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Holyoke Safe Neighborhood Initiative
Date: September 12, 2019
Time: 1:00pm to 2:30pm
Place: Holyoke Public Library
Mission Statement: The Holyoke Safe Neighborhood Initiative is a partnership between local, state & federal law enforcement; city & state government; civic & human service organizations; faith based organizations; the business community; education providers; property managers; and residents coming together with a goal to create safe, healthy & economically viable neighborhoods through information sharing, identifying at-risk youth, referrals and community efforts in specific Holyoke neighborhoods.
Welcome & Introduction 1:00pm - 1:05pm
Jennifer Gonzalez-Morales: Holyoke Public School Homeless Liaison 1:05pm - 1:20pm
McKinny Vento Act protects individuals facing marginalized housing by helping remove barriers to education for individuals and families and also encouraged the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act along with Every Student Succeeds Act. These acts are aimed to assist children or youth who lack fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residency due to economic hardship, loss of housing or other similar reasons. These acts can apply to youth who are living in hotels/motels, emergency or transitional shelters, trailer parks, camp groups, a public or private place not designed for humans to live in such as cars, parks, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations or similar settings. Some classroom indicators that a student may be facing homelessness: lack of continuity of education such as attending many different schools, lack of personal records needed to enroll, and/or the inability to pay fees. Social and behavioral signs: poor/short attention span, poor self-esteem, unwillingness to form relationships with peers and teachers, and/or difficulty socializing at recess.
There are many effects of facing homelessness, such as: food insecurity, lack of medical/dental/mental health services, loss of connection to family/friends/community, more likely to drop out of school, educational gaps due to high mobility. Some barriers to education individuals facing housing instability may experience: stereotypes and lack of awareness, enrollment requirements (birth certificate, proof of residency, recent physical exam), poor health/fatigue/hunger, emotional trauma/depression/anxiety, lack of transportation/school supplies/clothing.
There are many educational rights in which youth facing marginalized housing have access to such as: school selection and enrollment – parents have the right to choose where their child receives their education. This may include their school of origin; school which was last attended, school attended when student became homeless, or enroll in the school that’s closest to the student temporary nighttime residence. Youth are also guaranteed transportation; each district has their own transportation policy which they follow under the McKinny-Vento Act and can vary from district to district. Each district must provide transportation to and from the school/preschool of origin. Nutrition may be provided under the McKinny Vento Act such as free lunch and free breakfast.
There is also a guaranteed equal access and comparable services available for those facing marginalized housing. Other services available for students under McKinny Vento: uniforms, hygiene products, shoes/socks/undergarments, winter coats/gloves/hats, backpack and school supplies, summer programs, weekends backpack program, etc.
Agency Overview and Updates 1:20pm - 2:20pm
Rebekah Rennick: Tapestry
Looking to improve sexual education policies within Holyoke Public Schools. No formal sexual education currently in place for high schools in Holyoke.
Shelly Bathe Lenn: The Garden Center
She comes out to different schools to give safe space for youth to talk openly about those who have passed. The Garden does not put limits on how these individuals have died, where they died, or when. Services are available for individuals aged 5-18. Upcoming program on Sunday 29th from 2-4 PM.
Naroby Rosa-Soriano: One Holyoke CDC
Saturday September 21st will be the last city clean-up. She would like community members and agency representatives to come out to help with citywide clean-up. Sunday September 22nd will be hosting first co-ed volleyball tournament, available to community and agencies. Fall program will be ‘Knowing My Neighborhood’ and will be teaming up with Umass Amherst to decorate red fence at Kelly School – goal to have different agencies/schools to help sponsor or decorate different areas of the fence.
Stefany Garcia: Holyoke Public Schools
Open houses for Holyoke Public Schools are coming up quickly. If agencies are looking to have a table at open houses, they are welcome to; they just need to contact administration. Many open houses are happening on September 26th, all information is on HPS website. Some community members have expressed fears surrounding new middle schools and the effect on taxes, please review information on HPS website regarding the new schools. Hispanic heritage month is beginning 9/15-10/15 in city of Holyoke, HCC has official calendar of events on their website, official kick off will be at city hall with food trucks and performers which are connected with Hispanic heritage.
Jeremy Rodriguez: Motivational Speaker, Inspired by Unity
Trying to help individuals understand that many of the adulthood tendencies come from how they were raised and their tendencies which were formed during their youth. Trying to teach information to adults and children because with information you don’t know you cannot apply. Interested in being a caring adult in children’s lives.
Neil Desroches: US Attorney’s Office
Initiated lawsuit in Worcester against landlord due to accepting sexual favors for lowered rent or payment. Even if you are in a stable housing environment, it may not be an ideal situation. Everyone has the right to feel safe in their home and there are resources available. Can always contact civil rights unit of US Attorneys.
Rondey Allen: CrossPoint Clinical
Specialize in delivering services with a Christian based approach. Provide services, workshops, and various trainings to pastors along with educational sessions to help further understand mental health needs. Reach out to individuals who do not know how to accept services due to their faith or beliefs. Provide wellness coaching to provide deeper understanding between physical and mental health correlations. Free event “Meet Up – Faith, Food & Gut Connection” where wellness coach will be present Friday/Saturday for combination of wellness and nutrition services.
Yorn Traham: Right Choice Health Group
Closest location is in Chicopee. First time attending meeting and looking to connect with other agencies.
Glennice Ryan: River Valley Counseling Center
60 locations of inpatient, outpatient, and at home services. New services WISE, which is free, promote wellness. Looking for group of kids who may not have access to counseling and do not have diagnosis of a mental health need but need support due to other adversities they face. Also, prevention for substance use.
Sergio Vicente: MassHire Holyoke
Currently wrapping up summer programs. Collaborating with HCC for individuals who live in specific housing areas to go through their hydroponics course to further understand different ways to grow/sustain crops. There are limited openings within hydroponics course and are trying to break it into two different sessions. Hoping to kick off program in October, there will be a screening process involved, more information to come. YouthWorks is moving into year-round service as compared to only summer service to give youth more opportunities to be exposed to workplace opportunities.
Alijah Lembruno: MSPCC
Survivors Services MSPCC – include trauma counseling for youth ages 3-22 for youth who have survived abuse or witnessed violence, homicides, or other adversities. Grant funded program so able to accept any participants. Referrals are on website which is on flyer that was handed around. RSVP by September 20th for workshop, childcare will be provided as long as notified in advance.
Kelly Wood: YWCA
Passed out referrals and brochures. Offer parent support and promote self-sufficiency, whatever the parents or child needs they do their best to support.
Bill Hadley: Holyoke District Court Presiding Justice
Working on incorporating treatment within the court system rather than incarceration. Working and collaborating with probation office and clerk’s office. Office is located on corner of Race and Appleton Street. Will be expanding soon with recovery coaching and different treatment services for offenses such as shoplifting. Trying to change model of where a court date is set months in advance into more of an immediate intervention. Wednesday, October 30th will be holding public forum with Sheriff and DA along with recovery coaches for a panel presentation along with community aspect and open question, so panel is able to hear community recommendations. Tentatively holding meeting from 2-4PM will finalize timeframe and will produce advertising for meeting.
Antonio Padilla: Holyoke Probation Officer/Young Marines
Currently on 3rd recruit, working with youth age 8-18. Staff consists of individuals who are court officers, police officers, individuals who have served. Baystate comes in to teach CPR/first aid trainings. Encourages self-esteem and teamwork, youth put together schedule and planning. Based out of the Boys and Girls Club. Taking applications for 4th platoon. December 14th from 11-1 is next scheduled graduation, held at Boys and Girls club. – please consider attending! Interview process is extensive for program. In order to get promoted within program must do 50 hours of community service.
Elizabeth Plouffe: New Heights LLC
Still continuing brown bag initiative program on streets on Holyoke to help support individuals who may be homeless or unable to have access to food, also to get community feedback on where services are needed. Offer certified anger management services. Workshops for youth such as healthy relationships, domestic violence education, CPR/First Aid safety for young parents.
Kelsey Poole: Transition Specialist for HPS
Work with youth aged 18-24 who may have disability. Extension of the high school, all have graduated but have not been able to meet MCAS standards. Looking to connect to build additional partnerships, goal is to expose individuals with work-based experiences such as organizational experience, food prep, etc. Individuals are always accompanied by job coach from HPS.
Peer support center will be opening up later in September, will be similar to Hope for Holyoke and will be a Gandara program.
James Maloney: Hope for Holyoke
Currently participating in recovery month celebration. Will be closed Sunday and Monday due to recovery events being hosted. On September 20th, Liberty Prep High School hosting MA recovery event. Will also be closed September 21st due to recovery event. The 27th they will be hosting their own recovery event at Heritage State Park for a recovery march.
Luz Rolon: Americore Vista/ Way Finders
Community engagement for Holyoke residents.
Josh Pagan: Buudha Brothers
Looking to integrate into community more and open marijuana establishment. Establishment is through Cannabis Control and has very strict security and selling guidelines. Looking to provide training and employment opportunities for community residents. Stressed that they are focusing on 21 and over.
Mara Schulman: Mental health advocacy program
Working to advocate for kids, just opened center in Holyoke. Provide free legal advocacy to families who have children who may have unmet mental health needs. May need access within or outside of school facilities. Open house on 9/26 at 1 PM at Enlace de Familia, refreshments provided.
Kimberly Fernald: River Valley Counseling Center
Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach, supporting individuals with substance use disorders age 12-24. Can be in community, school or at home services. Pro-social approach and works towards building up strengths, finding other healthy ways to enjoy and live life. Does referrals to MAT or inpatient treatment centers. Currently no wait list, if referral comes in then individual will be met with quite quickly. Insurance based first, anything not covered by insurance will be covered by the state. If individual has no insurance, still able to receive services.
Dolly Colon Rivera: Don’t Grab That Receipt
Adult/youth collaboration that spread awareness of chemicals within receipts to limit expose. Offer trainings for workers and cashiers. Do presentations in different high schools and work hand in hand with youth. Presentations are available online as well as in person.
Brittany Meadows: CleanSlate
Does work with other agencies if individuals could benefit from any referrals, goal is to fight opiate addiction. If individual does not have insurance, they will work one on one to see what they can be eligible for. Brochures and flyers passed out.
Jessica Cintron: Valley Opportunity Council (VOC)
Bridge class for individuals who are interested in attending college, can get GED/HISET training, citizenship classes and adult education.
Luis Arzola: CHD
Employment specialist CHD – help individuals get connected with resources in the area. At Holyoke library every Thursday from 10AM-2PM for individuals who may want to work on resume building or job searching along with personal development. Open to the public. Also have program for nurturing fathers which they take referrals for. Conference will be Through Her Eyes held on October 25th
Jamie Santiago: MSPCC
In home care for therapeutic care.
Domasco Santiago: Tapestry
Provide safer syringe access for IV drug users along with Narcan training. Can get people connected to MassHealth or detox services. Syringe hotline for if you find any syringes in the community for them to be picked up. Open M-F 8-4
David McCoy: HSNI Outreach
Attended opiate taskforce by DA office, HCAC at DA’s office meets once a month. If looking to get involved, please contact.
Thanks to Partners, Volunteers and Donors: Back to School Event 2:20pm - 2:25pm
Looking for Coaches and Volunteers 2:25pm - 2:27pm
Old Business / New Business
- Next Meeting is Thursday, October 10th at 1:00pm Holyoke Public Library
Close Meeting 2:30pm
Hampden County Sheriff’s Department
Friend Request us on Facebook @ Shsni Holyoke | <urn:uuid:daf1bee9-8dc0-4d82-849e-26540acbb495> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://shsni.org/index.php/80-meeting-notes/985-meeting-notes-9-12-19 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371807538.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20200408010207-20200408040707-00393.warc.gz | en | 0.950437 | 2,973 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Most people do not associate Rosemary with the art of bonsai, but this savory plant can be used for more than just seasoning. The hardy, fast-growing nature of this plant makes it an excellent choice for the bonsai gardener who wants a lovely bonsai tree without the complications often involved with bonsai gardening.
An added bonus is that the leaves from the Rosemary Bonsai can be used for seasoning, so pruning the Rosemary Bonsai can yield ingredients that will spice up tomato sauce or soup.
While Rosemary Bonsais require relatively simple care, there are still steps bonsai gardeners must take in order to ensure the health of their Rosemary Bonsais.
|Scientific/Botanical Name||Rosemarinus Oficinus|
|Description||The rosemary plant is an aromatic herb that is indigenous to the Mediterranean region, as well as Asia. It is an evergreen plant, and it has a woody trunk and branches. The leaves are thin and needle-like. its use in cooking, and as a herbal medicine, harks back to ancient times. Some rosemary cultivars grow along the ground, and others grow in an upright fashion.|
|Position||Rosemary plants require at least six hours of overhead sunlight per day while actively growing. When it is grown indoors, it requires 12 hours of direct light each day. The plant exhibits some winter-hardiness, and may be grown successfully in USDA zone 7 areas.|
|Watering||The plant must be watered frequently, but it cannot tolerate wet feet. The ideal form of watering is to stand the pot in a tray of water and allow the plant to soak-up the water until the top of the soil is damp. At that point, the pot should be removed from the watering tray. Rosemary benefits greatly from regular misting with fertilizer that has been diluted to a weak strength. Misting promotes plant health and vitality.|
|Feeding||Feed the plant twice a year. Supplemental fertilizer should be applied once a week during the growing season.|
|Leaf and Branch Pruning||Eliminate and dispose of dead branches. To encourage the plant to remain desirably small, remove all new growth that occurs beyond the first set of leaves. It is also vital that roots are pruned to retain the trees small stature. Trim away one quarter of the root growth at the side and at the bottom.|
|Re-potting & Growing Medium||Re-pot in loose, quick-draining soil. After re-potting, mist the tree with water. A soil that contains one-fifth organic matter and four-fifths aggregates is the ideal choice for growing rosemary bonsai trees.|
|Wiring||Wiring can only be carried out on young, flexible growth. Older growth is extremely brittle and not amenable to being bent.|
|Notes||Each spring, the tree produces blue or lavender flowers that are nicely aromatic. Rosemary bonsai trees can be decorative features while also being sources for herbal seasoning that enhances the flavor of lamb, chicken and pork.|
Planting & Placing
Rosemary Bonsais should be planted in loose, fast-draining soil so that the roots will not become oversaturated. Once planted, the Rosemary Bonsai should be placed in an area that receives full sunlight for at least six hours a day during the Rosemary Bonsai’s growing season and at least two hours a day during the rest of the year.
If gardeners wish the Rosemary Bonsai to stay indoors, then they will need to make sure that the Rosemary Bonsai has access to about twelve hours of full sunlight to compensate for not being outdoors.
The Rosemary Bonsai will benefit from being placed outdoors once the threat of winter frost has passed, although bonsai gardeners should pay close attention to the soil moisture levels once the Rosemary Bonsai tree has been relocated.
While Rosemary Bonsais are hardy trees, they require frequent watering in order to flourish. These bonsai trees should be planted in a well-draining pot since their roots are sensitive to over-watering, but gardeners should not go more than two days without watering their Rosemary Bonsais.
Read More: Bonsai Tree Species Care Guide (A - C)
- Apple Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Clusia rosea)
- Azalea Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Rhododendron indicum)
- Bahama Berry Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Nashia inaguensis)
- Bald Cypress Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Taxodium distichum)
- Bamboo Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Nandina domestica)
- Black Olive Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Olea europaea)
- Bonsai Money Trees Care Guide (Crassula ovate)
- Bougainvillea Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Bougainvillea glabra)
- Boxwood Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Buxus sempervirens)
- Bromeliad Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Bromeliaceae)
- Buddha's Ear Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Alocasia cucullata)
- Buttonwood Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Conocarpus erectus)
- Cactus Combo Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Carnegiea gigantea)
- Cape Honeysuckle Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Tecoma Capensis)
- Cedar Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Cedrus Libani)
- Cherry Blossom Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Prunus serrulata)
- Cherry Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Prunux x yodoensis)
- Chinese Elm Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Ulmus parvifolia)
- Crepe Myrtle Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Lagerstroemia indica)
As with other plants, bonsai gardeners should be able to tell when the Rosemary Bonsai needs watering by the relative lightness or darkness of the soil; lighter soil means that the bonsai tree is drying out and requires watering.
The best method of watering a Rosemary Bonsai is to place the plant in a tray of one to two inches of water and soak the plant for an hour, removing once the soil is thoroughly moistened.
Rosemary Bonsais also benefit from absorbing water through the leaves, so misting water as well as fertilizer on the leaves themselves daily will help the Rosemary Bonsai remain healthy.
Gardeners should fertilize their Rosemary Bonsais every six months with additional fertilizations every other week during the growing season. Rosemary Bonsais react well to various types of fertilizers, although gardeners should be careful to not overpower their bonsai trees.
Some experts recommend using regular plant fertilizer at half strength, while others recommend using high phosphorus fertilizer or organic fertilizer.
Read More: Bonsai Tree Species Care Guide (D - J)
- Dogwood Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Cornus florida)
- Ficus Bonsai Trees
- Ficus Ginseng Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Ficus retusa)
- Fukien Tea Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Carmona retusa or Ehretia microphylla)
- Ginkgo Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Ginkgo biloba)
- Grapevine Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Vitis vinifera)
- Green Mound Juniper Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Juniperus procumbens)
- Hibiscus Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Hibiscus Sinensis)
- Himalayan Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Cedrus deodara)
- How to Bonsai a Lemon Tree
- How to Bonsai an Oak Sapling
- Jack Pine Bonsai Care Guide
- Jade Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Crassula ovata)
- Japanese Black Pine Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Pinus Thunbergii)
- Japanese Elm Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Zelkova serrata)
- Japanese Maple Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Acer palmatum)
- Juniper Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Juniperus chinensis)
As with regular watering, Rosemary Bonsais will benefit from receiving mild fertilizer through the leaves.
Ridding the Rosemary Bonsai of Pests
Rosemary Bonsai trees can be susceptible to fungi and pests, so bonsai gardeners may need to spray their bonsai trees with fungicides or non-toxic pesticides.
A lack of adequate sunlight can lead to a Rosemary Bonsai contracting a white, powdery fungus, and spider mites, aphids, and other bugs may also plague this bonsai tree. Gardeners should use a sulphur-based fungicide or a non-toxic pesticide soap to rid their Rosemary Bonsai trees of such fungi and pests.
When most people think about bonsai trees, they often envision the bonsai gardener pruning his trees with painstaking precision. Rosemary Bonsais are hardy enough that pruning poses little danger to them, but gardeners should still be cautious not to cut back to bare wood on anything but a healthy specimen.
Gardeners should always remove any branch that has died completely; Rosemary Bonsais often experience branch death when the tree is overtaxed, so removing the dead branch helps reduce the stress put on the tree.
Read More: Bonsai Tree Species Care Guide (L - W)
- Liquidambar Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Liquidambar Styraciflua)
- Mimosa Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Albizia julibrissin)
- Needle Juniper Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Juniperus squamata)
- Norfolk Island Pine Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Araucaria heterophylla)
- Oak Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Quercus)
- Pine Bonsai Tree Care Guide
- Pomegranate Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Punica Granatum)
- Powder Puff Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Calliandra schultzei)
- Privet Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Ligustrum lucidum)
- Pyracantha Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Pyracantha Coccinea)
- Redwood Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Metasequoia glyptostrobides)
- Rosemary Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Rosemarinus Oficinus)
- Sea Grape Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Coccoloba uvifera)
- Serissa Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Serissa foetida)
- Trident Maple Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Acer buergerianum)
- Weeping Willow Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Salix repens)
- Wisteria Bonsai Tree Care Guide (Wisteria sp.)
These dead trimmings should not be consumed, but healthy trimmings can be dried and used for seasoning. In order to keep the Rosemary Bonsai appropriately small, gardeners should allow one set of Rosemary leaves to open and then prune out any new growth that sprouts beyond that initial set of leaves.
Pruning the Roots of a Rosemary Bonsai
Root pruning is essential to maintaining the small size of any bonsai tree, and the Rosemary Bonsai is no exception to this common bonsai need. Gardeners should trim approximately a quarter of the Rosemary Bonsai root growth every spring, cutting evenly on the bottom and around the sides.
The Rosemary Bonsai should then be repotted in fresh, well-draining soil; in order to prevent the Rosemary Bonsai from going into shock, the tree should be misted with water and soaked in a mixture of water as well as a shock-reducing treatment.
Why Choose the Rosemary Bonsai?
In addition to the savory nature of the Rosemary Bonsai leaves as seasoning, the Rosemary Bonsai also produces lovely, aromatic blue flowers during the Spring.
Rosemary Bonsai trees are relatively easy to cultivate and, unlike more complicated bonsai trees, can be shaped into a nice-looking bonsai tree within one year. Those familiar with Rosemary’s opinions may also be able to find this plant growing in the wild, meaning that the only cultivation costs will be those of upkeep and care.
Rosemary also had medicinal properties and is associated with helping prevent and treat cancer, liver disease, and asthma. The plants themselves are considered insect repellants, so setting these out in the garden will help keep insects away.
The art of bonsai is all about trimming and aesthetic beauty, but it also involves redefining and reshaping not only the tree itself but also the human perception of the tree.
Most people see Rosemary as a culinary means to an end, but Rosemary Bonsai tree gardeners see the multi-purpose appeal of reshaping and reforming this plant into an artistic object. Fortunately for Rosemary Bonsai gardeners, their artistic object can also be used to season the chicken. | <urn:uuid:29a788df-67d4-4a3d-bac9-103be169af75> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.bonsaitreegardener.net/bonsai-trees/species/rosemary | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370524604.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20200404165658-20200404195658-00395.warc.gz | en | 0.846745 | 2,838 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Every year in August the national media publishes its usual results day slideshow of young people elated or crushed by their exam results. Those results have traditionally determined whether the young people in question have done well enough to secure their first choice university place, for which they hold a provisional offer dependent on their exam performance.
Those who are unlucky enough to miss their grades have to scramble through clearing for courses or universities they may not have previously considered, making decisions, according to the popular imagination, with only a few hours’ deliberation.
Predicting grades is an inexact science at best, with potential for bias to creep into the judgements. Research conducted for UCU by Gill Wyness at the UCL Institute of Education in 2016 found that 75% of students between 2013-15 were predicted to do better at A level than they actually did and only 16% of students’ grades were predicted correctly. That said, the majority of those incorrectly predicted were accurate within one grade – for example, the difference between BBB and BBC which you could argue in most cases is well within an acceptable tolerance band.
Moreover, at the level of the entire sample grades of students from state schools and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to be over-predicted. However, among the highest performing students – those expecting As and Bs – grades of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to be under-predicted. Research on the same topic published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in 2011 told a broadly similar story – although the rates of accuracy of grade prediction seem to have declined in the interim.
Faced with this argument, it is entirely normal to suppose that our current admissions system is monstrously unfair, putting the majority of applicants under an undue degree of stress and potentially blighting the life chances of a less-advantaged minority. A system in which applicants apply with grades in hand must, therefore, be an urgent policy priority.
The many lives of PQA
That has been the conclusion of independent reviews as far as back as Dearing in 1997. Dearing argued that a system of applications based on actual achievement would “assist students since they know more about their abilities (and possibly their interests) having received their examination results and having studied for longer”.
A review of admissions commissioned by the government and chaired by then Brunel vice chancellor Steven Schwartz argued in 2004 that the system of “relying on predicted grades, cannot be fair … since it is based on data which are not reliable, it is not transparent for applicants or institutions, and may present barriers to applicants who lack self-confidence”. The report urged the immediate creation of a post-qualification admissions system.
In 2011 UCAS embarked on a review of the admissions process that, in addition to other suggested reforms, went further than any review had done before in proposing a specific implementation model by which students could apply to university after receiving their results.
The key challenge for any post-results application system is time pressure. UCAS’s proposals, though minimising changes as far as possible, would have required holding final exams weeks earlier, publishing results at least a month earlier and moving university term start dates several weeks later to create the space for a national admission process to take place. The sector listened politely and then firmly rejected the idea. The below extract from the Russell Group response to the UCAS proposals gives a flavour of the prevailing view:
We all agree that it is important that our applications system is fair and supports access for all, puts applicants at the heart of the system, meets the needs of a diverse range of applicants, is effective and efficient, and delivers a net benefit to all concerned … (But) we believe that the disadvantages of the proposed changes for students and the costs and major upheaval for both schools and universities outweigh the benefits.
The inertia of the HE sector was not the sole culprit. The secondary education sector, which had previously been open to the possibility of post-qualification admissions, also came out against the proposals. A killer argument was that a post-results application system would mean providing applicants with additional support and guidance over the summer, at a time where schools and colleges were not geared up to deliver this – an issue that would only compound the barriers for disadvantaged applicants.
Mary Curnock Cook, chief executive of UCAS at the time of the 2011-12 admissions process review argued that in light of the review finding that a post-results application system was simply not practical, clearing was expanded and professionalised to become “not just a chaotic mop-up of unplaced students and unfilled places” but a meaningful option for students who wanted to apply with results in hand, staffed by “knowledgeable, trained recruiters who are there to help students make the right choices”.
A key, if under-used option, was the introduction of “adjustment” to the clearing window: the opportunity for students to apply to more selective courses if they achieved higher grades than expected.
Once again PQA retired to the graveyard of policy ideas, only to re-emerge in 2019. UCU has long supported the principle of PQA, and in 2018 published research undertaken by Graeme Atherton of the National Education Opportunities Network (NEON) that explored admissions systems globally, arguing that post-qualification admissions systems are increasingly a global norm. In 2019, UCU and NEON proposed the adoption of PQA as part of a package of reforms to information, advice and guidance and higher education admissions. Again, the proposals include a delay to the start of the university term for first year entrants, who would take up their places in November.
UCU argued that a new admissions model would mean an end to the practice of unconditional offers and a “chaotic” clearing period. Whether you, like UCU, consider clearing to be chaotic or, like Mary Curnock Cook, consider it to be a meaningful alternative application window, is perhaps a subjective matter, and the student experience of clearing is inevitably variable.
The question of unconditional offers is at present unresolved – UCU offers evidence of the exponential growth of unconditional offers as an unambiguous negative. A more balanced view is presented by a UUK 2018 paper on admissions, which observes that unconditional offers are still a minority of all offers, but urges institutions to monitor carefully their impact on subsequent exam performance and retention. As things stand the only evidence of negative impact is anecdotal.
A sceptic might observe that whatever the merits of the PQA case in 1997, 2004 or 2012, in 2019, the removal of the student number cap, the increasing use of unconditional offers and the significant expansion of the numbers of institutions offering places through clearing removes the need for admissions reform. In a demand-led system, level 3 results are currently much less important than they have been in the past, except at the most selective end of the sector.
A study for the Sutton Trust in 2017 found that around 1,000 high-achieving students from lower socio-economic backgrounds have their grades under-predicted each year, out of a total annual pool of applicants of more than 300,000. For the majority, then, the current application system allows universities to gather a field of applicants who are in the right ballpark of attainment and interests and, in an applicant’s market, a missed grade here or there is unlikely to affect the willingness of the university to honour their offer of a place.
This argument holds for as long as the supply of places exceeds the demand; once the overall population of 18 to 19 year olds starts to grow again the argument that students are increasingly in the driving seat when it comes to university applications may start to look less persuasive, especially if the Augar review of post-18 education recommends restrictions to university places.
When principles undermine good policy
As Graeme Atherton has written for Wonkhe, simply because something is difficult and will cause upheaval is not a sufficient reason not to consider it. In the NEON/UCU paper the PQA proposals are positioned as part of a systemic overhaul of the admissions system, including mandatory provision of ten hours per year of information, advice and guidance at level 3, a Student Futures Week focused on preparation for moving on from school or college, facilitation of an optional shared approach to use of contextual data to inform admissions decisions, and wider use of technology to support understanding of student aptitude and potential. However, the specific proposals for implementing a post-results application process do not build significantly on the UCAS proposals of 2012.
The risk is that potentially interesting and viable policy proposals – bear in mind that Atherton is intimately acquainted with the challenges of bridging school, college and university partnerships to expand access to higher education – will simply be ignored in favour of rehearsing the arguments on PQA again. Sector insiders will scoff that they have seen these arguments before.
Even if the sector could be brought to agree to, for example, delay the start of the university term for a few weeks (a process that sounds simple but wouldn’t be) no advocate of PQA has ever been able to explain how to prevent autonomous institutions from informally accepting or rejecting applicants at any time they like. The central application system is used for efficiency; no institution is required to use it and students can still apply directly to their institution of choice outside the UCAS system.
There is no doubt that PQA advocates are acting on principle – certainly that UCU could only be in favour of the policy on a principled basis, given the level of upheaval any PQA system would cause to its own members. But this could be a case where principles get in the way of good policymaking. Increasingly PQA feels like a solution in search of a problem. Meanwhile, a number of thoughtful proposals focused on substantially enhancing the support for applicants to make effective choices may never get air time, because PQA is sucking all the oxygen from the debate. | <urn:uuid:5ec8bc3b-9643-4974-8c1d-7737366d9eca> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://wonkhe.com/blogs/a-beginners-guide-to-post-qualification-admissions/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370505359.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20200401003422-20200401033422-00075.warc.gz | en | 0.964517 | 2,048 | 2.75 | 3 |
The most common treatments for asthma, which is the most prevalent chronic childhood disease, require an inhaler. But a big problem with inhalers, used to deliver steroids and other drugs in an aerosol form, is that children often don’t operate them properly. Parents also worry about side effects from their children’s long-term use of steroids.
Now, a team of scientists, including three from UWM, is poised to dramatically change how physicians treat asthma. They’re developing a drug that would replace steroids as the therapeutic agent, reducing side effects and making treatment as simple as swallowing a pill.
“We would revolutionize the field if we could replace the inhaler,” says Douglas Stafford, director of UWM’s Milwaukee Institute for Drug Discovery, or MIDD. “These are critical design factors that are just as important as drug efficacy.”
Fueled by a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the team of researchers is trying to make the inhaler obsolete. They’re redesigning a drug compound first created by UWM’s James Cook to calm anxiety without dangerous side effects.
A paper published April 25 in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics describes how the researchers have already cleared major hurdles.
Launched in 2011, the MIDD’s dual goals are to advance basic science and develop new pharmaceuticals. The institute encompasses the labs of a dozen UWM faculty members as well as the Shimadzu Laboratory for Advanced and Applied Analytical Chemistry.
Among the Shimadzu lab’s impressive suite of instruments are six state-of-the-art mass spectrometers. The workhorses of new drug development, these machines allow researchers to identify individual compounds and track their distribution in a biological sample.
Cook, distinguished professor of chemistry, is one of UWM’s most prolific inventors. Specializing in natural products, he holds 47 patents or patent applications for drug compounds. More than half are through the UWM Research Foundation, and his body of work is a cornerstone of MIDD research.
The asthma project redirects Cook’s central nervous system-oriented work to an entirely different part of the body. “That’s the value of the MIDD,” Stafford says. “It brings together interdisciplinary teams with an eye toward products that can improve people’s lives.”
More than a dozen collaborators from other institutions are teaming with UWM faculty on drug discovery initiatives aimed at cancer, chronic pain and much more. At least a dozen other groups, including companies such as PhysioGenix and Eurofins, have come to the MIDD for analytical chemistry support on their own projects.
That’s how the asthma project began – with a simple email. Dr. Charles Emala, a Columbia University Medical Center anesthesiologist, wanted to use Cook’s compounds in some research on lung physiology. The experiments weren’t originally intended for finding an asthma treatment, but his findings led down that path.
Over the years, Cook had created a vast library of compounds that tame anxiety, and do so without the threat of sedation or dependence that comes from drugs like Valium and Xanax. The compounds act on a neurotransmitter – a substance that regulates communication among brain cells.
There are dozens of neurotransmitters, and the one that many of Cook’s compounds targeted – called gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA – suppresses brain activity. Taking advantage of this effect, sedatives and anti-seizure drugs do their jobs by enhancing GABA through one or more of its receptors.
Emala had discovered that GABA receptors exist in the lungs. Was it possible to harness those receptors to relax the smooth muscles in the airways of the lungs?
The idea made sense to Stafford. As an immunologist, he’s well-acquainted with the problems of inflammation, a runaway immune response that underlies a host of maladies from asthma to arthritis.
Cook’s GABA-based compound library immediately came to mind.
“Emala’s email was like a Christmas present,” Cook says. “In 2008, our lab had made compounds that might work for this purpose. But lacking biology, they were just put on a shelf.”
The asthma project is halfway into a four-year grant, and the researchers have confirmed that their compounds reduce airway inflammation, while limiting blood-brain barrier exposure. This means the compounds can target GABAA receptors in the lung responsible for asthma symptoms without affecting similar receptors in the brain.
Meanwhile, the UWM Research Foundation has filed three patents on the work so far. It’s just one example of the MIDD’s ambitions and potential.
In the lab
The Shimadzu lab, opened in 2014, has put UWM in the drug development game, Stafford says. Under the direction of Shama Mirza, who’s also an assistant professor of biochemistry, the lab gives researchers tools to advance further in the testing process, answer new questions and work with companies that could eventually bring new drugs to market.
Creating and redesigning chemical compounds is a job tailor-made for mass spectrometry. It allows scientists to dismantle molecules and learn their structure by examining their mass and charge.
The applications are far-ranging, from identifying trace amounts of a contaminant in the environment to revealing the elements contained on planetary surfaces.
In drug discovery, a promising compound must have both a biological target – a protein or cellular process that’s involved in the disease – and a molecule engineered to interact with the target in a certain way. Deciding upon the latter often involves sifting through libraries of premade molecules to see which keys will fit a specific lock.
Mass spectrometry is essential to finding both lock and key. It also reveals where a compound ultimately goes once it enters the body, how fast it is metabolized and is cleared from the body, what amount achieves the desired effect, and how a compound changes when it breaks down in the body.
The further you can go in the process and the more promising it is, Stafford says, the more likely a pharmaceutical company is to license it.
In addition to finding medications that help people, the basic science done while searching for new drugs has an oft-overlooked result: a better understanding of how the body works.
“We want to come up with a drug, but we also want to understand the disease we are studying,” says Alexander “Leggy” Arnold, UWM associate professor of chemistry. “With the help of mass spectrometry, we are making these small molecules that can probe these biological questions. We can find out what is happening in the body.”
For university researchers, it’s relatively rare to have intellectual property licensed by a company. Getting a product all the way to the marketplace is an even longer shot.
Taking a potential drug from the lab bench to the customer usually requires 10 to 15 years and more than a billion dollars of investment. The failure rate along that path is high, with only about 5 percent of candidates reaching your neighborhood pharmacy.
To manage risk, drug companies are relying more and more on academic researchers to conduct the early stages of drug discovery. UWM is a member of the Academic Drug Discovery Consortium, an organization launched in 2012 that coordinates activities among 115 such centers in the United States and nine other countries.
And the MIDD’s work has already resulted in a license. It’s for a compound produced by Arnold to treat ovarian cancer, a lethal disease that often becomes resistant to chemotherapy drugs. Medical consulting group Systems Oncology has an exclusive agreement with the UWM Research Foundation, which manages the patent on Arnold’s work, to pursue commercializing the compound.
New ways to fight cancer
Arnold has always been fascinated by products the body makes – like calcium and vitamin D – as therapeutic targets. Although they’re known for their roles in bone health, vitamin D and calcium do much more.
Arnold has created compounds that harness the “master regulator” of calcium in the body – the vitamin D receptor, or VDR. Activated by metabolic products of vitamin D, the VDR gives instructions to genes for proper cell growth and differentiation, making it a target for slowing the growth of cancer cells.
“Many women know the drug tamoxifen as a savior in the fight against breast cancer,” Arnold says. “That drug’s action is mediated by the estrogen receptor, a close relative of VDR. Initial studies suggest that new drug candidates that bind the VDR can help to fight other cancers.”
In fact, several new anti-cancer drugs in clinical trials are based on vitamin D, but a downside is they might disrupt vital calcium levels over time. Arnold’s compounds alter the VDR’s action selectively, so the drugs can work and not interfere with the calcium regulation needed for normal health.
Another MIDD cancer drug project began with the goal of giving physicians a tool to help decide the best treatment for an aggressive brain cancer. Now the research has produced a drug candidate that is nearly ready for human trials.
Glioblastoma is a death sentence. There is no cure, and less than 10 percent of people diagnosed with it will live for five years. Of those who die before five years, many develop a resistance to the treatment, and their tumors reappear more aggressively than before.
Shama Mirza came to UWM in 2016, but she first encountered the disease while working at the Medical College of Wisconsin. There, she was on a team that supported oncologists as they treated patients. She learned that glioblastoma patients fall into two categories: those who develop a resistance to chemotherapy or radiation therapy and don’t survive very long, and those who are not resistant and live longer.
“Knowing who would benefit from the therapies and who would not – that is the guessing game we are playing now,” Mirza says.
She and her colleagues began looking for a biomarker, a protein that would predict the survival category of glioblastoma patients. “Proteins are the ultimate drug targets because they are responsible for so many life processes,” Mirza says.
The protein they ultimately found is also involved in the cancer’s growth. That presented a chance to seek a better treatment option – a drug that would block the protein, something current treatment does not do effectively.
Mirza and a colleague hit pay dirt by finding an existing compound that inhibits the targeted protein. The compound is already used in other countries to treat a different kind of cancer.
“If the results of human trials agree with our current findings,” Mirza says, “it’s going to be huge for these patients.”
The pain paradox
The annual cost of chronic pain in the U.S. is estimated at $100 billion, which accounts for health care expenses, and lost income and productivity.
At the same time, the U.S. is experiencing an opioid abuse epidemic. More Americans died of a drug overdose in 2015 than any other year on record – and more than half of those deaths involved opioids, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
So, is it possible to pharmaceutically manage real pain while also curbing the abuse of opioids? Supported by the NIH, Cook and Arnold are seeking an answer. They’re developing a non-opiate medication for pain by pursuing the same approach used in the asthma pill project.
Pain drugs like oxycodone, hydrocodone and morphine work by targeting opioid receptors, increasing the flow of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which stimulates the brain’s pleasure center. But with long-term abuse, opioid receptors compensate by limiting dopamine, so users must take more of the drug to maintain the same level of “high.”
Cook and Arnold are seeking a drug that manages pain as effectively as opioids, but without the risk of addiction. They are targeting the GABA receptors instead of opioid receptors, thereby replacing dopamine as the therapeutic agent and using GABA’s capacity to calm the sensation of pain.
Opioids and benzodiazepines like Xanax cause addiction in similar ways. And Cook had originally designed his anti-anxiety compounds to selectively target GABA receptors, thus getting around the problem of sedation and dependence in benzodiazepines.
In 2006, pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb licensed a family of Cook’s anti-anxiety compounds with the intention of putting a new medication on the market. In human trials, however, the company learned that the compounds didn’t remain in the body long enough, so the project was dropped.
Today, Cook’s lab has modified the chemical structure to improve its half-life, and the compounds are again available for licensing through the UWM Research Foundation.
As UWM’s non-opioid drug project progresses, researchers may encounter different side effects associated with GABA agents, Cook says – the loss of muscle coordination, for instance. Or they may just develop a new generation of pain medication with no side effects at all.
Time and testing will tell. | <urn:uuid:ab0c825d-d780-4046-ba3b-df5ca9eb5ef8> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://uwm.edu/news/new-drugs-for-cancer-asthma/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371810807.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20200408072713-20200408103213-00275.warc.gz | en | 0.949552 | 2,769 | 2.984375 | 3 |
by Matthew Davies, Executive Dean, School of Social Sciences, History and Philosophy and Professor of Urban History.
British History Online contains an extensive range of sources for urban history from the early medieval period to the 20th century. There is a particularly rich array of source material for the history of London, which during this period grew from a city of some 80,000 people into one of the world’s largest metropolises. But there are also important sources for other towns and cities in the British Isles, reflecting the increasingly rapid urbanisation that took place in the middle ages and the early modern period, and the impact of industrialisation in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The extensive sources available through British History Online range from personal records such as diaries and wills, to chronicles and descriptions of the history and physical appearance of towns and cities, and the extensive and rich records of government, the judiciary and institutions such as parishes, guilds and societies and associations.
History and topography
The forerunners of today’s urban historians were the chroniclers and antiquaries who wrote about the origins and development of towns and cities from the medieval period onwards. On British History Online these are represented by a number of London chronicles of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and by later works such as John Stow’s Survey of London (1603 edition), Daniel Lysons’ The Environs of London (1752), John Noorthouk’s New History of London (1773), and Walter Thornbury’s Old and New London (1878). Henry Harben’s Dictionary of London (1912) remains an invaluable reference work for the city’s streets and principal buildings. Equivalent works for other centres include Eneas Mackenzie’s Descriptive and Historical Account of the Town and County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1828).
Arising from a pioneering research project, the Historical Gazetteer of London before the Great Fire (part 1) provides extremely detailed histories of the properties in five City of London parishes, centred on the wealthy Cheapside area, from the eleventh century until the 1660s.
The volumes published by the Survey of London are a meticulous and detailed guide to the physical development of London’s streets and buildings. Some 47 volumes have been digitised, the most recent being the two published in 2008 which dealt with Clerkenwell.
The digitised volumes of the Victoria County History (VCH) contain a great deal of material relating to the history of English towns and cities, including Birmingham, Cambridge, Burton-upon-Trent and many others, contained within volumes devoted to their respective counties. For London, some of the present-day London boroughs were studied in VCH volumes for Middlesex, Essex and Surrey. The City of London itself was the subject of just one VCH volume, published in 1908 and dealing with the religious houses. The latter was superseded by a volume published in 2008 containing accounts of the religious houses in both London and Middlesex, which is available from the Institute of Historical Research.
Copies of early printed London maps are also included on British History Online, providing a visual context to the written sources. They include the so-called ‘Agas’ map of the 1550s and William Morgan’s detailed survey of 1682.
Politics, law and government
Some of the earliest publications of records relating to Britain’s urban centres focused on their legal and governmental histories, reflecting the preoccupations of historians in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with institutional and legal structures. Again, London is especially well represented, with digitised versions of the printed Calendars of Letter Books (11 volumes, A-L), Plea and Memoranda Rolls, and Husting Rolls, and the printed index to the series of records known as the Remembrancia, providing a set of key resources for the study of the government of medieval and early modern London. These are supplemented by invaluable biographical works such as A. B. Beaven’s, The Aldermen of the City of London, and J. R. Woodhead’s The Rulers of London, which contains over 1,400 biographical records for members of the Courts of Aldermen and of Common Council from 1660 to 1689. The records for other towns and cities include Charters and Documents relating to the City of Glasgow, five volumes of records for the city of Cardiff (medieval to modern), and records of those admitted to the freedom of the city of York. Several valuable Historical Manuscript Commission reports describe, in varying degrees of detail, urban records from towns such as Bury St Edmunds, Lincoln, Hereford, Southampton, Coventry, King’s Lynn and Exeter. Some of the volumes contain full transcripts, others briefly list the archives.
Other legal records include assize records for London, nine digitised volumes of the calendared records of the Middlesex Sessions from 1550 onwards, the Justicing Notebook of Henry Norris, the Hackney Petty Sessions Book, and more than 6,000 cases from the medieval Court of Common Pleas involving Londoners and litigants from across England (1399-1509).
Demography, economy and society
While many of the sources described above also provide information about the inhabitants of towns and cities, other resources on British History Online are specifically concerned with urban populations and economic development. For England and Wales as a whole, the Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs, developed by the Centre for Metropolitan History, is a comprehensive resource that documents royal grants of markets and fairs—in settlements of all kinds, not just towns, until the early sixteenth century. For the population of early modern London, taxation records are rich and invaluable sources: British History Online includes a number of such records, including Two Tudor Subsidy Rolls (London Record Society), data from the 1666 Hearth Tax Returns for London and Middlesex, the 1693-4 ‘4s. in the £’ tax, and indexes to the 1695 Marriage Duty Assessments, the latter published by the London Record Society. There are also taxation records for other towns, including York. London’s economy and people can also be studied using the records of some of the city’s ‘livery companies’ (craft and merchant guilds), including the Carpenters and Merchant Taylors. There is also a biographical database of physicians and medical practitioners who were active in London from the mid sixteenth to the mid seventeenth centuries. Useful too is the Dictionary of Traded Goods and Commodities, produced by the University of Wolverhampton. Finally, British History Online has medieval and early modern records of the important trading ports of Bristol and London.
As well as the biographical dictionaries of urban rulers and occupations, described above, there are also a number of useful sources relating to the personal and business lives of inhabitants. They include the edited letter books of London merchants John Paige and Joshua Johnson, the famous diary of the mid sixteenth-century London funeral arranger Henry Machyn, and wills and inventories for the inhabitants of several towns and cities, including Lincoln and London.
As well as the Victoria County History, which deals in detail with the development of parishes and religious houses across England, British History Online provides an array of sources for the religious history of towns and cities. For London these include parish records of different kinds (vestry minutes, churchwardens’ accounts, fraternity registers) for several parishes, as well as tithe assessments. The Historical Gazetteer of London, cited above, also includes accounts of the five parish churches covered in the study area. London is well represented in the records for religious houses (e.g. Greyfriars, Holy Trinity Aldgate), but there are also important records for monasteries in Cheshire, Staffordshire, Cumberland and Westmorland and elsewhere. Two Historical Manuscripts Commission volumes deal extensively with the records of the Dean and Chapter of Wells Cathedral, which include a great deal of material relating to the town itself such as property records. While much more wide-ranging in their coverage, the Calendars of Papal Registers (1198-1492) have many references to towns and cities, as well as to individuals such as merchants and clerics.
London Record Society
Many of the digitised sources for urban history on British History Online were published by county or local record societies. Of particular importance for the history of London are 32 volumes published by the London Record Society, with more likely to be added. They reflect a wide range of sources/themes for London’s history, including parish records, letters and diaries, taxation and population listings, records of clubs and societies, and legal records, and they cover all periods in London’s history from the twelfth to the twentieth centuries.
The broad coverage of British History Online means that there are many other sources which include information about Britain’s towns and cities and their inhabitants, but which are not specifically ‘urban’ in their origin or general focus. In particular, some of the long runs of official publications are worth searching and browsing, including the Calendars of Close Rolls and the Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII. Parliamentary records, such as the journals of the House of Commons and House of Lords, and the medieval Rolls of Parliament, frequently deal with matters concerning towns and cities.
Strengths and weaknesses
London history is a particular strength of British History Online, a result in part of the number of published sources available compared with other towns and cities, but also the partnerships between British History Online and the London Record Society and the Survey of London, which between them account for almost 80 publications. The coverage of other urban centres is patchier, although the VCH volumes provide very useful surveys of a number of English towns and cities, and there are some important runs of publications from the Historical Manuscripts Commission as well as from other local record societies.
The range and quantity of material on British History Online means that searches are sometimes best undertaken within particular publications or publication series, especially if common terms/names are used. Generally, phrase searches will help to cut down the number of results. Some publications include digitised indexes, which can be helpful when looking for individuals but should be treated with caution as few tend to treat subjects as thoroughly as names or places.
The Cambridge Urban History of Britain, vols. 1-3, ed. P Clark (Cambridge, 2000).
I W Archer, The Pursuit of Stability: Social Relations in Elizabethan London (Cambridge, 1991; 2003)
C M Barron, London 1300-1550: Government and People (Oxford, 2004)
R Dennis, Cities in Modernity: Representations and Productions of Metropolitan Space, 1840-1930 (Cambridge, 2009)
H J Dyos, Exploring the Urban Past: Essays in Urban History, ed. D. N. Cannadine and D. Reeder (Cambridge, 1982)
P Griffiths and M S R Jenner, Londinopolis: Essays in the Cultural and Social History of Early Modern London (Manchester, 2000)
Readers in Urban History: The English Medieval Town 1200–1540, ed. R Holt and G Rosser; The Tudor and Stuart Town, 1530–1688, ed. J Barry; The Eighteenth Century Town 1688–1820, ed. P Borsay (all Harlow, 1990); and The Victorian City 1820–1914, ed. R. J. Morris and R. Rodger (Harlow, 1993) | <urn:uuid:42103523-dde0-4974-9b32-3b3d8da5a20f> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.british-history.ac.uk/using-bho/urban-guide | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371880945.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20200409220932-20200410011432-00554.warc.gz | en | 0.932767 | 2,420 | 2.921875 | 3 |
The spiritual maxim of St. Louis de Montfort sums up succinctly what has been reiterated since ancient times: Ad Jesum per Mariam. The fruit of Marian devotion is union with her divine Son. The Second Vatican Council’s dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium stated that the Church regards devotion to the Mother of God as important because she “occupies a place in the Church which is the highest after Christ and yet very close to us” (No. 54). The Church’s Marian devotion are well put in the words of Pope St. John Paul II’s 2002 encyclical Rosarium Virginis Mariae: “among creatures no one knows Christ better than Mary; no one can introduce us to a profound knowledge of his mystery better than his Mother” (No. 14).
There is, perhaps, no more beloved Marian devotion than the Rosary. It offers an opportunity for meditative reflection on the mysteries of Christ’s life and Mary’s — and a prism through which to reflect on our own Christian lives.
Aside from the Rosary, other forms of Marian prayer, also called “rosaries” and sometimes called chaplets — have emerged in the life of the Church over the centuries. Notably among these is the “Servite Rosary,” also known as the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows or the Chaplet of the Sorrowful Mother. This prayer has been a part of the Church’s devotional life since the 13th century.
The history of the Servite Rosary is traced back to 1240, when seven young professional men retreated into the hills outside Florence, Italy. Contemporaries of St. Dominic, they sought to establish a new religious order called the Servites, dedicated to a life of prayer, penance and service in the name of Our Lord and his Blessed Mother. They promoted devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows as an opportunity to venerate, alongside her crucified Son, his sorrowful Mother (see Jn 19: 25-27).
Through the ages, many saints have also worked to foster devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows, including St. Bridget of Sweden. In the 18th century, Redemptorist founder St. Alphonsus Liguori worked to foster devotion to the Blessed Mother, drawing fresh attention to the Mother of Sorrows. His famous series “The Glories of Mary” contains meditations on Mary’s sorrows, still popular today.
The Servite Rosary takes on the shape and form of the popular Rosary. Instead of the mysteries, there are seven sorrows in the life of Mary proposed for meditation. Along with opening and closing prayers unique to the devotion, the Servite Rosary ends with three Hail Marys, which represent Mary’s tears. And, instead of reciting five decades of Hail Marys in a given set of mysteries of the Rosary, there are seven septets of Aves.
In many ways, this devotion helps one to reflect on his or her own personal sinfulness. Every human being who ever lived or will live is responsible for the crucifixion of our Lord, as the Catechism states (see No. 598). Therefore, the heart of Mary’s sorrow is found in the harsh reality that her Son was born so as to die — for our sins. Everything about his life aims toward the Cross. Indeed the entire Christ-event occurred to bring redemption — the forgiveness of our offenses against God. But not only do our sins damage or destroy our relationship with God, but sin affects the entirety human solidarity (see CCC, No. 1872) and introduces realities such as suffering (see CCC, No. 418). When we reflect on Mary’s sorrow, we come face to face with that reality; the Sorrowful Mother is sorrowful because of our sins.
In Scripture, seven occasions of intense sorrow and grief in Mary’s life are recorded. Devotions like the Servite Rosary enable devotees of Mary’s sorrows to encounter the many facets of human grief and sorrow that were part of the Blessed Mother’s life.
Devotion to Mary’s sorrows affords the opportunity to ponder her who is “full of grace” and chosen by God to be his Mother. Chosenness often is associated with something exceptional and honorable, especially if God is the chooser. Devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows helps us to remember that the favor God shows us is not immune from suffering. Just as Mary was chosen by God to be an integral part of salvation history, meditating on her experiences of grief and sorrow allow us to understand that God is alive and active even in those same experiences in our lives. In Mary’s suffering we can find a way to understand our suffering. What follows are some reflections to assist in meditating on this reality.
The Seven Sorrows of Mary
The first sorrow, in many ways, lays the foundation for the others. New parents know the joy and awe that surrounds the first months after a child is born, particularly with the first-born. Forty days after giving birth, when Jesus is just under 6 weeks old, Mary and St. Joseph bring him to be presented to God at the Jerusalem Temple (see Lk 2: 22-24). This act of worship and thanksgiving, customary for the parents of any first-born Jewish male, was presumably a day of joy for the young mother. Her joy was turned to amazement, St. Luke says in his Gospel, when the prophetic Simeon acknowledged Jesus to be Israel’s long-awaited Messiah. And yet, in the midst of her joy, a curtain falls when Simeon declares, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Lk 2: 34-35). This sorrow illustrates how God’s ways are not our own; joy and sorrow are intertwined to achieve God’s purposes. For this reason, Mary willingly and lovingly embraced all her sorrows and sufferings even when she embraced God’s plan for her at the Annunciation.
Fleeing to Egypt
Immediate action was taken by St. Joseph following the stark warning he received in a dream (see Mt 2: 13). It was necessary to deliver the Christ child from the threats of murderous Herod who sought to slaughter the newborn king he heard about from the Magi. St. Joseph guided his holy family to Egypt, as the Lord’s angel had directed. The joy of Mary’s motherhood is crushed further as the Holy Family must take on status as émigrés. As a loving mother, Mary must now be strong for her divine Son in the face of hardship and uncertainty. Jesus, Mary and Joseph become strangers in a strange land. They put their trust in God, not knowing the next steps of his plan. And in doing so they teach us how to turn pain into an act of faith and prayer.
Losing Jesus in Jerusalem
When Jesus was 12, the Holy Family made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover (see Lk 2: 41-52). On the return home, the Christ child’s parents thought he was with the caravan returning to Nazareth. When they came to find he was not with anyone, they broke away from the caravan and returned to the city to look for Jesus — symbolically searching for three days. A parent cannot imagine the grief that would have its clutches on the human heart in such a moment. Undoubtedly the self-doubts and self-blame were surely paralyzing. What does Mary think when she finds Jesus in the Temple? Readers learn of no practical explanations for this event in the Gospel. Could Jesus have told someone about his plan, and the news did not reach his holy parents? Was he just an obnoxious teenager who chose to do his own thing? It seems none such option is the case. Rather, it is made clear that Jesus is single-hearted in doing God’s will already in his youth. Here Jesus models primacy of obedience to God’s will, which can often leave others amazed and afraid as he did years later with the Apostles (see Mk 10: 32). Mary no doubt pondered mysterious and awesome occasions like this in her heart (see Lk 2: 19), wrestling to discern their purpose — never gaining full clarity until years later at the Cross.
Meeting Jesus on the Via Dolorosa
The Gospels do not tell us when Jesus would have seen his mother for the last time. In fact, we are not told much about her at all during Jesus’ public life and ministry. And, in this fourth sorrow, Mary encounters her beaten and bloodied Son as makes his way to the site of his execution. Imagine Mary’s shock when she learned of her Son’s unwarranted arrest and the death sentence following his mock trial at Pilate’s praetorium. What must it have been like for Mary? She knew her Son was conceived by God’s power, and yet he is subjected to the most humiliating, degrading and unjust of human experiences. Here, Mary witnesses for us what it is like to trust in God, even when it seems as if there is no reason to do so. She is unafraid to accompany her Son to his death, modeling for us that love of God should matter above all else. Here we learn from the ‘school of Mary’ that in our grief, like in that of Mary, our primary concern in all things should be her Son.
Jesus Expires on the Cross
St. John’s Gospel states that Mary was standing at the foot of Jesus’ Cross (see Jn 19: 25). And this is not a minor detail. As is the case with cultural and societal norms, there would have been expectations for how a woman in Mary’s situation would have acted and behaved. Public displays of grief were not uncommon, perhaps even expected. Mary should have been flailing around in misery at the execution of her Son. But what would that have proven? Such grief would have been a slap in the face to God. Such behavior would have been a denial of God’s plan. Standing was a sign of strength and determination. By standing at the Cross, Mary is showing to all around — and us as well — that she knows that her Son’s death is not the end of his story. Mary is an icon of faith at the Cross, but that does not take away her sorrow. It does not take away the pain of watching her Son gasp for breaths and speak his final words. It does not take away the fleeting moments of doubt that can plague the minds of even the greatest saints. In the end, Jesus was not alone in his suffering at Calvary. His was not the only heart pierced with a sword there. Mary’s was too, albeit figuratively — fulfilling Simeon’s prophecy.
Jesus is Taken from the Cross
A mother has untold hopes and dreams for the babe she cradles in her arms. Mothers are never supposed to find those dreams to be dashed, similarly holding her child’s lifeless body in her arms. That is an incomparable grief — a finality no mother ever imagines possible.
What makes it worse is that Mary’s Son is executed. There is nothing natural about his death, as if that would make matters any better. But given the circumstances, there is all the more possibility for hatred to occupy the heart. And yet for Mary it does not.
Michelangelo’s famous sculpture of this sixth sorrow is one of the most recognizable pieces of art in Christendom — The Pietà. In his portrayal of this event, Mary appears very young, perhaps even younger than her lifeless Son. That is an illustration of her purity — as the immaculate one there is nothing of the sin and evil that only corrupts. Rather, as if in prayer, Mary gives thanks for her Son. She has faith in God’s plan, living in the hope of God’s promise. Here, Mary knows only love as she gazes on him who just performed love’s greatest act. Mary shows humanity that it is possible to live in a way that is contrary to all the instincts directed by sin. Here, in her sorrow, Mary transforms hate into love by mirroring her Son.
Jesus is Buried
Jesus and Mary are of simple means. As his sole surviving family member, Mary is unable to provide her Son a grave. In humility she must depend on the charity of many, such as St. Joseph of Arimathea, who gives up his own grave for Jesus’ use. And Mary and the other women presumably want to do nothing more than to attend to the body of their beloved Jesus. But as Jewish laws require, they must wait until the Sabbath is over.
Burial has attached to it all the connotations of life’s final curtain call. There is no way around it. Many families today opt for more cosmetic burials of their loved ones, choosing to say their last farewells — if burial is even chosen, in the comfort of a cemetery chapel rather than at the cold, stark graveside. It makes the loved one’s death all too real. The full weight of what happened on that Good Friday must have weighed immensely on Mary at that moment. But is death a problem to be avoided or a step in the soul’s life to be embraced?
This sorrow is presumed of the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ burial, and kept alive by tradition. Mary shows us that burial is an opportunity to live as an icon of hope. Rather than allowing herself be crippled by despair, despite the anguish and pain, Mary accompanies her Son’s body to the finality of the grave. Mary witnesses to the hope that should be ours as we each bid farewell to our loved ones assured by the hope of the resurrection of the body we profess to believe. Mary’s hope indicates that within her heart there is a glimmer of the joy that awaits her on Easter morning, when her tears will be turned into the dancing promised by the Psalmist (see 30: 12) because God is faithful.
Michael R. Heinlein is editor of Simply Catholic. Follow him on Twitter @HeinleinMichael. | <urn:uuid:78a3fa3b-b2f1-48c2-afca-337cd993f10d> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://simplycatholic.com/tag/mary/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370494064.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20200329074745-20200329104745-00274.warc.gz | en | 0.970129 | 3,028 | 2.6875 | 3 |
From surviving documents we know that the development of theories has not always been an undisturbed, steady progress. Instead, there have been many upheavals on their road from antiquity until our time. Inherited doctrines have been several times replaced with new ones and many venerable professionals have eventually lost their authority. Such state of things is, of course, not uncommon in research activity. Fundamental revisions of theories have occurred, even successively, in the history of many branches of science. Some historians of science believe that revolutions belong to the normal and even inevitable development of any branch of science. These researchers think that there are recurring patterns, "laws of evolution" that most sciences follow. Some of them are presented by Thomas Kuhn in the book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
Each science that we know today has begun with a chaos of isolated suggestions by solitary authors. Today we would call these suggestions "hypotheses" and we would expect them to be tested and become either accepted or rejected. However, in their time there were few means to test the validity of these hypotheses because of the absence of scientific methodology. Those hypotheses that (as we now know) would have been most fruitful for scientific development were not selected as the basis of subsequent study more often than the bad ones. In other words, research was not self correcting but continued in haphazard directions as long as resources could be found for such futile work.
This "preparadigmatic" confusion was destined to last until the first researcher was able to create so extensive theoretical models that they covered not only his own findings but also those of some other researchers, and this new theory gained general acceptance. If practical applications could be expected from the new theory, it would also boost its acceptance and help finding the finances for further work; however before 18 century practical benefits from science were seldom expected.
An often quoted example of the preparadigmatic phase of science was the era of alchemy which ended only in 17 century with the advent of the earliest reliable theories of chemistry. Another example is given by Kuhn (p.13). He describes the situation in optics before Isaac Newton gave this science its first durable basis:
"Being able to take no common body of belief for granted, each writer on physical optics felt forced to build his field anew from its foundations. In doing so, his choice of supporting observation and experiment was relatively free, for there was no standard set of methods or of phenomena."
The preparadigmatic period often persists for a long time because there are many obstacles in finding the first general theory for a field of science. They include:
Pseudo-science. Sometimes it happens that
researchers in a preparadigmatic field of exploration manage to gather resources and
organize themselves ostensibly like a real institution of science. For example, alchemy
and astrology could in their heyday occasionally find patrons who would pay the
expenses of research; today tobacco industry is such a patron to those scientists that
can find evidence against the dangers of tobacco. Scientology is another modern
example of pseudo-science.
The proponents of pseudo-science usually declare themselves to be honest scientists; however the distinction to real science can easily be seen by noting the following characteristic traits of pseudo-science:
Creation of an independent and operational paradigm marks the turning point on the road to new science. This road is always a collective process of several researchers and it entails normally the following advancements in generally applied practices of study:
The process of amalgamation of initially separate scientific theories has been studied by many historians of science, among others by George Santayana (p. 267) who attributes the original idea of scientific unity to Heraclitus: "Men asleep live each in his own world, but awake they live in the same world together" ... "Languages and religions are necessarily rivals, but sciences are necessarily allies." ... Besides, Santayana describes the process in a beautiful parable:
"A geographer in China and one in Babylon may at first make wholly unlike maps; but in time both will take note of the Himalayas, and the side each approaches will slope up to the very crest approached by the other."
An important factor in the evolution of a branch of science is its ability to respond to the requirements of society, in other words how accurately the internal system of science can detect external needs and problems and steer its own activity accordingly. Both in descriptive and normative research there are mechanisms for this task, but they work quite differently.
The traditional self-corrective procedure of descriptive science is based on verification, the mutual peer criticism of all published descriptive research findings, as is explained in Assessing Theoretical Output. It quite effectively points out results that seem not credible because of bad research methods, of insufficient empirical data or even of faked data. While this is an admirable mechanism in itself, we should keep in mind that it does nothing to discourage scientific work that is correctly made but useless because the problem has no practical interest. This type of "normal science" is, indeed, only too common in universities where research is funded not by users of the results but by the community. Kuhn, 20, describes its results as follows:
"The creative scientist can ... concentrate exclusively upon the subtlest and most esoteric aspects of the natural phenomena that concern his group. And as he does this, his research communiqués will begin to change in ways ... whose modern end products are obvious to all and oppressive to many. ... They will usually appear as brief articles addressed only to professional colleagues, the men whose knowledge of a shared paradigm can be assumed and who prove to be the only ones able to read the papers."
It could be interesting here to recall the system of self-correction in normative science where the principal criterion is the utility of the findings. The close contact with practice helps in directing research into those topics that industry and the non-scientific community regard as important, and it also tests the utility of each research project and the results that are achieved when applying the findings into practice.
It would certainly not be judicious to propose replacing verification with utility testing in descriptive research projects, but it might be possible to include utility appraisal in an early phase of a descriptive project, in its project planning stage. It could help in guiding the objectives of the study and its whole content into a direction more acceptable to the world outside the normal-science community, while preserving or even augmenting its scientific merit, as well.
The progress in most sciences does not advance at uniform speed. On the contrary, it often happens that several great discoveries are made during a short interval, after which the progress gradually slows down and no spectacular findings turn up for a long time. This frequently occurring pattern has been cleverly explained by Thomas Kuhn who has also given names to these two alternating phases of research: normal science and scientific revolution.
During the period of normal science the scientists cultivate an existing paradigm which includes those theoretical concepts that most scientists in this field approve. They pertain to the basic nature of the objects of study and how they shall be viewed, approached and measured; research methods; models that describe or explain the phenomena; the accumulated bank of data.
In normal-scientific research the areas of study and of theory grow steadily, but this is done cautiously: most scientists prefer to articulate those phenomena and theories that the paradigm already supplies (Kuhn p.24).
As long as the paradigm functions satisfactorily, scientists do not aim to invent new theories, and they are often intolerant of the theories proposed by others. This seemingly conservative tactic has a rational explanation: it improves the productivity of research.
"More than one theoretical construction can always be placed upon a given collection of data. History of science indicates that, particularly in the early developmental stages of a new paradigm, it is not even very difficult to invent such alternates. But that invention of alternates is just what scientists seldom undertake except during the pre-paradigm stage of their science's development and at very special occasions during its subsequent evolution. So long as the tools a paradigm supplies continue to prove capable of solving the problems it defines, science moves fastest and penetrates most deeply through confident employment of those tools. The reason is clear. As in manufacture so in science -- retooling is an extravagance to be reserved for the occasion that demands it" (Kuhn p.76).
The productivity of normal science that Kuhn speaks of, means apparently such things as the yearly number of theses, of published pages and of reciprocal references to publications -- in other words, productivity as measured from inside the scientific community. High productivity of this kind is typical of government-financed research institutions which can often select the problems to be studied so that they can do research on the basis of earlier models and perhaps also repeat the approaches of earlier investigations.
Note, however, that productivity is not always equal to efficiency as measured from outside the scientific community, not to speak of the utility of research publications. For example, aesthetics, the study of art and beauty, has now continued over 2000 years, but are we getting today more beautiful works of art with its help?
Anyway, the normal science mode of study continues in most fields from generation to generation and its theory grows consistently. Eventually it can turn out that there are some anomalies, i.e. empirical cases which are in conflict with the paradigm. The normal strategy then is to inspect if existing theory could be adjusted to conform to these anomalies; if this is impossible the normal routine is to leave the disturbing anomalies in peace as unsolved problems, for the moment. The old paradigm will not be rejected just for the reason that there are some anomalies.
"Once it has achieved the status of paradigm, a scientific theory is declared invalid only if an alternate candidate is available to take its place ... The decision to reject one paradigm is always simultaneously the decision to accept another" (Kuhn, 77).
In descriptive sciences a change of paradigm, which Kuhn calls scientific revolution is possible only when there is available a new theory in concord with all the evidence, including the anomalies and also all those instances which were covered by the old theory. Even then, the revolution is not over at once -- it is not uncommon that established scholars in the field of study stick quite a while to the old paradigm in the hope of preserving their authority.
August 3, 2007.
Comments to the author:
Original location: http://www2.uiah.fi/projects/metodi | <urn:uuid:7cefba48-5d5a-4616-94d6-5a5e0fe10156> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | http://www2.uiah.fi/projekti/metodi/124.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371880945.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20200409220932-20200410011432-00555.warc.gz | en | 0.965934 | 2,142 | 2.921875 | 3 |
There was a special session at the Division of Planetary Sciences meeting on 2008 TC3 today (called "From the Heavens to the Earth: The 2008 TC3 / Almahata Sitta Ureilite Fall"), with presentations on the discovery and observations of 2008 TC3 in space, the discovery of meteorites on the ground, and detailed analysis of those meteorites. There was no Earth-shakingly new science in any of the abstracts or the associated press release. They did note that the asteroid is "among the most cooked of all known meteorites" yet it still contains "polycyclic aromatic hyrdrocarbons in high abundances" and "amazingly...some amino acids have survived." I think the coolest thing released today were these two videos. The first represents actual telescopic images of 2008 TC3. The video is sped up of course, but even accounting for the fact that it's a time-lapse video I get a real sense of how incredibly speedily 2008 TC3 must have been moving across the sky from the incredible smear and rate of motion of the star trails.
Video by Marek Kozubal and Ron Dantowitz of Clay Center Observatory in Brookline, Massachusetts. steroid 2008 TC3 in the hours before impact as seen in telescopic observations tracking the asteroid. This video covers about half an hour of observations and includes 428 frames.
ou hopefully noticed in the video how 2008 TC3 seems to be twinkling. That's not the usual twinkling of a star in the atmosphere. It's much stronger than that, and is real brightness variations caused by the rotation of the asteroid, which must be decidedly non-spherical. Today's press release says it "was shaped like a loaf of walnut-raisin bread," though why on Earth they were so specific about the type of bread escapes me. (Why not ciabatta bread? What if I'm allergic to nuts?) Anyway, the point is that the asteroid was shaped kind of like a flat pebble, and its tumbling rotation brought different-shaped faces into sunlight at different times, making its brightness vary as seen through a telescope. The press release wasn't specific about how P. Scheirich of Ondrejov Observatory, who is credited with this video, developed the shape model, but presumably it's some kind of inversion of the actual data on how the asteroid's brightness varied with time (also known as the asteroid's "light curve").
Animation by P. Scheirich (Ondrejov Observatory). umbling asteroid 2008 TC3 as it would have appeared on approach to Earth on October 6, 2008. The motion has been accelerated: the full video covers a period of 12 minutes.
ater this year there is going to be a workshop in Sudan on the asteroid and its associated meteorites, followed by a field trip to search for more. I wish I could go, but I can't!
Here's the transcript of my podcast.
Hi, I'm Emily Lakdawalla, and I write for The Planetary Society's website at planetary dot org slash blog. Today I'm remembering the impact of two thousand eight TC3, an asteroid that crashed into Earth a year ago today.
Both amateur and professional astronomers discover new near-Earth asteroids practically every day. And it's also pretty common for people standing on the ground to see a fireball streaking through the sky as a small asteroid burns up in the atmosphere. But until last year, no one had ever discovered a near-Earth asteroid that was going to hit Earth with 100 percent certainty. TC3 was the first. And it all happened really fast.
NASA / Catalina Sky Survey
Asteroid 2008 TC3 discovery images
At 06:38 UTC on October 6, astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey discovered an object provisionally called 8TA9D69 that appeared to be on a collision course with Earth.
On October 6, two thousand and eight, astronomers at the University of Arizona were doing routine sky surveys to look for near-Earth asteroids. It was nighttime in Arizona, of course, but in order to tell this story without hopeless confusion I'll have to use Universal Time.
So it was almost oh seven hundred universal time when the Arizona astronomers detected something moving against the background of known stars. Some quick computer work revealed that the object was new. But the computer also spat out an orbital path for the object that was a huge surprise: the predicted path intersected the path of Earth. The new object was on a collision course. The University of Arizona team submitted their observation to the Minor Planet Center, a clearinghouse for orbital data on the thousands upon thousands of tiny rocks that wander around the solar system. A little later, two more Arizona observatories spotted the object, and all of them arrived at the stunning conclusion that it was going to hit Earth.
Soon the rotation of Earth carried the new object out of view from Arizona and California; its position was now over the vast Pacific ocean. No one in Hawaii seems to have spotted it that night. More hours passed. The rotation of Earth finally brought sunset to Australia. In Moorook, near Adelaide in southern Australia, a remotely operated Global Rent-A-Scope instrument picked up the object too. With the Australian observation in hand, the Minor Planet Center finally had a long enough observational arc to issue a Minor Planet Electronic Circular. This was at about fifteen hundred hours Universal Time, eight hours after the initial discovery. The Minor Planet Center named the body two thousand eight TC3 and advised the astronomical community that, quote, "The nominal orbit given above has two thousand eight TC3 coming to within one earth radius around Oct. 7. The absolute magnitude indicates that the object will not survive passage through the atmosphere. Steve Chesley of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory reports that atmospheric entry will occur over northern Sudan." End of quote. The impact was predicted to occur less than thirteen hours after the circular was issued.
TC3 was so close and so dim that astronomers knew it was small, no more than a few meters across and maybe 80 tons in mass. This was a relief; such a small object would probably burn up and pose no risk to anything on the ground, especially since it was predicted to hit Earth in a remote and relatively unpopulated area of the Nubian desert. But this was the first time ever that an object had been seen before it was to hit Earth, and astronomers around the world scrambled to their telescopes to observe it.
They had to hurry; not only was the impact predicted to happen in less than thirteen hours, but TC3 would actually pass into Earth's shadow an hour before it hit. The discovery was too late for anyone in the Americas to spot it; now it was up to Asians, Europeans, and Africans.
I think most astronomers racing to their telescopes on the night of October six and seven did so mostly for the sheer thrill of tracking and following a heavenly body that was going to crash into Earth. But the observations had a more important purpose: to refine the orbit of the object, which would, in turn, improve astronomers' predictions of where it'd hit. Over the next eleven hours, twenty-four Minor Planet Electronic Circulars were issued with further details, pinning down TC3's flight path with high precision. Some of the observers were professionals, but the majority of the observations were done by amateurs, people who might be businessmen or bankers during the day but who harbored a passion for stargazing at night.
Astronomers weren't only gathering positional information. They were also racing to study TC3's color. Asteroids in space are classified according to the different ways they reflect and emit light. Using the science of spectroscopy, careful measurement of their brightness at different wavelengths of light gives scientists clues about an asteroid's composition, whether it's rocky or metallic, old and weathered or young and freshly broken. Professional astronomers at Armagh [ar-MAH] observatory in Ireland scrambled to spot TC3 and managed to record its spectra. Shortly later, the William Herschel telescope in the Canary Islands managed the same feat.
TC3 was so close to Earth that the different observing angles of different observers on different parts of the globe made its position appear to shift against background stars due to parallax. Parallax allowed the Minor Planet Center and the professional asteroid watchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, or JPL, to predict its orbit with much greater precision than usual. The initial impact prediction was formally confirmed by JPL scientist Paul Chodas [CHO-duss] just an hour before its predicted impact time, oh two forty-six UTC.
Astronomers in Spain were the last to record an image. In fact, they captured a movie that showed TC3 winking out as it crossed into Earth's shadow, hiding it from view for its final hour of existence. With that, time had run out to observe the asteroid.
As TC3 entered the atmosphere, it began to compress the air in front of it. Do you remember the ideal gas law from high school chemistry? Pressure is proportional to temperature -- so if you jack up the pressure, so goes the temperature. Pretty soon, the incoming asteroid made the air so hot that it incandesced, glowing in visible light. TC3 had started out as a dim dark rock, but now it was a brilliant fireball.
One resourceful astronomy enthusiast, an aviation meteorologist at the Dutch National Weather Service, called an official at the Amsterdam airport and alerted him about the incoming asteroid. He radioed crews of planes in the air over northeastern Africa and told them to look out for the fireball. Amazingly, the alert worked! A KLM airliner that was about fourteen hundred kilometers to the southwest of the predicted atmospheric entry point observed a short flash just before the expected impact time.
Peter Brown, University of Western Ontario
Detection of the 2008 TC3 impact by infrasound
An infrasound station (intended for the detection of seismic events) in Kenya recorded the blast associated with the atmospheric entry of asteroid 2008 TC3 over Sudan.
Another detection came not from the flash but from the boom. A seismologist from the University of Western Ontario in Canada examined records from an infrasonic array, a set of remotely operated devices designed to listen for earthquakes. He found that he'd detected a one to two-kiloton blast just before the predicted impact time.
And that was it, for a while. TC3 had come in, excited the astronomical community, and then vanished.
But it turns out that wasn't the whole story. The next morning, on October 7, the Muslim faithful of the Nubian desert emerged from morning prayers to see a sky filled with twisted, white, smoky streaks. Faced with this strange phenomenon, the Sudanese villagers did what any citizens of the twenty-first century would do -- they took photos of the sky with their cell phones and shared them with their friends and relations.
A few months later, Peter Jenniskens, a meteor astronomer at NASA's Ames Research Center, contacted Muawia Shaddad, a physicist at the University of Khartoum. Together the two men organized an expedition to the Nubian desert to search for any fragments of the asteroid that might have survived the fireball.
In December, Jenniskens, Shaddad, and 45 students and staff set off from Station 6 of the local railway line along the flight trajectory of TC3. Quickly one of the students, Mohammed Alameen, found a black odd-looking rock that looked like a meteorite. It proved to be the first fragment of 2008 TC3, now named "Almahata Sitta," Arabic for "Station 6." Over several weeks, the expedition collected nearly 280 pieces of the asteroid strewn over 29 kilometers of desert. Altogether the meteorites weighed less than 5 kilograms -- all that remained of the 80-ton asteroid.
It was a remarkable find: For the first time ever a celestial body that was observed in space was subsequently collected on the ground on Earth and made available for laboratory study. Spectral measurements were compared with the direct analysis of the meteorite shards. The two studies agreed closely, reassuring astronomers that spectral analysis really is a reliable way to understand the composition of small asteroids. The close correspondence suggested that small bodies like TC3 aren't heavily coated with dust, which can distort spectroscopic measurements of larger objects.
All in all, I think the episode of 2008 TC3 has proven that the world's astronomical community, made up of amateurs and professionals both, is prepared to respond when an object on a collision course is detected. Within just a few hours of its discovery, the digitally connected world knew exactly where and when TC3 would hit, and also that it posed no threat. It was a wonderful simulation of the first part of the call to arms when a truly threatening object is detected.
But now we have to ask ourselves: what would have happened if the object was much bigger than a few meters across? One reassuring fact is that a bigger object would most likely have been spotted sooner, because it would have been brighter. Still, though, the warning time for a tens-of-meter-diameter object could only be measured in days. If we'd had three days' warning of a dangerous impactor heading for Sudan, what could the world have done? The remote location of the impact would have been fortunate for humanity in general, but disastrous for the few people who lived out in that remoteness. Could the developed world have done anything to prevent yet another humanitarian disaster from befalling the Sudanese?
Here at The Planetary Society, we're seeking answers to these questions. We've joined the Association of Space Explorers and the B612 Foundation in their efforts to develop an international framework for planetary defense. When the time is right, we'll push for action on this issue from the United Nations' Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. In the meantime, we're supporting amateur astronomers around the world with our Shoemaker Near Earth Object Grant program, which allows amateurs to buy equipment that helps them to make those all-important tracking and followup observations. | <urn:uuid:4c3b0a12-dc10-447a-a0de-87905111d69c> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2009/2138.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370496330.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20200329232328-20200330022328-00475.warc.gz | en | 0.963694 | 2,916 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Japan did the right thing. Hats off to the Japanese government.
4 ( +9 / -5 )
Some of the surviving comfort women in South Korea will never move on which is understandable. However, the international community is moving on, and it appears that the South Korea government is moving on as well. Once the Japanese government offers the apology with the one billion yen the world will overwhelmingly move on to other women. This is already happening with global media attention going to the comfort women in Taiwan and the Philippines. The Japanese government would be wise to deal with all of the surviving comfort women around the world and move on. I do not see Japan getting a permanent seat on the UN council until this issue is permanently resolved.
-3 ( +1 / -4 )
President Park’s statement warned that if “critics can’t accept the agreement and try to take the issue back to the beginning…there is little we can do further to help the survivors while they are alive”. Sometimes the hardest part of healing the wounds of the past is moving forward. NO deal is 100% perfect. I doubt Japan will hold back the funds because of a statue, and I think President Park is making it very clear to the South Korean people that the international community is about to move on to next cause.
11 ( +11 / -0 )
Yes, the statue can be moved but that does not mean that the South Korean government would allow it in front of the relocated embassy. Further, why move the statue unless the purpose is to antagonize the Japanese government? The statue is beautiful and sad at the same time. The statue has become a global symbol of the reality of sexual slavery during warfare. The statue is seen by many around the world as a symbol of courage, and it would be sad if it is used as a medium to divide moving forward.
0 ( +2 / -2 )
No deal is 100% perfect. The leaders in Japan and South Korea deserve a lot of credit for resolving this matter. No human being should expect the surviving women to forgive and forget, but PM Abe had the wisdom to realize that sometimes it is better to move on. If PM Abe can apologize for past governmental misdeeds then there is no excuse for other world leaders. The deal may not be perfect, but it is surely historic on a global scale.
3 ( +5 / -2 )
The deal is a win-win for everyone. Japan now has the moral authority to tell other nations like the Democratic Republic of the Congo about the consequences associated with allowing the systematic rape of women during warfare. The surviving comfort women in South Korea can now move on with their lives, and hopefully the actions of PM Abe will open the door to mutually beneficial discussions with North Korea over similar issues. Anything is possible if leaders truly want peace.
1 ( +3 / -2 )
Clear away obstacles hindering close bilateral ties. Does this mean an agreement is near on the comfort wives issue?
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Yukio Okamoto is an impressive leader. Things just don't happen in this manner. I would not be surprise if the Japanese government declares a resolution to the comfort wives situation as well in a matter of weeks. Mr. Okamoto words are powerful because he is telling many different leaders in the region in a very soft tone that it is maybe time to resolve these painful historical issues and move on. Mr. Yukio Okamoto is a very honorable man.
0 ( +1 / -1 )
Some surviving South Korean comfort wives have also sued the SK government for forcing them into prostitution with United States military personnel. Both South Korea and Japan should seek to reconcile past historical events and bring closure to the comfort wives issues.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
No nation should want to be associated with sex slavery. The surviving comfort women have the right to ask the Japanese government to apologize and make repair, and the Japanese government has the right to ask that this matter be brought to a conclusion if a settlement is provided. A resolution may be close at hand because I doubt the Japanese government and the surviving women want to continue to have this issue drag out in front of the global media. Documents alleging the Japanese government sanctioned military brothels does not look good even in a time of war.
4 ( +9 / -5 )
Reconciliation is the way forward. Yes, the handful of surviving women from other nations will probably come forward as well, but it time to close this dark chapter from 70 years ago.
0 ( +3 / -3 )
All around the world people are demanding reconciliation for past historical events and the comfort wives matter is a major issue for people all around the world. My humble suggestion is maybe the solution is not with the governments, but with the surviving comfort women and the living WW2 Japanese soldiers. Hopefully, a venue can be established where both the women and the soldiers can meet and talk about what happened from their perspectives (if such a meeting has not happened already). Such a meeting would be historic and Mr. Kano viewpoint is right. When governments start whitewashing the past people all around the world begin to look at that particular nation differently.
This is one of the reasons why the British government recently apologized to Kenyans who were tortured in the 1950s. The British government agreed to pay 20 million dollars to the 5,000 plus victims. This will equal out to about $5,000 dollars for each victim. Many of the Kenyans who were tortured stated that their struggle was not about acquiring money, but instead their struggle for reconciliation was about the world knowing the truth about what happened to them during the 1950s.
3 ( +3 / -0 )
Kawano I don’t understand what is wrong with the Japanese government talking directly with the surviving South Korean comfort women. Clearly, the issue is not settled, and talking to the women directly is an honorable thing to do. I agree that compensation to the South Korean government is highly inappropriate (since money was paid before), but by Japan not addressing the concerns of the surviving women will only make the issue bigger globally. The Japanese government should invite the SK women to Japan and speak to them privately. I think that many people around the world would see such a meeting as step in the right direction.
3 ( +4 / -1 )
The Japanese government in my opinion should just meet with the surviving SK comfort women, and start the process of healing. All around the world young people have begun to mobilize to address historical atrocities and at the same time promote global peace and reconciliation. Nations and territories from Denmark and the United States Virgin Islands, Britain and Kenya, Germany and Namibia, France and Haiti, and the United States of America and Guam are dealing with similar issues. However, I believe that in the end Japan will do right by these surviving women and set a standard that others will follow.
0 ( +2 / -2 )
That is why the Japanese government should speak to the surviving comfort women directly and bypass the SK government. Treaties do not wipe away the pain, and speaking directly to the surviving women is just the right thing to do. The saying is so true that the final steps tend to be the hardest. One hundred years from now the comfort wives issue will still be on the table even after all the women have pass if it is not dealt with now, so why not let them tell their stories and deal with all outstanding issues (compensation). I believe that the Japanese officials will deal with this issue and save face at the same time because developing closer military and financial ties with SK is way more important at the present moment.
-1 ( +1 / -2 )
Japan is such an inspirational nation to many of us around the world because of the Japanese government commitment to the area of reconciliation, and that is why I do not understand why the Japanese government would not hold talks on compensation for the use of Korean women as military sex slaves during World War II. I humbly believe that the Japanese government should consider talking directly to the surviving South Korean women about this issue and not get into a back and forth with South Korean government officials. Japanese officials have spoken directly to former POWs from various countries and some Japanese officials have even asked for forgiveness for the mistakes of the past.
Over the years, when I have spoken at the United Nations headquarters in New York about global reconciliation between nations, I speak about the amazing progress that Japan has and is making in bringing about peace in the region. The governments and people of Japan and South Korea seem to be so close to real peace, and I hope that the sex slave issue can be discussed and resolved in the near future.
-4 ( +1 / -5 )
Rmistric I totally understand the concerns of those who say that food aid should not be disburse to the military and political leadership of NK. However, that is why you have organizations such as the UN World Food Program, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). I also believe that a limited amount of aid workers are on the ground in NK from organizations such as Mercy Corp. Any aid effort of this magnitude should be organized through the UN, and I hope that the NK government would see the benefits of asking for the assistance if they have not already. However, I still strongly believe that no nation should use food as a bargaining tool. This is inhumane and speaks poorly of our collective humanity. Having access to safe, healthy, nutritious food should be a right guaranteed to ALL human beings.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
There are numerous international organizations that can verify if the food is getting to the NK people. There are a lot of bad leaders and governments around the world, but why should children starve to death because of the actions or inactions of their leaders. What is the international community saying let things get so bad in NK that the NK children will take up arms and topple the government? Food should NEVER be used a bargaining tool. Food should be provided to all human beings regardless of the circumstances.
-1 ( +1 / -2 )
Former Prime Minister Kan set such a high standard for other leaders around thw world to follow. I hope that Prime Minister Noda will have the same courage to sit down with the surviving South Korea comfort wives and reconcile and heal the wounds of the past.
3 ( +6 / -3 )
You are right that too often stronger nations impose their will on weaker nations, but that is why we (who care) should do our part to bring about healing and reconciliation. Maybe I am living on Mars or Venus, but I do believe that reconciliation between the people of Tibet and China is one way forward.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
The people of China and Tibet need to embrace reconciliation. The fact that several Tibetan monks have self-immolated themselves in order to be heard is sad. The Chinese government might not receive international criticism because of the current global economic situation, but eventually the cries of the Tibetan people will be heard. If Japan and South Korea can work together to heal the wounds of the past, so can China and Tibet.
-1 ( +1 / -2 )
The nation of Denmark is next in line to chair the EU, and with the frictions that exist between Denmark and the other EU nations this could turn out to be a very dangerous ride.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Every nation (whether rich or poor) will have to deal with the issue of immigration over the next fifty years. Immigration and multiculturalism are difficult issues to discuss, but using violence to promote an ideology is never acceptable.
2 ( +3 / -1 )
Some people want to see a world divide, but many of see a world united. May the Lord bless the people of Norway.
-1 ( +3 / -4 )
China is beginning to understand that making peace with your neighbors is better than fighting with them, and the USA is beginning to understand that an eventual economic partnership between Japan, South Korea, China, and North Korea is maybe only two decades away. An economic partnership between these nations would be one of the most powerful on the planet.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
The day is fast approaching when the USA and Japan will need to sit down and truly seek reconciliation surrounding the events of WWII. The killing of innocent people on both sides was wrong, and hopefully our humanity will never have to face another global war.
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The fossil fuel industry has an enormous impact on politics, the economy, and our health. This pollution Goliath is just too powerful to fight with government regulations. Take matters into your own hands and put vegetable oil in your fuel tank.
Electric cars will also be a good green choice some day. Unfortunately 44 percent of electricity is generated at coal-burning plants. The new construction of wind farms and run-of-the-river hydroelectric dams to power our super high-efficiency electric cars should be part of our long-term green energy strategy, but such projects require huge start-up funds and massive political support. People who want to help fight environmental pollution and disentangle our politics from the Middle East now — with the technology that is currently available — can run their diesel vehicles on vegetable oil.
Although burning vegetable oil does release carbon into the air, this carbon is already part of a natural cycle of plants taking in CO2 from the air and releasing oxygen. When plants decay, the stored carbon is released back into the environment. Burning vegetable oil does not add more carbon into the atmosphere than is already part of the available carbon constantly being recycled. In contrast, the carbon in fossil fuels is brought up from deep below the surface and added to the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.
Fossil fuel prices may be down now, but they will be up again soon enough. Currently, there are affordable sources of sustainable green fuel, including biodiesel made from recycled waste oil at about $4 per gallon, or palm oil which can be found in at discount supermarkets for about $7 per gallon. If you can trade in the commodities market, you might be able to get a metric ton of cooking oil for far less. Considering the savings this would bring in terms of reducing pollution and cutting back on the wars for oil, even buying $7 per gallon oil at the supermarket will seem worthwhile to some.
Palm oil has the highest yield of vegetable oils at about 635 gallons per acre per year and is a sustainable source for oil as long as no deforestation occurs to keep up with demand. New techniques for growing algae can yield at least 1,000-5,000 gallons of oil per acre per year (some estimates are much higher), which may mean substantially lower prices for biofuel in the near future, according to researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Algae can grow in salt water or in wastewater, in areas where other kinds of farming are not profitable. It can grow in fracking water, removing the toxins, or near coal-burning plants to clean CO2 out of the air. This plant-based sustainable fuel will definitely be part of our green energy independence plan for the future. We can help make that future arrive sooner by increasing consumer demand for algae oil now by using available biofuel: pure biodiesel, waste vegetable oil (WVO) or straight vegetable oil (SVO).
Although a diesel car is generally more expensive, the owner can save in the long run because diesel engines are easier to maintain and repair and last a lot longer than gasoline engines. Most existing diesel engines can run 20 percent biodiesel without any modification, and with modification, any diesel can run on 100 percent unrefined plant oil.
Pure Biodeisel B100
A diesel car can run on pure biodiesel (B100) as long as it is a late model with synthetic rather than rubber hoses and seals. B100 or B99 is 99 percent vegetable oil fuel, usually processed from waste vegetable oils (WVO), used frying oil and other food industry wastes. The glycerin, stuff that could gum up the engine, is removed via catalysts, such as methanol or ethanol. B100 usually sells for about the same per gallon as regular petrodiesel and gas mileage is about the same. B100 can also be purchased through a member-owned local co-operative, like this one in Baltimore, or through a local distributor.
According to EPA reports, using B100 eliminates the sulfur emissions associated with conventional diesel, cuts emissions of carbon monoxide and particulate matter in half, and reduces hydrocarbon emissions by about eighty percent. There are some drawbacks to B100. When temperatures go below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the oil thickens, and motorists are advised to switch to B20 or lower.
Straight Vegetable Oil
Switching to B100 (or even B10 or B20) to power a diesel vehicle is definitely a step in the right direction. When B100 is difficult to find, a diesel car on more expensive straight vegetable oil (SVO). Most diesel engines ran on SVO until the 1920s and many continued to do so throughout the world wars when petro was in short supply. Most DiYers will find it comforting to think that, whatever happens on the geo-politic fossil fuel stage, vegetable oil can always be locally grown. Today’s diesel engines can still run on SVO or filtered WVO without any modifications to the engine, but long-term problems may develop due to vegetable oil’s higher viscosity compared to petro-based fuels.
Older diesel cars, such as 1980s Mercedes and Volkswagens, are recommended for running on SVO and filtered WVO because their engines are less complicated. For newer models, inexpensive modification kits are available that allow motorists to avoid possible long-term problems of using SVO. Most kits include a separate tank for the vegetable oil and flush regular petrodiesel or B20 through the engine before turning off to clean out the thicker oil. In winter, the extra tank allows you to start your car with petrodiesel or B20, which don’t gum up in the cold. The leading suppliers of modification kits are Greasecar and Frybrid.
Using Biofuels Will Not Drive Up Food Prices
Don’t worry that using plant oil in your car will drive up the price of corn tortillas in Mexico, causing people to starve. The impact biofuel users could have on the economy is to force cattle ranchers to turn their herds out to graze. The Environmental Protection Agency notes that 80 percent of the corn grown in the U.S. is currently used to feed animals — animals that have been designed by evolution to eat grass and cannot properly digest corn or other grains without developing significant health problems. (Turning out cattle also improves pastureland and creates more CO2 sequestering grasses, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.) A little less than 10 percent of corn grown is used to make high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which we all could to do without, and about 10 percent is used to make ethanol. A very small fraction of the corn grown in the US goes to human consumption as regular corn or corn meal for highly processed foods, which we also could do without.
Researcher Tim Searchinger’s widely cited January report damning the biofuel industry fails to stress the fact that corn and soybean are today’s main sources of ethanol biofuel, and they are not suitable oil crops. Corn, with a yield of about 18 gallons per acre per year, is a very poor source for biofuel. Soybean does a little better at about 47 per acre. Farmland is definitely wasted growing these crops for ethanol (or animal feed). There are much better crops. Among U.S. crops currently available for biofuel, rapeseed has a yield of about 127 gallons per acre per year, sunflower about 102. Biofuel users cannot be held responsible for a government that unwisely subsidizes corn and soybean for ethanol production and factory farming.
DiYers are tired of waiting for someone else to fix the problem. Seven million diesel cars are on the road now and there are 15.5 million diesel shipping industry trucks. The sooner we increase the consumer demand for biofuel, the sooner we will get small-scale algae oil companies popping up locally, according to Algae Industry Magazine. In the meantime, waste oil or rapeseed and sunflower oil, grown on land formerly used for animal feed crops, ethanol or HFCS crops, are good alternatives to dirty (environmentally and politically) fossil fuel.
Digital Journal talked to Kim Kellog of Hale Hill Biofuels in Portland, Connecticut. Founder Ric Hosley first started using biofuels for his own farm equipment, and in 2005 began distributing biodiesel fuel to homeowners, businesses and municipalities. Since then Hale Hill has helped reduce carbon emissions by over 22,500 tons. According to Kellog,
Ethanol is an unsustainable, energy-heavy industry that we do not condone. We sell biodiesel in a combination of blends for home heat, on road and off road diesel engine fuel use. We buy B99 from a local producer in New Haven who processes WVO (used vegetable oil) or waste grease and some soy beans. Since we learned years ago of the algae model, we have been hopeful this technology will be useful. We know this is not the answer to our energy problems, but we think biodiesel is an important bridge to the future.
Get Ready For the Future
Let’s face it; we don’t have any political power. Our votes don’t matter. But we do have power as consumers. Making your next vehicle purchase a diesel engine will put you in a position to switch to cleaner burner fuels. Twenty-eight percent of total energy consumption in the United States is used to move people and goods, and diesel shipping makes us about twenty-two percent of the total transportation use. Every year more than 40,000 billion gallons of diesel fuel are consumed in the United States. There is a huge opportunity for painless consumer-led improvement here with a switch to biodiesel. Consumers can keep their current diesel vehicles. When it develops, the algae oil industry will be able to use crude oil refineries and in-place supply system to bring their product to market.
We can petition and protest all day long and still never get the status quo power brokers to try to wean the public off fossil fuels. In the long run, the collective efforts of individuals will be more effective in fighting pollution than any government regulations, which are ineffective at best, corrupt at worst.
Go diesel, go green and drive safely.
This article is part of the Do-it-Yourself Political Change Series on Digital Journal. Victoria N. Alexander is the author of Locus Amoenus, a 9/11 political satire novel about the decline of America. | <urn:uuid:f52dcaee-7dde-4a60-88b9-13d23a442488> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://vnalexander.com/2015/01/03/vegetable-oil-a-diy-solution-to-fossil-fuel-pollution/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371700247.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20200407085717-20200407120217-00194.warc.gz | en | 0.947396 | 2,152 | 3.109375 | 3 |
The visible public commitment of the Franciscans to poverty provided to the laity a sharp contrast to the wealth and power of the Church, provoking "awkward questions". Widespread corruption led to calls for reform which called into question the interdependent relationship of church and state power. Usury originally was the charging of interest on loans ; this included charging a fee for the use of money, such as at a bureau de change. In places where interest became acceptable, usury was interest above the rate allowed by law.
Today, usury commonly is the charging of unreasonable or relatively high rates of interest. The first of the scholastics, Saint Anselm of Canterbury , led the shift in thought that labeled charging interest the same as theft. Previously usury had been seen as a lack of charity. Thomas Aquinas , the leading theologian of the Catholic Church, argued charging of interest is wrong because it amounts to "double charging", charging for both the thing and the use of the thing.
This did not, as some think, prevent investment. What it stipulated was that in order for the investor to share in the profit he must share the risk. In short he must be a joint-venturer. Simply to invest the money and expect it to be returned regardless of the success of the venture was to make money simply by having money and not by taking any risk or by doing any work or by any effort or sacrifice at all.
This is usury. St Thomas quotes Aristotle as saying that "to live by usury is exceedingly unnatural". St Thomas allows, however, charges for actual services provided. Thus a banker or credit-lender could charge for such actual work or effort as he did carry out e. The rising capitalistic middle class resented the drain of their wealth to the church; in northern Europe, they supported local reformers against the corruption, rapacity and venality which they viewed as originating in Rome.
One school of thought attributes Calvinism with setting the stage for the later development of capitalism in northern Europe. In this view, elements of Calvinism represented a revolt against the medieval condemnation of usury and, implicitly, of profit in general. Tawney — and by Max Weber — Calvin criticized the use of certain passages of scripture invoked by people opposed to the charging of interest.
He reinterpreted some of these passages, and suggested that others of them had been rendered irrelevant by changed conditions. He also dismissed the argument based upon the writings of Aristotle that it is wrong to charge interest for money because money itself is barren. He said that the walls and the roof of a house are barren, too, but it is permissible to charge someone for allowing him to use them.
- The Little Wonder: The Remarkable History of Wisden!
- Does God Want You To Be Rich? The Wealth and Christianity Debate.
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In the same way, money can be made fruitful. For Puritans , work was not simply arduous drudgery required to sustain life. Joseph Conforti describes the Puritan attitude toward work as taking on "the character of a vocation — a calling through which one improved the world, redeemed time, glorified God, and followed life's pilgrimage toward salvation.
In two journal articles published in —05, German sociologist Max Weber propounded a thesis that Reformed i. The English translation of these articles were published in book form in as The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Weber argued that capitalism in northern Europe evolved because the Protestant particularly Calvinist ethic influenced large numbers of people to engage in work in the secular world, developing their own enterprises and engaging in trade and the accumulation of wealth for investment. In other words, the Protestant work ethic was a force behind an unplanned and uncoordinated mass action that influenced the development of capitalism.
Weber's work focused scholars on the question of the uniqueness of Western civilization and the nature of its economic and social development. Scholars have sought to explain the fact that economic growth has been much more rapid in Northern and Western Europe and its overseas offshoots than in other parts of the world including those that where the Catholic and Orthodox churches have been dominant over Protestantism. Some have observed that explosive economic growth occurred at roughly the same time, or soon after, these areas experienced the rise of Protestant religions.
Stanley Engerman asserts that, although some scholars may argue that the two phenomena are unrelated, many would find it difficult to accept such a thesis. John Chamberlain wrote that "Christianity tends to lead to a capitalistic mode of life whenever siege conditions do not prevail Rodney Stark propounds the theory that Christian rationality is the primary driver behind the success of capitalism and the Rise of the West.
John B. Cobb argues that the "economism that rules the West and through it much of the East" is directly opposed to traditional Christian doctrine. Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights , and that recognizes the dignity of every human being.
Thomas Aquinas and given further exposure in by Antonio Rosmini-Serbati. Ryan , who initiated the concept of a living wage. Father Coughlin also used the term in his publications in the s and the s. It is a part of Catholic social teaching , Social Gospel from Episcopalians and is one of the Four Pillars of the Green Party upheld by green parties worldwide. Social justice as a secular concept, distinct from religious teachings, emerged mainly in the late twentieth century, influenced primarily by philosopher John Rawls. Some tenets of social justice have been adopted by those on the left of the political spectrum.
According to Kent Van Til, the view that wealth has been taken from the poor by the rich implies that the redistribution of that wealth is more a matter of restitution than of theft. Catholic social teaching is a body of doctrine developed by the Catholic Church on matters of poverty and wealth , economics , social organization and the role of the state. Its foundations are widely considered to have been laid by Pope Leo XIII's encyclical letter Rerum novarum , which advocated economic distributism and condemned socialism.
According to Pope Benedict XVI , its purpose "is simply to help purify reason and to contribute, here and now, to the acknowledgment and attainment of what is just…. Catholic social teaching is distinctive in its consistent critiques of modern social and political ideologies both of the left and of the right: liberalism , communism , socialism , libertarianism , capitalism , Fascism , and Nazism have all been condemned, at least in their pure forms, by several popes since the late nineteenth century. Irving Kristol posits that one reason that those who are "experiencing a Christian impulse, an impulse toward the imitatio Christi , would lean toward socialism Arnold Toynbee characterized Communist ideology as a "Christian heresy" in the sense that it focused on a few elements of the faith to the exclusion of the others.
Tragically, said King, Communist regimes created "new classes and a new lexicon of injustice. Christian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and socialist and who see these two philosophies as being interrelated. This category can include Liberation theology and the doctrine of the social gospel. The Rerum novarum encyclical of Leo XIII was the starting point of a Catholic doctrine on social questions that has been expanded and updated over the course of the 20th century.
Despite the introduction of social thought as an object of religious thought, Rerum novarum explicitly rejects what it calls "the main tenet of socialism":. The first and most fundamental principle, therefore, if one would undertake to alleviate the condition of the masses, must be the inviolability of private property. The encyclical promotes a kind of corporatism based on social solidarity among the classes with respects for the needs and rights of all.
So far she has failed, but I think that Socialism shows her how she may succeed. It insists that men cannot be made right until the material conditions be made right. Although man cannot live by bread alone, he must have bread. Therefore the Church must destroy a system of society which inevitably creates and perpetuates unequal and unfair conditions of life.
These unequal and unfair conditions have been created by competition. Therefore competition must cease and cooperation take its place. Despite the explicit rejection of Socialism, in the more Catholic countries of Europe the encyclical's teaching was the inspiration that led to the formation of new Christian-inspired Socialist parties. A number of Christian socialist movements and political parties throughout the world group themselves into the International League of Religious Socialists. It has member organizations in 21 countries representing , members. Christian socialists draw parallels between what some have characterized as the egalitarian and anti-establishment message of Jesus , who—according to the Gospel —spoke against the religious authorities of his time, and the egalitarian, anti-establishment, and sometimes anti-clerical message of most contemporary socialisms.
Some Christian Socialists have become active Communists. This phenomenon was most common among missionaries in China , the most notable being James Gareth Endicott , who became supportive of the struggle of the Communist Party of China in the s and s. Michael Moore 's film Capitalism: A Love Story also features a religious component where Moore examines whether or not capitalism is a sin and whether Jesus would be a capitalist, in order to shine light on the ideological contradictions among evangelical conservatives who support free market ideals. Liberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions.
It has been described by proponents as "an interpretation of Christian faith through the poor's suffering, their struggle and hope, and a critique of society and the Catholic faith and Christianity through the eyes of the poor", and by detractors as Christianized Marxism. Liberation theology arose principally as a moral reaction to the poverty caused by social injustice in that region. The influence of liberation theology within the Catholic Church diminished after proponents using Marxist concepts were admonished by the Vatican 's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith CDF in and The Vatican criticized certain strains of liberation theology — without actually identifying any particular strain — for focusing on institutional dimensions of sin to the exclusion of the individual; and for allegedly misidentifying the church hierarchy as members of the privileged class.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Further information: Jewish views of poverty, wealth and charity. Further information: Apostolic poverty.
Main article: Usury. Main article: Social justice. Main article: Catholic social teaching. Main article: Christian socialism. Main article: Liberation theology. Archived from the original on September 6, Retrieved Companion encyclopedia of theology.
Somerset Hall Press. Mind vs. Transaction Publishers. Which Is Voluntary Poverty". The Catholic Worker. Archived from the original on May 11, Retrieved October 5, Orbis Books. At its deepest level voluntary poverty is a way of seeing the world and the things of the world.
Does God Want You to be Rich?
And we are clearly instructed that 'you can not serve God and Mammon'. The Encyclopedia Of Christianity. Eerdmans Publishing. Retrieved 18 June Introducing Christian Ethics. John Wiley and Sons. Psychology Press. The World of the early Christians. Liturgical Press. A companion to business ethics. Neoconservatism: the autobiography of an idea. Simon and Schuster.
Outlines of economics. Augustus to Constantine: the rise and triumph of Christianity in the Roman world. Westminster John Knox Press. Ludwig von Mises Institute. The Protestant Reformation: belief, practice, and tradition. Sussex Academic Press. Medieval panorama. Getty Publications. Retrieved 11 October Healing in the history of Christianity. Oxford University Press US. History of commerce and industry.
Macmillan Co. New Haven: Yale University Press. Johns Hopkins University Press. African American religious studies: an interdisciplinary anthology. Duke University Press. Archived from the original on The Roots of Capitalism. New York: Random House. Education and Social Justice. Nursing ethics: across the curriculum and into practice. Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Smith, Terry A. Poverty and Morality: Religious and Secular Perspectives. Cambridge University Press.
A Study of History. The Communist ideology was a Christian heresy in the sense that it had singled out several elements in Christianity and had concentrated on these to the exclusion of the rest. It had taken from Christianity its social ideals, its intolerance and its fervour. The West in Russia and China: Russia, — New Living Translation As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ.
English Standard Version By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, Berean Study Bible Because of the proof this ministry provides, the saints will glorify God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ, and for the generosity of your contribution to them and to all the others.
3 Things to Remember When Hard Times Hit
Berean Literal Bible through the proof of this service, glorifying God at your submission of confession to the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of the participation toward them and toward all. New American Standard Bible Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all, King James Bible Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men ; Christian Standard Bible Because of the proof provided by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone.
Contemporary English Version The way in which you have proved yourselves by this service will bring honor and praise to God. You believed the message about Christ, and you obeyed it by sharing generously with God's people and with everyone else. Good News Translation And because of the proof which this service of yours brings, many will give glory to God for your loyalty to the gospel of Christ, which you profess, and for your generosity in sharing with them and everyone else.
Holman Christian Standard Bible They will glorify God for your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with others through the proof provided by this service. International Standard Version Because your service in giving proves your love, you will be glorifying God as you obey what your confession of the Messiah's gospel demands, since you are generous in sharing with them and with everyone else. NET Bible Through the evidence of this service they will glorify God because of your obedience to your confession in the gospel of Christ and the generosity of your sharing with them and with everyone.
New Heart English Bible seeing that through the proof given by this service, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the Good News of Christ, and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all; Aramaic Bible in Plain English For because of the experience of this service, they glorify God that you submitted to the confession of The Gospel of The Messiah, and you became partners in your right of heirship with them and with every person.
Matthew When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men. Romans if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. | <urn:uuid:e5860f8e-c5f4-4e16-8ccd-def4de343e34> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | http://axuhurajowoj.gq/adventure/exhibit-a-proof-that-god-wants-you.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370506477.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20200401223807-20200402013807-00155.warc.gz | en | 0.949398 | 3,267 | 3.46875 | 3 |
If you live in Miami, you know about Junkanoo and its bright-colored costumes, brass-led parades and calypso rhythms. You know that this festive occasion represents the string of islands just 53 miles east of Miami. But that may be all you know about the Bahamas.
“The Bahamian community here in South Florida is a shadow community. Bahamians behave very much like the Canadians among Americans. They sort of blend in with the African Americans and are not clannish at all,” said Judith Missick, a Bahamian who has been living in Miami for over 30 years.
She may be right because – outside of their annual Goombay Festival (which has now been re-branded by new organizers as Miami Bahamas Junkanoo Festival) - Bahamians don’t seem to have a very formidable or distinct identity in South Florida.
“Even the food is not much different than what we eat here in America besides the conch,” said Missick.
Macaroni and cheese, potato salad and cole slaw, popular Bahamian side dishes, can also be found packaged in the deli section of a local Publix then set on a picnic table for any American family to enjoy.
Missick attributes her community’s assimilation to two factors: the islands’ proximity to the United States and how long Bahamians have been immigrating to Miami.
Arriving in the late nineteenth century, Bahamians were among the first Caribbean islanders in the United States. Many came to Key West to labor in fishing, sponging, and turtling and others migrated to work at the Peacock Inn on Biscayne Bay, establishing the Village West neighborhood in Coconut Grove. The community was the first black settlement in South Florida.
Raymond Mohl wrote in his 1987 article “Black Immigrants: Bahamians in Early Twentieth-Century Miami” for the Florida Historical Quarterly that Miami was a ghost town when it was incorporated in 1896, with only a few hundred people living there.
“By 1900, the population had increased to 1,681, including a sizable number of black immigrants from the Bahamas,” he wrote.
Twenty years later, Black islanders - almost all Bahamians - comprised 52 percent of all of Miami’s Blacks and 16.3 percent of the entire city’s population.
At the turn of the 21st century, though, native Bahamians comprised only 1.5 percent of the Black population in Miami-Dade county while Jamaicans were at 6.7 and Haitians were at 14.8 percent.
Why the drop off? There are a few explanations.
As the economic situation for The Bahamas improved due to a stabilizing and growing tourism industry, Bahamians returned to their homeland while the economies of its third-world neighbors like Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic declined, prompting their citizens to immigrate to the United States at a faster rate.
Many Bahamians began to marry Americans, so second and third generation Bahamians like actress Roxie Roker and actor Michael K. Williams would take on an American identity.
Lastly, Bahamian women made conscious decisions to make the quick trip to Miami while pregnant, stay for a few months and give birth to their children on American soil, making them American citizens.
Andrew Brown, a retired Miami-Dade county physical education teacher, says that his mother was one who gave birth to her first seven children in Miami. She later moved back home, fell in love with another man and had Brown and his three sisters in Nassau, Bahamas.
Brown was 12 when he moved to Miami with his three sisters. He was a rambunctious child and a gifted athlete, but he remembers that segregation was palpable in 1958 Miami-Dade county.
“My name was Andrew Marcian Kenneth but I used to be called Marcian in the Bahamas. A White customs officer took the name away from me and registered me as Andrew Kenneth because he said my name was too long. He didn’t even give me a choice,” said Brown. “I hated the United States for doing that to me.”
After his name change, Brown experienced culture shocks within his new segregated city that he had never experienced in The Bahamas. Experiences like standing at the outdoor window of McCrory’s ordering corndogs, drinking from a Colored water fountain and using a Colored restroom were all new for him.
It wasn’t until civil rights activists like Father Theodore Gibson, Reverend Edward Rollington Ferguson and others banded together to fight for integration that things began to look more like the country that Brown had left behind.
Rev. Ferguson, a Bahamian minister and the founder of Beulah Missionary Baptist Church, 3795 Floyd Avenue, in Coconut Grove, enlisted his newly immigrated children to be a force of change in their new city.
“I remember riding the metro bus with them and my father told me to sit in the front seat and that if they told me to move, ‘Don’t move,’” said Zelma Ferguson Siplin, the now 76-year-old daughter of the late Rev. Ferguson, who has been living in Miami since 1972.
Her siblings were also the first Black children to attend Palmetto Middle and Senior High schools.
“As Bahamians, my dad taught us to have respect for ourselves and respect for others,” said Siplin. “He told us that people may laugh at us for what we’re doing but we would have the last laugh. And whoever laughs last, laughs the longest.”
As pillars of the Coconut Grove neighborhood, her family had been active participants in the Miami Bahamas Goombay Festival since its inception in 1976. Many viewed it as an opportunity for Bahamians to share the rich history of their people starting from the Caribbean and extending to Florida.
Ziplin said her mother was known as Bahama Mama at the festival for her authentic Bahamian treats like boiled fish, conch fritters, pigeon peas and rice and guava duff.
However, Ziplin says that once festival organizers put a divider down Grand Avenue, it affected the turnout.
“Then, they moved it to Peacock Park and it went down to nothing. They also started to go up on rent and vendors couldn’t afford it,” she said.
With the new management in 2015 and the support of the Bahamas Consulate General and the city of Miami, bands like Bahamas Junkanoo Revue say that the festival is better organized and is actually now offering fair compensation to the talent.
“Bahamas uses Junkanoo as their number one ambassador to reach out to everyone else in the world. We’ve been featured at the MLK parade, Calle Ocho, Miami Carnval across the country. We tend to dominate things when we show up,” said Langston Longley, the founder of the 26-year-old performance group.
Longley and his 25-member crew use their Junkanoo artform as a method to reach young people in Miami-Dade county, inspiring teenagers –who aren’t exclusively Bahamian – to begin playing music, to receive payment for performances and apply their brass and drum instrument knowledge at school.
“I tell the students that it’s better to have a music addiction or a sports addiction than a drug addiction,” said Longley. “We want to make Junkanoo an addiction for these kids.”
For people like Longley, Junkanoo runs in their veins. They have been building costumes and playing cow bells since they were pre-teens on Bay Street parades in Nassau.
Junkanoo is now a year-round festival attraction in The Bahamas and the natives have always been particularly aware of its nation’s power to draw tourists from around the world.
“As Bahamians, we love everybody; the first thing you see when you meet us is a big old grin. We were never taught to dislike anybody because the very economic stability of our country is based on us being hospitable,” said Missick, who serves as the Missions Director at Open Bible Community Church, 2610 NW 119th Street, in Miami.
While her church is home to a predominantly Jamaican population, Missick says she feels right at home.
“I feel comfortable in my own skin. I don’t ever feel singled out. I know I am there to add a special flavor,” she said.
Mable Ferguson Smith, who moved to Miami when she was 11, says she became fast friends with American children at Miami Edison Middle School and even invited them to her home in Bimini, Bahamas on Christmas holiday break.
Smith maintains that even though she has a lot of American friends, she notices that some Blacks in America suffer from an inferiority complex that is completely non-existent where she’s from.
“In the Bahamas, Blacks are in charge. I didn’t have Black and White issues. I never had that ‘not enough’ problem,” she said. “I never thought that a White man was better than me or they could advance further than me.”
In fact, Smith recalls that growing up in Bimini, everyone had their own entrepreneurial endeavors like fishing, running restaurants or creating straw crafts; therefore, its citizens had no room for an inferiority complex.
“When the White people would come, they had a sense of ‘I want to get along with you.’ They didn’t come to my country for them to say, ‘You’re my servant,’” she said.
This mentality is something that most Bahamians carry over to the United States; however, Missick says that she sympathizes with the struggles of Black Americans because all Blacks are lumped together in the U.S.
Years ago, when Missick and her husband were first searching for apartments in North Miami, they would be approved for the apartments on the phone but when they would arrive, the landlord would renege.
“One time, my husband was even thrown against a car because he was the wrong color looking for work in the neighborhood Key Biscayne,” she said. “This is why I feel the pain of Black Americans. If I’m being treated like them, why would I see myself as different?”
She claims that sometimes her White colleagues would make comments about Blacks without thinking that Missick would be offended.
“They say, ‘No, Judy, you’re Bahamian,’ but I’m still offended because I’m Black,” she said.
Brown claims, however, that many Black American youngsters create unnecessary mayhem for themselves at the hands of law enforcement officers in South Florida.
“I was a bad-behind boy from Nassau and I spent time observing people and observing nature,” said Brown. “Man is the only one who kills himself.”
While teaching at Little River Elementary for 14 years, he would admonish his Black and Haitian American students to “keep a policeman, a policeman; don’t make him into a killer. Say yes, sir and no, sir. Respect him and he’ll respect you.”
Longley, who is a realtor by day, says that race and culture is definitely a factor in South Florida real estate, even for a Bahamian.
“I was once post in an office in California Club, then in Hallandale Beach then in Aventura…when I got there, I knew right away that I had to find a new office,” he said, referring to the city in Northeast Miami-Dade with a 73 percent White population. “When you’re dealing with a lot of money, they may think you’re not as competent.”
Once he was transferred to the Miramar office where a large amount of inquiries were from the Caribbean community, Longley said he felt far more at home.
“You have to sell what you believe in and I had more knowledge of that community,” he said.
The Bahamian community may not be as tight-knit as other communities in South Florida, says Smith, but she knows that she – like many Bahamians- are always ready to give someone a helping hand.
“At work, if I saw that someone had potential, I tried to teach them what I know,” she said. “I always say, if you learn it, no one can take it from you. You can get a better job and take it with you.”
She also believes that the Bahamian imprint in South Florida may not look like that of the Cuban or Jamaican imprint because “the dream for most of those immigrants is to come here; they can’t go back home and make it. For a Bahamian, we know we can always go back home.”
Tiffani Knowles is the managing editor and founder of NEWD Magazine. Her hope is to become as "newd" as possible on a daily by embracing truth, authenticity and socio-spiritual awareness. She is bi-vocational as she is the owner of two businesses and a professor of Communication at Barry University in Miami, Florida. She is also the co-author of HOLA America: Guts, Grit, Grind and Further Traits in the Successful American Immigrant. | <urn:uuid:f9a887e7-1fa9-4955-8ade-a9e779f27db0> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | http://www.newdmagazine.com/apps/articles/web/articleid/83491/columnid/default.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371818008.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20200408135412-20200408165912-00155.warc.gz | en | 0.977409 | 2,878 | 3.296875 | 3 |
DEVELOPMENT AND FUNCTION OF THE ESOPHAGUS (LOWER THIRD): The esophagus is located behind the trachea and the larynx. Originally, the entire alimentary canal – from the mouth to the rectum - served the absorption (absorptive quality) and digestion (secretory quality) of food. Today, the main function of the esophagus is to carry food, liquids, and saliva from the mouth to the stomach. The act of swallowing is facilitated by the peristaltic movement (motor quality) of the smooth muscles in the esophagus (the upper two-thirds of the esophagus are mainly made up of striated muscles). The deep esophagus mucosa consists of intestinal cylinder epithelium, originates from the endoderm and is therefore controlled from the brainstem.
BIOLOGICAL CONFLICT: The biological conflict linked to the lower esophagus is “not being able or not being allowed to swallow a morsel”.
This type of morsel conflict relates to a “morsel” one had expected (a job, a promotion, a position, a deal, a purchase, an inheritance, a gift, an apology, a proposal) but is unexpectedly not able to get. A promise that has not been kept, something of personal value that has been taken away, projects or plans one is unable to carry out are other examples of what could evoke the conflict. A “morsel” one is unable to “swallow” could also concern a new relationship or a specific person such as a tenant, an employee, or a friend one had to give up. A desired “morsel” one is not allowed to get could also relate to a specific (favorite) food.
CONFLICT-ACTIVE PHASE: Starting with the DHS, during the conflict-active phase esophageal cells proliferate proportionally to the intensity of the conflict. The biological purpose of the cell increase is to be better able to absorb and digest the desired morsel. Even though the esophagus has no longer a digestive function, in the event of a biological conflict the organ still responds with cell augmentation, because originally the entire alimentary canal served the absorption and digestion of food. With prolonged conflict activity (hanging conflict) a cauliflower-shaped growth (secretory type), referred to as an esophageal cancer, develops in the lower esophagus (compare with “esophageal cancer” related to the upper two-thirds). The tumor might also grow on a flat plane (absorptive type). If the rate of cell division exceeds a certain limit, conventional medicine considers the cancer as “malignant”; below that limit, the growth is regarded as “benign” or diagnosed as an esophageal polyp (see also healing phase).
It is assumed that an esophageal cancer is linked to gastric reflux. No question, the backflow of stomach acid might irritate the esophagus but this does not cause a “cancer”. In GNM terms, cell proliferation in the esophagus only occurs in response to the correlating biological conflict, namely to “not being able to swallow a morsel”. Gastric reflux, on the other hand, originates in the stomach and is related to a territorial anger conflict.
Esophageal spasms occur during the Epileptoid Crisis (see also esophageal spasms related to the upper two-thirds of the esophagus).
HEALING PHASE: Following the conflict resolution (CL), fungi or mycobacteria such as TB bacteria remove the cells that are no longer needed. Healing symptoms are pain behind the sternum due to the swelling, and night sweats. A large swelling could constrict the esophagus with difficulties swallowing solid foods. With an acute narrowing, a feeding tube may have to be used until the tumor has been decomposed, provided the necessary microbes are available when healing sets in. Esophageal candidiasis indicates that fungi assist healing.
If the required microbes are not available upon the resolution of the conflict, because they were destroyed through an overuse of antibiotics, the additional cells remain. Eventually, the growth becomes encapsulated with connective tissue. In conventional medicine, this is usually diagnosed as an esophageal polyp or as a “benign cancer” (see also conflict-active phase).
With the SYNDROME, that is, with water retention brought on by an active abandonment and existence conflicts, the retained water is exceedingly stored in the healing area, which increases the swelling. If the swelling becomes very large, this could lead to a serious situation, because the pressure that occurs during an intense Epileptoid Crisis might break blood vessels causing severe bleeding into the intestine (tar stool) and vomiting blood.
Esophageal “varices”: According to conventional medicine, esophageal varices are swollen veins in the lining of the lower esophagus. They are associated with liver cirrhosis and high blood pressure in the portal vein. Based on GNM, the swellings are in reality pouches in the esophagus lining (similar to diverticula in the intestines resulting from recurring repair processes). Moreover, the veins (new mesoderm) and the lower esophagus lining (endoderm) are different tissue types that derive from different embryonic germ layers and are therefore controlled from different areas in the brain. Hence, every person who has esophageal varices shows – without exception – the Hamer Focus in the brainstem, precisely, in the control center of the lower third of the esophagus (view the GNM Diagram), and not in the cerebral medulla from where the blood vessels are controlled (see also the theory suggesting that hemorrhoids are swollen veins in the rectum).
DEVELOPMENT AND FUNCTION OF THE ESOPHAGUS (UPPER TWO-THIRDS): Originally, the inner wall of the entire esophagus consisted solely of intestinal cells (cylinder epithelium). At a later evolutionary stage, the endodermal lining of the upper portion of the esophagus was replaced with a new cell layer composed of squamous epithelium. However, clusters of endodermal cells remained also in the upper part. The epithelial lining of the upper two-thirds of the esophagus originates from the ectoderm and is therefore controlled from the cerebral cortex.
BIOLOGICAL CONFLICT: While the lower third of the esophagus is linked to “not being able to swallow a morsel”, the biological conflict associated with the upper two-thirds is the opposite, namely, “not wanting to swallow a morsel” (see also pharynx and throat). It is a type of “separation conflict”. This refers to any incident or situation one refuses to accept or words (accusations, insults, reproaches, criticism) that are difficult to “take” or hard to “swallow”. The unwanted morsel can also concern real food or medication.
CONFLICT-ACTIVE PHASE: ulceration of the lining of the upper esophagus proportional to the degree and duration of conflict activity. The biological purpose of the cell loss is to widen the diameter of the esophagus to be better able to eliminate the undesirable “morsel”. Since the esophageal squamous epithelium is rather thick, it can take some time before deep ulcers are detected through an esophagoscopy. Symptoms: mild to severe pain. The typically burning pain is often misinterpreted as heartburn or “gastroesophageal reflux”.
HEALING PHASE: During the first part of the healing phase (PCL-A) the tissue loss is replenished through cell proliferation. In conventional medicine, this might be diagnosed as an “esophageal cancer” (compare with esophageal cancer related to the lower third of the esophagus). According to the Five Biological Laws, the new cells cannot be regarded as “cancer cells” since the cell increase is, in reality, a replenishing process.
Healing symptoms are difficulties swallowing because of the swelling and pain, which could last throughout the entire healing phase (in PCL-A and PCL-B the pain is not of a sensory nature but rather pressure pain). Concurrent water retention due to the SYNDROME enlarges the swelling. With an inflammation, the condition is called esophagitis. The Epileptoid Crisis manifests as acute burning pain.
DEVELOPMENT AND FUNCTION OF THE ESOPHAGEAL MUSCLES: The esophagus is a muscular tube composed of smooth muscle in the lower part and striated muscles in the upper two-thirds. The tension of the muscles stabilizes the esophagus and allows swallowing and the transition of food. The esophagus is surrounded by two muscular rings, known as the esophageal sphincters. The opening of the upper esophageal sphincter is triggered by the swallowing reflex. The lower esophageal sphincter, also known as the cardiac sphincter, surrounds the lower part of the esophagus. At the level of the cardia, the opening connecting the esophagus with the upper part of the stomach, the esophagus rotates on its axis and thereby forms an elastic, twisting occlusion which contributes to the function of the sphincter, namely to open in order to allow food pass into the stomach and to close to keep it there. NOTE: The esophageal sphincters are functional but not anatomical sphincters like the bladder sphincter, rectal sphincter, or cervical sphincter. The smooth esophageal muscles derive from the endoderm and are controlled from the midbrain. The striated esophageal muscles originate from the new mesoderm and are controlled from the cerebral medulla and the motor cortex.
BIOLOGICAL CONFLICT: The biological conflict linked to the upper esophageal muscles is “not being able to regurgitate a morsel”, literally or figuratively (insult, accusation, diagnosis) because the morsel is considered too big.
CONFLICT-ACTIVE PHASE: cell loss (necrosis) of esophageal muscle tissue (controlled from the cerebral medulla) and, proportional to the degree of conflict activity, increasing paralysis of the esophageal muscles (controlled from the motor cortex) causing difficulties swallowing foods and liquids.
HEALING PHASE: During the healing phase, the esophageal muscles are reconstructed. The paralysis reaches into PCL-A. The Epileptoid Crisis presents as esophageal spasms (see also esophageal spasms in the lower third of the esophagus). Depending on the degree of the conflict-active phase, the contractions range from mild to severe. During PCL-B, the function of the esophagus muscles returns to normal. Recurring esophageal spasms indicate a hanging healing due to conflict relapses. | <urn:uuid:b4e019a1-ceb8-4f38-8b49-95918e016c2e> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://learninggnm.com/SBS/documents/esophagus.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371604800.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20200405115129-20200405145629-00034.warc.gz | en | 0.930055 | 2,369 | 3.5 | 4 |
Abraham Lincoln made a lasting impression on many whom he met. This was certainly the case for William Ewing, who from boyhood was acquainted with Mr. Lincoln and who would eventually find his way to Christian Science.
Mr. Lincoln was a friend and frequent visitor of the Ewing household in the 1840s and 1850s. He was larger than life to young William, who would later describe the 16th President of the United States as a “transcendent composite of greatness and goodness, of genius and gentleness, of sublimity and simplicity.”1
In later years, William would recall how, as a boy, he heard Lincoln defend a case in court, where he delivered the “briefest and most logical argument that was ever made in a court of justice” in the state of Illinois.2 And in 1860, on behalf of his revered friend, William delivered a campaign speech in Muscatine, Iowa, during the memorable race to the United States Senate between Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln.3
Mr. Ewing particularly enjoyed telling friends and family about the time Lincoln came to visit and teased William’s father about his politics.
“Don’t let all these fine boys grow up Democrats,”4 the future president advised John Wallis Ewing, pointing to his five sons. “Let me make a Whig of one of them.”
Although a staunch Democrat himself, John thought his friend’s advice was a good idea for his son William. “You may take him,” he told Lincoln, who upon receiving the go-ahead hoisted the boy upon his knee and dubbed him “Whig Ewing”—a name that stuck to the youngster for many years to come.5
Another warm memory was the time William accompanied his father and Mr. Lincoln when the first “picture making machine” arrived in Bloomington, Illinois.6
“The art gallery was a little room, perhaps 10 x 12 feet in size, over a little old-fashioned rhubarb drug store,” Ewing would write. “I went with my father and Mr. Lincoln over to this art gallery, across the street from my father’s house, to have their daguerreotypes taken. These pictures were very small and were worn respectively by Mrs. Lincoln and my mother as curio breast pins, and were regarded as very fine and rather striking likenesses.”7
“Abraham Lincoln’s massive character was constantly before the boy and the youth,” wrote one who would come to know William Ewing many years later, “and must have retained a large place in his unfolding manhood.”8
Proclivities toward the law
William Gillespie Ewing was born on a farm in McLean County, Illinois on May 11, 1839 to John Wallis Ewing and Maria McClelland Stevenson.9 After attending district schools, he studied at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington until he began studying law in the office of Robert E. Williams at age twenty. He worked for the firm for three years, until he was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1861. Work brought him to Quincy, Illinois, where for nineteen years he served at different times in the capacity of City Attorney, Superintendent of Schools, and State’s Attorney for the Judicial Circuit. It was during this time that he gained a reputation for his skill in handling several of the most notorious criminal cases.10
“Mr. Ewing’s uprightness, his love of his fellow-man, his firm belief in the ultimate triumph of the right,—these elements of character,” wrote an essayist, “together with a rare gift of eloquence, a fund of humor and practical experience, and a pathos which touches the hearts of men, fitted him to hold high rank, and as a trial lawyer and jury advocate he has had few equals and no superiors.”11
On April 25, 1865, William married Ruth Goodrich Babcock. Two years later, their first daughter, Mary (or “Mamie” as they called her), was born, followed by Ruth four years later.12
In 1882, William and his family moved to Chicago, and four years later he was appointed United States District Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois by President Grover Cleveland.13 Although he lost the candidacy for Congress from the First District of Illinois in 1890, in 1892 William was elected Judge of the Superior Court of Cook County, where he served six years.14
Judge Ewing was known for being “a gentleman of refined taste,” and for having “a courteous and kindly manner.”15 Those that knew him well loved him for his “gentle sunny spirit, as much as for the keen, incisive intellect.”16 He had “a national reputation as a lawyer of high legal attainments,” was “a scholar and an orator known far and wide,” and was “quoted all over this country as authority settling legal questions.”17
“Child-like surrender to Christian Science”
As an infant, William was baptized in the Presbyterian Church, and remained an active member into adulthood. His mother’s “sublime and beautiful faith in the measureless goodness of God” greatly impressed William, and after college he even considered going into the ministry.18
In 1884, when he was 45 years old, after suffering for many years from asthma and finding no relief in the care of the best physicians, William was told that unless he sought a change in climate, his illness would prove fatal. Upon hearing the news, William left home and hearth “with a sad heart” and journeyed “over the Rocky Mountains and across the Sierra Nevadas, and from climate to climate” throughout the country. Eventually, he found himself in Richmond, Virginia, nothing bettered, where a friend who had experienced a remarkable healing urged him to try Christian Science.
“I did not have one particle of faith in Christian Science,” he later recalled. “I did not know anything about it, did not care anything about it. My education, my habits of thought were all against it. . . .”19
Nevertheless, William finally agreed, and took a train to Boston to see a Christian Science practitioner. While meeting with her, a change swept over him.
“I felt a relief; and it was such a strange kind of relief,” he would later explain, “so gentle, so supremely sweet, as if a sunbeam had touched you in the dark midnight’s gloom; as if a finger unseen, dipped with life’s omnipotent power had touched you. . . .”20
William had not eaten anything except fluids for a month. He wasn’t able to walk 50 yards without stopping to rest, nor had he been able to lie down at night. But on the day that he visited the practitioner, all that changed.
“I never slept sweeter or more restfully and refreshingly in all my life,” he recalled. “I have not had a single attack of asthma or anything approaching it from that time to this. My healing was instantaneous, perfect and permanent. I am now able to go anywhere and do anything that an ordinary, respectable man would wish to do.”21
This healing, which came “in the very gloom and shadow of the grave,” moved William to later say, “I owe to Christian Science every breath I’ve drawn; and henceforth, all that I have or can, I will cheerfully contribute to give this dearest love of my life to my neighbor.”22
Fourteen years later, on December 26, 1898, he wrote a letter to Mary Baker Eddy, signing it, “a student of Christian Science.”23 Mrs. Eddy replied, “As I read the declaration of yourself . . . I thanked God and took courage. I need a modern Gamaliel, or doctor of the law – our Cause needs you, and God has given you to us.”24
Mrs. Eddy would also remark to a friend, “I was impressed with his sublime child-like surrender to C[hristian] S[cience].”25
“My lecturer laureate”
In 1899, William visited Mrs. Eddy at Pleasant View, her home in Concord, New Hampshire. While there, she asked if he would become a Christian Science lecturer. At first, the former judge didn’t think he had the ability that she was looking for. Referencing the Apostle Paul, he told her, “He is my ideal of the kind of man you want.” Towards the end of their conversation, however, William agreed to accept the position. “If you think that I will be of any value to you on the Lecture Board,” he said, “I will be very pleased to accept the service.”26
When William sent his first lecture to Mrs. Eddy, he hoped that she would feel free to use her blue editor’s pencil liberally. But when he received it back in the mail, the only words written in blue were: “Entirely satisfactory.”27
Once William decided to devote the rest of his life to Christian Science, he never looked back. Declining a re-nomination and re-election to the bench, he traveled from coast to coast and eventually overseas, lecturing constantly and continuously from 1899 until 1910.28 While he was originally slated to lecture only in the Midwestern section of the United States,29 he was on the Board for a mere six months when this notice appeared in the Christian Science Sentinel under the heading “Church Rule”:
“It shall be the privilege of all the leading Churches of Christ, Scientist, situated in our largest populated cities, or in the capital cities of the United States, Canada, or Great Britain (in addition to their other established lectures), to call on Judge William G. Ewing of Chicago, Ill., for an annual lecture under the regulations and auspices of the Mother Church in Boston.”30
On October 5, 1899, Hon. William Ewing delivered a lecture titled “Christian Science, the Religion of Jesus Christ,” in Boston’s Tremont Temple. It began, “I am not a preacher; not to soothe you into a brief dream of content by flowers of speech—I am a stranger to the pleasing, but ephemeral, devices of the orator; I simply want to talk to you as man to man, as friend to friend, brother to brother; my only art will be the simplicity and courage of conviction; my only argument, a statement of facts, and after all, how resistless is the potency of a fact! The sole purpose of inquiry in every court of justice in Christendom is, and ever has been, to invoke facts; the world is weary of theories, it longs for facts; it is surfeited with dogmas, arguments, and platitudes, and cries out for facts.”31
Mrs. Eddy was overjoyed with the lecture. After reading it through, she wrote William, “Soul of my Soul, the one God, spake through you. Your preparation of your hearers, your subject matter, your way of enforcing it by persuasive strength and humor, your exordium and peroration were perfect. No borrowed plumes, no confounding abstractions, no tiresome detail. And the fire of genius, honest convictions, stalwart purpose, all combine in that Lecture.”
She concluded the letter, “I have made you my lecturer laureate.”32
”Catching his fish”
Described by one newspaper as “an elderly man, somewhat spare, of fine, scholarly appearance, an eloquent, impressive speaker, and a man who is evidently thoroughly in earnest,” Judge Ewing received high marks wherever he lectured.33
“One of the lecturer’s strong points is his deep sincerity, his honesty of statement and earnestness of manner,” wrote the editor of the Christian Science Sentinel.34 Praised for his mastery of his subject, his sound logic and superb rhetoric, he was known for neither criticizing nor proselytizing, but for endeavoring to enlighten. “It was not an argument to persuade to belief in the principles he represented, so much as it was a plea for fairness and candor,” observed the Memphis Commercial Appeal.35
Mrs. Eddy herself called Mr. Ewing “our best lecturer” on more than one occasion.36 She noted the spirit of “liberty, justice, divine wisdom, and love,” that radiated from his words, as well as his masterful clarity and concision.37
He “enters at the salient points of thought, thus catching his fish by the logic and love in Christian Science,” she wrote to a Christian Scientist in St. Louis in 1900.38 To another, she described him as “the soul of eloquence,” while to William’s wife, Ruth, she noted, “He is so adapted to waken thinkers to the call of God.”39
In 1900, William Ewing lectured to a crowd in Quincy, Illinois, a city that knew him many years earlier as a lawyer and judge. Though the good-natured gentleman who left about the year 1880 was similar to the one who returned to give the lecture, this time, he had something more important to share.
“In changing from politics to religion,” he told the crowd, “I certainly cannot have offended my Republican friends, and in sacrificing my Democratic principles for religious principles I hope I have not offended my Democratic friends.”
“I am here to-day to discuss a question more important than any political question,” he explained, “a question the most important that could engage the thought of man in this advanced and advancing age; a question of vital importance to every man and every woman; a question than which none of more far-reaching importance has ever been presented for consideration. That question is, What is the relation of man to God, of the creature to the Creator?”40
This is a question that William Ewing strove to share with his listeners throughout his prolific career as a Christian Science Lecturer. In 1902, he made the first overseas tour of Great Britain by an American Christian Science lecturer.41 He would return again the following year, stopping in Ireland as well, and in 1904 was the first lecturer to visit Mexico.42
In addition to his skill as a lecturer, William was a talented woodworker, and in June 1910, presented a gift to Mrs. Eddy that he’d made in his spare time.
Irving Tomlinson, who was serving as one of Mrs. Eddy’s secretaries at the time, wrote a thank you note on behalf of Mrs. Eddy for the gift, to which William replied, “I beg you to express to Mrs. Eddy my great appreciation of the love and thanks she sent me by your hand. It gives me great comfort to know that I have been able to add one gleam of joy to her relentless struggle for the good of man.”44
“Judge and Mrs. Ewing of Chicago were always very dear friends of Mrs. Eddy’s,” Mr. Tomlinson later noted, adding that his “lovable qualities greatly endeared him to our Leader.”46
In November 1910, William G. Ewing stepped off the Board of Lectureship. In publicly expressing their gratitude for his years of active work – “work which he was well qualified to do by reason of his profound learning, ripe experience, and great love for his fellow-men” – the Christian Science Board of Directors concluded, “In the less public lines of Christian Science endeavor which will now engage his attention, Judge Ewing will be the same kindly Christian gentleman and retain the loving regard of all who know him.”47
Friend of Abraham Lincoln, distinguished judge, and eloquent advocate for Christian Science, this “kindly Christian gentleman” continued his endeavors in “the less public lines of Christian Science” until his passing on February 16, 1922. | <urn:uuid:2c8686de-80ba-4bb3-a8e8-ea7c389add1c> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.longyear.org/learn/research-archive/william-gillespie-ewing-friend-of-abraham-lincoln/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370491857.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20200328104722-20200328134722-00195.warc.gz | en | 0.982669 | 3,464 | 3.484375 | 3 |
Kanban, also spelt “kamban” in Japanese, literally means “Billboard” or “Signboard“.
In Japanese the word ‘Kan‘ means “signal” and ‘ban‘ means “card” or “board”.
Ok… Kanban is a ‘Signboard’, but what does it show on the board ??
A Kanban board indicates ‘Available capacity (to work)‘.
Kanban is a concept related to Lean and Just-In-Time production, where it is used as a scheduling system that tells you
- What to produce
- When to produce and
- Where to produce
Kanban is a ‘non-disruptive’ ‘evolutionary’ change management system. This means that the existing process is improved in small steps. By implementing many minor changes (rather than a large one), the risk to the overall system is reduced. The evolutionary approach of Kanban leads to low or no resistance in the team and the stakeholders involved.
The Kanban system was first developed by Taiichi Ohno in the 1940’s for Toyota. At that time, the productivity and efficiency of Toyota was inadequate compared to its American automotive rivals.
Kanban was created as a simple planning system with the aim to control and manage work and inventory at every stage of production optimally.
With Kanban, Toyota achieved a flexible and efficient just-in-time production control system that increased productivity while reducing cost-intensive inventory of raw materials, semi-finished materials, and finished products.
A Kanban system ideally controls the entire value chain from supplier to the end consumer.
In manufacturing, Kanban helps avoid supply disruption and overstocking of goods at various stages of the manufacturing process. Kanban requires continuous monitoring of the process. Particular attention needs to be given to avoid bottlenecks that could slow down the production process. The aim is to achieve higher throughput with lower delivery lead times. Over time, Kanban has become an efficient way in a variety of production systems.
While Taiichi Ohno introduced Kanban in manufacturing, David J Anderson was the first to apply the concept of Kanban to knowledge works such as software development, IT Management, and business processes such as procurement, Legal, HR, Marketing etc..
The Kanban Method follows a set of principles and practices for managing and improving the flow of work. It is an evolutionary and non-disruptive method that promotes gradual improvements to an organizations processes.
Kanban is something you use to gradually improve what you do. So, categorically, Kanban requires some process already in place, so that the principles of Kanban method can be applied, to incrementally change the underlying process.
Kanban can be applied to any business or business function- whether its IT, or Marketing or HR etc. When applying Kanban to Software development, it is important to understand that Kanban Method is not a Software development methodology or an approach to software project management.
Almost any business function can benefit by applying the principles of Kanban method to it.
Benefits of using Kanban Method’s Principles and Practices to your business
- Improved overall system flow
- Reduced Cycle time
- Deliver work early and more often
- Increased value to customer
- Greater predictability
Simple Kanban Board
Kanban helps you harness the power of visual information by using sticky notes on a whiteboard to create a picture of your work using 3 basic columns “TO-DO“, “DOING“, “DONE“. Each card on the board represents a task.
- “To Do”: This column lists the tasks that are not yet started.
- “Doing”: Consists of the tasks that are in progress.
- “Done”: Consists of the tasks that are completed.
This simple visualization alone leads to a great deal of transparency about the distribution of the work as well as existing bottlenecks if any.
3 Core Aspects of Kanban
- Visualize your workflow
- Limit Work-In-Progress
- Manage Flow
Limit Work in Progress (WIP)
Limiting work-in-progress (WIP) is fundamental to implementing Kanban. But what is Work-in-Progress (WIP). Basically, it includes the task items that the project team is actively working on. We have seen a basic kanban board with 3 columns. We can say that the tasks in “Doing column” can be called as WIP.
Now, Limiting WIP is constraining or restricting the number of tasks that come under WIP. By limiting WIP, you encourage your team to complete work at hand first before taking up new work.
The Main Objective of Kanban is the smooth flow of work from start to completion without unnecessary slowdown or stoppage. By reducing the WIP, Kanban helps reduce multi-tasking, and encourages completing the work in hand before taking anything new.
First, What is FLOW ?
Flow is the movement of cards from one columns to the next. The cards should flow through the system as evenly as possible, without long waiting times or blockages. Everything that hinders the flow should be critically examined. Kanban has different techniques, metrics and models, and if these are consistently applied, it can lead to a culture of continuous improvement (kaizen).
Below is a Kanban Board
In the above Kanban board, we can see the Limits to WIP in action. There can be a maximum of only 3 tasks running at any point of time under column 1 (ongoing process X), similarly there can be only 2 processes running under column 2 and column 3, which are processes Y and Z.
Now, let us see the core principles and practices on which the Kanban is based upon.
Principles and Practices of the Kanban Method
There are 4 Foundational principles and 6 Core practices of the Kanban method
4 Foundational Principles
- Start with what you are doing now
- Agree to pursue incremental, evolutionary change
- Initially, respect current roles, responsibilities and job-titles
- Encourage acts of leadership at all levels
1. Start with what you are doing now
- Do not make changes to existing processes right away
- Kanban must be applied directly to current work flow.
- Any changes needed shall be made gradually over a period of time at a pace the team is comfortable with.
2. Agree to pursue incremental, evolutionary change
- Make small incremental changes
- No radical changes that might lead to resistance within the team and organization.
3. Initially, respect current roles, responsibilities and job-titles
- Not necessary to make changes to your existing roles and functions, which may be performing well.
- Kanban, unlike other methods, does not impose any organizational changes by itself.
4. Encourage acts of leadership at all levels
- Kanban encourages continuous improvements at all levels
- Leadership acts need not necessarily originate from senior management only, People at all levels can provide ideas and show leadership to implement changes to continuously improve the way they deliver their products and services.
6 core Kanban Practices
- Visualize the workflow
- Limit Work-in-Progress (WIP)
- Manage Flow
- Make Process policies explicit
- Implement feedback loops
- Improve collaboratively, evolve experimentally
1. Visualize the work flow
You need to visualize – either on a physical board or an electronic Kanban Board, the process steps that you currently use to deliver your work or your services. Depending on the complexity of your process and different work items that you work on and deliver, your Kanban board can be very simple to very elaborate.
2. Limit Work in Progress (WIP)
Limiting work-in-progress (WIP) is fundamental to implementing Kanban. Now, Limiting WIP is constraining or restricting the number of tasks that come under WIP. By limiting WIP, you encourage your team to complete work at hand first before taking up new work.
Advantages of Limiting WIP
- Helps the team members first finish what they are doing before taking up new stuff
- Communicates to the customer and other stakeholders that there is limited capacity to do work for any team – and they need to plan carefully what work they ask the team to do.
How to decide the WIP limits ?
Initially, it may not be easy to decide what your WIP limits should be. In fact, you may start with no WIP limits,observe the initial work in progress as your team starts to use Kanban. Once you have sufficient data, define WIP limits for each stage of the workflow (each column of your Kanban board) as being equal to half the average WIP.
3. Manage Flow
Managing and improving flow is one of the important feature of Kanban system. A Kanban system helps you manage flow by highlighting the various stages of the workflow and the status of work in each stage. Depending on how well the workflow is defined and WIP Limits are set, you will observe either a smooth flow within WIP limits or work piling up as something gets held up and starts to hold up capacity. Eliminating bottlenecks is an important part of Managing Flow.
How are bottlenecks eliminated ?
Key to this is to look at the intermediate wait stages. Reducing the time spent on wait or handoff stages is key to reducing cycle time.
As you improve flow, your team’s delivery of work becomes smoother and more predictable. As it becomes more predictable, it becomes easier for you to make reliable commitments to your customer. Improving your ability to forecast completion times reliably is a big part of implementing a Kanban system!
4. Make Process policies explicit
By formulating explicit process guidelines, you create a common basis for all participants to understand how to do any type of work in the system. The policies can be at the board level, or at column level. Examples of explicit policies include the definition of when a task is completed, the description of individual lanes or columns, who pulls when, etc.
5. Implement Feedback loops
Feedback loops are an integral part of any good system. Feeback loops helps in effectively making course correction to processes that go in an undesirable way. The Kanban Method encourages and helps you implement feedback loops of various kinds – review stages in your Kanban board workflow, metrics and reports etc.., that provide you continuous feedback on work progress – or the lack of it – in your system.
6. Improve collaboratively, Evolve Experimentally
The Kanban Method is an evolutionary improvement process. It helps you adopt small changes and improve gradually at a pace and size that your team can handle easily. It encourages the use of the scientific method – you form a hypothesis, you test it and you make changes depending on the outcome of your test. As a team implementing Lean/ Agile principles, your key task is to evaluate your process constantly and improve continuously as needed and as possible. | <urn:uuid:9adf1cf9-abb6-418c-86e5-bd1db58efaf8> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://pmvidya.com/blog/kanban-method-principles-practices/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370529375.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20200405053120-20200405083120-00154.warc.gz | en | 0.921886 | 2,334 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Sustainable Development Goals
GOAL 1: NO POVERTY
End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Traditional grains, such as quinoa, amaranth and cañihua, have been largely displaced by global cereal crops, placing many varieties under threat of disappearance. Bioversity International and partners work to create markets for traditional crops around the world, identifying high-performing varieties, improving production and processing methods, strengthening market links and conducting promotional campaigns.
In Bolivia and Peru where poverty rates are high, sales of Andean grains increased in our research sites by 81% in Bolivia and 64% in Peru. Read more
Target 1.1: By 2030, eradicate poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than US$ 1.25 a day. This research also contributes to meeting Target 2.1, Target 5a and Target 15.5
Our research has found that more than 20% of traditional Ethiopian durum wheat landraces evaluated in participatory men and women farmer trials, performed better than commercial varieties bred specifically for drought resistance.
One variety yielded 61% better than the best commercial variety – an important discovery for food security in the country. Read more
Target 1.5: By 2030 build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters. This research also contributes to meeting Target 2.4, Target 5a and Target 13.1
GOAL 2: ZERO HUNGER
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture
In Zambia, we are working with local communities to test a diversity of crops and wild foods with potential to contribute to an all-year round healthy diet. This research is supported by educational materials about healthy sustainable diets, as well as a seasonal food calendar that shows which foods are available all year round, including the hunger season. Read more
Target: 2.1: By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round. This research also contributes to Target 3.4
Recent research conducted by Bioversity International in collaboration with the Earth Institute has found that increasing food supply diversity is associated with lower levels of acute and chronic child malnutrition (stunting, wasting and underweight) at a national level. It also found that the diversity of national food supply is dependent on the diversity of agricultural production, particularly in low income countries. Read more
Target 2.2: By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons. This research also contributes to meeting Target 2.1
Bioversity International is part of CIALCA – a global partnership to improve the productivity of legume and banana-based agricultural systems in Central Africa. We contribute cutting-edge research on banana diseases and their management (banana Xanthomonas wilt, banana bunchy top disease and fusarium wilt), as well as banana agronomy, nutrition and Musa germplasm characterization.
An impact assessment found household incomes had risen by 20%, and farm productivity increased by an average of 30%. Read more
Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality. This research also contributes to meeting Target 1.1, Target 1.5 and Target 12.3
80-90% of seed used by smallholder farmers in developing countries is sourced from the
informal seed system: saved from their own crops, bought from a market or shop or exchanged with friends and neighbours.
Bioversity International works with partners to strengthen informal seed systems, support conservation of traditional farmers’ varieties and maintain seed security at the district and community level through community-managed seedbanks. In Nepal, there are now 115 seedbanks which safeguard more than 1000 local varieties of cereals, vegetables, legumes, root crops and spices. Our efforts to connect these seedbanks to the national genebank have also resulted in 916 local varieties of 62 crop species being placed in long-term storage. Read more
Target 2.5: By 2020, maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels; and ensure access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge as internationally agreed. This work also contributes to meeting Target 2a and Target 15.5
The Bioversity International Musa Germplasm Transit Centre (ITC) contributes to the secure long-term conservation of the entire banana genepool holding more than 1,400 samples of edible and wild banana species in trust for future generations. The collection is hosted at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
Between 1985 and 2007, the ITC distributed 8353 samples of accessions to external users in 103 countries. 75% of the samples go to people and institutions in the main banana growing regions – Africa (27%) the Americas (25%) and Asia and Pacific (23%) with the remainder going to universities and research centres in Europe. Read more
Target 2a: Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banksin order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular least developed countries. This research also contributes to meeting Target 2.4, Target 2.5 and Target 15.5
GOAL 3: GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING FOR PEOPLE
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health brings together the current state of knowledge about how biodiversity and human health are linked. The book is a result of collaboration between the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners. Bioversity International, with partners, has contributed to 2 chapters that investigate the evidence linking agricultural biodiversity and food security, and linking nutrition, biodiversity and human health. Read more
Target 3.4: By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being. This research also contributes to meeting Target 2.1
GOAL 5: GENDER EQUALITY
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Bioversity International has worked with partners for 15 years to promote nutritious and resilient millet use and conservation in India. Millets were once a strong part of traditional diets in Southern India but have since become a 'forgotten food,' with barriers to their use including arduous processing needs and stigma as ‘food of the poor.’
Two farmers who attended an Agricultural Biodiversity and Women Empowerment event held as part of EXPO Milano 2015, shared their experiences in farming and using finger millet in different dishes and products which they now sell to local supermarkets and restaurants. They farm up to six different varieties of millet on their farms, use 'machinery to remove the grains’ tough outer shell, and have currently got 11 organic products on market shelves across India including organic flour and a nourishing coffee-like drink. They explained they now have a sense of empowerment and liberty thanks to this initiative. Read more
Target 5.a: Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws. This research also contributes to Target 1.1, Target 2.4, and Target 13.1
GOAL 12: RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Since 2006, Bioversity International has been working with national partners in China, Ecuador, Morocco and Uganda to see how planting different varieties of the same crop in mixtures can reduce pest and disease damage. Recent findings from trials with the National Agricultural Research Organization in Uganda show that mixing varieties resistant to certain pests and diseases, with those that are more susceptible, greatly reduces the incidence of that pest or disease.
With common bean, we found this to be most effective when at least 50% of a resistant variety is mixed into a plot. For bananas, farmers have reported a 75% reduction in the presence of weevils when they used mixtures. It is important to note that many of the resistant varieties we are finding are actually local crop varieties. Read more
Target 12.3: By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses. This research also contributes to meeting Target 1.5, Target 2.4 and Target 13.1
GOAL 13: CLIMATE ACTION
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts by regulating emissions and promoting developments in renewable energy
Bioversity International and partners worked with more than 100 regional stakeholders to gather data – geospatial analysis, genebank questionnaires, policy reviews and farmer consultations – and agree how the agriculturally-biodiverse region of Mesoamerica can best use its plant genetic resources to adapt to climate change.
The result is a 10-year roadmap for action, now adopted for implementation by the Ministers of Agriculture who make up the Central American Agricultural Council and the Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture. It is also influencing national genetic resource plans – Guatemala is currently reforming its national seed legislation and starting a project to support farmers’ rights in light of actions contained in the plan. Read more
Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries. This research also contributes to meeting Target 1.5, Target 2.5 and Target 15.6
GOAL 15: LIFE ON LAND
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Bioversity International is a partner in Initiative 20x20, helping countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to meet their commitments to restore 20 million hectares of land by 2020.
In addition, through our expertise on forest genetic diversity, we have been contributing to restoring forest ecosystems in Colombia through the development of a decision-making tool to help restoration practitioners select the most appropriate planting materials that match both the intended use of the site and the environmental conditions. This tool will be used to identify sources of planting material for the restoration of approximately 13,000 hectares of degraded Colombian dry forest. Read more
Target: 15.2: By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forestsand substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally. This research also contributes to meeting Target 15.5
Crop wild relatives are wild species closely related to domesticated crops. They supply valuable genetic diversity for plant breeding to help tackle challenges like climate change adaptation. Bioversity International works with partners to enhance scientific capacities in the South African Development Community to conserve crop wild relatives and identify useful potential traits.
We are also preparing National Strategic Action Plans on the conservation of priority crop wild relatives in partner countries, and promoting them to policymakers. Crop wild relatives are often not taken into account in environmental policy planning processes and their conservation not given high priority in management plans for protected areas. Read more
Target 15.5: Take urgentand significantaction to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species. This research also contributes to meeting Target 1.5, Target 2.5 and Target 13.1
Bioversity International’s ‘Genetic Resources Policy Initiative’ is strengthening the capacity of national partners in Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Guatemala, Nepal, Rwanda and Uganda, to combine climate data, geographic information and data on crop suitability in order to identify potentially adapted genetic resources from genebank collections around the world.
These activities provide a pretext for the same countries to explore institutional mechanisms to participate in the multilateral system of access and benefit sharing under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Through the multilateral system, the 130 member states have pledged to pool and share the genetic diversity of a range of crops and forages for the purposes of conservation, plant breeding and training. Read more
Target 15.6: Ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and promote appropriate access to such resources. This research also contributes to meeting Target 1.5, Target 2.5, Target 2a, Target 13.1 and Target 15.5
While ecosystem services are increasingly recognized as valuable, quantifying that value can be extremely difficult. This in turn makes it difficult for those managing rural landscapes to make informed decisions when trying to balance the needs of a growing population against the need to protect the environment, and the trade-offs that can result.
Bioversity International and partners are building a comprehensive set of indicators to link ecosystem services to Sustainable Development Goals on nutrition, health, water, energy, climate and the environment. We are continuously improving a tool that will help decision-makers to quantify and map impacts of planned rural development interventions, while sustainably managing landscapes and achieving development outcomes: the Mapping Ecosystem Services to Human Well-Being for the Sustainable Development Goals (MESH-SDG). Read more
Target 15.9: By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts. This research also contributes to meeting Target 2.4 and Target 3.4
- Distilling the role of ecosystem services in the Sustainable Development Goals
- Integrated Land Management - The means of implementation for the Sustainable Development Goals
- In a nutshell: Mapping Ecosystem Services to Human well-being (MESH): managing landscapes to achieve Sustainable Development Goals
- Putting ecosystems into the SDGs
- The Sustainable Development Goals through a CGIAR lens – how we are taking action
“We will not be able to achieve Zero Hunger as well as many other interconnected Sustainable Development Goals unless agrobiodiversity is seriously taken on board. Why? Because it is crystal clear that agriculture in the last century has been very costly to human and environmental health, especially in terms of land degradation and loss of biodiversity.”
Pierfrancesco Sacco, Italian permanent representative to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) speaking at the launch of our new book in September 2017.
In this guest blog post, Ann Tutwiler, Director General, Bioversity International, kicks off Farming First's brand new series 'SDG2 Countdown' by...
We stopped to chat with two special guests of the first International Agrobiodiversity Congress in Delhi – Julia Marton-Lefèvre and Cristián Samper –...
The 1st International Agrobiodiversity Congress that was held in New Delhi, India, from 6 to 9 November 2016 concluded with the adoption of the Delhi...
Italy's permanent representation to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), Bioversity International and FAO co-hosted an event... | <urn:uuid:04eaa269-9e79-4754-90a9-0ef9dc7b8cf4> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.bioversityinternational.org/sdgs/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370524604.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20200404165658-20200404195658-00394.warc.gz | en | 0.925212 | 3,248 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Any English-speaking frontiersman who took up with the Indians was dubbed "squaw man"—a term of sinister connotations. Despite pride in descending from Pocahontas and in the vaunted Indian blood of such individuals as Will Rogers, crossbreeding between Anglo-Americans and Indians has been restricted, as compared, for instance, with the interdicted crosses between white men and black women.
The Spaniards, on the other hand, crossed in battalions with the Indians, generating mestizo mixed-blooded nations, of which Mexico is the chief example. As a result, the English-speaking occupiers of the land have in general absorbed directly only a minimum of Indian culture—nothing at all comparable to the Uncle Remus stories and characters and the spiritual songs and the blues music from the Negroes.
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Grandpa still tells how his own grandpa saved or lost his scalp during a Comanche horse-stealing raid in the light of the moon; Boy Scouts hunt for Indian arrowheads; every section of the country has a bluff called Lovers' Leap, where, according to legend, a pair of forlorn Indian lovers, or perhaps only one of the pair, dived to death; the maps all show Caddo Lake, Kiowa Peak, Squaw Creek, Tehuacana Hills, Nacogdoches town, Cherokee County, Indian Gap, and many another place name derived from Indian days.
All such contacts with Indian life are exterior. Three forms of Indian culture are, however, weaving into the life patterns of America. Through the Mexican medium, with which he is becoming more sympathetic, the gringo is getting the ages-old Indian culture. The special groups incline to be arty and worshipful, but they express a salutary revolt against machined existence and they have done much to revive dignity in Indian life. Offsetting dilettantism, the Museum of New Mexico and associated institutions and artists and other individuals have fostered Indian pottery, weaving, silversmithing, dancing, painting, and other arts and crafts.
Superior craftsmanship can now depend upon a fairly reliable market; the taste of American buyers has been somewhat elevated. It expresses a spiritual content in Indian life far removed from the We and God, Incorporated form of religion ordained by the National Association of Manufacturers. There is no romance in Indian fights east of the Mississippi. Little boys still climb into their seats and cry out when red horsemen of the Plains ride across the screen. Indian Stories from the Pueblos , Philadelphia, An anthology of prose and poetry by American Indians.
Two Titans And A Hunter: A Destiny 2 Podcast
Here are singular expressions of beauty and dignity. Delightful folk tales, each leading to a vista.
Historical fiction on ancient pueblo life. The Navajo Indians , Boston, Readable; bibliography. The Rain-Makers , Boston, This thorough treatment of the Indians of Arizona and New Mexico contains an excellent account of the Hopi snake ceremony for bringing rain. During any severe drought numbers of Christians in the Southwest pray without snakes. It always rains eventually—and the prayer-makers naturally take the credit. The Hopis put on a more spectacular show. See Dr. My Adventures in Zuni , Santa Fe, Cushing had rare imagination and sympathy.
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His retellings of tales are far superior to verbatim recordings. Zuni Breadstuff reveals more of Indian spirituality than any other book I can name. All OP. Dancing Gods , Knopf, New York, Erna Fergusson is always illuminating. Grant Foreman is prime authority on the so-called "Civilized Tribes. An account not only of the trading post Wetherills but of the Navajos as human beings, with emphasis on their spiritual qualities.
Indians of the Southwest , New York, Excellent outline of exterior facts. Cry of the Thunderbird , Macmillan, New York, An anthology of writings by Indians containing many interesting leads. Ancient Life in the American Southwest , Indianapolis, A master work in both archeology and Indian nature. With Bertha P. Indispensable encyclopedia, by a very great scholar and a very fine gentleman. Lummis, though self-vaunting and opinionated, opens windows. Outstanding writing. Rhythm for Rain , Boston, Based on ten years spent with the Hopi Indians, this study of their life is a moving story of humanity.
Eloquent, liberating to the human mind; something rare for Texas scholarship. Pearce was professor of anthropology at the University of Texas, an emancipator from prejudices and ignorance. It is a pity that all the college students who are forced by the bureaucrats of Education—Education spelled with a capital E—"the unctuous elaboration of the obvious"—do not take anthropology instead. Collegians would then stand a chance of becoming educated. The use of peyote has now spread northwest into Canada.
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- Guide to Life and Literature of the Southwest, by J. Frank Dobie!
Spider Woman , , and Dezba Woman of the Desert , Both honest, both OP. The clearest view into the mind and living ways, including sex life, of an Indian that has been published. Few autobiographers have been clearer; not one has been franker. A singular human document. They knew some phases of nature with an intimacy that few civilized naturalists ever attain to. It is unfortunate that most of the literature about them is from their enemies.
Yet an enemy often teaches a man more than his friends and makes him work harder. On the Border with Crook , London, Reprinted by Long's College Book Co. A truly great book, on both Apaches and Arizona frontier. Bourke had amplitude, and he knew. The Indian Captive , Bandera, Texas, Homely and realistic.
Despite many strictures, Catlin's two volumes remain standard. Apache Agent , Boston, Worthy autobiography of a noble understander of the Apache people. Apache , Dutton, New York, Noble; vivid; semifiction. Davis helped run Geronimo down. Cynthia Ann Parker , St. Louis, ; reprinted Good narrative of noted woman captive.
The Mustangs , Little, Brown, Boston, The opening chapters of this book distil a great deal of research by scholars on Plains Indian acquisition of horses, riding, and raiding. The Cheyenne Indians , New Haven, This two-volume work supersedes The Fighting Cheyennes , It is noble, ample, among the most select books on Plains Indians.
Pawnee Hero Stories and Folk Tales , , is hardly an equal but it reveals the high values of life held by representatives of the original plainsmen. The Story of the Indian , , is a general survey. Grinnell's knowledge and power as a writer on Indians and animals has not been sufficiently recognized. He combined in a rare manner scholarship, plainsmanship, and the worldliness of publishing. Mainly a history of military activities against Comanches and other tribes, laced with homilies on the free enterprise virtues of the conquerors.
Nine Years with the Indians , Bandera, Texas, Best captive narrative of the Southwest. Factual history. Long Lance , New York, Long Lance was a Blackfoot only by adoption, but his imagination incorporated him into tribal life more powerfully than blood could have. He is said to have been a North Carolina mixture of Negro and Croatan Indian; he was a magnificent specimen of manhood with swart Indian complexion.
No matter what the facts of his life, he wrote a vivid and moving autobiography of a Blackfoot Indian in whom the spirit of the tribe and the natural life of the Plains during buffalo days were incorporated.
By J. Frank Dobie
In in the California home of Anita Baldwin, daughter of the spectacular "Lucky" Baldwin, he absented himself from this harsh world by a pistol shot. The Crow Indians , New York, This scholar and anthropologist lived with the Crow Indians to obtain intimate knowledge and then wrote this authoritative book. Wise in exposition; true-to-humanity and delightful in narrative. Valentine T. McGillicuddy, Scotch in stubbornness, honesty, efficiency, and individualism, was U. Indian agent to the Sioux and knew them to the bottom. In the end he was defeated by the army mind and the bloodsuckers known as the "Indian Ring.
My Friend the Indian , , McLaughlin was U. Indian agent and inspector for half a century.
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Despite priggishness, he had genuine sympathy for the Indians; he knew the Sioux, Nez Perces, and Cheyennes intimately, and few books on Indian plainsmen reveal so much as his. Alice Marriott, author of other books on Indians, combines ethnological science with the art of writing. This book of essays on the character of and certain noble characters among the Great Osages, including their upright agent Leban J.
Miles, has profound spiritual qualities.
Black Elk Speaks , New York, Black Elk was a holy man of the Ogalala Sioux. The story of his life as he told it to understanding John G. Neihardt is more of mysteries and spiritual matters than of mundane affairs. Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains , London, Vivid on Comanche raids. See Ruxton in "Surge of Life in the West. My Life as an Indian , In this autobiographical narrative of the life of a white man with a Blackfoot woman, facts have probably been arranged, incidents added.
Whatever his method, the author achieved a remarkable human document. It is true not only to Indian life in general but in particular to the life of a "squaw man" and his loved and loving mate. The Boy Captives , Bandera, Texas, A kind of classic in homeliness. Sitting Bull , Houghton Mifflin, Boston, Excellent biography. A wide-compassing and interesting book on a powerful and interesting people. | <urn:uuid:d0dceb1b-2d05-4021-a4a2-23577be6ba90> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://virememhy.ga/the-august-hunters-curse-hunters-liars.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370500482.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20200331115844-20200331145844-00313.warc.gz | en | 0.933241 | 2,244 | 2.734375 | 3 |
An incident that currently does not affect the local or general population but has the potential to escalate to a more serious emergency. The situation is unresolved and should be monitored closely. Some limited protective actions may be implemented and additional assistance requested from MOHSEP.
A State agency, local government, or private non-profit facility submitting a Project Application or request for direct Federal Assistance under the Act or on whose behalf the Governor's Authorized Representative takes such action.
An event, the effects of which cause loss of life, human suffering, property damage, both public and private, and severe economic and social disruption. Disasters can be natural or man-made events; major accidents, or enemy attacks. Disasters are differentiated from those day-to-day emergencies and accidents that are routinely responded to by local emergency organizations, and may be of such magnitude or unusual circumstances as to require response by all levels of government - federal, state and local.
Disaster Recovery Center (DRC)
A facility established in a centralized location within or near the disaster area at which disaster victims (individuals, families, or businesses) apply for disaster aid.
An individual whose skills or services are required to continue operation of vital facilities and activities that will provide goods and services to the relocated population and host parish residents, or insure continuance of the nation’s production capabilities and preservation of the economic system.
A disaster occurrence or a situation which seriously threatens loss of life and damage to property. It usually develops suddenly and unexpectedly and demands immediate, coordinated, and effective response by government and private sector organizations to protect lives and limit damage to property. Examples of emergency situations which could result in a disaster include: an accident involving hazardous materials which threatens to explode or rupture endangering the surrounding population; a period of time prior to the onset of a severe storm such as a hurricane; and a period of intense international crisis that could lead to nuclear warfare.
Any of the various types of catastrophe included in the definition of a "major disaster" which required Federal emergency assistance to supplement State and local efforts to save lives and protect property, public health and safety, or to avert or lessen the threat of a disaster.
Emergency Alert System (EAS)
A network of broadcast stations and interconnecting facilities which have been authorized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to operate in a controlled manner during a war, state of public peril or disaster, or other natural emergency as provided by the Emergency Alert System Plan.
The judicious planning, assignment and coordination of all available resources in an integrated program of prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery for emergencies of any kind, whether from enemy attack, man-made or natural sources.
Emergency Operation Center (EOC)
The protected site from which civil government officials (municipal, parish, state and federal) exercise direction and control in an emergency.
Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)
A brief, clear and concise document which describes action to be taken and provides instructions to all individuals and local government services, and states what will be done in the event of an anticipated emergency. The plan will state the method or scheme for taking coordinated action to meet the needs of the situation. It will state what action is to be taken, when and where it is to take place, and who is responsible, based on pre-determined assumptions, objectives and capabilities. Sometimes referred to as the Population Protection Plan by Federal agencies.
Emergency Public Information (EPI)
Information which is disseminated before, during and/or after an emergency designed to instruct and transmit direct orders to the public via the news media.
Emergency Support Function (ESF)
Used by the Federal Government and many State governments as the primary mechanism at the operational level to organize and provide assistance. ESF's align categories of resources and provide strategic objectives for their use. ESF's utilize standardized resource management concepts such as typing, inventorying, and tracking to facilitate the dispatch, deployment, and recovery of resources before, during, and after an incident.
Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ)
To facilitate a preplanned strategy for protective actions during an emergency, there are two emergency planning zones (EPZs) around each nuclear power plant. The exact size and shape of each EPZ is a result of detailed planning which includes consideration of the specific conditions at each site, unique geographical features of the area, and demographic information. The concept of zone-based emergency planning is common, perhaps best illustrated by the federal Radiological Emergency Preparedness program for fixed nuclear facilities, which uses two zones of 10 miles and 50 miles in radius.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
The primary purpose is to coordinate the response to an event has occurred in the United States that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities
The area adjoining a river, stream, watercourse, ocean, lake or other body of standing water that has been or may be covered by flood water.
The channel of a river or stream and those parts of the flood plains adjoining the channel which are required to carry and discharge the floodwater or flood flow of any river or stream.
Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP)
State agency that has the responsibility to coordinate other state agencies in their efforts to prepare for, prevent, respond to and recover from, all natural and manmade emergencies and disasters in the State of Louisiana.
The Chief Executive or Acting Chief Executive of the State of Louisiana.
Areas designated by the Federal government, or locally through a Hazard Vulnerability Analysis, which are relatively more likely to experience the direct efforts of certain natural or man-made disasters.
All methods and measures employed to eliminate or make less severe the effects of a major disaster or emergency and of future disasters in the affected area, including reduction and avoidance.
Homeland Security (HLS)
Homeland Security is a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do occur.
Individual Assistance Officer (IAO)
A principal staff officer on the FCO's staff and directly responsible to the FCO for all matters relating to individual assistance, including the establishment, location and operation of DAC's and mobile teams. The IAO is located with the FCO.
Joint Field Office (JFO)
A facility established within or adjacent to an affected area for the purpose of providing disaster victims with "one-stop" service in meeting their disaster or emergency needs. It is usually staffed by representatives of Federal, State and local government agencies, volunteer organizations and certain representatives of the private sector.
Joint Information Center (JIC)
An interagency entity established to coordinate and disseminate information for the public and media concerning an incident. JICs may be established locally, regionally, or nationally depending on the size and magnitude of the incident.
Louisiana Capital Area Volunteer Organization Active in Disasters (LCAVOAD)
A non-profit organization that enhances the effectiveness of service providers and stakeholders who help communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters, with the overall purpose of lessening the impact of disasters on citizens. During emergencies, the East Baton Rouge chapter of the state VOAD organization is represented in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
National Terrorism Advisory System
A system designed to disseminate information regarding the risk of terrorist acts to federal, state and local authorities and to the American people. Under the National Terrorism Advisory System, there are three categories, “Bulletin,” “Elevated Alert,” and “Imminent Alert.” A Bulletin describes the current developments or general trends regarding threats of terrorism. An Elevated Alert warns of a credible terrorism threat against the United States. An Imminent Alert warns of a credible, specific and impending terrorism threat against the United States.
National Incident Management System (NIMS)
System that provides a proactive approach guiding government agencies at all levels, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations to work seamlessly to prepare for, prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity, in order to reduce the loss of life or property and harm to the environment.
National Preparedness Goal
A Nation prepared with coordinated capabilities to prevent, protect against, respond to and recover from all hazards in a way that balances risk with resources and need.
National Response Framework (NRF)
Guides how the Nation conducts all-hazards response. The Framework documents the key response principles, roles, and structures that organize national response. It describes how communities, States, the Federal Government, and private-sector and nongovernmental partners apply these principles for a coordinated, effective national response. And it describes special circumstances where the Federal Government exercises a larger role, including incidents where Federal interests are involved and catastrophic incidents where a State would require significant support. It allows first responders, decision makers, and supporting entities to provide a unified national response.
Points of Distribution (POD)
Centralized locations where the public picks up life sustaining commodities following a disaster or emergency. Commodities may include ice, water, meals ready to eat, or tarps. Commodities are provided often in the event of loss of electricity or decrease in availability of commodities (such as food).
Points of Dispensing (POD)
During a public health emergency, such as a large scale disease outbreak or bioterrorism event, the Public Health Department may be tasked to provide antibiotics or vaccines to all members of our community potentially exposed to a disease. Point of Dispensing (POD) sites may be set up to accomplish this task. The sole purpose of a dispensing point is to quickly distribute preventive medication to large numbers of people during a public health emergency in an effort to prevent illness.
A program, including plans, procedures, and systems to monitor, report and evaluate the radiological hazards. It supports preventive and remedial measures to minimize the effect of nuclear radiation on people and resources.
A specified area relatively unlikely to experience the direct effects of a particular natural disaster or nuclear attack, and designated for the reception, care and logistical support of the hazard area evacuees.
Manpower, raw or basic materials, finished goods and products, services and facilities.
The degree to which people, property, the environment, or social and economic activity -- in short, all elements-at-risk -- are susceptible to injury, damage, disruption, or loss of life.
Site Area Emergency
An emergency that either has already had some effect on near-site population or is anticipated to do so. This classification would be used in situations where a limited number of people have been affected or a much larger number could possibly be affected. Protective actions would be implemented and emergency preparedness assistance would be necessary.
A pre-trained individual who provides for internal organization, administration, and operation of a shelter facility.
Shelter, Access Functional Needs
Shelter whose population may have additional needs before, during, and after an incident in functional areas, including but not limited to: maintaining independence, communication, transportation, supervision, and medical care. Individuals in need of additional response assistance may include those who have disabilities; who live in institutionalized settings; who are elderly; who are children; who are from diverse cultures; who have limited English proficiency or are non-English speaking; or who are transportation disadvantaged.
State of Louisiana
State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC)
A Facility designated as the area of mobilization of all resources of the State during times of emergencies. Other State EOC's may be designated as required in a disaster area.
State Emergency Plan
State plan which is designed specifically for state-level response to emergencies or major disasters and which sets forth actions to be taken by the state and local governments, including those for implementing federal disaster assistance.
Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs)
A set of instructions having the force of a directive, covering those features of operations which lend themselves to a definite or standardized procedure without loss of effectiveness.
The calculated use of violence or the threat of violence to attain goals that are political, religious, or ideological in nature. Terrorism includes criminal act against persons or property that is intended to influence an audience beyond the immediate victims.
Traffic Control Points
Places along evacuation routes that are manned by law enforcement officials to direct and control movement to and from the area being evacuated.
An incident that is out of the ordinary but does not present a current threat to persons or property even in the immediate vicinity. The incident may have the potential to escalate to a more serious emergency but is not expected to do so. No protective action will be implemented and no emergency preparedness assistance should be needed.
Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI)
The UASI program focuses on enhancing regional preparedness in major metropolitan areas. The UASI program directly supports the National Priority on expanding regional collaboration in the National Preparedness Guidelines and is intended to assist participating jurisdictions in developing integrated regional systems for prevention, protection, response and recovery. | <urn:uuid:9bf06072-1697-40ce-9e63-b1b8ef0b7f77> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.brla.gov/1385/Definitions | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371824409.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20200408202012-20200408232512-00035.warc.gz | en | 0.935327 | 2,702 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Teaching students how to “do science” using the old, linear scientific method is not truly reflective of how scientists study the world around them. The scientific method gives a false sense that there is a step-by-step process for how to approach research, including moving from analysis to conclusion without ever reinvestigating, retesting, and revising. Science learning is not a rigid process, it is much more fluid. What is a closer method for teaching science? Inquiry! Sometimes I think this word is used so much that it no longer sounds like a real thing. Inquiry is simply an act of asking questions to gain information. Science education researchers have been looking into how inquiry fits with science learning since the early 1960s when Bob Karplus and J. Myron Atkin published a paper based on “guided learning” or more known as the Learning Cycle (Rebello & Zollman, 1998). Guided learning focused on exploration, invention, and discovery, and was mostly used at the elementary level. Over the next 30 years, educators noticed the lack in formal reasoning skills among secondary and collegiate level students so began applying the learning cycle at the upper levels as well. There have been many different models developed but all are based on the original learning cycle. One of the more common models used at the secondary level for science education is the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) 5E Instructional Model (5Es) lead by Rodger Bybee in the 1980’s. The BSCS 5E Instruction Model consists of 5 phases that all begin with “E” (imagine that 🙂 ): Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate (Bybee et. al., 2006). See the diagram below for more information about each phase.Inquiry has been a part of science education for a very long time. So why aren’t more teachers using it? This is a complex problem with many answers ranging from the focus being on testing for the last 10+ years, lack of professional development showing HOW to apply inquiry (so much PD and college courses focus on the process of inquiry not specific science applications), lack of planning time for teachers to really think about applications in the classroom, and maybe even the worry that students won’t really learn everything they need to without explicit instruction.
“Ideas are best introduced when students see a need or a reason for their use – this helps them see relevant uses of the knowledge to make sense of what they are learning.” – How People Learn (NRC, 1999)
I will admit I haven’t stuck with a particular inquiry process when teaching but it’s not for a lack of trying. Many of the reasons mentioned above are what I’ve been confronted with as well as several others (student behavior being one). I have stuck with requiring students to work through problems to apply and process concepts on their own or with groups, and asking them leading questions instead of giving them the answers but this is definitely not enough. Over the last year I have become more intentional with my teaching, sticking closer to certain pieces of the 5E Instructional Model (exploration, explanation, and elaboration) and have seen great results! What contributed to the change? Well I was able to attend PD the specifically focused on HOW to apply science concepts within inquiry. I understand the inquiry process; I know the general idea of what to do, how to do it, and why we should be doing it. Inquiry courses are a part of a science teacher’s education. I needed help with intertwining the new 3-dimensions of the science standards with inquiry; not just another example of a step-by-step guide. Now that I’ve spent a year with it, I want to share what I’ve learned with you. Hopefully making all of this a little less complicated 🙂
The 3-dimensions of science learning are disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), crosscutting concepts (CCCs), and science and engineering practices (SEPs). What’s with the colors? Well our standards are color coded for easy understanding! (A dream for this visual learner!) As you can see in this screen shot of the first chemistry standard from the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science (OAS-S), each section is colored. These colors are related to many things that are associated with our standards (Science Frameworks, PD on Your Plan, Lesson Adaptations – coming soon!). The standard that students will be assessed on can be found in the Performance Expectations (PE) section, which happens to be color coded as well. The blue part is associated with the specific SEP students are expected to be able to do, and the green is associated with the DCI. The CCC listed below is what will help students understand how it’s connected to other ideas (in this case it’s patterns). So how do I get all of these colored pieces into inquiry? Well I’ve learned to group the 3-dimensions around gathering information, reasoning, and communicating (using Brett Moulding’s book, A Vision and Plan for Science Learning). I’ve also learned about phenomena-driven instruction and have become a huge fan. I’ve taken all of this and have decided to frame my teaching around the following phases: Phenomenon, Investigation, Explanation, Modeling, and Communicating. This is how I’m going to teach my classes this year. Are you a visual learner like me? Below you’ll find a table that represents how I believe the 5E Instructional Model, Moulding’s “Gathering, Reasoning, Communicating”, and the phases I’m going to use in my classroom relate to each other. This is definitely subject to revision as I work during the year.
Now please understand this is not meant to be a linear process that simply replaces the old version of the scientific method! Gathering, reasoning, and communicating could really be done at any phase (reason behind no separation lines in that column). These models are fluid and students can move between phases in a cyclic fashion by reinvestigating, retesting/re-experimenting, and revising. This list is also more for teacher use than my students. My hope (and plan) is that each of my students will know what those words mean (from the “My Classroom” column) but they will not think of it as a step-by-step process. I want them to know that scientists observe, question, investigation, construct explanations based on evidence, and communicate with others.
“Integrated instructional units have 2 key features; 1st, Lab and other experiences are carefully designed or selected on the basis of what students learn from them. 2nd, The experience is explicitly linked to and integrated with other learning activities in the unit.” – Rodger Bybee, et. al. (2006)
Okay, time for an example. This will be from chemistry since that’s what I teach but hopefully you’ll get the idea 🙂 The 5Es I used in this lesson are in red, just to distinguish sections. This lesson is a little snippet from the one I actually wrote (the other one is longer and I didn’t want to write that all out. Although if you’re interested just let me know and I can email it).
Title: Fireworks; Topic: Light Emission from Atoms
Performance Expectations: HS-PS4-1 and HS-PS43
Student Science Performance
Phenomenon – Fireworks Emit Different Colored Visible Light Waves
Elaborating Scientific Concepts & Abilities
Asking Questions: Students, in pairs, gather information through asking questions about the causes of fireworks having different colors. (Teacher hint: teacher should post a picture of different colored fireworks in a night sky and pose the question, “How do fireworks emit light?”)
Conduct an Investigation to Obtain Information: Students carry out an investigation to determine that various metals change the color of the flame. (Teacher hint: students will conduct a Wood Splints Flame Test). Students use reliable resources to gather information on how different metals emit light at different wavelengths and frequencies when atoms interact with an energy source. (Teacher hint: students find explanations for the causes of light being emitted from an atom, If students do not have access to the internet, the teacher can provide print-outs of the readings.)
Construct an Explanation from Evidence: Using the evidence obtained during the investigation, students begin constructing explanations for the causes of different colored fireworks.
Conduct a Class Discussion: Questions to initiate class discussion: What are the mechanisms for a firework? How is an atom structured? What subatomic particles are involved and why? etc..
Develop an Argument from Evidence: Students individually develop an argument for how evidence from the investigation supports their explanation for how and why there are different colored fireworks.
Develop a Model: Students develop a model of the meal atom that represents valence electron behavior when an atom gains and loses energy, and the characteristics of the light wave emitted. (Teacher hint: students should draw a Bohr Model that includes an energy source, valence electron behavior, and light emissions.)
So the above is a portion of a lesson overview that I wrote using Brett Moulding’s set up from his book. They take some time to get used to and even Moulding said that it would be impossible to write all lessons like that. The important part is that you set up your instruction in such a way that students are applying the concepts they must learn when they are first learning about it, NOT at the end after a teacher-led discussion. If you are set up learning so that students can see the use for the information they will do it! As with anything, you’ll need to give yourself time to adjust as well as time for the students. Student-led learning is out of their comfort box as well, and they’ll definitely push back. Just. Keep. With. It! I promise it’ll all work out.
I’ll end with an encouraging story: I had a student who struuuuuugled with writing explanations supported by evidence. This student preferred to just plug-and-chug problems and answer questions that just needed a one or two word answer (and this student did great with those!). This student worked hard, had set backs all semester, but kept working. When it came to finals, this student wrote the BEST short answer explanations out of all my classes! This student could see growth and was excited! This student is why I’m changing the process for all my classes so that there are repeats of this experience. I know it’s going to be hard and it’ll take time but if all of my students have the chance to feel like this one, why wouldn’t I?
- Bybee, R.W., et. al. (2006). The BSCS 5E Instructional Model: Origins, Effectiveness, and Applications. Retrieved from http://www.bscs.org/sites/default/files/_legacy/BSCS_5E_Instructional_Model-Executive_Summary_0.pdf
- Rebello, N. S., & Zollman, D. (1998). Learning Cycles – Curricula Based on Research. Retrieved from https://web.phys.ksu.edu/papers/concepts/LCIntro.pdf
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The peace treaty that ended the French and Indian War in 1763 eliminated New France as a military threat to the British colonists, and marked the start of the march toward American independence. The war effort, and British Prime Minister William Pitt’s decision to retain large numbers of troops in the American colonies after the conflict, doubled Great Britain’s national debt.
In an effort to raise revenues, Parliament enforced the Navigation Acts, which listed specific commodities that could be shipped only within the English empire. However, Britain’s attempt to make the colonists abide by the shipping regulations generated little revenue due to an increase in smuggling. Pitt’s successor, George Grenville, took a different route to force the colonists to pay what he believed was their fair share for the services of the British army stationed in America.
In 1764, Grenville pressed Parliament to pass the Sugar Act—also known as the Revenue Act—that placed tariffs on sugar, wine, coffee, and other items imported by the colonies. The law angered Americans who claimed that Britain had no right to tax them because they had no representation in Parliament. Grenville countered that every member of Parliament represented every member of the British Empire, but the colonists refused to pay the tax, and continued to smuggle goods.
The inadequate funds generated by the Sugar Act forced Grenville and Parliament to enact a Stamp Act that placed taxes on all printed materials, including legal papers, playing cards, and newspapers. No one could sell pamphlets or newspapers or distribute diplomas or licenses without first purchasing special stamps and placing them on the printed material.
Grenville believed that the colonists would accept the tax with little objection since similar taxes were commonplace in England. But Americans considered the Stamp Act to be a direct tax—paid directly to England rather than to their own legislatures—and again challenged Parliament’s authority to tax without representation.
The colonists also grew suspicious of the build up of British troops in America, since the colonies finally seemed to be safe. The Proclamation of 1763, which Parliament enacted to prohibit white settlement west of the crest of the Appalachian Mountains, reinforced the fear that the British troops were not stationed in America to protect the colonists. Many Patriots believed that the British government planned to use the soldiers against Americans and suppress their freedom by enforcing the Navigation Acts and collecting taxes.
In October 1765, the Stamp Act Congress, comprised of delegates from nine colonies, petitioned Parliament to repeal the act. Grenville ignored the pleas of the colonists and ordered the tax to be implemented. Resistance to England’s attempts to tighten control over the colonies grew violent when organizations, such as the Sons of Liberty, staged riots and vandalized the homes of the stamp distributors. The mobs threatened the safety of the stamp agents and their families and intimidated them into resigning their posts. By the time the new law went into effect, it was unenforceable because there were no stamp distributors left in the colonies to sell the stamps.
Many Americans formed non-importation pacts that drastically cut the amount of goods purchased from England. British merchants, manufacturers, and shippers suffered from the reduced trade and pressured Parliament into repealing the Stamp Act. The colonists lifted their boycott on British goods and celebrated their victory against the Crown. Their jubilation, however, was short-lived.
On the same day Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, it passed the Declaratory Act, which reaffirmed England’s authority to pass any law it desired to bind the colonies and people of America. The colonists remained subordinates and the British government pronounced its complete and unqualified sovereignty over its North American colonies.
The repeal of the Stamp Act did not end Britain’s plan to tax the colonies. In 1767, Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend proposed enacting new customs duties on the most popular items imported by the colonies. Parliament approved The Townshend duties (also referred to as the Townshend Revenue Act), which taxed a wide variety of imports, including glass, lead, paints, paper, silk, and tea. Unlike the Stamp Act, the new levy was an indirect tax payable at American ports.
During this period, Parliament also implemented several administrative measures. It created a Board of Customs Commissioners to enforce trade regulations and established vice-admiralty courts to deal with colonists who violated the law. The British government paid the salaries of colonial governors with money collected from the Americans so the wages could not be withheld by colonial assemblies. Parliament decreased the number of British troops in North America and placed the financial responsibility for maintaining the presence of the remaining soldiers solely on the colonists.
Patriot leaders responded to the Townshend duties just as they did when the Stamp Act was announced—they boycotted British goods. This time, however, their efforts to disrupt the British economy did not produce the same results. Many colonists were not concerned with the new tax because it was small and indirect and, through the growing network of smugglers, they were able to find other avenues to get their goods. Samuel Adams, one of the most outspoken proponents of the non-importation pact, encouraged street mobs to involve merchants in the boycott, including those loyal to the Crown.
As conflict in the colonies intensified, Britain transferred two regiments of troops to Boston. The presence of the red-clad British soldiers patrolling the city streets convinced colonists that their liberties were being destroyed and resentment toward England escalated. Fistfights occurred regularly as Americans taunted the redcoats and dared them to fight back. Leaders of both groups realized that one incident could start a devastating riot.
On March 5, 1770, tension between the two forces peaked when a small group of colonists threw snowballs at a British soldier guarding the Custom House. The crowd grew in size as the participants’ jeers turned malicious. When the intimidating mob moved closer to the building, the British soldiers panicked and fired into the crowd. Five Bostonians were killed and several more injured. Among the dead was Crispus Attucks, a runaway mulatto slave and one of the primary instigators of the incident.
Colonists referred to the violent confrontation as the “Boston Massacre” and demanded justice. Future president John Adams offered his services as the British soldiers’ defense attorney to make sure they received a fair trial. All of the soldiers subsequently were acquitted except for two, who were convicted of manslaughter.
On the very day the Boston Massacre took place, Parliament at the urging of the new prime minister, Lord North, repealed all of the Townshend duties except that on tea. During the next two years, colonists’ attempts to enforce the boycott against British goods weakened, and an uneasy truce prevailed between the American Patriots and the British government.
In 1773, the British East India Tea Company faced bankruptcy. More than 17 million pounds of tea sat idle in warehouses, in part because American boycotts and smuggling damaged the English tea industry. The British government, set to lose a large amount of tax revenue if the company failed, ratified a Tea Act that allowed the company to bypass English and American wholesalers and sell directly to American merchants at reduced prices.
The act undercut American smugglers and angered other colonists who believed the British were using the low prices to trick them into paying the tea duty. Business owners worried that if Parliament could grant the East India Tea Company a monopoly on the colonial market, it could control all American commerce.
The Tea Act renewed the colonists’ resentment toward Parliament and prompted them to protest the British regulations. Mobs lined the ports in New York and Philadelphia and refused to allow the crews of the British ships to unload their tea cargo. The governor of New York declared that the tea could be unloaded only “under the protection of the point of the bayonet and muzzle of the cannon.”
The citizens of Boston took a different approach to prevent the British ships from landing their cargoes. Massachusetts governor Thomas Hutchinson was determined to force the issue in an effort to exert royal authority over the “rebels.” He ordered the three tea ships to remain docked in Boston harbor until their cargoes were unloaded. During the night of December 16, 1773, Samuel Adams and about fifty members of the Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as Indians and boarded the three ships. Onlookers huddled in groups on the dock and watched the band of colonists dump several hundred chests filled with tea into Boston harbor.
Colonists expressed mixed reactions to their countrymen’s defiant actions. Many citizens, such as Boston’s own John Adams, cheered the bold gesture; others, including Benjamin Franklin, were shocked at the destruction of private property. The people who condemned the rebellious action in Boston harbor believed that it threatened the existence of a civil society. They also feared that the outburst would bring severe repercussions from Parliament.
British authorities became furious when news of the Boston Tea Party reached London. King George III told Lord North it was time for the colonists to either submit to the Crown or triumph and be left alone. The prime minister was equally determined to test the Americans’ mettle and pressed Parliament to pass a series of measures to discipline the “haughty” colonists. The Boston Tea Party effectively stifled any public support in Great Britain for the American position.
In 1774, Parliament enacted four laws, collectively known as the “Coercive Acts,” designed to tighten Britain’s control over the colonies:
Although not considered part of the Coercive Acts, Parliament at the same time passed the Quebec Act that extended the Canadian border south to include the Ohio River Valley, land that was previously claimed by Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Virginia. Many colonists were convinced that the five laws, which they labeled the Intolerable Acts, directly threatened their liberty.Lord North considered the colonies separate from each other and directed the Coercive Acts at Massachusetts as punishment for the Boston Tea Party. He assumed that the Americans generally were content to live under British rule and would not object to the restrictions that focused on just one colony. However, he did not realize that many Americans detested Britain’s claim to complete authority over the colonies. The Intolerable Acts served to stiffen American Patriot resistance toward Great Britain.
You just finished Imperial Reorganization. Nice work!
Tip: Use ← → keys to navigate! | <urn:uuid:bc3e1f84-5889-4c15-9974-0c7beb6cd9e7> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.apstudynotes.org/us-history/topics/imperial-reorganization/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370511408.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20200410173109-20200410203609-00435.warc.gz | en | 0.968432 | 2,114 | 4.21875 | 4 |
It took less than four decades for Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Brazil’s mid-century poet laureate, to get an answer to his question: “There is no Brazil. By any chance, are there Brazilians?” Milton Nascimento’s much-recorded song “Here Is the Football Nation” replied, “At the match.” It was, from the 1960s onwards, a commonplace of Brazilian culture that football was the national ritual. When the Seleção took the field at the World Cup and over 95 percent of the population were watching them on television, Brazil existed in a more complete way than at any other moment. This was not just a symbolic practice; the demands of football could produce tangible material change too. The 1970 World Cup in Mexico was not only the occasion of Brazil’s third, and most scintillating, victory, but also, to ensure nationwide coverage of the games, the first time that a comprehensive north-south telecommunications infrastructure had been built; just one of the many ways in which the Brazilian state has tried to use football to create the nation.
The creation of a Brazilian nation-state and a living sense of the Brazilian nation or people has been a long and arduous process, for both tasks began with the most meager of resources. Although the country notionally acquired independence from Portugal in 1822, it entered the post-colonial world without experiencing the defining break that characterized the emergence of nations in Spanish-speaking South America. First, the Portuguese court decamped en masse from Lisbon to Rio, fleeing Napoleon’s invading armies. Settling in for almost two decades, the royal court ruled the Lusophone empire from Brazil. When, reluctantly, Dom Pedro I returned to take up his throne in Europe, he left behind his son Dom Pedro II as emperor of a now independent Brazilian Empire. Thus Brazil’s life as a nation rather than some unusual imperial specimen began only in 1889 when the army deposed the emperor in a brief bloodless coup and declared the first Brazilian Republic. Nation in name, the Brazilian republican state was a fragile creature. The nation’s borders were only finally resolved in the early decades of the 20th century and they remained, if geographically defined, virtually unpoliced. The federal state and the presidency, whatever their constitutional prerogatives, lacked the reach and power to govern a nation that stretched from the capital of Rio over 500 miles south to the Uruguayan border and more than 2,000 miles to the depths of the Amazonian basin and the Caribbean coast of the far north. In effect, enormous autonomy was ceded to the states and their local elites.
At the turn of the 20th century, economically and topographically Brazil might as well have been four or five nations. In the south an almost completely European population presided over rich cattle ranching; in the southeast, in the most important and populous states of São Paulo, Rio, and Minas Gerais, a world-beating coffee plantation economy was at its peak. In what is now known as the center west, the inland states of Mato Grosso and Goiás were still a refuge for indigenous Brazilians. A future inland capital had been located there on the maps, but the area was virtually uninhabited and unworked by Europeans. In the northeast, along the Atlantic coast, the remnants of the sugar plantation and slavery complex were combined with the vast, harsh-ranching latifundia of the dry interior, where the same families that had personally commanded these states for centuries remained firmly in control. In the north, but for Manaus, Belém, and the short-lived rubber boom that created them, Brazil had barely scratched at the surface of the vast Amazonian rainforest. Moreover, until the advent of reasonably regular air transport in the late 1940s and 1950s, these regions were connected by the thinnest of threads. Coastal shipping remained the most reliable and the fastest way of communicating between the south and the north, roads were poor, and the country began the century with fewer railway tracks than Belgium.
Brazil’s flimsy federal state and its antiquated military would eventually acquire significantly more power at the expense of individual states, making a national government a reality, but who and what was this geographically and socially fragmented nation?
Over the next half century or so Brazil would be transformed from an overwhelmingly rural to a predominantly urban society, and in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo it acquired cities of truly metropolitan magnitude. Brazil’s agrarian economies, while remaining significant, were now joined by a rapidly growing industrial sector centered in the southeast. Both of these processes were driven by migration, internal and external. With the end of slavery in 1888, a vast Afro-Brazilian population of landless peasants was created, which, along with the many poor whites and mulattos of the northeast, began heading for the coastal cities of the country. Simultaneously, millions of Europeans—predominantly Italians, Portuguese, and Germans—crossed the Atlantic and stayed in Brazil. Among the many social and cultural transformations wrought by these changes perhaps the most significant was the emergence of the urban working and middle classes and the slow spread of literacy down the social hierarchy. In an electoral system where literacy was the key qualification for voting, this began to produce a larger and more complex electorate.
Brazil’s flimsy federal state and its antiquated military would eventually acquire significantly more power at the expense of individual states, making a national government a reality, but who and what was this geographically and socially fragmented nation? In the century after independence, Brazil’s tiny intelligentsia had looked to Europe for inspiration. Portugal itself proved as hopeless a source of cultural ideas as it had of both capital and labor, so the guiding compass for Brazilian high culture was France. The decorative architecture of the Parisian Belle Époque was reproduced with considerable flourish in Rio, and French novels and poetry were widely read. Auguste Comte, the founder of the discipline of sociology, provided the intellectual inspiration for the cabal of modernizing junior officers that drove the republican revolution. It is, after all, a Comtean notion of “Order and Progress” that is spelled out on the Brazilian flag; a reminder of a time when it was thought that the European sciences could diagnose a nation’s ills and produce rational and effective interventions to deal with them. Alongside this kind of absurdly optimistic positivism, Brazil drew upon European biological theories of race and eugenics. On the one hand, they provided an apparently legitimate scientific explanation of white European superiority. On the other, they made their Brazilian advocates worry about the declining demographic position and racial health of European Brazil, and advocate the whitening of the nation. What didn’t make the journey across the South Atlantic were the more radical and democratic dimensions to the French Republic, the concept and indeed the practice of universal citizenship. This carefully edited cluster of ideas and imagery might have been enough to create a notion of upper-class white European Brazilianness, albeit one constantly threatened by the demographic and racial realities of the country, but as an exercise in popular nationalism under conditions of rapid industrialization it was going nowhere.
The relentless demands of industrialized warfare have been a powerful catalyst for the creation of national state institutions and a collective sense of national identity, but Brazil never experienced this. Although its military was kept busy fighting a grueling 19th-century war with its Paraguayan neighbors, suppressing independent ex-slave communities in the northeast, putting down a rash of mutinies, regional rebellions, and revolts, and even sending a brigade to fight on the Allied side in Italy in the closing years of the Second World War, none of these conflicts could serve as a crucible of national myth, heroic triumph, or collective fortitude. Given Brazil’s calamitously low level of literacy, the creation of a national public sphere through a shared language and literature was not a plausible strategy either.
IN THIS LIGHT, CARLOS Drummond de Andrade’s apparent flippancy belies a profound problem for Brazilian nationalists of the early 20th century. At the most protean moment of Brazil’s search to define itself, the answer could not simply be imposed from above on white, literate, and elite terms. Brazil henceforth would have to incorporate some notion of its African demographics, its complex ethnicities, and the non-literate tastes and practices of its emerging urban popular classes. Brazil was, in actual fact, rich in precisely these cultural forms: popular music from choro to the samba and their accompanying dances and carnivals; candomblé, the generic term for African religious and spiritual practices forged from the hybrid of African cultures compressed under slavery; umbanda, the emerging urban form of candomblé that actively mixed African spirits and Catholic saints, pagan ritual and the Roman sacraments. Yet despite the various attempts made by Brazil’s elite to appropriate these forms, and to integrate at some level the African contribution to Brazilian life, they did not carry a sense of modernity. On the contrary, they remained rooted in deeply antiquated cultures. Brazilian nationalism required a cultural practice that could encompass the full spectrum of the nation’s complex social and racial hierarchies, and that acknowledged the nation’s past but set it on a course for the future. Football, especially in its initial association with Britain, the most modern nation of the time, provided just that. It was in this context that the game, as a physical bodily practice, as a collective ritual, as a carnivalesque spectacular and as a historical narrative, open to all Brazilians, acquired its status in the national pantheon; a position solidified by the global success and poetic acclaim of the national team.
Although football was introduced by the British in São Paulo, and initially played by a predominantly expatriate body of players, it is remarkable how swiftly and completely these influences were overtaken. By the end of the First World War, just 20 years after the first recorded games had been played in São Paulo, the British influence had dwindled to almost nothing. Portuguese vernacular rapidly replaced the remnants of English in the game’s vocabulary. Corinthians, the team of working-class São Paulo, retained their Anglo-Hellenic name, but the gentlemanly, amateur ethos of elite British sports culture was on its last legs and by the end of the 1930s it had collapsed altogether. British football, represented by touring professional teams, was already seen as profoundly different from the emerging Brazilian style of play. Over the next half-century, as well as being the most popular participatory sport, with the biggest crowds and the overwhelming favorite of media audiences of all kinds, football would become a subject of inquiry and depiction in almost every form of Brazilian popular culture and high art.
Whereas the response of the visual arts in 20th-century Britain to football can be boiled down to a single Lowry canvas, football has appeared in the oeuvre of dozens of Brazil’s leading artists—from the nationalist surrealism of Cândido Portinari to the abstract geometries of Ivan Serpa to the pop art of Claudio Tozzi. Its writers and novelists have, again and again, found space for the game in their literary landscapes: from Mário de Andrade’s Macunaíma, to José Lins do Rego’s epic saga of life on Rio’s periphery, Água-mãe, from the urbane and witty crônicas of Clarice Lispector to the sharp short stories of Edilberto Coutinho’s Maracanã, Adeus. The game has also been a thread and connector across the many spheres of Brazilian life. João Cabral Melo Neto was a diplomat who wrote poetry and his poetry featured Pelé. Pelé, a footballer, has gone on to be a businessman, the minister of culture, and a singer and composer. The composer Ary Barroso crossed over into football commentary and then to municipal politics. Politicians regularly seek the presidency of clubs, while club presidents try to make the transition to formal politics. The crowd can become musicians, while musicians have endlessly written and composed songs for players and clubs. Poets and dramatists commentate on football. Football commentators like Washington Rodrigues and João Saldanha have become coaches.
When Globo’s leading commentator Galvão Bueno criticizes the Seleção’s opponents for a fumble or misplaced pass, he says with a mixture of pity and contempt, “They don’t have the same intimacy with the ball.” It is a tone that assures you that he and his listeners are quite convinced that whatever its origins, whatever the competition, it is only in Brazil that football is truly at home, sunk deep into the web of meanings and memory that the nation has spun around it.
This post is adapted from Futebol Nation: The Story of Brazil Through Soccer, which is available now. | <urn:uuid:339c7b45-5186-4efa-97aa-57decf118e5f> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://psmag.com/social-justice/football-sports-fifa-world-cup-soccer-came-define-brazil-83204 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371830894.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20200409055849-20200409090349-00354.warc.gz | en | 0.96933 | 2,698 | 2.796875 | 3 |
For past two years, large scale mechanized and illegal mining is happening in Yamuna River in Haryana state. The miners have created deep pits across the riverbed in Yamuna Nagar, Karnal, Panipat and Sonipat districts. Year 2019 has been a deficit monsoon year in Yamuna basin and the river had started shrinking unusually during October month. The rampant riverbed excavation has further robbed it of lean season flows. This detailed overview of river sand mining in Haryana in 2019 shows the severe impact of unsustainable and illegal mining practices on the river and villagers due to insensitive government and inefficient administration.
Sand and gravels forming riverbed materials hold immense ecological value for living and healthy rivers systems. The inbuilt water filtration capacity and absorbing characteristic of the minor minerals plays critical functions in groundwater recharge and in ensuring lean season flow in the rivers. However for over two decades the brazen illegal and mechanized mining activities across the country have been irreversibly affecting the rivers and riverbank communities. The state of Punjab is among leading states where state government has failed[I] to ensure sustainable sand mining practices. The 2019 overview the state shows strong clout of political parties over the illegal sand mining operations without sharing a thought for the rivers and public.
The residents of villages abutting the sanctuary see sand mining as an important livelihood option because agriculture in the arid region is neither productive nor dependable. (HT Photo )
Madhya Pradesh is at the forefront of illegal sand mining activities. There have been violent attacks on government officials, reporters and villagers in recent years. The year 2019 saw change in state government and concerned people were hopeful that things will turn better now. However this overview shows not much have changed for rivers and people while attacks and fatalities continued in 2019.
All through the year 2019 illegal sand mining was rampant in Goa rivers despite judicial interventions. The Mandovi, Tiracal and Chapora rivers were particularly seen bearing adverse impact of unsustainable excavation. Amid worsening scenario the riverbank communities and civil societies have been making remarkable efforts to protect the rivers in the state. The work of Rainbow Warriors NGO and civil society groups who have formed the Goa River Sand Protectors network to monitor the illegal sand mining activities have truly raised hopes and shown way forward to all concerned fighting old battle against growing riverbed mining menace.
(Feature Image:In Sindhudurg, the pollution is already shrinking mangrove cover, taking away a source of shelter and food, shrinking hunting grounds and forcing marine species further outside their territories in search of fish, Sindhudurg coastline had the potential to become an International tourism destination. Pratik Chorge/HT PHOTO)
The beaches, creeks, rivers, mangroves in the state of Maharashtra all are bearing the brunt of unsustainable mining, amid several attempts by government, judiciary and civil societies to keep a tab on illegal sand mining activities. As the detailed compilation by SANDRP highlights that mining menace warrants immediate actions from government before the threats turns into a disaster.
Most of the Indian states have been facing multiple environmental issues on account of unsustainable riverbed mining activities. Mechanized excavation, nexus between politicians-administration-mafia, violent attacks on people have become common features of the illegal sand trade across the country. The rampant mining of natural resource is also severely impacting rivers, wildlife and groundwater table. And the state of Gujarat is no exception to all this as shows the year end overview.
Seeing large scale impacts of unsustainable riverbed sand mining, the Supreme Court (SC) of India had banned sand mining activities in the state on Nov. 16, 2017. The apex court had also asked the 82 lease holders to get fresh permission of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) after submission of replenishment study.
Following this, the state government had formed a committee to look into the issue. All through 2018 the ban remained[I]. The status has not changed even as the year 2019 is ending. Meanwhile cases of illegal sand mining are continuously taking place in across the state. So are the police actions as routine process, some political statements, and few court orders. Like last year, this annual round up by SANDRP compiles, all these and other relevant developments on the issue from the state of Rajasthan.
इन दिनों हरियाणा के यमुना नगर जिले में यमुना नदी में बड़े पैमाने पर जमकर अवैज्ञानिक और अवैध तरीके से पत्थर, रेत खनन हो रहा है। जिसके कारण यमुना नदी का अस्तित्व खतरे में पड़ गया है। नदी से पत्थर-रेत निकालने के लिए भारत सरकार द्वारा बनाए गए सभी कानूनों को ताक पर रखा जा रहा है। परन्तु जिला प्रशासन और सम्बंधित विभाग मामले पर मौन साधे बैठे हैं।
हाल ही में खनन प्रभावित क्षेत्र के भ्रमण के दौरान, हमने देखा की कई बड़े वाहन नदी से भारी मात्रा में कीमती रेत ढुलान में लगे हैं। नदी की प्राकृतिक धारा को किसी जगह रोका गया है और किसी जगह पर मोड़ा गया है। बड़ी बड़ी जेसीबी और भीमकाय मशीनें बेतरतीबी से नदी तल से रेत खोदने में व्यस्त हैं। जगह जगह रेत के टीलें बने हुए हैं। कई स्थानों पर नदी में विशालकाय गढ्डे बन गए हैं। तो अन्य जगह नदी को बड़े तालाब में बदल दिया गया है। एक तरह से नदी नाम की कोई चीज देखने को नहीं मिली। नदी के स्थान पर रेत के ढ़ेर, जलकुंड और मशीनों और ट्रकों का शोर-शराबा ही देखने और सुनने को मिला।
Ken River, the lifeline of Bundelkhand region is again succumbing to illegal sand mining on a massive scale. The 427 km long river originates from agricultural lands in Mamar hills of Katni district, Madhya Pradesh. It flows through Panna district and merges into Yamuna river as right bank tributary at Cheela Ghat in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh.
For first about 50 km from origin the river remains seasonal and gets strength once the tributary streams and rivers like Aloni, Gurne, Patne, Sonar, Midhasan, Shyamari, Banne, Khudar, Kutne, Urmil, Kail successively falls into it as the river flows through plateau area of Vindhya hill range in Central India.
Illegal sand mining operations continue to take the lives of innocent people in India. So far there have been dozens of violent incidents and tragic accidents involving illegal sand mining activities.
The latest in the series is death of 3 kids in two different Indian states on a single day of July 7, 2019. The first incident killing two adolescents is reported from Yamuna Nagar district of Haryana state. As per the reports, five children from Kanalsi village had gone to the river for bathing in the evening of July 7. | <urn:uuid:0af1c49b-f08a-411f-b99d-7c12c5cbd758> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://sandrp.in/category/sand-mining/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370508367.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20200402204908-20200402234908-00233.warc.gz | en | 0.811843 | 2,518 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Cripple Creek (P4) “Intro” technique: Double-Stops
In the opening Introduction (“Intro”) passage of “Cripple Creek”, we encounter something fairly new, the Double-Stop! Simply put, a “double-stop” is when you are bowing on two strings at the same time. It’s really fun and makes a lot of noise! Playing harmonies in double-stops on the cello is one of my favorite things to do, it is so beautiful.
[Exercise 1.A] Bow Rolls
First things first, without drawing the bowing side to side, let’s practice our “Bow Rolls”. That’s right, back to some Cello 101; always a good thing to do when learning a new technique. Start by placing your bow at its balance-point on the C string, your “point-of-contact” should be about halfway between the fingerboard and the bridge (“1/2 way to the bridge”). Now, roll your bow up from the C string slowly to the G string and continue rolling up one string at a time until you are up on the A string. Now come back down the strings, slowly at first, make sure you feel your bow grip each string individually. Stay connected to one string the entire time, don’t lift your hairs from the strings when rolling from one string to the next. OK! after you get the hang of this, slowly increase the speed until you get a fun “blug-ga-da-nuh! nah-guh-da-dunt!” sort of sound as you “lock in” to each string. Roll Up from C to A, then Roll back Down from A to C.
What is happening to your bow arm as you simply Roll from string to string? What part of your arm actually controls which string your bow will be on?…
[Exercise 1.B] Double Stop Lock-Ins
Now I want you to start on your C string and slowly Roll your bow up until it meets the G string. This time, don’t leave the C string, but let your bow hairs “Lock-In” to both strings at the same time. It’s a really cool feeling and kind of a comfortable resting position to be in, as you have two strings supporting your arm weight instead of one! Now, go ahead and rip a big huge down bow double-stop playing on both the C&G strings at the same time. It should sound like this: “BBRRRRRAAWWWWWWWCCKKKKKK!!!” Yeah!! woo-hoo!! you sound like a cellist now! This is one of the greatest joys of playing cello, laying down a huge open fifth double-stop on your lowest strings… it’s awesome!
[Exercise 1.C] Double Stop Lock-In Whole Bows, Down Bow Only
After you’ve had a minute to rock out on the low to strings.. I want you to play each pair of strings, one Down Bow at a time. Just start with a Whole Bow Down Bow, from the Frog to the Tip on the Low Pair (G & C strings). Then lift and reset on the G string at the frog, roll up and lock into the D string and do a whole-bow-down-bow, again from the Frog to the Tip on the Middle Pair (D & G strings). Now reset your bow on the D string, roll up until you’ve locked in to both the D and A strings. Again draw a slow, controlled down bow on the High Pair (A & D strings). Bow with a consistent slow speed, control your bow – hold your angle and don’t “drift” or “fish-tail”.
[Exercise 1.D] Double Stop Lock-In Whole Bows, Down & Up Bow
Once you feel comfortable staying connected to both strings at the same time across the whole bow, you can add the Up Bow to this exercise. Every time, lift and reset your bow at the frog on the lower of the pair of strings. Roll up slowly until you feel your bow hairs lock-in to both strings. Draw a slow steady down bow from the frog to the tip and stop at the tip. Don’t lift your bow off of the string, stay connected! Now reverse your direction with a steady slow Up bow, from the tip back to the frog. Spend as much time on each pair of strings as you need. Once you get a good core sound and your movements feel coordinated, you are ready to repeat the process on the next two strings!
“Low High Low (LHL) Song”
aka “GDG”, this time with Double Stops too!
[A] L H L _
[A] L H L _
[B] L L H H
[A] L H L _
Exercise [2.A] LHL Song, Single-Stops
Try the Low High Low song on all pairs of strings, first in the original way that you learned it, playing a single string at a time
(1) first with A & D strings, where L=D and H=A
(2) then on the D & G strings, where L=G and H=D
(3) and finally on the C & G strings, where L=C and H=G
Exercise [2.B] LHL Song Double-Stops
Then try the LHL song as double-stop pairs, where you are playing 2 strings at the same time!
(1) first with L=G+D and H=D+A
(2) then with L=C+G and H=G+D
Exercise [2.C] LHL Song Single Stops, Upper Arm
Finally, go back to playing the LHL song on only a single string at a time (Exercise [2.A] again). Now compare: how does it feel in your bow arm (right arm) to play on one string at a time vs two strings at a time? Focus your attention on how the upper arm feels (from above the elbow to the shoulder). This is the key: the height of your upper arm determines which string(s) you are bowing. Playing this same exercise back and forth on single strings and then double-stops can help train these muscles to fine tune the difference of bowing on one string or another vs playing on 2 strings. It also shows you the range of “roll” that you have on any given string before you lock in to a double stop or reach the next string.
Exercise Roll “Ranges”
At this point you are ready to fine tune your “Range”. How much Roll Range do you have on single string before your bow hits the next string? It’s all in the upper arm and it takes a lot of careful work to dial it in. I like to start by setting my bow at its balance point on the D string. Then I roll up to lock-in on a double stop with the A string. Then I roll back as little as possible until my bow is just hovering over the A string, but not touching it (bow is on the D string only). If I drew my bow now, I’d only hear the D string ring (it’s one way of proving that you are or aren’t touching that other string still!). Now tilt the bow back towards the A string and rest on the double-stop with A & D (ahhhh this should feel nice). Repeat this “lock-in to hovering” process over and over again. By doing this you are training the boundary (in your upper arm) of how far you can roll up on the D string before you lock into a double-stop.
Now, do the exact same thing, but this time roll down from your D string to lock-in on a double stop with the G string. Roll the bow back up just slightly until you are hovering over the G string but not touching it (bow is on the D string only). Again, if you were to draw the bow at this moment, you should only hear the D string. Now repeat over and over this lower D string boundary of “lock-in vs hovering”.
After you’ve trained your arm to know the outer limits of where you can bow on the D string before it becomes a double stop with the neighboring string, you should practice rolling the Range of your D string! Start at a centered point on your D string and roll the bow up and down as far as you can towards your A string then towards your G string, but never touch your neighboring string! Don’t lock in to a double stop, see if you can physically remember where those hovering points are, at the boundary from one string to the next. This is really detailed work, go slow and focus on one set of strings at a time.
After you feel that you’ve fine tuned the boundaries of your D string, you’ll notice you have quite a lot of space to bow on that string! Move on to doing the same process, but center your bow on the G string this time. “Lock-in and Hover” with its neighboring strings, the D string and the C string.
Once you get the hang of this exercise, you’ll notice that you are much more accurate when playing on a single string. It will reduce the number of times that you accidentally “Grab” another string with your bow.
This is not the glamorous side of cello playing, but it’s a big part of the discipline of the practice room and how we improve on this instrument!
In certain passages of music, we need to be bowing towards the neighboring string so we can go back and forth between them easily. For instance if our passage involves a lot of string crossings between A and D, I am going to be primarily on the D string, but leaning towards the A string. Hovering as close as needed to minimize the amount of space and effort it takes to cross strings.
OK! That is it for this lesson. I hope you learned something helpful today. Stay healthy and Happy Practicing! ~ Brian
#BGCelloZone #BrianGrimm #CelloZone #cello #violoncello #music #lessons #MusicConBrio #McB #PrairieMusicArts #PMA #MonroeStreetArtsCenter #MSAC #RemoteLessons | <urn:uuid:bd2dca26-b0f5-4299-90a9-8d77a7329039> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://grimmusik.com/cellozone-exercises/cellozone-exercises-cripple-creek-intro-double-stops/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371876625.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20200409185507-20200409220007-00114.warc.gz | en | 0.921469 | 2,251 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Simple Ways To Reduce Your Plastic Waste
The average UK household creates over a tonne of waste each year (about the weight of a small car). Recycling rates are increasing, and to keep the UK on its way to meeting targets set by the EU, we all need to recycle as much as we can and reduce our use of single use plastic.
Here are some startling facts you may not realise.
Recycling: The Facts
- 1 recycled tin can would save enough energy to power a television for 3 hours.
- 1 recycled glass bottle will save enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes.
- 70% less energy is needed to recycle paper, as opposed to creating from scratch.
- 80% of the household waste we throw away could be easily recycled or composted.
- If all tin cans in the UK were recycled we’d need 14 million fewer dustbins.
- Every Christmas we throw away enough unrecyclable wrapping paper to cover over 11,000 football pitches.
While the sheer scale of it all might make us feel a little overwhelmed, there are many things you can do to help, even during these difficult times.
To check whether there have been any changes to waste collections in your areas, call or view your local council page online.
With tombola’s simple tips, you can ramp up your recycling and reduce your use of single use plastic around the home.
Top 10 Tips To Reduce Your Plastic Waste
1. Stop buying bottled water.
7.7 billion single use plastic water bottles are consumed in the UK every year. If you think that bottled water tastes better, that’s probably because of the chlorine that you can taste in normal tap water. You could get a filter jug, or a filter that attaches to the tap itself, but here’s a free and easy way to strip your water of that chlorine taste.
Simply keep a covered jug of water in the fridge. Make sure to replace every 24 hours, as the chlorine is needed to stop bacteria from forming and beyond this point it’s probably completely gone.
2. Stop using plastic wrap.
Plastic wrap or cling film is extremely wasteful and sadly can’t be recycled. An alternative is beeswax and soy wraps, which can be moulded around containers and food, washed, dried and reused.
They last for around a year and can be composted once completely spent.
3. Reuse single-use plastic where you can.
Yogurt pots, fruit cartons, microwave meal containers - all are single use and usually go to landfill, but you can reuse them in other ways. Small pots are great for growing herbs and starting off your fruit and veg plants. They’re also great as storage pots for cosmetics or bits n pieces and placed like dividers in drawers.
4. Make your own soap.
This saving is two-fold. Liquid soaps have a 25% larger carbon footprint than bar soaps, and they use plastic bottles. The pump section can’t be recycled, so ridding your bathroom of this item will reduce your plastic waste and your carbon footprint.
It’s really easy to make your own soap too. Either using bar soaps as a base, which you can melt and add your own ingredients or exfoliants to. Or starting from scratch. There are lots of tutorials on youtube.
5. Get milk delivered.
Not many people still get milk delivered by the milkman in glass bottles, (in fact it’s only 4% of the population) but it’s so much better for the environment. Glass is easily and widely recycled. There may still be contactless milk deliveries happening in your area too, so it’s worth checking online.
6. Ditch disposable nappies in favour of cloth ones.
Using cloth nappies is not only good for the environment but has real benefits for both mother and child too. Using a good quality, cloth nappy, is more cost effective in the long run, softer on your baby's skin and more comfortable for them to wear. Cloth nappies can be ordered safely online with contactless delivery at sites like Fill Your Pants and The Cloth Nappy Shop.
7. Carry reusable shopping bags.
Whether it’s a tote bag, a backpack or a bag for life, there are options for every style and budget. You never need to buy a plastic bag again. Since the plastic bag fee was introduced in 2015, the demand for single use plastic bags has dropped by 86%, so it’s clearly working.
8. Shop local.
Now more than ever it’s important to support local businesses if you can. With supermarkets in high demand, local shops may be more accessible and offer a welcome alternative at this time. By shopping local you’ll also help a business survive and navigate in this uncertainty.
9. Start composting.
You can add vegetable food scraps, coffee grounds, newspaper, cardboard, and wood shavings to your own compost bin. Spread the compost over your garden to return valuable nutrients to the ground and it will help your plants bloom. Win win!
10. Grow your own veg.
Many of the vegetables we buy today are wrapped in plastic. There are lots of vegetables that aren’t complicated to grow. Lettuce, radishes, potatoes, peas, spring onions, broad beans, runner beans, onions, garlic, tomatoes and beetroot are all easy to grow and don’t require a lot of equipment. Whether you’ve a pot or a plot, it’s easy to get started and it will be cost effective in the long run too.
The UK Produces 20 Times More Waste Per Person Than India
The graphic below shows the countries producing the most and least plastic waste per person across the world.
Out of 186 countries, the UK appears 124th. This doesn’t take into account any differences in waste management, recycling or incineration, but it shows that while we’re not the worst, we still have some way to go in reducing our consumption of single use plastics.
Bruce Bratley, CEO of recycling specialists The First Mile has shared his expert advice on how to keep living sustainably while in lockdown or self-isolation.
Top Tips For Living Sustainably While In Lockdown Or Isolation
1. Extend the life of your current products
- Use less. For example, using just half a dishwasher tablet or making sure you only wash dishes or laundry when you have a full load.
- Fix stuff. Many small repairs are easily done, and you can quickly pick up new DIY skills on the internet.
- Re-engineer. Find new ways to use things you’d normally throw away. Even old egg cartons have lots of other uses, from paint pallets for the kids to organiser trays for jewellery or nuts, bolts and screws.
2. Buy responsibly online
- Search the internet for local, ethical suppliers in your area. Many will deliver without charge at the moment. Buy local, buy plastic free, buy seasonal wherever possible.
3. Make your own / grow your own
- There are literally thousands of things to make and do with the kids at home and a lot of them with ‘waste’ you might normally throw away. Search ‘things to make with toilet roll tubes’ to get you started.
- There’s no shortage of seeds in garden centres and most veg can be grown in pots and window boxes. Growing herbs is a great start and you can add them to other food for flavour. Many DIY and garden stores are still delivering, so if you need any supplies, you can still get them.
- Now is the time to go through all your recycling and salvage things for reuse – wine bottles for olive oil, old gin bottles as water decanters.
- It’s worth spending some time working out what goes in the recycling. There’s lots of help on The First Mile website.
47% of Brits Argue Over What Plastic They Can Recycle
According to a BBC poll, 47% of people report having arguments about what types of plastic can be recycled. The reason for the confusion? There are seven different types of plastic packaging and some are recycled more often than others. Also, due to funding and resources available, each local authority collects and processes recycling waste in different ways.
- There are around 40 different sets of rules for recycling across the UK.
- Some collect only a few types of plastics (1-4).
- Others recycle 13-15 (most types) of plastics.
- Some collect everything in one bin.
- Others require you to separate certain items.
Having so many variations across the country makes labelling items difficult and adds to the confusion.
We’re all used to seeing the 3 arrows in a circular icon. This is called the mobius loop, and while you might think that this is an indication that the item can be popped in your recycling bin, you’d be wrong. It only means that it could be recycled, but whether that can happen depends on the services your council supply.
It’s also worth noting that this symbol is unregulated throughout the industry, meaning that anyone can use it. Which begs the question, can you even trust it at all?
Below is a handy chart of recycling symbols that you can refer back to time and again. Checking the labels for these symbols should be the first step in recycling.
What’s Next For Sustainable Living?
With positive steps like the ones we’ve talked about here, we can all contribute to making the world a better place, even in these difficult times. There are lots of great initiatives happening all over the country.
Dune Ives, Executive Director of Lonely Whale, a non-profit that raises awareness for ocean health and expert on the environment and climate activism says, “ In the face of this pandemic, it is important to reflect on our everyday actions and how they impact our environment. This is a moment that we are so rarely ever given to change our own practices – use less, connect more, enjoy life’s blessings and the rising and setting of the sun every day. We have so much opportunity to be the solution to our environmental issues.” She goes on to say “More than anything, I hope this moment is an opportunity for everyone to practice living more simply, with kindness and community at the center. One aspect of this is plastics reduction, reuse and recycling.”
For more information on recycling, including what items your local authority recycles, check the recyclenow website. | <urn:uuid:ea626ff5-4610-450b-8485-bc389af4296d> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.tombola.co.uk/pages/simple-ways-to-reduce-your-plastic-waste | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370500482.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20200331115844-20200331145844-00313.warc.gz | en | 0.929841 | 2,236 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Text: Rosaura Gutiérrez & Johanna Hohenthal
What makes intercultural bilingual education so important in Ecuador and Pastaza and why is it celebrated? In general, intercultural bilingual education emphasizes equality, equity, parity, complementarity and exchange between different bodies of knowledge in a culturally diverse context .
In Ecuador, there are 14 different indigenous nationalities, of which 7 live in the Province of Pastaza. In total, 10 nationalities live in Amazonia, 4 on the Coast and 1 in the Sierra region. Kichwa nationality has the biggest population. In addition, people identify themselves as mestizos, Afro-Ecuadorians, montubios, whites and others. Children and young people with their diverse cultures meet in the educational units of Ecuador. Therefore, schools, colleges, universities and other institutes are important places where people from different backgrounds can learn, not only to know and appreciate the knowledge and customs of others, but also to hybridize with them and create unique intercultural ways of being. In addition, interculturality has significant political objectives related to the decolonization of knowledge production, delinking from the domination of western homogenizing worldviews, fighting for social and environmental justice and revitalizing eco-cultural identities. Intercultural bilingual education plays a crucial role in the formation of vision and relationship with the environment . This is particularly important at present when the natural ecosystems of the Amazonia are facing severe threats, for example, due to the excessive extraction of resources and climatic changes that derive from western philosophy that conceptualizes humans as separate from nature and with an obligation to dominate it. In this sense, Amazonian cosmovisions that consider humans as part of nature have important lessons to teach to all of humanity.
In Ecuador, intercultural bilingual education, proposed by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), achieved a formal status as the Bilingual Intercultural Education System Model (MOSEIB) as early as 1993. The model affirmed the importance of integrating different languages, local knowledges and pedagogical practices in schools, later named as CECIBs and UECIBs. Later MOSEIB was modified based on the sumak kawsay (buen vivir) philosophy that highlights the importance of the community, ecological balance and cultural sensitivity . However, MOSEIB is still only partially applied and the bilingual and intercultural programs gradually decrease in secondary schools and are absent in final school exams, entrance exams to the university and on the courses . However, good news were hear on July 6, 2018 from the city of Latacunga where the signing of Executive Decree No. 445, Art. 1. created the Secretariat of Intercultural Bilingual Education as an entity attached to the Ministry of Education, with administrative, technical, pedagogical, operational, and financial independence, and responsibilities of coordination, management, monitoring and evaluation of public policies of Intercultural Bilingual Education, with the aim of organizing, promoting and coordinating the Intercultural Bilingual Education System with respect to the rights of communities, peoples and nationalities, under the principles of interculturality and plurinationality.
One of the first preconditions for the success of intercultural bilingual education is that schools and universities provide safe spaces for all students to freely express their cultural identities, such as in the form of the use of facial paints, traditional cultural dresses and the celebration of important days. However, the intercultural approach in education must go further and focus on such changes in the curricula that help students to become active participants in social change and fight against discrimination and coloniality and for achieving social justice .
However, several academics and activists in Ecuador and in other countries have highlighted the difficulty of realizing the principles of interculturality in education in general and in higher education in particular .
An important aspect of realization of interculturality in education is indicated in article 26.2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, approved by UNESCO in 1974 and subsequently amended in 1995:
Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
According to my perception on the Intercultural Bilingual Education in Pastaza, there are many obstacles that the Ministry of Education must resolve for the effective achievement of this principle:
First of all, the teachers do not have the materials or pedagogical tools that would allow them to carry out teaching based on the indigenous worldviews and languages that MOSEIB suggests: the system “has the mission to develop the language and culture of indigenous peoples and nationalities through processes of quality teaching-learning…” However, the curricular application of this target in schools evaporates due to the lack of the tools that each content requires.
I have felt the powerlessness of teachers in love with their profession and seen them to become filled with frustration with the lack of resources and materials when developing their activities. I have seen teachers who in the beginning of their careers fervently defend the bilingual intercultural model, but retire with nostalgia for not yet seeing the dream of “let us do it as we want and not attached to a platform that wears out and breaks the schemes”. Undoubtedly, this places a duality that is palpable in the context of higher education, because it shows the imbalance of opportunities in different contexts: on the one hand a Westernized education (which undoubtedly answers to the demands of skills in the world of work) and on the other, an education that aims to sustain the identity through teaching based on the worldviews of the peoples and communities.
Persistent actions are needed to sustain, review and articulate ancestral knowledge and dialogue. In this sense, the strategies and resolutions in the publication I Encuentro de Integración de las familias lingüísticas transfronterizas de la Amazonía could contain elements that would somehow strengthen the language and culture, but on the other hand would foster multiculturalism and not interculturality that allows the flow of communication and exchange of experiences between peoples and nationalities that advocate for equity and respect. Thus, some resolutions propose: “Create a Bilingual Intercultural University of nationalities and peoples of the Amazon and Costa” (p.19). “Propose the creation of a plurinational educational model of nationalities and indigenous peoples that respects and responds to the needs of each culture,” (p.20).
It is clear that spaces are needed for dialogue building and debate on these issues beyond simple issues such as the acceptance of a “Chicha mocawa“, as a “symbol of sympathizing with culture”.Exchange that generates bonds based on respect and tolerance are needed. Sustaining Bilingual Intercultural Education is important for the sustainability of the ethnic, cultural mega-diversity that becomes the intangible heritage of a region and because it promotes the valuation of traditions that can not only be “remembered and valued” in a specific time as a merely historical event, but, as part of the identity reconstruction in which the struggles of the indigenous peoples to defend their territories and culture are honored systemically in a conciliatory way. Through the EIB, facts are re-signified to sustain the balance and transmission of knowledge from generation to generation, preparing themselves in the same way for lifestyles that promote the attainment and privileges of human rights, granted through conquests and not struggles that divide, separate and generate violence. The EIB, is the legacy that Pastaza must preserve for future generations.
Rosaura Gutiérrez Valerio, of Dominican nationality: Doctor in Evolutionary Psychology and Education, with a master’s degree in systemic pedagogy, containment therapy, community therapy and others. For four years I have worked as a teacher-researcher in the UEA creating the Integral Development Program in the Department of Liaison, which is accompanied by the awakening of educators of Educational Units and Bilingual and Hispanic Schools in the revaluation of being, with greater self-esteem and promotion of team work. In the same way, I am an advisor in the collective Retomando Raíces and Circulo de Mujeres que Despiertan.
The greatest desire of promotion of these works in the UEA, supported by its directors and the University Council chaired by Rector Julio Cesar Vargas, is to contribute to the vision that says: “The Amazon State University will be an academic community providing teaching and scientific research, which promote sustainable development of the Amazonia in such a way that it is revalued as an element and fundamental resource of the State. It has been inserted in the ancestral knowledge, characteristics and potentialities in the economy to forge culture and achieve national unity. “And to the Mission:” Generate science and technology, train professionals and researchers, to meet the needs of the territory under the principles of sustainable, integral and balanced development of the human being, of the Amazon Region and Ecuador, by conserving the ancestral knowledges and fostering cultures.”
In the same way, to contribute to the strategy 3 that says: “Contribute to local, regional and national development, promoting a better university-society interaction through plans and programs that contain new alternatives, or models of life and production to solve environmental, social and technological problems that allow the balanced development of men and women. Conservation of the nature of the Amazon region.” And that sense, contribute to creating an atmosphere of exchange between peoples and nationalities.
I wish to make visible the exclusion for entry and permanence in education that exist among young people of nationalities, due to the lack of opportunities and resources, and hope that this will generate public policies in the Decentralized Autonomous Governments (GADs) to support facing this reality. I wish that the Observatory of Bilingual Amazonian Intercultural Education can be established in the UEA, with all its installed capacity that promotes debates, forums, consultations, seminars and that takes into account the knowledge and wisdom of the peoples and nationalities as an element for the preservation of Amazonian cultures. The Observatory could become an entity of consultation and educational archive that a team of wise people from the communities can be part of, and where they can to contribute to their dreams and hopes about their peoples and nationalities. In the same way, I dream that this research project is the initiative for actions aimed at transferring themes in the Curricular Meshes of higher education, according to the guidelines of the constitution that declares Ecuador, plurinational and intercultural, multi-ethnic and mega-diverse.
Schroder, B. (2006). Native science, intercultural education and place-conscious education: an Ecuadorian example. Educational Studies 32:3, 307-317.
Ministerio de Educación (2013). MOSEIB. Modelo del Sistema de Educación Intercultural Bilingüe. Ministerio de Educación del Ecuador, Quito
Salgado, F. & E. Morán (2014). ¿Universidad o uniformidad? Sumaq Kawsay, diversidad e isomorfismo bajo la lupa. Revista de la Universidad de Cuenca 56, 55-69.
Holm, G. & H. Zilliacus (2009). Multicultural Education and Intercultural Education: Is There a Difference? In M. Talib, J. Loima, H. Paavola & S Patrikainen (Eds.) (2009), Dialogues on Diversity and Global Education, pp. 11-28. Berlin: Peter Lang.
Martín-Díaz, E. (2017) Are universities ready for interculturality? The case of the intercultural university ‘Amawtay Wasi’ (Ecuador). Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies 26:1, 73-90.
Declaraciòn de los Derechos Humanos . https://www.derechoshumanos.net/normativa/normas/1948-DeclaracionUniversal.htm. Consultado 04 de julio 2018
Ministerio de Educación del Ecuador (MinEduc) 2017. Lineamientos Pedagógicos para la implementación del Modelo del Sistema de Educación Intercultural Bilingüe. https://educacion.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2017/07/lineamientos_moseib.pdf. Consultado 04 de julio, 2018
Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar (2010) I Encuentro de Integración de las familias lingüísticas transfronterizas de la Amazonía: Colombia, Ecuador y Perú. Quito. Ecuador
Misión y Visión de la Universidad Estatal Amazónica. Página web, https://www.uea.edu.ec/index.php/inicio/quienes-somos. Consultado 11 de julio, 2018. | <urn:uuid:fe58bb99-b67a-43d3-a10b-74ebcf2d06f7> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://blogs.helsinki.fi/ecocultures-ecuador/2018/07/13/importance-and-challenges-of-intercultural-bilingual-education-thoughts-by-rosaura-gutierrez/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371886991.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20200410043735-20200410074235-00433.warc.gz | en | 0.89563 | 2,747 | 3.453125 | 3 |
It is very relevant to understand the compressible fluid ow and some phenomenon presented in compressible ow turbomachines, blades cascades, aeronautics, aerodynamics and in any fluid motion where exist high ow velocities. Traditionally, supersonic airfoils are classified into two types, namely double wedge and bi-convex airfoils. In internal and external flows at high velocities, normal and oblique shock waves formation are presented. The shock waves generate irreversibilities and discontinuities in the flow, vibration and aeroacoustics noise . These singularities increase the drag which is undesirable in the supersonic flow field. Although the shock waves thickness is about 2 µm, there are accelerations and sudden changes in fluid properties like velocity, pressure, temperature and density. If the flying object is a long with sharp wedge front, a steady oblique shock wave will be generated. The oblique shock wave produced by a three dimensional wing has been analyzed in . The linear stability of oblique shock waves has been studied in , the author studied the stability with respect to small perturbation in the incoming ow and in the solid surface. Recently, double wedge airfoils are designed to have a better lift to drag ratio when compared to subsonic profiles in supersonic flight . In fact, this type of wing profiles performs quite excellent in the supersonic flight regime but would lead to disastrous performance at low speed due to those singularities . In Ref. a study on the aerodynamic response of double wedge airfoil in supersonic ow with free stream Mach number is presented, they varied the angle of attack and thickness to chord ratio and performed numerical simulation using adaptive grids on a Comsol Multi-physics model. In Ref. an analysis of the incompressible Navier-Stokes and elastodynamics equations in the Lagrangian- Eulerian framework is presented. They developed a numerical simulation of the fluid structure interaction effect on a double wedge airfoil. In most studies, researchers have combined analytical-experimental and numerical methods to address this class of problems, see for example . This paper presents a numerical simulation and experimental study about oblique shockwave on symmetrical double-wedge airfoil by mean of Mach number, pressure, temperature and density behavior. The numerical simulation and experimentation were made using the fluent software and a supersonic tunnel, respectively. Frequently, it is time consuming and expensive to test supersonic airfoils for extracting supercritical ow characteristics. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate oblique shock waves characteristics on a double-wedge airfoil by comparing their numerical behaviors and simulation effects with corresponding experimental testing. Section 2 presents the experimental development that includes the procedure of oblique shock wave visualization on the double-wedge airfoil by means of the Schlieren method. In Section 3, the aim is focused on the simulation model, by describing the computational model and boundary conditions implemented in the commercial software. Section 4 presents the results; numerical results are compared with the experimental data to show the validity of the computational model. Finally, Section 5 outlines some concluding remarks of this comparison.
2. Experimental Development
Experimentation was carried out in a supersonic wind tunnel. The test section has a rectangular shape, the top wall has the convergent-divergent profile and the bottom wall plate has 25 pressure taps, see Figure 1.
The double-wedge airfoil dimensions are 38.10 by 25.40 mm with the angle of 6.60. The double-wedge airfoil is showed in Figure 2.
In Figure 1, circle containing double wedge airfoil represents the Schlieren window.
Figure 1. Test section, with 25 pressure taps, dimensions (mm).
Figure 2.The double-wedge airfoil: (a) experimental setup; (b) dimensions (mm).
On the other hand, with the aim to know the flow behavior in the double-wedge airfoil, an experiment was realized at 1.6 Mach number and the static pressure data were registered at this condition. The static pressure used to compute the Mach number, temperature and density in the wind tunnel test section. These results are showed in Table 1, for a stagnation pressure of 79,593 Pa. The oblique shock wave visualization on the double-wedge airfoil by means of the Schlieren method was carried out at the conditions showed in the Table 1. Figure 3 shows the flow visualization and the oblique shock angle on the double-wedge airfoil.
The Schlieren method consists in emitting a ray of light from the light source of 12 volts, this ray passes through a convex mirror and then by a slit, that strikes the concave mirror No. 1. After that this light ray passes through the Schlieren window of the supersonic wind tunnel, where is located the double wedge profile and it is reflected into the concave mirror No. 2. Therefore the light ray is projected on a plane mirror, which is located in front of the screen where resulting image is projected, Figure 3(b). This phenomenon is a technique for projecting optical images due to the air refractive index. Schlieren systems are used to visualize the flow away from the surface of an object.
3. Numerical Simulation
Calculations have been performed with a commercial software FLUENT. This code uses the finite volume method and Navier-Stokes equations are solved on a structured grid. The code solves the fully compressible Navier-Stokes equations with implicit formulation. Turbulence is simulated with the standard-Є (two equations) model, type
Figure 3. Schlieren method and the oblique shock wave on the double-wedge airfoil at leading and tailing: (a) flow visualization; (b) oblique shock angles.
Table 1. Conditions of the test, in the supersonic wind tunnel.
1aPatm597 mm de Hg, Temperature 21˚C; bMay 30 2016, 11:00 Time.
density based, steady, 2D space planar, velocity formulation absolute and the special discretization is, gradient: Green-Gauss, cel. Based, flow: Second Order Upwind, modified turbulent viscosity: First Order Upwind. Preliminary results of the study have reported in , in which the Spalart-Almaras turbulence model and a largest volume control for geometry were used.
3.1. The Standard k-Є Model
The standard k- model is a semi-empirical model based on transport model equations for the turbulent kinetic energy (k) and its dissipation rate (). The transport model equation for k is derived from the exact equation, while the transport model equation for is obtained by using physical reasoning and bears little resemblance to its mathematically exact counterpart. In the derivation of the k- model, it was assumed that the flow is fully turbulent.
3.2. Transport Equations for the Standard k-Є Model
The turbulent kinetic energy and its rate of dissipation are obtained from the following transport equations:
In these Equations (1)-(3), GK represents the generation of turbulent kinetic energy due to buoyancy, YM represents the contributions of the fluctuating dilation in compressible turbulence to the overall dissipation rate, , , and, are constants, σk and are the turbulent Prandtl numbers for k and ϵ respectively.
3.3. Model Constants
The model constants, energy Prandtl is 0.85, wall Prandtl number is 0.85, , , , σk and are the empiric constants having the following default values:
The degree to which is affected by the buoyancy is determined by the constant, it is not specified, but it is instead calculated according to the following relation.
where, the component of the flow velocity is parallel to the gravitational vector and is the component of the flow velocity perpendicular to the gravitational vector. In this way, will become 1 for buoyant shear layer for which the main flow direction is aligned with the direction of gravity. For buoyant shear layers that are perpendicular to the gravitational vector, will be zero.
3.4. Computational Model and Boundary Conditions
4. Analysis and Results Comparison
Figure 5 shows the oblique shock waves in the leading edge and trailing edge double wedge airfoil at 1.6 Mach number. Also shows the compression zone, the ach number decreases to 1.4 due at change of flow direction, while expansion zone the flow is accelerating to reach a 1.6 Mach number. The Mach angle in oblique shock wave in the leading edge and trailing edge are 47˚ and 37˚, respectively.
With the aim to visualize the flow, the Schlieren method was used. Figure 3 shows the implementation, and the oblique shock angles, 46˚ and 36˚, for the oblique shock waves. The behavior of static pressure field on the double-wedge airfoil can be seen in Figure 6.
Figure 4. The computational model.
Table 2. Boundary conditions, type grid and fluid properties.
Figure 5. The oblique shock waves in the leading edge and trailing edge double-wedge airfoil at 1.6 Mach number.
Figure 6. Static pressure field on the double-wedge airfoil.
Static temperature behavior is showed in Figure 7, at 1.6 Mach number the temperature is 192 K. The static temperature before the oblique shock wave at the leading edge is 200 K, after that shock cross the shock wave, it changes its direction entering in a compression zone where its velocity is reduced and its temperature increases. Subse-
Figure 7. Static temperature field on the double-wedge airfoil.
quently, at the middle part in the model, the flow changes direction entering in an expansion zone where temperature decreases at 183 K for 1.7 Mach number.
Figure 8 presents the density behavior at the double-wedge airfoil at 1.6 Mach with a density value of 0.328 Kg/m3 and in the compression zone the density is 0.402 Kg/m3. After this zone the flow changes its direction in the middle part of the model entering in the expansion zone where it accelerates up to get 1.7 Mach and the density decreases to 0.298 Kg/m3. Flow changes its direction again producing the second oblique shock wave in the trailing edge where the density increases to 0.331 Kg/m3.
Mach numbers comparison for the experimental and numerical simulation is showed in Figure 9. It is observed that Mach number behavior in both cases is the same from pressure tap 13 up to tap 20. The Mach number is numerically present a value larger than experimental value at the pressure taps 24 and 25 due to the boundary condition at the outlet from the computational model. For these values the difference in the maximum Mach numbers is about 2% respect to experimental values.
An experimental and numerical study was carried out to know flow behavior at the oblique shock waves in a double wedge airfoil. From flow visualization it was found that the Mach cone angles are for the shock wave at the leading edge of 46˚ and 36˚ in the trailing edge, the shock wave in the leading edge showed a better definition. Concerning the simulation results, the Mach cone angle got for the shock wave at the leading edge form the airfoil is 47˚ and for the outlet shock wave was 37˚. The simulation showed the compression and expansion zones too and the expansion fan. By comparing those results, it was found a difference about 2%.
Figure 8. The density behavior at the double-wedge airfoil.
Figure 9. Comparison of Mach numbers obtained experimentally and numerically in supersonic flow.
The authors are grateful to SIP IPN for supporting part of this project through grant 20162113.
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Chen, G.-Q. and Feldman, M. (2005) Potential Theory for Shock Reflection by a Large-Angle Wedge. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102, 15368-15372.
Li, D. (2004) Analysis on Linear Stability of Oblique Shock Waves in Steady Supersonic Flow. Journal of Differential Equations, 207, 195-225.
Kolluru, R. and Gopal, V. (2012) Numerical Study of Navier-Stokes Equations in Supersonic Flow over a Double Wedge Airfoil using Adaptive Grids. Proceedings of the 2012 COMSOL Conference, Bangalore, 1-6.
Shameem, B., Ebna, M. and Bause, M. (2013) Numerical Simulation of Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) on a double wedge Airfoil based on Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian Frameworks. The Workshop on Numerical Modelling of Grains/Fluid Flows, Lyon, November 2013.
T.V.S.F. Garrido, J. and Tolentino, E. (2002) Experimental and Numerical Simulations of Oblique Shock Waves on Double Wedge Airfoil. The 10th International Symposium on Flow Visualization, Kyoto. | <urn:uuid:2a1e38da-21d0-4e2c-9137-40bddec71f57> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://m.scirp.org/papers/72924 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370500482.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20200331115844-20200331145844-00315.warc.gz | en | 0.879273 | 2,822 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Text by Chiew Lin May
Photos by Tee Thye Lim & Chiew Lin May
BSBCC provides care and a second chance for the rescued sun bears to live in the forest by accessing the natural forest enclosure. In the past few months, one of the BSBCC forest enclosure (Pen D) has been temporarily closed for upgrading. We have built a new pool, and have planted new plants in the forest enclosure to keep the bears happy and stimulated. Besides that, there was one part of the area that had been damaged by our active young sun bears, causing exposure of tree roots which would eventually cause the tree to die. So we have built a concrete retaining wall in the forest enclosure to stop erosion and to prevent the large tree from collapsing.
On May 17th 2015, the construction of the forest enclosure was finally done. The six adult bears (one male and five females) group including Fulung, Bongkud, Ah Bui, Mary, Debbie and Damai explored their new surroundings. As expected, it took a while for the bears to venture, but after a few sniffs and a scan through the forest enclosure they became more curious and confident.
In the tropical climate of Borneo, the pool allows the rescued bears to cool down their body. They are free to swim, play, wrestle, and splash in their new pool! Thanks to the generous Buildtech for helping us construct the retaining wall and new pool for the rescued bears.
Look at them now, digging for grubs, climbing trees, playing together, explore the pool and learning how to be just like a wild bear!!
Finally the day for Montom, a 3 years old male sub-adult sun bear, to be introduced with Susie, a 4 year old female adult sun bear, was on the 4th of June, 2015. Montom and Susie were rescued from pet trade. BSBCC have taken an innovative approach of integrating rescued sun bears. These interactions between bears can help them to develop and learn skills that will be needed in the wild.
These two bears got to know each other by being placed in adjacent dens. Once the gate was opened, Montom immediately played with Susie. Susie was not too friendly towards Montom at the beginning. Susie is a short tempered and sensitive female bear compared to Montom who is a happy and outgoing juvenile male bear. Montom just watched Susie in a curious way and sniffed her. Susie greeted Montom with angry growls and paced. Montom showed an interest in play and sometimes would back off when he knew Susie was angry with him.
However, after two days Susie began to grow in confidence and played with Montom. Both showing canines and claws when they played.
For the rest of their first week together, they began to understand and trust each other better, eventually giving space and sharing food together. No aggression was noted and the two bears were observed playfully tumbling around the floor of the den. They learnt the smells and behavior of the others. Montom was seen to be enthusiastic and playful.
Enrichment items such as dried leaves, green leaves, dead wood, climbing structure, and various food based enrichment was provided in the dens to keep Montom and Susie busy and to learn the survival skills. They enjoyed all of the different enrichment items given to them. Montom would grab the food first and break the enrichments!
Seeing Montom and Susie explore the exercise pen together is an absolute pleasure. The integrations are continuing well. Especially Susie who is a sensitive bear and has a tendency to pace. Through this integration, she is learning to be a “bear” for the first time in her life and all the mistreatment, trauma she underwent is in the past. Both of them are developing into lovely young sun bears. Montom shows the most dominance.
Text and Photos by Maryam Nashrah Binti Ahmad
My name is Maryam Nashrah Binti Ahmad. I came all the way from the University Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus, to do my internship at BSBCC. It was a fun and exciting journey despite all the hardships I have been through.
BSBCC has taught me a lot of things. In this place I have been taught and been exposed to the awareness and the importance of wild animals in their natural habitat. They are not supposed to be kept, hunted or killed.
I’m so thankful to meet Mr Wong, the great man that risked his life in rescuing wild animals.
Wong Siew Te founded the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre in 2008 and is the drive behind the project.
In this entry I would like to share about my experience when I was at BSBCC. Enjoy your reading!
"I am determined to help Bornean sun bears. The challenge is huge, and I cannot do this alone. I need help, support and allies. Every voice counts and together we can make a difference."
Wong Siew Te, CEO & Founder of BSBCC
I hope with the establishment of BSBCC, that people will become more aware about the importance of this animal on Earth. Now, I would like to share about the pleasure of working at BSBCC!
Every morning I prepared the porridge and fed the bears. Every bear has their own portion of food based on their specific requirements. So we needed to refer to the tabulated amounts of porridge that have to be distributed to the bears.
On our first week we were briefed about so many things. We were still curious about the sun bears and their own history which lead us to ask a lot of questions to the staffs of BSBCC, especially the Bear Keepers.
After we fed the bears we were divided into different places for different duty. Some of us would clean the cages in bear house 1 and bear house 2 and some of us worked in the kitchen.
For second feeding we prepared boiled eggs, vegetables and fruits. As an opportunistic omnivore, they eat food like watermelon, papaya, honey dew, banana, salak, pineapple, coconut, sugar cane, corn and sweet potato.
After we finished with our duty, we would follow the keepers to feed the indoor and outdoor bears.
After lunch break we would make enrichment for the bears, with the guidance of keepers. Enrichment acts as their toys and it helps to reduce their stereotypic behavior. Different enrichment was given every day to the bears.
This was our activity on the second day of internship. We collected decayed logs, dried leaves and banana leaves. We even constructed new hammocks for them!
That face we made when we were collecting decayed logs with Ronny and Mizuno
Text and Photos by Zalifah Husna Ali
Zalifah Husna Ali – Vet To Be UPMKB
"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience" - Eleanor Roosevelt
I never thought that I would be here, doing my internship. It happened too fast. 29th of April was the day that I nearly dropped my internship. But I knew, that would be the most stupid decision I would ever make in my life. I arrived late at the airport and I was alone. But thank God everything went well.
When we first came here, we were told not to touch the bears. Seriously, that broke my heart. I thought that I could hold them. But let’s not hate what we don’t understand. I refrained myself from touching them even if I wanted to. I eventually realised that love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation. They are meant to be in the wild and someday soon they will be released into their natural home.
I don’t know where I should I start. I wanted to tell every single thing that happened from the first day I stepped into this centre. But I know it will take forever and I want the future volunteers to feel the love themselves when they come here. I bet none of you could explain how it felt to be here. It honestly had never crossed my mind, being able to be close to the bears. Among the 35 bears, Fulung and Linggam have won my heart.
I always thought that 70 days are more than enough time to do the internship. But believe me, if I could stay here for another countless months, I would. Having you guys as a part of my life will always be the best thing that ever happened to me. I will surely miss each and every one of you.
“I’m going to make her well known” – Wong Siew Te
I can still vividly remember the first day that I walked into BSBCC. 500 metres from the entrance, there was a signboard on the history of BSBCC, picturing Mr Wong and his favourite bear, Mary. By only looking at the sign, I could feel the shivers running down my spine. I stuttered when I first talked to him. He has my full respect. His dedication and devotion on rehabilitating animals and bringing them back into their own habitat has opened my eyes and taught me that sometimes, happiness is not gained by spending a lot of money to go for an expensive vacation. Sometimes, happiness can be gained by just looking at these beloved animals going back into their natural habitat.
We were informed that they had never accepted diploma students before. Thanks a million to our supervisor, Mr Thye Lim. I learned a lot from him. He shared everything that he knew and he never said no to our opinion. Even though he is a guy, he is so thorough with his work.
Undoubtedly, along with hardship there is ease. I was so thankful to have Nick as my housemate. He spent his time helping me with my termites breeding project and supported me whenever I felt like giving up. I don’t know how should I repay his kindness towards me.
Mizuno, David, Azzry and Tommy – these are the people that I will miss the most. They never failed to make me laugh. They gave me the best experience. Working with them never made me feel tired. Mizuno who always made funny whenever he spoke to me. David who never stopped talking about his army life and taught us a lot about bears. Azzry, the guy who was born to smile. Reckly, the guy that has funny laugh. Not to forget, Ong Kim who could always make me laugh just by looking at his face. Lastly, Salffazryean who could never be separated from Pepsi Cola. They treated me like their own sister. That’s what made me comfortable and thus love them even more.
“A day without laughter is a day wasted” this signifies those visitor centre staffs. Fairo, Rahim, Becca, and Lester. Putting them at the reception counter was one of the best decisions. Their smile and warm greetings could make visitors pay double for the ticket. And those lovely office workers, Mr Rizan, Miss Ina, Miss Erni, Miss Gloria, Kate and Daniella who were never mad at me, thank you.
They are a bunch of happy people. They know how to deal with every situation.David told us that we need to be strong as those are the things that we need to deal with when working with these animals. You know, time moves so fast when you love some people. Thank you for those countless memories. I will keep them safely in the deepest dungeon of my heart. Thank you :)
Text and Photos by Ain Adlina
Hi! My name is Ain Adlina. I am studying in Animal Health and Production. How did I start my internship at BSCC? By randomly searching on the internet…I searched any centre that managed wild animals in Sabah because I don’t have any experience on wild animals. So this is my journey at BSBCC for 3 months with my course mates, Garnette, Husna and Maryam.
First time at this centre, there was an introduction about the centre, sun bears, rules at the bear house and what we were going to do here. This was given by the Centre Operation Executive, Thye Lim. The first week I worked in the kitchen, preparing food for bears with the help from Rica and Tom (volunteers) and the following week I started to clean cages in bear house 1 & 2. I imagined that I’d clean cages with smelly bear feces but actually it didn’t smell as bad as I’d imagined. We had a routine change every day, a few days were cleaning cages and some days were preparing food for the bears in the kitchen. These two routines were in the morning session, while in the evening we would make enrichment for the bears, either food based, a hammock or a wood bridge. Duty in the morning session was quite busy, especially when preparing food as you need to be punctual and efficient. After duty in the bear house was completed, it was feeding time for indoor and outdoor bears. I enjoyed the outdoor feeding, as we got to scatter food at each forest enclosure and saw the bears during outdoor feeding, especially when they ate coconut.
Apart from working in the bear house, we had to go to the platform to talk to visitors about the centre and the sun bears here. And THIS was the only thing I didn’t want to do because I’m bad at public speaking, my confidence level is zero. When I saw my name during the first and second trials at the platform, I was so nervous but eventually after two weeks duty at the platform, I got used to it and was excited when I had to go there. I overcame my nervousness and public speaking fear very well with the help of other staff here. As Thye Lim said, educating people is quite challenging and I accept that challenge. I met a lot of visitors that came from all over the world, shared thoughts and experiences with them, especially about this centre and the rescued sun bears here.
Not only that, I had the chance to go for the outreach programme at SK Sungai Padas with Gloria, Ina, Reckly and Daniela as well as with HUTAN- Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Programme (KOCP). Here we educated people about sun bears and other wild animals to increase their awareness. BSBCC receives volunteers from across the world and I had the opportunity to work with volunteers from Sweden which were Julia and Kim, Simon from Belgium, Tom and Rica from UK, Kate from England as well as a group from PERHILITAN Peninsular Malaysia. I also had the opportunity to learn Swedish from Julia and Kim.
On the 16th of May 2015 I got to see the beginning process to the release of an adult female sun bear, Natalie, which was a health check before she was taken to Tabin Wildlife Reserve. BSBCC staff and veterinarian was there throughout the health check. And to see the vet doing their job, was inspiring and made me feel more excited to become a vet someday. The saddest part was the last goodbye to Natalie
During my internship here, I learnt a lot about punctuality, efficiency during working, building and improving my soft skills, confidence when talking to people and most important was to learn about sun bears which are currently endangered. Last but not least, special thanks to Mr.Wong, Thye Lim and Lin May for your approval for my internship here. Thanks for all your guidance and advice during my internship here and for helping in my mini project. Thank you to Thye Lim, Mizuno and David (the bear keepers), Nick who assisted and gave me guidance during my time at the bear house and to other BSBCC staff, thank you for your kindness and professionalism during my internship here. I have no regrets choosing this centre to complete the 3 months industrial training and I would love to come back again! | <urn:uuid:2c37e645-5e66-47d8-b880-c44d5a6064da> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.bsbcc.org.my/bear-talk-blog/archives/06-2015 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370529375.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20200405053120-20200405083120-00155.warc.gz | en | 0.981249 | 3,315 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Get those sweet vitamins and minerals with this cute vegetable pattern in Adobe Illustrator CC. We'll use simple shapes to create each item, repeating basic styles, and creating a color palette that brings our design together as a cohesive pattern. Top it all off with the Pattern Options panel for quick and easy creation of seamless patterns, and you've got a fabulous design garden growing!
I created this design in Adobe Illustrator CC 2015. You are welcome to use earlier versions of the program, but may find some features to be missing. Since everything's been created from basic shapes, however, I'm sure you can adapt these techniques to whatever program you've got on your computer.
1. Corn on the Cob
Open a New Document and use the Ellipse Tool (L) to draw a circle. Most of our shapes will start with a circle.
- Set the fill color to bright green (
- Use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to pull the top anchor point upward.
- Use the Anchor Point Tool (Shift-C) to convert the top anchor point from a curve to a point.
- Select your long teardrop shape and go to Effect > Warp > Flag to apply a Vertical bend of 37%. Then go to Object > Expand Appearance.
Draw a larger circle to gather your warped leaves around it.
- Place two warped leaves on the left side.
- Copy (Control-C), Paste (Control-V), and Reflect the two leaves over a Vertical Axis so you can place them on the right side of the large circle.
The corn base was created from a light yellow circle whose top anchor point was pulled upward by the Direct Selection Tool. Place it beneath the leaf shapes but above the green circle shape in the Layers panel.
Let's create some kernels!
- Draw a series of rounded rectangles with the Rounded Rectangle Tool over the corn cob.
- I've hidden the leaves so this can be seen clearly. Group (Control-G) the rounded rectangles together.
- Select the corn cob and the kernel group, and use the Shape Builder Tool (Shift-M) to select the portions of the kernels that do not intersect with the corn cob.
- Deselect all components and delete the non-intersecting components of the rounded rectangles.
Let's review the colors used in this design so far! For the corn base, I used light yellow (
#fce47f) and then medium (
#fecc68) and dark yellow-orange (
#ffc05c) for the kernels. Then, the inner leaves are medium green (
#8eb72a) and the outer leaves are light green (
2. Create the Corn Details
Group together your corn design. Then, Copy and Paste the object and Unite the pasted object in the Pathfinder panel. Set the fill color and stroke color to dark brown (
#3d1708). In the Stroke panel, set the width to 3–5 pt and the caps and corners to rounded.
Place behind the original corn object and Align the two objects to their centers in the Align panel. Expand your design under Object. This is the technique we'll use to create outlines for all of our little vegetable designs.
In the case of Scaling your corn cob down, make sure Scale Rectangle Corners is selected in the Transform panel. If it's not, you may find your rounded rectangles will change in shape as you resize your object.
As an optional step, you can add adorable little faces to your vegetable designs.
- Draw two circles for the eyes.
- For the mouth, draw a circle and overlap it with a rectangle. Select both shapes and hit Minus Front in the Pathfinder panel.
- Draw two pink ellipses for the cheeks and place them under the eyes in the Layers panel.
I sometimes like to add a cute and simple heart to the mouths of my designs.
- Draw a small circle with the Ellipse Tool.
- Copy and Paste that circle and overlap the first. Unite the two shapes in the Pathfinder panel.
- Delete the bottom three anchor points with the Delete Anchor Point Tool (-).
- Add a new anchor point in the center of the bottom edge of the shape with the Add Anchor Point Tool (+). Pull the lower anchor point downward with the Direct Selection Tool.
- Grab the handles of the two side anchor points and round out the side a bit.
- Use the Anchor Point Tool to convert the bottom point from a curve to a point. Set the fill color to pink (
Place the heart in the mouth of your corn design. Draw two small white circles on the eyes for highlights. Group all of your corn components together.
3. Draw an Avocado
This is one of the easiest designs in this tutorial. Draw a circle and pull the top anchor point upward to create the base design of the avocado.
Set the base color of the avocado to
#7e6353. Repeat the first shape with a smaller circle and set the color to lime green (
#c3e548). Draw a circle in the center and set the color to
Add a dark-brown outline to the base shape, and give your avocado a face as we did with the corn on the cob. For highlights on the avocado pit, draw a couple of circles and set their fill colors to
#e5ab70. Group all of your avocado components together and make sure to Expand your design under Object.
4. A Bunch of Beets!
Once again, this vegetable starts with a teardrop shape formed from a circle. Convert the lower anchor point to a point from a curve. Copy and Paste two instances of your upside-down teardrop, and Rotate all three objects slightly so that when they overlap they look like a bunch of beets.
For the stems of the beets, draw a thin, vertical rectangle with the Rectangle Tool (M). Select your rectangle and go to Effect > Warp > Arc to apply a Vertical bend of 37%. Then, go to Object > Expand Appearance.
Copy, Paste, and Reflect or Rotate a couple instances of the stems. Place them over each beet. To thicken the stems, go to Object > Path > Offset Path and set the offset at 2–3 pixels.
For the leaves, overlap several circles on top of each other and once you have the puffy leaf shape you desire, Unite the circles in the Pathfinder panel. Place the leaves on top of the beet stems.
Add an outline stroke to each of the beets. Then, add an outline to the entire beet group, as we did with the corn and avocado earlier. Draw faces with circles, small curves, and little arrow shapes.
For the new colors added to our palette in this section see the following:
- dark green leaves (
- beets (
- beet stem (
Optionally, you can draw some squiggles with the Pencil Tool (N) or the Pen Tool (P), or draw smaller leaves with circles as we did before and layer them on top of each other.
5. Tomayto Tomahto
Draw a large ellipse for the tomato's base. For the leaves, we're once again creating a series of teardrop shapes with the techniques we've used earlier. Overlap four Rotated green teardrops for the lower half of the tomato's leaves. Copy, Paste, and Reflect the four leaves over a Horizontal Axis. Unite all eight teardrop shapes together and place them on the top of the tomato.
For the stem, draw a small green rectangle. Go to Effect > Warp > Arc to apply a Vertical bend of 20% and make sure to Expand Appearance under Object. Draw an ellipse and line it up with the top edge of the warped stem shape.
Unite the two shapes together. Use the Direct Selection Tool to move the lower anchor points inward and narrow the stem's base. Place it on the top of the tomato.
Complete the tomato in the same manner (with an outline and a face) as we've done with the previous vegetable designs. The red I used for the tomato is
#ff4b78. I also changed the little tongue heart's color to tomato red.
Here's a look at our vegetable designs so far. We've got three more to go!
6. Draw Bell Peppers
The bell pepper design is pretty simple as well. Let's start with the stem.
Draw a vertical light green rectangle. Go to Effect > Warp > Bulge and apply a Vertical bend of -9%. Expand the Appearance under Object. Then, apply an Arc Effect with a 35% Vertical bend. Once again, make sure to Expand its Appearance.
Let's add a top edge to the stem.
- Draw an ellipse with the Ellipse Tool and Rotate it with the Selection Tool (V) so that it's at an angle similar to the top edge of the stem shape.
- Use the Direct Selection Tool to manipulate the anchor points of the ellipse so it fits onto the top of the stem a bit better.
- Set the fill color to medium green.
For the pepper shape itself, draw a fat vertical ellipse for the center shape and three red (
#fe5153) ellipses for the front, each rotated from the center. Place the stem at the top of the pepper. You can also draw a darker-red, scalloped shape with the Pen Tool to create a bit of depth, or just change the back ellipse's fill color. Group your pepper components together.
Complete the pepper with a face and an outline. Copy and Paste your pepper, and change the reds to yellow for an alternate pepper colorway.
7. Spice It Up With a Jalapeño
Our pepper friends wouldn't be complete without a cute and spicy jalapeño. Like the avocado, it's very, very simple.
Draw a circle and drag the lower anchor point downward to create an elongated teardrop shape. Copy, Paste, and Scale the bell pepper's stem down to create the jalapeño's stem. Place it behind the pepper's body in the Layers panel.
Add an outline to your design, as we've done previously, and a face too, if you'd like. Scale and Rotate the pepper to your liking to be placed later into your pattern design.
8. Don't Cry, Little Onion
Once again, as we've done with all of these cuties, draw a circle. Pull the top anchor point upward and convert the curve to a point with the Anchor Point Tool. Copy, Paste, and Scale three instances of the onion body down and place them at the bottom of the onion. Group these four objects together. I chose
#feb159 for my onion color.
With the Pen Tool, draw two little 'greater than' and 'less than' shapes for the eyes.
- Draw a half-circle or slight curve for the mouth.
- Draw a large curved path from the top center to the bottom center of the onion.
- Repeat three more times. Expand the strokes and Unite these shapes in the Pathfinder panel.
- As with the corn kernels, use the Shape Builder Tool to delete the onion stripes from the onion base. Set the fill color to
#df9361. Complete your design with a dark-brown outline.
For the pattern, arrange three or four of the vegetables and create a New Pattern in the Pattern Options panel. Set the Tile Type to Brick by column. Hit Done and then Copy the rest of the vegetable designs.
In the Swatches panel, Double-Click your new pattern, and Paste your other vegetable objects onto your pattern. Now you can rearrange your elements, overlapping the pattern swatch's boundaries and creating a dense, seamless pattern. Scale, Rotate, and Move your elements as you see fit. Once satisfied, hit Done and your pattern swatch will be updated with your new additions.
Eat Your Veggies!
To complete your design, draw a large rectangle over your artboard and apply your pattern swatch to it as the fill color. Draw another rectangle below the first with the fill color of your choice to add a simple background color to your design.
What other fruits and veggies can you add to your design to make it unique? Share your vegetable designs in the comment section below!
If you enjoyed this tutorial, check out these other cute pattern and object tutorials:
Envato Tuts+ tutorials are translated into other languages by our community members—you can be involved too!Translate this post | <urn:uuid:56d189c5-d9d8-405d-a67f-5e9bb5b33442> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/eat-your-veggies-create-a-vegetable-pattern-in-adobe-illustrator--cms-24618 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370521574.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20200404073139-20200404103139-00074.warc.gz | en | 0.877011 | 2,644 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have identified a mechanism that causes low clouds – and their influence on Earth’s energy balance – to respond differently to global warming depending on their spatial pattern.
The results imply that studies relying solely on recent observed trends are likely to underestimate how much Earth will warm due to increased carbon dioxide. The research appears in the Oct. 31 edition of the journal,Nature Geosciences.
The research focused on clouds, which influence Earth’s climate by reflecting incoming solar radiation and reducing outgoing thermal radiation. As the Earth’s surface warms, the net radiative effect of clouds also changes, contributing a feedback to the climate system. If these cloud changes enhance the radiative cooling of the Earth, they act as a negative, dampening feedback on warming. Otherwise, they act as a positive, amplifying feedback on warming. The amount of global warming due to increased carbon dioxide is critically dependent on the sign and magnitude of the cloud feedback, making it an area of intense research.
This is an area attracting a great deal of research. The ramifications of changes in solar energy reaching the biosphere of earth could be serious. But studies reveal disagreement between a number of authors.
OCTOBER 31, 2016
Chen Zhou et al, Impact of decadal cloud variations on the Earth’s energy budget,Nature Geoscience (2016). DOI: 10.1038/ngeo2828
A recent paper by Wagner and Kleiss compares a Ceilometer with Total Sky Imager and Micropulse lidar looking at suitability of ceilometers for estimation of cloud amount.
In summary they say, in part:
“Ceilometers will be a mainstay of the operational automated weather observation network for years to come.
They are relatively inexpensive and require little ongoing maintenance, and are capable of 24-h observations.
While TSIs produce automated observations that are qualitatively more similar to human observations of sky cover than the ceilometer, ongoing operational
costs like mirror cleaning and reduced hours of operation limit this instrument’s applicability for deployment in unattended environments.
Two significant sources of error are associated with the automated sky cover observations obtained by single ceilometer ASOS installations: the spot view of the instrument renders it unable to see the entire sky, while the 3660-m height limit renders the instrument incapable of observing high clouds. These errors are not insignificant, and their magnitudes vary depending on the actual cloud coverage. The spatiotemporal averaging error is smallest for clear and overcast conditions as the sky exhibits little variability in these conditions. The high cloud error is at its smallest when skies are dominated by low clouds, and it tends to increase as low cloud coverage lessens, allowing high clouds to peek through.”
The ability to reliably detect upper atmosphere cloud is restricted to a subset of available ceilometers which have ranges in excess of the usual 7,500 to 10,000 metre range. Such ceilometers include the a CL51, the 8600-CHS and the CHM15K
As part of the EU “COST” programmes, the ToPROF group is working on operational ground based profiling with ceilometers, doppler lidars and microwave radiometers for improving weather forecasts.
Work started in 2014, and is progressing towards a nominal completion date in 2020.
Within the To PROF group, a Ceilometer Working group has been established.
- National weather services (incl. COPERNICUS/MACC): calibrated attenuated
backscatter profiles to evaluate NWP models (through forward operators); Cloud
base height for NWP evaluation and weather monitoring.
- Agencies in charge of atmospheric surveillance for air traffic: occurrence, height and mass concentrations of ash layers; diagnostic and short-term forecast of fog and other low visibility events.
- Agencies in charge of Air Quality monitoring: boundary layer height; freetropospheric aerosol transport.
- Networks in charge of GHG monitoring: boundary layer height to quantify GHG
- EUMETSAT: European-wide validation of cloud-base height and fog
- Renewable energy industry: Photovoltaic ReN – cloud/fog fraction and evolution for nowcasting applications (combined with geostationary satellite); Concentrated solar power: aerosol vertical distribution; Wind ReN – wind profiles from Doppler Lidars.
On 7 Sep 2015 an unprecedented huge dust plume approached the SE Mediterranean basin from the northeast- Syria region. According to the Israeli meteorological service it is the first time in 75 years of measurements, that a dust storm reaches Israel early September, lasts several days and dust concentrations reach values 100 times the normal (1700µg/m3). Dust storms are normally monitored in the east Mediterranean using satellites and surface PM data. Obviously, these cannot show the vertical evolution of the dust including penetration, sinking and cleaning since vertical profiles are not available. High-resolution, micro Lidar Ceilometer network is gradually established in Israel. A few instruments of this network were already operational during the dust storm. The most crucial vertical information, monitored by these Ceilometers with 10m resolution vertically, every 16s, is analyzed. The difference in the cloud-layers allow the investigation of the high altitude of 1000m dust penetration, its sinking into the complex structured 250-500m mixed layer and the gradual 3D cleaning. This finding contradicts the conventional understanding that cleaning is due to gradual descent and shows not only the vertical fluctuation during the entire event but also the vertical rise to 2000m at the end of the event. The vertical information showed that the actual event period duration was 7 days, compared to only 90 hours based on traditional detectors. Is it a new dust source in the E. Mediterranean-long and short term trends?
There are very few Ceilometer manufacturers in the world. Ceilometers have advanced technical requirements and the cost of development is high. In the production phase ceilometers are assembled from many special optical and electronic parts. During testing they require specialised pulsed laser power meters, spectrophotometers and advanced electronic test equipment, together with a cloudy climate to enable regular testing and continuous product improvement.
Sensor Range Class
- 12500 ft range, ( 3800m) an example of which was the original CT12K. This range is now encompassed by the 25,000 ft range sensors.
- 25,000 ft range ( 7600m) These are the main sensors on the market since in the main application there is little operational need to go beyond even 12500 ft. These sensors also find application in Planetary Boundary Layer ( PBL) studies.
- 50,000 ft range (15,200m) Special instruments that find more application in volcanic ash warning in aviation and upper atmosphere studies in atmospheric science. Although in theory only requiring a modest increase in signal to noise ratio, the cloud species above 20,000 ft are most often comprised of ice crystals and have much lower volume back-scatter coefficients than water cloud so the reliable detection of thin layers of cirrus cloud becomes very difficult while maintaining the laser eye safety mandate. Ceilometers in this range generally achieve the necessary signal to noise ratio improvement by a range of techniques including increasing laser pulse energy ( while still remaining eye safe ), using a different laser wavelength, and or reducing the telescope field of view and laser beam divergence.
25,000 ft range for Aviation and PBL studies
CL31 : http://www.vaisala.com/en/products/ceilometers/Pages/default.aspx
8200-CHS : http://www.ceilometers.com/
CS135 : https://www.campbellsci.com.au/cs135
50000 ft Range for Atmospheric Science
CL51 : http://www.vaisala.com/en/products/ceilometers/Pages/default.aspx
In the past ICAO Annex 3 SARPS recommended that a ceilometer be placed at the middle marker site 900-1200 m from the touch down zone for instrumented runways .
This had an advantage that power and comms were generally already established at that site or were planned at that site.
This gave a reading of cloud base height at a crucial decision height on the glidepath
With addition of ILS and co-located DME, more and more aerodromes have no middle marker. The piece of land located 900 to 1200 m from the landing threshold may be outside the aerodrome airfield and a ceilometer installation may be impracticable, or very costly.
As a consequence in more and more cases an alternative location must be found.
A typical recommendation for siting the ceilometer would be :
“When instrumented systems are used for the measurement of the cloud amount and the height of cloud base, representative observations should be obtained by the use of sensors appropriately sited. For local routine and special reports, in the case of aerodromes with precision approach runways, sensors for cloud amount and height of cloud base should be sited to give the best practicable indications of the height of cloud base and cloud amount at the runway threshold in use. For that purpose, a sensor should be installed at a distance less than 500 m from the threshold. This distance can be extended up to 900-1200 m from the landing threshold in the axis of the approach end of the runway”
The user should refer to the latest edition of Annex 3 to ensure compliance.
Sydney Dust Storm 2009
A wall of dust stretched from northern Queensland to the southern tip of eastern Australia on the morning of September 23, 2009, The storm, the worst in 70 years, led to cancelled or delayed flights, traffic problems, and health issues, The concentration of particles in the air reached 15,000 micrograms per cubic meter in New South Wales during the storm, A normal day sees a particle concentration 10-20 micrograms per cubic meter.
Work on the use of Ceilometers for analysis of that Dust Storm is decribed in the paper:
Laser ceilometer measurements of Australian dust storm highlight need for reassessment of atmospheric dust plume loads By Hamish McGowan and Joshua Soderholm
Among the more interesting information in this paper was the curtain plot showing the increase in backscatter when the wall of the duststorm hit, the very high concentration around ground level and the vertical extent of the dust. The maximum vertical extent of this plot is 1500 metres , or approx 5000 ft.
(Curtain Plot showing onset of the Dust Storm and estimated particle Concentration from paper: Laser ceilometer measurements of Australian dust storm highlight need for reassessment of atmospheric dust plume loads By Hamish McGowan and Joshua Soderholm )
Ceilometers like the 8200-CHS are suitable for this type of work, where dust storms are experienced regularly, such as the Harmattan in sub saharan Africa, the Churgui in Morocco, the Khamasin in Egypt, the Shamal in Iraq or the Kali Andhi in India | <urn:uuid:2a0b233c-c91e-4f66-b904-101c3ff112a3> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://ceilometers.net/category/cloud-ceilometer-applications/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370500482.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20200331115844-20200331145844-00315.warc.gz | en | 0.900248 | 2,300 | 3.640625 | 4 |
This category covers firms primarily engaged in manufacturing blowers for general industrial and commercial use, and commercial exhaust fans, ventilating fans and attic fans. Also included are manufacturers of duct collection equipment and other air purification equipment for heating and air conditioning systems and equipment for industrial gas cleaning systems. It does not include manufacturers of refrigeration and airconditioning components, which are covered under SIC 3585: Refrigeration and Heating Equipment. Small household fans, kitchen and bath ventilation fans, or other domestic fan components are included in SIC 3634: Electric Housewares and Fans.
333411 (Air Purification Equipment Manufacturing)
333412 (Industrial and Commercial Fan and Blower Manufacturing)
U.S. industry depends on the low-pressure, high-volume movement of air. Without it, much industrial and commercial activity would quickly suffocate. Consequently, the fan can be found in applications as diverse as huge blowers used to bubble air through sewage water and industrial waste, to street cleaners and industrial leaf blowers. In modern shopping centers and commercial/industrial strip malls, unnoticed roof ventilators silently exchange contaminated air for fresh; the attic fan performs the same function for residential buildings. Heating and air conditioning systems depend on fans to move heat away from coils and heat exchangers and into the structure, and to feed the fossil fuel combustion processes with large quantities of oxygen-bearing air. Exhaust systems push the products of this combustion outside the structure or extract grease and heat from commercial cooking appliances and industrial ovens.
Estimated 2000 U.S. shipments of products within the blowers, fans, and air cleaners industry were valued at $4.17 billion. This figure fluctuated somewhat during the late 1990s, but it remained between $3.5 billion and $4.2 billion through the year 2000.
More than 500 companies manufactured fans and blowers at roughly 600 locations in the late 1990s. This figure had grown gradually since the 1980s, when there were around 450 companies and 500 facilities. Industry employment figures rose slightly in the early to mid-1990s compared to the low rates of the late 1980s. These numbers continued to grow slowly in the late 1990s, from 30,153 workers in 1997 to 30,821 workers in 2000. Ohio, Illinois, California, and North Carolina were the leading states in employment, employing approximately 33 percent of the total industry workers.
The fan's ability to move large quantities of air makes it the base component of the rapidly expanding air pollution control industry. Starting with the plant, the device has been harnessed to help contain and remove pollutants like dust and metal particles, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxide, sulfuric acid, and hydrocarbon solvents in a variety of filters and traps.
Fans and blowers belong to the same family of devices as compressors and pumps. A pump moves liquids, while the others move gases. A compressor will provide a means of increasing the pressure of the gas to more than 40 pounds per square inch (psi). That gas can then either be delivered directly to the application or stored for metered use. A blower can also increase the pressure of the gas to as much as 40 psi, but delivers it directly to the application through an area of high resistance such as a pipeline. Fans provide large volumes of uncompressed gas and operate in low-resistance environments that could also include ducting systems. Technically, an increase in gas density of less than 7 percent between inlet and outlet defines the gas as uncompressed.
The two most common types of fans and blowers are the axial and the centrifugal, which together account for about 45 percent of the industry's output. Axial fans are used in applications that produce low resistance to airflow. The gas is moved in the same direction as the fan's axis of rotation, much as a water wheel on a classic mill or paddle steamer. In the centrifugal fan, the gas moves perpendicular to the fan's axis of rotation. Most domestic fans use angled and curved blades to produce the centrifugal effect at low pressure. Centrifugal blowers and fans are used in relatively high resistance applications and usually provide quieter operation than axial units.
The main uses of fans and blowers, according to the Compressed Air and Gas Handbook , are for process services (including chemical alterations like combustion, nitrogen fixation, polymerization, hydrogenation, and alkylation), and for change-of-state operations (including quenching, drying, and atomization). Products that result from these types of procedures include liquid fuels, plastics, synthetic rubber, ammonia, and fertilizers.
The world's first pump was probably the force or air pump built by Ktesibios of Alexandria about 270 B.C. He used a cylinder and plunger arrangement to pump air through pipes of various lengths, creating the first water organ. The water was used to maintain a steady air pressure in the system. Simple air pumps and bellows provided low-pressure "compressed" air for such devices as organs and blacksmith furnaces, but major advancements in fan technology had to wait until the arrival of the Industrial Revolution.
As large-scale manufacturing emerged in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, fans became an integral part of factory and commercial building infrastructure in the United States. The fan and blower industry's successes have been largely tied to the health of commercial and industrial construction and renovation.
The general industrial slowdown of the 1980s hit the fan and blower industry hard. Major clients like the petrochemical industry, the construction industry, and the heating, ventilation and air conditioning industry cut back on orders for new equipment and left existing components idle. A strong U.S. dollar made American products uncompetitive in foreign markets.
By 1988, this started to change. A weakening dollar stimulated exports and a general pickup in the manufacturing climate sparked new domestic orders in almost all sectors. The industry continued to modernize production by consolidating facilities and adopting sophisticated CAD/CAM systems and metalworking and casting technologies. New materials and designs were explored to extend the life of components in corrosive environments and to increase reliability.
New environmental regulations like the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and their counterparts in other countries spurred the development and sale of air pollution abatement equipment. Two major products in this category were particle emission collectors, with shipments of $513 million in 1990, and gaseous emission control units, with sales of $220 million that year. In 1990, the major clients for such products were steam electric power generators, industrial steam plants, pulp and paper mills, chemical and fertilizer producers, and petroleum refiners.
In 2000, shipments in this industry were valued at $4.18 billion, a slight increase from $4.14 billion the previous year. Dust collection and air purification equipment represented the largest segment of the industry in the 1990s, followed closely by centrifugal blowers and fans, and propeller fans and accessories.
The industry benefited in the late 1990s from the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, because they imposed time limits on the reduction of specified hazardous industrial air pollutants. Compliance generated significant capital investment into this industry's products.
The success of this industry tends to coincide with the seasons of the year and with allergy seasons. Changes in weather conditions prompt consumers to buy products such as fans at certain times of the year. Air purification equipment tends to be more popular during allergy seasons.
The top selling company in this industry in the late 1990s was Eagle Industries, Inc., of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1961, Eagle Industries reported total annual sales of $9.9 million and employed 7,000 people at the end of the decade. In addition to ventilation systems, Eagle Industries manufactures toilet bowls and tanks, urinals, plastic plumbing fixtures, commercial refrigeration equipment and electrical power distribution equipment.
Other top sellers in the industry included Fasco Motors Group of Chesterfield, Missouri, with $4.7 million in sales and 4,000 employees, and Air and Water Technologies Corp of Somerville, New Jersey, with $4.5 million in sales and 2,900 employees.
Total employment for the industry was 30,821 in 2000, an increase over the 30,153 employed in 1997. Of the 30,821 industry workers employed in 2000, 22,258 were production workers earning an average of $13.13 per hour.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projected declines for most occupations within this industry through 2005. Significant growth was expected, however, for machine builders, machine tool operators, and welders and cutters.
Blowers and fans and the increasingly important air pollution abatement equipment are manufactured to international standards, allowing American manufacturers to compete effectively on the international market. These same standards, however, also make the United States vulnerable to foreign competition, particularly on price and quality.
Globalization is particularly important in the air pollution abatement equipment (APC) sector. U.S. and European multinationals use direct investment, cross-border mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and foreign collaboration to gain entry to each other's markets and to other markets around the world. The main target markets for such equipment have been Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, since the industry already faces significant competition from domestic producers in major trading partners like Japan, Germany, and France. Mexico is also a potentially significant market for U.S. fan and blower products. Many firms prefer to license to foreign manufacturers instead of competing directly, creating a brisk trade in environmental technology. Unlike the industry in general, this segment posted a trade surplus in the 1990s.
New and more stringent environmental regulations in the United States and around the world encouraged research into new air pollution abatement technology. This was especially true since some regulations called for pollution limitations in excess of what was technically possible at the time.
However, the industry also found ways of applying old technologies in new ways. Some major areas of research included electrostatic precipitators with the addition of high-voltage direct-current pulses to capture flyash; filter bags treated with microporous films or membranes to keep dust cake out of the filter material; conditioning flue gas streams with sulfur trioxide or ammonia before filtering to improve the life of the filter; the development of sulfur trioxide generators to convert flue gases without the need of adding chemicals; new plastic materials to extend the concept of flue gas cooling with water beyond the wood products industry; and sorbent injection of such materials as carbon, char, and sodium sulfide to capture heavy metals like mercury.
The end of the 1990s saw new products, especially in the area of air cleaning and purification, being introduced by various leaders in this industry. In 1999, Lentek International added several new products to its Sila line of air purifiers, including a purifier/deodorizer, a personal air supply device, and a coat and closet purifier. Also in 1999, Clairion introduced a new line of decorative fans that are both energy efficient and excellent air cleaners.
3564, General Statistics. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group, 1999.
3564, Occupations Employed by SIC 356. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group, 1999.
3564, Product Share Details. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group, 1999.
"1999 Appliance Statistical Forecast: Comfort and Conditioning Appliances." Appliance , January 1999.
"Airing It Out." HFN , 02 August 1999.
"Clairion to Debut Air Cleaner/Ceiling Fan Combo." HFN , 14 December 1998.
Compressed Air and Gas Handbook. New York: Compressed Air and Gas Institute, 1973.
Darnay, Arsen J., ed. Manufacturing USA , 5th ed. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group, 1996.
Eagle Industries, Inc. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group, 1999.
United States Census Bureau. 1992 Annual Survey of Manufacturers. Washington: GPO, Updated 1996. Available from http://www.census.gov/epcd/ec92/mc92ht35.html .
United States Census Bureau. "Statistics for Industries and Industry Groups: 2000." Annual Survey of Manufacturers. February 2002. Available from http://www.census.gov .
Ward's Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies , Volume 5. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group, 1999.
"Will a Good Year End Up In the Record Books?" Appliance , January 1998.
Zaczkiewicz, Arthur. "Season for Sales Opportunity." HFN , 28 August 1999. | <urn:uuid:53e165de-8598-4564-8086-8feb48f57437> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | http://www.globalebox.com/industries/Machinery-Computer-Equipment/Industrial-Commercial-Fans-Blowers-Air.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371818008.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20200408135412-20200408165912-00154.warc.gz | en | 0.938333 | 2,608 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Enzymes are defined as organic catalysts which promote specific chemical reactions in the body upon which all life depends. Enzymes are effective in infinitesimal amounts since they are not consumed in the catalyzed chemical reactions and will remain active indefinitely. Naturally occurring enzymes are related to proteins and are largely comprised of amino acids. They are used extensively in the food industry for fermentation in the production of alcoholic beverages and cheese for example.
In the mid-60’s Novozyme began to supply microbial enzymes for use in laundry detergents and dish washing detergents. These protein enzymes were classified as proteases. Today proteases still retain a dominant position in the detergent industry and are often used in combination with other enzymes.
More recently detergent manufacturers began to employ quaternary amines in order to increase the cleaning action of household detergents. These synthetic enzymes greatly increased the cleaning efficiency of common household detergents by accelerating the hydrolysis of animal fats (such as glycerides) and oily food residues (including proteins) so that they could be more rapidly dispersed and emulsified in water. In the scientific literature these quaternary amines are sometimes employed as phase transfer catalysts (1,2). Phase transfer catalysts, as the name suggests, accelerate chemical reactions that take place between insoluble phases, eg. oil and water. Quaternary amines, being soluble in both water and organic liquids, can greatly accelerate certain chemical reactions when added to such a heterogeneous system. These amine additives are highly toxic and are as equally effective as chlorine dioxide disinfectants. This antibacterial activity is considered desirable for maintaining a sterile living environment. These synthetic enzyme catalysts are extremely effective at low concentrations in aqueous solutions (typically 0.003 molar). Quaternary amines are chemically similar to naturally occurring neurotransmitters which are present in virtually all living organisms (including humans) eg. acetylcholine bromide. Neurotransmitters are molecules which control muscle behaviour by transmitting nerve signals. The toxic alkaloid curare (d-tubocurarine) is a quaternary ammonium compound which has been found useful in surgery in order to relax muscles (3).
So far there has been limited information concerning the long term effects of synthetic enzymes on the human population.
Are genetic disorders a manifestation of DNA specific agents in our environment?
Can Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases be attributed to protein fragments generated by enzymatic hydrolysis?
This paper attempts to establish whether detergent enzymes are potentially dangerous and harmful to the health and reproduction of humans and other forms of life.
Detergent enzymes are well established as normal ingredients in both powder and liquid detergents all over the world. The enzymatic hydrolysis of tri-glycerides in alkaline solutions is used as a measure of detergent efficiency (4). Many synthetic enzymes are derived from quaternary ammonium compounds (5,6). Quaternary ammonium compounds are frequently used as pseudo-enzymes to study the catalytic hydrolysis of organic compounds (1,2).
The rate of hydrolysis of food residues can be greatly increased in the presence of phase transfer catalysts such as quaternary ammonium halides and polyols. In phase transfer catalysis (PTC) a substrate in an organic phase is reacted chemically with a reagent present in another phase (which is usually aqueous). Reaction is achieved by means of an enzymatic transfer agent; this agent or catalyst being capable of dissolving in both aqueous and organic phases, the latter in the form of highly reactive ion pairs. The hydrolytic activity of the PTC ion pair is considerably greater in organic media since it is less hydrated. These cationic enzymes will strongly bind to organic substrates including exposed hands and will remain on the skin even after 16 rinses (9).
This raises concern about the danger of employing chemical agents in detergents which may be absorbed by the skin and eventually into the blood stream where these catalysts could continue to randomly degrade protein matter and even interfere with DNA reproductive processes.
Quaternary Ammonium Enzymes
The annual production of all purpose cleaners is greater than one million tons. Tetraalkyl ammonium halides are often added to these surfactants as disinfectants (7). These quaternary compounds are known to be toxic to virtually all living organisms (including bacteria, aquatic life, animals, amphibians, and humans) and are said to be just as effective as chlorine compounds for disinfecting purposes (9). Of the many quaternary ammonium compounds in commercial use, alkyldimethylbenzyl ammonium chloride, is perhaps the most widely used cationic agent in domestic surfactants. The hydrolytic efficiency of a quaternary ammonium base is dependent upon its relative solubility in organic substrates (characterized by the hydrophilic/lipophilic balance). Alkyl dimethylbenzyl ammonium chloride is a powerful catalyst which greatly accelerates the hydrolysis of esters and amides, the major components of all living organisms (8). This quaternary compound is widely used as a synthetic enzyme for accelerating many other types of reactions. They are often used as phase transfer catalysts due to their ability to transfer reagents from an aqueous phase into an organic phase. In the presence of trace amounts of such catalytic agents, the detergent can become extremely corrosive and will promote rapid hydrolysis and degradation of organic tissues. This is not surprising since modern detergents are designed to rapidly hydrolyze residual fats and oils in food. The active ingredient, quaternary ammonium hydroxide, can adsorb on the skin and diffuse into the body. Vegetable or animal fats and greases comprise triglycerides, which are esters of glycerol. Since skin comprises keratin (a protein) and fatty esters, these tissues are just as susceptible to hydrolysis as animal food residues. The rate of hydrolysis of denatured proteins by detergents containing protease enzymes at various temperatures has been investigated (4). Virtually 100 percent hydrolysis was obtained in 30 minutes at 400C which is evidence of the strong catalytic activity of these synthetic enzymes. It is not clear what effect these powerful enzymes might have on the human neurological system if they should invade the body by absorption or ingestion. However in one reported case, a patient in a hospital went into shock and died as a result of a spinal fluid injection. Subsequent investigation showed that the hypodermic syringe had been previously washed with a detergent containing a synthetic enzyme. The residue left on the syringe was sufficient to cause death.
The composition of a general purpose cleaning agent is provided from a Material Safety Data Sheet (10) in Table 1.
Table 1. Composition of Typical General Purpose Cleaning Agent
ethylenediamine tetraacetate (chelating agent)
2. Alkyldimethylbenzyl ammonium chloride (hydrolysis catalyst)
3. Non-Ionic Surfactant (emulsifier)
4. d-Limonene (a hydrocarbon fragrance)
5. Non-volatile substances (8 percent - unspecified)
Tetrasodium ethylenediamine tetraacetate is a chelating agent which dissolves calcium deposits or other inorganic residues. Under alkaline conditions alkyldimethylbenzyl ammonium chloride exists largely in its basic form, ie.
Quaternary ammonium hydroxide base
In this state the quaternary compound becomes a powerful catalyst which can greatly accelerate hydrolysis reactions, causing rapid degradation of animal or human tissues. The same action occurs when cleaning agents are employed to remove food residues which contain both fats (glycerides) and proteins (polypeptides). Without the quaternary ammonium hydroxide catalyst these hydrolysis reactions would be very much slower.
Cleaning agents containing quaternary ammonium compounds such as alkylbenzyldimethyl ammonium chloride can be found in most grocery stores and supermarkets under a variety of brands. Some typical cleaning agents are listed in Table 2. It should be noted that most detergents do not reveal their composition on the label.
Table 2. Typical Enzyme Detergents
Cleaning Agent pH Comments
Pearl Plus (Flexo) 10 Active ingredient alkyl dimethyl
Scented 9 Corrosive to skin and eyes.
Household Cleaner Use rubber gloves. Contains
quaternary ammonium chlorides.
Lysol 8 Corrosive.
dimethylbenzyl ammonium chloride. Use rubber gloves.
Unlike microbial enzymes, quaternary amines are foreign substances that are chemically stable and not readily biodegradable. In an acidic pH environment quaternary amines are relatively inert but become powerful hydrolysis catalysts under basic conditions. Since the pH of blood is slightly basic, the presence of quaternary amines in the body can be potentially dangerous. Enzymes have been implicated in certain forms of leukemia. Neurotransmitter enzymes are responsible for the transmission of signals to muscle nerves. Parkinson’s disease is attributed to the slow deterioration of nerve signals which are triggered by quaternary enzymes (ie. acetylcholine). Studies have concluded that Parkinson’s disease is probably caused by unknown environmental triggers (12).
Enzymes have been implicated in the growth of cancerous tumors and certain forms of leukemia (13).
Scientists have recently discovered that Alzheimer’s disease is attributed to particular protein fragments (amyloid betapeptides) which have been cut off or cleaved from a larger amyloid protein molecule by a particular protease enzyme referred to as BACE (11). While the chemistry of this reaction may be quite different from that of quaternary amines, it does emphasize that people who are exposed to chemicals that cleave proteins invite a serious health risk. The origin of Alzheimer’s disease has been attributed to the cleavage of proteins in the body, the same type of cleavage reaction that detergent enzymes promote in order to increase cleaning efficiency. Since detergent residues are normally present on dishes, drinking glasses, and eating utensils, the possibility of ingestion exists for all individuals. Laundry detergents leave residual detergents on clothes which may be subsequently absorbed by the body after contact with the skin. Hence most if not all individuals are exposed to these chemicals on a daily basis, both internally and externally.
It is clear that our health is dependent upon a delicate balance of chemistry between enzymes, hormones, vitamins and genes. Whereas the interdependence between these four organic species is highly complicated and not too well understood, minor disturbances can lead to catastrophic results. The introduction of a highly reactive biochemical agent such as a detergent enzyme into the human body may disrupt these complex reactions that are essential to good health and survival.
It is known that synthetic enzymes such as alkylbenzyldimethyl ammonium chloride are powerful phase transfer catalysts which can greatly accelerate the hydrolytic attack of glycerides, proteins, lipids, and genetic molecules. These additives are extremely toxic to virtually all living organisms. This observation raises concerns about the safety of using detergents which contain pseudo-enzymes such as quaternary ammonium compounds. Tonnage quantities of these lethal agents are being dispersed in the environment without a clear understanding of their potential effects on humans or other living species. The increasing number of genetic disorders and the increasing incidence of cancers in the general population and especially in children, mostly of unknown origin, should be a warning that we should be more wary of introducing potentially life threatening biological agents into the environment, and especially into cleaning agents. Further research is needed to ascertain whether certain detergent enzymes are consistent with a healthy environment. A known toxic additive that is so ubiquitous within our society should be carefully reviewed for potential adverse effects on human health.
- E. V. Dehmlow, S. S. Dehmlow, Phase Transfer Catalysis, VCH Publishers, 1993.
- C. M. Starks, C. L. Liotta, M. E. Halpern, Phase Transfer Catalysis, Chapman & Hall, 1994.
- A. Streitwieser, C. H. Heathcock, E. M. Kosower, Introduction to Organic Chemistry, MacMillan Publishing, 1992. pp. 740-742.
- P. N. Christensen, K. Thomsen, S. Branner, Development of Detergent Enzymes, Proceedings Second World Conference on Detergents, American Oil Chemists Society, p. 182, 1987.
- W. G. Cutler, E. Kissa, Detergency - Surfactant Science Series Vol. 20, 1987.
- J. M. Richmond, Cationic Surfactants, ibid, Vol. 34, 1990 (see also Vol. 53).
- B. Davis, Recent Developments in the Technology of Surfactants, Critical Reports on Applied Chemistry, Volume 30, Elsevier Applied Science, pp. 78-83.
- J. Albrizzio, J. Archila, T. Rodulfo, E. H. Cordes, J. Org. Chem. 37 (6), 871 (1972).
- E. Jungermann, Cationic Surfactants, Marcel Dekker, 1970.
- Material Safety Data Sheet for Pearl Plus, Flexo Products Limited., Toronto.
- Science, 286:650-651, 735-740 (1999).
- The Toronto Star, January 29, 1999, p. F8 (published in the Journal of the American Medical Association).
- The Toronto Star, March 16, 1999, p. A3 (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).
Toronto, Ontario Raymond
September 2, 2001 | <urn:uuid:0959a86c-1dbf-47f5-862a-cb2269dd8550> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | http://www.greencleanersassociation.ca/index.php/ct-menu-item-19/ct-menu-item-21/ct-menu-item-23 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370505366.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20200401034127-20200401064127-00515.warc.gz | en | 0.927813 | 2,904 | 3.546875 | 4 |
Keeping Blackleg at Bay2 months ago -
If blackleg levels are on the rise in your canola field, think about adjusting your tactics for managing this yield-limiting disease.
Blackleg-resistant canola varieties are an excellent tool for managing this potentially serious disease, but we need to take care of them.
“If we deploy the same genetic resistance over and over again, then we put a lot of pressure on that genetic resistance and it could break,” says Michael Harding, a plant pathologist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.
That’s the reason researchers are monitoring this fungal pathogen and its races in Alberta and the rest of Western Canada. And that’s why growers need to monitor their own canola fields.
“If you’re growing canola every year or every second year, and you are starting to see an increase in blackleg over time, that is an indicator the races within your field are adapting to overcome the resistance deployed,” says Justine Cornelsen, the blackleg lead for the Canola Council of Canada (CCC). Rising blackleg levels are a reminder to reach into your toolbox for some of your other tools like changing to a canola variety with a different blackleg resistance package and/or extending your crop rotation.
Cornelsen explains two fungal pathogens — Leptosphaeria maculans and Leptosphaeria biglobosa— can cause blackleg in canola. Leptosphaeria maculans is the major concern on the Prairies. Canola residues infected with this fungus release spores that can infect susceptible canola plants as early as the cotyledon stage.
The infection spreads down from the foliage to the base of the stem. The disease can result in stem cankering, lodging and major yield losses, especially if the infection begins when the crop is very young.
A Look at the Alberta Situation
Harding has been leading Alberta’s blackleg surveys since 2015. He says the province’s blackleg surveys have been sporadic over the past few decades with surveys conducted for a couple of years, then no surveys for a few years, then another survey for a year, and so on. A key issue was whether the person responsible for monitoring canola diseases in Alberta had enough funding in any given year to cover the survey’s manpower and diagnostic costs.
“I was in the same boat; I had some limited resources, but not necessarily enough to do a canola disease survey every single year,” he says. Thus, Harding and his group are taking a different approach. “We are coordinating the survey, but we ask for volunteers — people interested in canola disease could help out by surveying a few fields.”
In 2015, Harding’s group partnered with agricultural fieldmen in counties across the province. In 2016 and 2017, they received funding from the Alberta Crop Industry Development Fund and partnered with agricultural research associations in the Agricultural Research and Extension Council of Alberta (ARECA). Last year, and in 2018, they partnered with the agricultural fieldmen again. These surveys include blackleg, sclerotinia and clubroot.
“This has been a really big step forward for us in Alberta to have a consistent, long-term, annual disease survey in canola,” says Harding. “And it is thanks to partnering with groups like the agricultural fieldmen and ARECA. We’re going to continue with this partnering approach.”
They try to survey about one per cent of the canola fields in each county, collecting data on blackleg prevalence, incidence and severity. The table below summarizes the results from the 2015 to 2018 surveys. The blackleg levels were a little higher in 2016 due to wet conditions that favoured the disease.
Results from Alberta Blackleg Surveys, 2015 to 2018
|Number of fields surveyed||208||480||421||339|
|Prevalence: percentage of surveyed fields that have blackleg symptoms||70.7%||90%||82.2%||80.5%|
|Incidence: percentage of stems with blackleg symptoms||13.1%||21.2%||14.0%||13.25%|
|Severity: rated on a scale from 0 (no disease) to 5 (completely diseased)||0.39||0.42||0.26||0.24|
Courtesy of Michael Harding, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry
Harding summarizes. “Overall, our surveys show blackleg is widespread in the province, but we generally only see 10 to 20 per cent of the plants with symptoms, and the severity on average is very low in most fields — less than one out of five. Meaning, the resistance in our canola varieties is working very effectively.”
Harding states the 2019 blackleg results could be quite different in various areas of the province. “In 2019, some parts of Alberta had almost no rain, and in other parts it wouldn’t stop raining. For southern Alberta, I’m guessing that the 2019 blackleg numbers will be quite similar to those in 2017 and 2018. But in the central part of the province, where they essentially had rain all season long, we could have much higher levels.”
To try to draw more information from the survey data, Harding and his group have started conducting a hot spot analysis. “The data points in the survey have a precise GPS location attached to them so we can map them. One of the tools in the mapping software can look around each individual point that has a high severity to see how many points nearby also have a high severity. If it reaches a certain threshold, it will tell you there might be a little hot spot there,” he explains.
“This analysis is one way we can distil down an enormous amount of survey data and say, ‘here are some areas we may need to look at a little closer.’”
They first conducted the hot spot analysis in 2018.
“We found a few spots with a little higher severity and maybe a little higher incidence. We don’t yet know what causes the hot spots, whether they might be due perhaps to the appearance of a new virulent race that is overcoming the resistance in our varieties, or maybe the local weather conditions pushed the severity a little higher.”
The 2019 data could help to shed some light on the cause of the hot spots.
“Since a significant part of the province had lots and lots of precipitation and another pretty significant area had almost no rain, that will help us to sort out what the biggest driver is of these hot spots: is it the weather, or is it something else like the crop rotation history or new blackleg races? After we do this analysis for a number of years in a row, we should be able to say with some certainty what is going on.”
Three Key BMPs for Managing Blackleg
“Our top three best management practices for blackleg really come down to some of the basics for effective disease management,” says Cornelsen.
“Scouting is No.1. Monitoring is key to knowing if you have an issue with your resistant variety.”
She recommends rating the blackleg levels in your canola fields each year, especially if you are using a short rotation and if you think you may have a blackleg issue in some fields.
“The best time for blackleg scouting to help make decisions for future years is at 60 per cent seed colour change, right around when you would typically swath the crop,” says Cornelsen.
“You go into the field, pull up the plants, cut through the top of the root, and rate your plants on that 0 to 5 scale, with 0 being a clean, healthy plant that has no sign of black tissue in the cross section, and 5 is showing complete internal blackening.” Sampling instructions and the rating chart are available on the CCC website.
“You can use this severity rating to determine how much yield you have potentially lost due to blackleg, if you were above or below the provincial average [for the disease], and whether the disease level has been increasing over time in that field,” she says.
“That information helps you to make decisions the next time you grow canola in that field. If the disease levels are rising, then maybe you need a varietal change, or maybe the disease is so severe you need to think about extending your crop rotation on that particular field.”
Crop rotation is the second of the CCC’s top three best management practices (BMPs).
“Blackleg is very easily managed with an extended rotation,” Cornelsen emphasizes. “If you can move to growing canola once out of three years, you allow the old residue which houses the pathogen to die down in the field naturally. That will minimize the risk of the field having severe blackleg.”
“When blackleg showed up as a real force to be reckoned with in Alberta back in the 1970s and 1980s, it was managed with crop rotation. The one-in-four rotation with canola really came about because of blackleg — the fungus does not survive very long in the soil unless it has host tissue,” says Harding. “The lower part of the canola stem persists the longest; it is kind of a woody tissue that survives for two or three years. But once that breaks down, there is nothing left for the blackleg fungus to survive on, so it dies.
The blackleg fungus can also be seed-borne, but close to 100 per cent of the canola seed purchased has been cleaned and treated with a fungicide to prevent any seed-borne issues with blackleg, he adds.
The third key BMP is using blackleg-resistant varieties.
“In Canada, all commercially available varieties are rated as resistant or moderately resistant to blackleg. We are all doing this BMP already,” says Cornelsen. “The next level is stewarding the varieties better.”
Rotate Resistance Genes
In addition to the big three BMPs, one of the secondary practices on the CCC’s blackleg BMP list is rotation of resistance genetics.
Blackleg resistance relies on two types of resistance: major gene resistance, which is very effective, but specific to particular blackleg races; and quantitative resistance, which involves multiple genes that each contribute a small amount to the plant’s overall ability to resist the disease at stem cankering.
In major gene resistance, the resistance gene in the plant has to match up with the corresponding avirulent gene in the pathogen. For example, the resistance gene Rlm2 is only effective against races with the avirulence gene Avrlm2.
Since the 1990s, resistant canola varieties with the same one or two major genes have been widely used on the Prairies. That has put selection pressure on the pathogen to shift toward other races. Research by Gary Peng at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Saskatoon and others shows some Avrlm genes have become less common and others have become more common over the past couple of decades in Western Canada.
Each year, as Harding’s group assesses blackleg severity in the stems collected in the Alberta survey, whenever they see a stem with blackleg symptoms, they cut off a one-inch piece and send it to Peng. Peng is currently monitoring the blackleg races in Western Canada. His group isolates the blackleg fungus from the samples and determines which avirulence genes are present. Harding also passes along the hot spot analysis from the Alberta survey in case that helps hone in on some areas that might be a concern for development of new blackleg races.
Peng’s research also suggests many canola cultivars probably have both major gene and quantitative resistance. Even if the pathogen’s population shifts to overcome a race-specific major gene, most cultivars have non-race-specific quantitative resistance that slows the pathogen’s spread in the plant and reduces the disease’s impacts on yields.
Canada now has a voluntary labelling system that identifies the major resistance genes in canola cultivars. At present, DeKalb, Canterra Seeds, Brett Young and Cargill are using this new labelling system.
“The old recommendation was just to switch your variety [if you noticed increasing problems with blackleg in a field]. You could have unknowingly switched to a variety that would actually be worse for that field,” explains Cornelsen. “Now that we’ve got more information, rotation of resistance genes has become a new best management practice.”
Growers and agronomists can submit canola stubble samples to a diagnostic lab to have blackleg races identified. The pathogen is very diverse, so most fields will likely have multiple races. The idea is to choose a canola variety with resistance to the main avirulence genes in the field, if such a variety is available.
“Right now, we have four major genes identified (some varieties are identifying a fifth unknown gene) in Canadian canola varieties. Looking at our blackleg race profile in Western Canada, there would be the potential to adopt an Rlm7 resistance gene in our varieties, to match up with Avrlm7, which is becoming increasingly common here,” says Cornelsen.
She is hopeful additional major genes will become available in Canadian canola varieties in the coming years. “A lot of the life sciences companies in Canada have access to materials with other resistance genes that are deployed in other countries. Also, researchers with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Saskatoon have identified some new resistance genes, which will be available to the Canadian market. But it takes time — when you’re introducing a new trait or gene it can take upwards of 10 years to get the new varieties out.”
New Fungicide Options on the Way
“Fungicides are not commonly used for controlling blackleg on the Prairies at present, mainly because producers don’t necessarily see a return on investment within the application year. That is probably because we are missing the critical window of infection,” explains Cornelsen.
“Just in the last year or so, we have really dialled in on when the critical stage for infection occurs for blackleg on the Prairies. It’s the cotyledon to two-leaf stage. The plants infected at that very early stage will be the ones that suffer the greatest yield loss or may not even make it to harvest. If we can protect the plants at that early stage, we will really minimize the severity of the disease in some fields.”
Infection at this really early stage is not unusual. “The infected residue only needs a little moisture and temperatures around 15 to 16 C to start producing spores. [Often in a warm spring,] the pathogen is already releasing spores when the canola cotyledons are popping out of the ground,” Cornelsen says.
She explains the foliar fungicides registered for blackleg in canola are labelled for the two- to six-leaf stage, by which time the plants could already be infected. And even if the fungicides were registered for the cotyledon stage, a foliar application at that timing would likely be impractical. “Growers are often busy with planting when canola is at the cotyledon stage. And it’s tough to wrap your head around the idea of spraying at the cotyledon stage because you would be spraying bare ground.”
However, new seed treatments are on the way. “Within the next few years, we are going to have some new seed treatments coming on the market that can protect the plant at that critical window from the cotyledon to two-leaf stage. I think the new seed treatments will prolong the use of some of the genetics in our blackleg-resistant varieties.”
One of these new products is Syngenta’s Saltro. “We’re excited about what Saltro fungicide seed treatment will bring to the management of airborne blackleg,” says Scott Ewert, head of Seedcare with Syngenta Canada. He explains Saltro will provide a new tool as part of an integrated disease management approach, together with crop rotation and genetic resistance, to manage blackleg in canola, minimize yield loss associated with this disease and support the longevity of canola seed genetics.
This seed treatment contains a new active ingredient, adepidyn, which is an SDHI mode of action. Syngenta anticipates registration of Saltro seed treatment in time for use in the 2021 growing season. “What’s unique about Saltro is it will provide protection against airborne blackleg at canola emergence through what we now know to be a critical infection period for the disease, the cotyledon stage,” says Ewert.
“With blackleg management, we can’t rely on just one tool,” says Cornelsen. “I know we put our resistant cultivars up on a pedestal, but we’ve got to look at prolonging their longevity and using all of our management tools. Crop rotation and scouting are really key pieces to managing this disease.” | <urn:uuid:4c5ba6d4-eb6f-457b-8bcc-c387fd6e02ce> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.seed.ab.ca/keeping-blackleg-at-bay/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370510352.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20200403061648-20200403091648-00555.warc.gz | en | 0.941302 | 3,654 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Here is our growing list of answers to questions that we're often asked at
along with some helpful links to provide even more answers. If you have a problem that isn't
addressed here, please try
browsing our list of how-to guides, or our collection of net resources.
-Why you should NEVER click on a URL in an eMail message...
...Often times you'll see Internet addresses within emails (links to web pages or other online content). Read this to find out why you should NEVER click them.
-Why you should NEVER use the “unsubscribe” link in an eMail...
...If you use an unsubscribe link in an eMail, not only are you saying 'this is a valid eMail
address,' you are also taking the risk of downloading a Trojan Horse program that turns your
computer into an open relay for sending SPAM, Viruses, and other Trojan Horse programs.
"Why do I need a password, or anything more than a simple password?"
...Computerworld - Study: Weak passwords really do help hackers. Four computers left online
for 24 days were hit by 270,000 hacking attempts. Click here for details.
-Why do I need to update my computer?
...Even if your computer is behind a firewall, NAT [Network Address Translator], Proxy, or any
other device that denies direct access from the outside world, you still need to keep all of
the software on your computer up-to-date. The reason is that there are a number of ways that
your computer can be attacked. When you connect to another host computer on the Internet you
have opened a connection that allows two-way communication with that host. This is one of many
ways your computer can be attacked. What are called “Spybots” are one of many ways that your
computer host can be attacked.
Read these facts if you're not already alarmed...
...On July 12 of 2001, a computer virus classified as a “worm” type, later named "Code Red",
propagated and unleashed its destructive power on the Internet. After the smoke cleared and the
damage was done, Code Red had cost private business, U.S. government and military institutions
over $1.2 billion. Microsoft had already released a patch in May of 2001 for this problem; however,
a very large percentage of the computer systems around the world where not updated.
Code Red response article excerpt - "On July 19, 2001 more than 359,000 computers were infected
with the Code-Red (CRv2) worm in less than 14 hours. At the peak of the infection frenzy, more
than 2,000 new hosts were infected each minute. Forty three percent of all infected hosts were
in the United States, while 11% originated in Korea followed by 5% in China and 4% in Taiwan.
The .NET Top Level Domain (TLD) accounted for 19% of all compromised machines, followed by .COM
with 14% and .EDU with 2%. We also observed 136 (0.04%).MIL and 213 (0.05%).GOV hosts infected
by the worm."
If you're STILL not alarmed, please read on...
...As an example of what can happen once a computer inside the network is infected, let us take a
look at the “W32.Spybot.JPB” Worm. This is a worm that tries to do a number of things. One of
the first things it does is try to attack Microsoft Windows systems on the LAN [Local Area
Network]. If these local computers are not patched they themselves will become infected, and
for the most part be turned into what are termed ‘zombie’, or "bot" computer hosts. Not only
will these units turn around and (in concert with the computer that infected it) try to infect
even more systems on the LAN, they will also try to infect systems on the Internet. In the
future, if this worm is not removed it will listen for commands that allow the attacker to
perform even more actions against host computer system on the LAN, and the Internet.
-Why does it sometimes take a long time to deliver an eMail message?'Overview of eMail Delivery'
...We have come to expect eMails to take seconds to be delivered. We often regard eMail-ing as an
instantaneous method of communication-almost like a telephone call. We then are very
surprised if an eMail takes over one hour to deliver...but did you know it can take DAYS?
This article gives the reasons for the speed of delivery and also the reasons why delivery
can take days:
1--PRESSING THE SEND BUTTON...
...After the eMail has been composed and spell-checked, the SEND button is pressed.
This causes the eMail to be sent from the PC to a mail host known as a SMTP (Simple Mail
Transfer Protocol) Server.
2--SENDER'S SMTP HOST LOCATES THE RECIPIENT'S SMTP HOST'S IP ADDRESS...
...If the sender's domain name is different from the recipient's domain name the SMTP host
cannot deliver the eMail to the recipient. It needs to pass the message on to an SMTP host
that knows how to deliver the message. The sender's SMTP host tries to find the IP (Internet
Protocol) address of the recipient's SMTP host. The Internet is a busy and congested place
and this request could fail. But the SMTP host does not give up at that point. It will try many
times before giving up. Most SMTP hosts will try for five days before throwing in the towel!
Our SMTP hosts will inform the sender if the message cannot be sent within 4 hours, but still
it will continue to try. Eventually, the SMTP will find the IP address of the recipient. Now
it can try to pass the message on.
3--SENDER'S SMTP HOST PASSES MESSAGE TO THE RECIPIENT'S SMTP HOST...
...Now that the sender's SMTP host knows the IP address (similar to a telephone number) of the
recipient's SMTP host, it calls it and asks for permission to send the message. Most times this
works but sometimes the recipient's SMTP host will reject the call. This can be for many reasons,
such as the host is too busy (specially when viruses are being propagated around the world).
If it does fail, the sender's SMTP host will continue to try before giving up. Usually, the
message will be sent to the recipient's SMTP host before the five days has passed. However,
this is not the whole story...
A recipient usually has 2 SMTP hosts. Some organization have many more - AOL has at least 4.
If the main host is busy, the sender's SMTP host will also call any of the other recipient's
4--RECIPIENT'S SMTP HOST PASSES MESSAGE TO ANOTHER SMTP HOST...
...If the message was not passed to the recipient's SMTP host than can deliver the mail, the
message will be passed to another SMTP host that may be closer to the recipient. Like the
previous section, this could take seconds, minutes, hours or even days. This situation occurs a
lot in business where the main receiving SMTP host is owned by a third party and checks all
incoming eMails for viruses and spam. If they pass the tests, the message is passed to the
recipient's SMTP host.
5--RECIPIENT'S SMTP HOST PLACES MESSAGE INTO RECIPIENT'S MAILBOX...
...At last, the message has arrived at a SMTP host that knows where the recipient's mailbox is
located. Once the message is in the mailbox it can be seen and viewed by the recipient.
-How Long Does it Take?
In over 95% of cases the above process takes less than a minute. (Far quicker than it took to
read the explanation!) In most cases when the message is not delivered within a few minutes it is
delivered within a few hours. In a few cases the message could take as long as 5 days to complete
its trip from sender to recipient. It rarely takes MORE than 5 days, as one of the SMTP hosts
will send the message back as 'undeliverable'. And yes, the error messages could take 5 days to
10 WAYS TO STOP SPYWARE
Spyware cleaners fall short; follow these steps to stamp out Spyware for good.
By James E. Gaskin, Network World, 03/28/2005
...Sometimes the truth hurts, but here it is anyway: You will struggle with Spyware at work,
home, and on family and friends' computers for the next several years. Spam will be choked
down to a manageable stream this year, but Spyware will fill the gap, costing you precious
hours cleaning the infected (and re-infected) computers of your friends and family. Click
here for the complete article.
Security and your connection
...The Linksys Instant Broadband EtherFast Cable/DSL Router is the perfect option to connect
multiple PCs to a high-speed Broadband Internet connection or to an Ethernet back-bone.
Allowing up to 253 users, the built-in NAT technology acts as a firewall protecting your
internal network. www.linksys.com See a review by Mark Gibbs at
http://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2000/0814gearhead.html about these devices as firewalls.
Signs your PC's under siege, and what you can do By Byron Acohido and Jon Swartz
USA TODAY : If your Windows PC is being used as a zombie, you may notice recurring
slowdowns of e-mail and Web browsing. Or you may not be able to e-mail or browse at
all. If your PC has been infected with a self-replicating network worm, a dormant
backdoor Trojan horse or several other types of stealthy programs, you may not notice
anything. Click Here for article
Are hackers using your PC to spew spam and steal? By Byron Acohido and Jon Swartz
USA TODAY : Since early 2003, wave after wave of infectious programs have begun to
saturate the Internet, causing the number of PCs hijacked by hackers and turned into
so-called 'zombies' to soar into the millions. Click Here for details
-Sites for Personal Firewall software: 1)ZoneAlarm , 2)Outpost and 3)ESafe
-Can I check my email from anywhere in the world?
Internet Partners, Inc. has added a new secure version of Horde’s IMP web based eMail
program with OpenSLL. Through IMP's intuitive interface, you'll be able to access and
manage your IMAP mail account using the simplicity of a standard web browser using a
secure connection from anywhere in the world via the Internet. (Click here to access it now)
...Some of the new features are the ability to send and receive attachments through this
interface, and to use a spell-checker. The spell-checker cannot show you words that are
not in its dictionary. To look for correct spelling you may wish to use an on-line
dictionary like Merriam-Webster's Online.
Got SPAM? Here's How to help Stop It:
***Never respond directly to junk "SPAM" eMail
-If you respond to junk eMail then the sender knows that they have a valid eMail
address. So do not reply in any way.
***When posting to Newsgroups do not use a valid address
-Mailbots are used to harvest eMail addresses from newsgroups, so never use a valid
***Have your eMail address aliased
-Have your eMail address setup as " firstname.lastname@example.org ", or "
email@example.com " NOT " firstname.lastname@example.org ", or " email@example.com ".
Spammers use "dictionary attacks" to sort through possible names hoping to find a
valid address. Thus, a common name such as “ firstname.lastname@example.org “, or “ email@example.com “
will be much more likely to receive SPAM than a unique name like “ firstname.lastname@example.org “,
or " email@example.com ". NOTE: our eMail host limits your address to eight charters so
we would set up an underlying non-standard aliases address.
***Filter your eMail
-Check your eMail software to see if you can add filters, or blocks.
***Use third-party software like MailWasher
-How to setup MailWasher not to bounce eMail Click here
-Help make spammers known and put them out of business; Use services such as Spamcop.net to report SPAM.
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST...
* HOW TO DISPLAY eMAIL HEADERS *
**Check Blacklists Check this site to see if your eMail server is blacklisted. If you where blacklisted,
and have fixed the problem on your eMail server, this is the site you need to check to see
if you are on any other list. Click Here for more details
-How big is the virus problem?
...MICROSOFT : There are at least 60,000 known viruses and more are written every day. About
95-98% of viruses come through e-mail and instant messaging. Often viruses arrive with
e-mail disguised as something entertaining, like pictures, music, or greeting cards.
Why can people not send me email? Is there an issue with Internet Partners refusing email from certain servers?? I have a
few people who can not email me.
...In most cases where people are having problems sending you
email, the sender's email server is configured incorrectly (and it can serve as a security risk
to everyone on the Internet). We at Internet Partners are willing to work with the administrators
of these servers to help solve such problems.
-What do I do if my DSL connection has problems?
Click here to see the steps you need to take if your DSL connection is not working.
What is a DoS/DDoS Attack?
...Short for "Denial of Service Attack," a type of attack on a network that is designed to
bring the network to its knees by flooding it with useless traffic. Many DoS attacks,
such as the 'Ping of Death' and 'Teardrop' attacks, exploit limitations in the TCP/IP protocols.
For all known DoS attacks, there are software fixes that system administrators can install to
limit the damage caused by the attacks. But, like viruses, new DoS attacks are constantly being
dreamed up by hackers.
...Distributed Denial of Service - A hacker (or, if you prefer, cracker) begins a DDoS attack by
exploiting a vulnerability in a computer system on the Internet and making it the DDoS "master"
zombie. It is from the master zombie system that the intruder identifies, and communicates with
other computers that can be compromised. These systems are then made into zombie systems used in
the attack. The intruder loads cracking tools available on the Internet on multiple -- sometimes
thousands of -- compromised zombie systems. With a single command to the "master" zombie, the
intruder instructs the "master" zombie to send commands to the other zombie controlled systems
to launch one of many flood attacks against a specified target. The inundation of packets to the
target from these multiple zombies causes a Denial of Service.
...Always keep your computer's software up-to-date with software updates and patches. This is the
best way to keep your computer from becoming a zombie.
...This graph from Internet Traffic Report website shows the current Backbone DDoS activity.
-How Do I Upgrade Qwest ADSL Modem Firmware?
...In case you find you must upgrade a Cisco 675 or 678 external DSL Customer Premise Equipment
(CPE, incorrectly known as a "modem"), here's the procedure to do this. Note that
upgrades to prevent trouble from Nimda scans are NOT necessary if the CPE is running in Bridged
mode, but Qwest.net is generally using PPP mode.
-10 Digit Dialing : how do I set up my computer?
...Starting October 1, 2000 the 503 area code will be switching to 10-digit dialing.
This will soon be true also in the 360 area code. This means all of our dialup customers
will need to change the phone number you dial to connect to us to reflect the new 10 digit
dialing. (for instructions click here)
...One question we get asked quite a lot is "How do I access my personal website?" Read our FAQ on
personal websites at Internet Partners for help.
-What is FTP?
...File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a type of protocol supported on the Internet that
allows you to easily transfer files from your computer to another computer. To use FTP, you need
the address of a server that supports FTP and a client software package that supports FTP running
on your computer. FTP allows uploading and downloading of files to users with valid logins to the
FTP site. If you do not have a valid login to the FTP site you can use what is called the
'anonymous' login. Anonymous logins are available on most FTP sites and allow anyone to login
to the site with limited access. When using an anonymous login, downloading is usually allowed
but uploading is not.
...To use the anonymous login, log in to the site as anonymous, or just ftp,
and use your entire email address as the password. You can download files from an FTP site through
two methods: ASCII (plain text) or binary (machine language). Certain FTP software packages
require you to set the transfer type when installing the package, so be careful not to download
a software program as a text file, or it will become corrupt and you will not be able to run it. | <urn:uuid:c9ba68f2-7075-4416-bdb0-cdc39741038d> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | http://ipinc.net/faqs.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370494064.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20200329074745-20200329104745-00274.warc.gz | en | 0.918343 | 3,896 | 2.796875 | 3 |
- Helix (gastropod)
Temporal range: Oligocene–Recent
Garden snail (Helix aspersa) on Limonium Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Gastropoda (unranked): clade Heterobranchia
Superfamily: Helicoidea Family: Helicidae Genus: Helix
Helix is a genus of large air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. This genus is native to Europe and the regions around the Mediterranean Sea. Helix is the type genus of the family Helicidae.
The best-known species include Helix aspersa, the common, or brown garden snail, and Helix pomatia, the Roman snail, Burgundy snail, or edible snail. H. pomatia and some other species are eaten as escargots.
Helix snails have been introduced throughout the world, where some, especially H. aspersa, have become garden pests.
Snails in this genus create and use love darts during mating.
Subgenera and species within the genus Helix include today:
- Helix albescens Rossmaessler, 1839
- Helix lucorum Linnaeus, 1758
- Helix pomatia Linnaeus, 1758 - Burgundy Snail, Roman Snail, Edible Snail
- Helix philibinensis Rossmässler, 1839
- Helix pomacella Mousson, 1854
- Helix figulina Rossmässler, 1839
- Helix aspersa Müller, 1774 - brown garden snail or common garden snail also known as Cantareus aspersus and Cornu aspersus
- Helix aperta Born, 1778
- Helix engaddensis Bourguinat, 1852 - Levantine field snail
- Helix buchi Dubois de Montpéreux, 1839 (largest species of the genus Helix, a synonym is Helix goderdziana Mumladze, Tarkhnishvili & Pokryszko, 2008).
- Helix godetiana
- † Helix insignis - late Miocene
- Helix lutescens Rossmässler, 1837
- Helix mazzullii - also known as Cantareus mazzullii
- Helix melanostoma Draparnaud, 1801
- Helix obruta Morelet, 1860
- Helix texta Mousson, 1861
Some taxonomists remove the species "Helix aperta", "Helix aspersa", and "Helix mazzullii" from the genus Helix and place them in their own monotypic genera as Cantareus apertus, Cornu aspersum and Cantareus mazzullii.
At the beginning in the mid-1700s the generic name Helix had been used for almost all terrestrial gastropods, later this was restricted to species with helicoid habitus, including zonitids and other groups. In the course of the 1800s more groups were removed, but prior to 1900 several thousand helicid and hygromiid species of Europe and abroad had still been classified in the genus Helix. It was only in the early 1900s that the genus was split up into many separate genera, leaving only some 30 species closely related to its type species Helix pomatia in the genus Helix.
In addition to the hard calcareous shell that covers and protects the internal organs, the head and foot region can be observed when the snails are fully extended. When they are active, the organs such as the lung, heart, kidney and intestines remain inside the shell; only the head and foot emerge.
The head of the snail has two pairs of tentacles: the upper and larger pair contain the eyes, and the lower pair are used to feel the ground in front. The mouth is located just underneath the head. The tentacles can be withdrawn or extended depending on the situation. The mouth has a tongue called a "radula" that is composed of many fine chitinous teeth. This serves for rasping and cutting food.
From April through the northern summer, the number of snails copulating increases due to the higher temperature and humidity, which enhance the possibility of oviposition. The pulmonate snails are hermaphroditic, meaning that both female and male sexual organs are present in the same individual. The snails produce both eggs and sperm in the ovotestis (also called the hermaphrodite gland), but it is later separated into two divisions, a sperm duct and oviduct, respectively.
Mating takes several hours, sometimes a day. H. aspersa snails stab a calcite spine, known as a "love dart", at their partner. The love dart is coated with a mucus that contains a chemical that enables more than twice as many sperm to survive inside the recipient. A few days after mating, the eggs are laid in the soil. The eggs are usually 4–6 mm in diameter.
After snails hatch from the egg, they mature in one or more years, depending on where the organism lives. Maturity takes two years in Southern California, while it takes only ten months in South Africa.
The size of the adult snails slightly varies with species. H. aspersa grows up to 35 mm in height and width, whereas H. pomatia grows up to 45 mm. The life span of snails in the wild is on average two or three years.
Some snails may live longer, perhaps even 30 years or older in the case of the Roman snail but most live less than 8 years. Many deaths are due to predators and parasites.
The garden snail is a relatively fast snail. It has been observed to reach speeds of up to 1.3 cm/s.
Since snails in the genus Helix are terrestrial rather than fresh-water or marine, they have developed a simple lung for respiration. (Most other snails and gastropods have gills,instead.)
Oxygen is carried by the blood pigment hemocyanin. Both oxygen and carbon dioxide diffuse in and out of blood through the capillaries. A muscular valve regulates the process of opening and closing the entrance of the lung. When the valve opens, the air can either leave or come into the lung. The valve plays an important role in reducing water loss and preventing drowning.
Helix snails prefer cool, damp environments, as they easily suffer moisture loss. Snails are most active at night and after rainfall. During unfavourable conditions, a snail will remain inside its shell, usually under rocks or other hiding places, to avoid being discovered by predators. In dry climates snails will naturally congregate near water sources, including artificial sources such as waste-water outlets of air conditioners.
The common garden snail (Helix aspersa) is herbivorous. These snails are able to digest most vegetation including carrots and lettuce. They also have a specialized crop of symbiotic bacteria that aid in their digestion, especially with the breakdown of the polysaccharide cellulose into simple sugars.
Many predators, both specialist and generalist, feed on snails. Some animals, such as the song thrush, break the shell of the snail by hammering it against a hard object, such as stone, in order to expose its edible insides. Other predators, such as some species of frogs, circumvent the need to break snail shells by simply swallowing the snail whole, shell and all.
Some carnivorous species of snails, such as the decollate snail and the rosy wolf snail, also prey on Helix snails. Such carnivorous snails are commercially grown and sold in order to combat pest snail species. Many of these also escape into the wild, where they prey on indigenous snails, such as the Cuban land snails of the genus Polymita, and the indigenous snails of Hawaii.
H. pomatia and H. aspersa are the two edible species that are most used in European cuisine. Spanish cuisine also uses Otala punctata, Theba pisana and Iberus gualterianus alonensis, amongst others. The process of snail farming is called heliciculture.
Escargots are often served in a traditional way as appetizers. They may also be used as ingredients in other recipes.
- ^ Genus taxon summary for Cantareus. AnimalBase, Last modified 14-11-2006 by F. Welter Schultes, accessed 1 April 2009.
- ^ Ivanov M., Hrdličková, S. & Gregorová, R. (2001) Encyklopedie zkamenělin. – Rebo Productions, Dobřejovice, 1. vydání, 312 pp., page 126. (in Czech)
- ^ Sysoev, A. & Schileyko, A. 2009. Land snails and slugs of Russia and adjacent countries. - pp. 1-312, Fig. 1-142. Sofia. (Pensoft).
- ^ Mumladze L., Tarkhnishvili D. & Pokryszko B.M. 2008. A new species of the genus Helix from the Lesser Caucasus (sw Georgia). Journal of Conchology, volume: 39, part 5, page 483, published June 2008. abstract
- ^ Mylonas, M. 1996. Helix godetiana. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 2 April 2007. http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/9844/summ
- ^ Frias-Martin, A. 1996. Helix obruta. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 2 April 2007. http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/9845/summ
- ^ Heller, J. 1996. Helix texta. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 2 April 2007. http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/9846/summ
- ^ The Cornu Problem
- ^ Westerlund, C. A. 1889. Fauna der in der paläarctischen Region (Europa, Kaukasien, Sibirien, Turan, Persien, Kurdistan, Armenien, Mesopotamien, Kleinasien, Syrien, Arabien, Egypten, Tripolis, Tunesien, Algerien und Marocco) lebenden Binnenconchylien. II. Gen. Helix. - pp. 1-473, 1-31, 1-8. Berlin. (Friedländer).
- ^ Pfeiffer, L. & Clessin, S. 1881. Nomenclator heliceorum viventium quo continetur nomina omnium hujus familiae generum et specierum hodie cognitarum, disposita ex affinitate naturali. - pp. 1-617. Cassellis. (Fischer).
- ^ The Roman Snail, Helix pomatia
- ^ Yee, Angie (1999). "Speed of a Snail". The Physics Factbook. http://hypertextbook.com/facts/AngieYee.shtml.
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Look at other dictionaries:
Helix aspersa — Garden snail (Helix aspersa) on Limonium Conservation status NE … Wikipedia
Helix — ? Helix … Википедия
gastropod — /gas treuh pod /, n. 1. any mollusk of the class Gastropoda, comprising the snails, whelks, slugs, etc. adj. 2. Also, gastropodous /ga strop euh deuhs/. belonging or pertaining to the gastropods. [1820 30; < NL Gast(e)ropoda a class of mollusks.… … Universalium
Helix lucorum — Taxobox name = Helix lucorum image caption = live specimen of Helix lucorum image width = 220px status = NE regnum = Animalia phylum = Mollusca classis = Gastropoda subclassis = Orthogastropoda superordo = Heterobranchia ordo = Pulmonata familia … Wikipedia
Helix ceratina — Taxobox name = Helix ceratina image width = 230px image caption = Corsican snail ( Helix ceratina ) status = CR | status system = IUCN2.3 regnum = Animalia phylum = Mollusca classis = Gastropoda ordo = Stylommatophora familia = Helicidae genus =… … Wikipedia
Helix pomatia — Taxobox name = Helix pomatia image width = 200px status = NE regnum = Animalia phylum = Mollusca classis = Gastropoda subclassis = Orthogastropoda superordo = Heterobranchia ordo = Pulmonata familia = Helicidae genus = Helix species = H. pomatia… … Wikipedia
Helix lutescens — Taxobox name = Helix lutescens image width = status = NE regnum = Animalia phylum = Mollusca classis = Gastropoda subclassis = Orthogastropoda superordo = Heterobranchia ordo = Pulmonata familia = Helicidae genus = Helix species = H. lutescens… … Wikipedia
Helix aperta — Taxobox name = Helix aperta image width = 225px status = NE regnum = Animalia phylum = Mollusca classis = Gastropoda subclassis = Orthogastropoda superordo = Heterobranchia ordo = Pulmonata familia = Helicidae genus = Helix species = H. aperta… … Wikipedia
Helix godetiana — Taxobox name = Helix godetiana status = LR/nt | status system = IUCN2.3 regnum = Animalia phylum = Mollusca classis = Gastropoda ordo = Stylommatophora familia = Helicidae genus = Helix species = H. godetiana binomial = Helix godetiana binomial… … Wikipedia
Helix obruta — Taxobox name = Helix obruta status = VU | status system = IUCN2.3 regnum = Animalia phylum = Mollusca classis = Gastropoda ordo = Stylommatophora familia = Helicidae genus = Helix species = H. obruta binomial = Helix obruta binomial authority =… … Wikipedia | <urn:uuid:e1d528cc-2507-432c-aebd-ecfb73c5694c> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/11567178 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370493684.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20200329015008-20200329045008-00394.warc.gz | en | 0.831275 | 3,259 | 3.359375 | 3 |
What to expect during menopause
Menopause usually starts between the ages of 40 and 58 years in developed countries, where the average age is 51 years. For some, it will occur earlier due to a medical condition or treatment, such as the removal of the ovaries.
Around the time of menopause, many females experience physical symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, and a reduced sex drive. It can also lead to anxiety, changes in mood, and a reduced sex drive.
These symptoms may start before menstruation ends, and they can last for several years. The impact on a person's quality of life can range from mild to severe. However, there are ways of managing these symptoms.
Each person will experience menopause differently. Many have full, active lives throughout the transition and afterward, and some feel relieved by no longer having to deal with menstruation or birth control.
Maintaining a healthful diet and getting regular exercise can help a person feel better and boost their overall health in the long term. For those who experience menopause symptoms, treatments and support are available.
In this article, find out more about what to expect during menopause.
What is menopause?
A person will experience menopause when their menstrual cycle finishes.
Menopause is the stage of life that follows the end of the menstrual cycles. Each person may experience menopause differently.
It can last for several years, and there are three stages:
Perimenopause is the transitional time that starts before menopause and includes the 12 months that follow a person's last period.
Menopause starts either 12 months after the last period or when menstruation has stopped for a clinical reason, such as the removal of the ovaries.
Postmenopause refers to the years after menopause, although it can be difficult to know when menopause finished and postmenopause starts.
How long do menopause symptoms last? Find out here.
Signs and symptoms
The changes involved in perimenopause and menopause include:
As a female approaches the end of the reproductive stage, but before menopause begins, estrogen levels start to fall. This reduces the chances of becoming pregnant.
The first sign that menopause is approaching is usually periods occurring less regularly. They may come more or less frequently than usual, and they may be heavier or lighter.
Anyone who has concerns about menstrual changes should see a doctor, as these changes can also indicate pregnancy or some health issues.
Vaginal dryness and discomfort
Vaginal dryness, itching, and discomfort may start during perimenopause and continue into menopause. A person with any of these symptoms may experience chafing and discomfort during vaginal sex. Also, if the skin breaks, this can increase the risk of infection.
Various moisturizers, lubricants, and medications can relieve vaginal dryness and associated issues.
Learn more about atrophic vaginitis here.
Hot flashes are common around the time of menopause. They cause a person to feel a sudden sensation of heat in the upper body. The sensation may start in the face, neck, or chest and progress upward or downward.
A hot flash can also cause:
- red patches to form on the skin
Some people experience night sweats and cold flashes, or chills, in addition to or instead of hot flashes.
Hot flashes usually occur in the first year after menstruation ends, but they can continue for up to 14 years after menopause.
What does a hot flash feel like? Find out here.
Sleep problems can arise during menopause, and they may stem from:
- night sweats
- an increased need to urinate
Getting plenty of exercise and avoiding heavy meals before bedtime can help with managing these issues, but if they persist, contact a healthcare provider.
Click here for some tips on how to get better sleep.
Depression, anxiety, and low mood are common during menopause. It is not unusual to experience times of irritability and crying spells.
Hormonal changes and sleep disturbances can contribute to these issues. Also, a person's feelings about menopause may come into play. For example, distress about low libido or the end of fertility can contribute to depression during menopause.
While feelings of sadness, irritability, and tiredness are common during menopause, they do not necessarily indicate depression. However, anyone who experiences a low mood for 2 weeks or longer should see a doctor, who will be able to advise about the best course of action.
Anyone who has concerns about sleep or any changes related to menopause should contact a healthcare provider.
An article published in 2018 suggests that there may, in some cases, be a link between menopause and suicide. Anyone who is thinking about suicide should seek help from a counselor or health professional. There are also anonymous hotlines available.
- If you know someone at immediate risk of self-harm, suicide, or hurting another person:
- Call 911 or the local emergency number.
- Stay with the person until professional help arrives.
- Remove any weapons, medications, or other potentially harmful objects.
- Listen to the person without judgment.
- If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, a prevention hotline can help. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-273-8255.
Trouble focusing and learning
In the lead-up to menopause two-thirds of women may have difficulty with concentration and memory.
Keeping physically and mentally active, following a healthful diet, and maintaining an active social life can help with these issues. For example, some people benefit from finding a new hobby or joining a club or a local activity.
Various physical changes can develop around the time of menopause.
People may experience:
- a buildup of fat around the abdomen
- weight gain
- changes in hair color, texture, and volume
- breast reduction and tenderness
- urinary incontinence
Increased risk of some health conditions
After menopause, the risk of certain health issues appears to increase. Menopause does not cause these conditions, but the hormonal changes involved may play some role.
Osteoporosis: This is a long-term condition in which bone strength and density decrease. A doctor may recommend taking vitamin D supplements and eating more calcium-rich foods to maintain bone strength.
Cardiovascular disease: The American Heart Association (AHA) note that, while a decline in estrogen due to menopause may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, taking hormone therapy will not reduce this risk.
Skin changes can also occur around the time of menopause. Find out more.
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LGBTQIA+ and menopause
Most information about menopause describes the experiences of cisgender, heterosexual women. However, menopause can affect anyone who is born with ovaries.
A person who transitions to male but who retains their ovaries may experience menopause when their ovaries stop producing eggs.
If a person starts taking supplementary testosterone as part of their transition, they may experience menopause symptoms then. Also, menopause symptoms can develop when a person undergoes surgery to remove their ovaries.
When transitioning involves any of these experiences, the symptoms of menopause will be the same as those of cisgender women.
However, transgender people can face additional difficulties, depending on the attitude of their medical team. It is essential that transgender people have access to healthcare providers who understand their needs and can address them effectively.
Menopause is not a health problem but a natural transition. However, it can involve unwanted physical and mental changes.
Anyone who has concerns about these changes should seek medical advice. A doctor may recommend one or more of the following:
Hormone therapy comes in various forms, including skin patches and topical creams. It can help reduce the occurrence of hot flashes and other menopause symptoms.
However, using it may increase the risk of developing certain diseases and health conditions.
A person should not use hormone therapy if they have risk factors for the following health problems, or if they have a personal or family history of these issues:
- heart disease
- blood clots
- high levels of triglycerides in the blood
- gallbladder disease
- liver disease
- breast cancer
It is important to discuss the possible benefits and risks of hormone therapy with a doctor before deciding to use it.
A person may find that the following can also help relieve symptoms:
- over-the-counter gels and other products for vaginal dryness
- prescription pills, creams, and rings for vaginal dryness
- low-dose hormonal birth control pills for hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and mood changes
- low-dose antidepressants for hot flashes, even among people who do not have depression
Tips for managing the challenges of menopause include:
- getting regular exercise
- practicing relaxation and deep breathing exercises
- having a healthful diet that includes plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains
- quitting smoking and avoiding secondhand smoke
- limiting the intake of alcohol
- seeking counseling for anxiety, mood changes, and relationship concerns
- establishing good sleeping habits and getting plenty of rest
- doing Kegel exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor
- talking to friends and family about the experience of menopause
- exploring new ways of enjoying intimacy with a partner
- joining a club, volunteering, or taking up a new hobby
Keeping an active sex life
Menopause can reduce a person's sex drive and lead to vaginal dryness, but it also removes the need for birth control. For some, this can make sex more enjoyable.
Having sex often can increase vaginal blood flow and help keep the tissues healthy.
Some tips for maintaining sexual health and activity during menopause include:
- staying physically active
- avoiding tobacco products, recreational drugs, and alcohol
- taking the time to become aroused, which will improve lubrication
- doing Kegel exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor
- not using any strong soaps around the vagina, as these can worsen irritation
Also, menopause symptoms lead some people to find satisfying forms of sex that do not involve the vagina as much or at all.
It is worth remembering that, while a woman cannot become pregnant once menopause starts, it is still important to use barrier protection during penetrative sex to protect against sexually transmitted infections.
Often, sexual partners will be getting older — and may be experiencing menopause — at the same time. They, too, may be feeling a drop in sex drive. Opening up about any concerns can help both partners feel better and explore new forms of intimacy.
Menopause is a stage in life, not an illness. Most women experience natural menopause during midlife. However, surgery and other factors can cause menopause to start earlier.
A female's reproductive years last from puberty to menopause — from one natural transition to another.
Toward menopause, the levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone in the body fall because they are no longer necessary to support reproduction. These changes trigger menopause.
Surgery and treatment
If a person undergoes surgery to remove their ovaries, they will experience menopause. If this happens before middle age, doctors may refer to it as "early menopause."
A doctor may recommend hormone therapy to reduce some symptoms, but as always, it is important to discuss the risks as well as the potential benefits of this treatment.
Some treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, can cause the ovaries to stop working either temporarily or permanently. The likelihood of this happening depends on the person's age and the type and location of the treatment.
A person who experiences menopause because of a clinical treatment will experience the same symptoms as a person who experiences natural menopause. However, the symptoms may appear more abruptly, because the physical change is more sudden.
A person may also experience sadness or depression about an early loss of fertility. Some people decide to freeze eggs or pursue other options for having children later in life before undergoing this type of treatment. Counseling is often available.
It is also important to discuss related health effects with a doctor, as people who experience menopause early may have a higher risk of developing heart disease and osteoporosis.
Some people experience menopause earlier than others for reasons other than medical interventions.
Doctors consider menopause to be "premature" if it develops before the age of 40 and "early" if it starts between the ages of 40 and 45. Early menopause naturally occurs in around 5% of females.
Sometimes, menopause develops early if a person has:
- a genetic condition that affects the chromosomes, such as Turner's syndrome
- an autoimmune disease
- in rare cases, an infection, such as tuberculosis, malaria, or mumps
Anyone who experiences changes in menstrual patterns before the age of 45 should see a doctor.
Menopause is not an illness, but many people benefit from seeing their doctors when menstruation ends.
A doctor can often confirm whether the reason for this change is perimenopause or menopause by asking some questions. They may also test hormone levels and perform other analyses of the blood and urine to rule out health issues. No tests, however, can conclusively indicate that menopause has begun.
People can check their hormone levels at home with testing kits, some of which are available for purchase online.
For many people, menopause is not the only transition that occurs during middle age. Changes in relationships and work or home life — such as children moving away — can also have a significant impact. When more than one of these changes occurs in a short period, it can feel overwhelming.
However, many people live active, healthy lives throughout menopause and for many decades afterward, and midlife can often be the start of a new chapter.
Do males go through a kind of menopause?
Not quite. The natural aging process for people with male reproductive organs involves a gradual decline in testosterone over a lifetime.
For people with ovaries, menopause is a relatively short period of time during which there is a significant drop in the production of estrogen and progesterone. This may result in the undesired symptoms described in this article.Carolyn Kay, M.D. Answers represent the opinions of our medical experts. All content is strictly informational and should not be considered medical advice. | <urn:uuid:4e095ae1-602a-49d3-b9d7-c0df40a85fd4> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://mnt-prod.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155651.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371807538.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20200408010207-20200408040707-00395.warc.gz | en | 0.937512 | 3,095 | 2.828125 | 3 |
MCC and its partner countries have invested in land and property rights projects because of the critical role that land, natural resources and other property assets play in economic development. These projects empower the poor and strengthen the investment climate for firms by helping improve access to land for productive use, clarify laws that define property ownership, set up or strengthen the institutions where property rights are recorded, and create record-keeping mechanisms for those rights.
Access to a small farm plot can be vital to the day-to-day survival of a rural family, providing family members with food, household income and the possibility of lifting themselves out of poverty. Access to well-managed grazing areas can support livestock for entire rural communities. In urban or peri-urban areas, ownership of a small building or other property asset can provide a poor family with shelter or space for entrepreneurial activities. A well-functioning land and property rights system is equally essential for investors and companies large and small to have the confidence to invest and the ability to efficiently and predictably obtain the land they need to start and expand businesses, including in services and manufacturing. Successful land projects can have systemic and long-lasting impact on economic growth and poverty reduction.
To generate these impacts, MCC’s partner countries have used MCC land funding to:
- develop and implement new land laws, regulations and procedures;
- formalize land rights for landholders;
- form new land administration institutions or strengthen and streamline the operations of existing institutions;
- decentralize land tenure services to local levels;
- improve the functioning of land markets;
- launch new instruments for recording land rights;
- identify and map boundaries of communities and other jurisdictions;
- complete land use planning to optimize uses of land and access to land resources;
- develop industrial land that better meets the needs of manufacturing firms;
- design and implement national strategies to manage land more productively; and
- pilot improved land dispute resolution processes.
These interventions have been innovative and, in some cases, unprecedented in MCC’s partner countries.
|Benin||$31.0 million||October 2006–October 2011|
|Burkina Faso||$58.3 million||July 2009–July 2014|
|Cabo Verde||$17.7 million||November 2012–November 2017|
|Ghana||$4.2 million||February 2007–February 2012|
|Indonesia||$43.1 million||April 2013–April 2018|
|Lesotho||$17.9 million||September 2008–September 2013|
|Madagascar||$29.6 million||July 2005–August 2009|
|Mali||$0.9 million||September 2007–August 2012|
|Mongolia||$25.3 million||September 2008–September 2013|
|Morocco||$170.5 million||June 2017–June 2022|
|Mozambique||$39.5 million||September 2008–September 2013|
|Namibia||$23.1 million||September 2009–September 2014|
|Nicaragua||$7.2 million||May 2006–May 2011|
|Niger||$9.8 million||January 2018-January 2023|
|Senegal||$4.9 million||September 2010–September 2015|
|Liberia||$7.1 million||July 2010–December 2013|
|Togo||$8 million||February 2019–February 2030|
|Zambia||$3.6 million||May 2006–February 2009|
To date, MCC has invested approximately $500 million in land programs across 15 of its 33 signed compacts and three threshold programs. New investments are in development.
MCC’s compact with Morocco includes a $170.5 million Land Productivity Project. This investment comprises three activities: a) a Land Governance Activity, which will support the development and implementation of a long-term land strategy to address governance and land market constraints to investment and productivity; b) a Rural Land Activity, which aims to increase rural productivity by streamlining the process for privatizing collective lands, while making it more inclusive and more protective of the rights of land holders, including women; and c) an Industrial Land Activity to transform the current state-driven process for developing industrial land to one that optimizes public investment and attracts private sector participation in the financing, development, management and operation of industrial zones.
MCC’s compact with Niger is expected to increase rural incomes by increasing the production capacity and sustainability of natural resources, and by improving select links of key agricultural product value chains. The compact will invest in integrated water management; new infrastructure, including small- and large-scale irrigation systems, market platforms and improved roads; sustainable management of natural resources; and sustainable agricultural production. These activities will benefit rural producers whose livelihoods are derived from the agriculture and livestock sectors. Central to the compact is a land tenure security component to help farmers and pastoralists have reliable, inclusive and long-term access to land improved under the compact. A transparent, participatory and fair allocation strategy of lands improved under the compact is essential to reduce the risk of land conflict. Activities to reinforce local land governance include, (i) development of local land tenure profiles, including mapping of land rights, (ii) development by local stakeholders of criteria for land allocation, (iii) formalization of the allocated land rights by obtaining the appropriate land titling instruments, iv) building capacity of local land governance agencies, v) development of local land use plans, and vi) reinforcement of mechanisms to improve management and resolution of land conflicts.
MCC’s threshold with Togo includes an $8 million Land Reform to Accelerate Agricultural Production Project that will support the establishment of a regulatory framework to implement the new Land Code. It will also field-test cost effective procedures and technologies for land formalization to provide Togolese farmers with the security necessary to make long-term investments in their land.
Closed Compacts and Threshold Programs
In Benin, two parallel systems of land rights—a generations-old customary system and a colonial statutory system—have made the process of registering, buying, selling or claiming land confusing and sometimes impossible for the average landholder. People who had traditionally used a parcel of land and had passed it down for generations, were not always assured that it was legally theirs. As a result, they had difficulty selling or leasing it, and were reluctant to invest in it. Passage of the Benin Rural Landholding Law of 2007 enacted the principle of recognition of customary rights in land as equal to civil law property rights. It established written documents, like a rural landholding plan and rural landholding certificate, as legal instruments for assertion and protection of these rights. The $31.0 million MCC-funded Access to Land Project produced rural landholding plans in more than 295 villages, officially documenting and registering customary land rights and allowing them to be recognized and protected in courts of law and used in contractual dealings with third parties. Landholding plans were produced using newly installed continuously operating reference stations (CORS) to collect and record data in an automated manner, allowing for data to be easily accessible and for surveyors to work more quickly and precisely.
In Burkina Faso, the lack of titles and registration of land parcels created a situation where people were never sure that their land rights were secure, and therefore were reluctant to make investments to make the land more productive. A new rural land tenure law, supported by the $58.3 million Land Project within the compact, included measures to enhance access to land tenure services by decentralizing aspects of land management to local communities and provided tools for legal recognition of legitimate but previously unrecorded and undocumented rights to land that were rooted in traditional tenure systems. Extensive outreach to project beneficiaries and stakeholders supported enhanced understanding of new land legislation, increasing awareness of the project’s rural land governance activities and benefits.
In Cabo Verde, attracting foreign investment in the tourism industry has been hampered by unreliable land registration data and uncertainty about land rights. The $17.7 million Land Management for Investment Project digitized and indexed core documents within the registry to enable faster search of property records, and linked these files to municipal-level property information. The computerized system will improve the reliability of land information, increase the efficiency of transactions, clarify parcel rights and boundaries and strengthen protection of land rights, especially for targeted islands with high investment potential. This is expected to attract more large and small investors and reduce time and cost of procedures.
In Ghana, the $4.2 million land activity within the compact included a pilot project to map and survey more than 2,500 hectares of land on which inhabitants did not have formal land rights. Neighboring communities observed the success of the project and have requested similar formalization of the land parcels, jump-starting work in an area that had been at a standstill for years. The government is now better trained and equipped to carry out new formalization efforts. More than 25 percent of land titles were issued to women, consistent with the level of women’s ownership reported in recent World Bank studies. These results did not require legal action, but rather were achieved through public outreach campaigns that emphasized gender equity. These campaigns were reinforced by gender specialists included in community outreach teams.
In Indonesia, lack of clarity regarding licensing of land use rights and other natural resources and disputed village boundaries significantly hinders government land use planners and service agencies from effectively managing critical natural resources. This, in turn, deters sustainable investment. The Indonesia Compact included a $43.1 million participatory land use planning activity that invested in administrative boundary setting, updating and integration of land use inventories, as well as enhancing spatial plans at the district and provincial levels. The upgraded maps and community-generated natural resource use plans will set the stage for sustainable land management and a more predictable and stable investment environment.
In Lesotho, rapid growth and uncontrolled expansion of informal housing in urban and peri-urban areas resulted in large numbers of residents with clearly defined property rights. The $17.9 million MCC Land Administration Reform Activity provided legal title to the occupants of these parcels at no cost, bringing them officially into the formal sector. The occupants are possess a formalized property asset whose value is expected to appreciate substantially, and will have new incentives to invest in their homes. The 2010 Land Act, passed with assistance from MCC, establishes greater land tenure security for all land occupants, helps protect against arbitrary land seizure and establishes a simplified framework for systematic land regularization. In addition, new legislation and MCC compact support established a new professional land administration authority that is autonomous in operations, self-sustaining, and provides efficient and cost-effective land administration services to public and private users. Finally, the Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act, adopted as a condition to the MCC compact, enhances gender equity in land holdings and transactions, allowing women to have the same rights as men to possess, inherit, buy and sell land for the first time.
In Liberia, the general public was poorly informed of how their traditionally held property rights fit into the legal system. MCC’s $7.1 million Land Project helped develop a new national land policy, clarifying harmonization of customary land tenure systems with statutory law. A multi-media public outreach program increased public understanding of property rights issues and informed the public of the importance of registering deeds and methods to avoid fraud and other abuses. The program sought to rebuild public confidence in the system of land administration.
In Madagascar, the national land registration system was in serious decline and could not meet the needs of citizens to register their land or resolve land disputes. Decaying paper records were in such poor condition that they could not be easily used for reference. Moreover, centralized land registry offices were inconveniently located and were inaccessible to most people. To solve this problem, the $29.6 million Land Tenure Project opened new decentralized land offices in municipalities in targeted areas of the country. These offices gave municipal governments the tools and human resources to issue land certificates providing legal recognition of traditionally held rights, in a manner more accessible to the population than traditional land titles. At the same time, regional land administration offices were rehabilitated or constructed and a major document conservation and archiving initiative was undertaken, improving the ability of the existing regional land administration institutions to serve the communities’ needs.
In Mali, the Alatona Irrigation Project built a 5,000-hectare perimeter of irrigated land suitable for rice production. In order to assure that these newly irrigated parcels would be allocated fairly and transparently, a new branch of the local property registration office near the irrigated areas was established and equipped to prepare and issue titles to the land through the $900,000 Land Allocation Activity. Strong efforts to encourage women to participate in the MCC project led to significantly greater rates of joint titling of five-hectare farms in the names of both husbands and wives than was anticipated. These results did not require legal change, but rather were achieved through public outreach campaigns that emphasized gender equity, reinforced by gender specialists who were included in the community outreach teams.
In Mongolia, an outdated land registration system took months or years to process simple transactions like buying or selling land or obtaining building permits, and could not keep up with land transactions that were actually taking place. MCC’s $25.3 million Property Rights Project supported improvements to the system, making it more accurate, accessible and efficient, allowing Mongolians to feel more secure about making longer-term investments in their homes and businesses. The improvements were further supported by changes to laws and regulations that facilitated linkages between land mapping and property registration systems and simplified the process by which urban residents could become land owners. The project also developed and implemented a system whereby groups of herders in peri-urban areas could lease pasture land. This system replaced the practice of treating all land as a communal resource, which was contributing to overuse and degradation of pasture lands. This new system of leasing helped improve livestock productivity and sustainable use of rangeland resources.
In Mozambique, there was no digitized system of maps and property records that could be used as a reference when citizens wanted to register land transactions or resolve disputes. The $39.5 million Land Tenure Project supported capacity building for cadastral services in four northern provinces and a reconfiguration of the national Land Information Management System. MCC funds provided equipment and technology for cadastral offices, training of provincial district and municipal cadastral employees and technical assistance to cadastral offices to implement new technology and streamlined procedures. Once these technologies were in place, the project completed systematic land registration and titling for more than 250,000 households with informal holdings of land.
In Namibia, open community access to common pasture land and poor land management led to over-grazing and land degradation. This threatened rural livelihoods, particularly those of the poor, many of whom depended on common lands as their only land resource. MCC’s $23.1 million Land Access and Management Project helped produce registration maps in more than 150 villages showing rights to individual parcels and unallocated pasture land for community members and land administration officials to use as tools to manage the sustainable use of land resources for the benefit of the community. An extensive national and local outreach strategy made citizens aware of their land rights, and an automated registration system was developed and installed at the national and local levels to assure access to accurate and secure land rights information.
Nicaragua had an outdated land registration system that could not keep pace with changes in the real estate market. Few citizens held legal titles, complicating the processes for buying and selling land while creating fear of losing their land among landholders. Through the $7.2 million Property Regularization Project, passage of a public registry general law created the necessary legal framework for to establish an Integrated Cadastre and Registry System, allowing for electronic registration of real estate and reduced processing time. A land titling pilot activity resulted in the distribution of more than 2,800 property titles.
In Senegal, the $4.9 million Land Tenure Security Activity strengthened capacity of the local institutions responsible for land administration in the zone targeted by the Irrigation and Water Resource Management project. Reinforced local capacity improved land administration and mitigated the risk of conflict arising from increased demand for irrigated land. At the same time, the activity laid the foundation for transparent, fair and effective procedures for allocation of land rights in project zone and elsewhere in the Senegal River Valley.
In Zambia, the $3.6 million land activity of the country’s threshold program enacted a series of measures that streamlined and improved the transparency of the land registration process, reducing the median length of time to process a sale-transfer of commercial property from 70 days to fewer than 30 days. To achieve this increased efficiency, the project reorganized the Lands and Deeds office, installed modern scanning and indexing equipment, and computerized portions of the cadastral index mapping. | <urn:uuid:4694a30a-5e84-4695-b664-9410ba8b63b0> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.mcc.gov/sectors/sector/property-rights-and-land-policy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371824409.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20200408202012-20200408232512-00034.warc.gz | en | 0.936424 | 3,500 | 2.84375 | 3 |
What are Electronic Cigarettes?
Are Electronic Cigarettes Safe?
Do E-Cigarettes Contain Anti-freeze?
Do E-Cigarettes Cause Cancer Just Like Tobacco Cigarettes?
Are E-Cigarettes Approved or Regulated by the FDA?
What E-Cigarette Brand Most Looks or Tastes Like a Real Cigarette?
Can E-Cigarettes Help Me Quit Smoking?
What do the Experts Say?
What are electronic cigarettes?
Electronic cigarettes (also known as e-cigarettes or personal vaporizers) are an alternative to tobacco cigarettes. They are battery-operated devices that create an inhalable, water-based mist instead of smoke. The rechargeable battery powers a heating element called an "atomizer." The element uses low heat to turn liquid in the cartridge, which contains propylene glycol, glycerin, food flavoring and nicotine, into a fog-like mist.
There are many models of e-cigarettes available. Some look like traditional cigarettes, others look similar to a pen and some even look like small flashlights. Some have LED lights, some have built-in liquid reservoirs, others have combined atomizer cartridges, some are tubular and some are even rectangular boxes. They come in all shapes and sizes and have different features for former smokers who wish to distance themselves from anything resembling a traditional cigarette or want a longer battery life and/or better performance.
While anything containing nicotine cannot be called 100% safe, evidence from numerous studies strongly suggests that they are magnitudes safer than tobacco cigarettes. Harm reduction experts can point to research supporting that switching from cigarettes to a smokefree product will reduce health risks to less than 1% of smoking traditional cigarettes - nearly the same as non-smokers. For tobacco harm reduction health professionals, it is misleading and irresponsible for public health officials to tell smokers that smokeless products, such as e-cigarettes, are "not a safe alternative to smoking" simply because they are "only" 99% safer and not 100% safe.
No. This myth was created by a 2009 FDA press statement regarding electronic cigarettes. The FDA tested 18 cartridges from 2 companies. Of those 18 cartridges, 1 tested positive for a non-toxic amount of diethylene glycol (approximately 1%). While diethylene glycol is occasionally used in anti-freeze, the chemical is not a standard ingredient in e-cigarette liquid and it has not been found in any other samples tested to date.
The base liquid for e-cigarette liquid is usually propylene glycol. Propylene glycol is considered GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) by the FDA and EPA. While it is also sometimes found in anti-freeze, it is actually added to make the anti-freeze less toxic and safer for small children and pets. Propylene glycol is a common ingredient found in many of the foods we eat, cosmetics we use and medications we take. It is also used in the fog machines used in theaters and night clubs.
Though testing by the FDA and other labs have discovered trace amounts of tobacco-specific nitrosamines, which are known to cause cancer with high exposure, the amounts found were extremely low and unlikely to cause cancer. To put it in perspective, an e-cigarette contains nearly the exact same trace levels of nitrosamines as the FDA-approved nicotine patch and about 1,300 times less nitrosamines than a Marlboro cigarette.
The FDA currently considers e-cigarettes to be tobacco products. Originally, it claimed that e-cigarettes are being used as smoking cessation devices and therefore they needed to be regulated the same as pharmaceutical nicotine replacement therapy drugs (NRTs). In 2009, the FDA ordered customs officials to start seizing e-cigarette shipments coming into the country.
On April 25, 2011, FDA announced in a letter to stakeholders that it would not appeal the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Sottera, Inc. v. Food & Drug Administration, stating that e-cigarettes and other products are not drugs/devices unless they are marketed for therapeutic purposes, but that products “made or derived from tobacco” can be regulated as “tobacco products” under the FD&C Act. The FDA stated that it is aware that certain products made or derived from tobacco, such as electronic cigarettes, are not currently subject to pre-market review requirements of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. It is developing a strategy to regulate this "emerging class of products" as tobacco products under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. Products that are marketed for therapeutic purposes will continue to be regulated as drugs and/or devices.
Contrary to some media reports and comments by legislators, regulation as a "tobacco product" under FSPTCA does not mean that e-cigarettes are automatically regulated in the exact same manner as tobacco cigarettes, ie., subject to PACT, flavoring prohibitions and indoor use bans nor subject to the same tax rates. However, it does mean sales of these products to minors are finally prohibited by law.
This is the most common question on e-cigarette forums. The best answer to that question is "none" and "it doesn't matter."
Since those considering e-cigarettes are usually seeking to replace tobacco cigarettes, they are under the assumption that having the most realistic, tobacco-flavored e-cigarette will bring the most satisfaction. The truth of it is that after switching to e-cigarettes for a few weeks, the vast majority of users discover that looks ultimately don't matter - performance does. And the best performing e-cigarettes don't necessarily look anything like traditional cigarettes because they require larger batteries. And the most popular flavors with experienced users are often as far from tobacco-tasting as one can get.
One problem is that none of the tobacco flavors really taste like burning tobacco - they taste more like fresh tobacco smells and slightly sweet. So, experienced e-cigarette users will tell you that nothing tastes exactly like a burning tobacco cigarette. But, we know you won't believe us and insist on buying something that looks and tastes like a tobacco cigarette. That's ok - we've all been there!
While we do not claim that electronic cigarettes to be a smoking cessation device, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence and even some scientific research surveys that strongly indicate that e-cigarettes are an effective alternative to smoking. Surveys show that up to 80% of e-cigarette users quit smoking traditional cigarettes while using e-cigarettes.
However, while some users have gradually reduced the nicotine levels down to zero, the majority of e-cigarette users treat the devices as an alternate source of nicotine and not as a nicotine cessation program. So there is not as much scientific evidence yet that show how effective e-cigarettes are when used to treat or cure nicotine addiction. Yet, anecdotal reports by users who have used e-cigarettes as a way to wean from nicotine also indicates they seem to be very effective way to break smoking triggers and dramatically reduce nicotine levels. As with pharmaceutical NRTs, it depends upon the smoker and the strength of his or her addiction and resolve to quit. E-cigarettes also appear to be a much safer option for short-term use in the event of relapse.
The good news is, nicotine by itself has very low health risks, so switching to e-cigarettes can be nearly as good as quitting altogether. The most important thing for those who cannot or will not quit nicotine to do is to stop the exposure to the harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke and e-cigarettes can help them do it.
a study by researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health in 2010 concluded that electronic cigarettes were safer than real cigarettes and may aid in breaking the habit of smoking. "Electronic cigarettes were found to be "much safer" than traditional tobacco ones, and had a level of toxicity similar to existing nicotine replacements". In the report, the level of carcinogens in electronic cigarettes was found to be up to 1,000 times lower than regular cigarettes. It also said early evidence shows that electronic cigarettes may help people to stop smoking by simulating a tobacco cigarette
Doctors have even suggested that while utilizing the electronic cigarette, there is virtually no risk of getting cancer. These conclusions come from studies which show that nicotine is about as equally harmful to your health as caffeine. These studies also show that the real harm in traditional cigarettes comes from the tobacco smoke and the hundreds of additional added chemicals.
Four very well known doctors, from the popular TV show “The Doctors”, have also studied the electronic cigarette and was featured as one of their top 10 key health trends for 2010.
“The Electronic Cigarette gives you nicotine, but it doesn't give you any of the other 4,000 chemicals from a cigarette that can cause cancer, among other problems..” - Dr. Travis Stork from “The Doctors”
We also learned that the electronic cigarette is not encompassed by most smoking bans and regulations. With the lack of second-hand smoke, smokers are excited to find that many businesses, bars, and even air planes allow them to smoke e-cigarettes indoors. Many electronic cigarette users have also received special permission from their employers to smoke e-cigarettes in the work place.
In the United States alone, over 700,000 smokers have already switched to electronic cigarettes. Beverly, a smoker of 15 years was interviewed , one of the many whose life has dramatically changed thanks to the electronic cigarette. She concluded that she smoked almost two packs a day for 15 years, and she thought that she would never quit. To her surprise though, when she tried electronic cigarettes she was able to become cigarette free two days later. “As a smoker, I would recommend this product to anyone who plans on becoming cigarette free. Its a great alternative, and it still gives you the action of smoking. You inhale and blow out, unlike an awkward nicotine patch or chewing gum.” – Beverly
We have researched a number of positive testimonials such as this one and we feel that as more and more Americans are made aware of this new technology, that more and more smokers will make the switch. Our interviews and research have found that the electronic cigarette will quickly become the #1 choice for smokers looking to lead a healthier lifestyle. With the high cost of smoking traditional cigarettes, and with the danger cigarettes bring to your health, we give our recommendation and “thumbs up” to anyone looking to give these devices a try. | <urn:uuid:3ea543da-8872-487a-8e59-6cb4b65ab101> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | http://vaporfumes.com/Tips-Info_ep_43.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370508367.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20200402204908-20200402234908-00233.warc.gz | en | 0.956854 | 2,156 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Junk food is a term for food containing high levels of calories from sugar and fat with less protein, vitamins or minerals. The term describes that a particular food has less nutritional value and contains a lot of fat, sugar, salt, and calories. “Junk food” can also refer to high protein food with large amounts of meat, prepared with, for example, saturated fat. Hamburgers, fried chicken, and candies are examples of junk food. Most of the fast food is junk food, and most junk food is fast food. So let us know in detail about junk food, and also food poisoning with junk food symptoms for the attention of your doctor for immediate treatment. Siddha Spirituality of Swami Hardas Life System has great concern about junk food as it contributes toward health hazard.
Junk food like Pakora, Kachori, Pattice, Vada Pav, Bhaji Puri, Chole Bhature, Samosas, Doughnuts, Pizzas, Burgers, Rolls, Wraps, Frankies, French fries, etc has penetrated every corner of our country. You step out of your house and you’ll see them being served everywhere from malls, restaurants and roadside corners to an office and college canteens.
What is Junk Food
But have you ever thought why are some foods called ‘junk’? The word ‘junk’ refers to something that is extra and useless. And all your delicious, favorite foods do complete justice to what the name signifies. The consequences that these junk food have on your health are terrible, irrespective of whether you have them once in a while, twice in a week or every day.
Junk food health effects
Let us take a look at how this junk plays a crucial role in deteriorating your health:
Although junk food and fast food makes you feel full and satisfied, they lack all the necessary nutrients like proteins and carbohydrates to keep your body energized and healthy. If you eat junk food every time you are hungry, you may feel chronically fatigued. It can lower your energy levels to an extent that it may become difficult for you to even perform your daily tasks.
A lot of hormonal changes take place in teenagers which makes them susceptible to mood swings and behavioral changes. And a healthy diet plays an important role in maintaining that hormonal balance. Because junk food lacks those essential nutrients, the likelihood of teenagers to suffer from depression is increased by 58%.
Those who are addicted to fatty junk food are bound to have digestive problems like gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). That’s because junk food is deep fried. So, the oil from the junk food gets deposited in the stomach causing acidity. They cause irritation of the stomach lining because they are too spicy, and they also lack fiber which is important for proper digestion.
Blood sugar drop
Junk food is high in refined sugar which puts your metabolism under stress. Refined sugar causes the pancreas to secrete more amount of insulin in order to prevent a drastic spike in your blood sugar levels. Because junk food lacks sufficient levels of good carbohydrates and proteins, the levels of blood sugar drop suddenly after you eat. This makes you feel irritable and further increases your craving for more junk food.
A study published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity shows that one week of eating junk food is enough to trigger memory impairment in rats. Recent research suggests that bad fats (trans fats) from junk food tends to replace healthy fats in the brain and interferes with its normal signaling mechanism. Studies in animals have also shown that fats from junk food slow down the ability to learn new skills.
Junks food increases cholesterol and triglyceride levels which are major risk factors for the development of heart diseases. Moreover, fats from junk food accumulate over time in your body to make you obese. The more weight you put on, the higher your risk of suffering from heart attack.
The reason why you can never say no to fries and chips is that they contain a high amount of finely processed salt which increases salivation and secretion of enzymes that enhances your cravings. A high amount of bad fats and sodium from salt increases blood pressure and affects the kidney function.
High levels of trans fats found in junk food can cause the deposition of fats in the liver, which can cause liver dysfunction.
Type 2 diabetes
When you eat a healthy diet, your body gets a steady supply of glucose which helps to maintain insulin sensitivity. But when you eat only junk food, the excessive stress exerted on your metabolism can affect the ability of your body to use insulin properly.
Risk of cancer
A study published in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention revealed that consuming too many fast foods that are high in sugar and fat can increase your chances of developing colorectal cancer. Another study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle showed that men who ate fried foods more than twice in a month had increased risk of developing prostate cancer.
A list of junk food
In India, pakora is often considered as an inevitable snack to complement a cup of evening tea. However, it also has the capacity to destroy your body. Pakoras are addictive, which can make people obese and decrease good cholesterol.
The name itself is enough for our mouth to start watering. It is a hot favorite almost everywhere in India, though it usually leads to side effects like heartburn and acidity. Of all the items mentioned in this list, this is the highest in calories and saturated fats. By eating merely two Bhaturas and Chole you will easily pack in almost 50 grams of fat and 1200 calories. Regular consumption can lead to high blood pressure and diabetes.
Bhujia is a common snack people enjoy every time irrespective of age. It is almost like a habit, which needs to come to an end. Bhujia is a packed food that contains a high amount of chemical preservatives that increase your cholesterol. Consuming Bhujia can also lead to high sugar levels and blood pressure.
Samosas are the staple at every get-together or party, and it’s safe to say that it would be incomplete without this snack. However, as tasty as they are, they are dangerous triangular devils which are bad for your health. A single samosa contains 25g of fat.
The immediate effect of Kachori is acidity. This fried item is filled with various ingredients that can be a real disaster for the tummy. It can lead to obesity, cholesterol and heart diseases.
Similar to the fillings used in a burger, this deeply fried item increases the carbohydrates and starch content in the body. Remember, when you wolf these down the next time, Pattices are no good for your heart.
Farsaan comes in different varieties and every one of them involves deep frying. They are usually referred to as an assortment of snacks in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Of them. it’s Ghantiya and Fafda that tops the chart. People also love the combination of Fafda and Jalebi, too.
Pani Puri, also known as Gol Gappa, though helps to cure mouth ulcers, are a source of high-fat calories. The chutney served with Pani Puri can also cause problems to your tummy.
Vada in any form like Medu or Saboodana, are deep-fried and are not good for our health. Pav is an additional challenge for digestion. Though the ingredients of both these are good for health, they invite fat when immersed in an ocean of oil. It is better to switch to Idli if you really can’t avoid Vada Pav.
Chiwda, Chakli, Gujiya and Gulab Jamoons etc made during festivals like Diwali and Holi are also not good for health. They contain all those fatty and starchy items deep fried making those the most dangerous snacks than burgers and pizzas.
Food poisoning can happen to anyone at any time. However, there is a vast possibility of having food poisoning after eating junk foods. So let us know what food poisoning is and the food poisoning symptoms are.
Food poisoning is when someone gets sick from eating food or drink that has gone bad or is contaminated. There are two kinds of food poisoning:
- Poisoning by a toxic agent
- Poisoning by an infectious agent
Food infection is when the food contains bacteria or other microbes which infect the body after it is eaten. Food intoxication is when the food contains toxins, including bacterially produced exotoxins, which can happen even when the microbe that produced the toxin is no longer present or able to cause infection.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 76 million people in the United States become ill from the food they eat, and about 5,000 of them die every year.
Food poisoning symptoms
Symptoms start within hours to many days after eating. Depending on what the cause of the poisoning was, they can include one or more of the following:
- Abdominal pain
- Pain in the head or fatigue
In most cases, the body is able to permanently get better after a short period of acute discomfort and illness. Foodborne illnesses can result in:
- Permanent health problems
- Death, especially for people at high risk e.g. diabetes, blood pressure etc
The babies, young children, pregnant women, elderly people, sick people, and others with weak immune systems are also always at great risk.
Foodborne illness due to Campylobacter, Yersinia, Salmonella or Shigella infection is a major cause of reactive arthritis, which typically occurs 1–3 weeks after diarrheal illness. Similarly, people with liver disease are especially susceptible to infections from Vibrio vulnificus, which can be found in oysters or crabs.
Tetrodotoxin poisoning from reef fish and other animals shows up very quickly in symptoms such as numbness and shortness of breath and is often fatal.
In view of the above, junk food cannot be appreciated. One must have good control over the tongue as these foods although are mouth-watering, can create health hazards, even food poisoning to the extent that it becomes difficult to overcome the problems faced later. As of now, you have learned about junk food and also about food poisoning and food poisoning symptoms for immediate attention of your doctor. Hence, always think of ‘health‘ before becoming a victim of junk food. | <urn:uuid:7830f71b-2493-41a1-b4fa-c7292d1d2623> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://siddhaspirituality.com/junk-food-health/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370508367.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20200402204908-20200402234908-00235.warc.gz | en | 0.952019 | 2,164 | 3.046875 | 3 |
If nothing else, the water disaster in Flint, Michigan proved that we can’t just accept it when officials claim that a water source is safe for drinking and cooking. This terrible lesson has been repeated in many municipalities across the country, and the takeaway is undeniable. If you want to be sure that your tap water is free of lead, you must take responsibility into your own hands and test to see if there is lead in your water.
The problem didn’t end in poverty-stricken Flint, though. In January, lead was discovered in the water of 21 different New Jersey school districts.
Just last week, lead was discovered in the tap water of a San Diego, California school when a service dog refused to drink it. That’s right. A dog wouldn’t drink the water that kids were expected to drink. I know that my dogs will drink just about any water, including the stuff from the basin that the chickens pooped in and random mudholes. So, yeah, that’s pretty awful.
These are just a few examples. Unsafe levels of lead have been discovered in water supplies in Ohio, Washington DC, North Carolina, and Mississippi. More than 5300 water districts have been found to be in violation of lead rules.
This isn’t just a localized issue. It’s everywhere, and as I wrote in my book, The Prepper’s Water Survival Guide, the onus is always on us to be certain that our families are drinking safe water. It’s clear by now that “officials” can’t always be trusted to a) test often enough and b) warn people instead of covering their own butts.
How does lead get into the drinking water?
The most common cause of lead in your water is old plumbing. If your home was built before 1986, it’s entirely possible you have lead plumbing. It’s also possible that the lead isn’t in your home’s plumbing but in the city’s water pipes.
But just the presence of lead, although unwelcome, isn’t enough to make it leach into the water. Generally, the leaching occurs when a) the pipe begins to break down due to age and wear or b) when there is something in the water that causes the lead to leach into the water. (This was the case in Flint. Due to budget cuts, they began processing water from the highly polluted Flint River.)
If stuff like this tickles your fancy, I wrote about municipal contamination at great length in my book, The Prepper’s Water Survival Guide.
What are the effects of drinking water that is tainted with lead?
If you have lead in your water, the most serious effects are to children under 5. The National Institute of Health reports:
Exposure to lead can have a wide range of effects on a child’s development and behavior. Blood lead levels less than 10 micrograms per deciliter (μg/dL) are associated with increased behavioral effects, delayed puberty, and decreases in hearing, cognitive performance, and postnatal growth or height.
Some of these health effects are found even at low blood lead levels less than 5 μg/dL, including lower IQ scores, decreased academic achievement, and increases in both behavioral problems and attention-related behaviors.
There is a wide range of lead associated behavioral effects in the area of attention. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one example on the more severe end of the spectrum.
Older children and adults can also be subject to health issues from the ingestion of lead. The NIH report continues:
High blood lead levels greater than 15 μg/dL are associated with cardiovascular effects, nerve disorders, decreased kidney function, and fertility problems, including delayed conception and adverse effects on sperm and semen, such as lower sperm counts and motility.
Blood lead levels below 10 μg/dL are associated with decreased kidney function and increases in blood pressure, hypertension, and incidence of essential tremor, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system whose most recognizable feature is a tremor of the arms or hands during voluntary movements, such as eating and writing…
Pregnant women need to be particularly careful around lead. Maternal blood lead levels less than 5 μg/dL are associated with reduced fetal growth. Because the effects of lead are different for everyone, more research needs to be done to fully understand the health effects.
A 2004 study, supported by NIEHS, also showed that lifetime lead exposure may increase the risk of developing cataracts,3 a clouding of the eye lens resulting in partial loss of vision, which can be common in older people.
How do you test if there is lead in your water?
Testing for lead in your tap water can easily be done at home with a $30 test kit that is available from Amazon. The kit I’m recommending provides reliable results in 10 minutes. It’s calibrated to the EPA standards. (Not that I’m a huge fan of the EPA, but the standards for this particular topic are sound.)
The kit also tests for other contaminants that you definitely do not want in your water:
-10 Minute Lead Test: Lead can cause developmental, neurological, gastrointestinal and reproductive damage.
-Pesticide Test: Pesticides can be linked to increased cancer rates and organ damage.
-Bacteria/Coliform Test: Certain strains of bacteria can cause serious illness or death.
-Iron: High levels of iron can destroy your property and create a bad taste.
-Nitrates: Nitrates can cause developmental issues.
-Nitrites: Nitrites can cause developmental issues.
-Chlorine Level: Chlorine can increase your risk of cancer.
-Copper: High levels of copper can cause gastrointestinal issues and has been associated with liver damage and kidney disease.
-Alkalinity: High levels of alkaline can cause gastrointestinal issues.
-pH Test: High pH levels can cause plumbing and property damage.
-Water Hardness: Water hardness can create a bad taste and cause property damage.
The test for lead is very easy to use and read. It reminded me of a pregnancy test. You have to use “first draw” water – so test what has been sitting in the pipes overnight. This will have the highest level of accumulated toxins. When you test, you’ll either get a positive or negative reading based on whether lead levels are below or above 15 ppb. (For something more specific, you’ll need professional testing done.) The tests are one-time use only.
Depending on your situation, you may want to do additional testing at your office and your children’s school.
What should you do if there is lead in your water?
If you get a positive result, there are several steps you’ll want to take.
Next you’ll want to let your municipality know. While the problem could be within your home, it’s entirely possible that it’s a citywide issue and other people should be warned.
Now, what should you consume?
First, it’s important to note that boiling water can actually increase the concentration of lead, which means cooking with it infuses your food with lead.
Perhaps I’m overly cautious, but, if there was lead in my tap water, I would not use it for drinking or cooking.
However, if you are in a situation in which you can’t afford to buy or filter your water, the CDC recommends taking these steps if you discover there is lead in your water:
You should take the following steps any time you wish to use tap water for drinking or cooking, especially when the water has been off and sitting in the pipes for more than 6 hours. Please note that additional flushing is necessary:
- a.Before using any tap water for drinking or cooking, run high-volume taps (such as your shower) on COLDfor 5 minutes or more;
- b. Then, run the kitchen tap on COLD for 1–2 additional minutes;
- c. Fill a clean container(s) with water from this tap. This water will be suitable for drinking, cooking, preparation of baby formula, or other consumption. To conserve water, collect multiple containers of water at once (after you have fully flushed the water from the tap as described).
In all situations, drink or cook only with water that comes out of the tap cold. Water that comes out of the tap warm or hot can contain much higher levels of lead. Boiling this water will NOT reduce the amount of lead in your water.
If there is a pregnant woman or if there are children in the house, I strongly urge you to find another option for drinking and cooking water, as the risk for health concerns is great.
We purchase our drinking water from a reliable local source in 5-gallon jugs and use a top-loading dispenser with hot and cold taps. (Prepper Tip: You can use a top-loading dispenser during a power outage, minus the hot and cold function.)
What kind of water filters remove lead?
First of all, those little jugs that you refill from your tap aren’t going to cut it if you have lead in your water.
Luckily, there are filtration systems that can remove more than 95% of the lead. (Again, if you have people at high risk for lead-related health issues, 95% may not be acceptable.)
Three of the more expensive systems:
- APEC reverse osmosis system
- Propur countertop filtration system
- Aquapail gravity filter (not pretty but it’s effective and useful in an emergency)
Other devices attach right to your faucet. These must be replaced after approximately 100 gallons.
Remember that if you have a fridge that dispenses water, you need to filter that too, in the presence of lead.
You really need to test your water.
This is a widespread issue with serious effects. I can’t recommend strongly enough that you take the responsibility upon yourself to test your water. We’ve seen repeatedly what happens when people rely on officials to keep them safe.
Article reposted with permission from The Organic Prepper
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Survival of the fishes
Overfishing is a problem in Australia, but we've come a long way in recent years in terms of fishing sustainability, say scientists and environmentalists.
Paul Bagnato sits in the wheelhouse of his blue-trimmed fishing boat, the Arakiwa, leafing through the log books he fills in each time he and his crew take their vessel out to trawl for whiting, flathead, mirror dory and other fish in the oceans off the NSW coast.
The boat is currently tied up at the Sydney Fish Markets wharf, but the logs tell stories of the 36-hour trawling trips they make twice a week, up to 30 kilometres offshore, with each entry in the well-worn books recording the size of each catch, when it was brought up, and what species were in the nets.
Bagnato has been fishing the NSW coast for 37 years. He is proud of the fact that his boat is among the multitudes around the world that bring in the estimated 140 million tonnes of seafood we eat each year. That's 16.7 kilograms of fish for every person on the planet, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization estimates. In fact, fish accounts for 15 per cent of many people's yearly protein intake.
But in recent decades, there has been growing concern about the severe damage being done to fish populations and wider marine ecosystems by overfishing and other destructive fishing methods. Overfishing of iconic species like bluefin tuna from the Pacific Ocean, or cod in northern oceans, has become a rallying call for scientists and environmental groups worldwide.
Bagnato has certainly heard about those problems, but he says the situation in Australia — where governments apply quotas and restrict where individual boats can fish, and where most fishers respect those rules — is a different kettle of fish, so to speak.
"We know what's going on," he says. "We want to make sure there are enough fish for us to fish another day. It's in our interest."
Bagnato is not alone. Scientists, government bodies and environmentalists say that although Australia still has problems, it has come a long way in recent years in terms of fishing sustainability.
Overfished and overfishing — a measure of sustainability When scientists say a fish stock — a species of fish in a designated fishing zone — is overfished, they mean the amount of fish being removed exceeds the stock's ability to replenish itself in that fishing zone. This can happen if an adult population is harvested to the point where there are not enough adults to spawn and produce offspring. Some species of deep sea fish, such as the orange roughy, are highly vulnerable because they don't mature until they are between 25 and 35 years old.
Overfishing means the fish are subject to a level of fishing that will move it to an overfished state, or will prevent it from returning to a not-overfished state.
In the second half of last century, the world's booming population combined with industrialised fishing techniques and a growing appetite for fish, dramatically depleted many fish stocks around the world.
Poor management and illegal fishing, combined with pollution and other environmental problems pushed some marine ecosystems to the edge, scientists say.
"About 63 per cent of all known fish stocks are overfished around the world," says Dr Beth Fulton, a CSIRO scientist whose work focuses on modelling the sustainability of fishing.
"There are places that are in a really bad way," agrees Professor Bob Kearney, Emeritus Professor in Fisheries Management at the University of Canberra. Some developing countries face major problems, he says, and not only from their own fishing fleets.
"The foreign fleets — I hate to use the expression — almost raped and pillaged West Africa and other places."
Until 20 years ago, "the world still treated fish as being a resource that you could not over-exploit, so there really wasn't a serious attempt to manage fisheries, and that was true even in Australia," Kearney says.
At the same time, advances in fishing technology, from enormous factory boats to 'fish attracting devices' and global positioning systems, allowed fishers to catch more fish, more efficiently.
In the 1990s, governments and international bodies like the United Nations woke up to the fact that this situation could not continue and tried to establish processes to ensure fishing was sustainable. In 1995, to take one of many examples, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization developed a voluntary Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
"Where there is good governance, fisheries tend to be in relatively good shape and recovering," says Kearney.
Unfortunately, compliance with the UN code is "dismayingly poor" researchers said in the journal Nature last February . Of the world's 53 top fishing countries, 28 countries (including Thailand and Vietnam which supply a lot of the fish consumed by Austrailans), scored a "fail" by the researchers.
And in July last year, an international team of researchers reported that although the world's fisheries were tending to become more sustainable than they were a decade or two ago, many of the world's fish stocks still needed rebuilding.
"Even lower exploitation rates are needed to reverse the collapse of vulnerable species," they warned.
Sustainable down under?
Covering some nine million square kilometres, Australia's fishing zone is the third largest in the world, after France and the USA.
From the Great Barrier Reef to sub-Antarctic islands, these waters are home to an incredible assortment of life. In July, CSIRO researchers estimated that there could be as many as 250,000 species of plants and animals, known and yet to be discovered, in Australia's waters.
The list of known species includes around 5000 types of fish. "That's known, named species that are recorded in the databases; there are bound to be more out there," says one of the authors, Dr Alan Butler from CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research.
Despite this diversity, most of Australia's waters are relatively low in nutrients, meaning there are actually fewer fish there than in other countries. Reflecting this, our overall fish catch ranks just 46th in the world. We actually import more than half the seafood we eat, mostly from Thailand, New Zealand, Vietnam and China.
The job of managing fishing in Australian waters is split between the Federal and State governments. Broadly speaking, the states deal with fisheries up to three nautical miles from shore, where the bulk of the catch comes from. The Federal government handles the remainder of the fishing zone, which extends out to 200 nautical miles.
For most of our history, as Kearney says, sustainability was not exactly the top priority of those management schemes. "When I came back to Australia in 1986 and took the job as director of research for New South Wales Fisheries, it was New South Wales Government policy that it was impossible to over-exploit any species of fish and if you fished them down a bit, then people would just move on and fish the next species."
But the government, scientists, and the fishing industry say that things have improved in recent years. In 2005, for example, the Federal government announced a $220 million package that aimed to reduce overfishing through buying back fishing licences. Concern about overfishing was also a factor in the decision by governments to establish marine protected areas where fishing was banned.
Both marine parks and well-managed fisheries are essential to ensure sustainable fish stocks, say the Australian Marine Sciences Association, a group of 900 Australian marine scientists.
Kearney, on the other hand, believes marine protected areas do nothing to improve fishing sustainability, but he says a combination of tighter quotas and reducing fishing effort have made a difference.
"We realised that we had to cut back on the amount of fish being caught and killed and have done that," he says.
Fulton says that overfishing in Australia, particularly in the Commonwealth fisheries has "largely stopped".
"The government said: 'Right we are going to reduce the pressure on the fish to let them recover to sustainable levels for the future'," she explains. "So we have a bad report card right now with regard to the health of the stock, but it is actually improving."
According to the Australian government's latest fishery status report the number of fish stocks that have been assessed as not overfished has more than doubled since 2004, and the number of stocks classified as not subject to overfishing has risen from 12 to 57 in that time.
The report currently classifies 13 of Australia's 98 fish stocks as being overfished (see list below), including three new additions: blue warehou, upper-slope gulper sharks and jackass morwong. Eight stocks are classified as being subject to overfishing.
There are also a large number of stocks that are classified as uncertain.
"The high proportion of stocks that remain classified as uncertain (approximately 42 per cent for overfished status and 32 per cent for overfishing status) is a continuing cause for concern and highlights the importance of applying the precautionary approach in fisheries management," the report states.
More to do
Ben Birt, marine campaigner with the Australian Marine Conservation Society, agrees that since the 1990s there have been improvements in scientific knowledge, and improvements in fisheries management.
But he says there is more still to do. "What we also need to ask is whether we've learned from past mistakes, and to answer that you need to look at fish stocks," he says.
"There are still overfished stocks in every state, and in the Commonwealth fisheries almost one in five stocks is overfished or subject to overfishing. There are still fisheries that throw back more dead catch than they keep, and there are is still significant fishing pressure on species for which we have no stock assessments."
He raises particular concerns about Australia's contribution to the world shark-fin trade "even though stock assessments don't exist for most shark species and it is widely known that sharks are inherently vulnerable to fishing pressure."
"We still catch juvenile bluefin tuna, not giving them a chance to breed even though the population is down at around 5 per cent of what it once was," he says.
Looking from the outside, experts say Australian fisheries are taking some important steps to ensure sustainability.
Tony Pitcher, a well-known fisheries scientist from the University of British Columbia in Canada says Australia has invested considerable effort in "reducing bycatch, in seriously trying to implement ecosystem-based management, and in tackling 'code of conduct' issues in legislation."
But he also notes that our fisheries suffer from large volumes of marine life caught but discarded, especially in the prawn fisheries, and considerable unreported fishing.
For Paul Bagnato, whose father was a fisher before him, the sustainability of fisheries in Australia, and the perception of fishers in general, is a personal matter. Putting his catch logs back on a shelf in the Arakiwa's cabin, he turns and looks me in the eye.
"People look at us as if we go out fishing and catch what we want," he says. "There's a real misconception about what we do. We aren't selfish. We're responsible. We're food providers."
|Black teatfish||Also known as sea cucumber||Holothuria nobilis||Overfished in the Torres Strait Beche de Mer fishery|
|Blue warehou||Also known as deep sea perch, orange ruff or red roughy||Seriolella brama||Overfished in the Southern and Eastern Scalesfish and Shark Fishery (Commonwealth Trawl and Scalefish Hook)|
|Gemfish||Also known as barraconda, common gemfish, deepsea kingfish, hake, king barracouta, king couta, silver gemfish, silver kingfish, southern kingfish||Rexea solandri||Overfished in the Eastern Gemfish Zone|
|Gulper sharks||Also known as Endeavour dogfish, Harrisson's dogfish and southern dogfish||Centrophorus harrissoni, C. moluccensis, C. zeehaani||Overfished in the Southern and Eastern Scalesfish and Shark Fishery (Commonwealth Trawl and Scalefish Hook)|
|Jackass morwong||Also known as jackass fish, perch, sea bream, seine-boat morwong, silver perch||Nemadactylus macropterus||Overfished in the Southern and Eastern Scalesfish and Shark Fishery (Commonwealth Trawl and Scalefish Hook)|
|Orange roughy||Also known as deep sea perch, orange ruff and red roughy||Hoplostethus atlanticus||Overfished in the southern, eastern and western zones of the Southern and Eastern Scalesfish and Shark Fishery and the Tasman Rise Trawl Fishery|
|Sandfish||Also known as sea cucumber||Holothuria scabra||Overfished in the Torres Strait Beche de Mer fishery|
|School shark||Also known as flake||Galeorhinus galeus||Overfished in the shark gill net and hook zone of the SESSF|
|Southern bluefin tuna||Also known as bluefin tuna, bluefin, SBT, tuna, tunny||Thunnus maccoyii||Overfished in the Southern bluefin tuna fishery|
|Surf redfish||Also known as sea cucumber||Actinopyga mauritiana||Overfished in the Torres Strait Beche de Mer fishery|
|Another eight species are at risk of overfishing. Three of these stocks — southern bluefin tuna, jackass morwong and upper slope gulper sharks — are overfished and subject to overfishing. There are also a number of stocks listed as 'uncertain'.|
Published 09 September 2010 | <urn:uuid:81f9509e-fc40-4c7c-a7de-fba3b29486ec> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2010/09/09/3003951.htm?site=science/indepthfeature&topic=latest | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370524604.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20200404165658-20200404195658-00395.warc.gz | en | 0.95883 | 2,895 | 3.265625 | 3 |
In the 21st century, many changes have been made to digital media. One such media that has experienced an extreme change is music. It is no longer just a type of media that Is made by singers and bought by consumers, but It is now part of the “dark, scary’ side of the Internet. There are even journal article authors who have written about music piracy. “Music is the most widely pirated media in the world today. From singles to albums to recording demos, music of all genres Is ripped and released into the music piracy scene” (Craig, Honing, and Burnett 174).
These authors illustrate how big music piracy has become. Currently, in the world of music Industries, music piracy Is taking over the “money business” and leaving musicians financially unstable; this instability is the reason for convincing music pirates to stop downloading music, illegally, off the Internet by coming up with different solutions to the Issue of piracy. The solutions consist of finding other websites where music downloading can be done at a reasonable price, taking legal action if necessary, and coming up with hi-tech development that could stop pirates from downloading.People may be wondering what exactly music pirates are defined as. According to Amy Wither, they are normal, everyday people who download music illegally off the Internet (2). Music piracy has been occurring for a long time, as long as the sass’s where “music was conventionally regarded as lying beyond the purview of copyright altogether, so publishers sold unauthorized reprints freely’ (Johns 67). Later, though, big companies started to form in the world.
Shawn Fanning, a college student, created the Anapest Company online. ND once It was established, everyone started to use Anapest in college and it spread around quickly becoming the new website to use and download music from (Wade 10). Anyone can do the downloading through Anapest and many people participate. Also, music piracy Is definitely not an untouched topic. There have been law cases against certain Internet companies that allow music sharing to occur. For example, Matt Richter discusses in the New York Times article that the company Fanning started (Anapest) was part of a court case against The Recording Industry Association of America.The court had ordered the industry and company to get along by allowing Anapest to copyright certain music that the recording Industry approved and, of course, for a price.
Anapest failed to eave the music approved and only caused the court case to become bigger. Finally, the Judge ordered Anapest to stop swapping copyrighted music that the recording company owned. Even though all of these controversies occurred, Anapest and music piracy, in general, still believe they are doing no harm to the music industry and that they are actually benefiting the sales and profits.In an article titled Securities Price Effects of Anapest-Related Events, there is a phrase that reads “the evidence indicates that events that threatened Anapest’s survival resulted in decreases in the stock prices of the music firms” (Navies 167). Even though Anapest believed they were beneficial, It turns out they brought nothing but harm to the stock market. It was actually beneficial that Anapest was shut down. The court case is just one of the many issues Anapest has been through.
It was a part of eleven court cases toys companies are still up and running, though, and there is not going to be a stop to piracy Just because one company has been shut down. It will keep on occurring until a stop is put to the companies. As the years have been going by, music sharing and downloading has been increasing and less people seem to care about it now. There ere once many news articles and online articles that discussed music piracy during the early sass’s, but it has seemed to die down now. There has not been much talk on the issue.One reason why less people care about the music piracy issue is because the recording industries, themselves, have stopped trying to ban the illegal downloading. Also, there are a multitude of people that do this downloading; therefore, it is Just difficult to stop every single person from downloading music online.
Since the people of the music industries and the pirates have stopped caring, other actions will have to be taken. In order to stop piracy from continuing, music pirates must completely stop the illegal downloading or “technological protection strategies” (Chug, Hung-Change et. L 723) must be taken on. As mentioned before, legal actions have been taken to stop the illegal purchasing, but the legal actions were only successful up too certain point. Certain technological advances could help, though, in stopping piracy. These advances consist of watermarks on Cad’s (Craig 175), blocking music piracy sites, and putting music into secure areas of the Internet to where one can only access the music with a small fee. All of these strategies seem relevant enough to work, but no one will ever know unless they are put into action.
Music piracy has become the next big issue and measures must be put down to stop it. Music pirates have yet to realize the real dangers behind this illegal downloading. The people do not realize that music artists are being affected, financially, by their downloading and music industries are losing billions of dollars with a decrease in CD sales. When music industries first started to grow, there were only one to two companies that were part of the industry. Now, the industry as a hole is composed of five major companies that make over “14 billion yearly’ (Abortionist 10).These companies make good money, and the start of downloading and sharing has only ruined it. According to Alexandra Center, there is about 9 percent of the total population that download music every day.
Also, the regular users that download the music also share the music to people who do not download as much. Because of this downloading and sharing, there has been a drop in music sales by 2. 7 percent making music industries lose billions. When it comes to music artists, they already have a hard time making money through recording impasses and music pirates do not make it easier.The statistics say that “The costs of recording an album can easily reach several hundred thousand dollars, so an artist can only expect to earn royalties from an album if it sells over 500,000 copies” (Abortionist 11). People may believe that artists are financially successful, but, in reality, they make barely any money. According to Janis Ian, a famous music artist, ‘”if we’re not songwriters, and not hugely successful commercially (as in platinum plus), we [recording artists] don’t make a dime off our recordings” (CTD.
N Abortionist 12). Imagine how much recording artists would make if piracy took over completely.These artists would basically make zero money if they were not the least bit successful or had only been in the music business for a few years. Now, artists are Zimmermann men that were making good money off of selling pirated music in Botswana finally have their house broken into by famous music artists and they ended up confiscating all the pirated music (Legroom). Violence has even become a part of stopping piracy; therefore, music pirates do not know what may be coming to hem. Although there may be many other alternatives to piracy, some music pirates may not want to stop pirating at all.There are many opposing views in discontinuing music downloading or music file sharing.
The views consist of music pirates not Anatine to drive to a store to buy a CD; in other words, they would want to do something that is more convenient for them. Also, most music pirates do not want to pay for the music. According to Cultures of Music Piracy, “Making a single CD costs record companies well under $1 (Vogel, 2001: 162), students feel that CDC are overpriced, especially when it turns out there are only a couple of good songs on the album” (CTD. In Condor 20).Even though it may look cheap if a CD only costs one dollar for it to be made and put into stores, the price of the CD afterwards is high and Nat the consumers have to pay is that high price. If anything free is available at hand, they would rather take that than purchase it. Music pirates, also, Just do not care that their downloading is affecting music artists.
Music artists, famous celebrities who do not have much personal interaction with the common folk, are not ere important to the pirates and, therefore, do not care to take their music illegally.All of these opposing views seem reasonable on why music pirates do not want to purchase the music. There are solutions to all of these views, though. For example, “hen it comes to music pirates wanting convenience in obtaining their music, they can easily purchase music at home on the Internet. There is absolutely no need for anyone to leave his or her own home and go to a store to buy a CD. Money is also a ‘ere big issue in buying music, but that issue can be reasonable solved, too. There re many other websites that have packages put together for purchasing a certain amount of music.
Rhapsody, a legal downloading music website, has a 14 day trial for anyone who is interested in signing up with them and, after the sign-up, it is either lust one dollar per track or $12. 99 per month for unlimited downloading :www. Rhapsody. Com). That deal is a very reasonable price and the website has broken down the payments in a way that is convenient for anyone. There are also many other websites out there who are willing to help anyone that needs financial assistance with his or her music purchases. For example, Limier is also another online company that allows anyone to become a member of his or her website and purchase music.
Usually there are free membership trials if no one wants to obtain the full program. Since this option is available, people save money by not becoming full member of the program, but they would still have to purchase the music. It is a total of $34. 95 to acquire the full program of Limier (beta. Limier. Com). That price is a lot of money that can be saved if one Just signs up for the free membership.
Also, there has even been a start to a certain number of students who seed to be pirates and now have taken measures to stop piracy.According to Elise Ackerman in her article titled “Student Gets around Program to Prevent Music Piracy”, Princeton University graduate named John Hildebrand actually installed a device Into a certain CD he owned that can stop anyone from copying that CD. He has even to it, the software was still made and put into certain computers to where no one can copy music from his or her CDC. Since this student came up with a way to prevent piracy, anyone has the capability to stop pirating and becoming like this man who reed stopped piracy.Even though music pirates can conveniently purchase music at home (even purchase it at a reasonable price) or even come up with software to prevent piracy, some music pirates could actually Just not care at all about how their downloading is affecting the careers of musicians. Music pirates do not realize, though, that if they keep on pirating, soon enough music artists will be out of the Job and there will be no more music made for the pirates to download illegally. Music pirates will have no more music to listen to and there will be no more artists in the industry.
Several music artists that have been close to experiencing this scenario are all over programs online such as Limier, Anapest, Rhapsody, and etc. Anyone that may seem to be doing well in the music industry such as Taylor Swift, Jessie McCarty, and Akin all end up on these piracy sites and they are gradually losing money every second one of their singles are being downloaded (Center 64). Soon enough all these famous artists will have no more money to produce more music and the music industry will come crashing down.There are no benefits in either of the tuitions where music pirates are stubborn in stopping piracy and, at the same time, music artists are losing money. It is better if the music pirates Just stop pirating all together. Therefore, music artists do not go bankrupt and are available to make more music for the pleasure of listening. Everyone benefits if this solution comes true.
Now, what if music pirates still do not care that a certain number of artists lose their Jobs since there are many artists in the industry? What are music pirates going to do if all the music artists make their music only accessible to Tunes or Junes?There is no way one can obtain music for free if all the music is put into these types of services. Therefore, again, it is for the best if piracy is put a stop to otherwise, one day, all the music made by all the music artists will be only a part of services like Tunes and then there will be no music by music artists available for pirates to listen to. Only way they can is if they start buying music. Music piracy has many ways of being stopped and music pirates would be able to see this now. Music piracy, a big Issue among the entire world, has been ruining music industries for decades, now, ND leaving most music artists with no money.These results are the very reason on NH music piracy needs to be put a stop to either by legal action, technological software, or by the music pirates themselves. Piracy has become a big issue and certain actions have been taken to stop pirates from continuing their downloading, but these certain actions have not seemed to have worked at all.
Music pirates, however, have been given a sufficient amount of reasons on why piracy needs to be put to a stop to, and if these reasons stop the whole piracy issue, there will be a Nor filled with no piracy and music artists will be financially stable again. | <urn:uuid:b19a97c1-5233-498c-a8b2-0e97f702ea3b> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://newyorkessays.com/essay-music-piracy-3043/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371810807.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20200408072713-20200408103213-00275.warc.gz | en | 0.971717 | 2,856 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Noticed a mound of fluffy worked soil in your compound especially after a heavy rain and later realized you have a fire ants infestation? In this editorial, understand how to quickly detect and eliminate the destructive insects. As a result of their living habits, it can be a difficult undertaking to eliminate them, especially since unlike most other ants; fire ants do not leave an opening in the center of the mound. This piece focuses on effective ways and products of eliminating the ants, as well as effective methods of keeping them out of your property for good.
Table of Contents
How Can You Identify Fire Ants?
The quickest way to identify fire ants is by the painful sting they leave on your skin. They can also be set apart from others by their dull red coloration, ranging from reddish black to brown. Their abdomens are darker, and body and head coppery brown. In sunny areas, these ants are known to form soil mounds. The mounds can grow up to 61 cm wide and 18 cm tall, often dome-shaped.
The mounds are quickly noticeable in open places in your compound as opposed to under shades and bushes. When the ant hill stays uninterrupted, the colony tends to grow very fast, and the queens can spread in your compound to form new mounds. Once you shovel into the soil, you should see what appears as white objects. These are the eggs, pupae, and larvae of the developing ants. Fire ants feed on dead animals and living insects.
When in your house, they are mostly looking for sweet bites and fats. Only the venom of fire ants can leave the stung part of your body forming a blister a day after the bite.
- Worker ants bite and sting aggressively.
- Fire ants are just about ¼ inch long and have a variation in size, unlike most other ants which have a uniform size.
When an ant hill is disturbed, the ants swarm out and move on vertical surfaces to sting.
How to Kill Fire Ants
When it comes to highly destructive and stubborn ants, fire ants would certainly top the list. They are an invasive species whose bite can quickly injure and eventually kill livestock, humans, and wildlife. More so, they can also easily infest a property and damage electrical equipment through chewing off the wire insulation. Knowing your options of the best ways of how to get rid of red ants can protect your family, pets, and property.
About 80 percent of homeowners try to eliminate the ants by handling individual mounds with too much insecticide. This can, in turn, lead to environmental contamination when rain washes the chemical away into water sources.
Remember, your target should be the queen when trying to kill fire ants. Otherwise, the colony will survive. It is more effective to treat an entire compound with products designed for the broadcast application.
Does Sevin Kill Fire Ants?
Sevin is an effective pesticide that contains carbaryl capable of killing fire ants and common insects that invade a home. This powder has been one of the best ant killers and has been proven to be highly effective. Treating your home’s outdoor foundation can reduce ant population drastically and prevent future infestation.
The Top 6 Baits
Today, the market has multiple ant baits. Most of them have insect growth regulators, highly effective when you have a medium to large infestation. The regulator acts as a birth control for the fire ant colony, helping to stop their reproduction cycle when you are trying to eliminate them. Be sure to apply the bait away from water bodies and during seasons when no rain is expected for at least 48 hours.
Use fresh baits from unopened containers, and remember that fire ant workers will mostly look for food in the evening hours or late afternoon, so spread the bait around this time for complete effectiveness. When it’s extremely hot, wait to apply the bait in evening hours when it is a little cool and the ants are ready to forage.
You can use Advion Gel, Maxforce, Extinguish Plus, Tartar, Terro, and AMDRO Bait Stations:
- Advion Gel: worth $26.64, Advion ant gel is one of the best-selling and high-quality insecticides for baiting fire ants. Its ingredients are enhanced to eliminate sweet feeders such as fire ants within a short period. Indoxacarb, for instance, is an active ingredient used in the solution that acts on the nerve cells of the ants leading to paralysis and finally death. Advion is sweet and odorless, giving worker ants enough time to carry the substance to the colony, where it is eliminated.
- Maxforce: worth $36.96, maxforce ant bait gel-ant poison presents effective control of fire ants. It can be applied to lawns, sod farms, landscapes, recreational and commercial turf. When placed strategically in places they can easily access, the foraging workers carry the formula and destroy the colony. In about five days, you should notice fewer ants. This formula offers a long-term solution in an easy to use application. Maxforce FC is gentle on pets and humans, yet tough on fire ants.
- Extinguish Plus: worth $52.09, Extinguish bait is a double action product that kills an entire colony by sterilizing the queen first. It comes packed with an insect growth regulator, methoprene, and hydramethylnon.
- Distance Fire Ant Bait by Sumitomo Chemical: worth $40.76, Distance offers effective long-term control of fire ants. It does so by sterilizing the queen first. Distance is a non-restricted bait that is undetectable but irresistible to fire ants.
- Terro: worth $7.49, Terro ant killer controls fire ants within eight months of treatment. When placed near indoor areas where the ants can quickly spot it, the workers consume the bait and carry the rest to their colony where they are then all destroyed.
- AMDRO: worth $13.92, AMDRO is a slow acting stomach poison that prevents the ability of ants to convert food to energy. It is designed to kill fire ants in the backyard and prevent them from penetrating your house.
Anyone who has been stung by fire ants understands their impact in a home. Their ill effect goes beyond the medical implications inflicted on the victim, as large amounts of dollars can also be used to attempt to manage them.
They can travel for more than 100 yards from their mound to look for food, and this is what makes it difficult for most homeowners to control them. Insecticides are formulated to kill target organisms. Most of them are contact insecticides that interfere with their nervous system. These include carbaryl, fipronil, broadcast granules, acephate, and liquid spinosad formulations. They all vary in the speed taken to kill ants.
Synthetic pyrethroid and pyrethrins are known to kill the ants within minutes. Talstar which contains 7.9 Bifenthrin is one of the most commonly used insecticide. It is compatible with fertilizers and fungicides allowing you to achieve long lasting control. Those registered by the EPA are considered as less harmful to the environment, humans, and pets when used as directed. They are formulated as liquids, dust, aerosols, and granules.
Ants are highly susceptible to most insecticides. Orange Guard which is an organic mound drenching product is also highly effective.
There are many natural remedies that have been tried before and worked. To ensure your pets and children are safe, it pays to learn how to get rid of ants naturally. Pouring hot water into a mound, for instance, is an old remedy that has been used to control fire ants. Not only does it eliminate the queen, but every other ant in the mound.
It is considered to be about 60 percent effective, but can also be dangerous to the applicator and the surrounding vegetation. To get to the bottom of the reproductive areas of the mound, about three gallons of water should be used. Bucketing is also highly effective. This is where rapid digging up of mounds is involved, then the scooped soil is quickly filled into a bucket and stashed away.
Does Salt Kill Fire Ants?
Salt may be cheap, easy to clean and friendly to pets and humans, but it does not kill ants. However, it can be used as an ant deterrent to stop them from getting into your house through holes and cracks. Salt does not attract ants, meaning it cannot kill invading pests. In fact, they try to avoid the salt given that it has drying properties that could be dangerous to their bodies.
Do Grits Kill Fire Ants?
Grits alone have no capacity to kill fire ants. An old theory suggests that ants eat grits which then swell in their stomachs and cause them to explode. Understand that fire ant workers cannot consume solid foods, meaning grits are ineffective.
DIY Fire Ant Killer
There are many safe to use methods a homeowner can apply by simply following instructions.
Some of which are highly effective yet safe for pets and humans include:
You can kill fire ants using borax, water, syrup, and sugar solution. Borax ($8.49) is a white crystalline substance that comes in a powder form. Remember, the more the borax used, the higher the amount of sugar needed to attract the ants. Be sure to mix the solution to a completely smooth formula, removing any large clumps left behind. Once they find the solution, they will come in large numbers, feed on it, and carry the rest to the colony. Within a few days, the colony should be destroyed completely. Although boric acid is a natural product, it should not be directly ingested by pets and humans as it can be toxic.
- Soapy Water
Soapy water is an easy and sure way of getting rid of fire ants. Gather enough soap water in a spray bottle, and ensure the water used is warm. The solution should kill the ants and destroy ant trails.
- Diatomaceous Earth
At $18.49, DE is a multi-purpose remedy for killing fire ants naturally. It can be used outside by simply sprinkling around the perimeter, and can also be safely used indoors. It may not kill the ants immediately, but within a few days, you should see change. This formula is known to absorb lipids from the outer layer of a fire ant, dehydrates the insect and causes it to die.
How to Eliminate Fire Ants Permanently
- The first step towards eliminating fire ants permanently is finding the location of their mound.
- Then, generously sprinkle or soak the mound with your preferred formula.
- If the ant hill is too large, poke holes into it and then pour in your formula.
- You can opt for the drench method of liquid insecticide. This must only be done when most of the ants are in the colony.
- Be sure to broadcast a fire ant bait around the area of the mound, especially during the warm months to prevent the bait from being washed away by a downpour.
Fire ants are tiny creatures that can be both annoying and beneficial. As they tunnel underground through the soil to get to their colony, they aerate the soil and improve drainage. However, they are also unfriendly and can leave a very painful sting on their target, and also cause destruction to a home. With the above solutions on how to get rid of fire ants, you are now safe and should easily get rid of them.
You can find further details of Ants Control here. | <urn:uuid:4a1d9bc8-a9a0-4662-82ba-e93b658de9e5> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://pestkill.org/ants/fire/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371818008.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20200408135412-20200408165912-00155.warc.gz | en | 0.9508 | 2,400 | 3.015625 | 3 |
A Decongesting Tea
Mullein tea is a wonderful herbal infusion that has been much admired for its many uses throughout time. The most important benefit comes from its decongesting and relaxing powers.
Despite being often mistaken for a weed this simple plant is grown for its many medicinal purposes.
With a lovely sweet honey-like aroma, this is a tea that should ready for use at the first signs of a cold or flu coming on or when you need a detoxifying agent.
Come and learn more about this healing tea!
What is Mullein?
Mullein, verbascum thapus in Latin, is a biennial herb that you may find growing around the world, even though it was originally native only to southern Europe and northern Africa. It grows in bare sandy or chalky soils; it may also be found growing in meadows, forest clearings and roadsides
This plant reaches up to 2 meters or more in height with a long straight stem. It has small bright yellow flowers that are sweet and smell like honey. Mullein blooms in the second year of life in the months of July and August and its showy flowers are perfect to attract insects to help with pollination.
Its big oval leaves are long, nearly 60cm/2ft, with a velvety and wooly surface giving them a grayish green color and a soft thick feeling.
Other Names for Mullein
Mullein has many other common names, often referring to its hairiness, such as feltwort, Poor Man's blanket, Our Lady's blanket, flannel leaf, donkey's ears. Other common names reference the shape of the plant: Aaron's rod, Shepherd's staff or club, Jupiter's staff and so on.
Finally, there are common names that refer to the plant's historic uses: cowboy toilet paper, candlewick plant, lungwort and torch plant.
Mullein in History
For a long time, Mullein has been used in traditional medicine. There are examples of this in many Native American tribes who used to make mullein tea to help treat a number of health problems.
The plant had been brought over from Europe in the early 18th century, and by the following century it was well established in America where it was cultivated for medicinal and pesticide purposes.
Additionally, this plant was often used to ward off curses and evil spirits. The whole plant would be used in religious ceremonies, for example, stalks dipped in fat would be used as torches in processions, whereas the dried leaves would be made into candle wicks.
Mullein Uses Today
Many ancient uses for mullein are still much valued today. Drinking mullein herbal tea for its medicinal purposes is greatly appreciated by many.
The flowers are used to produce yellow and green dyes that may be used to rinse, nourish, brighten and highlight blond hair. As flowers are boiled in water they begin to give off a beautiful yellow dye.
The traditional practice of making candle wicks from the leaves and torches from wax-dipped stems is kept up today. Such candles may find their way into ceremonies as well as to keep insects away.
Benefits of Mullein Tea
Mullein tea contains a number of elements that make a healthy herbal remedy. This tea is a great source of vitamins such as B2, B5, B12 and D. It also contains mucilage, flavonoids, iridoids, sterols and sugars. Other chemicals include: choline, iron, magnesium, potassium, sulfur, and saponins.
A mix of all these components provides you with many benefits in each cup of tea you drink.
Treating Colds and Other Breathing Problems
Take a cup of mullein herbal tea when you need help fighting a cold. It is considered a chest decongestant, allowing you to breathe better while at the same time strengthening your lungs. Mullein tea may help stop nasal drip and tell your body to relax bronchial passages and release thick mucus that is causing you to feel so congested.
This expectorant tea may bring relief from chronic coughs and hoarseness. It acts by soothing and sedating the respiratory tract and treating an inflamed trachea. Add honey to your tea when drinking it or simply gargle with this warm infusion to calm your throat.
Drinking mullein tea may help treat bronchial infections and symptoms of pneumonia. Of course, you should seek the advice of your doctor with these serious ailments, to guide you and monitor your progress.
This herbal tea may also target other respiratory problems, such as allergies, hay fever and asthma. Its calming action may help relax your lungs letting you breathe as well as getting rid of the irritating elements causing you problems.
Fighting Digestive Problems
Mullein makes a great herbal tea to take when you are in digestive distress. It may treat a recurring stomach ache, but also strengthen your digestive system protecting you against future problems.
So take a cup of this herbal tea when you are suffering from abdominal cramps, constipation or diarrhea. Be careful, this tea acts both as a diuretic and a mild laxative, so it may reduce fluid retention. Drink lots of water as you may become dehydrated when experiencing these symptoms.
This tea may also help expel parasites from your digestive tract, such as intestinal worms. As mullein contains mucilage, this will help form a protective barrier in your intestines against future attacks and reducing the possibility of inflammation.
Mullein tea is considered a calming tea because of its narcotic and sedative properties. Its anesthetic action is said to help those in severe pain or who suffer from muscle spasms.
Its sedative action may also be used to help relieve other types of pains such as menstrual and all sorts of cramps. And it is a refreshing tea to take when you are suffering from headaches or migraines. It may be ideal to relieve that tension that could be causing the pain.
A cup of this tea may naturally bring relief to those who have trouble sleeping and need a bit of help relaxing and fight insomnia. It may calm nervous tension, fighting apathy as well as anxiety and stress. Take a cup of this tea before going to bed.
A daily cup of mullein tea may help your body to get rid of toxins, bacteria and other harmful elements that could be making you sick. It promotes circulation and may help to cleanse the blood.
Mullein herbal tea may help decongest the lymphatic system, thus providing a boost to your immune system, helping to speed up recovery from illness as well as prevent disease. It is said to help reduce inflammation that could be causing you painful arthritis as well as reducing the risk of tumor growth.
This herbal tea is said to help treat all sorts of infections, for example, bladder and urinary tract infections, including bloody urine. It is said to ease a nervous bladder helping reduce instances of incontinence.
At the same time, this tea is also considered a good infusion for reducing glandular swelling, by removing the inflammation and restoring health and even improving thyroid function.
A mullein infusion may be used topically to soothe and calm irritated skin. Its cleansing and softening action is said to help relieve acne, eczema, bruises, rashes, boils and other skin issues.
Make a poultice and apply to scraped skin to help treat tissue, reduce swelling and sprains. Its antibacterial action may help to heal wounds and dermatitis.
A cooled mullein infusion may be applied to cold sores, treating viral and bacterial infections. A poultice may also relieve the pain of an ear infection, but you should not use it on a perforated or ruptured ear drum.
Do you have blond hair? Then you may use mullein tea as a rinse to help brighten your hair.
Side Effects of Mullein Tea
Even the best herbal remedies require a few precautions, so let's take a quick look at some of the possible side effects of mullein herbal tea.
Common Side Effects
Allergic symptoms caused by mullein tea include tightness of the throat and chest resulting in difficulty breathing and slight chest pain. If this happens to you, stop taking mullein tea immediately and if the symptoms don't subside go to a hospital.
If you are using this tea topically be aware that the leaves have tiny hairs that may cause your skin to become irritated, inflamed or itchy. This is rare, but it may happen, so always test this tea on a small area of skin first.
Too Much Mullein Tea
You should always stick to the recommended dosage, because drinking too much of this herbal tea could cause stomach upset.
While this herbal tea is considered safe for children, people with liver problems and pregnant or breastfeeding women, it should be taken only under medical supervision and prolonged used is not advisable.
Avoid Mullein Tea
Do not make mullein tea using its seeds. Seeds have been found to contain narcotic and toxic elements. If ingested, mullein seeds could cause vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps and even convulsions. It is best not to use mullein seed infusions topically either.
Drinking Mullein Tea
Now it is time to learn how to make mullein tea. You are going to love just how easy it is.
Parts Used: leaves, flowers and roots
Quantity: 1-2 tsps/cup (250ml)
Water temperature: boiling (100ºC /212ºF)
Steeping time: 10-15 minutes
Recommended dosage: 3 cups per day
Best paired with: elderberry, echinacea, catnip and other herbs
You can make a cup of this tea using mainly dried leaves or flowers. Mullein flowers are considered more powerful than the leaves, but both may be used for medicinal purposes.
Start by boiling water in a kettle. As the water boils, prepare the teapot and your cup. You may even use hot water to preheat your tea set, this way the water will not instantly cool down when it hits the cold surface of the ceramic. Just make sure to toss it out before it cools down too much.
Place 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried leaves and flowers per cup of water (approx. 250ml) inside the empty teapot.
Pour the boiling water into the teapot and let the herbs steep for 10 to 15 minutes.
Strain and serve. You may sweeten the brew with honey if you wish as this tea may have a bitter taste. Lemon or lime juice may also be added for a better tasting tea.
Drink 3 cups per day at the most. This should be enough for you to get the benefits of mullein tea.
If you make this tea using mullein root you will get an infusion that will also help with bladder incontinence.
Ideas for possible herbal blends
Elderberry and mullein make a wonderful blend to treat respiratory problems such as colds, congestion and allergies. Its anti-inflammatory action is great.
Echinacea and cleavers blend well with mullein to create a tea that soothes glandular problems.
Catnip may be added to mullein to create a calming and soothing tea. It is also said that this combination may help with pancreatic inflammation.
Buy Your Mullein Tea Today!
Click on the image or on the link below to purchase from Starwest Botanicals
your Organic Mullein
Brew your cup of decongesting tea from organic mullein powder or leaf.
A hot cup of tea will help you feel better and begin the healing process helping you back to health quickly.
Next time you feel you are coming down with a bad cold, brew a warm cup of mullein tea and head straight to bed. Get comfy and rest. Soon you will be feeling better and out and about again!
May this tea help you get well soon!
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”While there's tea there's hope.” - Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (1855-1934), British actor
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What is a mason?
Traditionally, the business card of a mason will show three words centered on the card: BRICK, BLOCK & STONE. The card indicates that the mason can build a masonry structure such as a fireplace or a wall by using these materials. The mason proposes to build this masonry feature by employing his skills in brickwork, blockwork and stonework.
A mason is a craftsman who sets and joins masonry units. He can use masonry materials to construct architectural features such as steps or a fireplace. And he can use masonry materials to construct design features such as adhering decorative brick or stone veneer on a block wall or by laying brick or stone pavers for walkways and floors in a decorative geometric design or in an irregular pattern.
What are masonry materials?
Today masonry building materials can include such items as glass block, interlocking pavers, tile and precast balustrade systems. After they are applied, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between natural stone and artificial stone. As such, it can be difficult to see the forest for the trees — or masonry architecture for the vast array of masonry materials. Essentially these materials all come under the heading of Masonry Building Materials.
The traditional three masonry categories of Brick, Block and Stone have increased tremendously. With modern technology, choices for masonry materials have become extensive. There is a bewildering collection of masonry choices.
A brick is a small rectangular block typically made of fired or sun-dried clay that is used to build structures or to pave surfaces. Clay brick can be manufactured in a variety of colors and styles from an Old World look to a clean modern design.
You can choose a clay brick with old California colors that are soft and faded or a sand mold brick with soft crumbled edges. You can find modern looking hard-edged brick fired in a variety of colors from dark browns or reds to soft salmon or blues or gray colors. Brick may have a uniform color or each brick may vary with individual streaks of color.
Brick are manufactured in a variety of shapes. In addition to brick for veneer there are brick pavers, thin brick and blocky shapes used in retaining walls. There are firebrick used in fireboxes and molded brick used for coping and steps.
Brick manufactures also make paving stones. They produce a variety of colors and shapes of cobblestones and a variety of cut shapes called Interlocking Pavers that fit together into patterns.
A concrete masonry unit (CMU) – also called concrete block, cement block, and foundation block – is a large, rectangular block used in construction. Concrete blocks are made from cast concrete, i.e. Portland cement and aggregate, usually sand and fine gravel for high-density blocks. Concrete blocks may have hollow centers to reduce weight and improve insolation. The nominal size in inches is 16 x 8 x 8. Block is frequently used for foundation walls and are set in staggered layers. Often rebar is set inside the hollow blocks which are then filled with cement to make a solid, reinforced wall. Above, a tan block wall is used as a decorative facade for a custom home.
The Block category also includes Glass Block. Square units of glass block measure approximately 8” x 8” x 3” and are set for showers, walls, and windows. Glass block now come in a variety of shapes and have a vast array of designs and textures.
What is stone? At one time, the definition seemed fairly simple and obvious. For eons, humans have used stones for building materials. Farmers collected fieldstone from the surface of an agricultural property and set them into dry stack walls as property dividers. Homeowners veneered their house with a natural local stone obtained from a local quarry. Gardeners frequently used a soft, flat sedimentary stone called Arizona Flagstone for pathways around the yard.
In geology, a rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of one or more minerals. Geologists classify rocks according to characteristics such as mineral and chemical composition, permeability, texture and particle size. To obtain precious stones, rocks are mined to extract minerals. To obtain building stones for construction purposes, rocks are extracted from the ground in a quarry. A famed example is “Barre Gray” Devonian pluton granite quarried at the Rock of Ages Quarry in Barre, VT. Whether mined or quarried, there are three principal classes of rock: Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic.
Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava, a hot molten or partially molten rock material. Common examples would be Granite and Basalt. Here is an example of a polished granite slab called “Juparana Persia Extra.”
Sedimentary rock is formed from pieces of rock or organic particles that settle and accumulate. They are compacted and cemented into horizontal layers of stratified rocks. Common examples would be Sandstone and Limestone. Here is an example of a polished limestone slab called “Seagrass.”
Metamorphic rock is the result of the alteration of a parent rock. Sedimentary or igneous rock subjected to new and different temperature and pressure conditions results in metamorphism — a change in form. There is a profound change in the physical and chemical properties of the stone. Common examples would be Quartzite, an alteration from Quartz Sandstone or Marble, an alteration from Calcite Limestone. Here is an example of brushed marble slab called “Pearl Grey.”
Natural Building Stones
Generally, the natural stone that is quarried for use as building materials include the following: Basalt, Granite, Sandstone, Limestone, Travertine, Marble, Quartzite, and Slate. To the list can be added numerous other stones such as Rhyolite, Flagstone, Breccia, and Gneiss as well as common Fieldstone or Rubblestone.
Natural Dimension Stone
Dimension stone is natural stone that has been trimmed, cut, and drilled to a specific size or shape. A variety of rocks are used as structural and decorative dimension stone. Rocks commonly used for dimension stone are Granite, Limestone, Marble, Travertine, Sandstone, Quartzite and Slate. Here is an example of dimensional stone used as cladding on a custom home.
Natural Carved Stone
Architectural sculpture can be integrated into the design of a building. It is sculpture created especially to decorate or embellish an architectural structure. From the Greeks to the Americas, integrated figural sculpture has been employed to enhance highly ornamented buildings for aesthetic effect. In addition, stone can be carved for masonry features such as columns, door and window trim, mantels, lintels, corbels and finials. Here is an example of a carved limestone fireplace face.
Boulders of all types and sizes are used to create natural landscape features that frequently incorporate waterfalls and pools. Because these boulders are heavy they are generally selected from local stone choices that may be igneous or sedimentary in origin. Large boulders are planted in the ground with a group of smaller sized surrounding stones to create beautiful landscape compositions. Here is an example of a large Yuba River boulder placed on the hillside of a custom home.
Today, if you venture into a building materials yard, you will discover that stone is no longer simple. A primary but not always obvious fact is the division between Natural Stone and Artificial Stone.
Artificial stone, also known as Cast Stone or Precast Stone is a product that simulates natural cut stone. Cast stone can be made from cements, manufactured or natural sands, crushed stone or natural gravels. A mixture of fine aggregates is consolidated into a mold. They are colored with mineral coloring pigments. Cast stone may replace natural cut limestone, brownstone, sandstone, bluestone, granite, slate, coral rock, travertine and other natural building stones. Here is an example of a precast architectural molded stone surround for a doorway.
Precast Architectural Stone
Cast stone materials have become very sophisticated. They are used to produce architectural structures and ornamental elements. Precast moldings such as an Entry Door Molding or a Wall Trim Molding can look like Old World carved limestone. Precast Balustrades come in a wide variety of complex styles and shapes. There are Fluted or Segmented Precast Columns in styles such as Tuscan or Corinthian. There are fireplace Mantels of all shapes, sizes and finishes and styles. There are Precast Pavers, Stair treads, Wall caps, Planters and Pool Edge Coping. There are Precast Gargoyles, Counters, Range Hoods, Table Bases, Lintels, Corbels and Finials. Precast molds are also used for commercial buildings and for restoration work.
Manufactured Stone Veneer
Precast molds are also made to duplicate natural cut stone. Dimensional Stone reproduces cut stone and is available in all dimensions from thick blocks to flat strips. They may be long and narrow or square and they are formed to serve all requirements for building materials from walls to pavers to veneers.
This artificial stone became popular as an inexpensive substitute for real stone. Like precast stone it is made with lightweight cement in a mold. Also known as “Cultured Stone”, it was called “stucco stone” because it is set against sticky paper with stucco instead of being set with mortar. Stucco Stone products include Hearthstone, Ledgestone, Rubblestone, Fieldstone and rounded River Rock or Stream Stone. Stones shaped in blocks, strips and squares with the look of limestone or other types of stone are also available to be laid in a Random Ashlar Pattern.
When you look at Building Material products you will find that the names attached to a stone may reflect different requirements. The name of a stone may reflect it’s geologic origins such as Limestone or Granite. The name might be a particular type of Limestone such as Santa Rita Limestone or California Gold Granite.
Names may also indicate the shape of the cut rock and it’s use. For example, “Ashlar Blend 3 Pc Patterns” indicates a collection of cut stone in three sizes: a long thin shape, a square shape and a large rectangle shape that will be used to lay a Random Ashlar Pattern for paving.
Here is a sample stone usage list with the types of stones generally available for that building material use
- ASHLAR — Quartzite
- ASHLAR BLEND 3 PC PATTERNS — Limestone
- ASHLAR JUMPERS — Limestone
- ASHLAR LEDGE — Limestone
- BOULDERS — Argillite, Fieldstone, Granite, Jasper, Quartz Sandstone, Quartzite, River Rock, Sandstone, Water Washed Sandstone
- BUILDING STONE — Quartzite
- CAP STONES — Quartzite
- COBBLES — River Rock, Water Washed Sandstone
- COPING — Sandstone, Water Washed Sandstone
- DRYWALL STONE — Quartzite
- FINES — Granite
- FLAGSTONE — Argillite, Limestone, Quartz Sandstone, Quartzite, Sandstone, Slate
- FLAGSTONE: PATIO IRREGULAR — Bluestone
- FLAGSTONE: RANDOM — Argillite, Limestone, Quartzite, Slate
- FLAGSTONE: REGULAR — Fieldstone
- FLAGSTONE: TUMBLED — Quartz Sandstone, Sandstone
- FLAT STONE — Bluestone, Water Washed Sandstone
- FULL VENEER — Dolomitic Limestone, Granite, Limestone, Sandstone
- GRAVEL — Granite, River Rock
- HEAD SIZED BOULDERS — Fieldstone, Granite
- BLUESTONE — Irregular, Irregular Gauged, Large, Regular, Regular Gauged
- LEDGESTONE — Limestone, Quartz Sandstone, Quartzite, Sandstone, Slate
- LEDGESTONE: “BLOCKY” — Limestone
- LEDGESTONE: TUMBLED — Limestone, Sandstone
- LILAC BLUESTONE — Bluestone
- NATURAL TILES — Limestone, Quartzite, Slate, Travertine
- PAVER TUMBLED — Bluestone, Quartz Sandstone
- PAVERS — Limestone
- PAVERS PAVING STONE — Quartzite
- PEBBLES — River Rock, Water Washed Sandstone
- PLANKING — Marble
- RANDOM RECTANGLES — Bluestone
- RANDOM SQUARES — Bluestone
- SLABS — Fieldstone, Limestone, Quartzite
- STEPPING STONES — Quartzite
- STEPS — Water Washed Sandstone
- STRIP VENEER — Sandstone
- THIN VENEER — Bluestone, Dacite, Dolomitic Limestone, Granite, Limestone, Quartz Sandstone, Quartzite, Sandstone
- THIN VENEER LEDGESTONE — Limestone
- VENEER — Limestone
- VENEER LEDGE — Sandstone
- VENEER STONE — Granite, Quartzite, Slate
- WALL CAPS — Fieldstone, Limestone
- WALL ROCK — Slate
- WALL STONE — Limestone, Quartzite
- WALL STONE: TUMBLED — Sandstone
- WALL ROCK — Granite, Quartz Sandstone
- WATER TABLES — Limestone
In other words, Connecticut Bluestone may be obtained as Irregular or Tumbled. It may also be obtained as a Flagstone or a Flat Stone or as a Paver Tumbled. Bluestone may be Random Rectangles, Random Squares, Regular or Regular Gauged. It can also come as a Thin Veneer.
COMMONLY USED STONES
The following stones are commonly available in a variety of usages.
- Dacite (mainly used for Thin Veneer)
- Dolomitic Limestone (mainly used for Thin Veneer)
- Quartz Sandstone
- Travertine (mainly used for Tile)
- Water Washed Sandstone
LOOSE SURFACE ROCK
- River Rock
These commonly used building stones come from quarries all over the world and offer a variety of colors with variation in hardness and density.
Some building stones generally come from one area. For example, Bluestone usually comes from the northeastern states and is commonly called Connecticut Irregular or Connecticut Tumbled.
Some building stones originate from many areas in the states. For example, varieties of Sandstone are extensive and their names often include origins such as Arizona Grand Canyon, King City Ledge, Loveland Buff or Sonoran Gold Ledge.
Some building stones simply have imaginative color descriptions. For example, varieties of Slate have names such as Smokestack, Raven Black or Violet Garden.
- Summit Masonry Business Card. Elsa B. Walton
- Stacked Brick. Elsa B Walton
- Tan Block Wall. www.waltonsons.com
- Glass Block Wall. www.waltonsons.com
- Fieldstone Wall in New England ptatlarge.typepad.com
- Rock of Ages Quarry, Barre, VT “Barre Gray” Devonian pluton granite. Mfwills. en.wikipedia.org
- Igneous: “Juparana Persia Extra” Granite Slab Polished. www.walkerzanger.com
- Sedimentary: “Seagrass” Limestone www.oregontileandmarble.com
- Metamorphic: “Pearl Grey” Marble Slab Brushed. www.marbleandgranite.com
- Dimension Stone. www.waltonsons.com
- Carved Limestone Fireplace. www.waltonsons.com
- Boulder over Stone Wall. www.waltonsons.com
- Precast Door Molding. www.waltonsons.com
- Precast fireplace face www.waltonsons.com
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HAMPTON: A CENTURY OF TOWN AND BEACH, 1888-1988
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Chapter 8 -- Part 2
Throughout the nineteenth century, this was an important commercial area. Even today, town maps indicate a pathway off Winnacunnet Road called the "winter road to the fish houses." The ruggedly constructed buildings, unpainted and weather-beaten, were often passed down from father to son. Although the fishing business at this location declined by the middle of this century, some of the houses continued to be used by fishermen as a place for storing bait and gear. Most of the buildings eventually were converted from fishing purposes to summer houses, owned mostly by residents. As the court case was to show, however, some of the so-called fish houses had never been used for fishing.
A subject not usually discussed in Hampton was who owned the land under the houses. Frank E. Leavitt, who grew up in the area and whose family had lived at North Beach since 1802, said in 1952, "From a young boy, I have been brought up to believe that the fishermen had a right to use the land upon which their houses stood for as long as they were used for fishing purposes and for not longer than that." In court testimony, Lewis Lester Mace, who had sold one of the fish houses to his son, Harold, said he knew he had owned only the house and not the land, and he had never been taxed since it was customary not to tax the fish houses. The ownership question was tested in 1935 when Edmund Langley, Jr., constructed a building in the area. The selectmen removed the building when Langley apparently ignored notices from the selectmen. The Town's ownership of the land was legally challenged in 1947, when Alfred Nason of Boxford, Massachusetts, attempted to build a house in the fish-house area. The selectmen were successful in seeking an injunction to halt the construction and the case went to Superior Court in 1948. Nason told the court that in 1921 he purchased the site of the old Abner Mace house and built a cottage there the following year. The Town did not contest his ownership of that lot, but in 1947 Nason began to build another cottage about 55 feet south of his first building. He believed that his three-fourths-acre lot extended far enough south for him to construct another cottage.
In February 1949, Court Master Herbert Grinnell of Derry ruled there were two questions to decide: one was to locate the southern boundary of Nason's lot, which was ruled to be 10 feet south of his original cottage; the other question was whether or not the Town owned the land south of Nason. Grinnell said that except for the 1898 transaction involving the Life-saving Station lot and its 1933 road and beach transfer to the State, the Town had retained ownership of all of its oceanfront since 1638. The lot on which Nason attempted to build, the master ruled, had once been the site of Mace and Lamprey fish houses, both now gone. The Town did in fact own the land under the fish houses, Grinnell ruled. This judgment was to set of another court case that lasted a decade and that has let bitter memories for many people.
In his decision. Judge Grinnell wrote,
"As time went on, the owners of the fish houses conveyed their property. The methods of conveyance varied. Some owners attempted to convey the land by quitclaim deed and in the settlements of estates the fish houses were variously included in the inventories filed -- some as real estate, some as real property ..... In recent years, these fish houses have fallen into disrepair, no longer being extensively used for fishing purposes. A few of the fish houses have been remodelled so that they may be used for summer cottages."
The latter paragraph apparently made an impression on the selectmen, for in the 1950 town warrant, they included an article "to see what action the town will take relative to the land owned by the Town of Hampton located just north of the Coast Guard Station ..... whether said area shall be divided into lots and leased or handled in some other manner." On the floor of town meeting, Ruth Pratt amended the selectmen's article with a motion calling for the removal within six months of all of the buildings except those still used for fishing purposes, and permitting no buildings to be used for living purposes. Edmund Langley, Jr., who owned one of the fish houses, attempted to amend Pratt's motion to permit the land to be divided and leased, but following an hour's debate, his motion was rejected 55-132. Then Pratt's amendment was approved 124-49. Pratt later told Jim Tucker that she got involved at the 1950 town meeting because as a descendant of an original settler, she felt that "certain basic rights residing in this historic town should not in any way be abridged." The owners of the fish houses must have been shocked. After the meeting, Langley said, "Some day the people will realize that the historic fish houses represent the only link between Hampton's ancient past, her present, and her future."
After the town meeting, the selectmen notified the owners of the 13 buildings to remove the structures by September 10. When no action was taken by the owners, the matter was referred to Town Counsel John Perkins, who joined with the Concord law firm of Upton, Sanders & Upton to present the Town's case. At the 1951 town meeting, voters were asked to rescind the previous year's action, which would have allowed the fish houses to remain in place. The [Hampton] Union, while urging voters to reject the article, said, "Let the courts decide," reasoning that the Nason case proved the Town owned the land. It was the last strip of Town-owned property left along the shore and should be kept for the use of all citizens, the paper explained, and only two of the remaining buildings were used for fishing, the rest were summer cottages. The collection of buildings was not attractive, but "rather a shantyville," according to the Union, and, with proper development, the Town could have a recreation area with a comfort station and a community building with lockers for residents. Having once voted to force the removal of the fish houses, residents reaffirmed their decision by indefinitely postponing the article.
The defendants in the case claiming two buildings were Ruth Palmer and her sons, Philip and Richard; Kenneth and Pauline Langley; and Harold Mace. Claiming one building, individually or jointly, were Shirley MacRae, Winthrop Blake and Chester Marston, Arthur L. Sherburne, Edmund Langley, Jr., Lillian A. Randall, Myron and Alice Norton, and Arthur L. Doggett, Jr. Only Mace and Doggett claimed to use their fish houses as part of their full-time commercial-fishing operations, although one of Mace's buildings was a fish market.
The history of the 13 buildings follows. Each building was numbered by the court as shown on the accompanying chart. The factual information comes from the plaintiffs' brief, which was filed in the 1959 Supreme Court session. It joins the Mitchell case brief as an important public document because it provides extensive history of Town action in the North Beach area as well as important comment on the uses of the fish houses.
Key to building numbers follows.
1. Claimed by the Palmers, who inherited the structure from Mrs. Palmer's husband, Charles, who built it in 1904 and used it as a fish market. He had received permission from the selectmen to enlarge the building in 1921 or 1922 and it had been taxed as a fish market since 1916.
2. Claimed by Shirley MacRae. Moved to the fish-house area in 1920 by Ernest White. It was on the site of a Blake fish house and White had sought permission from the oldest Blake, Arthur, to "put a building on his fishing rights." White fished from the location until 1933 or 1934, then exchanged the building with Stanley J. Knowles for another building in North Hampton. MacRae acquired the building from the Knowles estate in 1946 and she had rented it as a summer cottage.
3. Claimed by Winthrop Blake and Chester Marston. The building was a former horse shed that the two owners and George S. Batchelder and his son, Edward, moved onto the site in 1905. It was used by them as a boathouse for hunting and fishing. George died in 1924 and the Batchelder interest in the house was transferred to Blake and Marston, who used it as a camp in 1948 when they first listed the property in their property inventory forms.
4. Claimed by Arthur L. Sherburne. This building was acquired from Frank E. Leavitt in 1945. The house and lot was one of eight lots, some with buildings, in the area that fisherman Randolph DeLancey left to his wife, Ellen, in 1913. Samuel Hawbolt had built it some years earlier for use as a lobster shack. The Leavitts acquired five of the eight lots from Randolph's brother, Curtis, and they used this building as an icehouse in connection with their boardinghouse across the street.
5. Claimed by Edmund Langley, Jr. Acquired by Langley from fisherman Charles Blake in 1945. Blake and his father tore down an old Blake fish house (which existed as early as 1877) in 1910 and constructed this building, which was used by Charles until he retired from the sea in 1934.
6. Claimed by Lillian A. Randall, who had acquired it from her late son Bertram. The Randalls bought the fish house for $140 in 1932 from Jacob W. Purington, who apparently got it from his brother, George, who died in 1921.
7. and 8. Claimed by Kenneth and Pauline Langley, who acquired them via a deed from Frank Leavitt. The ages of the buildings were not given.
9. Claimed by Harold Mace, who acquired the building from his father, fisherman Lewis Lester Mace, who had purchased one half of the building from the C. L. Lamprey estate for $13 in 1921 and the other half from Sherburne Hawbolt for $15 in 1927. Harold fished out of Hampton River but used the building to store bait and gear. No taxes had been paid on the building, as the senior Mace said it was not customary to tax fish houses.
10. Claimed by Arthur Doggett. Once the fish house of Alvah Blake, it was acquired by Doggett in 1941 from Everett E. Blake. Doggett used the building in his commercial-fishing business.
(Courtesy Hampton Historical Society)
11. Claimed by the Palmers. This building apparently was acquired by Josiah Palmer in 1861 from Dearborn Shaw. It was passed down through the Palmer family and was used actively by Charles Palmer in his fishing business for about 30 years, until he retired in 1920. Philip Palmer also used the building for lobstering in the 1940s.
12. Claimed by the Nortons. They traced their "ownership" of the land to 1863, when it was transferred from Joseph Palmer to his son, John. An early building was replaced by the existing one after John's death in 1884. John's sons, Harry and George, used it for fishing. George sold it to the Nortons for $250 in 1944. No taxes had ever been paid on the property until 1948, when the building as assessed as a camp.
13. Claimed by Harold Mace and used as a fish market. This was the site of the original Eldridge-Moulton house, but the fish market was moved to the location in 1923 by Frank Leavitt and acquired by Lewis Mace in 1938.
The accompanying picture, dating to 1900, was among the exhibits filed with the court. None of the fish houses shown in the old photographs were in the same locations in 1950 because they had been moved back from the shore, about the length of each house, following storms in 1933. Of the nine fish houses shown in the old photographs, only five remained in 1950: numbers 5, 6, 8, 9, and 11. Number 12 was not shown in the old photographs, as it was nearer the Coast Guard lot, but it too had been moved.
The original legal proceedings began in 1952 when the Town filed a bill of equity seeking to quiet title (or confirm its ownership) to the fish-house area. After various delays and pretrial maneuvering by attorneys, the case was finally heard in 1955 and 1956. Judge Dennis E. Sullivan ruled in favor of the Town in September 1957. The defendants -- except for Doggett, who was allowed to keep his fish house -- appealed. An article in the 1958 town warrant asked the Town to rescind its earlier votes and allow the selectmen to lease the fish-house lots, and to "best protect and presereve their historical beauty ......." The article was not approved, and when the Superior Court rejected the appeal, the defendants next applied to the Supreme Court, which confirmed the ealier verdict in favor of the Town.
[Photo courtesy Nate Piper, Rye, NH]
All of the buildings, including Mace's fish market, were removed in the late fall of 1959, except for the Mace and Doggett fish houses, which remain to this day . The Mace fish house was given to the Town and the 1988 town meeting appropriated $2,000 for its restoration.
In 1960, the town meeting voted to preserve "forever" the fish-house area as a public park. In a broadly supported project led by members of the Hampton Garden Club, the fish-house area was turned into a seaside park with natural plantings and a stone post fence. At the 1965 town meeting, the park was renamed in honor of Ruth G. Stimson, the town's leading conservationist and the person who did "99 percent of the work" of landscaping and planting the seaside park. | <urn:uuid:79d3da0e-1804-4f80-89fe-2fb262e5a1a2> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | http://50-199-193-170-static.hfc.comcastbusiness.net/hampton/history/randall/chap8/randall8_2.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371896913.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20200410110538-20200410141038-00314.warc.gz | en | 0.984842 | 2,913 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Dr. Garrett Ward Sheldon
This is a surprising and very important book. It changes our views of the religious life and attitudes of perhaps the most significant American Founder: Thomas Jefferson. As such, it commends a re-examination of our entire view of Early American Religion and Politics, past scholarship on those subjects, and the implications on our contemporary debates on Church and State.*
The analysis and documentation in this volume show Jefferson as an appreciative and thoughtful student of and actor in Christianity who genuinely esteems many of the doctrines and persons associated with the Faith. His letters often show an affectionate and respectful regard for religious persons, including Catholic clergy, priests, nuns, and teachers; evangelical Protestant preachers, Calvinists and Anglicans. His sensitivity to their character and motives belies the common caricature of Jefferson as dismissive or contemptuous of religious believers. Mr. Beliles other recent book, Selected Religious Letters, further confirms this positive and catholic approach of Jefferson.
I grew up and was trained with the common view of Jefferson as a secular skeptic, an Enlightenment Deist, indifferent or even hostile to organized religion, spirituality, the Church, and Christianity. We read over and over his derisive comments on “monkish ignorance,” or Catholic “priestcraft”; that Calvinists were rigid, Jews “barbaric” and simple religious folk naive and ignorant. All the Liberal prejudices against faith projected onto America’s premier Founder.
Where did this mainstream academic attitude come from? The negative attitudes were certainly there in some of Jefferson’s correspondence. But, like his equally extreme characterizations of political opponents, they were written to certain colleagues, at certain times, and so in a context that cannot be generalized. Beliles and Newcombe provide that context along with the balance of Jefferson’s other, overwhelmingly positive views on religion and religious people, movements, denominations and beliefs.
Jefferson comes across in this vast wealth of material as a sensitive, intelligent, appreciative student of religious people, beliefs and institutions. He was an intelligent seeker after truth with a seriousness unseen today in public figures. His attitudes, well represented in this book’s selections, shows the real breadth and depth of religious consciousness in eighteenth century America. We are grateful for the authors’ careful and serious corrective of this major figure in American history and thought. This scholarship finally places religion in its proper and prominent place in Jefferson’s mind and life; and in America.
—Dr. Garrett Ward Sheldon
The John Morton Beaty Professor of Politics,
University of Virginia College at Wise
Author, The Political Philosophy of Thomas Jefferson
(Johns Hopkins University Press).
Co-editor, Religion and Political Culture in Jefferson’s Virginia
Dr. Peter A. Lillback
Thomas Jefferson is an omnipotent American icon of liberty. He, along with a few others, has an indisputable place in the American pantheon of Founders whose life and words have shaped the destiny of the United States. His words, “the wall of separation between church and state” from a private letter to the Baptists in Danbury, Connecticut, have been essentially read into the First Amendment by Supreme Court decisions, whether one agrees with them or not.
But for all this American certainty about the significance of Thomas Jefferson for what George Washington called “the American experiment in the Republican form of government,” there is great dispute about the worldview and religious beliefs of Jefferson. Was he St. Thomas Jefferson, or, would he be better described as Doubting Thomas Jefferson? If he was an icon of liberty, was he an icon of faith as well?
The options are boldly asserted by scholars and citizens alike on either side of the fault lines of faith that divide contemporary American life. To most on the secularist bank of the cultural rift, Jefferson was a freethinking rationalist who deeply longed for the removal of the overt expressions of faith from public life. As a doubting deist, the church and the Scriptures belonged in the private sphere of life, where they could do no harm, not in the public arena of law and government.
But those who stand opposed to the secular view often assert that Jefferson’s life manifested a sincere faith in Christian truth. He worshiped as President in, of all places, a public church service held in the Supreme Court’s chambers in the US Capitol Building. His faith, if not fully orthodox, extolled Jesus’ ethics and celebrated divine providence.
But whose view is right? The problem for those who investigate the question is to let Thomas Jefferson speak for himself. It has been all too easy to rely on secondary sources, both past and present to make one’s case. A far more daunting challenge is to dig into Jefferson’s voluminous writings and let his own words and his own actions speak for themselves. When this is done, the person who emerges may not fit neatly into the well worn images crafted by a long dispute over a hero that all sides wish to identify with their partisan views.
So it is with gratitude to Mark Beliles and Jerry Newcombe that I commend to you their study, Doubting Thomas? These authors present a careful investigation of our American hero of liberty that should be taken seriously by reader and researcher alike due to their careful analysis of original sources and cogent construction of pertinent data. Their conclusion emerges from the sources left to us by Jefferson himself. The accuracy and nuance that are found here make for a compelling case that
Jefferson was a complex personality and thinker whose beliefs cannot be expressed by pat answers, knee-jerk reactions or facile explanations. Instead, the Jefferson that emerges is a multifaceted figure whose thinking grows, develops, changes, and yet all the while simultaneously holds together disparate commitments as he moves through various stages of his life.*
Please read, reflect, learn and be instructed. Jefferson may well have doubted, moved and changed over time, but there is no doubt that his intellectual journey was informed by faith all along the way.
—Dr. Peter A. Lillback
President, Westminster Theological Seminary
President, The Providence Forum
Author with Jerry Newcombe of George Washington’s Sacred Fire
“In this honest and thorough examination of Thomas Jefferson’s public and private life, authors Beliles and Newcombe make a strong and persuasive case that in his critical younger years—when he drafted the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia bill for religious freedom—Jefferson was a practicing orthodox Christian. Painstakingly researched and written, the authors refute those scholars who would superimpose Jefferson’s later doubts about core Christian doctrines in support of their views that religion must be separated from politics.* To the contrary, as Beliles and Newscombe ably contend, Jefferson’s contribution to the Declaration and the Virginia statute for religious freedom evidences the work of a Christian statesman whatever his personal belief may have been about the redemptive work of Christ at the cross. Any one who wants to know Jefferson’s real contribution to religious liberty ought to read this book.”
Founding Dean, College of Law and Government, Regent University (1986-1993)
“The Bible’s first book, Genesis, is devoted to recounting the lives of Israel’s founding fathers. Any healthy nation and robust culture remembers its founders with fond admiration. Willfully corroding the history of its founders is a sign of a culture’s impending extinction. To our enormous appreciation, Beliles and Newcombe compellingly correct our recollection of Thomas Jefferson. A grateful nation will thank them.”*
—Rabbi Daniel Lapin,
American Alliance of Jews and Christians
“Doubting Thomas is a must read book regarding one of the most frequently discussed and often misunderstood Founding Fathers of the American experiment. This book is a refreshing analysis of the faith journey of Thomas Jefferson, and the reader will find particularly helpful how the book puts Jefferson’s evolving views of God and religion in historical context. A quote from the later years of Jefferson cannot be used to fully explain his views at earlier times and vice versa.* What is critically important is the fact that at the time of Jefferson’s life when he had the most direct impact on the founding of America and some of its organic documents, such as the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom, Jefferson was a faithful churchman in the Anglican Church. The Jefferson that groups like the ACLU often present is not the Jefferson of history. This book deals openly and honestly with one of America’s key Founding Fathers.Doubting Thomas is no doubt be one of the most important books on the faith of Thomas Jefferson.”
—Mathew D. Staver,
Founder and Chairman, Liberty Counsel
“A must read regarding one of our most commonly misunderstood Founders: Thomas Jefferson. While Jefferson’s life and writings are used to create the “wall of separation” between church and state, the historical truth is far more complicated. This book takes you on a fascinating journey into the mind and life of man whose ideas regarding government, faith, and liberty are still impacting our culture today. Thoroughly documented and well-written, I gladly endorse this fascinating examination of our Third President. An important book for our generation to better understand the Jeffersonian balance between God and government.”*
—Attorney David C. Gibbs III,
President & General Counsel, National Center for Life and Liberty
“Dr. Mark Beliles and Dr. Jerry Newcombe are preeminent researchers who have uncovered priceless treasures of America’s heritage long buried beneath generations of complacency and ideological drift. Newcombe and Beliles’ classic work, Doubting Thomas, is destined to be THE authoritative treatise on Jefferson’s many faceted beliefs. They honestly portray Jefferson’s journey of faith though its ever-evolving nuances during a time when the world was going through unprecedented political changes. Jefferson was a brilliant leader who had profound influence on America at its most formative period. By understanding Jefferson and his faith, we gain a clearer understanding of the foundations of our freedoms, and possibly discover keys to preserving them. I highly applaud and wholeheartedly recommend every American read Dr. Mark Beliles and Dr. Jerry Newcombe’s book, Doubting Thomas.”*
—William J. Federer,
Bestselling Author and Speaker
“Fascinating, well researched, and wonderfully nuanced, Doubting Thomas pulls back the curtain and exposes the myths about this brilliant and controversial man of fascinating faith who helped birth America, write the Declaration of Independence, and shape the way Americans think about Church and State. This is a must read for anyone who wants the real story of Thomas Jefferson.”*
“Christian values influenced our government for the first 160 years of our nation’s history until a misreading of Thomas Jefferson on the subject of the separation of church and state. That’s why I’m please to recommend this new book, Doubting Thomas? which helps set the record straight. Although Thomas Jefferson was no evangelical Christian, he was certainly far from the ACLU’s version of Jefferson portrayed today as this book so aptly demonstrates.”*
—Dr Robert Jeffress,
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Dallas
“Once in a great while a book so thoroughly and even-handedly treats a controversial topic that combatants are silenced, the uninformed argument is banished and learning gratefully reigns. Such a book is Doubting Thomas?* In its pages, unflagging scholarship escorts an authentically complex Thomas Jefferson to the fore. The authors allow truth to settle where it may and are unapologetic that myths flee and that scholarly malpractice is exposed before their work. We are grateful for their devotion to their craft.”
—Stephen Mansfield, Ph.D.,
New York Times Best-selling Author
Author Exclusive sale! Our website is the only place you can buy a copy and get it now (not pre-order!). Plus you can save over 25% here until it appears in stores in November.
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Anxiety is one of most the common neurological disorders, but it also is one of the most difficult to understand. Simply stated, anxiety is an apprehension of the future, especially about an upcoming challenging task. This is normal. What is not normal is when the reaction is significantly out of proportion to what might be expected. Over the years, a number of specific terms, such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobia, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and separation anxiety disorder have emerged in an attempt to better categorize general anxiety. Any way you describe anxiety, it is a big problem with nearly 20% of Americans suffering from it, thus making anxiety the largest neurological disorder in the United States (1).
If anxiety is worrying about the future, then it has a fellow traveler, depression. Depression can be viewed as an over-reaction about regret associated with past events. Not surprisingly, almost an equal number of Americans suffer from this condition. This leads to the question: Is there a linkage between the two conditions? I believe the answer is yes and it may be caused by radical changes in the American diet in the past 40 years. These changes have resulted in what I term the Perfect Nutritional Storm (2). The result is an increase in the levels of inflammation throughout the body and particularly in the brain.
The brain is incredibly sensitive to inflammation, not the type you can feel but the type of inflammation that is below the perception of pain. I term this cellular inflammation. What makes this type of inflammation so disruptive is that it causes a breakdown in signaling between cells. What causes cellular inflammation is an increase in the omega-6 fatty acid known as arachidonic acid (AA). From this fatty acid comes a wide range of inflammatory hormones known as eicosanoids that are the usual suspects when it comes to inflammation. This is why anti-inflammatory drugs (aspirin, non-steroid anti-inflammatories, COX-2 inhibitions and corticosteroids) all have a single mode of action—to inhibit the formation of these inflammatory eicosanoids. These drugs, however, can’t cross the blood-brain barrier that isolates the brain from a lot of noxious materials in the blood stream. So when the brain becomes inflamed, its only protection is adequate levels of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. But what happens when the levels of omega-3 fatty acids are low in the brain? The answer is increased neuro-inflammation and continual disruption of signaling between nerves.
There are two omega-3 fatty acids in the brain. The first is called docosahexaenoic acid or DHA. This is primarily a structural component for the brain. The other is called eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA. This is the primary anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acid for the brain. So if the levels of EPA are low in the blood, they are going to be low in the brain. To further complicate the matter, the lifetime of EPA in the brain is very limited (3,4). This means you have to have a constant supply in the blood stream to keep neuro-inflammation under control.
It is known from work with uni-polar and bi-polar depressed patients, that high-dose fish oil rich in EPA has remarkable benefits (5,6). On the other hand, supplementing the diet with oils rich in DHA have virtually no effects (7).
Since anxiety has a significant co-morbidity with depression, the obvious question becomes is it possible that high levels of EPA can reduce anxiety? The answer appears to be yes (8), according to a study conducted in 2008 using substance abusers. It is known that increased anxiety is one of the primary reasons why substance abusers and alcoholics tend to relapse (9,10). When these patients were given a high dose of EPA (greater than 2 grams of EPA per day), there was a statistically significant reduction in anxiety compared to those receiving a placebo. More importantly, the degree of anxiety reduced was highly correlated to the decrease of the ratio of AA to EPA in the blood (8). In other studies with normal individuals without clinical depression or anxiety, increased intake of EPA improved their ability to handle stress and generated significant improvements in mood (11-13). It may be that depression and anxiety are simply two sides of the same coin of increased cellular inflammation in the brain. Even for “normal” individuals, high dose EPA seems to make them happier and better able to handle stress.
So let’s go back to an earlier question and ask about the dietary changes in the American diet that may be factors in the growing prevalence of both depression and anxiety. As I outline in my book Toxic Fat, it is probably due to a growing imbalance of AA and EPA in our diets (2). What causes AA to increase is a combination of increased consumption of vegetable oils rich in omega-6 fatty acids coupled with an increase in the consumption of refined carbohydrates that generate insulin. When excess omega-6 fatty acids interact with increased insulin, you get a surge of AA production. At the same time, our consumption of fish rich in EPA has decreased. The end result is an increasing AA/EPA ratio in the blood, which means a corresponding increase in the same AA/EPA ratio in the brain creating more cellular inflammation.
Cutting back vegetable oil and refined carbohydrate intake is difficult since they are now the most inexpensive source of calories. Not surprisingly, they are key ingredients for virtually every processed food product. So if changing your diet is too hard, then consider eating more fish to get adequate levels of EPA. Of course, the question is how much fish? If we use a daily intake level of 2 grams of EPA per day that was used the successful trials of using omega-3 fatty acids reduce anxiety, then this would translate into consuming 14 pounds of cod per day. If you prefer a more fatty fish like salmon, then you would only need about 2 pounds per day to get 2 grams of EPA. The Japanese are able to reach that level because they are the largest consumers of fish in the world. These are highly unlikely dietary changes for most Americans. However, it has been demonstrated that following a strict anti-inflammatory diet coupled with purified fish oil supplements can generate an AA/EPA ratio similar to that found in the Japanese population (11).
There is simply no easy way out of this problem created by the Perfect Nutritional Storm, which will only intensify with each succeeding generation due to the insidious effect of cellular inflammation on fetal programming in the womb. Unfortunately for most Americans this will require a dietary change of immense proportions. This probably means that Valium and other anti-anxiety medications are here to stay.
- Kessler RC, Chiu WT, Demler O, Merikangas KR, and Walters EE. "Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of 12-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication". Arch Gen Psychiatry 62:617–627 (2005).
- Sears B. Toxic Fat. Thomas Nelson. Nashville, TN (2008).
- Chen CT, Liu Z, Ouellet M, Calon F, and Bazinet RP. “Rapid beta-oxidation of eicosapentaenoic acid in mouse brain: an in situ study.” Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids 80:157-163 (2009).
- Chen CT, Liu Z, and Bazinet RP. “Rapid de-esterification and loss of eicosapentaenoic acid from rat brain phospholipids: an intracerebroventricular study.” J Neurochem 116:363-373 (2011).
- Nemets B, Stahl Z, and Belmaker RH. “Addition of omega-3 fatty acid to maintenance medication treatment for recurrent unipolar depressive disorder.” Am J Psychiatry 159:477-479 (2002).
- Stoll AL, Severus WE, Freeman MP, Rueter S, Zboyan HA, Diamond E, Cress KK, and Marangell LB. “Omega 3 fatty acids in bipolar disorder: a preliminary double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.” Arch Gen Psychiatry 56:407-412 (1999).
- Marangell LB, Martinez JM, Zboyan HA, Kertz B, Kim HF, and Puryear LJ. “A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid in the treatment of major depression.” Am J Psychiatry 160:996-998 (2003).
- Buydens-Branchey L, Branchey M, and Hibbeln JR. “Associations between increases in plasma n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids following supplementation and decreases in anger and anxiety in substance abusers.” Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 32:568-575 (2008).
- Willinger U, Lenzinger E, Hornik K, Fischer G, Schonbeck G, Aschauer HN, and Meszaros K. “Anxiety as a predictor of relapse in detoxified alcohol-dependent patients.” Alcohol and Alcoholism 37:609-612 (2002).
- Kushner MG, Abrams K, Thuras P, Hanson KL, Brekke M, and Sletten S. “Follow-up study of anxiety disorder and alcohol dependence in comorbid alcoholism treatment patients.” Alcohol Clin Exp Res 29:1432-1443 (2005).
- Fontani G, Corradeschi F, Felici A, Alfatti F, Bugarini R, Fiaschi AI, Cerretani D, Montorfano G, Rizzo AM, and Berra B. “Blood profiles, body fat and mood state in healthy subjects on different diets supplemented with Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.” Eur J Clin Invest 35:499-507 (2005).
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- Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Belury MA, Andridge R, Malarkey WB, and Glaser R. “Omega-3 supplementation lowers inflammation and anxiety in medical students: A randomized controlled trial.” Brain Behav Immun 25:1725-1734 (2011). | <urn:uuid:926648aa-5d33-4e23-aee9-8eafa34b8bcb> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://blog.zonediet.com/drsears/blog/anxiety-and-omega-3-fatty-acids | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371858664.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20200409122719-20200409153219-00234.warc.gz | en | 0.910911 | 2,217 | 2.953125 | 3 |
1. Creativity is a function of inborn characteristics and aptitude, influenced by upbringing, family and social environment. I believe that this statement is important in terms of developing and having access to one’s own personal creativity. According to Csikszentmihaly there is a genetic disposition to our creativity and having access to his creativity when needed. There are ten dimensions that determine who and what makes a real creative person. Some of these characteristics are (1) physical energy-creative people have a great deal of physical energy but at the same time are peaceful. (2) Creative people are smart yet contain innocence at the same time. (3) Creative people contain a combination of discipline and playfulness at the same time. (4) Go back and forth between imagination/fantasy to being rooted/realistic. (5) Contain both extrovert and introverted qualities. (6) Are humble yet proud, (7) have a combination of masculine and feminine qualities, (8) have a combination of rebel and conformist characteristics. (9) They are very passionate when it comes to work, yet they are objective about the situation. (10) Creative people are sensitive, therefore they are prone to suffer, but at the same time has a lot of enjoyment.
Creative people are the ones who can act on both sides of the spectrum; they can run on both ends of these polarities. I believe that the ten dimensions are things that I do recognize within my personal creativity, in many ways I find myself having many of these spectrums. And I find it very interesting that the creative person is neither one nor the other, but both. Sometimes a person questions whether it’s right to be at both ends of the spectrum, but after reading this I found out that it is quite normal and promotes creativity.
There are also factors during one’s own developmental phase that can bring about the creative person within such as being firstborn, surviving a big loss of one or both parents when young, having a diversified environment, exposure to wide range of Ideas, being a book lover, lots of hobbies, good working habits, and interestingly enough the creative person is someone in conflict. I am actually the first born; I have three younger half siblings, and therefore technically considered an only child as well. When I was six years old I suffered some serious trauma when both of my grandparents died a month a part from each other. I was very close to them and considered them to be like my parents, so close that our apartments were on the same floor of our apartment building. Shortly after my parents got divorced, and what I considered a perfect world fell apart in a matter of weeks.
This trauma that I endured so young had forever impacted my life to this day. I think in many ways it almost made special and I knew from that day forth that I was a lot different than many of my peers. From that point on life was not easy, it was like a tumbling wheel, everything that could possibly go wrong did. However at the same time I did see that the melancholy of my life allowed me to access a creative side as well. I always felt musically inclined, I love to sing, dance, play guitar, act, etc… Interestingly enough I took the arts very seriously and considered myself creative and considered myself one of the best.
According to Amabile, family lives of young people help develop the creative self. Parenting style and home atmosphere apparently has more of an impact on determining creativity than genetics, therefore home life is a very important role in raising a creative person. Parents who have less rules have more creative children. Families with creative teens have unconventional furnishings. Creative children suffer more traumas. Growing up I felt a lot more unconventional than the rest, my parents were in some way considered “hippies” and I was allowed to do pretty much whatever I wanted. I never was grounded or had any rules, which isn’t always such a great thing; however I was free to find myself. I can see that rules may somehow cut a person free will and creativity to flow.
2. Creativity is largely a function of the unconscious mind-its particular voice and content-as mediated by the conscious mind. We can access our unconscious content so as to heighten our creativity.
What is creativity? What goes on during this process? Psychoanalysis gives us certain explanations on how this process is possible, and also on its benefits for both its author and public. Freud admitted to not being able to – fully, in my opinion- account for the artist’s gift using the psychoanalytic method.
The creative process is, according to Freud, an alternative to neurosis, that is a defense mechanism protecting against neurosis, leading thus to the production of a socially acceptable source of entertainment and pleasure for the public. For the artist has the ability of turning his fantasies into artistic creations instead of into symptoms.
The unconscious plays a major role in the act of creation. That is, the act of creation is made possible by the libido, the energy of the id, and by a defense mechanism considered to be the most beneficial – sublimation. By turning the sexual desire into a cultural manifestation with the help of the ego, sublimation makes the thoughts of the unconscious more acceptable to the conscious and it also allows for something productive, and pleasant, for the others as well.
Art makes use of defense mechanisms such as condensation and displacement – terms also used for work on the dream process, due to the role of the unconscious in both creative and dream processes.
Art itself can be regarded as a defense mechanism. The artistic creation may be, for the artist, wish fulfillment or fantasy gratification of desires denied by the reality principle or prohibited by moral codes. Art is thus a means of giving expression to, and dealing with, various psychic pressures. The artist can work his fantasy – a substitute for satisfaction – by means of sublimation, into a socially acceptable form, art, that the others can enjoy. He works out the personal in his daydreams, fantasies into something he can share with the public.
Some believe that creativity is intertwined with repression and pain. Freud did claim that the artists use their work to project in the outside world unfulfilled fantasies. However, in his view, a good poem is sublimation, and not a repression. Moreover, there is this ability of the artist to create and not become ill with phobia. I believe that many of times growing up I chose to do many things such that involved the arts so that deal with things in my life that were not the easiest to deal with.
Any artistic creation is a compromise between the unconscious and conscious intent of its author. According to Freud, the artist can choose and make changes in the unconscious material. This and the way the artist transforms his egotistic fantasies into something acceptable for public appreciation could be regarded as parts of the artist’s gift. The fantasies of a man of artistic talent give us pleasure, while those of an ordinary day-dreamer could leave us indifferent, or bore or disgust us; or, while we might find that the fantasies of an ordinary day-dreamer have something in common to ours, his ‘work’ would not have the same value as a true, gifted artist’s, and the day-dreamer will not be interested in sharing his ‘work’ and reworking it for the public
3. The creative mind is an eccentric one and can be close in processing style to the pathological mind.
Creativity could be described as the ability to create products or ideas which are original and which possess a strong social usefulness. To create, indeed, implies the production of something new and original. However the qualities that make an individual able to produce new entities are not well understood. As is also the case with the concept known as “intelligence”, it is unlikely there is a general creativity factor unevenly distributed across the population. Rather, creativity can be conceived as a complex of qualities that allow some people more easily than others to produce new objects or ideas.
Most studies show that there is a link between creative ability and the risk of mental disorder: in fact, the prevalence of mental problems among creatively gifted people is often, but not always, significantly higher than among the general population. Studies on the relationship between creativity and mental illnesses suggest that they are the same characteristics of the disorder, in their less severe manifestations, which confer some advantage on afflicted individuals and their relatives.
4 .The creative processes has a life of its own, I believe it can be greatly influenced by practices and conscious actions.
There are many practices that can help influence the creative process such as visualization processes, having a higher responsibility, repeating questions to uncover your blocks (perfectionism, fear, shame)owning your shadow- using Jungian theory to help find certain archetypes of your life. Always having a witness consciousness to whatever you may be doing. All these exercises can help with coming closer to the creative process; it allows you to have access to your creativity and keep the energy flowing where it may sometimes be stagnant.
I think these exercises are important to help not only to get your creative juices flowing, but it also allows you to really take control of your life and the obstacles that you may encounter along the way. Exercises such as owning your shadow really give you a sense on how important it is for you to be real with yourself. Because if you are not honest with yourself, I doubt you will ever get to the core of what really in life moves you or makes you tick. It is okay to have feelings that may not be so called appropriate in that exact moment, but just as long as you own yourself and you true feelings, you can see that it is okay to pass through these times of darkness, and that it is acceptable to not be smiling all the time. Everyone has a dark side and there is nothing wrong with that, it simply is just how life is.
Having a higher responsibility also helps the person become more aware of their surroundings, and not just think about themselves. Personally when after doing this higher responsibility I realized that it’s such a rewarding feeling that you feel when you give freely to someone without necessarily getting something in return. I believe that a lot of people are selfish and usually give because they know they will be getting something in return. I think that when you finally decide to give without thinking of what you will receive it is a lot more rewarding.
The list of five was also another great exercise to get those creativity juices flowing; it gives you an opportunity to really dig in and see what really makes you tick, what goals you may soon want to achieve, what hold you back in life, and all together allows you to become more aware of all the things that may be possible in achieving within this lifetime.
Another wonderful exercise that I found unbelievably interesting was the visualization exercise, I thought that it was a great way in learning how to take more control of your life and the things that you may want to create within your life. A lot of the times people are lost and do not see the light at the end of the tunnel, it is hard because people will lose themselves the chaos of life, let’s say for example you are dealing with an illness, it may very well be hard to overcome that, however doing visualization exercises particularly helps in problems such as these. It trains your brain to start creating these solutions, by first just thinking about it; imagining it and then eventually making it a reality.
Creative process does have a life of its own, these exercises allow you to take charge of your life and move into a whole new realm of creativity. It brings you closer to the things in your life that you may have not been able to achieve because you couldn’t see how to really achieve these things before and make it a reality.
5. What do you think is the source of creativity? The creative spirit? From where does the motivation for creativity come?
Creativity is the quality that you bring to the activity that you are doing. It is an attitude, an inner approach – how you look at things….
Really, the experience of creativity is an entry into the mysterious. Technique, expertise and knowledge are just tools; the key is to abandon oneself to the energy that fuels the birth of all things.
This energy has no form or structure, yet all the forms and structures come out of it. It makes no difference what particular form your creativity takes – it can be painting or singing, planting a garden or making a meal. The important thing is to be open to what wants to be expressed through you. I believe that we don’t possess our creations; they do not belong to us. True creativity arises from a union with the divine, with the mystical and the unknowable. Then it is both a joy for the creator and a blessing to others.
6. How does creative thinking differ from “ordinary” thinking?
Creative thinking is different from ordinary thinking because it gets to you to start focusing on this different type of energy. Some examples of some skills associated with creativity are
Breaking out of old patterns and doing something different, keeping options open, not judging so quickly, thinking broadly- trying to see relationships between different ideas, breaking through ordinary way of doing things, trying to perceive things in a new and exciting way, using exercises to help get those creative juices flowing more freely.
Basically creativity thinking is more innovative and free, being able to try new ideas and things to encourage more creative progress. Learning to become more open to new ways of promoting these different ways of doing things, creativity is daring to be different; making the difference. According to Osborne things that promote creativity are traveling, playing games, solving puzzles, pursuing hobbies, and reading/writing
Ordinary thinking is stagnant; it does not have a unique sense. It wears the same old boring t-shirt and jeans every day. Ordinary thinking simply follows the crowd and never tries to be the one to stand away from the crowd and try something new. According t Osborne factors that cramp creativity are sticking to previous habits, self-discouragement, timidity, and urbanization.
A statement I always love to say in honor of creativity is: Dare to be different and the rest will follow!
7. Do you think the genius is born or made? Weisberg posits that the primary factors in genius or extraordinary accomplishments are skill, motivation and discipline.
According to Weisberg genius are in born, that it is a natural ability that we are born with. Personally I would have to agree and say that it is something innate and something that we can all attain. Also in terms of creativity everyone’s has the ability to access it as much as they want.
He also states that this idea of geniuses is a view that is very rooted in the past. He believes that the idea of a genius is more of a myth, therefore it does not exist, meaning that we all have this capability to be so called geniuses. He states that creativity is within everyone and that we all have ability to attain these achievements just as long as improve skill, are motivated and disciplined enough to achieve these goals and ideas.
Weisberg also points out that in theory we all have the same cognitive abilities as a so called genius, so what makes them so different? Apparently nothing, we have the same capability to weave and create different Ideas / inventions that have not yet been thought of as much a “genius ” could or even more than genius would.
Creativity is in access to all that is new, different, exciting, innovative, loving, peaceful, fun, and the opposite of all that we do on a daily basis. Creativity is about living to your potential and shaking up the earth. We all are to accomplish these set out aspirations for ourselves just as long as we believe and really yearn to do so, nothing in the world should/could stop you. | <urn:uuid:0818bc76-5e8e-47cf-a1ad-b94f68078733> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://paperap.com/paper-on-psychology-for-creativity/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371803248.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20200407152449-20200407182949-00075.warc.gz | en | 0.973471 | 3,299 | 2.84375 | 3 |
.I don’t know where this diagram came from but its message is obvious. Cholesterol in the blood above a certain level increases your chance of a heart attack. Above about 5.5 mmol/l it is bad for you.
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a four ringed, lipid molecule and is biosynthesized by all animal cells. It has the formula C27H46O.
Cholesterol enables animal cells to dispense with a cell wall to protect membrane integrity and cell viability, thus allowing them to change shape and move about (unlike bacteria and plant cells which are restricted by their cell walls). Cholesterol composes 30% of cell membranes. It makes the membrane more flexible and maintains the cell membrane. It means animals do not have to build cell walls as in plants or bacteria. It means animal cells can change shape readily which means animals can move.
Cholesterol is also important in intracellular transport, cell signaling and nerve conduction. The myelin sheath is rich in cholesterol and important for the conduction of nerves impulses.
All animal cells manufacture cholesterol, for both membrane structure and other uses, with relative production rates varying by cell type and organ function. About 20% of total daily cholesterol production occurs in the liver. Other sites of higher synthesis rates include the intestines, adrenal glands and reproductive organs.
The amount of cholesterol biosynthesized depends on the amount eaten. Eat more and you will make less. Eat less and your body will make more.
Cholesterol is present in bile and it aids the absorption of fats and fat soluble vitamins (Vit A, D, E, K).
A human male weighing 68 kg normally synthesizes about 1 g (1,000 mg) per day, and his body contains about 35g, mostly contained within the cell membranes. Cholesterol is essential for your body. It is both made internally (80%) and absorbed via food (20%). Cholesterol is also recycled in the body. The liver excretes it (via bile) into the digestive tract. Typically, about 50% of the excreted cholesterol is reabsorbed by the small bowel back into the bloodstream.
Ingested cholesterol has little effect on body cholesterol because (a) cholesterol in foods is poorly absorbed and (b) any changes in intake are compensated for by alternations in internal body production.
The body compensates for any absorption of additional cholesterol by reducing cholesterol synthesis. If Cholesterol is absorbed via food, for the first seven hours afterwards, the concentration of cholesterol in the blood increases. Seven to ten hours after ingestion there is little, if any effect on concentrations of cholesterol in the blood.
The fraction of cholesterol in the intestines which is absorbed varies from 15% to 75%, and averages about 50%, with the remainder excreted in the feces. However absorbed cholesterol is mostly cholesterol which was excreted by the liver into the bile, not from food. Recycled cholesterol.
Cholesterol is ubiquitous. All animal cells manufacture cholesterol and all animal meats and animal products (milk, cheese and eggs) contain cholesterol.
Okay Cholesterol is important. What foods is it in?
In your diet it is commonly in fat. That lamb cutlet with a layer of fat contains cholesterol. In the lamb fat you eat the main constituent is triglyceride. But the fat also contains other lipids such as cholesterol. Triglycerides are esters of three fatty acid chains and the alcohol glycerol. The three chains of fatty acids are each bonded to an OH group of the glycerol.
Eating plants prevents absorption of animal cholesterol. A little bit. Plants make cholesterol in very small amounts. Plants manufacture phytosterols (substances chemically similar to cholesterol produced within plants), which can compete with cholesterol for reabsorption in the intestinal tract, thus potentially reducing cholesterol reabsorption.
What is a fatty acid chain?
The major constituent of animal fat, triglycerides contain chains of fatty acids. A fatty acid is carboxylic acid attached to a long chain of C and H atoms. They are naturally occurring with an even number of C atoms from 4 to 28. The carbon atoms are linked into a zig-zag chain with hydrogen atoms to the side. The more carbon atoms there are in any fatty acid, the longer its chain will be, and so the longer ones melt at a higher temperature. The liver makes fatty acids for use by the rest of the body. There are many different types of fatty acids and they are essential to a healthy life.
In animal fat are lipids of various types. Fats are naturally occurring molecules that include fatty acids, oils, waxes, steroids, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E, and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, phospholipids, and cholesterol. So animal fat contains both fatty acids in triglycerides, fatty acids in phospholipids and cholesterol.
When we use the word fat to describe a food we are describing a mixture of triglyceride and phospholipids. Phospholipids are broken down in the healthy body to release their constituents, glycerol and fatty acids
Fat is an important foodstuff for many forms of life, and fats serve both structural and metabolic functions. Fats serve both as energy sources for the body, and as stores for energy in excess of what the body needs immediately. Animal fats are a complex mixture of triglycerides, phospholipids and other lipids. Triglycerides are the most common. Triglycerides contain three fatty acid chains and glycerol. Phospholipids contain two fatty acids and phosphate and glycerol. When we look at the lamb chop we are looking at fatty acids and glycerol. There will be very minimal bits of cholesterol
Many cell types can use either glucose or fatty acids for energy. Heart and skeletal muscle are good at using fatty acids. Glycerol from fats can be converted to glucose by the liver and become a source of energy.
What is the connection between cholesterol and fat?
Triglycerides (containing fatty acids), phospholipids and cholesterol are all lipids (insoluble in blood) and are transported around the body via lipoproteins.
Lipids (such as cholesterol) are not soluble in water or blood. In order to get around the body they are joined to proteins and then transported through the blood stream to the rest of the body. When lipids are joined to proteins they are called lipoproteins. In blood the main types are high-density lipoproteins or low-density lipoproteins. These are both made in the liver. HDL are normally considered good lipids. LDL are normally considered bad.
Lipoproteins. Why are they important?
Lipoproteins are special particles made of droplets of fats surrounded by a single layer of phospholipid molecules. Phospholipids are molecules which are attached to a phosphorus containing group. They have both a polar and a non-polar end. They carry molecules which are in-soluble in blood such as cholesterol.
Lipoproteins are the plasma lipoproteins (chylomicrons (ULDL), VLDL, IDL, LDL and HDL), the transmembrane proteins of the mitochondrion and the chloroplast and bacterial lipoproteins.
Is too much fat bad for you?
Fat is generally considered bad for you. Major epidemiological studies that look at large groups of people are interesting. ‘The China Study’ looked at Chinese people with a very poor traditional lifestyle. Their diet in China was very low in animal fat and dairy products and high in vegetables. Diet fat levels were half those of the USA. Their blood cholesterol was half that of the USA. They had virtually no heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
Initially the easy way to measure the amount of fat in your body was to measure cholesterol in the blood. There was a very good, cheap and reliable test for this. But nowadays the lipoproteins are seen as a better guide.
HDL is a lipoprotein that consists of a high proportion of protein and a little triglyceride and cholesterol. It transports cholesterol from the body to the liver and then via the gall bladder and the bile it is eliminated. HDL normally moves through the blood system, safely and without any collateral damage to the blood vessels.
LDL is a lipoprotein that consists of a moderate proportion of protein a little triglyceride and a high proportion of cholesterol. It carries cholesterol from the liver to the tissues of the body where it is stored. Each LDL particle carries approximately 1,500 molecules of cholesterol ester. In an unregulated environment the LDL molecules lead to atherosclerotic plaque formation. Atherosclerotic plaque is atheroma and means you are on the way to cardiovascular disease. For this reason LDL is called bad cholesterol.
The average LDL particle carries 3-6000 fat molecules some of which are cholesterol. The common view is that LDL particles are bad. HDL particles are good.
Fat in your diet
Fat in your diet normally consists of triglycerols. Which is chains of fatty acids joined to glycerol. Fat in your diet comes in many ways. Saturated fats, mono-unsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats and trans fats.
In saturated fats the carbon atoms are only joined by single bonds not joined by double or triple bonds. There are no double bonds between the carbons in the chain. Saturated fats have the greatest possible number of hydrogen atoms. They are saturated with hydrogen. Therefore they find it difficult to react with other atoms or radicals. Saturated fats come from animal meats or animal products (milk, cheese) and palm oil and coconut oil. These have a higher melting point and are more likely to be solid at room temperature.
Unsaturated fats have one or more double bonded carbons in the carbon chain reducing the number of places where hydrogen atoms can bond to carbon atoms. They have a lower melting point and are more likely to be liquid at room temperature.
Mono means there is only one double bond. Mono-unsaturated fats come from olive oil and canola oil. Polyunsaturated means there are many double bonded carbon bonds.
If the third carbon from the end is a double bonded carbon then it is called an omega -3 fatty acid. Omega 3 fats are a type of polyunsaturated fat. They are general considered good. They decrease inflammation and are good for disease such as dementia and arthritis. Omega 3 fats come in fish oil and flax seed.
Omega 6 fat is another type of polyunsaturated fat. Omega 6 fats come from vegetable oils and nuts. Can also come from meat (animal and fish). They often react with oxygen in the air and go rancid. (Olive oil, sunflower oil) Can be neutral or protective.
Trans fats occur when you artificially heat an oil and deep fry food in it. Trans fats are normally considered the worse type of fat. They are man-made. Do not occur naturally.
How do you decrease your cholesterol level?
Your cholesterol level is a guide to your lipoproteins which are a guide to the status of your arteries (especially the coronary ones). Your cholesterol level is important and should be known.
Nowadays bad cholesterol levels are treated by strict dieting (low saturated fat, trans fat-free, low cholesterol foods,) and medications such as statins. Studies have shown that statins work. They decrease bad cholesterols in the blood and decrease heart problems.
This blog is about what goes in. Not about what comes out. A lot of the posts are about food. There are posts about the food before it goes in. About preparing it, growing it or cooking it. There will be recipes. | <urn:uuid:c3edeef7-0ab7-4d56-be9e-48c0fd5cdb72> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | http://www.alancarlton.com.au/food-and-nutrition-archive/a-very-long-blog-about-fat-cholesterol-and-atheroma | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371830894.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20200409055849-20200409090349-00355.warc.gz | en | 0.941812 | 2,455 | 3.609375 | 4 |
In teaching for transfer the following principles must be taken into consideration by the teacher:
Teaching for transfer must not be left to chance in our educational program. Transfer of learning is always the hope and intention of teaching.
1. Teaching for transfer is most effective if it is the teacher’s conscious goal and procedure to secure transfer. The teacher must always consider transfer as the ultimate goal of learning. Goals which are clearly defined and understood facilitate learning and improves the amount of transfer.
To accomplish transfer, the teacher must direct and guide the learner to see old problems in new situations and to stimulate him to be energetic toward, and responsible for such identification. The pupils must be made conscious of the general elements, aims, methods, content, or attitude involved.
If the pupils are made conscious of the probability of transfer, transfer may take place in greater amount.
Transfer comes by deliberately directed learning and effective teaching. The teacher is the motivating force in effecting transfer, not only from subject to subject, but from school-life to life situations. The teacher must be conscious of this responsibility if transfer of learning is desired.
2. Teaching for transfer is effective if the teacher knows the common elements or components between the subjects. The more in common are the elements between two situations, the more will any abilities or techniques acquired in one tend to transfer to the other.
The learner must be made aware of the elements to be transferred and he must have opportunity to train them, if the teaching for transfer is to be effective. In order that transfer may take place, the elements involved should be identical with the elements required in subsequent problems, and their identity must be recognized.
Thorndike’s study showed that one function improves the others insofar as the elements to be transferred can be made the objects of thought and generalization, and the application should be amply illustrated.
By skillful management of the learning process, the teacher can greatly facilitate the pupil’s effort to identify the essential elements common to different situations, and thereby increase the transfer of experience from one situation to another.
3. Teaching for transfer is effective if the teacher provides the subject-matter or activities that will provide broad experiences or applications. Thus, to have transfer, the educational programs must be conceived broadly and must have general and varied applications.
This concept is based on the principle of general education. The teacher should stimulate and guide the pupils in making wide application as possible of what they have acquired.
Transfer, even in small amount, is worthwhile if it is made to extent to many activities or functions. Unless relationships among different courses and fields of study are pointed out there is little likelihood that they will be perceived.
This is the principle of redefinition, under which an ability is applied in a number of different situations. The teacher should organize his teaching in a way that the learner Will constantly be made to see the broad relations of items of experience.
4. Teaching for transfer is effective if the teacher makes learning in school identical with what the pupils will encounter outside the school. Teaching effectiveness is improved by selecting learning experiences as much as possible like the life situations in which learning is to be used.
The rules of transferability apply to making learning functional in school-life as well as to making it functional in out-of-school life. It is, therefore, the task of the teacher to utilize the activities, and the experiences common to the pupils.
If the amount of transfer depends upon the presence of common elements, it is obviously important to make the activities of the school as nearly as possible like those which actually occur in life. The nearer school-life is to real life, the more surely will the good reactions transfer to real life.
The teacher must provide the pupils with opportunity to act in a life-like manner in life-like situations. In other words, attention must be directed constantly toward the similarity that exists between school and out-of-school experiences.
5. Teaching for transfer effective if the teacher sees to it that the subject-matter to be taught will be in harmony with the principle of transfer. The chances that learned responses will be applied to new situations are increased by clear objectives.
Learning activities, much like adult activities are anticipated, and there is conscious effort by the learner to generalize so that new opportunities for application will be recognized. The transfer of school learning maybe considered in terms of specialized learning, on the one hand, and general learning on the other.
In order to teach for transfer, the teacher should be guided by the fact that transfer of identical elements from the old to the new situations is desired. The teacher should organize and teach the subject-matter for transfer purposes if he is to achieve his goal.
6. Teaching for transfer is effective if the teacher explains to the pupils the activity or training to be transferred. The procedures to be followed or the methods to be used must be explained to facilitate transfer. Demonstration and illustration should be used by the teacher if transfer is desired. It is also necessary to analyze and recognize the methods or procedures to be transferred.
They must be reduced to their simplest forms in order to avoid confusion. The pupils should be trained in the most economical, correct, and effective techniques of learning. Special attention must be given to the techniques of problem-solving, to efficient procedures in learning, and to the best method of dealing with controversial issues.
An effort should be made to develop ideals and attitudes which serve as generalized control of thinking, feeling and conduct. When the pupils have become proficient in the techniques of learning they would be capable of reacting to many learning situations.
Wood row study showed that the influence of learning depends largely on the way the subject is taught and learned. We can therefore conclude that the amount of transfer is not only determined by the subject but by the manner of instruction and the situation in which transfer is developed.
The teacher who points out the possibility of transfer of learning from one situation to another prepares the pupil to make that transfer at a later time.
7. Teaching for transfer is effective if the teacher conserves learning through careful habit formation. Over learning is an aid to transfer. Over learning is more than rote repetition and memorization. It includes seeing what has been learned in several settings. Exercise or practice makes the idea clearer and freer, and in turn the result makes exercise profitable.
There is little transfer of good habits unless the teacher knows exactly what habits he wishes to develop and proceeds with care in developing them. The teacher should, therefore, provide situations where the pupils may apply the habits or skills they have formed.
The speed of transfer is increased by the strength of the habits called for or utilized in the situations. This principle of habit-formation is well recognized in the development of skills. Drill, review, and discussion of pertinent problems are distinct aids to obtaining more effective transfer.
8. Teaching for transfer is effective if the teacher develops in the pupils a strong desire to increase the effectiveness of transfer. There is convincing evidence that powerful motivation, and a desire to succeed, positively or definitely, will aid transfer. Thus, if the pupils work without the desire to increase the amount of transfer, there will be no transfer. It must be borne in mind that transfer comes by deliberately directed learning.
Transferability of learning outcomes depends upon the teacher and the pupils. Neither can be complacent in the teaching-learning situations. It is the responsibility of the teacher to make the pupils conscious that transfer will never occur without special effort and to explain that what they are learning can be transferred.
The teacher who points out the possibility of transfer of learning from one situation to another prepares the pupils to make that transfer at a later time, leaching for transfer of learning requires thoughtful preparation and development of lessons, but the results in terms of pupil-motivation and success are rewarding.
9. Teaching for transfer is effective if the teacher realizes that transfer ability varies widely among pupils. The teacher must bear in mind what most studies have indicated-that some pupils see relationships more easily than others and are capable of making broad applications of subject-matter.
Others possess meager imaginative ability and see relationships only when they are pointed out. Pupils who possess poor transfer ability will necessarily need to make applications through the medium of identical elements, in which case drill or specific guidance is required.
10. Teaching for transfer is effective if transfer is made an educational objective. In other words, all education should partake of the nature of transfer. The programs of study, the methods or techniques of teaching, and the uses of instructional devices should point toward a way of life so that the learner can apply what he has learned to his various life experiences.
Instead of studying to learn facts it will be well for the pupils to seek and master the basic principles and generalizations which govern these facts. It is therefore necessary that meaning, understanding, and useful generalization should become a part of all teaching. Such generalization are frequently, not only more vivid and vital than textbook statements, but are also remembered longer.
11. Teaching for transfer is effective only if the teacher selects the learning’s which have maximum value for life. To be retained and used, learning must be taught in a setting that is near as possible to the life situations that he is preparing to meet.
In other words, the teacher must chose for learning only those things or knowledge’s that are most likely to meet the present and future needs of the pupils. The teacher must make sure that these same learning’s satisfy present needs for new expression, recognition, and self- esteem. The learning’s of the classroom must have belongings’ in life situations.
12. Teaching for transfer is effective if the teacher develops understanding. It is generally accepted that transfer is greater with pupils of higher intelligence. Understanding is improved by dealing with real problems of life-like situations. Unless the task is carried out with an understanding of configuration as a whole, the effects of learning cannot be transferred.
Understanding of the meaning of operation and the structure of the problems helps the pupil to attack new problems. The greater the meaning and the deeper the understanding of the individual, the greater are the transfer possibilities.
This explains also the experimental findings of Thorndike that the amount of transfer is positively correlated with the intelligence of the learner. The teacher must -utilize pupil’s experiences, audio-visual aids, excursions or field trips, demonstrations, and other direct methods of instruction in order to promote understanding in teaching. Bringing out the relationship of facts learned will also promote understanding and will foster transfer.
13. Teaching for transfer is effective if the teacher utilizes the principle of generalization. The degree of transfer depends upon the extent to which the experience in one situation is consolidated into generalizations.
There is greater likelihood of transfer from one situation to the next one when generalizations or principles are mastered. The explanation of transfer on the basis of common elements is not far removed from the explanation on the basis of generalization.
Teaching that emphasized the leading of children to make their own generalizations from experience came to be judged more likely to be effective in adaptation to future needs than specific teaching without generalization.
The efficiency of generalization depends upon the similarity between two situations, and the pointing out of common elements is in itself a kind of generalization. Specific training without generalized principles was recognized as worth little beyond its contribution to a specific need.
14. Transfer of learning is effective if the teacher provides varied curriculum materials and a wealth of available resources. Such materials and resources make it possible to enrich the associations of principles learned in one content to a variety of situations beyond the specific content of a course.
A variety of well chosen materials and resources frequently provides the necessary data for generalizations with transfer values. Supplementing history textbooks with historical films, field trips to museum and historical places, and library materials or references will enrich associations to understanding and generalization. Purposeful practice, in meaningful learning, provides examples from which generalization may be drawn.
15. Teaching for transfer is effective if the teacher knows what is to be transferred and how to make the transfer. To teach for transfer, Dr. Pedro T. Orata suggests the following steps:
“. . . .First, the teacher should know what she wants the children to transfer to other fields; second, she must learn by experience or by experiment how to teach for transfer; and third, to go ahead and do.” | <urn:uuid:637d3a5d-b122-449c-b720-763cb033bbbc> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/teachers/the-principles-that-must-be-taken-into-consideration-by-the-teacher-in-teaching-for-transfer/6013 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370493684.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20200329015008-20200329045008-00395.warc.gz | en | 0.959926 | 2,546 | 3.65625 | 4 |
When I teach my class on the Applied Ethics of War, current events tend to conspire to make one topic more prominent a topic of discussion than others. This semester, it was the question of rebellion – with reference to the Syrian War. A common point that defined itself across these discussions is that the students defending the rebels did so on emotional grounds. In fact, they tended to stick to the emotional points regardless of the argument in question, end would not let go even when their own logic turned on itself. Crucially, they failed to successfully engage any of the issues of rebellion listed below.
Students aside, our understanding of rebels and rebellions, in general, needs a bit of clarification. Given that we are usually the first to jump in and support rebel groups (see: Libya, Syria), it would behoove us to get a sense of what rebellion means, what kinds of ethical and practical problems arise from the very idea, and what that may mean for how we see the act of rebellion across the world.
What is rebellion and who are the rebels? The etymology of the term comes from Latin, where it means “to wage war against” – and is used in the sense of a waging a war against one’s own country for political purposes. The OED lists the modern definition as “A person who rises in opposition or armed resistance against an established government or leader.” There are a few things to pick apart here.
First, we have the intention: political purpose – which is to say, desire for creating a political change of some kind. Note that this kind of intention is not a moral/ethical one; instead, it is aimed at the political situation. This difference is crucial, because it’s a matter of where the energy is directed and what can be sacrificed. When we’re directed at moral changes, our actions must be fully in line with the moral ideology we’re seeking to promote. The political situation is incidental to our goals – maybe some part of it gets changed, maybe not, but that is irrelevant. A political purpose, on the other hand, is directed at the political structure. That means that the moral changes become incidental, because we need the political elements to fall in line with our own. Thus, the difference here is a question of what we’re guaranteeing to change – the political or the moral landscape – and everything outside of that primary focus can be sacrificed.
Second, we have the methodology of this political purpose effort – namely war. War, as we have seen, is a social activity that is historically limited to the rightful state alone. This is true for every system we’ve examined so far, and as far as I know, every system that has ever been established. The ability of non-state actors to engage in legitimate “war” has only happened in times of severe social instability and collapse, when the state was not really a state. In those instances, the violence of war was more akin to a fight for survival. The idea of political purposes of a non-state actor relying on war, means that the rebels must deny the validity of their own state, of the government, and the political processes by which the two function.
Since, as the OED points out, rebellion only works as a concept directed against an established government, this is a very big claim on the part of the rebels. It means that they’re not in opposition to some nascent state that’s in the turmoil of establishing itself and working out the kinks of governance; it is in opposition to a fully existent state.
PROBLEMS OF REBELLION:
The first problem of a rebellion is that it necessarily requires criminal activity of the people carrying it out. The criminality is not a matter of some crazy laws that some particular country may have, it’s an inherent part of being able to have a civilized society. No state, ever, has allowed military action by the citizens against the state. In fact, such action is always considered treason, and is punished by death. The only way the rebels avoid the death penalty is by successfully overthrowing the government. This also means that, the people willing to rebel are likely willing to use any means necessary to win – which generally undermines the whole “moral” sales pitch.
The second problem is that the goal is self-contradictory. All rebellions aim to reestablish the state, and thus aim at obedience of the population to the laws of the state. However, the act of rebellion directly and necessarily undermines the very notion of such obedience. If the rebels win, their first act would have to be to order their own executions. If they don’t – and they won’t – then they have set a very clear precedent: it’s legitimate to kill your way to power, if you can.
The third problem is that rebellion makes violence a legitimate tool of the political process. This means that, in the future, any group whose political purposes are rejected by the state, or are having a hard time getting them through the political system, is incentivized to use violence to get their way. After all, the use of violence has already worked, and all it took to make the results legitimate was victory. A single case of political success through violence makes sure that everyone else will be using the same system as soon as it becomes politically expedient. This is not a slippery slope argument; we have several empires’ worth of data that points to exactly that conclusion, not to mention most of Latin America.
The fourth problem is that, once violence becomes part of the political system, we no longer have a political system – instead, we have Hobbesian “state of nature,” where might makes right, and power is the only thing that matters. Any government of such a state must make itself more and more mighty and must suppress any opposition with increasing violence – or risk getting overthrown. The spiral of state collapse is evident.
The fifth problem is that there can be no negotiation with the rebels, for three reasons:
- The rebels themselves are not a clearly organized movement, since their members are not subsumed under some political hierarchy. Instead, they’ve decided, on their own, to reject the state. Any negotiation only covers the signatories themselves, not their people – since their people have independently decided that they have the right to agree or disagree, to wage war if they feel like it. Signing a deal with the rebels has no binding force.
- The rebels cannot be trusted. This is a tautology: those who have decided that they’re not bound by the rule of law, cannot be trusted to abide by the rule of law. Any deal signed, even if the rebels were all under a clearly organized movement, can’t have any kind of binding force, because the act of rebellion is a declaration that political agreements have no binding force.
- The rebels can’t make a deal with the state, because they have rejected the existence of the state. That is, from the perspective of the rebels, there is no legitimate group they can engage in political negotiations. The rebellion, from their perspective, means that the political hierarchy of the state must be rejected as completely invalid, and cannot be relied on. Thus, there is no negotiating with rebels.
As a result, we are left with the idea that rebels actually function as treacherous actors in war. This means there can be no compromise, and frankly it is difficult to see how their own population, or the international community could trust them to adhere to any rules or agreements, if they’re not forced into it.
This also means that the only way to successfully put down a rebellion is to exterminate the rebels. If they can’t be negotiated with, if they cannot be trusted, and if they’re liable to take up arms at any moment, the only solution is to treat them as rabid animals, and a threat to society as a whole. This attitude also tracks with the idea of how we treat the worst of the criminals – which is ultimately what rebels are. We can’t negotiate with criminals, we must prosecute them; and their crimes demand death.
So, what options are reasonably open to the population?
Well, let’s look at the problems with rebellion, and see what kind of activity is left if we avoid those problems.
- Rebellion is a criminal activity of the worst kind (treason).
- Rebel goals are self-contradictory, by denying the ability to establish the rule of law (even their own)
- Rebellion makes violence a valid tool of political process
- Rebellion results in the “might makes right” arms race
- Rebels can’t negotiate and cannot be negotiated with.
The flip side of this position would need to be something like:
- Activity that is legal, or at least not in the same category as universally treasonous acts.
- Goals can’t be self-contradictory, and must preserve basics of ability to have a state
- Violence cannot be part of the political process under any circumstances
- “Might” cannot be part of the political process – and thus arms race cannot be part either
- The activity must allow us to reasonably engage, and be engaged, in negotiations.
Traditionally, there have been four options for dealing with governments.
First, there is the work within the bounds of the political system to change things. However, this requires that the political system be accessible to you – or that you can somehow make it do what you want.
Second, there is the option of waiting for the death/end of term of the current ruler. Everyone dies, and so will they; just hold out until they kick the bucket. This one is hard, because there is no guarantee that the next ruler will be better. This is especially true in monarchies, though there is a number of examples of the new ruler working hard to fix the problems of his father.
Third, there is the “get out” option. If the situation is bad, leave. Yes, the transition is hard, and requires leaving behind loved ones, etc. but if the idea of having to make new friends and learn a new language is such an obstacle, it’s a pretty good bet the conditions in the offending state are not that bad. To put it differently, if the political oppression is such that you’re unwilling to skip Saturday night basketball to get to a place where you’re not “oppressed,” it’s a nuisance, not a humanitarian crisis. In the current climate, viz. refugees, and in the midst of the highest refugee populations ever, this is becoming less and less of an option – though it is still on the table for many.
Fourth, there is the is the option of rejecting the leadership of the state, without the resort to violence. If the population fails to show up for work, the state comes to a standstill. If the oppressed people actually have coherent and unified issues, they will have functional leadership – which means that they will create a separate pseudo-political structure that the whole population can get behind. This robs the state of its power over the people, while investing it in a well-defined political entity actually representing the people.
The unified and clear message under coherent, recognized, and adhered-to leadership is crucial. The March on Washington (1963) had all those elements. The Occupy Wallstreet movement did not. They began by demanding the laws of finance be reformed and people held accountable… but 2 days in, there was a bunch of people with conga drums, “legalize weed” signs, and protesters destroying that section of NYC. Thus, it failed miserably.
We can find other, and better, examples of this kind of citizen protest in several cases. The main one I want to highlight is the Iranian revolution. The government of Iran was a puppet regime established by the US and the UK, through a violent military coup. The Iranian people then aligned themselves with Ayatollah Khomeini, who had a clear vision and shared it with the people. Here we have a unified people, gathered behind a person who presents functional leadership, and creates a pseudo-political structure representing the people. Critically, what the Ayatollah said became law to the people. Thus, when he banned the use of force – even in self-defense – the Iranians fell in line. When millions of people took to the streets with a clear goal, following a clear set of rules, regulations, restrictions, and marched on the government, the sheer size of the opposition was enough to create a political shift. However, this hierarchy and adherence to it took years to forge, to work out the details, to gather the majority of the people behind its ideas and goals.
Of course, if the government is truly tyrannical, you can expect to get shot for your trouble. However, despite the whole “king of the ashes” line, no state can actually exterminate its own people. You can expect some severe and increasing violence for a while, but a solidly unified front tends to give the state pause.
We may wonder about various “freedom fighters,” and whether they fall under the category of rebels. What about the French and Polish resistance to the Nazis? What about the Yugoslavian Partisans? What about the Afghani opposition to the Soviets?
Here, we can look back at the definition, and notice that the sort of resistance to invasion is a whole different issue. The people are not fighting against their own government, but against an aggressor government that is invading their lands. That’s not rebellion, that’s a legitimate act of war in self-defense. The possible absence of a state – because the rule was toppled, or because the ruler sold out the country – does not prevent the general population from legitimately fighting against an invading state, in order to preserve their own state.
However, this requires a military invasion, not a political deal regarding a chunk of land. The reason why it does not include political trades of chunks of land is because the state has a right to dispense with its land as it sees fit. For example, Russia sold Alaska to the US. That sale cannot legitimately trigger a right of militancy in the region against the new political owner.
On a separate note, ethnic/regional groups do not have the right to split off from the parent state – unless the constitution allows it, or they can make a political deal that legitimizes the split. If they attempt to do so, other than by political efforts, they become rebels.
There are simply too many ethnic groups for everyone to have an independent state. Further, many of these groups have overlapping land-claims, which cannot possibly be fully satisfied. If the people joined a state under condition that they’re free to leave (e.g. the republics of Yugoslavia were autonomous entities that had a constitutional right to separate from the Yugoslavian state), then they have the right to separate. If the parent state attempts to use violence to keep them from leaving, the would-be independent state then has a right to go to war – because it is, in fact, a separate state, and the situation becomes foreign aggression.
All colonial holdings, however, are occupied territory. This state persists even when the colonial descendants make a new state of the original land. First, the colony is, by definition, a different entity than the parent state, with different rights. Thus, it is not part of the state proper, it is some kind of pseudo-extension. Second, the original peoples of the colonized state were, and may remain, an independent political entity under momentary rule of a foreign force. This results in the invasion model noted above. Third, the colony is a geographically distinct entity, whose independence does not harm the territorial integrity of the parent state – though the parent state may lose access to resources, etc.
Thus, the US war of independence is not a rebellion proper, but a military fight against colonization. Of course, from the perspective of the American natives, the suggestion seems silly. However, the American people were sufficiently different and independent from the parent state. The parent state was months away by the only available mode of transportation – thus America enjoyed a high degree of autonomy in their own governance. As a result, the US war of independence was little different than colonial uprisings of the 1960s.
Rebellion seems like a moral, patriotic, and sacrificial act. It’s the quintessential underdog story. However, it only paves the ground for complete social and political collapse of a state, incentivizing an animal-like hunger for power, and destroying the very people it claimed to protect. There is nothing moral about rebellion. It kills far more than it preserves. There is nothing patriotic – it destroys the state. There is nothing sacrificial about rebellion. It is an act of moral cowards, who are looking to take shortcuts to success and power and are willing to murder any number of innocents to get what they want – politically. Inevitably, the innocents the rebels are “fighting for” are the ones getting killed by the rebels – directly or indirectly. Rebellion is a selfish act of those who take their own desires to be worth far more than the lives of the people they claim to protect. I have never, not once, heard of a rebellion where the clear failure of the rebellion meant that the leaders came forward, begged the state to preserve the lives of innocents, and gave themselves over to the judgment of the state. Instead, the “valiant” leaders escape to some foreign land, while leaving the innocent to suffer in a crippled state, which is now likely to be far harsher on the population than it was before the rebellion – because it now seeks to prevent another war inside its borders. While the rebel leaders live their lives elsewhere, the people suffer.
If the rebels actually believed their own moral claims, their behavior and tactics would have to be radically different. So different, in fact, that the act they pursued could not be called a rebellion. As it stands, when rebellions pop-up these days, it tends to be with foreign backing – militarily and financially – where the power-hungry are told that, if they win, they get to sit on the throne. We see this in the rebellions of the Kurds and Marsh Arabs in Iraq, throughout the Arab Spring, and elsewhere. When a foreign power asks you to destroy your own state and kill your own people (yes, even the “bad” ones) through acts of violence, you can be damned sure it’s not for the benefit of you or your people. It’s always a larger geo-political game to the benefit of the foreign power. You can be sure that the foreign backers will hang you out to dry, if that becomes more convenient. You can also bet that the people who say “yes” to such a proposition have no moral goal in mind; it’s always been about power.
It is legitimate so long as the other rules are met – like ad bellum probability of success, various in bello clauses, etc.
While there is nothing patriotic about it, there is usually a sense of jingoistic ethnic tribalism about it.
Photo: Courtesy of AMN | <urn:uuid:61b1b137-5215-418c-84e9-30e24c8fd7cd> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | http://actionablethought.com/on-rebels-and-rebellion/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371880945.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20200409220932-20200410011432-00553.warc.gz | en | 0.967988 | 4,026 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Traditional and Simplified Chinese characters
Chinese is a far older language than English and over the centuries has gradually gathered more and more characters (something like a total count of 200,000). Whenever a new concept arrived a new different character had to be devised for it and inevitably they have all become rather complex to make them distinctly different. So there comes a time when it all would benefit from rationalization: simplifying complex characters and retiring archaic ones from normal use.
Have you ever considered how much simpler it would be if English was reformed so it bore more relation to pronunciation? Children would learn it much more quickly and spelling mistakes would be a thing of the past! To see how arbitrary English spelling you only need to consider: bough (bow); cough (coff); dough (doe) and enough (enuff). Such a reform will, of course, never happen because you would have to reprint every single book and provide a very long period of transition when both systems are in use - people need to be able to read both forms but write only in the new one.
The situation with Chinese is more complex, as it is symbolic as well as phonetic with other Chinese languages using the same written form but pronouncing it differently (e.g. Wu, Yue and Min languages).
Mao Zedong declared ‘The Written language must be reformed; it must move with the same way as other written languages in the world’. A committee for the ‘Reform of the Chinese Written Language’ was created on October 10th 1949. This is another area where Mao can be compared to Qin Emperor Shihuangdi who brought in an overhaul of the script over 2,000 years ago replacing the many different written scripts with that of the Qin kingdom.
The revision of the Chinese language must be regarded as one of the most ambitious and successful of the reforms brought in by the People’s Republic. Long before 1949 there were reformers such as Lu Xun who had called for an overhaul. Complex character forms are hard to recognize, remember and of course slow to write. The cumbersome nature of old forms was a great obstacle to learning and was a reason why classic literature had remained the preserve of the educated élite. In 1949 adult literacy was only 20%. Only in the early days of the PRC could such a momentous change have been made, it would be impossible now. Occasionally such a great overhaul of the written language is needed - it cannot be done piecemeal.
The first set of simplified characters was announced in 1956 with further additions in 1964. 400 characters were discarded and 798 given new simplified forms. An additional tranche of changes was proposed in 1977 but they were rejected as a simplification too far and are not used. This rejected proposal made all characters strictly phonetic - an element in each character gave the pronunciation. Calligraphers, writers and historians lament the loss of the old forms that are rich in heritage. A move to replace characters with pinyin has faded now that computers and smartphones have made the entry of characters far easier. Another obstacle to the universal adoption of the alphabetic pinyin is that there are far too many characters that are written identically in pinyin - it is rather ambiguous. The use of computers for writing characters has made the case for simplifying the language for ease of writing much less important than previously as people no longer need to write them by hand - stroke by stroke.
Traditional 繁体字 and Simplified 简体字
Old pavilion and modern housing at Yantai, Shandong. A mixture of the old and the new
The new simplified form of written Chinese jiǎn tǐ zì was not adopted outside the Peoples Republic and so the traditional form fán tǐ zì is still used in Taiwan, Malaysia and Hong Kong but not Singapore. There is a gradual move to the simplified form in Hong Kong but there is still resistance elsewhere, particularly in southern China. Anyone who wants to read old books and documents has to memorize both forms of the characters. Some experts promote the mantra ‘think traditional, write simplified’. Unfortunately some web sites still use the traditional forms, and even worse some use a mixture of simplified and traditional - due no doubt to copying and pasting of text. Many times I have failed to find a character in my modern dictionary only to discover it is in the traditional form. The Japanese have introduced their own set of entirely independent simplifications of the original Kanji script that they inherited from China in the Tang dynasty.
Ancient script of Zhou through to Shang dynasty date inscribed on bronze vessel
The Chinese committee used a variety of different approaches when creating the simplified form. The main target was to reduce the number of strokes needed to write the character.
Existing alternative forms
There had been some piecemeal simplifications over the centuries, where characters had both an accepted complex and a simple form for example none 無 wú already had the recognized form as 无. Throughout the Imperial era there was both a literary and an everyday script; scholars were not supposed to use the simplified forms which were in use by ‘ordinary’ people. The everyday script versions of characters are often simpler; for example cloud 雲 gained the rain radical 雨 yǔ on top in the official script, while previously it was just 云 yún, so the older version could simply be re-adopted. Another dramatic example of simplification is ‘dust’ 塵 chén that adopted an older form 尘 which is a pleasing combination of just ‘small’ 小and ‘soil’ 土.
Following this ancient precedent many common characters were simplified by just omitting the radical part. So ‘electricity’ 電 diàn lost the rain radical (from its association with thunderstorms) to become 电. The common character ‘open; begin’ 開 kāi lost its door radical to become 开. A dramatic simplification of 廣 to 广 guǎng for vast or wide leaves just the radical part remaining. In this case an empty space is an appropriate representation.
Calligraphers use a variety of scripts to write Chinese, the much admired flowing grass script uses far fewer strokes to write the same character; so one approach to simplification is to adopt the character used in other scripts. An example of this is ‘east’ written as 东 dōng in the grass script rather than the full form 東. Another example is book 书 shū which is much simpler than 書. There is also the rather appropriate ‘study’ 學 xué (16 strokes) which now uses the simpler 学 form (8 strokes).
Many Chinese characters (about 80%) have a phonetic hint indicated by another character element that has the same sound. As the phonetic part does not contribute to the meaning it is sensible to choose the simplest available phonetic element. So park or garden 園 yuán became 园 by replacing the phonetic element 袁 yuán with 元 yuán. Also ‘calendar’ 曆 lì became 历 by using the simpler phonetic 力 and ‘neighbor’ 鄰 lín (15 strokes) becomes 邻 (7 strokes).
The easiest way to simplify is to miss out one or two strokes from the old form but retain the recognizable layout of the original. Examples in this category include the character for bird 鸟 niǎo which retains the impression of a bird with fewer strokes than 鳥 and arrive 来 lái for 來. Similarly ‘speak’ 說 shuō has become 说 by replacing the traditional ‘complex’ speech radical 訁 (seven strokes) with 讠 (two strokes). The pictograph form for ‘tortoise’ 龜guī lost its legs to become 龟 with only a head, shell and tail. Quite a dramatic and pleasing example is ‘fly’ 飛 fēi which became a single wing 飞 the empty space giving the idea of ‘air’.
Sometimes the character has been replaced with a new, simpler symbol which uses fewer strokes; this is the only situation where new forms have been invented. So wind 風fēng which has the character for an insect inside has become simply 风. Also ‘correct’ 對 became 对 duì with a simplified symbol. These changes met the fiercest opposition as the change was arbitrary; in the case of ‘wind’ the use of ‘insect’ was considered appropriate because insects were thought to be brought in by the winds.
For some rather obscure characters not in widespread use, several old characters with the same pronunciation have been merged into one new character. For example ‘you’ 臺; ‘desk’ 檯 and ‘typhoon’ 颱 have all become 台tái.
With such a venerable written language there have been many characters that have fallen out of use. So some of these unused, simple forms could now be re-used to replace some common ones even though the meanings have no relation to each other. The complex form for ‘how many’ 幾 jǐ was changed to 几jǐ which originally was used for a small table. Similarly ‘strife’ 斗 dòu replaced 鬥 dòu which was an old character that was a homophone for an ancient measure of grain.
As both forms still crop up here and there anyone studying the written language still needs to be familiar with both forms. Understanding the old form often gives an insight into Chinese culture and history so it is certainly a rewarding exercise.
Common simplified characters
Here is a table of some common Chinese characters that have been simplified. The first column is the traditional form, the second the simplified form and then the pinyin and English.
Copyright © Chinasage 2012 to 2020
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Grade Level: High school
Time Required: 2 hours (wild guess!)
(two 60-minute class periods)
(two 60-minute class periods)
Subject Areas: Biology, Computer Science, Life Science, Measurement, Problem Solving, Science and Technology
Maker Challenge RecapFor this maker challenge, students become biomedical engineers who design, create, and test a medical device that measures a patient’s pulse using a microcontroller, LED, and light sensor. Students use data collected from the device they build to determine how to best visualize the results, so that a doctor can view the patient’s pulse on the computer screen. During the challenge, students learn about basic coding, the capabilities of microcontrollers, how sensors gather data, how the human circulatory system works, and how to plot real data. Finally, students are challenged to make their systems portable so that they create wearable health technology. This is a great project for a high school senior design team project.
Maker Materials & Supplies
This activity works best with groups of 3 or 4.
Each group should get the following:
- Adafruit Circuit Playground Express (CPX) board https://www.adafruit.com/product/3333 (other microcontrollers could be used as well but other components will be needed. See below.)
- computer running Windows, OS X, or Linux (not tested with Chromebooks)
- spreadsheet program (the given instructions were tested with Google Sheets https://sheets.google.com/)
- Arduino Programming IDE https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software
- microUSB cable (included with Circuit Playground Express)
- If using a different microcontroller, here are the additional parts needed
- multiple (3 or 4) LEDs of various colors
- set of three or four 200 – 400 ohm resistors for use with LEDs
- light sensor (photocell)
- 10k-ohm resistor for use with the photocell
- breadboards for building the circuit
Worksheets and AttachmentsVisit [ ] to print or download.
More Curriculum Like This
This lesson describes how the circulatory system works, including the heart, blood vessels and blood. Students learn about the chambers and valves of the heart, the difference between veins and arteries, and the different components of blood.
Students learn about the function and components of the human nervous system, which helps them understand the purpose of our brains, spinal cords, nerves and five senses. In addition, how the nervous system is affected during spaceflight is also discussed.
In this activity, students learn about their heart rate and different ways it can be measured. Students construct a simple measurement device using clay and a toothpick, and then use this device to measure their heart rate under different circumstances (i.e., sitting, standing and jumping)
Students are introduced to the technology of flexible circuits, some applications and the photolithography fabrication process. They are challenged to determine if the fabrication process results in a change in the circuit dimensions since, as circuits get smaller and smaller (nano-circuits), this c...
Do you know that you can measure your pulse with just a light on your finger and a sensor? This technique is called photoplethysmography and is pretty easy to do with the right tools.
Ask students: How can this work? (Listen to student responses.)
As your heart beats, there is a lub and a dub: your heart compresses to push blood through your circulatory system during the lub, called the systole (SIS-toe-lee), and then your heart relaxes and refills with blood during the dub or the diastole (die-AS-toe-lee). During the systole, there is a little more blood in your skin than during the diastole. If you shine light into your skin, the blood will interact with the light, and as the amount of blood changes during the cardiac cycle, you can detect this change by measuring the light leaving your skin.
The challenge: Each group is a team of biomedical engineers who are designing and testing wearable health systems that sense light changes with a person's pulse using a microcontroller, an LED, and a light sensor. Just as the eyes sense light and the brain processes the information to give it meaning, the microcontroller processes the signal it receives when the sensor detects light. The goal: to accurately measure the patient’s pulse and then convert the light signal measured to be a number that changes over time, giving doctors a visualization of the patient’s heartbeat. This is called a photoplethysmogram (PPG) waveform and has all kinds of uses in medicine.
Ask students: What color LED should you use? How will you get the light from the LED into your finger and then into the sensor? (Listen to student responses.) You and your fellow engineers must figure it out!
- Have students turn on the LED on their smartphones and hold their index finger over the bright light. You can see the light change as your heart beats!
- As an alternative to a smartphone, consider showing this 15-second video of an index finger held over an iPhone LED set of maximum brightness, which demonstrates the change in brightness as the heart beats. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHRNMPfeDCY
- Students should play around with the LEDs on the board to figure out how to change color and brightness. https://caternuson.github.io/Adafruit_CircuitPlayground/
- Students will need to learn how to read from the on-board light sensor. https://caternuson.github.io/Adafruit_CircuitPlayground/lightSensor.html
- Starter Code: https://github.com/jimmynewland/paths-up-expeditions-in-computing-ret2018/blob/master/CircuitPlaygroundExpressPPG-starter.ino
- Example of pulse being read by CPX using completed code: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuwK9bwggg0
The best way to start tackling this problem is to familiarize students with the tools at hand.
Arduino: First, students must learn to use the Arduino software and learn how to interface it with the Circuit Playground Express hardware. Next, there are 10 available LEDs which can display any color by combining different amounts of red, green, and blue light. Students will need to figure out how to control the brightness. (Note: For this project, there only needs to be one LED on. The others being on would be a source of light contamination so make sure students figure this out.) Ask the students to determine: Which LED is closest to the on-board light sensor? The students can find the light sensor by locating the icon of the open eye. It is very small indeed!
The basic challenge here is to turn on an LED and then read the light reflected off a finger into the light sensor. This data will then need to be displayed in the plotter tool to see the pulse in real-time!
Sensors: Sensors used by computers must give data in a digital form. The Arduino reads sensor data as voltage which is handled by the code as numbers. This means that the brightness of the reflected light will show up as numbers for the student engineers to process and display. Remember that when sensors read data, this counts as input data for the microcontroller. Students can then output this data in some useful way.
In the setup function for this code, we open a connection between the Circuit Playground Express and the computer using a reliable data transfer rate or baud. We must also tell the Circuit Playground Express to start up and be ready to do things like read from the sensors or change the colors of the LEDs. In the loop function, we do two simple things over and over. First, we get the light level reading from the Circuit Playground Express and print it to the serial console. Next, we add a 20-millisecond delay to allow the device to reset.
Students can access the serial console by selecting the Tools menu and then selecting Serial Monitor.
There is a built-in example if students need more help. Go to the menu Examples > Adafruit Circuit Playground > Hello_LightSensor for a complete working example of reading data from the light sensor.
Putting it together: Next, the students need to put together the various pieces: turn on the LED closest to the light sensor, read the light reflected back into the sensor, and print the values to the serial plotter.
Students should start by setting up, just as we did before. The comments in Figure 1 are meant to be incomplete, so the students can complete them!
- Line 13 should have a line that turns on the LED at position 1 (that is the second LED since they start counting at 0). Starting counting at 0 is very common with computing.
- Line 18 needs to be finished so that the light sensor can be read directly.
- Line 22 is important! The light we get back from the sensor is the light that WAS NOT absorbed by the person’s tissue. We need to know how much light WAS absorbed. The maximum light value is 1024 (a power of 2 since this is a computer using binary). How can you change the number to represent how much light was absorbed rather than reflected back? Use the provided variable called PPG that was declared on line 4 to store your answer.
- Line 25 is where you print the result from line 22. This allows you to see the data in a raw format or to see the data plotted over time.
Once students load the program and it is running and plugged into their computer, go to Tools -> Serial Plotter and see the pulse in real time!
While testing the device, have students find a comfortable position and hold still for a full minute. Notice that signal calms down and changes. Suggest that the students try it out on different fingers and with a neighbor. Note that how hard a student presses does matter to the output. Have the students experiment with different positions and pressure levels. Ask the students: Which finger works best?
Students should share their code and waveforms with the one another.
As a class: Discuss where difficulties arose and tackle questions about how students’ algorithms compared with one another.
Ask the students: Now that you have used a microcontroller as a health device, how could this system be made more portable? What other sorts of data could sensors access that might tell us something about a person’s health?
- Students will need to be allowed to explore the programming environment if this is their first programming experience. The time estimate includes some time for pure exploration.
- For a more challenging project, consider not including the starter code but only the two example programs. This would be appropriate if most students have some coding experience.
Copyright© 2018 by Regents of the University of Colorado; original © 2018 Rice University
Supporting ProgramResearch Experience for Teachers, Office of STEM Engagement, Precise Advance Technologies and Health Systems for Underserved Populations and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University
This activity was developed as part of the Research Experience for Teachers through the Office of STEM Engagement and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University supported by the National Science Foundation under grant number IIS 1730574. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or Rice University.
Special acknowledgements to Christina Crawford, Allen Antoine with the Rice University Office of STEM Engagement, and Amruta Pai and Akash Maity with the Scalable Health Labs at Rice University for their help and support in developing this activity.
Last modified: September 21, 2019 | <urn:uuid:5621b5e4-b188-4d85-b01a-ae810d545702> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.teachengineering.org/makerchallenges/view/rice3-2349-heartbeat-microcontroller-led-senor-design-challenge | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370529375.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20200405053120-20200405083120-00155.warc.gz | en | 0.919014 | 2,472 | 4.0625 | 4 |
Asthma is an inflammatory condition of the lungs which affects about 25 million people in the US. This is also one of the most common allergy-triggered immune diseases of the modern life. In fact, a large number of people with asthma have a family history of allergies, like pet allergies or hay fever.
When it comes to asthma, the exact causes of this condition are not known. However, a family history along with the environment may play a basic role for the majority of people, but not all. Those sensitive people who breathe in allergy-causing substances may start some common asthma symptoms. Those allergens or triggers can be dust mites, pet dander, cockroach allergens, pollens, and molds. In addition, exercise, respiratory infections, cold air, stress, tobacco smoke, food sulfites, and other air pollutants could also trigger asthma symptoms.
Common asthma symptoms are:
If you or your loved ones are suffering from asthma, then initially, find solutions for your problem from foods. According to a study conducted by researchers in the American Journal of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine, a shift from consuming fresh foods such as fruits and veggies to processed ones might be linked to an increase in the risk of asthma. Despite more study should be carried out, evidences suggest that there is no single nutrient and food that improves the symptoms of asthma on its own. Instead, asthma sufferers might benefit from consuming a well-rounded diet which is high in fruits and veggies.
Look no further because here we from Nutrition Kit have combed through the most prestigious research on foods and asthma. We are happy to share the list of best and worst foods for asthma and allergies sufferers with you here!
I. 26 Best Foods For Asthma And Allergies
When it comes to best foods for asthma, there is evidence that people eating diets higher in vitamin C, E, beta-carotene, magnesium, flavonoids, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids seemed to have lower risks of asthma. These substances are mainly antioxidants which can protect the cells from damage. Regardless of the connection between asthma and diet, we all know that good nutrition is crucial to anyone, particularly those people with chronic diseases. If you do not take the right nutrients, then your body might be more susceptible to ailments and not able to successfully fight the respiratory viruses which often trigger asthma attacks. Here are some of the most basic guidelines of healthy foods for asthma:
1. Sunflower Seeds
Among best foods for asthma, this should be listed first. Having full of anti-asthma nutrients, sunflower seeds are very beneficial for asthmatics to consume regularly. They are loaded with potassium, vitamin E and magnesium. Also, with a high level of selenium, sunflower seeds can relieve symptoms of asthma naturally.
Having highest concentration of L-glutathione, avocado is one of best foods for asthma which can protect the cells against the free radical damage and detoxify your body from pollutants as well as harmful substances. This substance in avocados can lessens the inflammation systematically and fix damaged gut health, which can help prevent asthma triggers from engaging.
Learn More: Top 16 Amazing Foods Good for Bone Health
Not only is kale an excellent source of vitamin C, but it also has a unique ability to defend free radicals responsible for the contractions of smooth muscles within airway passages. Also, kale contains beta-carotene which is a powerful antioxidant phytochemical that is able to alleviate asthma symptoms and prevent asthma attacks from happening.
According to a study, those female people who consumed a large amount of spinach reported a lower risk of asthma. This might be because of the vitamin C, E and beta-carotene included in spinach. Also, spinach is a good source of magnesium of which the deficiency is common among those having asthma. What is more, this veggie is also rich in potassium. A deficiency of this mineral is thought to exacerbate the symptoms of asthma.
Read More: List Of 70 Best Strawberry Dessert Recipes
In regard to foods for asthma, this simple fruit may surprise you. However, bananas can help asthma sufferers alleviate their symptoms naturally thanks to its high content of fiber, which can prevent respiratory conditions such as asthma from worsening. It is recommended consuming one banana per day to reduce the risk of asthmatic symptoms like wheezing by 34%.
In many cases of asthma, dehydrate is the main causes of their asthma attacks. According to Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, an expert about water, a few symptoms that are labeled as asthma is really the reaction of the human body crying out for getting more water. So, ifyou do not have aquagenic urticaria, aka water allergy, then it is worth your effort to drink more fluoride free water daily in order to avoid developing symptoms of asthma.
Ginger is famous for anti-inflammatory nutrients which pervade the human body. Its root is considered a powerful anti-asthma herb which is thought to be better than antihistamine drugs such as Benadryl when it comes to stopping inflammation and clearing up the airways. Besides, ginger is very safe and natural for using without any side effects. It means that you could add it to your daily diet plan for good health.
Turmeric, one of best foods for asthma, is popular among Indians and Asian cuisine lover. This spice lends its yellow color to many foods, such as curries. Especially, it has long been used in the traditional Asian medicine to cure asthma as well as other diseases and conditions. Western medicine nowadays has paid great attention to this spice. Because turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties, it can alleviate the inflammation which is responsible for constricting the breathing passages and swelling the human lungs during asthma attacks. Moreover, it can help dilate the blood vessels and relax muscles, so using it can keep asthma symptoms at bay.
Among rich-quercetin foods, elderberry seems to be one of the most well-known. This is a powerful antioxidant compound which can boost the immune system, thereby helping fight flu, colds and other respiratory ailments such as asthma. It is proven that quercetin is very efficient in blocking the release of histamines as well as other inflammatory and allergic chemicals within the body, such as those accompanied with asthma.
Also high in quercetin, apples is one of best foods for asthma relief. It is found that women eating at least 4 apples each week were 53% less likely to have a baby with asthma. Quercetin possesses strong anti-histamine, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. When purchasing apples, you should choose to buy organically grown ones because apples are among the fruits containing high levels of pesticides as well as other harmful chemicals.
11. Chia Seed
This type of seed is a powerhouse of magnesium, omega 3-fatty acids and quercetin as well. That is why it is among best foods for asthma relief. The omega-3 fatty acid in chia seeds can reduce inflammation in adults and children and restore the natural balance to lipid walls of the cell membranes. According to a study involving omega-3 supplements for asthma sufferers, it has been confirmed that this nutrient could give a significant reduction in symptoms of asthma, especially in people having allergy-related asthma.
12. Sweet Potatoes
Being one of the oldest foods to human beings, sweet potatoes are also an excellent addition to your diet if you have asthma symptoms. There is a high content of vitamin C and potassium in sweet potatoes, not mention to the unique root proteins that have great antioxidant properties. Orange, pink and yellow varieties of sweet potatoes are among the most concentrated foods of beta-carotene.
Not only is carrot good for vision but it is also helpful for those with asthma. Women who consumed carrots reported a 20% lower risk of asthma than those who did not. This effect is linked to the high concentration of beta-carotene, but the vitamin C content in carrots also plays a significant role. If buying carrots, you should choose the ones with the darkest, deepest orange color because they have the highest levels of beta carotene. Furthermore, it is advised to purchase carrots which are organically grown instead of conventionally grown ones. Conventionally grown carrots are considered one of 5 veggies which are the most contaminated in regard to pesticide and chemicals.
14. Mustard Greens
With its high content of antioxidants as well as nutrients, mustard greens are a great addition to your daily diet, particularly if you suffer from asthma and other allergies. Not mention to the high level of beta-carotene, mustard greens also have lots of vitamin C and vitamin E. These nutrients could prevent the free radicals from causing smooth muscle contraction as well as airway constriction in those people having asthma. Additionally, this veggie can aid the breakdown process of histamine. You can buy mustard greens throughout the year and in most local supermarkets.
The vitamin C in cantaloupe can ward off lung damage by defeating the free radicals. A study conducted in Japan found that people consuming a large amount of vitamin C- rich foods had lower risk of asthma than those having lower intake.
Despite vitamin C could be found in the majority of fruits and veggies, they are abundant in those citrus fruits like grapefruit, orange, kiwi, tomatoes, broccoli and cantaloupe.
It is necessary to have more studies carried out in regard to the impact of caffeine to the human health. However, when it comes to asthma, caffeine at least has positive effects.
Caffeinated coffee may modestly improve the airway function for about 4 hours after being consumed. Similarly, black tea also benefits your asthma symptoms by improving the airflow.
17. Fatty Fish
Omega-3 fatty acids in fatty fish like tuna go beyond protecting people from heart disease, stroke, cognitive problems, and diabetes. It can improve asthma symptoms as well. This omega-3s can offer anti-inflammatory effect which alleviates one of the most common symptoms of asthma – inflammation. Those pregnant women who consumed salmon twice per week reported a reduced risk of developed asthma in their baby.
Milk is not only a good source of calcium, but also magnesium – the mineral fighting against asthma. Magnesium can relax the muscles around the bronchi, which can keep your airflows open.
The probiotics in yogurt has been shown to be able to decrease inflammation, according to scientists. Despite the reasons are not clear much, but probiotics seem to help reduce the allergic reactions. In some cases, asthma symptoms are triggered by common allergies.
Being a member of citrus family, orange has a high level of vitamin C which can boost your immune system, reduce inflammation and improve your overall health.
Onions are full of tiny crystals called flavonoids, which can fight off inflammation by strengthening the capillary walls. Also, they could protect the lung linings as well as bronchial tubes from damage resulted from pollution. Apart from onions, the blueberries, prickly pears can add more flavonoids to your asthma-fighting diet.
With high content of omega-3 fatty acids along with magnesium, flaxseeds have positive effects on asthma symptoms. It is a helpful substance because it relaxes the muscles around the bronchi, airways, thereby helping to keep them open. Bronchi constriction is believed as a trigger of asthma attacks.
Due to anti-inflammatory properties, garlic has been known as one of versatile ingredients for a large number of illnesses, from hemorrhoids to infections.
Additionally, garlic contains allicin which is a powerful antioxidant helping in producing an acid which damages the free radicals. Thus, it is one of best foods for asthma sufferers.
Recent studies indicated that those people who use cabbage, particularly raw ones in the form of salad or juice could reduce the potential risk of allergic attack. This routine also improves the tolerance to allergens and therefore decreases the severity of asthmatic attacks.
This is a rich source of vitamin C which is very useful in improving the tolerance and immunity in asthma sufferers. Also, the anti-inflammatory action of this food is good for reducing the severity of asthmatic attacks.
Another choice among healthy foods for asthma is tomatoes – an abundant source of lycopene which has anti-inflammatory substance. When taking advantage of tomatoes for your asthma, you should use cooked tomatoes in the form of sauce, soup or curry because absorbable lycopene just presents in the cooked tomatoes
II. 10 Worst Foods For Asthma Relief
Actually, no food is specifically labeled as restricted foods for asthma sufferers. However, an asthma suffer should observe their routine foods changes which come with asthmatic attacks to realize the allergic foods. Nonetheless, an asthma attack could be triggered by different allergens such as pollen, dust, pet hairs, and so on. Hence, recognizing allergic foods could be difficult. To help you easily find out which foods should be limited to avoid asthma attacks, here we list down some worst foods for asthma relief, according to some experienced sufferers.
Peanuts could provoke fatal allergic reactions in some asthmatic patients. However, harmful properties of this type of nuts might be worse. According to a study, children having asthma who are also allergic to peanuts seem to develop asthma earlier than those who are not allergic to peanuts.
Many children with asthma and peanut allergies also report allergies to weeds, cats, grass, dust mites and tree pollen – all of them trigger asthma attacks.
2. Dried Fruit
Most types of dried fruit have sulfite – the preservatives designed to lengthen the shelf life of foods. This preservative is also one of the most dangerous additives in foods for those with asthma. Thus, when buying dried fruit, you should read the label to identify the words such as potassium bisulfate or sodium sulfite so you can acknowledge if the dried apricots and cherries you are eating might trigger asthma attacks. Hence, eliminate or limit the amount of dried fruits in your diet if you want to avoid bad foods for asthma.
3. Wine And Beer
A lot of types of wine and beer contain pesky sulfites. If you find yourself wheezing or coughing after drinking, then you should give up that glass of cabernet. Studies also suggest that histamines in the beer and wine may cause some symptoms like sneezing, wheezing and watery eyes.
Prepared or frozen shrimp can be risky for asthma sufferers. The reason may be cause of sulfites. Frozen shrimp as well as other seafood usually have sulfites as they discourage the development of those unappetizing black spots. Hence, to avoid asthma attacks, when eating out, you should not eat something which has been cooked in the broth made with shellfish and shrimp.
Picked foods, one of bad foods for asthma, tend to have sulfites as preservatives like dried fruits or fermented foods such as sauerkraut. This in turns triggers asthma attacks. You should also watch out for horseradish sauce, relishes, and salad dressing mixes for such reason.
6. Packaged Potatoes
The next time before resorting packaged potatoes, check out the ingredient list on the package label. That package of course contains potatoes, perhaps some vegetable oil and dried non-fat milk or whey powder, but if you see a preservative like sodium bisulfate, then skip them. Choose a whole potato which you could toss in your oven.
7. Maraschino Cherries
They look like brightly-colored jewelries in a glass jar, but those people with asthma should avoid them because they contain sulfites which may trigger asthma symptoms, as mentioned earlier. Bottle fruit juice or canned fruits like lemon juice might also have preservatives which may trigger bronchospasm as well as other asthma symptoms.
8. Mushrooms And Cheese
For people who are allergic to molds and mildew, they should avoid foods like mushrooms, cheese and hot dogs because the mold present in such products may trigger asthma attacks. On other hand, consumption of fermented foods such as beer, soy sauce, wine and vinegar should be monitored carefully. Also, you should make sure that you read the label of ingredients when buying such foods.
9. Fast Food
Takeout is not only bad for your weight but also your lungs because they are believed as one of bad foods for asthma. According to an international study about the connection between asthma risk and consumption of fast food, it was proven that 3 or more servings of fast food might increase the risk of severe asthma by about 27% for children and 39% for teenagers. This is because of the high level of trans and saturated fats in fast food which may weaken our immune system.
10. Any Foods That You Are Allergic
These are also the worst foods for asthma you need to remember and avoid for good!
If you keep consuming the foods which you know you are allergic to, then you are on high alert of asthma. You should watch out these foods because they play a considerable role in triggering your asthma symptoms. It is reported that foods causing allergic reactions are wheat, tree nuts, soy, fish, eggs, shellfish and cow’s milk. In case you are allergic to some of these foods, avoid eating them or things that are cross-contaminated by them.
Now, after reading this list of best and worst foods for asthma, before making any big changes to your daily eating habits, you should talk to your doctor or health care provider first. Depending on your diagnosis of asthma and your overall health as well as the severity of your asthma condition, the doctor will offer specific advice for you.
This “best and worst foods for asthma” article is done with the hope to help you figure out how to plan a diet which can fight off asthma symptoms and prevent further attacks. If you have any ideas about this entry, do not hesitate to leave your comments below this post. We appreciate and will reply as soon as possible. | <urn:uuid:0c2a909c-57b8-41c2-945b-2a38d05e9874> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://nutritionkit.com/foods-for-asthma/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371858664.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20200409122719-20200409153219-00235.warc.gz | en | 0.954142 | 3,706 | 3.15625 | 3 |
Decline in environmental quality has been evidenced by increasing pollution, loss of vegetal over and bio-diversity, excessive concentration of harmful chemicals in the ambient atmosphere and food chains, growing risks of environmental accidents and threat to life support systems. This has drawn the attention of entire world community and therefore they resolved to protect and enhance the environment quality. How could the judiciary remain a silent spectator when the subject has acquired high importance and become a matter of caution and judicial notice.
In a developing country like India, with uneducated masses, conditions of abject poverty, where the awareness of socio-economic and ecological problems in lacking, the judiciary has to play an active role to protect the people’s right against the anti-people order by infusing confidence in people as a whole for whom it exists, for as rightly put by Justice Load, “Judiciary exists for the people and not vice-versa. ” Judiciary therefore cannot sit in silence and helplessly but must come forward actively to make good the deficiencies of law and provide relief wherever and whenever required.
The Judiciary remained as a spectator to environmental exploitation until recently. But now judiciary assumed an effective role of public educator, policy maker, super- administrator, and more generally, animus environment. In India Environmental law is judicial response to the queries of its citizens against environmental exploitation and administrative sloth and also role played by the public interest litigation. Since 1 985 most of the environment cases in India have been brought before the court as writ petitions, normally by individuals acting on pro bono basis.
While numerous legislative steps have been taken to give effect to the significant right of man to live in a sound environment and the corresponding duty of the State and individuals to ensure environmental preservation and conservation, our present endeavor is to analyze the steps taken by judiciary to forward this goal. To achieve this end, the judiciary had evolved certain principles to provide effective remedy in case of violation of constitutional and legislative mandate.
In the subsequent sub divisions, several concepts which the judiciary has evolved in order to give force to the right of man to a healthy environment would be briefly dealt with. Right to a Wholesome Environment Judicial recognition of environmental jurisprudence, in the backdrop of industrialization, reached its peak with the pronouncement of the Supreme Court that right to wholesome environment is a part of Article 21 of the Constitution. In Subtask Kumar v. State of Briar, the court observed that Article 32 of the Constitution has been designed to enforce the fundamental rights of the citizen.
The said articles provides for extraordinary procedure to enforce the right of a person. The right to life under Article 21 includes the right to enjoyment of pollution free water and air for full enjoyment of life. Judicial concern regarding right to wholesome environment has been reflected in subsequent pronouncements. It has issued appropriate directions where the government machinery has failed to perform its statutory duty, and thereby undermined the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. In Indian Council for Environ-Legal Action and Other v.
Union of India and Others, the chemical industries surrounding Biochip Village in Alasdair (Restaurants) contaminated the water, soil and air through the discharge of highly toxic effluents, particularly iron-based and gypsum based sludge. The court interfered to give proper remedy to the destitute villagers. It opined that the social interest litigation under Article 32 f the Constitution was a weapon in the hands of the people to enforce their right to wholesome environment, when it was blatantly disregarded by industries. In other words, the court reaffirmed that right to clean environment is an important facet of the right to life.
In ROLE Genera Durance v. State of Attar Pradesh, the apex court declared that right to life includes ‘the right of the people to live in the healthy environment with minimal disturbance of ecology and without avoidable hazard to them and to their cattle, home and agriculture land and undue affection of air, water and environment’. Also, the Supreme Court, in Andorra Pradesh Pollution Control Board v. NV Naiad, has put forward the view that matters relating to environment are of equal significance with those of human rights.
In its own words: Environmental concerns arising in this court under Article 32 or under Article 1 36 or under Article 226 in the High Courts are in our view, of equal importance as Human Rights Concerns. In fact, both are to be traced to Article 21 which deals with fundamental right to life and liberty. While environmental aspect concern ‘life’, human right aspect concern liberty. Principles of Common Law In 1 980, the Supreme Court held that clean civic life is the right of the inhabitants who reside within the municipal area.
In Municipality Rattle v. Varnished, the petitioner, a municipal council, filed an appeal against the direction of the magistrate under section 1 33 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The judicial magistrate, on application by the people of the area passed certain directions against the civic corporate body to bring cleanliness within the municipal area, as it had been polluted by open drains, human excreta, in absence of proper sanitation, and discharges from alcohol factories. The High Court affirmed the directions issued.
Thereafter, the civil corporation filed a Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court on the ground that the magistrate had no powers to pass order against the municipality. The Supreme Court took a very serious note of the miserable condition of the municipal area which posed health hazards for the people. Additionally the discharges from the alcohol plant overflowed the open drains making the condition more miserable. The Supreme Court issued certain directions, in addition to the magisterial directions, and fixed the time limit within which those were to be implemented.
The significant contribution of this judgment, from the point of view of environmental criminal law was that, if any officer of the corporation failed to discharge his duties, then he could be punished under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Subsequently, in Ram Baja Shining v. Babul, the Allahabad High Court tried to read atmospheric pollution within the broad spectrum of private nuisance, and issued permanent injunction against the polluting brick-grinding factory.
The court enumerated that the dust emitting from a grinding machine factory created public hazards and injured the health of individual members of the society. ‘Any act would amount to private nuisance which caused injury, discomfort or annoyance to a person. ‘ PILL with Reference to Environment Protection Since the last decade, PILL has played a unique role by which people belonging to different walks of life and especially the down trodden are getting social justice from the Supreme Court as well as the High Courts. The PILL is now recognized as an effective instrument of social change.
It is because of this new strategic of pro bono litigation that the poor and the down trodden have been able to seek justice from courts. As a result of this development, a spate f environmental cases has been brought before the courts through public interest litigation. They have been filed either by individuals, voluntary organization or by letter/petitions sent to judges. In the following passages an attempt is being made to examine some of the leading judicial pronouncements on the point. I. Delhi Gas Leak case M. C. Meat v.
Union of India, popularity known as Delhi Gas Leak or Ileum Gas Leak Case, is the historic one in the field of environmental justice. The Supreme Court besides laying down substantial principles of law, embarked upon some important questions of law and policy which need to be answered. The Supreme Court laid down two important principles Of law; First, the power of the Supreme Court to grant remedial relief for a proved infringement of a fundamental right (in this case Article 21 ) includes the power to award compensation, albeit in exceptional cases.
Thus, the court not only widened the scope of the Article 21 by including in it protection of environment but also included a liability in tort for those harmed others by pollution. Second, the judgment opened a new frontier in the Indian jurisprudence by introducing a new “no fault” liability standard (absolute ability) for industries engaged in hazardous activities which has brought about radical changes in the liability and compensation laws in India. The new standard makes hazardous industries absolutely liable for the harm resulting from its activities.
It is a standard which on its terms, admits of no defenses. The case is significant from other points. The court further expanded the scope of “epistolary jurisdiction” when it reiterated that “a public spirited individual or a social action group acting pro bono public would suffice to ignite the jurisdiction of this court” and that hyper technical approach that fatted the ends of justice was inappropriate in PILL cases. Ii. The Gang Pollution Case The Gang pollution cases are the most important water pollution cases in India to date. The brief facts being, in 1985, M.
C. Meat, an activist advocate and social worker, byway of a public interest litigation, filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution inter alai, for the issue of a writ/order/ direction in the nature of mandamus, directing Kanata Municipality to restrain itself from discharging waste water into the river Gang, and governmental authorities and the tanneries at Jam near Kanata to stop eluting the river with sewage and trade effluents till such time that they put up necessary treatment plants for treating these effluents.
The court in Meat case I made order against the tanneries, while in Meat case II ruled against municipalities and other governmental authorities. In Meat case l, the court realizing the importance of water of the river Gang in particular, and concerned over the continuing pollution of it by the industries and municipal wastes, reminded the conviction of environmental protection as enshrined in the directive principle in Article 48-A of the Constitution which provides that Tate shall endeavourer to protect and improve environment and to safeguard the forests and the wildlife of the country.
Article 51-A which imposes a fundamental duty on the citizens to protect and improve the natural environment. The court also invoked the Water Act as an indication of the importance of the prevention and control of water pollution. The court emphasized that notwithstanding the comprehensive provisions contained in the Water Act the state boards had not taken effective steps to prevent the discharge of effluents in the river Gang.
The court ruled that the fact, as was asserted on behalf of the some of the tanneries, that the effluents were not directly discharged into the river but first discharged in to the municipal sewers, did not absolve them from being proceeded against under the provisions of the law in force, since ultimately the effluents reach the river Gang from Municipal Sewers.
The court also invoked Environment (Protection) Act, 1 986 as further indication of the importance of prevention and control of water pollution and noted that not much has been done even under the Act by the Central Government to stop the grave public nuisance caused by the tanneries at Jam, Kanata. Meat Case II related to the action taken against Kanata Municipality and other Government entities for their failure to prevent waste water flowing to the river Gang as was asserted in the original petition by the petitioner. Accordingly the Supreme Court directed Kanata Magna Mapping to: a.
Complete the works to improve sewerage system within the target dates mentioned in the counter affidavits and not to delay the completion of those works beyond those dates. B. Take action against the dairies for either removing the waste accumulated ear the dairies or to get them shifted to a place outside the city. C. Take immediate steps to increase the size of the sewers and wherever sewerage line is not yet constructed, to get it constructed. D. To construct sufficient number of latrines and urinals for the use of poor people in order to prevent defecation by them on open land. . The practice of throwing corpse and semi burnt corpses be brought to an end immediately. The Municipality and Police should take step to ensure that dead bodies or half burnt bodies are not thrown into the river Gang.
The remarkable thing about this judgment is hat thought, it was a case against Kanata Magna Mapping but the court directed that this will apply mutatis mutandis to all other Minneapolis and Municipalities which have jurisdiction over the areas through which the river Gang flows and accordingly directed to send the copy of judgment to all municipalities. Ii. Durance Quarrying Case Rural Litigation and Entitlement Genera, Durance v. State of Attar Pradesh, or Durance Valley Litigation as it is commonly known, is one of the most complex environmental case handled by the Supreme Court. It is the first momentous decision of the apex court wherein it was required to balance environmental and ecological integrity against industrial demands on forest resources. The main question before the Supreme Court for consideration was whether the mine lessees could be allowed to mine quarrying operations.
In its order of 12 March, 1 985, the Supreme Court, after considering the recommendations of the Braggart Committee, ordered immediate closure of most dangerous mines and those falling within Missouri city board limits. The court finds that due to working of lime stone quarries there is imbalance to ecology or hazard to healthy environment, then in that case the court will order their closure. The court thus impliedly recognized right to a wholesome environment as implicit in Article 21 of the Constitution. Iv. Calcutta Tag Hotel Case Accidents Pander v.
State of West Bengal, is an important town planning case which in categorical terms reiterates the course duty to protect environment. In this case, the Government of West Bengal gave on lease to the Tag Group, four acres of land belonging to the Calcutta Zoological Garden for the construction of a five star hotel. This garden was located in Aliped, the heart of Calcutta. It was this giving away of the land that was challenged y a PILL petition, filed originally in the Calcutta High Court by two citizens of Calcutta-one the secretary’ of the Union of Workmen of the Zoological Garden and the other, a life member of the zoo.
The Calcutta High Court upheld the lease in favor of the hoteliers. In appeal the Supreme Court held that ecological balance shall be maintained by the court in spite of the fact that such duty imposed on the government is merely a directive principle of state policy under Part IV of the constitution. The court further held: “Whenever a problem of ecology is brought before the court, the court is bound to bear in mind Article 48-A of the Constitution and Article 51 A(g).
When the court is called upon to give effect to the Directives Principles and fundamental duty, the court is not to shrug its shoulders and say that priorities are a matter of policy and so it is a matter for the policy-making authority. The least that the court may do is to examine whether appropriate considerations are borne in mind and irrelevancies are excluded. In appropriate cases the court may go further, but how much further must depend on the circumstances Of the case. In view of the above approach the court adopting a liberal approach in favor of the development held that the Government has acted perfectly binomially in granting the lease and its action was not against the interests of the zoo or migrant birds visiting the zoo. On the contrary as the proposed hotel is a garden hotel there is every chance of the ecology and environment being improved as a result of planting of numerous trees around the premises and removal of the burial ground and dumping ground for rubbish.
Conclusion Thus, the Supreme Court of India had taken into account the right to a healthy environment along with the right to sustainable development and balanced them. This concept of right to a healthy environment and sustainable development are the fundamental human rights implicit in the right to life, which has been constructed as such in many countries. The entire judicial construction by the Supreme Court and the High Courts also reveal the humanitarian approach to these environmental laws with the help of public interest litigation.
The Indian Supreme Court was the first to develop the concept of right to healthy environment as a part of life under Article 21 of our constitution. This principle is now been adopted and followed in various other countries now. Suggestions In this paper the researcher wants to recommends the following suggestions. 1) The problem can be very well addressed to masses with the help of clinical environmental education, as there will be specialized treatment to sensitizes people about environmental problems. | <urn:uuid:7801f1d1-8f61-42ad-a28e-82a660d083fc> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://paperap.com/paper-on-judicial-response-to-environmental-issues-in-india/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370519111.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20200404011558-20200404041558-00194.warc.gz | en | 0.955309 | 3,378 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Dr. David Gruder is an expert on personal boundaries and creator of the NICE™ Boundaries Method. Below is an edited excerpt with comments in italics by Rick@Thrivingnow.com.
What is a Boundary?
“A boundary is any limit I need to honor so I can love or work with you without resentment and with integrity.”
A boundary is the simplest, cleanest form of anger that exists. It is “no” and “ouch.” A boundary also is the simplest form of well-being that exists as well. It is “yes,” and “aaahh/yum.” Ignoring the “yes” or the “no” of basic boundaries will inevitably result in:
You can’t ignore a boundary without paying a price.
Other people ignoring our boundaries is NOT what causes us to get angry; we get angry when we do not gracefully and compassionately honor our own boundaries (whether with or without the other person’s cooperation). This is because our boundaries can only be as clear and only as strong as the extent to which we support our own wants, limits, choices, and values. Learning to recognize and gracefully honor your boundaries (BEFORE your anger starts escalating) is an excellent anger-prevention tool—and an excellent way to also prevent fear, depression, or feelings of invasion!
Why People Have Boundaries Problems
The three biggest fears I’ve seen that prevent people from honoring their own boundaries are that they will:
1) Be seen as too self-centered;
2) Hurt others; or
3) Lead to either conflict or rejection.
The three biggest fears I’ve noticed that block people from honoring other people’s boundaries are that they will:
1) Be taken advantage of;
2) Become unimportant or invisible; or
3) Not be able to do what they other person wants of them.
But the biggest reason of all that people have boundaries problems is that most of us don’t know how to accurately identify a boundary, nor how to honor it in ways that both reflect personal integrity and build authentic collaboration with others.
EFT can be used effectively on both the fears of setting and honoring our own boundaries and the fears of honoring other people’s boundaries. If in past relationships others acted in harmful ways when you tried to honor your healthy boundary, the specific events where such feelings occurred can be used in an EFT session. Such attention to how we energetically feel about our boundaries (and those of others) can make it far, far less fearful for us to set and honor boundaries.
The NICE™ Boundaries Method
This easy-to-learn and fun-to-use method includes four key skill sets from which the name “NICE” emerged:
N = Notice: Recognize when you have a boundary.
I = Identify: Discover the Core Intention at the heart of your position.
C = Commit: Accept the risks of honoring your Core Intention.
E = Enact: Honor your Core Intention by strengthening your energetic boundary inwardly & utilizing your selected Boundary Communication Strategy outwardly.
Step One: Notice When You Have a Boundary
Most people don’t recognize that resentment, fear, depression, anger, postures, positions, loss of personal power, or becoming tyrannical are all clues that they have an unrecognized boundary. Developing the discipline of recognizing when you have a boundary is necessary if you are to begin moving into fuller integrity with yourself and into more authentic collaboration with others.
Let me add that EFT can be very helpful when you feel one of these emotions listed above. You can use EFT to first harmonize the feelings. Then, having recognized that you have a boundary-breach here, conscious or not, identify where there is a “No” or “Ouch!” that can now be made explicit. Our emotions are a guidance system. EFT can help to make sure that the guidance we are getting is not exaggerated by times in the past where we had boundaries, and we did not respect them (and neither did anyone else).
Step Two: Identify Your True Boundary by Discovering Your Core Intention & Multiple Options for Honoring It
Even though feelings, positions, and postures are usually mis-identified as boundaries, they do make most excellent starting points for discovering your true boundary! Moving beyond your positions and postures to identify your “Core Intention” begins to put you in charge of your boundary. Just as a boundary is the purest form of anger, a Core Intention is the purest form of a boundary. Arrived at by discovering what lives at the very heart of a surface feeling, posture, or position, a Core Intention is our most authentic self revealed. Identifying your Core Intention enables you to generate multiple forms for honoring your boundary. And when you do this, you place the power to honor your boundary in your hands rather than the other person’s!
In other words, what are you stating about yourself and your place in the world through this boundary? If someone is verbally abusive, and that hurts (Ouch!), you could have the intention that your relationships be mutually respectful so there is safety as well as love. To me, Core Intention speaks to the “Why have this boundary in the first place? How does it serve me and those with whom I am in relationship?” It is up to us to set these boundaries and the different ways we can honor them and still feel good inside.
Step Three: Commit To Honoring Your Core Intention by Making Peace with the Risks of Being in Integrity with It
Identifying the Core Intention restores and strengthens our personal power. Knowing this truest level of our boundary frees us to live in fuller integrity with our deepest self. Even so, people don’t always stay true to their Core Intention because being authentic is risky! Because of this, NICE™ Boundaries Step Three is about identifying the risks of moving into integrity with your Core Intention, and then holding your awareness of these risks with inner grace. This establishes the inner permission needed for living in integrity with a Core Intention. The more accurately you identify these risks, and the more you hold these risks with grace, the more internal permission you will have to exercise your personal power with a boundary!
Dr. Gruder says here that “being authentic is risky.” I believe it feels that way only because we realize that much of the world has yet to understand how healthy and wonderful good boundaries are. We know inherently that, to be true to our Core Intentions and to the boundaries that allow us to love and work with people without resentment and fear, there will be shifts in our relationships, and some individuals who do not respect our boundaries may be asked to leave. As you look at the “risks” in honoring your boundaries, you may quickly run into those fears of appearing self-centered, of hurting others, or having conflict, or feeling rejection. These all can be addressed with EFT; there is no reason to feel stuck forever with intense fears that keep you from being optimally healthy and happy yourself.
Step Four: Enact Your Core Intention by Strengthening Your Energetic Boundary Inwardly & Utilizing Your Selected Boundary Communication Strategy
Once you have established true inner permission to live in integrity with your boundary, you are in a position to identify and enact the strategies that best honor your Core Intention as compassionately and gracefully as possible. Two sets of strategies are needed in order to enact your Core Intention.
Internal Boundaries Strategies are “energy boundaries” you establish within yourself so that your energy field supports your boundary even if you don’t say a word to another person about it.
Great point here about the energetics of boundaries. By using EFT and other methods to stay “calm and confident… no matter what!” we make it far, far less likely that someone will even consider challenging our boundaries. And it will make it easier to quiety say, “No, please stop that” if they do. We can be at a party where everyone is doing drugs, and no one offers any to us… because we have an energetically consistent boundary. (Now, if you start feeling “left out,” that “no drugs” boundary will begin the feel shakey, and others around you will respond to that. All boundaries work this way.)
External Boundaries Strategies are “communication strategies” you use to establish your boundary with another person. Boundaries Communication Strategies come in four intensity levels: Simple Disclosure, Requests for Change, Cause-Effect Menu and Action Without Words.
This is where role-playing with a coach or supportive friend can come in handy. We need to be able to “say what we mean, and mean what we say.” Simple Disclosure says, “No thank you, I don’t do drugs.” A request for change says, “You keep pressuring me to join you in doing these drugs. Please do not ask me again.” On the Cause-Effect menu you can have choices based on the situation. If someone does this, I can say/do this. Action Without Words says to me, “What do I need to do… without saying or explaining… that we restore myself to safety and peace of mind.” If you have a boundary and you take the time to set these strategies, you should feel empowered. If you do not, if you’d LIKE to be able to quietly walk out but don’t feel you can, I encourage you to use EFT on all the reasons (real or imagined) why that would be “too hard” for you to do. When you can imagine yourself honoring your own boundaries with integrity, you will find that others start honoring your boundaries, too.
The NICE™ Boundaries Method e-books and workshops provide you with energy exercises for strengthening your energy boundaries internally, and also show you when and how to use each of the four intensity levels in boundaries communication, including ways to determine the best level of intensity from which to begin your process of communicating a boundary. | <urn:uuid:d42350a0-6dc2-420c-9b20-9ba5ea1a1a75> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.thrivingnow.com/boundaries/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371876625.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20200409185507-20200409220007-00115.warc.gz | en | 0.941934 | 2,162 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Utilitarianism is one of the most important and influential secular philosophies of modern times, and has drawn considerable debate and controversy. This Very Short Introduction considers its origins, its relevance to modern moral challenges, and the arguments and discussions around utilitarian approaches.
Rob Boddice considers how perceptions of pain have varied across history, and how the treatment of pain has also changed. Beginning with the classical world, he charts the increasing distinction drawn between physical and emotional pain, and the growing modern focus on empathy and compassion towards pain in others, and in animals.
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Michael Beaney introduces analytic philosophy by exploring some of the key ideas of Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, G. E. Moore, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Susan Stebbing. He also considers how analytic philosophy has developed and spread to become the dominant philosophical tradition across the world.
Graham Priest shows that formal logic is a powerful, exciting part of modern philosophy - a tool for thinking about everything from the existence of God and the reality of time to paradoxes of probability. Explaining formal logic in simple, non-technical terms, this edition includes new sections on mathematical algorithms, axioms, and proofs.
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Decadence: A Very Short Introduction provides an elegant overview of the culture of decadence - defined as the artistic expression of a conflicted sense of modernity - by tracing its origin in ancient Rome, development in nineteenth-century Paris and London, manifestation in early twentieth-century Vienna and Berlin, and present resonance in contemporary life.
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Marx is one of the most influential philosophers of all time, whose theories about society, economics, and politics have shaped and directed political and social thought for 150 years. In this new edition, Peter Singer discusses the legacy and impact of Marx's core theories, considering how they apply to twenty first century politics and society.
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Martin Heidegger is one of the twentieth century's greatest yet most enigmatic and divisive philosophers. Michael Inwood explores the major themes of Heidegger's seminal work, Being and Time, as well his later thought and association with Nazism.
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Foucault is one of those rare philosophers who has become a cult figure. From aesthetics to the penal system; from madness and civilisation to avant-garde literature, he rejected old models of thinking and replaced them with versions that are still debated today. This book introduces and explores aspects of his life, work, and thought.
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Quentin Skinner introduces Niccolo Machiavelli, Florentine diplomat, politician, and the writer known for that most infamous Early Modern work, The Prince. He explores Machiavelli's theory of princely virtu, tracing its roots in ancient historians and moralists, and considering its influence on contemporary politics.
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Eric R. Scerri presents a modern and fresh exploration of this fundamental topic in the physical sciences, considering the deeper implications of the arrangements of the table to atomic physics and quantum mechanics. This new edition celebrates the completion of the 7th period of the table, with the naming of elements 113, 115, 117, and 118
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This Very Short Introduction provides a concise overview of federalism, from its origins and evolution to the key events and constitutional decisions that have defined its framework. While primary focus is on the United States, other federal systems, including Brazil, Canada, India, Germany, South Africa, Russia, and the EU, are addressed.
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Jenny Hartley introduces Charles Dickens's life and works, looking at the vitality of his characters and the energy which surges through his writing. Examining the themes running through his books, she considers the institutions which influenced his work (such as the workhouse) and looks at his critique of nineteenth century society.
Nazi concentration camps are by no means the only examples of these 'extreme institutions'; Dan Stone sets out the fuller story, from the Boer War to Bosnia. He shows how different regimes have used concentration camps at times of crisis to control populations that appeared threatening, and examines their role in consciousness and identity.
The three centuries following the conquests of Alexander were perhaps the most thrilling of all periods of ancient history. Culture, ideas, and individuals travelled freely over vast areas from the Rhone to the Indus, whilst dynasts battled for dominion over Alexander's great empire. Thonemann presents a brief history of this globalized world.
Secularism, the belief that religion should not be part of the affairs of the state or part of public education, is an increasingly hot topic in global public, political, and religious debates. Andrew Copson tells the story of secularism, discussing secular republics and the challenges they can face from resurgent religious identity politics.
Synaethesia is a neurological condition that gives rise to a 'merging of the senses': those with the condition might experience certain numbers as a specific colour, or certain words as a taste. Simner describes synaesthesia's many forms, discusses its links with artistic creativity and lateral thinking, and delves into the underlying neuroscience.
Applied mathematics plays a role in many different fields, especially the sciences and engineering. Goriely explains its nature and its relationship to pure mathematics, and through a variety of applications - such as mathematical modelling to predict the effects of climate change - he illustrates its power in tackling very practical problems.
Adam Sharr tells the story of how modern architecture developed and produced its powerful cultural images. Considering the new building materials and techniques which shaped the movement, such as innovations in steel and concrete and the advent of air conditioning, he concludes by asking whether contemporary architecture remains modern at heart.
Stoicism is two things: a long past philosophical school of ancient Greece and Rome, and an enduring philosophical movement that still inspires people in the twenty-first century to re-think and re-organize their lives in order to achieve personal satisfaction. Brad Inwood presents the long history that connects these.
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Albert Camus is one of the best known philosophers of the twentieth century, as well as a widely read novelist. This book contextualises Camus in his troubled and conflicted times, and analyses the enduring popularity of his major philosophical and literary works in connection with contemporary political, social, and cultural issues.
Despite the fascination with psychopaths in film, TV, and novels, psychopathy remains widely misunderstood. Most psychopaths are not murderers; most violent criminals are not psychopaths. Separating myth from fact, Essi Viding explores how we identify psychopaths, why they behave and develop the way they do, and whether treatment is possible. | <urn:uuid:0ec05bb9-66d1-46d6-949f-676e3b639f94> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://bookshop.canterbury.ac.uk/very-short-introductions | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371824409.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20200408202012-20200408232512-00034.warc.gz | en | 0.938972 | 2,925 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Projectors have come a long way from the early days. The technology being utilized in projectors from different brands is constantly evolving. One of the biggest changes that have been seen is the way the projectors produce images. There are primarily three different technologies being used in projectors – DLP, LCD, and LCoS. They all produce images using different methodologies.
Digital Light Processing (DLP)
The Digital Light Processing technology is the most commonly used technique in projectors. A DLP projector has an array consisting of many small square mirrors known as the Digital Micromirror Device or the DLP chip. The mirrors can independently reflect the light produced by the projector lamp. The number of mirrors will depend on the resolution of the projector. Each mirror represents one pixel produced by the projector. A 1080p projector has over 2 million mirrors (1920 multiplied by 1080 to be exact).
The direction in which the light is reflected by a mirror determines the creation of the pixels on the screen. Each mirror is mounted on a hinge and its position can be adjusted independently. The mirror can be tilted either towards the light source or away from it at an angle ranging from +12° to -12°. If the mirror faces towards the light, it creates an “on pixel” which is light in color, if it faces away it creates an “off pixel” which is dark in color. The projector may adjust each mirror thousands of times in one second. The position of each mirror depends on the image code that the DLP chip receives. The chip adjusts the image by optimizing features like brightness and color of the image and then passes the adjusted image code to the mirrors.
The mirrors create the image by reflecting the light from the lamp onto the projector screen via the lens. The light reflected by the mirrors is in a gray shade. The pixels reflected can be in one of the 1024 different shades of gray color that the projector supports, yielding a grayscale image with high details. The projector adds color to the image by using a spinning transparent color wheel.
The color wheel is also in sync with the DLP chip. It converts the white light from the lens into red, green or blue color before it falls on the mirrors as per the directions of the DLP chip. The color wheel and the mirrors work in tandem with the DLP chip and can create 16.7 million colors. The eyes of the viewers will blend different colors and allow them to perceive the image as it should be. The mirror will repeatedly flash red and green light on a pixel if it needs to make it yellow. As the flashing speed is very fast, the eyes of the viewer will perceive the image as yellow.
Some projectors, especially those used in movie theatres, make use of three DLP chips each of which has a separate color wheel. They also have a prism that separates the white lights from the lens into red, green and blue. Each of the three chips receives light of a different color and reflects it onto the mirrors. It allows the projector to produce up to 35 trillion colors. Modern projectors use LEDs instead of the color wheels and lamps traditionally used in the projectors. These LEDs are red, green and blue and produce superior images.
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)
The Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) is another technology being used in projectors to produce images. LCD projectors function in a way similar to the LCD TVs.
The projectors have a light source which emits white light. This beam of light is separated into three distinct wavelengths, red, green and blue, by using dichroic mirrors. The projector has three liquid crystal panels each of which is made up of tiny pixels depending on the resolution of the projector. The pixels are colorless and don’t alter the wavelength of the light. An electric current can control the pixels and determines if the light will pass through a pixel or not.
All the three LCDs in the projector display the same image at a particular instance of time. The images on the LCDs are in grayscale. The three separated light beams hit one of the three LCDs imparting color to the grayscale image. There are three versions of the image produced; the first is red, the second green and the third has a blue tint.
These three versions of the image are then combined into one image via a dichroic prism which is made up of four triangular prisms. The resulting final image consists of millions of colors. This final image is then passed through the lens and onto the projector screen.
Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS)
The LCoS projectors combine the technologies of the DLP and the LCD projectors. These projectors have liquid crystal chips like the LCD projectors, but there is a significant difference. The chips used have a reflective surface on their backside which allows them to reflect light like the mirrors in DLP projectors.
In the LCoS projectors, the beam of white light from the lens is filtered into visible components and then divided into red, green and blue wavelengths. The three beams of different colors are then directed onto the three LCoS chips respectively.
An LCoS chip comprises of a transparent thin-film transistor layer, followed by a liquid crystal layer and a semiconductor layer made of silicon in the end. The semiconductor layer is pixilated and has a reflective surface. The light first hits the transparent layer and then reaches the liquid crystal layer. The liquid crystal layer controls the amount of light that goes onto the semiconductor’s surface depending on the image that has to be output. The semiconductor layer then reflects the light.
The light from each of the three LCoS chips is then combined using a prism to produce the final image. The lens then projects this image onto the projector screen.
How do the DLP, LCD and LCoS projectors stand against each other?
The pros and cons of the three variants of the projectors must be taken into consideration to determine how they fare against each other.
The contrast ratio of a projector is one of the most important features that determine its picture quality. It is defined as the difference between the darkest pixel and the whitest pixel output by the projector. It imparts depth and dimension to the images displayed on the projector screen. The higher is the contrast ratio of a projector the more realistic the images will appear.
Modern DLP projectors have a better contrast ratio when compared to the LCD projectors. The images output by them are far more realistic than those produced by the LCD projectors. Hence, DLP projectors are highly recommended for home theatres. Companies have been continuously improving and refining the technologies used in LCD projectors. Most modern LCD projectors offer good contrast ratio though not as good as DLP and LCoS projectors.
LCoS projectors have the best contrast ratio as they utilize the technologies of both DLP and LCD projectors. It allows the projectors to produce images that are as real as possible. Some projectors use the Auto Iris technology to boost the contrast ratio. The lens opens when more light is needed and closes in dark scenes when a low amount of light is required. It can improve the contrast ratio of the projector, but all buyers may not prefer it.
The brightness of a projector is another important feature that buyers consider while searching for a projector. The brightness of a projector defines the light output by the projector and is called the lumens rating.
While the light output of a projector varies from one model to another, DLP projectors on an average have the best light output. When considering lamp and LED DLP projectors, the lamp DLP projectors will be brighter though modern LED DLP projectors are almost as good as the lamp DLP projectors.
The light output of the LCD projectors is less than the DLP and the LCoS projectors though it will vary from one model to another. LCoS projectors have not traditionally been as bright as the LCD or DLP projectors. However, technological advancements have put the brightness of modern LCoS projectors at par with the DLP projectors if not better than them.
Another thing that will impact the light output of the projectors is their cost. An entry-level DLP projector may have a lower lumens rating than a top-end LCoS projector due to the quality of the components used. Also, an entry-level LCD model will have a lower light output than a top-of-the-line model. While comparing the brightness output of different types of projectors, it is best to consider models within the same price range.
The color range output by a projector determines how vibrant the image will be. Due to constant advancement in technology, all the three types of projectors produce images with comparable colors. It may, however, differ from model to model or brand to brand, and a buyer can browse multiple models for the same.
Buyers who want to buy a projector for their home theatres or for playing video games have to consider if the images have motion blur. Motion blur is the streaking effect observed in videos that have rapidly moving objects. The transition of the objects in the video is not smooth and appears blurrier. It can hamper the viewing experience of the user.
DLP projectors have the least amount of motion blur and hence produce the sharpest and well-detailed images. LCD and LCoS projectors do experience a certain level of motion blur especially in videos with rapidly moving objects. However, very few people find a noticeable difference between the projectors.
A nuance that some people might notice in projectors is the rainbow effect. A rainbow effect causes the bright part of images produced by a projector to have a hint of multi-colored light like a smeared rainbow.
The effect is seen in single-chip DLP projectors and happens when the speed of the color wheel used on the projector reduces while producing images. LCD and LCoS projectors do not use a color wheel and hence do not produce the rainbow effect. The rainbow effect is not seen in three-chip DLP projectors and is minimal in single-chip projectors with high-speed color wheels.
Screen Door Effect
Another nuance that viewers may see in the images produced by the projectors is the screen door effect. All projectors produce images that are composed of pixels. When the images produced by projectors are viewed from a close distance, the pixels might be visible on the screen with spaces in between. The phenomenon is called the screen door effect.
The screen door effect in DLP projectors is almost invisible as compared to the LCD projectors. They have a higher pixel fill factor which implies that the space between simultaneous pixels is less making the effect inconspicuous. LCoS projectors have the least pronounced screen door effect as compared to DLP and the LCD projectors. Buyer can consider projectors with higher resolution to mitigate the screen door effect. The higher is the resolution of the projector, the less will be its screen door effect.
The upkeep of the projectors is another important factor to consider when buying a projector. Projectors are exposed to dust particles which can accumulate over time and hamper the image quality.
The DLP projectors are the best choice for dusty environments as they have sealed chips which makes them dust resistant. The image quality of the projector does not decay over time ensuring that they have low upkeep.
The LCDs used in LCD projectors are prone to dust particles as they are not completely sealed which may cause the image quality to degrade over time due to the accumulation of dust particles.
LCoS projectors may have sealed or open chips depending on the model. Their dust resistance will depend on whether the dust can reach the path that the light beam travels through or not.
Projectors that use multiple DLP chips or LCDs need to converge the light beam from three sources for producing the final image. As the chips are small, they have to be perfectly aligned as even a slight variation can affect the final image quality. LCD, LCoS, and triple-chip DLP projectors are the ones that can have convergence issues. Not every projector model will have convergence issues. It is seen in projectors that might have suffered an accidental fall in transit or when in use. Convergence issues are not seen in single-chip DLP projectors as they use a single chip and have no need of convergence.
A few Other Notable Differences Among the DLP, LCD and LCoS Projectors
1) The DLP projectors are lightweight as compared to LCD and LCoS projectors making them the ideal choice for customers who are looking for a portable option. LCoS projectors are the heaviest among all three types of projectors.
2) The DLP technology produces the deepest black color among all the projection techniques. However, their contrast ratio is not as good as LCoS projectors. The black color that is produced by LCoS projectors is not as dark as that produces by the DLP projectors but they have the best contrast ratio that counters it.
3) The LCDs employed in the projectors may have a buildup of dust particles over time which will lower the quality of the output images and cause them to appear smudged. These projectors must be protected from dust and have high upkeep.
4) The pixels of the LCDs can also burn overtime and reduce the quality of the output images. DLP and LCoS projectors do not face the pixel burn issue.
5) LCoS projectors are the most expensive among the three types of projectors while the DLP projectors are the cheapest when considering projectors with the same resolution and features.
The right projector for a buyer will ultimately depend on his or her requirements and budget. What may be the right projector for one user might be an inappropriate choice for another user. Buyers can browse and try different projectors for determining the one that is perfect for their needs. | <urn:uuid:cfdd7c59-53b8-4e81-a57e-d89623fa930a> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | http://en.jmgo.com/news/differences-among-dlp-lcd-lcos-projector.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370526982.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20200404231315-20200405021315-00275.warc.gz | en | 0.935816 | 2,886 | 3.671875 | 4 |
17 Mar Michael Collins and the Eight Hundred Year Occupation: Did A Non-State Soldier Defeat a Global Empire on Bloody Sunday on 21 November 1920? by Bill Buppert
In this celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day, we should reflect on the liberation of Ireland at the beginning of the twentieth century as a demonstration project of how it is done. Michael Collins would play a larger than life role in bringing this divorce in the court of world opinion and rubbing the English nose in it. He would be an unknown contemporary of other giants like T.E. Lawrence and Paul Emil von Leetow-Vorbeck at the turn of the collectivist century.He would stare down one of the other giants, the statist and war-loving Winston Churchill and win. -BB
“Realists appealed to Collins. There would be no more glorious protests in arms, he decided. He built a cadre of realists around him, first in the IRB, then at Volunteer headquarters, where he took over Pearse’s old post as Director of Organization before becoming Director of Intelligence, finally in Dáil Eireann, as the underground government’s very effective Minister for Finance. Collins was a doer. Essentially a well-informed opportunist with very few scruples, his entire ideology could be stated in five words: ‘The Irish should govern themselves.’”
– Sean Cronin, “Irish Nationalism: A History of its Roots and Ideology”
“The characteristics which mark Collins out as a remarkably successful Director of Intelligence during the War of Independence include his evident appreciation of the importance of the collection and assessment of information as primary elements of intelligence operations which should precede action; his partial penetration of his adversary’s own intelligence system; the efficiency and ruthlessness with which action based on good intelligence was taken; and his success in preserving the security and efficiency of his own organization both in Dublin and in Britain despite the pressures it operated under because of the constant threat of raids, arrests and the capture of documents.”
– Eunan O’Halpin, “Collins and Intelligence: 1919-1923 From Brotherhood to Bureaucracy” (in the anthology Michael Collins and the Making of the Irish State)
Michael Collins was a tough young Irish operative during the seminal years of Eire’s final divorce from the United Kingdom at the beginning of the twentieth century. This essay will attempt to discover if Collins was the culminating point that brought Number Ten Downing Street to the negotiation table, stared down Winston Churchill and came home with the solution for Irish independence from the British Crown.
Ireland was invaded and occupied the British crown in 1169 and suffered a brutal occupation punctuated by indigenous risings, rebellions and pockets of resistance. Sinn Féin emerged in 1905 to formalize a political vehicle to liberate the Irish from the British occupation. These sophisticated rebel organizations started to emerge in the in the 19th and 20th century, culminating in the 1916 Easter Rising which led to the mismatch and overreach that would be the undoing of English rule over the Irish.
Michael Collins would emerge as the premier guerrilla leader during the crucial struggle between 1916 and 1922. He embodied the early germination of the non-state soldier as a twentieth century variation on the age-old warrior in history and fought in Ireland under a variety of covers and positions within the political hierarchy of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). Collins would fight for the next four years culminating on Bloody Sunday on 21 November 1920.
The Rising in 1916
During the Easter week of 24-30 April 1916, the IRB fielded the Irish Volunteers and smaller elements of Irish nationalists rose in armed rebellion in Dublin against the British crown. The violence was a tremendous shock to the authorities in London and they reacted with enormous disproportionate use of military and constabulary forces to quell the rebellion. “The British Army reported casualties of 116 dead, 368 wounded and nine missing. Sixteen policemen died, and 29 were wounded. Rebel and civilian casualties were 318 dead and 2,217 wounded. The Volunteers and ICA recorded 64 killed in action, but otherwise Irish casualties were not divided into rebels and civilians.” Executions and reprisals followed and Collins started to rise in the ranks to prominence in the aftermath of the Fort Sumter of the twentieth century Irish revolution against the Crown and eventually a bloody civil war that would pit Irishman against Irishman.
An increased colonial imperial presence started to expand its reach on the southern island that was the heart of the rebellion. England was on a war footing in her third year of fighting in the First World War and troop movements and weapons availability were quite abundant for the forces deployed. The British had to invest in a counterinsurgency campaign and still had upper tier members of the military high command with bitter memories of the COIN difficulties in the two Boer conflicts fought less than a generation before.
The Rebellion in Earnest
The IRB and the other militant organizations started to realize that the war would have to be one of the classic insurgent and conducted in “suit and tie” as it were, assuming aliases and slipping through the mass base undetected. Collins would for three years hide in plain sight in Dublin and its environs posing as a businessman named “John Grace”. Great Britain would respond with one of the most slipshod and misinformed counterinsurgency (COIN) campaigns in recent history with a number of missteps that would eventually cost them the conflict and the island of Eire would eventually float out of the Dominion orbit. Some suppose that if that had not occurred during wartime, that the COIN may have had an even chance of success but the “modus operandi and outlook…had been shaped during wartime for the intelligence apparatus which required intelligence officers to cut corners, dispense with vetting procedures and cold pitch informers.” The British also severely underestimated the IRB/IRA counterintelligence operations being conducted against them.
Once the British introduced the Blacks and Tans, a paramilitary police unit in concert with the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), the atrocities started to even gain attention in England and some Members of Parliament warned that the harsh treatment would lead to a deepening resistance and compel the populace to close ranks with the rebellion. Contrary to the popular media, the massacre at Croke Park in 1920 where 13 civilians died was at the hands of the RIC and some auxiliaries. Nonetheless, a critical mass of English brutality was having a measured effect on the Irish mood that the IRA took full advantage of and Collins hatched a plan to assassinate members of the intelligence organization known as the Cairo Gang headquartered in the Castle.
The propaganda war on both sides was quite effective although one can say the Irish rebellion had an advantage between a sympathetic USA and British public becoming exhausted with the expense and the apparent atrocities starting to percolate for the unintended conflict that Great Britain had been escalating since 1919. Even Churchill grew weary in 1920: “What was the alternative? It was to plunge one small corner of the empire into an iron repression, which could not be carried out without an admixture of murder and counter-murder…. Only national self-preservation could have excused such a policy, and no reasonable man could allege that self-preservation was involved.” One can bookend this speech with one of the greatest speeches Churchill even made on 8 July 1920 concerning the British military massacres of Indians at Amristar on 13 April 1919 (also known as the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre) and his condemnation of British military excesses in the Raj, one cannot help but think he was conflating some of that brutality with what was transpiring in Ireland during the war. Churchill’s reputation as one of the finest speakers in the English-speaking world gave him a platform which enthralled millions in the British public whether broadcast or read transcripted in the daily newspapers. The daily mauling of Irish civilians by British occupation forces may have started to gain more traction.
On 19 June, 1920 the commanding officer of the RIC in Listowel informed his ranks:
“Now, men, Sinn Fein have had all the sport up to the present, and we are going to have the sport now. The police are not in sufficient strength to do anything to hold their barracks. This is not enough for as long as we remain on the defensive, so long will Sinn Fein have the whip hand. We must take the offensive and beat Sinn Fein at its own tactics…If a police barracks is burned or if the barracks already occupied is not suitable, then the best house in the locality is to be commandeered, the occupants thrown into the gutter. Let them die there—the more the merrier. Should the order (“Hands Up”) not be immediately obeyed, shoot and shoot with effect. If the persons approaching (a patrol) carry their hands in their pockets, or are in any way suspicious-looking, shoot them down. You may make mistakes occasionally and innocent persons may be shot, but that cannot be helped, and you are bound to get the right parties some time. The more you shoot, the better I will like you, and I assure you no policeman will get into trouble for shooting any man.”
The perfect storm was emerging that would lead to the operation that would change the course of the conflict and eventually draw the British to the negotiating table to parley for a conditional settlement and peace that may free the Irish from English dominion.
Collins would strike the match that would put the British in the hazard. His “Squad” was comprised of volunteer gunmen and supporting elements that would target the Cairo Gang at Dublin Castle who were a key component of the intelligence complex the English had deployed into Ireland to quell the rebellion. The popular media has greatly exaggerated the importance of the Cairo Gang in the vast network of intelligence assets the Crown had deployed but the propaganda impact coupled with what would happen within hours of the assassination would force the British government to find a solution the IRB and indigenous Irishmen would agree to.
“Shortly after eight in the morning, [Collins’ men] converged on eight different addresses in Dublin. Nineteen soldiers, one or two of them probably not agents, were roused from their sleep and shot.”
Of these, thirteen were killed and six wounded according to official reports. When Collins would hear the news, he would say: “Good God. We’re finished now. It’s all up.” This was not the blow the popular media makes it out it to be ands tends to be exaggerated. This was a propaganda blow but had a relatively minor operational impact from an intelligence perspective.
“In hindsight, Collins’ operation, although executed with imprecision was a shock to British intelligence but quite limited in scope. The IRA succeeded in eliminating only a small fraction of the legion of British intelligence operatives, although there is no question that a few of those assassinated were among the more experienced and aggressive operators. At the end of the day IRA gunmen killed seven confirmed intelligence officers, two legal officers, one informer, and two Auxiliary temporary cadets, while wounding four more suspected spies.” Collins blow would nonetheless have far-reaching effects that would happen just that afternoon.
The day was not over as the bloody-minded British Blacks and Tans and some associated constabulary possibly seeking revenge opened fire at the football pitch in Croke Park that afternoon by killing 12 civilians and maiming hundreds of other players and spectators in what would become the Croke Park massacre that would even upset the British government at the ferocity and brutality of the attack after the stinging rebuke Churchill had spoke against mere months before in the Parliament during General Dyer’s trial for the Indian massacre.
A mere two years later in December 1921, the Irish would get their independence after almost eight hundred years as a mostly unwilling vassal of the United Kingdom. This would spark a vicious civil war between two competing factions that would be long and bloody. Collins would be assassinated himself in his personage as the military commander of free Ireland by a rival Republican faction in August 1922.
Collins was an able commander and essentially one of the first successful non-state soldiers of the twentieth century although T.E. Lawrence may tangentially take the laurel for being a state soldier commanding an entire army of non-state soldiers in WWI during the British fight against Turkey in the Middle East. One must entertain the counterfactual that had Collins not struck such a blow and reaped the unintended windfall of English brutality and callous disregard for human life at Croke Park that same afternoon if the Commonwealth may have remained intact.
“… [G]iven time, strength and public support, the British forces could have reduced rebel operations to negligible proportions. Nevertheless, these quintessential conditions were missing. While the IRA survived, political pressure on the British government increased and though the balance was tantalizingly fine, the IRAS held out longer than the government’s nerve. That was what mattered.”
Collins survived and went toe to toe.
Collins was at the right time and right place to take full advantage of English missteps and capitalize on the unintended profit from Churchill damning the military brutality by Raj forces in India resulting in thousands of civilian deaths and maiming. Many forces were starting to coalesce to include the post-WWI exhaustion of Britain, British financial woes and the consolidation of Irish guerrilla forces under a capable and effective leadership. The combination of ruthless efficiency, political stellar alignments and the sheer exhaustion of the British public with the conflict most likely tipped the balance for Collins and his confreres.
A single day in which both the protagonists swung at each other may very well have set the conditions for Irish freedom.
Foy, Michael, and Brian Barton. The Easter Rising. Chicago: The History Press, 2011.
Hittle, J.B.E. Michael Collins and the Anglo-Irish War: Britain’s Counterinsurgency Failure. Washington DC: Potomac, 2011.
Herman, Arthur. Gandhi & Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age. New York: Bantam, 2009.
Wilson, A.N. After the Victorians: The Decline of Britain in the World. New York: Farar, 2005.
Coogan, Tim Pat. Michael Collins: The Man Who Made Ireland. Boulder: Roberts Rhinehart, 1992.
Hittle, J.B.E. Michael Collins and the Anglo-Irish War: Britain’s Counterinsurgency Failure. Washington DC: Potomac, 2011.
Doherty, Gabriel, ed. Michael Collins and the Making of the Irish State. Dublin: Mercier, 1998.
Barry, Tom. Guerilla Days in Ireland. Cork, Ireland: Mercier, 1995.
Cronin, Sean. Irish Nationalism: A History of Its Roots and Ideology. New York: Continuum, 1982.
Dwyer, T. The Squad: and the Intelligence Operations of Michael Collins. Cork, Ireland: Mercier, 2005.
Foy, Michael. Michael Collins’s Intelligence War: The Struggle Between the British and the IRA 1919-1921. Charleston: The History Press, 2006.
Gleeson, James. Bloody Sunday: How Michael Collins’s Agents Assassinated Britain’s Secret Service in Dublin on November 21, 1920. Guilford: Lyons Press, 2004.
Hart, Peter. The I.R.A. at War 1916-1923. New York: Oxford USA, 2005.
Schneider, James. Guerrilla Leader: T. E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt. New York: Bantam, 2011. | <urn:uuid:bd984fa9-c50b-49be-9dff-ceebaf59ef35> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://zerogov.com/2014/03/17/michael-collins-and-the-eight-hundred-year-occupation-did-a-non-state-soldier-defeat-a-global-empire-on-bloody-sunday-on-21-november-1920-by-bill-buppert-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371886991.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20200410043735-20200410074235-00434.warc.gz | en | 0.964142 | 3,269 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Drug and alcohol addiction recovery often begins with the challenging process of detox. The client must overcome withdrawal symptoms and cravings to use more of the substance of abuse. Withdrawal can be taxing on the body and often requires medical treatment. Some people try to help their friends and loved ones without medical care and often resort to “home remedies” that can be futile or even dangerous.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information has established its Clinical Guidelines for Withdrawal Management for Treatment of Drug Dependence in Closed Settings. In addition to detailing medical standards and practices for treating withdrawal, it outlines some important points on helping a person through detox, including things that should be avoided during detox.
- Don’t try to counsel the person in detox. They may be in a state of confusion and extremely vulnerable, so any words of consolation may be taken the wrong way.
- Don’t instruct the individual to exercise. Withdrawal symptoms may be exacerbated with physical exercise and even prolong the experience.
- Don’t provide unrealistic expectations. Sometimes, friends may try to give the person reassurance by saying things that aren’t true about withdrawal symptoms. Simply be there to support them.
Reasons to Avoid Home Remedies
Individuals who abuse opioids, for example, may try to slowly taper off the drugs at home. This can be a challenge without medical supervision, and users go back to using the drug at original doses simply to feel better. Some people may take over-the-counter medications for diarrhea, nausea, and aches and pains to combat withdrawal symptoms. This can be dangerous because one’s tolerance to other medications can change with exposure to opioids, and medical complications, such as dehydration, may require hospitalization.
According to NIH’s Overdose Death Rates, for all drugs, around 50,000 overdose deaths occurred nationally in 2015, compared to around 40,000 in 2011. If an individual has overdosed, all the signs may not be evident at home. Medical testing and treatment may be required to manage the effects of an overdose and, quite possibly, save the individual’s life.
Many people who attempt to detox at home try to stop taking drugs suddenly, or “cold turkey.” For certain substances of abuse, such as alcohol and benzodiazepines, this can put the body into shock and trigger life-threatening withdrawal symptoms.
There are other reasons to avoid at-home detox attempts, such as:
- The risk of relapse is high. Anxiety, muscle cramps, stomach pain, perspiration, and other opioid withdrawal symptoms can be hard to cope with. Benzodiazepine withdrawal involves anxiety and muscle pain, plus restlessness, irritability, agitation, and concentration or memory problems. With alcohol withdrawal, anxiety, dehydration, perspiration, and changes in heart rate and blood pressure can be severe. Because the discomfort associated with withdrawal can be alleviated by ingesting the drug in question, relapse is likely if professional support isn’t available to prevent it.
- Mental health issues compound the problem. Depression, bipolar disorder, and other conditions add to the difficulty of addiction and detox. Mental health issues tend be amplified during detox. States such as agitation, anxiety, paranoia, and insomnia may heighten. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), anxiety and depression represent the most common mental health disorders that can accompany addiction. In medical detox, the client will receive medical support to manage these issues.
- Serious medical complications are possible. Chronic medical issues, such as liver problems, can emerge during drug or alcohol use, and they may be undiagnosed. As a result, complications during detox are possible. Potential complications may include shock, respiratory deficiency, cardiac emergencies, seizures, and other medical situations that cannot be handled or resolved outside of a medical setting.
It’s therefore important for medical and psychiatric professionals to be on hand during detox to continuously monitor the individual. These professionals can provide medication and therapy to stabilize the person and guide them toward the next phase of recovery.
Additional Concern for Home Detox Remedies
The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) published Principles of Effective Treatment: A Research-Based Guide (Third Edition) that details how to treat an individual suffering from drug or alcohol addiction. These principles outline various practical approaches to treating the disease, and one of the principles is that treatment should be readily available at all times; otherwise, withdrawal complications could prove fatal in some instances.
For example, if Amy’s friend is helping her detox from alcohol at home, Amy might be willing to push through this difficult withdrawal stage. Her body, however, might not be as strong as her desire to quit. A friend may not be able to convince Amy to drink enough fluids because she feels so ill. If dehydrated, she may need intravenous fluids, which cannot be provided at home. Amy can become agitated and erratic. A bigger concern, however, is the potential for hidden medical issues, such as liver damage or dangerous fluctuations in blood pressure. The risk of permanent impairment or worse can only be mitigated in a controlled environment, such as a detox facility or hospital. It’s likely that Amy will simply relapse to alcohol abuse and not complete the withdrawal process; in the worst-case scenario, Amy may experience life-threatening withdrawal symptoms, such as seizures, and professional help may not get there in time.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH), alcohol abuse accounts for $25 billion in healthcare costs and $224 billion overall in terms of costs related to medical treatment, lost productivity, and crime. Illicit drugs account for $11 billion in healthcare costs and $193 billion overall.
While it can be tempting to utilize home remedies in an effort to help an addict detox, these at-home attempts are not the answer.
The principles outlined in the NIDA publication mentioned above indicate this. Treatment for an individual struggling with substance addiction should be handled professionally for a variety of important reasons.
- Addiction is a complex disease, and some drugs can alter the structure and function of the brain. Proper treatment is required over the long-term because the risk of relapse exists long after one stops using the substance.
- Addiction treatment must be matched with the drug of abuse and the physical and psychological traits of the person. Outpatient or inpatient treatment settings, intervention strategies, and treatment services vary based on the person’s condition and recovery needs.
- The treatment must focus on drug abuse, withdrawal, and recovery, and all associated mental, legal, vocational, and other problems must be addressed for it to have any positive results. Treatment staff members must also factor in the age, culture, and gender of the individual.
- The time period one is in treatment is a major consideration. Three months of treatment is the minimum needed by most individuals struggling with addiction, according to NIDA. Any relapses will require more treatment or adjustments to the care protocol.
- Many individuals require medication, such as naltrexone or buprenorphine, especially when recovering from addiction to heroin or other opioids. Disulfiram is often prescribed to those struggling with chronic alcohol dependence.
- Family, group, or individual counseling, plus other options like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), focus on the individual’s motivation and ability to resist additional drug use. They also instill problem-solving, interpersonal, and life skills in clients.
- A treatment plan should be continuously assessed and modified based on the person’s needs throughout the course of treatment. Different medical services, medications, therapies, and social or legal services may be required over time.
Effective Detox Is the Gateway to Recovery
Survival Analysis of Drug Abuse Relapse in Addiction Treatment Centers, a study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, reveals that even with professional treatment, relapse is a concern. In 2012, it found a relapse rate of 30.42 percent among 140 individuals in four addiction treatment centers in Iran, with a median of time to relapse of 25 ± 2.25 months. A monitored and supervised treatment process involving facility staff and families seemed to be effective in lowering the relapse rate.
Detox and addiction treatment should therefore involve families of affected individuals and medical professionals. The study identifies drug abuse as a chronic condition and a lifestyle disease. Over the course of the research, 43.6 percent of subjects relapsed, and just 56.4 percent remained abstinent of substance use.
Medical Detox Determines the Level of Care Needed
One should avoid complacency when helping a friend or loved one detox because there are specific medical criteria for determining the level of care needed. The criteria are outlined in SAMHSA’s Quick Guide for Clinicians. These include ambulatory detox with or without onsite monitoring, clinically managed residential detox, medically monitored inpatient detox, and intensive inpatient treatment. In the guide, evaluation domains involving biomedical and psychosocial factors are identified as well. It also outlines the unique approaches to treating specific populations, such as adolescents, parents with dependent children, victims of domestic violence, and others. Withdrawal symptoms and potential complications associated with specific drugs are listed too.
If one is not familiar with the established protocols for helping an individual detox, they should avoid providing care that might be ineffective or harmful. There are many different types of drug abuse. These are explained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine. The characteristics, symptoms, and treatments for addiction to alcohol, heroin, cocaine, and other drugs vary from one substance to another. A December 2016 article from HealthDay News reveals that drug overdose deaths are continuing to climb. Overdoses of synthetic opiates are complicating matters and demanding more frequent extreme medical actions, such as resuscitation.
Avoiding home detox remedies can set an individual struggling with addiction on a better path. The serious consequences of drug use should be managed in a professional setting. Physicians, nurses, and psychologists are equipped to address challenging symptoms and complications during the detox stage. | <urn:uuid:ac9a23a7-4898-4b0f-a30b-a4199a94ef5f> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://riveroakstreatment.com/drug-detox/avoid-when-helping/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370510287.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20200403030659-20200403060659-00115.warc.gz | en | 0.935698 | 2,066 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Tibet Autonomous Region vs. the Tibetan Area
Travel to Tibet is on many travelers' dream list, not only because of its mysterious religions, unique culture, but also the exotic scenery on the roof of the world. But where is Tibet? When people talk about Tibet, they usually refer to the Tibetan Autonomous Region (T.A.R.), a province of the People’s Republic of China. However, to the local Tibetan people, Tibet is a much larger area, which includes all the areas of the Tibetan Plateau, where Tibetan people are native.
1. Tibetan Provinces/Administration Districts distribution
The Tibetans are one of the 56 ethnic groups in China and the indigenous people of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In China, they are mainly distributed in the Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province, western/northern Sichuan Province, northern corner of Diqing, Yunnan Province, and southern of Gannan, Gansu Province. In addition, there are also Tibetans in India and Bhutan, etc. At present, there are about 7.5 million Tibetans in the world and about 7 million in China (2016).
Where is Tibet Autonomous Region (T.A.R)?
Tibet Autonomous Region is located in the southwest of China, bordering Nepal and India. Lhasa is the capital city of T.A.R and an international tourist city with plateaus and ethnic characteristics. It is the political, economic, cultural, scientific and educational center of Tibet and a holy place for Tibetan Buddhism. In addition to the famous Potala Palace is the landmark of Lhasa, the Jokhang Temple is the spiritual center of Tibet, the most sacred Buddhist temple in Tibet. Other top things to see in T.A.R. include the cradle of Tibetan civilization - Tsedang & Samye at Yarlung Tsangpo River Valley, the world's highest mountain - Mount Everest, the most sacred mountain - Mount Kailash and the Tibetan 'Swiss-Alps' Nyingchi on the eastern of T.A.R.
Top attractions: Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Monks debating in Sera Monastery, Yamdrok Lake, Namtso Lake, Manasarovar Lake, Tashilhunpo Monastery, Mount Everest Base Camp, Mount Kailash, Guge Kingdom Ruins.
Where is the Tibetan area?
Tibetan area covers all the Tibetan plateau where Tibetan people are native to. It generally spread across five provinces of China including all T.A.R, the most of Qinghai province, the southwest part of Gansu, the northern and western portion of Sichuan Province and the northwest corner of Yunnan.
1) Tibetan area of Sichuan
The Sichuan Tibetan area mainly refers to the Garzê (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the western of Sichuan and the Aba Tibetan & Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in the northern part of Sichuan.
Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is the major part of the historical Tibetan region of Kham. 78% of the population is Kham Tibetans who live up to their reputation for bravery and horsemanship. Garzê is a very geographically diverse region where you can enjoy the breath-taking natural landscapes, like the famous Yading Nature Reserve. It is also a great place to experience Khampa culture by visiting the hidden monasteries in the mountains or take part in one of their festivals, like the Litang Horse Racing Festival in early August.
Aba Tibetan & Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in the northern part of Sichuan is very famous for its rolling grasslands, a great place to enjoy the nomad life. Other world-class tourist attractions include the Jiuzhaigou National Park, Huanglong National Park, and Wolong Giant Panda Breeding and Research center.
Top attractions: Danba Tibetan villages, Mount Siguniang, Tagong Grassland, Yala Snow Mountain, Xinduqiao, Daocheng / Yading Nature Reserve, Yarchen Gar (Archen Monastery), Hailuogou Glacier Park and Dagu Glacier Park, Jiuzhaigou National Park.
2) Tibetan area of Yunnan
Tibetan area of Yunnan mainly refers to Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture which is located in the northwest of Yunnan Province, at the junction of northern Yunnan, eastern T.R.A., and southwest of Sichuan. It is one part of the historical Tibetan region of Kham'It is one of the eight autonomous prefectures in Yunnan Province. The prefecture’s capital Shangri-La, a place regarded as an earthly paradise, where you can appreciate the snow-capped mountains, mighty river, remarkable gorges and authentic Tibetan villages. You should try and go to the mountain of Karwa Karpo, one of the holiest mountains in Tibetan. It is a well-known forest kingdom, with a forest coverage rate of 73.95% and a forest greening rate of 78.91%. Locals believe that everything has spirits and worships natural deities. They have a rule that follows generations, not cutting trees that are bearing fruit.
Top attractions: Tiger Leaping Gorge, Deqin Feilai Temple, Mount Meili, Baima Snow Mountain
3) Tibetan area of Gansu
Tibetan area of Gansu refers more to the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It is located in the southwestern part of Gansu Province, China. It is connected to Aba & Qiang Prefecture of Sichuan Province on the northeast edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and borders Huangnan Prefecture and Golok Prefecture of Qinghai in the southwest. There are 121 Tibetan Buddhist monasteries including Xiahe Labrang Monasteryand Langmusi Sertri Monastery, which are national cultural relics protection units. The locals believe that the human body is formed of four substances: soil, water, fire, and air. After death, the body still needs to be transformed into four substances. Therefore, their funerals are divided into four types: burial, water funeral, cremation and sky burial.
Top attractions: Labrang Temple, Langmu Temple, Zhagana, Sangke grassland
4) Tibetan area of Qinghai
China's ten Tibetan autonomous prefectures, Qinghai occupies six. Xining is the capital city of Qinghai, a great place for travelers to stop for 1-2 days acclimatization of the high-altitude. If you plan to take the Qinghai Tibet train to Lhasa, Xining would be your best choice, not only because the beautiful train journey landscape (Kekexili Nature Reserve) starts from Xining, but also it has more trains than any other city.
Yushu (Gyêgu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is located at the source of the Three Rivers in the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the southwest of Qinghai Province. It is known as "the source of rivers, the ancestors of famous mountains, the land of yak, the land of singing and dancing". The famous Yushu Horse Racing Festival will be held from July 25 to August 1 every year. Everyone will be dressed in bright national costumes and will dangle their tents on the Jiegu Prairie to participate in horse racing, yak racing, Tibetan wrestling, equestrian, archery, shooting, ethnic song and dance, and Tibetan costume display Activities with national characteristics.
Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is located in the southeast of Qinghai, at the first bend of the Yangtze River. It is renowned as “the hometown of Tibetan painting”, and the exquisite skills Rebgong art plays an important role of Tibetan Buddhism art. The Golog (Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is also located in the southeast of Qinghai, bordering Gansu Province in the east and Sichuan Province in the south. It contains many beautiful lakes and the holy Buddhist mountain - Mount Amne Machin. Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is located in the northeast of Qinghai Province, adjacent to Gansu Province in the north. Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is located south of the famous Qinghai Lake, Haixi Mongolia Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is located west of Qinghai Lake.
2. Traditional and historical Tibet
In a traditional and historical way, the greater Tibet cultural area includes three main regions: Ü-Tsang (Central Tibet), Amdo, and Kham. It is divided according to the scope of the three major dialects. There’s a saying in Tibetan area: the best horses are in Amdo, the most beautiful people are in Kham, and the most prosperous Buddhism are in Ü-Tsang. Another way to distinguish those three ethnic groups is from their costume: The overall style of Ü-Tsang Tibetan clothing is elegant and luxurious. Influenced by the Mongolian nomads, the Amdo Tibetans are used to dressing the simple and dark clothing with fewer accessories. However, Kham Tibetan people are extremely rich in dressing up, they always like bright colors and accessories in clothing and outfit.
Ü-Tsang is known as Central Tibet, it is the area of the current central and western part of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. It shows an important role in Tibet's history, it's the cultural heartland of Tibet and the starting point of the Tibetan civilization. The first Buddhist temple - Samye monastery and the first palace - Yumbu Lakang Place are all located here. Their dialects are relatively consistent, and they are more unified in politics, military, culture, and economy. It is the traditional core area of Tibet and was formerly known as the headquarters of Tibet.
The Amdo Tibetan area is located in the northeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. There are many celebrities here. It's the birthplace of many academic masters and monks such as Tsongkhapa, Gendün Chöphel, the 10th Panchen Lama - Choekyi Gyaltsen, the 14th Dalai Lama - Tenzin Gyatso, etc. Amdo has vast prairies and the most beautiful grassland. The grassland provides living space for Tibetan nomads and produces the nomadic culture with the best horse in the whole Tibet.
The Kham Tibetan area is located in northwest Sichuan, north Yunnan, eastern T.A.R., and south Qinghai. They are inhabited between the mountains and rivers of the Hengduan Mountains. The harsh natural environment has not only shaped the strong and bold character of Kham people but also cultivated their traditions and customs to go out to do business. Therefore, most Tibetan businessmen are from Kham. Kham is very famous for the Khampa culture, Buddhism institutes, and Geography diversity. The Kham people have the most pious faith.
3. How to organize a trip across two or more two Tibetan areas
4. Travel Regulation Difference
When visiting Tibet Autonomous Region (T.A.R), Tibet Tourism Bureau (TTB) Permit is required document for all foreign and Taiwanese travelers. WindhorseTour will help to organize all of the Tibet permits by using the scanned copies of the travelers’ valid passport data page and China visa page, about 20-30 days in advance. It is an entry permit before boarding a flight or train to Lhasa, or crossing the borders of T.A.R via an overland trip. Please read our Tibet Permits page for more details.
There’s no special travel permit needed to visit Sichuan/Yunnan/Gansu/Qinghai's Tibetan area. These areas can be visited with a regular, valid Chinese visa. Just some certain places are subject to close, such as the Sertar Larung Gar, Yarchen Gar, etc.
5. Best time to travel
- December to February: It is a great time to visit Lhasa and the surrounding area in winter as it is a great time to experience Lhasa’s devout heart — multitudes of Tibetans practicing Tibetan Buddhism. Usually, it’s not a very good time to visit the Tibetan region during the winter as it could get really cold, but Hailuogou Glacier Park in Garzê Tibetan prefecture and Dagu Glacier Park in Aba Tibetan prefecture are the exceptions.
- March to April: Spring is coming and it’s the best time to see the flowers blooming in the villages of Danba and Jinchuan valley in Garzê Tibetan prefecture. On the other side, thousands of peach trees are blooming in Nyingchi, eastern T.A.R. It looks like an oil painting with gorgeous scenery. April is considered one of the best times to see the true face of Mount Everest.
- May to June: Trekkings are recommended during these periods with its mild climate and good weather. Normally late April to early June, or September to early October is the best time to visit Mount Kailash. However, the famous Saga Dawa Festival will be held between May and June (the 15th day of the 4th month according to the Tibetan calendar), a truly unique cultural experience. Thousands of pilgrims will come here to pray and worship, honoring their respective faith. It’s also the best time to visit Shangri-La, Diqing Tibetan Prefecture. Besides, you will see the gorgeous alpine lake of Draksum-tso, the lush green of Lulang forest and the gorgeous views of Mount Namche Barwa in the Nyingchi area, Eastern T.A.R.
- July to August: July and August are generally suitable months for any part of Tibet except the highway between Bayi town to Ranwu in eastern T.A.R. because of the Monsoon season. There are big horse racing festivals held in Yushu Tibetan Prefecture, Litang of Garzê Tibetan Prefecture, and Nagchu of T.A.R. It’s also the best to visit Qinghai Lake (Rape flower blossom), Labrang Temple (prayer festival), Langmusi Sertri Monastery. The biggest Shoton Festival (the 30th day of the 6th month according to Tibetan calendar) also happens in August or early September.
- September to November: When people ask me what’s the best time to visit Tibet, I always say “absolutely September”. It’s one the best time to visit Mount Everest Base Camp, you will enjoy the sunrise over Mount Everest and have the full view of this magnificent Mount Everest due to the good weather and visibility. We regard October as a heavy season or golden season. You will be amazed by these gorgeous sceneries with colorful autumn views in Jiuzhaigou and Yading Nature Reserve, basically the whole western Sichuan from the end of September to early November. | <urn:uuid:1dfad74f-89ca-4ad6-8cf9-f1a5490164d9> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://windhorsetour.com/tibet-travel-tips/tibet-autonomous-vs-tibetan-area | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370521574.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20200404073139-20200404103139-00073.warc.gz | en | 0.937805 | 3,145 | 2.890625 | 3 |
- Significantly greater risks of cognitive decline, cancer, low testosterone, high cholesterol, high blood pressure
- The same diet and exercise program reduces all of these extra risks
Did you know that some of us put on three times more fat while eating exactly, precisely (repetition intended!) the types and quantities of foods as others? Did you know that these “triple-fat-gainers” will ultimately be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes? And that the same body chemistry—uncorrected—significantly increases risk of dementia, cancer, cardiovascular disease, loss of vision, and kidney failure? And that’s not all!
The term “triple fat gainer” is literally descriptive of the outcome of one of many “sugar research” studies done by Prof. John Yudkin, MD, PhD of Queen Elizabeth College in London. My reading this study and his 1972 book about sugar—Pure White and Deadly—just before opening the Tahoma Clinic in 1973 has guided my approach to prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes ever since.
“Triple-fat-gainer” is my term describing the average nine pounds gained by university students with a family history of type 2 diabetes as compared with the average three pounds gained by other university students with no family history of type 2 diabetes in just one month, while both groups were eating exactly the same high-sugar diet! Yes, that’s nine pounds as compared with three pounds: triple-fat-gainers!
The body chemistry which causes this triple fat gain is unfortunately shared by 115 million[i] of us in these United States. As the population of our country is 318.9 million[ii] (both figures from 2014), that’s 36% of us!
How can it be that a little over one in three are triple-fat-gainers? Have chemicals in food, food refining, water pollution, air pollution, cell phone towers, chemtrails, lack of exercise, and all the other hazards of “modern” civilization caused it? Many of these problems can aggravate and accelerate this situation, but aren’t the actual cause.
The cause is hundreds of thousands of years old! Way back then, having the body chemistry of a triple-fat-gainer was actually an advantage! And it wasn’t accompanied by higher risks of all the diseases listed above. Why was triple-fat-gaining body chemistry an advantage—good for us!—hundreds of thousands of years ago, and actually continued to be good for us until the “invention” of farming, which (depending on which researchers we’re reading) was “only” 9,000 to 11,000 years ago?
Before farming, humans living in the northern and southern hemispheres ate what they could find—small animals, large animals, fish, various roots, leaves….where’s the “carb” in that? Yes, fruits, berries and mushrooms appeared “in season,” but except in the tropics, there wasn’t a gatherable supply of relatively high carbohydrate foods year-round.
What do foods higher in carbohydrate do in our bodies? When digested and absorbed, higher carbohydrate foods raise blood sugar (glucose), which in turn signals the pancreas to make more insulin. Insulin’s job is to help transport the glucose into nearly every cell in our bodies, where it is “burned” for energy, and any excess is stored as fat.
No one yet knows when, where or how, but back in the “mists of prehistoric times” when hunting, fishing and gathering were the only ways to eat, some (but definitely not all) peoples’ insulin secretion response to eating carbohydrates changed dramatically. As compared with everyone else, these individuals’ pancreatic islet cells would make twice, three times or more the amount of insulin in response to eating carbohydrates.
When more insulin was secreted, more sugar was transferred into nearly every cell in their bodies. The larger amount of sugar couldn’t be “burned” all at once for energy, so more of that sugar was stored as fat, and—there we have it—these individuals are the “remote ancestors” of our modern-day “triple-fat-gainers”, and at that time, being a “triple-fat-gainer” was an advantage, very specifically a survival advantage for the “hunter-gatherer” humans living in the Northern and Southern hemispheres of our planet.
In those areas, higher carb foods—fruits and berries—were available only at specific times of years, mostly later in the summer and into early fall.
When individuals possessing the “triple-fat-gainer” pattern of insulin secretion ate those seasonal berries and fruits, they put on three times as much fat as individuals by the time winter arrived as did individuals with the “regular” insulin secretion pattern.
When cold and relatively cold winters arrived and food was scarce and sometimes very scarce, the “triple-fat-gainers” were of course fatter, and more likely to survive until springtime—and have children—than individuals with the regular insulin secretion and lower fat storage pattern, who just might not make it through a colder, scarcer food winter. Even after farming arrived, there were still “feast and famine” times; among other places, they’re mentioned more than once in the Bible. “Triple-fat-gainers” would be more likely to survive famines, too.
So the “triple-fat-gainers” insulin secretion pattern was a survival advantage for most of human history. Why has it “morphed” into such a disease-causer in just the last century or two?
The problem is that extra-high insulin signal evoked by carbs. If it’s unusually high for those few weeks a year when hunter-gatherer people are “chowing down” on berries and fruits (almost forgot the occasional victory over bees resulting in extra honey consumption!) but not higher the rest of the year when there’s very little carb stimulus, human bodies can handle that. But in “modern times” when sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, and many other varieties of carbohydrate are available “24/7,” our bodies start to ignore that high insulin signal. Technically, that’s called “insulin resistance.”
Think of it this way: when your Dad or Mom yelled at you from time to time when you were a child, you listened and likely did as you were told. But if your Mom (or more likely Dad) yelled at you all the time, you “tuned out.” The longer the yelling went on, the less you responded. It’s the same with our bodies’ response to high insulin—if it’s not present very often, not a problem, if present all the time, our bodies try to tune out.
But what would happen if the insulin couldn’t get the blood sugar into the cells? We’d rapidly run out of energy to burn for nearly every bodily process! So when our bodies try to ignore the high insulin signal by developing “insulin resistance,” our pancreas islet cells make an ever-increasing amount of insulin to keep putting the same amount of sugar into the cells.
The unrelenting pressure of carbohydrates “every day, every day” causes a decades-long upward spiral of “more insulin, more insulin resistance, even more insulin, even more insulin resistance, even more insulin than that, even more insulin resistance than that, and ever-upward” which culminates with insulin resistance so “tough” that even the by-now-extremely high insulin signal can’t get as much sugar as before out of the blood into the cells. So there’s progressively more sugar in the blood, and when that’s detected it’s “officially” diagnosed as type 2 diabetes: high blood sugar and high insulin! (For the record, type 1 diabetes is high blood sugar and very low or no insulin.)
This situation is completely correctable without any patent medications at all! (More about that later.) For now, let’s briefly review four of the many troubles caused by that decades-long upward spiral of insulin.
HIGH INSULIN AND COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT
We’ll start with a quote from a research review:[iii]
Insulin is a master regulator of…..aging in all known species, determining the rate and expression of aging in multiple body systems. Thus, it is not surprising that insulin also plays an important role in brain aging and cognitive decline that is associated with pathological brain aging….Brain insulin resistance may be associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, and the condition which precedes Alzheimer’s disease, known as “amnestic mild cognitive impairment.
With 115 million Americans either pre-diabetic (insulin signal spiraling ever-upward) or already diagnosed with 2 diabetes, it’s no wonder that cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease are affecting more and more millions!
HIGH INSULIN AND CANCER
Leptin is a hormone made by fat cells; more fat cells, more leptin. Higher insulin levels (which occur in ever-greater amounts for decades before the actual diagnosis of type 2 diabetes) increase leptin production; higher levels of cortisol (the well-known stress-response hormone) also increase leptin[iv]. “Triple-fat-gainers” (who ultimately become type 2 diabetics) of course have more leptin than others.
Research using prostate cancer cells found that leptin decreased the response of the estrogen receptors designated as “beta” receptors (ERb), which are known to be “anti-carcinogenic” receptors.[v] In experimental animals, stimulation of ERb with the anti-carcinogenic testosterone metabolite 5a-androstane-3b,17b-diol (“3b-Adiol”), causes regression of prostate cancer and counteracts metastasis (remote spread).[vi]
So even if a man’s levels of “3b-Adiol” are adequate, the more leptin he has, the less well 3b-Adiol can help his prostate fight cancer.
In addition to “stealing” some of the anti-carcinogenic effect of ERb, leptin also increases the activity of the pro-carcinogenic estrogen receptor alpha (Era). It’s a “double whammy”: leptin increases pro-cancer activity and decreases the anti-cancer activity of estrogen receptors, for both men and women!
We’re not done with the cancer-promoting effects of leptin. Leptin increases levels of another pro-carcinogenic estrogen, 4-hydroxyestrone, and decreases levels of the anti-carcinogenic estrogen 2-hydroxyestrone as well as levels of the exceptionally potent anti-carcinogenic estrogen 2-methoxyestradiol. (2-methoxyestradiol is so potent that patent medicine companies are frantically scrambling to make an unnatural but patentable “derivative” of it!.)
Once again, leptin is decreasing “good” estrogen and increasing the “bad” version of estrogen, giving both men and women higher risk of cancer.
Remember: Excess insulin = more fat = more leptin = higher cancer risk.
One more note: in postmenopausal women, “metabolic syndrome” (which is caused by a decades-long overly high insulin signal, see above and below) is associated with more aggressive breast cancers.[vii]
HIGH INSULIN, LESS TESTOSTERONE FOR MEN AND WOMEN
This one’s so well known to research scientists that I’m not bothering with any footnotes. (Shouldn’t more than one footnote be called feetnote? But back to the real topic….)
In both men and women, testosterone is transformed into estrogen by an enzyme called “aromatase.” By Nature, women’s bodies transform testosterone into estrogen very efficiently, leaving only a little testosterone behind. Men are much less efficient at (among other things, just ask many women about male efficiency!) transforming testosterone into estrogen, so quite obviously men have significantly more testosterone than estrogen. All according to Nature’s plan.
Nature didn’t plan the “modern” diets still followed by many. Most modern diets stimulate much more insulin secretion than hunter-gatherer diets. As you read above, “modern” diets stimulate very much more insulin in “triple-fat-gainers,” and ever more than that as the years go by.
More insulin makes the aromatase enzyme go faster and faster, turning more and more testosterone into estrogen. This impacts men more noticeably than women; as more estrogen is made, things don’t work as well for men in the sexual function department. Higher than usual estrogens aren’t good for prostate glands, either. In severe cases, men develop “man boobs”!
More insulin makes a woman’s aromatase enzyme go faster too, with the same result. More estrogen is made, less testosterone left behind. To quote a well-known politician, “What difference does that make”? As in that politician’s case, it makes quite a difference.
For some (but certainly not all) women, testosterone is important for libido. As muscle is just as testosterone-dependent in women as in men, less testosterone means less muscle mass, significantly raising risk of becoming a “little old lady.”
It’s not as well known that women’s moods are not just affected by estrogen and progesterone, but also by testosterone and DHEA, the “adrenal androgen.” One of Tahoma Clinic’s medical assistants told me she could tell when women using bio-identical hormone replacement were using adequate androgens “because they quit calling me on the ‘phone all the time!”
HIGH INSULIN AND “METABOLIC SYNDROME”
Remember, the unique metabolic difference between “triple-fat- gainers” and others is a significantly higher-than-usual insulin response to even one day’s worth of carbohydrate intake. Sooner or later, that unusually high (and now every day high) insulin response causes “metabolic syndrome”, sometimes starting as early as childhood. (Quick review: “metabolic syndrome” is defined as a combination of two or three or all four of the following: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, abdominal obesity, and the recent (research-proven[viii],[ix],[x],[xi]) addition of osteoarthritis, which is also called degenerative joint disease). “Triple-fat-gainers”—almost always children and younger adults—who don’t already have “metabolic syndrome” will almost certainly develop it if they (or their parents) don’t recognize what’s happening and take steps to prevent it.
THE SAME HEALTH PROGRAM ELIMINATES ALL THESE EXTRA RISKS!
So what to do? Treat the cause, not the symptoms! Patent medications to lower cholesterol and blood pressure do nothing at all to get at the cause of metabolic syndrome, that persistently high insulin signal. To reduce that now-persistently-high insulin signal (worst in “triple-fat-gainers”) stimulated by eating way more carbohydrates (starches and sugars) than were ever available in “hunter-gatherer” times, the only program that can possibly (and safely) treat the cause is a return to a low-carbohydrate, “hunter-gatherer” type diet (Paleo Diet) along with “hunter-gatherer” type exercise (termed “interval training” in modern times).
If done strictly, this will actually eliminate the cause of the “metabolic syndrome” and simultaneously prevent type 2 diabetes. Yes, there are supplements that will help the process (more about those in another issue), but without strict adherence to the very specific “caveman” (and of course “cavewoman”) diet and exercise programs, these supplements can’t do the job.
For many, it’s not easy to make these changes, but when they’re adopted, they work. Metabolic syndrome slowly disappears. Type 2 diabetes is prevented! No patent medicines required! And as a bonus for “triple-fat-gainers”, they lose all that excess fat! A small bonus point: Almost all “triple-fat-gainers” who’ve followed the Paleo Diet and exercise program have told me they’ve been able to eat as much as they want and continue to lose weight if everything they ate was “in the Paleo book”.
Other Articles In This Edition of Green Medicine
- Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy
- How to Determine if You’re a “Triple-Fat-Gainer”
- Parkinson’s Disease: New Hope
- Your Doctor Can’t Be Trusted…
[iii] Cholerton B et al. Insulin Resistance and pathological brain aging. Diabet Med 2011
[iv] Fried SK et al. Regulation of leptin production in humans. J Nutr 2000
[v] Habib CN et al. Leptin influences estrogen metabolism and accelerates prostate cell proliferation Life Sci 2015
[vi] Dondi D et al. Estrogen receptor β and the progression of prostate cancer: role of 5α-androstane-3β, 17β-diol. Endocrine-Related Cancer 2010
[vii] Healy LH et al. Metabolic Syndrome, Central Obesity and Insulin Resistance are Associated with Adverse Pathological Features in Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Clin Oncol 2012
[viii] Korochina IE, Bagirova GG. [Metabolic syndrome and a course of osteoarthrosis]. Ter Arkh. 2007;79(10):13-20. [Article in Russian]
[ix] Korochina IE. [Determination of C-peptide, serum insulin, and characteristics of tissue insulin resistance in patients with osteoarthrosis]. Klin Lab Diagn. 2008 Jul;(7):18-22. [Article in Russian]
[x] Puenpatom RA, Victor TW. Increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome in individuals with osteoarthritis: an analysis of NHANES III data. Postgrad Med. 2009 Nov;121(6):9-20.
[xi]Velasquez MT, Katz JD. Osteoarthritis: another component of metabolic syndrome? Metab Syndr Relat Disord. 2010 Aug;8(4):295-305. | <urn:uuid:550153e5-9e6d-41a8-a117-9b160fdd73ae> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://anh-usa.org/triple-fat-gainers-extra-health-hazards/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371886991.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20200410043735-20200410074235-00433.warc.gz | en | 0.929809 | 4,085 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Many successful professionals with good leadership skills fail to maximize their career potential because of a number of instinctive good habits – things that make them highly effective executives, well-liked and respected by their colleagues, but which are not best designed to progress their careers to the next level.
Corporations were created to be legal entities in their own right. They are legal entities. The people who work for corporations are paid by the corporation for the sole purpose of advancing corporation’s interests. Corporations do not exist to employ people and, in general, prefer to employ as few people as possible. The corporation current management can have any other feelings except the ones for company interests.
There is no social bond between corporation and their employees. If we work for corporation our colleagues also do not own us any of the usual social obligation. Because their duty is to serve the corporation, not to be a part of a social community. Work in corporate world has its satisfactions and rewards, but there is a ruthlessness inherent in the battle for corporate survival in a globalized world that drives ruthless behavior by the corporations’ servants.
There are eight core principles of corporate behavior:
Corporations are not social structures
Corporations are not »communities« or »associations of individuals«. Because of this essential disjoint between the interests of the corporation and the interests of the people who work for it, people’s relationships to the corporation and to each other, as members of the corporation, are based almost entirely on self-interest.
Corporations are feudal
Authors is comparing corporations to feudal kingdoms. They believe that a lot of insights into corporation work we can get from reading Machiavelli and his Prince. Machiavelli was comparing Ottoman Empire that was governed by Sultan who divided his kingdom and appointed people to administer various regions. In this system people loyalty was always to Sultan and not to administrators. He contested that structure to structure of 16th century France, where kind gave land to barons and many of the barons in France represented significant power bases, that were very independent. In reality, the modern corporation is a feudal structure with a powerful “monarch” at its head, but with many “barons” who hold significant power and command considerable loyalty from their individual fiefdoms.
In 2015 Fortune magazine reported that CEO in the 500 largest companies in US had a tenure of 4.9 years. In the corporate world, monarchs change frequently. When that change occurs, everything within the corporation shifts: old alliances fall apart; promising careers are cut short; new powers emerge.
In order to be successful in this world, you need to find out power bases, you should think about their strengths, consider who is disaffected or ambitious; you should look for own alliances and supporters and weight very carefully chances of power bases and possibilities of future success and then pledge alliances to them. People are more likely to be maneuvered into roles by their sponsors and supporters than they are to achieve promotions through sheer brilliance. Since there are fewer and fewer roles when you are coming closer to the top, for you to succeed, someone else must fail.
Corporate courts have etiquettes and intrigues
If corporation is like a feudal kingdom, then head office and the executive suite represent the feudal court. If you want to progress in your career in corporation, it is essential to get yourself to court and to get yourself noticed. You have to become »one of the court people« to progress in corporation. It is not actually necessary to sell your soul to the corporation, but it is essential that the corporation believes that you have done so. Once you have mastered the essential etiquettes of court, keep your eyes and ears open for the intrique. Knowledge is power and gossip is priceless – once it has been carefully cross-referenced.
Successful courtiers seek out advancement
The world is full of talented, hard working people; very few of them are CEOs. It is a good plan to think of yourself as a luxury brand. Choose your USP, find opportunities to connect with the people that matter and tell them what sets you apart from the others. Create your brand and promote yourself. Give people a reason to help advance your career. No one will seek you out.
Powerful masters need loyal followers
Every person of power who wants to become more powerful needs supporters. Corporations usually promote people that have them. As a foot soldier, you have a chance to advance with strong sponsor. Your sponsor will let you know that he or she has their eyes on a particular future role for themselves and will make it clear that you would be in line for a particular promotion to a specific role if they can count on your continued support. But be careful, allegiances can shit. That are critical momemnts in any career when ability to spot the moment that a star’s light is beginning to fade is the single most important factor affecting your career progression. Being in the wrong camp at the moment when power is shifting can be a major setback. But backing the wrong horse is ussually a temporary setback, not a career killer.
No one can be trusted
Everyone has their own agenda. Trust no one. When anyone – including your friends – says anything or asks anything, consider what their agenda might be. No question is innocent. As famous French diplomat who server under Napoleon and King Louis XVIII. Talleyard said: »Mistrust first impulses; they are nearly always good,« and«Speech was given to man to disquise his thoughts.« Do not make mistake of giving your natural, honest response to any question. Do not be self-deprecating and avoid irony, sarcasm and wit; they are generaly misunderstood. If you run into problems, don’t admit your mistakes. One way of how to explain failures is: »We did meet some obstacles that no one had foreseen, but a great deal of good was achieved along the way.«
Everyone is disposable
When we are young, we believe we are immortal; when we are at work, we believe that we are indispensable. Corporation, unlike you, really is potentially immortal. It will use up a very large number of successful executives to further its ends over time and it will spit them all out. To be brutally honest, most people do not actually make and truly outstanding contribution to the corporation’s objectives. Corporations are designed to withstand the loss of any individual executive. Middle managers are most of risk. Corporations have a habit of removing whole layers of middle management. Another risk run by middle managers is that they become pawns in the power struggles of more senior managers. Many actions that are based on »redundancy phase« are merely a way of reorganizing the corporation when managements shift. So the best advice for work in corporation is to earn as much money as you can, as soon as you possibly can. Because you are dispensable, you can never be secure. Resign yourself to the fact that this is a game that you are certain to lose in the long run. In the meantime, amass power.
Corporations are constantly on a war footing
The people at the very top of any corporation feel that they are under siege. As a direct result, they see other executives only in terms of how useful they will be in helping to ward off the enemy. So you need to develop and flag up the resources that you have. Create a sense of your own value and currency. Build alliances, but be careful when they change. Your job is to identify weaknesses of your peers and to swoop in on them with your cleverly amassed overwhelming resources. The battle for power in the modern corporation has a great deal in common with the constant minor wars between the principalities of Renaissance Italy.
The Six Habits that are Bad for Progressing your Career – (too Good habits)
- Working too hard
People who work too hard can become invisible. They turn into safe pair of hands. People who work too hard often fail to be selective in the work they choose to do. Being well-positioned, in the political sense, to take advantage of any opportunity that may arise is very important for success. Luck has some role too. So, working hard can never be enough. It is important that you deliver the results that impress the people who matter, while still finding the time to advance your career by making yourself known to them. If the people who make the key decisions don’t have any dealings with you, they won’t be aware of your hard work either. Portray yourself as a potential leader. The key is visibility, in the best possible light. But also, be careful who communicate your results, so that you make sure, they are not presented from somebody who will claim them as his/hers.
When choosing your time devotion, decide on a meeting that you need to be seen at; the ones where you will be able to look good in front of the right audience. Little pieces of time here and there are no use to the effective executive: to think clearly and to plan, you need big chunks of time. Try to empty your diary, not to fill it. Even if you think that your job is to do all activities that you are charged with, in the end corporation cares only about results, so deliver them. Work hard to get the job done, but use about twenty per cent of your time considering which aspects of your work are most important to the essential business of progressing your career, and to planning and carrying out the tasks that can have a major impact on your career progression.
Many careers have been founded on a great performance in front of the corporate audience. It shows that you are a great communicator; that you have a leadership skill.
- Being helpful
In corporations, the exceptionally good – or at least they are perceived as such – get promoted, the bad one gets fired. Jack Welch, was unabashed fan of the bell curve. He called it “differentiation” and he used it to differentiate his managers. He was brutally honest about corporate life. In their constant war for survival, corporations assess every one of their employees and decide the extent to which they are going to help or hinder the corporation’s survival. Helping other people is not the best route to getting onto the A list. When helping bosses, there are also traps, you need to find proper balance if you need to choose between what boss wants and what is good to corporation. Don’t help your junior colleagues, don’t help your peers. You don’t have time for one to one, you need to devote enough of it to this task to be able to effectively manage department to achieve objectives. Since you cannot possibly know that your colleagues are to be trusted, being helpful to your peers is one of the many good habits that you must break. If you identify a peer or a younger colleague that has potential to bet you in the race, you should find a way to be seen helpful. You should give the impression of being thoughtful, compassionate and, indeed, helpful colleague or leader, without actually doing anything that is genuinely helpful.
When helping bosses, the sort of help they really care is the one that will bring result. Other kind of help is nice to have, but not essential. But be careful of what boss of your boss wants to. Your boss wants to hit targets, but boss of your boss may have broader view, outside revenue, sales and other numerical valued targets. Things like opening new markets, winning awards, improve brand image. So, you should work in that direction to, to be recognizable from the more senior management.
One of the hardest tasks in building a career is to distinguish between opportunities that are certain to advance your career from those that are, at best, a long-shot an, at worst, can even set your career back. Do not help organization at the expense of your career; try to avoid dangerous assignments.
- Being generous
Don share your unique resources. Doing so you can undermine your own career interests. In community it is natural, that you help others. There is very natural temptation to do the same thing in the workplace: to share best practice and co-operate; to try to be »fair« about allocation of resources; to assume that we are all working towards the same commomn goal. That is not the route of your career progression. The skills, abilities, knowledge and other qualities that you bring to the corporation belong to the corporation, as do all of the fruits of your labours.
Your most important resources are:
- The information that you have and the things that you understand
- Your personal skills and abilities
- Your expirience
- Your network of contacts
Leveraging your assets is about planning and politics. You need to work for you in corporation. People who support each other in the race for the top know that there comes a point at which all bets are off and it is every man and woman for themselves. When leveraging your assets there are two views, one what can you offer to corporation and two how you can use them to compete with others. Being clever is a good start, but it doesn’t give you a real competitive advantage. It is the same with emotional intelligence and hard work. You need knowledge, skills, experience and they all are combined into expertise. Knowledge + skills + experience are what make you expert. They develop insight and it is insight that matters. Proving your value to the corporation, you must use your resources, but as you use your resources, your value to the corporation declines. It is essential to keep replenishing your resources as you go along: to acquire new information; learn new skills; to broaden your experience and widen your network of contacts.
Your ideas are assets that must be leveraged in order to progress your career. Having a brilliant idea may well win you some short-term recognition. But turning good ideas into career progression is not a simple matter, and is far from inevitable. Choose your moment well before you release any details; try to make this a very public occasion that is well branded with your name. Aim for maximum impact; make every effort to own the concept. Remember what Tacitus said: “The unfair thing about war is that victory is claimed by everybody, while failure is ascribed to one person alone.”
One asset that is only yours are your contacts. They are sum of total of your network of potentially useful people, inside and outside the corporation. Your “outside” contacts are particularly valuable. Your key relationships are your key assets. Don’t lose control of them.
Choosing when to earn money or to save it for the corporation is an asset in itself. There is no point in being generous to the system if it will not reward you in terms of your career progression.
- Going it alone
In corporations, what matters is power. Corporation is effectively an individual and a selfish one. It acts in its own self-interest, and not in the interest of the people who happen to work for it. This does not mean that there is no social structure within corporations; there is a kind of social structure but it is not like those in normal human communities: the social structure within corporations is based entirely on power and influence, not on mutual help and support.
Building a successful career requires a clear-eyed view of where power in the corporation lies and who is best-placed to help you to advance your career. Believing that you can advance your career without the right sponsors is highly dangerous. Choosing the right sponsors is one of the key differentiators between the people who get to the very top and the “other runners”. The wrong sponsors can be absolutely toxic. You can get dragged down with them. It is important that you know organizational chart of corporation, but it is also important that you know the real organizational chart that shows who actually has power. When identifying those connections, it is good to see who are “children” of power sponsors, their favorites inside organizations, you can benefit from gossip, but do check them. Conferences and who is key-speaker can give some insights. You can pick up some insights through meeting behavior and e-mail conversations. And almost the most important task. Always be nice to the personal assistant of senior people; they will form an opinion of you, and it will be passed on.
When you are looking for a sponsor, if your immediate boss will not take that role, you need a sponsor who are more senior than your boss, who can ensure that you move into your boss’s role when your boss moves on.
In corporation you need self-confidence. Looking like a winner is a big step forward on the path to becoming a winner. But you also need to present yourself to right people. You need to get onto people’s mental maps. You need them to have an opinion about you. But first, you need to connect with them. Make a good impression.
- Being different
Corporations say that their employees should bring their unique personality and interests to work with them to add to the diversity and vibrancy of the workplace, but it doesn’t work like that. Every corporation has its own distinctive culture. If you want to win, play by the rules. Fit in. Successful executives not only play by the rules of their current corporation, they are adept at changing their behaviors to suit the different cultures they encounter when they move to other corporations.
A corporation’s culture is what it is. It is never a good career strategy to imagine that the corporate culture will change to suit you. The same way that corporations have distinctive cultures, they also tend to have favored activities, often sparked by the interests of senior staff. But corporations don’t really like employees to have outside interests. The corporation wants to have your full attention; it likes to feel it has first call on your time and energy. If the corporation does have a favored activity, join in. Keep your other interests quiet.
- Sticking things out
In career terms, the role that currently occupies your time has only one function: to allow you to shine, so that your career can move on to the next stage. Conscientious executives tend to feel that once they have committed themselves to a project, they should see that project through to completion. If a project is taking too long to deliver and is not advancing your career or, worse, if it looks as if it might be deemed to be a failure in the long run, it is vital to leave at the moment when your CV has benefited and before things begin to stall. There is literally no time to waste. Timing is everything. You cannot afford to waste any time on any project that is not advancing your career.
You can do some experiments with projects and jobs in earlier phases of your career, but in middle and later stages, you need to first do a biggest move in your career and then capitalize on your position. The objective of working is to get promoted as quickly as possible at every stage, not to spend long years working on the same project through a sense of duty or obligation. All corporations are playing game of optimism. Be optimistic at work: play the game; but be brutally realistic with yourself about the real situation. At every stage of your career, focus on maneuvering yourself into a position where you can take credit. Every career has a trajectory, and there are key moments in any career when a person’s stock is high. It is important to capitalize on these moments and make some kind of career progression.
favored strength over weakness and fear over love. Some corporate animals go
for the same philosophy.
In the book on page 41
In the book on page 117 | <urn:uuid:e51ce739-7c17-49e3-ac9d-43ae9b836f31> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://principus.si/2019/09/24/dr-mark-powell-how-to-survive-and-rise-in-the-modern-corporation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370518622.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20200403190006-20200403220006-00314.warc.gz | en | 0.968752 | 4,079 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Few things are as infuriating as clocks that are not synchronized. It’s frustrating when the clock on the range and the clock on the microwave act like they’re in time zones that are one minute apart. Now picture that same issue over dozens of clocks in a train station, or hundreds in a school or factory. It’s no wonder that slave clocks, which advance on signals from a master clock, were developed.
When a pair of vintage Lepaute slave clocks made their way to [melka], he knew just what to do – build his own master clock to keep the slave on track. This particularly stylish slave clock uses pulses of alternating polarity every 30 seconds and will work on 1.5-volt pulses, which let [melka] meet his design goal of running for a year off a single AA battery. To keep the power needs low, [melka] relies on the RTC to wake up the MSP430 every second to increment a counter. When it hits 30, a pulse is sent to the clock’s motor through an H-bridge; the MCU alternates the polarity of every other pulse to advance the clock.
It’s not immediately clear how the clock is set; we recall the slave clocks in high school rapidly advancing for Daylight Saving adjustments, so we assume [melka] has provided some way of pulsing the clock quickly to set the time. Regardless, it’s a good lesson in low-power design. And be sure to check out this PIC-based master clock replacement, too.
[Daniel] seems to have a lot of time on his hands for building clocks, and that’s fine by us. For his latest build, he used a vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) to display hours, minutes, and seconds using an MSP430 to drive it.
Like the analog meter clock he built recently, there is no RTC. Instead, [Daniel] used the 430’s watchdog timer to generate 1Hz interrupts from the 430’s 32KHz clock. [Daniel] wanted to try Manhattan-style board construction for this project, so he built each module on a punch-cut stripboard island and super glued them to a copper-clad board. We have to agree with [Daniel] that the bare-bones construction is a nice complement to the aesthetic of the VFD.
[Daniel] set out to avoid using a VFD display driver, but each of the segments require +50V. He ran through a couple of drawing board ideas, such as using 17 transistors to drive them all before eventually settling on the MAX6921 VFD driver. The +50V comes from an open-loop boost converter he built that steps up from 12V.
The time is set with two interrupt-triggering buttons that use the shift register example from TI as a jumping off point. All of the code is available on [Daniel]’s site. Stick around after the break for a quick demo of the clock.
Continue reading “VFD 430 Clock, NYC Style”
This isn’t the first of its type, but [Daniel]’s MSP430 based Analog Gauge Clock certainly ticks off the “hack” quotient. He admits an earlier Voltmeter Clock we featured a while back inspired him to build his version.
[Daniel] was taking an Embedded systems class, and needed to build an MSP430G2553 microcontroller based final project. Which is why he decided to implement the real time clock using the micro-controller itself, instead of using an external RTC module. This also simplified the hardware used – the microcontroller, a crystal, three analog ammeters, and a few passives were all that he needed. Other than the Ammeters, everything else came from his parts bin. Fresh face plates were put on the ammeters, and the circuit was assembled on a piece of strip board. A piece of bent steel plate served as the housing.
The interesting part is the software. He wrote all of it in bare C, without resorting to using the Energia IDE. He walks through all of the important parts of his code on his blog post. Setting load capacitance for the timing crystal was important, so he experimented with an oscilloscope to see which value worked best. And TI’s Application Note on MSP430 32-kHz Crystal Oscillators (PDF) proved to be a useful resource. Three PWM output’s run the three ammeters which indicate hours, minutes and seconds. Push-button switches let him set the clock. See a short demo of the clock in the video below.
Continue reading “Current Meter Shows Current Time”
Quite often, the raison d’être for building a project is to learn and hone one’s skills. In which case it doesn’t matter if the end use seems a bit frivolous. [indiantinker] built BlueIR, a device to control Bluetooth A2DP devices using an archaic IR Remote using a BT-Aux Adapter.
Sounds convoluted? Let’s try again. He uses an old IR remote to send data to a MSP430-series microcontroller, which is connected over serial to a USB Bluetooth Receiver Adapter, which in turn is connected to a set of wired speakers. The Bluetooth adapter is paired with his phone. The IR remote allows him to control the audio player commands on his phone from a far greater distance compared to the bluetooth adapter.
He begins by breaking open the BT adapter to find that the markings on the chip have been erased. What he did find instead, were two pads promisingly marked as TX and RX, but he still did not know the baud rate or the command set. Digging around the Internet, he figured out that the chip used was the OVC3860 Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR Stereo Audio Processor and found its list of AT Commands. After some tests using a serial console he figured out that it worked at 115600 baud. Soon enough, he had it hooked up to the MSP430 Launchpad and was able to communicate. Next up, he built a small PCB, using the toner transfer method. The board consists of the MSP430G2553 micro controller, IR receiver, LED, some decoupling capacitors and a few pull up resistors. He leached power from the 3.3V regulator on the host BT adapter. The assembled PCB is piggy backed on top of the BT adapter for the time being, and a 3d printed housing is on his to-do list. His code is available at the BlueIR Github repo and the video below shows it in action.
Continue reading “IR Remote For Smartphone Via Bluetooth Adapter”
[Rohit] wrote in to tell us about a project he has created. Like most projects, his solves a problem. Sometimes while sleeping, a mosquito will infiltrate his room. He has a mosquito repellent machine but there are 2 problems, he has to get up to turn it on/off and it smells bad when in use. [Rohit] only needed a remote-controlled mosquito repelling machine but decided to make a 6 channel system he calls the RoomMote.
From the beginning, the plan was to use an old Sony TV remote to do the transmitting. The receiver unit was completely made from scratch. [Rohit] designed his own circuit around a surface mount MSP430 chip and made a really nice looking PCB to fit inside a project box he had kicking around. The MSP430 chip was programmed to turn relays on and off based on the signals received from the Sony remote. These relays are inside an electrical box and control AC outlets. Just plug in your light, radio or mosquito repellent into the appropriate outlet for wireless control. Code for the MSP430 is made available on [Rohit’s] project page for anyone wanting to make something similar.
In addition to the relays, there is an RGB LED strip attached to the custom circuit board. By using more of the Sony remote’s buttons, the LED strip can output 6 pre-programmed colors, some mood lighting for the mosquitoes!
Continue reading “RoomMote, A DIY Remote For Your Room Project”
[JMN] took some time to look at the MSP430G2553 mircocontroller (translated). Specifically, he was interested in the clock options and the low power modes. This chip is one of the upgraded processors which have been shipping with the TI Launchpad.
Both the MSP430G2553 and MSP430G2452 come with the Launchpad development board. They replace the MSP430G2231 and MSP430G2211 which came with the original offering. If you already have a Launchpad the chips themselves can be had for around $2.25 and are easily programmed since the development hardware hasn’t changed.
The review starts off by looking at clock options for the processor. The internal VLO is put to the test first, with a look at the power consumption followed by temperature stability through the use of a hair dryer. The actual frequency provided has fairly low accuracy, but it stays pretty stable when hit with the hot air. The next test uses the provided 32.768 kHz clock crystal as an external input. The crystal came with the Launchpad board, and the chip has configurable internal capacitors so this is as easy as soldering the package in place. Hit the link at the top to find out how this clock source fared in testing.
[Andy’s] boss recently returned from a trip to Disneyland with a set of light-up [Mickey Mouse] ears in tow. He said that during the event, every set of “Glow with the Show” ears in the crowd changed colors in sync with the performance. After he and some co-workers speculated on how this was pulled off, [Andy’s] boss gave him a new assignment – to find out how the darned things work!
[Andy] carefully disassembled the ears, sharing his findings and speculations with us. Inside, he found a small flexible circuit board powered by three AAA batteries. At the center of the device resides a TI MSP430G2553 which is tasked with controlling the RGB LEDs embedded in the ears.
In one ear, he spotted what he believes to be a Vishay TSMP6000 IR receiver. Vishay-branded or not, he verified that it does indeed pick up IR signals using his oscilloscope and a TV remote. In the other ear, he found a pair of small IR diodes, which he speculates are used to repeat the IR timing/sync signal received in the opposite side of the device.
The synchronization methods seem completely different than those found in the Xylobands we covered a while back, so we’re really intrigued to find out more about technology behind them.
Stick around to see a video of the light show in action, and since [Andy] says he’s willing to entertain any thoughts on how Disney makes their magic happen, be sure to sound off in the comments.
Continue reading “Tearing Down Disney’s Glow With The Show Props” | <urn:uuid:26aab791-cce8-4dab-9303-e8964c7a638b> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://hackaday.com/tag/msp430g2553/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370506673.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20200402045741-20200402075741-00035.warc.gz | en | 0.9574 | 2,359 | 2.953125 | 3 |
- Additional Plants: herbs
- Crop Production: agroforestry
- Natural Resources/Environment: afforestation, biodiversity
- Production Systems: general crop production
This project was initiated in the fall of 2000 with five producers evaluating the effects of soil amendments, pH levels, aspect, irrigation levels, root size classes and tilled vs. non-tilled soils on Goldenseal (Hydrastics canadensis) and Black Cohosh (Actea racemosa) in a wooded setting. A harvest and drying study will also be conducted upon harvest of the crops.
Before receiving this grant all of the growers involved were practicing cultivating these crops naturally without any chemicals. Charlie Hambel was the only grower involved to have been certified organic, a practice that Charlie continues today.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND RESULTS
The objective of this project was to set up experimental plots for demonstration of best practices for forest based medicinal herb cultivation and production. By involving a variety of growers and species we were able to share our mistakes, experiences and results with others who are producing woodland medicinal herbs. Before any planting was done a series of planning meetings were held to determine the best research methods. An Ohio University graduate student who was already doing some goldenseal research was brought in to share with the group her experiences, methods and to offer some suggestions about how we approach it. Realizing that her approach was a bit to technical for our time and energy we pulled pieces from her suggestions to formulate our own strategy and methods for the project.
The lead grower for this project set up 6 beds to test the effect of different inputs on the growth rate of goldenseal. Within each bed different soil amendments were added, including: composted cow manure and hay as well as composted sawdust. A harvest and drying time study was also performed at a grower field day held on September 30, 2000.
Another grower set up three beds to determine optimal inputs and pH levels for the production of Goldenseal. Soil analysis was taken on each of the three beds before they were planted. Other research being performed includes evaluating tilled vs. not tilled soils for goldenseal and black cohosh, evaluation of different sized root divisions for goldenseal and black cohosh. And another is looking at varying amounts of irrigation and its effect on goldenseal and black cohosh.
In the first year of the project all growers were able to plant their crops after having soil tests and making proper adjustments for pH and fertility. Charlie constructed a root dryer in 2000 as well as modifying an old clothes washer into a root washer. Also in the fall of 2000 we held two grower field days at Charlie Hambel’s farm. Charlie hosted a group of about 20 on September 30th, 2000 including a cooperative development specialist, a local Ohio State University Extension Agent and several medicinal herb growers. The group enjoyed presentations from Greg Duskey, Robin Stephenson, Colin Donahue and Charlie Hambel. Charlie also provided the group with some hands on exercises including different root washing techniques, sharing his design and experience in constructing the root dryer and a size comparison of goldenseal roots that had been cultivated in a variety of different ways.
Charlie also hosted a visit from Edward Fletcher of Strategic Sourcing Inc. in North Carolina. Strategic Sourcing is North Americas leading supplier of cultivated botanicals for medicine. Ed was visiting as a consultant to share some of his experience in working with growers/producers. At Charlie’s Farm, Ed took some soil samples and discussed disease control, cultivation and planting techniques and other herbs that we could be growing. Ed was impressed with Charlie’s operation and the overall health and vigor of his goldenseal.
The second field day was held at Diane Stafford’s Farm, she is another participant in the SARE Producers Grant. The day was spent touring her woodland plantings and identifying potential sites for Ginseng. We also helped prepare the ground for planting goldenseal as part of the SARE grant. Following the work and tour of the property was a Roots of Appalachia Growers Association Meeting, attended by 15 people.
Throughout 2000 we had several growers meetings where grant participants heard presentations from experts on a variety of topics including composting and disease control. Most notably in 2000 the growers group decided to form an Association and has since incorporated RAGA (Roots of Appalachia Growers Association) officially. The small growers group of about 10-15 growers that began meeting in 1998 has now become a growers association with over 60 paying members.
All beds were laid out, amended and planted by the fall of 2001.
Unfortunately three producers needed to drop out of this project in the first year for personal reasons; Lyda Gunter who was evaluating irrigation levels and Maureen Burns who was evaluating aspects and Ann Murrell who was evaluating the growth of different sized root divisions all discontinued their studies. We were however able to find 2 more producers to replace them, but had to change the experiments from the originals as well as having to push the research back one year in order to give new participants time to plant.
Steve Barnett joined in the project to replace Lyda Gunter in looking at the effects of different irrigation levels on goldenseal growth. In the fall of 2001 Steve planted 3, 5’x20’ beds with 3 lbs of goldenseal each. One bed will receive no irrigation, the second will receive 1” of water every 2 weeks (if rain is unequal to) and the third bed will receive 2” of water every 2 weeks (if the rain is unequal to).
Chris and Kathy Cooper took Ann Murrels place in the research and will be evaluating the growth of different sized root classes (small, medium and large) on both goldenseal and black cohosh. These beds were planted in the fall of 2001, four beds were planted (small, medium, large and misc.) The total root weight was taken for each bed before planting and will be re-evaluated in the fall of 2003, and again in the fall of 2004.
There were no growers to fill Maureen Burn’s place, so the evaluation of aspect on the growth of goldenseal and black cohosh had to be discontinued.
Because we had to bring in new growers and lost one growing season on two of the experiments, we decided to add another set of 3 beds on Diane Stafford’s property in the fall of 2001 as well. These beds will complement her existing project of evaluating different amendments and pH levels on the growth of goldenseal.
On September 27th, 2003 Charlie Hambel hosted another field day at his farm, over 20 participants came out to the field day despite the rain. The field day began with introductions and quickly moved into the woods for a tour of Charlie’s herb beds. Charlie talked in depth about goldenseal cultivation and the SARE producers project. Charlie then gave an overview and tour of the root dryer he constructed and gave a demonstration on root washing techniques. The day ended with some discussion about growing goldenseal, ginseng and black cohosh as well as the issue of these crops being poached. Several participants at the field day joined the growers association (RAGA Roots of Appalachia Growers Association) and one even became the Vice President of the association in 2004 after being introduced to the group at this field day.
Participants were able to experience the process of harvesting, washing and drying goldenseal roots. SARE materials were available for participants and SARE was verbally recognized for making this project possible. This event was documented through video and photographs.
In the fall of 2003 Charlie Hambel, Ross Harms and Steve Barnette conducted a harvest of their experiments.
The two remaining experiments; Diane Stafford’s and Chris and Kathy Cooper’s were harvested in October and November 2004, respectively.
Charlie Hambel: effect of different inputs on the growth rate of goldenseal; composted cow manure and hay as well as composted sawdust and leaves.
Average Yield Gain:
Leaves: 2.49 g
Sawdust: 2.33 g
Manure: 2.38 g
Steve Barnette: effect of varying irrigation amounts on goldenseal and black cohosh
Irrigation Level, Yield from bed in lbs
0” irrigation/week, 1.78 lbs
1” irrigation/week, 1.68 lbs
2” irrigation/week, 1.87 lbs
** Inconclusive due to lack of time and poor quality planting stock (suggested that this needs to be looked at over a 5-7 year period)
0” irrigation/week, 11.52 lbs
1” irrigation/week, 11.75 lbs
2” irrigation/week, 12.62 lbs
Ross Harms: compare growth rate of goldenseal and black cohosh in two different growing environments; tilled beds vs. non-tilled or “wild simulated” beds.
Total % Gain:
Goldenseal tilled beds: 2%
Goldenseal wild simulated beds: 0.08%
Black cohosh tilled beds: 0.31%
Black cohosh wild simulated beds: 0.06%
Diane Stafford: evaluating optimal pH levels for the growth of goldenseal and black cohosh
Baseline pH on all beds was 4.9
100# of agricultural lime added
1.75# of goldenseal planted
1.75# of goldenseal harvested
Final pH: 7.6
Control bed, no amendments
1.87# of goldenseal planted
½# of goldenseal harvested
400# of biodynamic compost added
1.56# of goldenseal planted
1# of goldenseal harvested
Chris and Kathy Cooper: optimal root size classes for planting goldenseal and black cohosh. Roots were individually weighed and divided into four different groups/treatment (based on weight) prior to planting.
Treatment, 0-2g, 2.1-3.8g, 3.9-5.5g, 5.6+g
Planted, 751.275g, 1873.935g, 1031.95g, 935.55g
Harvested, 822.85g, 1332.45g, 948.8g, 198.6g
Gain/loss, 71.575g, 541.485g, 83.15g, 736.95g
% change, 9.527g, 28.896g, 8.058g, 78.772
Treatment, 0-2.9oz, 3-5oz, 6-9oz, 9+oz
Planted, 4lb 2oz, 9lb 6oz, 15lb 7oz, 14lb 1oz
Harvested, 6lb 15oz, 27lb 0oz, 30lb 9oz, 24lb 7oz
Gain/loss, 2lb 13oz, 17lb 10oz, 15lb 2 oz, 10lb 6oz
% change, 68.182, 188.0, 97.976, 74.107
Despite the high poverty and environmental degradation by the area, Appalachian Ohio also has significant assets. The area possesses a high degree of biodiversity, which presents opportunities for sustainable development of wood products and non-timber forest products such as the medicinal plants in this study. Substantially underutilized forested and agricultural land and a moderate climate with ample rainfall also make this area ideally suited for development of substantial and sustainable cultivation of non timber forest products.
Mechanisms must be found to encourage sustainable practices among the individual landowners who control the majority of the woodlands in Appalachian Ohio. Otherwise, the woods could be stripped bare of economically valuable timber and non-timber species, with unknown consequences to the entire ecosystem.
Through the efforts of this project, several landowners in the region have become involved in the cultivation of these herbs. The demonstration and field days allowed prospective growers to learn firsthand the ins and outs of herb growing in a forested setting. The project also allowed landowners and growers to receive a variety of resources from guest speakers and project participants.
The project provided an opportunity for participants and others to learn more about the methods used to grow these medicinal herbs an why organic cultivation of these herbs is so important both economically and ecologically. The information gained through the research performed as well as the events held will further the success and understanding of both new and existing growers in this region.
Outreach for this project took place in a wide variety of ways. The Roots of Appalachia Growers Association was kept abreast of the project and its status throughout the 4 years it was being undertaken. Through newsletters, mailings and events the broader community was informed about the project and how they can become involved.
At the field day that were held, SARE materials were distributed and an explanation of the SARE Producers Grant Program was given to participants. Over 55 people were involved in the various demonstrations and field days that were held specifically out of this grant, many others were informed about the project through newsletter mailings.
The results of this study will first be shared with the participating growers and then disseminated to the RAGA Growers Association. A comparison of the results will be made to the research results of The National Center for the Preservation of Medicinal Herbs and another citizen science project that was initiated in 1999. Results from all of these studies will eventually be compiled into a briefing report for growers. | <urn:uuid:6bb30be6-883e-4645-8cea-d4a31c99ba7d> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://projects.sare.org/sare_project/fnc00-316/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371818008.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20200408135412-20200408165912-00153.warc.gz | en | 0.95869 | 2,812 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Free Painting Analysis Worksheet Essay Sample
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The art exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has a very interesting collection from all over the world. I will seek to compare and contrast two unique pieces; one is an oil painting by François Broucher, and two is an etching by Rembrandt Van Rijn.
A lady fastening her garter
It is an oil painting by François Boucher done in 1772 with 52.5x66.5 cm dimensions. The painting came from the Museo Thyssen- BorneMisza, Madrid, and was done during the Rococo period of art. It is part of the collection dubbed “Life and Luxury: The art of living in the 18th century Paris”. The painting is of a woman adjusting her garter with another female looking on. The setting of the painting is la toilette as both ladies are dressed in half coats that were used to prevent make up and powder wig from dripping on the dress. In the 18th century, the act of dressing and grooming was done in public. The lady would be sponge bathed by the maid, and spend her morning hours grooming hair, and sometimes entertaining in her la toilette.
The painting show a lady seated fixing her garter to her left, is a table covered with a lace, a cat below her feet and mirrors, which made-up her toilette set. There is also a dressing screen behind her and a decorative chair too. The fashion in this painting shows that it was done mid 18th century in France. The painter is one of the most extravagantly gifted, and major painters of his time, admitted to the academie royale de peintres et de sculpture as a history painter. At this time, he focused on gallant mythology (nude female bodies and gods).
The rococo style of painting followed the baroque and characterized by more ornate, fanciful, and very aesthetic works. There was an increased use of delicate colors, carving forms, cherubs and myths of love and portraiture. The Rococo style was born at the end of the Baroque era and lasted from 1700 to around 1760 and was based on artificial make beliefs, a lot of light and fine details. The painter throughout his work, especially this piece, he demonstrates a love for voluptuous formed and use of a wide color palette He was a remarkable painter that also engraved , designed opera sets and did tapestry. He was chosen as peinture du Roi and did a lot of paintings for Louis XV and his mistress.
Jupiter and Antoipe
This is 1659 etching by Rembrandt van Rijn, a Dutch artist, and the greatest draftsman in history. His favorite media was red and black chalk, brushes/washes and ink with reed or quill pens. This piece of work is on exhibition in the Museum of Fine Art Houston, and its dimensions are 140x205mm, described as an etching with engraving and dry point. Its part of the “Acid on metal: The art of etching and Aquatint” at the museum. The print is an erotic etching of a god (Jupiter as a satyr about to ravish a sleeping woman Antoipe). It’s a classical mythology about a Greek god who turned himself into a satyr to be able to have the princess Antoipe.
Rembrandt was an artist that specialized in etchings, drawings and paintings. He used these techniques to express mist intimate human expressions. Etching was a type of engraving that used acid to make impression on metal plates that were then transferred to prints. His work is characterized by a lot of self portraits, people’s faces and situations and a lot of bible themes. His etching work was so unique in that even after teaching his pupils who copied his style, there was something so unique about his fluid movements and use of light that made his work stand out. This print inspired on of Picasso’s greatest works” the faun unveiling a sleeping woman in 1936”.
Formal analyses of these two art works
In the formal analyses I will focus on lines, forms, light, movement, composition, space, depth, color and techniques. François use bold defined lines to articulate form in his oil painting of the lady and her garter together with the lines to create a pleasant design. The features of all objects in the painting are well outlined. Rembrandts etchings have variety of lines to bring out the form. There is a mixture of horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines in the print. Lines have also been used to bring tonal variation as seen on the sleeping ladies hips, the satyr’s hips and under arms. He uses bolder lines where there are shadows to show the distinction of the form and the shadow. Rembrandt’s etchings are characterized by the use of lines to express intimate human emotion.
Lighting used by François is consistent with the art style of that period that emphasized on a lot of natural light and fine details. The light in the painting seems to come from the front of the seated lady as the shadow is falling right behind her, and the door to her right. In Jupiter and Antiope’s print, the artist uses light to bring the contrast created by shadows. Most of the sleeping woman’s body is bathed by the light, creating the focal point of the picture. The light brings her closer to the fore ground than Jupiter’s body, which lights up ¾ view of the face. This technique has been adopted by many photographers is lighting their work. It flatters the subject as it slims down the face, and highlights the cheek while creating an illusion of depth.
The form in François’s painting is solidly brought out as each object is clearly visible in relation to the other objects in the painting. In Rembrandt’s print, there only two subject who are clearly defined. There is solidity in the print as one is so drawn by the two figures, and one hardly realizes there are no other objects in the painting.
The lady with the garter painting has a range of colors that brings out the harmony of the picture. The colors range from light to dark, and since it is an oil painting, colors are more emphasized by the natural glow from paints. There is distinct coloration on the seated lady’s face; one can even see the small mole on her face and the rouged cheeks. The predominant colors are the primary colors; blue, and red, while other colors are brown and blue green. The etching by Rembrandt has brown color and black in these etched lines. He uses lines, shade and shadow to bring contrast in the painting compared to the other painting.
François’s painting has different tone that is brought about by the different colors used by the artist. The lighting that seems to be coming from the lady’s right side emphasizes her face, clothes and the screen behind. There is a darker tone as the focus shifts to the fire place and where her companion is standing. The theme of François painting is historical bourgeois art that depicts the fashion and lifestyle in France in the18th century. It uses the natural light to show what time of the day the painting depicts. The Tone in Jupiter’s and Antiope’s print is used to create a sensual mood. The use of the shadow and alternating brilliant light in the print is more predominant than in François painting.
The technique used by Rembrandt is bold strokes that bring out the texture of the print. These bold strokes are made by the etching technique that uses metal plates that are etched on using acid then printed onto paper. François, on the other hand, uses a very smooth finish of paint that gives the painting a fluid feel. The lady’s clothes in Francois painting are painted in a way; one can feel the texture of the material. The texture is depicted in two dimensions. The texture of various objects in the room provide functional as well as the decorative feel in the painting.
The illusion of depth is created in the painting by François with the use of different colors and intensity. The fore ground is the lady and her companion while the background is the painting on the wall and the screen. There are natural shapes in both art works. Rembrandt’s prints have the tonal modeling that has been created by modeling the figure internally using delicate shading to give it the 3D effect. Both art works come from different eras with different styles and themes. The Rembrandt print was done in 1659, during the Dutch golden age. The painter did some painting, as well; but the etching is what gave him that edge and made his artwork stand out. By use of the etching, he uses lines and shapes to bring out the expression and gestures. To be able to compare and contrast the different art works one must understand the painters behind this creativity.
Rembrandt was a Dutch painter that did not have formal training, whereas François studied at the academie royale de peinture et sculpture in France. François was very successful in his career as a painter; he was even commission by the King to do some paintings for him. During that period, Paris was the hub of fashion in the world, and a lot trend setting activities. The height of la toilette process was at that time, and a lot of what François painted around this time depicted that. That explains the painting of the lady fixing her garter. The ritual of dressing in the morning in 18th century Paris was a process and part of the aristocratic life. This influenced his paintings a lot, and his work is well known for the sensuous portrayal of the human body.
Rembrandt, on the other hand, did not have the same luck as François. When he married and moved to Amsterdam, he was successful for a while and met very people that influenced his paintings. His life was struck by tragedy when his wife and 3 children died, and despite of all the apparent success, he had to declare bankruptcy. He was a person in touch with emotions. This is seen throughout his work, in his paintings and drawings. Both artists were fascinated by mythology as seen in Rembrandts print of Jupiter and Antoipe. This Greek mythology, that tells of how Zeus fancied the princess of the river god, so he changed into a satyr and had relations with her.
François painted various works depicting gods, cherubim, for example, the painting of Venus consoling love. Each of these artists was a master in their genres and influenced artists for many generations. Those two paintings are a marvel, and I like the perfect finish of the Rembrandt and the sensual emotions it provokes. The lady in her Garter just brings 18th Century France to life, the excess, the fashion and luxury.
- Non Rational Escalation of Commitment to Studying
- Problems Associated with Homeland Security
- Analysis of the Poem "The Mother"
- Argument Analysis | <urn:uuid:310e3f3c-fb49-4b41-9d55-59607685fe90> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://bestwritingservice.com/essays/Analysis/formal-analysis-linked-to-art-museum-field-trip.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371803248.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20200407152449-20200407182949-00074.warc.gz | en | 0.975586 | 2,334 | 2.734375 | 3 |
The Expulsion of the Acadians began in 1755. Sadly, the Acadians’ troubles did not end with their forced migration from their homeland. Packed into British transport ships like French-speaking sardines, they were sent as far afield as Boston, Maryland, England, and France. Ousted from their land during the French and Indian War, the British made sure the Acadians could not aid their fellow French Canadiens or their closest Native American allies, the Mi’kmaq. Ultimately, most of the deported Acadians found their way to New Orleans, and from there to the Louisiana countryside. While the Acadians in Louisiana eventually thrived, it took them over a decade to create their new home on the Bayou.
From Nova Scotia With(out) Love: The Acadian Migration
The rounding up and shipping out of the Acadians was not exactly pleasant, even British soldiers described how the Acadians “went so Sorrowfully and Unwillingly.”1 The next decade, however, proved even bleaker. Cooped up in ships meant to transport goods, not hundreds, or sometimes thousands, or people, the typical European diseases took their toll. Having been relatively isolated for over a century, many Acadians succumbed to smallpox and other maladies before they even reached the land of their exile.
No matter their port of call, the Acadians found themselves largely unwelcome, especially in New England, where English protestants were tired of being the dumping grounds for homeless French ‘papists.’ Indeed, when 1,000 Acadians showed up in Boston harbor one August, they were refused entry into the city and forced to stay aboard the cramped quarters of their ship, before getting sent back to Halifax, Nova Scotia.2 Even when they did disembark and attempt to make their way in the cities and towns of England’s American colonies, the Acadians faced the reality of abject poverty.
One of the coldest receptions the Acadians received was in Maryland, a colony originally founded as a haven for England’s unwanted Catholics. Over the centuries, however, more and more Protestants had gravitated toward the Chesapeake, and turned the Catholics into the minority. With English Protestants now wielding power in cities like Baltimore and Annapolis, the English Catholics were banned from helping their francophone coreligionists.3 While in Maryland, the Acadians never rose above the poverty level, forced to take low-paying jobs just to survive. Even those who left the cities in search of work in the Maryland countryside met with hard times, where, of those who could find work, many worked as day laborers on plantations.4 Forced into a life of poverty and toil, many more Acadians died in the American colonies from disease, exposure, and malnutrition.5
The fate of those Acadians who made it to France wasn’t much more pleasant. In the 1750s and ‘60s, France had one of the most entrenched, rigid systems of socio-economic hierarchy in Western Europe. The nobility even thought of the peasants as a different species! So when a ragged, emaciated bunch of Acadians started showing up in their ports, French officials kept them largely confined to the slums. In the ten years following their expulsion, 3,000 Acadians came to France’s Atlantic ports.6 Eventually, some worked their way out of the slums and into a more normal level of poverty (most French peasants back then weren’t exactly well off either), and some took their chances on another Atlantic crossing.
All in all, up until the end of the French and Indian War, the Acadians felt like prisoners of war. According to one English Marylander of the time, “The simple French at Annapolis… call themselves prisoners of war. They did likewise here [Oxford] at first; but when one considers that they were treated as prisoners of war by Governor [Charles] Lawrence… they might have thought themselves not only in duty bound to declare themselves prisoners, but also in that character to be entitled to better treatment than they have met with as faithful subjects.”7
But, after years of hardship, the Acadians saw some light at the end of the tunnel when Britain and France signed the Treaty of Paris in 1763, ending the French and Indian War.
Acadians in Louisiana
As they left the negotiation table, the ministers of Britain and Spain must have held their tricorns high. The Treaty of Paris had obliterated France’s New World empire and humiliated a mutual rival. Britain left the peace talks in possession of Canada, the easter half of the Louisiana territory, and Spain’s Florida territories (back in those days Florida was divided into an eastern and wetsern half). The Spanish ministers traveled back to Iberia knowing they had secured the western half of Louisiana and received New Orleans in exchange for the Floridas – not a bad trade.
Unlike other European peace talks of the day, the treaty that the Paris delegates produced actually mentioned a group of people other than European elite – though it wasn’t exactly good news. The Treaty of Paris gave the Acadians living in exile in British territories 18 months to get out.8 With no love lost for their British neighbors, the Acadians in exile throughout the American colonies turned their eye toward New Orleans.
While the Treaty of Paris was signed in February of 1763, for some reason or another (probably mostly having to do with living in the 1700s), the first Spanish governor of Louisiana did not arrive until March 1766.9 So French governors ostensibly had an extra three years worth of control of New Orleans and half the Louisiana territory. And boy did that work out well for the Acadians.
In January 1764, the first group of Acadians, 21 people in all, landed in Mobile, becoming the first Acadian arrivals in Louisiana. Having sailed from Georgia, the small band continued on to New Orleans, arriving in February. The acting French governor Jean-Jacques Blaise d’Abbadie welcomed these immigrants as a pleasant surprise. Even though the territory he oversaw now belonged to the Spanish, d’Abbadie wrote to his superior in the French imperial hierarchy that “I have the honor inform you of the arrival of four Acadian families…”10 Apparently more than happy to welcome Acadian refugees to Louisiana, d’Abbadie aided them in settling a stretch of land north of New Orleans known as Cabahannocer. There, along with 4,000 other Euro-Americans, 5,000 enslaved Africans, 200 African-American slaves, 100 Native American slaves, and 100 free men of color, this quartet of families became the first of many Acadians to settle on the Bayou.11
Before the Spanish governor, Antonio de Ulloa, arrived in Louisiana in March 1766, hundreds more Acadians entered the colony’s ports. Amazingly, the Acadian communities scattered throughout the Atlantic world remained in contact through an extensive grapevine; and once word got out about Louisiana, the full on exodus to the port of New Orleans began.
Wary of the British colonists and the Native Nations that bordered his kingdom’s new territory, Ulloa sought to take advantage of the growing Acadian population he inherited. Writing to his boss, the Spanish colonial minister, a few months after his arrival, Ulloa explained how the Acadians “would rather expose themselves to mortal dangers while searching for the desired freedom of religion and civil treatment than remain… under English rule.”12 Inclined to view the Acadians as a people willing to risk it all for a shot at the good life, Ulloa planned to use the Acadian settlements as a buffer between his colony and its antagonists.
In the beginning, Ulloa’s plan worked like a charm. The first several groups of Acadians were able to settle near one another, reestablishing the communities they’d left behind in Nova Scotia. “Moved by the greatest demonstration of love,” and perhaps by the relief of finally having a bit of luck, the Acadian’s even promised to serve the Spanish King, Carlos III.13 Urged on by their kin who had built farms and ranches along the Mississippi, and Ulloa’s bienvenido, over 1,000 Acadians relocated to Louisiana by 1768.14 With the Acadian numbers swelling, Ulloa began settling newcomers farther up the Mississippi, around the fort at Natchez. Unhappy with being a several days journey away from their Acadian compatriots, the Acadians at Natchez grew bitter toward Ulloa; the sentiment didn’t take long to spread.
On October 29, 1768, the Louisiana Rebellion, led by wealthy Creole and French colonists still loyal to the fleur-de-lis, drove Ulloa from the colony. Recounting the event, Ulloa described how there were Acadians among the rebel’s ranks, who “warmed by the excessive drink which they had imbibed…, agreed without repugnance… to take up arms.”15 Cleary, Ulloa had misjudged the Acadians.
With Ulloa gone, the Spanish government sent an Irish mercenary, Alexander “Alejandro” O’Reilly, to act as governor. Aside from having the best name of anyone in this story, Alejandro O’Reilly proved sympathetic toward the Acadians’ plight. Soon after taking office, in October 1769, O’Reilly received a petition stating that the Natchez Acadians were “continuously exposed to assassination” by the Native Americans living near the fort and that the land they had been granted was “quite sterile.” After taking his time to mull over the request to move, in December O’Reilly allowed the Acadians at Natchez to move farther south.16 The Spanish were once again in the Acadians’ good graces.
By the end of the 1780s, Louisiana was home to well over 2,000 Acadians. As they made their homes along the Bayou and interacted with the numerous cultures that surrounded them, the Acadians in Louisiana slowly turned into the Cajuns – a unique culture that only colonial Louisiana could have produced. Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Sources for Acadians in Louisiana:
- John Winslow, “John Winslow’s Diary,” acadian-home.org.
- Dean Jobb, The Cajuns: A People’s Story of Exile and Triumph (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2005), 174.
- Carl A. Brasseaux, The Founding of New Acadia: The Beginnings of Acadian Life in Louisiana, 1765-1803 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1987), 39.
- Brasseaux, The Founding of New Acadia, 39-40.
- Brasseaux, The Founding of New Acadia, 41.
- Brasseaux, The Founding of New Acadia, 56.
- Brasseaux, The Founding of New Acadia, 38.
- Jobb, The Cajuns, 174.
- Steven A. Cormier, “A New Acadia,” acadiansingray.com.
- Jobb, The Cajuns, 190.
- Brasseaux, The Founding of New Acadia, 80.
- Tim Hebert, “The First Acadians in New Acadia,” acadian-cajun.com.
- Antonio de Ulloa taken from R.E. Chandler’s Ulloa’s Account of the 1768 Revolt,” Louisiana History, Vol. 27, No. 4 (Autumn. 1986): 432.
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Picture this: Marvel needs a new superhero — a character who’s an awesome parent, a devoted spouse, an overachieving employee, and a committed caregiver to an aging parent.
You may not think of yourself as a superhero. But that’s what you are. No, your life may not be as thrilling as a superhero’s, with everyone cheering you on — but you are amazing. Not everyone can do what you do.
But you probably already know firsthand that the role of caregiver may lead to physical, mental, and emotional strain if you overwork yourself. Usually, only the patient gets the care and attention. That means you could be at risk for caregiver depression, compassion fatigue, or caregiver burnout.
What Are Caregiver Depression, Compassion Fatigue, and Caregiver Burnout?
- Caregiver depression is when your role causes a drastic change in your mood — such as feeling sad, anxious, or empty — that prevents you from leading a normal life.
- Compassion fatigue occurs when your caregiving duties lead you to feel helpless, hopeless, unempathetic, and isolated — especially when you are caring for someone you fear is suffering because of their illness.
- Caregiver burnout is when your role causes you to become emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted due to stress.
Here’s how to recognize whether the caregiver role has taken a toll on your health — and ways to take care of yourself.
- Between 40 and 70% of caregivers show signs of depression.
- 11% of caregivers report that caregiving has led to a decline in their physical health.
- 55% of caregivers miss their own medical appointments.
- 72% of caregivers don’t go to their health care provider as often as they should.
- 21% of women in caregiver roles have mammograms less often than non-caregivers, putting their own health needs aside in order to care for others.
Fast Facts About Caregiver Health
Between 40% and 70% of caregivers show signs of depression — while 25% to 50% of them meet the criteria for a diagnosis of major depression.
There are two forms of depression associated with caregiving.
1. Dysthymic Disorder
Dysthymic disorder (DO) is a mild form of depression. If you live with DO, you may find it difficult to concentrate or sleep throughout the night. You may also have poor eating habits.
Symptoms of dysthymic disorder include:
- Feeling hopeless
- Lack of energy
These feelings are serious and do not just go away — they persist year after year.
2. Major Depression
Major depression is typically far more severe than dysthymic disorder. Its symptoms can be crippling to your health. The feelings with major depression are so severe that you may not be able to function in your day-to-day life.
If you live with major depression, you’ve probably told yourself one of the following statements:
- I used to love [fill in a favorite activity], but I just don’t feel like it anymore.
- I rarely have an appetite anymore and my clothes are beginning to fit differently.
- I toss and turn throughout the night — and oversleep when I need to get up.
- I have no energy to do anything anymore.
- I give up, it’s pointless to keep trying.
- I know it’s my fault, I can never do anything right.
- I don’t know why I try to dress up, I always look a mess.
- I overanalyze everything and can never make up my mind.
- I know they’ll be better off without me.
These symptoms tend to last for 2 consecutive weeks or longer.
If you are having suicidal thoughts — as if you don’t want to live anymore and want to end your own life — call 9-1-1 or get emergency help right away. You can also call a suicide hotline number. In the US, call (800) 273-TALK (800-273-8255) to reach the toll-free, 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline where you can speak with a trained counselor.
How to Get Help for Caregiver Depression and Dysthymic Disorder
If you believe you have dysthymic disorder or major depression, stop right here. It’s too easy to dismiss these symptoms and skip getting help. The next best thing you can do for yourself is at least talk to someone.
Contact Stormont Vail Health’s Behavioral Health Center to talk to a specialist who can help. This may include treating your depression using therapy, medication, or both.
Antidepressant medications help relieve symptoms of depression 70 percent of the time. A therapist can help you decide if medication is right for you. It’s important to remember that everyone is different. What may work for one person may not work for you.
Compassion Fatigue and Caregiver Burnout
Compassion fatigue, caregiver burnout, stress, and anxiety go hand in hand.
Feeling anxious every once in a while is a normal part of life. This is usually a temporary reaction to stress.
But when feeling anxious begins to interfere with your day-to-day life, this may be a sign of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) — persistent and excessive worrying about multiple things. GAD is a diagnosable and treatable condition.
Caregivers who provide care for a family member 36 hours or more per week are more likely to experience symptoms of depression or anxiety than non-caregivers.
Caregivers who live with anxiety disorders feel a loss of control and constant fear of the unknown.
Common signs to recognize clinical anxiety are:
- Frequent shortness of breath
- Difficulty eating
- Heart racing
- Constant irritability
- Excessive sweating
Stress is your body and mind’s reaction to outside pressures and demands. Acute stress is short-term, while chronic stress is long-term and causes internal damage to your body.
Over 50% of caregivers work 40 or more hours a week — and 37 percent feel that their caregiver role is highly stressful.
Caregivers may be at a higher risk for substance abuse to cope as their chronic stress levels rise.
Physical signs of stress include:
- Lacking energy
- Stomach illnesses, such as diarrhea, constipation, and nausea
- Body pains
How to Get Help for Caregiver Anxiety and Stress
If you or someone you know is experiencing any of these signs and symptoms, please consult your health care provider or contact a Stormont Vail behavioral health provider. They can work with you to determine the type of treatment that is appropriate for your anxiety.
Recognizing when you’re on the path to compassion fatigue or caregiver burnout — and implementing small acts to improve your mood — could help prevent you from developing depression.
Self-Care Tips: How to Put Yourself First
When was the last time you went to your health care provider? And not for a family member, but for yourself? Or what about the last time you went to the gym or did your favorite activity?
If you’re like most caregivers, it’s been a while.
Around 72 percent of caregivers don’t go to their health care provider as often as they should, and 55% of caregivers miss their medical appointments.
Since women tend to be caregivers more often than men, they may miss out on important women’s health screenings, like mammograms, because their caregiving responsibilities are so time-consuming. About 21% of women in caregiver roles have mammograms less often than non-caregivers.
All of this self-neglect leads to more than 1 in 10 caregivers to report a decline in their physical health as a result of their role. In fact, compared to non-caregivers, more than twice as many caregivers are living with chronic conditions such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or arthritis.
You have one life to live — and you should take care of yourself while you have the chance. It is okay to take a break from your responsibilities and get help. You will be a better spouse, parent, and caregiver once you’ve allowed yourself a chance to relax.
Here are small steps you can take towards larger goals of self-care. Try some of these over the next 30 days:
- Eating healthy: Start with eating breakfast every day and eating at least three servings of something green. Don’t skip any meals and keep energy-boosting snacks on hand.
- Staying hydrated: Try drinking 8 glasses of water each day. Your body needs more water when you are physically active and constantly moving throughout the day. To switch things up, you can make infused water to get the health benefits from fruits without having to consume them.
- Get enough sleep: Aim to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. Your health and body depend on being allowed time to rest. Once in a while, take time to catch up on your beauty sleep.
- Pamper yourself: Take time every so often to get your hair or nails done, take yourself out on a date, or schedule a night out with your spouse. Incorporate exercise or physical activities into your daily routine. Exercise can help improve depression, heart health, and sleep quality.
Make sure to consult your health care provider before making changes to your lifestyle habits. You can also ask your health care provider if they know of any support groups or caregiver support organizations. These resources can be helpful outlets for finding tips on practicing self-care and problem-solving and developing positive coping strategies needed for the caregiving role.
They can also point you in the direction of finding support services. Oftentimes, a lack of caregiver support services contributes to caregiver fatigue.
Support resources may include:
- Day programs for your parents
- Respite care programs (short-term care for your parent, either in-home or at a healthcare adult care facility)
- Hourly hired attendants
These resources can allow you as the caregiver to make time for yourself, such as attending your own medical appointments, going shopping, etc.
- US National Institute on Aging: Respite Care
- US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living: Eldercare Locator
- ARCH National Respite Network: National Respite Locator
Ask your primary care provider about Stormont Vail’s care managers and social workers. Care managers and social workers can put you in touch with community resources for caregivers and talk to you about staying physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy as a caregiver.
Call (785) 270-4440 to set up an appointment with a Stormont Vail Health primary care provider. | <urn:uuid:2a80e19e-e7b0-4e74-a0be-7bba11e819b7> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.stormontvail.org/blog/caregiver-compassion-fatigue-self-care-is-not-your-enemy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370493684.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20200329015008-20200329045008-00394.warc.gz | en | 0.939297 | 2,276 | 2.765625 | 3 |
How does a plant survive in a desert that has not see rain for years, maybe decades or even centuries?
This was just one of the topics of the 7th International Conference on Fog, Fog Collection and Dew, July 25 – 29, in Wroclaw, Poland.
This may seem a comparatively small and exotic field of science,
however, an impressive 30+ countries from all 6 continents were represented, with approx 120 participants total.
With all keynotes and talks in one single track (a great decision by the organizers – especially for a complete newbie like me), presentations and posters were organized into eight sessions/thematic groups:
- Fog Interaction with Vegetation
- Fog physics
- Fog climatology
- Fog in transportation & Miscellanea
- Fog chemistry & deposition
- Fog collection projects & materials
- Fog modelling & Remote sensing
So, some study how fog and dew arise, how they can be predicted, modeled – be it in order to avoid negative impact on e.g. air traffic, or to identify areas of potential positive effects on flora and fauna.
Climate change and its influence is being discussed: is there a global decrease in fog? First data seem to suggest that.
Monitoring and sensing of fog and dew, often over long time periods, supplies such data.
Others look at what is contained in fog and dew, how it holds, transports and deploys pollution as well as nutrients.
My personal main interest was in two fields:,
- fog/dew and its interaction with vegetation – and what we can learn from it
- fog/dew collection for human benefit, or as a helping technology in supporting vegetation & agriculture
The following notes are my personal highlights rather than a representation of the whole program (find the complete one here), with far too many good talks and posters to mention them all here.
Fog/dew and its interaction with vegetation
This session was opened beautifully by Mary Neely, with a talk on
FogLife: Investigating fog as the foundation of the Namib Desert ecosystem
The Namib Sand Sea, a World Heritage Site, is one of the regions that you might have heard of, if interested in ecosystems depending on (coastal) fog.
Among the Flora of this 2000 x 100 km (roughly) stretch of land,
lichens, phytoliths and shrubs all are known to be influenced by and feeding on fog.
Even animals are able to take in fog.
But while the phenomenon of interaction between fauna and fog is known,
detail studies of plants’ technics and adaptation still are in their early phases,
as Ruusa Gottlieb pointed out in her great talk, The contribution of fog to the biogeography and biology of Arthraerua leubnitziae in the central Namib Desert,
“Some of the other attributes of the plants investigated include canopy properties (leaf area per stem area), leaf foliar properties, the ability to take up foliar applied deuterium-labeled water, tissue elemental concentrations and tissue water, C and N isotopes. Elemental and isotopic composition of the soils along the transect were also measured. Arthraerua leubnitziae was found to use
fog water and nutrients therein. Further research aims at quantifying fog water
50 year old technology vs. 5 million year old technology
Moving on from Namib to the Chilean Atacama, another popular example of fog-blessed desert, Emelie Pepin gave a fascinating talk on What Plants Can Teach Us About Fog Collection .
One of her first slides contrasted human’s “50 year old technology” with plant’s “5 million year old technology” –
yes, plants are ahead of us and we have a lot to learn.
Analyzing the performance of two different Tillandsia species (T. landbeckii and T. mucronae) , their way of binding and absorbing water, she finds these to be without any human technology equivalent.
A Tillandsia can absorb 50 ml per hour and square meter, while losing less than 1/1000 of this at the same time. How they do that?
Through an elaborate 3D design including trichomes (to build large droplets of water) and one-way “valves” made of thin scales (to keep the water inside once it is collected).
The Taiwan Yellow Cypress, Chamaecyparis obtusa var. formosana) faces a challenge quite contrary to that of desert plants – it has to live in extremely humid climate with 340+ days of heavy fog per year. How does a plant breathe when constantly covered in a water film?It hides its “breathing holes” the stomata in hidden rifts, keeping them free even under constant water cover.
Water pollution however might pose a serious threat to the tree.
[Structural and functional adaptations of Taiwan yellow cypress (Chamaecyparis
obtusa var. formosana) to persistent leaf wetness from fog, J. Burkhardt et al.]
Surfaces optimized for water collection
For those aiming to collecting water – be it human or plant, and the water from fog or dew – obviously you need to optimize the surface that will be exposed to water or humidity. But just being hit by water is not enough.
you also need to transport the water to where it is going to be used or stored,
e.g. into the plants’ body or to a storage tank.
Daniel Beysens’ poster presentation “Improve Dew Harvest with Edges and Microgrooves” showed how both edge effects and microgrooves may be used to optimize the growth of larger droplets, and their transport along the surface.
Cacti & biomimicry
True masters of water transportation are found among cacti.
Many species of this family are known to have elaborate spine structures that allow them to collect and lead water even against the pull of gravity: Dip one of these spines into a drop of water, and you will see how it sucks up the water.
Therefore, cacti are the subject of many studies in biomimicry – the art of learning from nature to design technology.
Impressive work was presented by Yongmei Zheng and her group at Beihang University – Bioinspired wettability surfaces to control fog-water collecting abilities
– presenting their work with e.g. spider silk, beetle back, and spines of cacti.
Their 2012 study A multi-structural and multi-functional integrated fog collection system in cactus focuses on Opuntia microdasys and is among the most thorough and amazing examinations in this field.
A remark: Opuntia microdasys has been the subject of several studies, however the genus Opuntia has hundreds of species, and more than 100 of these show this specific kind of modified spine, the glochid, which – apart from being a nasty and painful defense, and a great way to hang on to visitors – has water collection properties. The research journey has only just begun …
And there are cacti genera that have been mentioned in ancient (100+ years old 🙂 ) studies that we have not even looked at.
Another remark: In valuable private communications with Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Barthlott, we discussed the fact that some of the plants examined here, and showing water collection capabilities, might not even be fog or dew collectors in their natural habitat.
Opuntia microdasys is not known to be a fog or dew collector, neither is Ferocactus. Yet the shapes and properties of the plant might allow for these mechanisms. They might however occur as an accidental side effect, a secondary function.
(We could discuss here whether nature and evolution makes plans at all, and if so, in what ways …)
D. Beysens’ 2015 paper “Dew harvesting efficiency of four species of cacti” compares the four cacti Copiapoa cinerea var. haseltoniana, Ferocactus wislizenii, Mammillaria columbiana subsp. yucatanensis and Parodia mammulosa. The winner here seems to be the Copiapoa – no surprise, given that the plant comes form the Atacama desert, mentioned above.
Ferocactus wislizenii’ spines are optimized for doing other things – this species is not really a dew collector.
And, by te way, how does one identify the impact of the spines versus the cactus’ whole body? Easy – you clip off all the spines!
Which leaves you with a somewhat odd-looking plant, but serves the scientific purpose.
Fog and dew collection
So what are humans doing in this field?
Fog nets are probably the most commonly known approach. To give a rough idea, such nets can collect 5 to 10 liters per square meter on a good foggy day.
Several groups reported on their work in this field.
D. Fernandez operates dozens of Fog net stations along the Californian coast, all connected to the (data-) net and reporting statistics like yield etc –
Standard Fog Collector Measurements Along the Central and Northern California Coast during the summer fog seasons from 2009-2015 .
The paper compares a number of different mesh nets, such as POSS-PEMA, MIT and the widely used Raschel nets.
German company Aqualonis contributed with a poster presenting their variation of a mesh – more expensive but also more effective and long-lived than standard nets, the presentation claims. “Gaining drinking water with fog collectors CloudFisher Pro TM and CloudFisher mini TM”.
Schunk et al. reported first measuremnets of such nets, from a deployment in Morocco [Water yield and quality of a novel fog collector for high wind speeds].
There were many many more in this section
- Umbrellas by Chiang, H.Ch.. et al, from Taiwan – Simple solution on rain-cloud-fog water collection_a specific umbrella test in field
- On the ground projects reported from Chile, Morocco, Guatemala, Spain, and Nepal (Fog Collection Projects in Nepal: 1997 to 2016, by R. Schemenauer (author of “A Proposed Standard Fog Collector for Use in High-Elevation Regions“, 1994).
Fog Collection was reflected upon also in a contribution of a very different kind:
Mist collector: Art and Science project by Ana Rewakowicz, Jean-Marc Chomaz and Camille Duprat
Collecting dew in the desert
Moving from fog to dew, dew collection may be particularly interesting in deserts:
Deserts, receiving little or no water in the form of rain, often show
strong night-to-day temperature variations, leading to significant amounts of dew.
Thus, dew may be used especially where it might be most needed, in very arid regions, to aid (re)greening.
The principle here is quite simple:
Dew that occurs at night, in the morning, due to cooling, is collected and either used directly or stored in a reservoir, to be used when most needed. Interestingly, dew also occurs in seasons of little or no rain.
It can thus help to support pioneer plants that, once grown and stronger, may sustain themselves and help to bind water and help second generation plants.
Dew in the city
Dew collection is not limited to the desert or rural scenarios:
Simon Berkowicz took us the the city, presenting A 10-year analysis of daily dew measurements on an urban roof and D. Beysens et al are “Observing cars to obtain quantitative dew measurements“.
A little Index – Plant names – Work in progress
- Arthraerua leubnitziae – Namib – Ruusa Gootlieb, Mary Neely
- Tillandsia landbeckii, macronae – Chile – Emilie Pepin
- Cedar – Japan – M. Igawa et al. , Katata, G. et al. – Taiwan, Laplace, S. et al.
- Chamaecyparis obtusa var. Formosana – Taiwan
- Copiapoa cinerea – Beysens et al.
- Discocactus horstii, Barthlott et all.
- Ferocactus wislizenii – Beysens et al.
- Mammillaria columbiana subsp. yucatanensis – Beysens et al.
- Opunti microdasys – Zheng et al.
- Parodia mammulosa – Beysens et al.
A new association
At the end of the conference, the new International Fog and Dew Association (IFDA) was established.
And lastly, you can find the conference related tweets under the hashtag “ffcd2016”.
(Don’t expect too many tweets though – compared to IT or Networks conferences that i typically attend, this was not a very tweeting affair … which may be good: the focus is on natural resources, not social media.)
Citations – URLs
Dew harvesting efficiency of four species of cacti,
F T Malik, R M Clement, D T Gethin, D Beysens, R E Cohen, W Krawszik and A R Parker, Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, Volume 10, Number 3
Schemenauer and Cereceda: A Proposed Standard Fog Collector for Use in High-Elevation Regions, Article in Journal of Applied Meteorology 33(11):1313-1322 · October 1994, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234254710_A_Proposed_Standard_Fog_Collector_for_Use_in_High-Elevation_Regions | <urn:uuid:efb814a7-4e2c-470e-8c55-7c26cd890353> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://write.less.dk/index.php/2016/08/14/7th-international-conference-on-fog-fog-collection-and-dew-some-notes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371886991.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20200410043735-20200410074235-00435.warc.gz | en | 0.910746 | 2,949 | 2.796875 | 3 |
As my flight neared Athens airport, I looked out my window and was surprised by what I saw. Beneath me was a barren, dry landscape of rocks, low hills and ocean. There were very few areas of arable land, let alone rich farmland. There were no rivers or lakes. It was a country which at first sight seemed to me more likely to be a place where humans had to struggle just to survive, never mind think great thoughts and ask big questions……
On top of my list of the tourist sights I wanted to see in Athens was the Parthenon. In other words, I was no different to the millions of other tourists who visited Athens all year round. Perched on a steep sided, flat topped outcrop in the centre of Athens called the acropolis, the Parthenon dominated the city skyline and could be seen from far distant. It was something which one immediately associated with Athens.
Constructed in the 5th century BC, there wasn’t much left of the original Parthenon, besides a couple of rows of fluted stone columns. On their own, those columns gave one no idea of the original structure; they were like a few bones lying on a beach which a scientist might inform us once belonged to a blue whale. Originally there were many more of the fluted (‘ionic’) columns: two rows of 8 columns at either end and 17 on the sides. The columns had supported a massive stone roof or ‘entablature’ the sides of which were engraved with scenes from the rich pantheon of ancient Greek mythology. At either end of the Parthenon were triangular gables filled with sculptures.
When the Parthenon was built, the city state of Athens was at the pinnacle of its glory; it was created by a city-state which was turning out so many other masterworks in so many other, different spheres of endeavour. Athens’s rise to greatness began with the birth of a radical new system of government called democracy (derived from two Greek words ‘demos’ and ‘kratia’ and meaning literally ‘people power’). One of the most dramatic consequences of this new system was the creation of an environment in which free thinking could flourish. Men were free to think aloud and to argue in favour of their ideas and opinions. They were free to explore new avenues of scientific and artistic endeavour. ‘Truth’ was no longer the monopoly of God or a tyrant; it was up for grabs and men contested its meaning. Out of that ancient Athens came the arts and the sciences which we take for granted today including drama, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, history, philosophy, architecture…..the list is endless.
From its very beginning, Athens’s system of people power was threatened by external powers far more powerful than Athens. Firstly by the combined forces of the other Greek city states including Sparta and far more ominously, two invasions by the mighty power of Persia, which dwarfed Athens in terms of its army and navy. Both Persian invasions were, against enormous odds, defeated. People power survived, at least until the end of the 5th century BC.
An artist’s impression of the original Parthenon – done in the late 19th century.
The story of Athens’ rise to greatness is one of the greatest dramas ever staged on the theatre of human history. I came to Athens in the attempt to somehow get a bit closer to that drama, never realising that I was, at the same time, going to be witness to another very different kind of drama, one far closer to home as it were – i.e. at the small hotel which I had booked shortly before flying out of Amsterdam.
The hotel was located in an area of Athens called ‘Ommonia’ which was popular with budget travelers because of the surfeit of cheap accommodation, though it had an unsavoury reputation. I soon found out why. Emerging from the underground metro station, I was met by a maze of shabby buildings and narrow, traffic congested streets. I walked down sleazy alleys where groups of men – Africans, Arabs, Indians and poor, down and out Greeks – foraged in over filled industrial sized rubbish containers. On small squares people were hunkered down sleeping on bench seats. The place was a chaos. Later I found out that even Greek taxi drivers got lost in the area.
After a lot of walking around and asking for directions, I found my hotel. It had a very small frontage and it was sandwiched between shops, cafes and sleazy bars. I entered the hotel and was greeted by a bizarre sight: behind the reception desk, under a fluorescent light, was an old lady sitting in a wooden chair reading a bible.
The old lady was very old; her face was as wrinkled as a prune. She was thin and slightly bowed. She was wearing a long loose fitting black dress tied at the waist with a blue sash. Hanging over her head was a long, loose headscarf, the edges of which were lined with a blue-embroidered motif. On the wall behind her was a brightly coloured, plasticized hologram poster of Jesus.
The old lady said something to me in Greek. It sounded like a shrill bird cry. Then she got up, put her bible down on the reception desk next to an old computer, and motioned for me to follow her down an adjoining corridor. The corridor was poorly lit, gloomy. Half way along, there was a staircase on the left. At the end of the corridor was a dark red curtain. The old woman pushed the curtain aside, opened the door, and led me into a combined dining/lounge room.
What was I getting myself into here?
Even on first appearances, I sensed that this was not a place for hotel guests; that it was some kind of private sanctum.
As I entered, I noticed passages leading off either side of me. Directly in front of me there was a dining table and chairs, and nearby, easy chairs and couches. Everything looked dated. There was a lot of wood, even wood paneling on some of the walls. On my right there was a long wooden counter and behind it, a stove, fridge and sink. Above these was a row of dark wooden cupboards. At the far end of the room were windows blanketed out from the sun by dusty venetian blinds. In a corner of the room, near an old style polished wooden coffee table and a TV set, was a fat man lying back on a couch preoccupied with his mobile. Flashes of light strobed the dimness. We walked over there and the old lady yelled something.
The fat man looked up, arose, and holding his phone in one hand, introduced himself. He said his name was Ikis. He was in his mid-30’s and had thick, brown curly hair and a boyish face. He spoke very good English and as I found out, he liked talking. I explained that I had a booking. I accompanied him to the reception desk and he checked my booking on the computer. Then he grabbed a set of keys and asked me to accompany him upstairs. My room was on the top story.
There were four stories. We began ascending the stairs.
Wasn’t there a lift?
I was tired after all that work finding the hotel and my rucksack was heavy with books about ancient Athens, including British historian Tom Holland’s brilliant ‘Persian Fire’.
It was September and that year, temperatures were well above the average. It was over 30 degrees Celsius that day.
The room was nice enough, especially for 25 Euros. It was clean with an attached bathroom. At the end of the room there were two glass doors and behind these, French-louvered doors painted dark brown which opened out on to a small balcony. There was a fan which Ikis turned on. It made a loud noise but that was fine by me. As long as the noise was constant, I would be guaranteed of getting a good sleep.
What I did not see was the giant billboard outside my room advertising Camel cigarettes. There was a large image of a camel with a paper bag over its head. I never did get around to asking Ikis about this.
Ikis took a shine to me.
He said he liked practicing his English and that he didn’t get much chance to do that because most of his guests were Eastern Europeans or Greeks. It was a mystery to me why he felt he needed to practice his English because it was fluent.
I went down stairs to sign in.
Whilst doing so, Ikis pointed at the red curtain at the end of the corridor – the lounge/dining area that the old woman had led me to when I arrived at the hotel – and explained that whilst was not meant for hotel guests – I could go there whenever I liked to cook something for myself or use the internet (there was Wi-Fi there unlike the rest of the hotel). It was a special privilege.
We got talking about the hotel. I liked asking questions and he liked talking.
‘My family is originally from a village on the Pelion peninsula on the east coast of Greece. We came to Athens in 1980 and shortly afterwards my father arranged to have this hotel built. That was when tourism was really taking off in Greece. My father was a good businessman, but he was also here at the right time. We lived on the ground floor, my sister and I, my grandmother and my parents. My mother and father are dead now. My mother died two years ago, just as the economic crisis was really getting bad. Only my grandmother and I are here now.’
Ikis was worried about the hotel. It had 15 rooms. It was a long way from full. With the decline in tourism, Ikis was struggling. He explained:
‘I need to invest in the hotel and modernize it, but I don’t want to do it now because the income from the hotel is going down and there’s no sign that the economic crisis is going to end any time soon….’
There was a conundrum here alright. The hotel was cheap and that was its only positive side. It was old and run down. The fittings were the original ones installed in 1980. The taps leaked, the walls were stained, the cupboards scuffed. The hot water service didn’t work, which didn’t bother me, but it might well bother other guests. As Ikis admitted, he was no businessman. He had a degree in economics, but he was nothing like his father.
I asked him about his grandmother.
´Ah! Aspasia!’ he said.
The emphasis was placed on the last syllable ‘sia’ – ´aspa-SIA´.
‘She lost her husband a few years after the war. She came to live with us in Athens. She raised my sister and I after our mother got sick. She fed us and looked after us….’
‘I love her very much! She is like a mother to me.´
It was a heartfelt declaration.
‘How old is she?’ I asked.
At this point in time, I didn’t devote a great deal of thought to the rather odd situation of a single man in his 30’s running a hotel with his 95 year old grandmother.
All I could think about was how to reach The Parthenon from my hotel – which seemed like no small task given how easy it was to get lost in this maze-like area of Ommonia.
Street scene Ommonia
Hologram posters on sale in Ommonia | <urn:uuid:efb86b1f-2118-447c-abd8-9c48886cb907> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://serioustravelblog.com/2019/05/19/aspasiya-part-1/?shared=email&msg=fail | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370494064.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20200329074745-20200329104745-00275.warc.gz | en | 0.989282 | 2,457 | 2.625 | 3 |
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Fiscal conservatism, also referred to as conservative capitalism, conservative economics and economic conservatism, is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility advocating low taxes, reduced government spending and minimal government debt. Free trade, deregulation of the economy, lower taxes and privatization are the defining qualities of fiscal conservatism. Fiscal conservatism follows the same philosophical outlook of classical liberalism and economic liberalism. The term has its origins in the era of the New Deal during the 1930s as a result of the policies initiated by modern liberals, when many classical liberals started calling themselves conservatives as they did not wish to be identified with what was passing for liberalism.
In the United States, the term liberalism has become associated with the welfare state and expanded regulatory policies created as a result of the New Deal and its offshoots from the 1930s onwards. Fiscal conservatives form one of the three legs of the traditional conservative movement that emerged during the 1950s together with social conservatism and national defense conservatism. Many Americans who are classical liberals also tend to identify as libertarian, holding more socially liberal views and advocating a non-interventionist foreign policy while supporting lower taxes and less government spending.
In Canada, the United Kingdom and many other anglophone-speaking countries, it is associated with the Conservative parties. In Germany and other European countries, it is associated with classical or economic liberal parties.
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Fiscal conservatism is the economic philosophy of prudence in government spending and debt. Fiscal conservatives advocate the avoidance of deficit spending, the reduction of overall government spending and national debt whilst ensuring balanced budgets. In other words, fiscal conservatives are against the government expanding beyond its means through debt, but they will usually choose debt over tax increases.
[I]t is to the property of the citizen, and not to the demands of the creditor of the state, that the first and original faith of civil society is pledged. The claim of the citizen is prior in time, paramount in title, superior in equity. The fortunes of individuals, whether possessed by acquisition or by descent or in virtue of a participation in the goods of some community, were no part of the creditor's security, expressed or implied. [...] [T]he public, whether represented by a monarch or by a senate, can pledge nothing but the public estate; and it can have no public estate except in what it derives from a just and proportioned imposition upon the citizens at large.
Although all fiscal conservatives agree generally on a smaller and less expensive government, there are disagreements over priorities. There are three main factions or subgroups each advocating for a particular emphasis. Deficit hawks emphasize balancing government budgets and reducing the size of government debt, viewing government debt as economically damaging and morally dubious since it passes on obligations on to future generations who have played no part in present-day tax and spending decisions. Deficit hawks are willing to consider tax increases if the additional revenue is used to reduce debt rather than increase spending.
A second group put their main emphasis on tax cuts rather than spending cuts or debt reduction. Many embrace supply-side economics, arguing that as high taxes discourage economic activity and investment, tax cuts would result in economic growth leading in turn to higher government revenues. According to them, these additional government revenues would reduce the debt in the long term. They also argue for reducing taxes even if it were to lead to short term increases in the deficit. Some supply-siders have advocated that the increases in revenue through tax cuts make drastic cuts in spending unnecessary. However, the Congressional Budget Office has consistently reported that income tax cuts increase deficits and debt and do not pay for themselves. For example, the CBO estimated that the Bush tax cuts added about $1.5 trillion to deficits and debt from 2002–2011 and it would have added nearly $3 trillion to deficits and debt over the 2010–2019 decade if fully extended at all income levels.
A third group makes little distinction between debt and taxes. This group emphasizes reduction in spending rather than tax policy or debt reduction. They argue that the true cost of government is the level of spending not how that spending is financed. Every dollar that the government spends is a dollar taken from American workers, regardless of whether it is from debt or taxes. Taxes simply redistribute purchasing power, doing so in a particularly inefficient manner, reducing the incentives to produce or hire and borrowing simply forces businesses and investors to anticipate higher taxes later on.
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the United States
In the early 20th century, fiscal conservatives were often at odds with progressives who desired economic reform. During the 1920s, Republican President Calvin Coolidge's pro-business economic policies were credited for the successful period of economic growth known as the Roaring Twenties. However, his actions may have been due more to a sense of federalism than fiscal conservatism as Robert Sobel notes: "As Governor of Massachusetts, Coolidge supported wages and hours legislation, opposed child labor, imposed economic controls during World War I, favored safety measures in factories, and even worker representation on corporate boards".
Contrary to popular opinion, then-Republican President Herbert Hoover was not a fiscal conservative. He promoted government intervention during the early Great Depression, a policy that his successor, Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt, continued and increased despite campaigning to the contrary. Coolidge's economic policies are often popularly contrasted with the New Deal deficit spending of Roosevelt and Republican Party opposition to Roosevelt's government spending was a unifying cause for a significant caucus of Republicans through even the presidencies of Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Barry Goldwater was a famous champion of both the socially and fiscally conservative Republicans.
In 1977, Democratic President Jimmy Carter appointed Alfred E. Kahn, a professor of economics at Cornell University, to be chair of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). He was part of a push for deregulation of the industry, supported by leading economists, leading think tanks in Washington, a civil society coalition advocating the reform (patterned on a coalition earlier developed for the truck-and-rail-reform efforts), the head of the regulatory agency, Senate leadership, the Carter administration and even some in the airline industry. This coalition swiftly gained legislative results in 1978.
The Airline Deregulation Act (Pub.L. 95–504) was signed into law by President Carter on October 24, 1978. The main purpose of the act was to remove government control over fares, routes and market entry of new airlines from commercial aviation. The CAB's powers of regulation were to be phased out, eventually allowing market forces to determine routes and fares. The Act did not remove or diminish the Federal Aviation Administration's regulatory powers over all aspects of airline safety.
In 1979, Carter deregulated the American beer industry by making it legal to sell malt, hops and yeast to American home brewers for the first time since the effective 1920 beginning of Prohibition in the United States. This Carter deregulation led to an increase in home brewing over the 1980s and 1990s that by the 2000s had developed into a strong craft microbrew culture in the United States, with 3,418 micro breweries, brewpubs and regional craft breweries in the United States by the end of 2014.
Public debt as a percentage of GDP fell rapidly in the post-World War II period and reached a low in 1974 under Richard Nixon. Debt as a share of GDP has consistently increased since then, except under Carter and Bill Clinton. The United States national debt rose during the 1980s as Ronald Reagan cut tax rates and increased military spending. The numbers of public debt as % of GDP are indicative of the process:
Fiscal conservatism was rhetorically promoted during the presidency of Republican Ronald Reagan (1981–1989). During Reagan's tenure, the top personal income tax bracket dropped from 70% to 28% while payroll taxes and the effective tax rates on the lower two income quintiles increased. Real GDP growth recovered strongly after the 1982 recession, growing at an annual rate of 3.4% for the rest of his time in office. Unemployment dropped after peaking at over 10.7% percent in 1982 and inflation decreased significantly. Federal tax receipts nearly doubled from $517 billion in 1980 to $1,032 billion in 1990. Employment grew at about the same rate as population.
According to a United States Department of the Treasury nonpartisan economic study, the major tax bills enacted under Reagan caused federal revenue to fall by an amount equal to roughly 1% of GDP. By the end of Reagan's second term, the national debt held by the public increased by almost 60% and the total debt equalled $2.6 trillion. In fewer than eight years, the United States went from being the world's largest creditor nation to the world's largest debtor nation.
In the 1992 presidential election, Ross Perot, a successful American businessman, ran as a third-party candidate. Despite significant campaign stumbles and the uphill struggles involved in mounting a third-party candidacy, Perot received 18.9% of the popular vote (the largest percentage of any third-party candidate in modern history), largely on the basis of his central platform plank of limited-government, balanced-budget fiscal conservatism.
While the mantle of fiscal conservatism is most commonly claimed by Republicans and libertarians, it is also claimed in some ways by many centrist or moderate Democrats who often refer to themselves as New Democrats. Although not supportive of the wide range tax cut policies that were often enacted during the Reagan and Bush administrations, the New Democrat coalition's primary economic agenda differed from the traditional philosophy held by liberal Democrats and sided with the fiscal conservative belief that a balanced federal budget should take precedence over some spending programs. Former President Bill Clinton, who was a New Democrat and part of the somewhat fiscally conservative Third Way advocating Democratic Leadership Council, is a prime example of this as his administration along with the Democratic-majority congress of 1993 passed on a party-line vote the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 which cut government spending, created a 36% individual income tax bracket, raised the top tax bracket which encompassed the top 1.2% earning taxpayers from 31% to 39.6% and created a 35% income tax rate for corporations. The 1993 Budget Act also cut taxes for fifteen million low-income families and 90% of small businesses. Additionally during the Clinton years, the PAYGO (pay-as-you-go) system originally introduced with the passing of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 (which required that all increases in direct spending or revenue decreases be offset by other spending decreases or revenue increases and was very popular with deficit hawks) had gone into effect and was used regularly until the system's expiration in 2002.
In the 1994 midterm elections, Republicans ran on a platform that included fiscal responsibility drafted by then-Congressman Newt Gingrich called the Contract with America which advocated such things as balancing the budget, providing the President with a line-item veto and welfare reform. After the elections gave the Republicans a majority in the House of Representatives, newly minted Speaker of the House Gingrich pushed aggressively for reduced government spending which created a confrontation with the White House that climaxed in the 1995–1996 government shutdown. After Clinton's re-election in 1996, they were able to cooperate and pass the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 which lowered the top capital gains tax rate from 28% to 20% and the 15% rate to 10%.
After this combination of tax hikes and spending reductions, the United States was able to create budget surpluses from fiscal years 1998–2001 (the first time since 1969) and the longest period of sustained economic growth in United States history.
American businessman, politician and former Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg considers himself a fiscal conservative and expressed his definition of the term at the 2007 British Conservative Party Conference:
To me, fiscal conservatism means balancing budgets – not running deficits that the next generation can't afford. It means improving the efficiency of delivering services by finding innovative ways to do more with less. It means cutting taxes when possible and prudent to do so, raising them overall only when necessary to balance the budget, and only in combination with spending cuts. It means when you run a surplus, you save it; you don't squander it. And most importantly, being a fiscal conservative means preparing for the inevitable economic downturns – and by all indications, we've got one coming.
As a result of the expansion of the welfare state and increased regulatory policies by the Roosevelt administration beginning in the 1930s, in the United States the term liberalism has today become associated with modern rather than classical liberalism. In Western Europe, the expanded welfare states created after World War II were created by socialist or social democratic parties such as the British Labour Party rather than liberal parties. As a result, many liberal parties in Western Europe tend to adhere to classical liberalism, with the Free Democratic Party in Germany being one example. The Liberal Democrats in the United Kingdom have a classical liberal and a social liberal wing of the party. In many countries, liberalism or economic liberalism is used to describe what Americans call fiscal conservatism.
Fiscal conservatism in the United Kingdom was arguably most popular during the premiership of Conservative Margaret Thatcher. After a number of years of deficit spending under the previous Labour government, Thatcher advocated spending cuts and selective tax increases to balance the budget. As a result of the deterioration in the United Kingdom's public finances—according to fiscal conservatives caused by another spate of deficit spending under the previous Labour government, the late-2000s recession and by the European sovereign debt crisis—the Cameron–Clegg coalition (Conservative–Liberal Democrats) embarked on an austerity programme featuring a combination of spending cuts and tax rises in an attempt to halve the deficit and completely eliminate the structural deficit over the five-year parliament.
In Canada, the rise of the socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation pushed the Liberal Party to create and expand the welfare state before and after World War II. Fiscal conservatism in Canada is generally referred to as Blue Toryism when it is present within the Conservative Party of Canada. In Alberta, fiscal conservatism is represented by the United Conservative Party. In Ontario, fiscal conservatism is represented by the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. | <urn:uuid:3ea29b08-0c84-4e27-9db1-a22e39aac52b> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://readtiger.com/wkp/en/Fiscal_conservatism | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370496330.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20200329232328-20200330022328-00473.warc.gz | en | 0.95938 | 2,886 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Buckingham Palace is the Queen’s office, where “the firm” that is the monarchy conducts its business, and where Her Majesty carries out the official and ceremonial duties required of her as head of state.
The whole complex extends to 860,000 square feet, lit by nearly 800 windows (each one cleaned every six weeks). There are 775 rooms, some huge, such as the 120ft ballroom where state events take place, and others very modest, like many of the 188 staff bedrooms. There are 52 bedrooms allocated to the royal family and their personal and official guests, and no less than 78 bathrooms.
The palace stands in London’s largest private garden – nearly 40 acres including a huge lawn, a lake and a mix of woodland and herbaceous planting – but such an expanse is needed to contain the 8,000 guests who attend each of the three annual garden parties.
Originally a much more modest residence, the house was transformed by George IV in the 1820s with the help of the great architect John Nash. George died before the work was completed and his successor, William IV, preferred the seclusion of Windsor Castle, so it was Queen Victoria who first made Buckingham Palace the formal seat of the monarchy.
The new queen moved there from her childhood home, Kensington Palace, just two weeks after her accession in 1837. The new royal residence was still unfinished but what had been a vastly expensive white elephant now came into its own as a centre of court life and ceremony.
“What had been a vastly expensive white elephant now came into its own as a centre of court life”
The young Victoria loved music, a good party and, most of all, to dance. To mark her arrival she gave a dinner party on her first night, followed by countless receptions. And before her coronation she held the first state ball, dancing until four o’clock in the morning – no doubt to the waltz especially composed for her by Johann Strauss the Elder.
In June 1838 Victoria left Buckingham Palace for her coronation in Westminster Abbey, returning – as any teenager might – to greet her pet King Charles spaniel, Dash, and give him a bath before assuming her new royal persona and entertaining 100 guests for a coronation dinner followed by fireworks.
Less than two years later, following an introduction by her uncle Leopold, Victoria married Prince Albert in the chapel at St James’s Palace. The happy couple returned to Buckingham Palace for the wedding breakfast, the first such celebration since the wedding of Mary I to Philip of Spain in 1554. After a three-day honeymoon at Windsor Castle (Albert had proposed a longer one, but Victoria had retorted, “You forget, my dearest love, that I am the sovereign and that business can stop and wait for nothing”), the royal couple returned to the palace, with miles of cheering crowds thronging the route.
In the early afternoon of November 21, 1840, the first of Victoria and Albert’s nine children was born at Buckingham Palace – a girl who would be named Victoria, Princess Royal.
Less than a year later she was joined by a baby boy, the future Edward VII. The arrival of a prince prompted rejoicing among the public – though not from Victoria herself, who was not keen on babies, nor on giving birth (“quite disgusting,” “more like a rabbit or a guinea pig than anything else” and “not very nice” are some of her choicer comments).
That same year, the royal couple gave the first of their famous fancy-dress balls at the palace, a new tradition that culminated in the Restoration ball held in 1851 with costumes from the period of Charles II.
After Prince Albert’s early death in 1861 at the age of 42, Victoria virtually abandoned the palace, preferring the seclusion of Balmoral and, when needing to be in London, Windsor Castle.
But her eldest son took a much closer interest and, as Edward VII, personally supervised its redecoration.
Referring to the Italianate marbling in the entrance hall – blackened by half a century of grime – as “a sepulchre”, the new king brought light into the palace, banishing tables overloaded with his mother’s beloved knick-knacks and packing up Prince Albert’s mountains of books (Edward VII was not a great reader).
The King employed theatre designer Frank Verity, at whose suggestion the plasterwork of the state rooms was painted white and the mouldings gilded, while crimson velvet was hung in generous swags. Critics compared the effect to that of the Ritz hotel but it suited the King, who introduced evening courts where he and the Queen would sit side by side on a dais and receive debutantes. The first of these occasions, on March 14, 1902, showed that glamour had returned to the palace after the sombre late years of Victoria’s reign.
But for Edward VII’s successor George V, king from 1910, Buckingham Palace held little appeal. In fact, he confessed to the courtier Viscount Esher that he would happily pull it down and sell off the garden as a public park, using the money to rebuild Kensington Palace in his own, less flamboyant taste. Using the palace simply as an administrative HQ, George was happier at Balmoral in autumn and Sandringham in winter. Queen Mary, too, betraying her German ancestry, remarked that “Buckingham Palace is not so gemütlich [cosy] as Marlborough House”, their previous London base.
It suited King George VI and his consort Queen Elizabeth, however, and became their primary home throughout the Second World War, despite the danger of the Blitz.
One raid, on September 13, 1940, deliberately targeted the palace. A lone aircraft dropped a single bomb on the garden of 10 Downing Street and then a
stick of five high-explosive bombs on Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth wrote later to her mother-in-law, Queen Mary, that at about 11am, as she was removing an eyelash from the King’s eye, she heard “the unmistakable whirr-whirr of a German plane” and then “the scream of a bomb… It all happened so quickly that we had only time to look foolishly at each other when the scream hurtled past us and exploded with a tremendous crash in the quadrangle. I saw a great column of smoke and earth thrown up into the air and then we all ducked like lightning into the corridor.”
The bombing of Buckingham Palace gave rise to one of the Queen’s most famous statements:
“I am glad we have been bombed. Now we can look the East End in the eye.” The attack on Buckingham Palace was discussed that day in Cabinet, which quickly saw the propaganda value that the Queen had already sensed.
Of the five bombs dropped, two hit the inner courtyard, one landed on the Royal Chapel to the west and the other two dropped either side of the railings of the forecourt. By chance, the bombs fell in such a way that major damage – apart from to the Royal Chapel – was largely avoided. Nevertheless, a great number of windows were blown in, causing damage from flying glass to paintings hanging opposite them, and a water main was ruptured.
On the death of King George VI in 1952, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, as she would now be known, knew that she would have to move out of Buckingham Palace. She found the prospect distressing but there was no alternative.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip left Clarence House for the palace. The Queen Mother made the reverse move.
During the present Queen’s reign, the palace has seen further changes – not least the summer opening when the public is allowed to view the state rooms. But it has remained at the centre of royal life, witnessing jubilation – a million people thronged The Mall to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in June 2002 – and great sadness at the funeral processions of the Queen Mother and, before her, Princess Diana.
As you stare down the broad red carpet of The Mall – coloured since the 1950s with iron oxide pigment – you can feel the recent history of the nation swirling around you. This was the setting for the Diamond Jubilee Concert of June 4, 2012, a national celebration at which Madness unforgettably sang
Our House from the palace roof – transformed for the occasion into a row of terraced houses by some clever projection.
“Living above the shop” is how the Duke of Edinburgh has referred to life at Buckingham Palace, and the family’s working week is indeed spent there from Monday until Friday, when they retreat to Windsor. But Buckingham Palace is still a home, and every couple of hours a small group of corgis and “dorgis” (corgi/dachshund crosses) will be walked around the beautiful grounds by a footman. If you have to live over a shop, then this is an especially accommodating one.
Before he died of typhoid in 1861, Prince Albert had two things on his increasingly fevered mind: finding a bride for his wayward son Bertie, the Prince of Wales, and setting him up in a country house, far away from the temptations to which he seemed inexorably drawn. Albert entrusted the latter mission to Sir Charles Phipps, Keeper of the Privy Purse, and Edward White, the Crown Solicitor, who investigated 18 estates in 13 counties before Sandringham was chosen.
Phipps was not taken by the 29-bedroom house and its 7,700-acre estate, describing it as “very ugly – a whitewashed house with red-brick chimneys and a fanciful brown porch”. But the Prince accepted it and a sale was made for £220,000 (approximately £18 million in today’s money).
In 1864 Bertie began the tradition of the Sandringham Christmas party, which has been adopted enthusiastically by the present royal family.
In 1992, the year of her annus horribilis speech, the Queen reflected on what Sandringham means to her:
“I first came here for Christmas as a grandchild. Nowadays my children come here for the same family festival. To me, this continuity is a great source of comfort in a world of tension and violence.”
Today at Sandringham, steps are being taken to provide accommodation for future heirs to the throne. In 2013, planning permission was granted to make changes to the internal arrangements and security of the 10-bedroom Anmer Hall on the Sandringham estate, about two miles from the “big house”, thus providing a country home for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and baby George. Prince William has known the house since he was a child, when it was leased to the van Cutsem family. Before that, the Duke and Duchess of Kent rented it until 1990.
I have been lucky enough to be a house guest of the Prince of Wales at Sandringham during flower show week and can only say that the hospitality and company are second to none. The Prince of Wales is an attentive host who works harder at his dispatch boxes than most people realise, and the flower show itself has a charm equalled by few others.
I love Sandringham for its friendliness and its country-house atmosphere, and I am sure that the royal family feel the same.
The Palace of Holyroodhouse lies at the end of the steep slope known as the Royal Mile, which climbs up to Edinburgh Castle. To the Scots, it is the Queen’s official house, and its regal roots go back to the 12th century, since it incorporates the remains of an abbey founded by King David I of Scotland in 1128.Mary Queen of Scots married her first cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, there in 1565 but the union was not a happy one. The Queen’s close relationship with her Italian private secretary, David Rizzio, and rumours of an affair caused Darnley to be consumed with jealousy. In March 1566, he and a band of supporters found Mary and Rizzio with a group of five others at dinner in a private room off her bedchamber at the palace.
Seven months pregnant with the future James VI of Scotland and James I of England, Mary attempted to shield Rizzio, but he was dragged screaming to the stairway outside. In a frenzied attack, he was stabbed 56 times before his body was thrown down the staircase. A brass plaque now marks the spot where the corpse was left.
Darnley himself died in an explosion in February 1567 and Mary then married the man who was thought to have been responsible, the Earl of Bothwell.
Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Young Pretender to the British throne, held court at Holyrood in September and October 1745, before the bloody Battle of Culloden the following April saw an end to the Jacobite rising.
In 1822, George IV became the first reigning monarch since Charles I to visit the palace. It was in too run-down a state for him to stay but he held a reception there, stage-managed by author Sir Walter Scott, where the corpulent King George presided over a sea of “revived ancient dresses” and plaid pageantry in a swirl of Royal Stuart tartan. Victoria, with her love of all things Scottish, acquired an apartment in the palace, and Prince Albert, with his indefatigable industry, laid out the gardens much as we see them today.
During the reign of George V, electric lighting and central heating were installed, and by the 1920s Holyrood was comfortable enough to be designated the official residence of the monarch in Scotland and the focus for royal ceremonies.
Today the Queen spends one week a year at the palace, where she holds investitures, audiences and garden parties. Prince Charles also spends a week there and performs duties under his title of Duke of Rothesay.
At other times parts of the palace, managed by the Royal Collection Trust, are open to the public.
It’s a far cry from its early days when the novelist Robert Louis Stevenson described Holyrood as “a house of many memories. Wars have been plotted, dancing has lasted deep into the night, murder has been done in its chamber.”
Extracted from The Queen’s Houses by Alan Titchmarsh, which is published by BBC Books on Friday, price £20. To order it send a cheque/PO payable to The Express, to Express Orders Dept, 1 Broadland Business Park, Norwich NR7 0WF, call 0871 471 3466 or order it online at expressbookshop.co.uk. | <urn:uuid:61e53bd4-1e28-4e81-8437-d21653a33cbb> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.express.co.uk/travel/activity/518385/Alan-Titchmarsh-The-Queen-s-Houses | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371807538.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20200408010207-20200408040707-00393.warc.gz | en | 0.968842 | 3,109 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Here is the genius loci of my workshop:
Here is the genius loci of my workshop:
This post was going to be about scrapers. Unfortunately most of the literature that I wanted to catch up on is in journals which are proving difficult to get hold of. So it will have to wait.
In the meantime, let’s think about oak for the Kingsteignton Idol.
This male figure, carved in the Iron Age and left on a ground surface near what is now the River Teign in Devon until excavated by workmen in the nineteenth-century, is made of oak. To make my copy of the Idol, I must procure some oak with just the right characteristics.
The Idol was carved from a piece of roundwood – that is, a length of branch. We think this, because the centre of the branch runs right through the middle of the Idol, from crown all the way through the torso. The branch’s growth rings radiate out in concentric circles from this point. The Idol’s head is full of radial cracks like a great star-burst, because of the characteristic way that the roundwood shrank (most likely after the figure was excavated from its waterlogged deposit and dried out).
It was also a straight piece of wood, and, as the line of least shrinkage in wood is longitudinal, the Idol when newly-carved was probably not much taller than the 340mm recorded by Bryony Coles in 1991. At its widest point (across the shoulders), the Idol measures a shade under 60mm. Or at least, its drawing in Coles’ paper does; but that’s for another post.
Let’s deal with the issue of width first. Oak has a very pronounced heartwood/sapwood boundary. The outer sapwood can be quite thick. The inner heartwood is dense. It’s an exaggeration, but axing through the sapwood on the oak I’m using is a bit like chopping through honeycomb; it has a sort of crunchy feeling and sound to it, whilst the heartwood is solid and smooth in comparison.
Although neither Pengelly (1875) nor Coles (1991) say, the Idol must be made of heartwood given that the centre of the branch runs down the middle of the figure. Without a close look at the original I am assuming that the whole figure is heartwood, with no sapwood at all left. So although at its widest the Idol is only 6cm, I need a branch that is a good 10cm or 12cm in diameter, maybe more. By the time all the bark and sapwood has been cut away, I should be left with about the right amount of heartwood to work with and some to spare.
The branch also has to be straight-grained for at least 34cm. Just because a branch looks straight doesn’t mean the grain inside runs true. The grain may run round a knot. If a leading bud dies and a side shoot takes over the growth of a sapling or branch, the grain will bend. These might not necessarily be obvious from the outside of the branch.
This brings me to the final characteristic that the piece of oak must have. Coles (1991:327-8) argues that the Idol, along with other prehistoric carved figures, was carved from greenwood – that is, unseasoned wood retaining a high water content.
Greenwood is great for carving with nice, sharp tools. Mike Abbott (1989,2007:21-4) lists six reasons for preferring to work with unseasoned wood, including the ease with which the softer greenwood can be cut with edge tools. I love it, greenwood carving has a long pedigree, and am very happy to believe that the prehistoric figures were carved – with stone, bronze or iron tools, depending on their age – from greenwood; and that’s what I’ll be using for my copy of the Idol.
However, I don’t agree with Coles’ reasoning to infer that the figures were carved in greenwood, which is based on the idea that if tool marks or scars (facets) are left on an object’s surface, then the wood must have been carved green (Coles 1991:316),
“This faceting indicates that the wood was carved before it was seasoned, whatever tools may have been used to produce it.”
Tool marks can be left on wood whether it is green or seasoned – and can be removed from both green and seasoned wood (and I don’t mean with sandpaper) if the carver wants a fine, smooth finish to the work (I blogged a bit about this topic here, although that post doesn’t compare unseasoned and seasoned wood).
Using greenwood could well present some problems…
Abbott, M. (1989,2007) Green Woodwork Lewes: Guild of Master Craftsmen Publications Ltd
Coles, B. (1991) “Anthropomorphic Wooden Figures from Britain and Ireland” Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 56:315-333
Pengelly, W. (1875) (ed) “Memoranda, Part 1″ Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art 7:197-202
I’ve started work on a new project; a copy and interpretation of the Kingsteignton Idol. This carved oak figure was excavated from the banks of the River Teign in Devon in 1867. Workmen from the Zitherixon Clay Works dug it out of the anaerobic deposits which had preserved the wood. Other objects found in the locality include a boat, a dugout canoe, moulds for copper alloy casting, pottery sherds and a bronze spearhead – these were all described by William Pengelly in 1875.
Pengelly was a geologist, a Fellow of the Royal Society “as little anxious and careful for posthumous fame as he was for celebrity and notoriety while living” (Ellis 1897:vii) who, after a few years working at sea on his father’s tramping cargo ship, became a teacher and tutor. He was essentially self-taught, yet was able to research and publish important fieldwork on the geology and palaeontology of Devon and Cornwall (Bishop 2004).
In his notes in volume 7 of the Devonshire Association’s Transactions, Pengelly was concerned to gather together the odd bits and pieces of information about interesting matters which otherwise might have been lost to general knowledge. The memoranda that he drew together were the first such collection published by the Association and comprise archaeological finds. The Kingsteignton Idol being in private ownership, it might not have become better known without the interest of Pengelly and his correspondents.
The Idol, “a strange and by no means beautiful work of art” (Pengelly 1875:200), is an upright male figure just over 33cm tall. There is a good set of drawings of it in Bryony Coles’ (1990) paper in the Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society. The Idol has an oval head with heavy brows and nose, a long neck, sharply cut torso but no arms, carefully carved penis and buttocks and short stubby legs with knees and little, short feet. Calibrated radiocarbon date OxA-1717 placed the Idol in the range 426-352 BC (Coles 1990:326).
The Idol has a hole drilled through the neck, side-to-side. Perhaps this was to take arms which could be pegged over the torso, a bit like the Roos Carr wooden figures (Coles 1990) (in Hull and East Riding Museum) that have a number of pegged parts. Another puzzle is the waxy deposits on parts of the Idol, which might be the remains of a resinous coating or something that accumulated whilst it was buried.
Discovered “25 feet below the surface”, the Idol was lying up against the trunk of a fallen oak tree (Pengelly 1875:200). Was it a votive figurine (“Idol”) for worship to some spirit of the water; or a child’s toy (“doll”), lost until found some 2300 years later by Messrs Watts, Blake, Bearne and Co’s labourers?
I shall post about this project periodically, describing my failures as well as successes. The aim is to make a copy of the Idol (probably a facsimile rather than replica) for handling, but also to interpret the figure, making a set of interchangeable arms which can be chosen by the handler and which could affect the way the Idol is understood.
Next up – procuring oak and preparing drawings.
Bishop, M.J. (2004) “Pengelly, William (1812–1894)”, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/21838, accessed 26 June 2014]
Coles, B. (1990) “Anthropomorphic Wooden Figures from Britain and Ireland” Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 56:315-333
Ellis, F.S. (1897) “Preface” In Pengelly, H. (ed) A Memoir of William Pengelly, of Torquay, FRS, Geologist, with a Selection from his Correspondence London: John Murray
Pengelly, W. (1875) (ed) “Memoranda, Part 1” Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art 7:197-202
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Historian of Science, Medicine, and Aesthetics | <urn:uuid:c479f207-d168-4517-8671-f33d05cba9e1> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://artefactual.co.uk/tag/anthropomorphic-figure/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370493684.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20200329015008-20200329045008-00395.warc.gz | en | 0.929246 | 2,611 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Patrick “Jack” Cooper was a 16-year-old boy killed by a predatory black bear, and now some want to blame him for his own death.
There is little doubt running from the bear was a mistake. Turning your back on a predator is invariably a bad thing. What predators desire is to approach from behind so their prey cannot fight back.
In this case, however, it is worth asking a simple question: Would it have made any difference if young Cooper had stood his ground?
Maybe, and then again probably not.
“Jack was very young for his age,” said the mother of one of his friends, and he was slight. Physically, he wasn’t any more of a challenge for your average Alaska black bear than geologist Cynthia Dusel-Bacon.
Mentally and emotionally, Dusel-Bacon was way ahead if for no other reason that she was almost twice as old when attacked by the black bear that basically chewed off one of her arms and most of the other. She was lucky to live.
A radio and the quick response of a helicopter saved her life. Cooper had a smart phone, the modern equivalent of Dusel-Bacon’s radio, but the response to Bird Ridge in Chugach State Park just outside of Anchorage was slower, and there is the possibility he might have died in a fall while being chased and before the bear got to his body.
Whatever the case, there is no indication he ever stood up to the bear.
Dusel-Bacon did; it didn’t matter.
As Canadian scientist Stephen Hererro, the authority on bear attacks, would later write, “In 99 percent of such encounters, she probably would have been successful.”
Maybe, and then again maybe not because in the animal kingdom size matters, and Dusel-Bacon, like Cooper, was no Arnold Schwarzenegger. There is a reason bears go after moose calves instead of full-grown moose.
A demonstration of size
Some tourists in a bear encounter in Denali National Park and Preserve unknowingly put on a demonstration of the value of size last summer.
They were followed – some might say chased – by a young grizzly near the Savage River. Park visitor Betty Snyder caught on film what happened next.
Park rangers on one bank of the river, seeing the disaster brewing on the other side of the river, started yelling instructions to the tourists:
Stop running. Get together in a group. Put your hands over your head. And make yourselves look big.
The people did as they were told. The bear, which had been following them as they fled, stopped.
They turned to face him and yelled. That visibly startled the animal. It backed off and eventually slunk away. You can view the entire photo sequence here: denali-hikers-escape-bear.
Snyder credited rangers with saving two different groups of hikers while she was stopped along the Savage.
“It was amazing how the stand-tall procedure actually worked for these hikers,” she emailed. “Thanks to the rangers calling out instructions to them.”
Whether it was the stand-tall technique or the grouping together and shouting is, however, open to debate. Scientist Tom Smith at Brigham Young University in Utah, a man who has been studying bears for decades in Alaska, has been collecting data on this sort of thing for a new paper on human responses to bears, and he has found no indication that putting your arms above your head makes any difference.
In fact, he said, if you are alone and prepared to defend yourself with pepper spray or a gun, it is probably a bad idea to put your hands above your head. Instead, get ready to use your defensive weapon just in case it becomes necessary.
The data, however, leaves no doubt that there is safety in numbers, he added. A group of people clustered togeher looks like a whole lot of trouble to a bear, because size matters.
Five-foot, three-inch Marti Miller, a colleague of Dusel-Bacon’s at the U.S. Geological Survey, probably knows this as well as anyone. Her central Alaska black bear encounter was even more troubling than that of her friend and co-worker.
Miller was stalked by a black bear.
“I’ll never forget the look in that bear’s eyes,” she said in a telephone interview. All alone in the field, she tried to maneuver away from the animal. It followed her as she edged toward higher ground and then circled around to get behind her to attack, just as with Dusel-Bacon.
Only there was a fatal difference for the bear. Miller was armed. After the horrific attack that cost Dusel-Bacon her arms, the USGS began providing firearms and bear training to its field geologists.
When Miller turned to find the bear about to grab her, she shot and killed it. The death of Cooper, she said, brought back troubling memories of that incident. But for the gun, she said, she could have been him.
Miller had a weapon and knew how to use it. Cooper had no weapon. He met the wrong bear in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he was a perfectly sized target for a predatory black bear.
“Our impression from our data is that young and older people may be more vulnerable to fatal attack because they may be perceived as less threatening and may be less able to resist serious attack,” Herrero, Smith and two co-authors concluded in a 2011 study on “Fatal Attacks by American Black Bear on People: 1900-2009.”
There was also this:
“Potentially predatory approaches are typically silent and may include stalking or other following, followed by a fast rush leading to contact. We know of incidents where a black bear behaved as if it were considering on carrying out a predatory attack and was deterred by people’s aggressive actions such as shouting, or hitting with rocks, fists or sticks. Once predatory behavior is initiated, it may be persist for hours unless it is deterred.
“Such bears appear to be strongly motivated, as if a switch had been thrown.”
Once the Bird Ridge bear locked its sights on young Cooper, Smith said in a Thursday interview, the die was likely cast. There was only one way the bear was going to be deterred, and that was for someone to drive it off.
That Cooper was not equipped, physically or emotionally to do that, is not his fault. It is not easy to stand up to a bear. Take my word for it. I have done it successfully several times, and once unsuccessfully. The latter resulted in a claw in the face and then the shooting of a grizzly that had my leg in its mouth.
Compared to Cooper, I was bigger, stronger, older, armed and lucky. He was smaller, weaker, younger, unarmed and unlucky. These are the differences between life and death in these situations.
The real world
Thankfully, most people will never be attacked by a bear, let alone a predatory black bear. Bears that attack people are rare, very rare. The predatory black bear is a tiny subset of those rare bears.
“The risk of fatal black bear attacks on people in our study area (North America) was extremely low,” the authors of the fatal attacks paper wrote. “Each year, millions of interactions between people and black bears occur without any injury to a person although by two years of age most black bears have the physical capacity to kill a person.”
Smith is now in the middle of writing a paper on bear attacks solely in Alaska. He has cataloged 1,447 dangerous confrontations between humans and black, grizzly and polar bears. In those encounters, there were 332 injuries and 60 deaths. Smith concedes there were likely hundreds, if not thousands or tens of thousands, of close calls with bears on which he has no data because the incidents were never reported.
Of the 1,447 close encounters, he said, 1,141 involved situations in which a bear actually made contact with a person. The 332 injuries came from those 1,141 attacks. Thus, if a bear should make contact with you – something unlikely to begin with – there is a 70 percent chance you will escape uninjured.
The chance the bear will kill you is 1 in 19. That leaves a 95 percent chance you will survive the attack. Most of us, were we to walk into a doctor’s office today to discover we had cancer, would happily take a diagnosis offering a 95 percent chance of survival.
Bear are scary animals, and the more time you spend in the wild or semi-wild lands of Alaska, the more chance you have of encountering them. But they are not as dangerous as bees and wasps.
On average, 44 people die every year in the U.S. from allergic reactions after being stung by hornets, bees or wasps, according to a study appearing in Wilderness and Environmental Medicine. People who know they are allergic, carry an EpiPen with them almost everywhere so that if they are stung they can inject a drug (epinephrine) that immediately reverses the symptoms of the life-threatening reactions to the sting.
Smith suggests people heading into bear-filled areas of Alaska, or bear-filled anywhere in the Lower 48, think about bear spray or a firearm in the same way, as a simple, precautionary protection.
Smith admits to a preference for bear spray because it requires less skill to use than a firearm and is lighter, but he has no reservations about guns. If you are good with one, if you can perform with it under pressure, if you feel confident of hitting a moving target, and if you don’t mind hauling around the extra weight, take it.
Otherwise, consider the fact a can of bear spray weighs only 11 ounces and any idiot can use it without hurting themselves or anyone else while a short-barreled Remington 870 pump shotgun – among the better bear stoppers for most people – weighs seven and a half pounds, and even the lightest, short-barreled .454-caliber Casull handgun weighs four-times as much as the bear spray. Not to mention that it requires a lot more skill to use, plus some regular practice.
Or you could just make do with a stick.
That was the weapon of choice for the late Stan Price who lived among the grizzlies in a cabin at Pack Creek in the Admiralty Island National Monument for 33 years. Over time, he swatted more than a few bears on the nose.
That technique works fine right up until the time it doesn’t. Still, if you lack any other weapon, take what you can find – especially around black bears.
“I think that predatory black bears might be more common than most people think,” Miller said. Smith conceded she could be right. Black bears are hunted almost everywhere in North America these days, and hunters tend to weed out the bold and aggressive bears.
That alone might explain why there are fewer black bear attacks in areas where the bears are regularly hunted.
“With far less hunting pressure, more bold males survive,” the authors of fatal attacks wrote. “Males take more risks to feed and fatten to be able to compete with other males to breed. We see predation on a person being a rare, high-risk activity with a potentially high food reward, in which a bear might ingest much quality food by feeding on a person, but also will probably be killed by other humans.”
The Bird Ridge bear that killed Cooper was a 180-pound male that fit this description, and in the end the bear was shot and killed by humans. Three other bears died in the gunfire as collateral damage. The tragedy is that Cooper died before the bear-shootings happened. | <urn:uuid:f854070a-6d23-442d-8e40-59b90fb28d4c> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://craigmedred.news/2017/06/22/size-matters/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370505359.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20200401003422-20200401033422-00075.warc.gz | en | 0.976714 | 2,485 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Routine Intervention in Labour
Every woman wants to have the best possible care during the birth of her baby. She wants to feel that her needs and the needs of her baby, are placed front and centre in all decisions. Athough this is the ideal situation, there may a tension between meeting the individual needs of women and the routines and policies of the hospital the they have chosen to look after them.
Routine interventions are generally seen as necessary in order to keep the mother and baby safe during the birth. Some interventions may have negative impacts or side effects. They might:
- interfere with the physiology of the labour process;
- separate the woman from her partner, other support people, baby, or caregivers;
- be uncomfortable and unpleasant;
- have other more serious side-effects
- lead to the use of other interventions designed to monitor, prevent or treat these side effects (known as the Cascade of Intervention).
We might see these negative impacts as necessary trade offs if they mean that labour and birth are safer for our babies. However, there is now growing evidence that some of these routine procedures as well as potentially interfering or causing harm, do not actually benefit the woman or baby.
Which routine interventions cause harms but have no benefit to either mother or baby?
Research shows that the following forms of care or procedures increase risks and have no benefit to the mother and baby:
Recording a woman's progress in labour using a Partogram (Lavender et al. 2013 link).
A Partogram is a graph of a woman's progress in labour made by the midwife by using results from Abdominal Palpation and Vaginal examinations.
- increased the risk of being diagnosed with a prolonged labour and experiencing further intervention to address the diagnosis (Albers 1999, Cesario 2004 and Zhang et al. 2002, Walsh 2009, Walsh 2012, Lavender et al. 2013)
Offering vaginal examinations during labour (Downe et al.2013 link).
- increases emotional distress (NICE 2007, Devane. 1996, Lewin et al. 2005).
- increases the risk of infection to the baby (Lumbiganon et al. 2004, Seaward et al. 1997 and Hannah et al. 2000).
Monitoring the baby's heart rate with the doppler in low risk women (Alfirevic et al. 2010 link).
- routine doppler ultrasound is not recommended in low-risk pregnancies (NICE 2007:35)
Continuous electronic fetal monitoring – the belt monitors (Alfirevic et al. 2013 link).
- More likely to have minor obstetric interventions like epidural analgesia, ongoing continuous electronic fetal monitoring and fetal blood sampling for fetal distress (Blix 2005);
- Increases the risk of a vacuum or forceps assisted birth (Alfirevic et al. 2013);
- increases the risk of having a caesarean (Alfirevic et al. 2013);
Artificially breaking the waters (Smyth et al. 2013 link).
Lying down during labour or birth (Lawrence et al. 2013 link).
- increases the duration of labour (Lawrence et al.2013).
- increases the risk of caesarean birth (Lawrence et al.2013).
- increases the need for epidural (Lawrence et al.2013).
- increases risk of significant bleeding (Terry et al. 2006)
- increases risk of anal sphincter tear (Dudding et al. 2008)
Coach pushing for the birth when the woman does not have an epidural in place (Bloom et al. 2006 link)
- Increases the risk of pelviic floor damage (Fraser et al. 2000, Schaffer et al.2005, Handa et al.1996).
Cutting an episiotomy for any reason other than the baby being distressed (Dannecker et al. 2004 link)
- increases the risk of significant pelvic floor damage (Carroli and Mignini 2009, DiPiazza et al. 2006, Gerdin et al. 2007, Altman et al.2007, Sartore et al.2004, Bick et al. 2008, Dannecker et al. 2004).
Giving low risk women an injection of artificial oxytocin to deliver the placenta (Begley at al.2011 link)
- increases blood pressure;
- increases after pains;
- increases the risk of nausea and vomiting;
- increases the use of medication for pain relief in the postnatal period;
- increases the number of women readmitted to hospital with vaginal bleeding (Begley at al. 2011).
PPA campaigns to support maternity services to ensure that their clinical guidelines reflect the best evidence available and that midwives and doctors present this information to women so that they can make informed decisions about their care. If you would like to get involved as a maternity consumer, you will find further details here.
- Albers, L. (1999) the duration of labour in healthy women. Journal of Perinatology. 19(2): 114-19.
- Alfirevic, Z., Devane, D., Gyte, G.M.L. (2013), Continuous cardiotocography (CTG) as a form of electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) for fetal assessment during labour. Editorial Group: Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group. Published Online: 31 MAY 2013 available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006066.pub2/abstract [accessed on 15 November 2013].
- Altman, D., Ragnar, I. and Ekstrom, A. (2007). Anal sphincter lacerations and upright delivery postures: a risk analysis from a randomized controlled trial. International Urogynecology Journal, 18: 141-6.
- Begley CM, Gyte GML, Murphy DJ, et al. (2011) Active versus expectant management for women in the third stage of labour. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 11. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons
- Bick, D., MacArthur, C. and Winter. H. (2008) Postnatal Care: Evidence and Guidelines for Management, 2nd edn. London: Churchill Livingstone.
- Blix, E., Reinar, L. and Klovning, A. and Oian, P. (2008) Prognostic value of the admission test and its effectiveness compared with auscultation only: a systematic review. BJOG, 112: 1595-604.
- Caldeyro-Barcia, R. (1979) Influence of maternal bearing down efforts during second stage on fetal well-being. Birth and Family Journal, 6(1): 7-13.
- Carroli, G. and Mignini, L. (2009) Episiotomy for vaginal birth. (Cochrane Review). In The Cochrane Library, Issue 1. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
- Cesario, S. (2004) Re-evaluation of Freidman’s labour curve: a pilot study. Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Neonatal Nursing, 33:713-22.
- Dannecker, C., Hillemanns, P. Strauss, A. et al. (2004) Episiotomy and perineal tears presumed to be imminent: randomised controlled trial. Acta Obstetrics et Gynecologica Scandinavia, 83: 364-8.
- Devane, D. (1996) Sexuality and Midwifery. British Journal of Midwifery, 4(8): 413-20.
- DiPiazza, D., Richter, H., Chapman, V., Cliver, S., Neely, C., Chen, C. and Burgio, K. (2006) Risk factors for anal sphincter tear in multiparas. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 107(6): 1233-6.
- Downe S, Gyte GM, Dahlen HG, Singata M. (2013). Routine vaginal examinations for assessing progress of labour to improve outcomes for women and babies at term. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013 Jul 15;7:CD010088. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD010088.pub2.
- Fraser, W., Marcoux, S., Krauss, I. et al. (2000) Multi-centre, randomised controlled trial of delayed pushing for nulliparous women in the second stage of labour with continuous epidural analgesia. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 182: 1165-72.
- Gerdin E, Sverrisdottir G, et al. (2007). The role of maternal age and episiotomy in the risk of anal sphincter tears during childbirth. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol 47 (4): 286-90.
- Handa, V., Harris, T. and Ostergard, D. (1996) Protecting the pelvic floor: obstetric management to prevent incontinence and pelvic organ collapse. Obstetric and Gynecology, 88: 470-8.
- Hannah M.E., Hannah, W.I., Hewson, S.A., et al. (2000) Planned caesarean section versus planned vaginal birth for breech presentation at term: a randomised multicentre trial. Lancet 2000; 256: 1375-83.
- Hodnett ED, Downe S, Walsh D. (2012). Alternative versus conventional institutional settings for birth. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012, Issue 8. Art. No.: CD000012. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD000012.pub4.
- Johnstone, F., Aboelmagd, M. and Harouny, A. (1987) Maternal position in the second stage of labour and fetal acid base status. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 94(8): 753-7.
- Lavender, T., Hart, A., Smyth, R. (2013). Effect of partogram use on outcomes for women in spontaneous labour at term. Editorial Group: Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group. Published Online: 10 JUL 2013 at :http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD005461.pub4/abstract . DOI:10.1002/14651858.CD005461.pub4
- Lawrence, A., Lewis, L., Hofmeyr, G.J., Styles, C. (2013). Maternal positions and mobility during first stage labour. Editorial Group:Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group. Available online at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003934.pub4/abstract [Accessed on 1 April 2014]
- Lewin, D., Fearon, B., Hemmings, V., & Johnson, G. (2005). Women's experiences of vaginal examination in labour. Midwifery, 21, 267-277.
- Lumbiganon, P., Thinkhamrop, J., Thinkhamrop, B., & Tolosa, J. E. (2004). Vaginal chlorhexidine during labour for preventing maternal and neonatal infections (excluding Group B Streptococcal and HIV). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (4). The Cochrane Collaboration retrieved 17/04/09.
- NICE (2007) Intrapartum care: Care of healthy women and their babies during childbirth. Available online at http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/pdf/IPCNICEguidance.pdf [accessed on 6 September 2013]
- Sandall, J., Soltani, H., Gates, S. et al (2013). Midwife-led continuity models versus other models of care for childbearing women. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 8. Available online at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004667.pub3/abstract [accessed on 31 October 2013].
- Sartore, A., De Seta, F., Maso, G. et al. (2004) The effects of mediolateral episiotomy on pelvic floor function after vaginal delivery. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 103: 669-73.
- Schaffer, J., Bloom, S., Casey, B. et al. (2005) A randomised trial of the effect of coached vs uncoached maternal pushing during the second stage of labor on postpartum pelvic floor structure and function. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 192: 1692-6.
- Seaward PG, Hannah ME, Myhr TL, et al. International Multicentre Term Prelabor Rupture of Membranes Study: evaluation of predictors of clinical chorioamnionitis and postpartum fever in patients with prelabor rupture of membranes at term. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 1997;177(5):1024–9.
- Smyth, M.D., Markham, C., Dowswell, T. (2013). Amniotomy for shortening spontaneous labour. Editorial Group: Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group. Published Online: 18 JUN 2013, available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006167.pub4/abstract [accessed on 15 November 2013]. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD006167.pub4.
- Walsh, Denis (2012) Evidence and Skills for Normal Labour and Birth – A Guide for Midwives. Second Edition. New York: Routledge.
- Walsh, T. (2009) Exploring the effects of hospital admission on contraction patterns and labour outcomes using women’s perception of events. Midwifery, 25: 242-52.
- Zhang, J., Troendle, J. and Yancey, M. (2002) Reassessing the labour curve. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 187: 824-8.
The following interventions cause harms without benefits:
It does not benefit the woman or baby to know how dilated the cervix is during labour.
It does not benefit the woman or baby of any risk status, to have external Continuous Electronic Fetal Monitoring or CTG during labour
Breaking the waters
It does not benefit the woman or the baby to routinely have the membranes artificially ruptured during labour.
It does not benefit the woman to have an episiotomy. The only benefit is to a distressed baby. | <urn:uuid:3419f33d-6023-4064-a667-4ed263b32a1f> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://pregnancyparenting.org.au/birth/routine-intervention-labour-0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370506988.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20200402143006-20200402173006-00353.warc.gz | en | 0.80065 | 3,164 | 2.625 | 3 |
Posts for category: Skin Condition
If you’ve suddenly noticed your skin breaking out in a red, itchy rash, you could be dealing with dermatitis, a common skin condition that often leads to a red, swollen rash, or dry and intensely itchy skin. Sometimes dermatitis can even cause oozing or scaling blisters to form. This condition may be embarrassing but don’t worry—it isn’t contagious.
The most common types of dermatitis include:
- Contact dermatitis: occurs when an allergen comes in contact with your skin
- Eczema or atopic dermatitis: most commonly inherited
- Dyshidrotic dermatitis: often appears on the hands and feet
- Seborrheic dermatitis: a type of dermatitis that often affects the scalp (dandruff)
The causes really depend on the type of dermatitis you have. For example, contact dermatitis occurs when you come in contact with an allergen such as certain detergents, poison ivy, or nickel. Eczema most often runs in families and occurs more frequently in those with allergies or asthma.
With dermatitis, it is common to experience flare-ups with bouts of remission. Common symptom triggers include environmental or hormonal changes, stress, or certain irritants (e.g. new detergents; perfumes).
Since the symptoms of dermatitis are similar to other skin conditions, it is important to see a dermatologist for a proper diagnosis. Some types of dermatitis can be diagnosed through a simple physical exam; however, if your dermatologist believes that your symptoms are due to an allergic reaction, then allergy testing may be necessary to determine what’s causing your dermatitis.
Those with mild symptoms may find relief through over-the-counter antihistamines and topical creams to stop itching and redness; however, a dermatologist can create a customized treatment plan based on the type of dermatitis you are dealing with and your symptoms. Along with home care (e.g. oatmeal baths; cold compresses) and over-the-counter medications, a dermatologist may also prescribe stronger antihistamines, topical steroids, or oral medication to ease more serious flare-ups.
Your dermatologist can also discuss ways to prevent flare-ups including treating and preventing dry skin, using a proper moisturizer, and implementing necessary dietary changes. Some patients also find that alternative therapies such as acupuncture or massage therapy help reduce the number and severity of flare-ups.
If you are experiencing symptoms of dermatitis, it is important that you see your dermatologist right away for care. The sooner you seek treatment the sooner you will experience relief.
Psoriasis doesn’t just impact someone’s appearance but it can also affect someone’s quality of life. Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition that leads to itching, burning patches of skin known as plaques. These plaques can be embarrassing for the sufferer and have a serious impact on their life. If you have psoriasis that is causing you to avoid social situations or you are noticing symptoms of psoriasis it’s important that you have a dermatologist that you can turn to. A dermatologist can both diagnose and treat your skin condition.
Since symptoms of psoriasis can also resemble other skin problems it’s always a good idea to see a skin doctor to find out what’s causing your symptoms. Symptoms of psoriasis include:
- Red, inflamed, and sometimes-scaly patches of skin
- Dry skin that may crack or bleed
- Tenderness, itching, or burning around the plaques
Plaques may be raised, dry, or contain white scaly skin. While plaques can develop anywhere on the body they are more prevalent on the knees, elbows, back, and scalp.
Certain things can trigger flare-ups including:
- Injury to the skin
- Cold weather
- Certain medications (e.g. beta-blockers; lithium)
Avoiding these triggers can be an effective way to reduce the amount of flare-ups a patient experiences.
Treatment for psoriasis includes a variety of home remedies, lifestyle modifications and medications. At-home care is focused on alleviating the itchy and burning associated with the formation of plaques. Mild to moderate itching may be relieved through:
- Moisturizing the skin daily
- Taking cold showers
- Apply ice packs to the skin
- Using skincare products containing lactic acid or urea, which can remove scaly skin
Finding the right medication and treatment plan takes time and having a dermatologist that you trust is crucial. Common medications and therapies for treating psoriasis include:
- Topical anesthetics
- Certain antidepressants
Despite the fact that there isn’t yet a cure for psoriasis, a dermatologist can certainly provide you with the treatment plan you need to get flare-ups under control.
If you are dealing with psoriasis it’s important that you have a dermatologist that you can turn to for care, treatment and support. Together you and your dermatologist can create a treatment plan to manage symptoms and improve your quality of life.
Warts are small, harmless growths that develop on the skin. You may notice only one or they may grow in clusters. While they are usually painless, sometimes they can develop in places like the soles of the feet (known as plantar warts), which can be uncomfortable. Common warts often appear on the hands and arms while flat warts develop on the face and forehead. Plantar warts are typically found on the soles of the feet. Apart from developing these skin-colored growths, there usually aren’t any other symptoms associated with this condition.
What causes warts?
Warts are caused by an infection known as the human papillomavirus (HPV). There are more than 100 strains of HPV that can develop in different areas of the body, from the mouth and skin to the genital region. The type of HPV that causes warts on the hands, feet, or rest of the body isn’t the same type that causes genital warts.
How do I treat warts?
Warts usually go away on their own once the body fights the infection; however, it can take months to years for the wart to go away. Therefore, if you feel embarrassed by the wart or if the wart is in an awkward or uncomfortable place then you may choose to visit a dermatologist to have it removed. If you are a healthy individual you may also consider trying an over-the-counter wart removal option before turning to a dermatologist.
You should see a dermatologist if:
- Warts are spreading or getting worse
- Warts aren’t responding to at-home treatment
- Warts are developing on your face or genitals
- Warts are painful, bleeding, or itching
- You have a weakened immune system
- You have diabetes
When you visit your dermatologist, they will first need to make sure that the growth is a wart. Depending on the type and location of the warts, your skin doctor will talk to you about your treatment options. Common ways to treat warts include,
This topical treatment is often used on warts of the hands, feet or knees, and you will need to apply the topical treatment daily for several weeks. After the solution is applied you will also use a pumice stone to file away the dead outer layer of skin from the wart. The acid treatment will continue to kill the wart layer by layer until it’s completely gone.
Freezing the Wart
This is another common method for removing a wart. Liquid nitrogen is sprayed on the wart to freeze it. This is also referred to as cryotherapy. More than one liquid nitrogen treatment session may be needed in order to completely remove the wart.
Other options for removing a wart include burning, cutting or removing the wart with a laser, and these treatment options are often used on warts that don’t respond to the other treatments above. If you are dealing with warts and want to turn to a dermatologist to have it removed, then call to make your next appointment.
Find out how this pigmented skin condition is treated.
Are you or someone you love dealing with vitiligo? The Mayo Clinic reports that there are more than 200,000 new cases of vitiligo each year in the US alone. Vitiligo is a chronic disease where the melanin, which gives your skin its pigment, either dies or the body stops producing it. As a result, there are white patches of skin all over the body. So, you may be wondering how this condition occurs or how you can treat it. This is when it’s important to turn to your dermatologist.
What causes vitiligo?
Unfortunately, researchers still do not know why some people develop vitiligo. It may be the result of an autoimmune disease, where the body attacks the melanocytes in the skin. Some researchers also believe that something as simple as a sunburn or even emotional stress could cause vitiligo; however, the cause is still unknown.
Who is at risk for developing vitiligo?
Even though this condition can appear at any time in a person’s life it more commonly occurs in your 20's. It affects both men and women of all races; however, vitiligo is more noticeable in those with darker skin. Those with autoimmune disorders are often more likely to develop vitiligo than those who do not have an autoimmune disorder. Genetics may also play a role; however, parents with vitiligo won’t necessarily pass this condition onto their child.
What are the symptoms of vitiligo?
Vitiligo is characterized by large white patches of skin, which may appear anywhere on the body. These patches most commonly appear on the face, hands, feet, arms, and other sun-exposed areas. Sometimes the white patches will spread over time. How quickly the patches spread will vary from person to person; however, sometimes the patches won’t spread at all.
How is vitiligo treated?
It’s important to turn to a dermatologist that you trust if you think you or a family member is dealing with vitiligo. During your consultation, your doctor will examine your skin to determine how widespread and numerous the patches are so that we have a better idea what type of treatment will be the most effective.
We will also go through your medical history and ask you questions about your condition. Treatment for vitiligo, like most skin disorders, will not work overnight. In fact, there is often a trial-and-error period to try and find the best treatment option.
The most common types of vitiligo treatment include medication, light therapies, and surgery, all of which are designed to restore pigmentation back into the skin.
Prescribed medications may be applied topically or taken orally. Certain UVA/UVB light therapy treatments may also improve your condition. Skin grafting surgery may be recommended, in which your dermatologist will remove skin from another area of the body and apply it over the patches to hide them and even out skin tone.
Your dermatologist can also recommend a full-spectrum sunscreen to protect your skin when going outside, as well as any counseling and support you may need. If you or someone you love is looking for vitiligo treatment, contact your dermatologist today.
The effects of chickenpox may last beyond your childhood infection. Shingles, a widespread, itchy, painful rash, can break out at any time in adulthood because the causative agent, the Varicella Zoster virus, lies dormant within the body for life. Your dermatologist can help you control the awful pain and dangerous complications of shingles. He or she also has suggestions on avoiding an outbreak of this common and contagious skin disease.
What does shingles look like? A shingles rash is a reddened, itchy, oozing skin rash composed of raised blisters. Typically, it is widespread on the face near the eye, on the torso (front wrapping around to the back), or on the neck. People experience exceptional pain for at least two to six weeks, and due to damaged nerve endings, some individuals have unresolved pain for years.
What are the potential complications? Just like its childhood counterpart, shingles is contagious. So, people exposed to your shingle rash may develop chickenpox if they have never been sick with it previously.
Plus, shingles may lead to serious vision or hearing problems, fever, balance issues, and light sensitivity. People with a weakened immune system are potential shingles sufferers, and unfortunately, perfectly healthy people who have a shingles flare-up can then become immunosuppressed. In short, shingles is nothing to joke about.
How is it treated? Mild cases respond to cool baths, skin calming lotions, topical steroids and over the counter pain relievers. More severe flare-ups may require narcotic pain relievers, anti-convulsants, steroidal injections and numbing medications applied directly to the skin. Medications such as Acyclovir and Valacyclovir help dampen the spread of the virus.
Can you prevent an outbreak of shingles? Your dermatologist or primary care physician may provide you with a shingles vaccine to greatly reduce your chances of having shingles. The American Academy of Dermatology says that Zostavoax is for patients over 60, and the Shingrix vaccine may be administered beginning at age 50.
Find out more
Your dermatologist is an excellent resource for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a wide array of simple to complex skin conditions and diseases. If you are starting a shingle outbreak or desire to prevent one, call your skin doctor for a consultation. He or she will inform you on the best ways to stay as healthy as possible. | <urn:uuid:f7c02390-a11c-4a38-8e36-de4841cd9b4a> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | http://www.deblieckdermatology.com/blog/category/Skin+Condition.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370497042.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20200330120036-20200330150036-00234.warc.gz | en | 0.935328 | 2,909 | 3 | 3 |
Parachutes games engage both the mind and the body. Kids love playing with a parachute, probably because of the variety of ways it can be used. Parachutes allow children to use their imaginations. You can simply leave a group of children with a few simple directions and they will find their own entertaining ways to use parachutes.
Table of Contents
Parachutes are popular for both inside and outside play in daycare centres and schools. They can be purchased online and, with proper care, can last through many activities for children of all ages.
Advantages of Parachute Play
Parachute games are not only fun, they provide children with exercise and other benefits, including:
- Encouraging Team Work
The size and shape of a parachute makes team work imperative for many of the games listed. Kids learn that they must work together in order to win.
- Promoting Social Interaction
Communication skills improve as children play together with a parachute. Fun parachute games help kids relax and interact effectively with their peers.
- Creating Balance and a Sense of Rhythm
As children play with parachutes, they learn when and how to move to control the chute’s movement. Many games require rhythm to be mastered successfully. Balance is also necessary, which encourages hand-eye coordination.
- Physically Developing Torso and Upper Arms
Many parachute games require upper body strength to control the parachute. As a result, children develop muscles in their upper arms and shoulders
In sum, the benefits of parachute play are many. Children learn teamwork and cooperation; increase their strength, agility and coordination; and improve physical endurance.
Before You Begin Parachute Play
You want parachute play to be safe, so remind children to listen and follow directions. Avoid using the parachute on wet grass, as the children might slip and injury result. Check the ground underneath the parachute for any rocks or sharp objects which might damage the chute. Also, avoid an area close to trees and undergrowth upon which the parachute might get caught. Make sure the children stay hydrated, especially outside in warm weather.
Parachute Games for Kids
Our collection of parachute games for kids work well for gym class, parties, any time you have an active group of youngsters. Some of the games listed are physically challenging, requiring upper body and arm strength. Others offer socialization and enhance team building skills. Whichever parachute game for kids you select, the result will be great fun for all those involved.
Direct the kids to hold the parachute tightly at waist level and move their arms up and down to make waves. The children do not need to move the same way at the same time. Tell the children they can sit if they wish once the game starts. This provides more variation in the size of the waves. They can also sit and then stand, repeating this movement to facilitate waves. Some children will enjoy making small waves, others will want to make very large waves.
Tug-of-War is always a fun game! Divide the players into two teams equal in size and strength. This may mean that one team has more players than the other. Have the teams get on opposite sides of the parachute. When given a command, both teams pull on the chute, attempting to make the other team move in their direction.
In this variation of tag, the parachute is It. The kids gather around the parachute and lift it as high as they can. Children take turns running under and to the other side of the chute before it comes down and touches them. You can also call out the names of two players and have them switch places before they are caught by It.
Children love this game where they pretend the parachute is a giant turtle shell. They space themselves evenly under the edges of the parachute, holding it to look like a turtle shell. Now they start walking or crawling in the same direction keeping the parachute in the shape of a turtle’s shell.
Have all the children lie on their backs with the parachute over them and pulled up to their chins like a blanket. The goal is to scoot along slowly on their backs looking like an alligator. You can also have the children crawl with the parachute on their backs. Try having one side move and then the other to waddle like an alligator.
Fox and Rabbit
Divide the kids into teams of three to five players with a leader for each team. An adult plays the fox and the kids are the rabbits. The fox chases two of the rabbit teams around as each follows their leader. If the fox tags a rabbit, that player becomes a fox and must stay under the chute. At the end of a one-minute round, two other teams play as rabbits with the fox chasing them. Once all the teams have played, the team with the most rabbits wins the game.
Sharks and Minnows
All the adult supervisors or teachers get under the parachute as sharks. The kids sit around the edge with their legs out in front of them under the parachute as minnows. Number the players from1 to 5, or 1 to 10, depending on the number of kids playing. You want to have three to four children with the same number. All the adults agree on one number to think of. The kids shout out their numbers and adults listen and pull in any child they hear call out the chosen number. Now the captured kids are the sharks. After the adults choose two numbers and the minnows are captured, all the kids left sitting get up and chase the sharks around tagging them to “save” them and turn them back in to minnows.
Parachute Games for Kindergarteners
Very young children have a tremendous amount of energy. Parachute play provides an outlet for pent-up energy. Kindergarteners love parachute play. We have a selection of parachute games for kindergarteners that are both fun and educational.
Using a large parachute may be challenging for very young children. Make sure you take the time to explain each game thoroughly. If you have a small group of children, consider purchasing a smaller parachute designed specifically for playground and classroom use.
Use this game to introduce very young children to parachute play. Space the children evenly around the edge of the parachute, and have them hold the edge with both hands. Direct the children to pull the parachute tight, and lower it to the ground. When the adult or teacher yells, “Up!” the children raise the parachute so that it fills with air. Then a “Down!” command is given. This results in the parachute filling with air and taking the shape of a mushroom. Once the children are consistently raising and lowering the parachute, try one of the following:
- Have all the children run to the center when they have made a mushroom. This makes the mushroom larger.
- Have all the children let go of the parachute at the same time after they make the mushroom. It should rise in the air, especially on a windy day outside.
Cat and Mouse
Have the children form a circle around the parachute and hold on to the edges at waist height. Choose one child to be the mouse, and one to be the cat. The mouse crawls under the chute and the mouse crawls around on top of the chute trying to catch the mouse. The children holding the parachute move it up and down to hide the mouse from the cat. When the mouse is caught (tagged), both the cat and mouse return to their place in the circle and two other children have a turn. Continue until every child has an opportunity to play.
Place the parachute on a flat surface with the children spaced evenly around the edges. An adult or teacher can choose to do one or more of the following:
- Call out a color and have the first child raising their hand to identify the color on the parachute.
- Have the children jump (hop or skip) from one color to the other.
- Announce a color and ask a child to identify the color to the right of left of it.
- Call out two adjacent colors for the children to touch with both hands.
We have a fun activity for teaching numbers to children. Have the children either stand or sit around the parachute. Number the children consecutively. Call out two numbers and have the children switch places. As children become familiar with the game, you may wish to call out more than two numbers.
Try this game as an ice-breaker with a group of children who do not know each other’s names. When you call out numbers, have the children introduce themselves to each other.
Have the children stand around the parachute with one hand holding the chute and the other arm extended straight out for balance. Use music for the children to run, hop, or skip to around the parachute. Each time the music stops, the children turn around and go in the other direction.
Place items of “treasure” (small toys, trinkets, old costume jewellery) on the ground or floor underneath the parachute, or in a box. Have the children gather around the parachute holding on to the side and moving their arms up and down to make waves. One by one player leave the circle and retrieve a treasure from under the parachute by crawling under the parachute. If you wish, you may call out the names of items that are to be retrieved.
Once children are familiar with the game, you can make it more challenging by setting a time limit for retrieval of the item(s).
Have the children stand around the edge of the parachute, holding the edge with one hand, either right or left. The adult or teacher gives simple commands such as sit, stand, run, walk, and pause. As the children do so, it looks as if they are on a merry-go-round. This game provides physical exercise and teaches young children to follow directions.
The children hold the edges of the parachute at waist height with one child sitting on the floor or ground underneath. Have the children pull the parachute back and forth over the hair of the seated child. Give the signal to raise the chute. The child sitting under the shoot will have their hair rise up and stay there as the result of static electricity. Let the children each take a turn under the parachute.
Parachute activities involve using items such as cotton balls, balloons, jump ropes, bean bags, balls of various sizes, and other items with parachute play. These games are fun for school gym classes and parties. They work best for children able to engage in multi-step directions, usually those from age five to eleven. It is a good idea to have two adults involved in monitoring parachute activities, as one can give commands and the other handle the items used for the games.
Beach Ball Bounce
Have the children hold the edges of the parachute. Throw one large beach ball onto the parachute. The kids wave and flutter the parachute in any direction without letting the beach ball fall off the side of the parachute. If you wish, you can use two different coloured beach balls, divide the children into teams, and see which team can keep their beach ball on the parachute while dislodging the other team’s ball.
Use any large ball for this fun game. Direct all the players to hold the chute taut. The ball is placed near the edge of the parachute. The object of the game is to roll the ball around the edge of the parachute without letting it fall off. This is accomplished by directing the children to raise and lower the edge of the parachute to keep the ball moving.
Direct the children to hold the edge of the parachute and pull it taut. Throw as many softball, beanbags, golf balls, or cotton balls as you can onto the top of the parachute. When given a command to, “Go!” the kids bounce the chute so that the items bounce into the air like popcorn. When all the items have fallen off the parachute, start the game over.
One of the simplest games to play with the parachute, ball rolling has several variations:
- Begin with the ball on top and the parachute and simply have the players roll the ball back and forth to each other.
- Have the children attempt to roll the ball into the centre of the parachute.
- Play a team game with two balls. The goal is to keep your team’s ball on the parachute while rolling the other team’s ball off the side.
- Place a ball on top of the parachute and have the players roll the ball back and forth to each other. For example, you could tell a specific person to roll the ball to someone that you name. This game encourages cooperation, as the players will have to work together for the first player to get the ball to their friend.
The goal of this game is to see how high blown-up balloons will rise in the air when tossed by the parachute. Begin by placing several blown-up balloons on top of the parachute. Explain to the children that you will count to three and then say, “Up!” When you give the command, the children are to raise the parachute over their heads very quickly. The balloons will rise in the air. On a windy day, they may travel away from the parachute.
Use very small, lightweight, plastic balls for this team parachute game. Divide the children into two equal teams, one of which tries to get the balls off the top of the parachute. The other team’s goal is to keep the balls on top of the parachute. Additionally, you can have the children see how high they can get the fleas to jump when playing as a group. Suggestion: Use a timer to determine when the play ends for your team game.
Pack the Pompoms
Use various sized pompoms and place them on top of the parachute. The goal is to get all the pompoms into the middle pocket of the parachute. You can use this as a team game by using different colored pompoms for each team. The team that gets the most in the pocket when the time is up wins this challenging and fun game.
Use skipping ropes, lengths of cord, or pieces of rope for this active parachute game. The children attempt to shake the “snakes” off the parachute. If a “snake” bites (touches) you, you are out of the game. Again, this can be a team game where you see which team has the most players left at the end of a set time.
Use parachutes for bed canopies, camping, and as an outdoor party tent. The variety of color and size options and the durable material make parachutes excellent for many creative projects and ideas. Parachutes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors, including plain white, which one can decorate with markers or paint. Try one of the following parachute ideas for colorful fun.
Parties and Celebrations
Parachutes provide colorful shade for parties and celebrations. The fabric lets the light shine through and provides a perfect background for pictures. Birthday balloons, favors, and tableware can match the colors of the parachute and kids can even make small parachutes to take home with them.
A parachute’s gossamer fabric can add a look of elegance to a wedding when a plain white chute is used with subtle lighting. Guest can use markers to sign the parachute at the reception to give to the bride and groom as a keepsake.
Parachutes provide an abundance of colourful fabric for home decorating. The lightweight fabric lends itself to many interior design ideas. Try one of the following:
- Create a Bed Canopy
For a child’s room, a canopy made from parachute material provides a feeling of safety and play. Your teen will probably like a canopy or bed curtain that provides a sense of privacy. The master suite will have a hint of glamor with a solid-color beige or white canopy. Use a store-bought frame or suspend a hoop (a hula hoop works well) from hooks on the ceiling to create a private, secret space.
- Make an inexpensive room divider for young children or teens.
Most kids hate sharing a bedroom. Creating a colorful room divider can solve the problem of whose space is whose. There are parachutes available with pinks, purples, and blues for little girls and dark green, red, and brown for boys. Alternatively, you can get a plain white parachute and create your own design based upon the bedroom’s theme.
- Cover a wooden headboard.
Bed frames are designed to last forever with their heavy wood and metal frameworks. However, your headboard may be showing wear. Add some padding and the vibrant color of a parachute to bring new life to an older wooden headboard.
- Create a drop ceiling.
Ceiling styles are constantly changing. Rather than replacing a popcorn ceiling or other outdated style, consider creating a colorful drop ceiling with a parachute. Tack it to the sides of the ceiling and use narrow molding to hold it in place.
- Make curtains or throw pillows.
Cut strips of your parachute fabric to create vivid, colored, curtain panels. Let the light shine through or line them for more privacy. You can cut the fabric so multiple colors are in a vertical or horizontal design, or go abstract with angles. Use any pieces remaining to cover store bought throw pillows.
- Cover chair pads, make table covers and matching napkins.
Spruce up your kitchen or dining room with colorful chair pad covers made from parachute fabric. Add a table cloth or table runner and matching napkins.
- Create a colorful quilt or duvet cover.
A parachute is perfect for those who love quilting. Use the fabric as is or cut the parachute material into squares for a quilt. Simply cut and piece a large rectangle and use a sheet for the backing for a quick and easy duvet cover.
Whether you choose a parachute game, add items of interest for a parachute activity, get creative with you own unique idea for using a parachute, or use the parachute for home décor, we know you will not only have fun, but create memories. We hope we have provided a start for some interesting ways to use a parachute. Remember that there is no limit to what you can do with a parachute alone and with others. Have fun!
Note on Storage of Your Parachute: When you are finished playing with the parachute, twist it loosely into a rope, roll it up, and put in into a bag for storage. Make sure the chute is dry to prevent mold.
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Alfalfa Safety Issue, Side Effects, Precautions
Alfalfa leaves are POSSIBLY SAFE for most healthy adults. But taking alfalfa seeds long-term may lead to an adverse
side effect that are similar to the autoimmune disease called lupus erythematosus. [6,8] Alfalfa may also lead to
another side effect that people's skin to become extra sensitive to the sun.
Taking alfalfa in large amounts is possibly unsafe during pregnancy and breast-feeding, alfalfa may act like estrogen.
Alfalfa might also cause our immune system to become more active, people with auto-immune diseases, or certain
hormone-sensitive condition such as breast cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, endometriosis, or uterine fiboids,
should avoid taking alfalfa.
Occasionally, there are reports about outbreak of Salmonella associated with Alfalfa. In February 2009, alfalfa sprouts
from a Wisconsin-based grower were removed from store shelves in the state and in Minnesota after routine food
safety tests on a package of alfalfa sprouts from Jack & The Green Sprouts turned up positive for Salmonella, a
bacteria that can cause food-borne illness. [1C] Outbreak of Salmonella Stanley in Sweden associated with alfalfa
sprouts, happened from July to August 2007. [1B]
There are also drug interactions with alfalfa. Do not take alfalfa together with warfarin, birth control pills, estrogens,
immunosuppressants, and photosensitizing drugs.
Bacteria can get into sprout seeds through cracks in the shell before the sprouts are grown. Once this occurs, these
bacteria are nearly impossible to wash out. Sprouts grown in the home are also risky if eaten raw. Many outbreaks
have been linked to contaminated seed. If pathogenic bacteria are present in or on the seed, they can grow to high
levels during sprouting - even under clean conditions. To reduce the risk:
* Avoid eating raw sprouts of any kind (including alfalfa, clover, radish, and mung bean).
* Cook sprouts thoroughly. This significantly reduces the risk of illness. [FDA.gov]
For high cholesterol, a dose of 5-10 grams of the herb has been used. [MedlinePlus]
1. Briggs C. Alfalfa. Canadian Pharm J 1994;Mar.2. Castleman M. The Healing Herbs. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press,
1991.3. Leung AY, Foster S. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs, and Cosmetics, 2d
ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1996. 4. Story JA. Alfalfa saponins and cholesterol interactions. Am J Clin Nutr 1984.
5. Molgaard J, von Schenck H, Olsson AG. Alfalfa seeds lower low density lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein B
concentrations in patients with type II hyperlipoproteinemia. Atherosclerosis 1987. 6. Malinow MR, Bardana EJ,
Goodnight SH. Pancytopenia during ingestion of alfalfa seeds. Lancet 1981. 7. Shemesh M, Lindrer HR, Ayalon N.
Affinity of rabbit uterine oestradiol receptor for phyto-oestragens and its use in competitive protein-binding radioassay
for plasma coumestrol. J Reprod Fertil 1972. 8 Akaoqi J. et al, Role of non-protein amino acid L-canavanine in
autoimmunity. Autoimmun. Rev. 2006 Jul';5(6):429-35. Epub 2005 Dec 29. Branca F and Lorenzetti S Health effects
of phytoestrogens. Forum Nutr. 2005; (57): 100-11. [1A] Hong Y, Huang C, Wang S, Lin B. The ethyl acetate extract of
alfalfa sprout ameliorates disease severity of autoimmune-prone MRL-lpr/lpr mice. Lupus. 2009;18(3):206-15. [1B]
Werner S, Boman K, Einemo I, Erntell M, de Jong B, Lindqvist A, Löfdahl M,
Lofdahl S, Meeuwisse A, Ohlen G, Olsson M, Stamer U, Sellstrom E, Andersson Y. Outbreak of Salmonella Stanley in
Sweden associated with alfalfa sprouts, July-August 2007. Euro Surveill. 2007 Oct 18;12(10):E071018.2. [1C] Sprouts
recalled after positive test for Salmonella fdlreporter.com 02/05/09 [AA1] Jimmy C. Henning and C. J. Nelson, Alfalfa,
University of Missouri Extension, 2011. [B1] Ganesan K, et al, Estrogen and testosterone attenuate extracellular matrix
loss in collagen-induced arthritis in rats. Calcif Tissue Int. 2008 Nov;83(5):354-64. B2 Yang YH et al, Endogenous
estrogen regulation of inflammatory arthritis and cytokine expression in male mice, predominantly via estrogen
receptor alpha. Arthritis Rheum. 2010 Apr;62(4):1017-25. B3 Dimitropoulou C, et al, Estrogen replacement therapy
prevents airway dysfunction in a murine model of allergen-induced asthma. Lung. 2009 Mar-Apr;187(2):116-27. B4
Dimitropoulou C, et al, Estrogen as a new therapeutic target for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Drug News Perspect. 2007 May;20(4):241-52.
Alfalfa Benefits, Uses, and Side Effects
supplement, plant and sprouts December 17, 2011
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in the North America, South
America, Europe Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, and many other regions in the world. Alfalfa superficially resembles clover, with clusters of
small purple flowers. Alfalfa sprout is a popular food. Its dried leaves and heat-treated seeds are used as herbal supplements. [Wikipedia.org]
Alfalfa is the most productive legume for Missouri. Alfalfa grows in deep, fertile, well-drained soils with a salt pH of 6.0 to 6.5, but it can be grown
with conservative management on more marginal soils. Alfalfa requires high levels of fertility for establishment, especially phosphorus. Phosphorus
is found to stimulate root growth for summer drought resistance, winter survival and quick spring growth. The alfalfa weevil and potato leafhopper
are the pests of alfalfa in Missouri. Regular monitoring of alfalfa fields is required to prevent economic injury from insects. [AA1]
The primary use of Alfalfa is as feed for high producing dairy cows. Alfalfa is believed to be a galactagogue, a substance that induces lactation.
Alfalfa is considered an insectary due to the large number of insects it attracts. [Wikipedia.org] Extracts of alfalfa sprout have been shown to have
benefits of anti-inflammatory activities. In a study of autoimmune-prone female mice, researchers showed that alfalfa sprout ethyl acetate extract
attenuated cytokine and inflammatory responses of self-reactive lymphocytes, increased survival and life span of the autoimmune-prone
MRL-lpr/lpr mice. [1A]
People use the leaves, sprouts, and seeds to make medicine. Chinese and Indian physicians used young alfalfa leaves to treat digestive disorders
. And, North American Indians used alfalfa to treat jaundice and encourage blood clotting. In 19th century, some herbalists used Alfalfa as a tonic
for indigestion, dyspepsia, anemia, loss of appetite, and poor assimilation of nutrients. Anyway, the traditional uses of alfalfa as an herb for
kidney conditions, bladder and prostate conditions, and alfalfa is also used to increase urine flow. It may benefit people at risk of high cholesterol,
asthma, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, upset stomach, and thrombocytopenic purpura (a bleeding disorder). Alfalfa is a good source
of vitamins A, C, E, and K4; and minerals calcium, potassium, phosphorous, and iron. [nih.gov]
Alfalfa sprout is one of the popular natural foods. Alfalfa is also available in the form of supplements - tablets or
capsules. Its health benefits are not well-studied scientifically. Alfalfa leaves contain about 2-3% saponins, and
Alfalfa also contains phytoestrogens and some antioxidants. Alfalfa supplements contain mainly the extract of
alfalfa leaf. In this section, we are going to review the recent research findings about the potential health benefits
There is no direct scientific evidence to support alfalfa benefits people at risk of arthritis. However, we know that
rheumatoid arthritis is a sexually dimorphic, autoimmune inflammatory disorder affecting the joints. Joint disability
in RA results primarily from loss of matrix components (collagen and glycosoaminoglycan) in the cartilage and
synovium. In a study, Arthritis induction in castrated and ovariectomized rats resulted in enhanced oxidative
stress and this was assessed by lipid peroxidation levels and depletion of antioxidants. This, in turn, led to
significantly increased levels of TNF-alpha and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), subsequently resulting in
loss of collagen, elastin, and glycosoaminoglycan (GAG) and disorganization of reticulin as evidenced by
biochemical quantitation and also by staining for collagen, reticulin, and elastin. Treatment with physiological
doses of dihydrotestosterone (dosage- 25 mg topically) and estrogen (dosage - 5 microg/0.1 ml subcutaneously)
restored the antioxidant levels significantly and reduced the levels of TNF-alpha and MMP-2, with estrogen
exhibiting a higher potency. This, in turn, attenuated the damage to reticulin organization as well as the loss of
collagen and GAG in the articular tissues. [B1] Further, it is known that endogenous estrogen plays an essential
inhibitory role in inflammation in male mice and that ERalpha is the dominant receptor that mediates these
effects. [B2] Since alfalfa contains phytoestrogen, thus, some people believe alfalfa benefits patients suffered
Again, there is no direct evidence that intake of alfalfa benefit people suffered from asthma. But, a study showed
that 17beta-estradiol (E2) prevents hyperresponsiveness to carbachol of murine asthmatic tracheal rings in vitro.
[B3] In many women, the incidence and severity of asthma exacerbations vary along their menstrual cycle.
Estrogen, a natural occurring hormone, affects differently many of the cell types that are involved in asthma,
including macrophages, eosinophils, neutrophils, lymphocyte, mast cells, fibroblasts, epithelial and smooth
muscle cells. By binding to its receptors on the plasma or nuclear membrane, estrogen affects the expression of
a plethora of proteins that are involved in the pathogenesis of asthma and COPD. Estrogen is now considered as
a therapeutic target for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. [B4] Lots more studies are needed to
prove if alfalfa really benefits people at risk of asthma and how it benefits the users.
This website discusses the benefits and side effects of various supplements, herbs and drug products. Different
people may experience different side effects and benefits of Alfalfa. You are encouraged to report adverse side
effects of alfalfa supplements to FDA, its website is www.fda.gov., or report the adverse side effects to the
manufacturer, you should be able to find the contact information on the label.
There are always new information. Please, send me an email (firstname.lastname@example.org) to correct my mistake(s).
Reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document and the information provided herein is believed to
be accurate. The information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. It is important to
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Bladder and Kidney Problems
More scientific evidence is needed to support alfalfa benefit claims on these issues.
Alfalfa may benefit people at risk of high cholesterol levels. It seems that its benefit arises from its ability to prevent cholesterol absorption in the
gut. [Medline Plus] Alfafa's leaves contain approximately 3% saponins. These saponins may contribute alfalfa's benefits on cholesterol-lowering
effects. Animal studies suggest that these alfalfa constituents block cholesterol absorption and prevent the formation of atherosclerotic plaques.
One small human trial found that dosage of 120 grams per day of heat-treated alfalfa seeds for eight weeks led to a modest reduction in cholesterol
MedlinePlus also considers that taking alfalfa seeds seems to benefit people with high cholesterol levels. [nlm.nih.gov]
It seems that alalfa leaves may be able to benefit people suffered from menupause symptoms. Alfalfa leaves contain flavones, isoflavones, sterols,
and coumarin derivatives. The isoflavones may also cause the estrogen-like effects seen in animal studies[7, 9]. Alfalfa is sometimes used to treat
menopause symptoms, but it is unclear if it works or not.
More scientific evidence is needed to understand how alfalfa benefits our prostate.
Insufficient evidence to make a statement on its health benefits on this issue. | <urn:uuid:a3e4e5fb-013b-48fc-bfca-94fd82b4ad91> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://zhion.com/Alfalfa.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370492125.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20200328164156-20200328194156-00074.warc.gz | en | 0.871216 | 3,158 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Germany is open to the north on the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. It shares borders with Denmark in the north, with Poland and the Czech Republic in the east, with Austria and Switzerland in the south, with France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. To the west from 1949 Divided into two opposing political and economic States, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) to the west and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the East.
The country is reunified on 3 October 1990.
Official name: Federal Republic of Germany
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Head of State: Mr. Joachim Gauck
Head of government: Angela Merkel
Area: 357,027 km²
Main cities: Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt / Main, Stuttgart, Dusseldorf, Dortmund, Essen, Bremen, Dresden, Leipzig, Hanover, Nuremberg (66 German cities over 100 000 inhabitants).
Official language: German
National Day: October 3
Population: 81.1 million (2014)
Population growth: 0.4% (2014)
Fertility rate: 1.41 (2014)
Population Projections: 72.2 million inhabitants (2030)
Life expectancy at birth: 77 years and 9 months for men and 82ans and 10 months for women (2014)
Religions: Roman Catholic (32.9%), Protestantism (32.5%), Islam (3%), Judaism (0.14%)
Human Development Index (ranking UN, 2012): 5th place
GDP: € 2 903.2 billion (2014) GDP per capita: € 35,230 (2014)
growth rate (2014): + 1.5% (after + 0.4% in 2013); Forecast 2015: + 1.5%
Unemployment rate (2014): 4.7% (after 5.2% in 2013)
Inflation rate (average 12 months): 0.8% (after 1.6% in 2013)
Budget balance: + 0.0% (2013)
Public debt: 74.7%% of GDP (2014); Forecast 2015: 71.5%
Trade Balance: € 217.0 billion (2014). Main clients (2014): France (9.0%), USA (8.5%), UK (7.4%), China (6.6%), Netherlands (6.5% ), Austria (5.0%). Major suppliers (2014): Netherlands (9.6%), China (8.7%), France (7.4%), USA (5.3%), Italy (5.3%), UK (4.6%)
Share of main sectors in GDP (2014):
Economic situation in Germany
In 2014, German GDP increased by 1.5%, exceeding the average of the last ten years (1.2%). Germany has been hit hard by the international economic and financial crisis of 2008-2009, recording a 5.1% decline in GDP in 2009. However, GDP growth then recovered strongly (3.5% in 2010, a record since reunification, and 3% in 2011), before marking a shift in 2012 (0.7%), confirmed in 2013 (0.3%).
The macroeconomic outlook is favorable. The government plans a growth of 1.6% in 2015 and 1.6% in 2016 and 1.3% the following three years. In the first quarter 2015, GDP growth was relatively low at 0.3%, marking the aftermath of the last quarter in 2014 very strong. The economic institutes globally share the optimism of the government, although they warn against the risks associated with medium-term Greek crisis, Russian and Ukrainian. According to the Federation of German Industry (BDI), growth should be 2% in Germany in 2015.
Aside from inventory changes, all components contributed positively to GDP growth in 2014. According to Destatis, exports, imports and trade surplus reached a record level, exceeding the year 2012. With the performance of exports of 1133 , € 6 billion (+ 3.7% compared to 2013) and imports of € 916.5 billion (+ 2% compared to 2013), the trade surplus amounted to € 217 billion. The increase in exports and imports was particularly strong with EU countries not belonging to the euro area (+ 10.2% and + 6.6%).
According to the preliminary estimate of the Bundesbank, the current account surplus also hit a record high in 2014; it stood at 215.3 billion €, or 7.4% of GDP. The BGA, the Federation of Foreign Trade, said that the weakness of the euro should further encourage exports this year and expects an increase in exports of 4% in 2015. It provides for imports up 3.5% due to the strength of domestic demand.
In 2014, total employment grew at a record level (+ 0.9% to 42.7 million, after + 0.6% in 2013). Unemployment according to the ILO significantly decreased (-3.5% to 2.1 million on average over the year), an unemployment rate of 4.7% (against 4.9% in 2013).
SPD lighthouse claim in 2013, establishing a single minimum wage (8.50 € gross per hour) began to be implemented from 1 January 2015. Its application is however not immediate in all sectors: a transitional period of two years was provided, in which lower wages will be allowed in the framework of agreements already negotiated branches.
On average, inflation stood at 0.9% in 2014. According to provisional figures from Destatis, the consumer price index (CPI) in February recorded an increase of + 0.1% year annual, after falling 0.4% in January.
One can trace human presence in Germany up to 600 000 years ago. The most famous Germanic prehistoric man is Neanderthal, 40 000 years old.
The name of Germany derives from the Latin Germania, used to design all tribes living east of the Rhine River.
The word “Deutsch” comes from old Germanic language. The German tribes originated in South Scandinavia and Norther Germany. They started to wander south and settled along the Rhine and Danube rivers.
Rome invaded Germany at the beginning of our era. However, peace never settled. During the third century, large Germanic tribes emerged; Alemanni, Franks, Saxons.
In the fourth century, the Huns invaded Western Europe. This was really the final blow to a weakened, too stretched Roman Empire that finally collapsed.
The tribes, in particular the Franks, took advantage of this to push further south and west. They founded the Frankish kingdoms.
In year 800, the Frankish King Charlemagne was crowned Emperor . He took the title of “Imperator Romanorum” Emperor of the Romans. The French see him as the first French (Frank) emperor. For the Germans, he can be considered as the founder of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic confederation of states. The biggest one was the kingdom of Empire. However it also included today’s Austri, Hungary or Norther Italy.
The Emperor would be elected by the Prince-Electors. They would normally chose one of their owns.
This was a rather complex system, including “free cities” and “free states”. The powers of the Emperor were limited. Even though, the various Princes, Bishops or Cities owed allegiance to Him, they were free to administrate their estates at their wishes. They retained all their privileges, including waging war against each other.
In the early 16th century, a German monk: Martin Luther launches the Reform. The North of Germany became protestant while the South remained catholic. This led to the “Thirty years War” (1618-1648). This was the effective end of the Holy Roman Empire. While it still officially existed, Germany broke into many free states, laying the foundation of the modern German federation.
In 1806, Napoleon dissolved the Empire. Most of German states felt under French influence. By 1815, France, Prussia and Russia were controlling the whole of Germany.
After the fall of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna created the German Confederation moosely including 39 states. Ideas, imported from the French Revolution were still floating. It led to a f(failed) revolution in 1848.
Prussia was already the major player in this confederation. Otto von Bismarck was appointed Minister President of Prussia. He won the war against Denmark in 1864, then against Austria in 1864. This allowed him to create the North German Confederation.
After the defeat of France in the 1871 war, the German Empire was founded gathering all parts of Germany, except Austria. The King of Prussia became the Emperor and Berlin the capital.
Bismarck started foreign expansion of Germany through colonization and forging alliance, in particular with Austria and subsequently Italy.
Germany and its allies became the major power on the continent. Worried by this emerging block, France, England and Russia concluded their own alliances.
Tension was raising, war was becoming unavoidable. On 28th June 1914, the Austrian crown prince is assassinated in Serbia. This has been the pretext for the start of one of the bloodiest war in history, World War I. 2 million Germans died.
In 1919, Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles. The victorious allies imposed heavy penalties to Germany. This treaty was felt unjust by the people.
The same year, the Republic of Weimar was created. Inflation rose to unbelievable heights. Germany was starving. Germans were humiliated. The nation was still occupied.
All this paved the way for the Nazis to win the 1933 elections. Using deficit spending, Hitler launched restructuration projects, in particular the famous Autobahn.
In 1935 Germany retreated from the Treaty of Versailles and passed the Nuremberg Laws that targeted the religious and ethnics minorities.
Germany started to expand, reacquiring the Saar region and taking control over Austria. Hitler signed a friendship pact with Stalin and they together invaded Poland.
The United Kingdom and France then declared war on Germany. So started World War II…
After the war, Germany was parted in two: The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic republic.
Germany had been flattened by the Allies bombings. The USA launched the Marshall Plan to help and rebuild the country. Working hard, West Germans became rapidly prosper people in a modernized country.
Following the fall of the “Berlin Wall”, Germany reunited on October 3rd 1990 and became the one and only Federal Republic Germany, including the former East German States.
Good to know
Germany uses the Euro (€)
The Euro (€) is the currency of the Economic and Monetary Union, inside the European Union.
19 countries of the European Union have chosen Euro as their currency, thus creating the Eurozone.
Four European micro-states, Monaco, Andorra, San Marino and Vatican City, are authorized to use Euro as well.
Two countries, non-members of Economic and Monetary Union, namely the Kosovo and the Montenegro, are also using it besides their national currencies.
The Euro has been circulated since January 1st 2002, replacing the national currencies of the member-countries.
The Euro is the second most used currency, behind the US Dollar, for the number of transactions.
The Euro is managed by the European Central Bank and the Eurosystem that comprises the 19 Central Banks of the member-countries.
Even if each member prints its own banknotes or mints its own coins, they are usable indiferently within the Eurozone.
Where to go?
How to settle there?
To do business
Personal income tax
Germany applies a progressive rate that varies whether you are married or not.
|Single (€)||Rate (%)||Married (€)||Rate (%)|
|Up to 7,664||0||Up to 15,329||0|
|From 7,665 to 52,153||15||From 15,330 to 104,304||15|
|From 52,154 to 250,000||42||From 104,305 to 500,000||42|
|Above 250,000||45||Above 500,000||45|
(source: CFE http://www.cfe-eutax.org/)
Corporate income tax
Companies are taxed both by the federal government and by the state where they have their activity or where they are headquartered.
The federal rate is 14 %.
The taxes of the states (länder) vary.
In effect, the corporate income tax is betwwen 29 and 32 %/.
The general rate is 19 %
A reduced rate of 7 % applies on food, transports and cultural objects.
|Type||In service||On order|
|Tornado ECR (EW)||28|
|G120 ( Lufthansa)||7|
|Type||En service||En commande|
|Type||In service||On order|
|Dornier 228 (MPA/Recce)||2| | <urn:uuid:a2f08f6b-4265-4879-9b70-80e1b85f4b27> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | http://asiaop.com/en/germany/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371700247.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20200407085717-20200407120217-00194.warc.gz | en | 0.937198 | 2,741 | 2.53125 | 3 |
- direct sow two or three seeds, 1″ deep on small hill, 3 feet apart, when no chance of frost
- needs plenty of sun
- use compost mulch. keep 2 inches from plant base
- harvest fruit when 6 to 8 inches long
- use pruning shears to cut fruit when harvesting
- keep base of plant cleared of debris
- check once a week, under leaves, for squash bug eggs
- prolonged rainy weather or hot weather may produce less fruit (less bee activity)
- marigolds attract bees
Summer squash (also known as vegetable or Italian marrow), is a tender, warm-season vegetable that can be grown throughout the United States anytime during the warm, frost-free season. Summer squash differs from fall and winter squash in that it is selected to be harvested before the rind hardens and the fruit matures. It grows on bush-type plants that do not spread like the plants of fall and winter squash and pumpkin. A few healthy and well-maintained plants produce abundant yields.
Summer squash appears in many different fruit shapes and colors:
Scallop or Patty Pan is round and flattened like a plate with scalloped edges, usually white but sometimes yellow or green.
Constricted neck is thinner at the stem end than the blossom end, classified as either “crookneck” or “straightneck” depending on if the stem end is straight or bent, and is usually yellow.
Cylindrical to club-shaped Italian marrows, such as zucchini, cocozelle and caserta, are usually shades of green, but may be yellow or nearly white.
The varietal selection of summer squash has markedly changed in recent years and the number of varieties offered has greatly expanded as the result of new interest, hybridization and introduction of disease resistance. The number of varieties is staggering. Recommended varieties of summer squash include:
Zucchini (Open Pollinated)
Black Zucchini (best known summer squash; greenish black skin, white flesh)
Black Beauty (slender, with slight ridges, dark black-green)
Cocozelle (dark green overlaid with light green stripes; long, very slender fruit)
Vegetable Marrow White Bush (creamy greenish color, oblong shape)
Aristocrat (All America Selection winner; waxy; medium green)
Chefini (AAS winner; glossy, medium dark green)
Classic (medium green; compact, open bush)
Elite (medium green; lustrous sheen; extra early; open plant)
Embassy (medium green, few spines, high yield)
President (dark green, light green flecks; upright plant)
Spineless Beauty (medium dark green; spineless petioles)
Golden Zucchini (hybrid)
Gold Rush (AAS winner, deep gold color, superior fruit quality, a zucchini not a straightneck)
Early Yellow Summer Crookneck (classic open-pollinated crookneck; curved neck; warted; heavy yields)
Sundance (hybrid; early; bright yellow, smooth skin)
Early Prolific Straightneck (standard open-pollinated straightneck, light cream color, attractive straight fruit)
Goldbar (hybrid; golden yellow; upright, open plant)
White Bush Scallop (old favorite Patty Pan type, very pale green when immature, very tender)
Peter Pan (hybrid, AAS winner, light green)
Scallopini (hybrid, AAS winner)
Sunburst (hybrid, bright yellow, green spot at the blossom end)
Butter Blossom (an open-pollinated variety selected for its large, firm male blossoms; fruit may be harvested like summer squash, but remove female blossoms for largest supply of male blossoms)
Gourmet Globe (hybrid; globe-shaped; dark green, with light stripes; delicious)
Sun Drops (hybrid, creamy yellow, unique oval shape, may be harvested as baby with blossoms attached).
When to Plant
Plant anytime after the danger of frost has passed, from early spring until midsummer. Some gardeners have two main plantings – one for early summer harvest and another for late summer and fall harvest.
Direct-seeding is the preferred method for starting squash. Use a soil thermometer and sow seeds after the last frost date, once soil has warmed to 70° F at the 2-inch depth.
Spacing & Depth
Starting from Seed
Soak the zucchini seeds that you are going to plant in some clean, warm water for eight hours.
Sow two or three seeds 24 to 36 inches apart for single-plant production, or four or five seeds in hills 48 inches apart. Cover one inch deep then water. I like to water the seeds for the next three days, unless there is rain. When the plants are 2 to 3 inches tall, thin to one vigorous plant or no more than two or three plants per hill.
Planting the Seeds
Zucchini seeds can be planted in a large container with more than one seed. Or you can use individual, smaller containers. The container is filled with your homemade dirt or you can purchase some potting soil at the garden center of your local home improvement store. The seeds need to be placed about an inch from the top of the soil and covered.
Water the soil generously the first day and then every few days after. The container should have holes in the bottom and be set in a water catch. Zucchini likes well-drained soil, but it will tolerate a damp soil especially when it is young. The plants also like a lot of sun, so make sure to set them in a sunny window or an enclosed porch. After your plants have germinated and you have some leaves beginning, you can plant it outdoors, weather permitting. If the plants are in a large enough container, they can actually stay in these and grow to full size. They should be fully grown and ready to pick in 45 to 50 days. You can leave them longer and grow larger zucchini but they are tougher and not as tasty.
Any well-drained garden soil produces excellent yields of summer squash. Certain mulches increase earliness and yields, because the roots are shallow. Keep mulch 1 to 2 inches from plant base. Use 2 inches of fine mulch.
Because summer squash develop very rapidly after pollination, they are often picked when they are too large and overmature. They should be harvested when small and tender for best quality. Most elongated varieties are picked when they are 2 inches or less in diameter and 6 to 8 inches long. Patty Pan types are harvested when they are 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Slightly larger fruit may be salvaged by hollowing out and using them for stuffing. These larger fruits may also be grated for baking in breads and other items. Do not allow summer squash to become large, hard and seedy because they sap strength from the plant that could better be used to produce more young fruit. Pick oversized squash with developed seeds and hard skin and throw them away. Go over the plants every 1 or 2 days. Squash grow rapidly; especially in hot weather and are usually ready to pick within 4 to 8 days after flowering.
Although summer squash has both male and female flowers, only the female flowers produce fruits. Because the fruits are harvested when still immature, they bruise and scratch easily. Handle with care and use immediately after picking. Be careful when picking summer squash, as the leafstalks and stems are prickly and can scratch and irritate unprotected hands and arms. Use a sharp knife or pruning shears to harvest and wear gloves if possible. Some gardeners also pick the open male and female blossoms before the fruits develop. Especially the female blossoms, with tiny fruit attached, are a delicacy when dipped in a batter and fried.
Cucumber beetles attack seedlings, vines and both immature and mature fruits. They can be controlled with a suggested insecticide applied weekly either as a spray or dust. Be alert for an infestation of cucumber beetles in early September because these beetles can damage the mature fruits.
Squash bugs attack vines as the fruit begin to set and increase in numbers through the late summer, when they can be quite damaging to maturing fruit. They hatch and travel in groups, which seem to travel in herds until they reach maturity. Using the proper insecticide when the numbers of this pest are still small minimizes damage. The eggs congregate under the leaves in neat rows, usually starting in June.
Lack of Fruit
All squash plants are monoecious, which means there are separate male and female flowers on the same plant. A less common reason for zucchini fruit falling off a plant is blossom end rot. The tell tale signs of this are blacked ends on the stunted fruit. Blossom end rot is caused by lack of calcium in the soil.
Unlike other common vegetables such as beans and peas, zucchini produces both male and female blossoms. Because the male blossoms appear first to attract bees, your zucchini plants may produce blooms for a week or more that do not set fruit. The male bloom contains the pollen necessary to pollinate the female blooms, but does not produce fruit on its own. Male blooms appear on a long slender stem. To ensure there is always plenty of pollen available, the plants produce many more male flowers than females.
Female blooms appear several days to a week or more after the male blooms. These blooms contain a swollen ovary at the base of the bloom that looks like a miniature zucchini. These blooms must be pollinated before the young fruit can grow.
Bees visit the male bloom where pollen sticks to their bodies. When they visit the female blooms, the sticky anthem inside the blossom attracts the pollen. When the pollen is deposited in the female bloom, the young fruit swells and begins to grow. If the female bloom is not pollinated, the flower shrivels and the tiny fruit drops from the vine.
Lack of Pollination
Sometimes, a lack of pollination occurs and the zucchini plant fails to produce fruit. This can occur for several reasons. Lack of bees due to environmental factors such as the use of pesticides that has killed beneficial insects, prolonged rainy weather, which reduces bee activity, or high temperatures which also inhibit bee activity and cause pollen to degrade. All contribute to lack of pollination. Humid and rainy weather causes pollen to clump.
Hand pollinating your zucchini plants may be your only solution other than adding a beehive to your garden. Using a wet paintbrush to collect pollen from the male blooms and depositing it into the female bloom works well and typically solves the issue. Zucchini flowers tend to open up wide in the morning and are often closed by the afternoon so it is important to hand pollinate in the morning.
Questions & Answers
Q. Will summer squash cross with winter squash?
A. Summer squash varieties can cross with one another, with acorn squash and with jack-o’-lantern pumpkins. Cross-pollination is not evident in the current crop, but the seed should not be sown for the following year. Summer squash does not cross with melons or cucumbers.
Most people harvest summer squash too late. Like winter squash, summer squash is an edible gourd. Unlike winter squash, it is harvested at the immature stage. Ideally, summer squash should be harvested at 6 to 8 inches in length. Pattypan and scallopini are ready when they measure about 3 to 4 inches in diameter or less. Tiny baby squash are delicious too. Large rock-hard squashes serve a better purpose on the compost heap than in the kitchen.
Cut the squash from the vine using a sharp knife or pruning shears to avoid damaging the plant. Summer squash vines are very prolific, the more harvest the greater the yield. The most important characteristic to remember is that summer squash is best when immature, young and tender.
In this section, summer squash varieties will be limited to zucchini, yellow squash (crooked and straight), pattypan which is also call scalloped and scallopini. Because summer squash is immature, the skin is very thin and susceptible to damage. Handle with care. The average family only needs to plant one or two of each variety. Over planting usually leads to hoards of huge inedible fruit and/or scouring the neighborhood for people to take the surplus.
To store summer squash, harvest small squash and place, unwashed in plastic bags in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. Wash the squash just before preparation. As with most vegetables, water droplets promote decay during storage. The storage life of summer squash is brief, so use within two to three days.
Squash blossoms are edible flowers, raw or cooked. Both summer and winter squash blossoms can be battered and fried in a little oil for a wonderful taste sensation. Harvest only the male blossoms unless the goal is to reduce production. Male blossoms are easily distinguished from the female blossoms. The stem of the male blossom is thin and trim. The stem of the female blossom is very thick. At the base of the female flower below the petals is a small bulge, which is the developing squash.
Always leave a few male blossoms on the vine for pollination purposes. There are always many more male flowers than female. Harvest only the male squash blossoms unless you are trying to reduce production. The female blossom can be harvested with a tiny squash growing at the end and used in recipes along with full blossoms. Use the blossom of any variety of summer or winter squash in your favorite squash blossom recipe.
Use pruning shears or a sharp knife to cut squash blossoms at midday when the petals are open, leaving one inch of stem. Gently rinse in a pan of cool water and store in ice water in the refrigerator until ready to use. The flowers can be stored for a few hours or up to 1 or 2 days. If you’ve never eaten squash blossoms, you are in for a treat. A recipe for Stuffed Squash Blossoms is in the recipe portion of this section.
Because summer squash is immature, they are considerably lower in nutritional value than their winter counterparts. Generally, there is little variation in nutritional value between varieties. The peel is where many of the nutrients hide, so never peel summer squash.
Preparation & Serving
Summer squash can be grilled, steamed, boiled, sauteed, fried or used in stir fry recipes. They mix well with onions, tomatoes and okra in vegetable medleys. Summer squash can be used interchangeably in most recipes. Tinybaby squash can be used as appetizers, or left whole and sauteed with other vegetables.
Don’t waste male squash blossoms by leaving them in the garden. If you do not have the time or inclination to prepare them separately, toss them in the salad bowl or add to any squash preparation.
Cooking summer squash seeds, like pumpkin seeds, are delicious.
Canning is not recommended because the tender summer squash will simply turn to mush during processing, unless you are making pickles. Zucchini can be substituted for cucumbers in some pickle recipes. The results are especially good in your favorite recipes for Bread and Butter Pickles.
Blanch and freeze cubes or slices of summer squash or grate and freeze Zucchini, unblanched for making Zucchini bread. The best way to use over grown (10 to 12 inches) zucchini is to grate it and use in zucchini bread. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and cut away the seedy middle section. Wash, grate and freeze in one cup portions. Use zip closure freezer bags or rigid freezer containers leaving 1/2 inch head space. Over size zucchini can also be used to make canned zucchini chutney. The over 12-inch monsters should go on the compost heap. | <urn:uuid:8b0c572b-b0e2-4b26-8edb-9cb4fe90fcf8> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://garden.dougthecook.com/growing-zucchini/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371810807.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20200408072713-20200408103213-00273.warc.gz | en | 0.925738 | 3,353 | 2.734375 | 3 |
What Is Single-Payer Health Insurance?
Learn About "Medicare for All" and Whether It's a Good Deal
Single-Payer health insurance is a model that seeks to provide health care coverage so that all people have access to essential care throughout their lives, regardless of their ability to pay..Although the Affordable Care Act made it possible for millions of Americans to become insured, it is not single-payer health care. Even after the ACA, which helped many previously uninsured Americans get health insurance, there are still millions of more Americans who remain uninsured so many people ask the question, what is single-payer health insurance and is it a good deal?
What Is Single-Payer Health Insurance?
Single-payer health insurance is a health insurance system financed by taxes that is managed and run by one entity, such as a government, providing essential health care to all citizens. It is referred to as single-payer because it is the one entity (the government) that pays the costs (a "single-payer").
How Does Single-Payer Health Insurance Work?
A single-payer health insurance system is financed by taxes so that individuals and citizens of the country do not pay extra costs when seeking out essential care.
Each country might manage this system differently as evidenced by the different examples seen in countries that already have single-payer health systems.
Single-Payer Health Insurance In The USA
The United States does not currently have a single-payer health system.
Single-payer health insurance also referred to as "Medicare for all" for the USA is the concept of a health insurance system in which all residents of the U.S. would be covered for all medically necessary services. Although there are many approaches to how a single-payer system in the United States could work, the Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP). who have studied this extensively and have made recommendations for a model in the United States, believe these services could include:
Is Universal Health Coverage and Single-Payer Health Care Coverage the Same?
No, Universal Health Coverage and Single-Payer Health Care are not the same.
- Universal Health Coverage means that all residents have health coverage, but does not necessarily mean that the coverage is single-payer or provided by one source.
- Single-Payer Health coverage may also be considered universal health insurance, but the important distinction is that single-payer has one payer.
For example, multi-payer health care systems may be universal as well, such as is the case in with Japan's Universal Statutory Health Insurance System (SHIS).
Countries That Have Single-Payer Health Care Coverage
There are several countries that have single-payer health care models. Each country operates their system slightly differently, but the end result is the same, where the residents of the country have access to healthcare on a single-payer type system. These are just some examples of countries that have single-payer universal models of health care.
- United Kingdom
- New Zealand
How Do Existing Models of Single-Payer Healthcare Work?
There is no one way to organize single-payer healthcare and each country has its own structure. For example, in Canada, each province has a government program to provide healthcare. The country or provinces do not own the healthcare providers but instead have arrangements with them to provide care.
In the UK, the system is different where the government has national healthcare providers and runs the healthcare providers. If you want to learn more about how each country finances and organizes its health care system, International Health Care System Profiles provides an overview per country.
Does Single-Payer Health Care Mean That All Medical Needs Are Covered?
It might sound like a single-payer health care insurance system would answer all medical needs, but depending on how the system is set up, you may have certain coverages that would not be included.
When a country sets up their program they have to take the costs into consideration and make decisions based on their individual system.
The government may take on the majority of the costs, but still, share some costs with citizens. For example, you may still have co-pays to pay with a single-payer health system, or you may have certain coverages excluded.
For example, in Canada, the health system does not provide dental or vision coverage for adults, and many people still purchase private health insurance to supplement their health insurance with supplemental health insurance plans and employee health benefits.
In the UK, there are co-pays to pay for certain drugs when prescribed outside a hospital.
The country can come up with their individualized criteria based on their resources and what needs they decide should be covered.
How Much Do Single-Payer Health Insurance Systems Cost?
Studies comparing the costs of US healthcare and similar costs in places with Single-Payer health insurance have indicated that when you have a single-payer system, because of various reasons, including when the government is involved in the negotiation of costs and regulation, and medical professionals are only dealing with one payer, costs could be as much as 4 times higher in the non-single-payer system.
The Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) also report similar findings, explaining that the savings in cutting the "Administrative waste" or costs and inefficiencies in the current US system would provide savings to help fund a single-payer system. In addition, they indicate that there could be significant savings in:
- Negotiated fee schedules with physicians
- Bulk purchasing of drugs
- Hospital budgeting
- Capital planning
According to PNHP, 95% of American households could pay less for care than they do now with a single-payer system.
In addition, other studies show that compared to other countries with Single-Payer health models, the US pays more for health care, and in looking at Health System Performance Scores it is clear that there is a lot of room for improvement in the US system.
Pros and Cons of Single-Payer Health Insurance
The pros and cons of a single-payer system depend largely upon the system that is set up. We have seen a few examples of how different countries manage single-payer systems, and because it is really how the country builds and runs the system that determines various pros and cons, it is hard to make a generalized commentary. For example in Canada, many people complain of long wait times, yet this is not necessarily due to a single-payer system, as other places like the UK or Australia with single-payer systems do not seem to have the same issue.
Some pros would likely be constant among all single-payer systems as evidenced by the research we spoke about above.
- Pro: Costs of administration are likely to be less, ($500 billion in administrative waste is cited as potential savings by the PNHP) allowing funds to be shifted to providing health care to the population, instead of being wasted in bureaucracy.
- Pro: Allowing access to all to get essential health care will create a healthier population, and will prevent illness by providing access to more preventative care as well.
- Pro: Single-Payer healthcare may be designed to allow people to choose their medical provider, instead of being restricted to those chosen by their HMO.
- Pro: People can stop worrying about medical bills and having to choose between their health or medical debt which is a major problem in America today. In 2017, a Bankrate survey found that 25 percent of Americans or someone in their family, have foregone medical treatment due to the cost. This included 31 percent of millennials, 25 percent GenX and 23 percent in the Boomer category.
Do Americans Want Single-Payer Health Insurance?
Understanding what is involved in a single-payer system is very complex, however, a Reuters poll that was taken in June and July 2018 indicated that 70% of respondents polled were in favor of "Medicare for All" in the USA.
Is Single-Payer Health Insurance a Good Deal?
Finding ways to provide health care coverage so that everyone can have access to healthcare is always a good idea, the question is: is it affordable and is it possible? Many people believe it is, the work involved requires strong economic analysis and a good plan to make a single-payer system work. Many people fear increased taxes or question how the system would be financed, but at the end of the day, there is research that outlines how a single-payer system could work in the US to the advantage of the population and businesses. The PNHP, which is non-profit and has done extensive US research offers an FAQ to help you learn more about why single-payer health insurance could be a very good deal and can really make a difference in the US.
Physicians for a National Health Program. "About Single Payer." Accessed March 29, 2020.
Harvard Health Publishing Harvard Medical School. "Single payer healthcare: Pluses, minuses, and what it means for you." Accessed March 29, 2020.
The Commonwealth Fund. "The Japanese Health Care System." Accessed March 29, 2020.
The Comonwealth Fund. "Considering “Single Payer” Proposals in the U.S.: Lessons from Abroad
." Accessed March 29, 2020.
Business Insider. "5 People From Around The World Share What It's Like to Have Single-Payer Healthcare." Accessed March 31, 2020.
The Commonwealth Fund. "International Health Care System Profiles." Accessed March 31, 2020.
Health Affairs. "New Health Affairs: U.S. Docs Spend Four Times More On Payer Interactions Than Canadians." Accessed March 31, 2020.
The Commonwealth Fund. "Mirror, Mirror 2017: International Comparison Reflects Flaws and Opportunities for Better U.S. Health Care." Accessed March 31, 2020.
Vox. "How Vermont's Single-Payer Health Care Dream Fell Apart." Accessed March 31, 2020.
PNHP. "A Comparison: Single-Payer Legislation vs. Affordable Care Act vs. American Health Care Act." Accessed March 31. 2020.
Bankrate. "Worried Sick About Your Health Care? You’re Not Alone." Accessed March 31, 2020.
Bankrate. "Cost is a Barrier to Medical Care." Accessed March 31, 2020.
Reuters Investigates. "Inside the Progressive Movement Roiling the Democratic Party." Accessed March 31, 2020. | <urn:uuid:39789634-353f-474e-9d20-1aaca1fac154> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.thebalance.com/is-single-payer-health-insurance-a-good-deal-how-does-it-work-4175823 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370524604.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20200404165658-20200404195658-00394.warc.gz | en | 0.9572 | 2,147 | 3.265625 | 3 |
chemical fact sheet scandium
Scandium (Sc) - Chemical properties, Health and ...
Scandium Scandium is a soft, silvery transition element which occurs in rare minerals from Scandinavia. It develops a slightly yellowish or pinkish cast when exposed to air. Scandium tarnished in air and burn easily, once it has been ignited. It reacts with water to form hydrogen gas and will dissolve in many acids.
Safety Data Sheets (formerly MSDS) | Environment, Health ...
UCSDS — Safety Data Sheet Resources Safety data sheets are the best source of information regarding the hazards, emergency response, and protective measures for any hazardous material. Manufacturers are always the most reliable sources for SDSs, and the UC system has provided its researchers with ucsds.com, a systemwide website created to help locate SDSs and other chemical
12 Chemical fact sheets - who.int
12. CHEMICAL FACT SHEETS 299 Guideline value 0.01mg/litre Occurrence Frequently found as a contaminant in groundwater, particularly when associated with sandy soil; concentrations in well water as high as 500mg/litre have been measured. Aldicarb sulfoxide and aldicarb sulfone residues are found in an approximately 1:1 ratio in groundwater.
Scandium - Element information, properties and uses ...
Scandium is very much a late starter compared to many of the other elements, due to its relatively low occurrence and the difficulty in obtaining it from its ores. For example, it wasn't until the 1960s when the first pound, or 450 grams, of high purity scandium was obtained. Compounds of scandium find use in organic chemistry.
An Overview of Scandium (Sc or Element 21) - ThoughtCo
Scandium is the transition metal with the lowest atomic number. The discovery of scandium filled a spot predicted by Mendeleev's periodic table. Scandium took the place of the placeholder element eka-boron. Most scandium compounds have scandium with the Sc 3+ ion. Scandium has an abundance in the Earth's crust of 22 mg/kg (or parts per million).
Material Safety Data Sheet - Fisher Scientific
Chemical waste generators must determine whether a discarded chemical is classified as a hazardous waste. US EPA guidelines for the classification determination are listed in 40 CFR Parts 261.3. Additionally, waste generators must consult state and local hazardous waste regulations to ensure complete and accurate classification.
Chemicool - Periodic Table of Elements and Chemistry
He called this new element eka-silicon, after observing a gap in the periodic table between silicon and tin: Similarly, Mendeleev discovered gallium (eka-aluminum) and scandium (eka-boron) on paper, because he predicted their existence and their properties before their actual discoveries.
Rare Earths Statistics and Information - usgs.gov
The principal economic sources of rare earths are the minerals bastnasite, monazite, and loparite and the lateritic ion-adsorption clays. The rare earths are a relatively abundant group of 17 elements composed of scandium, yttrium, and the lanthanides. The elements range in crustal abundance from cerium, the 25th most abundant element of the 78 common elements in the Earth's
Chemical Attack Fact Sheet | Homeland Security
Mar 13, 2019· Chemical Attack Fact Sheet: Warfare Agents, Industrial Chemicals, and Toxins A wide variety of chemicals could be made, stolen, or otherwise acquired for use in an attack. Industrial chemical plants or the vehicles used to transport chemicals could also be sabotaged.
Scandium Facts - Softschools.com
Scandium Facts. Scandium (Sc) has an atomic number of twenty-one. This member of the transition elements group is a silver-white that has been historically categorized as a rare earth element. Interesting Scandium Facts: Scandium was discovered in 1879 by Lars Fredrik Nilson, who named it …
Scandium - espimetals.com
ESPI High Purity Metal Specialists since 1950 with a company mission to provide a reliable resource for researcher's high purity metals, metal compounds and metal alloys for all major universities, international and domestic manufacturing companies and corporate R&D laboratories worldwide, as well as most U.S. government research laboratories.
scandium- Aluminum/Al foil,plate/sheet,aluminum alloy ...
Scandium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Scandium is a chemical element with symbol Sc and atomic number 21. A silvery-white metallic d-block element, it …
Chemical Fact Sheet: Scandium | EVISA's Links Database
Metallic scandium was first prepared in 1937 by Fischer, Brunger, and Grieneisen, who electrolyzed a eutectic melt of potassium, lithium, and scandium chlorides at 700 to 800 deg C. Tungsten wire and a pool of molten zinc served as the electrodes in a graphite crucible. Pure scandium is now produced by reducing scandium fluoride with calcium metal.
Scandium - NioCorp Developments Ltd.
Scandium greatly strengthens aluminum alloys and allows them to be reliably welded, which presents revolutionary potential for the commercial airline industry. For example, between $1.0-$1.5 million of scandium oxide in a single airliner offers $10-15 million in net present value fuel savings.
Chemical Factsheets | National Biomonitoring Program | CDC
Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website. Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
chemical fact sheet scandium - francalanzapasta.it
Chemical Fact Sheet: Scandium | EVISA's Links Database. Pure scandium is now produced by reducing scandium fluoride with calcium metal. The production of the first pound of 99% pure scandium metal was announced in 1960. Scandium is a silver-white metal which develops a slightly yellowish or pinkish cast upon exposure to air.
Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheets
Department of Health P. O. Box 360 Trenton, NJ 08625-0360
Scandium Oxide (Sc2O3) - Specialty chemical solids distributor
Scandium oxide is a lightweight refractory oxide. It comes from several sources including minerals, certain uranium tailings and some phosphate ores. a) Chemical Name: Scandium (III) oxide. b) Chemical Formula: Sc2O3
Scandium (Sc) - Uses of Scandium & Chemical Properties of ...
Heating scandium fluoride (ScF 3) with calcium metal produces pure Scandium. This rare chemical can be found in a house in equipment like glasses, energy saving lamps, fluorescent lamps, television. Scandium has been shown to reduce solidification cracking during …
Chemical Fact Sheets
Chemical Fact Sheets. Download the Chlorine Fact Sheet. Download the Sarin Fact Sheet. Download the Ricin Fact Sheet ...
1. Identification Product Name Scandium(III) oxide No ...
SAFETY DATA SHEET Creation Date 05-Nov-2010 Revision Date 19-Jan-2018 Revision Number 4 1. Identification Product Name Scandium(III) oxide No. : AC315490000 CAS-No 12060-08-1 Synonyms Scandia Recommended Use Laboratory chemicals. Uses advised against Not for food, drug, pesticide or biocidal product use Details of the supplier of the safety data sheet
Home | Scandium International Mining Corporation
The primary use for scandium today is in solid oxide fuel cells ("SOFCs"), where both of these attributes dramatically improve performance. Incorporation of scandium in SOFCs delivers higher power outputs and promotes the desired chemical reaction at a lower operating temperature, resulting in dramatically improved unit life cycles.
Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheets
Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheets: The Fact Sheets are prepared for substances on the New Jersey Right to Know Hazardous Substance List. More than 1,600 Fact Sheets have been completed and more than 900 have been translated into Spanish.
Scandium - speclab.com
Pure scandium is now produced by reducing scandium fluoride with calcium metal. The production of the first pound of 99% pure scandium metal was announced in 1960. Scandium is a silver-white metal that develops a slightly yellowish or pinkish cast upon exposure to air.
Scandium | chemical element | Britannica.com
Scandium: Scandium (Sc), chemical element, a rare-earth metal of Group 3 of the periodic table. Scandium is a silvery white, moderately soft metal. It is fairly stable in air but will slowly change its colour from silvery white to a yellowish appearance because of formation of Sc2O3 oxide on the surface. The
Scandium (Sc) | AMERICAN ELEMENTS
Scandium is a metal that has many of the characteristics of the rare earth elements, particularly yttrium. It is a light material with a higher melting point than aluminum, giving it uses in aerospace and other manufacturing, such as racing bicycles, baseball bats, and golf clubs.
CDC | Fact Sheets on Specific Chemical Agents
Fact Sheets on Specific Chemical Agents. Other Languages. Español (Spanish) English (US) Español (Spanish) | English (US) Related Pages. NOTE: the following is a list of chemical agents for which fact sheets are available. For a comprehensive list of chemical agent information on this website, see the Chemical Agents page. Abrin; Arsine (SA)
12 Chemical fact sheets - who.int
307 12 Chemical fact sheets T he background docu-ments referred to in this chapter (as the princi-pal reference for each fact sheet) may be found on
per 29 CFR 1910.1200 Scandium - Ames Laboratory
Safety Data Sheet per 29 CFR 1910.1200 Page 3 of 3 Ames Laboratory is operated for the U.S. DOE by Iowa State University, DE-AC02-07CH11358 Page 3 of 3 Chemical Stability: Stable under recommended storage conditions. Possibility of Hazardous Reactions: Flammable in the form of dust when exposed to heat, sparks or flame. May react with
Scandium Facts - Science Notes and Projects
Jun 09, 2015· Fun Scandium Facts. Scandium is a silvery-white relatively light and soft metal at room temperature. When exposed to air, pure scandium develops a pink-yellow oxidation layer. Scandium is used in alloys much like aluminum. Scandium has a higher melting point than aluminum while having nearly the same density.
Francium Facts (Atomic Number 87 or Fr) - ThoughtCo
Francium is a highly radioactive alkali metal with the atomic number 87 and element symbol Fr. Although it occurs naturally, it decays so quickly it's very rare. In fact, scientists have never had a large enough sample of francium to know what it actually looks like! Learn about the chemical and physical properties of francium and what it's ...
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From baroque to constructivism. A guide to the architectural styles of Kazan
Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral
Legend has it that merchant Mikhlyaev erected a stone cathedral after Peter The Great celebrated his 50th birthday with him. The temple complex was built in honour of the apostles Peter and Paul and is designed in Naryshkin baroque style. It dramatically stands out among the urban architecture with its vivid details - a checkered dome wrapped in a stone grapevine and other floral ornaments. From 1742 to 1842 the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral survived five fires, and in 1950 it was slightly altered to be used as a planetarium. Since 1989 however, the doors of the cathedral have remained open for parishioners.
Location: 21 Musa Dzhalil St
Catherine the Great personally authorized the construction of this stone Muslim temple in Kazan since up until 1773, it was strictly forbidden to build mosques in the Russian Empire. Named after the merchants who donated the money to build it, it combines Moscow-style baroque and Tatar decorative art. The mosque has been called by other names such as Bayskaya (‘bai’ comes from the root of the Russian word ‘rich’) and Peschernaya (which means ‘cave’ in Russian, which describes the terrain where the temple stands).
In 1872, a two-story extension was added to the building, and another ten years later which comprised of a brick fence and a store. Over time, the mosque "grew" two more floors and a third was built during Soviet times in order to create a kindergarten. At that time, the building was stripped of its decorative elements and minarets, which were only restored in 2011.
Location: 27 Kayuma Nasyri St
All throughout history, Gostiny Dvor has been the most important hub of the city since it was this very Tatar market which was at the centre of all key events of public life. In 1797, the building almost completely burned down, and was rebuilt again, but this time from stone. Twenty years and another fire later, the first public museum in the city was opened in Gostiny Dvor. For this new addition, the architects enlarged the windows and installed an eclectic tent, and during the Soviet period two more floors and a residential building were added. As a result, the classicism style can now be viewed only in the central part of the building, where the entrance to the National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan is located.
Location: 2 Kremlevskaya St
Kazan Town Hall
The building of the Noble Assembly (present-day Kazan Town Hall), was built after a major fire in 1854. The architect Korinfskiy planned to erect it as a masterpiece of Russian classicism, however, Italian palazzo inspired details ended up being added to the project.
The pride of the Noble Assembly was the 800-person ballroom, the reception halls and large mirrors. Concerts, charity galas and performances by famous musicians and poets - Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Chaliapin, Mayakovsky and Burliuk were held here. In the 20th century, the building was adapted for public needs - the creation of the USSR was initially announced from here, and later it housed a hospital and a House of Officers. Administration of the building was returned back to the city in 1996, and since then, on the site of a two-story house stands the four-story mansion with Finnish double-glazed windows.
Location: 33 Karla Marksa St
The base of this art nouveau style monument were two houses that were here until the 19th century which gives some insight into why the facade looks asymmetrical. At various times, the building housed a dormitory, a grocery store, and a ‘Bookinist’ - the first bookshop in Kazan. Now in their place, you will find a boutique clothing store, several cafes and a stall that sells national cuisine. The building used to have a staircase and a metal balcony, but now it’s difficult to determine exactly where they were located. The facade has retained numerous fascinating details such as cartouches and flamingos, which are rarely seen in Kazan architecture.
Location: 21 Kremlevskaya St
House of Varvara Druzhinina
A monument of 20th century wooden architecture built in art nouveau style is the house of Varvara Druzhinina located on Koshachiy Pereulok. It survived several fires, exchanged hands numerous times, and was partially restored just two years ago. Varvara Druzhinina - the wife of a famous Kazan merchant who lived here in the 1900s built a ‘tea house’ in the style of the Chinese tea houses. The unique thing about it is that house is one of the few art nouveau style buildings specifically made of wood. Looking forward, there are plans to open a small souvenir shop of Kazan handcraft masters and a tea shop in the building, where anyone can come in to pay respects to the ancient Chinese tea drinking traditions.
Location: 2 Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya St
In 1863, the two-story mansion was built for the honourable merchant Ibrahim Apakov on Yunusovskaya Square. He later gifted it to his daughter as a wedding present. The square building looks slightly unusual since it is the only one in the vicinity which resembles a medieval castle with towers and spiers. The facade is richly decorated with balconies and semicircular ledges with windows which makes for a fantastic background for photos.
Location: 74 G Tukaya St
Leonid Kekin was famous for the production of the best brick in the Kazan province and perhaps that is why the Kekin House has stood the test of time for more than 110 years. The owner himself never lived in the building - its apartments were rented out, and various establishments operated on the lower floors. In terms of technical equipment and materials, this building was considered the most modern in the 20th century, which meant it attracted many people who came simply to marvel at it. Since the building stands on the corner of two streets, each of its street-facing walls has its own street number and the arrangement of balconies and small decorative elements differ on both sides. It combines art nouveau with a gothic finish and Moorish style. A corner bay window is hidden in the courtyard of the building; a subtle ode to medieval castle towers.
Location: 7 Galaktionova St
Epiphany Cathedral Bell Tower
The highest bell tower in Kazan was built in the 19th-20th centuries on the site of a small decaying swamp. The original sketch with the name of the author was lost and historians still argue over who the author of the project really was. The Bell Tower of the Epiphany Cathedral is the main attraction of the pedestrian Bauman Street. According to various estimates, its height is around 72 metres, and the entire decor is made of bricks in a mixture of Old Russian motifs from the early 20th century, and the upper tiers are decorated with detailed patterns.
Location: Apt. 2, 78 Bauman St
The Main Building of the Kazan Art College named after Feshin
A spacious building, the outside of which resembles a decorated old style Russian house, was built by Russian architect Karl Mufke specifically for the art school. The finest materials of the time were used for its detailed decor – for example the cornices were decorated with stucco friezes in the form of palettes and brushes. There was a point in time when the special Metlakh floor tiles were walked on by the famous Russian poet David Burliuk and the Soviet Tatar painter Baki Urmanche. This year, the Kursiv Festival of new modern culture was held here, which included film screenings, parties and art installations.
Location: 70 Karla Marksa St
The five-story building near Chernoye Ozero Park is one of the most famous examples of popular Soviet architecture - constructivism. Today the actual building is in a deplorable state, but its magnificent staircase continues to serve as a beloved location for photo shoots.
Several generations of famous residents replaced one another here – among which were Tatar poets Abdullah Alish and Kavi Najmi. The ‘Ugol’ Theatre even created an entire performance based on stories of the building’s tenants, which was performed on site using a projector.
Location: 18/19 Dzherzhinskogo St
Factory of Conveyor Parts’ Communal Living Quarters
The house with a red star is known to everyone who has been to the Admiralty Settlement and examined its distinctive architecture. The apartment building, located between the helicopter factory and fire station, is still inhabited by locals who are used to their cozy communal apartments.
The building creates a unique composition on the corner of Malo-Moskovskaya and Admiralty where from its tower, two symmetrical wings of the building extend out to both sides creating an L-shape. The building looks striped at a distance, since the strips of brick divide the house into floors and outline the arched open balconies, almost as if they are revealing a window into the life of its residents.
Location: 30 Malo-Moskovskaya St
Popular among tourists
- A Day in Kazan. Version 1 Get acquainted with the capital of Tatarstan, check out the main sights and try the national cuisine 12 hours 14 km
- A Day in Kazan. Version 2 Dwell into the history and culture of Kazan through museums and city streets and get to know the traditional and modern gastronomy of the region 10 hours 6,2 km
- A Day in Yelabuga Get acquainted with merchant life and the life of the city’s brightest personalities, make a wish at the stone tower, and take an evening walk through Gorky Park in Kazan 8 hours 7,6 km
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HOW ARE WICHITANS EDUCATED?
It may be strange to think of education as an ecosystem, but that's exactly what it is. K-12 education provides a strong backbone for learning, but parents, organizations and non-profits help to ensure that students are progressing — even when they're not in the classroom.
This ecosystem is extremely important to creating not only a productive society able to meet the demands of a growing economy, but also a thoughtful society able to teach, solve problems, serve others and participate in a democracy by voting or running for public office.
Education is the fuel for our future, and we have to get it right. We spoke with local experts to find out more about Wichita's educational ecosystem.
MORE THAN K-12
Across the state, nearly 90 percent of school-aged children are enrolled in public schools. The other 10 percent may be homeschooled or enrolled in private schools.
With so many people impacted, K-12 education is certainly important. But the definition of education doesn't stop there. Many others have a stake in the future of our children, including businesses that need future employees, cities that need future leaders and students who need future teachers.
Wichita is by far the largest school district in the state at 89 schools and more than 50,000 students. The next closest district is Olathe with 48 schools and 29,000 students. Throw in a number of colleges and a large trade school, and it's clear that the health of Wichita's ecosystem holds immense importance for the state and region.
Despite a range of options for education, everyone should support Wichita schools because of the immense effect it has on the Wichita area and the state as a whole, says Wendy Johnson, division director of strategic communication for the Wichita School District.
Wichita public schools educate about half of the students in Sedgwick County and 11 percent of the public-school students in the state.
"That's a huge impact, and that's why it matters that we get it right," Johnson says. "Your kids and my kids will be the next generation of us."
So who really should take responsibility for the education of our children?
"This list could go on and on and on," Johnson says. "It really is all of us."
That's where the ecosystem comes in. Businesses, non-profits, parent groups and faith communities have all taken a piece of the puzzle that makes up learning.
"If we're ever going to break the welfare cycle, education is the answer," says Patrick Hanrahan, president and CEO of United Way of the Plains.
If we're ever going to break the welfare cycle, education is the answer.Patrick Hanrahan
Hanrahan says the program is based on the finding that if students are not reading at level by third grade, they are four times more likely to drop out of high school. To help with literacy, the program has adult volunteers visit schools in USD 259 to have students read to them. This gives the student more time reading with an adult who can encourage them and help with pronunciation.
"If we can help a child learn to read, they stay in school, they don't drop out, they graduate, they get a job, and they're going to lead a much happier and more productive life and may not be on the welfare roll."
The program is working, Hanrahan says. Children who go through the program improve their reading fluency 17 percent faster than average third graders, growing their average word per minute by 1.5 words.
In 2015, the program started in a single school with 22 volunteers. In January 2018, it's now in 20 schools with more than 300 volunteers, many of which come from businesses, Hanrahan says.
"I think they're also realizing we have to keep the pipeline filled," he says. "Today's third grader is a job candidate for 10, 15 or 20 years from now."
With programs like Read to Succeed, and far more not mentioned here, how does Wichita's educational ecosystem stack up against those in other cities and states?
HOW DO WE STACK UP?
In its 2018 list of best Kansas school districts, Niche.com gives USD 259 a B- based on a combination of statistics and parent reviews.
Mark Tallman, associate executive director for the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB), says statistics are great, but they aren't necessarily the best way to pick a school district. Instead, parents should pick schools based on the specific needs of their children.
"So often, the perception of the quality of a school district is a reflection of the students who are already there," he says. "There is a strong correlation between student achievement, test scores, graduation rates and income levels. So if you’re a school district that has more students in poverty, your numbers are not going to look as good. That doesn’t mean you’re not as good a school system. That doesn’t mean you’re not doing well with those kids. In fact, the kids might learn more, and there might be more progress made, but the perception is, ‘District X isn’t very good because their test scores aren’t very good.’ Usually what that means is District X has more kids with greater needs."
This map from Niche.com and Realtor.com shows the relationship between home prices and school ratings, as schools perceived as better create a demand for homes in the area, and wealthier families in an area create a better perception for the schools.
In his role with the KASB, Tallman conducts research and lobbies for education at the state level.
Currently, Kansas education ranks 10th in the country, based on a collection of statistics and measures reported by the KASB, including test scores and the number of students per teacher. Tallman says these same measures have been used since 2011. Being in the top 10 is great, but Tallman believes that won't be the case for much longer.
In virtually all of those measures, we've been slipping compared to the rest of the country. We have done well ... but the national average has improved more than Kansas, and our ranking has actually slipped over the past several years.Mark Tallman
"In virtually all of those measures, we've been slipping compared to the rest of the country," he says. "We have done well ... but the national average has improved more than Kansas, and our ranking has actually slipped over the past several years."
Kansas used to be fifth. Then sixth. Then seventh. Last year and this year, it dropped to 10th.
"When we update with new data, we may slip out of that," Tallman says. "We think it's a real warning sign."
Although he says it's difficult to prove, Tallman believes Kansas' current funding situation is to blame for the slow progress. While there are states that spend more on education and still rank below Kansas, every school ranked above Kansas spends more per student.
Since 2008, Kansas has ranked 39th in per-pupil funding increases, meaning they slipped from 24th to 31st in per-pupil spending.
With the Kansas Supreme Court ruling the current funding plan unconstitutional and increased government support for the addition of $600 million to education funding over the next five years, Kansas is planning to get out of budget restraints and restore confidence in its education system. But is it enough to stack up against competition from other states and school districts? What does the future of Wichita's educational ecosystem look like?
FUELING THE FUTURE THROUGH EDUCATION
Education is often described as a pipeline — from early childhood to adulthood and a career. Tallman says this pipeline has extended and connected over time in new ways.
While half-day kindergarten used to be the start for Kansas students, most school districts have now moved to full-day and also offer early childhood educational opportunities or pre-school to get students ready for full-time education. The same trend is happening on the back end of the pipeline with high schools focusing more on readying students for post-secondary education and careers.
"The school system at the other end has to be linking up with community colleges, technical colleges, state universities and, of course, in the Wichita area, you have all three as well as private institutions," Tallman says.
Johnson says an example of this pipeline could be seen on a big-picture level with the Business Education Alliance (BEA), which was formed by the Wichita Chamber of Commerce Leadership Council in 2013 before it became the Greater Wichita Partnership. The alliance brings together Wichita business leaders, educators and non-profit organizers to talk about this pipeline. Shortly after its founding, the BEA conducted studies that identified literacy and the learning of "soft skills" as vital for Wichita students.
If our schools are perceived as strong and vibrant and safe and dynamic, that adds a favorable perception of our community overall. The community and the Wichita School District can't be separated from one another in many senses.Wendy Johnson
On a more specific level, Johnson says Westar Energy is a good example. In collaboration with Pratt Community College, Wichita Area Technical College and USD 259, Westar has begun providing students hands-on experience earlier through a pole yard located near Wichita East High School.
"The WATC campus that's there now has a front yard full of utility poles," Johnson says. "It's all about working with academic partners at various points in the pipeline to support the very targeted, skill-based needs."
Tallman says the days of showing up at school, sitting at a desk, studying, playing sports and going home are coming to a close.
"Now, kids have to be in the community and part of the community at a much earlier age, in a lot of different ways," he says.
The more our educational system integrates with community, business and service, the more vital it is for our Four Challenges. Johnson says to support our schools is to support the future of our city.
"If our schools are perceived as strong and vibrant and safe and dynamic, that adds a favorable perception of our community overall," she says. "The community and the Wichita School District can't be separated from one another in many senses."
To learn more about how you could get involved with the Wichita School District, call Johnson's office at (316) 973-4515. To learn more about how to get involved with the United Way of the Plains' Read to Succeed program, call (316) 267-1321. | <urn:uuid:26c27f7e-c026-4b54-9cbd-d6751d1d908f> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://thechungreport.com/wichitas-educational-ecosystem/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370510287.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20200403030659-20200403060659-00114.warc.gz | en | 0.975212 | 2,195 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Getting Started Guide
Click on the video below for a short tutorial on how to get up and running with Compare quickly
Working with Compare Output in Excel
The Compare Output File
- Compare – the main analysis output containing all records or only detected differences, depending on output option selected.
- Warnings – summary of warnings and errors detected from the analysis (only displays if errors were detected in the analysis).
- Stats – file names and statistics from the analysis.
- First File – the content of the first file analyzed (if output original data sheet was selected).
- Second File – the content of the second file analyzed (if output original data sheet was selected).
The Compare Sheet
The first column contains the key field(s) used as the basis for the comparison. If you selected a single key, the value of that key will be shown for each record. If you selected multiple keys, each key will be included in the column separated by a “#” symbol.
The second column indicates whether the record matches between the files (with the word MATCH) or has differences (with the word DIFF). This can be handy especially when working with wide files with many fields.
Subsequent columns (fields) are presented in three-column structures:
[Column Heading]: Field Name. Flagged as a MATCH if the data is the same in this field for each record, or DIFF if the data is different
[1-Column Heading]: The field data in the first file for each record.
[2-Column Heading]: The field data in the second file for each record.
Note: you may need to expand the column widths to see the entire field names.
If you have selected all records as an output option, you can still filter the excel sheet to show only the differences by clicking the dropdown under Column B and selecting only DIFF’s.
If the data matches in a row, the Full Record column indicates MATCH.
If the data is different, the fields are highlighted and the first column indicates DIFF.
Flagging differences to be accepted or fixed
This is a handy way to create a worklist of records to correct as an outcome of this analysis.
Note: there may be more than one field that is different in a record. If you accept all the differences, the entire record will be flagged as ACCEPT in column B. If there are one or more fields to be fixed, column B will show FIX.
At the end of your analysis, you may want to filter Column B to just show the records to be Fixed, which will create the worklist of records to update in the source system.
The Warnings Sheet
The Warnings Sheet contains any errors or warnings detected during the analysis. If there were no warnings detected, this tab will not be included in the output sheet.
The most common warning is if duplicate records are detected in a sheet. This can happen if the key(s) selected are insufficient to define unique records. If duplicates are detected, the second and subsequent records are logged in the Warnings sheet and the record is not used in the analysis.
If duplicate records are detected, you may wish to re-run the Compare using additional or new keys.
If you believe the keys are correct, you can use the output in the Warnings tab to inspect the source system to cleanse duplicate records.
The Stats Sheet
The First File and Second File Sheets
You may chose to do this if you would like a single excel file to contain the source and output of the analysis.
Note: writing these files to Excel can lengthen the duration of the analysis substantially depending on the size and structure of the files. We recommend to not use this option if the files are large.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Compare do?
How do I install Compare?
Once you have filled out the form and accepted the Terms & Conditions, you will be taken to a secure download page. On this page you can download the Compare installation program, some sample data files to get you started, and some installation instructions.
When the application has finished downloading, run the installation program.
To try out Compare for the first time, download the two practice files located on the application download site:
Compare Practice Data File 1.csv
Compare Practice Data File 2.csv
You can use these files to try the application before using your own data files.
If you have any issues with installation, please contact us at email@example.com
What type of files can be compared?
For more information on these kinds of files, see here.
Do my files need to have a .csv extension?
What kinds of differences can Compare detect?
- Simple differences (e.g. “LOA” vs. “Leave of Absence”)
- Capitalization (e.g. “atlantic” vs. “Atlantic”)
- Leading or trailing spaces (e.g. ” Weekly” vs. “Weekly” vs. “Weekly “)
- Special characters (e.g. “Cafe” vs. “Café”)
Any records that only exist on one of the files will be identified, as well as any records where the unique identifier is repeated.
The records in the files are matched based on unique identifiers (one or more fields that uniquely identify a record), so it does not matter if the records in the two files are in a different order.
Can I use files without headers?
If the first row just contains data, it may be difficult to select key columns and the output data may be difficult to interpret. In some cases, Compare may not be able to interpret files without headers at all, in which case you will see an error similar to this:
If you see this error, please open the source files, add the same headers to each file, and re-save as csv files.
How does Compare handle extended character sets?
Note: Compare requires both files to have the same encoding – either ASCII or UTF-8.
Please note: there are multiple CSV file encoding formats and no easy way to tell how a file is encoded. Take caution when opening and saving these kinds of files to ensure appropriate encoding is preserved.
What happens if I have duplicate column header names?
If you want to include one or both of the duplicate column headers as key fields, we recommend renaming the headers to unique names before you load the files.
Can I use files that have a semicolon or pipe as delimiter?
Sometimes other delimiters are used in data files such as pipes (“|”) and semicolons (“;”). If you can convert these files to comma delimited, they can be processed by Compare.
When converting these files, it is important to ensure the records themselves don’t have commas in them, as these commas would be interpreted as delimiters. This may cause Compare to fail, or make the results invalid. Therefore, we recommend the following steps for conversion:
- Open each file to be compared in a text editor
- Search for commas and replace those commas with another character (such as a dash). You may want to choose a character that isn’t used elsewhere in the file.
- Search for the delimiter (most often | or ; and replace them with commas.
- Save a copy of each file. Be sure the file is saved as plain text.
- Run Compare using these modified files.
Why can't I sort columns in the output file numerically?
What happens if I often analyze similar types of files?
Compare saves that fingerprint so that the next time you analyze the same type of file, the key(s) are automatically selected. This allows you to skip this step and start the process of comparing right away.
Why is the output in .xlsx format?
How long does it take to process a file?
Processing speed is a function of file size, file configuration, options selected and the speed and memory of your computer.
If you are comparing large files with many columns (fields), we recommend selecting the option to output only differences and to exclude original data sheets.
Writing output is the most intensive part of the Compare process, so if you select the options to output all records and include original sheets, the process can take 2 or more hours.
Is there a maximum file size?
Each record (row) cannot exceed 255 fields (columns).
Each record (row) cannot be longer than 8,192 characters.
The maximum number of rows that Compare can process is limited by memory on your machine. Note that Excel cannot load files larger than 1 million rows.
The amount of available RAM on your computer may further limit file size that can be processed by Compare.
Is my data secure?
You can safely process files containing confidential data, personally identifiable information (PII) or private health information (PHI).
Note: the output files will contain data from the input files, so these should also be treated with the same level of security and privacy controls as the input files.
What happens if input files or output files are open in Excel when running Compare?
This means that you must ensure Excel does not have input files open when selecting them. You must also ensure the output file is not opened in Excel when starting the compare. If you see errors related to this, just close the files in Excel and re-start the compare.
How does licensing work with Compare?
How does the free trial work?
How do I purchase more than one license?
You can manage and assign licenses to team members and individual computers. If team members change roles, you can reassign licenses to different people.
What are the system requirements to run Compare?
How do I know whether I'm running the up-to-date version of Compare?
How do I report a bug, or provide other feedback?
I am getting the following error message: Unable to complete processing: Index was outside the bounds of the array.
This error occurs if an input file has rows with more records than the header. In this case, the software cannot determine what column the extra record belongs to.
If you get this error, check the input files to make sure all rows have the same number of columns as the header row.
If you already have an account and would like to change your password, manage your licenses, or change or cancel your subscription, please click the link below.
Download a free trial
© 2019 Dispatch Integration Ltd. | <urn:uuid:1bcac9cd-569c-4064-adfa-a0afbbfc6d18> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://dispatchintegration.com/getting-started-with-compare/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370492125.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20200328164156-20200328194156-00074.warc.gz | en | 0.883946 | 2,221 | 3.328125 | 3 |
A hundred years after his death Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) is usually remembered, if at all, as the other person who alongside Darwin discovered evolution’s mechanism Natural Selection. The truth is far more significant and is fascinatingly tied into the first understanding of biodiversity and the emergence of environmentalism.
That fateful letter which Darwin received from Wallace which culminated in their ideas being co-presented at the Linnaean Society in 1858 did not appear out of nowhere. As a young man Wallace had avidly read Darwin’s Beagle Journal of his circumnavigation around the globe with Captain Fitzroy. Twenty years later, Wallace was already a seasoned collector having spent years in the Amazon. On his return to Britain he had made contact with Darwin and when he traveled to the Malaysian Archipelago (Indonesia), they corresponded via the months-long mail-ship journeys through the Atlantic around the Cape and across the Indian Ocean. Some of the letters survive to this day recording how the two were discussing how species changed, and how this happened over time and geography.
Darwin’s own interest in nature, begun more than 30 years earlier, had come to focus on one particularly big question – what was the origin of species? We must understand what this question meant to him – he was asking how do you explain the extraordinary variety in nature; that is, how do you account for biodiversity? Why weren’t there fewer, simpler forms? Both he and Wallace were to come to the same conclusion – that it resulted from an evolutionary process over time driven by the mechanism Darwin called Natural Selection. But it is important to note that Darwin’s question had not pre-supposed this evolutionary outcome, he hadn’t set out to identify an origin of life, but an explanation for its great natural variety.
Darwin had begun with an essentially Christian outlook that presupposed the fixity of species and that the benefits of nature were a divine providence to Man. On the Beagle Voyage Darwin began to be persuaded by the geological evidence he saw that the earth was immensely older than had been previously conceived. At the same time we discover in his journal that his presumptions about the fixity of species and of providence for people were being challenged too.
As he walked around the Bay of Islands on North Island New Zealand he was impressed by both the massive Kauri Forest and by the vast tracts of bracken fern, and he writes…
‘The sight of so much fern impresses the mind with an idea of sterility: this, however, is not correct; for wherever the fern grows thick and breast-high, the land by tillage becomes productive. Some of the residents think that all this extensive open country originally was covered with forests, and that it has been cleared by fire. It is said, that by digging in the barest spots, lumps of the kind of resin which flows from the kauri pine are frequently found. The natives had an evident motive in clearing the country; for the fern, formerly a staple article of food, flourishes only in the open cleared tracks. The almost entire absence of associated grasses, which forms so remarkable a feature in the vegetation of this island, may perhaps be accounted for by the land having been aboriginally covered with forest-trees.’
Darwin is very clearly highlighting the massive human induced (anthropogenic) impact on the environment, even by aboriginal peoples (with the assistance of fire). Incidentally some 70 years before Darwin’s visit, the naturalists on Captain Cook’s 1st Pacific voyage had witnessed from the deck of HMS Endeavour ‘great smokes’ on the hillsides of New Zealand and suggested this was some form of agricultural burning by the Maori.
Even more significantly Darwin records the impact of introduced alien species noting…
‘It is said that the common Norway rat, in the short space of two years, annihilated in this northern end of the island, the New Zealand species. In many places I noticed several sorts of weeds, which, like the rats, I was forced to own as countrymen. A leek has overrun whole districts, and will prove very troublesome, but it was imported as a favour by a French vessel. The common dock is also widely disseminated, and will, I fear, for ever remain a proof of the rascality of an Englishman, who sold the seeds for those of the tobacco plant.’
Then on the return journey through the South Atlantic the Beagle visited the island of St Helena, the British Overseas Territory. There he examined the remains of shells at a number of locations on the island, finding they belonged to eight different species of land snails of which he wrote…
‘It is remarkable that none of them are now found living. Their extinction has probably been caused by the entire destruction of the woods, and the consequent loss of food and shelter, which occurred during the early part of the last century… So late as the year 1716 there were many trees, but in 1724 the old trees had mostly fallen; and as goats and hogs had been suffered to range about, all the young trees had been killed… The extent of surface, probably covered by wood at a former period, is estimated at no less than two thousand acres; at the present day scarcely a single tree can be found there. It is also said that in 1709 there were quantities of dead trees in Sandy Bay; this place is now so utterly desert, that nothing but so well attested an account could have made me believe that they could ever have grown there… There can be little doubt that this great change in the vegetation affected not only the land-shells, causing eight species to become extinct, but likewise a multitude of insects.’
However, while the young Darwin was noting these ‘man and biosphere interactions’ in his later work and private letters there is barely an inference of what we could interpret as a call for conservation or environmental action. In 1874, late in this life, Darwin did sign a petition organised by Albert Günther, Keeper of Zoology and the Natural History Museum. It urged the Governor of Mauritius to protect the Giant tortoises on the nearby Indian Ocean island of Aldabra (part of the Seychelles). The tortoises were threatened by logging activity on the small island (the Mauritian species of Giant Tortoise had already been driven to extinction alongside it’s famous Dodo). This petition led to the Governor effectively commissioning one of the first ever captive breeding programmes; bringing tortoises off Aldabra to the Governor’s mansion on Mauritius where they were protected in the substantial grounds gardens. However, this is an exception, it wasn’t initiated by Darwin and it was primarily a call for the preservation of a ‘scientific curiosity’.
Issues such as animal welfare had begun to rise in Europe prior to Darwin’s Beagle voyage (the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was formed in London in 1824). There had been awareness of the decline of the Great Auks across the North Atlantic for a considerable time. In fact an early environmental law banning Auks being hunted for eggs and feathers with the penalty of public flogging had been passed in St John in Labrador half a century earlier in 1775. Significantly in 1840, in the intervening years between Darwin’s Beagle voyage and Wallace’s travels the last Great Auk in the British Isles was killed on St Kilda. Over these intervening decades the European Empires were increasingly impacting on the environment as they fed on the resources of the colonies. As Wallace, following the journal writing tradition of previous naturalists, wrote his fabulous work The Malay Archipelago he was conscious of this impact, his concern is famously captured in his account of the glorious King Bird of Paradise.
‘I thought of the long ages of the past, during which the successive generations of this little creature had run their course — year by year being born, and living and dying amid these dark and gloomy woods, with no intelligent eye to gaze upon their loveliness; to all appearance such a wanton waste of beauty. Such ideas excite a feeling of melancholy. It seems sad, that on the one hand such exquisite creatures should live out their lives and exhibit their charms only in these wild inhospitable regions, doomed for ages yet to come to hopeless barbarism; while on the other hand, should civilized man ever reach these distant lands, and bring moral, intellectual, and physical light into the recesses of these virgin forests, we may be sure that he will so disturb the nicely-balanced relations of organic and inorganic nature as to cause the disappearance, and finally the extinction, of these very beings whose wonderful structure and beauty he alone is fitted to appreciate and enjoy. This consideration must surely tell us that all living things were not made for man.’
Wallace like Darwin, was seeking answers to big questions, and in Wallace’s case, after he returned to Britain two of his many books focused particularly on what today we call biogeography; the relationship between physical geography and species boundaries. In these books we also see a very different voice emerging on the impact of people on nature. In his book Island Life (1881), Wallace picks up from where Darwin left off, with the human influenced degradation of St Helena.
‘…yet the general aspect of the island is now so barren and forbidding that some persons find it difficult to believe that it was once all green and fertile. The cause of this change is, however, very easily explained. The rich soil formed by decomposed volcanic rock and vegetable deposits could only be retained on the steep slopes so long as it was protected by the vegetation to which it in great part owed its origin. When this was destroyed, the heavy tropical rains soon washed away the soil, and has left a vast expanse of bare rock or sterile clay. This irreparable destruction was caused, in the first place, by goats, which were introduced by the Portuguese in 1513, and increased so rapidly that in 1588 they existed in the thousands. These animals are the greatest of all foes to trees, because they eat off the young seedlings, and thus prevent the natural restoration of the forest.’
Wallace is noticeably arguing in a language much closer to that of contemporary ecology and he goes on to be much more critical of human culpability.
‘They were, however, aided by the reckless waste of man. ‘The East India Company took possession of the island in 1651, and about the year 1700 it began to be seen that the forests were fast diminishing, and required some protection. Two of the native trees, redwood and ebony, were good for tanning, and, to save trouble, the bark was wastefully stripped from the trunks only, the remainder being left to rot; while in 1709 a large quantity of the rapidly disappearing ebony was used to burn lime for building fortifications!’*
In his work Tropical Nature and Other Essays (1878) Wallace is even more prescient.
‘In Central India the scanty and intermittent rainfall, with its fearful accompaniment of famine, is no doubt in great part due to the absence of a sufficient proportion of forest-covering to the earth’s surface; and it is to a systematic planting of all the hill tops, elevated ridges, and higher slopes that we can alone look for a radical cure of the evil. This would almost certainly induce an increased rainfall; but even more important and more certain, is the action of forests in checking evaporation from the soil and causing perennial springs to flow, which may be collected in vast storage tanks and will serve to fertilise a great extent of country; whereas tanks without regular rainfall or permanent springs to supply them are worthless…
… when the forests are cleared away the torrents of rain soon strip off the vegetable soil, and thus destroy in a few years the fertility which has been the growth of many centuries. The bare subsoil becoming heated by the sun, every particle of moisture which does not flow off is evaporated, and this again reacts on the climate, producing long-continued droughts only relieved by sudden and violent storms, which add to the destruction and render all attempts at cultivation unavailing. Wide tracts of fertile land in the south of Europe have been devastated in this manner, and have become absolutely uninhabitable. Knowingly to produce such disastrous results would be a far more serious offence than any destruction of property which human labour has produced and can replace; yet we ignorantly allow such extensive clearings for coffee cultivation in India and Ceylon, as to cause the destruction of much fertile soil which generations cannot replace, and which will surely, if not checked in time, lead to the deterioration of the climate and the permanent impoverishment of the country.
Wallace’s awareness of the risks of deforestation especially in tropical forests that were subject to heavy rainfall and how it would lead to soil erosion and desertification resonates with the drivers of biodiversity loss and environmental degradation today. His awareness, from his travels in the Amazon and in Indonesia, of the complex interrelationship between forest and cloud formation and his warning that extensive forest clearance, could also impact on climate is again a central narrative of the contemporary call to arms. His highlighting of the potential of ecological restoration to improve resilience in natural ecosystem services for human well-being is an argument at the centre of today’s debate. Wallace was writing this in the late 1800’s, a decade before the formation of the Sierra Club in the United States and the beginnings of the environmental and conservation movement.
It is clear then that more than a hundred years ago Wallace from framing the understanding on which much of current environmental policy now stands. While it is amazing to celebrate both Darwin’s and Wallace’s insights, Wallace in particular raises a particular question – why does there remain so much inaction and on-going call for more research evidence, when these primary human induced drivers of environmental change were so clearly highlighted more than a century ago?
* [Today the two redwood and ebony species survive on St Helena in a handful of specimens. The two species had been distinct, one living at lower elevations and the other higher. By the time the few remaining shrubby trees were transplanted to a safe conservation site on the ‘Scotland estate’ on the island they had also lost their natural pollinators. It is thought that introduced European bees allowed the few remaining plants to hybridise – the resulting ‘rebony’ has a little more hybrid vigor and may save the genes of the two species. The St Helena Conservation Trust is still trying to save these species along with the other threatened endemics on the island].
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A forensic psychology master's degree is a two-year program that provides advanced education and training in concepts, practices, and theories of law and psychology. A master's typically does not fulfill the education requirements needed for clinical psychology licensure, so many students pursue this degree as a stepping stone to a doctoral program. Others earn their master's in order to access advanced, nonclinical career opportunities in the justice system.
Read through this guide to learn more about graduate education in this interdisciplinary field. Topics covered include career options, common admission and curriculum requirements, tips for selecting a program, and additional resources for students.
What Is Forensic Psychology?
Forensic psychology is the intersection of psychology and the law, where scientific principles and practices are combined with legal theory and procedure. Forensic psychology strives to promote ethical, evidence-based decision-making in criminal justice, social services, and related fields.
Despite being a relatively young discipline, forensic psychology has gained popularity and widespread attention through portrayals in network television shows like "Criminal Minds" and "NCIS." In the real world, forensic psychologists provide services and expertise in a variety of settings, including courtrooms, government agencies, higher education, jails, prisons, and rehabilitation facilities.
All of the potential applications of forensic psychology are too numerous to list here. Forensic psychology is used both in clinical and nonclinical environments. Common examples include assisting attorneys with jury selection, determining an individual's competency level before trial, performing criminal profiling to help law enforcement, and conducting clinical evaluations and treatment of inmates with mental health problems.
Searching for the perfect graduate school doesn't have to be overwhelming. Discover the best online master's in forensic psychology programs on our rankings page.
What You Can Do With a Master's in Forensic Psychology
Forensic psychologists learn about clinical psychology, the judicial system, and criminology. As such, they prepare for an interesting and varied career working in corrections centers, social services departments, the department of homeland security, or law enforcement offices. Serving a variety of different people, they offer psychological profiling, diagnosis, treatment, advocacy, or expert testimony in legal proceedings. Students should research their desired career path to ensure that they can work with a master's degree or whether they need to move onto Ph.D. studies.
Licensed forensic psychologists offer clinical care to patients involved in criminal cases and provide recommendations to social services and law enforcement. They diagnose mental illness, treat victims of abuse, and write reports for the involved parties. After completing their master's degree, students may earn their doctorate and sit for licensing examinations to become licensed forensic psychologists.
Median Annual Salary: $79,010
Projected Growth Rate (2018-28): 14%
- Probation Officer and Correctional Treatment Specialist
These specialists work with law offenders and provide counseling, rehabilitation, resources, and job training. In many cases, correctional treatment specialists testify in court concerning the background and status of the offender. Typically, a bachelor's degree represents the minimum educational requirement, but those hoping to pursue supervisory positions benefit from earning their master's degree.
Median Annual Salary: $53,020
Projected Growth Rate (2018-28): 3%
- Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselor
These counselors specialize in working with substance abuse, abnormal or deviant behaviors, and mental health difficulties, helping clients modify destructive and dangerous behaviors. Graduates from a master's in forensic psychology may apply their skills to treating and working with law offenders suffering from addiction and other issues affecting their behavior.
Median Annual Salary: $44,630
Projected Growth Rate (2018-28): 22%
- Police and Detectives
Police and detectives help uphold the law. They respond to and analyze crime scenes, search for and arrest wanted criminals, and testify in court cases. Earning a master's in forensic psychology assists detectives in evaluating their suspects and recommending the correct course of action; it may even allow them to specialize in working with a specific population.
Median Annual Salary: $63,380
Projected Growth Rate (2018-28): 5%
The psychology field offers work for professionals at all education levels. Visit our career guide to explore popular clinical and nonclinical opportunities in psychology.
What to Expect in a Master's in Forensic Psychology Program
The best online master's degrees in forensic psychology offer advanced study of human behavior, criminal justice, mental health, and ethics in law and psychology. Specific offerings vary depending on the school you select, but the examples below provide a representative look of courses and concentration options available in a forensic psychology program.
Concentrations Offered for a Master’s Degree in Forensic Psychology
- Child Protection
- Graduate students with a concentration in child protection focus on the nuances of working with a juvenile population. They work on both the evaluation and treatment of youth and assist victims of abuse or neglect.
- Correctional psychology studies mentally ill inmates, determines their mental state when they committed the crime, and decide if they can stand trial. Corrections also focuses on diagnosis, treatment, and future management to prevent additional offenses.
- Legal Studies
- Learners who want to learn to make psychological assessments and sentencing recommendations to the court should consider a legal or criminal justice specialization.
- Applied Clinical Psychology
- This concentration emphasizes clinics and prepares students for careers in research or the psychological diagnosis and treatment of either victimized or at-risk populations.
- Sex Offenders
- This specialization track studying sex offenders looks at the assessment and treatment of criminals who commit forced, threatening, or illegal sexual acts. A forensic psychologist with this concentration performs risk assessments and makes recommendations for rehabilitation.
Courses in a Master's in Forensic Psychology Program
Programs vary in their course offerings, specialization options, and range of materials covered. Read on for a sampling of classes that you may see in a master's program, but make sure to research each specific school's curriculum to see whether it offers the classes that interest you.
Covering a range of mental disorders and abnormal behavior, this course teaches students to diagnose mental illness and determine appropriate treatment plans. Forensic psychologists practicing in clinical settings and those who determine whether an offender can stand trial benefit from this course.
- Sex Offender Behavior
This course prepares forensic psychology learners to work with the sex offender population. It focuses on the deviant behaviors of sex offenders. Students look at diagnosis, risk assessment, treatment plans, and the legal issues raised in sex offenses.
- Mental Health Law
Coursework in mental health law analyzes previous court cases, criminal responsibility, and legal precedents surrounding criminal acts committed by mentally disabled individuals. It emphasizes the rights of persons with mental illness and discusses different punishments that may arise from an offense. This course prepares learners to provide expert witness testimony in court cases.
- Crime, Psychology, and the Law
This class introduces forensic psychology to learners and covers basic principles and sub-specialties within the field. Students analyze ethical and legal issues that arise when working with law offenders; they discuss criminal profiling, correctional psychology, and criminal court proceedings.
- Violence and Risk Assessment
Forensic psychologists need to determine whether an offender presents a risk to society. Completing this course in violence and risk assessment proves vital to professionals working in correctional facilities, with violent criminals, and with sex offenders. Students learn to evaluate offenders, use assessment tools, implement strategies to reduce risky behavior, and provide recommendations to the court.
How to Choose a Master's in Forensic Psychology Program
When reviewing your options and choosing a master's in forensic psychology, keep the following things in mind: accreditation, faculty qualifications, fieldwork opportunities, capstone options, and cost. Discover details about each of these factors below.
- Accreditation ensures a school or program meets certain standards of academic and professional quality. The American Psychological Association (APA) does not accredit bachelor's or master's degrees, so you don't need to look for a forensic psychology degree with programmatic accreditation. You should, however, make sure your prospective institution holds regional or national accreditation.
- Faculty Experience and Qualifications
- Before committing to a school, take the time to research the professors in your prospective department(s) of study. You want to learn from faculty with terminal degrees and significant experience in psychology, criminal justice, and law. If you can, visit an on-campus graduate fair to meet lecturers in person.
- Fieldwork Opportunities
- Fieldwork is useful for any psychology student, but it's especially important if you plan to continue your education with a doctorate in pursuit of clinical licensure. While researching your options, look for schools that require or offer supervised practicum credits. Gaining experience in school makes you a more valuable job candidate after graduation.
- Capstone Options
- Forensic psychology master's degrees commonly offer students a variety of different ways to culminate their educational experience. A thesis is ideal if you plan to pursue a doctorate in the future. A comprehensive exam or final project offers an alternative that's less research-intensive if you plan to enter the workforce after graduation.
- Graduate school isn't cheap, but some programs cost less than others. If cost is a major factor impacting your college decision, look for schools with the lowest tuition rates and reach out directly to ask about financial aid opportunities. You don't want to start a degree that you can't afford to finish.
Master's in Forensic Psychology Program Admissions
You may encounter slightly different admission requirements depending on the school or program you decide to apply to, but most forensic psychology master's programs adhere to similar prerequisites and procedures. Review these standard expectations in the sections below.
- Bachelor's Degree: With very few exceptions, graduate schools require applicants to hold a bachelor's degree or have confirmed plans for imminent graduation. Specific discipline requirements vary by program. Some forensic psychology programs accept only applicants with bachelor's degrees in psychology. Others are more flexible and willing to work with applicants from other academic fields.
- Prerequisite Courses: To ensure the success of students entering a forensic psychology master's program, schools may require applicants to meet limited prerequisites. These typically include introductory undergraduate courses in psychology, research methods, and/or statistics. Programs commonly offer completion options for incoming students who do not meet these minimum requirements.
- Minimum GPA: Specific minimum GPA requirements vary from school to school but tend to sit around 2.75-3.0 for full admission. If your undergraduate GPA is below the minimum requirement, you may still qualify for conditional admission. Some schools require applicants with lower GPAs to submit standardized test scores.
How to Apply
- Test Scores
- Highly competitive forensic psychology programs may require all applicants to supply GRE scores in order to help narrow down admissions decisions. Others limit mandatory standardized testing to individuals who fail to meet minimum GPA requirements. Even if a school doesn't explicitly require examinations, you can typically provide scores if you choose to.
- Letters of Recommendation
- Almost every graduate school requires master's program applicants to submit three letters of recommendation from individuals who can adequately address a candidate's potential for success. Ideal options for recommenders include undergraduate professors, coworkers, managers, or mentors. Recommendation letters should not come from family or friends.
- Statement or Essay
- Expect to write an essay of at least 500 words for each master's program you apply to. Writing specifications and guidelines vary, but admissions departments typically want to get a feel for your personality, learn more about your past experiences, and better understand your academic and professional aspirations.
Most graduate schools follow a similar set of admissions procedures. Final application deadlines typically occur about a month before the start of semesters in the spring, summer, and fall. Some schools, especially those offering online degrees, may accept applicants year-round with no firm cutoff dates.
GRE and GMAT test scores stay valid for five years. If you want or need to submit scores along with your applications, consider getting this major requirement out of the way early. Plan to set aside 2-3 months to study before sitting for your exam.
Along with noting final deadlines, find out when your prospective schools begin accepting applications. Avoid a last-minute rush by planning to submit as early as possible. Start gathering transcripts, requesting letters of recommendation, and writing your essays as soon as you can. Submitting early also provides a cushion for unforeseen delays and processing errors.
Resources for Master's in Forensic Psychology Students
APA seeks to promote and advance psychological knowledge to help improve lives. The organization includes more than 118,000 members, including psychology researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. Forensic psychology students can apply for membership at a discounted rate or access free online articles, news, and career resources.
AP-LS is a division of APA focused on research, education, and application of psychology in legal environments. AP-LS offers a variety of free and membership-based resources ideal for forensic psychology students, including a guide to graduate programs, research funding and award opportunities, and the academic journal, Law and Human Behavior.
The ABPP website is a vital online resource for graduate students who ultimately plan to pursue a doctorate and clinical licensure in forensic psychology. ABPP provides site visitors with a wealth of resources including comprehensive reviews of certification requirements, application procedures, and exam procedures.
SPCP is a professional organization dedicated to the scientific study of police and criminal psychology and the application of scientific knowledge to criminal justice issues. Membership benefits include access to the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, networking opportunities, and conference registration. Students pay discounted membership dues.
David Webb -- lecturer, author, and promoter of forensic psychology -- founded this website in 2006 as a hub for comprehensive information and resources. All-About-Forensic-Psychology.com provides articles and informative pages on forensic psychology topics, historical figures, and career guidance. Other resources include book recommendations and links to free online journals and courses. | <urn:uuid:24380a44-dccb-48fd-b8fb-3a68d9b7c3af> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.bestcolleges.com/features/masters-forensic-psychology-degree-programs/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370506870.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20200402080824-20200402110824-00474.warc.gz | en | 0.916778 | 2,839 | 2.875 | 3 |
If you have advanced and permanent kidney failure, kidney transplantation may be the treatment option that allows you to live much like you lived before your kidneys failed. Since the 1950s, when the first kidney transplants were performed, much has been learned about how to prevent rejection and minimize the side effects of medicines.
But transplantation is not a cure; it’s an ongoing treatment that requires you to take medicines for the rest of your life. And the wait for a donated kidney can be years long.
A successful transplant takes a coordinated effort from your whole health care team, including your nephrologist, transplant surgeon, transplant coordinator, pharmacist, dietitian, and social worker. But the most important members of your health care team are you and your family. By learning about your treatment, you can work with your health care team to give yourself the best possible results, and you can lead a full, active life.
When Your Kidneys Fail
Healthy kidneys clean your blood by removing excess fluid, minerals, and wastes. They also make hormones that keep your bones strong and your blood healthy. When your kidneys fail, harmful wastes build up in your body, your blood pressure may rise, and your body may retain excess fluid and not make enough red blood cells. When this happens, you need treatment to replace the work of your failed kidneys.
How Transplantation Works
Kidney transplantation is a procedure that places a healthy kidney from another person into your body. This one new kidney takes over the work of your two failed kidneys.
A surgeon places the new kidney inside your lower abdomen and connects the artery and vein of the new kidney to your artery and vein. Your blood flows through the new kidney, which makes urine, just like your own kidneys did when they were healthy. Unless they are causing infection or high blood pressure, your own kidneys are left in place.
The Transplant Process
Your Doctor’s Recommendation
The transplantation process begins when you learn that your kidneys are failing and you must start to consider your treatment options. Whether transplantation is to be among your options will depend on your specific situation. Transplantation isn’t for everyone. Your doctor may tell you that you have a condition that would make transplantation dangerous or unlikely to succeed.
Medical Evaluation at a Transplant Center
If your doctor sees transplantation as an option, the next step is a thorough medical evaluation at a transplant hospital. The pretransplant evaluation may require several visits over the course of several weeks or even months. You’ll need to have blood drawn and x rays taken. You’ll be tested for blood type and other matching factors that determine whether your body will accept an available kidney.
The medical team will want to see whether you’re healthy enough for surgery. Cancer, a serious infection, or significant cardiovascular disease would make transplantation unlikely to succeed. In addition, the medical team will want to make sure that you can understand and follow the schedule for taking medicines.
If a family member or friend wants to donate a kidney, he or she will need to be evaluated for general health and to see whether the kidney is a good match.
Placement on the Waiting List
If the medical evaluation shows that you’re a good candidate for a transplant but you don’t have a family member or friend who can donate a kidney, you’ll be put on the transplant program’s waiting list to receive a kidney from a deceased donor—someone who has just died.
Every person waiting for a deceased donor organ is registered with the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), which maintains a centralized computer network linking all regional organ gathering organizations (known as organ procurement organizations, or OPOs) and transplant centers. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), a private nonprofit organization, administers OPTN under a contract with the Federal Government.
UNOS rules allow patients to register with multiple transplant centers. Each transplant center will probably require a separate medical evaluation, even if a patient is already registered at another center.
Observers of OPTN operations have raised the concern that people in certain regions of the country have to wait longer than others because allocation policies for some organs give preference to patients within the donor’s region. Kidneys, however, are assigned to the best match regardless of geographic region. The Federal Government continues to monitor policies and regulations to ensure that every person waiting for an organ has a fair chance. The key to making waiting times shorter is to increase the number of donated organs.
How long you’ll have to wait depends on many things but is primarily determined by the degree of matching between you and the donor. Some people wait several years for a good match, while others get matched within a few months.
While you’re on the waiting list, notify the transplant center of changes in your health. Also, let the transplant center know if you move or change telephone numbers. The center will need to find you immediately when a kidney becomes available.
OPOs are responsible for identifying potential organs for transplant and coordinating with the national network. The 69 regional OPOs are all UNOS members. When a deceased donor kidney becomes available, the OPO notifies UNOS, and a computer-generated list of suitable recipients is created. Suitability is initially based on two factors:
- Blood type. Your blood type (A, B, AB, or O) must be compatible with the donor’s blood type.
- HLA factors. HLA stands for human leukocyte antigen, a genetic marker located on the surface of your white blood cells. You inherit a set of three antigens from your mother and three from your father. A higher number of matching antigens increases the chance that your kidney will last for a long time.
If you’re selected on the basis of the first two factors, a third is evaluated:
- Antibodies. Your immune system may produce antibodies that act specifically against something in the donor’s tissues. To see whether this is the case, a small sample of your blood will be mixed with a small sample of the donor’s blood in a tube. If no reaction occurs, you should be able to accept the kidney. Your transplant team might use the term negative cross-match to describe this lack of reaction.
If you have a living donor, you’ll schedule the operation in advance. You and your donor will be operated on at the same time, usually in side-by-side rooms. One team of surgeons will perform the nephrectomy—that is, the removal of the kidney from the donor—while another prepares the recipient for placement of the donated kidney.
If you’re on a waiting list for a deceased donor kidney, you must be ready to hurry to the hospital as soon as a kidney becomes available. Once there, you’ll give a blood sample for the antibody cross-match test. If you have a negative cross-match, it means that your antibodies don’t react and the transplantation can proceed.
You’ll be given a general anesthetic to make you sleep during the operation, which usually takes 3 or 4 hours. The surgeon will make a small cut in your lower abdomen. The artery and vein from the new kidney will be attached to your artery and vein. The ureter from the new kidney will be connected to your bladder.
Often, the new kidney will start making urine as soon as your blood starts flowing through it, but sometimes a few weeks pass before it starts working.
Recovery from Surgery
As after any major surgery, you’ll probably feel sore and groggy when you wake up. However, many transplant recipients report feeling much better immediately after surgery. Even if you wake up feeling great, you’ll need to stay in the hospital for about a week to recover from surgery, and longer if you have any complications.
Your body’s immune system is designed to keep you healthy by sensing “foreign invaders,” such as bacteria, and rejecting them. But your immune system will also sense that your new kidney is foreign. To keep your body from rejecting it, you’ll have to take drugs that turn off, or suppress, your immune response. You may have to take two or more of these immunosuppressant medicines, as well as medications to treat other health problems. Your health care team will help you learn what each pill is for and when to take it. Be sure that you understand the instructions for taking your medicines before you leave the hospital.
If you’ve been on hemodialysis, you’ll find that your posttransplant diet is much less restrictive. You can drink more fluids and eat many of the fruits and vegetables you were previously told to avoid. You may even need to gain a little weight, but be careful not to gain weight too quickly and avoid salty foods that can lead to high blood pressure
You can help prevent rejection by taking your medicines and following your diet, but watching for signs of rejection—like fever or soreness in the area of the new kidney or a change in the amount of urine you make—is important. Report any such changes to your health care team.
Even if you do everything you’re supposed to do, your body may still reject the new kidney and you may need to go back on dialysis. Unless your health care team determines that you’re no longer a good candidate for transplantation, you can go back on the waiting list for another kidney.
Side Effects of Immunosuppressants
Immunosuppressants can weaken your immune system, which can lead to infections. Some drugs may also change your appearance. Your face may get fuller; you may gain weight or develop acne or facial hair. Not all patients have these problems, though, and diet and makeup can help.
Immunosuppressants work by diminishing the ability of immune cells to function. In some patients, over long periods of time, this diminished immunity can increase the risk of developing cancer. Some immunosuppressants cause cataracts, diabetes, extra stomach acid, high blood pressure, and bone disease. When used over time, these drugs may also cause liver or kidney damage in a few patients.
Treatment for kidney failure is expensive, but Federal health insurance plans pay much of the cost, usually up to 80 percent. Often, private insurance or state programs pay the rest. Your social worker can help you locate resources for financial assistance.
Most transplanted kidneys come from people who have died. However, the number of people waiting for kidneys has increased in recent years, while the number of kidneys available from deceased donors has remained constant. The result is a shortage of kidneys and a longer waiting time for people with kidney failure.
Many suitable kidneys go unused because family members of potential donors don’t know their loved one’s wishes. People who wish to donate their organs should talk about this issue with their families. A properly completed organ donor card notifies medical officials that you’ve decided to donate your organs. In most states, you can indicate your desire to be an organ donor on your driver’s license.
Patient Assistance Programs
From Prescription Drug Companies
The immunosuppressants and other drugs you must take after your transplant will be a large part of your medical expenses. Most drug manufacturers have patient assistance programs giving discounts to patients who can show that they can’t afford the cost of their prescribed medications.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America publishes the Directory of Prescription Drug Patient Assistance Programs, available at www.pparx.org. To request a directory through the mail, write to:
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
1100 Fifteenth Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
An organization called the Medicine Program offers help in finding and applying for free medicines supplied by pharmaceutical companies. To request assistance, obtain an application form, available on the website or through the mail, and list the medicines you need. Send the application back with a $5 processing fee for each medicine you request. If the Medicine Program fails to qualify you to receive the medicine, your processing fee will be returned.
The Medicine Program
P.O. Box 1089
Poplar Bluff, MO 63902
A growing number of transplanted kidneys are donated by living family members or friends. Potential donors need to be tested to make sure that donating a kidney won’t endanger their health, as well as for matching factors. Most people, however, can donate a kidney with little risk.
A kidney from a living donor often has advantages over a deceased donor kidney:
- People who receive a kidney from a family member or friend don’t have to wait until a kidney becomes available. Living donation allows for greater preparation and for the operation to be scheduled at a convenient time.
- Kidneys from family members are more likely to be good matches, although there’s no guarantee.
- Kidneys from living donors don’t need to be transported from one site to another, so the kidney is in better condition when it’s transplanted.
- Living donation helps people waiting for kidneys from deceased donors by lowering the number of people on the waiting list.
Diseases of the kidney are found more frequently in racial and ethnic minority populations in the United States than in the general population. African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, and Pacific Islander Americans are three times more likely to suffer from kidney failure than Americans of European descent. Successful transplantation is often enhanced if organs are matched between members of the same ethnic and racial group. A shortage of organs donated by minorities can contribute to longer waiting periods for transplants for minorities.
The National Minority Organ/Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP), with the support of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) Office of Research on Minority Health and the NIDDK, is the first national program to empower minority communities to promote minority donation and transplantation, as well as good health habits. In turn, this effort should improve the chances for a well-matched organ among all those waiting for a transplant.
Hope Through Research
The NIDDK, through its Division of Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases, supports several programs and studies devoted to improving treatment for patients with progressive kidney disease and permanent kidney failure, including patients who receive a transplanted kidney.
- The End-Stage Renal Disease Program promotes research to reduce medical problems from bone, blood, nervous system, metabolic, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and endocrine abnormalities in kidney failure and to improve the effectiveness of dialysis and transplantation. The program seeks to increase kidney graft and patient survival and to maximize quality of life.
- The NIH Organ/Tissue Transplant Center, located at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD, is a collaborative project of NIH, the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Naval Medical Research Center, and the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami. The site includes a state-of-the-art clinical transplant ward, operating facility, and outpatient clinic designed for the study of new drugs or techniques that may improve the success of organ and tissue transplants.
The U.S. Renal Data System (USRDS) collects, analyzes, and distributes information about the use of dialysis and transplantation to treat kidney failure in the United States. The USRDS is funded directly by NIDDK in conjunction with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The USRDS publishes an Annual Data Report, which characterizes the total population of people being treated for kidney failure; reports on incidence, prevalence, mortality rates, and trends over time; and develops data on the effects of various treatment modalities. The report also helps identify problems and opportunities for more focused special studies of renal research.
The U.S. Government does not endorse or favor any specific commercial product or company. Trade, proprietary, or company names appearing in this document are used only because they are considered necessary in the context of the information provided. If a product is not mentioned, the omission does not mean or imply that the product is unsatisfactory.
A number of Federal agencies are involved in various aspects of transplantation, including financing, procurement regulation and oversight, allocation policy development, donation promotion, and biomedical research.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services runs the Medicare and Medicaid programs. You can apply for Medicare through your local Social Security office. The national phone number for the Social Security Administration is 1–800–772–1213, and you can get additional information about Medicare health plans by calling 1–800–633–4227 (1–800–MEDICARE). The official U.S. Government website for Medicare information can be found at www.medicare.gov.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services coordinates organ procurement and allocation activities through its Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
Health Resources and Services Administration
Division of Transplantation
Room 12C-06, Parklawn Building
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857
HRSA also maintains a website devoted to organ donation at www.organdonor.gov
HRSA’s Division of Transplantation administers the OPTN through a contract with UNOS, whose website can be found at www.transplantliving.org. You can request a packet of information about kidney transplantation by calling UNOS at 1–888–894–6361 (1–888–TX–INFO–1).
National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse
3 Information Way
Bethesda, MD 20892–3580
The National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NKUDIC) is a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). The NIDDK is part of the National Institutes of Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Established in 1987, the Clearinghouse provides information about diseases of the kidneys and urologic system to people with kidney and urologic disorders and to their families, health care professionals, and the public. The NKUDIC answers inquiries, develops and distributes publications, and works closely with professional and patient organizations and Government agencies to coordinate resources about kidney and urologic diseases.
Publications produced by the Clearinghouse are carefully reviewed by both NIDDK scientists and outside experts.
This publication is not copyrighted. The Clearinghouse encourages users of this publication to duplicate and distribute as many copies as desired.
NIH Publication No. 06–4687 | <urn:uuid:e703ffc7-4038-4ba3-b9e3-9b17d3fde1c1> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | http://www.kidneyurology.org/Library/Kidney_Health/Treatment_Methods_Kidney_Failure_TRANSPLANTATION.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370494064.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20200329074745-20200329104745-00274.warc.gz | en | 0.935694 | 3,884 | 3.046875 | 3 |
I have read that gravity waves travel at the speed of light; does this mean that gravity waves are a part of the electromagnetic spectrum?Asked by: John Oreopoulos
AnswerPut simply, the answer to your question is no, although the electromagnetic force has some similarities to the gravitational force. Modern Physics has now accepted something known as the Standard Model as a description of all fundamental particles and three of the four fundamental forces that act between these particles (electromagnetism, weak nuclear force, strong nuclear force). The model regards all forces as being 'transmitted' by a type of particle known as bosons, which are exchanged between particles in order to transmit a force. The Standard Model regards all electromagnetic radiation, which comprises the 'electromagnetic spectrum' and is responsible for the electromagnetic force, as consisting of discrete quanta (particles) known as photons. These photons have a number of distinguishing properties. Equally, although the Standard Model does not formally include gravity, it is currently accepted that the gravitational force must be transmitted in the same way as the other forces. The boson responsible has become known as the graviton, and again has a number of distinguishing properties. The reason for any uncertainty and assumption here is because the graviton is yet to be observed (this would be expected because gravity is by far the weakest force, making the graviton most difficult to observe). By comparing the fundamental properties of these bosons, it is clear that photons and gravitons are different, although they do share some of the same properties. e.g. Transmission velocity - c (speed of light) for both
Rest mass - zero for both
Charge - zero for both
Range - infinity for both
Spin - 1 for photon, 2 for graviton
Charge coupling - 2.31x10-28 Jm for photon, 1.87x10-64 Jm for graviton String Theory - open string for photon, closed string for graviton As you can see, many of the more commonly known, superficial properties of the two bosons are identical, but this fails to hold for a number of other properties that cause the two bosons, and so the two forces, to be very different. This is easily seen by the extreme difference in strength between the two forces (a small fridge magnet can hold a mass against the entire gravitational force of the planet). Hence it is the case that 'gravity waves', which can be viewed as simply consisting of coherent states of many gravitons, are not that the same as electromagnetic waves, can be viewed as simply consisting of coherent states of many photons, because photons and gravitons are fundamentally different. As a final note, it should be noted that some Physicists believe that the four forces will, in fact, be shown to be different low energy variations of the same phenomenon when viewed at very high energies, meaning all four forces are actually the same. This has already be shown to be true for the electromagnetic and weak nuclear force, which are now often referred to as the electroweak force. Whether the very weak gravitational force will follow this trend is unknown and a quantum theory of gravity is first required. Nevertheless, it should be remembered that we can only observe the Universe at relatively low energies, and we do not know how the forces behave at very high energies.
Answered by: Sam Cohen, Physics Student, LGS, Leeds, England
The speed of light should not be thought of as a characteristic of light specifically but should rather be thought of as a sort of "speed limit" of the universe. Information simply cannot move from one region in space to another region in space without some time delay. This should make some intuitive sense. Picture a line of marbles that are interconnected by springs, forming a line alternating between marble and spring over and over. If a marble on one side of the line is pushed in, before the rest move, it's logical to assume that time would have to be taken to compress the spring to a sufficient amount before the spring would exert enough force on the marble next to it, and this process would repeat there. Events that occur on one side of the line would take time to reach the other. Of course, you could stiffen the springs more and more until they were solid. However, inside the solids this same game would be played with molecules being held together by coulombic forces. If a sufficiently precise instrument would be used to measure the disturbances felt at one end of the marble-link chain, it would be clear that there still was some time delay between stimulation at one end and observation at the other. Scientists believe that the fabric of space has encoded into it a speed limit on information transfer. Depending on how "rigid" the fabric of space is, this speed limit could be very high; however, eventually at some level it will be there. It is not possible to make a change somewhere in the universe and have it be "felt" IMMEDIATELY at ALL other places in the universe -- it simply wouldn't make sense. At a very small scale, light can be thought of as made up of small quantized units called photons which have characteristics that follow probabilistic wave functions that give rise to behavior which appears wave-like when many of them are taken together. Because these particles have no mass, they have the easiest time moving through the fabric of space. Massless particles are like "marbles" with the stiffest springs between them. If there is any delay between the communication (i.e., the propagation of one of these particles through space) of information from one spot to another by way of these massless particles, that delay must be the delay of space itself. It must be a delay that can never be eliminated. That delay is what gives light its "speed." This speed is not only the speed of light but it is really the maximum speed of information propagation in the universe. Because light was studied intensely before the actual fabric of the universe was, this speed originally was tacked onto light specifically. This actually occurred when Maxwell modeled the time delay of light transmission and reception as the combination of reactive properties of space called permittivity and permeability. Maxwell didn't realize he was actually predicting the speed limit of all observable things; he was only concerned with light and other areas of physics concerned with other things were not yet invented. If gravity is modeled is a similar fashion, then its quantized units can be called gravitons, and those gravitons would behave in the same probabilistic way. When considering the simultaneous effect of many of them, they give rise to gravity waves. Because these gravitons also might be massless, they too would be governed by the same speed limit as light. If the existence of these gravitons can be confirmed, then we might call the "speed of light" the "speed of gravity" too. So you see it's inappropriate to attach properties of light to gravity just because it propagates at the same speed. They do share some characteristics, of course, or else they would not have the same top speed. However, the characteristics that they share exist at such a low level that they are the characteristics all observable things share. So the answer to your question is no.
Answered by: Ted Pavlic, B.S., Electrical Engineering Grad Student, Ohio State
Gravity is definitely not part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Properties of the gravitational force are very different to the electromagnetic force, (apart from the 1/r^2 law). 1) Gravity is only ever attractive, electromagnetism can be both attractive and repulsive (Unless we have exotic matter in which case gravity also can be repulsive) 2) All particles feel the gravitational force in the same way, electromagnetism is only felt by particles carrying charge. Gravitational "charge" is mass/energy. 3) The electromagnetic field does not carry charge and hence photons do not interact with each other. Gravitons have energy and hence gravitate. The most striking similarity is that both are gauge theories and have a very similar description in terms of differential geometry despite their respective Lagrangians looking very different. Electromagnetism has a local U(1) gauge invariance on an "internal" space. Gravity has a local Poincare invariance on physical space-time. Uniting these two different symmetries is highly nontrivial and leads us directly to supersymmetry and superstrings. Early attempts such as Kaluza-Klein theories tried to describe electromagnetism and gravity as a 5-dimensional generalisation of general relativity failed. It was much later that "no-go" theorems were discovered that blocked the way forward until supersymmetry was discovered. There is however, a very interesting relation between gravity and Yang-Mills theory (generalisation of Electromagnetism) that arose from string theory. The Kawai-Lewellen-Tye (KLT) relations relate pertubativly the closed string vertex operators to two open string vertex operators. This heuristically allows us to write Gravity = (Gauge theory) x (Gauge theory). The KLT relations were then used to calculate things in quantum gravity from gauge theory, more recently quantum gravity has been used to answer some questions about QCD. About the speed of gravity. General Relativity, just like Special Relativity there is a maximum speed limit that anything cannot beat. This speed is c, which "happens" to be the speed of light in vaco. This already means that gravity could at best propagate at the speed of light. [I should point out that quantum effects such as vacuum polarisation in QED can allow photons to propagate faster than c on a curved space-time background!] Gravity (quantum) is only consistent with observation if we have a massless gravitational field of spin-2 (spin-0 is not completely ruled out) . This was proved by Feynman and others. Since the quanta of gravity are massless, then via the usual arguments they must propagate at the speed of light c. Now, gravitational waves are slightly different. These are essentially localised (classical) gravitational energy that propagates through some background space-time. As solutions of the field equations of general relativity they formally travel at the speed of light. Again, this is the fastest we could hope for. Gravitational waves are like "classical gravitons", but I wouldn't take the analogy too the extreme. So far, all experimental tests (as far as I know) put bounds on the propagation speed near c. So to recap, gravity is not part of the electromagnetic spectrum, but does propagate at the speed of light. Both theories have differences, but it is believed that the KLT relations point to a deeper fundamental relation between Yang-Mills theory and General Relativity.
Answered by: Andrew James Bruce, Grad Student UK | <urn:uuid:bb88af67-0473-47d1-9930-85829cbf9b8b> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.physlink.com/education/askexperts/ae658.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371604800.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20200405115129-20200405145629-00034.warc.gz | en | 0.960648 | 2,234 | 3 | 3 |
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In this video, Dr. Huntoon discusses the 4 Causes of ALL Health Concerns and what you should be aware of when making your health choices.
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Healthy eating is not about strict nutrition philosophies, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, stabilizing your mood, and keeping yourself as healthy as possible– all of which can be achieved by learning some nutrition basics and using them in a way that works for you. You can expand your range of healthy food choices and learn how to plan ahead to create and maintain a tasty, healthy diet.
To set yourself up for success, think about planning a healthy diet as a number of small, manageable steps rather than one big drastic change. If you approach the changes gradually and with commitment, you will have a healthy diet sooner than you think.
Instead of being overly concerned with counting calories or measuring portion sizes, think of your diet in terms of color, variety, and freshness. This way it should be easier to make healthy choices. Focus on finding foods you love and easy recipes that incorporate a few fresh ingredients. Gradually, your diet will become healthier and more delicious.
Trying to make your diet healthy overnight isn’t realistic or smart. Changing everything at once usually leads to cheating or giving up on your new eating plan. Make small steps, like adding a salad (full of different color vegetables) to your diet once a day or switching from butter to olive oil when cooking. As your small changes become habit, you can continue to add more healthy choices to your diet.
You don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to completely eliminate foods you enjoy to have a healthy diet. The long term goal is to feel good, have more energy, and reduce the risk of cancer and disease. Don’t let your missteps derail you—every healthy food choice you make counts.
When you ban certain foods or food groups, it is natural to want those foods more, and then feel like a failure if you give in to temptation. If you are drawn towards sweet, salty, or unhealthy foods, start by reducing portion sizes and not eating them as often. Later you may find yourself craving them less or thinking of them as only occasional indulgences.
Serving sizes have ballooned recently, particularly in restaurants. When dining out, choose a starter instead of an entree, split a dish with a friend, and don't order supersized anything. At home, use smaller plates, think about serving sizes in realistic terms, and start small. If you don't feel satisfied at the end of a meal, try adding more leafy green vegetables or rounding off the meal with fresh fruit. Visual cues can help with portion sizes–your serving of meat, fish, or chicken should be the size of a deck of cards, a slice of bread should be the size of a CD case, and half a cup of mashed potato, rice, or pasta is about the size of a traditional light bulb.
Eating with other people has numerous social and emotional benefits—particularly for children—and allows you to model healthy eating habits. Eating in front of the TV or computer often leads to mindless overeating.
Chew your food slowly, savoring every bite. We tend to rush though our meals, forgetting to actually taste the flavors and feel the textures of our food. Reconnect with the joy of eating.
Ask yourself if you are really hungry, or have a glass of water to see if you are thirsty instead of hungry. During a meal, stop eating before you feel full. It actually takes a few minutes for your brain to tell your body that it has had enough food, so eat slowly.
A healthy breakfast can jumpstart your metabolism, and eating small, healthy meals throughout the day (rather than the standard three large meals) keeps your energy up and your metabolism going.
Try to eat dinner earlier in the day and then fast for 14-16 hours until breakfast the next morning. Early studies suggest that this simple dietary adjustment—eating only when you’re most active and giving your digestive system a long break each day—may help to regulate weight. After-dinner snacks tend to be high in fat and calories so are best avoided, anyway. Greens. Branch out beyond bright and dark green lettuce. Kale, mustard greens, broccoli, and Chinese cabbage are just a few of the options—all packed with calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, and vitamins A, C, E, and K.
Naturally sweet vegetables—such as corn, carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, yams, onions, and squash—add healthy sweetness to your meals and reduce your cravings for other sweets.
Fruit is a tasty, satisfying way to fill up on fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants. Berries are cancer-fighting, apples provide fiber, oranges and mangos offer vitamin C, and so on.
including whole wheat, brown rice, millet, quinoa, and barley. Experiment with different grains to find your favorites.
Be aware that the words stone-ground, multi-grain, 100% wheat, or bran can be deceptive. Look for the words “whole grain” or “100% whole wheat” at the beginning of the ingredient list. In the U.S., Canada, and some other countries, check for the Whole Grain Stamps that distinguish between partial whole grain and 100% whole grain.
If whole grains like brown rice and whole wheat pasta don’t sound good at first, start by mixing what you normally use with the whole grains. You can gradually increase the whole grain to 100%.
from plant oils like canola oil, peanut oil, and olive oil, as well as avocados, nuts (like almonds, hazelnuts, and pecans), and seeds (such as pumpkin, sesame).
found in fatty fish such as salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, and some cold water fish oil supplements. Other sources of polyunsaturated fats are unheated sunflower, corn, soybean, flaxseed oils, and walnuts.
found primarily in animal sources including red meat and whole milk dairy products.
found in vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, candies, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, baked goods, and other processed foods made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Avoid salted or sugary nuts and refried beans.
Dairy products are rich in calcium in a form that is easily digested and absorbed by the body. Sources include milk, yogurt, and cheese.
Many vegetables, especially leafy green ones, are rich sources of calcium. Try turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, kale, romaine lettuce, celery, broccoli, fennel, cabbage, summer squash, green beans, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, and crimini mushrooms.
For another rich source of calcium, try black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, white beans, black-eyed peas, or baked beans.
One 12-oz soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar in it, more than the daily recommended limit! Try sparkling water with lemon or a splash of fruit juice.
such as fruit, peppers, or natural peanut butter to satisfy your sweet tooth.
cane sugar or maple syrup
corn sweetener or corn syrup
honey or molasses
brown rice syrup
crystallized or evaporated cane juice
fruit juice concentrates, such as apple or pear
maltodextrin (or dextrin)
Dextrose, Fructose, Glucose, Maltose, or Sucrose
Processed foods like canned soups or frozen dinners contain hidden sodium that quickly surpasses the recommended limit.
Most restaurant and fast food meals are loaded with sodium.
instead of canned vegetables.
such as potato chips, nuts, and pretzels.
to give your taste buds time to adjust.
Think of water and exercise as food groups in your diet.
Water helps flush our systems of waste products and toxins, yet many people go through life dehydrated—causing tiredness, low energy, and headaches. It’s common to mistake thirst for hunger, so staying well hydrated will also help you make healthier food choices.
Find something active that you like to do and add it to your day, just like you would add healthy greens, blueberries, or salmon. The benefits of lifelong exercise are abundant and regular exercise may even motivate you to make healthy food choices a habit.
People often think of healthy eating as an all or nothing proposition, but a key foundation for any healthy diet is moderation. But what is moderation? How much is a moderate amount? That really depends on you and your overall eating habits. The goal of healthy eating is to develop a diet that you can maintain for life, not just a few weeks or months, or until you've hit your ideal weight. So try to think of moderation in terms of balance. Despite what certain fad diets would have you believe, we all need a balance of carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals to sustain a healthy body.
For most of us, moderation or balance means eating less than we do now. More specifically, it means eating far less of the unhealthy stuff (unrefined sugar, saturated fat, for example) and more of the healthy (such as fresh fruit and vegetables). But it doesn't mean eliminating the foods you love. Eating bacon for breakfast once a week, for example, could be considered moderation if you follow it with a healthy lunch and dinner–but not if you follow it with a box of donuts and a sausage pizza. If you eat 100 calories of chocolate one afternoon, balance it out by deducting 100 calories from your evening meal. If you're still hungry, fill up with an extra serving of fresh vegetables.
Healthy eating is about more than the food on your plate—it is also about how you think about food. Healthy eating habits can be learned and it is important to slow down and think about food as nourishment rather than just something to gulp down in between meetings or on the way to pick up the kids.
Fruits and vegetables are the foundation of a healthy diet. They are low in calories and nutrient dense, which means they are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.
Try to eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day and with every meal—the brighter the better. Colorful, deeply colored fruits and vegetables contain higher concentrations of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants—and different colors provide different benefits, so eat a variety. Aim for a minimum of five portions each day.
Some great choices include: Peppers, carrots, celery, beets, broccoli, egg plant, zucchini, tomato, squash, apples, pears, bananas, cherries, berries, oranges, all fresh and organic if possible.
The antioxidants and other nutrients in fruits and vegetables help protect against certain types of cancer and other diseases. And while advertisements abound for supplements promising to deliver the nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables in pill or powder form, research suggests that it’s just not the same.
A daily regimen of nutritional supplements is not going to have the same impact of eating right. That’s because the benefits of fruits and vegetables don’t come from a single vitamin or an isolated antioxidant.
The health benefits of fruits and vegetables come from numerous vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals working together synergistically. They can’t be broken down into the sum of their parts or replicated in pill form.
Choose healthy carbohydrates and fiber sources, especially whole grains, for long lasting energy. In addition to being delicious and satisfying, whole grains are rich in phytochemicals and antioxidants, which help to protect against coronary heart disease, certain cancers, and diabetes. Studies have shown people who eat more whole grains tend to have a healthier heart.
include whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables. Healthy carbs are digested slowly, helping you feel full longer and keeping blood sugar and insulin levels stable.
are foods such as white flour, refined sugar, and white rice that have been stripped of all bran, fiber, and nutrients. Unhealthy carbs digest quickly and cause spikes in blood sugar levels and energy.
Tips for Eating More Healthy Carbs
Refined foods such as breads, pastas, and breakfast cereals that are not whole grain.
Good sources of healthy fat are needed to nourish your brain, heart, and cells, as well as your hair, skin, and nails. Foods rich in certain omega-3 fats called EPA and DHA are particularly important and can reduce cardiovascular disease, improve your mood, and help prevent dementia.
Fresh fish high in these oils, add Olive oil for salads and Coconut Oil for cooking in, and get on a high quality fish oil supplement.
All vegetable oils used in cooking and farm raised fish.
Protein gives us the energy to get up and go—and keep going. Protein in food is broken down into the 20 amino acids that are the body’s basic building blocks for growth and energy, and essential for maintaining cells, tissues, and organs. A lack of protein in our diet can slow growth, reduce muscle mass, lower immunity, and weaken the heart and respiratory system. Protein is particularly important for children, whose bodies are growing and changing daily.
Here are some guidelines for including protein in your healthy diet:
Whether or not you are a vegetarian, trying different protein sources—such as beans, nuts, seeds, peas, tofu, and soy products—will open up new options for healthy mealtimes.
Many people in the West eat too much protein. Try to move away from protein being the center of your meal. Focus on equal servings of protein, whole grains, and vegetables.
like fresh fish, chicken or turkey, tofu, eggs, beans, or nuts. When you are having meat, chicken, or turkey, buy meat that is free of hormones and antibiotics.
Calcium is one of the key nutrients that your body needs in order to stay strong and healthy. It is an essential building block for lifelong bone health in both men and women, as well as many other important functions.
You and your bones will benefit from eating plenty of calcium-rich foods, limiting foods that deplete your body’s calcium stores, and getting your daily dose of magnesium and vitamins D and K—nutrients that help calcium do its job.
Recommended calcium levels are 1000 mg per day, 1200 mg if you are over 50 years old. Take a vitamin D and calcium supplement if you don’t get enough of these nutrients from your diet.
Almonds, leafy greens like spinach, broccoli is rich in calcium, sardines or wild salmon with the tiny bones still in it.
If you succeed in planning your diet around fiber-rich fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and good fats, you may find yourself naturally cutting back on foods that can get in the way of your healthy diet—sugar and salt.
Sugar causes energy ups and downs and can add to health and weight problems. Unfortunately, reducing the amount of candy, cakes, and desserts we eat is only part of the solution. Often you may not even be aware of the amount of sugar you’re consuming each day. Large amounts of added sugar can be hidden in foods such as bread, canned soups and vegetables, pasta sauce, margarine, instant mashed potatoes, frozen dinners, fast food, soy sauce, and ketchup.
Here are some tips:
How sugar is hidden on food labels
Check food labels carefully. Sugar is often disguised using terms such as:
Most of us consume too much salt in our diets. Eating too much salt can cause high blood pressure and lead to other health problems. Try to limit sodium intake to 1,500 to 2,300 mg per day, the equivalent of one teaspoon of salt.
Every doctor I have talked to says to eat a healthy diet and be sure to follow the guidelines set up by the FDA.
Since the FDA allows Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's) in our food without proper labeling, any advice from the medical profession will be suspect. After all, if you eat healthy, you will not get sick and that would put a monkey wrench into the whole Healthcare System.
Medicines Two Choices for You
Dr. Huntoon has quite the successful track record at helping people eat healthy, lose weight and restoring their health. He has helped more than one person lose more than 125 pounds without using any gimmicks, medicines or surgeries. A consultation with Dr. Huntoon would be worth exploring.
Apply as many of these recommendations as possible into your life and make gradual changes to improve your overall health. And if you need more help managing your health, consider contacting your Holistic Chiropractor for guidance and health maintenance. Having the support of a trained holistic professional who looks at all the relationships to maintaining health is important.
And if you have questions, Please call (845)561-BACK or (845)561-2225 and set up a time for us to Consult and Evaluate you and the many Health Needs you or your family member may have. Let us answer ALL your questions, most importantly, "WHY?"
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Serving All Your Heath Care Needs ... Naturally!
Dr. Richard A. Huntoon | <urn:uuid:309e8aa4-8afc-45b4-bcd1-6d8f360cd403> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.spineboy.com/healthyeating.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370524604.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20200404165658-20200404195658-00395.warc.gz | en | 0.940877 | 3,781 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Source: Midwest Independent System Operator via Public Sector Consultants.
Electricity shortages, rolling blackouts, and surging electricity prices were the order of the day in California back in 2000 and 2001. California’s power crisis, which has been attributed to a “perfect storm” of increased demand, reduced supply, and market manipulation by energy traders such as Enron, drove electricity prices up to as much as $600 per megawatt-hour and eventually cost the state of California between $40 and $45 billion.
The crisis was enabled by 1996 legislation which deregulated the electricity market in California. The law, largely embraced on all sides by Democrats, Republicans, and investor-owned utilities, was touted as a free-market solution for reducing energy prices by increasing competition. Instead, power supplies shrunk and prices skyrocketed. California suspended deregulation in 2003.
Here in Michigan, another perfect storm may be brewing. This one is composed of capacity loss as coal-fired power plants retire, and of a lack of investment in new power generation. That’s according to a report commissioned by DTE Energy and Consumers’ Energy that was released in November by Lansing-based Public Sector Consultants. The report warns of a potential electricity generation capacity shortfall in Michigan as soon as 2016.
The cause: a pending generation capacity loss of as much as 1.3 gigawatts — enough to power Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Detroit — because of the retirement of many of Michigan’s coal-fired power plants. The plants are being closed primarily for economic reasons; they are old and costly to operate and are becoming even more costly as a result of new environmental regulations governing carbon and other emissions. At the same time, the report says, Michigan’s partially deregulated market, under which up to ten percent of average retail sales can be purchased from alternative energy suppliers, has not provided adequate incentives for utilities to invest in much-needed new generation capacity.
The result: Michigan’s power reserves could be getting very tight in the near future.
The “Mighty Marysville,” a coal-fired power plant on the St. Clair River, closed in 2011. Photo Credit: Patrick Lapinski/Inland Mariners.
The report bases its warnings on a forecast from MISO, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which operates the grid in Michigan and much of the midwest. MISO advises states to maintain a capacity reserve margin, and it forecasts that much of Michigan’s lower peninsula will begin to dip into that margin as soon as 2016.
“MISO sets what is called the ‘planning and reserve margin’,” says MISO spokesman Andy Schonert. “It’s a kind of cushion to ensure we have reliable electric generation on the system. But it really falls to the states and their planning processes to make sure they’re bringing the right amount of generation online.”
In December, the Michigan Public Service Commission issued new directives for electricity generators, extending the timeframe for which they are required to evaluate and report on their ability to meet future demand from a one-year assessment to a five-year assessment.
“The reason we’ve made this change is to get more information about capacity in light of the coal plant retirements that we know are coming,” says MPSC Chairman John Quackenbush. “Having only one year of planning is perhaps adequate when you have excess capacity, but we know we have a significant number of coal plants retiring soon due to environmental regulations from the federal government.”
While the MPSC has the authority to require regulated utilities and cooperatives to submit this information, it can only ask for it from the alternative energy suppliers that operate within the state under Michigan’s partially deregulated market.
“The difference is that we have the authority to require utilities to provide the information, but we can only request it from alternative energy suppliers,” says Quackenbush. “We’re concerned about it. We need to make sure that alternative energy suppliers are arranging for adequate capacity. They can’t just assume it will automatically be there for them; they need to be focused on planning too, otherwise Michigan as a state will be in an unreliable power situation.”
2016 Resource Adequacy Forecast, Local Resource Zone Summary
Source: Midwest Independent System Operator via Public Sector Consultants
Who decides Michigan’s energy future?
Conflict over the respective roles of state and federal government in ensuring Michigan’s electricity generation capacity and reliability is brewing as well.
“The federal role is to make sure that the interstate transmission system operates reliably,” says Valerie Brader, deputy legal counsel and senior policy advisor for Gov. Rick Snyder. “It does not regulate where plants get built or what size or anything like that. All of that goes to the states, which have authority over both the rates and the electric generation resources.”
Brader believes MISO, a federally regulated body, overstepped its bounds in October when it required a utility to keep the coal-fired Presque Isle Power Plant open for reliability purposes. It had been slated for closure after a loophole in Michigan’s electric choice law had allowed a mining customer, who accounted for a majority of the plant’s load, to leave for an alternative energy supplier. But because closing the plant would diminish capacity and threaten reliability, MISO ordered the utility to keep it open, with the cost to be borne by remaining customers, forcing high costs onto customers including homeowners and small businesses. Those customers are expected to see steep rate hikes.
“That’s something that is really at the heart of what states normally do, which is to figure out what people should get paid to run generation,” says Brader. “But because it was threatening that interstate grid, MISO asserted authority to decide that for us. The only way you can appeal their decision is through FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Michigan appealed the decision and is continuing to appeal the initial determination from FERC regarding both the size of the rate increase and the way it’s allocated. We know FERC’s decisions are likely to cause short-term, sudden rate shocks.”
Brader says the federal government is essentially forcing the state to keep an old, dirty, uneconomic power plant open, and is shifting the cost burden onto the people of the Upper Peninsula.
“This is the most expensive, the most unfair and least environmentally protective option,” says Brader. “There’s just no reason to like FERC’s solution..”
According to Schonert, MISO’s actions are in line with fulfilling its function to ensure stable operation of the transmission grid.
“We do what we can to help ensure reliability and work with the states to make sure they’re seeing what we’re seeing as far as future forecasts, and that they’re taking that into consideration when they do their work,” he says.
According to Brader, the state is working to identify an alternative solution.
“We are actively working to identify a better solution,” she says. “We are deeply involved in discussions with private parties to see if we can solve the current reliability issues in the upper peninsula.”
She also warns that the U.P crisis is just a taste of what’s to come.
“What is happening in the U.P. is just the canary in the coal mine for Michigan,” she says. “It is absolutely possible to see this kind of federally imposed rate hike happen in the lower peninsula. We’re already seeing FERC signalling that it’s essentially ready to create the same situation in the lower peninsula that we’ve been trying to cope with in the Upper Peninsula; it has signaled it might not agree to allow Consumers’ Energy to retire a slate of seven coal-fired plants, which it is under federal court order to do. Michigan needs to develop our own solution to avoid the federal government doing it for us.”
This piece is part of a series of special reports on Michigan public policy issues made possible through a partnership with Public Sector Consultants.
Q&A: Julie Metty Bennett, Public Sector Consultants
What are some of the factors driving Michigan’s potential shortfall of energy resources?
It’s being driven mostly by a shift in where we are getting fuel to meet our electricity needs. Right now, Michigan gets about half of its power from coal-fired power plants, which is higher than the national average. Nationally, about 39 percent of power comes from coal. Most of our coal plants are more than 50 years old, and they’re expensive to maintain. In addition, recent environmental regulations promulgated by the EPA are now going into effect that will require significant investment in these older plants. So, coupled with the fact that they are old and expensive to maintain in the first place, the added cost of meeting new regulations means it is becoming very uneconomic to operate many coal-fired power plants. So they are being shut down.
Research shows that nine coal-fired units in the state are going to be retired in the next two years. They provide about 1.3 gigawatts of electricity. Just to put that into perspective, that is enough power for a million people — or the population of Detroit, Lansing and Grand Rapids combined. This is going to create a huge gap between how much energy we are supplying and the amount we need.
What options does Michigan have to fill that gap in the short-term?
We need balance in our approach. Public policy plays a big role here in bridging the gap. Michigan has a renewable portfolio standard that encourages renewable energy, and we also have energy-efficiency targets which require utilities to work with customers to reduce demand. Those are both good policies that will help to bridge the gap.
Renewable energy sources are intermittent, and until we can develop cost-effective energy storage technologies, we can’t just rely on when the wind blows and when the sun shines. So there is a need for new base load plants that can provide continuous reliable power to meet our round-the-clock needs. Natural gas is likely going to be the fuel of choice for new base load because the price is low and projected to be stable in the coming years.
PSC’s new report on electric reliability describes a conundrum we face in Michigan right now — that to bridge this gap, utilities will have to invest in these new base load plants, but uncertainty in the market makes it difficult for them to make that investment. Can you elaborate on that?
Michigan’s current energy law allows some customers, primarily large business customers, to bypass their utility and buy electricity independently from alternative energy suppliers. Still, regulated utilities are still required to serve all potential customers in their area, creating a revolving door for customers who can return to the utility with limited notice.
The result is that the utility has no way to be certain of the size of its customer base. We know we need to invest in these new base load plants. That represents a huge cost for the utility, but at the same time, they face uncertainty in the customer base. It creates a huge disincentive for them to build these new plants.
An example of this is playing out right now in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The Presque Isle Power Plant [a coal-fired power plant] had a big industrial customer — mining company Cliffs Natural Resources — that left the utility for an alternative energy supplier. That customer represented a majority of the plant’s load. Once it left, it became too costly for the utility to continue operating the plant, so they wanted to shut it down.
Interestingly, it was the federal government that stepped in and told the utility that it must keep that plant on the grid for reliability purposes. The result was a cost shift to the remaining customers, driving up rates significantly. The state then said, “Hey, this is really a state issue, we are the ones who are responsible for ensuring reliability.” So now they are fighting, and it is a real mess.
What the state and the feds are agreeing on is that the plant needs to stay open. Whose authority under which that happens, and how expensive it is going to be, is being debated. It looks like it could cost $50 per month for homeowners and $700 per month for business owners to keep that plant going.
How can this situation be avoided in the future in Michigan?
Renewable energy and energy efficiency are being talked about at the state level right now, and there will hopefully be legislation in 2015 to either keep those programs going or make them more aggressive. That would help fill the gap.
But the base load power plant issue also needs to be addressed. This experiment in Michigan where we allow some customers to bypass their utilities is causing a lot of problems. So we could just get rid of that revolving door, or tweak it around the edges.
I think we need to talk about a plan for how we are going to provide energy across the state. Right now, the current energy policy that we have does not allow us to plan. As a result, we’re seeing supply shortages and the federal government step in to address things that we should be talking about at the state level. We want to be able to provide power to Michigan residents through Michigan policy. If it is state policy that is causing the problem, we have the ability to fix that. | <urn:uuid:61b2bc7d-8ae1-4f34-97fe-194953d789e0> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://publicsectorconsultants.com/2015/02/11/powering-the-mitten-report-warns/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371700247.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20200407085717-20200407120217-00195.warc.gz | en | 0.963487 | 2,829 | 2.609375 | 3 |
The United Irishmen and their American Legacy
By Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
February / March 2016
When the rebellion of 1798 failed, many of The United Irishmen, including Thomas Addis Emmet, came to the United States where their influence was enormous.
You may well wonder why a historian of the United States should presume to write about the United Irishmen of 1798. There are two reasons: one personal, the other historical.
The personal reason is that I had the great good luck to marry an Emmet in the direct line of descent from the Thomas Addis Emmet – an act that has improved me as much as it has enlivened and enriched my life. Also, growing up in Massachusetts, I was plunged from an early age into Irish-American ways, forming lifelong friendships with Edwin O’Connor of The Last Hurrah, with Frances Sweeney of the Irish-American Defense Committee, with Monsignor Frank Lally of the Boston Pilot, with Tip O’Neill, and with a family named Kennedy.
The historical reason is that the fate of the United Irishmen of 1798 has, from the start, been entangled with the fate of the United States of America. For it was the American Revolution that first inspired the United Irishmen in their bid for Irish independence. As John Caldwell, a Presbyterian radical from County Antrim (let us not forget that many of the United Irishmen, including the Emmets, were Protestants), later recalled it, “On the news of the battle of Bunker Hill, my nurse Ann Orr led me to the top of a mount on a midsummer eve, where the young and the aged were assembled before a blazing bonfire to celebrate what they considered the triumph of America over British despotism.”
When John Paul Jones, the dashing American naval commander, sailed his sloop Ranger into Belfast harbor in 1778, he was unopposed and applauded. When the British government, losing the war in America and fearing trouble in Ireland, made the concession in 1782 of an Irish Parliament, one Irishman said, “It was on the plains of America that Ireland obtained her freedom.” The Irish patriot Henry Grattan declared, “The American war was the Irish harvest.”
Grattan’s “revolution of 1782” turned out to be a false dawn. In the next decade the United Irishmen, additionally inspired by the French Revolution, arose to carry forward the struggle. When forced underground, the United Irishmen developed a catechism by which members could recognize one another. It went like this: “What have you got in your hand? – A green bough. – Where did it first grow? – In America. – Where did it bud? – In France. – Where are you going to plant it? – In the crown of Great Britain.” Wolfe Tone, after his capture and condemnation by the English, said (in his speech from the dock), “In the glorious race of patriotism, I have pursued the path chalked out by Washington in America.”
Thomas Addis Emmet was in the center of all this, and his younger brother Robert became the historic martyr to the cause, when he was hanged by the British in 1803. The United Irishmen had, it must be confessed, their own internal fights. “The Irish are a fair people,” as Dr. Johnson said, “they never speak well of one another.” Or, as George Mitchell once put it, “An Irishman will go a hundred miles out of his way to receive an insult.”
The feud between Thomas Addis Emmet and Arthur O’Connor came close to turning the United Irishmen into the Disunited Irishmen. William Drennan, who wrote the original United Irishmen prospectus, described Thomas Addis Emmet as “possessing more eloquence than energy, more caution than action.” But it is not at all clear that Emmet was wrong in doing his best to restrain the firebrands.
Emmet rightly understood that democracy is at bottom an educational process. The great need, he thought, was to instill democratic values in the citizenry in order, as he put it, to “make every man a politician.” In his study of the rebellion of 1798, The Year of Liberty, Thomas Pekenham concludes that Thomas Addis Emmet was “undoubtedly the most talented and level-headed of all the United Irishmen.”
After the collapse of the rebellion and the arrest of its leaders, Emmet and others were put in British jails. Discharged from imprisonment on the understanding that he would go into permanent exile, Emmet decided in 1804 to take his chances on the other side of the Atlantic. This had not been his first thought. Asked in 1798 where he would seek refuge, Emmet replied, “Decidedly not America.” But that was the America of the Federalists, the party that had just passed the Alien and Sedition Acts. These laws appeared to be aimed directly at people like Thomas Addis Emmet, well known as an alien with a fine reputation for sedition.
The election in 1800 of Thomas Jefferson as president portended a different United States. Thomas Addis’s mother wrote him, “Ever since Jefferson has been chosen, I have expected that in America you would reside.” Three days after Emmet disembarked in New York, he applied for naturalization papers. Qualified to practice both medicine and law, he decided on a legal career and rapidly rose to the top of the New York bar. A short eight years after his arrival, he was appointed Attorney General of the state of New York.
In private practice, Emmet argued important cases before the Supreme Court, notably against the great Daniel Webster in the famous 1824 case of Gibbons v. Ogden. Here Emmet did his eloquent best to preserve Robert Fulton’s state-chartered monopoly of steamboat traffic in New York waters, but lost to Daniel Webster’s – and Chief Justice John Marshall’s – expansive reading of the federal commerce power.
An admirer of Thomas Jefferson, Emmet was often engaged in party battles with the Federalists. His Federalist opponents comparing him to a snake, called him “Thomas Adder Emmet.” His first case in an American court was a defense of a fugitive slave, and he remained active in the anti-slavery cause. But he did not have an altogether immaculate liberal record.
When it came to wage slavery, he sided with the employers. In a case involving journeymen shoemakers organizing for higher wages, Emmet argued that they had no right to form a union. In a letter to a friend in Ireland, he complained of what he called “the most crying grievance of America, the badness of servants, of which, and the enormity of wages, you can scarcely form an idea.” His pamphlet of 1816, “Hints to Immigrants,” urged newcomers to behave properly and seek respectability.
Emmet was known for having the most “sarcastic humor” of the American bar. Justice Story called him “the favorite counselor of New York.” David A. Wilson, the historian of the United Irishmen in the United States, wrote that Thomas Addis Emmet “became the most respected Irish American of his generation.”
If the United Irishmen owed something to the United States, the United States owed a great deal to the United Irishmen. More than 2,000 United Irishmen settled in the United States. Emmet; the physician William James MacNeven; Edward Hudson, a pioneer in dental surgery; the lawyer William Sampson; the mathematician Robert Adrain; the horticulturist Bernard McMahon; the architect John Neilson; and the journalist John Daly Burk all left their mark on the infant republic.
The United Irishmen brought more than individual accomplishments. They brought a passionate commitment to a non-sectarian democratic republic based on personal freedom and social justice. They called for a broader political franchise, liberalized naturalization laws, freedom of worship, and reform of the legal system. They also brought political talents and skills that energized the embryonic American democracy. As David Wilson wrote, they “made Irishness synonymous with radical republicanism.”
A Federalist congressman from Pennsylvania observed, after traveling around the stale during the election of 1800, “I have seen many, very many Irishmen, and with a very few exceptions, they are United Irishmen, Free Masons, and the most God-provoking Democrats on this side of Hell.” United Irishmen helped lay the foundation for the election in 1828 of the first Irish president, Andrew Jackson, whose parents came from Carrickfergus in County Antrim.
(I would like to think that descendants of the United Irishmen, as the progeny of notorious rebels and revolutionaries, have remained faithful to the radical politics of their ancestors.)
It was two centuries from the defeat of the United Irishmen in 1798 to the achievement of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The accord – that promises at last to end years of insensate violence and prepare the way for an Ireland united, if not in sovereignty, at least in cooperation, religious tolerance and peace – is very much line with the principles of 1798. ♦
Thomas Addis Emmet died in 1827 and was buried in St Mark’s-in-the-Bowery Churchyard in the East Village, New York City. His grandson, Dr Thomas Addis Emmet, a prominent doctor and Irish American activist, had him reburied in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, the final resting place of many of Ireland’s patriots.
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., a historian and social critic, was a special assistant to President Kennedy. Married to Alexandra Emmett, he specialized in 20th century American liberalism and authored, among other works, A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House. This article originally appeared in the April / May 1999 issue of Irish America. He died in 2007. | <urn:uuid:63a12612-b0ab-4c5b-ad18-d2c574fce3f0> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://irishamerica.com/2016/02/the-united-irishmen-and-their-american-legacy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370510287.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20200403030659-20200403060659-00116.warc.gz | en | 0.974234 | 2,140 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Spinach is a quick-maturing, cool-season, hardy vegetable crop that is grown for both fresh markets (field packed in bunches or lightly processed in cellophane bags) and processing markets (frozen products). A fresh-market spinach crop can be grown in 30 to 50 days, while the same variety grown for freezer processing takes 70 to 120 days. In California, spinach is planted at distinct times in three production areas: (1) year round in the Salinas Valley and Central Coast; (2) fall and winter in the Central Valley; and (3) fall and winter in the Coachella and Imperial Valleys. Weed populations in spinach fields differ by geographic location and by planting season.
The spinach planting configuration and low tolerance for weed contamination make spinach susceptible to crop losses caused by weeds. In coastal California districts, spinach is frequently planted in dense stands of 16 to 24 seed lines per 80-inch bed. This dense planting arrangement makes cultivation of the bed top difficult if not impossible. Spinach grown in the Central Valley is often planted two seed lines per bed; a configuration that does permit cultivation. (Hand-weeding is commonly practiced, but it is very expensive. Growers are commonly faced with the choice of high hand-weeding expenses or rejection of the crop because produce buyers have a very low tolerance for spinach contaminated with weeds.)
Weed management in spinach is necessary throughout the season to achieve a sufficient marketable yield. Weeds that are present in and around fields at planting sometimes harbor insects, pathogens, nematodes, or vertebrates that can invade or spread to the spinach plants when they emerge. Early-season weed control is especially important in precision-planted crops like spinach because compared to other vegetable crops (sweet corn, tomatoes, and even some cole crops), spinach is a relatively poor competitor against weeds. Loss of spinach seedlings to weed competition can substantially reduce the vigor and uniformity of the overall stand.
Economically acceptable weed control can only be achieved with a weed management program that integrates several methods because no single weed control practice provides complete weed control in spinach. An integrated weed control program relies on both cultural and chemical management methods to keep weed populations at tolerable levels.
Herbicide options for spinach are extremely limited. Although seven herbicides are available for use, only four (cycloate, phenmedipham, clethodim, and sethoxydim) are selective and are used during the cropping season. None of these herbicides provide control of all weeds that infest spinach fields, so correct identification of weeds is important in selecting the best herbicide to use.
A typical weed control program includes the use of preplant fumigation with metam sodium or a preemergent herbicide. Postemergent herbicides such as phenmedipham (Spin-Aid) and sethoxydim (Poast) are only used in specific situations such as grass weed control or for broadleaf weeds in processing spinach or seed crops. Most spinach herbicides are applied to the bed top and the bandwidth of the herbicide spray varies depending on whether cultivation will be employed.
Poor or erratic weed control can occur with any herbicide used in spinach. Unsatisfactory herbicide performance may be the result of several factors, such as poor field selection, poor land preparation, faulty herbicide application, or the presence of resistant weeds. In addition, spinach herbicides are not 100% selective and can, under certain conditions, cause stunting, chlorosis, necrosis, or even death of spinach seedlings. Neither the fresh market nor the processing industry tolerates retardation of growth, discoloration, or deformity of spinach. It is therefore critical to use spinach herbicides carefully to avoid undesirable side effects from their use.
Selection of the best weed management program is governed by several factors:
- Geographic location, which determines planting date, weed spectrum, and irrigation/rainfall patterns;
- Date of planting, which determines weed spectrum and irrigation/rainfall;
- Weed species present (or anticipated to be present), which determines choice of weed control method and choice of herbicides;
- Availability and cost of hand-weeding, which determines if hand-weeding can be considered within the program;
- Planting configuration, which determines if cultivation can be considered in the program and if herbicides must be incorporated into the soil; and
- Irrigation method, which determines how the herbicide is incorporated, i.e., with overhead irrigation, or mechanically if overhead irrigation is unavailable.
Monitor spinach fields for weeds during the cool and warm seasons to determine the species of weeds that are present. Geographical and field differences in weed populations vary significantly and most herbicides are selectively effective on weeds, so it is important to know which weeds are present. Seeds can remain viable in the soil for many years and cause recurring problems in fields. The weed spectrum in a field reflects the effectiveness of weed control programs over several seasons. Therefore, monitor weeds in the previous crops to determine the weed spectrum in the field. Never allow weeds to set seed in a field intended for spinach production.
Weed Management Before Planting
Management of weeds in spinach requires a combination of control strategies. Cultural controls including sanitation and rotation, and mechanical controls including tillage, cultivation, and hand weeding along with herbicide use are considered the core of a weed management program.
Choose fields known to have low weed pressure and few problem weeds such as burning nettle, little mallow (cheeseweed), chickweed, London rocket, and shepherd's-purse. Selection of a field that has low weed pressure will make subsequent weed control operations more efficient and economical. Additionally, herbicide choices are very limited for spinach growers, which makes spinach more vulnerable to weed losses or high hand-weeding costs.
Also, when choosing fields, it is important to pay careful attention to plantback intervals because small amounts of selective herbicides used on the previous crop may remain (carryover) in the soil long enough to damage a subsequent spinach planting. Spinach is particularly sensitive to soil residues of benefin (Balan), chlorsulfuron (Glean), isoxaben (Gallery), pendimethalin (Prowl), and trifluralin (Treflan).
Weed control in previous crops in the field can dramatically affect weed pressure in subsequent crops. Keeping fields as weed-free as possible and preventing weeds from going to seed in previous crops helps to reduce weed pressure in subsequent spinach crops.
Clean all field equipment when moving from weedy fields to clean fields. Preventing the introduction of weed seeds into an otherwise uninfested field can greatly assist in the economical control of weeds.
Spinach should be grown in rotation with crops that have effective weed control programs. The importance of an effective crop rotation program is that the overall weed pressure is maintained at low levels. In coastal districts spinach rotates with lettuce, however if pronamide (Kerb) or bensulide (Prefar) are used in the lettuce crop, the field may not be cropped to spinach for 6 or 4 months, respectively. In the Central Valley, common rotation crops are processing tomatoes, beans (blackeyes, limas), and sweet corn. More herbicides are available to use in these crops than in spinach, but when rotating with spinach, always check the herbicide label for spinach plantback restrictions.
A well-prepared seedbed that is free of large clods permits precision planting with rapid and uniform emergence of spinach seedlings. Uniform depth of seeding is critical when using preplant-incorporated herbicides because if the spinach seeds are planted too deeply, the seedlings may be killed by the herbicide. Well-prepared seedbeds also permit proper and accurate incorporation of preplant-incorporated herbicides, leading to improved weed control and reduced phytotoxicity to the seedlings. In situations where cultivation can be used, uniform beds with level bed tops are essential.
Soil solarization can be used to control most weeds in spinach grown in California's interior valleys. It will also control or suppress some other important pests such as nematodes. Soil solarization requires a summer fallow season for treatment; it fits best with a fall-planted crop. The effectiveness of solarization is best in areas of the state where temperatures are consistently hot in summer; consequently, solarization may not be as reliable in the coastal production districts as in interior valleys, but most times effective weed control results.
When possible, preirrigate before seedbed preparation or preirrigate prepared seedbeds. Preirrigation followed by cultivation, flaming, or use of a nonselective herbicide such as glyphosate, kill an initial flush of weeds. If cultivating, do not work the soil too deeply (more than 2 inches) in order to avoid bringing up soil from greater depths that may contain ungerminated weed seed. For organic fields or for weedy fields, preirrigation can be repeated to deplete the weed population in the seed bed.
There are three major types of herbicides that are used for weed control before the crop is planted. The first group is fumigants that kill weed seeds and germinating seeds before planting. The second group is herbicides that kill weeds that have emerged after the beds were formed; these herbicides are referred to as preplant foliar herbicides. The third group, preplant incorporated, consists of herbicides that control weed seeds as they germinate. As the name implies, the preplant-incorporated herbicides must be incorporated into the soil soon after application to prevent volatization of the chemical and to move the herbicide into the root zone.
Metam sodium is available as a soil fumigant to control soilborne diseases and nematodes, but it can also be used to control weeds, although results are not always consistent. Be sure the soil is well cultivated and moist before its application. Wait at least 14 days before planting spinach and avoid moving untreated soil onto the bed top or seed row.
Preplant Foliar Herbicides
The postemergent herbicides, glyphosate (Roundup, Touchdown) and pelargonic acid (Scythe), are used to kill existing weeds on preformed beds before planting spinach. Pelargonic acid has contact action only, and therefore it is most effective on young seedlings. Glyphosate has systemic action and is effective on most established weeds. Three key weeds, little mallow, purslane, and burning nettle, are relatively tolerant to glyphosate and are not well controlled by it.
The herbicide cycloate (Ro-Neet) performs best when the soil is incorporated immediately after application. Follow label directions regarding depth and method of incorporation. Incompleteincorporation of cycloate (Ro-Neet) results in poor weed control because much of the herbicide is lost to volatilization. If beds have not been shaped properly, precise depth of incorporation may not be possible and herbicide performance may be erratic. Preplant incorporation does not work well in cloddy soil and herbicide performance will usually be poor under such conditions. Immediate incorporation to prevent volatility losses is especially important if the soil is moist.
Disc incorporation of cycloate (Ro-Neet) can provide adequate control of grass weeds but often results in only partial control of broadleaved species. Disc incorporation also runs the risk of mixing the herbicide too deeply in the soil, thus increasing the risk of crop injury.
Weed Management After Planting
A healthy, vigorous crop provides substantial competition that suppresses weed growth and acts as part of the weed control program. Therefore, proper fertilization, irrigation, and insect and disease control measures promote good crop growth and compliment other weed control measures.
Spinach stands that are uniform are better able to compete against weeds. Gaps in the stand provide space for weeds to become established before the spinach canopy grows and completely shades the soil.
No specific systems of biological control have been introduced for control of weeds in spinach. Some weed seeds in the soil may be attacked by insects, bacteria, and fungi, which help reduce the number of some weed seeds in the soil if new crops of weed seed do not replenish it. However, no consistent control methods have been developed with these organisms.
Cultivation is an effective method of weed control. Good bed preparation is essential to allow close cultivation of spinach. Repeated shallow cultivations dislodge small weed seedlings that emerge after each irrigation.
In bed-planting configurations that have two seed lines per bed, up to 80% of the bed can be cultivated early in the crop cycle. In bed-planting configurations that have more than 2 seed lines per bed, the percentage of the bed that can be cultivated is greatly reduced.
Adjust cultivators to disturb only a shallow layer (ideally not over 2 inches) of soil to minimize bringing weed seeds up from deeper layers. Timeliness in cultivation is essential. Seedlings are easier to kill than larger weeds.
Hand-weeding is an expensive component of the crop production budget. If a weeding crew is sent into a field immediately before harvest when weeds are mature, weed removal is typically slow and expensive. Ideally, good cultural practices and careful use of preemergent herbicides will result in minimal hand-weeding requirements.
After planting the crop, there are two periods in which herbicides may need to be applied, depending on the weed species present. Postplant preemergent treatments are applied after planting but before the first irrigation and the emergence of the crop; postemergent treatments are applied when the spinach is in the seedling stage or older.
Cycloate (Ro-Neet) and S-metolachlor (Dual Magnum) are applied to the soil surface after planting but before the crop has emerged. The best management practice is to follow the application immediately by sprinkler irrigation. Depending upon the soil texture, 0.5 to 0.75 inch of water is applied to activate the material.
Phenmedipham (Spin-Aid) can be applied in one application when the crop has four to six true leaves or as a split application when the spinach has two true leaves followed by a second application 4 to 6 days later. Temporary stunting, yellowing or tip burn may be observed after the treatment. Phenmedipham is only registered for use on spinach grown for processing or seed.
Sethoxydim (Poast) and clethodim (Select Max) are used for grass weed control and must be applied with a crop oil concentrate adjuvant when grasses are actively growing to obtain satisfactory activity. Clethodim effectively controls annual bluegrass. Make sure that the grasses are growing vigorously and are not stressed for moisture to ensure good control; low soil moisture reduces control substantially. Follow label restrictions in relation to spray volume. | <urn:uuid:9ea92d2e-5f4d-4493-96af-ae6d364b632c> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www2.ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/spinach/Integrated-Weed-Management/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370510287.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20200403030659-20200403060659-00114.warc.gz | en | 0.918849 | 3,090 | 3.390625 | 3 |
Stay Up-to-Date About Your Condition
Knowledge is power. The more you know and understand your AFib condition, the more peace of mind you will have to live your day to day life without the worry.
Speak with your doctor
Developing a great relationship with your doctor is important. The more information your doctor has about your condition, symptoms, and any health-related events, the more informed choices they can make in terms of your treatment. Always speak with your doctor about any concerns or questions you may have relayed to AFib.
Know your stroke risk
For individuals with AFib, there is an increased risk for heart failure and stroke. AFib patients have up to five times more risk of a stroke. Speaking with your doctor about your risks can help you to both take preventative action. Diet and lifestyle are two factors within your control that can have an influence, either good or bad, on your risks associated with AFib. Your doctor may decide to treat you with medications to reduce stroke risk or may decide certain treatment procedures are necessary.
Take prescribed medications
Always follow your doctor’s directions when given prescription medications. Medications for AFib help to regulate heart rate rhythm and control the heartbeat. Over time, as the heart’s electrical signals change due to AFib, your prescribed medications may need to be changed. Medications only work if you take them as prescribed to prevent AFib risks. Informing your doctor about your AFib symptoms and side effects from medications will help them to understand your condition better.
Adopt a Heart-Healthy Meal Plan
It’s important to be mindful of the food that we choose to consume and fuel our bodies. Eating in a way that supports your health can feel empowering and have an overflowing effect in other areas of your life. Heart health and nutrition go hand-in-hand. According to the American College of Cardiology, around 80 percent of heart disease and stroke can be prevented through lifestyle changes, education, and implementation.
If you are living with AFib, there are dietary choices within your reach that can help.
Limit saturated and trans fats
Saturated and trans fats are sticky and solid at room temperature; you can imagine the effect this may have on your blood vessel walls. Eating foods or additives with high amounts of these kinds of fats increases low-density lipoprotein (LDL) "bad" cholesterol, which is known to clog up arteries and increase the risk for coronary heart disease.
Saturated fats can be seen in the foods you may eat, like the fat on beef or chicken. Dairy products have high amounts of saturated fats as well. Some plant-based sources of saturated fat to avoid or limit intake are palm and coconut oil. But overall, plant-based sources of fat should be encouraged in the diet.
A recent study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition investigates dairy fat intake and its possible effects on stroke, heart disease, and cardiovascular disease risk. The results show that when dairy fat was replaced with plant-based sources of fat (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats), the risk of cardiovascular disease dropped by up to 24 percent.
Trans fats are the worst kind of fat for the heart and body. Small amounts of trans fats naturally occur in beef, veal, lamb, mutton, and dairy products. Artificial trans fats are created by adding hydrogen to liquid oil to make it solid, increasing shelf-life.
Food manufacturers do not have to list trans fats on the nutrition information label if there is under 0.5 g present. There are “code words” that can tell you if trans fats have been added. Always read the ingredient list and search for red-flag words. If the ingredient list includes the words hydrogenated oil, partially hydrogenated oil, or vegetable shortening, it means trans fats are present in the product.
Harvard Public Health has an interesting 15-minute podcast all about the risks and history of trans fats in the American food supply: ”It is estimated that eliminating trans fats will prevent a quarter of a million heart attacks and related deaths each year in the US.”
Tips for eating less saturated and trans fats:
- Always read the ingredient list! Avoid packaged products with the words “hydrogenated oils” or “partially hydrogenated vegetable oils” on the ingredient list — these are code words for trans fat.
- Eat less store-bought cakes, biscuits, pastries, and other bakery products.
- Limit takeaway foods such as pizza, fries, hamburgers, and other fried fast foods.
- Avoid these foods that are likely to contain trans fats: vegetable shortening, microwaveable popcorn, some margarines and vegetable oils, non-dairy coffee creamers, crackers, canned frosting, and potato chips.
- Trim all the fat you can see off of meat. Avoid processed deli meats and remove the skin from chicken.
- Swap meat and dairy for plant-based sources of protein such as legumes, tofu, tempeh, and nuts.
- Instead of microwave popcorn, buy kernels from the bulk section at your grocery store to make in a pot on your stove. This way, you can control the amount of oil you use, and there are no trans fats.
- Be mindful of butter; it is 50 percent saturated fat and 4 percent trans fat.
Eat mostly plants
Plant-based eating focuses on eating foods that derive primarily from plants such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, beans, nuts, seeds, certain oils, and whole grains. Vegetarian diets have been shown to reduce coronary heart disease risk, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Often people who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet get asked the question, "where do you get your protein from?" It's important to understand that a plant-based diet offers all the necessary protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, fats, and minerals that the body needs to function optimally.
A Japanese study followed a group of 71,000 middle-aged study participants for two decades. People who consumed the most amount of plant protein in the study were 13 percent less likely to die during the study duration and 16 percent less likely to die of cardiovascular disease. The results demonstrate that people who follow a plant-based diet are expected to live longer and healthier lives than those who consume more animal protein.
Tips to get started with a plant-based diet:
Change your approach to meat.
Rather than thinking of meat as the main course, use it as a small side dish that takes up a small portion of your plate. If you aren't ready or do not want to cut meat out entirely, have smaller amounts at mealtime and think of eating less meat.
Eat lots of vegetables.
Chop vegetables, such as carrots, cucumbers, and peppers, and keep them ready in your fridge. When you are craving a snack, reach for the vegetables and enjoy them with a hummus or guacamole dip.
Choose healthy fats.
Say no to saturated and trans fats. Say yes to plant sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats such as olives, avocados, walnuts, and other nuts and seeds.
Cook vegetarian meals often.
Small transitions make a big difference. If you are used to having meat at every dinner meal, try cooking vegetarian a few nights a week. Build your meal using whole grains, legumes and beans, and a variety of vegetables.
Make friends with greens.
Green leafy vegetables are one of the best things you can eat for optimal health. You can steam, stir-fry, or even bake them. Try and eat a large handful every day of kale, collards, swiss chard, spinach, or other greens. Replace your chip craving with surprising delicious and easy-to-make kale chips.
Eat a healthy breakfast.
A healthy breakfast does not include sugary cereals or a high-fat muffin. Start your day with oatmeal, quinoa, or barley. Eating a healthy breakfast is easier than you may think and doesn't have to take a ton of time. Try preparing overnight oats the night before, so you have breakfast ready to grab in the morning.
Avoid refined foods and added sugar
For heart protection, high-fiber foods are best. Soluble fiber foods such as whole grains and legumes are digested slowly, allowing extra cholesterol in the gut to be excreted with food after digestion, helping to reduce cholesterol levels. Plant-based soluble-fiber rich foods also have a low glycemic index, which means a slower rise in blood sugar and insulin levels. Refined carbohydrates, such as white-flour products, cause a rapid rise in blood sugar. A quick rise in blood sugar increases heart attack and diabetes risk.
Diets high in sugar have been associated with an increased risk of heart disease. Excess sugar in the diet can cause inflammation, high blood pressure, and high triglycerides, which are all risk factors for heart disease. Heart disease increases complications and risks associated with AFib, such as stroke and heart failure.
Added sugars should account for less than 10 percent of daily caloric intake. Sugar is often a hidden ingredient in drinks and sodas, processed, and sweet foods. When in doubt, choose water over sugary juices or pop. Do your best to minimize added sugar or avoid it completely. If you have a sugar craving, reach for a fruit snack such as peaches, apples, pears, or pineapple instead of packaged cookies.
Here is a sugar breakdown for you:
- For a 2,000 calorie per day diet, sugar should make up less than 200 of those calories
- 1 gram of sugar equals 4 calories
- 4 grams of sugar equals 1 teaspoon
- 1 soda per day averages around 40 grams of sugar. This is a total of 160 calories, which is already your daily intake of added sugars!
Minimize Alcohol, Caffeine, and Tobacco
Although alcohol is a depressant, it can have stimulative effects on the body. For someone with AFib, a few drinks while preparing dinner or socializing with friends can be dangerous. A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that moderate consumption of alcohol can trigger AFib symptoms, especially in people 55 years of age or older.
Foods and drinks such as coffee, tea, energy drinks, chocolate, and certain soda drinks (such as Mountain Dew and Coca Cola) contain varying amounts of caffeine. Because caffeine is a stimulant and can physiologically influence the heart rate, people with AFib should be mindful of their caffeine intake. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that caffeine is dangerous for people with AFib at very high doses. Therefore, smaller amounts of caffeine, such as one cup of coffee a day, are said to be tolerated okay by people with AFib. You should always consult your doctor about how much caffeine is safe to consume, as this may vary with each individual AFib case.
A study published in July 2018 in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology investigated the link between tobacco smoking and atrial fibrillation. The results show that the more a person smokes, the greater their risk of developing heart arrhythmia. Furthermore, for every ten cigarettes smoked per day, there is a 14 percent increase in AFib risk.
Exercise, Stress Management, and Social Support
Exercise is an important activity to improve cardiopulmonary and cardiovascular fitness. Exercise helps to maintain a healthy heart, improve lung capacity, and improve skeletal muscle fitness. Increased cardiopulmonary fitness reduces risk factors associated with heart diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol.
The American College of Sports Medicine has a free online pamphlet outlining how you can be active when you have atrial fibrillation. To get started, they recommend keeping it simple and beginning with light to medium effort, such as a walk to the mailbox. The pamphlet outlines aerobic, strength, and other types of activities you can do with AFib.
Managing stress and staying social go hand-in-hand and can offer relief from your AFib symptoms. Reach out to a friend to try a yoga class together at your nearest community gym. Activities such as restorative yoga, meditation classes, and tai chi can help manage stress levels and has positive health benefits.
Don’t let AFib define you as you continue to pursue new hobbies, activities, make new friends, and stay active in your community. Don't be afraid to ask for help or receive support. Ask a loved one or friend to attend your next medical appointment together as a support system. People in your life may not understand what you are going through. Try your best to anticipate your needs, and communicating them with the people in your life may give them a better understanding of how they can support you.
The content in this article is intended for informational purposes only. This website does not provide medical advice. In all circumstances, you should always seek the advice of your physician and/or other qualified health professionals(s) for drug, medical condition, or treatment advice. The content provided on this website is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. | <urn:uuid:be3667e4-8aeb-4e65-b879-85a82265412d> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.canadianpharmacyservice.com/atrial-fibrillation/lifestyle-tips-for-atrial-fibrillation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371660550.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20200406200320-20200406230820-00434.warc.gz | en | 0.942179 | 2,740 | 2.640625 | 3 |
The concept of crisis management has likely been around in some form or another for about as long as crises have existed, or at least as long as hindsight has been valued as a useful platform for public discourse. The best form of crisis management may be crisis prevention, but accidents happen, dangers hide in the shadows of future events, and natural disasters remain an unfortunate fact of life. And so, as technologies have advanced and society has grown in complexity, civic leaders have drawn on the expertise of engineers, medical professionals, emergency responders, psychologists, behavioral specialists, and community organizers to put together plans and protocols for dealing with all kinds of emergencies, from hurricanes and earthquakes, to mass shootings and terrorist attacks.
Traditionally, crisis management has largely been the domain of civil servants, government agencies, and the local authorities and first responders who stand on the front lines when trouble erupts. But, just as FEMA, the acronym for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has become something of a household name in the wake of the massive damage and suffering wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012, specialized master's degree programs in crisis management have begun to proliferate. Indeed, if one were looking for a silver lining in the dark clouds of hurricanes, just compare the prolonged chaos of Katrina to the relatively coordinated response to Sandy. And, if you're looking for a ray of hope in the grim specter of terrorism, witness the degree to which lessons from the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center were incorporated into the rapid, life-saving response to the Boston Marathon bombings a dozen years later.
At the same time, private companies and other large institutions have been compelled to think more proactively about contingency plans for crises and emergencies large and small. This has created a well-defined demand for people with the specialized training and skills that come with earning a master's degree in crisis management. In this guide, we'll look at how the field has evolved, the kinds of master's degrees and specializations that are available in crisis management, and the jobs and corresponding salaries available to graduates of these programs.
Where Crisis Management Professionals Work:
- 54% of crisis management directors work for local governments
- 17% work in health care and social assistance
- 12% work in state governmental agencies
- 4% work in professional, scientific, and technical services
- 3% work in state, local, and private educational services
BLS.gov 2012 Occupational Outlook Handbook
What is Crisis Management?
Crisis management is the epitome of a multi-disciplinary field. It involves mustering various resources and assets from disparate sources, using methodical planning and critical thinking skills, drawing on the behavioral analysis tools of psychology and sociology, integrating emergency response services, and balancing the needs of civil engineering with the challenges of governmental funding. If that seems a bit overwhelming, it's because crisis management is fundamentally about solving big problems and creating order out of chaos. Not surprisingly, crisis management is often handled by teams of individuals with different skill sets, and coordinating those teams is one of the job descriptions.
On the plus side, this means that, while a master's degree in crisis management is a good way to enter the field, there are many different starting point for individuals with a wide range of interests, from behavioral psychology and community social work, to health/medical services and emergency response, from communications and computer science, to civil engineering and urban planning. The BLS's Occupational Outlook Handbook offers a somewhat straightforward definition of the job: "Emergency management directors prepare plans and procedures for responding to natural disasters or other emergencies. They also lead the response during and after emergencies, often in coordination with fire and law enforcement officials, elected officials, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies." But, the Handbook's list of duties that fall under the auspices of emergency management director paint a more nuanced picture:
- Plan responses to emergencies and disasters in order to minimize risk to people and property.
- Meet with law enforcement officials, private companies, and the general public to get recommendations regarding emergency response plans.
- Organize emergency response training programs for staff, volunteers, and other first responders.
- Coordinate the use and sharing of resources and equipment within the community to assist in emergency response.
Those are just four of the eight broad areas covered by crisis and emergency management directors and coordinators. For example, crisis management can also involve designing and running training courses at schools, hospitals, and other public and private community institutions. And, in the heat of an actual emergency, crisis management takes on additional dimensions, as evacuations, rescue missions, triage centers, and shelters become necessary. In such situations, a crisis manager might be called on to find ways to deliver vital resources to those in need, or to hold press conferences and community meetings to keep the public calm and informed.
Master's in Crisis Management and Response Concepts
- Conflict management and negotiation skills
- Psychological concepts and principles in public safety
- Emergency preparedness
- Disaster relief
- Treatment of trauma
- Apply multicultural awareness to public safety efforts
- Counseling and psychotherapy theories
- Psychology of terrorism
- Intervention techniques
- Research design
- Interviewing and observational strategies
- Organizational and management crisis models
- Understanding of critical infrastructure protection and restoration
Who Gets a Master's in Crisis Management?
Positions in crisis management have traditionally gone to people already working in related areas of civil planning and administration, as a kind of mid-career pivot or job promotion. As such, the BLS's Occupational Outlook Handbook reports that, "Emergency management directors typically need a bachelor's degree, as well as multiple years of work experience in emergency response, disaster planning, or public administration." It goes on to lists degrees in public administration, fire science, and emergency management, along with work experience in law enforcement, fire safety, and other emergency management fields (for example, EMTs and hospital emergency room staff would fit that description), as good preparation for a career in crisis management. But, as crisis management has grown into a more active and pressing concern, degree programs in crisis management have proliferated, and earning a master's in crisis management has become a more common way to enter the field.
The American Job Center Network's latest survey data of emergency management directors indicates that 15 percent have master's degrees. But that percentage is expected to rise as the demand for well-trained crisis managers continues to increase, and the number of respected programs offering master's degrees grows. The primary entrance requirement for a master's degree in crisis management is a bachelor's degree, and that could be in a broad range of disciplines, from psychology, sociology, and communications, to business administration, education, or engineering. Indeed, temperament, organizational abilities, and creative critical thinking skills are probably the most important underlying qualifications for a career in crisis management, and summer internships, volunteer positions, or work-study opportunities in the area of public safety and emergency services may be the best gauge of whether a master's in crisis management will be a good fit.
Master's in Crisis Management Coursework
Because the master's degree in crisis management is a relatively new creation, there isn't much standardization in terms of how these programs are devised. FEMA and the non-governmental, non-partisan, non-profit National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) have created some guidelines for the types of skills and training that professionals working in the field should possess. And, this is reflected in the course offerings of various programs, although the programs themselves have different names and may be situated as areas of concentration or specialization within a larger discipline. For example, you can find emergency management as a specialization at a larger master's of science program in management, while another school might offer an executive master's, or EM, in emergency and disaster management that is targeted at mid-career professionals. The MS in executive crisis and emergency management (ECEM) is becoming a popular option, as are an array of online MS degrees in emergency and crisis management. The key is to judge each program on its own merits in order to accurately gauge whether or not it's a comfortable fit.
Typical Areas of Study and Coursework for a Master's Degree in Crisis Management:
- Information Technology in Crisis and Emergency Management
- Health and Medical Issues in Emergency Management
- Environmental Hazard Management
- Management of Mass Terrorism Preparedness and Response
- Trauma Treatment and Disaster Relief Strategies
- The Psychology of Terror and Terrorism
- Physical and Mental Health Trauma and Crisis Management
- Planning, Protocols, and Strategies for Disaster Relief
- Risk Assessment and Crisis Management Modeling
- Infrastructure Protection and Restoration
Career Options and Salary Outlook in Crisis Management
The theoretical demand for skilled, professional emergency management specialists who posses the training that comes with a master's degree in crisis management has arguably never been higher. And, public awareness of the vital role that crisis management specialists play in disaster prevention and relief is also at a peak. However, the fiscal and political realities on the ground at the federal, state, and local level have made funding growth in the sector a thorny issue, and presently the BLS is only projecting a growth rate of about 8 percent for emergency management directors up through 2022.
BLS.gov's Occupational Outlook Handbook job Growth Projections through 2022
|Emergency Management Directors||8% growth|
|EMTs and Paramedics||23% growth|
|Police and Detectives||5% growth|
|Civil Engineers||20% growth|
|Medical and Health Service Managers||23% growth|
Government agencies remain by far the largest employer of crisis management professionals today, but large companies and institutions like schools and hospitals are increasingly looking to staff emergency management teams. And there are a growing number of private consulting firms that specialize in creating and administering crisis, emergency, and disaster relief programs for businesses internationally. So, crisis management holds the promise of being a steadily growing field. The BLS estimated that there were just under 10,000 jobs in emergency management in 2012, including positions at hospitals, universities, and nonprofit institutions. But, while the job market remains tight, the mean annual salary for emergency management directors was $64,360 as of May 2014, with the highest ten percentile earning an estimated $116,900.
BLS.gov's Occupational Employment Statistics Average Annual Salaries May, 2014
|Occupation||Median Annual Salary|
|Emergency Management Directors||$69,810|
|EMTs and Paramedics||$35,110|
|Police and Detectives||$59,560|
|Medical and Health Service Managers||$103,680|
- ONet Online, Summary Report for Emergency Management Directors, accessed June 26, 2015, http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9161.00?redir=13-1061.00
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Emergency Management Directors, accessed June 26, 2015, http://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/emergency-management-directors.htm#tab-1
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics, Emergency Management Directors, accessed June 26, 2015, http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes119161.htm
- "What is NEMA?", National Emergency Management Association, accessed June 27, 2015, http://www.nemaweb.org/index.php/about/what-is-nema
- "Emergency Management Programs," Federal Emergency Management Agency, accessed June 27, 2015, https://www.training.fema.gov/hiedu/collegelist/emmasterlevel/ | <urn:uuid:a9418a08-7657-46bf-a935-f541579c74da> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.allpsychologycareers.com/psychology-degree/masters-crisis-management-response.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370510287.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20200403030659-20200403060659-00115.warc.gz | en | 0.93558 | 2,402 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Cat's Cradle is a science fiction novel by American writer Kurt Vonnegut, first published in 1963. His fourth novel explores issues of science and religion, satirizing the arms race and many other targets along the way. After turning down his original thesis in 1947, the University of Chicago awarded Vonnegut his master's degree in anthropology in 1971 for Cat's Cradle; the title of the book derives from the string game "cat's cradle". Early in the book, the character Felix Hoenikker was playing cat's cradle when the bomb was dropped, the game is referred to by his son, Newton Hoenikker. At the opening of the book, the narrator, an everyman named John, describes a time when he was planning to write a book about what important Americans did on the day Hiroshima was bombed. While researching this topic, John becomes involved with the children of the late Felix Hoenikker—Frank and Angela Hoenikker. John travels to New York, to interview the Hoenikker children and others for his book. In Ilium John meets, among others, Dr. Asa Breed, the supervisor "on paper" of Felix Hoenikker.
As the novel progresses, John learns of a substance called ice-nine, created by Hoenikker and now secretly in the possession of his children. Ice-nine is an alternative structure of water, solid at room temperature; when a crystal of ice-nine contacts liquid water, it becomes a seed crystal that makes the molecules of liquid water arrange themselves into the solid form, ice-nine. Felix Hoenikker's reason to create this substance was to aid in the military's plight of wading through mud and swamp areas while fighting; that is, if ice-nine could reduce the wetness of the areas to a solid form, soldiers could maneuver across without becoming entrapped or slowed. John and the Hoenikker children end up on the fictional Caribbean island of San Lorenzo, one of the poorest countries on Earth, where the people speak a comprehensible creole of English, it is ruled by a dictator, "Papa" Monzano, who threatens all opposition with impalement on a large hook above a gallows. San Lorenzo has an unusual culture and history, which John learns about while studying a guidebook lent to him by the newly appointed US ambassador to the country.
He learns about an influential religious movement in San Lorenzo called Bokononism, a strange faith that combines irreverent and cynical observations about life and God's will with odd but peaceful rituals. Though everyone on the island seems to know much about Bokononism and its founder, the present government calls itself Christian and practising Bokononism is punishable by death on "the hook." As the story progresses, it becomes clear that San Lorenzo society is more bizarre and cryptic than revealed. In observing the interconnected lives of some of the island's most influential residents, John learns that Bokonon himself, along with a US Marine deserter, were at one point de facto rulers of the island; the two men created Bokononism as part of a utopian project to control the population. The ban was an attempt to give the religion a sense of forbidden glamour, helps draw people's attention away from the economic problems of the country, it is found that all of the residents of San Lorenzo, including the dictator, practise the faith, executions are rare.
When John and the other travelers arrive on the island, they are greeted by "Papa" Monzano, his beautiful adopted daughter Mona, around five thousand San Lorenzans. It becomes clear that "Papa" Monzano is ill, he intends to name Franklin Hoenikker his successor. Franklin, who finds it hard to talk to people, is uncomfortable with this arrangement and abruptly hands the presidency to John, who grudgingly accepts. Franklin suggests that John should marry Mona; the dictator uses ice-nine to commit suicide rather than succumb to his inoperable cancer. The dictator's corpse turns into solid ice at room temperature; this is followed by the freezing of Dr. Schlichter von Koenigswald, "Papa" Monzano's doctor and a former S. S. Auschwitz physician, who accidentally ingests ice-nine while performing an examination of Monzano's corpse. John and the Hoenikkers plan to gather the bodies of both Monzano and his physician in order to ritually burn them, thereby eliminating the traces of ice-nine, they begin systematically cleansing the room with various heating methods, taking great care not to leave any trace of ice-nine behind.
It is here. The Hoenikkers explain that when they were young their father would riddle them with the concept of ice-nine. One day, they find their father has died while taking a break from freezing and unfreezing ice-nine to test its properties. Frank Hoenikker collects residual amounts of ice-nine from a cooking pan. A dog licks the cloth and freezes. Seeing this, they deduce the properties of ice-nine, they collectively cannot determine who had what part in gathering the ice-nine, but chunks of the substance were chipped from the cooking pan and placed in mason jars later in thermos flasks. As part of John's inauguration festivities San Lorenzo's small air force is giving an air show.
Evelyn Lord Smithson was a noted twentieth-century scholar of classics and Classical archaeology and an expert on Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Greece. Evelyn Lord Smithson was educated at the University of Washington and at Bryn Mawr College where she took her Master's degree and her doctorate in Classical archaeology and ancient Greek in 1956, she was a student at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens from 1948 to 1950. She is known for her work on Iron Age burials in the area of the ancient Agora of Athens and for excavating the grave of the so-called "Rich Athenian Lady". Smithson held a number of professional appointments during her life; these included a posting at the Institute for Advanced Study, the University at Buffalo - SUNY, the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. 1961. "The Protogeometric Cemetery at Nea Ionia, 1949." Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 147–178. 1968. "The Tomb of a Rich Athenian Lady, CA. 850 B.
C." Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at AthensVol. 37, No. 1, pp. 77–116. 1974. "A Geometric Cemetery on the Areopagus: 1897, 1932, 1947." Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens Vol. 43, No. 3, pp. 325–390. John K. Papadopoulos and Evelyn Lord Smithson. 2002. "The Cultural Biography of a Cycladic Geometric Amphora: Islanders in Athens and the Prehistory of Metics." Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens Vol. 71, No. 2, pp. 149–199. John K. Papadopoulos and Evelyn Lord Smithson. 2017. The Early Iron Age: The Cemeteries; the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. "Evelyn Smithson, 68, Archeologist of Athens" The New York Times March 13, 1992 John K. Papadopoulos. "Evelyn Lord Smithson, 1923-1992." American Journal of Archaeology Vol. 98, No. 3, pp. 563–564
Arthur Nattle Grigg was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Grigg was born in 1896 to farmer John Charles Nattle Grigg and Alice Montgomerie Hutton, making him a grandson of prominent Canterbury runholder John Grigg, he was to become a farmer upon completing his education. During World War I Grigg served in the Royal Field Artillery from 1916 to 1919. After returning home he married Mary Cracroft Wilson in 1920, with whom he had two sons and a daughter. Grigg represented the electorate of Mid-Canterbury in Parliament from the 1938 election, when he defeated Horace Herring, he was a Major in the NZEF in World War II, was killed on 29 November 1941 when Brigadier Hargest’s headquarters in Libya was overrun. He was posthumously awarded the Military Cross. Prime Minister Peter Fraser described Grigg as "a young member of ability and promise", his widow Mary Grigg succeeded him in the Mid-Canterbury electorate and became the first woman National MP, but retired when she remarried. The First 50 Years: A History of the New Zealand National Party by Barry Gustafson ISBN 0-474-00177-6
The Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine lies a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean, on Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades, California. It was founded and dedicated by Paramahansa Yogananda, on August 20, 1950 and is owned by the Self-Realization Fellowship; the 10-acre site has lush gardens, a large spring-fed lake framed by natural hillsides, a variety of flora and fauna, ducks, koi and lotus flowers. The property is a natural amphitheater. Thousands of visitors come each year; the visitor center provides information about Lake Shrine. There are waterfalls, flower beds, white swans across the lake, lacy fern grottos, lily ponds, a Dutch windmill, used as a chapel; the Court of Religions, honoring five principal religions of the world, displays the symbols of these religions: a cross for Christianity, a Star of David for Judaism, a Wheel of Law for Buddhism, a crescent moon and star for Islam, the Om symbol for Hinduism. Yogananda believed in an underlying harmony of all faiths. Along with a few statues of Krishna and other Hindu deities, there is a life-size statue of Jesus Christ, above the waterfall, as well as Francis of Assisi and the Madonna and Child.
The golden lotus archway, a towering, white arch trimmed with blue tile, topped with gold lotus blossoms, is visible from all parts of the grounds. The archway frames the Mahatma Gandhi World Peace Memorial, an outdoor shrine where an authentic 1,000-year-old Chinese stone sarcophagus holds a portion of the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi; the gardens are filled with little brick paths and short stairways which lead from the main trail to hidden alcoves where meditation or sitting and taking in the view is possible. The gift shop features arts and crafts from India, adjacent to a museum focusing on Paramahansa Yogananda, the founder of Lake Shrine. There is a Dutch windmill converted into a chapel, a houseboat, a bookstore and a temple overlooking the lake; the site of the present day Lake Shrine was once part of a 460-acre parcel of land in the Santa Ynez Canyon, called Bison Ranch. It was purchased by the silent film producer and director Thomas H. Ince in 1912 to serve as his studio and was subsequently named Inceville.
After Ince founded his new Triangle/Ince Studios in Culver City in 1915, the site was taken over by director William S. Hart and renamed Hartville; the land was purchased by Los Angeles real-estate magnate Alphonso Bell, Sr. In 1927, the surrounding hillsides were hydraulically graded to fill the canyon with the intention to level it for future development; the earth-moving project was never completed, which left a large basin in the portion of canyon that filled with water from the numerous springs within the vicinity. The water body became known as Lake Santa Ynez; the lake was owned by the superintendent of construction for 20th Century Fox during the 1940s when it was again used as a film set, where a two-story Mississippi houseboat was imported and a replica of a Dutch windmill was constructed. The property was subsequently sold to an oil executive who had the intention of developing the lake into a resort until he purportedly began to have a recurring dream where the site was converted into a "Church of All Religions".
When he looked up this name in the telephone directory, he came into contact with Paramahansa Yogananda who accepted the property and hence constructed a temple, meditation garden, the Mahatma Gandhi peace memorial. The Lake Shrine is home for the picturesque Mahatma Gandhi World Peace Memorial, the "wall-less temple" erected in honor of Mahatma Gandhi, architect of India's freedom through nonviolent means; the focal point of the memorial is a thousand-year-old stone sarcophagus from China, in which a portion of Gandhi's ashes are encased in a brass and silver coffer. The sarcophagus is flanked by two statues of Guanyin; the ashes had been sent to Yogananda by an old friend, Dr. V. M. Nawle, a publisher and journalist from Pune, India. Following the dedication of the memorial, Dr. Nawle wrote: Regarding Gandhi ashes, I may say that they are scattered and thrown in all the important rivers and seas, nothing is given outside India except the remains which I have sent to you after a great ordeal...
You are the only one in the whole world. For some, enshrining Gandhi's ashes at Lake Shrine is controversial since the Hindu cremation ritual ends with immersion of the ashes in water. One report states. Another report states that the descendants of Mahatma Gandhi do not want to have the ashes removed because it would entail breaking the shrines; the previous owners, the McElroys, built an authentic reproduction of a 16th-century Dutch windmill. Though the mill was never put to use, its sails are capable of turning in the wind. Came a boat dock and landing, whose peaked roof, carved figure-heads, benches added yet another charming touch to the unusual setting. Yogananda converted services were held. Due to the erosion caused by the elements and the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the chapel was closed to the public in 2013. Cost overruns delayed the completion of the Windmill Chapel for another year; the reopening of the chapel took place on July 27, 2015. Two waterfalls feed into the Lake Shrine, one that falls 25 feet, another series-waterfall, that falls 10 feet.
Yogananda encouraged swans to live on the Lake Shrine. Their large nests can be seen in this locale. Anandamoy said in the recordi
Alavi Institute is an Islamic high school in Tehran, Iran. In 1955, against the backdrop of despair and pessimism of the Great Depression in Iran, Ali Asghar Karbaschian who known as Allameh founded the Alavi Institute as an Islamic high school in Tehran, the capital of Iran. In 1957 new students entered classes on an old house, bought for about $15000 and remodeled; the school was accredited by the Ministry of Education, beside academic subjects, taught Islamic matters. Alavi institution is a branch of National Organization of Exceptional Talents and has gained a strong reputation for its bright students. Mr. Allameh was a scholar in the city of Qom, he said that "There is no important job in more than conduct and help human beings to be better and worship God" He left preaching activities and came to Tehran and established the institute in the name of Imam Ali, the first Imam of the Shi'as. The big milestone after establishing the high school was hiring Ostad Reza Rouzbeh, a researcher and teacher, as a Director of the school.
Ostad Rouzbeh died in 1973 and after. Alavi High school is difficult to gain admission to. About 70-80% of the 9th grade class are students that completed education in Alavi's primary and middle schools; the school's admissions process includes an examination and an interview. The entrance examination includes Mathematics, Persian Literature and History, as well as Shia Islamic fundamentals; the competition is fierce, out of the hundreds that take the exam about one hundred are invited back for interviews. The interviews examine the student's social and religious core, as well as the parents'. What is looked for is an upper-class or educated middle-class family with strong religious convictions. 70-80 students are selected for the 9th grade to form that year's class. The 9th grade class continues to 12th grade and the students are mixed and re-grouped every year. Several students from Alavi high school have been awarded medals at international math and science olympiads such as IMO, IPHO, ICHO, IBO.
Alavi High School teaches its students three majors which are Math and Physics, Natural Sciences, Humanities. Mohammad Javad Zarif Mohammad Nahavandian Abdol Karim Soroush Hossein Karbaschin, son of Allameh, is the principal of the school as of 2007. Firouz Bahram High School Alborz High School Razi High School Allameh Karbaschian
Oak Valley Township is a township in Otter Tail County, United States. The population was 362 at the 2000 census. Oak Valley Township was organized in 1877, named for the valley of Oak Creek. According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 35.7 square miles, all of it land. At the 2000 census, there were 136 households and 101 families residing in the township; the population density was 10.1 per square mile. There were 156 housing units at an average density of 4.4/sq mi. The racial makeup of the township was 98.90% White, 0.55% Native American, 0.55% from two or more races. There were 136 households of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.2% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 25.7% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.09.
27.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.3 males. The median household income was $23,500 and the median family income was $25,455. Males had a median income of $23,750 and females $15,750; the per capita income was $10,439. About 19.1% of families and 22.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.8% of those under age 18 and 18.6% of those age 65 or over | <urn:uuid:7135d894-2e67-4400-841d-a93d74255eda> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://wikivisually.com/wiki/Cat%27s_Cradle | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370508367.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20200402204908-20200402234908-00235.warc.gz | en | 0.967025 | 3,981 | 2.71875 | 3 |
The Gourami Species - Characteristics
This page is devoted to Gouramis, describes their demands and habits. There's a forum under the article where you can ask or share experiences.
Introduction to Gouramis
A very common freshwater fish is the gourami which is diversely represented in the aquarium industry under the belontiidae, osphronemidae and helostomidae families. These fish come from waters through out Asia and Africa including oxygen poor roadside ditches and rice paddies. They all fall under the category of labyrinth fish because of their ability to breathe oxygen from the atmosphere above the water. There are many types of gouramis bred for the aquatic hobby and they range in a wide variety of sizes, colours, and temperament. Despite all the different variations, most gouramis are quite adaptable to different water conditions of temperature, hardness, and pH level. Optimum water conditions are wide ranged from soft to hard, 72 - 82°F (~ 22 - 28°C) and a pH range of 5.5-7.5. One very prominent trait that most gouramis possess is their long, skinny pelvic fins. They are used like antennas on bugs or like whiskers on a cat. The purpose of this feature is to feel their way through the water especially muddy, murky water for food and other objects. Most gouramis prefer to swim in the middle to top waters of the aquarium and will live peacefully with bottom dwelling fish. These fish are usually considered non-aggressive in most retail stores but they would be more accurately described as semi-aggressive especially males towards other males. Although, if gouramis are provided with enough swimming and hiding space, these individuals are capable of coexisting in the same aquarium. The giant gourami requires more space than the others for obvious reasons, because it is “giant” as far as gouramis are concerned and its potential size can be as much as 28 inches (71.12 cm) at maturity.
Gouramis are labyrinth fish named for their organs comprised of maze shaped tissue located above their gills that allow them to breathe oxygen from the air above water. At the water’s surface, the gourami will gulp in air which will then pass into the labyrinth organs. These respiratory organs contain blood vessels through which atmospheric oxygen can be absorbed from its gas form. Despite their air-breathing abilities, gouramis can still absorb oxygen from the water they live in. In fact, these anabantids need oxygen from both the atmosphere and the water to survive. The thing that sets them apart from other fish is that they have the ability to live in bodies of water that have a depleted oxygen supply. Among gouramis, there are also bettas, paradise fish and climbing perch that fall under the labyrinth fish category as well. The ability to breathe air not only allows these fish to live in waters with poor oxygen supply, it also allows them to survive out of water for a period of time as long as their skin and gills remain moist. The climbing perch has the uncanny ability to use this skill to travel short distances across land.
It is very hard to sex most species of these fish when they are young. Once they are older it is easier to tell males apart from females by looking at their dorsal fin. A male’s dorsal fin will be longer and pointier. In some species, the male will also have other distinguishing characteristics such as longer, flowing anal fins and more vibrant colouring.
Most gouramis are bubble nest builders when it comes to breeding. Some exceptions are the kissing gourami who is an open-water spawner and the chocolate gourami who is a mouth-brooder. With bubble nest builders, the male will breathe air from the surface and dispense it through his gills. The mucus in his gills will trap the air as bubbles which then float to the surface. As he forms these bubbles he will gather them together and form a nest up against plants using plant matter to hold it together. This is usually done in a calm area without too much current so that the delicate nest is not disturbed. In the midst of building his nest the male will take time to display himself for the female. He spreads his fins to make himself appear larger and he’ll show off for her by wiggling his body back and forth. By the time he is done building the nest the female is usually ready to spawn. If the female is not ready to spawn when the male is done with his nest he will attack her. If this happens you will want to remove the female or the male may kill her. When the male and female are both ready to mate the male will wrap his flexible body around the female in a tight embrace. When they are done mating the female will lay her eggs. Most gourami eggs are buoyant so they float to the top. The male gathers the eggs and tucks them up into the bubble nest and proceeds to build up the nest some more. As for those whose eggs aren’t buoyant the male takes the job of catching them as they fall and then placing them up into the bubble layer. The female will lay as much as 1000 eggs depending on the quality of her health and her size. Once the eggs are all safely placed in the nest, the female is no longer needed and the male chases her away. The care of the off-spring is left to the male from this point on.
Raising the Young
After two days, the eggs will hatch and the fry may start to fall out of the nest. The father will catch any who fall and replace them back into the bubbles. After 5 days the fry become free-swimming. This is the point at which the father is no longer interested in caring for the young and he is likely to eat them if he finds them. You’ll want to be sure to quickly remove the male at this point. In order to feed gourami fry, you’ll want to use liquid fry food for the first week, after which you’ll be able to feed them newly hatched brine shrimp and microworms. Fry powders can also be fed to the fry but keep in mind a well balanced diet also includes live foods. Feeding small amounts two to three times daily can be more beneficial than larger once a day feedings because the fry are so small. Subsequently, because of their size you’ll want to be extremely cautious of what sort of filter you use. They are so small that even the slightest current might suck them up or kill them.
|Common name||Family||Species||Mature Size||Colouration and Markings||Brief Description|
|Blue or Three spotted Gourami||Belontiidae||Trichogaster trichopterus||4 inches (10.16 cm)||Light silvery blue in colour with two spots on each side. Its third spot is its eye, thus the name.||The aquarium strains grow slightly larger and are slightly more aggressive than the wild version of this species.|
|Giant Gourami||Osphronemidae||Osphronemus goramy||28 inches (71.12 cm)||Dark grey and silver stripes when they are young while adults have contrasting grey scales with dark and light spots on the head.||The giant gourami is ideal for use as a food fish because of its ease of keeping and also the quick rate at which it matures.|
|Pearl Gourami||Belontiidae||Trichogaster leeri||4 inches||Silvery gold body with lots of white, pearlescent spots and a black, uneven line from nose to tail. Males have bright orange under chin, chest and anal fin.||This gourami does not reach sexual maturity until it reaches full adult maturity.|
|Golden Gourami||Belontiidae||Trichogaster trichopterus sumatranus||4.5 inches (10.16 cm)||Golden coloured body with bright yellow fins and a silvery belly.||This species is aquarium bred and not found in the wild.|
|Kissing Gourami||Heolstomatidae||Holostoma temmincki||8 inches (20.32 cm)||The colour of this aquarium bred version is a slivery-pink while the wild caught variation is silvery-green.||This gourami does not have filaments for pelvic fins. It has pelvic fins normal to most other fish. The mouth on mouth behaviour that gives this species the “kissing” name is not necessarily a display of affection. This action can also represent a trial of strength.|
|Dwarf Gourami||Belontiidae||Colisa lalia||2 inches (5.08 cm)||Powder blue body with bright reddish-orange vertical stripes. The under side of this fish can be turquoise if healthy.||Females are noticeably less coloured than the males of this species.|
|Chocolate Gourami||Belontiidae||Sphaerichhys osphromenoides||3.5 inches (8.89 cm)||Chocolate brown body with a 90° cream coloured band starting at the top of the head to the eye and extending out to the pointed tip of a mouth. Additional cream coloured bands located across the body.||This species is an exception to the bubble nest breeders. Instead they are mouth-brooders who are very demanding of water conditions and do not do well with other species.|
Citations and resources
- Dorling Kindersley Handbooks: Aquarium Fish by Dick Mills
- Aquarium Fish by Ulrich Schliewen
- The Ultimate Aquarium by Mary Bailey and Gina Sandford
- The Encyclopedia of Aquarium Fish by Dick Mills | <urn:uuid:065f2726-2b54-4adf-818c-57b6a16e06aa> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://en.aqua-fish.net/articles/types-gouramis-aquarium-care | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370494349.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20200329140021-20200329170021-00155.warc.gz | en | 0.946572 | 2,065 | 3.40625 | 3 |
Reading about climate change is really confusing. It’s confusing for me, and I’ve been reading up on it, studying it and now working professionally on combating it, for years. God forbid what it must be like for a newcomer. I get really frustrated with how impenetrable and jargon-filled a lot of the content is.
On this blog I try to avoid jargon when a simple everyday term will do, and explain it straight away when a special term is the only accurate one to use. But what about all the other blogs and books that don’t shy away from the insider lingo?
Don’t worry – I’ve got you covered. I’m making a climate change jargon buster, just for you.
On this page, I’ll list climate change terms and explain them briefly in simple everyday language, while also linking to resources where you can learn more.
We’ll start at ground zero with terms like climate change, greenhouse gas emissions and carbon, and work up to the more complex stuff like carbon cap and trade markets and payments for ecosystem services.
Quick note: This resource is a work in progress! This is just the tip of the (rapidly melting) iceberg. I wanted to publish it now so I have something up for climate newbies to refer to (or even for those in the know to share with newbies) as waiting till it’s “finished” would take forever. I’ll be adding to this constantly, so save this page and check back.
Now, let’s dive in!
Climate change jargon buster
The long-term average weather conditions in a certain place over time.
You can talk about the climate of a country or region, or a whole planet. The climate system is affected by things like the temperature of the sun, the tilt of the Earth’s axis, how much light the Earth reflects into space, the currents of the ocean and the level of greenhhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Example: The UK has a mild and often soggy climate.
A substantial gradual shift, or change, in the climate.
Usually used to mean shift in the global climate, but technically could refer to a regional or local climate. When sceptics and deniers say the climate has always changed, they’re actually correct. However natural climate change takes a very very long time, and humans simply didn’t exist when the Earth’s climate was much different to its current state. When people say climate change, they usually mean human-caused global climate change.
Example: Burning fossil fuels causes climate change.
The gradual increase in global average temperature.
The word average is key here. It does not mean everywhere all over the globe will get hotter every day. It does not mean nowhere will be cold anymore, or that winter won’t happen. The planet is huge and there is a very wide range of temperatures, from the freezing Arctic to the baking deserts to the mundane mildness of England. But the average global temperature has increased about 1.1 degrees celsius since the Industrial Revolution. Climate change is broader and refers to not just global warming but the associated impacts like extreme weather, changes to the seasons, melting glaciers and ice caps, ocean acidification and sea level rise. (Don’t worry we’ll get to all of them). But for decades the two terms have been used more or less interchangeably, though with different connotations.
Example: We need to keep global warming to below two degrees.
This is a straightforward one: coal, oil and gas.
These three fuels are called fossil fuels because they’re made of fossilised ancient organic matter – stuff like sticks and shells – which has decayed and then been exposed to heat and intense pressure in the Earth’s crust for hundreds of millions of years. They contain a lot of energy and carbon, which is released when burnt. The discovery of fossil fuels powered the Industrial Revolution. While they’re technically being created all the time, they’re finite in human terms because the process takes many millions of years.
Example: Fossil fuels were hot in the twentieth century but now we need to move on.
A chemical element on the periodic table with the symbol C, which is the basic building block of life on Earth.
All plants and animals are partly made of it and the carbon cycle is vital to life on Earth. It’s one of the most common elements in the human body, the Earth and the universe, which originally comes from the burning hearts of stars. (Poetic AF but it’s true). Although carbon is natural and necessary to life, when discussing climate change it has a negative meaning because it’s shorthand for the excessive amounts of carbon dioxide which we’re putting into the atmosphere which is messing up the natural carbon cycle and causing climate change.
Example: Coal, diamonds and my pet tortoise are all made of carbon.
Carbon dioxide / CO2
A gas made of a carbon atom combined with two oxygen atoms, aka CO2.
Like carbon there’s nothing innately bad about carbon dioxide. It’s totally natural and in fact vital for all life, as plants require it and animals require plants. And without a certain amount of it in the air, the planet would be a freezing snowball. We need just the right amount, and too much is bad. The problem is humans are massively increasing the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is causing climate change. This is because carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas which is very effective at trapping heat, and it stays in the atmosphere for a very long time.
Example: Plants use carbon dioxide for photosynthesis
Carbon dioxide equivalent / CO2e
A metric to describe how much climate change a bundle of gas emissions would cause.
Carbon dioxide is not the only greenhouse gas, but it is the most common one. The different gases stay in the atmosphere for different lengths of time and absorb different amounts of heat. These two differences make up the ‘global warming potential’ of the gas – how much warming they would cause over say 100 years. For simplicity, when people are talking about greenhouse gas emissions, rather than listing a bit of this and a bit of that and all the stats to go with each, they often convert them into the amount of carbon dioxide that would have the same impact: the carbon dioxide equivalent.
Example: In 2009 the UK’s emissions were 566 million tonnes of CO2e.
A group of gases that, due to their chemistry, trap heat and warm up the Earth’s climate via the greenhouse effect.
The most common one is carbon dioxide (CO2) and others include methane (CH4), Nitrous oxide (N2O), Ozone (O3), and even water vapour (H2O) – though that is totally fine on its own: it’s increasing the levels of the others that’s the problem.
You might also come across the funky sounding Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and Hydrofluorocarbons (incl. HCFCs and HFCs).
Greenhouse gas emissions
Releasing any of these greenhouse gases into the air is known as greenhouse gas emissions, sometimes shortened to GHG emissions.
The most obvious source of GHG emissions is the billowing smoke coming from factories and power plants. Other sources include car exhausts, landfill sites, forest fires and industrial animal farming, via the flatulence of cows.
Example: We need to ultimately reduce net greenhouse gas emissions to zero to address climate change.
The process where greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap some of the sun’s heat and stop it radiating back out to space, making the planet warmer than it would be otherwise. Like an insulating blanket around the planet.
Like carbon, remember that the greenhouse effect is not bad. It’s natural and actually necessary for life on Earth. Without it, the planet would be freezing. And it’s not controversial: the greenhouse effect has been understood for a long time and is based on very basic physics.
It was in a perfect balance. But all the extra greenhouse gases we’ve been putting into the air since the Industrial Revolution has thrown it out of whack and caused it to go into overdrive, overheating the planet.
Also known as the Paris Accord or just the Paris climate deal, it is the first globally binding agreement on tackling climate change. It was signed in December 2015 in Paris. All the world’s countries have signed it, but Trump says he intends to pull the USA out.
Kicking off in 2020, the Paris Agreement is based around each country submitting a national action plan for addressing climate change, which have to be made progressively more ambitious. We’re supposed to get to zero net emissions in the second half of the century and the overarching aim is to keep global warming to well below 2 degrees, and to make efforts to keep it to 1.5 degrees.
Example: We need national governments, cities and businesses to work together to achieve the Paris Agreement.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, shortened to IPCC, is the world’s leading authority on climate science. It’s role is to provide an objective and rigorous factual basis to inform climate politics and action.
It was set up in 1988 by The UN Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organisation, in order to assess the scientific research on climate change, it’s risks and impacts, possible ways of reducing it (known as mitigation) and adaption to it. Thousands of scientists from all over the world contribute to the IPCC on a voluntary basis. The IPCC does not conduct any on-the-ground research itself, but assesses huge volumes of recent published scientific papers in order to produce their reports.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, aka the UNFCCC, is the part of the UN that deals with climate change. They are the ones that organise the annual climate summits and the Paris Agreement.
The UNFCCC came into force in 1994, sparked by the influential 1992 Rio Earth Summit that also spawned other environmental global Conventions on biodiversity and desertification. Now, 197 nations are committed to the UNFCCC. These countries are called Parties to the Convention – which is where the annual UN climate summits get their odd ‘COP23′, COP24’ etc names from. Those stand for the 23rd Conference of the Parties and 24th Conference of the Parties respectively. So clear, right?
Learn more: The UNFCCC’s website.
A prefix for something that emits only a small amount of carbon emissions, or less than the alternative.
For example low-carbon transport could include public transit and hybrid cars, and low-carbon energy includes renewables of course and gas and nuclear are often labelled as low-carbon too. (Gas is a fossil fuel and emits carbon, but much less than oil and dramatically less than coal. Nuclear doesn’t emit carbon but has other serious environmental problems of its own).
Zero carbon / net zero carbon
Like low-carbon, but better. A prefix for something that doesn’t emit carbon emissions at all. For example walking and cycling aren’t just low-carbon transport, they’re zero-carbon.
Net zero carbon means that some carbon is emitted, but only an equal amount to what is absorbed, so the net effect is carbon neutral. A good example is burning wood for energy: it emits carbon, but only the same amount as the trees previously absorbed when they were alive.
Most of the time when people talk about zero carbon, they really mean net zero carbon.
Example: The Paris Agreement says the global economy needs to be net zero carbon in the second half of this century.
Learn more: Zero Carbon Britain: Making it Happen (report from Centre for Alternative Technology).
Climate mitigation / adaptation
There are two types of climate action: mitigation and adaptation. They aren’t mutually exclusive though, one action can be both.
All action taken to prevent, reduce, slow down, stop or reverse climate change is climate mitigation. This is mostly through cutting emissions, for example renewable energy, electric vehicles, energy efficiency. And tree planing and carbon storage (more on that later) also count.
Mitigation is key, but climate change is already having impacts, and some level of future impact is already ‘locked in’ by the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere (as they take many years to finish having their effect). All action to prepare for these impacts and make them more bearable is climate adaptation. For example flood defences and drought-resistant crops.
Two degrees / 2C
Two degrees Celsius has long been the de facto speed limit for climate change, the cutoff point for the ‘safe level’ after which truly disastrous effects are expected. The Paris Agreement has the goal of staying well below 2C, and pursue efforts to keep to 1.5C. We’ve already reached 1.1C, by the way.
There’s lots of interesting debate around the two degrees limit and how feasible it is, and how safe it actually is (hence the mention of the more ambitious 1.5C target).
Suggest a jargon term to be busted! Did I miss something you need to know about? Let me know on Twitter or email and I’ll add it in. I’ve got a bunch more terms I’m already planning to add, but if you suggest it I’ll bump it up the priority list.
Please share this post with anyone who’s new to the topic and wants an easy introduction to these confusing terms. | <urn:uuid:cc81b3f1-2313-4a1c-bcc0-22366888be9d> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://theclimatelemon.com/ultimate-climate-change-jargon-buster/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370496669.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20200330054217-20200330084217-00354.warc.gz | en | 0.934143 | 2,873 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Air pollution is reducing global life expectancy by three years and killing 8.8million people a year - MORE than malaria, HIV, war and smoking, scientists find
- Scientists led by Germany fear the world is facing an air pollution 'pandemic'
- They analysed deaths attributable to breathing toxic air in every country
- Life expectancy has been cut by four years in East Asia, and two years in Europe
- Two-thirds of premature deaths are attributable to human-made emissions
- Air pollution predominantly killed by affecting the heart and blood vessels
Air pollution is reducing global life expectancy by three years, killing 8.8million people a year, a study shows.
More people are dying early from breathing toxic air than some of the largest killers, including malaria, HIV, war and smoking.
Scientists led by Germany fear the world is facing an air pollution 'pandemic' after analysing deaths in every country.
Life expectancy has been cut short in East Asia, including countries such as Japan and India, by almost four years, and 2.2 years in Europe.
Long-term exposure to air pollutants was found to predominantly kill by affecting the heart and blood vessels which supply the brain.
Around two-thirds of deaths are deemed avoidable because they were attributable to human-made pollution, such as from fossil fuels.
Pictured, how many people die of air pollution per year in the world: Total 8.8million, East Asia, 3.1million; South Asia, 2.8million; Africa, one million; Europe, 800,000; West Asia, 500,000; North America, 400,000; South America, 200,000; Australia, 10,000.
The international team of authors, led by Professor Jos Lelieveld of Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, examined the relationship between air pollution exposure and people's 'loss of life expectancy'.
Computer models were able to calculate that life expectancy across the world has been reduced by 2.9 years, or two years and ten months.
By comparison, tobacco smoking shortens life expectancy by an average of 2.2 years, and HIV/Aids by 0.7 years.
Diseases like malaria that are carried by parasites or insects such as mosquitoes shortens lives by 0.6 years, and all forms of violence - including deaths in wars - by 0.3 years.
Using new modelling techniques, the authors estimated that globally, air pollution caused an extra 8.8million premature deaths in 2015.
Tobacco kills some 7.2million people a year, HIV/AIDS one million, malaria 600,000 and violence 530,000.
Air pollution had a greater effect on shortening lives in older people - globally, about 75 per cent of deaths attributed to air pollution occur in people aged over 60 years.
Writing in their new paper, published in the journal Cardiovascular Research, the authors said that ambient air pollution is one of the 'main global health risks'.
WHERE HAS LIFE EXPECTANCY BEEN REDUCED THE MOST?
East Asia: 3.9 years
South Asia: 3.27
1. Chad, Africa: 7.28
2. Sierra Leone, Africa: 5.88
3. Central African Republic: 5.38
4. Turkmenistan, West Asia: 4.9
5. Niger, Africa: 4.75
6. Sudan and South Sudan, Africa: 4.6
7. Côte d'Ivoire, Africa: 4.64
8. Nigeria, Africa: 4.59
9. Guinea-Bissau, Africa: 4.56
10. Somalia, Africa: 4.56
WHERE HAS LIFE EXPECTANCY BEEN REDUCED THE LEAST?
Australia: 0.79 years
South America: 0.98
North America: 1.41
1. Colombia, South America: 0.37
2. Samoa, Australia: 0.43
3. Ecuador, South America: 0.4
4. Solomon Islands, Australia: 0.52
5. Brunei, South Asia: 0.57
6. Iceland, Europe: 0.65
7. Panama, South America: 0.6
8. Costa Rica, South America: 0.67
9. Honduras, South America: 0.67
10. Paraguay, South America: 0.67
Professor Lelieveld said: 'It is remarkable that both the number of deaths and the loss in life expectancy from air pollution rival the effect of tobacco smoking and are much higher than other causes of death.
'Air pollution exceeds malaria as a global cause of premature death by a factor of 19; it exceeds violence by a factor of 16, HIV/Aids by a factor of nine, alcohol by a factor of 45, and drug abuse by a factor of 60.'
Co-author Professor Thomas Münzel said: 'Since the impact of air pollution on public health overall is much larger than expected, and is a worldwide phenomenon, we believe our results show there is an "air pollution pandemic".
'In this paper we distinguished between avoidable, human-made air pollution and pollution from natural sources such as desert dust and wildfire emissions, which cannot be avoided.
'We show that about two-thirds of premature deaths are attributable to human-made air pollution, mainly from fossil fuel use; this goes up to 80 per cent in high-income countries. Five and a half million deaths worldwide a year are potentially avoidable.'
The researchers suggested that without human-made emissions, global life expectancies would increase by nearly two years.
Without fossil fuels alone, life expectancy would increase by one year.
However, there are large differences between regions due to the diversity in emissions.
Despite Africa being one of the worst affected by air pollution, losing three years of life expectancy, only 0.7 years lost could be prevented.
This is because Africa has mostly pollution from dust. By comparison, East Asia could prevent three of the average of four years of lost life expectancy lost by removing its main source of pollution - human-made emissions.
In Europe, there is an average of 2.2 years of lost life expectancy, 1.7 of which could be prevented. In North America there is an average of 1.4 years of lost life expectancy, of which 1.1 could be prevented, mostly by phasing out fossil fuels.
Commenting on the findings, Dr Samuel Cai, a senior epidemiologist at University of Oxford, said: 'This study once again shows that air pollution is a leading risk factor for health worldwide. It is not a secret that air pollution is the "new tobacco".
'I do not feel there is any overspeculation in the findings of this study as they are supported by the good science. It sounds like the word "pandemic" qualifies.'
The research looked at the effect of air pollution on six categories of disease.
They found that cardiovascular diseases - including of the heart and blood vessels to the brain - are responsible for the greatest proportion of shortened lives from air pollution, at 43 per cent of the loss in life expectancy worldwide.
Professor Lelieveld said it is important for air pollution to be added to 'risk factors' for heart and blood vessel disease along with smoking, diabetes and high blood pressure and cholesterol, in official guidelines.
He said: 'Air pollution causes damage to the blood vessels through increased oxidative stress, which then leads to increases in blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, heart attacks and heart failure.'
Jacob West, executive director of healthcare innovation at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said: 'This study presents further evidence that air pollution is a public health emergency that can worsen or shorten lives.
'Up to 11,000 deaths due to a heart attack or stroke are associated with toxic air each year in the UK. Current legal limits do not go far enough to drive the improvements we need to the quality of our air.'
Professor Kevin McConway, emeritus professor of applied statistics, The Open University, said the findings were 'statistically sound'.
However, he added: 'I don’t think we can be confident that ambient air pollution kills more people than tobacco smoking. There is too much uncertainty about the exact numbers.
'The comparison between air pollution and tobacco certainly doesn’t mean that it’s just as bad for you to go out into a street with high air pollution as it is to smoke some cigarettes.'
|Landmass||Total mortality 2015||Population 2015|
|N-Am. United States of America||283228||321774039|
|W-As. Russian Federation||186086||143457026|
|S-As. Viet Nam||87519||93447999|
|Af. Sudan + S-Sudan||63860||52574999|
|Eu. United Kingdom||63665||64715994|
|E-As. South Korea||58905||50293001|
|E-As. North Korea||49182||25154998|
|Af. Congo, Dem. Rep.||46546||77267003|
|Af. South Africa||40627||54489999|
|Af. Cte d'Ivoire||25297||22702002|
|W-As. Saudi Arabia||21720||31539999|
|S-As. Sri Lanka||18337||20715001|
|Eu. Serbia and Montenegro||15887||9477000|
|Af. Burkina Faso||15110||18105999|
|Af. Sierra Leone||8969||6453000|
|Af. Central African Republic||6532||4900000|
|Af. Libyan Arab Jamahiriya||6200||6278000|
|Eu. Bosnia and Herzegovina||5349||3810000|
|S-Am. Dominican Republic||4765||10528000|
|W-As. United Arab Emirates||3633||9157001|
|S-Am. El Salvador||3080||6127000|
|Au. New Zealand||2122||4529000|
|S-As. Papua New Guinea||1633||7619001|
|S-Am. Costa Rica||1502||4808000|
|S-Am. Trinidad and Tobago||1249||1360000|
|Af. Equatorial Guinea||699||845000|
|Af. Cape Verde||505||521000|
|S-Am. Saint Lucia||129||185000|
|Au. Solomon Islands||100||584000|
|S-Am. Saint Vincent and Grenad||90||109000|
|Af. Sao Tome and Principe||80||190000|
|S-Am. Antigua and Barbuda||60||92000| | <urn:uuid:aeca6dab-b75e-4b93-836f-4983fb5ad3aa> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-8066193/Air-pollution-reducing-global-life-expectancy-three-years-scientists-find.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370491857.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20200328104722-20200328134722-00196.warc.gz | en | 0.723998 | 2,295 | 2.703125 | 3 |
The Airbus A300 is a jet airliner which was made by Airbus. Airbus Industries launched the plane in 1972, and it was the first plane with two engines to have more than one row of seats (the first twin-engined wide-body aircraft). The A300 can hold 266 passengers in two classes. It can fly for a maximum of 4,070 nautical miles (7,540 km) when it is full, but this depends on the type of A300.
|Libyan Arab Airlines A300B4-600R taking-off from Malta International Airport in 2002|
|Role||Wide-body jet airliner|
|First flight||28 October 1972|
|Introduction||30 May 1974 with Air France|
|Status||Out of production, in service|
|Primary users||FedEx Express|
European Air Transport
|Developed into||Airbus A330|
Air France was the first airline to get an A300. Air France began to use its A300s on 30 May 1974. Airbus stopped making A300s in July 2007. When Airbus stopped making A300s, it also stopped making A310s. The freighter version of the A300 has been replaced by the A330-200F.
In 1966, Frank Kolk, a member of American Airlines, asked for a plane to replace the Boeing 727. He wanted a plane which could hold 250 to 300 passengers, with two engines. American plane makers made planes with three engines, like the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, because the FAA had banned planes with two engines from flying on certain routes.
In September 1967, the British, French, and German governments agreed to begin designing the Airbus A300, which would have 300 seats.
After this agreement, both the French and British governments were worried about the plane. The plane needed a new type of engine from Rolls-Royce, the RB207. In December 1968, the French and British companies (Sud Aviation and Hawker Siddeley) thought of a different design: the Airbus A250, which would have 250 seats. This design had its name changed to the A300B, and it did not need a new type of engine, which saved money. To get more U.S. airlines to buy the plane, American General Electric CF6-50 engines were used for the A300 instead of Rolls-Royce engines. The British government was upset and decided to stop supporting the A300. However, Hawker-Siddeley did not leave, and designed the wings for the A300.
In 1972, the A300 flew for the first time. The first type of A300 to be made, the A300B2, began to be used by airlines in 1974. The A300B4 began to be used one year later. At first, Airbus Industrie did not sell many planes. However, by 1979, 81 aircraft were being used. It was the A320 which made Airbus the very big company that it is today.
Parts of the A300 were made by many different companies from all over Europe. These were taken to Toulouse-Blagnac by some Aero Spacelines Super Guppy aircraft so that the parts could all be put together to make the plane. This method turned out to be much better than simply building the aircraft in one place. (Source?)
Some of the technology used for the Airbus A300 was taken from Concorde. When it began being used in 1974, the A300 was an advanced plane. Some advanced features were:
- Advanced wings by de Havilland
- Some parts made from metal billets, which saved weight
- Wind shear protection
- Autopilots which could fly the plane all the way from takeoff to landing.
A300s made later have other features, like:
The A300 did not sell very well at first. Most of the orders were from airlines of countries which made up Airbus Industrie, like Air France and Lufthansa.
In 1974, Korean Air ordered 4 A300s. This made it the first airline outside of Europe to order an Airbus Industrie plane. Airbus Industrie thought that South-East-Asia was a good place to sell planes. It also thought that Korean Air was the 'key' to selling planes in that area.
Airlines which used the A300 to fly on short flights needed to have fewer flights so that the aircraft could be filled, so these airlines lost customers to other airlines which used smaller aircraft and had flights more often. Eventually, Airbus had to make the A320 to rival the Boeing 737 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9/MD-80.
In 1977, Eastern Air Lines leased four A300s. Frank Borman, who was the CEO of Eastern, was happy that the A300 used much less fuel than the planes the airline already had. He ordered 23 A300s. After this, Pan Am also ordered some A300s. From then on, many A300s were sold, and 878 planes were given to airlines.
Different types of Airbus A300Edit
The first version to be made for airlines. It had General Electric CF6 or Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines. Air France was the first airline to use it, in May 1974.
The version which was made the most. The first A300B4 made its first flight on 25 December 1974. Germanair got the first one on 23 May 1975.
This type's official name is the A300B4-600. It has more powerful CF6-80 or Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines, and it has the Honeywell 331-250 auxiliary power unit (APU). The A300-600 began being used in 1983 by Saudi Arabian Airlines The A300-600 also has a different cockpit (similar to the A310), so the flight engineer was not needed for this type.
This type is shorter and does not need a flight engineer. It can also be used as a military plane. It is currently being used by the Canadian Forces and German Air Force. 260 of these planes were sold, but five of these were never made.
As of 2010, the A300 has had 54 accidents. There have been 26 hull-losses. 1,434 people have died on A300s. A hull-loss accident is an accident where the plane is completely destroyed, or if it is damaged so much that it cannot be fixed.
Aircraft which still exist todayEdit
Only two A300s still exist today. There are:
- Korean Air Airbus A300B4, in the Korean Air Cheju Museum.
- Continental Air Lines Airbus A300B4, in South Korea. It is being used as a restaurant.
- Mahan Air Airbus A300B4, A300B2 and A300-600 in operation.
- Iran Air Airbus A300-600R, A300B4 and A300B2 currently in operation.
|Length||53.62 metres (175.9 ft)||54.08 metres (177.4 ft)|
|Wingspan||44.84 metres (147.1 ft)||44.85 metres (147.1 ft) (with wing fences)|
|Height||16.62 metres (54.5 ft)|
|Width||5.28 metres (17.3 ft)|
|Cruising speed||mach 0.78 (833 km/h, 518 mph, 450 knots at 35,000 ft)|
|Maximum speed||mach 0.86 ||mach 0.82 (876 km/h, 544 mph, 473 knots at 35,000 ft)|
|Engines||CF6-50C2 or JT9D-59A||CF6-80C2 or PW4158|
|A300B2-1A||1974||General Electric CF6-50A|
|A300B2-1C||1975||General Electric CF6-50C|
|A300B2K-3C||1976||General Electric CF6-50CR|
|A300B4-2C||1976||General Electric CF6-50C|
|A300B4-103||1979||General Electric CF6-50C2|
|A300B4-120||1979||Pratt & Whitney JT9D-59A|
|A300B2-203||1980||General Electric CF6-50C2|
|A300B4-203||1981||General Electric CF6-50C2|
|A300B4-220||1981||Pratt & Whitney JT9D-59A|
|A300B4-601||1988||General Electric CF6-80C2A1|
|A300B4-603||1988||General Electric CF6-80C2A3|
|A300B4-620||1983||Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4H1|
|A300B4-622||2003||Pratt & Whitney PW4158|
|A300B4-605R||1988||General Electric CF6-80C2A5|
|A300B4-622R||1991||Pratt & Whitney PW4158|
|A300F4-605R||1994||General Electric CF6-80C2A5 or 2A5F|
|A300F4-622R||2000||Pratt & Whitney PW4158|
|A300C4-605R||2002||General Electric CF6-80C2A5|
Data until the end of December 2007.
- Aircraft related to this one
- Similar aircraft
- "Airbus - Historical Orders and Deliveries". Airbus S.A.S. January 2008. Archived from the original (Microsoft Excel) on 2008-12-21. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- "Airbus A300 Production List". planespotters.net. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- "Airbus aims to fill freighter void with A330 derivative". Flight International. 14 March 2006.
- "Aero Engines 1968: "Flight" special review". FLIGHT International. 93 (3069): 19–30. 4 January 1968.
- Champagne... and drought, The story of Airbus from its inception to today.
- "A300/A310 Final Assembly to be completed by July 2007". Airbus. 7 March 2006.
- "The last A300 makes its maiden flight". Airbus. 18 April 2007.
- "Honeywell 331-250 APU". Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- "Airbus A300". Aviation Safety Network. 3 July 2010. Archived from the original on 17 July 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
- "A300 TYPE CERTIFICATE DATA SHEET No. A35EU" (PDF). FAA. 2010-05-28.
- Aircraft Technical Data & Specifications Airliners.net
- Civil Aviation: Airliners
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