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- What We Do
- Global Goals
- Agriculture and Food Security
- Democracy, Human Rights and Governance
- Economic Growth and Trade
- Ending Extreme Poverty
- Environment and Global Climate Change
- Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment
- Global Health
- Water and Sanitation
- Working in Crises and Conflict
- U.S. Global Development Lab
- Cornerstone Partners
- Partner With The Lab
- Development Innovation Ventures
- Data & Analytics for Development
- Digital Development
- Global Development Alliances
- Global Partnerships
- Grand Challenges for Development
- Higher Education Solutions Network (HESN)
- International Research & Science Programs
- Research and Innovation Fellowships
- Science at USAID
- Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning Innovations Program (MERLIN)
The world has become increasingly interconnected – presenting both challenges and opportunities. Science and engineering can no longer be held within ivory towers or basement laboratories. Rather, this knowledge and expertise must be used to inform critical policy and decision-making of the U.S. Government.
Through a variety of ways, USAID enables a multi-disciplinary, multi-sectoral approach to development by augmenting teams of development experts with scientists and engineers to work on development challenges and formulate policies to support them.
- The Agency has issued a Scientific Integrity Policy to safeguard the quality and integrity of its scientific and scholarly activities, and also promote continued scientific thinking.
- USAID has been attracting increasing numbers of scientists, engineers, and technical experts to serve in Fellowships at the Agency, applying their expertise and skills to its development work.
Expanding and empowering the scientific and technical workforce at USAID stimulates novel thinking for solutions in development and ensures that such thinking spreads and remains throughout the Agency.
In 1992, the Agency had 47 Science & Technology Fellows from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), but in 2007 that number had dropped to just two.
- The Agency has focused efforts to reverse this trend, and in two years, twice doubled the number of AAAS Fellows at USAID, restoring the level of current Fellows to 43.
In 2011, the Agency re-established the Overseas AAAS Fellowship program, which offers former Fellows a chance to work an additional two years in USAID Missions.
- In the first year, the Agency has placed three former Fellows – in Indonesia, Mozambique, and Egypt.
Last updated: June 13, 2014 | <urn:uuid:967c11a2-8db7-43f4-8c2c-253b6e68806d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/science-technolog-and-innovation/science-usaid | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00140-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924754 | 515 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. —William Butler Yeats
The ultimate goal of the educational system is to shift to the individual the burden of pursuing his education.
— John W. Gardner
Your education represents an investment—not only in yourself, but also in your future. I hope this course, Introduction to Sociology, helps you achieve your educational and personal goals!
Your exploration of sociology will take you on a fascinating journey. Sociology is an exciting discipline that helps us develop what sociologists call a sociological imagination. This enables us to explore our personal experiences within the context of our ever-shrinking world. Through your reading and observing, you’ll discover how the sociologist examines everyday activities and what makes sociology so relevant to our world.
You’ll meet many people who are simply living their lives—some in extraordinary ways, some in very ordinary ways. These people contribute to the course by allowing their stories to be revealed. They help us understand how meaningful sociology is today and how important it is for our future!
As you embark on this exploration and journey into sociology, I hope you will ask yourself, How does this apply to my life? One of the challenges of education is to build that bridge from the concepts and theories of a discipline to the real lives of students. Beginning today, ask yourself how sociology is relevant in your life. Use the tools of sociology to appreciate your life and to celebrate the diversity of our global community.
Enjoy your exploration of society and journey into sociology! — Jane A. Penney | <urn:uuid:d770fc23-3bc9-4fc7-a62f-a78efdbbae08> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.eastfieldcollege.edu/sshs/staff/jpenney/index.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396147.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00082-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932472 | 326 | 3.59375 | 4 |
You never find the details of the Jesus story in a history book, like you would for Julius Caesar or Alexander the Great. Why is that? Why is the Bible not cataloged in the library in the History section?
Christians correctly point out that the historical grounding for the Jesus story has some compelling points. For example, there are not one but four gospel accounts. The time gap from original manuscripts to our oldest complete copies is relatively small. And the number of Bible manuscripts is far greater than those referring to anyone else of that time.
The enormous difficulty, however, is that historians reject miracles—not just in the Bible but consistently in any book that claims to be history.
Remember the story of Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon? The historian Suetonius reported that Julius saw a divine messenger who urged him to cross. This is the same Suetonius that Christians often point to when citing extra-biblical evidence for the historicity of the Jesus story.
It’s a fact of history that Suetonius wrote about the messenger, but this miraculous appearance isn’t actually part of history.
Remember Caesar Augustus, the Roman emperor who reportedly ordered the census that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem (Luke 2:1)? Augustus was himself divinely conceived, and he ascended into heaven when he died.
These reports are part of history, but the events are not.
Everyone knows about Alexander the Great, but legends about his life grew up in his own time. Did you hear the one about how the sea bowed in submission during his conquest of the Persian Empire? Or about how ravens miraculously guided his army across the desert?
Ditto—miraculous reports don’t make it into history.
The Alexander story is a plausible natural story with excellent supporting evidence (coins with his likeness, cities with his name, stele with his laws, the spread of Hellenism and the creation of the successor empires, records of his conquests from outsiders, and so on) and a few miracles. The natural part is the noteworthy part; the miracles don’t add much.
Compare this to the Jesus story, an implausible story of a god documented by religious texts and without any supporting evidence. Jesus didn’t leave any writings himself, there is nothing from contemporary historians, and later historians record only the existence of the religion. With this story, only the miraculous part is noteworthy.
Strip away the miracle claims from Julius Caesar or Caesar Augustus or Alexander the Great and you’re left with precisely the story of those leaders that we have in history. But strip away the miracle claims from the Jesus story, and you have just the story of an ordinary man—a charismatic rabbi, perhaps, but hardly divine.
Christians argue that we should treat the Gospel story like any other biography of the time, and I agree—but I doubt they will like where that takes them.
I am the punishment of God …
If you had not committed great sins,
God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you
— Genghis Khan
(This is a modified version of a post originally published 9/6/11.)
Photo credit: Wikipedia | <urn:uuid:ec5c2551-540b-4f6f-a42e-a15377ca3ec2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2012/09/historians-reject-the-bible-story/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00194-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95303 | 656 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/10/2013 (973 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Please go see 12 Years a Slave. It’s a film that makes no apologies for the institution of slavery or the brutality of the "peculiar institution."
Unlike so many other movies out of Hollywood that have managed to soften the edges of slavery for U.S. sensibilities, this film, based on the memoir of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was duped into slavery in 1841, is an unrelenting depiction of slavery from the enslaved man’s perspective.
It deserves the rapturous reviews it has received from critics and the predictions that it will be an Oscar contender, but I believe that it serves the much more significant purpose of telling truths that we in the United States refuse to face.
Director Steven McQueen, a Brit with roots in Grenada and Trinidad, makes us behold the brutality involved in kidnapping millions of people and holding them in bondage. Even when I wanted to, I couldn’t look away. It would have been too disrespectful to my ancestors — and to the director’s. "People have to remember why I as an individual am sitting here today," McQueen said about the film. "I’m here because members of my family went through slavery. Fact."
And he did not shrink from depicting its cruel realities in his new movie. "My responsibility is this: either I’m making a film about slavery, or I’m not," said the director, calling slavery "mental and physical torture."
Brad Pitt is a major financial backer of this film and appears in it fleetingly. Pitt is to be commended for helping to produce such an honest movie.
We need this film’s unflinching examination of slavery because we are often incapable of facing it historically or confronting racism today. Tea party groups and other conservatives have actually tried to purge slavery from our textbooks. And the attack on people who receive food stamps or welfare is freighted with racial stereotypes.
Until we understand what American slavery was, we cannot fully understand why African-Americans and European-Americans see our country and the world in such profoundly different ways. Facing the truth about slavery is crucial for our country’s self-awareness and for moving forward — two indicators of a nation’s health.
Starita Smith is a writer for Progressive Media Project, a source of liberal commentary on domestic and international issues; it is affiliated with The Progressive magazine.
— McClatchy Tribune Information Services | <urn:uuid:28c72624-d6ca-47f2-adaa-dda31b892958> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/Slavery-needs-to-be-told-in-the-raw-229904471.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397797.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00115-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95346 | 536 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Clarence Seward Darrow (1857-1938) was an American defense lawyer who handled high-profile cases for the American Civil Liberties Union, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and others. In 1905 Darrow was one of the founding members of the Intercollegiate Socialist Society.
Famous court cases
Illinois v. Leopold and Loeb
Darrow's most famous defense, which was successful only to extent he avoided the death penalty for his clients, was in his 1924 representation of the teenagers Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb after they murdered the younger 14-year-old Bobby Franks in what may have been a sexual assault. Leopold and Loeb were children of wealthy and prominent parents.
Tennessee v. Scopes
John Scopes was brought in as a substitute teacher to challenge the law and teach high school biology in Dayton, Tennessee. He was convicted of illegally teaching the history of evolution and fined $100. The conviction ironically came at the request of Darrow, who wished to force precedent by having the Tennessee Supreme Court weigh in on the eventual appeal. That court eventually overturned the decision on a technicality, creating little meaningful precedent.
Michigan v. Sweet
Darrow was successful in representing Henry Sweet, an African American and younger brother of Ossian Sweet, against charges of murder in Michigan v. Henry Sweet, a Detroit murder trial resulting from the killing of Leon Breiner, a white man. The previous year, Darrow had argued to a mistrial the same case as charged against all nine people who were in the house from which the shots that killed Breiner were fired.
Darrow was an atheist who had contempt for religion, believing that it hindered mankind's quest for knowledge. He sought to ridicule Creationism when possible, including carrying on a running feud with William Jennings Bryan in newspapers about the evolution vs. creation controversy before the two ever met in the Scopes trial, but refused to put himself in a position where he would have to answer questions about evolution. His view on man can best be summed up in the quote below:
"The purpose of man is like the purpose of the pollywog - to wiggle along as far as he can without dying; or, to hang to life until death takes him."
- The Best of Humanism, 1988, Prometheus Books, p. 154 | <urn:uuid:c3185477-7f2c-4c59-acb6-65eaa5390d9b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.conservapedia.com/Clarence_Darrow | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00187-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967626 | 490 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Dynamics of smoking cessation and health-related quality of life among Canadians
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by Margot Shields, Rochelle E. Garner and Kathryn Wilkins
Several decades of research have established the causal relationship between tobacco smoking and a variety of adverse health effects.1 In response, anti-smoking legislation has been enacted (including smoking bans and requirements for health-related warnings on cigarette packages), social norms have shifted, and the percentage of smokers among Canadians aged 15 or older has fallen from 35% in 1985 to 17% in 2010.2
Today, fewer people are becoming smokers, and substantial numbers of smokers are quitting.2 The health benefits of smoking cessation include a reduction of the risk of lung and other cancers, heart attack, stroke, and chronic lung disease.3 However, quantifying improvements to overall health is challenging, and to date, has been the subject of only limited research.
The dynamics of smoking cessation are complicated.3 The struggle to quit permanently can be prolonged, involving several attempts (and relapses) before permanent cessation is achieved (or not).2,4 As well, it may take years of abstinence for disease risk to be similar to that of people who never smoked.3 Therefore, research aimed at studying the relationship between smoking status and health outcomes must track subjects over periods long enough, and assess them frequently enough, to capture changes in both exposure and outcome. This study describes trajectories of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in relation to smoking status. A specific focus is a comparison between former and never-smokers, with the aim of quantifying the time required after quitting for the HRQL of former smokers to be similar to that of never-smokers. An important advantage to the analysis was the availability of longitudinal data from the National Population Health Survey (NPHS), which collected information from survey participants every two years over a 16-year period.
The analysis is based on longitudinal data from nine cycles (1994/1995 through 2010/2011) of the NPHS. The target population of the NPHS Household component was household residents in the 10 Canadian provinces in 1994/1995, excluding residents of Indian Reserves, institutions, Canadian Forces bases, and some remote areas.
In 1994/1995, 20,095 households were selected for the NPHS longitudinal panel. In each household, one person was selected at random; of these, 86% (17,276) completed the General component of the questionnaire (17,276) in 1994/1995. Since then, attempts have been made to interview the selected respondents every two years. Detailed descriptions of the NPHS design, sample, and interview procedures are available elsewhere.5,6
This study analyzes information from respondents who were aged 40 or older in 1994/1995. This age range was chosen because the effect of smoking-related health conditions on HRQL trajectories would be more evident than if a younger population had been used.
Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3)
HRQL was assessed using the Health Utilities Mark 3 (HUI3), a generic preference-based measure that reflects the subjective values assigned to specific health-related outcomes.7, HUI3 quantifies HRQL based on an individual’s functional status in eight domains (attributes)—vision, hearing, speech, ambulation, dexterity, emotion, cognition, and pain—each of which has five or six levels, ranging from no impairment to severe impairment. HUI is a measure of functional health that, at least partially, reflects the diseases that an individual might have or be at risk of having. Extensive evidence supports the construct validity of the HUI3 in population health applications.8-11, Overall HUI3 scores are derived from a multiplicative, multi-attribute utility function based on preference scores obtained from a random sample of the Canadian population,7 using the conventional scale in which dead = 0.00 and perfect health = 1.00; scores below zero could represent health states considered to be worse than dead. A difference (or change) of 0.03 or more in the score is considered to be clinically meaningful9,12,13. This criterion is based, in part, on comparisons of mean scores for known groups in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.
Because of the highly skewed nature of the distribution of HUI3 scores, an arcsine transformation of the outcome measure was used to achieve normally distributed residuals.14
For every NPHS cycle, each respondent was categorized as a current daily smoker, a former daily smoker who had quit (within the past 4 years, 5 to 9 years, 10 to 19 years, or 20 or more years), or never a daily smoker. If smoking status was missing in a given cycle, but was available in previous and subsequent cycles, this information was used to impute smoking status for the missing cycle. Smoking status was imputed for at least one cycle for 17% of respondents included in this study (11% for one cycle, 4% for two cycles, and 2% for three or more cycles).
Age at interview was centred at 57, which was the mean age of respondents in the sample in 1994/1995 (mean = 56.8 years).
Variables representing factors known to be potential confounders of the association between smoking status and HRQL were included in preliminary models. These were: low household income (the lowest 20th percentile of the percentage distribution), education (less than secondary school graduation, secondary school graduation, or postsecondary graduation), marital status (married/living with a partner), and obesity (body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or higher).
Consideration was given to including age of initiation and duration of smoking in the multivariate models. However, age of initiation, age of observation, duration of smoking, and duration of abstinence are interdependent. Within age groups, age of initiation was similar for current and former smokers. Therefore, inclusion of this variable does not alter the observed benefits of cessation. Although the duration of smoking among former smokers is less than among current smokers (within age group), this is already taken into account by the number of years since cessation.
Measures of smoking status were used to predict HUI3 scores two years (one cycle) later. To account for the non-independent nature of repeated measures (HUI3 and smoking status), multi-level growth curve modeling was used. This technique allows for the examination of both intra- and inter-individual differences in HUI3 over age. In the models, smoking status categories were used as time-varying covariates (an individual’s smoking status category could change from one cycle to another). For each successive pair of NPHS cycles (1994/1995 to 1996/1997; 1996/1997 to 1998/1999; etc.), a record was created that included smoking status based on data from the first time-period (time 1), and HUI3 and age based on data at follow-up two years later (time 2). Values of HUI3 at time 2 (instead of time 1) were used to allow for a “lag-time” between exposure (smoking) and outcome (health status); age at time 2 was used because of the high correlation between HUI3 and age.
Of the 7,915 respondents aged 40 or older in 1994/1995, 101 were excluded because of missing values for smoking status at all cycles. An additional 330 were excluded because no successive pair of cycles contained a valid response for smoking status at time 1 and HUI3 at time 2. The remaining 7,484 contributed at least one observation to the analysis file. For respondents who died during follow-up, a final record was created to include age at time of death and a HUI3 score of 0.00. When date of death was unavailable, age was assigned the value of age at time 1 plus two years. No further records were included for these respondents.
For each respondent, a maximum of eight observations was possible (59,872 in total). Deaths (after the cycle in which the death was reported) resulted in a loss of 8,381 potential observations, leaving the maximum potential at 51,491. Non-response to smoking status at time 1 or to HUI3 at time 2 resulted in a loss of 8,801 observations (17%), leaving 42,690 observations on the final analysis file. Of the 7,484 respondents, 36% contributed all eight possible observations, 15% contributed seven, 10% six, 8% five, 7% four, 9% three, 8% two, and 7% one. NPHS respondents who move into institutions are followed up and were included in this study.
Previous research has shown that normative HUI3 trajectories differ between men and women11; therefore, models were run separately by sex. A two-level model was structured with time (level 1) being nested within individuals (level 2). Arcsine-transformed HUI3 was modeled over age (centred at 57 years), and linear, quadratic and cubic rates of change in HRQL were examined for statistical significance and improvement to model fit (as measured by change in -2 log likelihood). In models for both men and women, a cubic pattern was found to best fit the data (data not shown), capturing the nonlinear association between age and HRQL (arcsine-transformed HUI3).
To examine the association between smoking status and HRQL over time, dummy variables for smoking status categories were included in the models, with never daily smokers as the reference group. Interactions between smoking status category and slope parameters were used to examine the effects of smoking status on change in HRQL scores as individuals aged. All smoking-status-related effects were fixed (not allowed to vary randomly between individuals). Although a single trajectory is presented for each smoking status category, the smoking status category of a respondent could change over time, based on information provided in each interview.
All descriptive statistics were based on weighted estimates. For growth curve modelling, normalized weights were used and applied to the second level of the models (level of the individual). Variance estimates for descriptive statist NPHS.15 Variance estimates for the growth curve modelling parameters were inflated using a design effect of two to account for the complex sampling design of the NPHS.
Characteristics of study population
The study sample comprised 3,341 men and 4,143 women aged 40 or older in 1994/1995. During the follow-up period (1996/1997 to 2010/2011), 4% of men and 7% of women in the weighted sample were institutionalized, and 30% of men and 25% of women died (Table 1).
In 1994/1995, men were more likely than women to be current daily smokers (27% and 20%, respectively), and were also more likely to be former daily smokers, regardless of the number of years since quitting. Transitions in smoking status (quitting or relapsing) from one interview to the next were common, particularly among people who, in 1994/1995, were daily smokers or recent quitters (4 or fewer years). More than half of those who were daily smokers in 1994/1995 reported at least one change in smoking status during follow-up; among recent quitters, approximately one-quarter of men and one-third of women reported at least one change.
Table 2 shows the distribution of smoking status at time 1 and mean HUI3 at time 2 across the entire observation period (1994/1995 to 2010/2011), by sex and age group. The likelihood of being a daily smoker declined sharply with age. Also, respondents younger than 60 were less likely to be long-term quitters (20 or more years) than were those aged 60 or older. Women aged 80 or older were far less likely than those in younger age groups to have ever smoked daily.
Over all age groups, mean HUI3 averaged 0.81 in men and 0.78 in women. Between the oldest (80 or older) and youngest (younger than 50) age groups, HUI differed substantially: by 0.40 for men and 0.39 for women.
Growth curve models
The first set of growth curve models (Table 3, Model A) examined transformed HUI3 (tHUI3 ) scores in relation to linear, quadratic and cubic age. For both sexes, the addition of smoking status resulted in significant improvements to the models in predicting tHUI3 scores (Table 3, Model B). The intercept parameters reflect differences at age 57—the point at which age was centred.
At age 57, men who were daily smokers had significantly lower tHUI3 scores than did those who had never smoked daily. Men who had quit for fewer than 20 years also had significantly lower tHUI3 scores than did those who had never smoked daily. Differences appeared to narrow as the number of years since quitting increased—the tHUI3 score of men who had quit for at least 20 years was similar to the score of those who had never smoked daily. None of the interactions between smoking status and age (linear, quadratic or cubic) were statistically significant, meaning that all men, regardless of smoking status, shared similar changes in tHUI3 as they aged.
Women aged 57 who were current daily smokers or former smokers (despite of the number of years since quitting) had lower tHUI3 scores than did those who had never smoked daily, although the differences were smaller for those who had quit for at least 10 years than for those who had quit for a shorter time. Uniquely in women, interactions between smoking status and rates of change in tHUI3 over time were statistically significant (Model C). Significant negative associations emerged for the interaction between age and having quit for 4 or fewer years and for 5 to 9 years. This means that former smokers who had quit for fewer than 10 years had a sharper decline in tHUI3 scores than did current daily smokers, former smokers who had quit for at least 10 years, and never daily smokers. No significant interactions were observed between smoking status and quadratic or cubic age.
To illustrate the results, estimates from the final models (Model B for men and Model C for women) were back-transformed and plotted. For men aged 57 who had never smoked daily, the predicted HUI3 score was 0.94; those who had quit for at least 20 years had a statistically similar score (0.93) (Figure 1). Predicted HUI3 scores were 0.88 for current daily smokers, 0.87 for those who had quit for fewer than 4 years, 0.90 for those had quit for 5 to 9 years, and 0.91 for those who had quit for 11 to 19 years. Significantly lower HUI3 scores for current daily smokers and former smokers who had quit for fewer than 20 years prevailed across all age groups, with no significant age-related changes in HRQL by smoking status.
For women aged 57 who had never smoked daily, the predicted HUI3 score was 0.92, compared with 0.86 for current daily smokers, 0.85 for those who had quit for 0 to 4 years, and 0.87 for those who had quit for 5 to 9 years (Figure 1). The scores of women who had quit for 10 to 19 or for 20 or more years were significantly higher than the score for current daily smokers (Table 4, Model A). However, the predicted HUI3 scores for these groups of quitters were within 0.03 units of the scores for women who had never smoked daily, indicating that the differences (from never-daily smokers) were not clinically meaningful. The negative interactions with age observed for those who had quit for 4 or fewer years or for 5 to 9 years are reflected in larger decreases in HUI3 scores over time. For example, the gap in HUI3 scores between women who had quit for 4 or fewer years and those who had never smoked daily widened from 0.07 at age 57 to 0.13 at age 75; among those who had quit for 5 to 9 years, the gap widened from 0.05 to 0.15.
When the control variables (household income, education, marital status and obesity) were included in preliminary models, the associations between smoking status and tHUI3 were minimally attenuated, and significance was not lost (data not shown).
To investigate the possibility that the benefits of smoking cessation might be due to lower smoking intensity among former smokers than among those who continued to smoke, supplementary models were run controlling for the number of cigarettes smoked per day. However, compared with the tHUI3 scores for current smokers, the higher values for those who had quit smoking (Table 4, Model A) persisted when controlling for smoking intensity in both men and women (Model B).
The major finding of this study is that long-term smoking cessation results in improvements in HRQL at any age. Among men who were former daily smokers, HRQL at 20 years of cessation was similar to that of never-smokers. Among women, at 10 years of cessation, former smokers’ HRQL did not differ in a clinically meaningful way from the HRQL of never-smokers.
The relatively low HUI3 scores of recent quitters (4 or fewer years) were expected. Quitting smoking is a common response to the onset of illness; for example, a new diagnosis of vascular disease is predictive of smoking cessation.2,3,16 Among women who had quit daily smoking for 4 or fewer years or for 5 to 9 years, the age-related decline in HUI3 was more pronounced than that among women who had never smoked daily (as indicated by the significant interaction with age for these groups). By contrast, among men, although the HUI3 trajectories for these groups were consistently below the trajectory for those who never smoked daily, they did not widen with age.
This difference between men and women may reflect differences in the incidence of and response to smoking-related chronic conditions. For example, a recent systematic review concluded that women who smoke have a greater relative risk of coronary heart disease than do male smokers.17 To investigate the possibility of differences between the sexes in the effect of heart disease on HRQL, age-specific differences in HUI3 scores among people with and without heart disease were examined. The differences were consistently larger for women than for men, suggesting a stronger impact of heart disease on women’s HRQL, or at least in those who survive with the disease.
In interpreting the HUI trajectories for recent quitters (4 or fewer years), the high rate of mortality of men and women is relevant. Compared with those who never smoked, the age-adjusted relative risk of death over the next two years among recent quitters was 2.8 for men and 2.7 for women (data not shown). Thus, substantial numbers of recent quitters did not survive to realize the benefits of long-term cessation.
The overall findings of this study are generally consistent with those of several cross-sectional studies, suggesting that current smokers have a lower quality of life than do non-smokers.18-22 Cross-sectional research that included information from ex-smokers on time since quitting showed modest associations with quality of life.23,24
Studies using a prospective approach to measuring associations between smoking status and HRQL have typically been limited to one or two follow-up assessments, and time since cessation has often not been taken into account.25-31 Nonetheless, some of these studies have reported a gradation in HRQL outcomes, with never-smokers and quitters faring better than continuing smokers.25,28-30
Not all prospective research has shown smoking cessation to benefit HRQL. In particular, studies of patients with cardiovascular disease at the outset of observation 26,27,31 no difference in HRQL at follow-up between quitters and continuing smokers. In two of these studies, follow-up was limited to one year, and therefore, the findings are consistent with the results of the present study. Moreover, another longitudinal study based on the NPHS found that it took 20 years for former smokers’ heart disease risk to decline to that of people who never smoked daily.32
Several factors limit the interpretation of the findings of this study. People in relatively poor health may be under-represented in the sample if they were more likely to refuse to participate in the survey or were lost to follow-up more readily, compared with people in better health.5 Any bias that might result from this loss to follow-up is unknown. Similarly, the effect on the findings of record deletions due to non-response is unknown. Although information on smoking status was collected every two years, no data were available on changes in smoking behaviour that may have occurred between survey interviews. For example, a respondent who reported being a former smoker in two consecutive cycles may have relapsed to become a daily smoker in between interviews. Finally, the degree to which imputing smoking status may have affected the study results is unknown.
This study is strengthened by the longitudinal nature of the NPHS, its rich array of variables, and the frequency and number of follow-up years. These features address important methodological shortcomings of previous research, including failure to account for changes in and misclassification of smoking status and inadequate follow-up. This analysis provides evidence that long-term quitters can achieve a HRQL similar to that of people who never smoked. These findings underscore the benefit of quitting smoking, and specifically, the advantage of longer-term over shorter-term cessation.
- Date modified: | <urn:uuid:de799e4d-18ff-4aa7-9e85-87f2d2e51b03> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-003-x/2013002/article/11769-eng.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00151-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974684 | 4,478 | 2.6875 | 3 |
One of the most common techniques used by hackers to penetrate your network, is just plain-old password guessing. This goes for external hacking attempts as well as internal hacking attempts. In this article I will discuss how hackers can use tools to perform brute force password hacking in your Terminal Server environments and what you can to prevent these kinds of attacks.
Guessing passwords is one of the oldest, yet one of the most effective techniques to gain access to a system. The reason that it is one of the most effective hacking techniques is because there’s a weak link in the whole process: humans. This is because humans like “samantha1” better for a password than “Tr15%^<<lOPi>!+”. Although the latter would be far more difficult to hack than the first password, there’s a good chance that no user would ever get the latter password memorized.
This is what hackers take advantage of. The only thing a hacker needs is a logon “vehicle”. This could be a command prompt, a web page or… the Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection conveniently included in every recent version of Windows or readily available from Microsoft’s download site.
For clarity’s sake, I’ll briefly discuss some of the terms used in relation to password hacking. Basically, there are two kinds of password hacking attacks:
- Brute force hacking a.k.a. dictionary hacking attacks
- Password cracking a.k.a hash hacking attacks.
In this article we will be focusing on brute force hacking, using dictionary attacks. This simply means that the hacker will use a tool to automate the password guessing with an accompanying dictionary file: a file that contains every single password the hacker wants to try. Usually there are tens of thousands of passwords in a dictionary file and the hacking tool tries them all, pounding the server with logon attempts: hence the term brute force hacking.
Impact Of Password Guessing in Terminal Server environments
As in other fields of security, Terminal Server environments take up a special place. This is because Terminal Servers, by their very nature, allow interactive access. Interactive access in this context means that you’re logged on to the server itself. This is the same effect as if you were walking up to the console in the datacenter and logging on there. This basically allows you to execute any program you can get your hands on and run it in the memory space of that server.
Another significant issue that arises from the fact that Terminal Servers are in the business of allowing interactive access, is an issue with the admin lockout. As you probably know, by default, the local administrator account cannot be locked out. Even if you use the passprop utility, you can only lock out the administrator account for remote logons, not interactive (Terminal Server logons). Only using passprop on Windows Server 2003 allows you to lock out the local administrator account. Because this could effectively completely lock you out of your own network, this isn’t a configuration that is used a lot. Hackers know this and use this knowledge to perform brute force hacking attempts on administrator accounts.
Terminal Server Brute Force Hacking tool: TSGrinder
There are a couple of tools out there which allow you to perform brute-force password guessing in your Terminal Server environment. The most well-known however is a free tool called TSGrinder. TSGrinder is a command line tool which very basically allows automating password guessing via RDP connections. TSGrinder is a "dictionary" based attack tool, supports multiple attack windows from a single dictionary file (you can specify this on the program command line).
A very interesting option in the program is the “leet” function. This leet function enables the program to cope with a popular development in password-land. What I mean is that, from the knowledgeable user up, people tend to secure their passwords by replacing letters with well-known symbols. For example, password becomes p@ssw0rd (replacing a’s with @’s and o’s with 0’s). This is a very well thought thorough option because as we will see trying these passwords does not require you to change your dictionary file.
Another very interesting option is the “banner” option. What this option does, is acknowledge any messages prior to log on. These are the kind of messages that you have to acknowledge before you can log on to a server, usually a legal disclaimer of some sort. This logon message can be set in Group Policy in Computer Policies > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Settings > Interactive Logon.
This was an issue in earlier versions of TSGrinder but that has been fixed now. This option basically renders the banner message useless as a countermeasure to these kinds of attacks.
TSGrinder also supports multiple password attempts in the same connection, and allows you to specify how many times to try a username/password combination within a particular connection (the default is 5) . This is used by hackers to help avoiding detection, because by default after 5 unsuccessful logon attempts, the Terminal Server ends the connection and an event is logged to the Terminal Server event log. The event looks like this:
So in the default config of TSGrinder you could have someone trying about 1,000,000 passwords and there would not be a single event in the event log (auditing excluded, we’ll get to that).
Let’s take a look at TSGrinder. The program comes with a very limited dictionary and leet file. You can be sure that hackers have far more advanced dictionaries. Running TSGrinder from the command line yields the help:
tsgrinder.exe [options] server
-w dictionary file (default 'dict')
-l 'leet' translation file
-d domain name
-u username (default 'administrator'
-b banner flag
-n number of simultaneous threads
-D debug level (default 9, lower number is more output)
tsgrinder.exe -w words -l leet -d workgroup -u administrator -b -n 2 10.1.1.1
As you can see usage is pretty straight-forward. You can try it on your own test server, just like I did.
Disclaimer: Use extreme caution when using this tool. Using TSGrinder could result in legal actions taken against you because your actions could be considered a real hacking attempt.
In this very simple example we will assume that:
- we have a dictionary file called “testdict”
- we have a leetfile called “testleet”
- the username we are attacking is the default, administrator
- we want to acknowledge any logon banner messages
- we want to have 1 simultaneous thread
- the server we are attacking has the following IP address: 192.168.62.53
That would leave us with the following command line:
tsgrinder.exe -w testdict -l testleet -b -n 1 -D 8 192.168.62.53
As you can see in the screenshot below, after a while, tsgrinder neatly finds that I’ve been using P@55w0rd! as my administrator password. It’s that easy.
OK, now that you’ve seen how easy it is to attack your Terminal Server environment, it’s time to take countermeasures. Here are some concrete suggestions that can help prevent these kinds of attacks.
Rename administrator account
You should know that renaming the administrator account is considered a best practice. If you were not aware of that earlier, I sure hope you are now. When you rename the (local) administrator account, the hacker cannot use the administrator account to attack and must know the exact name of the renamed administrator account. This also has the added advantage that you can create a dummy administrator account that can be locked out (you do have account lock outs configured, right?)
Ideally you would want to make sure that users are already somehow checked before they attempt to logon to a Terminal Server. This used to be a huge hassle but now there’s a free tool available that does just that and more! The tool is called 2X SecureRDP. 2X SecureRDP works by accepting or denying incoming RDP connections by IP, Mac address, computer name, client version or based on time of day, before the logon screen is even displayed. This significantly enhances the control you have over your Terminal Servers. As an added bonus you can limit users to one concurrent session. This doesn’t really prevent brute force attacks from happening but it’s a very nice feature that I know many administrators are looking for. Another great feature of this program is that you can log information for every allowed or denied connection and save it to a log file. Below is a screenshot of 2X SecureRDP.
Of course, this tool is not just for Terminal Servers,. It greatly suits every server you access via RDP. In fact, I recommend using this tool on every RDP enabled server.
Enable extensive auditing. OK, so this doesn’t prevent brute force attacks from happening but at the very least it allows you too log these kinds of attacks. You should audit successful and failed logons events. Because these audit logs tend to get cluttered very soon on a busy server, you should consider an automated audit tool. These kinds of tools monitor and filter the security event logs for you so that you can see what you need to see and be alerted when anything goes bad. An example and my personal favorite of such a program is SELM (Security Event Log Monitor) from GFI. See a list of well-known similar programs here.
You should configure all of your servers to display a message at logon that must be acknowledged before you can proceed to log on to a server. This really isn’t a technical countermeasure but more of a legal one. Once you’ve acknowledged the logon message, there’s no way the perp can say: “I had no idea I wasn’t supposed to log on to that server”……..
Terminal Server environments are juicy targets for hackers. In this article I showed some techniques hackers can use to perform brute force attacks against local administrator accounts. I also showed you what you can do to prevent these attacks. Please keep in mind that these are just pointers and only make up a small part of the steps you should take to secure your Terminal Server environment. | <urn:uuid:56b2f845-77b7-4737-9edb-020a33c4317a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.virtualizationadmin.com/articles-tutorials/terminal-services/security/brute-force-hacking-terminal-server-environments.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397842.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00010-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922636 | 2,207 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Sobek, Sebek, or (Gr:)Suchos, meaning crocodile. Lord of stretches of water and of fishes. There are several deities for water, Sobek being the most important. Son of Neith and Osiris or of Neith and Seth. His cult rose in the Twelfth Dynasty in the Fayum area.
He is depicted either as a human with a crocodile's head, wearing an atef crown and carrying a was scepter and an ankh or in animal form as a crocodile, wearing the sun disc on his head, which shows his connection to Re.
He is also seen with a falcon's head and this form shows him connected to Horus. His consort was said to be Hathor and Khonsu was their child. As he is a god of water, the Nile is said to issue from his sweat and "he made the herbage green".
B>Main centers of worship are two different ones:
Nebet/Ombi/Kom Ombo, 1 st Nome, Upper Egypt
Faiyum/Krokodilopolis/Medinet el-Faiyum, 20 th Nome, Lower Egypt
Festivals: (exact dates not historically verified)
9th october - 23 Hethara - Ra judges the dispute of Set and Heru (Horus).
12th October - 26th Hethara - The Black Land is given to Horus, The Red Land is given to Set
20th October - 4th Koiak - Festivals for Sebek (Sobek)
26th December - 11th Mechir - Birth of Sebek (Sobek)
25th March - 14th Pachons - Day of cutting out of the tongue of Sobek
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13 major types of magic | <urn:uuid:2285bad6-16c4-4ad0-b146-6de531416282> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.realmagick.com/5420/sobeksebek/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00057-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952966 | 412 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Only half of depressed individuals who take antidepressants actually get a mood lift. And now scientists think they know why: A study in mice found receptors on certain brain cells essentially block the effects of these medicines.
If the same holds true in humans, the other 50 percent of depressed patients may have more effective treatment options.
"The mouse model explains why someone may not respond to antidepressants," says Rene Hen, professor of pharmacology in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Columbia University.
Antidepressants are designed to increase the levels of serotonin, so that when more of the serotonin neurotransmitter is sent to other parts of the brain, the person feels relief from depression.
Hen identified a receptor, so he could replicate in mice what happens when antidepressants fail. Some of the genetically engineered mice were designed to have high levels of the receptor 1A, a type of receptor on nerve cells that produces serotonin.
By watching their behavior, Hen determined how the mice responded to the drugs. Usually when mice take antidepressants, they act more daring. However, mice with high levels of certain serotonin receptors, did not act like they were on antidepressants. Also, when high levels of the 1A type receptors were found in the brain, the mice produced less serotonin.
Next, Hen plans to conduct clinical trials in humans. In the future, psychiatrists might be able to predict if someone is a responder or non-responder to traditional antidepressants. That way drug companies can figure out new ways of relieving depression in these non-responders, Hen said.
"There are new experimental treatments now, but deep brain stimulation is really invasive,” Hen said.
Psychiatrist Jonathan Flint at Oxford University, who was not involved in the current research said, "The hope is that what is true for mice will be true for humans. If it is, then we have a route to improve the efficacy of antidepressants, rather than the current practice of try whatever we have and see what works."
The 1A receptor type might be different in the people who don’t respond to the drugs. Keith Young, a pharmacologist at The Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, said there could be a genetic reason why some people have high levels of the 1A receptor. There’s also a chance that the receptor could alter itself. "It might have to be expressed in high levels to work in some people properly," said Young, who was not involved in the current study.
The study, which was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, research-funding agency NARSAD, and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, is published in the Jan. 15 issue of the journal Neuron.
- 7 Thoughts That Are Bad For You
- Top 5 Keys to Happiness
- What Really Scares People: Top 10 Phobias | <urn:uuid:1cf6d892-8b7d-408c-abd2-37320e071675> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.livescience.com/8021-antidepressants-work-patients.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396538.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00044-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942421 | 575 | 3.515625 | 4 |
Essay topics: When a country develops its technology , the traditional skills and ways of life die out. It is pointless to try and keep them alive . To what extend do you agree or disagree?
Technology has affected and changed many aspects of our lives. Besides damaging environmental consequences, it has positively transformed our society to a more efficient and convenient place to live in. However, this has sparked a debateable question , that should old skills and ways of life be abolished since better methods are discovered?
On one hand, some believe keeping old traditions means that fewer people will utilize modern facilities and hence resulting a weaker force to drive the inventions of new discoveries. In turn, this will cause a hindrance to developments of the country and the consequence of falling behind other countries.
On the other hand, other reasoned the importance of practicing old tradition and ways of life. By doing so, means preserving the country’s origin and preserving the uniqueness of the country. This is the only way which differentiates a modern country from many other modern countries. A good example will be Vietnam , still keeping the rickshaws despites advancements of transportations . The rickshaws do not only act as a tourist attraction and create many jobs for the citizens, but also a symbol of Viet Nam.
Thus , in my opinion , I believe that countries should not abandon their own traditions and make the best effort to keep it alive .This is because it is considered as a pride of the country. However , countries should also avoid too much indulgence of the past and neglect the importance of advancing their technology in this ever changing world.
- Today , the high sales of popular consumer goods reflect the power of advertising and not the real needs of the society in which they are sold. To what extend do you agree or disagree? (75.38460000000001)
- Some people think that a sense of competition in children should be encouraged . Others believe that children who are taught to co-operate rather than compete become more useful adults . Discuss both these views and give your own opinion (64.5455)
- When a country develops its technology , the traditional skills and ways of life die out. It is pointless to try and keep them alive . To what extend do you agree or disagree? (39.1667)
- The diagrams below show the life cycle of the silkworm and the stages in the production of silk cloth.Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features , and make comparisons where relevant. (83.33329999999999)
- The chart shows the number of mobile phones and landlines per 100 people in selected countries.Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information given (60)
- A government;s role is only to provide defense capability and urban infrastructure (road , water supplies...). All other services ( education , health , social security) should be provided by private groups or individuals in the community. To what extend (64)
- Some people think that universities should provide graduates with the knowledge and skills needed in the workplace. Others think that the true function of a university should be to give access to knowledge for its own sake, regardless of whether the cours (72.5) | <urn:uuid:0d479270-19d9-4738-98a9-79625c7befc7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.testbig.com/ielts-essays/when-country-develops-its-technology-traditional-skills-and-ways-life-die-out-it | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399106.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00038-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944722 | 659 | 3.015625 | 3 |
On July 19, 2013 the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying aboard NASA’s Terra satellite passed over the western coast of Africa and captured a massive dust storm in progress.
A broad, swirling river of dust pours over Mauritania, Senegal, and The Gambia (from north to south in the image), and flows westward over the Atlantic Ocean. The dust is so thick that three of the eastern Cape Verde Islands (Boa Vista, Maio, and Santiago) are nearly obscured from view. Western Sahara, which can be seen in the far north of the mainland, appears relatively dust free.
Mauritania’s sandy and rocky landscape, which includes a part of the Sahara Desert, is a prime source for massive dust storms. About three-fourths of Mauritania is desert or semi-desert, and this sandy surface has been expanding since the 1960s. Strong winds are common in this arid and relatively flat landscape, and dust hoisted aloft can be carried vast distances by the prevailing winds. Saharan dust periodically crosses the Atlantic Ocean, reaching both North and South America, especially during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer season. | <urn:uuid:41513206-faf4-42f9-a292-e77ac952fa7c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://modarch.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2013-07-28 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397567.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00070-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92985 | 245 | 3.890625 | 4 |
Backgrounder Article from
Black Militia Units in Upper Canada 1812 to 1850
In both the War of 1812 and the Upper Canada Rebellion, the service of Black militia units demonstrated the determination of Upper Canadians of African descent to share in the duties and rights of British subjects. Serving in numbers that were disproportionate to their percentage of the Canadian population, their service in the militia was a practical demonstration of the Black community’s belief in the importance of Canada as a haven for former slaves.
Embodied as the segregated Coloured Corps in the War of 1812, Black militiamen played a role as infantry at Queenston Heights and other battles and worked as labourers on the construction of fortifications. In August of 1812 a segregated Black company (numbering 38 men at one point) was formed as a unit in the 1st Lincoln Militia under a white officer, Robert Runchey. It participated in the final charge at the Battle of Queenston Heights. Early in 1813 the company was designated the Coloured Corps and became part of Upper Canada’s militia. The Corps participated in the opposition to American landings at Fort George in May of 1813. Following the withdrawal of the American force from Fort George in December, the Coloured Corps was attached to the Engineer’s Department and was employed as a labour unit to assist in building Fort Mississauga. The unit was disbanded in March of 1815, and its members subsequently experienced difficulty and delays in obtaining gratuities and land grants offered to militia units.
Black militiamen also served in the Upper Canada Rebellion, and were kept on strength until 1850 in roles such as construction, patrolling of frontiers and as aids to the civil power. In the face of increasing commitments around the world, the British government continued to reduce its military presence in Canada and on April 30, 1850 the Black militia units were disbanded.
During the Rebellion of 1837 and its aftermath, the Black population of Upper Canada overwhelmingly supported the government against the rebels. The Upper Canadian Act of 1793 Against Slavery, which limited slavery in Upper Canada, and the Imperial Act which abolished slavery throughout the British Empire in 1834, had made Upper Canada into a relatively safe refuge for Black people fleeing slavery in the American slave states or seeking greater security than that provided in the free states.
Considered together, the Black Militia Units of 1812-1815 and 1837-1850 represent a strong and continuing tradition of military service on the part of Canada’s early Black communities. Practically the tradition formed part of a strategy to maintain Upper Canada as a refuge for escaping slaves; symbolically it demonstrated the community’s commitment to Upper Canada.
Title of the Image: An illustration of Black Loyalist Richard Pierpoint
Source of the Image: Canadian War Museum/1.E.2.4-CGR2
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Hon. Catherine McKenna Parks Canada History and Archaeology
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In just a few weeks, Valentines Day will be here. Many Sunday School teachers and children’s church leaders will plan a special lesson around the date. MSo I went through our content to pull out some lesson plans and crafts that might be helpful to your church. These materials try to redirect the cultural obsession with romance back to the love that should characterize the Christian life. I hope these Valentine’s Day Lesson Plans will be helpful to you. Click here to see the most recent ideas in this category.
- Bible Lesson About Love (1 Corinthians 13) for Children – In this lesson, kids will learn God’s definition of love and be reminded of the character of Christ.
- Conversations with God (Jeremiah 31:33)
- Lesson “Love One Another” from John 13:34
- Jesus Said Love Your Neighbors Lesson Plan – The second greatest commandment in the Bible, and something timely to teach in Sunday School for Valentine’s Day.
- Jesus Said Love Your Enemies Lesson Plan (Matthew 5:38-48 ) – Kids will learn about Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan and what it teaches us about loving other people who are not like us.
- God Looks at the Heart Lesson (from 1 Samuel 16:1-13) – What matters to God is on the inside. Use this lesson plan to remind children of that important truth.
- Preschool Bible Lesson “God is Love” – try this lesson plan for younger kids, includes an art project
- God’s Big Love Object Lessons – use these to help kids understand the greatness of God’s love
- What Does God Love? – Sunday School lesson for older children or preteens
- Valentine’s Object Lesson – Tootsie Roll Pop
- Build your own lesson plan using these top 10 Bible verses about love
Other Classroom Activities
- 1 Corinthians 13 Letter Tracing Worksheets
- Printable Valentine’s Cards with Bible Verses
- Learn about Love Printable Worksheets
- Teaching Skit – The Good Samaritan “Love Your Neighbor”
- Bible Puzzle Worksheet about Love
- Printable John 3:16 Heart – A clever way to remind kids that the greatest love is really the love that God displays for sinners through the Gospel.
- Valentine’s Day Coloring Pages – Two new printable illustrations that show how Jesus is God’s gift of love to the world.
- 1 Corinthians 13 “Love is…” coloring sheet – Designed to help kids think about the Bible’s definition of love.
- 3 Valentine’s Crafts for Sunday School – Watch these video demonstrations from Cullen and you’ll be ready to use them in your class this weekend.
- Heart Craft for Sunday School – Watch a video demonstration of this simple craft project that could accompany any of these Bible lessons about love.
- “Song of Solomon” Bible Book coloring page
- 4 Valentine Party Game Ideas
- Printable “Jesus Loves Me” Bingo Game
- “I Love Jesus” Printable Game
- Couples in the Bible – Matching Cards Game
- 2 Valentine’s Day activity games for children
- Valentine’s Scavenger Hunt – this is a fun way to teach kids about God’s love
- Here are a few more game ideas for Valentine’s Day in children’s church.
- Lin from the Effective Children’s Ministry blog has posted this free PowerPoint game for Valentine’s Day
- Kids Outreach & Service Ideas for Valentine’s Day
- Love Themed Bulletin Board’s
- Photo Booth Idea for Kids Valentine’s Day
- Video – Jesus Loves Me | <urn:uuid:da43acaf-ede4-4e2a-af1c-32e40a65eacb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://ministry-to-children.com/love-resources/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395613.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00061-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.813652 | 806 | 2.796875 | 3 |
The national debt recently hit a record-breaking $13 trillion — and it is growing by a staggering $1 million every 30 seconds.
Clearly, the reasons for the deficit are many — and so are the solutions. But we in Congress must accept our share of the blame — even though many increases in the deficit came not because of bad intentions but because of bad information.
The Congressional Budget Office employs talented economists whose job it is to study every aspect of every bill and predict how much each will cost — or how much each will save — years into the future.
They are good, but they are not infallible soothsayers. Economic predictions that are off just a little in a year can become wildly inaccurate over the course of decades.
Examples of that abound:
· In 1965, as Congress considered legislation to establish the Medicare program, the House Ways and Means Committee estimated the hospital insurance part of the program would cost $9 billion annually in 1990. Actual cost in 1990: $67 billion.
· In 1989, Congress considered adding a catastrophic coverage benefit to Medicare to take effect in 1990. The CBO cost estimate was $5.7 billion. One year later, the estimate was raised to $11.8 billion and Congress responded by repealing the program before it took effect.
· In 2008, CBO estimated the 2002 and 2008 farm bills combined would generate federal budget deficits of $49.8 billion. The actual cost later was reported at $87.9 billion.
There also are errors that are wrong in the other direction.
· CBO projected Medicare’s hospital payment system would save $10 billion over 10 years. Actual savings: $21 billion.
· In 2003, CBO projected that a new Medicare drug benefit would cost $518 billion. The price tag, three years later: $382 billion.
Our Truth in Spending Act won’t make predictions more accurate. But it will force Congress to take action when predictions are inaccurate.
The legislation would require the Office of Management and Budget to check cost estimates for legislation five and 10 years after laws take effect to determine the accuracy of the predictions.
When costs are higher than or savings lower than predicted, the Truth in Spending Act creates a fast-track process to reduce excess costs through legislation.
This legislation also would cover laws already passed. Laws enacted from 2005 to the present also would be included.
We can get a handle on the federal deficit by putting teeth into the cost estimates that legislation is built upon.
Good information leads to good legislation. Our Truth in Spending Act is a contract with the American people that will force Congress to live within budgetary estimates for legislation. | <urn:uuid:a4c4cd42-29eb-4695-b21b-296f72d115dd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-a-budget/111423-truth-in-spending-act-would-force-congress-to-live-by-financial-forecasts-reps-gabrielle-giffords-and-charles-k-djou | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00111-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951555 | 538 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Sociology | Charts, Graphs & Tables
S110 | 20287 | Heacock
ABOVE SECTION OPEN TO FRESHMEN AND SOPHMORES ONLY
Knowledge is both consumed and produced. As educated citizens, it is
important for us to be knowledgeable consumers of information; after
all, individuals make decisions and act based on information.
Scientists attempt to better understand the social world, and as such
act as producers of knowledge. Almost always, numbers are used to
illustrate and convey relationships interesting to researchers. These
numbers must be presented in an accessible and interpretable fashion.
Charts, graphs, and tables are effective ways to present empirical
A basic understanding of empirical information and the scientific
research process is invaluable, whether you want to be a knowledgeable
citizen, a scientist, or just someone who is able to produce an
informative research project for your boss. Science is nothing more
than a set of procedures for gathering (empirical) information about
the world. Therefore, we must understand this process to become
knowledgeable consumers and producers of information. This course
will prepare you to become a good producer of scientific knowledge.
Perhaps more importantly, you will also become a knowledgeable and
critical consumer of information.
Far from being a traditional research methods and/or introduction to
statistics course, this course will not only cover basic research
procedures and statistical techniques but focus on students learning
the underlying logic of such procedures and techniques. The focus of
the class is on thinking empirically, not knowing methods. The main
objective of the course is for students to become competent and
confident consumers and producers of empirical knowledge. Towards
this end, students will learn procedures to gather data, strengths and
weaknesses of the different procedures, a variety of basic statistical
techniques, how to properly interpret results of these techniques, and
finally the limitations of the procedures and techniques. Throughout
all, the focus will be on why social scientists do what they do rather
than just how they do it.
This is not a math course. Rather, it is a class that focuses on
quantitative reasoning. Throughout the semester, we will focus less
on the mathematics behind producing numbers and more on the underlying
logic of the mathematical procedures. Accordingly, students will
learn some elementary statistical techniques, how and when to use
them, and various techniques available for presenting your results.
Finally, students will apply what they have learned and be able to
make correct conclusions about aspects of our social world. | <urn:uuid:fe8a12ec-b535-42a0-936c-f9f2d26937b5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.indiana.edu/~deanfac/blspr06/soc/soc_s110_20287.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399425.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00060-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910544 | 538 | 4.09375 | 4 |
Written by William Quinn
|Monday, 20 June 2011|
If the United States genuinely wants to achieve a carbon-neutral society, it has to get serious about alternative sources of energy. Presently, natural gas and biofuels seem to be leading the pack. Some examples of biofuels are microbial fuel , biobutanol , biodiesel , cellulose fuel , and more. However, there are serious setbacks with both natural gas and biofuels produced on an industrial scale. The chemicals now being used in the process of extracting natural gas are extremely troubling, along with the fact that corn—the leading source for biofuel in the U.S.—is “dangerously oversold as green energy” puts these alternative energy sources into question as a “green” solution.1 So, what are we left with?
We can burn biomass for fuel or chemically alter it for energy, but both processes are difficult and not yet cost-effective at an industrial scale, especially with cheap oil from petroleum and natural gas undercutting the market. We can use hydroelectric energy by damming rivers. In California, hydroelectric power plants produced 43,625 gigawatt-hours of electricity in 2007 (14.5 percent of CA’s total).2 However, only a handful of rivers naturally flow undammed in California as a result. For the most part, the hydroelectric capabilities are maxed out—a fact that holds true for much of the U.S. Further hydroelectric production could mean serious river and natural resource degradation.3
I have nothing against tidal or geothermal energy but they are extremely region specific in their ability to generate power. And nuclear power is a total tossup/political mess at the moment. In my eyes, the two most promising sources of alternative energy that can be setup the world over are solar and wind power . Let’s look at what is slowing down solar and wind energy in the United States.
Bureaucracy Hindering Solar and Wind Energy Development
While government planning and task delegation is necessary for a functioning society, bureaucratic red tape can hinder progress, which is the case with solar power installation in the U.S. Even in areas where strong solar markets exist, the market is stifled by local government regulation. Local permits needed for panel installation appear to be doing the most harm. Given that State and local municipalities all can have different codes, “it’s like doing business in 50 different countries – just in Southern California,” according to Ken Button. He is the president of Verengo Solar Plus, a residential solar panel installer in Orange, California and says they have “50 different permitting authorities within 50 miles of [their] office,” each with different filing procedures and fee types.
A recent study calculates that these excessive permits add an average of $2,500 in costs to each solar installation.5 The study also claims that if the federal government standardized this process across all municipalities, the result would be equivalent to a $1 billion subsidy to the U.S. solar industry over five years. The San Francisco based solar company SunRun released a report claiming that 33% of their costs came from local permitting and inspections, and said they think that number could rise to 50% in the next few years.6
The Obama administration has urged the federal government to streamline this process as well. Other solar giants such as Germany and Japan have adopted a streamlined system, and the results may be evident as they are two of world's top photovoltaics installers and leading manufacturers of solar panels. The Obama administration has further illustrated the need for standardization by suggesting that permit standardization could make solar power “competitive for roughly half of the nation’s 128 million homes within just two years.”7 Unless real action is taken against overzealous bureaucratic measures, the solar industry could be stifled in this nation.
Litigation Hindering Solar and Wind Energy Development
Along with increasing alternative energy development such as solar and wind farms also comes more complaints from nearby residents who do not want such “eyesores” in their “backyards.”9 Fortunately for solar and wind farms, the “I don’t want that built there” position is usually not a strong enough argument to prevent construction. Unfortunately for alternative energy developers, this is not the only problem they face. Both wind and solar farms face national litigation for claims of environmental degradation and species endangerment. Maryland’s first industrial wind farm was taken to court because conservationists feared that the turbines would harm the endangered species of Indiana Bats.10 Similar litigation occurred in West Virginia where the plant operators were ordered by a court to turn off the turbines at night and during peak migration times.11 This litigation may have slowed the development of the wind farm, and added costs, but it does appear to have protected an endangered species. Unfortunately, not all cases are this clear.
With California mandated to receive 33 percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2020, the state is getting serious about its alternative energy production. With the aid of the California Energy Commission, the State of California has recently planned solar infrastructure like the world has never seen—potentially getting 3,000MW of energy from the California desert (enough power for nearly 2 million homes).13 A lawsuit was filed against much of the construction in the desert by Native American tribes claiming the construction would alter historical gyoglyphs (drawings on the ground) and “sacred environments to the native people.”14 The California Supreme Court ruled that “tribes do not have a legal right to permanently block projects on federal lands based on assertion of Indian religious or cultural practices.”15 The Court did, however, include a stipulation that the government could do a better job of planning the size and location of these projects. This case is less clear-cut than the bat cases. Are we comfortable potentially altering/harming historical landmarks for the creation of alternative energy infrastructure? Furthermore, how can we ascertain the damage done? The tribes claimed that panels within 200 feet of certain areas would disrespect their historical and cultural significance, but where do we draw the line?
The Federal government endorsed the creation of what will become the world’s largest solar farm in late 2010.16 The Mojave Desert construction received criticism from conservation groups such as the Sierra Club, which claimed that habitats of endangered species would be further threatened with the creation of these massive solar farms. The largest solar farm in question was the Calico solar project run by Tessera Solar Company. Their plant in San Bernardino was originally slated to produce 850 MW, but the California Energy Commission cut that to 663.5 MW to “minimize its impact on wildlife.”17 The Sierra Club challenged the California Energy Commission’s environmental review process, claiming it did not adequately protect threatened desert species such as big horned sheep, golden eagles, and desert tortoise.18
In a somewhat dramatic turn of events, the California Supreme Court threw out two lawsuits filed against the Calico project without comment in April 2011, including the Sierra Club case. One can only infer that the court agreed with the CA Energy Commission’s initial review and findings, and found the Sierra Club’s claims superfluous. This case seems to fall somewhere in between the previous two. Damages cannot be shown, as was the case with the Bats in Maryland, and the Energy Commission did extensive initial reviews, but there is some apparent threat to wildlife. Are we comfortable with some endangered species having their habitats altered for alternative energy? Cases like these will surely emerge around the country as new proposals for green energy increase. However, at some point, government and land managers may need to ask themselves, what is more valuable, wildlife or energy—the decision will not be an easy one.
Is There a Solution? A Right and a Wrong?
We clearly live in an interesting period, where groups that have long fought for alternative energy development (such as the Sierra Club), are now suing that same development for not being sufficiently environmentally, and species-conscientious.19 In many ways it makes sense, but these organizations have to be careful to pick their battles, or risk losing credibility in environmental circles while fueling the criticism of opposition movements. The environmental movement is an easy target for mockery when groups appear to be suing themselves. There are tough decisions in our future, but let us remember to be rational and look at the big picture. It will never be as easy as building solar panels in the desert and getting clean energy from them; the world is far too complicated for that to be the case. Neither side of the debate is wrong, but ultimately we may need to loosen up the restrictions on clean energy if we really want it to work. At some point, we may need to pursue what we value most, even if that means a slight sacrifice of other values.
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|Last Updated ( Tuesday, 21 June 2011 )| | <urn:uuid:3da62ea4-2cf5-48c3-84ce-c50e2f6277f8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.greeniacs.com/GreeniacsArticles/Energy/Energy-Issues.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393997.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00183-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940889 | 1,845 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Behind the buzz and beyond the hype:
Our Nanowerk-exclusive feature articles
Posted: Nov 14, 2011
Curved microfluidic devices that self-assemble
(Nanowerk Spotlight) Conventional microfluidic devices are fabricated in inherently planar, block-like devices. In contrast, an important feature of naturally self-assembled systems such as leaves and tissues is that they are curved and have embedded fluidic channels that enable the transport of nutrients to, or removal of waste from, specific three-dimensional regions.
Since most microfluidic devices are created using layer-by-layer lithographic patterning and molding methods, it is challenging to create microfluidic networks in curved or folded geometries. However, such networks are important to pattern chemicals in 3D and also to create realistic models of tissues.
David H. Gracias and his team at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) have now demonstrated, for the first time, a strategy to self-assemble curved and folded microfluidic polymeric devices with materials used in conventional planar, microfluidics namely SU8 and PDMS. They report their findings in the November 8, 2011 online edition of Nature Communications ("Differentially photo-crosslinked polymers enable self-assembling microfluidics").
Examples of self-assembling microfluidic devices. Left: Fluorescence images showing the flow of fluorescein (green)/rhodamine B (red) through single and dual channel devices, respectively. Right: A hybrid SU-8/PDMS microfluidic device was self-assembled using a CLG-containing SU-8 layer to curve an underlying PDMS channel. (Reprinted with permission from Nature Publishing Group)
"From an fundamental perspective, we show how stress gradients can be created in thin polymer films using photo-crosslinking and conditioning to allow them to reversibly curve/fold and flatten when wet or dry," Gracias explains to Nanowerk. "This reversibility can also be achieved on immersion in water and organic solvents."
The idea of differential crosslinking to achieve curvature or folding is new; previously, researchers have shown that bilayers with two different polymers can be utilized, but the JHU team's methodology uses a single material and provides considerable flexibility in the type and extent of curvature that can be created by varying the intensity and direction of exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light.
Although stresses in polymeric films are often undesirable, Gracias and his team developed a strategy to create a photopatternable stress gradient in these materials so that the films reversibly and reproducibly curved on solvent exchange between water and acetone.
"We controlled the extent and directionality of curvature by varying the ultraviolet exposure energy and direction" says Mustapha Jamal, a graduate student in Gracias' group and first author of the paper. "We could curve rectangular SU-8 structures with radii of curvature as small as 80 µm and with bidirectional curvature. We also developed a multilayer patterning scheme to integrate PDMS-based microfluidic networks with these SU-8 films and realize the self-assembly of curved microfluidic networks."
The team found that the radii of curvature of conditioned SU-8 films were dependent on several controllable processing parameters: mostly ultraviolet exposure energy and film thickness, and to a lesser degree film aspect ratio and post-exposure bake temperature. By controlling these parameters, they were able to fabricate desired curved patterns.
In order to self-assemble microfluidic devices, the researchers used the SU-8 templates as a support layer to curve thicker polymeric films like PDMS. Gracias notes that the overall thickness of the SU-8/PDMS devices that the team fabricated was less than 40 µm, and they were built using planar microfabrication techniques. "We could therefore pattern multiple devices in parallel and with high resolution."
An illustration of a self-assembling microfluidic device with PDMS inlets/outlets attached to a Si substrate and with PDMS channels integrated with a differentially crosslinked SU-8 film. (Reprinted with permission from Nature Publishing Group)
This novel approach addresses a host of problems such as the challenge of creating 3D reconfigurable metamaterials, electronic circuits, polymeric actuators and tissue scaffolds.
"Our methodology can be utilized to create reconfigurable curved and flexible metamaterials which change their optical properties in response to different stimuli," explains Gracias. "Since our approach is compatible with planar lithography methods, we have incorporated optical elements such as split ring resonators which have unique optical resonances. Alternatively, other optical modules or electronic circuits could also be incorporated."
Since many hydrogels can be photopolymerized, this methodology of differential cross-linking can be used to create stress gradients in these materials. Gracias' team are now planning to create biodegradeable vascularized tissue scaffolds using this approach. | <urn:uuid:302a4e58-b828-42b5-9671-6ea2b28d59b9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=23388.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00076-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925161 | 1,059 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Perl tell Function
This function returns the current position of read pointer (in bytes) within the specified FILEHANDLE. If FILEHANDLE is omitted, then it returns the position within the last file accessed.
Following is the simple syntax for this function −
tell FILEHANDLE tell
This function returns current file position in bytes.
Following is the example code showing its basic usage, to check this function do the followings −
Create a text file with "this is test" as content and store it into /tmp directory.
Read 2 characters from this file.
Now check the position of read pointer in the file.
#!/usr/bin/perl -w open( FILE, "</tmp/test.txt" ) || die "Enable to open test file"; $char = getc( FILE ); print "First Character is $char\n"; $char = getc( FILE ); print "Second Character is $char\n"; # Now check the position of read pointer. $position = tell( FILE ); print "Position with in file $position\n"; close(FILE);
When above code is executed, it produces the following result −
First Character is T Second Character is h Position with in file 2 | <urn:uuid:6dd6a3ee-7a5e-4b8b-8c7d-20452f462ab4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.tutorialspoint.com/perl/perl_tell.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391766.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00155-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.791371 | 260 | 3.40625 | 3 |
Analysis: Sound Check
If anything, this is a poem about frustration, disappointment, and irritation. It is about an “author” who is annoyed that her friends took her book to get published without her consent, and it is also about the difficulties of revising said book (the speaker suggests that she is unable to make her book any good). More than anything else, then, this poem’s sounds reflect, imitate, mimic, etc. the various experiences of frustration that the speaker describes.
Take the poem’s first lines as an example. The lines start out sounding normal enough—“Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain, / Who after birth did’st by my side remain”—but then as the speaker contemplates what her friends did by stealing her book the sentence becomes cluttered with extra clauses: “Till snatcht from thence by friends, less wise than true, / Who thee abroad exposed to public view, / Made thee in rags, halting to th' press to trudge, / Where errors were not lessened (all may judge).” All these extra phrases—sounds—“less wise than true,” “all may judge,” etc. frustrate the flow of the lines, and imitate the speaker’s irritation.
Elsewhere, the poem reflects the sounds of revision and writing, with all their frustrations: “I stretcht thy joints to make thee even feet, / Yet still thou run'st more hobbling than is meet.” Every line in this poem, you could say, is “stretcht” to make it be five beats (pentameter). This line mimics the sound of the stretching—notice the assonance, all those long E sounds at the end (“thee even feet”). Longer vowels take longer to pronounce, giving the line the effect of being longer or more “stretched.” This “longer” sound also imitates the speaker’s own perception of writing and revision as a kind of prolonged torture (“stretcht” can’t help but remind us of the Rack, a medieval torture device).
In fact, if you take a glance at the poem, you will notice that long vowels are all over place. They are less pleasant than their shorter counterparts, and they give the poem a slightly more melancholic or doleful cast, especially when the word is a word like “feeble” (1) or “poor” (23). This reinforces the speaker’s own frustration, mirroring the content—just on a sonic level. | <urn:uuid:c68a984c-a43a-45fb-8f1f-6bd163700ead> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.shmoop.com/the-author-to-her-book/tone.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392159.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00033-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953693 | 560 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
What does it mean to be Anglican? III
[Theological Theology] 20 Oct 2009--The Anglican inheritance in both doctrine and church practice is irrevocably tied to the cause of the Protestant Reformation. For all its insistence that it is genuinely catholic, that it was not another church set up as an alternative to that existing at the time but rather the true church reformed, the English church from which worldwide Anglicanism has grown was unambiguously Protestant. It embraced the Reformation doctrines of Scripture, salvation and the church. The five solas, solus Christus, sola gratia, sola fide, sola scriptura, and soli Deo gloria, all find expression in the Anglican formularies and are expounded in the book of homilies. The antagonism of Catholic apologists during the Elizabethan period and ever since is not simply directed to the Anglican rejection of papal primacy but also and primarily to Anglican doctrine which it sees as incompatible with the emphases of the Roman church.
Ever since at least the early seventeenth century there have been attempts to suggest true Anglicanism is not really Protestant and that aligning the English church with the continental Reformation is a mistake. Revisionist accounts of the origins of Anglicanism have glossed over the way in which, in both doctrine and practice, the English Reformers sought to align their church with the Reformation churches on the continent.
However, in more recent years even unsympathetic scholars of the Reformation have been willing to concede Anglicanism's basic Protestantism. It rejected the notion of a magisterium that stood alongside Scripture as an authority for Christian faith and life. It rejected a sacerdotal understanding of priesthood and Christian ministry. It rejected purgatory, the cult of the virgin and the use of images in worship. It clothed its clergy in a surplice rather than priestly robes (though strong voices from within its ranks argued that even this should be dispensed with).
Posted by Robin G. Jordan at 10:14 AM | <urn:uuid:c4bef32a-4d2d-4066-b436-a7a705963d52> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://anglicansablaze.blogspot.com/2009/10/what-does-it-mean-to-be-anglican-iii.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00041-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953873 | 429 | 2.546875 | 3 |
In 1993, Kary Mullis won the Nobel for his invention of polymerase chain reaction, the chemical Xerox machine that makes thousands of copies of tiny strands of DNA, a breakthrough that jump-started the biotech revolution. The biochemist, then based in Berkeley, freely admitted he conceptualized this advance while under the influence of the mind-altering drug LSD, which helped him visualize the complex chemistry three-dimensionally.
These three examples center on the power of visualization — that ability to “see” something from a different perspective, a spark of insight that pares away mountains of extraneous details and distills seemingly impenetrable puzzles down to their essence. But now we’re in the era of big data, which harnesses the computing power of massive databases with bytes measured in teras (trillions) and petas (quadrillions), combined with sophisticated algorithms that can grapple with problems on a once-unimaginable scale. While this numbers-crunching ability promises to greatly accelerate the pace of scientific discovery, we’re suddenly buried in an avalanche of information.
Immersive environments — 3-D virtual reality worlds — can help us make sense of this in a tangible way. Big data collects such a vast amount of information that it’s difficult to see patterns. Using computing power to translate data into something that can be seen and heard makes it easier to understand. “Scientists and engineers can work with their data, perceptually and intuitively, the way artists do,” says JoAnn Kuchera-Morin, creator of the AlloSphere. It is perhaps the most advanced of these immersive environments, housed on the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara.
These electronically simulated worlds of sight and sound cut through a lot of the noise of big data, and they enable researchers to synthesize, manipulate and analyze large data sets in a way that is easier to comprehend and digest, providing unparalleled insights into the whole picture and how each individual piece fits in. “We have so much data that we need these bigger lenses to get a full picture of what’s really going on,” says Andrew Johnson, director of research at the Electronic Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “These kinds of environments are lenses to look at data — the modern equivalent of the microscope or telescope.”
Pooling massive amounts of data allows patterns and trends to emerge that aren’t apparent in small, individual studies, and the applications are virtually infinite — think Moneyball, the 2003 best-selling book about how the perennially cash-strapped Oakland A’s used analytics and baseball stats to scout overlooked talent. Another example: In 2013, it took number-crunching algorithms, sifting through terabytes of data, to spot the distinctive signature of several Higgs boson particles. Physicists could finally identify them. Medical scientists, on the other hand, are crunching billions of data points culled from millions of patients about genetic mutations that make people more vulnerable to diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. They combine this information with sequences of the proteins those bits of DNA produce. (Proteins are the body’s workhorses that control every cell.) This information is used to concoct more targeted therapeutics and more precise diagnostics using biomarkers — in a patient’s blood, saliva or urine — that signal the presence of a disease.
Immersive environments like the ones you’ll see in the following pages allow scientists to watch a tumor grow, observe molecules binding together — or even see a re-enactment of the Big Bang and witness the transformation of the universe over billions of years. Rudimentary versions of these environments have been around since the 1990s, but with today’s technology, scientists can sink into even greater realism and visualize more with sharper resolution. This immersion is used in disciplines as diverse as medicine, physics, neuroscience, green technology, structural engineering and archaeology at universities, government research agencies and in private industry all over the world.
“Originally, we created these as an educational tool for visualizing concepts and ideas — in place of a blackboard and hand waving — to help people see things they never did before,” says Thomas DeFanti, a research scientist at UC San Diego’s California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, and a pioneer of virtual reality systems. “But the newest technology gives you the feeling of true immersion that makes for a completely riveting experience.” | <urn:uuid:847653bf-6ae2-4e98-8a39-1fec110e4efa> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://discovermagazine.com/2014/julyaug/15-fantastic-voyages | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399522.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00067-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921915 | 937 | 3.359375 | 3 |
The Project Background
Watamu, Kenya, is located 112km north of Mombasa. It is internationally renowned for its outstanding beauty and recognised as a UNESCO world Biosphere Reserve.Malindi Watamu Marine Protected Reserve (MWMPR) was designated as Kenya’s first marine protected area in 1968 and became a part of UNESCO biosphere Reserve in 1979.
Watamu Turtle Watch (WTW) began when a group of Watamu residents got involved with a local naturalist, Barbara Simpson, and her sea turtle nest patrols. The residents then consequently decided to increase their conservation efforts in the area. Their commitment and hard work resulted in the formation of WTW in 1997. In 2002, WTW responded to the need for a more broad based marine conservation effort due to the extensive degradation of Kenya’s coastline and reefs. Local Ocean Trust (LOT) was created as a marine conservation organization committed to promoting the sustainable use and management of Kenya’s marine resources. LOT undertakes general marine conservation work locally and nationally, promoting the protection of Kenya’s MPAs. The name ‘Local Ocean Trust’ intends to encourage people to look after their own local ocean and promote the sustainable management of our marine resource.
LOT: WTW PROGRAMMES
Community Outreach — Without community participation it would be difficult to measure the number of turtle releases, poaching incidents, daily fish catch and nests laid within our area of work in Watamu. The communities, especially the fishermen, are vital in providing accurate and timely information relevant for data and research coordinators. Involving the community in all aspects of our programme ensures its sustainability and encourages them to protect their marine resources and to use the sea turtle population as an indicator species for a healthy marine environment. Analysis of the population of sea turtles can therefore show us signs of recovery for a damaged and fragile ecosystem.
Education — The LOT: WTW education programme includes more than 26 local schools. The year 2012 saw 2265 Wildlife Clubs of Kenya students visit the project. We give them the opportunity to learn about sea turtles, fish, mangrove eco-systems, coral reefs and so much more about the ocean, and they even participate in beach cleanups regularly. Children play such an important role today and for the future, in educating members of their family as well as their communities and friends. Some of the students have even reported to us that they have stopped the cutting of mangrove trees in their villages and even the slaughter of sea turtles!!
Marine Scout Programme
— The Marine Scout programme was designed to encourage young conservationists. They learn basic scientific surveying skills, species identification as well as assisting in by-catch releases, data collection and the Rehabilitation Centre.
The young girl scouts pictured here may be our future sea turtle vets!
Nest Protection and Monitoring — The LOT: WTW field team conduct daily/nightly patrols to monitor and protect our nesting females that come to the marine park beach to lay their eggs. The nests laid are vigilantly monitored throughout their incubation period. The LOT team prides itself on being present for each hatching, and we watch over the hatchlings on their way to the ocean. Protecting the hatchlings all the way to the sea increases their chance of survival.
All nests are exhumed 3 days after hatching in order to assess success rates as well as to collect valuable all data available. LOT: WTW promotes ‘in situ’ conservation where necessary; however any nests that are laid below the high water mark are relocated to safer ground within the riparian area. When the LOT team are seen patrolling the beach, marking nesting areas, a lot of curiosity is generated and we take this opportunity to educate and create awareness.
By-Catch Release Programme — The programme encourages artisanal fishermen to release, rather than slaughter their accidental sea turtle by-catch and has grown steadily since its inception in 1998, with each year seeing an increase in the number of participating fishermen as well as the number of turtles being released.
This programme began as a trial in response to the high incidences of poaching by fishermen being reported in the Mida Creek area. For the last 15 years the by-catch programme has been running due to the commitment of hundreds of fishermen who have chosen to conserve the endangered sea turtle, knowing very well that the compensation offered of approx. $3.50USD for repairing damaged nets, communication, time and effort is nothing compared to what they would get if they chose to kill the turtle.
Poaching exists in Watamu and the demand for sea turtle meat is still high in some communities. A green sea turtle of 1m can fetch up to Kenyan shillings 40,000 (approx. $460 USD) when the meat and oil is extracted. In order to encourage the community to join in with conservation there must be an incentive, economic or otherwise, especially if you want them to conserve a species that is expendable in their eyes.
With education, awareness and community outreach, the fishermen from Mida Creek -- a foraging ground for sea turtles -- contact the project whenever a sea turtle is caught incidentally in fishing nets. Participation in the programme has grown from 3 landing sites to 12 landing sites and now covers over 30km of coastline and approx. 12km of Mida Creek.
2012 saw the highest number of releases conducted by LOT: WTW -1628 sea turtles were released back into the ocean! Since the programme's inception we have successfully released over 9000 sea turtles! We are very proud of the fishermen we work closely with for their continued support. Over 300 fishermen are continually engaged in our release programme, and we have worked with over 1600 fishermen in the Watamu and surrounding areas conducting workshops and raising awareness.
Rehabilitation Centre — In 2003 Kenya’s first sea turtle rescue centre was built to take care of sick and injured turtles reported to us by the fishermen and the community. With increasing incidences of injury and disease, the rehabilitation centre now has 9 holding tanks and a clinic. A veterinarian is always on call in case of an emergency. Hooks, exhaustion, blockages, infections, amputations, boating accidents and the disease fibropapillomatosis are just several of the conditions we have seen at the rehab. Over 170 turtles have been admitted to the rehabilitation centre since it began and successfully released over 80% of these patients. These turtles would have otherwise died without medical assistance or care.
All of the LOT: WTW programmes are interlinked and work together. A holistic approach needs to be applied, as the ocean is the primary source of income for many households in Watamu and its environments. The education and awareness raised through community outreach programme has the community informing LOT: WTW of any incidents of poaching activities, beached or dead turtles nesting activity. The by-catch programme is believed to be one of a kind in Africa and indeed the world, providing valuable information on the population status of sea turtles in Watamu area. It also provides sufficient data in view of the extent to which we are destroying our ocean with plastic pollution, illegal fishing gears/activity, illegal development on the beach as well as oil explorations in our ocean. We endeavor to make Watamu a very secure nesting area. With sea turtle populations under threat, the natural “release” of thousands of hatchlings every year brings great hope for our sea turtles.
LOT: WTW strives to maintain a balance for the ocean and the utilization of its resources. The programmes are only embarked upon with careful consideration as to their sustainability. There are many things each of us can do to help sea turtles survive. We must remember that we share the oceans and the beaches with many other species and become informed about the things that are affecting and destroying their habitat. As an informed citizen, you have the power to influence the outcome of these issues by making your voice heard. Be informed about important issues, join and support LOT: WTW and please “Love Your Local Ocean!” | <urn:uuid:f5e127ef-6a73-4254-9c55-a0e93422cf7c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ioseaturtles.org/pom_detail.php?id=126 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396875.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00159-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958003 | 1,650 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Take This Tone
Singing to your baby helped lay a foundation for literacy. Keep building it as your child grows! Singing and sharing music encourages kids’ creativity and promotes careful listening. From learning how an instrument works, to memorizing the words to a song, to making up a new dance, music benefits your child’s development. And it’s fun!
- Singing helps kids understand how sounds come together to form words and reinforces what they know about those sounds. Learn songs to sing together so your child learns new words and new sounds too!
- The ability to pick out sounds that rhyme and to distinguish beginning sounds is a very important skill for children learning how to read. Tune your child’s ear with songs filled with different sound patterns, rhymes, and alliteration.
- Your singing can be a comfort to your child. Singing together can help make your child feel more connected and have a more positive attitude.
- Kids can learn through lyrics. Go beyond the Alphabet Song! You can share songs that help your child learn about everything from his faith and culture, to his country and history, to hygiene and health.
- Don’t limit your child to children’s music—play your own music collection and sing your favorite songs for your child. But also try to introduce different types of music, as well. The public library can be a good resource for CDs of classical, jazz, country, pop, folk and other types music.
- Music gets kids moving. Improved gross and fine motor skills are the benefit, so share music and songs on a daily basis! | <urn:uuid:d4807ded-1ae0-43fc-9aa1-4427ec14399b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.seussville.com/parents/resources/take-this-tone | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399522.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00116-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936956 | 335 | 3.96875 | 4 |
Early in the 20th century, archaeologists and other scholars identified some older textiles from the Roman period in Egypt as knit. (Apparently some sources refer to this as "the Christian period", but as far as I can tell, they just mean CE (current era) as opposed to BCE. There is as yet no evidence to indicate that only Christians made these items.) Most of these pieces from Roman Egypt are ankle-high toe-socks, shaped rather like Japanese tabi and worked from toes to ankle. Dated to the fourth or fifth century CE, they were made of wool, generally a solid color for adults, such as red or purple, and multi-colored stripes for children, one example being red with three yellow stripes, another uneven stripes of blue, red, green, yellow, and violet. At least five museums have some sandal socks in their collections, including the Victorian and Albert Museum in London and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
However, by late 1960's or early 1970's, textile experts re-analyzed them. In 1972 Dorothy Burnham published her analysis in the journal Textile History 3, in an article entitled "Coptic knitting: an ancient technique" (pp. 116-124). She had discovered that they were actually produced by a process variously called "single needle knitting", needle netting, knotless netting, or, most commonly today, nalbinding.
Additional interestingly textured old fragments come from Dura-Europas, a city in eastern Syria, founded around 300 BCE and destroyed by the Sassanian Persians in 256 CE. They, too, was originally thought to be knit. There are directions for making a similar looking textile in Barbara G. Walker's book, A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns. But if you're interested in authentic recreation, these directions will not produce an accurate fabric, although they produce an interesting knitted texture. That is because this fabric, too, is now identified as created by nalbinding.
Also spelled naalbinding or nŽlbinding, and pronounced, more-or-less, "nol-bin-ding", it is a technique of creating a textile in rounds or rows by looping shortish strands of yarn or thread carried by a needle. When the strand gets too short, a new strand has to be added in. This technique was also common in Early Scandinavian cultures where it was still used for making mittens and socks even in the 19th century. Unfortunately, some scholars appear not to have seen Burnham's cogent study, and you will still find books and articles that say that there are pieces of Egyptian knitting older than the 11th century CE.
It is possible that knitting developed from the earlier technique of nalbinding. How and whether it really did remain a mystery. We can tell that the fabrics created by true knitting in Egypt were primarily knitted in the round, although a few fragments have been identified as having been knitted flat.
Wool yarns exhibit a wide range of colors. Among them are several shades of indigo blue, as well a warm madder red, medium ochre yellow and creamy yellow (possibly dyed with weld), and a green which has faded to a light-medium olive. Occasionally there are areas of purple, probably achieved by over-dyeing light-medium indigo with madder or kermes. A piece knit with colored wools will have cotton in areas of white.
Two pieces of multi-colored wool dating to the 14th or 15th century are discussed in Rutt's book (see Resources below). According to Rutt, one, which is not illustrated in his book, is red, salmon pink, dark blue, turquoise, yellow, and brown wool and white/natural cotton. The other, illustrated in black-and-white, is described as predominately red with patterns in beige, dark blue, light blue, and green wool and white/natural cotton.
Silks from later Muslim Spain are in a number of colors, often 4 colors in one piece, but no more than 2 colors per row. Some of the pieces have faded more than the older wools and exact colors are difficult to determine, although reds, yellows, greens, and blues seem to be common.
Yet, even the oldest surviving knitted fragments exhibit a fair amount of sophistication. Obviously they represent the result of a significant period of development. Most fragments have 2-color stranded knit patterns, often with a third color in bands. Some pieces, particularly those of wool, incorporate patterns in six colors or more. And a few of these pieces utilize more than 3 colors per row.
All the examples of socks that I have seen were worked from the toe up, knit of cotton at a gauge of around 12 stitches/10 rows per inch. While some authors say that some socks were knit from the top down, I haven't seen any of these. The socks have heels shaped a couple of different ways, either by short rows or by a "folk" type of inset heel, still in use today in some parts of the world. Even the toes were created in various ways, some complex star patterns with regular increases, others plain knitting with random increases so there are no obvious rows of increases.
And finally there are bands of repeated Kufic script, a very rectilinear form of Arabic writing, most saying real words, such as "allah" ("god") or "baraka" ("blessings"). There are also bands of pseudo-Kufic script, shapes that look like but aren't really words. Kufic script is used in both Egyptian and later Andalusian pieces and worked in cotton, wool, and silk.
Another source of information is Tissues d'Egypte - temoins du monde Arabe, VIII-XV siecles, which catalogues the Collection Bouvier. Entirely in French, it includes full color photographs of around 15 different pieces of knitting.
Unfortunately, about 15 mintutes before I loaded my friend's van to go to SCA West Kingdom Beltane 2000, all my knitting, weaving, garb, and more were stolen. I'm sure my stuff ended up in a dumpster with the thief cursing me for not having normal sellable stuff.|
But you can still look at the scans of my Medieval Egyptian knitting projects:
More links back in the front
Text copyright 2000, by Anahita al-Qurtubiyya bint 'abd al-Karim al-hakim al-Fassi, also known as Lilinah biti-Anat
Updated 20 Jan 2006 | <urn:uuid:7789a457-b4bc-460d-948f-905fb0e1790d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://home.earthlink.net/~urtatim/EgyptKnitIntro.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00029-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968131 | 1,368 | 3.421875 | 3 |
March 4, 2013
UCTV Series "Lighting the World" Tells Remarkable Story of Shuji Nakamura's Discovery of White LEDs
We take light for granted, but more than two billion people in the world go through their entire lives without reliable lighting. But that is changing, thanks in part to the brilliant discovery of UC Santa Barbara Professor Shuji Nakamura.
This UCTV four-part series, made possible by UC Santa Barbara's Solid State Lighting and Energy Center, tells the story of Nakamura's determined effort to develop the white LED and the revolution in lighting that his discovery has brought to the world.
The development of nitride based semiconductors by Dr. Nakamura represents one of the most important achievements in the materials science of semiconductors in the last 30 years. Specifically, the discovery of p-type doping in Gallium Nitride (GaN) and the development of blue, green, and white light emitting diodes (LEDs) and blue laser diodes (LDs) has enabled energy efficient lighting and displays.
John Bowers of UC Santa Barbara's Institute for Energy Efficiency describes this problem and how they are using the highly efficient white LED, discovered by Shuji Nakamura, as a solution.
Shuji Nakamura, creator of the white LED, and explore the decades-long quest to develop the white-light emitting LED.
About Shuji Nakamura
Professor Nakamura had received numerous awards for his work, including the Nishina Memorial Award (1996), the Materials Research Society Medal Award (1997), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Jack A. Morton Award, the British Rank Prize (1998), the Benjamin Franklin Medal Award (2002), the Millennium Technology Prize (2006), the Czochralski Award (2007), the Prince of Asturias Award for Technical Scientific Research (2008), The Harvey Award (2009), and the Technology & Engineering Emmy Award (2012) awarded by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). He was elected as a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2003.
Since 2000, he has been a professor of Materials at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He holds more than 100 patents and has published more than 400 papers in his field. Professor Nakamura is the Research Director of the Solid State Lighting & Energy Center. | <urn:uuid:d41fbf28-7f19-4621-9a4a-1ff8425b233a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.engr.ucsb.edu/news/694 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00038-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924985 | 482 | 2.875 | 3 |
Upstate New York scientists have found thriving populations of seaside goldenrod, a plant native to inland salt marshes they thought had vanished from the region.
State University of New York forest biologist Donald J. Leopold said the once abundant plant was discovered in the most unlikely of locations: along a city street.
"I was walking back from downtown (Syracuse) a couple of months ago and I saw it growing out of a place between a sidewalk and a concrete wall," Leopold said. "There was no soil within probably a half-mile. It's about 6 or 7 feet tall, growing out of where the broken asphalt met the concrete wall."
Once Leopold and one of his doctoral students, Tony Eallonardo, started looking, they found thriving populations in the median of Interstate 81, south of Syracuse, about two miles past the Nedrow exit, and along the northbound lane of I-81.
Size: Grows up to 8 feet tall.
Characteristics: Large clusters of bright yellow flowers atop dark green leaves.
How it differs from other goldenrod: It's taller and more tolerant to salt spray and saline soils. It also blooms later in the fall than many other of the native 15 goldenrod species found in Central New York.
There also was a lone plant in the concrete median at the end of the Adams Street exit, off I-81, said Leopold, a teaching professor and chairman of the State University College of Environmental Science and Forestry's Department of Environmental and Forest Biology.
"They're coming out of asphalt, with no soil anywhere," Leopold said. "And it's striking because they're all blooming right now. It's a visually spectacular plant."
The plant was once fairly common in Central New York, Leopold said, when the region had thousands of acres of salt marshes. Seaside goldenrod grew in the inland salt marshes that once were common around Onondaga Lake.
Salt marshes are typically thought of as coastal. Salt marshes are home to some of the most globally endangered plant communities in the Eastern United States, Leopold said. There are only three left in New York and one in Michigan. He said the three in New York are to the west of Syracuse in the Montezuma swamp area.
Leopold says the fact the plants are growing well in seemingly inhospitable locations -- heavily trafficked areas treated with substantial amounts of salt during the winter -- could make them important for urban landscaping.
"I can imagine planting them in downtown Syracuse, for example, on the median near the Everson Museum instead of geraniums, which make no sense to put there," he said. "These are not low-maintenance plants," Leopold said. "These are no-maintenance plants."
Leopold believes the plant may never have really vanished from the region because he thinks the recently discovered populations are at least 20 years old. | <urn:uuid:1ce078c9-e1e5-4c73-80a2-4ea891840389> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/oncevanished_goldenrod_found_i.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00193-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96767 | 613 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Beach Runoff to go Underground
Runoff from the beach to the ocean will no longer be a problem in Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach, Va., has seen the not-so-picturesque channeling of water into the Atlantic Ocean—“not so” because the water is storm water runoff. Not only that, but it is pooling in the sand of the North End and is the suspected cause of four beach closures in the past two seasons.
Luckily, this problem will end soon as $9.3 million are being spent to install 2,300 ft of underground pipe, scheduled to be finished by this time next year. This piping will funnel the runoff 1,800 ft offshore; the construction is the final phase of the city’s $145 million hurricane protection plan.
The city’s coastal engineer, Phillip Roehrs, said storm water used to pool all along the oceanfront, and the hurricane protection project has eliminated all but this last beach.
Roehrs is concerned about the puddles of runoff on the beach because they can be full of bacteria that can transfer to the children that often play in them, which in turn can transfer to the ocean.
Construction work is taking place on a dune, which should decrease traffic on nearby Atlantic Avenue. The dune has been graded and covered with stone in an effort to give construction trucks a place to drive. Roehrs has committed to rebuilding the dune when the project is completed. | <urn:uuid:4858b901-675e-4623-bf8d-b877c885ff1a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wqpmag.com/beach-runoff-go-underground | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00168-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960274 | 305 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Unlock a Wealth of Knowledge! This is just part of the article. Want the complete story, plus thousands of other in-depth technical articles to help you create winning profiles? Just upgrade or start your subscription today.
Nutmeg is now also grown in Grenada in the West Indies, where it is the national emblem, in addition to Sri Lanka, Africa, Southern India, Fiji and Malaysia.
International trade in nutmeg originated in the Middle East in the sixth century. Merchants from the region were the exclusive importers of the spice for Europe until 1512, when the Portuguese claimed the Moluccas. The Dutch followed in 1602. In 1796, the British took over the Moluccas and spread cultivation to other East Indian islands and the Caribbean.
John Eldred — an early British merchant traveler and one of the first directors of the East India Co. — first brought nutmeg to England. Eldred amassed great wealth from trading with Baghdad, Iraq. In fact, by the end of the medieval period, nutmeg was the second-most-popular spice, after pepper. It was commonly used in barley beer and as a flavoring in wine.
Want the rest of the story? Simply upgrade or start your subscription today. It’s easy. Plus, it only takes 1 minute! | <urn:uuid:f94ea3fa-9a24-4f34-801b-efb3e0a218b7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.perfumerflavorist.com/flavor/rawmaterials/natural/3716696.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404826.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00081-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937786 | 267 | 2.84375 | 3 |
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Significance and Use
4.1 Mixtures of flammable liquids and nonflammable liquids, such as an alcohol and water mixture, are classified by the U. S. Government by the definition of flammable liquid based on a closed-cup flash point method. Thus, mixtures may be classed as flammable even though they do not sustain burning. This test method determines the ability of a liquid mixture to sustain burning and, when used with a closed-cup flash point method, indicates the flammability characteristics of the mixture.
1.1 This test method2 describes a procedure for determining the sustained burning characteristics of mixtures of flammable and nonflammable liquids and to mixtures containing liquids with widely different flash points.
1.2 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded as standard. The values given in parentheses are mathematical conversions to SI units that are provided for information only and are not considered standard.
1.3 This standard should be used to measure and describe the response of materials, products, or assemblies to heat and flame under controlled conditions and should not be used to describe or appraise the fire-hazard or fire-risk of materials, products, or assemblies under actual fire conditions. However, results of the test may be used as elements of a fire-hazard assessment or a fire-risk assessment which takes into account all of the factors which are pertinent to an assessment of the fire hazard or fire risk of a particular end use.
2. Referenced Documents (purchase separately) The documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard.
British StandardsBS-3900 Part A-11, Small Scale Test for Combustibility
ICS Number Code 87.060.30 (Solvents)
UNSPSC Code 12190000(Solvents); 31211800(Paint solvents and thinners)
|Link to Active (This link will always route to the current Active version of the standard.)|
ASTM D4206-96(2013), Standard Test Method for Sustained Burning of Liquid Mixtures Using the Small Scale Open-Cup Apparatus, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2013, www.astm.orgBack to Top | <urn:uuid:bf9b0ddc-0b75-4636-924d-fa18c0514ae9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.astm.org/Standards/D4206.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00078-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.858728 | 530 | 2.96875 | 3 |
If you are allowed, execute command as the superuser. Authorized users of sudo and the commands they are permitted to execute are listed in the sudo configuration file, /etc/sudoers. If an unauthorized user attempts to run a command, sudo will inform an administrator via email. By default, it will send the message to the root account. Users attempting to run commands are prompted for their password. Once authenticated, sudo sets a timestamp for the user. For five minutes from the timestamp, the user may execute further commands without being prompted for her password. This grace period may be overriden by settings in the /etc/sudoers file. Also see /etc/sudoers for configuration examples.
Execute command in the background.
Print help message, then exit.
Revoke user's sudo permissions. Similar to -K, but changes user's timestamp to the Epoch instead of revoking it.
List all allowed and forbidden commands for the user on the current host, then exit.
Use the specified promptstring to prompt for a password. The string may contain the following escape codes, which will be replaced with the current user's login name and local hostname.
Local hostname without the domain name.
Local hostname with the domain name.
Current user's login name
Login name of the user the command will run under. The default is root.
A single percent (%) character.
Run the shell specified in the SHELL environment variable, or the default shell specified in /etc/passwd. If a command is given, it should be a shell script and not a binary file.
Run command as the specified user instead of the root user. This may also be specified as a user ID number using #uid.
Update timestamp for user. Prompt for password if necessary.
Set the HOME environment variable to the home directory of the target user.
Remove user's timestamp.
List parameters that may be set as defaults for a user in the /etc/sudoers file.
Preserve initial user's group membership.
Read password from standard input instead of from the console.
Print version number, then exit. When run by the root user, print sudo's defaults and the local network address as well. | <urn:uuid:309aee17-b4be-4f16-a834-b12aa2a46d50> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/cmd/cmd.csp?path=s/sudo | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00017-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.785777 | 460 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Here, six surprising truths about osteoporosis.
Wendy Mikola has a lifestyle any physician would praise. The 36-year-old accountant from Ohio exercises regularly, doesn't smoke, and fills her plate with fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains. But there's one glaring lapse: She doesn't give much thought to protecting her bones. "I figure that's something I can worry about later," says Wendy. "Osteoporosis usually affects older women."
She's not the only one who feels this way: A survey by the National Osteoporosis Foundation found that 85 percent of women assume they're not at risk for osteoporosis, a disease that makes bones porous and brittle and leads to debilitating fractures. While it's true that women usually don’t develop the condition until their 50s or beyond, "the measures you take as a 20-, 30-, and even 40-something play an enormous role in determining your bone health later in life," says Miriam Nelson, Ph.D., an associate professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and the author of Strong Women, Strong Bones.
Yet only 4 percent of young women are taking the necessary precautions to stave off osteoporosis, finds a recent study in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism. "Many make the mistake of thinking that their daily cup of yogurt or glass of milk is enough to protect them," says Nelson. “But tha's not the case." To prevent bone loss before it starts, we gathered the facts you need to know.
1 It's not too late to build bone
Just like skin cells turning over, bone is constantly being made and broken down throughout your life. When you’re young, bone grows much faster than it degenerates. That rate slows as you age; by 18, most women have formed up to 90 percent of their bone mass, and by 30, they’ve reached their peak.
During the next two decades, hormones get into the act. Levels of bone-protecting estrogen begin to fall, so you start to lose bone mass more quickly than you can replace it. "Five to seven years after reaching menopause, most women have already lost about 20 percent of their bone density," says David Hamerman, M.D., director emeritus of the Comprehensive Bone Center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. But all is not lost. Consider your frame an account to invest in: With certain diet and exercise tweaks, it's possible for a woman in her 20s or 30s to add to her reserves or simply preserve what she's got.
2 You may have to ask for a bone density check
Although current recommendations call for your first osteoporosis screening at age 65, you might need one decades earlier: Some experts estimate that one in six college-age women have osteopenia, a precursor to osteoporosis. “"Don't depend on your physician to alert you if there's something wrong—you have to be proactive and ask her to assess your odds," says Nelson. It's especially important to speak up if you have any risk factors (see list here). Your doctor may recommend a DXA scan (formerly DEXA, or dual X-ray absorptiometry) to measure your bone density. If your results reveal that it's low, she may recommend several lifestyle changes, such as taking calcium and vitamin D supplements.
3 Not every type of exercise protects your bones
Swimming, cycling, and Pilates all tone your muscles, but you need more force to bulk up your infrastructure. "Any weight-bearing activity, like strength training, aerobics, or running, has been shown to stimulate bone formation," says Nelson. During this type of exercise, your skeleton adapts to the pressure of gravity by building more bone cells.
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends doing weightbearing workouts three to five times a week, as well as plyometrics, or explosive leaping moves, for 10 to 20 minutes three days a week. Try jumping rope or doing squat jumps (starting in the squat position, jump vertically into the air, landing on flat feet).
But these lower-body exercises only serve the bones in your legs and hips. Bridge the gap with activities like weight lifting, which will shore up those bones in your arms and back.
4 Bone-strengthening foods can be found in the produce aisle
When it comes to warding off osteoporosis, lowfat dairy gets most of the credit for its high calcium content. But your skeleton requires a supporting cast of nutrients to stay strong: A study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research found that women who consumed the most vitamin C had higher bone densities than those who got the least. So the next time you head to the supermarket, stock up on foods rich in the vitamin, such as citrus fruits, broccoli, and red peppers.
While you're at it, toss some kale, spinach, or Swiss chard in your shopping cart. These vegetables are all high in vitamin K, which boosts production of osteocalcin, a protein that binds calcium to bone tissue. And don’t skip the seafood aisle. Yellowfin tuna is rich in magnesium, another must for strong bones; nearly 50 percent of your body’s store of this mineral is found in your skeleton. Each day, aim for 320 milligrams of magnesium, which is also found in brown rice and peanut butter.
5 Calcium is co-D-pendent
All the milk, yogurt, and supplements in the world won't do a body a bit of good unless you’re getting vitamin D along with your calcium. "Calcium is reliant on vitamin D," says Susan E. Brown, Ph.D., director of the Osteoporosis Education Project in East Syracuse, New York. "Without sufficient vitamin D levels, very little of the calcium you consume will actually be absorbed and useful to the body."
You need 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams of calcium a day—the amount in three to four servings of lowfat dairy—and at least 400 to 800 international units of vitamin D, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation guidelines. Find the vitamin in salmon, shrimp, and fortified milk or orange juice. While 15 minutes of unprotected sun exposure is another good source of vitamin D, you also run the risk it will damage your skin and lead to cancer.
Because the average American falls short on vitamin D, experts recommend taking a pill daily. There are two forms of the supplement, D2 and D3. "Opt for the D3 version, which is more effective," says Robert P. Heaney, M.D., an osteoporosis researcher and professor of medicine at Creighton University.
6 Some foods are calcium thieves
You poured nonfat milk over your raisin bran at breakfast this morning, then sprinkled cheese on your spinach salad at lunch, so you're well on your way to meeting your calcium quota, right? Maybe not. Certain chemicals, such as oxalates (found in spinach and rhubarb) and phytates (in wheat bran and beans), bind to calcium, blocking its absorption. So don't factor all of the calcium you consume with these foods into your daily total. Having a diet high in processed foods can also set you up for calcium loss. "They're usually sky-high in sodium," says Felicia Cosman, M.D., clinical director for the National Osteoporosis Foundation. "And when your kidneys excrete excess sodium, some calcium is swept along with it." She recommends limiting your intake to less than 2,000 milligrams a day by choosing low-sodium foods and cutting back on packaged goods. A cup of soup, for example, can pack in nearly 900 milligrams of sodium, while two tablespoons of French dressing contains 250 milligrams. | <urn:uuid:fe4e58fd-53c4-40ea-92c1-5651e13900d1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/health-risk-most-women-ignore | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00175-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948793 | 1,647 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Old Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Home
1893 - 1938
Confederate Plot Section Six in Old City Cemetery is the final resting place for the Confederate Veterans who resided at the Old Soldiers and Sailors Home, a refuge for aged and disabled Veterans. The Florida Soldiers Home Association was formed in 1888 with Major Albert Russell (C.S.A.) serving as the organization’s president. Four years later, the Soldiers Home Association purchased ten acres of the Whitney Homestead in which to care for aging Confederate Veterans.
Florida’s Old Confederate Soldiers Home was dedicated on April 6, 1893, consisting of an Italian-styled villa of nine large rooms and a house of two rooms, located at 2336 Talleyrand Avenue. Official regulations required residents to have evidence of their Confederate military service and honorable discharge or parole. The Home was first financed and maintained by the United Confederate Veterans, Sons of Confederate Veterans and Martha Reid Chapter No. 19 United Daughters of the Confederacy. Throughout the years, Florida U.D.C. Chapters gave generously of their time and resources to meet the needs and provide luxuries to the beloved veterans. Confederate organizations of years past acknowledged that the aged soldiers were “a living monument to the War Between the States” and should be cared for, protected and honored. In the years between 1893 and 1938 the number of veterans in the Home ranged from as few as three to as many as forty-seven. For forty years the Home operated and survived on State appropriations and donations from veteran organizations and the U.D.C. Florida’s Confederate home remained in operation until 1938, when the last veteran died. When the property was sold, the State Commander of the United Confederate Veterans transferred funds to the State of Florida for the establishment of an endowment fund to be used for scholarships at the Florida State College for Women (FSU) and the University of Florida. | <urn:uuid:4a6f60a4-1eae-40e7-a42b-3f8a63b1b3f1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.scv-kirby-smith.org/confederateHOME.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00157-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95607 | 387 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Both apple cider vinegar and white vinegar have places in organic gardening. Although white vinegar can be used as an herbicide, apple cider vinegar with 5 percent acidity has quite the opposite use. It can be used as a fertilizer to maintain healthy plants. Because apple cider vinegar is acidic, however, it is best to use it as a fertilizer for only acid-loving plants, such as blueberry bushes, gardenias and azaleas.
Pour 10 ounces of apple cider vinegar that has 5 percent acidity into a 10-gallon bucket.
Fill the rest of the 10-gallon bucket with water. Using 1 ounce of apple cider vinegar for every 1 gallon of water is ideal, but the ratio does not have to be precise to obtain good results. The goal is to water down the vinegar significantly so that it does not harm plants or soil.
Pour the apple cider vinegar-water mixture onto the soil around the roots of each plant you want to water. Although the vinegar is diluted, its acid still could wilt any parts of plants it touches on a sunny day. Use any watering method that works best for your yard, such as watering with a watering can or a sprayer.
Things You Will Need
- 10-gallon bucket
- Watering can or sprayer
- You can use apple cider vinegar as your regular fertilizer or alternate it with a commercial fertilizer. Many gardeners experiment with using apple cider vinegar as a fertilizer to determine whether or not it works best for their plants.
- Use an apple cider vinegar that has not had all the pulp filtered out because the pulp contains the most nutrients. Also use an organic apple cider vinegar so that you do not add residual herbicides and pesticides to your garden.
- Medioimages/Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images | <urn:uuid:d194e5c8-23e0-4acc-a81b-a2e74e9af7b2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://homeguides.sfgate.com/fertilize-plants-apple-cider-vinegar-57123.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00030-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912661 | 370 | 2.71875 | 3 |
The molecular genetics of plant-nutrient interactions. Of the many functions performed by plant roots, the most important is the extraction of water and nutrients from the soil. To achieve this efficiently in the face of competition from other organisms and physical processes such as leaching, roots have acquired a sophisticated suite of adaptations. Understanding the molecular basis of these adaptations will be important for improving crucial agronomic traits such as nutrient-use efficiency. We are particularly interested in the molecular processes that underlie patterns of ?foraging? behaviour in plant roots. The efficiency with which roots explore the soil is greatly enhanced by their ability to preferentially colonise nutrient-rich soil patches. Using Arabidopsis as a model, we previously identified a MADS-box gene (ANR1) which is a key component of a signalling pathway that enables root growth to respond positively to the external presence of nitrate. By engineering transgenic lines in which ANR1 over-expression is dexamethasone-inducible, we have shown that up-regulation of ANR1 in one part of the root system is sufficient to initiate a ?foraging? response, even in the absence of nitrate (unpublished results). Recent progress, in collaboration with Alain Gojon?s group at INRA-Montpellier, suggests that the identity of the long sought-after ?nitrate sensor? that lies upstream of ANR1 may now be known. Current evidence suggests it takes the form of a protein previously known for its role as a dual-affinity nitrate transporter, NRT1.1. Other work is looking at the ability of root tips to respond to external signals from the amino acid L-glutamate (L-Glu). It now appears that the external presence of L-Glu (but not other amino acids) is able to induce major changes in Arabidopsis root architecture that are quite distinct from those elicited by nitrate. Using a combination of approaches, including QTL mapping and forward and reverse genetics, we are trying to determine the molecular basis of the root?s ability to sense external L-Glu. A long-term goal is to use the knowledge gained in these studies to develop plant varieties that are more efficient at using fertilisers, so reducing costs and minimising the environmental impact of arable farming. | <urn:uuid:61759bf9-1557-46c1-92ce-42a959fbe135> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/people/brian-forde(b7d574f1-400a-4c12-b493-26f804724ec3).html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404405.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00012-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941294 | 476 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Out here in Long Island, you can really see the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. Trees are down everywhere, there’s construction on all sides. Yet New York City is trying to shut down its hurricane relief centers. FEMA requires loan applications to be in by December 31. Today the New York Times ran quotes from people calling Sandy the storm of a lifetime, who are planning to rebuild in places where the flooding was most devastating.
So let’s review the climate change situation one last time in 2012. To have experienced a month that was not warmer than the historic average, you must now be at least 27 years old. That means close to 50% of the world’s population has lived only in the time of warming. By all measures scientific and experiential, the climate is changing and the only debate is how fast.
This year, two major exit routes to climate disaster closed. With the desultory agreement at the Doha round of the UN climate change convention, even the most optimistic person has realized that national governments are not going to drive this agenda. For instance, the world’s developed nations are committed to donating about $60 billion to the poorest threatened nations to help them adapt. None has been forthcoming so far. Imagine if these countries were banks–they’d have ten times the cash.
Second, and more worrying, the global hydrocarbon industry has done an end run around the idea of “peak energy.” This much-touted idea from the 1990s suggested that the world’s reserves of fossil fuel were about to be used up and so alternatives would have to be found. The exploitation of natural gas by fracking, and the expectation that reserves under the Arctic and Greenland will become available once the ice melts, have changed all that. Scientists have created means to turn natural gas into diesel, of which there is currently a shortage, and the building blocks for plastics. In other words, the path is technically open not only to continue the fossil fuel economy but to expand it.
These points are not exactly unrelated. Politicians are easily influenced by immense wealth and there’s no money like oil money. The “recoverable reserves” of oil and gas now amount to $160 trillion, which is real money even these days–more in fact than all global equities markets. To take just one example, 85% of Nigeria’s oil revenues go to one per cent of the population. Of that money, some $300 billion is entirely unaccounted for. Living standards for the mass population have not improved during the oil exploitation period of Nigeria’s history. This is where the politics kicks in.
Remember Occupy Nigeria? There was a reason why millions participated.
Because none of the oil, gas and tar is actually necessary as other research has shown:
A well-designed combination of wind power, solar power and storage in batteries and fuel cells would nearly always exceed electricity demands while keeping costs low.
As Peter Rugh has recently shown in his excellent article on the Far Rockaways, this contradiction is now at the center of post-Sandy politics. He quotes Occupy Sandy activist Jessica Roth
“If the Rockaways were based on clean energy going into this we would have been in a completely different situation. We would have had battery packs off of solar that were storing energy. We would have had wind turbines off the coast, which can pull up to 30 miles an hour off winds coming into the shore.”
Meanwhile, State Senator Addabbo has his mind on gas. While he says he is opposed to fracking, a carbon intensive method of methane extraction widely opposed by environmentalists, he supports the construction of a 30-inch pipeline that Williams Transco plans to build that will pump highly-pressurized, inflammable, fracked gas through the Rockaways.
This is a crossroads in national and international politics that Sandy has thrown into high relief here in New York. Renewable, local energy and a related localized politics interactive with its community–a sustainable democracy. Or a pipelined energy, controlled from afar by a small global elite.
This is why we occupied 2012 and how we must take the argument forward. It’s not a “climate” debate. The climate is a model for average temperatures and conditions. There isn’t a politics in a model. The question is how we respond to the change the model predicts, who benefits from that change, and whether those impacted by it will have a voice. It’s about freedom. | <urn:uuid:c581b77d-c6f0-405c-a132-39406656028c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nicholasmirzoeff.com/O2012/page/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397696.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00087-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967134 | 932 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Read Daniel Engber's "Science" article about the true cost of obesity.
"Nature tops nurture in childhood obesity," a wire story announced last week. The article's first sentence reported that according to a new study, "Diet and lifestyle play a far smaller role than genetic factors in determining whether a child becomes overweight."
I've read and written a lot about obesity lately, and one thing I've learned, especially from my mistakes, is that genetics and "lifestyle" are rarely that simple. In this case, their relationship is particularly complicated. Obesity is indeed genetic. And diet and lifestyle are crucial to controlling it.
Genetic propensity to gain weight is hardly a new idea. Previous studies have suggested that adult body-mass index (BMI) is 55 percent to 85 percent heritable. But those studies left two questions unanswered. One was whether the kind of household in which a person grew up might affect that person's weight as a child, even if such effects were washed out later in life. The other question was whether today's kids—unlike today's adults, who grew up decades ago—might be differently affected by today's "obesogenic environment."
To answer these questions, the new study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, examined 5,000 pairs of British twins aged 8 to 11. By comparing similarities of outcome between identical twins (who share all their genes) and fraternal twins (who share half), the authors calculate that BMI in the sample was 77 percent heritable. That is, 77 percent of the variation between thinner and fatter kids could be attributed to genetic differences. Of the remainder, "shared environment" (growing up in the same household) accounted for 10 percent, and "non-shared environment" (for example, being the eldest kid instead of the youngest) accounted for 13 percent.
The authors conclude that parents shouldn't be blamed for child obesity. After all, they note, the data show that "siblings' experience of being served similar food, being given the same options for television viewing and active outdoor play, seeing the same behaviors modeled by parents, and going to the same school does not make siblings more similar," in terms of BMI or waist circumference, "than would be expected from their genetic similarity." Consequently, "Excessive weight gain in a child is unlikely to be the fault of the parents and is more likely to be due to the child's genetic susceptibility to the obesogenic features of the modern environment."
How do we know the modern environment is a factor? Because the obesity rate has soared in less than a generation. As the authors point out, "The dramatic rise in childhood obesity in the past 15 years is clearly due to changes in the environment, because genes have not altered." But this implies a paradox: "Obesity is both predominantly environmental … and predominantly genetic."
How can this be? Because genetic and environmental influences are measured differently. What's genetic is the weight variation within a population, such as the kids in your neighborhood. What's environmental is the weight variation between populations: kids in your neighborhood today, compared with kids in your neighborhood 15 years ago.
The superficial media spin—that "diet and lifestyle play a far smaller role than genetic factors"—is misleading in several ways. First, even if genes and behavior were utterly distinct, shared environmental factors accounted for 10 percent of total BMI variation and 40 percent of environmental BMI variation in the studied population. As the authors note, that much correlation, in the case of heart disease, is regarded by doctors as more than enough to justify behavioral recommendations.
Second, heritability by itself can't prove the limits of what environmental changes might produce. An editorial on the study, published in the same journal, explains:
[T]he shared-environment effect is the result of the degree of variability of environments that were observed in the sample, and, therefore, it cannot be used to infer the possible effects of altering the environment in which we all live and that may vary only modestly among families. If all homes, for example, had the same poor dietary and exercise practices, the shared-environment effect would be estimated as zero, and yet it would be entirely appropriate to attribute much of the obesity to parental behaviors.
In other words, environmental changes can significantly raise or lower average weight—as, in fact, they have—even if genes largely determine your weight relative to your peers.
Third, not all environmental factors fit into the categories evaluated in heritability studies. Non-shared environment is specific to you. Shared environment is specific to your household or some other setting. But any environmental factor that affects the whole study population is too big to show up in the analysis. I'm not talking about things each family could do. I'm talking about things that affect nearly all families simultaneously: urbanization, pollution, the arrival of television, and the proliferation of fast food.
Fourth, just because something is genetically caused doesn't mean it can't be behaviorally controlled. As an example, the authors cite phenylketonuria, a genetic disease whose symptoms are commonly averted by altering the patient's diet.
Fifth, diet and lifestyle can themselves be genetic pathways. In the case of hereditary overweight, the authors observe, "Part of the genetic effect may well be due to variations inappetite and satiety." Fidgeting has been shown to burn lots of calories; it's highly plausible that fidgeting is genetically influenced and that it drives people to exercise. To the extent that genetics overlaps with fattening behavior, old dichotomies have to be chucked. You can't just blame fat people for eating too much. Nor can you assume that because fat is hereditary, there's nothing they or society can do about it.
Accordingly, the authors propose a "behavioral, genetic model" of overweight. They embrace the liberal idea of "creating healthier external environments," along with the conservative idea of "teaching vulnerable persons to adopt life-long prudent habits." Note the latter formulation. Not everyone needs good habits. Only "vulnerable persons" do.
That's my personal takeaway from the study: Those of us who don't get fat should stifle our piety. Our relative thinness is 77 percent hereditary. I should know: I eat like a horse and can't gain weight. We need to think of obesity the way we think of alcoholism or allergies: as an unevenly distributed biological predisposition to seek or suffer harm from common environmental factors. Yes, we should struggle against it. But it's more of a struggle for some than for others. | <urn:uuid:ce4b0b17-035f-433e-afbc-365dad0cf83c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_nature/2008/02/fat_chance.single.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00068-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962221 | 1,351 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Two semicircle sit on the diameter of a semicircle centre O of
twice their radius. Lines through O divide the perimeter into two
parts. What can you say about the lengths of these two parts?
M is any point on the line AB. Squares of side length AM and MB are
constructed and their circumcircles intersect at P (and M). Prove
that the lines AD and BE produced pass through P.
The circumcentres of four triangles are joined to form a
quadrilateral. What do you notice about this quadrilateral as the
dynamic image changes? Can you prove your conjecture?
ABC is an isosceles right angled triangle.
Each diagram has a different shape inscribed within it.
Which of the inscribed figures has the greatest area?
Click here for a poster of this problem. | <urn:uuid:89e5c230-cbd5-48b9-8018-90c6300f0ff4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://nrich.maths.org/548 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397565.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00015-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938504 | 179 | 3.78125 | 4 |
The Civil War Curriculum | Goal 4 | High School
Life At War
By the Civil War Trust, Endorsed by History™
Grades: High School
Approximate Length of Time: 50 minutes
Goal: Students will be able to discuss the life of a Civil War soldier, analyzing his role within society and the military.
1. Assuming the role of an investigative reporter, students will be able to write an article through which they will describe the daily life of a Civil War soldier, discuss the challenges soldiers faced, and describe a soldier’s role within the military.
2. Students will be able to describe the effects of weapons technology on soldiers and medical treatments used for wounded and sick soldiers.
3. Students will be able to discuss the African American soldier’s experience.
1. Life at War Power Point Presentation
2. Classroom Read/Share
3. Writing Assignment: A Soldier’s Life Editorial
4. The Civil War Soldier
5. A Soldier’s Life Editorial Rubric
Civil War soldiers lived hard lives in a world very different from the world of the 21st century.
Ask students what they think soldiers’ lives were like. What did they eat and wear? What did they do for fun? What kind of help was available to them if they got sick?
Print out the PowerPoint with notes prior to class. There are notes included with the slides that can be on the printed slides, but won’t be seen by your students during the presentation.
1. Whole-class instruction with the Life at War PowerPoint presentation and associated discussion questions.
2. Place students into several small groups.
3. Provide each group with a Classroom Read/Share sheet. Students will read the information on their sheet and then construct a brief answer to the question at the top of that page.
4. Call on each group to share their question and answer with the class.
5. Hand out Writing Assignment: A Soldier’s Life Editorial, The Civil War Soldier (for reference material) and A Soldier’s Life Editorial Rubric.
1. What role did the average Civil War soldier play during the war?
2. Do you think soldiers were thought of as individuals?
3. What were common challenges that soldiers faced during the war?
4. How do you think technology affected a soldier’s experience?
Assessment in this Lesson
1. Informal assessment through the PowerPoint discussion questions
2. Informal assessment through the Read/Share discussion
4. Informal assessment through the closure questions | <urn:uuid:7f586741-37e6-4c44-9d45-c315cd9a9c9f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.civilwar.org/education/teachers/curriculum/civil-war-curriculum/high-school/life-at-war/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00094-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937232 | 537 | 3.828125 | 4 |
Arctic Ocean meltdown: Say goodbye to the Arctic ice cap
The Arctic ice cap will disappear? A new study says the Arctic Ocean could be ice-free during the summer months in less than 20 years.
It's been another lean summer for the Arctic Ocean's sheath of summer sea ice.
An expedition by the World Wildlife Fund and the Catlin Arctic Survey found that the average thickness of the ice it measured was roughly 1.8 meters (6 feet). It released the results today.
After reviewing the data the expedition collected, a team at the University of Cambridge's Polar Ocean Physics Group concluded that the ice cap is on track to vanish during Arctic summers sometime within a generation.
The new data "supports the consensus view -- based on seasonal variation of ice extent and thickness, changes in temperature, winds, and especially ice composition -- that the Arctic will be ice-free in the summer within about 20 years." By "composition" he's referring to the ratio of thick multi-year ice that resists summer melt to become the foundation for the next winter's freeze and thinner one- or two-year-old ice that fails to make it through the following summer.
This year's summer ice reached the third lowest extent since scientists began tracking the ice with satellites in 1979. But more first-year and second year ice has survived compared with the past couple of summer, notes Walt Meier, a senior scientist at the center.
"If this ice remains in the Arctic through the winter, it will thicken, which gives some hope of stabilizing the ice cover over the next few years," he said in a statement. "However, the ice is still much younger and thinner than it was in the 1980s, leaving it vulnerable to melt during the summer.”
The center's director, Mark Serreze, added that “it’s nice to see a little recovery over the past couple years, but there’s no reason to think that we’re headed back to conditions seen back in the 1970s. We still expect to see ice-free summers sometime in the next few decades.”
So where do the latest data leave the matter? Scientists always relish more data. And it's useful to try to provide ground truth to information satellites gather. But the Catlin-WWF results don't alter the picture the wider group of polar scientist has been assembling. Global warming continues to take its toll on Arctic sea ice. But natural variability, which plants itself atop the longer-term temperature trends, make precise predictions of an ice-free summer at the top of the world difficult. Hence the "sometime."
Editor’s note: For more articles about the environment, see the Monitor’s main environment page, which offers information on many environment topics. Also, check out our Bright Green blog archive and our RSS feed. | <urn:uuid:89fe2036-54d5-4a0d-b7bb-f86bf3da745e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Bright-Green/2009/1015/arctic-ocean-meltdown-say-goodbye-to-the-arctic-ice-cap | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397749.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00131-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954329 | 588 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Fourth- and eighth-grade students in Texas are among the fattest in the country, shows a study published in the June issue of American Journal of Public Health (2004; 94 , 1002–8).
Researchers spent 1 year monitoring a sample of 6,630 children attending Texas public schools. They calculated body mass index using height and weight measurements and obtained demographic information from a questionnaire. Findings indicated that 22% in the fourth grade, 19% in the eighth grade and 15.5% in the 11th grade were overweight. These figures exceed the national goal of 5% that the HHS department has set for 2010.
The study also found that obesity was highest among Hispanic and black children, with Hispanic boys carrying the most weight (29.5%–32.6%). White girls in the 11th grade had the lowest prevalence of overweight (5.5%). | <urn:uuid:a54d9b1b-f509-45fc-90fe-7986a9b75120> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/texas-children-among-fattest-in-us | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00004-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969372 | 177 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Paper versus practice: Disability rights in Ghana
By Jessica McDiarmid
The traffic comes to a stop along a busy thoroughfare that leads into central Accra.
In a flurry of deft movements, several limbless men vault onto scooter boards and launch themselves into the fray, weaving between vehicles, tapping on windows and holding out their hands.
From the inside of a vehicle, many of them are so low to the ground that they're invisible unless they're at your window.
At an intersection closer to the city centre, a young child is pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair from car window to car window, holding out her hand to commuters and pointing at the old woman. Nearby, a boy leads an old blind man through the traffic, begging.
They are some of Ghana's estimated 2.5 million people who are living with a disability. While the Ghana Persons with Disability Act passed in 2006 to enshrine the rights of people with disabilities in the country, few of those laws have been realized.
So, in a country with little in the way of a government-sponsored social welfare net, begging in traffic is the only means to stay alive for some of those living with a disability.
Abu Mohammed is 28 years old. He has a wife and two young children. He recently returned from competing in international football in Nigeria; he is captain of Ghana's national team for people with physical disabilities.
Despite his prowess as a "scooter-soccer" player, six days a week, eight hours a day, you'll find Mohammed out in the traffic, begging for money to cover his rent, feed his family, and send his children to school.
Smiling shyly under a faded camouflage-print hat, Mohammed arranges his immobile legs on the scooter, crossing them one over the other. He uses mismatched flip-flops hooked on his fingers to protect his hands as he pushes himself over the concrete.
On a good day, Mohammed will make about $7 a day; slower days, it's more like $3 or $4.
Mohammed wasn't born with a disability. He fell ill at the age of three and was never able to walk again.
"My parents told me it was a headache and later it affected my whole body," says Mohammed through a translator. "Since then I have never been able to walk."
As a person with a disability, Mohammed didn't attend school, though, unlike some, his parents continued to care for him.
When he was 12, they were killed in a car crash. Mohammed was sent to live with a relative but, suffering from maltreatment, he began to make his own way on the streets. He's been there, for the most part, ever since.
The legislation guarantees people with disabilities access to public buildings, healthcare, education and employment opportunities. It also establishes a national body to ensure compliance and makes it an offence to discriminate against people with disabilities.
On paper, it's "nearly perfect," says Mary Tobbin, the program manager for inclusion with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), an international organization that champions rights of people with disabilities in Ghana.
"(But) I can tell you the implementation is woefully, extremely poor," she says.
The act has a 10-year window to allow for time to implement it, but four years after its passage, little is progressing. A big part of the problem, says Tobbin, is that no one is taking responsibility.
For example, the law requires that all children with a disability receive free education that meets their particular needs.
"Who is checking that they're getting it?" asks Tobbin. "There is a huge gap hanging around who ensures that the law is implemented."
Tobbin blames a lack of resources, stemming from a lack of political will.
"The government's priority is simply not there."
The National Council on Persons with Disability was established by the 2006 legislation, tasked with implementing it.
Now, in late 2010, the council is about a year old, and still very much "finding its feet," says Executive Secretary Duut Bonchel Abdulai.
He adds that there are many projects in the pipeline, including a strategic plan, accessibility standards and a communication strategy.
A lack of money, however, is a big challenge, he says, particularly because the council was formed after current budget allocations were already complete.
Abdulai says discrimination still makes it extremely difficult for people with disabilities to find work and access services.
"People with disabilities in Ghana face discrimination and this is a result of the fact that we still don't understand what disability is," says Abdulai. "Disability knows no bounds. In a split second, you can become a person with disability.”
Back in the traffic, Mohammed says he's seen people killed by vehicles; he's lost friends to accidents on the road. He doesn't want to be here but he has never been able to find a job. What he would like is to have a shop, where he could sit and sell goods, and be around his family.
"We've been waiting for the government or an NGO to come to our aid," says Mohammed. "But if we just waited, we'd die of hunger." | <urn:uuid:aa310b47-c330-4b5f-9320-cd917bc444d1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://thestar.blogs.com/africa/2010/11/paper-versus-practice-disability-rights-in-ghana-by-jessica-mcdiarmid-photo-caption-abu-mohammed-28-makes-his.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00008-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983618 | 1,087 | 2.515625 | 3 |
|PONTA DELGADA: SAO MIGUEL Island|
International Jewish Cemetery Project - Azores
Shahak Hasamain Synagogue (1893- ), a 16th [?] century building downtown, remains, but in disrepair
"Thirty years ago, there were 16 Jewish families on this island," he adds. "We were a community. We had services in the old synagogue and made all the festivities in my grandfather's house. But all the others have died or converted or moved away. I am the only one left." ... Mr Delmar's connection to the Azores began in 1818, when the Bensaude family of Morocco came to this volcanic outcropping, mythologized in lore as the remnants of the lost continent of Atlantis. ... Jewish communities emerged throughout the islands. At one time there were five synagogues on Sao Miguel of Terceira and Fayal. Only one of the synagogues still remains: Shahak Hasamain, consecrated in 1893 in a 16th century building on a busy downtown street in Ponta Delgada. ...One group of Azorean-Americans still maintains its emporium on the island of Flores. Every year, a number of people travel to Flores, perform the rituals and partake of the festival. Afterwards, they clean up, close the doors to their little temple, and return to America. ... today the only evidence of a Jewish presence in the Azores is a couple of cemeteries and a deteriorating synagogue which Jorge Delmar, for the past 20 years, has struggled to preserve. He has been writing letters, meeting with government officials and trying to raise 200,000 dollars to restore the deteriorating structure.
"Its easy to be a Jew any place now," says the last Jew in the Azores. "But here we are soon to be no more. This synagogue should remain as a reminder that once we were here... I feel I have to do some thing. It all ends with me.". Source: http://www.saudades.org/delmer.html [April 2002] | <urn:uuid:cb010de3-7382-4a5a-b4d6-8dd78332cf0f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.iajgsjewishcemeteryproject.org/azores/ponta-delgada-sao-miguel-island.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403502.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00061-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961739 | 432 | 2.5625 | 3 |
The Search for Our Mysterious Origins: The New York Center for Astrobiology
Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D.
President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Bruggeman Conference Room
Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies
Monday, November 24, 2008
Good morning. Thank you for coming.
I would like to thank our partners in government and academia who are here with us this morning, and, especially, the students who are presenting their research. We greatly appreciate your participation and involvement.
Today, we launch the New York Center for Astrobiology, a Center that is undertaking to answer two of humankind's most basic questions how did life begin? And, does life exist elsewhere in the universe?
NASA space missions and observatories have acquired a wealth of data on the structure and chemical composition of the cosmos, from planets in our solar system to stars and galaxies millions of light-years away. Our planet, and its biosphere, can no longer be considered in isolation, because we are a part of the universe that gave birth to it and to us.
The Center will analyze the data from these missions to recreate the processes that set the stage for life from elements to enzymes, from cosmic dust, to planetesimals, to planets. The task creates a new kind of space explorer, giving scientists and students an unprecedented opportunity to examine and address the deepest questions of our origins without ever leaving Earth.
The Center will engage experts in astrophysics, physical and mathematical modeling, geology, chemistry, and biochemistry to recreate the complex pathways that transform basic elements into complex organic molecules that form the origin of life as we know it on Earth, and beyond. Their work will enable NASA mission planners to optimize the design of the future Mars Sample Return mission in its quest to collect mineral biomarkers in Martian soil.
Another component will investigate the universality of chemical pathways that lead to complex organic molecules in protoplanetary disks. Solar-system formation debris (comets, asteroids, meteorites) contain life-relevant molecules, such as amino acids, that fall to Earth all the time. By investigating the processes that created these molecules, and the rates at which they were delivered at earlier times, researchers not only will explore their probable role in the origin of life on Earth, but, also, test their universality as pathways to life in other solar systems.
Center researchers and students will use sophisticated modeling, chemical and geologic analysis, and complex mathematics to understand the chemical, physical, and geologic conditions that existed here on Earth when life began.
The new Center grows out of the historic Rensselaer strength in interdisciplinary science, and our leadership role in space exploration. Former Rensselaer President, and alumnus, George M. Low, was integral in making the first steps in space possible. As manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office, Dr. Low oversaw the redesign and testing of the Apollo Command and Service Module, and the Lunar Module. Under his direction, NASA flew eight Apollo missions with great success, including Apollo 8, the first manned lunar orbital flight in December 1968, and Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in July 1969. Rensselaer alumni, John L. Swigert Jr. '65, became an Apollo astronaut just months after his graduation, and Richard A. Mastracchio '87 is still an active NASA Astronaut who has logged more than 24 days in space as part of the STS-106 Atlantis and STS-118 Endeavour crews. The bravery and innovation of these alumni have paved the way for future generations of Rensselaer graduates to pursue careers in the science and discovery of deep space.
Today, with the support of a $7.5 million, 5-year grant from NASA, Rensselaer extends its space exploration legacy as it creates the New York Center for Astrobiology, joining with other universities as a member of the NASA Astrobiology Institute. Led by Professor of physics, applied physics, and astronomy Douglas Whittet, the interdisciplinary Center will include scientists and students from diverse research backgrounds, and researchers from top universities around the country, including our two New York partners with us today the University at Albany and Syracuse University.
The Center stands on the leading edge of space science. Rensselaer and its partners are poised to take the lead in developing the scientific foundation that could someday help mankind take another “giant leap,” envisioned by Neil Armstrong, in our search for our mysterious origins, and answer the questions about the possibility of distant neighbors in the universe.
I look forward to seeing what we will discover.
Now, it gives me great pleasure to welcome U.S. Representative-Elect Paul Tonko back to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Paul Tonko has been a long-time supporter of Rensselaer as a former New York State Assembly Member, and former President and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. We share a deep interest in energy policy issues.
We invited Representative-Elect Tonko, today, to give him a first look at all of the exciting Federally funded research which is taking place at Rensselaer. More than 56 percent of the sponsored research at Rensselaer is supported by Federal funding.
A long-time concern, which I know Representative-Elect Tonko shares, is the decline of federal investment in research agencies such as NASA, a decline that deprives the United States of discovery and innovation, and the industries that they ultimately foster.
I know that Representative-Elect Tonko has just returned from a week-long, new member orientation in Washington, and I welcome him to make a few remarks as he turns this next page in his distinguished public service career.
Please join me in welcoming Representative-Elect Paul Tonko.
Source citations are available from Strategic Communications and External Relations, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Statistical data contained herein were factually accurate at the time it was delivered. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute assumes no duty to change it to reflect new developments. | <urn:uuid:4924b2c4-9089-4e9d-a072-c66786d9e592> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.rpi.edu/president/speeches/ps112408-astrobiology.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393518.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00105-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937238 | 1,248 | 3.0625 | 3 |
The Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS) program is a joint effort of the National Weather Service (NWS), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Department of Defense (DOD). The ASOS systems serves as the nation's primary surface weather observing network. ASOS is designed to support weather forecast activities and aviation operations and, at the same time, support the needs of the meteorological, hydrological, and climatological research communities.
With the largest and most modern complement of weather sensors, ASOS has significantly expanded the information available to forecasters and the aviation community. The ASOS network has more than doubled the number of full-time surface weather observing locations. ASOS works non-stop, updating observations every minute, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
Getting more information on the atmosphere, more frequently and from more locations is the key to improving forecasts and warnings. Thus, ASOS information will help the NWS to increase the accuracy and timeliness of its forecasts and warnings--the overriding goal of the NWS modernization.
The primary concern of the aviation community is safety, and weather conditions often threaten that safety. A basic strength of ASOS is that critical aviation weather parameters are measured where they are needed most: airport runway touchdown zone(s).
ASOS detects significant changes, disseminating hourly and special observations via the networks. Additionally, ASOS routinely and automatically provides computer-generated voice observations directly to aircraft in the vicinity of airports, using FAA ground-to-air radio. These messages are also available via a telephone dial-in port. ASOS observes, formats, archives and transmits observations automatically. ASOS transmits a special report when conditions exceed preselected weather element thresholds, e.g., the visibility decreases to less than 3 miles.
If you would like greater detail, try the ASOS Program Office and the Change Management Information web site.
[ NWS Modernization Home Page ]
NWS Office of
Site maintained by email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:110f119d-9c12-4b83-b7ed-b1a0ff0112af> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nws.noaa.gov/ost/asostech.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00036-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907104 | 421 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Many geographic features in California were named directly or indirectly after the coyote. The Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza named the river Arroyo del Coyote after coyotes seen during his journey. The Coyote Reservoir is located on the former Rancho San Ysidro, a cattle ranch that belonged to Ygnacio Ortega in the early 1800s. Coyote Dam and Reservoir is one of original six reservoirs approved for construction by voters in May 1934. Construction of the dams began in 1934, after the PWA approved a grant for $673,000. Its capacity is 23,244 acre-feet of water. Its surface area is 635 acres. *
*Reservoir storage values have been updated to reflect recent survey results. | <urn:uuid:07b1ab59-c76c-498e-a095-766dcf24a24f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.valleywater.org/Services/CoyoteDamAndReservoir.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402516.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00045-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960217 | 156 | 3.453125 | 3 |
The God Shiva
Artist/maker unknown, Indian
Seated on a double lotus pedestal, this image of the god Shiva would have been one of many sculptures placed in narrow niches on the exterior walls of a temple. The figure can be recognized as Shiva by certain identifying characteristics: a vertical third eye in his forehead, the piled hair-crown (representing the matted locks of an ascetic who neglects the care of his body), and the trident held in his upper left hand. Behind the figure are symbols of royal-divinity carved in shallow relief - two fly whisks to either side and an umbrella projecting above his head. The smooth oval face, use of low relief, and simplicity of the figure typify the stone sculpture created under the early Chola rulers of southern India and their neighbors. | <urn:uuid:a9b5fb24-e70b-4bea-96ab-8482258a52b3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/59812.html?mulR=6834%7C4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00095-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966676 | 168 | 3.03125 | 3 |
A UCLA study has discovered that chronic exposure during pregnancy to miniscule levels of carbon monoxide damages the cells of the fetal brain, resulting in permanent impairment. The journal BMC (BioMed Central) Neuroscience published the findings June 22 in its online edition.
"We expected the placenta to protect fetuses from the mother's exposure to tiny amounts of carbon monoxide," said John Edmond, professor emeritus of biological chemistry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "But we found that not to be the case."
The researchers exposed pregnant rats to 25 parts per million carbon monoxide in the air, an exposure level established as safe by Cal/OSHA, California's division of occupational health and safety.
Dr. Ivan Lopez, UCLA associate professor of head and neck surgery, tested the rats' litters 20 days after birth. Rats born to animals who had inhaled the gas suffered chronic oxidative stress, a harmful condition caused by an excess of harmful free radicals or insufficient antioxidants.
"Oxidative stress damaged the baby rats' brain cells, leading to a drop in proteins essential for proper function," said Lopez. "Oxidative stress is a risk factor linked to many disorders, including autism, cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Lou Gehrig's disease, multiple sclerosis and cardiovascular disease. We know that it exacerbates disease."
"We believe that the minute levels of carbon monoxide in the mother rats' environment made their offspring more vulnerable to illness," added Edmond. "Our findings highlight the need for policy makers to re-examine the regulation of carbon monoxide."
Tobacco smoke, gas heaters, stoves and ovens all emit carbon monoxide, which can rise to high concentrations in well-insulated homes. Infants and children are particularly vulnerable to carbon monoxide exposure because they spend a great deal of time in the home.
No policies exist to regulate the gas in the home. Most commercial home monitors sound an alarm only hours after concentrations reaches 70 parts per million--nearly three times the 25 parts per million limit set by Cal/OSHA.
|Contact: Elaine Schmidt|
University of California - Los Angeles | <urn:uuid:64eb3ade-40c1-4206-b248-2da816e88346> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news-1/Tiny-levels-of-carbon-monoxide-damage-fetal-brain-50056-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393533.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00187-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915582 | 446 | 2.859375 | 3 |
|Researching NASA History - For Researchers - Contact Us
RESEARCHING NASA HISTORY
The NASA HQ Historical Reference Collection (HRC) is a nearly 2000 cubic foot collection offering NASA staff and qualified researchers a glimpse into the agency's rich and vast history. The HRC, maintained in Washington DC, is arranged by subject but also includes hundreds of biographical files on individuals important to the history of NASA as well as a small audiovisual collection.
It is useful to make a distinction here between the HRC and NASA's official records. The HRC contains copies of historically significant correspondence, memoranda, reports, photographs, and other materials; whereas, the Agency's official, permanent records are mandated by law to go to National Archives. Also important to note, the HRC covers only a slice of NASA history. Researchers interested in more thoroughly exploring a topic should consider contacting the National Archives. Information on NASA holdings in Record Group 255 at the National Archives may be found at http://www.archives.gov/ Researchers may also want to search other records groups such as Record Group 220, Records of Temporary Committees, Commissions, and Boards where materials relating to the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident Investigation and the National Commission on Space (Paine Commission) are archived.
A collection guide entitled "Research in NASA History: A Guide to the NASA History Program" http://history.nasa.gov/sp4543.pdf describes the archival holdings at HQ and at each of the ten Field Centers around the country and provides other useful information. Links to each of the Center History Programs may be found at http://history.nasa.gov/centers.html
Due to the volume of reference requests we receive, we are able to spend no more than 30 minutes per request. Scholars, students, journalists, and all others with an interest in NASA history are encouraged to visit the History Division in person to conduct research. It is often useful, even recommended, that researchers ask an archivist to run a search on their topic and send the results to them prior to their visit. If you are a US citizen, please contact us several days prior to your visit to schedule an appointment. We will need your full name, address, telephone number, research topic, and dates of your visit. If you are a foreign national, please contact us at least two weeks before your proposed visit. We will need additional information beyond that enumerated above to provide to the Office of Security and Program Protection which reviews foreign visit requests. Thank you for understanding and abiding by NASA Headquarters' security regulations. General information on contacting/visiting us may be found at http://history.nasa.gov/contact.html
Additionally, thousands of historic documents from the HRC have been published to https://historydms.hq.nasa.gov/ Here researchers will find Press Kits, Press Releases, Mission Transcripts, and Administrators' Speeches and a search engine to help them find pertinent information.
For those interested in accessing official records still in NASA's possession, please consider filing a FOIA request. Click here for the FOIA Guide.
For those wishing to donate historical materials, we do not accept items from individuals outside of the Agency. We have severe space constraints and a collection development policy which limits what we can accept. However, if you are a NASA retiree who has historical material in your possession, please contact us.
A wealth of information of use to researchers is contained on this web site or may be accessed on other sites via links from our site. Click here for details.
Below are links especially for researchers. This list is in no way comprehensive but is simply intended to be a useful tool.
http://history.nasa.gov/prsnnl.htm Biographical and Other Personnel Information.
http://history.nasa.gov/anniv.htm Anniversary pages.
http://history.nasa.gov/timeline.html History Timelines.
http://history.nasa.gov/oralhistory/ohcatalog.htm Organizational Charts.
http://history.nasa.gov/oralhistory/ohcatalog.htm Oral History Collections.
http://history.nasa.gov/tindex.html#p Photo Collections.
http://www.nasaimages.org Internet Archive of NASA Images.
http://history.nasa.gov/tindex.html#a Audio-video Clips.
http://history.nasa.gov/nara1.html NACA/NASA Records at NARA.
http://history.nasa.gov/styleguide.html Style Guide for NASA History Authors and Editors.
http://history.nasa.gov/thinking/index.html Thinking About NASA History.
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/hqlibrary/ NASA HQ Library.
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/hqlibrary/find/nasadoc.htm NASA HQ Library Online Collection.
http://www.sti.nasa.gov/ NASA Scientific and Technical Information.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/institution/nasa-history-program-office/id528937610" NASA History Office Program Office on iTunes U.
Author, Jane H. Odom, Chief Archivist
Garber, NASA History Web Curator
Site design by Todd
Messer of NASA HQ Printing & Design
information email mailto:firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:5da918ff-35a7-481c-b07f-ac9fab5a6d44> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/refcoll.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402479.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00184-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.842483 | 1,140 | 2.875 | 3 |
National Geographic News
Tired of global warming? Get used to it.
Even if humans stop burning oil and coal tomorrownot likelywe've already spewed enough greenhouse gases into the atmosphere to cause temperatures to warm and sea levels to rise for at least another century.
That's the message from two studies appearing in tomorrow's issue of the journal Science.
Researchers used computer models of the global climate system to put numbers to the concept of thermal inertiathe idea that global climate changes are delayed because it water takes longer to heat up and cool off than air does. The oceans are the primary drivers of the global climate.
"Even if you stabilize the concentration of greenhouse gases, you are still committed to a certain amount of climate change no matter what you do because of the lag in the ocean," said Gerald Meehl, a climate scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.
Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide collect in the atmosphere and are believed to act as a blanket, trapping heat and causing the Earth to warm. To stop this warming, many scientists say humans must reduce the amount of greenhouse gases they emit.
Human activities that make the largest contributions to greenhouse gases include exhaust fumes from automobiles and commercial jets and emissions from power stations and factories.
"The longer you wait to do something, the more climate change you are committed to in the future," Meehl said.
Meehl co-authored one of the Science studies. He and his colleagues found that even if no more greenhouse gases are added to the atmosphere, globally averaged air surface temperatures will rise about 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.5 degree Celsius) and global sea levels will rise at least 4.3 inches (11 centimeters) by 2100.
The sea level rise estimate is conservative, because the models Meehl and colleagues used only account for thermal expansionwater expands as it warms, causing sea levels to rise. Melting glaciers and ice sheets will likely at least double the sea level rise.
Since humans are unlikely to stop pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere anytime soon, Meehl and his colleagues also ran their computer models under scenarios in which the gases continue to accumulate at low, medium, and high rates.
SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES | <urn:uuid:436aba36-5387-4c73-8ee7-ecdef3471abf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/03/0317_050317_warming.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397428.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00006-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928846 | 466 | 3.71875 | 4 |
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Phone: 650/604-5026 or 650/604-9000
Open Source Technology Group, VA Software Corporation, Fremont, Calif.
April 26, 2005
New NASA Software Detects 'Bugs' in Java Computer Code
NASA scientists today announced they are releasing free software that will find 'bugs,' or defects, in Java computer code.
The new software, Java Pathfinder, is classified as 'open source software.' Open source software is computer code that scientists make publicly available, often at no cost, so users can freely utilize and modify it. Java is a computer language that software developers frequently use to write programs for computer networks such as the Internet.
"Java PathFinder is a program that helps people find 'bugs' in other programs," said John Penix, a computer scientist at NASA Ames Research Center, located in California's Silicon Valley. "PathFinder runs the program under test through a lot of trials, and tries to find a test that will cause the program to fail."
NASA Ames is providing Java PathFinder as 'open source' code at no cost to people who would like to use it, according to Penix. "This will enable other people to help us improve the PathFinder software," he said. "NASA will benefit from the improvements. We're doing this so we can leverage the open-source community," he added.
The Java Pathfinder work "is part of an effort to develop tools and methods to identify and eliminate software errors in NASA's increasingly complex and mission-critical software systems," according to David Korsmeyer, who leads the NASA Ames Intelligent Systems Division.
"Java Pathfinder was used to detect inconsistencies in the executive software for the K9 Rover at NASA Ames," Korsmeyer said. The K9 rover is a six-wheeled, solar-powered rover developed jointly at NASA Ames and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif.
In addition, computer scientists used elements of Java Pathfinder to develop verification computer code for Livingstone 2 software, a diagnosis system now flying on the EO-1 spacecraft "and an example of the kind of autonomy software that will be crucial to future NASA missions," Korsmeyer said.
"We're continuing to develop software-testing technologies," said Penix. "NASA has a lot of software, and it is difficult to get it right; so we want to take advantage of all the work that is going on out there and incorporate it into our tools," he explained.
According to scientists, if PathFinder finds an error in a Java application, the software checker reports the whole process that leads to the bug. Unlike a normal debugger, Java Pathfinder keeps track of every step the software checker takes to find a defect, Penix noted.
"PathFinder already has been enhanced and tested by several universities and companies," Penix said. "Now, additional universities can add more features to PathFinder," he said, describing how providing Java Pathfinder to the computing world could benefit NASA. Pathfinder is in its sixth year of active development.
NASA Ames scientists are offering Java PathFinder on a Web site, SourceForge.net:
Publication-size images are available at:
SourceForge.net is owned by Open Source Technology Group, Inc. Its parent company is VA Software Corporation, Fremont, Calif. PathFinder is available under the NASA Open Source Agreement, an open source license approved by the non-profit Open Source Initiative (www.opensource.org
). Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems.
- end -
text-only version of this release
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To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to the same address with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
NASA Image Policies | <urn:uuid:1813e435-92f1-44c2-99fc-575dcb9be3f6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2005/05_28AR.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00023-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907963 | 812 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Caritas Dominican Republic
Established in 1961, Caritas Dominican Republic started its actions primarily with the distribution of humanitarian aid donated by the United States government. In the late 1970s, Caritas Dominican Republic underwent a clear process of change regarding its role in society and in the Church and reflected on its task, which led it towards the field of human promotion.
The organisation aims to respond to the fundamental needs of the most vulnerable groups in society, through education, organisation and management of resources in order to implement projects geared towards promotion of the integral development of the person, the family and the community.
The most important areas of operation include:
- infrastructure and housing
- water and basic sanitation
- production and commercialisation
- training and capacity building
- institutional capacity building
- risk and emergency management
- food security.
Caritas Dominican Republic consists of a national office with coordination, supervision, technical support and service functions. Network projects are implemented by two archdiocesan Caritas, nine diocesan Caritas and one Caritas in neighbouring Haiti.
In the Caribbean zone, Caritas Dominican Republic supports and jointly operates with Caritas from the zone. For example, its operations on the border in coordination with the Caritas Haiti. At international level, it works jointly with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) from the United States, and with European Caritas such as Caritas Spain and Caritas Germany, as well as with other organisations: the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the Madrid region, Caja Madrid, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and UNICEF among others.
At national level, it involves local government authorities and government organisations present in an area of operation, and also coordinates with government ministries in order to comply with current policies and regulations in the various sectors in which it is engaged. In emergency situations, its strategy is to complement – and never to replace – the role of government organisations.
Caritas Updates from Dominican Republic
Caritas Dominican Republic Info
|Address||Calle Coronel Rafael Fernández Domínguez,
Esq. Calle 51,
Ensanche La Fe,
|Postal Address||254 Santo Domingo,
|Telephone||+1 809 565 7746
+1 809 565 7778
|Fax||+1 809 565 3228| | <urn:uuid:98b88950-07f4-4d48-9933-09ad863369bc> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.caritas.org/where-we-are/latin-america/dominican-republic/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393093.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00040-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9148 | 493 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Hurricane Sandy was the worst storm to hit New Jersey in modern history, but it wasn't the storm to end all storms.
Climate change didn't cause Sandy, but it probably made it worse, say experts. Thus, with sea levels rising, storm surge levels could be even higher should a similar storm hit.
David Robinson, the state climatologist at Rutgers University, tells Stephen Stirling at the Star-Ledger:
"There are a lot of lessons to be learned from Sandy, and this was a hard way to learn them ... But let’s not kid ourselves. This isn’t the worst that New Jersey could get.
We saw tides at Sandy Hook break records by more than 3 feet ... What are sea levels projected to be by the end of this century? Two to 3 feet higher. Can you imagine adding 2 or 3 feet to what we just saw?"
Things could be much worse, and New Jersey needs to be rebuilt in a way that will limit the damage. It needs to be able to withstand another Sandy, and it will have to be a state-wide project.
It's too soon to come up with a specific plan, but what are some of the things they'll have to think about as they rebuild the state? According to the Star-Ledger:
- Coastal dunes provide a significant buffer and will have to be rebuilt higher
- Building codes may be changed so to improve construction standards
- In the more vulnerable places, they shouldn't rebuild homes or infrastructure | <urn:uuid:9ac9c998-715b-4fcb-91fb-b6856b1ef0e1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.businessinsider.com/climatologist-lets-not-kid-ourselves-this-isnt-the-worst-storm-new-jersey-could-face-2012-11 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00003-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966299 | 311 | 3 | 3 |
As an Access developer — or even as a power user — you won't get far if you can't work with the Recordset object. But it's easy to go astray, and there are a number of mistakes that even experts make. Sometimes, we're just careless. Often, we're unaware of a subtle nuance between the two object libraries, Data Access Objects (DAO) and ActiveX Data Objects (ADO). No matter how experienced you are, it's difficult to commit every little behavior and requirement to memory. Luckily, you can avoid some of the most common mistakes if you just plan for them.
Note: This information is also available as a PDF download.
#1: Eliminate ambiguous objects
ADO is the default object library for Access, but DAO is still available. If you use a DAO Recordset, you must explicitly reference it. Referencing both libraries is likely to generate an ambiguous object error. To avoid this type of error, give priority to the library that your code references the most.
In the Visual Basic Editor, choose References from the Tools menu, highlight the main library, and click the up button to position it above the other object library.
ADO is the main object library is this project.
When both libraries are referenced and both libraries support an object, VBA will assign the library with the highest priority.
#2: Usurp implicit library references
Giving the main library priority is good (#1). Explicitly referencing each object's library when you declare the object is better:
Dim rst As DAO.Recordset Dim rst As ADODB.Recordset
Combine #1 with #2 for the best results.
#3: Avoid moving violations
Moving through the records in a Recordset is a common task, but doing so comes with a few hazards. Using any move method will generate an error if the Recordset object is empty. The most reliable check uses a simple If statement before executing a move method:
If Not(rst.BOF And rst.EOF) Then
The BOF property returns True when the current position is before the first record. Similarly, EOF returns True when the current position is just beyond the last record. If both properties are True simultaneously, the Recordset is empty.
#4: Expose an erroneous record count
The previous technique uses BOF and EOF to expose an empty Recordset before code can generate an error. Another way to avoid this type of error is to use the RecordCount property to count the records as follows:
If rst.RecordCount <> 0 Then
This statement is a bit unpredictable with ADO because some ADO Recordset objects return -1 as the count. Use a static or keyset cursor to return a true record count in an ADO Recordset.
When using DAO, you must remember to populate (fully) the Recordset before counting, as follows:
If rst.RecordCount <> 0 Then
DAO populates with records as they are needed, and consequently, its RecordCount property considers only the records already accessed. ADO, on the other hand, defines the RecordCount property as the total number of records, period. That's why this second check for an empty Recordset is less flexible and can be troublesome.
Whether using RecordCount to check for the existence of records or to count records, you must remember the differences between DAO and ADO:
- When using DAO, populate (fully) the Recordset before checking for an empty Recordset or a total count.
- When using ADO, use a static or keyset cursor to return the actual record count.
#5: You can't move beyond the first or last record
In tip #3, I told you to use the BOF and EOF properties to test for an empty Recordset. You'll also use them individually when moving through records. Moving beyond the first or last record returns an error. For instance, the following code returns an error when the MoveNext method moves beyond the last record:
If rst![fieldname] = value Then
If you're moving forward, use EOF to inhibit the error that occurs when you move beyond the last record, as follows:
Do While Not rst.EOF
If rst![fieldname] = value Then
As long as EOF equals False, meaning the current position is a valid record, this loop executes the If statement. Once the EOF property is True, the check eliminates the error that would otherwise occur by bypassing the MoveNext method in the loop.
#6: Avoid an endless loop
In the previous tip, a Do loop moves through records. If you omit the MoveNext method, the loop becomes stuck in an endless loop. The condition for ending the loop is never met and the position within the loop never moves. Always make sure you include a MoveNext method when you mean to cycle through a set of records. Failing to move in any type of looping structure can have the same result — this isn't just a Do loop consideration.
#7: Accommodate nested Recordset objects
Access 2007 introduces the multivalue field. That means despite what we've all been taught, you can now store multiple values in a single field. Whether you decide to use this enhancement is up to you. In fact, DAO and ADO use the Recordset object to represent a multivalue field. However, the possibility means that any Recordset that includes such a field must be able to handle the multiple values. In other words, a Recordset field could actually be another Recordset object. When encountering a multivalue field, you must add a loop to cycle through the values.
#8: Avoid errors when there's no match to a search
You can apply criteria to find specific records using a Find or Seek methods. However, when the method fails to find a matching record, it returns an error. You must ensure that a match exists before trying to move to the matching record, using the NoMatch property as follows:
If Not rst.NoMatch Then
...do something...End If
(DAO uses the FindFirst, FindNext, and FindLast methods.) If there's no matching record, the code skips the If statement and continues, without generating an error.
#9: Force the newest record to be the current record
When you add a record to a Recordset, you might expect that record to become the current record. If that's your expectation, your code will fail to return the expected results because that is not what happens. If you want to work with the new record, you must force the newly added record to become the current record by setting a bookmark immediately after the Update method as follows:
rst.Update rst.Bookmark = rst.LastModified
#10: Avoid IS incompatibility in ADO
ADO's Find method doesn't support the IS operator. That means when you're searching or excluding NULL, you shouldn't use IS as follows:
rst.Find "LastName Null"
It's the exact opposite in DAO, which requires IS:
rst.Find "LastName IS Null"
This difference is bound to cause trouble if you don't know about it. Because it's so subtle, it could take a long time to find.
#11: ADO doesn't recognize the And operator
DAO lets you search for records using a complex criteria string. For instance, the following statement works just fine against a DAO Recordset:
rst.FindNext "SupplierID = 10 And CategoryID = 4"
For better or worse, the statement run against an ADO Recordset (using Find instead of FindNext) will return an error because ADO doesn't support the And operator in this way.
To apply multiple criteria to a search task in ADO, use the Filter property instead:
rst.Filter = "SupplierID = 10 AND CategoryID = 4"
DAO also has a Filter property, but it works differently. DAO works against subsequent Recordsets, while ADO works on the current Recordset.
#12: Close Recordset objects
When the code's finished with a Recordset object, close it as follows:
An open Recordset, especially in older versions of Access, can hang things up. In short, you might not be able to close the application.
Postscript: DAO vs. ADO
Within the Visual Basic world, there are two Recordset objects: Recordset and Recordset1 (new with 2007). It's important to remember that neither the DAO nor ADO versions of these objects are interchangeable, as they support different methods, properties, and events. That can be confusing if you think ADO is just an improved or later upgrade of DAO. In fact, the two libraries solve different problems. DAO was designed specifically for the Microsoft Jet database engine. ADO was designed for OLE DB providers and can be much simpler and more flexible than DAO. However, DAO is almost always more efficient when working directly with Jet.
Know how you plan to use a Recordset and then use the most appropriate library. My best advice is to choose one library and use it exclusively when possible. The similarities and differences are too numerous to list here, but you can find information online:
- Recordset Object Properties, Methods, and Events
- DAO Reference
- Appendix A: DAO to ADO Quick Reference
Susan Sales Harkins is an IT consultant, specializing in desktop solutions. Previously, she was editor in chief for The Cobb Group, the world's largest publisher of technical journals. | <urn:uuid:3507b981-db23-448a-813b-c7f54b28aa36> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-things/10-plus-mistakes-to-avoid-when-using-vba-recordset-objects/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396027.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00119-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.893264 | 2,019 | 2.75 | 3 |
The Isaac Tucker House is one of only a few to have survived the burning of Fairfield by British forces on July 7, 1779. The house was built in 1766, two years after Tucker married Mary Wakeman in 1764. Tradition holds that a servant, hiding upstairs, put out the flames and saved the house from destruction. There are still burn marks inside from the attempted torching. The house was later owned by Edmund Hobart, who served as postmaster in Fairfield in the mid-nineteenth century.
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Improving outcomes for
special educational needs
seen as integral to
rise in SEN pupil results
This year sees three major National
Strategies programmes for improving
outcomes for the lowest-performing pupils
with or without special educational needs
(SEN) brought together for the first time.
Achievement for All, launched this autumn,
fuses initiatives for attaining academic
targets, engaging with parents and achieving
wider outcomes. The National Strategies has
accessed data on progression for children
from P1 to GCSE. This has been used to
develop guidance for schools, local authorities
and school improvement partners (SIPs) to
help them set appropriate targets.
Schools, SIPs and local authority staff can
now also use a new e-learning professional
development resource, recently launched
on the National Strategies web area at www.
Hands up if
Progression Guidance professional
development course is designed to help users
make effective use of data when working with
children identified with SEN.
The National Strategies and the Audit
Commission have developed a Value for
Money resource pack for schools. It will
enable users to examine SEN funding,
evaluate impact and plan provision using
value for money judgments.
New this year to the Inclusion Development
Programme is work looking at behavioural,
emotional and social needs, which is building
on the existing programmes and leading to
next year’s final, unification phase.
TES editor: Gerard Kelly A greater number of children with SEN are At secondary level, results show in 2008
Supplement editor: Fiona Salvage reaching expected levels of achievement 11.8 per cent of pupils identified with SEN
despite an increase in the number of children achieve at least five A*-C GCSEs including
Produced by TSL Education Limited identified with learning difficulties, according English and maths compared with 8.6 per
to a brief agreed with the National Strategies. to the latest National Strategies data. cent in 2006, against a rise from 17.5 per cent
Paid for by the National Strategies. Thirty-four per cent of children identified to 19.8 per cent of children identified with SEN.
All editorial content commissioned with SEN reached expected levels of André Imich, a senior director, SEN, for the
by TSL Education Limited. achievement at KS2 with English and maths National Strategies, says the mainstreaming
To give us your feedback or to suggest ideas, combined in 2008, compared with 28 per cent agenda of “ensuring more of our teaching
contact firstname.lastname@example.org in 2006. During that time, the percentage of force have got the skills and knowledge to
For sponsorship or advertising opportunities, primary school children classified with SEN apply in the classroom for all children rather
contact email@example.com rose from 18.9 per cent to 19.5 per cent. than treating special needs as a separate skill
New Achievement for All programme
uses a three-strand approach to target
pupils with SEN and disabilities
is cause for great
Achievement for All is a new project that aims authorities. National Strategies is working
to improve outcomes for pupils identified with with these local authorities through the two-
special educational needs. Launched in year project, including delivering training.
September, it has been commissioned by the Local authority project leaders will ensure
DCSF and is being led by the National the training is extended across their area,
Strategies with the National College for while leading teachers for Achievement for All
Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services will work with schools to help them develop
and the University of Manchester. It is split inclusive practice that will support the
into three strands. programme. In addition, the NCSL is running
The first strand aims to raise teachers’ conferences for headteachers on the
aspirations for pupils and is an inclusive characteristics of an inclusive headteacher.
approach improving outcomes through good Steven Pugh, programme director of
assessment, tracking and appropriate Achievement for All, says: “Headteachers
intervention. from each of the local authorities have spoken
The second strand focuses on increasing passionately about why they wanted to take
parents’ engagement with their child’s school part in Achievement for All and the difference
through better communication to share the they feel it will make, not only for their target
raising of aspirations and achievement of all pupils but for all pupils in their school.”
and a separate group” played an integral part. pupils. Achievement for All is providing The first year of the two-year programme is
“The Government’s SEN strategy, launched training in active listening skills for teachers targeting pupils identified with special
in 2004 (Removing Barriers to Achievement), to support them with this. educational needs in four year groups: Year 1
recognised that ‘helping children with SEN Finally, the third strand focuses on for their first school experience; Year 5 for the
to achieve is fundamental to sustaining improving children’s wider outcomes through end of a key stage; Year 7 for the transition to
improvements in schools’ performance’ and specific school-designed activities around secondary school; and Year 10 for the
pledged to do more to ensure they make bullying, improving attendance and behaviour, introduction of GCSEs. The University of
progress,” says Mr Imich. “We are now seeing forming positive relationships and Manchester will be independently evaluating
improvements in outcomes and are committed involvement in extended school activities. the programme’s performance.
to narrowing the gap between the attainments Achievement for All is a £31 million project, www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrate
of those with and without SEN. We expect taking place in 460 schools across 10 local gies/sup1/afa
outcomes to continue to improve as a number
of national measures embed themselves.” Three into one does go
The Every Child a Reader programme is
in the second year of a three-year national
roll-out. Results in 2008/09 showed schools
that had an experienced Reading Recovery
teacher made more progress at the end of
KS1 assessments, in reading and writing at
Level 2B and above. It has also seen 1,806
trained Reading Recovery teachers reach
more than 20,000 children through the
programme’s intensive support element,
Reading Recovery or another intervention.
Most of these children are the most hard to
teach and achieve in the lowest 5 per cent of
children nationally. Previous results indicate
that, after Reading Recovery, 81 per cent will
read at a level that matches their age.
New survey shows that teachers’ belief in their ability
to satisfy special needs is on the up as the Inclusion
Development Programme boosts self-assessment scores
New programme is a ‘can do’
A survey of more than 1,000 staff who have recognised, the school’s own inclusion
worked through the Inclusion Development checklist provided effective strategies for
Programme (IDP) has revealed that they now teachers, though staff also found the IDP’s
feel much more confident about meeting the links to other resources and websites useful.
requirements of pupils with special needs. One valuable spin-off for staff has been
Previously, 37 per cent had placed the desire to deepen their understanding of
themselves at a basic “focusing” level, but pupils’ difficulties. Mr Norwood and one of
after IDP training on dyslexia and/or speech, his colleagues are now enrolled on a speech
language and communication difficulties this and language course at Kingston University.
figure shrank to 6 per cent. The percentage Thanks to the IDP, staff at Penkridge
who felt they were operating at an Middle School in Staffordshire are feeling
“enhanced” level rose from 6 to 27 per cent. increasingly positive about offering a
The statistics emerged from self- dyslexia-friendly environment.
evaluations completed by teachers and “Theyaremoreconfidentbecausetheyhave
teaching assistants before and after IDP moreknowledge,”says DiHinton,theschool’s
training. Stephen Norwood, deputy head specialeducationalneedsco-ordinator
of Chennestone Primary School in Sunbury- (Senco).“Theynowhavetheinformationthey
on-Thames, Middlesex, thinks the self- needtochangetheirstyleofteaching.”
evaluation is valuable because it encourages New practices include better planning and
staff to analyse their skills and abilities. differentiation for pupils with dyslexia.
“It didn’t matter too much whether their “The needs of these pupils are taken into
self-assessment was completely accurate at account at the planning stage as well as by
the beginning,” he says. “Some staff initially responding to situations which might arise
rated themselves higher or lower than I during the lesson,” says one science teacher.
expected, but by the end of the course they According to a teaching assistant, some
knew enough to make a more realistic staff have improved differentiation by using
assessment of what they needed to learn.” a variety of worksheets, changing homework
Mr Norwood found that one of the main and recording work in different ways. They
benefits for his school was the more rapid also found simple techniques such as using
and accurate identification of children who different colours on the whiteboard and
were displaying signs of dyslexia or speech, displaying an aide-mémoire of instructions
language and communication difficulties. at the start of lessons benefited all pupils,
“The training modules on identifying not just those with dyslexia.
pupils with dyslexia and with speech, “I like the way the teachers use different
language and communication difficulties coloured pens on the boards,” says one
were key in raising staff awareness of the Year 6 pupil. “It helps everyone in the class.”
issues for pupils,” he explains. “Teachers Another important development is that
felt enthused that they were able to identify staff expectations of dyslexic pupils have
pupils’ difficulties for themselves.” been raised.
Once children’s specific needs were “We know that these pupils have to work
A lesson in inclusion
‘It has improved the way we do things’
Margaret Cornes, assistant head at St Paschal worked through the IDP disc in pairs, using
Baylon Catholic Primary in Liverpool, was twilight sessions and a half-day-off timetable.
determined to implement the IDP after At this point, normal school life – Sats,
hearing about it at a Sencos’ meeting. The illness, the school play, an Ofsted inspection –
objectives – making schools more inclusive started to get in the way, and the project lost
and removing learning barriers – impressed momentum until the IDO helped Mrs Cornes
her, although she felt daunted at first. push it forward. After a second self-evaluation,
“When I looked at how big a job it was going she noticed teachers were using their new-
to be, it would be fair to say that my heart found knowledge to meet pupils’ needs, and
sank. But the inclusion development officer received an email from the parent of a pupil
(IDO) supported me from start to finish.” with dyslexia, praising their expertise.
After a staff self-evaluation, the school “This has without doubt improved the way
drew up an action plan and a timetable. Staff we do things for children,” she concludes.
approach to SEN
Programmed to progress
l 84 per cent of children with SEN
statements are in the lowest-achieving
20 per cent of pupils.
l The SEN gap is growing wider at key
stage 4; less than 12 per cent of pupils with
SEN achieved five or more GCSEs in 2008,
compared with 57 per cent of their peers.
l The Inclusion Development Programme is
part of the Government’s strategy for SEN,
outlined in 2004’s Removing Barriers to
Achievement. By increasing the confidence
and skills of teachers, it hopes for earlier
identification and more effective support.
l E-learning materials online or on DVD.
l Phase 1 focuses on dyslexia and speech,
language and communication difficulties.
l Phase 2 focuses on the autism spectrum.
l In 2010, phase 3 will deal with behavioural,
emotional and social difficulties.
harder to reach their potential, but we know
that they can do it,” says Mrs Hinton. “Some
need an amanuensis, but they may still be
capable of achieving science Sats level 5.”
Crucially, staff now believe they know
when to seek extra support for pupils.
“I am of the opinion that every teacher
is a teacher of SEN,” says a key stage
co-ordinator. “I am not an expert, but I do
know when I need help and when I need
to refer. I know who to ask when trying to
support parents. I have even bought a book
on dyslexia to read on the beach.”
But teachers are swift to stress that the
most effective way to use the IDP materials
is in conjunction with expert support.
To back up the IDP, Di Hinton has been
able to draw on her expertise in dyslexia –
she holds a certificate in specific learning
difficulties – and on Senco updates and
workshops provided by the local authority.
These provided a simplified staff evaluation
and a Staffordshire IDP Toolkit, which
identified tiny URLs to enable quick location
of topics in the e-learning programme. The
navigation problems with phase one of the
programme will be simplified in the
consolidation phase next year.
Meanwhile, in Surrey, Chennestone School
has benefited from involvement in the local
authority’s IDP focus group and a local
schools’ confederation. Both schools are
now looking forward to using the latest IDP
materials, which focus on autism.
The National Strategies’ ‘Progression Guidance 2009-10’
has given teachers the power to set targets and
raise expectations for children with learning difficulties
Data enables a
National benchmarks have been used for expectations of pupils who are working
years to set targets for pupil achievement. within what are known as P levels, who
By 2020 it is expected that 90 per cent have special needs, learning difficulties and
of pupils at key stage 2 will be attaining a disabilities. The system will help them to
level 4 or above, and that a similar track their progress and set targets, just as
proportion of key stage 4 students will be they would for any other child.
gaining five or more A*-C grades at GCSE, The spur for the publication came from
including English and maths by age 19. the Children’s Plan 2007, which stated a
For some pupils, though, such levels of commitment to improve data on behalf of
achievement are difficult, if not impossible, children who were performing below age-
and the absence of national data on their related expectations. It said: “We will
attainment has made it hard for schools to provide better data for schools on how well
gauge their progress. children with special educational needs are
In July, the National Strategies published progressing.”
its Progression Guidance 2009-10, a Pauline Pitman, a National Strategies
document detailing how schools can raise senior regional adviser for special needs,
says work on the guidance had been taking
Status symbol place over the past year.
It will provide national data for schools that
‘Every pupil is treated can be used to draw comparisons with the
work they are already doing in tracking pupil
in the same way’ progress. She said there would be no formula
set by the National Strategies by which
At Hurworth School Maths & Computing schools should set targets, but they should
College in Darlington, about 10 per cent use their existing assessment procedures,
of pupils perform below age-related such as Assessment for Learning.
expectations. But teachers use the same The aim is for children to be supported
system to assess every child, regardless and guided towards narrowing the
of their ability. achievement gap between pupils who do not
Staff in each subject meet monthly have special needs and those who do. their academic ability, social background or
to discuss every pupil’s performance, Ms Pitman says: “The Children’s Plan learning problems.
including their work, any test results, their made clear there was insufficient data to “They also need to have good assessment
behaviour and effort, and set each child support schools in setting targets and processes in place to ensure that they know
levels to which they should be working. The evaluating the educational outcomes. exactly where each child is in terms of their
projected grades give a picture of where Existing national curriculum data was of learning, and so that appropriate teaching
each child is and where they are heading. little value to children who struggle to reach and interventions can be implemented to
Every pupil is also assigned a mentor – age-related expectations. enable progress to take place.
a member of staff who talks to them about “The Progression Guidance aims to “Schools should also take into account
their targets and keeps them on track. support schools and local authorities on the child’s age and prior attainment as a
“The status of our pupils is very aspects such as assessment, target-setting, starting point when considering what
important to them – they feel it defines tracking and whole-school improvement, so progress the pupil needs to make.”
them,” says Eamonn Farrar, chief executive they are not making a distinction for SEN The statistics gathered by the National
of Hurworth School. “Our assessment pupils, but ensuring all children are being Strategies to enable schools to make
system does not take it away from them taught effectively and are making progress.” comparisons have come from a number of
because they can see that every pupil in She says the policy was based around sources, although they will not be complete
the school is treated in the same way.” three key principles. The first was to have for another four years when a complete
high expectations of all pupils regardless of cohort passes through the key stages.
However, currently it includes data from The good child guide
teacher assessments, which has allowed
some plotting of progress of pupils working ‘We have expectations as high as any other teacher’s’
at level 1 at key stage 2 to achievement at
key stage 3, as well as some national P level Staff at the Holbrook Centre of Autism in academic performance and the areas
figures collected over the past two years. Derby (above) have been working with that can place barriers in the way of
The information comes from local their own version of Progression Guidance achievement. We identify where they need
authorities and commercial organisations for the past five years. to improve and give each one an individual
that monitor pupil attainment, and will allow Every child is assessed on entry to the education plan.
schools to see how their pupils are faring school on their attainment in English, “Our pupils tend to be better at reading
when compared with children elsewhere. maths, science, PSHE and IT. They are and writing than speaking or listening, and
This means schools can work with also assessed against the school’s own better at number work than applying maths.
school improvement partners on their autism-specific curriculum, which includes We want to overcome those barriers and have
attainment levels and look at guidance data independence and ability to manage expectations as high as any other teacher’s.”
to support some of the discussions they emotions, behaviour and stress levels. Teachers review progress on the autism
have about individual pupils and what they Caroline Bell, deputy head at Holbrook, core curriculum three times a year, while the
need to help them to progress. says: “We look at the whole child – their P scales are reviewed once in May or June.
The Lamb Inquiry reinforces the
Disability Equality Duty to increase
inclusivity and parental confidence
Trust in the system
Every parent wants the best for their child Shining lights
at school, but for parents of children with
a disability or SEN, getting what’s best Chailey School, East Sussex have some form of SEN, but are included in
hasn’t always been easy. Even before Chailey School put in place school life – the classroom, extracurricular
Brian Lamb, chair of the Special its disability equality scheme (DES), it had activities and school trips – as much as
Educational Consortium and the man been recognised by Ofsted for being “very possible. “We celebrate diversity here,” says
tasked with finding ways to improve inclusive” in supporting its 200 pupils with Anna Foxwell, the school’s inclusion manager.
parental confidence in the SEN assessment some form of SEN. The school was quick to put in place a
process, summed up the situation in a letter The school began developing its DES in DES but, says Ms Foxwell, “Our practice
to Ed Balls, Schools Secretary, in August: 2006 with a working party that included was already in place – it was more a case of
“Throughout the inquiry we have met some children with SEN and their parents. making a few adaptations and documenting
of the happiest parents in the land – and It came up with several what we already did.”
some of the angriest.” recommendations that resulted in some Parents and pupils were involved in the
At the time of going to press, Lamb’s final changes to the curriculum and physical scheme’s development. The school likes to
report hadn’t been published, but he has environment: the painting of steps for be welcoming to parents, even in simple
already made several Government-endorsed visually impaired children, for example. things, such as letting them pick their child
recommendations to raise confidence It also set up a student body through up from the classroom, rather than waiting
including a right of appeal for parents if which pupils could have their say. outside the school gates.
a local authority decides not to amend a Recently, two deaf parents were looking
statement after a review, and a requirement Alfred Salter Primary School, around the school for their child (who
that Ofsted reports on the quality of education southeast London doesn’t have a hearing impairment) and the
provided for children with a disability. Alfred Salter has an excellent reputation for school provided a teacher who could use
Parents’ confidence should be further inclusion. About a quarter of its 400 pupils sign language to help with communication.
increased by the knowledge that schools
have a duty to promote equality for children
with a disability or SEN under the Disability Chailey School in East Sussex, which have scheme, parents will be more confident in
Equality Duty (DED), which came into force embraced not only the law, but also the spirit the school as a whole,” says Mr Imich.
in December 2006. Among other things, of it,” he says. “They have a positive, vibrant Victoria Furness
this requires schools to publish a disability culture where people go the extra mile to
equality scheme and involve disabled people take account of everyone’s needs.” l National Strategies: www.standards.
(pupils or parents) in its development. The National Strategies visited one school dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies/inclusion/
André Imich, a senior director for SEN at in each local authority last term to ensure specialeducationalneeds/sup1
the National Strategies, admits he wasn’t they are complying with the Disability l DCSF Guidance – Promoting Disability
sure what difference these schemes Equality Duty and to identify good practices. Equality in Schools: www.teachernet.gov.uk
would make at first. A self-evaluation resource for schools will be l What Works Well: www.standards.dcsf.
“That was until I visited schools like published this month. “If a school has a good gov.uk/whatworkswell | <urn:uuid:328ef719-5919-4b39-8901-770cd5d965af> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.slideshare.net/fionasalvage/national-strategies-sen-supplement-6-nov-09 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404405.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00017-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95109 | 5,248 | 2.75 | 3 |
Definition of Steatohepatitis
Steatohepatitis: Fatty inflammation of the liver, usually in alcoholics. Steato- refers to fat and -hepatitis to inflammation of the liver.Source: MedTerms™ Medical Dictionary
Last Editorial Review: 6/9/2016
Drug Medical Dictionary of Terms by Letter
Medical Dictionary Term:
Find the secrets to longer life. | <urn:uuid:12236ca1-0500-4b25-bbbb-559b50179b76> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.rxlist.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=22172 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395166.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00128-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.650907 | 82 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Do your teens groan when you say, “Turn to Genesis 1–3”?
Do they think they know everything there is to know about the biblical account of Creation and the Fall? Do they feel like they’ve heard the story of Adam and Eve a million times?
Your teens may think they know the stories from Genesis 1–3 very well, but the reality is that (for many), their understanding is limited and their knowledge is sprinkled with misconceptions, such as, Didn’t Eve eat an apple?
Genesis 1–3 is a compelling narrative with familiar names but it also deals with hard, profound questions about life—questions that need God’s answers. Foundational answers to basic questions such as Who am I? and What is my purpose? find their starting point in these chapters. They establish a solid footwork to deepen your teens’ understanding of God, the world, redemption, and themselves.
High school students are beginning to think of careers and marriage. They are wondering about themselves and how they fit into the world. They are also living in a very real present—struggling with school, family interactions, relationships with other teens, just to name a few.
In today’s culture, marriage is mocked, work endured, and the Sabbath not even considered. The individual is frequently presented as the center of the universe. And sin? If the word is even used, it refers only to relationships with others, not to a response to God, i.e., As long as you don’t hurt another person, you are not sinning.
So how will your teens find answers to such questions as:
Challenge teens to explore these questions and learn truth when they use the newest So What? youth Bible study, Identity & Purpose.
During this time of transition from childhood to adulthood, teens are wrestling with making their faith more fully their own. We shouldn’t be intimidated by their doubts and questions; instead, use them as opportunities to look into God’s Word for answers and provide a framework for understanding who they are and how they relate to God, others, and creation.
The church should be a safe atmosphere for your students to struggle with these issues as they look at the Bible to see how it speaks to their world. Encourage them to express their thoughts and questions honestly. Depend on the Holy Spirit to deepen their understanding and grow their faith in Christ as they dig into God’s Word.
Try one free Identity & Purpose lesson at www.sowhatstudies.org | <urn:uuid:51fd07d2-f4ae-4d39-a559-1002564abc93> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=179 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00053-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963831 | 530 | 2.8125 | 3 |
PERIOD: England, 17th century | SOURCE: Archimagirus Anglo-Gallicus; Or, Excellent & Approved Receipts and Experiments in Cookery, 1658 | CLASS: Authentic
DESCRIPTION: A recipe for cake
Take one Gallon of flowre, two pound of Currans, and one pound of butter or better, a quarter of a pound of sugar, a quarter of a pint of Rose-water, halfe an ounce of nutmeg, & half an ounce of Cinnamon, two egs, then warm cream, break the butter into the flower, temper all these with the creame, and put a quantity of yest amongst it, above a pint to three gallons, wet it very lide, cover your Cake, with a sheet doubled, when it comes hot out of the Oven; let it stand one hour and a half in the Oven.
RETURN TO: 17th Century English Recipes
A Boke of Gode Cookery17th
Century English Recipes
© 1997 - 2002 James L. Matterer
ALL GODE COOKERY RECIPES | <urn:uuid:b672ab08-e04e-46e6-bc00-397b3b18cd36> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.godecookery.com/engrec/engrec46.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394414.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00051-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.820813 | 233 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Finding formula of an area question.
Pizzeria Buonapetito makes a triangular-shaped pizza with base width of 18 inches and height 12 inches as shown. Alice wants only a portion of the pizza, so she makes a vertical cut through the pizza and takes the shaded portion. Letting x be the bottom length of Alice's portion and y be the length of the cut as shown, answer the following questions.
Here is a picture of the details above:
Here are the problems:
I'm having a lot of trouble trying to find a formula for her area for the second interval.
How would I approach these problems? Thank you!
Re: Finding formula of an area question.
for the second triangle (6 < x < 18) ...
shaded area = area of large triangle - area of unshaded smaller triangle | <urn:uuid:be69e882-2ae9-4e0f-bbc1-373be9d08a58> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://mathhelpforum.com/pre-calculus/205143-finding-formula-area-question-print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396455.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00090-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929281 | 175 | 3.125 | 3 |
in U.S. history, a broadly based reform movement that reached its height early in the 20th cent. In the decades following the Civil War rapid industrialization transformed the United States. A national rail system was completed; agriculture was mechanized; the factory system spread; and cities grew rapidly in size and number. The progressive movement arose as a response to the vast changes brought by industrialization.
Sections in this article:
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Social Reform | <urn:uuid:ee02aa12-75ed-4c26-8e79-a0ddf39f775f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/society/progressivism.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404826.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00194-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91908 | 119 | 3.6875 | 4 |
NOTE: This page is archived for historical purposes and is no longer being maintained or updated.
Slides 124 to 128
Plant dermatitis is common among landscapers, nurserymen and forestry workers. The morphologic pattern is helpful in determining the offending agent. Microvesicular dermatitis suggests allergic contact dermatitis, such as poison ivy dermatitis. Photodistributed or streaky macular erythema suggests a phytophotodermatitis, such as lime, fig or meadow parsnip dermatitis. Agave dermatitis is seen among landscapers who come in contact with the juice from the leaves of the agave plant. Agave dermatitis is an irritant contact dermatitis, resulting in varying degrees of epithelial and vascular necrosis. The vascular necrosis results in purpura.
Patterns of distribution often predict the offending allergen in cases of allergic occupational dermatitis. Streaks of dermatitis suggest a point source of allergen. This is the typical pattern of allergic plant dermatitis.
Many plants, such as poison ivy, do not release an allergen until the leaf is injured. The black resin visible on this poison ivy leaf results in a streak of dermatitis when an arm or leg moves past it.
Patches of dermatitis involving the dorsa of the feet generally represent allergic shoe or work boot den-natitis. Mercaptobenzothiazole is the most common allergen. The allergen is widely distributed in rubber and adhesives as well as cutting oils, antifreeze, detergents, flea powders and fungicides. The patient must be counseled about all sources of exposure.
Work boot dermatitis commonly involves the ankles. Other common sites of involvement are heel, toe and dorsum of foot. (Photo courtesy of MAJ Richard Vinson, MC USA).
- Page last reviewed: January 5, 1998 (archived document)
- Content source:
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Education and Information Division | <urn:uuid:65a0d4a4-2906-4ba3-92ce-2c9c001f345b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/skin/occderm-slides/ocderm26.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00024-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.877861 | 422 | 3.078125 | 3 |
From the time of their origin around 230 million years ago, to the extinction of the non-avian forms 66 million years ago, dinosaurs ruled the Earth. That’s how we like to characterize the Mesozoic menagerie, anyway. We take the long success of the dinosaurs as a sign of their long-lived and terrifying domination, but, despite our belief that they were the most vicious creatures of all time, there were creatures that even the dinosaurs had reason to fear. Chief among them was Deinosuchus – North America’s “terrible crocodile.”
Between 80 and 73 million years ago, when North America was divided in two by the shallow Western Interior Seaway, the marshes and swamps along the coasts were ruled by Deinosuchus. Fossils of this Cretaceous cousin of modern alligators have been found from Mexico to Montana and in east coast states such as North Carolina and Georgia, tracing the margins of the western subcontinent Laramidia and its eastern counterpart, Appalachia. For the most part, paleontologists have found the bony armor, vertebrae, and teeth of Deinosuchus, but pieces of jaw and partial skeletons found in places such as Texas and Utah indicate that this alligatoroid was a giant, growing over thirty feet in length and approaching forty feet among the biggest individuals.
During the heyday of Deinosuchus, adults of the aquatic ambush predator were among the largest carnivores in their ecosystems. The enormous Tyrannosaurus rex was over five million years off, and the tyrannosaurs of the time were not quite so long or bulky. (Teratophoneus, found in southern Utah among strata that also yield Deinosuchus, was about twenty feet long, and Daspletosaurus from Montana grew to be about thirty feet long.) A fully mature Deinosuchus would have outstretched and outweighed the dinosaur competition, and would have undoubtedly been a deadly apex predator in the water habitats it haunted.
The skull of Deinosuchus testifies to its destructive potential. The alligatoroid’s skull was large, broad, and equipped with an array of teeth deployed to pierce and crush. Indeed, even though there were other giant crocodylomorphs of near-equal size during the Mesozoic (such as the narrow-snouted Sarcosuchus), Deinosuchus appears to be unique in having the anatomical necessities to take down hadrosaurs and other unwary dinosaurs at the water’s edge. And, thanks to tooth-damaged fossils, we know that Deinosuchus truly did dine on dinosaurs. Two years ago, Héctor Rivera-Sylva and colleagues described hadrosaur bones bearing tell-tale Deinosuchus toothmarks from Mexico, and similar finds have been reported from Texas. There may be other candidates in museum drawers elsewhere.
Of course, we don’t know whether the bitten bones record hunting or scavenging. Unless the injuries show signs of healing, toothmarks on bones record feeding rather than hunting behavior. The evidence only takes us so far. Adult Deinosuchus were apparently capable of taking down dinosaurs, but, as yet, there’s no direct evidence of such an incident. Indeed, while images of Deinosuchus chomping on dinosaurs fires our imagination, we actually know relatively little about how this alligatoroid fed and what it ate. Probably, like modern alligators, large Deinosuchus were generalists that snagged fish, turtles, and whatever carrion it happened upon. We don’t know for sure. Nevertheless, dinosaurs in the habitat of this monstrous croc would have been wise to carefully approach the water’s edge, looking for teeth and scutes hiding just beneath the surface. | <urn:uuid:ceabd670-0778-4b1c-858c-ac599c540f18> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-scared-dinosaurs-the-terror-croc-102768325/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397428.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00020-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952999 | 789 | 3.6875 | 4 |
|Smart Library on Globalization|
Smart Library on Globalization > Genocide > Topic 3: Rape and Genocide > Rape and Genocide > Overview: Rape and Genocide
Sexual Assault in War Torn Sierra Leone
All women in Sierra Leone are at risk for sexual assault, and 9% of these women will suffer this type of abuse sometime during their lives. However, war makes a bad situation even worse. When war-related sexual assault is taken into account, the lifetime risk of being sexually assaulted in Sierra Leone almost doubles.
Many areas of the world face humanitarian emergencies. Sierra Leone has been one of them.
Sexual assault is one among other types of human rights abuses. But what is the nature of these types of assaults? Where do they occur? How long do they last?
The answers to these question are critical since knowing these things can guide local policy decisions and humanitarian relief efforts.
Researchers interviewed 991 women in Sierra Leone about their experiences of human rights abuses during Sierra Leone's conflict from 1991 to 2001. Not only is sexual assault extremely traumatic, but rehearsing the events can be traumatic as well. So, the authors were especially careful to protect the women and to be sensitive to the possible trauma of recounting their experiences.
Sexual Assault Makes up a Large Part of Reported Human Rights Abuses
First, it is difficult to be sure what the true rates of sexual assault are. Being the victim of assault can shroud the woman or man with a stigma and disrupt relationships. Some victims are afraid of risking retaliation if they admit the abuse.
Of the 9166 household members on whom information was gathered, 1157 admitted experiencing some form of war-related human rights abuse, including sexual assault. This involved various kinds of abuse:
So, even though the most frequently reported human rights abuse was abduction, the authors tell us that the rates of sexual assault is probably underestimated since women who are abducted may experience sexual assaults that go unreported. In fact, 20% of the respondents who were sexually assaulted said that they had been sexually assaulted while abducted.
Also, even though respondents reported that 4% of household members had been sexually assaulted, 9% of the women who were actually interviewed reported that they had personally experienced war-related sexual assault. It is not unreasonable to imagine that the rates of war-related sexual assault upon household members is higher than 4%. Household members may have hidden experiences of sexual assault from the respondents, or respondents may have been less willing to expose a household member to the stigma of being a victim of sexual assault.
In light of all this, the authors say that upwards of 11% of female household members could be victims of war-related sexual assault.
Prevalence of Sexual Assault beyond the Survey
In addition to the number of women in their survey who reported war-related sexual assault, the authors also asked women internally displaced by the war about non-war-related sexual assault. They found that about 9% of these women were sexually assaulted sometime in their lifetime, and this is in addition to the 9% who will be sexually assaulted in a war time situation. When both of these types of sexual assault are combined, the rate jumps to 17% (1% of Sierra Leonian women will experience both types of sexual assault). If this number is applied to the larger population of internally displaced women, there are an estimated 94,000 to 122,000 women in Sierra Leone who have suffered this form of abuse.
What do these numbers tell us about the rate of sexual assault on all women and girls in Sierra Leone? The authors can only estimate these numbers. Based on the findings of their survey, they estimate that as many as 215,000 to 257,000 women and girls in Sierra Leone have suffered some form of sexual abuse.
In short, all women in Sierra Leone are at risk for sexual assault, and 9% of these women will suffer this type of abuse sometime during their lives. However, war makes a bad situation even worse. When war-related sexual assault is taken into account, the lifetime risk of being sexually assaulted almost doubles.
The authors report that 9% of the internally displaced women they interviewed in Sierra Leone reported being sexually assaulted as a result of the war. They say, however, that this is probably an underestimate. The actual rate may be upwards of 11%. People internally displaced by the war suffer a range of war-related human rights abuses. For women, rape is one of the most prevalent types of human rights abuses.
Data and Methods:
The authors interviewed 991 internally displaced women from three IDP camps and one town in western Sierra Leone. The districts in which these IDP locations were set represented about 91% of the total IDP population. These women provided information on 9166 household members.
The authors gathered their information using structured interviews and questionnaires. Interviewers were highly trained to be able to gather the information in a way that not only protected the women they interviewed, but was highly sensitive to the trauma the women had experienced.
Method of Analysis:
The authors used a cross sectional, randomized design to identify women to interview within the IDP settlements. Chi-square analysis was used to test for associations among categorical variables, analysis of variance was used to test for differences between means, and the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to test medians. All significance levels were set at P<0.05.
Amowitz L, Reis C, Hare Lyons K, et al. 2002. "Prevalence of War-Related Sexual Violence and Other Human Rights Abuses Among Internally Displaced Persons in Sierra Leone." JAMA 287: 513-521.
Other Keytexts from this source | <urn:uuid:21c5a41a-18ba-469e-8521-f8e7a20c7b5f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://clg.portalxm.com/library/keytext.cfm?keytext_id=148 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00035-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964242 | 1,158 | 2.890625 | 3 |
- Identification and Creation
- Object Number
After Skopas, Greek (active mid 4th century BCE)
- Youthful Hero or God
- Other Titles
- Former Title: Statue of Meleager, Roman copy of a 4th-century BC Greek original
- Work Type
- sculpture, statue
- 1st-2nd century CE
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
Find Spot: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Latium
- Roman Imperial period
Level 3, Room 3200, Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Art, Classical Sculpture
View this object's location on our interactive map
- Physical Descriptions
- Parian marble
- H. 123 x W. 63 x D. 42 cm (48 7/16 x 24 13/16 x 16 9/16 in.)
weight: 235.4169 kg (519 lbs.)
- Urbano Sacchetti, Santa Marinella, Italy, (1895-1899), sold; to Edith Forbes (Mrs. Kenneth Grant Tremayne Webster), (by 1899-1926), by bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1926.
- Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Mrs. K. G. T. Webster
- Accession Year
- Object Number
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- This youthful hero or god is possibly modeled on a Greek statue of the 4th century BCE.
Published Catalogue Text: Stone Sculptures: The Greek, Roman and Etruscan Collections of the Harvard University Art Museums , written 1990
A good number of copies of the lost original (which was probably in bronze) show a Greek hero, with a head like those of Skopas and a body influenced by the work of Lysippos, either leaning on a staff or with a spear against the left shoulder. The presence of a boar's head by the left foot and, seemingly, a hound at the subject's right side, plus the relationship to Skopas's sculptures for the temple of Tegea, have given rise to the identification of the subject as Meleager, hunter of the Calydonian boar, and the sculptor as Skopas.
While the original and its numerous, variant copies all show an ideal hero and have nothing to do with Greek portraiture, a head from a statue, now at Houghton Hall in Norfolk, was carved as a likeness of a Hellenistic ruler, surely a Seleucid. The marble was a copy of the Antonine period after an original based on Skopas's statue (Oehler, 1980, p. 73, no. 66, pl. 22).
Along with the head and torso of the statue as rejoined (most recently in 1961-1962) came eighteen fragments that may belong to the base (Hanfmann, Pedley, 1964, p. 62). Three fragments joined to form the hero's lower leg. Another fragment is part of the thigh. Two fragments seem to have been parts of Meleager's dog and boar's head and three fragments joined to form what might have been part of the stick(?) on which Meleager leaned and part of a chlamys falling down the left arm.
The chief difference in the Harvard copy and its mate from Santa Marinella in Berlin, one of the touchstones for the group of copies, is that the javelin held in the left hand has been replaced by a staff lodged under the left arm. The feeling is that both the boar's head and the dog were part of the original composition in bronze, the latter beside the hero's right leg and the former by his left foot.
While the more slender and youthful "boy victor" (Narcissus) after Polykleitos could be identified as Adonis when a boar's head was added to the support on which the lad leaned, there is no question here that the more mature, more formidable figure of Meleager was intended, not the least reason being that a Meleager based on this Skopasian statue appears frequently as the protagonist on sarcophagi.
Cornelius Vermeule and Amy Brauer
- Publication History
Luigi Borsari, "Santa Marinella", Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, R. Accademia dei Lincei (Rome, Italy, 1895), pp. 195-201, figs. 1,2
Salomon Reinach, Répertoire de la statuaire grecque et romaine, Editions Ernst Leroux (Paris, 1908 - 1930), Vol. 4, p. 555, no. 6.
George H. Chase and Chandler R. Post, History of Sculpture, Harper and Brothers Publishers (New York, NY and London, England, 1925), pp. 119f., fig. 63
Ernst Buschor, "Varianten", Antike Plastik: Walther Amelung zum sechzigsten Geburtstag, Walter de Gruyter and Co. (Berlin and Leipzig, 1928), p. 55, pl. IV
Carl Blummel, Romische Kopien griechischer Skulpturen des funften Jahrhunderts v. Chr., H. Schoetz and Co. (Berlin, Germany, 1938), p. 22 (on the findspot of the Harvard and Berlin Meleagers at Santa Marinella)
George M. A. Hanfmann, An Exhibition of Ancient Sculpture, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1950), no. 185
Gisela M.A. Richter, The Sculpture and Sculptors of the Greeks, Yale University Press (U.S.) (New Haven, CT, 1950), p. 213, 276
Georg Lippold, Handbuch der Archaologie VI, 3, Die Griechische Plastik, C. H. Beck (Munich, Germany, 1950), p. 289, note 6
George M. A. Hanfmann, Greek Art and Life, An Exhibition Catalogue, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1950), no. 185.
Paolo Enrico Arias, Skopas, L'Erma di Bretschneider (Rome, Italy, 1952), p. 128, no. 3, pls. 11, 39
Margarete Bieber, The Sculpture of the Hellenistic Age, Columbia University Press (New York, NY, 1961), pp. 24-25, figs. 54, 56-67
Dr. Benjamin Rowland, Jr., The Classical Tradition in Western Art, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA, 1963), pp. 33-34, fig. 24
George M. A. Hanfmann and John Griffiths Pedley, "The Statue of Meleager", Antike Plastik (1964), III, pp. 61-66, pls. 58-72
Andreas Linfert, Von Polyklet zu Lysipp : Polyklets Schule und ihr Verhältnis zu Skopas von Paros (Giessen, 1966)
George M. A. Hanfmann, Classical Sculpture, Michael Joseph, Ltd. (London, 1967), p. 320, fig. 158
Dorothea Arnold, Die Polykletnachfolge; Untersuchungen zur Kunst von Argos und Sikyon zwischen Polyklet und Lysipp (1969)
Dericksen Morgan Brinkerhoff, "Figures of Venus, Creative and Derivative", Studies Presented to George M. A. Hanfmann, Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1971), p. 15
Herbert D. Hoffmann, Collecting Greek Antiquities, C. N. Potter (New York, NY, 1971), p. 28, fig. 27.
Edward Waldo Forbes, Yankee Visionary, Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1971), p. 4
Jean Charbonneaux, Classical Greek Art, Braziller (New York, NY, 1972), fig. 403
Erol Atalay and Sabahattin Turkoglu, "Ein fruhhellenistischer Portratkopf des Lysimachos aus Ephesos", Jahresheften des osterreichischen Archaologischen Instituts (50) (1976), cols. 133, 134, note 12, figs. 7, 8, cols. 135-138, figs. 1, 2
Andrew Stewart, Skopas of Paros, Noyes Press (Park Ridge, NJ, 1977), pp. 104-107, 110, 122, 144
Margarete Bieber, Ancient Copies: Contributions to the History of Greek and Roman Art, New York University Press (New York, NY, 1977), p. 41, fig. 86
Cornelius C. Vermeule, III, Greek Sculpture and Roman Taste, University of Michigan Press (Ann Arbor, MI, 1977), pp. 15-16, 33
Cornelius C. Vermeule, III, Greek and Roman Sculpture in America, University of California Press (Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA, 1981), p. 81, no. 51
Andrew Stewart, Skopas in Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum (Malibu, CA, 1982), pp. 14-15, fig. 19
S. Lane Faison, Jr., The Art Museums of New England, D. R. Godine (Boston, MA, 1982), p. 112, fig. 1, pl. 191, fig. 111
Kristin A. Mortimer, Harvard University Art Museums: A Guide to the Collections, Harvard University Art Museums/Abbeville Press (Cambridge, MA; New York, NY, 1985), p. 107, no. 119, ill.
Cornelius C. Vermeule, III and Amy Brauer, Stone Sculptures: The Greek, Roman and Etruscan Collections of the Harvard University Art Museums, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 1990), p. 45, no. 30
James Cuno, Harvard's Art Museums: 100 Years of Collecting, Harvard University Art Museums/Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (Cambridge, MA, 1996), p. 110-111, ill.
John Griffiths Pedley, Griechische kunst und archaologie, Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft (Cologne, 1999), p. 300/fig. 9.32
Stephan Wolohojian, ed., Harvard Art Museum/Handbook (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2008)
George M. A. Hanfmann and David Gordon Mitten, "The Art of Classical Antiquity", Apollo (May 1978), Vol. 107, No. 195, 8-15, pp. 362-363, fig. 1, pl. 44a
- Exhibition History
Greek Art and Life: From the Collections of the Fogg Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Private Lenders, Fogg Art Museum, 03/07/1950 - 04/15/1950
Gods in Color: Painted Sculpture of Classical Antiquity, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/22/2007 - 01/20/2008
Re-View: S422 Ancient & Byzantine Art & Numismatics, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 04/12/2008 - 06/18/2011
32Q: 3200 West Arcade, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/01/2014
- Subjects and Contexts
Google Art Project
This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:625f6e43-6aef-4694-883a-8671f4eaefa4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.harvardartmuseums.org/art/303674 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399428.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00070-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.740299 | 2,557 | 2.75 | 3 |
Chester Cathedral sits on ground that has been the site of a place of worship for close to 2,000 years. At one time, a Druid temple sat on this site. The present building dates as far back as 1092 when the Norman Earl of Chester, Hugh Lupus, nephew of William the Conqueror, established a Benedictine Monastery on the site. When the monasteries were dissolved by Henry VIII, instead of destroying the church as was customary, Henry deeded it back as a cathedral in 1540 to the newly established Diocese of Chester. Extensive restoration was conducted in the middle 19th century. | <urn:uuid:249fbecf-9112-4daa-9c99-d24f6a6c8371> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.pbase.com/paulgleiser/image/134890181 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00128-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981906 | 126 | 3 | 3 |
The first appearance a defendant makes in court after arrest or summons is generally known as an arraignment. In felony matters, this is also known as an initial appearance. At the initial appearance, the judge informs the defendant and his attorney or public defender of the nature of the charges against him and advises him of his legal rights, including the right to counsel and to bail. In felony cases, the defendant is not called upon to plead either at the initial appearance or the preliminary hearing.
When only a complaint has been filed against the defendant, he is entitled to a preliminary hearing unless this is waived in writing. If the defendant waives the preliminary hearing, the judge will order the defendant bound over to the court of common pleas. If not waived, the judge will schedule the preliminary hearing within a prescribed time period.
At the preliminary hearing, the prosecuting attorney will examine witnesses and introduce exhibits for the state. The defendant and the judge have full rights of cross-examination and the defendant has the right of inspection of exhibits before they are introduced. The defendant may move for discharge for failure of proof and may offer evidence on his own behalf. The defendant has the right to make a statement, not under oath, regarding the charge, for the purpose of explaining the facts in evidence.
Upon conclusion of all the evidence and the statement, if any, of the accused, the court do one of the following three things: 1) find that there is probable cause to believe the crime alleged or another felony has been committed and that the defendant committed it, and bind the defendant over to the court of common pleas; 2) find that there is probable cause that a misdemeanor was committed and that the defendant committed it, and retain the case for trial or order the defendant to appear for trial; or 3) order the accused discharged. Discharge is not a bar to further prosecution.
Felony initial appearances and preliminary hearings take place at 8:30 am, Monday through Friday, in Courtroom 3D. The felony initial appearances and preliminary hearings are presided over by a judge of the court. | <urn:uuid:7d29237d-6545-431c-9583-f479556ddcec> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://clevelandmunicipalcourt.org/judicial-services/administrative-services/central-scheduling/felony-preliminary-hearing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399106.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00120-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966127 | 418 | 2.546875 | 3 |
January 10, 2002
Proper shielding gas selection is a critical step in successful welding, but setting the flow rate likewise is a necessary consideration—one that is frequently overlooked.
Requirements for selecting shielding gas, filler metal, and welding processes are well- documented to help welders ensure high quality and consistency in their welding applications. However, identifying the correct pressure and flow control system to use is just as vital to the process as the other components if you are trying to produce a finished product cost-efficiently.
Every fabricator should implement welding procedure specifications for their operations. These specifications should cover filler metal, shielding gas, welding machine (power source) as well as a gas delivery system that can supply the proper volume of shielding gas needed for the application.
The American Welding Society (AWS) developed the AWS 5.18 Specification for Carbon Steel Electrodes and Rods for Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) classification system for identifying filler metals. These specifications are American National Standards Institute (ANSI-) approved. Following these guidelines can help fabricators produce a quality finished product.
The AWS A5.32 Specification for Welding Shielding Gases also is ANSI-approved and covers the chemical makeup of each gas and the possible impurities.
To maintain quality in a welding procedure, it is important that the gases supplied meet these specifications. Table 1 shows the requirements for the common shielding gases and the AWS classification and Compressed Gas Association (CGA) class for each gas.
|Table 1: Gas Type, Purity, and Dew Point for Shielding Gas Components|
|Argon||SG-A||99.997||10.5||Gas||Type I, G-11.1, Grade C||Liquid||Type II, G-11.1, Grade C||Carbon
|SG-C||99.8||32||Gas||G-6.2, Grade H||Liquid||G-6.2, Grade H||Helium||SG-He||99.995||15||Gas||Type I, G-9.1, Grade L||Liquid||Type II, G-9.1, Grade L||Hydrogen||SG-H||99.95||32||Gas||Type I, G-5.3, Grade B||Liquid||Type II, G-5.3, Grade A||Nitrogen||SG-N||99.9||32||Gas||Type I, G-10.1, Grade F||Liquid||Type II, G-10.1, Grade L||Oxygen||SG-O||99.5||N/A||Gas||Type I, G-4.3, Grade B||Liquid||Type II, G-4.3, Grade B|
|Note: Helium and hydrogen normally are supplied in gas state only;
all other gases can be supplied in either gas or liquid state.
Contact your gas supplier for any questions concerning adherence to these specifications; a quality gas supplier should be able to produce test results from individual cylinders or from one cylinder filled from a manifold. The test should verify the purity (or total impurities), the moisture content (sometimes specified as dew point), and the mix accuracy if the gases are a blend.
Unlike the specifications for selecting filler metals and shielding gases, no specifications cover pressure and flow control equipment. Too little shielding gas flow can produce weldments lacking sufficient gas coverage of the weld area; too much shielding gas can blow away part of the weld puddle. In either case, if the proper shielding gas flow and pressure are not used, an inferior weld may result.
Items to consider when choosing a gas delivery system for your shielding gas application include:
To select the best system for the delivery of shielding gases, you must understand flow versus pressure and how each is controlled.
In all welding applications, the shielding gas should be supplied at a specific flow rate. For example, let's say the procedure requires 30 standard cubic feet per hour (SCFH) of an argon/carbon dioxide mixture for proper shielding gas coverage. The correct flow rate can be supplied in one of two ways:
The following chart shows the orifice sizes for selected gases and flow rates. It is important that the correct pressure is supplied to the orifice to produce the required shielding gas flow rate.
|Table 2: Orifice Sizes and Flow Rates|
|Orifice Size||Argon||Helium||Carbon Dioxide||Helium 75/Argon 25||0.010||4||12||3.5||6.6||0.0135||6.3||20||6||11||0.016||8||25||7.5||14||0.018||10||31.5||9.5||17.5||0.021||11.4||36||10.5||20||0.025||15||47.5||14.3||26||0.025||20||63.2||19||35||0.028||22.5||72||21||40||0.0312||30||95||28||52.5||0.040||50||158||47.5||88|
|All flow rates are specified in standard cubic feet per hour (SCFH).|
|Note: These flow rates can be achieved when the set pressure to the orifice is 30 PSI. If the inlet set pressure (calibration pressure) is different, a pressure correction calculation must be used to determine the actual flow rate. The correction factor is determined by the square root of the quotient of the difference between the operating pressure and the calibration pressure in pounds per square inch atmosphere (PSIA). For example, if the calibration pressure is 30 PSI, but the operating pressure is 50 PSI, the correction factor would be 1.2.
Therefore, if the if the selected orifice is for 20 SCFH flow, the actual flow would be 24 SCFH (1.2 x 20 = 24 SCFH).
Adjustable Orifice. In the second method, which is more popular, the required gas flow is set from an adjustable flowmeter. If requirements change, the flowmeter can be adjusted.
This system requires a pressure control device (pressure regulator) and a gas flow meter. The regulator normally is set to a certain pressure, called calibration pressure or compensated pressure.
The flowmeter should be selected for the specific gases to be used-for example, a flowmeter with various gas scales and the desired calibration pressure listed ("This flowmeter is compensated at 30 PSI for the gases listed"). The regulator and flowmeter can be supplied together or as individual components.
When gases are supplied from high-pressure cylinders (3,000 or 4,500 PSI), the regulator-flowmeter combination is preferred; when gases are supplied via pipeline from liquid sources, individual pressure control and flow control equipment can be used. Always verify the pressure supplied to the flow control devices.
In summary, selecting the correct filler metal and shielding gas is crucial, but controlling shielding gas is equally important to ensure quality in your welding applications. | <urn:uuid:b2786391-0bb2-4ed0-9dbd-8b8505172adc> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.thefabricator.com/article/consumables/selecting-the-correct-shielding-gas-and-gas-delivery-system | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398209.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00044-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.832127 | 1,481 | 3.171875 | 3 |
A computer software engineer could...
|Write the software that controls the movement of assembly-line robots.||Create the artificial intelligence that controls characters in video games like The SimsTM.|
|Develop software for a portable global positioning system (GPS) so drivers don't get lost.||Write software that allows people to communicate over great distances.|
Key Facts & Information
|Overview||Are you interested in developing cool video game software for computers? Would you like to learn how to make software run faster and more reliably on different kinds of computers and operating systems? Do you like to apply your computer science skills to solve problems? If so, then you might be interested in the career of a computer software engineer.|
|Key Requirements||Deductive and inductive reasoning, mathematical reasoning, original thinking, and an understanding of what people want from their computers|
|Minimum Degree||Bachelor's degree|
|Subjects to Study in High School||Physics, chemistry, computer science, geometry, algebra, algebra II, calculus, English|
|Projected Job Growth (2012-2022)||Faster than Average (14% to 20%) In Demand!|
Training, Other Qualifications
Most employers prefer applicants who have at least a bachelor's degree and experience with a variety of computer systems and technologies. In order to remain competitive, computer software engineers must continually strive to acquire the latest technical skills. Advancement opportunities are good for those with relevant experience.
As technology advances, employers will need workers with the latest skills. Computer software engineers must continually strive to acquire new skills if they wish to remain in this dynamic field. To help keep up with changing technology, workers might take continuing education and professional development seminars offered by employers, software vendors, colleges and universities, private training institutions, and professional computing societies. Computer software engineers also need skills related to the industry in which they work. Engineers working for a bank, for example, should have some expertise in finance so that they understand banks' computer needs.
Education and Training
A bachelor of science in computer software engineering is a requirement for entry-level positions. Most employers prefer applicants who have at least a bachelor's degree and broad knowledge of, and experience with, a variety of computer systems and technologies. The usual college major for computer software engineers is computer science or software engineering. Systems software engineers often study computer science or computer information systems. Graduate degrees are preferred for some of the more complex jobs and are required for faculty positions. In 2006, about 80 percent of computer software engineers had a bachelor's degree or higher.
Academic programs in computer software engineering may offer the program as a degree option or in conjunction with computer science degrees. Because of increasing emphasis on computer security, software engineers with advanced degrees in areas such as mathematics and systems design will be sought after by software developers, government agencies, and consulting firms.
Students seeking software engineering jobs enhance their employment opportunities by participating in internships or co-ops. These experiences provide students with broad knowledge and experience, making them more attractive to employers. Inexperienced college graduates might be hired by large computer and consulting firms that train new employees in intensive, company-based programs.
People interested in jobs as computer software engineers must have strong problem-solving and analytical skills. They also must be able to communicate effectively with team members, other staff, and the customers they meet. Because they often deal with a number of tasks simultaneously, they must be able to concentrate and pay close attention to detail.
Nature of the Work
Computer software engineers apply the principles of computer science and mathematical analysis to the design, development, testing, and evaluation of the software and systems that make computers work. The tasks performed by these workers evolve quickly, reflecting new areas of specialization or changes in technology, as well as the preferences and practices of employers.
Software engineers can be involved in the design and development of many types of software, including computer games, word processing and business applications, operating systems and network distribution, and compilers, which convert programs to machine language for execution on a computer.
Computer software engineers begin by analyzing users' needs, and then design, test, and develop software to meet those needs. During this process, they create the detailed sets of instructions, called algorithms, that tell the computer what to do. They also may be responsible for converting these instructions into a computer language, a process called programming or coding, but this is usually the responsibility of computer programmers. Computer software engineers must be experts in operating systems and middleware to ensure that the underlying systems will work properly.
Computer applications software engineers analyze users' needs and design, construct, and maintain general computer applications software or specialized utility programs. These workers use different programming languages, depending on the purpose of the program. The programming languages most often used are C, C++, and Java, with Fortran and COBOL used less commonly. Some software engineers develop both packaged systems and systems software or create customized applications.
Computer systems software engineers coordinate the construction, maintenance, and expansion of an organization's computer systems. Working with the organization, they coordinate each department's computer needs—ordering, inventory, billing, and payroll record keeping, for example—and make suggestions about its technical direction. They also might set up the organization's intranets—networks that link computers within the organization and ease communication among various departments.
Systems software engineers also work for companies that configure, implement, and install the computer systems of other organizations. These workers may be members of the marketing or sales staff, serving as the primary technical resource for sales workers. They also may help with sales and provide customers with technical support. Since the selling of complex computer systems often requires substantial customization to meet the needs of the purchaser, software engineers help identify and explain needed changes. In addition, systems software engineers are responsible for ensuring security across the systems they are configuring.
Computer software engineers often work as part of a team that designs new hardware, software, and systems. A core team may comprise engineering, marketing, manufacturing, and design people, who work together to release a product.
Computer software engineers normally work in clean, comfortable offices, or in laboratories in which computer equipment is located. Software engineers who work for software vendors and consulting firms frequently travel overnight to meet with customers. Telecommuting is also becoming more common, allowing workers to do their jobs from remote locations.
Most computer software engineers work at least 40 hours a week, but about 17 percent work more than 50 hours a week. Software engineers also may have to work evenings or weekends to meet deadlines or to solve unexpected technical problems.
Like other workers who spend long hours typing at a computer, computer software engineers are susceptible to eyestrain, back discomfort, and hand and wrist problems, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
On the Job
- Modify existing software to correct errors, to adapt it to new hardware or to upgrade interfaces and improve performance.
- Design and develop software systems, using scientific analysis and mathematical models to predict and measure outcome and consequences of design.
- Consult with engineering staff to evaluate interface between hardware and software, develop specifications and performance requirements, and resolve customer problems.
- Analyze information to determine, recommend and plan installation of a new system or modification of an existing system.
- Develop and direct software system testing and validation procedures.
- Direct software programming and development of documentation.
- Consult with customers or other departments on project status, proposals and technical issues, such as software system design and maintenance.
- Advise customer about, or perform, maintenance of software system.
- Coordinate installation of software system.
- Monitor functioning of equipment to ensure system operates in conformance with specifications.
- Store, retrieve, and manipulate data for analysis of system capabilities and requirements.
- Confer with data processing and project managers to obtain information on limitations and capabilities for data processing projects.
- Prepare reports and correspondence concerning project specifications, activities and status.
- Evaluate factors such as reporting formats required, cost constraints, and need for security restrictions to determine hardware configuration.
- Supervise and assign work to programmers, designers, technologists and technicians and other engineering and scientific personnel.
- Train users to use new or modified equipment.
- Utilize microcontrollers to develop control signals, implement control algorithms and measure process variables such as temperatures, pressures and positions.
- Recommend purchase of equipment to control dust, temperature, and humidity in area of system installation.
- Specify power supply requirements and configuration.
Companies That Hire Computer Software Engineers
Explore what you might do on the job with one of these projects...
- Artificial Intelligence: Teaching the Computer to Play Tic-Tac-Toe
- Can You Crowdsource a Better School Environment?
- Creating a Video Game for the Blind
- Design Your Own Video Game
- Devising an Algorithm for Solving Rubik's Cube
- Digital Image Processing
- Digital Puppet
- Do People Use Different Passwords for Different Accounts?
- Eco-Friendly Squishy Robots
- Go Fish! Creating an Ocean-Friendly Fishing Video Game
- Green Your PC: Help Your Computer Save Power
- Hit Boxes: How Size Affects Score
- How Steady Are Your Hands?
- Invader Alert!
- Make a Greeting Card Come to Life!
- Make a Spirograph
- Make Music in Your Kitchen
Do you have a specific question about a career as a Computer Software Engineer that isn't answered on this page? Post your question on the Science Buddies Ask an Expert Forum.
- BLS. (2009). Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), 2008-09 Edition, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved May 1, 2009, from http://www.bls.gov/oco/
- O*Net Online. (2009). National Center for O*Net Development. Retrieved May 1, 2009, from http://online.onetcenter.org/
- Electronic Arts, Inc. (2008). Profiles: Robert Griffiths—Mobile Software Engineer. Retrieved September 28, 2009, from http://22.214.171.124/why/profiles.aspx?where=1_1&who=1_1_16
- Jobing Foundation. (2009). Video Game Associate Software Engineer. Retrieved September 28, 2009, from http://www.pursuethepassion.com/interviews/2009/02/09/career-interview-associate-software-engineer/
Additional SupportWe'd like to acknowledge the additional support of:
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VLOOKUP Formulas in Microsoft Excel
The following graphic provides a
breakdown for a VLOOKUP formula, and describes each argument. It may be helpful
to review it before you continue reading the rest of the article. The V in
VLOOKUP means "vertical". HLOOKUP works similarly, but finds data going across
columns, instead of down rows.
VLOOKUP has many purposes. You
can quickly create a pricelist that is thousands of rows long on Sheet2. On
Sheet1, you can designate a cell into which to type a part number, and then
have a VLOOKUP that finds the price on Sheet2. No scrolling, no need to use
the Find feature to find the price for the part.
The following graphic demonstrates how to look up the salary of only several
employees. Note that the VLOOKUP formula in cell D2 is shown in the formula bar.
So, what's MyLookup? That's our data range or database" where the Salary table
lies, which is demonstrated in the following graphic.
In the above, columns A through G were selected, and a named range was created
by hitting InsertàNameàDefine,
and typing MyLookup.
People often get errors when performing VLOOKUPs.
Here's a few common errors and the reasons for them.
When you get this error, it means that the formula is not finding the value that
you're looking for in the list in which you're looking. In our example, that
means that the value in A2 was not found in the first column of the Employee
Data sheet. Unfortunately, you may also get this error if you are looking for a
number, and your numbers are formatted as text. You can test this theory: Create
a new workbook. Format column A as text. Format column B as a custom format with
000000 as the custom format. Now, type '000123 in cell A1 (don't miss the
apostrophe before the first zero there) and type 123 in B1. Both values *look*
the same. However, you have 7 characters in cell A1 and only 3 characters in B1.
Trying to do a VLOOKUP under these circumstances will not work. This happens
often when you get data from an *external data source*, such as a mainframe
database. Basically, VLOOKUP works best when the values you're looking for and
the values you're looking in both have the same format. To repair this, you must
do the following procedure to one or both of the data ranges of numbers. We call
it *The Copy Blank Fix* for lack of a better title. The Copy Blank fix.
Copy any blank cell. Select the range of numbers or dates that may be
causing the error. Hit EditàPaste special, and
choose Add. Hit OK. Your range will likely lose its formatting and need to be
formatted again. However, this FORCES Excel to see the data as numbers or date
values instead of as text.
Wrong Value Returned
This is usually caused by not including the FALSE (or fourth) argument in the
VLOOKUP formula. If your data lookup column is not sorted, your formula may find
the closest value it first comes across, unless you use the FALSE statement. One
of the few times a FALSE statement should NOT be used is if you have a range of
values that relate to another range of values. Suppose we have insurance
premiums that are $1.00 per month up to age 16, $2.00 per month up to age 21,
and so on. You might have the first column be the ages, i.e., 16, 21, 25, etc.
Now suppose the value you are looking up is 20. It should then return the
nearest match without going over, which would be the same amount as for a lookup
value of 16, or $1.00 in this case. Change the value you are looking up to 22
and it will find the 21-year-old value.
This is a common issue. Our VLOOKUP sample shows how to create the formula using
named ranges. However, probably more commonly used is the referenced range. In
this case, it would be A1:G7 of the Employee Data sheet. So instead of
=VLOOKUP(A2,MyLookup,2,FALSE) our formula would read =VLOOKUP(A2,Employee
Data!$A$1:$G$7,2,FALSE). Many people forget to put the dollar signs in to keep
the range ABSOLUTE. In other words, when they copy the formula down one cell,
instead of getting: =VLOOKUP(A3,Employee Data!A1:G7,2,FALSE) , they get
=VLOOKUP(A2,Employee Data!A2:G8,2,FALSE) because they did not use the dollar
signs. This is why it is so much easier to use a named range. And also to use
entire columns when naming the range.
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TRUCKEE, Calif. — It’s the state animal and it’s on the flag — the California grizzly bear. And while that specific species is now extinct, one conservation organization is calling for the return of the grizzly bear to the Golden State.
This summer, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to expand the federal agency’s recovery plan for grizzly bears, including returning them to their former stomping grounds across the West.
“Grizzly bears are one of the true icons of the American West, yet today they live in a paltry 4 percent of the lands where they used to roam,” Noah Greenwald, endangered species director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “We shouldn’t be closing the book on grizzly recovery, but beginning a new chapter — one where these amazing animals live wherever there’s good habitat for them across the West.”
The petition, which calls for Fish and Wildlife to revise and update its 1993 grizzly bear recovery plan, identifies an additional 110,000 square miles of potential habitat in California’s southern Sierra Nevada; the Mogollon Rim and Gila Wilderness complex in Arizona and New Mexico; the Grand Canyon; and Utah’s Uinta Mountains.
Today, 1,850 wild grizzly bears live in the United States, spread over four states — Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington, said Chris Servheen, grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Center for Biological Diversity would like to see that number rise to at least 4,000 and up to 6,000 spread across habitat areas to ensure their long-term survival.
Since 1975, the grizzly bear has been listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, which aims to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems on which they depend.
“If we’re serious about recovering grizzly bears, we need more populations around the West and more connections between them, so they don’t fall prey to inbreeding and so they have a chance of adapting to a warming world,” Greenwald said. “If we want these incredible bears around for centuries to come, we’ve still got a lot of work left to do.”
According to the petition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has pursued a fragmented approach to grizzly bear recovery that fails to meet the intention of the Endangered Species Act to recover species across significant portions of their historic range.
Servheen said there are no additional resources to start new programs in new locations, since all available funding and personnel are dedicated to the service’s current recovery work.
“Any bears placed in new areas have to come from habitats with similar foods and habitats to maximize the probability of success,” he said. “Many areas of historic range have no similar habitats with grizzlies in them today, (which) means there are not any bears to move into such former habitat areas.”
Historically, as many as 100,000 grizzly bears once lived in western North America. Yet, within 200 years of European settlement, the grizzly population dwindled to hundreds due to slaughter.
While a California grizzly shot in 1922 in Tulare County is considered the last state grizzly, there were reports in 1924 of a sighting in what is now Sequoia National Park.
Today, Greenwald said he thinks Californians would be open to the idea of reintroducing grizzly bears to the state, since it’s “a wildlife-friendly state.”
Ann Bryant, executive director of the Lake Tahoe-based BEAR League, isn’t so sure.
“(People) can’t even co-exist with black bears,” she said. “How in the world do we think we can co-exist with grizzlies? There’s just no room, no mentality for it.”
Grizzlies have a reputation of being aggressive and territorial, especially females when cubs are involved. Documented grizzly attacks on humans have occurred over the past several decades, some resulting in death.
“The chances of getting mauled by a grizzly bear is (very small),” Greenwald said. “It is much more dangerous to drive your car to the store.”
The petition identifies 7,747 square miles of wilderness in the southern Sierra remote enough to support the omnivorous bruin. As for whether the region would have enough food supply to support the bear, additional study is needed, Greenwald said.
The diet of grizzly bears consists of nuts, berries, fruit, leaves, roots and animals. Males can weigh up to 1,000 pounds, and the bears are considered apex predators, with humans being their biggest threat.
Human tolerance is key for this idea to work, Bryant said.
“You’ve got to have a willing reception of that thing, and we’re not ready for that,” she said. “The mentality here right now is fear-based. Grizzlies probably invoke the most amount of fear. ... We’ve got a long way to go before this is anything I would take seriously.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is legally required to respond to the petition.
Greenwald said the Center for Biological Diversity has yet to hear back from the service since filing the petition in June. | <urn:uuid:e9bbc389-0a17-4b9b-9580-44d941f08d73> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/southshore/sannouncements/12501540-113/grizzly-bears-bear-petition | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00056-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941998 | 1,157 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Picture a hockey stick lying on its side, the shaft to the left, the blade rising sharply on the right. The left side stretches back about a thousand years, the right side shows the recent past.
That’s the “hockey stick” reference coined by climatologist Jerry Mahlman, following the 2001 United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to describe the sharp upturn of the earth’s temperature in the 20th century – in other words, global warming.
Since then, the Hockey Stick symbol has been the central icon of the battle over climate change within the scientific and political communities – who often find themselves in polar opposition over the topic. In his new book, Nobel Peace Prize-winner Michael E. Mann, lead author on the scientific paper that introduced the infamous symbol, explores the controversy and unravels the political and market influences behind the denial of what, he believes, is irrefutable scientific fact.
Mann, who became an accidental and reluctant public figure in the debate on this issue, says that the image became iconic because it's a simple, yet powerful illustration of the otherwise obscure data about global warming.
"It's a simple graph and it tells a simple story," said Mann. "What it shows is that the recent warming, the warming of the past century which is what you might think of as the blade of a hockey stick exceeds the warmth that we estimate as far back as we were able to go, at least 1000 years ago. You didn't need to understand the math and physics behind a theoretical climate model."
Has worldwide human activity brought on by the industrial age led to raised CO2 levels, the proliferation of greenhouse gas, melting ice floes and the threat of extinction?
Or is the Hockey Stick theory a hoax, a cause célèbre held up by environmental extremists to support government regulations on the oil and energy industries?
Can the scientific community ever find middle ground? Is global warming for real? If so, can it be reversed?
Michael E. Mann, professor, meteorology, Penn State University; director, Penn State Earth System Science Center; author, “The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines” | <urn:uuid:62c69960-f52c-4db8-bb6d-a58b73681805> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.scpr.org/programs/patt-morrison/2012/03/28/25749/the-hockey-stick-and-the-climate-wars/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00039-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93839 | 458 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Bird flu can infect other animals, but, as with humans, there is not much risk of this happening.
Scientists have known for a while that cats can catch the bug, but they don't think we should be worried.
They say it's very unlikey the bug could spread from cat to cat, and it's even more unlikely that we could catch bird flu from cats.
So there's no reason to keep them indoors and owners certainly don't need to think about handing them over to vets or cat sanctuaries.
But if the bug were to infect a British poultry farm - which hasn't happened yet - then cat owners nearby should make sure their pets are kept clear of the birds | <urn:uuid:f99d01b7-3af2-452a-8f03-6229465eb37c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4760000/newsid_4763300/4763364.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00153-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98994 | 142 | 2.640625 | 3 |
The world’s oceans these days face a growing number of serious threats like overexploitation of living marine resources, habitat degradation/destruction, pollution and climate change impacts. Yet in many corners of the globe, the ocean is integral to local peoples’ cultures and economies.
So it’s good news that a first of its kind assessment of community-led marine conservation in the Western Indian Ocean adds to growing evidence that marine conservation works best when local communities are responsible for fisheries management.
The study points to “a revolution” in the management of protected areas, says the international team of researchers who authored it, pointing to the fact that almost half of the marine protected areas — more than 11,000 km² — in the Western Indian Ocean are now under local community stewardship.
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are zones of the seas and coasts designed to protect wildlife from damage and disturbance and there are more and more of them as countries seek to meet international conservation commitments. To date, MPAs have typically been managed by governments rather than by local communities.
“MPAs are vital tools for marine conservation but often fall short of their potential and can have negative impacts on local fishing communities,” said lead author Steve Rocliffe, a PhD researcher with York University’s Environment Department.
“Against this backdrop, we’re seeing coastal communities across a vast swathe of the Indian Ocean taking more responsibility for their resources by setting up conservation zones known as ‘locally managed marine areas’ or LMMAs.
“LMMAs put people at the center: It’s the fishers themselves who are making the management decisions, based on their needs, their priorities, and their traditional ecological knowledge.”
Just published in PLOS ONE, the study covered 11 coastal and island states stretching from Somalia in the north to South Africa in the south.
“LMMAs have proven to be a cost-effective, scaleable, resilient and more socially acceptable alternative to more traditional ‘top down’ methods of marine resource management,” said co-author Shawn Peabody
The inventory summarizes information on 62 local initiatives and 74 MPAs and will give agencies, researchers and government officials an important baseline against which to evaluate future efforts to expand marine conservation in the region.
The researchers examined LMMAs in terms of geography, numbers, size and governance structures, comparing them with areas under government stewardship and evaluating their potential contributions towards Convention on Biodiversity targets to effectively conserve 10 percent of marine and coastal ecological regions by 2020.
“We found that although locally managed marine areas are hampered by underdeveloped legal structures and enforcement mechanisms, they are emerging as a tool of choice in mainland Tanzania and Madagascar, where they cover 3.5 and 4.2 times more area than centrally managed MPAs respectively,” he said.
“LMMAs have proven to be a cost-effective, scaleable, resilient and more socially acceptable alternative to more traditional ‘top down’ methods of marine resource management. They have also shown promise as a means to safeguard food security, address coastal poverty, and help coastal communities to adapt to climate change,” said co-author Shawn Peabody from Blue Ventures, a science-led social enterprise.
“The way forward now is to establish a network through which LMMA practitioners can share experiences and best practice.”
Please enjoy this informative photo series from Blue Ventures.
With less than 2 percent of the world’s oceans under some form of protection and only 15 percent of coral reef Marine Protected Areas considered as effectively managed, community led marine conservation can help to address some of the most pressing challenges facing the world’s oceans. Photo: © Blue Ventures/Garth Cripps.
The village of Andavadoaka is the largest community in the Velondriake LMMA in southwest Madagascar. Here small-scale fishing accounts for 82 percent of household income. Photo: © Blue Ventures/Garth Cripps.
Small-scale fisheries support the livelihoods of over 500 million people worldwide. Training and supporting communities to manage and conserve their natural resources is vital to help rebuild tropical fisheries. Photo: © Blue Ventures/Garth Cripps.
More than 1 billion people throughout the world rely on seafood as a source of protein. Managing fisheries sustainably is vital for ensuring global food security. Photo: © Blue Ventures/Garth Cripps.
Octopus gleaning is a vital source of income for the people of the Velondriake LMMA, with the majority of catches sold to local collectors and exported to overseas markets. Photo: © Blue Ventures/Garth Cripps.
Globally around 500 million people are dependent on coral reefs for food or income. Community managed protected areas are vital for protecting fisheries and safeguarding marine biodiversity. Photo: Frontierofficial. Creative Commons BY-NC-SA (cropped). | <urn:uuid:e0f41cb6-89b7-427d-9b01-defe9575001f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://ourworld.unu.edu/en/local-communities-playing-vital-role-in-marine-conservation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397695.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00125-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930419 | 1,026 | 3.640625 | 4 |
This is a new project that is
If you wish to submit information or an image file, please contact the County Coordinator.
Guilford County had and still has a large Quaker population. As part of the Quaker beliefs, both marriage partners should be members of the Society of Friends, and marriages should occur only after due counseling and consideration as to the nature of marriage. Marriage bonds were often used to circumvent the requirement for calling banns on three successive Sundays (for other churches). For a Friend, taking out a marriage bond involved the use of authority outside the Friends meeting (meaning a JP or a minister of another church), and was considered an indication of unseemly haste and violation of Friends' teachings.
Vital records for all member meetings were recorded at the appropriate monthly meeting, but that does not mean that the marriage occurred at that physical location.
Interpreting Dates in Early Records
Dates are given "as is," so you would need to interpret them from their Quaker date format: year, month, day.
I cannot excerpt all marriages, as the Hinshaw abstracts are under copyright, but I am going to work to gather some examples together. It is essential to understand the meaning of the Hinshaw abbreviations. The word "certificate" had multiple meanings and purposes.
Marriages "out of unity" or "contrary to discipline" occurred for various reasons, most of which related to marrying a non-Quaker (there are historical reasons why this was discouraged), and not following the group's procedures for marriage among members.
Guilford County North Carolina USGenWeb
© 2010-present, NCGenWeb Project | <urn:uuid:d7331eb3-f676-4b79-a486-b205f32ce738> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ncgenweb.us/guilford/MarriagesQuaker.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00178-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968321 | 343 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Last login: Thursday, August 19, 2010
It would be great if KPBS could talk about ways to better educate women about breastfeeding -- education on the benefits of breastfeeding do not reach all populations. How can we reach these populations that do not have access to the literature, blogs, etc. due to cultural practices and norms. The program should include information about what resources are available in San Diego for this purpose and how to access them.
We need to do a better job informing women about the benefits for mother and child. However, the education cannot stop there. Women must be educated about the difficulties that often accompany breastfeeding and how to overcome them. Women often stop breastfeeding because it is hard, especially at the beginning! In our society, as new mothers, we are quite isolated. We are not surrounded by a "community" that supports mothers. Mothers are expected to do so much and the way our society is set up we do not have a great deal of support from our communities.
Formula is a great option and we are so fortunate that it is readily available with a clean water supply in our country. However, women often use formula not because of medical necessity but because of lack of support publicly and in their own household. We need a cultural change in our country in order to experience the public health benefits of breastfeeding that have been in the news of late. How can we work on this cultural change in San Diego?
August 19, 2010 at 9:22 p.m.
( permalink | suggest removal )
© 2016 KPBS Public Broadcasting | <urn:uuid:7bfcd3ab-0ebc-463a-b992-4bfed649c2bb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.kpbs.org/users/sun_flower16/comments/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394987.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00119-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969318 | 316 | 2.671875 | 3 |
The United States Armed Forces and the Mexican Punitive Expedition: Part 2
By Mitchell Yockelson
Part 1 of this article in the fall issue (Vol. 29, No. 3) discussed the tumult following the 1910 Mexican Revolution and American concerns over the civil war in Mexico. Pancho Villa's raid on Columbus, New Mexico, on March 9, 1916, prompted the United States to organize an expedition in retaliation. While the army prepared for the expedition, Secretary of State Robert Lansing negotiated with Venustiano Carranza to allow the United States to enter Mexico without interference. Carranza balked at granting approval to the expedition. As a compromise, he insisted that his own troops would track down Villa. The United States refused his offer, and after a week of fervent bartering, Carranza reluctantly agreed to allow the Americans across the border as long as they strayed no further than the state of Chihuahua.1 The army was under the impression that Carranza would allow the expedition to ship supplies over the Mexican Northwestern Railway, but initially he refused. Several weeks into the expedition, Carranza made some concessions and allowed the Americans to use the railroad, but by then supplies were already moving by horse and primitive Dodge trucks, which habitually broke down. Still, Brig. Gen. John J. Pershing reported that "supplies are coming in as rapidly as transportation will permit"2 The army's telegraph lines also needed constant attention since the Mexicans made a sport of cutting the wires. The Punitive Expedition learned the hard way that Carranza had little interest in cooperating with the efforts to capture Villa.
By April 8, General Pershing was more than four hundred miles into Mexico with a troop strength of 6,675 men. The expedition set up its headquarters in the town of Colonia Dublan and its supply base on a tract of land near the Casas Grandes River. Having no idea how long he would be in Chihuahua or how much further he would have to penetrate to locate Villa, Pershing wanted to ensure that his army was well supplied. Since the expedition was denied the full use of the Mexican railway system, Pershing turned to his motor transport companies. The only problem was that the army did not have enough trucks to transport the food, clothing, weapons, and ammunition stored at Columbus.
Logistically, the Punitive Expedition started as a nightmare. Nothing of this magnitude had ever been attempted by the U.S.Army. Word of this dilemma was forwarded to Secretary of War Newton Baker, who was somehow able to spend $450,000 of unappropriated funds to purchase new trucks. The funds were well spent as more than ten thousand tons of supplies were eventually delivered by truck to Pershing.3 Moving supplies by truck was no easy feat during the expedition, however, because roads depicted on available maps turned out to be nothing but trails that were impassable during wet weather. As a result, engineers had to rebuild many of the roads. The expedition also had to reply on mules and wagons to a large extent to keep supplies moving.
The airplanes sent for use by the First Aero Squadron proved to be inadequate because they did not have enough power to overcome the erratic winds or to climb high enough to cross the mountains of northern Chihuahua. Pershing complained in a report to Brig. Gen. Frederick Funston that "the aeroplanes have been of no material benefit so far, either in scouting or as a means of communication. They have not at all met my expectations. The further south Villa goes into the mountains the more difficult will be their tasks, and I have no doubt we shall soon be compelled to abandon them for either scouting the enemy or keeping in touch with the advance columns."4 Gradually the airplanes were replaced, and the commander of the First Aero Squadron, Benjamin Fouloius, happily reported that the "squadron rendered efficient service in reconnaissance and in maintaining communications with the troops away from the base camp."5
Working airplanes were not enough to locate Villa. Although a majority of the Mexican citizens encountered by Pershing's forces wanted Villa captured as much as the Americans did, their hatred for the United States was even stronger, and they gave the U.S. forces few leads. After almost two weeks of pursuing aimless leads and fighting a few minor skirmishes, a squadron of the Seventh U.S. Cavalry fought five hundred Villistas at San Geronimo. There were no American losses, but several of the bandits were wounded. It was thought that Villa was among those wounded, but this proved false.6
Even with the recent setbacks, the morale of the troops remained high. Pershing reported that "the spirit of this command is splendid and cooperation of all elements is entirely satisfactory. In fact, I have never seen such willingness and such eagerness to push forward to the task, as is shown by all members of this command. While all realize the difficulties to be undertaken, and while immediate results are not expected, there is a fixed conviction that we shall accomplish our object in the end"7
Probably the most frustrating point during the entire Punitive Expedition occurred on April 13, 1916, when a detachment of troops from Carranza's army attacked the American troops at Parral. Upon receiving reinforcements, they drove back the Mexicans. One American soldier was killed, and one was wounded. The Mexicans suffered fourteen killed. Pershing kept his men at Dublan and sent out scouting parties and detachments to locate Villa without success.
At the town of Carrizal, troops from the Mexican National Army attacked two troops of the Tenth Cavalry on a scouting mission on June 21. Seven enlisted men were killed, and even more were wounded. Villa's forces captured twenty-three enlisted men and one civilian interpreter. The prisoners were sent to Chihuahua City but were released a short time later.
Tensions between the United States and Mexico were at a breaking point. Not since the Mexican-American War of 1846 - 1848 had the two countries come so close to all-out war. Neither country was prepared, and neither wanted war. The War Department recognized that a force of at least 200,000 was needed to invade Mexico and that Carranza did not have the troops to ward off an American invasion. To avoid further incidents like Carrizal, Funston ordered Pershing to cease sending out long-range patrols.
It was becoming increasingly obvious that Carranza's de facto government openly disliked the American presence in Mexico. Maj. Gen. Hugh Scott and Funston met with Carranza's military chief, Alvaro Obregon, at El Paso and agreed to gradually withdraw Pershing's forces if Carranza would control Villa.
The expedition learned that some of Carranza's soldiers were joining forces with the Villistas. To counter this threat, Pershing's men spent the remainder of their time operating in a limited area close to their base of operations at Dublan. By order of General Funston, the supply route was moved further north to prevent Carranza's men from cutting off the expeditionary force from Columbus. It was not really necessary for Pershing to send troops any further into Mexico. Villa's forces at this point were badly depleted by casualties and desertion, and those who remained were largely scattered. Although the Villistas were still on the loose, they were not much of a menace.
National Guard units from Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico had been called into service on May 8, 1916. With congressional approval of the National Defense Act on June 3, 1916, National Guard units from the remainder of the states and the District of Columbia were also called for duty on the border.8 In mid-June President Wilson called out 110,000 National Guard for border service. None of the National Guard troops would cross the border into Mexico but were used instead as a show of force. Nonetheless, activities on the border were far from dull. The troops had to be on constant alert as border raids were still an occasional nuisance. Three of the raids were particularly bloody. On May 5, 1916, Mexican bandits attacked an outpost at Glenn Springs, Texas, killing one civilian and wounding three American soldiers. On June 15 bandits killed four American soldiers at San Ygnacio, Texas, and on July 31 one American soldier and a U.S. customs inspector were killed. In all three cases Mexican raiders were killed and wounded, but the exact numbers are unknown.
The focus of the Punitive Expedition now changed from actively seeking out Pancho Villa to a more defensive position of protecting the troops from Carranza's forces. A new enemy, boredom, now tormented the troops. During the warmer months, the troops faced an almost daily dose of dust storms and swarms of flies. Organized recreation was virtually nonexistent for the men on duty in Mexico. In the absence of a USO or YMCA, soldiers organized baseball games, boxing matches, and hunting expeditions. Gambling was also another diversion for the troops since they had nowhere to spend their army pay. As long as no disorder resulted from the gambling, Pershing and his staff made little effort to discourage it.9
Another feature of the camp at Colonia Dublan were the numerous Mexican prostitutes who followed the troops. To prevent the men from leaving camp, Pershing had the prostitutes rounded up and placed under guard in a specially created barbed-wire stockade. Soldiers wishing to visit the stockade were required to show the guard on duty that they had the necessary fee that was regulated by the provost marshal. After completing business with one of the visiting ladies, a soldier was required to take a prophylactic provided by the army. The result of this strict sanitary measure was one of the lowest venereal disease rates an army has ever known.10
On January 18, 1917, General Funston informed Pershing "that it was the intention of the Government to withdraw from Mexico at an early date." Pershing "recommended that the date of the beginning of the movement from Dublan, Mexico, be not later than January 28, 1917, the withdrawal to be entirely by marching, and the command to assemble at Palomas, Chihuahua, and march across the border together." The recommendation was approved, and the Punitive Expedition officially ended on the afternoon of February 5, 1917. Shortly after the withdrawal, various units of the National Guard were returned to their homes. Small forces were maintained in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico to "prevent further trouble from scattered bands of outlaws"11
As a token of appreciation, the United States Congress approved the issuing of the Mexican Service Badge, then the Mexican Border Service Medal. Eligibility for the Mexican Service Badge, according to War Department General Order 155, December 1917, was authorized by the President for issue "to all officers and enlisted men who are now, or may hereafter be, in the military service . . . in Mexico as members of the Vera Cruz expedition . . . in Mexico as members of the punitive or other authorized expeditions . . . those who participated in an engagement against Mexicans . . . and those who were present as members of the Mexican border patrol."12 Individuals not eligible for the Mexican Service Badge were authorized by Congress on July 9, 1918, to receive the Mexican Border Service Medal. Its purpose was to recognize the National Guardsmen and regular army troops mobilized to patrol the Mexican border between 1916 and 1917.13
Despite its failure to capture Pancho Villa, the Mexican Punitive Expedition can be deemed a success. Secretary of War Baker praised the efforts of Pershing and his men by stating that "its objective, of course was the capture of Villa, if that could be accomplished, but its real purpose was a display of the power of the United States into a country disturbed beyond control of the constituted authorities of the Republic of Mexico as a means of controlling lawless aggregations of bandits and preventing attacks by them across the international frontier. This purpose is fully and finally accomplished."14
Most important, the Mexican Punitive Expedition provided military training experience for the eleven thousand regular soldiers who made up the expedition. Pershing's experience during the Punitive Expedition and the death of Funston on February 19, 1917, made him the obvious choice as commander of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. Many of the same men who served with Pershing in Mexico accompanied him to France.
Hostilities in Mexico continued well after the Americans left. On March 11, 1917, Carranza was officially elected the new president of Mexico but continued to fight off overthrow attempts by Villa and Emiliano Zapata. On April 10, 1919, Carranza had Zapata assassinated. A year later Carranza himself was assassinated after fleeing Mexico City during a rebellion. Pancho Villa met a similar fate on July 20, 1923. Around the same time, the army disbanded troops stationed along the Mexican border, thus bringing to a close a turbulent period in Mexican-American relations.
The holdings of the National Archives contain a significant amount of primary records pertaining to activities on the United States-Mexican border during the Mexican Punitive Expedition. Unfortunately, researchers wishing to use these records for genealogical purposes may find them frustrating.
In most cases, personnel-related documents were removed from the official records and placed in an individual's service record, which are in the custody of the National Personnel Records Center (Military Personnel Records), 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri 63132. An NATF Form 180 is required when requesting a search for personnel records in this repository. The complete name of the serviceman, branch of service, and approximate dates of service is the minimum information records center staff need to conduct a search.15 In the event that a soldier served with a National Guard regiment, consult the appropriate state archives.
In some instances, duplicate copies of documents relating to personnel are filed either in the field or headquarters-level records of the army. In the descriptions below, records most likely to contain such documents are specially noted.
Since the military activities in Mexico were conducted mainly by the U.S. Army, this article references only a few U.S. Navy and Marine Corps records. The two exceptions are the Tampico incident and the attack and occupation of Vera Cruz.
The following summary of military records is arranged by record group number, not in order of research value. Only substantive series of records relating to the Mexican situation are included. This list is in no way exhaustive. For more detailed information on these and other record groups, consult the Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States (1995). Additional information on these record groups can be obtained from the Old Military and Civil Branch (NWCTB), 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408-0001.
Record Group 24, Records of the United States Navy Personnel
Included in this record group are deck logs, entry 118, and muster rolls, entry 134, for ships composing the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Fleet, such as the USS Dolphin. The deck logs provide a daily summary of operations and a roster of officers aboard a given ship. The muster rolls record the names of enlisted men serving on board a ship or assigned to a station.
Record Group 45, Naval Records Collection of the Office of the Naval Records and Library
Under the Subject File designation of WE-Mexico are collections of U.S. Marine Corps and Navy operations reports, correspondence, and casualty lists for Tampico and Vera Cruz.
Record Group 92, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General
Two series, entries 189 - 190, pertain to correspondence, telegrams, and other papers relating to supplies for a proposed expedition during the Mexican Revolution.
A function of the Office of the Quartermaster General was the procurement and issuing of medals and badges. Entry 283 is a serial list of Mexican Service Badges issued (Numbers 1 - 25000), and entry 285 is a serial list of Mexican Border Service Medals issued (Numbers 2401 - 34060). Entry 256 is a name index to all medal- and badge-related series in this record group.
Record Group 94, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780's - 1917
Included in this record group is correspondence such as letters received, replies, telegrams, reports, and other documents sent to the War Department in Washington that relate to troops stationed along the Mexican border and the operations during the Mexican Punitive Expedition. The correspondence is included in entry 25 and is arranged numerically; it is indexed by name and subject in entry 27. In many cases, correspondence that pertains to a similar topic is consolidated under one number. This is the case for the Mexican border, which is filed under #2378529, and the Mexican Punitive Expedition, which is filed under #2377632. A more complete description of the filing arrangement in this series is found in the Guide to Material on Latin America in the National Archives of the United States (1974), pp. 172 - 173. Personnel-related documents for all staff officers up through 1917 are included in entry 25. Also, in extreme cases, it is possible to locate documents pertaining to enlisted personnel in the regular army or National Guard, particularly if a soldier was discharged, deserted, or died while in the army.
Record Group 112, Records of the Office of the Surgeon General
General correspondence, 1894 - 1917, entry 26, contains a copy of the surgeon general's final report on the Mexican Punitive Expedition, file # 156351. There are also personnel files in this series for medical officers serving during the Mexican Punitive Expedition and along the Mexican border.
Record Group 127, Records of the United States Marine Corps
Included in this record group are muster rolls, entry 101, for the marines occupying Vera Cruz.
Record Group 165, Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs
General correspondence, entry 297, of the War College Division contains drafts of reports, copies of telegrams, photographs, and monographs relating to the U.S. Army's operations in Mexico and along the border, mainly under file #9497. Records pertaining to the operations of the "Maneuver Division" were transferred from the War College Division correspondence and are now included in the general correspondence of the Military Intelligence Division (MID), entry 65, under file #6274. File 13137 contains a report on Pancho Villa's raid on Columbus, New Mexico. The MID, entry 63, also contains reports from military attachés, 1917 - 1941, relating to political, social, military, and economic conditions in Mexico. Entry 152, Records of the Office of the Military Censor, contains reports on censorship along the Mexican border, 1917 - 1919.
The Historical Division files, entry 310, contain histories, diaries, orders, memorandums, and reports for units stationed on the border during the Punitive Expedition. There is a subject index at the beginning of the series.
Record Group 391, Records of United States Army Mobile Commands
Included in this record group are administrative records for infantry, cavalry, and field artillery regiments, entries 2118, 2122, 2124, and 2133, that served during the Mexican Punitive Expedition and along the Mexican border. In some cases, copies of strength returns, muster rolls, and records are included in these series.
Record Group 393, Records of United Staters Army Continental Commands
Part I of this record group includes the general correspondence and reports of the Southern Department for the period of 1913 - 1916, entry 4437. The correspondence is indexed in entry 4435. Correspondence and reports created after 1916 are arranged by the War Department decimal filing scheme and included in entry 4439. Part 3 contains the general correspondence for the El Paso District in entry 135. The index for the correspondence is in entry 133. Included in this series are the reports relating to the Glenn Springs, Texas, raid.
Record Group 395, Records of United States Army Overseas Commands
The historical records created at the organizational level during the Vera Cruz Expedition, entries 1175 - 1184, and during the Mexican Punitive Expedition, entries 1185 - 1229, are clearly the most significant source of documents in the National Archives for the study of the Fifth Infantry Brigade during the Vera Cruz Expedition and the regiments constituting the Mexican Punitive Expedition.
Record Group 407, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1917 -
Included in this record group are classified and unclassified, correspondence arranged by the decimal filing scheme. The general correspondence, entry 37, 1917 - 1925, contains a series arranged by country. The correspondence under the heading of "Country— Mexico" includes weekly summaries of activities on the border as submitted by the commanding officers to the Adjutant General's Office. Entry 37, contains a series of bulky or oversize files that were separated from the general correspondence. Under the heading of "Countries-Mexican Expedition, 370.22" is a copy of the final report of the Punitive Expedition. It includes the reports of the Punitive Expedition Air Service, Quartermaster General, Chief of Engineers, Judge Advocate General, and the Inspector General. There are also attachments to the report, such as maps and blueprints.
Entry 21, Organization Records of National Guard units, consists of orders, sick reports, circulars, rosters, payroll vouchers, and general correspondence concerning recruits, promotions, and furloughs. Entry 16 contains miscellaneous files. Among the miscellaneous files is a compiled list of casualties for the Mexican border and the Mexican Punitive Expedition. Entry 112 has regimental Strength Returns.
Abstracts of some of the important reports and correspondence cited in these National Archives record groups are often published in the War and Navy Department's annual reports and the Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States. These invaluable works are included among the Congressional Serial Set, which is available in many large public and university libraries.
Mitchell Yockelson is a reference archivist in the Modern Military Records Branch, National Archives and Records Administration. He specializes in U.S. Army records for the period from the Spanish-American War to World War II.
1. Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1916 (1925), pp. 485 - 487.
2. Report from General Pershing to General Pershing, Correspondence of the War College Division (#6174), Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, Record Group 165 (hereinafter cited as Pershing Report, RG 165, NARA). Additional copies of the report are located among the general correspondence, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, RG 94.
3. John S. D. Eisenhower, Intervention: The United States and the Mexican Revolution, 1913 - 1917 (1993), p. 253.
4. Pershing Report, RG 165, NARA.
5. "History of the 1st Aero Squadron," entry 310, box 231, RG 165, NARA.
6. Eisenhower, Intervention: The United States and the Mexican Revolution, 1913 - 1917, pp. 267 - 268.
7. Pershing Report, RG 165, NARA.
8. War Department, Annual Report of the Secretary of War for the Fiscal Year, 1916, Vol. 1 (1916).
9. Clarence C. Clendenen, Blood on the Border: The United States Army and the Mexican Irregulars (1969), p. 330.
10. Ibid., pp. 334 - 335. See also Donald Smythe, "Venereal Disease: The AEF's Experience," Prologue: Journal of the National Archives 9 (Summer 1977): 66 (reprinted in 26 [Summer 1994]: 120.)
11. Annual Report of the Fiscal Year 1916, by Maj. Gen. Frederick Funston, United States Army, Commanding the Southern Department, p. 33, entry 27, file #243231, box 141, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1917 - , RG 407, NARA.
12. War Department, General Order 155, 1917.
13. Albert F. Gleim, Army Mexican Service Medal Issues (1994), p. 1.
14. War Department Annual Report, 1917, p. 10.
15. In many cases records for Army personnel
discharged between November 1, 1912, and January, 1960, were destroyed in a
July 12, 1973, fire at the National Personnel Records Center.
|Articles published in Prologue do not necessarily represent the views of NARA or of any other agency of the United States Government.| | <urn:uuid:8006e68f-690d-4867-ba4d-54d5d48729ae> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1997/winter/mexican-punitive-expedition-2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00015-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961885 | 5,063 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Millions of American women harbor a secret even they don't know they carry. It's high blood pressure, an often silent, symptomless condition that can damage blood vessels and overwork the heart, leaving women prey to heart disease, stroke, and premature death. The April 2013 Harvard Women's Health Watch looks at the reasons why so many women don't know their blood pressure and explains how the treatment of high blood pressure has changed.
A woman's risk of developing high blood pressure is extremely high if she lives long enough, says Dr. Deepak Bhatt, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Integrated Interventional Cardiovascular Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital. About 70% of women in their 60s and 70s have high blood pressure (hypertension), and that rises to nearly 80% after age 75.
Over time, living with high blood pressure puts added strain on the blood vessels and on the heart. The added force of blood surging through arteries damages artery walls and encourages the formation of cholesterol-filled plaques. These plaques can lead to the chest pain known as angina as well as to heart attacks and strokes.
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Subscribe to Harvard Health Online for immediate access to health news and information from Harvard Medical School. | <urn:uuid:333e4c18-57c1-4587-a7e3-961e3de1c14a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/high-blood-pressure-is-a-silent-danger-in-older-women | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402479.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00114-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956521 | 264 | 2.953125 | 3 |
The soil is mostly poor and sandy, except in the riverine swamps. On upland soils the main food crops, besides groundnuts, are millet, manioc, corn, and beans. Most landholdings range between five and nine hectares (12 and 22 acres). Agriculture supports about 80% of the active population, and contributed about 40% of GDP in 2001. Irregular and inadequate rainfall has adversely affected crop production in recent years.
The principal cash crop is groundnuts, grown on some 111,000 hectares (275,000 acres). Production totaled 126,000 tons in 1999. That year, the paddy rice crop was estimated at 29,000 tons. Other food crops in 1999 included an estimated 21,000 tons of corn and 76,000 tons of millet. Mangos, bananas, oranges, pawpaws, and limes are grown mainly in the Western Division. Oil palms provide oil for local consumption and kernels for export; palm oil production was estimated at 2,000 tons in 1999, and kernels at 3,000 tons. | <urn:uuid:998a50b9-985e-4aa3-8e20-7f87063ed4c8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/The-Gambia-AGRICULTURE.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00155-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9394 | 217 | 3.484375 | 3 |
The California Department of Food and Agriculture has sent more than 1.7 million post cards to California residents asking for their help in detecting Diaprepes Root Weevils, a destructive pest responsible for quarantines in Los Angeles County, Orange County and San Diego County.
The postcards have been sent to targeted zip codes this summer in 29 counties: as far north as Shasta County, and as far south as San Diego County. Zip codes were selected based on conditions similar to those where the root weevil has already been detected: a high volume of new construction and a large number of specimen trees brought in for landscaping purposes. A link to the postcard is featured here: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/exec/pa/pdf/diaprepescardaug06.pdf
Diaprepes root weevils are native to the Caribbean, have generally infested Florida and have also infested a part of Texas. Adult weevils feed on the leaves of plants and their larvae plunge underground and feed on plant roots. Left unchecked, the pest could damage urban and rural landscaping, the nursery industry, and significant portions of California’s fruit and vegetable output, including citrus, a favorite of the pest.
Diaprepes root weevils are black with distinctive orange, yellow or gray markings on their backs. For more information, please link to CDFA’s web site, www.cdfa.ca.gov, and to report suspicious bugs, please call 1-800-491-1899. | <urn:uuid:3ff07964-79c3-4d02-a0c4-a0538a4eb90b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://westernfarmpress.com/postcards-ask-publics-help-detecting-diaprepes-root-weevils | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396872.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00135-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944323 | 321 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Woman-Power in the Canonical Gospels: A Paradigm for the Modern Patriarchal Societies
by T. Johnson Chakkuvarackal
T. Johnson Chakkuvarackal teaches New Testament subjects at Serampore College, Hooghly District, West Bengal, India. The following article appeared in the Bangalore Theological Forum, Volume 34, Number 2, December 2002, page. 58. Bangalore Theological Forum is published by The United Theological College, Bangalore, India. Used by permission. This material was prepared for Religion Online by Ted and Winnie Brock.
One of the central themes of the Bible is equality. In biblical times, depending on the station in life a woman occupied, whether she was single or married, childless or widowed, her social significance varied considerably; and this is reflected in the use of the words dealt with. Gune, which can stand for mistress, maid, fiancée, wife or widow, is a general designation for every female in contrast to male. If a woman is called meter, mother, she has a certain social position of honor; the word is also often used metaphorically. In the canonical gospels, Jesus stood firm with the women to empower them. Therefore, the concept of "woman-power" is important in the Jesus tradition, which has equivalence in the Indian tradition, i.e., "Stree-Sakti".
In the real life of the people of India, the broken relationships between humankind on the basis of color, caste, religion and sex has been evident and it is in its zenith in the beginning of the twenty-first century. From time immemorial, women are portrayed as ‘powerless’ beings. In today’s society also they are terrorized as rape victims, toys or dolls in media, lambs to follow men, brides to be burnt alive for dowry and baby-producing machines, who work with wombs, breasts, and hands in rearing children. In India, as in other parts of the world, equality is not available to all. Its societies have built walls whose invisible bricks of discrimination grant privileges and power to some and poverty and injustice to others. The fact that most women in India today are not well organized and educated adds to their exploitation as well. Expressing the injustices of their lives as individuals or as small groups, they lack power to tender justice for themselves.
The Indian society is eagerly waiting for a message of ‘equality’, in which men and women are living together as the responsible citizens. In the present day situation, the concept of ‘sexual equality’ which is explained in the canonical gospels can make a special influence upon the people than all other scriptures. It is a paradigm message in which women are encouraged to outburst their ‘intrinsic power’ for the betterment of the common good.
A Bird’s Eyeview of Jewish Patriarchal Structure
The ancient societies of the Mediterranean were shaped not only by the basic differentiation into upper and lower strata (i.e., elite and the masses). Also of great significance was a person’s membership in the male or female sex. This ancient outlook thus an example of the cultural anthropological insight that gender is a social construct or is defined socially in the sense that the assignment of roles and division of competence between the sexes are "embedded" in the social and cultural framework of a society.1 These socio-culturally-conditioned judgments, which reflect the power structure of ancient societies, were also carried over to sexual relationships between men and women. Gender-specific behavior was generally embedded in the fundamental values of Mediterranean societies and was oriented toward the concepts of honor, shame and disgrace.2
Women appeared in public in various connections, even before court, and they also belonged to social organizations. Yet direct participation in what Plato calls "municipal administration" (politeia) was the domain of men. One central aspect of the distinction of gender-specific spheres consists in fact the women were generally excluded from holding public offices as senators, equestrians, decurions, or judges, as well as subordinate persons. They were not even allowed to belong to the most important political decision making body of the polis (ekklesia), in which women could neither vote nor speak.3
The Palestinian Jewish culture was one of the most patriarchal in the Mediterranean crescent. The homes and family were basically that the only spheres were women could play significant roles in early judaism.4 The dominant impression left by our early Jewish sources is of a very patriarchal society that limited women’s roles and functions to the home, and severely restricted: (1) their rights of inheritance, (2) their choice of relationships, (3) their ability to pursue a religious education or fully participate in the synagogue, and (4) their freedom of movement.5
The extant male literary sources of ancient Judaism, which reflect both a class and gender perspective, present a fairly consistent pattern of a negative view toward women. For example, Josephus, the first century CE Jewish historian, states that the law holds women to be inferior in all matters and that, therefore, women should be submissive. Philo, the first century CE Alexandrian Jewish philosopher and biblical commentator, refers throughout his writings to women and female traits as examples of weakness. He argues that women ought to stay at home, desiring a life of seclusion.6 Sirach, a proto-Pharisaic work from about 180 BCE, presents women either as good wives or as problems. It even states that "better is the wickedness of a man than a woman who does good; it is woman who brings shame and disgrace".7
According to the rabbinic Tosefta, which may well in this case reflect first century CE tradition, a Jewish man prayed three benedictions each day, including one in which he thanked God that he was not made a woman. This negative picture within Judaism was greatly shaped and influenced by Greek and Greaco-Roman androcentricism and misogynism. However, there are in spite of the lack of literary evidences from women, substantial indications that positive roles did exist for women within Judaism, even if limited. Significant religious roles for women are also indicated by the portrayal of Job’s three daughters as those who speak the language of angels in the ‘Testament of Job’ and the traditions about Beruriah, a second century CE rabbi. Women as strong leaders are portrayed in the Hellenistic Jewish story of Judith and in the rule of Salome Alexandra as queen in Judea (approximately 76-67 BCE). There is also substantial non-literary evidence which shows that Jewish women often took initiative for their lives and activities in spite of the male orientation and domination prevalent in the culture.8 These positive roles and opportunities constitute Jewish evidence for the significance of women in ancient Judaism. Hints of the wider influence and power exercised by women in Israelite life may be seen in the Old Testament’s literary presentations of women, which depicts them as more complex and forceful than their legal status suggests and gives them leading roles in some of the critical biblical dramas (eg., Sarah and Hagar, Rahab, Deborah, Jezebel, Huldah, Esther).9
It is evident from the history of Judaism that the society was always patriarchal in nature in which women were treated as subordinate beings. But, at the same time, women used their multifarious power within the context of various restrictions upon them.
Feminist Critique of the Bible
The Bible, the cornerstone of Jewish and Christian tradition, is born in a patriarchal and androcentric culture, according to the feminist interpreters of the Bible. As a result, he biblical text dealing with women have been misinterpreted, misunderstood and sometimes the experience of women have been overlooked or ignored by the male interpreters.10 As Phyllis A. Bird says, "women in the biblical texts are presented through male eyes, for purposes determined by male authors. It does mean that women are not heard directly in the biblical text, in their own voices."11
Certainly in the past thirty years there has been a dramatic increase in consideration of the proper status and role of women in the various cultures of the world in general ways, and for Christians a dramatic increase in discussion and debate about the status and role of women in the Church. The challenge for feminist Biblical interpretation is to find another way, another approach that finds new ground, neither accepting blindly traditional interpretation nor ignoring the Bible as a useless ancient document. A first basic strategy of feminist biblical interpretation involves lifting up for attention lesser flown, often overlooked stories of biblical women in key roles, not simply as helpers of adjuncts to men.12
A recent volume entitled "Women in Scripture: A Dictionary" has two hundred and five entries for named women in the Bible. This new dictionary then goes on to give entries for all the unnamed women mentioned in the Bible, all those who are ‘daughter of …’ or ‘wife of . . .’ or are described as ‘the woman at the well’ or ‘the woman with a flow of blood’ or ‘the women present at the feeding of the five thousand men’. 13 The present day attempts of feminists are to reveal the ‘hidden’ presence of women in the patriarchal Bible through a relevant and contextual interpretation.
A theology is a systematic reflection on a religious experience, an encounter between God and man (for the Christian, an encounter in Jesus Christ), the experience are that of a religious founder, of prophet, of religious men, or of communities. These experiences are communicated in a certain language, in the form of a revealed or transmitted context in symbolic expressions or in ethical orientations.14
The present day situation of women indeed calls for a new biblical hermeneutics to make the scripture relevant to the changing situations and to rediscover what the New Testament says on women’s role in Christian ministry.15
A theme of reconciliation runs through the Bible and is to be seen as not only a concept but a characteristic feature of every human being. Paul’s argument for complete equality between the sexes is based on Gal. 3:28, the cornerstone text for women’s liberation. Paul insists all men and women come before God on an equal footing, their race, state of bondage and sex having no effect whatsoever on their right to stand before God. Paul K. Jewett names Gal 3:28 as the ‘Magna Carta of Humanity’ and affirms that Paul was the first to declare that in Christ there is no male and female.16 Therefore, all the distinctions of religion, race, class, nationality and gender are insignificant.
Again in the non-gospel materials of the New Testament, Paul’s talks about the ‘New Creation’ in 2 Cor. 5:7 is important. The new age has dawned with the advent of Jesus. Jesus has created the community of reconciliation: the Church, the Body of Christ, Therefore, we are already part of a new humanity where there is no discrimination on the basis of gender, caste, language etc. All the possibilities of the new humanity are opened to women also since they also have all the potential and resources for the new humanity.17
Feminist theology is a critique of androcendricism and misogynism (hatred for women); a quest for alternative traditions which will include women as well as men. It is the transformation of symbols. Male traditions have created male symbols in the understanding of God, Christ, humanhood, sin, grace and redemption. It also is holistic, searches for equal partnership and egalitarian scholarships, searching for an inclusive imagery for God, it is contextual and liberation theology and it searches for a new anthropology.18 Judith Plaskow summarizes women’s experience as: "it means simply. this: the experience of women in the course of history never free from cultural roles of definitions."19
As written by males from a male dominated society, the Bible abounds in male languages and imagery. Male interpreters have explored and exploited male language to articulate theology, the Church, Synagogue and academy and to instruct human beings who they are, what roles they should play and how they should behave.20 A critique of traditional biblical hermeneutics was brought forward by Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza. She speaks of a feminist critical hermeneutics deriving its truth "not only from biblical writings but also from contemporary struggle of women against racism, sexism and poverty as oppressive systems of patriarchy".21
Women in the Jesus Movement
Earliest Christianity began as a renewal movement within Judaism brought into being through Jesus.22 The examples of Jesus, his radical and revolutionary action against the Jewish social and religious norms, indeed became a challenge to women and for women in their ministry.23 His attitude to women is one that is radical particularly when viewed in the light of his historical context. Jesus firmly faces the situation even at the cost of being criticized. His attack on traditional attitudes against women and his action for women is a remarkable paradigm for Christians who are his followers.24
Biblically literate women looked to scripture to justify their changing situation, especially in the churches.25 Gabriele Dietrich emphasizes three points which are important in our context from the Jesus Movement26: firstly, the Jesus Movement was critical of the existing patriarchal family structure and created new forms of community; secondly, it was egalitarian in terms of class with a bias in favor of the poor; and, thirdly, it provided for a participation of women which was far reaching and unusual under the conditions of the time.27
She also sees the spiritual expressions of the Jesus Movement under five points. They are:
The Jesus Movement, together with many other groupings within Judaism of the time, was fervently waiting for the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is made accessible to all who are outcaste: the poor, the sick, tax collectors, sinners and prostitutes.
Underlying this expectation of the Kingdom of God was an understanding of God as gracious and all accepting as opposed to the judging and excluding God.28
The visible expression of this all-accepting graciousness was the table community not only with of Jewish society but also with "pagans". There are indications that the Galilean Jesus Movement admitted non-Jews to the table community at a very early stage.29
Not only was Mary Magdalene the most prominent among the disciples of the Galilean Jesus Movement, the discipleship of the women also has a very special character and occasionally expresses the quality of "true discipleship" over against the failure of Peter who denies Jesus and Judas who betrays him.
The acceptance of the Kingdom of God for all and of the graciousness of God also implied the crumbling of actually existing patriarchal stnictures.30
Thus, the Jesus Movement was a ‘Counter-culture Movement’ to transform the societal order from the structures of ‘old’ to the ‘New Humanity’.
Individual Gospel Perspectives
Empowerment of the weaker sections of the society, especially women is an important theme in the life and teachings of Jesus. All four canonical Gospels contain information with regard to Jesus’ relationship to women and the involvement of women in Jesus’ life and ministry. Jesus accepted and affirmed as persons of worth various women who were neglected or rejected within his society.
The Gospel of Mark probably has the least amount of data about Jesus and women, yet Mark, with the rest of the Gospels, presents women as among the disciples of Jesus.3’ It is true that neither in Mark nor in the Gospels in general is a woman explicitly called "a disciple" (mathetria) of Jesus, yet the word "follow" (akolouthein) is used tersely, especially in the Gospel of Mark to designate the following of Jesus as a disciple.32 The next presupposes that many women were accompanying Jesus already in Galilee and also followed him to Jerusalem. Among them three women are mentioned by name as followers, perhaps in analogy to the male trio of Peter and the sons of Zebedee, James and John.33
In the passion account of Mark’s Gospel three disciples figure prominently: on the one hand, two of the twelve - Judas who betrays Jesus and Peter who denies him - and on the other, the unnamed woman who anoints Jesus. But while the stories of Judas and Peter are engraved in the memory of Christians, the story of the woman is virtually forgotten. . . . The name of the betrayer is remembered, but the name of the faithful disciple is forgotten because she was a woman.34
In the context of crucifixion (cf. Mk. 15:40-41) women are expressly mentioned for the first time in Mark as followers of Jesus; on the other hand, however, their relationship to Jesus is circumscribed with the key word diekonoun ("served"; NRSV: "provided for"). There are also women looking on from a distance; among them was Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James the younger and Joses, and Salome. These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem (Mk.15: 40-41)35
Basically, the Gospel of Matthew presupposes women on its own community, for the two feeding stories expressly mention that women (and children) also participated in the table fellowship (Mt. 14:21; 15:38). Matthew is probably portraying the Messianic community here as an assembly of families.36
Four Gentile women are included in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew (Mt. 1:3,5,6). One reason given for Matthew’s including such women is that since they were all sinful, he wanted his readers to see Jesus as one born to save sinful people. However, the Jewish Christians to whom Matthew was writing no longer thought of those women as sinners but as heroines. There is evidence that in Judaism, they had come to be regarded as distinguished women because each had done something beneficial to the Jewish people.37
According to Brown, "it is the combination of the scandalous or irregular union and of divine intervention through the women that explains best Matthew’s choice in the genealogy."38 Yet the child was actually begotten through God’s Holy Spirit, so that God had intervened to bring to fulfillment the Messianic heritage.39 Matthew’s insertion of the four women, along with Mary, in the genealogy, the quotation from Is. 7:14, and the naming of Mary’s son by Joseph, are the chief tactics in Matthew’s defense against the Jewish charge that Jesus was the illegitimate son of Mary.40
The sexual integrity of women is upheld in the discussions of lust (Mt. 5:27-30) and divorce (Mt. 19:3-9), and the inclusion of sexually immoral women in the Kingdom is noted for the preaching of both John the Baptist and Jesus (Mt. 21:31-32).41’ The mention of four women from Old Testament as ancestors of Jesus; the healing of the Cannanite woman’s daughter (15:21-28); the parable of the ten virgins (25:1-13); the anointing at Bethany (26:6-13); and the women at resurrection of Jesus (28:1-10) all obviously shows Matthaean interest on women and the concept of ‘Universalism’.42
The Gospel of Luke shows the greatest interest in women in the life and ministry of Jesus, including numerous accounts and stories about women unique to its presentation. Luke also gives the specific names of more women in Jesus’ life than do the other Gospels. Thus interest is continued in Acts (for Jesus’ female disciples see Acts.1:14).43
Most significant discussion of the Martha-Mary story found within Luke’s central section (10:38-42) has been confined in recent years to studies which articulate Luke’s view of the social character of the Gospel: by placing Mary ‘at the Lord’s feet’ (10:39), Luke is affirming liberated social identity for women disciples (cf. 8:l-3).44
Apparently, various first century churches struggled with the teachings of Jesus, Paul, and others about the new roles women could assume in the Christian community. This stress is especially apparent in Luke-Acts where we find as part of Luke’s redactional agenda a tendency to pair parables and stories about men and women to show their equal place in God’s new activities through Jesus. Thus, for instance, we may point to such parables as Lk. 13:18-21, or 18:1-14, or the pairing of the story of Aeneas and Tabitha in Acts. 9:32-42.45 H. Flender rightly concludes, "Luke expresses by his arrangements that man and woman stand together and side by side before God. They are equal in honor and grace; they are endowed with the same gifts and have the same responsibilities. . . ."46
Luke has carefully chosen five vignettes to show the different roles women were assuming in the early Christian communities (as prophetess, Acts. 21:9; a religious teacher of a notable male Christian leader, Acts. 18:1-3, 24-26; a hostess for house churches, Acts. 12:12-17; the first convert in a new region, Acts. 16:12-40; and as assuming the roles of deaconesses were later to have, Acts. 9:32-42). In fact, these five stories show how the Gospel progressed through the female population across the empire from Jerusalem. In this way, Luke not only merely chronicles the effect of the Gospel on women in the early churches, but also provides a written precedent for women to continue in such roles.47
The gospel of John portrays in particular the discipleship of the mother of Jesus (Jn. 2:1-12; 19:25-27), the Samaritan woman (Jn. 4:7-42), Mary and Martha (Jn. 11:1-45; 12:1-8) and Mary Magdalene (Jn. 19:25; 20:1-18). Both the Samaritan woman and Mary Magdalene are proclaimers of Jesus in John, and both receive extended attention in the Johannine narratives.48
When John presents most of the male disciples as passive observers of Jesus’ deeds, the women are portrayed as active respondents to Jesus’ words and deeds.49 They did virtuous deeds such as hosting dinner, serving at the table, overseeing the feast, and anointing Jesus’ feet -- all challenging works that no other persons took initiative to do. The Johannine women acted with the prophetic spirit and clear vision. Since Christ had liberated them from male-dominated culture and set them as model leaders, the women became challenging figures more than men. They were empowered by Jesus himself, who as the Sophia incarnate, is the female expression of God. The unique roles played by the women in John shows that they were not "uneducated domestic recluses"50
Empowerment of Women in the Canonical Gospels
The issue of women is an important theme in the Canonical Gospels. Jesus encourages women to exercise their intrinsic power for the betterment of women themselves and for the common good. In the following pages we will see that in a nutshell.
Teachings and Practices of Jesus
Jesus often used women as positive examples in stories and events for those who have responded to God with appropriate faith.51 The parables of Jesus often deal with the life and conduct of women (Mt. 13:33 par. Lk. 13:20f., the women and the leaven; Lk 15:8ff., the lost coin; Mt. 24:40f. par. Lk. 17:35, the women grinding at a mill).52 If Jesus’ parables and actions lifted women to a status equal to that of men, and if in the Gospel narratives certain women stand out, the sayings of Jesus makes it clear that it is not of their sex that women or men are important. It is their relationship to Jesus that matters.53
Jesus’ respect for and inclusion of women as disciples and proclaimers provided the foundation for the positive place of women in the earliest churches and their ministry. In fact the baptismal formula reflected in Gal. 3:28 and its statement that in Christ ‘there is neither . . . male nor female’ is probably rooted in the traditions of Jesus. This indicates the formative role of Jesus in Paul’s theological vision for the Church’s inclusive character.54
Jesus gave proof of his compassion and power in his healing of women no less than of men: Peter’s wife’s mother (Mt. 8: 14f. par. Mk. 1:29ff. Lk. 4:35f.); Jairus’s daughter and the woman with the issue of blood; and the Syrophoenician woman and her daughter. Jesus’ gift and call to divine Sonship were extended for the poor and lost and in a special way for women upon whom he conferred a new dignity.55 In Lk. 8:1-3, we see women who were the travelling companions of Jesus and his male disciples. They were not the wives of disciples but they were women who had once been sick and cured by Jesus, the outcaste of society that Jesus accepted and made whole.56
Jesus and Jewish Rabbinical Attitudes
Jesus’ interactions with women has brought to light several fundamental principles which seem to have guided him in his dealing with the opposite sex. His outright rejection of Rabbinic ideas of sin and sickness leading to ritual impurity or defilement allowed him to relate women he might not have reached otherwise.57 Also his rejection of certain Rabbinic Sabbath restrictions allowed him to serve and to accept service at the hands of grateful women when normally such activities were forbidden (cf. Mk. 1:29-31). Throughout the Gospels, Jesus’ concern for women as persons, rather than as sources of potential temptation or defilement, is obvious. As Ben Witherington says, "It is significant that Jesus was willing to perform extraordinary miracles (raising the dead), and to violate the Rabbinical Sabbath regulations even in the presence of Rabbis and in the Synagogues in order to help women."58
In John 4:4-42. Mk. 7:24-30 and parallels, we see clear examples of Jesus’ willingness to relate openly to women who were not fully Jewish or, in the case of the Syrophoenician woman, perhaps not Jewish at all. This abrogated numerous Rabbinical warnings about foreign or Samaritan women, as well as the familiar prohibitions against talking with women, especially sinful women, in public, and opened the door for a more normal and natural basis for relationship.59
Jesus the Feminist
It has been a truism of scholarship that women were particularly attracted to Christianity, and those women numbered significantly among its earliest members -- although such claims are rarely accompanied by statistical elaboration. This claim is frequently presented, whether implicitly or explicitly, as a correlative to the idea that Christianity often as personified by Jesus or less frequently by Paul - was ‘goad’ for women, paid them particular attention, or at least offered them opportunities not otherwise available, to caricature, the ideal of ‘the Feminist Jesus’.60 In an admirable and scholarly article Leonard Swidler has marshaled historical evidences to show convincingly that Jesus was a Feminist.61 The politics of such a view is self-evident, for much study of the subject has developed within a context where women were struggling to establish a proper role for themselves within the contemporary church; to this end they have sought an egalitarian past to act as model for present polity.62
Jesus the Reformer
There is no evidence that prior to Jesus’ ministry Jewish women were ever allowed to be disciples of a great teacher, much less travel with such a teacher, or to instruct anyone other than children. In such a restrictive context, Jesus’ relationship for women must have seemed radical indeed. In fact, seen from the broader cultural context, Jesus can be described as a Reformer of patriarchal society.63 It is worthy to quote from Witherington that, "taking all the probably authentic material in the gospels together, it would appear that Jesus was a reformer of patriarchal society."64
Jesus’ teachings about marriage, divorce, and singleness would have been seen as radical not only by Jews but also by various people outside the Jewish context in the Roman empire.65 He annulled the prevailing custom, which permitted a man to discharge his wife on any silly pretext merely by giving her a bill of divorce, and, thereby, he restored the indissolubility of marriage as originally willed by the Creator (Mk. 10:2-9)66 When one investigates the letters of Paul, one finds concepts already in evidence in the Jesus tradition. It is striking how Paul, in his assessment of marriage, divorce, and singleness, seems to be drawing directly on the Jesus tradition in several ways.67
By rejoining also on the woman the obligation not to initiate proceedings of divorce against her husband, Jesus implicitly affirmed the fundamental equality of man and woman as persons (Mk. 10:11-12). The same equality finds expression in his saying: "whoever does the will of God is my brother, my sister, my mother" (Mk. 3:35).68 All of Jesus’ teaching prepares us for an examination of Jesus’ actions, and his manner of relating to harlots, widows, small girls, foreign women, mothers and women made unclean through illness or incapacitated through injury.69 As Sebastian Kappen says, ". . . . the value of a person is judged solely by the standard of obedience to the will of God and not by that of the distinction of sexes."70
Jesus and Prostitutes
When we turn to Jesus of Nazareth, we are astonished at his open and positive attitude towards womanhood in general and women in their specificity. There is surprising element of iconoclasm towards the traditional subjugation and subordination of women in Jesus’ life. In the story where a woman is condemned for adultery (Jn. 8:1-11), Jesus questions radically the misinterpretation of the Jewish judicial system that easily victimize the woman taken in adultery but the man is permitted to go free?71
The encounter of Jesus with the woman taken in adultery illustrates the egalitarian stance of Jesus - what is wrong for a woman is wrong also for a man.72 Prostitutes felt free in the presence of Jesus, not because he was easy with them but because he did not look at them as sexual objects to be exploited.73 He allowed a woman of doubtful reputation to wash his feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair (Lk. 7:37-38).74 Jesus clearly regarded women as persons of dignity and worth by his many healing of women, by his acceptance, and forgiveness of undesirable and ritually unclean women, and by his implicit challenges to male sexual devaluation of women.75
The New Humanity is the definitive supersession of all barriers consisting of exclusive claims and privileges. The truth that the New Humanity is open to all irrespective of racial or cultural distinctions. 76 The birth of the total man will result in liberation from all social barriers, and from inequality, injustice and oppression. Jesus speaks of the new Humanity as a flock, which he gathers around him and for which he gives his life (Lk. 12:32; Jn. 10:14-15). He refers to it as the family of God (Mt. 23:8-9), as the banquet of salvation (Mt. 8:11), as God’s plantation (Mt. 13:24ff.), as a net that a fisherman casts into the sea to gather in fishes of all sorts (Mt. 13:47ff.), as the temple of God (Mk. 14:58), as the assembly of God (Mt. 16:18ff.), and as the people of the New Covenant (Mt. 26:28).77 In the New Humanity of God proclaimed by Jesus, women are equal in dignity and worth as that of men.
In the New Testament we draw the most important theological sources for empowerment of women in ministry in the life example and teaching of Jesus Christ himself. As a prophet (cf. Mk. 6: 4; Lk. 4:18; 13:32; 24:19), Jesus’ mission was to confront his contemporaries with the will of God as revealed in history, and to call upon them to respond to its demands through a personal decision.78 His mission was to heal and to humanize. As Kappen says, "the recognition of Jesus as a member of the human family must be the point of departure of all our reflections".79 Jesus restored women to their rightful place in the society, empowered and chose them to be his first resurrection messengers become the valid basis and important sources for women’s empowerment.80
The fact that Jesus is on the side of women should be our source of encouragement and empowerment as we continue to serve God and strive for a full and equal ministry.81 Nothing, perhaps, was more shocking for his contemporaries than the freedom with which he associated himself with women, considering the inferior position of women in Jewish society.82 According to R. L. Hnuni, "male dominated cultural and traditional values and injunctions may put boundaries and debar them from full ministry, but this should not discourage women’s conviction and commitment to full ministry."83 In recapitulation, Jesus was attempting for a new humanity, which comprises of both men and women against the exclusive nature of Jewish androcentric and patriarchal society.
Women’s Participation in the Non-Violent Struggle of Jesus
During the passion of Jesus the male disciples react in predictable ways. There is certain bravado at first. Peter draws the sword and cut off the ear of somebody (Jn.18:10). But after that they all run away. Peter even formally denies knowing him (Jn. 18:15-17, 25-27). Only John manages to follow him around probably from a distance, right unto Calvary (Jn. 18:15:19:5) without of course being identified with Jesus in any way.84 But, it is the women, led by Mary, who participate more actively, by their supportive and sympathetic presence, in the non-violent struggle of Jesus. This is probably the reason that Jesus appears to them first after the resurrection and sends them to give the Good News to the men (Mt. 28:9-10; Jn. 20:11-20).85
Pneumatology and Women
The word Spirit indicates that which is invisible, dynamic and life-giving. It is not mere coincidence that the term in its original Hebrew root (Ruah) is feminine. It is the feminine aspect of Godhead that stands as a symbol of life on earth. It represents the continuous, ever-living presence of God. If there is a son and a father, why is there no mother? It is motherly function that God does through the Holy Spirit - the comforting, sustaining, and life-giving function of God.86
Jesus, in his farewell speech to the disciples, promised to send the Holy Spirit. The paracletos is the continued presence of God, who is a helper, counselor, motivator, sustainer, and strengthener and so on.87
The power of woman lies in her weakness and the capacity to endure. Power -‘Sakti’ is a feminine term according to the Indian concept. ‘Stree-Sakti’ is the positive power that belongs to women. Weakness, humility and obedience are feminine virtues. But it is not mere weakness, cowardice or helplessness. The same virtues were attributed to Jesus, so also to Moses. Both of them were powerful leaders. But these are the virtues that enable a person to endure suffering, a unique experience of Christ on the cross.88
Some Important Women in the Canonical Gospels
The following women outbursted their ‘power’ for the common good and played important roles in the salvation history.
Mary, the Mother of Jesus
In the gospels, Mary appears most prominently in the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke. She also appears in the stories of Jesus’ ceremonial purification (Lk. 2:22-38). flight to Egypt (Mt. 2:13-15), return to Nazareth at the age of twelve (Lk. 2:41-50), and the wedding at Cana in Galilee (Jn. 2:1-11). We also find her being concerned for Jesus’ safety (Mk. 3:21, 31f.), present at the cross (Jn. 19:25f.), and waiting in the upper room along with the brothers of Jesus and the disciples (Acts. 1:14).89 Leelamma Athyal observes, "it is difficult to regard Mary as a ‘Virgin for ever’, the ‘Sinless Madonna’, or the lofty ‘Queen of Heaven’ on the basis of normal Biblical interpretation."90 In any case, the Mary of the traditional Mariology is not of much significance for a theology of human kind.
The traditional Mariology has elevated Mary to the heavenly sphere. It has deified her and has given her the status of a super-human being.91 The basic affirmation of Mariology is that Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ. To be the mother of Jesus is the greatest privilege and honor a woman could ever have. Because of this the angel Gabriel addresses her as the "favored one" of God (Lk. 1:28). It is important to realize that when the Council of Ephesus called Mary "Theotokos",92 it was not their intention to picture her as the "Mother of God". Leelamma Athyal says, ". . . Mary could be called the ‘God-bearing Mary’ or ‘Mary who gave birth to God’ in time."93
The Credal phrase, ‘Born of the Virgin Mary’, rightly emphasizes that Mary’s importance in the New Testament is due to her relationship to her son who is the focus of the Gospels.94 Jesus’ mother was called to participate in his work of redemption (Lk. 1:26f. Jesus listened and accepted the suggestions from his mother at the wedding feast (In. 2:1-l1)95Mary’s faith in Jesus as the one who is able to fulfil the needs of the people by means of a sign and her faithfulness to follow him till the cross, sharing the bitter anguish and pain, make her an ideal disciple of Jesus. She followed Jesus loyally till the cross bearing its pain.96
Mary Daly pictures Mary, the mother of Jesus: the Divided self: Christ - Mary. The psychological acrobatics of Christians surrounding the symbolization of Christ and Mary have little to do with the historical Jesus. They have even less to do with the historical person Mary, the mother of Jesus, and are devastating to the fifty percent of the human race whose lot she shared.97
Melanie A. May sees ‘Mary - Power’ in the following occasions: firstly. Mary, woman of power, gave birth to Jesus, accomplished the work God had asked her to do; secondly, As a woman of power, she breast-fed God. Undertaking nurturance as power, she called for care of the poor, the oppressed, the downtrodden; thirdly, Mary, woman of power, sang-at once crying and celebrating. Her expression of emotion evidences the power of emotional energy. Tears of compassion, righteous anger, shared joy - all are sources of power; fourthly, Mary, woman of power, pondered God’s actions in her life, taking account of her son, her kinfolk, and her community. She can teach us about the power of deep reflection on the human relationships that are part of our world; lastly, she spoke God’s justice when she saw the depths of human misery and need. She can teach us about the power of reciprocal talk.98 From the above mentioned points it is clear that, Mary’s model of partnership and mutual empowerment embodies both an ethic of caring and an ethic of justice. In this model, reason and emotion are balanced; wholeness and connectedness are central values. These, along with the elements of empowerment, enable the shift from power exercised from a dominant-subordinate posture to power exercised in partnership.
Martha - Mary
Though a bachelor, Jesus had close friends among women, as is clear from the story of Martha and Mary (Lk. 10:38-42)99 Both Martha and Mary are the paradigms for ideal discipleship and hence for effective leadership in the Church, because they exhibited the qualities of devotion, sacrifice, submission, service, faith, boldness and of apostolic witness. They were closely bound with Christ and to his mission of accomplishing God’s redemptive plan.100
Jesus’ ministry among the Samaritans, those who were outside the fold of Judaism, began with the leadership role played, by a woman, the women of Samaria (Jn. 4:3-42).101 Contrary to the accepted social norms Jesus freely engaged in conversation with her casually by a well-side, something that amazed even his disciples (Jn. 4:27).102 The woman, who had been confined to her own house, realized a sense of freedom after her encounter with Christ to face her own people and introduce Jesus to them. The initiative taken by the Samaritan woman was the fulfillment of Jesus’ own missionary agenda of accomplishing the work of the father (Jn. 4:34). Definitely the fourth Evangelist exalts a despised Samaritan woman to the rank of a theologian, apostle and missionary, while he pictures the male disciples mostly as inactive, timid and slow in understanding.103 She is the one to whom Jesus reveals first that he is the expected ‘Messiah’.104
Jesus healed Mary Magdalene who was possessed by evil spirits. She became his faithful disciple and ministered to him out of her own sources (Lk. 3: l-3).105 She played supportive roles during Jesus’ hour (hora), the crucial moment of Jesus’ ministry that made God’s love and salvation a reality to the world.106
Significantly, on the third day, the first Easter Sunday, the women, especially Mary Magdalene, discover the empty tomb. Both in the Synoptics and in John the women continue their place in the resurrection story. Whereas the men are the commanded, the women are the mourners, observers and messengers at the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene outside the tomb where he addressed her as "woman" (gunai),107 a term of endearment or respect when used in address (Jn. 20: l6).108
John singles out Mary Magdalene as the only woman who first discovered the empty tomb (Jn.20: 1-2) and who received the first Easter Christophany as well as the apostolic commission to announce the goodnews of Jesus’ resurrection (Jn. 20:11-18). Barrette comments that, in John 20:1-18, John has skillfully combined two traditions of Jesus’ resurrection, resurrection appearance, and the discovery of empty tomb, is correct, then Mary Magdalene is the unifying figure of the two traditions.109 She saw the risen Christ first and bore witness to him (cf. Mk. 16:9-10). Mary’s proclamation to the male disciples saying. "I have seen the Lord" (Jn. 20:18), has apostolic significance.110
Among the Gospel women, Anna and Elizabeth played vital roles in Jesus’ birth narratives. Anna, the prophetess mentioned only in Lk. 2:36-38. She spoke in the Temple of the infant Jesus to all that were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. Elizabeth, mentioned only in Lk. 1, who was filled with the Holy Spirit and greeted Mary as the mother of her Lord. Some other women are mentioned in the Gospels like Joanna (Lk. 8:3 and 24:10), Mary the wife of Clopas (Jn. 19:25), ‘the other Mary’ (Mt. 27:61 and 28:1), Susanna (Lk. 8:3) etc.111 played important roles in the Jesus Movement. Thus women were empowered by Jesus during his earthly life and ministry and in return women contributed galore for the growth of Christianity at its incipient stages.
In recapitulation, Jesus of the canonical Gospels uses the ‘intrinsic power’ of women for molding up an egalitarian society in which men and women are responsible citizens. Jesus’ attack on the traditional Jewish attitudes against women and his action for them is a remarkable paradigm for all who are trying for equal status of both men and women. Jesus’ movement was a ‘counter culture’ movement, attempting for a ‘New Humanity’. In all the Canonical Gospels, Jesus endeavors for the empowerment of women through an attitude of non-violent struggle for justice.
Through our discussion on the teachings and activities of Jesus from the Canonical Gospels, we have seen what a vital role it can play for the peaceful co-existence of both men and women. The message of ‘sexual equality’ and ‘woman power’ is absolutely a message for the universe and has more relevance in the patriarchal and androcentric context of India to make a paradigm society. The acceptance of such a message by the people can lead our nation to an abode of wholeness and perfection, and which in turn helps our country to enjoy prosperity, peace and tolerance.
1. Ekkehard W. Stegemann and Wolfgang Stegemann, The Jesus Movement: A Social History of its First Century, tran. O.C. Dean (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1999), 361.
2. Ibid.. 362.
3. Ibid., 365.
4. Ben Witherington. "Women (NT)", The ABD, Vol. 6, 957.
5. Ibid.. 958.
6. D.M. Scholer, "Women", Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, eds. Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight. et al. (Illinois: Inter Varsity Press, 1992), 880.
7. Sir. 42:14, NRSV.
8. D.M. Scholer, "Women", Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. 881. Also see, Phyllis A. Bird. "Women (OT)", The ARD, ed. David Noel Freedman, Vol.6 (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 95 1.
9. Phyllis A. Bird, "Women (OT)", The ABD, Vol. 6, 956.
10. cf. Joseph Abraham, An Examination of the Issues Raised by Contemporary Feminist Interpretations of Gen.2 and 3, Unpublished M. Th Thesis. Senate of Serampore College. 1989. 19.
11. Phyllis A. Bird, "Women (OT)". The ABD, Vol. 6, 95 1f.
12. Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, "Feminist Reading of the Bible: Problems and Promises". BTF, Bangalore, UTC (Dec., 2000), Vol. XXXII, No. 2, 18.
13. Ibid., 18f.
14. Sebastian Kappen. Jesus and Freedom (New York: Orbis Book. 1977), 4.
15. Jey J. Kanagaraj, "The Profiles of Women in John: House-Bound or Christ Bound", BTF, Bangalore, UTC (Dec., 2001), Vol. XXXIII, No. 2, 60.
16. David Augustine, "Reconciliation: An Exposition of Gal. 3:28", Reconciliation: Gurukul Jyothi-2002 (Chennai: GLTC, 2000). 19-21.
17. Leela Manesseh, "Emancipation of Women and Nation Building: A Christian Perspective", TBT Journal, eds. Ken Gnanakan, Paul Mohan Raj, et al., Bangalore, TBT (Nov., 2001), Vol. 3, 75.
18. R. L. Hnuni, ed.. Transforming Theology for Empowering Women. Theological and Hermeneutical Reflection in the Context of North-East India, Tribal Study Series No.4 (Jorhat: Women’s Studies, ETC. 1999), 6f.
19. J. Plaskow, Sex, Sin and Grace (Washington: University Press, 1980), 11.
20. R.L. Hnuni, ed., Transforming Theology. . . , 30.
21. Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza, Bread Not Stone, The Challenge of Feminist Biblical Interpretation (Boston: Beacon. 1984), 14.
22. Gerd Theissen, The First Followers of Jesus: A Sociological Analysis of the Earliest Christianity (London: SCM Press. 1978), 1.
23. R.L Hnuni, ed., Transforming Theology. . . , 139.
24. Ibid., 136.
25. Barbara Brown Zikmund, "Biblical Arguments and Women’s Place in the Church", The Bible and Social Reform, ed. Ernest R. Sandeen (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1982), 85.
26. The first Hellenistic Christianity developed predominantly outside Palestine, whereas the Jesus Movement was a Palestinian phenomenon which spilled over into the neighboring regions of Syria. Jesus Movement is the renewal Movement within Judaism brought into being through Jesus and existing in the area of Syria and Palestine between about 30 CE and 70 CE. See, Theissen, The First Followers of Jesus, 1ff.
27. Gabriele Dietrich, A New Thing On Earth (Delhi: ISPCK, 2001), 39f. Also see, Aruna Gnanadason, ed., Towards a Theology of Humanhood: Women’s Perspective (Delhi: ISPCK, 1986), 39.
28. Ibid., 43.
29. Ibid., 44.
30. Ibid., 44f.
31. D. M. Scholer, "Women". Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, 886.
32. Stegemann, The Jesus Movement, 379.
33. Ibid.. 397.
34. Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins (London: SCM Press. 1983), xv.
35. Stegemann, The Jesus Movement. 397.
36. Ibid., 387f.
37. Edwin D. Freed, ‘The Women in Matthew’s Genealogy", JSNT, ed. Ernst Bammel, Birger Gerhardsson, et. al., (Feb., 1987), Issue 29. 3-19.
38. Ibid., 4.
40. Ibid., 17.
41. D. M. Scholer, "Women", Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, 886.
42. Leela Manasseh, "Emancipation of Women and Nation Building", TBT Journal, 75.
43. D. M. Scholer, "Women", Dictionary of Jesus. . . , 886.
44. Robert W. Wall, "Martha and Mary (Lk. 10:38-42) in the Context of a Christian Deuteronomy", JSNT, ed. Ernst Bammel, Birger Gerhardsson, et al., (Feb., 1989), Issue 35, 19-35.
45. Ben Witherington, "Women (NT)", The ABD, Vol. 6, 959.
46. H. Flender, St. Luke-Theologian of Redemptive History (London: 1967), 10.
47. Ben Witherington. "Women (NT)". The ARD, Vol. 6, 959f.
48. D.M. Scholer, "Women", Dictionary of Jesus. . . , 886.
49. Jey J. Kanagaraj, "The Profiles of Women in John: House-Bound or Christ-Bound", Bangalore Theological Forum (Dec., 2001), Vol. XXXIII, No. 2, 75.
51. D.M. Scholer, "Women", Dictionary of Jesus. . . , 882.
52. H. Volander. "Women", The New International Dictionary of NT Theology, ed. Collin Brown (Exeter: The Paternoster Press, 1971), Vol. 3, 1058.
53. Ibid. 1059f.
54. D. M. Scholer, Dictionary of Jesus . . . , 886f.
55. H. Volander, The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 1059.
56. "Conceiving a New Creation: Grassroots Women’s Leadership Formation, 13-19 October 1990, Penang, YMCA, Malaysia" (Urban Rural Mission. Christian Conference of Asia), 36.
57. Ben Witherington III, Women in the Ministry of Jesus: A Study of Jesus’ Attitudes to Women and their Roles as Reflected in His Earthly Life, Society for NT Studies: Monograph Series, 51 (Cambridge: University Press, 1984), 77.
58. Ibid., 78f.
59. Ibid., 78.
60. Judith M. Lieu, "The ‘Attraction of Women’ in /to Early Judaism and Christianity: Gender and the Politics of Conversion", JSNT, ed. Stephen D. Moore, Issue 72, Dec.. 1998, 5.
61. Leonard Swidler, "Jesus was a Feminist", The Catholic World (January 1971), 177-83.
62. Cf. Judith M. Lieu, "The ‘Attraction of Women’. . ." , 5.
63. Ben Witherington, "Women (NT)", The ABD, Vol. 6, 957.
64. Ibid., 958f.
66. Sebastian Kappen, Jesus and Freedom (New York: Orbis Books, 1977), 104.
67. Ben Witherington, The ABD, Vol. 6. 958f.
68. Kappen. Jesus and Freedom, 104.
69. Ben Witherington III, Women in the Ministry of Jesus, 52.
70. Kappen, Jesus and Freedom, 104.
71. Somen Das, Christian Ethics and Indian Ethos (Delhi: ISPCK, 2001), 166f.
72. Prameela Rani, "Empowerment of Women: Challenging Mission", Sandhya-2002, 51.
73. Somen Das, Christian Ethics and Indian Ethos. 166f.
74. Kappen, Jesus and Freedom, 103f.
75. D. M. Scholer, "Women", Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, 881.
76. Kappen, Jesus and Freedom,27.
78. Kappen, Jesus and Freedom, 55.
79. Ibid., 25.
80. R.L. Hnuni, ed. Transforming Theology for Empowering Women, 139.
82. Kappen, Jesus and Freedom, 103f.
83. R. L. Hnuni, ed. Transforming Theology, 139.
84. M. Amaladoss, "Listen to the Spirit: Women and Peace", VJTR, ed. S. Arokiasamy, Delhi, Vidyajyoti (May 2000), Vol. 66, No.5, 385.
86. Rachel Mathew, "Pneumatology and Women", Towards a Theology of Humanhood: Women’s Perspectives, ed. Aruna Gnanadason (Delhi: ISPCK, 1986), 62f.
87. Ibid. 66.
89. Leelamma Athyal, "Mariology: A Feminist Perspective", Towards a Theology of Humanhood: Women’s Perspective, ed. Aruna Gnanadason (Delhi: ISPCK, 1986), 50.
90. Ibid., 49.
92. The patristic controversies surrounding the use of the terms "Theotokos" and "Christotokos" for Mary are literally mean "God-bearing" and "Christ-bearing" respectively. The Council of Ephesus in 431CE discussed the question as to which of these titles would be the more suitable for Mary, and they decided in favor of "Theotokos". How ever, later in the history of the Church we find a change taking place in the use of this designation to Mary. This happened in the Latin tradition. The Latin equivalent of "Theotokos" is actually "Dei Genitrix" (She who gives birth to God). But this was often replaced by "Mater Dei" (the Mother of God).
93. Leelamma Athyal, "Mariology: A Feminist Perspective", Towards a Theology of Humanhood, 55.
94. Ben Witherington III, Women in the Ministry of Jesus, 80.
95. Prameela Rani. "Empowerment of Women", Sandhya- 2002, 51.
96. Kanagaraj. "The Profiles of Women in John: House-Bound or Christ-Bound", BTF, 61f.
97. Mary Daly, Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women’s Liberation (Boston: Beacon Press, 1973), 81.
98. Melanie A. May, Women and Church: The Challenge of Ecumenical Solidarity in an Age of Alienation (Grand Rapids: WB. Erdmans. 1991), 9Sf.
99. Kappen, Jesus and Freedom, 103f.
100. Kanagaraj, "The Profiles of Women in John", BTF 70.
101. Ibid., 63.
102. Kappen, Jesus and freedom, 103f.
103. Kanagaraj, "The Profiles of Women in John", BTF, 63f
104. Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, "Feminist Reading of the Bible: Problems and Promises", Bangalore Theological Forum, Bangalore, UTC (Dec., 2000), Vol. XXXII, No.2, 19.
105. Prameela Rani, "Empowerment of Women: Challenging Mission", Sandhya-2002, 51.
106. Kanagaraj, BTF, 37.
107. In other earlier and significant events Jesus addresses his mother as " woman" at Cana (Jn. 2:4), and at the cross (Jn.19:26); the Samaritan Woman as "woman" (Jn. 4:21), and later at Jerusalem the adulteress also as "woman" (Jn. 8:10).
108. Walter Reinsdorf. "The Gospel Resurrection Accounts", Bible Bhashyam: An Indian Biblical Quarterly, (Dec., 2001), Vol. XXVII, No.4, 251.
109. C. K. Barrett, The Gospel According to St. John (Philadelphia: Westminster Press. 2 edn., 1978), 560.
110. Kanagaraj, BTF, 37.
111. D.M. Scholer, "Women", Dictionary of Jesus, 884f. | <urn:uuid:e39ffd2b-6959-451b-9b38-e94fb9ffb32b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2448 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398075.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00059-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948727 | 12,638 | 3.125 | 3 |
Fannie Lansner died 103 years ago today in the infamous Triangle Factory fire workplace disaster.
The deaths of Great Aunt Fannie – an immigrant, 21 years old, from Lithuania – and 145 co-workers in a fire at the high-rise New York clothing factory proved to be a catalyst for a labor revolution.
Outrage at safety shortcuts that multiplied the fire's death toll – coming at a time of great labor unrest, including an earlier strike at the Triangle factory – swayed public thinking toward increasing workers' rights and improving workplace conditions.
It proved to be a major boost to the nation's then-fledgling union labor movement.
A century-plus later, economic, legal and regulatory changes put most American workers in far safer jobs. But workplace satisfaction today is challenged for other reasons – a harsh business climate and global competition means a typical worker often fears for the future of their paycheck.
National unemployment has run above 6 percent now for 67 months. The last extended hiring drought kept joblessness above 6 percent for 45 months in 1990-1994.
Paychecks have suffered. The last time inflation-adjusted U.S. per capita income rose 2 percent or more in a year was 1999. It had grown faster than 2 percent in 11 of the previous 15 years.
Great Aunt Fannie might wonder if a long-running loss of collective bargaining muscle cut workers leverage when it came time to discuss pay or working conditions with the boss.
The latest government tally shows just 6.7 percent of private industry workers were unionized in 2013 – down from 16.8 percent in 1983 when the current data set begins. That equates to a loss for organized labor of 4.6 million members.
And organized labor's power tool, the strike, has become a rarity. For 2013, government data shows 15 major work stoppages nationwide – strikes or lockouts involving 1,000 or more workers – or barely one a month. The last time major work stoppages topped the two-per-month pace was 2001.
Yes, fewer Americans are carrying union cards, but the worker-protection message of organized labor is modestly regaining traction, according to one annual survey. Pollsters at Gallup found last year that 54 percent of American adults polled approved of unions – the highest thumbs-up for organized labor since 2008.
The result is also a bump up from union's 48 percent approval rating in 2009, during the fury of the Great Recession. That all-time low – in a poll that dates to 1936 – came at a time when workers were happy just to have any job and were likely unwilling to support anything that mildly disturbed the bosses.
Life-and-death debates about workplace safety of bygone eras are far more gripping than today's angst about post-recession, penny-pinching employers.
That may explain why back in 1936 – not so long after the debacle that killed Great Aunt Fannie – Gallup found unions enjoyed a 72 percent approval rating.
Nobody expects unions to regain the workplace clout they once enjoyed. If Great Aunt Fannie was alive today, I'd tell her that today's American laborers may not hold massive worker-rights rallies like what were common in her day. Instead, they choose more low-profile means to bark about meager pay raises, unofficially extended work hours and trimmed benefits.
Consider this: 27 million U.S. workers quit a job last year – or 20 percent of the workforce. That's the fastest pace of “See ya, boss!” since the recession's start in 2008.
- Motorcyclist found dead near his Harley on the 91 in Anaheim
- Two men who died in separate crashes identified
- Prepping for July 4 parties: Newport Beach, Huntington Beach brace for hectic holiday
- Fullerton police seize nearly 1,000 pounds of illegal fireworks
- Costa Mesa police arrest man in Craigslist robbery | <urn:uuid:67546928-8b7a-4234-aebe-094b8e910150> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ocregister.com/articles/percent-275869-ocprint-workers-labor.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00094-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951267 | 792 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Difference Between Leaded Petrol and Unleaded Petrol
Leaded Petrol vs Unleaded Petrol
Different types of petrol can be bought at the pump. Although some may be self-explanatory, there are still some that many find confusing like leaded and unleaded petrol. The main difference between leaded petrol and unleaded petrol is the additive tetraethyl lead. There were other types used previously, but this is the most popular. This additive, used in leaded petrol and not in unleaded petrol, contains the element of lead.
Petrol was just petrol until engines started having higher compression rates and they started to auto-ignite, commonly referred to as knocking or pinging. Petrol companies discovered that adding a lead-based additive eliminated the knocking, thus giving rise to leaded petrol. Much later it was discovered that lead had some undesirable side effects, and governments started to discourage the use of leaded petrol and urged companies to develop unleaded petrol as an alternative.
The combustion of leaded petrol causes the lead to be released into the air. Lead is a heavy pollutant that does damage not only to the environment but also to the people who are exposed to it. The prevalent use of leaded petrol saw a steady rise in the lead levels of people residing in populated areas where vehicles were prevalent. Prolonged exposure to large amounts of lead can eventually cause lead poisoning, which can be fatal.
As the negative effects of lead were discovered, governments were keen to remove leaded petrol from regular use. They started off with different tax rates for leaded and unleaded petrol, then some eventually resorted to banning leaded petrol altogether and imposing very stiff fines for those caught possessing or using it. Still, there are some areas where the use of leaded petrol is still allowed. A few examples include motor racing, heavy equipment, and marine vehicles.
Even though leaded petrol is no longer available at the pump, the name of unleaded petrol has stuck ever since. Oil companies have also managed to find alternative additives to increase the octane rating of their petrol without using lead. As long as you use the recommended petrol for your vehicle, you should have no problems whatsoever.
1.Leaded petrol contains lead additives while unleaded petrol doesn’t.
2.Leaded petrol creates more pollution than unleaded petrol.
3.Leaded petrol poses more of a health risk than unleaded petrol.
4.Unleaded petrol is available for public consumption while leaded petrol is banned.
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Help A Friend Quit - Tell them about QuitCard.com
How To Help Someone Quit
Why Do People Use Tobacco?
Where Can a Person Buy
$1 Samples Program
Prevention Is The Best Medicine
Why do people use
Knowing why a patient uses tobacco helps identify what
method will help them quit. Some of the reasons are:
- Peer pressure- This seems to be
one of the first reasons that kids especially start using tobacco. They
usually first get it from a friend (or parent!) who urges them to try it
and be like the "big kids". By the time the child goes to the store to try
to purchase tobacco, many might have already been using it for several
days or even weeks. Some of these kids say they need to display the "ring
on their rear" in order to be accepted with some of their peers. In
others, the circle on the back pocket is a coming-of-age or emancipation
symbol, marking the passage to adulthood and "independent thinking".
- Social pressure and Association-
Being in an environment that condones tobacco use (sports, bars, outings
or any place they are around others who use it) can be a great motivator.
Users are often able to quit for a significant length of time but begin
again when they're around others who dip or smoke.
- Behavior- Some chewers have been
"dipping" so long that they miss the ritual of opening the chew can,
getting the "dip" and putting it in their mouth. The most common statement
heard from these users is "I just miss something in my mouth" (i.e. oral
gratification). Here they have a choice of either quitting "cold turkey"
and dealing with the loss of the behavior or using an oral alternative
while they cut down. Mint Snuff products are great for
these people because it allows them to yield to the cravings of the
behavior yet do so with a harmless product.
- Nicotine Addiction- There is a
significant amount of nicotine in smokeless tobacco. Although many young
users might not be addicted yet others get that way rather quickly. You
might ask a user how long they have been using smokeless tobacco and how
many cans a week they use to get an idea of possible levels of addiction
(the range is one to three cans per week). Many of the questions asked of
smokers apply to chewers to determine addiction levels. Many health
professionals use the nicotine patch or nicotine pills with non-tobacco
chew to help their nicotine-dependant patients.
- Salt Cravings- A typical can of
smokeless tobacco contains over 1100 mg of salt. Some people not only
suffer from nicotine withdrawal but also from salt cravings once they have
quit using smokeless tobacco. These cravings might be confused with
Over the years, several smokeless tobacco cessation and prevention
techniques have been tried with varying levels of success. Some of them
Education- One of the easiest and first lines of defense
in cessation is to educate them on the dangers of tobacco. Give your
patients literature from the American Cancer Society and the National
Cancer Institute. We have some pamphlet and booklet suggestions in this
web site. Posters, pamphlets and repeated reminders (i.e. intervention)
from health professionals to their patients to not start using tobacco can
be very influential. Encouraging and educating young people regarding
non-tobacco use can also help that person become influential to their
Quitting “Cold turkey”- People can and do quit chewing on
their own. The health professional can be very helpful by encouraging
quitting and giving support whenever possible. Chewers who have not been
chewing very long are often successful with this method.
Chewing an alternative- Oral
gratification "missing having something in my mouth", behavioral rituals
and peer pressure are powerful influences to keep a person using smokeless
tobacco. Here is where using healthy alternatives like Mint Snuff
All Mint Chew or Pouches becomes so valuable.
They allow the patient to continue the behavior and yield to whatever
pressures keep them chewing but without the danger of tobacco. Some people
can quit the behavior altogether after a few weeks, others take longer. If
they quit and then feel the need to relapse, they can once again use Mint
Snuff until the urge passes.
Titration- Some chewers who have strong
nicotine withdrawal find it helpful to mix Mint Snuff with their tobacco.
Some mix it with tobacco in a ratio of 1:4 one week, 1:3 the following
week, 1:2 the next, 1:1 afterwards and finally to straight Mint Snuff.
here to see Dr. Dan Laizure's method.
Alternating dips- Use tobacco and Mint
Snuff alternately starting every other dip then gradually using Mint Snuff
more and more until they don't use tobacco anymore.
Use of nicotine patches- For those
chewers who display definite signs of nicotine withdrawal, doctors may
consider the use of nicotine patches. Please check the latest information
on suggested levels and age criteria for the use of patches with smokeless
Nicotine gum (Nicorette)- Studies have suggested that
nicotine gum has not been very helpful in the cessation efforts. However,
it is always worth a try if the patient wants to try it.
8. A prescription of
wellbutrin (also called Zyban, a prescription
anti-depressant pill) and the use of
Mint Snuff Chew or Mint Snuff Pouches. A few un-named professional
baseball players quit using this method.
One of the most difficult things to deal with
when intervening with a patient about tobacco use is how and when to do it.
Until now, just telling a patient that they should quit chewing and not
offering any assistance or alternatives created some stress for the patient.
By offering an alternative, you can now establish a good relationship and
give the patient something to use in their own quitting process. When
combined into a comprehensive intervention plan, the overall effect towards
ultimate cessation can be quite effective. Here are some
other suggestions of how to deal with different patient ages:
every patient (especially adolescents) on each visit if they use
tobacco. If they don't, praise them for non-use and urge them to continue
avoiding tobacco. If they do chew, briefly inform them of the dangers of
tobacco, provide them literature and ask them if they want to quit.
Consistently asking someone about their tobacco use, especially young
adults, offers many opportunities for intervention.
- Kids from about 8yrs to
14yrs- These kids can be some of our best ambassadors of
health! You may want to ask them if they use tobacco in either a direct
or offhand manner: "I assume you are still not using tobacco, right?" or
"How do you feel about kids who are using chewing tobacco?" Ask their
opinion about tobacco use and if they know others who chew tobacco.
Whatever answer they give you can lead to an intervention opportunity:
- "No, I don't use tobacco"- Your
response- "Wonderful, and I don't ever want you to begin.." Some have
expanded this opportunity to ask if they know about the dangers of
chewing tobacco so they might be able to tell one of their friends
that does use tobacco. Ask if they would like to take some brochures
on tobacco cessation to a friend. By intervening now, and letting them
know how you feel about tobacco use, they can begin creating an
anti-tobacco attitude before they are offered tobacco
from a peer or another adult!
- "Yes, I have (or do) use chewing tobacco"
- It can happen! The best you can do now is to find out how much they
are using, why and then tell them briefly about the dangers of tobacco
and that they should think about making their own decision to quit.
There are no good reasons for them to be chewing tobacco. Offer them
information about the dangers of tobacco and try to find out why they
- Kids from about 14yrs to
21 yrs- Sometimes this is the toughest group to get to but
represent the majority of new users. Asking if they would like to quit
and then giving them information about the dangers of tobacco use are a
great way to begin. If it is obvious that they are probably going to
continue "dipping" anyway, you might want to suggest they do so with a
healthy and harmless product like Mint Snuff and offer them a sample
- People 21 yrs and older-
Many of the chewers in this age group have been chewing for many years.
However, they may have also read about the dangers of chewing and/or
have had their girlfriends or wives urge them to quit. For whatever
reason, the health professional can again ascertain their desire to quit
and offer an alternative if they need one. These people may need extra
help with nicotine withdrawal.
- Find out if
the patient is ready to quit-
If the patient uses tobacco, tell them of your concern that they quit and
ask them, “Do you want to quit?” If the answer is YES,
continue with the cessation program. If their answer is NO,
state “When you want to quit, let me know and we can help,” then go on
with your normal procedures. Don't badger, just let them know that you
care and you can help. Cessation experts report that unless a person is
ready to quit, your chances of helping them is very low.
- Offer help-
If your patient uses smokeless tobacco, ask them why they chew, and if
they would be able to quit “cold turkey.” Ascertain whether or not they
chew for social and/or behavioral reasons (i.e. “other guys do it...,”
“only during baseball..,” “I need something in my mouth..,” etc.) If they
feel like they want to continue chewing but need help with their behavior
by using an alternative, offer Mint Snuff™ All Mint Chew™ or All Mint
Where Can You
Send Patients to Buy Mint Snuff?
Snuff Chew™ and Mint Pouches™ are usually found in the tobacco section at
grocery and convenience stores. Many Krogers now carry Mint Snuff
Chew and Mint Snuff Pouches. Please ask your favorite store to carry it for
you or your patients. For a store near you
click here or
call 1.800.EAT.MINT * 1.800.328.6468 9a-5p Pacific Time Mon.-Fri.
Mint Snuff Pouches
Consumers may order samples of
Mint Pouches for $1.
If you are going to have a special promotion such as a
health fair or other tobacco-related event, please call the Oregon Mint
Snuff Company at 1.800.EAT.MINT * 1.800.328.6468 with your ideas.
Practice SAFE SNUFF with Mint Snuff. | <urn:uuid:0106a4fa-bef5-4402-a35f-effe17a70951> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.quittobacco.com/how_to_help_someone_quit_chewing_tobacco.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00076-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926619 | 2,395 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Safety Guidelines for High Voltage and/or Line Powered Equipment
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
All Rights Reserved
Reproduction of this document in whole or in part is permitted if both of the following conditions are satisfied:
Consumer electronics equipment like TVs, computer monitors, microwave ovens, and electronic flash units, use voltages at power levels that are potentially lethal. Normally, these are safely enclosed to prevent accidental contact. However, during servicing, the cabinet will likely be open and safety interlocks may be defeated. Depending on overall conditions and your general state of health, there is a wide variation of voltage, current, and total energy levels that can kill. Microwave ovens in particular are probably THE most dangerous household appliance to service. There is high voltage - up to 5,000 V or more - at high current - more than an amp may be available momentarily. This is an instantly lethal combination. TVs and monitors may have up to 35 KV on the CRT but the current is low - a couple of milliamps. However, the CRT capacitance can hold a painful charge for a long time. In addition, portions of the circuitry of TVs and monitors - as well as all other devices that plug into the wall socket - are line connected. This is actually more dangerous than the high voltage due to the greater current available - and a few hundred volts can make you just as dead as 35 KV! Electronic flash units and strobelights have large energy storage capacitors which alone can deliver a lethal charge - long after the power has been removed. This applies to some extent even to those little disposable pocket cameras with flash! Even some portions of apparently harmless devices like VCRs and CD players - or vacuum cleaners and toasters - can be hazardous (though the live parts may be insulated or protected - but don't count on it! This information also applies when working on other high voltage or line connected devices like Tesla Coils, Jacobs Ladders, plasma spheres, gigawatt lasers, fusion generators, and other popular hobby type projects. In addition read the relevant sections of the document for your particular equipment. Specific safety considerations have been included where appropriate.
These guidelines are to protect you from potentially deadly electrical shock hazards as well as the equipment from accidental damage. Note that the danger to you is not only in your body providing a conducting path, particularly through your heart. Any involuntary muscle contractions caused by a shock, while perhaps harmless in themselves, may cause collateral damage - there are many sharp edges inside this type of equipment as well as other electrically live parts you may contact accidentally. The purpose of this set of guidelines is not to frighten you but rather to make you aware of the appropriate precautions. Repair of TVs, monitors, microwave ovens, and other consumer and industrial equipment can be both rewarding and economical. Just be sure that it is also safe! * Don't work alone - in the event of an emergency another person's presence may be essential. * Always keep one hand in your pocket when anywhere around a powered line-connected or high voltage system. * Wear rubber bottom shoes or sneakers. * Wear eye protection - large plastic lensed eyeglasses or safety goggles. * Don't wear any jewelry or other articles that could accidentally contact circuitry and conduct current, or get caught in moving parts. * Set up your work area away from possible grounds that you may accidentally contact. * Know your equipment: TVs and monitors may use parts of the metal chassis as ground return yet the chassis may be electrically live with respect to the earth ground of the AC line. Microwave ovens use the chassis as ground return for the high voltage. In addition, do not assume that the chassis is a suitable ground for your test equipment! * If circuit boards need to be removed from their mountings, put insulating material between the boards and anything they may short to. Hold them in place with string or electrical tape. Prop them up with insulation sticks - plastic or wood. * If you need to probe, solder, or otherwise touch circuits with power off, discharge (across) large power supply filter capacitors with a 2 W or greater resistor of 100-500 ohms/V approximate value (e.g., for a 200 V capacitor, use a 20K-100K ohm resistor). Monitor while discharging and/or verify that there is no residual charge with a suitable voltmeter. In a TV or monitor, if you are removing the high voltage connection to the CRT (to replace the flyback transformer for example) first discharge the CRT contact (under the insulating cup at the end of the fat red wire). Use a 1M-10M ohm 1W or greater wattage resistor on the end of an insulating stick or the probe of a high voltage meter. Discharge to the metal frame which is connected to the outside of the CRT. * For TVs and monitors in particular, there is the additional danger of CRT implosion - take care not to bang the CRT envelope with your tools. An implosion will scatter shards of glass at high velocity in every direction. There is several tons of force attempting to crush the typical CRT. Always wear eye protection. * Connect/disconnect any test leads with the equipment unpowered and unplugged. Use clip leads or solder temporary wires to reach cramped locations or difficult to access locations. * If you must probe live, put electrical tape over all but the last 1/16" of the test probes to avoid the possibility of an accidental short which could cause damage to various components. Clip the reference end of the meter or scope to the appropriate ground return so that you need to only probe with one hand. * Perform as many tests as possible with power off and the equipment unplugged. For example, the semiconductors in the power supply section of a TV or monitor can be tested for short circuits with an ohmmeter. * Use an isolation transformer if there is any chance of contacting line connected circuits. A Variac(tm) (variable autotransformer) is not an isolation transformer! However, the combination of a Variac and isolation transformer maintains the safety benefits and is a very versatile device. See the document "Repair Briefs, An Introduction", available at this site, for more details. * The use of a GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) protected outlet is a good idea but will not protect you from shock from many points in a line connected TV or monitor, or the high voltage side of a microwave oven, for example. (Note however, that, a GFCI may nuisance trip at power-on or at other random times due to leakage paths (like your scope probe ground) or the highly capacitive or inductive input characteristics of line powered equipment.) A fuse or circuit breaker is too slow and insensitive to provide any protection for you or in many cases, your equipment. However, these devices may save your scope probe ground wire should you accidentally connect it to a live chassis. * When handling static sensitive components, an anti-static wrist strap is recommended. However, it should be constructed of high resistance materials with a high resistance path between you and the chassis (greater than 100K ohms). Never use metallic conductors as you would then become an excellent path to ground for line current or risk amputating your hand at the wrist when you accidentally contacted that 1000 A welder supply! * Don't attempt repair work when you are tired. Not only will you be more careless, but your primary diagnostic tool - deductive reasoning - will not be operating at full capacity. * Finally, never assume anything without checking it out for yourself! Don't take shortcuts!
It is always essential to test AFTER any repairs to assure that no accessible parts of the equipment have inadvertently been shorted to a Hot wire or live point in the power supply. In addition to incorrect rewiring, this could result from a faulty part, solder splash, or kinked wire insulation. There are two sets of tests: * DC leakage: Use a multimeter on the highest ohms range to measure the resistance between the Hot/Neutral prongs of the wall plug (shorted together and with the power switch on where one exists) to ALL exposed metal parts of the equipment including metallic trim, knobs, connector shells and shields, VHF and UHF antenna connections, etc. This resistance must not be less than 1 M ohm. * AC leakage: Connect a 1.5K ohm, 10 Watt resistor in parallel with a 0.15 uF, 150 V capacitor. With your multimeter set on ACV across this combination and the equipment powered up, touch between a known earth ground and each exposed metal part of the equipment as above. WARNING: Take care not to touch anything until you have confirmed that the leakage is acceptable - you could have a shocking experience! The potential measured for any exposed metal surface must not exceed 0.75 V. If the equipment fails either of these tests, the fault MUST be found and corrected before putting it back in service (even if you are doing this for your in-laws!). | <urn:uuid:18683a47-2765-4cb8-a390-24671159feb8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_safety.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00006-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934321 | 1,871 | 3.109375 | 3 |
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was founded in 1944 with a primary mission to watch over the monetary system, guarantee exchange rate stability and eliminate restrictions that prevent or slow trade. This came about because many countries were economically devastated by the Great Depression and World War II. Over the years, the IMF has helped countries move through many different challenging economic situations. The organization is also continuing to evolve and adapt to the ever-changing world economy. We'll look at the role the IMF has played, as well as economic issues, the levels of influence some countries have over this organization, and its successes and failures.
Role in Global Economic Issues
For many countries, the IMF has been the organization to turn to during difficult economic times. Over the years this organization has played a key role in helping countries turn around through the use of economic aid. However, this is only one of the many roles that the IMF plays in global economic issues.
How it's Funded
The IMF is funded by a quota system where each country pays based on the size of its economy and its political importance in world trade and finance. When a country joins the organization, it usually pays a quarter of its quota in the form of U.S. dollars, euros, yen or pound sterling. The other three quarters can be paid in its own currency. Generally, these quotas are reviewed every five years. The IMF can use the quotas from the economically-sturdy countries to lend as aid to developing nations.
The IMF is also funded through contribution trust funds where the organization acts as trustee. This comes from the contributions from members as opposed to quotas, and is used to provide low-income countries with low-interest loans and debt relief.
When a country requests a loan, the IMF will give the country the money needed to rebuild or stabilize its currency, re-establish economic growth and continue buying imports. Several of the types of loans offered include:
- Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) loans. These are low-interest loans for low-income countries to reduce poverty and improve growth for these countries.
- Exogenous Shocks Facility (ESF) loans. These are loans to low-income countries that provide lending for negative economic events that are outside the control of the government. These could include commodity price changes, natural disasters and wars that can interrupt trade.
- Stand By Arrangements (SBA). These are used to help countries with short-term balance of payment issues. (Refresh your understanding of balance of payments with our article: Understanding Capital And Financial Accounts in The Balance Of Payments.)
- Extended Fund Facility (EFF). This is used to assist countries with long-term balance of payment issues that require economic reforms.
- Supplemental Reserve Facility (SRF). This is provided to meet short-term financing on a large scale, like the loss of investor confidence during the Asian Financial Crisis that caused enormous outflows of money and led to massive IMF financing.
- Emergency Assistance loans. These are designed to provide assistance to countries that have had a natural disaster or are emerging from war.
The IMF watches the economics and economic policies of its members. There are two main components of surveillance, country surveillance and multilateral surveillance. Through country surveillance, the IMF visits the country once a year to assess its economic policies and where they are headed. It reports its findings in the Public Information Notice. The second way, multilateral surveillance, is when the IMF surveys global and regional economic trends. It reports these twice a year in the World Economic Outlook and Global Financial Stability Report. These two reports point out problems and potential risks to the world economy and financial markets. The Regional Economic Outlook Report gives more details and analysis.
The IMF helps countries to administer their economic and financial affairs. This service is provided to any membership country that asks for assistance, and is typically provided to low- and middle-income countries. Through the use of technical assistance, the IMF can perform useful surveillance and lending to help the country avoid economic pitfalls which creates sustainable economic growth. Technical assistance helps countries strengthen their economic policy, tax policy, monetary policy, exchange rate system and financial system stability.
Levels of Influence
With over 185 members, some members of the IMF may have more influence over its policies and decisions than others. The United States and Europe are the major influences within the IMF.
The United States - The United States has the largest percentage of voting rights in the IMF with a 16.8% share, and contributes the largest quota of any single country. Over the years there have been many complaints that the U.S. uses the IMF as a way to support countries that are strategically important to them, rather than based on economic need. Many members feel that they should have more of a stake in what the organization does when it determines how and in what ways to help out the different countries.
Europe - Many European countries have resisted the efforts for a readjustment in voting rights and influence at the IMF. In the past, a European has generally held the managing director position of this organization. However, as the world continues to change there is greater demand to give more of a voice to new emerging economic countries. There has been talk that Europe could pool its quotas and maintain a strong voice going forward. However, if the countries try to individually maintain the levels they have, their voice of influence could continue to diminish.
Successes and Failures of the IMF
The IMF has had many successes and failures. Below we will highlight examples of a previous success and failure.
Jordan -Jordan had been impacted by its wars with Israel, civil war and a major economic recession. In 1989 the country had a 30-35% unemployment rate and was struggling with its inability to pay its loans. The country agreed to a series of five-year reforms that began with the IMF. The Gulf war and the return of 230,000 Jordanians because of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait put strain on the government, as unemployment continued to increase. In the period from 1993 to 1999, the IMF extended to Jordan three extended fund facility loans. As a result the government undertook massive reforms of privatization, taxes, foreign investment and easier trade policies. By 2000 the country was admitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO), and one year later signed a free trade accord with the United States. Jordan was also able to bring down its overall debt payment and restructure it at a manageable level. Jordan is an example of how the IMF can foster strong, stable economies that are productive members of the global economy. (For an interesting perspective on the WTO, take a look at The Dark Side Of The WTO.)
Tanzania - In 1985 the IMF came to Tanzania with the aim of turning a broke, indebted socialist state into a strong contributor to the world economy. Since that time the organization has run into nothing but roadblocks. The first steps taken were to lower trade barriers, cut government programs and sell the state-owned industries. By 2000 the once-free healthcare industry started charging patients and the AIDS rate in the country shot up to 8%. The education system that was once free started to charge children to go to school, and school enrollment, which was at 80%, dropped to 66%. As a result, the illiteracy rate of the country shot up by nearly 50%. Also, In the period from 1985 to 2000 the per capita GDP income dropped from $309 to $210. This is an example of how the organization failed to understand that a one-size-fits-all strategy does not apply to all countries.
The IMF does serve a very useful role in the world economy. Through the use of lending, surveillance and technical assistance, it can play a vital role in helping identify potential problems and being able to help countries to contribute to the global economy. However, countries like the UnitedState and Europe have historically dominated the governing body, and the IMF has had successes and failures. While no organization is perfect, the IMF has served the purposes that it was established to do and continues to keep evolving its role in an ever-changing world. (If you're interested in learning about another important international institution, take a look at What Is The World Bank?) | <urn:uuid:a48c3ca9-64cb-4648-9b8c-922a819d13dc> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/09/international-monetary-fund-imf.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395621.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00133-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963574 | 1,661 | 3.359375 | 3 |
What is Karate?
Mr. Mikami teaches Shotokan karate, a Japanese style that is characterized by strong focus (a concentrated moment of energy) made possible by full hip motions and a total body commitment to the technique. This is formal training, based upon traditional teaching methods that gradually build up one's physical condition and mental concentration.
Shotokan karate is different from many other martial arts. Instead of thrusting the beginner immediately into actual sparring and contact situations- where injuries may easily happen and where little real training can occur- Shotokan begins by teaching basic principles and movements.
All other techniques are built upon this solid foundation. With an understanding of how power and speed are generated, progress will be made towards strong, effective technique.
An Unbroken Chain
The founder of Shotokan was Gichin Funakoshi, who taught karate to many individuals before his death in 1957. One of his students was Masatoshi Nakayama, a 10th dan and former chief instructor of the JKA (Japan Karate Association).
Mr. Nakayama died in 1987. It was under Master Nakayama that Mr. Mikami received his training. Thus, there is a direct and unbroken line of instructors who have nurtured and maintained the integrity of the traditional teachings.
Progression and Ranks
Rank tests include three main components:
Rank (belt) tests are given every three months by certified JKA examiners. Successful completion of the test qualifies you to increase one step in rank. Individuals are ranked by numerically descending Kyu grades.
The progression of rank and the color of the belt associated with the rank is:
8th Kyu (yellow)
7th Kyu (orange)
6th Kyu (green)
5th and 4th Kyu (purple)
3rd, 2nd and 1st Kyu (brown)
Black belt, or Dan ranks, are assigned in numerically ascending grades:
Shodan (1st degree)
Nidan (2nd degree)
Sandan (3rd degree) and so forth.
All black belt ranks are recognized internationally and are registered at JKA headquarters in Japan. | <urn:uuid:2f9434a5-96f9-42b9-bcc9-374ff45cc05d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.lkakarate.com/shotokan-karate | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395546.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00002-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962007 | 457 | 2.625 | 3 |
Internet privacy refers to the personal privacy that a person is entitled to when displaying, storing, and providing information regarding himself or herself on the Internet. It is important for Internet users to have the right to keep certain information private, because it gives them control over the distribution of their personal information and protects them from online criminal activities. The federal government and states have imposed certain regulations to ensure that Internet service providers and websites will protect the privacy of Internet users, and failure to provide such protection is considered a violation of the law.
Levels of Privacy
The level of privacy that Internet users have depends on their personal preferences. Those who are not overly concerned about keeping their personal information private do not have to achieve total anonymity. They can protect their privacy by disclosing certain kinds of personal information only. Some Internet users prefer to reveal their IP addresses through their hosting companies and other information because they do not want to go through the hassle of hiding such information. There are also people who wish to have greater privacy, and they may try to become totally anonymous online. They take certain measures to make sure their personal information is not revealed through their online activities.
Privacy Regulations in the United States
Risks to Internet Privacy
Almost every Internet user is exposed to some forms of privacy threats. Online companies do not only track which websites Internet users visit; they also send advertisements based on their browsing histories. There are many online activities that require people to share personal information, and the information may be distributed to other parties. In order to protect their privacy, Internet users have to know what kinds of activities come with privacy risks.
HTTP cookies, flash cookies, and evercookies are used for storing information on personal computers. They can pose privacy risks because they can be used to track the browsing histories of Internet users. Other than showing people’s physical appearances, photographs on the Internet can also reveal personal information. This is made possible by face recognition technology.
Another activity that comes with privacy risks is using search engines. Search engines can reveal personal information such as search items used, dates and times of searches, and others. Social networking sites require their members to display personal information in their profiles, but most members are willing to do so in the hope that they will make more friends. Those who wish to keep their personal information more private can use privacy settings to select the kind of information they wish to display and who the information will be accessible to. Internet service providers also have access to their customers’ personal information, since all the information that is transmitted will pass through them. Nonetheless, there are laws that prevent them from observing the activities of their customers.
Government agencies may also retrieve personal information and breach privacy regulations sometimes. Nevertheless, they are legally allowed to do so if the information they obtain is necessary for law enforcement purposes. They use a wide range of sophisticated software to collect information about Internet users who are suspected of crimes. One program that became a subject of much debate was an FBI Trojan Horse program called Magic Lantern.
Laws for Internet Privacy Protection
Since privacy threats started becoming a problem, the US government had established a number of laws to guard the privacy of Internet users. The USA Patriot Act was enacted to facilitate the investigation of online activities, improve law enforcement investigation tools, and discourage terrorist acts. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act forbids people from revealing electronic information under certain circumstances. Other laws that have been imposed include the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Employees and Employers Internet Regulations.
- Internet Privacy: A Public Concern
- Privacy in Cyberspace
- What is Internet Privacy?
- Your Privacy Online
- Internet Privacy Web Page of the American Civil Liberties Union
- Internet Privacy and Security
- Online Privacy Risks
- Internet Privacy Laws
- USA Patriot Act
- Electronic Communications Privacy Act
- Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
- Child Online Privacy Protection Act
- State Laws Regarding Internet Privacy
- New Jersey vs Shirley Reid
- Specht vs Netscape Communications
- Romano vs Steelcase Inc.
- Warshak vs the United States of America
- Teens, Privacy, and Social Networking | <urn:uuid:efec1c7d-ab0c-48ab-9c63-415f00e2e82b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.hostingreviews.com/a-guide-to-internet-privacy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396959.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00109-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93591 | 841 | 3.34375 | 3 |
Many of the concepts discussed in this framework have their basis in psychological principles. You will find references to research from a variety of branches to include cognitive and social psychology, as well as principles of learning. We will be taking what has long been accepted in this community and applying it to the world of social engineering to provide you with a richer understanding of how and why humans react to specific situations and cues.
The Social Engineering Framework
The Social Engineering Framework is a searchable information resource for people wishing to learn more about the psychological, physical and historical aspects of social engineering. Please use the index below to find a topic that interests you. | <urn:uuid:4d50d5a0-925c-4443-b701-6d640a479187> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.social-engineer.org/framework/psychological-principles/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399425.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00031-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946069 | 127 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Tracking The Real-Time Spread Of The Flu
An entire high school population was tracked in real-time to learn how infectious disease spreads.
Cold and flu season is upon us, and with every social interaction there’s a sneaking suspicion that the person sneezing during the morning commute or coughing at the desk beside you could make you ill. In order to understand how influenza spreads in a population, James Holland Jones of Stanford University’s Woods Institute for the Environment and colleague Marcel Salathé conducted an interesting experiment involving an entire high school throughout one day during the height of last January’s swine flu outbreak.
Each student, teacher, and staff member were outfitted with credit-card sized sensors that transmitted and received radio signals every 20 seconds. The device also relayed their live location to a central server continuously throughout the school day, providing researchers with a better understanding of how disease can spread based on which people were close enough to others. The devices recorded 760,000 instances when two people were within 10 feet of each other, approximately the maximum distance that a disease can be transmitted through a cough or sneeze.
After the collection of tracking data, the researchers ran thousands of simulations asking questions like: “What would happen if there were enough of a vaccine to inoculate only a fraction of the school’s population. Would it be better to vaccinate teachers or students?” The researchers discovered that it doesn’t matter who you vaccinate, unless you are certain of how people are interacting with others. Marcel Salathé explains the outcome of the research:
Almost nothing was better than the random strategy unless you measure who interacts with who and for how long in a typical day. That flies in the face of what most people might think – that the super-popular kids with more connections than everyone else are more likely to spread more of the virus. But it doesn’t matter if you’re a teacher or a student or a staff member, or whether you’re popular or not. Everyone’s pretty much the same when it comes to transmission of the flu. | <urn:uuid:fb64a673-73a5-4b64-a843-0c8ea177ce74> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.psfk.com/2010/12/tracking-the-real-time-spread-of-the-flu.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00003-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966167 | 434 | 3.609375 | 4 |
Many college courses today incorporate some form of group assignment, such as a project, presentation, or a collaborative paper or report. However, instructors are frequently met with resistance from students who don’t like working in groups and don’t want their grade to be affected by peers who may not pull their weight. Nonetheless, research shows that there are many benefits to group work, in terms of both active learning and expanding teamwork skills. Other benefits include better communication skills, critical-thinking abilities, time management, problem-solving skills, cooperation, and reinforcement of knowledge (Forrest & Miller, 2003; Hammar Chiriac, 2014; Kilgo, Ezell, & Pascarella, 2015). Furthermore, since the use of work groups and teams in the workplace has increased, it is important for students to have prior experience in group work. Certainly, a collaborative attitude and the ability to work with others are important at most places of employment. | <urn:uuid:a8d95c98-04f8-4adb-851d-ed80c7ca1240> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.facultyfocus.com/tag/group-learning-activities/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00170-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96665 | 193 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Additional, with more dynamics:
R. Stewart's online book, chapter 9.2, 9.3, 9.5.
If the "transports" are all added up, that is, integrate the velocity over depth at each location, from the bottom to the top of the Ekman layer, the total "Ekman transport" is exactly at right angles to the wind - to the right in the northern hemisphere and left in the southern hemisphere. This direction of the "Ekman transport" is independent of the exact details of the spiral, hence exact details of the vertical eddy viscosity.
The Ekman transport components in the x and y directions (east and
north) are proportional to the wind stress tauy and
taux, in the y and x
(UEk,VEk) = (1/rho*f)*(tauy, - taux).
The units are: m2/sec, since this is actually just a velocity integrated in the vertical direction, and not over an area. Total Ekman transport across, for instance, a vertical section or line or curve across the ocean, or around a box, would then be integrated along the horizontal curve, yielding a complete transport in m3/sec.
This Ekman effect has been demonstrated by Ralph and Niiler (1999) using surface drifter data from the Pacific (drogues at 15 m). (Figure 7.8 in DPO 6th)
2. Other wind effects in addition to surface waves and Ekman flow: Langmuir circulation
(See DPO section 7.5.2, with much more explanation in the supplementary chapter S7.5.2.)
3. Surface mixed layers: buoyancy and turbulent mixing
(See DPO section 7.4)
2. Draw a schematic of an open ocean wind field that produces Ekman convergence in the southern hemisphere.
3. Compare the Ekman layer thickness and the observed global surface mixed layer thickness. Where would Ekman layers be contained within the winter surface mixed layer and where would they extend below it?
4. Compare the timescales of surface waves, Langmuir circulation, inertial circulation and a fully-developed Ekman layer.
A steady wind field is blowing on a rectangular ocean basin 8000 km wide. At 25oN, the wind blows from the east at a speed of u10=8 m/s. At 40oN, the wind blows from the west at a speed of u10=8 m/s. What is the rate of wind-driven Ekman mass convergence between 25oN and 40oN (in kg/s)? What is the average Ekman pumping (in cm/s) between 25oN and 40oN? [1 degree of latitude = 111.12 km]. | <urn:uuid:1d77c6c6-ceb5-485f-be10-be9ec5c02d7a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www-pord.ucsd.edu/~ltalley/sio210/dynamics_ekman/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395621.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00154-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.88174 | 585 | 2.796875 | 3 |
It’s the technology age – we hear and read this everywhere. Even our kids tell it to us. From keeping in touch with relatives across the globe and getting free education from MIT to watching a live majlis and even committing crimes for some – all can be accessed from the fingertips of a person sitting on a computer or laptop.
As adults, we are aware of these things, and we think that our kids are not. Wrong. Our kids are very aware of what can be accessed, seen, done, or played online. It is a parent’s job to know what his/her kid is doing online. Too many times have we heard the horror story of young kids getting “seduced” online so much so that they actually meet these predators in person across their cities or states. What is the guarantee that it won’t be our kids?
Unfortunately, the Internet is a place with no guarantees – it can work on minute, fall apart the next, shutdown, or just disconnect in our homes – and sometimes, there is nothing we can do. Everyone around the world has access – criminals, ex-criminals, parents, teenagers, angry people, depressed people, sick-minded people, comedians, con artists, and the list can go on. How can parents keep their kids safe from falling prey to anyone out to get them?
The risks that your kid will probably be exposed to vulgar language and promiscuous pictures – are parents okay with this? Most parents will say, “My kid would never do those things! He just uses Wikipedia to do his homework and talk to his friends on chat.” Which is fine, but a kid will be a kid – kids get curious, kids get peer pressured. We have seen the language and photos of kids who were “angels” go from clean language to innocent photos to a complete 180 degrees change – why?
Parents need to take an active role in being parents – parents cannot be afraid to set limits and rules for their kids, because it is for their own good. There are plenty of ways to do so. Keep the kids’ computer in a shared room, visible to you at all times. This allows a parent to monitor what his/her kid is doing. If parents want to trust their kids, then allow the kid to use their Internet as they please, and then using tracking software, go back and check to see what your kid has been up to. There are many ways to monitor the usage; it is a matter of doing so. Teaching kids in a positive manner about self-control and that God watches our actions will certainly help kids see the realistic aspect of it – that just because things are readily available does not mean one should indulge or do as one pleases. Not only that, but using improper language or watching and listening to prohibited things can cause a bad chain reaction of habits to form in our lives – “If mom is not watching, I’ll keep doing it” – which can lead from one thing to another.
Some parents do not feel comfortable being so restrictive – of course, it is up to the parent. But at the end of the day, many have personally seen the ill effects of kids having no limits when it comes to Internet usage. Parents are usually in shock when they find proof of their kid using extreme vulgar language against their teacher, school, family, or friends. It is just a matter of being aware – parents do not have to become spies.
Along with monitoring in different ways, parents need to simultaneously teach their kids what is right and wrong on the Internet. Kids have been given access from all ports – school, home, cell phones, iPods, etc. The least we can do as parents is to teach our kids that their piety is the most valuable asset they have – and with improper behavior online, things can fall apart.
Kids may not understand the seriousness of it, but hopefully adults can relay the message to them. ABC Family released a movie titled “Cyberbully” in 2011, which shows the realities of “teenage” online bullying and peer pressure. The harsh realities of what goes on in the popularity contest of online social sites – a lot of what our kids are doing today. Aside from hackers, kids can get harassed from their own friends, even siblings, in revenge of something, which can unfortunately turn serious and damage self-esteem.
We need to take a realistic approach to issues as such. Islam is about moderation and balance. If we are allowing kids to do whatever they like which can damage their self-esteem and worth, or being too restrictive so kids do not learn, then we are hurting their ability to think critically and know themselves as human beings who make mistakes but need to turn back to what is right. Parents are teachers and need to realize it is not about being a “cool” parent. If we want to see our kids healthy and safe, parents need to make sure they are teaching their kids how to behave in ALL situations – in the real world and the cyber world. | <urn:uuid:a0ea217c-85c8-49af-bdd0-b8d697b2996d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.islamicinsights.com/features/technology/parenting-and-the-cyber-world.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398075.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00072-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969944 | 1,044 | 2.53125 | 3 |
AMONG the annoyances common
to man and beast in Michigan, of which we knew nothing where we came
from, were some enormous flies. There were two kinds that were terrible
pests to the cattle. They actually ate the hide off, in spots. First we
put turpentine, mixed with sufficient grease so as not to take the hair
off, on those spots. But we found that fish oil was better, the flies
would not bite where that was.
What we called the ox-flies were the most troublesome. In hot weather
and in the sun, where the mosquitoes didn't trouble, they were most
numerous. They would light on the oxen in swarms, on their brisket, and
between their legs where they could not drive them off. I have
frequently struck these flies with my hand and by killing them got my
hand red with the blood of the ox.
The other species of
flies, we called Pontiacers. This is a Michigan name, and originated I
was told, from one being caught near Pontiac with a paper tied or
attached to it having the word Pontiac written upon it.
These flies were not very
numerous; sometimes there were three or four around at once. When they
were coming we could hear and see them for some rods. Their fashion was
to circle around the oxen before lighting on them. I frequently slapped
them to kill them, sometimes I caught them, in that case they were apt
to lose their heads, proboscis and all. These flies were very large,
some were black and some of the largest were whitish on the front of the
back. I have seen some of them nearly as large as young humming birds.
The Germans tell me they have this kind of fly in Germany. But with the
mosquitoes, these flies have nearly disappeared. | <urn:uuid:08d060a3-4788-498e-a5e9-c9d99823f04a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.electricscotland.com/history/bark/chapter7.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396875.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00152-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.993118 | 394 | 2.578125 | 3 |
1 Answer | Add Yours
Trimeter means a poetic line with three metrical feet. These feet do not have to be iambic; they can be trochaic, anapestic, or dactylic, or other variations. Tennyson here, in “Break, Break, Break”, is varying the foot types in an effort to simulate the sound of ocean waves upon the beach. If we take a line, say “And I would that my tongue could utter” we can find three breaks – And I would', that my tongue', could utter' – and we can name them. In a line like “But O for the touch of a vanished hand,” however, there are four such breaks – But O’, for the touch’, of a van’-, and -ished hand’. So this line is not trimeter. Similarly, the line “But the tender grace of a day that is dead” shows four breaks: “But the ten-,’ -der grace’, of a day’, that is dead’.” These two lines, both third lines in their respective stanzas, deviate from the trimeter structure begun so brilliantly with the title of the poem: Break, break, break. (The third lines of the other stanzas are trimeters.)“Reading” the feet, and therefore the rhythm, of a poem requires much practice and a lot of reading poems out loud. Naming the kinds of feet is a skill of a different order, but the mnemonic device that works best is: “Trochee” is a trochee, but “anapest” is dactylic. And the common foot, the iambic, is common in Shakespeare’s lines -- the ubiquitous iambic pentameter.
We’ve answered 327,848 questions. We can answer yours, too.Ask a question | <urn:uuid:6bc87e2c-ff08-4512-b1dd-a6523634cab2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/which-two-lines-not-trimeter-this-poem-423450 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00060-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926698 | 416 | 3.421875 | 3 |
There’s a really interesting experiment you can do in the comfort of your own home that demonstrates an effect I’m about to show you. All you need is a frying pan and some water. Heat up the frying pan until its good and hot and then flick droplets of water onto the pan. Curiously the droplets won’t instantly burst into little puffs of steam, instead they’ll skitter around on the surface of the pan in apparent defiance of the blazing surface that’s underneath it. This effect happens when any kind of liquid comes into contact with a surface past a certain temperature but I hadn’t really considered what would happen if you put the surface in the liquid:
The phenomenon at work here is called the Leidenfrost Effect. It’s a pretty cool reaction whereby an initial layer of vapour formed by a liquid hitting a sufficiently hot surface forms a protective barrier which is what allows those water droplets I described earlier to skitter around rather than turning into steam. It’s clearly visible in the video at the start where a pocket of water vapour forms around the outside of the red hot sphere. It eventually collapses as the vapour isn’t a perfect insulator but it does manage to stay quite hot for a lot longer than you’d expect.
One thing I can’t figure out a good explanation for those is the incredible sounds that are produced. The rapid generation of steam could possibly explain part of it as some of the sounds are similar to what you hear from say a steam wand on a coffee machine but most of them have a definite metallic twang to them. It’s quite possible that all of the noises are coming from the ball itself as it cools down much like some cars which make a distinct “tink” noise when turned off (the noise comes from the exhaust pipe cooling down). I wasn’t able to track down a name or reliable explanation for this effect however so if you’ve got one I’m all ears 😉 | <urn:uuid:a86750f3-9417-45d1-a8b5-136d70c00074> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.therefinedgeek.com.au/index.php/2013/01/11/red-hot-metal-and-water-the-reaction-isnt-what-youd-expect/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398075.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00129-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955156 | 426 | 3.09375 | 3 |
As medical professionals search for new ways to personalize diagnosis and treatment of disease, a research team at the University of Iowa has already put into practice what may be the next big step in precision medicine: personalized proteomics.
Proteomics is the large-scale analysis of all the proteins in a cell type, tissue type, or organism. In contrast to genomics, which shows how genetic differences can indicate a person's potential for developing a disease over a lifetime, proteomics takes a real-time snapshot of a patient's protein profile during the disease. Doctors can use this information to tailor diagnosis and initiate treatment, sometimes long before a conventional diagnosis even begins to home in on a cause.
"Proteomics allows us to create a precision molecular diagnosis that's totally personalized for the patient," says Vinit Mahajan, M.D., Ph.D., UI clinical assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences.
Mahajan's lab recently used proteomics to devise a successful treatment strategy for a patient with uveitis, a potentially blinding eye disease that can have many causes, making it particularly difficult to diagnose and treat effectively. The team's findings are described in a paper published online Feb. 4 in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.
The patient had been losing vision in one eye because of relapsing inflammation and swelling in the retina, with a buildup of scar tissue. The cause was unknown, so the treatment had consisted of a trial-and-error approach based on a clinical observation of the symptoms.
"Right now, there is no precision medicine for this kind of disease," Mahajan says.
Mahajan and his team then performed a proteomic analysis of fluid taken from the patient's eye and compared that protein profile to profiles of other patients' eye fluid. Gabriel Velez, a graduate student in Mahajan's lab, spotted a pattern that closely resembled those of two other patients who were known to have an autoimmune disorder that produces antibodies against the retina.
"Her symptoms didn't look exactly like the standard clinical diagnosis for that disease," says Nathaniel Roybal, M.D., Ph.D., a vitreoretinal surgical fellow working with Mahajan. "She was missing many features. But based on this pattern that we saw, we ordered a lab test to check if she makes anti-retinal antibodies. And sure enough, the test showed that she did. So we changed how we treated her."
Mahajan performed surgery and implanted a device that continuously releases a steroid into the eye. The patient's vision improved, and she no longer has relapses.
Alexander G. Bassuk, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the Stead Family Department of Pediatrics at University of Iowa Children's Hospital, who co-authored the paper, says the value of personal proteomics extends beyond uveitis.
"We are using this platform to address other kinds of eye and inflammatory diseases where the best diagnosis and therapies for individual patients remain inadequate," Bassuk says.
While proteomics is being studied elsewhere, primarily for diagnostics, Mahajan says the UI implementation is unique because it uses a "whole-patient" approach that coordinates the collection, transport, storage, coding, and analysis of samples in a way that can directly and efficiently improve patient care.
"We were able to combine surgery and science and intelligently go back to the patient to decide on the optimal therapy," Mahajan says. "This is personalized precision medicine. It's the next step."
The study was funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and Research to Prevent Blindness. | <urn:uuid:49d336ed-ce87-4092-b8e0-4ab58440433e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-02/uoih-pap020516.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00002-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950604 | 753 | 3.078125 | 3 |
I found this image of railroad building in America, Our Country by Smith Burnham and Theodore H. Jack, published by the John C. Winston Company of Philadelphia in 1934. I searched but couldn't find any copyright renewal for this title, so I decided the image was in the public domain now (as well as already being in the public domain when included in this book.)
|(Large image: 736 KB)|
After doing all that research on the copyright, I drug the picture into a Google image search and learned that there's a zillion copies of it on the internet already. I should have googled it first!
Originally, the image was a wood engraving by Alfred Rudolph Waud (1828-1891,) printed in Harpers Weekly on July 17, 1875. Images like this helped eastern readers imagine the West and the challenge of railroad building.
The Library of Congress describes the scene as a "...large work crew laying tracks for railroad, several covered wagons and other carts and wagons, work camp in the distance, and some soldiers and Natives resting in the foreground." My husband says that if anyone lived in those house-cars, it was the bosses. | <urn:uuid:c7f07c07-8aca-4253-80be-c0fe48fdc4cd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://prairiebluestem.blogspot.com/2013/10/railroad-building-1875.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397565.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00187-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969527 | 245 | 3.015625 | 3 |
YORK - Do you remember getting more daytime mosquito bites last summer than 10 years ago?
How many Great Egrets did you see nesting at Kiwanis Lake in York last year?
Do you like having a cup of coffee to start your day? What if you couldn’t get any, or the price rose?
Changes like these were brought up Wednesday at a roundtable discussion on climate change.
Ed Perry, the Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for the National Wildlife Federation, led a crowd of around 30 people in the discussion at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of York.
Perry, along with three other speakers, discussed examples of habitats in York County, Pennsylvania and other connected ecosystems that are currently showing evidence of climate change.
Keith Peterman, a professor of chemistry at York College, takes a group of students down to Costa Rica each spring. While he has noticed many subtle changes to the wildlife over his years of study in the tropical climate, this year, something stood out.
Peterman and his students were driving past a field filled with lush, green coffee plants covered in white blooms. The sight was strange, Peterman said, because it was the wrong season for the plants to be in bloom.
After asking around, Peterman was told that the coffee plants were no longer keeping to their usual life cycle and were blooming and developing beans at shorter intervals.
While this might sound like a boon to the coffee industry -- shorter life cycles means more growth in a given year -- it was actually weakening the plants and making them less productive, Peterman said.
The changes are leading to a more volatile coffee market and harming farmers’ livelihoods, he said.
Tom Smith is the West Nile virus program administrator at Penn State Extension in York County. Each year, his team spends months collecting samples of mosquito eggs and adults around the area.
In 2012, York County was No. 1 in the state for the number of adult mosquitoes that tested positive for West Nile and No. 3 in the country, Smith said.
The warmer weather patterns recorded in the last decade are allowing crop pests that usually can’t survive Pennsylvania winters to move north and impact local agriculture, Smith said.
“To protect human health, the only solution to these pests is more pesticides on our crops,” Smith said.
Paul Zeph, the director of conservation at Audubon Pennsylvania, said the National Audubon Society has collected data showing around 60 percent of all birds species in North America are wintering in different locations than before.
These habitat changes are impacting what the birds eat, what species they compete with for resources and their reproduction, Zeph said.
Each bird species has a certain timing for when it migrates, nests and hatches. These times have evolved to match when the bird’s food source peaks or falls, he said.
“If a species hatches when its food source is not at peak, the baby birds will not get enough to eat,” Zeph said.
Mismatches in timing are already being seen and are negatively affecting bird populations.
Less birds means more bugs, Zeph said.
“Things are changing,” he added. “And probably not for the better.” | <urn:uuid:9fceb835-8bab-4d70-807f-d036b8e281ee> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130402/LIFE05/130409889/climate-roundtable-reviews-impacts-already-seen-in-state | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00115-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957343 | 672 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Jacqueline, 1401–36, countess of Hainaut, Holland, and Zeeland (1417–33). The daughter and heiress of William IV, duke of Bavaria and count of Hainaut, Holland, and Zeeland, and of Margaret of Burgundy, Jacqueline was passed over for the succession to the counties on her father's death in 1417 in favor of her uncle, John of Bavaria. Jacqueline married a cousin, John IV, duke of Brabant, nephew of Philip the Good of Burgundy, but found him useless in helping her recover her inheritance and soon left him. She sought refuge in England, where, although her previous marriage had been dubiously annulled, she married (c.1422) Humphrey, duke of Gloucester, the brother of King Henry V. A subsequent invasion of Hainaut (1424–25) proved unsuccessful, and Jacqueline was abandoned by Humphrey and obliged to make peace with Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy, who sought to avenge her repudiation of John IV. Imprisoned at Ghent, she escaped but submitted after a struggle. The treaty of Delft (1428) recognized her as nominal countess and Philip as her administrator and heir. Four years later she attempted in vain to incite a rebellion in Holland against Philip, after which she abdicated her countships in Philip's favor in 1433.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:5f2a6e3c-ab49-41c6-b3e3-3e095993acb4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/people/jacqueline.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403823.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00015-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966262 | 319 | 3 | 3 |
Geology and Mineral Processing for Potters
Material Matters – Steve Harrison’s Rock Glazes, Geology and Mineral Processing for Potters: A Personal Approach. Hot and Sticky Press 2003. ISBN 0 – 9750530 – 0 – 0. Available from http://ian.currie.to/sh/Steve_Harrisons_books.html.
'For potters must be close to the earth where their materials are; pots are of the earth and from the earth'.
From ‘Rock Glazes’ by Ivan Englund F.S.T.C. A.S.T.C.
Pottery, unlike painting, does not depict landscape; it is the landscape. The earth beneath the potters feet is transformed through knowledge, gained empirically or through scientific theory, which allows sticky mud, obdurate rock and the detritus of plants – even animals - to be rendered into objects which may be both useful and beautiful. In Rock Glazes, Geology and Mineral Processing for Potters: A Personal Approach, Steve Harrison examines how the studio-potter may use these materials to create glazes that echo the land in a manner that is both literal and abstract.
For thousands of years, whether in the hands of village craftsmen or technocrats, these skills were an integral part of the practice of ceramics. Over time this knowledge was compartmentalized, hived off as the province of specialists. Within the manufactories of Stoke on Trent, or traditional Chinese pottery areas like Longquan or Jingdezhen, the vast scale of production led to a situation whereby those who made the pots were not the same people who made the clay, and the workers who made the glazes did not build or fired the kilns. Such is the nature of industry, an enterprise which, whilst not being without craftsmanship, is quite different to the crafts, as the term came to be understood in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
With the advent of the modern crafts movement came the notion of the studio-potter, and, thanks to outspoken and persuasive commentators like Bernard Leach, many craftspeople sought to work in a deliberately anti-industrial fashion. An integral part of this new model was the concept of ‘truth to materials’. Whereas industry strove to make pottery that was ever whiter, finer and glossier, many within the crafts movement sought other directions. What industry considered flaws were celebrated within the crafts, and came to define no less than an alternate aesthetic paradigm.
Leach was the pivot around which this part of ceramic history turned. A Potter’s Book, published in 1940, was the first generally available text (which is not to say it was the only one) for the studio-potter to deal comprehensively with how stoneware pottery could be made outside of an industrial setting. In this book, Leach gave detailed, practical guidance of how common minerals, like feldspar, limestone and quartz, could provide the backbone for high temperature glazes. In addition, drawing on his experience of North Asian traditions, he included other non-industrial materials, wood ash, or the Japanese kimaichi stone, in his glaze recipes. A Potter’s Book contains analysis of these hitherto overlooked substances, and explains how they may modify or replace more ‘traditional’ glaze ingredients. For the first time the studio potter was able to see how the ash from their fireplace (or, in those more lenient times, the backyard incinerator) contained many of the substances necessary to construct a workable stoneware glaze. This was a radical departure from standard Western ceramic practice, but, in Leach’s view, a potter might not only gain a degree of independence by working in this way, but it would imbue their work with an organic quality, setting it apart from industrial ware. Philosophy and practice would meet, and be reconciled. The extent to which this approach was adopted, and how it may have benefited or constrained the ceramic arts, is still the subject of debate.
In Australia, many of the pioneers of studio pottery followed suit. Harold and Robert Hughan, aided by Leach’s book, turned quickly from the idiom of earthenware and were amongst the very first exponents of high-fired studio-pottery. Ivan Mc Meekin, who had worked with Michael Cardew in England, became obsessed with materials, a process which would culminate in his extraordinary text Notes for Potters in Australia, a treatise on Australian ceramic materials which remains unparalleled in its rigor. Ivan Englund began his exploration of rock glazes, and, from Eileen Keys in Western Australia to Carl McConnell in Queensland, potters turned to the ground to see what vigor was in its bones.
The use of ‘natural’ materials is fundamentally a stoneware technique, but in the early years kilns that could reliably reach stoneware temperatures were few and far between, and many an exciting - and risky - experiment was carried out with dripping sump-oil and jerry-rigged blowers in sheds across the country. With a copy of A Potter’s Book, or later Daniel Rhodes’ excellent Clay and Glazes for the Potter near at hand, Australian potters covered their pots in simple mixtures of clay, ash, limestone, dolomite, feldspar and quartz, crossed their fingers and waited nervously for the results.
With the advent of journals and books dedicated to Australian studio pottery, information gleaned from this experimental work became available, although, Australian publishing being what it is, the pace was somewhat leisurely. It was in the pages of Pottery in Australia magazine that a meaningful dialogue began as to the nature of stoneware techniques, the clays, glazes and kilns germane to this exciting field of endeavor. Given the makeup of the editorial staff this was no surprise, and as early as the third issue (May 1963) Ivan Englund, who was then President of the Potters Society of New South Wales, the publishers of the magazine, authored an article ‘The Bumbo Latite – a useful igneous rock for potters’. It is here that we find a template for all future contributions on the use of Australian rocks in stoneware glazes, and which, somewhat belatedly, serves as an introduction to a discussion of Harrison’s book.
Not unnaturally, most treatises on the subject of rock glazes have several things in common, and Harrison’s book is no exception. There is information on the chemical and physical nature of glazes, on the raw materials and how one might go about collecting them, and the all-important question of how the rocks are to be rendered into a state useful to the potter. This latter problem is addressed in two ways. One is to find a working quarry, make friends with the quarrymen, and collect the fine dust from around the crushers. This is the easy way, favored by Ivan Englund in his 1983 book on the subject, Rock Glazes. The second option is to assemble a range of implements whereby several kilos of rocks may be turned into a powder fine enough to be suspended in a glaze solution. This is the hard way, though it brings its own challenges and rewards, if you are prepared to spend the necessary time, effort and money in doing so, and if you live far enough from neighbors to get away with the racket. Steve Harrison covers both options, but, perhaps understandably given the complexity of the task (and also, I suspect, due to the fact that he just has a lot of fun doing it) it is the latter approach which is stressed.
Jaw crushers, hammer mills, roller mills, disc disintegrators and especially ball mills are discussed at length, together with useful detail to do with ball sizes, speed of grinding and the wonderfully termed ‘angle of nip’. There is a revised version of his Thoroughly Modern Milling, first published in Pottery in Australia vol. 15. no’s 1 and 2 in 1976, which surely must be the last word on the subject. Furthermore – and this is where Harrison’s book delves into hitherto unexplored regions – he outlines a method by which constituent minerals, for example feldspar and silica, may be separated from the parent rock through a combination of mechanical and chemical treatments. Given the chemicals and labour involved this procedure will not appeal to most potters, but it is a fascinating account, and one which stresses his dedication to the cause. The remainder of the book addresses a variety of subjects, from testing procedures to glaze chemistry, in brief but informative terms, and one might wish to follow Harrison’s advice – and footnotes – in assembling a more extensive library on differing aspects of glaze technology or mineralogical analysis. What Steve Harrison does is to concentrate on one specific facet of ceramic inquiry, whilst locating it within a general field, and he does it well.
What he does not do is delve into the philosophy behind his approach (which he terms a ‘location specific event’ ) for the stated reason that he has addressed this topic in his other writings. I found further explanation of his philosophy of ‘locality’ on the Legge Gallery website, and couldn't help comparing his arguments with those made by Ivan McMeekin in his Introduction to Notes for Potters in Australia. There, McMeekin states one of the primary reasons for writing his book was because
‘artist-potters … in Australia are in a position that is different from that of their fellows in Europe or America … (insofar that) … in England, the pottery industry has been in existence for so long that the nature and whereabouts of most of their raw materials is well known, and you can work there as an artist-potter knowing little more about your clay than its forming and firing characteristics, and that you got it from such and such supplier, if you wish …’.
The inference being that Australian potters were somewhat disadvantaged in this respect, although, given that McMeekin’s book was published in 1985, it is arguable that by the mid-eighties Australian potters had access to a truly vast range of materials, both local and imported. Nonetheless, his emphasis is on assembling knowledge for the sake of knowledge,
‘in the hope that this study of our materials may lead us to knowledge of and feeling for not only the clays and rocks but the Australian environment as a whole; and that we may come to identify ourselves more with it, becoming more concerned about it and responsible for it.’
Fine sentiments indeed.
Harrison’s arguments are couched in somewhat more trenchant terms, positing the use of ‘local’ materials as an antidote to globalization, and the resultant aesthetic sameness in contemporary work. He states that
‘In a time when international cultural boundaries are being smudged or collapsed by free trade agreements and globalization, one result is that simple consumer items such as ceramics are conceived in a design studio in Europe or the US and produced in a factory in China, then shipped to every first-world country in the developed world. The result is less choice, less individuality. This work is my attempt to produce a fully local product. With all its limitations and faults, and all of its local character. The French have a word ‘terroir’ that expresses some of this quality.’
One might point out that the smudging of cultural boundaries is not always a bad thing. Ceramics, tailored specifically for foreign markets, have been produced in China and shipped around the world for a very long time, and constitute some of the most beautiful wares in ceramic history, though the standard seems to have been slipping over the last few hundred years. Harrison’s work itself is the result of a fortuitous smudging of cultural boundaries, stemming as it does from the Anglo-Oriental tradition. It is worth remembering that one of Leach’s great ambitions was the bringing together of East and West, yet, whilst his transposition of oriental stoneware techniques was highly influential in the West, the Japanese audience favored his English slip-ware, ‘born’, as Yanagi rather diplomatically put it, ‘not made.’ Lastly, it is highly unlikely the monopoly of a global ceramic industry, offering less choice and individuality, will be challenged by exhibiting $500 soup bowls, no matter what their geological DNA. As a political theorist Harrison is less than convincing. Where he is very convincing is in his work, and this is where one really sees the benefits of his theories of locality.
Where I am absolutely in agreement with Harrison, is in the aesthetic possibilities made possible by the use of un-refined materials. If one favors the personality and individuality brought to a pot by the inclusion of a little quartz, mica or iron in the body, or the unexpected qualities of glazes made with rock and ash, then there is nothing better than Harrison’s approach. It also returns to the potter a freedom and confidence which only comes through hands on experience, hopefully translating into work exhibiting similar qualities. Of course, it is up to the individual to decide just what is ‘local’, and an argument that rests too heavily on this concept will be difficult to sustain. After all, it is perfectly possible to live – as I do – within a short drive of quarries that supply primary and secondary clays, limestone and quartz, graded, milled and bagged, yet despite this proximity I doubt whether their use would fall within Harrison’s definition of a ‘location specific event’. What is more interesting is his use of the analogy of a ‘terroir’, referring as it does to a complex interaction of place, product and tradition. Here, Harrison’s ideals share more than a little with the burgeoning ‘slow food’ movement in Australia, as he indicates by comparing the use of local produce with local materials. Other similarities exist, for example the concept of ‘food miles’, or indeed the willingness of certain members of the public to pay a premium for an organic, hand-made product. As yet, there are no distinct appellations in Australian ceramics, but, given the history, I wouldn't be surprised if the area around Mittagong would be the first.
About the author.
Damon Moon is a PhD candidate in art history at the University of South Australia. His research centers around the reception of Leach’s A Potter’s Book within the post-war studio pottery movement in Australia. He is a practicing potter, with an interest in utilizing natural materials in his work. He lives and works in Willunga, south of Adelaide.
Damon Moon may be contacted via email at email@example.com.
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