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There is evidence suggesting possible human habitation in Brazil more than 30,000 years ago, and scholars have found artifacts, including cave paintings, that all agree date back at least 11,000 years. By the time Europeans arrived there was a relatively small indigenous population, but the archaeological record indicates that densely populated settlements had previously existed in some areas; smallpox and other European diseases are believed to have decimated these settlements prior to extensive European exploration. The indigenous peoples that survived can be classified into two main groups, a partially sedentary population that spoke the Tupian language and had similar cultural patterns, and those that moved from place to place in the vast land. It is estimated that approximately a million indigenous people were scattered throughout the territory.
Whether or not Brazil was known to Portuguese navigators in the 15th cent. is still an unsolved problem, but the coast was visited by the Spanish mariner Vicente Yáñez Pinzón (see under Pinzón, Martín Alonso) before the Portuguese under Pedro Alvares Cabral in 1500 claimed the land, which came within the Portuguese sphere as defined in the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494). Little was done to support the claim, but the name Brazil is thought to derive from the Portuguese word for the red color of brazilwood [ brasa = glowing coal], which the early visitors gathered. The indigenous people taught the explorers about the cultivation of corn, the construction of hammocks, and the use of dugout canoes. The first permanent settlement was not made until 1532, and that was at São Vicente in São Paulo. Development of the Northeast was begun about the same time under Martím Afonso de Sousa as first royal governor. Salvador was founded in 1539, and 12 captaincies were established, stretching inland from the Brazilian coast.
Portuguese claims, somewhat lackadaisically administered, did not go unchallenged. French Huguenots established themselves (1555) on an island in Rio de Janeiro harbor and were routed in 1567 by a force under Mem de Sá, who then founded the city of Rio de Janeiro. The Dutch made their first attack on Salvador (Bahia) in 1624, and in 1633 the vigorous Dutch West India Company was able to capture and hold not only Salvador and Recife but the whole of the Northeast; the region was ably ruled by John Maurice of Nassau. No aid was forthcoming from Portugal, which had been united with Spain in 1580 and did not regain its independence until 1640. It was a naval expedition from Rio itself that drove out the Dutch in 1654. The success of the colonists helped to build their self-confidence.
Farther south, the bandeirantes from São Paulo had been trekking westward since the beginning of the 17th cent., thrusting far into Spanish territory and extending the western boundaries of Brazil, which were not delimited until the negotiations of the Brazilian diplomat Rio Branco in the late 19th and early 20th cent. The Portuguese also had ambitions to control the Banda Oriental (present Uruguay) and in the 18th cent. came into conflict with the Spanish there; the matter was not completely settled even by the independence of Uruguay in 1828.
The sugar culture came to full flower in the Northeast, where the plantations were furnishing most of the sugar demanded by Europe. Unsuccessful at exploiting the natives for the backbreaking labor of the cane fields and sugar refineries, European colonists imported Africans in large numbers as slaves. Dependence on a one-crop economy was lessened by the development of the mines in the interior, particularly those of Minas Gerais, where gold was discovered late in the 17th cent. Mining towns sprang up, and Ouro Prêto became in the 18th cent. a major intellectual and artistic center, boasting such artists as the sculptor Aleijadinho. The center of development began to swing south, and Rio de Janeiro, increasingly important as an export center, supplanted Salvador as the capital of Brazil in 1763.
Ripples from intellectual stirrings in Europe that preceded the French Revolution and the successful American Revolution brought on an abortive plot for independence among a small group of intellectuals in Minas; the plot was discovered and the leader, Tiradentes, was put to death. When Napoleon's forces invaded Portugal, the king of Portugal, John VI, fled (1807) to Brazil, and on his arrival (1808) in Rio de Janeiro that city became the capital of the Portuguese Empire. The ports of the colony were freed of mercantilist restrictions, and Brazil became a kingdom, of equal status with Portugal. In 1821 the king returned to Portugal, leaving his son behind as regent of Brazil. New policies by Portugal toward Brazil, tightening colonial restrictions, stirred up wide unrest.
The young prince eventually acceded to popular sentiment, and advised by the Brazilian José Bonifácio, on Sept. 7, 1822, on the banks of the Ipiranga River, allegedly uttered the fateful cry of independence. He became Pedro I, emperor of Brazil. Pedro's rule, however, gradually kindled increasing discontent in Brazil, and in 1831 he had to abdicate in favor of his son, Pedro II.
The reign of this popular emperor saw the foundation of modern Brazil. Ambitions directed toward the south were responsible for involving the country in the war (1851–52) against the Argentine dictator, Juan Manuel de Rosas, and again in the War of the Triple Alliance (1865–70) against Paraguay. Brazil drew little benefit from either; far more important were the rise of postwar discontent in the military and beginnings of the large-scale European immigration that was to make SE Brazil the economic heart of the nation. Railroads and roads were constructed, and today the region has an excellent transportation system.
The plantation culture of the Northeast was already crumbling by the 1870s, and the growth of the movement to abolish slavery, spurred by such men as Antônio de Castro Alves and Joaquim Nabuco, threatened it even more. The slave trade had been abolished in 1850, and a law for gradual emancipation was passed in 1871. In 1888 while Pedro II was in Europe and his daughter Isabel was governing Brazil, slavery was completely abolished. The planters thereupon withdrew their support of the empire, enabling republican forces, aided by a military at odds with the emperor, to triumph.
In 1889 the republic was established by a bloodless revolution, with Marshal Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca as its first president. The rivalry of the states and the power of the army in government, especially under Fonseca's unpopular Jacobinist successor, Marshal Floriando Peixoto, caused the political situation to remain uneasy. The expanding market for Brazilian coffee and more particularly the wild-rubber boom brought considerable wealth as the 19th cent. ended.
The creation of rubber plantations in Southeast Asia brought the wild-rubber boom to a halt and hurt the economy of the Amazon region after 1912. Brazil sided with the Allies in World War I, declaring war in Oct., 1917, and shared in the peace settlement, but later (1926) it withdrew from the League of Nations. Measures to reverse the country's growing economic dependence on coffee were taken by Getúlio Vargas, who came into power through a coup in 1930. By changing the constitution and establishing a type of corporative state he centralized government (the Estado Nôvo —new state) and began the forced development of basic industries and diversification of agriculture. His mild dictatorial rule, although it aroused opposition, reflected a new consciousness of nationality, which was expressed in the paintings of Cândido Portinari and the music of Heitor Villa-Lobos.
World War II brought a new boom (chiefly in rubber and minerals) to Brazil, which joined the Allies in 1942, after coming close to backing Germany, and began taking a larger part in inter-American affairs. In 1945 the army forced Vargas to resign, and Gen. Eurico Gaspar Dutra was elected president. Brazil's economic growth was plagued by inflation, and this issue enabled Vargas to be elected in 1950. His second administration was marred by economic problems and political infighting, and in 1954 he committed suicide. Juscelino Kubitschek was elected president in 1955. Under Kubitschek the building of Brasília and an ambitious program of highway and dam construction were undertaken. The inflation problem persisted.
On Apr. 21, 1960, Brasília became Brazil's official capital, signaling a new commitment to develop the interior of the country. In 1960 Jânio da Silva Quadros was elected by the greatest popular margin in Brazilian history, but his autocratic, unpredictable manner aroused great opposition and undermined his attempts at reform. He resigned within seven months. Vice President João Goulart was his successor. Goulart's leftist administration was weakened by political strife and seemingly insurmountable economic chaos, and in 1964 he was deposed by a military insurrection. Congress elected Gen. Castelo Branco to fill out his term. Goulart's supporters and other leftists were removed from power and influence throughout Brazil and, in 1965, the president's extraordinary powers were extended and all political parties were dissolved.
A new constitution was adopted in 1967, and Marshall Costa e Silva succeeded Castelo Branco. In 1968, Costa e Silva recessed Congress and assumed one-man rule. In 1969, Gen. Emílio Garrastazú Médici succeeded Costa e Silva. Terrorism of the right and left became a feature of Brazilian life. The military police responded to guerrilla attacks with widespread torture and the formation of death squads to eradicate dissidents. This violence abated somewhat in the mid-1970s. Gen. Ernesto Geisel succeeded Médici as president in 1974. By this time, Brazil had become the world's largest debtor.
In 1977 Geisel dismissed Congress and instituted a series of constitutional and electoral reforms, and in 1978 he repealed all emergency legislation. His successor, Gen. João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo, presided over a period (1979–85) of tremendous industrial development and increasing movement toward democracy. Despite these improvements, economic and social problems continued and the military maintained control of the government. Civilian government was restored in 1985 under José Sarney, and illiterate citizens were given the right to vote. Sarney's reforms were initially successful, but increasing inflation brought antigovernment protests.
In 1988 a new constitution came into force, reducing the workweek and providing for freedom of assembly and the right to strike, and in 1990 President Fernando Collor de Mello was elected by popular vote. As a result of increasing international pressure, Collor sponsored programs to decrease the rate of deforestation in Amazon rain forests and to protect the autonomy of the indigenous Yanomami. In 1992, amid charges of wide-scale corruption within his government, Collor became the first elected president to be impeached by the Brazilian congress; he resigned as his trial began, and was succeeded by his vice president, Itamar Augusto Franco. In 1994 the supreme court cleared Collor of corruption charges, but he was barred from public office until 2001.
Fernando Henrique Cardoso was elected president in Oct., 1994, and took office in Jan., 1995. The Cardoso government reduced state controls on the economy and privatized government-owned businesses in telecommunications, oil, mining, and electricity. With the help of a new stable currency, Cardoso was able to bring inflation under control; he also signed decrees expropriating new lands from private estates for redistribution to the landless poor.
Reelected in 1998, Cardoso was faced with an economic crisis as budget deficits and a decline in foreign exchange reserves led to currency devaluations and increased interest rates. Late in 1998, he appealed to the International Monetary Fund, which assembled a $42 billion aid package for the country. Brazil then began implementing a program of stringent economic policies that restored investor confidence by mid-1999 and led to economic growth. In May, 2000, Cardoso signed a fiscal responsibility law that limited spending by the states; the legislation was a result of fiscal crises in several Brazilian states.
A series of corruption scandals that undermined the governing coalition in early 2001 was followed by an energy crisis that led the government to order widespread cuts in electrical consumption from May until Mar., 2002; the crisis resulted from a drought that reduced the water available to produce hydropower and a decade-long increase in the demand for electricity. Popular dissatisfaction with economic austerities helped fuel the election of Lula da Silva, of the opposition Workers' party (PT), to the presidency in 2002. Da Silva's subsequent inauguration also marked the increasing stability of Brazilian democracy; it was the first transfer of power between elected presidents since 1961. The new president did not deviate greatly from his predecessor's economic program, however, which alienated many supporters on the left.
Da Silva's government was hurt by a campaign finance scandal in early 2004 and by an increase in unemployment, and suffered losses in popular and congressional support, although economic growth in 2004 was strong and unemployment subsequently decreased. In June, 2005, the president was further hurt PT officials were accused of buying the votes of some of its congressional coalition members. The charges, made by the leader of a party in coalition with the president, led to the resignation of the president's chief of staff (who was expelled from the congress late in the year) and of the Workers' party leader and treasurer and forced the president to reshuffle his cabinet to shore up coalition support for his government. A separate bribery scandal led to the resignation of the speaker of the House in September, and in Mar., 2006, the finance minister resigned when he also was ensnared in a bribery scandal. Although the president weathered the scandals, they led to the sidetracking of social-reform legislation he had proposed. Meanwhile, Amazonas state was hit by a severe drought in 2005 when the dry season saw much less rainfall than usual.
A weeklong outbreak of rampant gang violence and, in turn, police vengeance against the gangs erupted in mid-May, 2006, in São Paulo state when a gang sought revenge for a government attempt to break the influence of its imprisoned leaders and members. The violence exposed a variety of ills in Brazil criminal justice system, including corruption in the prisons and lawlessness among the police. São Paulo experienced outbreaks of criminal gang violence in July and August as well, and Rio de Janeiro experienced a series of gang attacks in late December.
The 2006 presidential election, in October, was inconclusive after the first round. Da Silva won a plurality, but failed to win the required majority; his campaign was hurt by the corruption scandals that affected the PT and a late-breaking dirty-tricks scandal involving his campaign organization. The runner-up, Geraldo Alckmin, the former governor of São Paulo state, saw his campaign hurt by the recent violence in the state. In the runoff at the end of the month, da Silva won handily, securing 60% of the vote. Corruption scandals continued to make news in 2007. The most prominent new cases occurred in May, when the energy minister resigned after corruption allegations against him became public and a major Brazilian newsmagazine reported that the Senate president had taken payoffs; toward the end of the year the Senate president resigned, though he remained a senator. In August, the supreme court voted to charge da Silva's former chief of staff and the former Workers' party treasurer with corruption; they and a number of others were convicted in 2012. In Jan., 2008, Brazil became a net creditor nation, in large part due to debt-reduction measures undertaken by da Silva's government. Allegations that Brazil's intelligence agency had wiretapped Brazilian officials and politicians led the president to suspend the agency chief and other officials in Sept., 2008.
In 2009 a scandal involving former president Sarney threatened da Silva's favored successor, his chief of staff Dilma Rousseff; she was accused of attempting to influence the investigation into Sarney's conduct. Rousseff weathered the charge, and went on to become PT's presidential candidate in 2010. Benefiting from da Silva's popularity (due in large part to Brazil's economic growth and government social programs), she won the presidency in October after a runoff election. She became the first woman to be elected president of Brazil. Also in 2010, a concerted government effort began to control drug-gang-related crime in Rio de Janeiro and break gang power in the slums there.
In Jan., 2011, SE Brazil, especially Rio de Janeiro state, experienced floods and devastating mudslides as a result of heavy rains; more than a thousand people died or were missing as a result of the disaster. Rousseff's chief of staff, Antonio Palocci, resigned in June, 2011, over alleged corruption; a newspaper had reported that his net worth had increased twentyfold in the past four years due to consultancy income. During 2011 corruption allegations also led five government ministers to step down as Rousseff showed less tolerance for entrenched corrupt practices than previous presidents.
Brazil's economic growth slowed beginning in 2011. In June, 2013, the sluggish economy contributed to nationwide protests lasting several weeks that were sparked by an increase in the cost of public transportation; rising consumer prices generally, congressional corruption, poor public services, and the high cost of holding the 2014 World Cup also stoked the angry demonstrations. Brazil's Congress subsequently passed a number of bills focused on issues that had led to the protests.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: South American Political Geography
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The memory, called phase-change memory, is made through the discovery of new material. The material is a germanium-antimony alloy that has been doped with other elements to enhance properties. The new material has led to the filing of a new patent by the team. Research covering phase-change memory will be presented this week as a part of the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineer's (IEEE's) 2006 International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) in San Francisco.
Read more from the joint press release.
Non-volatile memory that is 500 times faster than flash has many applications. Some of these applications include music and video players without the need for hard drives. Small laptop computers could also use the memory in place of a hard drive, leading to quick boot times.
That the new memory is more power friendly than flash means it is perfect for mobile devices. Lower power consumption is key when it comes to extending the longevity of mobile devices instead of relying solely on developments in battery technology. The smaller size is also a bonus.
Though I am intrigued by the new memory, I probably wouldn't get much out of the presentation this week at the IEEE conference. I could hear jets flying over my head as I attempted to read the technical details within the press release alone. Words that I did pick up on were “faster,” “lower power consumption,” and “smaller.” That's enough for me.
USER COMMENTS 13 comment(s)
|will it be more pricey? (9:52am EST Tue Dec 12 2006)
because it can be a problem if the new tech costs more than the actual Flash … – by yuri_ha
|Reliability (10:07am EST Tue Dec 12 2006)
The press release also mentions that Flash degrades over time and that the new phase-change alloy is more durable. (It doesn't say mow much more reliable, though.) Still, that'd be a huge bonus for future hybrid drive or hard drive replacement applications. – by Jarink
|What would be cool (11:42am EST Tue Dec 12 2006)
is if I could chain 4 of these and stripe my data across my laptop or IPod. Then I would have some great data recovery protection added to speed, lower heat and durability. It could also replace any type of CD or DVD drive if done correctly. Have almost a completely static laptop. Only moving part would be the system fan. – by mgeo
|Yeah, but (11:43am EST Tue Dec 12 2006)
I read another article, then talked about it with my dad, who is a chemist. He said he understands how this might work, but the compounds with which he is familiar use heat to change the phase. That would mean that the memory would be temperature sensitive. Trying to operate the stuff outside a given temperature range would result in unusable memory. Obviously, there are environment limits to any technology. I am left wondering what they are for this. – by WJCIV
|hopeful, but skeptical (4:01pm EST Tue Dec 12 2006)
Here's why I'm skeptical:
1- there is a special chemistry involed
1a- because of the special chemistry involved, it may not be usable as embedded flash (flash embedded w/ logic)
2 – reliability
A typical flash FET can be written a few 100,000 times (maybe even a million these days, not sure). Back in the day it used to be only a few 1000 times.
I've read some about phase change memory and I have yet to see any predictions in this area. maybe those little crystaline resistors are tougher then I think and they can be re-melted millions of times with no problem.
But that kind of defys common sense based on what I know about electronics, crystals, and heat.
I hope it works, then again I kind of wish ZRAM, bubble memory, and ferro-electric had worked to. Exotic methods more often then not tend to fail because of cost, repeatability, or reliability. So all new wonderous claims should be judged accordingly. – by EE92
|WJCIV – excellent question (4:40pm EST Tue Dec 12 2006)
but unlike lots of other components (like a DRAM's leaky capacitors) most resistors aren't nearly as sensitive to heat.
These memory cells are like tiny resitors that change resitance depending on if the crystals solidify into a well ordered or randomized orientation ('0' and '1' states).
As long as the environmental heat is well below the actual melting point of germanium-antimony alloy (GeSb), everything should be fine. At that point your other silicon parts have long checked out as well, their plastic cases melted away.
So my gut feel is that operating temperatures aren't going to be an issue.
What I do think might be an issue is melting, waiting for it to solidify, and remelting every storage cell in your memory array at 500 times the speed of flash for hours on end. That just seems like a pretty harsh way to store your bits, kind of like high speed microscopic spot welding.
In fact do a google search on “phase change welding” and see what comes up.
Like most new chip technologies, they have some very close analogs with things in the macroscopic world as well. They are rarely as unique as the press release leads you to believe. Crystaline phase changes in metalurgy is a well understood phenomena… – by EE92
|Promising, nonetheless (6:29pm EST Tue Dec 12 2006)
I sure hope this works. Derr….
|Hope (7:17pm EST Tue Dec 12 2006)
It's discoveries like this that give great hope for mankind's future. I hope someone is hard at work on a better storage battery, I feel that is the real key. – by boilerboy
|Look at your DVD (8:49pm EST Tue Dec 12 2006)
The DVD uses a different material for phase-change memory storage with optical programming and readout.
The phase-change memory is the same idea only with electrical operation instead.
To add to EE92, you have to wonder about thermal expansion coefficient differences. – by fdc
|end of mechanical (11:41pm EST Tue Dec 12 2006)
its about time. ive been waiting for when mechanical storage would be the thing of the past, i knew anything that has to move and is for a computer is already prehistoric – by arcice
|LOL (12:02am EST Wed Dec 13 2006)
500x faster, 10x smaller, scalable to beyond 45nm… Leaps Samsung, Toshiba, Micron/INTEL in a single jump.
What are they smoking. If this is the best thing since sliced bread it would have been commercialized years ago. This is PR at IBM's best. Don't you guys know IBM hasn't invented anything really relevant in years. IBM is cooking this special brew. Like their unaxial strain and their SILK.. There last two wonders to the silcon world. This will amount to nothing.
|new RAMs (12:38am EST Wed Dec 13 2006)
This should be a cut throat battle between
NRAM – nanotube ram (nantero.com)
MRAM – magneto' ram
PRAM – phaseshift ram
They all offer increased speed, smaller size and promises of being the only choice of flash ram in the no so distant future. BUT which one really is better? Will the VHS of them beat the Betamax, will the better performing new-RAM win, or will they compete based on price, performance and quantity. – by r22
|after reading again (11:44am EST Wed Dec 13 2006)
they do claim that these can be made more reliable then flash.
That kind of defys common sense to me. But maybe they have figured out some magic here.
Still, I'll only believe it when I can buy it. 9 out of 10 of these new-tech items go down in flames, they are either not practical, not reliable, or not cheap. You need at least 2 out of 3 of those to succeed… – by EE92
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NHANES dietary recall variables include data items that are related to food and nutrient intakes as reported on the 24-hour dietary recalls. Some variables relate to the individual foods reported on the 24-hour recalls, including nutrient content and specifics about when and where the foods were eaten. Other variables, such as the variables in the total nutrient intake file, represent the total or sum of the nutrients in all of the foods consumed by a participant on a particular day. Both types of variables are available for the Day 1 and Day 2 dietary recall data.
These dietary recall variables, and information about the dietary recall variables, are stored within the Dietary component page of the “Questionnaires, Datasets and Related Documentation” section of the NHANES website for each two-year survey cycle. The dietary recall data are contained in four separate data files:
The Individual Foods files provide a data record for each food reported by survey participants during their Day 1 and Day 2 dietary recalls. The variables contained in these files include food energy, nutrient values, gram weights, eating occasions, and related information, such as timing, source of foods, and location where eaten, for each food reported. Because most survey participants eat more than one food during a day, the Individual Foods Files contain multiple records per person for each recall day. Consequently, these
The Total Nutrient Intakes files provide a summary of the dietary intake data for each 1-day recall period. Variables representing total food energy and total intakes of dozens of nutrients are included. Variable totals were derived by summing the nutrient amounts from all foods listed on a particular day in the Individual Foods File for a survey participant. Because the daily nutrient intakes from all foods are summarized, the Total Nutrient Intake files contain only one record per person for each recall day.
For illustrations of this concept of multiple and single records per person, see the second task in Module 3: “NHANES Dietary Data Structure and Contents” of the Dietary Data Survey Orientation course.
As shown in the following lists, some variables are unique to particular dietary recall data files and other variables are common across the files. For more detail on the variables, go to Information about Dietary Variables . Please note, however, that the most complete descriptions of these variables can be found in the Analytic Notes section of the Documentation (“Docs”) files.
Variables in Individual Foods File Only
Food/individual component number
USDA food code
Amount of food in grams
Food energy and nutrients contained in each amount of food consumed
Variables in Total Nutrient Intakes File Only
Total food energy and nutrient intakes for the day
Self-reported comparison of recall day with typical diet
Water intake variables
Whether a person is on a special diet
Variables in both Individual Foods and Total Nutrient Intakes Files
Participant sequence number (SEQN)
Dietary recall status code
Dietary sample weights
Number of intake days
Breast-fed infant (either day)
Intake day of week
Dietary recall data are part of the Dietary component of NHANES 2003-2004. Other variables necessary for your analysis may be located in other parts of the dataset.
Close Window to return to module page.
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1. What is the duty rating of a Type 1AA ladder?
a) 150 pounds
b) 225 pounds
c) 375 pounds
d) Type 1AA ladders do not have duty ratings
2. What is the most common type of injury on ladders?
a) Defective ladder
b) The type of surface that the ladder is placed on
3. When a fire alarm sensor has multiple technologies which can detect fire signatures it is called?
a) Dual technology
b) Stereo doppler technology
d) UL Listed
4. Double circuitry in the alarm industry relates to?
a) Normally open circuits
c) UL certificated burglar alarm systems
d) Central Station fire alarm systems
5. How many feet should a safe be installed from a proximity alarm?
a) It does not matter
b) 25 feet
c) 10 feet
d) 3 feet
6. When installing a safe alarm it is important to …
a) Insulate the safe from the floor and ground the safe
b) Ground the safe and install a capacitor in series with the grounding wire
c) Insulate the safe from the floor and not ground the safe
d) Connect the safe to a hot water pipe
7. An E351 is defined in Contact ID as …
a) Telco line 1 fault
b) Burglar alarm
c) Fire alarm
d) Low battery
8. SIA CP-01 was created as the …
a) Standard for motion detectors
b) Standard for panic alarms
c) Standard for control panel features for false alarm reduction
d) Standard for commercial fire alarm control panels
9. What type of electrical component has a multiplier?
10. The acronym and most common description for AWG is …
a) American Wiring Gauge
b) American Wire Gauge
c) American Wired Ground
d) Aluminum Wire Gauge
11. Circular mils (CM) is a unit of area used especially when denoting …
a) The diameter of the size of a wire or cable
b) The cross-sectional size of a wire or cable over 12 AWG
c) The cross-sectional size of a wire or cable under 12 AWG
d) The cross-sectional size of a wire or cable
12. NFPA 25 is the standard for …
a) The Inspection and Testing of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems
b) The Installation of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems
c) The Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems
d) The Remote Station Monitoring of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems
13. Cross-zoning relates to a methodology that is used to:
a) Install panic and holdup alarm systems
b) Isolate ungrounded circuits
c) Help minimize false alarms
d) Isolate grounded circuits
14. A device that automatically bypasses to earth a heavy nearby lightning charge, thus helping to protect electronic equipment connected to it.
a) Telephone line seizure
c) Lightning arrester
d) Line carrier
Jeffrey D. Zwirn, CPP, CFPS, CFE, DABFET, CHS-III, SET, RI, is a forensic alarm industry expert and President of Teaneck, N.J.-based IDS Research & Development Inc. He can be reached at (201) 287-0900 or [email protected] This column is not intended as legal advice and should not be construed as such.
What’s Wrong With This Installation?
- End of line resistors (EOLR) installed in improper locations within the control panel set on both the normally open and normally closed protective loop circuits.
- The control panel set is not electrically grounded.
- The telephone line within the control panel set is t-tapped.
- Wiring termination within the control panel set does not meet industry standards.
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The United States’ first graduate program in battery technology launches this autumn at a Silicon Valley university. Given the spate of bankruptcies of American battery makers such as A123 Systems and Ener1 over the past year, one might ask if that horse has already left the barn.
But battery storage has emerged as the linchpin for scaling up intermittent sources of renewable energy such as solar and wind—where a continuous steady supply can’t be guaranteed—as well as for commercializing electric vehicles. And California is trying to take the lead in battery research at a time when China is also working hard on it. A123, for instance, ended up in Chinese hands when Wanxiang Group bought the battery maker at a bankruptcy auction.
The two-year master’s program in battery technology at San Jose State University announced today is part of an effort to create an “energy storage cluster” of research institutions and companies in California.
California, like China, is seeking a breakthrough to increase the storage capacity of batteries while making them cheaper. This is a particularly acute need in California, where the state has mandated that utilities get a third of the electricity they sell from renewable sources by 2020. Regulators have also begun to order utilities to include energy storage when they seek approval for new power plants. While batteries have been deployed on an experimental basis elsewhere to store electricity from wind farms, the technology is not yet commercially viable.
San Jose State University is working with CalCharge, an alliance between a clean energy investment fund called CalCEF and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The lab’s scientists will teach courses on energy storage technology at what officials have dubbed “Battery University.” Much as graduates of Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley have founded companies like Google that have changed the world, the hope is that the new program will spawn the next generation of advanced battery startups.
“To make better batteries we need innovation at every level,” Venkat Srinivasan, who runs the lab’s energy storage and distributed resources group, said in a statement. “Having a workforce trained in the art and science of making batteries is critical to achieving breakthroughs and expanding the number of companies operating here in the US.”
Students will be able to take courses in battery engineering and manufacturing, battery markets and policy, and engineering management. The first degrees will be awarded in 2015. Don’t be surprised to see Chinese companies show up at the student job fair.
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Making the contraceptive pill available without prescription will not reduce unwanted pregnancies, says an expert in an article published on bmj.com today.
Sarah Jarvis from the Royal College of Physicians argues that it is a lack of daily compliance with taking oral contraceptives which is partly responsible for the high rates of unintended teenage pregnancies in the UK.
Studies have shown that nearly half of all women taking the oral contraceptive pill miss one or more pills in each cycle, and nearly a quarter missed two or more. These women are three times more likely to get pregnant unintentionally than those who take the pill consistently.
She points out that the availability of emergency contraception without prescription has done little to change the rate of teenage pregnancies.
Jarvis believes that the solution lies in long acting reversible contraceptives such as the coil, or those which can be placed under the skin or injected. They last between three months and three years, and because they are not dependent on patients taking them correctly, are much more reliable than oral contraceptives, she adds.
"Increased uptake of reliable, non user-dependent methods, rather than making a potentially unreliable method of contraception more easily available, has to be the key ", she concludes.
But Dr Daniel Grossman of Ibis Reproductive Health argues that the requirement for a prescription is a barrier to oral contraceptive use in some women.
He points out that if governments are committed to reducing rates of unintended pregnancies and maternal deaths in the developing world, increased access to safe oral contraceptives for all women at low or no cost is vital.
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for Veterans and the Public
Fatty liver is the buildup of fat in liver cells. It is probably the most common type of liver disease in the United States. Fatty liver by itself rarely leads to severe liver damage.
Fatty liver can result from drinking too much alcohol. It can also happen in people who rarely drink. In this case, it is called "nonalcoholic fatty liver disease" or "nonalcoholic steatohepatitis," or NASH. ("Steato-" means fat.) With NASH, a patient's liver shows some inflammation that in some cases can lead to liver damage and cirrhosis (scarring of the liver tissue).
It is not clear why fat builds up in the liver, but people are more likely to develop the condition if they have diabetes, are overweight, or have high levels of cholesterol or blood fats (called "triglycerides"). The amount of fat in the liver may decrease when overweight people lose weight, when diabetics have well-controlled blood sugars, and when cholesterol and triglyceride levels are lowered.
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<urn:uuid:a6da384f-7b60-42a6-a2a7-c9f741ee04a4>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.hepatitis.va.gov/patient/basics/fatty-liver.asp
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Author: Kathy Boltz, PhD
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the seventh most common form of cancer in the United States. However, other than an association with the human papillomavirus (HPV), no validated molecular profile of the disease has been established. By analyzing data from DNA microarrays, a study has confirmed the presence of four molecular classes of the disease. Also, previous results have been extended by suggesting an underlying connection between the molecular classes and observed genomic events, some of which affect cancer genes. This study also demonstrated the clinical relevance of the classes and certain genomic events, paving the way for further studies and possible targeted therapies.
“Cancer is a disease caused by alteration in the DNA and RNA molecules of tumors. A cancer results when broken molecules initiate a cascade of abnormal signals that ultimately results in abnormal growth and spread of tissues that should be under tight control within the body,” said Neil Hayes, MD, MPH, of the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and of The Cancer Genome Atlas.
“However, most common tumors, including head and neck cancer, have relatively little information in the public record as to how these signals coordinate to create different patterns of abnormalities. This study is among the largest ever published to document reproducible molecular tumor subtypes. Subtypes, such as those we describe, represent attractive models to understand and attack cancers for treatment and prognosis.”
The team analyzed a set of nearly 140 HNSCC samples. By searching for recurrent patterns known as gene expression signatures, they detected four gene expression subtypes. These subtypes are termed basal, mesenchymal, atypical, and classical, based on similarities to established gene expression subtypes in other tumor types and expression patterns of specific genes. For potential clinical use, these subtypes are complementary to classification by HPV status and the putative high-risk marker CCND1 copy number gain.
In spite of being the seventh most common form of cancer in the United States, HNSCC is relatively understudied in comparison to other tumor types (eg, breast and lung). By leveraging the similarities found in the gene expression subtypes, the results of this study provide a connection to a range of well-established findings and additional insight into the disease.
Source: This study was published in PLOS ONE (2013; doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0056823).
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://oralcancernews.org/wp/researchers-document-molecular-tumor-subtypes-of-head-and-neck-cancer/
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Here's how to identify every important cable for use with computer monitors.
VGA (aka D-Sub 15)
Use it for: Connecting PCs, monitors, HDTVs, and video projectors
It's similar in performance and use to: Component VGA
It adapts to: Mini-VGA, RGB Component
Add more ports by: Installing a new graphics card; connecting a splitter
The still-in-use analog classic, a VGA connector carries an RGB signal. You can often find one on PCs and HDTVs; laptops sometimes use the Mini-VGA version. Because the analog design can pick up interference, you're better off choosing a digital cable if your device supports it.
ADC (aka Apple Display Connector)
Use it for: Video and USB hub on older Macs
It's similar in performance and use to: DVI plus USB
It adapts to: DVI
Add more ports by: Upgrading your Mac's graphics card
Apple has phased out this proprietary display plug, but you might see it on an older monitor or Mac. Look for the rounded shape of the rectangular connector to help in identification. The cable carries power, USB, and video. You can adapt a DVI signal for an ADC monitor, but the converter boxes can be pricey; an ADC signal from a Mac is more easily converted to DVI for a standard display.
DVI (aka Digital Visual Interface)
Use it for: Connecting TVs and computer displays to PCs and other devices
If you have a choice, select it instead of: VGA, component video
It's similar in performance and use to: HDMI
It adapts to: HDMI, VGA, Mini-DVI, Micro-DVI
Add more ports by: Connecting a switchbox; upgrading your graphics board
DVI comes in a few versions, having evolved as needs have grown. DVI-I (integrated) supplies an analog and digital signal, which means that you can connect an old VGA monitor to it with a simple adapter. DVI-D (digital) carries only the digital signal. Both types also offer single-link and dual-link versions; single-link has fewer pins and can't support the massive resolutions of dual-link, but you can connect a single-link monitor to a dual-link port. HDCP, the copy-protection technology used for Blu-ray and other HD sources, works with the digital signal in DVI.
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/article/343389/visual_guide_display_cables_dvi_d-sub_adc_more/
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The Ostracoda (ostracods) are a group of tiny bivalved (i.e. with a hinged two-part shell) crustaceans that includes both freshwater and marine forms. They are abundant worldwide in virtually all types of aquatic environments and are known to depths of 7,000 m in the sea. Some are commensal on other crustaceans or on echinoderms. Ostracods are mostly between 0.1 and 2.0 mm, but a few are larger (Gigantocypris reaches 32 mm!). Body segmentation is reduced in ostracods relative to most other crustaceans. There are around 13,000 described extant species of ostracods and the group has a rich fossil record going back to the Ordovician (Brusca and Brusca 2003).
Most ostracods are benthic crawlers or burrowers, but many are planktonic suspension-feeders and a few are terrestrial in moist habitats. One species (Sheina orri) is known to be parasitic on fish gills.
(Brusca and Brusca 2003)
Some ostracod species are sexual (producing young from fertilized eggs) and others are asexual (with their offspring developing from unfertlized eggs). Eggs typically are deposited and develop outside the body, but some (especially marine) species have "brood pouches" in which the eggs develop and from which newly hatched nauplii are released. Delorme (2001) provides a detailed account of ostracod biology, with a focus on the freshwater fauna of North America.
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://eol.org/data_objects/22428886
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By Ann Hohenhaus, DVM, DACVIM
Thursday, November 17 marks this year’s Great American Smokeout. Since 1997, this event has been sponsored by the American Cancer Society to encourage Americans to stop smoking. Reducing illness, disability and death related to tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure is one of the objectives of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. According to the CDC, an estimated 46.6 million Americans were smokers in 2009.
This number represents 20% of the United States population. I think everyone would agree that eliminating smoking in the United States is a worthy goal since tobacco-related illness is the cause of 443,000 deaths annually in the USA. Not accounted for in these statistics are those family members affected by second-hand smoke: adult non-smokers, children and, yes, the family pets.
Pets suffer from second-hand smoke
Studies from the United States, Brazil and Scotland demonstrate the impact of smoking on pets worldwide. Dogs and cats absorb measurable amounts of nicotine metabolites into their bodies when they live in a home with smokers. The more smokers and smoking in the household, the higher the levels of nicotine metabolites found in the family pets. Not only can the metabolites be measured, but if the lungs themselves are tested, deposition of carbon material, a byproduct of smoking, can bee seen.
Increased disease risk
Research has shown disease occurs in pets as a result of their exposure to tobacco smoke.
A recent study of dogs with a cough lasting greater than two months suggests dogs living in a household with a smoker are more likely to have a cough, but further research is necessary. Oral squamous cell carcinoma, a deadly tumor in the cat, has been associated with exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
The most common tumor in cats is lymphoma and the risk of developing lymphoma is tripled in cats living in a smoking household.
I hope I have convinced you to quit smoking today, and keep your whole family healthy. Remember, the Great American Smokeout is for pets too!
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://blogs.webmd.com/pet-tales/2011/11/the-great-american-smokeout-is-for-pets-too.html
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Stop expecting the worst, conservation biologists say
The story of biodiversity conservation often reads as a litany of dashed hopes and lowered expectations: more habitat destroyed, more factors like toxic chemicals and climate change emerging to compound threats, more species sliding toward extinction. But a new study by researchers from the University of Vermont and Duke University points out that there’s good news from the realm of species conservation too, and a lack of attention to conservation successes can actually trigger new problems.
The researchers analyzed population trends of 92 marine mammal species, and found that only 10 percent are known to be declining. Almost half – 42 percent – are increasing, and the remainder are stable (which could itself indicate that they are recovered) or show no detectable trend.
In fact, the last several decades have seen dramatic recoveries of some marine mammal species. The population of humpback whales off western Australia has grown from fewer than 300 individuals in 1968 to 26,000 today. The northern elephant seal has rebounded in the northeast Pacific from as few as 20 individuals in the 1880s to more than 200,000 today, a number that is probably close to their abundance before humans came in contact with them.
But paradoxically, returning marine mammals and other species aren’t always good news to people who have gotten used to their absence. “After generations away, these forgotten species can suddenly be seen as newcomers – or even pests,” says Joe Roman, a conservation biologist at the University of Vermont and the study’s lead author.
Gray seals, for example, have staged a dramatic comeback in the North Atlantic since the 1970s. Some residents of New England coastal towns blame the seals for fouling nearshore waters, attracting white sharks, and decreasing fish populations. In Canada, authorities have proposed killing 70,000 gray seals, purportedly to protect groundfish stocks, even though there is no scientific evidence linking the animals to fisheries declines.
The solution to these conflicts is “lifting baselines,” the researchers propose, meaning making the public aware of successful recoveries and how they relate to the historical population levels of species.
The idea is a play on, and counter to, “shifting baselines,” a term coined by fisheries biologist Daniel Pauly in 1995. That concept originally referred to perceptions of fisheries stocks but has acquired a more general sense, describing people’s tendency to psychologically adapt to degraded ecological conditions and perceive them as normal.
In the new study, the researchers propose four strategies to accomplish lifting baselines. First and foremost, they say, let’s celebrate conservation success stories and make sure the public is aware of them. In addition, conservationists should advocate delisting species that have recovered, both because this creates the public expectation that recovery is possible and because it frees up resources for protecting other species. They should emphasize the broader ecological and cultural benefits of returning species, in order to counter perceptions that these are “nuisance” animals. And they should try to anticipate and plan how to address conflicts with humans or other species that may occur when one species recovers.
Of course, not all endangered species are on the upswing, and there are far more declining species than recovering ones, the researchers hasten to acknowledge (perhaps proving their own point about how difficult it is to celebrate conservation successes when there is so much work left to be done). But looking on the bright side every once in a while isn’t a bad idea.
The other day, I watched a flock of crows harry a bald eagle across the skies over my semi-suburban Seattle neighborhood. I remember the first time I saw a bald eagle, in the late 1990s. It was perched in a snag near the shore of Lake Washington, and I felt astonished and lucky to have glimpsed this icon of endangeredness. But the truth is I’ve lost count of the number of bald eagles I’ve seen since then. So this time, it was fascinating to watch the interaction between the birds, but the fact that a bald eagle was involved seemed rather unremarkable – and that in itself is a remarkable thing. Consider my baseline – and my spirits – lifted. – Sarah DeWeerdt | 9 June 2015
Source: Roman J. et al. 2015 Lifting baselines to address the consequences of conservation success. Trends in Ecology and Evolution DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2015.04.003
Header image: Gray seals (Halichoerus grypus) at a sandy haulout in Chatham Harbor, Cape Cod during the summer of 2013. Credit: David W. Johnston under permit by NOAA.
A new GMO rice with environmental benefitsJune 24th, 2016
Can there be sustainable lion hunting in Africa?June 22nd, 2016
A sustainable superfood for farmed fishJune 16th, 2016
Predicting the next zoonotic spilloverJune 15th, 2016
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<urn:uuid:55b0f164-721c-4006-9d9b-0d7eab42f7f3>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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From the World Heritage inscription:
The Wadden Sea comprises the Dutch Wadden Sea Conservation Area and the German Wadden Sea National Parks of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. It is a large temperate, relatively flat coastal wetland environment, formed by the intricate interactions between physical and biological factors that have given rise to a multitude of transitional habitats with tidal channels, sandy shoals, sea-grass meadows, mussel beds, sandbars, mudflats, salt marshes, estuaries, beaches and dunes. The inscribed site represents over 66% of the whole Wadden Sea and is home to numerous plant and animal species, including marine mammals such as the harbour seal, grey seal and harbour porpoise. It is also a breeding and wintering area for up to 12 millions birds per annum and it supports more than 10 percent of 29 species. The site is one of the last remaining natural, large-scale, intertidal ecosystems where natural processes continue to function largely undisturbed.
The Wadden Sea was made a World Heritage Site just weeks before I arrived in the Netherlands. As I stood on the shore of the sea I was trying desperately to find something I could take a photo of that was a good representation of the sea. At low tide there are a series of islands where birds land. I was there at high tide however so it was just a bunch of water, which left me nothing. Moreover, it was an overcast day which made little contrast with the sky and water. The is probably the worst photo I have ever published as my Daily Photo, but in the interest of completeness I offer it up as the best thing I could come up with at the shore of the Wadden Sea.
I revisited the Wadden Sea in 2013 while touring Germany and had a much better experience than what I had in the Netherlands. I visited the Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park near the town of Bremerhaven.
The key to any Wadden Sea visit is to time it so that you are there during low tide. During low tide you can walk out a considerable distance and in some places actually walk to nearby islands. In Bremerhaven they even had towers you could climb in the event that you get stuck out in the flats during low tide.
Since my first visit in 2009, both the German and Dutch governments have improved access and interpretative programs for the Wadden Sea. Rather that just visiting a random spot on the coast, visit a park facility in either country to get a better understanding of the sea and the creatures which live there.
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<urn:uuid:a5ebbf06-b2e7-4010-a921-f0105337a7e5>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://everything-everywhere.com/2009/10/14/unesco-world-heritage-site-86-the-wadden-sea/
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en
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It is a valuable tool to be able to make fast decisions. It is sometimes called "thinking on your feet." We make these decisions in our everyday lives, even if we are not aware of them, such as what route to take to school or work. Sometimes more important decisions need to be made quickly, and you can find yourself "frozen," unable to find a solution. If you find yourself needing to make decisions more quickly, then you should use critical thinking skills to evaluate your options and feel confident in your decision. There are a number of steps that go into quick decision-making, and practicing them can help expedite everyday decision-making. Read more to find out how to make a quick decision.
1Identify the decision to be made. 1 decision leads to other decisions or it is grouped with others. Isolate the problem so that a decision can be made.
- Ask for clarifications, if the decision to be made is not clear. You cannot make a quick decision, if you are not familiar with the problem. Just like solving a problem in a math class, if you don't understand an element of the criteria, you will not be able to solve it.
2Reduce the emotion involved, if possible. Ask yourself whether the outcome of the decision impacts your life greatly. If not, removing your stress or frustration can help you clear your mind and make a more intelligent decision.
3Decide the criteria for making the decision. The criteria defines the action that is required for a decision. For example, if you are trying to decide what to make for dinner, the criteria may be a recipe that includes the ingredients you have on hand and something that is kid-friendly.
4Be honest and ruthless with your choices. Cut out any options that you know you will not choose. This will help to narrow down your options.
- Understand that in many situations, no decision is not a choice. It is worse than a bad decision. For example, if you are deciding what to feed your family for dinner, you cannot choose not to feed them.
- There are rarely perfect decisions. Recognize that each option may also have cons. The trick to quick decision making is choosing the best option with the information and criteria you have on hand.
5Use critical thinking skills. Critical thinking is a high-order of reasoning that values observation, experience, analysis and reflection. Take a few moments to visualize the results with each option before deciding.
- Make a mental pro and con list. Instead of taking the time to do it on paper, consider how each option meets the criteria you have chosen. Choose the best option.
6Consider your gut instincts, if you have not yet reached a decision. Quick decision-making in a crisis is sometimes called "reactive" decision-making, because it is a reaction to stimulus. These decisions are often made based on your critical-thinking skills.
- In June 2005, researchers reported that people often feel regret for making quick decisions even when they were correct. They noted that making quick decisions does not make them more likely to be inaccurate. Subjects' decisions were positive but their perceptions were negative. Figure out if you have the same bias. Understanding it may make you happier with your decision.
7Communicate your decision. Putting it into action may allow other people to make their decisions and move forward.
- Critical thinking is an important skill set to develop for your personal and professional life. Practice critical thinking by taking the time to reflect on possible outcomes. Analyze the things you watch, read and listen to according to their pros or cons. Critical thinking often takes people out of their comfort zone, so try to pull yourself out of your mental comfort zone more often, and you will find you can think faster and smarter.
- You have to decide what is convenient to you.
Things You'll Need
- Critical thinking skills
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<urn:uuid:6faf7510-5a28-4fe1-9f70-9fd247a9c0e7>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Quick-Decision
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There are at least three categories of questions–– relating respectively to money supply, exchange rates, and debt––that can be raised in the international context. First, who should have control over key monetary decisions, such as how much, and on what terms, money and credit are being supplied within each monetary zone? Should this control belong to the citizens of a given monetary zone and their representatives alone? How should the benefits arising from the ability to create money be distributed internationally? Second, should the stability of exchange rates be a goal and, if so, how should the responsibility for maintaining stability be apportioned? When adjustment of exchange rates is required, who should bear the burdens associated with such adjustment? Third, what arrangements should govern the accumulation and discharge of debt in the international setting? In what respects should debt contracted by states be governed by different rules than debt contracted by private agents? What forms of conditionality may be imposed by creditors, such as international institutions, governments, or private lenders, as part of a just framework of international borrowing and repayment? These questions exemplify rather than exhaust the dilemmas that arise with regard to international monetary arrangements. Global egalitarians should imagine the alternative forms that such arrangements can take as elements of a realistic utopia.
To read or purchase the full text of this article, click here.
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<urn:uuid:33e583d0-46d2-4c11-a741-511f4bc186cb>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.carnegiecouncil.org/publications/journal/17_1/special_section/857.html
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Abstract: The paper deals with the problems of the significance of a perspective drawing in the architectural design. The role of a perspective as a final presentation drawing in the project is not doubtful. Far more complex is its importance throughout the design process. At the beginning of this process perspective sketches become a graphic medium for design associations, a quick notation of ideas and a field of research for connections between the designed object and its surrounding. During such a process the perspective sketch checks the correctness of the spatial relations and helps modifying architecture. The recalling of pictorial notes from a project which was carried out for an architectural competition in Madrid serves as an illustration of the discussed problem. The several sketches show how the perspective drawing acts as a design tool as well as a mean of pictorial communication.
Full text of the article:
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<urn:uuid:31c57a44-41f3-4dc5-9881-6c264c87fa8c>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.emis.de/journals/JGG/1.1/8.html
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In the 1940s, kids could stand up in the bed of a pickup truck as their parents drove down the road; babies rode in their mothers' laps; and there were no seat belts, padded dashboards, crumple zones, rumble strips, air bags, Bott's dots, anti-lock brakes or traction control.
Perhaps it's because of all this modern safety equipment that traffic deaths have fallen to the lowest rate since the 1940s in most states, even though speeds are faster and traffic much more tangled.
But automobiles and their makers have gone even further. They want to protect themselves from drivers who speed, drink, text, follow too close, and swerve in and out of lanes. So they've come up with the idea of a car that drives itself and keeps the owner away from the controls -- cars that will dominate our roadways by 2050, according to a study by IHS Automotive. The path to domination is clear, according to the study: Self-driving auto sales will jump from 230,000 in 2025 to 11.8 million per year in 2035, and by 2050 nearly all cars will drive themselves.
These cars gently tells the occupant to sit back, relax, watch a movie and "leave the driving to us" -- that slogan from the yesteryear of Greyhound buses and mass-transit.
"Us," in this case, is a variety of technologies that keep the car on the road, under the speed limit, and away from the bumper of the car in front. "Us" includes GPS satellite navigation, sensors, radar, blind spot alerts and so on.
Google tried the idea first. Then, the company got permission to self-drive in California, Nevada, Florida and Michigan. In most legislation, humans must still be behind the wheel, but that's just window dressing: Technology is in the driver's seat.
And now the plot to turn drivers into passengers has reached Washington, which only this month began deliberations that may require new cars to install anti-collision technology -- vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technology that's a sort of social network for cars so they can chat about road conditions and their positioning, and avoid collisions.
According to ABC News, the Government Accountability Office said recently that V2V could prevent as many as 76 percent of potential multi-vehicle collisions, and that in 2011, there were 5.3 million car crashes, injuring 2.2 million people and killing 32,000. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it will announce a decision within a few weeks.
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This page lists all the resources that are discussed on the other pages of the Celestial Navigation Net website.
The School of Ocean Sailing onboard in Maine, with a celestial navigation course.
Starpath School of Navigation – correspondence and onsite in Seattle.
Ocean Classroom in Boothbay, Maine
Reed Navigation holds classes in conjunction with Mystic Seaport and its Planetarium Courses.
Sail the Sounds– onsite in Connecticut
Sail Due South – South Africa. Under their Advanced Courses is the Yachtmaster Ocean course which includes celestial navigation.
NAVIGATIONAL HISTORY AND INSTRUMENTS (See also Classroom Links)
John Harrison and the Longitude Problem
Medieval Scientific Instruments (kamal, cross-staff, and quadrant)
Hands-On Astrolabe Page
Chaucer’s Treatise on the Astrolabe
Seaman’s Secrets – 1595
History of the Sextant
Scientific Instruments of Medieval and Renaissance Europe
Longitude at Sea, from the Galileo Project
How A Sextant Works
Navigation by Sextant
Traditional Navigation in the Western Pacific
Hokulea.com – Polynesian Voyaging Society, and the Hawaiian Voyaging Traditions Page (older page but still has some good links – scroll down)
Wayfinding, or Noninstrument Navigation from the PVS
Navigation in the Information Age: History and Context from Hawaii Nation.
Aboriginal (Native American) Astronomy
Curriculum Activities from the Hawaiian Voyaging Traditions site
Hawaiki Rising: Hokule’a, Nainoa Thompson, and the Hawaiian Renaissance.
Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii. See their wayfinding page here.
Math and Science
Eyes on the Sky, Feet on the Ground – From the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory – Children’s Astronomy Activities. See their Chapter on Coordinate Systems and Celestial Mapping (SCROLL DOWN!)
Heavenly Mathematics: Highlights of Cultural Astronomy
Astronomy without a Telescope
Navigating Around the World by Observing the Sun
Nova’s Shockwave Game on Finding Your Longitude
How to Make a Quadrant
How to Use a Quadrant
Measuring North Latitude at Night
How to Use a Cross-Staff
Make your own planisphere
Build Your Own Sextant
Cardboard Sextant Kit
Finding Latitude by Polaris (historical)
History (See also Navigational Instruments and History, above)
Age of Exploration
Christopher Columbus Navigation Page
The Age of Exploration from the Mariner’s Museum
Determination of Latitude by Sir Francis Drake – a page by Bob Graham.
Teacher’s Guide to Teaching Longitude and see the classroom activity here.
Secrets of Ancient Navigation
Latitude: The Art and Science of 15th and 16th Century Navigation
Short Biography of Nathaniel Bowditch
The Underground Railroad:Connections to Freedom and Science NASA DVD. Web page here. Slaves used celestial navigation to find their way north.
Lewis and Clark article originally from the Institute of Navigation’s Spring 2000 Newsletter
Lewis and Clark: Formal Navigation and also other various articles on Celestial Navigation
David Thompson and Land Navigation
TUTORIALS AND SUMMARIES
Al Placette’s Tutorial
Umland’s Short Guide to Celestial Navigation
Omar Reis’s Introduction to Celestial Navigation
Douglas S. J. De Couto’s summary
Celestial Navigation Basics from John Jacq
Celestial Navigation in a Teacup
Dutch Dresser’s Course (through the Internet Archives – the “wayback” machine)
ONLINE DATA: Almanac Information, Lat-Lon Finders, etc.
Bowditch’s American Practical Navigator Online PDF
Cel Nav Information from the US Navy, including Publications 229 and 249 (air and maritime sight reduction tables) and data for Assumed Position and Time.
Find your latitude and longitude
Universal Time from the US Navy
Omar Reis’s Online Nautical Almanac
Civil and Nautical Twilight, Sun and Moon Rise and Set
INSTITUTES AND FOUNDATIONS
US Sailing’s Celestial Navigation Certification– the governing body for the sport of sailing in the US.
The U.S. Navy’s Celestial Navigation Page
Ocean Navigator Magazine
The Navigation List – archives
Everything you wanted to know about Marvin Creamer but were afraid to ask!
SOFTWARE AND JAVA PROGRAMS
H. Umland’s Freeware Page
Palm Pilot Celnav Program
Java Script Programs for Navigators by Jacky Wong
Omar Reis’s Navigation Star Finder
Omar Reis’s Navigator Light Computer Program
Walter Fendt’s Apparent Position of a Star
Walter Fendt’s Coordinate Graphic Java Page
The Electric Astrolabe
Pocket Stars PC – (PDA)
Interactive Spreadsheets for Celestial Navigation
How to Use Plastic Sextants: With Applications to Metal Sextants and a Review of Sextant Piloting – and useful for anyone learning about any kind of sextant!
Secrets of the Viking Navigators
Latitude Hooks and Azimuth Rings: How to Build and Use 18 Traditional Navigational Toolsby Dennis Fisher
The Stars: A New Way to See Them by H.A. Rey
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel
Navigation in the Age of Discovery By Duane A. Cline
Taking the Stars: Celestial Navigation from Argonauts to Astronauts by Peter Ifland
Emergency Navigation by David Burch
The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature by C.S. Lewis (the Ptolemaic model of the universe).
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea by Steve Callahan
My Old Man and the Sea David and Daniel Hayes.
Celestial Navigation for Yachstmen by Mary Blewitt
Practical Celestial Navigation by Susan Howell
We the Navigators: the Ancient Art of Landfinding in the Pacific by David Lewis
The Last Navigator by Stephen Thomas
Voyage of Rediscovery: A Cultural Odyssey through Polynesia by Ben. R. Finney
The Sextant Handbook by Bruce Bauer
The Star-Finder Book: A Complete Guide to the Many Uses of the 2102-D Starfinder by David Burch
The Nautical Almanac, Commercial Edition
Long-Term Almanac 2000-2050 by Geoffrey Kolbe
Line of Position Navigation: Sumner and Saint Hilaire – the Two Pillars of Modern Celestial Navigation by Peter Ifland and Michel Vanvaerenbergh
Out of Print – Worth Looking For!
Airborne: A Sentimental Journey by William F. Buckley Jr.
The Haven Finding Art: A History of Navigation from Odysseus to Captain Cook, by E.G.R. Taylor
A History of Nautical Astronomy by Charles H. Cotter
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(Last Updated on : 04/09/2014)
Rosemary leaves possess high medicinal value. Rosemary is a leafy, exotic and evergreen shrub which grows up to a height of two meters. It has narrow leaves and few flowers in axillary racemes; white or bluish or pale violet; smooth nutlets, ovoid sub-globose. The botanical name of this shrub is Rosmarinus officinalis and it belongs to the family Lamiaceae.
It is known as Rusmary in Hindi language
. Rosemary is not a very popular herb in India. It was perhaps introduced in India by Europeans as garden plant mainly for its pleasantly fragrant leaves, limited only in cool places and hill stations where the colonial rulers used to stay during the summer season. Leaves of Rosemary are narrow and are about 2.5 centimetres in length, and they look like curved pine needles. The dried leaves are popular as flavouring agent and spice.
Rosemary was named by the 18th century naturalist Carolus Linnaeus. These leaves have not undergone much taxonomical change. The name of rosemary has originated from the Latin words Ros Marinus. Today the name of goddess Aphrodite is found to be associated with Rosemary.
Rosemary grows well on friable loam soil with good drainage in complete sun. It grows best in neutral to alkaline conditions pH (pH 7-7.8) with good fertility.
Composition of Rosemary leaves
The leaves of Rosemary contain tannin, saponin, ursolic acid, amyrins, betulin, carnosic acid and rosemarinic acid. The dried rosemary leaves, on steam distillation, yield one to two percent of a volatile oil, known in the trade as 'Oil of Rosemary', used in perfumery and medicine. A phenolic fraction possessing anti-oxidant properties has been isolated from the leaves and also from the oil. Volatile oil is obtained by steam distillation of the leaves, flowering tops and twigs. India imports its entire requirement since no attempt has been made so far in this country to produce this oil. The chief constituents of the oil are camphene, pinene, cineol, borneol, camphor and bornyl acetate
Dried rosemary leaves contain 5.7 percent moisture 4.5 percent protein, 19 percent fibre, 47.4 percent carbohydrates, 6.0 percent total ash, 1.5 percent calcium, 0.70 percent phosphorus, 0.03 percent iron, 0.04 percent sodium, 1.0 percent potassium, Vitamin A - 175 I.U/100 gram, Vitamin B - 1:0.51 mg/100 gram, 0.04 percent Vitamin B2, 1.0 percent Niacin, Vitamin C - 61.3 mg/100 gram and Calorific value - 440 calories/100 gram.
Uses of Rosemary Leaves
Rosemary leaves provide a piny pungent and lingering aroma which also adds flavour to a large number of unusual foods as well as several every day non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes. Freshly sliced Rosemary leaves impart a flavour to jam, sweet sauces and herb butter. It also helps in digestion after a banquet and it also refreshes the body and mind. It is also used in preparing cheese, biscuits, soup, sauces and various non-vegetarian foods. It is also used in preparing wine, Rosemary tea, etc.
Benefits of Rosemary Leaves
For diuretic disorder, diuretic tea is prepared by taking one tea spoon leaves and the same is boiled with Lovage
and Juniper. Rosemary water (Rosemary steeped in boil water) betters the skin, and is also used as a hair wash. It also helps in the growth of hair. It cures weak digestion, flatulence, neuralgic pains and the circulation of blood is stimulated by the use of rosemary. It widens the tissues where it is applied and also acts as a room freshener; twigs are burnt to give the aroma. It is used as a moth repellent with other herbs. Fresh tender tops are used for garnishing and for flavouring cold drinks, soups, pickles and other foods. Rosemary leaves are also used as a condiment; powdered and dried, the leaves are added to von-vegetarian as well as vegetarian dishes, jams and preserves.
is used primarily in cheap perfumery, hair lotions, scenting of soaps and denatured alcohol. It is also employed in inhalants and room sprays. Higher quality of the 'Oil of Rosemary' is used in the blending of eau-de-cologne and in flavouring sausages, soups and other food products including both vegetarian and non-vegetarian items. Each and every part of the Rosemary plant is sour or bitter in taste and it serves as a good excellent stomachic and a nerving tonic. A mixture of the Rosemary plant with borax is used for hair washing and is reported to check premature baldness.
The oil of Rosemary is used in medicinal preparations and as an ingredient in rubefacient liniments. It is mildly irritating and has been used as a carminative. The oil exhibits anti-bacterial and protistocidal activity. Dried Rosemary leaves are smoked for the relief of asthma
. Rosemary leaves are used for vapour baths for the relief of paralysis, rheumatism, etc. Pressed juice of the leaves possesses a strong anti-bacterial action on Staphylococcus aureus, E.coli etc.
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|Scientific Name:||Uroplatus guentheri|
|Species Authority:||Mocquard, 1908|
|Red List Category & Criteria:||Endangered B1ab(iii) ver 3.1|
|Assessor(s):||Raxworthy, C.J., Rabibisoa, N. & Bora, P.|
|Reviewer(s):||Cox, N.A. & Bowles, P.|
Listed as Endangered on the basis that it has an extent of occurrence of 3,554 km², it occurs as a severely fragmented population, and there is a continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat.
|Range Description:||This leaf-tailed gecko is endemic to Madagascar, where it has been recorded from scattered localities in the west of the island, at Ankarafantsika (Greenbaum et al. 2007, Ramanamanjato and Rabibisoa 2002, Raselimanana 2008), Andranomanintsy, Ambalimby/Masoarivo, Bemaraha and Kirindy (Raselimanana 2008), and Ankilogoa and Ranotsara (Bora et al. 2010). It has been found at elevations between 30 and 120 m (Raselimanana 2008). The extent of occurrence, based on the area of known sites, is estimated to be 3,554 km².|
|Range Map:||Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.|
This forest-dependent species is likely to be declining, but there is no quantitative population information. It occurs at low densities at known sites. Recorded localities are widely-separated, and dry deciduous forest occurs as isolated patches in western Madagascar, so the population is considered to be severely fragmented.
|Current Population Trend:||Decreasing|
|Habitat and Ecology:|
This nocturnal lizard lives in intact dry deciduous forest. It has been observed roosting and foraging on bushes and low trees at height of between one and six metres. It lays spherical eggs in leaf-litter.
|Continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat:||Yes|
|Use and Trade:||This species is exported annually from Madagascar for the international pet trade. The export quota in 2010 was 125 individuals, and it is likely that this will continue or stricter controls will be imposed.|
|Major Threat(s):||The intact forest on which this species depends is threatened by fires, cattle grazing, selective logging and charcoal production, and forest clearance for agriculture.|
|Conservation Actions:||This species occurs in Bemaraha and Ankarafantsika national parks. More information is needed on the population status of this gecko and the extent of its exposure to threats at known localities.|
|Citation:||Raxworthy, C.J., Rabibisoa, N. & Bora, P. 2011. Uroplatus guentheri. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011: e.T172927A6943019.Downloaded on 02 July 2016.|
|Feedback:||If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please provide us with feedback so that we can correct or extend the information provided|
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History of the Palisade
The palisade was one of the most important forms of defence and, as such, its history dates back to the Hillforts of the Iron and Bronze Ages and the Forts of the Roman Empire! Palisades were made of heavy timbers and later became a feature of the Norman Motte and Bailey Castles which were built by the Normans. The wooden wall ( palisade) was subject to rot when built on an earth base and could be destroyed by fire. The wooden walls were therefore replaced by stone curtain walls.
Origin, Meaning of the word 'Palisade'
The Origin and Meaning of the word 'Palisade' derives from the Latin words 'palicea and palis' meaning a stake.
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Leonardo da Vinci Master Draftsman
Leonardo completed only 15 paintings, but his drawings number four times
the body of work of even the most prolific draftsmen during his
Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts
Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts from the Koninklijke Bibliotheek and the Museum
Meermanno-Westreenianum in The Netherlands.
Art of the Middle Ages
An extensive collection of resources on medieval art and architecture includes image galleries.
Find out about a peculiar race of creatures, which inhabited the great cathedrals of the Middle Ages.
Web Museum Network
Presents the medieval art exhibit, famous painters' works.
Italian sculptures from the early Middle Ages to 20th century.
Find information on great masters and their works.
Johannes Vermeer Geography
A guided Art History tour through the paintings of the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer.
An extensive collection of links on renaissance art and architecture.
Sistine Chapel (Cappella Sistina)
Pictorial painting overview, including master plan of the Chapel, which helps
to locate each wall painting by alphanumeric code.
The Triumph of the Baroque
Web Feature for Triumph of the Baroque, Architecture in Europe: 1600-1750.
A resource for famous masters and their works.
La cathédral Notre-Dame de Chartres
The Cathedral at Chartres.
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Search for our earliest ancestors: Signals in the noise
|April 28, 2014||Posted by News under Human evolution, Naturalism|
Naturalism commands us to believe that mud somehow produced mind. Therefore, our ancestors are not gods or heroes but half human or less. Our long-vanished cousins were not human. We don’t experience the discovery as a profound problem mainly because we’ve never found them.
Not for want of trying. Paleontologists have long hungered for a species halfway between human and ape, to cast in the world’s face as irrefutable evidence for mud at work. And what have they found?
Pop human evolution: What multitudes believe
What to do with our education in human evolution? Stuff it!
Why didn’t natural selection prevent sister’s schizophrenia?, writer asks (Because “natural selection,” as generally understood, is a spook that can’t prevent anything.)
The Science Fictions series at your fingertips (human evolution)
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Researchers from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) have developed a method for evaluating the vulnerability of coastal regions to the impact of storms. The method, which has been applied on the Catalan coastline, shows that one-third of the region's coasts have a high rate of vulnerability to flooding, while 20% are at risk of erosion.
"Until now there was no tool for evaluating coastal storm vulnerability that could quantify the processes and the probabilities of these events occurring. This is why we have developed a method to allow coastal managers the government to predict the scale of the damage caused by these kinds of phenomena, which are becoming increasingly frequent", Eva Bosom, lead author of the study and a researcher at the Maritime Engineering Laboratory of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UC), tells SINC.
Some 34% of the central Catalan coast exhibits a level of vulnerability to flooding ranging from high to very high, while this vulnerability is medium in almost 50% of cases, indicating the existence of "fairly frequent coastal inundation problems", the study points out. With regard to the risk of erosion, 20% of the areas are at medium to high risk, especially in the south, where the beaches are narrower and the sand fine.
A coast's capacity to cope with the impact of a storm depends on the intensity of the storm and the geomorphology of each beach. The most common "damaging" processes are flooding and erosion.
The UPC based their study on these processes in measuring the fragility of a 50-kilometer stretch of the Catalan coast. "Flooding and erosion were evaluated separately because, although they are caused by the same agent storms their intensity is not equally dependent on the characteristics of the storm, and the damage caused by them is not the same", explains Bosom. Wave data from the past 50 years, from 1958 through to 2008, was used for the study.
The results, published in the journal Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, show that different kinds of coastlines suffer differently from the effects of storms, showing that "coastal geomorphology controls the capacity of the system to recover from the impact", the author adds.
Evaluating risks to offset damage
The aim of the methodology developed is to help coastal managers take decisions about where to invest in order to mitigate coastal disasters, depending on the characteristics of the storm and the stretch of coastline being assessed.
A storm's magnitude can vary along the coastline, and this affects the intensity of flooding and erosion processes. For this reason "it is important to measure the vulnerability of the coast and the probabilities of an event happening, which can be selected according to the socioeconomic or environmental importance of each place", says Bosom. This means "managers can classify the region according to the danger level and decide where to invest resources or where to put in place protection and adaptation measures", the researcher goes on.
The vulnerability of a beach may also vary due to changes in its morphology. To measure this variation "coastal data must be updated periodically or following an important event, in order to give the most accurate picture possible of the current morphology of the beach", the researcher says.
FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
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Healthy Eating and Exercise Expository Essay
Effective Essay Writing
Instructor: Jon Castle
April 12, 2009
Even though a lot of people make too many excuses for not eating healthy, everyone should eat healthy and exercise regularly because healthy eating and exercise keeps your body healthy and helps you live longer and stronger. There are a lot of benefits to eating healthy. There are also a lot of risks to your health if you chose not to eat healthy. Your future will be so bright if You just knew the facts about healthy eating and exercise.
Exercise is an important part of a healthy eating diet. Exercise helps burn the extra calories you have eaten that day and it also helps your body get physically fit and you will have more energy. There are all kinds of ways to exercise. You can swim and do daily laps or you could go walking in the park everyday and participate in marathons. Exercise keeps you so healthy and so many people underestimate the value that exercise could play in their life and how important it is follow through with exercise. You should aim to get at least thirty minutes of physical activity in each day. A person could take up gardening or maybe just washing the car. As long as you are getting physical activity in your daily routine you are burning calories which is much needed especially if you have eaten more than you needed to for the day. Walking is great, because it's easy to fit into your day. Leave the car behind sometimes. Get off the bus a stop or two early. Walk to the store, don't drive - but make it brisk enough so that you feel slightly breathless – ambling along won't cut it.
There are a lot of risks involved in not eating healthy. You can become obese and unhealthy. If you are obese you can develop a lot of health problems such as high blood pressure and clogged arteries which can lead to strokes, blood clots and heart attacks. Not only are people at risk for...
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English | Advanced Expository Writing
W350 | 5455 | John Schilb
W350 5455 JOHN SCHILB
Advanced Expository Writing
11:15a-12:30p TR (25 students) 3 CR.
PREREQUISITE: Completion of the English Composition requirement.
College intensive writing section.
TOPIC: “Writing about authority”
This section of Advanced Expository Writing will focus on what’s
involved when, as writers, we seek to establish our “authority.”
The term “authority” can mean various things, depending on our main
purpose, our target audience, and the basic situation that we’re
addressing. Furthermore, even when we know the kind of “authority”
we are aiming for in a particular writing project, we need to
determine what techniques will help us gain it. Throughout this
course, we will explore various definitions of writerly “authority”
and practice strategies for achieving it.
To grasp how “authority” works in writing, we will examine how it
operates in our society at large. Therefore, in our readings and
class discussions, we will consider (1) the power that officials use
to command their subordinates; (2) the claims to wisdom made by so-
called experts; and (3) the sway of certain performers over their
fans. Moreover, the course’s three major papers (each approximately
4 pages long) will deal with these three topics in turn. Each paper
will focus on a specific case study, chosen by the student. In
addition to the papers, there will be several small, informal
writing assignments, designed to help us develop a better
understanding of how “authority” functions in our own work as
writers as well as in other realms.
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Entry: apposite (adj.)
In context: "'Apparently the Ahts tried to fill up ancestors' bodies completely with virgin-blood to preserve the privacy of their own mental states. The apposite Aht dictum here being quote "The sated ghost cannot see secret things." The Discursive O.E.D. postulates that this is one of the earliest on-record prophylactics against schizophrenia."
Definition: 2. Well put or applied; appropriate, suitable (to).
Other: A SNOOT is nothing if not apposite.
SNOOT score: 2
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
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Note: This message is displayed if (1) your browser is not standards-compliant or (2) you have you disabled CSS. Read our Policies for more information.
The Flatrock River originates in the rich farmland of Henry County and flows approximately eighty-eight miles before joining the Driftwood River to form the East Fork of White River at Columbus, Indiana. Once lined with mills producing essential materials for Hoosier settlers, the river now flows quietly, primarily through farmland with an almost constant narrow wooded strip paralleling the river.
The name Flatrock appears to be a misnomer since the river flows through some of the deepest and richest soils in the State. The name may have been given for the many water-powered mills whose "flat rocks" ground the white man's grain. Only one of the 30 mills that existed on the river remains today but many of the dams remain in place. There are also a number of unique and very ornate covered bridges which were built by a master bridge builder named A. M. Kennedy.
A 23-mile section along its lower reaches provides a good canoe trip of moderate difficulty taking a little over seven hours canoeing time. There is very little development along this section and the banks include silver maple, box elder, sycamore, cottonwood, green ash and elms with sandbar willows predominating on the gravel bars. Fauna inhabiting the area include wood ducks, kingfishers, spotted-sandpipers, great-horned owls and fox squirrels. In September, 1974, the sighting of an osprey raised considerable interest as the presence of this species is rapidly decreasing. Fishing for suckers is usually successful and occasionally a catfish or bass is landed. There are no public picnic or campground facilities along the floated section, but these facilities can be found at Millrace Park in Columbus, south of the take-out point.
The recommended put-in site is at the Indiana State Highway 9 bridge over Flatrock River approximately two miles north of Norristown, or about ten miles south of Shelbyville. The southeast corner is steep with large boulders, but passable with care. In addition to the two dams noted on the map, there are several log jams and rock dams which have been partially washed out. For this reason, we recommend that the river not be floated during periods of low water level. If the flow at the Saint Paul Gaging Station is below 100 cubic feet per second, several additional portage and wading treks would be necessary.
The recommended take-out is at the U. S. 31 bridge near Columbus. The southeast corner of the bridge is the best path up to your car, which can be parked on the road shoulder on the east side of the river. It is possible to float on down to Millrace Park in Columbus, but this will necessitate portaging over a barbed wire fence on the right (west) side of a dam and is, therefore, not recommended.
Your car shuttle back to the put-in site should go north on U. S. 31 to Interstate 65, then north on I-65 to State Road 252. Head east on 252 to Flatrock, Indiana and continue east on the Flatrock Road to Norristown. Turn left on State Road 9 and go north to the bridge over Flatrock River, the put-in site.
Medical assistance is available in Shelbyville and Columbus.
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Please use the StudyBass Study Guide to navigate the lessons.
Memorizing Fretboard Note Names
Reading Music to Memorize Notes
StudyBass Note Name Memorization Method
Memorizing Notes Without Your Bass
©2003-2016 Leading Tone Media, LLC - all rights reserved
Copying or distributing studybass.com content, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited. report violation
StudyBass is a registered trademark of Leading Tone Media, LLC
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In the June 1 New York Times, David M. Halbfinger reports that the Kerry campaign thinks it's found a winning slogan in "Let America be America again." They couldn't be more wrong.
Start with its provenance. The line is the title of a poem published in 1938 by Langston Hughes, the celebrated black poet of the Harlem Renaissance. The Times notes, in passing, that when Kerry first used the poem (in a speech commemorating the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education), he skipped the following "bitter aside on racism":
(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")
But to call this a "bitter aside" is willfully to misread the poem. Anyone who takes the time to read "Let America Be America Again" will quickly understand that its entire thrust is that nostalgia for a golden age of American freedom is a crock. In the poem, idealized paeans to "the dream [America] used to be" alternate with parenthetical responses exposing the harsher reality ("America never was America to me"). Who is this angry dissenter? Hughes answers in a voice that echoes Walt Whitman's:
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—
and so on. Rather than pretend America ever was the land of the free (remember, this was written by a black man in the Jim Crow era), Hughes urges his heterogeneous countrymen to fulfill for the first time America's promise of freedom:
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath—America will be!
"Let America Be America Again," you may have noticed, is not one of Hughes' better efforts. Like a lot of poetry written during the Great Depression, it's didactic and influenced by naive admiration for the Soviet experiment. Hughes never joined the Communist Party, but he published frequently in its house organs and served as president to the party's principal African-American front group. The same year "Let America Be America Again" was published, Hughes signed a letter supporting the Stalinist purges; he had witnessed, with approval, one of the show trials himself. (He attended it with Arthur Koestler, who was horrified by the proceeding.) Hughes later came to his senses and regained his artistry, but, unlike his contemporary Richard Wright, never fully renounced his pro-Communist past. None of this is a secret to the anti-Kerry forces, who have begun to make hay with it.
As a slogan, "Let America be America again" doesn't improve much when you put Hughes out of your mind and focus on the words themselves. The intended meaning is clear: Let's restore the good things about this country that George W. Bush took away. There's also a hint of nostalgia specifically for the prosperous Clinton era. Chatterbox applauds these sentiments. But there's something pompous and snotty about the way they're expressed. (That's why Hughes chose these particular words to lampoon idealization of America's past.) America may be badly governed at the moment, but it's still America. The slogan "Let America be America again" is like HBO's annoying slogan, "It's not TV. It's HBO." As Larry David grumpily retorts on (HBO's) Curb Your Enthusiasm, "It's not TV? It's TV. What do they think people are watching?"
Ten years ago, liberals justifiably hit the roof when the rabidly Republican Rep. Dick Armey, addressing Democrats on the House floor, said, "Your president is just not that important to us." He's your president, too, they answered. How does Armey's rude distancing differ from saying that Bush's America isn't really America? When Richard Goodwin titled his memoir about working in the Kennedy and Johnson White Houses, Remembering America, it was an annoying act of generational hubris. America remained America after you retreated to Massachusetts to write your play about Galileo, thank you very much. Similarly, America will remain America even if John Kerry loses the next election.
The point here is that in a democracy, all citizens bear collective responsibility for what their government does, regardless of how any given individual voted. Obviously, Michael Moore doesn't bear anywhere near as much responsibility for the torture at Abu Ghraib as Donald Rumsfeld. But Moore does bear some. All Americans do. Ideas like community and patriotism make no sense if they exclude those with whom you disagree. We all have to be in this together. If John Kerry becomes president, he won't inherit Clinton's America. That's in the past. He'll inherit Bush's America, which is badly in need of repair. It will be Kerry's job to fix it. It's a con to pretend that isn't so.
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Fluidized bed drying
Fluidized bed drying / microencapsulation
Besides the lyophilization the fluidized bed process is also suited for the conservation of lactic acid bacteria. In the fluidized bed process first at all a carrier material is needed as a basis for the substrate that should be dried. This carrier material is held up in the air to enable the application of the substrate via a spray nozzle. Compared to spray drying the temperatures are lower. This is advantageous as the lactic acid bacteria are not damaged by thermic effects. In contrast to the lyophilization the fluidized bed drying is a short drying process and therefore it is interesting for the conservation of bacteria.
Application of bacteria and coating
The probiotic lactic acid bacteria are sprayed onto the dispersed carrier material in form of fine droplets. The contained water is deprived by the dry air that flows bottom-up through the fluidized bed. In the same time the stream of air is responsible for the fluidization of particles. Afterwards a protective coating is applied in the same matter onto the carrier that is coated with bacteria. It is a batch-prozess, meaning a defined amount of carrier is prepared in the vessel and coated with the respective amounts of bacteria suspension and protective coating. Afterwards the batch is harvested out of the fluidezed bed reactor. For 300 kg end product approximately 250 kg carrier is needed.
Facts - Coating
- Top-Spraying and Bottom-Spraying possible
- Performance of flexible-tube-pumps: 20 – 100 l/h
- Nozzels: 2 substances nozzels, compressed air used as nebulization air (6 bar)
Sieving and Filling
The product harvested from the fluidized bed drying contains dust and particles that stick together. These fractions are removed in the associated sieving. After sieving the product is filled into bags
Facts – Sieving
- Tumbler screening maschine
- Sieves are adjustable
- Performance: ~ 300 kg/h
|Pilot plant||2 kg/batch|
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Who discovered the secrets of maple water? A squirrel, as brother Marie-Victorin claimed? An Indian man or woman, by chance? What use did those people make of it before the arrival of the Europeans? Many theories on the subject have been developed since then by a number of historians, but there are few written sources or accounts to support any of those opinions.
Based on existing historical sources, we know that between 1536 and 1542, Jacques Cartier and his companions, intrigued by a tree they believed to be a large walnut tree, but which was in fact a sugar maple, cut it and copious amounts of maple water spurted out, which they found tasted like good wine. According to accounts written in 1557 by the cosmographer André Thévet, an Indian explained to him that the name they gave this tree was “Couton.”
We have to wait until 1606 and Marc Lescarbot, a lawyer, traveller and writer in Acadia, to identify another account of maple water. He describes the Indians collecting it and what he calls the distillation of maple water. Among other things, he tells about the use of hot stones to cook food. A little later on in the century, Gabriel Sagard, a missionary and Recollect friar, confirms the use of maple water among the Indians and the said evaporation process. He describes it as a fortifying drink. This idea of a drink that revive your strength is also expressed by father Lejeune in 1634, relating the accounts of the mountain people [Montagnais], who eat the bark of the maple to combat hunger during a famine. He describes maple water as a sweet sugar like honey.
Throughout the 17th century, accounts of maple water increased, confirming a slow change in the consumption of maple sugar. In the second half of the 17th century, and then in the 18th century, allusions to exporting maple sugar to France as a culinary curiosity increase, and that coincides with the increase in the consumption of maple sugar but not to the widespread use. Sugar remains a consumable reserved mainly for nobles and the high born; however, gradually, as growing sugarcane became more widespread in Brazil and the West Indies, more people than ever become users. Maple sugar coated almonds are a candy of which King Louis IV is particularly fond. And it is a business woman (which is rare for the times) and manufacturer from Montreal, Agathe de Repentigny, who sends him some. However, the most remarkable thing during the century known as the age of Enlightenment is the way science views the sugar maple, touting the virtues of maple water and maple sugar, which is widely consumed in New France in 1749, as attested to by the Swedish biologist Peter Kalm.
In 1708, Lord de Diereville, during a trip to Acadia, explains the rudimentary techniques used by the Indians to tap the maples. It consisted of making a four-inch wide gash in the tree and inserting a piece of wood shaped like a trough, from which the water flows into a container, usually made of birch bark. In New England, Paul Dudley, in a work devoted to the manufacture of maple sugar from what he calls “maple juice,” explains more scientifically than any other person before him the technique of manufacturing maple sugar. Then Pierre-François Xavier de Charlevoix, Monseigneur de la Barre, and Jean-François Lafitau confirm the changes in the maple sugar manufacturing technique thanks to the use of the iron cauldron.
The sugar maple, maple water and maple sugar all owe their renown to renowned scientists like Louis Duhamel du Monceau, in his work "The Treaty of the Forest" published by the Royal Academy of France, Denis Diderot, in his encyclopaedia, the "Encyclopédie ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des metiers," and Swedish botanist Peter Kalm, who, thanks to their holistic approach, explain the natural process, and then the production process and the beneficial effects on health, or, in the work of Peter Kalm, the expansion in consumption, giving meaning to a description that will henceforth be his, the local sugar.
The 19th century will be the century of transition from certain outmoded tapping and collection techniques to the use of new methods which research and science are making available to maple sugar producers. From tapping with an incision made with an axe to the brace, from the wooden bucket to the metal cauldron with lid, from the metal cauldron that had to be removed from the fire to the evaporator and from the foliage shelter to the wooden sugar shack, production slowly evolves to the model we still recognize today in its general characteristics, not including the equipment used in the 20th century. During that century a method for preserving maple syrup is discovered, maple butter is invented, and the 591 ml can is developed, which we still use today.
In the 1920s, five categories of maple syrup appear. The second half of the twentieth century sees maple syrup replace maple sugar with consumers. It is now found in supermarkets in a new format more appropriate for the needs of increasingly urban consumers. In fact, maple syrup leaves the corner grocer’s for supermarkets and commercial channels for shopping centres. At that time a drawing contest is held by the Ministry of Agriculture to design a drawing for the maple syrup can, a drawing that still appears today on our cans.
The hiring of a senior chemist by the Cooperative of maple syrup producers, the appearance of tubing in the 1970s and of reverse osmosis in the 1980s will make it possible to reduce the work time for the family in the sugar grove. The increase in the number of taps will make it possible to satisfy the growth in consumption of maple products both n the domestic market and in foreign markets.
At the turn of the 21st century, the maple products placed on the market will reflect the promotion of maple products as less seasonal in nature. They will be backed by the research and innovation characterizing the period around 2005, and in particular the discovery of Quebecol, a molecule unique to maple syrup, which is part of the polyphenol family.
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This research, carried out by the University of Granada and published in Safety Science magazine, has analysed the pedestrians' perceived safety and well-being when walking by streets with particular illuminance types and levels.
Pedestrians feel safer in streets illuminated with white light than in those illuminated with yellowish lights (technically called 'sodium-yellow'), even when the former are more polluting in certain aspects. One of the possible reasons is that this kind of light allows a better identification of human faces.
Those are the conclusions of multidisciplinary research carried out by scientists from the University of Granada (UGR) belonging to the departments of Civil Engineering and Social Psychology. The researchers analysed, among other variables, the pedestrians' perceived safety and well-being when walking by streets with particular illuminance types and levels.
A street illuminated with white light (LED lamps) and another one with sodium yellow light (High Pressure Sodium or HPS lamps)
Image: University of Granada
275 pedestrians from Granada participated in this research. They were given a test just after walking by the streets when public lighting was on, so that their answers were not conditioned by their memories or by other perceptions not related with the study.
In addition, this work suggests that lights with high content of blue wavelengths (such as some of the white lights in public lighting) a greater inhibition of melatonin, the so called 'sleep hormone', something already observed in laboratory studies by teams of researchers all over the world. For the first time, this has been proven for public lighting in real transit conditions, based in the subjective answers given by the pedestrians.
However, the authors of this work warn us that the quantification of physiological parameters such as melatonin inhibition or cortisol secretion, both greatly related to illuminance, "is a subject that should be studied by other type of specialists, and in any case is the aim of this research, which is centred on the pedestrians' perception and its correlation with the lighting installations quantitative parameters".
Real conditions study
The results of the inquiry were crossed with quantitative measurements of the main parameters involved in public lighting. The analysis of the group of data and their interactions has proven some of the hypothesis that, to this day, had only been proven in laboratories and under strict experimental conditions, while this research has been centred in real conditions.
Among other results, the researchers have assessed that the pedestrians' reactivity to all kinds of subjective matters, in each and every case, increases with the increase in illumninance levels.
"The results, although obvious in some of the questions of the inquiry, in others were more paradoxical and should call our attention about the elaboration of new regulations on public lighting", Antonio Manuel Peña García, professor at the department of Civil Engineering at the UGR and lead author of this work, explains.
Illuminance and crime
To this day, most studies about public lighting, both academic and professional, have been centred on objective and quantitative aspects, that is to say, the design of more economic and efficient installations, compliance with applicable regulations, new technologies, etc.
From another, less technical perspective, the effects of the illuminance on personal and material safety have been assessed, too. That's the main aim of lighting technology.
"In this regard, controversy between different authors and philosophies about urban lighting has been such that, to this day, there's no unanimous agreement on if higher illuminance levels increase street safety or, on the contrary, decrease it, given that even possible criminals seem to need a minimum level of illuminance in order to properly select their victims", Peña stresses.
Neither the supporters nor the detractors of higher illuminance levels in order to increase citizen safety "have paid attention to an extremely important concept: public lighting installations users' perceived safety".
In addition to professor Peña García, this research counted with the participation of Mª del Carmen Aguilar Luzón, professor at the department of Social Psychology at the UGR and an expert in Environmental Psychology; and Antonio Hurtado González, industrial engineer at Granada City Council and member of Luminotecnia para la Seguridad y la Sostenibilidad (lighting technology for safety and sustainability) research group, under professor Antonio Peña's management.
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Objection 1. It seems that the existence of God is self-evident. Now those things are said to be self-evident to us the knowledge of which is naturally implanted in us, as we can see in regard to first principles. But as Damascene says (De Fide Orth. i, 1,3), "the knowledge of God is naturally implanted in all." Therefore the existence of God is self-evident.
Objection 2. Further, those things are said to be self-evident which are known as soon as the terms are known, which the Philosopher (1 Poster. iii) says is true of the first principles of demonstration. Thus, when the nature of a whole and of a part is known, it is at once recognized that every whole is greater than its part. But as soon as the signification of the word "God" is understood, it is at once seen that God exists. For by this word is signified that thing than which nothing greater can be conceived. But that which exists actually and mentally is greater than that which exists only mentally. Therefore, since as soon as the word "God" is understood it exists mentally, it also follows that it exists actually. Therefore the proposition "God exists" is self-evident.
Objection 3. Further, the existence of truth is self-evident. For whoever denies the existence of truth grants that truth does not exist: and, if truth does not exist, then the proposition "Truth does not exist" is true: and if there is anything true, there must be truth. But God is truth itself: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6) Therefore "God exists" is self-evident.
On the contrary, No one can mentally admit the opposite of what is self-evident; as the Philosopher (Metaph. iv, lect. vi) states concerning the first principles of demonstration. But the opposite of the proposition "God is" can be mentally admitted: "The fool said in his heart, There is no God" (Psalm 52:1). Therefore, that God exists is not self-evident.
I answer that, A thing can be self-evident in either of two ways: on the one hand, self-evident in itself, though not to us; on the other, self-evident in itself, and to us. A proposition is self-evident because the predicate is included in the essence of the subject, as "Man is an animal," for animal is contained in the essence of man. If, therefore the essence of the predicate and subject be known to all, the proposition will be self-evident to all; as is clear with regard to the first principles of demonstration, the terms of which are common things that no one is ignorant of, such as being and non-being, whole and part, and such like. If, however, there are some to whom the essence of the predicate and subject is unknown, the proposition will be self-evident in itself, but not to those who do not know the meaning of the predicate and subject of the proposition. Therefore, it happens, as Boethius says (Hebdom., the title of which is: "Whether all that is, is good"), "that there are some mental concepts self-evident only to the learned, as that incorporeal substances are not in space." Therefore I say that this proposition, "God exists," of itself is self-evident, for the predicate is the same as the subject, because God is His own existence as will be hereafter shown (3, 4). Now because we do not know the essence of God, the proposition is not self-evident to us; but needs to be demonstrated by things that are more known to us, though less known in their nature — namely, by effects.
Reply to Objection 1. To know that God exists in a general and confused way is implanted in us by nature, inasmuch as God is man's beatitude. For man naturally desires happiness, and what is naturally desired by man must be naturally known to him. This, however, is not to know absolutely that God exists; just as to know that someone is approaching is not the same as to know that Peter is approaching, even though it is Peter who is approaching; for many there are who imagine that man's perfect good which is happiness, consists in riches, and others in pleasures, and others in something else.
Reply to Objection 2. Perhaps not everyone who hears this word "God" understands it to signify something than which nothing greater can be thought, seeing that some have believed God to be a body. Yet, granted that everyone understands that by this word "God" is signified something than which nothing greater can be thought, nevertheless, it does not therefore follow that he understands that what the word signifies exists actually, but only that it exists mentally. Nor can it be argued that it actually exists, unless it be admitted that there actually exists something than which nothing greater can be thought; and this precisely is not admitted by those who hold that God does not exist.
Objection 1. It seems that the existence of God cannot be demonstrated. For it is an article of faith that God exists. But what is of faith cannot be demonstrated, because a demonstration produces scientific knowledge; whereas faith is of the unseen (Hebrews 11:1). Therefore it cannot be demonstrated that God exists.
Objection 2. Further, the essence is the middle term of demonstration. But we cannot know in what God's essence consists, but solely in what it does not consist; as Damascene says (De Fide Orth. i, 4). Therefore we cannot demonstrate that God exists.
Objection 3. Further, if the existence of God were demonstrated, this could only be from His effects. But His effects are not proportionate to Him, since He is infinite and His effects are finite; and between the finite and infinite there is no proportion. Therefore, since a cause cannot be demonstrated by an effect not proportionate to it, it seems that the existence of God cannot be demonstrated.
On the contrary, The Apostle says: "The invisible things of Him are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made" (Romans 1:20). But this would not be unless the existence of God could be demonstrated through the things that are made; for the first thing we must know of anything is whether it exists.
I answer that, Demonstration can be made in two ways: One is through the cause, and is called "a priori," and this is to argue from what is prior absolutely. The other is through the effect, and is called a demonstration "a posteriori"; this is to argue from what is prior relatively only to us. When an effect is better known to us than its cause, from the effect we proceed to the knowledge of the cause. And from every effect the existence of its proper cause can be demonstrated, so long as its effects are better known to us; because since every effect depends upon its cause, if the effect exists, the cause must pre-exist. Hence the existence of God, in so far as it is not self-evident to us, can be demonstrated from those of His effects which are known to us.
Reply to Objection 1. The existence of God and other like truths about God, which can be known by natural reason, are not articles of faith, but are preambles to the articles; for faith presupposes natural knowledge, even as grace presupposes nature, and perfection supposes something that can be perfected. Nevertheless, there is nothing to prevent a man, who cannot grasp a proof, accepting, as a matter of faith, something which in itself is capable of being scientifically known and demonstrated.
Reply to Objection 2. When the existence of a cause is demonstrated from an effect, this effect takes the place of the definition of the cause in proof of the cause's existence. This is especially the case in regard to God, because, in order to prove the existence of anything, it is necessary to accept as a middle term the meaning of the word, and not its essence, for the question of its essence follows on the question of its existence. Now the names given to God are derived from His effects; consequently, in demonstrating the existence of God from His effects, we may take for the middle term the meaning of the word "God".
Reply to Objection 3. From effects not proportionate to the cause no perfect knowledge of that cause can be obtained. Yet from every effect the existence of the cause can be clearly demonstrated, and so we can demonstrate the existence of God from His effects; though from them we cannot perfectly know God as He is in His essence.
Objection 1. It seems that God does not exist; because if one of two contraries be infinite, the other would be altogether destroyed. But the word "God" means that He is infinite goodness. If, therefore, God existed, there would be no evil discoverable; but there is evil in the world. Therefore God does not exist.
Objection 2. Further, it is superfluous to suppose that what can be accounted for by a few principles has been produced by many. But it seems that everything we see in the world can be accounted for by other principles, supposing God did not exist. For all natural things can be reduced to one principle which is nature; and all voluntary things can be reduced to one principle which is human reason, or will. Therefore there is no need to suppose God's existence.
The first and more manifest way is the argument from motion. It is certain, and evident to our senses, that in the world some things are in motion. Now whatever is in motion is put in motion by another, for nothing can be in motion except it is in potentiality to that towards which it is in motion; whereas a thing moves inasmuch as it is in act. For motion is nothing else than the reduction of something from potentiality to actuality. But nothing can be reduced from potentiality to actuality, except by something in a state of actuality. Thus that which is actually hot, as fire, makes wood, which is potentially hot, to be actually hot, and thereby moves and changes it. Now it is not possible that the same thing should be at once in actuality and potentiality in the same respect, but only in different respects. For what is actually hot cannot simultaneously be potentially hot; but it is simultaneously potentially cold. It is therefore impossible that in the same respect and in the same way a thing should be both mover and moved, i.e. that it should move itself. Therefore, whatever is in motion must be put in motion by another. If that by which it is put in motion be itself put in motion, then this also must needs be put in motion by another, and that by another again. But this cannot go on to infinity, because then there would be no first mover, and, consequently, no other mover; seeing that subsequent movers move only inasmuch as they are put in motion by the first mover; as the staff moves only because it is put in motion by the hand. Therefore it is necessary to arrive at a first mover, put in motion by no other; and this everyone understands to be God.
The second way is from the nature of the efficient cause. In the world of sense we find there is an order of efficient causes. There is no case known (neither is it, indeed, possible) in which a thing is found to be the efficient cause of itself; for so it would be prior to itself, which is impossible. Now in efficient causes it is not possible to go on to infinity, because in all efficient causes following in order, the first is the cause of the intermediate cause, and the intermediate is the cause of the ultimate cause, whether the intermediate cause be several, or only one. Now to take away the cause is to take away the effect. Therefore, if there be no first cause among efficient causes, there will be no ultimate, nor any intermediate cause. But if in efficient causes it is possible to go on to infinity, there will be no first efficient cause, neither will there be an ultimate effect, nor any intermediate efficient causes; all of which is plainly false. Therefore it is necessary to admit a first efficient cause, to which everyone gives the name of God.
The third way is taken from possibility and necessity, and runs thus. We find in nature things that are possible to be and not to be, since they are found to be generated, and to corrupt, and consequently, they are possible to be and not to be. But it is impossible for these always to exist, for that which is possible not to be at some time is not. Therefore, if everything is possible not to be, then at one time there could have been nothing in existence. Now if this were true, even now there would be nothing in existence, because that which does not exist only begins to exist by something already existing. Therefore, if at one time nothing was in existence, it would have been impossible for anything to have begun to exist; and thus even now nothing would be in existence — which is absurd. Therefore, not all beings are merely possible, but there must exist something the existence of which is necessary. But every necessary thing either has its necessity caused by another, or not. Now it is impossible to go on to infinity in necessary things which have their necessity caused by another, as has been already proved in regard to efficient causes. Therefore we cannot but postulate the existence of some being having of itself its own necessity, and not receiving it from another, but rather causing in others their necessity. This all men speak of as God.
The fourth way is taken from the gradation to be found in things. Among beings there are some more and some less good, true, noble and the like. But "more" and "less" are predicated of different things, according as they resemble in their different ways something which is the maximum, as a thing is said to be hotter according as it more nearly resembles that which is hottest; so that there is something which is truest, something best, something noblest and, consequently, something which is uttermost being; for those things that are greatest in truth are greatest in being, as it is written in Metaph. ii. Now the maximum in any genus is the cause of all in that genus; as fire, which is the maximum heat, is the cause of all hot things. Therefore there must also be something which is to all beings the cause of their being, goodness, and every other perfection; and this we call God.
The fifth way is taken from the governance of the world. We see that things which lack intelligence, such as natural bodies, act for an end, and this is evident from their acting always, or nearly always, in the same way, so as to obtain the best result. Hence it is plain that not fortuitously, but designedly, do they achieve their end. Now whatever lacks intelligence cannot move towards an end, unless it be directed by some being endowed with knowledge and intelligence; as the arrow is shot to its mark by the archer. Therefore some intelligent being exists by whom all natural things are directed to their end; and this being we call God.
Reply to Objection 1. As Augustine says (Enchiridion xi): "Since God is the highest good, He would not allow any evil to exist in His works, unless His omnipotence and goodness were such as to bring good even out of evil." This is part of the infinite goodness of God, that He should allow evil to exist, and out of it produce good.
Reply to Objection 2. Since nature works for a determinate end under the direction of a higher agent, whatever is done by nature must needs be traced back to God, as to its first cause. So also whatever is done voluntarily must also be traced back to some higher cause other than human reason or will, since these can change or fail; for all things that are changeable and capable of defect must be traced back to an immovable and self-necessary first principle, as was shown in the body of the Article.
The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas
Second and Revised Edition, 1920
Literally translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province
Online Edition Copyright © 2008 by Kevin Knight
Nihil Obstat. F. Innocentius Apap, O.P., S.T.M., Censor. Theol.
Imprimatur. Edus. Canonicus Surmont, Vicarius Generalis. Westmonasterii.
Nihil Obstat. F. Raphael Moss, O.P., S.T.L. and F. Leo Moore, O.P., S.T.L.
Imprimatur. F. Beda Jarrett, O.P., S.T.L., A.M., Prior Provincialis Angliæ
MARIÆ IMMACULATÆ - SEDI SAPIENTIÆ
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Tips to stay safe in the sun
Summer is a great time to enjoy the outdoors, especially in Michigan, where the state’s scenic parks, beaches and attractions draw the masses out of their houses and into the sun. But summertime is also when we’re most vulnerable to the sun’s rays, making prolonged exposure dangerous. Enjoy the summer weather and stay safe in the sun with these tips:
Apply sunscreen correctly: When it comes to preventing sunburn, sunscreen is often the first, and most frequently, discussed solution. But falling into perils, like forgetting to reapply, not covering all of your exposed skin, or using the wrong SPF can still leave you burnt. For maximum protectiveness, the American Academy of Dermatology and Sun Safety Alliance also recommend using a SPF of 15 or higher, and 30 or higher for children under the age of six.
Mind the time: Before you hit the lake or lay out on the beach, keep in mind the sun is strongest between 10am and 4pm. If you’re planning any outdoor activities during this time, be prepared with a hat, sunglasses and lots of sunscreen.
Consider alternative attractions: On those near 100 degree days, don’t push the envelope on outdoor activities. Instead, choose an activity in the morning or evening to prevent harmful sun exposure and dehydration. During midday, consider venturing to public locations with reliable air conditioning, including libraries, movie theaters and museums.
Exercise caution: Warm weather can make your daily jog more enjoyable, but do take precaution. The American College of Sports Medicine suggests active individuals consume 16 to 20 ounces of water, one to two hours before outdoor activity. Additionally, by gradually increasing the duration of your outdoor exercise, your body will also be able to better acclimate to the summer heat. As a safe alternative, take your workout inside to an air-conditioned space or gym, such as one of these fitness centers where you can save on memberships and services from Healthy Blue Xtras.
Whatever the summer activity, barbeques, festivals or boating, enjoy your day out in the sun responsibly. Your body will thank you.
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Young adults, in a period of transition, are often reluctant to seek treatment for mental health problems because of the stigma, inadequate insurance coverage and difficulty finding a mental health care provider.
But a new preliminary study by researchers at Case Western Reserve University suggests that depression symptoms may be significantly reduced when 18- to 25-year-olds interact with computerized avatars--virtual 3D images of a healthcare provider like a nurse practitioner or physician --as a way to rehearse office visits ahead of time and learn self-management skills.
Study results were published in the current Applied Nursing Research journal article, "Avatar-based depression self-management technology: promising approach to improve depression symptoms among young adults."
Melissa Pinto, PhD, RN, a KL2 Clinical Research Scholar and instructor at Case Western Reserve's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, collaborated with developers of the Electronic Self-Management Resource Training (eSMART) team: Ronald Hickman Jr., PhD, ACNP-BC, and John Clochesy, PhD, RN, FAAN (now at University of Southern Florida) from the nursing school, and Marc Buchner, PhD, from the Virtual Gaming Lab at Case Western Reserve's engineering school.
Pinto said the study was the first to her knowledge to use an avatar-based intervention for this age group to improve depressive symptoms.
The researcher used a Case Western Reserve-designed virtual program, called eSMART-MH. eSMART-MH was adapted from a previous platform (eSMART-HD) designed by the team to help adults with chronic health problems manage their health.
The interactive avatar program, eSMART-MH, was designed in Buchner's Virtual Gaming Lab and tailored for young adults with depressive symptoms. eSMART-MH walks young adults through healthcare appointments with an avatar healthcare provider in virtual primary care office setting. During these visits, young adults practice talking about depression, ask avatar healthcare providers questions and learn self-managements skills to help manage depressive symptoms.
At this age, a majority of young people do not make contact with mental health providers until years after they first experience depressive symptoms. And those who do seek professional help may go to their first few appointments, but stop going soon after, said Pinto, who has studied mental health interventions in adolescents and young adults for six years.
The sample of 28 participants between 18 and 25 years old was small--considered a preliminary study to gather data for something more extensive.
Pinto randomly divided the participants, recruited from posters in city buses, into two groups: Half used e-SMART-MH, and the other half used electronic screen-based health information.
Before each of four visits over three months, Pinto tested participants for their depression levels to gauge whether they had incorporated coping strategies from information learned at each session.
Prior research reveals that, without some intervention, depression may resolve temporarily, but usually becomes chronic and reoccurs for many years and worsens over a person's life. In this small pilot study, young adults who received eSMART-MH had a significant reduction in depressive symptoms over the three-month study, and depressive symptoms dropped below level for clinical significance. The young adults who received electronic screen-based information only had no significant change in depressive symptoms during the study. Although the results of this study are promising and exciting, this was the first test of eSMART-MH.
"We are very early in the science. We look forward to assessing the eSMART-MH again in a larger study of young people," Pinto said.
This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
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Shellfish can cause severe allergic reactions (such as anaphylaxis). Therefore it is advised that people with shellfish allergy have quick access to an epinephrine auto-injector (such as an EpiPen®, Auvi-Q™ or Adrenaclick®) at all times. This allergy usually is lifelong. Approximately 60 percent of people with shellfish allergy experienced their first allergic reaction as adults. Shrimp, crab and lobster cause most shellfish allergies. Finned fish and shellfish do not come from related families of foods, so being allergic to one does not necessarily mean that you must avoid both. To prevent a reaction, strict avoidance of shellfish and shellfish products is essential. Always read ingredient labels to identify shellfish ingredients.
There are two kinds of shellfish: crustacea (such as shrimp, crab and lobster) and mollusks (such as clams, mussels, oysters and scallops). Reactions to crustacean shellfish tend to be particularly severe. If you are allergic to one group of shellfish, you might be able to eat some varieties from the other group. However, since most people who are allergic to one kind of shellfish usually are allergic to other types, allergists usually advise their patients to avoid all varieties. If you have been diagnosed with a shellfish allergy, do not eat any shellfish without first consulting your doctor.
To prevent a reaction, strict avoidance of shellfish and shellfish products is essential. Always read ingredient labels to identify shellfish ingredients. In addition, avoid touching shellfish, going to the fish market, and being in an area where shellfish are being cooked (the protein in the steam may present a risk).
The federal Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) requires that all packaged food products sold in the U.S. that contain shellfish as an ingredient must list the specific shellfish used on the label.
Read all product labels carefully before purchasing and consuming any item. Ingredients in packaged food products may change without warning, so check ingredient statements carefully every time you shop. If you have questions, call the manufacturer.
As of this time, the use of advisory labels (such as “May Contain”) on packaged foods is voluntary, and there are no guidelines for their use. However, the FDA has begun to develop a long-term strategy to help manufacturers use these statements in a clear and consistent manner, so that food-allergic consumers and their caregivers can be informed as to the potential presence of major allergens.
Read more about food labels>
Avoid foods that contain shellfish or any of these ingredients:
- Crawfish (crawdad, crayfish, ecrevisse)
- Lobster (langouste, langoustine, Moreton bay bugs, scampi, tomalley)
- Shrimp (crevette, scampi)
- It is important to note that mollusks are not considered major allergens under FALCPA and may not be fully disclosed on a product label.
Your doctor may advise you to avoid mollusks or these ingredients:
- Clams (cherrystone, geoduck, littleneck, pismo, quahog)
- Limpet (lapas, opihi)
- Sea cucumber
- Sea urchin
- Snails (escargot)
- Squid (calamari)
- Whelk (Turban shell)
Shellfish are sometimes found in the following:
- Cuttlefish ink
- Fish stock
- Seafood flavoring (e.g., crab or clam extract)
Keep the following in mind:
- If you have seafood allergy, avoid seafood restaurants. Even if you order a non-seafood item off of the menu, cross-contact is possible.
- Asian restaurants often serve dishes that use fish sauce as a flavoring base. Exercise caution or avoid eating there altogether.
- Shellfish protein can become airborne in the steam released during cooking and may be a risk. Stay away from cooking areas.
- Carrageenan, or "Irish moss,” is not shellfish. It is a red marine algae that is used in a wide variety of foods, particularly dairy foods, as an emulsifier, stabilizer, and thickener. It appears safe for most individuals with food allergies.
- Allergy to iodine, allergy to radiocontrast material (used in some radiographic procedures), and to shellfish are not related. If you have an allergy to shellfish, you do not need to worry about cross reactions with radiocontrast material or iodine.
Download our PDF on how to read a label for a shellfish-free diet.
1Sicherer SH, Munoz-Furlong A, Sampson HA. Prevalence of seafood allergy in the United States determined by a random telephone survey. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2004; 114(1):159-65.
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Zooplankton of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts
MetadataShow full item record
We have designed this guide to facilitate identification of zooplankton by students and biologists without previous training in zooplankton systematics. Our first aim is a guide that blends scientific accuracy with ease of use. Out second aim is to provide an understanding of and appreciation for the zooplankton of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. In addition to developing a general introduction to plankton biology and ecology, we have collected and synthesized the biological and ecological data relevant to each taxon. While this book is not intended for specialists, we have provided references to more technical literature for more advanced users. We included the taxa that are commonly found in estuarine and nearshore waters from Cape Cod to Florida on the Atlantic coast and from Florida to Texas along the Gulf of Mexico. This guide includes zooplankton that occur from the low-salinity reaches of rivers to the coastal ocean within 10 km of the shore. We included taxa most frequently encountered and most characteristic of coastal or estuarine zooplankton collections including the common large phytoplankton and the fish larvae that are often retained in zooplankton nets. Most occasionally caught and rare species are not treated here.
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Biodiversity Heritage Library
Subject "Scottish Gaelic"
Gaelic names of plants (Scottish and Irish) : collected and arranged in scientific order, with notes on their etymology, their uses, plant superstitions, etc., among the Celts, with copious Gaelic, English, and scientific names / by John Cameron.
By: Cameron, John,
Publication info: Edinburgh :W. Blackwood,1883.
Contributed by: National Library of Scotland (archive.org)
Subjects: Botany Glossaries, vocabularies, etc Great Britain Irish language Manx language Plant names, Popular Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic language
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NICKEL Overview Information
Nickel is a mineral. It is found in several foods including nuts, dried beans and peas, soybeans, grains, and chocolate. The body needs nickel, but in very small amounts. Nickel is a common trace element in multiple vitamins.
Nickel is used for increasing iron absorption, preventing iron-poor blood (anemia), and treating weak bones (osteoporosis).
How does it work?
Nickel is an essential nutrient in some chemical processes in the body. Its precise functions in the body are not known.
Likely Effective for:
- Preventing nickel levels in the body from getting too low (nickel deficiency). Nickel deficiency has not been reported in people, although it may exist, since nickel deficiency has been seen in animals. Taking trace amounts of nickel in a supplement is effective for preventing nickel deficiency.
- Improving iron absorption.
- Preventing anemia.
- Improving osteoporosis and bone health.
- Other conditions.
NICKEL Side Effects & Safety
Nickel is LIKELY SAFE for most adults when taken by mouth in amounts up to 1 mg/day. Taking more than 1 mg/day is POSSIBLY UNSAFE. Taking amounts slightly above the 1 mg/day level increases the chances of unwanted side effects. High doses are poisonous.
Workers who have been exposed to nickel on the job over an extended period of time can develop allergies, lung disorders, and cancer.
Special Precautions & Warnings:Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Nickel is LIKELY SAFE in pregnant or breast-feeding adult women when taken by mouth in doses less than the tolerable upper intake level (UL) of 1 mg/day. The safety of higher doses is unknown.
Children: Nickel is LIKELY SAFE in children in daily doses less than the tolerable upper intake level (UL) of 0.2 mg/day in children 1 to 3 years, 0.3 mg/day in children 4 to 8 years, and 0.6 mg/day in children 9 to 13 years. Taking higher doses is POSSIBLY UNSAFE.
Kidney disease: People with kidney disease may not be able to tolerate nickel as well as other people. It’s best to avoid nickel supplements if you have kidney problems.
Nickel allergy: People who are sensitive to nickel, including those with a history of skin rash after contact with nickel-containing jewelry, coins, stainless steel items, surgical implants, or dental appliances, can develop allergic reactions to nickel taken by mouth. These people should not take nickel supplements.
Moderate Interaction Be cautious with this combination
- Disulfiram (Antabuse) interacts with NICKEL
Disulfiram (Antabuse) might decrease how much nickel your body absorbs, making nickel supplements less effective.
The following doses have been studied in scientific research:
- For preventing nickel levels in the body from getting too low (nickel deficiency): Trace amounts of nickel in supplements.
The Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for nickel, the highest intake level at which no unwanted side effects would be expected, is 1 mg/day for adults. For children the UL is 0.2 mg/day in children 1 to 3 years; 0.3 mg/day in children 4 to 8 years; and 0.6 mg/day in children 9 to 13 years.
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Dr. Thomas C. Südhof is an adjunct professor of neuroscience and former chairman of the department at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Thomas C. Südhof, adjunct professor of neuroscience and former chairman of the department at UT Southwestern Medical Center, was one of three scientists awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries of key information about how cellular transport systems work.
Dr. Südhof, now at Stanford University School of Medicine, was recognized for pioneering work performed at UT Southwestern on synaptic transmission, the process by which brain cells communicate with each other via chemical signals passed through the spaces, or synapses, between them. His studies on nerve-cell interaction and neurotransmitter release, a process that initiates communication between one neuron and another in the brain, has led to a better understanding of brain function under normal and pathologic conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease.
Dr. Südhof spent 25 years at UT Southwestern, starting as a postdoctoral fellow in 1983 in the laboratory of Dr. Michael Brown, director of the Eric Jonsson Center for Research in Molecular Genetics and Human Disease, and Dr. Joseph Goldstein, chairman of molecular genetics, who shared the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
"We are immensely proud of Thomas Südhof. While a postdoctoral fellow in our laboratory, he solved an important problem concerning cholesterol. We were overjoyed that he remained on our faculty for more than two decades, where he performed all of the experiments that led to today's Nobel Prize," Dr. Brown said. "His discoveries explain how a batter can hit a 95 mph fastball that takes only four-tenths of a second to reach home plate. All Texans should share in our pride."
Dr. Goldstein said: "Thomas Südhof is a biomedical exceptionalist – like Babe Ruth was an exceptionalist in baseball, Leonard Bernstein in music, and Steve Jobs in computers. Having done his Nobel work at UT Southwestern in Dallas, Thomas is our sixth faculty member to win a Nobel Prize. This is quite a record for a relatively 'small' medical school – a record that exceeds the total number of Nobelists produced by premier and more established institutions, like the National Institutes of Health, Harvard Medical School, and even Stanford University School of Medicine, where Thomas has now enhanced Stanford's Nobel bragging rights!"
Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, president of UT Southwestern, said, "It's another great day for UT Southwestern and all the faculty and staff who worked side-by-side with Dr. Südhof during his days of discovery here. UT Southwestern truly has been and continues to be an incubator for Nobel talent. Today's award makes the seventh Nobel [six faculty members and one graduate student] that has sprung from the rich loam of scientific inquiry that has been a hallmark of our medical center. But more importantly, the work that culminated in this Prize has the potential to change the way doctors treat disease and potentially save lives."
Dr. Südhof, who was recently honored with the Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, served on the UT Southwestern faculty from 1986 until 2008, when he was appointed professor of molecular and cellular physiology at Stanford University. Among his many accomplishments while at UT Southwestern was being named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator in 1991 and election to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences in 2002 and its Institute of Medicine in 2007. At UT Southwestern, Dr. Südhof directed the C. Vincent Prothro Center for Research in Basic Neuroscience and held the Gill Distinguished Chair in Neuroscience Research and the Loyd B. Sands Distinguished Chair in Neuroscience. From 1997 to 2006, he directed the Center for Basic Neuroscience, and from 2007 to 2008, he served as first chairman of the Department of Neuroscience.
Dr. Südhof's work, which built upon independent discoveries by fellow Nobel winners James E. Rothman and Randy W. Schekman, with whom he shares today's Prize, solved the mystery of how the cell organizes its transport system, according to the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet.
Each cell is a factory that produces and exports molecules, the Nobel statement said. For instance, insulin is manufactured and released into the blood, and chemical signals called neurotransmitters are sent from one nerve cell to another. These molecules are transported around the cell in small packages called vesicles. The three Nobelists discovered the molecular principles that govern how this cargo is delivered to the right place at the right time in the cell.
Dr. Schekman, from the University of California, Berkeley, discovered a set of genes that are required for vesicle traffic. Dr. Rothman, from Yale University, unraveled protein machinery that allows vesicles to fuse with their targets to permit transfer of cargo. Dr. Südhof revealed how signals instruct vesicles to release their cargo with precision. Dr. Südhof was particularly interested in how nerve cells communicate with one another in the brain. The signaling molecules, called neurotransmitters, are released from vesicles that fuse with the outer membrane of nerve cells by using the machinery discovered by Dr. Rothman and Dr. Schekman, according to the Nobel statement.
But these vesicles are only allowed to release their contents when the nerve cell signals to its neighbors. Calcium ions were known to be involved in this process, and in the 1990s, Dr. Südhof searched for calcium-sensitive proteins in nerve cells. He identified molecular machinery that responds to an influx of calcium ions and directs neighbor proteins rapidly to bind vesicles to the outer membrane of the nerve cell. The zipper opens up, and signal substances are released. Dr. Südhof´s discovery explained how temporal precision is achieved and how vesicles' contents can be released on command.
Dr. Südhof was born in 1955 in Göttingen, Germany. Prior to joining UT Southwestern, he studied at the Max-Planck-Institut für Biophysikalische Chemie and at the Georg-August-Universität in Göttingen, where he received an M.D. in 1982 and a doctorate in neurochemistry.
UT Southwestern's Nobel history began when Dr. Brown and Dr. Goldstein received the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of the basic mechanisms of cholesterol metabolism. Their findings led to the development of the cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.
Dr. Johann Deisenhofer received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1988 for using X-ray crystallography to describe the 3-D structure of a protein molecule. This structure helped explain the process of photosynthesis.
In 1994 Dr. Alfred Gilman, chairman emeritus of pharmacology and former UT Southwestern provost, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of G proteins, research that has led to a more complete understanding of how cells receive signals and respond to external stimuli.
In 2004 Dr. Linda Buck became the first alumnus of the UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences to win a Nobel Prize. Now at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Dr. Buck was recognized for her work in understanding the sense of smell.
In 2011 Dr. Bruce Beutler, director of the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense at UT Southwestern, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries of how the immune system works.
Source : email@example.com
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Looking for public Wi-Fi in your town or city? The hunt may be about to get easier: the Federal Communications Commission is reportedly considering the development of free and public "super Wi-Fi" networks across the United States.
The proposal, first reported by The Washington Post, would require local television stations and broadcasters to sell wireless spectrum — the so-called "white spaces" — to the government. The government would then use that spectrum to build public Wi-Fi networks.
The public networks would be much stronger than average by virtue of the spectrum used to build them —their signal would hypothetically travel for long distances and penetrate thick walls and other objects.
Update: The government is not building national Wi-Fi networks. Mashable regrets the error.
The plan has immense disruptive potential: If successful, it could cause many people to cancel their cellular and Internet plans in favor of connecting to the Internet via the free public Wi-Fi networks. The idea has thus driven a wedge between telecom providers and the world's biggest technology companies.
Many of the major cell phone carriers, including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Qualcomm, are reportedly lobbying hard against the proposal. Their argument? The FCC should auction the spectrum to businesses instead of forcing its sale to the government. Some of those companies are also claiming the hypothetical network might cause interference with local broadcasts.
Google and Microsoft, meanwhile, have partnered up in a rare move to support the public Wi-Fi networks. They argue that national Wi-Fi networks would spark a wave of gadgetry innovation. Both companies also manufacture myriad devices or platforms which would benefit from massive public Wi-Fi networks, from Google's Android operating system to Microsoft's Windows Phone and Xbox gaming consoles.
FCC chairman Julius Genachowski has come down in favor of Google and Microsoft's argument.
"Freeing up unlicensed spectrum is a vibrantly free-market approach that offers low barriers to entry to innovators developing the technologies of the future and benefits consumers," said Genachowski in a statement e-mailed to The Washington Post.
An FCC spokesperson told Mashable that the theoretical public Wi-Fi network is only one part of the Commission's plans to develop mobile broadband infrastructure.
"The FCC’s incentive auction proposal, launched in September of last year, would unleash substantial spectrum for licensed uses like 4G LTE," an FCC spokesperson told Mashable. "It would also free up unlicensed spectrum for uses including, but not limited to, next generation Wi-Fi. As the demand for mobile broadband continues to grow rapidly, we need to free up significant amounts of spectrum for commercial use, and both licensed and unlicensed spectrum must be part of the solution."
The plan could also serve as a boon to underserved communities, members of whom often use smartphones as their on-ramp to the Internet.
The five-member FCC panel has yet to vote on the proposal.
Should the government provide massive free Wi-Fi networks? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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The word 'coir' has been derived from the Malayalam word 'kayar' or 'kayaru', which means the traditional entwined rope.
Uses and Applications
Coir is used in brushes, doormats, mattresses and sacking. A small amount is also made into twine. Pads of curled brown coir fibre, made by needle-felting (a machine technique that mats the fibres together) are shaped and cut to fill mattresses and for use in erosion control on river banks and hillsides. A major proportion of coir pads are sprayed with rubber latex which bonds the fibres together (rubberized coir) to be used as upholstery padding for the automobile industry. The material is also used for insulation and packaging. The major use of coir is in rope manufacture. Mats of woven coir fibre are made from the finer grades of bristle and white fibre using hand or mechanical looms. Coir is recommended as substitute for milled peat moss because it is free of bacteria and fungal spores.
Some Coir Products
Traditional uses for the resilient and durable coir fiber include rope and twine, brooms and brushes, doormats, rugs, mattresses and other upholstery, often in the form of rubberized coir pads.
Characteristic/Features of Coir Products
- Coir Bhoovastra - Coir Bhoovastra is regarded as the complete geo textile to prevent soil erosion and promote vegetation cover. Naturally resistant to rot, moulds, and moisture, and needing no chemical treatment, coir Bhoovastra is hard and strong, and can not only protect the soil from erosion but can even be used as a protection against sea erosion, dispensing with the unsightly rocks that line sea shores and affording better protection against the onslaught of the raging sea in the monsoons. It is resistant to saline water and has longevity in high coastal regions.
- Mulch Door Mat - A traditional coir door mat beautifies the entrance to one's home or office and help one to keep the floors clean. It facilitate to keep the dirt, grime and moisture from coming indoor.
- Mattress - This popular, natural fibre filled mattress is carefully made from coconut husk fibres which are bound together with natural latex. The coir pad is layered between foam and polyester wadding. It offers comfort & resilience & is available in any size or shape.
- Coir Blanket - Coir fibre stitched with PP or Jute between two netting either PP or Jute or a combination. Used in control of soil erosion.
Trade in Coir Products
- Moth-proof; resistant to fungi and rot
- Provides excellent insulation against temperature and sound
- Not easily combustible
- Unaffected by moisture and dampness
- Tough and durable
- Resilient; springs back to shape even after constant use
- Totally static free
- Easy to clean.
Currently, the worldwide yearly manufacture of coir fiber is about 350,000 metric tons (MT). At present India and Sri Lanka jointly account for about 90% of international coir fiber production. Other main coconut growing countries, include Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
In the 1980s and 90s, international exports of coir fiber was cut down by approximately half, as Western customers moved to artificial foam and fibers. Since 1990, speedily rising domestic demand in India doubled promoting solely the Indian coir industry. As a final point, since 2001, a increasing Chinese demand for coir, a growing market for coir-based erosion control products, and the extension of coir pith as a peat moss alternate in horticulture has advanced global production and prices.
Traditionally, Sri Lanka has been the world’s largest exporter of various fiber grades, whereas India has largely exported value added products – yarn, mats, and rugs. Global trade volume for coir fiber, value added products – yarn, mats, rugs – and coir pith now stands at about $140 million per year with India and Sri Lanka respectively accounting for about $70 and $60 million of that amount.
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|Dionysos mask, found in Myrina (now in Turkey). |
Terracotta, 2nd–1st centuries BC.
Louvre Museum Myr 347.
© Joseph Jastrow 2005 / Wikimedia Public Domain
Recently I am enjoying the company of a new book, entitled Greek Tragedy: Suffering under the Sun (OUP 2010) by the eminent scholar Edith Hall. There is an extensive amount of books discussing the term and concept of ‘tragedy’. To name few, I will start with the introductory titles by Adrian Poole’s Tragedy: A Very Short Introduction, (OUP, 2005) and Rebecca Bushnell’s Tragedy: a short introduction (Blackwell, 2008); extensive collection of articles and authors are present in the two ‘companion’ titles, of Easterling (ed.) (The Cambridge Companion to Greek Tragedy. CUP, 1997) and of Gregory (ed.) (A Companion to Greek Tragedy. Blackwell Pub., 2005). More detailed studies of the context of tragedy in relation of the Athenian life and intellectual thought could be suggested to be Kaufmann’s Tragedy and Philosophy (Princeton University Press, 1992), David Wiles’ Tragedy in Athens: Performance Space and Theatrical Meaning (Cambridge University Press, 1999) and Nothing to Do with Dionysos?: Athenian Drama in Its Social Context by John J. Winkler (ed.) (Princeton University Press, 1992). Of course the list does not stop there; there are interesting and innovative studies on ancient Greek tragedy (namely the Athenian). Religiosity is always part of such studies; taking for instance to eminent examples by Jon D. Mikalson’s Honor Thy Gods: Popular Religion in Greek Tragedy (UNC Press Books, 1991) and by Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood’s Tragedy and Athenian Religion (Lexington Books, 2003). Hall’s title, however, offers a straight forward and accessible view to the Athenian tragedy.
Edith Hall’s title, thus, could be recited as an introductory material for students; the first part of the book presents the socio-political and factual elements of the Athenian tragedy, followed by the second half which examines all the surviving to us today thirty-three plays. Hall’s perception of the Athenian tragedy is exactly what her sub-title states: suffering and death (p.11). The Sun plays an important role which defines the conceptual opposition of life – death / death – life hierarchy. Thus, the speciality of the Athenian tragedy establishes the boundary between the living and dead.
What makes, also, important Hall’s view of the Athenian tragedy is the well written and clearly stated importance of this genre of Greek play making for the conceptualization of every-day’s religious and ritual praxis in ancient Athens. Hall states that all performativity elements were indeed derived from the “world of collective ritual” (p.44). Choral song is a hymn of thanksgiving (the Chorus in Antigone, 110-148); the dithyrambic hymn is a hymn of praise or invocation prayer in terms of tragedy’s performativity of ritual praxis. For example the hymn to Zeus in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon (160-183) and the invocation with the common phrase “ἔλθετε καὶ νῦν” in Oedipus Tyrannus (151-215), they both have the common format of ritual prayer as in Elean women prayer to Dionysus (PMG 871 = Carmina Popularia frg. 6). It is also important to note that the Chorus’ choral or dithyrambic hymns and of paeans have been both melodic and choreographic. In this point I will point to Lawler’s The dance in Ancient Greece (Adam & Charles Black, 1964), forthright statement, “that the Greek almost never sang or chanted verse without using an accompanying movement of some part of his body” (p.98). It is almost inconceivable to withdraw our attention from the Chorus’ importance as a depiction of ancient Greek, Athenian, religiosity.
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Buffalo can thank Mrs. Mark Twain for its claim on a brief portion of the great author’s life, for it was Livy Langdon and her family who helped bring him to the city. Twain’s father-in-law gave the newlyweds a house on Delaware Avenue as a wedding gift, and he provided the money for his son-in-law’s part-ownership of the Buffalo Express newspaper, starting the couple’s 18-month stay in the city in 1870.
In “Mrs. Mark Twain: The Life of Olivia Langdon Clemens, 1845-1904” (McFarland, 209 pages, $45), author Martin Naparsteck, writing with Michelle Cardulla, takes a closer look at the Langdon family and Livy’s role in her husband’s life and career. As interpreted here, Olivia Langdon was the woman who helped Twain find himself, and his voice.
The Langdons, of Elmira, were a family of well-to-do liberals who considered slavery a “great moral wrong” and who thought that young women had as much right as men to a good education.
“Livy and her family were huge influences on (Twain’s) social beliefs, which he was just developing as a young man in his 30s,” says Thomas J. Reigstad, a local Twain scholar and author of “Scribblin’ for a Livin’,” about the couple’s time in Buffalo.
To explain their progressive politics, Naparsteck delves into the Langdon family roots – how they became wealthy, and how they used that wealth. He did much of his research in Elmira, gaining permission to do some writing at Quarry Farm, the Langdon property where Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Clemens spent many summers in the early years of their marriage. The immersion helps Naparsteck, also a contributor to One Tank Trip travel columns for The Buffalo News, re-create their post-Civil War 19th century world – one of rich, rural success framed in liberal politics and Eastern sensibilities.
This background helped make Olivia especially appealing to her older suitor (she nicknamed Twain “Youth” to counter their 10-year age difference). She was completely different from the people of Sam Clemens’ experience, and represented aspirations he may not have known he had.
Clemens had grown up “rough” along the Mississippi River before starting a vagabond life in the even rougher West as a young man, but he often felt at odds with the somewhat crooked moral compass of the frontier that regularly valued expediency above humanity. For him, Livy presented another version of social action.
The book presents Olivia Langdon as a forward-thinking daughter of her times, well educated and literary, an equal intellectual match for her future husband. The two were introduced by Charlie Langdon, Olivia’s brother, who had become friends with Twain during a cruise to the Middle East that became the basis for the book “The Innocents Abroad.”
Frail and often sickly, Olivia had a physical delicacy that concealed her strong fortitude. She turned down Twain’s proposals at least twice before agreeing to the marriage, and evidence suggests she had no regrets.
Their correspondence and other writings reveal a true love affair, enduring through time, travels and tragedy thanks to Mrs. Twain’s efforts – and despite her husband’s lack of them. Their lifelong happiness together is a more recent reading of the marriage, which for years had been derided by Twain scholars as stifling and possibly made for money.
Reigstad says the negative take on the marriage began early on, with Van Wyck Brooks’ “The Ordeal of Mark Twain,” a psychological study of the author published in 1920.
“The premise was that Twain faced all kinds of obstacles in his career, and one of them was Olivia and her family and their Victorian sensibilities,” Reigstad said. “This kind of thinking went on for years, but I’ve felt all along that she was the glue that held him and their family together. He took so much for granted, leaving for any reason, even when his wife and children were sick – going to a wedding in Cleveland, to New York City to meet his publisher, to Washington to have his picture taken by Matthew Brady.”
The frequent comings and goings, and Livy’s adjustments to them, are chronicled thematically rather than chronologically in “Mrs. Mark Twain,” and show a family in which love and affection are expressed as much through letters as through physical contact. Twain never truly gave up the vagabond life, and though the family built a mansion in Hartford, Conn., the master of the house was regularly absent – on the lecture circuit, business trips or simply gadding about.
The mansion represented Twain’s taste for the rich life as much as his wife’s wealthy upbringing, and it was Livy who helped finance their lifestyle with her large inheritance. The book details the business success of her father, Jervis Langdon, and, in sharp contrast, the total lack of financial acumen shown by her husband, who wound up in bankruptcy.
The book is well-sourced and the level of detail is extensive, contributing to a dry tone that dilutes much of the drama of Olivia’s story – the early death of their son and later death of a daughter, Livy’s health problems, Twain’s money problems, and constant travel, sometimes for pleasure, sometimes to stay ahead of creditors.
But then there are some details that jump out for Western New Yorkers, such as the explanation of how Twain’s mother and sister wound up living in Fredonia:
“Sam had lectured in Fredonia and found it a pleasant town, and it was both close enough to Buffalo for him to look in now and then on his mother and far enough for her not to be a constant presence.” For the record, his mother didn’t want to move there, and the houses they lived in still stand, unlike Twain’s house in Buffalo, which was destroyed in a fire.
“Mrs. Mark Twain” is a worthwhile addition to the scholarship that is bringing Olivia Langdon Clemens out of the background and rebuilding her reputation.
For almost a century, biographers overlooked Olivia, or saw her calming influence as something her artistic husband had to overcome. More recent biographers, starting with Laura Skandera Trombley’s “Mark Twain in the Company of Women” and including Resa Willis with her “Mark and Livy,” have presented a more rounded, flattering portrait of the couple’s relationship.
Readers don’t have to believe them. They can look to Twain himself, who had this to say about marriage in “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court:”
“People talk about beautiful friendships between two persons of the same sex. What is the best of that sort, as compared with the friendship of man and wife, where the best impulses and highest ideals of both are the same. There is no place for comparison between the two friendships; the one is earthly, the other divine.”
And, for his Livy, this line from 1894: “No man or woman really knows what perfect love is until they have been married a quarter of a century.”
The Twains’ marriage lasted 34 years, until Livy died in Italy in 1904, at the age of 58.
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The Galax Department of Social Services and other organizations have been recognizing April as Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Child abuse includes physical harm, neglect, sexual abuse and emotional and mental maltreatment.
Every eight days, a child dies from abuse or neglect.
Every six days, a child aged 19 and younger is murdered.
Every five hours, a family seeks shelter from a domestic violence program, but is denied because of lack of space.
Every five hours, a child witnesses an act of domestic violence.
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Prime Minister 1855 - 58 and 1859 - 65
Henry John Temple, Lord Palmerston, became a Tory MP in 1807, and served continuously until his death fifty eight years later. He was a minister under George Canning, and switched to the Whig party following Canning's death, serving as foreign secretary under Grey, Melbourne and Russell. He was prime minister on two occasions, from 1855 - 1858, and 1859 - 1865. Palmerston for all his aristocratic background appealed to ordinary people. His appeal did not so much lie in what he did for ordinary people, but rather in his talent for stirring up nationalist feeling. In a speech to Parliament in 1848 he said: "We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow."
British identity seemed crystal clear for Palmerston. Britain had not been invaded since 1066, and at the beginning of his career Britain was the world's leading power. Palmerston saw Britain as an inviolate entity, immune to the fluctuations of identity seen in the rest of the world. Britain was very much a finished article as far as Palmerston was concerned. It was the rest of the world that moved around Britain's apparently fixed centre. Perhaps that is why he spent most of his career dealing with foreign policy, and is much less well known for his policies at home. Nevertheless Palmerston did make some important moves towards widening the social involvement of government in Britain. He introduced one of the earliest environmental measures, the Smoke Abatement Bill of 1853, intended to control air pollution in cities. He was also convinced that the economy could not be left to market forces alone. Reports into sanitary conditions and mining persuaded him that unregulated working conditions reduced efficiency and wasted human potential.
These issues, however, were somewhat sidelined by Palmerston's foreign policy. During my tour of his former home at Broadlands in Hampshire, the guide spared us the details of Palmerston's foreign policy, claiming that only those with a quite bizarre level of interest in political history would want to know about it. That was an interesting comment, since in reality Palmerston's policies frequently did not take the form of dry diplomacy far beyond the comprehension of the ordinary person. It is true that Palmerston played the nineteenth century game of balancing power in Europe, deciding that Russia posed a bigger threat than the Ottoman Empire centred on Turkey, and thus fighting the Crimean War (1853 - 1856) on the side of Turkey against Russia. All the details of that game might seem a bit abstruse. But the fact remains that if Palmerston had lived today he would have had the support of the Sun newspaper, in the way he loved to play to the nationalistic gallery. The Crimean War began under the administration of Palmerston's immediate predecessor the Earl of Aberdeen. Aberdeen had been dragged into the war against his will, and was dismissed when he was judged as incompetent to run it. Palmerston took over and did not really improve the military situation in the Crimea in any meaningful way. But he came out with the right kind of nationalistic noise which newspapers loved. Palmerston had a nationalistic streak which played well with many ordinary people. For example in 1850 a Gibraltar born moneylender named Don Pacifico had his house burnt down in Athens by a mob. Don Pacifico claimed British citizenship, being born in Gibraltar, and amazingly Palmerston sent Royal Navy ships to blockade the Greek port of Piraeus to force the Greek government to pay £27,000 compensation to this wronged British subject. Palmerston defended his actions in Parliament by saying that any British citizen anywhere in the world "shall feel confident that the watchful eye and the strong arm of England will protect him against injustice and wrong". This incident went down well with the majority of voters, and for a while Britain enjoyed the illusion that it was able to assert its power anywhere.
Many people liked the fact that Palmerston could be ruthless with foreigners. As foreign secretary he encouraged Britain's smuggling of opium from British India into China. This trade led to the Opium Wars with China, whose government was struggling to shut the opium trade down. In 1840 William Gladstone accused the British government of indifference to the damage inflicted on China by trade in opium. Palmerston dismissed these objections: "There is opium growing in China like there is corn growing in England" he said. A different side of Palmerston is revealed by his efforts to halt the slave trade. The trade had been abolished in 1807, but continued illicitly. He worked hard to bring about agreements with other countries to end slavery.
At Broadlands you will be able to see his writing desk, at which he worked standing up. Jasper Ridley says in The Prime Ministers that Palmerston worked standing up partly to keep himself awake during his exceedingly long working day. The desk reveals a tall man, and seems to speak of power in itself. But as Palmerston's career came towards its end, the sense of power which the British electorate so enjoyed was beginning to wane. Between 1863 and 1864 Palmerston was humiliated in a dispute over the north European Duchies of Schleswig-Holstein. Christian of Denmark proposed the incorporation of these Duchies, already under Danish jurisdiction, into the Danish state. He was opposed in this by the Prussian chancellor Bismarck, who wanted the Duchies for Prussia. Palmerston promised to support Denmark against Bismarck, and assumed, as in happier days gone by, that the threat would be enough. Bismarck contemptuously dismissed Palmerston's posturing and invaded the Duchies in 1864. Palmerston quickly realised there was nothing he could do. When the call for help came from Denmark, Palmerston had to refuse it.
Perhaps this event more than any other ended the illusion of Palmerston's power. He died soon afterwards on 18th October 1865.
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The easiest way to work with text files in VBA is using TextStream objects - this blog explains how they work.
- Reading and Writing Text Files using TextStreams (this blog)
- Creating a Text File and Writing Lines
- Reading in Lines from a Text File
Posted by Andy Brown on 13 January 2012 | 2 comments
You need a minimum screen resolution of about 700 pixels width to see our blogs. This is because they contain diagrams and tables which would not be viewable easily on a mobile phone or small laptop. Please use a larger tablet, notebook or desktop computer, or change your screen resolution settings.
Reading and Writing Text Files using TextStreams
This blog shows how to read from (and write to) text files using something called TextStream objects.
There is another way to do this in VBA using commands like Input and Open, but I think the way shown here is much easier to remember and use.
In order to get any of the code in this blog to work, you first need to create a FileSystemObject.
This blog has 2 comments
1. can I install specific part of SQL Server, (e.g. Client Tools,...) on a PC? (considering that I don't need all of SQL Sever package, but only the ability to import data and filter what I want)
2. if I have to install the whole package, is it possible to install it on a PC?.. can you provide me with a link to help me achieve that goal?..
3.any other way?
thanks in advance...
1. I'm not familiar with VBA, so I kinda trying to find a way around it... (i.e: doing what I said above, without VBA).
2. this DB (which is actually one table) has more than 10 million records ...
A full-blown discussion forum is being built for this site, which will allow you once more to add comments and discussion threads.
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Dupuytren's contracture is caused when connective tissue in the palms and fingers becomes shorter and thicker bringing the fingers inward toward the palms. Baron Guillaume Dupuytren, a French surgeon, described the surgical treatment for the disease which now bears his name in 1832. While the cause of it is not understood well, some things have been learned in recent years.
Inheritance is the most important factor in this condition. Whites, especially those of Celtic origin, have the highest incidence, and it runs in families. It is uncommon in pigmented races, and males are at least twice as often affected as females, in some reports as high as 7 to 1. The peak incidence is between ages 50 to 70 years old.
It was once thought occupational trauma and Peyronie's disease, a male genital tract disease, were factors, but now are recognized not to be factors. Yet, the right hand is more often affected, the ring finger (forth) being most often involved, followed by the small, middle, and index fingers.
The younger the patient, the more rapidly it progresses. The commonest first sign is a fleshy nodule in the palm, usually located at the base of the ring or small finger in the crease where the finger joins the hand. The nodule may be painful or itch, and may reach one half inch in diameter. It is followed by puckering of the skin of the palm over the involved tendon.
Surgery has been considered the only treatment, and there are controversies over the type of procedure which should be used. In all methods of treatment currently used in standard medicine, there is a high rate of recurrence after what appears to be successful operations. Every attempt should be made to arrest the progress of the disease before it becomes disabling. However, if natural remedies fail to halt the disease, some doctors feel that delaying surgery until necessary may be the best course.
Several treatments have been tried and failed to alter the course of the disease, including vitamin E, steroid injections, radiation therapy, ultrasound, and splinting. It has been said that successful conservative treatment is possible only at the very beginning of the disease.
Here is a link to a page about Dupuytren's and Plantar Fibromatosis by Dr. Alan Greene.
Please see the condition Tendonitis for further information and treatments, including treatments for tendonosis.
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The 9/11 terrorist attacks have forever changed the concept of first responder readiness within the industrial world.
Now, in addition to fire, explosion and suffocating gases, precautions must also be considered against possible chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) agents. To this end, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has established an optional certification program for SCBAs to be used in responding to attacks with these weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
Since the certification guidelines were issued in January 2002, SCBA manufacturers have been working diligently to obtain CBRN certification. Some units have already been approved; others are still in process. Now that these products are commercially available or will be soon, industrial fire, safety and emergency response professionals will need to determine how much CBRN-certified SCBA equipment to purchase and deploy at specific locations.
CBRN Approval Process
The intent of certification is to ensure that CBRN agents will not permeate or penetrate components of an SCBA and enter the respiratory system of the user at what NIOSH and the U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command (SBCCOM) consider to be maximum credible threat concentrations. Specifically, positive pressure, open-circuit SCBAs--less cylinder, but with all other integral components, and with whatever accessories the SCBA manufacturer designates for testing--must meet specified pass-fail criteria for penetration of mustard gas (HD) and Sarin (GB). These tests are run while the SCBA is operating on a breathing machine at a flow rate of 40 liters per minute for a 6-hour minimum service life.
In addition, a number of Laboratory Respirator Protection Level (LRPL) tests are also required, in which a panel of 25 test subjects wearing SCBA facepieces are exposed to an atmosphere containing 20-40 mg/m3 corn oil aerosol. The subjects are asked to perform a series of exercises. For the unit to pass, at least 24 of the 25 must achieve minimum LRPL levels of 500, equivalent to what is commonly known as a respirator protection factor, while the SCBA operates in a negative pressure mode.
These tests are in addition to existing NIOSH certification requirements for standard SCBA units as detailed in the performance requirements of 42 CFR Part 84, the special tests in 42 CFR Part 84.63(c), and certification of compliance to NFPA 1981, latest (2002) edition. Units that pass the certification tests will carry a NIOSH/CDC label in a visible location on the SCBA backplate, indicating that the apparatus is "CBRN Agent Approved."
To gain CBRN approval, at least some manu-facturers have found it necessary to substitute for materials that have been used in conventional SCBAs--in some cases for many years. The most troubling of these is silicone, the most comfortable, most durable, and best sealing facepiece skirt material for three decades.
Unfortunately, silicone cannot withstand the 6-hour NIOSH CBRN permeation test requirements. It will, however, stand up under two hours of exposure to HD and more than three hours to GB, offering reasonable one-time use protection for users of the longest duration open-circuit SCBA (rated by NIOSH at 60 minutes).
Other materials may also have to change, including high-impact plastics commonly used for second stage regulator housings and other components. Such changes could result in reduced durability of SCBA units.
Acquisition and Deployment
Fire safety and other officers at industrial sites must assess the level of risk associated with potential CBRN incidents and make decisions regarding SCBA acquisition and deployment accordingly. In areas that are at higher risk for a terrorist attack, a CBRN-certified SCBA may be the best choice for all or part of a plant's response gear. However, in low-risk areas, a CBRN-certified SCBA may be made available only as a backup or may not even be considered necessary.
Since there may be substantial changes required in materials for an SCBA to achieve CBRN certification, this could possibly result in diminished equipment durability and comfort for firefighting activities. Industrial sites should carefully consider the trade-offs for conventional use created by such changes.
Improving industrial site readiness for a WMD attack with CBRN-certified SCBAs does not have to be an all or nothing proposition. It would certainly be a good initial step to equip first responders trained for CBRN readiness with the new SCBAs. Then, over a number of months, it is possible to increase the availability of the CBRN-certified SCBAs by purchasing NIOSH-approved upgrade kits. These are already becoming commercially available.
Industrial fire safety officers should also understand that CBRN-certified SCBAs are not the total answer to protecting first responders to WMD attacks. For example, almost all chemical agents used by terrorists are absorbed through the skin as well as inspired into the respiratory system. Some agents are immediately fatal if an amount the size of the head of a pin comes in contact with a firefighter's skin. Therefore, when responding to a potential event involving chemical agents, effective dermal protection--in the form of an ensemble compliant with NFPA 1994--is essential. NIOSH recommends the following:
Unknown hazards: Level 1 Fully Encapsulated Chemical Suit and CBRN SCBA.
Known hazards: Level 1 Fully Encapsulated Chemical Suit and CBRN SCBA, or Level 2 Chemical Suit and CBRN SCBA, depending on the hazard.
The new NIOSH CBRN certification schedule for SCBAs is stringent, yet it is, of necessity, designed to meet circumstances that cannot be fully predicted. Furthermore, it is just part of the total program needed to protect responders from potential CBRN incidents. Because CBRN-certified SCBAs may not be as comfortable--or as rugged--as existing units, they may not be the most appropriate choice for conventional industrial fire fighting. Fire safety and plant security officers at individual industrial sites must assess the risk for terrorist activities and decide on a level of CBRN-certified equipment that should be inventoried and ultimately deployed in specific first response scenarios.
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Anna Hunt, Staff Writer
Have you ever noticed that if you find yourself in a checkout line and you’re anxious and in a hurry the line takes forever, but, if you’re relaxed and not concerned how long it takes, the line moves quickly?
Over the last several decades, scientists have been researching this phenomenon – the effect that our emotions have on the world around us, as well as on our own bodies. We now know that, intentional or not, emotions affect the health of our body, our relationships with others and our performance at school or work, and we’re learning more each day.
Great philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle, have deliberated on the nature of human emotions. In the 19th century, research conducted by figures such as Charles Darwin and Sigmund Freud began more in-depth empirical studies into the topic. Today, researchers and biologists continue to investigate this topic, and, through the use of technology, they can now observe the effects that emotions have on human DNA.
The Power of Intention
In the early 1990’s, a series of experiments examining the effect that intentional emotions have on human DNA were conducted by biologist Glen Rein and research director of the Institute of HeartMath, Rollin McCarty. The researchers wanted to examine if heart-focused intention can alter the conformation, or shape, of a DNA sample in a test tube held by research participants. Findings of these studies were published in 2003 in a report entitled Modulation of DNA Conformation by Heart-Focused Intention. According to their research, Rein and McCarty deduced:
The results provide experimental evidence to support the hypothesis that aspects of the DNA molecule can be altered through intentionality. To our knowledge, this study was the first to correlate specific electrophysiological modes with the ability to cause changes in a biological target (DNA) external from the body. The data indicate that when individuals are in a heart-focused, loving state and in a more coherent mode of physiological functioning, they have a greater ability to alter the conformation [or shape] of DNA.
In the experiments, ten individuals, who were familiar with the heart coherence building techniques taught at HeartMath, were instructed to focus on an intention that would make DNA wind or unwind, while holding a test tube filled with a DNA sample. Another 18 participants with no training from HeartMath were used as control subjects.
Each HeartMath-trained participant performed three experiments: 1) in a state generating feelings of love and appreciation- or “heart-focused state” – and holding the intention to alter the DNA; 2) in a heart-focused state but with no intention; and 3) in their normal emotional state and with the intention to change the DNA. The control subjects were asked to participate in only one experiment, where the subject was in a heart-focused state and with the intention to wind or unwind the DNA.
The researchers wanted to focus the research on HeartMath-trained participants because they believed that a state of heart coherence, where the body’s systems are more harmonious and the heart rhythm more steady, was vital to proving that emotions have power over DNA.
Individuals capable of generating high ratios of heart coherence were able to alter DNA conformation according to their intention….Control group participants showed low ratios of heart coherence and were unable to intentionally alter the conformation of DNA. It is important to note that both the intention to cause a change and heart coherence were important variables in the outcomes of the experiments.
The electromagnetic field generated by the heart is the most powerful rhythmic electromagnetic field produced by the body. The heart’s field permeates every cell and may act as a synchronizing signal for all the cells in the body in a manner analogous to information carried by radio waves. The rhythmically pulsing waves of electromagnetic energy generated by the heart create fields within fields and give rise to interference patterns when they interact with magnetically polarizable tissues and substances.
Attitude and Our Health
Rein and McCarty’s research showed that a deeply heart-felt intention can affect DNA, thus supporting the idea that we have the potential to influence cellular processes in our own bodies. In their report, Rein and McCarty list DNA replication, DNA repair, and generation of proteins and enzymes as the various cellular functions that could be affected through heart-focused positive emotion and intention. “It is possible that this finding may hold a key to better understanding the observed contribution of positive feelings and attitudes to health and healing, as well as other related, well acknowledged but poorly understood phenomena such as the placebo effect, spontaneous remission in cancer, the health rewards of a strong faith, and the positive effects of prayer.”
Practically speaking this study offers more evidence that in order to affect positive change in our world we must first begin with cleansing, detoxifying and improving the quality our body, mind and spirit so that as individuals is it easier for us to radiate positive emotion in an increasingly frightening world.
About the Author
Anna Hunt is a staff writer for WakingTimes.com and an entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in research and editorial writing. She and her husband run a preparedness e-store outlet atwww.offgridoutpost.com, offering GMO-free storable food and emergency kits. Anna is also a certified Hatha yoga instructor. She enjoys raising her children and being a voice for optimal human health and wellness. Read more of her excellent articles here.
This article is offered under Creative Commons license. It’s okay to republish it anywhere as long as attribution bio is included and all links remain intact.
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Portsmouth. 1 City (1990 pop. 25,925), Rockingham co., SE N.H., a port of entry with a good harbor and a state-owned port terminal at the mouth of the Piscataqua River opposite Kittery, Maine; inc. 1653. A regional trade center, it has a fishing industry and seafood processing. Manufactures include steel, glass, and paper products; machinery; and topsoil. Tourism is important, and the city's population nearly doubles in the summer. Portsmouth is the oldest community in New Hampshire (settled c.1623). It was a point for exporting lumber and fish and served as colonial capital until the American Revolution. Shipbuilding was an early and important industry.
The city gives its name to the great Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (est. 1800), but geographically it is in Kittery, on two islands (now joined together) in the Piscataqua River. It is also a significant submarine base and repair yard. The Treaty of Portsmouth, ending the Russo-Japanese War, was signed (1905) at the base. The former Pease Air Force Base is now an airport.
Many old houses are in "Strawbery Banke," a restored colonial community on the original seaport; they include the Richard Jackson house (1664), the Warner house (1716), and the John Paul Jones house (1758), where the naval hero once lived. The first newspaper in the state, the New Hampshire Gazette, was published there.
2 City (1990 pop. 22,676), seat of Scioto co., S Ohio, in a hilly area on the Ohio River at the mouth of the Scioto, across from South Portsmouth, Ky.; inc. 1814. Once a steel and shoe manufacturing center, current manufactures include chemicals, plastics, and bricks. Completion of the Ohio Canal (1832), linking Portsmouth with Cleveland, and the discovery of iron ore in the area started the city's industrial growth. Of interest are the 1810 house; Mound Park, with ancient Native American burial grounds; floodwall murals of historic scenes; a civic center; and traces of the old Ohio River Canal. Shawnee State Univ. and a state prison are there. Nearby are a uranium enrichment facility, Shawnee State Park, and Wayne National Forest.
3 Town (1990 pop. 16,857), Newport co., SE R.I., on Rhode Island; founded by William Coddington, John Clarke, Anne Hutchinson, and others in 1638, inc. 1644. It is mainly residential with some light industry and also serves as a summer resort. The Native Americans called this area Pocasset. The second white settlement in the state, it was an early fishing, shipping, and shipbuilding center, with some farming. The first general assembly of the new colony met at Portsmouth in 1647. The British general Richard Prescott was captured (1777) at his own headquarters in the town by American raiders, and the battle of Rhode Island was fought there (1778). Coal mining was important in the 19th cent. The Mt. Hope Bridge (1929) and the Sakonnet Bridge (1956) connect the towns to Bristol and Tiverton, respectively.
4 City (1990 pop. 103,907), SE Va., on the Elizabeth River and Hampton Roads, adjacent to and opposite Norfolk, with which it is connected by two bridges and two tunnels; founded 1752 on the site of a Native American village, inc. 1858. The city, one of the ports of Hampton Roads, forms with Norfolk one of the largest operating naval installations in the world. In Portsmouth itself are one of the world's largest shipyards; a huge naval hospital; a naval ammunitions dump; and the headquarters of the Fifth U.S. Coast Guard district. Portsmouth is also a busy commercial seaport and a rail center, with railroad shops and terminals. Industries include food processing, tool and die manufacture, machining, and scrap metal processing. Furniture, chemicals, clothing, electronic equipment, plastic products, and machines are also manufactured.
A private shipyard was built there in 1767; it served as a British base in the American Revolution, after which it became a U.S. base (the U.S.S. Chesapeake was built there). In the Civil War the navy yard was burned and evacuated by the Federals in 1861 and then retaken in 1862. During the brief Confederate occupation, the steamship Merrimack was converted into the world's first ironclad (see Monitor and Merrimack). The nation's first battleship ( Texas ) was built there in 1892 and the first aircraft carrier ( Langley ) in 1922. Of interest in Portsmouth are Trinity Episcopal Church (1762); Monumental Church (1772; Methodist); the Shipyard Museum, with a model of the Merrimack; the U.S. Naval Hospital (1830); and the Old Towne Historic District. A floodwall also serves as a pedestrian promenade along the waterfront.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. Political Geography
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- Download PDF
4 Answers | Add Yours
I think the biggest characteristic of the Renaissance to highlight is the emphasis on humanism. Humanism (very simplified) is the belief that humans have potential and are valuable - versus the previous era's belief that the afterlife was the only real important thing. Humanism placed much emphasis on reason instead of relying strictly on the church for explanations. This is best exemplified by Da Vinci's sketches of the human body... instead of just relying on the church to explain how the human body works, he took it upon himself (embodying the humanist spirit) to dissect and explore the human body... he was accused of necromancy (worshipping the dead) because of it!!
Hmm. The major characteristics of the Italian Renaissance? A big question. I'd say the following:
1) A rediscovery of classical learning (that's the re-birth of the name)
2) An emergence of humanist attitudes
3) An infusion of sciences, some of which were original and some of which came through trade (such as with Islamic scholars)
4) An explosion of the arts. (Think Michelangelo and da Vinci.)5) Within Italy, a focus on active politics, include city-state politics6) A collapse of older medieval society, in part due to the Black Plague
The Italian Renaissance was an era that saw scholars rediscovering the Classical culture of Greece and Rome and seeking critical engagement with these sources of “civilisation”. It is also duly noted as an age of rebirth as the study of the humanities regained its importance in society with individuals seeking to recreate themselves as virtuous and wise citizens through education. The idea of humanism thus thrived during this period. Many intellectuals and artists also raised fundamental questions about the importance of the individual in society and expressed a rising confidence in the value of human agency, reason and experience in academic and artistic works. Many of the best art pieces were also produced during this period where artistic brilliance flourished.
The major characteristics of the Italian Renaissance was in the form of the influence of literature. It helped set the stage for the grand period . Many books and plays are produced during that time. Humanism was also the main talking point of that era. Humanism is a philosophical term, used to picture man as a rational and sentimental human being, meaning that human life is very precious, meaning Man are good by nature, contradicting terms in Christian faith that Man are sinners, which need salvation and redemption from his past sins, to get eternal life, and not plunge into the fiery pits of Hell. It goes beyond Christianity, questioning beyond God, the Holy Spirit and spiritual life, and provide new insight into reality as we know it. There was also a great infusion of science, most notably Leornado Dan Vinci, and Galieo, whom brought science into life. Lastly, architecture was also very common during that period, where famous monuments like the St. Peter's Basilica was constructed.
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1. What is the purpose of dividing the stage into quadrants?
2. How do you think Annie's letters affected the set(s)?
3. Why do you think the play opened with Dr. Howe examining Helen?
4. Why is a great deal of the focus placed on Helen's face?
5. Why do you think the focus in the beginning comes from Helen as she stares out of her crib?
This section contains 2,465 words
(approx. 9 pages at 300 words per page)
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1. Elvis DID sleep there – In late July 1976 Elvis Presley performed at the Springfield Civic Center (now the MassMutual Center) and drove the crowd into a frenzy with his lineup of hit songs. While in the region, the King of Rock and Roll overnighted at the Hospitality Hotel (as it was called then) in Enfield, CT, just minutes from the venue. Just over a year later Presley would pass away, but the hotel stays on. Today we know it as the Holiday Inn Springfield-Enfield, one of the region’s best hotels for business and leisure travelers.
2. Under George Washington’s orders – In 1777, the Springfield Arsenal was a military supply depot that was sited by General Henry Knox and approved by then-General George Washington. It officially became known as the Springfield Armory when on-site small arms manufacturing was approved by Washington (then serving as President) in 1794. Today the Springfield Armory National Historic Site commemorates its role as the nation’s first armory by preserving and interpreting the largest historic U.S. military small arms collection in the world, and remains a popular tourism draw in the Pioneer Valley that’s open seven days a week.
3. Let there be drums! – In 1854, the Noble & Cooley Company, located in Granville, MA, started manufacturing drums. Partners Silas Noble and James Cooley were originally making drums in Noble’s farmhouse kitchen, and their handcrafted instruments caught on quickly, leading the pair to create a factory. The Civil War brought a large demand for drums for northern regiments and by 1873 they were producing 100,000 of them annually. The workload inspired the two to develop proprietary technology in the steam bending, decoration and assembly of drums, and today the Noble & Cooley Center for Historic Preservation offers visitors a fascinating look at “Yankee Ingenuity” as seen through the evolution of the art of drum-making (they STILL manufacture there today) as well as the rich history of Granville and the surrounding areas.
4. Where giants walked – Believe it or not, the first documented dinosaur tracks found in North America were uncovered in 1802 by a farm boy in South Hadley, MA named Pliny Moody who apparently installed the slab of tracks as a door step at his family home. A little more than 30 years later, tracks in Greenfield, MA were unearthed in a quarry. The Pioneer Valley has an intriguing history when it comes to dinosaurs, and visitors to the Nash Dinosaur Track Site and Rock Shop in South Hadley can see many different tracks and other dinosaur-related treasures. Though closed for winter, it will re-open in April.
5. A tale of two Halls – Nearly everyone knows that basketball was invented in Springfield, MA, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame offers visitors the chance to see the history of the sport and learn about some of its most fabled players. But just 10 miles up the road in Holyoke, YMCA physical education director William G. Morgan invented a game called Mintonette in 1895. Taking some of its characteristics from tennis and handball, Mintonette was meant to be an indoor sport, gentler than basketball which had been invented four years earlier. Eventually the sport morphed into what we know as Volleyball, which is celebrated at the Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke, MA. Filled with hundreds of artifacts, the Volleyball Hall of Fame documents the other world-famous sport that originated in the Pioneer Valley.
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Luxembourg's hopping heritage
- 3 September 2013
- From the section Magazine
Luxembourg is one of Europe's smallest countries, bordered by two of its largest - Germany and France. This may be one reason why its national character is, for many people, hard to pin down. Could a peculiar religious dance hold a clue?
Despite centuries of foreign domination, wars and disease, Luxembourgers have never stopped hopping - a bouncy dance to the tune of a polka, in honour of their British patron saint.
For a religious ceremony, it's a surprisingly light-hearted occasion. It has also been a gesture of defiance to all those, often foreigners, who have tried to put a stop to the tradition, and in some cases threatened Luxembourg's survival as a country.
Now it's Europe's largest traditional dancing procession, held on Whit Tuesday, when some 10,000 hoppers converge on the city of Echternach, along with up to 40,000 spectators.
The hero of the occasion is St Willibrord, the so-called Apostle of Benelux, an Anglo-Saxon missionary from Ripon in North Yorkshire, who is credited with driving paganism out of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany in the 8th Century.
Pilgrims have been flocking to his tomb in Echternach abbey since the Middle Ages. Exactly when the hopping began is unclear, but the Catholic Church viewed it as a pagan ritual, and was the first to impose a ban.
"They were suspicious because the event was created by the people for the people," says Theo Peporte, spokesman for the Catholic Church in Luxembourg.
"They weren't sure if it was based on folklore or part of proper religious rites."
The Luxembourgers paid no notice, and continued happily hopping until, centuries later, the Church came round to their point of view.
"Eventually the Church understood that the hopping was to be taken seriously as a form of physical prayer and meditation. And today, the archbishop of Luxembourg actually leads the procession," says Peporte.
The dance starts early in the morning in the courtyard of the abbey founded by Willibrord in 698 AD, and slowly moves around the town centre.
From tiny toddlers to octogenarians with walking sticks, the participants are split into 45 groups containing rows of five dancers.
Most are dressed in simple white tops and black skirts or trousers. Fancy dress and national dress are not allowed.
"You are watching a procession, not a folklore performance, so please show restraint. No clapping, please!" warns a small notice in a brochure distributed to spectators.
A marching band starts up a catchy polka tune, which is played over and over again until the procession ends a few hours later, inside the abbey's crypt.
Once a multi-step affair involving backwards jumps, the modern version of the dance is quite simple - a little jump to the right, a little jump to the left, and hop you go.
"You can learn that in 10 seconds," says Peporte.
"What's harder is to remain synchronised with the others. That's the tricky part."
The secret, he reveals, is a handkerchief. The dancers in each row hold on to a folded cloth, "which helps to connect people and ensures harmonious hopping".
To the novice observer, the moving crowds seem to morph into one large bouncy mass.
But the expert eye will quickly spot subtle regional differences, says Pierre Kauthen, the president of the Willibrord Society, which organises the procession.
"While we Luxembourgers do a simple hop, German pilgrims swing their legs more energetically and throw them a little higher," he explains.
"Belgians are more relaxed about it and take two little steps."
Others followed the church in trying to ban the procession. One attempt was made by Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, and another, a couple of centuries later, by the Nazis.
But in 1941, a group secretly hopped inside the abbey, despite the German prohibition. The act of defiance led to imprisonments and "that was that for the procession", says Kauthen, "but only until the war was over".
The sound of retreating Nazi marching boots was still echoing through the bombed streets of Echternach, when its residents crowded into the streets in 1945.
Accompanied by harmonicas and flutes, they skipped through the rubble of the basilica, which had been blown up by the Germans shortly before Luxembourg's liberation.
A Franciscan monk at this year's procession recalled joining the first post-war procession as a schoolboy.
"It was very gloomy and depressing on the one hand, because the whole town lay in ruins after the Battle of the Bulge," he said.
"The abbey was destroyed and looked horrendous. But there was a real spirit of determination in the air, and that was definitely expressed in our hopping."
In many ways, the procession is testimony to Luxembourg's national motto: "We want to remain what we are" (or "Mir welle bleiwe wat mir sin").
So much so, in fact, that the Willibrord Society fought long and hard to get the tradition protected by Unesco.
In 2010, the hopping parade was finally inscribed on Unesco's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The convention safeguards creative practices handed down from generation to generation, which communities and groups recognise as part of their cultural heritage.
"It also means that the government has committed itself to enshrine the procession in its legislation," says Mr Kauthen, one of the main figures behind the Unesco campaign.
"As a result, Whit Tuesdays will always have to be a bank holiday for schoolchildren, which is very important. Because if the teenagers and children don't come, neither will their parents, and that could spell the the end for the hopping."
For the mayor of Luxembourg City, Xavier Bettel, the event represents an essential cornerstone of local tradition.
With foreigners making up two-thirds of those living in the "melting-pot capital", he sees it as one of the only remaining features of Luxembourgish culture.
"Let's be honest, this isn't just about faith and many of those attending aren't necessarily Catholic," he says.
"We are a tiny country and there aren't a lot of things left that bind us as a people. We have our languages but otherwise not much else. So it's important that this survives."
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IUDs and Contraceptive Implants Safe for Teens
September 20, 2012
Washington, DC -- Implants and intrauterine devices (IUDs) should be offered as first-line contraceptive options for sexually active adolescents, according to new guidelines issued today by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (The College). Both the implant and the IUD are the most effective reversible contraceptives for preventing unintended pregnancy and abortion in teens and adult women.
About 42% of adolescent females ages 15–19 in the US have had sexual intercourse. Although almost all sexually active adolescents have used contraception at some point, they frequently use methods with relatively high failure rates such as condoms and withdrawal, or they incorrectly use more reliable methods such as the birth control pill. The fact that 8 out of every 10 adolescent pregnancies are unintended underscores the need for dependable and effective contraceptive methods for teens.
The contraceptive implant and IUD are not only top-tier contraceptives based on their effectiveness (with pregnancy rates of less than 1% per year), but they also have the highest rates of patient satisfaction and continuation of all available reversible contraceptives. These long-acting methods eliminate the problem of inconsistent use common with other contraceptives that can lead to unintended pregnancy. Complications from IUDs and implants are rare, and both can be safely used by adolescents, including immediately after giving birth or after an abortion, according to The College.
All patients using the IUD or an implant as contraception should also use condoms to decrease the risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections.
Committee Opinion #539 “Adolescents and Long-Acting Reversible Contraception: Implants and Intrauterine Devices” is published in the October issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
# # #
Other recommendations issued in this month’s Obstetrics & Gynecology:
Practice Bulletin #130 “Prediction and Prevention of Preterm Birth” (Revised)
ABSTRACT: Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal mortality in the United States, and preterm labor precedes approximately 50% of preterm births (1, 2). Neonatal intensive care has improved the survival rate for neonates at the cusp of viability, but it also has increased the proportion of survivors with disabilities (3). The incidence of multiple births also has increased along with the associated risk of preterm delivery (4). The purpose of this document is to describe the various methods proposed for identifying and treating asymptomatic women at increased risk of preterm birth and the evidence for their roles in clinical practice.
Committee Opinion #537 “Reprocessed Single-Use Devices” (NEW!)
ABSTRACT: The reprocessing and reuse of single-use instruments has become increasingly common. Although there are limited data on reprocessed single-use devices, existing studies have found a significant rate of physical defects, performance issues, or improper decontamination. There are currently no data in the medical literature evaluating the cost-effectiveness of reprocessed single-use devices in gynecologic surgery. The use of a reprocessed single-use device provides no direct benefit to an individual patient or her physician. It is the operating surgeon’s ethical responsibility to make a good faith effort to know whether reprocessed single use devices are to be used, and to not use instruments if she has concerns about the quality or safety of the instrument(s). Studies on the safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness of reprocessed single-use devices in gynecologic surgery are needed. Physicians should be informed whether the instruments used in surgery are original or reprocessed, and adverse events should be reported to improve the safety information about reprocessed single-use devices.
Committee Opinion #538 “Nonmedical Use of Prescription Drugs” (NEW!)
ABSTRACT: The nonmedical use of prescription drugs, particularly opioids, sedatives, and stimulants, has been cited as epidemic in the United States, accounting for increasing numbers of emergency department visits and deaths from reactions and overdoses. The prevalence of prescription drug abuse is similar among men and women. Those who abuse prescription drugs most often obtain them from friends and family either through sharing or theft. Physicians should screen all patients annually and early in prenatal care with a validated questionnaire for the nonmedical use of prescription drugs. They should provide preventive education for all patients and referral for treatment, when psychologic or physical drug dependence is identified. Physicians should also educate patients in the proper use, storage, and disposal of prescription drugs.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (The College), a 501(c)(3) organization, is the nation’s leading group of physicians providing health care for women. As a private, voluntary, nonprofit membership organization of approximately 56,000 members, The College strongly advocates for quality health care for women, maintains the highest standards of clinical practice and continuing education of its members, promotes patient education, and increases awareness among its members and the public of the changing issues facing women’s health care. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a 501(c)(6) organization, is its companion organization. www.acog.org
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Fat in, sugar out: Label creates new food hierarchy
- 28 February 2014
- From the section Magazine
This week first lady Michelle Obama proposed new rules for the nutrition labels on packaged foods sold on US shelves. The new recommendations draw attention away from dietary fat while casting light on an even less nutritious ingredient - added sugar.
It's a big day for fat, which spent years as an enemy of health.
A growing body of research shows that fat can actually be good for you - and that when it comes to poor diets, another, more dangerous ingredient is hiding in plain sight.
Fat, carbohydrates and protein are macronutrients, the building blocks of all other foods. Carbohydrates and protein have four calories per gram, and fat has nine calories per gram.
As obesity rates rose toward the end of the 20th Century, health professionals looked for ways to slow the growth.
"The idea in the late 1980s was if you cut down on fat, you'd be cutting down on calories," says Marian Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University
And so a new era of snacking began, with food companies promoting fat-free or low-fat items and consumers trying to cut down on fat in the name of healthful living.
Fat earned a slight reprieve at the turn of this century, when carbohydrates became the focus of many diets. But David Grotto, author of the Best Things You Can Eat, says the current conventional wisdom is moving away from the philosophy that an entire class of macronutrients can make or break your diet.
"We need carbohydrates, we need protein, we need fat," he says. "Fat as a category is not bad," even though certain types of fat, such as trans fatty acids, can be harmful.
In fact, research shows that dietary fat serves an important purpose: many vitamins are fat-soluble, so vegetables and other nutrient-rich foods are best consumed with a bit of fat to help the body better absorb the nutrients.
And a new study from Sweden suggests that consuming high dietary fat is associated with lower rates of obesity. Researchers suspect that full-fat foods make one feel full - and therefore less inclined to overeat.
"Most nutrition experts are on the same page now that it's not fat that's the villain, it's calories," says Grotto.
And one of the biggest culprits in boosting the calorie contents of food, say nutrition experts, is sugar.
"If you were on a desert island, eating sugar would be preferable to drinking seawater," says Walter Willet, dean of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health.
But that's about all he can say in favour of the sweet stuff. A type of carbohydrate, sugar only packs four calories per gram. But many products use a lot of it to boost taste. Consumption offers other problems, too.
"We know that high intakes of added sugars are associated with a number of risk factors for coronary heart disease," says Rachel Johnson, a professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont. Eating calories from sugar means you're not getting other essential nutrients that you might from a less sugary snack.
There is also increased risk of dangerous blood fat levels, inflammation and, according to a recent paper, heart disease-related death.
Troublingly, that same paper showed that sugar consumption was at a dangerously high level in the US. In fact, more than 70% of Americans exceed the recommendation that only one-tenth of the day's calories come from sugar.
Why? While everyone was cutting back on fat in the 1980s and 1990s, sugar was slowly taking hold of the American diet. Those boxes of low-fat snack cakes? Nestle says that to replace the flavour benefits of fat, food manufacturers just upped the sugar, and therefore the calorie content.
The new nutritional labels announced by Mrs Obama aim to change that by giving new, prominent real estate to sugar, especially the added sugars which pose the biggest threats.
"Naturally occurring sugar comes along with vitamins, minerals, and fibre," says Nestle. "No one is worried about the amount of sugar in fruit or milk. It's the added sugars that dilute the vitamins, minerals, and fibre in food," and that contribute to high-calorie choices.
After all, says Grotto, it's total calories and quality of calories that make a meal choice good or bad - not necessarily what's in it.
"It's myopic to look at a single ingredient, but we always seem to love demonising something," says Grotto.
"Sugar has become the new fat."
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Current U.S. studies, including the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, have found that up to 2.5 percent of children and 8.3 percent of adolescents suffer from depression. The online test
results may still require additional medical help from medical professionals.
The Cambridge University study is a preliminary one, finding that "children who performed poorly on the test were between two and eight times more likely to be depressed a year later that those who scored well." It exposes difficulties that the children and teenagers have in processing emotional information, associated with a susceptibility to mental illness. According to the Guardian
"The more errors made, the greater the risk," said Ian Goodyer, professor of child and adolescent psychiatry, who led the research. "We do not know how good a predictor this test is, but this study provides sufficient validity to test it in the field." According to Goodyear, there is an upcoming follow-up on the study to see how well the study is working.
The online depression testing site
reports that numerous studies on depression statistics show that up to 2.5 percent of children and up to 8.3 percent of adolescents in the U.S. suffer from depression.
The test results also look at anxiety disorder, a disorder that divides up into various types: panic attacks; anxiety; social anxiety disorder; panic disorder & goraphobia; post-traumatic stress disorder; separation anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and generalized anxiety. The disorder is characterized by excessive fear, anxiety, and distress.
Parent interviews by researchers looked at the children's early home lives before the age of six. They focused on which youth had witnessed intermittent arguments for more than six months, and verbal, emotional or physical violence between their parent.
reported, "In one test, the children were asked to make quick decisions on whether the emotional content of words, such as 'joyful' and 'failure' was positive, negative or neutral."
An important mile-marker for mental disorders concerning children and teenagers, poor performance on the test may serve as a "biomarker" for those at risk for depression or various forms of anxiety disorders. According to the researchers at Cambridge University,
"If the test proves effective at spotting vulnerable children, they could be helped with therapies that break their tendency to focus on the negative aspects of the world around them, or through family sessions that aim to resolve the damaging conflicts that arise in the home."
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READ CHAPTERS 5,6,7
STUDY ALL VOCABULARY TERMS
- Know how to do relative humidity problems.
- Know how to do orographic uplift problems.
- Know the location of all wind and pressure belts.
- Know all measures of standard atmospheric pressure at sea level.
- Does air pressure increase or decrease with increased elevation.
- Understand the Coriolis Effect.
- Know which local winds follow a daily or seasonal pattern.
- What are prevailing winds?
- Know the characteristics of cyclones and anticyclones in each hemisphere.
- Know the characteristics of cumulus, stratus, and cirrus clouds.
- Do isobars increase or decrease in value towards the center of an anticyclone?
- Would precipitation be higher on windward or leeward slopes of major mountain ranges?
- List the three ways to make the air rise, expand and cool.
- Is fog a form of condensation or precipitation?
- What is a squall line?
- Define a hurricane by wind speed.
- What direction do mid- latitude cyclones tend to move across North America?
- What is an occluded front?
- Understand the terms saturation and dew point.
- What causes westerly winds?
- At what time of the day would you expect to find the highest relative humidity?
- Can jet streams provide heat exchange in the atmosphere?
- Can lighting occur within the same cloud?
- What is a steep pressure gradient?
- Is a radiation fog most likely to form during an inversion?
- The closer the dew point temperature is to the actual temperature, the higher or the lower the relative humidity?
- What do isobars connect?
- What determines the capacity of the air to hold moisture?
- Do tropical cyclones form out of a single air mass?
- Understand the characteristics of warm fronts and cold fronts.
- You will have a matching portion related to a cross section of a mid-latitude cyclone.
(1) Present possible explanations why precipitation is so low in the Great Basin of the U.S. (Nevada-Utah area).
(2) Present possible explanations why precipitation is so high in the Amazon Basin.
3/14/2012 1:22 PM
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perplexed exclamation denoting confusion or suprise in reaction to another party's previous statement or action.
teacher: This paper should be 42 pages long.
pylocatabasis tarafından 6 Ocak 2004, Salı
A reaction of disbelief when somebody says something absurd or outrageous.
"His girlfriend was caught cheating on him."
Lovbugg tarafından 23 Mayıs 2009, Cumartesi
Not to be confused with Gigawatt, which is a measure of units (W) of electricity, Jiggawhat is an exclamation and measurement of the level of disbelief shown by an African American.
Superfrank tarafından 29 Mayıs 2015, Cuma
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Program DescriptionThe National School Lunch and National School Breakfast programs provide nutritionally balanced meals to children as part of their regular school day. These programs are federally assisted meal programs operate in over 100,000 public and non-profit private schools and residential child care institutions.
The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers these programs at the Federal level. At the State level, the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs are usually administered by State education agencies, which operate the program through agreements with school food authorities.
General Program RequirementsChildren qualify to receive free or low-cost meals while they attend school (high school and under) if their families' household incomes meet the current income eligibility guidelines. Children who participate in certain other programs, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and children who are migrant, runaway, or homeless are automatically eligible for free meals. You can find out what the maximum income limits for eligibility are on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) FNS "School Meals" page.
Your Next StepsThe following information will lead you to the next steps to apply for this program.
Application ProcessContact your child's school to find out what meals are served, and how to apply for free or reduced-price meals. Your state agency can also give you information about school meals.
The Food and Nutrition Service provides program and state contact information on the Child Nutrition Programs State Locator page.
Program Contact Information
For more information visit FNS's Child Nutrition Programs page.
To find specific contacts, visit FNS's Contact Us page.
|Current Method of Tribal Eligibility:||Program not specific to American Indians and Alaska Natives, but they are eligible|
|Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number:||10.555, 10.553|
|Matching Funds Required:||No|
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The violent responses to the Islamophobic film Innocence of Muslims remind us that religious passions can be triggered by hate speech and provoke violent reactions on a global level. While the "trigger" in this case was an amateur film gone viral, other cases include the inflammatory Danish cartoons, a marginal pastor in Florida threatening to burn the Qu'ran, and Jerry Falwell's claim on 60 Minutes that "Muhammad was a terrorist." It is clear that hate speech and attacks on religions will continue by certain segments of the population.
What can we do to limit or stop their occurrence?
One "out of the box" suggestion might be to examine how some experts deal with bullying in our schools and playgrounds. The U.S. government website Stop Bullying Now, a division of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, states: "Bullying can affect everyone -- those who are bullied, those who bully, and those who witness bullying." Their research states that the effects on the victims and victimizers are similar, often leading to mental and health disorders, decreased academic achievement, and various forms of anti-social behavior. Without help, victimizers can become abusers of romantic partners, spouses, pets, and even their children. The cycle of violence can be passed on to succeeding generations. Quick action and professional care are recommended to curb this behavior and bring healing to others. Avoidance or hiding the problem will enable it. Bullying must be brought into the light and dealt with responsibly lest it infect the entire social system. These same suggestions may apply to bullying and hate speech in inter-faith relations.
In recent weeks, Albuquerque, N.M., has been a focus of interfaith bullying, a matter that has flown under the radar for too long. It's time to bring the salient issues into the light and limit their potential damage to the community. The problems started in the spring of 2012 when Friends of Sabeel-North America (FOSNA) announced it would hold a conference in Albuquerque on September 28-29, 2012. FOSNA is the North American support organization for Sabeel-Jerusalem, the voice of Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land. FOSNA has conducted 35 conferences in major cities across North America in the past ten years. Sadly, the proposed Albuquerque conference was denounced by the Jewish Federation of Albuquerque and a few local rabbis who began to spread false rumors claiming Sabeel/FOSNA was an anti-Semitic movement that advocated violence and the destruction of Israel. Church officials were asked to boycott the conference lest they offend Jewish sensibilities, notwithstanding the fact that several of the Albuquerque FOSNA committee members are Jewish.
When the local FOSNA committee asked the New Mexico Conference of Churches to co-sponsor the conference, the Federation stepped up its pressure and the request was rejected. Then the Federation and a local rabbi pressured the Episcopal Cathedral (that had already agreed to host the conference) and the offer was rescinded.
Some Albuquerque clergy have come under similar pressure, such as Msgr. Richard Olona, a respected Roman Catholic priest with a long history of interfaith and ecumenical relations in Albuquerque. In Msgr. Olona's case, he was familiar with Sabeel's Christian theological and moral positions, including its commitment to nonviolence and justice and peace for Jews, Muslims, and Christians in the Holy Land. Msgr. Olona understood the legitimacy of FOSNA's mission and the importance of an honest discussion of the issues in the Holy Land. He was also concerned that Palestinian Christians are suffering extensively in Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied territories and believes the churches should be more aware of these issues. He was not bullied into reversing his position by the Federation's intimidating rhetoric and upheld the need for free speech and the conference. The Msgr. described for me the multiple phone calls and intimidating tactics that can only be described as bullying tactics. He recalled how similar pressure was used against his community as well as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and African Americans in their quest for freedom and civil rights.
We in FOSNA call for a cessation of the bullying, intimidation, and smear campaigns that only bring division and denigration of persons. We offer an open debate on these emotionally charged but vitally important issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We invite the people of Albuquerque to come and hear speakers that include Jewish Israelis, Palestinian Christians and Muslims, and a variety of American clergy and scholars. We are grateful for the support of the growing number of Jews and rabbis who embrace such a learning environment. The Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinic Council recently issued a letter of support for the Albuquerque conference, stating:
As rabbis and people of faith, we stand in solidarity with the work of Sabeel. Palestinian Christian liberation theologians such as Canon Naim Ateek of Sabeel challenge Jews and Christians to rethink our relationship to the Holy Land and each other on the basis of a universal standard of human rights grounded in nonviolence. Canon Ateek sees us as equal theological partners in the land we both love -- and Sabeel's partnership model provides a hopeful model for dialogue and action. We encourage the Jewish community to engage the Palestinian Christian faith community with an open heart and mind in order to encounter another version of faithfulness.
We encourage the greater Albuquerque community to come and hear Rev. Ateek and others address these important issues. We also encourage the faith communities of Albuquerque to work toward transcending hate speech and bullying tactics. These divisions should not be allowed to continue. Instead, let us work to transform difficult conversations and potentially divisive issues into vehicles that honor free speech and the dignity of every person as an equal child of God. Let's stop the bullying now -- everywhere.
Rev. Dr. Donald Wagner is the National Program Director of Friends of Sabeel-North America.
This piece was previously published on the Albuquerque Journal Online.
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Individual differences |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
Mass psychogenic illness (MPI), also called mass sociogenic illness, is "the rapid spread of illness signs and symptoms affecting members of a cohesive group, originating from a nervous system disturbance involving excitation, loss or alteration of function, whereby physical complaints that are exhibited unconsciously have no corresponding organic aetiology." MPI is distinct from other collective delusions, also included under the blanket terms of mass hysteria, in that MPI causes symptoms of disease, though there is no organic cause.
There is a clear preponderance of female victims. The DSM-IV-TR does not have specific diagnosis for this condition but the text describing conversion disorder states that "In 'epidemic hysteria', shared symptoms develop in a circumscribed group of people following 'exposure' to a common precipitant."
Current state of research Edit
According to Balaratnasingam and Janca, “mass hysteria is to date a poorly understood condition. Little certainty exists regarding its etiology.”
Besides the difficulties common to all research involving the social sciences, including a lack of opportunity for controlled experiments, Mass Sociogenic Illness presents special difficulties to researchers in this field. Balaratnasingam and Janca report that the methods for “diagnosis of mass hysteria remains contentious. According to Timothy Jones of the Tennessee Department of Public Health, MPI “can be difficult to differentiate from bioterrorism, rapidly spreading infection or acute toxic exposure.”
These troubles result from the residual diagnosis of MPI. Singer, of the Uniformed Schools of Medicine, puts the problems with such a diagnosis thus: “[y]ou find a group of people getting sick, you investigate, you measure everything you can measure . . . and when you still can't find any physical reason, you say 'well, there's nothing else here, so let's call it a case of MPI.'” There is a lack of logic in an argument that proceeds: “There isn't anything, so it must be MPI.” It precludes the notion that an organic factor could have been overlooked. Nevertheless, running an extensive number of tests extends the probability of false positives.
British psychologist Wesseley distinguishes between two forms of MPI:
- mass anxiety hysteria “consists of episodes of acute anxiety, occurring mainly in schoolchildren. Prior tension is absent and the rapid spread is by visual contact.”
- mass motor hysteria “consists of abnormalities in motor behaviour. It occurs in any age group and prior tension is present. Initial cases can be identified and the spread is gradual. . . . [T]he outbreak may be prolonged.”
While his definition is sometimes adhered to, others such as Ali-Gombe et al. of the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria contest Wesseley's definition and describe outbreaks with qualities of both mass motor and anxiety hysteria.
An evolutionary psychology explanation for this disorder, as well as for conversion disorder more generally, is that the symptom may have been evolutionary advantageous during warfare. A non-combatant with these symptoms signals non-verbally, possibly to someone speaking a different language, that she or he is not dangerous as a combatant and also may be carrying some form of dangerous infectious disease. This can explain that conversion disorder may develop following a threatening situation, that there may be a group effect with many people simultaneously developing similar symptoms, and the gender difference in prevalence.
Commonalities in outbreaks Edit
Qualities of MPI outbreaks often include:
- symptoms that have no plausible organic basis;
- symptoms that are transient and benign;
- symptoms with rapid onset and recovery;
- occurrence in a segregated group;
- the presence of extraordinary anxiety;
- symptoms that are spread via sight, sound or oral communication;
- a spread that moves down the age scale, beginning with older or higher-status people;
- a preponderance of female participants
Also, the illness may recur after the initial outbreak.
Common symptoms Edit
Jones compiles the following symptoms based on their commonality in outbreaks occurring in 1980–1990:
|Dizziness or light-headedness||46|
|Abdominal cramps or pain||39|
|Fatigue, drowsiness or weakness||31|
|Sore or burning throat||30|
|Hyperventilation or difficulty breathing||19|
|Watery or irritated eyes||13|
|Chest tightness/chest pain||12|
|Inability to concentrate/trouble thinking||11|
|Tingling, numbness or paralysis||10|
|Anxiety or nervousness||8|
|Trouble with vision||7|
|Loss of consciousness/syncope||4|
Predisposition for psychogenic illness Edit
The hypothesis that those prone to extroversion or neuroticism, or those with low IQ scores are more likely to be affected in an outbreak of hysterical epidemic has not been consistently supported by research. Bartholomew and Wesseley state that it “seems clear that there is no particular predisposition to mass sociogenic illness and it is a behavioural reaction that anyone can show in the right circumstances.”
History and examples Edit
- See also: Mass hysteria
Middle Ages Edit
The earliest studied cases linked with epidemic hysteria are the dancing manias of the Middle Ages, including St. John's Dance and tarantism. These were supposed to be associated with spirit possession or the bite of the tarantula. Those afflicted with dancing mania would dance in large groups, sometimes for weeks at a time. The dancing was sometimes accompanied by stripping, howling, the making of obscene gestures, or even (purportedly) laughing or crying to the point of death. Dancing mania was widespread over Europe.
Between the 15th and 19th centuries, instances of motor hysteria were common in nunneries. The young ladies that made up these convents were typically forced there by family. Once accepted, they took vows of chastity and poverty. Their lives were highly regimented and often marked by strict disciplinary action. The nuns would exhibit a variety of behaviors, usually attributed to demonic possession. They would often use crude language and exhibit suggestive behaviors. One convent's nuns would regularly mew like cats. Priests were often called in to exorcise demons.
18th to 20th centuries Edit
In factories Edit
MPI outbreaks occurred in factories following the industrial revolution England, France, Germany, Italy and Russia as well as the United States and Singapore.
W. H. Phoon, Ministry of Labor in Singapore gives a case study of six outbreaks of MPI in Singapore factories between the years 1973 and 1978. They were characterized by (1) hysterical seizures of screaming and general violence, wherein tranquilizers were ineffective (2) Trance states, where a worker would claim to be speaking under the influence of a spirit or jin (or genie) and (3) Frightened spells: some workers complained of unprecedented fear, or of being cold, numb, or dizzy. Outbreaks would subside in about a week. Often a bomoh (medicine man) would be called in to do a ritual exorcism. This technique was not effective, and sometimes seemed to exacerbate the MPI outbreak. Females and Malays were affected disproportionately.
Especially notable is the “June Bug” outbreak: In June 1962, a peak month in factory production, sixty two workers at the Montana Mills dressmaking factory experienced symptoms including severe nausea and breaking out on the skin. Most outbreaks occurred during the first shift, where four fifths of the workers were female. Of 62 total outbreaks, 59 were women. Entomologists and others were called in to discover the pathogen, but none was found. Kerchoff coordinated the interview of affected and unaffected workers at the factory and summarizes his findings:
- strain – those affected were more likely to work overtime frequently and provide the majority of the family income. Many were married with children.
- Affected persons tended to deny their difficulties. Kerchoff postulates that such were “less likely to cope successfully under conditions of strain.”
- Results seemed consistent with a model of social contagion. Groups of affected persons tended to have strong social ties.
Kerchoff also links the rapid rate of contagion with the apparent reasonableness of the bug and the credence given to it in accompanying news stories.
Stahl and Lebedun describe an outbreak of Mass Sociogenic Illness in the Data Center of a mid-western university town. Ten of thirty-nine workers smelling an unconfirmed “mystery gas” were rushed to a hospital with symptoms of dizziness, fainting, nausea and vomiting. They report that most workers were young women either putting their husbands through school or supplementing the family income. Those affected were found to have high levels of job dissatisfaction. Those with strong social ties tended to have similar reactions to the supposed gas, which only one unaffected woman reported smelling. No gas was detected in subsequent tests of the Data Center.
In schools Edit
Thousands were affected by the spread of a supposed illness in a Serbian province of Kosovo, exclusively affecting ethnic Albanians, most of which were young adolescents. A wide variety of symptoms were manifested, including: headache, dizziness, impeded respiration, weakness/adynamia, burning sensations, cramps, retrosteral/chest pain, dry mouth and nausea. After the illness had subsided, a bipartisan Federal Commission released a document, offering the explanation of psychogenic illness. Radovanovic of the Department of Community Medicine and Behavioural Sciences Faculty of Medicine in Safat, Kuwait reports:
This document did not satisfy either of the two ethnic groups. Many Albanian doctors believed that what they had witnessed was an unusual epidemic of poisoning. The majority of their Serbian colleagues also ignored any explanation in terms of psychopathology. They suggested that the incident was faked with the intention of showing Serbs in a bad light but that it failed due to poor organization.
Rodovanovic expects that this reported instance of Mass Sociogenic Illness was precipitated by the demonstrated volatile and culturally tense situation in the province.
On the morning of Thursday 7 October 1965, at a girls' school in Blackburn, several girls complained of dizziness. Some fainted. Within a couple of hours, 85 girls from the school were rushed by ambulance to a nearby hospital after fainting. Symptoms included swooning, moaning,chattering of teeth, hyperpnea, and tetany. Moss and McEvedy, published their analysis of the event about one year later. Their conclusions follow. Note that not their conclusion about the above-average extroversion and neuroticism of those affected is not necessarily typical of MPI.:
- Clinical and laboratory findings were essentially negative.
- Investigations by the public health authorities did not uncover any evidence of pollution of food or air.
- The epidemiology of the outbreak was investigated by means of questionnaires administered to the whole school population. It was established that the outbreaks began among the 14-year-olds, but that the heaviest incidence moved to the youngest age groups.
- By using the Eysenck Personality Inventory it was established that in all age groups the mean E [extroversion] and N [neuroticism] scores of the affected were higher than those of the unaffected.
- The younger girls proved more susceptible, but disturbance was more severe and lasted longer in the older girls.
- It was considered that the epidemic was hysterical, that a previous polio epidemic had rendered the population emotionally vulnerable, and that a three-hour parade, producing 20 faints on the day before the first outbreak, had been the specific trigger.
- The data collected were thought to be incompatible with organic theories and with the compromise theory of an organic nucleus.
Late 20th Century and 21st Century Edit
Terrorism and biological warfare Edit
Bartholomew and Wessely anticipate the “concern that after a chemical, biological or nuclear attack, public health facilities may be rapidly overwhelmed by the anxious and not just the medical and psychological casualties.” Additionally, early symptoms of those affected by MPI are difficult to differentiate from those actually exposed to the dangerous agent.
The first Iraqi missile hitting Israel during the Persian Gulf War was believed to contain chemical or biological weapons. Though this was not the case, 40% of those in the vicinity of the blast reported breathing problems.
Right after the 2001 anthrax attacks in the first two weeks of October 2001, there were over 2300 false anthrax alarms in the United States. Some reported physical symptoms to what they believed to be anthrax.
Also in 2001, a man sprayed what was later found to be a window cleaner into a subway station in Maryland. 35 people were treated for nausea, headaches and sore throats.
Also, see articles on:
Response to outbreaks Edit
Timothy F. Jones, of the Tennessee Department of Health recommends the following action be taken in the case of an outbreak:
- Attempt to separate persons with illness associated with the outbreak.
- Promptly perform physical examination and basic laboratory testing sufficient to exclude serious acute illness.
- Monitor and provide oxygen as necessary for hyperventilation.
- Minimize unnecessary exposure to medical procedures, emergency personnel, media or other potential anxiety-stimulating situations.
- Notify public health authorities of apparent outbreak.
- Openly communicate with physicians caring for other patients.
- Promptly communicate results of laboratory and environmental testing to patients.
- While maintaining confidentiality, explain that other people are experiencing similar symptoms and improving without complications.
- Remind patients that rumors and reports of "suspected causes" are not equivalent to confirmed results.
- Acknowledge that symptoms experienced by the patient are real.
- Explain potential contribution of anxiety to the patient's symptoms.
- Reassure patient that long-term sequelae from current illness are not expected.
- As appropriate, reassure patient that thorough clinical, epidemiologic and environmental investigations have identified no toxic cause for the outbreak or reason for further concern.
Some responses by authority to MPI are not appropriate. Intense media coverage seems to exacerbate outbreaks. Once it is determined that the illness in psychogenic, it should not be given credence by authorities. For example, in the Singapore factory case study given above, calling in a medicine man to perform an exorcism seemed to perpetuate the outbreak.
See also Edit
- Body-centred countertransference
- Conversion syndrome
- Hysterical contagion
- Mass hysteria
- Sociogenic illness
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 [dead link] , Mass, Weir E. "Mass sociogenic illness". CMAJ 172 (2005): 36. Web. 14 Dec. 2009.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Bartholomew, Robert and Simon Wessely. "Protean nature of mass sociogenic illness." The British Journal of Psychiatry 180 (2002): 300–306. Web. 28 Nov. 2009.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Balaratnasingam, Sivasankaran and Aleksandar Janca. “Mass hysteria revisited.” Current opinion in psychiatry 19(2) (2006): 171–4. Research Gate. Web. 28 Nov. 2009.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Jones, Timothy. “Mass Psychogenic Illness: Role of the Individual Physician.” American Family Physician. American Family of Family Physicians: 15 Dec. 2000. Web. 28 Nov. 2009.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Singer, Jerome. “Yes Virginia, There Really Is a Mass Psychogenic Illness.” Mass Psychogenic Illness: A Social Psychological Analysis. Ed. Colligan et al. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 1982. 21–31. Print.
- ↑ Wessely, Simon. “Mass hysteria: two syndromes?” Psychological Medicine 17(1) (1987):109–20. Web. 16 Dec. 2009.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Waller, John. “Looking Back: Dancing plagues and mass hysteria.” The Psychologist 22(7) (2009): 644–7. Web. 17 Dec. 2009.
- ↑ Ali-Gombe, A. et al. “Mass hysteria: one syndrome or two?” British Journal of Psychiatry 170 (1997) 387–8. Web. 17 Dec. 2009.
- ↑ DOI:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2006.01.008
- ↑ Bartholomew, Robert. Little Green Men, Meowing Nuns and Head-Hunting Panics. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. 2001. Print.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Phoon, W. H. “Outbreaks of Mass Hysteria at Workplaces in Singapore: Some Patterns and Modes of Presentation.” Mass Psychogenic Illness: A Social Psychological Analysis. Ed. Colligan et al. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 1982. 21–31. Print.
- ↑ Kerchoff, Alan C. “Analyzing a Case of Mass Psychogenic Illness.” Mass Psychogenic Illness: A Social Psychological Analysis. Ed. Colligan et al. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 1982. 5–19. Print.
- ↑ Stahl, Sydney and Morty Lebedun. “Mystery Gas: An Analysis of Mass Hysteria.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 15(1) (1974): 44–50. JSTOR. Web. 27 Nov. 2009.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Radovanovic, Z. “On the Origin of Mass Casualty Incidents in Kosovo, Yugoslavia, in 1990.” European Journal of Epidemiology 12(1) (1996):101–113. JSTOR. Web. 27 Nov. 2009.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Moss, P. D. and C. P. McEvedy. “An epidemic of overbreathing among schoolgirls.” British Medical Journal 2(5525) (1966):1295–1300. Web. 17 Dec. 2009.
- Ali-Gombe, A. et al. “Mass hysteria: one syndrome or two?” British Journal of Psychiatry 170 (1997) 387–8. Web. 17 Dec. 2009.
- Balaratnasingam, Sivasankaran and Aleksandar Janca. “Mass hysteria revisited.” Current opinion in psychiatry 19(2) (2006): 171–4. Research Gate. Web. 28 Nov. 2009.
- Bartholomew, Robert. Little Green Men, Meowing Nuns and Head-Hunting Panics. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. 2001. Print.
- Bartholomew, Robert and Simon Wessely. “Protean nature of mass sociogenic illness.” The British Journal of Psychiatry 180 (2002): 300–306. Web. 28 Nov. 2009.
- Jones, Timothy. “Mass Psychogenic Illness: Role of the Individual Physician.” American Family Physician. American Family of Family Physicians: 15 Dec. 2000. Web. 28 Nov. 2009.
- Kerchoff, Alan C. “Analyzing a Case of Mass Psychogenic Illness.” Mass Psychogenic Illness: A Social Psychological Analysis. Ed. Colligan et al. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 1982. 5–19. Print.
- Mass, Weir E. “Mass sociogenic illness.” CMAJ 172 (2005): 36. Web. 14 Dec. 2009.
- Moss, P. D. and C. P. McEvedy. “An epidemic of overbreathing among schoolgirls.” British Medical Journal 2(5525) (1966):1295–1300. Web. 17 Dec. 2009.
- Phoon, W. H. “Outbreaks of Mass Hysteria at Workplaces in Singapore: Some Patterns and Modes of Presentation.” Mass Psychogenic Illness: A Social Psychological Analysis. Ed. Colligan et al. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 1982. 21–31. Print.
- Radovanovic, Z. “On the Origin of Mass Casualty Incidents in Kosovo, Yugoslavia, in 1990.” European Journal of Epidemiology 12(1) (1996):101–113. JSTOR. Web. 27 Nov. 2009.
- Singer, Jerome. “Yes Virginia, There Really Is a Mass Psychogenic Illness.” Mass Psychogenic Illness: A Social Psychological Analysis. Ed. Colligan et al. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 1982. 21–31. Print.
- Stahl, Sydney and Morty Lebedun. “Mystery Gas: An Analysis of Mass Hysteria.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 15(1) (1974): 44–50. JSTOR. Web. 27 Nov. 2009.
- Waller, John. “Looking Back: Dancing plagues and mass hysteria.” The Psychologist 22(7) (2009): 644–7. Web. 17 Dec. 2009.
- Wessely, Simon. “Mass hysteria: two syndromes?” Psychological Medicine 17(1) (1987):109–20. Web. 16 Dec. 2009.
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You’ve probably heard the term “chocoholic” before. Maybe you’ve even used it to describe your devotion to what the Mayans and Aztecs believed was a food of the gods. Usually said jokingly, “chocoholic” actually nods to a potentially serious question: can a person become addicted to chocolate, or food in general? It’s an appropriate question to ask on Valentine’s Day, the feast day of chocolate.
There are three essential components of addiction:
- intense craving
- loss of control over the object of that craving
- continued use or engagement despite bad consequences.
Several studies have shown that people can exhibit all three of these in their relationships with food.
Take craving, for example. The midnight run for a pint of ice cream is a familiar scenario. But I’ve never heard of anyone trolling for celery at that hour. That’s likely because foods that deliver a lot of sugar and fat — like chocolate — trigger reward pathways in the brain. In some animal studies, restricting these foods induced a stress-like response consistent with the “withdrawal” response seen in addiction.
Chocolate, which contains both sugar and fat, is often used in studies of food addiction. In a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers at Yale University asked volunteers to fill out questionnaires to assess addictive behavior. The volunteers then had their brains imaged while being able to see and smell, and then finally drink, a chocolate milkshake. Participants who scored higher on the food addiction scale experienced a surge of activity in the part of the brain that regulates cravings and rewards when presented with the chocolate milkshake. Once they started drinking it, they showed markedly reduced activity in areas of the brain that control impulses to seek rewards. A similar pattern of brain activity is found in people addicted to drugs.
In another study, this one involving candy, researchers at Drexel University concluded that people experienced psychological reactions while eating chocolate — such as intense pleasure and craving for more — that were similar to reactions caused by some drugs.
Obesity and addiction
Much of the scientific discussion about food addiction has been sparked by the epidemic of obesity sweeping the U.S. and many other countries. Many people who are overweight crave food, lose control over eating, and experience negative health effects that should, but don’t, serve as a deterrent. The influence of stress on eating provides another link between food and addictive behavior. Those who have broken free of an addiction tend to relapse when they are under stress — partly because they begin craving the comfort they experienced while using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs. In the same way, stress is often what prompts people to go off a diet. (To learn more about food addiction, Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has some interesting background information. Rudd Center researchers have also created a food addiction survey that is being used in various ongoing studies.)
Despite intriguing parallels, however, there are also significant differences between drugs of addiction and food. The most obvious one is that food is necessary for survival, while addictive drugs are not. And this makes treatment more of a challenge too. It’s not possible to go off food, as it were, cold turkey.
Enjoy, and resist
Whether “chocoholism” exists or not, most of us are stuck with the simple, if often frustrating, advice to eat in moderation. In fact, health depends less on what we call our behavior than it does on paying attention to the hundreds of small but important choices we make every day.
The next time you feel the pull of chocolate, pay attention to it. But instead of automatically reaching for your preferred candy bar or fudgy ice cream, take a few moments to actively decide whether or not to indulge the desire. If you decide to have chocolate, focus on each bite, slowly, to extend the pleasure in it. If you decide to wait, enjoy the notion that you’re taking good care of yourself. (You can take the same approach to alcohol, cigarettes, and food in general if you are trying to lose weight.)
Do this often enough and you may find you’re living a healthier life. One with chocolate, but with many other pleasures, too.
(An earlier version of this article appeared in the Harvard Mental Health Letter.)
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The Cardin-Grassley resolution affirms that civic education is essential to the well-being of the constitutional government of the United States. It recognizes that comprehensive and formal instruction in civics and government would provide students a basis for understanding the rights and responsibilities of citizens in the constitutional government of the United States. It also encourages elementary and secondary schools to develop curricula with demonstrated effectiveness in fostering civic competence, civic responsibility, and a reasoned commitment to the fundamental values and principles underlying the constitutional government of the United States. The resolution also calls for all teachers of civics and government to have access to adequate opportunities to enrich teaching through professional development programs to enrich their teaching capacity.
“The health of our democracy depends on having well informed and involved citizens. Civics education is key to cultivating a generation of future leaders, who — with the lessons learned from our rich democratic history — will lead us to a bright future.” said Senator Cardin. “I thank my Senate colleagues for uniting in behind civics education and pledging to support our dedicated teachers and administrators.”
“Our Founding Fathers believed that an educated citizenry is essential to the preservation of liberty,” said Senator Grassley. “It’s critical that each new generation of Americans develops a sound understanding of our nation’s founding principles and its founding document, the U.S. Constitution. Representative government is a two-way street. It requires elected officials who listen to their constituents and citizens who are informed and engaged to keep their representatives accountable.”
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Achalasia is the most common motor disorder of the esophagus. Patients usually have difficulty swallowing food and at times can regurgitate undigested food. There are multiple treatment options when a patient is diagnosed with achalasia and the best option will depend on the patient's degree of symptoms and esophageal pathology. The patient may be started on medication initially or referred for consultation to be evaluated for an endoscopic dilation or surgical correction of the esophageal pathology.
Barrett's esophagus, or columnar-lined esophagus, is a condition in which the normal lining of the esophagus (squamous-lined) changes in response to chronic reflux of stomach contents. This repeated injury to the esophagus may lead to replacement of the normal lining of the esophagus with cells that have the potential to transform into esophageal cancer. Patient's who are diagnosed with Barrett's esophagus should undergo close surveillance with frequent endoscopies and biopsy. St. Luke's now has a new technology (Barrx radio frequency ablation) that allows us to treat the abnormal lining of the esophagus to eliminate the presence of Barrett's mucosa and hopefully reduce the potential of developing esophageal cancer in the future. A consultation with a St. Luke's thoracic surgeon can help determine whether you may be candidate for this innovative treatment.
Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
GERD, commonly known as heartburn, is very common in our society. Almost everyone at some time during their lifetime experiences heartburn or reflux symptoms. Generally, these symptoms are the result of the reflux of stomach fluid, which can contain acid and bile, into the esophagus. The fluid causes irritation to the lining of the esophagus which can typically cause burning-type pain and even damage to the esophagus such as esophagitis (inflammation of the esophagus) or Barrett's esophagus, which is a precancerous condition. Learn when to seek medical attention and the recommended procedure for GERD.
Hiatal Hernia/Paraesophageal Hernia
Hiatal hernias occur where the esophagus meets the stomach just below the diaphragm. Sometimes, the stomach slides into the chest. This is called a paraesophageal hernia. Learn more about these conditions and how a St. Luke's thoracic surgeon can help.
Esophageal diverticula are acquired conditions of the esophagus and occur mostly in adults. Zenker's diverticulum, the most common diverticulum of the esophagus, occurs in the upper esophagus. These are corrected through an incision in the neck or more commonly with an incisionless procedure performed endoscopically through the mouth.
Another type of diverticulum called an epiphrenic diverticulum usually occurs in the lower portion of the esophagus within the chest.
The thoracic surgeons at St. Luke's can successfully treat both of these types of diverticula.
A benign stricture of the esophagus is a narrowing which can led to difficulty swallowing foods or liquids. There are multiple causes for a stricture and the treatment will depend on the cause of the stricture. The St. Luke's thoracic surgeons are able to offer many treatment options for the management of esophageal strictures. These strictures can generally be dilated with special instruments or patients can undergo placement of an esophageal stent that allows the patient to eat normally as the stricture heals.
A consultation with a thoracic surgeon will help determine the best treatment regimen.
Although not a common finding, benign tumors of the esophagus can cause obstruction. The most common type of benign tumor of the esophagus is called a leiomyoma. A leiomyoma has an extremely low malignant potential but can cause persistent symptoms. These generally can be removed with a thoracoscopic approach without the need for removing a portion of the esophagus.
Esophageal duplication cysts are another type of benign esophageal pathology that can be removed thoracoscopically without resection of the esophagus.
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YEREVAN, June 16. / ARKA /. Armenian health ministry said it is going to launch a mandatory national campaign of vaccination against pneumococcal infection from September 1, 2014.
The statement was made following a meeting on the epidemiology and vaccination against pneumococcal diseases.
Pneumonia and other respiratory diseases cause the death of more than 2 million children a year. According to experts, one of the main causes of infant death is a viral pneumonia, caused by pneumococcal pathogen. It is also the cause of other infectious diseases in particular, meningitis and bacteremia, especially in infants and the elderly.
According to deputy health minister Sergei Khachatryan, new vaccinations have had positive results, cutting, particularly, the cases of meningitis and rotavirus infections.
"We expect that vaccination against pneumococcal will cut further the cases of pneumonia and meningitis," he said.
According to the ministry of health, the mortality rate of babies under one year has slashed by 16 percent over the past three years. In 2013 the mortality rate among children under 1 year was 9.8 cases per 100 thousand children, in 2012 this figure was 10.7, and in 2011 - 11.6. -0 –
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Daily Flight Stories
Historic Wings is pleased to present our daily story celebrating what happened today in aviation history.
Published July 13, 2012
Today in aviation history in 1977, the 13th of July (it was a Wednesday in 1977, by the way), marks the death of a true aviation hero. While on a refugee aid mission, Swedish citizen Count Carl Gustaf von Rosen was killed in a surprise guerrilla attack in Gode, Somalia. Although Count von Rosen had a long tradition of aiding refugees, he also went considerably beyond the traditional definition of charitable “aid work” such as providing food, medicines and other relief supplies. Instead, Count von Rosen, a skilled pilot, never shied away from providing direct military assistance by personally taking action in combat against those responsible for creating the refugee problems in the first place.
Born in Helgesta, a small town in Södermanland, Sweden, Carl Gustaf was the son of Swedish explorer Eric von Rosen. Incredibly, he was also the nephew of Carin Göring — this was Eric’s sister, the devoted wife of Nazi General and Luftwaffe chief, Hermann Göring. Not surprisingly, the von Rosen family’s politics were decidedly pro-Nazi. In fact, they were key figures in promoting Sweden’s fledgeling National Socialist Party in the 1930s. In a strange coincidence, the von Rosens even adopted the swastika as the family’s personal symbol — but this was years before the creation of the Nazi Party in Germany and, in fact, when the Nazis selected the same symbol for their flag, it was a complete coincidence.
Eric von Rosen, Carl Gustaf’s father, would also be forever remembered in Finland because in 1910 he donated the first airplane to the new Finnish Air Force, a Morane-Saulnier MS Parasol/Thulin D. On the wings of the airplane, von Rosen painted his personal symbol — a blue swastika on a white field. This would become the markings of Finland’s new air force, remaining in use until the end of World War II (sometimes this is confused with the Nazi swastika, even if Finland would go to war with Nazi Germany in the mid-1940s).
The “Black Sheep” of the von Rosens
Whereas his father was an avowed Nazi, however, Carl Gustaf was considered the “Black Sheep” of the family. He rejected their views outright. Although he had originally been inspired to learn to fly by Hermann Göring, earning his pilot’s license in 1929, he quickly recognized the inherent evil of the Nazi government and fascism. Seeing the alliance of Hitler and Mussolini developing, he joined a relief mission to Ethiopia after Italy’s invasion, flying airlift missions for the Red Cross. On some of the return flights, he evacuated casualties from the battlefield, even under fire. On one of these missions, he was injured by an Italian mustard gas attack (a well-documented case of chemical weapons use in the conflict that soon thereafter would blossom into World War II). After the end of the battle, he joined KLM as a pilot.
When World War II broke out, Count von Rosen purchased three aircraft to donate to the Finnish Air Force — one Douglas DC-2 (DO-1) and two Koolhoven FK.52 (KO-129 and KO-130). He converted the Douglas DC-2 to a bomber and then volunteered to fly it in Finland’s air force, where he was commissioned a Lieutenant. He dropped bombs on advancing Soviet troops during the Continuation War before leaving for England. In London, he signed up as a volunteer for the Royal Air Force. Due to his family’s relationship with Hermann Göring, he was rejected. He returned to KLM and flew the London to Lisbon route, which sometimes was at risk from Nazi interception. Meanwhile, his Dutch wife joined the Dutch resistance and fought against the Nazis — sadly, she was killed during the war.
Flying for the United Nations
After the end of World War II, he returned to a newly liberated and independent Ethiopia and helped organize its new air force, training its pilots. When the Swede Dag Hammarskjöld became the second Secretary General of the United Nations, Carl Gustaf von Rosen served as his personal pilot, a role he performed perfectly. Sadly, with von Rosen grounded from temporary illness, the Secretary General flew to the Congo for peace negotiations with another pilot. Tragically, the plane crashed some miles from the runway (sabotage has always been suspected).
In 1969, Count von Rosen would again take up an activist role, this time during the Biafran conflict, which pitted Nigeria against one of its breakaway provinces. The Nigerian government attempted to economically strangle Biafra. The result was mass starvation. The sight of emaciated and dying children brought von Rosen to action. First, he flew aid missions, at least once flying to Biafra at wave-top height to avoid detection. While in country, he saw the Soviet-backed Nigerian Air Force bombing and strafing civilian villages at will. Rejecting such brutality, he decided to personally intervene.
Count von Rosen’s Biafran Air Force
Once again, Count von Rosen would take action in ways that few others would have considered. He returned to Sweden and acquired five Saab Malmö MFI-9B trainers, a piston-engine aircraft. He had the planes converted for ground attack missions by mounting machine guns and affixing pods for 12 French-made 68mm rockets under the wings (six on each side). Green paint schemes and other modifications were completed in Gabon. As the commander of the Biafran Air Force (or BAF, as he called it), von Rosen recruited two other Swedish pilots plus an ex-RCAF veteran pilot named Lynn Garrison, as well as two local Biafran pilots. Together, these men would fly the planes in combat — they would face a vastly superior Soviet-armed Nigerian air force.
On May 22, 1969, von Rosen’s attack planes launched their first mission. He called his planes, “the Biafran Babies” after the children who were dying from the Nigerian government’s indiscriminate bombings. His BAF aircraft achieved complete tactical surprise, ambushing the Nigerian fighter jets on the ground. In that mission and the many that would follow over the next three months, they would destroy four MiG-17s, a Heron, two Canberras and three Il-28s (half of Nigeria’s bomber fleet). All were caught on the ground at the NAF bases in Port Harcourt, Enugu, Benin City and Ughelli.
He would lead the missions in total radio silence, attacking at either dusk or dawn so as to minimize the risk from anti-aircraft fire. Against larger targets, all of the aircraft flew together — against small targets, they would attack in pairs. During this time, they also rocketed and destroyed an airport control tower. The little “Baifran Babies” were frequently fired upon by anti-aircraft artillery, but rarely hit, given their smart, surprise hit-and-run tactics.
Nonetheless, after a few months, the Nigerian Air Force was able to reequip with more Soviet aircraft. Further, in retaliation, a Nigerian Air Force MiG-17 attacked and shot down a Swedish DC-7 flight that was flying an aid mission on behalf of the Red Cross. Four of its crew were killed. By July, seeing the futility in fighting what was developing into a much stronger, Soviet-backed air force, von Rosen departed to Sweden. Nonetheless, as news of other atrocities emerged, he returned in August in an attempt to train a follow-on group of local Biafran pilots to carry forward.
In September of 1969, five North American T-6Gs were acquired for the new BAF and of these, four successfully arrived in Biafra, landing in October 1969. For the next three months, these aircraft flew missions in the hands of a group of Portuguese ex-military pilots. By January 1970, however, the mission ended as the Biafran conflict wound up in a bloody conclusion.
More Refugee Operations and the Death of von Rosen
Five years later, in 1974, Count von Rosen once again took an activist role when he returned to Ethiopia to help fly aid to a starving population. At the time, he was also flying commercially for Transair. He left that job and brought down a single-engine MFI-17 Supporter to Ethiopia, in which he intended to fly missions. In 1977, he returned yet again at the outbreak of the Ogaden War, which pitted Ethiopia against Somalia. Once again he flew relief missions for refugees.
While on one such mission, on July 13, 1977, he was caught on the ground when a force of Somali guerrillas suddenly attacked at Gode. Sadly, he was killed in the ensuing battle. The body of Count Carl von Rosen was buried in Addis Ababa at the Gulale Cemetery, where it remains to this day, testimony to his love of the Ethiopian people.
Some of the traditions of Count von Rosen’s activism lives on in Lynn Garrison, one of the original pilots from the Biafran Air Force. A Canadian, Garrison was the youngest pilot commissioned in RCAF history (at just 17 years of age) and later became an active intelligence operative with the CIA. Over the years, he flew a wide range of mercenary operations and special missions, earning his covert call sign, “The Shadow.” Garrison was also active in politics, relief and reforestation operations in Haiti. He is known as a polarizing figure and well-documented CIA-backed mercenary. From the 1960s to 1980s, he was an active warbird pilot and became involved in a number of films, gathering together aircraft and reproductions for aerial scenes. Among the movies with which he was involved were Tora, Tora, Tora, Von Richthofen and Brown, and the 1966 classic, The Blue Max, as well as numerous others. Finally, he is the author of two books — Voodoo Politics : The Clinton/Gore Destruction of Haiti (Oct 2000) and Aristide: The Death of a Nation (June 2004).
Ever confident in his abilities as pilot, Garrison once said, “If it has fuel and noise, I can fly it.” Such were the men who flew with the late Count von Rosen.
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Grant Museum of Zoology
Fish in science
October - December 2011
Fish have been used in science since the early 20th century. Working with the UCL Zebrafish Facility, the Grant Museum's new pigeon hole exhibition looks at the role of fish in science, focusing on zebrafish. Because of the transparency of the embryos and their high reproductive rate, zebrafish became a popular species for developmental biology in the late 1970s. More recently this popularity has extended to human disease research such as cancer and tissue regeneration studies - including cardiac and spinal regeneration.
Read more on the UCL Museums blog: http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/museums/2011/12/07/fish-in-science-zebrafish-at-ucl/
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Don your quantum computing tinfoil hat, for we have epic news that might just result in qubits replacing bits before the decade is out: Physicists at UC Santa Barbara have discovered a quality of silicon carbide — a material commonly used in the manufacture of semiconductors — that can be used to perform quantum computing.
Silicon carbide is a compound that has some 250 crystalline forms, but its 4H polytype (pictured below right) has an imperfection that traps electrons. The spin of these electrons can then be manipulated and measured (addressed) with optical wavelengths. In short, silicon carbide is an array of solid-state, addressable qubits.
The reason this is big news is because silicon carbide traps electrons at room temperature, and (so far) the only other material to exhibit this property is diamond. Unlike diamond, silicon carbide crystals can be grown at an industrial scale and relatively cheaply. Furthermore, the qubits in silicon carbide can be addressed using optical wavelengths already used in telecommunications.
How does this news actually affect you, though? While silicon carbide could be used to make a standalone quantum computer, it is more exciting to think of systems that combine optical circuits, transistor switching, and quantum mechanics. With some more work, we might see CPUs “now with added qubits!” or optical routers that use qubits for crazy, quantum-oriented probabilistic algorithms that conventional computers just can’t do. To be honest, no one really knows what quantum computing will ultimately entail or enable — but now that we’ve found a material that provides affordable qubits at room temperature, we’re now a lot closer to finding out.
Read more at UC Santa Barbara
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<urn:uuid:b7007c19-7f57-4de2-bd0f-232a48067681>
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http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/103237-quantum-qubits-found-in-cheap-mass-produced-semiconductor
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Epigenetic study explains differences in response to breast cancer treatment
Researchers discover how epigenetics influences response to breast cancer treatment.
The scientists note the importance of the study. They looked at estrogen positive and estrogen negative breast cancer types, finding distinctly different DNA methylation profiles in the subgroups of breast cancer, both of which are epigenetically controlled.
The study investigators, from the European Society of Medical Oncology, explain methylation is a chemical modification that takes place within DNA. Epigenetics is the term used to describe those modifications.
Dr Sarah Dedeurwaerder, from Université Libre de Bruxelles, in Brussels, explained the findings at the IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference.
Dr Dedeurwaerder said. “Indeed, several patients displaying the same known sub-type of breast cancer can respond differently to a given drug. An epigenetic difference between the tumors of these patients might explain the difference observed in terms of treatment response. Therefore, DNA methylation profiling could help to refine the current breast cancer classification and thus might help to stratify patients within a particular sub-type both in terms of prognosis and prediction to treatment response.”
DNA methylation differs in same breast cancer types
For the study, the researchers first looked at the type of breast cancer, sorting tumors as estrogen positive or negative. Next they looked at DNA methylation profiles, finding a “reverse correlation between methylation and expression status of the majority of these genes”, explained Dedeurwaerder.
The findings could improve breast cancer treatment. Dedeurwaerder says DNA methylation markers can be profiled from analysis of body fluids, helping diagnose breast cancer sooner. She also says understanding which markers are present can predict breast cancer treatment response and outcomes.
“Lastly, an epigenetic therapy of cancer, alone or in combination with conventional therapies, is conceivable. Indeed, several drugs have been developed and several clinical trials have already shown promising results, in particular for leukemia.”
The finding explains differences breast cancer outcomes among women receiving the same treatment and lays the groundwork for personalizing care of women with the disease.
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Another thing I've been wondering about is how formally do we care to introduce the concept of "fraction" in relation to "rational number"?
In some contexts we tend to equate these two, but the 1/pi has meaning, and is what I'd call "a fraction" in the sense that it has a numerator (1) and a denominator (pi), it's just that they're not both rational.
Even if we don't hand compute "continued fractions" in elementary grades, I do think we should more than hint that these exist. If you have a computer handy, then it's a great workout with parentheses and such to practice writing one. Let me try:
I see "+ 1/(1" as a repeating pattern that needs an ending and beginning. I might write a program that returns an expression such as the above as a string type thing, a quoted expression, that I then evaluate for real:
I'll be having stack problems pretty soon maybe. This is *not* the most efficient way to write a continued fractions calculator, believe you me.
Some of you may have recognized that the number that's emerging or being converged to is possibly the familiar constant Phi, right up there with Pi in name recognition surveys, though more people can say 3.141 than 1.618 from recall memory (an empirical fact, not evidence that either is a morally superior number).
[Sorry: I don't have any citations handy and if you know of a survey where people are asked about "famous numbers" (e, pi, phi, 911) I'd be interested in a link. Thanks in advance. ]
Confining "fractions" to mean "rational numbers" is a worthwhile step in at least some lesson plans, as then we're getting back into the fact that numbers come in types, as in "types of number".
The schema we follow is usually: N < W < Z < Q < R < C where W is big during New Math days as "whole numbers" i.e. the set of counting numbers (N) plus zero. Those were but a subset of integers (Z) which are rational numbers (Q) embedded in reals (R) which are all themselves the real part of complex (C) i.e. the reals are a subset of the complex numbers.
I'd say Whole Numbers on the whole get less attention since the Reagan Era, and we just go straight from N to Z and don't make that much buzz about zero being added to N to give W. I could be wrong about that and it would vary by curriculum and school. The complex plane had its hay day with the Mandelbrot T-shirts. I suggest keeping all that and continuing the reap the benefits. However I digress from the topic at hand.
We should distinguish between "fractional notation" which uses the division operator, from "fractions as number p/q where p, q are members of Z such that p/q is a member of Q". The expression 1/pi has plenty of meaning even if pi is a member of R but not of Q.
On Sat, Aug 23, 2014 at 10:45 AM, Robert Hansen <firstname.lastname@example.org> wrote:
> > On Aug 23, 2014, at 1:55 AM, Jay Wiegmann < > email@example.com> wrote: > > > My questions is how to help students make the connection between the > concrete and the abstract when dividing fractions. > > > > I've seen and taught how to divide fractions concretely with fraction > bars. And I've seen and taught how to do it abstractly via "keep change > flip"/KCF. But where is the lesson that helps students understand how to go > FROM fraction bars TO keep change flip? > > > > Ex: > > Model 2 / 1/4 with fraction bars. > > Lay down 2 wholes. Lay down 8 1/4 beneath. Therefore, 1/4 goes into 2 8 > times. Little Johnny nods. > > > > Ok well it's a lot easier to just do it like this in the future. > > 2 / 1/4 = ? > > 2 x 4 = 8 > > Keep change flip, got it? Doesn't that make sense given what we just > modeled? Little Johnny is clearly puzzled. > > > > What instructional sequence do you recommend to help students make the > connection b/t concrete and abstract? > > > > First off, when you teach ?Keep, Change, Flip? it sounds like your > students don?t even know what a fraction is or what its structure is. It > has a numerator and a denominator, call them that. And the proper way to > say flip is ?take the reciprocal?. Childish mnemonics are part of the issue. > > When you divide a number by another number (not equal to 0), that is the > same as multiplying by the reciprocal of that number. > > Why? > > Because when you multiply the numerator and denominator of a fraction by > the same value then you are multiplying by 1, which doesn?t change the > value of the fraction because any number times 1 is the same number. Thus, > given the fraction 2 / 1/4, if we multiply the numerator and denominator by > 4/1 we are left with 8 / 1. In other words, (2 / 1/4) * (4/1 / 4/1) = 2 * > 4/1 = 8. > > Since you are at the point of teaching fraction division, the students > must understand fraction equivalence by now and how 1/2, 4/8 and 50/100 are > the same. > > You can also show why 2 / 4/1 is the same as 2 * 1/4. > > > 1. There are some basic things in mathematics that you just see. For > example a(b + c) = ab + ac is one of those things. Sure, we have a name for > it, it is called the distributive property, and you would have to recall > the name. But the phenomenon itself, that a(b + c) = ab + ac is intuitive > and axiomatic. > > 2. There are some basic things in mathematics that are not axiomatic nor > intuitive, but are encountered so often that they should be committed to > long term memory and would be committed to to long term memory in the > normal course of doing math. The rule for dividing by a fraction is one of > those things. Another example is a^b * a^c = a^b+c. > > 3. Then there are things that we teach, like the quadratic formula, while > important enough to teach, don?t fit the criteria for long term memory. > > > Using bars is part of the process (of teaching), but that is just a visual > confirmation that 2 / 1/4 is 8. It isn?t going to provide insight into the > rule of multiplying by the reciprocal. You will have to settle for doing > that with arithmetic, as shown above, and later revisit it with algebra > (which only shows it more formally). > > The only thing that will commit all of this to long term memory and make > it familiar and automatic to a student, as it is to us, is using it > continuously. And when I say familiar and automatic, I mean the rule > itself, not the proof or insight into why it works. > > Bob Hansen >
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It’s hard to believe, but the tiny grains of sand you see at the beach were once part of giant boulders. Over many years, these huge rocks were broken down into smaller pieces in a process called weathering. There are two main types of weathering: chemical weathering and mechanical weathering. In chemical weathering, the rock reacts with substances in the environment like oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water to produce new substances. For example, iron in rock can react with oxygen and water to form rust, making the rock reddish and crumbly.
During mechanical weathering, no new substances are produced. The rock gets smaller, but it stays the same kind of rock. For example, water sometimes gets into the tiny cracks in boulders. If that water freezes, it expands, opening the crack even more and eventually splitting the rock into pieces. In a stream, the moving water often knocks rocks against other rocks and sand. Over time, the rocks become smoother and smaller. This process is called abrasion. If you’ve ever rubbed a piece of wood with sand paper, you’ve seen abrasion in action.
Examples of mechanical weathering are easy to find in your own neighborhood. Look for cracks in the sidewalk caused by heating and cooling. Underlying tree roots can make whole slabs of sidewalk buckle. Old gravestones are often hard to read because weathering has worn away the letters.
Another concept related to weathering is erosion. Erosion is the movement of weathered materials to new places. Water, wind, gravity, and glaciers (rivers of moving ice) all cause erosion. Have you visited or seen picture of the Grand Canyon is Arizona? Over millions of years, water, wind, heat and cold weathered the rock, which was ultimately carried away by the Colorado River.
Finding evidence of weathering is fun, but it’s even more fun to cause weathering yourself!
How can we model mechanical weathering?
- Disposable plastic cup
- Disposable plastic spoon
- 6 tablespoons of plaster of Paris (available at hardware stores)
- Goggles or other protective eye ware
- 3 tablespoons cool water
- Four bean seeds
- Paper towel
- Spray bottle
- Presoak the bean seeds in water overnight.
- Cover your work area with newspaper, or work outside.
- Use the tablespoon to measure 6 tablespoons of plaster of Paris into the plastic cup.
- Using the disposable spoon to stir and your measuring spoon to measure, add one tablespoon of water at a time to the plaster of Paris, stirring after each addition, until you have added 3 tablespoons all together. Why don’t you add the water all at once?
- If your mixture still seems dry after you added all the water, add a teaspoon of water at a time until the mixture is a thick, smooth liquid.
- Tap the cup on the table to settle the contents, and tidy the sides.
- Carefully watch the plaster until it begins to solidify.
- Once the plaster of Paris begins to solidify, insert your four beans so that 2/3 of each bean is embedded in the plaster.
- Let the plaster solidify completely.
- Fold a paper towel in half twice.
- Moisten the paper towel until it is damp, but not dripping wet.
- Place the paper towel on top of the bean seeds to water them.
- Place the cup in a sunny window.
- Make sure to keep the paper towel moist.
- Observe both the growth of the bean plants and plaster.
As the beans seeds sprout, they crack the plaster, just as tree roots can eventually crack a sidewalk.
When making the plaster, you did not add all the water at once because you can make a more uniform mixture if you add it slowly. If you added the beans to plaster when it was still soupy, they may have gotten pushed or sunk to the bottom.
In your investigation, you got to see mechanical weathering in action. The growing plant root and stem pushed open bigger and bigger cracks. Water was able to move in, enlarging the cracks even further. The warming and cooling of the plaster caused it to expand and contract, further weakening the overall plaster “rock”. There was likely some chemical weathering in action, too. The growing bean seeds released substances that chemically broke the plaster down.
Once you are done with your experiment, you might move your sprouting bean plants to some soil. To do this, just crack the plaster a bit more. As you dig a hole to plant your beans in the soft earth, thank the process of weathering for having started the process of turning giant boulders in fertile soil, millions of years ago!
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Interdependence and “globalization” mean that what happens in one part of the world affects every other part of it. As a result, a solution to the global crisis must include the whole world, for if only one part of it is healed, other, still ailing parts, will make it ill again.
The Benefits of the New Economy: resolving the global economic crisis through mutual guarantee was written out of concern for our common future. Its purpose is to improve our understanding of today’s economic turmoil—its causes, how it can be solved, and its anticipated outcome. The road toward a new economy lies not in levying new taxes, printing money, or in any remedy from the past. Rather, the solution lies with a society where all support each other in mutual guarantee. This creates a social environment of care and consideration, and the understanding that we will rise or fall together, because we are all interdependent.
This book contains thirteen “standalone” essays written in 2011 by several economists and financiers from different disciplines. Each essay addresses a specific issue, and can be read as a separate unit. However, one theme connects them: the absence of mutual guarantee as the cause of our problems in the global-integral world.
You can read these essays in an order of your choice. We, the authors, believe that if you read at least several essays you will receive a more comprehensive view of the required transformation in order to resolve the global crisis and create a sustainable, prosperous economy.
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| 0.933848
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Constructing Mexico City: Colonial Conflicts over Culture, Space, and Authority
Constructing Mexico City: Colonial Conflicts over Culture, Space, and Authority examines the spatial, material, and cultural dimensions of life in eighteenth-century Mexico City, through programs that colonial leaders created to renovate and reshape urban environments. Focusing particularly on the administration of Viceroy Juan Vicente de Güemes Pacheco y Padilla, the second count of Revillagigedo (1789-1794), this book considers how the Spanish Bourbon reforms were re-imagined at the local level in Mexico City, within the context of the built environment and the people who define, occupied, and used space within the colonial capital. The plans and ideas of Revillagigedo place him within a broader network of colonial bureaucrats who sought to improve and transform the Spanish Empire in the age of Enlightenment.
As a representative of these Bourbon reforms, Revillagigedo lived among the subjects of his plans. However, these urban groups: Indians, Spanish elites, and those of mixed race background, were not simply passive recipients of his agenda, but contested and questioned his vision of a modern urban milieu. By focusing on the tensions between the colonial state and its citizens within the realm of urban planning and reform, this study reveals various points of conflict and discord not only over how various social groups defined and shared the public spaces in the city, but also how they understood their place within a wider colonial system. Bailey Glasco, drawing on research from numerous archives in Mexico City, sheds new light on the critical roles that urban planning and renewal played in the social and cultural dynamics of the city, as well as how it anticipated early definitions of modern Mexican identity.
History | Latin American History | Latin American Languages and Societies
Mexico City (Mexico) -- Civilization -- 17th century ; Mexico City (Mexico) -- History -- 17th century ; Mexico City (Mexico) -- Social life and customs -- 17th century
Bailey Glasco, Sharon, "Constructing Mexico City: Colonial Conflicts over Culture, Space, and Authority" (2010). Linfield Authors Book Gallery. Book 1.
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/linfauth/1/
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| 0.910856
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Foods, Nutrients and Calories
Gravels and Substrates
Gravel, Dolomite density is equal to 1865 kg/m³ or 116.428 lb/ft³ with specific gravity of 1.865 relative to pure water. Calculate how much of this gravel is required to attain a specific depth in a cylinder, quarter cylinder or in a rectangular shaped aquarium or pond
Materials and Substances
What is arc-minute?
a minute of arc, arc-minute, or minute of angle (MOA) is a unit of measurement of angles in geometry, or a unit of angular measurement.read more...»
What is angle measurement?
An angle, in geometry, is defined by two rays a and b sharing a common starting point S, called the vertex. These rays can be transformed into each other by a revolution or rotation. The amount of rotation defines size of the angle (a,b) or α (the Greek letter).read more...»
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http://www.aqua-calc.com/calculate/gravel-rectangular-solid/substance/sand-coma-and-blank-fine
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| 0.874967
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Deputy Premier and Minister of Education Ken Krawetz recognized Horizon School Division staff, students and parents in the legislative assembly on May 19 for the division's production of a treaty education video.
"This video reflects the Saskatchewan Government's mandate to incorporate treaty education in all kindergarten to Grade 12 classrooms," Krawetz said. "This video demonstrates how treaty knowledge is important for students to better appreciate our province's past and present. Learning about treaties also promotes cultural appreciation and understanding through teachings that respect and honour First Nations."
The video's script was written by high school students from Wadena, Wynyard, Raymore, Punnichy, and Humboldt who were brought together by Horizon School Division to produce the two-minute video. The video focuses on the importance of learning about treaties through Treaty Essential Learnings, a learning resource that can be found in schools across the province, as well as the perspectives of elders and the Office of the Treaty Commissioner.
News, updates and current information.
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<urn:uuid:c2df555a-f70d-4c78-af99-e2b50ead6498>
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http://education.gov.sk.ca/treaty-education/
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| 0.953657
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| 2.65625
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|San José State University|
& Tornado Alley
Reconstruction of Japan After World War II
In 1945 Japan was undergoing devastating bombing attacks by the U.S. Air Force. Fire bombings of Tokyo killed as many as 140 thousand Japanese in one night. A submarine blockade of Japan cut off supplies of food, fuel and everything else. Yet the Japanese government showed no indication of surrender.
Despite the obvious inevitability of defeat the Japanese were defending to the death islands on the path of an American invasion of the main Japanese islands. The capture of Iwo Jima cost over 6800 American lives and 19000 Japanese lives. The capture of Okinawa cost over 7600 American lives and 110,000 Japanese lives. There was every reason to believe the conquest of the main islands would be far more costly in American and Japanese lives. It took the dropping of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 7th to startle the Japanese government. Even then there were leaders in the Japanese government that thought the U.S. had only one bomb. Therefore a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9th. On August 9th the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. Although Japan had seen death tolls equal to those of the nuclear weapons before and not surrendered the prospect of all the major cities being destroyed by nuclear weapons was too much and the government agreed to an unconditional surrender on August 14th of 1945. The Emperor Hirohito announced the surrender to the Japanese people in a radio broadcast.
General Douglas MacArthur was chosen to be the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP), the authority that was to govern Japan for the immediate future. MacArthur put together a team of American officers to fulfill that responsibility. MacArthur himself was a political conservative but many if not most of the people working for him at SCAP were liberal Democrats dedicated to the principles of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. The New Deal was a variety of the economic system called Corporatism. One major tenet of the New Deal was the recognition of labor unions and the notion of collective bargaining to settle management-labor differences such as in wages, work hours or working conditions. More generally the New Deal allowed for private enterprise only under the guidance of the government.
MacArthur's priority was to carryout a political revolution that would establish constitutional democratic government for Japan. Economic stability and recovery were of secondary consideration. The economy of Japan was in terrible shape. There were shortages of all essentials such as food and housing. The functioning Japanese government had little in the way of financial resources. The tax system was not operative and the public had little to tax. The U.S. government provided food supplies to the Japanese government which sold them to raise funds for its operation. The government dealt with its deficits by printing up money. This of course led to inflation.
Meanwhile SCAP was concentrating on political changes. It persecuted the top leadership of the wartime government and hanged about twenty of them including the prime minister, Tojo. SCAP also forced over two hundred thousand top administrators out of business as well as out government. In particular SCAP sought to break up the large, conglomerate, family-owned firms known as Zaibatsu, literally financial cliques. These firms, such as Mitsui and Mitsubishi, were thought to be guilty of supporting the militarist government.
MacArthur did not however want the Emperor Hirohito prosecuted. MacArthur realized that the prestige of the emperor could be utilized in promoting the objectives of SCAP. The announcement of the surrender of Japan by Hirohito had affectively ended all resistance in Japan. Moreover MacArthur was not opposed to the institution of royalty in a society. When MacArthur took command of the governance of Japan he did not contact the emperor but instead waited for the emperor to contact him. In September the emperor sent a message to MacArthur asking if he might come to see MacArthur. The emperor arrived at SCAP prepared to give deference to MacArthur but MacArthur made a point of walking to the emperor to let him and all observers know that MacArthur considered that he and the emperor were meeting as equals. MacArthur's treatment of the emperor proved wise when later he was able to obtain the emperor's support for the measures SCAP was promoting, such as the new constitution.
SCAP called for Japanese authorities to write a new constitution. The old constitution which had been adopted in the Meiji Era was modeled on the Prussian constitution and gave all the real authority to the bureaucracy. The government authorities made inconsequential modifications to the old constitution and MacArthur gave up on them making any real changes. Instead he formed a group within SCAP and assigned them to formulating a new Japanese constitution in six days. None of the members of the group had a background in constitutional law. Nevertheless the group came up with a draft that emphasized civil rights. The group formulated the role of the emperor as the symbol of the state and the unity of the Japanese people. MacArthur himself wrote a clause in which Japan renounced military action even in self-defense. MacArthur then pressured the ruling party to promote the legal acceptance of the draft as the constitution of Japan. The conservative ruling party was not in favor of the draft but the emperor supported the draft and there was widespread public support. Everyone knew that it was an American product but most accepted it anyway. MacArthur threatened the ruling party that if it did not ratify the draft then he would call for a public referendum on the draft constitution. If it passed in a referendum after the ruling party declined to pass it then the ruling party would lose face.
One of the most important reforms promoted by SCAP was that of land reform. Many Japanese farmers worked on land owned by the aristocratic families. MacArthur forced the Japanese government to buy up land low pre-inflation prices and sell it to the farmers who worked it on easy terms. The land owners were compensated in bonds to be paid off at some future time (30 years) in fixed Yen amounts. When Japan went through high inflation the land owners found the real value of their compensation decrease to next to nothing. This greatly reduced the social power of the aristocratic landowning class. Some alleged that this financial arrangement and the subsequent inflation was a scheme of the Ministry of Finance to destroy the power of a rival power group, the wealthy, aristocratic landowners.
SCAP decided to release the people the militarist government had put into prison. This included the communist party members. More conservative Japanese were appalled at this move, feeling that it was comparable to putting poison into the Japanese social system.
SCAP also legalized and supported labor unions. This included the right of labor unions to engage in strikes. This was in keeping with the New Deal mentality of the lower level members of SCAP. The labor unions organized very quickly and quickly achieved a membership of over six million. The unions soon were exercising their right to strike. The communists who had been released from prison soon captured the leadership positions in the unions and the labor movement.
With the communists capturing leadership of the labor unions and leading parades featuring red flags it was very plausible that Japan would soon be a communist country. This is not what SCAP had intended. When the labor unions called for a nation-wide general strike in February of 1947 to overthrow the government, SCAP panicked. Douglas MacArthur prohibited the general strike. Labor leaders felt SCAP had snatched national control from their hands.
SCAP eliminated the censors that had restricted public expressions in art and politics. This resulted in a flowering of artistic expression and political dissent. The noted Japanese movie director, Akira Kurosawa, started his career at this time.
However economic conditions were appalling with high unemployment, inflation, and food shortages due to poor harvests and general chaos.
SCAP then embarked upon what was called the reverse course. That is to say, SCAP began to undo some of its policies which it had promoted in the interest of democratization and replaced them with policies intended to promote economic recovery. SCAP started with a list of 325 firms to be dissolved; this was reduced to 100 and finally to nine. The reverse course was in part instigated by General William Draper, a former Wall Street financier, who was sent to Japan to persuade MacArthur to build up the Japanese economy. Another factor was the political victory of Republican Party candidates in the 1946 Congressional election that gave Republicans control of Congress. New Dealers were no longer in the ascendance and this extended to SCAP. A division between the conservative Republican and the New Deal Democrats within SCAP became known to the Japanese authorities and they sought to exploit it for their own objectives. In 1948 the Liberal Party of Yoshida Shigeru won control of the Diet, the Japanese legislature. (Remember that outside of the U.S. liberal means what conservative means in the U.S. Social democrat is the term used outside of the U.S. for what is called liberal in the U.S.)
The new economic recovery program of SCAP included the reformation of the firms which had been the zaibatsu, only time without the monopolies and special privileges they had enjoyed. The new versions of the zaibatsu were called keiretsu, literally business associations.
An important influence on economic policy was Joseph Draper, a former Detroit banker, who came to Japan and made policy recommendations.
The Dodge program did curb inflation. However, in implementing the Dodge Program subsidies were cut for many programs and this led to a recession in which two million workers were laid off.
Another economic policy consultant who influenced Japanese policy was Carl S. Shoup who headed a mission to make recommendations concerning public finance in Japan.
The recession that followed from the implementation of the Dodge Program only came to an end with the Korea War. The U.S. purchased in Japan much of the supplies and equipment used in that war. Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro asserted that the procurement demand for the Korean War was like divine aid to the Japanese economy. The Allied Powers had originally envisioned a Japan agriculturally oriented with only light manufacturing. Instead the Japan that developed ultimately devoted itself to steel, cars, ships and electronics.
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Bio-ethics and the Samoan Indigenous Reference
Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Ta’isi Efi
English physicist Stephen Hawking wanted to “know the mind of God”. As a scientist he wanted to provide a grand unified theory of creation. And, he wanted to offer this to the world in order to prove that the world – homo sapiens/humans – did not need God.
Towards the end of Stephen’s career he came to refute this position. He stated that: “Even if there is only one possible unified theory, it is just a set of rules and equations”. He became more interested in asking: “What is there that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe?” In so doing he concluded that:
The usual approach of science of constructing a mathematical model cannot answer the question why there should be a universe for the model to describe....[That] if there are mathematical results which cannot be proved, [then] there are physical problems which cannot be predicted....
And so he conceded that:
Understanding the Pacific research and ethics context presents similar dilemmas. Pacific peoples, whether researchers, ethicists or the ordinary person, are each searching for and constructing models or theories of their own that can help them, as individuals and groups, understand their world(s). While some of these models or theories might hold more water than others there is a common drive, whether by rational thought or intuitive learning, to know the Creator/s (or at least His/Her/Their creations), to feel Him/Her, to feel the magic and wonder of His/Her/Their power and love and to do so without arrogance or undue prejudice.
To the Western mind bio-ethical concerns are the concerns of science and scientists. To the indigenous Pacific mind bio-ethics is the concern of all. Western science and scientists have never really been in total agreement about the beginnings or origins of time-space, both essential to the question of biology.
For the indigenous Samoan, time-space, the va-tapuia and its origins are unequivocally linked to God Tagaloaalelagi, the Absolute, the Creator Progenitor, the source of all biological life.
Scientists and science have contributed to the kinds of technological advancements that have made life-saving medical interventions possible. But these same advancements have also enabled the exploitative aspects of capitalist greed.
The destruction of our physical environment has not been by accident. The toxic waste generated by the mass production and consumption of processed goods and modern conveniences must go somewhere. The wealth created by having control and ownership over the means of production goes to a privileged few. Together these two factors have provided a formula for destruction – destruction not only of the physical (or biological) environment, but also of the social, cultural and, especially, spiritual dimensions of life. If we are honest with ourselves we would admit that with our modern tastes we all – Westerners and Pacific islanders alike – are implicated in the causes of destruction. By taking time to understand the complexities of these cause-effect scenarios, we, however, need not be caught up in the malaise of what to do about it. Engaging in meaningful debates about bio-ethics and Pacific research is a constructive contribution to what is an extremely complex problem.
In this paper I want to explore what might be ‘the ethical’ in the Samoan indigenous reference. I draw from the teachings of my mentors who practiced and lived their beliefs or models of an ethical life. I also draw from the insights of contemporary Samoan practitioners who continue to practice Samoan traditional healing or fofo.
In this exploration I touch on two main indigenous Samoan concepts: tapu and tofa sa’ili and attempt to situate these within contemporary Samoan experiences and understandings of ‘the ethical’. It is my hope that these musings provide a useful discussion point for your deliberations over what might be ethical in the Pacific research context. And, that this can contribute in some small way to your broader discussions on universal codes for bio-ethical research.
If ethics is about moral principles or values, then the two Samoan indigenous concepts of tapu (the sacred) and tofa sa’ili (the search for wisdom) provide the basis for ethical research in a Samoan indigenous context. Let me start with the concept tapu.
Tapu is a Polynesian term that is generally translated to mean both ‘sacred’ and ‘taboo’. Tapu is taboo because it is sacred; it has a sacred essence. Tapu is the sacred essence which underpins man’s relations with all things; with the gods, the cosmos, environment, other men and self. The term tapu is commonly found throughout the Samoan language. Some common words include:
The common occurrence of tapu in these various words suggest that tapu permeates throughout the different dimensions of Samoan life – from pathways, to land and light, to village and chiefly entities.
The Samoan word, va tapuia, includes the term tapu within. The term literally refers to the sacred (tapu-ia) relationship (va) between man and all things, animate and inanimate. It implies that in our relations with all things, living and dead, there exists a sacred essence, a life force beyond human reckoning. The distinction here between what is living and what is dead is premised not so much on whether a ‘life force’, i.e. a mauli or fatu manava exists in the thing (that is, whether a ‘life-breath’ or ‘heart-beat’ exudes from it), but whether that thing, living or dead, has a genealogy (in an evolutionary rather than human procreation sense) that connects to a life-force. The va tapuia, the sacred relations between all things extends in the Samoan indigenous reference to all things living or dead, where a genealogical relationship can be traced.
In the Samoan indigenous religion, all matter, human, water, animal, plant and biosphere are issues of Tagaloaalelagi. They are divine creations connected by genealogy. They share the same biological beginnings. In similar order to Biblical Creation and the Big Bang thesis, the Samoan indigenous reference asserts that while man might be the most evolved and intelligent of all Tagaloa’s creations, he is, nevertheless, the ‘younger brother’ in Samoan genealogical terms. As such his relationship to all earlier creations must be one of respect.
The respect or faaaloalo that must be shown by man to all things is a respect for the sacred essence, the sacred origins of their beginnings. This is the cornerstone of Samoan indigenous religious thought.
Tapu in rituals to the gods
Tapu as sacred essence in Samoan religion and culture is recognised in the naming of many rituals involving the environment, animal life, people and their gods, and underlines their performance. For example: tapu is found in the annual ritual offering to the fee or octopus respected by the people of Aana, Upolu, as their district god.
This ritual offering is known as le tapu a Aana i le fee (literally, the sacred offering of Aana to their god, Le Fee). The god of Atua, on the other hand, is Tupualegase (literally, Tupua who does not die or Tupua the eternal). According to the missionary Rev. Stair, Tupualegase is the planet Jupiter. This suggests that both animal and cosmos (stars and planets) were revered and given sacred status by my ancient forefathers. The reverence given to these gods was not necessarily idolatry; it was given in recognition of kin status and gratitude for service to the village and/or district. This point is underlined by oral history which records that in ancient Samoa, Atua and Aana held annual festivals where they made annual offerings to Le fee and Tupualegase. Le Fee and Tupualegase are not gods but manifestations of gods. The ritual offerings by Aana to Le Fee emphasises affinity and equation between man and animal. The ritual offerings by Atua to Tupualegase emphasises affinity and equation with the cosmos.
Interestingly, the offering by Aana to Le fee was known as tapu. The offering by Atua to Tupualegase was however, known as amo. While tapu means sacred, amo means burden. One interpretation of this is that an offering can be in recognition of the sacred essence of the god and of the sacred relation between the people and their god/s. But as well it is a sacred relation or essence that presents a burden. The burden suggested here is not necessarily a yoke, in the sense understood of the burden imposed by the God of the Hebrews before Christ. Rather, it is more in terms of the burden of ‘God-chasing’, in the sense implied by the message of Christianity or the Christian God.
Tapu in man’s relations with animals
The sacred relationship between man and animals also extend beyond those animals considered manifestations of village or family gods to include animals considered to have psychic or spiritual qualities. For example, in the village of Solosolo there is an affinity between man and dog. Here the sacred essence of the dog is noted in the honorific naming of their funeral ritual, le maile. Honorifics denote special and sacred reverence in Samoan society.
The focus of the le maile funeral ritual in Solosolo is the transformation of the performers in the ritual – through action, articulation and psyche – from human to dog. The value or principle promoted is that when man cries and behaves like a dog, he is celebrating affinity and equation with animal life. In behaving like a dog he raises and connects ‘dogspeak’ with ‘humanspeak’. In symphony they speak to the cosmos, i.e. the unison of man and dog baying to the moon provides mystic connection with the cosmos. Furthermore, a dog snarling is considered ‘dog talk’ or ‘dog communication’ and is something not to be ignored or frowned upon, but to be respected.
What lessons might we draw from the maile ritual of Solosolo? The life of the dog and the life of man originate from a common source. In the ultimate, life is life. In acknowledging affinity and equation man acknowledges the tapu relationship between man and animal.
Tapu in man’s relations with the plant kingdom
When man breaks or kills the life of a plant they seek pardon. In Polynesian cultures this is done in recognition of the existence of a tapu within the plant and between the plant and man. When I and my travelling party was in Whakatane during a visit to Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi in 2004, my guide, Pouroto chanted a pardon to ask the gods to forgive us for ending the life of the leaves to be picked from the kawakawa tree. Pouroto chanted:
Mai ea te Tupua
Karakia mo te tango i nga rakau kawakawa
Like the dog, the ritual of seeking pardon for picking leaves from a tree is recognition that the tree has a soul, is capable of pain and suffering. There is a presumption of equation and affiliation between man and plant life in the performance of these rituals. This principle of equation and affiliation extends also to what some Western philosophers consider inanimate or non-living things, such as rocks, stones and mountains.
Tapu in man’s relations with the inanimate world
When man wants to pay tribute to the different genealogies pertinent to mankind, in Samoan traditional culture and religion, he does so by recognising man’s connections with the different elements of creation. And, again, this is recorded in our funeral rituals where nine salutations are offered to the gods. The last four salutations record the genealogical link between man, the earth, the standing rock, the stones and the mountain. We say:
Tulouna le lagi tuaono! Tulouna le ‘ele’ele!
Tulouna le lagi tuafitu! Tulouna le papatū!
Tulouna le lagi tuavalu! Tulouna le maataanoa!
Tulouna le lagi tuaiva! Tulouna le mauga!
By Western philosophical and theological reference, earth, stones, rocks and mountain are inanimate. In the Samoan indigenous reference, the salutations in the funeral rituals accord to earth (dirt), rocks, stones, and mountains, a life and a soul. Each of these originates from volcanic action. Volcanic action is a very important part of the story of Samoan creation. So even though they do not grow they exist as a consequence of a life force that remains connected. For some objects, such as rocks or stones, this life force remains within them. Proof of this is in the fire that emerges when rubbing certain stone against stone.
A connection between volcano, fire, rocks and stone seems obvious on its face. However, understanding this connection is complicated and depends on what model or theory is used to describe the connection. If employing a secular mathematical equation, the argument of life in stone as a consequence of its volcanic origins seems farfetched. But if employing an indigenous Samoan equation and affiliation model of va tapuia, the argument has logic.
In Hawaii, the ritual to Pele, the Goddess of the Volcano, acknowledges, like the Samoan funeral ritual, life and mana in the Volcano. A ritual is performed when treading the ground of Pele in recognition of Pele’s sacred role as the giver of life to earth, rocks, stones, and mountains – elements of which are the basis of tools such as the adze, helpful in agriculture, fishing and hunting. When walking on Pele, connecting human skin by way of treading barefoot makes a point about connecting with the elements and their origins. It says that I feel our connection; that the connection is natural, unencumbered by artificial barriers (such as shoes).
The life and power of the fire of the Volcano is awe-inspiring. When fire emanates from rubbing two stones together the power and life of the Volcano as the original source of rocks and stones is reminded of. The heat that comes off from rubbing two stones together and from the flames of the fire that emerges to warm our bodies and cook our food links the inanimate with man in a fundamental way. The fundamental link is that one would not exist without the other. Recognising this means recognising interdependence; one that is divinely bestowed and equated, the balance of which is sacred.
The sacred interactions and inter-connections between the animate and inanimate resonate also within observations made of interactions between the cosmos and animal life.
Tapu in man’s relations with the cosmos
When man wants to know how the seasons affect nature, he need only look at the interactions between animal life and the cosmos. In the Samoan context the palolo (coral worm) rises in October and November. This is determined by the last quarter of the moon. The months of the year are determined by the appearances of the moon. The Samoan word taumasina literally means “time according to the appearances of the moon”. According to Samoan cosmology, the connection between man and the cosmos is noted in the saying: e le taumasina, meaning “the movements of the moon are beyond the control of man”.
The hours of the day are determined by itula (literally, the side of the sun, i.e. referring to the side of the sun as opposed to the side of the shadow). The sun is a powerful ancestor in most Pacific stories of origin. He is recognised as one of the ancestors of man. In Samoan mythology the stories of Tolola and ‘Alo’aloolela record Samoan understandings of man’s relationship with the sun. Tolola, literally means, “the delayer of the sun”. ‘Alo’aloolela, literally refers to the avoider of the sun. In Samoan mythology the delaying of the sun was to allow for the impregnation of a woman.
The importance of stars to ancient Samoan creation mythology and to Samoan fishing or navigation techniques is recorded by missionary records to play a significant role. The diligent scrutiny by Samoans of the heavens every night for guidance about planting, sailing and fishing was performed for practical survival. Reading stars was also performed in such a way that showed respect both for their service to man and for their genealogical links with man. The use and reverence given to Tapuitea, the morning and evening star is an example in point. The soa or companion of Tapuitea was, as recorded by Rev. Stair, believed by ancient Samoans to be an augury that a chief is about to die. When Samoans point out: Ua pa’ū le la (literally, ‘the sun has fallen’) or ua gasetoto le masina (literally, ‘the moon has died from haemorrhaging’), both speak honorifically to the death of a chief.
In each of these cosmic occurences the indigenous Samoan culture finds that despite man’s superior intelligence as earthly specie, the mysteries of the cosmic and physical world are beyond them. This reminds man of, among other things, the need to respect the environment.
My final example of tapu in the Samoan indigenous reference is in relation to the prenatal practices of Samoan traditional mid-wives, the faatosaga.
Tapu in practices of faatosaga
The Samoan term faatosaga literally means ‘planting and growing the seed’. Faato is short for faatoto, meaning to plant and grow; saga refers to ‘the seed’. The word faatosaga speaks to and emphasises the facilitation of the process of fertilisation. It advocates a particular model for encouraging successful fertilisation where the techniques of fofo (massage) and a strict regimen of physical health and diet are prescribed. The validity of these traditional practices are evidenced by conception when the male sperm is able to successfully fertilise the female egg. The practices of the faatosaga apply only to humans.
According to faatosaga the main objective of the fofo (massage) is to place the fallopian tubes in the best possible position to the ovaries. This is to help ensure ease of passage for the male sperm. The main objective of healthy eating and exercise is to ensure that the body and mind of the potential mother is in sync. Harmony of the mind and body allows for easier (and more enjoyable) sexual activity, considered a necessary precursor to successful conception – notwithstanding, of course, age or other biological barriers.
Conception in Samoan is known as ma’itaga, which is short for ma’itagata i.e. to be ill with a new tagata (human being). The term suggests a Samoan understanding for when human life begins. The suggestion is that human life begins as soon as there is conception. From the moment the egg is fertilised and the mother experiences the symptoms of conception, a human life is said to exist. Here the foetus is recognised as a person. As a person the foetus gains a sacred essence. It becomes tapu. When the foetus is deliberately terminated a breach of tapu has occurred. Pardon must be sought for this breach.
Promotion and protection of human life is implicit in the respect that faatosaga give to the unborn child. Sex is respected as much for its potential to make life and continue genealogies as for its potential to connect two living souls. In the ideal, conception is the product of two souls coming together. The spiritual dimension of love-making is, according to one faatosaga, utmost at the moment of conception.
After conception and during pregnancy expectant mothers are known to go off sex, food and husbands. Some become anemic and subject to regular bouts of headaches and vomiting. Others develop voracious appetites, which if not regulated can lead to overeating or eating food that is harmful to both mother and child.
Usually in the fourth month of pregnancy a noticeable calm takes over which the faatosaga suggests is the time when the body of the mother and the body of the child have reached a physical, emotional and spiritual accommodation. This prepares both mother and child for the next significant phase of giving life, which is giving birth.
Throughout the process of attempting conception through to giving birth where conception is successful, the main job of the faatosaga is to steer the mother through massage and good advice towards a successful birth. The moods of depression and abnormal appetite can easily put many pregnant women out of balance, mentally, spiritually and physically. The faatosaga’s regimen of fofō and counseling is holistic. It considers paramount the need for balancing the harmonies of mind and body for the mother, ensuring that these are in balance with the growth of the unborn child. The relationship between the mother and the unborn child is sacred. Providing advice and applying massage techniques are, therefore, done with care and respect for this relationship.
In ancient Samoa once conception was established there was a ritual celebration. This was known as afuafua (literally meaning, ‘beginning’). The prayers, chants and rituals of the afuafua are today replaced by Christian prayers and special food. Today this ritual of conception is rarely performed; even the word afuafua and/or its meaning seems lost.
When thinking about the ethical debates over stem cells, I asked one faatosaga: “What about the use of the cells of a dead foetus for research?” She replied: “That is a breach of tapu”. In her opinion the body is sacred and should return to the earth. To tamper with the body of a dead foetus is to show disrespect for the sacred. Here, she suggests, that the body retains its sacred essence, its tapu quality, even upon death. The dead body returns to its Creator untampered by outside interference. It is to return to its Creator by the very route of its birth – back to the earth. This principle of respecting the origins of man’s genealogical link with the earth is implicit in ancient Samoan practices of ritually burying the placenta and umbilical cords in the earth.
When I asked the same faatosaga about whether there are any tapu on burying the placenta and umbilical cords, she replied: “[Our] cultural claim to any land or earthly inheritance is premised on a genealogical connection with the earth – this is tapu and is recognised by adherence to the ritual” [O le faavae o le mau nei, o le sootaga ma le ‘ele’ele]. The sayings, o le ‘ele’ele o lea e tanu ai lou pute (literally, ‘the land where my pute is buried’; and tama o le ‘ele’ele (literally, ‘man of the earth’) signal the ancient connection between man and earth.
The sacred aspects of these rituals is commemorated in a belief held among most faatosaga that omitting to bury the placenta and pute back to the earth can materially affect people. When asked: In what way? One faatosaga answered: “We can tell by the te’ite’ivale (meaning, highly strung and overly sensitive) or lili’a (meaning, a sense of vertigo; someone who is very emotionally and physically afraid of heights) qualities of a person”.
Regardless of the validity of these intuitive claims what the insights of the faatosaga provide are insights into our Samoan indigenous reference and the possible contours and content of a Samoan indigenous ethic of care. The faatosaga suggests that the foetus is tapu and so to abort a foetus is to breach tapu. This has significant ramifications for integrating the indigenous reference into modern day ethical debates on human abortions.
The faatosaga also suggests that a dead body, born or unborn, is upon death the entitlement of no other but God, the Creator and so should be returned to Him upon death untampered. This too has significant implications on the possibilities for doing research with dead bodies.
The perceived premise for these beliefs lies in the principles of equivalence and affinity whereby the life of man holds equivalence with the life of the cosmos, animals, plant-life and the environment. Life and death exists in a continuum of sacred relations – along the continuum of the va tapuia. The conception, birthing and funeral rituals and their underlying principles of equation and affinity among all things, animate and inanimate, are not merely theatrics or hocus pocus, they are models of what is ethical in the Samoan indigenous reference.
Where man might be considered the most evolved specie in as much as he has been endowed with a superior intelligence and spirit, he is charged by virtue of this endowment with a special responsibility to look out for the interests of the animal, the plant, the waterways and biospheres. In the Samoan indigenous reference man’s survival is dependent on a recognition and respect for the principles of equation and affinity promoted here.
To discern how tapu might describe or inform Pacific ethics is to suggest that it carries with it an ethic of care – one framed in relational terms where those relations have a sacred essence. In determining a research methodology for Pacific research that believes in the values of the indigenous reference, it is wise to take heed of Stephen Hawkings disclaimer that: “We are not angels, who view the universe from outside. Instead, we and our models are both part of the universe we are describing”.
Tofa sa’ili is a Samoan concept denoting man reaching out for wisdom, knowledge, prudence, insight, judgement, through reflection, meditation, prayer, dialogue, experiment, practice, performance and observance. Tofa means wisdom. Sa’ili, means ‘to search’.
Tofa sa’ili alludes to the idea that one is forever searching and searching for knowledge within the ethical imperatives of humility and love. In our tofa sa’ili Samoans are forever seeking to understand the human condition; our strengths and weaknesses and attempting to find balance and harmony in our decisions as protectors of the earth and of life.
Tofa sa’ili demands that researchers take cognisance of the need for balance in life; for balance between and across the harmonies of human life, cosmic life, animal life and plant-life. It demands that humans accept with humility their position as the earthy specie of superior intelligence.
The need to have humility and engage in the practices of tofa sa’ili is reflective of Karl Barth’s thesis on God sickness and Francis Thompson’s idea of God-chasing . ‘God-sickness’ and ‘God-chasing’ represent the tensions of wanting to know God on the one hand, and searching for the wonder of God, on the other.
I have spoken at more length elsewhere on this, what I want to say here is that in exercising tofa sa’ili the researcher will inevitably come across the dilemmas of God sickness and God-chasing. To want to ‘know the mind of God’ is to assert arrogance, this is “God-sickness”. To say that one chases God is to say that they are in constant search of him, of his wonder, beauty, love and compassion. In the latter case there is no presumption of knowing God (for asserting to know God is a short step away from asserting being God). The presumption is merely in wanting to chase understanding of the beauty of God’s creations.
But sometimes the humility that comes from wisdom and understanding which underpins tofa sa’ili comes at a price. In the paradoxes and ironies of human life can come the most profound insights about the human condition. Within these insights the place of the sacred or spiritual is undeniable. Within these are also the foundations of an ethics for humanity. Here the gains of the human spirit are often beyond (human) comprehension. I want to illustrate this with two stories. One is about the brother of a dear friend, who is suffering from a horrid terminal illness, who finds an insight into the fundamentals of life as a consequence of his suffering. The other is a simple story about the consequences of caring. Both tell a similar message about what ought to be the measure of what is ethical – not just for Samoan or Pacific societies, but for all.
I tell the first story using the voice of Pete himself. Pete is Australian and his story has been condensed for our purposes. He tells:
“Often the most beautiful things come in unsightly disguises. Take the rose for example, its bush a tangle of noxious thorns, yielding in spring beautiful fragrant blooms. Or the newly hatched eaglet, bald, wrinkled and utterly dependant, giving no sign of its potential power and majestic grace.
My second story comes from Aotearoa, New Zealand. It was told to me by another friend who attended a health conference in Aotearoa, where the ethics of caring was discussed in the context of change and innovation in healthcare. The story goes:
“During a recent food services sector strike in New Zealand hospitals, one hospital manager witnessed an event that had a profound effect on him. He, like other hospital workers, was forced, as a result of the strike, to buy his lunch time meal from the local café. When he went there one lunch-time in the middle of the strike period, he was in line with a number of junior registrars. When the female registrar just in front of him went to order her meal, Maureen, the lady serving her, greeted her warmly: “How are you today, madam”? The female registrar grunted in reply, not bothering to raise her head as she signed for her meal (student doctors are afforded the luxury of having all their meals paid for by the hospital during their internships).
The capacity of man to presume beyond his place as protector of life arises when man presumes the role of the Absolute. The vulnerabilities of man lie in the vulnerabilities of having choice. But choice is a gift from God. Determining how best to make or exercise that choice can make or ruin man. This is the challenge of tofa sa’ili.
In the Samoan indigenous context insight into the philosophical principles of tofa sa’ili and of how these might operate ‘on the ground’ may be found in an analysis of the decision-making powers of matai or Samoan chiefs. In the ancient Samoan indigenous reference chiefs are divided into two main classes, both of whom play different but complementary and interdependent roles. One is the role of a tulafale (orator) and the other is the role of alii (high chief).
The division of these roles is sacred and presumes divine designation. The difference in the sacred essence of these roles is noted in the difference accorded to their duties and to the naming of their wisdom. The wisdom of a tulafale is called the faautaga loloto. His wisdom seeks understanding of the ‘deep view’ – understanding the context of the here and now. The wisdom of the alii is called the tofa mamao. His wisdom seeks understanding of the ‘long view’. The naming of the sleep of these two kinds of chiefs, i.e. moe is the sleep of the orator and tofa is the sleep of the high chief, further symbolises the separateness of these roles. In some ways this separateness allows for alleviation of the burden or amo discussed earlier. The two roles must, however, work in tandem. Both roles come together to inform the decision-making powers of the collective (the fono or saofaiga a matai).
Collective decision-making is privileged in Samoan indigenous culture in recognition of the intricate and sacred ties between man and man, man and his environment, man and the cosmos, man and animal and plant life, and man and their gods. Adherence to tapu principles ensures respect for the spiritual aspects of the physical, social and mental dimensions of life, animate and inanimate, abstract and real. The tapu aspects of these relations between the spiritual, mental and physical are implicit in the privileging of the collective in practices of tofa sa’ili. Understanding the context of Pacific research and ethics requires understanding the principles of tapu and tofa sa’ili.
The lesson of Pete’s and Maureen’s stories is not that man is supreme but that man is vulnerable; that he needs his inner, spiritual, subjective strength to sustain him. One can’t measure or grasp the gains of man’s inner strength, of the human spirit, by mathematical equation. The lesson we learn here is that it is often in our pain and suffering that we come across our strengths, across the core of humility and humanity. It is in these paradoxes and ironies that we often find meaning in tofa sa’ili and in our tapu relations. Both frame the ethical in my Samoan indigenous reference.
Understanding the context of Pacific research and ethics and searching for what is ethical in the Samoan indigenous reference requires first recognising that our reference is vulnerable to human weaknesses. Recognising this is not in itself a weakness. Rather, according to Paula Gunn Allen, a native woman writer of the Pueblo tribe, it is a strength and a must. It is a must in the search for truth, or more to the point, in the search for an accommodation of truths. Indeed, in bio-ethics it is what Paula describes as ‘a dance’ – “a dance with and between power and vulnerability”. She writes:
“[In] accepting [our] fragility [as] both a power and a vulnerability…bioethics is then, in this sense, a dance with and between power and vulnerability. The academic pursuit for a sense of objective principles is only part of the truth search…it is also about choices that come from the soul of the individual and the collective…responding to Wisdom”.
Humility, respect, compassion, love and caring are each gifts of the spirit as proclaimed by the Bible. They are what ought to underpin the ethical in any book or culture. Questions of ethics in Pacific research are questions about how to search with respect within ourselves and with our spiritual and physical environments. They are questions about the dilemmas of searching without hang-ups. If bio-ethics is about the value of life and the value on life, then for Samoans and other Pacific nations who privilege the sacred, bio-ethics is about a respect for the sacred, for the va-tapuia. Bio-ethical declarations that refuse to recognise the sacred will ultimately refuse to recognise the indigenous Pacific context.
To recognise the sacred means that we must first learn the lessons of humility, of tofa sa’ili. In the Samoan indigenous reference this is founded on the lessons of understanding equation and affinity between all things, animate and inanimate, living and dead. These are difficult and complex ideas, fraught with indigenous cultural biases.
Nevertheless, what the indigenous reference can offer the world is a re-appreciation of the rightful place of the spiritual, sacred and tapu (implicit in our cultural rituals) in ethical debates. The indigenous reference also gives weight to what English physicist Stephen Hawking eventually came to understand, i.e. that “our search for understanding [our tofa sa’ili] will never come to an end” because “we will always have the challenge of new discovery”. For as J.B.S. Haldane says, “the universe may not just be queer to imagine, but queerer than we can imagine”.
Both science and religion admits that knowledge of the beginning of all things, bio-ethical or otherwise, is beyond human comprehension. What is within human comprehension is the search for truth and meaning (tofa sa’ili) and for the truthful embodiment of that in one’s everyday acts of kindness (tapu). This for me is the ethical in our Samoan indigenous reference.
Hawking, S. Brief History of Time, p174, cited in Kung, H. (2007), The Beginning of All Things: Science and Religion, (Translated by John Bowden), Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdsmans Publishing Co. p16.
For an understanding of Karl Barth’s thesis on God-sickness see Barth in McDowell, J.C. (2002). Who is this God?: The hermeneutical significance of the doctrine of the trinity for Christian theology. Retrieved October 31, 2006, from http://www.geocities.com/johnnymcdowell/ST2B_1_Trinity.htm.
The ideas promoted here were first delivered for a public address given at the Auckland University of Technology in November, 2006. See: Tui Atua, TTT. (2006, November 14). O le faaautaga i le faaluafesasi: Insight into dilemaas: Advancing Pasifika peoples in Aotearoa. Paper presented at the Office of Pasifika Advancement (OPA) Public Lecture Series, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand.
I am grateful to my friend Fr. Paul Ojibway for this quote by Paula Gunn Allen. See Allen, P.G. (1998). Off the Reservation: Reflections on Boundary-Busting, Border Crossing, Loose Canons. Boston: Beacon Press.
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Alteration of Genes in Brain Cells Shows How Mice Remember Maps
By NICHOLAS WADE
Published: December 31, 1996
THE memories of a mouse may seldom rise above the mundane but it probably creates them with much the same genetic machinery as do humans in recording their sometimes more exalted thoughts. Hence two groups of biologists are celebrating a sharp new insight gained into the mechanisms by which a mouse forms memories of new environments and keeps track of where it is.
The finding may help explain the basis of certain kinds of human memory too, since the brain region where mice create memories of places is used by humans to memorize new facts and faces.
Biologists at Columbia University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say that by altering a single gene in brain cells, they produced mutant mice that could no longer be trained to find their way around, although in all other respects the animals were normal. Their reports appear in the current issue of Cell.
The Columbia team was headed by Drs. Eric R. Kandel and Robert Muller, and the M.I.T. team was led by Drs. Susumu Tonegawa and Matthew A. Wilson. Both are heavyweight groups. Dr. Kandel is co-author of a leading textbook on the brain and Dr. Tonegawa won an unshared Nobel Prize for medicine in 1987 for a discovery about how the immune system generates its diversity.
The new finding may open the way for biologists to explore the architecture of the brain by making changes in its basic blueprint, the instructions encoded in the genes. In a commentary in Cell, Dr. Charles F. Stevens of the Salk Institute said that the goal of neurobiology was to understand memory and behavior in terms of their underlying molecular mechanisms and that with the new reports ''the dream comes closer to reality.''
Dr. Michael P. Stryker, a neurobiologist at the University of California in San Francisco, said the Cell papers were ''very important'' because the new techniques of genetic manipulation developed by the authors ''are the sorts of thing that all of us will be doing in the next few years.''
When a mouse enters new surroundings, the task of forming a mental map is assumed by a region of the brain called the hippocampus, so named by early anatomists after the Greek word for sea horse, which it somewhat resembles. The mouse hippocampus has about a million large, complex nerve cells known as place cells because of their role in recording spatial memories.
About half of the mouse'splace cells are assigned to record the new scene, and do so within minutes. The hippocampus retains the memory for at least several weeks and is then thought to transfer it to the cerebral cortex for more permanent storage. The human brain seems to work much the same way because people whose hippocampus is damaged retain previous memories of faces and places perfectly well but cannot form new ones.
The mouse's brain somehow breaks up the view before its eyes into many minuscule, overlapping fields and each field is assigned to a place cell in the hippocampus. As the mouse's head moves into one of these fields, the cell assigned to it fires off electrical impulses, detectable by a fine electrode.
The place cells' recording of the scene is nothing like a snapshot, since neighboring cells do not necessarily mark neighboring place fields. The cells seem to be assigned to fields at random, their positions relative to the scene being as jumbled as the pieces of a jigsaw dumped into a box. Another curious feature of the system is that the same place cell may be used in more than one spatial map. With this economy, the mouse can hold a large number of spatial memories in its hippocampus even though each memory uses half the cells.
Researchers can tell where a mouse is in its cage by noting which place cell is firing. Presumably the mouse too is using the same information to tell where it is, but just how the animal does this remains to be discovered.
The fact that place cells lay down lasting impressions offers an excellent opportunity to study the mechanisms of memory, and in particular the changes that take place in a nerve cell when a memory is consolidated. Biologists have identified a likely biochemical system that involves both a class of receptors on the nerve cell's surface and an interior protein called a kinase that alternates between an active and inactive state.
Drugs that interfere with the receptor also impair memory, but since they could be disrupting the brain in other ways, too, this is not conclusive proof of the receptor's role.
The two teams of biologists devised techniques for changing genes in specific regions of the brain. This precision is a considerable advance on an existing method that knocks out a given gene from an embryonic mouse's entire body and may kill it before birth. The Columbia team generated mice in which the hippocampal cell gene responsible for making the kinase protein produced an abnormal version, one in which the kinase was in a permanently active state, thus disabling an important part of the biochemical system. The M.I.T. group knocked out the receptor gene from the hippocampal cells, creating mice whose cells lacked the receptor protein entirely.
The way in which memories are thought to be engraved in the brain is by the strengthening of the connections, or synapses, that one nerve cell makes with another. With its receptor-deficient mice, the M.I.T. team was able to show that the usual strengthening of the synapses did not occur during learning, confirming the receptors' role in the process.
Although the result is not surprising, Dr. Tonegawa believes his proof serves an important purpose. ''Our imagination is so poor compared to how evolution has generated organisms that if you don't narrow down the analysis at each step you cannot advance scientific knowledge,'' he said.
Both the M.I.T. and Columbia groups found that their mutant mice were severely impaired in their ability to form memories of new environments. The mice formed place fields, but ones with abnormal properties. The M.I.T. mice created stable fields, meaning the fields were constant each time the animal was introduced into the same environment, but the cells lost the ability to fire in a coordinated way, as when the mouse moved to a spot covered by two overlapping fields. The Columbia mice's problem was that their place cells formed different fields when the animals were reintroduced to the same environment.
The two experiments are striking to biologists because they establish a far-reaching chain of causation that links molecules to cells, and cells to the outward behavior of an animal. The findings ''represent a first step in a molecular analysis of how a spatial map is constructed,'' Dr. Kandel and his co-authors wrote.
Study of the mouse's spatial memory takes biologists a step further into the brain than usual. The Columbia authors note that in addition to direct sensory information, ''the brain must represent at least two more abstract features of the world that have no receptive sheets: space and time.'' The place cells of the mouse's hippocampus appear to be the basic units of its sense of space.
A well-studied organizational feature of the brain is that of orderly sheets of cells that receive information from the eyes, ears or sense of touch. These receptive sheets are also known as maps because the cells in a visual sheet, say, are arranged in positions that correspond to those of their source cells in the retina. Unlike the receptive sheets of the cortex, the place cells are not organized in a topographic map but on the basis of an unknown principle that researchers refer to as a cognitive map.
''What is fascinating here,'' Dr. Kandel said, ''is that we are looking at a map of space. This represents the coordination of different sensory modalities. Now we are in a position to dissect this cognitive representation into its component parts.''
Dr. Tonegawa plans to follow up his work on the place fields by studying the mysterious process in which spatial memories are eventually transferred from the hippocampus to their permanent site, presumably somewhere in the cortex. He believes his method of knocking out a single gene in the hippocampus will help analyze discrete functions in other regions of the brain, like the destruction of the dopamine-producing cells that underlies Parkinson's disease.
Diagram: ''How Mice Remember Places'' The mouse records memories of new places in its hippocampus. A place is divided into small overlapping fields, each assigned to a single nerve cell, which fires when the mouse's head moves into its field. The arrangement of the place cells in the hippocampus bears no obvious spatial relation to that of the fields they monitor. (Source: Dr. Eric R. Kandel/Columbia University)(The New York Times; Illustration by Al Granberg)
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|This article contains Chinese text.
Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 culminating in the Tiananmen Square Massacre (referred to in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident, to avoid confusion with two other Tiananmen Square protests) were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in the People's Republic of China (PRC) between April 15 and June 4, 1989. They were mainly led by Beijing students and intellectuals. The protests occurred in a year that saw the collapse of a number of communist governments around the world.
The protests were sparked by the death of pro-market and pro-democracy official, Hu Yaobang, whom protesters wanted to mourn. By the eve of Hu's funeral, it had reached 100,000 people on the Tiananmen Square. While the protests lacked a unified cause or leadership, participants were generally against the government's authoritarianism and voiced calls for economic change and democratic reform within the structure of the government. The demonstrations centered on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, but large-scale protests also occurred in cities throughout China, including Shanghai, which stayed peaceful throughout the protests.
The movement lasted seven weeks from Hu's death on April 15 until tanks cleared Tiananmen Square on June 4. In Beijing, the resulting military response to the protesters by the PRC government left many civilians dead or injured. The reported tolls ranged from 200–300 (PRC government figures) and to 2000–3000 (Chinese student associations and Chinese Red Cross).
Following the violence, the government conducted widespread arrests to suppress protesters and their supporters, cracked down on other protests around China, banned the foreign press from the country and strictly controlled coverage of the events in the PRC press. Members of the Party who had publicly sympathized with the protesters were purged, with several high-ranking members placed under house arrest, such as General Secretary Zhao Ziyang. The violent suppression of the Tiananmen Square protest caused widespread international condemnation of the PRC government.
Geography - Politics - Education
In the Chinese language, the incident is most commonly known as the June Fourth Movement (Simplified Chinese: 六四运动; Traditional Chinese: 六四運動), the June Fourth Incident (Chinese: 六四事件), or colloquially, simply Six-four (June 4) (Chinese: 六四). The nomenclature of the former is consistent with the customary names of the other two great protest actions that occurred in Tiananmen Square: the May Fourth Movement of 1919, and the April Fifth Movement of 1976. Other names which have been used in the Chinese language include June Fourth Massacre (Chinese: 六四屠城; pinyin: Liù-Sì Túchéng or Chinese: 六四屠杀; pinyin: Liù-Sì Túshā). The government of the People's Republic of China has referred to the event as the Political Turmoil between Spring and Summer of 1989 (Chinese: 春夏之交的政治風波).
Since 1978, Deng Xiaoping had led a series of economic and political reforms which had led to the gradual implementation of a market economy and some political liberalization that relaxed the system inherited from Mao Zedong.
Some students and intellectuals believed that the reforms had not gone far enough and that China needed to reform its political system. They were also concerned about the social and iron-fist controls that the Communist Party of China still had. This group had also seen the political liberalization that had been undertaken in the name of glasnost by Mikhail Gorbachev, and wanted for China a comparable reform. Many workers who took part in the protests also wanted democratic reform, but opposed the new economic policies.
The Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 were in large measure sparked by the death of former Secretary General Hu Yaobang: Hu Yaobang's resignation from the position of Secretary General of the CPC had been announced on January 16, 1987. His forthright calls for "rapid reform" and his almost open contempt of "Maoist excesses" had made him a suitable scapegoat in the eyes of Deng Xiaoping and others, after the pro-democracy student protests of 1986–1987. Included in his resignation was also a "humiliating self-criticism," which he was forced to issue by the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Hu Yaobang's sudden death, due to heart attack, on April 15, 1989, provided a perfect opportunity for the students to gather once again, not only to mourn the deceased Secretary General, but also to have their voices heard in "demanding a reversal of the verdict against him" and bringing renewed attention to the important issues of the 1986–1987 pro-democracy protests and possibly also to those of the Democracy Wall protests in 1978–1979.
Small voluntary civilian gatherings started on April 15 around Monument to the People's Heroes in the middle of the Tiananmen Square in the form of mourning for Hu Yaobang.
On the same date of April 15, many students in Peking University and Tsinghua University expressed their sorrow and mourning for Hu Yaobang by posting eulogies inside the campus and erecting shrines, some students joined the civilian mourning in Tiananmen Square in a piecemeal fashion. Organized student gatherings started outside of Beijing on a small scale in Xian and Shanghai on April 16.
On the afternoon of April 17, in Beijing, 500 students from China University of Political Science and Law marched to the eastern gate of the Great Hall of the People, which is part of the Tiananmen Square, and commenced the mourning activities of Hu Yaobang. The gathering in front of the Great Hall of the People was soon deemed obstructive to the normal operation of the building, police intervened and attempted to disperse the students by persuasion, but the attempts failed. By nightfall, more students from various universities and more civilians in Beijing had joined the mourning activities. The gathering featured speakers of various background giving public speeches (mostly anonymous) commemorating Hu Yaobang, expressing their concerns of social problems.
Starting midnight on April 17, 3000 students from Peking University marched from campus towards Tiananmen Square, and soon nearly a thousand students from Tsinghua University joined the rank. Upon arrival, they soon joined force with students and civilians who were in the Tiananmen Square earlier. As its size grew, the gathering of mourning gradually evolved into a "petition" nature, as students began drafting a list of pleas and suggestions (list of seven demands) they would like the government to listen to and carry out.
In the morning of 18 April, students remained in the square, some gathered around the Monument to the People's Heroes singing patriotic songs, listening to impromptu speeches by the student organizers. There were another group of students staging a sit-in in front of the Great Hall of the People, the office of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress; they demanded to see members of the Standing Committee and offered a list of seven demands. Meanwhile, a few thousand students gathered in front of Zhongnanhai building complex, the residence of the government, demanding to see government leaders and answers to their earlier demands. Students tried to muscle their way through the gate by pushing, but securities and police locking arms formed a shield that eventually deterred students' attempts to enter through the gate. Students had to reverse course to the method of sit-in. Some government officials did unofficially meet with student representatives. Unable to see official response, there was a growing frustration among students; protest was brewing.
On April 20, police finally dispersed the students in front of the Zhongnanhai with force to ensure proper function of the building complex. Police employed batons and minor clashes were reported. The protests in Tiananmen Square gained momentum after news of the confrontation between students and police spread; the belief by students that the Chinese media was distorting the nature of their activities also led to increased support (although one national newspaper, the Science and Technology Daily (Simplified Chinese: 科技日报; Traditional Chinese: 科技日報), published, in its issue dated April 19, an account of April 18 sit-in).
On the night of April 21, the day before Hu's funeral, some 100,000 students marched on Tiananmen Square, gathering there before the square could be closed off for the funeral. On April 22nd, they requested, in vain, to meet Premier Li Peng, widely regarded to be Hu's political rival. On the same day, protests happened in Xi'an and Changsha.
From April 21 to 23, students from Beijing called for a strike at universities, which included teachers and students boycotting classes. The government, which was well aware of the political storm caused by the now-legitimized 1976 Tiananmen Incident, was alarmed. On April 26, following an internal speech made by Deng Xiaoping, the CPC's official newspaper People's Daily issued a front-page editorial titled Uphold the flag to clearly oppose any turmoil, attempting to rally the public behind the government, and accused "extremely small segments of opportunists" of plotting civil unrest. The statement enraged the students, and on April 27 about 50,000 students assembled on the streets of Beijing, disregarding the warning of a crackdown made by authorities, and demanded that the government revoke the statement.
In Beijing, a majority of students from the city's numerous colleges and universities participated with support of their instructors and other intellectuals. The students rejected official Communist Party-controlled student associations and set up their own autonomous associations. The students viewed themselves as Chinese patriots, as the heirs of the May Fourth Movement for "science and democracy" of 1919. The protests also evoked memories of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1976 which had eventually led to the ousting of the Gang of Four. From its origins as a memorial to Hu Yaobang, who was seen by the students as an advocate of democracy, the students' activity gradually developed over the course of their demonstration from protests against corruption into demands for freedom of the press and an end to, or the reform of, the rule of the PRC by the Communist Party of China and Deng Xiaoping, the de facto paramount Chinese leader. Partially successful attempts were made to reach out and network with students in other cities and with workers.
While the protests lacked a unified cause or leadership, participants were generally against the authoritarianism and voiced calls for economic liberalization and democratic reform within the structure of the government. Unlike the Tiananmen protests of 1987, which consisted mainly of students and intellectuals, the protests in 1989 commanded widespread support from the urban workers who were alarmed by growing inflation and corruption. In Beijing, they were supported by a large number of people. Similar numbers were found in major cities throughout mainland China such as Urumqi, Shanghai and Chongqing; and later in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Chinese communities in North America and Europe.
On May 4, approximately 100,000 students and workers marched in Beijing making demands for free media reform and a formal dialogue between the authorities and student-elected representatives. A declaration demanded the government to accelerate political and economic reform..
|Tiananmen Square protests of 1989|
|Literal meaning:||June Fourth Incident|
|Alternative Chinese name|
|Literal meaning:||Tiananmen Incident|
The government rejected the proposed dialogue, only agreeing to talk to members of appointed student organizations. On May 13, two days prior to the highly-publicized state visit by the reform-minded Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, huge groups of students occupied Tiananmen Square and started a hunger strike, insisting the government withdraw the accusation made in the People's Daily editorial and begin talks with the designated student representatives. Hundreds of students went on hunger strikes and were supported by hundreds of thousands of protesting students and part of the population of Beijing, for one week.
Protests and strikes began at colleges in other cities, with many students traveling to Beijing to join the demonstration. Generally, the demonstration at Tiananmen Square was well-ordered, with daily marches of students from various Beijing area colleges displaying their solidarity with the boycott of college classes and with the developing demands of the protest. The students sang "The Internationale," the world socialist anthem, on their way to and within the square. The students even showed a surprising gesture of respect to the government by helping police arrest three men from Hunan Province, including Yu Dongyue, who had thrown ink on the large portrait of Mao that hangs from Tiananmen, just north of the square.
The students ultimately decided that in order to sustain their movement and impede any loss of momentum a hunger strike would need to be enacted. The students' decision to undertake the hunger strike was a defining moment in their movement. The hunger strike began in May 1989 and grew to include "more than one thousand persons." The hunger strike brought widespread support for the students and "the ordinary people of Beijing rallied to protect the hunger strikers…because the act of refusing sustenance and courting government reprisals convinced onlookers that the students were not just seeking personal gains but (were) sacrificing themselves for the Chinese people as a whole."
On May 19 at 4:50 A.M., General Secretary Zhao Ziyang (Simplified Chinese: 赵紫阳; Traditional Chinese: 趙紫陽) went to the Square and made a speech urging the students to end the hunger strike. Part of his speech was to become a famous quote, when he said, referring to the older generation of people in China, "We are already old, it doesn't matter to us any more." In contrast, the students were young and he urged them to stay healthy and not to sacrifice themselves so easily. Zhao's visit to the Square was his last public appearance.
Partially successful attempts were made to negotiate with the PRC government, who were located nearby in Zhongnanhai, the Communist Party headquarters and leadership compound. Because of the visit of Mikhail Gorbachev, foreign media were present in mainland China in large numbers. Their coverage of the protests was extensive and generally favorable towards the protesters, but pessimistic that they would attain their goals. Toward the end of the demonstration, on May 30, a statue of the Goddess of Democracy was erected in the Square and came to symbolize the protest to television viewers worldwide.
The Standing Committee of the Politburo, along with the party elders (retired but still-influential former officials of the government and Party), were, at first, hopeful that the demonstrations would be short-lived or that cosmetic reforms and investigations would satisfy the protesters. They wished to avoid violence if possible, and relied at first on their far-reaching Party apparatus in attempts to persuade the students to abandon the protest and return to their studies. One barrier to effective action was that the leadership itself supported many of the demands of the students, especially the concern with corruption. However, one large problem was that the protests contained many people with varying agendas, and hence it was unclear with whom the government could negotiate, and what the demands of the protesters were. The confusion and indecision among the protesters was also mirrored by confusion and indecision within the government. The official media mirrored this indecision as headlines in the People's Daily alternated between sympathy with the demonstrators and denouncing them.
Among the top leadership, General Secretary Zhao Ziyang was strongly in favor of a soft approach to the demonstrations while Li Peng was seen to argue in favor of a crackdown. Ultimately, the decision to forcefully intervene on the demonstrations was made by a group of Party elders who saw abandonment of single-party rule as a return of the chaos of the Cultural Revolution. Although most of these people had no official position, they were able to control the military. Deng Xiaoping was chairman of the Central Military Commission and was able to declare martial law; Yang Shangkun (Simplified Chinese: 杨尚昆) was President of the People's Republic of China, which, although a symbolic position under the 1982 Constitution, was legally the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The Party elders believed that lengthy demonstrations were a threat to the stability of the country. The demonstrators were seen as tools of advocates of "bourgeois liberalism" who were pulling the strings behind the scenes, as well as tools of elements within the party who wished to further their personal ambitions.
At the beginning of the movement, the Chinese news media had a rare opportunity to broadcast the news freely and truly. Most of the news media were free to write and report whatever they wanted due to lack of control from the central and local governments. The news spread quickly across the land. According to Chinese news media's report, students and workers in over 400 cities, including cities in Inner Mongolia, also organized and started to protest. People also traveled to the capital to join the protest in the Square.
University students in Shanghai also took to the streets to commemorate the death of Hu Yaobang and protest against certain policies of the government. In many cases, these were supported by the universities' Party committees. Jiang Zemin (Simplified Chinese: 江泽民; Traditional Chinese: 江澤民), then-Municipal Party Secretary, addressed the student protesters in a bandage and expressed his understanding, as he was a former student agitator before 1949. At the same time, he moved swiftly to send in police forces to control the streets and to purge Communist Party leaders who had supported the students.
On April 19, the editors of the World Economic Herald, a magazine close to reformists, decided to publish, in their April 24, #439 issue, a commemorative section on Hu. Inside was an article by Yan Jiaqi, which commented favorably on the Beijing student protests on April 18 and called for a reassessment of Hu's purge in 1987. On April 21, a party official of Shanghai asked the editor in chief, Qin Benli, to change some passages. Qin Benli refused, so Chen turned to Jiang Zemin, who demanded that the article be censored. By that time, a first batch of copies of the paper had already been delivered. The remaining copies were published with a blank page. On April 26, the People's Daily published its editorial condemning the student protest. Jiang followed this cue and suspended Qin Benli. His quick rise to power following the 1989 protests has been attributed to his decisive handling of these two events.
In Hong Kong, on May 27, 1989, over 300,000 people gathered at Happy Valley Racecourse for a gathering called "Democratic songs dedicated for China." Many famous Hong Kong and Taiwanese celebrities sang songs and expressed their support for the students in Beijing. The following day, a procession of 1.5 million people, one fourth of Hong Kong's population, led by Martin Lee, Szeto Wah and other organization leaders, paraded through Hong Kong Island.
Across the world, especially where Chinese lived, people gathered and protested. Many governments, such as those of the USA, Japan, etc., also issued warnings advising their own citizens not to go to the PRC.
Although the government declared martial law on the 20th of May, the military's entry into Beijing was blocked by throngs of protesters, and the army was eventually ordered to withdraw. Meanwhile, the demonstrations continued. The hunger strike was approaching the end of the third week, and the government resolved to end the matter before deaths occurred. After deliberation among Communist party leaders, the use of military force to resolve the crisis was ordered, and a deep divide in the Politburo resulted. General Secretary Zhao Ziyang was ousted from political leadership as a result of his support for the demonstrators. The military also lacked unity on the issue, and purportedly did not indicate immediate support for a crackdown, leaving the central leadership scrambling to search for individual divisions willing to comply with their orders.
Soldiers and tanks from the 27th and 28th Armies of the People's Liberation Army were sent to take control of the city. The 27th Army was led by a commander related to Yang Shangkun. In a press conference, US President George H. W. Bush announced sanctions on the People's Republic of China, following calls to action from members of Congress such as US Senator Jesse Helms. The President suggested intelligence he had received indicated some disunity in China's military ranks, and even the possibility of clashes within the military during those days. Intelligence reports also indicated that 27th and 28th units were brought in from outside provinces because the local PLA were considered to be sympathetic to the protest and to the people of the city. Reporters described elements of the 27th as having been most responsible for civilian deaths. After their attack on the square, the 27th reportedly established defensive positions in Beijing–not of the sort designed to counter a civilian uprising, but as if to defend against attacks by other military units. Entry of the troops into the city was actively opposed by many citizens of Beijing. Protesters burned public buses and used them as roadblocks to stop the military's progress. The battle continued on the streets surrounding the Square, with protesters repeatedly advancing toward the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and constructing barricades with vehicles, while the PLA attempted to clear the streets using tear gas, rifles, and tanks. Many injured citizens were saved by rickshaw drivers who ventured into the no-man's-land between the soldiers and crowds and carried the wounded off to hospitals. After the attack on the square, live television coverage showed many people wearing black armbands in protest of the government's action, crowding various boulevards or congregating by burnt out and smoking barricades. Meanwhile, the PLA systematically established checkpoints around the city, chasing after protesters and blocking off the university district.
Within the Square itself, there was a debate between those who wished to withdraw peacefully, including Han Dongfang, and those who wished to stand within the square, such as Chai Ling.
The assault on the square began at 10:30 P.M. on June 3, as armored personnel carriers (APCs) and armed troops with fixed bayonets approached from various positions. These APCs rolled on up the roads, firing ahead and off to the sides, perhaps killing or wounding their own soldiers in the process. BBC reporter Kate Adie spoke of "indiscriminate fire" within the square. Eyewitness reporter Charlie Cole also saw Chinese soldiers firing AK-47s into the crowd, killing and wounding many that night. Students who sought refuge in buses were pulled out by groups of soldiers and beaten with heavy sticks. Even students attempting to leave the square were beset by soldiers and beaten. Leaders of the protest inside the square, where some had attempted to erect flimsy barricades ahead of the APCs, were said to have "implored" the students not to use weapons (such as molotov cocktails) against the oncoming soldiers. Meanwhile, many students apparently were shouting, "Why are you killing us?" Around four or five the following morning, June 4, Charlie Cole reports to have seen tanks smashing into the Square, crushing vehicles and people with their tank treads. By 5:40 A.M. June 4, the Square had been cleared.
The suppression of the protest was immortalized in Western media by the famous video footage and photographs of a lone man in a white shirt standing in front of a column of tanks which were attempting to drive out of Tiananmen Square. Taken on June 5 as the column approached an intersection on the Avenue of Eternal Peace, the footage depicted the unarmed man standing in the center of the street, halting the tanks' progress. As the tank driver attempted to go around him, the "Tank Man" moved into the tank's path. He continued to stand defiantly in front of the tanks for some time, then climbed up onto the turret of the lead tank to speak to the soldiers inside. He reportedly said, "Why are you here? You have caused nothing but misery." After returning to his position blocking the tanks, the man was pulled aside by secret police. Eyewitness reporter Charlie Cole believes that "Tank Man" was probably executed after being taken from the tank by secret police, since the Chinese government could not ever produce him to hush the outcry from many countries. TIME Magazine dubbed him The Unknown Rebel and later named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. British tabloid the Sunday Express reported that the man was 19-year-old student Wang Weilin; however, the veracity of this claim is dubious. What happened to the 'Tank Man' following the demonstration is not known for certain. In a speech to the President's Club in 1999, Bruce Herschensohn—former deputy special assistant to President Richard Nixon—reported that he was executed 14 days later. In Red China Blues: My Long March from Mao to Now, Jan Wong writes that the man is still alive and hiding in mainland China. In Forbidden City, Canadian children's author William Bell, claims the man was named Wang Ai-min and was killed on June 9 after being taken into custody. The last official statement from the PRC government about the "Tank Man" came from Jiang Zemin in a 1990 interview with Barbara Walters. When asked about the whereabouts of the "Tank Man," Jiang responded that the young man was "I think never killed."
After the crackdown in Beijing on June 4, protests continued in much of mainland China for several days. There were large protests in Hong Kong, where people again wore black in protest. There were protests in Guangzhou, and large-scale protests in Shanghai with a general strike. There were also protests in other countries, many adopting the use of black arm bands as well. However, the government soon regained control. Although no large-scale loss of life was reported in ending the protests in other cities, a political purge followed in which officials responsible for organizing or condoning the protests were removed, and protest leaders jailed.
The number of dead and wounded remains unclear because of the large discrepancies between the different estimates. According to initial reports from the Chinese Red Cross, there were 2600 casualties. Following pressure from the Chinese government this number was soon revoked. The Chinese government released a casualty count of 241, but did not release a list of the deceased.
According to Nicholas D. Kristof "The true number of deaths will probably never be known, and it is possible that thousands of people were killed without leaving evidence behind. But based on the evidence that is now available, it seems plausible that about a dozen soldiers and policemen were killed, along with 400 to 800 civilians." One reason the number may never be known is suspicion that Chinese troops may have quickly removed and disposed of bodies.
The Chinese government has maintained that there were no deaths within the square itself, although videos taken there at the time recorded the sound of gunshots. Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and State Council claimed that "hundreds of PLA soldiers died and more were injured." Yuan Mu, the spokesman of the State Council, said that a total hundreds of thousands of people died, most of them soldiers, along with a number of people he described as "ruffians." According to Chen Xitong, Beijing mayor, 200 civilians and several dozen soldiers died. Other sources stated that 3,000 civilians and 6,000 soldiers were injured. In May 2007, CPPCC member from Hong Kong, Chang Ka-mun said 300 to 600 people were killed in Tiananmen Square. He echoed that "there were armed thugs who weren't students."
However, foreign journalists who witnessed the incident have claimed that at least 3,000 people died. Some lists of casualties were created from underground sources with numbers as high as 5,000.
Ambassador James Lilley's account of the massacre notes that State Department diplomats witnessed Chinese troops opening fire on unarmed people and based on visits to hospitals around Beijing a minimum of hundreds had been killed.
A strict focus on the number of deaths within Tiananmen Square itself does not give an accurate picture of the carnage and overall death count since Chinese civilians were fired on in the streets surrounding Tiananmen Square. And students are reported to have been fired on after they left the Square, especially in the area near the Beijing concert hall.
Statistics and estimates generated from different groups of sources would indicate:
According to the Chinese government, the "official figure is 241 dead, including soldiers, and 7,000 wounded".
A declassified NSA document indicated early casualty estimates of 180-500.
During and after the demonstration, the authorities attempted to arrest and prosecute the student leaders of the Chinese democracy movement, notably Wang Dan, Chai Ling, Zhao Changqing and Wuer Kaixi. Wang Dan was arrested, convicted, and sent to prison, then allowed to emigrate to the United States on the grounds of medical parole. As a lesser figure in the demonstrations, Zhao was released after six months in prison. However, he was once again incarcerated for continuing to petition for political reform in China. Wuer Kaixi escaped to Taiwan. Chai Ling escaped to France, and then to the United States. In a public speech given at the University of Michigan, Wang Dan commented on the current status of former student leaders: Chai Ling started a hi-tech company in the U.S. and was permitted to come back to China and do business, while Li Lu became an investment banker in Wall Street and started a company. As for himself, Wang Dan said his plan was to find an academic job in the U.S. after receiving his Ph.D. from Harvard University, although he was eager to return to China if permitted.
Smaller protest actions continued in other cities for a few days. Some university staff and students who had witnessed the killings in Beijing organized or spurred commemorative events upon their return to school. At Shanghai's prestigious Jiazotong University, for example, the party secretary organized a public commemoration event, with engineering students producing a large, metal wreath. However, these were quickly put down; those responsible were purged.
Chinese authorities summarily tried and executed many of the workers they arrested in Beijing. In contrast, the students—many of whom came from relatively affluent backgrounds and were well-connected—received much lighter sentences. Wang Dan, the student leader who topped the "most-wanted" list, spent seven years in prison. Many of the students and university staff implicated were permanently politically stigmatized, some never to be employed again.
The Party leadership expelled Zhao Ziyang from the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (PSC), because he opposed martial law, and Zhao remained under house arrest until his death. Hu Qili, the other member of the PSC who opposed the martial law but abstained from voting, was also removed from the committee. He was, however, able to retain his party membership, and after "changing his opinion," was reassigned as deputy minister of Machine-Building and Electronics Industry. Another reform minded Chinese leader, Wan Li, was also put under house arrest immediately after he stepped out of an airplane at Beijing Capital International Airport upon returning from his shortened trip abroad; The official excuse given was "health reasons." When Wan Li was released from his house arrest after finally "changing his opinion" he was transferred, like Qiao Shi, to a different position with equal rank but with a largely ceremonial role.
The event elevated Jiang Zemin—then Mayor of Shanghai—to become the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China. Jiang's decisive actions in Shanghai, in closing down reform-leaning publications and preventing deadly violence, won him support from party elders in Beijing. Members of the government prepared a white paper explaining the government's viewpoint on the protests. An anonymous source within the PRC government smuggled the document out of China, and Public Affairs published it in January 2001 as the Tiananmen Papers. The papers include a quote by Communist Party elder Wang Zhen which alludes to the government's response to the demonstrations.
State media mostly gave reports sympathetic to the students in the immediate aftermath. As a result, those responsible were all later removed. Two news anchors who reported this event on June 4 in the daily 1900 hours (7:00 P.M.) news report on China Central Television were fired because they showed their sympathy for those slain. Wu Xiaoyong, the son of a Communist Party of China Central Committee member, and former PRC foreign minister and vice premier Wu Xueqian were removed from the English Program Department of Chinese Radio International. Editors and other staff at the People's Daily (the newspaper of the Communist Party of China), including its director Qian Liren and Editor-in-Chief Tan Wenrui, were also removed from their posts because of reports in the paper which were sympathetic towards the students. Several editors were arrested, with Wu Xuecan, who organized the publication of an unauthorized Extra edition, sentenced to four years' imprisonment.
Rob Gifford, a National Public Radio journalist, said that much of the political freedoms and debate that occurred post-Mao and pre-Tiananmen ended after Tiananmen. For instance, some of the authors of the film River Elegy (He Shang) were arrested, and some of the authors fled Mainland China. Gifford concluded that "China the concept, China the empire, China the construct of two thousand years of imperial thinking" has forbidden and may always forbid "independent thinking" as that would lead to the questioning of China's political system. Gifford added that people under the age of 37 as of 2007 had "near-complete depoliticization" while older intellectuals no longer focus on political change and instead focus on economic reform.
The Tiananmen Square protests damaged the reputation of the PRC in the West. Western media had been invited to cover the visit of Mikhail Gorbachev in May, and were thus in an excellent position to cover some of the government crackdown live through networks such as the BBC and CNN. Protestors seized this opportunity, creating signs and banners designed for international television audiences. Coverage was further facilitated by the sharp conflicts within the Chinese government about how to handle the protests. Thus, broadcasting was not immediately stopped.
All international networks were eventually ordered to terminate broadcasts from the city during the crackdown, with the government shutting down the satellite transmissions. Broadcasters attempted to defy these orders by reporting via telephone. Footage was quickly smuggled out of the country, including the image of "the unknown rebel." The only network which was able to record some images during the night was TVE.
CBS news correspondent Richard Roth (b. 1949) and his cameraman were imprisoned during the crackdown. Roth was taken into custody while in the midst of filing a report from the Square via mobile phone. In a frantic voice, he could be heard repeatedly yelling what sounded like "Oh, no! Oh, no!" before the phone was disconnected. He was later released, suffering a slight injury to his face in a scuffle with Chinese authorities attempting to confiscate his phone. Roth later explained he had actually been saying, "Let go!"
Images of the protests—along with the collapse of Communism that was occurring at the same time in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe—would strongly shape Western views and policy toward the PRC throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century. There was considerable sympathy for the student protests among Chinese students in the West. Almost immediately, both the United States and the European Economic Community announced an arms embargo, and China's image as a reforming country and a valuable ally against the Soviet Union was replaced by that of a repressive authoritarian regime. The Tiananmen protests were frequently invoked to argue against trade liberalization with mainland China and by the United States' Blue Team as evidence that the PRC government was an aggressive threat to world peace and US interests.
Among overseas Chinese students, the Tiananmen Square protests triggered the formation of Internet news services such as the China News Digest and the NGO China Support Network. In the aftermath of Tiananmen, organizations such as the China Alliance for Democracy and the Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars were formed, although these organizations would have limited political impact beyond the mid-1990s.
The Tiananmen square protests dampened the growing concept of political liberalization in communist countries that was popular in the late 1980s; as a result, many democratic reforms that were proposed during the 1980s were swept under the carpet. Although there has been an increase in personal freedom since then, discussions on structural changes to the PRC government and the role of the Communist Party of China remain largely taboo.
Despite early expectations in the West that PRC government would soon collapse and be replaced by the Chinese democracy movement, by the early twenty-first century the Communist Party of China remained in firm control of the People's Republic of China, and the student movement which started at Tiananmen was in complete disarray.
In Hong Kong, the Tiananmen square protests led to fears that the PRC would not honor its commitments under one country, two systems in the impending handover in 1997. One consequence of this was that the new governor Chris Patten attempted to expand the franchise for the Legislative Council of Hong Kong which led to friction with the PRC. There have been large candlelight vigils attended by tens of thousands in Hong Kong every year since 1989 and these vigils have continued following the transfer of power to the PRC in 1997.
The protests also marked a shift in the political conventions which governed politics in the People's Republic. Prior to the protests, under the 1982 Constitution, the President was a largely symbolic role. By convention, power was distributed between the positions of President, Premier, and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, all of whom were intended to be different people, in order to prevent the excesses of Mao-style dictatorship. However, after Yang Shangkun used his reserve powers as head of state to mobilize the military, the Presidency again became a position imbued with real power. Subsequently, the President became the same person as the General Secretary of the CPC, and wielded paramount power.
In 1989, neither the Chinese military nor the Beijing police had adequate anti-riot gear, such as rubber bullets and tear gas commonly used in Western nations to break up riots. After the Tiananmen Square protests, riot police in Chinese cities were equipped with non-lethal equipment for riot control.
In the immediate aftermath of the protests, some within the Communist Party attempted to curtail free market reforms that had been undertaken as part of Chinese economic reform and reinstitute administrative economic controls. However, these efforts met with stiff resistance from provincial governors and broke down completely in the early 1990s as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union and Deng Xiaoping's trip to the south. The continuance of economic reform led to economic growth in the 1990s, which allowed the government to regain much of the support that it had lost in 1989. In addition, none of the current PRC leadership played any active role in the decision to move against the demonstrators, and one major leadership figure Premier Wen Jiabao was an aide to Zhao Ziyang and accompanied him to meet the demonstrators. Today there are economic "sectors" in which business can thrive and this has opened up economic freedom and access to goods.
The protest leaders at Tiananmen were unable to produce a coherent movement or ideology that would last past the mid-1990s. Many of the student leaders came from relatively well-off sectors of society and were seen as out of touch with common people. A number of them were socialists. Many of the organizations which were started in the aftermath of Tiananmen soon fell apart due to personal infighting. Several overseas democracy activists were supportive of limiting trade with mainland China which significantly decreased their popularity both within China and among the overseas Chinese community. A number of NGOs based in the U.S., which aim to bring democratic reform to China and relentlessly protest human rights violations that occur in China, remain. One of the oldest and most prominent of them, the China Support Network (CSN), was founded in 1989 by a group of concerned Americans and Chinese activists in response to Tiananmen Square.
Following the protests, officials banned controversial films, books and shut down a large number of newspapers. Within one year, 12 percent of all newspapers, 7.6 percent of publishing companies, 13 percent of social science periodicals and more than 150 films were banned or shut down. In addition to this, the government also announced it had seized 32 million contraband books and 2.4 million video and audio cassettes.
Due to strong Chinese government censorship including Internet censorship, the news media is forbidden to report anything related to the protests. Websites related to the protest are blocked on the mainland. A search for Tiananmen Square protest information on the Internet in Mainland China largely returns no results apart from the government-mandated version of the events and the official view, which are mostly found on Websites of People's Daily and other heavily-controlled media.
In January 2006, Google agreed to censor their mainland China site, Google.cn, to remove information about the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, as well as other topics such as Tibetan independence, the banned spiritual practice Falun Gong and the political status of Taiwan. When people search for those censored topics, it will list the following at the bottom of the page in Chinese, "According to the local laws, regulations and policies, part of the searching result is not shown." The uncensored Wikipedia articles on the 1989 protests, both in English and Chinese Wikipedia, have been attributed as a cause of the blocking of Wikipedia by the government in mainland China. The ban of Wikipedia in mainland China was lifted recently, but the link to this incident in Chinese Wikipedia remained dead.
In 2006, the American PBS program "Frontline" broadcast a segment filmed at Peking University, many of whose students participated in the 1989 protests. Four students were shown a picture of the Tank Man, but none of them could identify what was happening in the photo. Some responded that it was a military parade, or an artwork.
Although the Chinese government never officially acknowledged wrongdoing when it came to the incident, in April 2006 a payment was made to the family of one of the victims, the first publicized case of the government offering redress to a Tiananmen-related victim's family. The payment was termed a "hardship assistance," given to Tang Deying (唐德英) whose son, Zhou Guocong (Simplified Chinese: 周国聪; Traditional Chinese: 周國聰) died at the age of 15 while in police custody in Chengdu on June 6, 1989, two days after the Chinese Army dispersed the Tiananmen protestors. The woman was reportedly paid 70,000 yuan (approximately $10,250 USD). This has been welcomed by various Chinese activists, but was regarded by some as a measure to maintain social stability and not believed to herald a changing of the Party's official position.
On November 21, 2008, the U.N. Committee against Torture urged China to apologize for the incident, release dissidents still held, and conduct an investigation of the events surrounding the protest.
All links retrieved December 8, 2015.
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The Palms-Southern Pacific Railroad Depot
Heritage Square, 3800 Homer Street – map
Have you been to Heritage Square Museum?
Heritage Square Museum isn’t a museum like you’d think. It’s really a collection of Victorian buildings – a railroad depot, a church, a carriage barn, and a couple of homes (and one boxcar) – moved to the ten-acre site starting in 1969 as each was threatened with demolition. You may’ve seen Heritage Square as you’ve driven by it on the Pasadena Freeway just northeast of downtown. There are seven Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments on the property. The first on the declaration list is No. 22, the Palms-Southern Pacific Railroad Depot.
Known informally as “The Grasshopper Stop” when it was built by the Southern-Pacific in 1886, the Eastlake-style depot was soon renamed “the Palms” and served as a stop between the city of Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean. According to an on-site docent, it was put up at a time when the Palms area consisted of just four homes.
It served as a fairly popular stop in the 1930s and 40s what with MGM being in Culver City and all, but the depot was pretty much abandoned when the Red Car line shut down in 1953. The Boy Scouts used the building throughout the 1960s and even for a year after Globe Department Stores bought the building in 1971. It was then vacant, then condemned, sitting alone behind a furniture store on National Boulevard off Vinton Avenue. The Cultural Heritage foundation took possession of the old depot in February, 1976, for $1. It was moved to Heritage Square later that year and is now fully restored.
The Depot is the first building you hit when you walk in Heritage Square. It serves as the park’s visitor’s center and store.
The shot below is from early 1976, with the depot in its original Palms site. The balancer is Disney animator and rail aficionado Ward Kimball, who was then a member of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society.
Photo by Bruce Cox, from the UCLA Library Digital Collections website.
As with all of the buildings in Heritage Square Museum, inside photography is forbidden. I’m not sure why that’s the case with all of these buildings, and I’m not sure if the folks at Heritage Square know, either. I’d think you’d want as many photos as possible drawing attention to all the restoration work needed on a few of the buildings’ interiors. In any event, I got one shot of the inside of the Palms Depot.
Hey! The Palms Depot was used in a few films, including a couple of Hal Roach comedies. The inside of the depot, the visitor’s center, had a few great framed pictures of Laurel and Hardy sitting outside the building in the 1929 short “Berth Marks”. If any of you Sons of the Desert members out there have copies of the stills, send ‘em in. Here’s one tiny one I found at the boys’ official website.
Gerald Faris. “Wanted: ‘Angel’ to Save Old, Broken Down Railroad Station” Los Angeles Times; December 12, 1974, p. WS18
Steve Harvey. “End of the Line? Not for the ‘Grasshopper Stop’” Los Angeles Times; February 5, 1976, p. C1
Up next: Mission San Fernando Rey de España
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Please to help me by explaining the content and the message in "The Metamorphosis".
If I have to write an analyse essay about this story, how should I begin it? It is really a hard story to understand.
1 Answer | Add Yours
"The Metamorphosis" is a story about Gregor Samsa. The reader begins the story as Gregor awakens from terrible dreams. As soon as he awakens he realizes that he has changed. We soon learn that he has been changed into a horrible insect. The story continues with Gregor's frustrations and challenges to live his life as an insect and a prisoner, after having been the sole supporter of his whole family. The story deals with how his family treats him after this terrible metamorphosis. They shun him, they lock him in his room, they take away all of his furniture, the food is trial and error. At one point his father tries to injure him by throwing apples at him when he fails to step on him. The cook keeps her door locked and finally quits. The new "charwoman" likes to look at him and "opens his door daily to peek in on him. She even says, 'Look at the great Dungbeetle."
Gregor's father is totally unsympathetic, his mother is sad and ill over the experience, yet as mothers will, she still protects him. At first his sister tries her best to make him comfortable but eventually even she tries to rid the house of him. In the end the self-sacrificing Gregor simply dies.
The themes of Kafka's story are varied. One theme is to escape the responsibilities of life. Gregor first feels that by being changed he no longer has to go to a job he hates and work for people he fears. The problems between a father and son are also developed by Kafka, maybe because he had problems with his own father throughout his life.
Another theme seems to be prejudice. This young man, the provider for the family and a dependable worker, son and brother one day, becomes an outcast the next. Kafka, a Jew, was aware of the struggle of his people. Much like the Jewish people during the Holocaust, Gregor was respected one day and the next he was isolated and imprisoned for what he was. The story appears to be a metaphor for the treatment of the Jews by the Germans during WWII. '
Finally one of the most important themes is the betrayal of Gregor's sister. The only person who tries to care for him in the beginning completly turns on him at the end of the story. After Gregor's death, "Grete blooms into a beautiful woman."
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Effective teaching begins with effective course design, which takes advantage of the growing body of research about how people learn. For a thorough treatment of the course design process, go to the Cutting Edge pages on Designing Effective and Innovative Courses, which include a Course Design Tutorial and a Course Goals and Syllabi database. NOTE: Each of these links opens in a new window, because they take you off of the Cutting Edge "Early Career" Teaching pages, to the Cutting Edge "Course Design" pages.
Additional Course Design Resources
- Integrating Research into Courses is a wonderful overview of why and how you can integrate aspects of original research into courses at any level, and includes an extensive list of references as well.
- Some Students Will... is a post on the Earth and Mind blog that focuses on writing learning objectives.
- Articles from the Tomorrow's Professor Mailing List:
- Designing Courses briefly describes learning-centered course design, in which the teacher designing the course first identifies the learning goals of the course, and then "works backwards:" figuring out how best to help students achieve these goals.
- Science Education for Everyone: Why and What? addresses the question of what general science education every student ought to have – particularly those who will never become scientists.
- Building Cognitive Assemblies: An Exercise in Course Design is a model for course design based on the premise, "You are not done preparing a course when you can't fit any more material into it, you are done when you can't take any more material out of it."
- Supporting Student Success Through Scaffolding describes and gives examples of five scaffolding strategies to help novice learners. Novice learners, like construction workers, need structures of temporary support during their efforts to build something new; once the initial phase of construction is in place, the scaffolds can be withdrawn.
- Eleven Things You Could Start Doing Today for the Benefit of Your Students' Writing describes a list of simple practices that can transform the ways you assign, discuss, and comment on student work.
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Drought Survival Kit
Think the Texas drought is over? Maybe not… History shows that drought is part of Texas’ normal water cycle. Don’t let the recent rains and full reservoirs lull us into complacency! Wise water conservation habits help people and wildlife in times of plenty and in drought!
We've developed this Drought Survival Kit as your online resource.
Fix faucet leaks, which can waste up to 3,000 gallons of water a year. Get more tips at www.takecareoftexas.org.
Water only when plants look like they need it. Most plants die from over-watering, not under-watering. Get more tips at www.texaswatersmart.com.
Some other resources you might find handy
- Information on current burn bans, wildfires and more from the Texas Forest Service
- Find your area’s water source and get water conservation tips from the Texas Water Development Board
- Current stream flow conditions from the U.S. Geological Survey
- Current reservoir levels from the Texas Water Development Board
Find everything you need to start the conversation in your community or organization. It is simple to host a State of Water video screening! Our Screening Toolkit provides all the instructions and some of the necessary items to make your video screening a success.
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The California Geological Survey's first new fault map in 16 years features more than 50 new faults in the Golden State.
The map, which had not been updated since 1994, was unveiled this week at The Tech Museum in San Jose. The Geological Survey also presented an updated version of a second map that identifies the makeup of rock and soil.
USGS scientists say they hope they will improve two things immediately: construction and quake readiness. State geologist John Parrish said the maps can help guide decisions about where to build schools and hospitals and where construction standards need to be higher.
"I don't think we do enough to educate the general public about these features. We turn it into something for the specialists, as if science is only for scientist. But if you're going to buy a house, would you like to know what fault is under your house?" Jones said.
The 50 additional surface fault lines include some very large ones that could lead to major earthquakes.
The seismic map is the fourth to be released by the state. The release is part of the 150th anniversary celebration of the USGS.
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California Beetle Project > Species Pages > Brachinus mexicanus/pallidus
Scientific name: Brachinus mexicanus/pallidus
Images (click to enlarge)
B. mexicanus B. pallidus
The two species B. mexicanus and B. pallidus are very difficult to distinguish by only looking at external characteristics, so they are described together here.
What they looks like: 7-9 mm in length. 3.0-4.6 mm in width. Wing-covers blue with highly defined ridges and with dense hair only between the outer few ridges and on the posterior end. Head, pronotum (dorsal part of the thorax), and abdominal segments brown to reddish brown.
Where you'll find them: Throughout the southwestern United States and Mexico, and sporadically in dry floodplains in the northwestern and midwestern United States.
Natural History: These are the most well known species of the genus Brachinus. They are parasites of hydrophilid water beetles and other streamside pupae. The first larval stage finds a pupa and eats its insides. Then it makes its home in the shell of the pupa and pupates there.
Many details of the life of these beetles regarding their lifestyles are unverified or unknown, but they are assumed to be a nocturnal generalist predators and scavengers. They are usually found in rocky, streamside areas. These places include weathering, layered sandstone and varied, jagged areas, such as on the undersides of rocks. Also found on slopes or moist areas where conditions are highly varied. With the ability to thrive in places other organisms have a hard time getting to, populations of these species tend to be denser than those of others.
This page was written by David Honsberger, a 2005 participant in the Quasars to Sea Stars teen program.
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They seem to have written and ciphered as much or as little as they chose, at what time they chose, and in what manner.
In some schools there were classes in arithmetic and regular instruction in writing, and one class in grammar; but such schools, forty years ago, were rare.
The exercises of the morning were concluded with a general spell
, the teacher giving out the words from a spelling-book, and the pupils spelling them at the top of their voices.
At noon the school was dismissed; at one it was summoned again, to go through, for the next three hours, precisely the same routine as that of the morning.
In this rude way the last generation of children learned to read, write, and cipher.
But they learned something more in those rude school-houses.
They learned obedience.
They were tamed and disciplined.
The means employed were extremely unscientific, but the thing was done
! The means, in fact, were merely a ruler, and what was called, in contradistinction to that milder weapon, ‘the heavy gad;’ by which expression was designated five feet of elastic sapling of one year's growth.
These two implements were plied vigorously and often.
Girls got their full share of them.
Girls old enough to be wives were no more exempt than the young men old enough to marry them, who sat on the other side of the schoolroom.
It was thought, that if a youth of either sex was not too old to do wrong, neither he nor she was too old to suffer the consequences.
In some districts, a teacher was valued in proportion to his severity; and if he were backward in applying the ferule and the ‘gad,’ the parents soon began to be uneasy.
They thought he had no energy, and inferred that the children could not be learning much.
In the district schools, then, of forty years ago, all the pupils learned to read and to obey; most of them learned to write; many acquired a competent knowledge of figures; a few learned the rudiments of grammar; and if any learned more than these, it was generally due to their unassisted and unencouraged exertions.
There were no school-libraries at that time.
The teachers usually possessed little general information, and the little they did possess was not often made to contribute to the mental nourishment of their pupils.
On one of the first benches of the Londonderry school
house, near the fire, we may imagine the little white-headed fellow, whom everybody liked, to be seated during the winter of 1814-15.
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An ingenious but slightly ominous 'laser death test' has been developed by scientists that can tell you how long you have left to live.
A simple and painless laser pulse applied to the skin analyses endothelial cell that lines the capillaries, reports the Sunday Times.
Oscillations in these cells are used to determine the a person's time of imminent death as well as testing for diseases such as cancer and dementia.
The research has been conducted by Aneta Stefanovska and Peter McClintock, physics professors from Lancaster University and is funded by government grants.
The laser is applied through a wristwatch-style device and a working version is expected to be in use within three years.
There have been a number of advances in predicting ageing in recent years.
A blood test has already bee developed that can determine how quickly you will age and help stave off diseases associated with older life.
Professor Tim Spector, from King's College London, told the Daily Mail: "Scientists have known for a long time that a person's weight at the time of birth is an important determinant of health in middle and old age, and that people with low birth weight are more susceptible to age related diseases.
"So far the molecular mechanisms that link low birth weight to health or disease in old age had remained elusive, but this discovery has revealed one of the molecular pathways involved."
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Third person singular
- (transitive) If you think something, you feel that it is or may be true.
- Some people think this is a good idea, but I don't think so.
- I think the best thing to do now is to go home.
- I just thought you might want some coffee.
- I really think you should stop seeing her.
- What do you think about the new teacher?
- Vancouver is thought to be a good place to live.
- I think he's a doctor.
- I think she wants us to go that way.
- I thought I saw something.
- "Is this right?" "I think so."
- (transitive & intransitive) If you think about something, you use your mind to give it your attention.
- "What's the best way?" "I'm not sure. Let me think."
- All day I was thinking about my sister in Lisbon.
- You know you can't do that. What were you thinking?
- I don't want to think about that right now.
- Just think how nice it will be when we're finished.
- (transitive) If you think something, you hear the words in your head.
- "It's no good," she thought.
- You use think in suggestions and requests.
- I was thinking we could go out tonight.
- Do you think you could help me here?
- If you don't think to do something, you don't remember to do it.
- I didn't think to ask her.
- I can't think where my keys are.
- If you say you'll have a think about something, it means you'll give it your attention.
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Himalayan glaciers are melting — but not nearly as fast as the fanciful notion of global warming will have you believe.
A new study in the Aug. 2 issue of the British science journal Nature found that the solid particles suspended in the atmosphere (called “aerosols”) that make up “brown clouds” may actually contribute to warmer temperatures — precisely the opposite effect heretofore claimed by global warming alarmists.
“These findings might seem to contradict the general notion of aerosol particles as cooling agents in the global climate system …,” concluded the Nature news article summing up the study.
Based on data collected by unmanned aerial vehicles over the Indian Ocean, researchers from the University of California, San Diego and NASA reported not only that aerosols warmed temperatures, but they also increased atmospheric heating by 50 percent. This warming, they say, may be sufficient to account for the retreat of the Himalayan glaciers.
Putting aside the fact that the Himalayan glaciers have been retreating since 1780 — some 70 years before the onset of the current post-Little Ice Age warming trend and 100 years before the onset of significant global industrialization — full appreciation of the significance of the researchers’ finding requires a brief trip down recent-memory lane, one, incidentally, that no media outlet reporting this finding bothered to make.
Global warming alarmism is rooted in the idea that ever-increasing manmade emissions of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, cause global temperatures to warm. This idea, however, doesn’t match up very well against real-world observations.
During the 20th century, for example, while manmade carbon dioxide emissions steadily increased from about 1940 to 1975, global temperatures cooled.
Global warming alarmists, such as the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), try to counter this observation by claiming that aerosol particles in the atmosphere — like soot and sulfates from fossil fuel combustion, and dust from volcanic eruptions — can mask the warming effect of greenhouse gases and cool the planet by reflecting solar radiation back into space.
So then, which is it? Do aerosols cool or warm the planet? Can they do both?
The correct answers to these questions are not as important as the fact that they are unanswered and will likely remain so for some time to come.
At the very moment that Congress considers enacting energy-price-raising and economy-killing legislation to regulate greenhouse gases based on the idea that human activity is harming global climate, the new aerosol study underscores (again) how little we understand whether and how human activities actually impact global climate.
Consider other recent research that ought to give our arm-chair climatologists in Congress pause.
In May, researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that the rate of manmade carbon dioxide emissions was three times greater during 2000 to 2004 than during the 1990s. But while humans may be burning more fossil fuels than ever before, that ever-increasing activity isn’t having any sort of discernible or proportionate impact on global temperatures.
In April, researchers from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that forests in northern regions — those north of the line of latitude that runs through southern Cuba — will warm surface temperatures by an estimated 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the year 2100.
Last October, Swedish researchers reported that cosmic-ray-caused changes in cloud cover over a five-year period can have 85 percent of the temperature effect alleged to have been caused by nearly 200 years of manmade carbon dioxide emissions. They estimated that the temperature effects of cloud cover during the 20th century could be as much as seven times greater than the alleged temperature effect of 200 years worth of additional carbon dioxide and several times greater than that of all additional greenhouse gases combined.
Would it be considered “piling on” to remind Congress that last year’s hurricane season predictions — that is, a 95 percent chance of a very active season — turned out to be a total bust? If hurricane experts armed with supercomputers can’t predict a regional storm season six months into the future, why would anyone think that they can project global climate trends for the next 100 years?
These are just some of the things that climatologists have learned or have been proven wrong about in just the past year.
Given the myriad scientific holes in the manmade global warming hypothesis and allowing for the inevitable future discoveries about climate, it seems quite absurd for Congress to proceed on global warming as if, in Al Gore’s words, “There is no longer any serious debate over the basic points that make up the consensus on global warming.”
The new aerosol study doesn’t show that climate alarmists may be just a little off course — it shows that they may be 180 degrees off.
If manmade global climate change is something worth fretting over — and it’s not at all clear that it is — the aerosol study opens up the possibility for an entirely new hypothesis for global warming with aerosols as the culprit. Yet up to now, the “consensus” crowd has portrayed aerosols in the opposite light as cooling agents.
When so-called “consensus” can be that far off, it would seem that there’s plenty of room for serious debate.
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Innocence Protection Act of 2001 (Introduced in the
March 7, 2001
A bill to reduce the risk that innocent persons may be executed, and for other purposes.
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE- This Act may be cited as the `Innocence Protection Act of 2001'.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS- The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I--EXONERATING THE INNOCENT THROUGH DNA TESTING
Sec. 101. Findings and purposes.
Sec. 102. Post-conviction DNA testing in Federal criminal justice system.
Sec. 103. Post-conviction DNA testing in State criminal justice systems.
Sec. 104. Prohibition pursuant to section 5 of the 14th amendment.
Sec. 105. Grants to prosecutors for DNA testing programs.
TITLE II--ENSURING COMPETENT LEGAL SERVICES IN CAPITAL CASES
Sec. 201. National Commission on Capital Representation.
Sec. 202. Capital defense incentive grants.
Sec. 203. Amendments to prison grant programs.
Sec. 204. Effect on procedural default rules.
Sec. 205. Capital defense resource grants.
TITLE III--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Sec. 301. Increased compensation in Federal cases.
Sec. 302. Compensation in State death penalty cases.
Sec. 303. Certification requirement in Federal death penalty prosecutions.
Sec. 304. Alternative of life imprisonment without possibility of release.
Sec. 305. Right to an informed jury.
Sec. 306. Annual reports.
Sec. 307. Sense of Congress regarding the execution of juvenile offenders and the mentally retarded.
TITLE I--EXONERATING THE INNOCENT THROUGH DNA TESTING
SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS- Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Over the past decade, deoxyribonucleic acid testing (referred to in this section as `DNA testing') has emerged as the most reliable forensic technique for identifying criminals when biological material is left at a crime scene.
(2) Because of its scientific precision, DNA testing can, in some cases, conclusively establish the guilt or innocence of a criminal defendant. In other cases, DNA testing may not conclusively establish guilt or innocence, but may have significant probative value to a finder of fact.
(3) While DNA testing is increasingly commonplace in pretrial investigations today, it was not widely available in cases tried prior to 1994. Moreover, new forensic DNA testing procedures have made it possible to get results from minute samples that could not previously be tested, and to obtain more informative and accurate results than earlier forms of forensic DNA testing could produce. Consequently, in some cases convicted inmates have been exonerated by new DNA tests after earlier tests had failed to produce definitive results.
(4) Since DNA testing is often feasible on relevant biological material that is decades old, it can, in some circumstances, prove that a conviction that predated the development of DNA testing was based upon incorrect factual findings. Uniquely, DNA evidence showing innocence, produced decades after a conviction, provides a more reliable basis for establishing a correct verdict than any evidence proffered at the original trial. DNA testing, therefore, can and has resulted in the post-conviction exoneration of innocent men and women.
(5) In more than 80 cases in the United States, DNA evidence has led to the exoneration of innocent men and women who were wrongfully convicted. This number includes at least 10 individuals sentenced to death, some of whom came within days of being executed.
(6) In more than a dozen cases, post-conviction DNA testing that has exonerated an innocent person has also enhanced public safety by providing evidence that led to the identification of the actual perpetrator.
(7) Experience has shown that it is not unduly burdensome to make DNA testing available to inmates. The cost of that testing is relatively modest and has decreased in recent years. Moreover, the number of cases in which post-conviction DNA testing is appropriate is small, and will decrease as pretrial testing becomes more common.
(8) Under current Federal and State law, it is difficult to obtain post-conviction DNA testing because of time limits on introducing newly discovered evidence. Under Federal law, motions for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence must be made within 3 years after conviction. In most States, those motions must be made not later than 2 years after
conviction, and sometimes much sooner. The result is that laws intended to prevent the use of evidence that has become less reliable over time have been used to preclude the use of DNA evidence that remains highly reliable even decades after trial.
(9) The National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence, a Federal panel established by the Department of Justice and comprised of law enforcement, judicial, and scientific experts, has urged that post-conviction DNA testing be permitted in the relatively small number of cases in which it is appropriate, notwithstanding procedural rules that could be invoked to preclude that testing, and notwithstanding the inability of an inmate to pay for the testing.
(10) Since New York passed the Nation's first post-conviction DNA statute in 1994, only a few States have adopted post-conviction DNA testing procedures, and some of these procedures are unduly restrictive. Moreover, only a handful of States have passed legislation requiring that biological evidence be adequately preserved.
(11) In 1994, Congress passed the DNA Identification Act, which authorized the construction of the Combined DNA Index System, a national database to facilitate law enforcement exchange of DNA identification information, and authorized funding to improve the quality and availability of DNA testing for law enforcement identification purposes. In 2000, Congress passed the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act and the Paul Coverdell Forensic Sciences Improvement Act, which together authorized an additional $908,000,000 over 6 years in DNA-related grants.
(12) Congress should continue to provide financial assistance to the States to increase the capacity of State and local laboratories to carry out DNA testing for law enforcement identification purposes. At the same time, Congress should insist that States which accept financial assistance make DNA testing available to both sides of the adversarial system in order to enhance the reliability and integrity of that system.
(13) In Herrera v. Collins, 506 U.S. 390 (1993), a majority of the members of the Court suggested that a persuasive showing of innocence made after trial would render the execution of an inmate unconstitutional.
(14) It shocks the conscience and offends social standards of fairness and decency to execute innocent persons or to deny inmates the opportunity to present persuasive evidence of their innocence.
(15) If biological material is not subjected to DNA testing in appropriate cases, there is a significant risk that persuasive evidence of innocence will not be detected and, accordingly, that innocent persons will be unconstitutionally executed.
(16) Given the irremediable constitutional harm that would result from the execution of an innocent person and the failure of many States to ensure that innocent persons are not sentenced to death, a Federal statute assuring the availability of DNA testing and a chance to present the results of testing in court is a congruent and proportional prophylactic measure to prevent constitutional injuries from occurring.
(b) PURPOSES- The purposes of this title are to--
(1) substantially implement the Recommendations of the National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence in the Federal criminal justice system, by authorizing DNA testing in appropriate cases;
(2) prevent the imposition of unconstitutional punishments through the exercise of power granted by clause 1 of section 8 and clause 2 of section 9 of article I of the Constitution of the United States and section 5 of the 14th amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and
(3) ensure that wrongfully convicted persons have an opportunity to establish their innocence through DNA testing, by requiring the preservation of DNA evidence for a limited period.
SEC. 102. POST-CONVICTION DNA TESTING IN FEDERAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.
(a) IN GENERAL- Part VI of title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 155 the following:
`CHAPTER 156--DNA TESTING
`2292. Preservation of evidence.
`Sec. 2291. DNA testing
`(a) APPLICATION- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person convicted of a Federal crime may apply to the appropriate Federal court for DNA testing to support a claim that the person did not commit--
`(1) the Federal crime of which the person was convicted; or
`(2) any other offense that a sentencing authority may have relied upon when it sentenced the person with respect to the Federal crime either to death or to an enhanced term of imprisonment as a career offender or armed career criminal.
`(b) NOTICE TO GOVERNMENT- The court shall notify the Government of an application made under subsection (a) and shall afford the Government an opportunity to respond.
`(c) PRESERVATION ORDER- The court shall order that all evidence secured in relation to the case that could be subjected to DNA testing must be preserved during the pendency of the proceeding. The court may impose appropriate sanctions, including criminal contempt, for the intentional destruction of evidence after such an order.
`(1) IN GENERAL- The court shall order DNA testing pursuant to an application made under subsection (a) upon a determination that--
`(A) the evidence is still in existence, and in such a condition that DNA testing may be conducted;
`(B) the evidence was never previously subjected to DNA testing, or was not subject to the type of DNA testing that is now requested and that may resolve an issue not resolved by previous testing;
`(C) the proposed DNA testing uses a scientifically valid technique; and
`(D) the proposed DNA testing has the scientific potential to produce new, noncumulative evidence material to the claim of the applicant that the applicant did not commit--
`(i) the Federal crime of which the applicant was convicted; or
`(ii) any other offense that a sentencing authority may have relied upon when it sentenced the applicant with respect to the Federal crime either to death or to an enhanced term of imprisonment as a career offender or armed career criminal.
`(2) LIMITATION- The court shall not order DNA testing under paragraph (1) if the Government proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the application for testing was made to unreasonably delay the execution of sentence or administration of justice, rather than to support a claim described in paragraph (1)(D).
`(3) TESTING PROCEDURES- If the court orders DNA testing under paragraph (1), the court shall impose reasonable conditions on such testing designed to protect the integrity of the evidence and the testing process and the reliability of the test results.
`(e) COST- The cost of DNA testing ordered under subsection (c) shall be borne by the Government or the applicant, as the court may order in the interests of justice, except that an applicant shall not be denied testing because of an inability to pay the cost of testing.
`(f) COUNSEL- The court may at any time appoint counsel for an indigent applicant under this section pursuant to section 3006A(a)(2)(B) of title 18.
`(g) POST-TESTING PROCEDURES-
`(1) INCONCLUSIVE RESULTS- If the results of DNA testing conducted under this section are inconclusive, the court may order such further testing as may be appropriate or dismiss the application.
`(2) RESULTS UNFAVORABLE TO APPLICANT- If the results of DNA testing conducted under this section inculpate the applicant, the court shall--
`(A) dismiss the application;
`(B) assess the applicant for the cost of the testing; and
`(C) make such further orders as may be appropriate.
`(3) RESULTS FAVORABLE TO APPLICANT- If the results of DNA testing conducted under this section are favorable to the applicant, the court shall order a hearing and thereafter make such further orders as may be appropriate under applicable rules and statutes regarding post-conviction proceedings, notwithstanding any provision of law that would bar such hearing or orders as untimely.
`(h) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION-
`(1) OTHER POST-CONVICTION RELIEF UNAFFECTED- Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the circumstances under which a person may obtain DNA testing or other post-conviction relief under any other provision of law.
`(2) FINALITY RULE UNAFFECTED- An application under this section shall not be considered a motion under section 2255 for purposes of determining whether it or any other motion is a second or successive motion under section 2255.
`(i) DEFINITIONS- In this section:
`(1) APPROPRIATE FEDERAL COURT- The term `appropriate Federal court' means--
`(A) the United States District Court which imposed the sentence from which the applicant seeks relief; or
`(B) in relation to a crime under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the United States District Court having jurisdiction over the place where the court martial was convened that imposed the sentence from which the applicant seeks relief, or the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, if no United States District Court has jurisdiction over the place where the court martial was convened.
`(2) FEDERAL CRIME- The term `Federal crime' includes a crime under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
`Sec. 2292. Preservation of evidence
`(a) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of law and subject to subsection (b), the Government shall preserve all evidence that was secured in relation to the investigation or prosecution of a Federal crime (as that term is defined in section 2291(i)), and that could be subjected to DNA testing, for not less than the period of time that any person remains subject to incarceration in connection with the investigation or prosecution.
`(b) EXCEPTIONS- The Government may dispose of evidence before the expiration of the period of time described in subsection (a) if--
`(1) other than subsection (a), no statute, regulation, court order, or other provision of law requires that the evidence be preserved; and
`(2)(A)(i) the Government notifies any person who remains incarcerated in connection with the investigation or prosecution and any counsel of record for such person (or, if there is no counsel of record, the public defender for the judicial district in which the conviction for such person was imposed), of the intention of the Government to dispose of the evidence and the provisions of this chapter; and
`(ii) the Government affords such person not less than 180 days after such notification to make an application under section 2291(a) for DNA testing of the evidence; or
`(B)(i) the evidence must be returned to its rightful owner, or is of such a size, bulk, or physical character as to render retention impracticable; and
`(ii) the Government takes reasonable measures to remove and preserve portions of the material evidence sufficient to permit future DNA testing.
`(c) REMEDIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE-
`(1) GENERAL LIMITATION- Nothing in this section shall be construed to give rise to a claim for damages against the United States, or any employee of the United States, any court official or officer of the court, or any entity contracting with the United States.
`(A) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an individual who knowingly violates a provision of this section or a regulation prescribed under this section shall be liable to the United States for a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000 for the first violation and $5,000 for each subsequent violation, except that the total amount imposed on the individual for all such violations during a calendar year may not exceed $25,000.
`(B) PROCEDURES- The provisions of section 405 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 844a) (other than subsections (a) through (d) and subsection (j)) shall apply to the imposition of a civil penalty under subparagraph (A) in the same manner as such provisions apply to the imposition of a penalty under section 405.
`(C) PRIOR CONVICTION- A civil penalty may not be assessed under subparagraph (A) with respect to an act if that act previously resulted in a conviction under chapter 73 of title 18.
`(A) IN GENERAL- The Attorney General shall promulgate regulations to implement and enforce this section.
`(B) CONTENTS- The regulations shall include the following:
`(i) Disciplinary sanctions, including suspension or termination from employment, for employees of the Department of Justice who knowingly or repeatedly violate a provision of this section.
`(ii) An administrative procedure through which parties can file formal complaints with the Department of Justice alleging violations of this section.'.
(b) CRIMINAL PENALTY- Chapter 73 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting at the end the following:
`Sec. 1519. Destruction or altering of DNA evidence
`Whoever willfully or maliciously destroys, alters, conceals, or tampers with evidence that is required to be preserved under section 2292 of title 28, United States Code, with intent to--
`(1) impair the integrity of that evidence;
`(2) prevent that evidence from being subjected to DNA testing; or
`(3) prevent the production or use of that evidence in an official proceeding,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.'.
(c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS-
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There's no sure way to prevent having a baby with a patent ductus arteriosus. However, it's important to do everything possible to have a healthy pregnancy. Here are some of the basics:
- Seek early prenatal care, even before you're pregnant. Quitting smoking, reducing stress, stopping birth control — these are all things to talk to your doctor about before you get pregnant. Also discuss medications you're taking.
- Eat a healthy diet. Include a vitamin supplement that contains folic acid.
- Exercise regularly. Work with your doctor to develop an exercise plan that's right for you.
- Avoid risks. These include harmful substances such as alcohol, cigarettes and illegal drugs. Also avoid hot tubs and saunas.
- Avoid infections. Update your vaccinations before becoming pregnant. Certain types of infections can be harmful to a developing baby.
- Keep diabetes under control. If you have diabetes, work with your doctor to manage the condition before and during pregnancy.
If you have a family history of heart defects or other genetic disorders, consider talking with a genetic counselor before becoming pregnant.
Dec. 16, 2014
- What is patent ductus arteriosus? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/pda/. Accessed Oct. 20, 2014.
- Patent ductus arteriosus. The Merck Manual Professional Edition. http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/pediatrics/congenital_cardiovascular_anomalies/patent_ductus_arteriosus_pda.html?qt=patent%20ductus%20arteriosus&alt=sh. Accessed Oct. 20, 2014.
- Doyle T, et al. Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of patent ductus arteriosus. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed Oct. 20, 2014.
- Doyle T, et al. Management of patent ductus arteriosus. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed Oct. 20, 2014.
- Planning for pregnancy. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/preconception/planning.html. Accessed Oct. 22, 2014.
- Riggin EA. Decision Support System. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. July 10, 2014.
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James Rennell, cartographer, is buried in the centre of the nave of Westminster Abbey. His grave is now unmarked but just had his name, date of death and age on it. But he has a white marble bust in the nearby north west tower chapel. This is by sculptor Jacob Hagbolt and the inscription reads:
"Major James Rennell. Died March 29th 1830 in his 88th year. His useful life, firm character and high talents are amply exhibited in his works and need no other monument. This tablet therefore merely records that this celebrated man was buried near this spot".
James was born on 3 December 1742 at Upcot in Devon, son of Captain John Rennell and his wife Anne (Clarke). His father was killed in action in the Netherlands in 1747 and his stepfather was unable to provide for all of the children. James and his sister Sarah were taken in by the vicar of Chudleigh. He joined the navy and fought against the French and later served in India. In 1762 he joined the East India Company as a draughtsman and then took an engineering post in Bengal. While surveying he was badly injured in an attack by tribesmen. Robert Clive appointed him Surveyor General of Bengal. In Calcutta he married Jane Thackeray, daughter of the Head Master of Harrow School, and they settled in Dacca. They had two sons Thomas and William, both of whom died without any children, and a daughter Jane who married Admiral Sir Tremayne Rodd. Back in England his work A Bengal Atlas was published in 1781 and his general map of India, and other works, followed. He was elected an honorary member of the African Association and completed a map of North Africa. David Livingstone was later buried near him in the nave.
A photo of the bust can be purchased from Westminster Abbey Library.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004.
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|Name: _________________________||Period: ___________________|
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. How does Edgar react when Mrs. Madrigal says she runs a house of her own?
2. Upon arriving at the cabin in Mendocino, what is Mary Ann bothered by?
3. What does DeDe learn from Splinter?
4. Where does Edgar go after his doctor's appointment?
5. Why is Edgar seeing Ruby Miller?
Short Essay Questions
1. Explain what happens when DeDe visits Mary Ann?
2. What advice does Edgar receive from his doctor and from Mrs. Madrigal?
3. Over what work issue does Edgar get angry with Beauchamp?
4. What happens in Chapters 22 through 30 that shows how the narrative intersects the lives of its characters?
5. What is DeDe convinced of when she finds the scarf in the car?
6. What does Mona tell Mary Ann to try to convince her to stay in San Francisco?
7. In "Mona's New Roomie," what does the reader learn about Mona and Michael's relationship?
8. At Frannie's party, what happens to the conductor and where does he go?
9. Of what does Hillary accuse Brian? How does he react?
10. How is Mona's relationship with her mother different from her relationship with Mrs. Madrigal?
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Norman Neal Williams does not meet a pleasant end. Discuss how the author uses foreshadowing to prepare the reader for what happens to Norman. Give 2 to 3 examples from the book to support your position.
Essay Topic 2
Discuss the several layers of meaning of the name of the pick up joint in "Brian Climbs the Walls," the Come Clean Laundromat. How is the name ironic? How does the name signify the reason that people go there?
Essay Topic 3
"Tales of the City" was originally published as a daily newspaper serial. Explore how the story fits the serial format versus the novel format. In what ways does the structure of the novel give away its beginning as a serial drama in a newspaper?
This section contains 780 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page)
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Recent years have seen a global endeavor to prioritize early
childhood care and education as a foundation for later learning and
development, as evidenced by the Global Guidelines for Early Childhood
Education and Care in the 21st Century (Association for Childhood
Education International/World Organization for Early Childhood, 1999).
Such efforts are a response to a variety of complex social issues and
economic trends. These forces, which are referred to here as
"complex family stressors," include, but are not limited to,
societal changes due to industrialization, the increased number of women
with young children entering the labor force, families with two working
parents, a rise in the number of single parents, and the demise of
traditional systems of child care and extended family support systems
(Driscoll & Nagel, 2002; Graves, Gargiulo, & Sluder, 1996).
This article will provide an overview of early childhood care and
education (ECCE) in Kenya. Specific emphasis is placed on the historical
development of ECCE, the administrative organization, the collaboration
among various agencies in Kenya, ECCE curriculum, and teachers'
professional training. A relatively young profession in Kenya, ECCE has
experienced tremendous growth at all levels.
Definitions of early childhood care and education differ around the
world (Swiniarski, Breitborde, & Murphy, 1999). The more
industrialized nations consider early childhood to be the period from
birth through age 8 (Essa, 1999; Wortham, 2000), while developing
nations focus on birth through age 6 (Eville-Lo & Mbugua, 2001;
UNICEF, 2002). Regardless of such determinations, the increased interest
in early childhood education around the world reflects respective
nations' and/or societies' particular philosophical beliefs
about children (Graves et al., 1996). Accordingly, children may be
viewed as: growing plants that need nurturance, miniature adults,
natural and national resources that need to be nurtured, and/or as
future investments critical to the sustenance of a society and its
ability to compete in the technological age (Essa, 1999).
The belief that early learning begets later learning and success,
just like early failure breeds later failure, has been validated in both
economic and educational research (Boocock, 1995; Heckman, 1999).
According to the World Development Report (Jaycox, 1992), education and
economic development are positively correlated, making education
intrinsic to development. Therefore, the potential long-term benefits
for children's cognitive and social development (Barnett, 1995;
Gonzalez-Mena, 2000) have inspired increased interest in early childhood
education and care. This interest continues to be championed by
UNICEF's health and nutrition programs (UNICEF, 2002).
The Historical Development of Early Childhood Care and Education
Situated on the eastern coast of Africa, Kenya gained its
independence from British colonial rule in 1963. Nearly half of
Kenya's population of 30 million is below the age of 15 (World Fact
Book, 2001). The infant mortality rate is 67.99 per 1,000 live births,
while the life expectancy is 46.5 years for men and 48.4 years for women
(World Almanac, 2002). Kenya is a multilingual and multicultural nation,
with 42 different languages spoken, including Bantu, Arabic, and Nilotic
(Bogonko, 1992). English is the official language and the main medium of
instruction from preschool to tertiary levels of education. Ki-Swahili
is the national language and is taught from preschool to high school. As
a result, most children in Kenya are fluent in both languages, in
addition to the vernacular spoken at home. This multilingualism
heightens Kenyans' understanding of other cultures.
Kenya is the only African nation with an established early
childhood education program, and the initiative has had a significant
impact on its citizens. Kenyans perceive education as a key to success
in life, facilitating social mobility and personal development
(Nkinyangi, 1982). A number of theoretical perspectives focus on
education's pivotal role in human growth and development
(Mbugua-Murithi, 1997). The modernization theorists contend that
education transforms individual values, beliefs, and behaviors, which
leads to development (Benavot, 1992). As a result, Kenya has seen a
clamoring for and expansion of education at all levels (Mutero, 2001;
Mwiria, 1990), including nursery schools, child care centers,
kindergartens, and preschools.
The first recorded school for young children in Kenya was founded
at Rabai (a coastal province) in 1886 by the Church Missionary Societies
(Bogonko, 1992; Eshiwani, 1989). The first early care centers can be
traced to the 1940s, when British colonists established centers to serve
both European and Asian children. During the same period, the colonial
government established early childhood care centers for Kenyan children
living on the tea, coffee, and sugar plantations. These centers were set
up in response to Mau Mau uprisings and struggles for independence
(Kanogo, 1988). The centers were nonacademic child care settings and
only provided custodial care, a situation that persisted until the early
1970s (Kabiru, Njenga, & Swadener, 2003).
Kenya's system of early childhood care and education reflected
a separate and stratified society, with Europeans receiving educational
resources superior to that received by people from Asian and Arab
cultures; Africans came last. The colonial government argued that the
different races needed the kind of education that was deemed
"appropriate" for their respective positions in colonial life
(Kiluva-Ndunda & Mumbua, 2001). According to Rodney (1981), this
colonial schooling approach was akin to "education for
In 1954, UNICEF started supporting early childhood development and
education in Kenya. Its focus was support for the health of mother and
child. In later years, UNICEF expanded beyond the goals of child
survival to include development and education (UNICEF, 2002).
A massive expansion of early childhood care and education centers
throughout the country followed Kenya's independence in 1963. The
new Kenyan sovereign state articulated the educational goals as national
development, "Kenyanization" of the curriculum, respect for
Kenyan culture, social equality, and national unity and collaboration
(Eshiwani, 1990, 1993). Next, the Ominde Commission of 1964 highlighted
the importance of universal primary education as a basic right. This
marked the first step in an ongoing effort to link early childhood and
The expansion in education was given impetus by President Jomo
Kenyatta's call for a national philosophy of Harambee, which means
"Let's pull together." Historically, Harambee has been a
national strategy for mobilizing communal labor groups in order to
achieve certain education and socioeconomic goals. Early care and
education of children was considered to be a community concern
necessitating collaboration. Communities raised money to purchase land
and other materials to build schools (Mbugua-Murithi, 1996); the labor
was provided free of charge by community members. Consequently, the
number of preschools and nursery schools continued to expand.
Many Kenyan women formed groups to champion for and sustain early
childhood education and care, adopting a variety of networking
strategies through women's self-help groups (Mbugua-Murithi, 1997).
The groups would identify educated members of the community to be
preschool teachers. These groups also were organized to generate income,
build the nursery schools and primary schools, and establish adult
literacy projects (Mutiso, 1987; Pale, Awori, & Krystal, 1983).
Although some of these initial programs were maintained within a regular
school building, others were placed in individual homes, makeshift
sheds, or even outdoors, under trees.
ECCE in Kenya rapidly expanded; by 1970, the increasing
participation of Kenyan women in the labor force, the growing number of
female-headed households (Adams & Mburugu, 1994), and changing
family structures and child-rearing practices created new demands for
external support. The community alone could no longer be the primary
provider of nutrition, health care, and education for preschool
Consequently, the government encouraged the formation of
partnerships as a way to coordinate resources and share costs of early
childhood care and education. The Ministry of Education became involved
in overall administration, policy-making, provision of grants for
training, and professional guidance of preschool education. The Ministry
of Culture and Social Services was responsible for training teachers and
paying their salaries.
In the 1970s, the government entered into partnerships with
communities and other institutions engaged in the provision of preschool
education in Kenya. These partnerships involved nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs), parastatal bodies, religious organizations, the
Bernard van Leer Foundation, The Aga Khan Foundation, and UNICEF.
Parents and local communities continue to contribute significantly
to the development of early childhood education programs in a variety of
ways. They pay for their children's school fees and teacher
salaries; in some preschools, parents initiate community-based meal and
monitoring programs. They also help gather materials, using locally
available resources, to make children's toys.
In addition, families and community members have provided land for
school buildings and playgrounds, and they help construct and maintain
these sites. Community members also have undertaken the responsibility
of cultural transmission through language in very creative ways. For
example, they collect stories, riddles, poems, and games that are edited
and distributed by the respective programs in local dialects and
It is clear that the tradition in Kenya of communities cooperating
to provide early childhood education and care has benefited everyone.
The community members provide wisdom, insight, and expertise while
promoting the value of using traditional weaning foods, sharing mother
tongue stories, and providing intergenerational care. One elderly leader
of a women's group stated, "Our foundation has been sustained
through a culture of giving back." In turn, the communities'
children, their most valuable resource, are provided appropriate and
culturally relevant early care and education.
Administrative and Organizational Structure of the Early Childhood
Care and Education
Since the mid-1970s, significant governmental initiatives have
emphasized the importance of providing care and education in preschools.
Two notable initiatives are the Gachathi and Kamunge educational
commissions, from 1976 and 1988, respectively, which play key roles in
creating greater recognition of preschool education within the Ministry
of Education. In 1972, a 10-year Preschool Education Project was
undertaken at the Kenya Institute of Education by the Ministry of
Education and the Bernard van Leer Foundation. The main objective of the
research project was to improve the quality of preschool education
through three key areas: 1) development of training models for ECCE
personnel; 2) development of a quality curriculum; and 3) development of
support materials for use by children, teachers, and trainers.
In 1984, the Ministry of Education established the National Center
for Early Childhood Education (NACECE), a national endeavor aimed at
harmonizing the growth, evaluation, and oversight of early childhood
education. A year later, a network of sub-centers was established at the
district level. These centers were called District Centers for Early
Childhood Education (DICECE) (Gakuru, Riak, Ogula, Mugo, & Njenga,
1987) (see Table 1).
A variety of institutions are charged with the responsibility of
training early childhood educators. These institutions fall under the
auspices of the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Kenya
Institute of Education and the Kenya Institute of Special Education. For
logistical purposes, these institutions range from local training
centers (the DICECE) to national training centers (the NACECE) and local
universities. The training levels are organized in such a way as to
cater to the various needs of the ECCE professionals, offering
prospective teachers short courses, two-year diploma courses, a
four-year bachelor's degree, and master's programs.
A variety of degree programs in early childhood education are
offered at Kenyatta University. This is the only institution in Africa
with an operational bachelor's degree in early childhood, and it
remains the only institution in Africa offering a master's degree
in early childhood education. Currently, with assistance from the World
Bank, the university is piloting a doctoral program in early childhood
For many years, the role of preschools was considered one of
providing custodial care and security, and preparing children for formal
schooling. Through community collaboration, attempts have been made
through NACECE and DICECE to ensure a child-centered curriculum that is
developmentally appropriate. This focus on universal best practices
emphasizes the total, of holistic, development of the child, rather than
formal rote learning. Specifically, much attention has been given to the
important role of play in stimulating young children's development.
Teacher education focuses on equipping preservice students with the
skills and dispositions that will make them culturally responsive and
effective in preschool classrooms. This educational strategy ensures
that teachers have a strong foundation in theories of child development
and an understanding of children's developmental needs, and that
they are responsive to and appreciative of the various cultural and
linguistic backgrounds of young children. The Kenya Institute of Special
Education (KISE) also ensures that teachers take courses that equip them
with the knowledge and skills to work with children with disabilities.
Teachers also learn how to make toys and other learning materials using
locally available resources.
Challenges to ECCE in Kenya
Because of regional disparities in access to early childhood care
and education, enrollment levels in the rural areas are acutely low
compared to those in the urban areas (Kola, 2001). The Maasai migratory
community in Kenya arguably has the least access to early childhood
education and care (Phillips & Bhavnagri, 2002). Poverty and the
decline of Kenyan agriculture have resulted in widespread rural to urban
migration. This phenomenon has resulted in what Kilbride and Kilbride
(1990) describe as dislocation.
These regional disparities and their attendant consequences--the
lack of, or poor quality of, educational experiences for children living
in the same country--reflect a similar situation in the United States,
as is poignantly articulated by Kozol (1991). The factors involved are
mutually reinforcing and include political, social, and
economic-budgetary issues. The resulting outcomes of unequal education
in these two countries come at great human cost to all the children, and
ultimately to the future development of human capacity. One teacher
aptly describes the phenomenon and its adverse effects on American
children as "a bunch of flowers growing in a garbage can"
(Children in American Schools video with Bill Moyers, 1996).
Kenya also suffers from the heavy load of debt it pays to the World
Bank and the International Monetary Fund. These debt-servicing programs
have led to reductions in government spending for subsidized education,
health care, and school-related expenses. As a result, families pick up
the tab. As one irate mother in the Kisumu municipality said of her
plight, "Books, uniforms, building fund, admission lees are all
required, and if you do not have them, children are sent home!"
(Swadener, Kabiru, & Njenga, 2000, p. 176). Ironically, the negative
impact of these experiences in both countries has been corroborated by a
World Bank report that stated, "Poverty-related deprivation
contributes to low educational attainment ..." (Young, 2001, p.
The main challenge facing early childhood care and education in
Kenya today is that of harmonizing curriculum and teaching methodologies
to help ease children's transition from kindergarten to the primary
grades. Educators have criticized the emphasis on an exclusively
academic curriculum versus a play-centered and developmentally
appropriate curriculum in some preschools and kindergartens (Mutero,
2001). This considerable pressure to excel is evident in both Kenya and
the United States from the early years on.
Quality versus Quantity
In the 1980s and 1990s, an increased number of early childhood care
and education centers have been established in Kenya that vary in
quality, curriculum, instruction, and organization. The number of early
childhood care and education centers increased from 16,329 in 1990 to
23,977 in 1998. During the same period, the enrollment rose from 844,796
to 1,076,606 (Kola, 2001).
There are private and public preschools, nursery schools, and
kindergartens in both rural and urban settings. The private centers
include Montessori schools in the capital city of Nairobi, which are
similar to any found in the Western world. The increase in private and
for-profit preschools, especially in the urban centers of Nairobi,
Mombasa, Eldoret, and Nakuru, has been prompted by the unofficial
requirement that children entering primary school demonstrate school
readiness skills typically developed in a kindergarten or preschool
setting. However, these preschool settings vary in quality, from those
that are well equipped with ample resources, including computers and
indoor and outdoor play areas and equipment, to those that are in need
of resources, especially in urban slums and rural areas.
The public care centers also range in variety and scope, from those
that exist within the regular primary schools to those that are run by
volunteer organizations such as the van Leer Foundation, government
preschools, religious organizations, and various charities. A unique
early childhood care and education setting is Nyumbani Diagnostic
Center, which serves HIV/AIDS orphans in Nairobi who would otherwise be
stigmatized or rejected. The Center has a unique setup that aims, in
part, to place the young children in the care of foster families.
The field of early childhood care and education in Kenya is
expanding at a tremendous rate. Various efforts by the government,
communities, and other collaborating partners have resulted in
intersectoral collaboration and a variety of education settings
available to young children. This growth in ECCE in Kenya is a
reflection of the nation's quest for an educated population with a
focus on early success as a foundation for later success. Less than
sufficient teacher training, regional disparities, lack of harmonized
curricula, and the availability of quality preschools are continuing
challenges. Nevertheless, Kenya remains the only country on the African
continent with an established ECCE infrastructure; it is, therefore,
drawing many African ECCE professionals to its training programs, while
providing models for other African countries to consider and adapt to
The original manuscript was written prior to the general and
presidential elections in Kenya in December 2002, which ushered in a new
government after 39 years of one-party (Kenya African National
Union--KANU) rule. The new government (National Rainbow Coalition--NARC)
has established a number of policy issues affecting children and
families. Notable among these is a policy to provide free and compulsory
primary education, in line with the Children's Act passed in 2002.
The new policies further conform to the international charters that
Kenya has ratified; including the Rights of the Child; Declaration on
Education for All at the World Education Conference in Jomtien,
Thailand, in 1990, and the 2000 World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal
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Tata J. Mbugua is Assistant Professor, Education Department,
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FUNCTIONS OF THE NACECE AND DICECE
National Center for Early District Centers for Early
Childhood Education (NACECE) Childhood Education (DICECE)
Training of personnel for ECCE Training of preschool teachers and
other personnel at the district
Development and dissemination of Supervision and inspection of
the curriculum for ECCE programs preschool programs at the district
Idenfying, designing, undertaking, Mobilization of the local
and coordinating research in ECCE community in the preschool program
in order to improve the care,
health, nutrition, and education
of young children
Coordinating and liaising with Participating in the evaluation of
external and internal partners, preschool programs, and carrying
and informing the public of the out basic research on the status
needs and development of the ECCE of preschool children, in and out
program of school
Offering services and facilitating Development of the preschool
interaction between agencies and curriculum
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- Students’ Column
- War and Military
As Spring begins, everything comes back to life. To mark the beginning of a new cycle of life, Romanians have a special tradition, called Martisor.
The day of March 1, according to the old calendar, was considered the beginning of the New Year, the celebration of Spring’s arrival. Martisor is an over 8000 years old tradition, born in the lands where now Romania is. In the time of the Dacians (Romanian ancestors), spring symbols were made during winter and were worn starting with March 1st. Martisor were then white and red pebbles, strung on a string and worn around one’s neck. The red color, given by fire, blood and sun, was attributed to life, hence to women. White, on the other hand, conferred by the clarity of water, the white of the clouds, was specific to the wisdom of men. Besides, the cord of the Martisor expresses the inseparable interweaving of the two principle as a permanent movement of matter. It signifies the exchange of vital forces that give rise to life, the continuous cycle of nature.
The significance of Martisor remained the same over time: it’s a symbol of spring, of the returning to life. It brings optimism and faith. Back then, Martisor was attached to a rose or a blossoming tree, to bring luck, or was thrown in the direction from which wandering birds came, saying “Ia-mi negretele si da-mi albetele” (Take me the black and bring me the white” – meaning take away the surrow and everything negative and exchange it to happiness and good things).
The legend says that the Sun descended in a village, at the village dance, taking the shape of a lovely girl. A dragon watched her and abducted her from the crowd and trapped her in a dungeon. The world was so sad. Birds stopped singing, rivers stopped flowing and children stopped laughing. Nobody dared to confront the dragon. But one day, a brave young man decided to go save the Sun. Many people led him and gave them from their powers to help him overcome the dragon and release the sun.
The journey lasted three seasons: summer, autumn and winter. He found the dragon’s castle and they began fighting. They fought for days until the dragon was defeated. Feeble and wounded, the young man released the Sun. It rose in the sky, chearing up people. It revived nature, people have rejoiced, but the brave young man never got to see spring again. The hot blood from his wounds drained in the snow. While the snow was melting, white flowers were blooming, Snowdrops, the messengers of spring. Even the last drop of blood dripped in the pristine snow. He died. Since then, young people knit two tassels together: one white and one red. They offer them to the girls they love or to their loved ones. Red means love for all that is beautiful, reminiscent of the color of the brave man’s blood. White symbolizes the health and the purity of the snowdrop, the first flower of spring.
Martisor is worn on “the days of Old Dochia” [Zilele Babelor] that are between 1 to 9 March. In present times, the custom is to pick a day from this period and it’s said that depending on how that day will be, that’s how all your year will be. A sunny day predicts a good year and a gloomy one a bad year.
In some regions, Martisor is worn during the whole month of March, then attached to the branches of a fruit tree. It is believed this will bring wealth into people’s homes. They say that if someone makes a wish and hang Martisor on the tree, it will come true soon. In early April, in a large part of Romania and Moldova’s villages, trees are decorated with Martisors. In Moldova, the musical festival “Martisor” takes place every year, starting on March 1 until March 10.
In some counties of Romania, Martisor is worn only in the first two weeks of March. In Transylvanian cities (center Romania), Martisors are hanged on doors, windows, horns of domestic animals, because it is considered that it can frighten evil spirits. In Bihor county it is believed that if people wash their face with rainwater fallen on March 1, they will become more beautiful and healthy. In Banat, girls wash with snow so they will be loved. In Dobrogea, Martisors are worn until the arrival of cranes, then thrown in the air so that their happiness will be great and have wings. In Moldova, on March 1 girls give Martisor to boys and they give them Martisors back on March 8 (this differs slightly from the rest of the country). The Festival of Martisor can be found in the Balkans at the Aromanians and Megleno-Romanians, as well at the Bulgarians who call it Marten/ Martenitsa (Мартеница) and also in Macedonia and Albania.
Martisor can be basically any good-luck token that has attached the red-white martisor string. Most commonly used are the four-leaf-clover, the chimney sweeper, horse shoe and ladybug. Also, traditional models are ones made out of dry flowers casted in amber or small metal broches.
In the last years though, the trend has changed a bit and there are many who prefer wearing the bracelet Martisor (it’s like a friendship bracelet) – such as the ones below, as there are more and more people who like and do handmade designs.
Apart from these rather traditional Martisor, you can gift/receive a martisor in so many other forms, from jewelry or scarfs to flowers that have attached one red-white string. One wears a Martisor either pinned on its tshirt/coat etc or tied around the wrist.
Either way you like to wear it and whatever model you prefer, we hope it would work it’s ‘magic’ and bring you a happy prosperous year
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Anxious and Depressed Teens and Adults: Same Version of Mood Gene, Different Brain Reactions
• Science Update
An NIMH study using brain imaging shows that some anxious and depressed adolescents react differently from adult patients when looking at frightful faces. This difference occurs even though the adolescent and adult patients have the same version of a mood gene. Researchers in the NIMH Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program and colleagues reported these findings online October 31, 2008, in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
Anxiety and depression are influenced by the processing of the mood-regulating brain chemical called serotonin. A protein known as the serotonin transporter directs serotonin from the space between nerve cells back into the cells, where it can be reused. Changes in the gene that codes for the serotonin transporter can lead to decreased transport of serotonin back into the brain’s nerve cells. Abnormalities in the serotonin system are associated with anxiety and depression.
Everyone inherits two copies of the serotonin transporter gene—one from each parent. The gene has various versions—one version is short, and one version is long. A person may have two copies of the same version or one copy each of two different versions. Previous studies in adults have linked versions of the gene to increased risk for mood and anxiety disorders. Adults who have one copy of the short version tend to be more anxious and depressed than adults who have two copies of the long version.
Previous brain imaging studies in adults linked gene versions to different responses of the brain’s fear hub—the amygdala—to frightful faces. In both healthy and affected adults who have at least one copy of the short version, the amygdala reacts more than it does in healthy or affected adults who have two copies of the long version of the gene. Whether these findings in adults also hold true for adolescents was unknown.
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), Jennifer Y. F. Lau, Ph.D., then at NIMH and now at the University of Oxford, U.K., and colleagues at NIH scanned the brains of 33 healthy teens and 31 teens with depression and anxiety disorders while they viewed pictures of frightful faces. Then the investigators compared the amygdala reactions in the two groups.
Findings of This Study
Lau and colleagues found that in healthy adolescents who have at least one copy of the short version of the gene, the amygdala reacts more than it does in healthy adolescents who have two copies of the long version. This result is the same in healthy adults. However, in anxious or depressed adolescents, the opposite results were found. In affected adolescents who have at least one copy of the short version, the amygdala reacts less than it does in affected adolescents who have two copies of the long version.
This finding in affected teens with two long version genes is the opposite of that observed in anxious or depressed adults. It is surprising because anxiety and depression during adolescence tend to predict these disorders during adulthood.
The unexpected finding may be explained by the fact that anxious adults and anxious adolescents react differently when presented with threats. But further research is needed to fully understand the difference, the investigators say.
Lau JY, Goldman D, Buzas B, Fromm SJ, Guyer AE, Hodgkinson C, Monk CS, Nelson EE, Shen PH, Pine DS, Ernst M. Amygdala Function and 5-HTT Gene Variants in Adolescent Anxiety and Major Depressive Disorder . Biological Psychiatry. 2008 Oct 23. [Epub ahead of print].
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An Exploratory Study of 2 Parenting Styles and Family Health Behaviors
Abstract:Objective: To examine the relationships between 2 parenting styles and family nutrition and physical activity. Methods: Parents of elementary/primary school children in the southeastern United States (N = 145) completed surveys regarding family relationships and health behaviors. Results: Parents exhibiting a laissez-faire parenting style reported lower levels of family nutrition and physical activity. In addition, parent BMI moderated the relationship between laissez-faire parenting and these health behaviors. Conclusions: This study indicates that family-oriented nutrition and physical activity programs may benefit from including a focus on decreasing laissez-faire parenting, as well as helping overweight parents reduce their BMIs.
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Kent School of Social Work, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA 2: Department of Public Health Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA 3: Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation-Louisville Center, Louisville, KY, USA 4: School of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
Publication date: July 1, 2013
The American Journal of Health Behavior seeks to improve the quality of life through multidisciplinary health efforts in fostering a better understanding of the multidimensional nature of both individuals and social systems as they relate to health behaviors.
The Journal aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of personal attributes, personality characteristics, behavior patterns, social structure, and processes on health maintenance, health restoration, and health improvement; to disseminate knowledge of holistic, multidisciplinary approaches to designing and implementing effective health programs; and to showcase health behavior analysis skills that have been proven to affect health improvement and recovery.
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