The East India Company which came to trade in India soon found that its role of trading transformed into one of governing. Governance itself began with the settlement of revenue which a district was required to yield and for this purpose there had to be a survey. The revenue had to be collected and for this there had to be officials who could administer land and the peasants who tilled it. This was the beginning of district administration in India. It was part of the philosophy of government as expounded by the Marquis of Wellesley in the following words, “I can declare my conscientious conviction that no greater blessings can be conferred on the native inhabitants of India than the extension of British authority, influence and power”. The entire social reform movement which restored order by suppressing the Pindaris, abolishing sati, eliminating Thugi, all culminated in the extension of settled administration to the whole of India.
A regular administration and the rule of law began to be established. There was need to create a regular civil service which could perform this function. Instead of ad hoc appointment to posts under the government of the East India Company, in 1800 A.D. Lord Wellesley established the College of Fort William at which newly appointed persons to the Company’s service were to be trained for three years. This move was scuttled by the Board of the East India Company which, in 1806, founded the East India College, transforming it in 1809 to Haileybury College. It is here that the cadets of the East India Company Civil Service were trained. Being a cross between an English Public School and a college at Cambridge or Oxford Hailebury inculcated a certain spirit of camaraderie which reflected itself in the ‘biradari’ which the Haileybury boys established in India. Haileybury fostered a close family spirit, but it failed to inculcate professionalism in the Civil Service which was increasingly required to exclusively dedicate itself to the complex business of governing a country the size of India. It was also clear that the East India Company could not last and that the servants of the East India Company for all intent and purpose were now the servants of the Queen. Therefore, in 1853 a competitive examination was introduced for selection of civil servants who would rule India. In 1857 took place the Great Indian Mutiny, or the First War of Independence and in1858 the Government of India passed from the East India Company both de facto and de jure to the British Crown. The Indian Civil Service became fully established, to be followed shortly thereafter by the Indian Police. These two Services became the backbone of empire in India. To the credit of the British it must be said that they did gradually introduce Indianisation of the Services as also the Indian Armed Forces so that in 1947 when India became independent there was no civil service vacuum as happened in a great deal of British ruled East and West Africa.
The Indian district officer started as the ruler who extended to the native population of India what Wellesley called the blessings of the extension of British authority, influence and power. The strength of the district officer at this stage in our history was that he brought order where chaos reigned in the past, he replaced the arbitrariness of local chieftains by the certainty of justice under a system of laws and he established peace in districts where turbulence was the normal state of affairs. The people looked on such an officer as an improvement on what existed in the past and, therefore, British rule established itself in the districts because the people accepted British officers as distinctly better. There was as yet no concept of or demand for either independence from foreign rule or participatory government at local levels. These demands rose only when the local boundaries within India were abolished and the British established themselves as rulers of the entire sub-continent. The Princely States were less than vassals and existed because the British tolerated them. The paramount power was the British Crown.
Paradoxically as India consolidated and coalesced as a single nation under British rule the awareness of Indian nationality and nationhood also began to assert itself and with it the desire of Indians to participate in their own governance increased. Now the role of the district officer began to change because it brought him into conflict with the very forces which were demanding what had been for years an established right in Britain, that is, the democratic right to be self-governing.
Under the changed circumstances the British district officer found himself in a dual role. The first was to ensure that order was maintained and that there was no threat to British rule. The second was that of facilitating greater participation of Indians in government, initially through the beginnings of local self-government and, from 1919 onwards, as civil servants of a government which at Provincial level was becoming increasingly Indianised and democratised. It would be wrong to think of the Indian Civil Service in British days as being entirely dedicated to the maintenance of empire. It was slowly settling into the role of a Civil Service which still had a great deal of power and in the area of law and order almost unlimited power which, at the same time was required to take orders from a newly emerging political class which was beginning to realise that India could move towards not only self-governance but even independence. The greatest tribute to the ICS would be that its officers performed this dual role without slipping into schizophrenia, because the very ministers whom they had to obey in 1937 were also the ministers whom they had to jail in 1942.
The Indian Administrative Service is the seamless successor to the Indian Civil Service, whose entire Indian component became the premier Civil Service of India on 15th August, 1947. Government chose to retain the identity of the old imperial services, the ICS and IP, while simultaneously creating the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service to fulfill the very role that the ICS and IP did. The difference between the two is that the creator of the ICS and IP was an imperial power and the creator of the IAS and IPS was the first government of independent India. Why did India retain the civil services in the form that the British created? The British, by increasing Indianisation of the civil services and the Army left behind a substantial number of civil servants, technologists and professionals who were used to organising and running a system. India had a wise leadership which decided to absorb and continue what the British had left behind. In sharp contrast when the Americans when they took over Iraq in 2003 Paul Bremer, who was head of the US administration in Iraq, disbanded the Iraqi Army and Police and dismantled the entire administrative structure down to the last village. This left Iraq leaderless, officer-less, completely devoid of administrative structures and, therefore, in a totally helpless state in which there was no one to enforce the law, manage the administration or even run such basic services as water supply, sewerage and electricity. The nation descended into chaos. In India we took over the entire administrative system and the transfer of power was seamless.
The question, however, arose whether this country should continue civil servants who had served an imperial power. On 10th October 1949, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel made an extremely powerful speech in Parliament in defence of the Civil Services, portions of which are worth reproducing. He said, “For the purpose of record of this Assembly I would like to state that if in the last two and three years the majority of the officers of the Civil Services had not worked with a sense of patriotism and honesty the Union would have been destroyed. You may ask the Premiers of all the Provinces, is any Premier prepared to work without these Civil Service officers? … The police, which was left a divided service, has been brought back to a reasonable level and has been working with great competence. The heads of the Provincial police forces come under guarantee; do you want to change the system? Do you want the Congress Swayam Sevaks to appoint the heads of the district police forces? … It would be wrong to quarrel with those with whom you want to work together. You should take work from them. Every person wants some incentive. If you continuously criticise a person in public and mock him he would not like to work. Like this no one will do your work. That is why once and for all please decide whether you need these Services or not. If you have made up your minds that despite my promises to them you want to abolish these Services, then I will take the Services with me and go, thinking that the nation has changed its mind … This Constitution will be implemented by such a Service Group which will preserve the unity and integrity of this country”. After that the Constituent Assembly had nothing further to do except adopt Article 312 which establishes the All India Services. There are three of them today, the IAS, the IPS and the Indian Foreign Service. There is the option of constituting an Indian Judicial Service.
The competitive examination through which the Services are recruited formerly consisted of three parts, three compulsory papers, three lower papers and two advanced papers for the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Foreign Service, three compulsory and two lower papers for the Indian Police Service and the class-1 Central Services and three compulsory and three lower papers for the Indian Audit and Accounts Services. The distinction between the IAS and the Indian Foreign Service and other Services was maintained at the examination level itself. This has now changed and there is a single examination for all the Services. Generally the top ranking candidates select the IAS and the Indian Foreign Service and the thereafter, in descending order, other Services are opted for. However, this has given rise to a feeling amongst officers of other Services that it is the luck of the draw which has ranked them below the IAS and that actually all the Services are equal. This has increased inter-service rivalry and bitterness. I think government and UPSC should do some fresh thinking in this behalf and consider whether selection to the IAS and the Indian Foreign Service should not be done on the basis of a more rigorous examination than for the other Services. There is merit in this suggestion. There is also need to do considerable rethinking on the format of the examination. When I joined the Service, apart from the compulsory papers, of the three lower and two higher papers I could take only two which could be from a subject I had studied in college because that is how the grouping of papers was done. With a limited range of age for recruitment between 21 years and 24 years one could not really take more than one discipline at the undergraduate and postgraduate stage of study. My discipline was Economics and only two out of five papers could be in my area of study. I chose General Economics for the lower and Advanced Economic Theory for the higher paper. I was forced to take World History and International Law as my other two lower papers and Advanced Political Thought for my second higher paper. These three subjects I had to study on my own. The questions basically tested my ability to understand the problem and analyse it rather than my ability to learn by rote a huge number of issues relating to my subject. People from the science stream were equally handicapped in that they had to select at least three papers from Humanities and Social Sciences. Entrance to the Service came from a wider range of educational experience. The present system which is largely based on multiple choice questions and objective tests is highly skewed in favour of students of Technology or Applied Sciences and, therefore, the area from which recruitment is done to the IAS has become relatively narrow. Medical doctors and technology graduates have now come to predominate. My own experience is that a person whose educational background has a wide spectrum can be taught to focus, but a person from a narrow technology background with a narrow focus finds much more difficulty in widening his horizon. This is stated as a matter of fact and is not by any means judgemental.
In 1951 India opted for a new model of rural development called Community Development. This was S.K. Dey’s idea and it co-opted the entire population of a village as a community. Rural planning was turned upside down, a new administrative unit called the Community Development Block was established and planning became a participative exercise involving both people and officials. The development model was that development would be community demand driven and implemented through the community which would have to contribute a share of the cost in cash, materials or labour. People who contribute also keep a watch on how their money is spent and the works taken up in the fifties and sixties of the last century still survive. The new development administration, distinct from the Tehsil, separated the development from the regulatory functions of government and a new cadre of Block Development Officers and Extension Officers was created. This was the precursor to the Panchayt Raj established by the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution. The IAS also found itself in a dual role. In the district the D.C. and D.M. was the head of the district administration, but he also had the role, directly or through the District Development Officer, of administering the C.D. Programme. To the credit of the IAS its officers adjusted, through an evolutionary process, to the new administrative arrangement.
As India settled down to an increasingly democratised polity whose mantra was devolution and decentralisation the paternalistic role of the Civil Services underwent change. Policy formulation and decision making increasingly passed to elected representatives, though the Civil Service’s function of advising fearlessly, being politically neutral and administratively impartial in implementation of policy and ensuring the welfare and safety of people become strengthened. New equations between civil servants and politicians had to be forged and up to 1967 this did happen. In 1967 everything changed because unscrupulous, power hungry politicians suddenly found that they could buy power by bribing legislators and causing them to defect from the ruling party. To find the money to bribe legislators and to keep them from again changing their minds the State had to be subverted so that the leverage of the State could be used to make money illegally. To do this the Civil Service had to be tamed, its integrity jeoparadised and its impartiality and independence had to be destroyed. By threat of arbitrary action, transfer, denial of advancement and other unfair means the politicians broke the morale of the IAS and IPS, whose subordinates meekly followed suit.
At the very moment that we needed the IAS to stand firm a substantial number of its members broke. The Service split between those who did their duty and those whom Indira Gandhi called “committed”. The politicians distinguished between convenient and difficult officers, with the latter being sidelined. I fell in the latter group and quit the Service at the peak of my career eight years before my date of retirement. The convenient officers were co-¬opted into multi-faceted, multidimensional wrong doing. Having tasted the wages of sin these officers soon became partners in and sometimes even instigators of unlimited sin. Lest IPS officers feel that my remarks permit them to adopt a smirkingly patronising attitude towards their IAS colleagues, let me tell them that they are no better and are equal sinners.
Where does that leave the IAS today? The Service in 2012 is not the Service of 1957, when I joined it. It is more heterogeneous, four times larger and commands immensely larger funds than we did. Its entrants are perhaps more intelligent than my peers and I, but its motivation is entirely different. We joined the Service because Nehru’s dream of building a new India inspired us and we wanted to participate in this venture. As in all else in an increasingly material world, in the Service, too, idealism is dead and youngsters join the Service because it is a job which promises power and what that power can give. There is no particular desire to serve the people. When motivation changes the attitudes also change. Impartiality and fairness may bring a clash with politicians, which is career-unfriendly. An ability to bend brings advancement and, depending on how lax are one’s morals, even unearned wealth. One notes with satisfaction that there are still some officers who are true to their salt, but one is also alarmed by the growing cases of corruption in the IAS. A Service which was a byword for integrity cannot hold up its head today.
The IAS must realize that on its shoulders rests the burden of not only being India’s premier Civil Service, but also that it mans practically every important post in India. The Cabinet Secretary, the Head of Civil Service, is an IAS officer, as are the Chief Secretaries of States. In the district the senior-most officer is the District Collector, who is the Chief Coordinating Officer in the district. The officers of this Service are the ones who have maximum access to the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers. In every matter of policy an IAS officer has a very important role. For example, under the Rules of Business of the Executive Government framed under Article 77 of the Constitution for the Union and Article 166 for the States it is the duty of the Secretary of the Ministry or Department to ensure compliance with the rules and even if the Minister concerned passes an order contrary to rules, the Secretary is duty bound to point this out to the Minister and if the Minister insists on his order being complied with, then to submit the file through the Minister to the Prime Minister or Chief Minister as the case may be. If the Union Secretary for Communications had insisted on a Council order in the Spectrum allocation case and refused to comply with the Minister’s orders in the absence of such Council order, he might have faced personal discomfort and even humiliation, but there would have been no 2 G scam. That is expected of an IAS officer and that is the price he has to be prepared to pay.
At the other end of the spectrum is the massive corruption in our programmes to benefit the poor, especially in rural areas. If the D.Cs and CEOs of Zila Panchayats were to carefully monitor the programmes, tour extensively, listen to the grievance of the citizens and act sternly against erring officials and panchayat functionaries the corruption in project implementation would drastically reduce. If there is corruption at this level it can only mean one of two things, or both. The officer is lazy and is not doing his supervisory duties, or is himself corrupt, or is both corrupt and lazy. Part XIV of the Constitution gives the Civil Services a unique protection from arbitrary action not available to any other civil service in the world, or even to our own Armed Forces. Article 312 gives enhanced protection to the All India Services. In return the nation expects from them pea-green incorruptibility, the courage to give free and fair advice to the elected representatives, a commitment to do their duty diligently and impartially, the cultivation of professional competence (the coat of arms of the IAS bears the words, “Yogaha Karmasu Kaushalam”) and the service of the people of India as an article of faith. I have doubts whether we inculcate these qualities in our officers during training and I am certain that very few officers remind themselves about what the people expect of them. Many of them are far too busy looking after their own interests to care for the people whom they are required to serve.
Sardar Patel had in mind the basic fissiparous tendencies of the Indian polity and, therefore, built into the Constitution many centripetal forces which gave the Union strength and cohesion. The All India Services were meant to perform a centripetal role. In his address to the Constituent Assembly on 10th October, 1949 he said, “This Constitution will be implemented by such a Service Group which will preserve the unity and integrity of this country”. Unfortunately stratified state cadres have diluted the all India nature of the Services and this has reduced the efficacy of the three All India Services to play a unifying role. Inter cadre transfers, regional grouping of States for cadre management and exposure of every single All India Service officer to a Central posting would probably help in restoring a nation-wide perspective to the Services.
One main criticism of the IAS is that a generalist service sits in judgement over specialists and this has severely affected the development of professionalism in India. Partially this has happened because IAS officers have thrust themselves on departments and posts where they have no business to be. An IAS Commissioner of Health Services or Director of Agriculture is a ridiculous proposition. Similarly, why should a public sector business or industrial undertaking have an IAS or IPS officer as its Managing Director? This is the job of a business manager. What, then, is the role of the generalist? There is fundamental difference between management and administration. In management the variables are predictable within a given range and, therefore, with exceptions and a flexibility which permits change, one can build a linear model. In administration every citizen is a variable in himself and the variables are unpredictable and themselves subject to irrational deviation depending on many factors, including political will and decision making. An administrator, working within the framework of laws, the ideology and programmes of the party in power, even building political whimsy or even waywardness into the process, has to deal with a non linear model where decisions have to be instantly crafted to deal with an emerging situation. This only a generalist trained in administration can do. A professionally trained managerial mind would probably be unable to cope and this can have unfortunate consequences. Therefore, we need administrators to govern and they will be generalists having a wide range of experience.
Another criticism is that the frequent transfer of IAS officers prevents them from acquiring any expertise in any field. Actually the exposure of an IAS officer to a wide range of subjects, posts and issues is the strength of the Service, not its weakness. When at an early age an officer is made to face different situations ranging from law and order to human relations, man management to crisis management, societal issues to economics, he learns situational analysis on the job and his mind becomes attuned to quick and firm decision making. An administrator has to process the inputs from various sources, look at available resources and predetermined plan priorities and then decide on or advise on the optimal course of action. In Army parlance the Chief of every Service presents his case, but the Chief of Defence Staff than decides on priorities, inter service responsibilities and prescribes the bounds of action. That, incidentally, is the job of the IAS Secretary of a Ministry or Department. That makes the Service relevant in today’s context --- not as a superior but as a consensual coordinator. Within this certainly there has to be earmarking of IAS officers sector wise so that an officer with the correct aptitude and attitude becomes increasingly assigned to that sector. Unfortunately many IAS officers just neglect the acquisition of such professional skills and, therefore, the Service is the biggest provider of square pegs in round holes.
To sum up, though relevant the IAS fails to make the grade on counts of a willingness to learn, integrity, courage and, unfortunately, hard, slogging work. Not all, of course, but many and that is a cause for worry. The Service as a whole has also forgotten that it is a servant of the law, not of individual politicians. Wake up IAS or perish!!


The use of AI (artificial intelligence) and machine learning (ML) is mandatory when large multidimensional data sets are to be processed and classified together and their behaviour is to be predicted for the future. Often the goal is to detect deviations from the determined statistical characteristics of the data, so-called anomalies.
Meanwhile there is an unmanageable abundance of procedures from AI, mainly neural networks, which were already intensively analysed in the eighties and nineties. The distinction between supervised and unsupervised learning is still valid, see Bishop and Kohonen's literature on this subject under the menu item “Further information” in “Books & Papers”.
In principle, there is a problem of “overlearning” if the conditions do not match, such as net structure, net size and the amount of pattern set to be learned. This applies to both biological neural networks and artificial neural networks. The article by H. Uzan & I. Kanter: “Biological learning curves outperform existing ones in artificial intelligence algorithms” shows that the biological model has a higher performance compared to algorithms of AI. The structural complexity of real neural networks is the reason for this.
Today we have a large number of methods from AI and ML, also for time series analysis, available. For the time being, we refer to the homepage www.tokeya.de and to the menu item “Further information”, otherwise a more comprehensive presentation would go beyond the scope of this report.
In the narrative context of the last point, there is the advantage that the neural networks known from AI are structurally able to process the relevant data faster, simpler and more comprehensively than is the case with conventional NN by means of some changes in the calculation calculus for complex and hypercomplex numbers without further ado, see the book “Complex-valued Neural Networks” by A. Hirose: https://www.springer.com/de/book/9783642276316.


Cryo-Electron Microscopy: Revealing How Cells ‘Take Out the Trash’
Using a high-resolution imaging technique called cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have revealed how cells degrade damaged or misfolded proteins in mitochondria—cellular compartments that serve as the “powerhouses” of the cell.
Protein degradation is constantly occurring in cells, and is essential to all life forms because it allows cells to get rid of old proteins so that new ones can be made. Defects in protein degradation are closely linked to a variety of disorders, including cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
Using cryo-EM, researchers solved the structure of YME1, a molecular machine that degrades proteins inside mitochondria. This structure allowed them to determine exactly how this machine uses molecular energy to chomp through dangerous proteins. “We’ve known for a long time that ATP molecules power protein degradation, but people never really understood what was going on at the molecular level.” said TSRI Graduate Student Cristina Puchades, first author of the study which was recently published in Science.
Catching Mitochondria in the Act
Within cells, mitochondria are membrane-shrouded containers, so their interior is inaccessible to the protein quality control machinery used by the rest of the cell. Therefore, mitochondria have developed their own systems to manage protein levels.
“Mitochondria regulate their protein levels differently than the rest of the cell, and this structure substantially advances our understanding of this sophisticated process” said TSRI Associate Professor Gabriel Lander, Ph.D., who co-led the study with Steven E. Glynn, Ph.D., of Stony Brook University.
A graduate student in Glynn’s lab, Anthony Rampello, engineered the YME1 machine to enable this study. It then took the researchers at TSRI three years to solve the 3D structure of YME1 frozen in action, trapped in the process of degrading a protein.
“Our structure of YME1 bound to substrate reveals its mechanism of action and explains 30 years of biochemical research in ATP-driven unfoldases,” said TSRI Associate Professor Luke Wiseman, Ph.D., co-author of the study.
The YME1 machinery appears to chop up protein substrates in a two-step process.
First, six ATPases surround the protein substrate slated for degradation, forming a structure around it that resembles a spiral staircase. The ATPases then thread the substrate through the center of the spiral staircase and feed it to a “degradation chamber” where the protein is cleaved into small bits.
The scientists were surprised to discover how this threading works. They found that the ATPase encircles the protein substrate, much like a spiraling staircase wrapping around a central pole. Each "step" of this staircase contains an amino acid that slots into the substrate protein in a zipper-like configuration. In this way, the staircase has a tight hold on the central substrate protein. The energy of ATP molecules fuel motions that cause the staircase to move like a “twisted escalator,” pulling the substrate downward.
As each escalator step reaches the bottom, its amino acid releases its grip on the protein substrate, and the step leap-frogs upwards back to the top of the staircase and takes a hold of the substrate for another round of downward motion. The authors compared the process to pulling a rope hand-over-hand.
Looking Toward Human Health
This study focused on the YME1 machine found in yeast, and the next step for the researchers is to solve the structure of a human version of YME1 that sits on the other side of the mitochondrial membrane.
In humans, mutations of this protein cause neurodegeneration in patients suffering from optic nerve atrophy and spastic paraplegia.
“Protein quality control and its impact on mitochondrial function are involved in many different sorts of neurodegenerative disorders,” said Puchades. “Now we can start using what we’ve learned in the context of disease.”
Cristina Puchades, Anthony J. Rampello, Mia Shin, Christopher J. Giuliano, R. Luke Wiseman, Steven E. Glynn, Gabriel C. Lander: Structure of the mitochondrial inner membrane AAA+ protease YME1 gives insight into substrate processing, Science, Vol. 358, Issue 6363, eaao0464 (3 Nov 2017) doi: 10.1126/science.aao0464


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As a man-made channel with managed water levels, a canal can’t simply flow downhill like a river. Instead, it uses a series of water-containment chambers called locks. These can vary in length, width and depth (see Narrowboat or barge? Canal boats explained), from a narrow lock that will only take a single 60-foot narrowboat to huge automated locks that can make small leisure boats feel like matchsticks. The specific mechanisms can also vary from lock to lock but in all cases, the underlying principles for how to operate a lock remain unchanged.
A lock is simply a chamber with gates at both ends. In each gate are paddles (or sluices) that can be lifted and lowered in order to allow water into and out of the lock. When you drive into an empty lock and fill it with water, your boat will be lifted to the higher level. When you drive into a full lock and empty it, your boat will be dropped to the lower level. When the water level in the lock matches that on the other side of the closed gate, you can swing the gate open and continue your journey on a new stretch of canal. All you really need to master, therefore, is how to open and close the gates and paddles, how to obey canal etiquette and how to stay safe while you do it (and avoid getting into a canal boat disaster like this).
Making your approach
Whether going up or down, reconnaissance is an important part of lock work. Drop your lock man on the towpath and send him ahead to identify whether the lock is empty or full. If you want to go downhill and it is full, you can just open the gates and drive straight in. If it is empty (and there is no boat attempting to come up) you will need to signal to the boat that this is the case and then fill it. Ensure the gates are closed and the lower paddles are shut and then open the upper paddles to allow water in.
Obviously, the opposite applies if you are attempting to go uphill. Send a man ahead and if it is empty, drive straight in; if it is full, open the lower paddles (gently) to empty it while ensuring your boat is comfortably tied alongside so it isn’t bullied out of shape by the water flow (for tips on pulling off this manoeuvre, see: How to drive a narrowboat). Whether going up or down, however, the reconnaissance party should always identify whether there is a boat approaching the lock from the other direction. If there is, then the boat with the water level already in its favour should be given right of way.
Managing the water
Most locks use manually operated rack and pinion systems. You use a windlass (a metal L-shaped device with a square socket to fit onto the winding knob) to lift and lower the paddles. When you wind the paddles up to let water in, do so bit by bit and keep an eye on the boat to see how it is affected by the turbulence.
When the paddles are up, you can engage the safety catch to stop the gears slipping (mind your fingers here) and disengage your windlass. Once the water level has equalised and you are ready to return the paddles to the closed position, do so by releasing the safety catch and winding them back down with your windlass. Don’t just let them drop, as you can damage both the gearing and the paddles. When you have finished with the lock, remember to check for an approaching boat, as it is likely to want to drive straight into the open lock. Otherwise, lower the paddles and close the gates behind you.
When you head downhill, the key hazard is the cill. This is a solid protruberance on the inside of the upper gate that can stick out by as much as five feet. It is below the water when the lock is full, so you will only see it as the lock empties. It is therefore vital that you use your engine to stay ahead of the clearly painted cill marker on the lock walls at all times. If you don’t you will get your stern caught and find yourself at an increasingly alarming angle as the lock continues to empty.
When you head uphill, the key hazards are turbulence and water ingress at the bow. In order to minimise these, you should position the boat a decent distance back from the front gates and make sure the windlass operator opens the paddles very steadily. Again, use the engine to keep your position steady and (in wide locks) use a line looped around a bollard at bow and stern to prevent the boat clattering sideways into the opposite wall.
Top ten tips
(1) A lock is full of heavy, unyielding machinery so avoid rushing and set aside at least 20 minutes to make your way through.
(2) Engine and water noise can make communication difficult, so a simple signing system between helmsman and lock operator can be very useful.
(3) As regards etiquette: allow a boat going in the same direction to share the lock; avoid queue jumping; and don’t loiter in the spaces on either side of the lock.
(4) Line yourself up early, take it slow and use your engine to stop in the lock, rather than simply smashing into the gates.
(5) While well-serviced gates can be swung with minimal effort, a build up of silt and debris at the end of a season may mean extra elbow grease and some gentle clearance with a boat hook is required.
(6) Stay at the helm with your engine running for the entire process, and make sure you do not stray aft of the cill marker or too close to the gates.
(7) Lift and lower the paddles steadily and under control so that water movement in and out of the lock is measured rather than frantic.
(8) Assuming nobody wants to drive into the lock as you leave, make sure you close the gates and leave the paddles fully shut.
(9) Locks are dangerous places, so whether it’s a legal requirement or not, do as the professionals do and wear a proper lifejacket.
(10) Read the excellent ‘Boater’s Handbook’ before you go. It’s full of very accessible illustrations and it’s free to download from the CRT website (www.canalandrivertrust.org.uk).
For more on the joys of inland waterway boating, see: 10 top tips for enjoying a narrowboat holiday and Your guide to buying a narrowboat.


How do we understand the interplay of human emotions and their neural networks? This course applies findings from the interdisciplinary field of neuroscience and the psychological study of, cognition, emotion, and personality. Basic, complex, and social emotions are explored from the perspective of, e.g., the subjective experience of emotion, non-conscious processes, how emotions are interpreted, expressed or regulated. Affective systems, neural networks, and their relationship to cognitive processes such as attention, learning, memory, decision making are addressed. Where relevant, human brain imaging findings, pathological conditions, treatment and cultural perspectives are considered.
Related Discipline(s)This course would also be of interest to the following discipline(s):
Pre-Medicine / Health Science


Written by Liem Nguyen
LLM International Commercial Law
We do not wait until we’re studying for a Master’s to start reading; we already read a lot whilst studying at undergraduate level or even long before that. So why is the importance of reading particularly emphasized at postgraduate level? What makes PG reading different than that of undergraduate study?
The main differences are the amount and depth of reading. Reading at postgraduate level is not just about reading the materials and remembering the info; it is not “mere” reading but “critical” reading. This means that you should read, think and reflect upon what you have just read. It is about forming your analytical thinking and your academic opinions.
PG study requires a great deal of dense and complex reading; you will never be able to read everything available. As a result, you should know how to read efficiently and effectively in order to deal with the reading workloads. So how? Below are some useful tips to help you to keep up with PG reading.
- Organize your reading
First you should know which reading is the most essential. For example, you should read what is mandatory for a class first, focusing on what is important for you know in order to be able to participate in class discussions. You should be able to pick out the most prioritized books/articles from the reading list. You can also ask your professors which are the most relevant reading materials for you to focus on.
When accessing a particular reading material, use the abstract or introductions to see if it is appropriate for your studies. Alternatively, you could read conclusion or summaries to make such a decision. Afterwards, select the most useful and valuable articles/materials for more in-depth reading and leave any others for later. And remember that you are never going to be able to read all the recommended materials so you must know which are your priorities.
When you read, you should think about your reading purpose: to enhance your knowledge and understanding of your course subject. You may use some of your readings for your assignments, reports or exams. Therefore, it is always good to make notes of your reading: key points of the article and other relevant information.
- Tips for effective reading
At postgraduate level, you should read smarter, not harder. In order to do that, remember the following rules:
- Learn the terminology, scan and skim. That way you will be able to understand the most important thing quickly without wasting time on any unnecessary things.
- Do not read when you are too tired, too bored or not focused. Go and have a rest, chill and start again later.
- Clearly set out what you want to achieve from your reading and set a deadline for it.
- Do not just read – think and analyze too. Take notes of your reading and review and update them as your knowledge expands.
- Don’t want exhausted eyes? Then you can listen to audio books, educational podcasts, lecture videos and talks for a refreshing change.
A passion for reading is all that you’ll need in order to survive the reading load and get the most out of it. Do not just read the recommended lists, find something else that really interests you. This will motivate you to keep up with the reading and ultimately enjoy it.
Reading at a PG level may sound scary at first but once you know the tricks, I am sure you will survive it and hopefully even enjoy it at the end. Good luck, smart readers!


Liver is the large glandular organ in vertebrate secreting bile and purifying venous blood. There are many kinds of diseases concerning liver, such as jaundice, cirrhosis of the liver, cancer of liver, tuberculosis of liver, abscess of liver etc. The fifth house rules the same. Simha rasi is the seat of liver in natural zodiac. Jupiter is karaka for the same. Sun and Mars are the planets who govern biles. Moon is the ruler of blood. When Simha rasi, fifth house, lord of fifth house, Jupiter, Moon, Sun and Mars are afflicted, badly placed and make some relation with disease inflicting house or planet, they suggest liver troubles. As Sun is also the karaka for stomach, his situation, strength etc are important for the diseases of liver. Mars is the planet which produces abscess and affliction of fifth house by malefic Mars or some connection of Mars with fifth house or lord of fifth house or karaka planets being afflicted may produce liver abscess. Rahu’s affliction in similar way is responsible for tuberculosis of liver. When all the malefic planets afflict the houses and karakas ruling liver and be related with disease inflicting house or planet, they may give rise to cancer of liver.
I am giving below some of the combinations ruling liver diseases :—
- If Moon be hemmed between malefics and Sun be in Makara rasi, they may cause liver abscess.
- If Moon be in between two malefics and Saturn be in the seventh house, they may produce liver abscess.
- A malefic Jupiter in lagna or dusthana causes liver diseases.
- Lords of lagna and eighth house with Jupiter cause the similar disease.
- Lords of lagna, second and fourth houses in one house afflicted cause the similar disease.
- Lord of lagna in sixth house along with Jupiter gives rise to similar disease.
- Lord of lagna, lord of fourth house and Jupiter in one house being afflicted cause the similar disease. Click Here
Example No, 31.
Lagna—Makara ; Venus and Mercury in Mesha : Sun, Mars and Rahu in Brisha ; Moon and Saturn in Simha ; Ketu in Brischika ; Jupiter in Kumbha.
This is case of liver disease. The person suffered many times from serious diseases concerning liver.
The reasons for the same are :—
- Simha rasi is afflicted by conjunction of Saturn and also by aspect of Mars.
- Fifth house is conjoined with malefics Mars,Rahu and Sun and is also aspected by Saturn.
- Fifth lord Venus is with sixth lord Mercury.
- Sun, a karaka, is heavily afflicted.
- Jupiter, another karaka, is afflicted by Saturn being strongly aspected.
- Fifth houses from Sun and Moon and fifth lord from Moon are afflicted.
- Mars and Moon, ruling biles and blood, are heavily afflicted.
Thus we find the houses and planets ruling the diseases concerning liver are afflicted in this horoscope and are competent to give rise to the diseases of liver.


Gr 3-6-This hybrid of how-to-draw and subject exploration fails on both levels. Each book introduces a single technique-perspective in Airplanes, shape in Cars, positive and negative space in Dinosaurs, proportion in Horses, use of focal points in Knights, contrast in Monster Trucks, line in Spacecrafts, and shading in Wizards-and illustrates, in four steps, how to do it. Four spreads of practice exercises (in five steps each) are then interspersed with narrative spreads covering such topics as "The Golden Age of Flight" (Airplanes) and "Concept Cars" (Cars). No attempt is made to explain the "why" of the visual phenomena being described. For example, Dinosaurs states only that "Drawing the negative space helps you see the shapes of objects and their surroundings." Also, small guide drawings make the exercises seem daunting, and the potential helpfulness of the graph-paper backgrounds is wasted by its placement on the diagonal. The writing is clunky and sometimes inaccurate. In Airplanes, for example, Lindbergh's New York to Paris flight is described as having lasted 3,312 hours, or 138 days.[Page 49]. Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.


Strong evidence suggests that interventions to achieve dietary behaviour change in patients with age-related macular degeneration could help prevent disease progression. Co-management between eyecare practitioners and dietitians could provide an effective solution.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in Australia, accounting for 50 per cent of cases among people aged over 50 years.1 Dietary modifications represent one of the only ways to prevent the development of AMD as well as slow its progression.2,3 Current evidence indicates that all AMD patients, regardless of their disease severity, should be given dietary advice to increase consumption of dark green leafy vegetables and fish, and to consume low glycemic index (GI) diets.3-8 The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) demonstrated that taking a supplement containing high doses of vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, zinc, and copper could reduce AMD progression by 25 per cent.9-14 The follow up (AREDS 2), found adding lutein and zeaxanthin (naturally occurring carotenoids) or omega-3 fatty acids to the original AREDS formulation had no overall effect on the risk of late AMD. However, the trial found that replacing beta-carotene with a five to one mixture of lutein and zeaxanthin could help to further reduce late AMD risk.7,8
Currently, we aim to move the research forward in AMD by using the landmark Blue Mountains Eye Study (BMES) to investigate links between relatively unexplored or novel dietary parameters and risk of AMD. For instance, the epidemiological data available on the association between vitamin B12 and folate with AMD are largely equivocal. Using BMES data we were able to show that participants with vitamin B12 deficiency had around 58 per cent higher risk of developing early AMD, and just over two-fold increased risk of late AMD over a 10-year follow up. Similarly, folate deficiency was associated with 75 per cent and 89 per cent increased risk of early and any AMD, respectively. Conversely, participants who reported vitamin B12 supplement usage had 47 per cent reduced risk of developing any AMD 10 years later.5 These associations were independent of the potential confounding effects of factors such as smoking, fish consumption and antioxidant intake.5 It has been posited that the direct antioxidant effect of vitamin B12 and folate could explain its beneficial influence on AMD risk. However, the evidence is currently insufficient to recommend B12 and folate supplementation to prevent the development of AMD.
Intake of Dairy
Another dietary factor, that has not been well explored in relation to AMD risk and progression, are the intake of dairy foods. In the BMES, lower consumption of reduced-fat dairy foods was associated with three-fold increased risk of late AMD over a 15-year follow up.4 Reduced total dietary calcium intake over the 15 years was also associated with an increased risk of developing late AMD among BMES participants.4 Our findings are in agreement with existing studies that showed a protective effect of habitual dairy food consumption on various systemic conditions including metabolic syndrome, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.15-18 Nevertheless, we caution that any dietary recommendations from these data, such as an increase in the consumption of dairy products to prevent AMD, require further validation before they are incorporated into public health advice.19 Specifically, randomised clinical trials that more accurately determine the potential value of dairy food intake as a means of reducing the risk of developing AMD would be valuable.4
there exists a critical need to identify an effective intervention for dietary behaviour change in AMD patients that could be routinely implemented in clinical practice
Multiple healthy or unhealthy lifestyle factors considered jointly, may have a greater influence on AMD risk reduction than the effect of individual healthy or unhealthy lifestyle factors.20 In this context, we recently published BMES research examining the combined influence of poor health behaviours on AMD risk.21 At the baseline examination, BMES participants who engaged in all four poor health behaviours (smoking, low fruit and/or vegetable consumption, high intake of alcohol and low levels of physical activity) had five and 29.5-fold greater odds of any, and late, AMD respectively, compared to those exhibiting none of these unhealthy behaviours. Findings from the BMES and two other US studies20,22 therefore, suggest that broadly, a combination of lifestyle practices might have a more important effect on the likelihood of AMD than focusing on certain isolated components of an individual’s lifestyle.21
Micronutrient Usage and Other Modifiable Lifestyle Behaviours
Currently, there is a paucity of studies that have compared the micronutrient usage and other modifiable lifestyle behaviour patterns in the longer term among those with and without a diagnosis of AMD. Therefore, one of our aims was to document temporal changes in lifestyle behaviours and antioxidant supplement use among people presenting with AMD at the initial BMES exams. In the BMES, only ~46 per cent of participants who developed late AMD reported uptake of AREDS-type supplements over 10 years.23 A lower uptake of AREDS-type supplements was also observed in participants who developed early AMD, which is cause for concern given that this sub group is likely to be at greatest risk of progression to advanced AMD, and irreversible vision loss.24 Less than half of participants who had AMD were adhering to recommended daily intakes for fruit, vegetable and fish in the BMES.23 An extension of this report involved comparing dietary intakes in a large clinic based cohort of late AMD patients presenting for treatment with age-sex matched healthy controls from the BMES.25 This recent study showed that late stage AMD patients, compared to healthy controls, had lower intakes of vitamins C and E, beta-carotene and folate. A significantly lower proportion of late stage AMD cases were also meeting the recommended daily intake of vegetables compared to controls.25 These findings are of concern as vegetables are a rich source of lutein and zeaxanthein.7,8 Moreover, less than half of AMD patients were meeting the recommended fish intake, despite the known protective benefits of fish.6
In summary, there is strong evidence from studies such as AREDS and BMES showing the benefits of micro and macronutrients, and food groups with respect to AMD with few, if any, adverse effects.3 Hence, dietary modifications for AMD are important as no other preventative treatments are available.3 Despite this, our research and the research of others have identified an evidence practice gap of dietary recommendations made by eye care professionals and the recommendations actually practiced by AMD patients.23,26,27 Therefore, there exists a critical need to identify an effective intervention for dietary behaviour change in AMD patients that could be routinely implemented in clinical practice.
Eye care professionals are extremely busy and do not always have the time to provide the support patients need to understand dietary recommendations and to achieve compliance. To address this evidence practice gap we are now conducting a NHMRC funded, randomised, controlled trial of a telephone intervention delivered by an accredited practicing dietitian, aimed at promoting a diet that is regularly rich in dark green, leafy vegetables, fruits and fish, as well as appropriate use of AREDS-type supplements in AMD patients. The basis of this study is that nutrition focused healthcare to positively change behaviours could be best achieved through appropriate comanagement between eye care practitioners and dietitians.28 It is anticipated that this intervention will quickly and efficiently provide tailored advice on nutrition and recommended support to AMD patients, thereby facilitating positive dietary behaviour changes. These types of intervention studies that expand the scope of translation efforts in AMD beyond screening, and drug or laser treatments,3 will become increasingly important due to ageing demographics and substantial increase in the estimated number of Australians with AMD in the coming years.
Associate Professor Bamini Gopinath is an epidemiologist with the University of Sydney. She currently holds a NHMRC TRIP Fellowship, which aims to implement a dietary behaviour intervention for AMD patients. Her ongoing public health research aims to translate key epidemiological findings into health policy and practice, with the intention of targeting current gaps that exist in Australian healthcare.
1. Taylor,H.R. et al. Vision loss in Australia. Med J Aust 182, 565-568 (2005).
2. Lim,L.S., Mitchell,P., Seddon,J.M., Holz,F.G. & Wong,T.Y. Age-related macular degeneration. Lancet 379, 1728-1738 (2012).
3. Broadhead,G.K., Grigg,J.R., Chang,A.A. & McCluskey,P. Dietary modification and supplementation for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration. Nutr Rev 73, 448-462 (2015).
4. Gopinath,B. et al. Consumption of dairy products and the 15-year incidence of age-related macular degeneration. Br J Nutr 111, 1673-1679 (2014).
5. Gopinath,B., Flood,V.M., Rochtchina,E., Wang,J.J. & Mitchell,P. Homocysteine, folate, vitamin B-12, and 10-y incidence of age-related macular degeneration. Am J Clin Nutr 98, 129-135 (2013).
6. Wang,J.J. et al. Combined Effects of Complement Factor H Genotypes, Fish Consumption, and Inflammatory Markers on Long-Term Risk for Age-related Macular Degeneration in a Cohort. Am J Epidemiol 169, 633-641 (2009).
7. Chew,E.Y. et al. Secondary Analyses of the Effects
of Lutein/Zeaxanthin on Age-Related Macular
Degeneration Progression: AREDS2 Report No. 3. JAMA Ophthalmol 132, 142-149 (2014).
8. Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 Research Group. Lutein + zeaxanthin and omega-3 fatty acids for age-related macular degeneration: the Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2) randomized clinical trial. JAMA 309, 2005-2015 (2013).
9. A randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial of high-dose supplementation with vitamins C and E, beta carotene, and zinc for age-related macular degeneration and vision loss: AREDS report no. 8. Arch Ophthalmol 119, 1417-1436 (2001).
10. Bressler,N.M. et al. Potential public health impact of Age-Related Eye Disease Study results: AREDS report no. 11. Arch Ophthalmol 121, 1621-1624 (2003).
11. Clemons,T.E., Milton,R.C., Klein,R., Seddon,J.M. & Ferris,F.L., III. Risk factors for the incidence of Advanced Age-Related Macular Degeneration in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) AREDS report no. 19. Ophthalmology 112, 533-539 (2005).
12. The Age-Related Eye Disease Study severity scale for Age-Related Macular Degeneration: AREDS report number 17. Arch Ophthalmol 123, 1484-1498 (2005).
13. A simplified severity scale for Age-Related Macular Degeneration: AREDS report number 18. Arch Ophthalmol 123, 1570-1574 (2005).
14. Age-related Eye Disease Study. About AREDS2. 2011. 5-7-2010.
15. Louie,J.C. et al. Higher regular fat dairy consumption is associated with lower incidence of metabolic syndrome but not type 2 diabetes. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis (2012).
16. Malik,V.S. et al. Adolescent dairy product consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes in middle-aged women. Am J Clin Nutr 94, 854-861 (2011).
17. Lamarche,B. Review of the effect of dairy products on non-lipid risk factors for cardiovascular disease. J Am Coll Nutr 27, 741S-746S (2008).
18. van Meijl,L.E. & Mensink,R.P. Low-fat dairy consumption reduces systolic blood pressure, but does not improve other metabolic risk parameters in overweight and obese subjects. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 21, 355-361 (2011).
19. Guymer,R.H. & Chong,E.W. Modifiable risk factors for age-related macular degeneration. Med J Aust 184, 455-458 (2006).
20. Meyers,K.J. et al. Joint Associations of Diet, Lifestyle, and Genes with Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Ophthalmology 122, 2286-2294 (2015).
21. Gopinath,B. et al. Combined influence of poor health behaviours on the prevalence and 15-year incidence of age-related macular degeneration. Sci Rep 7, 4359 (2017).
22. Mares,J.A. et al. Healthy lifestyles related to subsequent prevalence of age-related macular degeneration. Arch Ophthalmol 129, 470-480 (2011).
23. Gopinath,B., Flood,V.M., Kifley,A., Liew,G. & Mitchell,P. Smoking, Antioxidant Supplementation and Dietary Intakes among Older Adults with Age-Related Macular Degeneration over 10 Years. PLoS ONE 10, e0122548 (2015).
24. Christen,W.G., Glynn,R.J., Chew,E.Y., Albert,C.M. & Manson,J.E. Folic acid, pyridoxine, and cyanocobalamin combination treatment and age-related macular degeneration in women: the Women’s Antioxidant and Folic Acid Cardiovascular Study. Arch Intern Med 169, 335-341 (2009).
25. Gopinath,B. et al. Intake of key micronutrients and food groups in patients with late-stage age-related macular degeneration compared with age-sex-matched controls. Br J Ophthalmol (2016).
26. Shah,S.U., Pilli,S., Telander,D.G., Morse,L.S. & Park,S.S. Survey of patients with age-related macular degeneration: knowledge and adherence to recommendations. Can J Ophthalmol 48, 204-209 (2013).
27. Stevens,R., Bartlett,H., Walsh,R. & Cooke,R. Age-related macular degeneration patients’ awareness of nutritional factors. British Journal of Visual Impairment 32, 77-93 (2014).
28. Downie,L.E. & Keller,P.R. The self-reported clinical practice behaviors of Australian optometrists as related to smoking, diet and nutritional supplementation. PLoS ONE 10, e0124533 (2015).


For a year in which most excavations were cancelled, it was remarkably fruitful for archaeology in general. Some of that is owing to the continuation of certain excavations such as rescue projects sponsored by the government. In other cases, discoveries made in previous years were only announced in 2020.
The following list prioritizes archaeological discoveries closer in time and place to the biblical record. It was prepared from a survey of the year’s roundups, without consulting other lists (see below for links to those).
In addition to the top ten, I have included a good number of additional discoveries, primarily as a reminder of just how many interesting finds were made in a year that might otherwise be considered a loss.
1. Three royal (Proto-Aeolic) capitals were discovered south of ancient Jerusalem, providing beautiful evidence of a building that once served Manasseh or Josiah.
3. A stone measuring table and several dozen stone weights were discovered in a plaza along the first-century AD street from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount. Archaeologists believe that the area it was found served as the Jerusalem’s central market.
4. Archaeologists have published a report that they have discovered a “massive Iron II temple complex” at Moza, in use from 900 to 600 BC.
A seal impression of an official of King Jeroboam II has been discovered. It is a smaller version of the famous seal found at Megiddo in 1904 (and later lost). UPDATE (Aug 2021): This item is actually a common tourist replica.
Discoveries by young people:
- A 9-year-old discovered a First Temple-era gold granule bead during wet sifting of earth from the Temple Mount.
- A 6-year-old found a unique, 3,500-year-old depiction of a Canaanite prisoner and his victorious warden.
- A 7th-grader walking near Caesarea after heavy rains discovered a Byzantine inscription.
Small finds in Jerusalem:
- A gem stone featuring a portrait of the god Apollo was discovered in debris sifting of soil coming from an ancient drainage channel in the City of David.
- A two-shekel weight from the Iron Age was discovered in excavations near the Western Wall.
- A Persian-period seal and a seal impression were found in Jerusalem.
More discoveries in Jerusalem:
- Archaeologists have found a ritual bath from the first century at the traditional site of the Garden of Gethsemane.
- Excavations in the old Givati parking lot in the City of David have continued this summer, with archaeologists uncovering a building destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC.
More discoveries in Israel:
- An oil lamp workshop from the 4th century AD, first found in the 1930s, has been rediscovered at Beth Shemesh. This is the Late Roman equivalent of finding the LMLK production center.
- Archaeologists have discovered a fortified building in the Golan Heights that dates roughly to the time of David and may have belonged to the kingdom of Geshur.
- Excavations at Caesarea Philippi (Banias) revealed the remains of a Byzantine church as well as a 2nd or 3rd century AD altar with a Greek inscription written by a pilgrim to the god Pan.
- A border stone from the Roman period was discovered in the Golan Heights with a Greek inscription reading, “A border stone between Amatiya [or Amatira] and Kfar Nafah.”
- Archaeologists have discovered a copper-ore smelting furnace in Beersheba from the Chalcolithic period, making it the oldest known to date.
- Archaeologists working at Azekah may have found traces of the Assyrian siege ramp used to conquer the city in 701 BC.
- A Canaanite fortress from the time of the judges was discovered near Kiryat Gat.
- A team excavating Khirbet a-Ra‘i discovered a rare “smiting god” figurine and a bronze calf figurine from the 12th century BC.
Top Stories Related to Tourism:
The last land mine was removed from the Jordan River baptismal area near Qaser al-Yahud.
Israel has announced the creation of seven new nature reserves in the West Bank: Ariel Cave, Wadi Og, Wadi Malha, the Southern Jordan River, Bitronot Creek, Nahal Tirza, and Rotem-Maskiot.
A new outdoor archaeological exhibit was created in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, featuring 180 items previously scattered around the area.
$40 million will be spent to upgrade the Tower of David Museum, with a plan to double the size of the current museum, including the addition of seven new galleries, a new sunken entrance visitor center outside the Old City walls, and a multi-sensory experience in the Kishle excavations.
The Acropolis in Athens is undergoing a number of renovations to improve safety and enhance the experience for visitors.
Notable Resources of 2020:
Joel P. Kramer, Where God Came Down: The Archaeological Evidence
Bob Rognlien, Recovering the Way
Appian Media, “Lessons from the Land: The Gospels,” a 13-part video series aimed at elementary-aged students
Bible Land Passages, “Caesarea by the Sea: Rome’s Capital in Israel,” a 20-minute documentary featuring 3D digital models
Biblical Israel Ministries and Tours, Biblical Israel by Air, with 69 minutes of drone footage of beautiful sites
The Complete ibiblestock Video Library includes more than 4.5 hours of footage.
The Photo Companion to the Bible:
The Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, volume 20: Western Mediterranean (1,400 photos)
Losses This Year:
Gordon Govier identified Biblical Archaeology’s Top 10 Discoveries of 2020 in a report for Christianity Today.
Bryan Windle provides his list of the top ten discoveries in 2020.
Lawrence Schiffman wrote about discoveries made in 2020 for Ami Magazine.
Ruth Schuster summarizes the top biblical archaeology stories for Haaretz (premium).
Israel365News posts their top 10 archaeological finds in 2020 that are confirmed in the Bible.
Gizmodo has created a slideshow of about a dozen intriguing archaeological discoveries in 2020.
The Greek Reporter reviews the top ten most spectacular Greek archaeological discoveries of 2020.
The archaeology website Arkeofili suggests the top 10 archaeological finds in Turkey and North Cyprus in 2020.
Gulf News lists 38 archaeological highlights, organized by continent and date announced.
HeritageDaily identifies the 10 most prominent archaeological discoveries of 2020.
Archaeology magazine’s top 10 discoveries of the decade includes finds from Greece and Egypt, but nothing from Israel, Jordan, or Turkey.
You can revisit the top stories of previous years with these links:


BELFAIR STATE PARK - Environmental engineer Pat McCullough grinned as a bulldozer chewed away at a boulder-studded dike he can't wait to tear down.
When that 1950s-era dike at Belfair State Park goes down sometime this week, Big Mission Creek will flow back into its natural streambed, 600 feet of Hood Canal shoreline and beach will return to a natural state, and an estuary that was filled in with 20,000 cubic feet of dirt 50 years ago will be reborn.
"We expect to quickly see salt marsh, pickleweed and grasses," McCullough said. "The neat thing is that people will get to see and use a restored beach, and it's good for salmon and Hood Canal."
But McCullough, who oversees the project for the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group, also feels a little guilty.
That's because a short distance away is an investment house he owns that is tucked behind a $250,000 concrete bulkhead. McCullough and his business partners are afraid to tear down the bulkhead because they could lose half of the house's valuable waterfront to salt water.
McCullough and his partners bought the house in June.
"Taking it out is not an option at this point," McCullough said. "We own 750 feet of waterfront there, and 650 feet of it is bulkheaded."
McCullough's personal dilemma isn't unusual around Puget Sound, where habitat loss from population growth and development has robbed dozens of Puget Sound plants, birds, fish and marine mammals of their homes, their food sources and the water quality they need to survive. For instance:
• About one-third of Puget Sound's shoreline, or 800 miles, has been barricaded with bulkheads, dredged or filled in for human use, destroying valuable habitat that plants and animals need to survive.
• Since the 1880s, about 73 percent of Puget Sound's salt marsh habitat has been lost, with the number approaching 100 percent in urban bays.
• More than 1,000 Puget Sound species are at risk - including 40 species listed on state or federal threatened and endangered species lists - or are candidates for special protection.
These are some of the reasons restoring and protecting Puget Sound habitat is a cornerstone of the Puget Sound Partnership's emerging plan to restore Puget Sound health by 2020.
Bulkheads damage beaches and estuaries, which are nurseries for dozens of plants and animals, including struggling salmon runs. Beaches and estuaries are vital links in the complex web of life in Puget Sound.
But those same bulkheads keep increasingly valuable real estate intact. "That's what makes it tougher to do anything about bulkheads in Puget Sound," McCullough said. "People worry about losing their houses, and a lot of homes were built too close to the water."
Nevertheless, a wide-ranging coalition of environmental groups, tribes and local, state and federal agencies is poised for a restoration of some of Puget Sound's shorelines and estuaries.
The Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership recently awarded $2.5 million to nine restoration projects, including $200,000 for the Belfair State Park work.
The partnership has worked on a restoration plan since 2001.
Restoring Puget Sound's nearshore habitat could eventually become one of the biggest environmental projects in U.S. history.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Army Corps of Engineers co-chair the partnership.
The partnership is a year away from releasing a report on how to restore beaches and estuaries, but the actual work is starting right now.
"We're spinning out our early knowledge into projects," said Curtis Tanner, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist and partnership project manager. "We also will monitor the projects and learn from them."
Why bulkheads hurt
About 70 percent of Puget Sound's intertidal wetlands - estuaries and marshes - has been lost to fill and dikes, Tanner said.
"Thirty to 90 percent of the shoreline is armored, depending on the region," Tanner said.
In Thurston County, about half of the sandy and gravel beaches are armored with bulkheads, according to a 2005 shoreline assessment by Herrera Environmental Consultants.
Bulkheaded beaches and diked-off estuaries wreak havoc on many key species in the Puget Sound web of life - including herring, salmon, crabs and eelgrass.
A bulkheaded beach no longer gets silt and sand from the land, so waves and currents erode the beach into a steep, densely packed mass of rocks.
No fresh water oozes over the beach during low tides, which means the eggs of sand lance - an important baitfish and food for other fish - dry up and die.
As the beach gets steeper and harder, it resembles asphalt. The silty, sandy area just offshore washes away, and eelgrass beds have no place to set roots.
Eelgrass is vital spawning and nursery habitat for salmon, crabs, herring and dozens of other animals.
Take away the natural beaches, and you break the chain of life in Puget Sound, Tanner said.
"In the South Sound area, the marine bluffs feed the beach," said Roger Geibelhaus, a Thurston County planner. "When you block that with a bulkhead, you starve the beach."
Geibelhaus said about 90 percent of the proposed bulkhead permits the county reviews are to replace old bulkheads with new ones. County officials encourage property owners to look at alternatives but don't require them to do so.
"We don't encourage people to construct concrete walls," he said. "We're trying to get more woody debris in the tidal area."
Estuaries - the places where rivers and streams empty into Puget Sound - form giant shallow, silty areas where aquatic plants, including eelgrass, grow. Estuaries and marshes are important habitat for young fish, crabs, shellfish and birds.
The loss of nearshore habitat - especially estuaries and beaches - interferes with the complex cycle of life in Puget Sound.
Without beaches and estuaries, Puget Sound will remain sick and could die, said Tim Smith, Fish and Wildlife's representative on the partnership's council.
Decades of work ahead
It took more than 100 years to armor Puget Sound's shorelines, and it will take decades to bring the beaches, marshes and estuaries back. The project will take decades because there are so many armored beaches - and many people are afraid to tear down their bulkheads and risk their homes to the tide and storms, Tanner said.
But in many cases, the bulkhead isn't needed and could be removed without putting property at risk, Tanner said.
"How do I, as a biologist, convince a landowner that this is what needs to be done?" Tanner asked.
"We need to be able to use a model and be able to say: 'If you do this, this will happen,' " Smith said.
That's why the nine early projects now under way are so important: They will demonstrate safe ways to restore beaches without wrecking homes, Smith said.
Restoring the beach, estuary and natural streambeds at Belfair State Park isn't a risk, said Deborah Petersen, state parks environmental planner.
More than two years of studies went into the project, Petersen said.
A concrete tidal swimming area and some play areas will be lost, but the public will gain more than 2,000 feet of natural beach, a restored estuary and boosted salmon runs in Big Mission Creek and Little Mission Creek, Petersen said.
"It is a big step to pull armor off the shoreline," Petersen said. "But we are confident that this is right."
McCullough said Belfair State Park still will have grassy areas, bathrooms, parking lots and pathways.
"It will have all-natural beach," McCullough said. "And, as the population of the state increases, access to places like Hood Canal will become more and more valuable."
South Sound is home to some of the most significant estuary restoration work in Puget Sound.
Dike removal projects in the Nisqually and Skokomish river deltas should allow 1,100 acres of pasture land and freshwater marsh to revert to tidal-influenced estuaries.
"Preventing the Nisqually Delta from becoming Tacoma Tideflats South is one of the greatest successes in the Puget Sound cleanup effort," said Nisqually Valley resident Howard Glastetter, referring to derailed plans decades ago to turn the Nisqually Delta into an industrial port.
Habitat restoration projects on Puget Sound beaches, shorelines and adjoining streams serve more than one purpose, said Betsy Peabody, executive director of the Puget Sound Restoration Fund, a nonprofit group dedicated to restoring the native Olympia oyster.
"Habitat restoration - it's all about building a constituency that can save this place," Peabody said.
"It's exciting, and it's something people can connect to," agreed Olympia City Councilman Doug Mah, a member of the Puget Sound Council, which directs the Puget Sound Action Team.
While restoring Puget Sound habitat is critical work, the need to preserve and protect the high-quality habitat that remains is just as important in the face of relentless population growth and development, said Eric Erler, executive director of the Olympia-based Capitol Land Trust.
The Puget Sound basin population of 4 million is expected to grow by 1 million in the next 20 years.
Thurston County could be home to nearly 400,000 people by 2025, more than the population of Miami today.
In the 2005-07 state budget, $572 million was allotted to protect Puget Sound and help it recover, including $51 million for restoring habitat and $27.3 million for protecting habitat.
"We're not going to have these functioning places left in a few short years. They'll either be developed or become too costly to purchase," Erler said.
Since 1989, the Capitol Land Trust has conserved through easements, land donations and voluntary sales 2,400 acres in South Sound, including 6 miles of marine near-shore and nearby upland habitat on lower Eld Inlet, Gull Harbor and Oakland Bay in Mason County.
"Puget Sound estuaries are some of the most productive living systems on earth," Erler said in explaining why their preservation and recovery is the land trust's top conservation goal.
Environmental laws and land use controls play a role in restoring Puget Sound, too, according to the Puget Sound Environmental Caucus, a coalition of environmental and conservation groups.
One of the reasons so many shoreline property owners need bulkheads is that local governments allowed them to build too close to the shoreline and edges of marine bluffs in the first place. The environmental caucus is calling on Puget Sound cities and counties to protect marine shoreline habitat and upland shoreline vegetation through revisions to their critical areas ordinances.
The proposed Thurston County critical areas ordinance would feature a typical marine shoreline building setback of 100 feet, compared with the 50 feet on the books since 1990, Thurston County planning manager John Sonnen said.
"We're trying to maintain water quality to protect shellfish and other marine life," he said of the proposed wider buffers.
When the county rolled out changes in its critical areas ordinance last year, they were met with much resistance from property owners who said the changes restrict what they can do with their land.
It's the same sentiment that's behind Initiative 933, the measure on the November ballot that, if approved, would require local governments to pay property owners for lost use of their property from wider buffers, zoning changes and the like, or to waive the environmental rules and zoning that lead to the devalued property.
"The initiative would force counties and states to be creative," said John Stuhlmiller, assistant director of government relations for the Washington Farm Bureau, a sponsor of the initiative. "We're saying the greater social good can't be at the expense of individuals."
Those trying to implement Gov. Chris Gregoire's Puget Sound Initiative, which calls for a clean, healthier Puget Sound by 2020, are concerned about the land use patterns Initiative 933 would allow in the Puget Sound basin.
"Initiative 933 would trump all the efforts under way to restore and protect Puget Sound," said Puget Sound Action Team executive director Brad Ack.
Restoration projects and cost
Federal and state agencies, local environmental groups such as the South Sound Salmon Enhancement Group and the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group, local governments and tribes have worked on beach and estuary restoration for years.
The Nisqually tribe's restoration of the Nisqually River Delta - in partnership with the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge and state agencies - started in 1999.
But the Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership - a partnership among environmental groups, tribes, local governments and federal and state agencies - recently accelerated habitat restoration with $2.5 million in grants. The grants match other state, local and federal funding for a total value of $20 million of work.
The funded grants and projects include:
$385,140 for restoration of the Qwuloolt Marsh in Snohomish County. The project sponsor is the Tulalip tribes of Washington.
$241,589 to restore the Wiley Slough in Skagit County. The project sponsor is Skagit River System Cooperative.
$200,000 to breach a dike and restore natural river and tidal actions to the Snohomish River estuary. The sponsor is the city of Everett Public Works department.
$96,250 to create an outreach program to highlight the benefits for juvenile salmon of 990 feet of waterfront salmon habitat in Seattle at the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park. The sponsor is the Seattle Art Museum.
$200,000 to restore the Belfair State Park estuary, Big and Little Mission creeks and the beach. This project is in Mason County, and the sponsor is Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group.
$66,000 to pay for design work to restore Smuggler's Slough in the Nooksack River estuary near Bellingham. The Lummi Indian Business Council is the project sponsor.
$76,500 to pay for studies that will lead to the restoration of 115 acres of intertidal wetlands on the Leque Island Wildlife Area, which is at the mouths of the West and South forks of the Stillaguamish River in Snohomish County. Ducks Unlimited is the project sponsor.
$990,296 to remove 3,650 feet of dike on the west side of Nalley Slough, remove an elevated road network and build an elevated boardwalk on the former Nalley Farm property on the Skokomish Indian Reservation near the mouth of the Skokomish River in Mason County. The Skokomish tribe is the project sponsor.
$65,000 to buy a conservation easement for 3 acres of forested bluff and 300 feet of natural Puget Sound shoreline near Normandy Park in King County. The Cascade Land Conservancy is the project sponsor.


Risk Reduction Strategies
Alcohol and Drugs
- Limit your use of alcohol. Know your limits and stick to them. Alcohol impairs judgment and one’s ability to give consent.
- Use a "sober buddy system"; agree that one person will stay sober and watch out for others.
- Be aware of "date rape drugs." Do not leave your drink unattended or accept a drink from someone you do not know. Avoid drinking from open containers or punch bowls.
- Someone who is intoxicated/under the influence of a drug cannot give consent.
- Understand that alcohol and drug use can impair your ability to keep yourself safe.
- Be aware of your surroundings. Knowing where you are and who is around may help you find a way to get out of a bad situation.
- Go out in groups and come home in groups. Do not leave friends behind.
- Stay in public places; do not wander off with someone you have just met.
- Trust your instincts. If you feel threatened, intimidated or afraid, get out of the situation if possible and as soon as possible.
- Make sure your cell phone is charged and with you, and take enough money with you in case you need to take a cab ride home if possible.
- Walk in well-traveled and well lit pathways and walk with a purpose.
- Avoid wearing headphones in both ears, as this decreases your awareness of your surroundings.
Relationships and Communication
- Communicate clearly; state your sexual desires and limits
- Listen carefully to what your date/partner is saying. Remember no means no, always.
- Ask for clarification if you are getting mixed messages. Don’t guess about what your partner may or may not want.
- Be prepared to clarify any misperceptions based on gestures, postures, tone of voice, or style of dress.
- Pay attention to criticism, humiliation, loss of temper, threats, and any controlling or possessive behavior (i.e., monitoring you, checking up on you, not wanting you to spend time with family/friends). These characteristics are often associated with interpersonal violence.
- Do not post too much personal information on social media sites (i.e., class schedule, cell phone number, etc). Make sure your privacy settings are set so your personal information is not being shared with people who you do not know well or trust.
- If someone tries to force you to do something you do not want to do, actively resist if it is safe and/or you are able to do so – hit, kick, scream, run away if possible.
- Do not remain silent and look the other way. Become an "active bystander"; confront friends who are becoming disrespectful or abusive; intervene if a friend may be in need of help.
- Speak out. Don’t allow others to make jokes about sexual assault, or derogatory comments which condone violence
- Support friends, family members and partners who have been assaulted. Listen to them and let them know about available resources. Contact the Campus Confidential Advisor at 217-581-3413.
Warning Signs of a Potential Perpetrator of Sexual
Violence May Include
- Acts too familiar with you
- Tries to isolate you from friends/group/et..
- Encourages substance abuse
- Forceful/aggressive behavior
- Stalking (in person, phone, social media)
- Shows other warning signs of a potential abuser (see potential warning signs of a potential interpersonal violence abuser)
Warning Signs of a Potential Stalker May Include
- Socially isolated
- Overly dependent upon only you
- Acts helpless or initiates your help
- A history of relationship violence and/or stalking
- Alcohol and/or drug abuse
- Often shows up at places you frequently go
- Cyber Stalking by calling/texting excessively, creeping/posting on social media
- Actual or threatened suicide attempts


Preventative and Detective Controls
You will recall that internal controls are actions taken to make sure the right things happen and the wrong things don't.
There are two types of internal controls
Preventative controls: Designed to keep errors or irregularities from occurring in the first place. They are built into internal control systems and require a major effort in the initial design and implementation stages. However, preventative controls do not require significant ongoing investments.
Detective Controls: Designed to detect errors and irregularities that have already occurred and to assure their prompt correction. These controls represent a continuous operating expense and are often costly but necessary. Detective controls supply the means with which to correct data errors, modify controls or recover missing assets.


Students from the wealthiest families in the United States are eight times more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree by age 24 than their counterparts from the lowest earning families.
That reality — detailed in a new report released Tuesday by the Pell Institute and Penn GSE’s Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy (PennAHEAD) — is one factor driving growing economic inequality, according to PennAHEAD director Laura Perna
Professor Laura Perna teaches in the Higher
Education Division at Penn GSE.
The struggle for those in low-income families to complete a college education clouds the report’s positive news that today’s students are much more likely to earn a traditional bachelor’s degree than students 40 years ago.
But those gains have been significantly concentrated among upper-income families, the report found.
When students from low-income families do enroll in post-secondary education, they are much more likely to attend two-year rather than four-year institutions, and those schools are more likely to be for-profit instead of non-for-profit.
“Not everyone needs a college degree, of course,” Perna writes in the report, “but far too few people in the United States—and especially far too few people from groups that are historically underrepresented in college—are getting one.”