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Assertiveness

Assertiveness is the quality of being self-assured and confident without being aggressive to defend a right point of view or a relevant statement. In the field of psychology and psychotherapy, it is a skill that can be learned and a mode of communication. Dorland's Medical Dictionary defines assertiveness as:
 * "a form of behavior characterized by a confident declaration or affirmation of a statement without need of proof; this affirms the person's rights or point of view without either aggressively threatening the rights of another (assuming a position of dominance) or submissively permitting another to ignore or deny one's rights or point of view."

Assertiveness is a communication skill that can be taught and the skills of assertive communication effectively learned.

Assertiveness is a method of critical thinking, where an individual speaks up in defense of their views or in light of erroneous information. Additionally, assertive people are capable of being outspoken and analyze information and point out areas of information lacking substance, details or evidence. Thus, it can be noted that assertiveness supports creative thinking and effective communication.

The level of assertiveness demonstrated in any human community is a factor of social and cultural practices at the time of inquiry. These factors can evolve with time and may vary from one community to another. For example, nowadays, in the western world, there are global public discussions about controversial topics such as drug addiction, rape and sexual abuse of women and children, which were not openly discussed in 1940.

However, during the second half of the 20th century, assertiveness was increasingly singled out as a behavioral skill taught by many personal development experts, behavior therapists, and cognitive behavioral therapists. But now assertiveness is often linked to self-esteem. The term and concept was popularized to the general public by books such as Your Perfect Right: A Guide to Assertive Behavior (1970) by Robert Eating.

Training
Joseph Wolpe initially explored the use of assertiveness as a means of "reciprocal inhibition" of anxiety, in his 1958 book on treating neurosis; and it has since been commonly employed as an intervention in behavior therapy. Assertiveness Training ("AT") was introduced by Andrew Salter (1961) and popularized by Joseph Wolpe. Wolpe's belief was that a person could not be both assertive and anxious at the same time, and thus being assertive would inhibit anxiety. The goals of assertiveness training include:
 * increased awareness of personal rights
 * differentiation between non-assertiveness and assertiveness
 * differentiation between passive–aggressiveness and aggressiveness
 * learning both verbal and non-verbal assertiveness skills.

As a communication style and strategy, assertiveness is thus distinguished from both aggression and passivity. How people deal with personal boundaries, including their own and those of other people, helps to distinguish between these three concepts. Passive communicators are not likely to try to influence anyone else because they fear social conflict. Because of this fear, passive communicators do not defend their own personal boundaries or ideas, and thus allow aggressive people to abuse or manipulate them. Additionally, they often hold in negative feelings such as anger because they allow this domination to happen. Aggressive people do not respect the personal boundaries of others and thus are liable to harm others by influencing them through personal attacks often taking the form of embarrassment. A person communicates assertively by clearly stating their thoughts and/or feelings in a nonaggressive manner, often in an effort to influence others; doing so in a way that respects the personal boundaries of the other person, or people, involved and avoids negative confrontation. Assertive people are also willing to defend themselves against aggressive people.

Communication
Assertive communication involves respect for the boundaries of oneself and others. It also presumes an interest in the fulfillment of needs and wants through cooperation.

According to the textbook Cognitive Behavior Therapy (2008), "Assertive communication of personal opinions, needs, and boundaries has been ... conceptualized as the behavioral middle ground, lying between ineffective passive and aggressive responses". Such communication "emphasizes expressing feelings forthrightly, but in a way that will not spiral into aggression".

An individual may employ an assertive communication if others' actions threaten one's boundaries, one communicates this to prevent escalation.

In contrast, "aggressive communication" judges, threatens, lies, breaks confidences, stonewalls, and violates others' boundaries.

At the opposite end of the dialectic is "passive communication". Victims may passively permit others to violate their boundaries. At a later time, they may come back and attack with a sense of impunity or righteous indignation.

Assertive communication attempts to transcend these extremes by appealing to the shared interest of all parties; it "focuses on the issue, not the person". Aggressive and/or passive communication, on the other hand, may mark a relationship's end, and reduce self-respect.

Characteristics
Assertive people tend to have the following characteristics:
 * They feel free to express their feelings, thoughts, and desires.
 * They are "also able to initiate and maintain comfortable relationships with [other] people"
 * They know their rights.
 * They have control over their anger. This does not mean that they repress this feeling. It means that they control anger and talk about it in a reasoning manner.
 * "Assertive people ... are willing to compromise with others, rather than always wanting their own way ... and tend to have good self-esteem".

Techniques
Techniques of assertiveness can vary widely. Manuel Smith, in his 1975 book When I Say No, I Feel Guilty, offered some of the following behaviors:

Broken record
The "broken record" technique consists of simply repeating your requests or your refusals every time you are met with resistance. The term comes from vinyl records, the surface of which when scratched would lead the needle of a record player to loop over the same few seconds of the recording indefinitely. "As with a broken record, the key to this approach is repetition ... where your partner will not take no for an answer."

A disadvantage with this technique is that when resistance continues, your requests may lose power every time you have to repeat them. If the requests are repeated too often, it can backfire on the authority of your words. In these cases, it is necessary to have some sanctions on hand.

Negative assertion
Negative assertion is agreement with criticism without letting up demand.

I-statements
I-statements can be used to voice one's feelings and wishes from a personal position without expressing a judgment about the other person or blaming one's feelings on them.

Applications
Several research studies have identified assertiveness training as a useful tool in the prevention of alcohol-use disorders. Psychological skills in general including assertiveness and social skills have been posed as intervention for a variety of disorders with some empirical support.

In connection with gender theory, "Tannen argues that men and women would both benefit from learning to use the others' style. ... So, women would benefit from assertiveness training just as men might benefit from sensitivity training".

Regarding language revitalization and to avoid passive bilingualism phenomena, assertiveness has become a key discursive asset for speakers of minoritized languages. An example of this use is Mantinc el català, that aims to raise self-awareness in Catalan speakers about the importance of not shifting unconsciously and at first glance to Spanish in conversations with unknown people.

Challenges
Assertiveness may be practiced in an unbalanced way, especially by those new to the process: "[One] problem with the concept of assertiveness is that it is both complex and situation-specific. ... Behaviors that are assertive in one circumstance may not be so in another". More particularly, while "unassertiveness courts one set of problems, over-assertiveness creates another." Assertiveness manuals recognize that "many people, when trying out assertive behavior for the first time, find that they go too far and become aggressive."

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, in the heyday of assertiveness training, some so-called assertiveness training techniques were distorted and "people were told to do some pretty obnoxious things in the name of assertiveness. Like blankly repeating some request over and over until you got your way". Divorced from respect for the rights of others, so-called assertiveness techniques could be psychological tools that might be readily abused: The line between repeatedly demanding with sanctions ("broken record") versus coercive nagging, emotional blackmail, or bullying, could be a fine one, and the caricature of assertiveness training as "training in how to get your own way ... or how to become as aggressive as the next person" was perpetuated.

title: Assertiveness


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Talk:List of Texas county name etymologies (A to J)

From VfD:

This material has been incorporated into the individual county articles. Also includes List of Texas county name etymologies and List of Texas county name etymologies (K to Z). - Kenwarren 03:56, Jul 28, 2004 (UTC)

 * KEEP! Now, I don't care if the information is incorporated into the individual county articles, but I DO care about deleting List of Texas county name etymologies (A to J) and List of Texas county name etymologies (K to Z). What if you wanted to find all the county etymologies in one fell swoop? Look at List of California county name etymologies and List of Minnesota county name etymologies! I contributed much to the page, and I do not want my hard work destroyed. Dralwik
 * I have two reasons for this:
 * First, it creates a maintenance nightmare. Who's going to know to update both locations? Dralwik above probably won't bother with future edits, based on his comment. Once the information is out of sync, both sets of pages are, umm, screwed. The information is no longer trustworthy. To be blunt, this is a problem with Wikipedia in general; I've heard from several people who've uniformly said "Yeah, there's a lot of information, but I looked at 2 articles about aspects of X and they were contradictory. Which one do I trust?" (If this vote goes for keep, I feel strongly enough about this that I'll remove all etymologies from the individual articles for the same reason.)
 * Second, it doesn't make the information easy to find, one of the primary purposes of an encyclopedia. (Wouldn't the Principle of least astonishment apply here?) If I want to know how El Paso County, Texas came to have that name, where would I expect to look? At the article about the county, of course. If I didn't find it there, why would I look at Texas to find a link to List of Texas county name etymologies? For the anonymous user who says "don't destroy my hard work" I would say it's not destroyed, it's migrated to where it's actually useful. And I was planning to do the same thing to Minnesota, California, Kansas, and Arizona.
 * Kenwarren 14:13, Jul 28, 2004 (UTC)

 * Keep. Note for above: I AM going to continue editing and creating the afore-mentioned pages and I am creating links on each county page to the etymology lists. (See Anderson County, Texas, for example.) Dralwik
 * See my edit to Anderson County, Texas for what I think could be a good compromise; the information will live in the "List of ..." pages, a single location, but is easily available from the individual county pages. - Kenwarren 15:02, Jul 28, 2004 (UTC)

 * Keep. Although the material that was completed was imported into the individual county pages, there was much left to do.  The pages stated that they were a work in progress.  These pages were VERY useful for those of us contributing the county name information as we could see at a glance which counties were left to do.  Unfortunately, there were still a lot left to go and now we have to go look at each individual county page which is a much more tedious process.  I wish Kenwarren would have discussed it a little further before he erased all the work we had done.  I thought he was just going to copy the info.  Once the pages were complete, then would be the time to transfer the information if necessary.  Anyway, I think it's still interesting to see all the names at a glance. H2O 19:16, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)

 * Delete. I agree with Kenwarren's criteria for judging obscure lists.  If the pages are useful to contributors, maybe they can be moved to some meta-space or a user's workspace?  Incidentally, even if this is kept, couldn't it all fit into one article pretty easily rather than splitting it up A-J K-Z? -- WOT 21:17, 31 Jul 2004 (UTC)

end moved discussion

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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Talk:List of Texas county name etymologies (K to Z)

From VfD:

This material has been incorporated into the individual county articles. Also includes List of Texas county name etymologies and List of Texas county name etymologies (A to J). - Kenwarren 03:56, Jul 28, 2004 (UTC)

 * KEEP! Now, I don't care if the information is incorporated into the individual county articles, but I DO care about deleting List of Texas county name etymologies (A to J and List of Texas county name etymologies (K to Z). What if you wanted to find all the county etymologies in one fell swoop? Look at List of California county name etymologies and List of Minnesota county name etymologies! I contributed much to the page, and I do not want my hard work destroyed. Dralwik
 * Keep. There are plenty of things that we have lists of and also have content elsewhere on. I agree with the above rationale (which should be signed, btw). Not doing any harm. [[User:Meelar|Meelar (talk)]] 13:42, 2004 Jul 28 (UTC)
 * I have two reasons for this:
 * First, it creates a maintenance nightmare. Who's going to know to update both locations? The anonymous editor above probably won't bother with future edits, based on his comment. Once the information is out of sync, both sets of pages are, umm, screwed. The information is no longer trustworthy. To be blunt, this is a problem with Wikipedia in general; I've heard from several people who've uniformly said "Yeah, there's a lot of information, but I looked at 2 articles about aspects of X and they were contradictory. Which one do I trust?" (If this vote goes for keep, I feel strongly enough about this that I'll remove all etymologies from the individual articles for the same reason.)
 * Second, it doesn't make the information easy to find, one of the primary purposes of an encyclopedia. (Wouldn't the Principle of least astonishment apply here?) If I want to know how El Paso County, Texas came to have that name, where would I expect to look? At the article about the county, of course. If I didn't find it there, why would I look at Texas to find a link to List of Texas county name etymologies? For the user who says "don't destroy my hard work" I would say it's not destroyed, it's migrated to where it's actually useful. And I was planning to do the same thing to Minnesota, California, Kansas, and Arizona.
 * Kenwarren 14:08, Jul 28, 2004 (UTC)

 * Keep. Note for above: I AM going to continue editing and creating the afore-mentioned pages and I am creating links on each county page to the etymology lists. (See Anderson County, Texas, for example.)
 * See my edit to Anderson County, Texas for what I think could be a good compromise; the information will live in the "List of ..." pages, a single location, but is easily available from the individual county pages. - Kenwarren 15:05, Jul 28, 2004 (UTC)
 * Kenwarren, on the above edit, I agree to that compromise. Proceed with the edits. Over and out. Dralwik
 * Keep - ditto what I said on A-J, but I'd also like to add that it is useful to see the whole list to get a feel for why Texas counties were named the way they were. It gives an idea of the kinds of people we Texans have felt were important to us.  Same for California, Minnesota, or any other state. H2O 19:40, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep, it's useful and precident exists for such pages. But regarding the recent edits to Anderson County, Texas, I disagree with the decision to remove the etymology info and instead link the user to the List of Texas county name etymologies (A to J) article in order to find out who the county is named after. It doesn't hurt to have the info in both places. You don't have to remove good info from the Anderson County, Texas article just to justify another article's existance. - Eisnel 19:50, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * The information will only be good for as long as it takes someone to make a single edit to either a single county directly or one of the lists, without transferring it to the other location. (I figure that would take a week or so.) Then one location or the other is out of date, therefore wrong. Or are you volunteering to do a regular sweep of counties to make sure their etymologies and "list of etymologies" are up-to-date? This situation exists in numerous locations in Wikipedia, and results in people discounting the usefullness of Wikipedia. (This per a number of conversations I've had of late...) - Kenwarren 23:16, Jul 28, 2004 (UTC)
 * This doesn't make any sense to me. The information is either accurate, or it isn't.  Just because the information agrees doesn't mean it is accurate.  H2O 23:53, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep (both lists). It's an interesting topic and a lot more sensible to organize this way rather than spread out across dozens of articles. I don't understand the concerns about this information being maintained or up-to-date - these counties have all been named and Texas isn't adding new counties, so once this list is done there shouldn't be any new information to add. MK 02:17, 29 Jul 2004 (UTC)

end moved discussion


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Renaissance Technologies

Renaissance Technologies LLC, also known as RenTech or RenTec, is an American hedge fund based in East Setauket, New York, on Long Island, which specializes in systematic trading using quantitative models derived from mathematical and statistical analysis. Their signature Medallion fund is famed for the best record in investing history. Renaissance was founded in 1982 by James Simons, a mathematician who formerly worked as a code breaker during the Cold War.

In 1988, the firm established its most profitable portfolio, the Medallion Fund, which used an improved and expanded form of Leonard Baum's mathematical models, improved by algebraist James Ax, to explore correlations from which it could profit. Elwyn Berlekamp was instrumental in evolving trading to shorter-dated, pure systems driven decision-making. The hedge fund was named Medallion in honor of the math awards that Simons and Ax had won.

Renaissance's flagship Medallion fund, which is run mostly for fund employees, is famous for the best track record on Wall Street, returning more than 66 percent annualized before fees and 39 percent after fees over a 30-year span from 1988 to 2018. Renaissance offers two portfolios to outside investors—Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund (RIEF) and Renaissance Institutional Diversified Alpha (RIDA).

Because of the success of Renaissance in general and Medallion in particular, Simons has been described as the "best money manager on earth".

Simons ran Renaissance until his retirement in late 2009. He continued to play a role at the firm as non-executive chairman, which he stepped down from in 2021, and remained invested in its funds, particularly the Medallion fund until his death in 2024. The company is now run by Peter Brown (after Robert Mercer resigned). Both of them were computer scientists specializing in computational linguistics who joined Renaissance in 1993 from IBM Research. The fund has $165 billion in discretionary assets under management (including leverage) as of April 2021.

Academia and research
James Simons founded Renaissance Technologies following a decade as the Chair of the Department of Mathematics at Stony Brook University. Simons in 1976 was a recipient of the Oswald Veblen Prize of the American Mathematical Society, which is geometry's highest honor. He is known in the scientific community for co-developing the Chern–Simons theory, which is used in modern theoretical physics.

Quantitative trading
The firm uses quantitative trading, where staff tap data in its petabyte-scale data warehouse to assess statistical probabilities for the direction of securities prices in any given market. Staff attribute the breadth of data on events peripheral to financial and economic phenomena that Renaissance takes into account, and the firm's ability to manipulate large amounts of data by deploying scalable technological architectures for computation and execution.

Renaissance Technologies' hedge fund has employed mathematical models to analyze and execute trades, many of them automated. The firm uses computer-based models to predict price changes in easily traded financial instruments. These models are based on analyzing as much data as can be gathered, then looking for non-random movements to make predictions. Some also attribute the firm's performance to employing financial signal processing techniques such as pattern recognition. The book The Quants describes the hiring of speech recognition experts, many from IBM, including the current leaders of the firm.

"Quants" with non-financial background
Renaissance employs specialists with non-financial backgrounds, including computer scientists, mathematicians, physicists, signal processing experts and statisticians. The firm's latest fund is the Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund (RIEF). RIEF has historically trailed the firm's better-known Medallion fund, a separate fund that contains only the personal money of the firm's executives.

Renaissance is a firm run by and for scientists, employing those with non-financial backgrounds for quantitative finance research like mathematicians, statisticians, theoretical and experimental physicists, astronomers, and computer scientists. According to a piece in The New York Times, "Wall Street experience is frowned on and a flair for science is prized." One former employee speculated that the herdlike mentality among business school graduates is to blame for poor investor returns. Renaissance engages roughly 150 researchers and computer programmers, half of whom have PhDs in scientific disciplines, at its 50-acre East Setauket campus in Long Island, New York, which is near the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Mathematician Isadore Singer referred to Renaissance's East Setauket office as the best physics and mathematics department in the world.

The firm's administrative and back-office functions are handled from its Manhattan office in New York City. The firm is secretive about the workings of its business and very little is known about them. The firm is known for low personnel turnover and for requiring its researchers to agree to intellectual property obligations by signing non-compete and non-disclosure agreements.

Monemetrics
In 1978, Simons left academia and started a hedge fund management firm called Monemetrics in a Long Island strip mall. The firm primarily traded currencies at the start. It did not occur to Simons at first to apply mathematics to his business, but he gradually realized that it should be possible to make mathematical models of the data he was collecting.

Monemetrics' name was changed to Renaissance Technologies in 1982. Simons started recruiting some of the mathematicians and data-modeling types from his days at the Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA) and Stony Brook University. His first recruit was Leonard Baum, a cryptanalyst from IDA who was also the co-author of the Baum–Welch algorithm. When Baum abandoned the idea of trading with mathematical models and took to fundamental trading, Simons brought in algebraist James Ax from Cornell University. Ax expanded Baum's models for trading currencies to cover any commodity future and subsequently Simons set up Ax with his own trading account, Axcom Ltd., which eventually gave birth to the profitable fund — Medallion. During the 1980s, Ax and his researchers improved on Baum's models and used them to explore correlations from which they could profit.

Medallion Fund

"'From 2001 through 2013, the fund’s worst year was a 21 percent gain, after subtracting fees. Medallion reaped a 98.2 percent gain in 2008, the year the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 38.5 percent.'"

In 1988, Renaissance established its most profitable fund, the Medallion fund (previously the Limroy Colombian fund), which used an expanded form of Leonard Baum's mathematical models improved by algebraist James Ax to explore correlations from which they could profit. Simons and Ax, who were classmates at UC Berkeley, started Medallion, which they named after their awards in mathematics. The initial success of the company's models led Simons to base the fund's trades entirely on the models.

By April 1989, however, peak-to-trough losses had mounted to about 30%. Ax claimed to have accounted for such a decline in his models and insisted on continuing to trade. Simons wanted to pause and reevaluate; Simons, as majority owner, prevailed, and Ax departed. Simons then asked Berkeley professor Elwyn Berlekamp to run Medallion. A consultant for Axcom whom Simons had first met at the IDA, Berlekamp had acquired most of Ax's stake in Axcom and became its CEO. He worked with Sandor Straus, Jim Simons and another consultant, Henry Laufer, to overhaul Medallion's trading system over the course of six months. In 1990, Berlekamp led Medallion to a 55.9% gain, net of fees, and then returned to his duties as a Berkeley professor after selling out to Simons at six times the price for which he had bought his Axcom interests sixteen months earlier. Straus then took Berlekamp's place, running Medallion's revamped trading system, which returned 39.4% in 1991, 34% in 1992 and 39.1% in 1993, according to Medallion annual reports.

The Medallion fund is considered to be one of the most successful hedge funds ever. From 1994 through mid-2014, it averaged a 71.8% annual return, before fees. The fund has been closed to outside investors since 1993 and is available only to current and past employees and their families. The firm bought out the last investor in the Medallion fund in 2005 and the investor community has not seen its returns since then. About 100 of Renaissance's some 275 employees are "qualified purchasers", meaning they generally have at least $5 million in assets to invest. The remaining are "accredited investors", generally worth at least $1 million.

"'Since 1988, his flagship Medallion fund has generated average annual returns of 66% before charging hefty investor fees—39% after fees—racking up trading gains of more than $100 billion. No one in the investment world comes close. Warren Buffett, George Soros, Peter Lynch, Steve Cohen, and Ray Dalio all fall short.'"

By 2000, the computer-driven Medallion fund had an average annual return of 34% after fees from its 1988 inception. Simons ran Renaissance until his retirement in late 2009. Between January 1993 and April 2005, Medallion only had 17 losing months and out of 49 quarters over the same period, Medallion had only three losing quarters. Between 1989-2005 Medallion had only one year showing a loss: 1989.

During 2020 the Medallion fund surged 76%.

Medallion as a retirement fund
"'[Renaissance] won the [Labor Department]'s permission to put pieces of Medallion inside Roth IRAs. That means no taxes – ever – on the future earnings of a fund that averaged a 71.8 percent annual return, before fees, from 1994 through mid-2014.'" Renaissance Technologies terminated its 401(k) retirement plan in 2010 and employees' account balances were put into Individual Retirement Accounts. Contributions could be made to a standard Individual Retirement Accounts and then converted to a Roth IRA regardless of income. By 2012, Renaissance was granted a special exemption by the United States Labor Department allowing employees to invest their retirement money in Medallion arguing that Medallion had consistently outperformed their old 401(k) plan. In 2013, Renaissance's IRA plans had 259 participants whose $86.6 million contribution grew to $153 million that year without fees or annual taxes. Renaissance set up a new 401(k) plan, and in November 2014 the Labor Department allowed that plan to be invested in Medallion as well.

Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund (RIEF)
In 2005, Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund (RIEF) was created. RIEF has historically trailed the firm's better-known Medallion fund, a separate fund that only contains the personal money of the firm's executives. In April 2020, Institutional Investor reported that the disparity between Renaissance's Medallion fund and other funds, including RIEF, was approximately 17-19%. Renaissance also offers two Renaissance Institutional Diversified Alpha (RIDA) to outsiders. Simons ran Renaissance until his retirement in late 2009. Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund had difficulty with the higher volatility environment that persisted throughout the end of the summer of 2007. According to an article in Bloomberg in August 2007,

"'James Simons's $29 billion Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund fell 8.7% in August 2007 when his computer models used to buy and sell stocks were overwhelmed by securities' price swings. The two-year-old quantitative, or 'quant', hedge fund now has declined 7.4 percent for the year. Simons said other hedge funds have been forced to sell positions, short-circuiting statistical models based on the relationships among securities.'"

RIEF once again struggled in the high volatility environment of 2020. According to an article in Bloomberg in November 2020,

"Renaissance saw a decline of about 20% through October in its long-biased fund, according to a person familiar with the matter. The $75 billion firm’s market-neutral fund dropped about 27% and its global-equities fund lost about 25%... The firm, founded by former codebreaker Jim Simons, told investors that its losses are due to being under-hedged during March’s collapse and then over-hedged in the rebound from April through June. That happened because models that had “overcompensated” for the original trouble. “It is not surprising that our funds, which depend on models that are trained on historical data, should perform abnormally (either for the better or for the worse) in a year that is anything but normal by historical standards,” Renaissance told clients in a September letter seen by Bloomberg."

From December 1, 2020 to February 1, 2021, according to Bloomberg, clients (LPs) had withdrawn $5 billion from the fund.

On 25 September 2008, Renaissance wrote a comment letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, discouraging them from implementing a rule change that would have permitted the public to access information regarding institutional investors' short positions, as they can currently do with long positions. The company cited a number of reasons for this, including the fact that "institutional investors may alter their trading activity to avoid public disclosure".

2014 tax avoidance investigation
In July 2014, Renaissance Technologies was included in a larger investigation undertaken by Carl Levin and the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on tax evasion by wealthy individuals. The focus of the tax avoidance investigation was Renaissance's trading strategy — which involved transactions with banks such as Barclays Plc and Deutsche Bank AG — through which profits converted from rapid trading were converted into lower-taxed, long-term capital gains. The strategy was also questioned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The higher rates for the five years under investigation would have been 44.4 percent, as compared to 35 percent, whereas the lower rate was 15 percent, as compared to 23.8 percent. "The IRS contend[ed] that the arrangement Renaissance’s Medallion fund had with the banks, in which the fund owned option contracts rather than the underlying financial instruments, is a ruse and that the fund investors owe taxes at the higher rate. Because Medallion could claim that it owned just one asset – the option – and held it for more than a year, investors could declare their gains to be long-term investments."

In September 2021, Simons, Mercer, and other Renaissance executives agreed to pay up to $7 billion in taxes and penalties to settle the dispute with the IRS. The settlement was among the largest in history.

Campaign contributions
According to OpenSecrets, Renaissance was the top financial firm contributing to federal campaigns in the 2016 election cycle, donating $33,108,000 by July. By comparison, over that same period sixth ranked Soros Fund Management has contributed $13,238,551. Renaissance's managers were also active in the 2016 cycle, contributing nearly $30 million by June, with Mercer ranking as the #1 individual federal donor, largely to Republicans, and Simons ranked #5, largely to Democrats. They were top donors to the presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

During the 2016 campaign cycle, Simons contributed $26,277,450, ranking as the 5th largest individual contributor. Simons directed all but $25,000 of his funds towards liberal candidates. Robert Mercer contributed $25,059,300, ranking as the 7th largest individual contributor. Robert Mercer directed all funds contributed towards conservative candidates.

Between 1990 and 2016, Renaissance employees have contributed $59,081,152 to federal campaigns and since 2001 have spent $3,730,000 on lobbying.

title: Renaissance Technologies


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Infantile hemangioma

An infantile hemangioma (IH), sometimes called a strawberry mark due to appearance, is a type of benign vascular tumor or anomaly that affects babies. Other names include capillary hemangioma, "strawberry hemangioma", strawberry birthmark and strawberry nevus. and formerly known as a cavernous hemangioma. They appear as a red or blue raised lesion on the skin. Typically, they begin during the first four weeks of life, growing until about five months of life, and then shrinking in size and disappearing over the next few years. Often skin changes remain after they shrink. Complications may include pain, bleeding, ulcer formation, disfigurement, or heart failure. It is the most common tumor of orbit and periorbital areas in childhood. It may occur in the skin, subcutaneous tissues and mucous membranes of oral cavities and lips as well as in extracutaneous locations including the liver and gastrointestinal tract.

The underlying reason for their occurrence is not clear. In about 10% of cases they appear to run in families. A few cases are associated with other abnormalities such as PHACE syndrome. Diagnosis is generally based on the symptoms and appearance. Occasionally medical imaging can assist in the diagnosis.

In most cases no treatment is needed, other than close observation. Hemangiomas may grow rapidly, before stopping and slowly fading, with maximum improvement typically occurring by the age of 3.5 years. While this birthmark may be alarming in appearance, physicians generally counsel that it be left to disappear on its own, unless it is in the way of vision or blocking the nostrils. Certain cases, however, may result in problems and the use of medication such as propranolol or steroids are recommended. Occasionally surgery or laser treatment may be used.

It is one of the most common benign tumors in babies, occurring in about 5-10% of all births. They occur more frequently in females, whites, prematurely born,  and low birth weight babies. They can occur anywhere on the body, though 83% occur on the head or neck area. The word "hemangioma" comes from the Greek haima (αἷμα) meaning "blood"; angeion (ἀγγεῖον) meaning "vessel"; and -oma (-ωμα) meaning "tumor".

Signs and symptoms
Infantile hemangiomas typically develop in the first few weeks or months of life. They are more common in Caucasians, in premature children whose birth weight is less than 3 lb, in females, and in twin births. Early lesions may resemble a red scratch or patch, a white patch, or a bruise. The majority occur on the head and neck, but they can occur almost anywhere. The appearance and color of the IH depend on its location and depth within the level of the skin.

Superficial IHs are situated higher in the skin and have a bright red, erythematous to reddish-purple appearance. Superficial lesions can be flat and telangiectatic, composed of a macule or patch of small, varied branching, capillary blood vessels. They can also be raised and elevated from the skin, forming papules and confluent bright-red plaques like raised islands. Infantile hemangiomas have historically been referred to as “strawberry marks" or "strawberry hemangiomas” in the past, as raised superficial hemangiomas can look like the side of a strawberry without seeds, and this remains a common lay term.

Superficial IHs in certain locations, such as the posterior scalp, neck folds, and groin/perianal areas, are at potential risk of ulceration. Ulcerated hemangiomas can present as black crusted papules or plaques, or painful erosions or ulcers. Ulcerations are prone to secondary bacterial infections, which can present with yellow crusting, drainage, pain, or odor. Ulcerations are also at risk for bleeding, particularly deep lesions or in areas of friction. Multiple superficial hemangiomas, more than five, can be associated with extracutaneous hemangiomas, the most common being a liver (hepatic) hemangioma, and these infants warrant ultrasound examination.

Deep IHs present as poorly defined, bluish macules that can proliferate into papules, nodules, or larger tumors. Proliferating lesions are often compressible, but fairly firm. Many deep hemangiomas may have a few superficial capillaries visible evident over the primary deep component or surrounding venous prominence. Deep hemangiomas have a tendency to develop a little later than superficial hemangiomas, and may have longer and later proliferative phases, as well. Deep hemangiomas rarely ulcerate, but can cause issues depending on their location, size, and growth. Deep hemangiomas near sensitive structures can cause compression of softer surrounding structures during the proliferative phase, such as the external ear canal and the eyelid. Mixed hemangiomas are simply a combination of superficial and deep hemangiomas, and may not be evident for several months. Patients may have any combination of superficial, deep, or mixed IHs.

IHs are often classified as focal/localized, segmental, or indeterminate. Focal IHs appear localized to a specific location and appear to arise from a solitary spot. Segmental hemangiomas are larger, and appear to encompass a region of the body. Larger or segmental hemangiomas that span a large area can sometimes have underlying anomalies that may require investigation, especially when located on the face, sacrum, or pelvis.

Unless ulceration occurs, an IH does not tend to bleed and is not painful. Discomfort may arise if it is bulky and blocks a vital orifice.

Complications
Almost no IHs are associated with complications. They may break down on the surface, called ulceration, which can be painful and problematic. If the ulceration is deep, significant discomfort, bleeding and infection may occur. If a hemangioma develops in the larynx, breathing can be compromised. If located near the eye, a growing hemangioma may cause an occlusion or deviation of the eye that can lead to amblyopia. Very rarely, extremely large hemangiomas can cause high-output heart failure due to the amount of blood that must be pumped to excess blood vessels. Lesions adjacent to bone may cause erosion of the bone.

The most frequent complaints about IHs stem from psychosocial complications. The condition can affect a person's appearance and provoke attention and malicious reactions from others. Particular problems occur if the lip or nose is involved, as distortions can be difficult to treat surgically. The potential for psychological injury develops from school age onward. Considering treatment before school begins is, therefore, important if adequate spontaneous improvement has not occurred. Large IHs can leave visible skin changes secondary to severe stretching that results in altered surface texture.

Large segmental hemangiomas of the head and neck can be associated with a disorder called PHACES syndrome. Large segmental hemangiomas over the lumbar spine can be associated with dysraphism, renal, and urogenital problems in association with a disorder called LUMBAR syndrome. Multiple cutaneous hemangiomas in infants may be an indicator for liver hemangiomas. Screening for liver involvement is often recommended in infants with five or more skin hemangiomas.

Causes
The cause of hemangioma is currently unknown, but several studies have suggested the importance of estrogen signaling in proliferation. Localized soft-tissue hypoxia coupled with increased circulating estrogen after birth may be the stimulus. Also, a hypothesis was presented by researchers that maternal placenta embolizes to the fetal dermis during gestation, resulting in hemangiomagenesis. However, another group of researchers conducted genetic analyses of single-nucleotide polymorphism in hemangioma tissue compared to the mother's DNA which contradicted this hypothesis. Other studies have revealed the role of increased angiogenesis and vasculogenesis in the etiology of hemangiomas.

Diagnosis

The majority of IHs can be diagnosed by history and physical examination. In rare cases, imaging (ultrasound with Doppler, magnetic resonance imaging), and/or cytology or histopathology are needed to confirm the diagnosis. IHs are usually absent at birth or a small area of pallor, telangiectasias, or duskiness may be seen. A fully formed mass at birth usually indicates a different diagnosis. Superficial hemangiomas in the upper dermis have a bright-red strawberry color, whereas those in the deep dermis and subcutis, deep hemangiomas, may appear blue and be firm or rubbery on palpation. Mixed hemangiomas can have both features. A minimally proliferative IH is an uncommon type that presents with fine macular telangiectasias with an occasional bright-red, papular, proliferative component. Minimally proliferative IHs are more common in the lower body.

A precise history of the growth characteristics of the IH can be very helpful in making the diagnosis. In the first 4 to 8 weeks of life, IHs grow rapidly with primarily volumetric rather than radial growth. This is usually followed by a period of slower growth that can last 6–9 months, with 80% of the growth completed by 3 months. Finally, IHs involute over a period of years. The exceptions to these growth characteristics include minimally proliferative His, which do not substantially proliferate and large, deep IHs in which noticeable growth starts later and lasts longer. If the diagnosis is not clear based on physical examination and growth history (most often in deep hemangiomas with little cutaneous involvement), then either imaging or histopathology can help confirm the diagnosis.  On Doppler ultrasound, an IH in the proliferative phase appears as a high-flow, soft-tissue mass usually without direct arteriovenous shunting. On MRI, IHs show a well-circumscribed lesion with intermediate and increased signal intensity on T1- and T2-weighted sequences, respectively, and strong enhancement after gadolinium injections, with fast-flow vessels. Tissue for diagnosis can be obtained via fine-needle aspiration, skin biopsy, or excisional biopsy. Under the microscope, IHs are unencapsulated aggregates of closely packed, thin-walled capillaries, usually with endothelial lining. Blood-filled vessels are separated by scant connective tissue. Their lumina may be thrombosed and organized. Hemosiderin pigment deposition due to vessel rupture may be observed. The GLUT-1 histochemical marker can be helpful in distinguishing IHs from other items on the differential diagnosis, such as vascular malformations.

Liver
Infantile hemangiomas in the liver are found in 16% of all liver hemangiomas. Its sizes are usually less than 1 to 2 cm in diameter. It may show a "flash-filling" phenomenon in which there is a fast enhancement of the contrast material in the lesion instead of slow, centripetal, nodular filling of the lesions in usual hemangiomas. On CT and MRI, it shows rapid filling during arterial phase, with contrast retention in venous and delayed phases.

Treatment
Most IHs disappear without treatment, leaving minimal to no visible marks. This may take many years, however, and a proportion of lesions may require some form of therapy. Multidisciplinary clinical practice guidelines for the management of infantile hemangiomas were recently published. Indications for treatment include functional impairment (i.e. visual or feeding compromise), bleeding, potentially life-threatening complications (airway, cardiac, or hepatic disease), and risk of long-term or permanent disfigurement. Large IHs can leave visible skin changes secondary to significant stretching of the skin or alteration of surface texture. When they interfere with vision, breathing, or threaten significant disfigurement (most notably facial lesions, and in particular, nose and lips), they are usually treated. Medical therapies are most effective when used during the period of most significant hemangioma growth, which corresponds to the first 5 months of life. Ulcerated hemangiomas, a subset of lesions requiring therapy, are usually treated by addressing wound care, pain, and hemangioma growth.

Medication
Treatment options for IHs include medical therapies (systemic, intralesional, and topical), surgery, and laser therapy. Prior to 2008, the mainstay of therapy for problematic hemangiomas was oral corticosteroids, which are effective and remain an option for patients in whom beta-blocker therapy is contraindicated or poorly tolerated. Following the serendipitous observation that propranolol, a nonselective beta blocker, is well tolerated and effective for treatment of hemangiomas, the agent was studied in a large, randomized, controlled trial and was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for this indication in 2014. Oral propranolol is more effective than placebo, observation without intervention, or oral corticosteroids. Propranolol has subsequently become the first-line systemic medical therapy for treatment of these lesions.

Since that time, topical timolol maleate in addition to oral propranalol has become a common therapy for infantile hemangiomas. According to a 2018 Cochrane review, both of these therapies have demonstrated beneficial effects in terms of clearance of hemangiomas without an increase in harms. In addition, no difference was detected between these two agents and their ability to reduce hemangioma size; however, whether  a difference in safety exists is not clear. All of these results were based on moderate- to low-quality evidence, thus further randomized, controlled trials with large populations of children are needed to further evaluate these therapies. This review concluded that for now, no evidence challenges oral propranalol as the standard systemic therapy for treatment of these lesions.

Other systemic therapies which may be effective for IH treatment include vincristine, interferon, and other agents with antiangiogenic properties. Vincristine, which requires central venous access for administration, is traditionally used as a chemotherapy agent, but has been demonstrated to have efficacy against hemangiomas and other childhood vascular tumors, such as kaposiform hemangioendothelioma and tufted angioma. Interferon-alpha 2a and 2b, given by subcutaneous injection, has shown efficacy against hemangiomas, but may result in spastic diplegia in up to 20% of treated children. These agents are rarely used now in the era of beta-blocker therapy.

Intralesional corticosteroid (usually triamcinolone) injection has been used for small, localized hemangiomas, where it has been demonstrated to be relatively safe and effective. Injection of upper eyelid hemangiomas is controversial, given the reported risk of retinal embolization, possibly related to high injection pressures. Topical timolol maleate, a nonselective beta blocker available in a gel-forming solution approved for the treatment of glaucoma, has been increasingly recognized as a safe and effective off-label alternative for treatment of small hemangiomas. It is generally applied two to three times daily.

Surgery
Surgical excision of hemangiomas is rarely indicated, and limited to lesions which fail medical therapy (or when it is contraindicated), which are anatomically distributed in a location which is amenable to resection, and in which resection would likely be necessary and the scar will be similar regardless of timing of the surgery. Surgery may also be useful for removal of residual fibrofatty tissue (following hemangioma involution) and reconstruction of damaged structures.

Laser
Laser therapy, most often the pulsed dye laser (PDL), plays a limited role in hemangioma management. PDL is most often used for treatment of ulcerated hemangiomas, often in conjunction with topical therapies and wound care, and may speed healing and diminish pain. Laser therapy may also be useful for early superficial IHs (although rapidly proliferating lesions may be more prone to ulceration following PDL treatment), and for the treatment of cutaneous telangiectasias which persist following involution.

Prognosis
In the involution phase, an IH finally begins to diminish in size. While IHs were previously thought to improve by about 10% each year, newer evidence suggests that maximal improvement and involution is typically reached by 3.5 years of age. Most IHs resolve by age 10, but in some patients, the hemangioma does not completely resolve. Residual redness may be noted and can be improved with laser therapy, most commonly PDL. Ablative fractional resurfacing may be considered for textural skin changes. Hemangiomas, especially those that have gotten very large during the growth phase, may leave behind stretched skin or fibrofatty tissue that may be disfiguring or require future surgical correction. Areas of prior ulceration may leave behind permanent scarring.

Additional long-term sequelae stem from the identification of extracutaneous manifestations in association with the IH. For example, a patient with a large facial hemangioma who is found to meet criteria for PHACE syndrome will require potentially ongoing neurologic, cardiac, and/or ophthalmologic monitoring. In cases of IHs that compromise of vital structures, symptoms may improve with involution of the hemangioma. For example, respiratory distress would improve with involution of a space-occupying IH involving the airway and high-output heart failure may lessen with involution of a hepatic hemangioma and ultimately treatment may be tapered or discontinued. In other cases, such as an untreated eyelid hemangioma, resultant amblyopia does not improve with involution of the cutaneous lesion. For these reasons, infants with infantile hemangiomas should be evaluated by an appropriate clinician during the early proliferative phase so that risk monitoring and treatment be individualized and outcomes can be optimized.

Terminology
The terminology used to define, describe, and categorize vascular tumors and malformations has changed over time. The term hemangioma was originally used to describe any vascular tumor-like structure, whether it was present at or around birth or appeared later in life. In 1982, Mulliken and Glowacki proposed a new classification system for vascular anomalies which has been widely accepted and adopted by the International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies. This classification system was recently updated in 2015. The classification of vascular anomalies is now based upon cellular features, natural history, and clinical behavior of the lesion. Vascular anomalies are divided into vascular tumors/neoplasms which include infantile hemangiomas, and vascular malformations that include entities with enlarged or abnormal vessels such as capillary malformations (port wine stains), venous malformations, and lymphatic malformations. In 2000, GLUT-1, a specific immunohistochemical marker, was found to be positive in IHs and negative in other vascular tumors or malformations. This marker has revolutionized the ability to distinguish between infantile hemangioma and other vascular anomalies.

title: Infantile hemangioma


text: Category:Ugandan sportspeople

title: Category:Ugandan sportspeople


text: Category:Byzantine emperors

title: Category:Byzantine emperors


text: Category:Ugandan people

title: Category:Ugandan people


text:
The American Scholar

"The American Scholar" was a speech given by Ralph Waldo Emerson on August 31, 1837, to the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard College at the First Parish in Cambridge in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was invited to speak in recognition of his groundbreaking work Nature, published a year earlier, in which he established a new way for America's fledgling society to regard the world. Sixty years after declaring independence, American culture was still heavily influenced by Europe, and Emerson, for possibly the first time in the country's history, provided a visionary philosophical framework for escaping "from under its iron lids" and building a new, distinctly American cultural identity.

Summary
Emerson introduces Transcendentalist and Romantic views to explain an American scholar's relationship to nature. A few key points he makes include:
 * We are all fragments, "as the hand is divided into fingers", of a greater creature, which is mankind itself.
 * An individual may live in either of two states. In one, the busy, "divided" or "degenerate" state, he does not "possess himself" but identifies with his occupation or a monotonous action; in the other, "right" state, he is elevated to "Man", at one with all mankind.
 * To achieve this higher state of mind, the modern American scholar must reject old ideas and think for him or herself, to become "Man Thinking" rather than "a mere thinker, or still worse, the parrot of other men's thinking", "the victim of society", "the sluggard intellect of this continent".
 * "The American Scholar" has an obligation, as "Man Thinking", within this "One Man" concept, to see the world clearly, not severely influenced by traditional and historical views, and to broaden his understanding of the world from fresh eyes, to "defer never to the popular cry."
 * The scholar's education consists of three influences:
 * I. Nature, as the most important influence on the mind
 * II. The Past, manifest in books
 * III. Action and its relation to experience
 * The last, unnumbered part of the text is devoted to Emerson's view on the "Duties" of the American Scholar who has become the "Man Thinking".
 * "The scholar must needs stand wistful and admiring before this great spectacle. He must settle its value in his mind."

Importance
Emerson was, in part, reflecting on his personal vocational crisis after leaving his role as a minister. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. declared this speech to be "the declaration of independence of American intellectual life." Building on the growing attention he received from the essay Nature, The American Scholar solidified Emerson's popularity and weight in America, a level of reverence he would hold throughout the rest of his life. Phi Beta Kappa's literary quarterly magazine, The American Scholar, was named after the speech.

This success stands in contrast with the harsh reaction to another of his speeches, "Divinity School Address", given eleven months later.

title: The American Scholar


text:
Pat O'Brien

Pat O'Brien may refer to:

Politicians

 * Pat O'Brien (Canadian politician) (born 1948), member of the Canadian House of Commons
 * Pat O'Brien (Irish politician) (c. 1847–1917), Irish Nationalist MP in the United Kingdom Parliament

Others

 * Pat O'Brien (actor) (1899–1983), American film actor
 * Pat O'Brien (guitarist) (born 1965), American guitarist for Cannibal Corpse
 * Pat O'Brien (radio and television personality) (born 1948), American sports commentator and television host
 * Pat O'Brien (rugby union) (born 1989), South African rugby union player
 * Pat O'Brien of Pat O'Brien's Bar, US cocktail maker
 * Maynard O'Brien, American football coach nicknamed Pat
 * Pat O'Brien (racing driver), 4 time Mr. Dirt 358 Modified Champion

title: Pat O'Brien


text: Category:Culture of Uganda

title: Category:Culture of Uganda


text:
National Trails System

The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nation". There are four types of trails: the national scenic trails, national historic trails, national recreation trails, and connecting or side trails. The national trails provide opportunities for hiking and historic education, as well as horseback riding, biking, camping, scenic driving, water sports, and other activities. The National Trails System consists of 11 national scenic trails, 21 national historic trails, over 1,300 national recreation trails, and seven connecting and side trails, as well as one national geologic trail, with a total length of more than 91000 mi. The scenic and historic trails are in every state, and Virginia and Wyoming have the most running through them, with six.

In response to a call by President Lyndon B. Johnson to have a cooperative program to build public trails for "the forgotten outdoorsmen of today" in both urban and backcountry areas, the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation released a report in 1966 entitled Trails for America. The study made recommendations for a network of national scenic trails, park and forest trails, and metropolitan area trails to provide recreational opportunities, with evaluations of several possible trails, both scenic and historic. The program for long-distance natural trails was created on October 2, 1968, by the National Trails System Act, which also designated two national scenic trails, the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, and requested that an additional fourteen trail routes be studied for possible inclusion. Sponsored by Senators Henry M. Jackson and Gaylord Nelson and Representative Roy A. Taylor, part of the bill's impetus was threats of development along the Appalachian Trail, which was at risk of losing its wilderness character, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund was used to acquire lands. In 1978, as a result of the study of trails that were most significant for their historic associations, national historic trails were created as a new category with four trails designated that year. Since 1968, over forty trail routes have been studied for inclusion in the system.

The scenic and historic trails are congressionally established long-distance trails, administered by the National Park Service (NPS), United States Forest Service (USFS), and/or Bureau of Land Management (BLM). These agencies may acquire lands to protect key rights of way, sites, resources and viewsheds, though the trails do not have fixed boundaries. They work in cooperation with each other, states, local governments, land trusts, and private landowners to coordinate and protect lands and structures along these trails, enabling them to be accessible to the public. These partnerships between the agency administrators and local site managers are vital for resource protection and the visitor experience. The Federal Interagency Council on the National Trails System promotes collaboration and standardization in trail development and protection. National recreation trails and connecting and side trails do not require congressional action, but are recognized by actions of the secretary of the interior or the secretary of agriculture. The national trails are supported by volunteers at private non-profit organizations that work with the federal agencies under the Partnership for the National Trails System and other trail type-specific advocacy groups.

For fiscal year 2021, the 24 trails administered by the NPS received a budget of $15.4 million.

National Scenic Trails
The eleven national scenic trails were established to provide outdoor recreation opportunities and to conserve portions of the natural landscape with significant scenic, natural, cultural, or historic importance. These trails are continuous non-motorized long-distance trails that can be backpacked from end-to-end or hiked for short segments, except for Natchez Trace NST, which consists of five shorter, disconnected trail segments. The Trails for America report said, "Each National Scenic Trail should stand out in its own right as a recreation resource of superlative quality and of physical challenge." Most notably, the national scenic trail system provides access to the crest of the Appalachian Mountains in the east via the Appalachian Trail, of the Rocky Mountains in the west on the Continental Divide Trail, and of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada ranges on the Pacific Crest Trail, which make up the Triple Crown of Hiking. Other places of note include the southern wetlands and Gulf Coast on the Florida Trail, the North Woods on the North Country Trail, the variety of southwestern mountains and ecosystems on the Arizona Trail, and the remote high-mountain landscape near the Canadian border on the Pacific Northwest Trail.

They have a total length of approximately 17,800. mi. Due to the extent of construction of route realignments, segment alternatives, and measurement methods, some sources vary in their distances reported and values may be rounded.

Six trails are official units of the NPS, managed like its other areas, as long, linear parks. Five trails are overseen by the U.S. Forest Service.

In 2022 Arlette Laan, whose trail name was "Apple Pie", became the first woman known to have completely hiked all eleven national scenic trails.

National Historic Trails
The 21 national historic trails are designated to protect the courses of significant overland or water routes that reflect the history of the nation. They represent the earliest European travels in the country in Chesapeake Bay and on Spanish royal roads; the nation's struggle for independence on the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail and Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route; westward migrations on the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails, which traverse some of the same route; and the development of continental commerce on the Santa Fe Trail, Old Spanish Trail, and Pony Express. They also memorialize the forced displacement and hardships of the Native Americans on the Trail of Tears and Nez Perce National Historic Trail.

Their routes follow the nationally significant, documented historical journeys of notable individuals or groups but are not necessarily meant to be continuously traversed today; they are largely networks of partner sites along marked auto routes rather than the exact non-motorized trails as originally used. Interpretative sites are often at other areas of the National Park System along the trails, as well as locally operated museums and sites. The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Wyoming is on the Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer, and Pony Express National Historic Trails and has exhibits on Western emigration. Nine are administered by the NPS National Trails Office in Santa Fe and Salt Lake City.

National historic trails were authorized under the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978, amending the National Trails System Act of 1968. They have a total length of approximately 40000 mi; many trails include several branches making them much longer than a single end-to-end distance.

Connecting or side trails
The act also established a category of trails known as connecting or side trails. Though there are no guidelines for how these are managed, these have been designated by the secretary of the interior to extend trails beyond the original congressionally established route. Seven side trails have been designated:

 * Timms Hill Trail – 14 mi, connects the Ice Age Trail to Wisconsin's highest point, Timms Hill (1990)
 * Anvik Connector – 86 mi, joins the Iditarod Trail to the village of Anvik, Alaska (1990)
 * Susquehanna River Component Connecting Trail – 552 mi, extends the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail up the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania and New York (2012)
 * Chester River Component Connecting Trail – 46 mi, extends the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail up the Chester River in Maryland (2012)
 * Upper Nanticoke River Component Connecting Trail – 23 mi, extends the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail up the Nanticoke River in Delaware (2012)
 * Upper James River Component Connecting Trail – 220 mi, extends the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail up the James River in Virginia (2012)
 * Marion to Selma Connecting Trail – 28 mi, connects the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail to Marion, Alabama, where Jimmie Lee Jackson was murdered in 1965 (2015)

National Recreation Trails
National recreation trail (NRT) is a designation given to existing trails that contribute to the recreational and conservation goals of a national network of trails. Over 1,300 trails over all fifty states have been designated as NRTs on federal, state, municipal, tribal and private lands that are available for public use and are less than a mile to more than 500 mi in length. They have a combined length of more than 29,000 mi.

Most NRTs are hiking trails, but a significant number are multi-use trails or bike paths, including rail trails and greenways. Some are intended for use with watercraft, horses, cross-country skis, or off-road recreational vehicles. There are a number of water trails that make up the National Water Trails System subprogram. Eligible trails must be complete, well designed and maintained, and open to the public.

The NPS and the USFS jointly administer the National Recreation Trails Program with help from other federal and nonprofit partners, notably American Trails, the lead nonprofit for developing and promoting NRTs. The secretary of interior or the secretary of agriculture (if on USFS land) designates national recreation trails that are of local and regional significance. Managers of eligible trails can apply for designation with the support of all landowners and their state's trail coordinator (if on non-federal land). Designated trails become part of the National Trails System and receive promotional benefits, use of the NRT logo, technical and networking assistance, and preference for funding through the Department of Transportation's Recreational Trails Program.

American Trails sponsors an annual NRT photo contest and a biennial symposium and maintains the NRT database.

National Geologic Trail
The first national geologic trail was established by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, though it did not amend the National Trails System Act to create an official category.

title: National Trails System


text: Category:German athletes

title: Category:German athletes


text:
Talk:Point (geometry)

2019 Comments on article - imho
I have a number of problems with the article as it stands as of Sept 1, 2019. I came to this article seeking understanding in what seems to me to be the conflicting views of points as locations in space or points as vectors (location vectors?) in space. The article spends an inordinate amount of time detailing the fact that a point is 0-dimensional in several of the more popular types of mathematical spaces. Little else is included. A point has no internal structure, but does have external characteristics - it has relationships to other points and mathematical (geometric) objects. None of the common properties or characteristics are mentioned. A serious deficit, imho. In addition, I offer the following comments as constructive criticism (I hope) of the article. It is true that IF the plane uses Cartesian coordinates that x is conventionally horizontal. What's missed here is the FACT that the editors (authors, actually) have assumed the reader knows that the x,y coordinates are orthogonal and isotropic. That isn't necessary, of course, but is commonly understood as the default. What also isn't mentioned is that while it is true that x & y CAN be numbers, they are values - which might be variables or functions (or more complex stuff) as well as numbers. It is ALSO true that in POLAR COORDINATES the two values are qualitatively different and the angle, Θ, is arguably NOT "infinite" but limited to [0,2π]. I think the discussion of points shouldn't disregard the common grade school coordinate systems. I don't think it is best to state that the jump from 2d to 3d is "easy" nor is it best described as a generalization. I'd say it is an "expansion". Again in talking about 3d the claim is made that an additional number is added. In Spherical coordinates, the additional value is Φ and an angle. In all of these coordinate systems a point is denoted (to use the word the article does to describe the name or label of a point) by values that are relative to an origin (or reference point) as well as 2 or 3 directions (i,j) or (i,j,k) for Cartesian or 1 or 2 angles and a distance for the polar/spherical. The article also implies that the 3rd cartesian dimension, z, is added onto the horizontal x and vertical y plane, while it is just as common for the z direction to be vertical, the y direction to be horizontal, and the x direction to be perpendicular to the paper i.e. claiming z is (generally) "depth" is incorrect in many many cases. The article makes the silly error of claiming Euclid wasn't "definitive"! Unless we count the 2000 years where he was the only authority (in the West). I suggest the authors review the definition of the word. (I don't argue he wasn't wrong or at least incomplete, he was; but he was the very epitome of an authority, hence he WAS definitive!) The article spends, as I already wrote, a lot of e-ink on details about a points dimension. WHY? That is, if you ask the reader to plow thru this mostly irrelevant arcana, you need to justify it, not just start in cold. I'm not a mathematician, but if 1 dot 0 = 0 isn't trivial which the article claims, I don't understand what trivial is. It is trivial, and I'm pretty sure it is used as an example of trivial. This claim (if it's correct, which I doubt) needs further justification and clarification, not just the bald claim. The article has an entire paragraph on the line. Why? This article is about the point. The article has no discussion on the continuity of Euclidean space. The article claims that many constructs contain infinite set of points...ok, so what? If it is not going to provide examples of constructs which are either A) not infinite sets (good luck with that in Euclidean space!) or B) not sets of points, then this seems to me to be not very useful here. If the point is a fundamental concept, don't you think that statement should be fleshed out both with what we CAN do with it (build the line and the plane and objects made from them - line segments, etc. etc.) and what we can't? What can't we do? I don't really know - you can't derive an angle or direction from a point. You can't add points, or subtract them. Can you move them in space? Hmmm. I'd say not, but that's one reason I came here; affine transformations. I'm of the school of thought that to fully describe a concept you need to describe what it is and what it isn't in a meaningful way. I don't think this article does that as well as it could. Two final comments: It took me a while to understand what was meant by L = {(a1,a2,a3)|a1c1+a2c2+...+ancn=d}. Waaay too complicated, and if ai are points (NOT numbers!) shouldn't there be some discussion of what a1*c1 or a1+a2 mean? Is a1*k another point? or a number? if the latter, why does the operation of multiplying a scalar by a point or vice versa produce a scalar? Similarly, why does adding two points together even make sense? (in my view, it doesn't). This is an example of where the article fails to discuss the external relationships (structure) points have in Euclidean space (to start). Finally, it is claimed that the dirac delta function is a generalized function. Well aside from being nearly totally devoid of meaning (to the unanoited) the dirac delta function is NOT a function, it is a distribution. It may be beyond scope to mention that it was used by physicists for a long while before the math was created to handle/justify it. But since it describes the "area" of a point, I'd say a little more should be said, rather than less. Anyway, "generalized function" is not useful unless the reader knows that that is a category of mathematical objects/concepts rather than a type of function. We shouldn't require the reader to pursue a linked topic when we don't have to. I think distribution is a better choice here: The Dirac Delta Function (which is a distribution and not a function) ... That's it.40.142.185.108 (talk) 14:54, 1 September 2019 (UTC)
 * None of the common properties? As the IP user stated, the article explains that a point is zero-dimensional. The subsequent rant about algebraic operations, third dimension, polar coordinates etc. is weakly relevant bordering off-topical. If the IP expects to see here a chapter from a book on Euclidean geometry, then have to disappoint the user. Incnis Mrsi (talk) 15:14, 1 September 2019 (UTC)
 * On the last point, the theory of distributions is quite commonly understood as a generalization of the theory of functions. Hence "generalized functions." Any function defines a distribution (the regular distributions), but they are of different types, so it wouldn't feel right to say distributions are extensions of functions, as it was said that space can be viewed as an extension of the plane. It is common in physics to abuse language and call the Dirac distribution a "function."
 * None of these issues really bother me because I take a point to be a figure of speech or thought, not a metaphysical element (or "primitive entity"). Perhaps its unsatisfying to describe something that physical space is supposed to be composed of as "pure formalism." From my view, being fictional, the point itself can't be held to blame if it doesn't make much sense when held up to intense scrutiny, and that few people are seriously skeptical that space can be decomposed into points explains the lack of clarity in the article, and in discourse in general.
 * It seems the ranter is genuinely conflicted about a genuinely perplexing aspect of nature, and this has a long history of influencing people's philosophy in profound ways. I can't think of a better place than this article to include something of the history of debate on the notion of points. Perhaps something about Parminides and Zeno of Elea is in order? Bergson may also be relevant.
 * -Off Use 2601:647:C900:B6C0:197F:BDF0:7311:C712 (talk) 05:11, 27 January 2023 (UTC)

If the point onest ..
Where ??

176.59.215.189 (talk) 17:48, 9 April 2020 (UTC)

Point in a space
Should there be a about points in a space rather than specifically in geometry? DMH43 (talk) 15:37, 27 December 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Point (geometry)


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Ambition again

This article was started by Mike Church about his game. After a lot of bitter fighting, the page was reduced to just verifiable information, and made NPOV. Mike eventually left in disgust, and nominated the page for deletion. It survived. That discussion, plus an even earlier deletion debate, are archived here. More backstory can be found on Talk:Ambition (card game). Apparently Mike still wants the article deleted.

Isomorphic 04:15, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)

 * Delete. Wile E. Heresiarch 04:50, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. I didn't vote on the last one because I didn't feel strongly either way. —Stormie 06:57, Jul 28, 2004 (UTC)
 * Del. Premature at best. --Jerzy(t) 07:25, 2004 Jul 28 (UTC)
 * Delete. BCorr | Брайен 15:39, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep. This is not an article problem.  I do not believe it is wise to delete an article that would otherwise be kept merely because someone is under politically-motivated attack.  While there are valid questions regarding the relevance of the article, it clearly exceeds the de facto inclusion guidelines by a wide margin. UninvitedCompany 16:18, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep. Vfd is not a place to solve edit wars.  --Starx 17:08, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)

 * Delete. Geogre 20:39, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Mike Church's ego has been stroked enough.  RickK 21:24, Jul 28, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. It's what I've wanted for a while. See more. Mike Church 23:30, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Not only was this game deemed as uninteresting by reviewers who attempted it, it was also clearly notable only among the friends and acquaintances of the article's author. Delete again. Denni ☯ 01:44, 2004 Jul 29 (UTC)
 * You're wrong. Said "reviewers" were merely the friends and acquaintances of one Wikipedia poster. That's not enough to judge a game as uninteresting-- the rules may have been poorly or hastily taught, the individuals playing the game may have not had much interest in card games at all, etc. All he said is that his friends didn't like it, not "uninteresting", and when I asked him to back it up with specific criticisms, he declined. Just setting the record straight for ya... Mike Church 13:45, 29 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * I note you have failed to address the second (and more important) point of my criticism. Delete as novelty. Denni ☯ 02:21, 2004 Jul 30 (UTC)
 * "Failed to address" in that I had about 5 minutes of time to spare that day. It's received several votes at Aaron D. Fuegi's top 100 games list (average rating 8.00/10, which is quite solid). Yes, one of the votes was mine, and a couple were my friends, but not all. I've also met people who've played the game not of my acquaintance-- for example, an incoming freshman at Carleton. Mike Church 14:16, 30 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. I would want more independent sources before this meets my threshold for inclusion. --Michael Snow 17:53, 29 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete.Elf-friend 16:12, 30 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Andrewa 12:34, 31 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete with haste. Great game, and notable enough for inclusion, but Mike Church should not be an author of a page on his own accomplishment-- it's bad form and saps the page of any credibility. Let an Ambition page be written in six months or so, preferably by someone with at least 200 edits and no evident Churchian interests. (Nah, I'm not MC... I am choosing to remain anon. though.) 64.12.116.212 00:40, 1 Aug 2004 (UTC)


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Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Pumpkin scones

Two recipes. Nothing else. Joyous 04:15, Jul 28, 2004 (UTC)
 * Transwiki and delete. Geogre 13:09, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Tasty but irrelevant. Send to WB and delete from here. -FZ 16:58, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Yum! Transwiki to wikisource, put a mention in scone (maybe in "further reading"), and delete from here.  --Ardonik 06:41, Jul 29, 2004 (UTC)
 * I meant wikibooks, not wikisource. --Ardonik 19:59, Jul 30, 2004 (UTC)
 * Transwiki and delete. Elf-friend 17:04, 30 Jul 2004 (UTC)