Japanese calendar types have included a range of official and unofficial systems. At present, Japan uses the Gregorian calendar together with year designations stating the year of the reign of the current Emperor.
The lunisolar Chinese calendar was introduced to Japan via Korea in the middle of the sixth century. After that, Japan calculated its calendar using various Chinese calendar procedures, and from 1685, using Japanese variations of the Chinese procedures. But in 1873, as part of Japan's Meiji period modernization, a calendar based on the solar Gregorian calendar was introduced. In Japan today, the old Chinese calendar is virtually ignored; celebrations of the Lunar New Year are thus limited to Chinese and other Asian immigrant communities.
Japan has had more than one system for designating years. including:
The official dating system known as nengō (年号) (or, strictly speaking, gengō (元号)), has been in use since the late 7th century. Years are numbered within regnal eras, which are named by the reigning Emperor. Beginning with Meiji (1868–1912), each reign has been one era, but many earlier Emperors decreed a new era upon any major event; the last pre-Meiji Emperor's reign (1846–1867) was split into seven eras, one of which lasted only one year. The nengō system remains in wide use, especially on official documents and government forms.
The imperial year system (kōki) was used from 1872 to the Second World War. Imperial year 1 (Kōki 1) was the year when the legendary Emperor Jimmu founded Japan – 660 BC according to the Gregorian Calendar. Usage of kōki dating can be a nationalist signal, pointing out that the history of Japan's imperial family is longer than that of Christianity, the basis of the Anno Domini (AD) system. Kōki 2600 (1940) was a special year. The 1940 Summer Olympics and Tokyo Expo were planned as anniversary events, but were canceled due to the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese naval Zero Fighter was named after this year. After the Second World War, the United States occupied Japan, and stopped the use of kōki by officials. Today, kōki is rarely used, except in some judicial contexts.
The 1898 law determining the placement of leap years is officially based on the kōki years, using a formula that is effectively equivalent to that of the Gregorian calendar: if the kōki year number is evenly divisible by four, it is a leap year, unless the number minus 660 is evenly divisible by 100 and not by 400. Thus, for example, the year Kōki 2560 (AD 1900) is divisible by 4; but 2560 − 660 = 1900, which is evenly divisible by 100 and not by 400, so kōki 2560 was not a leap year, just as in most of the rest of the world.
The present era, Reiwa, formally began on 1 May 2019. The name of the new era was announced by the Japanese government on 1 April 2019, a month prior to Naruhito's succession to the throne. The previous era, Heisei, came to an end on 30 April 2019, after Japan's former emperor, Akihito, abdicated the throne.
|English name||Japanese name||Romanisation||Traditional dates|
|Spring||春||haru||March 21 – June 20|
|Summer||夏||natsu||June 21 – October 8|
|Autumn||秋||aki||October 9 – December 7|
|Winter||冬||fuyu||December 8 – March 20|
See also "Seasonal days", below.
The modern Japanese names for the months literally translate to "first month", "second month", and so on. The corresponding number is combined with the suffix 月 (-gatsu, "month"). The table below uses traditional numerals, but the use of Western numerals (１月, ２月, ３月 etc.) is common.
In addition, every month has a traditional name, still used by some in fields such as poetry; of the twelve, Shiwasu is still widely used today. The opening paragraph of a letter or the greeting in a speech might borrow one of these names to convey a sense of the season. Some, such as Yayoi and Satsuki, do double duty as given names (for women). These month names also appear from time to time on jidaigeki, contemporary television shows and movies set in the Edo period or earlier.
The old Japanese calendar was an adjusted lunar calendar based on the Chinese calendar, and the year—and with it the months—started anywhere from about 3 to 7 weeks later than the modern year, so in historical contexts it is not entirely accurate to equate the first month with January.
|English name||Common Japanese name||Traditional Japanese name|
|January||一月 (ichigatsu)||Mutsuki (睦月, "Month of Love," alternatively "Month of Affection").|
|February||二月 (nigatsu)||Kisaragi (如月) or Kinusaragi (衣更着, "Changing Clothes").|
|March||三月 (sangatsu)||Yayoi (弥生, "New Life").|
|April||四月 (shigatsu)||Uzuki (卯月, "u-no-hana month"). The u-no-hana (卯の花) is a flower, of the genus Deutzia.|
|May||五月 (gogatsu)||Satsuki (皐月) or Sanaetsuki (早苗月, "Early-rice-planting Month").|
|June||六月 (rokugatsu)||Minazuki (水無月, "Month of Water"). The 無 character, which normally means "absent" or "there is no", is here ateji, that is, used only for the sound "na". In this name the na is actually a possessive particle, so 'minazuki' means "month of water", not "month without water", and this is in reference to the flooding of the rice fields, which require large quantities of water.|
|July||七月 (shichigatsu)||Fumizuki (文月, "Month of Erudition").|
|August||八月 (hachigatsu)||Hazuki (葉月, "Month of Leaves"). In old Japanese, the month was called 葉落ち月 (Haochizuki, or "Month of Falling Leaves").|
|September||九月 (kugatsu)||Nagatsuki (長月, "The Long Month").|
|October||十月 (jūgatsu)||Kannazuki or Kaminazuki (神無月, Month of the Gods). The 無 character, which normally means "absent" or "there is not", was here probably originally used as ateji, that is used only for the sound "na". In this name the na is actually a possessive particle, so Kaminazuki means "Month of the Gods", not "Month without Gods" (Kaminakizuki), similarly to Minatsuki, the "Month of Water". However, by false etymology this became commonly interpreted to mean that because in that month all the Shinto kami gather at Izumo shrine in Izumo Province (modern-day Shimane Prefecture), there are no gods in the rest of the country. Thus in Izumo Province, the month is called Kamiarizuki (神有月 or 神在月, "Month with Gods"). This interpretation is the one commonly cited in western works. Various other etymologies have also been suggested from time to time.|
|November||十一月 (jūichigatsu)||Shimotsuki (霜月, "Month of Frost").|
|December||十二月 (jūnigatsu)||Shiwasu (師走, "Priests Running"). This is in reference to priests being busy at the end of the year for New Year's preparations and blessings.|
Japan uses a seven-day week, aligned with the Western calendar. The seven-day week, with names for the days corresponding to the Latin system, was brought to Japan around AD 800 with the Buddhist calendar. The system was used for astrological purposes and little else until 1876.
The names of the days come from the five visible planets, which in turn are named after the five Chinese elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth), and from the moon and sun (yin and yang). On the origin of the names of the days of the week, also see East Asian Seven Luminaries.
|Japanese||Romanization||Element (planet)||English name|
Sunday and Saturday are regarded as "Western style take-a-rest days". Since the late 19th century, Sunday has been regarded as a "full-time holiday", and Saturday a half-time holiday (半ドン). These holidays have no religious meaning (except those who believe in Christianity or Judaism). Many Japanese retailers do not close on Saturdays or Sundays, because many office workers and their families are expected to visit the shops during the weekend. An old Imperial Japanese Navy song (月月火水木金金) says "Mon Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Fri!" which means "We work throughout the entire week."
Japanese people also use 10-day periods called jun (旬). Each month is divided roughly into three 10-day periods:
These are frequently used to indicate approximate times, for example, "the temperatures are typical of the jōjun of April"; "a vote on a bill is expected during the gejun of this month."
Each day of the month has a semi-systematic name. The days generally use kun (native Japanese) numeral readings up to ten, and thereafter on (Chinese-derived) readings, but there are some irregularities. The table below shows dates written with traditional numerals, but use of Arabic numerals (１日, ２日, ３日, etc.) is extremely common in everyday communication, almost the norm.
Tsuitachi is a worn-down form of tsuki-tachi (月立ち), which means "the month beginning". The last day of the month was called tsugomori, which means "Moon hidden". This classical word comes from the tradition of the lunisolar calendar.
The 30th was also called misoka, just as the 20th is called hatsuka. Nowadays, the terms for the numbers 28–31 plus nichi are much more common. However, misoka is much used in contracts, etc., specifying that a payment should be made on or by the last day of the month, whatever the number is. New Year's Eve is known as Ōmisoka (大晦日, big 30th), and that term is still in use.
There is traditional belief that some days are lucky (kichijitsu) or unlucky. For example, there are some who will avoid beginning something on an unlucky day.
After World War II, the names of Japanese national holidays were completely changed because of the secular state principle (Article 20, The Constitution of Japan). Although many of them actually originated from Shinto, Buddhism and important events relating to the Japanese imperial family, it is not easy to understand the original meanings from the superficial and vague official names.
Notes: Single days between two national holidays are taken as a bank holiday. This applies to May 4, which is a holiday each year. When a national holiday falls on a Sunday the next day that is not a holiday (usually a Monday) is taken as a holiday.
|Date||English name||Official name||Romanization|
|January 1||New Year's Day||元日||Ganjitsu|
|Second Monday of January||Coming of Age Day||成人の日||Seijin no hi|
|February 11||National Foundation Day†||建国記念の日||Kenkoku kinen no hi|
|February 23||The Emperor's Birthday||天皇誕生日||Tennō tanjōbi|
|March 20 or 21||Vernal Equinox Day||春分の日||Shunbun no hi|
|April 29||Shōwa Day*||昭和の日||Shōwa no hi|
|May 3||Constitution Memorial Day*||憲法記念日||Kenpō kinenbi|
|May 4||Greenery Day*||みどり(緑)の日||Midori no hi|
|May 5||Children's Day*||子供の日||Kodomo no hi|
|Third Monday of July||Marine Day||海の日||Umi no hi|
|August 11||Mountain Day||山の日||Yama no hi|
|Third Monday of September||Respect for the Aged Day||敬老の日||Keirō no hi|
|September 23 or 24||Autumnal Equinox Day||秋分の日||Shūbun no hi|
|Second Monday of October||Health and Sports Day||体育の日||Taiiku no hi|
|November 3||Culture Day||文化の日||Bunka no hi|
|November 23||Labour Thanksgiving Day||勤労感謝の日||Kinrō kansha no hi|
In contrast to other East Asian countries such as China, Vietnam, Korea and Mongolia, Japan has almost completely forgotten the Chinese calendar. Since 1876, January has been officially regarded as the "first month" even when setting the date of Japanese traditional folklore events (other months are the same: February as the second month, March as the third, and so on). But this system often brings a strong seasonal sense of gap since the event is 3 to 7 weeks earlier than in the traditional calendar. Modern Japanese culture has invented a kind of "compromised" way of setting dates for festivals called Tsuki-okure ("One-Month Delay") or Chūreki ("The Eclectic Calendar"). The festival is celebrated just one solar calendar month later than the date on the Gregorian calendar. For example, the Buddhist festival of Obon was the 15th day of the 7th month. Many places the religious services are held on July 15. However, in some areas, the rites are normally held on August 15, which is more seasonally close to the old calendar. (The general term "Obon holiday" always refers to the middle of August.) Although this is just de facto and customary, it is broadly used when setting the dates of many folklore events and religious festivals. But Japanese New Year is the great exception. The date of Japanese New Year is always January 1.
Some days have special names to mark the change in seasons. The 24 sekki (Hanyu Pinyin: Èrshísì Jiéqì; Japanese: 二十四節気; rōmaji: nijūshi sekki) are days that divide the solar year into twenty four equal sections. Zassetsu (雑節) is a collective term for the seasonal days other than the 24 sekki. 72 Kō (七十二候, Shichijūni kō) days are made from dividing the 24 sekki of a year further by three. These were named based upon the climate of Northern China, so many of the names do not fit in with the climate of Japanese archipelago. But some of these names, such as Shunbun, Risshū and Tōji, are still used quite frequently in everyday life in Japan.
Dates can vary by one day either way.
|February 3||節分||Setsubun||The eve of Risshun by one definition.|
|March 18–March 24||春彼岸||Haru higan||The seven days surrounding Shunbun.|
|Vernal Equinox day||春社日||Haru shanichi||In Shinto. 彼岸中日 (Higan Chunichi) in Buddhism.|
|May 2||八十八夜||Hachijū hachiya||Literally meaning 88 nights (since Risshun).|
|June 11||入梅||Nyūbai||Literally meaning entering tsuyu.|
|July 2||半夏生||Hangeshō||One of the 72 Kō. Farmers take five days off in some regions.|
|July 15||中元||Chūgen||Officially July 15. August 15 in many regions (Tsuki-okure).|
|July 20||夏の土用||Natsu no doyō||Custom of eating eel on this day.|
|September 1||二百十日||Nihyaku tōka||Literally meaning 210 days (since Risshun).|
|September 11||二百二十日||Nihyaku hatsuka||Literally meaning 220 days.|
|September 20–September 26||秋彼岸||Aki higan|
|Autumal Equinox||秋社日||Aki shanichi||In Shinto. 彼岸中日 in Buddhism.|
Shanichi dates can vary by as much as 5 days. Chūgen has a fixed day. All other days can vary by one day.
Many zassetsu days occur in multiple seasons:
The following are known as the five seasonal festivals (節句 sekku, also 五節句 gosekku). The sekku were made official holidays during Edo period on Chinese lunisolar calendar. The dates of these festivals are confused nowadays; some on the Gregorian calendar, others on "Tsuki-okure".
The rokuyō (六曜) are a series of six days calculated from the date of Chinese calendar that supposedly predict whether there will be good or bad fortune during that day. The rokuyō are commonly found on Japanese calendars and are often used to plan weddings and funerals, though most people ignore them in ordinary life. The rokuyō are also known as the rokki (六輝). In order, they are:
|先勝||Senshō||Good luck before noon, bad luck after noon. Good day for beginnings (in the morning).|
|友引||Tomobiki||Bad things will happen to your friends. Funerals avoided on this day (tomo = friend, biki = pull, thus a funeral might pull friends toward the deceased). Typically crematoriums are closed this day.|
|先負||Senbu||Bad luck before noon, good luck after noon.|
|仏滅||Butsumetsu||Symbolizes the day Buddha died. Considered the most unlucky day. Weddings are best avoided. Some Shinto shrines close their offices on this day.|
|大安||Taian||The most lucky day. Good day for weddings and events like shop openings.|
|赤口||Shakkō||The hour of the horse (11 am to 1 pm) is lucky. The rest is bad luck.|
The rokuyō days are easily calculated from the Japanese lunisolar calendar. The first day of the first month is always senshō, with the days following in the order given above until the end of the month. Thus, the 2nd day is tomobiki, the 3rd is senbu, and so on. The 1st day of the 2nd month restarts the sequence at tomobiki. The 3rd month restarts at senbu, and so on for each month. The latter six months repeat the patterns of the first six, so the 1st of the 7th is senshō, the 1st of the 12th is shakkō and the moon-viewing day on the 15th of the 8th is always butsumetsu.
This system did not become popular in Japan until the end of the Edo period.
The first day of April has broad significance in Japan. It marks the beginning of the government's fiscal year. Many corporations follow suit. In addition, corporations often form or merge on that date. In recent years, municipalities have preferred it for mergers. On this date, many new employees begin their jobs, and it is the start of many real-estate leases. The school year begins on April 1.


Investing During Uncertainty
Every day it seems like the world is getting smaller. If you watch any financial television station or read the newspaper, you are most likely aware of how events in one country seem to have an ever-increasing effect on other countries around the world. We are more interconnected now than at any other time in history. It goes without mention that globalization definitely has its positives, but when threats of financial crisis, war, global recession, trade imbalances, etc, do occur it often leads to talk of moving money to safer investments and increasing government deficits. This rising uncertainty can confuse even the well-informed investor.
Any time you put money at risk for the chance of profit there is an inherent level of uncertainty. When new threats such as war or recession arise, the level of uncertainty increases significantly as companies can no longer accurately predict their future earnings. As a result,institutional investors will reduce their holdings in stocks considered unsafe and move the funds to other sources like precious metals, government bonds and money-market instruments. This selloff, which occurs as large portfolios reposition themselves, can cause the stock market to depreciate.
Effects of Uncertainty
Uncertainty is the inability to forecast future events; people cant predict the extent of a possible recession, when its going to start/end, how much it will cost, or what companies will be able to make it through unscathed. Most companies normally predict sales and production trends for theinvesting public to follow assuming normal market conditions, but increasing levels of uncertainty can make these numbers significantly inaccurate.
Uncertainty itself can affect the economy on both the micro and macro level; a description of uncertainty on a micro level focuses on the effect on individual companies within an economy faced with the threat of war or recession, whereas the view of uncertainty on a macro level looks at the economy as a whole (To learn more, see Economics Basics.):
• From a company-specific point of view, uncertainty provides a major concern for those that produce consumer goods every day. For example, consumption may fall on the threat of a recession as individuals refrain from purchasing new cars, computers and other non-essentials. This uncertainty may force the companies in certain sectors to lay off some of their employees to combat the impacts of lower sales. The level of uncertainty that surrounds a companys sales also extends into the stock market. Consequently, stock prices of companies that produce non-essential goods sometimes experience a selloff when levels of uncertainty rise. (For more, see The Impact Of Recession On Businesses.)
• On a macro level, uncertainty is magnified if the countries at war are major suppliers or consumers of goods. A good example is a country that supplies a large portion of the worlds oil. Should this country go to war, uncertainty regarding the level of the worlds oil reserves would grow. Because the demand for oil would be high and the supply uncertain, a country unable to produce enough oil within its own borders would be required to ensure that enough oil was stored to cover operations. As a result, the price of oil would increase.
• Another macro-level event that affects companies and investors is the flight of capital and devaluation of exchange rates. When a country faces the threat of war or recession, its economy is considered uncertain. Investors attempt to move their currency away from unstable sources to stable ones; the currency of a country under a threat of war is sold and the currencies from countries without the threat are bought. The average investor probably would not do this, but the large institutional investors and currency futures traders would. These actions translate into a devaluation of exchange rates.
Whats an Investor to Do?
When situations of heightened uncertainty arise, the best defense is to be as well informed as possible. Keep updated by reading the newspaper and researching individual companies. Analyze which sectors have more to gain and lose in a crises and decide on a long-term plan. Times of heightened uncertainty can lead to great opportunities for investors who position themselves to take advantage of it. Some investors might decide to be offensive and search for companies that provide goods or services that will lead to great returns when things turn around. It is difficult to commit capital during uncertain times, but it can often reap huge rewards in the long run. Those who want to mitigate uncertainty and risk might be content leaving their money where it is or perhaps moving it to safer securities.
Regardless of which strategy you decide to take (if any), you cant go wrong over the long term by keeping yourself well informed and getting into a position so that you can take advantage of prices when the things reverse.


Children under the age of 12 with sexual behavior problems have been given increasing attention in professional literature. It is difficult to determine whether greater numbers of these cases are due to an actual increase in problematic sexual behaviors in children, or an increased awareness and identification of these behaviors when they occur. Children with sexual behavior problems should not be considered “sex offenders” similar to adolescents and adults who engage in some of the same victimizing behaviors. They are different in a number of ways.
- Normal children engage in a wide variety of sexual exploratory behaviors
Children with sexual behavior problems represent a diverse group
- The range of behaviors can include children who react to victimization or trauma with compulsive, self-stimulating activity; children who engage in extensive mutual sexual interaction with other children; and sexually aggressive children who are intrusive and coercive. Behaviors categorized in the latter group are at the extreme end of a continuum of sexual behaviors. These behaviors have an aggressive quality involving use of force, coercion that may be social or physical, a pattern of inappropriate sexual acts and secrecy.
- Studies of very young children with sexual behavior problems suggest that 49% to 80% have been sexually victimized. Sexual behavior problems in preschool children are usually found in conjunction with other behavior problems. Whereas some research suggests that the younger the child, the more likely sexual behaviors are related to a history of sexual abuse, other evidence shows a relatively low (38%) substantiation rate for preschool-aged children with severe sexual behavior problems. It is unknown whether this low substantiation rate is due to difficulties investigating sexual abuse for children in this age range, the dynamic of secrecy in this type of case, lack of physical evidence in most cases, controversy regarding memory and testimony in younger ages, or the complex process of disclosures for very young children.
Whereas sexual behavior is the most common behavioral indicator of child sexual abuse, the presence of sexual behavior problems should be viewed with caution as a sole indicator of sexual abuse.
- Although the link between identified sexual abuse and sexual behavior problems has been well established, other precursors to this behavior exist but are less understood. It appears that a child’s exposure to family sexuality, nudity and sexual behavior in the media, domestic violence, physical abuse, and neglect are also related to problematic sexual behavior in children.
Significant differences have been found between young children with sexual behavior problems (ages 6 to 9) and older children (ages 10 to 12).
- Preschool children with sexual behavior problems may show more frequent sexual behaviors than school-age children. Higher rates of child maltreatment, exposure to family violence, and general behavior problems have also been noted in preschool children with sexual behavior problems. This younger group of children is also less likely to live with their biological parents than school-aged children exhibiting sexual behavior problems.
Placement for children with sexual behavior problems is often related to their history of maltreatment.
- Stigmatization due to sexual behavior problems, related problems in social development due to aggressive and impulsive behaviors, poor boundaries and indiscriminate friendliness make these children more vulnerable to victimization. These problems also create stress for the caregiver in caring for these children and can lead to problematic parent-child interaction. Behavior problems, including sexual behavior problems, are the primary reasons why foster parents request that children be removed, and placed in another home, putting these children at risk for further behavior problems, as well as creating attachment difficulties.
Social and developmental factors must be considered when comparing children with sexual behavior problems to adult or adolescent sexual offenders.
- Children have limited cognitive development, thus they have a limited repertoire of coping strategies. Masturbation as a self-soothing strategy may occur more often in small children during times of stress. When compared to adult sex offenders, children with sexual behavior problems are more likely to engage in impulsive sexual activity rather than well-planned or rationalized acts. The failure of young children to empathize may not be pathological, but merely a product of development. Another difference between children and adolescents or adults is that the vast majority of adult and adolescent sexual offenders are male. In contrast, most preschool children with sexual behavior problems are females (65%).
Various criteria for levels of intervention have been proposed regarding children with sexual behavior problems.
- Research suggests support for both cognitive behavioral and play therapy interventions. Therapists should use caution in adapting techniques developed for adults or adolescents because the same dynamics may not apply. Effective treatment should address the child within the context of family relationships and should involve the children’s caregivers.


What is SEO & How Does it Work?
August 15, 2022
Search Engine Optimisation, or “SEO” for short, is the practice of optimising a website to rank higher in search engine results. The goal is to improve visibility and organic traffic by improving the site’s ranking for relevant keywords.
There are a number of factors that contribute to a website’s SEO, including on-page content, off-page factors like link building and social signals, and technical aspects like site structure and crawlability.
In general, SEO works by helping search engines understand what a website is about and match it with relevant user queries. By optimising the site for relevant keywords and providing users with a positive experience, SEO can help improve visibility and organic traffic over time.
While there is no guarantee of success, following best practices for SEO can increase the chances of success. And, as always, the best way to learn SEO is to experiment and see what works best for your particular website.
What is SEO For A beginner?
If you’re new to SEO, the process of optimising a website for search engine ranking can seem daunting. However, with a little understanding of how search engines work and some best practices for SEO, you can get started on the path to improving your site’s visibility and driving more traffic.
One important thing to keep in mind is that SEO is an ongoing process, not a one-time fix. In order to maintain and improve your ranking, you’ll need to continuously monitor your site and make sure that your content is relevant and up-to-date. You’ll also need to keep an eye on your competition and adjust your strategies as necessary.
However, by following some basic principles of SEO and keeping up with the latest trends, you can ensure that your site is well-positioned to attract new visitors and convert them into customers.
Can You Do SEO By Yourself
Many business owners ask themselves whether they can handle their company’s SEO on their own. The answer is that it depends on a number of factors.
First, you need to have a basic understanding of how SEO works. This includes understanding keyword research, content optimisation, link building, and other essential strategies.
If you feel confident that you can manage these tasks, then you may be able to do your own SEO. However, if you’re not sure or don’t have the time to devote to SEO, then it may be worth hiring an expert.
An experienced SEO professional can provide valuable insights and help you develop an effective strategy for improving your search engine ranking. Ultimately, the decision of whether to do your own SEO or hire an expert depends on your needs and resources.
Although there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, there are a few key ways to learn SEO for free. First, consider enrolling in an online course or certification program.
Many reputable providers offer free or low-cost courses that can give you a solid foundation in the basics of SEO. Additionally, there are a number of helpful blogs and guides that can provide valuable insights on the latest trends and best practices in the industry.
Finally, don’t forget to take advantage of the wealth of free resources that are available from leading search engines and other online marketing platforms. By following these tips, you can get started learning SEO without breaking the bank.
What Are SEO tools?
Anyone who has ever worked in digital marketing knows that SEO is an essential part of any successful online campaign. But what exactly are SEO tools, and how can they be used to improve your website’s performance?
Simply put, SEO tools are any software or applications that help you optimise your website for search engines.
This can include keyword research tools, which allow you to identify the best keywords to target for your campaign, as well as analysis tools that help you to track your progress and identify areas where you need to make improvements.
Additionally, there are a number of tools that can help you to automate certain tasks, such as link building and social media management.
While there are a number of different SEO tools available, not all of them are created equal. It’s important to choose the right tools for your specific needs, and to use them in conjunction with other digital marketing strategies. used correctly, SEO can be a powerful weapon in your digital marketing arsenal.
Does SEO Work?
SEO can be a complex and time-intensive process, but it can be incredibly effective. In fact, a recent study found that SEO is one of the most effective marketing strategies, outperforming even paid advertising.
The study also found that SEO generates leads at a lower cost-per-lead than any other marketing channel. That makes it an extremely important tool for businesses of all sizes.
If you’re looking to drive more traffic to your website, SEO should be at the top of your list. It’s an effective and affordable way to reach your target audience.
So there you have it – a high-level overview of SEO and how it works. It can be a complex and ever-evolving field, but our team at Hosthelp is up to the challenge.
If you’re looking for help getting your website ranking higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), contact us today.
We offer comprehensive SEO services that will get your website seen by more people, driving traffic and conversions. Thanks for reading! For More Detail Visit Now: HostHelp.net/seostudio


1The principle of transparency requires that any information addressed to the public or to the data subject be concise, easily accessible and easy to understand, and that clear and plain language and, additionally, where appropriate, visualisation be used. 2Such information could be provided in electronic form, for example, when addressed to the public, through a website. 3This is of particular relevance in situations where the proliferation of actors and the technological complexity of practice make it difficult for the data subject to know and understand whether, by whom and for what purpose personal data relating to him or her are being collected, such as in the case of online advertising. 4Given that children merit specific protection, any information and communication, where processing is addressed to a child, should be in such a clear and plain language that the child can easily understand.
* This title is an unofficial description.


A new study suggests single-sex schools, despite having above-average exam results, don't help students learn. Worse, they may make students more prone to sexism. The report, published in Science, finds that previous research that found sex-segregated education improved academic performance were poorly designed and didn't account for the different socio-economic backgrounds of students at same-sex and mixed schools. Moreover, boys who spend more time in each other's company are more likely to become aggressive, the study says, while isolating girls can lead them to accept gender stereotypes. "There is no well-designed research showing that single-sex education improves students' academic performance, but there is evidence that sex segregation increases gender stereotyping and legitimises institutional sexism," said the report.


There are many different types of eczema. One type of eczema that many people suffer from during the fall and winter months is Xerotic Eczema. This type of eczema occurs when the skin becomes abnormally dry and itchy. During the winter months, it is harder to maintain the moisture in the skin due to the colder temperatures. Xerotic Eczema can affect anyone, but is more common in the elderly and is most common on the lower leg area.
Signs and Symptoms of Xerotic Eczema
The most common sign of xerotic eczema is dry, itchy and irritated skin. The dryness and itchiness may also be associated with red bumps, which may resemble a small pimple. Shaving can irritate the skin even more if the symptoms are on areas of the body which are shaved regularly. It may even affect the feet of those who suffer from diabetes. If it is not treated in diabetes patients, it can lead to more severe problems such as ulcers, infection and fissures on the feet.
Causes of Xerotic Eczema
The main cause of xerotic eczema is the change in the weather. During the fall and winter months, the humidity in the air decreases which can dry out the skin. This can cause the skin to become dry, itchy, and cause it to crack. Applying moisturizers can help to relieve the symptoms of dry skin. Another cause of xerotic eczema is excessive bathing, showering and even swimming. By showering or bathing too much, you can remover the skins natural oil layer. If the body does not have time to replenish the oil layer, then the skin will become dry, thus causing eczema.
Water dries out the skin, as well as soap and chlorine. During winter when its cold, many people try to warm up by taking a nice hot bath or shower and this then makes the skin dry. Swimming in chlorinated water or sitting in hot tubs will do the same thing. The chlorine that is kept in pools and hot tubs for sanitation can have the same drying effect on the skin as water and soaps.
If you do use hot tubs or swimming pools on a regular basis, make sure to shower afterward to get all of the chlorine off of the skin. Washing with a gentle body wash or moisturizing soap may also help. Making sure to take the proper precautions when you use the hot tub or swimming pools can help you to avoid the excessive drying they can cause.
Treatment for Xerotic Eczema
The best way to treat eczema is with a good moisturizing lotion and soaps. The best ones may cost more than regular lotions and probably do not contain any fragrance to them since fragrances can cause more irritation to the skin. Your doctor can give you the best advice on which moisturizing creams and lotions to use. If you suffer from dry, irritated skin, talk to your doctor; he can help determine the cause and the right treatment.


What Cannot be Controlled (out of the hands of people in Guatemala, just like it is, or would be, out of the hands of people in the U.S.) –
- Corrupt government. Power attracts corruption like moths to a bright light. Ew. No matter how gross this is, it’s a reality and overall it exacerbates problems for the “folks” lower on the power ladder. The economy and jobs is one example.
- Underdeveloped economy. An underdeveloped economy makes it extremely challenging to find a formal job. Having a formal job means that you can plan a month or a year ahead instead of just working to live through today or tomorrow. Formal jobs require the right environment. They reduce poverty and increase opportunity.
What Can be Controlled (within in reach of families in Guatemala, similar to families in the U.S.) –
- Food choices. The problem is not food supply, but food choice! The choices that are being made within the family are unfortunately helping to sustain high chronic child malnutrition rates. People in Guatemala eat processed foods because it is “a sign of being in a developed country”. This perspective needs to change and slowly is under the Pacto Hambre Cero/La Ventana de los Mil Días.
- Family planning. A nutritionist told us that it is basically impossible to adequately implement the 10 interventions of La Ventana de los Mil Días because many young mothers living in poor, rural communities do not know when they are pregnant. Nor is it common that they share their pregnancy with healthcare providers. Woah! This unawareness and absenteeism greatly shortens the “window of opportunity” that can make all the difference in a child’s life.
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During this lesson I focused on icons and mosaics of the Byzantine era. I presented this lesson two different times with a different story and slightly different project each time. I will explain both.
Here is a brief explanation of Byzantine Art and a timeline to give you some background info.
For the story portion I read a children's version of the story of St. Catherine of Alexandria from the book Christina's Favorite Saints by Maria Khoury. You could read any children's version of the life of St. Catherine or read a little about her yourself and retell the story in terms a child can understand. I showed the children an icon of St. Catherine from the book. You could show an icon from the internet if you do not have one on hand. I chose St. Catherine for this lesson because I wanted to focus on mosaics and show children many of the beautiful Byzantine era mosaics from the Monastery of St. Catherine on Mt. Sinai. St. Catherine was martyred in the early 4th century under the Emperor Maximinus who was carrying out a persecution of Christians. According to tradition, St. Catherine's body was carried to Mount Sinai by angels where a monastery and church were later built by order of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. The site where Catherine's body was found is also believed to be the site of the burning bush seen by Moses. You can read more about St. Catherine here. Explain to the children that Justinian was an Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. He had many churches and monasteries built during his reign. He also attempted to restore the Roman Empire to its ancient boundaries and was able to reconquer much of that land including Italy.
Alternative Story: Another time I presented this lesson I read a story of St. Constantine and his mother St. Helen from A Child's Paradise of Saints. There is also a story of Sts. Constantine and Helen in Christina's Favorite Saints. You can read any children's story of St. Constantine and St. Helen or retell the story for the children focusing on Constantine's conversion to Christianity and St. Helen's finding of the Cross of Christ and the importance of the Cross to the Church.
EXAMPLES OF ART:
I showed the children many photos of the Monastery of St. Catherine from the book The Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai: The Church and Fortress of Justinian. I showed them a few photos of the monastery grounds themselves and of the precious art work that is preserved there. I focused mainly on the mosaics. You may be able to request this book on inter-library loan or simply show photos of the monastery and mosaics from sources online. I explained a bit about icons and that they are a sacred and spiritual form of art that include many symbols to convey a deeper spiritual meaning. They are paintings or mosaics of the Lord Jesus Christ, Mary the Mother of God, of Angels and Saints. Read here and here for a further explanation of icons. The book Pictures of God: A Child's Guide to Understanding Icons is also helpful in explaining icons to children.
(See bottom of this post for more info on Byzantine Icons)
I explained that a mosaic is a picture or pattern made by arranging together small colored pieces of stone, tile, or glass. Some of the tiles in the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna were set at a slight angle to reflect light and cause special color effects. Mosaics were sometimes used in churches instead of fresco paintings because they were not as susceptible to humidity.
You can show the children mosaics of Emperor Justinian and his wife the Empress Theodora from Ravenna, Italy. Khan Academy has a helpful video with photos of the interior of the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna.
For the project I had the children create a mosaic picture with squares of colored paper. I cut the paper out ahead of time and placed it by color in bowls. I included some special shimmery gold colored paper since Byzantine mosaics and other types of Byzantine art often included gold tiles or gold leaf. I purchased the special paper at Hobby Lobby where you can buy paper by the sheet. I used construction paper and other colored paper that I had on hand for the other pieces. I let the kids trim their pieces if they wanted to make their picture more precise. They glued their paper pieces onto poster board with glue sticks. I cut the poster board small enough that it would fit in their notebooks. You can use any size, but I've found that most kids are intimidated by a larger piece of paper when trying to fill it with small mosaic pieces.
Alternative materials: When doing this project previously I used dried beans for the mosaics instead of paper. I used black beans, white beans, red beans, kidney beans and green split peas to give the kids a variety of colors. We glued the beans onto a piece of poster board using tacky glue. That was the lesson during which I read the story of Sts. Constantine and Helen. We had focused quite a bit on the cross and I had showed them different forms of the cross used in art so many of the children included a cross in their mosaics.
HANDOUTS: I gave the children a list of terms related to Byzantine Art. I used this handout for two lessons. The second lesson focused on Byzantine Architecture. I will post that lesson next.
I also gave the children a map of the Byzantine Empire around 565 AD at the death of Emperor Justinian. I had them color in the area that was included in the Byzantine Empire at that time. I used the map from this website. I copied the image and pasted it into a blank document so I could enlarge it a bit.
LIST OF SUGGESTED BOOKS AND LINKS:
Christina's Favorite Saints
A Child's Paradise of Saints
The Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai: The Church and Fortress of Justinian
Pictures of God: A Child's Guide to Understanding Icons
Larousse Encyclopedia of Byzantine and Medieval Art
Art History, Vol. 1
Byzantine Art Vocabulary Handout
Byzantine Art Timeline - http://www.huntfor.com/arthistory/medieval/byzantine.htm
St. Catherine of Alexandria - http://orthodoxwiki.org/Catherine_of_Alexandria
Byzantine Art images - http://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/cardshowall.php?title=chapter-4-byzantine-art-before-iconoclasm
Explanation of Icons - http://www.iconsexplained.com/iec/byz_about_byzantine_icons.htm
Video about Byzantine Art (San Vitale Mosaics) - http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/byzantine-justinian.html
Additional Info on Icons:
When teaching kids about icons I like to show them a few examples of icons (I have quite a few on hand, but you can print off copies from the internet) and I explain some of the symbolic details of these icons. Children really like looking for these details. Some examples are the color of clothing used. The Theotokos (Greek for God-Bearer) wears red outer garments and blue inner garments. The red is the color of humanity. Blue is the color of divinity so her inner garments are blue since she carried God (Jesus who was fully God) inside of her. Jesus appears inicons wearing blue outer garments and red inner garments - the opposite of Mary, the Theotokos. The divine person of Jesus put on or took on our humanity. Another symbol used is a cloth draped across the background objects. This signifies that the scene is taking place indoors. You will see this often in the Annunication icon. Also in the Annunication, Mary is usually depicted holding some yarn. This signifies that Jesus is already being knit in her womb. In some icons Saints are often shown with objects that are associated with them such as St. Katherine and a wheel that was supposed to be used to torture her, but which broke apart when she touched it. There are lots of interesting symbols to point out to children in icons. I usually talk about icons in a lesson with Byzantine mosaics and show the children some painted icons, but also mosaic icons in famous churches- then we do the mosaic project. Children could also color in a line drawing of an icon of Jesus or Mary and be instructed to pretend to be an iconagrapher and color it in very carefully and reverently using the correct symbolic colors. You could talk a little about iconographers and how they need to have a good relationship with God, attend church regularly and pray often and before they begin an icon. The artist also adheres to very strict criteria when creating the icon. The facial features are often enlongated, everything looks very 2-dimensional, etc. This is to give the icon a feeling of something spiritual with a deeper meaning instead of depicting the objects and people more realistically and earthly. I like to use the children's book Pictures of God by John Kosmas Skinas as a guide when teaching children about icons.


|e. The Fed’s Control of the Money Supply
The Federal Reserve was created in 1913 by the Congress of the United States. The Fed Reserve was created after the realization that money should be controlled by the government and that it should be a public matter rather than a private one. The sole purpose for this central bank is to provide some type of control over the money supply. The Federal Reserve acts like a central bank in the United States. It creates and controls the country’s monetary policy, it provides the supervision and regulation of banks, it grants financial support for many institutions but most importantly, it has the task of making sure the economy is stable.
The government issued the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 in order to give the Federal Reserve the task of creating policies to monitor and control the money supply. The Federal Reserve has since then created three major policies to control money: 1) Open Market Operations and the Federal Funds Rate 2) The Discount Rate 3) Reserve Requirements
e. i. Open Market Operations and the Federal Funds Rate
The Open Market Operations (OMO) is currently used on a day-to-day basis and sometimes even hourly. The policy has a direct effect on the money supply and an indirect effect on the interest rates. In an open market operation, the government sells or buys bonds in order to change the money supply in the economy.
The Federal Open Market Committee closely examines the money supply and determines if it needs to be expanded or contracted. If the money supply needs to increase, the Fed buys more bonds. The Federal Reserve purchases the government bonds in the open market with currency. As a result, commercial banks now have more currency and thus more money in their reserves. The bank now has an excess of reserve that they are able to use in order to increase their loans. The excess reserve also increases the bank’s deposit. The interest rate in this situation drops as the Fed buys more bonds and as the bond prices increase.
Expansionary: Fed buys bonds Money Supply MS Price of bonds interest i
An example of a situation in which the money supply needs to increase is when there are long holiday weekends coming up. Before holidays like labor day weekend or memorial day weekend, people go to their banks and withdraw a lot of money from their accounts (for the upcoming vacation, etc) and as a result, the bank’s reserve will drop. The Federal Reserve anticipates these withdraws and buys bonds in order to increase the banks reserves and the money supply.
The Fed Reserve may also sell bonds in situations where they need to decrease the money supply.
Contractionary: Fed sells bonds Money Supply MS Price of bonds interest i
The federal funds rate is the interest rate paid when a bank borrows from another member bank that has an excess of reserves. The rate is not fixed and is determined by the market. However, the Federal Reserve monitors the federal funds rate and makes sure it doesn’t get too high or low. The Fed makes sure that federal funds rate does not differ too much from their target federal funds rates.
e. ii) The Discount window and discount rate
The discount rate is the interest rate that the Federal Reserve charges for member banks to borrow reserves. Member banks borrow reserves from the Fed when their own reserve is low and barely (or doesn’t) meet the reserve requirement. The discount rate is a set rate and changed only by the Fed. This policy instrument is used every couple of months or whenever necessary. The discount rate directly affects the interest rate and indirectly affects the money supply. When the discount rates are low, banks are more willing to borrow at that cheaper rate from the Fed. The discount rate is important because it sets the basis for all interest rates and sets the lowest rate in the market.
The discount window is the Federal Reserve’s facility that lends out the money to member banks. There are three discount window programs with their own interest rate: primary credit, secondary credit and seasonal credit.
The primary credit program is available for a short-term period, usually just overnight. The banks that generally use this program are well-established and financially secure. They often use this program as their “back up” funding because the interest rate is set above the federal funds rate and thus it is more expensive to borrow through the primary credit.
If a bank is not eligible to receive the primary credit program, they often apply for the secondary program. This program offers a rate above the primary credit rate.
The seasonal credit program is for small banks that experience fluctuations in their loans and deposits. These banks have high volumes or low volumes of activity during certain seasons. Only banks that have a clear recurring pattern of fluctuations may obtain the program. These banks are usually in tourist areas (i.e. a seasonal resort) or agricultural communities. The interest rate for the seasonal program varies depending on the market rate.
e. iii. Reserve Requirements
A reserve requirement is the minimum reserve-deposit ratio that banks must have in its reserves. Banks are required to set aside a certain amount of deposits in their reserves and can not use this reserve for loans or investment. The reserve is set aside as the “back up” for deposits. This is the oldest policy instrument of the Fed and rarely changes. It is mostly used in developing countries.
If the Federal Reserve increases the reserve requirement than banks will have to keep more of their money in reserves and will have less money available for loans or investment. If the reserve requirement is lowered, banks will have more money to lend out and invest.


The Fascia as the Organ of Innerness - An Holistic Approach based upon a Phenomenological Embryology and Morphology, in: Fascia in the Osteopathy by T.Liem et al., 2016, HandspringAbstract
Usually the fascia is described in typically anatomical terminology of spatial discrimination of structures. Fascia however is (besides of blood) one of the main appearances of the quality of ‘meso’, which is one of the three basic germ layers of the human organism. Actually the usual term ‘Mesoderm’ is not correct, because it does not value the functional architecture of ‘meso’ as ‘inner tissue’ and being a different quality than the ectoderm and endoderm which function as body limiting dimensions (body walls). Actually it are not the viscera that represent the ‘Inner’ of our body organization but that is done by the ‘meso’ with ‘fascia’ and blood as major representatives. Such a (phenomenological) approach demands to understand the architecture ‘of the connective tissue in the body as a whole, the analytic approach of the anatomical mind is not fitting for that. Moreover there is the quote by AT Still mentioning the fascia as the domain "where soul is dwelling". What do soul and fascia actually have to do (and have not to do) with anatomy and topography?
From the phenomenological stance one may discern everywhere in the body and in various ways two main functional tendencies in the connective tissue. Body cavities and joints e.g. represent the ‘dis-connecting’ and ‘shaping space’ quality of the meso which enables mobility; the ‘connecting’ quality on the other hand creates anatomical and mechanical connections between organs and body parts. In the so-called musculoskeletal system those two aspects of the connective tissue are clearly discernible. An architectural description of meso respectively connective tissue is therefore necessary, because the anatomical mind neglects the continuity of the connective tissue as integrating matrix of the body.
Also the usual distinction between so-called joint receptors and muscle receptors appears in this way to be an artificial one. Mechanoreceptors (also the muscle spindles) are arranged in the context of force transmission circumstances i.e. of the architecture of muscle and connective tissue rather than organized along the ‘classical anatomical units’ like muscles, capsules and ligaments. The proprioception of ourselves as bodies with an ‘inner’ (‘body sense’) is not simply synonymous with the mechanical proprioception active in the locomotor system. The latter represents the sensing mechanism essential for the steering and the handling of forces and leads to statesthesia and kinesthesia (the sense of posture and motion). Psychological proprioception (‘body sense’) is a different category and may be linked with the ‘meso’-dimension of our body and is therefore not topographically localized, It happens (or "dwells") in the meso. Why not extend the concept of fascia to the ‘intermediate man’ of ‘meso’?
To read more open the link below


Girder clamps (also called beam clamps) are used to attach hanger rods to structures and objects without the need for drilling or welding.
They have adjustment pins with single or multiple threads to feed the rods (wires, cords, cables) through the clamps.
These clamps are robust and corrosion-resistant. They are made from materials such as carbon or stainless steel and coated with electrostatic finishes.
Girder threaded rods are used as anchor points for lifting or pulling heavy loads onto trusses and beams. Some of these rods have permanent shackles attached to provide for safer fixing mechanisms.
They are found in the construction industry where bulky items and equipment need to be attached to I-beams, channels and flange girders. They are typically used during bar hoist construction under the roof of a structure.
They are also used in scaffolding to attach the scaffolding to structural objects like beams or columns.
Girder clamps are categorised by weight-bearing capacities, a number of threads (openings) and hole diameters.


Ranulf de Glanville
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Chief Justiciar of England ; b. at Stratford, Suffolk, England, date unknown; d. before Acre, Palestine, 1190. He was of a baronial house which got its name from Glanville, in Normandy, and which in England held property in Norfolk and Suffolk. His father was William de Glanville, of whom he was a younger son, though eventually, on the death of an elder brother, he inherited the family estates and honours. Both before and after his appointments to the judicial bench, he held the shrievalty of various counties, which seems to betoken employment in the Exchequer; in particular he was Sheriff of the great County of York from 1163 till the death of King Henry II, save a short break, and in 1173 he became Sheriff of Lancashire. In the latter year, in concert with William the Lion, King of Scots, and the French king, there broke out the great rebellion of King Henry's sons against their father, and in the following year the Scottish king entered England with a mighty host, King Henry being then in Poitou. However, in July, Robert Stuteville, Sheriff of Yorkshire, and Glanville, the latter doubtless at the head of the men of Lancashire, encountered the invaders near Alnwick and utterly routed them, King William himself becoming Glanville's prisoner.
In 1176 we find Glanville a justice itinerant, and in 1180 he became Chief Justiciar of England. He had now reached the zenith of royal favour, which position he kept throughout the remainder of Henry's reign, being on occasion employed on various embassies, negotiations, and warlike expeditions, and in 1182 was appointed an executor of the king's will. In 1189 Henry II died. At the coronation of his successor, Richard I, the same year, Chief Justiciar Glanville was present, and when that prince took the cross, Glanville joined him, contributing a large sum towards the crusade. In the autumn of 1190 he died at the siege of Acre, a victim to the unwholesomeness of the climate. By his wife, Bertha, a daughter of a neighbouring Suffolk landowner, Theobald de Valognes, he left three daughters. Glanville is the reputed author of a celebrated work entitled "Tractatus de Legibus et de Consuetudinibus Regni Angliae", the oldest known treatise on English jurisprudence, more likely written by his illustrious nephew and secretary, Hubert Walter. Furthermore, he founded two abbeys, both in Suffolk, viz., Butley, for Black Canons, in 1171, and Leiston, for White Canons, in 1183; also a leper hospital at Somerton, in Norfolk.
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Adding concrete content to a catchy acronym has become a pressing challenge for BRICS, which brings Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa together. BRICS presents itself meretriciously as a powerful grouping. After all, its member-states together represent more than a quarter of the Earth’s landmass, 42 percent of the global population, almost 25 percent of the world’s gross domestic product, and nearly half of the global foreign exchange and gold reserves.
However, as the October BRICS summit in Goa highlighted, there is little in common among its member-states. Although these five emerging economies pride themselves on forming the first important non-Western global initiative, the grouping is still searching to define a common identity and build institutionalized cooperation.
Six years after it expanded from a four-member BRIC to the five-nation BRICS by adding South Africa, it has yet to unveil a common action plan to help bring about fundamental changes in the architecture of global finance and governance or to accelerate the decline of the era of Atlantic dominance.
BRICS lacks the shared political and economic values that bind together the Group of Seven members, who are also tied by security arrangements with the United States. In BRICS, differences outweigh commonalities. As the Goa summit highlighted, China, which is milking BRICS for tangible benefits, represents the biggest challenge to the grouping’s future. Just as China dominates the other new institutions of which it is a founding member — from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) — it is using BRICS to assertively push its own interests.
China also dominates the first tangible challenge to the Bretton Woods system, as symbolized by the BRICS-created New Development Bank (NDB) and China’s own initiative, the AIIB.
BRICS has fashioned two instruments — the New Development Bank, which has been given $50 billion in initial capital, and the $100-billion Contingent Reserve Arrangement, or CRA, meant to provide additional liquidity protection to member countries during balance-of-payments problems. Both these instruments have come under China’s sway.
For example, China outmaneuvered India to host the NDB at Shanghai, offering New Delhi a consolation prize — an Indian as the bank’s first president. The CRA — unlike the pool of initial capital to the BRICS bank, with each of the five signatories contributing $10 billion — is being funded 41 percent by China, 18 percent from Brazil, India, and Russia, and 5 percent from South Africa.
Today, China is in the happy situation of overseeing the NDB and the AIIB, not to mention the CRA. Leading two new multilateral banks fits well with Beijing’s strategy to create an “economic hub-and-spoke system” via energy pipelines, strategic highways and ports, and railroad networks. In this scheme, China, as the hub, seeks to draw in raw materials and other natural resources from the spokes, while exporting industrial and consumer goods to them.
China’s “economic hub-and-spoke system” is to parallel America’s military hub-and-spoke system. But it is an “economic hub-and-spoke system” with a strategic mission. China’s infrastructure development in other states is driven, as during the European colonial era, by a specific interest — to advance its own interests while saddling local communities and governments with heavy debt and human and environmental costs.
Against this background, it is not a surprise that China is a revisionist power with respect to the global financial architecture, but a status quo power in regard to the United Nations system. In other words, China supports international institutional reforms that give it a greater say but blocks measures that will dilute its existing status.
So it is an obstacle to restructuring and democratizing the Security Council. It wants to remain Asia’s sole permanent member of the Security Council. And as underscored by its 2016 presidency of the Group of 20, China values the G-20 as a vehicle to enlarge its role in global economic governance while seeking to retain those elements of the present trade and financial architecture that have facilitated its dramatic economic rise.
Meanwhile, it is using BRICS to expand the international role of its currency as part of its quest to build the yuan as a global currency that could one day rival the dollar or euro. So it is lending and trading in yuan with the other BRICS members.
China’s hidden export subsidies, for their part, are steadily undermining manufacturing in the other BRICS states, even as its adept use of tariff and non-tariff barriers shuts out, from its own market, goods and services in which they have a comparative advantage. For example, China’s trade surplus with India has doubled since 2014 alone to nearly $60 billion, threatening India’s domestic manufacturing base. An article last month in China’s state-run Global Times mockingly said: “Let the Indian authorities bark about the growing trade deficit with China. The fact of the matter is they cannot do anything about it.”
At the Goa summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping flexed his muscles to keep the South China Sea issue out of the Goa Declaration and to shield Pakistan from its sponsorship of terrorism, with the declaration citing U.N.-designated terrorist groups in the Middle East but not the ones based in Pakistan.
China’s “core leader” in Goa called for “political solutions” to “regional hotspots” even as his government adds fuel to regional fires through a relentless territorial creep in the South China Sea and by embarking on a $46 billion corridor to the Indian Ocean through Pakistan-held Jammu and Kashmir, a U.N.-recognized disputed region. How can BRICS create rules-based cooperation among its members if international norms of conduct are flouted in such a manner?
The Goa summit indeed was a reminder of China’s lengthening shadow over BRICS. As China uses the grouping to push its own agenda, BRICS has been left carrying the can. The risk is real that the grouping could collapse under the weight of the BRICS wall of China that is being erected.
Brahma Chellaney is a geostrategist and author and a long-standing contributor to The Japan Times.


Postprint version. Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Volume 98, Issue 24, November 20, 2001, pages 13490-13495. Copyright © 2001 National Academy of Sciences. The original publication is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.241387898.
Nanocrystals of magnetite (Fe3O4) in a meteorite from Mars provide the strongest, albeit controversial, evidence for the former presence of extraterrestrial life. The morphological and size resemblance of the crystals from meteorite ALH84001 to crystals formed by certain terrestrial bacteria has been used in support of the biological origin of the extraterrestrial minerals. By using tomographic and holographic methods in a transmission electron microscope, we show that the three-dimensional shapes of such nanocrystals can be defined, that the detailed morphologies of individual crystals from three bacterial strains differ, and that none uniquely match those reported from the Martian meteorite. In contrast to previous accounts, we argue that the existing crystallographic and morphological evidence is inadequate to support the inference of former life on Mars.


Crack sealing is your first defense against pavement deterioration because it offers several important benefits. Effective crack sealing keeps water from entering and weakening the base or subbase. It also helps preserve the pavement adjacent to the cracks; prevents sand, stone, and dirt from making its way into open cracks causing compressive stresses; and extends pavement life by minimizing crack growth.
By paying proper attention to cracks, you can prevent problems from spreading and double the life of the pavement. Pavement repair in the early stages of deterioration will pay big dividends later by delaying costly resurfacing.
Types of cracking includes:
Alligator cracking is a load associated structural failure. The failure can be due to weakness in the surface, base or sub grade; a surface or base that is too thin; poor drainage, or the combination of all three. It often starts in the wheel path as longitudinal cracking and ends up as alligator cracking after severe distress.
Block cracks look like roughly large interconnected rectangles. This type of cracking is generally caused by shrinkage of the asphalt pavement due to an inability of asphalt binder to expand and contract with temperature cycles. A common cause of block cracking is lack of traffic because steady traffic constantly kneads the pavement, keeping it flexible. Other causes include excessive air voids, low-penetration asphalt, or an overly high plant mix temperature, poor choice of asphalt binder in the mix design; or aging dried out asphalt.
Longitudinal (Linear) Cracking
Longitudinal cracking consists of cracks that are parallel to the pavements centerline or laydown direction. These can be a result of both pavement fatigue, reflective cracking, and/or poor joint construction. Joints are generally the least dense areas of a pavement.
Transverse cracks are single cracks perpendicular to the pavement’s centerline or laydown direction. Transverse cracks can be caused by reflective cracks from an underlying layer, daily temperature cycles, and poor construction due to improper operation of the paver.
Edge Cracks travel along the inside edge of a pavement surface within one or two feet. The most common cause for this type of crack is poor drainage conditions and lack of support at the pavement edge. As a result underlying base materials settle and become weakened. Heavy vegetation along the pavement edge and heavy traffic can also be the instigator of edge cracking.
Joint Reflection Cracks
Joint reflection cracks are cracks in a flexible pavement overlay of a rigid pavement (i.e., asphalt over concrete). They occur directly over the underlying rigid pavement joints. Joint reflection cracking does not include reflection cracks that occur away from an underlying joint or from any other type of base (e.g., cement or lime stabilized).
Often referred to as “bird baths,” depressions are localized pavement surface areas with slightly lower elevations than the surrounding pavement. Depressions are noticeable after a rain when they fill with water.


Pentastomida (pĕnˈtəstōˌmə) [key], tongue worms, small phylum of fewer than 100 species of parasites living in the upper respiratory passages of reptiles, and occasionally of birds and mammals. They are closely related to arthropods, but zoologists disagree as to their exact placement in that phylum. Recent evidence indicates a possible origin from parasitic crustaceans. The tapering wormlike body, varying in length from 1/2 in. to 5 in. (1.3–13 cm), is unsegmented. The front of the body bears five short appendages; one bears the mouth, the other four attach to host tissues. Internal organs are much reduced, except the reproductive organs, which occupy most of the internal space. Eggs are released by the mature pentastomids and hatch when eaten by a suitable intermediate host. When the intermediate host, in turn, is eaten, the larvae migrate to the respiratory passages of the final host, where they take up permanent residence and mature.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.


A solid-state drive (SSD) is a media that uses flash modules in order to store info. The solid-state drives remain relatively new and more expensive compared to standard hard disk drives (HDD), but they're faster, so they are often used for Operating Systems and applications on both desktops and servers. An SSD is recommended because it doesn't have spinning disks which limit its speed and could cause overheating as it may happen with an HDD. Many companies use SSDs for caching purposes, so all the content which is accessed more frequently will be located on this type of drives, while all the other content will be stored on conventional HDDs. The reason to use such a configuration is to balance the cost and performance of their hosting platform and to decrease the load on the HDDs resulting from countless reading and writing processes.
SSD with Data Caching in Cloud Website Hosting
If you host your websites in a cloud website hosting
account with us, you will notice their exceptional performance. This is because our cloud platform uses solely SSD drives for all files, email addresses and databases and we do not use HDDs for any part of the web hosting service. In addition to the innovative ZFS file system, this setup will boost the speed of your websites considerably. For load-balancing, we also use a number of SSDs for caching purposes only. All the content which generates increased traffic or causes a lot of reading/writing processes is copied on them automatically, so the load on the primary drives will be reduced, thus the overall performance of all Internet sites hosted with us will be better. The aforementioned subsequently prolongs the life of the primary drives and decreases the chance of a disk failure, that is an additional warranty for the integrity of any content that you upload to your account.


If I were a forecaster of economic trends and had access to only one piece of data, it would probably be demographics. The forecasting power of demographic trends is underappreciated even though cycles of booms and busts have historically mirrored the age characteristics of the population.
It's no secret that different age groups have different spending patterns. Younger people are a drag on economic growth since they consume a great deal but don't produce. In other words, they exacerbate inflation since they increase demand and reduce supply for goods. On the other hand, middle aged people are high earners, producers, and spenders. They tend to moderate inflation and prop up asset prices. Peak spending occurs on average at age 48. Spending patterns resemble a bell curve, so beyond this age, spending tapers as people save for retirement.
Now, let's extrapolate these spending characteristics on to the most important generation in America: the Baby Boomers (1946-1960). The stagflationary period of the 1970's, characterized by low productivity and high inflation, coincided with the youth of baby boomers, which makes sense considering the producing and spending characteristics of the young. The Baby Boomers entered their mid 40's of peak spending in the early 90's up until 2007. It's no surprise then that a boom in America occurred in this time frame.
The following chart courtesy of Harry Dent demonstrates the powerful relationship between population and the stock market. As noted earlier, the 48-year-old demographic earns and consumes the most, and therefore drives economic growth. Notice how for this reason the early 90's spike in the Dow (in black) closely tracks births from 48 years prior - when the baby boomers were first born.
Demographic trends in the U.S. moving forward portend a decade-long depression. In a country highly dependent on consumption, there just aren't enough high-earning consumers to drive growth. This is because the 15 years following the baby boom generation saw births decrease by about 25%. These are the people who are now entering their peak earnings and spending years who must replace the productivity of boomers now entering retirement.
All is not lost as there are a couple of potential factors that could mitigate these trends. One is increased immigration to our country. However, early indications suggest that there will be growing protectionism in this area, much like the Great Depression when immigration came to a halt. For example, banks that received TARP funds are contrained by law in terms of the foreigners they can hire. These are often highly educated and productive foreign workers who pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits.
The other potential mitigating factor is technological progress. Unfortunately, technological advances are cyclical and largley driven by demographics as well. Generally young people drive technological innovation. The same baby boomers who discovered nascent technologies in the 70's and 80's are now more focused on retirement. Most of the cutting-edge technologies they created, such as the internet, have already achieved maturity- meaning they have reached over 90% of households. Therefore, technology will likely not provide the productivity boost it did in the 80's and 90's.
The government extended promises when demographics were favorable, such as Medicare and Social Security, that they will not be able to keep. Higher taxes, whether explicit or implicit (through inflation), that result from the demographic storm will further dampen economic growth. According to former Treasury Department economist Bruce Bartlett, tax rates will have to increase 81% right now to compensate for our shortfall in promised benefits. Because of quickly collapsing tax receipts and massive unfunded liabilities, taxes are about to increase significantly.
We have been able to delay the day of reckoning because demographic trends were strong for so long. However, the tide has already started to reverse, and our country is bound to experience significant economic strife in the future. The very nature of spending and productivity patterns with age suggests a significant retrenchment in output is coming, which is the very definition of a Depression. While demographics are significant in catching long-term trends, an economy can operate only with a functioning currency. Part 4 of my series will explore the destruction of the dollar and its potential effects on economic growth.


We loved today’s Washington Post blog post on raising calorie consciousness! Would you think twice about what you eat if you knew exactly how much exercise it would take to burn off those calories?
Roberto Ferdman specifically discusses the idea relating to soda, saying “Nothing makes Americans stop drinking soda quite like understanding how much exercise they’ll need to burn it off.” He notes that in general straight calorie counts tend to be ignored, but seeing the consequences in terms of exercise can make a difference. His article cites a few different studies on the idea, and also discusses the mixed result of NYC’s new regulation forcing food chains to post calorie counts on menus in an effort to encourage more responsible consumption. He concludes that the idea “might be a worthwhile consideration for future calorie labeling legislation aimed at curbing the amount of unhealthy foods Americans buy.”
NPR also took on the topic in the “All Things Considered” October 16 story Reality Check: To Burn Off A Soda, You’ll Have To Run 50 Minutes. This piece focuses on the details of the Johns Hopkins study which looked at how low-income tweens and teenagers would react to exercise equivalent postings vs. calorie postings. The findings are published in the American Journal of Public Health. In the end, the results do seem to point to this type of data helping people put the calorie counts in context.
Authors Catherine Jones and Elaine Trujillo had a similar idea with The Calories In, Calories Out Cookbook. Their goal isn’t necessarily to stop people from eating what they enjoy, but to make them aware of the balance it will take to work off the calories they take in. Each of their delicious recipes includes data for calories in (nutritional data and calorie count, including diabetic exchange) and calories out (the exercise it takes to burn those calories off) so that you can make informed choices in your diet in order to find and maintain that balance.
Check out the recipe for Perfect Pumpkin Bread for a tasty fall example!