A new magazine entitled “greenLIFESTYLE” has claimed that its raison d’être will be to provide “exciting ideas and inspiration for a sustainable lifestyle.” As such, the magazine is jumping on the bandwagon: sustainability has become a buzzword over the last few years, rapidly increasing in prominence in the public consciousness. The importance of sustainability for industry and trade is growing, too. Manufacturers in a wide variety of sectors are now using the concept sustainability to push their products. So, this begs the question: to what extent does sustainability really affect consumers’ consumption and purchasing behavior?
A research cooperation between the University of Potsdam, HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Leibniz University of Hanover, Brunswick University of Technology and the GfK Verein is conducting a feasibility study as a joint project for a survey instrument developed by the four universities to measure awareness of sustainable consumption.
The aforementioned universities have developed a tool (for consumer surveys) which can determine all aspects of the sustainability of consumption behavior on the basis of a number of fundamental – and cross-sector – statements. It consists of a scale of 24 items (12 in the short version) and takes into account the three pillars of sustainability: improving the quality of environmental, social and economic life.
(For more information see: Balderjahn, Buerke, Kirchgeorg, Peyer, Seegebarth, Wiedmann (2013): Consciousness for sustainable consumption: scale development and new insights in the economic dimension of consumers’ sustainability, AMS Review: Volume 3, Issue 4 (2013), pp. 181-192.)
The scale and survey can be broken down as follows: Environmentally friendly consumption may include, for example, products manufactured in a climate-friendly way which conserves raw materials. It may also be distinguished by a preference for the use of recyclable materials, among other things. Socially conscious consumption is defined by ensuring that consumption behavior does not have an adverse effect on others. Socially conscious consumers place great importance on the ethical treatment of production workers and are keen for companies to comply with international labor standards. Economically sustainable consumption values the principle of moderation, depending only on one’s own financial resources. The Sharing Economy, which promotes alternatives to product ownership such as the sharing, exchanging and borrowing or renting of products, for example, is also a fundamental component of this concept.
Today, it is relatively simple for consumers to reconcile questions of ethics and morals with environmentally friendly and socially conscious attitudes. However the crux of the matter for scientists and economists is the extent to which these statements have an effect on the respective consumer’s behavior. It was precisely this issue which was the focus of a survey conducted by the GfK Household Panel for 10 selected products from the daily consumer goods segment. The survey used the tool developed by the universities mentioned previously.
For this survey, the abridged version consisting of 12 items was used with a partial sample of the panel. The focal points of the study were the pillars of environmental and social awareness. However, the economic pillar also plays a role. As the analysis focused on product categories which cover the basic (in some cases vital) needs of consumers, there are no effects to be determined in this context. As another study* reveals, this is not the case for consumer durables.
In creating a link with the panel, consumer’s responses relating to the items can be compared with their actual purchasing behavior over the course of many months (including in the past). The panel records the actual purchases. These are recorded on an ongoing basis by the respective head of household using a scanner. These are then transmitted to GfK. The panel data set used within the framework of this study was a representative partial sample consisting of 3,335 of the approximately 30,000 households overall. The study recorded purchase decisions in ten product groups for 2014 as a whole. Eight of the product groups were in the food and drink segment. An important factor in purchase decisions was the availability of organic or Fairtrade products: specifically bananas, eggs, fruit juice, yogurt, milk, roasted coffee, ice cream and chocolate bars. Two further product groups were attributable to the hygiene segment (household cleaning agents and toilet tissue).
The survey reveals that, in general, there is strong agreement with ethical/moral statements. This makes a realistic economic assessment of sustainability issues via surveys difficult, as their relevance is often overestimated when responses are considered in absolute terms. For this reason, households were divided into tertiles for the purpose of the survey instrument in question. In concrete terms, this means that for each of the sustainability pillars, respondents were allocated to one of three groups of similar size depending on their level of environmental or social awareness. The lower tertile group has a comparatively lower level of awareness, independent of the absolute level of the responses given. The median tertile can be described as having a moderate awareness of sustainability issues. The upper tertile expressed an above-average level of environmental or social awareness. These three groups are compared with each other on the basis of their purchasing behavior with regard to three categories: organic, environmental and Fairtrade products**.
First, the good news: The survey instrument passed the practical test. With regard to share of expenditure on organic and Fairtrade products, clear differences can be identified between the upper tertile (households which are particularly environmentally or socially conscious) and the other two groups.
The results show that households with high a level of environmental awareness are often more likely to be socially conscious too, and vice versa. Their spending behavior in these two regards is similar. Approximately 10% of their budget for the ten product groups included in the survey was spent on organic products. In the case of the six Fairtrade product groups, these figures were above 3% in each case. Far lower shares were observed for the households in the lower tertiles. However, it is interesting to note a slight variance in the middle groups for the two categories. While the figures for ‘moderately’ environmentally conscious households showed little increase on less conscious households, the difference was more marked in the case of social awareness. The households in this category represent a definitive outlier in terms of their spending patterns, assuming the middle ground between the upper and lower tertiles.
However, now comes the not-so-good news, which provides some food for thought: Households with a higher awareness of sustainability issues only devote a relatively small proportion of their expenditure to organic or Fairtrade products. Clearly, other factors do come into play here: more or less reliable or extensive availability of products and the price difference between organic, Fairtrade and regular products. Environmentally and socially conscious individuals are also less willing to spend money. Attention must also be paid to the trade-off with regard to regionality and the distance to the country of origin, which naturally also involves transportation as well as factoring in long-lasting ties with, or preference for, particular brands or tastes (even within the individual families). This sheds new light on the respective expenditure shares. Furthermore, the clear differences between the different product groups show that organic and Fairtrade are just two of the key factors behind a purchase decision. This also applies to the most sustainability-conscious respondents.
As organic bananas – which are often also of Fairtrade origin – can now be found in nearly every supermarket, they are also the most purchased organic product. However, organic and Fairtrade ice cream is the proverbial needle in a haystack – far more difficult to find in the frozen foods aisle. The shares of household expenditure on organic ice cream are also correspondingly low. In addition to bananas, environmentally conscious consumers are more likely to purchase eggs, milk and yogurt from the organic shelves. Each of these products boasts a double-digit share of the respective product budget. However, in the case of Fairtrade products, only bananas are purchased in noteworthy quantities. Socially conscious households invest an average of 18% of their banana budget on Fairtrade bananas.
In addition to limited availability, price is also a barrier to sales. Organic and Fairtrade products are often far more expensive than their conventional counterparts. For the product groups included in this survey, the survey showed that organic eggs and organic chocolate cost almost twice as much. As far as fruit juices are concerned, organic variants are subject to markup of around 150%. Fairtrade ice cream costs three times as much as normal ice cream, for chocolate the increase was approximately 135% and roast coffee cost almost 10% more. The additional cost for organic and Fairtrade bananas was around 30%. This shows that environmentally and socially conscious consumers must accept a (sometimes substantial) price markup for sustainable products.
However, this is not the case for all organic products. Household cleaning agents and toilet tissue can even be found for cheaper. In fact, there does not appear to be a significant correlation between environmental or social awareness and increased purchase frequency of environmentally friendly products instead of the conventional alternatives in these product groups.
Yet it is clear that sustainable consumption is not primarily driven by lower prices. As the following example shows, the reverse in fact applies: “From €0.25 per head for a light lentil soup or €1.20 for a potato and chickpea soup; ravioli with a tofu and spinach filling for just €0.55 and around €1.80 per head for a dish of tagliatelle with eggplant and goat cheese” – these recipes and prices are just a snippet of what can be found in “Arm aber Bio! Das Kochbuch”, a cookbook which provides organic recipe ideas for tight budgets. This book is Rosa Wolff’s second tackling this subject, in which she shows that price is not the only factor in purchase decisions, revealing also how a pinch of ingenuity and a dash of creativity can help extend the limits and possibilities of your grocery budget. Commenting on the publications, one particular critic was in a provocative mood: “No more excuses!” Organic produce suppliers would do well to follow this advice and inform consumers more effectively as to how nutritious, sustainable meals can be prepared on a budget.
* In 2014, a representative online survey also financed by GfK Verein (sample size: approximately 2,000 people) was carried out using the same instrument. It revealed a correlation between an awareness of economic issues and consumer behavior in the context of high-value consumer goods (household appliances, smartphones and clothing, for example). For more information, please see the August 2015 GfK Verein members’ newsletter – Sustainable consumption: Validation of a new measurement approach using representative online surveys.
** In some cases, these attributes were retrospectively added to the product by coders at the university.
Data source: GfK Haushaltspanel Deutschland
If you have any queries concerning this article, please contact Prof. Dr. Balderjahn (firstname.lastname@example.org), Dr. Mathias Peyer (email@example.com) or Claudia Gaspar (firstname.lastname@example.org).
Queries relating to the survey instrument for sustainability awareness should please be addressed to Prof. Dr. Balderjahn (email@example.com) oder Dr. Mathias Peyer (firstname.lastname@example.org)
If you have any queries concerning GfK Compact, please contact Claudia Gaspar, GfK Verein.
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- Animal Nutrition & Health
- Future of Farming
- Feeding the World
- About Alltech
Optimal gut function and its efficiency is one of the keys to the successful commercial production of aquaculture species. The major function of the gastrointestinal tract is to process the ingested feed material and to digest and degrade this into a form that can be easily absorbed and assimilated by the animal. This process supplies dietary nutrients to the body tissues. Digestion by its very nature is a complex process involving enzyme and fluid secretions, motility, absorption and ultimately evacuation.
A healthy digestive system is crucial for optimal animal performance. The large surface area of the GI tract is necessary for the optimization of nutrient absorption and to allow the efficient passive transfer of nutrients to the blood. However the gut is protected by only one layer of epithelial cells and damage to these structures can therefore impact nutrient uptake and affect growth and performance.


What You Need to Know About : Culture as Process
Culture as process assumes that human communication in and through performance is active; all that makes us human is ever-changing, ongoing, and not static. Culture is the sum total of all that we are; a way of life; a blueprint for maintaining traditions; how we celebrate occasions, make memories, ritualize events, and understand the ordinariness of everyday life in our families and communities. Culture also provides the possibility for creating and discovering new ways of crafting and negotiating meaning of the world. Culture is embedded in human communication and is an aspect of all humans. Human behavior is performative when the act is telling a story, creating reality, critiquing society, or remembering history through oral communication, the primacy of the spoken word. A theory of cultural performance illuminates how humans participate in political and cultural aspects of everyday life in creative and expressive ways. For example, oral history performance creates opportunities to understand how culture, identity, and discourse are situated within a historical context of the times. For Africans living in America, for example, various forms of ritual served as a way to articulate the ways in which cultural differences are created between cultures, while illuminating meanings that are contested, as well as the tensions, the complexities, and the commonalities of human existence and meaning making within the context of social interaction.
Littlejohn, Stephen W and Karen A.Floss. (2009). Encyclopedia of Communication Theory.USA:SAGE.654
Penanggungjawab naskah :
Edwina Ayu Kustiawan


Stable, healthy families are at the heart of strong societies. It is within the family environment that an individual’s physical, emotional and psychological development occurs. From our family we should learn unconditional love, understand right from wrong, and gain empathy, respect and self-regulation. These qualities enable us to engage positively at school, at work and in society. Yet tragically, half of all children born today will experience family breakdown by the age of 16; this breakdown is particularly acute in the most disadvantaged communities.
Dysfunctional family life and chaotic relationships can ruin the lives of those involved and damage children, particularly in their earliest years. We know that family formation affects the outcomes of children and general wellbeing: evidence clearly demonstrates that two-parent families are the most stable. Within this, marriage is the strongest form of relationship: according to recent research 97 per cent of intact couples with 15 year old children are married. As well as social damage, the breakdown of families has a significant economic impact. The annual cost of family breakdown is estimated at £47 billion. It is essential that the Government puts strong families and early intervention at the centre of its social and economic reform.


We are pleased to announce a new report, Public Perceptions of the Health Consequences of Global Warming, based on data from our national survey conducted in October 2014. We find that Americans are generally unaware of the potential health consequences of global warming. When asked what global warming-related health problems, if any, Americans are experiencing, only about one in four respondents (27%) were able to name at least one health problem known to be related to global warming.
Moreover, with the exception of respiratory problems including asthma and other lung diseases (14%) and illness, injury, and death caused by extreme weather (6%), fewer than 5% of Americans identified any other known health risks of global warming, which include, among other illnesses, insect and water-borne diseases and heat stroke.
The survey also found that only one in three Americans (32%) correctly understands that global warming disproportionally harms the most vulnerable members of our society. Young children, the elderly, lower-income Americans, the sick, racial and ethnic minorities - these are just some groups of Americans that are especially vulnerable to the health impacts of global warming.
Most Americans don't yet know that climate change threatens human health. This suggests the need for a public health education campaign to help Americans understand the health risks of climate change.
These findings come from a nationally-representative survey - Climate Change in the American Mind - conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication.
January 06, 2015


A statistical test that allows for comparisons of multiple sources of variation, or effects, to determine if any of these sources significantly effect the variability of the outcome being studied. The null hypothesis is that the treatment effects are all the same and the alternative is that they're not all the same (at least one of them differs significantly from the others).
A moving company has three different types of trucks and wants to determine whether they differ in mileage efficiency. The data on mileage were collected and an analysis of variance performed at a 5% level of significance. (See Additional Images for the data)
The typical Anova output is shown -it consists of a table showing the sources of variation, degrees of freedom, sum of squares (SS), mean SS, F-statistic and p-value associated with it.
The p-value corresponding to the F-statistic of 1.08 with 2 and 12 degrees of freedom is greater than the pre-determined level of significance (0.05), so the null hypothesis of ‘No Difference’ cannot be rejected.
Even though the hypotheses are statements about the mean treatment effects, the test is based on the F-test of two variances, comparing the within treatment variance (or error variance) with the between-treatment variance. If the ratio of the between- to within treatment variance (the F statistic) is greater than a pre-determined cut-off value based on the choice of significance level, we reject the null hypothesis of no difference. Alternatively, if the p-value associated with the F-statistic is less than the pre-specified significance level, the hypothesis of no difference is rejected.
ANOVA / MANOVA from the StatSoft Online Textbook - http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/stanman.html#bmulti One Way ANOVA Overview from the NIST Statistics Handbook - http://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/handbook/prc/section4/prc431.htm An Introduction to ANOVA by David M. Lane from HyperStat Online - http://davidmlane.com/hyperstat/intro_ANOVA.html Help for Practitioners Trying to Understand ANOVA Table by Keith M. Bower on iSixSigma.com - http://www.isixsigma.com/library/content/c050704a.asp


- Animal Nutrition & Health
- Future of Farming
- Feeding the World
- About Alltech
Lameness is a serious health problem for cattle. One of the most common causes is foot rot, which occurs when the skin between the toes is injured or irritated and subsequently infected. The primary pathogen is Fusobacterium necrophorum, a common anaerobic bacteria. The infection can be aggravated by other common bacteria, including E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Foot rot kills the tissue between the toes and results in swelling or erosions that may cause the toes to spread apart.
It is important to minimize the possibility of abrasion from rough surfaces, gravel, and hardened or frozen mud. Standing in water or mud for long periods can also create problems. Keeping pen surfaces as dry and smooth as possible can minimize injuries and reduce the chance of foot rot. Mineral deficiencies can reduce skin integrity and cases of foot rot seem to be more prevalent when zinc, selenium and copper are deficient.


History Behind the Story #3: Civil War Era Fashion
The female lead in Southern Rain, Shannon Ravenel, is a very fashionable young woman. She was launched into society in Charleston, which was the largest city south of Philadelphia, and it was filled with extremely wealthy and cultured residents, where the marriage market was a bitterly-fought contest. So a girl’s gotta look the part! Shannon’s mother pushes her to make bold fashion choices which set her apart from the other girls hoping to snag a wealthy planter, and the Ravenels spare no expense on her wardrobe. Often, families such as Shannon’s would go as far as sending to Paris for cloths or even full gowns, and they would have been very sure that they were on the cusp of American fashion.
So what were the fashions? Hoop skirts, certainly– we all know about and are terrified by those. But there was a lot more to it, so let’s dive in!
First, I should note that the majority of women in the Victorian Era had only two or three dresses at any given time. However, wealthy women like Shannon would have changed dresses two or three times in one day alone. Women like Shannon and her mother would have had wardrobes full of gowns – day gowns, walking gowns, ballgowns, not to mention riding habits and mourning gowns.
So let’s start with underpants! These would have been called drawers and would have usually been white cotton or linen. Then we have the chemise, which is like a long nightgown that covers everything. After that, there would be garters on the thigh which hold up stockings (nothing but silk, dear), and then over the chemise there be the corset with whalebone boning, tightened with laces up the back or sometimes in the front. Then the hoops would have been attached by tying the top around the waist. What we typically think of is the wire-looking contraption that was made of whalebone or steel and collapses up or down and is covered with fabric petticoat. However, there were other options, including layering of voluminous petticoats (which is why ladies often say my skirts plural), as well as a crinoline, which might mean a cage crinoline like the traditional steel hoop skirt or might simply mean a really stiff fabric to give the dress structure. Then you would don the corset cover and voila! You’re ready to start getting dressed. (Unless you need to put on sleeve plumpers. Or a lace fichu. Or– this is exhausting.)
You would first don a morning dress, which was plain and was generally prim – buttoned up to the throat and perhaps featuring a print or just being plain. You would go up and shimmy that off if you had to step out to do some shopping or take a walk through an obliging field and put on instead a plainer, more sensible walking gown which had a matching fitted coat which ended halfway down the skirt and looks rather like a cute doctor’s coat. And for heaven’s sake, don’t forget your parasol and hat. But wait! Your beau has called and would like to go riding with you (properly chaperoned, of course) and so you must run upstairs, strip down, and wrestle on your riding habit (these actually stay quite similar through the years with a fitted coat and long skirt to cover any accidental indecency caused by hoisting oneself over a side-saddle). Remember your hat, gloves, and riding whip. And if you are not too exhausted to make it to dinner or the ball, your evening dress will be of a more expensive material such as silk or satin and would generally be off the shoulders or almost so and have decorations such as lace, beads, flounces, artificial flowers, or even jewels. And don’t forget your shawl. And gloves. And jewelry. And hair décor. And reticule. And fan. And handkerchief. Do you have everything? With evening or ball gowns, you would wear slippers made of satin, velvet, or even crochet. And of course, if a near relative had died, all of this would be black for the appropriate time period.
Whew. On to color. Ladies were encouraged by popular magazines to engender harmony and nature and lalalala! So we see some wild colors like bright green and weird pinks, as well as bold patterns like stripes or plaids. But of course, we also see more traditional colors like creams and blues and reds. Shannon’s favorite color is a sort of emerald green because she knows perfectly well it is becoming with her rusty red hair.
Let’s take a break and talk fashion influences. First of all, ladies would have read fashion periodicals like Godey’s Lady’s Book, so American women were very much influenced by European fashion. There would be fashion plates which showed you the possibilities, and you can still find a lot of these in antique stores today! The perfect silhouette was the hourglass, with a tiny nipped in waist. The skirt reached its full breadth and bell shape right before the Civil War, and after that narrowed just slightly with an almost unnoticeable flattening in the front, which grew more pronounced as we get on toward the 1870’s. You would have been told that the wide pagoda sleeves were the most fashionable for morning and walking gowns and that a collar of a lighter fabric was also becoming. Also, there was also always this undercurrent influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites which encouraged medieval style like juliette sleeves. And there was Queen Victoria, who influenced fashion her whole life. There’s a lot going into the pot of stew here, isn’t there?
As soon as the Civil War kicked into gear, everything went military, which is a fashion I actually love. We see lovely double-rows of buttons marching down ladies’ bodices, structured shoulders, and military-style hats. We also see velvet patches on the shoulders or sleeves reminiscent of officers’ uniforms, as well as cuffs on the sleeves. Also, your winter coat would have had extremely wide sleeves and been reminiscent of an officer’s greatcoat. Gray seems to have been a very popular color for all of this.
Another way the war had its influence was in jewelry. The Victorians are known to be very sentimental, and their jewelry was no exception: you might carry the hair of a husband, beau, son, or brother in a ring or necklace if you were separated by the war or death. And of course, those items made the perfect accompaniment to your mourning wardrobe which, unfortunately, most women had to acquire over the course of the war.
Women were starting to flex their muscles as nurses, and if you were working in a hospital, more than likely you would have left off the impractical hoops and just would have worn a couple of petticoats, along with a white apron and white sleeve covers. And if you were a Southern woman cut off from Northern textile mills due to the blockade, your skirts, if you had new ones made, would have likely been a lot narrower because they simply didn’t have the fabric to spare. But for the most part, there was constant re-wearing.
Ladies’ fashion from the era is so intricate and fascinating that it would be easy to say blah, blah the men wore suits, but I’ll try to give a brief sketch. Basically, there were suits. But I have to say, they were really good suits. This is my favorite era for men’s fashion, actually. As long as you were tall and thin, you were destined to look elegant. Trousers were full length, often with a stripe down the side. Neckcloths were really wide and often tied into a floppy bow. Waistcoats were high to the chest but ended at the top of the hipbones.
Men had lots of wardrobe changes during the day, as well. Basically, there was the mid-length sack coat worn for business occasions, the morning coat for more formal day occasions, and the dark tail-coat and white cravat for evening wear. We all know about the top hat, but there were other hats, too, such as the bowler.
Okay, so that’s it for today, but there still a whole lot of information out there if you’re interested! Check out the sources below to learn more!
Civil War Women’s Clothing, https://www.visit-gettysburg.com/civil-war-womens-clothing.html.
Monet, Delores, Women’s Clothing of the South in the American Civil War, https://bellatory.com/fashion-industry/WomensClothingoftheSouthintheAmericanCivilWar.
Image Credit: The Smithsonian Institution, http://www.civilwar.si.edu/life_fashionplate.html.


Usually they are recommended to use the period of beriberi, especially immunocompromised people, pregnant women and children.In fact, drinking juices should always, regardless of the season.And with this we recommend regular consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.This is a mandatory condition in which the body gets all the necessary elements, especially in the summer, thanks to the rapid assimilation by the body.Even in ancient times it was known that fruit and vegetable juices are very healthy, and that they are an indispensable source of vitamins and other essential substances to the human body.
juice, usually a source of glucose, fructose and minerals.The natural juices are also high in pectin, which lowers cholesterol and normalize the activity of the gastrointestinal tract.Juices are fruit and vegetable juices, concentrates and nectars form (juice, water-diluted).Here are the most popular types of natural juices and why they are useful:
It is rich in vitami
Grape juice helps to restore the damaged nervous system and is useful in muscular weakness.It cleanses the kidneys and liver from toxins and filters the blood, and significantly reduces the amount of bad cholesterol in the blood.
improves vision, strengthens the body and restores power after illness, is useful in increasing mental and physical stress.Also carrot juice helps in the treatment of gastric ulcers and stomach cancers of the lungs, tuberculosis and anemia.It improves the appetite, strengthens the teeth, increases resistance to infections.
Cherry juice helps with constipation, improves metabolism, strengthens the body.It improves appetite, you need to take into account those who are sitting on a strict diet.But drinking a glass of cherry juice a day can significantly improve blood composition.
Pear juice has antimicrobial activity and is useful for people with kidney stones.It has been scientifically proved that it is pear juice helps dissolve stones and easy removal from the body.
Pomegranate is rich in ascorbic acid.Its juice is recommended for exhaustion, anemia, arteriosclerosis, respiratory infections, asthma, angina pectoris.It is extremely useful for people exposed to radioactive radiation (or chemotherapy).It also helps in diabetes and gastrointestinal disorders.
Tomato juice This juice is the most useful for those who suffer from metabolic disorders and cardiovascular diseases.It contains a lot of potassium required to maintain cardiac muscle.
Watermelon juice is a suitable means for the treatment of edema associated with the problems of the cardiovascular system and kidneys.Natural watermelon juice also strengthens the immune system.
Black and smorodinnovy juice
recommended vitamin C deficiency, anemia, gastritis with low acidity, acute bronchitis, flu and angina.Natural black currant juice help destroy the virus, improve immunity, have a tonic effect and rich in vitamin C.
It contains a unique substance "bromelain" which helps to burn fat.This trace mineral also has a rejuvenating effect.Experts recommend the use of natural pineapple juice when kidney disease and angina.
Grapefruit juice helps in the fight against obesity, improves digestion, stimulates the liver and prevents the formation of fat.With regular use of cholesterol in the blood may fall to 18%.
juice Beet juice is considered to be for women.He is able to improve and regulate hormonal cycle.It is also useful for constipation, anemia, heart disease and gastrointestinal tract, and can lower blood pressure.Its use must begin with a small amount (1 tablespoon), or together with other natural juices.For example, carrot juice, gradually reducing the amount of the latter.
Cabbage juice is recommended for hemorrhoids, respiratory diseases, liver.A little-known fact that the content of vitamin C in cabbage is much higher than in the lemon!This juice also relieves stomach pain and cleanses the body of toxins and cholesterol.
Most Valuable juice metabolic disorders, obesity, diabetes, kidney stones and urinary bladder.It recommended especially for men who suffer from inflammation of the prostate gland.
Unbeatable diuretic.Especially useful for people of intellectual labor.The results showed that the substances contained therein, protect cells from oxidative stress, which leads to distortion of memory and mental decline.The juice is also recommended in infectious diseases, colds and treatment of purulent wounds.
It is the most used juice in cosmetology.It is believed that it contributes to a decrease in sunspots, freckles makes it less visible, it helps fight oily skin and has a bleaching effect.
Apricot juice strengthens the heart muscle.Its regular use prevents heart arrhythmia.
Potato juice helps in inflammation, burns, bleeding in the stomach, skin diseases (dermatitis, eczema, fungal).It is used to compress - just need to moisten the potato juice with pulp piece of gauze and put on the sore spot.
improves liver function, promotes digestion of fatty foods, increases the hemoglobin content in the blood.In natural peach juice contains large amounts of beta-carotene (vitamin A), calcium, vitamin B2.This juice is recommended for cardiovascular diseases and anemia.
Supports normal blood pressure and is a preventive measure against heart attacks, strokes and other diseases of the heart.It acts as a powerful antiseptic, has immunostimulating action.In combination with the juice of garlic is able even to suppress the symptoms of AIDS.
juice of red currants
This juice is recommended for diseases of the cardiovascular system, ulcers, gout, skin diseases, rheumatism, colds.
possible damage caused by the consumption of juices
Many people believe that the juice from the store - is a natural and hence a useful product, which can be drunk in unlimited quantities.But this is not always the case for many reasons:
- Often the juice contains a lot of sugar and calories.The experts found that the 250 gram pack of juice can contain up to 6 teaspoons of sugar.One liter of grape juice contains 1100 kcal, and 1 liter of apple juice - 900 calories.Most shops juices contribute to increased appetite, and thus cause the accumulation of excess kilos.Excessive amounts of sugar in them can cause diabetes.
- Packages written some drinks, they produced "sugar-free" or "low-sugar".However, sometimes these sugar is replaced with artificial sweeteners.Although they contain no calories, but in principle they are not much better than sugar.
- Most juices contain many acids, which contribute to the destruction of tooth enamel.Acidic juices "absorb" the calcium from the body and therefore must be used with great caution, especially in osteoporosis.
- more juice, taken for a short time, can lead to chronic diarrhea.
- have contraindications to use natural juices, for example, ulcerative colitis, gastritis with increased secretion, pancreatitis, ulcers and others.
100% natural juices are rarely found in stores and are generally identified by the higher price.The most common way of processing and production of store juice - juice concentrate diluted with water.With approx the stores are almost always comes from another country, in place of water is added to it, and then it is sold.Unfortunately, the process of concentration under high temperature are destroyed half vitamins, flavoring scattered, and some amino acids and carbohydrates change their structure and are not useful for the organism.
Restoring juice added to it, not only water but also the sugar or substitutes for citric acid, natural flavors, even preservatives.Nectar can also be obtained from the recovered juice.This artificial drink made from concentrate, sugar and water.Sometimes nectars added citric or ascorbic acid (vitamin C), natural flavorings.
amount of juice nectar is 25-50%.They are divided into several types:
- based on traditional juices (orange or apple) by dilution with water and added sugar;
- lemon juice, passion fruit, which have an astringent taste, can drink only after adding sugar, or in admixture with other juices;
- juice from bananas, peaches, cherries, which are more like a paste.
Guidelines for juices
- Use only fresh fruits and vegetables without the worms and rotten parts.
- For maximum effect, drink the juice in small sips, not later than 10 minutes after cooking.
- Fruits and vegetables should be cleaned immediately before the spin cycle.
- juice drink for at least 30 minutes before eating.
- juice from stone fruits (plums, peaches, apricots) should not be mixed with other juices.
- Optional cleaned fruits with thin skin (apples, pears, apricots).
- Do not squeeze the juice from soft fruits (papaya, avocado, mango, figs, bananas).
- juice stains on clothing can be removed with soda or vegetable oil.
Here is just a partial list of natural juices, the most useful for the organism.Natural juice in its pure form, is perhaps the best combination of taste and health.Once you have mastered the skills of preparation of juices, they will always be present in the daily menu.


Tom White, a lecturer in computational design at the University of Wellington in New Zealand, is tackling the concept of “algorithmic gaze” through art. In fact, his art depicts the world not as humans see it, but as algorithms do. While his prints appear to humans as meaningless blobs, to AI algorithms they look like specific objects and items, such as electric fans, sewing machines, and lawnmowers.
White started making this kind of artwork in late 2017 with a series of prints called “The Treachery of ImageNet”, a name which makes reference to a database of pictures commonly used to train and test machine vision algorithms. The role of White consists in setting a number of starting parameters for his perception engines, like the colors and thickness of lines, and winnowing the output, in order to reject prints which are not aesthetically pleasing.
But what are the ethical implications?
Some see this type of art in a negative way, by stating it is as another sign that AI is beginning to think creatively and take on roles reserved for humans.


|Our Instruction Manual to Healthy Habits|
Stanford University is a leader in academics, sports, and innovation and is located in one of the most dynamic areas of the country, but it is built on a strong tradition rooted in its community. Stanford Athletics recognizes the challenges facing youth today and the ambiguity around the path to success. While there is no one "right" way to become a champion, we promote several key components to being a successful, healthy individual. Those key components are simple: Eat, Sleep, and Play! Healthy habits prepare you for a happy, healthy life and here is our instruction manual for healthy habits within your family and community.
Healthy Eating Habits
Eating healthy is an essential component of living a healthy lifestyle. Good nutrition is the foundation for lifelong health and it is important that healthy eating habits start early. Unfortunately, children, especially in America, are constantly bombarded with fast food, soda, candy, and other unhealthy foods so it is crucial that parents take an active role in encouraging wholesome diets. Instilling healthy eating habits now can make a huge impact on your child's lifelong relationship with food.
Parents and caregivers play an important role in not only making healthy eating decisions for children but also teaching them to make those same healthy decisions on their own. In order to do this there is an important step: BE INFORMED!
Making your own food plans as a family can help encourage your children, as well as yourself, to eat healthier as a unit. And children will imitate what you do so it is important that you are also engaging in healthy eating habits. The family that eats healthy together lives healthy together! Choosemyplate.gov is an extremely useful website with tons of tip sheets that you can print and go over with your whole family. Get your own daily food plan!
The most essential part of eating healthy is making sure you are eating balanced meals. The keys to a healthy plate are fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy. Check out these tips to help you ensure you are getting balanced, nutritious meals.
- Build a Healthy Meal
- Got Your Dairy Today?
- Eat More Veggies
- Make Half Your Grains Whole
- Focus on Fruits
- Variety in Proteins
Healthy Sleeping Habits
Every living thing needs sleep; especially growing boys and girls. It is a vital need that is essential to a child's health and development. Sleep promotes alertness, memory, and performance (both mental and physical). It is important to help children develop good sleep habits early on and we are here to help you do just that!
Just like with eating habits it is important that parents and caregivers are knowledgeable about the correct sleeping habits for children. So once again let's GET INFORMED!
Here are some useful sleep tips for kids:
Being Active is a Very Healthy Habit!
Getting your child to be active everyday is one of the healthiest habits that you can instill in them. Obesity has drastically increased in American children and this can lead to diabetes and other chronic obesity-related health problems later on in life. Physical activity is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle and it is important to cultivate this type of lifestyle early on. To get started check out what Blue Shield of California has to say about physical activity for children and teens.
Kids and Exercise: Exercise for kids does not have to be a chore. Kids are exercising when they have gym class at school or soccer games on the weekend, but they are also being physically active when they are running around at recess, riding a bike, or playing with the dog. There are many benefits of exercise and it is important that children are getting enough physical activity on a daily basis.
Motivating Kids to Be Active It is vital that you help make being active something that your child wants to do, not is forced to do. Finding activities that they like to do is the key to helping your child really make physical activity a part of their lifestyle.
Signing Your Kids Up for Sports: Sports are a great way to help your child to be more active as well as to help them gain other skills such as teamwork, discipline, and sportsmanship.
Just like a food or sleep journal, keeping an activity journal is a great way to get kids thinking about physical activity as well as keeping them accountable for their healthy habits. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children and adolescents should do at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day. This is an easy way to help them and you keep track while teaching your children to take responsibility for their own healthy habits.
For some other useful resources click here
Printable version Printable version


On the surface, it might seem like an ocean without sharks would be a more enjoyable place. But, these predators play a very important role in the ocean ecosystem and they need our protection just like many other ocean dwelling creatures.
Sharks have been at the top of the food chain for hundreds of millions of years, but today their populations are in danger because of human activities, such as overfishing and finning (this is when people catch sharks, remove the fins, and dump the carcass overboard).
Andrew P. Nosal, Ph. D, Birch Aquarium’s new DeLaCour Postdoctoral Fellow for Ecology and Conservation, shares his shark expertise and explains that all sharks are not the evil villains seen in movies, but are essential in maintaining a balanced ocean.
Watch “Shark Conservation: Safeguarding the Future of Our Ocean” to hear about all of the benefits sharks provide and why they deserve our protection.


Last week we discussed what a Judge might do during a Civil Action when considering cell phone data. As a reminder, during this blog series, we are examining facts from the viewpoint of a court that must apply legal principles to the facts as outlined here:
‘X’ is employed by a corporation. She was issued the latest version of a cell phone by the corporation (“the corporate phone”). X had a choice between accepting the corporate phone and using it exclusively for business purposes while keeping an earlier model cell phone she owned (“the personal phone”) or merging the data from the personal phone into the corporate phone. She chose the latter because she did not want to carry two phones. When she made the choice, X signed a document by which she acknowledged that the corporate phone and all content was the property of her employer.
Assume that X is a salesperson. She was approached by a business rival which proposed that X work for it. X had
signed a non-competition agreement and also agreed not to misappropriate trade secrets. X left the corporation to work for the rival and, when she did so, she was allowed to purchase the corporate phone. After she went to the rival her former employer found itself being outbid on contracts with prospective customers whenever it bid against the rival. The corporation went to the FBI. The FBI secured an order compelling X to turn over her former corporate phone so that the FBI could access and review text messages and email between X and the rival. However, the FBI could not access any content because the phone was encrypted. When the FBI sought to enforce the order X said she could not remember the password that she could use to unlock the phone.
What might a judge do?
A judge might do several things. First, the judge could consider whether X had a Fifth Amendment privilege not to unlock the phone because doing so might incriminate her. If the judge finds that unlocking the phone would violate the Fifth Amendment the FBI could offer X immunity for anything that it might find. The judge would then presumably order X to unlock the phone. Then, assuming that X states that she still cannot remember the password, the judge would have to decide whether X was credible. If so, the judge would presumably do nothing. If, however, the judge found X’s lapse of memory to be dubious the judge could hold X in contempt and order her taken into custody until she unlocked the phone. From that point forward X would be deemed to hold the proverbial key to the jailhouse door in her hands. Join us here next week to hear more about BYOD, X and a potential arrest and prosecution.


PDCA is an acronym for Plan-Do-Check-Act, the continuous improvement process prescribed by Walter Shewhart. Dr. Deming helped to popularize this model, as well as proposed his own improvement cycle, Plan-Do-Study-Act, which circles back again to the plan phase in a continuous loop. The underlying theory maintains that comparing the actual results of an action with the target or expected goal and adopting corrective actions if the disparity is large, is a more effective strategy than focusing inordinately on developing a flawless plan. PDCA delivers incremental improvements in an upward spiral.
The PDCA cycle provides a continuous feedback loop to effectuate continuous improvement efforts. The four steps involved are described below:
• PLAN: Identify through analysis the problem to be solved or change to be implemented. Determine what needs to be done and in what order.
• DO: Develop and implement the solutions (start with a pilot).
• CHECK/STUDY: Gather and analyze the data to evaluate performance and report the results.
• ACT: Use the conclusions from the last step to decide if the solution could be further improved. If deemed effective, standardize the solution to incorporate it into routine activity and start planning for the next improvement opportunity (on this or another process).
The adjoining graphic illustrates some of the Six Sigma DMAIC tools that can be used at different phases of the PDCA cycle.
PDCA Overview - American Society for Quality (ASQ) - http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/project-planning-tools/overview/pdca-cycle.html


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The Problem of Man’s Origin: E.C Messenger's conclusions at the end of "Evolution and Theology"
We here endeavour to sum up the results of our study of the theological aspect of the origin of living beings in general, and of man in particular.
As to the origin of living beings in general, we consider that the Scriptural statement that this was due to secondary causes, i.e. to powers implanted in inorganic matter by the Creator, and the unanimous interpretation of this Scriptural statement by Fathers and Theologians up to the thirteenth century, cannot and must not lightly be set aside. It was set aside indeed by the Aristotelian Scholastics in the thirteenth century, but for reasons based upon the scientific and physical ideas of their time. That is to say, if the decrees of the Biblical Commission had been issued in the time of St. Thomas, the Angelic Doctor would evidently have maintained that this was a case in which “reason forbids, or necessity compels” us to abandon, the literal sense. But we are now convinced that the reason which led St. Thomas to abandon in this way the long-standing tradition of the Fathers was an erroneous one. How does the matter stand to-day? Science has shown that there is absolutely no evidence that spontaneous generation takes place now. But that does not prove that it could not take place if conditions were different, or that it did not take place at the beginning—in fact, there are many scientists who think this must have happened. In any case, as the scientific conclusion is rather of a negative character—that is, it does not prove that spontaneous generation never took place—we ourselves prefer to base our belief in the spontaneous generation of life at the commencement on theological grounds, i.e. the testimony of Scripture and Tradition.
As to the evolution of species, we consider that the scientific evidence, consisting as it does of so many converging lines, is sufficient to give a fairly high degree of certitude concerning the fact of, at any rate, some evolution, though opinions must necessarily, differ as to the mode. And from the theological point of view, we consider that evolution is the only reasonable way of harmonizing our modern knowledge of the succession of geological epochs, with their flora and fauna, with the Scriptural statement that the earth produced all the present-day species.
From the scientific point of view, there is so far no conclusive evidence that man has evolved. There are certain facts that seem to point that way, but we think we may safely regard the theory itself as a working hypothesis, or, better still, as an inference. But as an inference, it is very attractive. If, as we have said, all other species arose by some sort of evolutionary process, it is but natural that we should consider it likely that man was also in some way evolved, even though there may be no convincing scientific evidence as yet that he has done so. Indeed, science may never succeed in finding any decisive evidence on the point.
From the theological point of view, we must repeat that, in our own view, scripture yields only a negative result. That is to say, Scripture neither teaches nor disproves the .doctrine of the evolution of the human body. This we infer on two grounds:
(1) Scripture constantly ascribes to God the results of the activity of secondary causes; hence the absence of any mention of secondary causes does not prove that such were not present.
(2) The phrase in Genesis 2,7, “God formed the man dust from the earth” has an exact parallel in Genesis 2,19, “God formed all the animals from the earth.” But we know from Genesis ii. that the animals were all produced by the earth. Therefore we cannot prove that man was not produced by the active powers in nature.
As to tradition several Fathers of great weight and standing, including Doctors of the Church, teach that man was formed, at least in part, by the activity of secondary causes. Other Fathers, it is true, regard the formation of Adam's body as peculiarly the work of God, but their Scriptural exegesis is faulty here, and moreover their view is explicitly rejected by other Fathers of great weight, including Doctors of the Church. The only Patristic text definitely excluding the co-operation of material causes in the formation of man is a worthless Homily wrongly ascribed either to St. Basil or St. Gregory of Nyssa.
The attitude of the scholastic was at least in part a consequence of their physical and scientific theories.
Church authority has so far abstained from determining the question, which is therefore to all intents and purposes still an open one.
Many modern theologians are hostile to the theory, but their opposition would seem to be based upon a too literal interpretation of the Scripture, misunderstanding of the Patristic evidence, and an exaggerated notion of the effect of certain Roman acts, doctrinal and disciplinary.
We now come to the question of the partial co-operation of created secondary causes in the production of the human body.
This is a difficult and delicate subject, but we very tentatively make the suggestion that it could be discussed under the three heads comprising the famous Scotist argument for the Immaculate Conception —“potuit, decuit, ergo fecit.”
1. Potuit. God could have made use of secondary causes as instruments, in the formation of the human body. The abstract possibility is allowed, we think, by practically all responsible theologians, and so we need not develop this point.
2. Decuit. This may be thought to be the most debatable point of the three, but we think it is the easiest to answer, in virtue of what we have called the “Principle of Christian Naturalism.” This principle may be expressed as follows: “God makes use of secondary causes wherever possible.” This principle runs counter completely to the ideas of those theologians who argue that because God must have immediately created the human soul, He must also have formed immediately the human body. The principle is such an important one the we must develop in a little.
As St. Thomas points out in his masterly treatment in Contra Gentes, Book III, c. 69, if God has given being to created things, He must also endowed them with activities, and further, if He did not makes use of these activities so far as possible, He would be acting against His own Divine Wisdom. Here are two passages from the Angelic Doctor:
“He who gives to a thing some principal characteristic, also give to it all those things which follow upon this. Thus the cause which gives to an elementary body heaviness also give it a downward motion. But to make something to be in act follows upon being act, as is evident in God, for He is pure act, and is the first cause of being in all things, as said above. If then He has communicated to other things, His own similitude as to being, inasmuch as He has produced things in being, it follows that He also communicated to them Him similitude as to acting, so that created things may also have their proper actions.”
“It is against the nature of wisdom that there should be anything in vain the works of a wise person. But if created things in no way operates in producing effects, but God alone did all things immediately, then it would be to no purpose that He had made other things capable of producing effects.”
This theory of God’s use of secondary causes becomes all the more luminous when we remember that all secondary causes must be regarded ultimately as His instruments. He is the great First Cause, and from Him comes all that has being. Created things would not exist if He did not give them being; they could not produce any effect if He did not concur with their activities and powers. Created agents, then, are instruments in the hands of the Deity.
But it is also true that there are grades in this instrumental causality. Thus, there are some created agents which themselves make use of others, and moreover, the effects they produce by means of these instruments are proportioned to their own natural powers as created causes. On these grounds they may truly be said to be, in the created order, the principal causes of the effects produced. Thus a sculptor is the principal cause of the statue he carves with a chisel, and again, human parents are the principal causes of their children. These effects cannot strictly be attributed to the instrumental causes employed, though these are active throughout, for the effects are not proportioned to the proper activity of these instruments. Thus we cannot say strictly that a chisel has produced a statue, or that the embryonic forms have generated the human child.
There are other cases in which created agents do indeed make use of others, yet the effects are out of proportion even to the activity of the created “principal” causes. In such cases the effects cannot strictly be attributed to the created “principal” causes, but only to the true principal cause, which may have to be sought outside the created order, in God Himself. This would be the case in the hypothesis of spontaneous generation, as also in that of the evolution of species in general, and of man's body in particular. The production of the first human body was an effect out of proportion to any organic cause then existing on the earth, for the human body is specifically different from, and superior to,, any other body, as we remarked on p. 86. Hence its production, though brought about through the instrumentality of created organic causes, could not strictly be attributed to those causes, but (inasmuch as we have good reasons for excluding angelic agency) only to God Himself. Thus the production of the first human body could properly be said to be due to a “special” display of Divine activity, or a "special Divine intervention " if that phrase is preferred, and yet it would remain true that secondary organic causes co-operated in its production. And inasmuch as the whole creation was meant to lead up to man, we think it in every way fitting that God should thus have made use of secondary causes in the formation of Adam’s body.
Lastly, if anyone should think that the suggestion that God acts through secondary causes wherever and whenever possible is not consonant with the Divine dignity, we suggest that he should read and reflect on the wonderful chapter of St. Thomas in the Contra Gentiles, III c. 77, “Quod executio divinae providentiae fit mediantibus causis secundis.” Space will not allow us to transcribe it here. Or again he might reflect upon the profound philosophy contained in the remark of Mother Carey in Kingsley’s Water Babies: “I am not going to trouble myself to make things ... I sit here and make things make themselves” (p. 228).
3. Fecit? We put a mark of interrogation here deliberately. We ourselves are inclined to conclude, on the theological grounds just outlined, that nature did co-operate in the formation of Adam's body. There are two reasons, however, which counsel prudence in this matter.
The first is the attitude of Ecclesiastical Authority. After all, a Catholic does not assent to a doctrine simply because he thinks it is explicitly taught in Scripture or Tradition, but because it comes to him on the authority of the Church, the Divine Teacher sent by God to man. The Church guarantees that the doctrine in question is really contained in Scripture or Tradition. After all, it belongs to the Church alone to interpret both Scripture and Tradition. A private interpretation of the Scriptures may easily be erroneous, and as to the Fathers, some of these held opinions which were not approved subsequently by the Church. St. Augustine leaned towards Traducianism, St. Gregory of Nyssa toward Restitutionism, and so on. Should the Church decide that Adam's body was formed immediately and exclusively by God from inanimate matter, a Catholic author, who had hitherto held the contrary would at once wholeheartedly admit that his own interpretation of Scripture had been incorrect, and that those Fathers whose ideas he adopted and developed were not safe guides in the matter. The Church has, it is true, not yet decided the question, but it 'is always possible that she might see fit in her wisdom to do so some day, and hence the need for caution in the matter.
Secondly, we have the hostile attitude adopted by so many modern theologians. We ourselves think that this attitude is a mistaken one, and cherish the hope that a reconsideration of the matter may lead them to take a wider view, as has happened in the case of the evolution of species in general. But so long as theological opinion remains what it is, a Catholic would do well to hesitate before adopting definitely a view to which so many authors are opposed.
Accordingly we think it on the whole preferable for a Catholic to suspend his judgment on the matter at the present moment, or at least not to give any unqualified assent to the evolutionary hypothesis. And so we end on a note of interrogation: “Fecit” ?
E.G. Messenger, Evolution and Theology. The Problem of Man’s Origin (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1992), pp. 274-280.


By Hillary Grigonis
Organizations around the world have conducted studies on the potential dangers of flying unpiloted aircraft — but what about their life-saving capabilities? On March 14, DJI released a study based on news reports indicating that drones have saved at least 59 lives. With 38 of those rescues occurring between May 2016 and February 2017, that number averages almost one life per week. And drone use for life-saving purposes is only increasing.
Search and rescue teams are quickly adopting imaging drones to act as eyes in the sky — and the Red Cross will even soon have its own drone-launching Land Rover. Meanwhile, DJI’s report has an unexpected statistic. One third of those rescues were not from rescue teams, but from volunteers operating their own consumer drones, suggesting that even hobbyist drones are making a positive impact.


Every now and then we hear about new technologies, Information and Communication Technologies or the latest gadget revolutionizing or deeply transforming institutions as we know them. Laptops will transform Education and Twitter will revolutionize democracies (and non-democracies too).
I may well be that some of these technologies or tools end up capsizing our worlds, but it is usually not so. Indeed, revolutions or transformations are a matter of attitudes, which many times can be driven by aptitudes.
Welzel, Inglehart & Klingemann describe in The theory of human development: A cross-cultural analysis three stages towards full human development:
We can consider the “objective choice” as having the appropriate resources and tools to achieve a material level of development. Or, better said, the material tier to achieve full development. New technologies, Information and Communication Technologies or the latest gadget totally fit in this category. And they might be necessary conditions, but surely not sufficient ones.
The second tier focuses in the subjective choice, that is, in wanting or being personally able to foster developmental change. Having a civic centre in your neighbourhood is to the objective choice what having the will to participate in community activities is to subjective choice. Of course, the subjective choice is strongly related with education and culture.
In a knowledge society, education strongly correlates with digital literacy, understood in a very broad and comprehensive manner. In From laptops to competences: bridging the digital divide in higher education I presented the following scheme to a comprehensive approach to digital literacy (and which I later put into practice in Analyzing digital literacy with a single simple tweet):
On the other hand — and as it was described in Personal Learning Environments as conscious learning strategies — we can consider four stages in the cycle of technology adoption:
- Appropriation: you learn how to use the technology (e.g. you learn to write in MS Word).
- Adaptation: you substitute your old technology for the new one, but you still do the exactly same things (e.g. you get rid of you typewriter and use MS Word instead).
- Improvement: your technology allows you to perform some new tasks, or the old ones in a more efficient way (e.g. you use the track changes and commenting feature of MS Word to let others collaborate with your original document)
- Transformation: the way things worked changes radically because of technology (e.g. you use a wiki to create a collaborative document, shared online and edited in real time with videoconference support).
If we put side to side the Cycle of Technology Adoption with the comprehensive model of digital skills, we end up with quite a handy comparison:
Chance or not, the way the comparison is built shows how appropriation requires technological literacy and a little bit of informational literacy. That is, to lean how to use a specific ICT tool it does not suffice with knowing how to operate it, but also knowing its relationship with information. I know the comparison could be built in many other ways and these “conclusions” vary quite a lot, but what is shown is interesting to say the least. In this very same train of thought, adoption (getting rid of old technology) implies full informational skills plus some media literacy. When it comes to improvement, it cannot be done without taking into account that digital presence (digital identity, digital personna, etc.) is a crucial part of this new communicational landscape that a Knowledge Society is.
But we began talking about transformation of institutions by means of technology.
It should surprise anyone that transformation requires e-awareness, that is, the competence to be aware, acknowledge and understand how the world — as a whole and as your own microcosmos — is changing and will keep on changing because of the impact of Information and Communication Technologies. Without this understanding, it is almost impossible to transform anything. Without the a comprehensive awareness of the impact of ICTs it is very unlikely that one can transform anything at all (least a institution such as Education or Democracy) by means of ICTs.
Of course, there is always room for chance and luck. But the next time that it is stated that “technology X will transform Democracy” or that “the device Y will transform Education”, a necessary question should follow: does the general usage of this technology or device aligns with a full awareness of the impact of ICTs in the field? does the fosterer of such technology or device has full awareness of the impact of ICTs in the field?
Most of the times, the answers will be “no” and, thus, the specific technology or device will not be transformative. Don’t get me wrong: improvement is just great.
If you need to cite this article in a formal way (i.e. for bibliographical purposes) I dare suggest:
Peña-López, I. (2012) “Transforming institutions in the Knowledge Society: a matter of e-Awareness” In ICTlogy,
#108, September 2012. Barcelona: ICTlogy.
Retrieved month dd, yyyy from https://ictlogy.net/review/?p=3985
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Tiaras can be defined as an ornamental, often jeweled, crown-like semicircle worn on the head by women on formal occasions. Traditionally, the word "tiara" refers to a high crown, often with the shape of a cylinder narrowed at its top, made of fabric or leather, and richly ornamented. The kings and emperors of some ancient peoples in Mesopotamia used it. The Assyrians used to include a pair of bullhorns as a decoration and symbol of authority and a circle of short feathers surrounding the tiaras top.
The Persian tiara was more similar to a truncated cone, without the horns and feathers but more jewels, and a conic-shaped tip at its top. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Papal Tiara is a high cap surrounded by three crowns and bearing a globe surmounted by a cross-worn by the Pope during certain ceremonies, being the symbol of his authority.
In modern times, however, a tiara is generally a semi-circular band, often metal-made and decorated with jewels, which is worn as a form of adornment and not as a symbol of rank. It is worn by women around their head or on the forehead as a circlet. They are frequently used to "crown" the winners of beauty pageants and are also sometimes worn by the bride as part of a wedding outfit. The fictional superheroine Wonder Woman is usually depicted wearing a tiara; hers can be thrown as a weapon, as can that worn by the character known as Sailor Moon.


Ben-Gurion University unveils AI platform for predicting ALS progression
BGN Technologies, the tech transfer company of Beersheba’s Ben-Gurion University, has unveiled an artificial intelligence-based platform to monitor and predict the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
The platform analyzes demographic and clinical data of ALS patients using machine learning and data mining algorithms to produce models that can predict the rate and pattern of ALS progression, identify factors essential for the prediction, and generate reliable stratification to homogeneous sub-groups of the heterogeneous ALS population.
There is currently neither a cure nor an effective treatment to halt or reverse the progressive disease.
Developed by Prof. Boaz Lerner of the university’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, the platform is soon set to be expanded to benefit patients suffering from other diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
According to Lerner, the system provides three key benefits for those diagnosed with ALS or other neurodegenerative diseases, as well as caregivers and pharma companies.
The first benefit, Lerner told The Jerusalem Post, is the ability to reduce uncertainty and improve the patient’s and caregiver’s quality of life.
“If we can predict, for example, that the patient’s walking or speech ability will deteriorate in six months, he or she can organize the home to address their needs or move to a more appropriate environment, or start looking for a specific device to communicate with people. This will also enable physicians to know where to begin specific treatment, whether and when to focus on the respiratory system or physiotherapy.”
Read More: Jerusalem Post