In the story of Samson it says he pulled down an entire temple. Have archaeologists uncovered any information that would relate to this account?
A major turning point in Israel’s war against the Philistines was Samson’s death. He had been taken captive through the deception of Delilah. The Philistines gouged out his eyes and took him to Gaza, one of their main cities.
There they put him to work grinding grain in a prison. We know from archaeological findings that this type of prison was in reality a “grinding house.” One of the most time-consuming tasks in antiquity was the grinding of grain. In the average home, this fell to the women of the household. The bureaucratic aristocracy, however, set up grinding houses to provide grain for the privileged elite. This was a place where slaves and prisoners were put to work. The tools were simple hand grinding stones.
One day the Philistine leaders held a religious ceremony to celebrate their victory over their enemy. They brought Samson into the temple where they were assembled, so he could entertain them. Once inside the temple, Samson asked the servant who was guiding him to show him where the pillars were, so he could lean against them. “Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, Samson said, ‘Let me die with the Philistines!’ Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived” (Judges 16:29-30).
In one fell swoop, Samson eliminated the entire Philistine leadership. This was a major setback in their conflict with Israel. It was a turning point. From this time on, the Israelites started to gain the upper hand.
But did it really happen? Could one man pull down an entire temple single handed? Archaeology has provided us with some amazing answers.
Two Philistine temples have been uncovered by archaeologists. One at Tel Qasile, in northern Tel Aviv, and one in Tel Miqne, ancient Ekron, 21 miles south of Tel Aviv. Both temples share a unique design—the roof was supported by two central pillars! The pillars were made of wood and rested on stone support bases. With the pillars being about six feet apart, a strong man could dislodge them from their stone bases and bring the entire roof crashing down. The archaeological findings match the Biblical story perfectly and attest to the plausibility of the account.
Although Samson had his weaknesses, he was a man of God and is listed in the New Testament as one of those “who through faith conquered kingdoms, … whose weakness was turned to strength” (Hebrews 11:32-34).
Author: Bryant G. Wood Ph.D. of Associates for Biblical Research
Between the Pillars: Revisiting “Samson and the House of Dagon”
The Biblical tableau of Samson’s death in the house of the Philistine god Dagon in Gaza is familiar to the scholar and the casual reader of the Bible alike. The components of the scene are the Philistine crowd cheering at the capture of Samson, the proud Philistine lords who have come to witness the death of their enemy, and a blinded and battered Samson standing between the main pillars of the temple. In the midst of this chaotic scene Samson utters a prayer to YHWH to be remembered and strengthened so to avenge himself upon his enemies. Knowing full well that this last stand against the Philistines will cost him his life, Samson dislodges the pillars, thereby collapsing the temple upon all who were in it (Judges 16:23–30).
The State of the Question
The historicity of this heroic account has been long debated among scholars. Indeed, many scholars seem hesitant to comment on the historicity of the Samson narratives at all. From the scholarly debate over the destruction of the Gaza temple two diametrically opposed viewpoints have emerged. John L. McKenzie typifies the first viewpoint. Always a detractor of Samson, McKenzie argues that:
In other words, McKenzie sees the stories of Samson’s immense power as highly exaggerated popular tales. These tales were circulated during the time of Philistine domination of Israel during the settlement period of Israel. The stories of the strength of Samson were meant to have been a source of religious hope for Israel and to bolster their waning national spirit.
On the other hand, Dr. Bryant G. Wood advocates an opposing theory. He points out that during a 1972 excavation the first Philistine temple ever to be found was brought to light at Tell Qasile, on the north side of Tell Aviv. This temple is comprised of an antechamber and main hall. According to Wood, “this hall, with inside measurements of 18½ feet by 23½ feet, is a room whose roof was originally supported by two wooden pillars set on round, well-made stone bases, placed along a center axis” (1974: 51).
Although the Gaza temple of Dagon has yet to be excavated, because a modern city sits on top of it, Wood suggests that the Gaza temple “must have been very similar to the one at Tell Qasile.” The Biblical text describes the Gaza temple as having two pillars supporting the roof (Judges 16:24). He concludes, “the Bible writer knew his facts. He knew that Philistine temples were supported by two pillars and that this was how Samson pulled the temple down. The report is that of an eye-witness, again demonstrating that indeed the Bible is the world’s most accurate history textbook” (1974: 54).
Overall, the debate over the historicity of Samson in the Gaza temple spans a wide spectrum of positions. Prominent scholars are on both sides of the historicity issue. Therefore, in this study we are going to look at the linguistic evidence in the Hebrew text to try to determine which side of the debate the narrative validates. In other words, we are trying to determine whether the story of Samson between the pillars of Dagon is only an exaggerated reflection of a historical event written to satisfy the agendas of storytellers and later Biblical authors, or if this text can be seen as an actual historical account of the last stand of Samson against the Philistines.
The Linguistic Evidence
The Hebrew text is very clear in its description of the actions of Samson. The text reads that Samson grasped the two middle pillars that supported the house of the temple, ‘ehād kîmînô we‘ehād biśmō‘lô (one with his right hand and one with his left). The pillar bases at Tell Qasile are about 2 meters (7 feet) apart, well within the reach of a tall man. Therefore, the first part of the description of Samson’s death is consistent with the excavated temple.
The text then reads that Samson “bent powerfully” in his effort to dislodge the pillars. The Hebrew term nātāh (bend), while a common word, contains connotations of bending under a force or effort. Issachar bends his shoulder to the burden (Genesis 49:15). A wadi, riverbed, is said to bend or slope (Numbers 21:15).
The word used in conjunction with the term “bend” is bekōha, literally “in strength.” The assumed root of the term is khh, meaning “the capacity to act.” The term is an expression of potency and refers to the subject’s capacity to produce. Moreover, the usual intent is to denote physical strength (Oswalt 1980: 436–37).
It is noteworthy that the term khh occurs eight times in the book of Judges, with seven of the occurrences in chapter 16 (verses 5, 6, 9, 15, 17, 19, 30). While this term denotes the ability to do something, often the “emphasis is on the lack of strength or the insufficiency of human strength in comparison to God.” One must observe that the first five occurrences in chapter 16 deal with Delilah looking for the secret of Samson’s strength in order to render Samson helpless, and the sixth occurs with the loss of his strength after she cut his hair. The final occurrence, between the pillars, comes immediately following Samson’s petition to the Lord for power. Herein Samson does not rely only upon his natural strength, but that which comes from God. This usage of the term seems to parallel that which is found in the Psalter. In the Psalter the term occurs in “isolated individual laments with reference to dissipated human might that occasions the pious to pray for God’s assistance” (Psalm 22:16; 31:11; 38:11; 71:9, and 102:24) (Van der Woude 1997: 610–11).
The combination of these two terms denotes a powerful movement on the part of Samson. Such a surge of power would be consistent with the effort needed to dislodge the pillars from their bases, as they were held in place by the weight of the temple. Once the pillars were in motion Samson would have to continue dragging them off their bases.
We then read that the temple fell upon the Philistine lords and onlookers. The Hebrew term nāpal (fall), occurs in the text. It has been argued that “besides the common physical action or occurrence [of falling], a violent or accidental circumstance is often indicated… damage, death, or destruction are often designated” (Fisher 1980: 587). Clearly this act was not an accident, but a violent surge of power such as alluded to above. Possibly a better rendering of the term would be “fall in/collapse.” If Samson dragged the pillars off their bases, the roof would collapse upon the Philistine lords. Once the main hall of the temple collapsed, the rest of the structure, being extremely unstable from the weight of the people and having its main supports lost, would collapse as well. Therefore, the narrative is perfectly consistent with the findings at Tell Qasile.
How Many People?
One should observe that the text notes that Samson killed more people at his death than he did during his lifetime (Judges 16:30). The text states that the temple was full of men and women; the Philistine lords were present and about 3,000 people looked on from the roof (Judges 16:27). The validity of this description has been challenged by many scholars, most notably McKenzie. Admittedly, the temple at Tell Qasile does not substantiate this type of number as the building measures only 26 feet (8 meters) in width and 47 feet (14.5 meters) in length.
This seems to indicate that the understanding of the number of people in attendance must be redefined. The Hebrew term ‘elep represents the numeral 1,000. However, there are several specialized meanings attached to this term. One meaning is that the term represents the “largest basic division of leadership in political oversight or military leadership.” Also, “it is occasionally alleged that since ‘elep means a company of a thousand men it could mean any military unit, even of reduced strength” (Scott 1980: 48). Therefore, it seems as though the text is referring to three distinct contingencies that were in attendance, in addition to the followers of Dagon who filled the temple.
It is difficult to determine from where these contingencies came. However, Judges 1:18–19 may contain a clue. While the Philistines eventually established a pentapolis in Canaan, only the Philistine cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron are noted. According to the Samson narratives, these cities are the exact areas of Samson’s exchanges with the Philistines. This may suggest that the tribal traditions of Judges 1:18 and the Samson narratives originated before the cities of Gath and Ashdod were incorporated into the Pentapolis. Consequently, the lords of Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron would be all of the lords of the Philistines, to which the text refers (Judges 16:27).1 This agreement between Judges 1 and the Samson narratives indicates the antiquity of the Samson traditions. Moreover, the fact that three, not five, groups are noted suggests that the death cycle of Samson originated either from an actual eye-witness to the events or a time in close proximity to the events, before the five names contained in the Philistine pentapolis became formulaic.
There are three main conclusions that can be drawn from this revisiting of the temple issue. First, it is clear that the linguistic evidence supports the side of the debate that sees the temple scene as historical, as typified by Dr. Bryant Wood. Scholars such as J.L. McKenzie, who reject any historical components in the Samson narratives, tend to follow the line of thought that presumes that the Samson narratives originated as a profane folk tale. Furthermore, the religious elements in the narratives are seen as additions or insertions that were placed in the account in order to make Samson more acceptable to Yahwism. Archaeological discoveries, such as those at Tell Qasile, are beginning to call such sweeping presuppositions into question.
Secondly, it seems very likely that the story of the destruction of the Gaza temple was originated by an actual eyewitness or a narrator who lived in close proximity with the events. The Hebrew terms that constitute the key actions (Samson BENT POWERFULLY AND THE TEMPLE FELL…) all contain connotations of violent power. Moreover, the actions that are described are completely consistent with the findings at Tell Qasile. According to the excavated findings, the wooden pillars were held in place by the weight of the temple. To dislodge and set the pillars in motion would demand an immense surge of power. The term denoting the collapsing of the temple complements this description, as it is used in reference to the result of a violent act that brings about damage, destruction, and death. Therefore, these should be seen as complementary terms that are validated by the archaeological findings at Tell Qasile.
Thirdly, the combination of the findings at Tell Qasile and the specific wording of the text describing Samson’s final act validates the historicity of the temple tradition, if not the entire set of Samson narratives. The destruction of the temple at Tell Qasile has been dated to the early tenth century BC. Such a dating is consistent with the rise and fall of Philistine power, as they had a period of ascendancy before the monarchy and were defeated by David in the late 11th century BC. After this defeat the Philistines were no longer a powerful force in this region. Only one who lived in the time of the Judges or the early monarchy could have been familiar with the structure of Philistine temples. Defining the period of Philistine power as the era from the settlement to the early monarchy (ca. 1200–1000 BC) also helps to define the time period in which Samson lived. Because this temple account seems to have been generated by an eyewitness to the event, Samson could not have been the creation of storytellers or later Biblical authors.2 Therefore, it suggests that McKenzie’s assessment was in error. The world in which Samson lived was real and so was his strength.
Author: John Roskoski Ph.D., ABR Associate
For Further Reading
Copyright © 1995, 2008, Associates for Biblical Research, All Rights Reserved—except as noted on attached “Usage and Copyright” page that grants ChristianAnswers.Net users generous rights for putting this page to work in their homes, personal witnessing, churches and schools.


From cherry bombs to sparklers, bottle rockets to roman candles, Americans love their fireworks, especially when celebrating Independence Day. But the thrill of fireworks can also bring pain, causing serious burns and eye injuries.
Small fireworks, like bottle rockets, sparklers, and small firecrackers can appear harmless to children. But did you know that sparklers can burn at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit or hotter? That’s hot enough to melt copper as well as land somebody in the emergency room.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), an average of 240 people go to the emergency room every day with fireworks-related injuries in the 30 days surrounding the 4th of July holiday. More sobering is the stat that an estimated 1,000 children under the age of five are injured during that 30-day period.
More than half of these reported injuries involved burns to the hands, head and face. About 2,600 reported injuries involved sparklers and bottle rockets, fireworks that are frequently and incorrectly considered safe for young children.
Keeping Your Residents and Rental Properties Safe for the 4th of July
Whether or not you allow legal fireworks at your rental properties or you personally choose to host your own firework display, the CPSC recommends the following safety tips to help ensure the holiday weekend is as safe as it is fun:
- Never allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks.
- Avoid buying fireworks that are packaged in brown paper because this is often a sign that the fireworks were made for professional displays and that they could pose a danger to consumers.
- Always have an adult supervise fireworks activities–especially in apartment communities. Parents don’t realize that young children suffer injuries from sparklers. Sparklers burn at temperatures of about 2,000 degrees – hot enough to melt some metals.
- Never place any part of your body directly over a fireworks device when lighting the fuse. Back up to a safe distance immediately after lighting fireworks.
- Never try to re-light or pick up fireworks that have not ignited fully.
- Never point or throw fireworks at another person.
- Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy in case of fire or other mishap.
- Light fireworks one at a time, then move back quickly.
- Never carry fireworks in a pocket or shoot them off in metal or glass containers.
- After fireworks complete their burning, douse the spent device with plenty of water from a bucket or hose before discarding it to prevent a trash fire.
- Make sure fireworks are legal in your area before buying or using them.
For more information on fireworks safety, visit the CPSC Fireworks Safety Information Center.
(Image Credit: by kafka4prez via Flickr)


So here we go again.
They told Beethoven it was a horrible way to begin his 5th Symphony.
With a rest.
Only the players see it.
Only the conductor pays it much mind.
So the first “note” (beat) is silent.
The conductor must give it.
But there are at least two schools of thought on how this is to be done.
First, a conductor might do as they always do and swiftly move their baton downwards to indicate visually that the first (silent) beat is occurring.
The only problem with this is that the symphony players must then abruptly jump onto the very next beat (which is an “upbeat”).
They happen in very quick succession.
The whole orchestra.
And they get one shot.
To come in together.
Like an attack.
[rest] da da da daaaaaaaaaa
[rest] da da da daaaaaaaaaa
The second school of thought is more practical.
It advises that, in this particular situation, a conductor giving a downbeat is not particularly helpful to the orchestra (because no sounds occur on that downbeat).
Therefore, the conductor motions the orchestra that the UPBEAT is happening.
When the baton (or hand(s)) come down, that is the precise time to make noise.
It is not hard to see why this might lead to a more successful outcome.
For the goal is to have the orchestra stick together.
An orchestra of individuals who are a mere microsecond off from one another creates a sound which is generally not highly-valued in Western music (at least not in the performance of Beethoven).
But this STILL leaves a problem.
The conductor of this second school, whose job it is to try and lead his orchestra to a faithful rendition of this masterwork, is thereby IGNORING what Beethoven wrote (or, more precisely, HOW Beethoven wrote it).
Godard comes back more fit and trim in this episode of his greatest work.
1a is probably the nuke.
1b is a psychological warfare manual (perhaps)
2a returns us to kinetic warfare.
More or less.
With some lulls.
But there is genuine artistry within these 26 minutes.
Like a symphony by Beethoven or Bruckner.
The beginning is weighted heavily.
1a = 51 mins. (the longest of all eight parts)
1b = 42 mins. (the second longest “movement” of the bunch)
The entire first section is, therefore (carry the zero), 1 hour and 33 minutes.
That’s the first quarter of this “ring cycle”.
And it is truly operatic.
So now we are into a bit of a scherzo.
Now you can see the influence of television.
The “producers” of this film.
Canal+ (French TV channel)
CNC (part of the French Ministry of Culture [and Godard is Swiss!])
France 3 (a French TV channel)
Gaumont (a French film studio)
La Sept (a defunct French TV channel)
Télévision Suisse Romande (a defunct, French-language Swiss TV network)
Vega Films (Godard’s production company at the time)
Enough time for eight 30-second commercials.
Arriving precisely at a sum total of 30 minutes’ programming.
It’s generous (no doubt owing to the fact that this was educational programming).
If you look at the true running time of an American half-hour sitcom these days, it is roughly 21 minutes of what you want to see.
The other 9 minutes are reserved for at least 18 30-second commercials.
In the tradition of James Joyce.
Which Hitchcock so admired.
…and the Oscar goes to.
Irishmen in France.
The recurring scene from Salò…
Literary history vs. cinematic history.
Godard has a curious frame which reads, “Your breasts are the only shells I love.”
It is a line from the poet Apollinaire.
[tes seins sont les seuls obus que j’aime]
But I must say, the exciting parts here are the “booms”!
The fighter jet exploding in midair.
Bernard Herrmann’s music from Psycho juxtaposed with scenes from Disney’s Snow White…(1937).
The agitation of Stravinsky.
Cluster chords on the piano.
Godard’s voice fed through an Echoplex.
And, just as in 1a, world-class editing!
Let me be clear.
EDITING is what makes Histoire(s) du cinéma the greatest film ever made.
It’s what makes F for Fake the second-greatest film ever made.
And what makes Dog Star Man the third-greatest film ever made.
It is more pronounced in Histoire(s) and Dog Star Man.
Orson Welles’ “editing” (montage) in F for Fake is done more at the story level.
It is a juxtaposition of content.
The Kuleshov effect with ideas rather than images.
[more or less]
Godard’s camera-pen makes some of its boldest strokes in this episode.
It rivals the 1a excerpt involving Irving Thalberg.
Which brings us to a very important point.
Godard CHOSE to use the concept of “double exposure” (two images–one on top of the other–but both seen to a greater or lesser extent) to ILLUSTRATE the subject and title of his greatest film.
Though it runs 266 minutes, that amount of time STILL wasn’t enough in which to lay out the history of cinema.
So images needed to be doubled up.
Simultaneous to that, words needed to be spoken.
And furthermore, DIFFERENT words than those being spoken NEEDED TO BE WRITTEN ON THE SCREEN.
If you are not a native French speaker, you will probably need to have the subtitles on when viewing this film.
Which gives you A-N-O-T-H-E-R visual stimulus which must be taken into account.
This film should be mandatory viewing for fighter pilots.
Practice your OODA loop here.
If you want to survive in this jungle of meaning.
Night of the hunter…
It’s all true.
That weary look.
It’s all true.
Which brings us to value (that thing which capitalism so gloriously creates…far more efficiently and in much greater abundance than with any other economic system).
“What is the value of knowing how to read this film,” you ask?
It allows you to know how to read the complexity of the world.
It is a brain teaser.
With an infinite layering of meaning.
Like Finnegans Wake.
Joyce’s masterpiece should be the only required reading for a codebreaker.
Or a codemaker.
Take heed, National Security Agency.
Your curriculum needs adjusting.
Assign only Finnegan.
And reap your gains.
And what of Histoire(s)?
Its most direct application would be for analysts.
Whether they be Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency, or INSCOM.
Know how to read the image.
Know how to analyze the video.
You must think outside the box.
Sudoku the fuck out of your employees.
And thereby fight crime and keep hostile actors in check.
Which is where we musicians come in.
To analyze the phone call.
To make sense of the audio…from the video.
It cannot be taught in a bootcamp.
It has to be loved.
If you had one analyst like Godard, you would have a super-soldier equal to an entire special forces unit.
The trial of Joan of Arc.
Not to be confused with her passion.
Laurel and Hardy.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Which brings us to a very delicate situation.
What is the President planning this weekend?
And with whom is he planning it?
If Ronald Reagan was an actor (and he was), then how much more talented is Donald Trump in getting a reaction with his lines…and his gestures?
A President who has been attacked from ALL sides UNRELENTINGLY for nearly four years.
And now finds himself in the midst of the hottest biological/psychological/economic war in recorded history.
Where complexity reigns.
As globalization magnifies each twitch of activity.
And this same President STILL finds himself under attack from the same “bad actors” who have unremittingly assailed him.
As in peacetime, so in war.
These enemies of the state.
Masquerading as journalists.
And their masters above them.
Straight from the latest conclave.
“…two if by sea.”


Essay Topic 1
Both Owen and Johnny had a tough eleventh year. In an essay, compare/contrast the characters of Owen and Johnny. How are they the same? How are they different? How are their family lives? How has family history affected each of the boys? Finally, explain the ways that the difficulties the boys experienced affected their friendship, and why you think the outcome was, or was not, expected.
Essay Topic 2
While exploring the dorm rooms at Gravesend, the boys are initiated into the worlds of puberty and sexuality. Compare and contrast the boys' expectations of puberty with what they actually experience. Why might John Irving have included sexuality as a major theme within his novel?
Essay Topic 3
Throughout the novel, Owen takes charge of many characters' lives. This role of leadership is a very important aspect in his life. In an essay, discuss three events in which...
This section contains 1,626 words
(approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page)


On the stately Aegean island of Andros, a lighthouse rises from the water, the famous Tourlitis, is one of the most important landmarks on the island and of the Cyclades. The lighthouse Tourlitis has been illuminating the seas, protecting the incoming ships for more than 120 years. This picturesque and impressive structure is built on a rock in the sea.
It is one of the few lighthouses in Europe that stands in the sea, fighting the waves every day. Turlitis was built in 1887 and started operating on January 1st, 1897. It has a height of 7 meters, and a focal height of 36 meters. In addition, it can be seen at a distance of up to 11 nautical miles. It is located directly opposite the Venetian Castle of Andros and was built at a time when the island had already become an important center of Greek shipping.
Tourlitis – The invincible Lighthouse of Andros
The lighthouse of Andros, Tourlitis, was destroyed during World War II. This tragic war, apart from deaths and poverty, caused the destruction of this beautiful monument of the Cyclades. Its original form was not restored until 1994. That year, however, Tourlitis, the invincible Lighthouse of Andros showed its vital signs. With great funding from the Goulandris family, one of the most prominent families on the island, the lighthouse was rebuilt. It became the first automated lighthouse in Greece. There was no longer a need for a guard to oversee its operation. In addition, Tourlitis became the first lighthouse to be depicted on a Greek stamp. Since its renovation, it has become one of the tourist attractions of the area.
Andros – The naval center of the Cyclades
After the Greek Revolution, several refugees from Psara arrived in Andros, with extensive experience in shipping and trade. Andros quickly emerged as a powerful naval center after the decline of other traditional shipping centers such as Galaxidi and Hydra, Within a short time, the Andriots managed to become rich and famous throughout Central and Eastern Europe. The Andriots merchants were particularly active in the trade of grain from Central and Eastern Europe, at the mouth of the Danube.
During the 20th century, Andros, despite the blows of the First and Second World Wars, enjoyed impressive economic prosperity and naval dominance. At the beginning of the 20th century, the shipowner Dimitris Moraitis from Andros inaugurated the Greece-North America sea route. In 1939, Andros was second in the number of ships, after Piraeus. In the late 1950s, a large wave of emigration began, both to the large urban centers of Athens and Piraeus and abroad (mainly to the USA), dramatically reducing the island’s naval power and population.


Laser light show machine teaches students math, computer programming
Laser light shows are no longer just the stage dressing for rock concerts. They’re also a fun way for local middle school students to learn the fundamentals of mathematics and computer programming.
University of Illinois faculty members in education and engineering have teamed up for the project, adapting a “homemade” laser light show machine and using it to teach coordinate math to students at Urbana Middle School.
The lessons introduce students to the same math concepts delineated in the state learning standards but in an engaging, entertaining way, said Adam Poetzel, an instructor of mathematics education in curriculum and instruction at the U. of I. and one of the faculty members collaborating on the project.
Poetzel, who taught math for 10 years at Champaign Central High School before joining the U. of I.’s faculty, created the lesson plan for the laser light show activity to show skeptical middle school youths that the math they’re learning has exciting applications beyond the classroom.
“As a math teacher, I know that kids often ask: ‘How will I use this in real life?’” Poetzel said. “When they use math in an activity that has real-world applications, it elicits that response I’m looking for: ‘Wow, I didn’t think you’d get to do something cool like this with math!’”
The students create a design of their own choosing, such as a heart or a star, and plot the coordinates on graph paper, then write a short piece of computer code that enables the laser to trace those points and create a light show of their design.
“We saw in the classroom that some designs worked on the first try and were exactly what the student predicted, but there were others where something wasn’t quite right,” said Joe Muskin, a visiting education coordinator in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering who is collaborating on the project. “But that’s a good challenge, too, because the student has to go back and review their plan and think, ‘Did I plan appropriately? Was I careful in how I coded?’”
“Those are some really good teachable moments – when their laser light show design does not correspond to what the student thought it would,” Poetzel said. “That’s when the real learning happens sometimes, because the student has to think more deeply about how to fix the problem.”
The idea for using a laser light show as an instructional tool came about in summer 2016, when John Roach, an engineering teacher at Morton East High School in Cicero, Illinois, attended a nano@illinois workshop at the U. of I. During the workshop, Roach did research in MechSE professor Arend van der Zande’s lab, which has a confocal microscope that uses lasers to scan light-sensitive nanomaterials and solar cells so researchers can work with materials too small to be seen by the naked eye.
While brainstorming ideas about how lasers might be used as teaching tools with schoolchildren, Roach, van der Zande and Muskin realized that the confocal microscope operates very similar to the laser light shows at rock concerts. With input from van der Zande, Roach built an inexpensive version of a laser light show system using an Arduino controller, mirrors, Lego actuators, a laser pointer and fluorescent paper – components available at hobby stores for less than $50, Muskin said.
Roach used the device to teach high school students in his engineering class how to build the system. However, Muskin adapted Roach’s “hobbyist” design and curricula so that teachers could use the system to teach coordinate math to younger children.
Edward Lu, now a senior at Champaign Centennial High School, was recruited to write a computer program that enables the device to trace paths using pairs of coordinates defined by student users in the software code.
Recently, about 60 eighth-graders in math teacher Jason Pound’s classes at Urbana Middle School pilot tested the laser light show system and Poetzel’s lesson plans.
“Just by scanning the classroom, you could see how engaged the students were,” Poetzel said. “The kids were wanting to make their light show happen. They were asking questions. They wanted to make sure their code was right and their plans were good.”
Engaging, memorable learning experiences such as these “are seeds that are planted and can pay dividends later by fostering excitement about engineering, math and science,” Poetzel said. “One neat experience like this, it lasts, and it can impact students’ feelings toward a discipline and their educational and career decisions.”
Poetzel’s curricula can be adapted to varying levels of complexity appropriate for different age groups, van der Zande said. Middle school students can use the pre-built laser light show unit to learn math and some elementary coding principles, while high school students can build the machine from components, as Roach’s students did, to learn engineering and electronics concepts.
This summer, Muskin, Poetzel and van der Zande plan to share the curriculum with technology teachers in Champaign schools, with educators who attend summer workshops at the U. of I. and with pre-service teachers at the university to encourage them to use it with their students.
Photo, at top: Students in an area middle school learned principles of coordinate math and computer programming by creating a laser light show in a collaborative project started by University of Illinois researchers in education and engineering. The team, from left, Joe Muskin, a visiting education coordinator in mechanical science and engineering; Adam Poetzel, an instructor of mathematics education in curriculum and instruction; and Arend van der Zande, a professor of mechanical science and engineering. Photo by L. Brian Stauffer.


They've terrorized a shopping mall in "Dawn of the Dead," been folded into classic literature, and even crashed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website.
Seriously. What is the deal with zombies?
The shuffling (or quick-as-lightning, depending on your preferred version) hordes are horror-movie staples, but they've lately skyrocketed in fame with humorous takes such as in the book "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" (Quirk Books, 2009) and the movie "Shaun of the Dead" (2004), which follows a sad-sack salesman during the zombie apocalypse. In 2011, the CDC capitalized on zombie fever with a blog post dedicated to preparing for a zombie uprising, driving so much Internet traffic that their servers crashed.
The reason for this popularity may trace back to an unexpected source, according to a new analysis: In fact, zombies may be helping us cope with the aftermath of World War II.
"We use fictional narratives not only to emotionally cope with the possibility of impending doom, but even more importantly perhaps to work through the ethical and philosophical frameworks that were in many ways left shattered in the wake of WWII," Stanford literary scholar Angela Becerra Vidergar said in a statement.
Imagining the end
Vidergar, a doctoral student in comparative literature, analyzed mass disaster stories in pop culture for her dissertation. She found that mass disasters such as the Holocaust, Hiroshima and Nagasaki opened up new realizations about the human capacity for violence, casting doubt about the upsides of modernized society.
"Instead," Vidergar said, "we are left with this cultural fixation on fictionalizing our own death, very specifically mass-scale destruction."
Predictions about the end times are nothing new, of course. Doomsday believers have been promising that the end is near for centuries, with the December 2012 "Mayan apocalypse" just one in a long line of failed predictions.
But Vidergar found that apocalypticism is up. An increasing number of books, movies, television shows and graphic novels have portrayed post-apocalyptic worlds over the past century, with nuclear explosions and pandemics as common starting points. [Doom and Gloom: Top 10 Post-Apocalyptic Worlds]
In the aftermath of traumatic events like World War II and the Sept. 11, 2011, terrorist attacks, interest seems to spike, Vidergar said. Shows like the National Geographic Channel's "Doomsday Preppers" profile people who go beyond pondering the end and start planning for it.
The zombie apocalypse
Though few real-world preppers worry about zombies, fantasies about the zombie apocalypse make up a large chunk of post-apocalyptic pop culture, Vidergar found.
Shows like AMC's "The Walking Dead" and movies like 2007's "28 Weeks Later" help people work through how they'd act in a survivalist situation, she said.
"Zombies are important as a reflection of ourselves," Vidergar said. "The ethical decisions that the survivors have to make under duress and the actions that follow those choices are very unlike anything they would have done in their normal state of life."
What's more, Vidergar said, zombie apocalypse tales actually invoke hope amidst destruction and death, as survivors battle for their lives.
"Even if as a society we have lost a lot of our belief in a positive future and instead have more of an idea of a disaster to come, we still think that we are survivors, we still want to believe that we would survive," Vidergar said.
Related on LiveScience and MNN:


|Name: _________________________||Period: ___________________|
This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 8.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What did Mrs. Rogers have before bed?
(a) A glass of wine.
(c) Some crackers.
(d) A tonic.
2. Who faints after the recording?
(b) Mrs. Rogers.
(c) Dr. Armstrong.
3. Where has the voice been coming from?
(a) A person hiding behind a wall.
(b) A gramophone behind a wall.
(c) From under the dinner table.
(d) From outside the window.
4. Who suggests that everyone go to bed?
5. How many other people are traveling in Vera's carriage?
(c) No other people.
Short Answer Questions
1. What is Armstrong certain that Rogers did not use to kill his elderly employer?
2. Who is the first person who volunteers to stay back at the station?
3. What does Lombard browse through after dinner?
4. Why does Emily think Mr. and Mrs. Rogers are guilty?
5. Who chokes on his wine?
This section contains 180 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page)


Music is one of the glories of sound. When a musician plays a note of a certain pitch, the musical instrument vibrates or RESONATES and produces a complex pattern of sound waves made up of many different frequencies. The most noticeable sound wave is called the fundamental, but there are other waves with higher frequencies, called harmonics. Notes from a flute sound more pure than those from a saxophone because they contain fewer harmonics. Musical instruments often make very quiet sounds, but some are designed to AMPLIFY the sounds they make so we can hear them more easily.
Resonance is the sound made by a vibrating object. If you tap a large wine glass, it produces a low musical note. If you tap a smaller glass, it makes a higher-pitched note. Although objects can vibrate at any frequency, each one has a particular frequency at which it vibrates much more powerfully. This is called its resonant frequency.
Opera singers can shatter a wineglass by singing a note that is exactly the same as the glass's resonant frequency. When the singer sings the note, the glass begins to vibrate and "sing" the same note itself. If the singer holds the note for several seconds, the vibrations become extremely powerful, shaking the glass until it smashes.
Making sounds louder is called amplification. Most musical instruments have a part that vibrates and makes sounds, and another part that makes the sounds louder (amplifies them). On their own, the vibrating parts may make quiet sounds that would be impossible to hear, even from nearby, if they were not increased in volume. Vibrating guitar strings are amplified either by a soundbox or by using electricity.
Under the steel strings of an electric guitar, there are tiny magnets that generate small amounts of electricity as the strings move. These currents are fed into a separate piece of equipment called an electronic amplifier. This increases the current many times and uses it to play the sound of the guitar through a loudspeaker.


Civil Rights Rollback Glossary(March, 2004) Compiled by the National Campaign to Restore Civil RightsAbrogate
This is a term used to describe Congress’ power to override the states’ immunity from lawsuits (sovereign immunity) as granted by the Eleventh Amendment. If Congress can abrogate the states’ immunity, it means that Congress can pass a law making states subject to lawsuits for damages.
ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
A federal law passed in 1990 that prohibits discrimination against people with physical or mental disabilities in employment, public services, and public accommodations. Since 2000, state employees can no longer use this law to sue for discrimination because of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Garrett case.
ADEA (Age Discrimination in Employment Act)
A federal law passed in 1967 prohibiting discrimination in employment based on age for people over 40. The Supreme Court’s 1999 decision in the Kimmel case shielded state employers from this law.
Buckhannon Board and Care Home Inc. v. West Virginia Dept. of Health and Human Services (2000)
In order for civil rights plaintiffs to win attorneys fees, or charge their legal costs to the loosing side of a case, the plaintiff must be the “prevailing” party in the case. Until the Buckhannon case, a civil rights plaintiff could ask for attorney fees if the defendants made a voluntary change in the law the plaintiff was protesting. This meant the case would settle between the two parties and not in front of a judge. Before this decision, many plaintiffs settled cases because it saved resources and changed behavior, and because most cannot afford to bring a case all the way to trial. The Supreme Court majority knew this, and this decision will keep many who have had their rights violated out of court. In Buckhannon, the Supreme Court, voting 5-4, changed the law to say that in order to get the other side to pay attorneys fees, a civil rights plaintiff bringing a case under the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Fair Housing Act now must take their case all the way to trial and “prevail” in front of a judge, and private agreements between the parties would no longer be good enough.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This is the landmark federal civil rights law that contains a number of sections (called “Titles”) that prohibit discrimination. This law was passed to enforce the rights for which many people risked, or lost, their lives in the civil rights struggle of the 1950’s and 60’s. Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race/color and national origin by public and private agencies that receive federal money. This part of the law no longer offers the protection it used to after the Supreme Court case of Alexander v. Sandoval in 2001. Title VII prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, or religion and applies to any employer with more than 15 employees.
Civil Rights Attorneys Fees Act
In the United States, each side of a lawsuit must pay its own legal fees. All legal cases are expensive to bring, and in civil rights law, the costs could keep many cases from ever being brought. Civil rights plaintiffs and attorneys do not often have large amounts of money, and these cases usually do not end with large amounts of money being won, because they are more about changing behavior. To make it more possible to bring civil rights cases, Congress passed the Civil Rights Attorneys Fees Act in 1976. This allowed plaintiffs who won a federal civil rights suit using section 1983 to charge their legal fees to the losing side of the case. The Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in the Buckhannon case in 2000 cut back the Attorneys’ Fees Act.
The Constitution limits the types of laws Congress can pass. Article I Section 8 of the Constitution lays out all of the powers of Congress. If Congress passes a law that is not within their powers, the Supreme Court can strike down the law. There are only three powers of Congress that give it the ability to pass civil rights laws. One of these is the Commerce Clause, which gives Congress the power to pass laws that affect interstate commerce. This power has been used since the New Deal in the 1920’s to pass civil rights laws and later to strike down segregation. Starting in 1996, the Supreme Court began to change what the Commerce Clause means, striking down laws passed under the Commerce Clause that are not strictly economic. This makes it difficult for Congress to pass civil rights laws. For example, this is how the Violence Against Women Act was struck down (the Morrison case).
Traditionally, there are only three bases on which Congress may enact civil rights laws. These Constitutional powers come from the Spending Clause (the right of Congress to tax and spend), the Commerce Clause (the right of Congress to regulate commerce among and between the states), and section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment (which gives Congress the authority to enforce the Equal Protection Clause and other provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution). Congress has been able to use these powers to pass laws and to make the states liable to suit. In the past few years, the Supreme Court has been reading Congress’ powers narrowly, so that Congress’ power to enact laws protecting civil rights have been severely limited.
A court order that is one way to end a lawsuit. When both sides agree about how a court case should be resolved, they may enter into this legal agreement. A court can then monitor the consent decree to make sure that both sides are following through on the agreement.
This is money that can be won by one side in a lawsuit to compensate for a loss or an injury.
This is the person in a lawsuit who the plaintiff is accusing of having done something illegal. In a civil suit, this is the person being sued.
This is a way of proving discrimination in court. To prove disparate impact one has to show that a certain group (for example: a racial group, women, people with a particular disability) suffered more than others because of a policy or action, even if the policy seemed neutral. In 2001 in the Sandoval decision, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the disparate impact standard could no longer be used to prove racial or national origin discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This decision has kept many people out of court, unable to enforce their civil rights.
This is written by the judges that do not agree with the majority of the court in a certain case. The dissent does not have the same power of law as the majority opinion, but it is a statement of what a judge thinks about an issue.
This is a guarantee in the Constitution that keeps the government from unfairly or arbitrarily taking a persons’ life, liberty, or property. This usually means that if the government wants to take any of these things from a person, there must first be a fair trial or procedure. There are two Due Process clauses in the Constitution. One is in the 5th amendment and controls states; the other is in the 14th amendment and controls the federal government.
The Eleventh Amendment
The current Supreme Court has decided that this amendment prohibits individuals from suing their states for civil rights violations. The actual words of the amendment would only keep the citizens of one state from suing another state (California residents trying to sue Texas for example). But this Court, in two 5-4 decisions, has decided it keeps state employees from suing their own state employer for workplace discrimination based on age (the Kimmel case) and disability (the Garrett case).
The Equal Protection Clause
This is a section of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution that reads “nor shall any state…deny to any person…the equal protection of the laws.” The Fourteenth Amendment was added after the Civil War to make sure the federal government protected the rights of all its’ people. Over time, courts have interpreted the clause to guarantee that people in the same situation be treated equally.
Fair Housing Act Amendment of 1988 (FHAA)
This federal law added to the Fair Housing Act of 1968, prohibits private and public housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin. The 1988 additions added “familial status” and “handicapped persons” to the list, made the law more enforceable and increased the amount of damages a person could win in a discrimination lawsuit.
This term has meant many different things over time. In the time of the founding fathers it referred to the balance of power between the states and the federal government. More recently, it has stood for the idea that the states should have control over their own affairs, and therefore have more power than the federal government. During the civil rights movement, the idea of federalism was used to justify segregation by some states, and the Federalist Society uses the word today to advocate for a weaker federal government and weaker federal civil rights laws.
The Fourteenth Amendment
This amendment was added to the Constitution after the Civil War as a way to protect the former slaves’ civil rights and make sure they received federal protection from discrimination by the states or individuals. The amendment includes a Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause. Section 5 of the 14th Amendment was designed to make these guarantees enforceable against the states.
Gonzaga v. Doe (2002)
In this case, a former university student brought suit against Gonzaga University alleging that the university had released private information about him in violation of the Federal Education Right to Privacy Act (FERPA). He claimed that the release of the information was a violation of his civil rights that he could enforce through 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In a case with important implications for whether individuals can sue to enforce other federal rights, the Supreme Court held that FERPA does not include clear rights-creating language and therefore cannot be enforced by an individual through 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
The courts’ decision in a case is sometimes called the holding. The holding only refers to that which a majority of the court agreed, and this then becomes the law. The justices that do not agree with the holding of a case write a separate dissent.
This is a way of proving discrimination in court. To prove intentional discrimination, one has to show that the person or agency purposefully discriminated. This requires evidence of what was going on in another person’s head when they did something that had a discriminatory effect. In many cases, this type of discrimination is impossible to prove even when it seems obvious. While often discrimination cannot be proved under this test, it would pass the test for the disparate impact standard.
An order by a court that requires one side in a lawsuit to do something or keeps them from doing something. For example, a court might enter an injunction, against a state agency that keeps them from enacting a regulation that would discriminate against people because of their race.
Kimmel v. Florida Board of Regents (1999)
In this case, the Supreme Court decided 5-4, that even though the two plaintiffs were denied employment just because of their age, their cases would not be allowed into federal court because of the 11th Amendment. This decision made the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) difficult to enforce. The decision also made it more difficult for Congress to enact other laws that would protect workers from their state employers.
United States v. Morrison (1999)
In this case, the Supreme Court struck down the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in a 5-4 decision, saying Congress did not have the power to pass this law in the first place. A woman raped by two football players at Virginia Tech University while she was a student there brought the case. The school found one of the players guilty and suspended him, but later overturned the decision, did not inform the woman, and sent the man back to school. Upon finding this out, the woman dropped out and tried to sue the school in federal court under VAWA. Despite volumes of congressional evidence showing violence keeps women from participating in the economy, the Supreme Court held Congress did not have the power to pass this law under the Commerce Clause or the 14th Amendment. This case severely limited Congress’ ability to enact civil rights laws.
The person or group that brings a lawsuit.
Private Right of Action
The right of an individual to bring a case into court. Not all laws allow for a private right of action. Instead, a person would need the government to bring a case for them (something that rarely happens in civil rights cases). The Supreme Court’s Sandoval decision took away a private right of action for racial discrimination cases brought under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
A rule made by a government agency that expands upon or interprets a law made by Congress. Regulations have the weight of law, but in court are not considered to be as strong as a law made by Congress.
This federal law prohibits state and local governments that receive federal funds from discriminating against people with disabilities in public accommodations. This law was expanded upon by the ADA, but it remains good law.
Rollback of Civil Rights
A phrase that explains what the federal courts are doing to weaken federal civil rights laws. The courts are taking the power to pass laws that protect civil rights away from Congress, and making it more difficult for individuals to enforce the civil rights laws we already have. Courts with a majority of conservative judges are leading the rollback, and many people are unaware of the problem because of the legal jargon used in these decisions.
Alexander v. Sandoval
In this case, Ms. Sandoval sued the state of Alabama because, as a state with an “English only” policy, they refused to give any driver’s license tests in Spanish, thus discriminating against her on the basis of her national origin. The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, decided that, from now on, private individuals could only sue the state under Title VI if they could prove intentional discrimination, something a person in Ms. Sandoval’s position would not be able to prove. After this case, if a person only has proof of a disparate impact, they have no private right of action in federal court, so they can only try and persuade the federal government to take their case, something that rarely happens.
Section 5 of the 14th Amendment
The part of the Constitution that gives Congress the power to enforce the 14th Amendment, including the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause, through passing civil rights laws and making it possible for people to sue their state to enforce these laws. Both the Garrett and Morrison cases limit Congress’ power under Section 5, making it more difficult for the Congress to pass civil rights laws and for people to sue to enforce them.
42 U.S.C Section 1983 is the basic federal civil rights statute authorizing lawsuits against state and local government officials for violations of federal law - including the Constitution. The recent cases of Alexander v. Sandoval and Gonzaga University v, Doe has raised questions about when Section 1983 can be used to enforce federal statutes and regulations.
Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida (1996)
The Supreme Court ruled in this case that Congress does not have the power under the Commerce Clause to pass a law allowing individuals to sue the states for damages, because of states’ “sovereign immunity” under the 11th Amendment. The Court ruled that only the 14th Amendment (which comes after the 11th Amendment) can authorize Congress to create money claims against states.
An agreement made between both sides in a lawsuit that ends the suit and is legally binding. A court does not monitor a settlement agreement, and this makes it different from a consent decree.
The idea that the government, either state or federal, cannot be sued. The 11th Amendment is an example of this kind of shield, it offers state governments protection from federal lawsuits. For decades before the Supreme Court began the rollback of civil rights, people could sue states for violations of federal civil rights laws. Recently, the Supreme Court has changed the law by deciding that states have sovereign immunity from more and more types of lawsuits, making it difficult for people to enforce their civil rights.
This is another way to describe federalism. Over the course of U.S. history, advocates for state’s rights have argued that the power of the federal government, including Congress and the federal courts, should be limited. Opponents of civil rights in the 1960’s used state’s rights to support their arguments. Today, this continues to be a strong movement, supported by groups like the Federalist Society.
One of two ways a state would lose its sovereign immunity, making it possible for people to sue their state for discrimination (See Section 5 of the 14th Amendment for the other). Because the Supreme Court has recently been giving states more and more sovereign immunity from civil rights cases, some states that value civil rights have passed legislation giving up this immunity, allowing people to sue them in federal court for damages. This is called a state waiver. So far, Minnesota, North Carolina and Illinois have passed a state waiver, while many more states are considering passing similar laws to protect their citizens from discrimination.
A law passed by Congress or a state legislature.
The highest court in the United States. It has the power to interpret the Constitution and Congress’s laws. There are 9 justices on the Court. The justices are: William Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Anthony Kennedy, Sandra Day O’Connor, Steven Bryer, David Souter, John Paul Stevens, and Ruth Bader-Ginsberg. Five justices must agree with each other to make a majority decision that will become law.
Tennessee v. Lane (2004)
Plaintiff George Lane was a defendant in a criminal case in Tennessee. The state arrested Lane, who has paraplegia, for failure to appear when he refused to crawl or be carried up the stairs of the courthouse. Lane filed suit under Title II of the ADA in 1998. At issue in the case is whether Congress had the constitutional authority to require states to pay money damages for violations of Title II of the ADA.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act
Prohibits recipients of federal funding (both private and public programs) from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
Title IX of the Civil Rights Act
Prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance, with a number of exceptions.
University of Alabama v. Garrett (2000)
The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, held that state employees could not sue their state employer for damages in federal court if they were discriminated against because of a disability. In this case, Patricia Garrett was demoted from her job as a nurse at a state hospital because she developed breast cancer and her boss did not want somebody who “looked sick” being around patients. She sued the state under the ADA. The court used the Eleventh Amendment to justify their decision and Patricia Garrett lost her case.
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Electromyogram (EMG) and Nerve Conduction Studies
An EMG is very safe. You may
get some small bruises or swelling at some of the needle sites. The needles are
sterile, so there is very little chance of getting an infection.
There is no chance of problems with nerve conduction studies. Nothing is
put into your skin, so there is no chance of infection. The voltage of
electrical pulses is not high enough to cause an injury.
Your doctor may be able to tell you
about some of the results of your nerve studies right after the tests. A full report may take 2 to 3
Electromyogram (EMG) and nerve conduction studies
The EMG recording shows no electrical activity when the
muscle is at rest. There is a smooth, wavy line on the recording with each
The nerve conduction studies show that the nerves
send electrical impulses to the muscles or along the sensory nerves at
normal speeds, or conduction velocities. Sensory nerves allow the brain to feel
pain, touch, temperature, and vibration. Different nerves have different normal
conduction velocities. Nerve conduction velocities generally get slower as a
person gets older.
Electrical activity in a muscle at rest shows that there
may be a problem with the nerve supply to the muscle. Abnormal wave lines when
a muscle contracts may mean a muscle or nerve problem, such as
a herniated disc, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS),
In nerve conduction studies, the speed of nerve impulses is slower than what is normal for that nerve. Slower
speeds may be caused by injury to a nerve or group of nerves. Nerve
conduction velocities generally get slower as a person gets older.
The results from EMG and nerve conduction studies are used
along with your medical history, symptoms, physical and neurological exams, and
the results of other tests to help your doctor find out what the problem is or
see how a disease is changing.
What Affects the Test
Reasons you may not be able to
have the test or why the results may not be helpful include:
- Taking medicines, such as muscle relaxants and
- Having bleeding, swelling, or too much fat under the skin at the
site of the nerves or muscles being tested.
- Not being able to do what is asked during the test.


The Year-Book of Facts in Science and Art: 1876
NOVEL TELEGRAPHY—ELECTRIFICATION OF AN ISLAND.
A CURIOUS discovery has been made by Mr. Gott, the superintendent of the French company’s telegraph station at the little island of St. Pierre Miquelon. There are two telegraph stations on the island. One, worked in connection with the Anglo American company’s lines by an American company, receives messages from Newfoundland and sends them on to Sydney, using for the latter purposes a powerful battery and the ordinary Morse signals.
The second station is worked by the French Transatlantic Company, and is furnished with …Lire la suite


In the Pythagorean tradition, astronomy is interpreted as magnitudes in motion, geometry as magnitudes at rest, arithmetic as numbers absolute, and music as numbers applied.
I. Pythagoras of Samos was born about 569 BC - and died in about 475 BC. He was according to legend the son of a grain merchant who been granted Samoan citizenship for bringing grain to the city at a time of famine. Pythagoras evolved a whole way of looking at life from counting beans, or grains, and thinking these things are pretty much the same, what patterns can we make with them.. He founded a school of philosophy at Samos until a change of regime forced his exile to Crotona, an important Greek colony on the foot of Italy. Here his school flourished until it was suppressed in about 508BC. Pythagoras is said to have taken refuge in Metapontum where he died. His school was sacked and his followers persecuted. He was a true mathematician because he looked at the relevance of mathematics to the important questions of real life. An attitude imputing value to number will always be threatening to those who know the price of everything. We should look again to Pythagoras to find the relationship between numbers and meaning.
His teachings were transmitted orally and his doctrine is only available through later writings. He is said to be the first teacher to call himself philosophos, lover of wisdom, rather than sophos or wise man, and the first to use the term cosmos a word implying the beauty and order of the universe. 'Communion and friendship and orderliness and temperance and justice bind together heaven and earth and gods and men and this universe is therefore called cosmos or order.'  The Timaeus of Plato is accepted as a representation of Pythagorean thought. Pythagoreans are credited for having brought measure to music through the study of the monochord, pipes, and bells.
He is said to have been a vegetarian, hating the taking of sentient life, recognising 'the voice of a friend' - a dead friend - in the barking of a dog. Modern assessments of Pythagoras vary considerably. Legend has been attached to him. Burkert in 1972 observes that 'the material seems to fall into the pattern each enquirer is looking for. Pythagoras the scientist... the mystic... the Basic Idea... the shaman, etc.' He concludes that 'the tradition of Pythagoras as a philosopher and scientist is, from the historical point of view a mistake'  But the system of thought represented by a Pythagorean tradition has been of great importance to discussions of harmony , during the middle ages via Boethius, and the renaissance and Baroque periods, and into the modern age. Whilst exploring number and movement, it asks: what does this mean?
Archytas, a Pythagorean c428-347 BC describes mathematics as being composed of the four related studies: astronomy, geometry, arithmetic and music.  Boethius 480-524AD talks of the 'four mathematical disciplines of which music is one' and goes on to observe that 'the other three are concerned with the investigation of rational truth, but music concerns not only speculation but also human behaviour... so we can understand what was said.. by Plato, that the soul of the world is knit together by the harmony of music'  Music occupies a key position, it is the one mathematical discipline available directly and precisely to the senses and influencing the soul, a fulcrum between the material world and the meta-reality of number, contributing to the dialogue of correspondence between the two.
Andre Dacier in 1706 writes 'If we ought to measure the Glory of a Philosopher by the Duration of his Doctrine, and by the extent of the places that embraced it, nothing can equal that of Pythagoras, since most of his opinions are at this day literally followed in the greatest part of the whole world. ...Socrates and Plato followed his doctrine and his method of explaining it' .
In the Pythagorean tradition, astronomy is interpreted as magnitudes in motion, geometry as magnitudes at rest, arithmetic as numbers absolute, and music as numbers applied. In searching for the links between architecture and music we are trying, in a sense to link magnitudes at rest, with numbers applied. It perhaps worth exploring some Pythagorean concepts of number.


The Administration's fiscal year 2003 proposed budget for NASA released today, placed strong emphasis on planetary exploration and space science, although planned missions to Pluto and Europa were deleted.
This is the first budget developed by the Bush Administration, with new NASA Administrator, Sean O'Keefe at the helm, and it is being carefully watched by The Planetary Society, the world's largest space interest group.
Wesley T. Huntress, Jr., President of The Planetary Society, commented, "It is welcome and positive news that despite the setback to the Pluto and Europa missions, the proposed budget is supportive of planetary exploration. With all the pressures on the NASA budget, especially in the troubled space station program, we take heart with the commitment to the established planetary exploration programs."
The budget constrained the funding for the International Space Station and endorsed the scaled-down objective proposed by an Ad-Hoc task force, which was endorsed by the NASA Advisory Council. Goals for increased science and improved management were set.
The budget proposal also includes a new program to develop nuclear propulsion and power for future outer planet missions and Mars landers. The robotic Mars program is fully supported, albeit with a delay in the 2007 lander to accommodate a specific goal of a nuclear powered rover in this decade.
Huntress said, "We welcome the proposal to develop nuclear power and propulsion technology to make the entire Solar System more accessible with much shorter flight-times and more powerful investigations at the planets. These developments will revolutionize space exploration in the same way that the Navy was revolutionized by nuclear power."
Full funding of the Mars program in the proposed budget enables the development of a Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for 2005. But, the Smart Lander with a long-range rover will be slipped from 2007 to 2009 to permit extra development time of the advanced robotics and nuclear power source for that mission. NASA intends to proceed with a smaller Discovery-class Scout mission, and will be inviting proposals for the 2007 opportunity.
The proposed NASA budget rates the Discovery program of low-cost planetary missions highly and provides for its continuation. Current Discovery missions include Stardust sampling a comet, Genesis sampling the solar wind, Contour performing a Comet nucleus tour, Messenger to orbit Mercury, Deep Impact to sample cometary nuclear material, Dawn to orbit the large asteroids Ceres and Vesta, and Kepler to search for extra-solar planets.
The most surprising proposal in this budget is to develop nuclear technology for in-space propulsion and power. This technology was under development at the beginning of the space program, but dropped in the 1970s. It has always been clear that this capability would dramatically reduce the flight-time to the planets and provide almost unlimited power for operation in space and on the planets. The decision to resume development and complete this technology for early application in this decade is applauded by the Society. This will solve two of the most limiting problems in space exploration; the time it takes to get to the planets, and the amount of power available once at the planets, especially for landers and rovers.
The Administration proposes to initiate a program for competitively selected "New Frontier" missions. The new "rating system" in the Federal Budget was used to judge the current outer planets program as ineffective. That program, with a Pluto-Kuiper Belt flyby and a Europa orbiter, was deleted to accommodate the nuclear propulsion technology.
Last year the Society led a grass-roots campaign for a mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. As a result, Congress added funds for a Pluto mission to the fiscal year 2002 budget, and NASA selected the New Horizon mission. The Administration's proposal will not support a 2006 launch for this mission and requires a delay at least until the new in-space propulsion technology can be developed to reduce the flight-time to Pluto.
Louis Friedman, Executive Director commented, "We are disappointed that the Administration proposes to delay the current Pluto mission in order to incorporate the new in-space propulsion initiative. Congress specifically added the Pluto mission in response to public interest - and we believe that public interest is important to the program."
Commenting on the International Space Station situation, Friedman added, "The Administration feels that getting the space station cost and management constrained is of prime importance, but we are worried that the purpose of the space station - to prepare humans for flight beyond low Earth orbit - will be lost. That problem is not addressed yet, and should be in any re-direction of the program."


The rivers of Paradise in the Byzantine Church near Jabaliyah - Gaza
|The Department of Antiquities of the Palestinian National Authority, Gaza, excavated a Byzantine site near Jabaliyah north of Gaza City1.
No urban settlement has been discovered in the vicinity, and the site could be one of the necropolises of ancient Gaza. An extensive cemetery was excavated nearby in 1995. The Byzantine installation was probably built in a funeral sector. Veneration of a certain tomb may explain the origin of the sanctuary. Three distinctive buildings constitute a religious complex: a three-naved church, a diakonikon and a baptistery. All the stone from the walls have been robbed, therefore the plan was reconstructed based on the layout of mosaic pavements.
Plan of the church found in Jabaliyah-Gaza
|The church (23 x 13 m) is probably the most ancient part of the building and some architectural adaptations indicate the continuation of more ancient constructions. The choir was completely destroyed. We reconstructed a central apse; another one on the northern aisle is still intact. Of the pavement in the central nave, only a few circular mosaic medallions remain, encircled by foliated vine scrolls. Preserved by remarkable chance, a mosaic inscription commemorates the laying of the pavement and permits us to date it precisely to the beginning of the eighth century AD. The workmanship is of exceptional quality, and indicates that the Christian community in Gaza was still very much in existence in the eighth century AD, and capable of exceptional artistic achievements2. The remains of the pavement spared by the iconoclasts show us representations of wild game, beautifully drawn birds and rustic country scenes. The late dating of the mosaic pavement proves that the intervention of the iconoclasts, that is after 750, is later than previously thought and is associated with Abbasid conservatives. The northern aisle had a mosaic carpet illustrating a profusion of edibles and crockery, in praise of the gifts of creation, possibly a rehearsal of the eschatological banquet.|
Mosaic floor of the baptistery
|An elongated (18 x 4.5 m) diakonikon in three sections was linked to the church. The western section, accessible to the believers, revealed a mosaic pavement the most elaborately decorated of the whole complex with people and large animals on a plain background. An inscription in the diaconicon dates the pavement to the middle of the fifth century AD, 287 years before the pavement of the central nave of the basilica (ca. 732).
The northern building was a baptistery of exceptional size (23 x 10 m) for Palestine. The specific disposition of its four rooms follows the third mystagogic, catechetic homily of St Cyril of Jerusalem (SC 126 bis) that describes the rites of baptism. The large western room through which one entered from outside, served as a reception hall for catechumens until Easter. From there, up two steps leading to a narrow door, the candidates were introduced into a sort of vestibule for the renunciation of Satan. The vestibule had the singularity of containing the large tomb of a benefactor or spiritual leader, but the skeleton lying in a normal position on its back was found under that of another person bent over and across it. The latter could be a gatecrasher from a later period, possibly from the early Islamic rule.
The vestibule was connected to the baptismal hall by two arches. The Greek inscriptions on the mosaics ascribe the embellishment of the hall to two mosaicists from the nearby ancient city of Ashkelon, during the Justinian era. The basin itself must have been built in marble since the whole plating had been stolen. Nevertheless the cross shape was easily discernible through the embedded ashlar, half a meter deep. We were able to restore a cupola on top of the basin: we found bases of colonnettes and a first course of corner-shaped pillars. The entire space was paved with geometrically patterned mosaic pavements, but the decoration surrounding the basin was contrasted by a quaint patched composition in the four quadrants. Despite depredations we were able to reconstruct the decor. Four exotic animals were confined to the protruding angles of the basin. One can identify parts of an elephant, the end of the trunk and the back covered with a tepeion; in a grove, the body of a giraffe in an excellently realistic rendering; and a zebra foot. The missing animal was probably a leopard. This typical African bestiary belongs to the iconographic tradition of the "Ethiopian Landscape", well attested in the Middle East. A dozen giraffes are known in the Gaza Strip alone, and could be the epic testimony of two giraffes passing through Gaza in 573, a diplomatic gift from the Maccurites to emperor Justin ii; or of the parade through Gaza of the exotic animals intended for Anastasius in 496. Can we raise the idea that Gaza was involved in this kind of trade?
These fabulous beasts were combined with four human portrayals: a part of a woman on the left side, a part of an elderly man on the right. They are naked, portrayed half-length in a wavy pattern of water. Other fragments of an identical wavy band indicate that two more busts (now destroyed) were grouped on the west side at the entrance to the basin. They were allegories of rivers according to the Graeco-Roman tradition: rustic deities as human beings meeting their need for water4. Rivulets spring from the woman's breasts. Her nakedness and red-brown skin refer to symbolic Æthiopia, bordering the Red Sea, the undefined southern Arab-African mainland. Two Greek letters GE() help to restore Gehon, the mythic river bordering the land of Kush, and ordinarily assimilated to the Egyptian Nile. Elsewhere the Gehon (or Gihon) is male too. The old man has a green wreath in his hair and shows comparatively clear skin. In the missing part of the pavement we can restore an urn between his arms pouring a stream of water. The name FISON above implies that the elder is the first river of Paradise, winding around the Land of Havilah (Gen. 2, 10) where gold and gems originated, probably to be identified with the Southern kingdoms of Arabia. Emerging from the river, both allegories are naked in a frame of reeds.
The other two allegories, which were destroyed, were the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, displayed before the steps of the basin. Emerging from the waters, the newly baptized stepped over a mosaic inscription, (destroyed, suggested location with fragment of a frame) a short excerpt from the Bible citing water combined with salvation.
The complete composition emphasizes the rich significance of the baptismal iconography. The fabulous bestiary refers to the lost Eden, where innocent Adam reigned over the whole of creation including the animal world. The theme also exists in Greek mythology, and Christ-Orpheus can be seen charming animals with a lyre. The contested David-Orpheus version recovered on an enigmatic pavement on the shore of Gaza could be a hellenized Jewish version of the theme. In both cases they are reminiscences of man before the Fall. The bestiary evoke the early creation surrounding the newly baptized who enter a redeemed world. The exotic animals heighten the beauty of God's creation and reflect his imperial power through diplomatic gifts. They peacefully accompany the newly baptized as they did Adam in Eden. On the other hand, the four rivers specifically evoke Paradise, sources of living water for the renewal of human nature, and the figure of Christ who draws towards Him mankind thirsting for salvation. The four rivers, sources of life, irrigate the entire known world, and salvation is for all mankind, Life and death. In Proto-Byzantine art, the four rivers form a topic within a funeral context, which fits with baptismal theology, since baptism refers to human death.
1 The excavations took place under the direction of Yasser Matar and Ayman Hassuneh of the Department of Antiquities of the Palestinian National Authority, Gaza office, with participation by the École biblique in the framework of the Mission de coopération archéologique franco-palestinienne à Gaza (Ministère français des Affaires étrangères).
2 Archaeological discoveries of churches at Umm er-Rassas provide useful documentation. See Schick 1995.
3 Gatier 1996, 903-941.
4 Février 1956, 179-197.
|This contribution was first published in: The Madaba Map Centenary, Jerusalem 1999, 216-218.|


The Religious Society of Friends is a community of faith based on an experience of a transforming power named many ways: the Inner Light, the Spirit of Christ, the Guide, the Living God, the Divine Presence.
Quaker experience of the Divine affects what we do in our personal lives, what we believe and how we work for changes in the wider world. “Testimonies” are what Quakers call the ways we have found to live and act based on our beliefs.
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Quakers celebrate un-programmed worship. Gathering in silence enables us to shed the strains, stresses, and distractions of the secular world and to open ourselves to direct communion and relationship with God and each other.
The Religious Society of Friends arose during the mid-1600’s in England. George Fox and Margaret Fell, among others, were Seekers of Truth attempting to recover the spirit of early Christianity. They founded the Religious Society of Friends or Quakers. Philadelphia Yearly Meeting has been in continuous existence in North America since the early 1700’s.
God’s Big Tent
We wish to affirm our belief that Quakerism is God’s “big tent,” politically. We welcome people with all sorts of political beliefs—Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals, socialists, Libertarians, and Independents—to the Religious Society of Friends.


Fundamental liberties are rights and freedoms that we have as human beings. Some fundamental liberties are set out in the Constitution. Because these rights and freedoms are set out in the Constitution, they are said to be ‘guaranteed’ and cannot be taken away from us unless the Constitution itself allows it.
The Fundamental Liberties guaranteed under the Constitution:
Article 5 – Right to life and personal liberty
Every person has a right to life and liberty. A person’s life or personal liberty cannot be taken away unless it is in accordance with law. The courts have said that the right to life includes a right to livelihood and quality of life, while the right to liberty includes the right to privacy.
A person who is arrested or detained:-
● has the right to consult and be defended by a lawyer of his/her choice (this is known as ‘access to legal representation’); and
● must be brought before a magistrate within 24 hours and cannot be detained further unless it is with the authority of the magistrate, known as a ‘remand order’.
Article 6 – No slavery or forced labour
No one can be made a slave or forced to work. However, Parliament may make laws to require Malaysians to provide compulsory national service. Work or service required from a person who is convicted of a crime is not considered forced labour.
Article 7 – Protection against retrospective criminal laws and repeated trials
A person cannot be punished for something which at the time when it was done was not an offence. For example, if a law is passed to make it illegal to drive past a speed limit of 80km/h, a person driving past that speed limit before the law is passed cannot be punished. This is known as the prohibition against retrospective criminal laws.
If the punishment for a crime is increased, a person who committed the crime before the punishment was increased cannot be given that increased punishment. For example, if the law is amended to change the punishment for breaking a speed limit from a fine to a prison sentence, a person breaking the speed limit before the law is amended cannot be punished with a prison sentence.
A person who has been acquitted or convicted of an offence shall not be tried again for the same offence, unless the conviction or acquittal is quashed (set aside) and a retrial is ordered.
Article 8 – Equality
All persons are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection of the law.
Unless the Constitution says so, citizens cannot be discriminated only because of their religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender:-
● in the employment by a public authority; or
● how any law is applied relating to property or any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment.
However, Article 8 does not apply to:-
● laws relating to office or any employment connected to any religion or religious institutions;
● laws for the protection, well-being or advancement or the reservation of a quota of employment in the public service for the Orang Asli of Peninsula Malaysia;
● laws that say that a person to be elected or appointed into a State authority, and any person who can vote in such elections, must reside in that State;
● laws in the Constitution of a State that were made before Merdeka Day (31 August 1957); and
● laws restricting enlistment in the Malay Regiment to Malays.
Article 9 – Freedom of movement
A Malaysian citizen cannot be banished or excluded from the country. In general, every citizen has the right to move freely and stay in any part of the country except where any law is passed relating to the security of the country, public order, public health or the punishment of offenders.
The special position of Sabah and Sarawak compared to other States also allows for laws to be made to control who can enter and stay in Sabah and Sarawak. We talk about the special interests and safeguards for Sabah and Sarawak in The Rakyat Guides 7: Sabah and Sarawak.
Article 10 – Freedom of speech, assembly and association
Citizens have freedom of speech, assembly and association but these freedoms may be restricted by Parliament for reasons permitted by the Constitution. The Courts have said Parliament may only impose restrictions where they are reasonably necessary.
1. Freedom of speech and expression
Every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression. However, Parliament may make laws to restrict this right if they are necessary or expedient in the interest of:-
● friendly relations with other countries;
● public order or morality; or
● the protection of the privileges of Parliament or any State legislative assembly or to provide against contempt of court, defamation or incitement to any offence.
In imposing restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression in the interest of the security of the country or public order, Parliament may pass laws prohibiting the questioning of matters relating to citizenship, the national language, the special position of Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak and sovereignty of the Rulers.
However, it is not illegal to comment on the implementation of these matters.
2. Right to assemble peaceably and to form associations
All citizens have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms and to form associations. However, Parliament may make laws to restrict these rights if they are necessary or expedient in the interest of:-
● public order; or
● morality (only for the right to form associations)
3. Parliament can also make laws to restrict the right to form associations in relation to labour and education.


Do you remember when our communities were home to numerous garment factories providing jobs for thousands of employees? The dedicated workers manufactured high quality shirts, dresses, blouses and slacks. They worked long hours for meager wages.
I had a flashback to the old industry when my wife and I met a friendly couple at one of Lancaster’s tourist havens. They were reared in New York City, the lady in Manhattan, where there was a prosperous garment district. I wonder if it’s still prosperous today?
She relayed a story few of my younger readers have ever read about, an event that touched the heart and soul of America, a tragic page in labor history I covered in my class during my teaching days. The late aunt of this lady survived the Triangle Waist Co. fire on March 25, 1911 in New York City.
The Triangle Shirt Waist Company was located at the intersection of Green Street and Washington Place. They manufactured women’s blouses, which at the time were called shirtwaists.
The factory was on the top three floors of a ten-story building. Most employees were young immigrant women from Germany, Italy and Eastern Europe, some were only 13 years of age. They worked 60 to 72-hour weeks, some worked 14-hour shifts; and you think we have it tough!
Safety conditions barely existed, the floors of the factory had scraps of fabric, patterns, flammable textiles and tissue paper. Some of the men who cut the fabric smoked on the job. There were a few buckets of water in the room to extinguish any fire.
The fire began on the eighth floor, sparked by a match, cigarette or faulty electrical wiring. Workers from the tenth and eighth floors were warned and quickly evacuated but no one alerted the ninth floor. The single fire escape soon collapsed and the elevator stopped working. The ninth floor had only two doors to the stairway, one was locked and the other, stairs were filled with flames and black smoke. Panic and desperation gripped the workers who struggled to escape.
Sixty-two desperate women attempted to avoid the flames by breaking the windows and jumped out of the ninth-story window. The firemen attempted to use nets to save the women but the nets failed. Others jumped down the elevator shaft. The firemen were unable to extinguish the flames and there were no ladders that could reach above the sixth floor.
The death toll was 148; 141 died at the scene and seven survivors died in hospitals. The owners of the company fled to the roof and survived. As a result of the tragedy the owners were put on trial, but as in the present day, clever defense attorneys confused the witnesses and stated the prosecution was unable to prove the owners locked the exit doors, thus they were acquitted of any wrong doing.
In 1913 a civil suit was also unsuccessful. In the end, $75 was paid per each deceased victim; yes you read that correctly, $75. The owners were paid $60,000 from an insurance company.
Two years later Max Blanck, one of the owners, was arrested for locking the factory door during working hours and was fined $20.
The building was refurbished after the fire. Today is it owned by New York University and is known as the Brown Building of Science. The building was placed on the National Historical Register in 1991. Two plaques in front of the building commemorate the women who lost their lives in the fire. At a mass meeting in New York in 1911, Rose Schneiderman said, “This is not the first time girls have been burned alive in the city. Every week I must learn of the untimely death of one of my sister workers. Every year thousands of us are maimed. The life of men and women is so cheap and property is so sacred. There are so many of us for one job it matters little is 148 of us are burned to death.” Thus ended a tragic chapter for the American worker.


MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH
Learners’ motivation has become more commonly recognized as perhaps the major determining factor for successful learning in general, whether one is a high school student pushing one's way through the battery of required courses needed to graduate, or an adult learner taking distance education courses. In any learning setting, the dynamics of motivation will be different. What will help a high school student sustain motivation may not apply to an adult learner, for example. Similarly, what factors affect and enhance learner motivation in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) setting (in our case) will differ as well. Furthermore, motivation for EFL learners in a middle school or high school class will differ from the experience of an EFL adult learner. It is important to grasp the key concepts of motivation as they are understood in the realm of education. Motivation is an unconscious, psychological process that varies by individual over time. It is a social process which can be affected by past experiences and environment. According to psychologists, intrinsic motivation refers to a source of motivation which emanates from within the learner. Extrinsic motivation refers to motivation which is sourced by the expectation of a tangible reward. Ideally, the learner will have a healthy combination of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation working for themselves. The extrinsic element may help push the learner through tougher times by helping them keep their eye on the goal, such as a foreign language certificate, or a decent TOEFL score, for example. Instrumental motivation (which closely correlates to extrinsic motivation) applies to the language learner who holds a specific, more isolated purpose for learning a foreign language, such as qualifying for a job, or achieving higher social status. Taking into account the latest socio- political changes Romania has faced – the integration of our country into European Union, the opportunities Romanians have nowadays to study abroad or to get a work permit in different English speaking countries, or the increasing number of people applying for a ‘green card’ to the United States of America or Canada- we may also speak of the integrative motivation, which is associated with the English learners' orientation toward the target language and culture, and the presence of a desire to integrate into that culture.
The following sections of my paper deal with motivational differences people (adults, children and adolescents) have, the reasons why they learn English and considerations on the degree of motivation students have in learning English, based on my personal `experience` as a primary/secondary school teacher. I will dedicate more space to sections dealing with children and adolescents, since my teaching experience with adults has been occasional and collateral.
Adults’ reasons/ goals:
‘One should have English speaking skills nowadays…’
This is what I have heard so often lately, on different occasions - while zapping through TV channels, seeing friends, making new acquaintances, meeting my students’ parents. All agree on `the necessity of speaking/learning English’ as a way to: push careers forward (to get a job abroad, to put ‘good knowledge of English’ on CVs; to gain technical knowledge; to learn computer science or use computer more effectively), to communicate with people (to contact people all over the world, to travel more easily), to enjoy art (American-British movies in original, great books, English-language music) so on.
A friend working in sales for a private company: ‘The manager of the company had a talk with me some time ago. He reinforced his trust in my abilities as a sales-person, and he informed me that I have pretty good chances to get a promotion and start to work in a ‘higher division’ of my company. My single worry now is that I need good English speaking skills, as my manager informed me. So, I...
Bibliography: Breen M. P. and Littlejohn, A. P. “Classroom Decision-Making”. Cambridge University Press, 2000
Harmer, Jeremy: “The Pactice of English Language Teaching”, Longman
Grigoroiu, Gabriela: “An English Language Teaching Reader’, Tipografia Universtitatii din Craiova, 2002
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Do I need to take a vitamin D supplement?
Adults and children over five:
Public Health England advises all adults and children over five years to consider taking a daily supplement containing 10mcg (400 units) of vitamin D daily, particularly during autumn and winter. (Take for longer if you are not getting outside during the coronavirus lockdown)
Infants and children under five:
Breastfed babies from birth to one year of age should be given a daily supplement containing 8.5 to 10mcg of vitamin D, to make sure they get enough.
Babies fed infant formula should not be given a vitamin D supplement until they are receiving less than 500ml (about a pint) of infant formula a day, because infant formula is fortified with vitamin D.
Children aged 1 to 4 years old should be given a daily supplement containing 10mcg of vitamin D.
Take all year round if higher risk
People who have a higher risk of vitamin D deficiency are advised to take a 10mcg (400 units) supplement all year round.
People at higher risk include:
- Pregnant and breastfeeding women
- Older people, aged 65 years and over
- People who have low or no exposure to the sun, for example those who cover their skin for cultural reasons or who are housebound
- People with darker skin, for example people of African, African-Caribbean or South Asian origin
- Vegans and those who do not eat fish, or generally have a poor diet
- People who are obese (BMI>30kg/m2) or have had a gastric bypass
- People who have malabsorption syndromes or taking certain drugs (antiresorptives, anticonvulsants, rifampicin)
- People who have a family history of vitamin D deficiency.