WISS – Women in International Security
Quick Reference: All Meanings of WIIS
| Domain | WIIS Stands For | Who Uses It |
| International Security / NGO | Women in International Security | Policy professionals, diplomats, security scholars, NGO workers |
| Technology / IT | Wang Integrated Image System | IT historians, legacy system administrators, archivists |
| Technology / IT | Windows Internet Information Server | IT professionals, web server administrators (variant of IIS) |
| Business / Insurance | Western Insurance Information Services | Insurance professionals, actuaries, risk analysts |
| Science / Meteorology | Weather Image Information System | Meteorologists, weather forecasters, environmental scientists |
| Energy / Oil & Gas | Well Integrity Inspecting System | Petroleum engineers, offshore rig operators, safety inspectors |
| Education | Western Institute for Intercultural Studies | Students, educators, intercultural studies professionals |
| Education / Research | Watson Institute for International Studies | Brown University community, international relations scholars |
| Government / Safety | Workplace Injuries and Illnesses Safety | Health & safety officers, HR professionals, regulators |
| Economics / Finance | Workshop on International Investment Statistics | Economists, statisticians, OECD/IMF researchers |
- WISS – Women in International Security
- 1. WIIS: Women in International Security
- 2. WIIS in Technology: Wang Integrated Image System
- 3. WIIS in Technology: Windows Internet Information Server
- 4. WIIS in Business and Insurance: Western Insurance Information Services
- 5. WIIS in Science: Weather Image Information System
- 6. WIIS in Energy: Well Integrity Inspecting System
- 7. WIIS in Education: Western Institute for Intercultural Studies
- 8. WIIS in Education and Research: Watson Institute for International Studies
- 9. WIIS in Health and Safety: Workplace Injuries and Illnesses Safety
- 10. WIIS in Economics: Workshop on International Investment Statistics
- How to Determine Which WIIS Meaning Is Intended
How to Pronounce WIIS
WIIS is pronounced “WISE” — rhyming with the word wise, as in wisdom. This is the official pronunciation used by the Women in International Security organization, which intentionally chose this pronunciation as a reflection of the values of knowledge, expertise, and sound judgment that the organization champions.
When used in other technical or institutional contexts (Wang Integrated Image System, Well Integrity Inspecting System, etc.), the abbreviation is typically spelled out letter by letter: “Dublyoo-Eye-Eye-Ess.” However, in any international security, policy, or NGO conversation, saying “WISE” immediately communicates the correct meaning to anyone familiar with the field.
NOTE: The pronunciation WISE is specific to the Women in International Security organization. In all other contexts, WIIS is generally spoken as individual letters unless the specific community has adopted a different convention.
1. WIIS: Women in International Security
The most prominent and widely recognized meaning of WIIS globally is Women in International Security — an international non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to advancing gender equality and women’s leadership in the international peace and security sector. For anyone working in foreign policy, diplomacy, defence, international relations, or security studies, WIIS refers to this organization first and foremost.
1.1 Overview and Mission
Women in International Security (WIIS) is a non-governmental organization founded in 1987 that champions gender equality by helping women advance as leaders in the international peace and security sector. Its mission, as stated on the organization’s official website, is to advance gender equality and leadership opportunities for women in international peace and security.
The founding context matters: WIIS was created in response to a stark reality — the fields of foreign policy, defence, and international security were (and in many areas remain) heavily male-dominated. A small group of senior women in the US government and academia came together to support each other and create pathways for other women in these fields. Nearly four decades later, WIIS has grown into a global powerhouse with chapters across every inhabited continent.
1.2 Key Facts and Scale
| Detail | Information |
| Full Name | Women in International Security (WIIS) |
| Pronunciation | WISE (rhymes with ‘wise’) |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Type | Non-governmental organization (NGO) / International non-profit |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C., United States |
| Global Membership | Over 15,000 members across 50+ countries and 6 continents |
| University Home (US) | University of Pittsburgh (WIIS has an academic home there) |
| Tax ID / Identifier | EIN 463135838 (US non-profit) |
| Social Media | @WIIS_Global (Twitter/X) |
| Key Phone | +1 (202) 507-3090 |
| Website | wiisglobal.org |
1.3 What WIIS Does: Programs and Activities
WIIS operates across three interconnected pillars — professional development, policy research, and community building. Together, these activities address the structural barriers women face in advancing to senior levels in national security, defence, foreign policy, and international institutions.
Professional Development
- Leadership training programs and mentorship initiatives connecting emerging professionals with senior experts
- The WIIS Next Generation Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Initiative — building the next generation of gender and security experts
- Networking events, job boards, and career resources specifically tailored to the international security sector
- An annual Summer Institute at the University of Pittsburgh that brings together emerging leaders for intensive security training
Policy Research and Engagement
- Gender equality research projects examining the intersection of gender and international security
- Policy engagement initiatives with NATO, the United Nations, the US government, and the European Union
- Advocacy for Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda implementation across member states
- Support for Gender Advisor (GENAD) appointments within NATO command structures
- MacArthur Foundation-supported research on gender, peace, and security frameworks
Community and Networking
- A global network of over 15,000 members including ambassadors, defence ministers, UN officials, and Fortune 500 executives
- Active chapters in over 50 countries including Austria, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, and many others
- Online and in-person events, speaker series, and conferences connecting practitioners across borders
1.4 WIIS Global Chapters: A Worldwide Presence
One of WIIS’s most distinctive features is its chapter structure. Individual chapters operate with autonomy in their local country or region while sharing the global WIIS mission. This decentralised model allows WIIS to respond to context-specific security issues and cultural dynamics while maintaining a unified global voice.
| Region | Notable Chapter Activity |
| United States | Multiple university-based chapters (Georgetown, GWU, Harvard, Pitt) + national WIIS Global headquarters |
| Europe | Active chapters in Austria, Italy, Germany, Belgium, UK, Switzerland, and the Netherlands |
| Asia-Pacific | Chapters in Australia and growing presence in Southeast Asia |
| Africa | Programs in East and West Africa; partnerships with African Union institutions |
| Latin America | Growing chapters in Colombia, Argentina, and Brazil |
| Middle East | Engagement with regional security institutions and governments |
1.5 Significance: Why WIIS Matters in International Security
The significance of WIIS extends well beyond membership numbers. Research consistently shows that the inclusion of women in peace negotiations, security decision-making, and post-conflict reconstruction processes produces better, more durable outcomes. WIIS has positioned itself at the centre of this evidence base, translating research into policy advocacy and training programs.
WIIS has directly contributed to women reaching the highest levels of public and private service — ambassadors, secretaries of state, special representatives, defence ministers, NATO officials, and Fortune 500 executives have all passed through WIIS networks or programs. Former US Under Secretary of State Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky has described WIIS as “an important and effective venue for networking” with significant impact. Former US Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs Dr. Esther D. Brimmer credited WIIS with providing opportunities that shaped her professional development.
The organisation also advises NATO member and partner states on appointing Gender Advisors (GENADs) at the Commander level — reflecting its influence at the highest institutional levels of international security architecture.
1.6 The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda
WIIS is deeply embedded in the global Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda — an international policy framework rooted in UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), which recognised for the first time that war and conflict affect women and men differently, and that women must be included as active participants in conflict prevention, resolution, and post-conflict reconstruction.
WIIS works to operationalise the WPS agenda by training practitioners, advising governments, conducting research, and building the expert community that keeps gender considerations central to security policy. This work has only grown in relevance as conflicts from Ukraine to the Middle East to Sub-Saharan Africa have highlighted the gendered dimensions of warfare and displacement.
1.7 WIIS at Universities: Academic Chapters
WIIS has a significant presence in academic settings, with chapters at leading universities including Georgetown University, George Washington University (GWU), Harvard University, Brown University, the University of Pittsburgh, and many others. These chapters provide students studying international relations, security studies, foreign policy, and related disciplines with access to the WIIS professional network, events, and mentorship opportunities while still in their academic careers.
For students: If you are studying international relations, security studies, public policy, or foreign affairs, your university likely has a WIIS chapter. Joining is one of the most direct paths into the professional network of the international security field.
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2. WIIS in Technology: Wang Integrated Image System
In the field of information technology — particularly in the context of legacy enterprise computing systems — WIIS stands for Wang Integrated Image System. This meaning is relevant to IT professionals who work with or study older enterprise document management systems, particularly those from the 1980s and 1990s.
2.1 About Wang Laboratories and the WIIS
Wang Laboratories was a pioneering computer company founded by Chinese-American entrepreneur An Wang in 1951, headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA. During the 1970s and 1980s, Wang was a dominant force in office computing, particularly known for word processing systems and later office automation platforms.
The Wang Integrated Image System (WIIS) was an enterprise-grade document imaging and workflow management platform developed by Wang Laboratories. It was designed to digitise, store, retrieve, and manage large volumes of paper documents in corporate and government environments — a concept that is commonplace today but was cutting-edge at the time. WIIS was one of the early large-scale enterprise document management systems (DMS), and it found adoption in banking, insurance, government, and legal sectors.
2.2 Key Features of the Wang Integrated Image System
- High-volume document scanning and digital image capture from paper originals
- Optical character recognition (OCR) capabilities for converting scanned text to searchable data
- Centralised digital document storage and retrieval — allowing multiple users to access the same document simultaneously
- Workflow automation — routing documents through approval and processing chains
- Integration with Wang’s office automation and word processing platforms
- Client-server architecture allowing networked access across an organisation
2.3 Historical Significance
Wang Laboratories filed for bankruptcy in 1992 following the PC revolution, which disrupted Wang’s proprietary computing ecosystem. However, the WIIS platform and similar Wang products left a significant legacy — they established the conceptual and technical foundations for modern Enterprise Content Management (ECM) and Document Management System (DMS) platforms that are ubiquitous today (SharePoint, OpenText, Laserfiche, etc.).
IT professionals and historians of computing encounter the WIIS abbreviation primarily in legacy system documentation, migration projects (transitioning old Wang-based archives to modern platforms), and academic study of the history of enterprise computing.
Context signal: If you see WIIS in an IT document dated before 2000, or in the context of legacy system migration, document imaging, or historical computing — it almost certainly refers to the Wang Integrated Image System.
3. WIIS in Technology: Windows Internet Information Server
A second technology-domain meaning of WIIS is Windows Internet Information Server — an alternate or informal reference to Microsoft’s Internet Information Services (IIS) web server platform. This meaning appears in some older IT documentation and is sometimes encountered in legacy network administration materials.
3.1 Understanding IIS and the WIIS Variant
Microsoft’s Internet Information Services (IIS) is the web server software built into the Windows Server operating system. It has been a core component of Windows-based web hosting since its introduction in the early 1990s. The acronym IIS is universally used in modern IT contexts. However, in some older documentation — particularly from the Windows NT/Windows 2000 era when the product was still called “Internet Information Server” rather than “Services” — the prefix “W” for “Windows” was sometimes added, yielding WIIS.
| Term | Era | Meaning |
| IIS | 1995 to present | Internet Information Services (current official name) — Microsoft’s web server for Windows |
| WIIS | Older documentation, legacy materials | Windows Internet Information Server — early informal/alternative reference to Microsoft’s IIS |
| IIS 1.0 to 6.0 | 1995–2003 (Windows NT/2000/2003) | Era when WIIS variant was most likely used in documentation |
| IIS 7.0 to 10.0+ | 2006 to present (Windows Server 2008+) | Era when WIIS variant has essentially disappeared from use |
In current IT usage, WIIS in this sense is essentially obsolete. If you encounter WIIS in modern IT documentation, it almost certainly refers to one of the other meanings in this guide (especially Women in International Security or Well Integrity Inspecting System). Only in older legacy server documentation would WIIS plausibly mean the Windows Internet Information Server.
4. WIIS in Business and Insurance: Western Insurance Information Services
In the business and insurance sector, WIIS stands for Western Insurance Information Services — an organisation or service entity operating within the insurance industry, focused on information provision, data services, and industry communication.
4.1 Role in the Insurance Industry
Western Insurance Information Services (WIIS) functions as an information and communications service in the insurance sector, with a particular focus on serving the western United States insurance market. Insurance information services organisations serve multiple functions within the industry:
- Providing consumer education about insurance products, coverage options, and claims processes
- Acting as a liaison between insurance companies and the public on matters of policy and regulatory compliance
- Disseminating industry data, statistics, and research to carriers, brokers, and regulators
- Supporting media relations for insurance industry communications in their region
- Coordinating industry responses to natural disasters and large-scale claims events common in western US states (wildfires, earthquakes, floods)
4.2 Who Encounters This Meaning
Insurance professionals — agents, brokers, actuaries, underwriters, claims adjusters, and risk managers — are the primary users of this WIIS meaning. It also appears in consumer-facing materials about insurance in western US states, regulatory filings, and industry publications. For anyone outside the US property and casualty insurance sector, this meaning is unlikely to be encountered.
Context signal: If WIIS appears in an insurance industry document, a western US regulatory filing, or a consumer insurance guide — it refers to Western Insurance Information Services.
5. WIIS in Science: Weather Image Information System
In the fields of meteorology, atmospheric science, and environmental monitoring, WIIS stands for Weather Image Information System — a data management and dissemination platform for weather imagery and related atmospheric data.
5.1 What Is a Weather Image Information System?
A Weather Image Information System (WIIS) is a specialised computing platform used to collect, process, store, and distribute meteorological imagery — including satellite images, radar images, and other visual weather data products. These systems are used by national meteorological services, weather forecasting centres, research institutions, and emergency management agencies.
Weather imaging systems integrate data feeds from multiple sources — geostationary weather satellites, polar-orbiting satellites, ground-based Doppler radar networks, weather balloons, and surface observation stations — and process these into visual products that meteorologists and the public use to understand and forecast weather.
5.2 Key Functions of Weather Image Information Systems
- Real-time ingestion and processing of satellite imagery from platforms such as GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) and EUMETSAT
- Radar data integration and display — converting raw radar returns into interpretable precipitation maps
- Data archiving and retrieval — maintaining historical weather image archives for research and forensic meteorology
- Dissemination to end users — broadcasting processed weather imagery to media, aviation, maritime, agriculture, and emergency services
- Image enhancement and analysis tools — enabling meteorologists to apply filters, zoom, animate, and overlay additional data on weather imagery
5.3 Who Uses WIIS (Weather Image Information System)?
| User Group | How They Use WIIS |
| National Weather Services | Core operational platform for producing public forecasts and warnings |
| Television and Media Meteorologists | Source of processed weather imagery for broadcast and digital media |
| Aviation Weather Services | En-route weather imagery for pilot briefings and air traffic management |
| Maritime Authorities | Ship routing decisions and port safety planning |
| Agricultural Services | Crop management, irrigation planning, and frost warning systems |
| Emergency Management Agencies | Severe weather situational awareness and disaster response planning |
| Research Institutions | Historical weather data analysis and climate science research |
6. WIIS in Energy: Well Integrity Inspecting System
In the oil and gas industry and broader energy sector, WIIS stands for Well Integrity Inspecting System — a safety-critical monitoring and inspection platform used to ensure the structural and operational integrity of oil and gas wells throughout their lifecycle.
6.1 What Is Well Integrity?
Well integrity refers to the application of technical, operational, and organisational solutions to reduce the risk of uncontrolled release of formation fluids throughout the lifecycle of a well. In simpler terms: making sure oil and gas wells do not leak, fail, or blowout. Well integrity failures are among the most catastrophic events in the energy industry — the Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010 (BP Gulf of Mexico) is the most prominent example of what well integrity failure can mean.
A Well Integrity Inspecting System (WIIS) is the platform — comprising sensors, monitoring tools, inspection protocols, data management systems, and reporting frameworks — used to continuously assess and document the mechanical and structural condition of a well.
6.2 Key Components of a Well Integrity Inspecting System (WIIS)
- Downhole sensors and gauges measuring pressure, temperature, and flow rates at multiple points in the wellbore
- Casing inspection tools — electromagnetic and ultrasonic tools that assess the condition of steel casing pipes for corrosion, damage, or deformation
- Annular pressure monitoring — detecting pressure build-up between casing strings that may indicate integrity loss
- Wellhead inspection protocols — regular physical inspection of surface equipment including blowout preventers (BOPs), Christmas trees, and valve assemblies
- Data management and reporting software — logging all inspection results, flagging anomalies, and generating regulatory compliance reports
- Risk assessment modules — using inspection data to prioritise well intervention and maintenance activities
6.3 Regulatory Context
Well integrity management is a heavily regulated area in the oil and gas industry. Regulatory bodies including the UK North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), and others mandate that operators maintain documented well integrity management systems. WIIS platforms help operators comply with these requirements by providing auditable, systematic records of all inspection and monitoring activities.
6.4 Who Uses WIIS in the Energy Sector?
- Petroleum engineers responsible for well design and lifecycle management
- Offshore installation managers (OIMs) on drilling and production platforms
- Well integrity engineers — a specialist role focused exclusively on monitoring and maintaining well condition
- Regulatory compliance teams within oil and gas operators
- Third-party well inspection and intervention service companies
- National regulatory authorities auditing operator compliance
Context signal: If you encounter WIIS in an oil and gas, offshore energy, or petroleum engineering document — it refers to the Well Integrity Inspecting System. This is a safety-critical operational context where accuracy of terminology is paramount.
7. WIIS in Education: Western Institute for Intercultural Studies
In the field of education, WIIS can stand for the Western Institute for Intercultural Studies — an educational institution focused on cross-cultural understanding, intercultural communication, and international education programs.
7.1 Intercultural Studies: The Academic Context
Intercultural studies is an academic discipline examining the interactions, exchanges, and dynamics between people from different cultural backgrounds. Programs in this field prepare students for careers in international education, diplomacy, cross-cultural business, international non-governmental work, translation and interpretation, and global communications.
Institutions with WIIS designations in this space typically offer programs including cultural immersion experiences, language study programs, international exchange facilitation, and research into cross-cultural communication competencies. The “Western” in the name typically refers to a geographic location (western United States or western Canada) rather than Western civilisation.
Students, educators, study-abroad coordinators, and professionals in international education are the primary users of WIIS in this context. It appears most frequently in educational program catalogues, accreditation documents, study abroad materials, and academic correspondence.
8. WIIS in Education and Research: Watson Institute for International Studies
WIIS is also used as an abbreviation for the Watson Institute for International Studies — the renowned school of international and public affairs at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. While the institute’s current official name is the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, WIIS is still used in older documentation and by some members of the Brown community.
8.1 About the Watson Institute
The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University is one of the leading centres for interdisciplinary research and education on global challenges. Founded through a gift from Thomas J. Watson Jr. (former president of IBM and US Ambassador to the Soviet Union), the Institute brings together faculty, students, and practitioners to address the most pressing issues in international politics, security, economics, and development.
| Detail | Information |
| Full Current Name | Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs |
| University | Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Key Focus Areas | International security, foreign policy, development, governance, and public affairs |
| Notable Programs | International and Public Affairs (IAPA) undergraduate concentration; graduate fellowships; policy research centres |
| Abbreviation History | Previously abbreviated as WIIS; now more commonly Watson Institute or WIIAPA |
For students and faculty at Brown University, or for those in academic international relations who cite Watson Institute research, WIIS may appear in older citations, syllabi, or research paper references. Current usage at Brown has largely shifted to the full name or simply “the Watson Institute,” but the WIIS abbreviation persists in archived materials.
9. WIIS in Health and Safety: Workplace Injuries and Illnesses Safety
In occupational health and safety contexts, WIIS can stand for Workplace Injuries and Illnesses Safety — a term used in safety management systems, regulatory reporting frameworks, and occupational health programs.
9.1 Context and Usage
Workplace injuries and illnesses tracking is a core function of occupational health and safety management. In many jurisdictions, employers are legally required to record, report, and analyse all workplace injuries and illnesses. WIIS in this context refers either to the programme of activities around workplace injury and illness safety management, or to specific data systems used to capture and analyse this information.
In the United States, this area is primarily governed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which requires employers to maintain detailed logs (OSHA 300 logs) of workplace injuries and illnesses. Similar requirements exist under the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE), European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), and equivalent bodies worldwide.
9.2 Who Uses WIIS in This Context?
- Occupational health and safety (OHS) managers and officers in organisations of all sizes
- Human resources professionals responsible for injury reporting and workers’ compensation
- Regulatory compliance teams managing OSHA, HSE, or equivalent reporting obligations
- Workers’ compensation insurers analysing injury and illness trends
- Academic researchers studying occupational safety, ergonomics, and injury prevention
10. WIIS in Economics: Workshop on International Investment Statistics
In the specialised field of international economic statistics, WIIS stands for Workshop on International Investment Statistics — a technical forum or conference series bringing together statisticians, economists, and policymakers to discuss the measurement, collection, and standardisation of foreign direct investment (FDI) and related international investment data.
10.1 Context and Significance
International investment statistics are critical inputs for economic policy, central bank decision-making, and international financial institution reporting. Bodies including the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), the IMF (International Monetary Fund), the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), and national statistical offices work to standardise how countries measure and report cross-border investment flows and positions.
Workshops on International Investment Statistics (WIIS) are technical events — typically hosted by international organisations or central banks — where experts address methodological challenges in measuring FDI, portfolio investment, other investment, and financial derivatives. Outputs from these workshops influence updates to international standards like the OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investment and the IMF Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6).
This meaning of WIIS is highly specialised and will only be encountered by economists, statisticians, and researchers working on international financial statistics. It does not appear in general-purpose or popular communication.
How to Determine Which WIIS Meaning Is Intended
With ten distinct meanings across widely different domains, the following framework will help you identify the correct meaning instantly:
| If WIIS Appears In… | It Almost Certainly Means… |
| Foreign policy, security studies, NGO/diplomacy content, or is followed by ‘pronounced WISE’ | Women in International Security |
| Legacy IT documentation, document management, or pre-2000 enterprise computing | Wang Integrated Image System |
| Old Windows server or web hosting documentation (pre-2005) | Windows Internet Information Server |
| Insurance industry publications, western US consumer insurance materials | Western Insurance Information Services |
| Meteorology, atmospheric science, weather forecasting, satellite data | Weather Image Information System |
| Oil and gas, offshore energy, drilling, well management, or petroleum engineering | Well Integrity Inspecting System |
| Study abroad, international education, cross-cultural programs | Western Institute for Intercultural Studies |
| Brown University, international relations academia, older citations | Watson Institute for International Studies |
| Occupational health, workplace safety, HR, injury reporting | Workplace Injuries and Illnesses Safety |
| Economics, statistics, IMF/OECD/central bank research papers | Workshop on International Investment Statistics |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About WIIS
What is WIIS most famous for?
WIIS is most widely recognised globally as Women in International Security — the NGO founded in 1987 that has grown into a 15,000-member international network spanning over 50 countries.
Is WIIS an acronym or an abbreviation?
WIIS is technically an initialism — each letter represents a word and the abbreviation is spoken letter by letter (or as ‘WISE’ in the case of Women in International Security). A true acronym is pronounced as a single word (e.g., NASA, SCUBA).
What is the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda that WIIS works on?
The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda is an international policy framework anchored in UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), which recognised that armed conflict affects women and men differently, and that women must be included as equal participants in conflict prevention, resolution, peacekeeping, and post-conflict reconstruction. The WPS agenda consists of four pillars: participation, protection, prevention, and relief and recovery. WIIS works to advance all four pillars through research, training, advocacy, and community building.
What happened to Wang Laboratories and its WIIS system?
Wang Laboratories filed for bankruptcy in August 1992, a victim of the personal computer revolution that disrupted its proprietary office computing ecosystem.
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