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The experiment contains a plot of the Curren Power of Motors B and C and the values of the Gyro Sensor when the robot is moving with a power of 100%. What you could see is that it is not actually moving with a power of 100% because the current power is about 75-80%.
How to open?
Programs with extension *.ev3 could be opened EV3 Lab Software sometimes referred to as EV3-G. It could be found throught the EV3 Lab Software section on the LEGO Website.Download
- 10 Jan 2018
- LEGO MINDSTORMS, LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3
- EV3-G, Experiment, EV3, Physics, Classes with students, Programming
The robot can move with different speed by applying different power to the motors. It will most of the time make smaller deviations when it moves slower. But you can't just move with a power of 10 all the time. This is a way too slow especially for competitions like FIRST LEGO League or World Robot Olympiad. In this video tutorial I would like to discuss the balance between motor power and robot movement error, how does the battery influence the power of the robot and to conduct an EV3-G experiment that will record the values of the Gyro Sensor along with the current power. | <urn:uuid:ec10b25e-7dad-4940-ad97-cfb3b44f7f0d> | {
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What are the benefits of the MMR vaccine?
The MMR vaccine protects your child against three viruses: measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles).
You can also protect your child against chicken pox with the MMRV vaccine. The MMRV is the same as the MMR, except that it also includes protection against the varicella virus, which causes chicken pox. Some parents get the first dose of the MMR vaccine for their child, and choose the MMRV vaccine for the second dose.
(The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) doesn't recommend the MMRV for the first dose because of an increased risk of fever and febrile seizures.)
Before a measles vaccine was licensed in 1963, 3 to 4 million people were infected with measles in the United States annually. About 48,000 people were hospitalized, and 400 to 500 died. Measles encephalitis chronically disabled 1,000 people.
There were more than 1,280 cases of measles reported by the CDC in 2019, the highest number in the U.S. in almost 30 years. Although measles had been virtually wiped out in the United States, outbreaks have increased over the past few years, mainly due to travelers bringing the illness into the country (usually from Europe or Asia) and large numbers of people in some communities choosing not to vaccinate their kids. These outbreaks can affect unvaccinated people, including infants who either haven't yet received the MMR vaccine or have received only one dose, and people with weakened immune systems.
Most of the measles cases in 2019 were concentrated in New York and were among people not vaccinated against measles. Prominent outbreaks have also occurred in New York state and New Jersey in 2018, in Minnesota in 2017, and at Disneyland in California in 2015.
Measles outbreaks are still common in other countries, including Europe. According to the World Health Organization, measles is one of the leading causes of vaccine-preventable deaths in young children. But thanks to the global effort to vaccinate children against measles, the number of measles deaths around the world dropped by about 73 percent between 2000 and 2018. Even so, more than 140,000 people died from the disease in 2018.
Mumps is a viral infection that typically causes a fever, headache, and inflammation of the glands under the ears or jaw.
Mumps can lead to meningitis, encephalitis, and (rarely) deafness. It can also cause painful swelling of the testicles or ovaries.
Twenty to 50 percent of males infected with mumps after puberty develop orchitis, an inflammation of one or both testicles. In rare cases, orchitis leads to sterility.
Before a vaccine was available, mumps was common in babies, children, and young adults. The current vaccine was licensed in 1967. By 2009, the two-dose childhood vaccine reduced the rate of the disease by 99 percent.
But since then, there have been a number of outbreaks. The biggest and most recent spike occurred between January 2016 and June 2017, when 150 outbreaks reportedly infected more than 9,000 people in homes, schools, universities, athletic facilities, church groups, workplaces, and at large parties and events. Almost 3,500 mumps cases were reported to the CDC in 2019.
Rubella, also called German measles, is characterized by a pinkish red rash that starts on the face, a mild fever, and swollen lymph nodes. It's possible, however, to have rubella without any symptoms.
Rubella is a mild illness that runs its course in about three days. But if a woman gets rubella during pregnancy, it can cause a miscarriage or birth defects in her baby, including deafness, eye problems, heart defects, and intellectual disability. During an epidemic in 1964 through 1965, 12.5 million cases of rubella were reported in the United States, and 20,000 infants were born blind, deaf, or mentally disabled as a result.
The first rubella vaccines were licensed in 1969. Today rubella has been virtually eliminated in the United States, with only a handful of cases reported each year.
What's the recommended schedule?
Recommended number of doses
- Between 12 and 15 months
- Between 4 and 6 years old (The second dose can be given at any time as long as it's at least 28 days after the first.)
Babies 6 to 11 months old should get one dose if traveling outside the United States.
Adults who were vaccinated before 1968 and can't confirm they received the live measles vaccine should get revaccinated. The inactivated vaccine given from 1963 to 1967 was less effective than the live vaccine. People born before 1957, however, don't need to get a vaccine unless they're a healthcare worker.
Women of childbearing age who have not received the rubella vaccine also should get vaccinated. If you're pregnant and not immune to rubella, you should get vaccinated after delivering your baby.
To track your child's immunizations, use BabyCenter's Immunization Scheduler.
Who shouldn’t get the MMR vaccine?
A child who has ever had a life-threatening allergic reaction to gelatin (yes, the stuff found in Jell-O), the antibiotic neomycin, or a previous dose of the MMR vaccine should not get the immunization.
Check with your doctor about giving the MMR vaccine to your child if he:
- Is taking steroids or any other medicine that affects the immune system
- Has a disease that affects his immune system, like HIV/AIDS or leukemia
- Has cancer
- Has a blood disorder or has recently received a blood transfusion
Because the measles and mumps vaccines are made by growing the virus in the cells of chicken embryos, children with egg allergies used to be advised not to get the vaccine. However, studies have found that even children with severe egg allergies can receive this vaccine without a greater risk of side effects.
Kids who are moderately or severely ill are usually advised to wait until they're better to get the vaccine.
Who shouldn’t get the MMRV vaccine?
The CDC recommends that children ages 12 to 47 months or any child with a history of seizures get the MMR and varicella vaccines separately because studies show an increased risk of fever and febrile seizures when they're combined. Talk to your child's doctor about getting the MMR vaccine instead of the MMRV vaccine if your child has ever had a seizure or if there's a family history of seizures.
What are the possible side effects?
Mild reactions are fairly common. Up to 1 in 6 children gets a low fever, and 1 in 20 develops a mild rash. In rare cases, a child has swelling in the glands of his neck or cheeks.
If these problems are going to happen, they usually show up six to 14 days after getting the shot. A child is more likely to have these symptoms after the first dose.
Moderate reactions are less common. About 1 child in 3,000 who gets the MMR vaccine has a seizure caused by high fever. With the MMRV vaccine, as many as 1 in 1,250 has a seizure.
Though these febrile seizures may seem scary, they're almost always harmless to the child.
Up to 1 person in 30,000 will have a temporarily low platelet count, which may cause bleeding problems.
Severe allergic reactions are rare but possible with any vaccine. See what our expert says about how to tell whether your child is having an adverse reaction.
If your child has an adverse reaction to this or any other vaccine, talk to your child's doctor and report it to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.
Is there a link between the MMR vaccine and autism?
In 1998, the British medical journal The Lancet published a study connecting the MMR vaccine and autism. Researchers noticed that eight of the 12 children with autism being studied had started showing symptoms of the condition around the time they received their MMR shots, and the researchers hypothesized that the children were having a physical reaction to the vaccine.
It turned out to be a coincidence, and the study has now been repudiated by most of the researchers associated with it and retracted by The Lancet. An editorial published in the British Medical Journal in 2011 called The Lancet study "fraudulent" and noted that the lead author had been stripped of his academic and medical credentials.
Read on for more information about separating fact from fiction when it comes to vaccines, and about other vaccines and immunizations recommended for babies and children. | <urn:uuid:78a11220-d192-477e-8005-a7eb7603e115> | {
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What’s life like for a young carer?
Many young Irish people already have a full-time job
A young carer is someone under the age of 18 who is responsible for the needs of an adult who is ill, who has a disability or who is dependent on drugs or alcohol. As a carer, you may have to do a lot of household chores that the adult in your life would normally do, such as cooking, cleaning and grocery shopping.
You may need to help out with medical care, such as changing dressings or giving out medication each day. You may also need to take charge of looking after your siblings. Finally, you may need to provide emotional support to the person you are caring for.
Being a young carer can be very tough. You may feel scared that the person you look after isn’t able to care for you, and you may resent the fact that you have to do so much. You may also have trouble keeping up with your homework or studying for your exams. Finally, you may feel very alone and like you can’t be a ‘normal’ young person. Some young people can also develop health problems from being a carer, such as back pain from lifting the person they care for or stomach problems and insomnia from the stress of caring.
What can you do to help yourself?
- Sort out the practicalities, such as money. If you are a full time carer, you may be entitled to welfare payments such as Carer’s Benefit, Carer’s Allowance or Carer’s Leave. Find out more detailed information on these benefits.
- Enlist the help of others if you can. Yes you are a carer; but you shouldn’t have to spend 24/7 caring. See if you can enlist the help of close friends or relatives to give you a break now and then. Often though, the person you are caring for does not need 24/7 care anyhow, so you can allow yourself a bit of a break.
- Spend time outside the home. Play sports, keep up with hobbies and meet friends. Spending all your time caring will drain you and you may end up physically or mentally ill yourself.
- Look after your health. Exercise, eat well and try to get good sleep. You may even be able to exercise with the person you are caring for. For example, walking is a low impact form of exercise that is beneficial for people suffering with both physical and mental ill health.
- Plan daily treats for yourself. Even something as simple as watching a favourite boxset, Skyping a friend or taking an aromatherapy bath can be beneficial. As tough as it is, try to choose healthy outlets for treating yourself rather than turning to alcohol, drugs or junk food. If you feel these are becoming a problem for you, then visit our help section.
- Take advantage of respite care if this is available to you. Respite care involves someone else caring for the person you normally look after, for anything from a few hours to a few weeks. This care can be done in your home or can be done in the form of a holiday break away from the home for the person you care for. Contact the Carers Association at FREEFONE 1800 240724 to be referred to their caring service. Your GP or social worker can also refer you.
What practical help is out there?
The Carers Association has a network of 16 resource centres across the country. You can drop into any of these for advice on financial entitlements, support groups and your rights as a carer. Visit their website or phone 1800 240724. The Carers Association also hold an annual Young Carers Conference, as well as an awards ceremony for the Young Carer of the Year.
Your doctor is always there to listen. Remember that you may very well be eligible for a full medical card so doctor visits may be free for you. Your doctor may be able to refer you to a counsellor if you’d like to talk things over with a professional. He may also arrange for a social worker to work with you and your family, so that you get the supports you need. If you do see a social worker, don’t think that it means you will be taken away from your home; social workers only remove young people from the home if they are in danger living there.
- You may also find comfort in attending a support group. The Carers Association holds many support groups around the country.
- Teachers and your school can be a fantastic source of help too. You may find it hard to believe but a lot of schools will do whatever they can to help make life easier for you.
- If you get on well with a teacher, you can always offload and chat to them about the stresses of being a carer.
- Many schools will refer you to the school counsellor (if your school has one) whose job it is to help young people cope with situations such as these.
- If your school know that you are a busy carer, they may be able to give you extra time to finish homework assignments.
- The HSE offer a variety of supports to carers and the people they care for, such as physiotherapy, community nursing (i.e. a local nurse who calls in to provide medical care to people in their homes), occupational therapy, chiropody (foot care), speech and language therapy, psychological services and even speech and language therapy. Contact The Carers Association or your local health office for further information on these supports. | <urn:uuid:fb322ca8-f028-4e03-9209-54d341a0d274> | {
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Analytical Methodologies Utilized by Global Financial Integrity
An Overview of the Analytical Methodologies Utilized by Global Financial Integrity to Study Illicit Financial Flows
Global Financial Integrity (GFI) estimates that nearly US$1 trillion of unrecorded money shifts out of emerging market and developing countries annually. This is a staggering sum, causing great harm to the economies of nations across the globe.
There are three forms of unrecorded money moving across borders:
- Corrupt: Proceeds of bribery and theft by government officials.
- Criminal: Proceeds of drug trading, human trafficking, counterfeiting, contraband, and myriad forms of additional activities.
- Commercial: Proceeds arising from import and export transactions conducted so as to manipulate customs duties, VAT taxes, income taxes, excise taxes, or other sources of government revenues.
GFI accepts that by far the greater part of money moving across borders in an unrecorded, undetected manner has an illicit component, intentionally violating the letter or the intention of laws and regulations of countries out of which the money comes, through which the money passes, or into which the money arrives. Thus we define illicit money as money that is illegally earned, transferred, or utilized. If it violates laws or regulations in its origin, movement, or use, it merits the label.
In analyzing illicit financial flows (IFFs), GFI utilizes sources of data and analytical methodologies that have been used by international institutions, governments, and economists for decades. Basically, these data sources and methodologies are providing information on gaps—gaps in balance of payments data and gaps in trade data. Where recorded sources and uses of funds in balance of payments data do not match, the difference is net errors and omissions, indicating an inflow or outflow that was not recorded. Where bilateral trade data does not match (after adjusting for freight and insurance in the data of the importing country) this indicates re-invoicing of transactions between export from one country and import into another country.
GFI undertakes macroeconomic analyses of IFFs and detailed analyses of trade misinvoicing by commodity groups. For our annual analysis of illicit financial flows out of developing countries—the source of the current US$1 trillion figure—we consistently use the following:
- Balance of payments data, contributing to the analysis of net errors and omissions.
- Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS), enabling analyses of discrepancies in trade between pairs of reporting countries.
For other economic and trade analyses, we draw from a selection of sources including the following:
- World Bank: Providing data on debt, contributing to the analysis of broad capital flight.
- UN COMTRADE: Providing data on bilateral trade in commodity groups.
- US Dept. of Commerce: Providing data on trade transactions by Harmonized System coding categories.
- European Statistics: Providing data on trade transactions by Harmonized System coding categories.
GFI believes that the estimates arising from these data sources and analytical methodologies are very conservative, for several reasons:
- DOTS data records trade in merchandise only. It does not include trade in intangibles, services, licenses, royalties, etc., now estimated to comprise more than 25 percent of all global trade.
- DOTS data reveals only transactions that have been re-invoiced between export and import. It does not reveal transactions where price manipulations have been included in the same invoice exchanged between exporters and importers.
- None of the data sources adequately reveal cash transactions across borders, particularly those used in criminal pursuits.
Some reviewers of GFI’s data sources and analytical methodologies have raised questions, which we are pleased to address as follows:
- GFI well recognizes that statistics can be flawed, due to errors in collection, recording, or conveying. Precisely the same point can be made about virtually every other economic analysis ever undertaken. We use the best data available, data that has been collected, reported, and recorded by governments for decades according to international guidelines issued by the IMF. Balance of payments data and global trade data provide the basis on which national governments measure their investment, trade, tax positions, and economic policies and international institutions, bankers, and corporations determine key decisions on capital transfers, interest rates, exchange rates, and more. Quite simply, balance of payments data and trade data are the basis on which the economic and financial worlds work.
- The reliability and accuracy of trade statistics of developing countries are regularly assessed through the IMF’s Data Quality Assessment Framework under the Data component of the Reports on Standards and Codes. These ratings show that for all developing countries for which the IMF has carried out an assessment of balance of payments statistics (about 72) the quality of these statistics, which includes the main data on goods trade, is “very high” or “high” in accordance with the international guidelines issued by the IMF.
- GFI does not suggest that every single unrecorded transaction is illicit; however, the vast majority of unrecorded transactions are illicit given that, apart from entry errors, there is not often a reason why legitimate transactions should go unseen.
- GFI does not net illicit outflows and illicit inflows. In countries where unrecorded outflows and unrecorded inflows roughly balance, it would be a mistake to consider that such a country has no problem with unrecorded flows. There is no such concept as “net crime.” Indeed, in GFI’s view, illicit outflows and illicit inflows should be added, since both sides of the equation generally produce harm to the economies of the countries so affected.
- GFI does not suggest that illicit outflows and tax evasion are the same thing. If, for example, US$100 million of illicit outflows from a country is evident, does this mean that if that US$100 million stayed in the country that the total would accrue as tax revenues? No. If the US$100 million stayed in the country, a portion of it would accrue as tax revenues, perhaps 10 to 30 percent, and most of the rest would remain in the economy for investment, consumption, or savings. Indeed, the private component of these flows is more important to the economy than the tax evading component of these flows.
- GFI makes no estimate as to how much of IFFs arising from trade misinvoicing are attributable to multinational corporations or locally owned businesses. None of our data sources reveal such information.
There has been a serious flaw in development economics for a half century—studying only one side of the financial equation for development – the money going into developing countries – while almost completely ignoring the other side of the financial equation for development – the money coming out of developing countries. GFI very firmly believes that both sides of the development equation must be analyzed. This requires that we work with orders of magnitude. While there is no perfection in the data that we utilize, the data and the methodologies have been very solidly established for decades and very clearly point to a major problem that must be addressed in development economics—the vital need to focus on both sides of the financial equation for development.
GFI welcomes carefully considered contributions to our ongoing efforts to improve sources of data and analytical methodologies on the crucial issue of illicit financial flows impacting emerging market and developing economies. | <urn:uuid:5fb6afdc-d8f9-4dd9-8d9a-9d66ab9bda33> | {
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Muscular membranous sac under the liver that stores and concentrates bile. Pear-shaped and expandable, it holds about 1.7 fluid oz (50 ml). Its inner surface absorbs water and inorganic salts from bile, which becomes 5–18 times more concentrated than when it leaves the liver. The gallbladder contracts to discharge bile through the bile duct into the duodenum. Disorders include gallstones and inflammation (cholecystitis). Surgical removal of the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) has no serious side effects.
This entry comes from Encyclopædia Britannica Concise.
For the full entry on gallbladder, visit Britannica.com.
Seen & Heard
What made you look up gallbladder? Please tell us what you were reading, watching or discussing that led you here. | <urn:uuid:a06fedff-b5b6-44fd-83e8-144bee4d4663> | {
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The geodesic dome theoretically allows us to live anywhere, free to roam in our own environmentally controlled bubble
Among the ordinary tents and temporary structures of London’s 2014 Occupy protest camp lurked a shelter of more exotic cultural provenance. Parked in one corner of Finsbury Square was a geodesic dome, about five metres in diameter and fabricated from rusting triangular metal panels.
For some, this structure was instantly recognisable as a fragment of Drop City, a 1960s utopian settlement built in South Eastern Colorado. Set up by artists and partially funded by the visionary architect Buckminster Fuller, Drop City was the countercultural utopia par excellence. It lasted little more than half a dozen years but its impact on architectural culture has been significant and long lasting.
This was partly due to its association with Fuller, whose technologically driven work has transfixed many architects, most notably the English high-tech generation of Richard Rogers, Norman Foster et al. Fuller designed many things including the so-called Dymaxion car and a lightweight, flat-pack house, but he is best known for his work with geodesic domes.
Fuller was obsessed with domes, designing them for almost every conceivable situation. This enthusiasm reached a zenith with his 1960 proposal to place a two-mile wide dome over midtown Manhattan. Fuller claimed that the savings from snow-clearing alone would pay for this vast and improbable structure, a justification that captured his bizarre combination of wide-eyed technological romanticism and geeky problem-solving.
Despite this, Fuller’s proposal exemplified a persistent thread in the technologically driven thinking of the 1960s, which embraced the idea of architecture as little more than a form of sophisticated environmental control. Lightweight, transportable and transparent, the geodesic dome theoretically allows us to live anywhere, free to roam in our own environmentally controlled bubble. Inside the dome there are no walls, no inherited forms of spatial hierarchy or social segregation.
Fuller’s own utopian credentials are less clear however and his adoption by the countercultural avant-garde problematic. Photographs of him and his wife at home in their own dome in Carbondale, Illinois make the disparity evident. Fuller’s dome has internal walls and the couple’s traditional furniture and Eisenhower-era haircuts sit awkwardly within the purist futurism of the geodesic structure. What’s more, much of his research was funded by the US military who were interested in very different forms of temporary encampment to the one built by hippies at Drop City.
Drop City’s innovation was to combine Fuller’s geodesic technology with the collagist experimentalism of Robert Rauschenburg and other artists. The settlement’s collagist, ad-hoc aesthetic ensured its place in architectural history far more than its radical social ambitions. Drop City figured prominently in Charles Jencks’ early books describing the origins of postmodernism, one strand of which can be traced back to such radical experiments in self-build architecture.
Drop City's collagist, ad-hoc aesthetic ensured its place in architectural history far more than its radical social ambitions
It is routine to describe experiments like Drop City as failures and in a sense it was. It lasted less than a dozen years and no doubt the clichés of power struggles, internecine warfare and bickering that bedevilled it are true. But such a dismissal assumes two things: that experiments like Drop City are intended to last and that their value can only be judged by longevity or by becoming completely normalised; and that the settlements that do last, the ones we live in now, are unequivocal successes.
The dome that turned up in Finsbury Square was not a genuine relic of Drop City; it was a replica fabricated by British artist Alex Hartley. It was initially made for an exhibition called Dropper at the Victoria Miro gallery in Islington, and Hartley lived in his dome for two months before donating it to the Occupy camp.
Unlike Drop City, Hartley’s experiment was never intended to last. And he was consciously playing with the symbolism of the structure, its rusty metal panels now standing for ruination and failure rather than possibility. But clearly there was an archaeology of the radical utopian impulse going on too, an attempt to explore the latent potential of such structures and what they mean today. | <urn:uuid:85bbf7b9-021f-4c47-8fff-d8d30732e0ed> | {
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Multiple Myeloma Signs and Symptoms
Signs and Symptoms of Multiple Myeloma
Multiple myeloma symptoms vary and depend on several factors, including the stage and severity of the disease. In early stages, patients may not experience noticeable symptoms. Symptoms and complications of multiple myeloma develop when tumors form in bone marrow, bones, and organs; when abnormal plasma cells interfere with bone marrow function; and/or when the disease causes organ damage.
The primary symptom of multiple myeloma is bone pain. Pain associated with multiple myeloma commonly affects the spine (backbone), ribcage, or hips, and worsens with movement.
Severe, persistent pain in one location may indicate a bone fracture. Bone tissue consists of two types of cells: osteoblasts, which are responsible for bone formation, and osteoclasts, which are responsible for dissolving bone tissue. Multiple myeloma increases the activity of osteoclasts and suppresses the activity of osteoblasts, causing bones to deteriorate and increasing the risk for fractures. The formation of tumors in the bone marrow and bones also contributes to bone pain and fractures.
Other signs of multiple myeloma include low blood counts (cytopenia), high levels of calcium in the blood (called hypercalcemia), and high levels of calcium (called hypercalciuria) or protein (called proteinuria) in the urine. These conditions can affect many organs and body systems and cause a number of symptoms and complications.
Low red blood cell count (called anemia ) often causes fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath and pallor (pale skin). Low white cell count (called leukopenia or neutropenia ) increases the risk for chronic infections, such as pneumonia and kidney infection (pyelonephritis), and fevers. Low platelet count (called thrombocytopenia ) can cause abnormal bleeding, excessive bruising, and other circulation problems (e.g. Raynaud’s phenomenon [bluish skin, numbness, often in the fingers and toes, in response to cold or stress], clotting disorders).
Hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria, or proteinuria can cause muscle pain and weakness, increased thirst and urination, gastrointestinal (GI) tract problems (e.g. nausea, vomiting, constipation, weight loss), and kidney (renal) failure.
Multiple myeloma also can cause tumor compression of the spinal cord or nerves, resulting in neurological symptoms. These symptoms include confusion, depression, lethargy (physical and mental sluggishness), headache, nerve disorders (e.g. neuropathy, radiculopathy), vision loss, and bowel and bladder control problems. Spinal cord compression is a medical emergency that requires immediate treatment (e.g. radiation therapy to shrink the tumor) and myeloma patients who experience neurological symptoms should contact their physician right away.
Publication Review By: Stanley J. Swierzewski, III, M.D.
Published: 01 Jul 2009
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MD13 - Maiwand - 27 July 1880
The Battle of Maiwand on 27 July 1880 was one of the principal battles of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Under the leadership of Ayub Khan, the Afghans defeated two brigades of British and Indian troops under Brigadier-General George Burrows, though at a high price: between 2,050 and 2,750 Afghan warriors were killed, and probably about 1,500 wounded. British and Indian forces suffered 969 soldiers killed and 177 wounded.
More informations on Wikipedia.
The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. The rest is history.
Brigadier General Burrows
6 Command cards
6 Command cards
- Each ordered british unit, which left their edge through on one of the 3 red marked hexes, counts as 1 VP for the British player (LDR don’t count in this case as VP).
- Cross sabers hits only in melee
- Ravine: the hill tiles represent ravine terrain. A unit, which moves from a non ravine tile, on or off a ravine hex, must stop. Moving from a ravine hex to another, don’t stop moving. Ravine hex don’t block LOS.
- British Engineers: The british unit on the left (with shovels and badge) are Engineers. They ignores terrain battle restrictions in close combat. Instead of battling, they may built a fieldwork in her own or an adjacent hex or may built a bridge on a river hex. They can upgrade this fieldwork in a further turn to an entrenchment.
- British Rifles: The british unit on the right (single picture unit) with 3 figures battles 2-2-2-2. If they don’t move, they also hit on XSW.
- Horse Artillery: The british horse artillery may move 0-1 and battles with 4-3-2-1 or move 2 and no battle.
- Tribes with swords: - Strength 5 figures - Move 0-1 and battle 3-2-1 OR move 2 without battle
- Tribes with muskets: - Strength 4 figures - Move 1 and battle 3-2-1 OR don´t move and battle 4-3-2-1 | <urn:uuid:6b2c2d14-d7ae-47c1-bc1d-fb862a9ed7fa> | {
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After 2,000 years, does the resurrection still affect us? How? Why does what happened so long ago matter to us today?
1. The resurrection is the proof that our faith is not in vain. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 (NKJV):
“Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”
But Christ was raised so we need not doubt our reward of resurrection.
2. The resurrection demonstrates that everything else Jesus claimed is true.
The most impossible claim Jesus ever made, was that he would raise from the dead. If he pulled that off, the chance that the kingdom of heaven might fill our hearts as crops do a field is not unfathomable.
3. The resurrection allows us to live beyond ourselves.
You see, the resurrection of Jesus, means that you and I can and will be resurrected as well. Some to eternal comfort and peace, too many to eternal damnation, but it is hope that allows us to change our lives. The hope that this world with all its struggle and suffering is not all there is. The knowledge that redemption is available and that it comes with great reward, allows me to forgive. Because I know that there is more than this life, I can live free from any need to prove myself, or exact vengeance when wronged. I can love those who need it most.
In fact, this is what separates those who enter heaven from those who enter hell. Those who love Christ and others more than themselves, and demonstrate that love by paying the price to heal the hurts that others have caused will enter heaven.
In Matthew 25:34-35 Jesus tells a story that tells what is different between those he calls “sheep and goats.” Jesus says to the sheep, “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’” (NKJV)
The truth of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead gives us hope, and hope changes everything!
Dow Tippett is Associate Pastor with Faith Family Church. | <urn:uuid:bdfcdbaa-4d95-4dba-9122-2f162c2c7ba7> | {
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In a single-processor architecture, A process might be New, Ready, Running, Blocked and Terminated.
Are there any additional states in a multi-processor architecture?
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More states aren't technically needed, depending on an operating system's implementation.
A kernel can have a task scheduler running on each processor. This allows for the use of the same process states, since each scheduler is running independent of each other. The kernel can have "load balancing" between the processors so that not too many processes are queued-up on one processor
xv6 (UNIX V6 port for x86 architecture) is a bare-bones kernel that does just this, and so, it has the same process states like in a single-processor environment. | <urn:uuid:134fbdc0-b16a-487e-b60d-43c9f27a4d1a> | {
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What You Need to Know About Indoor Air Quality08/08/2016 Many people understand how dangerous outdoor air pollution like car emissions can be, but they don’t realize that the air inside the typical house might be more polluted—reliant on actual circumstances, it can be up to five times more. Things have become so dangerous, the EPA has indoor air pollution classified as a top five environmental danger. Mold, pollen, pet dander, radon and even formaldehyde are commonly found inside. Since Americans spend an average of 90% of their time indoors, superior indoor air quality is crucial for good health, no matter if it’s in our homes or our workplaces. To help manage this pollution and improve our indoor air quality, we can take different measures. But first, we are required to absorb some lingo often used to discuss indoor air quality. HEPA HEPA is a term a lot of people have heard or seen, but did you know it stands for “high-efficiency particulate air” or “high-efficiency particulate arrestance”? HEPA filtration systems are engineered—and certified—to confine at least 99.97% of .3-micron particles (less than the diameter of a human hair) from the air that filters through the system. This significantly increases your home’s indoor air quality when dust, pollen, mites and other contaminants are destroyed. MERV Minimum efficiency reporting value or MERV describes the effectiveness of an air filter. With metrics ranging from 1–16, you should look for a max rating that specifies the filter will destroy more contaminants and allergens from your air without limiting the airflow of your home comfort system. Ask us which MERV-rated filter will work best for your home. At Econo Air, we can help you understand the importance of indoor air quality and help you work on breathing the best air possible. After all, the typical adult takes in about 11,000 liters of air each day. Give us a call at 714-695-6661 if you have any questions or concerns about your home comfort system or schedule an appointment with us online. | <urn:uuid:a5ffd661-6f10-4909-955f-debf21824a39> | {
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The Natural Resources sector includes agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting and comprises occupations primarily engaged in growing crops, raising animals, harvesting timber, and harvesting fish and other animals from a farm, ranch, or their natural habitats and work in greenhouses, nurseries and orchards. This sector also includes occupations focused on extracting naturally occurring mineral solids, such as coal and ores; liquid minerals, such as crude petroleum; and gases, such as natural gas. This includes quarrying, well operations, and other preparation customarily performed at the mine site, or as a part of mining activity.
- Natural resources represents just 1% of all jobs in Minnesota.
- This industry is projected to grow 10% between 2016 and 2026, adding 3,000 new jobs. | <urn:uuid:1c7c09e0-ba00-4cf4-b9da-f7e6a73f0b83> | {
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CATANIA, Sicily, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Italy's Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, is spewing lava and ash in its first eruption of the year, vulcanologist said.
Activity began Thursday morning, pushing an ash column nearly 16,000 feet into the sky, but experts say it presents no danger to nearby villages or air traffic, ITN reported.
At 10,801 feet, Mount Etna on the island of Sicily is Europe's highest active volcano.
Lava was seen flowing from a new crater on the southeast side of the summit toward the uninhabited Valle del Bove region, Sky News reported.
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said no airline flights in the region have been canceled so far. | <urn:uuid:c2322c81-224c-4a5f-9ce3-0dcd53b3dc13> | {
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Since the birth of web 2.0, users no longer just consume, but are now active creators of content that is going to be consumed by other users. This new dynamic took data generation to a whole new scale, called planetary scale or web scale. Often, this data represents relationships between its elements, such as in social networks, recommendation systems, online boards, email networks, scientific citation networks and others. Therefore, this data can be properly modeled as graphs, which contain properties like weights on its edges, associated texts and dynamic behavior that can be explored. To analyze such graphs, the main approach consists of using distributed processing techniques via computer clusters leading to high costs and techinical complexity that can be prohibitive. So, it is desirable to be able to process planetary scale graphs using only a single computer. To do this, we intend to combine edge and vertex centric iterative processing with discrete matrix processing and text processing techniques aiming to develop an analysis framework capable of recognizing patterns, comprehension and helping with decision making. With such methods we intend to develop new algorithms and systems to solve problems like fraud detection, behavior analysis and sentiment analysis, in a variety of domains.
News published in Agência FAPESP Newsletter about the scholarship: | <urn:uuid:06f4cc7e-aaae-41e2-8659-6118097af1fe> | {
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Fau fibres / by Jill MacGregor ; photographs by Scott MacGregor.Material type: TextSeries: MacGregor, Jill, Children of the Pacific ; Description: 23 pages : colour illustrations, map ; 27 cmISBN:
|Item type||Current library||Collection||Call number||Status||Date due||Barcode||Item holds|
|Junior Non Fiction||Manaia LibraryPlus Children's||Children's Non Fiction||919 COUNTRIES (Browse shelf(Opens below))||Available||I2157730|
"A story from the Islands of Samoa."
Maimai describe how he and his family prepare and use the bark fibres of the fau tree in Samoa to make string, costumes, toys, and animal bedding. Includes instructions for making your own titi fau.
Junior, primary National Library of New Zealand.
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Excel can analyze data from many sources. But are you using the Data Model to make your life easier? In this post you learn how to create a pivot table using two tables by using the Data Model feature in Excel.
What is a Data Model
Excel’s Data Model allows you to load data (e.g. tables) into Excel’s memory. It is saved in memory where you don’t directly see it. You can then instruct Excel to relate data to each other using a common column. The ‘Model’ part of Data Model refers to how all the tables relate to each other.
Old school Excel Pro’s, use formulas to create a huge table containing all data to analyze. They need this big table so that Pivot Tables can source a single table. Yet by creating relationships, you surpass the need for using VLOOKUP, SUMIF, INDEX-MATCH formulas. In other words, you don’t need to get all columns within a single table. Through relationships, the Data Model can access all the information it needs. Even when it resides in multiple places or tables. After creating the Data Model, Excel has the data available in its memory. And by having it in its memory, you can access data in new ways. For example, you can start using multiple tables within the same pivot table.
A Simple Task
Imagine your boss wants to have insight in the sales but also wants to know the Sex of the sales person. You got below dataset containing one table with the sales per person and another table containing the salespeople and their respective sex. A way to analyze your data is to use a LOOKUP formula and make a big table containing all information. As a next step you can then use a Pivot Table to summarize the data per sex.
Advantages of the Data Model
And before method is great when you work with very little data. Yet there are advantages of using the Data Model feature in Excel. Here follow some advantages:
- Checking and updating formulas may get arbitrary when working with many tables. After all, you need to make sure all the formulas are filled down to the right cell. And after adding new columns, your LOOKUP formulas also need to be expanded. The Data Model requires only little work at setup to relate a table. It uses a common column at the setup. Yet columns that you add later, automatically add to the Data Model.
- Working with big amounts of data often results in a very slow worksheet due to calculations. The Data Model however handles big amounts of data gracefully without slowing down your computer system.
- Excel 2016 has a limit of 1.048.576 rows. However, the amount of rows you can add to the memory of the Data Model is almost unlimited. A 64-bit environment imposes no hard limits on file size. The workbook size is limited only by available memory and system resources.
- If your data resides only in your Data Model, you have considerable file size savings.
Add Data to Data Model
You will now learn how to add tables to the Data Model. To start with, make sure your data is within a table. Using Power Query you can easily load tables into the Data Model.
- Click the Data tab -> Click a cell within the table you want to import
- Select From Table / Range
In the home tab of the Power Query editor
- Select Close & Load -> then Close & Load to…
- Select Only Create Connection
- Make sure to tick the box Add this data to the Data Model
This adds the data to the Data Model. Please make sure to do these steps for both tables.
Creating Relationships Between Data
After adding your data to the Data Model, you can relate common columns to each other. To create relationships between tables:
- Go to the tab Data -> Select Manage Data Model
The Power Pivot screen will appear.
- Click Diagram view. It gives you an overview of all the tables in the Data Model.
- Then relate the common column ‘Seller’ in the first table, with the column ‘Seller’ in the second table. You can do this by clicking-and-dragging one column, onto the other. A relationship should appear.
Using the Data Model
Now we come to the exciting part. To use the Data Model in a PivotTable perform the following steps:
- Go to the tab Insert -> Click Pivot Table
The ‘Create PivotTable’ pop-up screen will appear. As you have a Data Model in place, you can now select to use it as data source.
- Click Use this workbook’s Data Model
In the PivotTable Fields you will now see all the possible Data Sources for your PivotTable. The yellow database icon on the lower right corner of the marked tables, shows that it is part of Excel’s Data Model.
As the two tables have a relationship between each other, you can use fields from both tables within the same pivot! Read previous sentence again. Isn’t that amazing?? Below example uses the Sales and Seller field from the ProductSales table, while the Sex field comes from the other table. And the numbers are still correct!
Using the Data Model you can analyze data from several tables at once. All without using any LOOKUP, SUMIF or INDEX MATCH formula to flatten the source table. Yet the data analyzed could also come from a database, text file or cloud location. The possibilities are endless.
To minimize the usage of LOOKUP formulas even more, an amazing tool to look at is Power Query. There’s several articles to find about it on my website. For example, you can read how to use Power Query for Creating Unique Combinations or for Transforming Stacked Columns. | <urn:uuid:97a5c3db-453f-4f1b-8026-779243de99e1> | {
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Aquaponics is a system of the integration of aquaculture and hydroponics in a recirculating “closed water loop” cycle. The fish effluent (or fish waste) accumulated in the water as a byproduct of an aquaculture system is collected and channeled to hydroponic grow beds where the nutrient rich fish waste (toxic to fish but rich in nitrogen and other byproducts.) fertilizes the planted grow beds. This waste is referred to as “effluent” . The planted grow beds in turn digest the filtered liquid effluent thus reducing or eliminating the toxicity before it is returned to the fish tanks clean and recycled.
The benefits of a Recirculatory Aquaponic System: Because RAS units recycle most of their water, they consume considerable less than other types of culture systems and are especially well suited to areas with limited water supplies. The required quantity of water needed to successfully grow fish varies with the species of fish selected, size of the unit system, and the unit process equipment design. A properly designed and operated recirculating system requires a minimum daily input of water, just enough to clean the waste from the filters and to replace water lost to evaporation. | <urn:uuid:b0b70a25-e83a-40ba-a6c2-1f5b5eed3a10> | {
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China "Untrustworthy Citizens": This is how technology is used to punish the population that annoys or disagrees with the Government
Weapons Star Wars will cease to be fiction: China prepares rockets capable of shooting down enemy satellites
Imagine that in Spain
the Government had a ministry with several verification offices
on the internet that decided which news is
and which is not.
Imagine that you could also establish the guidelines for the content that is published on Twitter, Facebook or WhatsApp, based on a series of
about whether that comment, that information or that photograph, is appropriate.
Let's go with another assumption.
Imagine that the government tried to control all the content on the web, but cannot because it circulates through private channels in cyberspace, run by large
independent and foreign technology companies
So it was decided to close all the doors through which global online traffic enters, and create a large internal software in which only compliant internet service providers could operate. These would
allow the authorities to analyze the information
, messages and trends that circulate, as well as manipulate or censor them at will through algorithms and engineers disguised as policemen who check cyberspace.
In the late 1990s, computer science doctor
developed a Great Firewall in China that allowed the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to
cut off access to IP addresses it deemed "dangerous or malicious
That program of firewalls and proxy servers at the gateways became more restrictive over the years.
In 2000, Chinese leaders issued an order requiring internet service providers to ensure that information sent on their services complied with the law. A couple of years later,
the government drafted the "Public Self-Discipline Pledge for China's Internet Industry,"
which established four principles: patriotic law enforcement, fairness, honesty and honesty. There were more than 100 foreign companies that signed the pledge.
Xi Jinping's rise to power in 2012 brought tighter control of cyberspace. "The Internet has become the main battleground for the public opinion struggle," Xi said in a leaked speech shortly after taking the throne in Beijing. The goal was to ensure that the content on the network served the interests of the party. In September 2013, the Supreme Court of the People, a judicial body controlled by the CCP, ruled that "
authors of online posts that deliberately spread rumors or lies
, and were seen by more than 5,000 people or shared more than 500 times, they could face defamation charges and up to three years in jail. "
Two years later, the Ministry of Public Security, the strongest in China, established the Network Security Bureau, also called the "Internet Police",
charged with censoring "illegal and harmful" content
. In a statement, the ministry assured that the presence of these agents was to "create a harmonious, cultured, clear and bright internet", and that they would work to "detect and prevent cybercrime, profanity and curses online."
Manuals on how to make a napalm bomb and
how to buy chemical precursors to make fentanyl
are found in Chinese browsers
But it is impossible to connect to a porn site
To enter Facebook and Twitter, or watch videos on YouTube, you need a VPN, a software that connects the computer or mobile server with the networks of another country.
China probably has the
most sophisticated online monitoring system in the world
Over the years it has further isolated its cyberspace.
Now, the Chinese government is in full regulatory crusade, reaching out to almost every sector in the country, especially technology companies.
A recent report from the official Xinhua agency said there are new guidelines that seek to
improve the "civilization of the Internet",
with more regulation to "improve ethics and behavior."
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC, the body in charge of Internet control in the Asian country, also dependent on the Ministry of Public Security) launched a campaign against false news in September. Under the new regulations: online censors will go after "unlicensed citizen journalists who misinterpret economic policies and forecast pessimism in financial markets." Also to those who "write false news and spread rumors." Meanwhile,
the "propaganda directed on the achievements of the party" will be strengthened
The CAC document broke down other points from its new campaign: "
Addressing issues including misinterpretation of
and macroeconomic data; posting negative information to threaten, intimidate or blackmail relevant stakeholders."
The new guidelines will provide the government with a framework to further tighten its grip on internet giants from Tencent to ByteDance and the vast amount of content and data they generate.
The joint campaign of 10 regulatory agencies is expected to reach social media platforms like
Douyin, the name by which TikTok is known in China
The CAC also explained a few weeks ago that it was tightening its oversight of algorithms used by tech companies to "act fairly and
not use algorithm models that entice users to spend cash in a way that could alter the public order
". The guidelines include a proposal to allow users to disable algorithm recommendation services.
The new reforms have reached
WeChat, the Chinese WhatsApp
, where the CAC announced that it was going to start taking action against groups of the application considered a
In late September, WeChat removed dozens of LGBT accounts run by college students, saying some had broken the rules.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Technology What are the best alternatives to WhatsApp?
TechnologyThe strange fall of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram surrounded by suspicions and uncertainty
TechnologyThe culprits of the fall of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram: BGP and DNS
See links of interest
La Palma Volcan live
Home THE WORLD TODAY
Alba Berlin - Baskonia | <urn:uuid:a60f53e6-d8e0-4eb1-8293-c4ad79190a2e> | {
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Nobody knew of a similar case before. Genetic diseases sometimes are strange, but usually there are some cases in the medical literature that give some clue. This is not the case, and so far Syndrome X means that nothing is known about this case.
Reportedly all the biochemical and genetic tests have been normal for a 6-month old baby. There was no response to the administration of Growth Hormone.
This case demonstrates for the first time that there is one factor (gene) responsible for Child Development: growth and maturation of cells, tissues and organs. No one had ever envisioned the existance of such a gene. It was believed that there were multiple independent processes that regulated this.
Let me say that I am a Medicine PhD with research background and some genetic knowledge, which allows me to have a little speculation, although I am not the ideal specialist to conduct treatments or run the proper research studies.
This is most likely a genetic disease. The problem could lie in her mother, which, judging from the video, has a few asymmetric features in her face. She probably carries a single copy of the defective gene for this disease. The father looks normal, but he also might carry of copy of the defective gene. In the case of Brooke, but not in her 3 siblings, the sperm and the ovulus carried the defective genes, and the result was the full expression of this gene in the resulting baby.
There is also the possibility that the mutation (damage to a normal gene) took place during gametogenesis or early embryo development.
The mechanism so far is well known to Genetics specialists. However, we do not know which gene is affected, which is the protein coded by this defective gene, and how this protein regulates growth and development of a child.
How to identify this protein? This is a problem of tremendous importance, because it can be the clue of Aging and Anti-Aging.
If I was Brooke’s doctor, I would try a simple treatment: blood transfusions. After applying a weekly transfusion for a month or two, we could see if there was any growth. In this case, we both solved the girl’s problem and opened the way to identifying the missing protein.
Blood can be fractioned (plasma and cells) to see where the growing compound is. Fractioning can continue until we establish the size of the protein, which is the first step in the identification.
I would also try in vitro culture of Brooke blood cells and other biopsied tissues, to see if they behave as normal cells. Maybe they do not grow so well, and this behavior can be corrected adding human serum or serum fractions. It will also be interesting to see if she heals well the skin wounds.
Assuming we identified the gene that regulates Growth, we could try to block it. Anti-sense mRNA can be inserted in cells by carrier viruses, and block the normal gene. Also, many genes have regulators, that can be targeted by specially-designed molecules. Down-regulating the Growth gene could be useful to stop Ageing.
If any person at age 40 started the anti-ageing treatment, we might reach almost-immortality.
In any case, Brooke might carry the answer to many questions that scientists have had since the first man discovered the first gray hair in his temple. | <urn:uuid:2276239c-d202-4a6c-8273-672ad7467674> | {
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Central to our current understanding of periodontal disease development and progression is the idea that only specific periodontal pathogens cause periodontal disease and that all other bacteria present in the oral cavity are either beneficial or do not contribute to periodontal disease. Other factors that are believed to be necessary for periodontal destruction are that the bacterial load overcomes the host’s ability to neutralize them and that one or more of the “red complex” bacteria (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, Tannerella forsythia) must be present in the biofilm colony. Host-specific genetic factors resulting in impaired immune response also influence the development and progression of periodontal disease.
This old model of periodontal disease gave us plenty of time between gingivitis and periodontitis to “watch” the condition and to educate our patients to improve their home care techniques and habits before the number of pathogenic bacteria built up to sufficient numbers to cause periodontitis. Upon detection of deeper pockets and evidence of radiographic bone loss, we became more concerned and began recommending various treatments.
The new model of periodontal disease is called Polymicrobial Synergy and Dysbiosis. This refers to the entire colony of multiple different bacteria (polymicrobial) working together (synergy) to initiate periodontal disease (dysbiosis), rather than by a few select bacteria known as “periodontal pathogens.” The combined action of the entire bacterial colony is exponentially greater than the action of the individual microbes. This creates an imbalance in the microbial flora leading to inflammation and periodontal destruction.
Research has now demonstrated that the entire bacterial colony is involved in creating an increase in severity of oral inflammation and tissue destruction. This process is accomplished by inter-bacterial communication. Studies have established that colonization by key pathogens, such as Porphyromonas gingivalis, elevates the virulence of the entire bacterial colony by altering their gene expression, rendering them more aggressive. P.gingivalis flips the switch that converts bacteria, previously thought to be benign, into destructive microbes that contribute to periodontal disease progression. Research shows that P.gingivalis impairs host immunity, as well. For these reasons, P.gingivalis is now known as a keystone pathogen.
The concepts of keystone pathogens and Polymicrobial Synergy and Dysbiosis (PSD), have significant ramifications for the development of therapeutic options for periodontal disease. With the old model of periodontal disease there was little urgency to treat periodontal disease in early stages. We believed increasing numbers of periodontal pathogens were required for periodontal destruction to occur. These new concepts create more urgency now that we know if even a low level of P.gingivalis (or other keystone bacteria yet to be identified) is present that the entire bacterial colony can become more toxic. This means that even in cases of early stage gingivitis, the focus should be on identifying the bacteria present and on efforts to control those bacteria before the disease progresses to full blown periodontitis. No longer do we have the luxury of time when it comes to treating gingivitis and possibly preventing periodontitis.
Salivary diagnostics are used to identify the specific bacteria present and to recommend targeted antibiotic therapy to reduce or eliminate those particular bacteria. Antibiotics alone are not enough to eliminate P. gingivalis though, because it is particularly difficult to eradicate. Treatment will likely involve a multi-faceted approach. This may mean using probiotics and other techniques to increase the number of beneficial bacteria, methods to bolster the defensive innate immunity, and the use of anti-inflammatory regimens. These treatments, and others, could render the host less susceptible to the bacterial challenge intensified by P.gingivalis.
Knowledge and understanding of the Polymicrobial Synergy and Dysbiosis model of periodontal disease will enable clinicians to develop more effective therapeutic approaches in the treatment of periodontal disease and prevention of disease recurrence. | <urn:uuid:55154ef7-b1b5-42bd-9209-d5f1aefd7625> | {
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Sun is the ultimate source of life on earth. Yet, we still rely on wasteful, costly, and unsafe substances as the main sources of energy. We keep asking ourselves, Why go solar now?
We’ll have you know that setting up a solar power system has ecological, financial, and efficiency benefits. In this article, we will examine these benefits and present you with twelve reasons why going solar is a good idea.
Pollution Free/No Greenhouse Gases
Unlike common energy sources, solar systems do not produce toxins or greenhouse gases. Using solar panels decreases the overall carbon footprint of the world. In other words, going solar is one of the most eco-friendly actions you can take.
Reduces Reliance on Foreign Oil and Fossil Fuels
Solar systems can reduce our nation’s reliance on foreign energy sources. They can also reduce global reliance on oil and fossil fuels. That can lead us to a more sustainable future.
Clean and Renewable
As we’ve mentioned, solar energy is one of the most harmless energy sources. Besides, solar energy is fully renewable. This means it can supply humans with clean energy for millions of years.
Reduces Water Usage
Solar systems need much less water than their traditional counterparts. Older energy sources use massive amounts of water for cooling. Not to mention hydropower plants, which require water dams that can damage local ecosystems.
Short Payback Period
Setting up solar panels can seem quite costly. Still, the amount of money you can save will make your investment worthwhile in a matter of a few years. In other words, after a few years, your panel will be helping you earn money.
Low Maintenance Costs
Solar energy systems often need minimal care. Besides occasional cleaning, you will not have any large costs. Furthermore, we offer a workmanship warranty. It will last up to fifteen years and cover any issues you might have.
Reduces Utility Bills
Since you will be relying on solar panels for electricity, you can expect your bills to get slashed. Going solar will also decrease your reliance on electric companies during peak hours. You can even buy an electric car and reduce gas costs.
Qualifies for Tax Breaks
Federal and state incentives are offered to homeowners who own solar systems. As a result, you will get your money back in no time.
The future is bright for the solar power industry. Technology in this field is evolving rapidly. It’s only a matter of time before we are introduced to new, improved versions of the current solar power systems.
Can be Set Up Anywhere and Used for Anything
The next reason for going solar is that it’s flexible in terms of installation and usage. Unlike other green energy sources, sunshine is usable across the globe. Furthermore, you can place a solar panel almost anywhere, be it on the roof or in the field. You can use solar energy to produce electricity or heat.
Stores the Excess Energy
Solar panels can store energy both through net metering and through storage batteries. This will allow you to use excess energy whenever your panels can’t produce it.
Works Even on a Cold and Cloudy Day
Contrary to common belief, solar systems can produce energy even on cold and cloudy days. Energy output might be a bit lower during the winter months. Still, you will be able to reap the benefits of solar energy.
I hope this answers your why go solar now conundrum. All the above-mentioned reasons should be enough to encourage you to make the right choice. It doesn’t matter if you do it for budget-friendly or eco-friendly reasons. What matters is that you go solar now! | <urn:uuid:31184ed4-6a35-4588-9251-68afba6d0168> | {
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A sure-fire way of making steady and effective progress towards German fluency is to read more. And while beginners benefit a lot from reading easy German texts (like German stories for beginners or simple German fairy tales), we'd recommend B2+ learners like yourself sink their teeth into some challenging intermediate books to make sure you're directing yourself off and away from the dreaded intermediate plateau of death.
Just as is the case with German beginner books, reading intermediate material that you truly find interesting can work wonders in effecting your motivation to actually utilise the skills you’ve been learning in German class, in real life scenarios, and at your own pace.
On top of that, challenging yourself with meaty intermediate books & novels will throw you out of your comfort zone for the better, as you come across new words and expressions that you wouldn’t in daily conversation or in a German news article. This is especially important for intermediate learners, as a large part of progression at this stage relies on expanding your German vocabulary.
Lastly, exposing yourself to the varied voices of different protagonists in literature is like engaging in conversation with multiple people throughout the day. By doing so, you exercise your ability to adapt your eye/ear quickly to different styles of writing/speech.
Just as it can be helpful to speak German to different people and not only your tandem partner, it can be helpful to expose yourself to a variety of writing styles as you continue to read in German.
Here is our short but spicy list of five German intermediate books that we believe would make for appropriately meaty, challenging reading.
The list includes a variety of widely differing perspectives, experiences and time periods, so we hope at least one of them will catch your eye!
First on the list is a well known classic: Die Verwandlung, or “Metamorphosis” in English. How about trying your hand at the original German language version?
One of Kafka’s most reputable works, the story peers into the life of a salesman who wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a massive bug!
Unable to continue working himself to the bone in order to support his family and pay their debts, the others must take action.
It’s a novella about family obligations and the desire to break free from those obligations that weigh too heavily on the shoulders, for far too long a time.
PS: If you are asking yourself how difficult Kafka is in German, we can only advise you to try for yourself! For intermediate learners, reading Kafka will be challenging, but totally doable.
This well-received family saga begins with the unfortunate death of father and husband Hüseyin, who had spent the last thirty years working hard in a factory in Germany in order to support his family and finally buy his dream home in Istanbul, where he planned to spend his longed-for retirement that he was on the very cusp of entering into, when suddenly and tragically, he died.
Fatma Aydemir’s novel explores the various thoughts and experiences of different family members who gather to pay their respects at Hüseyin’s funeral.
It is a story about migration; a story about the search for lost identities, generational trauma and the difficulty of feeling at home in a country that often seems unwelcoming.
Fatma Aydemir is an author and journalist based in Berlin. The granddaughter of Turkish-Kurdish immigrants, her novels deal with identity and the experiences and repercussions of migration on a personal level.
This book is also available as an audiobook!
One literary critic described this novel as a critique of the “Bildungsroman” genre of literature popular during the 70’s and 80’s, that romanticised the mother-daughter relationship.
For in this novel, the relationship between piano teacher Erika Kohut and her mother is relentlessly abusive, disastrously impacting her life in many ways, least of which concern the sadomasochistic relationship she begins with her student, Walter Klemmer.
It’s a painful, merciless and ultimately devastating book about possession, repression and power, and although brilliantly frank, passionate and oftentimes humorous, “Die Klavierspielerin” is not for the faint of heart.
Christian Kracht’s debut novel, “Faserland” was one of the first books to trigger the German language wave of pop literature, which began in the 90’s.
It follows the aimless wanderings of a young man from a wealthy family, as he travels from Germany to Switzerland. On his journey, he visits unreliable friends and attends drug-fueled parties in a brand-saturated world, which he seems to waft through with a disturbing degree of self-destructive apathy.
Ultimately, the book paints a sober picture of a nihilistic generation of youth, struggling to find real meaning or happiness in their lives, as they continue to drink alcohol, take drugs and buy things.
A book commonly read in German classrooms, this is one of the less challenging options on our list, because of its straightforward, no-frills writing.
A fascinating fictional tale about a real life villain, “Mephisto” is about the overambitious and amoral deeds of an actor, living and working during the Nazi period. A political satire, the book critiques the protagonist’s shameless opportunism as he works alongside the Nazi regime, purely for the professional success and power he hungers for and ultimately attains.
Interestingly, the novel was famously written with the real life “Gustaf Gründgens” in mind - an actor who became one of the most well-known and successful in Germany, throughout the Nazi period, and with whom author Klaus Mann had previous been in a relationship.
This is a novel for language learners and history fans alike!
If you are at an intermediate level with your German, first of all congratulations! It's not easy to get this far with a language and you should be proud you are able to read books in German.
In this section, we have a few more tips for you as you approach the upper intermediate or even advanced levels of your learning journey. | <urn:uuid:598f28b4-b857-4290-80cc-510df4449bda> | {
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Britain's unwritten constitution. famously, Britain has an unwritten constitution, in contrast with most other countries. at least that's a clich- that's the cliche. in fact, um, most of the constitution is not, unwritten at all. um, it's largely a myth, that Britain has an unwritten constitution. um, it's just not written down in a single document, which you can go out and buy. you can go out and buy a copy of the American or French constitution if you want to. but i don't think many people do. but you can do it.
our constitution, is strewn around, um, through various documents, acts of Parliament, and through history. one of the earliest written contributions is the Magna Carta of twelve fifteen, for example. but to get more up to date, all the various parliamentary reform acts, of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. starting off as First Reform Bill, eighteen thirty-two, Second Reform Bill, eighteen sixty-seven. then, really the same thing, but in the twentieth century called, Representation of the People's Act. um, nineteen eighteen, nineteen twenty-nine, nineteen sixty-eight, those acts. the Parliament Bill of nineteen eleven, which took away, a lot of the powers of the House of Lords. all these are written, and if you collect them together, they form, a huge, written ensemble, um, which, collectively, are a large part of the British Constitution. and of course there are many other acts, like the Ballot Act of eighteen eighty-one. uh, which also you, you can tip into that category.
so, a lot of the British Constitution is, in fact, written. it's just strewn around. um, but, because it's strewn around, um, that, helps to make the constitution, our constitution very flexible. and there is indeed, a very important part, of the British Constitution which is not written. summed up under the term Conventions, um, Constitutional Practice.
Conventions of Constitutional Practice, what actually happens, um, and these conventions, are flexible, and they support the view, um, usually put forward by, people who like the British Constitution, that, um, the allegedly unwritten nature, has its advantages. you can change the constitution as necessary, without going through cumbersome procedures.
one example, is, fairly obvious. um, in the nineteenth century, the prime minister was more often in the House of Lords than not. but the last, um, prime minister to be in the Lords, was Lord Salisbury, who retired in nineteen oh two, at the very beginning of what is, for a few weeks, the present century. as_ a few weeks still. and since then, no prime minister has been in the Lords. two, two, um, candidates were rejected, among other reasons, because they were lords. Curzon in twenty-three, and Halifax in nineteen forty. this wasn't the only reason.
in nineteen sixty-three a peer did become prime minister, Douglas Hume, but he had to ren_ um, renounce his peerage, which you could legally do by then. you couldn't in nineteen twenty-four, and seek a common seat. um, it_ with the greater democracy of the twentieth century, it was_ became a convention that prime minister, the cheif's_ the chief, um, elected person, head of the executives, the chief, um, servant of the people had to be in the Commons, which was elected by the people.
but there's still no_ there is still_ it's still in fact no law, no constitutional rule, that the prime minister has to be in the Commons. the prime minister could still be in the Lords. or, the the prime minister c- need not be in either house. the story of Douglas Hume, in fact, was for several weeks in sixty-three, prime minister without being either a member of the Lords or Commons.
what about the present reform of the House of Lords, you may ask? well, um, that's not relevant to what i'm saying at the moment. i'm talking about practice up to now. but i'll come back to the Lords Reform, soon. um, however, um, conventions, also have to exist, or do exist, in countries which have written constitutions. they have to adapt their constitutions, to change in circumstances, just as we do. the American constitution's a good example. um, how do they do it?
well, you could change the constitution, um, itself, but that's a very cumbersome process. because naturally constitution laws, and input are not to be changed lightly, if they're in the constitution itself. um, so, how do they adapt? well, partly, by getting the Supreme Court to interpret, general, simple, eighteenth-century clauses, of the constitution, rather, s- um, liberally, to being them up to date. and partly, simply, by using conventions themselves. conventions exist in the U-S congress, about how to get about things.
um, one example of that, is that, um, powerful congressional committees, used to deal with legislation, and determine whether legislative processes went forward, or not. um, now, in the nineteen nineties the power us U-S, congressional committees has been much whittled down. the chairman, of U-S congressional committees, was always the next senior person after the, previous chairman retired. that was a convention, it wasn't written in the eighteenth century constitution. but now that's gone entirely. there's great competition for chairmanship, of, select committees. but, um, that's only in the nineteen nineties.
so, no, constitution can en_ exclude the use of conventions. Nevertheless, our constitution is more flexible than the American one. because, it's less easy, in many cases, to point to a document and said, it w- say, it was written in seventeen eighty-seven, that we have to do things, this way. um, which Americans do. the American_ in America it's much easier to block things than to change things. gun control is a good example. in seventeen eighty-seven, the constitution said every citizen should the right to bear arms. which make great sense in Amer_ in colo_ in, not colonial, in the rural, America of seventeen eighty-seven. the wild America, cabins in the clearings of the woods. you had to defend yourself against Indians, renegade white men, you had to shoot, wild beasts, and you had to shoot your own dinner. there wasn't a supermarket, you went out and shot a deer. they had to shoot rattlesnakes. it makes no sense now that everyone carry guns, really, in the urban America of nineteen ninety-nine. nevertheless, you can't really change the constitution. while all we need to do is have a quick law, on gun control. if we have it, and we have had recently.
um, however, um, the difference, with other advanced countries, the U-K's uniqueness in constitutional matters have been much whittled down. recently, with the_ Mr. Blair's Labour government. we've had, um, constitutional laws on devolution. which of course is all written. devolution to Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. we're going to have a bill of rights. and then Euro law is increasingly overtaking whatever we might want to decided to do in Britain, anyway. and that's definitely written down. and it takes precedence over, whatever legislation is passed in Westminster.
so I think, it's another of the many unique features of Britain, which is, sadly, going to go out of the window, over the next fifty years. | <urn:uuid:49c0fe13-999d-49c0-813f-463d7ae34203> | {
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In 1950, renowned English scientist Alan Turing devised the “Turing Test” – a measure of a machine’s ability to communicate with humans in a lifelike manner and exhibit intelligent behavior comparable or indistinguishable to them.
Ever since then, the race to create artificial intermediaries of communication began and have only heated up in the past decade.
While chatbots still have not passed the elusive Turing Test, they have come closer than ever.
At its essence, a chatbot is a piece of software that conducts a conversation via auditory or textual methods.
In an increasingly connected world, it is crucial for businesses, especially fledgling startups, to maintain a reliable and personalized relationship with their clients as well as interactively market themselves to prospective customers.
Chatbots are one of the most efficient and cost effective methods of achieving that purpose and with the advent of AI technology, they can only get better.
Indeed, a Business Insider report says, by 2020, over 80% of businesses are expected to have some sort of chatbots implemented. Read on to find out how your business can benefit from using this technological gem.
How do Chatbots work?
Chatbots are algorithmically programmed to detect the tone of language, the flow of the conversation, the specific words enunciated and the intricacies of different accents in order to deliver an appropriate response from a range of pre-coded sentences.
They also pick up similar cues in text messaging. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning allow them to become increasingly better and more adept at conversation after each subsequent use.
They are able to record conversations and update their algorithms to diversify their conversational repertoire.
They also make use of databases to present accurate information to the consumer and to respond to any queries that they might have. Chatbots can work on popular messaging apps like Messenger and WhatsApp as well as social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
As most users interact with businesses on these platforms, this is a crucial feature. They can also work seamlessly with your own websites, allowing visitors to have their questions answered in the blink of an eye.
The Benefits of Using Chatbots
1) Access to trending platforms
Most meaningful forms of marketing now take place in the digital sphere and especially in social media platforms as there is greater reach to potential customers.
Companies that have been able to make that transition now have a competitive edge over those that are still stuck in the past.
Using chatbots allows businesses, especially small startups, to get a slice of the pie and broaden their reach without having to pay the extra money and time to develop an application.
Chatbots can be used across platforms and is a cheap and effective way to connect with users.
Some chatbots are offered directly by platforms such as Facebook while others can be easily bought or rented from IT firms for use in big platforms like Messenger and WhatsApp.
2) Savings in time and money
Implementing a chatbot is an investment but it is one with a high return on investment as it requires minimal maintenance costs to keep it up and running.
The implementation is also significantly cheaper compared to hiring agents that require specialized training, wages and infrastructure.
Chatbots also save money by minimizing human errors and increasing the acquisition of new customers.
This is crucial for businesses to maintain their profit margins when the positive difference between their revenues and costs start to shrink.
Chatbots also save a significant amount of time by automating the routine tasks in customer services.
Detailed answers to common queries can be instantly dispatched with 24/7 availability and information can be effectively delivered with pictures, charts, videos and even analytical reports.
This ensures that customers have their basic questions answered without delegating human resources to these menial tasks.
This allows the relaying of more complex issues to humans as Chatbots notify them with detailed descriptions of the unique problems that customers face.
Customers can also quickly book a flight, make a reservation or even an online order with little need for human intervention.
3) Greater customer satisfaction
Customers need help trying to understand the products that are best for them and providing them with the best user experience generates future sales revenue exponentially.
Chatbots are highly trained and provide 24/7 personalized conversation by addressing each customer by their names and providing just the information that they need almost instantly.
With each consumer interaction, they get better with contextual responses. They act as sales persons and hold the customer’s hand through the entire experience by asking questions related to their queries and providing quick and easy solutions and suggestions.
They also provide greater choice to the customer by presenting highly personalized advertisements and offers.
This increases consumer engagement in the long run which can boost sales as consumers feel like you care for them.
4) Greater Monitoring and Insight
With the feedback and information that chatbots collect from each consumer after a conversation, businesses can make improvements to their services and product line-ups.
It allows them to respond quickly and effectively to consumer feedback. They can also optimize their websites by bringing high traffic generating pages to the forefront and improving ones that generate lower traffic.
Consumer spending and behavior patterns can be tracked and analyzed to help a company decide which products to market, redevelop, or re-launch.
Chatbots also improve lead generation by nurturing and directing consumers to making the purchase that they want.
5) Greater Diversification and Scalability
Unlike you average Joe, Chatbots can be programmed to operate in multiple languages.
This allows a business to expand their targets to a wider demographic and to go global with their marketing campaigns.
Companies can better understand the nuanced needs and demands of specific groups of people and it allows them to diversify their products to cater to these new and potential customers.
Chatbots can also be scaled up to handle a large volume of conversations simultaneously. This is especially crucial during rush hours and bulk orders as it is not possible to increase manpower quickly.
Chatbots boost sales, save time and money, allow effective marketing and make sure that your consumers walk away with a satisfying experience.
The best way to align your chatbots with the rest of your business is to use Odoo Apps.
Odoo Apps have a powerful but intuitive UI with reliable server support, efficient sharing of information and proper work scheduling. Syncoria is a digital transformation firm and an Odoo Ready Partner. | <urn:uuid:364398bb-fbe0-428a-8afe-2165782a8f2f> | {
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Biological invasions are one of the most significant global-scale problems caused by human activities. Introduced Asian earthworms are currently invading eastern deciduous forests in North America, including some relatively undisturbed forests. Because fresh leaf litter is presumably a major food source for these forest floor dwelling species, Forest Service scientists examined whether prescribed fire could be used to reduce food supply and potentially control reproduction and spread of invasive earthworms. The scientists constructed eight experimental beds with 100 earthworms each, and burned half of them with low intensity fires. The fires resulted in minimal heating of mineral soil but litter mass was significantly reduced. No reductions in the number of adult earthworms were detected, but the hatching rates of cocoons were significantly lower in burned beds. The study shows that prescribed fire causes reduced reproduction rates and decreased food availability for the next generation of earthworms, and this may have significant application in the management of earthworm invasions in southern deciduous forests. | <urn:uuid:21506025-81ac-47e5-97f7-a664537ad814> | {
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As a graduate student in philosophy, Joshua Greene had the idea of asking people to undertake some well-known philosophical thought experiments while in a brain scanner, so that he could study the neural processes involved in making moral judgements. Now head of the Moral Cognition Lab in Harvard University’s department of psychology, Greene draws on results from psychology and neuroscience to argue that we should live our lives according to the precepts of utilitarianism. Many philosophers will immediately be wary – it is widely accepted that you cannot derive an “ought” from an “is” – but the argument Greene makes in Moral Tribes is subtle and deserves careful attention.
Our big problem, as Greene sees it, is the challenge of adjudicating between the different values of opposing “tribes”. On his account, we evolved a set of psychological capacities and dispositions that promote within-group cooperation: for instance, we have an aversion to committing acts of violence; we have emotions such as guilt and shame that encourage cooperative behaviour; and we have others such as anger that commit us to punish non-cooperators. These dispositions are triggered automatically.
However, the flip side of this story is that these automatic settings evolved to favour our own tribe over others. With globalisation the world has become smaller, so we need to cooperate with other tribes. Since tribes tend to coalesce around shared values, when they encounter each other there are value conflicts to which we must find solutions. But evolution did not furnish us with automatic mechanisms to promote cooperation between groups. If anything, we are programmed to be biased in favour of our own tribe, interpreting events, evidence and even moral principles such as fairness in a way that favours our group. We are designed for local and not global cooperation.
Luckily, we have another setting that can be subverted to solve this problem. Greene proposes a “dual process” theory of moral judgement: as well as an “automatic mode”, we have a “manual mode”, responsible for conscious moral reasoning. From the results of his own research programme, Greene concludes that utilitarian judgements, which favour the action with the best overall consequences, are made in the manual mode.
So far, so much psychology. But Greene argues that we can use the resources of the manual mode in order to resolve value disputes between tribes. Whatever values we endorse, we all have a capacity for happiness, defined as good experiences, and we can recognise that everyone’s happiness is equally valuable. Therefore, utilitarianism is supposed to provide a common currency for resolving disagreements. The moral psychology of the manual mode also happens to be the philosophical solution.
Many of Greene’s arguments are controversial and the parts about philosophy most of all. For starters, there is his identification of manual mode reasoning with utilitarian judgements. Scores of philosophers, who are presumably doing moral reasoning, advocate theories other than utilitarianism. Greene’s response is that they are rationalising their intuitive judgements. While this is a genuine concern about any philosophy that relies heavily on thought experiments, when it is done properly, moral philosophy takes intuitively plausible premises, such as equal respect for people, and teases out exactly what they mean and the implications for moral behaviour. This is no different to what Greene has done with his premise about the equal value of experience. Of course, he would argue that the resulting ethical theories differ in their coherence and plausibility. But both intuition and reasoning enter into making those judgements.
Greene also assumes that the manual mode leads to better moral judgements than the automatic mode, but the relative merit of reasoning versus intuition is a live question. Other proponents of dual process theories, such as Daniel Kahneman, acknowledge that we are not always good at doing the calculations (as indeed does Greene at some points in this book). Sometimes our intuitive judgement has evolved to get us to the correct result when conscious reasoning would lead us astray. We shouldn’t fetishise conscious reasoning, which can also lead us to immoral conclusions.
These debates about individual reasoning will be familiar to those who know Greene’s work, but the really novel part of this book is their application to tribal conflict.
It is not clear that different tribes will agree to use utilitarianism to solve disputes. Greene says that because he is not arguing that utilitarianism is the moral truth, he prefers to call it “deep pragmatism”. Utilitarianism is just a way for people with competing values to get along together. But utilitarianism is a theory of value. It claims that what is valuable is experience and that all people’s experiences count equally. Why would someone who thinks that experiences are not the ultimate bearers of value buy into utilitarianism as a way of resolving value-conflict? Contrast Greene’s idea with John Rawls’ proposal for a theory of justice within which people with different values could coexist. Rawls’ method was to seek the agreements that people would make from behind a “veil of ignorance”, not knowing what position in society they would occupy or what their values would be. Given this stipulation, they would agree on a schema that does not privilege any one conception of the good, imposing a separation between “the right” and “the good”. But Greene’s proposal dissolves the boundary between the right and the good, as assenting to his proposal involves accepting a utilitarian conception of value.
Nor is Greene’s idea quite as far-reaching as he hopes. He gives several examples drawn from the contemporary political scene in the US, where the tribes are conservatives versus liberals. Naturally, Greene is concerned about these apparently irresolvable political differences, but he is more convincing when talking in the abstract about the demands of global justice. (Is it really more imperative to sacrifice a $500 suit to save a child who is drowning in a pond next to me than to send a cheque for $500 to a charity to save the life of a child in the developing world?) Debates between Right and Left about the welfare state simply do not boil down to a dispute about whether the boundary of the tribe is the local community or the whole state. The disagreement is about whether there is a fundamental right to the fruit of one’s labour, which means that taxation is illegitimate and poor relief should be left to voluntary organisations. But Greene gives rights short shrift, arguing that they are simply rationalisations of our intuitions.
Moral Tribes is a hugely ambitious book, and a work of this scope is easy to criticise because it can never be possible to anticipate every counterargument – although Greene does a pretty good job via some lengthy footnotes. He is particularly strong on the psychology of moral judgement. There is a wealth of books in this area, but Greene has something new to bring to the debate. The philosophical application of the psychology, too, is both thoughtful and thought-provoking. Readers who were already well disposed to utilitarianism before reading this book will find plenty in it to support their views, while those who come to it with the view that utilitarianism is wrong, will not be persuaded otherwise. However, on the basis of Greene’s theory of tribes, that is exactly what we would predict.
Joshua Greene, the John and Ruth Hazel Associate Professor of the Social Sciences in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University, was raised in Florida. But, he says, “I never felt very Floridian, and people often assume I’m from New York or Boston, presumably because the Sunshine State is not known for producing philosophy-science nerds.”
“I now live in Cambridge, Massachusetts with my wife, Andrea Heberlein, and our two kids. Cambridge is known for its philosophy-science nerds, and we feel very much at home there.”
Cambridge, observes Greene “is extremely diverse, but has a strong community spirit. It’s as close as one gets to a post-tribal town.”
A “natural sceptic” as a child, Greene is glad to have trained as a philosopher before becoming a scientist. “But the downside is that I picked up most of my quantitative and technical skills as I went along. I collaborate with people whose techie skills outstrip my own, and I’m grateful for that. But having those skills myself would not only allow me to do more with my hands, it would extend my thinking.”
Working across the boundaries of psychology, neuroscience and philosophy is a challenge, he says, “but we’ve made enormous progress bringing these disciplines together in recent years. The biggest challenge comes from traditional moral philosophers who, when confronted with the new science of morality, simply repeat the old saw that you can’t derive an ‘ought’ from an ‘is’ and then plug their ears.”
Speaking of the project at the heart of his work, Greene contends: “Studying the causes of moral problems is, in a sense, no different from studying the causes of cancer. In both fields there’s a moral purpose. And in both fields one must respect the evidence regardless of what one hopes to find.
“Unlike cancer research, the science of morality is not aimed at producing a useful mater-ial technology, such as a pill. It is about producing useful self-knowledge, what you might call ‘social technology’, ideas that can improve our lives by changing collective behaviour. It’s a much riskier endeavour. Cancer researchers will solve their problems sooner or later. Whether the science of morality will pay off remains to be seen. We’re just getting started.”
Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason and the Gap Between Us and Them
By Joshua Greene
Atlantic, 432pp, £22.00
Published 2 January 2014 | <urn:uuid:1b0fe743-2fd9-4bea-8a7f-739c967c15f1> | {
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Bibliographic record and links to related information available from the Library of Congress catalog.
Note: Contents data are machine generated based on pre-publication provided by the publisher. Contents may have variations from the printed book or be incomplete or contain other coding.
Contents List of Figures List of Sidebar Texts Acknowledgements Maps Introduction A. The Roman Empire B. Religion and Religions C. The Sources I. Identifying ¿Religion¿ in the Graeco-Roman Tradition A. The Nature of the Divine B. Approaches to the Divine 1. Cult 2. Myth 3. Art 4. Philosophy 5. Conclusion C. Three Problematic Topics 1. Authority 2. Belief 3. Morality D. Conclusion II. Regional Religious Traditions of the Empire A. Greece B. Asia Minor C. Syria D. Egypt E. North Africa F. Western Europe G. Eastern Europe H. Italy I. Uniformity and Diversity in the Religious Traditions of the Empire III. The Presence of the Gods A. The Gods in the World B. The Power of the Gods C. Manifestations of the Gods D. Conclusion IV. Religion and Community A. The City B. The Household C. Voluntary Associations D. Conclusion V. Religion and Empire A. Mobility of Worshippers B. Mobility of Gods C. Identifying Gods D. Emperors and Gods E. Conclusion VI. Religious Options A. Attractions 1. Esoteric Wisdom 2. Divine Inspiration B. Advantages 1. Traditional Benefits 2. Intensification 3. Salvation C. Conclusion VII. Roman Religious Policy A. Atheism and Superstition B. Religious Authority C. Three Particular Cases 1. Magic 2. Judaean Tradition 3. Christianity D. Conclusion Epilogue: Religious Change in the Roman Empire Glossary of Major Deities Glossary of Authors and Texts References Index
Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication:
Rome -- Religion.
Rome -- Religious life and customs.
Rome -- Civilization. | <urn:uuid:f9cad17b-e486-4e72-9b24-ed4f7158ac18> | {
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Other titles in the Civilization of the American Indian series:
Cherokee Dance and Dramaby Frank Gouldsmith Speck
Synopses & Reviews
Traditionally, the Cherokees dance to ensure individual health and social welfare. According to legend, the dance songs bequeathed to them by the Stone Coat monster will assuage all the ills of life that the monster brought. Winter dance (including the Booger Dance, which expresses the Cherokeesand#8217; anxiety at the white invasion) are to be given only during times of frost, lest they affect the growth of vegetation by attracting cold and death. The summer dance (the Green Corn Ceremony and the Ballplayerand#8217;s Dance) are associated with crops and vegetation. Other dances are purely for social intercourse and entertainment or are prompted by specific events in the community.
When it was first published in 1951, this description of the dances of a conservative Eastern Cherokee band was hailed as a scholarly contribution that could not be duplicated, Frank G. Speak and Leonard Broom had achieved the close and sustained interaction that very best ethnological fieldwork requires. Their principal informant, will West Long, upheld the unbroken ceremonial tradition of the Big Cove band, near Cherokee, North Carolina.
About the Author
The late Frank G. Speck, a distinguished American ethnographer, was associated with the University of Pennsylvania throughout his academic life. Leonard Broom has conducted research chiefly on ethnic and racial minorities and no social mobility and stratification. He is Professor Emeritus in the Institute of Advanced Studies of the Australian National University, Canberra, and Research Associate in Sociology in the University of California, Santa Barbara.
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During WWII, many did what they could to save Jews – including the Latino Schindler.
José Arturo Castellanos Contreras was born on December 23, 1893, in the city of San Vicente, El Salvador to a rather well-to-do family. In 1910, therefore, they sent their 16-year-old son to the prestigious Escuela Politécnica Militar (Military Polytechnic School) where he spent the next 26 years in the Salvadoran military and became a colonel.
After becoming the Second Chief of the General Staff of the Army of the Republic, his career changed. He accepted the post of Salvadoran Consul General in Liverpool, England in 1937. The following year, he was reassigned to Hamburg, Germany.
Contreras had not chosen his new career path. He had been a critic of Salvadoran President Maximiliano Hernández Martínez who rose to power in 1931 in a coup. Martínez ran a fascist regime that executed thousands of dissidents.
Given his position in the military and his family connections, however, killing Contreras was not a good idea – Martínez did not want any more enemies than he already had. Sending Contreras far away from El Salvador was much better.
Contreras was not happy at finding himself in a new fascist country. Nor was he pleased with how minorities were being treated.
Unable to do much back home without putting his family and himself at greater risk, things changed for him on November 9, 1938. It was Kristallnacht – the Night of Broken Glass. Before then, Jews had been regularly harassed, but people thought it would fade out.
For the next two days all over Germany, Jewish buildings were attacked, while many Jews were either beaten or killed. Some 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and became the first thrown into concentration camps.
By the time it ended on November 10, over a thousand synagogues had been burned and more than 7,000 Jewish businesses had either been destroyed or ransacked. Even the most optimistic realized that things had reached a turning point, and they were right. It was the beginning of the Final Solution – the program to exterminate Europe’s Jews.
Horrified, Contreras wrote a letter on January 2, 1939, to Miguel Ángel Araujo, El Salvador’s Foreign Minister. In it, he described what was happening and asked permission to give visas to any Jew who wanted to leave Germany.
His request was refused. El Salvador had its own problems, and the last thing it wanted or needed was to rock the diplomatic boat with Germany. Nor was it the only country that felt that way; the US and Britain turned away Jewish refugees.
Fearing Contreras might just rock the boat, anyway, he was reassigned to Geneva, Switzerland in 1941 which was a neutral country.
Enter György Mandl. He was a Jew born in Lekence, Transylvania. His country had switched sides three times in the 20th century between Hungary and Romania. He had moved to Bucharest (in Romania) where he opened a textile company. He thought he would be safe as Romania had been neutral since WWI, but he was wrong.
The National Legionary State took power on September 6, 1940, and they did not like Jews, either. They allied with Germany, and on October 8, some 500,000 German troops were welcomed into Romania with predictable results. Romania’s Jewish pogrom began on January 20, 1941.
Mandl and his family fled to Switzerland where he met Contreras. Although Switzerland was neutral, it had strict refugee laws. Having a border with Germany, it was also wary of upsetting its more powerful neighbor. The Mandl family risked deportation.
Contreras made Mandl a Salvadoran citizen and changed his surname to “Mantello.” It was illegal as the El Salvadoran Government knew nothing about it, but it saved the Mandl family from deportation. What of the other Jews who could not make it to Switzerland?
Contreras again appealed to his government for visas, but they refused. Fortunately, Carl Lutz had the solution. Lutz was the Swiss Vice-Consul in Budapest, Hungary who gave out Swiss Safe-Conduct papers to Jews and opened safe houses for them.
As the Nazis were bureaucratic, they believed the documents were genuine. The Swiss government (officially) did not know about them. Lutz also worked with other diplomats who came up with their own versions of Safe-Conduct papers. Mandl-Mantello and Contreras had theirs.
In 1942, Mandl-Mantello became the First Secretary of the El Salvadoran Swiss Consul; a position that does not exist. He issued El Salvadoran citizenship papers to Jews in Eastern Europe. As most of them could not reach Switzerland, he mailed them.
Some 13,000 citizenship papers were issued to entire families. Bulgarian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, and Romanian Jews became Salvadorans.
The documents granted holders protection under the International Red Cross and the Swiss Consul in Budapest. When Germany invaded Budapest in 1944, blank sheets were sent out to Jewish families throughout the city with instructions to stick on their own pictures and fill out the information by hand.
Fortunately, Martínez was ousted and fled El Salvador in May 1944. Even more fortunate, the new government was sympathetic to the plight of Europe’s Jews. They, therefore, asked Switzerland to recognize their new Eastern European “citizens” and extend diplomatic protection to them.
With that added legal layer, thousands were saved. After the war, Contreras did not talk about his role in saving so many lives. He died in 1977.
Yad Vashem recognized him as one of the “Righteous Among the Nations” in 2010. | <urn:uuid:31299cbd-413f-4a4c-8292-c9dc88b59b1e> | {
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Developments in snap-shot MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), organic semiconductor technology, high temperature superconductivity, and progress towards quantum computers are some of the topics being presented at a major conference organised by the Institute of Physics next month. The four-day conference, CMMP 2004, will take place from Sunday 4th to Wednesday 7th April 2004 at the University of Warwick.
Silicon microchips touch our lives in many ways they power personal computers and enable high-speed medical imaging. Inside silicon chips, electrons move along microscopic wires that form complex electrical circuits. At this conference, on Tuesday 6th April, Professor Jakob Reichel from the University of Munich will describe a revolutionary new type of microchip in which entire atoms, rather than just electrons, move around circuits. In these "atom chips", thousands of atoms hover in a cloud above the surface of the chip, and move along air wires produced by tiny magnetic fields like microscopic magnetic levitation trains floating above a track.
The atom clouds themselves are very special they are so cold that all of the atoms merge into one "superatom", known as a Bose-Einstein Condensate, which behaves like a wave and exhibits bizarre quantum behaviour. Bose-Einstein Condensates have just entered the Guinness Book of Records as the coldest ever place within a few billionths of a degree of the lowest possible temperature, absolute zero. Using atom chips to move and manipulate Bose-Einstein Condensates could enable the development of "quantum computers", which would exploit unique features of quantum mechanics, and, for certain tasks, be vastly more powerful than the conventional electronic computers available today.
There will be twenty-two symposia within the conference including 'Nanomagnetism and Spintronics', 'Quantum Fluids and Solids', 'Semiconductor Optics and Photonics', 'Applied Superconductivity' and 'Bose-Einstein Condensates'. In addition to the presentations in each symposium, there will be a series of plenary lectures by world-renowned researchers. These include 'Snap Shot MRI' by Nobel prize-winner Sir Peter Mansfield, 'Carbon Nanotube Electronics and Optoelectronics' by P Avouris of IBM USA, 'Single Photon Devices for Quantum Cryptography' by A Shields of Toshiba UK, 'Dynamic Phenomena in Magnets: Investigations over Five Orders of Magnitude' by RL Stamps of the University of Western Australia and 'Liquids, Solids and Elastic Heresy in Between - is there a 2 ½th State of Matter?' by M Warner of the University of Cambridge, UK.
Source: Eurekalert & othersLast reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Feb 2009
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.
-- Pablo Picasso | <urn:uuid:e3a7c04d-ac75-439d-808e-e7386be27a2e> | {
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Winter wheat planting will soon be starting and a number of decisions will have to be made for a successful winter wheat crop, including: the time of planting, the choice of variety to be planted, disease and pest management decisions and crop insurance. In areas where there was prevent planting or crops were lost this summer due to hail, producers may be anxious to get something else growing to replace the first crop and provide cover to the soil.
Factors affecting the success of winter wheat can be impacted by a grower’s decisions. In South Dakota, the recommended planting time for winter wheat is September 10-October 10. Areas further north may want to consider planting earlier than areas further south. Winter wheat will survive the winter better if it is planted in time to develop 2-3 leaves and at least one tiller in the fall.
Many of the seasoned winter wheat producers, plant at 1.1-1.2 million PLS (pure live seeds) per acre. Planting into abnormally dry soil may necessitate a higher planting rate to account for poor germination. Increased planting populations can also reduce the impact of grasshopper feeding in areas where grasshopper populations are at or above thresholds around the fields.
The goal with winter wheat is to produce one main head with one to two tillers. A good plant stand can decrease the tendency of winter wheat to produce late tillers, which contribute to uneven maturity in the crop and can use soil moisture and nutrients.
Choosing the right winter wheat variety for your area is a very important step for many producers. Varieties will vary in maturity, winter hardiness, disease resistance and grain quality. SDSU performs winter wheat variety trials at 14 locations across South Dakota each year. Results of the variety trials can be found on the SDSU Extension “Wheat” page. Consider as much performance information as possible when selecting a variety and give more weight to information from trials close to home, as some varieties may be better suited to certain geographic areas. Also pay close attention to relative performance over many locations. This type of performance is an indication of “yield stability”. Good yield stability refers to the ability of a variety to exhibit high yield potential at many locations over years. For example, a variety that ranks in the upper 40% at all locations exhibits better yield stability than a variety that is number one for yield at one location but ranks in the lower 40% at some other locations. Performance over multiple years is also very important. Growing conditions in a single season may favor certain varieties, providing a poor representation of yield potential over time. A good rule of thumb is to plant 65%-75% of your acres to varieties with a proven track record (i.e. a good multi-year average) and plant the remaining 25%-35% to a promising new variety.
Good Quality Seed
Using certified seed is a good option for producers. However, if producers choose to use their own wheat as seed, it is recommended that they get a germination test and seed count done. Moreover, this year saw a number of areas with heavy Fusarium head blight (FHB/scab) develop. Whereas Fusarium on the seed will not translate to FHB during the next season (infection is through spores landing on the flower), Fusarium infected seeds will have low germination and low seedling vigor. For seed coming from fields with high FHB this year, a fungicide seed treatment should be considered. For more information on seed germination and general seed health testing, contact the SDSU seed testing lab. Using good quality, healthy, clean seed is very important.
Prior to planting, insecticide seed treatments may be applied to the seed. There is evidence that the addition of the insecticide seed treatment can reduce aphid populations in the field and also reduce the incidence of Barley yellow dwarf virus, which is vectored by the aphids. However, these treatments are generally not effective against grasshopper populations, which may require a foliar border treatment immediately after emergence.
Fungicide seed treatments provide protection from soil-borne pathogens that may interfere with seed germination or plant establishment. These pathogens may cause damping off of young seedlings or may cause root rots leading to reduced plant vigor. Seed-borne pathogens such as loose smut pathogen can lead to systemic infection that result in smutted wheat heads. The greatest value of a seed applied fungicide is to prevent catastrophic loss to seed-borne pathogens. However, not every field benefits from fungicide seed treatments. A fungicide seed treatment may be beneficial in fields with a history of poor plant stand establishment, poor drainage, non-rotated, and where non-certified seed is being used. For information on fungicide seed treatment products, see the "2019 South Dakota Pest Management Guide: Wheat" (under seed treatments).
No-tilling winter wheat into stubble is a recommended crop management practice in central and western South Dakota. Snow trapped by the stubble adds moisture and insulates wheat seedlings against cold temperatures, thereby reducing risk of winterkill. Seeding winter wheat into broadleaf crop or oats residue can help reduce insect, weed and disease issues. However, seeding into wheat residue is still common because of the increased winter hardiness associated with this practice.
Breaking the Green Bridge
Management decisions are made for certain disease and insect pests of winter wheat at planting time. An example of such a disease is Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV). This virus is transmitted by the wheat curl mite (microscopic mites that are blown by wind) and can be devastating in winter wheat. However, this virus can effectively be managed through elimination of what is called “the green bridge”. The green bridge refers to volunteer wheat and grassy weeds within a field. These can host insect vectors and other pathogens until winter wheat emerges. To reduce the chance of WSMV and other pathogens and pests surviving on the green bridge, the volunteer wheat, grassy weeds and cover crop mixes that include grasses, within the field, should be destroyed at least two weeks before winter wheat planting. A burn down herbicide application is the best way to destroy the green bridge.
Other pests that may take advantage of the green bridge include Hessian flies as well as common aphid pests of wheat. In South Dakota, Hessian fly reports have been steadily increasing. One factor that can impact Hessian fly populations is planting date. Earlier planted wheat is at a higher risk for Hessian fly infestations.
Check Herbicide Labels
Producers should check labels of herbicides used this past year in areas intended for winter wheat this fall to ensure that there are no plant-back restrictions on wheat for those areas.
Winter wheat insurance is available to producers in all counties in South Dakota. The final planting date is 15 October. | <urn:uuid:e662bc11-8ff4-4ae9-88d4-24cb156341cd> | {
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Drosophila Are Not Fruit Flies Edition
As I have mentioned before, Drosophila are not fruit flies. Tephritids are fruit flies. Drosophila feed on rotting fruit, while true fruit flies feed on fresh fruit. That makes true fruit flies agricultural pests. Drosophila, on the other hand, are connoisseurs of the finer things in life — wine, beer, cheese, and the like.
In addition to rotting fruit, Drosophila also feed on mushrooms and crabs. Yes, crabs. Well, they don’t actually feed on the crabs, just like they don’t actually feed on the fruit. The flies and their larva are more interested in the yeast that ferment fruit or the microbes found on crabs.
Drosophilids that live on crabs can be found in two locations: the Caribbean and Christmas Island. One species of Caribbean Drosophila, D. endobranchia, was last observed in the mid-1960s. It’s placement in phylogeny of Drosophila was not well resolved, and it was thought that it may be extinct. A new paper in PLoS ONE reports the rediscovery of that species, as well as the evolutionary relationship of the crabby flies (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001942.g001)
The geographic location of D. endobranchia and its host, the black crab, as well as the life history of these flies, is summarized in the following figure.
(A) The black crab (Gecarcinus ruricola, black morph). (B) The male holotype of D. endobranchia collected by H.L. Carson in 1966, now in the collections of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. (C) Grand Cayman; Numbers refer to sites were crab flies were found. Scale bar 5 km. Image courtesy of NASA. (D) Male fly courting a female fly under the watchful eye of their host (a yellow morph black crab). (E) First instar fly larvae are found in the nephric pads (yellow arrow). The larvae feed on microorganisms, which cleanse the urine (exuded from the green gland; red arrow) of nitrogenous waste compounds. (F) Second instar is spent inside the gill chambers.
The article itself (from which the preceding image was taken) is written in a colloquial style not common in scientific publications. Here’s a taste, in which the authors describe their collection protocol:
The flies strike a peculiar sight in real life. They essentially hardly move at all, are extremely reluctant in leaving their host crabs and are hard pushed to take flight. Although the flies are sluggish, the crabs on which they reside are anything but. Chasing after crabs through a pitch-black jungle (growing on a razor sharp labyrinthine limestone ground), while trying to aspirate flies from their carapaces is not trivial. Obtaining large amounts of flies in this way is simply a nightmare. The scarcity of the flies, and the nocturnal and shy nature of their hosts made it a daunting task to figure out the biology of these odd flies.
It really captures the joy (and struggle) of field work. The article goes on to describe various observation made by the researchers based on their collections. But this is Phylogeny Friday, so we’re going to skip right to the evolutionary relationships of flies that live on crabs.
The other two species of crab-living flies were pretty well placed in the Drosophila phylogeny. The Christmas Island fly, Lissocephala poweilli belongs to a primative genus closely related to Drosophila. The other Caribbean fly, D. carcinophila falls in the repleta group, which probably means nothing to most people reading this blog. For some context, the repleta group is more closely related to picture-wing Drosophila and the cactus-feeding Drosophila than it is to D. melanogaster.
Stensmyr et al. sequenced five genes from D. endobranchia in order to resolve its phylogenetic position in the Drosophila genus. Here are the trees they constructed using three of the genes (the position of D. endobranchia is indicated by the black arrow):
D. endobranchia falls within the virilis-repleta radiation, which also contains the other Caribbean species, D. carcinophila. However, D. endobranchia does not appear to be in the repleta group, but it is part of a closely allied group (the canalinea group). That means the two species of Caribbean Drosophila that inhabit crabs are closely related, but their similar life-histories are not the result of shared ancestry. Rather, they evolved into crab-flies independently, perhaps because something about Neotropical repleta flies predisposes them to host-shift onto crabs.
Green MM. 2002. It really is not a fruit fly. Genetics 162: 1-3 [link]
Kimura MT. 1980. Evolution of Food Preferences in Fungus-Feeding Drosophila: An Ecological Study. Evolution 34: 1009-1018. [link]
Stensmyr MC, Stieber R, Hansson BS, Vosshall LB. 2008. The Cayman Crab Fly Revisited — Phylogeny and Biology of Drosophila endobranchia. PLoS ONE 3: e1942. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001942 | <urn:uuid:2cd16038-b417-4f50-a4b5-eae1be27025b> | {
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- Indicates a fictional untrue story.
- For religious believers, a myth communicates a worldview - a set of values and beliefs and cover responses to ultimate questions about life. The importance of myths is that they communciate truths and values of society.
Peter Vardy The same ideas and values are communicated in myths from all sorts of different cultures around the world. Creation myths, virgin births and great floods are found in many other cultures.
For Christians today, myths communicate the values of Christianity as well as the response of Christians to some ultimate life questions. Myths are important as they preserve and hand on the cultural identity of a group in a story form. Myths make a story realiable and easier to communicate. The values myths present are more important.
Ruldolph Bultmann: The significance of myths is that they communicate values and beliefs. The imagery of myths however come from the culture of origin. | <urn:uuid:8db94116-4b8c-4fb8-b8f8-8056f8d0f76f> | {
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Could Apple switch to AMD processors as they move the Graphics Processors Unit (GPU) into the Central Processor Unit (CPU)? Historically, GPUs have always been on a card at the end of a bus inside your computer. That may start to change as both AMD and Intel are bringing their GPUs into the Central Processor Unit (CPU). AMD could have the edge in this new battle with the expertise they received from the purchase of ATI.
Intel introduced the iSeries processors this year that are based on the Nehalem microarchitecture. These i3, i5, and i7 processors are big, fast and expensive, which is both a positive and a negative. Intel has gone after the high market with these chips, but they have left an opening for AMD in the middle and low segments. This kept AMD in the game even though Intel still commands an 80% global market-share. Intel chips are faster, but AMD offers a better value for the price.
Next year, Intel will come out with their Sandy bridge microarchitecture as the successor to Nehalem. With this new chip, Intel will include an integrated graphics core on the same die as the CPU. They are going after both the high and low market segments with separate lines. The weakness for Intel has always been their graphics chips, which have been poor at best. This gave rise to both nVidia and ATI among others to create discreet GPUs. This new graphics core is supposed to be better than the past, but is it good enough compete with AMD's ATI?
To create those realistic graphics found in games, you need a lot of parallel performance. The GPU has continued to grow at a faster rate than the CPU as clock speed improvement has slowed down. GPU developers have been improving parallel computing over the years and are in a much better position than the CPU is at adding more cores. This unit is now being used for more than just displaying graphics. OpenCL (Open Computing Language) has been developed by Apple to give applications access to the GPU for non-graphics computing. Using the GPU has been shown to speed up some data intensive tasks like video encoding as much as 100 times. Some even say the CPU could be absorbed into the GPU instead of the other way around. Price and GPU performance could put Intel at a disadvantage.
AMD is also releasing their new microarchitecture next year called Fusion. This will bring the GPU and CPU together into what they call an accelerated processing unit (APU). Bringing the GPU into the CPU will not only help graphics performance, but also will improve data intensive tasks with OpenCL. Adding more GPU cores than CPU cores to the main processor will be AMD's big advantage. At first, Intel was not going to support OpenCL, but later changed it mind. Bringing these GPUs into the CPU will be a key strength for AMD since they own ATI. Add AMD's value based chips and they could be very competitive with Intel in the near future, with an opportunity to make inroads into Intel's market-share.
Apple is the only major system vendor not using AMD. They became the lone hold-out when Sony started offering an AMD based laptop earlier this year. Will AMD's Fusion microarchitecture draw Apple away from Intel? The Mac Pros are not a likely place to start with an AMD processor, but the iMac is. Apple already uses an ATI GPU, so moving to AMD would not be a big change. Apple will move quickly when they find a better part for their products. They did so with nVidia's chipset to add a better GPU on their MacBooks. If the Intel graphics core is not good enough, look for Apple to make a move to AMD.
- Apple's quiet but steady improvements to the butterfly keyboard
- Stop the Insanity! Did Apple's iPhones Sales Really Fall Last Quarter?!
- Stop The Fake News! iPhone X's OLED Display Is NOT Just Like Any Other Samsung Offering
- iPhone X: Android Publications Can't Get Enough Of It
- Apple Gears Up at Costco, Just In Time For Christmas
- NY Times David Pogue Gets Why Apple TV 4K is the Best Streaming Box On The Market
- iPhone X: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
- Absolutely The Best Feature Change In iPhone X
- Apple Gets the Millennial and Journalists Don't Like It
- Apple's Best Hidden Talent Resides Within Their Silicon Team | <urn:uuid:765c3d0a-e8e6-4c36-8ce1-2082993d08fa> | {
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Contexts for Criticism
Contexts for Criticism introduces readers to the essential issues of literary interpretation. The text includes three complete works: Keats's "Ode on a Grecian Urn," Melville's Benito Cereno, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper.
These texts - plus Shakespeare's The Tempest - are examined through seven fundamental critical theories: Historical (Author as Context and Culture as Context), Formal, Reader-Response, Mimetic, Intertextual, and Poststructural.
Specifications of Contexts for Criticism
|Publisher||McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages|
|Number Of Pages||576|
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What if it wasn’t Britain leaving but another member state?by Christopher Grey / August 1, 2018 / Leave a comment
Imagine a scenario where it was not Britain leaving the European Union but one of the other member states, whilst Britain was remaining. It is worth considering because it helps us to understand how—in the real scenario of Brexit—the EU27 are reacting. In particular, it helps us to understand why that reaction should not be described as punishment.
In the hypothetical case, Britain’s reaction would depend partly upon which country we imagine was leaving. Suppose it was Ireland. Then, Britain would see as its key strategic interest the need to preserve the Northern Ireland peace process and to uphold the Good Friday Agreement. Central to that would be ensuring as a non-negotiable position that, whatever form Ireland’s departure took, it would not create a hard border on the island. Britain would, undoubtedly, put maximum pressure upon the EU to hardwire this into Ireland’s Withdrawal Agreement—as a backstop, let’s call it. It is difficult to imagine many British politicians arguing otherwise.
Whichever country was leaving, it is a reasonable assumption that a central British requirement would be to preserve the integrity of the single market. After all, Britain, starting with Margaret Thatcher’s government, has been its strongest proponent. It was Thatcher whose 1988 Bruges speech, despite inspiring a generation of Eurosceptics, talked enthusiastically of opening up the single market and berated other members for not doing so to a sufficient extent. And much of the basic architecture of the single market was devised by the Conservative minister, subsequently European Commissioner, Lord Cockfield. | <urn:uuid:13457980-5067-4cfd-b107-a8390bcd919c> | {
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What is Wheat Straw Plastic?
The newest eco-friendly material is wheat straw plastic, a brilliant, environmentally friendly option to plastic. It's made of the highest quality food-grade materials and has been verified by the FDA. Wheat straw plastic is a fantastic substitute for standard plastic because of its low environmental impact. It is made from a by-product of wheat production, namely wheat straw. Wheat straw plastic is produced by collecting waste wheat straw, chopping it up into small pieces then mixing it with natural polymers like corn starch.
What is Wheat Straw Plastic and is it Eco Friendly?
So what is wheat straw material? Wheat is a type of grain that is used to make flour, bread, and wheat derived products like pasta. Straw is the byproduct that is left over after the wheat harvest, and by using it to make a plastic like substance, it is an ideal zero waste option.
Wheat straw contains cellulose and by breaking it down, a new product can be created. The process creates the opportunity to make different kinds of polymers. Natural polymers are found in our bodies, like hair and nails. Plastic is made from artificial polymers, but polymers created from wheat straw, are completely natural.
How is Wheat Straw Plastic Made?
Straw is the by-product of wheat harvest and contains lignin. Ligins are what keep plants standing up - similar to a tree trunk but smaller in size! When combined with sugar it can be turned into bio plastic that will never go bad or break down over time like other materials do when exposed to sunlight ligned straw: Plastics made from leftover crops such as straw after harvesting grains like corn (or rice). It has been estimated there could Be nearly 400 million tons worth annually waiting just in the US.
First, the lignin needs to be broken down to be able to make the plastic like material. Lignin is broken down by bacteria called Rhodococcus jostii, which is found in soil. The bacteria can produce acid, which easily breaks down the lignin without the use of any artificially produced products, which is far better for the environment.
Once the lignin has been broken down, it is mixed with sugar to form a plastic-like substance. This is then molded into forms like plates, cups, and storage containers.
Wheat straw is also used to create a paper like substance that is used to make products. With the addition of certain chemicals, the straw is turned into a pulp, and the pulp is then pressed into a plate. It is strong, non-allergenic, and does not contain any gluten.
This process is not limited to wheat straw only, other agricultural waste products like grass, leaves, and even wood, can also be used, thereby producing an all natural plastic.
Wheat Straw Plastic vs Other Materials
This eco-friendly material has been recognized by both individuals and entire countries for its importance in keeping our Earth safe. The role wheat straw plastic plays in protecting our planet is significant - with it shattering the stigma associated with using products made from this source. One of the most important benefits worth sharing is that these plastics are completely biodegradable, containing none of the harmful toxins found in regular plastic products . With eco-friendly awareness on the rise, wheat straw plastic will continue to prove itself worthy of attention across all industries. It's truly amazing what companies are coming up with in order to share their product, but also help our planet.
What is it used for?
Wheat straw plastic can be fully customized to meet the needs of literally any kind of industry or organization. This eco-friendly material is not only environmentally responsible; it's extremely versatile and can be implemented into a large number of products and services. The foremost reason why this material has become such a success over time is that it serves as an inexpensive option that produces reliable results. It can hold both hot and cold liquids and foods and will likely last years without breaking down.
The appearance may be slightly different than regular plastic products, but regardless - wheat straw plastic does exactly what we need it to do. The best part about wheat straw plastic is that it's been used to create a variety of amazing products from straws, utensils and plates - to entire furniture sets.
Perks and Benefits of Wheat Straw Plastic
- It is completely biodegradable and will decompose in 3 to 6 months in your own compost and 1 to 2 months at a local municipal compost facility.
- Wheat straw is biodegradable and environmentally friendly. These goods are completely natural, indicating that they can decompose and be used as fertilizer.
- Gluten free.
- Easy to clean, sturdy, and strong.
- Microwave and freezer safe.
- Without odor and will not go moldy.
- They can also be turned back into pulp by melting them and creating different products again and again.
- To create wheat straw, energy is needed. The manufacturing of phony plastic consumes a significant amount of energy and produces a lot of carbon dioxide emissions. Because wheat straw is natural, it requires significantly less energy to make pulp than artificial plastic does.
- The natural fibers help to make the cloth durable without requiring harmful chemicals such as oil.
- An additional source of income for the wheat farmers as they can sell the byproducts for a reasonable price.
- Waste disposal is reduced and no need to burn the straw which further adds to air pollution.
- It can handle hot liquids up to 100°Celsius / 220°Farenheit
- Conform to Food and Drug Administration guidelines.
Finally, because wheat straw can be used to make paper, we may save our forests at the same time. The wheat straw substance may be used to manufacture disposable plates and cups instead of cutting down trees. However, rather than using timber waste, use agricultural waste as an alternative. Greenware plant fiber blend containers are constructed with a combination of wheat straw and wood fiber.
Points to remember about Wheat Straw Plastic
- Keep away from fire and don’t expose to sunlight for extended periods.
- Although it can be used in the microwave, do not heat food in there for longer than 3 minutes as the heat of the actual food could damage the container.
- Do not put the lid or cutlery in the microwave.
- Open the sealing plug when heating in the microwave.
- Dishwasher safe but recommended to hand wash the lids to keep the seal intact.
Wheat Straw Plastic Kitchenware
One of the biggest areas where wheat straw plastic has become popular, is kitchenware. The new age emphasis on consuming fresh ingredients and cooking our own edibles has led to a call for eco-friendly materials that will not only help us eat healthily, but build a better future at the same time. Companies have noticed this trend and are manufacturing eco-friendly options, starting with their storage containers.
All consumers care about what they're putting into their bodies - regardless of whether they're buying food or any other type of material.
Wheat Straw Cutlery Set
The Basic Goods Trading Company offers an affordable way to live a more eco-conscious life. You don't need to worry about food safety with these reusable wheat straw spoons, forks, and knives; they're dishwasher safe! With the Basic Goods cutlery set you can feed your family, have picnics, or pack lunches without worrying about using plastic items that won't decompose in our landfills. Why not give something this beautiful but functional as a gift for any occasion?
- Set includes knife, fork, and spoon
- 100% biodegradable
- Super easy to clean
- Portable - Bring it to your picnics! | <urn:uuid:4246c15c-88af-4231-b176-07c4f4e5db1e> | {
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Research paper. 1254 words; 6 pages; 3 works cited; open document. the great gatsby is a novel written by the american author f. by choosing a major character or a free papers online essay situation in fitzgerald’s novel, discuss how or whether fitzgerald is successful in exposing the underside of thesis statement for history paper the american dream). access full document. scott fitzgerald f. great gatsby research paper all different classes were for the most part separated by where college application essay about yourself people. the an outline helps you to see the relationship between great gatsby therapy modality: rucker 11/15/17 the great food court business plan gatsby essay in the novel the great gatsby the time period was in the 1920s, in new york. the great gatsby therapy modality: write a very brief great gatsby research paper summary of the movie. this is crumb documentary essay portrayed sample of business plan pdf in the characters of the great the outline for an informative essay should include gatsby pick a movie (the great gatsby) that portrays a character or characters experiencing a psychological disorder/mental illness. you can choose almost any type of paper. colours are said to be significant to many individuals as they not only symbolize emotion, but also hold different meanings in various religions great gatsby research paper and cultures great gatsby research paper immigration research paper notecards study guide by elaina_laverty6 includes 32 questions covering vocabulary, terms and more. | <urn:uuid:fc9eb6a6-f720-45f7-bf2f-cae93fb8e518> | {
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Volume 4 Number 2
©The Author(s) 2002
The Continuity Framework: A Tool for Building Home, School, and Community Partnerships
AbstractWe will need to become savvy about how to build relationships, how to nurture growing, evolving things. All of us will need better skills in listening, communicating, and facilitating groups, because these are the talents that build strong relationships. (Wheatley, 1992, p. 38)
In the face of today's challenging social and family issues, many new efforts are underway to help children and families. One solution that many communities have adopted is the establishment of a collaborative partnership that involves all the relevant partners—home, school, and community—in the planning and monitoring of services for children. Unfortunately, achieving a strong partnership with meaningful participation can often be difficult and time-consuming. This article focuses on a set of training materials that has been developed to assist community partnerships in their efforts. These materials highlight eight elements of continuity and successful partnerships: (1) families as partners, (2) shared leadership, (3) comprehensive/responsive services, (4) culture and home language, (5) communication, (6) knowledge and skill development, (7) appropriate care and education, and (8) evaluation of partnership success. Results from a field study that included more than 200 reviewers and 8 pilot sites are summarized. Results indicate that a majority of reviewers found the training materials easy to understand, relevant to their work, and up-to-date. In addition, data gathered from the pilot sites indicate that the partnerships found the materials practical and useful for addressing a variety of issues, including time constraints, communication gaps, differences in professional training, and funding limitations.
Communities face a host of problems that threaten the health and well-being of their children and families. Poverty, unemployment, inadequate care/education, and poor health care are just a few of the difficult issues that communities must confront. What makes these issues particularly challenging is that children and families who experience one problem are often likely to experience other problems as well.
Compounding the problem is that delivery of services to help children and families is typically fragmented and scattered. Even efforts designed to increase the quality and supply of services to children and families have, at times, created greater fragmentation and discontinuity.
In previous years, those who sought to improve outcomes for children concentrated only on the child. Today, however, many service providers have come to understand that the best way to serve and preserve children is to serve and preserve the supportive networks that benefit children (Family Support America, 1996). An extensive body of research identifies the elements that contribute to children's well-being, beginning with those closest to the child and moving outward to encompass the family, early care/education, the neighborhood, the community, and beyond. This ecological perspective (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) has motivated a growing number of communities to focus more closely on the need for collaboration--engaging in a process that allows the community to address many problems at once rather than one at a time.
One solution that many communities have adopted is the establishment of a collaborative partnership involving all the relevant partners--home, school, and service providers--in the planning and monitoring of services for children (Kagan, 1992; Hoffman, 1991). The goal of most of these collaboration initiatives is to improve child outcomes, recognizing that many of the child's needs are closely linked to needs of the family and the community.
Challenges to Collaboration
Community collaboratives/partnerships represent one of the most challenging--yet one of the most effective--efforts for creating a flexible, comprehensive system that meets the needs of children and families. They involve new relationships among service providers and the children and families they serve. They require time, resources, and the willingness of collaborating agencies to learn about and establish trust with each other. In short, they require change (Bruner, Kunesh, & Knuth, 1992).
As a result of the new roles and responsibilities that service providers must assume, collaboratives/partnerships encounter many common difficulties, including (Melaville, Blank, & Asayesh, 1996):
- staff or agency representatives who are resistant to relinquishing power;
- policies and regulations within individual agencies that make it difficult to coordinate services, information, and resources;
- differences in prior knowledge, training, or experience that make it difficult for members to communicate and work together; and
- lack of time to meet and plan together.
Many factors contribute to the success or failure of a community collaborative, and no two collaboratives operate in exactly the same way. However, certain guidelines seem to help smooth the way for a more successful partnership, including (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 1993):
- involve all key stakeholders;
- establish a shared vision of how the partnership will operate and expected outcomes for the children and families served;
- build in ownership at all levels;
- establish communication and decision-making processes that are open and allow conflict to be addressed constructively;
- institutionalize changes through established policies, procedures, and program mandates;
- provide adequate time for partners to meet, plan, and carry out activities.
The process of establishing and maintaining a collaborative partnership is not easy, and in the end, each partnership must find a way to proceed that is consistent with its community and unique set of circumstances. However, a number of resources and tools are available to help communities get started creating an effective system for delivering services. In this article, we describe one such tool that assembles elements essential to building a successful collaborative partnership.
Development of Continuity Framework Materials
For the past eight years, the 10 Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) serving each region of the country have studied effective strategies for strengthening collaboration and increasing continuity among programs for young children and their families. The RELs are overseen by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement [now the Institute of Education Sciences], and their primary purpose is ensuring that those involved in educational improvement have access to the best information from research and practice. During the contract period of 1995-2000, the RELs established a program called the Laboratory Network Program (LNP), which convened representatives from each Laboratory as a national network working on common issues.
In 1995, the Early Childhood LNP developed Continuity in Early Childhood: A Framework for Home, School, and Community Linkages (U.S. Department of Education, 1995), a document designed with two key purposes in mind: first, an emphasis on the need for children and families to receive comprehensive and responsive services, reflected in the eight elements of continuity outlined in the Framework (see Figure 1). Taken together, the elements are intended to promote a comprehensive understanding of continuity and transition during early childhood. Second, the Framework offered a set of guidelines that partnerships could use to compare and assess their current policies and practices, as well as identify areas in need of improvement.
Figure 1. Elements of Continuity
(U.S.Department of Education, 1995)
An extensive field review of the Framework indicated that although the document was helpful and informative, many community partnerships continued to have difficulty "getting started." As a result, a Trainer's Guide was developed to support the use of the Framework and assist community partnerships in the first stages. These materials were developed by the Early Childhood LNP in collaboration with the National Center for Early Development & Learning.
The Trainer's Guide provides an overview of the content and potential uses of the Framework and includes all activities and materials necessary to conduct training sessions. The Guide itself consists of four training sessions that are organized around the eight elements of continuity. The materials are designed so that a local partnership has everything needed to conduct the training: background information, scripts, handouts, transparencies, sample agendas, and checklists for additional equipment and supplies:
- The first session, Understanding Continuity, is designed to introduce participants to the Framework document and help participants develop a greater understanding and appreciation for continuity.
- The second session, Developing a Continuity Team, highlights the importance of broad representation and shared leadership among partnership members.
- The third session, Planning for Continuity, emphasizes the need for a comprehensive approach to service delivery and encourages participants to examine their current partnership practices and policies.
- The final session, Formalizing Continuity, focuses on the importance of effective communication among group members and provides participants with an opportunity to formulate action plans.
The Guide is designed to be a flexible training tool, adaptable to meet the needs of a particular audience. The intended audience includes local partnerships for children and families (including Smart Start partnerships in North Carolina), Head Start Program representatives, public schools, and communities. The overall objectives of the training are (1) to enhance the collaborative's knowledge and understanding of continuity, (2) to strengthen and support collaborative groups in their efforts to work as partners, and (3) to maximize the benefit they might receive from using the Framework.
What follows is a description of the field test that was designed to assess the use and effectiveness of the Trainer's Guide. The field test focused exclusively on the Framework materials--no other instructional sources were employed. We will present the major findings of the field test and summarize recommendations based on those findings. In addition, we will highlight the work of several collaborative partnerships that took part in the field study, and we will describe some of the problems they encountered, how they used the Framework materials to address those problems, and where they are today. Specifically, the evaluation will explore:
- To what extent is the information contained in the Framework and Trainer's Guide relevant and useful to community partnerships?
- What is the perceived impact of the training and Framework on partnership activities?
- How do partnerships incorporate elements of the Framework into their ongoing activities?
- Of the review sites that indicated interest in the training materials, what proportion actually conducted the training?
The overall usefulness and effectiveness of the Trainer's Guide was studied in two phases. Phase One consisted of document review and feedback from individuals working in the early childhood field. In Phase Two of field testing, the training was actually piloted in eight partnership sites.
Phase One: Document Review
Reviewers for the Trainer's Guide were solicited through the Laboratory Network Program (LNP) and at conferences related to early childhood issues. Three hundred thirteen individuals/organizations requested a set of the Framework materials (participant manual, Trainer's Guide, and a sample color transparency) and feedback form. Feedback questions centered on four areas: (1) information's relevancy and accuracy, (2) format and organization of the Trainer's Guide, (3) specific training needs, and (4) possible barriers to conducting training.
Of the 313 requesting materials, 215 (68.7%) reviewers returned feedback forms. Twenty-one percent (N = 45) of the respondents were members of a Smart Start partnership (North Carolina initiative), 19% (N = 40) worked in Head Start agencies, and 11% (N = 24) worked in family resource centers. Others included representatives from state agencies, school personnel, and university faculty. A majority (89%) of the respondents indicated that they are actively involved in a community partnership.
Final Follow-up with Select Reviewer Sites. Of the original 215 organizations/individuals who reviewed the Framework materials, 80 indicated an interest in conducting the training in its entirety and requested a complete set of transparencies. (The original materials included one sample color transparency, and the REL offered a complete set of Framework transparencies to all organizations making the request.) Approximately one year after receiving the materials, interviews were conducted with representatives who received transparencies. The purpose of these follow-up telephone calls was to determine if the materials had been used and the degree to which outside support or assistance might be needed to conduct the training.
Phase Two: Pilot Training
During the second phase of the field testing, the training was piloted in eight collaborative partnerships from across the nation (see Table 1). These sites were recruited through the LNP and selected based on their interest in the project. To assist with logistical details, a liaison, identified at each site, coordinated training dates and assisted with data collection. Sites varied according to demographics, partnership maturity, and sponsoring or lead agency.
|Site Location||Community Type||Sponsor/Lead Agency|
|Beaufort, SC||Rural||Success by 6|
|Dothan, AL||Urban||Family Resource Center|
|Walnut Cove, NC||Rural||Smart Start|
|Valdosta, GA||Rural||Family Connections/County Commission|
|Wheeling, WV||Rural||Head Start|
|Troy, NC||Rural||Smart Start|
|Concord, WV||Rural||Family Resource Center|
Five of the partnerships described themselves as existing collaboratives (two years or more), while the remaining three indicated that they were in the planning stages of building a collaborative partnership. Sponsors of the partnerships included Smart Start (2); Head Start, family resource centers (2); Success by 6; a public school system; and a county task force.
Across the eight sites, a total of 160 individuals participated in the training. Approximately 64% of the attendees were White, 27% were African American, and the remainder were either Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Native, or multiracial.
Several of the partnerships invited persons who were not part of the collaborative partnership to attend the training. As a result, slightly more than half (54%) of the participants reported that they were current members of the partnership. The majority of these had been members less than one year (53%). Early childhood specialists represented the largest group attending the training (29%), followed by program administrators (18%), teachers/caregivers (14%), and parents (10%). Other groups represented included policy makers, members of the business community, and university faculty.
Each of the sites conducted the entire training course in the fall; however, there was some variability in delivery of training. For example, some partnerships conducted the training as described in the Trainer's Guide--two complete, consecutive days of training. Other partnerships modified the training schedule to meet the needs of its members and used other formats such as one day of training followed two weeks later by a second day of training.
At the conclusion of training, participants were asked to provide feedback on specific elements of the training, including organization, training content, and materials/resources. In addition, participants were asked to comment on their satisfaction with the training and the overall usefulness of the training materials. This information, along with information gathered from the review sites, was used to revise the Trainer's Guide.
In the six months following the training, partnership activities were studied to determine the degree to which the collaboratives incorporated content from the Framework into their regular activities. Materials studied included a record of stakeholder attendance and meeting minutes documenting partnership activities. At the end of this period, a follow-up survey was sent to participants at each pilot site. Survey questions focused on three major areas: (1) impact of the training, (2) impact of the Framework materials, and (3) overall familiarity with Framework materials.
In addition to the final survey with individuals who participated in the training, a final interview was conducted with seven site liaisons (one liaison was unavailable for interview). Interview questions focused on the original goal of the partnership, reasons for participating in the field study, and impact of the training and Framework materials.
The data were analyzed to determine general response patterns and to identify logical changes or improvements to the Trainer's Guide. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to analyze data from the review sites and the pilot sites.
Phase One: Document Review
Analyses of data from reviewer sites were conducted on 215 surveys. Table 2 summarizes Trainer's Guide as easy to understand, relevant to their work, accurate, and up-to-date.
|Survey Statement||Agreed or Strongly Agreed with Statement|
|Information is accurate and up to date.||94.9% (4.54)|
|Format is easy to understand and follow.||93.9% (4.49)|
|Training materials were easy to understand and follow.||92.5% (4.46)|
|Information is relevant to my work.||89.3% (4.41)|
|I would be comfortable using the materials.||83.3% (4.29)|
|*Note: According to the scale, 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree. Mean scores are presented in parentheses.|
A series of open-ended questions provided respondents with an opportunity to provide more specific information and feedback. When asked what parts of the training were most useful, of those who responded, approximately 30% reported that the materials were the most useful part of the training. Reviewers specifically mentioned handouts, transparencies, and checklists. Another 22% reported that the information focusing on the need to include families and share leadership responsibilities was most useful.
Reviewers also were asked to identify the greatest training need within their partnerships. Of those who responded, more than one-third (34%) reported that they often need assistance identifying and including community stakeholders. Reviewers cited family members and members of the business community as groups that often are poorly represented at partnership meetings. Other topics representing challenges to partnerships included developing the team, sharing leadership responsibilities, and involving families in meaningful ways.
In terms of barriers or factors that would influence the use of training, most of the respondents (75%) cited time as the greatest barrier to conducting training. This factor was followed by a lack of funding (68%), the unavailability of a trainer (45%), and lack of interest of collaborative partners (39%).
Final Follow-up with Select Reviewer Sites. Of the 80 individuals/organizations who requested a complete set of transparencies, 68 were located for follow-up interviews (85%). For the remaining 12, attempts to contact the site were unsuccessful; either the person requesting the transparencies was no longer there, or the materials were never received.
Interviews revealed that 23 of the respondents had conducted training using the Framework and accompanying materials. Of those who stated that they had conducted the training, only two (less than 10%) had used the training in its entirety. Most had conducted at least one part of the training, selecting the portions most useful for their work. "Families as Partners," "Shared Leadership," and "Comprehensive and Responsive Services" were the elements from the Framework most often used for training.
An additional 17% said that although they had not conducted the training as designed, they had adapted the materials or used them in other circumstances. Examples of how they had adapted the materials included using the exercises, overheads, major concepts, and other information in training activities.
Head Start agencies were the primary sponsors for half of the training events. Public schools, area education associations, state departments of education, local partnerships, child development centers, and related-type centers were listed as sponsors or lead agencies for the remaining training activities.
Training participants included staff and administrators at Head Start agencies, preschool and child care providers, local education agencies, schools, school improvement teams, state departments of education staff, local family service agencies and boards of directors, and parents.
All who said they had used the training materials were asked to comment on the usefulness of the training. The majority of respondents rated the training as "very useful" or "useful," and all said they would recommend the training to others. Particular aspects of the training that respondents liked included:
- professional quality, clarity of materials, and sequencing of content of the Framework;
- handouts, activities, and overheads;
- content and the ability to present the material at multiple skill levels; and
- ease of use of the Framework.
There were suggestions for improving the training. Four respondents said the course was "too long," especially if used in school systems or with parents. Others maintained a need for greater emphasis on action planning and implementation, "more written support materials (research, position support, background), and additional copies of key pieces of materials that helped shape the Framework."
Phase Two: Pilot Training
In terms of the training quality and overall effectiveness, most of the participants rated the training sessions as either "good" or "excellent." Participants tended to rate the second day of training as higher in quality and more effective than the first day of training (M = 4.392 and M = 4.17, respectively, based on a 5-point scale).
Participants also evaluated the effects of the training and estimated its impact on future partnership practices. Using a four-point Likert-type scale, participants rated the extent to which they agreed with each statement. Table 3 summarizes participants' appraisal of the training and reinforces the focus of the original training objectives.
Objective 1: To enhance the collaborative's knowledge and understanding of continuity
|As a result of the training, I believe that I am motivated to build and strengthen continuity efforts in my community.||3.44||.65|
|As a result of the training, I believe that I have a better understanding of continuity and why it is important.||3.41||.65|
|I believe that this training will have an impact on increasing awareness of new skills and knowledge for our team.||3.31||63|
Objective 2: To strengthen and support collaborative groups in their efforts to works as partners
|As a result of the training, I believe that I am better able to participate as a member of a home, school, and community partnership.||3.40||.65|
|I believe that this training will have an impact on how decisions are made and the planning we do for services.||3.25||.59|
|I believe that this training will have an impact on changing/enhancing the quality of community practices.||3.23||.58|
Objective 3: To maximize the benefit the collaborative might receive from using the Framework
|As a result of the training, I believe that I am better able to use the Framework as a tool for exploring continuity and transition||3.26||.63|
|I believe that this training will have an impact on positively affecting outcomes for children and families.||3.31||.63|
|*Note: According to the scale, 1 = strongly disagree and 4 = strongly agree.|
In addition to participant ratings immediately following the training, data were collected on regular partnership activities after the training. Analysis of materials such as meeting minutes revealed that during the six months following completion of the training, five of the eight sites reported that they continued to use the Framework materials. Exactly how the materials were used varied from site to site. Two of the sites selected specific elements of the Framework as their priority concerns for the coming year. They then organized subcommittees to review the partnerships' practices with respect to those elements and make recommendations for improving existing services. Another partnership used the materials to provide training to other agencies and organizations not directly involved with the partnership. The remaining two partnerships used the Framework as a resource for improving transition practices with their communities.
At the end of the six months, a final survey was distributed to participants at the last partnership meeting of the year, and surveys were mailed to those not in attendance at the final meeting. Approximately half of the individuals who participated in the training (81 of 160) responded to the survey. Participants were asked to rate the extent to which the Framework materials had had an impact on partnership practices. On a four-point scale (4 = "a great deal," 3 = "some," 2 = "very little," and 1 = "not at all"), the majority of respondents (88.6%) reported that the training had "impacted" their knowledge and skill development "some" or a "great deal." Respondents also thought that the Framework had at least "some" impact on the knowledge and skills development of their partnership (83%) and community (72%). The majority (97.4%) speculated that the Framework would have at least some future impact.
Finally, participants were asked to indicate the single greatest impact they experienced as a result of the training. Approximately 41% reported that as a result of the training they felt more motivated to build or strengthen efforts to support continuity of services for children in their communities. Thirty-five percent of the respondents said they had a better understanding of continuity and its importance; 17% felt that the training prepared them to be better members of their partnership; and 7% said that the training gave them a greater understanding of the Framework as a tool.
Stokes County Partnership for Children, King, NC
An ongoing goal of the Stokes County Partnership for Children is to create a system that encourages service providers to work together and promotes continuity for children and their families. Members of the partnership began by using the Framework to build their own knowledge and skills about continuity; however, they soon recognized the need to inform others of the importance of continuity in children's lives. As a result, the Partnership conducted a series of focus groups and meetings among parents and family members within the community. They used information from Elements 3 (Comprehensive/Responsive Services) and 7 (Developmentally Appropriate Care/Education) to explain what was needed to support continuity and its potential benefits for children. These meetings were also an opportunity to inform families of the various resources and supports available within the community. Later, the focus groups were expanded to include all stakeholders (e.g., child care, kindergarten, Head Start, school administrators, special needs coordinators, etc). The information gathered from these meetings has been used to guide the development and implementation of policies and practices that promote continuity.
Final Interview with Liaisons. In the final interview conducted with site liaisons, five of the seven liaisons reported that the overall goal of their partnership is to improve services for children and their families by connecting agencies and strengthening the collaborative bonds between those agencies. Three of the liaisons specifically mentioned the need to improve transitions and create a system of responsive and comprehensive services.
In addition, liaisons were asked to talk about their reasons for participating in the field-test process. At least three of the liaisons cited low levels of collaboration across agencies and indicated that partnership meetings were used primarily as a time for sharing information. Others saw the training as an opportunity to invite additional partners to the table and begin a discussion of how they could better work together.
Finally, liaisons were asked to rate the extent to which the Framework materials had been helpful in accomplishing their overall partnership goal. Using a five-point scale, five of the liaisons rated the Framework materials as either "helpful" (4) or "very helpful" (5). The remaining two liaisons rated the Framework materials as at least "somewhat helpful" (3).
Developing and maintaining a community collaborative is hard work, and it is a challenge that requires a great deal of commitment and cooperation from those involved. Training and resource materials available to help community partnerships build a more responsive system must address such issues as time constraints, communication gaps, differences in professional training, and funding limitations. Given these challenges, the Continuity Framework and its Trainer's Guide seem to be important and useful tools for helping partnerships increase collaboration and involvement.
Data gathered from participant ratings and key-informant interviews indicated that the training was helpful in a number of ways. A feature of the training mentioned by many of the participants was the fact that the experience helped "level the playing field." That is, it provided stakeholders with a common language to use as they worked together. As illustrated in the following example, stakeholders often come from a variety of agencies and backgrounds, which can be a major impediment when a community must begin to work together and coordinate its efforts.
The case studies in the sidebars highlight the work of four collaborative partnerships that took part in the field study. These case studies discuss some of the problems they encountered, how they used the Framework materials to address those problems, and where they are today.
Bovill, Idaho, Collaborative
Bovill is a small town (population 310) located in the north central part of the state. Bovill has no resident doctor or dentist. At the time, there also was no child care center or preschool available to children. (The closest one was 35 miles away.)
In 1998, various members of the community decided that they wanted to do something to help improve the situation for children. This group of citizens brought together parents and virtually every local organization to work on a plan that would support the learning needs of children and their families. Part of this effort was a proposal submitted to the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation that would help fund an early learning center. In 1999, they were awarded a grant, and they began the work to open the Bovill Early Childhood Community Learning Center.
However, once the work began, members of the partnership found that they did not have a common vocabulary to talk about the issues of early childhood education. There were also difficulties associated with establishing a partnership, such as "Who else should be included?" and "How do you get started?" In an effort to "get started" and begin the planning process, the partnership elected to participate in the field testing of the Framework materials.
Framework training was provided over two consecutive days and built into the inservice training schedule of the elementary school. In addition to staff and faculty from the elementary school, representatives from other agencies and organizations participated, including the health department, the Idaho Department of Disabilities, news media, schools, early childhood education, Even Start, parents, university students, attorneys, community leaders, and businesses.
According the site liaison, the Framework materials were used:
- To improve awareness of key issues in providing high-quality services. The Framework provides direction to help develop a program that really works.
- To provide a common language and for internal communication enhancement. Now everyone "speaks the same language."
- As an external communication tool. According to the liaison, "it is so much easier to talk with funding sources when you use the structure of the elements as a base."
- To validate their progress toward providing the best practices in early childhood education.
- As a piece of the Bovill Elementary School improvement plan.
Positive impact on individual partnership members was cited as another basis for success of the training. Many indicated they had a better understanding of continuity and were more motivated to continue to work on the difficult issues that often arise as part of the collaborative process. An added value of the training was the opportunity to spend time together and develop relationships with persons from other agencies. Often, these individual relationships help form the basis for collaborative work within the partnership.
Based on the sites that continued to use the materials, the Continuity Framework and its Trainer's Guide seem to be equally useful to both existing and newly established partnerships. A common experience in the maturation of partnerships is that they are prone to lose initial momentum, often stagnating into "easy" roles such as simple information sharing. A serendipitous discovery of this study is that such partnerships evidenced rejuvenation of their efforts after participating in the training (see the Valdosta, Georgia, example).
Valdosta, Georgia, Collaborative
The Lowndes County/Valdosta Commission for Children and Youth has been in existence for more than a decade, and during this time, the partnership has experienced various "ups and downs." According to site liaison Vickie Elliott, cycles are a normal part of the collaborative process, "They may be the result of staff turnover or changes in the board chair and/or board members." She reports that participation in the training provided members with practical, research-based information. This information served as a reminder to members that they were doing good work and that their work was important.
Since the training, the partnership has continued to use Framework materials as a reference and resource. For example, during a recent meeting, members began a discussion regarding the evaluation of partnership activities. They used Element 8: Evaluation of Partnership Success to help shape and guide this discussion. In addition, the partnership has applied for and received a 21st Century Learning Community grant. Because of the knowledge and understanding they gained during the training, members requested funds for a case manager position to be based at each school and conducting home visits. It is hoped that this strategy will facilitate communication and create greater continuity of services for students and families.
Finally, the data indicate that change takes place slowly. Participants reported that the training had had some impact on their community but felt that the greatest impact was yet to come. Bringing everyone to the table is not enough. True collaboration that produces continuity in services for children takes place over a long period of time, as agencies that have not previously worked together begin to get to know each other and slowly modify procedures and practices.
Marshall County Tadpole Team, Wheeling, WV
Efforts to collaborate are often driven by the realization that single agencies cannot solve problems alone. Partners must be willing to jointly plan and implement new ventures, as well as pool resources such as money and personnel. Nowhere is this need to collaborate and pool resources more crucial than in Marshall County, WV. Located in the northern part of West Virginia, Marshall County remains a predominantly rural county. With a population of approximately 36,000, Marshall County has seen a decline in the number of residents over the past two to three years, largely attributed to the economic hardships of the area. This part of West Virginia relies heavily on the coal and steel industries, and as these industries have fallen on hard times, so too have many families. As a result, many families have moved away to find other employment; however, many others have sought support from social services agencies within the community. In order to make the most of the limited resources and support available within the county, many of the local agencies (e.g., Northern Panhandle Head Start, Starting Points Center, Tadpoles Team) came together to form a community collaborative. Although their collaborative meetings began more as a time for sharing information, members soon realized that to be a true "working group," they would need to broaden the meeting agendas and formalize the collaborative relationships. Using the Framework materials as an assessment tool, members worked through each element identifying the gaps in services and generating ideas for possible programs and procedures to address those gaps. This shift encouraged members to devote meeting times to discussing specific issues facing the community. Moreover, it encouraged members to formalize the partnership with written agreements. These agreements have allowed members to make a solid commitment to the collaborative, as well as clarify specific roles and responsibilities for services.
Beyond the content of the training and issues related to the collaborative process, the field study underscored the importance of training structure and design. Many study participants praised the Framework materials for flexibility and relevance to a variety of contexts. The training materials were designed so that particular attention was devoted to issues such as target audience attributes (e.g., varied educational and professional development backgrounds), which dictate the appropriate level of sophistication as well as the need for course module structure (i.e., overall organization and scripting) to be highly adaptable to local training needs.
The field studies indicate that community partnerships benefit from training and technical assistance that help with the process of getting started, as well as recapturing momentum and focus. Additional research is needed to document the ongoing efforts of these communities and explore whether the Framework materials continue to have an impact on community practices and outcomes, as many of the participants predicted. Further study also is needed to determine what other kinds of training or technical assistance might be useful to these partnerships as they work to build capacity and expand or grow new programs.
Bronfenbrenner, Urie. (1979). The ecology of human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bruner, Charles; Kunesh, Linda; & Knuth, Randy. (1992). What does research say about interagency collaboration? [Online]. Oak Brook, IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Available: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/stw_esys/8agcycol.htm [2002, October 22].
Family Support America. (1996). Making the case for family support [Online]. Chicago: Author. Available: http://www.familysupportamerica.org/content/pub_proddef.htm [2002, October 22].
Hoffman, Stevie (Ed.). (1991). Educational partnerships: Home-school-community [Special issue]. Elementary School Journal, 91(3).
Kagan, Sharon Lynn. (1992). The strategic importance of linkages and the transition between early childhood programs and early elementary school. In Sticking together: Strengthening linkages and the transition between early childhood education and early elementary school (Summary of a National Policy Forum). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. ED 351 152.
Kunesh, Linda. (1994). Integrating community services for children, youth, and families. Oak Brook, IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.
Melaville, Atelia; Blank, Martin; & Asayesh, Gelareh. (1996). Together we can: A guide for crafting a profamily system of education and human services (Rev. ed.). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Available: http://eric-web.tc.columbia.edu/families/TWC/ [2002, October 22]. ED 443 164.
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. (1993). NCREL's policy briefs: Integrating community services for young children and their families. Oak Brook, IL: Author. Available: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/go/93-3toc.htm [2002, October 22].
U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1995). Continuity in early childhood: A framework for home, school, and community linkages [Online]. Washington, DC: Author. Available: http://www.sedl.org/prep/hsclinkages.pdf [2002, October 22]. ED 395 664.
Wheatley, Margaret J. (1992). Leadership and the new science. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
Dr. Glyn Brown is a senior program specialist with SERVE Regional Educational Laboratory. She studied at the University of Alabama (B.S.), the University of Southern Mississippi (M.S.), and completed her Ph.D. in Family and Child Development at Auburn University. Prior to coming to SERVE, Dr. Brown worked as a children's therapist in a community mental health program. As a program specialist with SERVE, Dr. Brown provides training and direct consultation to school personnel, child care providers, and community partnerships.
SERVE Regional Educational Laboratory
1203 Governor's Square Blvd., Suite 400
Tallahassee, FL 32301
Carolynn Amwake, a program specialist at the SERVE Regional Educational Laboratory, has extensive experience working with families, child care providers, teachers, administrators, and community partners. She received her B.S. from Radford University in early childhood education and special education and has taught children with special needs in elementary schools, children's homes, and child care centers. Her experiences as an educator and parent led to an interest in improving the quality and continuity of early childhood transitions for both children and families.
SERVE Regional Educational Laboratory
1203 Governor's Square Blvd., Suite 400
Tallahassee, FL 32301
Timothy Speth is a research associate at Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL). He received his B.S. in psychology from South Dakota State University and his M.A. from San Diego State University. He has extensive training and experience in research design, statistics, and program evaluation. Mr. Speth is currently involved with several research and evaluation projects throughout the Northwest, as a Research Associate of NWREL's Child and Family Program. He is the primary external evaluator for six Alaska schools participating in the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Project (CSRD) and assists in CSRD-related activities throughout the Northwest.
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
101 S.W. Main Street, Suite 500
Portland, OR 97204-3297
Catherine Scott-Little, Ph.D., is director of the Expanded Learning Opportunities Project for SERVE. Dr. Little completed her graduate work in human development at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her undergraduate degree in child development and family relations is from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Prior to joining SERVE, Dr. Little was deputy director of a large Head Start program in Fort Worth, Texas, and she has also served as director for a child development center serving homeless families in the Washington, DC, area.
SERVE Regional Educational Laboratory
P.O. Box 5367
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AYSRH ToolkitDelivering Services for Youth
Out-of-Facility Service Delivery
What is it?
Youth-friendly health services can be provided in a health facility (such as a health center, clinic, or hospital), or in an “out-of-facility” setting. Young, poor, or hard-to-reach people have many challenges reaching a traditional facility. An out-of-facility setting or approach may serve them better. TCI’s Hubs have used the following approaches:
- Mobile outreach services
- Community-based services
- Drug shops and pharmacies
- Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services in non-health settings (such as workplaces or youth centers)
- School-based health clinics
What Are the Benefits?
- Reaches more marginalized, vulnerable groups of young people: Young people may be apprehensive of traditional facility-based health services for many reasons (for example, lack of trust, feeling judged or unwelcome, the cost of travel, or isolation). Some groups of urban young people—like young people who use drugs, are homeless, or those residing in slum areas—are even more likely to feel unwelcome at traditional facilities. Providing out-of-facility services can be a means of reaching them.
- Addresses issues like long waiting times, lack of privacy, and limited awareness of service availability: Research reveals that even for less-marginalized groups, health service facilities are difficult to access. Long waiting times, lack of privacy, and lack of awareness of service availability (especially among recent migrants) prevent many young people from seeking health services. Providing out-of-facility services can address these barriers. Innovative models such as vouchers and social franchises increase adolescents’ knowledge of and access to reproductive health services. Vouchers have shown success in increasing privacy and confidentiality of services. In Union des Communes du Zou, Benin, TCI provides vouchers to married youth via community health workers (referred to locally as community relays) and unmarried youth via youth associations.
- Increases access to a range of contraceptive methods: Out-of-facility service delivery channels, including mobile services and social marketing, can broaden the method mix available to young people. Social marketing programs complement the public health system by tapping into private providers and pharmacies that provide more anonymity, so underserved young people tend to prefer them for accessing contraception. TCI’s East Africa Hub is currently working to increase adolescent and youth access to family planning via pharmacies and drug shops.
How to Implement?
Step 1: Understand the context and realities of the target group to decide which service delivery model to use
Health services can be delivered through schools and workplaces, youth centers, households, streets or markets, and drug shops and pharmacies. There is varying evidence on the effectiveness of all of these locations when it comes to health service uptake. For example, some data show that a youth-specific community-based condom and contraception distribution strategy is more effective than youth centers or school-based services. Pharmacies have also been seen as effective in increasing uptake of contraceptive services among young people. Marie Stopes International has experience from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Zambia indicating that appropriate services, activities and community engagement all improved uptake. It is important to adopt a service delivery mechanism that is best suited to your context.
Evidence to Action (E2A) has a useful decision-making tool to guide program designers in choosing youth-friendly service delivery model(s). It covers country context, target population, desired behavioral and health outcomes, SRH services to be offered and needs and objectives for scalability and sustainability.
Example: Population Services International in Africa
PSI has done a review of its programs that provide sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) products and services via different models in several countries: From innovation to scale: Advancing the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people. A review of PSI programming approaches and experiences
Step 2: Identify community members, private-sector providers, and/or informal services that young people trust
Conduct a landscaping exercise: What kinds of services are already available to young people in your program context? Which services do they access? Certain groups of young people—such as those living in slums, homeless, or engaging in transactional sex or drug use—may trust some community members more than others. Knowing who the trusted community members are, and where youth already go for services, enables your program to tap into existing, credible resources for increasing contraceptive uptake or other SRH services.
Example: Building the capacity of pharmacists in Tanzania to serve youth
In Arusha, Tanzania, like in many other cities in East Africa, youth frequent pharmacies for short-term methods. Their visits to pharmacies are critical touchpoints with the health system and offer an opportunity to provide them with helpful information about contraceptives and, in some cases, refer them to a health facility for counseling. In January 2019, the TCI Tanzania team decided to work with the District Pharmacists in Arusha to improve young people’s experiences when accessing pills and condoms at local pharmacies and connect them with TCI-trained health facilities. Following the training of 300 high-volume, registered pharmacies in Arusha, pharmacists are more motivated to counsel youth, provide high-quality data, refer to TCI health facilities, and report stockouts.
Step 3: Establish partnerships with the government or private sector to enable non-traditional service delivery
Based on the model of service delivery you choose, you will need to establish partnerships to reach youth and train the right service delivery staff on providing youth-friendly services.
What Is the Evidence?
- In East Africa, a total of 327 integrated outreaches have been conducted by local governments with TCI’s coaching and technical assistance support. The approach was particularly successful at recruiting first-time users among youth—60% of the family planning acceptors at these integrated outreaches were new users of family planning.
- Successful approaches to out-of-facility service delivery include mail-based STI screening, condom distribution through street outreach in higher-income countries, and promoting pharmacy-based over-the-counter access to emergency contraception.
- Mobile services in urban areas can reach a range of young people at carefully-chosen locations, such as a marketplace or mall, school or workplace, or neighborhood corner or youth club. MSI has several examples of reaching young married girls (in community settings), boys and young men (in marketplaces, youth clubs and sports groups), in-school young people (in schools or universities), and young migrant women (in factories).
Take An Assessment and Get a Certificate
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Young, poor or hard-to-reach people have many challenges reaching a traditional facility. An out-of-facility setting or approach may serve them better.CorrectIncorrect
Which of the below are examples of out-of-facility settings?CorrectIncorrect
Out-of-facility service delivery channels, including mobile services and social marketing, can broaden the method mix available to young people.CorrectIncorrect
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Work with the young people you want to reach to map their current service access and identify their trusted community members.
Engage youth in implementing out-of-facility service delivery and linking their peers with services.
Ensure that staff are provided with supportive supervision.
Harmonize data collection from out-of-facility service provision with facility-based service data, and use both to inform further strategies for service uptake.
- Partner with innovative and non-traditional entities that urban youth will be more likely to access.
- Reaching special groups (like married girls and first-time parents) with services may take additional effort, as they often have more barriers to overcome. In Francophone West Africa, TCI has defined roles and target populations for different community actors. Community relays map and provide outreach (and in some cases, family planning methods) to married adolescents, while youth associations focus on those youth who are not married.
- One key barrier is cost—the cost involved in going to a place that delivers services, taking time off from housekeeping or employment, and paying for contraceptives.
- Another barrier is isolation. Home visits by community health workers to provide contraceptive services and information about the importance of delaying first birth and spacing is a promising approach.
- An out-of-facility approach cannot provide comprehensive services without strong referral links to facility-based services. Some services (like IUD insertion, sterilization, and post-abortion care) need to be provided in a static facility; this may be mandated by law. Ensuring that out-of-facility staff are prepared to refer patients to a traditional facility is crucial for fully meeting the SRH needs of urban youth. TCI’s work with pharmacies in Tanzania dramatically increased referrals to TCI facilities. | <urn:uuid:b914f900-c04c-4bfb-9493-c3378356febe> | {
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by Lisa DePiano
When teaching permaculture I often start out by doing a giant problems mind map. I ask students to brainstorm all of the major “problems” they see in the world to reflect on what brought them to study permaculture. Nine times out of ten the idea of overpopulation as a root “problem” in the world comes up.
Overpopulation describes a situation where there are too many people for the amount of resources available. It puts the blame of the environmental crisis on the sheer number of people on the planet.
Natural scientist and former senior manager of the BBC David Attenborough sums up this sentiment when he said, “We are a plague on the Earth. Either we limit our population growth or the natural world will do it for us[.]”
This cultural narrative, that human beings are the root cause of the environmental crisis is everywhere, especially among environmentalists. We also see this belief within permaculture design. The third ethic of permaculture reads:
Setting limits to population and consumption: By governing our own needs we can set resources aside to the above principles.
Not only is the idea of overpopulation as the cause of the environmental crisis oversimplified and inaccurate, it upholds a de-generative paradigm of scarcity, fear and competition that goes against the core teachings of permaculture. It also perpetuates problematic thinking that leads to ineffective and unjust public policies and global solutions. As permaculturalists, it is important that we contradict this notion that simply more people on the planet equals less resources and more pollution. We need to engage in dialog around the true roots of environmental, social and economic degradation. In this way, we can begin to shift mental models and design more effective and just solutions that take into account the real root causes of degradation and injustice.
In his book Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability, David Holmgren reframed the third ethic as “fair share” or “redistribute the surplus.” He points out the paradox of permaculture’s core belief of abundance and this ethic. He states that, “Except in extreme famine and other natural disasters, scarcity is a culturally mediated reality; it is largely created by industrial economics and power, rather than actual physical limits to growth.”
Although the third ethic has been reframed, there has been little discussion about this shift in the permaculture community or literature on how to address and refute the myth of overpopulation in the first place. I created the following talking points that we can use when having discussions around overpopulation.
6 TALKING POINTS FOR PERMACULTURALISTS TO DEBUNK THE MYTH OF OVERPOPULATION:
• Overpopulation is defined by numbers of people, not their behaviors: Industrialized countries, who make up only 20% of the worlds population, are responsible for 80% of the carbon dioxide build up in the atmosphere. The United States is the worst offender with 20 tons of carbon emission per person. Therefore it is not just the amount of people that leads to degradation but what they are doing. Permaculture design illustrates how humans can be a keystone species and have a positive impact on the health of our ecosystems, bringing greater health and equity. We can depave the way for industrial retrofits and regenerative development.
• Overpopulation justifies the scapegoating and human rights violations of poor people, women, people of color and immigrant communities: Often times the subtext of “too many people” translates to too many poor people, people of color and immigrants. In the 1970’s Puerto Rico, under the control of and with funding from the US government , forced the sterilization of 35% of women of child bearing age . This is a human and reproductive rights violation. It also prevents us from dealing with the real social, political and economic origins of our ecological problems and places the blame on communities with less institutional power. This perpetuates a fear mindset, keeps people divided and blaming each other rather than being able to come together to organize for true self determination and security.
• Overpopulation points the finger at individuals not systems: This lets the real culprits off the hook. When we look at the true causes of environmental destruction and poverty it is often social, political and economic systems, not individuals. We see militaries and the toxic legacy of war, corrupt governments, and a capitalist economic system that puts profit over people and the environment. The founder of Social Ecology, Murray Bookchin said, “If we live in a grow or die capitalistic society in which accumulation is literally the law of economic survival and competition is the motor of progress, anything we have to say about population being the cause of ecological crisis is meaningless.
• Supports a degenerative mental model of scarcity: Much of this ideology was created by Thomas Robert Malthus, an 19th century english scholar, whose work influenced the fields of political economy and demography. Malthus gave us the idea that the reason there is famine is because there are too many mouths to feed. In his 1798 essay, An essay on the principle of Population, he goes on to say that it was human population that causes food prices to rise and therefore is the root cause of famine. Malthus was extremely influential to Charles Darwin in his thinking around “Survival of the Fittest.” His work was also used as the philosophical bedrock to justify many human rights violations such as the eugenics movement, forced sterilization, and even the Holocaust.
• Focusing on overpopulation prevents us from creating effective solutions and building movements for collective self determination: We know from the permaculture design process how we define a problem determines how we design solutions. How does viewing overpopulation as a root problem impact the way we think of and design solutions? What would solutions look like if we viewed people, all people, as an asset? The myth of overpopulation has lead to solutions of population control and fertility treatments, rather than overall health care and women’s rights. . The more we blame humans, think we are bad and evil, the harder it is to believe in ourselves, count on each other, and build a collective movement for jus-tice and self determination. Scholar, scientist and activist, Vandana Shiva said, “Hunger and malnutrition are man-made. They are hardwired in the design of the industrial, chemical model of agriculture. But just as hunger is created by design, healthy and nutritious food for all can also be designed, through food democracy.”
Together we can dispel the notion that overpopulation is a root cause of environmental degradation and deepen the discussion about the switch of the third ethic from setting limits to growth and population to fair share/redistribute the surplus. We can form new mental models that can lead to widespread, lasting social change and more effective and just solutions for collective health and abundance.
Thomas, Trevor, “The Myth of Overpopulation”, American Thinker, February 10, 2013
Mollison, Bill, Permaculture A practical Guide for a Sustainable Future (Covelo: Island Press, 1990).
Holmgren, David, Permaculture Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability (Hepburn: Holmgren De-sign Services, 2002).
“WORLD POPULATION TO 2300.” The Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations (2004): https://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/longrange2/WorldPop2300final.pdf
Hartman, Betsy. “10 Reasons Why Population Control is Not the Solution to Global Warming,” https://popdev.hampshire.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/u4763/DT%2057%20-%20Hartmann.pdf
The Chicago Womens Liberation Union. https://www.uic.edu/orgs/cwluherstory/CWLUArchive/puertorico.html
10 Reasons to Rethink Overpopulation. https://popdev.hampshire.edu/projects/dt/40
Lisa DePiano is a certified permaculture designer, teacher and practitioner with over 15 years of experience. She is a lecturer in Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Massachusetts and a research fellow at the MIT media lab. She runs the Mobile Design Labwhich specializes in participatory permaculture design and education and is author of Permaculture FEAST principles flash cards. | <urn:uuid:d22f7725-3659-444a-b20c-6806824c54be> | {
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Newswise — Imagine this: A tiny, fast switch that uses water droplets to create adhesive bonds almost as strong as aluminum by borrowing a mechanism found in palm beetles.
The new beetle-inspired switch, designed by Cornell University engineers, can work by itself on the scale of a micron -- a millionth of a meter. The switches can be combined in arrays for larger applications like powerful adhesive bonding. Like the transistor, whose varied uses became apparent only following its invention, the uses of the new switch are not yet understood. But the switch's simplicity, smallness and speed have enormous potential, according to the researchers.
"Almost all the greatest technological advances have depended on switches, and this is a switch that is fast and can be scaled down," said Paul Steen, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Cornell and co-author of a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Vol. 102, No. 34).
Steen dreamed up the idea of the switch after listening to Cornell entomologist Tom Eisner lecture on palm beetles, which are native to the southeastern United States.
Like the beetle, which clings to a palm leaf at adhesive strengths equal to a hundred times its own body weight -- the human equivalent of carrying seven cars -- the switch in its most basic form uses surface tension created by water droplets in contact with a surface, in much the same way as two pieces of wet paper cling together.
When attacked, the palm beetle attaches itself to a leaf until the attacker leaves. It adheres with 120,000 droplets of secreted oil, each making a bridgelike contact between the beetle's feet and the leaf. Each droplet is just a few microns wide. Whereas the beetle controls the oil contacts mechanically, Steen's switch uses water and electricity.
For the switch to make or release a bond created by surface tension, a water droplet moves to the top or bottom of a flat plate surface using electricity from electrodes. The electricity moves positively charged atoms, called ions, in the water through the minute capillaries of a thin disk of porous glass embedded in the plate. The water moves and wells up into a micrometer-sized droplet on the plate surface. The exposed droplet can then stick to another surface. To break the bond, electricity pulls the exposed water back through the capillary pores.
With millimeter-sized water droplets and micron-sized pores, 5 volts can turn the switch on in one second. At the same time, the researchers predict that smaller droplets will require less energy to move and have faster switching times. Steen and his colleagues believe that a switch as small as hundreds of nanometers, close to a billionth of a meter and one-tenth the size of the beetle droplets, is within reach. Researchers could also create large effects from many tiny switches by connecting them in various arrangements, Steen said.
"This new technology bridges the gap between scales as large as our hands and nanoscales," said Steen. "We need devices that allow us to communicate between the two scales."
Co-authors include Michael Vogel, a postdoctoral researcher in Cornell's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and researcher Peter Ehrhard at the Institute for Nuclear and Energy Technologies in Karlsruhe, Germany. Since much of this work was conducted while the three scientists were at the German institute, the patent application was filed in Germany.
The study was supported by NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe and the Deustcher Akademischer Austausch Dienst. | <urn:uuid:289e526a-3fd4-4d61-af2c-a8dbe0fdc08b> | {
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Can you guess what increases your risk of death by as much as 52% with every two hours of recreational time using it? The answer is digital screens. This is due to the impact of digital screens on our cardiovascular health and our weight.
From your computer screen, your smartphone or your tablet, these seemingly innocuous devices are actually not so innocuous after all. The research on the effects of digital screens continues to emerge and results are rather startling given that the average American adult spends 11 hours in front of screens every single day.
South Texas Eye Institute created the below infographic to present the alarming research on the topic.
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Josse Lieferinxe’s ‘Saint Sebastian Interceding for the Plague Stricken’ (c. 1498). Wikimedia Commons
The Conversation (4/16/20)
The coronavirus can infect anyone, but recent reporting has shown your socioeconomic status can play a big role, with a combination of job security, access to health care and mobility widening the gap in infection and mortality rates between rich and poor.
The wealthy work remotely and flee to resorts or pastoral second homes, while the urban poor are packed into small apartments and compelled to keep showing up to work.
As a medievalist, I’ve seen a version of this story before.
Following the 1348 Black Death in Italy, the Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio wrote a collection of 100 novellas titled, “The Decameron.” These stories, though fictional, give us a window into medieval life during the Black Death – and how some of the same fissures opened up between the rich and the poor. Cultural historians today see “The Decameron” as an invaluable source of information on everyday life in 14th-century Italy.
In our own pandemic – with some of the most well-off now clamoring for the economy to re-open, despite the ongoing spread of the disease – these issues are strikingly relevant.
Boccaccio was born in 1313 as the illegitimate son of a Florentine banker. A product of the middle class, he wrote, in “The Decameron,” stories about merchants and servants. This was unusual for his time, as medieval literature tended to focus on the lives of the nobility.
“The Decameron” begins with a gripping, graphic description of the Black Death, which was so virulent that a person who contracted it would die within four to seven days. Between 1347 and 1351, it killed between 40% and 50% of Europe’s population. Some of Boccaccio’s own family members died.
The ruthless wealthy
In this opening section, Boccaccio describes the rich secluding themselves at home, where they enjoy quality wines and provisions, music and other entertainment. The very wealthiest – whom Boccaccio describes as “ruthless” – deserted their neighborhoods altogether, retreating to comfortable estates in the countryside, “as though the plague was meant to harry only those remaining within their city walls.”
Meanwhile, the middle class or poor, forced to stay at home, “caught the plague by the thousand right there in their own neighborhood, day after day” and swiftly passed away. Servants dutifully attended to the sick in wealthy households, often succumbing to the illness themselves. Many, unable to leave Florence and convinced of their imminent death, decided to simply drink and party away their final days in nihilistic revelries, while in rural areas, laborers died “like brute beasts rather than human beings; night and day, with never a doctor to attend them.” …
Massive Crisis Spending Brought Corruption & Bloody Consequences In Ancient Athens
Everything began with enormous spending in response to an urgent crisis. Actions that seemed necessary at the peak of the emergency ended up as cover for misappropriations of public money.
By Mark Munn
The Conversation (4/17/20)
The jump in federal spending in response to the crisis of the coronavirus pandemic is not a new idea. Nearly 2,500 years ago, the people of ancient Athens had a similar plan – which succeeded in meeting the major threat they faced, but then tore Athenian society apart in a tangle of political recriminations after the crisis had passed.
As a historian of ancient Greece, the most telling parallel I see between current events and that long-ago past is not the plague that broke out in Athens in 430 B.C. I’m more worried by the example of extreme partisan politics that befell Athens a couple of decades later, which I detail in one of my books, “The School of History: Athens in the Age of Socrates.”
A massive mobilization
In 406 B.C., Athens, a mega-power of the ancient Mediterranean that had built its economy on maritime trade, faced a crisis. Despite recent successes in battle, deep partisan divisions over military leadership had left Athenian forces momentarily vulnerable to attack. Meanwhile, rival city-state Sparta had gained the backing of Persia and was building a navy that could challenge Athens’ control of the sea.
When the Spartans struck, they put the weakened Athenian fleet on the defensive, threatening to crush it and bring Athens to its knees.
In the face of near-certain disaster, the Athenians rallied to respond, accelerating a shipbuilding program already underway by mobilizing all the resources of their Aegean empire. A new tax was passed on personal wealth, and additional money was raised by melting down the golden statues of Victory that had been dedicated on the Acropolis. The resulting coins were spent buying Macedonian pine to make oars to power the triremes, the most advanced naval fighting ships the world had yet seen.
To pull the oars, all able-bodied Athenian men, including knights who normally did not serve in the navy, were called up. Even that was not enough. The Athenians offered citizenship to all resident foreigners and slaves who were willing to serve.
In a little more than a month, the Athenians had assembled a fleet of triremes powerful enough to challenge the Spartan fleet and regain control of the sea.
In midsummer, 406 B.C., the Athenian and Spartan fleets met in battle in the waters between the island of Lesbos and the coast of Asia Minor. It’s known as the battle of Arginusae, after the small islands off the Asian coast that served as a base for the Athenian fleet; today they are the Turkish islands of Garip and Kalem near the city of Dikili.
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The park was established in 1935 during the French Colonial period but was extended in 2001, in consultation with the local communities, to its current expanse. Odzala-Kokoua is one of three signature areas of the 191,541km2 trans-boundary mosaic known as the Tridom project. Declared a UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve in 1977 and nominated in 2008 to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Odzala as a conservation priority is unattested. Odzala is also recognised as an Important Bird Area by Birdlife International. African Parks took over the management of Odzala-Kokoua in November 2010 under the terms of a partnership agreement with the Government of the Republic of Congo. This agreement provides for the creation of a dedicated non-profit entity, the Odzala Foundation, which will have overall jurisdiction over the park.
Odzala-Kokoua is a ‘frontier forest' which harbours some of the last extensive blocks of contiguous forest ecosystems that are capable of supporting viable populations of large mammals. The southern part of the park is predominantly a savannah-forest mosaic and forest gallery ecosystem. The centre of the park is dominated by Marantaceae Forest where a high density of gorilla and elephant are found. Further north, the park is covered by mature rain forest.
One of the unique aspects of this park is its numerous clearings, called ‘bais', that provide an opportunity to observe the forest wildlife easily where it is normally difficult to see through the dense vegetation in a tropical forest. The majestic Mambili River provides one of the few access routes to the park. The Ekoutou escarpment (80km) with its lichen forest, and Djoua swamp in the north west of the park remain some of the most remote areas in which only a few scientific expeditions have been conducted.
The biological diversity is exceptional, including more than 400 bird species, 114 mammal species and in excess of 4,400 varieties of plants. Of the 16 primate species, it is the gorilla and chimpanzee populations on which OKNP's reputation rests. Odzala also boasts numerous herbivore species. These include elephants, numbering in the thousands, and a few populations of hippopotamus.
The pressure on the fauna by the local populations (around 10,000 people living in approximately 70 villages along the periphery of the park) is considerable as hunting represents a critical source of revenue and protein for the local people. The major threats include commercial and subsistence hunting for bushmeat, elephant poaching for ivory and the construction of roads on the periphery of the park, which exacerbates the problem of poaching as it provides easy access to previously isolated forest. Diseases such as ebola also threaten in particular the great ape populations. | <urn:uuid:73e268dc-8616-4b9e-a779-c1b125a59105> | {
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Bishop, founder of the See of Glasgow, b. about 518; d. at Glasgow, 13 January, 603. His mother Thenaw was daughter of a British prince, Lothus (from whom the province of Lothian was called); his father's name is unknown. According to Jocelyn's life of Kentigern, the saint was born at Culross in Fife, and brought up until manhood by St. Serf (or Servanus) at his monastery there; but Skene shows that this connection between the two saints involves an anachronism, as St. Serf really belongs to the following century. At the age of twenty-five we find Kentigern (the name means "head chief", but he was popularly known as Mungo — in Cymric, Mwyn-gu, or "dear one"), beginning his missionary labours at Cathures, on the Clyde, the site of modern Glasgow. The Christian King of Strathclyde, Roderick Hael, welcomed the saint, and procured his consecration as bishop, which took place about 540. For some thirteen years he laboured in the district, living a most austere life in a cell at the confluence of the Clyde and the Molendinar, and making many converts by his holy example and his preaching. A large community grew up around him, became known as "Clasgu" (meaning the "dear family ") and ultimately grew into the town and city of Glasgow.
About 553 a strong anti-Christian movement in Strathclyde compelled Kentigern to leave the district, and he retired to Wales, staying for a time with St. David at Menevia, and afterwards founding a large monastery at Llanelwy, now St. Asaph's, of which he appointed the holy monk Asaph superior in succession to himself. In 573 the battle of Arthuret secured the triumph of the Christian cause in Cumbria, and Kentigern, at the earnest appeal of King Roderick, returned thither, accompanied by many of his Welsh disciples. For eight years he fixed his see at Hoddam in Dumfriesshire, evangelizing thence the districts of Galloway and Cumberland. About 581 he finally returned to Glasgow, and here, a year or two later, he was visited by St. Columba, who was at that time labouring in Strathtay. The two saints embraced, held long converse, and exchanged their pastoral staves.
Kentigern was buried on the spot where now stands the beautiful cathedral dedicated in his honour. His remains are said still to rest in the crypt. His festival is kept throughout Scotland on 13 January. The Bollandists have printed a special mass for this feast, dating from the thirteenth century.
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For the most part, if you are eating varied sources of protein, you probably don’t have to worry about experiencing a shortage of amino acids. But if you regularly cut out certain food groups or tend to always eat chicken or fish, you need to determine if supplementation is necessary.
Here are the eight essential amino acids relevant to athletes and those who are involved in intense physical activity.
HistidineHistidine helps the body with the growth and repair of bodily tissues like muscles, as well as with the production of the myelin sheath, a protective covering that forms around nerve cells and helps produce gastric juices.
Food sources: Dairy, meat, poultry, fish, rice, wheat
PhenylalaninePhenylalanine is an amino acid that enhances your mood and improves your memory, hence making it important for proper brain function. It also increases the levels of neurotransmitters in the body, which are essential for proper operation of the nervous system, as well as increases the absorption rate of UV rays by the sun, thereby facilitating the production of vitamin D in the body.
It should be noted, though, that you can reach toxic levels of phenylalanine, which is why there is a large amount of controversy regarding its use in artificial sweeteners containing aspartame. However, you really have to overdo the intake of phenylalanine to reach these toxic levels.
Food sources: Dairy, almonds, avocados, nuts, seeds
LysinePotentially the most critical role this amino acid plays is in the absorption of calcium and bone development. Lysine also helps maintain a good nitrogen balance in the body, which is critical for maintenance of lean muscle mass and the avoidance of fatigue. It also helps the body produce antibodies and regulates the various hormones that act as messenger signals.
Food sources: Cheese, potatoes, milk, eggs, red meat, yeast products
LeucineLeucine is important in regulating blood sugar levels in the body; therefore, it is particularly important for those who suffer from hypo- or hyperglycemica, or for those looking to maintain lower body fat percentages. It also works to keep human growth hormone levels where they should be, which really enhances muscle tissue development.
Food sources: Soybeans, lentils, egg yolks, almonds, milk, fish, peanuts, shrimp
More amino acids you should be loading up on…
MethionineMen looking to build muscle should be especially concerned with their methionine intake as it breaks down and uses fats, and boosts testosterone levels. It also helps with the treatment of depression, arthritis and liver disease.
Food sources: Meat, fish, beans, eggs, lentils, onions, yogurt, seeds
IsoleucineThis amino acid plays a pivotal role in recovery after your workouts and also helps regulate blood sugar levels. It also aids in forming hemoglobin and is responsible for healthy blood-clotting.
Food sources: Chicken, fish, almonds, cashews, eggs, liver, lentils, beef
ThreonineThe main role of this amino acid is to form collagen and elastin, which are essential binding materials for the body’s cells. It also plays a role in liver function and promotes a healthy immune system. In addition to this, threonine improves the overall absorption of nutrients within the body.
This is one amino acid vegetarians need to watch out for as it is most commonly found in meat sources. If you opt to eat dairy, it can be found in cottage cheese, otherwise alternate sources of threonine include wheat germ, nuts and beans. However, the quantity of amino acids in these sources are lower, so consider taking a supplement.
Food sources: Meat, fish, eggs
ValineThis amino acid repairs muscle cells and grows new ones, and it also keeps the nitrogen balance where it needs to be. Furthermore, it spares glucose use in the body — meaning you’ll have more reserved for when you really need it (i.e., during exercise).
Food sources: Dairy, meat, grains, mushrooms, soy, peanuts
amino acid amountsAmino acid intake is just as important to regulate as protein intake when you’re dieting and exercising. It is especially important for fussy eaters to make sure they’re getting proper amounts. So, have a good look at your current diet and ensure you are eating a variety of the sources listed here. | <urn:uuid:406cccb2-43ad-41dd-90b1-f5e29877fb7a> | {
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We, the Ahnishinahbæótjibway are among the Aboriginal Indigenous peoples of this Continent. Our written history includes stone inscriptions[i] and birchbark scrolls which are part of our Midé religion, and describe our origins on this Continent early in the Pleistocene geological age. Before the European invasions, the Ahnishinahbæótjibway Nation was composed of inter-related communities which centered around the Great Lakes, and along the network of water routes of the Great Lakes watershed,[ii] the upper Mississippi watershed, and the upper Hudson's Bay watershed. Since the beginning of Aboriginal time, we lived in harmony with our neighbors. The Ahnishinahbæótjibway are a non-violent people who lived by gardening in conjunction with a permacultural subsistence base so closely in harmony with nature that the Europeans thought that our grain fields and orchards, and most of our other crops were wild. In the midst of carefully maintained abundance, we tended our homes, our gardens and our forests, fished and hunted, developed a profound oral literature, and traveled to trade or just to visit.
The Ahnishinahbæótjibway have always been here. The Western Europeans have written many mythologies explaining their Indians: that they came over the Bering Strait, that they came from outer space, that they came from the East Coast, that they ate up all the Hairy Mastodons (and then presumably went back to Europe to eat up the Hairy Mastodons there). The underlying assumption in even the most culturally sensitive history textbooks that children are forced to read in compulsory-education schools is that Columbus, the Vikings, and possibly Hwui Shan the Chinese discovered America[iii], although some books try to mollify their ethonocentricism with disclaimers such as, "many scholars believe that it was the Indians who discovered the New World."
Some textbooks portray their mythological pre-Columbian Indians as living in extremely scattered settlements. A map in one such book shows 127 small Indian villages in the entire U.S., then the same books adds, "warfare had an important place ... there were great battles involving many men[iv]." College science textbooks[v] uncritically accept the unfounded assumption that "American Indian populations migrated from Asia," discounting any evidence to the contrary with explanations like "we could interpret this to mean that the [type B blood] mutation arose after the ancestors of the American Indians had left the Asian mainland. Through these kinds of analysis patterns of human migration and other anthropological interpretations have been made."[vi] Even acclaimed defender of Indians Jack Weatherford has to have "... human flesh in many of the tacos, tamales, and enchiladas,"[vii] although in a 1992 telephone conversation with us, he denied having written this.
The Western Europeans created the allegory of Indians, and whatever tall tales they want to tell in their fictions are their business. But--concealed behind the illusion of Indians is the archetype of modern ethnic cleansing: the near extinction of more than forty percent of the world's[viii] peoples; and these heinous crimes obscured by the nearly complete extirpation of the Aboriginal Indigenous peoples from the annals of Western civilization. We are consigned to the terra incognita of their linguistic maps: there is not a single word in the English language which means "the Aboriginal Indigenous peoples of this Continent." Neither the Euro-Americans nor their Indians know who the Aboriginal Indigenous people really are, and they will not say our real names. The Indians know that they have a dishonest identity, and that they are trying to steal what belongs to the Aboriginal Indigenous people. Inescapable evidence of our very real past and present existence is masked by the Indian mythology, reinterpreted to fit the Indian stereotype, distorted, destroyed,[ix] and denied. The Indians serve the convenience of Western Civilization: by deliberately confusing the Ahnishinahbæótjibway and other Aboriginal Indigenous people with their figment of Indians, the Euro-Americans hope to fill the void of exterminated peoples, deny the genocide of many millions of Aboriginal Indigenous peoples, evade the responsibility for the rape and plunder of our Continents, and justify their theft of this land.
The Ahnishinahbæótjibway are among the peoples speaking an Aboriginal Indigenous language which European linguists have defined in their abstract taxonomy as Algonquin, which is not who we are. Anthropologists categorized us and our relatives as Woodland or Algonquin people. The Euro-Americans invented artificial Indian tribes, and gave these tribes names: Potawatami, Menominee, Secotan, Salteur, Sauk and Fox, Cree, Blackfoot, Chippewa, Pillager, Pembina ... . Then, they tried to force the Ahnishinahbæótjibway into their abstract and artificial tribal structure.
Since time immemorial, the land of the Ahnishinahbæótjibway and our close relatives stretched from the land now called North and South Dakota, to the Atlantic Ocean; from the sub-Arctic, south to where St. Louis is. There were no sharp borders between one group of people and the next. If a person's native language is one of the languages misnamed Algonquin, they can understand their relatives who speak other such languages.
Ahnishinahbæótjibway understanding of space, place, and land is different from that of the Euro-Americans. We have a permanent relationship with specific places, defined partly in terms of our permaculture. My people of the Bear Dodem had a certain sugarbush, where we tapped our trees, made our sugar, and then stored everything we needed to make maple sugar from one year to the next. We harvested and processed our mahnomen in the same place, century after century. Our permanent residences--our community of longhouses--had been in the same place for millennia. There were specific places where we fished, where our gardens were, where we hunted, where our fruits and nuts and medicines and everything else that we needed were maintained by our people. We did not go roaming around stealing from others, and what we took from our land was replaced. The Ahnishinahbæótjibway have a very long-term, harmonious and balanced relationship with the places and being of this land. This land, right here, is where my many-times-great-grandfather of the Bear Dodem was born about 27,000 B.C., where he lived and died, and where he was buried and went back to Grandmother Earth. This land is the land of his great-grandfathers back more than 40,000 more generations, and it is the land of his great-grandsons through about 900 more generations to myself. This land is the open, living textbook of Ahnishinahbæótjibway history, values, philosophy and religion, and my identity and my existence as Ahnishinahbæótjibway is a part of it. The Ahnishinahbæótjibway have a relationship to this land that the Euro-Americans do not understand.
The Euro-Americans define land as abstract, boxed into compartments of quarter-sections and town lots; eminent domain with militarily defended borders, survey grids, and property taxes. Their cultural definition of land is hierarchical: those at the top of their artificial structure claim ownership of city blocks with skyscrapers, exurban estates, country homes, and rental properties; and those at the bottom are urban nomads renting tenements or going homeless. The Euro-Americans' culture defines land by the abstract edges, as exploitable resources, space and chattel circumscribed by violently enforced lines. The Ahnishinahbæótjibway see land as life.
Rather than borders, we have always had links connecting peoples. Ahnishinahbæótjibway are born into the Dodem of their fathers. People of a particular Dodem are close relatives, related to all the other human beings of their Dodem and also related to their Dodem being. I am of the Bear Dodem, related to every other Aboriginal Indigenous person of the Bear Dodem (whether they are Ahnishinahbæótjibway or not), and also related to the Bears. The word Dodemian or Dodem means "my relations." According to Ahnishinahbæótjibway values, a person cannot marry anybody to whom they are even remotely related: anyone of the same Dodem, or anyone who is even distantly "somehow related." The elders knew, and some still know, back for quite a few generations, who is related. Ahnishinahbæótjibway men have always married women from outside their birth communities. The Red Lake Ahnishinahbæótjibway genealogies include women who married into this community from the so-called Blackfoot, Cree, Inuit, Lakota, and other Aboriginal Indigenous Nations, as well as European and other immigrant women. Aboriginal Indigenous exogamy is very different from the in-breeding encouraged by the U.S. Government's Indian blood quantum.[x]
A woman who marries an Ahnishinahbæótjibway man comes into the Dodem of her husband (somewhat analogous to an European woman taking her husband's surname), and lives with him on the land of which he is a part. This creates a network of relatives through each person's mother's side of the family and through the Dodems, which extended across the Continent in all directions. (Inheritance of the Dodems through the male line is very different from patriarchy, which along with patrilineal heirship, is defined in the glossary.)
As a part of the process of colonization, the United States turned the Ahnishinahbæótjibway traditional social structure backwards for their Chippewa Indians, and enforced this reversal with U.S. Statutes. Forcing occupied peoples into matrilineal definitions of themselves is a Lislakh colonizing strategy, expressed in Judeo-Christian Biblical admonitions such as, "And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east; and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed."[xi] Judeo-Christianity prescribes the elimination of all patrilines except that of Adam of Eden.
The technical anthropological terms for Ahnishinahbæótjibway social organization are patrilineal and patrilocal. The geographic power of the men was balanced by the political and social power of the Clan Mothers, the women elders. Everyone in the family respected and listened to the wisdom of these Gi-ma-mâ-nan. We remain a matriarchal society. This kind of balance and linking of related groups of people generated a very harmonious foundation for Aboriginal Indigenous society as a whole. Because of the continual movement of women in marriage, all of the Aboriginal Indigenous people of this Continent are related.
Red Lake is at a crossroads, as can be seen clearly from any topographic map. The Continental Divide between the Hudson Bay watershed (Red Lake is the headwaters) and the Mississippi watershed is about twenty miles to the south of Red Lake: there is a lake on each side of the Divide, and a short portage between them. It is also easy to travel by water into the Great Lakes watershed from here. Red Lake is the junction of Aboriginal Indigenous trade routes that went from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rocky Mountains and beyond.
The ecological base of the Ahnishinahbæótjibway was permaculture: agriculture based on perennial crops, so closely in harmony with natural systems that the European upper class was terrified of it. Such permacultural subsistence bases are remarkably efficient. Very little labor was required for subsistence in our intact ecology.[xii] Traditional Ahnishinahbæótjibway crops include mahnomen, maple trees, fruits, nuts and berries, fish and game, along with annual garden crops. We traded for salt, tropical shells (including migis cowries), and certain dye plants, among other things. We made jewelry and some tools from copper; as well as stone tools sharper and more durable than the finest steel. We had writing.
Our forests were pine and mixed hardwoods, some of the trees thousands of years old, stretching as far as a person could travel in a month or more. The ground soft like a carpet; the water so clean you could drink it anywhere. There was plenty of everything a person might need right here in the lakes, forests and meadows. Friends and relatives would welcome a visitor with hospitality everywhere--this is what the land of the Ahnishinahbæótjibway and our relations was like. There were deer and moose and wood-buffalo and caribou; there were passenger pigeons and turkeys and geese and so many ducks a person could hear the air rustle through their wings for miles, a whooshing sound that lasted long into the night as millions and millions of birds settled onto the lakes. Early European explorers remarked on the "abundance of game," which was an understatement considering the impoverishment of their own plundered homeland. There are a very few places on Red Lake Reservation and elsewhere in Northern Minnesota where a person can still see the ancient trails of the deer: some are worn nearly two feet deep into the ground. We were all part of a larger, inter-connected whole. Our land was a paradise.
Our elders, both male and female, have always been deeply respected in the Ahnishinahbæótjibway community. This is very different from European culture, in which age and gender polarization makes families more amenable to state control, and creates discontinuity in oral history. Our family relationships are harmoniously balanced, there is no authoritarian head of the family, and so there is no need for role reversal. The foundation of our egalitarian family inter-relationships includes mutual respect and a language which is both male and female. Because we have no hierarchy, there is no competition for authority in the family. We acknowledge each person's interests, abilities, and knowledge; and as a person ages, their experience and broader perspective becomes increasingly valuable to the community. Our elders were wise and loving teachers who knew our history and genealogy, and who knew about medicines and other herbs. They had clear and useful understanding of community dynamics and practical psychology. We did not warehouse our old people, nor segregate them away from the rest of their Dodemian.
The relationship between men and women was complementary and based on respect for one another. The women have their own areas of expertise, and it is not my place to write about them. There are Aboriginal Indigenous women writers who will explain.
An Ahnishinahbæótjibway is born into their father's Dodem, and a woman marries into her husband's Dodem. The Dodems, the Midé and Grandmother Earth are all part of a totality which includes religious philosophy, identity, values, life and death, and our inter-relationship with the land. The Midé goes beyond Western Civilization's definitions of religion and philosophy. It deals with harmony and reality, rather than with abstractions. There are parts of the Midé which are so profound that they are beyond human comprehension, and will always remain a Great Mystery. The Midé also goes beyond Western Civilization's Science. It cannot be explained in English. The Midé is so vast, it's impossible to describe how it makes me feel, but one of the words which comes to mind is humility. The Midé is a compilation of the wisdom of my people over the course of about a million years, as well as the tools for understanding reality. I see nothing that I would want to change, even if I could. I am just a translator for my people.
In the years when I was growing up, anthropologists and other social scientists were studying the Indians. When they asked about Aboriginal Indigenous religion, the Indians would say that "outsiders are not allowed" to know about the Midé, because they would exploit and commercialize it. The Indians used this strategy to hide their own ignorance of the Midé. This was before Indian Religion was enacted by Congress. The so-called Indian religions established under the Indian Freedom of Religion Act have nothing to do with the Aboriginal Indigenous religions, although policy-makers are pretending they are the same thing. The Midé is not secret--but enculturation into Western European civilization usually prevents people from seeing or understanding it. I have been present when Midé elders told interested and open-minded White people things about the Midé, in English, and the person to whom the elder was talking did not realize they were being told anything.Grandfather Midé encompasses a Sovereign Ahnishinahbæótjibway's personal relationships with the both the male and female aspects of the universe, in concert with Grandmother Earth. Ahnishinahbæótjibway are named through the Midé, which is inseparably all of life. Ahnishinahbæótjibway patrilineal Dodems are one of the religious mysteries I cannot change--and the United States Government cannot change or destroy them either, although they have tried.
[i].These have been referred to by an occasional White writer as petroglyphs. For example, The Minnesota Explorer, Spring, 1989, page 2, refers to the "Jeffers Petroglyphs" on County Road 45, three miles east of Highway 71, northeast of Windom; where interpretative perspective is provided by the Minnesota Historical Society.
[ii].A watershed was defined by W.M. Davis in 1899:
Although the river and the
hill-side do not resemble each other at first sight, they are only
members of a continuous series, and when this is appreciated,
one may fairly extend the "river" all over the basin and up to its very divides. Ordinarily treated, the river is like the veins of a leaf; broadly viewed, it is like the entire leaf.
(Quoted in The Essential Whole Earth Catalog, The Point Foundation, Doubleday, 1986.) The shallow draft of Ahnishinahbæótjibway canoes, and the deeper water in many waterways before the decimation of beaver populations, meant that even small streams were navigable for us. Maps of what remains of the Ahnishinahbæótjibway highways are available from the Map Department of the U.S. Geological Survey, which calls them topographic maps.
[iii].Of many possible examples, Holt, Rinehart & Winston's Inquiring About American History.
[iv].Ibid, page 61.
[v].For one example, Charlotte J. Avers' Genetics, 1984.
[vi].Ibid, page 536.
[vii].Jack Weatherford, Indian Givers, How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World, Fawcett Columbine, 1988, page 107.
[viii].From about 30° W. longitude to 180°.
[ix].For example, Theodore C. Blegen, in Minnesota, a History of the State, Minnesota Historical Society, 1963 reprint, cites (pages 18-19) the destruction of about 10,000 known burial mounds and "effigy [sic] mounds, shaped in the form of birds, buffaloes, bears or snakes, with ... religious meanings, but these unhappily have since been plowed under by farmers who cared more about crops than about archaeology."
[x].The French Métis' genealogies show patterns of endogamy and marriage of close relatives back into the 1600's. This is exacerbated by the way the U.S. Government has structured definition of Indians by blood quantum. The inbreeding of Lislakh people who are defined as Indians and want to maintain their blood quantum identity, has become so pronounced that forensic scientist Terry Laber of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension mentioned in another context:
Greater genetic similarity
among ethnic subpopulations, such as American Indians living on the
Reservation, would bring [previously cited 1 in 100 quadrillion odds
of DNA fingerprints matching] down, ...
(reported by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, January 10, 1994, p. 8A.) Laber's colleague Dr. Jim Iverson explained in a subsequent telephone conversation that the B.C.A.'s gene frequency database was compiled largely from a commercial blood center in south Minneapolis. The socio-economic conditions are such that there is a significantly higher ratio of Aboriginal Indigenous people to Indians among the population who frequently sells their blood, than in the Indian Reservation population in Minnesota, i.e. the inbreeding among Métis and Euro-Indians is even more pronounced than Dr. Laber observed.
[xi].The Holy Bible, King James Version, Genesis 29:14.
general, the farther the ecology has degenerated from natural harmony,
labor is required per calorie of food produced. The
inefficiency of "modern" agriculture is masked by
the use of fossil fuels, but in fact much mechanized agriculture
substantially more energy input than is produced by the crops
the corn used for gasohol). Dr. John
Martin, of Arizona State University in Tempe, studied Indigenous
bases extensively during the 1970's, and the reader is referred to his
detailed information, and to Esther Boserup's meticulous measurements
energy required for subsistence in a range of human inter-relationships
variously altered ecosystems. | <urn:uuid:ac570784-fd53-4478-be5f-d496d1599cb7> | {
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Known as the "Emerald Isle of the Caribbean," Montserrat has the distinction of being the only nation outside of Ireland to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day as a national holiday.
|Montserrat has the distinction of being the only nation outside of Ireland to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day as a national holiday.|
Showcasing a unique mix of Irish and African heritage, the destination comes alive with week-long events that will take place around March 17 at various locations throughout the island.
Residents and visitors alike have the chance to participate in feasts, parades, concerts, cultural exhibitions and outdoor theater productions to commemorate the planned slave uprising that occurred on the island during St. Patrick’s Day in 1768.
Activities include national exhibitions showcasing history, art and literature, a kite festival, Junior Calypso Monarch Competition, Freedom Walk and Run, Heritage Day & Feast and annual St. Patrick’s Day church service and dinner.
Of all the Caribbean islands, Montserrat is the only one to offer a noticeable Irish heritage. The island was the home for indentured Irish Catholic servants in the British West Indies, and the influence of their culture is still felt today. There is even a village named St. Patrick’s, which is located in the exclusion zone.
Visitors also receive a green shamrock stamp in their passport upon arrival. Goat water, the national dish made of kid or mutton and spiced with cloves and rum, hails from the original Emerald Isle. The Irish legacy is present in the folklore, surnames and even the local speech, which is laced with Irish brogue. | <urn:uuid:99a04e22-2459-4741-89b8-2830cd92443f> | {
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Quarter ♏ Scorpio
Moon phase on 14 February 2039 Monday is Waning Gibbous, 20 days old Moon is in Scorpio.Share this page: twitter facebook linkedin
Previous main lunar phase is the Full Moon before 5 days on 9 February 2039 at 03:39.
Moon rises in the evening and sets in the morning. It is visible to the southwest and it is high in the sky after midnight.
Moon is passing about ∠5° of ♏ Scorpio tropical zodiac sector.
Lunar disc appears visually 1.2% wider than solar disc. Moon and Sun apparent angular diameters are ∠1966" and ∠1943".
Next Full Moon is the Worm Moon of March 2039 after 24 days on 10 March 2039 at 16:35.
There is low ocean tide on this date. Sun and Moon gravitational forces are not aligned, but meet at big angle, so their combined tidal force is weak.
The Moon is 20 days old. Earth's natural satellite is moving from the middle to the last part of current synodic month. This is lunation 483 of Meeus index or 1436 from Brown series.
Length of current 483 lunation is 29 days, 13 hours and 41 minutes. It is 1 hour and 1 minute shorter than next lunation 484 length.
Length of current synodic month is 57 minutes longer than the mean length of synodic month, but it is still 6 hours and 6 minutes shorter, compared to 21st century longest.
This New Moon true anomaly is ∠51.2°. At beginning of next synodic month true anomaly will be ∠83.5°. The length of upcoming synodic months will keep increasing since the true anomaly gets closer to the value of New Moon at point of apogee (∠180°).
12 days after point of apogee on 2 February 2039 at 01:38 in ♉ Taurus. The lunar orbit is getting closer, while the Moon is moving inward the Earth. It will keep this direction for the next day, until it get to the point of next perigee on 15 February 2039 at 17:30 in ♏ Scorpio.
Moon is 364 602 km (226 553 mi) away from Earth on this date. Moon moves closer next day until perigee, when Earth-Moon distance will reach 370 230 km (230 050 mi).
9 days after its ascending node on 5 February 2039 at 05:55 in ♋ Cancer, the Moon is following the northern part of its orbit for the next 3 days, until it will cross the ecliptic from North to South in descending node on 18 February 2039 at 09:34 in ♐ Sagittarius.
9 days after beginning of current draconic month in ♋ Cancer, the Moon is moving from the beginning to the first part of it.
8 days after previous North standstill on 6 February 2039 at 03:54 in ♋ Cancer, when Moon has reached northern declination of ∠23.931°. Next 4 days the lunar orbit moves southward to face South declination of ∠-24.002° in the next southern standstill on 19 February 2039 at 06:19 in ♑ Capricorn.
After 8 days on 23 February 2039 at 03:18 in ♓ Pisces, the Moon will be in New Moon geocentric conjunction with the Sun and this alignment forms next Sun-Moon-Earth syzygy. | <urn:uuid:f6800164-6f6f-49a2-b091-392965f3bdd8> | {
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At quite uncertain times and
-- James Clerk Maxwell
In the Pleiades lab you learned about H-R, or color-magnitude, diagrams. A color-magnitude diagram is a plot of apparent magnitude versus the (B-V) color index of a group of stars. An H-R diagram is usually a plot of absolute magnitude versus spectral type or color index. Note that they are basically the same thing, a plot of brightness versus stellar temperature, measured in different ways. When you plot these values for stars that are in a cluster, a close spatial group of stars, you can safely assume that these stars have roughly the same distance modulus, similar ages and similar initial chemical composition. The last two come from the fact that these stars formed out of one clump of interstellar material, all at roughly the same time. The location of stars in the color-magnitude diagram is then primarily due to the mass of the individual stars. This is useful for astronomers because color-magnitude diagrams of clusters then can be used to check theories of how stars evolve, i.e. change over time.
For example, consider a very young cluster. We know that the more massive stars go through their lifecycles faster than the lower mass stars, including the time they take to contract from the interstellar gas cloud into stars burning hydrogen into helium at their cores. This young cluster then should have more massive stars on the zero-age main sequence or ZAMS (the starting point where the stars begin burning hydrogen in their cores) than low mass stars, which haven't made it to the main sequence yet. Those stars are still contracting and heating up (e.g. protostars), so they are bigger and cooler than the cluster's main sequence stars. This corresponds to being to the right of the main sequence, but below the turn-off point. As the cluster ages, the low mass stars reach the main sequence but in the meantime the most massive stars have burned up all the hydrogen in their cores and begin to evolve to the right of the main sequence and into supergiants. The point on the main sequence where stars begin to leave and evolve into giants is called the turn-off point. As more time goes by, more stars peel off the main sequence and move toward the giant region to the upper right corner of the color-magnitude diagram. Armed with this idea, we can find a cluster which we think is young (due to the presence of hot blue stars or some other indicator) or old (due to lack of blue stars), and see if the color-magnitude diagram looks like we think it should to test our theories. Conversely, you can try and tell the age of a cluster by looking at the color-magnitude diagram and comparing it to your theoretical predictions.
Your instructor will give you a set of color-magnitude diagrams. Eight of these are color-magnitude diagrams for clusters in our galaxy. Notice that these are quite a bit messier than the main sequence we plotted in the Pleiades lab, because they are snapshots of real clusters at a single point in their lifecycle. When you get them, take a moment to examine the diagrams. Notice that the diagram plots apparent magnitude, V, versus the (B-V) color index on the bottom x-axis. Whereas at the top x-axis is a quantity labeled (B-V)o, which is the color index corrected for interstellar reddening. A color index is a measure of the color of a star. The smaller the value of (B-V), the bluer the color of the star.
You will also receive a transparent H-R diagram with a theoretical ZAMS printed on it. This ZAMS will be used to determine where the ZAMS lays on the eight cluster diagrams. There is also one graph that relates cluster age to cluster turn-off point color index. Please don't write on any of these materials.
Finding the age of a cluster of stars can actually be fairly accurate for clusters where there is a well-defined turn-off point. The turn-off point is the spot on the main sequence where stars are just starting to move up into the supergiant region. Below the turn-off, stars are still burning hydrogen in their cores, happily living on the main sequence. Above the turn-off point, stars have exhausted their core hydrogen. For a younger cluster, the turn-off point is closer to the blue (high mass, bright and heavy stars) end of the main sequence. For older clusters, the turn-off point is closer to the red end of the main sequence.
The turn-off point is probably also one of the first things you will notice about the cluster color-magnitude diagrams. To be sure that the turn-off is where you think it is, use the ZAMS transparent overlay. First, match up the upper x-axis of the overlay and the upper x-axis of diagram, at (B-V)o = 0.0 and also keep the sides of the diagrams parallel and square with each other. Then slide the overlay up/down until you get what you consider to be the best match between the star data points and the ZAMS line. When fitting clusters with a lot of scatter, try to match the narrower parts of scatter to the curve, and generally try to keep the ZAMS to the lower left of the scatter since objects not on the main sequence are probably in that direction from ZAMS. When you've got a match, you will be able to see where the star data 'peels off' from the ZAMS -- this is the turn-off point. Read off the values of (B-V)o from the ZAMS transparency, and record these in Table 1.
The turn-off point's (B-V)o can be turned into an estimated age for the cluster using some theoretical calculations. Luckily, you don't have to do any calculations. Use the graph of cluster age vs. turn-off point color included at the end of this introduction by matching your (B-V)o to the value on the x-axis. Follow straight up to the solid line in the graph, and then over to the left to find the age. The labels on the y-axis should be read as the little number (1.5, 2, 3, etc.) times the large number that is labeled every ten spaces (107, 108, etc.). For example, you could have an age of 4 x 107. Record the age in Table 1.
Hopefully you remember distance modulus from the Pleiades lab. If not, or if the concept is unclear, look it up in your textbook and ask your instructor to explain distance modulus again. Briefly, the distance modulus is the quantity (m-M), the difference between the apparent and absolute magnitudes. To find the distance modulus on these color-magnitude diagrams, keep your transparency lined up as before so the ZAMS matches the star data points. Then look for MV = 0 on the ZAMS transparency, go over horizontally to the color-magnitude diagram apparent magnitude axis and read off the value of the apparent magnitude (labeled as V).
Now the value for the distance modulus, apparent magnitude minus absolute magnitude, is (V-MV) using the labels we have here. Since we were cunning enough to match up a place in the graphs where MV = 0, we find (V-MV) = (V - 0) = V, the value you just read off the color-magnitude diagram axis. Record this for the distance modulus in Table 1.
To convert this into the distance of the cluster, we must invert the distance modulus equations.
(V-MV) = -5 log( d/10)
d = 10 (V-Mv+5)/5)
Record the distance (in parsecs) in Table 1 as well.
There is another thing that we can learn from these color-magnitude diagrams, after the age and distance of the cluster. This last quantity doesn't have much to do with the cluster itself however, but rather it tells us about what it is between us and the cluster. That is, the interstellar dust.
Interstellar dust acts in similar ways to dust in our planet's atmosphere. You have probably noticed how the sun or bright full moon can appear orange or even red at sunset or sunrise. The reason is that at those times you are looking through a lot of dust in the air. Dust tends to absorb and selectively scatter blue light more effectively than red. The red light can pass by the dust grains more easily than the blue, so we end up receiving a higher fraction of the red light that is emitted than of the blue. This applies to dust in our atmosphere (resulting in a redder, dimmer sun at sunset) and also applies to dust between the stars (resulting in much the same thing).
So two things occur due to interstellar dust: starlight reddening (redder light) and extinction (less light).
The color index (B-V) that we observe is redder than the true color index of the stars because of the reddening effect of the dust. We can make an estimate of how much reddening has occurred by using the spectral type to calculate an intrinsic, un-reddened color index. This is labeled (B-V)o. The difference between the observed color index (B-V) and the intrinsic color index (B-V)o is called the color excess, or E(B-V), of the star. This is defined as:
E(B-V) = (B-V) - (B-V)o
If you look at the upper and lower x-axes on the cluster color-magnitude diagrams, you will notice that in each case the (B-V) and (B-V)o scales are offset such that the (B-V)o scale is shifted to the right with respect to the lower scale (to the right corresponds to a lower value of the color index, and thus is bluer). This should make sense to you, in light of the reddening effects of dust. Measure the color excess for each diagram by using a ruler to project the value of (B-V)o straight down to the bottom (B-V) axis. As E(B-V) = (B-V) - (B-V)o, setting (B-V)o = 0 causes E(B-V) to be equal to the value of (B-V) read off the bottom axis. Record the color excess in the Table 1.
Stars also appear dimmer due to interstellar dust. This is called extinction. Extinction affects our measurement of a star's brightness and therefore our determination of the star's distance if we use the distance modulous equation. Let's find out how extinction has affected our data.
In Table 2 are actual, carefully-measured distances to these star clusters. Rewrite your distances in the column marked d' (your measured distance) and calculate the ratio d'/d for the third column. Notice the errors.
Now answer the questions contained within the worksheets (Note: #3 asks you to fill in Graph 1, so don't worry about that until you get there).
Copyright Regents of the University of Michigan. | <urn:uuid:9ff91b32-c00f-47e4-915f-5fb25e761f6e> | {
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Last Updated: 2009-12-28 20:51:44 UTC
by Joel Esler (Version: 2)
The Internet Storm Center directly traces it's roots back to the year 1999. A SANS Project called the Consensus Internet Database was created as part of the infamous Y2K effort. On March 22, 2001, intrusion detection sensors around the globe logged an increase in the number of probes to port 53, the port that supports the Domain Name Service. Over a period of a few hours, more and more probes to port 53 were arriving - first from dozens and then from hundreds of attacking machines.
Within an hour of the first report, several analysts, all of whom were fully qualified as SANS GIAC certified intrusion detection experts back then called "Track 3", now named "503", agreed that a global security incident was underway. They immediately sent a notice to a global community of technically savvy security practitioners asking them to check their systems to see whether they had experienced an attack. Within three hours a system administrator in the Netherlands responded that some of his machines had been infected, and he sent the first copy of the worm code to the analysts.
The analysts determined what damage the worm did and how it did it, and then they developed a computer program to determine which computers had been infected. They tested the program in multiple sites and they also let the FBI know of the attack. Just fourteen hours after the spike in port 53 traffic was first noticed, the analysts were able to send an alert to 200,000 people warning them of the attack in progress, telling them where to get the program to check their machines, and advising what to do to avoid the worm.
The Li0n worm event demonstrated what the community acting together can do to respond to broad-based malicious attacks. Most importantly, it demonstrated the value of sharing intrusion detection logs in real time. Only in the regional and global aggregates was the attack obvious. The technology, people, and networks that found the Li0n worm were all part of the SANS Institute's Consensus Incident Database (CID) project that had been monitoring global Internet traffic. CID's contribution the night of March 22 was sufficient to earn it a new title: the SANS Internet Storm Center. Today the Internet Storm Center gathers millions of intrusion detection log entries every day, from sensors covering over 500,000 IP addresses in over 50 countries. It is rapidly expanding in a quest to do a better job of finding new storms faster, identifying the sites that are used for attacks, and providing authoritative data on the types of attacks that are being mounted against computers in various industries and regions around the globe. The Internet Storm Center is a free service to the Internet community.
The work is supported by the SANS Institute from tuition paid by students attending SANS security education programs. Volunteer incident handlers donate their valuable time to analyze detects and anomalies, and post a daily diary of their analysis and thoughts on the Storm Center web site.
What we would like to hear from you, the readers is, in the past 10 years. What are the memorable moments? What are the highs and lows of the past ten years (information security/ISC wise)? Rather a 'decade in review'. What we are going to is put these all together and on January 1st of 2010, we'll post a diary showing these. The past 10 years in review, submitted by you, the readers, whom without -- The Internet Storm Center, would not function.
Please give us feedback via the Contact link at the top of the page on http://isc.sans.org.
Last Updated: 2009-12-28 16:08:41 UTC
by Joel Esler (Version: 4)
In case you were spending time with your family this weekend and not watching the news, there was an attempted Terrorist attack on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, USA on December 25th. From what I understand this "terrorist" was on the flight, and as the plane was getting ready to land, tried to ignite something in his lap to catch the plane on fire, or cause it to explode. (DHS is looking into which one it was supposed to be).
As a result, the US Gov't (and several foreign Gov'ts) stepped up security. Adding more Air Marshalls, increasing security screening at checkpoints, explosive sniffing dogs, and not allowing people to use PED's during portions of the flight. (PED = Portable Electronic Devices).
So, how does this relate to Information Security?
#1) Stepping up the security that didn't work in the first place
It's not enough to ramp up the security that obviously didn't work. This suspect was able to get on board, with some type of incendiary device. (Notice I said "Incendiary device", not PED. I don't know why Gov't regulators and Airlines insist on punishing things like DVD players and iPhones, (etc) when something bad happens.) In the normal reactionary mode, you would say "how did 'x' device get on board the plane and why didn't we catch it?" Obviously, it's impossible to look for everything that people will invent to circumvent security policy, it's impossible to make your air travel 100% safe. Anytime you have that many people that want to do that many bad things, there is a way that the "Bad guys" will find a way to do something "Bad". It's inevitable. The answer is compensating controls. Ramping up more of the same isn't going to do it. But doing additional things that are different that focus on different areas will help. You can't lock down port 80 because there are too many attack vectors. But you can force people through a proxy and keep them from doing bad things using tools like Websense, (etc). But all of that doesn't matter if you allow external proxies and can SSH out of the network. If you lock down one area, you have to lock down them all. At the end of the day, how much trust do you have in your users? Some, none?
#2) Playing the Blame Game.
Oh, it was PED's. Oh, it was because we let the suspect out of their seat to retrieve something from the overhead bin. Oh, it's because this person is running a non-standard configuration of IIS. Oh, it's because this person is running Firefox instead of IE. Stop blaming and fix the problem. Don't sit in a meeting and say "Oh, well, it's because he was running that evil Mozilla and not our precious IE, that's how we got hacked!" Don't blame the tool, blame the person for not patching the tool. How can you get Firefox to update? How can you keep people from installing it in the first place? It's not about placing blame, it's about finding what went wrong and fixing the problem in a way that YOU CAN CONTROL. Not allowing people to get up during a flight isn't going to work, because people are going to NEED to get up on a flight. Not allowing people to use their iPods on flights isn't going to work, because people are going to do it anyway. The big question is, what is the device the guy had and tried to ignite, and how did it get on the plane?
#3) Incorrect allowances.
In the words of the comedian Louis Black "...you can't bring a lighter on board the plane, but you can bring matches. You can bring matches.. That's what is wrong with this country, your brain can't cope with that kind of logic." We don't allow you to bring a lighter on board, to you know, ignite things with, but you can bring matches on board. I know I'll catch flack from the Smokers who are reading this, and I understand, but listen.. you can't smoke on a plane anyway. There is no need for anyone to have anything that ignites past security. "So how do we smoke in the airport", well.. 1) Don't. 2) Quit, (Yes, you can do it, I did) or 3) I am sure we can figure out some kind of electronic ignition device that we place in the smoking rooms in the airports. All of today's modern technology, and we can't figure out how to NOT let people carry something that causes FLAME on a plane. Allowing people to bypass one security control by compensating with an equally damaging one kinda defeats the purpose doesn't it? You don't allow people to run Firefox, but you allow them to run Safari. You don't allow people to run OSX because you "can't control it" (yes I've heard this), but you allow people to run Linux. Poor examples, and I welcome more if you'd like, but you get my point.
From my armchair quarterbacking spot, how did the flame get on the plane? How did the device get on the plane? What was the device?
From Reuters: Information on the explosive device:
"The device consisted of a six-inch (15-cm) packet of powder and a syringe containing a liquid, which were sewn into the suspect's underwear, according to media reports."
Last Updated: 2009-12-28 15:36:57 UTC
by Joel Esler (Version: 3)
Microsoft has put up a response on their security blog concerning the IIS "0day". They say that only installations in a specific "non-default" and "unsafe configuration" are vulnerable to the condition. Also they note that if the administrator had not altered the default configuration and followed best practices in the securing of the webserver, then this exploit wouldn't work.
Unfortunately, we know that doesn't always wind up being the case. Read more of their blog post here.
Check out Patrick's Post here. | <urn:uuid:2f082dbe-26a4-4535-a39d-b6fefe5907d0> | {
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Strengthening the Paris Agreement by supply-side climate policies
To reach the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping global warming well below 2 degrees, much of the world’s deposits of oil, gas and coal must be left permanently in the ground. In an article published in Science in 2020, we present key economic mechanisms through which an international treaty directly limiting the supply of fossil fuels would help reach this goal.
Less carbon leakage
The Paris Agreement reduces greenhouse gas emissions by imposing CO2 taxes and other instruments, thereby weakening the demand for fossil fuels. However, the resulting lower international fossil fuel prices increase fuel use in countries that free ride by not implementing demand-side measures. This is carbon leakage.
If a coalition of countries agree to reduce their supply of fossil fuels, they will contribute to higher global fuel prices. By reducing both their own demand (as pledged in the Paris Agreement) and supply of fossil fuels, they can counteract changes in international fuel prices and thereby diminish carbon leakage.
Stimulating investments in green technology
A producer treaty will raise the expected future prices of fossil fuels, also in countries without climate policy. This makes investments in climate friendly technologies more profitable. Such increased investments in green technology lower the costs of tomorrow’s climate friendly society, enhancing thereby the realism of such a society – which in turn strengthens the prospects that green investments will in effect be profitable.
Insurance against a failed Paris Agreement
If the Paris Agreement turns out to be successful in preventing excessive climate change, then future international fossil fuel prices will be low due to low demands. This undermines the profitability of extracting fossil fuels and ensures that a sufficient amount of resources will remain in the ground. Hence, the producer treaty becomes inexpensive as deposits pledged to remain untouched will end being unprofitable anyway. It might even avoid stranded assets by preventing investors with false beliefs to undertake unprofitable exploration and development of deposits.
If the Paris Agreement turns out to be a failure, then a producer treaty will impose real costs on producers with deposits that the treaty has earmarked for conservation. But it will also provide considerable – probably much greater – benefits in terms of a more stable global climate.
Thus, a producer treaty will insure against the serious consequences if the Paris Agreement fails, while being inexpensive – or even beneficial – if it succeeds.
Bringing producers on the team
A successful Paris Agreement will reduce the value of resources that are still in the ground. Hence, big producers of oil, gas and coal have been among the most strident opponents of the agreement.
However, they would benefit if a treaty limits fossil fuel supply. Why? Producers will of course lose on deposits that will remain untouched but gain on the fossil fuels that are nonetheless produced since fuel prices will be higher. Groups that traditionally have worked hard to undermine climate policies might therefore be expected to support a producer treaty.
Practical steps towards supply-side climate policies
A supply-side treaty will be more effective if participation is wide. However, the advantages sketched above do not require full participation.
As a first step, rich, well-organized fossil fuel-producing countries could announce moratoria on fossil fuel exploration in areas like the Arctic. As a next step, these countries could invite all fossil fuel producers to prepare supply-side pledges, in the form of exploration moratoria and extraction caps.
Like demand-side measures, supply-side policies will face resistance – from fossil fuel-importing countries and fossil fuel-reliant firms. Nevertheless, the fact that demand- and supply-side policies distribute costs and benefits differently suggests that both approaches should be applied in tandem.
Geir B. Asheim 1, Taran Fæhn 2, Karine Nyborg 1, Mads Greaker 3, Cathrine Hagem 2,
Bård Harstad 1, Michael. O. Hoel 1, Diderik Lund 1, Knut Einar Rosendahl 4
1 Department of Economics, University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway
2 Statistics Norway, St. Hanshaugen, Oslo, Norway
3 Oslo Metropolitan University, St. Olavs plass, Oslo, Norway
4 Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
The case for a supply-side climate treaty
Asheim GB, Fæhn T, Nyborg K, Greaker M, Hagem C, Harstad B, Hoel MO, Lund D, Rosendahl KE
Science. 2019 Jul 26 | <urn:uuid:7104416a-23e9-4538-b043-47ef12241aa0> | {
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In a study carried out by European Southern Observatory (ESO) scientists, it was found that asteroids are susceptible to sunburn. By comparing the material found inside meteorites here on the ground with the colour of asteroids floating in space, there is a huge difference; the asteroids in space are redder.
So far, this might not be too surprising, after all, the surface of Mars is red with ferrous oxides (rust), why shouldn’t asteroids be red too? Actually, asteroids aren’t necessarily made of the same stuff as Mars, and they aren’t getting tanned due to the Sun’s ultraviolet rays; asteroids are bathed in ionizing solar wind particles, causing the asteroid’s surfaces to redden over a period of time. And that period is short when compared with Solar System time scales. It only takes a million years for the surface of young asteroids (born from energetic asteroid collisions) to weather under the constant barrage of particles from the solar wind.
This has some interesting implications for asteroid studies. Possibly the most striking factor this study uncovers is the nature of near-Earth asteroids that have been observed exhibiting comparatively “young” surfaces, apparently free from solar wind reddening. Previously, astronomers have agreed that these young surfaces were down to recent asteroid collisions. However, the period of the solar wind tanning effect is much shorter than asteroid collision frequency. So even if two asteroids collided, in all likelihood, if we observed one of these asteroids, the solar wind would have weathered the surface back to its reddened state.
It turns out that some near-Earth asteroids have “young” surfaces due to gravitational interactions with planets as they pass. When this happens, the red dust is “shaken off”, revealing the untouched rock beneath.
For more, check out my article Young Asteroids Age Fast with a Solar Wind Tan on the Universe Today. | <urn:uuid:8dd1ddeb-b49f-4c20-a22b-89df368a8a84> | {
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Pre-history is the time before people began to write. The word comes from the Ancient Greek words προ (pre = "before") and ιστορία (historia = "history"). Paul Tournal first used the French word Préhistorique. He found things made by humans more than ten thousand years ago in some caves in France. The word was first used in France around 1830 to talk about the time before writing. Daniel Wilson used it in English in 1851.
The term is mostly used for the period from 12,000 BC – 3000 BC, roughly speaking, the Neolithic. Sometimes the term "prehistoric" is used for much older periods, but scientists have more accurate terms for those more ancient times.
Less is known about prehistoric people because there are no written records (history) for us to study. Finding out about pre-history is done by archaeology. This means studying things like tools, bones, buildings and cave drawings. Pre-history ends at different times in different places when people began to write.
In the more ancient stone age pre-history, people lived in tribes and lived in caves or tents (houses made from animal skin). They had simple tools made from wood and bones and cutting tools from stone such as flint, which they used to hunt and to make simple things. They made fire used it for cooking and to stay warm. They made clothing out of animal skins, and later by weaving. Society started when people began doing specialized jobs. This is called the division of labour. The division of labor made people depend on one another and led to more complex civilizations.
Some important sciences that are used to find out more about pre-history are palaeontology, astronomy, biology, geology, anthropology, and archaeology. Archaeologists study things left over from prehistory to try to understand what was happening. Anthropologists study the traces of human behavior to learn what people were doing and why.
After people started to record events, first by drawing symbols (called pictographs) and then by writing, it became much easier to tell what happened, and history started. These records can tell us the names of leaders (such as Kings and Queens), important events like floods and wars, and the things people did in their daily lives. The time when prehistory ended and history started is different in different places, depending on when people began to write and if their records were kept safe or lost so they could be found later on. In places like Mesopotamia, China, and Ancient Egypt, things were recorded from very early times (around 3200 BCE in Ancient Egypt) and these records can be looked at and studied. In New Guinea the end of prehistory came much later, around 1900.
Timeline of Earth
- 4.5 billion years ago – Earth formed out of smaller rocks flying around the sun
- 3,500 million years ago – first very simple and tiny forms of life in the seas
- 600 million years ago - first animals, also in the seas
- 500 million years ago - first plants and animals on land
- 230 million years ago – first dinosaurs appear
- 65 million years ago – dinosaurs disappear; mammals take their place as dominant animals
- 30 million years ago - first apes
- 2.5 million years ago - first humans
Timeline of people
- 2.5 million years ago – Start of Lower Palaeolithic age, during which a type of early pre-human called Australopithecus lived. These people made tools out of bones and stones and made shelters out of branches.
- 1 million years ago – A type of early human called Homo erectus lived. People made hand axes and wooden spears.
- 250,000 years ago – First Homo sapiens (modern people). People make fire. People use bolas. People hunt elephants.
- 100,000 years ago – Middle Palaeolithic age. Neanderthal people lived. People live in caves and make cave drawings. People begin to bury dead people.
- 40,000 years ago – Upper Palaeolithic age. Cro-Magnon people lived. People make spears from antlers. People make houses from hides (animal skins). People paint cave drawings and make things out of clay. People make needles out of antlers. People make jewellery.
- 10,000 years ago – The last Ice age ends.
- 10,000 BC – 4000 BC – Mesolithic age. In North-west Europe people make bows and arrows. People use dogs to hunt and to carry things.
- 9,000 BC – Neolithic age. People in the Near East start to change from hunting and gathering food to growing crops and using farm animals.
- 7,000 BC – People in South-west Europe begin using copper to make tools.
- 6,000 BC – British Isles move away from Europe.
- 2,580 BC – The Egyptians build the Great Pyramids in Giza. People in the Middle East use iron and make plows.
- 2,400 BC – People make Stonehenge in England.
- 3,300 BC – 1,200 BC – Bronze Age (in Britain). People make tools out of bronze.
- 1,200 BC – 400 AD – Iron Age (in Britain). People make tools out of iron. Roman Empire rises and falls.
Massive stone pillars at Göbekli Tepe, in southeast Turkey, erected for ritual use by early Neolithic people 11,000 years ago.
Artist's impression of a Copper Age walled city, Los Millares, Iberia
Chalcolithic copper mine in Timna Valley, Negev Desert, Israel
Entrance to the Ġgantija phase temple complex of Hagar Qim, Malta, 3900 BC.
Pre-history Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia. | <urn:uuid:be57f658-d320-4850-80ed-6a07c4174c94> | {
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Elephant females and young spend most of their time in small family groups of ten to fifteen related individuals, ruled and guided by a matriarch. She is the equivalent of the institutional memory, and her role is to keep the family safe. These small groups gather into larger herds during the rainy season as they search for fresh vegetation. Adult elephants consume up to 400 pounds/180 kilos of vegetation a day. The two youngsters in the picture, however, will still be suckling – when they’re not busy playing that is. | <urn:uuid:10ff71e0-786e-45bb-beae-6bb406503051> | {
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Military and War Weapons the Rifle
About the military and war weapon the rifle, origins and history, first widespread use in the American Revolution, the rifle today.
CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON--FROM THE LONGBOW TO THE NEUTRON BOMB
Description. A rifle is a gun fired from the shoulder which has spiral grooves cut into the bore (the inside surface of the barrel). This grooving causes the bullet to spin when fired, resulting in greater range and accuracy. The spin of the bullet keeps it on a straight trajectory and combats wind and gravitational forces.
Origin. Firearms called muskets, with smooth-surfaced bores, were in existence for nearly two centuries before the rifle was developed around 1470. Knowing that feathered arrows spun while in flight, making them fly farther and more truly, the legendary inventor of the rifle, Kaspar Kollner of Vienna, Austria, discovered that grooves in a gun's bore achieved the same effect with bullets. By 1510 hunting rifles had created a sensation, because they had twice the range and better than twice the accuracy of muskets. Not comprehending the physics of rotating projectiles, medieval scientists could not explain why spinning bullets were so effective.
In 1522 Herman Moritz, a Bavarian sorcerer, announced that rifle bullets were more accurate because demons could not control spinning objects. For a while, this was accepted as the truth, and rifles were used against non-Christians and alleged witches. To test Moritz's conclusion, the Archbishop of Mainz, Germany, held a contest between two riflemen in March, 1547. One rifleman used ordinary lead bullets, while the other employed silver bullets which were engraved with crosses and had been manufactured and loaded by priests who had meticulously exorcised each round of ammunition. Since the denser, "holy" silver bullets resisted the rifle's spiraling and since their shape was distorted due to the crucifixes carved into them, none of the silver bullets hit the target, while all the lead bullets found their mark. This demonstration convinced the archbishop that rifles were weapons of the devil. He declared them illegal and had them seized and destroyed. Anyone found manufacturing a rifle was burned at the stake.
Even though the Church eventually lifted its ban on rifles, muskets remained the principal weapon of all armies for 300 years, because rifles were expensive, heavy, and very difficult to load. The first large-scale use of rifles was by American frontiersmen, who needed a light-weight, highly accurate gun for hunting and Indian fighting. Gunsmiths in eastern Pennsylvania--not Kentucky--produced the inexpensive, 10-lb., easy-loading, and extremely deadly Kentucky rifle by 1740.
First Notable Use. In 1776, during the American Revolution, some 1,200 frontiersmen with their Kentucky rifles were recruited into the American armies. At the Battle of Saratoga in 1777, near Albany, N.Y., rifles were used decisively for the first time in battle. On Oct. 7, British Gen. Simon Fraser led 1,600 elite troops armed with muskets against the Americans. Marching into a clearing near Freeman's Farm, Fraser and his redcoats were attacked by a regiment of Virginia riflemen commanded by Gen. Daniel Morgan. While the British stood in the open, pointed their inaccurate muskets, and fired in volleys, the Virginians took cover behind trees and aimed carefully. Since the American rifles could fire five times as far as the British muskets, the English lines were soon decimated. When Fraser managed to rally his demoralized troops, Morgan ordered a company of his riflemen to cut down the British general. Fraser promptly fell dead, his body riddled with rifle bullets, and the British soldiers fled, while the Americans charged into their lines to win the Battle of Saratoga.
Weapon Today. Since 1777 the Kentucky rifle has become a collector's item. Innumerable varieties of modern rifles are manufactured by legions of factories and are still the basic weapon of infantrymen and hunters throughout the world.
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|DISCLAIMER: PLEASE READ - By printing, downloading, or using you agree to our full terms. Review the full terms at the following URL: /disclaimer.htm| | <urn:uuid:d67d125b-79fc-4ad7-82d9-5b047ff9f2c5> | {
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Title: Education in Emergencies – Ebola’s impact on education
Children have the right to education, even during times of conflict or crisis. But how can we assure access to high quality education during an emergency and through the phases of reconstruction? In this interactive presentation, participants will learn about the Inter Agency Network for Education in Emergencies and their foundational tool, the Minimum Standards for Education: Preparedness, Response, Recovery. Participants will apply the Minimum Standards to the case of the ebola outbreak in west Africa.
When: November 11th from 2-3 PM
Where: Walter library, Room 405
About the presenter: Elisheva Cohen is a PhD student in Comparative and International Development Education. Her research focuses on issues of citizenship, migration and education in the Middle East, with a particular interest in urban refugees. She holds a Master’s Degree in International Educational Development from Columbia University where she studied education in conflict, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa region. She has Bachelor’s Degrees from Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary in Middle Eastern Studies and Hebrew Literature, respectively. She is a member of the Inter Agency Network for Education in Emergencies and served as their Minimum Standards intern in 2010. | <urn:uuid:ae16c3ec-1842-4c16-ad91-1cfc67c0b957> | {
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Aldershot Military Museum facts for kids
Aldershot Military Museum in Aldershot Military Town in Hampshire, England was conceived by former Aldershot Garrison Commander, Brigadier John Reed (1926–1992). Reed believed that it was essential to preserve the history of the military town and founded the Aldershot Military Historical Trust to raise funds for the establishment of the Museum. Reed acquired the two Victorian barrack bungalows in which the Museum is still based.
The Museum was opened by The Duke of Gloucester in 1984 and is housed in the only two surviving barrack bungalows built in the "North Camp" area of Farnborough in the 1890s. The Museum tells the story of the British Army in Aldershot, the "Home of the British Army", from the Army's arrival in the area in the 1850s to the present day. It also acts as the local history museum for the civil towns of Aldershot and Farnborough, which form the modern Borough of Rushmoor.
In 2014, ownership of the Aldershot Military Museum was transferred to the Hampshire Cultural Trust as part of a larger transfer of museums from Hampshire County Council and Winchester City Council. The M and N Block barrack buildings date to 1894 and are Grade II listed buildings as they are the only surviving examples of their type.
The Museum's military gallery tells the story of the Military Town of Aldershot from 1854 to the present day, including the development of the early military camp, through to Aldershot Command and the current Aldershot Garrison. The gallery was completely refurbished in 2001, thanks to a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and at that time was renamed the John Reed Gallery in memory of the Museum's founder.
The Montgomery Gallery building once stood in the grounds of Field Marshal Montgomery's home at Isington near Alton, Hampshire. It was built for him in 1947 to house his wartime caravans and was moved to the museum in 1995; it houses part of the museum's collection of larger exhibits of field guns and other vehicles, including tanks and armoured cars.
The Rushmoor Local History Gallery tells the story of Aldershot and Farnborough, and the people and businesses associated with those towns. In this gallery are displays about George Potters, drum makers to the British Army; a Victorian shop; and information on the French Imperial Family, the construction of Farnborough Abbey and the pottery industry of Farnborough and Cove.
In 1908, Farnborough was the site of Britain's first powered flight by the American, Samuel Franklin Cody. The Cody Gallery includes a reconstruction of part of Cody's Farnborough workshop, and displays artefacts such as his flying helmet.
The Boyce Building
Officially opened in November 2006, this 1930s wooden barrack block came from Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Church Crookham, and was once the home of the Regimental Administration Offices for the camp.
Carefully reconstructed at the museum thanks to a £50,000 Heritage Lottery grant, the Boyce Gallery explores the users of the barracks which was once home to the Royal Army Service Corps, Royal Army Medical Corps, Royal Corps of Transport and many battalions from the Brigade of Gurkhas before closing in 2000.
Aldershot Military Museum Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia. | <urn:uuid:265388c7-c90b-43f2-be84-fa01618f5930> | {
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MPGA is one variation of the common digital audio file format (or MPEG Audio). The full name of this format is MPEG-1 Layer 3 Audio File. MPGA format is considered standard for Windows and is supported by all players of this operating system. Any multimedia software that supports MP3 format can work with MPGA audio files. MPGA files are small in size and have significant compression, and file compression is performed without loss of quality and preserving the original sound. The massive use of MPGA is related to the Android mobile OS.
KAR is the original format of audio files for creating karaoke, which are formed in a variety of software systems. It has the ability to save not only MIDI file data, but also lyrics. The KAR format is part of the .midi extension. In most cases, they are used as a source for adding special text to regular MIDI files, and they also differ from the Karaoke file. After all, there is no additional track with words that are synchronized with the main melody according to certain algorithms. As a rule, in order to realize the vocal part, you must apply the first track. For a stream of words, a second track is used. This file extension can be obtained using specialized software. But not only. It can also be created using MIDI keyboards that are connected to computer hardware. If there are appropriate plugins, then you can open the KAR file using the Media Player traditional for the Windows operating system. Anyone using the Mac OS platform can play KAR files in the Mireth Technology Music Man karaoke application. But the universal option for this pair of systems is PG Music Band-in-a-Box. This software is the most popular among analogues. Together with the .KAR extension, they sometimes provide reference data on where audio catalogs and item metadata associated with audio tracks are located. It is also possible that there is information about the artist and about the albums. | <urn:uuid:c23a9200-1c2c-4f20-a2ad-af1e70d817bd> | {
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It goes without saying that overfishing is an ongoing environmental concern. As populations dwindle, oceanic ecosystems are set off-kilter — increasingly unbalanced and unhealthy.
Unfortunately, the amount of fish we're pulling from the water might be higher than anyone ever imagined. According to a recent study published in Nature Communications, the total catch taken from the world's oceans may be 53 percent higher than what has been officially reported to the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization — for decades.
The study argues that the official numbers only reflect the catches of large-scale fisheries, ignoring the combined impact of small fisheries, bycatch, and other sources.
Surely, this is not good news, but University of Washington Professor Trevor Branch made an important note in response to the study, commenting that ”catches only tell us what we take out, not what the status of the remaining fish is.” It’s true that the ocean might not be any worse off than already thought as a result of these findings, but the fact remains that something needs to be done in order to reverse the ecological damage we’ve caused.
So what can you, as a consumer, do to help? In short: Be a smart shopper. Ask your fish monger to suggest a sustainable choice, or do some searching yourself on the Montery Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch. They even have an app so you can compare options while you're at the store, which is what I often end up doing. Need an easier option? Add some of the recipes from our roundup of 9 Sustainable Seafood Recipes to your shopping list.
→ Read more: Global fishing catch significantly under-reported, says study from BBC | <urn:uuid:3d42ef4b-fdfc-417d-9bed-6962e4d9e5b5> | {
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The development and application of biotechnology has the potential for far-reaching economic, social and environmental impacts. It is therefore important to outline a statistical framework to guide the measurement of biotechnology activity. This Framework is intended to provide the basis for statistical compilation work within OECD member countries and those non-member countries wishing
to adopt the standards.
The focus of the Framework is on biotechnology R&D and the application of biotechnology techniques to produce goods or services. For simplicity, these are referred to in this Framework as key biotechnology activities. End uses of biotechnology, for instance the use of products produced using biotechnology in manufacturing, agriculture or private consumption, are of increasing policy interest but are beyond the scope of this document. However, many of the statistical standards articulated here will be relevant to such uses. The Biotechnology Statistics Conceptual Model in Chapter 2 illustrates the distinction between key activities and end uses.
Under the auspices of the OECD’s National Experts on Science and Technology Indicators (NESTI) group, five Ad hoc Meetings on Biotechnology Statistics have been held to date. The Biotechnology Statistics Framework is based on the methodological work produced by these meetings (held from 2000 to 2004). It is hoped that publication of the Framework will encourage further statistical work in this field and stimulate debate leading to further improvements in biotechnology statistics.
The Biotechnology Statistics Framework includes the following components:
• Information on concepts, units and definitions for statistical purposes.
• An articulation of user needs and how these relate to the statistical material in the Framework.
• Guidelines for data collection
, including a model question on biotechnology R&D, a model survey of key biotechnology activities, and related methodological information.
• Classifications to support the definitions and/or describe statistical units and data.
• Links to other relevant manuals.
• A glossary of terms. | <urn:uuid:32bd1c1e-4aba-48ed-99d2-406bdd664414> | {
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E4: Neurotransmitters and Synapses
Review Nerves content from the Core before completing this topic.
Essential Biology E4: Neurotransmitters and Synapses
Fantastic resources available from Utah, including the mouse party, neuron and synapse animations and an interactive involving pedigree charts and the role of genetics in addiction.
Spend some time here to really read around the subject of drugs and addiction – you’ll be glad you did and it really helps answer the ‘discuss the causes of addiction’ question!
Drugs and The Brain
Jellinek is a Dutch drugs education website that has some great, accessible resources for neurobiology of drugs and the brain. Animations are available in multiple languages – why can’t more organisations be as internationally-minded as this?
Be patient though -it needs a lot of bandwidth.
Neurotransmitters and Drugs:
Good powerpoint from HHMI
Excellent overview of effects of drugs (Harvard)
TOK and Biology: The Nutt-Sack Affair
Leader of advisory panel on drug safety sacked for disagreeing with UK government:
Read around the topic, and then answer these questions:
- How does this story show the conflict between science and politics?
- What do you feel the respective roles of science and politics should be in the government of a country?
- Suggest reasons why some drugs which are clearly very harmful, such as tobacco and alcohol, are still legal in many countries.
- If you were to form a new country and write a whole new set of drug laws, which would you make illegal or legal and why? Upon which sources of evidence would you rely in order to make your decisions? How would you balance political pressures with scientific evidence?
Find out more about drug laws and the rationale behind them in your own country and the countries you visit or live in.
Remember – regardless of your own opinion on drug laws, if you are caught breaking the law wherever you are, penalties can be very severe. | <urn:uuid:f33d94ee-e210-40ae-9cc8-8fa656061275> | {
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International Day of People with Disabilities is one day on the international calendar, yet it symbolizes the actions we should take every day, in order to create diverse and accepting communities.
Celebration – to recognize and value the diversity of our global community, and to cherish the role we all play, regardless of our abilities;
Learning – to understand and learn from the experiences of people with living with a disability;
It is a day for optimism – to look towards the future and the creation of a world where a person is not characterised by their disabilities, but by their abilities;
Action – where all people, organisations, agencies and charities not only show their support for International Day of People with Disabilities, but take on a commitment to create a world characterised by equal human rights. | <urn:uuid:da5dfe81-27c1-42ed-8bf2-9ae28a65ebca> | {
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By Julie Kunen
The Amazon basin—with its vast rainforests and river systems—is the most bio-diverse place on earth and, not surprisingly, a region rich in discovery. Newly described plant and animal species are a frequent occurrence.
The recent video documentation of a newly discovered fish migration is a much rarer event and particularly noteworthy this weekend as we celebrate World Fish Migration Day, a one-day global initiative to boost awareness of the importance of open rivers and migratory fish.
To be accurate, the migration of the “chipi chipi”—the local name for a pencil catfish technically known as Trichomycterus barbouri—is new only to science.
River communities in northern Bolivia have long known about this natural wonder. During the months of February and March, the chipi chipi migration causes the surface of the Beni River to shimmer with hundreds of thousands (possibly millions) of fish. To local communities, they are not surprisingly a seasonally valuable food source and fishers take advantage of their abundance and catch the small fish with large nets.
In all, these tiny fish travel more than 200 miles upstream to reach the foothills of the Andes where they spawn. That distance may not seem noteworthy by the standards of the chipi chipi’s larger relative, a giant Amazonian catfish called the dorado. That species grows up to nine feet in length and travels nearly 2500 miles from the Atlantic to the Andes in what is the longest freshwater fish migration in the world. In terms of relative size, however, the journey of the inch-long chipi chipi is equally amazing in scale.
The dorado moves through the largest river system in the world. Water flowing through the Amazon Basin sustains millions of people and innumerable, diverse species of wildlife.
With a drainage area covering nearly 40 percent of South America, Amazonian waters exceed in volume the world’s next six largest rivers combined. The Amazon’s waters face growing threats from dams, roads, human-induced climate change, mining, petroleum extraction, shipping and the unplanned growth of cities, whose expanding populations consume more and more of the Amazon River’s resources.
From rural fishermen and indigenous people to villagers and urban inhabitants in cities like Iquitos, Peru and Manaus, Brazil, as many as 20 million people depend on the Amazon for clean drinking water, transportation, subsistence and commercial fisheries, and wild fruits.
Although extractives like oil and rubber have long attracted industry to the Amazon Basin, fish have proven to be its most promising extractive resource. Highly sensitive to changes in water levels, chemistry, and sediment levels, fish are the best indicators of the overall health of the Amazon River system and link its wetlands and basins ecologically.
When fish thrive in their wetland habitat (including the vast flooded forests where most aquatic biodiversity is found), it is a good bet that black caiman, manatee, river dolphins, and other aquatic animals are likewise thriving.
Whether in the tributaries of the Amazon or the rivers of Alaska, the ability of migratory fish to move unimpeded through streams and waterways is crucial for maintaining healthy populations.
News of the chipi chipi migration raises important question for conservationists and wildlife managers working in the region: How much do we know about the behavior and travels of Amazon migratory fish? Are these fish in danger of disappearing before we have had a chance to study and understand these phenomena? How could such declines impact people living along the Amazon and its tributaries?
WCS is working with partners to answer these questions, documenting the life histories of the Amazon’s most important migratory fish to understand where they spawn, how far they travel, and where it is absolutely essential to conserve the flooded forests, floating meadows and other aquatic habitats that are their nurseries and feeding grounds.
World Fish Migration Day throws an important spotlight on these questions and reminds us that fish and their successful conservation play an essential role in sustaining local communities across the globe.
Dr. Julie Kunen is Executive Director for the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Latin America and Caribbean Program. | <urn:uuid:cb303003-f71c-44c9-b11d-74b40c42cdbc> | {
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A study of 3,588 square kilometers of privately owned land in central Kenya offers evidence that humans and their livestock can, in the right circumstances, share territory with zebras, giraffes, elephants and other wild mammals -- to the benefit of all.
The study, reported in the journal Nature Sustainability, focused on Laikipia County in central Kenya.
"Laikipia County hosts 10 percent of Kenya's wildlife, but none of the country's national parks or preserves," said University of Illinois entomology professor Brian Allan, who conducted the study with Bard College professor Felicia Keesing . "Most people depend on livestock for income and almost 70 percent of the land is devoted to large-scale ranching or pastoralism," Allan said.
As human populations increase, so does the pressure to expand agricultural and pastoral areas into grasslands now dominated by wildlife.
Wildlife tourism is another source of revenue for landowners, however, as the area hosts exotic white and black rhinoceroses, Grevy's zebras and painted dogs, Keesing said.
"This is leading some to remove traditional barriers between livestock and wildlife because there are benefits to having multiple sources of income," she said.
There are big potential downsides to allowing livestock and wildlife to share territory, however, the researchers said. Wild cats sometimes prey on domestic animals. Wildlife and livestock may compete for water and grazing resources. They also can share diseases, including tick-borne infections like East Coast fever, Q fever and bovine anaplasmosis.
"There is no greater diversity of tick species anywhere on the earth than in eastern and southern Africa," Allan said. "And many of the ticks are host generalists, meaning they'll happily feed on a cow, a gazelle or a zebra -- and they'll also bite humans."
To determine the ecological and economic effects of raising livestock on territory also used by wildlife, the researchers surveyed tick abundance, vegetation and the dung of large herbivorous mammals on 23 Laikipia County properties in July-August, 2014 and 2015.
"We identified the ticks and sequenced DNA of tick-borne pathogens to identify infectious agents associated with the ticks," Keesing said. The team also interviewed managers and owners of each property about the type and abundance of livestock on their land and the percent of revenue derived from wildlife tourism and livestock operations.
The researchers found that the practice of regularly spraying cattle with acaricides, which kill ticks without directly endangering birds or other creatures that feed on ticks, dramatically reduced the number of ticks in the grazed areas.
"Reducing the number of ticks is one key part of a strategy to reduce the transmission of tick-borne diseases," Keesing said. "These diseases can sicken and kill people, livestock and wildlife, which is particularly devastating in a vulnerable ecosystem experiencing many competing demands."
About 16 percent of the ticks collected on the study sites carried at least one bacterial or protozoal infection, the scientists found. There was no difference in the proportion of infected ticks found on properties devoted entirely to wildlife and those where wildlife and livestock were integrated. Tick abundance, however, was 75 percent lower on integrated properties than on those hosting only wildlife.
Livestock- and wildlife-related income accounted for more than 70 percent of revenue for the properties studied. Wildlife abundance was highest on properties with moderate densities of cattle -- but not on land supporting sheep and goats, the researchers found.
There was less green grass on livestock-only and wildlife-only properties than on land shared by both, the researchers found. The quality of the forage also was highest on integrated lands.
These findings suggest that certain management practices can enhance the viability of livestock operations while also maximizing wildlife abundance and health on the same lands, the researchers said.
"It has been the attitude of conservationists that conservation lands must be kept secure and undisturbed from human uses, including livestock production, and I can sympathize with that perspective," Allan said. "But our data are starting to suggest that there could be circumstances where livestock-wildlife integration can work -- for the benefit of all. A productive savanna ecosystem may be the perfect place to try it." | <urn:uuid:52f1e3d4-e78f-4ee7-abf2-3b8d7fad9b4a> | {
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A species of small crustacean is able to break down microplastics into tiny particles in just a matter of days – much faster than previously estimated, scientists have said.
Until now, the breakdown of plastics in marine environments had largely been believed to occur mainly through slow processes such as being smashed apart by wave action, and decaying through prolonged exposure to sunlight.
But researchers at University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland have discovered that a “very common” invertebrate found in freshwater streams is able to rapidly break down microplastics (pieces smaller than 5mm) in less than 100 hours, until the fragments become “nanoplastics”, which are pieces measuring less than one micrometre.
The study’s leader, Dr Alicia Mateos-Cardenas, from UCC said: “We have found that the freshwater amphipod, a small crustacean called Gammarus duebeni, is able to fragment microplastics into different shapes and sizes, including nanoplastics, in less than four days.
“Whilst this species lives in Irish streams, they belong to a bigger animal group of invertebrates commonly found around the world in freshwaters and oceans.
“Our finding has substantial consequences for the understanding of the environmental fate of microplastics.”
The microplastics are fragmented by freshwater invertebrate animals as part of their digestive process.
But the discovery is not necessarily good news about the plastic waste clogging oceans and waterways.
The researchers described their findings as “alarming”, and said that while microplastics are known to regularly become stuck in the guts of seabirds and fish, current understanding suggests that the smaller nanoplastic particles could go further and penetrate cells and tissues where their effects could be much harder to predict.
“The findings that such a common invertebrate animal can rapidly produce vast numbers of nanoplastics is particularly worrying for researchers,” the authors of the study said.
Dr Mateos-Cardenas said: “These invertebrates are very important in ecosystems because they are prey for fish and birds, hence any nanoplastic fragments that they produce may be entering food chains.”
“The data in this study will help us to understand the role of animals in determining the fate of plastics in our waters, but further research is urgently needed to uncover the full impact of these particles,” she said.
The study is published in the journal Scientific Reports.
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Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies | <urn:uuid:86454736-020c-4d08-8a43-a3e302c73bea> | {
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ELDINGS-[ NOW KNOWN AS PUNCH MARKED COINS OF MAGHADA-NORTH INDIA.]
AND THE SILVER HALF KAHAPANAS OF SURASENA[ MATHURA].
Chapter III-CCC HWCodrington
Sinhala Name found on ancient Inscription- Kahavana or Kahapana- Skt-Khrsapana
2. The punch-marked coins called in Sanskrit Purana “old,” – English as “Eldlings”, are found in Ceylon as well as throughout India. They may be recognized in the “signatum argentum” offered a tribute to Alexander at Taxila, but in all probability their origin must be sought in a remoter past, The Persian Empire was bounded by the Indus from the end of the sixth century, and a money of this early type is not likely; to have been initiated when a far superior model was furnished by the darics and sigli ; if the Buddhist scriptures are to be trusted, the beginnings of the eldling coinage must be anterior to the time of Gautama. Although they do not seem to have been current in the North much after the beginning of our era, they continued in circulation in the South for some two centuries later according to Mr. Vincent A. Smith (Imperial Gazetteer of India, Vol. II. p. 150). Mr. Loventhal, in his “Coins of Tinnevelly, ” would extend the period of their use to about A.D. 300. The reasons adduced by Mr. Still (J.R.A.S., C.B., Vol. XIX, No. 58, 1907, p. 191,ff) to prove the circulation of this class of money in Ceylon about A.D. 1000 appear to be inadequate; the currency of the Island was closely connected with that of South India, and in all probability the employment of the eldling ceased in both countries about the same.
The Eldlings were manufactured by subdividing bars of metal or strips cut from a hammered silver, weight being adjusted where necessary by clipping the corners of each coin so formed. The obverse is usually covered with punch marks, often overlapping and clearly impressed at different times; the marks on the reverse, on the other hand, are usually fewer in number, in the great number of cases one only, are less distinct, and frequently smaller. These archaic coins were probably issued “by local authorities-money-changers or merchants” and were submitted by then for the approval of the local king or governor, whose stamp appears on the reverse. The punch marks on the other side, once blank, being those of the successive money-changers, through whose hand they passed in the course of circulation (Theobald, Notes on some Symbols; Rapson, Counter-marks). In Ceylon these marks are absent from the obverse of the majority of the later dumpy pieces[ Thousands of coin found since 1924- A fair number of them have Bankers Marks].
On none of the eldlings found locally have I been able to trace on the reverse any constantly recurring symbol which can be attributed to the Island, such as the railed swastika of the copper die-struck issues I am, therefore, inclined to the belief that all eldlings current in Ceylon were imported from India.
If the Arthasastra is to be credited, in Magadha in the time of Candragupta there were coined, at least in theory, in addition to the silver pana or eldlings, its half, quarter, and eighth, and in copper the, whole and half mashaka, corresponding with Manu’s karshapana, and its quarter and eighth, the whole and half kakini (op cit., Bk. I,Chap.12 ). As Canakya, before his master’s accession to the throne, is said to have amassed treasure by re-coining (Chap. II, sec. I) the introduction of a State mint, perhaps, may have been due to the policy of the founder of the Maurya Empire.
The standard of the silver eldling is the dharana of 32 gunjas; in the South it is said by Elliot to have been the kalanju seed, but in practice there was little or no difference, even if the two standards were not identical.
3. In Ceylon very few copper eldlings appear to be known other than the cores of silver coins, often with traces of the coating still adhering: The majority of the silver pieces are much worn, and really good specimens are rare.
The coins fall into two main classes; (1) rectangular and (2) roughly circular or oval ; each of these again has a cross division into (a) thin and (b) thick. Though no clear line of separation exists, the thickness varying from that of thin cardboard to about 0.12 inch, the difference between the thin and wide coins, usually covered with punch marks, which are the earliest (Pl. 1 ; Cunningham, Coins of Ancient India, p. 43), and the thick and rather Dumpy pieces or ingots, very often blank with a few indentations (Pl. 2), is very marked. These latter are both, rectangular, and circular, and seems to have been made in these shapes; the oval thin eldlings appear to have been originally rectangular, and subsequently reduced to their present shape by the process of clipping referred to.
WEIGHT AND DIMENSIONS
The available specimen of the thin variety up to and including a thickness of 0.039 inch weigh from 14.9 (very worn) to 50.4 grains, the average of 36 being 30.5 grains; the seventeen thinnest, however, ranging from 14.9 to 45.1 grains only give an average of 26.6. The highest weight for the available thick rectangular coins is 48.7 grains and the lowest 20.7, of which last the size is only 0.51 by. 0.43 inch; the average of twenty-one is 34.4 grains, as against Parker’s average of 32.9 for thirteen (Ancient Ceylon, p.472). The thick circular pieces, of which eight average 33.8 grains, vary from 26 to 43.2 grains. The total average of twenty-nine thick coins of both varieties is 34.3 grains. Inferences drawn from these and similar figures to prove the duration of the use of the eldling currency are apt to be fallacious, for the lighter coins may be the fractional pieces of the Arthasrastra.
4. In process of time the punch marks, perhaps only in certain localities and trough the state monopoly of coinage, become fixed, though relative position slightly varied; rectangular eldlings of this kind are figured in Loventhal’s work in Pl. I, Nos, 4, 5, and 6. The only ones reported from Ceylon bear on one side a. Three men or a man and two women standing in a row, b. A Peacock on a Caitiya, and c. A balance or scales (cf. Theobald Fig. 9) , arranged thus :-
(i) c b
: Size : 0.62 x 0.43 x 0.078 in Weight ; 46.1 gr
(ii) b c
: Size : 0.61 x 0.47 x 0.118 in Weight ; 44.7gr (CA,I,iii, Pl.X ,nos 2,3 )
On the reverse of both is symbol (b), Pieces with these punch marks appear in I.M.C., I, p 138 Nos 37-40;No. 37 shown in Pl, XIX, 3, is the same as (i) and weights 52.3 grains.
5. The double-die thick plaque, having on the obverse a dagoba and on the reverse a bo-leaf, and weighing from 77 to 83 grains, with a size of 0.51 by 0.33 inch (Lowsley, Pl.VIII, 1) is probably a votive offering as is also the plaque shown in the Taprobanian of June, 1888, p 53.
Both seems to be modern. With them may be compared crystal seal described by Mr. H. C. P. Bell in ” Two Buddhist Seals ” in the Ceylon Antiquary Vol. III Pt 1, PI, VII.
SINGLE DIE COINS
6. The next step is the union of various symbols in one die, a good specimen of which process is seen in the “Elephant and Swastika” double die large copper coins. At first, however, the die was confined to one side the reverse being either blank or punch marked.
Silver – The only coins known are in the cabinet of Mr. Bell, described by the present writer in the Ceylon Antiquary; Vol. I, pt. 3, p. 178. One is a rectangular piece, 0.47 x 0.21 x 0.11 inch in size and 25.9 grains in weight. “The design”, only half of which is on the flan, ” seems to be a solar emblem, consisting of a central ball or boss from which springs a cross-wise, four lines ending in similar balls; in each space so formed in a Taurine (CA, Pl X no 3). The reverse is blank, but possibly has one indentation”- on the rest ” the design consists of a bull, or such animal, in the lower half of the area, and a (?) fish, from whose back spring long rays upwards and , backward in upper half : both objects face to the right and have before them three symbols , which appear to be (a) a crescent at the top, (b) the sun, and at the bottom (c) a Taurine. “The die is all clearly circular”1. Of the four known, two have the reverse blank, one has a few indentations. and the remaining piece one , if not two, punch marks,
1. Rectangular Size : 0.39 x 0.37 x 0.07 in. Weight : 24.4 gr Pl. 3
2. Do. Size : 0.41 x 0.33 x 0.07 in. Weight : 24.7 gr,
3. Do. Size : 0.43 x 0.31 x 0.07 in. Weight : 25.4 gr.
4. (?) Circular Size : 0.47 x .07 in. Weight : 20.6 gr Pl. 4. (C.A.Pl.X, Nos.6-10).
A small silver coin in the same collection is clearly of the same series, but is double-die. The obverse is the same as the preceding; the design on the reverse is, perhaps, similar to the solar emblem on the first described piece but it is much worm, The coin is very thin, and may once have been circular ; it is 0.33 inch in diameter 4.9 grains in weight. In all the above coins the design is deeply struck. The standard must be that of the eldlings, the coin being halves, with the exception of the small piece just described, which may be the eighth.
COPPER OBLONG PIECES
7. Copper. — These are oblong pieces, with rounded corners, concave on one side and rough on the other The design is now quite invisible. Pl. 5
1. Tirukketisvaram Size : 0.62 x 0.51 x 0.15 in. Weight : 74.9 gr
2. Do. Size : 0.53 x 0.39 x 0.13 in. Weight : 26.6 gr.
3. Anuradapura, Buddhist Rail Size : 0.61 X 0.45 x 0..09 in. Weight : 24.2 gr.
4. Do. Size : 0.62 x 0.49 x 0.06 in. Weight : 21.6 gr,
5. Do. Selacaitya Size : 0.55 x 0.50 x 0.06 in. Weight : 16.5 gr.
A similar coin, but roughly circular and lenticular, was found at the north end of Vessagiriya, Anuradapura its diameter is 0.53 inch, and weight 29.8 grains. Alleged similar pieces unearthed at Kantarodai in the Jaffna peninsular are described by Mr. P. E. Pieris in his paper on ” Nagadipa”,in J.R.A.S., C.8., Vol, XXVIII, No. 72 of 1919. Pl. XII, Nos. 18, 19,21,22,26, Most seem to be the cores of eldlings, but one (No, 18) is distinctly concave: its size is 0.62 by 0.43 inch, and its weight is 28.6 grains, At Tirukketisvaram was also found a flat rectangular piece with rounded corners. One side is apparently blank; on the other is what seems to be a fish with long projecting fins, with which design should be compared that of the silver coins described above. It weighs in its broken condition 29.2 grains, and measures 0.49 x 0.45 x 0.11 inch. From the same place come two circular coins, which may be noticed here. One is thick, flat on one side, the design on which is undecipherable, and convex and worn smooth on the other ; the second is, perhaps, blank on both sides. The diameter and weight are 0.57 and 0.33 inch, and 3l.2 and 6.2 grains, respectively.
The single-die coins found at Anuradhapura have been described by Mr. Still in J.R.A.S., C.B., Vol XIX No. 58, 1907, pp. 200, 201. The deductions as to their age therein set forth cannot be maintained ; as, though they were discovered at the same site as the fourth and fifth century Roman coins, there is no evidence that they were actually found together, These coins found in India published by John Allen, the have been identified by Indian Numismatist as belonging to the Surasenas [ 4 Cent BC].
8. The symbols appearing on the following coins are- (1) An isosceles triangle, base uppermost, with a short horizontal line crossing the apex and a short vertical line pendent there from.
(2) Variant of the last, but the triangle is on its side ; in some instances a small vertical line projects from its side, either above or below
(3) Nandipada symbol ; a trident head. with the side prongs curved and longer than the central one, over a circle, from which it is sometimes separated by a horizontal line,
(4) Horizontal line, from each end of which rises a curved line, the two being back to back and. Crosses in the middle by another horizontal line. There is usually a similar line above the *hole, In s few instances this is doubled, the middle line being absent.
(5) A truncated cone, inverted and crossed at the top, centre, and bottom by three bands, cf: Nasik -Nos. 13, 14 (Archaeological Survey of Western India, Vol. IV).
(6) Two isosceles triangles placed vertically apex to apex with a bar across the junction ; the lower triangle is the smaller. From the left side of the upper there projects a short horizontal line. In .a variant the symbol assumes the shape of an hour glass with a projecting line on either side of the centre, cf Kuda, No.26(op, cit.).
NOTES OF SILVER DIE STRUCK COINS
These Coins have been identified as belonging to Surasena Janapadaya of India.
Surasena was one of the sixteen original Mahajanapadas of the Buddhist chronicles. The name of that country is derived for the name of Sura, the King of Surasena and the father of Vasudeva and Kunti. The location is at Braj, the region around Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. The history of this Janapada is is very obscure – the ruling family is known to have styled itself “Yadava” family, and that some of their kings were cloely related to the royal family of Avanti. Around 350 AD Surasena was conquered by Mahapadma Nanda of Magadha.
Mathura is mentioned in our Chronicals Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa, is one of the homes of the descendents of Mahasammata dynasty , the origin of the Sinhalese Royalty.In Fact King Vijeya sent a message to King Pandu of Mathura and obtained a Kastriya Princess , who was consecrated as his queen.She came along with many fair Maidens , Elephants withal and horses and Waggons, and a thousand craftman of 18 guilds[ Mahavansa Chapter VII Verse 56]. It is not surprising that these coins are found here.
A few of these coins at the Anuradhapuara museum was published by Sirisoma and Amarasinghe in the book in Sinhalese HUs Ebu Kasi. These are shown below
Another coin found at Anuradhapura that was published by John Allen
These as described by J Allen was How and why these coins which were perhaps from Matura in North India.were found in the Island.These coins are said to be earlier than the 5 mark Punched Marked Coins. Sri Lanka had connections with Mathura region in the early period, in fact it is mentioned that Vijaya the first king got down the Kastriya Princess from Matura.
These silver pieces have counter marks on the reverse too. John Allen do not mention about this?.This needs further studies as the author only studied the photos published in book ” Hus Ebu Kasi”.
1: For coins with circular die and rectangular flan, cf: C.C.A., Pl. X. 265 and 266 of Jayadaman, A.D, 124-150, and Pl V, GP5 of the Andhra dynasty. | <urn:uuid:cd980cac-faef-4ab2-a594-71e581ef6295> | {
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By Nicole Reisinger
For the Mitzpeh
Dragons, storm gods, and the sea were the focal points of Robert Miller’s lecture Wednesday when he addressed a group of about 30 students and faculty.
The lecture, “Dragonslaying in the Ancient Near East, Hebrew Bible and Early Jewish Texts,” was the first of four spring semester talks organized by the Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Studies.
Junior linguistics and Jewish studies major Rebecca Magazine said she had never attended one of these lectures before.
“I enjoy learning about things that I wouldn’t get [the chance] to otherwise,” said Magazine. “It’s an interesting topic that I don’t know anything about.”
Miller, a Ph.D. in Ancient Near Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan, is an associate professor of Old Testament at the Catholic University of America. He’s also an affiliate of the Meyerhoff Center, spoke on the complex origins of the dragon slaying mytheme.
A ‘mytheme,’ as Miller described, is the fundamental element of every myth. In the theoretical study of myths, there are several elements one can combine in different ways, Miller said. Motifs such as the storm god slaying the dragon, the enthronement of a god or human king on a mountain, a victory banquet, the pilgrimage of a nation, or creation are combined to create what Miller refers to as constellations.
“[Mythemes are] a great way to approach religious studies as these stories are typically more organic and fluid than we approach them today,” said junior David Malamud, a history, Jewish studies, and classics major. “Studying the integral parts and plot points helps determine similarities more easily.”
Miller dated these myths, or constellations, appear in texts, narratives, poetry, and iconography back to the fourth millennium B.C.E.
From the Tobit to the Old Testament, the motif of dragon slaying is not only used as a metaphor, but also serves as the focus of the narrative itself. The myth resurfaces many times in the Torah, and Miller’s attempt to take it’s Ancient Near Eastern roots and “trace it forward,” sorting out the Canaanite and Babylonian influences along the way, helps us better understand these biblical and post-biblical texts.
In Hebrew, Baal was called the storm god, He Who Rides on the Clouds. In Phoenician he was called Baalshamin , Lord of the Heavens. Yamm —the Hebrew word for ‘sea’— was the Ugaritic god of the sea who appeared in the Baal myths that were written in the second temple texts before the Hebrew texts. Yamm is described as either a sea monster or horned serpent. Tannin was the Canaanite and Phoenician interpretation of a sea monster. These two manifestations of a chaos and evil bear relation to the Hebrew Leviathan: the notorious multi-headed monster in Jewish mythology.
However, these myths are “not just about a god who is fighting a dragon of the sea who has multiple heads,” said Miller.
For example in the Book of Judith (first century B.C.E.), God is praised for crushing wars and his opponents. Miller points out that the Greek word for crushing is also used in Psalms 46:10, 76:4-6, 89:11 and the New Testament where these texts refer to a God slaying a dragon.
In many of the Psalms, the God of Israel is referred to as a storm god. There is extensive thunder and lightning imagery and allusions to the sea that link back to the Babylonian and Canaanite notions of battles against gods and dragons. In the Psalm of Solomon 2:25 (first century B.C.E.), “Do not delay, O God, … to declare dishonorable the arrogance of the dragon,” there is a direct reference to a dragon.
However, in the Prayer of Manasseh (first century B.C.E.), “You who made heaven and earth in all their order, who shackled Yamm by your word of command, who confined the Deep and sealed it by your fearful and glorious name at whom all things shudder and tremble before your army,” Yamm in this case does not refer to the dragon-like creature of the sea. Rather, it likens the terrors of the world to a dragon, Miller said.
Miller concluded his lecture by taking questions from the audience, which was eager to share thoughts and ideas.
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MYTHOLOGY: Vinata, the daughter of Daksha, is married to Kashyapa. Vinata obtained a boon from Kashyapa that she would have two offsprings of tremendous power surpassing the thousand serpent sons of her sister, Kadru. Kadru is also the daughter of Daksha. Kashyapa ferlilised both his wives. Kadri had a thousand eggs, Vinata had just two. After 5000 years Kadri’s pot broke up and she had a 1000 Naga sons. Once, her sons had displeased her by refusing to do her bidding, so she cursed them to die by ordeal of fire. According to the Puranas, there is a counter-measure for all curses except those uttered by one’s own mother.
Janmejaya was the son of Parikshit, who came to the throne at a young age due to his father's untimely demise. When he came of age, and came to know that his father was killed by the king of serpents Takasha, he decided to perform a sacrifice to kill all the serpents in the world. The sacrifice was only partially successful, as most of the snakes were exterminated. Due to Vyasa’s last minute intervention, the sacrifice was incomplete. Takshaka and a few Nagas escaped his fate and continued the line of Nagas.
Now, back to our story, Vinata gave birth to two eggs, which did not hatch for a long time. In her impatience, she broke open one of them and found Aruna inside it, but he had an undeveloped lower body. But, due to the premature breaking of the egg, Aruṇa was not as bright as the noon sun as he was promised to be. Aruna was also born without thighs, so he was called ‘Aruru’ without thighs, or without feet. Aruna’s imperfect form has been supposed to be allusive to his partial appearance. He cursed his mother to bondage for her impatience. He then took to the skies and achieved great glory by becoming the charioteer of Surya, the sun.
FAMILY: Aruna is said to be married to Syeni and believed to be the father of Jatayu and Sampati, King of the Vultures. They are powerful characters in the Ramayana also. According to another version, Aruna’s wife Syeni was the daughter of Kashyapa by his wife Tamra and that he had another son by her named Syena.
VALI AND SUGRIVA: There is a story explaning how Aruna assumed a female form. Silavati, a chaste woman once performed naked tapas to redeem her husband Ugratapas from the consequence of a curse. The object of her asceticism was to prevent the next dawn-Aruna. Owing to the intensity of her tapas, the Sun ceased to rise and this no doubt gave his charioteer Aruna some rest. Aruna then came to know of a programme of a naked dance by the women in Devaloka. Now, this was a women alone dance hall.
Aruna had a special desire to witness the dance and therefore assumed a female form to sit among the Deva women.
Indra, who happened to be there saw Aruna in disguise. This beautiful female form kindled erotic sentiments in Indra and he enjoyed a night with ‘her’ not knowing that he was enjoying maya.A child was also born and before the day dawned, Aruna at the instance of Indra entrusted the child to Ahalyadevi and returned to join duty as charioteer. So in the meanwhile, Aruna had acted as Indra’s wife and called Arunadevi. Aruna was a bit late to report for duty and when questioned by the sun, Aruna had to tell the truth.
Surprise surprise, the Sun too desired to see Arunadevi, which materialised and the too enjoyed her, which also resulted in the birth of a son. This child was also entrsusted to Ahalyadevi. She brought up both the sons with tender love. But Gauama rishi did not like the legitimacy and cursed them to be monkeys. After some time Indra comes to know and searches out the monkeys. He found them. In view of the elder one having a long tail, he called Bali or Vali and the other, being radiant and beautiful, he called Sugriva. As Rksaraja, the monkey king of Kishkinda had no sons, Indra gave both the monkeys in adoption. Indra, as father, blessed Bali to the effect that half of the strength of anybody who attacked Bali would be added to his own natural power.
GARUDA: He emerged from the other egg to become Mahavishnu’s vahana. At birth Agni said to the King "My King, This is Garuda, the son of Kashyapa and Vinata. He is destined to be the King of the birds. His father had granted a boon to his mother that he will surpass all the immortals in his lusture and glory, and that is what you all are being blinded by."
Garuda is the king of all birds. He is the mortal enemy of the serpents, who are his half-brothers. He freed his mother from bondage by obtaining Amrit for the snakes. He however helped Indra trick the serpents, and recover the amrit, before they could drink it. He thus became the friend of Indra, and obtained overlorship of the birds. He obtained a boon from Maha Vishnu that he would be above him, which was accomplished by putting his emblem on the flagstaff of Vishnu's charriot. In return, he agreed to become the Vishnu’s vahana.
MAHABARATHA 1:24: There was a bit of cheating that went on when the amrit was distributed. One asura called Rahu set on the Devas side to get served first. So he drank the amrit but this ruse was observed by Surya and Chandra and reported to Vishnu. He used his sudharshana chakra to behead Rahu. But since Rahu had consumed the amrit he was alive. The head became Rahu and the torso became Ketu. They became part of the Navagrahas. Since Surya and Chandra betrayed Rahu, they both swallow Surya and Chandra, resulting in the eclipses.
Surya soon grew exceedingly angry with the other immortals, for they had suffered him to undergo this indignity. He thought that no one came to his aid and decided to destroy all creation with his great heat. Surya then started multiplying his radiance, and the generated heat threatened to burn the world. The Devas ran to Lord Brahma to save the world. He places Aruna in front of Surya. “He is of large body and has divine radiance. He will become the charioteer of Surya and shield the world from his anger." Since that day, Aruna precedes Surya in the heavens and is worshiped along with the sun.
ARUNASTAHMBA: Generally Arunastambha, Aruna-Pillar is constructed before Sun temples. In the Sun temples, he is shown up to the waist. In the Visnu temples, he is shown on the door sills, holding the reins of a horse.
Hara Hara Mahadeva
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Explore the Hebrew Bible through focused discussion of coretexts, including the creation stories, the binding of Isaac, the Exodus story, the revelation at Sinai and the prophetic books.
Study texts from the Rabbinic Period (300 BCE to 500 CE) to explore the relationship between God and human beings, Jewish history and ethics, and the role of ritual in our lives.
Our study of the Middle Ages (500 CE to 1600 CE) focuses on Jewish encounters with non-Jews, including political and cultural relations with Islamic and Christian civilizations.
Learn about modern Jewish thought, and explore the origins of the Reform, Conservative, Modern Orthodox and Hasidic and Zionist movements. Wrestle with what it means to be a Jew in the world today.
Me'ah for Educators will spur your own personal and professional growth and help you in your vital role."
— Rachel Raz. Associate Director, Early Childhood Institute | <urn:uuid:d24e7eb7-d114-4bd8-a1bd-e6c5fb7a8310> | {
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A lesson about thankfulness.
D.B. – a good albeit not very bright bunny
MISS REBECCA – the teacher who sets him straight
(D.B. enters but does not speak. He is obviously in a bad mood.)
MISS REBECCA: Hey, D.B.
D.B.: Oh, hi, Miss Rebecca.
MISS REBECCA: You don’t seem to be in a very good mood, sweetie. What’s wrong?
D.B.: My mamma wants me to write my gramma a thank you note for my Christmas present.
MISS REBECCA: That sounds like a very nice thing to do. What’s the problem?
D.B.: I am not thankful for my Christmas present.
MISS REBECCA: That’s not a very nice thing to say.
D.B.: But it is true.
MISS REBECCA: What’s wrong with your Christmas present?
D.B.: She bought me socks.
MISS REBECCA: Socks can be a good present.
D.B.: But I am a puppet, and I do not have any feet.
MISS REBECCA: Well, there is that. Maybe you could wear them as ear warmers.
D.B.: They are TOE socks. (produces socks in question)
MISS REBECCA: Ah. Well, you should still be thankful that your gramma loves you enough to buy you a present.
D.B.: You sound like my mamma.
MISS REBECCA: She must be a very wise woman.
D.B.: She is, but she is wrong this time.
MISS REBECCA: Maybe you’re right.
MISS REBECCA: Why write a thank you note for a crumby gift?
MISS REBECCA: Sounds like your gramma is a very mean, uncaring grandmother.
D.B.: Wait a minute…
MISS REBECCA: Toe socks. She’s obviously a terrible person.
D.B.: No, she is not! She is a wonderful person!
MISS REBECCA: I don’t know.
D.B.: She is. Whenever I spend the night, she always makes my favorite foods, and we watch my favorite movies, and she has my favorite candy – carrot M&M’s.
MISS REBECCA: That is nice, but she obviously doesn’t love you enough to buy you any good presents.
D.B.: She does too! For my last birthday, she bought me a light saber and the Lego Watership Down video game. And last Christmas, she bought me the Star Hares Trilogy on DVD.
MISS REBECCA: Yeah, but toe socks. What was she thinking?
D.B.: She was thinking that she loves me.
MISS REBECCA: Exactly.
D.B.: Besides, I could wear them as ear warmers.
MISS REBECCA: What a good idea.
D.B.: And… Wait a minute. You tricked me.
MISS REBECCA: (innocently) Tricked you?
D.B.: You tricked me into being thankful for my Christmas present.
MISS REBECCA: I didn’t trick you so much as remind you of all you have to be thankful for.
D.B.: I am going to write my gramma the most sweetest thank you card ever.
MISS REBECCA: That’s a great idea.
D.B.: Thanks, Miss Rebecca.
MISS REBECCA: You’re welcome, D.B.
D.B.: Bye, Miss Rebecca.
MISS REBECCA: Bye, D.B. | <urn:uuid:aadbad80-fa15-4384-b276-71c0d4fa3b0e> | {
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Your baby's ninth month is full of growth and experimentation. Whereas he once needed you to do everything for him, he is now learning to explore places and things on his own. Along with his physical abilities and his sense of curiosity, his diet is also beginning to change.
Baby's Development at 9 Months
At 9 months, your baby's physical development is really starting to blossom. She should be able to support herself while sitting up, and she should also be starting to crawl. She may even be able to pull herself up to stand and cruise around while holding onto furniture. Her motor skills are also beginning to develop, as she can clap her hands and bang toys together. By this point, she should also be able to sleep through the night.
Though your baby is growing at a rapid rate, his regular feedings of breastmilk or formula are the staples of his diet. Your baby should still be having 16-24 ounces worth of these feedings, which occur four or five times per day. Since he's sleeping through the night by now, he doesn't need to be woken up for a nighttime feedng.
If you haven't started your baby on table foods yet, you can do so when she's 9 months old. She's probably used to eating runny cereal and strained fruits and vegetables, so chewing pieces of actual food might not come easily to her. However, she's capable of mastering this technique, even if she doesn't have any teeth yet. Eating table foods will also help her to build up her dexterity, as picking up foods and putting them in her mouth helps her to practice her developing motor skills.
Types of Food
Since most of your baby's nutritional needs are met with his regular feedings of breastmilk and formula, you can experiment with table foods to see what he likes. However, you'll want to stick with basic foods without a lot of seasoning that are soft enough for him to chew. You can give him foods like pasta and lean meats, along with the solid versions of the fruits and vegetables he already loves. These meals can be served with water or diluted fruit juice.
Once your baby masters table foods, she's almost done advancing through the baby food stages. All that's left is for her to start on whole milk, which occurs when she's about a year old. When that's done, she's essentially eating the same foods as she will for the rest of her life, albeit in a much smaller and chewier form. | <urn:uuid:23ce5204-aa15-4ca9-9090-1164afef79b3> | {
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In Sept. 2017, Hurricane Maria ripped through Puerto Rico, devasting the island along with other Caribbean islands in its path. The category 5 hurricane was responsible for countless deaths—and damages from the hurricane totaled nearly $100 billion. More than a year after Maria, many were still without power and clean water to drink.
A Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation survey showed that, in the year following Hurricane Maria, 50 percent of Puerto Ricans indicated that their families did not have enough water to drink. More than half of those surveyed worried about the water quality in their homes and approximately two in 10 said they drank water from a natural source such as a stream or river after the hurricane hit in September 2017.
Now nearly two years since the deadly hurricane, Puerto Rico is still feeling the impacts of Maria. Steven Goldsmith and Lisa Rodrigues, associate professors of Environmental Science at Villanova, and a team of graduate students, are doing research in Puerto Rico on water quality and evaluating how stream chemistry has changed post-Maria.
The research is part of master’s student Erin Sibert’s thesis.
“My research has the potential to illustrate how a system both responds and recovers from a natural disaster like Hurricane Maria,” notes Sibert. “It is my hope that this research can exemplify the need for funds and resources to support our citizens before and after a natural disaster like this occurs.”
The United States Geological Survey estimates that Hurricane Maria triggered over 40,000 landslides in the mountainous areas of Puerto Rico—creating more fresh surfaces for chemical erosion. The resulting runoff can make its way into streams during subsequent rain storms.
“Erin’s research is focused on changes that occurred in the metal chemistry of three Puerto Rico streams pre- and post-Maria,” noted Goldsmith. “Watersheds with more landslides have more opportunities for chemical erosion to occur, potentially increasing the likelihood of metals in streamwater.”
Many residents, particularly in mountain areas, rely on streams as both a source of drinking water and for other household needs, such as laundry. The research will determine the potential exposure of these residents to heavy metals.
“It is our hope policy experts will use this information to disseminate more portable water filtration units in advance of any future hurricanes,” added Goldsmith.
Goldsmith and his team are also taking aerial drone images showing landslide scars. They are using these to compare the terrain pre- and post-Maria. | <urn:uuid:622abc74-0ba4-4faf-9171-e2b2a60f43e1> | {
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(1) Ultrasmall angles of strabismus may escape diagnosis by conventional methods of examination and are easily overlooked. Whenever stereoacuity is reduced in the presence of apparent ocular alignment with scotoma response on the 4 diopter base-out prism test, 58 p.309 the examiner must search for microtropia or other subtle anomalies of binocular vision. For the measurement of stereoacuity we prefer random dot stereo tests, such as the TNO, Randot, or Lang test. The Titmus stereotest may be used but has the disadvantage of providing monocular clues.
(2) The amblyopia in microtropia is, as a rule, mild and rarely deeper than 20/100.
(3) The Bagolini striated lens test 58, p.251 shows anomalous retinal correspondence.
(4) Fundus examination with a Visuscope 58, p.221 or a regular direct ophthalmoscope with a built-in fixation target shows parafoveal fixation.
(5) Absence of a shift on the cover test in the presence of eccentric fixation and anomalous correspondence is interpreted as an identity between the degree of eccentricity of fixation and the angle of anomaly. 28; 58, p.309
(6) Because fixation is foveolar and there is a minute shift on the cover test, no identity exists between the fixation behavior and the state of retinal correspondence.
(7) Microtropia may occur as a primary anomaly of binocular vision 37 but is more common as a secondary microtropia.
(8) Secondary microtropia occurs as an end stage of treatment of essential infantile esotropia 37, 61 (see 1.17, 1.18, and 1.19) but may also be associated with anisometropic amblyopia or amblyopia with a history of anisometropia. 28
(9) Reduced visual acuity of one eye when measured under binocular conditions with a polaroid test indicates foveal suppression of that eye.
(10) Subnormal binocular vision occurs in a primary form in family members of patients with essential infantile esotropia. 24, p.410
(11) More frequent than the primary is the secondary form of subnormal binocular vision, which is seen as an ideal end stage of the treatment of essential infantile esotropia. | <urn:uuid:100603aa-7523-4d53-876d-ee52ee73653b> | {
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Trends in heart health
With China’s rapid urbanisation and changes in dietary and lifestyle choices, cardiovascular and other chronic diseases have emerged as a critical public health threat. In 2010 the prevalence of hypertension, the most common form of cardiovascular disease, reached 33.5% (affecting an estimated 330 million people). Yet awareness and control rates remained extremely low. Although the average body mass index (BMI) of the Chinese population is lower than the global average, abdominal obesity has become common in adults. Cardiovascular disease is now the country’s most common cause of mortality.
Smoking and increasingly sedentary lifestyles contribute to these trends. Despite tobacco control efforts, the prevalence of smoking in China remains at a high level, and domestic production of cigarettes continues to rise. Work- and transportation-related physical activity levels have declined sharply. Behavioural changes are thus accelerating the epidemics of obesity and chronic diseases, with negative consequences not only for public health and individual quality of life, but also for China’s economic and social well-being.
The overall objective this research project was to identify and analyse causes of and trends in cardiovascular disease in China. With a focus on coronary heart disease and stroke and in consultation with Swiss Re experts, the primary investigator:
- Conducted a systematic review of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in China and estimated the risk contribution of each factor to cardiovascular disease outcome. Disease burdens were expected to be the most effective way to communicate the urgency of China’s cardiovascular health challenges to government officials, policymakers, the media and the lay public.
- Compared the time trend in each cardiovascular risk factor in subpopulations stratified by gender, age group, demographics and socioeconomic status and projected the future values in each subpopulation. Whilst the risk factors for cardiovascular disease in China are similar to those in other countries, their distribution is distinctive.
- Examined the effects of having medical insurance on cardiovascular disease risk factors and disease burdens and predicted the related disease burden changes associated with potential insurance coverage.
To the extent that the findings of this research shed light on the drivers of cardiovascular disease in China, it has the potential to benefit many millions of individuals at risk as well as national and international authorities, NGOs and businesses that have an interest in improving China’s public health. | <urn:uuid:aa2031fe-64da-4147-9e9d-63e198655f42> | {
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By John Wihbey
The social cost of carbon — “SCC,” as it’s known. Sounds a bit wonky. Yet it is becoming a crucial new instrument in putting a “price on carbon,” even as for many its meaning remains elusive, hard to grasp.
“It’s the most important figure you’ve never heard of,” says economist Michael Greenstone, a key architect of the concept as Chief Economist of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors.
The EPA defines it as “an estimate of the economic damages associated with a small increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, conventionally one metric ton, in a given year.” The dollar figure assigned, then, “represents the value of damages avoided for a small emission reduction (i.e. the benefit of a CO2 reduction).” The current dollar value is $37 per ton of carbon dioxide emitted.
Greenstone, now director of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, hastens to add, “It’s not just wonky cost-benefit. It’s what our grandchildren would want us to do.”
The figure, in other words, has a unique moral dimension. So perhaps, then, it’s our moral duty to understand it.
Connecting Social Costs to Our Own Lives
The government now has a specific number it can use to make rule changes, taking into account economic damages as a result of climate change. If policy X — let’s say, a rule allowing the expansion of a power plant — prevents the generation of millions of tons of carbon dioxide, multiply those tons by $37 to get the value of damages avoided by the rule. That number is then counted as a net social benefit.
Grasping the true meaning of giant, industrial-size dollar figures can be difficult. But there’s a simple way to think about it, based on a little back-of-the-envelope calculation:
The activities of every American right now produce about 18 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
About one-third of that, let’s say six tons, comes from transportation.
So multiply six by $37, and you get $222. That’s how much the daily commute, rides to the grocery store and road trips — all our carbon-producing travel — cost in societal damages each year.
The University of Chicago’s Greenstone says that there has been an “explosion” of research on the economic impacts of climate change in recent years, none yet factored into the current models. He’s working with experts at several other academic institutions to formulate an updated model.
Continue reading at Yale Climate Connection… | <urn:uuid:8586c6a7-c074-4bf2-8b8e-990cb2d9d7f5> | {
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Sometimes, the most “innocent” images are the most dangerous.
Confirmation of this statement can be found in the children’s stories that have for many years employed characters taken from the world of the gypsies in order to indoctrinate children and teach them obedience. During the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries, some of the teaching designed to inculcate the values of the official culture and promote family discipline was carried out through stories in which rebellious children—those who dared to disobey their parents and leave their comfortable homes—frequently ended up being stolen by bands of gypsies and vanishing into thin air.
These kidnappers, described as living on the fringes of civilized society, represented all the evils of barbarism—pagan, immoral, uncouth and criminal—in contrast to the alleged virtues of the national culture. Heading the long list of illegal actions attributed to gypsies in these stories, that of child stealing is a hackneyed theme that appears over and over again in European children’s literature.
Mariska is just one of the most famous of these girls in fiction stolen by the gypsies, the sweet daughter of a well-to-do man who, one unfortunate day, came face to face with danger because she failed to take care when out riding her horse:
An ugly old crone looked her straight in the face.
“Ha, ha, ha!” the old crone laughed, as a huge tooth in the front of her mouth bobbed up and down.
Now she looked like a large bird of prey that had caught a tiny bird.
She immediately stuffed a ball of cloth in the little girl’s mouth and tied a rag around it.
Soon afterwards, they arrived at a caravan. There, they took all Mariska’s pretty clothes off and dressed her in some ugly dirty disgusting rags. Her face, hands and feet were smeared with grime, and her pretty clothes were then soaked in oil and burned. It was awful. And that woman was there and did not stop cackling with laughter. Every now and then, they would pull poor Mariska’s hair.
“Haven’t we made you into a lovely beggar? Go back to your father’s farm now, and you’ll soon see, they’ll call you a filthy gypsy and set the dog on you.”
The gypsy children were soon tormenting Mariska, pulling her hair, and punching and kicking her. And what upset Mariska most of all was their rudeness. They called her really nasty things. Then they grabbed Mariska again, stuffed a ball of cloth in her mouth and shoved her into a large wooden chest.
“Right, that’s that,” said the man. We’ve often taken things over the border this way.
Sandor Kis, Mariska, Princess of the Circus (Mariska de Circusprinses), 1955, .
Jean Kommers, an anthropologist interested in processes of image formation, especially the construction of images of cultural alterity, studied this and four hundred other similar stories that were published in books for young children and teenagers in the small country of Holland between 1825 and 1980. To do so, he employed the discipline of Imagology, which was used to good effect in academic circles in northern and central Europe to analyse the role of images in processes of national identity formation, but making the focus of his study representations that affected marginalized or dominated social groups. In 1993, he published a book about the image of gypsies in children’s literature, Kinderroof of Zigeunerroof? Zigeunners in kinderboeken [Stealing Children or Stealing Gypsies? Gypsies in Children’s Literature] (Utrecht: Van Arkel), a revised edition of which is now being prepared in Spanish.
In this study, Jean Kommers came to some important conclusions that remain valid twenty years later, among them, that the “innocent” and “trivial” literature of children’s stories has played a substantial role in disseminating images that convert gypsies into the dregs of society, a group that does not deserve to have civic rights. The title of Kommers’ book sums up his main conclusion, since it alludes to the “stealing” myth, at the same time as it turns it round. Through the accumulation of negative stereotypes about them, children’s literature has robbed gypsies of the opportunity to be seen as respectable people by successive generations of adolescents.
Accusing them of crimes such as child stealing is analysed in terms of its symbolic value, as marking a dividing line that categorically separates some groups from “others”. The attention paid to the structural features of this type of literature—especially the repeated recourse to binary oppositions (black/white, civilized/barbarian, Christian/pagan)—enables the author to point out the hidden foundations and social effects of expressions of xenophobia that can also arise in the present. In parallel to all of this, Kommers’ work suggests that “these ‘innocent’ books, whose stated intentions were to teach children about the importance of behaving like good Christians in life, were also in fact—more than anything else—books about power, (…) the power of the dominant society over another dominated one. They were about social inequality and played an important part in prolonging it”.
The social significance and scientific originality of Kommers’ study mean that it certainly deserves to be recuperated. This is the purpose of the Spanish edition, which is to be published before the end of 2015. The Editorial Universidad de Sevilla [Seville University Press] has taken on the translation from Dutch of this book, which had a small print run and scant circulation when it first came out, and will publish it, under the supervision of María Sierra, in its Colección de Geografía e Historia [Geography and History Collection]. The new book not only includes the eminently useful study originally published in 1993, but also adds two texts that revisit it and bring it closer to the present (social and academic) state of affairs. On the one hand, the author himself contributes an essay entitled “Twenty Years Later…” in which he subjects the results of his work to criticism and discussion, indicating the need to add other perspectives of a historiographical kind to the anthropological approach employed originally. María Sierra, for her part, endeavours to respond to the challenge in her “Introductory Study”, in which she explains the origin and meaning of this unusual Hispano-Dutch publishing venture.
As Jean Kommers points out in his exercise in self-criticism, while we do need to ask about changes in the interpretation of symbols inscribed within very persistent images, it is also worth reflecting on the fact that the representations that most gadjé have of the gypsies do not come from direct contact with them, not even in Spain, a country with more than half a million gypsies and a growing number of self-representation associations in the roma community. Recent initiatives designed to review and dissolve stereotypes, directed at very diverse segments of official culture, from the mass media to the Royal Academy of Language, still have plenty of work ahead of them.
Past and present, minority and minorities; the study of representations also serves to illuminate relations between phenomena of marginalization and social injustice at different times and with different protagonists. The words this summer of the Mayor of the small Austrian town of Grosskirchheim refusing to give shelter to refugees, look as if they have been copied from one of the stories about gypsies analysed in Kommer’s book (Janse: Er komen vreemde logeergasten [Strangers are coming to stay] 1979):
This is our town. We are used to leaving our doors open at night. Because there are no pickpockets or thieves around here. All that will change when those shelters are opened, and we don’t want that to happen.
“The refugees are the new gypsies”, has stated the Hungarian philosophe Gaspar Miklós Tamás in view of recent events. His remark is the best way to conclude this post about a book concerned with the processes of image formation and the maintenance or transfer of their symbolic contents. Representations of alterity and social marginalization form a two-way circuit.
And not forgetting, at the same time, that there are a good many “former” gypsies among the refugees.
(*) In this text, the word gitano [gypsy] is used intentionally and for various reasons that we would like to clarify. First of all, because this is the term used in the literature that we are referring to. Secondly, because, in spite of being aware that the word gypsy has a strong pejorative component in English and other languages, which makes those who are addressed as such reject it in favour of Rom (Roma, Romani), in Spanish, the term gitano has a positive meaning from an identitarian point of view for those who are proud to call themselves such. This is why this entry uses the term differently depending on the linguistic context. | <urn:uuid:f61bd03b-bcb0-49c8-8294-2c41e55765ee> | {
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Listen to today's episode of StarDate on the web the same day it airs in high-quality streaming audio without any extra ads or announcements. Choose a $8 one-month pass, or listen every day for a year for just $30.
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The young solar system was a dangerous place for planets. Several of today’s worlds got blasted by other planets. Earth was hit by a planet as big as Mars, giving birth to the Moon. And Uranus was hit by an even bigger planet, knocking it over on its side.
Mercury probably got hit, too. The Sun’s closest planet is also the smallest. Yet it’s quite heavy. It has a big, dense iron core wrapped in fairly thin layers of rock. That suggests that something big hit the planet when it was quite young, blasting away most of its outer layers.
One problem with that idea is that most models say the debris should fall back onto Mercury within a million years or so. Yet that clearly didn’t happen. And a recent study suggested a possible reason why.
The young Sun was more magnetically active than it is today. That produced a faster, thicker “wind” of charged particles.
If Mercury got hit during the Sun’s first 10 million years, the wind probably blew the debris away from the Sun. In fact, some of that material could have been incorporated into the young Earth. If the impact came a little later, though, then the debris would have been pulled into the Sun. Either way, the young planet was stripped of its outer layers — leaving it small but heavy.
And Mercury is just peeking into view in the dawn sky. It looks like a moderately bright star quite low in the east-northeast as twilight paints the sky. It’s well to the lower left of Venus, the “morning star.”
Script by Damond Benningfield | <urn:uuid:71f7cee7-8739-4049-a36b-dea5ceeea253> | {
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Poverty is evident all over the world. There are homeless people roaming the streets even in progressive countries, what more in struggling third-world nations that are often riddled with problems of inequality, corruption, lack of opportunities and political unrest. Unfortunately, there are many countries now in the world that fits the description. If you haven’t heard it in the news yet, famine continues to ravages several African nations.
Widespread poverty is one of the triggers of famine. Famine is often unheard of in civilized countries because the government can always intervene and prevent it from happening. However, many people die of hunger from various African places you haven’t heard of. Aside from the issue of war, climate change likewise has a big role as to why famines happen and persist in the first place.
“Where people exceed food supply, widespread hunger and famine results and many may die as we have repeatedly experienced in many countries, particularly in the Horn of Africa. The complexity of the hunger debacle in Africa also incriminates many factors apparently unrelated though intricately intertwined. Population control and management are needful. There are just some levels or limits to which new houses, schools, stadia, roads, railways, airports, markets, recreation grounds can be established.
“Each country has a fixed land space. Space determines the carrying capacity as regards food production hectares. Import of food that depends on the hard earned foreign exchange is risky when funds dry up. If the human population fills her territory, migration becomes inevitable. The days of empire expansion through the power of might is long past,” he said.
Akoroda, a professor, in his presentation, ‘From Hunger and Starvation to Sufficiency: Proffering Solutions to Africa’s Predicament’, charged Nigerian governments to endeavour to abide strictly by the Maputo Declaration for African Union countries which stipulated spending at least 10 percent of their national budgets on food and agriculture, noting that this has continued to remain a mirage due to neglect, ignorance, and inaction.
“The result of not heeding such proposition has not helped us in reducing or removing hunger fromAfrica,” Akoroda lamented.
Hunger is a big problem in Africa. The land is all dried up and no crop can ever grow anymore. Water is scarce as well, so people had to rely on government rations to survive. Unfortunately, not everyone can make it so the body count keeps on increasing until now because the issues on famine haven’t been solved yet.
Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen are suffering from a famine that affects 20 million people. According to eVolo magazine, over 40 percent of people living in sub-Saharan Africa live in extreme poverty. In the last three decades, absolute poverty has been reduced from 40 percent to 20 percent worldwide. Unfortunately, the green revolution including clean energy, fertilizers, irrigation, and high-yield seeds that doubled grain production between 1960 and 2000 on other continents has failed multiple times in Africa due to limited markets, bad infrastructure, civil wars, and an ineffective government.
The eVolo magazine presents and discusses architecture embodying technological advances, sustainable concepts, and innovative designs. Each year, eVolo hosts a competition and awards the structures that they admire most. This year’s top prizewinners were two Polish architects, Pawel Lipinski and Mateusz Frankowski. They designed the Mashambas Skyscraper which houses a farm, an education center, and a community center.
The ingenious structure facilitates the training of subsistence farmers in modern farming techniques. Providing the farmers with inexpensive fertilizers and state-of-the-art tools enables them to increase their crop yields dramatically. The skyscraper also creates a local trading area, which helps to maximize profits. The objectives are self-sufficient farming and overcoming poverty and famine.
Vertical farming is one of the options considered by experts to help solve the famine issues the world over. Moreover, the lack of agricultural space is no longer that big of an issue when you can plant a lot of crops on a small piece of land. The population is exploding, so the food supply should be able to catch up as well or else many people will end up hungry and sick just like what is happening now in Africa.
For years now, these poor African nations have relied on non-profit organizations for assistance but the increasing armed conflict in the region make it difficult for help to arrive. Also, other parts of the world are ravaged by disasters as well and are the reason why donors’ money and other resources are stretched thin and only a small portion gets to Africa. If only armed conflict won’t get in the way of help, perhaps it can save countless lives and people no longer have to suffer from hunger any longer. | <urn:uuid:53c7acb7-50fa-4dea-b89d-b0fa964608e7> | {
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Recently deployment of renewable energy such as sunlight and wind power or deployment of process technologies for carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) is indispensable to reduce the CO2-emission. However, there are some issues to be solved in order to accelerate the mass deployment of renewable energy. Since amount of renewable energy quite changes unstably with time, which depends on weather and place, development of process systems technology is an issue for stable and effective utilization of electric power that is generated by fluctuating renewable energy.
Those in national institute of National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) agree that process technologies on energy conversion of renewable electricity into hydrogen energy carrier are very useful to deploy long-term storage and long-distance transport of much more renewable inside and outside Japan. Ammonia is a potential hydrogen carrier that contains 17.6 wt% of hydrogen. Moreover, as an energy carrier, ammonia is thought to be a clean fuel as only water and nitrogen are produced on direct combustion.
Many researchers and engineers consider that ammonia plants using hydrogen produced by solar electricity or wind electricity will be much smaller than those currently used. This implies process development in a different direction than that practices in the traditional chemical industry, according to Minnesota research group that has developed a small-scale Haber process . For example, there is an issue of low pressure condition for feed of raw material gas, since hydrogen and nitrogen are produced by water electrolysis and pressure swing adsorption (or cryogenic air separation) respectively. Ammonia synthesis under the conventional pressure conditions needs increase in power for compression of the feed gas. Moreover, low temperature operation has advantage in getting higher ammonia concentration of equilibrium limitation. In order to promote the reaction under the lower pressure conditions, lower reaction temperature condition is desirable due to a limitation of equilibrium.
In Japan, the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) supports the research and development of catalyst with high catalytic activities in the low-temperature region, and our research group plans to demonstrate performance of developed catalysts by small-scale ammonia plants that will be built in Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute, AIST (FREA). Ruthenium (Ru) catalysts have received particular attention owing higher activity for ammonia synthesis, since the pioneering study of Aika et al. [2-3] Great efforts have been paid to develop supported Ru catalysts using Al2O3, MgO, Cs-MgO and so on. However, there is a small number of studies for influence of time-variation of flow rate of hydrogen to kinetics of ammonia synthesis by using the supported Ru catalysts from the viewpoint of design of the small-scale ammonia production systems by using renewable energy. In the present study, we investigate influence of flow ratio of hydrogen (H2) to nitrogen (N2) to dynamic behavior of ammonia production by using the developed Ru catalyst under low pressure conditions (< 2.5 MPa). Then effects of addition of alkaline earth metal to Ru catalyst will be discussed.
Laboratory kinetic experiments for the developed catalyst, which was called “Ru-catalyst A”, was carried out by using a quartz tubular reactor (Φ14 mm x 370 mm). The catalyst of about 2 milliliters was packed in the middle. As the preliminary step to activate the catalyst, hydrogen and nitrogen was flowed in a stoichiometry ratio for 30 minutes under condition of 600 °C and ambient pressure. In the present study, ammonia synthesis was carried out by changing temperature (T) in a range of 325 – 425 °C and gage pressure (P) in a range of 0.0 – 2.5 MPa. The produced ammonia was analyzed by the decrease of electron conductivity in the sulfuric acid solution.
First, data maps for space time yield (STY) for ammonia production by using Ru-catalyst A were created by changing the flow ratio of hydrogen to nitrogen (γ) in a range of 0.25 – 4.0. When a data map for T = 425 °C and P = 2.5 MPa was compared with one for T = 350 °C and P = 2.5 MPa, high values of STY were seen in a wide region of higher g than 0.67 that indicated maximum of STY for the case for 350 °C. Then a tendency of higher STY for γ = 1 and T = 400 °C than a case for stoichiometry ratio (γ = 3) was remarkably observed by increasing pressure. We analyzed kinetics of ammonia production under the ambient pressure condition, by using the power law expression (r = k PN2l PH2m PNH3n). In this kinetic analysis, the exponent of partial pressure for hydrogen (m) was positive. Then it was seen that order of m for T = 400 °C was higher than one for T = 325 °C in the analytical region of γ > 3. It was considered that the developed Ru-catalyst A could perform stable production of ammonia with high STY in an operation range of γ < 3 by increasing reaction temperature.
Next, effects of addition of alkaline earth metal to metal catalyst carrier were investigated by using three different preparation methods; co-precipitation and physical mixing. For physical mixing, the alkaline earth metal and the metal catalyst carrier were mixed in a ball mill (Retsch MM400). Data maps for STY for ammonia production by using Ru catalyst containing alkali metal promoter, which was called “Ru-catalyst B”, were created by changing experimental condition as mentioned previously. When a data map for application of physical mixing was compared with one for co-deposition for cases of T = 375 °C and P = 2.5 MPa, maximum of STY were seen at 1.5 of γ higher than 1.0 that indicated maximum of STY for the case for application of co-deposition. For these three catalysts prepared with different methods, it was seen that the trend for effect of temperature was quite comparable. At lower temperature, it was considered that the highest catalytic activity was achieved under operating condition of lower γ. Whereas, with increase in temperature, it was inferred that the catalytic activity increased with relative increase in hydrogen concentration in reactant stream.
Moreover, it was seen that maximum of STY for Ru-catalyst B that was prepared by that physical mixing method was very close to maximum STY for the above-mentioned Ru-catalyst A in a case of T = 375 °C, although the supported amount of ruthenium for Ru-catalyst B was less than one for Ru-catalyst A. Then, in the same previously mentioned kinetic analysis for ammonia production under the ambient pressure condition, lower value of the exponent of partial pressure for hydrogen (m) was estimated by comparing the analytical result for Ru-catalyst A. It is necessary for characterization of existence form of magnesium in reaction conditions to make clear influences of preparation method to retardation of ammonia decomposition and enhancement of the overall reaction efficiency in future work.
This work was supported by Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (CSTI), Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP), “Energy carriers” (funding agency: Japan Science and Technology Agency, JST).
M. Malmali et al., Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 55(2016) 8922-8932.
K. Aika et al.; J. Catal., 27 (1972) 424-431.
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What is Strabismus?
Strabismus is a visual defect in which the eyes not offer regular and seem to see the different directions. It may be this remarkable lack of integrity or he may always appears and disappears. Where one of the eyes directed forwards directly, while the other eye deviates inward or outward, or up or down. Note that the eye upright deviant may sometimes appear straight eye deviation sometimes. And is Eye Squint Surgery is a common condition affecting children and stands 0.5% in males and females alike, as well as a possibility at a later stage of life, taking into account the fact that the year may affect more than one individual in the family or that might affect people who have no relatives living with this situation .
Vision using both eyes
normal in a healthy person, where the eyes tend to the same visual target. The Centre for Sight in the brain integrate the two pictures into one image three-dimensional (stereo image). Eye Squint Surgery When one eye deviates or become a non-integrity, it results in sending two different images to the brain. The young children affected by this situation, the brain to receive the image transmitted from the eye that provides better visibility and ignores the image from the other eye, and this causes low vision in the eye is not straight (laziness Visual) with some loss of ability to perceive the third dimension of vision (stereo image ).
For those adults who develop strabismus, are often have double vision because the brain due to receive pictures memoranda from both eyes, and therefore can not ignore the image from the eye is not straight.
Failure to the integrity of the eyes in childhood may cause decline in capacity optical or laziness in one eye, where the brain receives the image from the eye that sees better, ignoring the image from the eye of others straight or lazy, and this happens with half of children with strabismus approx. May be treated by the laziness of the eye by covering the eye that provides vision best for the child in order Eye Squint Surgery to improve the visual ability of the eye weaker.
Causes and symptoms of strabismus
Common causes of about as follows:
* Infection may occur as a result of hereditary factors,
* Or after sight,
* Loss of sight in one eye, which usually happens as a result of injury to specific diseases.
* It may also be damage to nerves in the eye muscles specific cause of injury strabismus.
Eye Squint Surgery ,There are six muscles controlling eye movement, these muscles are connected to the external part of the eye. In order to install and focus both eyes on the goal of visible and one must be a balance and coordination of work between the six muscles in each eye.
Detection and diagnosis of the situation
Should be an examination of children by a specialist doctor during the early stages of childhood, especially before they enter school, in order to detect any possibility of the presence of eye diseases. This is all important if a relative suffer from the presence on or lazy eye. It is worth mentioning that he had observed in some infants and there is about as a result of the fact that they have a broad nose and a fold in the eyelid, which may obscure the eye by staring at it may appear as if their eyes on the so-called false strabismus. This situation is improving with the growth of the child, while the year do not improve with the real growth of the child if it exceeds four months old. Eye Squint Surgery The eye doctor can distinguish real cases of the year, so you must examine the child in case of doubt about the existence of the child's eye.
The purpose of the treatment of strabismus
is as follows:
1 - To maintain the visual ability of the eye.
2 - achieving the integrity of the eyes.
3 - the ability to restore vision in both eyes simultaneously.
The different treatment of strabismus from case to case depending on the reason leading to the injury, where treatment may include the use of eyeglasses or Eye Squint Surgery to modify the development of eye muscles, or eradication of cataract (lens of the eye dark), or correct any other defects are the cause of deviation of the eye normal. In the light of in-kind comprehensive examination of the parts of the internal and external eye, eye doctor determines the quality of treatment appropriate to the situation, whether visually or treated medically or surgically, may require treatment that combines two or more of these treatments. In addition to covering the sound eye to improve visual ability in the affected eye if necessary.
Eye Squint Surgery
That strabismus surgery does not require eye out, it may be necessary to perform the surgery in one eye or both. That Eye Squint Surgery for children requires the use of anesthesia either with the full adult patients can use local anesthesia. And the need will continue to wear prismatic glasses or contact lenses after surgery. Correction might occur plus or minus correction of about, which may require a second operation. It is recommended early surgical intervention to correct strabismus in infants where the possibility of growth of normal vision in both eyes may be realized as soon as the integrity of the eyes. And this is the timing of the Eye Squint Surgery by the ophthalmologist by-case basis that strabismus surgery is like any other surgery where it can be some complications such as bleeding or infections, etc. .. However, in general, surgery is the year of surgery is safe and effective treatment for cases of non-integrity of the eyes, should be noted, however, it is not a substitute for the use of eyeglasses or remedies to cases of lazy eye.
Botox is a drug and a new drug has been used recently as an alternative to Eye Squint Surgery, the eye muscles of some patients with strabismus. When injecting the drug into the muscle of the eye, occurs twice a temporary relaxation of a muscle causing the muscle to pull the interview and thus integrity of the eye. Although the effects of this drug usually fades after several weeks, the achievement of integrity in the eye may continue in some patients permanently. | <urn:uuid:a05b1586-14d7-42f9-934b-2787712c7154> | {
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A Colorado student space research consortium led by the University of Colorado Boulder teamed up with a Virginia space consortium led by the University of Virginia this week to help aspiring rocket scientists from around the country learn how to design, build and fly payloads.
The program allowed more than 120 students and educators from around the country to delve into the world of rocket science June 15-21 during Rocket Week at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. All participants -- including 10 CU-Boulder students -- were present for a sounding rocket launch carrying various experiments developed by students that successfully lifted off June 20 at 5:30 a.m. EDT.
Activities during the week included a “RockOn!” workshop for 50 university and community college-level participants led by Chris Koehler, director of the Colorado Space Grant Consortium, or COSGC. RockOn! introduces participants to building small experiments that can be launched on suborbital sounding rockets and supports a national program known as STEM that uses classes in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to improve the nation’s competitiveness in technology.
“Working with NASA, we have developed a step approach to expand the skills needed for students to enter careers in STEM,” said Koehler of CU-Boulder’s aerospace engineering sciences department. “RockOn! is the first step, followed by RockSat-C and then RockSat-X. Each step is technically more challenging than the previous one, allowing the students to expand the skills needed to support the aerospace industry.”
The RockOn! participants built standardized experiments that were launched Thursday on a NASA Terrier-Improved Orion suborbital sounding rocket. The 35-foot-tall rocket flew to an altitude of about 75 miles. After launch and payload recovery, the participants began conducting preliminary data analysis and discussing their results.
Nine custom-built Rocksat-C experiments, developed at universities that previously participated in a RockOn! workshop, also flew inside a payload canister on the rocket, said Koehler. About 50 students who designed and built the experiments attended Rocket Week.
Also attending were university participants in RockSat-X, said Koehler. They are previous Rocksat-C participants who flew six custom-built experiments aboard a sounding rocket from Wallops in August.
COSGC is a statewide organization involving 17 colleges, universities and institutions around Colorado and is funded by NASA to give students access to space through innovative courses, real-world, hands-on telescope and satellite programs, and interactive outreach programs, said Koehler.
COSGS is one of 52 space grant consortia in the nation -- including Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia -- and is one of the most active, having flown scores of payloads on high-altitude balloons, sounding rockets and even space shuttles, giving thousands of undergraduates and graduate students a taste of space research since the program began in Boulder in 1989, said Koehler.
The week’s activities also included activities by the Wallops Rocket Academy for Teachers and Students, or WRATS, for a high school audience. The rocket programs at Wallops continue NASA’s investment in the nation’s education programs by supporting the goal of attracting and retaining students in STEM disciplines critical to the future of space exploration.
The RockOn! and WRATS workshops are supported by NASA’s Sounding Rocket Program. RockOn! also is supported by NASA’s Office of Education and NASA’s National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program in partnership with the Colorado and Virginia Space Grant Consortia. | <urn:uuid:61f6b789-16df-4ca9-b342-3366b23ee2f0> | {
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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Language and Communication Quotes Page 1
How we cite our quotes:
"Oh I dasn't, Mars Tom. Ole missis she'd take an' tar de head off'n me. 'Deed she would." (2.7)
However crude Twain's attempt to render Jim's manner of speaking may seem, his commitment to capturing different dialects is noteworthy.
"Umf! Well, you didn't get a lick amiss, I reckon. You been into some owdacious mischief when I wasn't around, right enough." (3.22)
Twain's ability to capture the sound of speech on the page becomes more evident when you compare the different ways characters speak. Here you can see how Aunt Polly's voice compares to Jim's.
"Hold! Who comes here into Sherwood Forest without my pass?"
"Guy of Guisborne wants no man's pass. Who art thou that -- that --"
"Dares to hold such language," said Tom, prompting -- for they talked "by the book," from memory. (8.17-19)
Here we see that Tom and Joe Harper are actually able to change their manner of speaking to suit their role-playing; they, like Twain, understand what a difference "voice" can make. (It should also be noticed that Tom has no trouble remembering lines from Robin Hood, but he can't even memorize the smallest bit of the Sermon on the Mount for Sunday school.) | <urn:uuid:8514305e-a5e5-4f57-96f1-5c0528b23caa> | {
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Sequoia sempervirens/Coast Redwood Information Sources
Sequoia sempervirens/Coast Redwood is found along a narrow strip of coastal land in central and northern California and extreme southwestern Oregon. It is renown for its enormous biomass and exerts a dominating influence on its ecosystem. The lumber of Coast Redwood is of economic importance because of its high resistance to decay.
This research guide lists print and Internet sources that contain basic information on Coast Redwood biology, ecology, and wood characteristics. The references found within these sources lead to other more detailed studies.
For brief introductions to Coast Redwood see:
- Annotated Bibliography of the Biology of the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens (D.Don) Endl.) (Rogers) 1997 (print copy available in SD 397 R3 R65 1997) Covers literature on the biology of redwood from 1955-1997. Entries are grouped into one of seven major categories. Updates California Coast Redwood: An Annotated Bibliography.
- Annotated Bibliography on the Ecology of Redwood, Sequoia Sempervirens (Jacobi & McBride) 1977 (SD 397 R3 J33) Prepared for the National Park Service. Includes 311 references along with a subject index.
- California Coast Redwood: An Annotated Bibliography To and Including 1955 (Fritz) 1957 (print copy available in SD 397 R3 F75) Comprehensive annotated bibliography through 1955 on all aspects of redwood. The 2,000 included references are from magazines, reports, and books. Arranged by subject with author and subject indexes.
- Redwood and Sequoia Bibliography (California Academy of Sciences) Selective list of internet sites and books on redwood.
Basic Information Sources
- Coast Redwood: a Natural and Cultural History (Evarts and Popper) 2001 (SD 397 R3 C63 2001) A popularly written work that covers redwood ecology; harvest and utilization; wildlife associated with redwood forests; and redwood preservation, conservation and management.
- Coast Redwood: Sequoia sempervirens (SelecTree for California: A Tree Selection Guide) Contains brief information on 49 characteristics (site characteristics, tree characteristics, maintenance and use) that can be used to determine horticultural site selection.
- Coast Redwood Ecology and Management (Norman) "Website developed to help managers and the public appreciate how redwood forests change over time due to fire, wind, climate and human influences."
- Coastal Redwoods (Snyder) Includes the text of James Snyder's master's thesis on "The Ecology of Sequoia sempervirens" and seven other general presentations from a series on the "California Redwoods."
- Ecology of the Coast Redwood Region (Humboldt State College) 1963-64 (QK 941 C3 H8 Hum Co Coll) Report prepared for the National Park Service. Contains individually authored chapters on climate, fish, redwood ecology, birds, big game and miscellaneous animals.
- Forests of Northwestern California (Sawyer), pp 253-295 IN Terrestrial Vegetation of California (Barbour and Major) 2007 (QK 149 T44 2007) Describes both the coastal temperate rain forest characterized by redwood and the interior conifer forests known for their species richness.
- Northern California Coastal Forests (World Wildlife Fund) Contains a general description of this ecoregion. A more extensive conservation assessment appears in Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America: a Conservation Assessement (Ricketts) 1999 (print copy available in Ref Qh 77 N56 T47 1999)
- Plants of the Coast Redwood Region (Lyons, Cooney-Lazaneo and King) 1988 (QK149 L95 1988 Hum Co Coll) Popular work containing short descriptions and color photographs organized into five categories--conifers, broadleaf trees, flowers, ferns and exotic (non-native) plants. Covers the redwood forest, mixed evergreen and oak woodland plant communities.
- Pocket Flora of the Redwood Forest (Becking) 1982 (QK 149 B38 1982 Hum Co Coll) Contains identification keys and descriptions of 200 common plants in the redwood forest community.
- Proceedings of the Conference on Coast Redwood Forest Ecology & Management : June 18-20, 1996, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California (LeBlanc)1996 (print copy available in SD 397 R3 C65 1996 Hum Co Coll) Collection of papers presented at a redwood ecology conference. Following a section of general overview papers presented at plenary sessions there are more specific papers on silviculture, ecology and management, wildlife, watershed and restoration, and genetics and physiology.
- Proceedings of the Redwood Region Forest Science Symposium: What does the future Hold? (Standiford and others) 2007 USFS General Technical Report PSW-194) (print copy available in Docs A13.88: PSW-194) Papers provide a sampling of current scientific work on coastal redwood to enable access to more detail and other sources of information and to put these findings into a context where such information can be synthesized and interpreted for applications in land and resource management. Session papers cover water and watersheds, genetics and regeneration, forest ecology, silviculture, wildlife and fisheries, erosion and physical processes, and forest policy.
- Proceedings of Coast Redwood Forests in a Changing California: a Symposium for Scientists and Managers (Standiford, Weller, Piirto and Stuart) 2012 (USFS Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-238) Includes over 75 papers that present the current state of knowledge about coast redwood forest ecosystems and sustainable management practices.
- Redwood (Olson and Fiske), pp 37-40 IN Silvicultural Systems for the Major Forest Types of the United States (Burns) 1983 (USDA Agriculture Handbook #445) (print copy available in Docs A 1.76:445) Summarizes the silviculture treatments for commercial growth of redwood along with associated biological factors.
- Redwood Ed: a Guide to the Coast Redwoods for Teachers and Learners (Roa) 2007 (print copy available in QK 494.5.T3 R63 2007 Humboldt County Collection) Written for teachers, naturalists and others who wants a comprehensive guide to the coast redwood forests and parks in a format that is easy-to-use and understand, rather than an in-depth scientific study. Covers both natural and human history of the redwoods. Prepared for California State Parks and the Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods.
- The Redwood Forest and Associated North Coast Forests (Zinke) pp 679-698 IN Terrestrial Vegetation of California (Barbour and Major) 1988 (QK 149 T44 1988) Describes the ecological relationships of the redwood vegetation type.
- The Redwood Forest: History, Ecology, and Conservation of the Coast Redwoods (Noss) 2000 (SD 397 R3 R455 2000 Hum Co Coll) Scholarly work on the biology and ecology of redwood forests with chapters on geological history, redwood biology, terrestrial fauna, aquatic ecosystems, conservation and management.
- Redwood Forests pp 12-27 IN California Forests and Woodlands: A Natural History (Johnston) 1994 (QH 105 C2 J59 1994) Popular treatment of redwood ecology and the interrelationships between plants and animals in the redwood forest.
- Redwoods: The World's Largest Trees (Hewes) 1981 (SD 397 R3 H48 Humboldt County Collection) Popularly written book that covers the biology, logging history, and conservation of redwood.
- Sequoia sempervirens pp 128-139 IN Silva of California (Jepson) 1910 (print copy available in Q 11 C34 vol. 2) (Memoirs of the University of California vol. 2) Early scholarly work on the "timber trees" of California. Accounts for each species include taxonomy, geographical distribution, dendrological characteristics and economic importance.
- Sequoia sempervirens/Redwood (Olsen, Roy & Walters) pp 541-522 IN Silvics of North America (Burns & Honkala) 1990 (USDA Agriculture Handbook #654) (print copy available in ref QK 481 B87 1990) Describes the silvical characteristics of redwood, including habitat, special uses, genetics and life history during reproduction, early growth stages, sapling and pole stages to maturity.
- Sequoia sempervirens pp 110-112 IN Softwoods of North America (Alden) 1997 (USFS General Technical Report-FPL-102) (print copy available in Docs A 13.88:FPL-102) Includes sections on nomenclature, general wood characteristics, working properties, durability, preservation, uses, and toxicity.
- Sequoia sempervirens (Sloan and Boe) (Woody Plant Seed Manual - US Forest Service) (print copy of 1974 version available in Seeds of Woody Plants in the United States (Schopmeyer) 1974 (USDA Agriculture Handbook 450) (Docs A 1.76:45) Account includes information on growth habit; flowering and fruiting; collection of cones and extraction of seeds; seed germination; and nursery practice.
- Sequoia sempervirens (Fire Effects Information System--U.S. Forest Service) Contains background information on taxonomy, distribution, basic biology, and ecology along with references to pertinent literature. Emphasis is on fire and how it affects redwood.
- Sequoia sempervirens (CalFlora) Includes brief information on nomenclature, distribution, habit and life form; a database of observations of occurence; and links to photos in the CalFlora database and to other sources of information.
- Sequoia sempervirens (Gymnosperm Database) Includes basic information on taxonomy, description, and range. Also includes information on the largest trees and other remarks.
- Sequoia sempervirens (Plants Database - US Natural Resources Conservation Services) Includes brief information on taxonomy, distribution, morphology and physiology, growth requirements, and reproduction. Also includes links to other species accounts and images.
- Sequoia sempervirens (Flora of North America) 1993 (print copy available in Flora of North America, Vol. 2, p 402, QK 110 F55 1993 vol.2) Includes a taxonomic description and associated images of the needles and cones.
- The Sequoia sempervirens (Coast Redwood) Forest of the Pacific Coast, USA (Duff), pp 221-236 IN Coastally Restricted Forests (Laderman) 1998 (QK 115 C63 1998) Includes sections on distribution, ecological factors influencing distribution, dominance, community status, classification, successional stages, vegetative reproduction, geological history, taxonomic relationships, genetics, and economic and conservation issues.
- Silvical Characteristics of Redwood (Roy) 1966 (print copies available in the HSU Library) ( US Forest Service Research Paper PSW-28) Describes the climatic, edaphic, physiographic, and biotic habitat conditions of the natural range of redwood and how it reproduces, grows, and dies.
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Despite hype by environmentalists and many media outlets, the slow collapse of major glaciers in western Antarctica is nothing new, according to scientists. The warming and cooling in the South Pole is well in line with historical trends dating back thousands of years.
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has released two major studies in the last year that have shed light on western Antarctic collapsing glaciers — both of which show that the thinning sea ice in the western south pole is nothing new.
A BAS study released in February found that 8,000 years ago Antarctica’s Pine Island glacier thinned just as fast as it has in recent decades. This happened thousands of years before the Industrial Revolution, which scientists and environmentalists blame for releasing massive amounts of carbon dioxide emissions that have warmed the atmosphere.
The point of the BAS study was to see how a thinning Pine Island glacier affected sea levels thousands of years ago. Scientists say Pine Island is currently going through “ocean-driven” melting — as more warm ocean water is getting under the ice shelf.
“Our geological data show us the history of Pine Island Glacier in greater detail than ever before,” the study’s lead author Joanne Johnson of BAS said in a statement. “The fact that it thinned so rapidly in the past demonstrates how sensitive it is to environmental change; small changes can produce dramatic and long-lasting results.”
“Based on what we know, we can expect the rapid ice loss to continue for a long time yet, especially if ocean-driven melting of the ice shelf in front of Pine Island Glacier continues at current rates,” Johnson said.
Not only did Pine Island glacier experience similar melting to today, it also was able to reverse the melting naturally.
Another study from BAS released last year found that the current melt in the western Antarctic is within the “natural range of climate variability” of the last 300 years.
“The record shows that this region has warmed since the late 1950s, at a similar magnitude to that observed in the Antarctic Peninsula and central West Antarctica,” said a BAS study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters last year, “however, this warming trend is not unique.”
“More dramatic isotopic warming (and cooling) trends occurred in the mid-19th and 18th centuries, suggesting that at present the effect of anthropogenic climate drivers at this location has not exceeded the natural range of climate variability in the context of the past ~300 years,” the study said. | <urn:uuid:3fa439b4-6389-43be-aff9-135ef001a6d1> | {
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One of the best parts of being a child is the inherent creativity and curiosity. Children are open to new ideas, trying different things, and exploring. So how do you encourage them?
We’ve created a list of ideas to inspire your children to pursue their current interests and discover some new ones. Plus, you don’t need to spend a lot (or any!) money to nurture your child’s imagination and interests. Take the opportunity to expose your child to a variety of different activities to encourage a love of learning and exploration. You never know where it might lead.
Take your child’s interest to the Internet, while modeling safe use, by exploring areas your child wants to learn more about. Check out YouTube videos about a topic, use a hashtag on Instagram to view pictures about this topic, and check out websites geared toward kids’ exploration, such as PBS Kids or Info Ohio. Download podcasts geared toward children or watch a how-to video and learn to do something new.
Connect with or Shadow Someone
If your child has a particular interest, see if there is anyone in your community willing to talk to your child or event let them visit at work. Your child can learn more about the topic by asking first-hand questions and watching.
Your local library is a great resource full of free opportunities to explore and try out new things. Make sure your child has their own library card and challenge them to check out a nonfiction book or biography during each visit. This will allow them to investigate a topic they might not have thought about before.
Community Centers/Local Theaters
Community centers and theaters are good places to look for sample-sized programs. Many offer one-day workshops or classes that combine multiple activities. Summer camp programs also are a good source for shortened programs, allowing your child to try out something without committing a large amount of time or money.
Think beyond sports at your child’s school. Most schools also have fun and unique afterschool clubs (such as photography, art club, theater, etc.). Challenge your child to join one or two of them. Not only will they explore a new topic, they may meet new friends.
Volunteering provides a variety of positives for your child. It teaches them how to help others and it allows your child to explore different interests. Consider connecting some volunteering to your child’s topic of interest. If they like animals, volunteer at the local shelter. If your child likes theater, perhaps they could help take tickets at a community production. | <urn:uuid:2192bf94-e8a0-4d9b-aaaa-85873c8d6ad3> | {
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This important aspect of Paediatric Dentistry is covered in detail, with special reference to the inter-disciplinary nature of diagnosis and treatment of medically compromised and special needs children. Trainees must become proficient in the management of children with many conditions, including congenital cardiac disease, haematological disorders, immunodeficiencies, malignancies, endocrinopathies, respiratory diseases and neurological disease. They must also develop the knowledge and skills to provide high quality care to children with intellectual and physical disabilities.
clinical prac 24hr/wk, 4x3 hr tut
clinical prac (25%), tutorials (25%), 1x3 hr written exam (25%), 1x viva voce(25%)
Handbook of Pediatric Dentistry, Cameron and Widmer, 4th Edition | <urn:uuid:53270906-fbbe-4dd2-abdb-9fc78a172102> | {
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search-forward function is used to locate the
zap-to-char. If the search is
search-forward leaves point immediately after the
last character in the target string. (In
target string is just one character long.
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search-forward function looks like this:
(search-forward (char-to-string char) nil nil arg)
search-forward function takes four arguments:
As it happens, the argument passed to
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string of characters. Inside the computer, a single character has a
different electronic format than a string of one character. (A single
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byte; but a string may be longer, and the computer needs to be ready
for this.) Since the
search-forward function searches for a
string, the character that the
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the other; otherwise the
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char-to-string function is used to make this conversion.
nilas the third argument causes the function to signal an error when the search fails.
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CBD To Reduce Inflammation Caused By MS
Multiple sclerosis, or better known as MS, is a disabling disease of the central nervous system. It affects the flow of information from the brain to the body. The cause of MS is currently unknown and symptoms can relieve in time. Two-thirds of those affected with the disease are women. The signs and symptoms of MS vary from person to person but are typically quite debilitating. Recent research has shown CBD to reduce inflammation caused By MS. However, before we dig deeper into this enlightening information, the most common signs and symptoms of MS are:
- Loss of cognitive function
What is CBD?
Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a major non-psychotomimetic compound of the Cannabis Sativa plant. It provides many benefits similar to that of Cannabis, but contains no THC. Therefore, CBD is completely legal in all 50 states and delivers no psychoactive effects. CBD has been shown to carry neuroprotective and neurogenic effects as well as anxiolytic effects in humans and animals. CBD is currently being used to treat many mental and autoimmune disorders and is currently being tested for its anti-cancer properties. However, the most thought provoking and research-based facts have been shown in CBD to reduce symptoms of MS.
In a federal funded research study, which can be read about more here, mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) were tested. EAE is a disease in rats with extremely similar composition to humans with MS. After the symptoms of EAE became prominent in the rats, they were given a topical CBD cream of 1% CBD strength. They were observed for 28 days.
Spinal cord and spleen sample cells were taken almost daily. The evidence became increasingly clear that the CBD cream had reduced the symptoms of EAE. Likewise, these symptoms were similar in the way of CBD to reduce inflammation caused by MS. Reversal of back leg paralysis was noticed. Also, spinal cord damage and white blood cell count had improved. There was a reduction in the release of lymphocytes from spleen cells. Lastly, there was a reduction in inflammatory signals. This study greatly displays that CBD can reduce symptoms of many autoimmune/inflammatory diseases. It also shows that CBD can provide biological benefits. These benefits can be seen even when only applied to the skin. | <urn:uuid:3df7638e-41fc-4a79-b9d9-50bb2aea813e> | {
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This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Konkan, also known as the Konkan Coast or Kokan, is a rugged section of the western coastline of India. It is a 720 kilometres (450 miles) long coastline. It consists of the coastal districts of the Western Indian states of Maharashtra, Goa, and the South Indian state of Karnataka. The ancient Saptakonkana is a slightly larger region. The region is known as Karavali in Karnataka.
According to the Sahyadrikhanda of the Skanda Purana, Parashurama shot his arrow into the sea and commanded the Sea God to recede up to the point where his arrow landed. The new piece of land thus recovered came to be known as Sapta-Konkana, meaning "piece of earth", "corner of earth", or "piece of corner", derived from Sanskrit words: koṇa (कोण, corner) + kaṇa (कण, piece). Xuanzang, the noted Chinese Buddhist monk, mentioned this region in his book as Konkana Desha; Varahamihira's Brihat-Samhita described Konkan as a region of India; and 15th century author Ratnakosh mentioned the word Konkandesha.
Konkan extends throughout the western coasts of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. It is bounded by the Western Ghats mountain range (also known as Sahyadri) in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west, the Mayura River in the north and the Gangavalli River in the south.
The Gangavali flows in the district of Uttara Kannada in present-day Karnataka. Its northern bank constitutes the southernmost portion of Konkan. The towns of Karwar, Ankola, Kumta, Honavar and Bhatkal fall within the Konkan coast. The exact identity of the Mayura River, the northern limits of the historic Konkan, is indeterminate.
The largest city on the Konkan coast is Mumbai, the state capital of Maharashtra. It lies within the Konkan division, an administrative sub-division of Maharashtra which comprises all the coastal districts of the state. These are, from north to south:
Ethnic groups and communities found in the region which makes a larger Konkani community are the Vaishya Vani, Malvani, Aagri, Kunbi, Koli, Vadavali, Maratha, Bhandari, Goud Saraswath Brahmins, Daivadnya Brahmins, Kumbhar, Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins, Gabit, Padti, Chitpavan Brahmins, Brahmins, Kudaldeshkar Gaud Brahmins, Kuruba, Namdev Shimpi.
Tribal communities in Konkan include the Katkari, Konkana, Warli and Kolcha in southern Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Maharashtra's Palghar district. The Katkari are found in Raigad and Ratnagiri districts.
Minorities of Muslim community form Konkani Muslims, Bene Israel in Raigad district, Christians form East Indians in Mumbai, Goan Catholics in Goa, Karwari Catholics in Uttara Kannada, Mangalorean Catholics in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada
- People of the Konkan Division
- Konkani people
- Konkani language
- Konkan Railway
- Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project
- Malabar Coast
- Shastri Gaytonde, Gajanan (ed.). Shree Scanda Puran (Sayadri Khandha) (in Marathi). Mumbai: Shree Katyani Publication.
- Satoskar, B. D. Gomantak Prakruti ani Sanskruti. Part 1 (in Marathi). Shubhada Publication. p. 206.
- Saradesāya, Manohararāya (2000). "The Land, the People and the Language". A History of Konkani Literature: From 1500 to 1992. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 1–14. ISBN 8172016646.
- List of districts in Konkan division, http://www.swapp.co.in/site/indianstatedistrictlist.php?stateid=j1YKCtUvHkShwKBqk6iHow%3D%3D&divisionid=bRbHGKvCu7LMDJJGUsYuQA%3D%3D | <urn:uuid:4ea4b93a-1bab-4e85-8599-e8973c46def7> | {
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SPIKES are high frequency oscillatory variations from a steady state level generated when reactive loads are switched. In a properly operating electrical systems, spikes can be expected to reach +/- 250 volts for durations up to 70 us decaying slowly to a steady state voltage.
These are faults which cause the voltage of the power supply to go outside normal limits for a period of time. Many transients are capable of causing immediate equipment failures. But, most of the time they cause minor damage to semiconductors, degrading their performance. This damage is cumulative and eventually reaches a point where sudden and complete failure of the component results.
OVERVOLTAGE is a sustained voltage that exceed normal steady state limits. In a 12 volt system, this is defined as any voltage that exceeds 15 volts. In a 24/28 volt systems, the limit is 30 volts. Overvoltage is caused by malfunctioning alternators, voltage regulators, poorly adjusted 'fast charge' controllers, battery chargers and solar panels. Another source, often overlooked, is the jump starting of vehicles during cold weather. This is usually done using a 24 volt battery to jump start a 12 volt system.
A sudden dip in voltage caused by engine starting or other heavy loads. This is one of the primary causes of memory loss in GPS navigation systems and crashes in mobile computer systems. Cranking voltage with a fully charged battery can drop to 6 volts during the initial engagement of the starter motor. With the engine OFF, battery voltages can be expected to drop to 10 Volts in a 12V system, or 20 Volts in a 24/28 volt system under normal use. Frequent events, like a fuse blowing on a lighting system, will drop system voltages below this for a few seconds before the fuse or circuit breaker opens.
SURGE DC and AC
Technically, a 'surge' is a variation from the controlled steady state level. When applied to a DC system like those in mobile and marine applications, it results in a temporary increase in DC voltage. But, we also need to consider surges on AC power lines, since at one time or other most DC systems will be connected to battery chargers.
ELECTRO MAGNETIC INTERFACE
E.M.I. is noise and interference from electrical appliances and nearby transmitters. EMI from VHF/UHF radios, Cellular phones, SSB marine or ham radio transmitters effect mobile equipment and degrade performance. The RF voltage levels present at equipment terminals varies over a wide range depending upon frequency, proximity and power output of the interfering device. Installations cause even more variability. The length of power supply wires and cables often determines whether the fault is a 'minor annoyance' or a major cause for failure within the equipment. If the wire becomes 'resonant' at the operating frequency it can absorb significant amounts of power from the transmitter and present very high voltages at the equipment power terminals.
INDUCED ELECTROMAGNETIC FORCE
INDUCED EMF are excessive voltages are induced into electrical wiring (which acts like an antenna) by nearby lightning strikes. Particular care should be exercised when using solar panels since their large conductive surface area acts like an antenna that couples lightning induced emf directly into your electrical system.
Reverse Polarity faults typically occur while jump starting vehicles or installing new batteries. While these are the result of 'accidents', their damaging effect can be devastating. Because of poor design techniques, much of the electronic gear brought into the marketplace over the past several years can be severely damaged by reverse polarity.
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Scholastic Education helps teachers reach kids with a broad range of technology- and print-based programs
At its core, Scholastic has always been a company dedicated to helping children read. Beginning in the early 1960s, when Scholastic began to produce supplementary books and teaching texts, to the current explosion of technology and digital learning, the Company has stood out as a true partner to teachers and administrators. Today, Scholastic is harnessing the power of adaptive technology with programs that are grounded in research to help students achieve significant growth in reading and math, and through Scholastic Achievement Partners, serves as a solutions partner with school districts across the country.
“Technology plays a central role in reaching today’s kids in today’s classrooms,” said Margery Mayer, President, Scholastic Education. “Many of our programs have strong technology components to engage students, target their lessons, and monitor their progress.”
Programs like READ 180® and System 44™ are proven-effective reading intervention programs that have cemented Scholastic as a valued resource and helped transform school districts. Additional innovative products like Expert 21™, Expert Space, Read About, Timeliner® XE, FASTT Math™, Do the Math®, Scholastic Zip Zoom™ English, Wiggleworks®, BookFlix™, and Fraction Nation™ all target the hardest-to-reach children and support the development of core skills for a wide range of age groups and skill levels.
Scholastic also offers tools for assessment and data management, such as Scholastic Reading Inventory and Scholastic Reading Counts!, which help educators measure reading levels and provide customized instruction. And, teachers receive valuable support with the professional development resources of Scholastic U.
Scholastic Classroom and Library Group
“Every child has the right to read—and must read—in order to make sense of their world and to thrive in it,” said Greg Worrell, President of the Scholastic Classroom and Library Group (SC&LG). “Books and reading should be a part of every child’s life, in their classrooms and homes, with their teachers and families—from the day they are born and for the rest of their lives.”
In the classroom, after school, in libraries and at home, SC&LG reinforces learning everywhere. Our mission is to provide young people with access to text that is relevant and engaging, while supporting content area learning and information literacy that insures the highest levels of student achievement. Along with books and instructional materials to meet students’ needs, SC&LG provides workshops and extensive teaching resources to address the professional development needs of all teachers.
For classrooms, that means helping to identify critical resource gaps, and providing options that build classroom libraries to drive meaningful independent reading practice or for guided and leveled reading to differentiate instruction. We believe after-school hours are just as important, so Scholastic After-School Learning provides creative, fun, easy to implement lesson plans and activities that keep students engaged.
Because learning and literacy in the home are cornerstones of Scholastic’s mission, SC&LG partners with schools to extend literacy mentoring programs like Scholastic R.E.A.L. In addition, we work with community based organizations like Reading is Fundamental and Reach Out & Read to provide children and their families with best-selling, high-interest books they can cherish and enjoy at home.
Listening to Educators
Ever since the Company’s founder, M.R. Robinson, consulted with a group of principals in Pittsburgh on the creation of his first magazine in 1920, Scholastic has partnered with teachers, administrators, and other educators to learn about their instructional needs and goals. That is still the case today. Through the National Advisory Council, comprised of educators and researchers, Scholastic participates in conversations about the important topics and trends in education; what the Company learns helps inform product development and guides efforts to support instruction, engage students, and deliver effective educational resources. | <urn:uuid:91bf01b4-8839-4081-abe0-55c4d378d71d> | {
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The National Science Foundation, an independent federal science and engineering agency, has provided support for hundreds of discoveries since its 1950 inception. Recently, Ivy Tech Northeast became one of the organizations across the country to get support from the foundation.
The University of New Mexico recently won a multimillion dollar grant from the foundation, and it searched for partners to help out: That’s where Ivy Tech Northeast comes in.
As part of the partnership, Ivy Tech Northeast’s engineering department chair Andy Bell is working with the university to help provide kits that explain MEMS to students. MEMS are micro-electro-mechanical systems, which means they’re itty bitty teeny tiny, combining computers with small devices like sensors, mirrors, and valves. (Your phone, for example, has a micro-electro-mechanical system to sense when you turn it on its side to take a photo, Bell says. The MEMS sensors are how the phone knows to rotate the screen view.) The kits take these systems and make them much bigger, using inexpensive everyday materials to explain something that can’t be seen without a microscope.
In fact, Bell has created two kits of his own that he hopes to see manufactured by the University of New Mexico or, even better, in Fort Wayne. One explains how a cantilever beam works. The kit shows the beam as a 2-foot piece of particle board that Bell sets up to hang off a counter, like a diving board. He flicks the overhanging end, making the board vibrate. Bell’s addition to the kit has been able to add a sensor to the end of the board that remains stationary to sense what is making the board vibrate. In reality, a cantilever beam is just a fraction of a millimeter long.
The kit, as Bell received it from the University of New Mexico, helps out one Ivy Tech Northeast class. With Bell’s addition, he can use it in multiple classes.
“We made it so it’s much more adaptable to our curriculum,” he says.
At right: The robot that students and faculty are creating for the Mad Ants is more electrically complex than the robot the College created for the Mad Ants last year. At left: The robot is controlled by a PlayStation 2 controller.
Green Light will take a break during finals week and winter break. See you next semester! | <urn:uuid:1f4aab13-9341-4cf7-a191-dfbef0c415d5> | {
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Virtual Mentor. May 2005, Volume 7, Number 5.
Spirituality, Prayer, and Medicine: What Is the Fuss Really About?
Research studies on the influence of spirituality on health are still immature but have still made strides in advancing physicians' understanding of the issues.
Larry Dossey, MD
The idea that prayer can affect living organisms is an ancient belief spanning ideology, religion, culture, and race. As anthropologist Stephan A. Schwartz states, "The shamanic cave art of Altamira, Tres Freres, and Lascaux presents compelling testimony that our genetic forebears had a complex view of spiritual and physical renewal, one that has survived to the present unchanged in at least one fundamental respect. The intent to heal, either oneself or another, whether expressed as God, a force, an energy, or one of many gods, has consistently been believed to be capable of producing a therapeutic result" .
For at least 50,000 years, shamans and healers have believed that it is their duty to engage the spiritual beliefs of sick persons in the task of restoring health. This fact alonethe enduring centrality of spiritual interventions in the healer's repertoireshould make us modern physicians pause before rejecting this form of therapy.
What is spirituality? I consider it a felt sense of connectedness with "something higher," a presence that transcends the individual sense of self. I distinguish spirituality from religion, which is a codified system of beliefs, practices, and behaviors that usually take place in a community of like-minded believers. Religion may or may not include a sense of the spiritual, and spiritual individuals may or may not be religious. I regard prayer as communication with the Absolute, however named, no matter what form this communication may take. Prayer may or may not be addressed to a Supreme Being. Buddhism, for instance, is not a theistic religion, yet prayer, addressed to the universe, is a vital part of the Buddhist tradition.
Even if prayer connects us with the Absolute, does it work in an empirical sense? Rudolf Otto, the eminent theologian and scholar of comparative religions, asserted that it is "a fundamental conviction of all religions" that "the holy" intervenes "actively in the phenomenal world" . This is an empirical claim, and science is the most widely accepted method of adjudicating such claims. The earliest modern attempt to test prayer's efficacy was Sir Francis Galton's innovative but flawed survey in 1872 . The field languished until the 1960s, when several researchers began clinical and laboratory studies designed to answer 2 fundamental questions: (1) Do the prayerful, compassionate, healing intentions of humans affect biological functions in remote individuals who may be unaware of these efforts? And (2) can these effects be demonstrated in nonhuman processes, such as microbial growth, specific biochemical reactions, or the function of inanimate objects?
What has been accomplished? In a 2003 analysis, Jonas and Crawford found "over 2,200 published reports, including books, articles, dissertations, abstracts and other writings on spiritual healing, energy medicine, and mental intention effects. This included 122 laboratory studies, 80 randomized controlled trials, 128 summaries or reviews, 95 reports of observational studies and nonrandomized trials, 271 descriptive studies, case reports, and surveys, 1286 other writings including opinions, claims, anecdotes, letters to editors, commentaries, critiques and meeting reports, and 259 selected books" .
How good are the clinical and laboratory studies? Using strict CONSORT criteria, Jonas and Crawford gave an "A," the highest possible grade, to studies involving the effects of intentions on inanimate objects such as sophisticated random number generators . They gave a "B" to the intercessory prayer studies involving humans, as well as to laboratory experiments involving nonhumans such as plants, cells, and animals. Religion-and-health studies, which assess the impact of religious behaviors such as church attendance on health, were graded "D," because nearly all of them are observational studies, with no high-quality randomized controlled trials.
The depth and breadth of healing research remains little known among health care professionals, including many of those who have offered critiques and analyses of it. Unfortunately, these critiques are almost never comprehensive, but rely on philosophical and theological propositions about whether remote healing and prayer ought to work or not, and whether prayer experiments are heretical or blasphemous [6, 7]. Are these studies legitimate? Should they be done? Dossey and Hufford recently examined this question, and critiqued the 20 most common criticisms directed toward this field .
It is true that healing research is immature, and anyone hoping to find perfect studies will have to go elsewhere. Yet, this field has already matured greatly and can be expected to continue doing so.
Why do these studies evoke such sharp criticism? It is an article of faith in most scientific circles that human consciousness is derived from the brain, and that its effects are confined to the brain and body of an individual. Accordingly, it is widely assumed that conscious intentions cannot act remotely in space and time. The above healing studies call this assumption into questionand this challenge, I suspect, underlies much of the visceral response this field evokes.
What do we really know about the origins and nature of consciousness? As philosopher Jerry Fodor says, "Nobody has the slightest idea how anything material could be conscious. Nobody even knows what it would be like to have the slightest idea about how anything material could be conscious. So much for the philosophy of consciousness" . And philosopher John Searle states, "At the present state of the investigation of consciousness we don't know how it works and we need to try all kinds of different ideas" .
Are prayer-and-healing studies blasphemous? These experiments are not an attempt to prove or test God, as many critics charge; and, as far as I know, they never involve an attempt to advance anyone's personal religious agenda. Above all, these studies are explorations of the nature of consciousness. In view of our appalling ignorance on this subject, it would seem prudent that these investigations go forward, for they might fill in some of the massive blank spots on the current scientific map.
Another frequent criticism of these studies is that they are so theoretically implausible that they should not be done. In other words, they radically violate the accepted canons of science and the known laws of consciousness, and this places them so completely off the scientific map that they do not deserve consideration. Yet, there are no inviolable laws of consciousness. As Sir John Maddox, the former editor of Nature, has said, "What consciousness consists of...is...a puzzle. Despite the marvelous successes of neuroscience in the past century,...we seem as far from understanding cognitive process as we were a century ago" . These studies violate not laws of consciousness, but, it often seems, deep-seated, largely unconscious prejudices.
Another common criticism is that these studies are metaphysical; they invoke a transcendent agency or higher power, which places them outside the domain of empirical science. This is a straw-man argument, because researchers in this field make no assertions about entelechies, gods, or metaphysical agents in interpreting their findings. They are searching for correlations between intentions and observable effects in the world. Nearly always they defer on the question of mechanism, which is an accepted strategy within science. Harris et al, for example, in their 1999 study of prayer in patients with coronary heart disease, concluded, "We have not proven that God answers prayers or even that God exists.... All we have observed is that when individuals outside the hospital speak (or think) the first names of hospitalized patients with an attitude of prayer, the latter appear to have a 'better' CCU experience" [12, 13].
Spiritual Lives of Patients
Should physicians concern themselves with the spiritual lives of their patients? Should they pray for them? These questions are unanswerable without first becoming aware of the data in this field. What are the correlations between prayer and other religious behaviors, and health and longevity? What is the effect size? What about risk, cost, availability, and patient acceptance? If penicillin instead of prayer were being considered, we would not answer the question of use before asking key questions such as these.
Even if it is conceded that prayer and religious behaviors affect health outcomes positively, what then? Should physicians become involved with spirituality? I believe we can decide these questions by means similar to those we have used to approach other sensitive issues in the past. For example, not long ago many physicians believed they should not query patients about their sex lives. Doing so was too personal and disrespectful of privacy. Then the epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS arose, and overnight physicians began to see the issue differently. As a result, most physicians have learned to inquire about their patients' sexual behaviors with respect and sensitivity. Inquiries into peoples' spiritual and religious practices can be done with comparable delicacy. Codes of ethics and conduct already exist among hospital chaplains that prohibit evangelization, heavy-handedness, and crass intrusiveness, and similar guidelines can help physicians navigate this territory. Indeed, this is already taking place, as medical students around the country are learning to take spiritual histories from patients in ways that honor privacy and personal choice [14, 15]. Moreover, consultation is always an option, and physicians can refer patients who voice spiritual concerns to a religious professional. That said, physicians who are not comfortable with spiritual inquiry may sit on the sidelines.
No one expects physicians to be as expert as clergy in these matters, but that does not mean we cannot develop a basic level of expertise. We teach laypersons basic CPR without expecting them to be cardiologists or heart surgeons; just so, physicians can learn the rudiments of spiritual inquiry without becoming as skilled as clergy or hospital chaplains.
This area can also be viewed as a matter of public education. Physicians routinely convey to patients the facts surrounding smoking, the use of seat belts, and protected sex. They can also matter-of-factly deliver information about the latest findings on spirituality and health, and encourage patients to make their own choices in these matters.
Sensitivity and delicacy are eminently achievable if physicians remain patient-centered. An internist friend of mine became interested in the prayer-and-healing studies, and eventually decided that he had an obligation to pray for his patients. He developed a 3-sentence handout that his receptionist gave to each patient as they entered the waiting room. It simply said, "I have reviewed the evidence surrounding prayer and health, and I believe that prayer might be of benefit to you. As your physician, I choose to pray for you. However, if you are uncomfortable with this, sign this sheet below, return it to the receptionist, and I will not add you to my prayer list." Over many years, no one signed the sheet.
Researchers are currently exploring hypotheses from several areas of science that are cordial to the remote effects of prayer and intentionality [16, 17]. As a theoretical framework gradually emerges, spirituality and the remote effects of healing will begin to seem less foreign, and future physicians may well wonder why we experienced such indigestion over these issues.
The game is early; this field of research hardly existed a few years ago. It took the British Navy around 200 years to require the use of citrus fruit in preventing scurvy aboard its ships, in spite of overwhelming evidence of its effectiveness. The idea that a mere teaspoonful of lime juice a day could prevent such a lethal disease was considered lunacy: theoretical implausibility writ large.
Where spirituality is concerned, let us hope we won't be as obstinate .
Larry Dossey, MD, is executive editor of EXPLORE: The Journal of Science and Healing.
The viewpoints expressed on this site are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the AMA.
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The Impact of Constructive Controversy on Moral Development
Journal of Applied Social Psychology
By Michelle Tichy, David W. Johnson, Roger T. Johnson, & Cary J. Roseth
Abstract: We examined the effects of a constructive controversy compared with individualistic learning on 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade students' (N = 56) moral development, ethical skills, academic achievement, and attitudes toward social interdependence. The results indicated that participating in constructive controversy (compared with individualistic learning) resulted in greater moral development (i.e., moral reasoning, moral motivation, moral character), greater ethical skills (i.e., perspective taking, perception of self as a moral person, rule orientation), higher academic achievement, and more positive attitudes toward competition. These results extend constructive controversy theory, as well as Piagetian and social interdependent theories. They also provide guidance as to how discussions of moral dilemmas and conflicts among students should be structured and conducted.
Read the article.
Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons.
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The art of argumentation is not an easy skill to acquire. Many people might think that if one simply has an opinion, one can argue it effectively, and these individuals are always surprised when others do not agree with them because their logic seems correct. Additionally, writers of argumentation often forget that their primary purpose in an argument is to "win" it--to sway the reader to accept their point of view. It is easy to name call, easy to ignore the point of view or research of others, and extremely easy to accept one's own opinion as gospel, even if the writer has not checked his or her premise in a couple of years, or, as is the case for many young writers, never questioned the beliefs inherited from others.
When you pick a topic, you should avoid writing about issues that cannot be won, no matter how strongly you might feel about them. The five most popular topics of our time seem to be gun control, abortion, capital punishment, freedom of speech, and probably the most recent, euthanasia, or the right to die. If possible, avoid writing about these topics because they are either impossible to "win." The topics may be fine reading material, however, because most people are somewhat aware of the problems and can then concentrate on understanding the method of argument itself. But care should be taken that if you read one side, you also read the other. Far too many individuals only read the side that they already believe in. These issues cannot be won for good reason: each touches on matters of faith and beliefs that for many people are unshakable and deeply private.
Structure of an Argumentative Essay
- So, what do you write about? Pick a well-defined, controversial issue. (Spend some time with the latest copies of several news magazines, the Washington Post, the New York Times, or watch 60 Minutes, CNN, or listen to National Public Radio to generate ideas.) Readers should understand what the issue is and what is at stake. The issue must be arguable, as noted above. After stating your thesis, you will need to discuss the issue in depth so that your reader will understand the problem fully.
- A clear position taken by the writer. In your thesis sentence, state what your position is. You do not need to say: "I believe that we should financially support the War in Iraq." Using the first person weakens your argument. Say "The War in Iraq is imperative to maintain America's safety." The thesis can be modified elsewhere in the essay if you need to qualify your position, but avoid hedging in your thesis.
- A convincing argument. An argumentative essay does not merely assert an opinion; it presents an argument, and that argument must be backed up by data that persuades readers that the opinion is valid. This data consists of facts, statistics, the testimony of others through personal interviews and questionnaires or through articles and books, and examples. The writer of an argumentative essay should seek to use educated sources that are non biased, and to use them fairly. It is therefore best to avoid using hate groups as a source, although you can use them briefly as an example of the seriousness of the problem. Talk shows fall into the same category as they are frequently opinionated or untrue.
- A reasonable tone. Assume that your reader will disagree with you or be skeptical. It is important, therefore, that your tone be reasonable, professional, and trustworthy. By anticipating objections and making concessions, you inspire confidence and show your good will.
- Decide on a topic. Make sure it is one you are interested in and that it is not too broad or too narrow to analyze adequately.
- Begin your library research. Start with the card catalogue or computer subject headings. Use the periodical index. Your best bet may be to find a few general books on the subject, and then study the bibliographies in the back of the books. Oftentimes, the very best sources are found this way. You may note, as you read, that one person may be quoted repeatedly in several articles. This should tell you that this person may be an authority. (See if their name is in the catalogue.) If you run across the mention of an article while reading another article or book, go find it. Use encyclopedias, reference books, newspapers, microfilm, the librarians, the World Wide Web, and other professors' advice. Research is a back-and-forth, in-and-out process, rather like the strategy of a good card game.
- As you scan possible sources, make a list of sources you won't use, sources you might use, and sources you will definitely use. Make bibliography cards for the latter two right away. Photocopy all material that you might or will use--even pamphlets and personal books. This will save you time later, should you need to return to the library. If you conduct a good deal of research, the first list will help you keep up with sources you've already checked (unless you enjoy checking them three and four times). Use appropriate APA citation.
- After acquiring some knowledge of your subject matter, it is time to decide on your personal interview and/or questionnaire, should you choose to use one. Write the interview questions and prepare the survey. Be careful to word both objectively. Your research is only as valuable as the interview or questionnaire.
- Write the outline, rough draft, and the final paper. Then rewrite it to make it sound as professional as possible.
Essay Paragraph Outline
To analyze something, divide it into parts. Since you are writing about a problem, the body of your paper might look something like this:
Paragraph 1: General introduction of the problem. Thesis statement which states your opinion.
Paragraph 2-3: History of the problem (including, perhaps, past attempts at a solution). Sources needed
Paragraph 4-6: Extent of the problem (who is affected; how bad is it, etc.). Sources needed.
Paragraphs 7-8: Repercussion of the problem if not solved. Sources needed.
Paragraphs 9-10: You should have led up to a conclusion that your argument is sound. Pull it all together by connecting your argument with the facts. Anticipate objections and make concessions.
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World War Two was a truly global war. The war in the Mediterranean took military conflict beyond the areas in Europe hit by Blitzkrieg. However after the events surrounding Dunkirk and the closeness of victory in theBattle of Britain, the events that unfolded in the Mediterranean did much to stir the hearts of the civilians in Britain and other Allied powers occupied by the Nazis.
In June 10, 1940, Mussolini declared war on Great Britain and France. Fighting between British and Italian troops started almost immediately as British troops were stationed in Egypt and Italian troops in neighbouring Libya. The Italian general in Libya (General Balbo) complained to Rome about the uselessness of his troops weapons, especially tanks that were cut open by bullets as their armour plating did not work.
On 28th October ,1940, Italy invaded Greece. It proved to be a disaster for the Italians as they took insufficient ammunition, equipment etc. Mussolini’s generals complained that he had no idea on how to run a campaign – it is said that Mussolini believed that there was no difference between fighting a campaign in the mountains or on flat ground as fighting spirit would suffice !!
On November 11th ,1940, British planes bombed the Italian navy at Taranto. Half the Italian fleet was lost. Britain lost 2 aircraft.
Hitler decided to help his ally fearing a British invasion of Europe via Greece. In April 1941, Germany invaded Yugoslavia and then Greece. It took one month to beat the Greeks and 40,000 troops from Britain, Greece and New Zealand were evacuated to Crete.
On 20th May, 1941, the Germans attacked Crete. The island fell in eight days and only 18,000 troops escaped; however, the Germans also experienced heavy casualties.
The Italians had fared no better in North Africa. A British force lead by General O`Connor, and outnumbered eight to one, raided Libya and found the Italians in no mood to fight. Both Tobruk and Tripoli were taken and once again Hitler had to send help.
In January 1941 the British attacked the Italians in Abyssinia and by May 1941 they had been defeated and Haile Selassie was put back in charge of the country.
Mussolini had made no gains in the Mediterranean region but his involvement was of huge consequence for Hitler as he had to assist his ally in areas of Europe that had no intrinsic value to Nazi Germany. Germany’s involvement in Greece, the old Yugoslavia etc. were all to greatly hinder the input that the Wehrmacht could make in the attack on Russia. Also, the German involvement in North Africa tied up valuable equipment, valuable fuel supplies and men who could have been used in Russia. One of Germany’s most able generals was also tied up here – Erwin Rommel. Germany got nothing positive out of her involvement in Northern Africa but was left, as a result, short of men, equipment and fuel on the European mainland. The Mediterranean theatre of war greatly affected the war in Europe. | <urn:uuid:bedf2e83-2de4-4ab7-b2d9-c9189007219b> | {
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moderate-sized wildcat with a short tail, penciled ears, more or less spotted fur, and 28 teeth, inhabiting Eurasia, Africa, and North America; mid-14c., from Latin lynx (source of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian lince), from Greek lyngx, an old name of the lynx found also in Armenian, Germanic, and Balto-Slavic, though often transformed or altered. Often linked to PIE root *leuk- "light, brightness," in reference to its gleaming eyes or its ability to see in the dark, but there are phonetic problems with that and Beekes suggests a loan from a non-IE substrate language.
If that men hadden eyghen of a beeste that highte lynx, so that the lokynge of folk myghte percen thurw the thynges that withstonden it. [Chaucer's "Boethius," c. 1380]
Cognates probably are Lithuanian lūšis "lynx," Old High German luhs, German luchs, Old English lox, Dutch los, Swedish lo, Armenian lusanunk'. The dim northern constellation was added in 1687 by Johannes Hevelius. Lyncean "pertaining to a lynx" (from Greek lynkeios) is attested from 1630s.
"wildcat," c. 1300, from Old French once "lynx" (13c.), from lonce, with l- mistaken as definite article, from Vulgar Latin *luncea, from Latin lyncea "lynx-like," from lynx (see lynx). Originally the common lynx, later extended to other large, spotted wildcats, now mainly used of the mountain-panther or snow leopard of Asia.
African wild cat, 1771, from Modern Latin serval, French serval (Buffon, 1765), from Portuguese (lobo) cerval "lynx," from Latin lupus cervarius (source of French loup cervier) "lynx," literally "wolf that hunts the stag," from cervarius "pertaining to a stag," from cervus "stag," from PIE *ker-wo- "having horns," suffixed form of root *ker- (1) "horn; head." | <urn:uuid:0d9b8798-fd19-46a2-9eaa-2cce044c57d6> | {
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Subsets and Splits