Without a doubt, the market for electric vehicles is growing rapidly. While we are still in the initial phase there are several signs that the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) market is emerging from its infancy. Figures from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) confirm this; whereas in 2010 the worldwide electric vehicle market was more or less zero, by 2015 over half a million electric cars had been sold - and sales are continuing to increase.
There are several factors strengthening the inflection point for the uptake of HEVs, but the most important ones are the stricter CO2 emission legislation, the fact that fossil fuels are becoming depleted and the general trend towards a greener, more energy-efficient lifestyle.
From micro-hybrid to fully electric
Major vehicle manufacturers are confident enough to going public with their predictions. Among the flurry of companies stating their ambitions, BMW expect to sell 100,000 electric cars this year and, within eight years, electric vehicles could represent 25% of their sales. Renault-Nissan and Tesla expect sales to reach one million annually within three years, whereas the combined strength of the Chinese auto industry sees a total of 4.5 million electric vehicles annually in the same timeframe.
Ford does not make predictions for sales volumes, but illustrates their commitment by stating that 13 new electric vehicle models will be released in the next three years. Looking further into the future, Honda sees two-thirds of their sales being electric vehicles by 2030.
As is typical in a rapidly evolving market, there is a wide range of products, with ever-more advanced models constantly emerging. To have a clear view of the HEV market, the different types of electric vehicles can be summarised as follows:
Electrification leading to CO2 reduction
It is important to note that there is a significant correlation between the HEV/EV type and CO2 emission reduction; as electrification increases, so the CO2 emissions decrease. Whereas the micro hybrid led to a 3-4% CO2 reduction in the European drive cycle, this becomes 13-21% for the mild hybrid, 20-30% for the full hybrid and 50-75% for the plug-in hybrid. A fully electric vehicle produces no emissions at all (ignoring the energy production required to charge the battery).
Normally, CO2 emission is heavily influenced by the weight of the car. An interesting evolution is that HEV or EV models of high-end cars do not necessarily generate more pollution, despite being heavier. For example, the Volvo V40 with an internal combustion engine has much higher CO2 emissions than the Volvo V60 plug-in hybrid.
More new market entrants
The HEV/EV market is expected to grow by 25% in the next eight years. The market share of full hybrid vehicles will remain stable, with the growth mainly coming from mild hybrids, plug-in hybrids and BEVs. With an estimated 20 million cars by 2024, the HEV/EV market will become the same size as the diesel car market today, accounting for a 20% share of the total market.
The HEV/EV market is a good example of a 'snowball effect'. In 2001, there were only two electric vehicles available for the European market; the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight. The Toyota Prius was the clear leader with a market share of 95%. In 2009, Toyota’s market share shrank to 53% as new market players entered, such as Mercedes-Benz and Lexus.
Japan was clearly the trendsetter, with three out of four HEV car manufacturers coming from there. In 2014, a large number of new entrants appeared, including Citroën, Peugeot, Mitsubishi and Volvo. This is a clear sign of transition from an emerging market to an established one.
The business opportunity
There are still a few obstacles to overcome before the electric vehicle can really conquer the hearts of consumers worldwide, most importantly the battery range and the charging time. Today, electric car owners remain anxious about failing to reach their destination or having to wait hours for the battery to recharge.
However, the plug-in hybrid and EV with range extender go some way towards alleviating those fears. In the meantime, manufacturers from a wide variety of sectors are working very hard to find plausible solutions to these issues, meaning that it is only a matter of time before these obstacles are eliminated.
In the beginning the market was extremely skeptical about the Toyota Prius. But Toyota stood firm - and with success, because more than four million models have since been sold. Today other car manufacturers - including many European ones - are following Toyota’s example.
So, it is clear that the advance of the electric vehicle can no longer be stopped. That is good news for sensor manufacturers, as electrification goes hand-in-hand with vastly increased sensor deployment. Since fast power charging will be important, cooling will also be a priority to prevent thermal issues.
That will definitely increase the demand for motor driver integrated circuits, and the need for current, position and speed sensors will also be significant. The automotive sensor market is on track for several exciting years.


The trauma of child abuse can last a lifetime, leading to a higher risk of anxiety, depression and suicide further down the line. This link seems obvious, but a group of Canadian scientists have found that it has a genetic basis.
By studying the brains of suicide victims, Patrick McGowan from the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, found that child abuse modifies a gene called NR3C1 that affects a person’s ability to deal with stress. The changes it wrought were “epigenetic”, meaning that the gene’s DNA sequence wasn’t altered but it’s structure was modified to make it less active. These types of changes are very long-lasting, which strongly suggests that the trauma of child abuse could be permanently inscribed onto a person’s genes.
Child abuse, from neglect to physical abuse, affects the workings of an important group of organs called the “hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis” or HPA. This trinity consists of the hypothalamus, a funnel-shaped part of the brain; the pituitary gland, which sits beneath it; and the adrenal glands, which sit above the kidneys. All three organs secrete hormones. Through these chemicals, the HPA axis controls our reactions to stressful situations, triggering a number of physiological changes that prime our bodies for action.
The NR3C1 gene is part of this system. It produces a protein called the glucocorticoid receptor, which sticks to cortisol, the so-called “stress hormone”. Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands in response to stress, and when it latches on to its receptor, it triggers a chain reaction that deactivates the HPA axis. In this way, our body automatically limits its own response to stressful situations.
Without enough glucocorticoid receptors, this self-control goes awry, which means that the HPA is active in normal situations, as well as stressful ones. No surprise then, that some scientists have found a link between low levels of this receptor and schizophrenia, mood disorders and suicide. So, childhood trauma alters the way the body reacts to stress, which affects a person’s risk of suicide or mental disorders later in life. Now, McGowan’s group have revealed part of the genetic (well, epigenetic) basis behind this link.


If you don’t chew your food well you are more likely to swallow air with your food, this can pass into the intestines and increase bloating. After your mouth your digestive system does not have teeth, your gut moves and squeezes to mix and push food through it, but this not break down tougher foods – you need to chew these foods well, prior to swallowing.
If you are eating whilst working you may experience stress, particularly if you are answering a discourteous email that demands some diplomacy in its response, or dealing with a complaint on the telephone. It does not help your digestion (or your IBS) if your body is experiencing stress whilst you are eating a meal. Stress causes an increase in adrenaline, a hormone that gets the body ready for action, and this hormone slows the digestive tract, slowing down digestion. Adrenaline reduces the amount of digestive juices that are secreted to help digest your food, therefore it is perhaps not surprising that you feel so uncomfortable if consuming food when stressed. Sitting up straight can also help – use gravity to help your digestion and don’t slouch when eating.
Sometimes it is difficult to change what we do, particularly if you feel that you may be penalised in some way if you take a break at work, but it is worth considering. Under the current economic climate it is difficult to insist on taking breaks if your colleagues do not, so perhaps it is time we all support each other and take back our work breaks and lunchtime, to allow everyone time to sit down, relax and ‘rest & digest.’


The world’s deepest shipwreck to be successfully dived and surveyed has been discovered in the Phillippine Sea. The destroyer escort class USS Samuel B Roberts – affectionately known as the ‘Sammy B’ – lies at a maximum depth of 6,895 metres, 426m deeper than the previous record holder, the USS Johnston.
The wreck was discovered on 22 June by Victor Vescovo, who surveyed the vessel from his submersible DSV Limiting Factor. Vescovo had previously carried out the first complete survey of the wreck of the USS Johnston, a Fletcher-class destroyer sunk during the same naval battle as the Sammy B, and originally discovered by a private expedition funded by the late Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft.
- Related: World’s (formerly) deepest military wreck found in Philippine Sea
- Related: Wreck of Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance located
- Related: The wrecks of Coron Bay
Samuel B Roberts sank on 25 October 1944 during the Battle off Samar, part of the wider Battle of the Leyte Gulf, the largest naval conflict of the Second World War. Outgunned by the superior Imperial Japanese fleet, a somewhat unprepared US Navy launched an offensive that would eventually see the Japanese withdraw from the conflict.
Although outfitted with fewer than half as many guns as the USS Johnston, a Fletcher-class destroyer, the Sammy B managed to cripple the Japanese heavy cruiser Chókai and cause heavy damage to the heavy cruiser Chikuma, before being targeted by three Japanese battleships, including the Yamato, the largest and most heavily-gunned battleship ever constructed. Eventually, the Samuel B Roberts succumbed to the onslaught and sank with the loss of 89 crew, but not before earning the title ‘the destroyer escort that fought like a battleship’.
Twelve US ships and seven Japanese vessels were sunk during the battle, with the loss of at least 1,161 US sailors and as many as 750 or more Japanese crew.
Vescovo and his Caladan Oceanic team conducted the search for the Samuel B Roberts between 17 – 24 June, simultaneously searching for the wreck of the USS Gambier Bay, a small escort aircraft carrier also lost during the Battle off Samar, but which has not yet been located.
Evidence of Sammy B’s location was first made from the positive identification of a torpedo launcher, with the main body of the vessel located several days later. The wreck sits on a sloping bottom and is largely intact, although split into two sections separated by around 10m. There is evidence of repeated impacts from Japanese munitions and indication of a large explosion towards the ship’s stern. The crumpled hull indicates that she sank bow-first.
‘We like to say that steel doesn’t lie and that the wrecks of these vessels are the last witnesses to the battles that they fought,’ said Vescovo. ‘The Sammy B engaged the Japanese heavy cruisers at point blank range and fired so rapidly it exhausted its ammunition. It was down to shooting smoke shells and illumination rounds just to try to set fires on the Japanese ships, and it kept firing … an extraordinary act of heroism.’
‘It was an honour to locate this incredibly famous ship, and by doing so, have the chance to retell her story of heroism and duty to those who may not know of the ship and her crew’s sacrifice,’ said Mr Vescovo. ‘In difficult times, it’s important to reflect on those who sacrificed so much, so willingly, in even more difficult times to ensure our freedoms and way of life.
‘I always remain in awe of the extraordinary bravery of those who fought in this battle against truly overwhelming odds – and won’


Thoreau’s guide to walking philosophically henry david thoreau had a gift for turning the everyday into the extraordinary but for thoreau, walking was a . With these words, henry david thoreau began the tale of his experiment of simple living at walden pond over the course of the next three hundred-odd pages, thoreau outlined his philosophy of life, politics, and nature, laying the foundation for a secure place in the canon of great american writers. Henry david thoreau was an american author, poet, philosopher, polymath, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist he is best known for his book walden , a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay resistance to civil government (also known as civil . “you must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment” - henry david thoreau “what's the use of a fine house if.
Henry david thoreau a reflection upon simple living in natural henry david thoreau – internet encyclopedia of philosophy henry david thoreau . Henry david thoreau (1817–1862) the american author henry david thoreau is best known for his magnum opus walden, or life in the woods (1854) second to this in popularity is his essay, “resistance to civil government” (1849), which was later republished posthumously as “civil disobedience” (1866). Henry david thoreau - poems - publication date: philosophy, where he anticipated the methods and findings of ecology and he was born david henry thoreau in .
Henry david thoreau (july 12, 1817– may 6, 1862) was an american author, naturalist and philosopher his friend, ralph waldo emerson had a great impact on him his friend, ralph waldo emerson had a great impact on him. Henry david thoreau was an inexhaustible writer that encompassed poetry and philosophy within his narratives and created a style of writing that, for his. Henry david thoreau facts a leading transcendentalist, thoreau is best known for his book walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay civil disobedience (originally published as resistance to civil government), an argument for disobedience to an unjust state. We will write a custom essay sample on henry david thoreau: transcendentalist specifically for you henry david thoreau: a philosophical reflection henry david . Henry david thoreau (1817 – 1862) was an american philosopher and political theorist he is also knows as an abolitionist, a naturalist, a critic of development, and he resisted paying taxes he is best known for his book walden , a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay resistance to civil government, an .
Solitary purdah the henry david thoreau of philosophy the henry david thoreau of philosophy his extraordinarily beautiful reflections on life . Henry david thoreau (1817 - 1862) was an american philosopher, naturalist, writer and political activist of the early modern period he was involved with the 19th century american transcendentalism movement of his friend and mentor ralph waldo emerson . Walden quotes ― henry david thoreau, walden: or, and i doubt if that philosophy is not to be referred to a previous state of existence, so remote is its . Other important transcendentalists were henry david thoreau, margaret fuller, amos bronson alcott, frederic henry hedge, and theodore parker stimulated by english and german romanticism, the biblical criticism of herder and schleiermacher, and the skepticism of hume, the transcendentalists operated with the sense that a new era was at hand. Henry david thoreau, philosophy: discussion of quotes from the famous philosopher henry david thoreau on civil disobedience and walden pictures, biography, quotations henry david thoreau.
Text to text | henry david thoreau’s ‘walking’ and ‘time to write how much of our life is spent in self-reflection, and how does nature encourage and nurture self-knowledge and growth . Walden by henry david thoreau simple living in natural surroundings walden (first published as walden or, life in the woods) is an american book written by noted transcendentalist henry david thoreau, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings. Learn more about the life, career, and philosophy of american essayist, poet, and practical philosopher henry david thoreau on biographycom.
I have to write a reflection essay in the philosophical style of henry david thoreau of where i lived and what i lived for and i dont have the first clue of where to start could somebody help me . Henry david thoreau (originally david thoreau, 1817-1862) reminds us about the importance of simplicity, authenticity, and downright disobedience his philosophy . Henry david thoreau (born david henry thoreau) was an american author, naturalist, transcendentalist, tax resister, development critic, philosopher, and abolitionist who is best known for walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay, civil disobedience, an argument for individual resistance to civil government in moral opposition to an unjust state. Henry david thoreau quotations - opednewscom progressive, liberal united states and international news, opinion, op-eds and politics.


Making Fantastic Compost - Vermi (Worm) Compost
Watch the Trailer
Have you heard about the benefits of worm compost, but are unsure how to get started? Or are you a seasoned worm compost maker, wanting to learn additional tips, skills, and options for low cost and flexible infrastructure to take your composting to the next level? This course will cover the basics of making worm compost up to a small farm or homestead level and volume.
What You’ll Learn
Learn about worms and the benefits of worm castings Learn how to make and manage a worm compost system (bin)
About the Instructor
John is a farmer, homesteader, and leader in the local food movement. He started and has managed one of the largest food co-operatives in the nation. He previously served as the Executive Director of the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund. He is a popular speaker at the Mother Earth News Fair and other events.
Worm compost is an amazing way to provide perfect food to your plants and improve your yields.
Learn how and why we use IBC totes for worm composting at scale.
An imporperly located bin can create all sorts of problems for your worms and a worm composter over time. Learn where and how to place a large bin to minimize problems.
What worms should you use in your composting system and why? Where should you get worms to populate your worm bins?
Worms can eat a lot of things, but they can't eat everything. What can you feed them and where can you get it from?
Worms need more than food to thrive - they also need bedding and grit. Learn about options for both.
Learn how to start a new bin from scratch. Learn basics steps to get a bin ready for your worms and get them going!
Lots of things can go wrong in a worm bin. Proper management is key to preventing problems.
Its time to collect your worm castings. But how to do it while not also taking your worms for a ride?
What to do to protect your bin during extreme weather and the highs and lows of various seasons.


Colorado radon zones
- This map was developed to help state and local organizations target their resources and to help building code officials decide whether radon-resistant features are applicable in new construction.
- It isn’t intended to be used to determine whether a home in a given zone should be tested for radon.
- Homes with elevated levels of radon have been found in all parts of the state.
- All homes should be tested regardless of geographic location.
- Each county was assigned to one of three zones based on radon potential.
- Each zone designation reflects the average short-term radon measurement that can be expected to be measured in a building without implementing radon control methods.
- All of Colorado is in Zone 1, which designates the highest-priority radon zone.


For the first time, a Siberian musk deer has been born at the Akron Zoo. The female fawn was born on June 13, and currently is off exhibit with her mother, Anastasia. Father, Vlad, is on exhibit daily. The fawn is expected to make her public debut in the next couple weeks.
The Siberian musk deer are new to the Akron Zoo, having gone on exhibit for the first time in May. Vlad and Anastasia arrived from the Bronx Zoo last fall, with a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) managed program.
“We’re very excited to welcome the musk deer fawn to our Akron Zoo family,” said Doug Piekarz, president & CEO at the Akron Zoo. “The Siberian musk deer have been a fantastic new addition here at the zoo, and are proving to be great ambassadors for their species.”
Siberian musk deer are native to the forests and mountains of Russia and northern Asia. They get their name from the musk that they secrete during mating season. They are known for their kangaroo-like faces and the “fangs” (large canine teeth) on the males. Musk deer are small, weighing from 15 to 35 pounds on average. At birth, the fawn weighed approx. 1 ½ pounds. Currently, she weighs four pounds.
Musk deer are listed as “vulnerable” by the IUCN Red List from poachers hunting them for their musk glands. The glands were once used in perfume making and are now commonly used in traditional medicine.


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Canada's system of government has its origins in the British model and practice. This inheritance includes many conventions that pre-date the implementation of parliamentary democracy. Orders-in-council provide evidence of this older tradition, in which the monarch had the sole authority to create and implement laws. Orders-in-council are seldom referred to Parliament for debate; they are implemented directly through the authority of the Crown as embodied by the governor-in-council.
This powerful prerogative of the governor-in-council -- namely, the governor general acting upon the advice of the Cabinet -- has always provided an important legislative convention for the Canadian executive. Historically, the federal Cabinet has taken action through orders-in-council on matters as routine as civil service appointments, and as far-reaching as decisions on Aboriginal lands.
In the early decades of Confederation, the range of issues addressed through orders-in-council was in part a feature of the casual and largely inscrutable conduct of Cabinet. Submissions requiring the attention of the governor-in-council were simply collected in a box by the Clerk of the Privy Council, who would review the recommendations and rejections following the meeting. Early Privy Council minute books contain general decisions, but not the substance of Cabinet's discussion. Detailed records of Cabinet conclusions were not maintained until the end of the Second World War.
Orders-in-council provide tangible evidence of executive priorities, impacts and decrees before that time. Browse the Virtual Cabinet to see orders-in-council in action, or learn more about these important legislative instruments in How Orders in Council Work.


Rhinitis is an inflammation of the mucous membranes or lining of the nasal cavity. Geriatric rhinitis, or rhinitis in senior patients, is a common but often neglected or overlooked condition because it is not life-threatening. Patients with geriatric rhinitis may have nasal obstruction or congestion, runny nose or post-nasal drip, itchy nose, sneezing, and/or nasal dryness or crusting. There are three main types of rhinitis: allergic, non-allergic, and atrophic.
What Are the Symptoms of Geriatric Rhinitis?
For the most part, rhinitis symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment are the same for the elderly as other adult age groups. However, there are special considerations for senior patients, and symptoms of geriatric rhinitis may include:
- Constant feeling of nasal drainage
- Chronic or uncontrolled need to clear the throat of mucus
- Sense of nasal obstruction, most often while lying down
- Nasal crusting, especially during winter and in patients taking diuretics
- Vague facial pressure
- Decreased sense of smell and taste
What Causes Geriatric Rhinitis?
The allergic form of rhinitis is caused by a reaction to various allergens. Elderly patients with symptoms such as repeated sneezing, watery eyes, nasal obstruction with a clear, watery runny nose, and soft, pale turbinates (finger-like structures in the nose that heat and moisten the air you breathe) may have allergic rhinitis. The most common triggers include pollen, mold, dust mites, pet dander, and cockroaches. Allergic reaction to these triggers is diagnosed either by skin prick or blood testing.
Like the allergic form of rhinitis, patients with non-allergic rhinitis may experience nasal congestion, runny nose, and post-nasal drainage. However, these symptoms differ because they do not have an allergic (IgE) component. Non-allergic rhinitis is diagnosed based on the patient’s medical history and the exclusion of other causes. Symptoms can be triggered by changes in temperature, humidity, and exposure to irritating chemicals, smells, or certain medications.
Some older patients are unusually sensitive to environmental, seasonal, and/or physical irritants that don’t bother most people. This is a condition called vasomotor rhinitis, which refers to an overstimulation of the blood vessels (“vaso”) in the nose causing periodic episodes of sneezing, watery drainage, and/or congestion.
Finally, the atrophic form of rhinitis is more common in older adults. A reduction of blood flow to the mucosal lining of the nasal cavity can cause the tissues of the nose to shrink and dry out, causing nasal congestion. This form of rhinitis is associated with nasal dryness, congestion, crusting, and a foul odor if there is an infection.
What Are the Treatment Options?
Treatment for geriatric rhinitis mainly involves medical options. In certain instances, however, surgery may be advised. Treatment for geriatric patients is based not only on the type of rhinitis, but also on the individual patient’s health, medical history, slower metabolism, and increased potential for side effects. Options may include:
Medications—Eighty to 85 percent of elderly patients have chronic diseases and take multiple prescriptions, including over-the-counter medications, to help manage their conditions. Medications to treat geriatric rhinitis, such as intranasal corticosteroids, antihistamines, anticholinergic sprays, and immunotherapy, can place patients at a risk for adverse drug interactions and should be discussed with a primary care physician or an ENT (ear, nose, throat) specialist, or otolaryngologist.
Surgery—An ENT specialist can determine if surgery of the turbinates is an option. Patients with structural abnormalities, such as a deviated septum or nasal valve collapse causing severe nasal problems, should be referred to an ENT specialist for evaluation.
What Questions Should I Ask My Doctor?
- Do I have rhinitis or sinusitis? What’s the difference?
- How can I improve my condition?
- Will medications to treat geriatric rhinitis interfere with my current medications?
- Do you recommend surgery for my condition?
- Do I need to see an ENT specialist or allergist?
Copyright 2021. American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation. Last reviewed April 2020.


Cross-Curricular School Trip To Beijing & Shanghai
Explore two incredible cities with your school group and open their minds to new cultures and ways of life.
The magnificent Forbidden City palace complex
A rickshaw ride through the streets of Beijing
The giant Jade Buddha statue in Shanghai
The wonder of the Great Wall
*Visa costs not typically included in price
It was here on October 1st 1949 that Chairman Mao Tse-Tung announced the founding of the People’s Republic of China to the world. Built during the Ming Dynasty the square is named after Tiananmen Gate, which lies to the north. It’s the third largest of its kind in the world and a significant cultural landmark with the People’s Heroes monument in the centre.
This palace lies at the heart of Beijing and was the home of the emperors for over 500 years. Completed in 1420, it is the biggest palace complex in the world covering 74 hectares. Surrounded by a 52m-wide moat, it’s an adventure to explore the labyrinth of rooms, halls and gardens with magnificent decoration and rare curiosities throughout.
Situated just outside Beijing, the Summer Palace is the grandest and most well preserved park in China. Construction began in 1750 on these luxury gardens for the royal family, and gradually they have been developed into the magnificent expanse of lawns, streams, bridges, secret gardens and pavilions scattered across the shores of the Kunming Lake.
Considered to be one of the wonders of the world, the Great Wall today was built in Ming Dynasty and is over 6,000 km long. An amazing feat of defensive architecture, intended to protect the Chinese Empire from invaders, it winds a path over rugged country and steep mountains. Sections within easy reach of Beijing have been restored so that visitors can walk on the wall and see the watch towers.
Once used by emperors in the heaven worship ceremony, the temple park in Beijing is now one of the grandest examples of China’s sacrificial buildings. First built in 1420, the temple has been enlarged and rebuilt by both the Ming and Qing dynasties. At the heart of the Temple is the Hall of Prayer for good harvest, where the Emperor requested good harvests in his divine capacity as the son of heaven.
Take a Rickshaw ride through Beijing’s traditional back alleys known as Hutongs. See traditional courtyard residences characteristic of how the majority of the population lived in Beijing until the mid-twentieth century. Many Hutongs have been demolished in recent years to make way for modern development but some areas have been protected because of their historical and cultural significance.
The Chinese tea house has the same cult following as our coffee shop culture. It’s a great way for students to get a taste of oriental tea tradition. The tea ceremony reveals different types of scent, colour, taste and brewing methods for individual blends and their health benefits. The ceremony is an art form and a joy to watch before enjoying a cup.
The ancient art of Chinese calligraphy is still widely practised and respected in East Asian culture. It’s about capturing life through traces on silk or paper, a dynamic technique prized for both its aesthetic and expressive qualities. Students take part in a lesson by a skilled calligrapher, and keep their finished sheets as a memento to take home.
By population, Shanghai is the largest city in the world and the tour gives students a real sense of the city’s global influence. We explore the historical district of Bund as a modern cultural hub, with a trip to see the jade Buddha statues in Jade Buddha Temple and the Oriental Pearl Tower – the iconic structure resembling pearls falling onto a jade plate.
Acrobatic art is a traditional Chinese performing art rooted in Chinese culture and dating back to 475-221BC. The ancient acrobatics reflected the lives of the Chinese people and today, all provinces of China have their own acrobatic troupes. Acts such as group gymnastics, meteor juggling and tight rope feats make for a spectacular show for the students.
Why groups like it:
- Experience learning outside the classroom in another country – the culture, history, politics, geography and art
- Gain a deeper understanding of Chinese history and politics
- Develop an understanding of China’s economic and political role in the modern world
- Build confidence and learn to value the skills and techniques needed for personal and team success
- Broaden the mind through the study of another culture
- Discover, explore and have fun with fellow students and teachers
Students will have an opportunity to:
- Visit a foreign country and experience another culture
- Consider a range of issues around citizenship and history
- Gain a better understanding of China’s role in the modern world
- Gain independence and self-confidence
- Strengthen existing friendships and make new friends
- Understand personal organisation, co-operation and working with others in a variety of environments


Excerpts below -the full article can be read from the link above
Nora Abularach of New York keeps her impulses in check. On Wednesday she watched as her 2-year-old son, Sam, scurried up the ladder to a big yellow slide at a Central Park playground. Abularach remained a few feet away near the foot of the slide. Sam paused at the top for a moment, looking to his mom for reassurance. A few encouraging words later, Sam was zipping down the slide, all by himself.
The mother of two says she likes this particular playground because it is specially designed for Sam’s age group. She can let him explore and tackle each new apparatus on his own.
“I try not to hover,” she said. “I think it’s important for him to fall once or twice; he needs to figure out his own limits.”
Meanwhile, it’s becoming clear that playgrounds are not what they used to be. Towns and schools across the country have been bulldozing the old metal on concrete playgrounds in exchange for softer surfaces, lower platforms and fewer moving parts. The emphasis on safe play zones for children has never been greater. But some question whether these changes are making a difference when it comes to injured kids.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that 2008 saw just over 220,000 ER visits from kids injured on playgrounds. This actually reflects a small increase from their 1999 estimate of 205,000.
The most common playground injuries requiring medical attention were fractures, bruises, cuts and sprains, which made up 85 percent of all visits. Ninety five percent of children taken to the ER after a playground injury were treated and released.
And some parents may be surprised to learn that their efforts to keep their kids safer on the playground may actually be causing more injuries than they prevent.
A 2009 study out of Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y., found that 14 percent of fractures to one of the lower leg bones, called the tibia, occurred on slides. Surprisingly, 100 percent of them happened in children who were riding down the slide on the lap of a parent. No children who slid alone sustained the injury.
The researcher, Dr. John T. Gaffney, chief of pediatric orthopedic surgery says he did this study after seeing children come into the ER one after another with a similar history and diagnosis.
“The parents were very frustrated and upset to learn that they had inadvertently contributed to their child’s fracture when they thought they were helping,” says Gaffney.
Some experts say cuts and scrapes, and even the broken bones will heal, but a playground’s effect on a child’s emotional development may be long-lasting. There are a number of critics of these new super-safe play areas.Ellen Sandseter and colleagues from Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education in Trondheim, Norway, wrote about the effects of “safe” playgrounds and overly cautious parents on child development in a 2011 article in Evolutionary Psychology.
According to the article, a young child naturally fears the highest bar of the jungle gym or that extra twisty slide. These fears are adaptive, meaning they have a purpose, preventing them from being injured.
Risky play is the process by which children slowly confront these fears as their maturity and physical skill level advances. Upon conquering the new feat, the child is left with an exciting, positive feeling which replaces their former fears. When a child’s playground consists of only supersafe play areas or if their parent is overprotective, they do not get to experience these small victories — and that may ultimately leave them with anxiety that is inappropriate for their age and physical skill level.
“Playgrounds are, in many ways, a microcosm of a child’s world,” says Mark A. Reinecke, chair of psychology and child development at Northwestern University in Illinois. “The lessons learned there reverberate through their lives……..”


*This carpet is hand-knotted. Differences in shape, thickness, pattern and sizes can occur. **Each carpet is of the highest quality in its category & is carefully handpicked overseas by a member of the Bashir family.
A Brief History of Afghan Carpets
Afghan carpets usually refer to rugs traditionally made in Afghanistan. However, many of these carpets today are also woven by Afghan refugees who reside in Pakistan and Iran. Between 1979 and 1992, at least a million Afghans, including hundreds of thousands of rug-weavers, fled Afghanistan during its war with the Soviet Union and subsequent civil war, settling especially in Pakistan and Iran. Afghan rugs are solid, durable and often charming. They reflect the heritage of cottage-based craftsmanship passed through generations of families. Carpets from Afghanistan can be divided into two branches: Turkmen carpets (also known as Turkoman) and Baluchi carpets. Most of these carpets have more in common with the tribal weavings of Central Asia in terms of color, design, and weave than with their sophisticated Persian counterparts. Most Afghan weavers make rugs that are about the same as those they have woven for decades. Their carpets are often woven on small portable looms and are mainly produced to adorn the tents they live in. Most are made up of Persian knots and many feature vegetable-dyed hand spun Afghan wool. Natural dyes are still used, but since the 1950s pre-dyed wool yarn readily found in the towns and villages are often substituted for or combined with the natural dyes. Various qualities of pile carpets are available, ranging from coarse to medium in weave, including felted wool carpets (namads), flat non-pile fabric woven carpets (kilims), and pile and knotted carpets made from wool, silk, and cotton. As a testament to the meticulous nature of the art, one large Afghan carpet typically takes six to nine months to weave.
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When it’s time to transform an idea into a digital 3D form, it all comes down to understanding the tools that you use. There are multiple ways to achieve the same shape, so determining best practices with 3D modeling tools can vary based on your design intent, skill level, and the complexity of your project. Join Luis M. Ruiz, International Assoc. AIA, as he explores the various tool sets and features that enable custom modeling for a variety of project types. This beginner class will focus on general navigation, solid modeling, and basic editing behaviors in Vectorworks.
Technology / CADD / GIS
Health, Safety and Welfare
1. Identify the different tool and feature sets available for effective 3D modeling.
2. Discover effective workflows for executing concepts in 3D, both individually and in terms of a larger project.
3. Observe the basic solids modeling operations and capabilities.
4. Demonstrate learned techniques in a hands-on training session.
Luis Ruiz, Product Marketing Specialist, Vectorworks, Inc.


To The Teacher
In years past, Democratic politicians were often on the defensive against accusations of being “soft on crime.” Times have changed. With growing public understanding about the impact of “mass incarceration," Democrats now unapologetically advocate ideas such as getting rid of cash bail, eliminating private prisons, and ending mandatory minimum sentences. Those who previously called for tougher punishment now face criticism. On the other side of the aisle, Republicans are also divided in their policy approaches to addressing the crisis of mass incarceration. These shifting views on criminal justice reform are evident during the 2020 election season.
This lesson consists of three readings followed by questions for discussion. The first reading looks at the change in the Democratic Party’s criminal justice policies over the past thirty years. The second reading explores three big ideas for reform that are being debated in the 2020 presidential race. The third reading examines changes in the Republican Party that have led to increasing support for criminal justice reform.
Click here for a pdf version of all three readings, with discussion questions.
Criminal Justice: A Changing Debate
In years past, Democratic politicians, fearful of accusations that they were “soft on crime,” supported harsh policies that resulted in a massive increase in the U.S. prison population.
Times have changed, and public understanding has grown about the devastating impact of “mass incarceration,” the extreme rates of imprisonment concentrated among young, African-American men.
The Brennan Center for Justice notes that the U.S. prison population “began to grow in the 1970s, when politicians from both parties used fear and thinly veiled racial rhetoric to push increasingly punitive policies. Nixon started this trend, declaring a ‘war on drugs’ and justifying it with speeches about being ‘tough on crime.’ But the prison population truly exploded during President Ronald Reagan’s administration. When Reagan took office in 1980, the total prison population was 329,000, and when he left office eight years later, the prison population had essentially doubled, to 627,000. This staggering rise in incarceration hit communities of color hardest: They were disproportionately incarcerated then and remain so today.”
Leading Democrats of the 1990s championed the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (usually known as the 1994 Crime Bill), which was part of the Democrats’ attempt to appear “tough on crime.” But by the time the bill was passed, crime rates were already dropping.
Today, public opinion has shifted greatly, and the 1994 Crime Bill has come under fire for being racist and unduly punitive. This shift in opinion reflects research and analysis by such scholars as Michelle Alexander, author of the 2010 book The New Jim Crow. Alexander argues that “it is no longer socially permissible to use race, explicitly, as a justification for discrimination, exclusion, and social contempt. So we don’t. Rather than rely on race, we use our criminal justice system to label people of color ‘criminals’ and then engage in all the practices we supposedly left behind…. As a criminal, you have scarcely more rights, and arguably less respect, than a Black man living in Alabama at the height of Jim Crow. We have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it.”
Democrats now unapologetically advocate ideas such as getting rid of cash bail, eliminating private prisons, and ending mandatory minimum sentences. Those who previously called for tougher punishment now face criticism. On the other side of the aisle, Republicans are also divided in their policy approaches to addressing the crisis of "mass incarceration." These shifting views on criminal justice reform are evident during the 2020 election season.
In a June 2019 article in the Los Angeles Times, staff writer Mark Barabak looked at this historical shift. After Congress passed the crime bill – with the help of 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden – Democrats were “ecstatic.” But a quarter century later, Barabak writes:
Some consider the law too tough and many, including President Trump, blame it for a wave of mass incarceration that has filled prisons with a flood of Black and brown inmates.
“It destroyed entire neighborhoods, destroyed entire communities and we’re still paying the price and suffering from it,” said Patrisse Cullors, a Los Angeles activist who co-founded the Black Lives Matter movement. “What people need to say is, we made a mistake. A very big one.”...
It also underscores the generation gap between the 76-year-old Biden and younger rivals focused on the racial and social injustices that grew from the push for stiffer punishment….
The legislation came at a time when crime, fueled by street gangs and the crack cocaine epidemic, was seen as spiraling out of control — including in Washington, D.C., under the very noses of congressional lawmakers.
Democrats were acutely sensitive to the issue. Bill Clinton ended the party’s exile from the White House by running in 1992 as a “different kind of Democrat,” with a tougher approach to law enforcement — the Arkansas governor even briefly dropped off the campaign trail to preside over the execution of a cop-killer with severely diminished mental capacity.
When the bill finally passed, after several close calls, Democrats exulted.
“This could be one of those turning points in history,” the Senate majority leader, George Mitchell of Maine, told reporters. “I think … the time is over when, in fact or perception, the Republicans are seen as the party that’s tougher on crime. It’s the Democrats.”...
The Democratic Party’s stances of the 1990s now feel out of step with public opinion, and with a party base that wants to see solutions to the problem of mass incarceration. Joe Biden, who championed the 1994 crime bill, is not the only Democratic presidential candidate to feel the heat. Sen. Kamala Harris has been criticized for her actions as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general. In a September 2019 article in Vox, Senior correspondent German Lopez documented Harris’s past positions:
At Thursday night’s Democratic debate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) was questioned for her record on criminal justice issues — a record that’s led some critics to describe her not as a progressive reformer but as a relic of a “tough on crime” era going back to the 1990s and 2000s…
Harris argues that her views align with the new progressive movement. But her record in California, where she was a prosecutor, district attorney, and state attorney general before representing the state in the U.S. Senate, is likely to come in for harsh scrutiny and debate in the coming months….
A close examination of Harris’s record shows it’s filled with contradictions. She pushed for programs that helped people find jobs instead of putting them in prison, but also fought to keep people in prison even after they were proved innocent. She refused to pursue the death penalty against a man who killed a police officer, but also defended California’s death penalty system in court. She implemented training programs to address police officers’ racial biases, but also resisted calls to get her office to investigate certain police shootings….
“There’s been incredibly rapid change in public opinion, in attention to criminal justice,” Silard said, citing his decades-long experience in the criminal justice system and current experience as president of the reform-minded Rosenberg Foundation. “Bringing a reverse lens to that is not fair, and also doesn’t recognize folks who were courageous at that time.”
Still, Harris did embrace some “tough” policies while in the district attorney’s office, such as an anti-truancy program that targeted parents of kids who skipped school and threatened them with prosecution and punishment to push them to get their children to class.
As the context of the criminal justice debate changes, and as the public insists on reform, candidates and elected officials are shifting their positions in an effort to match the demands of the time.
- How much of the material in this reading was new to you, and how much was already familiar? Do you have any questions about what you read?
- What was the 1994 Crime Bill? Why did leading Democrats support it then, and why do many oppose it now?
- Why have the past records of candidates such as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris been criticized by criminal justice reform advocates during the campaign? What do you think of these criticisms?
- Do you think candidates should try to present themselves as “tough on crime”? What might be the appeal of this framing, and what are some of the problems that might come with focusing primarily on punitive policies to address criminal justice issues?
Three Big Ideas for Criminal Justice Reform
The shift in views on crime and punishment has been accompanied by new policy ideas. Here are three policy ideas that the experts – and the 2020 presidential candidates – are now debating.
Mandatory minimum sentences were once popular with politicians who wanted to appear tough on crime. A “mandatory minimum sentence” is a legal requirement that someone convicted of a particular offense must be imprisoned for a certain minimum period of time. Minimum mandatory sentences contributed to the rapid rise of the U.S. prison population in the past several decades.
Ten 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have vowed to get rid of mandatory minimum sentencing entirely. Politico reporter Caitlin Oprysko summarized the issue:
Mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses were significantly expanded at the federal level via a 1986 bill aimed at addressing drug abuse. The law required that certain offenses be punishable with a minimum sentence regardless of the circumstances of a case or an individual, which, advocates of reform say, have been a major contributing factor to mass incarceration in the U.S.
Reform advocates also say prosecutors often use the threat of charges that carry steep minimum sentences to elicit a guilty plea to lesser charges regardless of a defendant’s guilt. While the 2018 criminal justice bill signed by President Trump enacted some reforms to federal mandatory minimum guidelines, many 2020 Democrats say it didn’t go far enough.
Cash bail. A second leading reform is to end or restrict the use of cash bail. “Cash bail” is the requirement that someone who is charged with a crime (but not yet convicted) must make a deposit of money in order to be released before their trial. The stated purpose of cash bail is to ensure that the defendant will return to court for their trial. In their 2016 document entitled “A Vision for Black Lives: Policy Demands for Black Power, Freedom and Justice,” the Movement for Black Lives coalition described the problem of cash bail:
Low-income people who are arrested spend an average of 23 days in a cage before their day in court simply because they often cannot afford to pay bail. For people who live paycheck to paycheck, even a short stint in jail can have devastating consequences including job loss, eviction, or having their children taken away. This is true even when they are not convicted.
According to a 2010 Human Rights Watch report, for 72 percent of misdemeanor cases in New York, bail was set at $1,000 or less and still defendants could not pay the bail amount.
Bail is not only inhumane, it is costly. A 2010 Human Rights Watch report calculated that New York City was paying $42 million a year to incarcerate non-felony defendants. Local jurisdictions now spend $22.2 billion every year on correctional institutions.
Bail, like all things criminal justice related, is also racially discriminatory. Black defendants have 44 percent higher odds of being denied bail and kept in jail pretrial than white defendants with similar legal circumstances….
The U.S. should initiate legislation to eliminate the bail system and capture the billions of dollars in savings to support more effective and humane alternatives to criminalization.
According to a summary of candidate positions for Politico, as of October 2019, ten Democratic candidates have vowed to end cash bail entirely and three have vowed to reform or reduce it.
Roll back private prisons. A third idea for criminal justice reform is to curtail or end the use of private prisons. So far, eleven Democratic candidates have come out in favor of ending federal contracts with private prisons entirely. In a June 2019 article in the Los Angeles Times, staff writer Evan Halper highlighted the growing consensus within the party:
Democratic presidential candidates, seizing on anger over the mistreatment of immigrants at privately run detention centers, are pushing to outlaw them — and private prisons altogether, moving the issue to prominence in the 2020 primary race.
The demand for a ban on private lockups is becoming an increasingly potent campaign issue, as the private prison industry flourishes under a Trump administration eager to provide it with inmates and lucrative federal contracts. As the population housed in private lockups grows, a steady stream of government investigations and media reports has documented abuses and called into question whether they are saving taxpayers any money.
[In mid June 2019], Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts rolled out a detailed critique of the facilities as well as her blueprint for getting rid of them. She joined other candidates who are vowing to phase out all private immigrant detention centers and prisons operated for the federal government, including Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
“The companies running prisons and detention centers regularly sacrifice safety to boost their bottom line,” Warren wrote in a Medium post published Friday morning.
“Washington hands billions over to corporations profiting off of inhumane detention and incarceration policies while ignoring the families that are destroyed in the process. We need to call that out for what it is: corruption.”
- How much of the material in this reading was new to you, and how much was already familiar? Do you have any questions about what you read?
- The web sites below provide overviews of the candidates’ platforms on criminal justice. Spend some time looking at their proposals. What ideas stand out? Which policies do you support, and why?
Changing Republican Positions on Criminal Justice
In December 2018, President Trump signed into law the First Step Act, which aims to support people reentering society from prison. The bill gained wide bipartisan support. While some reformers have debated whether the measure will meaningfully address mass incarceration, many have expressed surprise that a Republican White House and Senate—which might normally be expected to advocate bigger prisons and longer jail sentences—have come to support some measure of reform.
In a December 2018 article in the New Yorker, contributor Osita Nwanevu explained how the passage of the legislation reflects changes within the Republican party—with at least some prominent conservatives joining the push for reform:
That the [First Step Act] has advanced this far under the Trump Administration reflects the purchase criminal-justice reform has gained not only among Democrats but also among conservative Republicans. The bill’s list of supporters includes Ted Cruz and Kirsten Gillibrand, the Koch brothers and the American Civil Liberties Union. The significant buy-in from the right is the culmination of years of effort from a cadre of libertarian-leaning conservatives, like the anti-tax zealot Grover Norquist, and evangelicals, such as Chuck Colson, the founder of the Christian nonprofit organization Prison Fellowship, who have worked to convince others that the prison system has become too costly, punitive, and government-empowering.
Most of their successes have come at the state level, in places like Georgia and Texas, where Republicans have worked to reduce the incarceration of nonviolent offenders and boost anti-recidivism efforts. In Georgia, the incarceration rate for Black males has declined by thirty per cent over the past eight years, and recidivism rates for those who complete vocational training or a G.E.D. while imprisoned have also dropped sharply—which the outgoing Republican governor Nathan Deal notes happened under his tenure.
In a piece for National Review, published in late November, Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah and one of the First Step Act’s leading advocates, neatly made the conservative case for the bill and for federal-level criminal justice reform. “Unlike some reformers, I don’t think our justice system is fundamentally broken, unjust, or corrupt,” Lee wrote. “I know from experience that dangerous criminals exist—individuals who are incapable of or uninterested in rehabilitation and change. . . . But my time as a prosecutor also tells me that not every criminal is dangerous or incapable of living a productive life,” he wrote. “My faith as a Christian teaches me that many people are capable of redemption. And my instincts as a conservative make me believe that the government can be reformed to work better.”
The act’s major reforms include making the 2010 Fair Sentencing Act’s reduction in the disparities between sentences for crack and powdered cocaine retroactive, granting judges more freedom from mandatory-minimum sentences, and expanding the time credits that prisoners can earn and put toward reducing their sentences or qualifying for release into transitional programs. The bill’s supporters estimate that as many as four thousand prisoners could immediately qualify for early release once the bill takes effect.
Not all conservatives are in agreement about reform initiatives, however, and the First Step Act continues to receive strong pushback from many Republicans. Also, it is not clear that the reforms brought about by the legislation will be all that dramatic. In a December 2018 article in the New Republic entitled “The Criminal-Justice Reform Bill is Both Historic and Disappointing,” staff writer Matt Ford analyzed some of the limitations:
This unusual coalition is one of many reasons why the First Step Act might be the strangest piece of legislation in the Trump era. It’s both groundbreaking and meager, both heartening and disappointing—a long-overdue retreat from decades of inhumane policy, but also an insufficiently small step toward a more conscientious approach to crime and punishment.
One of the bill’s central provisions expands what’s known as the “safety valve,” which allows federal judges to ignore mandatory minimums in sentencing defendants who commit nonviolent, low-level crimes. Another provision reworks the three-strikes requirement for drug-related felonies: Instead of a life sentence, someone sentenced under it would receive only 25 years in prison. Modest though these changes are, they would not apply retroactively….
There will always be tough-on-crime politicians like [Arkansas Senator and strong opponent of the legislation, Tom] Cotton who push for a maximally punitive system. One of the more heartening aspects of the First Step Act, however, is how vociferously many conservatives have countered Cotton’s claims. In a November op-ed in National Review, Cotton resorted to familiar tropes by arguing the bill would let government bureaucrats and liberal judges release violent felons into American communities. Utah Senator Mike Lee, one of the Senate’s key figures on criminal justice reform, wrote an op-ed that dismantled his claims point-by-point. He also challenged Cotton on ideological grounds. “Conservatives have a rich history as reformers,” he argued.
While a significant portion of the Republican Party remains resistant to calls for reform, the fact that some conservatives have shifted their policy positions has contributed to changes in the national conversation.
How much of the material in this reading was new to you, and how much was already familiar? Do you have any questions about what you read?
- How have some Republicans shifted their views on mass incarceration in the past thirty years? How do conservative arguments for reform overlap with those made by progressives, and how are they different?
- Can you think of other issues that have created unusual alliances across party lines? On what other matters might people who are often political rivals find common ground?
Research assistance provided by John Bergen.


- branched polymer
- a polymer having a molecular structure of secondary chains that extend from the primary main chains.
Mechanics glossary. 2013.
Mechanics glossary. 2013.
polymer — branched polymer crosslinked polymer network polymer … Mechanics glossary
Polymer — Appearance of real linear polymer chains as recorded using an atomic force microscope on surface under liquid medium. Chain contour length for this polymer is 204 nm; thickness is 0.4 nm. A polymer is a large molecule (macromolecule … Wikipedia
polymer — /pol euh meuhr/, n. Chem. 1. a compound of high molecular weight derived either by the addition of many smaller molecules, as polyethylene, or by the condensation of many smaller molecules with the elimination of water, alcohol, or the like, as… … Universalium
graft polymer — noun A branched polymer having sidechains composed of different monomers to that of the main chain … Wiktionary
Forensic polymer engineering — The study of failure in polymeric products is called forensic polymer engineering. The topic includes the fracture of plastic products, or any other reason why such a product fails in service, or fails to meet its specification. The subject… … Wikipedia
Dendronized polymer — Dendronized polymers are linear polymers to every repeat unit of which dendrons are attached. Dendrons are regularly branched, tree like fragments and for larger ones the polymer backbone is wrapped to give sausage like, cylindrical molecular… … Wikipedia
Spherulite (polymer physics) — In polymer physics, spherulites are spherical semi crystalline regions inside non branched linear polymers.When a liquid linear polymer (such as polyethylene) is cooled down slowly, the polymer strings take on a certain orderly configuration :… … Wikipedia
glycogen — Branched polymer of D glucose (mostly a (1 4) linked, but some a (1 6) at branch points). Size range very variable, up to 105 glucose units. Major short term storage polymer of animal cells, and is particularly abundant in the liver and to a… … Dictionary of molecular biology
industrial polymers, chemistry of — Introduction structure and composition of chemical compounds made up of long, chainlike molecules (molecule). What distinguishes polymers from other types of compounds is the extremely large size of the molecules. The size of a… … Universalium
Branching (chemistry) — [http://www.pslc.ws/macrog/pc.htm] Branching may result from the formation of carbon carbon or various other types of covalent bonds. Branching by ester and amide bonds is typically by a condensation reaction, producing one molecule of water (or… … Wikipedia


Virtual Crash Testing- Faster, Cheaper, Better - Trends
This Web site is so popular among automakers and safety engineers that it recently locked up while Japanese automakers downloaded everything posted there. It's the National Crash Analysis Center at George Washington University, created by a pioneering group of computer whizzes and students who are simulating far more complex car crashes and detailed models of whole crash scenes faster and cheaper, using declassified computer codes developed by the Defense Department to simulate nuclear explosions.
Initially, it took 12 hours on a multimillion-dollar supercomputer to model one crash, and costs to automakers could run into the millions, an NCAC spokesman explained. But by dismantling and digitizing each part of a vehicle, the NCAC uses "variable and stable parallel computing" to do the same thing for as little as $30,000. The models can be used repeatedly in all kinds of crash situations-from vehicles to occupants to roadside structures. A recent scenario used NCAC simulations to show exactly how airbags were injuring children, allowing a much quicker assessment of the mechanical problem than would have been possible in the past. Future plans include developing a complete human model that could be used to simulate the injury of occupants in any mode of transportation-car, bus, train, or plane.
Funded by government and industry grants, all of the Center's computer modeling is posted on its Web site (gwuva.gwu.edu/ncac), where it can be downloaded by scientists and researchers around the world to improve vehicle designs, restraint systems, and highway and road construction. For its pioneering efforts, the Center was among the five finalists in this year's prestigious Computerworld Smithsonian Award.
Capitol NotesHair-Trigger Airbags: As if airbags weren't getting enough negative ink these days, NHTSA is now investigating a small but growing number of reports of spontaneous driver-side airbag deployment for little or no apparent reason. Six drivers of '91 and '92 Camaros and nine drivers of '95 and '96 Mazda 626s reported their bags blew while the car was driven after hitting a pothole or a manhole cover or for no reason at all. NHTSA is already studying spontaneous airbag deployments in some Subarus and several General Motors models. In the GM cases, NHTSA believes the airbags spontaneously deployed because the module that controls activation was corroded due to wet carpeting underneath the front passenger seat, where the control module is located. In January, NHTSA began investigation of seven complaints of overly sensitive airbags on both the '95 Subaru Legacy and Impreza. In two cases, owners said the airbag deployed after the driver stepped on the brake. Other drivers said the airbag deployed after the car went over a dip in the road, a pothole, or scraped the road...Rental Discrimination: Pegged as too great an insurance risk, drivers under the age of 25 have been routinely turned away at rental car counters. But that may change thanks to a New York State Court of Appeals ruling that to deny rental solely on the basis of age was discriminatory. The rental car companies argued that insurance for younger drivers was not available, which exempted them from renting to young drivers. Since most car rental companies are self-insured and those that are not can utilize the state automobile insurance plan, the court found the argument "without merit." The judge further noted that companies are able to turn away drivers with bad records whatever their age, since driving records are easily and instantly accessible through the state motor vehicle administration. The major players in the rental business say they will comply with the ruling but may add a surcharge for younger renters...Head Protection: BMW has not lost faith in airbags. Its 7 Series will offer the first airbags to cushion driver's and passenger's head and neck during side impacts. The new head airbag is a long tube stored in the roof panel above each front door. Upon impact, it inflates and protects a passenger's head and neck from the windshield pillar, window, and center pillar. It will be a standard feature in the '98 7 Series and eventually will be available on all BMW sedans, which currently offer side impact airbags as well.


Drug abuse is a significant problem in many countries. Nowadays, it creates a severe issue for a person’s mental health. When you use drugs in illegal ways or take this more than the regular dose, it may impact your health.
Most of the people performed such things to feel good and avoid stress & satisfy their soul. Here in the below sections, you will learn About drug abuse & its types.
Different types of drug abuse
- Stimulant abuse
Stimulant abuse is one type of drug abuse that causes physical & psychological impacts. The individual abuse stimulants experience a boost in energy. Sometimes it may be effective for individuals who are suffering from mental health issues. There are a few stimulant abuses that include Ritalin, Cocaine, Dexedrine, and many more.
- Adderall abuse
Adderall is mostly used for the treatment of hyperactivity disorder. When you take this drug as per the prescription, it can increase your focus & memory power. But when you take this higher than the prescribed amount, you may end up with cardiac complications & sometimes you may get a heart attack.
- Heroin abuse
There are almost one million people in the world who were abusing it. When you take heroin more than the standard amount, then it reduces the physical & physiological distress.
Heroin is a drug that is mostly smoked or injected into an individual. These are affordable & quickly obtain. Most of the people who abuse heroin end up with an increased risk of disease like HIV.
- Cocaine abuse
It is a street drug that is extremely popular in various countries. It is derived from the coca plant. When you take to overdose on this substance, then you will feel energetic.
- Sedative abuse
These drugs are primarily used to treat anxiety disorders. Most people used to consume this drug to reduce anxiety, sleep disorders, and panic attacks. People who are suffering from the obsessive-compulsive disorder also used to take this drug. It is a popular drug abuse substance because of the relaxation they produce.
- Ecstasy abuse
When an individual consumes Ecstasy’s overdose, he/she will experience hallucinations. This drug offers many positive impacts on the people who are suffering from euphoria. But when someone abused this drug, it offers various adverse effects like dehydration and many more.
- Opioid abuse
Almost 11 million people in the USA abused opioids. These are addictive substances that can impact your health. Overdose of opioids may result in organ damage & various respiratory problems.
- Meth abuse
These are exceptionally toxic elements that contain pseudoephedrine. It includes various deadly elements that may cause various diseases. If you take an overdose of meth, then you may end up with physiological problems.
Is there any sign of drug abuse?
Yes, there are various signs about drug abuse. If you took drugs regularly and feel a loss of interest, it is a clear drug abuse sign.
Some people notice there is a drastic change in their physical appearance because of drug abuse. If you also experience a puffy face, loss of interest, rapid mood swings, and sleeping disorders, then it may be an alarming sign for you.
When you take any substance more than the standard amount, then it impacts your health. Well, no matter which type of drug abuse you are suffering from, you should go for comprehensive treatment to recover your lifestyle.


‘Rapid transit system’ is a term used for rail, bus and cycle networks. For trips up to 5 miles (8 km) cycle networks transport more people in less time than rail or bus networks. eBikes operated on cycle networks further reduce journey times and make cycle networks competitive for longer distances, up to 10 miles (16 km).
Compare mass rapid transport systems
For station-to-station trips rail is fastest. For door-to-door trips up to 5-8 miles (8-12 km) cycling provides the shortest journey times unless you live and work beside stations. Bus rapid transit systems run at faster speeds than bikes but journeys take longer because they provide for few door-to-door journeys.
From the perspective of city planners, cycle transport has many advantages.
To realise the full value of cycle infrastructure:
- cycle paths, bike lanes etc must be integrated with other mass transit networks by planning railway stations as hubs for local cycle networks
- individual cycleways must be interconnected to form a network


SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
In this section we present our system design following the Waterfall method of system design. The diagrams in the system were drawn by using Microsoft Office (Visio and PowerPoint). This chapter is segmented into system description, system requirement, Benefits, Project plan, risk management, context diagrams, use case diagram, use case narrative, non-functional requirement, state diagram, and the Graphical user Interface (GUI).
4.1 System Description
There is no universally agreed upon definition of what aspects constitute a system description and various institution and organizations. The fundamental organization of a system, embodied in its ...view middle of the document...
After the search and that particular records is found, the system brings forth a dialogue box unto the screen with the words “Records found!” and displays folder in the connecting device where the user can find that records. In the case of the opposite where records are not found, the system displays “Records not found!” This behavior which the system exhibits is what makes it “intelligent” with the help of AI.
4.2 System Requirement
The dynamics of website creation is ever changing in this fast modernized age. Thus, to design and subsequently develop a web application that is of standard and flexible the following must be carefully factored into its development.
* Perform and control the process
* Maintain evidence about work done, as determined by laws of regulations
* Provide information for the organization and the community about the work done
* Accessibility: the services for which the system was designed or develop must be easily accessible and readily available.
* Flexibility: the system must be flexible, that is it should be interactive in order to seamlessly access records by a novice user.
* Compatibility: the system designed on this framework should provide an open standard interface to interact with.
* Artificial Intelligence (AI): for a system to be intelligent it has to have AI flexibility. Thus, a smart system should have the ability to evolve with the adaptability of system over load.
* Durability and reusability: the system should be designed in an object-oriented model in which applications are treated as encapsulated elements with a well-defined interface as long as interfaces remain consistent with these components can withstand technology changes.
* Open architecture and interfaces: the framework should have an open architecture and open application interfaces to enable interaction and integration seamlessly between service providers and other entities. Thus, the architecture is able to take advantage of the open, dynamic nature of the web by supporting just-in-time application integration.
4.3 Benefits of Intelligent Administrative Recordkeeping System (IARS)
* Planning: Establish what processes are needed for administrative records to be effectively maintained and how this will be achieved. Planning an administrative recordkeeping process will help maintain a recordkeeping system that works for organization’s or institution’s practice and provide clear expectations for practice staff.
* Consistency: to make it easier for practice staff to do their job, have information collected and stored in a consistent way within the institution’s or organization’s practice; all staff should follow the same policies and procedures.
* Communication: all staff is made aware of administrative recordkeeping policies to ensure that they understand procedures. That is by communicating expectations clearly consistent administrative recordkeeping benefits are achieved.
* Training: knowing the...


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Unformatted text preview: Engineering Analysis 4 Workshop questions - week of 10/26/08 1. Consider the forced oscillator x 00 + x = cos 2 t. (1) (a) Find the general solution. Answer- this is a straightforward review of undamped oscillators. The natural frequency is 1 and x c = cos t + sin t Now you have to find a particular solution. Take as a trial solution x p ( t ) = A cos 2 t + B sin 2 t, and plug this into equation (1). You get- 3 A cos 2 t- 3 B sin 2 t = cos 2 t. (2) Equating coefficients of cos 2 t and sin 2 t in equation (2) you can see that A =- 1 / 3 and B = 0 . Thus, the particular solution is x p ( t ) =- 1 3 cos 2 t and the general solution is x = cos t + sin t- 1 3 cos 2 t. (b) Suppose you are interested in the initial conditions x (0) = 1 , x (0) = 0 . Explain the fallacy in the following argument. Incorrect argument - determine and to match the initial conditions so that 1 = cos 0 + sin 0 , 0 =- sin 0 + cos 0 . or = 1 , = 0 . Thus, the solution to the initial value problem is x ( t ) = cos t- 1 3 cos 2 t, which clearly does not satisfy the initial condition. Answer - Facilitators please note - this is a very common source of error on exams. Please make certain that the students clearly understand what is wrong with this reasoning....
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- Spring '08
- Constant of integration, Boundary value problem


NASA’s return to manned spaceflight took a few steps forward this month with the completion of the Orion crew capsule. As the module that will hopefully bring astronauts back to the Moon and to Mars, the capsule rolled out of its assembly facility at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Thursday, Sept. 11. This was the first step on its nearly two month journey to the launch pad and planned blastoff this coming December.
Orion’s assembly was just completed this past weekend by technicians and engineers from prime contractor Lockheed Martin inside the agency’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout (O & C) Facility. And with the installation of the world’s largest heat shield and the inert service module, all that remains is fueling and the attachment of its launch abort system before it will installed atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket.
The unmanned test flight – Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) – is slated to blast off on December 2014, and will send the capsule into space for the first time. This will be NASA’s first chance to observe how well the Orion capsule works in space before it’s sent on its first mission on the Space Launch System (SLS), which is currently under development by NASA and is scheduled to fly no later than 2018.
The Orion is NASA’s first manned spacecraft project to reach test-flight status since the Space Shuttle first flew in the 1980s. It is designed to carry up to six astronauts on deep space missions to Mars and asteroids, either on its own or using a habitat module for missions longer than 21 days. The development process has been a long time in the making, and had more than its share of bumps along the way.
Nothing about building the first of a brand new space transportation system is easy. But the crew module is undoubtedly the most complex component that will fly in December. The pressure vessel, the heat shield, parachute system, avionics — piecing all of that together into a working spacecraft is an accomplishment. Seeing it fly in three months is going to be amazing.
In addition to going to the Moon and Mars, the Orion spacecraft will carry astronauts on voyages venturing father into deep space than ever before. This will include going to the Asteroid Belt, to Europa (to see if there’s any signs of life there), and even beyond – most likely to Enceladus, Titan, the larger moons of Uranus, and all the other wondrous places in the Solar System.
The two-orbit, four and a half hour EFT-1 flight will lift the Orion spacecraft and its attached second stage to an orbital altitude of 5,800 km (3,600 miles), about 15 times higher than the International Space Station (ISS) – and farther than any human spacecraft has journeyed in 40 years. It will be an historic occasion, and constitute an important step in what is sure to be known as the Second Space Age.
And be sure to watch this time-lapse video of the Orion Capsule as it is released from the Kennedy Space Center to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility in preparation for its first flight:


When trying to decide what to major in, you probably have a lot of ideas about what you do and do not want as a career. However, many times, the way you judge a career is based upon stereotypes. If you can cast those aside, you may just find that some careers are actually worth pursuing. One example is social work.
What Is Social Work?
Social work encompasses careers that help people to improve the quality of their lives. It can include anything from working as a case worker who manages government benefits to working on a hospital’s human resources team. The main thing is that all social work jobs focus on is helping people to overcome burdens in their lives. With a focus on social justice, they offer assistance to help people overcome these burdens using available resources.
What Does It Take to Work in This Field?
Many people choose to become a social worker because they have personal reasons for wanting to help others. Some people are truly passionate about working with those who are struggling and helping them to rise above whatever it is that is holding them back. For others, the idea of working with people in a particular situation might be alluring, such as helping people with drug addictions. Almost always there is some personal connection that drawls people to this field.
How Does a Person Become a Social Worker?
Getting started in this career is not too difficult. Many schools, like Case Western, will actually offer great information on exactly what you need to do to enter the field. It’s a pretty straightforward education path. You will need to have a bachelor’s degree at minimum, but some employers require a master’s degree. In addition, you may have to complete an internship and get licensed if you’ll be working as a clinical social worker. Finding a school isn’t hard because many schools offer programs and some, like ACU, even offer online program options.
In addition, it is a rather easy career to get started, even at the entry level. This is because there is great on-going demand for social workers. It is similar to the healthcare field where people always need the services, so there are always job openings.
What Are Some Reasons to Go Into This Field?
Besides any personal reasons you may have for being interested in this field, there are plenty of other things that might draw you to it. Starting with the fact that social work allows you to become an effective member of your community, helping to make it better and improve citizens’ lives. In addition, you are able to make positive impacts in people’s lives. You can become an advocate for people whose voices aren’t being heard. Finally, there are so many careers in social work from which to choose, from patient advocates to social work professors, that finding where you fit in is pretty easy.
Choosing your college major is never something you can do without thinking about it long and hard. If you are interested in helping people, then take a closer look at social work. It may not be what you think it is. It could possibly offer you exactly what you need in a career.


What is the difference between theft, robbery and burglary?
There are different types of theft. It can be a petit theft. It can be a grand theft. Thefts may be serious enough to be considered a robbery. Thefts occur different places. For example, thefts occur in houses. They occur in cars. In fact, thefts can occur almost anywhere.
What is a theft? Thefts occur by taking property of someone else. Thefts require a lack of permission. Also, they require that the taking be done intentionally. Understand that merely touching an item with this intent is enough to commit the entire offense. For example, a person goes into a store. They grab an item off the shelf with the intent to remove the item from the store. After they grab the item they change their mind. The theft has already occurred. Even though they changed their mind, the theft already happened.
Types of Theft
Next, consider the different types of theft. For example, you have petit theft under $100. This type of theft requires the same elements. However, the monetary amount of the item must be under $100. This type of theft is considered an M2. Specifically, you can be punished by up to 60 days in jail, or 6 months of probation.
Alternatively, there is petit theft over $100 but under $300. This again requires the same criminal elements. However, there is a specific monetary requirement. The item must be over $100. It can’t be over $300. This type of theft is considered an M1. Specifically, you can be punished by up to 1 year in jail, or 1 year of probation.
Lastly, there is grand theft. Grand Theft requires the same basic criminal components. However, the amount taken must be over $300. The basic Grand theft is a third degree felony. A third degree felony is punishable by up to 5 years in prison or 5 years of probation. However, not all grand thefts are third degree felonies. The higher the amount, the higher the punishment. Grand Theft Offenses can be 2nd degree felonies or even 1st degree felonies. Consider the penalties. For example, f2 felonies are punishable by up to 15 years in prison or probation. f1 felonies are punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
In summary, theft cases can be very serious or very minor. Talk to your criminal defense lawyer about the possible consequences.
Robberies occur when you take something from someone else. For example, a person is holding an object. You walk up, grab the item, and run off. That is a robbery. It requires taking something from someone else by force or threat. What’s a threat? For example, the robber says, “give me your money or else.” The person hands them their money. The robber runs off with the money. That’s a robbery! Or consider another example. The robber runs up, attacks someone, rips a purse out of their hand, and runs off. That’s also a robbery. As you can see, robbery occurs in different ways.
Sudden Snatching, By Force, or With a Weapon
First, Robbery by sudden snatching is the lowest level of robbery. This is the classic grab and go scenario. Consider, a person grabs a dollar out of your hand and runs off. This is the simplest and least serious version of robbery. This variety is called Robbery by sudden snatching. It’s considered an F3. That is a third degree felony. It’s punishable up to 5 years in prison or 5 years on probation.
Next, consider Robbery by force. Robbery by subsequent force is a more serious variety of robbery. This type of Robbery involves actual physical violence to effectuate the robbery. Consider the example we gave earlier. In that example the Robbery attacked someone, and ripped an item away from a person. In this example, there is no weapon or firearm. This is a brute force type of Robbery. It involves violence. This type of Robbery is a second degree felony. It’s punishable by up to 15 years in prison or 15 years of probation.
Lastly, consider Robbery involving a deadly weapon, or firearm. For example, an armed robber walks into a gas station. The armed robber points the gun at the cashier and demands money. Then, the cashier hands him the money. The armed robber runs out with the money. This is a Robbery w/ a firearm. It’s an F1 offense, punishable by up to life in prison. This is the most serious type of robbery offense.
Next, and the last type of theft we will discuss, is Burglary. Burglary cases occur when a person enters a location that they are not allowed. Inside the location, they have an intent to commit a criminal or unlawful act. For example, a person goes into somebody else’s house. Inside the house, they have the intent to steal items from the house. They take items from the house. They leave. This is a Burglary. The house wasn’t theirs. Neither were the items. Ultimately, they did something unlawful, inside a residence, against the permission of the owner.
Moreover, a Burglary requires specific element of intent. Specifically, the intent to do wrong inside the location. This is sometimes difficult for the state to prove. Consider a person entering into a house they don’t have permission to enter. However, they simply walk around and leave. In this example, this may or may not be a Burglary. It’s only a Burglary if the intent was to do wrong once inside the residence. This intent is often the point of debate. This is often more true in cases where the Burglary is caught in the act. For example, a Burglar is caught entering a house. However, the Burglary didn’t take anything from the house.
In this case, the prosecution may struggle to prove criminal intent. For example, what if he was homeless and wanted a place to sleep? Or, what if he was drunk and stumbled into the wrong home by accident? The easier cases for the prosecution involve an actual crime inside the house itself. Punishment for Burglary is straight forward. It’s considered an F2, punishable by up to 15 years. People who commit armed burglaries or do violence inside elevate the offense to a life felony.
In conclusion, there are many types of theft. There are simple thefts. There are more involved thefts. Each theft carries their own penalties and their own defenses. Consult with an experienced criminal defense lawyer to handle your case.
Smith & Eulo Law Firm offers free consultation for all of your Criminal Cases. Call us today for your FREE CONSULTATION. 407-930-8912


The Relationship between Healthy Life and Enzymes
SummaryEnzymes are nothing but the necessary proteins that maintain the various biological and chemical functions within the body and these include processes like digesting food to activating the brain and thousands of others. Enzymes act as a catalyst for millions of reactions that happen within the body, that make us grow, sleep, communicate, get hungry, feel and many more. Overall, it makes us live.
- Author Name: Fiona Bingly
The growth and reproduction of life, birth and death, and metabolism are all related to enzymes. Without the catalysis of enzymes, humans can't even carry out the most basic life activities, such as food digestion, oxygen breathing, etc., let alone other problems. In fact, almost all kinds of reactions occurring in living organisms are carried out by enzyme catalysis. We can even say that the existence of life is inseparable from the enzyme.
Modern lifestyles put tremendous pressure on the human body and spirit. Living a healthy life is quite of an affair but for most, the credit goes to natural enzymes. Dr. Edward Howell, who was the foremost pioneer in the enzyme research field, maintained that enzymes can bring the spark back to your life. They are just the supplements that we miss out due to the demands of modern living. Scientifically speaking, enzymes are nothing but the necessary proteins that maintain the various biological and chemical functions within the body and these include processes like digesting food to activating the brain and thousands of others. Enzymes act as a catalyst for millions of reactions that happen within the body, that make us grow, sleep, communicate, get hungry, feel and many more. Overall, it makes us live.
Enzymes are so important in life because enzymes catalyze a fast reaction that is about a thousand times to hundreds of millions more times faster than a chemically catalyzed reaction. The enzyme is basically useful for two purposes - metabolism and digestion. Metabolic functions include catalyzing various reactions within the cell, generating energy and ultimately detoxifying. Every organ, tissue and sensation depends on this process. The human body is made up and maintained by daily intake of fat, carbohydrates, protein, minerals and other nutrients. The two most important enzymes are catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD). This reaction preserves the protection of the cells while decomposing hydrogen peroxide, which is a waste in the metabolic process and therefore releases valuable oxygen.
On the other hand, digestive enzymes are secreted in the gastrointestinal tract, helping to break down food into simple substances. They are basically called proteases, lipases and amylases. For example, amylase is present in human saliva, but our busy life does not always allow for full chewing before swallowing food. Most of us are forced in some way to swallow breakfast without eating, which makes the enzymes present in the intestines more difficult. In addition, people now consume more coffee, process carbohydrates, sugar and alcohol, which depletes the level of amylase that the body can produce. The same is true for all other enzymes in the body, and we need to take further steps to reduce the body's metabolic needs and promote its smooth operation.
In order to complete the changes and reactions of thousands of substances in living organisms, the corresponding enzymes are needed. It has been estimated that there are approximately 1,023 enzymes in living organisms, which ensure that normal life activities can be carried out. Once an organism lacks an enzyme, or its catalytic activity is low, the metabolism of the organism will be abnormal, causing disease and even death.
According to survey reports, most Americans have a deficiency in enzyme levels by the time they reach the age of 40. While enzymes can still be derived from some foods, it gets difficult for the person to break down the raw food in the first instance. This will highly tax the system and sometimes failures could occur. As a result food allergies occur. A way out will be to live completely on food supplements but this is both distasteful and you are missing out on many things that cannot be artificially introduced into the system. Thus the presence of the proper enzymes is a must and it could be taken care of by the natural enzymes that Creative Enzymes manufactures. Enzymes are recommended by several researchers and the results have never been better! So, bring the spark back to your life with enzymes!


In the book, "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals" by Charles Darwin, he gives an excellent and vivid description of fear.
Fear is often preceded by astonishment, and is so far akin to it, that both lead to the senses of sight and hearing being instantly aroused. In both cases the eyes and mouth are widely opened, and the eyebrows raised. The frightened man at first stands like a statue motionless and breathless, or crouches down as if instinctively to escape observation. The heart beats quickly and violently, so that it palpitates or knocks against the ribs... That the skin is much affected under the sense of great fear, we see in the marvelous manner in which perspiration immediately exudes from it... The hairs also on the skin stand erect; and the superficial muscles shiver. In connection with the disturbed action of the heart, the breathing is hurried. The salivary glands act imperfectly; the mouth becomes dry, and is often opened and shut.Fear is a normal response to protect us from danger and if we could not feel it, we would not be able to protect ourselves. Our life experiences alter how we feel and perceive fears in our lives. All too often, people who have been traumatized are triggered by current experiences that have no basis in real dangers. The fear then becomes a connection to an event that is not real in the moment but is perceived by that person.
The parts of the brain that are involved in the fear response include the amygdala which stores emotional memories including fear memories, the hippocampus which puts memories and experience in context to the stimuli being faced, the thalamus which decides where to send incoming data that it receives and the hypothalamus which is responsible for the fight or flight response.
Many times, we hear people tell us or others to not be afraid and portray fear to be something that is bad or negative. All emotions are part of our mind and body for a reason whether they are from real or perceived sources. Our job should not be to discount, abhor, or condemn these emotions. Instead our job should be to embrace all of our emotions whether we feel they are positive or negative and fully become aware of how they impact our mind, our body and our personal growth.
Too often, our society tries to control others and bring others in line with what we feel is the proper way to look at some aspect of life. The use of fear is one of the main ways that this is done and all you have to do is look around yourself in a day, and you can see evidence of this. From the government and their policies, to politics, schools, society norms, religious institutions and even down into the family practices and norms. Fear is often used as a weapon against others. Even the news media is extremely skilled at using fear to get us to tune into the news programs.
Take a step back though and consider just how valuable fear is to our lives. It helps protect us and keep us from doing harmful things to ourselves and others. If we embrace it and we go into the fear, our lives become much more rich and full and alive. Of course, if we constantly overwhelm ourselves with fear from every direction, than fear becomes a hindrance to our lives.
Fear holds great power and energy and if we push it down in our lives and try to distance ourselves from it, than it will rob us of so much. Fear is potential energy that can be used to create a chair reaction of events into further awareness and potential benefit. We can learn so much from it and use it to move us forward into situations that benefit our lives and our growth.
Often we are so afraid of fear and we are so overwhelmed in life that we can not deal with fear. We find ways to avoid it and run from it while it finds ways to get out attention. We may think we are avoiding it or just not thinking about fear but in the end, we are only fooling ourselves. If we continue to fool ourselves, our fears will get our attention and they will force us to deal with them. The sooner we begin to listen to our fears and embrace them, the better off we will be.
*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog


Learn how to draw a cute cartoon crawling baby from the word “baby”. This is a pretty cool trick to learn how to do. You can show it off to your friends or just learn an ability to draw a cartoon that you didn’t know how to draw before. This simple step by step drawing tutorial can be found below. Have fun!
How to Draw a Cartoon Baby from the Word baby in Simple Step by Step Drawing Tutorial for Kids
Written-Out Step by Step Instructions
(Step 1) Write the word baby in lowercase letters.
(Step 2) Draw curved lines over the first letter ‘b’ and the letter ‘a’. These will be the eyes.
(Step 3) Now draw curved lines on the bottoms of the eyes.
(Step 4) Write a letter ‘d’ in front of the first ‘b’ for the left side of the baby’s face. Then draw a sideways letter ‘c’ shape for the baby’s nose.
(Step 5) Draw a letter ‘c’ in each ear. Draw a curved line for the top and bottom of the baby’s face.
(Step 6) Draw a squiggly line for the hair on top of the baby’s head. Draw a curved line for the baby’s back. Draw an oval for the mouth and a line under the mouth for the lip.
(Step 7) Draw a #2 shape and a curved line for the leg. Draw a sideways letter ‘D’ for the baby’s sleeve.
(Step 8) Draw 2 lines for the baby’s arm. Draw a line for the chest and a sideways ‘?’ shape for the foot.
(Step 9) Draw a sideways #3 shape for the fingers and a curved line on the foot.
(Step 10) Draw another #3 shape on the hand. Draw a line in the foot.
(Step 11) Your drawing is finished…you can add color if you choose to.