearing military fatigues, but otherwise there is no indication of their names, nor where or when the incident happened. It is not the first time footage of alleged atrocities by government-affiliated fighters have circulated online. Back in July, videos appeared on social media showing suspected soldiers and volunteers mutilating ***** bodies, which Burkina Faso’s army publicly condemned. The county’s armed forces have been accused of atrocities and extrajudicial killings. According to Human Rights Watch, the military massacred more than 220 civilians – including at least 56 children – in a single day earlier this year. The authorities did not comment on that report. This latest video has provoked outrage, prompting Burkina Faso’s military general staff to insist it has the nation’s best interests at heart. In its statement on Sunday, it said: “All operations to reconquer the national territory are conducted with the greatest respect for human rights.” Burkina Faso is in West *******’s Sahel region, which is considered the new global epicentre of the Islamic State group and is also home to numerous others jihadist groups. A large deployment of Russian troops arrived in the country in January in a sign of deepening ties, a year after French troops fighting insurgents were kicked out of the country. The junta-led Sahelian nations of Burkina, Mali and ****** have all turned to Russia for support in recent years in deals that have ******* to improve security and in some cases resulted in atrocities against civilians. At the weekend, Burkina Faso’s foreign minister praised Russia and said it was a more suitable partner than the former colonial power France. As power and influence slips away from the Sahel nations’ traditional Western allies, the ********* Union’s envoy to the region has vowed: “We have to continue to stay by their side. “There is a reconfiguration of the region which has an impact on all of western ******* and the rest of *******.” Source link #Burkina #Faso #machete #video #prompts #investigation Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Australia Social Media Ban Could Impact Video Games Australia Social Media Ban Could Impact Video Games Australia is looking to pass legislation that could have a major impact as to who has access to what video games and online services in the near future. The country’s government is working on a plan to ban access to social media for anyone under the age of 16. While it’s targeted to social media, the new law could severely impact access to online video games and gaming networks. The act doesn’t specifically call out online gaming services, the definition of what constitutes social media could allow for that implication. According to the Online Safety Act, social media service is defined as a an “electronic service” that meets these conditions: The sole or primary purpose of the service is to enable online social interaction between two or more end users The service allows end users to link to, or interact with, some or all of the other end users The service allows end users to post material on the service. It hasn’t been confirmed that services like Xbox, Steam, PlayStation Network, Roblox, Fortnite, and others would be caught up in the litigation, it’s obvious that they could fall into the category based on the definition provided. The enforcement of this new legislation wouldn’t begin for at least another year as traditional social media companies and any others involved work to create a way to enforce the limit on their platforms. According to the *********** government, the companies would be help responsible for underage users on their platform, not the end users themselves. It’s worth nothing that Australia hasn’t specifically mentioned video games as being a part of the restrictions. It does say, however, that other conditions can be set to determine what qualifies as a “social media service”. Nevertheless, this is a situation to keep an eye on, especially for those in Australia. For more Insider Gaming, read about how much Unity spent as part of its mass layoffs and restructuring. And don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest news and exclusive leaks every week! No Spam. Source link #Australia #Social #Media #Ban #Impact #Video #Games Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Research shows stress about personal finances may make leaders abusive in workplace Research shows stress about personal finances may make leaders abusive in workplace Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain New research from Colorado State University shows that workplace leaders who are financially stressed are more likely to be abusive toward their subordinates—particularly if the leader is a man. The findings, published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, provide insight into leader behavior due to a common source of stress. The research was led by Assistant Professor Keaton Fletcher in the Department of Psychology in partnership with Associate Professor Trevor Spoelma in the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico. Using data collected through surveys of both leaders and subordinates, the paper shows that financial stress is associated with abusive supervision, and that the relationship was stronger for men than women. The paper further explores potential reasoning for that dynamic, including societal gender expectations, and discusses implications from the findings for supporting employees. Financial stress—the perception that you do not have sufficient resources to meet your needs—is common in America. According to a survey by the ********* Psychological Association, stress about money in 2022 was at its highest level since 2015. However, the ways the associated feeling of lack of control from it leaking into the workplace as hostile verbal and nonverbal behaviors by leaders towards their employees are not well researched, said Fletcher. “Financial stress is becoming increasingly common, but we are still learning what it can do to an organization and leader who is in a unique position to influence not only their own work, but the work of others,” he said. “Research has so far focused on adverse outcomes like burnout, disengagement or even injuries due to ****** by leaders. Our work here aims to offer a more comprehensive view of the ways this manifests, and the costs to an organization that does address or prepare for it, such as lost productivity.” Fletcher said financial stress can be described as the ***** that you will not be able to make ends meet. He is careful to note that this is not specifically about income levels, but is instead related to perceptions about one’s ability to fulfill financial obligations and an associated sense of loss of control. Abusive supervision in the form of bullying a subordinate as a response, for example, offers a potential path to regain some sense of agency. He added that managers may be more predisposed to financial stress because of a lack of available options to improve their situation, such as overtime pay. The research team was able to show that a leader’s gender played a large part in how they chose to respond to financial stress. Because men experience added gendered societal expectations to generally be in control, they may be more susceptible to pressures from financial stress. Meanwhile, similar societal expectations may also limit women from pursuing abusive supervision as a response to financial stress, as they are often punished socially for what is perceived as “aggressive” behavior. “We expected men to be more sensitive to loss of control that then resulted in abusive supervision, and that is consistently what we found,” Fletcher said. “However, we also found that leaders who are women experienced the same stress and do exhibit abusive behaviors, but just less than men. Our work also shows leaders, regardless of gender, can also respond by supporting or strengthening their social networks and displaying empathic leadership—both of which are positive reactions.” Fletcher said future work would likely aim to further unpack relationships and better understand context-specific interactions related to demographic variables. In particular, the team is planning to explore how socioeconomic experiences such as living in ******** as a child may change responses to financial stress as a leader later in life. The paper also discusses practical implications for the research, including ways to support employees experiencing such stress and limiting its impact on teams. In addition to increased pay, Fletcher said organizations could invest in programs that limit costs for childcare for employees as one option. They could also get ahead of abusive situations before they occur by offering training on mindfulness or fiscal education. “There are negative effects and consequences associated with this kind of ******—not only for workers who see it or receive it—but even for the supervisors doing it,” Fletcher said. More information: Trevor M. Spoelma et al, Financial stress and leadership behavior: The role of leader gender., Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (2024). DOI: 10.1037/ocp0000387 Provided by Colorado State University Citation: Research shows stress about personal finances may make leaders abusive in workplace (2024, November 11) retrieved 11 November 2024 from This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. Source link #Research #shows #stress #personal #finances #leaders #abusive #workplace Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Disney cruise ship rescues four people from sinking catamaran Disney cruise ship rescues four people from sinking catamaran A new Disney cruise ship has rescued four people from a sinking catamaran more than 200 miles from Bermuda. The small boat started to flood on 10 November, causing the passengers to launch a distress call to the US Coast Guard, which then issued an emergency of its own. The closest vessel was the Disney Treasure, which was travelling from Europe to the US to prepare for its maiden voyage and was 80 miles away when it responded. It launched a small boat and rescued all four passengers. The small catamaran, called the Serenity, began to fill with water after suffering a ******** on the seal around its escape hatch, ABC News reported. Catamarans consist of two parallel hulls connected by a single deck, and range from lightweight boats used in Olympic sailing, to huge passenger ferries. The Serenity only measured 15m in length. The 340m Disney Treasure was crossing the Atlantic from Europe, where it was constructed, to Florida, where it will embark on its maiden voyage in December. It will become the sixth passenger liner in the company’s cruise fleet. “We are pleased that the Disney Treasure was able to provide aid to the boat passengers in peril,” Disney Treasure Captain Marco Nogara told ABC News. “Our crew members worked together on the rescue, skilfully demonstrating their training and commitment to safety,” he added. Source link #Disney #cruise #ship #rescues #people #sinking #catamaran Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

At the London Gaming Market Autumn 2024 At the London Gaming Market Autumn 2024 This Sunday, November 10, 2024, gamers of all kinds descended on Russel Square London to sell and buy rare retro games, collectibles, cards, and consoles. An autumnal feeling was in the air as the grey skies of London hosted an event that occurs more than once a year, and often goes under the radar for games as it is a much smaller event than ComicCon. Because of the potential good deals inside the venue, there is a £5 fee for entry. The line for entry extended a good few hundred meters and that highlights how keen people were to grab a good deal. Read on for a short review of the event. Stalls and Sellers Many of the stalls were being operated by owners of physical brick-and-mortar retro gaming shops. These businesses are notorious for the difficulty that they go through to make money (hence why there are so few of them left), and presumably this event is a good opportunity to make money. I spoke to a few vendors and now know that some of the sellers were private individuals who were selling parts of their collections. The games on ***** ranged from NES and Game Boy software, through SNES, and Saturn, N64, GameCube and even PS5. There were also consoles of all kinds, Pokemon cards, toys, and much more. I spoke to a man who was selling a book that he had published that was a guide to the Game Boy. The book used impressive graphic art and obviously had a lot of work put into it. However, at £25 it was slightly out of my price range. There were some good deals on offer. I was tempted by Super Mario 64 (since I’m about to receive an N64), but couldn’t find it for lower than that magical £10 mark. The average price of a boxed game was around £25. A potential bargain? As I was rifling through some loose N64 games at a stall off at the side of the venue, I noticed a bag of loose Game Boy games (many of them *********) that caught my interest because of their low price. As I asked the vendor what the difference was between two ********* Donkey Kong Land games that looked like the same game but had different cartridge art, I noticed Super Mario Land 2 for £5. I knew that this was a good deal, and I had been looking for this particular game to play on one of my Game Boy Pockets. The gameplay of Super Mario Land 2 is so addictive and I don’t use flash carts with Game Boy Pocket, so I needed a genuine classic to take up that cartridge spot. I immediately decided to purchase it for £5. The bag of games had other good titles that I was already familiar with. There was Donkey Kong Land for £5, an arguably inferior version of Donkey Kong Country that despite not living up to its console brother was still a solid platformer. There was also James Bond, a Game Boy Zelda-like that is meant to be underrated (I’ve never played it). However, there was also the shooter ’em-up Solar Striker. I loved R-Type on the PC-Engine and I thought a similar ********* shooter would be great to play on Game Boy. So, in the end, I picked up Solar Striker and Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (********* version) for £10 altogether. I think I made two great purchases and left the venue with my friend soon after to have lunch. Conclusion The London Gaming Market is a great place to pick up a bargain or two. If you know how video games are priced you can get a good deal. You do have to pay the £5 entrance fee to have access to the venue, and it’s debatable whether it’s worth it, particularly if you don’t plan to purchase anything. Some vendors own actual, physical shops at the market, but there are also private collectors, and even artists selling prints of video game-related characters. At this Autumn’s London Gaming Market, I could have picked up more games, and in retrospect, I think I should have picked up more games. I will know what to expect for next year. Overall, the event is a great day out with the family, particularly if you’ve started a collection and want to build on it. Let’s hope next year the London Gaming Market is even ******* than this year. Source link #London #Gaming #Market #Autumn Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Iron electrocatalysis breaks down polystyrene and delivers green hydrogen Iron electrocatalysis breaks down polystyrene and delivers green hydrogen Credit: Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2024). DOI: 10.1002/anie.202412689 The vast amounts of plastic garbage heaped in landfills and in the environment are as problematic as the plastics are useful. In an article published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, a ******* research team has now introduced a new method for recycling polystyrene waste. Their efficient electrochemical process uses an inexpensive iron catalyst, produces hydrogen as a byproduct, and can be powered by solar panels. Less than 10% of the plastic produced in the world is recycled. Plastic waste is accumulating in landfills and waterways, threatening wildlife and the environment. By 2025, this pile of plastic is predicted to reach 40 billion tons. Globally, about 33% of the material deposited in landfills consists of polystyrene (PS), which is widely used in packaging and construction. Only about 1% of polystyrene is recycled. Worldwide production capacity of polystyrene reached 15.4 million tons in 2022 and continues to increase. Recycling of plastics, particularly polystyrene, is one of the biggest societal challenges of our time. Efficient, cost-effective recycling methods that convert plastic waste to valuable small molecules that can be used in chemical syntheses would be a step toward a sustainable circular carbon economy. A team led by Lutz Ackermann at the Friedrich Wöhler Research Institute for Sustainable Chemistry in Göttingen (Germany) has now developed an electrocatalytic method for the efficient degradation of polystyrenes. The degradation produces a relatively high fraction of monomeric benzoyl products that can be used as starting materials for chemical processes, as well as some short polymer chains. The key to this success is a powerful iron-based catalyst, an iron porphyrin complex that resembles hemoglobin. Its advantage over many other catalytically active metals is that iron is nontoxic, inexpensive, and easy to obtain. During the electrocatalytic reaction, the iron compound cycles between different oxidation steps (IV, III, and II). A series of reaction steps and intermediate products eventually result in splitting of the carbon-carbon bonds in the polymer backbone. The main products are benzoic acid and benzaldehyde. Benzoic acid is a starting material for a variety of chemical syntheses in the production of scents and preservatives, for example. The robustness of this novel electrocatalysis was demonstrated by the efficient degradation of real-life plastic waste on the gram scale. This polystyrene degradation process could be fully powered with electricity from commercially available solar panels. In addition, a useful side reaction occurs during the degradation process: production of hydrogen. In this way, the new electrocatalytic process, which can easily be scaled to an industrial level, combines efficient plastic recycling with decentralized, green hydrogen production. More information: Maxime Hourtoule et al, Anodic Commodity Polymer Recycling: The Merger of Iron‐Electrocatalysis with Scalable Hydrogen Evolution Reaction, Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2024). DOI: 10.1002/anie.202412689 Citation: Iron electrocatalysis breaks down polystyrene and delivers green hydrogen (2024, November 11) retrieved 11 November 2024 from This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. Source link #Iron #electrocatalysis #breaks #polystyrene #delivers #green #hydrogen Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

********* veterans recall easing tensions in ethnically split Cyprus – National ********* veterans recall easing tensions in ethnically split Cyprus – National It was the first time that ********* U.N. peacekeeper Michelle Angela Hamelin said she came up against the raw emotion of a people so exasperated with their country’s predicament. Seared in her memory from her eight-month tour of duty on the ethnically divided Cyprus in 1986 was the fury of Greek Cypriot protesters demonstrating against the first-ever visit by a Turkish head of government to the island’s breakaway Turkish Cypriot north. “I think that that was something that really stuck to my mind because of that anger and the people,” Hamelin told The Associated Press. She was one of among 100 other ********* veterans who travelled to Cyprus as part of commemorations that culminated Monday to mark the 60th anniversary of the U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNFICYP, the longest such ********* mission. “This was the first time I was confronted with people that were really, really upset with their situation that they were in,” she said. Story continues below advertisement ********* veteran Ronald Reginald Griffis, center, with others veterans, salutes during a commemoration for the 60th anniversary of Canada’s contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus at Wolseley Barracks inside a UN-controlled buffer zone cleaving the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Monday. AP Photo/Petros Karadjias At the time, it had been a dozen years after a Turkish invasion — triggered by a coup aiming at union with Greece — sliced the island along ******* lines and tensions were still high. UNFICYP had been in place since 1964, a decade prior to the invasion, deployed to tamp down hostilities between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots to prevent an all-out civil war. Get daily National news Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Canadians were among the first to join the force and more than 28,000 would eventually serve with UNFICYP. Canada withdrew almost all its peacekeepers from UNFICYP in 1993, but a ********* presence still ********. 1:24 ‘Shift’ in approach to peacekeeping requires countries to fulfill UN needs Some 28 Canadians lost their lives in the line of duty on Cyprus. Story continues below advertisement Through most of 1986, it was Hamelin’s job was to patrol the U.N.-controlled buffer zone that separated troops on either side of the divide in the medieval center of the capital, Nicosia, staying in the once luxurious Ledra Palace hotel that had been converted into a U.N. barracks. The hotel’s bullet-pockmarked sandstone walls were a constant reminder that a flare-up in hostilities could never be ruled out. “The Turkish side where I stayed was right there underneath my window at Ledra Palace … you got bullet holes above your bed. There’s a possibility this could happen again,” she recalled. More on Canada More videos It didn’t. Hamelin said her ********* colleagues would often muster all their diplomatic skills with jittery soldiers to keep tensions from escalating. Ronald Reginald Griffis could attest to that trademark, calm ********* demeanor that earned the country’s peacekeepers a reputation for even-handedness and ability to quickly defuse tensions. Trending Now How ********* consumers can spot counterfeit $2 coins Ukraine attacks Moscow with 34 drones, biggest strike on the Russian capital Griffis was one of the first Canadians to serve in UNFICYP back in 1964, and he recalled how he would employ that cool ********* way to settle disputes along the so-called Green Line that separated Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot neighborhoods inside old Nicosia. “One of the qualities was the quietness of the Canadians. They listened, or at least I listened. And then, you know, you talk it over. You try to explain things,” said Griffis, a native of Nova Scotia who now lives in Cottam, Ontario. Story continues below advertisement “I thought that they appreciated Canadians being there, and I think they trusted the Canadians doing what they can do,” he said. 1:35 Western militaries build presence in Cyprus, ready to evacuate their citizens from Lebanon More than 100 active-duty ********* Armed forces personnel, dispatched to Cyprus to assist in possible evacuations of Canadians from nearby Lebanon, joined Hamelin, Griffis and other veterans for a Remembrance Day ceremony at the ********* U.N. Peacekeeper Memorial inside the buffer zone near the Ledra Palace hotel. Canada’s High Commissioner to Cyprus Anna-Karine Asselin said the size of the delegation at the commemoration event illustrated the “deep significance of the mission” for ********* veterans. “We pay tribute to their invaluable contribution to peace. We recognize the challenges they faced along the way,” Asselin said. A few days earlier, Hamelin and Griffis had joined a tour of the buffer zone that brought many recollections. Story continues below advertisement Both spoke of the changes between Cyprus then and now — from donkey carts in Nicosia’s streets in 1964 to a thoroughly modern ********* Union member state 60 years later. But for Hamelin, no matter how much things have changed in Cyprus, they remain much the same. “I see how built up this is now in Nicosia. But it’s still the same. We still have that division and it’s very, very … in your face,” she said. &copy 2024 The ********* Press Source link #********* #veterans #recall #easing #tensions #ethnically #split #Cyprus #National Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

What we learned in NFL Week 10: Lions pull off stunner, Bears falling apart What we learned in NFL Week 10: Lions pull off stunner, Bears falling apart How good are the Detroit Lions? How gritty? Jared Goff threw more picks Sunday night — five — than he had all season, and the Lions still erased a 16-point halftime deficit in Houston for a 26-23 victory. Detroit, now 8-1, ******** the class of the NFC. Nineteen unanswered points from the Lions were punctuated by back-to-back kicks from Jake Bates, who was good from 58 yards with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, then from 52 yards as time expired to cap a wild win. For the Texans (6-4), it’s a stunning loss: After torching the Detroit secondary in the first half, C.J. Stroud and the Houston offense were held scoreless. On the other end of the spectrum in the NFC, the Dallas Cowboys are officially in free fall with no end in sight. Sunday’s 34-6 loss to the Eagles was another defeat at home and another game that was never competitive. And it was another referendum on how far this team has fallen. With quarterback Dak Prescott shelved for the foreseeable future with a hamstring injury, the Cowboys might want to start thinking about their draft position rather than hold out any hope of a miracle late-season run — and about who’s going to be coaching the team next season because it’s getting ******* and ******* to imagine Mike McCarthy retaining his job. Consider: In four games at AT&T Stadium this season, the Cowboys have been outscored by a combined 94 points. With Philadelphia’s fifth straight victory, the Eagles (7-2) are now a half-game ahead of the Commanders (7-3) in the NFC East with the two set to meet for the first time this season Thursday night. The Cowboys, losers of four straight, are now 3-6. GO DEEPER NFL Week 10 takeaways: Who’s more disappointing, Jets or Cowboys? Are Steelers Super Bowl worthy? Speaking of teams falling stunningly short of offseason expectations, Sunday’s 31-6 loss in Arizona dropped the Jets to 3-7. Maybe ******* Robert Saleh five weeks into the season wasn’t the right move — at the very least, Saleh had the defense playing like a competent unit. In New Orleans, Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi not only won his debut but also finished with the quote of the day. After a 20-17 victory over the Falcons, Rizzi admitted to clogging the ******* in the coaches’ locker room earlier that morning and thinking, “This is gonna be a ******* day, pun intended.” Turns out, it wasn’t. The Saints’ seven-game losing streak is history. In San Francisco, the 49ers won in ********** McCaffrey’s return, but not without some fireworks. Cameras caught star wideout Deebo Samuel lunging at the throat of long snapper Taybor Pepper, then swiping at kicker Jake Moody after Moody’s third missed field goal of the day. “I kinda got out of character a little bit,” Samuel told reporters later. “I’ll talk to Moody, and we’ll get past it.” Moody got past it well enough to drill the game-winner from 44 yards in San Francisco’s 23-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have now lost four in a row. In Jacksonville, the Vikings beat the Jaguars 12-7 despite finishing 0-for-5 in the red zone. Ugly as it was, Minnesota is now 7-2, one game back of the Lions in the competitive NFC North. In Munich, Bryce Young won back-to-back games for the first time since he was at Alabama. But the Panthers’ 20-17 overtime victory over the Giants said more about New York’s disastrous season. The Giants, 2-8 for the second straight year, are facing some serious questions as they enter the bye, starting with whether Daniel Jones should remain the starting quarterback. Jones threw two more picks Sunday, and the team is 3-13 with him under center dating back to last season. GO DEEPER The Giants are getting worse, so what is the case for retaining Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen? Staying on the topic of teams with quarterback issues, the Colts’ Joe Flacco experiment is blowing up in their faces. Two games in — both losses — the 39-year-old has thrown four interceptions, including a pick six on Indy’s first snap of a 30-20 home loss to the Bills. If benching Anthony Richardson was about competing this season, it’s time to revisit the decision. The Colts don’t look like a playoff team at all at the moment. “This is a humbling game. This league is tough,” Flacco said. “We can only look at ourselves. I can only look at myself.” Coach Shane Steichen reiterated after the loss that Flacco ******** the starter “right now” because he gives the team the best chance to win. But at 4-6 and losers of three straight, the Colts aren’t doing enough winning with either quarterback under center. In Los Angeles, the Chargers moved to 6-3 with an easy 27-10 victory over the Titans. For all those doubting Jim Harbaugh in his second NFL stint, he’s doing what he’s always done: win. Harbaugh’s team has already eclipsed last year’s win total and we’re not even to Week 11. The Chargers are also just the fourth squad since 1990 to allow 20 or fewer points in each of their first nine games of a season. Here’s what we learned across the NFL in Week 10: Chiefs can’t find a way to lose The Broncos were a 35-yard field goal from handing the Chiefs their first loss since Christmas Day. It wasn’t a chip shot, but it wasn’t a long one, either. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix had been excellent on the would-be game-winning drive, marching the Denver offense 43 yards in 13 plays, including a crucial third-and-6 from Kansas City’s 30-yard line in which Nix climbed the pocket, bought some time and hit receiver Courtland Sutton for a 13-yard gain. All of it seemed to set the stage for the Chiefs’ first loss of the season. Then Leo Chenal kept them undefeated The Chiefs’ third-year linebacker, who also blocked a field goal in February’s Super Bowl win, dove through the Broncos’ line to get a hand on Wil Lutz’s attempt. Ballgame. Chiefs 16, Broncos 14. “I’m getting way too old for this, man,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said in the locker room after the win. “All right, Superman,” he continued, turning Chenal’s direction. “Leo, I’ll treat you to a cheeseburger.” The last-second triumph moves the Chiefs to 9-0, 7-0 in one-score games this season. Kansas City has now won nine straight after trailing at some point in the second half. This isn’t the dominant Chiefs team of the past — Patrick Mahomes has looked more human this season than perhaps any other since becoming the starter in 2018 — but they remain the best in the league and keep scraping out narrow victories. Their championship mettle continues to show, week after week. Lions’ miracle is Texans’ disaster Sunday night was what the Texans were supposed to look like — for three quarters, at least. A surprise division champ that loaded up in the offseason, and with a second-year star in quarterback C.J. Stroud, most figured Houston was ready to join the ranks of Kansas City, Baltimore and Buffalo as the class of the AFC. But nine weeks into the season, the Texans were a confounding 6-3, their shiny record hiding some very real inconsistencies. Nico Collins was missing time. Stefon Diggs was lost for the year. And even with Joe Mixon providing some punch from the backfield, Stroud and the Texans had leveled off. Then came a date with the NFC-leading Lions, and for a while the Texans met the moment. Stroud was carving up the Detroit secondary, and the Texans’ defense was piling up takeaways. Houston built a 23-7 halftime lead. Then Detroit started chipping away, refusing to fold. David Montgomery scored from 3 yards out. Then Amon-Ra St. Brown caught one from 9 yards out. Then Bates drilled a kick from 58, the third-longest field goal in franchise history. A 16-point lead had disappeared. And when Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn missed from 58 with 1:51 left, Houston gave Goff a golden chance at finishing off the improbable comeback. Six plays later, Bates had a chance to win it from 52. He just inched the ball inside the left upright, and Detroit had the 26-23 win. It’s the Lions’ first win when trailing by double digits in the Dan Campbell era. As for Houston, it’s a staggering collapse for a team that’****** some sort of midseason malaise. Stroud was picked off twice, and the Texans didn’t score a point after halftime. That’s not how you finish off a contender on your home field. If the Texans want to be taken seriously in the AFC — beyond being just the inevitable winner of a very bad division — they can’t choke away a 16-point lead at home. Tomlin has Steelers rolling It was the first time Mike Williams ran the route with his new team. And it turned out to be his first catch as a Pittsburgh Steeler. Days after being traded from the Jets, Williams hauled in a 32-yard go-ahead touchdown from Russell Wilson with 2:22 left in Sunday’s win over the red-hot Commanders, a tight game between two first-place teams. The play, which had Williams running an out toward the corner of the end zone, had originally been designed for wide receiver Calvin Austin III, but he’d been sidelined due to a head injury. So Williams’ number was called just five days after he was dealt at the trade deadline, and he delivered. “He was out, so I went in there and made a play,” Williams said. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has won eight straight games coming off a bye, and Pittsburgh is now 3-0 since he elevated Wilson to the starting quarterback role. Put him in the Coach of the Year conversation. So far, Tomlin’s pushing all the right buttons for a Steelers team most figured would struggle to return to the playoffs. All told, the win is Pittsburgh’s fourth in a row, and it keeps the Steelers (7-2) just ahead of the Ravens (7-3) in the AFC North. The two will meet next week in Pittsburgh for the division lead. Asked after the game if Washington rookie Jayden Daniels compares at all to Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, Tomlin smiled. “Man, be real slow comparing people to Lamar Jackson,” he said. “That’s a multi-time MVP. That’s Mr. Jackson. We’ll see Mr. Jackson in a few days.” Bears falling apart A few weeks ago it looked like the Bears had it figured out. Caleb Williams was settling in and playing far less erratic than he had to open the season. Chicago ripped off three in a row to move to 4-2, though a pair of those victories came against two of the worst teams in the league in Carolina and Jacksonville. Was it a mirage? Or was this team coming on? Then came the Hail Mary in Washington — a gutting, last-second loss punctuated by cornerback Tyrique Stevenson’s antics — and the subsequent fallout. Chicago hasn’t been the same since, and Sunday felt like a new low: the Bears’ third straight loss, an embarrassing 19-3 defeat at home to the lowly Patriots. Chicago was 1-for-14 on third down and managed just 142 total yards. Williams was sacked nine times — New England had just eight sacks in its last six games — and finished 16-for-30 for 120 yards. Put simply, this was an offensive embarrassment coming off another offensive embarrassment in the Bears’ 29-9 loss in Arizona. “It first starts with me,” Williams said. “I had two to three plays in key moments of situational ball where it didn’t click in my head.” The Patriots sacked Caleb Williams nine times on Sunday. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images) While Williams’ play has undeniably been up and down, it doesn’t seem like offensive coordinator Shane Waldron is helping. The Bears have scored 12 points in their last two games, and over their last 34 possessions have scored just two touchdowns. Williams’ completion percentage during the three-game losing streak is a dismal 50.5. That’s not encouraging halfway into the season, when young passers are supposed to show signs of improvement. The bad news for the Bears, who are now 4-5? The favorable schedule this team enjoyed early is officially over. Here comes the NFC North: Chicago’s next three are against the Packers, Vikings and Lions, all playoff teams at the moment. Even in the beginning, when speculation swirled about his quarterback’s future and his team’s chances at earning the No. 1 draft pick, Jonathan Gannon refused to flinch. “When you say rebuild, the connotation is we expect to lose,” Gannon said in August 2023, before his first season in Arizona. “I don’t expect to lose.” Typical coach speak, right? Gannon was inheriting quite possibly the worst roster in the league led by a $230 million quarterback, Kyler Murray, who was coming off an ACL tear. Murray’s future in Arizona seemed uncertain, especially with the prospect of the Cardinals landing the top pick and grabbing USC’s Williams. But beneath the team’s 4-13 record in Gannon’s first season was a competitive group that was better than most gave them credit for (the Cardinals beat three playoff teams). And Gannon was resolute: Murray was going nowhere. Halfway through the 2024 season, Arizona (6-4) is leading the NFC West, and on Sunday became the latest team to rout the sorry Jets. The Cardinals’ 31-6 win is the team’s fourth in a row and fifth in six weeks. They’ve won the last two by a combined 45 points. Gannon’s getting it done. So is Murray, who set a new franchise record for most consecutive completions (17) in Sunday’s win and finished with three touchdowns. So is defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, whose unit has now gone three straight home games without allowing a touchdown. The last time that happened? Try 1926. “The quarterback was the best player on the planet today,” Gannon said of Murray. “We’re gonna work tomorrow, the (players) are gonna get a little bit of rest, and the season starts tomorrow.” Sounds like Gannon — and the surging Cardinals — are thinking playoffs. (Photo of Jake Bates: Thomas B. Shea / Imagn Images) Source link #learned #NFL #Week #Lions #pull #stunner #Bears #falling Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Ex-Rockstar Dev Shares a Key Detail That Every Other Open-World Game Developer Should Take Note Of Ex-Rockstar Dev Shares a Key Detail That Every Other Open-World Game Developer Should Take Note Of When it comes to creating immersive open-world experiences, few studios can match the masterful touch of Rockstar Games. From the sprawling streets of Los Santos to the untamed wilderness of Red ***** Redemption, their worlds feel alive, purposeful, and perhaps most importantly, worth exploring. GTA 5 continues to break records 11 years after its release. | Image Credit: Rockstar Games In a recent interview, Ben Hinchliffe, a former Rockstar developer who spent 13 years working on titles like L.A. Noire, Grand Theft Auto V and Red ***** Redemption 2, shared a fascinating insight into one of the studio’s most crucial design philosophies. His revelation might just explain why their games continue to dominate the industry, with GTA 5 recently surpassing an astounding 205 million copies sold. The Secret Behind Rockstar’s Map Design ⛶ ⛶ ⛶ GTA 6 is said to feature the largest map in the series. ⛶ ⛶ In a recent interview with GTAVIoclock, Hinchliffe pulled back the curtain on one of the most crucial aspects of Rockstar Games‘ development process—their meticulous approach to content placement: We have this huge map for these open-world games. It’s meticulously planned where content takes place on the map to make sure there isn’t any section of the map missing content, missing gameplay. This level of attention to detail might seem obvious, but it’s a principle that many open-world games struggle to implement effectively. While some developers are content to create vast but empty landscapes (*cough*, Bethesda, *cough*), Rockstar ensures that every corner of their world serves a purpose. The process, however, isn’t without its challenges. As Hinchliffe explains: Sometimes missions would overlap and/or there’d be a lot of stuff going on in in one particular area and then it’s like, ‘Okay, well, how do we move that mission, that character, that gameplay from here to here over at this side of the map?’ This delicate balancing act requires not just creative problem-solving, but also a deep understanding of how different environments can affect gameplay mechanics and narrative flow. It’s a challenge that many open-world developers often overlook in their rush to create ******* maps. The Art of World-Building It’s almost baffling that GTA 6 appears to double down on that approach. | Image Credit: Rockstar Games The challenge doesn’t end with simply moving content around. Each location presents its own unique set of obstacles: It might be a completely different land structure and you’ve made your whole mission work in this kind of urban environment and now you’re in the desert. Sometimes, despite their best efforts, certain ideas simply don’t translate well to new locations: Sometimes that had to happen. Sometimes if it was just like, ‘Well, this is like physically not going to work at this location no matter how much we do.’ That was always the worst case you went back to the drawing board and you started again. This dedication to quality over convenience helps explain why GTA 5 continues to break records even 11 years after its release, recently surpassing an astounding 205 million copies sold. While other studios might be tempted to force a square peg into a round *****, Rockstar’s commitment to their vision often means completely reworking content to ensure it fits seamlessly into its environment. As the world eagerly awaits GTA 6, these insights into Rockstar’s development philosophy become even more valuable. They remind us that creating a truly immersive open world isn’t just about size or graphical fidelity—it’s about ensuring every corner of that world has something meaningful to offer. What do you think about Rockstar’s approach to world design? Have you noticed this attention to detail in their games? And more importantly, is Bethesda ever going to take a page out of Rockstar’s playbook? Share your thoughts in the comments below! Source link #ExRockstar #Dev #Shares #Key #Detail #OpenWorld #Game #Developer #Note Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Not a way to make a living, British workers declare Not a way to make a living, British workers declare Credit: Mathias Reding from Pexels British workers are increasingly pessimistic about salary levels—prompting them to seek greater flexibility and balance from their jobs instead, new research suggests. The research was undertaken by former Twitter Vice President (EMEA) and Bayes Business School Honorary Visiting Professor, Bruce Daisley, and Early Studies, a creative research studio. Bruce, who founded the Make Work Better newsletter, said, “Increasingly, workers feel that working hard at their job will not deliver their long-term goals in life. They are therefore prioritizing jobs that offer more of what they want today—namely flexibility and work-life balance. Employers should be cautious before removing any of that flexibility. The key findings to emerge from interviews with 450 British workers include: There is growing pessimism around the impact of work on participants’ lives: While 58% of those under 30 believe that work will provide them with long-term financial security, a third disagree. This is a significantly more pessimistic take than with older adults who started their careers in a different era. There is also a big disparity in expectations around job security, with most young people expecting it to decline. Flexible working tops the wish list of most workers, particularly for women workers Asked what employers misunderstand about their needs, most chose the importance of work/life balance and flexibility. The historic role of work as a source of social connection and friendship for many people appears to be declining, with only 32% of respondents enjoying such social benefits “Work-life balance” is the most important factor in job satisfaction at present but participants expect salary levels to overtake that at some point—and money is already the key attraction for people under 30. Participants said that a toxic work environment is the factor most likely to cause them to leave work. (Poor work-life balance, feeling undervalued or unrecognized and burnout were also major reasons for quitting). Asked what would boost their employer’s productivity, workers largely pointed to higher salaries Asked what aspect of work dominates their job-related conversations with friends, most said the hot topic was high workloads; although many men said they or their friends felt that their work was repetitive and mundane. Professor Andre Spicer, dean of Bayes Business School, said, “The survey paints a concerning picture of the contemporary workplace—one where employees lack social connections, feel overwhelmed with workload, in need of mental health support and financially insecure. “Addressing this is a big leadership challenge. It will require organizations to create workplaces which facilitate connection and give employees flexibility to balance their work and life, while ensuring they have at least some degree of stability. Achieving this in a volatile and uncertain economy is a tough ask. “The survey also takes on the issue of whether workers would become more productive if they were simply paid more. The participants said they would and there is some evidence for that belief. “While average wages have been fairly flat for decades, productivity has grown at a faster pace. Workers need to see they are getting a benefit from improvements in productivity. Researchers do tend to find that firms with high levels of pay are well-managed and enjoy higher productivity.” Alfred Malmros, co-founder of Early Studies and a former CMO of Google Ideas, said, “There are few things more personal than work, but we all want to believe we have a healthy distance to it. When asking people about others, we ironically get more personal and reflective. “In this study we were amazed to see how traditional gut responses, like salary and career progression were circumvented, and deeper human needs surfaced as equally important.” Provided by City University London Citation: Working 9 to 5: Not a way to make a living, British workers declare (2024, November 11) retrieved 11 November 2024 from This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. Source link #living #British #workers #declare Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Tesla shares pop 8% as postelection rally continues Tesla shares pop 8% as postelection rally continues Elon Musk embraces *********** presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5, 2024. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images Tesla shares popped roughly 8% on Monday, continuing to ride a postelection rally as President-elect Trump, closely allied with CEO Elon Musk, begins to set up his presidential cabinet. Analysts at Wedbush reiterated their “outperform” rating on the stock, joining earlier sunny outlooks reacting to Tuesday’s results. Tesla recently reclaimed its $1 trillion market cap after surging nearly 30% last week. “We are raising our price target on Tesla to $400 from $300 as we believe the Trump White House win will be a gamechanger for the autonomous and AI story for Tesla and Musk over the coming years,” the Wedbush analysts wrote. Musk’s wealth rocketed past $300 billion in the days since Trump’s decisive electoral win, further cementing his place as the richest man in the world and joining the wave of gains across the technology and crypto sector since post-election trading began. It’s unclear whether Musk, who spent at least $130 million on Trump’s campaign, will receive an official title in the second Trump White House or will influence policy decisions from his inner circle. Either way, Musk stands to earn potentially billions from new government contracts with his companies, on top of the $19 billion SpaceX has already been awarded. Some or all of the 19 known ongoing federal lawsuits and investigations into his companies may begin to wind down entirely. “It is difficult to judge how Elon Musk’s increasingly close public relationship with President Trump could benefit Tesla, but this needs to be monitored closely,” analysts from Bank of America wrote in a note last week, raising their TSLA price target from $265 to $350. Trump has said previously he may cut the federal $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit, and those credits have historically helped to drive sales of Tesla vehicles. At one of his final campaign rallies, Trump suggested Musk could be put in charge of “government efficiency,” and he was present on Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy two days ago. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom, Annie Palmer and Lora Kolodny contributed reporting. Source link #Tesla #shares #pop #postelection #rally #continues Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

A consumer turnaround story that could take a while. How to play it with options A consumer turnaround story that could take a while. How to play it with options There’s a struggling auto parts stock where a notable activist is involved that could be ripe for a turnaround… but it may take some time. I’ll review how I’m playing it with options. Since hitting its all-time high in Jan. 2022, Advance Auto Parts (AAP) , which reports earnings this week, has grossly underperformed the stock market overall, even as its two most well-known competitors, Autozone and O’Reilly Automotive, outperformed significantly. O’Reilly has seen a total return of almost 78%, Autozone nearly 53%, and the S & P 500 more than 33%. Meanwhile, AAP has fallen more than 80%. Although Advance Auto was the smallest of the three at the end of 2021, these companies, ostensibly selling similar products, were within the same order of magnitude as of 2021. Advance did about $11 billion in revenues and operated about 5,000 retail locations with about 40,000 employees. Autozone, the largest of the three, did about $14.5 billion in revenues and operated about 7,000 retail locations with about 70,000 employees. O’Reilly had just under 5,800 stores. Revenues at both Autozone and O’Reilly have grown by high single-digit percentages per year since, with profit margins of around 14.5%. But the Advance topline has stagnated – actually declining on an inflation-adjusted basis, with net income margins of 1% or less, barely turning a profit. AAP 1Y mountain Advance Auto Parts, 1 year Between the company’s poor operating performance and the stock’s sharp declines, it is unsurprising that sell-side analysts aren’t enthusiastic. Advance Auto has only 3 buys. To put things in perspective, sell-side analysts generally rank the company in the bottom decile within the Russell 1000 and the consumer discretionary sector more precisely, compared to the 80th percentile for Autozone. A potential cause of this underperformance is corporate management. When similar businesses have vastly dissimilar operating results, it’s reasonable to question whether a shift in management and strategy can turn around an underperforming company. Advance Auto Parts seems a good candidate, and scanning the holders of AAP, it seems some well-known activists, such as Third Point agree . Investing alongside activist hedge funds like Third Point in “turnaround” stories can present a blend of potential rewards and risks. Activist hedge funds bring industry experience and often shake up company management or strategy. By investing alongside them, you benefit from their expertise in identifying changes that could boost company value. Activists target undervalued or underperforming companies to unlock shareholder value. If their strategies work, returns can be substantial, especially if they succeed in pushing the company toward operational improvement, asset sales, or strategic pivots. Activists often increase transparency within target companies and may go for cost reductions, streamlined operations, or a shift to more profitable product lines. If successful, these changes can significantly enhance long-term profitability and stock performance. In many cases, activists pursue either the ***** of parts of the company or the entire company. This can lead to an acquisition premium on the stock, delivering quick, high returns to investors. Indeed, Advance Auto completed the ***** of Worldpac to Carlyle Group this past week, which should net the company about $1.2 billion, providing needed capital to invest in improving the company’s supply chain – which has received criticism. Shane O’Kelly, who joined the company as CEO in 2023, was previously Senior VP/CEO: of HD Supply at Home Depot and would appear to be the ideal candidate to heal what ails the company. While the activist’s strategy may be sound, it might be challenging to implement due to market conditions or capital constraints. Companies targeted by activists often experience heightened stock volatility as market sentiment shifts in response to news about the activist’s involvement, board changes, or shifts in strategy. Activists can sometimes push for strategies that yield short-term gains at the expense of long-term growth, such as cutting R & D or selling profitable divisions, which may hurt the company’s future potential. However, the company has indicated that around $200mm of the Worldpac ***** proceeds will be allocated to improving the company’s supply chain as soon as possible. The trade Right now, the options market suggests things could be very choppy at AAP for a while, particularly around this week’s quarterly earnings release. Options prices indicate a move of about 17% by the end of the week. Turnaround stories take time; this one will too. My suggestion? A strangle swap : Sell AAP Nov. 15 $30 put Buy AAP Feb. 21 $30 put Sell AAP Nov. 15 $45 call Buy AAP Feb 21. $45 call This will capitalize on the shift over time but capture elevated near-dated premiums to help finance it. DISCLOSURES: (None) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL’S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. Click here for the full disclaimer. Source link #consumer #turnaround #story #play #options Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump taps Stefanik as US ambassador to ******* Nations Trump taps Stefanik as US ambassador to ******* Nations US president-elect Donald Trump says he is nominating Elise Stefanik for the position of ******* States ambassador to the ******* Nations. Source link #Trump #taps #Stefanik #ambassador #******* #Nations Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 11: Will shaky contenders feel an SEC squeeze? Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 11: Will shaky contenders feel an SEC squeeze? Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams. The ACC and Big 12’s hopes of sending multiple teams to the first 12-team College Football Playoff took a big hit over the weekend. Miami (Fla.) and Iowa State both lost, greatly damaging their at-large hopes. Meanwhile, Ole Miss’ win at Georgia brought more SEC teams into the Playoff mix rather than knocking one out with a third loss. BYU’s comeback escape at Utah likely didn’t help its at-large case with the committee, either. At this point, those leagues’ best hope for multiple bids is an upset in their respective conference championship games that doesn’t knock the top team out of the mix either. Those two conferences should also be rooting for Tennessee to beat Georgia next week and hoping Alabama and Ole Miss find a second loss somewhere. The crowd of two-loss SEC teams has the potential to squeeze out not only ACC and Big 12 at-large hopes but a team like Indiana, too, should the Hoosiers lose to Ohio State in overwhelming fashion. But this isn’t the committee. This is The Athletic 134, and I’m standing by my rankings and not reacting to the initial CFP rankings like poll voters sometimes do. Here is this week’s edition of The Athletic 134. 1-10 Rank Team Record Prev 1 10-0 1 2 8-1 3 3 8-1 5 4 9-0 6 5 8-1 7 6 8-1 8 7 10-0 9 8 7-2 13 9 8-2 16 10 7-2 2 Is BYU the fourth-best team in the country? I don’t know, but they keep pulling out wins, and they still have two victories over top-20 teams in SMU and Kansas State. That’s a good resume. Should Tennessee be higher than the Cougars with its loss to Arkansas or should Penn State and Indiana be higher without a top-25 win? Right now, I don’t really think so. Indiana moves up from No. 9 to No. 7 thanks to losses by Georgia and Miami, but the Hoosiers barely held on for a 20-15 win against a Michigan team that pushed them around a bit in the second half. I think Indiana should be safe for a CFP spot as long as it beats Purdue, but a blowout loss to Ohio State could start a conversation. We’ll see what happens in two weeks. Alabama jumps from No. 13 to No. 8 after whipping LSU on the road, while Ole Miss climbs from No. 16 to No. 9 after handling Georgia. The Bulldogs are suddenly barely hanging on to a spot in the CFP, and they’ve lost to both Alabama and Ole Miss. Alabama stays ahead of Ole Miss here because of their performances against LSU, which beat Ole Miss. GO DEEPER College Football Playoff 2024 projections: Indiana up to 92 percent chance to make field 11-25 Notre Dame actually inches out of my CFP field after Alabama and Ole Miss move up. The Irish might be another team hoping the SEC knocks some of its teams out, depending on what the committee shows on Tuesday. SMU is my new ACC leader at No. 12 and in position for the No. 4 seed. The problem with Miami’s weak resume was that it couldn’t afford a bad loss, and it took one against Georgia Tech, dropping from No. 4 to No. 14. Miami’s best wins include Louisville and … Duke? Its early-season escapes against Cal and Virginia Tech don’t help. SMU also has wins against Louisville and Duke, plus its Pitt win (which doesn’t mean as much this week), and its lone loss is to undefeated BYU. Colorado is up to No. 17 and controls its path to the Big 12 title game and a CFP spot after Saturday’s win at Texas Tech. Washington State is 8-1 and up to No. 18, but the path to an at-large spot might be just too far away. Still, the Cougars are having a great season and should feel good about it. South Carolina jumps up to No. 20 after a dominant win against Vanderbilt. Army is also newly into this group at No. 22 after beating North Texas 14-3. The ****** Knights went from zero wins against teams with a winning record to two over the weekend, thanks to this game and East Carolina’s win elsewhere. Arizona State grabs the No. 25 spot after beating UCF to move to 7-2. GO DEEPER Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Alabama got its act together and looks Playoff bound … again 26-50 Tulane has quietly been rolling and is up to No. 26, very much in the race for the Group of 5’s guaranteed Playoff bid if Boise State stumbles. Iowa State falls to No. 27 after a loss to Kansas, while Pitt drops to No. 28 after losing to Virginia, the second consecutive loss for both teams. 8-1 Louisiana might be too far behind to challenge for the G5 spot in the CFP, especially since its one loss was to Tulane, but the Ragin’ Cajuns look like the best team in the Sun Belt and are having a really good season, now up to No. 31. Georgia Tech jumps up to No. 32 after beating Miami. Syracuse falls to No. 40 after losing to Boston College, while Iowa drops to No. 41 after a loss at UCLA. West Virginia’s win against Cincinnati sees the Mountaineers climb to No. 46. GO DEEPER Week 11 CFP race lessons: Mizzou in the ‘Playoff hunt’? One-bid ACC? 51-75 UCLA has really turned things around, winning three consecutive games and rising to No. 57 after sitting near the bottom of the Power 4 not long ago. NC State slips to No. 64 after losing to Duke. Kansas jumps up from No. 85 to No. 65 thanks to its win against Iowa State. No. 71 UConn is 7-3, its most wins since the Fiesta Bowl season of 2010, after beating UAB. 76-100 San Jose State’s win against Oregon State moves the Spartans up to No. 79 and the Beavers down to No. 80. Jacksonville State, No. 81, scored on a Hail Mary against Louisiana Tech and missed the game-winning extra point but won in overtime anyway to stay tied atop the Conference USA standings. Oklahoma State’s collapse continued with a 38-13 loss to TCU, making it seven consecutive losses for the Cowboys, who have fallen to No. 85. Texas State beat ULM to move up to No. 84. The MAC pack continues, as Miami (Ohio), Ohio and Bowling Green all won, and Northern Illinois handed Western Michigan its first MAC defeat. Four teams are tied atop the conference standings at 4-1. Has East Carolina turned things around since ******* head coach Mike Houston? The Pirates are 2-0 under interim coach Blake Harrell and have scored a combined 105 points in wins against Temple and FAU, moving up to No. 97. 101-134 I haven’t become numb to seeing Florida State lose every week, now down to No. 103 after a 52-3 loss to Notre Dame. It’s still shocking every time. Mike Norvell got moving early in cleaning house, announcing Sunday that both coordinators had been fired. New Mexico is 4-6 and up to No. 109 after beating San Diego State. Nevada might be the best 3-8 team in the country — the Wolf Pack have now pushed SMU and Boise State to the limit in defeat this season. Air Force beat Fresno State to move up to No. 126, and in a battle of one-win teams, UTEP beat Kennesaw State in overtime, leading to a coaching change at Kennesaw State. Kent State lost 41-0 to Ohio and ******** winless and at the bottom of the rankings. The Athletic 134 series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo: Justin Ford / Getty Images) Source link #Ranking #college #football #teams #Week #shaky #contenders #feel #SEC #squeeze Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]