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Gut Capacity Limits Wildlife’s Ability to Adapt to Rapid Climate Change
Source Newsroom: University of Rhode Island
Media Contact: Todd McLeish, 401-874-7892
Newswise — KINGSTON, R.I. – April 15, 2014 – An ornithologist at the University of Rhode Island who studies the physiological changes that birds undergo to migrate has found that the capacity of a bird’s gut to change with environmental conditions is a primary limiting factor in their ability to adapt to the rapidly changing climate. And he believes that most other animals are also limited in a similar way.
Scott McWilliams, URI professor of natural resources science, says that spare capacity – the extent to which animals can modify their physiology to deal with ecological changes – varies from species to species, with some having great capacity to change while others do not.
“It’s all about the time scale over which evolution occurs in relation to the timing of the changes now occurring in the environment, because there are likely to be mismatches,” he said. “Our rapid climate change is happening too quickly for most animals to evolve a response.”
His research, funded by the National Science Foundation, was published last week in The Proceedings of the Royal Society.
McWilliams and a colleague at the University of Wisconsin measured the spare capacity of white-throated sparrows, a common migratory songbird in eastern North America. He found that birds acclimated to a very cold environment (-29C) were able to eat 2 to 4 times as much food as sparrows acclimated to summer temperatures, although the sparrows could not eat enough to live at temperatures colder than -29C.
“They dramatically increase the size of their gut to accommodate the greater amount of food they must eat to meet their energy needs in the cold, yet they are able to just as efficiently digest their food when they eat much more,” said McWilliams. “That tells us something about their ability to flexibly respond to climate change. Plenty of birds migrate south because they have too limited a capacity to respond in this way. But white-throated sparrows have the spare capacity to modify their physiology to deal with substantial environmental change.”
However, when the birds were given no time to acclimate to the cold temperatures, they were only able to increase their food intake by about 50 percent. The researchers found that the birds needed at least two days to acclimate to the new conditions before they were able to eat more.
One implication of this finding is that birds that fly long distances in migration – an activity that causes their gut size to decrease because they do not eat while flying – need a day or two to reconstitute their gut before they can resume the maximum food intake required to continue their migration.
McWilliams says that his study has defined the ultimate limits of the gut capacity of white-throated sparrows. If similar limits could be established for other species, that data could be incorporated into climate models to better understand which species will likely be able to survive the coming environmental changes.
“All organisms have some level of spare capacity,” McWilliams said. “The animals that live in constant environments haven’t had to evolve much capacity, so those animals are probably going to have the greatest challenge adapting to changing conditions.”
According to the researchers, the limits of spare capacity have been studied in very few other species, with most work focused on several varieties of snakes. But they say that the limitations all animals face are in their ability to convert food into usable energy.
“The gut limits the overall design of the animal,” McWilliams said.
The URI researcher’s next step is to do similar studies of how the fat composition of birds changes with environmental conditions and in response to their energy needs. Since certain polyunsaturated fats are known to improve flight performance, McWilliams said that this study will have relevance to the type of food birds should strive to eat in preparation for migration and thus what type of foods should be provided to birds in the landscape.
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Roseburg has been a dwelling place since time beyond memory, a village of native peoples residing in the pleasant groves on the eastern shore of the South Umpqua River when the first white men visited the region. The location was an idyllic one, with abundant fuel, native fruit, pure water and a pleasing climate. The river and its tributary, Deer Creek, teamed with salmon and trout and the hills provided a rich hunting ground for deer and other game animals and birds.
Into this natural paradise came the fur brigades of the Hudson’s Bay Company, trapping and trading with the natives. Pack trains of the trappers, loaded with bales of the prime fur of beaver and otter, followed the Indian trails as they headed north to Fort Vancouver, headquarters for the great fur company.
With the influx of settlers into Willamette Valley in the 1840’s, Americans began to explore the Umpqua Region. Lieutenant George F. Emmons and past Midshipman Henry Eld led a division of the Wilkes United States Exploring Expedition over the present site of Roseburg in 1841, on their journey from the Columbia River to San Francisco Bay. A squatter named Musgrove is reported to have been the first white settler on the present town-site. His rights were acquired by the brothers, J.T. and L.C. Raimey, who in the fall of 1851 conveyed their rights to a newly arrived settler, Aaron Rose. Rose and his family settled on the land and their home became a tavern and stopping place for the many travelers who followed the old Oregon-California Trail. Long pack trains from Scottsburg, loaded with supplies for the rich mines of Southern Oregon and Northern California, passed this way, as did the northbound wagon trains of settlers who came in over the “Southern Route,” following the Scott-Applegate Trail.
Rose platted a town, first known as Deer Creek, which later became known as Roseburg. William T. Perry arrived in 1851 and established a water-powered gristmill on Deer Creek. Merchants and tradesmen began to arrive and Rose’s pleasant location formed the nucleus of a growing trade center. A post office was established in the Fall of 1852 and a school soon followed, as families with children began to move into the area. In 1854, an election resulted in the county seat of Douglas County being moved from Winchester to Roseburg; this and the transfer of the Land Office from Winchester assured Roseburg’s growth as the county’s leading city.
The rich farmlands surrounding the location drew increasing numbers of settlers and the timbered hills rang with the music of axe and saw as homes were hewed out of the stands of virgin fir timber. Ox teams drew breaking plows through the fertile soil and bumper crops of grain were harvested. Herds of cattle roamed the grass-covered hills, fattening on the abundant pasturage before being trail-driven to distant markets. The ranchers imported sheep and hogs, blooded horses and cattle and Roseburg grew as the trading center for an agricultural empire.
Roseburg became a terminal on the stagecoach line between Portland and Sacramento and in 1864 was linked with the outside world by telegraph. Captain John Mullan, passing through in 1862, remarked that Roseburg was a “gem of a village,” situated in a beautiful valley in a high state of cultivation and that the town boasted white frame cottages along streets neatly laid out. The Pioneer store, established by Lewis L. Bradbury in 1853, was the forerunner of many mercantile establishments; anvils rang in the town’s blacksmith shops and industry flourished. In 1870 an attempt was made to establish steamboat service on the Umpqua in an effort to link Roseburg with the busy coastal seaport of Gardiner. A sternwheeler named the “Swan” ascended the Umpqua in 1870 as far as Roseburg and although government funds were acquired to improve the channel between Scottsburg and Roseburg, this was the only voyage of a steamboat on this section of the river.
In 1872 the whistle of a woodburning locomotive heralded the arrival of the first train on the Oregon and California Railroad. This direct rail connection with Portland started a fresh wave of economic growth and development for Roseburg. The town was the terminus of the rail line until 1884 when the southern extension of the road was completed between Roseburg and Ashland. In 1887 the line over the Siskiyous was finished, placing Roseburg on the only through rail route between Oregon and California. The railroad established shops and a roundhouse in Roseburg, creating new jobs and booming the economy of the city.
Local industry and agriculture have experienced a wide variety of operations. Following the pioneer years of grain and cattle ranching, the progressive farmers successfully produced hops, prunes, broccoli, melons, grapes and numerous other specialty crops. The rich soil and mild climate earned the title of Garden Valley for the alluvial bottomlands west of the city and the county became unofficially known as “The Banana Belt.”
Gold mines disgorged their wealth and the county’s deposits of other minerals helped swell the coffers of citizens and businesses. Cinnabar mines produced mercury, silver and copper deposits were located and in the 1890’s an effort was made to mine the vast deposits of nickel ore in the adjacent Riddle area, south of Roseburg. Improved smelting methods resulted in operation of the Hanna Company, a pioneer mine which was the sole producing nickel mine in the United States. Deposits of local marble were once quarried on a small scale, and cement rock was shipped by carloads from workings in the Glengarry region southeast of Roseburg. A woolen mill on the South Umpqua once promised a rosy industrial operation for the City, but this mill was destroyed in the great flood of 1890. The county still leads Oregon in the production of sheep per capita.
Other industries such as brickyards, breweries, canning plants, woodworking, furniture making and electronics have flourished and declined over the years.
The greatest wealth in the area was probably the forests and the rich harvest of timber they have produced. Pioneer saw mills cut lumber for early-day construction and lumber was exported from the mouth of the Umpqua, first by sailing vessels and later by steam schooners. After the coming of the railroad, lumber was exported by rail, but still there were vast reserves of virgin timber untouched by the logger until the start of World War II. In 1939 there were only 37 sawmills operating in the county, but by 1947 this number increased to 278, most of them engaged in cutting Douglas Fir lumber. The harvesting and processing of this “green gold” earned Roseburg the title of “Timber Capitol of the Nation.”
The Roseburg area continues to offer many of the attractions which drew the pioneer settler, combined with the modern conveniences and amenities. Fish and game abound, now sought for sport more than necessity; deer are numerous even though the hide hunters of the 1880-1900 period slaughtered as many as 30,000 deer annually, just for their hides. Campgrounds along the beaches and streams served pioneer settlers and prove equally attractive to the families of today. To such pioneer activities as swimming, boating and picnicking have been added skiing, water skiing, diving, hiking and many other outdoor recreations.
Our appreciation to the late Geoge Abdill, Director of the Douglas County Museum for the above history.
Link to Douglas County Museum of Natural and Cultural History Museum
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In 2005, Hampden-Sydney College purchased a 252-acre tract of the old Slate Hill Plantation, located about 2 miles south of the College campus. It was at Slate Hill, then the home of Nathanial Venable, Sr., that a group of men of the Hanover Presbytery met in the first week of February 1775 to establish an academy to educate young men. This academy was soon named Hampden-Sydney College. Nathaniel Venable became a founding trustee of the college and the family has been associated with Hampden-Sydney ever since as trustees, benefactors, faculty, students, and recently, as president in the person of General Samuel V. Wilson, a direct descendent of Nathaniel Venable.
Moving “The Birthplace” to Hampden-Sydney College in 1944. The Slate Hill Plantation house is located in the grove of trees to the right rear.
The Slate Hill Plantation house (shown above) was built by Nathaniel Venable in 1756. The small building on the left is Venable's office where the meeting to form Hampden-Sydney College was held in February 1775. The office was moved to the College campus in 1944 where it is memorialized as "The Birthplace," and the Venable house at Slate Hill was dismantled and removed in the 1970s.
Today, Hampden-Sydney students, led by Dr. Charles Pearson, are working to reconstruct the historic landscape of Slate Hill Plantation during the May Term class, Beneath This Hill Historical Archaeology Class in historical archaeology. This work has included identifying the locations and types of buildings that once existed on the property. Students rely on primary documents such as original deeds, wills, probate inventories, and photographs, as well as oral histories and archaeology.
Nathanial Venable's office, circa 1756, now resides on Hampden-Sydney's campus where it is memorialized as "The Birthplace."
In its May 2011 newsletter, the Esther Thomas Atkinson Museum of Hampden-Sydney College published an article about the reconstruction of the 18th- and 19th-century landscapes at Slate Hill Plantation, entitled "Slate Hill Unearthed." The information in this article comes from the labels and panel text of an exhibit that recently closed at the Atkinson Museum, Beneath This Hill: Historical Archaeology at Slate Hill Plantation, Birthplace of Hampden-Sydney College.
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GENEALOGY-DNA-L ArchivesArchiver > GENEALOGY-DNA > 2002-10 > 1033627186
From: "Annie, The WritingTeacher" <>
Subject: [DNA] Red hair and the "ginger gene"
Date: Wed, 02 Oct 2002 23:39:49 -0700
My physical anthropology prof taught us that red hair was Iranic, not
Celtic, and that the Celts got the red hair from the Galatians of Turkey who
had contact with the Iranic peoples where Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Armenia
meet in the north. The shade of red hair from that part of the world is a
medium to dark auburn-red, sort of a dark orange.
Around 1,600 BC red hair became so fashionable among the Hyksos of Canaan
who imported red-haired Cimmerian women from Anatolia that Egyptian women
used henna to produce that orange-brown color. (See the orange-auburn wigs
worn by nobles in ancient Egypt at the Met. Museum of Art). Henna turns
black hair orange, but the people who lived in Jordan around 9,000 BCE who
built those "apartment houses" in waht is modern Jordan, painted their idols
with red hair.
The Pazyrik people who lived at the Chinese border (Tocharian and Pazyrik
mummies) mostly had red hair. Supposedly they came from the border of
Azerbaijan and Georgia, but red hair is common in Odessa, Ukraine.
Where did red hair come from? The ginger gene that produces red hair was
found to be more than 50,000 years old. In addition, it is also present in
Neanderthals, and probably shows up in the common ancestor of sapiens and
neaderthals.....The gene goes back at least 100,000 years, according to the
article at www.rdos.net/copies/red-hair-origin.htm
A study was made of the gene that turns hair red and skin freckled, and it
turns up commonly among nomadic tribes in Iran who live in the style of
Bedouins, but have no links to the Arabian peninsula, according to them. So
you never know what shows up where.
Two of my Lebanese/Syrian/Sephardi relatives have blue eyes and blonde hair
with pinkish light skin(Aleppo natives). One never knows, but if you read
about all the Syrian physicians such as Ibn Fadlan who journeyed to Kiev in
the Ukraine to trade with the Rus and Scandinavians there in the 10th
century in the book the Travels of Ibn Fadlan, many Scandinavian women were
traded to Arab merchants, particularly to the physicians of the Sultan in
various cities of the Levant and Alexandria. Then you have the Khazar exodus
from where the Volga meets the Caspian into surrounding areas and the
Vikings and Ukrainians that followed them into areas S. of the Caucasus.
I've always heard that red hair was introduced to the Celts who are old
Mediterranean people called the long barrow men who sailed from Spain to
Ireland 9,000 years ago, from peoples to the East. What does your research
show? The health aspects site of red hair gene is at
Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail.
|[DNA] Red hair and the "ginger gene" by "Annie, The WritingTeacher" <>|
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Crump Machine crumbles and Tennessee begins to change party loyalties
In Tennessee, many political changes took place after the end of World War II as the state swung from Democratic to Republican and the Crump Machine crumbled. Gore explains why Tennesseans changed parties and how that sped the disintegration of Crump's political apparatus.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Albert Gore, October 24, 1976. Interview A-0321-2. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
- ALBERT GORE:
As you will recall in that election Mr. Strom Thurmond, former governor
of South Carolina (maybe he was then governor of South Carolina) . . .
- DEWEY W. GRANTHAM:
I think he was.
- ALBERT GORE:
. . . ran as an independent on, I believe he called it, the States'
Rights ticket. Whatever the name of the ticket and whatever the status
of Mr. Thurmond at the time-of course he later became United
States Senator, but I don't recall his exact status at the time; I think
that he was either governor of South Carolina or had been
governor-it was an anti-civil rights ticket. It was a racist
ticket; it was a racist campaign, ultrarightist in other respects too
(on economic issues). It had a very important bearing in Tennessee. Now
you will also recall that at that time Edward H. Crump was the
undisputed political boss of Shelby County, Tennessee, which is our
largest county (in fact, almost 20 percent of the population of
Tennessee then and now lives in Shelby County). Crump supported the
Strom Thurmond ticket, thus taking his organization and the
many, many people who had long been affiliated with the
Democratic party but who, because of political persuasion of the Crump
machine or because of political affinity with Crump and with the things
that Strom Thurmond was saying, likewise left the Democratic party.
Those people have not yet returned, in the main, to the Democratic
party. They supported the George C. Wallace independent campaign;
otherwise they have for the most part supported Republican candidates.
For a long while they did not support Republican candidates for state
offices (I'm referring to the presidential campaign). But come 1960,
1964, they began to support the candidates for governor and the
candidates for the United States Senate bearing the Republican label.
Then in 1970 they went overwhelmingly in this particular group for the
Republican candidate for governor and the Republican candidate for the
United States Senate. So far as Tennessee was concerned this breakaway
of Crump and his machine from the Democratic party in 1948 was a very
significant milestone in the breakup of the preponderancy of the
Democratic party in Tennessee political affairs.
Another significant thing, later on of course, was the murder of Martin
Luther King Jr., and the strife and the riots and the racial and
economic polarization in the Memphis area. So '48 was a watershed; it
had great importance and great bearing. Also in 1948 I believe Estes
Kefauver was elected to the United States Senate here in Tennessee, and
Gordon Browning (then very anti-Crump) was elected as governor of the
state. So Edward Crump had suffered severe defeats in the Democratic
primary, and I had a significant part in that. Other than Kefauver and
Browning themselves I made far more speeches than anyone else in that
campaign. As I recall I supported Browning very strongly and opposed the
Crump machine by name, etc. I made forty-some
speeches in the last three weeks of that campaign, so I recall it
vividly. It was a turning point in the politics of Tennessee, not only
in presidential politics (as I have already outlined) but also it ended
the domination of the whole state by Crump. I should like to point out
that neither Browning nor Kefauver carried Shelby County in 1948, but I
did carry it four years later in 1952.
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"Ive always believed strongly in the worth and dignity of the individual student," says Marianne Williams. "My goal has always been to add value to a students life and, in so doing, help build a students sense of self worth and confidence. Since a birthday is a special occasion, especially for a child, its a wonderful opportunity to lavish praise and attention on that child."
Former student Nissa K. from Kenya has returned many times to teach and lead the class in the "Birthday Song" -- Kenyan style.
Prior to her retirement in May 2007 after 32 years in the classroom, Gilbert taught third grade at Val Vista Lakes Elementary School in Gilbert, Arizona. Traditionally, a birthday celebration in her classroom included singing and a special treat, but then she acquired a small gift box that was decorated with balloons and birthday greetings. She began to use that "Birthday Box" with each celebration and to enclose a small gift, like a little car or other toy. It added to the occasion, but even these small trinkets were costly and time consuming to find.
"When the state quarters were first being minted, my son had given me a large folder portraying a U.S. map and a space on each state to insert that states quarter," Williams recalled. "The original thought was to use the map and quarters as geography and history lessons. Rather than teach one lesson with the map and quarters, the idea just came to me to incorporate the map and quarters into the birthday celebration."
Taylor O. holds the "Birthday Box" in front of the quarters map in Williams' classroom. [Photos provided by Marianne Williams.]
In the decorated "Birthday Box," Williams placed two matching state quarters -- one to put on the map and one for the child to keep. A birthday banner was hung on the board, and the child sat on the classroom stool while he or she received the acknowledgment. Williams took a photo of each child with the Birthday Box, and asked several questions: Where were you born? Do you know what time of day you were born? How big you were at birth (weight and length)? Did you have hair? Does your family have special birthday traditions? Then the student opened the box and put one state quarter on the map, while Williams shared trivia and facts about that state and discussed the significance of the symbols on the coin.
"Students enjoy the recognition and the element of surprise, wondering which state quarter is in the Birthday Box," Williams reported. "Of course, each one loves to receive the gift, either to save or spend.
Several helpful practices made Williams' birthday celebration go smoothly. She collected shiny new quarters from loose change and the bank and stored them in small envelopes with the state names on them. She kept a master list of the quarters and checked them off as they were used, and she wrote her students' birthdays on her master calendar so they would never be overlooked. When one celebration ended, she immediately refilled the box to prepare it for the next.
"This way of celebrating birthdays has proven perfect in meeting several objectives," added Williams. "It honors the student on his or her birthday and teaches a mini lesson on U.S. geography and history. At 25 cents per child, the method also is cost effective. (Quarters used on the map can be saved for the next year.) I like it because it is easily managed, time effective, and fun."
Article by Cara Bafile
Copyright © 2007 Education World
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How to Tell Time in Russian
To get the most out of your vryemya (VR'EH-m'uh) (time) in a Russian-speaking country, know how to state and ask for time and specify times of the day. In Russian, there are many different ways to talk about time depending on how it is used.
The time of day can be described in general terms or specific times. You can use the following words to describe the general time of day.
utro (oo-truh) (morning)
dyen' (d'ehn') (afternoon)
vyechyer (v'eh-chehr) (evening)
Noch' (nohch) (night)
utrom (oo-truhm) (in the morning)
dnyom (dn'ohm) (in the afternoon)
vyechyerom (v'eh-cheh-ruhm) (in the evening)
noch'yu (nohch-yu) (late at night or early in the morning)
syegodnya utrom (see-VOHD-n'uh OO-truhm) (this morning)
syegodnya vyechyerom (see-VOHD-n'uh V'EH-ch'eh-ruhm) (this evening)
To say noon in Russian, you just say poldyen' (POHL-d'ehn') (literally: half-day). When you want to say midnight, you say polnoch' (POHL-nuhch) (literally: half night).
To find out what time it is specifically, say Izvinitye pozhalujsta. Skol'ko syejchas vryemyeni? (eez-vee-nee-t'eh pah-zhah-luh-stuh. skohl'-kuh see-chahs vr'eh-m'eh-nee?) (Excuse me, please. What time is it?) Like most of Europe, Russia uses the 24-hour system for all kinds of official messages: train schedules, TV programs, working hours, and so on. So, instead of 3 p.m., you'll hear pyatnadtsdat' chasov (peet-naht-tsuht' chuh-sohf) (15 o'clock [literally: 15 hours]).
In casual conversation, most people just use the 12-hour clock. To indicate a.m. say utra (oot-RAH) (literally: in the morning) and p.m. would be dnya (dn'ah) (literally: in the day).
Use the following terms to express the time between the hours — the minuta (mee-NOO-tuh) (minutes; time increments) — in Russian:
pyatnadtsat' minut (peet-NAHT-tsuht' mee-NOOT) (15 minutes)
polovina (puh-lah-VEE-nuh) (half of [the next hour])
byez (b'ehs) (without)
Use the word byez (b'ehs) (without) to indicate the minutes before an hour, as in Syejchas byez pyatnadtsati pyat' (see-CHAHS bees peet-NAHT-tsuh-tee p'aht') (It's 4:45 [literally: It's 5 without 15 minutes]). However, when doing this you must but the number of minutes into the genitive case. Here are the genitive-case forms of the most commonly used numerals with this expression:
odnoj (ahd-NOHY) (1)
pyati (pee-TEE) (5)
dyesyati (dee-see-TEE) (10)
pyat'nadtsati (peet-NAHT-tsuh-tee) (15)
dvadtsati (dvaht-tsuh-TEE) (20)
dvadtsati pyati (dvuht-tsuh-TEE pee-TEE) (25)
To state more irregular times, you can just say Syejchas . . . Hour + minutes, as in Syejchas chyetyrye dyesyat' (see-CHAHS chee-TIH-r'eh D'EH-s'uht') (It's 4:10).
Russians say "o'clock" when expressing time, just as in the United States. However, saying "o'clock" in Russian is kind of tricky depending on what time it is. For most numerals, you'd use the word chasov, as in Syejchas pyat chasov (see-CHAHS p'aht' chuh-SOHF) (It's five o'clock).However, if the word for the time ends in the numerals 1, 2, 3, or 4, follow these simple rules:
If the time is one o'clock, just use the word chas, as in Syejchas chas (see-CHAHS chahs) (It's one o'clock).
If the time is 9:00 o'clock in the evening, use the word chas, as in Syejchas dvadtsat' odin chas (see-chahs DVAHT-tsuht' ah-DEEN chahs) (It's 21 o'clock).
If the time ends in dva (dvah) (2), tri (tree) (3), chyetyrye (chee-TIH-ree) (4), use the word chasa, as in Syejchas tri chasa (see-CHAHS tree chuh-SAH) (It's 3 o'clock).
To ask what time something will happen or has happened, use the phrase V kakoye vryemya . . . (f kuh-KOH-ee VR'EH-m'uh . . .) (At what time . . .).
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You may have seen them in "Star Wars," "Star Trek," and other science fiction films and shows. The X-wing fighters, the Death Star, the Millennium Falcon and the Enterprise used laser weapons in great fictional battles to conquer and/or defend the universe. And starships aren't the only ones packing laser heat. Han Solo and others carried the blaster in "Star Wars." And Captain Kirk and other Starfleet personnel used phasers in "Star Trek." All of these weapons used directed energy, in the form of a laser beam, to disable or kill an opponent.
But what are the advantages of using a laser as a weapon? Is it even possible? Could you use such a weapon to stun an opponent? These questions are being addressed by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate. This program is developing high-energy lasers, microwave technologies and other futuristic weapons systems, such as the Airborne Laser and the PHaSR.
Lasers and other directed-energy weapons have many advantages over conventional projectile weapons like bullets and missiles:
- The weapons' light outputs can travel at the velocity of light.
- The weapons can be precisely targeted.
- Their energy output can be controlled -- high-power for lethal outcomes or cutting and low-power for nonlethal outcomes.
The Air Force has already developed three weapons systems that are being tested and, in some cases, used. These systems include the Airborne Laser (Advanced Tactical Laser), the PHaSR and the Active Denial System. Read on to find out how lasers and these weapons systems work.
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Search Result for "altered":
1. changed in form or character without becoming something else;
- Example: "the altered policy promised success"
- Example: "following an altered course we soon found ourselves back in civilization"
- Example: "he looked...with clouded eyes and with an altered manner of breathing"- Charles Dickens
2. having testicles or ovaries removed;
[syn: altered, neutered]
3. changed in order to improve or made more fit for a particular purpose;
- Example: "seeds precisely adapted to the area"
- Example: "instructions altered to suit the children's different ages"
[syn: adapted, altered]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Alter \Al"ter\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Altered; p. pr. & vb. n. Altering.] [F. alt['e]rer, LL. alterare, fr. L. alter other, alius other. Cf. Else, Other.] 1. To make otherwise; to change in some respect, either partially or wholly; to vary; to modify. "To alter the king's course." "To alter the condition of a man." "No power in Venice can alter a decree." --Shak. [1913 Webster] It gilds all objects, but it alters none. --Pope. [1913 Webster] My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. --Ps. lxxxix. 34. [1913 Webster] 2. To agitate; to affect mentally. [Obs.] --Milton. [1913 Webster] 3. To geld. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster] Syn: Change, Alter. Usage: Change is generic and the stronger term. It may express a loss of identity, or the substitution of one thing in place of another; alter commonly expresses a partial change, or a change in form or details without destroying identity. [1913 Webster]
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|Birth: ||Nov. 23, 1802|
|Death: ||May 3, 1852|
She was born at Greta Hall, Keswick, the fourth child and only daughter of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his wife Sarah Flicker of Bristol.
She married her cousin, Henry Nelson Coleridge, then a Chancery barrister in London at Crosthwaitc Church, Keswick in September 1829.
The first eight years of her married life were spent in a little cottage on Down-shire Hill, in Hampstead. There four of her children were born, of whom two survived. In 1834 Mrs Coleridge published her Pretty Lessons in -Verse for Good Children ; with some Lessons in Latin in Easy Rhyme.
Henry Coleridge died in 1843 leaving his widow to finish the task of editing her father's works. To these she added some compositions of her own.
She died at Chester Place, May 3 1852, and was buried by the side of her father, mother, and husband at St Michael's churchyard, Highgate
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 - 1834)
St Michael Churchyard
London Borough of Camden
Greater London, England
Created by: Tom Cummings
Record added: Dec 24, 2011
Find A Grave Memorial# 82329301
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Find information on common issues.
Ask questions and find answers from other users.
Suggest a new site feature or improvement.
Check on status of your tickets.
Shiv Gopal Yadav
Simulation of laser devices with ActiveMedia nanophotonics tool (ACME NPDS)
This tutorial is intended to demonstrate how to build a device and analyze its optical properties and lasing behavior.
Solar Cell Fundamentals
19 Aug 2011 | Courses | Contributor(s): Mark Lundstrom, J. L. Gray, Muhammad A. Alam
The modern solar cell was invented at Bell Labs in 1954 and is currently receiving renewed attention as a potential contribution to addressing the world's energy challenge. This set of five...
Solar Cells Lecture 4: What is Different about Thin-Film Solar Cells?
29 Aug 2011 | Online Presentations | Contributor(s): Muhammad A. Alam
Thin film solar cells promise acceptable efficiency at low cost. This
tutorial examines the device physics of thin-film solar cells, which
generally require a different type of analysis...
Solar Cells Lecture 5: Organic Photovoltaics
Organic solar cells make use of low-cost organic polymers for
photovoltaics. Although these solar cells may appear to be quite
different from solar cells made with conventional,...
Thermoelectric Power Factor Calculator for Nanocrystalline Composites
0.0 out of 5 stars
18 Oct 2008 | Tools | Contributor(s): Terence Musho, Greg Walker
Quantum Simulation of the Seebeck Coefficient and Electrical Conductivity in a 2D Nanocrystalline Composite Structure using Non-Equilibrium Green's Functions
Two-Dimensional Scattering Matrix Simulations of Si MOSFET'S
28 Jun 2013 | Papers | Contributor(s): Carl R. Huster
For many years now, solid state device simulators have been based on the drift-diffusion equations. As transistor sizes have been reduced, there has been considerable concern about the predictive...
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Posted by Roger on Monday, June 28, 2010 at 9:38pm.
I need some help again with these.I have to correct faulty parallelism in the following sentences. I think I have corrected a couple but some I need help on.
1. Activities on Wednesday afternoons include fishing trips, dance lessons, and computers.
2. Arriving at Lake Powell in a thunderstorm, the campers found it safer to remain in their cars than to set up their tents.
3. The streets were not only too steep but also too narrow for anything other than pedestrian traffic.
4. More digital artists in the show are from the South Shore than the North Shore.
5. To load her toolbox, Anika the Clown gathered hats of different sizes, put in two tubes of face paint, arranged a bundle of extra-long straws, added a bag of colored balloons, and included a battery-powered hair dryer.
- English - Writeacher, Monday, June 28, 2010 at 9:46pm
#1 - "fishing trips, dance lessons, and computers" -- The first two in this series are things people can take (take trips, take lessons...). How can you fix the 3rd element so it fits the same pattern?
#4 - What word needs to be inserted before "North Shore" in order for this to be parallel with "South Shore"?
#5 - The verbs gathered, put, arranged, and added are all "active" actions but included is more of a passive. How can you make the last element of the series fit with the others? What verb can you use?
I don't see any problems with #2 and #3.
- English - Roger, Monday, June 28, 2010 at 10:14pm
#1 Computer lessons?
#4 from the North Shore?
- English - Writeacher, Monday, June 28, 2010 at 11:40pm
I agree with your corrections for 1 and 4.
I see no difference in the last one. Try this:
5. To load her toolbox, Anika the Clown gathered hats of different sizes, put in two tubes of face paint, arranged a bundle of extra-long straws, added a bag of colored balloons, and packed a battery-powered hair dryer.
- English - Roger, Tuesday, June 29, 2010 at 9:50pm
Awesome thank you
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Black Abolitionist Archive
Subtitle: The Church Must Awake!
Speaker or author: Sears, Robert
Newspaper or publication: Colored American (1837 - 1842)
The writer hopes that the recent murder of a newspaper owner in Illinois will cause the Church to change its position and begin to preach against slavery. By its silence (and even its own slave ownership in some cases), the Church conveyes a message of acceptance of slavery to its congregations. The writer emphasizes the power of the Church to sway public opinion and he hopes this event will stir ministers to action that will put an end to slavery and prejudice.
Description of file(s): one scanned, two columned, newspaper page
People: Lovejoy, Elijah P.
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http://research.udmercy.edu/find/special_collections/digital/baa/item.php?record_id=144&collectionCode=baa
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This weekend, the city of Belgrade, Serbia, will have its first Gay Pride celebration in nearly a decade—another march to celebrate diversity and show solidarity in the ongoing international LGBT equality movement. Rashad Robinson, GLAAD’s Senior Director of Media Programs, has been asked by the U.S. State Department to attend Belgrade Pride to work with other activists, academics and media professionals as part of the Diplomacy in Action Program. He will share his expertise in working with the media to shift cultural attitudes on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues—while presenting a profile of the US LGBT community, and GLAAD’s contributions as an essential player. This State Department sponsored trip, in conjunction with Belgrade Pride, will take place the weekend of October 10.
Serbians—only 10 years removed from the violent reign of former leader Slobodan Milosevic—live in an emerging democratic country, but must still be mindful of their very recent, very violent past. The independence of Kosovo in the late 1990s and the resulting war and genocide of ethnic Albanians is still fresh in the region’s mind and violence persists. The gay community in Serbia is often the target of violence, and Belgrade’s Pride festivities in particular have been known to spark violence against gay Serbians.
Just last year, the Belgrade Pride celebration was cancelled due to security concerns, and despite similar concerns this year, the LGBT community is committed to standing up and allowing their voices to be heard. GLAAD, the human rights organization Amnesty International, and other parade organizers in the region have voiced support of Belgrade Pride.
While Pride festivities have become commonplace among some LGBT communities in the past 40 years, they still are groundbreaking in other areas. 2009’s Shanghai Pride was the first of its kind for mainland China, the world’s most populous country and a nation where acceptance is slowly on the rise. Earlier this year, Nepal’s “International” Gay Pride was also significant. The Nepali pride parade marked the beginning of a heightened acceptance of its gay community and established the country as part of the growing LGBT equality movement, despite its past.
Pride celebrations across the world represent some of the same things—namely, an opportunity to peacefully demonstrate the unity of the LGBT community and its allies against oppression and discrimination. Yet for as many similarities as these events share, Pride marches encompass just as many local distinctions which reveal the disparity of acceptance from city to city and country to country. This constant and courageous march for visibility, respect and equality continues—and this October, Belgrade Pride will be the next step forward for Serbia.
GLAAD is excited to share our media advocacy work with the proud LGBT people and allies of Belgrade this year, and we wish them a peaceful and joyous Pride that will hopefully provide an important first step toward changing the hearts and minds of the Serbian people in support of equality for all.
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September 27, 2010
Medical Profession Needs Special Training To Handle Self-Harm
Healthcare professionals are still not receiving the appropriate training and support they need to help people who self-harm and this can result in negative attitudes and inadequate levels of care.
Those are the key findings of a research review carried out by mental health specialists from the University of Nottingham, UK, and published in the October issue of the Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing.Staff nurse Jo McHale and lecturer Anne Felton studied 19 papers from the UK, Australia, Sweden and Ireland, dating from 1998 to 2009 and covering the views of 1,300 nurses, other healthcare professionals and service users. These included all aspects of self-harm, from patients who cut themselves to those that try to commit suicide.
"Research has historically shown that people who have self-harmed often have negative experiences because of the attitudes of the healthcare professionals employed to help them" says Jo McHale. "Our study showed that, on the whole little has changed. But there were a number of encouraging studies that highlighted how better education and clinical supervision can improve attitudes, especially when it is supported by government guidance."
McHale and Felton found that the lack of professional education on self-harm for healthcare staff was the main cause of negative attitudes. Where special education programmes did exist, they fostered more positive attitudes and improved quality of care, because staff had a better understanding of why patients self-harm.
The researchers also discovered that lack of support left nurses feeling that they were failing in their duty of care towards patients who self-harmed and that fear of litigation affected their confidence.
"The gap between what health professionals saw as their role and what they were expected to do in practice also influenced negative attitudes" says Jo McHale. "For example, some felt it was wrong to remove client's property and that leaving them in nightwear to stop them self-harming contravened their rights. The people who self-harmed also had more challenging needs than medical patients on wards and were subject to different rules.
"Negative attitudes were also linked to the health professionals' perceptions of the client's ability to control their self harm. Staff were more negative if they felt that the factors leading to the self-harm were within the client's control.
"Service users who presented frequently at hospitals were also seen to challenge healthcare staff, affecting their professional ability and confidence to cope with such situations.
"On the plus side, attitudes were mainly positive when staff were knowledgeable about self harm and training and experience clearly did make a difference."
Specific findings from the 19 papers included:
Lack of training
* Only nine per cent of the 53 nurses and 17 doctors who took part in a UK survey had received self-harm training.
* A survey of 43 Australian emergency department nurses found that only 21 per cent had received self-harm education and 88 per cent had heard other staff make negative statements about patients who had self-harmed.
* A UK study of 89 nurses and healthcare professionals working in an emergency department showed that staff felt self-harm training was inadequate and that beliefs about the causes of self-harm affected care provision.
Benefits of training
* An Australian study reported that 29 emergency department nurses who had undergone special self-harm training listed new communication skills, positive effects and lessons for the future among the benefits.
* Fifty-two nurses and 15 junior medics from a UK emergency department gained a greater understanding of self-harm from an education programme and the initiative also resulted in better clinical recording on the patients' notes.
* Sixty-nine healthcare staff who took part in a UK study showed a sustained reduction in negativity following special self-harm education.
"The consensus in the papers we reviewed is that education and training are vital when it comes to caring for people who have self-harmed and that health professionals face similar issues across the world" says Jo McHale.
On the Net:
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Private Methods are a Code Smell
Private methods are a code smell. They should be moved to collaborating classes and made public.
Private helper methods indicate classes are doing too many things. Moving private helper methods to different classes, including creating new classes if necessary, splits the original responsibilities across multiple classes leading to simpler, better designs.
Sometimes, private methods are created to split complex logic or processes into small, easily digested pieces. Often, such private methods have gnarly dependencies because they directly access or modify internal state. Moving these methods to appropriate collaborators (again, creating new classes as necessary) exposes such dependencies. Eliminating these dependencies simplifies the new API, which improves readability and understanding.
Sometimes, private methods are created just to give pieces of functionality more descriptive names. Although descriptive names are desirable, creating private methods to provide descriptive names for things is still a smell. Moving these methods to collaborators and making them public creates opportunities for future reuse without reducing the clarity of the original code.
Taking small steps to improve design leads to flashes of brilliant design inspiration. As code slowly evolves into better shape, bits and pieces fall into place until another, superior design becomes clear. Making private methods public and moving them to (perhaps missing) collaborators is a simple and effective way to quickly improve design. The resulting code is simpler, more testable, more reusable, more cohesive, and less coupled. And when a superior design suddenly presents itself, a few public methods on many classes are easier to refactor than a few classes with many private methods.
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Family tree charts are very useful for an overall view of our ancestors, while descendant chart printouts help us understand, in a linear format, how the generations of our family relate to each other.
Now there's an entertaining way, via MyHeritage.com's new free tool, to learn family statistics contained in your data.
Called "Family Statistics," the new tool will help researchers access and understand 45 sets of statistics gathered from the information in their trees. It will also help identify data entry errors so they can be fixed.
The stats are organized into six Family Zones: names, places, ages, births, marriages and divorces.
Colorful charts indicate the age bracket distribution across your tree, as well as oldest and youngest family members. Learn who lived the longest, who married the youngest, who married the latest, which couple had the most children and many more details, such as the most common birth month of your relatives.
Family Statistics is completely free and easily accessed from the MyHeritage welcome page or from the Reports tab of members' Family Tree sites. If you've just joined MyHeritage, but have not yet uploaded a Gedcom or entered family tree date, you won't see the Reports tab. That should encourage you to add more data s soon as possible!
Americans celebrate Thanksgiving today - it is also the sixth annual National Family History Day, declared by the US Surgeon General.
Everyone should know their family medical history. The holidays are great times to get this project started, to collect information from the gathered generations and learn what they know about their own parents and grandparents.
Knowing as much of this information as possible may help assist children and grandchildren to be aware of family risks and recommendations. It will help you when you talk to your own doctor or other healthcare professional.
Most of us have been to a new doctor whose first questions for us concern what diseases or conditions are in our family. They ask about diabetes, heart disease, kidney problems, cancer, allergies. They might ask what your grandparents suffered from and when they died (very young, a long life?).
I would hazard a guess that we may know what our parents suffered from, and perhaps the medical conditions of our grandparents, but how many of us know much more than that? To learn more, talk to your relatives about their own ancestors. Write down what they say, even if they are using old medical terms. There are websites that provide current terminology for the old names, search for "old medical terms."
Did you know that armies of volunteer mapmakers are out there - all around the world - adding data to existing maps, fixing errors on those which exist, and creating digital maps of places for which no maps are available.
A picture is worth a thousand words and a map of a place closely associated with nostalgia and family history uncovers long-forgotten memories. Those memories reveal that we don't even know what we've forgotten until a map or photo jogs those brain cells. I applaud all those mapmakers!
I learned about the new term geo-volunteerism from a recent New York Times technology article that focused on how these individuals are really making a difference.
Have you ever experienced a problem while relying on a GPS device? Perhaps the city maps are not updated in a timely fashion or perhaps the responsible company relies on a big digital map provider who doesn't have a resident army on the ground.
When visiting a genealogy society in northern California in 2007, the group's president picked me up from the train and we drove to his home. As we neared his neighborhood, he pointed to his GPS device and said to watch it. The disembodied voice kept insisting the driver turn left at the next intersection, but my friend was in the right lane. I looked left and saw a large building. If we turned left, we'd drive in the front door. He turned right into his own street. This was a few years ago, and I hope that the city's maps have now been updated by some of these mapping volunteers.
With thousands of geo-volunteers around the world, local maps are getting quick fixes. People who live in the area know almost immediately when a new road has opened, when a new building has changed traffic patterns, or when a new housing complex hasn't been added to existing maps and GPS devices. They know about these things because they cover their own cities and neighborhoods every day.
The article demonstrates that Google and other websites now understand that local residents can fix problems more quickly than professional digital map providers.
Two websites were mentioned in the article - OpenStreetMap and Wikimapia - and I decided to see what they might have for places I have lived. The non-profit OpenStreetMap has some 180,000 contributors who have made free maps available to everyone. Its maps are used in IPhones and even on a White House website. Wikimapia's volunteers create maps that are layered on top of Google's.
I checked an online resource for locations where my family had lived in New York. In the Bronx, we lived in Parkchester, a large, multi-building development built by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and now operated as a condominium. This map (right) shows our apartment building (well, the general location), as the interior streets of the development are not on this map.
As family history researchers, we are usually fascinated by maps - at least I am. These visual interpretations help us understand our family's origins in other countries and provide information on how our immigrant ancestors traveled to ports to board their ships, in addition to understanding historical events.
Those maps can be found in gazetteers and online. There are also local maps that can help us locate relatives who lived in towns and cities. Some local maps are for tax purposes, and others were developed for fire insurance liability.
In the US, the Sanborn Company published more than 660,000 maps from 1867-1970. These maps were drawn to help insurance underwriters understand the risks of insuring buildings in cities and towns.
For more than a century, over 660,000 Sanborn maps have demonstrated the growth and development of more than 12,000 American towns and cities. New digitalization projects, such as the one at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County (Ohio), preserve the original colors in the two volumes scanned so far. Volume 1 runs 1904-1917, while Volume 2 runs 1904-1930.
The originals were colored according to construction key and other details. Some libraries have microfilmed copies of the maps which are only in black and white, but digitization preserves the original colors (see below)
Let's take a look at what the Cincinnati maps hold for illustration purposes. At this library, there's a separate PDF document online for each index page and map sheet.
All the sheets are on a map index (see below). Each sheet shows about four to six blocks. The scale of 50:1 means that each inch of the map covers 50 feet, allowing for considerable detail. Major public buildings include houses of worship, companies, public schools and more.
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http://genblog.myheritage.com/2009/11/
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I have a question regarding pictures -Are pictures that are manafactured through means such as video, computers etc.
(i.e. they come on and off the screen)permissable? Can you please verify this with proof and evidence?
Praise be to Allaah.
The ruling on a thing depends on the way in which it is perceived. It is essential to know how the picture-making you refer to is done. The author of Risaalat Ahkaam al-Tasweer (The ruling on picture-making) said:
1. Movie pictures or pictures on a cinema film:
This is a method which transmits moving pictures with sound for a limited time span, showing all the events that happened within this time frame. The picture which is shown by the film on the screen is the shadow or reflection of that thing, not its real essence, after it has been recorded on the film. It says in al-Sharee’ah al-Islamiyyah wa’l-Funoon (Islamic sharee’ah and the Arts) that the cinema is called [in Arabic] akhyaliyyah [from khayaal, meaning shadow or dim reflection], “because it shows the shadows of things, not their real essence.”
2 – TV pictures
This is a method which transmits pictures and sounds at the same time via an electrical impulse. This is the result of the effect of light from the object whose picture is being taken being reflected on a mica sheet which is covered with a vast number of tiny particles made of photosensitive material, manufactured from silver oxide and caesium, of which the particles are separated from one another and isolated electrically.
This kind of image-making using machines is very similar to the image on a movie film, but in TV pictures, the images are changed to electronic signals, then to electromagnetic waves, which are then either sent via antennas to be picked up by the receiving apparatus in TV sets, within the range that the signal can reach, or they are sent to be stored in the form of magnetic changes on plastic tapes that have been plated with the appropriate magnetic substance that can store these waves.
In order to show what has been recorded on these tapes after these waves have been stored, it has to pass through a machine which transforms it once more into electronic signals then sends it to a screen in the form of electrical signals, so that it appears as a picture, but only after a complex operation.
The TV set is the equipment which receives the electrical waves and gathers them, then transmits them in a regulated manner in the form of a picture with complete features.
There is another kind which is considered to be similar to this kind of image-making. This is something similar to the telephone which is used in some industrially-advanced countries, which transmits both the voice and the image of the speaker, so both parties can see one another on the screen of the device on which they are talking.
Similarly, there are cameras which are installed at the doors of houses. This system picks up the voice and image of the person who is coming to the house and transmits it to a screen inside the house, so that whoever is inside the house can see it clearly. And similarly there is equipment which is used to watch out for criminals stealing and so on in banks, stores, etc.
These kinds of equipment are considered to be of one kind, but are used for a variety of purposes, whereby the camera covers the area which is to be watched over, and it transmits the images to a screen like a TV, where the image appears clearly. New things are appearing all the time, and we do not know what will appear in the future. If this indicates anything, it indicates the mind-boggling expansion of the use of machines to make images of both kinds, both still and moving, in many areas, including manufacturing, war, security, education, medicine, social, etc.
Ahkaam al-Tasweer by Ahmad ibn ‘Ali Waasil, p. 65-67
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:
With regard to pictures made in the modern fashion, they fall into two categories:
The first category is those which have no tangible substance (and can only be seen by running them through a machine), as I was told is the case with pictures on video tapes. There is no ruling at all concerning these, and they do not come under the prohibition at all. Hence the scholars who forbid making pictures with cameras on paper (photographs) permitted this (video pictures), and said that there is nothing wrong with this. Then it was asked, is it permissible to film lectures which are given in the mosques? The (scholarly) view was that it is better not to do that, because it may disturb the worshippers and because they may film things that may not be appropriate, and so on.
The second category is fixed or still pictures on paper (photographs) …
But the matter needs further discussion if one wants to make these kind of permissible pictures. For they are subject to five rulings which depend on the intention. If the intention is something forbidden, then it is haraam. If he intends something waajib (obligatory), then it is waajib. Sometimes pictures may be essential, especially moving pictures. For example, if we see someone in the act of committing a crime against a person’s rights, such as an attempt to kill and so on, and we cannot prove it in any way but by taking pictures, then in this case taking pictures becomes waajib, especially in cases where pictures may decide the case. The means are subject to the rulings on the ends. If we make these pictures in order to prove the identity of a person for fear that someone else may be accused of the crime, this is also acceptable, indeed it is essential.
But if we take these pictures just to enjoy looking at them, this is undoubtedly haraam... And Allaah knows best.” (See Al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 2/197-199)
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From Spelling Plus 1000 Words’ website:
90% of text in English consists of just 1000 base words! Spelling Plus will help you teach the most commonly used and misspelled words to mastery, ensuring improvement in students’ first-draft writing. Beyond the core list, personal words keep gifted spellers challenged while giving poor spellers the repetition and practice they need. Success-oriented strategies enable teachers to focus on progress and encourage students without sacrificing high standards. Spelling Plus may be used as a text or supplement. Reproducible worksheets are included.
Recommended for grades K-6. Dictation is an essential part of the program. You can make up your own sentences or use those in the Dictation Resource Book.
Have you ever used Spelling Plus 1000 Words toward Spelling Success? How did it work for your family? Share your review below.
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Have you ever wondered why some people appear more attracted to nature than others? Or did you know that your brain comes with its own unique naturalistic intelligence? Nature teaches people how to live life to the fullest, by providing lessons from an outside environment, to extend mental growth. You may relate patterns that show how frogs develop from eggs to tadpoles, for instance, to create solutions for life’s changing faces in other developmental areas.
Naturalistic, like other intelligences, tends to grow stronger as people enjoy nature, research weather patterns, relate to pets, hike along park trails, or enjoy the bubbling brook on a windy day. Watch the stars, moon and galaxy for patterns and movement and you begin to stretch naturalistic acumen as astronomers do. Collect rocks, study shells, or identify insects, and you’ll grow dendrite connections for more of the same.
People strong in naturalistic intelligence will likely offer the best solutions to help others respond to global warming threats. Yet all brains are equipped to observe nature for lessons in successful living and in caring for their naturalistic surroundings.
Naturalistic often joins together with additional intelligences. In this video, for instance, music is used to create a background of appreciation. Hike in the woods to categorize trees and you take advantage of bodily kinesthetic intelligence, and so on.
What does this video communicate about nature’s perspective on:
Would you also agree that nature could have inspired Armstrong’s music here? Or does it seem reasonable to you that nature adds value at times to mental relaxation and harmony that most people crave?
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The Community of Sant’Egidio, founded in Rome in 1968 and considered one of the new movements in the Catholic church, has long has a special commitment to Africa. The community helped negotiate the Mozambique peace accords, and its DREAM project is considered a model for anti-AIDS efforts. This morning, the founder of Sant’Egidio, Italian layman Andrea Riccardi, published an essay on the Synod for Africa in Corriere della Sera, Italy’s leading daily newspaper. Following is an NCR translation of Riccardi’s piece.
"The Church and the New Reality of Africa, No Longer the Beggar of the World"
By Andrea Riccardi
African priests, bishops must resist the temptations of 'power'
The Synod for Africa has begun. After the trip of Benedict XVI in Cameroon and Angola last March, the church now ponders the general conditions of the sick continent." Here, Catholicism has seen impressive growth in the 20th century.
The number of Catholics rose from less than two million in 1900 to more than 160 million today. The era of colonialism was an intense missionary season, but the church didn’t arrive on the continent in the wake of the colonial powers. Beginning in the 1950s it began to 'Africanize,' taking on an African face. It has known grave difficulties and persecutions, and not just for Catholics. The Orthodox Patriarch of Ethiopia, Paulos (who has been invited to the synod), knew the hard persecution of the dictator Menghistu, who threw him into jail and assassinated many religious.
In the 1990s, the church in Africa had a central role in the transition from dictatorship to democracy. Great figures among Catholics took their place from the beginning of independence, such as the Sengalese leader Senghor (one of the few leaders of his era who spontaneously relinquished his power) or President Nyerere in Tanzania.
And today? Catholicism is a transitional state, while continuing to be one of the great human resources of Africa. But in what sense?
The church is challenged by the vitality of Islam, which is sometimes radical. But it also faces an alternative Christian message: free churches, sects, which propose a ‘hot,’ sentimental Christianity, with emphasis on miracles. Benedict XVI spoke about the risks of “religious fundamentalism, mixed with political and economic interests … Groups that have different religious affiliations,” he said yesterday, “are spreading throughout the African continent. They do so in the name of God … teaching and practicing not love and the respect of freedom, but intolerance and violence.”
The church feels the reduced numbers and the aging of Western missionaries. In Africa, the Catholic churches are always full, but in some countries Catholicism has a less central position than it once did, and it’s increasingly challenged by religious and cultural pluralism. These problems are clear to Benedict XVI, who, in this ‘Year of the Priest’, looks with attention to the 34,000 African priests. Africa has young priests, courageous and generous, but sometimes tempted by the exercise of a clerical ‘power.’ One can’t generalize, but the style of power, typical of African society, can also infect bishops and priests. This situation has an impact upon Catholic laity. The great figures among the laity (Nyerere or Senghor) are now gone. The laity (and female religious), who are decisive for the life of the church, in Africa are often seen only as collaborators of the priests. One sees this in the absence of Catholics in many cases from the leadership classes. Can the African Synod give vitality to the church on the continent in all its components? Pope Ratzinger has proposed, not structural adjustments, but the “highest measure of Christian life, which is holiness.”
The bishops must face the scenario of the wars, disease and poverty of the continent. But Africa isn’t entirely ‘dark.’ Despite the crises, it is returning to the center of global interest. One sees this, for example, in the policy of China. In a recent conference organized by the foundation of the Bank of Sicily, Africa was presented as a great opportunity for European business. Currently, 33 African nations are experiencing economic growth. There’s a young generation emerging, ready to exploit the opportunities of globalization, with a different cultural horizon from the traditional one. When talking about African culture it’s important to be careful, because a discussion of ‘African authenticity’ risks revealing itself as ideological and outdated. African culture today is far more modern than ethnic and traditional images based on folklore, whether they come from Europeans or Africans.
Understanding of Africa must become more sophisticated than the painful and simplified image from the time of the dictatorships. Society, which has become complex, is no longer naturally religious as is so often said. If large masses of people are still caught between the past and the future, many Africans have nevertheless taken an enormous step forward. Given how fast things are changing, perhaps the Catholic bishops should re-read the reality, not trusting in stereotypes, in order to better understand the world in which their faithful live. The pope has given an example, speaking strongly of the attractiveness of “practical materialism.”
Grave situations of misery, war and sickness persist. Curing AIDS requires important resources, and African can’t do it alone. It needs help, investment, and insertion into the global network. Nonetheless, Africa also has much to give at every level. It’s not the beggar of the world. It’s noteworthy that, in the year of economic crisis, the church is putting Africa at the center: “Africa represents an immense spiritual lung, for a humanity that appears to be in a crisis of faith and hope,” the pope said. But this lung can get sick. The Catholic bishops can’t merely administer a great spiritual patrimony, but they have to go deeper and take the risk of the path of the future.
Additional reports are here:
- To bongos and bass guitar, pope calls Africa an 'immense spiritual lung'
- Africa is no longer the 'Beggar of the World'
- Africa’s dynamism real but also deceptive, cardinal says
- Say hello to Africa's next great hope to be pope
Check the NCR Today blog throughout the day for updates on the synod for Africa from NCR senior correpsondent, John L. Allen Jr.
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Back | Programme Area: Gender and Development (2000 - 2009), Special Events (2000 - 2009)
Women, Political Parties and Social Movements in South Asia
This paper will explore two sets of relationships that have until now received relatively little scholarly attention: between women and political parties, and between political parties and social movements that organize women. The focus of this paper will be on South Asia, with case studies of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and, given the area of expertise of the author, particularly India.
The paper will address a range of issues concerning women, parties and movements in South Asia. First, what determines the success of political parties in recruiting, retaining and promoting women? To what extent are there systematic differences between parties of the left, right and centre, and between national and regional parties in this regard? How common and effective are quotas for increasing women’s representation within parties? How effectively have the women’s wings of political parties defended women’s interests?
A second issue concerns the strategies that parties adopt to gain women’s support during elections. Parties have increasingly directed their appeals at particular groups, including women, by addressing their distinctive interests and identities and by having women organize electoral campaigns. At what point, if any, do parties that receive significant support from women feel compelled to represent their interests? To what extent have women’s movements exploited parties’ need for women’s votes by pressuring them to address certain issues or to honour their pre-election commitments?
Third, what is the relationship between women’s leadership and women’s representation in political parties? From Srimavo Bandranaike to Chandrika Kumaratunga, Khaleda Zia, Sheikh Hasina, Indira Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto, South Asia has had the largest number of female heads of state of any region in the world. What impact have they had on women’s participation in party politics during their tenure in office? What are the systemic or structural obstacles to their effectiveness?
A fourth issue concerns relationship between political parties and social movements. How successful have women’s movements been when they have tried to strengthen parties’ commitments to gender equality? A second kind of social movement with which parties have allied in the ethnic/religious movement. What implications has this had for women’s participation?
- Publication and ordering details
Pub. Date: 15 Jul 2005
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Cathey Daniels, (865) 576-9539
June 28, 2007
Pact to Ensure Uninterrupted Research Access
Oak Ridge, TN —One sure thing about the World Wide Web: Like the weather, it will change. Given this dynamic nature of the Web and the importance of preservation of scientific information in a digital environment, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) recently partnered with Internet Archive to ensure uninterrupted access to more than 1 million online research papers from the E-print Network. This was achieved through the Internet Archive's Web archiving service, Archive-It, a Web-based application that enables partners to harvest, manage, search, and preserve collections of archived Web pages and born digital content. This collection is hosted by the Internet Archive and can be viewed at www.archiveit.org with free and permanent access to the public. [You may be directed to non-federal databases or Web sites. OSTI is not responsible for the content, design, format, or maintenance of these pages.]
The DOE E-print Network is the largest collection that a federal institution has undertaken in an on-going effort to preserve their own documents and history through Archive-It.
The E-Print Network is a deep Web source of scientific and technical information created by researchers active in a wide range of fields, including chemistry, biology and life sciences, materials science, nuclear sciences and engineering, energy research, and computer and information technologies. Information customers can use E-print Network to browse scientific Web sites, find scientific societies, receive alerts, and search and access scientific e-prints, the documents circulated electronically to facilitate peer exchange and scientific advancement. OSTI leads development and adaptation of new capabilities for preservation and dissemination of research important to DOE.
Preservation of scientific Web content is important. There are currently more than 25,000 scientific Web sites accessible via the DOE OSTI E-print Network. Much of the information on these Web sites could change at a moment's notice. Through archiving periodic snapshots of the nation's scientific and technical information, the Internet Archive/OSTI partnership will ensure long-term stability of the E-print Network and other research collections important to DOE.
"As a result of the pioneering partnership between the Internet Archive and OSTI, we are ensuring long-term, continuous access to the growing body of cutting-edge scientific and technical knowledge produced by scientists and research engineers," said OSTI Director Dr. Walter Warnick. "Without a way to periodically archive this material, important science content within this ever-growing, ever-changing online, e-print environment could disappear."
The Internet Archive is a non-profit organization founded in 1996 as an Internet library to provide permanent access for researchers, historians, and the general public to the world's cultural artificats. The Archive collaborates with federal institutions including U.S. National Archives and the Smithsonian, plus over 30 state libraries and archives. The Internet Archive is a member of the American Library Association, Society of American Archvists, and is officially recognized by the State of California as a library.
OSTI, a DOE program within the Office of Science, accelerates discovery by making research results rapidly available to scientists and to the public. OSTI's collaborative efforts and partnerships, such as those with the Science.gov Alliance, Google, Yahoo!, CrossRef, and now Internet Archive, have resulted in increased exposure of the nation's research and development. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the nation.
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Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) spent 75 days on the job carrying out some very important homeworkmeasurements in a "typical dwelling" of the release, distribution and fate of particles almost as tiny as the diameter of a single DNA molecule. Particles ranging in size from 100 nanometers down to 2.5 nanometers that were emitted by gas and electric stoves, hair dryers, power tools and candles were tracked and analyzed.*
Monitoring such tiny particles was made possible by NIST advances in measurement capabilities. Measurements were carried out in weeks of experiments at a 340-square-meter (1,500-square-feet) test house on the NIST campus in Gaithersburg, Md. The researchers used the data to develop a model for predicting changes in the size and distribution of so-called ultrafine particles (technically, particles smaller than 100 nanometers) discharged by tools, appliances and other sources.
The measurements and model will further efforts to explain the dynamics of ultrafine particles, an area of growing interest among environmental and health researchers. They also will advance work to develop accurate and reliable methods for determining how changes in heating and cooling systems, often done to reduce energy consumption, will affect indoor environments.
"If we can understand and predict the dynamics of these extremely small indoor air contaminants, designers and equipment manufacturers can avoid potential negative impacts on the environment inside homes and buildings and may even devise ways to improve conditions and save energy at the same time," explains NIST engineer Andrew Persily.
Utrafine particles are produced naturallyby forest fires and volcanoes, for exampleas well as by internal combustion engines, power plants and many other human-made sources. Although ever present in outdoor and indoor environments, ultrafine particles have eluded detection, and are not subject to federal or state air quality standards. However, particles with nanoscale dimensions have been associated with a variety of human health problemsespecially heart, lung and blood disorders.
Because we spend most of our time indoors, however, the bulk of human exposure to ultrafine particles occurs in homes and buildings. Typically, releases of the tiny particles occur in periodic burstsduring cooking or hair drying, perhapsbut airborne concentrations during these episodes can greatly exceed outdoor levels, according to the NIST team.
The researchers measured the airborne concentrations of ultrafine particles at regular intervals after they were emitted by gas and electric stoves, candles, hair dryers and power tools. With their recently enhanced capabilities, the team could measure particles about four times smaller than in previous studies of indoor air contaminants.
Tests were conducted with the house central fan either on or off, which made a major difference in the behavior of ultrafine particles. With the fan off, these very small particles collide with each other and coagulateor combineduring the first 2.5 minutes following a blast of ultrafine particles from an appliance or tool. In the process, they form successively larger particles, decreasing airborne concentrations of particles. As particles grow larger, they tend to settle on surfaces more quickly.
With the central fan recirculating air, ultrafine particles tend, in roughly equal proportions, to coagulate or settle on surfaces. Under both fan conditions, ventilation accounted for the removal of no more than about 5 percent of ultrafine particles.
Tests also revealed that for many indoor sources, such as stovetop cooking with gas, more than 90 percent of the particles emitted were smaller than 10 nanometers. In turn, emissions of smaller particles result in higher airborne concentrations that dissipate primarily through coagulation.
|Contact: Mark Bello|
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
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Insect pests in the vegetable garden can decrease yields, affect the taste of vegetables and make produce unattractive. Over the years, a variety of pesticides were developed with differing degrees of toxicity to humans. In recent years, however, effective pesticides are available that are safer to use and are considered suitable for the vegetable garden.
Neem oil works by suffocating insects and is a good choice for control of slow-moving, soft-bodied insects such as mealy bugs or aphids. It is also used for powdery mildew control. Neem oil comes from the seed of the neem tree, which is native to South America. It is can repel some bugs for up to one week in the garden but is best used as a spot treatment for insects because of its suffocating properties.
Bt is a naturally occurring bacteria that is found in soil all over the world. Once it is concentrated and sprayed on plants, it kill worms, caterpillars and other leaf-chewing insects within moments after it is ingested. Certain strains of Bt, or Bacillus thuringiensis, have been developed to kill the Colorado potato beetle and mosquito larva. It has an active life in the garden of about one week after application.
Spinosad is a concentration of bacteria naturally found in soil that kills insects after it is ingested. It is considered safe for use on vegetable gardens and can stay effective on plants for up to 30 days. However, it is toxic to bees and wasps before it dries. It is effective on all leaf-chewing insects, especially worms, some beetles and caterpillars.
Pyrethrum is derived from the crushed flowers of the pyrethrum daisy. It is usually a powder and paralyzes or kills all insects it contacts if the formulation is strong enough. Although pyrethrum is an organic product, not all formulations are considered organic because they may be mixed with other items that are not organic. It degrades within a few hours when exposed to sunlight, so it is best to apply pyrethrum in the evening after the bees have stopped working, as it is poisonous to bees.
Rotenone is derived from the roots of several different South American plants. It is used to kill or stun any insect it contacts. It is not considered an organic solution to pest control because it is often mixed with nonorganic material, but it is a safer alternative than chemical pesticides. Rotenone has a short lifespan in the soil---only three days---and active life of only a few hours when exposed to sunlight, so it is considered safe for the environment. However, rotenone is extremely toxic to fish so should be applied away from ponds and waterways.
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Welcome to September! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I want to give a quick remionder about our Flat Rock parent meeting tomorrow from 6-7 at Needham. Please come with all your questions.
Today students have been working on gathering resources for our How-To Research project. Be sure to check out the kidblog pages to see how we are progressing: Team33Kidblog and TeamShoultzKidblog.
We also worked on adding information to our Feedback and Data Binders. This week we are graphing our midterm grades for Reading and Language. (Yep, we are already half way through our 1st 9 weeks.) Please be sure to review all materials in the Feedback and Data Binder fill out a reflection page with your student. They should be returned on Wednesday.
Did you know that you can check grades from home? You can log in as a parent, or just have your student log in with their id. We even have an easily accessible Grade Check link on the navbar of our website: http://goo.gl/FX5ak
This week's Literacy Link and Homework are also now available on the website. Please take note that we will begin Lesson 1 of Vocabulary and Spelling this week. Each week we will work with a list of word-parts: prefixes, suffixes, and root words. Each list will have a two week rotation. The first week we will focus on VOCABULARY. We will study the meaning of each word part and how the parts can be combined to make new words. The second week we will focus on SPELLING. The students will have some time to practice spelling with the word-parts in class but will be expected to practice the words at home.
A lesson packet will be provided to students at the beginning of the each two week rotation. During the first week, students will use the packet to collaborate in class. At the end of the first week the packet will be sent home. It should be used to practice spelling skills and review word meanings. At the beginning of each rotation, a copy of the lesson packet will also be available on the Homework page of the website. Please do not hesitate to ask if you have question along the way.
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The man who built the first Canadian car never got the appreciation he deserved.
In fact, the ‘Steam Buggy’ that watchmaker Henry Seth Taylor built in 1867 – two decades before Karl Benz invented his Patent Motor Car – seems to have been a bit of a local laughing stock in his home of Stanstead, Quebec.
“Despite being dismissed and ridiculed for riding around in what many considered ‘a large and useless toy,’ he toured country fairs in the Eastern Townships and New England, showing the carriage to a skeptical public,” according to research done by Sharon Babaian, the curator of marine and land transport at the Canadian Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa.
The Seth Taylor Steam Buggy is on display now as part of an exhibit called In Search of the Canadian Car.
Just like we do it today — almost
Looking closely at the Buggy, it’s obviously a primitive machine, but the simplicity of the thing is brilliant.
It’s surprisingly car-like, really. It has four wheels – unlike Benz’s car, which had only three – made of wood, with what looks like a thin strip of metal bent around the edge in place of rubber tires. For power it has a two-cylinder boiler mounted behind the driver.
“Steam was generated in a vertical coal-fired boiler… The boiler was connected by rubber hoses to a six-gallon water tank located between the front wheels,” Mark Kearney and Randy Ray wrote in the book Whatever Happened To…?
There’s no steering wheel or pedals, just a series of levers. The one in front of the driver looks almost steering wheel-like, though — almost like a tiller.
“Forward and reverse movements were controlled by a lever, and a vertical crank connected to the wheels was used for steering,” Kearney and Ray write. It had a top speed of roughly 24 km/h.
I wonder if Seth Taylor would recognize a modern car as descended from his Steam Buggy? I imagine he probably would: four wheels with seats in the middle, steered via hand controls. The template is there, for sure.
Built with the help of a blacksmith
“Influenced, no doubt, by the rise of industry and railways in 19th century Canada, he seemed to be fascinated with things mechanical and constructed all kinds of devices for the sheer pleasure of building something new and innovative. His steam carriage was one of many machines he made in his spare time,” according to Babaian’s research.
“He designed and built the steam carriage between 1865 and 1867 with the help of a skilled blacksmith, Joseph Mosher, who forged some of the metal parts.”
A Montreal Gazette article from Jan 18, 1986 notes that, “Taylor demonstrated his steamer at the Stanstead Fair that year and although it broke down in the middle of the demo run, it puffed around flawlessly at the fair the following year.”
How’d it get to the museum?
What remained of the Buggy was found in a barn in the early ’60s by a woman named Gertrude Sowden of Stanstead. She recognized the machine as something of value, but no museum would take it, Kearney and Ray write.
She sold it to an American collector, Richard Stewart, who restored it to running condition — with one minor change, which we’ll get to in a moment. In 1983 the Canadian Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa purchased it, returning it to Canadian soil.
But why did Taylor ditch this incredible invention in a barn and leave it to rot? Did the ridicule of the townspeople finally get to him? It more likely had to do with the Buggy’s one rather serious design flaw.
The story goes that one day, Taylor was out for a drive, heading down a hill when he lost control. Seeing as the Buggy had no brakes, Taylor was lucky to escape the incident. The Buggy ended up on its side with its wheels smashed. When Stewart restored the Buggy, brakes were the one thing he added.
In their book, Kearney and Ray quote Garth Wilson, then curator of transportation at the Sci-Tech Museum, as saying, “Looking at the vehicle, one sees the origins of the automobile, even though it predates the blossoming of the auto industry by forty years. It is absolutely significant in that it is the first Canadian-made auto and, as such, represents Canada’s entry into the world of autmobiles.”
Many thanks to Sharon Babaian and Olivier Bouffard at the Canadian Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa.
Canadians were quick to hop on the self-propelled wagon by Len Coates in the Montreal Gazette, Jan. 18, 1986.
Whatever Happened To…? Catching up with Canadian icons by Mark Kearney and Randy Ray, Dundurn, 2006.
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Again, nuclear meltdowns come down to heat and the vital need for an operating coolant system to keep conditions in check. The Fukushima Daiichi disaster reminds us that this system is critical even if all fission activity has been shut down. The Japanese plant automatically submerged the fuel rods when increased seismic activity occurred, effectively stopping all fission reactions within 10 minutes. But those rods still generated decay heat that required a functional coolant system.
This is also why high-level radioactive waste, such as irradiated or used nuclear reactor fuel, poses such a concern. It takes tens of thousands of years for these materials to decay to safe radioactive levels. During much of this time, they'll require a coolant system or sufficient containment measures. Otherwise, they'll burn through anything you put them in.
Past nuclear power plant designs have proven even more prone to meltdowns, however. At the time of the respective accidents, the Fukushima Daiichi and Three Mile Island power plants used water not only as a coolant but also as a moderator. A moderator decreases the speed of fast neutrons, making them more likely to collide with fissionable fuel components and less likely to collide with nonfissionable fuel components. In other words, a moderator increases the likelihood that fission will occur in the reactor. When the water drains from the core of such a reactor, therefore, fission automatically stops.
Chernobyl, on the other hand, used solid graphite as a moderator. If the coolant drains away, the moderator remains behind. As such, loss of water in a Chernobyl-type reactor can actually increase the rate of fission.
In order to prevent a loss of coolant accident from turning into a meltdown, plant operators have to cool down the reactor's core. This means flushing more coolant through the overheating fuel rods. The newer the fuel rods are, the faster this cooldown will occur.
If a partial meltdown begins to occur, the rods will slump. If unchecked, the slumping rods will then melt and pool at the bottom of the reactor core in a large molten sludge. That radioactive sludge would pose an even greater cooling challenge. Not only is it a single mass (as opposed to several independent rods), one side of it is pressed against the bottom of the reactor core, steadily burning through it via the heat it produces.
In Chernobyl's case, emergency teams pumped in hundreds of tons of water to cool the reactor core. Next, they dumped boron, clay, dolomite, lead and sand on to the burning core by helicopter to put out the fires and limit the radioactive particles rising into the atmosphere. In the months that followed, they encased the ruined plant in a concrete shielding often referred to as a sarcophagus.
Again, nuclear power plants ultimately boil down to heat generation, and their maintenance depends on proper regulation of that heat. If coolant systems fail, conditions can steadily burn out of control.
Explore the links on the next page to learn even more about nuclear power.
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Tree & Shrub Disease
Our trees and shrubs are now experiencing a new and serious disease that is slowly weakening
and killing them.
This is a widespread disease, not limited to any particular geographic area.
Little is known about it, since it only seemed to make its appearance around 2003.
Yet its aggressive nature seems to overcome the natural defenses of our trees and shrubs.
How bad is it? Think of Dutch Elm disease, which has killed most of our elm trees.
Also recall the American chestnut. Both of these much-loved trees are now virtually gone
from our landscape.
But this disease is worse, in that it seems to attack a wide variety trees and shrubs,
not just a few selective species.
Disease Symptom Overview
This is a fungal disease.
Canker: A localized diseased or necrotic area on a plant part, especially on a trunk, branch,
or twig of a woody plant, usually caused by fungi or bacteria.
It eats away at all interior parts of the tree or shrub,
eventually replacing the tissue with white fungal material, which we call canker.
Eventually the tree or shrub is consumed by this canker, and it dies, unable to transport
food and water throughout its body. Externally, it may appear that lack of food or water is
the reason for the decline./
Note: Because I'll frequently be referring to "tree" and "shrub" (and sometimes "plant")
throughout this website, for brevity I'm going to use the generic term "plant" to
refer to all three.
Pathogen: An infectious biological agent that causes disease or illness to its host.
Visual Disease Symptoms:
Upon initial infection, you probably won't notice anything at all that is unusual about the plant.
Most plants have a surprisingly strong tolerance to infectious agents, and will continue to look
well even if there is an infection underway. Actually, it's the same with people - some people
can be infected with a virus and it hardly affects them at all. And among plants, the tolerance
to a particular pathogen also varies. Some plants are very susceptible and others fight off the
infection very well. Again, just like people do.
With this fungal disease, the decline in plant health is only visually detectable after the
fungus has made significant progress in consuming the tree tissue.
Overall Exterior Appearance:
As this infection progresses, the overall appearance of the plant will give the impression that
it is lacking water or nutrients. The plant will often have a "droopy" appearance. The casual
observer will surmise that food, water, drought, wetness, heat, or cold is a major contributing
Like any successful organism, this fungus gravitates towards the major source of food in the
plant - the phloem layer. The phloem layer lies just under the outer bark of trees and shrubs, and serves
to transport food throughout the plant. The fungal "roots", called hypha, infiltrate the phloem
and steal the nutrients. But these nutrients also support the bark in that they keep it healthy
by suffusing it with chemicals which resist attack by other fungus and insects.
Phloem: Inner bark tissue that transports food (sugars) from the leaves to other parts of the tree.
This fungal infection thus causes the bark to starve and decline in health.
This unhealthy bark will look blacker than usual, and may give the general appearance that it is rotting.
Sometimes this unhealthy bark will cause large bodies of lichen to move in.
Another consequence of this unhealthy bark is bark splitting. The unhealthy bark loses some
of its normal elasticity, so that new bark pushing outward can't evenly distribute the growth, and
hence a tear, or vertical fissure sometimes occurs that is several feet long, exposing the innards
of the tree. These cracks can be several feet long and can sometimes bleed sap.
The tree will then see this as a normal physical injury and try to heal this split.
Interestingly, the new healing tissue will not have normal bark on it due to the infested phloem!
However, one must be aware that these vertical cracks can also be caused by temperature extremes
during cold weather.
The sick bark may also not adhere to the tree, and may simply fall off in pieces or chunks!
The particular bark symptoms mentioned above are very dependent upon the species of tree.
Regardless, the bark is sick. Consequently, any bark mulch made from this bark will not have the
nice aromatic smell of normal/healthy bark mulch. (Have you noticed that most bark mulch you've
bought in the past 10 years or so smells moldy?)
As the plant is being poisoned and choked, the lack of essential nutrients being sent to the leaves
causes them to grow abnormally. They can appear cupped or mottled. Furthermore, if this fungus weren't
bad enough, it not only attacks the phloem, but it also attacks the plant's xylem, which is the
inner part of the plant that transports water and minerals from the roots throughout the plant. This
lack of water will cause the leaves to appear dry, lose their sheen, droop, and curl up. And if this
isn't bad enough, this fungus also infiltrates the leaves. So when the poisoned and starved leaves die,
they will often die from the leaf edges back to the stem.
Xylem: Core tissue that provides strength and transports water and minerals
from the roots to the leaves. Sometimes called sapwood.
Of course, a sick leaf that lacks sufficient water and nutrients can't properly defend itself against
attacks by other pathogens and insects, so they may move in to feast on the weakened leaves.
An infected sick leaf is of little benefit to a plant, so the plant will sometimes shed them in an
attempt to keep an infection from spreading, and to conserve water and food for the remaining leaves.
The result is varying degrees of defoliation, sometimes making it seem like fall has arrived!
Anthracnose: Any of several diseases of plants caused by certain fungi
and characterized by dead spots on the leaves, twigs, or fruits.
With other tree diseases, such as anthracnose, the tree can replace the dead leaves later that
growing season, or in the next season.
But in this case a lifeless appearing branch is simply dead, being filled with canker,
and will never support leaves again.
The entire tree may be killed in 3 to 10 years.
Again, trees vary in their strategy for dealing with pathogens, so none of these symptoms is
definitive in identifying this fungal disease.
I'll discuss a definitive way to identify this disease later on.
What the Experts Think this Disease is
Having lived and gardened at this location for over 40 years, I'd never seen an
abrupt tree and shrub health decline as occurred around 2003.
Trees and shrubs that had always been very healthy were now showing severe signs of
disease - all at the same time!
It seemed obvious to me that there must be some common underlying cause,
so I started calling on the experts.
First I called on the University of New Hampshire country extension office.
The fellow there was very nice, but had no idea what the problem was.
I then went one step up and sent a sample in to the University of New Hampshire (UNH)
plant diagnostic lab.
They too were unable to identify it, but guessed it was some kind of root fungus.
Then I had a lawn care company representative examine the diseased trees and shrubs,
and he guessed that it was anthracnose. He recommending deep root watering and fertilizing.
But to me it didn't seem like anthracnose was affecting so many plants at once.
Next, I called in two federal foresters, whose diagnoses ran all over the place from bugs,
to viruses, to anthracnose. Surprisingly, they didn't think this massive decline was abnormal!
I then sent in 8 leaf samples to the Cornell plant pathology lab.
They diagnosed most of the samples as having anthracnose.
The UNH plant website also said anthracnose was especially bad that year, and that the
solution was to simply wait it out.
So I tried that recommendation with my rapidly declining Kwanzan cherry tree.
The tree continued its decline, and a few months later it totally died.
That was strange, because anthracnose isn't known for killing trees.
And it wasn't just trees and shrubs in my yard. Neighbors had similar problems.
In fact, I began to see similar symptoms on trees all around the state, and in neighboring states.
This negated the argument that I must have been doing something to cause the problem,
like over/under fertilizing, watering, disturbing the roots, etc.
The next year I gathered up about 24 diseased shrub and tree samples and sent them
to the well-known Cornell plant pathology lab for analysis.
Once again, a variety of diagnoses was returned.
In summary, the experts couldn't find a common cause for this disease.
Meanwhile, as I continued to study the disease symptoms in greater and greater
depth on a wider and wider range of trees and shrubs, I became more and more convinced
that there was one pathogen that was the source of this massive decline.
My Guess as to What this Disease is
I should make one thing clear from the start - while many of the diseased trees and shrubs
were diagnosed as having anthracnose, I am convinced that while they may indeed have had anthracnose,
the anthracnose was there because of the weakened condition of the plant.
I felt this weakening was due to a primary disease, one that plant pathology labs seem unable to find.
I realize that these plant pathology labs disagree with this conclusion.
Their view is that there is no disease known that attacks such a wide variety of trees and shrubs.
Armed with the range of disease symptoms I'd recorded, I did extensive searches on the Internet.
I also studied a key plant pathology industry reference book called Diseases of Trees and Shrubs,
Second Edition, by Sinclair and Lyon of Cornell University. They are recognized experts on plant diseases.
The pathogen that best matched the disease symptoms appeared to be a fungal-like organism
called a Phytophthora. I wondered if it might be Phytophthora ramorum, which is a
relatively new disease killing off many trees and shrubs, mainly in California.
Its common name is Sudden Oak Death.
So I had a lab specifically check for Phytophthora ramorum within some samples I sent in.
The diagnosis came back negative.
But of all the Phytophthora species, the best species match seemed to be Phytophthora cactorum.
P. cactorum grows under the bark, choking off all nourishment flowing up and down the tree bark.
Furthermore, Sinclair and Lyon say it has a broad host range and a global distribution.
Its symptom list is Decline, Dieback, Fruit rot, Root crown and/or collar rot, Stem canker, and
So P. cactorum seemed like an excellent match. Was that really it?
When I sent a sample of diseased bark from a red oak tree to the Cornell plant pathology lab,
the diagnosis came back positive.
But another diseased bark sample from another tree sent to the UNH plant pathology lab came back
as "definitely not a Phytophthora".
To try to resolve the issue, I contacted a plant pathology lab on the west coast that specialized
in Phytophthora diseases. They wanted a root sample. So I sent them a sample of the roots from the
red oak that Cornell said was infected with Phytophthora.
The west coast lab said they found no Phytophthora!
Confused? I certainly was. Consequently, I still don't have a scientific name
for this disease.
So if white canker doesn't seem to match a fungus or phytophthora, what can it possibly be?
I've asked myself that question hundreds of times over the years, and I've gradually come up
with what many would consider a crazy idea - it's a new type of fungal infection, neither a true
fungus nor a phytophthora. My best guess is that white canker is a genetic cross of a fungus
and white pine pollen. I say this because white canker fruiting bodies are virtually identical
to white pine pollen and mature and disperse at about the same time of year. Also, these
white canker fruiting bodies most densely populate the lower facing part of branch junctions
within a foot or two of branch tips - just where the pine cones of white pine trees form!
Furthermore, as the hundreds of photos within this website show over and over, white canker
behaves like a true fungus in that it has abundant fruiting bodies associated with huge amounts
of supporting fungal hypha.
Finally, as so many pictures on this website show, white canker seems to attack an endless
number of shrubs, plants, and trees. No known fungus or phytophthora comes close to doing
this, so white canker appears to be a class of pathogen that shrubs, plants, and trees have
not evolved an immunity to, so it is probably very new and unique.
In spite of the fact that this guess seems to make logical sense, I'm fully aware that many
specialists in plant disease will find this hypothesis too radical to believe. But I think they
may come around when they do the same microscopic research I did. Ultimately, though, the
unquestionable truth will appear when someone finally does a DNA analysis of white canker
and compares the result to the DNA of other forms of microbial life.
Why I Named this Disease White Canker
Since it's awkward to keep referring to this disease as "this disease" within this document,
I've decided to give it a temporary name that reflects its chief diagnostic characteristics.
First and foremost, this disease shows itself as a fungal disease that produces cankers
in plant tissue.
A canker is a disease-like growth under the bark of a tree or plant.
In fact, that's often the primary characteristic that is evident when looking over a tree or shrub
with this disease.
A second significant identifying disease characteristic is only evident when looking at the
cankerous tissue within the internal plant tissue under a high-power (e.g., 400x) microscope.
It is there that you can see the real damage being done.
This damage is in the form of enormous amounts of white wax-like growths invading and consuming
the plant tissue.
Given these two primary disease characteristics, it seems to make sense to call this disease
White Canker, even though there is nothing white about it when seen with the unaided
In time, researchers will no doubt determine exactly what this disease is, and assign a
scientific name to it.
In the meantime, white canker seems to best describe this disease with a minimum number of words.
General Diagnostic Methods
There are several methods that you can use to try to determine what disease or diseases
are affecting your plants. They differ in the amount of time and cost involved, and in
the diagnosis confidence. Some suggestions follow. I've tried them all.
Try an Internet search
There are many plant diseases out there.
Your first step in diagnosis might be to examine the diseased plant for some key disease
characteristics, and then do an Internet search for these characteristics.
That's a relatively easy step, is fast, is cheap, and is what I initially did.
Call in a lawn, tree, and shrub specialist
It's the business of these commercial companies to diagnose and treat plant diseases.
The diagnosis is generally free. They make their money in chemically treating the disease they find.
Some diseases they identify can be relatively easy for the homeowner to treat themselves.
Bring a sample diseased plant to your county extension
States usually have extension offices that deal in plant diseases.
Often, you can bring a sample of a diseased plant into them, and an expert there
can identify the disease for you. Of course, it will take some time to drive there
and back, but the service is free.
Try a Plant Pathology Diagnostic Lab
If you want one of the best diagnostic services available, you can send a sample of
the diseased plant to a state plant pathology diagnostic lab.
Many states have university labs that will perform this service for you. Costs vary.
For example, I've sent leaf and bark samples to both the
UNH Plant Diagnostic Lab
Cornell University Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic.
One word of caution, though. If they diagnose a Phytophthora disease, they are unable
to diagnose its particular species.
Consequently, that might prevent you from choosing an appropriate chemical treatment.
They tell me that species determination would require expensive and time-consuming lab tests.
On the other hand, since Phytophthora ramorum is a serious and rapidly spreading disease,
there is a test specifically for it (at the Cornell lab, at least), and the test is free.
Do your Own Testing
The late Dr. Alex Shigo, a renowned expert on trees, suggested that we carefully observe the trees,
to see what they had to say. I really liked that advice, so I spent many hours outside looking at
Then I spent many hours inside examining the details of parts of trees, shrubs, and some plants.
As I did this over the years, a picture of this disease began to emerge.
Some disease characteristics seemed to be common to all tree species,
while others were specific to certain species.
Collectively, all this information helped to characterize this disease.
Now, I realize that few people have the passion that I do in trying to definitively
determine the identify of a strange and possibly new plant disease. Still, it is possible to
use just a few diagnostic tools to greatly facilitate the identification effort. The next
section describes the tools I used.
Unaided Eye White Canker Symptoms
After examining hundreds and hundreds of plants, shrubs, and trees
over a period of years, a common set of white canker symptoms has emerged
that are visible to the unaided eye (microscopic symptoms are discussed later).
Many of these symptoms are common to other diseases, too, just like a person having
a fever doesn't point to any particular disease, just that some disease is present.
But, taken as a whole, the set of symptoms described below is a strong indicator
of white canker.
The overall appearance of a tree
will often change, depending upon the tree
species. For example, in blue spruce trees, branch death will proceed from bottom
to top, and from inside out. Branches will sag and experience more tip growth. Red
oak trees will experience branch death from the bottom to top over the years. On
many trees, the branches will get "leggy", in that branches will grow longer but
only have leaves near the tip.
Some trees that are known for their colorful bark (e.g., Japanese Stewartia
and River Birch, will lose much of that interesting color, turning more drab.
In mid to late summer, the stress on a tree can become so great that the tree
will shed its leaves. Birch trees often do this. White pine trees are doing it now.
When a tree is infected with white canker, the fungus growing inside it will weaken
the wood. Some trees, such as Colorado blue spruce, normally hold their branches very
horizontal, making for an attractive appearance.
But when infected with white canker, their branches tend to droop, and "pancake"
one another, as shown in the photo on the left.
When this happens, some homeowners will simply prune out the lower branches.
But this does little good, as the branches above the pruning then also droop further down.
The leaves will both feel and appear to be very dry, as if starving for water.
They may seem limp, and lose their sheen.
(For comparison, a healthy leaf is usually very flat and has a shiny surface.)
The outer edges will be especially dry, and may even die.
As this happens, the leaves will curl, as if trying to protect themselves from
water loss. If the tree is already badly infected in spring, the new leaves will
appear withered or badly wrinkled.
The cause of this deformation is an abundance of cankerous material growing
within the leaf, which both physically deforms the leaf and robs it of its nutrients.
This weakening may have secondary consequences: other diseases, such as anthracnose
(black irregular blotches) may move in, and insect damage may increase.
Also, the stress of exhaust from cars will cause those leaves close to a road to die first.
The bark on the tree's trunk will appear stretched, as if the tree
is growing faster than the bark can accommodate.
On some trees this will result in one or more or deep vertical fissures (e.g., oak, maple, and pine).
In other trees, the bark will uniformly expand, resulting in numerous vertical fissures.
The bottom (deepest part) of these fissures will usually have the color of peanut butter (a mixture
of normal dark brown bark and white canker material).
Starved of supporting nutrients, the bark will also appear unhealthy, as if it is rotting on the tree.
In fact, some of the surface bark may often spall off.
This "sick" bark will often support a much larger population of green-gray lichen than normal,
causing the tree to appear as if someone had painted one side of it with green paint.
Up to about June 5th, the bark on small branches will have tan patches on them, as if they had
been spray painted (see the picture at right).
These patches primarily appear on the bottom of the branch, near branch junctions, and they are
actually composed of numerous fruiting bodies.
Since these fruiting bodies do their work in early June, this evidence mostly disappears after that.
These patches, while hard to locate, are a sure indication of a white canker infection.
As the disease increases in severity, holes may open in the bark and the tree may
"bleed" sap from them. This sap is odorless and light brown in color.
Pinkish-white lichen will often grow near these bleeding areas.
The fruit or flowers, if normally present, will be small or won't be there at all,
since the tree doesn't have the energy to support them.
Overall, the tree will slowly decline and die, usually branch by branch.
But it's very unusual for white canker to kill a tree in a year or two.
Since white canker is a fungal disease, if the fungus kills its host, the fungus kills itself!
Instead, tree death occurs over a period of several years, e.g., 3 to 12.
Fortunately, that leaves time to implement chemical control (covered later).
Microscopic examination (400x microscope) of the leaves and twigs of an infected plant
will often show fruiting bodies that resemble pollen - especially before about mid-June (here in
These fruiting bodies are about 50 micrometers in diameter, are somewhat tan in overall color,
and have the consistency of flour in your hand. See the picture on the right.
Fruiting body density usually correlates to both infection severity and location, with the highest
density at nodes (branch or leaf junctions). But they can appear between nodes and on leaves too.
These tan patches of fruiting bodies are definitive of a white canker infection, as we'll see later.
No other unaided eye evidence is definitive.
But like mushrooms, these fruiting bodies are only the surface view of the infection raging under
the bark and within the leaves. Specifically, a fungal-like infection is causing a white-colored canker
material to consume the green nutrient-laden phloem tissue which the tree needs to survive. As
the canker invades the phloem, it initially expands (pushing the bark out), sending out ribbon-like
threads (hypha) to infect other areas of plant tissue. As the infection deepens, the green phloem is
killed and significantly shrinks, often leaving voids.
One potential way to highlight diseased wood is to use wood staining chemicals.
Hoping that staining would make the white canker stand out, I bought some basic staining
chemicals and gave them a try. Specifically, I tried Toluidine Blue (1%),
Methylene Blue Chloride, Iodine Potassium Iodide, and Carbol Fuchsin.
A drop or two of each was applied to several areas of a 2-inch diameter slice of a chokecherry tree
branch that had obvious signs of white canker infection.
While the wood did soak up the chemical, the result was simply two dark blue spots, a dark
red spot, and a light yellow spot. Microscopic examination of these spots showed that the white canker
substances took up the stain the same as the adjacent wood.
So, unfortunately, my staining attempts turned out to be a dead end.
My Diagnostic Tools
As I mentioned earlier, when you examine diseased plant tissue, it's very helpful to compare it
to plant tissue having a known disease. While that sounds obvious, it turned out to be very
frustrating to me. The reason is that different plant diseases result in similar appearances,
e.g., "spotty wilted leaves". It's kind of like going to a doctor and saying "Doc, I have a headache
and feel achy all over. What's wrong with me?". And when you persist in trying to understand the
details a particular plant disease exhibits, the text will often say something to the effect that
it's very difficult to diagnose, and you should see an expert!
A major shortcoming, in my opinion, of plant disease information out there is that so much
of it seems really dated/old. Specifically, many photos are in black and white. And many are in
low resolution. And for some reason, the vast majority of diagnostic photos are "eyeball" photos -
a hard copy of a view as seen by an unaided eye. But there is a far greater amount of diagnostic
information that is only available when looking through a microscope. The average person probably
assumes a microscope is costly and bulky, and that you have to look through an eyepiece to see
plant tissue samples carefully prepared and placed in glass plates. But that's not necessary at all.
Technology has advanced to where you can get an inexpensive hand-held microscope that plugs into
your computer's USB port and displays beautiful close-ups on your computer's display screen! And
you can capture the displayed image into a standard JPG picture file for archival and later study.
These days, virtually everybody has a computer with a USB port.
Consequently, in addition to my computer, my main diagnostic tool is a USB microscope.
While there are many manufacturers of these microscopes out there, I happened to choose a
Celestron model 44300 that had a maximum magnification of 400 power (400x).
I would have gotten one with even higher power, but 400x is about as powerful as they come.
At the time I bought this one, the cost was about $100, but the cost has come down since then.
In addition, I supplement this with a USB flatbed scanner that can scan at up to 3200 dpi.
I use it for scanning small branches, sets of leaves, and individual leaves.
I find that a resolution of 2400 dpi works out well.
One nice feature of these scanners is that the depth-of-focus isn't terribly critical, meaning
that something like a leaf doesn't have to lie perfectly flat in order to obtain a clear image.
A USB microscope is far more critical regarding focusing.
Photo editing software
While the microscope and scanner both generate picture files, there is often a need to crop them,
rotate them, adjust them for lighting, etc. For that I use Adobe Photoshop Elements, since it's popular,
relatively inexpensive, and has a wealth of photo editing tools that can be used for a variety
But most any good photo editing software will do.
In addition, I also use Photoshop Elements to embed documentation on the photo within the photo's
EXIF data block (File|File Info...|Description). Some information items I include are the name of
the plant in the photo, the date it was taken, where it came from, the size of the specimen sampled,
and particular areas of the photo to note for diagnostic purposes.
One handy feature of Photoshop Elements is the ability to easily interface with the USB
microscope and scanner.
Photomicrograph: A micrograph, or photomicrograph, is a photograph or digital image taken
through a microscope or similar device to show a magnified image of an item.
For more information,
the Wikipedia definition.
One limitation of Photoshop Elements is that it can only handle a maximum of 200
Whether looking inside a leaf or twig, it's necessary to make a cut. For rough twig cuts, I use
a generic branch pruning tool. Unfortunately, pruners such as this often crush a twig and make a
rough cross-section. Consequently, my rough cuts are done with pruners, while my analysis
cross-sections are done with a single-edge razor. While a razor gives a nice clean cut, it
becomes really difficult to cut twigs greater than 1/8" in diameter.
To do a cross-section of a leaf, simply clamp the leaf in the vise, then use the single-edge
razor to cut the leaf along the top of the vise jaws.
Another simple, but crucial, tool is a hobby vise. I use its jaws to grip samples. Here are some
tips to aid in subsequent picture taking by a USB microscope:
- The jaws should have a flat top so that the microscope's round plastic hood can
easily rest vertically on the jaws. This is important since the depth-of-focus at
400x is extremely critical, and you want to have to refocus as little as possible
in order to save time.
- Some vise jaws are made of a relatively bright material (e.g., Teflon), and it will somewhat
wash out the dark green of the sample. I get around this by placing black electrical tape over
the vice jaws.
- Use a needle-nose pliers to facilitate placing the sample twig in the vise jaws.
- Let the top of the twig sample extend slightly above the vise jaws. That way the jaws
will be out of focus and won't be in the photos. Also, vise pressure will be less likely
to crack the woody tissue.
- Try to mount the twig sample so that the cut surface of the cross-section is parallel
to the vise jaws. This ensures that the microscope focus doesn't have to be continually
adjusted as you pan around the twig cross-section.
- One of my hands holds the microscope vertical on the vise jaws while the other hand clicks
the mouse to snap the photogmicrographs.
Photo stitching software
Later in my diagnostic work I added what I also consider to be a very important tool - the free
Microsoft program ICE
(Image Composite Editor). I've found that while 400x photomicrographs
can be very informative, they capture only a very small piece of the target. Yet it's often the
"big picture" that gives one good insight as to what's going on.
Adobe Photoshop Elements also has the ability to stitch images together.
On numerous occasions I've tried to make use of it. But it is slow and can only handle a limited
number of photos (maybe less than a dozen). Sometimes it seems to hang, and sometimes it generates
a distorted result. This was with version 11. Possibly newer versions have improved.
On the other hand, ICE is relatively fast, never hangs, never distorts the result,
and can stitch over a hundred photos. My record so far is 210 photos stitched with ICE, although
it takes about 15 minutes of processing to do so.
Putting it all together
Here's how I make use of all the information above to make a twig cross-section:
- Snip a candidate branch from a tree (or stem from a plant).
- Snip off a sample that is about an inch long and about 1/8" in diameter.
- Use a single-edge razor to make a clean cut at one end.
- Mount the sample with the cut edge up and parallel to the vise jaws.
- Bring up Photoshop Elements, and use (File|Import ...) to enable the USB microscope.
- As my left hand moves the microscope barrel over the cross-section, my right hand
left-clicks the mouse to capture successive, overlapping photomicrographs
(overlap by about 50%).
- Repeat until the entire cross-section has been photographed (usually 30 to 200
photomicrographs). Try to not rotate the microscope during this process, or the
subsequent stitching operation may fail.
- Save each image in a folder of your choice (the individual file names are irrelevant,
so you can use the default).
- Call up the ICE program, select (File|New Panorama...) and select all files in that
folder of photomicrographs that you created, and ICE will begin the stitching process.
- When the stitching operation is complete, save the stitched picture in the same folder,
giving it a meaningful name.
- Load that stitched picture into Photoshop Elements.
- Correct for color accuracy (I use (Enhance|Auto Levels)), and crop and rotate if necessary.
- Include descriptive information regarding the stitched picture in the EXIF data.
- Save the updated picture and exit.
Typically, a 1/8" twig will generate a JPG file having a resolution of about 2500 x 2500 pixels.
Unfortunately, this entire process from start to end can take up to 45 minutes.
On the other hand, the resultant picture is very insightful as to the internal health of the plant!
Microscope Aided White Canker Symptoms
As discussed above, computer-connected USB microscopes are easy to use and have come down
in price dramatically over the years, to the point where they are available for well
under $100. So if one is serious about identifying white canker themselves, it is
probably a good investment. The reason for this is that white canker can be
positively identified with such a microscope. In particular, you can see the
white canker's fruiting bodies and its hypha within the diseased plant tissue. You can
also see the massive internal destruction of plant tissue it causes, making it
obvious as to why the plant is dying.
As bad as white canker is, the good diagnostic news is that it lives almost everywhere
on the plant! You just have to know how to recognize it, much as you learn how
to identify different flowers or mushrooms (fungi) by their color and shape.
Specifically, white canker lives on the outside (bark) of plants and also inside
the tissue of plants, where it does most of its harm. And by "inside",
I mean in the phloem, the xylem, and the cortex.
A 400x microscope can show you this.
Fruiting bodies on the bark
Previously I mentioned that the one surefire way of diagnosing a white canker infection
in a plant was to look for tan patches at plant nodes/junctions, especially the side facing
down. Since white canker is a fungus, it has to have a means to reproduce. Hence, there has
to be some sort of fruiting body on the surface of an infected plant that spreads
reproducing spores that will blow away and infect other plants. A mushroom is the fruiting
body of a fungus that also spreads spores that are dispersed by wind, rain, birds, people,
Spore: a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersal and surviving for
extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions.
Spores form part of the life cycle of many plants, algae, fungi and some protozoans.
A chief difference between spores and seeds as dispersal units is that spores have
very little stored food resources compared with seeds.
By chance, I happened to stumble upon these fruiting bodies while I was pruning an
overgrown chokecherry tree.
The distinctive fissures in its bark and prior leaf damage strongly indicated that
this tree was infected with white canker.
My prior observations seemed to indicate that white canker attacks the bark of a tree.
On a hunch, I cut off a diseased-looking branch, placed it on my computer's flatbed
scanner and scanned it at a high resolution (2400 dpi).
Parts of the branch looked like they were covered with sawdust, or a salt-like substance.
Wondering if that was significant, I checked out branches from other diseased trees.
Sure enough - the same tan flecks were present.
Frustrated in not being able to get a closer view, I bought a 400 power hand-held digital microscope.
A microscopic view showed that this "sawdust" turned out to be a field of
snow-white "pac-men-like" objects and yellow blobs.
Not only that, but there were also translucent ribbons that looped from location to location,
sometimes forming spider-like objects. Wow - a whole new world!
But was this new set of objects meaningful in diagnosis?
To find out, I looked for these disease objects on infected and non-infected wood.
The correlation was there - the worse the infection, the more of these objects I found.
But - you often had to know exactly where to look for them, which may be why others haven't noticed them.
As my investigation progressed, I became more and more convinced that I was now seeing the
fungus that was causing the disease.
Then I used the microscope to examine a cross-section of some small branches.
Expecting to find healthy phloem tissue and bark, I instead found a mess of transparent ribbon-like
objects, white waxy blobs, and what looked similar to the fruiting bodies I had seen on the bark.
Once again, the more disease the tree had, the more the bark and phloem was eaten up by this other
And once again, I saw this same infection pattern on the cross-sections of other diseased trees
It soon became apparent that these fruiting bodies and characteristic white cankerous growths were
highly significant diagnostic markers for this fungal disease - which is why I call the
disease white canker.
Fruiting bodies on the leaves
With a strong white canker infection, fruiting bodies can even be seen on the leaves, both on
the upper surface and on the lower surface. If present, they generally tend to congregate near
the veins (especially the midrib), where their food supply is relatively plentiful. They are
even more likely to occur where the leaf stem attaches to the host plant stem.
The white canker fruiting body
These white canker fruiting bodies have the following characteristics:
- Shape: Mature fruiting bodies are bi-lobed, milk-white, with an upward-facing cleft,
making them resemble a 3-D, fat, and upward facing pac-man.
Sometimes their color and shape reminds one of teeth.
The pac-man "mouth" can be open or closed.
Young, or immature, fruiting bodies appear to be smaller, more globular, and yellow or
yellow-green in color.
- Size: An individual mature fruiting body appears to be about 50 millionths of an meter
(50μm) in diameter, or about one-tenth the width of the average human hair.
That's pretty tiny, which is why you need a microscope to see them!
The young fruiting bodies are even smaller - often about one-fourth the size of a mature
A 10x eyepiece can be used to distinguish the individual fruiting bodies, but the distinctive
shape is only apparent when viewing them at 400x.
A large population of fruiting bodies will appear as a tan-colored area to the naked eye,
and may be quickly passed off as a dirty smudge.
- Location: The vast majority of fruiting bodies are located on the underside
of branch and leaf junctions, about 1 to 5 feet from a branch tip.
This wood is generally one to three years old.
Fruiting body density can be so high that it totally covers the wood.
Unless the plant is heavily diseased, you won't find the fruiting bodies anywhere else.
So, unless you know where to look, and what to look for, you probably won't see them.
Furthermore, when to look is also important.
They are abundant just before they release their spores (early June).
Far fewer are seen after that.
- Fruiting body hardiness: These fruiting bodies appear to be very robust.
I've tried rubbing my fingernail across them with no visual effect.
So don't worry that handling the branch will rub the fruiting bodies off.
I've found these fruiting bodies on live branches, half-dead branches, and fully
dead branches that have been on the tree for over a year.
Because of this, you needn't worry if you collect a branch sample but don't get around to
checking it for these fruiting bodies for some time.
The leaves may wither away, but the fruiting bodies will remain.
- Fruiting body host preference: All the above fruiting body observations seem
to apply no matter what the shrub or tree.
Almost all trees and shrubs seem to have the same fruiting bodies in the same places.
So far, the only difference I've noticed is that while all leaves eventually pucker or deform
under the influence of this disease, viburnum bush leaves always seem to appear healthy.
Similarly, while the bark of all trees is affected, the bark of a Ginkgo tree is not
(but see the detailed photos later on).
- Spore geographical distribution: I've seen the general leaf and bark symptoms of this disease
here in Nashua, New Hampshire, in the northern part of our state,
in Portland, Maine, in the Denver, Colorado area, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and down in Florida,
so I suspect this disease is widespread.
But I've only microscopically examined a northern Michigan white pine for these fruiting bodies
- and they were present.
At this point I should mention a highly contentious issue. When a local state
plant pathologist briefly reviewed my photos of these white canker fruiting bodies,
she suggested they were just "probably pollen". In particular, white canker fruiting
bodies are shed at about the same time of year that white pine pollen is shed.
So I looked for pictures of white pine pollen on the Internet, and also examined containers
of pollen from white pine trees. To my great surprise, they were virtually identical!
Of course, that caused me to then question all of the white canker fruiting body analysis
I had done. In fact, I spent many, many hours pondering this paradox.
But after studying thousands of microscopic photos of hundreds of plants, shrubs, and
trees, I came to the conclusion that white pine pollen and white canker fruiting bodies
actually DO look the same! Why, I don't know, but I suspect that white canker is a
pathogen that somehow copied the genes for constructing white pine pollen. This
issue will probably only be fully resolved in the future when a DNA analysis of
white canker is performed.
Very strong evidence that these fruiting bodies I found are indeed
produced by white canker will be shown in later photos within this document.
(Here again, I like Dr. Shigo's advice
regarding conflicts: if people say one thing and trees say another, follow the trees.)
Hypha: A hypha is a long, branching filamentous structure of a fungus.
Icicle-like ribbons among the fruiting bodies
While white canker fruiting bodies may appear to be "just sitting" on the surface of
a plant (usually on the bark), each is actually attached to a supporting hypha.
Multiple hypha are referred to as hyphae (HY-fee).
When hyphae branch from a single location (giving a spider-like appearance),
the structure is called a mycelium.
A white canker hypha is a thin, translucent, ribbon-like object, with a thickness of about 15
micrometers and a width of several times that size. Their slightly bumpy appearance makes
them look like icicles. While hyphae are usually embedded within the plant tissue, and thus
not seen, occasionally they will appear on the surface bark along with the fruiting bodies.
In that case the free end will often be pointed. Sometimes hypha will have several twists,
enhancing their ribbon-like appearance.
When a twig containing white canker is cut for the purpose of making a cross-section,
the cutting device will sometimes drag some of these hyphae out across the surface of
the cross-section, which then makes them visible with a microscope.
Cortex: Inner bark tissue that lies between the outer bark and the phloem.
Within branches, it is often dark green in color.
Fungal Growth Within the Plant
All the plant external diagnostic observations presented so far don't really give us any
insight as to why the plant is in decline or dying. During my microscopic
investigations, I've found that by looking inside the plant, it is possible to guage the
extent of white canker infestation, and hence the health of the plant.
To do this, you certainly don't need to chop down a plant!
In fact, only a leaf or twig is needed. And if you use a twig, I've found that
a twig having a diameter of about 1/8" or less will work just fine.
Larger diameter twigs yield little additional information, and are more
difficult to process, e.g., cut cleanly with a razor.
Surprisingly, a leaf cross-section is useful in diagnosing white canker because the white canker
fungus is also present within the leaf!
To see this fungal growth, clamp the leaf vertically (stem down) in a hobbiest vise.
I generally prefer to have about 2/3 of the leave sticking above the vise jaws.
Then, using a single edge razor, cut through the leaf parallel to the vise jaws, so that
no part of the leaf extends above the vise jaws. Now, rest the hand-held USB microscope on
top of the vise jaws such that it is looking down into the cross-section of the leaf.
If the leaf is moderately to strongly infested with white canker fungus, you will see
white strands and white blobs among the green leaf tissue. While this white canker may
appear throughout the entire cross-section, I've found that it tends to concentrate
around th leaf midrib. In fact, for light to moderate infections, this midrib area is
the only area that may show the white canker. Consequently, when I examine the cross-section
of a leaf for white canker, I now only examine the midrib area. Unfortunately, I've found
that while the midrib area may show little infection, there definitely is a white canker
infection taking place, as evidenced by twig cross-sections.
Up to this point I've discussed various diagnostic tests one can use to diagnose white canker,
and I've used them all. None of them, however, gives a high reliability test for white canker.
But based upon many hundreds of tests, I've found that microscopic examination of twig
cross-sections can almost always detect the presence of white canker, along with how pervasive
it is. The reason for this is that the white canker fungus (hypha) is very light gray
(almost white), and most healthy internal plant tissue is green. And while some internal
plant tissue (the xylem and pith) may be white, its normal patterning will be altered
by being intermingled with blobs of white canker coloration.
Therefore, no diagnostic staining is necessary.
Photomicrograph: A photograph taken with the help of a microscope.
While experience has shown that a 1/8" diameter twig is ideal for doing a twig cross-section
analysis, a 400x view of a twig this size only shows a very small portion of it. In fact, it's
very difficult to infer much diagnostic information at all with such a small view. Hence, as
dozens of 400x photos of this twig cross-section are made, and they are all
stitched together into one big picture.
As interesting and potentially informative as these twig cross-section pictures are, they
are only useful if one knows what to look for in them. In other words, we need to first know what
what a normal cross-section looks like. Unfortunately, that's not easy. In an extensive
search of the Internet for cross-sections of twigs and stems, I found NO cross-sections
of real plants in natural color! There are plenty of black-and-white sketches, and some colorized
drawings. Some were labeled, but even if they were, labeling seemed inconsistent.
Consequently, I decided to show a few example cross-sections from among the many cross-sections
I've made. Since I was so far unable to find a shrub or tree that was totally free of white canker,
I selected some trees that so far haven't shown a severe white canker infection.
Figure 1 shows a cross-section of a linden tree twig. I've followed this linden tree over about
8 years. Each year it visibly suffers from white canker late in the summer by having its leaves
turn yellow and drop. But the tree seems to bounce back every year.
Figure 2 shows a cross-section of a blue spruce twig. I've also followed this blue spruce tree
over about 8 years. Each year it sheds more needles. The lower 5 feet became totally bare, so the
homeowner cut off all the dead branches. But the disease continues to advance upward.
Like other blue spruce trees in the area, this one will eventually die.
|Figure 1 - Linden tree twig cross-section
||Figure 2 - Blue spruce tree twig cross-section
Next, note the colored arrows pointing to various internal structures within each cross-section.
It may help to click on each picture to zoom in so the detail is more clearly shown. The colored
arrows show the following:
- Brown arrow: Outer bark
- Red arrow: Phloem, which transports nutrients up and down the plant
- Blue arrow: Xylem, which transports water and minerals up to the plant
- Cyan arrow: Pith - which stores and transports nutrients throughout the plant
- Orange arrow: White canker (fungal hyphae)
- Violet arrow: Figure 1: Pith ray, Figure 2: Vacuoles, which transport sap
There are several things to note in these two figures:
- The bark should be pure brown throughout. Instead, parts of it are white,
meaning those parts are filled with white canker.
- Underneath the bark is a green band of phloem. It should be a dark, rich green.
Instead, it is whitish, with scattered dense areas of white canker.
- In Figure 1, the xylem lies under the phloem. It generally is somewhat green in color.
However, here it is white and yellow, meaning it is infiltrated with white canker.
- The center pith should be a frothy white, like soap suds. Part of the pith in Figure 1
is like that, but part is solid white canker. In figure 2, much of the pith is filled
with white canker.
- As Figure 1 shows, white canker can be diffuse, form in bands, or form in fuzzy clumps.
Treating White Canker
Finding an Effective Chemical Treatment
Fungicide: Any agent that destroys or prevents the growth of fungi.
After seemingly getting nowhere while trying to determine the common cause of so many
of my shrubs and trees dying or in declining health, I did a lot of searching the Internet
for chemicals that might be of help. After finding a few candidates, I called a local
tree/shrub/plant care company and asked them to spray my yard - something I'd never
done before since I'd never had a yard disease this severe.
Based upon my Internet research, I specifically asked them to also include a
fungicide called Mancozeb. They did this, although they call it Protect instead.
Their Protect fungicide was used in addition to their fungicide called Eagle.
For the first 10 days there was no effect. But then it was like a miracle had happened.
Every single diseased plant, without exception, perked up and the foliage turned a deep healthy green!
I could hardly believe my eyes. It was like day and night.
But… was the improvement due to Eagle or Protect? Both were fungicides.
The service's agent thought it was Eagle, since Eagle was systemic (works within the plant,
rather than as a disease barrier).
So, as a further experiment, in the next spraying a month later, I had them exclude the Protect.
The disease got progressively worse again. When it was time for my third spraying in mid-August,
leaves were falling from my (and others) birch trees like rain.
For the third spraying, I had the agent exclude Eagle, and just use Protect.
About a week later the improvement repeated itself - the birch leaves stopped dropping and
stayed green. The other diseased plants also improved.
That was the proof I needed - fungicide Protect/Mancozeb was definitely effective in holding
back this disease.
But it didn't cure it. A treatment is needed every 3 or 4 weeks.
I continued working with the tree care agent for the following year,
trying out several more fungicides to see how they worked.
Most were effective, one wasn't, as summarized in the following table:
|Chemical Name ||Product Name ||Effective? ||Type |
|Mancozeb ||Protect T/O ||Yes ||Contact |
|Propiconazole ||Spectator/Infuse ||Yes ||Systemic |
|Thiophanate-methyl ||Cleary 3336 ||Yes ||Systemic |
|Myclobutanil ||Eagle ||No ||Systemic ||
The fact that several fungicides were so effective seems to imply that this disease is a fungus
or fungus-like (e.g., Phytophthora) pathogen. It also argues against the suggestions that the cause
of this decline was: cold weather, hot weather, not enough water, too much water, insects, too acidic
a soil, lack of fertilizer, too much fertilizer, or physical damage. Yes, incredibly, all these things
were suggested as the cause of the tree and shrub health problems on our property!
There is no Permanent Cure
Once you determine that the cause of your tree and shrub decline is due to white canker, you will
no doubt want to get rid of it permanently. But, like so many other fungal diseases, there is no
permanent cure. This pathogen is, unfortunately, here to stay. The only thing you can do is to
control it, keeping it at such a low level that it's no longer bothersome. So then the issue becomes
whether or not to treat your plants for this disease or not. The easy thing is to do nothing. But the
consequence of that is that your plants will continue to do poorly, and many will eventually die. If
you do decide to do something, the issue then becomes who applies the controlling chemical.
Who Does the Treatment?
The first thing to keep in mind is that, in order to keep white canker in check, the fungicide
selected must be applied every 3 or 4 weeks, since the effectiveness begins to wear off after that
period of time. The next decision you have to make is who is to apply the fungicide - either you
apply it yourself, or you hire a commercial lawn, tree, and shrub care company. I've tried both
approaches. Each has their advantages and disadvantages.
Hiring a commercial firm to apply fungicides has both advantages and disadvantages:
- Easiest way to go - they do all the work
- Most expensive, costing anywhere from $50 to $100 per treatment, and you may need
four or five treatments for the season
- Treatment usually includes a mix of fungicides and insecticides, so you are protected
against both diseases and insects
- The company may not be willing to spray the particular fungicide needed to control white canker
- The company may be backed up in work, and may not be able to spray the fungicide for 8 weeks or so
- The company may not spray an effective fungicide because they want to rotate fungicides in order
to reduce the possibility of fungicide resistance over time
- They may not spray your trees, shrubs, and flowers out of concern harm to bees
- Some chemicals may be harmful to miscellaneous wildlife that come into contact with the leaves
or branches of the sprayed plants, trees, and shrubs
- They spray your property on their schedule, not yours
Applying the fungicide yourself also has both advantages and disadvantages:
- Relatively low cost - you only need to obtain a sprayer (available from local home
and garden centers for around $30), and the fungicide concentrate.
- You can spray on your schedule
- You can spray only those plants you choose to spray
- You can avoid using an insecticide that might harm beneficial insects
- You can select the dosage and application frequency
- If you spray the ground, you don't have to worry about killing honeybees
- If you want to do a good deed and spray your neighbor's tree or shrub, you can (I did that
for my neighbor's rose bush to demonstrate the effectiveness of propiconazole.)
- The effective concentrated fungicides are only available at some home and garden centers,
but can be ordered on-line (e.g., Amazon). Some, like propiconazole, come in various
concentrations (e.g., 2%, 14%)
- Some fungicides can be dangerous if not handled properly
(I've been cautious when working with them and so far haven't had any problem)
- It can be time consuming, and a lot of work!
Regardless of who applies the fungicide, there is the issue of getting the fungicide into the plant.
Commercial firms will generally spray the entire shrub or tree. But they have a problem spraying
tall trees, as their pressureized spray equipment can only reach up to about 25 feet.
Personally, having everything sprayed with chemicals bothers me a bit. It bothers me even more when
I do the spraying and the spray particles are close to me. I worry that a small gust of wind could blow
them into my face. Fortunately, my extensive microscopic analysis of white canker shows that the
fungal disease works its way up the plant through the roots and the xylem and pith of the plant.
Because of that, I've experimented and found that you can spray a particular systemic fungicide, propiconazole,
onto the ground around the plant. Rain or watering will wash it down to the roots which will then
transport the fungicide throughout the plant. I prefer this method of application since the spray
nozzle always stays inches from the ground, greatly reducing any drifting fungicide spray droplets.
To expand upon this, when spraying propiconazole on the ground, I spray the ground under the
"drip zone" of the plant until it appears totally wet. Having dry, bare ground or dry bark mulch
helps to see where you've sprayed and where you haven't. I often then reapply several minutes later,
so to achieve a "double" dose, since I've found through experience that this double dose is
actually more beneficial than a single dose in combating white canker.
drip zone: The drip zone is an imaginary circle on the ground under the tree that corresponds
to the outer edge of the leaf canopy.
Here's a troubling experience I had with a lawn care company. I contracted with them to treat my
shrubs and trees for the season. But they didn't do the first treatment until the last days of May.
By that time, plant growth was well established, so the bad effects of white canker were already
apparent. When they did come to apply their first treatment, they didn't spray some of the trees
and shrubs that badly needed a treatment! The reason was their concern for the bees - they
didn't want to harm them. I commend them for that concern, but on the other hand, my declining
shrubs and trees continued their decline. My solution, was to spray the ground around these
shrubs and trees myself. Since I never sprayed the leaves, flowers, and trunks, there was no
issue with the bees, butterflies, etc. And I believe that a healthy plant is much better able to
resist insect attack.
After your yard has been treated with one of these white canker fungicides, you should notice an
improvement in plant health in about seven to ten days. But there are several issues to keep in mind.
One is that the improvement seen depends upon the growth state of the plant. If a shrub or tree branch
has no sign of life, it will NOT come back to life. If there are just a few sickly leaves on the tree
or shrub, these leaves may or may not improve, since they are already formed. But any new leaves
will be be well-formed and healthy. Since the white canker fungus kills the internal
plant tissue, it will take time, sometimes months, for the plant to heal that internal tissue, much as it
takes your body time to heal from a serious wound.
Leaf appearance is a good indicator of the health of a plant. Healthy leaves will generally be
1) very flat, 2) relatively large, 3) deep green in color, and 4) have a shiny surface. In fact,
I often find healthy leaves like this so pleasing that I almost appreciate their appearance as
much as the flowers on the plant!
Tracking Propiconazole Effectiveness over a Two-Month Period
While fungicide propiconazole definitely works as a control of white canker, some may question
how long it takes for an effect to occur, how often the fungicide must be applied, what effect
it has on the interior of a plant, what parts of the plant are most and least affected, etc.
I know I had these questions in the back of my mind. Consequently, I undertook a controlled
experiment where I sampled twigs from a single treated bush over a two-month period, every
few days generating a microscopic view of a cross-section of a twig from the bush.
Visit this web page to view these
progressive twig cross-sections, a discussion of them, and the interesting conclusions
In the course of reviewing microscopic photos of white canker infection on hundreds of
trees, bushes, and plants, I've gained a good understanding of what this disease looks
like. Nature is a great teacher!
Visit this web page
for a variety of photos that illustrate the diagnostic power of a hand-held microscope.
When applying a chemical treatment to your property, there is always a concern about safety.
I'll briefly cover some of these issues here. For further details, see toxipedia article
Syngenta Crop Protection article,
or World Health Organization article
Propiconazole is a fungicide and antimicrobial that was first used in 1981 to
protect grass grown for seed. The EPA expanded its permissible uses in 1987, 1993, and 1994
to include several food crops, but it is also used to protect ornamental plants. It may be
sold under names Tilt, Alamo, Banner, Orbit, and Quilt.
It is available as an emulsifiable concentrate, flowable concentrate, ready-to-use liquid,
liquid soluble concentrate, wettable powder, and dust (#EPA). It targets fungi, bacteria,
and viruses affecting plants. This broad targeting means that it may be used as a
preservative to wood, adhesives, paints, coatings, leather, paper, textiles, and other
While it is often used for garden plantings, it is registered for use on a variety of food
crops, most notably banana, nuts, barley, corn, stone fruits, wheat, cereal grains, citrus,
oats, rice, rye, sugarcane, and wheat. Nuts, rice, and wheat account for the heaviest usage.
Field soil half-life ranges from 9 to 461 days.
In humans, propiconazole has a moderately low acute toxicity.
Some humans exposed to formulated products containing propiconazole have shown local
irritant reactions. Research has concluded that propiconazole is unlikely to pose a
carcinogenic risk to humans. Human excretion occurs at 95% in 48 hours.
Exposure potential is low under actual field use and poses minimal risk of adverse effects.
Propiconazole can be slightly to highly toxic to fish.
It has a relatively low toxicity to birds, mammals, and bees, and other non-target organisms.
When to Apply the Fungicide
My testing has shown that a fungicide application yields the best results when a plant is
actively growing. The difference is between "great" results an "virtually no" results.
In general, apply in early spring (e.g., May 1st in New England) when trees, shrubs, and
plants begin to grow. Good results will also be seen later on in those plants, such as roses,
that continue to grow during the summer.
This early treatment is so important because when white canker gets established within
plant tissue, it takes a lot of effort for a plant to get rid of it. And when the fungicide
does kill the internal white canker, the plant has to grow internally to heal these internal
wounds. This is less likely to happen later in the season when a plant prepares to go dormant
for the upcoming fall and winter seasons.
Factors Making White Canker Worse
After I realized my garden plants were virtually all infected with a serious case of
this white canker fungal disease, some of my first thoughts were "how did my garden come
to get this disease" and "why does it seem to be affecting my garden more than the gardens
of other people". These questions kept haunting me since I considered myself a fairly
good gardener, fertilizing my grass and plants, mulching my plantings, and giving them
sufficient water (although I'm not that big on watering, my wife is).
So our plantings certainly don't suffer in the traditional sense.
Consequently, whenever I was away from home, I looked for evidence of white canker infections
wherever I saw trees and shrubs growing. At first I saw no pattern. But after years of searching,
some patterns began to emerge. Even when I started noticing these patterns, some didn't seem to
make sense initially. But, gradually, the evidence built up to the point where I could make
some general predictions about the factors affecting the severity of a white canker infection. I'll
cover these factors in the following paragraphs.
Bark mulch - a blessing and curse!
Actually, my garden wasn't the only one in our neighborhood to contract white canker. My next-door
neighbor got it about the same time I did. Also, she is a model gardener, in that she had lots
of lovely plants, shrubs, and trees around her yard. So it seemed bewildering that both of our gardens
should come down with white canker at about the same time. There were actually several findings
leading to the solution of this mystery. The first clue was my microscope research that showed that white canker
was a fungal disease that reproduced by fungal fruiting bodies in and on infected bark. Then I realized
that about the time our gardens contracted white canker, we had shared a truckload of bark mulch. We had
done this for several years in order to save money. And at about the same time I noticed that bark
mulch didn't smell pleasantly aromatic anymore - it had a moldy smell instead. Plus, it seemed
to rot away faster. The evidence thus strongly suggested that we acquired our severe white
canker garden infections from loads of infected bark mulch.
Yet, emotionally, I found it somewhat hard to accept that the highly recommended gardening
practice of mulching was in fact destroying my plantings rather than helping them! So I started
looking around at other areas of plantings, trying to gather evidence one way or another. One
area I often frequented was our local supermarket. Their parking lot had numerous islands that
contained young flowering trees. As is often the case in these commercial plantings, they used
bark mulch extensively. But as I monitored these plantings over the years, I noticed that their
health invariably declined, e.g., branches gradually died off until the entire tree died. Then
they would replace it with another tree. And that tree, too, would sicken and die over the span
of several years. The evidence was just too strong to ignore - bark mulch, as attractive as it
looked, had become a tree and shrub killer.
Water - another blessing and curse!
As I mentioned above, my wife is very good about watering our yard. Yet in spite of this diligent
watering, our trees and shrubs still didn't look healthy. We used sprinklers. Our neighbor
watered her gardens with an automatic underground watering system.
As I drove the highways, I kept searching for healthy and diseased trees. After years of this,
I began to notice another pattern: trees that seemed in decline due to white canker were generally
in lower elevation areas that had plenty of ground water. I seemed to see this correlation over
and over again. At first, it didn't seem to make much sense. But after reading up on fungal
diseases, the literature said that plant fungal diseases thrive in wet environments. Once again,
another piece of the puzzle fit - our zealous watering was both helping our gardens and
at the same time making our white canker infection worse!
While observing probable white canker infections in the countryside over the years, I noticed
another strange correlation. It often seemed that in a group of trees, the trees on the end, or
those experiencing the most wind shear would tend to have the most severe white canker
infections. Like the other correlations I had noted, I at first dismissed this correlation as
a fluke - just a chance happening. But, again, I saw this correlation so often that I figured
there must be a reason for it.
At first I surmised that these trees were getting attacked by huge numbers of white canker
spores being blown at them by the wind. But my microscope research showed that white canker
chokes off the vascular system of the trees, effectively starving them of water. The drying
effect of the wind pushes these infected trees over the edge, hastening their decline and
death. A consequence of this reasoning is that dense areas of trees should show little decline
due to white canker, and I've found that to be true.
So while wind doesn't cause white canker, it hastens the decline of trees and shrubs infected
with white canker.
Another curious correlation I noted while driving around the countryside was that there seemed to
be white canker decline on the branches of a tree next to a highway. Branches on the same tree
facing away from the road, or higher up in the air, were in less decline. When I happened to
mention this to a plant pathologist, she said it was known that road salt seepage would do this.
Subsequently, I looked more carefully. One major highway I traveled was cut through about 10 feet
of rock ledge. I noted that trees were in decline on top of this ledge. Yet it seemed very
unlikely that road salt would climb this vertical ledge to the trees on top, whose roots clearly
did not come in contact with the ground at the bottom of this ledge.
Then there was a road in our housing development. It had relatively light traffic, and I found
no decline in the health of trees abutting the road, in spite of this road being occasionally
treated with salt in the winter. But... there was an exception. Some of the overhanging branches
of one particular tree were in decline or dead (the rest were in much better shape). It turned out
that this tree was about 20 feet from a school intersection, and parents would often park their
car there while awaiting the release of their children from the nearby school. Of course, when it
was cool outside, they would let their car idle, causing car exhaust to drift up into the adjacent
So once again, like with the wind, I don't think car exhaust has anything to do with causing
white canker, but car exhaust is stressful to trees (as it is to us), and simply accelerates any
decline due to a white canker infection.
Yes, there IS hope!
Given the above, it would be easy to be discouraged about gardening, since the two traditional
good gardening practices, mulching and watering, now additionally can cause garden decline! But,
as I've discussed earlier, there is a means of control, and that control involves the application
of an effective fungicide, e.g., propiconazole, to all garden plants, especially if one is using
bark mulch. The downside is that it does take time and/or money, although not an excessive amount.
Trees and shrubs in the country will have to go it alone, surviving as best they can. That means
trees in wet areas will continue to die off. Susceptible trees will also continue to decline and
die. In particular, before 2003, I recall that white birch trees were rather common. These days it's
rare to see a healthy white birch.
When Will It Die?
When I see a tree that's infected with white canker and that is not on my own property,
I often wonder how long it will be before it dies. That question probably runs through a lot
of homeowner's minds too, if they own a tree infected with white canker.
A few years after I first encountered this disease, I thought the prognosis was grim for
a tree infected with white canker. That was based upon my own experience with our Kwanzan
cherry tree which became infected and then went into a steady decline until it finally died.
At that point in time, one key indicator of this disease was vertical splits in the bark.
But since that time, while the white canker infection continues, the bark splits seem to have
diminished. At the same time, some trees that looked like they might die soon seemed to recover,
only to show the same symptoms the next year. Yet other trees continued a slow, steady decline.
Consequently, predicting when a tree infected with white canker will die is much more
complicated that I previously thought, as there seem to be a number of factors involved. I've
covered those factors in detail within the preceding section, but in summary they are: the use
of bark mulch, ground moisture, and wind. The presence of any of these three will hasten the
decline and death of a tree infected with white canker. In addition, a possibly more important
factor is the type of tree, bush, or plant. For example, while linden trees do get infected, they
tend to recover each year. Colorado blue spruce and hemlock trees go into a slow and steady
decline until they finally die due to needle loss, which may take 8 to 15 years.
Furthermore, trees and shrubs seem to have an immune system which takes a year or so to activate.
Like our own immune system, a tree/shrub can learn how to combat a pathogen, so that it is better
able to fight it in succeeding years. That implies that one can't gage the eventual death of a
tree or shrub by just following it for a year or two.
Still, it would be useful to have some means of measuring the health of a tree to see how
close to death it was. It might seem obvious that one simply has to look at a tree to judge its
health. Yet years of observation and experimentation have demonstrated that trees have a
tremendous amount of resilience when it comes to handling disease or injury. For example, I had
a mulberry tree I wanted to cut down. But before I did that, I progressively removed the inner
and outer bark of the tree in an attempt to starve it. That's supposed to be a
sure-fire way to kill a tree. Yet the tree didn't die until I removed 95% of the circumference
of the tree! What this means is that a tree can be well on its way to death, but only give
visible signs of death in the year or so before it dies. Before that, growth may simply stall.
Yet there is a better way to judge the health of a tree/shrub than by visual appearance, and
that way is by its internal appearance. That can be done by cutting a twig from the tree
and examining a cross-section of it. This lets us examine the phloem, xylem, and pith - those
components of the tree that transport nutrients, water, and minerals throughout the tree, as
well as store food. This transport system is called the vascular system, and is equivalent to
our own blood circulatory system. If the vascular system is blocked, the tree can no longer
live. White canker fungus kills a tree by totally infiltrating its vascular system. Yet, because
of the built-in resilience of a tree, its vascular system can be 50% blocked, and the tree will
still appear visually healthy on the outside!
Therefore, a good way to judge the health of a tree infected with white canker is to simply
do a cross-section of a twig, and then see how much of the healthy deep green tissue has been
replaced with white canker fungal hypha. For example, if there is very little green phloem left,
the tree (or branch of it) is near death.
Figure 1 below illustrates this. This Colorado blue spruce twig should have a nice deep green
phloem layer(the area immediately under the bark). Instead, this tissue is a "smoky" white with only
traces of green. That smoky white is actually white canker fungus, which has almost totally taken
over the nutrient transport system of the branch.
While the branch in Figure 1 still had needles and looked reasonably healthy, the cross-section
shown in Figure 2 was from an immediately lower adjacent branch that had just died. As you can see,
it has NO green phloem left. The only sign of life is a bit of sap exiting from a few of the
|Figure 1 - Blue Spruce 2 twig cross-section
||Figure 2 - Dead Blue Spruce twig cross-section
Another tree that seems to go into a steady decline when infected with white canker is a hemlock.
Figure 3 is a cross-section of a hemlock twig whose parent tree has been in steady decline for over
six years. Each year a few more branches die, and the tree is now about 70% dead.
Zoom in for a close look and you will see that here, too, the normally green phloem looks very
damaged and there is hardly any green left. Once again, there is a lot of that white smoky canker
|Figure 3 - Hemlock tree twig cross-section
||Figure 4 - Sugar maple tree twig cross-section
In contrast to this hemlock, Figure 4 shows a cross-section of a sugar maple that appeared to
be in distress. While this neighborhood tree was dropping lots of leaves in mid to late August, it
still had plenty of leaves left. And while the center pith was a normal frothy white, the immediately
surrounding xylem was white with canker. As you can see, much of the normally green phloem was
infiltrated by white canker. Most of the upper phloem was in especially bad shape. The decay was
so bad that voids had formed in the phloem under the bark. In spite of all this, there apparently
was enough green phloem left to support most of the leaves - once again, a tribute to the
resilience of trees!
Diagnosis Example - Blue Spruce
One of the most common ornamental trees in use today is the blue spruce.
Its conical shape, blue-green needles, dense foliage, and minimal care requirements make it
a highly desirable tree for both homeowners and businesses.
Unfortunately, since about 2003, older blue spruce trees have started to go into a slow
and steady decline. (Younger blue spruce trees resist this decline.)
This decline was so slow that I'm guessing that few people
noticed it. But if you look closely, you will notice the following disease characteristics:
As you can see, the progression of this disease causes these blue spruce trees to lose
all of the attributes that people love about this tree.
- The lower and inner parts of the tree show the most decline - a loss of needles.
- Over the years, this needle loss works its way up the tree.
- The branches on the lower half of the tree begin to "pancake", collapsing onto lower
branches and leaving voids in the normally dense foliage.
- The very symmetrical look of the tree is altered by occasional branches showing
abnormal outward growth (i.e., sticking out), and then the tips curve upward.
- Needles, especially on the smaller inner branches, turn brown and fall off.
If there is snow on the ground, you can often see the surface covered with dead needles.
If there is no snow, try shaking a branch - you will likely see needles fall like rain.
- Needles on the branches about a foot from the tip begin to take on a slight yellow-brown tinge.
- Where you could never see the trunk of the tree before, due to foliage density,
the trunk now begins to be easily seen as bare branches become more common.
- As these symptoms progress, the beautiful blue-green color of the branch tips
often fades, and you find yourself wondering if this is really a "blue" spruce!
You may wonder how common these disease symptoms are. They are very common.
Not only that, but most blue spruce trees around the country are currently experiencing these
symptoms! Naturally, there is a huge demand for a diagnosis of this disease, along with a
need for a way to control this disease. Of course, plant pathology experts have become involved
in this major tree health problem. They have suggested that the cause of this disease is one or
several of the known diseases of blue spruce trees. When pressed, however, they will admit that
none of the known diseases adequately describe the known disease symptoms. Here is a brief
rundown of their suggested diseases. My comments follow, based upon an analysis of several
declining blue spruce trees in my neighborhood.
Cytospora canker (Leucostoma kunzei, formerly Cytospora kunzei)
(For more information, see
at the Missouri botanical Garden website.)
|Figure 1 - Cytospora canker on blue spruce|
This is the most prevalent and destructive fungal disease of Colorado blue spruce and Norway spruce.
It rarely affects trees less than 15 or 20 years old. It starts on the lowest branches of the tree,
and, over a period of several years, progresses upward.
At first, needles have a purplish hue, eventually turning brown and dropping, leaving dry, dead,
brittle twigs and branches. A conspicuous white resin or "pitch" covers the cankered portion
of the branch or trunk, sometimes flowing several feet down the trunk of the tree.
Within the cankered area, black, pinhead-size fruiting structures (pycnidia) of the fungus
can be seen with a microscope or hand lens and are a positive sign of the disease.
Cytospora affects all needles from the tip of the branch to the base.
Comments: Good match with the first symptoms. But no white resin was found.
More importantly, these black fruiting structures were not found, and all branch needles
aren't affected - the branch tip needles are the last to die.
Phomopsis (Phomopsis occulta)
Phomopsis is a fungal pathogen normally only found on young trees in nurseries and on tree farms.
The initial symptom of Phomopsis infection is a barely discernible chlorotic flecking of the needles.
The discoloration is very subtle and may be difficult to distinguish from mite injury.
Infection of the stems results in very small purplish lesions below the bark.
Cankers expand under the bark. A resinous exudate is often present on the stem in the area of the canker.
Cankers are easily seen on infected branches by shaving the bark away with a knife.
Needles on infected branches may turn brown or purple, then drop.
The most dramatic symptoms occur in spring as new shoots expand, then rapidly wilt and die.
The wilted tips curl and often turn a characteristic pink before turning brown and shedding needles.
Strangely, there a very few Phomopsis diagnostic photos.
|Figure 2 - Phomopsis canker on blue spruce|
Comments: Good match with needles turning brown and dropping.
No match on resinous exudate. No match on this being a young tree.
But most importantly, since following these declining blue spruce trees for years, I've
never seen new shoots expand, wilt, then die.
Rhizosphaera Needle Cast (Rhizosphaera kalkhoffii)
One source claims "This is the most common problem seen on blue spruce samples that are submitted
to Plant Disease Clinics." As in the diseases above, this disease is usually first evident on lower
branches and works upward gradually.
Second-year needles turn a purple or brown color and eventually fall from the tree.
After several successive years of needle loss, branches may die.
In general, trees appear to die from the bottom upward.
In some cases, however, infections start higher on the tree, giving the appearance of scattered
The disease can be diagnosed by looking at the discolored needles with a magnifying glass or hand lens.
Small black spots (fruiting structures of the fungus) appear in rows in the infected needles.
The fungus is actually emerging from the stomata (natural pore-like openings) that occur in lines
on all sides of a spruce needle. Green needles may show these small black fruiting structures.
Healthy stomata appear white, so the rows of black stomata are a diagnostic feature of Rhizosphaera.
|Figure 3 - Rhizosphaera needle cast on blue spruce|
Comments: Excellent match on the first paragraph, which is probably why so many
experts point to "needle cast" as the cause.
But there is a total match failure on the key diagnostic evidence - the small black fruiting structures.
They are simply absent.
Stigmina (Stigmina lautii)
This fungus is very similar to Rhizosphaera needle cast, but under very high magnification,
the Stigmina spore-producing structures appear hairy or feathery, while those of Rhizosphaera
are smooth and spherical.
|Figure 4 - Stigmina on blue spruce|
Comments: Once again, a mismatch on the small black fruiting structures.
They are simply absent.
Diplodia (formerly Sphaeropsis)(Diplodia pinea)
Also called Diplodia Tip Blight.
The most conspicuous symptom of diplodia blight is brown, stunted new shoots with short, brown needles.
A few brown needles at the tip of the current season's growth are the first evidence of tip blight.
With a hand lens you may see minute black fruiting bodies at the base of diseased needles,
especially under the papery leaf sheath. These are sure signs of this disease.
Future tree goowth is often reduced by damage to or death of terminal buds during infection.
Apparently Colorado blue spruce trees aren't much affected by this disease.
|Figure 5 - Diplodia|
Comments: Once again, a mismatch, since this disease doesn't display stunted
new shoots with short, brown needles.
Spruce Gall Aphids (Adelges cooleyi)
This insect causes the formation of conelike galls on developing twigs, which deform, stunt
and usually girdle them. Colorado blue spruce trees seem to have a fair resistance to them.
|Figure 6 - Spruce galls|
Comments: No match, since no insects were seen, and neither were the galls.
Spruce spider mites cause a webbing around the needles of spruce trees.
You can see mites and eggs on the branches with a magnifying glass.
They are small (about 1/50”), and with all eight legs stretched out would just cover the period
at the end of this sentence. Newly hatched larvae are pinkish in color, but turn dark green or
dark red after initial feeding.
|Figure 7 - Spruce spider mites|
Comments: No match, since no insects were seen, and neither was their webbing.
So What is it?
After reviewing the above known diseases of spruce trees and concluding that the symptoms don't match
any known spruce disease, it becomes more likely that this is a new disease. This hypothesis is
strengthened by the fact that this blue spruce disease is so widespread and so devastating. And it
is relatively new, seeming to initially occur about 2003.
As you may note when reviewing the above listed fungal disease symptoms, this particular
disease shares many of their symptoms, making diagnosis confusing. Therefore, what's needed
is some new and unique diagnostic criteria for identifying this disease.
If it's a fungus, it must have fruiting bodies!
If this disease is a fungus, it must produce external fruiting bodies in order to reproduce.
In turn, like a mushroom (which is a fungus), these fruiting bodies must produce spores which
drift off to infect other plants.
And since this disease seems to be very common, it probably produces a lot of fruiting bodies.
In fact, this disease does produce a huge number of fruiting bodies in late May and early
June (here in New Hampshire).
But, there is a catch - unless they are very numerous, they are difficult to see with the unaided eye.
They appear on the outside of the branch, several feet from the branch tip.
They are small, yellow-light-gray in color, and almost look like dust.
And to really confuse matters, they look almost exactly like white pine pollen!
Hence, even if people do notice them, they are probably ignored!
If you don't have a microscope, but do have a scanner, you might be able to detect them.
Figure 8 shows a blue spruce branch junction that is only about 8" from the tip of a branch.
The first (left) picture was taken at 1200 dpi (dots per inch), the second at 1800 dpi, and the
third at 2400 dpi. If you have good eyesight, you will notice that this junction is sprinkled with
tan dots. Each dot is only a few pixels in size, so you might easily mistake them for plain, old dust.
(Click on each picture to zoom in.)
But a view with a microscope will show them to be typical white canker fruiting bodies.
|Figure 8 - Blue spruce fruiting bodies at 1200, 1800, and 2400 dpi|
If it's a bad fungus, it must seriously disrupt the tree!
Given the devastation this fungus produces on the outside, the internal workings of the tree
must also be seriously disrupted. But, strangely, there doesn't seem to be any diagnostic
information on blue spruce trees (or any shrubs or trees) with regard to how they look
In frustration, I decided to "look into" a diseased blue spruce by cutting a 1/8" diameter
branch with a single-edge razor, mount it in a vise, and examine it with a 400x hand-held
microscope. I also did this with diseased blue spruce needles. The results were a real
eye-opener. After having done the same thing while searching for white canker in other plants,
I became fairly proficient at recognizing the symptoms of white canker. And these diseased
blue spruces were simply loaded with white canker! But, like the fruiting bodies,
if you don't know what you're looking for, you probably won't recognize the fungus.
Now that I've tried many diagnostic techniques on hundreds of diseased shrubs, trees, and plants
in order to diagnose white canker, I can say that twig cross-sections are by far the most
definitive test currently available for the identification of white canker. The other tests
mainly lend supporting evidence.
|Figure 9 - Blue Spruce 1 twig cross-section|
What the White Canker Fungus Looks Like
As they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words". Figure 9 is a 1/8" cross-section of a twig
from a badly diseased blue spruce that has all of the symptoms of white canker. It is a
composite (panorama) picture made up of 47 individual photos (sometimes called photomicrographs)
that were made using a 400x USB microscope. You've probably never seen a picture like this before.
In spite of extensive searches of the Internet, I never have either. In order to more easily see
the fungal infection details, be sure to click on this
picture to expand it so that it almost fills your display screen.
A second click on a location within that twig will expand it even further.
Click on your browser's back button to return to this text.
As a reminder, you may recall that a normal, healthy twig will have a nice brown bark, a deep
green phloem layer under it, a lighter-green xylem under the phloem, and probably a white pith in the
center of the twig. It's important to note that this diagnostic twig was taken from a main branch that had
dead twigs from the trunk up to this twig. In other words, this twig was probably going to die
very soon. When you examine this cross-section carefully, it's no surprise that death is imminent.
First, check out the bark. The outer bark is almost totally overwhelmed by white fungal material
just under it. In many areas, this outer bark has broken completely away from the orange-brown
inner bark. The inner bark is also almost completely infiltrated with white canker. Still, all that
tissue corruption wouldn't kill the branch. Next in should be the solid deep green phloem layer.
This is the layer of tree tissue that transports nutrients throughout the tree. Except for a small
area in the lower-left, the phloem has almost been totally consumed by white canker. Next in is the
xylem, which is typically a light green. But it's almost pure white due to white canker infiltration.
This xylem tissue, by the way, transports water and minerals throughout the tree. So the tree is
starving for both nutrients and water.
Those "holes" you see in the green phloem are vacuoles that transport sap throughout the tree.
When I cut this twig with a razor, these vacuoles oozed sap into the cut, which is why the phloem
and xylem has a "wet" look. And those thread-like objects scattered about are the fungal hyphae that
are growing out of the cankerous material within the twig.
Reviewing all this, we can say that the internal appearance of this twig looks as bad as the
external appearance of this tree. About the only good thing you can say about this cross-section
is that it sure is colorful!
|Figure 10 - Dead Blue Spruce twig cross-section
||Figure 11 - Blue Spruce 2 twig cross-section
As I said above, this was the first live twig on the branch - prior ones closer to the trunk had
already died. So, out of curiosity, I did a cross-section on the adjacent dead twig. Figure 10 shows
the result. As you can see, all that's left is some dead tree tissue - most of the tree tissue
has been replaced by white canker. Note that a bit of sap still oozed through a few vacuoles, in the
branch's futile effort to stay alive.
Figure 11 shows another live branch on this tree. I cut this twig near a needle junction (on the left).
This twig, too, oozed copious amounts of sap in a vain effort to stay alive. As you can see, there is
virtually no green phloem left, having been almost totally replaced with white canker. Furthermore,
those white rays radiating out from the center pith - they are rays of concentrated white canker too.
Figure 12 shows a 400x photo of a small section of bark. What you see is a field of white canker
fruiting bodies intermingled with the hyphae supporting these fruiting bodies. I'm not sure, but
I'm guessing that the yellowish stuff within the "jaws" of these fruiting bodies are the
reproductive spores of the fruiting bodies. Unfortunately, my microscope isn't powerful enough
to resolve them.
|Figure 12 - Small section of Blue Spruce Bark
||Figure 13 - Blue spruce Needle:
Base, Middle, and Tip
Going further, I scanned a needle from this diseased blue spruce at 400x. There were so many
photos that I had to stitch them together to make several panorama pictures. Figure 13 shows the
base, middle, and tip of a needle. Note that the stomata are white, not black, so none of the
common blue spruce diseases are present.
As you can see, there is little indication of white canker in these external views of a needle.
|Figure 14 - Cross-section of 3 diseased blue spruce needles|
Figure 14 shows a composite 400x cross-section of a set of 3 needles from this diseased twig.
While there is definitely white canker present (white blobs), it isn't nearly as obvious as the
white canker in a twig cross-section.
There are three important points illustrated during this diagnosis:
- While one can get a reasonable diagnosis of white canker from looking at specifics from the
overall appearance of a diseased blue spruce tree, a diagnosis of much higher confidence can
only be obtained by carefully examining a twig cross-section with a microscope at 400x. Only
then can the presence and extent of a white canker infection be determined.
- As the cross-section of a live branch shows, a tree branch's vascular system can be
almost totally blocked, and the branch and its leaves/needles can still remain alive.
It's a tribute to the resilience of trees in the face of serious disease.
- This is a relatively new disease which probably made its first appearance around 2003.
Treatment Example - Blue Spruce
The prior section contains a fairly good discussion of how to determine if a particular
blue spruce tree is infected with the white canker disease. Once a blue spruce is determined
to have white canker, the question arises as to whether it is possible to do something about it.
While I have successfully treated smaller trees and shrubs, I have no large blue spruce trees
on my property, and hence no experience with treating them.
A friendly neighbor offers his trees for testing
However, I do have a nearby neighbor, Joe, who is not only a good friend, but who also
happens to have two large blue spruce trees.
These trees are shown in Figures 1 & 2.
If you click on them you will see bare branches on their lower half
(clicking again shows even more details).
These are the trees that the diagnostic tests
discussed in the preceding section indicated had a severe case of white canker infection.
Joe kindly gave me permission to do a test treatment on his trees. Both of these trees have shown
signs of decline for about 8 years. While they are "blue" spruce trees, I often wondered if they
really were blue spruces, as there was almost no blue to them at all! That observation turned
out to be critically important.
|Figure 1 - Treated blue spruce
||Figure 2 - Untreated blue spruce
For comparison purposes, I decided to treat only one of his two trees. Both were of the same
size, age, and condition - ideal for comparison. I did the treatment myself - no lawn care
company was involved. My treatment was based upon what I had found to be successful in the past.
Specifically, I created a propiconazole spray mix using about the dilution ratio suggested
in the instructions, i.e., 1/2 ounce of 14.3% propiconazole concentrate per 2 gallons of water
in a sprayer container. Because I had previously used up some of that 2 gallons, I was only able
to apply 3/4 gallon to the ground under his tree. I began by attempting to wet all the ground under
the drip zone of his tree. Fortunately, the ground was bare dirt, so it was easy to tell where I had
applied the mix. If a large root was exposed, I sprayed that too. While I had hoped to cover the
entire drip zone, I only managed to cover 2/3 of a pie-shaped area under the drip zone. I could have
returned to finish the remaining 1/3, but decided to wait a week and check the results. If there
was no improvement over this period, I was going to spray the remaining 1/3.
The next day there was a moderate rainstorm. I was happy with this since I figured that it
would wash the propiconazole down into the roots, where it would then be transported throughout
the tree, since propiconazole is "systemic".
4 days later
About 4 days later, as I walked by this tree, it seemed that there was "something" different about
the tree, but the difference was so small that I wondered if it was my imagination.
One week later - babies!
Then, exactly one week after the rain, I again examined the tree, this time far more carefully. My first
impression was that it was "bluer". More careful inspection showed why: numerous "baby" blue shoots
were erupting throughout the branches on the tree! I was ecstatic! Further examination of these
new shoots showed that they were all from 0.5 inch to 1.5 inches in length, with most being about
1 inch in length. So it appeared that these new shoots were growing at the rate of about 1 inch per week.
Older, existing needles showed no change. And, interestingly, branches over the 1/3 of the drip zone
that I didn't spray were also showing these new shoots! So it doesn't seem to be critical that the
entire drip zone be uniformly covered.
Figure 3 shows these visual results (click it to get a close-up view).
The pink arrows show these new baby shoots erupting from a larger stem.
The orange arrow shows a new single shoot erupting from the tip of an existing shoot.
The red arrows show three shoots erupting from the tip of an existing shoot.
In particular, note that the older foliage was a less-healthy yellow-green color
(the entire tree was of that color before the fungicide application),
and the new baby shoots are an attractive white-blue-green color. Furthermore,
the bark on these new shoots is a distinctive orange color.
|Figure 3 - New blue growth|
Of course, it's always good to insure objectivity. So after noting the new growth on this blue
spruce, I went to the other untreated blue spruce and carefully examined it. As expected, it had
absolutely no new growth.
An inch a day?
A day later the owner of those blue spruces and I examined the new growth. I took a few photos of
the branches and trees to post here. But the next day, while examining these photos, I
became unhappy with their quality, so I went back to get another set of photos. As before, I couldn't
resist examining that beautiful new growth. But it now looked a bit different. Those 1" new
branches were now 2" in length. I didn't believe it, so examined a few more new growths. Same thing.
Still in disbelief, I examined dozens of these new growths. All of them now averaged 2" in length.
The conclusion was inescapable - there had been 1 inch of growth in about a day or so!
The message here seemed to be that the tree, while appearing to be in deep decline, was basically
very healthy, but was brought to its knees by white canker. Suppressing the white canker caused
the tree to burst out with new shoots.
No smooth transition?
There was another strange thing. I wanted to find the point on a growing branch where the old,
plain green needles turned to a blue color. I figured it would be a smooth transition on the young
bark and that only the needle color would change. In spite of examining dozens and dozens of these
new shoots, I never did find a single smooth transition. Instead, all of the new shoots
erupted from a junction point where the bark bulged a bit (see the orange arrow in figure 3).
So the branch tips were apparently not growing at the time, and the fungicide treatment
initiated a new growth spurt, one that typically happens in the spring.
Where did the blue go?
In order to get a nice close-up view of some of these new blue-green-white needles, I clipped off
a branch tip that contained only this new colorful growth. But upon bringing it home and visually
examining it within 15 minutes of cutting it, I found that the beautiful blue-green-white color
had morphed into a plain green color! This coloration fade also occurred on a branch containing
both old and new needles.
I'm guessing that the white canker remaining in the new shoot's tissue, now lacking ongoing fungicide
transport from the rest of the tree, suppressed the needle's generation of blue color.
The evidence that a reservoir of white canker still remains after this fungicide treatment is
shown later on in this section.
Nevertheless, I thought it worthwhile to document a close-up of a blue spruce
twig that was created within the previous 10 days. Figure 4 shows a 600 dpi scan of one lying
on my flatbed scanner. Since the needles keep the stem raised above the glass surface, parts of
this twig are out of focus.
Figure 5 shows the same twig, but with the white scanner cover pressing down on the twig,
flattening it. You can now see more details, especially since the scanner resolution was upped
to 1200 dpi. Yet, in spite of these great views - no blue! Furthermore, that new shoot white
outline on the needles is also missing. On the other hand, the white stomata dots on the needles
stand out starkly!
|Figure 4 - New blue spruce twig
||Figure 5 - New flattened
blue spruce twig (1200 dpi)
The inside appearance
While the tree was rebounding on the outside, I wondered what this new growth looked like on the
inside. So I cut off a branch, brought it home, and made a cross-section of a twig that had grown
since the fungicide application. Sure enough, as you can see, the interior is in much better shape
than the diseased twig from before. The new bark is much better looking, the pith is nice and white,
and the phloem has lots of healthy green tissue. It still has some swirls of white in it, so some
white canker remains.
|Figure 6 - Cross-section of a new blue spruce twig|
after fungicide treatment
White Canker fruiting bodies - already!?
Figure 7 shows a high resolution scan of a blue spruce branch that had grown during the past 10 days.
At first glance, although it appears very healthy, it doesn't look unusual at all. But click on the
figure and examine the junction areas pointed to by the red arrows. To my utter surprise, these
appeared very much like the white canker fruiting bodies I had seen in the past. Or, were they
just dust? There was only one way to find out - break out the 400x USB microscope and check them out.
|Figure 7 - New blue spruce branch cluster|
The results are shown in Figures 8 and 9. Each photo in Figure 8 shows a massive field of
white canker fruiting bodies. As is almost always the case, they tend to cluster at branch
junctions near the tip of the branch. But the real surprise was that they were present at all!
The reason is that these fruiting bodies tend to form and get released in early June, when
white pine trees shed pollen. This particular branch was only about 10 days old, so these
fruiting bodies must have formed within the past 10 days - not two months ago!
|Figure 8 - New blue Spruce fruiting bodies on junctions
What this indicates is that 1) the fungicide didn't kill or disable all the white canker in the tree,
and 2) white canker fruiting bodies form when the branch junctions form, not afterward.
Both of these points were somewhat of a surprise to me, and, once again, are more proof that these
objects aren't white pine pollen.
But that's not all. As Figure 9 shows, these white canker fruiting bodies can also appear at the
base of blue spruce needles. Granted, there are few present there, but they DO appear there. I
haven't found them at any other location along the length of the needle.
And, since these needles have grown within the past 10 days, these fruiting bodies must also have
formed within the past 10 days.
White canker fruiting bodies really seem to prefer to grow at tissue junctions!
|Figure 9 - New blue Spruce fruiting bodies on needles
Time will tell what further changes take place in this tree, but for now the exciting news is that
a ground application of fungicide propiconazole will result in healthy and vigorous new growth
on the diseased branches of blue spruce trees.
A Bush that had been "Dead" for Years Comes Back to Life!
By accident, I discovered another interesting fact about this disease.
About 1998 I bought a small Rose of Sharon bush and planted it in a far corner of our yard.
It grew well, getting bigger each year.
Then, about 2003 it died over the winter, leaving a dead stick the following spring.
I left it alone, hoping it would come back over the summer. It didn't.
The following spring I still left it alone, hoping against hope it would come back.
The next year, fed up with my reluctance to discard a dead bush, my wife went to dispose
of it by breaking it off at the base.
But while doing so, she was astonished to find about 8 healthy shoots (one with a bud) coming from
the root collar! In disbelief, I had to agree that this long "dead" plant was looking good!
The picture to the right shows it.
Here's what I assume happened.
White canker struck this Rose of Sharon and killed it above the root collar over the winter.
But the roots were still alive.
Each year it tried to grow, but the new small growth (which was covered by adjacent plants)
was almost immediately killed by white canker.
A subsequent spring fungicide spraying around 2006 killed off the white canker,
permitting the new growth to finally thrive. It has been healthy and growing ever since.
And now, in 2014, it is producing an abundance of blooms!
I see this as interesting evidence that this disease tends to kill or harm a plant above
its root collar, but does not always kill the roots or root collar.
That's of particular interest since Phytophthoras are known to attack the roots of a plant.
So this is one piece of evidence that says this is not a Phytophthora disease.
Shed Fruiting Bodies
Back around June 9, 2008, I and others noticed what appeared to be a "fog" in the air
during a hot and windy day.
Someone else commented that when he looked at the trees, they appeared to be "smoking".
The cause appeared to be a blizzard of yellow-green "pollen".
Curious as to what this "pollen" looked like, I used a strip of cellophane tape to capture some
and examine it under a 400x microscope.
To my complete surprise, the "pollen grains" looked like the infectious fruiting bodies
that I had been seeing on all my diseased branch samples!
After this "pollen blizzard" subsided, I walked the neighborhood and noticed that
this yellow-green pollen was much denser on the street under some trees than under others.
After looking at dozens of trees, I noticed a pattern: the dense pollen was only under some
species of trees, and even then it was the densest under trees that seemed to be suffering from
white canker (as determined by sparse or diseased foliage and/or sick-looking bark).
In particular, these pollen producing trees were white pines, blue spruces, oaks, and maples.
The most prolific pollen producers appeared to be Norway maples. But maybe, as some suggested,
this was plain old maple pollen. Well, plants give off pollen to pollinate themselves,
in order to make seeds that in turn can make a new plant.
But as I looked down, I noticed maple seed pods on the ground, indicating that the maples had already
gone through their normal reproduction phase. And, oaks had already shed their pollen producing
stringy objects. This stuff they were now giving off was not normal pollen!
But while all this pollen appeared to be the same color, was it really the same?
To find out, I used cellophane tape to gather a pollen sample from under each tree that had a
significant amount of pollen under it. True, there would be tree to tree mixing of the pollen,
but the majority should have been from the tree directly above it, since the pollen density
tapered off as the distance from the tree increased.
Blue spruce 1
Blue spruce 2
A 400x view of pollen from a White birch is shown at the right.
The grains are numerous. Pin oak pollen is also shown, but in greater detail.
The shape is the same. Pollen from a red maple is identical, but notice the semi-transparent
octopus object among the grains?
That's an important clue. Check out the Norway maple pollen - it too is the same.
And note the barely visible semi-transparent worm-like object, which is another clue!
White pine pollen is also shown, and it too is the same.
It also has the occasional octopus-like growth as shown in the sample.
The Silver maple sample also looks identical to the others, including a transparent worm-like object.
The blue spruce samples, in spite of being conifers, also have the same pollen.
One of these samples also contains both a semi-transparent worm-like and octopus-like object.
Finally, there is a lilac sample, which also has identical pollen, and also includes one of these
semi-transparent octopus-like objects.
In summary, no matter what tree I gathered the "pollen" samples from, they were identical.
And, they were often accompanied by translucent ribbon-like growths. So, the evidence is strong that
this enormous "pollen" release was not really normal tree pollen, but white canker fruiting bodies.
Still, a finding such as this almost defies belief.
But if true, in the coming years, this disease may cause a massive decline in the health of our
trees and shrubs.
The Trees and Shrubs Most Affected by White Canker
Unlike almost all other diseases, white canker isn't a choosy disease - it will attack almost
any woody plant. In fact, in addition to shrubs and trees, it will also attack vines and plants!
It seems to know no bounds.
While it attacks most everything having a woody stem, the set of symptoms and disease severity
varies somewhat. Specifically, the most disease prone woody plants appear in the following order:
Other anomalies are:
- White Birch
- Blue Spruce
- Norway Maple
- Variegated Maple
- Japanese Maple
- Red Maple
- Sugar Maple
- Mountain Ash
- Red Oak
- Viburnum bushes never show the disease on their leaves, but their upper branches get very
"rough", and they can get bleeding cankers at their base.
- Ginkgo trees don't show this disease on their bark at all, but their leaves develop
- Japanese Stewartia trees get and spread the disease like other trees,
but it takes a heavy infestation to make it show on their leaves.
Photos of Trees and Shrubs Infected with White Canker
Since white canker isn't formally recognized as a plant disease, there is no literature available
on it. Likewise, no lab test so far devised can detect it.
Nevertheless, it is real, it behaves like a fungus, and we can characterize it
through a variety of detailed observations of its effects.
The evidence supporting this disease grows stronger when we check several plants of a species
rather than just one.
The evidence grows even more convincing when we make these observations on dozens and dozens
of different tree and shrub species. Finally, the case becomes even more airtight when we show
that these common symptoms appear over a wide geographic area.
As they say, "seeing is believing". The following list of trees and shrubs contains over
500 pictures that depict white canker. These pictures were obtained from a digital camera,
a computer scanner, and a high power USB digital microscope. Each viewing technology enables
us to see a different set of disease characteristics.
Each of the pictures referenced in the list below is hyperlinked to a parent picture that shows
increased detail. So, if you can't quite make out the details of a picture, simply click on it to
zoom in for a more detailed view.
- Birch, Gray
- Birch, River
- Cedar, Eastern Red
- Cherry, Kwanzan
- Elm, American Liberty
- Elm, Siberian
- Fir, Fraser
- Honey locust
- Japanese Stewartia
- Maple, Japanese
- Maple, Norway
- Maple, Red
- Maple, Silver
- Maple, Variegated
- Oak, Red
- Oak, White
- Pine, White
- Spruce, Blue
- Spruce, White
- -----Shrubs, vines, and small plants can also get white canker---------------------------------
- Andromeda, Mountain Fire
- Mountain Laurel
- Trumpet Vine
- Asiatic Lily
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I used "go", but my book says the answer is "went".Originally Posted by Dany
This sentence is written in the present; therefore, I thought I had to use "go".
Why do I have to use "went"?
It's time to go to the station. OK
It's time for us to go to the station. OK
It's time we went to the station. OK
In the last example we use the past but the meaning is present or future, not past.
It's 10 o'clock and the train leaves at 10:45. It's time we went to the station. OK (NOT It's time we go to the station.)
We often use this structure to criticize somebody or to complain.
The car is very dirty. It's time you washed it.
You can also say: It's about time.../ It's high time....... This makes the criticism stronger.
Jack is a big talker, but it's about time he did something other than just talk.
You're very selfish. It's high time you realized you're not the only person in the world.
Hope this helps.
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A material consisting of a mesh of small holes, used in cross-stitch embroidery.
- Types of fabric which work well for huck weaving are evenly woven and raised threads, such as monk's cloth, aida, or huck cloth/toweling.
- They include needles, thread - called floss - and the cloth pattern - called an aida.
- For a complete stitch, bring the needle up through the fabric, at the bottom left of the stitch, cross one block of the aida fabric and insert the needle at the top right.
For editors and proofreaders
Line breaks: aida
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
Comments that don't adhere to our Community Guidelines may be moderated or removed.
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- Development & Aid
- Economy & Trade
- Human Rights
- Global Governance
- Civil Society
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
- Sabitri Kumari Das, a middle-aged mother of two, is rightfully worried about her two young daughters: both girls attend a public primary school in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, and neither one of them seems to be advancing academically.
Das fears they stand no chance competing against their peers who attend the costly private schools that dot this city of 30 million people. Unfortunately, she is probably right.
The results of this year’s School Leaving Certificate (SLC), a final secondary level national examination, often referred to as the ‘iron gate’ since it determines which students will be eligible for higher secondary programmes, illustrate the bleak reality of Nepal’s public education system: only 34 percent of a total of 548,000 students who sat for the test passed, representing an eight-year low.
“Most kids who fail the SLC exams are from government schools, and I understand why,” Das told IPS, referring to the lack of facilities and dearth of trained teachers that plague government schools.
Numerous public holidays and politically-motivated closures mean that her “kids spend more time at home than they do at school. How will they study?” she asked.
Ironically, statistics indicate that Nepal’s education sector has made significant progress over the last few years, with more than 90 percent of school-aged children now enrolled in primary institutions.
A strong emphasis on girls’ education, in keeping with the MDG target of achieving universal primary education by 2015, has resulted in a rise in female enrollment, from 1.8 million students in 2003 to 2.4 million in 2011.
Nepal’s official education budget has more than doubled in the last five years, from 283 million in 2006-2007 to 670 million in 2012-2013.
But expert say these indicators only measure a quantitative change; there is very little discussion on the quality of education, especially in public schools.
Government studies show that eight percent of students in Grade 1 drop out, while 23 percent repeat the grade. Only 70 percent of the original class completes the primary level and less than a third reach Grade 10.
Shisir Khanal of Teach for Nepal, an organisation working towards ending education inequality, says that accessible and quality education should go hand in hand; but little attention has been paid to these twin issues
Questions surrounding high dropout rates – whether related to domestic violence, negative classroom environments or poverty – should have been examined back in the 1990s, which saw a boom in the number of private institutions that charged fees, Khanal told IPS.
This wave of privatisation, which emerged in response to demand for better schools by a rising middle class, effectively turned education into a commercial venture.
With all attention on private institutions, government schools were ignored and soon began to display the telltale signs of neglect: unqualified teachers, inadequate learning materials, and an exodus of disgruntled, barely literate students.
The 2006 April Uprising in Nepal paved the way for a major shift in public education, with protestors demanding that politicians, high-level bureaucrats and lawmakers send their children to government schools like everyone else.
This fuelled a renewed interest, and fresh investments, in the public education system.Now, of the 7.8 million students in Nepal, 3.3 million attend public schools and the rest attend the roughly 25,000 private institutions spread out around the country.
According to education expert Bhola Dahal, the government and civil society have made concerted efforts to revive the moribund sector, focusing on teacher training, infrastructure development and community organising.
In 2004 the government launched an 814-million-dollar Education for All (EFA) initiative, which was expected to spark sweeping reforms.
A 2009 evaluation of the programme lauded progress in enrollment, access and parity, but the overall quality of the system was judged to be “extremely disappointing”, with a near total absence of mechanisms to monitor classroom environments and students’ achievements.
The EFA evaluation then paved the way for a six-year School Sector Reform Programme (SSRP), a four-billion-dollar national initiative that sought to improve early childhood development and make schooling more relevant to the needs of early school leavers via vocational and technical schemes involving handicrafts and computer skills.
The SSRP aimed to improve internal efficiency by offering teacher training programmes, and introducing monitoring mechanisms; but a February 2012 mid-term review conducted by an independent body found lingering issues, like inadequate attention to curriculum design, under-staffed classrooms and poor evaluation methodologies.
One of the problems is that “Nepali society misunderstands ‘quality education’ as fluency in the English language,” Bidhyanath Koirala, a professor at Nepal’s Tribhuwan University, told IPS.
“Quality education means going beyond textbooks, encouraging students to be curious, analytical, to ask questions and draw their own conclusions.”
Hari Lamsal, under-secretary for Nepal’s ministry of education, says the provision of quality education has been written into government policies for more than 50 years but somewhere along the road its meaning became distorted, with quality being equated with test results, or the number of children passing the SLC.
While some experts blame the problems on a lack of funding, people like Dahal believe the crisis stems from poor allocation of limited resources.
“Of the total SSRP funding (over four million dollars), more than 75 percent goes to pay teachers’ salaries, then textbooks, scholarships, infrastructure (and salaries) of government bureaucrats.
“Less than five percent of that funding goes to quality,” Dahal lamented.
To rectify this problem, Pramod Bhatta, education researcher at the Kathmandu-based Martin Chautari research institution, recommends schools make short-term investments in facilities like better libraries, science and computer labs, playgrounds, sports facilities and after-school activities.
However, until this happens, families with limited incomes face tough choices when it comes to their children’s education.
Das has now taken an extra job so she can send her two daughters to private school, but her combined income only adds up to 50 dollars a month, the same price as a month’s school fees in a private institution.
She is now considering moving out of her two-bedroom rented apartment to a smaller space in order to save more money.
“They say more than 72 percent who (sat for) this year’s SLC from government schools failed and almost 90 percent of those who sat from private schools passed. You tell me, as a mother what other choice do I have?”
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The Toll of Terrorism
Finance & Development,
Terrorists not only exact a direct human cost, they can cause innumerable economic problems too
New technology has lowered transportation costs and increased trade and capital flows across nations. But the same technology that has fostered international economic growth has also allowed terrorism to spread easily among countries whose interests are tightly interwoven. Terrorism is no longer solely a local issue. Terrorists can strike from thousands of miles away and cause vast destruction.
The effects of terrorism can be terrifyingly direct. People are kidnapped or killed. Pipelines are sabotaged. Bombers strike markets, buses, and restaurants with devastating effect. But terrorism inflicts more than human casualties and material losses. It can also cause serious indirect harm to countries and economies by increasing the costs of economic transactions—for example, because of enhanced security measures to ensure the safety of employees and customers or higher insurance premiums. Terrorist attacks in Yemen on the USS Cole in 2000 and on the French tanker Limburg in 2002 seriously damaged that country’s shipping industry. These attacks contributed to a 300 percent rise in insurance premiums for ships using that route and led ships to bypass Yemen entirely (Enders and Sandler, 2012).
In this article we explore the economic burden of terrorism. It can take myriad forms, but we focus on three: national income losses and growth-retarding effects, dampened foreign direct investment, and disparate effects on international trade.
Economic researchers have found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that rich, large, and diversified economies are better able to withstand the effects of terrorist attacks than small, poor, and more specialized economies.
If terrorism disrupts productive activities in one sector in a diversified economy, resources can easily flow to another unaffected sector. In addition, richer economies have more and better resources to devote to counterterrorism efforts, which presumably reduces the number of terrorist activities with which they must cope.
In contrast, small developing economies, which are specialized in a few sectors, may not have such resilience. Resources such as labor or capital may either flow from an affected sector to less productive activities within the country or move to another country entirely. Moreover, developing economies are likely to lack specialized resources—such as surveillance equipment or a technologically advanced police force or army—that can be employed in counterterrorism. This allows the terrorist threat to persist, which can scare away potential investors. A terrorist attack against such a nation is likely to impose larger and more lasting macroeconomic costs.
The dramatic attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, for example, caused an estimated $80 billion in losses. Large as they were, however, the losses were a tiny fraction (less than 0.1 percent) of the nearly $10.6 trillion 2001 U.S. GDP. Similarly, Blomberg, Hess, and Orphanides (2004) found rather modest effects on average in 177 nations from transnational terrorist attacks during 1968–2000. Per capita GDP growth was reduced by 0.048 percent on an annual basis.
But the effects are more dire in smaller nations, such as Colombia and Israel, and regions, such as the Basque Country in Spain, where terrorism-related damage has been much more significant. For example, terrorism cost the Basque Country more than 10 percent in per capita GDP losses from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, when the problem was acute (Abadie and Gardeazabal, 2003). Moreover, terrorism affects economies differently, depending on their stage of development. Gaibulloev and Sandler (2009) divided a sample of 42 Asian countries into 7 developed and 35 developing economies. Their estimates suggest that terrorism did not significantly hamper growth in the developed economies, but they show that each additional transnational terrorist incident (per million people) reduced an affected developing economy’s growth rate by about 1.4 percent. These findings further support the notion that smaller developing economies are more economically vulnerable to terrorism than those that are richer and diversified.
Scaring off investors
Increased terrorism in a particular area tends to depress the expected return on capital invested there, which shifts investment elsewhere. This reduces the stock of productive capital and the flow of productivity-enhancing technology to the affected nation.
For example, from the mid-1970s through 1991, terrorist incidents reduced net foreign direct investment in Spain by 13.5 percent and in Greece by 11.9 percent (Enders and Sandler, 1996). In fact, the initial loss of productive resources as a result of terrorism may increase manyfold because potential foreign investors shift their investments to other, presumably safer, destinations. Abadie and Gardeazabal (2008) showed that a relatively small increase in the perceived risk of terrorism can cause an outsized reduction in a country’s net stock of foreign direct investment and inflict significant damage on its economy. We analyzed 78 developing economies over the period 1984–2008 (Bandyopadhyay, Sandler, and Younas, 2014) and found that on average a relatively small increase in a country’s domestic terrorist incidents per 100,000 persons sharply reduced net foreign direct investment. There was a similarly large reduction in net investment if the terrorist incidents originated abroad or involved foreigners or foreign assets in the attacked country. We also found that greater official aid flows can substantially offset the damage to foreign direct investment—perhaps in part because the increased aid allows recipient nations to invest in more effective counterterrorism efforts.
Most countries that experienced above-average domestic or transnational terrorist incidents during 1970–2011 received less foreign direct investment or foreign aid than the average among the 122 in the sample (see table). It is difficult to assess causation, but the table suggests a troubling association between terrorism and depressed aid and foreign direct investment, both of which are crucial for developing economies.
It is generally believed that there are higher risks in trading with a nation afflicted by terrorism, which cause an increase in transaction costs and tend to reduce trade. For example, after the September 11 attacks on New York City and the Washington, D.C., area, the U.S. border was temporarily closed, holding up truck traffic between the United States and Canada for an extended time. Nitsch and Schumacher (2004) analyzed a sample of 200 countries over the period 1960–93 and found that when terrorism incidents in a pair of trading countries double in one year, trade between them falls by about 4 percent that same year. They also found that when one of two trading partners suffers at least one terrorist attack, it reduces trade between them to 91 percent of what it would be in the absence of terrorism. Blomberg and Hess (2006) estimated that terrorism and other internal and external conflicts retard trade as much as a 30 percent tariff. More specifically, they found that any trading partner that experienced terrorism experienced close to a 4 percent reduction in bilateral trade.
But Egger and Gassebner (2015) found more modest trade effects. Terrorism had few to no short-term effects; it was significant over the medium term, which they defined as “more than one and a half years after an attack/incident.” Abstracting from the impact of transaction costs from terrorism, Bandyopadhyay and Sandler (2014b) found that terrorism may not necessarily reduce trade, because resources can be reallocated. If terrorism disproportionately harmed one productive resource (say land) relative to another (say labor), then resources would flow to the labor-intensive sector. If a country exported labor-intensive goods, such as textiles, terrorism could actually lead to increased production and exportation. In other words, although terrorism may reduce trade in a particular product because it increases transaction costs, its ultimate impact may be either to raise or reduce overall trade. These apparently contradictory empirical and theoretical findings present rich prospects for future study.
Of course terrorism has repercussions beyond human and material destruction and the economic effects discussed in this article. Terrorism also influences immigration and immigration policy. The traditional gains and losses from the international movement of labor may be magnified by national security considerations rooted in a terrorism response.
For example, a recent study by Bandyopadhyay and Sandler (2014a) focused on a terrorist organization based in a developing country. It showed that the immigration policy of the developed country targeted by the terrorist group can be critical to containing transnational terrorism. Transnational terrorism targeted at well-protected developed countries tends to be more skill intensive: it takes a relatively sophisticated terrorist to plan and successfully execute such an attack. Immigration policies that attract highly skilled people to developed countries can drain the pool of highly skilled terrorist recruits and may cut down on transnational terrorism. ■
Subhayu Bandyopadhyay is Research Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and Research Fellow at IZA, Bonn, Germany. Todd Sandler is Vibhooti Shukla Professor of Economics and Political Economy at the University of Texas at Dallas. Javed Younas is Associate Professor of Economics at the American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The authors write in their personal capacity, and this article does not necessarily reflect the view of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis or the Federal Reserve system.
Abadie, Alberto, and Javier Gardeazabal, 2003, “The Economic Costs of Conflict: A Case Study of the Basque Country,” American Economic Review, Vol. 93, No. 1, pp. 113–32.
———, 2008, “Terrorism and the World Economy,” European Economic Review, Vol. 52, No. 1, pp. 1–27.
Bandyopadhyay, Subhayu, and Todd Sandler, 2014a, “Immigration Policy and Counterterrorism,” Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 110, pp. 112–23.
———, 2014b, “The Effects of Terrorism on Trade: A Factor Supply Analysis,” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, Vol. 96, No. 2, pp. 229–41.
———, and Javed Younas, 2014, “Foreign Direct Investment, Aid, and Terrorism,” Oxford Economic Papers, Vol. 66, No. 1, pp. 25–50.
Blomberg, S. Brock, and Gregory D. Hess, 2006, “How Much Does Violence Tax Trade?” The Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 88, No. 4, pp. 599–612.
———, and Athanasios Orphanides, 2004, “The Macroeconomic Consequences of Terrorism,” Journal of Monetary Economics, Vol. 51, No. 5, pp. 1007–32.
Egger, Peter, and Martin Gassebner, 2015, “International Terrorism As a Trade Impediment?” Oxford Economic Papers, Vol. 67, No. 1, pp. 42–62.
Enders, Walter, and Todd Sandler, 1996, “Terrorism and Foreign Direct Investment in Spain and Greece,” Kyklos, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 331–52.
———, 2012, The Political Economy of Terrorism (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2nd ed.).
Gaibulloev, Khusrav, and Todd Sandler, 2009, “The Impact of Terrorism and Conflicts on Growth in Asia,” Economics and Politics, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 359–83.
Nitsch, Volker, and Dieter Schumacher, 2004, “Terrorism and International Trade: An Empirical Investigation,” European Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 423–33.
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Online Course Description
SPAN 101 LN1: Beginning College Spanish I
This course is for students who have not previously studied Spanish and who are not familiar with the language. Using a communicative approach with a variety of listening, speaking, reading and writing activities, students will become familiar with the basic structure and vocabulary of the Spanish language. Elements of Hispanic culture, customs and geography will be introduced. Note: No one who has passed the high school Regents Spanish exam may take this course. This course is not designed to meet the needs of heritage or native speakers of Spanish.
Run Time: December 18 - January 9
To view your required books, navigate to the Campus Store. Once there, select your area(s) of study and click continue. Then select the courses you're taking and click continue once more.
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People may smoke to look cool. People may smoke because of peer pressure, because they want to hang out with friends who take cigarette breaks and you don't want to appear different. Or people may be unable to stop smoking because they are too addicted. Smoking has extremely negative effects, especially on a health and appearance. Smoking affects not only the smoker, but also those in his or her proximity.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says smoking is the leading cause of fatal lung disease and can also lead to various cancers, coronary heart disease, strokes and reduced blood circulation.
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, breathing other people's smoke, known as secondhand smoke, can shorten a person's lifespan. Secondhand smoke also causes cancers and respiratory diseases in both children and adults. In fact, secondhand smoke often contains more cancer-causing and toxic chemicals than those found in smoke a person inhales himself.
A non-smoker may see your smoking as off-putting. How would you feel if you were around a person who smelled terrible all the time and blew nasty-smelling air around you? A smoker may lose out on dating opportunities or chances to make new friends among non-smokers who detest the habit.
Smoking makes your breath smell like an ashtray. Smoke also tends to cling to clothing. Spending time in a bar or restaurant that allows smoking in a non-ventilated area will make a person smell like an ashtray at the end of the night, even if that person did not smoke.
Smoking can make breathing difficult. Smokers often have coughing fits, even when not actually smoking. Furthermore, inhaling secondhand smoke can make breathing difficult. Furthermore, it can spark and worsen symptoms of asthma attacks in children, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Smoking can have a negative effect on a woman's unborn child. If a pregnant woman smokes during her pregnancy or inhales someone else's smoke constantly, she can pass unwanted prenatal diseases to the fetus. Kicking a smoking habit in your first trimester of a pregnancy could lower a woman's risk for delivering a preterm or small-for-gestational-age baby, a 2009 study published in the Obstetrics & Gynecology medical journal found.
Smoking can make a person lose teeth. People with gum disease who quit smoking during their dental treatments showed more symptoms of recovery, according to a 2005 study by the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Smoking increases a person's risk of developing wrinkles on her face. A 2008 Israeli study, published in the International Journal of Dermatology, found facial wrinkling was more likely to be seen among smokers than among nonsmokers.
Smoke stains walls. If a smoker plans on selling your house and has smoked at home regularly, he may want to consider painting the walls.
It is difficult to quit smoking. Nicotine is a addictive drug and quitting it can lead to unpleasant symptoms of withdrawal. Smokers who have recently kicked the habit are often irritable or angry, may shake a lot and get headaches.
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[ 2 syll. ar-ran, arr-an ] The baby boy name Arran is pronounced as AA-RaeN †. Arran is used predominantly in English and Scottish, and it is derived from Hebrew and Scottish origins. From Scottish roots, its meaning is peaked island, arched ridge. It is derived literally from the word 'arran' with the meaning peaked island. Arran is the name of the most southerly and beautiful Scottish island. The island name could have the meaning 'peaked island' in Gaelic, or else it could be associated with the Irish Aran Isles, of the meaning 'arched ridge'. There is a current trend of using Scottish place names for given names in Scotland.
In addition, Arran is a spelling variant (English) of the name Aaron (English, German, Hebrew, and Polish).
Arran is seldom used as a baby name for boys. It is not listed within the top 1000 names. Out of the group of boy names directly related to Arran, Aaron was the most commonly used in 2015.
† Pronunciation for Arran: AA as in "odd (AA.D)" ; R as in "race (R.EY.S)" ; AE as in "at (AE.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)"
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The 912,000 kW No. 3 reactor at Hokkaido Electric Power Co.’s Tomari nuclear power plant came to a complete shutdown on early Sunday morning for regular inspection. No nuclear reactors are now operating in Japan — the first such situation in 42 years. Japan should use this as an opportunity to analyze problems and dangers associated with nuclear power generation and resolve to reduce its reliance on nuclear power and eventually phase out of it altogether.
The accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant has shown how catastrophic and irreparable damage a nuclear accident can cause. It also has exposed collusion between the government and the power industry which has resulted in laxness and irresponsibility in ensuring nuclear safety.
The government and power industry are franticly trying to restart nuclear power plants that are now offline. But they will never obtain consent from the populous as long as the nation lacks new, strict safety standards based on the thorough study of the Fukushima nuclear crisis and a powerful and competent nuclear regulatory authority free from the influence of government and the power industry.
Nuclear power generation used to supply about 30 percent of Japan’s electricity. That percentage is now zero, at least temporarily. Businesses must now exercise ingenuity to further save electricity. People must rethink their lifestyles characterized by large usage of power. The Fukushima nuclear crisis has highlighted the fact that the risk of nuclear power generation has been forced on people in rural areas in order to give consumers in urban areas the benefit of abundant electricity. This structure must be changed.
To help Japan reduce its reliance on nuclear power, every effort must be made to fully utilize Japan’s renewable energy sources such as geothermal, solar and wind power and biomass. This will help spread out power generation bases, but will also require large investments. Yet this path is inevitable since reliance on imported fossil fuel to replace nuclear power is likely to cause a trade deficit and it also increases greenhouse gas emissions.
People may have to shoulder the cost to pay for imported fossil fuel for the short run and for investment in green energy in the long run. This is the price required to build sustainable society. The government should change the power industry’s structure to increase competition while ensuring stable power supply. It also should ban new nuclear power plants and decommission older reactors and those lying near faults. In essence, it needs to lay out a long-term road map to phase out nuclear power altogether.
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Julius was Julius Caesar. His adopted son Octavius later became the Great Empereor, or Caesar Augustus. Probably had an inferiority complex. So he honored his murdered father and himself with the month name changes. And with it he moved the start of the year from just before the Ides of March, to January--but why I don't know/remember. The other, or course, more closely matches the spring start of the year in so many cultures and religions.
And (as I put in a non-posted mailing to Gary), he caught me. The year length was from a faulty memory, and is not 365.248. I'll try to track it down more precisely. But I do agree him, Judy, and others that there some wonderful potential lessons here connecting other cultures with different calendars, history, and math. I've done some of it with middle school students, and pre-service teachers. The lesson starts with a Tower of Hanoi activity, but I won't tell you how we get here from there!
In addition to the books mentioned, Key Curriculum also has those wonderful Math Around the World posters, some of which relate to calendar math.
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Narrative:The DC-3 was operating on the flight Managua - Bluefields - San Carlos - Managua. At 16:49 GMT the aircraft took off from San Carlos for the last leg of the flight. En route weather near the Concepcion Volcano was clear, with fog covering the top from 3200 feet. The aircraft was approaching the volcano at 2650 feet when it was seen to suddenly perform a sharp ascending left turn. Control was lost and the plane crashed into the volcano. On impact the right wing was flattened and folded back over one-third of its length and was partially separated from the fuselage. Fire erupted and destroyed the plane.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "According to eyewitnesses, the aircraft made a left turn, i.e. towards the volcano, and there were indications of abnormal conditions when it banked sharply in descent then in rapid climb; this shows that some trouble arose in the operation of the controls, propellers or engines, which unexpectedly caused loss of control. It was impossible to ascertain the cause of this malfunctioning, owing to the condition of the total destruction of the aircraft after impact and fire."
» ICAO Accident Digest No.9, Circular 56-AN/51 (30-31)
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not
display the exact flight path.
Distance from San Carlos Airport to Managua Airport as the crow flies is 188 km (118 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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1860 – Oxford University Museum, Oxfordshire
The neo-Gothic building, one of the finest in Britain, was designed by the Irish architects Thomas Newenham Deane and Benjamin Woodward. Directly influenced by the writings of critic John Ruskin, it was finished in 1861. Woodward died in 1861. The adjoining building of 1886 that houses the Pitt Rivers Museum was the work of Thomas Manly Deane, son of Thomas Newenham Deane.
The museum consists of a large square court with a glass roof, supported by cast iron pillars, which divide the court into three aisles. Cloistered arcades run around the ground and first floor of the building, with stone columns each made from a different British stone. The ornamentation of the stonework and iron pillars incorporates natural forms such as leaves and branches, combining the Pre-Raphaelite style with the scientific role of the building.
Statues of eminent men of science stand around the ground floor of the court — from Aristotle and Bacon through to Darwin and Linnaeus. Although the University paid for the construction of the building, the ornamentation was funded by public subscription — and much of it remains incomplete. The Irish stone carvers O’Shea and Whelan had been employed to create lively freehand carvings in the Gothic manner. When funding dried up they offered to work unpaid, but were accused by members of the University Congregation of “defacing” the building by adding unauthorised work.
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Copyright © 1996-2005 jsd
One fine spring day I was instructing a student who had about 5 hours experience. This was her first lesson in slow flight, but she was doing really well: she was maintaining the assigned altitude, the assigned heading, and the assigned airspeed (a couple of knots above the stalling speed). She was also doing a good job of keeping the inclinometer ball in the center, which required considerable pressure on the right rudder pedal because of the high power and low airspeed. I was really enjoying the flight, but suddenly I developed a feeling that there was something wrong. Gradually it dawned on me what the problem was. The problem was that the airplane was upside down.
Here’s what had happened: her right foot had gotten tired, so she just removed it from the pedal — all at once. This produced a sudden yaw to the left. Naturally the left wing dropped, so she applied full right aileron. The nose was dropping, too, so she pulled back sharply on the yoke. The next thing anybody knew, we were upside down.
I took the controls and rolled the plane right-side-up. (See section 16.22 for more about this.) We lost about 500 feet of altitude during the maneuver. The student asked “What was THAT?” and I said “That was a pretty nice snap roll”.
This is indeed the recipe for a snap roll: starting from a speed slightly above the stall, apply a sudden yaw with the rudder, apply opposite aileron, and pull back on the yoke. SNAP! — One wing stalls and the plane rolls over. In our case, we didn’t roll exactly 180 degrees — “only” about 135 degrees — but that’s upside down enough for most people. It took a fraction of a second.
In due course the student completed her training and got her license. She’s even still speaking to me. There are a number of points to be learned from this adventure:
Let me reiterate: Piloting an airplane at low speeds requires using the rudder pedals. If you don’t know how to do this correctly, you have no business trying to land, take off, or anything else.
First, let’s clarify the concepts and the terminology a little bit:
|Slipping Situation||Slipping Maneuver|
|A slipping situation is any situation where the air happens to be flowing somewhat crosswise, leftward or rightward across the fuselage. We quantify this by saying there is a nonzero slip angle. A formal definition of the slip angle can be found in section 19.7.3.||A slipping maneuver involves a nonzero slip angle at some point during the maneuver. The constant-course slip maneuver (aka forward slip) is the most common example; see figure 11.1.|
|The slip angle is a very simple concept.||The forward slip maneuver is complex. It involves a sequence of steps, observing multiple things, using multiple controls, and achieves multiple objectives.|
Your primary means of controlling the slip angle is by deflecting the rudder ... although there are six or seven other things that can contribute to increasing or decreasing the slip angle, as discussed in chapter 8.
Alas, when somebody uses the word “slip” it is not always clear whether it refers to a slipping situation in the narrow sense or to a slipping maneuver in the broad sense. Sometimes you can figure it out from context, and sometimes not.
The easiest and most direct way to perceive the slip angle is to use a slip string, as we now discuss.
To create a slip string, tape a piece of yarn to the nose of the airplane, on the centerline, in front of the window where you can see it. Leave a foot or so of yarn dangling free, so it will align itself with the airflow.
To a good approximation, the deflection of the string is proportional to the airplane’s slip angle, that is, the angle of the X-axis relative to the free-stream relative wind. The deflection is not strictly equal to the slip angle, merely proportional, because the fuselage disturbs the local airflow pattern. The sideways component of the flow is increased more than the fore-to-aft component, so the sensitivity of the string is increased. That is, the angle of the string is larger than the actual slip angle.
In a single-engine aircraft, the propwash interferes somewhat with the slip string, in a couple of ways: The straight-back component of propwash decreases the sensitivity somewhat, and the helical component of propwash biases the string slightly to one side. Even so, the slip string gives valuable information.
The slip string is commonly referred to as a “yaw string”, but that is a misnomer, because it measures the slip angle, not the yaw angle (i.e. heading) or yaw rate. The slip angle measures the angle between the fuselage and the relative wind, whereas yaw is defined relative to some fixed spatial direction. Heading and heading change (i.e. yaw rate) are easy to perceive by looking out the window, while it is not easy to perceive slip angle except by reference to a slip string. Heading can also be perceived using the directional gyro (heading indicator), and yaw rate can be perceived using the rate-of-turn gyro or by observing the rate of motion of the directional gyro.
Beware: The inclinometer ball is often referred to as the slip/skid instrument, but that is another misnomer. It measures inclination, not slip. As we shall see in section 17.1.4, it is quite possible for the airplane to be inclined but not slipping. To repeat: there is no good way to determine the slip angle without a slip string.
The term skid denotes a particular type of slip that occurs when the airplane is in a bank and the uncoordinated airflow is coming from the side with the raised wing. Typically this happens because you have tried to speed up a turn using “bottom rudder”, that is, pressing the rudder pedal on the same side as the lowered wing.
We use the term proper slip to denote a slip that is not a skid.
If you have plenty of airspeed, the aerodynamics of a skid is the same as the aerodynamics of a proper slip. In both cases there is air flowing crosswise over the fuselage. However, you should form the habit of not skidding the airplane, for the following reason.
If the aircraft stalls, any slight crosswise flow will cause one wing to stall before the other. In particular, having the rudder deflected to the right means the aircraft will suddenly roll to the right. If the aircraft is in a 45 degree bank to the right and rolls another 45 degrees in the same direction (because you were applying right rudder pressure), it will reach the knife-edge attitude (wings vertical). If on the other hand you were holding top rudder (still holding right rudder but banking to the left this time), a sudden roll of 45 degrees would leave you with wings level (which is a big improvement over wings vertical).
If the wings are level, you can make a proper slip to the left or to the right; a skid is impossible by definition.
It is appallingly easy to set up a situation that leads to an unintentional skid. Suppose you are ready to make a left turn from base to final. You start the turn improperly, by applying a little left rudder. The crosswise airflow pattern acting on the dihedral of the wings will cause the airplane to bank to the left and make a relatively normal turn in the desired direction. You absent-mindedly maintain the left rudder pressure, so the bank continues to steepen. You decide to apply right aileron to prevent further steepening of the turn. That’s all you need: you are in a skidding left turn, holding left rudder and right aileron, at low altitude. If you stall, you’ll never be heard from again. Seriously, folks, this could happen to you.
There are only a few cases where bottom rudder is appropriate, for example:
Note that in all these cases you apply only enough bottom rudder to maintain coordinated flight. Do not skid!
There are only a handful of practical situations that call for slipping the airplane. The most common situations are:
Slipping is a very common, normal technique during the approach to landing in aircraft that don’t have flaps, such as Piper Cubs and some Citabrias. Slipping also comes in handy in situations where you might want an abnormally steep descent, due to an emergency (or due to bad planning, as mentioned in section 7.7.1).
The goal is to make sure, despite the crosswind, that the direction of flight and the axis of the airplane are both aligned with the runway. The rudder is used to yaw the airplane so that its axis is aligned with the runway, and the ailerons are used to lower the upwind wing so that the slip is a nonturning slip. To say the same thing another way: the rudder mainly determines the direction the airplane is pointing (with a small side-effect on the direction it is going), while the bank mainly determines the direction the airplane is going. For details, see section 12.9.
This is a relatively easy maneuver, so pilots tend not to think about it much, but it does need to be done right. See section 13.5.
Note that in all three of the situations itemized above, the slipping maneuver is performed in such a way that the direction of motion does not change. We call this a constant-course slip, or equivalently a nonturning slip. It is also called a forward slip, but don’t ask me why – the terminology is not very descriptive. This is diagrammed in figure 11.1. This is the normal, everyday, workhorse slip.
Meanwhile, many other types of slip are possible. For example, you could add a little bit of turn to an established slip, or add a little bit of slip to an established turn. Turning slips can be useful on rare occasions; see section 11.5.5. The most important thing to remember about a turning slip is to make sure it is a proper slip, not a skid, for reasons discussed in section 11.4.
Also, it is amusing to practice wings-level boat turns every so often. This maneuver has no direct relevance to ordinary flying, but it makes a good lesson, because it sheds some light on the basic aerodynamics. See section 8.11.
Here are a few things to keep in mind during any slip, to help prevent the sort of snap roll mentioned in section 11.1.
|Make sure you have plenty of airspeed during a slip.||An uncoordinated stall is a good way to produce a snap roll or a spin. An inadvertent snap roll that leaves the airplane upside-down on short final is not good for your health.|
|Maintaining proper airspeed is trickier than it may sound, because the slip raises the stall speed (as discussed in section 11.5.3), and the slip messes with the airspeed indicator (as discussed in section 11.5.4).|
|When beginning or ending any slip, apply the rudder smoothly and gradually.||A rapid yawing motion (especially at low airspeed) is one of the things that can cause a snap roll, because it speeds up one wingtip and slows down the other wingtip.|
|Any intentional slip should be a proper slip (as opposed to a skid).||A snap roll toward the side with the raised wing is bad enough, but a snap roll toward the side with the already-lowered wing is even worse, for reasons discussed in section 11.4.|
A nonzero slip angle has two primary effects:
We now turn from the simple topic (aerodynamical slip angle) to a much more complicated topic (various slipping maneuvers).
The basic procedure for establishing a proper slip is to lower one wing with the ailerons while applying opposite rudder. We say a proper slip uses “top rudder” because you are pressing the rudder pedal on the same side as the raised wing.
As a special case, if you match the rudder deflection to the bank angle just right, no net turn results. This is called a nonturning slip. Loosely speaking, this can be considered an ordinary turn to one side (because of the bank angle) plus a boat turn to the other side (because of the rudder deflection).
In a slip, the fuselage interferes with the airflow over the wing. That is, part of the wing is in the aerodynamic “shadow” of the fuselage. This is particularly pronounced in high-wing aircraft, as shown in figure 11.2. For more on this, see section 9.2.
We can understand the consequences of this by reference to equation 11.1, which is a clone of equation 4.2.
|lift force = ½ρV2 × coefficient of lift × area (11.1)|
In particular, let’s apply this equation to the situation where the wing is flying at the critical angle of attack, which corresponds to the maximum coefficient of lift. The “shadow” effect reduces the useful area of the wing. The total lift must remain the same, to support the weight of the aircraft. The air density ρ remains the same, so the only remaining variable is the true airspeed, V. When the effective area goes down, the airspeed must go up. In other words, the slip increases the true stall speed.
Beware: In some aircraft, the airspeed indicator is grossly perturbed by a slip, as mentioned in section 2.13.7. In a typical Cessna 152/172/182, depending on the amount of slip, the airspeed can easily be off by 20%, which means the energy is off by 40%. This is enough to cause real trouble. In some less-common aircraft, you can send the airspeed needle below zero.
Suppose the static port is on the left side of the fuselage (as it is on many aircraft), and suppose you are in a slip to the left (the kind that requires pressing on the right rudder pedal). In this situation, the left (upwind) side of the fuselage is a high-pressure point. This high pressure cancels some of the dynamic pressure in the Pitot tube, so the airspeed indicator will lose airspeed.
Now suppose you are in a slip to the right. The static port is now on the downwind side. This will not be a low-pressure point. In fact, it could have almost as much high pressure as the other side, because of pressure recovery, as indicated in figure 4.13. More likely, there will be will be only partial pressure recovery, as illustrated figure 4.12, and the static port will measure something partway between the real static pressure and the high pressure observed on the upwind side of the fuselage.
Therefore: In a slip toward the side with the static port, expect the airspeed indicator to lose a lot of airspeed. In a slip toward the other side, expect a smaller loss.
Better yet, don’t use the airspeed indicator during the slip. Use it before the slip to make sure you have the desired angle of attack, and then ignore it during the slip. Maintain the desired angle of attack by looking out the window. Observe the pitch attitude relative to the direction of flight. Don’t forget that because of drag caused by the slip, the new direction of flight will be angled more downward. Find a new landmark that remains a fixed angle below the horizon.
The slip also has an effect on the altimeter and vertical speed indicator, since they use the same static pressure port, but this is usually not as obnoxious as the effect on the airspeed indicator.
There are also issues with the Pitot tube, but they are usually hard to notice, because they are small relative to the static port issues.
Slipping during a turn (or turning during a slip) is relatively unusual, but not unheard-of.
Let’s consider the scenario shown in figure 11.3. Upon reaching the vicinity of the airport, you notice that you need to slip to lose altitude. You also need to maneuver to get lined up for landing. At point B, the question arises: should you slip by lowering the left wing or the right wing?
Let’s assume you want to continue slipping, including slipping during the turn at point D, where you turn to join the base leg. During the turn, you really want to have a proper slip, not a skid. That means you want to be holding top rudder during the turn. Therefore you might as well get a head start by applying right rudder and lowering the left wing, as shown at points B and C in the diagram. That is, lower the wing that is going to be on the inside of the upcoming turn.
When it comes time to turn, at point D, keep the same amount of right rudder and increase the amount of left bank.
Theoretically, if you were concerned with point B and nothing else, you could slip to either side and it wouldn’t matter in terms of losing altitude, and it wouldn’t matter in terms of following your intended flight path. However, the story changes when we consider point D also. Lowering the outside wing at point B would not be good strategy, because of the mess it creates at point D.
In the middle of the base leg, at point F in the diagram, you want to fly for at least a little ways with no slip, for multiple reasons. For one thing, you need to see if there is any wind drift, which is hard to do while slipping. If the wind is drifting you toward the airport on base leg, that’s a very bad sign, because it means you will have a tailwind on final. It means you should break off the approach and strategize an approach to the reciprocal runway.
At point G, you are anticipating the next turn. As always, if this is to be a slipping turn, you want it to be a proper slip, not a skid. Therefore the slip at point G should involve lowering the wing that will be on the inside of the upcoming turn.
At point J, if you have done everything right, you will have the correct altitude and the correct airspeed, so you can discontinue the slip. You can proceed with a normal flare and touchdown.
As a separate matter, on short final, if there is any wind, you should establish a slip to compensate. The direction of this slip will be determined by the wind, whereas the direction of the previous slips was determined by the direction of the turns.
As previously mentioned, always use the rudders smoothly and gently. In particular, if you are slipping to the left and want to transition to slipping to the right, or vice versa, take it easy. Most airplanes of tremendous amounts of rudder authority, enough to get you into trouble if you overdo things. For that matter, it is good practice to perform all maneuvers smoothly and gently (with rare exceptions, as mentioned in section 18.7).
Tangential remark: Whether or not you are slipping, intercept the final approach course far enough from the runway so that you have plenty of stabilized, straight-in final approach.
The definition of a slip “to the right” versus a slip “to the left” is a bit arbitrary and hard to remember. The following table may help. A slip to the right corresponds to a positive slip angle β. It is sometimes called simply a “right slip”
slip to the right,
|The airplane is moving toward a point that is somewhere to the right of the nose.||The nose is pointing to the left of the direction of flight.|
|The air is hitting the right side of the fuselage.||You are applying left rudder.|
|The inclinometer ball is displaced to the right.||The slip string is displaced to the left.|
|If this is a nonturning slip, or a proper turning slip, you are banked to the right.||If you are not banked, you are making a boat turn to the left.|
Because of the potential for confusion, I try to avoid terms such as “left slip” and “slip to the left” entirely. Instead, I might say “let’s make a wings-level boat turn to the right” or “let’s perform a nonturning slip, banked to the left”.
Once again (as in section 11.2), the meaning of the term “side slip” (or equivalently sideslip) depends on whether we are talking about the angle or the maneuver.
|In some of the older engineering literature, the slip angle is called the “sideslip angle”. The two terms are synonymous. It’s the same angle, no matter what you call it. Calling it simply the slip angle is preferable, because we don’t want anybody to get the idea that the “side” slip angle is somehow different from some “other” slip angle.||There is also something called a “side slip maneuver”. (Again, don’t ask me where this terminology comes from; it is not very descriptive.) Another name for the same maneuver is “constant-heading slip”, as discussed in section 16.7.|
|The slip angle is important. Ordinary cruising flight calls for zero slip, but in special situations you might want a nonzero slip angle; for an overview see section 11.5.1.||The stylized side slip maneuver shown in figure 11.4 has no direct practical application that I know of. However, it has some academic interest, and it has some limited value in preparation for the special situation shown in figure 11.5.|
The side slip maneuver is shown in figure 11.4. The dotted black line shows your path over the ground. For simplicity, we assume no-wind conditions. The maneuver has three main phases: At point C in the diagram, the maneuver begins with a slipping turn, namely a slip to the right and an MV-turn1 to the right. Then there is a steady phase, including points D and E, where we have a nonturning slip situation. Finally, at point F the maneuver ends with another slipping turn. This time it is a slip to the right and an MV-turn to the left ... which is likely to be a skid.
A side slip on final approach would be a bad idea for multiple reasons.
It is instructive to consider the special situation shown in figure 11.5. The control inputs are exactly the same as in figure 11.4, but the ground track is quite different, because of the gusty crosswind. It is hard to practice the maneuver shown here (except in a simulator), because it is hard to call up a gust when you want one. If this maneuver is done right, there is no risk of a skid during roll-out, because there is no sideways momentum to contend with. That is to say, there is no MV-turn involved.
There are lots of situations where you want your heading to be aligned with your motion through the air (e.g. normal coordinated flight) and there are some situations where you want your heading to be aligned with your direction of motion over the ground (e.g. crosswind landing, as discussed in section 12.9, especially section 12.9.2). In contrast, it’s hard to imagine a general-aviation situation2 that calls for maintaining a constant heading while the direction of travel is changing. (In figure 11.5, the direction of motion relative to the air is changing, but the direction of travel over the ground is not.)
Note that the concepts of “forward slip” and “side slip” do not cover all the bases. I’m pretty sure that a wings-level boat turn is neither a forward slip nor a side slip ... although the terminology in this area is not universally agreed upon.
Also note the following contrast:
|The situation at point E in figure 11.4 is aerodynamically indistinguishable from the situation at point E in figure 11.1. It is a nonturning slip situation. The air doesn’t care how you established this slip angle, or what you intend to do next.||The side slip maneuver in figure 11.4 is different from the forward slip maneuver in figure 11.1. The beginning is different, the ending is different, and the ground-track is different. As the pilot, you care about what is happening right now, but you also care about what happens next.|
As discussed in chapter 8, there are six or seven things that can cause the airplane to yaw. Your job is to use the rudders to eliminate the unwanted yaw, so that the airplane is always pointing the way it is going (except for intentional slip).
The objective is to anticipate how much rudder is required in various circumstances, so you aren’t constantly correcting for errors.
The hardest thing to deal with is yaw-wise inertia. The rule is: rolling to the left requires left rudder; rolling to the right requires right rudder. The amount of rudder pressure should be proportional to the rate of roll. Adverse yaw complicates the situation, and requires rudder deflection whenever the roll rate does not match the aileron deflection. To a fair approximation the two effects can be covered by the rule: “rudder deflection proportional to aileron deflection”.
Note that (unlike yaw-wise inertia) adverse yaw occurs even if you aren’t turning. Suppose that a wind gust causes the left wing to drop. You immediately use right aileron to raise the wing. Right rudder is required. Don’t get the idea that rudder is only required when you intend to turn.
Another tricky case arises when you make your first left turn after takeoff. You are holding a large amount of right rudder pressure because of the helical propwash, and you need to apply left aileron. Rather than using actual left rudder pressure, it probably suffices to use a reduction in right rudder pressure. This is harder to learn than it sounds. You may find it more convenient to maintain whatever right-rudder pressure is required to compensate for the helical propwash, and to make left turns by applying countervailing force on the left rudder pedal.
If you have a rudder trim control, you are encouraged to use it. For example, during the transition from cruise to a steady climb, roll in some right rudder trim to compensate for the helical propwash effect. This saves you the trouble of holding steady rudder pressure all during the climb. Remember how much trim you put in, to make it easier to take it back out when you end the climb and resume normal cruise.
To learn good coordination, first practice looking out the side. When you roll into a turn, you should see the wing go up or down like a flyswatter. If it slices down-and-forward, or up-and-backward, you are not using enough rudder.
You can control the airplane quite nicely while looking out the side. You can judge pitch attitude by the angle the wing chord makes with the lateral horizon. You can judge bank angle by the height of the wingtip above or below the horizon. And, as just mentioned, you can judge coordination by watching for forward or backward slicing motions when you roll into or out of a turn.
It is really important to be able to do this. Just for starters, there is no way you can do a decent job of scanning for traffic if you can’t control the airplane precisely while looking out the side.
I even have my students do fancy things like stalls (and stall recoveries) while looking out the side.
Don’t be a “gauge junkie” — the sort of pilot who can’t even fly a rectangular traffic pattern except by reference to the directional gyro. When making a 90 degree turn, identify a landmark 90 degrees from your original heading and turn toward it. No gauges are required.
The next step is to learn how to perceive correct coordination while looking out the front. This requires having a precise visual reference. There are several ways to arrange this.
Start by getting the airplane trimmed for straight and level flight at a reasonable airspeed, headed toward a definite point. In the figure, the plane is headed toward a point a couple of degrees to the right of the mountains.
You can now use your finger as a reference, as shown in figure 11.6. Rest your hand on the top of the instrument panel and align your finger with the straight-ahead point on the horizon.
Another option is to use a mark on the windshield, as shown by the red wedge in the figure. It really helps to have a mark that falls very close to the line from your dominant eye to the aim point on the horizon, so if you can’t find a scratch or a bug-corpse in just the right point, you should make a mark. You can use a grease pencil, a washable marking pen, a bit of tape, or whatever.
A single reference of this sort only works if your head is in the right position — wherever it was when you established the reference. Since you need to move around to look for traffic, be careful to move back into position before using the reference.
If you want to get really fancy, you can use both a finger and a mark on the windshield. That makes it easy to detect if your head is out of position. This also helps rule out the image from your non-dominant eye (although the easiest thing is to close that eye if it is confusing you).
Figure 11.7 shows how the situation should look after rolling smoothly into a turn to the right with 30 degrees of bank.
You should use the visual reference as your primary indicator of pitch attitude and heading. Throughout the roll-in, turn, and roll-out, the rate of turn (i.e. the rate of heading change) should be proportional to the amount of bank. As the bank increases, the rate of turn should increase.
It is common mistake to think that the airplane should simply pivot on its axis (roll-wise) and then start turning (horizontal-wise). If you look closely, you will see in figure 11.7 that the sight line has already moved to the right a little. This represents the amount of turn that occurred during the roll-in. (If you roll in more slowly, this amount will increase.) Remember: The rate of turn should be proportional to the amount of bank. If the sight mark initially stands still (or backtracks!) and only later starts turning in the proper direction, it means you aren’t applying enough rudder to compensate for yaw-wise inertia (and adverse yaw).
During the roll-out, the same rule still applies: the rate of turn should be proportional to the amount of bank. As the bank goes away, the rate of turn should go away. (Of course, the proportionality factor always depends on airspeed, but at each airspeed there is a definite proportionality between bank and rate of turn.) If you neglect to compensate for yaw-wise inertia, the nose will overshoot (yawing toward the continuation of the turn).
Summary: Don’t let the nose backtrack on roll-in. Don’t let the nose overshoot on roll-out. The rate of turn should be proportional to the amount of bank. The yaw-wise inertia and adverse yaw lead to the rule: rudder deflection should be proportional to aileron deflection.
You can see in figure 11.7 why we went to the trouble of putting a mark on the windshield, rather than using, say a bolt on the cowling at the location marked by the cross in the figure (near the end of your thumb). Such an off-axis reference will not exhibit a rate of turn proportional to the amount of bank. As you can see, the problem is that the cross necessarily rotates a little ways to the outside of the properly-coordinated turn. If you tried to prevent this reference from swinging to the outside of the turn, you would be applying too much rudder during the roll-in. The amount of the error would depend on the angle between the bogus sight line and the actual roll axis — which depends on the shape of the airplane and the height of the pilot.
Once you have learned to make really good turns using the roll-axis sight mark, you should gradually learn to do without it. Make a point of imagining where the mark would be relative to other visual references such as the cowling, the window-frame, et cetera.
Later (after making a few hundred coordinated turns) you should be able to do it with your eyes closed, just by knowing how the controls should feel.
By the way: as you may have noticed, the sight line in figure 11.7 is slightly above the horizon. This is because you need to pitch up a little bit to deal with the load factor in the turn.
Notes: (1) If you make a mark on the windshield, use a bright color, since black is too hard to distinguish from traffic. (2) The best time to make the mark is before takeoff. Taxi into position at the end of a long taxiway, and make a mark that lines up with the horizon at the far end. Even if the pre-flight mark is not perfect, it will facilitate making a better mark later.
The inclinometer ball will remain almost centered throughout the roll-in, turn, and roll-out if everything is done correctly. There are several reasons why you should not over-emphasize this instrument: (1) The response of the ball to coordination errors is sluggish and complex, so you have to be quite an expert to get useful feedback from it. In particular, I see lots of pilots who apply approximately the right amount of rudder, but apply it too late or too early. Diagnosing such errors using just the ball is nearly impossible; other references are more informative. (2) In general, anything that can be done by outside references should be done by outside references. (3) When rolling into or rolling out of a turn, there will be a force on the rudder which must be balanced by a horizontal component of lift (i.e. a slight bank) in order to maintain zero slip. See section 17.1.3 for an explanation of why having the ball in the center is not exactly what you want (but nearly so).
The inclinometer ball definitely is helpful for providing information about a long-term slip — in particular, for telling you how much rudder trim to dial in during a high-power / low-speed climb. Especially in an unfamiliar airplane, it can be hard to tell whether one wing is down a little bit, without referring to the ball.
The phrase “flying by the seat of your pants” has become such a common cliché that people forget its real meaning: you can use the sense of touch in your rear end to determine whether or not your control usage is properly coordinated.3
The idea of using your rear end as an inclinometer might sound trivial or obvious; after all, even non-pilots can notice immediately if they sit down on a park bench that is inclined. However, the non-pilots are probably cheating, using their sense of sight (referring to the horizon) and their sense of which way is up (based on the acceleration-detecting organs in the inner ear). In the airplane, as you roll into a turn, the situation is much more challenging. First of all, you want the load vector (gravity plus centrifugal force) to be directed straight down into your seat (perpendicular to the wings, not to the horizon) — so visual reference to the horizon doesn’t tell you what you need to know about inclination. Secondly, the organs of your inner ear are sensitive not only to the load vector but also to the rate of roll — so they don’t tell you what you need to know, either.
This is a good illustration of why learning to fly an airplane is hard: the airplane is inclined (relative to the horizon) but it is not inclined (relative to the load vector). One sense (sight) conflicts with two others (inner ear and seat of pants).
Because the sense of sight is so dominant, the visual references discussed in section 11.7.1 and section 11.7.2 are typically the easiest way to learn proper coordination. Be that as it may, you should also pay attention to what the seat of your pants is telling you. If you are being sloshed side to side as you roll into a turn, there is something wrong. It may help to close your eyes so you can concentrate on the seat of your pants while the instructor makes a series of coordinated and uncoordinated turns.
While we are on the subject of the sense of touch: as you get experience with a particular airplane, you will learn how much force is required on the rudder to go with a certain amount of force on the ailerons (depending on airspeed, of course). Once you’ve got the feel of the controls, you should be able to make a decent turn without much thought or effort.
Flying by the seat of your pants may sound like a throwback to the days when airmail was carried in fabric-covered biplanes, but it is a useful technique even in modern instrument flying. Proper coordination is still important, and modern airplanes still suffer from yaw-wise inertia and adverse yaw, especially at approach speeds. As you maneuver to stay on the localizer, you don’t want to be looking at the inclinometer ball — you’ve got too many other things competing for your visual attention.
The previous sections concentrated on how to maintain coordinated flight. Sometimes, though, there is good reason to perform an intentional slip. One reason might be to set up for a crosswind landing, as discussed in section 12.9. Another reason might be to get rid of some energy, in which case the procedure is straightforward.
The difference between heading A and heading B is the slip angle.
Do not confuse slip angle with bank angle. In fact, they are perpendicular. That is, slip involves a yaw-wise rotation, while bank involves a roll-wise rotation, as defined in section 19.7.1.
Although in a non-turning slip you can perhaps judge the amount of slip by the amount of bank, in general perceiving the bank angle is a rather poor substitute for perceiving the slip angle.
If you don’t use the rudder, then
Using the rudder and ailerons, you can perform a wings-level boat turn, which involves a slip angle with zero bank. See section 8.11.
In a twin with an engine out, you can have a turn with no bank and no slip, or a slip with no bank and no turn, or (preferably) a bank with no turn and no slip. See section 17.1.
Causes of slip include:
Causes of turn include:
A skid is more dangerous than a proper slip, because it is more likely to flip you upside down if anything goes wrong. Therefore, never apply excess bottom rudder (no exceptions). To say it another way, never try to speed up a turn with the rudder (no exceptions). Never try to roll out of a turn without applying coordinated rudder (no exceptions). Right aileron deflection requires right rudder deflection; left aileron deflection requires left rudder deflection.
Section 16.6 discusses a good coordination exercise.
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Understanding health & illness Australia's health system How healthy are we? Leading types of ill health Health behaviours & other risks to health Health through your life Indigenous health Preventing & treating ill health Indicators of Australia's health
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What does it mean to be healthy or sick? How good is the health of Australians generally and for different groups? And what does Australia's health 2014, the biennial national report card, set out to do?
Australia's health 2014, like its 13 predecessors, takes the view that health is not just the presence or absence of illness or injury, but incorporates dimensions of physical, mental and social wellbeing.
This first chapter begins by discussing what health is, and defines broad concepts such as health and illness and their associated causes, known as health determinants. The impact of these determinants—the complex mix of genetic, biomedical, behavioural, socioeconomic and environmental factors that have an influence on health—is investigated throughout Australia's health 2014. There is a particular focus on factors that are topical, or of high interest to policy makers, the health professions and the public.
Indeed, focusing on matters of high interest is at the core of Australia's health 2014 as a whole. The format and organisation of the report and its supporting materials are consequently quite different to previous editions. However, within this context, there is still necessarily some bias towards aspects of health and health care where we have good supporting data. More detail on the new format is included in the 'About Australia's health 2014' section in this chapter.
Later in the chapter there is a profile on 'Who we are' as Australians. Firstly, the make-up of our population, where and how we live, our fertility, employment and education are discussed. This feature article then draws on material presented elsewhere in the report to summarise how long we live, what we die of, the health conditions we live with, and the leading inequalities in health in our population. It therefore provides an overview of us and our health status.
Health, or being in good health, is important to everyone. It influences not just how we feel, but how we function and participate in the community.
The concepts of 'health' and 'ill health' reach far beyond the individual and can be difficult to define and measure. They encompass a wide range of experiences and events and their interpretation may be relative to social norms and context. As such, individuals, groups and societies may have very different interpretations of what constitutes illness and what it means to be in good health.
The most widely accepted definition of health was set out in the Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1946. WHO encourages an holistic concept of health, defining health as 'a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity' (WHO 1946). This definition includes mental and social dimensions and moves the focus beyond individual physical abilities or dysfunction.
Even more broadly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people view health as 'not just the physical well-being of the individual but the social, emotional and cultural well-being of the whole community' (National Aboriginal Health Strategy Working Party 1989). An ongoing and active relationship with 'country' means that the health of community land plays an important role in determining the health of the people themselves (Green 2008). This view of health takes a whole-of-life approach and can include the cyclical concept of life–death–life.
Australia's health 2014 takes this broad view of health and functioning, incorporating both physical and mental dimensions, and genetic, cultural, socioeconomic and environmental determinants. It is based on the following concepts:
This report is based on the conceptual framework in Figure 1.1. The overall concept is that a person's health and wellbeing result from complex interplays among biological, lifestyle, socioeconomic, societal and environmental factors, many of which can be modified to some extent by health care and other interventions.
Many things can affect how healthy we are, ranging from the macro to the molecular: from society-wide influences to highly individual factors, such as genetic make-up. And, of course, our health is also affected by the quality of health care we receive.
Some of these effects can be direct (such as being burnt by the sun), while others are less direct (such as access to shade combined with knowledge of the health risks associated with exposure to the sun influencing health through effects on behaviour).
These influences are known as health determinants because they help determine how likely we are to stay healthy or become ill or injured.
Some health determinants are positive in their effects on health and others are negative. A high daily intake of fruit and vegetables, for example, or being vaccinated against disease, are positive influences, and often termed protective factors.
Those things that increase our likelihood of experiencing ill health are known as risk factors. Behavioural risk factors are those where lifestyle choices play a major role, for example, at-risk consumption of alcohol. Current estimates suggest that up to 80% of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes and more than one-third of cancers worldwide could be prevented by eliminating shared modifiable risk factors—mainly tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and the harmful use of alcohol (WHO 2008) (see Chapter 8 'Prevention for a healthier future').
Biomedical risk factors represent bodily states that contribute to the development of chronic disease, for example, high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol levels (see Chapter 5 'Biomedical risk factors' and Chapter 4 'Chronic disease—Australia's biggest health challenge').
The framework in Figure 1.1 divides determinants into 4 major groups whose main direction of influence goes from left to right; that is, from the background factors (such as culture and affluence) through to more immediate influences (such as blood pressure).
The framework shows how the first main group—the broad features of society and environmental factors—can determine the nature of another main group; that is, people's socioeconomic characteristics, such as their level of education and employment. Both of these main groups also influence people's health behaviours, their psychological state and factors relating to safety. These, in turn, can influence biomedical factors, such as body weight and glucose metabolism, which may have health effects through various further pathways.
Note: Purple shading highlights selected social determinants of health.
At all stages along the path, the various factors interact with an individual's genetic composition. In addition, the factors within a box often interact and are closely related to each other.
In recent years there has been an increased understanding of the importance of the social determinants of health: a term that encompasses not only social, but economic, political, cultural and environmental determinants. Essentially, these are the conditions into which people are born, grow, live, work and age (WHO 2013). According to this view, a person's occupation, education, material resources, social support networks and social status can affect their health and contribute to broader health inequalities within the population. These circumstances are in turn shaped by a wider set of forces, such as economics, social policies, and politics. Some factors can be influenced by individuals and families through their pursuit of particular outcomes, while some broader forces are beyond the control of individuals.
Social and economic conditions and their effects on people's lives can determine their risk of illness and the actions taken to prevent them becoming ill or treat illness when it occurs (WHO 2013). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 'the social determinants of health are mostly responsible for health inequities—the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries' (WHO 2013).
A disease is a physical or mental disturbance involving symptoms, dysfunction or tissue damage, while illness (or sickness) is a more subjective concept related to personal experience of a disease (AIHW 2010).
There are many diseases that can afflict the human body, ranging from common colds to cancers. The 2 main categories of disease that may lead to ill health are infectious and chronic diseases.
Some diseases can be both infectious and chronic, for example, long-term infectious skin conditions or diseases such as HIV that are currently incurable. Further, there can be common mechanisms underlying infectious and chronic diseases, for example, an injury could lead to an infection or a chronic back problem.
There are a large number of potential causes for disease and feelings of ill health in the human body (Figure 1.2). There may be a single cause (for example, a specific pathogen) or a range of causes (such as multiple lifestyle factors) that lead to a person developing a particular disease.
Other factors, such as the strength of a person's immune response, vaccination status, resilience and mental state, or their current health, many influence whether a person develops a disease, or how severely they are affected. Some population groups or age groups differ in susceptibility to certain diseases due to genetic, biological, environmental or socioeconomic characteristics. As such, a particular disease may not develop in all individuals, or with the same level of severity. Further, people may be able to successfully manage many chronic conditions with the assistance of lifestyle changes, pharmaceuticals, and other forms of support.
Note: A disease may not occur in all circumstances. An individual's immune and homeostatic responses, vaccination status, previous history of disease, psychological coping strategies or ability to access health services (among other factors) may play a role in mediating disease.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) is required to report every 2 years on the state of health of Australians and on the Australian health system. The report generally follows the framework depicted in Figure 1.1, and treats health as a multi-faceted concept that is affected by—and has an effect on—many aspects of a person's life.
As in past editions, Australia's health 2014 answers key questions such as 'Who does what in the health system?' and 'Are we getting healthier?', and provides a summary of the performance of Australia's health system against agreed national indicators.
But Australia's health 2014 has a different format to previous editions in that it combines analytical feature articles on highly topical health issues with short statistical 'snapshots' on subjects such as types of ill health, health behaviours and risks, mental health, elective surgery and how we treat ill health.
Because articles and snapshots are designed to be self-contained, there is inevitable overlap and re-stating of some concepts throughout the book. We have cross-referenced between and among articles and snapshots wherever we felt this would be useful for readers.
The feature articles cover a diverse range of topics, such as chronic diseases, illicit drug use, private hospitals, dementia and what the ageing of Australia's population means for our future. Each article presents an in-depth analysis of the issues associated with each topic together with implications for individuals and the nation as a whole.
The report also presents a picture of health through life, with feature articles and snapshots on all life stages including, for the first time, a comprehensive look at childhood obesity and youth health, and the health of the working age population.
Australia's health 2014 examines the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in a series of feature articles and snapshots that include an investigation of the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations as well as the effect that remoteness has on health.
The AIHW manages many important national health information collections, and relies on the cooperation of state and territory governments, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, other independent bodies and the non-government sector to ensure the accurate and timeliness of health-related data.
Despite improvements and enhancements to national health data over recent years, many data gaps remain, and these, along with other limitations, are listed under a series of 'What is missing from the picture?' headings in articles and snapshots.
Readers wanting more detail on a particular topic will find it in the 'Where can I go for more information?' sections throughout the report.
This edition of Australia's health has an expanded online presence, including live links where possible to referenced publications and web pages. Key AIHW publications featured in Australia's health 2014 have been converted to HTML format, offering improved accessibility and enhanced search capabilities for readers.
Australia's health 2014 itself is available in HTML format and as an ePub, in addition to the traditional PDF format. Individual PDFs are available online for individual articles and snapshots, for easy downloading and printing.
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) 2010. Australia's health 2010. Cat no. AUS 122. Canberra: AIHW.
Green D 2008. Climate impacts on the health of remote northern Australian Indigenous communities. In: Garnaut climate change review. Canberra: Australian Government Department of Climate Change.
National Aboriginal Health Strategy Working Party 1989. A National Aboriginal Health Strategy. Canberra: Department of Aboriginal Affairs.
WHO (World Health Organization) 1946. Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International Health conference, New York, 19–22 June, 1946. New York: WHO.
WHO 2008. 2008–2013 action plan for the global strategy for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases. Geneva: WHO.
WHO 2013. What are social determinants of health? Geneva: WHO. Viewed 6 December 2013
Many health experts agree that health is heavily influenced by the circumstances in which people are born, grow, live, work and age including political, social and economic factors that go beyond the immediate causes of disease (Commission on Social Determinants of Health 2007).
Broadly speaking these factors comprise what are known as the social determinants of health, which in recent years have been of increasing interest to governments, researchers and health practitioners.
In this article we therefore take a brief look at Australians—how many of us there are, and how and where we live, before describing how long we live, what we die of, what health conditions we live with and the health disadvantages experienced by some groups within the Australian population.
Australia is a vast country with a relatively small but growing population of more than 23 million people at June 2013 (ABS 2013c). Around 27% of the population in 2011 were born overseas, and 3% were Indigenous Australians (about 670,000 people in 2013).
The population continues to grow mainly because of natural increase (there are more births than deaths) and migration. Natural increase contributed 40% to population growth in 2013 while net overseas migration added 60%. An estimated 162,700 people were added through natural increase in the year to June 2013 and 244,400 people were added through migration in the same period (ABS 2013c). Our birth rate is 1.9 births per woman, less than the replacement rate of 2.1, but higher than our lowest rate of 1.7 in 2001.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the Australian population is projected to be increasing at the rate of 1 person every 1 minute and 18 seconds (ABS 2013o). Although the population is increasing, the growth has not been consistent across all age groups (Figure 1.3).
Sources: AIHW analysis of ABS 2008a, 2008c (Series 29), 2013c, 2013l.
Over recent decades population growth has been stronger among older age groups compared with younger age groups. For example, between 1973 and 2013, the number of people aged 65 and over tripled, from 1.1 million to 3.3 million. There was a sixfold increase in the number of people aged 85 and over, from 73,100 to 439,600. Over the same period, the number of children and young people (aged under 25) rose by just 22% from 6.1 million to 7.5 million people.
To look at this in another way, in 2013, people aged 65 and over comprised 14% of the population compared with 9% in 1973. People aged under 25 comprised one-third (32%) of the population in 2013 compared with almost half (45%) 40 years earlier (ABS 2013c).
In 2013 there were slightly more males than females at all ages up to and including the 30–34 age group, but fewer males than females for all subsequent age groups. The difference is especially marked at more advanced ages—47% males to 53% females at ages 75–79, and 36% males to 64% females for people aged 85 and over (see Figure 1.4) (ABS 2013c).
The age profile of the Indigenous population is considerably younger than for the non-Indigenous population (see Figure 1.5).
Data for June 2011 (ABS 2013j) show that half of the Indigenous population was aged 22 or under (compared with 38 or under for the non-Indigenous population) and just 3.4% were aged 65 and over (compared with 14% of the non-Indigenous population). As with the Australian population as a whole, Indigenous women outnumbered Indigenous men at older ages. Women accounted for 52% of Indigenous people aged 50–74 and 61% of those aged 75 and over.
Source: ABS 2013c.
Source: ABS 2012a.
Australia's population is mostly concentrated in the east and south-east of the country, as shown in Figure 1.6. In 2012, about 1 in 3 people (32%) lived in New South Wales, 1 in 4 (25%) in Victoria, 1 in 5 (20%) in Queensland, 11% in Western Australia, 7.3% in South Australia, 2.3% in Tasmania, 1.7% in the Australian Capital Territory and 1.0% in the Northern Territory (ABS 2013m; AIHW 2013a).
At June 2012, most Australians lived in Major cities (70%), while 18% lived in Inner regional areas, 9% in Outer regional areas, and 1% in both Remote and Very remote areas. (ABS 2013m; AIHW 2013a; see Box 1.1 for information about the classification of geographical areas in Australia).
Note: figure shows population density by Statistical Area Level 2 based on the ASGS (see Box 1.1).
Sources: AIHW analysis of ABS 2010a, 2013m.
Population densities were highest in inner Sydney suburbs, with between 13,100 and 13,900 people per square kilometre compared with the lowest densities of less than 1 person per square kilometre throughout most of central and northern Australia.
Remote areas of Australia are disproportionately populated by Indigenous Australians, with 2011 Census data showing that almost half (45%) of all people in Very remote areas and 16% in Remote areas were Indigenous compared with a 3% Indigenous representation in the total population (ABS 2013j).
The ABS Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Remoteness Structure allocates areas to 1 of 5 remoteness categories depending on their distance from urban centres, where the population size of the urban centre is considered to govern the range and types of services available.
Remoteness Areas are classified into 5 categories: Major cities, Inner regional, Outer regional, Remote and Very remote.
The category Major cities includes Australia's capital cities, with the exceptions of Hobart and Darwin, which are classified as Inner regional and Outer regional respectively.
In July 2011, the ABS adopted a new geographical framework—the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). This standard brings all the geographic disaggregations for which the ABS publishes statistics into a single framework.
One component of the ASGS is the remoteness structure, which is built using the same principles as the earlier remoteness structure. Although the ASGS Remoteness Areas have been defined using a different base unit, the ABS has indicated that the remoteness areas from the ASGC and the ASGS are generally comparable (ABS 2013g).
More information is available on the ABS website.
Nevertheless, Indigenous Australians were still more likely to live in urban rather than remote areas. More than one-third (35%) lived in Major cities, 22% in each of Inner regional and Outer regional areas, and the remaining 21% in either Remote or Very remote areas (ABS 2013j).
New South Wales was home to more Indigenous people in Australia than any other state or territory in 2011 (31% of all Indigenous Australians). This was similar to the proportion of all Australians who live in New South Wales (32%).
Within each state and territory, the proportion of Indigenous people was highest in the Northern Territory (30%); the lowest was 1% in Victoria, and for all other states and territories the proportion was between 2% and 5%. (More information on the Indigenous population is in Chapter 7.)
According to the 2011 Census, 72% or 5.7 million of Australia's 7.8 million households were family households (with or without children), while 24% were lone-person households and the remaining 4% were group households (AIHW 2013a).
Of the 5.7 million families, 37% were couples with dependent children (with or without additional non-dependent children), 8% were couples with non-dependent children only, 38% were couple families without children, 11% were one-parent families with dependent children, and 5% were one-parent families with non-dependent children only. A very small proportion (2%) were some other type of family such as adult siblings living together (ABS 2012d; AIHW 2013a).
Due to the ageing of our population, couple families without children living in the household are projected to outnumber couple families with children in 2014. Further, lone-person households are expected to be the fastest-growing household type in coming decades ABS 2010b; AIHW 2013a).
Of all families with children, 26% were one-parent families, and the majority of lone parents were female (82%) (ABS 2012b).
Another notable trend is that non-dependent children are increasingly remaining in the family home—between 1997 and 2009–10 the proportion of adult children living at home rose from 20% to 23% (ABS 2011).
Indigenous Australians (14%) are much less likely to live alone than non-Indigenous Australians (25%). Among one-family households, Indigenous households were more than 3 times as likely to be one-parent families with dependent children (29% compared with 9%) (ABS 2012c).
The average Australians mother will most likely have 2 children, who are slightly more likely to be boys than girls—51.4% of the live births in Australia in 2011 were boys (Li et al. 2013).
The average age of mothers who gave birth to a child in 2010 was 30 and the average age of first-time mothers was 28. The proportion of Australian women giving birth to their first child later in life (aged 35 or older) has increased—from 11.2% in 2002 to 14.2% in 2011 (Li et al. 2013) (see Chapter 6 'The health of mothers' and 'Australia's babies').
The average size of dwellings in Australia is growing, with the proportion of homes having 4 or more bedrooms doubling between 1986 and 2011, from 15% to 30% (AIHW 2013a).
Most people in Australia (69% of households in 2009–10) own their own homes, either with a mortgage (36%) or without (33%). Around 24% of households are renting from a private landlord, and about 4% are renting from a state or territory housing authority (AIHW 2013a).
Australians have high levels of education by world standards—in 2010 Australia ranked equal 7th among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries for people aged 25–64 who had a tertiary qualification (38% compared with the OECD average of 31%).
Australians are also better educated than a decade ago: 67% of people aged 25–64 held a non-school qualification such as a degree, certificate or diploma in 2012 compared with 54% in 2002. In 2011, among young people aged 15–24 who had left school, 74% had completed Year 12—an increase from 70% in 2002 (ABS 2003, 2008d, 2012f; AIHW 2013a).
There is some evidence, however, that our students could be doing better at school—for example, for Year 4 students in 2012, in various comparable international studies, Australia ranked 20th out of 25 OECD countries for reading, 13th out of 26 countries for maths and 18th out of 26 countries for science (AIHW 2013a).
Despite some improvements, Indigenous Australians continue to have lower levels of education than other Australians. In 2011, 26% of Indigenous Australians aged 15 and over had completed a non-school qualification compared with 49% of non-Indigenous Australians. In 2011, around 3% of Indigenous Australians had a Bachelor degree compared with 14% of non-Indigenous Australians (ABS 2012c; AIHW 2013b).
Most people of traditional working age in Australia (15–64) are in the labour force, that is, they are either employed or studying, or a combination of both, or are actively looking for work, and available to start work. For males the proportion was 83% in 2012 (down from 86% in 1982) but still above the OECD average of 80%. For females the proportion was 70% in 2012, a sharp rise on the 1982 figure of 52% and above the OECD average of 62% (OECD 2014). For Australians aged 25 to 54 (the prime working age), the labour force participation rate for men (90%) was slightly lower than the OECD average of 91%, while the rate for women (76%) was higher than the OECD average of 72%. The overall rate for Australians of prime working age (83%) was higher than the OECD average of 82% (OECD 2014).
Increasingly, families in Australia with young children have both parents working. Between 1999 and 2011, the proportion of couple families with children under 15 in which both parents were employed rose from 55% to 63%. However, there are some 'jobless' families in Australia, where no one in the family aged 15 and over is employed, including dependants. According to the ABS, in June 2012 there were 1.3 million jobless families—19% of all families. Of these, 932,000 were jobless couple families—about 1 in every 6 couple families—and 299,000 jobless one-parent families—almost 1 in every 3 one-parent families (ABS 2012e).
People are increasingly working past the age of 65—between 2002 and 2012 the labour force participation rate for men aged 60–64 rose from 48% to 63%, and for men aged 65–69 the rise was from 20% to 34% (AIHW 2013a).
Among women, the corresponding rise for those aged 60–64 was from 25% to 44%, and for those aged 65–69 it was from 9% to 20% (AIHW 2013a).
Part-time work is also an increasing feature of employment patterns in Australia, with almost 1 in 3 employed people (30%) in 2012 working part-time hours (less than 35 hours a week). This was almost double the proportion of 30 years earlier of 17% (AIHW analysis of ABS 2013n; AIHW 2013a).
In 2011, 42% of Indigenous Australians aged 15 and over were employed, compared with 61% of non-Indigenous people. Unemployment rates were 17% for Indigenous Australians and 5% for non-Indigenous Australians (AIHW 2013a).
Most Australians can expect to have a relatively long life—one of the highest life expectancies in the world and 25 years longer than a century ago. A baby boy born between 2010 and 2012 can expect to live to 79.9 years and a baby girl to 84.3 years (ABS 2013h).
There has been a long and continuing decline in death rates in Australia over the past 100 years—from 2,043 to 550 deaths per 100,000 population between 1911 and 2012 (ABS 2013h; AIHW 2013d).
While life expectancy for Indigenous Australians is improving, it is still lower than for other Australians: about 10.6 years lower for Indigenous baby boys and 9.5 years lower for girls (ABS 2013k) (see Chapter 3 'Life expectancy').
Coronary heart disease
Coronary heart disease (CHD) (also known as ischaemic heart disease) was the leading underlying cause of death for both males and females in Australia in 2011, accounting for 15% of all deaths. Three-quarters of these were deaths in people aged 75 and over, and just 5% were deaths of people under the age of 55.
CHD deaths (principally heart attacks and angina) have been trending downwards since the late 1960s, but for the 35–54 age group the falls decelerated from 6% a year between 1987 and 1998 to 3% a year between 1999 and 2011. For older age groups the falls accelerated in the second period compared with the first.
Cerebrovascular disease (notably stroke) is the second most common underlying cause of death in Australia, accounting for 8% of all deaths in 2011. It is the third most common underlying cause of death for men and the second most common cause for women. It is also the second most common cause of cardiovascular disease death, after CHD.
Stroke deaths increase greatly with age, with 82% of deaths occurring in people aged 75 or over in 2011.
Stroke deaths have been falling for decades, with the stroke death rate falling by 67% between 1981 and 2011.
Cardiovascular disease (which includes heart attack, angina, stroke and peripheral vascular disease) is the single most common group of diseases causing death in Australia (see Chapters 3 and 4).
Dementia (including Alzheimer disease)
In 2011, dementia was the third most common underlying cause of death overall at 7% of all deaths. Twice as many women as men died from dementia.
(See Chapter 6 'Dementia, dementia treatment and the future'.)
Lung cancer (trachea, bronchus and lung cancer), the fourth most common underlying cause of death (6% of all deaths), is easily the most common cause of cancer death (see Figure 1.7).
Despite a decline in cancer deaths overall and an increase in survival over time, cancer, as a group of diseases, is still the second most common cause of death overall in Australia—after cardiovascular disease (see Chapter 3 'Leading causes of death in Australians').
The risk of dying from cancer is 1 in 4 for males and 1 in 6 for females (AIHW & AACR 2012). (See Chapter 4 'Cancer in Australia', 'The changing cancer landscape'.)
Other leading causes of death
Other leading causes of death in Australia include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (principally emphysema and chronic bronchitis), breast cancer in women, prostate cancer in men, diabetes, and colorectal cancer (see Chapter 3 'Leading causes of death in Australia').
Note: Deaths registered in 2011 are based on the preliminary version of cause of death data and are subject to further revision by the ABS.
Source: AIHW National Mortality Database.
The leading causes of death for Indigenous Australians are cardiovascular diseases, cancer, injury, diabetes and respiratory diseases (see Chapter 7 'How healthy are Indigenous Australians?').
In 2009, the overall mortality rate in Australia was among the lowest of all OECD countries at 687 deaths per 100,000 population, second only to Japan (613).
In the 2 decades since 1990, Australia has seen its ranking among OECD countries improve greatly for colon cancer deaths (from 23rd to 7th) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease deaths (from 27th to 16th).
Australia's change in ranking from 1990 to 2009 also improved for deaths due to lung cancer (16th to 10th), coronary heart disease (23rd to 18th), stroke (13th to 8th), breast cancer (15th to 12th) and suicide (14th to 11th).
Unlike the other mortality indicators, the rate of deaths due to diabetes in Australia increased slightly between 1990 and 2009 (18.7 to 20.6 deaths per 100,000 population). This resulted in Australia's ranking for this indicator dropping below half of the OECD countries in 2009 (from 15th to 20th).
Australia's ranking since 1990 also worsened for deaths due to accidental falls (10th to 13th) and deaths due to transport accidents (15th to 17th) (see Chapter 9 'International comparisons').
Infant mortality (death under the age of 1 year) is a widely accepted indicator of population health and the effectiveness of the health system. While Australia's infant mortality rate has fallen sharply in the past 80 years—from 65.7 to 4.3 deaths per 1,000 live births between 1927 and 2009—Australia still ranked among the worst one-third of all 34 OECD countries in 2009. Iceland had the lowest infant mortality rate in 2009, at 1.8 deaths per 1,000 live births (OECD 2013). The latest information available (ABS 2013h; AIHW National Mortality Database, SCRGSP forthcoming) suggests that Australia's infant mortality rate fell further to 3.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2012.
Infant mortality rates in the Indigenous population are higher than the equivalent rates in the non-Indigenous population, although there has been a significant closing of this gap in recent years.
Based on data for 5 jurisdictions with adequate identification of deaths of Indigenous infants, the infant mortality rate declined by 62% between 2001 and 2012—from 11.2 to 5.0 deaths per 1,000 live births compared with the rate of 3.3 for non-Indigenous infants in 2012 (ABS 2013h; AIHW National Mortality Database; SCRGSP forthcoming).
The leading causes of death for Australian children are injury (34%) and cancer (17%) (AIHW 2012a)—but young children are now less likely to be hospitalised for drowning and near-drowning than a decade ago. Drowning and near-drowning rates fell by 3% per year for children aged 0–4 from 1999–00 to 2010–11 (AIHW: Pointer 2013).
Teenagers and young adults are more likely to be involved in transport accidents than older Australians. One-quarter of transport injuries occurred at ages 15–24 and this age group also had the highest hospitalisation rate for transport injuries out of all age groups (AIHW: Pointer). (See Chapter 6 for more on children and young Australians.)
As outlined in more detail in Chapter 3, Australians are increasingly living with lifestyle-related chronic (ongoing) diseases, health conditions, health risks and disability, which, in terms of health burden, have largely replaced the infectious diseases of 50–100 years ago such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.
In 2011–12, around 92% of adults were not eating enough vegetables, and only 49% were eating enough fruit for optimum nutrition, compared to the NHMRC Nutrition Guidelines (ABS 2013e).
According to results from the ABS 2011–13 Australian Health Survey (AHS), in 2011–12 just over 2 in 5 adults (43%) were sufficiently active to meet the recommended minimum level (DoHA 1999) of 150 minutes per week of moderate or vigorous activity.
Daily smoking rates among adults are low by international standards at 16% overall. But rates are higher in the Outer regional and Remote parts of Australia (22%) than in Major cities (15%). Also, people living in more disadvantaged areas are more likely to be daily smokers than those living in areas of least disadvantage (23% compared with 10% respectively) (ABS 2013e, 2013f ). In 2012–13, 41% of Indigenous Australians aged 15 years and over smoked, 2.6 times the non-Indigenous rate after adjusting for differences in age structure. The Indigenous rate has fallen by 10 percentage points in the last decade (ABS 2013a). The daily smoking rate among prisoners (84%) is 5 times that of the general population (AIHW 2013f).
In 2011–12, around 1 in 5 Australian adults consumed alcohol at levels that placed them at risk of lifetime harm. This rate is unchanged from 2001 (see Chapter 5 'Alcohol risk and harm').
About 1 million Australians had diabetes in 2011–12 (ABS 2013e). About 85% had type 2 (AIHW 2013c).
After adjusting for differences in age structure, the rate of diabetes/high sugar levels among Indigenous Australians is 3.3 times the rate for non-Indigenous Australians.
Diabetes is becoming more common in Australia (see Chapter 4 'Diabetes'). Several factors may have contributed to this, such as changed criteria for diagnosis, increased public awareness, and a rise in the number of Australians who are sedentary and/or obese.
If you are an Australian adult, the chances are you are overweight or obese. According to the ABS 2011–13 Australian Health Survey, nearly two-thirds of Australians aged 18 or over are now overweight or obese (63%—comprised of 35% overweight and 28% obese), compared with about 56% in 1995. Only about one-third (35%) of Australians adults are of normal weight (ABS 2013e), with less than 2% being underweight.
The survey also found that 25% of Australian children aged 2–17 were overweight or obese (18% and 7% respectively), with 5% being underweight. This is the subject of a feature article in Chapter 6, 'Childhood overweight and obesity'.
A person's likelihood of being overweight or obese can also be affected by where they live. According to the 2011–13 Australian Health Survey, Australians living outside Major cities have higher rates of overweight and obesity than their city cousins. In 2011–12, men living in Inner regional, Outer regional and Remote areas of Australia were more likely to be overweight or obese (74%) compared with men living in Major cities (68%). This pattern was also consistent for women, with women living in Inner regional, Outer regional and Remote areas more likely to be overweight or obese (63%) than women living in Major cities (53%) (ABS 2013e).
For women, socioeconomic disadvantage can also affect obesity levels. Women living in areas of most disadvantage are more likely to be overweight or obese than those in areas of least disadvantage (64% and 48% respectively), but the same pattern is not evident among men (ABS 2013f).
In 2012–13, 66% of Indigenous Australians aged 15 and over were overweight or obese (ABS 2013a).
While the level of contribution of lifestyle-related factors to mental health conditions is the subject of debate, there is no doubt that there is a high prevalence of mental disorders in the Australian population (see Chapter 4 'Mental health in Australia').
At some time during their adolescence and adult life, around 7.3 million, or 45% of Australians aged 16–85 will experience a common mental health-related condition such as depression, anxiety or a substance use disorder, according to the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing (ABS 2008b).
There is also a high rate of association (comorbidity) between mental and physical health conditions. Around 1 in 9 Australians aged 16–85 have a mental disorder and a physical disorder concurrently (AIHW 2012b).
Disability is an umbrella term for any or all of the aspects of functioning impairment, activity limitation and restriction in participation in major life areas that individuals experience.
The link between disability and health is complex. Disability does not necessarily equate to poor health or illness. For example, 2 people with the same level of disability may not have the same health condition, while others with the same health condition can have different levels of disability. Similarly, in the early stages of a disabling condition (such as paraplegia), the affected person may be considered to be in poor health and to have a greater need for medical and health care, but once their condition is stable they may enjoy good health, despite experiencing limitations to their functioning (AIHW 2004). Nevertheless, on the whole, people with disability experience significantly poorer health than those without disability (see next section, 'Health inequalities').
Detailed analysis of this population group (and their carers) is provided in the AIHW's sister biennial flagship report, Australia's welfare, last published in August 2013. The next edition of Australia's welfare will be published in 2015.
Some population groups in Australia experience marked health inequalities compared with the general population.
For example: Indigenous Australians are generally less healthy than other Australians and are more likely to die at younger ages (AIHW 2013g); people living in rural and remote areas tend to have higher levels of disease risk factors and illness than those in major cities (AIHW 2013e); people from the lowest socioeconomic status groups are likely to have poorer health; and people with disability experience significantly poorer health than those without disability. These key examples are discussed in more detail below.
Aside from the higher infant mortality rates outlined earlier in this chapter, Indigenous Australians generally have poorer health prospects and outcomes than non-Indigenous Australians. A few of many examples are:
(See Chapter 7 for more information on the health of Indigenous Australians.)
People living in rural and remote areas have less access to health services, travel greater distances to seek medical attention, and generally have higher rates of ill health and mortality than people living in larger cities.
On the positive side, Australians living in rural areas generally have higher levels of social cohesiveness—for example, higher rates of participation in volunteer work and feelings of safety in their community.
The main contributors to higher death rates in regional and remote areas are coronary heart disease, other circulatory diseases, motor vehicle accidents and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (for example, emphysema). These higher death rates may be related to differences in access to services, risk factors (for example, higher smoking rates) and the regional/remote environment (see Chapter 5 'Health in regional and remote areas').
Across all geographic areas, the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is generally worse than for non-Indigenous Australians. The higher proportion of Indigenous Australians in remote area populations contributes to, but does not completely account for, the generally poorer health of people living in remote areas.
Just under 1 in 5 Australians (4.2 million people) reported having a disability in 2012. Of these, 1.4 million people needed help with basic daily activities of self-care, mobility and communication (ABS 2013i).
Due to a range of factors—only some of which may be directly related to a person's disability—as a group, people with disability experience significantly poorer health than those without disability. Almost half (46%) of people aged 15–64 with severe or profound disability report poor or fair health compared with 5% for those without disability (AIHW 2010). Similarly, for people aged 15–64 with a specific long-term health condition or injury, a higher proportion of those with severe or profound disability compared with those without disability had young onset of arthritis before age 25 (14% compared with 6%), osteoporosis before age 45 (43% compared with 31%) and young onset of diabetes before age 25 (23% and 7% respectively). Higher proportions of people with disability compared with those without were also overweight, smokers, and had suicidal thoughts (AIHW 2010).
Compared with people without disability, Australians aged 15–64 with severe or profound disability are extensive users of professional health services, with higher rates of consultations with general practitioners, specialists and other health professionals than people without disability (AIHW 2011). This high use is associated with their high prevalence of multiple long-term health conditions, and comorbidity of mental disorders and physical conditions. The severity of disability is also strongly associated with the use of health services, even after the higher multiple and co-morbid conditions are accounted for (AIHW 2011).
As in the rest of the world, socioeconomic factors, including associated disadvantage, are important determinants of health in Australia.
In general, the higher people's incomes and education, the healthier they are—a phenomenon often termed the 'social gradient of health'. The better off people are, the more they are able to afford better food and housing, better health care, and healthy activities and pursuits. They are also more likely to be better informed about healthy choices and behaviours.
There is considerable variability in incomes in Australia. For example, in 2009–10 the mean (average) income, after tax, of the one-fifth of households with the lowest incomes was $314 per week, compared with $1,704 per week for the one-fifth of households with the highest incomes (AIHW 2013a).
Daily smoking is a clear example of the social gradient of health. The higher the socioeconomic status group, the less likely a person is to smoke. In the lowest socioeconomic areas, daily tobacco smoking rates among people aged 14 and over were around 25% in 2010, twice the rate among people living in the highest socioeconomic areas (AIHW 2012b).
Another example is physical inactivity, with people who live in areas of most socioeconomic disadvantage being less likely to be physically active. In 2007–08, 66% of people living in areas of most disadvantage did not undertake healthy levels of physical activity compared with 54% of people living in the least disadvantaged areas (AIHW 2012c).
Other health measures and risk factors with known social gradients include life expectancy, self-assessed health status, obesity, cancer survival, oral health and end-stage kidney disease.
Overall, the availability of information on the demographic, social, economic and health status of Australians is very good, but there are some gaps.
High-quality 'across-the-board' health information on some important subgroups (for example, people from non-main English-speaking backgrounds, and people with a disability) appears to be insufficient to meet needs of policy makers.
And while the AIHW has developed a set of national best-practice guidelines for collecting and recording the Indigenous status of Australians in health data sets, there are continuing problems with the under-identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in many health-related collections. Overall under-identification, and variations in the degree of under-identification across collections, can create difficulties for measuring the gap in health outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, and for monitoring progress in closing the gap.
In mental health and cancer, better information on how coordinated care approaches function, and to what extent they meet the needs of users, could drive better evaluation and targeting of programs.
A key component of the National Disability Strategy 2010–2020 was the development by the AIHW during 2012–13 of a new standardised disability flag to identify people with a disability using mainstream services. Once implemented, the flag will enable nationally consistent collection of information about a person's level of functioning and need for support in everyday activities from people receiving mainstream services, including health services.
Throughout Australia's health 2014 a number of the 'What is missing from the picture?' sections point to the benefits of linking data sets to better understand people's 'pathways' through the health system and the relationships between conditions, service use and outcomes. Making data available for these purposes, with appropriate safeguards, is becoming a priority for governments because it enables cost-effective population health research to be undertaken that could lead to new and potentially very valuable insights.
The ABS collects information on Australia's population through its 5-yearly Census of Population and Housing, and through other surveys and administrative data sets. More information is available at ABS Census and the ABS Australian Health Survey.
The AIHW's series of biennial Australia's health and Australia's welfare reports include detailed analyses of Australia's population in the context of health and welfare. The reports are available for free download at Australia's health and Australia's welfare.
Extensive information on people with disability and disability services, and on the health of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is available.
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2003. Education and work, Australia, May 2003. ABS cat. no. 6227.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2008a. Australian historical population statistics, 2008. ABS cat. no. 3105.0.65.001. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2008b. National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: summary of results, 2007, ABS cat. no. 4326.0. Canberra: ABS. Viewed on 29 January 2014.
ABS 2008c. Population projections, Australia, 2006 to 2101. ABS cat. no. 3222.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2008d. Education and work, Australia, May 2008. ABS cat. no. 6227.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2010a Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1—Main Structure and Greater Capital City Stastical Areas, July 2011. Online data cubes. ABS cat. no. 1270.0.55.001. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2010b Households and family projections, Australia, 2006 to 2031. ABS cat. no. 3236.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2011. Family characteristics, Australia, 2009–10. ABS cat. no. 4442.0. Canberra: ABS. Viewed 17 February 2014.
ABS 2012a. Australian demographic statistics, June 2012. ABS cat. no. 3101.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2012b. 2011 Census quickstats, all people—usual residents, Australia. Canberra: ABS. Viewed 17 February 2014.
ABS 2012c. Census of Population and Housing: characteristics of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2011. ABS cat. no. 2076.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2012d. Census community profiles, Australia: basic community profile . Canberra: ABS. Viewed 17 February 2014.;.
ABS 2012e. Labour force, Australia: labour force status and other characteristics of families, June 2012. ABS cat. no. 6224.0.55.001. Canberra: ABS. Viewed on 18 February 2014.
ABS 2012f. Education and work, Australia, May 2012. ABS cat. no. 6227.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2013a. Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: first results, Australia, 2012–13, November 2013. ABS cat. no. 4727.0.55.001. Canberra: ABS. Viewed on 28 January 2013 .
ABS 2013b. Australian demographic statistics, December 2012. ABS cat. no. 3101.0. Canberra: ABS. Viewed 5 November 2013.
ABS 2013c Australian demographic statistics, June 2013. ABS cat. no. 3101.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2013d. Australian demographic statistics, September 2012: media release. ABS cat. no. 311.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2013e. Australian Health Survey: updated results, 2011–2012 Canberra: ABS. Viewed 23 October 2013.
ABS 2013f. Australian Health Survey: updated results 2011–2012, media release. Canberra: ABS. Viewed 23 October 2013.
ABS 2013g. Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 5—Remoteness Structure, July 2011. ABS cat. no. 1270.0.55.005. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2013h. Deaths, Australia, 2012. ABS cat. no. 3302.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2013i. Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: summary of findings, 2012. ABS Cat. no. 4430.0 Canberra: ABS. Viewed 15 November 2013.
ABS 2013j. Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, June 2011. ABS cat. no. 3238.0.55.001. Canberra: ABS. Viewed 30 January 2014.
ABS 2013k. Life Tables for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, November 2013: media release. Canberra: ABS. Viewed 23 January 2014.
ABS 2013l. Population projections, Australia 2012 (base) to 2101. ABS cat. no. 3222.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2013m. Regional population growth, Australia 2011–12. ABS cat. no. 3218.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2013n. Labour force, Australia, detailed—electronic delivery, December 2012. ABS cat. no. 6291.0.55.001. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2013o. Home page. Canberra: ABS. Viewed 17 March 2014.
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) 2004. Disability and its relationship to health conditions and other factors. Cat. no. DIS 37. Canberra: AIHW.
AIHW 2010. Health of Australians with disability: health status and risk factors. Bulletin no. 83. Cat. no. AUS 132. Canberra: AIHW.
AIHW 2011. The use of health services among Australians with disability. Bulletin no. 91. Cat. no. AUS 140. Canberra: AIHW.
AIHW 2012a. A picture of Australia's children 2012. Cat. no. PHE 167. Canberra: AIHW.
AIHW 2012b. Australia's health 2012. Cat. no. AUS 156. Canberra: AIHW.
AIHW 2012c. Risk factors contributing to chronic disease. Cat. no. PHE 157. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed 18 February 2014.
AIHW 2013a. Australia's welfare 2013. Cat. no. AUS 174. Canberra: AIHW.
AIHW 2013b. Australia's welfare 2013: in brief. Cat. no. AUS 175. Canberra: AIHW.
AIHW 2013c. Diabetes: the facts. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed 23 October 2013.
AIHW 2013d. General Record of Incidence of Mortality (GRIM) Books 2011: all causes combined. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed 23 January 2014.
AIHW 2013e. Rural health. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed 15 November 2013.
AIHW 2013f. Smoking and quitting smoking among prisoners 2012. Bulletin no. 119. Cat. no. AUS 176. Canberra: AIHW.
AIHW 2013g. The health and welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed 6 November 2013.
AIHW 2013h. Chronic kidney disease and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed 19 March 2014.
AIHW & AACR (Australasian Association of Cancer Registries) 2012. Cancer in Australia: an overview 2012. Cancer series no. 74. Cat. no. CAN 70. Canberra: AIHW.
AIHW: Pointer S 2013. Trends in hospitalised injury, Australia: 1999–00 to 2010–11. Injury research and statistics series no. 86. Cat. no. INJCAT 162. Canberra: AIHW.
Commission on Social Determinants of Health 2007. An overview of the current knowledge of the social determinants of Indigenous health. Geneva: World Health Organization. Viewed on 28 January 2014.
DoHA (Department of Health and Ageing) 1999. National Physical Activity Guidelines for Australians. Canberra: DoHA.
Li Z, Zeki R, Hilder L & Sullivan EA 2013. Australia's mothers and babies 2011. Perinatal statistics series no. 28. Cat. no. PER 59. Canberra: AIHW.
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) 2013. Infant mortality, Health: key tables from OECD, No. 14. Paris: OECD. Viewed 6 November 2013.
OECD 2014. LRS by sex and age—indicators. Paris: OECD. Viewed 19 February 2014.
SCRGSP (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision), forthcoming. National Agreement Performance Information 2012–13: National Indigenous Reform Agreement. Canberra: Productivity Commission.
Feature articles & snapshot downloads
1.1 Health and illness (Feature) (294KB PDF)
1.2 Who we are (Feature) (1.2MB PDF)
Data tables for figures
Data for figures in Australia's health 2014 (Chapter 1) (714KB XLS)
Download PDF or order a printed copy
Australia's health 2014
Australia's health 2014: in brief
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Washington, DC (District of Columbia) is the capital of the USA and one of the most important cities to the modern world. It was planned as the nation’s permanent capital in the late 17th century. Washington is considered the international center of power, diplomacy and magnificence. The city is a hub of governmental activity and houses the Capitol, White House, Supreme Court, and FBI, among other powerful institutions. The Washington Monument, Lincoln and Jefferson memorials are some the nation’s prominent heritage markers located in the National Mall.
In addition to celebrating the Political history of the nation, Washington DC offers the opportunity to explore many aspects of discovery, invention, and life.The National Air and Space Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the National Zoological Park are among the 20 exhibitions of the Smithsonian Institution, the largest museum complex in the world. The Smithsonian museums and galleries offer free admission and countless hours of activity and discovery. It’s conveniently located within reasonable driving distance to several other exciting cities. It is a 4 hour and 15 minute drive from NYC (227 miles), 1 hour from Baltimore (40 miles), 2 hours and 48 minutes from Philadelphia (138 miles) and 2½ hours from Williamsburg (150 miles).
Top 21 Must Sees
1. The U.S. Capitol Building – Construction on this beautiful, iconic structure began in 1793 and it remains a true must-see. Enter the place where bills are passed and laws are created. Admire the work put into the 4,644 square foot ceiling fresco, the Apotheosis of Washington. Take a free tour to see it all. We recommend booking your tour in advance to ensure your spot.
2. The White House has been the home of every president since John Adams and holds the most popular address in the United States. It is the oldest public building of Washington. In the 18th century, the building was burned down during the war, and was painted white to remove its black stains and thus acquired its name “White House.” It is spread across 6 levels, having 35 bathrooms, 8 staircases, 3 elevators, 28 fireplaces, 147 windows and 412 doors. Tours are free, but must be scheduled through your appropriate member of congress 21 days-6 months in advance of your visit.
3. The Washington Monument has been the tallest object in the District of Columbia since 1884. At 555 ft, it’s currently the third tallest monument in the country and it was actually the tallest structure in the world at the time of its completion. Ride the elevator to the top of this white stone obelisk to learn about the buildings history. Pay close attention to the exterior and you will see two different hues of stone which show when construction was temporarily stopped during the Civil War. Admission is free, but you do need to book your ticket in advance.
4. Lincoln Memorial – This 19 foot white marble statue of Abraham Lincoln, seated inside of a large columned structure commemorates President Lincoln as the Great Emancipator. As you walk inside, you will be able to read some of his great words inscribed on the wall. This is where Martin Luther King Jr. made his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. The 36 columns represent each of the states in the Union at the time of the Lincoln’s death. The iconic memorial is located at the west end of the National Mall and is open 24/7 (aside from Christmas Day) with free admission.
5. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum is currently the most popular of the 19 Smithsonian Museums. Discover the history of flight when you see for yourself the Apollo 11 command module, the original Wright Brothers airplane, and the original model for the Star Trek Enterprise. You can even touch an actual moon rock… and it’s all free!
6. Jefferson Memorial – Celebrate our 3rd president, who authored the Declaration of Independence, at this monument. This iconic, dome-shaped monument is also open every day aside from Christmas. Be sure not to miss it, as it is a little off the beaten path along the Potomac River. It’s also free.
*Take a moonlight walk by the Lincoln Memorial, White House, and Capitol, and see the Washington Monument light up the night sky.
7. Arlington Cemetery – When I first visited this cemetery in the 8th grade, I wondered “why would I travel all the way to our nation’s capitol to visit a cemetery?” I ended up enjoying it immensely. Since it was established in 1864, this 624 acre cemetery has gathered over 300,000 grave sites. Notable burials include John F. Kennedy (whose grave is marked with an eternal flame), William Howard Taft, and three unidentified service members who are buried at The Tomb of the Unknown (a 24-hour honor guard watches the tomb). The Arlington House (1802), along with slave quarters and a small museum, are available for tour as well. Admission is free; parking prices are nominal.
8. The National Museum of American History – See The Star-Spangled Banner, Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz, 24 First Ladies’ gowns (including Michelle Obama’s), Abraham Lincoln’s top hat and suit, and the desk on which Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence (which is opened all the way out every 4th of July), all at the nation’s largest institution devoted to American history. Admission is free of charge.
9. Library of Congress – At the largest library in the world, book lovers will be swept off their feet, architecture enthusiasts will be amazed, and and history buffs, fully entertained during a free tour. The Library of Congress is the base for the U.S. copyright office, and adds about 10,000 items per day. The collections of the library are said to be as long as nearly 900 miles if they were lined up. Free of charge.
10. The National Gallery of Art – Find the only Da Vinci painting in the U.S at the USA. Expect to see works from all of the masters, including Picasso, Miró, Matisse, Pollock, and Rothko. The building is a work of art in and of itself, as it was the largest marble structure in the world at the time of it’s completion. Free admission.
11. Catch an animal stage show at The National Zoological Park, which hosts nearly two thousand animals from all over the world, including pandas. Admission is free; it receives over 2.2 million annual visitors, making it the 6th most-visited zoo in America.
12. Visit the United States Botanic Garden, which is the countries oldest continually operating botanic garden – it was established by Congress in 1820. We consider it to be the 5th best botanical garden in the USA.
13. Picnic at the expansive Rock Creek Park. This urban space is full of greenery and has a planetarium, an amphitheater, picnic spots, golf course and a boathouse.Come in the spring when the cherry blossoms, a 1912 gift from Japan, are in full bloom.
14. Stroll through the magnificent Washington National Cathedral to see the 6th largest cathedral in the world. This Gothic structure is home to over 200 stained-glass windows
15. National Archives – See the country’s most important original documents: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights. Be sure not to miss viewing the original 1297 Magna Carta, on display as you enter the Rotunda; the document is one of only a few known to exist, and the only original version residing permanently in the United States. Admission is free.
16. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial – The memorial debuted on August 28, 2011, exactly 48 years after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his momentous “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the nearby Lincoln Memorial to the 200,000 people who had gathered on the Mall during the “March on Washington” to pressure Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act. Set on a 4-acre parcel of land surrounded by the capital’s famous cherry trees, the gigantic sculpture rests on 300 concrete piles driven into the muddy basin terrain. A 28-foot-6-inch-tall statue of Dr. King in a business suit, arms folded, stands front and center. Admission is free.
17. Vietnam Veterans Memorial – Featuring two long, black-granite walls in the shape of a V, each inscribed with the names of the men and women who gave their lives, or remain missing, in the longest war in American history, the walls list close to 60,000 people. Vietnam veterans had received almost no recognition of their service before the memorial was conceived, so the nonprofit Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund raised $7 million and secured a 2-acre site to erect a memorial that would make no political statement about the war and would harmonize with neighboring memorials. Admission is free.
18. Watch the Supreme Court in action or have a visit with your congressperson.
19. If you want to “see” a celebrity (but can’t seem to find one) stop by the Madame Tussauds wax museum to see life-size wax replicas of people like Beyonce, Tiger Woods or Barack and Michelle Obama, and all 44 US presidents. Save 20% when you buy your tickets online. Online rates are $17.20 for adults and $13.60 for children.
20. Six Flags America is Maryland’s only theme park featuring over 100 rides, slides, shows and attractions. Buy tickets online for up to 50% off tickets at the park. General admission is $59.99 for adults and $39.99 for children
21. International Spy Museum – The the first and only public museum in the United States solely dedicated to espionage and the only one in the world to provide a global perspective on this all-but-invisible profession, this museum houses 68,000-square-feet of space devoted to espionage and teaches you about the tricks and trades of spies, both historic and fictitious, with plenty of hands-on and interactive exhibits. Trick equipment includes a shoe transmitter used by Soviets as a listening device and a single-shot pistol disguised as a lipstick tube. Keep in mind that neither the main museum nor its special features are recommended for children 11 and under. We consider it to be one of the 27 Coolest Museums In America! General admission is $20.95 for adults, $14.95 for children, and $15.95 for seniors.
The Source – Owned by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, experience fine dining at this three-level restaurant at the Newseum. They offer two distinct dining experiences, with the ground floor bar and lounge offering a Japanese Izakaya menu, while upstairs features contemporary interpretations of Asian dishes. One of the most notable features is the two-story wine wall that holds over 2,000 bottles.
Karma Kitchen – Located in Northwest Washington, this revolutionary concept allows diners to pay as they wish. You even have the opportunity to volunteer if your pockets are empty. Generosity is at it’s finest here – what a great way to pay it forward.
Medieval Times Dinner Theater – Located in the Baltimore/DC area. This is a family dinner theater featuring staged medieval-style games, sword-fighting, and jousting performed by a cast of 75 actors and 20 horses. It is housed in a replica 11th-century castle.
Hard Rock Cafe – Hard Rock Cafe’s “Embassy of Rock-n-Roll” opened its doors on January 1, 1990 and has been creating raving fans ever since! It is located next to Fords Theater, across from the FBI building, and just a short walk from Metro Center, The White House, Capitol Hill, and the Smithsonian Museums, Hard Rock Cafe is both a perfect stop on your sight seeing adventure and a unique late night hang out for DC locals. They have 17 plasma displays to entertain as you dine with the stars and marvel at their world famous collection of memorabilia. Visit the Rock Shop, where you’ll find everything from edgy new rock-n-roll garb and hot accessories, to traditional favorites.
3 Star- Holiday Inn Washington – Central/White House (Avg. price $140-$290) Hotel prices in this area are VERY high but I was able to come across this hotel, which if affordable considered to other properties in the same area. Is it a luxury hotel, does it look eclectic? No, but it’s all you really need. Other amenities include complimentary WiFi, coffee/tea makers and refrigerators. The location is ideal, 6 blocks from the White House.
4 Star- Gaylord National (Avg. price $251-$399) Located in nearby Oxon Hill, MD, 20 minutes from downtown DC. Lovely grounds on the river come hand in hand with a large glass atrium that reaches 18-stories high, an indoor pool, full-service health spa, marina and nightclub make up some of the hotels amenities. Just imagine… sitting on your own private indoor balcony in your very own bathrobe, taking in the scenic atriums. This large, 2000 room hotel and convention center is the largest non-gaming hotel and convention center on the East Coast of the US.
4.5 Star- Williard InterContinental Washington (Avg. price $257-$595) This well preserved, historic, luxury hotel is located just 2 blocks east of the White House. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, the current 12-story structure opened in 1901. Martin Luther King actually wrote his “I Have A Dream” speech in his hotel room here in 1963, how cool is that?! Steven Spielberg show the finale of his film Minority Report at the hotel, as well. Other celebrity guests include Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and Abraham Lincoln (1861). Every president since Franklin Pierce has either slept or attended an event here.
5 Star- The Hay-Adams (Avg. price $317-$689) Opened in 1928, this 145 room hotel is located in a fantastic location, across from the White House. Room amenities include 37’ HDTVs, custom Italian bed linens, micro fiber bathrobes and slippers, Bose CD music system, complimentary choice of morning newspaper, and so much more. It has won dozens of awards that consider it to be one of the nicest hotels in the world.
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N.C. Program Holds Promise for Gifted Classes
With the help of a federal grant, North Carolina is expanding an early-childhood program it started with the goals of closing the achievement gap between minority and white students and moving underrepresented groups into education for the gifted.
Students in Project Bright IDEA, which stands for Interest Development Early Abilities, have shown growth in language arts and mathematics, state educators say. Bright IDEA began in the 2001-02 school year with 12 classrooms in six school districts and a budget of $10,000 for materials. About 1,000 students went through the pilot program over three years. Several teachers continued the program on their own during the 2004-05 school year.
The results were intriguing enough that the U.S. Department of Education awarded North Carolina a five-year, $2.5 million grant through the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program to study the approach further and expand it into classrooms in six more districts. Eventually, the project will train more than 200 teachers in 36 schools across North Carolina, who will reach more than 5,000 students in kindergarten through 2nd grade. The first full year of the federally financed research program will begin this fall.
“It’s making a difference,” said Valorie Hargett, the state consultant for the academically and intellectually gifted for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and a principal designer of the program. “These are schools who need help. They’re wanting to do things differently.”
Project Bright IDEA trains teachers in how to encourage the same characteristics in their students that gifted people are believed to possess, such as flexibility, persistence, and an ability to grasp larger concepts. The young students are asked to find the “big ideas” behind every lesson, are given content-rich literature, and are constantly instructed in using “intelligent behaviors.”
The goal, Ms. Hargett said, is for children to learn to go beyond the standard curriculum.
“If they’re focusing just on knowledge, they’re leaving the classroom thinking they’ve got everything,” she said. “They must leave our classrooms asking questions.”
Schools with large populations of minority students and schools receiving federal Title I aid were chosen for the pilot study. Students were not screened to enter the program, but teachers underwent extensive training.
The results have been encouraging so far.
Students were assessed using the North Carolina K-2 Assessments for Literacy and Mathematics, and they showed significant gains by the end of the school year. The students were not measured against their peers in regular classes, though that will be a part of the expanded, federally supported study.
Achievement among black and Hispanic students increased close to the levels reached by non-Hispanic white students and Asian-American students.
Thomasville Primary School, in the 2,600-student Thomasville city district, decided on its own to compare Bright IDEA 2nd graders with their peers in regular classrooms. The results showed Bright IDEA students scoring in the 80th percentile in reading on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, compared with the 39th percentile for students who were not in the special program.
The 659-student school is almost evenly divided among Hispanic, black, and white students.
“We found out that we are nurturing all our students by doing this,” Principal Phyllis Lupton said. “Even if we have brought children who were below average to average, that’s a good thing.”
Amie Cook, a 2nd grade teacher at Thomasville Primary, has taught two classes of Bright IDEA students. The program forces teachers to think conceptually about every lesson, she said. Instead of doing a collage after reading a piece of literature, Ms. Cook said, her students may write a “letter to the editor” or engage in a debate—anything to get them thinking deeply about the work they’re doing.
Too often, schoolwork for students considered to be low-achieving focuses on drill-based instruction and memorization, she said. But the important thing, Ms. Cook said, “is not what children do when they know the answer. It’s what they do when they don’t know the answer.”
Margaret Gayle, the executive director of the American Association for Gifted Children, based at Duke University in Durham, N.C., and another designer of the program, said she was looking forward to what further study of the program would bring. In the federal study, children will be compared with control groups that are not in Bright IDEA classrooms.
“We want to know if we will continue to see gains that will make the project worth all the work,” Ms. Gayle said.
Vol. 24, Issue 40, Page 5
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By Ashwin Parulkar
This article is the second in a six-part series. You can view the first installment of the series here.
BANWARA, India – In the fall of 2006, Gita Devi was pregnant with her sixth child when her family fell on hard times. A severe drought made it more difficult than ever to find farm work here in India’s northeastern plains.
The family couldn’t afford food. It was unable to get a government ration card to buy grains and rice at steep discounts, even though it clearly was poor enough to qualify.
Eventually, Ms. Devi and her children were going without any food for days at a time. The 42-year-old grew too weak to walk or talk. On Sept. 26, 2006, she delivered a baby girl, Muniya.
Villagers recall Ms. Devi losing weight rapidly and say they couldn’t help because they didn’t have sufficient food either. Her husband, Tulsi Manjhi, recalls laying silently next to her on a khattiya, a cot made of bamboo and coconut fiber. The hours passed.
“I was hungry too but she couldn’t even get up,” Mr. Manjhi recalled. “I tried to feed her jinghi (leaves from trees) once.”
On Oct. 4, eight days after giving birth, Ms. Devi died. An activist who advises India’s Supreme Court on food security issues deemed Gita Devi’s a starvation death.
I traveled to Banwara, a village in Bihar state, to investigate the matter in September and November 2011 with my colleague Ankita Aggarwal from the Centre for Equity Studies, a New Delhi think tank. It is part of a broad study we are conducting of government responses to starvation deaths as India debates sweeping reforms to its food policies.
We wound up uncovering a tragedy even more heartbreaking than we anticipated.
Ms. Devi’s family is part of the Bhuyia community, a low-caste group that historically was socially and economically marginalized from society. They weren’t allowed to intermarry with other castes, were segregated in their own villages and were barred from many work and educational opportunities. Such discrimination is still prevalent today, even though it is illegal under India’s Constitution. These days, the Bhuyias are recognized by Bihar’s government as among the poorest people in the state.
One of Ms. Devi’s sons, Vilas, reluctantly opened up to us about his family’s story and the horror of his mother’s death. The 28-year-old quit school after the fourth grade to help support the family. With a small build, clenched-jaw and vacant eyes, he has the look of a young man who has already withstood too much.
In the months leading up to his mother’s death, Vilas helped his father, Tulsi Manjhi, on the few farm jobs they could find. They typically earned a daily wage of three kilograms of rice. They would sell a share of it at a local market to buy other items, but could never afford dal (lentils) or atta (flour).
Family meals consisted of a small ration of rice and salt. Sometimes, they’d make a dish out of local flora, mixing ninua (a local, wild spinach), jinghi (tree leaves), and mungha, a green sickle-shaped fruit that grows on the trees outside their hut, distinguishing it amid rows of dry fields.
Aside from farm labor, Tulsi found some work building houses in neighboring villages throughout June and July, during the monsoon rains, but it was never enough for the family to survive on. In the month leading up to Ms. Devi’s death, Vilas and Tulsi couldn’t find any work at all.
In her final days in October, Ms. Devi complained of chest pain and was losing weight rapidly. Family members gave her water from a grimy well near their house that was full of frogs and flies. Ms. Devi had barely any energy to tend to her newborn.
Vilas’s story then veered off in a direction that caught us off guard. “My own wife had also given birth to a girl at that time,” Vilas said.
“While your mother was dying?” I asked.
“My mother died in the morning after drinking water,” he said. “The same night, my daughter passed away. The next morning, my wife also died of starvation,” he added, straight-faced.
In my notebook I wrote: “HIS WIFE AND CHILD DIED TOO???” It was too much information to process. Did he really just tell us that three people – two adults and one baby – died in the same family in a 24-hour span? It turned out we were investigating a family catastrophe.
Phool Kumari was Vilas’s wife. The food shortage compromised her pregnancy as it had Ms. Devi’s. Ms. Kumari lost large amounts of blood during childbirth and since she had no food, she was unable to feed her day-old, unnamed daughter, who died the day she was born, Vilas recounted. Despite our attempts, we weren’t able to ascertain the official cause of death of the child. Local newspapers reported at the time that local officials concluded the infant died because her mother was too sick to breastfeed.
Vilas wasn’t done with the surprises. “Now my second wife is ill,” he said. “And we don’t have enough food to give her.”
“Where is she?” I asked.
“At home,” he said.
“Can we see her?”
Vilas’s second wife, Sunita Devi, lay outside their mud-walled house on a khattiya. Waist down, she was covered by a woolen blanket. She wore a red sari. Flies buzzed about her face. Her eyes were liquid. The pupils darted back and forth, but the tears didn’t drop. They pooled around the rims.
Her mouth stayed open so that her teeth showed. She was moaning. She was bloated at the belly and cheeks but the flesh on her arms had withered to a tight, dry, wrinkled sheet of skin outlining her bones. Every now and then she would rest the back of her hand on her forehead and make a gagging sound. She was trying to breathe. Though she was 24 years old, her swollen face made her look like a child, confused and sad.
My God, I thought.
It’s not clear when Sunita Devi first fell ill, but in August 2011 her condition deteriorated quickly. She went to get checked up at Magadh Medical College in Gaya, the largest city in a district with the same name, about an hour’s bus ride from Banwara. An ultrasound revealed an abscess of the liver – a thick, liquefied material filled with blood and micro-organisms that is caused by infection and can result in organ failure.
Sunita’s parents stayed with her in the hospital as she underwent treatment during an approximately two week stay in late August and early September. Doctors gave her antibiotics, vitamins, and medicines for fungal skin disease, worms, and bronchitis.
Tulsi Manjhi says the family paid for its medical expenses by taking out a loan of 15,000 rupees (about $300) from Sanjay Singh, a local sub-contractor who rounds up laborers from Banwara and other neighboring villages to work in brick kilns. Vilas and his three younger brothers, Umesh, Arjun and Sarjun, worked alongside their father Tulsi in the brick kilns to pay off the loans.
Vilas and Tulsi told us the doctors discharged Sunita Devi in early September even though she was still ill, because they did not have necessary medicines. They said the doctors told them to seek additional treatment elsewhere, but they didn’t have the money. “Bhaiya,” Vilas said, addressing me as “brother” in Hindi. “We don’t know what to do.”
According to hospital records, Dr. Rahul Kumar, the physician that supervised Sunita Devi’s case, indicated that the family requested her discharge before she was healthy enough to leave. I called Dr. Kumar to confirm that, but he declined to comment.
Tulsi Manjhi denies that the family urged her release. “No, no. Why would we ask her to be discharged?” he said.
We stood silently with Sunita for ten minutes. Her eyes kept darting back and forth, her mouth open in pain.
“Is it okay to talk to her?” I asked. Vilas nodded. A group of curious young men from the village formed a circle just behind us. I got on my knees, dropped my notebook in the dirt, and took her hand in mine. It was cold and dry, her fingers searching my palm, my wrist. Vilas stood nearby, one hand on his hip, looking down.
“What do you feed her?” I asked him.
“We can only give her this much rice, once in the morning,” he said, cupping his empty hand.
She started to cry. She was saying something but I couldn’t make out what. I put my free hand on her shoulder, then atop her head. “Are you in pain?” I asked. She nodded. She started to cry large tears.
“I’m hungry,” she said. “Please give me something to eat.”
I looked up at Vilas. He was broken. I was lost. “When we come back tomorrow,” I said, “we’ll bring food.”
India’s Supreme Court has ruled that states have a legal responsibility to ensure their people have adequate food. As part of a wide-ranging public interest litigation known as the “right to food” case, the Court in 2002 said that starvation deaths should serve as evidence that something is gravely wrong in the government’s food and welfare programs. The state has a duty to address those problems immediately, the Court said, not only to prevent future tragedies but to identify people who are living with chronic hunger and ensure they get the benefits they’re entitled to.
In Gaya district, where Banwara is located, it was clear the government’s safety net had some gaping holes in it. Many benefits the Court says should be guaranteed aren’t being provided. Schools are mandated to provide mid-day meals for children, but many still don’t. The Integrated Child Development Service, which is supposed to offer supplemental nutrition and care for pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children under the age of six, was closed on a recent visit.
Most glaringly, the “public distribution system” – which provides subsidized grains to the poor – was defunct. When the government provided food ration cards to impoverished families in the area in 2002, the landless, share-cropping family of Gita Devi and Tulsi Manjhi surely should have qualified.
A “below poverty line” card would have allowed them to buy 35 kilograms of grain per month at half the market price. Indeed, they probably should have qualified for the national Antyodaya Anna Yojana program, which is meant for the poorest of the poor and ensures the same amount of grains at even lower prices.
But they didn’t receive a ration card and were shut out of those discounts. Despite our efforts, we weren’t able to get a clear explanation from local officials of why the family was overlooked. According to official estimates from a 2004-2005 national survey, half of Indian households who should be eligible for such benefits don’t receive them. In Bihar that figure is 80%.
The office of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar did not respond to calls and faxes seeking comment for this article.
Local officials in Gaya district acknowledged that Gita Devi’s family and others had no access to many basic government programs. But they said that doesn’t mean Ms. Devi, her daughter-in-law, and the newborn, died of conditions stemming from hunger.
Officials said Phool Kumari died due to complications of childbirth. Gita Devi, they said, died from tuberculosis. That struck me as particularly odd, since no medical official had ever diagnosed Ms. Devi with the disease. But it made for a convenient explanation: the disease is rampant in the area. In Banwara alone, about 12 people had it when I was visiting.
The Hindi newspaper Dainik Jagran covered Gita Devi’s story in the days after her death. The stories detailed the failings of government programs and the destitution of Banwara’s low-caste Bhuiya community, of which her family is part. News reports put pressure on government officials to visit the family.
Ravi Bhusan, the block-level development officer – a bureaucrat that oversees welfare programs across several villages – gave Tulsi Manjhi 15 kilograms of rice and a check for 10,000 rupees ($200). But according to newspaper reports in Dainik Jagran and my interviews with block officials and journalists, local officials did not investigate whether social welfare programs are working properly, as the Supreme Court’s orders in the right to food case say they should do following a starvation death.
Ashok Singh, the elected president of the local village council, visited the family two days after the deaths and offered the family 10,000 rupees, 10 kilograms of flour, and 20 kilograms of rice. Mr. Manjhi says the aid was on the condition that he testify that Gita Devi had died of tuberculosis by giving his thumb impression on an official document. (When I later called Mr. Singh and asked for comment on this claim, he hung up the receiver.)
Mr. Manjhi told me he complied with that demand and received the money and food, but he says he still believes his wife died from hunger.
No post-mortem was conducted on any of the bodies since the family had buried Gita Devi, Phool Kumari, and her infant daughter by the time local officials arrived.
In 2007, the government did eventually distribute ration cards to Tulsi Manjhi and other households in Banwara. But that didn’t resolve the problems the community faced. Many destitute families didn’t get the Antyodaya Anna Yojana cards offering the biggest discounts, as they probably should have. Ration shops in the area still only function for six to eight months per year, residents say, and cardholders often don’t get their full quota of grains.
The morning after we met Sunita Devi and saw her struggling, we went to meet Ashok Singh, the village council leader. About 10 men sat silently around him on the patio outside his home. He was wearing an undershirt and shorts. It was a two story, fully furnished bungalow with a new coat of white paint. There was a tractor in the yard.
We presented the facts we had gathered about Ms. Devi, Phool Kumari and the newborn – how there was no food in the house for days, no access to subsidized grains, no work available.
“Gita Devi,” he said between a gulp of tea and a bite of biscuit, “died of tuberculosis.”
“These people are poor,” he explained. “They drink. So they have health problems. They get sick. And die.”
We started to ask him about the conditions that made the three victims and others in the area unable to access Court-mandated government entitlements. Mid-question, he got up, walked inside his house, walked back, and placed a piece of paper in our hands.
“See,” he said. “These people are poor. They get sick. And die.”
We looked down at the paper. “Sunita Devi?” we said. “We just saw her last night.”
“She died this morning,” he said, “just before you came here.”
In our hands was a death notice.
Sunita Devi was under the woolen blanket now. They were going to bury her soon. We placed bags of grain in the middle of a ring of people. Vilas walked up to us slowly with one hand on his hip. “I am in a lot of pain,” Vilas said.
I thought, “What if my soul was born in his body?”
I imagined lunging for him, hugging him. But I just stood there, watching him condemned.
Starvation is a brutal but little-discussed reality in India. The Wall Street Journal’s India Real Time is publishing a six-part series on starvation, showcasing the findings of an investigation by the Centre for Equity Studies, a New Delhi think tank that is researching hunger and advocating reforms of India’s food policies. The series of essays documents the stories of starvation victims, explores the primary causes of their deaths, and argues fiercely that India must overhaul its broken food security system. We welcome your comments and feedback. And you can ask questions now for a live chat with the series creators on Monday, April 16, here.
|Paro Devi, 40
The death of Ms. Devi’s husband was the first reported starvation death in the village of Manjhladih. Neighbors told us in a group meeting—with Ms. Devi present—that hers was the “poorest family in the village.” She earns about half a kilo of rice a day by cleaning houses in the village.
Part 1: A Systematic Failure
|Tulsi Manjhi, age unknown
Mr. Manjhi says that in the five years since the hunger-related deaths of his wife, daughter-in-law and infant daughter, the family’s food situation has improved because “more of the children are able to work.”
Part 2: A Fight for Life in Bihar
|Saharia Devi, 65
Ms. Devi lost two grandchildren and her daughter-in-law in October 2008, after they attempted to stave off hunger by eating a forest root that turned out to be poisonous.
Part 3: Surviving on Toxic Roots
|Munni Devi, 22
Ms. Devi gave birth to Kanhaiya, eight days before we visted Heta village to talk with her about the deaths of her father-in-law and brother-in-law, who died within hours of one another after suffering chronic illnesses and going days without food.
Part 4: It Isn’t All About Food
|Amit Kumar, 31
Mr. Kumar, is a journalist covering hunger, malnutrition and the implementation of right-to-food programs in his home base of Barachatti, Bihar. “I’ve written on these issues so many times, and still no change. But I’ll keep writing,” he said.
Part 5: A Scribe Tries to Save a Life
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Butterflies of the West Midlands
About the book
In this first ever book on the butterflies of the West Midlands detailed accounts of all 41 species regularly recorded in Birmingham & the Black Country, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire are included, with distribution maps, 25 butterfly walks, gardening tips and a section on how to photograph butterflies.
This major new title has been produced by members of the West Midlands branch of the national charity Butterfly Conservation, which is working to protect Britain's butterflies and moths. The book will appeal to butterfly enthusiasts of all ages and experience from complete beginners to those who are already keen butterfly watchers or photographers.
For each species there are photographs of the four life stages – egg, larva, pupa and adult – and guidance on identification. Distribution maps show where each butterfly may be seen, and there is helpful information on suitable habitat and when to look for each species.
Additional chapters on butterfly walks, how to photograph butterflies and tips on suitable plants to attract them to your garden are included.
All proceeds from the sale of this book will help conserve butterflies and moths in the West Midlands.
A 'must have' book for all lovers of butterflies.
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In article <firstname.lastname@example.org>, email@example.com wrote:
> On Tuesday, 18 June 2013 22:55:47 UTC+2, Zeit Geist wrote: > > > > Sorry, what was the point? > > > > > If you start counting from 1, you cannot have X numbers without a > > > number X in the ordinals. > > > I see you wrote: "No. Nothing works because w is the number of finite > > naturals, i.e., the number of digits of 0.111... There is no digit number > > w. But without a digit number X you cannot have X digits." > > > w is not a "digit number", and it need not be for it to be an Ordinal, or > > for its Cardinality to be aleph_0. > > Learn a bit modern set theory. There omega stands for ordinal and cardinal > number.
Not for those who choose to differentiate between ordinality and cardinality.
There are lots of different ordinals having cardinality aleph_0.
So the ordinality of omega + 1 and omega are different, but both are of cardinality aleph_0.
> > What Cantor used is false?
WM keeps claming it is, but most mathematicians disagree with WM, both on that issue and many, possibly most, other issues. --
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This video takes a look at additive synthesis in Native Instruments’ Reaktor:
Native Instruments have just launched their latest Reaktor Synth, called Razor, and it is causing quite a stir in the sound design and production communities.
So what makes this synth so exciting? Well it is down to a process called additive synthesis.
Put in the plainest terms possible, additive synthesis is the summation of simple tones to create more complex ones. The sound is constructed from partials (or frequency components) firing in parallel, changing amplitude and even frequency over time.
Additive synthesis is a very powerful sound design tool because the many micro-variations in the frequency and amplitude of individual partials mirrors those that makes natural sounds so rich and lively, and the resulting sound remains clear and precise at all times, even when heavily modulated.
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Editor’s note: What follows is the second of a 10 part series on the personalist philosophy of Pope John Paul II written some years ago for Lay Witness Magazine. We asked and received permission to re-publish the series here, to give fresh occasion for discussion of timeless truths.
Back when he was still Archbishop of Cracow, Pope John Paul II once wrote to his friend, the great theologian Henri de Lubac: "I devote my very rare free moments to a work that is close to my heart and is devoted to the metaphysical sense and mystery of the person. The evil of our times consists in the first place in a kind of degradation, indeed in a pulverization, of the fundamental uniqueness of each human person."
Here is the center of gravity of Pope John Paul II's mind and of his thought: the mystery of each human person. How shall we enter into his philosophical reflection on persons? Let's look into his moral philosophy, and in particular that part of it where he formulates the first principle of morality.
Moral philosophers have always sought out the most basic principles of the moral life. They have come up with principles such as "care for your soul," "provide for your full flourishing and well-being," "live according to nature," "give to everyone what is due to him," "fulfill the commands of God." But only in the last few centuries have moral philosophers expressed the first principles in distinctly personalist terms. The German philosopher Kant (1724-1804) led the way when he formulated the first principle of morality: "Persons should always be treated as their own ends and should never be merely used as an instrumental means." This principle installs respect for persons at the center of the moral life, and it sees all using of persons as its principal violation.
Pope John Paul II is profoundly indebted to this new personalism in ethics. In his first book, Love and Responsibility, he writes: "This personalist norm, in its negative aspect, states that the person is the kind of good which does not admit of use and cannot be treated as an object of use and as the means to an end." Then he goes beyond Kant and adds: "In its positive form the personalist norm says that the person is a good toward which the only proper and adequate attitude is love."
This personalist norm provides us with a most helpful entry into the Pope's thought. For once we get acquainted with the norm, we are naturally led to ask what exactly it means to say that each person is his own end, and what it means to "use" others.
Pope John Paul II answers by teaching that each person possesses himself, or belongs to himself. Persons are not just there, like rocks or plants; they are handed over to themselves, they are their own. As a result, they can make different things of themselves, they can accept or reject themselves. Above all, they can determine themselves in freedom, indeed, in a certain sense, they can create themselves. If you try to use a person as a mere instrument, then you deprive that person of the space he needs for the uniquely personal work of self-creation. If we are really going to respect persons, then we must step back from them, take our heavy hands off them, and let them. be, that is, live as self-determining beings. In respecting them like this and in abstaining from all using, we treat persons as their own end.
Here we have the reason why it is wrong to own another human being as property, as is attempted in the institution of slavery. As person the other belongs to himself and so cannot belong to someone as property. Trying to own the other violates the other precisely as self-possessing person.
Religiously committed people are likely to balk at the idea that we belong to ourselves. They may say that we do not belong to ourselves but to God, and that we are not our own end but that God is our end, and that there is no indignity in being used as an instrument in God's hands ("Lord, make me an instrument of your peace"). In other words, they may find something downright impious about the central intuition of Pope John Paul II's personalism!
Let us ask what God thinks about our existing as our own ends, for He surely has the last word on what is impious and what is not. Pope John Paul II interprets the mind of God for us like this:
Nobody can use a person as a means toward an end, no human being, nor yet God the Creator. On the part of God, indeed, it is totally out of the question, since, by giving man an intelligent and free nature, He has thereby ordained that each man alone will decide for himself the ends of his activity, and not be a blind tool of someone else's ends. Therefore, if God intends to direct man toward certain goals, He allows him, to begin with, to know those goals, so that he may make them his own and strive toward them independently.
He says "strive toward them independently," because once we understand the goals that God proposes to us, we can will these all on our own. He doesn't have to trick us or coerce us into moving toward those goals, as if we were mere instruments for His purposes. He deals with us as persons by enabling us to want them for ourselves just as much as He wants them for us. He treats us as partners in His work rather than as instruments for achieving it.
Human persons, then, commit no impiety by respecting each other as beings who belong to themselves and exist as their own ends, for God shows us just this respect. Indeed, Pope John Paul II says in another place that we share in God's vision of us human beings when we respect each other as ends and abstain from all using of each other.
We belong to God, not as the plants and animals belong to Him, but as human persons, who in some sense also belong to ourselves. We persons are able to consciously and freely enact our belonging to God by handing ourselves over to Him, and in this way we come to belong to God far more perfectly than any subpersonal creature; but we achieve this more perfect belonging precisely on the basis of our belonging to ourselves. As for the religious talk of gladly being an instrument in the hands of God, Pope John Paul II suggests that we should interpret this as the unconditional readiness to serve God, but he reminds us that such unconditional service must be offered in a manner appropriate to our being persons, which means that our service must not include the readiness to "be a blind tool of someone else's ends." God is the very last one who would ask for such a violation of the personhood that He Himself created.
The idea that God knows better than anyone else that we are our own ends and are never rightly used as mere means, was expressed at Vatican II. In the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes), which Archbishop Karol Wojtyla had a large hand in drafting, we find this sentence, which Pope John Paul II cannot quote often enough: Although man is "the only creature on earth that God has wanted for its own sake," it is nevertheless true that man "can fully discover his true self only in a sincere giving of himself." I will return in a later installment to the second part of this sentence; for now I want to focus on the personalist affirmation that man is "the only creature on earth that God has wanted for its own sake." God does not will the plants and animals for their own sakes. He rather wills them for the sake of human persons. But human persons He wills for no one else's sake: He wills them for their own sake, which means that they must exist as their own ends.
One might object that it is impossible to live by the personalist norm. One might say that whenever an employer hires an employee for a job, he is using the employee as a means for getting the job done, but what reasonable person would say that you violate personal dignity by the very act of hiring someone to do a job? In other words, there must be something wrong with the personalist norm, since it seems to condemn as immoral the most normal economic relations.
To this Pope John Paul II responds that the relation between employer and employee is indeed fraught with the danger that the employee will be treated only as a means, and that when this happens the relation is indeed morally out of order. But he goes on to say that the relation need not be one of mere using. The employer can abstain from all coercion and intimidation in hiring people, he can abstain from deceptively enticing people to take a job, he can take account not only of "the bottom line" but of the good of the employees, he can even invite them to share somehow in the responsibility for the enterprise. In these and in other ways the employer-employee relation can be "personalized," so that the employee is acknowledged as person even in the midst of this economic relation.
Pope John Paul II brings the personalist norm into every area of human life, and so it is not surprising that he has brought it into his rich teaching on man and woman. We will see in later installments how fruitfully John Paul uses it to rethink the issues of sexual morality. He shows how the sexual behaviors traditionally regarded as wrong are wrong because persons get used in a degrading way. He shows that the requirements of chastity are nothing other than the requirements of the personalist norm as applied to man-woman relations. In this personalist way he achieves, as we shall see, a particularly convincing and winning affirmation of Christian sexual morality.
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Dock Equipment Information
Dock equipment refers to the items used to assist with the loading and unloading of materials from trucks to buildings. Dock equipment is designed for efficiency and safety in docking areas, even after taking a large degree of abuse.
Types of Dock Equipment
Dock boards are a type of dock equipment that is used to bridge the gap between the truck and the dock. Typically, dock boards are flat and made of heavy-duty aluminum or wood. Other materials can be used, but durability and moving weight are issues must be considered. Dock boards may also being referred to as dock platforms or dock plates.
Once the bridge from dock to truck is setup, dock bumpers are used to protect the docking area of a building and truck from the force of a collision. This type of dock equipment may be mounted onto the building, below the dock opening, or on to the back of a truck.
When the docking area is not in use, the area is secured by dock doors. Dock doors are usually metal, but can be made of different materials depending on the environment, or based on specific security and safety needs.
Strip doors are material strips (often plastic) that are hung vertically in doorways to control the overall environment of an area. They regulate temperature and the amounts of airborne debris.
Dock seals are a category of dock equipment that provides a seal between the docking area and the truck.
When the truck is connected to the dock, other forms of dock equipment are used to make loading and unloading easier. Dock levelers are connected to the back of the truck to compensate for height differences. Levelers are similar to dock boards, except that they can be expandable or mechanically raised and lowered.
Dock lights are specialized rugged lighting fixtures that improve visibility in docking areas. This form of docking equipment includes warning and signal lights.
Dock shelters and string doors are common types of dock equipment. A dock shelter is an overhang that is used to protect workers and materials while loading or unloading a truck.
Truck restraints are used to fix a truck into position at a dock. This form of dock equipment eliminates the risk of a truck from moving during the unloading process. Once a truck is restrained, two types of dock equipment are used to keep it secure.
Wheel guides assist with the overall positioning of the truck.
Wheel chocks are wedges that are inserted behind the truck’s tires to prevent the truck from moving.
NFGS 11161 - DOCK LEVELERS
BS EN 1398 - DOCK LEVELLERS - SAFETY REQUIREMENTS
FED H-08-1 SEC 11160 - LOADING DOCK EQUIPMENT
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Inspired and led by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, more than a million Black men gathered in Washington, D.C. to declare their right to justice to atone for their failure as men and to accept responsibility as the family head.
On that day, Monday, October 16, 1995 there was a sea of Black men, many who stood for 10 hours or more sharing, learning, listening, fasting, hugging, crying, laughing, and praying. The day produced a spirit of brotherhood, love, and unity like never before experienced among Black men in America. All creeds and classes were present: Christians, Muslims, Hebrews, Agnostics, nationalists, pan-Africanists, civil rights organizations, fraternal organizations, rich, poor, celebrities and people from nearly every organization, profession and walk of life were present. It was a day of atonement, reconciliation and responsibility.
“The Million Man March was one of the most historic organizing and mobilizing events in the history of Black people in the United States,” said Chicago-based Dr. Conrad Worrill, who was a main organizer of the March and the current president emeritus of the National United Black Front.
Congress shut down that day and President William Clinton was “out of town.” Mainstream media in American and media outlets from around the world were watching. The world did not see thieves, criminals and savages as usually portrayed through mainstream music, movies and other forms of media; on that day, the world saw a vastly different picture of the Black man in America. The world saw Black men demonstrating the willingness to shoulder the responsibility of improving themselves and the community. There was neither one fight nor one arrest that day. There was no smoking or drinking. The Washington Mall, where the March was held, was left as clean as it was found. Two of the best descriptions of the Million Man March include the word “miracle” and the phrase “a glimpse of heaven.”
Along with those who attended, many men, women and children spent the day at home watching the event on television and participating in the day of fasting and absence. Workers did not go to work that day, children did not go to school that day and no one engaged in sport or play.
During Min. Farrakhan’s message to the millions gathered in the mall and those watching on television around the world that day, he explained to the world the need for atonement and he laid out the eight steps of atonement. Thus, for the past 18 years, people gather, reflect and observe the Holy Day of Atonement.
At the conclusion of the March, the millions of men repeated a pledge given by Minister Farrakhan that focused on a personal commitment to be responsible and active in improving the Black community. The purpose was for Black men to take responsibility for their own actions and to help develop their own communities, and to atone for their lack of responsibility. Many of the men assembled took the pledge given that day seriously and have been actively involved in making their word bond ever since.
“The March changed my life and my perspective of life in so many ways. I (gained) a tremendous commitment to the betterment of my culture, and a heightened capacity to care and to love. I am now trying to live by the code of honor and the right conditions set forth in the pledge that I took,” said Glenn Towery, owner of Fairy God Brother Productions and Film Company, LLC that produced the DVD, Long Live the Spirit, a documentary about the Million Man March.
“I have formed my own company and am striving to create culturally enriching productions for African Americans and the world. Thank you Minister Farrakhan for being a conduit to God that allowed such a magnificent idea as the Million Man March to come through your person into fruition. Thank you Benjamin Chavis and all of the organizers, planners and conveners of the Million Man March.”
Immediately following the March, roughly 1.7 million Black men registered to vote and organizational memberships skyrocketed—the NAACP, churches and mosques reported huge increases and the National Association of Black Social Workers reported a flood of 13,000 applications to adopt Black children.
The spirit of the March continues to this day.
“Since the Million Man March, October has become a special month for me,” said Dr. Ayo Maat, Organizer in Green and Disability Issues. “During the first march, I kept my children out of school and they stayed up all night and watched the event the entire day without complaint or fatigue. Since then, I have been working to instill the spirit of atonement and uplift of the race.”
“The spirit, energy, and the ideas that were articulated on that day still resonate among the activists and organizers and thinkers and the masses of Black men who participated in 1995,” said Dr. Worrill. “Although it may not appear that the energy and spirit and impact of that day is still with us; it has manifested itself with us today as Black men are engaged in numerous projects inspired by the Million Man March that can be documented.”
In another public display of accountability, the Million Man March was the first ever public march to provide an independent Financial Audit of its operations.
“Justice Or Else” is the poignant and powerful theme as Minister Farrakhan convenes the 20th anniversary gathering October 10, 2015 in the Nation’s Capitol.
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Governor Scott Walker from Wisconsin will not win popularity contests. His first and foremost contribution to legislation was to severely limit collective bargaining in Wisconsin and with it, the nation as a whole. Voters felt strongly betrayed as he was not running on that basis at all.
Enduring protests and disgruntled men and women stormed the Capitol and invaded the House. One protester held up this sign, comparing Walker with Hitler as the latter apparently abolished unions.
Although it is understandable someone is venting his dismay (see the enlarged last letters in "Walker" and "1933" which means "bluntness", "lack of social graces") , it is also clear that governor Scott Walker is far from a war criminal. So let us not mix that issue.
The sign reminded me of a signature comparison I made in the past between Scott Walker and Adolf Hitler. Walker's signature reminded me of Hitler's because it had a very similar feature in it.
Both men have an "X-formation" in their signature. X formations are cross strokes where you don't expect them. From a psychological perspective, such authors "barrel through existing barriers" and are known to embrace conflict.
In fairness to Walker, the signature shown shows markings of anxiety and stress. It is unclear whether his X formation is habitual or temporary.
Scott Walker certainly withstood strong opposition and confrontation with childish ignorance. One thing that Scott Walker now needs to remember is that "authority without reason results in resentment ". The world took care of Adolf and voters will let their voices be heard with the mark of a pencil.
Follow my blogs by subscribing here or visit my website.
Marcel Elfers is a Trial Run Master Profiler™ through handwriting and statement analysis.
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Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
No current Talk conversations about this book.
References to this work on external resources.
Wikipedia in English
No descriptions found.
Between 1787 and 1868, 162,000 people packed into 806 ships were transported to the colony of Australia. This book follows their story, from courtroom to convict ship to colonial life.
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Become a LibraryThing Author.
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Helping Nature Along: Breeding Giant Pandas
Photo: Jessie Cohen/Smithsonian's National Zoo
Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing
Giant pandas Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing were the first pair sent to the U.S in April 1972. After more than a decade of trial and error, the couple mated for the first time and Ling-Ling gave birth to her first cub in July 1983. During their 20 years living at the Smithsonian's National Zoo, they produced five cubs, but none of the cubs lived longer than a few days.
The mortality rate for giant pandas in their first year is high: 26 percent for males and 20 percent for females, according to the National Zoo.
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Following the Money, but Also the Mind
Published: February 11, 2001
(Page 4 of 4)
From Mr. Akerlof's pen, occasionally in collaboration with the economist Joseph Stiglitz, came early descriptions of market imperfections. The most famous was described by Mr. Akerlof in a 1970 paper, ''The Market for 'Lemons.' '' The lemons were used cars, and the point was that car salesmen knew more about the quality of the cars they were selling than did the buyers, and could thus overcharge. In the mainstream vision of the marketplace, buyers and sellers are both fully informed and the agreed-upon price is the right one.
That early work was a first step toward, as Mr. Akerlof puts it, a resurrection of the behavioral phenomena that still survived in Mr. Keynes's day, in the 30's and 40's.
By 1985, Mr. Akerlof had met the two psychologists whose research and experiments, in collaboration with various economists, produced many early findings of behavioral economics. One of them, Amos Tversky, died in 1996; the other, Daniel Kahneman, now at Princeton, taught a graduate seminar on psychology and economics with Mr. Akerlof at Berkeley.
''George did not get credit for that course,'' Dr. Kahneman recalled. ''The idea of teaching with a psychologist was considered so flaky that he was told to do it on his own.''
Now, at 60, Mr. Akerlof is pushing behavioral economics into sociology and anthropology. From studies of black children in inner-city schools, he and Rachel E. Kranton of the University of Maryland have described a group identity that settles on the children, giving them a sense of self that is linked to what they perceive as their social category. Usually that categorization confines them, so they have to decide how to behave. The rebelliousness that often results has filled the jails with black young people, Mr. Akerlof said.
By altering identity -- and therefore expectations -- a few ''miracle schools'' in poor neighborhoods have greatly improved student performance, Mr. Akerlof said, citing Central Park East Secondary School in Harlem as an example. Mainstream economics suggests that training and education should be enough to allow anyone to enter the world of good jobs and should, if available, trump group identity. Mr. Akerlof's model disagrees.
''When we gave this paper at Berkeley, someone said that we had developed a terminology that bridged economics and sociology,'' Mr. Akerlof said. ''The sociologists already knew all this and now we are putting it in a framework that economists can understand.''
He was drawn to behavioral economics, he said, because ''the disparity between blacks and whites'' is the most important issue in America, yet one that mainstream economics fails to address effectively.
During his undergraduate years at Yale, he participated in civil rights protests in the South. A year spent in India, as a young economist, introduced him to the sociology of castes, a version of discrimination. ''I used what I saw to think about things in very different ways,'' he said.
That same need to think about issues that mainstream theory does not explain also helped to draw Mr. Laibson and Mr. Mullainathan into behavioral economics.
After growing up near Haverford, in the suburbs of Philadelphia, where his father was a noted ophthalmologist, Mr. Laibson went to Harvard with only a vague understanding of economics. It bothered him in those early economics courses to have to assume perfect rationality. ''I wondered what was missing,'' he said.
What opened his eyes was that first year in graduate school, when M.I.T. offered a course in behavioral economics taught by Peter Diamond, an economist, and Drazen Prelec, a psychologist. ''I had thought that economics was about saving the world,'' Mr. Laibson said, ''but I see now that it is about asking and answering fascinating questions.''
Mr. Mullainathan is constantly aware of the very different life he would have lived had his father not become an engineer, found work in Los Angeles and then brought his wife and young son from India in 1980. Even now, visiting relatives in India, the son meets boyhood playmates who are sharecroppers earning $150 a year. And when his father was briefly out of work in California, the son worried that his family would slip back into poverty.
He entered Cornell intending to be a computer engineer, but he took courses taught by two behavioral economists -- Robert Frank, a labor expert, and Mr. Thaler, the pioneer in mixing psychology and economics. Through them, he saw economics connecting with his own experience. ''I really decided at that point that I wanted to do economics and I wanted to bridge this divide between the real world and the theoretical world,'' Mr. Mullainathan said.
Moving to the Next Level
The research goes on. Mr. Laibson is trying to understand ''cueing'' as a phenomenon in economics. Cueing helps to explain why advertising works; it refers to the stimuli that arouse latent desires or draw a cured addict back to his addiction.
Hotel room minibars provide considerable stimuli when small liquor bottles are displayed on the refrigerator door, behind a wire mesh. ''Think about what it must be like for the recovering alcoholic to sit in that hotel room and stare at that alcohol for three hours before he goes to bed,'' Mr. Laibson said, suggesting that regulation might be in order. ''That alcohol is a very powerful cue,'' he said, ''and it may be inappropriate for a recovering alcoholic to endure that experience.''
While Mr. Laibson describes specific phenomena, Mr. Mullainathan searches for patterns in human behavior -- for example, how investors make decisions. From his research, he concludes that people put stocks into categories just as they put people into categories, arbitrarily classifying a General Electric as a technology stock and a Cisco Systems as a glamour stock. They trade them accordingly, until something happens, then reclassify them into new categories, he says.
''When I see a common thread, that gets me going,'' Mr. Mullainathan said. From this sort of broad understanding may someday come more effective monetary policy.
''I would love to see how Alan Greenspan would behave 80 years from now, when economics is much more behavioral,'' Mr. Mullainathan said. ''We cannot know, of course. But one thing we do know: 80 years from now he would behave differently than he is behaving today, and that is kind of cool.''
Photos: More than 25 years ago, before behavioral economics had a name or critical mass, George A. Akerlof was doing some pioneering work in the field. (Peter DaSilva for The New York Times); Sendhil Mullainathan, 27, at M.I.T., and David Laibson, 34, at Harvard, are rising stars in a generation of economists that are gradually integrating behavioral psychology into mainstream economic theory. (Rick Friedman for The New York Times)(pg. 11); (Illustration by The New York Times)(pg. 1)
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This map of Mars shows all of the more than 60 landing sites proposed for the Mars Science Laboratory (red dots) and the four final candidate sites (blue dots). Discussion by more than 150 scientists over more than five years led to the selection of the four final candidate sites: Eberswalde crater, Gale crater, Holden crater, and Mawrth Vallis. Gale eventually was selected as the landing site. The white shaded areas are more than 30 degrees north and south of the equator and off limits to MSL because of seasonally harsh (cold) conditions expected there. The black areas are too high in elevation to be considered for landing.
Image Credit: NASA
Browse Image | Medium Image | Full Res Image
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Inglewood Middle School teachers Scott Sartorius, Shannon Bleek, and Sharron Leinweber made extensive use of laptops, webcams, and USB temperature probes for their physical, earth, and life science lessons.
At Rose Hill Middle School, Language Arts teacher Jill Berge uses netbooks in the classroom every day. She can demonstrate new tasks and assignments, show students each other’s work on screen, monitor how fast her students are progressing, and then tailor assignments to specific students.
Rose Hill Middle School social studies teacher Claire Lazar transformed her teaching with technology. Her students used individual netbooks to research historical events on Internet databases, synthesize information, and create multimedia projects that illustrate their learning.
At Inglewood Middle School, teacher Kevin Chandler wanted to give his 7th graders more practice solving algebraic equations…but he didn’t want them just doing endless drills. Instead, he wanted them to get instant feedback on their progress, and he wanted to be able to respond quickly to each student’s individual needs.
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Welding parameters for Gas Metal Arc Welding
In arc welding processes a number of welding parameters exist that can effect the size, shape, quality and consistency of the weld. The major parameters that affect the weld include weld current, arc voltage, and travel speed. The sizes and types of electrodes for shielded metal arc welding define the arc voltage requirements and the amperage requirements. The current may be either alternating or direct, but the power source must be able to control the current level in order to respond to the complex variables of the welding process itself. As direct current electrodes perform well at low amperage, they are often selected for welding thin metals. Most covered electrodes operate best with electrode positive (reverse polarity), which produces the deepest penetration. Electrode negative operation might produce a higher melting rate. The secondary variables include the angle of the electrode to the work, the angle of the work itself, the thickness of the flux layer, and the arc length.
How to determine the correct amperage for a certain electrode will depend on the size and classification of the electrode. Even the type of joint and welding position must be considered. The process requires sufficient electric current to melt both the electrode and a proper amount of base metal. The higher the current, the deeper the penetration. Using to high amperage may cause problems such as excessive spatter, electrode overheating and cracking.
The arc voltage is varied within narrower limits than welding current. It has an influence on the bead width and shape. Higher voltages will cause the bead to be wider and flatter. Extremely high arc voltage should be avoided, since it can cause cracking. The low arc voltage produces a stiffer arc that improves penetration. If the voltage is too low, a very narrow bead will result.
The speed the electrode travels along the joint has a direct influence on bead shape, depth of fusion, cosmetic appearance and heat input into the base metal. Faster travel speeds produce narrower beads that have less penetration. This can be an advantage for sheet metal welding where small beads and minimum penetration are required. Travel speed also affects heat input, which in turn influences the metallurgical structure of the weld metal. The cooling rate increases or dereases proportionately with the travel speed. Also, the heat-affected zone will increase in size and the cooling rate decreases. If speeds are too fast, however, there is a tendency for undercut and porosity, since the weld freezes quicker.
Arc length refers to the distance from the molten tip of the electrode core to the molten weld pool. Generally, arc length increases as the size of the electrode and amperage increase. Limiting arc length to the diameter of the core rod of the electrode is a good guideline.
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The paper is important because it includes a number of salient points about significant gaps in the HIV Care Continuum—all driven by CDC data:
- Almost 20 percent of the estimated 1.1 million persons living with HIV in the United States are undiagnosed. These individuals do not know they are infected and as a result are not receiving appropriate medical care and could be unknowingly infecting others with HIV ;
- 34 percent of persons living with HIV are not linked to medical care, meaning they have been diagnosed with HIV, but have not been connected to an HIV healthcare provider;
- 63 percent of persons living with HIV are not receiving ongoing medical care. As HIV treatment is a lifelong process, persons living with HIV must receive ongoing medical care to stay in good health;
- 67 percent of persons living with HIV are not on antiretroviral therapy. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the recommended treatment for HIV. It involves taking a combination of antiretroviral drugs every day to control the virus; and
- Only 25 percent of persons living with HIV have achieved viral suppression. Viral suppression means there is a very low level of HIV in a person’s blood. Taking ART regularly enables a person with HIV to achieve viral suppression, which is helps to maintain good health and reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to others.
We know that stable housing has a direct, independent, and powerful impact on HIV incidence, health outcomes, and health disparities. And this paper further demonstrates the impact that stable housing has on each step of the HIV Care Continuum. In addition, the authors reinforce the idea that stable housing is a key component of HIV care and they discuss the importance of improved collaboration between housing and HIV care providers to better integrate HIV services and improve health outcomes for persons living with HIV/AIDS.
So where can you learn more?
There will be a public discussion of the white paper during a live Twitter Chat on January 22, 2015 at 1:00 PM ET. The Office of HIV/AIDS Housing (@HUD_HOPWA) will host the chat by presenting a series of topical questions to participants. More information will be provided closer to the date, but don’t wait to read the white paper!
Amy Palilonis is a Management Analyst in the Office of HIV/AIDS Housing, Office of Community Planning and Development.
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By Dady Chery. Axis of Logic.
|A tanker truck arrives to collect excrements from the Nepali UN base in Mirebalais, Haiti, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. U.N. investigators took samples of foul-smelling waste flowing 400 meters behind a Nepalese peacekeeping base toward an infected river system on Wednesday, following persistent accusations that excrement from the newly arrived unit caused the epidemic that has sickened more than 4,000 people in the earthquake-ravaged nation. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
|A tanker truck deposits excrements from the Nepali UN base in an area 400 meters away from the base in Mirebalais, Haiti, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. U.N. investigators took samples of foul-smelling waste flowing behind a Nepalese peacekeeping base toward an infected river system on Wednesday, following persistent accusations that excrement from the newly arrived unit caused the epidemic that has sickened more than 4,000 people in the earthquake-ravaged nation. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Dollars for Every Haitian with Cholera. The UN and 42 NGOs are asking to be paid $607 dollars for every Haitian to be contaminated with cholera. That’s right. The exact numbers are 164 million dollars for 270,000 Haitians to be contaminated. Do the math. There is money in cholera.
The 270K Haitians estimate comes, not from serious epidemiological information, but a back of the envelope extrapolation from Peru of the 1990’s to Haiti of today by Dr. Jon Andrus of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). His explanation follows:
”To give some historical context: the cholera epidemic that began in Peru in 1991 spread to some 16 other countries throughout the hemisphere, from Argentina to Canada, with cases even reported in Montreal and New York City. In Peru alone, it produced more than 650,000 cases over six years.
"At the time, Peru's population was about two-and-a-half times larger than today's Haitian population. Extrapolating from Peru's experience, one might expect upwards of 270,000 cases if Haiti's epidemic continues for several years, as did Peru's.”
In other words, on November 9th, Mr. Andrus of the PAHO divided 650,000 by 2.5 and gave a press conference about it. Mainstream news organizations all over the world copied, without question, the PAHO statement that the world could expect over 270,000 cases of cholera in Haiti. The news reminded no one that PAHO belongs to the UN. Why is the UN so certain that 270,000 Haitians will become infected with cholera?
An Epidemic to Spare the Rich. Cholera is often labeled a “disease of the poor”. Indeed one would be hard put to find a better tool for harming the poor but not the rich. No foreigner in Haiti will die of cholera, and not a single wealthy Haitian will die of cholera. One may be sure of this. This is because the water supplies of the wealthy and poor of Haiti have been independent of each other for years. So have the food supplies. Foreigners and wealthy Haitians buy their foods and water from supermarkets, whereas poor Haitians get their food, when they can, from local vendors. In the past, poor Haitians collected their water from natural sources and then boiled it, but since the earthquake of January 12th, impoverished Haitians have been trained to accept bottled water from US troops, MINUSTAH troops (UN troops), USAID, various NGOs, and every brand of religious fanatic who wants to eradicate Voodoo from the earth.
Cholera Is Not Bubonic Plague. Mr. Andrus’ statement about the spread of cholera in Peru is disingenuous. There is no reason why cholera infections should spread rapidly, as if caused by physical contact like typhoid, or aerosols like the common cold. Cholera infections principally come from tainted water and, to a lesser degree, from foods that came in contact with tainted water. The cholera bacteria are easily killed by heat (boiling) or acid (vinegar in foods). The so-called Peruvian epidemic started in 1991 not only in Peru, but also in the bordering countries Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, and several Central American countries.
The epidemic did later reach other countries, but this expansion could be accounted for by the movements of peoples from the afflicted places. Between 1991 and 1995, there was a single case of cholera in Canada, and it was not fatal. During the same four-year period, there were slightly over 100 cases in the U.S., of which one was fatal. All could be accounted for by travel. Interestingly, although Chile borders Peru, like the U.S., Chile also saw slightly more than 100 cases and only one death. Why did Chile’s outcome differ from those of Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil where many tens of thousands died from 1991-1995. Chile was probably spared because of its excellent public health programs and its policy of disallowing NGOs from its territory. Cholera does not spread like the bubonic plague. It is easily controlled.
|The spread of cholera in South America could be accounted for by travel.
Vibrio Cholerae O1 Ogawa Biotype El Tor Calls on Afghanistan and Haiti. The cholera epidemic in Haiti closely resembles two outbreaks that started in Afghanistan in 2005 and 2009. In both Haiti and Afghanistan, strain O1 Ogawa El Tor appeared in a place where cholera was virtually unknown, and the outbreaks were quickly blamed on the presumed poor hygiene of the victims and fragile infrastructure of the country.
In both Haiti and Afghanistan, the infections spread faster than should have been possible. In Afghanistan, the lethal bacteria were found in irrigation ditches and in the wells that were the source of drinking water for most of Kabul’s poorer residents.
A Spread of Disease that Defies Logic.
At the beginning of the epidemic in Haiti around the third week of October:
- Three prisoners died of cholera.
- Fifteen residents of the off-shore island La Gonave came down with cholera.
- Many more people who drank only treated water died of cholera.
This was sufficient evidence to suggest a role for carelessness or malice in the epidemic. Last week, cholera cases suddenly appeared in six out of the ten departments of Haiti. This week, the cholera reached the remaining four. Given the extremely mountainous terrain, poor roads, and scarcity of transportation, for this spread to have happened by the normal movements of Haitians is impossible. A bit of epidemiology and more serious math should show this. The speed and breadth of the Haitian epidemic has all the hallmarks of a disease that is being spread by a rapid transportation system.
The lethal infections being reported were, without a doubt, acquired from drinking water, but this water was not collected from contaminated rivers and streams by the sick, as is often suggested. All the evidence suggests an organized distribution of tainted bottled water by the truckloads throughout the country. The water is being bottled from rivers like the Artibonite as truckloads of human waste are being dumped into these rivers.
|A Haitian resident holds his relative who is suffering from cholera at St-Catherine hospital in the slum of Cite-Soleil in Port-au-Prince November 12, 2010. Credit: Reuters/St-Felix Evens
Haiti at War. Haitians should know that, like Afghanistan, Haiti is at war. Fouling of Haiti’s natural water supplies continues apace. The following Al Jazeera video shows a brave group Haitians, armed with nothing but rocks, stopping a UN-escorted waste truck from discharging its load of human excreta into a stream near Port-au-Prince.
Haiti is at war, and the enemy’s weapon is the Asian cholera strain Vibrio Cholerae O1 Ogawa Biotype El Tor. Ogawa El Tor was delivered to Haiti through the innocuous-sounding “UN Peacekeepers,” who have occupied the country since the U.S. organized coup that removed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004. A contingent of Nepalese UN troops brought us this silent weapon in September. They were settled on a hill, where a pair of open PVC pipes delivered their excreta from a septic tank down into the Meille River, and on to the Artibonite River, when fortunes were being made from the sale of water bottled from the Artibonite and labeled “purified”. The early occurrence of cholera cases downstream, but not upstream, of the Nepalese MINUSTAH base conclusively establish this base as the origin of the disease. It is not necessary to get expensive cholera DNA sequences from Harvard to learn this.
John Snow, the founder of modern epidemiology, is the person who first discovered that cholera was transmitted in drinking water. He successfully stopped a cholera outbreak in England in 1854, before bacteria were first observed, and long before DNA methods were even a dream. Snow’s map of the occurrence of the disease led him to a water pump, and he stopped the epidemic by removing the pump’s handle.
Original map made by John Snow in 1854.
Cholera cases are highlighted in black.
Torture by Cholera. Over 1,034 people have died, and 16,700 people have been hospitalized nationwide in Haiti.
Cholera robs its victims of dignity and pride, demoralizes them, weakens and breaks down their group integration, and dissolves their solidarity. Cholera physically disables its victims within hours from the onset of symptoms, and depending on the numbers of bacteria swallowed, can kill within hours. Cholera is like a biological cluster bomb exploding with symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, muscle cramps, nausea, dehydration, fever, convulsions, drowsiness and coma.
Typical signs and symptoms of cholera include:
- Severe, watery diarrhea. As much as a quart (0.95 liters) of fuild is lost in an hour.
- Nausea and vomiting. This may persist for hours at a time.
- Muscle cramps. This is due the rapid loss of salts.
- Dehydration. Ten percent or more of total body weight may be lost in a matter of hours. This leads to irritability, lethargy, sunken eyes, dry mouth, extreme thirst, shriveled skin, little or no urine, an irregular heartbeat, and a drop in blood pressure.
- Shock. This happens when blood pressure drops so low that it causes a sharp drop in the amount of oxygen available to the tissues.
In addition to the above, children’s symptoms include
- Extreme drowsiness to coma
Most individuals exposed to cholera do not become ill but they do shed cholera bacteria in their stool for one to two weeks. So it is imperative that the wastes of cholera victims be isolated from all sources of drinking of water.
As formidable as cholera may appear, it is easily disarmed. Bouyi dlo an! Boil the water! Drink only tea, if you must. There is no future for Haitians who drink any water without boiling it. There is no future for Haitians who trust bottled water from UN troops, USAID, NGOs, or religious fanatics.
What You Can Do to Help Haiti.
- Do not donate money to any NGO in Haiti.
- Oppose any and all of the supposed humanitarian efforts of the U.S., Canadian, and French governments in Haiti.
- Oppose the UN occupation of Haiti.
- Support the efforts of Haitians, Cubans, and Venezuelans to assist Haiti.
Haitians are helping each other with projects such as a microlending, mental health, and education programs through organizations such as the Aristide Foundation for Democracy. Cuba and Venezuela have long recognized Haiti’s need for a strong public health infrastructure. As part of a post-quake effort, these sister countries are giving Haiti a $2.4 billion aid package of public health and medical facilities through the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA). Within days of the first cases of cholera, Venezuela dispatched its Health Ministry to Haiti with many thousands of rehydration tablets, intravenous drips, and doses of medication as part of a Union of South American Nations (Unasur) effort to combat the epidemic.
The Vulnerability of Haitians to Foreign Disease. Haitians, who were kidnapped into slavery from Africa and have been isolated on an island for over 300 years, are as close to being an indigenous people as the few indigenous tribes now remaining in some parts of the world. The control of our ports by the U.S., the rapid influx of many tens of thousands of additional people from the world over into a country slightly smaller than Maryland, the overburdening of an already fragile infrastructure by these wealthy invaders, all constitute a public health emergency. If the Nepalese MINUSTAH soldiers had not contaminated Haiti, sooner or later another group would have brought a different epidemic. This is what happens when an indigenous people become exposed to invaders.
New influx of troops, NGOs after earthquake. The UN troops, US SouthCom, and private mercenaries are in Haiti to support the sweatshops, the NGOs, and other parasites. Before the January earthquake, there was one NGO per 3,000 Haitians.
The numbers of NGOs have greatly increased since then. Though one could argue that many NGO workers do good work, most are also so terrified of Haitians that they barricade themselves in gated communities and fraternize only with other foreigners. NGOs devote such a large fraction of their budgets to security that your well-meant donations are certain to be spent mostly to support the predations of men with guns on the Haitian population. Yesterday, for example, residents of Cap Haitien rose up against the UN and threatened to set fire to the Nepalese MINUSTAH base where 16-year Gerard Jean Gilles was strangled last August. No one has been prosecuted for the murder of this Haitian teenager. No one has even been interviewed.
On Tuesday November 16th, MINUSTAH troops threw tear-gas canisters into the home of the judge charged with the case, injuring his daughter. In addition, the UN escorted out of the country a key witness who had been subpoenad by the judge and was scheduled to meet with him this week. During the protest on Wednesday, armed Nepalese and Chilean MINUSTAH troops met the protestors and shot one dead, in the back. Haitians barricaded the roads and fought back with rocks, sticks, and molotov cocktails. Until now UN troops had killed Haitians with impunity.
The NGO workers, for their part, take up all the best space in the country, and especially in Port-au-Prince, where lodging is scarce. They obviate the need for many Haitian professionals. Like the men with guns, NGO workers eat and excrete volumes. They operate without oversight. Many of these individuals supply medical help where public health efforts instead, are most appropriate. For example, no effort is being made to map the cholera epidemic, although the identification of the continuing sources of cholera would save many more lives than medicine ever could. Antibiotics are liberally administered against cholera without a thought about the eventual appearance of more harmful antibiotic resistant strains of the bacteria. Like opportunistic parasites, the NGOs and their entourage feed on misery, and the misery increases in proportion to their numbers. They must not be allowed to continue benefitting from Haitian deaths. They must be starved of support so Haiti may become well again.
No to Occupation. To leave Haiti to the neocolonialists is not choice. We must fight this new onslaught, because Haiti is mixed up with all that we are as human beings, and to lose Haiti is to die. This will not be the first time we deny Europeans control of Haiti. We have fought off the Spanish, British, and French. We were not fooled by the pretty pronouncements of the French revolution and we were ready to beat the French when they turned Napoleonic. This will not be the first time we deny the U.S. control of Haiti. It was the Haitian Cacos who ended the sordid chain gangs and lynchings by U.S. occupiers in 1934. We have not forgotten the engineered coups, economic sanctions, and kidnapping of our elected head of state. It is time to live again as the self-willed people we are.
Read her bio and more essays by Haitian Author,
Dady Chery on Axis of Logic
Related articles by Dady Chery:
Cholera for Sale In a Blue Pastic Bag. Infected Water Distributed in Haiti as Purified. A cholera outbreak introduced into Haiti
by a foreign source. Updated!
Haitians Want an End to Violent UN/MINUSTAH Occupation
Haitians Demand UN to Take its Colonial Army, MINUSTAH Out!
Support This Axis of Logic Project:
AGUA FOR HAITI QUARTERLY REPORT.
HELP US REACH OUR GOAL THROUGH MATCHING FUNDS!
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Focus: The Antimatter Microscope
Matter and antimatter just don’t mix, so it’s surprising that you can probe one with the other. A paper in the 6 August print issue of PRL reports the first results of a new microscope that uses positrons (anti-electrons) to create an image of a surface. The paper shows that positrons can see defects better than either optical or electron beam microscopes. Positrons also provide information about the type of defect present. The scanning positron microscope (SPM) may soon be available as a powerful tool for probing many different materials.
Werner Triftshäuser and his colleagues at the Military University in Munich, Germany, thought positrons might give high quality images of the defects in semiconductor surfaces. Because of their positive charge, positrons are drawn to so-called vacancies, locations within a crystal–or on its surface–where a positively charged nucleus is missing. Without the nucleus, there are fewer electrons in the neighborhood, so a positron can survive longer before colliding and annihilating with its electron counterpart. By measuring a positron’s survival time inside a section of material, the researchers believed they could achieve unprecedented sensitivity to defects. “Positrons can detect defect concentrations of 1 part per million,” according to calculations, says Triftshäuser. “No other method is that sensitive.”
The group placed a silicon wafer etched with a simple pattern of defects inside the chamber of their microscope. They began by scanning the surface with electrons to create an image of the pattern, a procedure similar to that for a standard electron microscope. Then they selected the most interesting regions of the surface to probe with positrons. The positrons, which came from a radioactive sodium source, passed through a series of electric fields that homogenized their energies and bunched them into short pulses. They then passed through another series of fields that accelerated the pulse to a specified energy before focusing it into a 2-µm dot on the silicon surface. By measuring the time between the pulse and the photon flash of electron-positron annihilation the team was able to map the defect regions. They found that positrons that lodged inside defects avoided annihilation for twice as long as those in others regions. By scanning the beam across the surface, they created an image of the defect pattern in the wafer.
The SPM can also give information on the type of defect–information that no other technique can provide, according to Triftshäuser. A positron survives for different lengths of time inside different kinds of defects, so by analyzing a spectrum of positron lifetimes, you can determine the types of defects present in a material, he says. The lifetime measurement also gives unprecedented sensitivity, says Yanching Jean of the University of Missouri in Kansas City. “The lifetime can tell you about defects on the order of an angstrom,” he says, while electrons are sensitive to only about a micron. Alexander Weiss of the University of Texas at Arlington adds that this device is promising for the semiconductor industry, where careful control of defects allows companies to build smaller, better microchips.
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National Institute on Drug Abuse
Director's Report to the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse
Laboratory Measurement of Adaptive Behavior Change in Humans with a History of Substance Dependence
Dr. Scott Lane and colleagues at the University of Texas Health Science Center examined components of behavioral adaptation to changes in environmental conditions in human subjects with and without a history of substance dependence. Over a two-day period, volunteers were rewarded for changing their patterns of response. On the first day, they earned monetary rewards for producing high response rates. However, on the second day they were required to wait ten seconds between each response, producing low response rates. Volunteers meeting DSM-IV criteria for past substance dependence and having histories of substance dependence longer than ten years adjusted poorly to the required transition in responding, exhibiting high rates of responding on both days. Because of their inability to change to a slower response rate, subjects with long substance abuse histories earned few if any monetary rewards on the second day. These results were unrelated to age, attention, impulsiveness, or general intellectual aptitude and suggest a deficiency in adaptive behavior change. Whether this deficiency predated or was a consequence of drug abuse is unclear. Lane, S.D., Cherek, D.R., Dougherty, D.M., and Moeller, F.G. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 51, pp. 239-252, 1998.
Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone Affects Plasma Cocaine Levels in Rhesus Monkeys
Considerable evidence points to the role of the brain neurotransmitter dopamine in the reinforcing effects of cocaine. Cocaine binds to the dopamine transporter, thus blocking the reuptake of dopamine and resulting in increased levels of dopamine at the synapse between neurons in the brain. Harvard researchers Drs. Jack Mendelson, Nancy Mello, and Stevens Negus noted structural similarities between the dopamine transporter and luteinizing hormone (LH), a gonadatropin hormone released by the anterior pituitary. They hypothesized that LH bound to cocaine and thereby decreased cocaine levels. They report that when they administered synthetic LH-releasing hormone (LHRH) to male and female rhesus monkeys prior to the administration of cocaine, LH secretion significantly increased and peak plasma levels of cocaine significantly decreased in both males and females. In males, but not females, there was an inverse relationship between levels of LHRH-stimulated LH immediately prior to cocaine injection and peak plasma cocaine levels two minutes following cocaine injection. There were also gender differences in the levels of LH required, 70ng/ml in males versus 45 ng/ml in females, to decrease plasma cocaine levels. This research raises the possibility of developing LH or an LH-like molecule as medications that will bind to cocaine for use in the treatment of cocaine addiction. Mendelson, J.H., Mello, N.K., and Negus, S. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 289, pp. 791-799, 1999.
Cocaine Pharmacokinetics in Male and Female Rhesus Monkeys and in Humans
Several studies, both animal and human, have shown greater cocaine toxicity in males than in females. There has been little research focus however, on the study of sex differences in pharmacokinetics and the relation it may have to cocaine's greater toxicity in males. In the course of their research on the effects of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone on plasma cocaine levels in rhesus monkeys (see above), Dr. Jack Mendelson and colleagues compared the pharmacokinetics of plasma cocaine in males and females following the intravenous administration of 0.8 mg/kg cocaine. Females were tested during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, six to eight days after the onset of menstruation. Pharmacokinetic analyses indicated that although females had significantly lower plasma cocaine levels than males ten minutes after injection, males and females did not differ in peak levels of cocaine, time to reach peak levels of cocaine in plasma, the elimination half life, or the area under the curve. These findings in rhesus monkeys are consistent with results obtained by Dr. Mendelson and Dr. Nancy Mello and their colleagues following intravenous cocaine administration (0.2 and 0.4 mg/kg) in humans. No sex differences in peak plasma cocaine levels, elimination half-life, or area of the curve were observed, nor were sex differences observed in cardiovascular effects on heart rate and blood pressure or in the subjective report of feeling "high." In females, both the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic measures were similar in the follicular and mid-luteal phases of the cycle. The single significant difference observed in the pharmacokinetic parameters was that the time to reach peak plasma levels was significantly lower in the follicular phase women (four minutes) than in the luteal phase women (6.7 minutes) or in males (eight minutes). The authors conclude that pharmacokinetic factors alone do not account for sex differences observed in cocaine toxicity and they recommend exploring neuroendocrine and other factors. Mendelson, J.H., Mello, N.K., and Negus, S. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 289, pp. 791-799, 1999. Mendelson, J.H., Mello, N.K., Sholar, M.B., Siegel, A.J., Kaufman, M.J., Levin, J.M., Renshaw, P.F., and Cohen, B.M. Neuropsychopharmacology, 21, pp. 294-303, 1999.
Female Rats Acquire Self-Administration of Cocaine and Heroin Faster than Male Rats
Animal studies of the locomotor response to psychostimulants have shown greater responsivity in female as compared to male rats. Studies of the self-administration of drugs including cocaine, caffeine, alcohol, morphine, and fentanyl have shown higher levels of intake in females than males. Less research attention, however, has been paid to sex differences in the acquisition of drug self-administration. Drs. Wendy Lynch and Marilyn Carroll at the University of Minnesota report significantly faster acquisition of intravenous cocaine and heroin self-administration for female as compared to male rats. Females acquired cocaine self-administration in a mean of 7.57 sessions as compared to 16.67 sessions for males. Females acquired heroin self-administration in a mean of 8.7 sessions as compared to 13 sessions for males. For cocaine, but not heroin, significantly more females than males met the acquisition criterion within the 30-day maximum. Seventy percent of the females, but only 30 percent of the males met the acquisition criterion for cocaine self-administration. For heroin self-administration, 90 percent of the females and 91.7 percent of the males met the criterion. Following the acquisition of drug self-administration, the level of self-administered cocaine and heroin was higher in females than in males, but was significant only for cocaine. Lynch, W.J. and Carroll, M.E. Psychopharmacology, 144, pp. 77-82, 1999.
New Techniques for Measuring Inhalant Effects in Animals
Dr. Robert Balster at the Medical College of Virginia has been investigating the effects of inhaled solvents for the past twenty years using animal models that incorporate multiple behavioral assessments. These are compounds that are found in typical household products and have been demonstrated to have abuse potential in humans. Typically, pharmacological investigations with behavioral endpoints are useful for establishing dose-response relationships, and for determining thresholds and dosing midpoints for behavioral effects. However, dose-orderly effects on complex responses in operant behavioral paradigms have been difficult to establish for compounds administered via the inhalation route. Recently, Dr. Balster has developed a novel "adjusting" procedure for delivering compounds in the inhalation chamber to mice. Animals are trained to press a lever for milk as solvent concentrations in the chamber are altered every five minutes, dependent upon the rate of lever press responding for milk. Using this procedure, Dr. Balster was able to show concentration-dependent decreases in lever pressing and established a subthreshold and minimal concentrations that affect this behavior. This new approach for adjusting exposures to solvents will be useful in the rapid assessment of compounds that are potentially behaviorally disruptive and allow for determining "near threshold" levels of exposure in an animal model. Bowen, S.E., Hamilton, J., and Balster, R.E. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 2, pp. 169-180, 1998.
Cannabinoid History Determines Cannabinoid Response
Previous studies have revealed that drug history affects the subsequent responsivity to psychotropic drugs. Dr. Harriet de Wit at the University of Chicago found this to be the case for the subjective effects of oral tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in humans. Dr. de Wit assessed self-reported measures from several scales following oral THC administration in subjects who differed in the extent of their prior marijuana exposure. She found that the groups differed in their self-reports of "feel" drug effects, "high", and "like", but that these differences depended on the dose of oral THC administered. At the 7.5-mg dose level, infrequent users showed no increases on any of these measures, whereas habitual users showed increased scores on all three scales. At a higher dose of 15 mg, only the infrequent users reported sedation and decreases in the "like" scale. Interestingly, no differences in either heart rate or performance cannabinoid effects were noted between subject populations. These varying profiles of subjective effects for users differing in their prior marijuana exposure suggests that conditioning and expectancies may play a role in the ability to detect THC effects seen in frequent marijuana users. Furthermore, frequent users may develop tolerance to unpleasant subjective drug effects independent of the drug's cardiovascular effects. Kirk, J.M., and de Wit, H. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, 63, pp. 137-142, 1999.
Relapse to Drug Use: It's Not Enough to Discriminate the Drug's Effects
Experimenter-induced stress has been observed to enhance the acquisition of drug self-administration and to prompt a return to drug-seeking behavior in animal models of relapse. Dr. Nick Goeders at the Louisiana State University Medical Center in Shreveport, Louisiana recently reported that footshock-induced reinstatement of responding for cocaine during extinction could be blocked by ketoconazole, an antimycotic drug that inhibits adrenocorticosteroid synthesis and antagonizes glucocorticoid receptors. This and many other previous observations implicate the activation of central corticosterone systems in relapse. It has further been suggested that the "internal state" produced by a stressor may mimic components of the subjective drug experience. In support of this hypothesis, Dr. Goeders also found that footshock generalized to the cocaine cue in drug discrimination procedures with the rat. However, unlike the effects of ketoconazole on footshock-induced reinstatement, the glucocorticoid antagonist was without effect on the ability of footshock to engender cocaine appropriate responding in the drug discrimination task. From these findings, Dr. Goeders concluded that, in these animal models, reproduction of cocaine's discriminative properties alone, may be insufficient for prompting a return to drug-seeking behavior. Mantsch, J.R., and Goeders, N.E. Psychopharmacology, 142, pp. 399-407, 1999.
Antagonism by MK-801 and Conditioned Place Preference
This study examined if conditioned place preference preparation is useful in studying the appetitive quality of novelty, whether IV cocaine would condition an increase in preference, and the role of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor in this paradigm. In 3 separate experiments with 95 male rats, repeated access to novel objects in one of 2 distinct environments conditioned an increase in preference for the novelty-paired environment. A conditioned increase in preference was found whether novel objects were paired with a randomly chosen environment or with the less preferred of 2 environments (conditioned against a preference). This enhanced preference did not depend on the control group employed. IV infusions of cocaine produced an increase in preference using the procedures employed with novel objects. Pretreatment with the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 blocked acquisition of the enhanced place preference conditioned by access to novel objects without decreasing time spent with objects or inducing a place aversion in controls. Bevins, R.A. and Bardo, M.T. Conditioned Increase in Place Preference by Access to Novel Objects. Behavioral Brain Research, 99, pp. 53-60, 1999.
Dopamine Receptors and Individual Differences in Amphetamine Self-Administration
This study examined the effect DA antagonists have on single-trial conditioned place preference (CPP) produced by acute intravenous amphetamine in rats. In the first of three studies, amphetamine (0.1-3.0 mg/kg) was given in one specific compartment of a CPP chamber. Relative to sham controls amphetamine produced a dose-related increase in both activity and CPP. The second study showed that pretreatment with either SCH-22309 (0.025 and 0.25 mg/kg) or eticlopride (0.2 and 2.0 mg/kg) completely blocked both activity and CPP. Finally, single-trial amphetamine CPP did not predict subsequent self-administration of IV amphetamine (10-50 ug/infusion) using either a schedule of continuous reinforcement (CRF) or partial reinforcement progressive ratio (PR), which demonstrates that single-trial CPP and self-administration are dissociable effects of IV amphetamine. Bardo, M.T., Valone, J.M. and Bevis, R.A. Locomotion and Conditioned Place Preference Produced by Acute Intravenous Amphetamine: Role of Dopamine Receptors and Individual Differences in Amphetamine Self-Administration. Psychopharmacology, 143, pp. 39-46, 1999.
Predictor of Amphetamine Conditioned Place Preference
A study was conducted to assess whether the activity observed when rats are exposed to an inescapable novel environment may reflect escape behavior due to stress. A new test, the playground maze, designed to evaluate approach to novelty in a free choice situation was used to predict individual responses to amphetamine (1.0 or 3.0 mg/kg). The playground maze was used to categorize rats as either high or low novelty seekers. Results indicate that individual differences in novelty seeking did not predict amphetamine-induced changes in locomotion activity following either single or repeated injections. However, the high novelty seekers showed greater amphetamine-conditioned place preference than low novelty seekers. Klebaur, J.E. and Bardo M. T. Individual Differences in Novelty Seeking on the Playground Maze Predict Amphetamine Conditioned Place Preference. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, pp. 1-6, 1999.
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At the VaIL conference a few weeks ago, one of the frequent conversations revolved around the issue of creating a universal graphic system.
The belief that visuals are universal is not new, and largely stems from the fact that most drawings look like what they represent ("iconicity"). This is also a motivating factor behind so-called "universal writing systems" like Blissymbols, Icon Language.
However, when looking at drawings as reflecting patterns in the mind, then there is actually quite a lot of diversity. Patterned styles like those of Japanese manga compared to stereotypical American superhero comics reflect culturally diverse conventions of different populations. Even more relative are the sand drawings of native Australian communities, and the constraints they place on recognizing other graphic depictions. Several other stories exist of people not fully understanding iconic drawings as well, such as the story Mort Walker tells about natives (I can't recall where) who thought that a person's legs were cut off, despite just being "out of frame."
Given this, perhaps it's time that we get over the idea of a universal communication system, and we come to accept that populations of humans will always develop idiosyncratic and in-group tendencies.
While globalization especially has raised a desire for inter-cultural communication, diversity in communication systems may have had evolutionary advantages. Having an identity tied to your language separate from others' means you can identify your group members, and even more helpful that you can keep secrets from other groups. If it wasn't beneficial, we would all be speaking the same languages (or so the argument could be made... diversity could just be a useful "spandrel" for the way other cognitive functions happened to turn out).
Perhaps instead of attempting to create universal systems, we should instead acknowledge the diversity that comes along with the way our brains are wired for social interactions. By accepting it, we can then strive to work with the constraints that our cognition and diversity brings or allows. That way, it will cease the fighting against the tide of inevitable diversity with rose colored glasses of universality, and instead invites appreciation for relative systems and cooperation to meet common goals of communication.
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4 Answers | Add Yours
Cells are the building blocks of life. When living things reproduce asexually, the cells that result are exact replicas of the parent cell. This can be accomplished by binary fission, budding, vegetative propagation or spore formation. The chromosomes in the nucleus are replicated and mitotic division occurs producing two daughter cells which have the same DNA as the parent cell. When organisms reproduce sexually, meiotic division occurs. This is a reduction division and it occurs in the gonads. The end result are haploid gametes or sex cells. Once these fuse at fertilization, a diploid zygote or fertilized egg results. From this cell, all other body cells will be produced by mitotic division. Cells can be highly specialized. For example, neurons transmit impulses, muscle cells enable movement and response to stimuli, epithelial cells are found in linings like the nasal passage, bone cells are for support, erythrocytes carry oxygen in the blood, phagocytes engulf germs. These are but a few examples of the plethora of cells found in the body.
Cells are the building blocks of life. To make a new cell, you must have the process is called cellular division. There are two main forms: meiosis and mitosis. For meiosis, the cell creation is specifically for sex cells, or gametes.
For mitosis, the cells must go through the actual procedure of division. This process takes multiple stages. After the replication of a second pair of chromosomes, proteins, and organelles a cell begins to prepare for division. Basically, when the cell is splitting in half, each half will have exactly the same material as the other. Interphase, Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, and Telophase are the basic phases of mitosis.
A single cell divides and forms two cells. These again divide and the process continues, resulting in the developement of the body of the plant or animal. There are different methods by which new cells are formed in plants by division of the pre-existing cell. In all such cases it is the nucleus that divides first, and this is followed by the division of the cell. Plant and animal bodies are composed of cells which are its fundamental structural and functional units. Cell division leading to the developement of the vegetative body of the plant is known as somatic cell division. It includes the division of the nucleus, called mitosis, and the division of the cytoplasm, called cytokinesis.
science explains this,we can build computers ,weapons etc but formation of cell cannot be figured out
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Want to know whether friends, relatives, or coworkers are nearby? You might no longer have to wonder. If they’ve signed up with one of more than 100 location-based social networks (LBSNs) or apps, including Facebook, Footprints, Foursquare, Latitude, and WhosHere, you can track them down. The services require users to give permission to display their whereabouts to others.
But what are the implications of such surveillance tools? In particular, what effect do they have on trust in relationships? Several IEEE members from the University of Wollongong, in Australia, wanted to find out. Their paper, “Location-Based Social Networking: Impact on Trust in Relationships,” which appeared in the summer issue of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, explains how they discovered that tracking technology might come with a cost. They determined that tracking can cause mistrust, exacerbate already strained relationships, and discourage people from taking each other at their word.
“To strike an agreement whereby two people share their location data, they first have to have established trust in their relationship,” the Wollongong researchers wrote.
IEEE Senior Member Katina Michael and Member Anas Aloudat, along with two other researchers, conducted the study in 2009. They used five focus groups composed of 18 to 25 students from their university between the ages of 22 and 45 to rate the impact of LBSN usage on the level of trust within different types of relationships, including family members, friends, and coworkers.
When parents use the services to track their children, there is a fine line between trusting the kids and providing for their safety, according to the focus groups. Location-based services can be a lifesaver if you need to locate a child in an emergency, but trust is fragile, several participants noted. Parents might say they want to verify whether their children are actually where they said they would be, but the safety issue could become “a surrogate for using LBSN for tracking as well,” one participant said, adding, “I do not think it is appropriate to be tagging your children. That is what you are basically doing—you are strapping them down and putting a GPS locator on their leg.
“Trust is everything in a family. If you are not going to be able to trust your family, then who can you trust?”
Although most focus group members said they trust close friends with their location information, others say using the technology for such relationships is unnecessary. After all, they said, close friends have a general idea of each other’s daily activities.
Many LBSN users can be too trusting of mere acquaintances. “Adding everyone to their ‘friend list’ may be risky, leading them to misconstrue stalkers as friends,” said one participant. “You might think of them as acquaintances, but they might think of you as their girlfriend.” Focus group members pointed out that people don’t usually give strangers their location and then trust them not to misuse that information, so it shouldn’t be any different for people who are only online friends.
What did the focus groups think of employers using location services to monitor their employees? It depends. Tracking would be justified, they said, for workers such as truck drivers, couriers, and real estate agents, or for workers in sensitive positions involving, say, secret military projects. But it should be off limits for workers “within a closed office building space,” one said. “Constantly checking to see if someone will be on time will just continue to diminish trust,” another participant said.
Others said employers are entitled to check up on their employees during office hours, but tracking should be turned off once the workday is over.
The focus groups answered with a resounding “No!” when asked if they would trust commercial companies or the government with their location information. They fear their data could be shared and exploited by third parties or by government employees. Some said they would grant an exception to the government in an emergency, however.
TRUST, DON’T VERIFY
In general, the focus groups said that knowing someone’s whereabouts provided an incomplete picture. Also, “one may increasingly develop a false sense of security just because they know where someone is on a digital map,” they said.
“There seems to be a subtle but strong link between trust and monitoring,” the researchers concluded. “The question becomes: If you trust me, then why the need to do lookups on my real-time physical whereabouts? You should just believe me when I tell you where I am, where I have been, and where I am about to go.”
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BLACK REVOLUTIONARY WAR PATRIOTS COMMEMORATIVE SILVER DOLLAR FACT SHEET
Attucks was the first but not the only African American patriot. More than 5,000 fought in the Revolutionary War--although the liberty they fought for would be something only their descendents would enjoy. In Virginia, dozens froze, starved and died; the 1st Rhode Island Regiment was made up entirely of 250 African Americans. British General Cornwallis was completely fooled by double agent James Armistead, the African American man who stood by General Lafayette's side when Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown.
These patriots are to be honored in a memorial approved by Congress. The Black Patriots Memorial will be on the National Mall just north of the reflecting pool, between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. This is the historic site of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech, an inspiration to generations, both black and white.
In addition to the coin itself, a young collectors edition and a coin and stamp set were offered. The coin and stamp set featured four postage stamps, honoring four African American patriots: Frederick Douglass; Harriet Tubman; Benjamin Banneker; and Salem Poor.
The obverse was designed by John Mercanti, who has been at the U.S. Mint since 1974. Recently, he has designed the 2000 Library of Congress Bimetallic Ten Dollar obverse and Silver Dollar reverse, the reverse of the Leif Ericson Silver Dollar, and the obverse designs for the George H. W. Bush and the Hubert Humphrey medals. He also designed the Bicentennial of the Congress Gold Five Dollar; the Eisenhower Silver Dollar obverse; the Mount Rushmore Gold Five Dollar obverse; the Korean War Silver Dollar obverse; the 1991 USO Anniversary Silver Dollar obverse; and two of the 1995 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Silver Dollar obverses (track & field and cycling).
Ed Dwight designed the reverse. He is a former Air Force test pilot, an engineer and the first African American to be trained as an astronaut. He holds an MFA in sculpture. He has created a wide range of gallery art, but he has focused on large-scale installations honoring African Americans, including his commission to create the Black Patriots Memorial featured on this coin.
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The Occupational Health and Safety Administration OSHA knew that there was no perfect standard to implement electrical safety in the workplace. And therefore, they requested the NFPA to provide them documentation that would properly help them with administration of safety procedures. As a result, the new flash protection standard came into being in terms of NFPA 70E.
Arc flash NFPA 70E is the standard that addresses electrical safety requirements for employees. It focuses on preventing death and injury from fire and burns. Main aim is to provide protection to workers based on the potential energy to which they could be exposed. It provides multiple methods by which the employer can calculate or estimate the hazard or risk. It covers electrical safety issues like safety related work practices, maintenance of electrical equipments / installations, requirement of special equipments for electrical installation.
Electrical shock has many adverse effects on human body like muscle contraction, pain etc. and can cause chemical imbalance in the body. It may result in memory loss, hearing loss, and damage of vital organs like heart, brain etc. and may be fatal sometimes. Burns from shock may be superficial (surface burns) of the order 1st and 2nd degree burn or may be internal damage, damaging internal organs to the extent of 3rd degree burn. These internal burns may be fatal sometimes. Human body exposed to Arc Flash may be superficial if proper cloths are worn but can be dangerous if proper cloths are not worn and they are ignited.
PRECAUTIONS TO AVOID ELECTRICAL SHOCK
- Ensure an electrically safe working condition by lockingout and taggingout all sources and ensure absence of electrical energy.
- Take live work permit. Determine limited approach boundary, restricted approach boundary and prohibited approach boundary. Only qualified persons can enter the restricted approach boundary. These boundaries determine when electrical workers must use voltage grade gloves and voltage rated tools. Determine flash protection boundary. Qualified person with flame resistant clothing are only allowed to work with in flash protection boundary. Determine hazard or risk category and select the correct type of PPE to wear. It is important to match the arc rating of the flame resistant apparel with the hazard rating for maximum protection of the worker against the chance of burn injury or death.
- All personnel working on electrical installation or equipment operating at voltage above 50 Volts must wear Arc Flash protective garments to prevent injury. This includes flame resistant clothing, use of insulated tools, face shields and flash suits.
- Train your employees about construction, operation and hazards associated with different equipments and installations in the factory premises. Train them properly for safe work practices and procedures.
You are well aware that how electricity is dangerous and electricians often encounter many adverse hazards. And therefore, there needs to be NFPA 70e arc flash standards strictly observed and some electrical education should be provided that incorporates NFPA 70 E.
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A comprehensive resource book, Play & Learn features 1,001 surefire ways to amuse and entertain little ones from birth through age five. Packed with creative play ideas from child development experts, it makes an ideal gift for parents-to-be, parents of young children, and other caregivers. - This must-have play resource is perfect for anyone who spends time with young children. - Kid-friendly play ideas are great for spontaneous funno complicated preparation necessary. - Chapters organized by age help parents and caregivers flip to an appropriate activity quickly. - Helpful introductions highlight developmental milestones for each age group. - Activities enhance development in key areas, such as language, problem solving, imagination, coordination, and motor skills. - 1001 Fun Ways to Play has sold over 70,000 copies internationally.
Dr. Wendy S. Masi (Fort Lauderdale, FL) is a developmental psychologist specializing in early childhood. She has designed and implemented programs for preschools, families with young children, and early childhood professionals for more than thirty years. Dr. Masi is the former dean for the Mailman Segal Institute for Early Childhood Studies at Nova Southeastern University in Florida and the mother of four children.
Dr. Roni Cohen Leiderman (Fort Lauderdale, FL) is a developmental psychologist specializing in emotional development, positive discipline, and play. For more than thirty years, she has worked with young children, families, and professionals. Dr. Liederman is the dean of the Mailman Segal Institute for Early Childhood Studies at Nova Southeastern University in Florida and the mother of two children.
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Islam and Farmer-General of the Customs of the Persian Gulf, who resided at Kish. The contract price of the horses was fixed at 220 ducats a head, whilst the cost of' those lost at sea was borne by the contractor in Persia. In the time of Abubekr, the Salghur Atabeg of Hormuz, when that kingdom was in its glory, 10,000 horses yearly used to be shipped to India, bringing to the sellers a revenue of 3,500,000 pieces of gold !
" Two of the native chiefs of Maabar who contended for the throne were SINDARBANDI and PIREBANDI, the former the legitimate, the latter the illegitimate son of Gilishdiur Raja of Maabar" (probably KulesaDewar ; Von Hammer does not seem to see that this diur is the title Dewar which has just been specified), "a prince who had reigned prosperously for forty years without ever having been laid up by illness or attacked by a foe. He had named Pirebandi his successor, which so enraged Sindarbandi that he slew his father, and took forcible possession of Shahrmandi, where his enormous treasures were laid up. Pirebandi gathered an army to avenge his father's murder, and a battle took place beside a lake which the people of India called Talâji" (Tulà, a Tank? and perhaps the saine as the Celai (for Telai) of Odoric, p. 65.) " Eventually Pirebandi, aided by his cousin Bermal (Perumal?) was successful; whereon Sindarbandi fled to the court of Dehli, and sought . help from Alauddin against his brother." This led to the invasion of Kaffir.
This historian also speaks of Jamaluddin Abdarrahman Et-Thaibi as the Farmer-General and Keeper of the Marches of Maabar, apparently the same whom Rashid states to have succeeded to the Dewar in 1292. His son Surajjuddin, it is also stated, was plundered of all his wealth by the army of Kafur, upon which his son Nizamuddin betook himself to Dehli to make complaint, and obtained, with some partial restoration of property, the administration of the finances in Maabar, which had been held by his father and grandfather. (See Hammer Fur g-stall, Gesch. der Ilchane, ii, 51 seq., and 197 seq.) There are evident discrepancies between the accounts of Rashid and Wassaf, which it would be vain to attempt to reconcile without further knowledge. Nor do either their notices nor anything that I can gather from the works of Wilson and Taylor suffice to show to what dynasty belonged these princes of Maabar of' whom Polo and the Persian historians speak. The names of the chiefs, Sindarbandi (Sundara-Pandi), Parebandi (Vira-Pandi) Gilish (Kalesa), are all indeed such as occur repeatedly among the half-mythical lists of the Pandyan dynasty of Madura, but there seems some reason to believe that the chiefs in question may have been rather princes of Marawa, or of some family of adventurers.. The title Dewar, though not peculiar to the Setupatis has been specially affected by all the Marawas down to our own time, and Professor Wilson finds reason to believe that these were for a long time paramount over Madura, and for three reigns held the whole of that kingdom in their hands. (Catal. of hllackenzie Coll., i, 195; J. R. A. S., vol. iii, 165 and 223; Madras Journ., 1836, p. 35, seq.) The time indeed of this is left undetermined, except that it was before the rise of Vijayanagar in the fourteenth century.
The nearest approach in the Tamul Annals to an indication of the
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Associated Press, Apr 24, 2007
Potentially habitable planet found outside solar system
For the first time astronomers have discovered a planet outside our solar system that is potentially habitable, with Earth-like temperatures, a find researchers described Tuesday as a big step in the search for "life in the universe."
Reuters, April 10, 2007
Signs of water seen on planet outside solar system
Evidence of water has been detected for the first time in a planet outside our solar system, an astronomer said on Tuesday, a tantalizing find for scientists eager to know whether life exists beyond Earth.
CP (Canadian Press), April 9, 2007
Annual Canadian UFO survey records 736 reported sightings last year
Aliens and spaceships are a bit passe these days, but 736 reported UFO sightings across Canada last year shows an "underlying, real phenomenon" going on, says one of the country's top UFO researchers.
The Economist, March 29, 2007
Witness Robert Taylor of Dechmont Woods, Scotland case passes
It was a flying dome, 20 feet wide, hovering above the grass. No sound came from the object, and it did not move. It seemed to be made of grey metal, shiny but rough, like emery paper. About half-way down it had a circular platform, like the brim of a hat, set with small propellers. There were darker areas on it that might have been portholes. more...
Washington Post, March 23, 2007
French Get a Look at Nation's UFO Files (Washington Post)
The material dates as far back as 1954. Over the next several months, the space agency will post it to enhance scientific research seeking to explain what the French government calls "unexplained aerospace phenomena." more...
AFP (Agence-France Press), Mar. 22, 2007
France opens secret government UFO files covering 50 years
France became the first country to open its files on UFOs Thursday when the national space agency unveiled a website documenting more than 1,600 sightings spanning five decades. more...
The Age (Australia), October 2, 2005
Academic throws light on 40-year-old UFO mystery
More than 200 students and staff from two schools watched as the object landed in a nearby paddock, lifted off and vanished. It was a low-flying, silver/grey shining object, either of classical flying saucer shape or close to it, "a cup turned upside down on a saucer". The UFO appears to have left a circle of scorched grass. more...
Brodie Fenlon, Toronto Sun (Toronto, Canada), September 15, 2005
Lights in the Sky: Hundreds of Canadians Report Seeing UFOs
Every year, in every corner of this country, hundreds of Canadians like Williams are seeing and reporting mysterious objects in the night sky. Glowing orange orbs. Delta-shaped wings. Silent cigar-shaped craft. Saucers and balls of coloured lights that hover, then move too quickly -- and in too many directions -- to be conventional aircraft, they claim.
The Nation (Bangkok, Thailand), Sept. 9, 2005
Villagers in Thailand see two-foot tall 'alien' (new photos added)
Villagers in Thailand claimed they witnessed an "alien" or extra-terrestrial being which appeared like a small-body man with large head and about 70 centimetres tall. Over 10 residents of Huay Nam Rak Village in Mae Jan district's Tambon Janjawa said they saw the ET today morning in a rice field outside the village. more...
John Ward, Macleans.ca - CP (Canadian Press), September 11, 2005
Former Canadian Defence Chief Takes Up Cause of UFOs
Paul Hellyer, onetime cabinet minister and a political chameleon who went through Liberal and Tory colours before founding two political parties of his own, has a new cause - UFOs. Hellyer is to be a featured speaker at a UFO conference in Toronto later this month and organizers are making much of his credentials as a former defence minister in the Pearson administration 40 years ago.
China Daily, September 9, 2005
UFO enthusiasts gather in Dalian, China for conference
"In Dalian's UFO Society, 90 per cent of the 400 members have college degrees. "It's exciting for us to use science to decipher UFO sightings," said Zhou Xiaoqiang, secretary-general of the Beijing UFO Society."
Kentucky New Era - August 20, 2005
Article on Peter Davenport of the National UFO Reporting Center
After a lifetime of studying what many brush off as science fiction, Peter Davenport is relatively certain of two things. First, that UFO's exist and have been witnessed on Earth, and second, that the government has known about them for decades.
Exeter News-Letter (Exeter, New Hampshire), July 26, 2005
Large Cigar-Shaped UFO in Exeter, New Hampshire
news.com.au - Australia, July 21, 2005
Australian Gov't Documents Reveal Unexplained UFO Sightings
SECRET documents released by the Northern Territory Government reveal a mass of UFO sightings across the Top End, many of them unexplained. The documents - declassified after 30 years under lock and key - detail a history of UFO activity across the Territory by a wide range of 'sighters', including RAAF crews and weather forecasters. more...
The Herald - Glasgow, Scotland (UK), July 25, 2005
UK Ministry of Defense Has Examined 15,000 UFO Sightings
THE Ministry of Defence has examined more than 15,000 alleged sightings of flying saucers and other unidentified flying objects over Britain since 1959 and is still keeping an open mind on the existence of aliens. more...
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Rochester, NY
Rochester man studies UFOs with a historian's tools (Richard Dolan)
Richard Dolan has never seen a UFO. But he believes they are real. Don't roll your eyes. Richard Dolan has never seen a UFO. But he believes they are real. Don't roll your eyes. more...
New York Times
An ABC Documentary Lands in U.F.O. Territory
Mr. Jennings applies the same solemn, impassive tone he used to examine Christianity in his special report "Jesus and Paul: The Word and the Witness" last April. He does not try to prove or debunk the existence of U.F.O.'s. Instead, he handles Ufology, as he refers to it, like a religion whose followers are numerous and steadfast enough to merit respectful treatment. . more...
Jennings Explores ABCs of UFOs
Flying saucers and strange beings who have visited Earth aren't the typical topics reported by Peter Jennings, anchor of ABC's "World News Tonight." Jennings, whose new two-hour special tackles the subject of UFOs, admits he and his production team began the project with doubts and a dose of curiosity. more...
What's on Peter Jennings' radar? The truth about UFOs
In the span of more than 40 years with ABC News, Peter Jennings has built one of the most respected reputations in television journalism. It probably will come as a surprise, then, to hear that urbane, sophisticated Jennings' next documentary chases down the truth about UFOs. As in, flying saucers and little green men. more...
DelmarvaNow (Delaware, US)
Strange aerial light is reported (Delaware, US)
When Teresa Alexander of Seaford drove to the Rehoboth Beach area with her husband to do some Black Friday holiday shopping, "they were not alone." Alexander said she and her spouse noticed a strange light which appeared to follow them for almost an hour Nov. 26. more...
Uncovered at last: the sightings of strange flying objects found in Britain's 'X-Files'
They contain Britain's very own X-Files: thousands of classified documents detailing credible observations of unidentified flying objects reported by RAF personnel, British Airways pilots and senior police officers. more...
Billy Cox, Florida Today
1952 Military Engagement With UFOs Myth Or Mystery?
In an account of a military engagement sure to leave critics scoffing, a UFO investigator claims more than a dozen U.S. Air Force jet fighters were destroyed by flying saucers on a single day in 1952. But not before their guns and rockets crippled several UFOs that wound up making emergency landings in rural West Virginia. more...
The Interior News, Smithers, B.C. (Canada)
The UFO Triangle Houston-Smithers-Terrace BC (Canada)
The sun's first rays were creeping into the morning sky September 22nd, when Beverly Evans saw a strange object in the sky heading towards her. Little more than a hundred meters from her car it changed direction, flying up and out of sight. more...
El Sol de Orizaba (Mexico) / Scott Corrales
UFO Over Orizaba & Cordoba Mexico
Unidentified flying objects were seen in the sky around 8:30 a.m. causing great expectation among residents of Orizaba and Cordoba. Hundreds of residents of the Cordoba-Orizaba area were witnesses to a seldom-seen spectacle. For several minutes, numerous unidentified flying objects were witnessed in the skies above. more...
Space pioneer Gordon Cooper dies: Cooper believed in UFO coverup
Gordon Cooper, one of the nation's first astronauts, died on Monday. He was 77. In his post-NASA career, Cooper became known as an outspoken believer in UFOs and charged that the government was covering up its knowledge of extraterrestrial activity.
Dallas Morning News
Military UFO video could be key to credibility in enthusiast's career (Jaime Maussan)
Jaime Maussan has spent the past decade collecting possible evidence of alien visits to Earth and maintains he has had personal contact with other "entities." And now Maussan says he has secured the most definitive proof yet of extraterrestrial visitors, and from an unlikely source: Mexico's super-secretive military.
Scott Davis / NewsChannel 3 (Phoenix, Arizona)
UFOs over the Estrella Mountains? (Arizona)
Some people are reporting a mysterious sighting of a string of lights in Valley (Arizona) skies last week. A NewsChannel 3 photographer spotted them, turned on his camera and captured on film the so-called "Estrella lights." more...
Scott Davis / NewsChannel 3 (Pheonix, Arizona)
Expert: Video of UFO lights in Mexico not fake
Well, the analysis is done and the conclusion on the Mexico 11? It's not a fake. The Mexico 11 is a video showing a number of mysterious lights in the skies over eastern Mexico. One of the world's foremost videotape analysts lives in Phoenix and says what you see in the video tape are unidentified flying objects. more...
La Manana Newspaper - Buenos Aires, Argentina
UFOs Reported in Gobernador Ugarte Argentina
The UFO phenomenon in the region of Gobernador Ugarte, parish of 25 de Mayo, is ongoing. Strange lights and maneuvers were reported this past weekend. One worker told the strange story of
how the lights on his truck turned on and off by themselves as he stopped at a local ranch. more...
Diario "El Tribuno" de Salta - Argentina
Hundreds Witness Large UFO Over Argentina
Hundreds of people in Cachi's main square, among them artists participating in an art fair and were creating sculptures and paintings on site, saw a large unidentified flying object (UFO) that crossed the skies over Cachi on Thursday night.
The News, Durban, South Africa
UFO over Durban captured on video (South Africa)
Roshnie Naidu, of Phoenix, could not believe her eyes when she saw a huge, pulsating, colourful light in the sky. "It looked like a massive ball of light, much brighter than the sun, with blue and purple colours filtering through." more...
TurkishPress.com / Cihan News Agency, Turkey
UFOs Revisit Turkish Province Of Usak
Residents of the village of Güllübag in the province of Uşak have claimed that UFOs have been seen in the sky over their village.
Billy Cox, FloridayToday.com
Ronald Reagan's legacy goes well beyond this world
Tons of newsprint and airtime dedicated to Ronald Reagan's legacy this week, but -- surprise -- not word one about curiosity over unidentified flying objects. It'll be the same way when Jimmy Carter dies.
Agence France Presse (AFP)
Portuguese air force on alert over UFO sighting
The Portuguese airforce has been on alert since late Tuesday, when several authorities and witnesses reported seeing a luminous unidentified flying object. more...
Associated Press / The Daily Herald (Utah)
Utah: Photo Librarian Captures UFO on Film
To the naked eye, Tommy Woodard's digital photograph appears to be nothing more than a pretty picture of trees in Provo Canyon. But zoom in, he says, and the purple glow of a saucer hovering at an angle above the tree line starts to take shape. Woodard, 22, a photo librarian with the Utah Film Commission, took the photo that he believes represents an unidentified flying object. more...
Utah Photographer Thinks He Caught UFO On Film
To the naked eye, Tommy Woodard's digital photo appears to be nothing more than a pretty picture of trees in Provo Canyon, Utah. But zoom in, he says, and the purple glow of a saucer hovering at an angle above the tree line starts to take shape. more...
The Times of India
What is that up there? (India)
Are unidentified flying objects (UFOs) real or just a hoax? Following the recent UFO sightings by the Mexican air force, Delhi Times sifts through myth and reality and leaves you to pronounce the final verdict on ET and his kith and kin... more...
The Associated Press
Mexico military releases photos of alleged UFOs
Mexican air force pilots filmed 11 bright, rapidly moving objects in the skies that one specialist said proved the existence of UFOs, but defense officials said yesterday no conclusions had been reached about the objects' origins. more...
The Independent (UK)
Mexican air force captures invisible 'UFOs' on film
The Mexican air force has released video footage of unidentified flying objects picked up by an infrared camera as they whizzed around a surveillance plane, in scenes eerily reminiscent of a Hollywood alien invasion movie.
Mexico's defense secretary says military has formed no conclusions about flying objects filmed by Air Force
Mexican Defense Secretary Ricardo Vega Garcia said Wednesday the military had made no conclusions about a series of brightly lit, rapidly moving objects filmed by Air Force pilots earlier this year. more...
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Granville, Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2d Earl (lōˈsən-gôrˈ) [key], 1815–91, British statesman. He entered Parliament as a Whig in 1836 and held various cabinet positions under Lord John Russell, the earl of Aberdeen, and Viscount Palmerston. As colonial secretary (1868–70, 1886) under William Gladstone, he had a large part in passing the bills that disestablished the Church of Ireland and began reforms in Irish land tenure. He was also foreign secretary (1870–74, 1880–85) under Gladstone.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved on July 1 a reinterpretation of the Japanese Constitution, extending the scope of the right to self-defense to include the defense of an ally under attack. Past governments have maintained that Japan possessed the right to collective self-defense under international law, more specifically under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, but that Article 9 of its pacific Constitution prevented the country from exercising this right because doing so would go beyond the minimum necessary for national defense.
Assuming that the set of bills related to Japan’s defense policy to be submitted to the Diet next year is approved, the new government interpretation enables Japan to use the Self-Defense Forces if “the country’s existence is threatened, and there are clear dangers that the people’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness would be overturned” due to an armed attack on Japan or “countries with close ties.” The two other conditions for Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense are the lack of “other appropriate means” and the obligation to keep the use of armed forces to the minimum required to guarantee Japan’s security.
One day after the constitutional reinterpretation was approved the Asahi Shimbun stated that July 1, 2014, will remain the “darkest day in the history of Japan’s constitutionalism.” Certainly democratic values seem to be under considerable pressure in Japan. Less than two months after having declared his intention to reinterpret the Constitution, Abe put his plan into action, paying scant attention to an important segment of the population, civil society, or the political opposition. According to a poll conducted by Kyodo News after the reinterpretation, 54.4 percent opposed the change of interpretation and only 34.6 percent supported it, while the disapproval rate of the government reached 40 percent for the first time since Abe came back to premiership in December 2012.Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month.
In addition to domestic concerns, one may wonder at the implications of the reinterpretation for Japan’s security policy and on regional dynamics. It is argued below that these implications are going to be very important as Japan has recovered the necessary legal flexibility to pursue meaningful international cooperation in military and defense-related affairs. This buttresses the argument that the recent constitutional reinterpretation, with its extensive repercussions for the country, should not be undertaken without amending of the Constitution, and thus without having consulted the population beforehand through a national referendum.
The first consequence for Japan’s security policy and for the regional security architecture, which also reflects one of the main objectives of the Abe Cabinet in reinterpreting the Constitution, is a greater role for Japan in the alliance with the United States. The latter has long been prodding Japan to share the burden of its own defense, a stance that did not weaken following the Obama Administration’s “rebalancing” strategy. For its part, Tokyo fears that U.S. economic ties with and subsequent deference to China may eventually undermine its security commitments towards Japan. In taking a proactive role inside the alliance, Japan can show that it is a meaningful ally and respond to Washington’s demands.
The United States and Japan are planning to revise the defense cooperation guidelines at the basis of their alliance and specify the respective role of their military establishments before the end of the year. Though it is difficult to anticipate the outcome of this process, scenarios for the use of Japanese armed forces discussed by representatives of both the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito ahead of the constitutional reinterpretation provide some insights. These included protecting American warships under attack by a third country near Japan, the use of coercion to inspect vessels suspected of carrying weapons to a country attacking the United States, and intercepting missiles aimed at the United States’ home territory or insular possessions in the Pacific.
Bilateral security cooperation between Japan and the United States is thus likely to strengthen in the near future. More balanced responsibilities and a more robust relationship between the two countries inside the alliance will reinforce an already key element of the regional security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region.
The possibility for Japan of exercising the right to collective self-defense will also help it engage in security and defense cooperation with countries sharing similar security concerns. The constitutional reinterpretation provides for the use of collective self-defense to rescue “countries with close ties,” a vaguely worded term that leaves much room for interpretation to Japanese decision-makers regarding which countries could be provided with help. Similarly, the conditions that Japan’s existence be threatened and that there are clear dangers to people’s rights are left to interpretation. For example, Abe has expressed willingness to take part in international minesweeping operations in the Strait of Hormuz under the United Nations collective security framework, claiming that the fact that mines be laid down in a strait used by 80 percent of the tankers supplying Japan with oil constitutes a clear threat. Though discussions with the New Komeito on collective security ultimately failed to reach an agreement, this shows that the margin of maneuver for the implementation of collective self-defense is likely to be important.
This flexibility regarding the use of collective self-defense may have the effect of increasing the value of Japan as a potential ally from the perspective of several countries in the region, something it has lacked since the end of the Second World War. Though any cooperation on security issues with South Korea will continue to face major domestic challenges in both countries, Japan will certainly get closer to potential partners such as the Philippines and Australia, countries that already have security arrangements with the United States. The probability of a triangulation of bilateral security arrangements will increase. Southeast Asian countries subjected to the growing assertiveness of China at sea, like Vietnam, are also likely candidates for enhanced security cooperation with Japan. In other words, the regional security architecture could be fundamentally redrawn in the coming years, transforming the American-led hub-and-spoke network of alliances into a more multipolar framework.
Japan still has a long way to go before it will be able to provide security guarantees under collective self-defense to these countries. Opposition both foreign and domestic will act as stumbling blocks. However, the Abe Cabinet has been active on two other fronts to improve Japan’s attractiveness as a potential partner in security affairs, which allow Japan to engage in security cooperation with other countries at a lower level of intensity than in the case of collective self-defense.
On April 1, the Cabinet took the significant decision to remove an embargo (in place for almost half a century) on arms exports. Originally, this embargo had prevented Japan from selling weapons to communist countries, countries involved in international conflicts, and countries subjected to an embargo under a resolution of the United Nations. These three principles were turned into a virtual blanket ban in 1976. The embargo was softened in 2011 to allow Japan to engage in the joint development and production of weapons with the United States. In April this year, the principles were removed entirely and replaced with a ban on arms exports to countries in conflict and exports that would be in violation of UN resolutions.
Consequently, Japan is today able to transfer military assets and technology to defense partners and to jointly develop weapon systems. This will inevitably lead to deeper security relations and greater interoperability between the Self-Defense Forces and the armed forces of other countries. Only two days after the revision of the arms embargo was announced, the Defense Ministry proposed that Japan host a regional maintenance hub for the F-35 jet fighters that are being acquired by Japan, the United States, Australia, and South Korea, and that have Taiwan and Singapore on their list of potential buyers. On July 8, Japan and Australia signed an agreement on the transfer of defense equipment and technology, with the former’s submarines technology at the center of the latter’s interests. Japan has also expressed willingness to engage in the same kind of cooperation with Vietnam and the Philippines.
Another ongoing revision pursued by the Abe Cabinet concerns the charter of the official development assistance (ODA), established in 1992 and originally focused on infrastructure development and poverty reduction. The objective of the revision is to allow the Japanese government to use part of the some $10 billion budget for overseas development assistance (ODA) it has at its disposal every year to train and assist foreign armed forces. Though directed towards aid to noncombat operations, such as military-led disaster relief, it would authorize Japan to provide training and ships for coast guard operations, a very interesting aspect of ODA for countries engulfed in growing tensions with China at sea such as Vietnam and the Philippines. The revision of the ODA charter, expected to be completed by the end of the year, is another dimension of Japan’s security policy that would increase its attractiveness as a defense partner and allow the country to engage with others in low-intensity security cooperation.
It is worth noting that the success of Abe’s initiatives to revise the several legal components related to the use of armed forces and security cooperation mentioned above have been made possible by the use of the growing Chinese threat as a justification. That the government coalition possesses a majority in both chambers of the Diet is of course an important factor to take into account, because it allows Abe to forcefully push forwards with his plans. The China factor cannot be dismissed, however. Such a comprehensive reform of Japan’s defense posture would not have been possible if North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs were the only security challenges Japan had to face. The multipolar framework of security arrangements and alliances in the Asia-Pacific region that is expected to emerge in the next few years will inevitably be modeled around and politically justified by the threat represented by China.
This means that the degree of security cooperation between Japan and countries like the Philippines, Vietnam and Australia will depend on the acuity with which the Chinese threat is perceived in these countries. China’s current behavior in the China Seas and its lack of transparency in military affairs will lead to the development or reinforcement of security cooperation between Japan and these countries in domains such as joint weapons system development and arms export, intelligence sharing, and joint military training. Should China’s assertiveness and aggressiveness at sea grow, security cooperation could gradually deepen and reach the point where the provision of collective self-defense by Japan is granted to countries other than the United States.
The recent constitutional reinterpretation and other initiatives related to Japan’s defense posture undertaken by the Abe Cabinet thus open the door to a greater role for Japan in the regional security architecture. Japan will soon possess all the legal features it needs regarding the use of armed forces and security cooperation to flexibly adapt to the evolving constraints imposed by its regional and international environments. In other words, Japan’s domestic legal framework will no longer prevent it from modifying its foreign policy as it pertains to security and defense affairs to suit systemic requirements. Although Japanese public opinion will remain a restraining factor when it comes to high-intensity security cooperation, this new development is a worrying sign in view of the persistent historical, political and territorial tensions in the region.
Lionel Pierre Fatton is a Ph.D. candidate in International Relations at Sciences Po Paris, and a correspondent for the Japanese news agency Kyodo News at the United Nations Geneva headquarters.
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The arrival of summer does not go unnoticed by Danes. They revel in it, on a day designated as Skt. Hans Aften. It is celebrated not on midsummer, June 21, but on June 24, in honor of St. John the Baptist.
This year we will celebrate the this religious holiday and the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, in which the sun will not set until close to 11:00pm, by picnicking, barbecueing and doing two things that can perplex and amuse non-Danes:
- Burn a witch in effigy over a bonfire
- Do it while singing “We Love Our Little Land”
Burning the Witch
Skt. Hans Aften or St. John’s Eve was an official holiday until 1770, and in Denmark that meant beginning the celebration the night before — of course, why not get started with some cold beer and lots of toasts! Thus the feasting and drinking and making merry began on the evening of June 23 On this day, the wise healer women and men, (the physicians of the time) would gather the herbs they needed for the remainder of the year to treat people. People would visit healing water well and make bonfires to ward off evil spirits. The wells and the water traditions went away. The bonfires did not, and in the 1920s Danes began a tradition of putting an effigy of a witch on the bonfire to burn, complete with black hat and black dress. The burning of a witch is allegedly to be in remembrance of the of the Danish church’s witch burnings from 1540 to 1693. This burning sends the witch away to Bloksbjerg, the Brocken mountain in the Harz region of Germany where the great Wican gathering was thought to be held on this day.
..and Loving the Land
I recall midsummer 2007. I found myself in Rungsted along the water that year, on the beach near the Karen Blixen Museet with many, many people, lots of boats and lots of . After the relaxing, eating and drinking, speechmaking and while the witch is burning on the bonfire in the late afternoon Danes begin to sing a song dear to their heart – We Love Our Country”. It was written in 1885 by Holger Drachmann as a midsummer hymn (midsommervise) called “Vi elsker vort land…” with a melody composed by P.E. Lange-Müller.
Singing this surrounded by people and in full view of a flaming witch on a bonfire can feel very surreal. Burn the witch. Love the land. Burn the witch. Love the land. Drink some beer. BUrn the witch. Love the land.
I was interrupted in my singing in 2010 by a Danish woman standing next to me in the crowd, who asked me incredulously in English if I could really read the words (we had songsheets) and understand the Danish language. I replied in Danish with a smile, “Ja, ja. Jeg forstår det”. She told me with pride that she was glad I loved her “little land”, too, put her arm around me and began to sing with me.
My advice? Have a few large beers and a piece or two of smørbrød, and practice the song. You can get in the spirit of Skt Hans Aften, and here is the song in case you would like to practice:
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So much to know about Mistletoe. We got help from theholidayspot.com.
For its supposedly mystical power mistletoe has long been at the center of many folklore. One is associated with the Goddess Frigga. The story goes that Mistletoe was the sacred plant of Frigga, goddess of love and the mother of Balder, the god of the summer sun. Balder had a dream of death which greatly alarmed his mother, for should he die, all life on earth would end. In an attempt to keep this from happening, Frigga went at once to air, fire, water, earth, and every animal and plant seeking a promise that no harm would come to her son. Balder now could not be hurt by anything on earth or under the earth. But Balder had one enemy, Loki, god of evil and he knew of one plant that Frigga had overlooked in her quest to keep her son safe. It grew neither on the earth nor under the earth, but on apple and oak trees. It was lowly mistletoe. So Loki made an arrow tip of the mistletoe, gave to the blind god of winter, Hoder, who shot it , striking Balder dead. The sky paled and all things in earth and heaven wept for the sun god. For three days each element tried to bring Balder back to life. He was finally restored by Frigga, the goddess and his mother. It is said the tears she shed for her son turned into the pearly white berries on the mistletoe plant and in her joy Frigga kissed everyone who passed beneath the tree on which it grew. The story ends with a decree that who should ever stand under the humble mistletoe, no harm should befall them, only a kiss, a token of love. What could be more natural than to translate the spirit of this old myth into a Christian way of thinking and accept the mistletoe as the emblem of that Love which conquers Death? Its medicinal properties, whether real or imaginary, make it a just emblematic of that Tree of Life, the leaves of which are for the healing of the nations thus paralleling it to the Virgin Birth of Christ.
Kissing under the Mistletoe
Kissing under the mistletoe is first found associated with the Greek festival of Saturnalia and later with primitive marriage rites. They probably originated from two beliefs. One belief was that it has power to bestow fertility. It was also believed that the dung from which the mistletoe would also possess “life-giving” power. In Scandinavia, mistletoe was considered a plant of peace, under which enemies could declare a truce or warring spouses kiss and make-up. Later, the eighteenth-century English credited with a certain magical appeal called a kissing ball. At Christmas time a young lady standing under a ball of mistletoe, brightly trimmed with evergreens, ribbons, and ornaments, cannot refuse to be kissed. Such a kiss could mean deep romance or lasting friendship and goodwill. If the girl remained unkissed, she cannot expect not to marry the following year. In some parts of England the Christmas mistletoe is burned on the twelfth night lest all the boys and girls who have kissed under it never marry. Whether we believe it or not, it always makes for fun and frolic at Christmas celebrations. Even if the pagan significance has been long forgotten, the custom of exchanging a kiss under the mistletoe can still be found in many European countries as well as in Canada. Thus if a couple in love exchanges a kiss under the mistletoe, it is interpreted as a promise to marry, as well as a prediction of happiness and long life. In France, the custom linked to mistletoe was reserved for New Year’s Day: “Au gui l’An neuf” (Mistletoe for the New Year). Today, kisses can be exchanged under the mistletoe any time during the holiday season.
From the earliest times mistletoe has been one of the most magical, mysterious, and sacred plants of European folklore. It was considered to bestow life and fertility; a protection against poison; and an aphrodisiac. The mistletoe of the sacred oak was especially sacred to the ancient Celtic Druids. On the sixth night of the moon white-robed Druid priests would cut the oak mistletoe with a golden sickle. Two white bulls would be sacrificed amid prayers that the recipients of the mistletoe would prosper. Later, the ritual of cutting the mistletoe from the oak came to symbolize the emasculation of the old King by his successor. Mistletoe was long regarded as both a sexual symbol and the “soul” of the oak. It was gathered at both mid-summer and winter solstices, and the custom of using mistletoe to decorate houses at Christmas is a survival of the Druid and other pre-Christian traditions. The Greeks also thought that it had mystical powers and down through the centuries it became associated with many folklore customs. In the Middle Ages and later, branches of mistletoe were hung from ceilings to ward off evil spirits. In Europe they were placed over house and stable doors to prevent the entrance of witches. It was also believed that the oak mistletoe could extinguish fire. This was associated with an earlier belief that the mistletoe itself could come to the tree during a flash of lightning. The traditions which began with the European mistletoe were transferred to the similar American plant with the process of immigration and settlement.
Mistletoe, the Plant
Mistletoe is especially interesting botanically because it is a partial parasite (a “hemiparasite”). As a parasitic plant, it grows on the branches or trunk of a tree and actually sends out roots that penetrate into the tree and take up nutrients. But mistletoe is also capable for growing on its own; like other plants it can produce its own food by photosynthesis. Mistletoe, however, is more commonly found growing as a parasitic plant. There are two types of mistletoe. The mistletoe that is commonly used as a Christmas decoration (Phoradendron flavescens) is native to North America and grows as a parasite on trees in the west as also in those growing in a line down the east from New Jersey to Florida. The other type of mistletoe, Viscum album, is of European origin. The European mistletoe is a green shrub with small, yellow flowers and white, sticky berries which are considered poisonous. It commonly seen on apple but only rarely on oak trees. The rarer oak mistletoe was greatly venerated by the ancient Celts and Germans and used as a ceremonial plant by early Europeans. The Greeks and earlier peoples thought that it had mystical powers and down through the centuries it became associated with many folklore customs.
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Nepal Disabled Women Association (NDWA)
Nepal Disabled Women Association (NDWA) was established in 2054 (1998) adopting the values of the fundamental rights and responsibilities provided by the constitution of Nepal in order to support Women with Disabilities (WWDs) to pursue their rights, and provide them protection and livelihood support. Unless WWDs from all sections of the Nepalese community get understanding of their human rights, particularly as ensured by the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and exercise them, their lives will not be bright and prosperous. Thus, NDWA promotes the program to build the capacity of the WWDs living in both urban and remote areas of the country in order to make them capable and empowered so that they will be able to take initiative to exercise their rights. It is vital to empower women from other disadvantaged communities such as women with disabilities from Dalit and Madhesi to build their self- esteem and confidence. In this context, NDWA has an important role to advocate on the issues of WWDs, such as rights to education, health, employment, rehabilitation and social security. NDWA seeks to create and lead a nationwide network of self-help groups of WWDs to achieve its mission.
- To advocate & participate in policy making process for the rights of WWDs.
- To advocate for the implementation of policies relates to WWDs.
- To sensitize society, including the state, to develop positive attitudes towards WWD’s issues & rights.
- To empower WWDs through capacity building
- To provide safe houses to WWDs –rehabilitation, social security and shelter
- To provide vocational skills, occupational training for employment, income generation, enterprise development & livelihoods
- To strengthen WWD’s network & institution at all levels
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by David B. Quinn
Manteo, leading Carolina Algonquian Indian, was a member of the ruling family of the Croatoan subtribe of the coastal Algonquian group. His mother (or adopted mother) appears to have been the chieftainess of the subtribe that acknowledged some dependence on the Indians of Roanoke Island. Manteo encountered the English visitors in 1584 and agreed to go with them to England, as did another Indian, Wanchese. It was possibly on this voyage that Thomas Harriot began to teach him to speak English and he to teach Harriot Algonquian. By mid-October he was at Queen Elizabeth's court, wearing English brown taffeta clothing but unwilling to speak the new language. By mid-December, however, the two Indians, possibly with Harriot's aid, had proved capable of describing the geography and resources of their region in some detail with, we suspect, Manteo taking the lead.
He sailed with Sir Richard Grenville and Ralph Lane to the Carolina Outer Banks in 1585, probably taking part in the exploration of the banks in July and almost certainly playing a significant role as interpreter and negotiator during August and September, when the English settlement was established close to the village of high chief Wingina (Pemisapan) on Roanoke Island. From then to June 1586 he is likely to have divided his time between Croatoan (three Indian sites at or south of Buxton may represent the center of his subtribe's territory) and guiding English parties through the rivers and sounds.
In June 1586 Manteo was at Roanoke Island, possibly having brought some of his men to assist Lane, who had broken with and killed the high chief. When Lane decided to abandon the colony, Manteo, of his own accord, accompanied him to England. We know nothing of his experiences there, except that he was exposed to Anglican teachings and had responded to them. He probably also advised Governor John White in his preparations for a permanent colony to be established in 1587 on Chesapeake Bay. The expedition that reached Roanoke Island in late July was not carried on to Chesapeake Bay by the recalcitrant sailors. Manteo accompanied Edward Stafford to Croatoan, whose men were prepared to fight until Manteo revealed himself to them. At a later stage White's party mistakenly attacked some Croatoan Indians who were plundering Dasemunkepeuc, where the remnant of Pemisapan's men were living, but the incident was glossed over with Manteo's aid.
It was intended that the colonists should make their own way to Chesapeake Bay, leaving a party at Roanoke Island to await John White's return from England with further supplies in 1588. They were placed under the protection of Manteo, who, by Sir Walter Raleigh's appointment, was, on 13 Aug. 1587, "christened in Roanoak, and called Lord thereof, and of Dasmongueponke, in reward of his faithful service." This honor indicates how highly he was regarded in England. The majority of the colonists appear to have soon departed for their Chesapeake abode and reached there safely. A group of men was left to await John White. But White did not come in 1588, and sometime between 1588 and the latter part of 1589 the party moved down to live with Manteo, leaving as a sign the clear carving of CROATOAN, without any suggestion they were in distress, to show White where he would find them. White arrived only in August 1590 to find the remains of his own possessions strewn about, a new defensive enclosure, and indications that he would find his party with Manteo. Bad weather and the loss of a boat's crew led impatient seamen to prevent White from making his way to Croatoan. Plans made to find a place for the winter and return in the spring of 1591 came to nothing, and White returned to England in October 1590, leaving his colonists to their own devices.
Nothing further is known of Manteo or of the Englishmen he had sheltered. Some may have rejoined their comrades on Chesapeake Bay; some or all may have stayed with Manteo, joined his tribal group, and become assimilated. Rumors in the early seventeenth century seemed to suggest that some white men were still living in this southern area, but no trace of them was found by parties searching from Jamestown.
Manteo was evidently a man of some distinction and intellect. He favored the English intruders (and was favored by them) as against the traditional leader of his tribe. Raleigh's respect for him, his own loyalty to John White, his desire for assimilation rather than conflict, and his baptism and acceptance of the lordship of his tribe's territories at English hands are evidence of his role. Nevertheless, had the colonists established themselves in strength close to his domain, his inclinations might well have been put to a more severe test. As it was, he passes out of history merely as one of the first eastern American Indians to be glimpsed as an independent personality.
1 March 1991 | Quinn, David B.
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In Project 4 & 5, the imager was modified to handle importance sampling and a pinhole camera. The importance sampling provided much faster rendering times by sending photons only at known objects in the scene, and weighting them based on their angle. The photons were generated at the sensor grid and sent through the scene until they hit a light source (or bounced too much). This seemed to provide a good sampling of the scene, but required a major rewrite of the code.
This new version of the software adds a lens to the scene as well as motion blur. To handle motion blur, the red diffuse sphere was moved from (0, 1, 3) to (1, 2, 4) over the course of the rendering. This created an easy but interesting blur effect as if the object was exposed over many sensor units while the apperture was open.
The lense was a simple biconvex lense attached to the pinhole. Upon contact with the lense, the vector was skewed based on it's angle of incidence and the refractive index of the lense (1.4 for this lense). As the photon left this lense, it would be skewed again. Snell's law was used to calculate the angles of refraction for each photon.
Rendered using 18,000,000,000 photons -- 200,000 per sensor grid (4 hours, 11 seconds rendering time)
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Click on Oklahoma
map to return to county listings
The Doaksville Site
Once the largest town in the Choctaw Nation, the community of Doaksville
flourished within the Choctaw Nation from the 1830s until shortly
after the Civil War. It served as the Choctaw National Capital from
1850 until 1863, and is where General Stand Watie became the last
Confederate General to surrender, in June of 1865.
Hard hit by the abandonment of nearby Fort Towson in the 1850s,
by movement of the Choctaw National Capital to Chahta Tamaha in
1863, and by the general devastation caused by the Civil War, Doaksville
declined rapidly in the 1870s. The final blow to the town occurred
in 1902 when a new railroad was constructed about a mile to the
south and a new town-Fort Towson-was constructed that quickly too
the place of what little remained at Doakvsille. When the Oklahoma
Historical Society acquired the site in 1960, little remained on
the surface to betray its former importance.
Early photo of Doaksville,
probably dating to the mid-19th century
Volunteers work to uncover one
of the cells
of the Doaksville jail
In 1995, 1996, and 1997 the Oklahoma Historical Society, under
the direction of William Lees, conducted a series of excavations
to uncover remains of the town to prepare the site for public
interpretation. The Oklahoma Anthropological Society was invited
to be a part of this project and their annual spring dig kicked
off each season's excavations, with work continuing through
the end of July by a University of Oklahoma Field School.
In 1995, the OAS and OU field schools focused on Structure 5,
and OU students also worked on structures 7, 33, and 57. Structure
5 is a well-constructed limestone foundation, and the only with
a formal cellar. This building may have been a small dwelling
or a detached kitchen. Structure 33 is the remains of a commercial
building that appears to have burned about 1850 while in use.
Excavations were begun on Structure 57 at a pile of brick rubble
and a nearby feature that appears to have been an outdoor fire
pit. Structure 7 was found to represent a pile of limestone
rock of no consequence.
In 1996 the OAS excavated structure 13-15 (the jail), and the
OU field school focused on structures 6-2, 33, and 57. The jail
was completely exposed, and revealed stone walls two-feet in
width enclosing three cells that were only 3 by 6 ft in size.
Work at Structure 33 was limited to salvaging an area destroyed
by pothunters shortly after the close of the 1995 field season.
Limited exploratory work was conducted at structure 6-2, thought
to be the hotel, and 57. At 57, this work identified a feature
that was not excavated due to the end of the field season.
In 1997, the OAS excavated Structure 6-2 (the hotel) and 32
(the well) and OU students renewed work on Structure 57. At
the hotel, two chimney bases and hearths were excavated that
showed this building was once about 40 ft. in length. This building
showed the longest span of use of any at Doaksville, with evidence
covering a period beginning in the 1840s and continuing until
the turn of the 20th century.
The well was one of three communal wells that are still visible
at the site. Excavated were remains of a limestone pavement
around the well and artifacts dating from the 1840s. At 57,
excavation exposed a chimney/hearth foundation, and evidence
that this building had burned. Also, the feature identified
in 1996 was found to be a two-meter deep pit-feature, possibly
a root cellar, filled with burned household debris buried under
brick rubble. From the ceramics in this pit, it appears to have
been filled in after a fire in the 1850s or 1860s.
Excavations at Doaksville represent the most widespread for a town
in the Indian Territory and provide a collection of unprecedented
scope from the 1840s to 1860s period. Research is still underway
on the collections, but to date a number of significant projects
have benefited from the work by the OAS and OU field schools during
1995 to 1997.
Excavations at this site were the subject of University of Oklahoma
graduate student Heather Atherton's Masters thesis, "Urban
vs. Rural, Ethnicity of Ninenteenth Century Choctaw in the West"
(1997). She utilized evidence from Doaksville along with archaeological
information from other sites and archival information to compare
the Choctaw living in the urban center of Doaksville to those living
in rural settings.
A walking trail leading the visitor through the site was
completed in 2001. The trail passes by each excavation area,
where foundations have been rebuilt so that their form is
clearly visible. Trail signs relying heavily on information
from documents and from the archaeology tell the important
story of this once forgotten place.
Example of signs along the new
Doaksville interpretive trail
Thanks to Dr. William Lees of the Oklahoma Historical Society
for providing this article about the Doaksville site and for the
Dr. Lees has a website on the 19th century Red River steamboat
For more photos, click here.
Prehistoric Sites Identified to Time Period in Choctaw
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The most common joystick type in home computers have been Atari-style digital joysticks. Those joysticks are named after Atari, because this joystick type was first introduced in Atari 2600 videogame and then adopted to the home computers introduced on ever since (VIC 20, Commodore 64, Amiga, MSX-computers and even Sinclair Spectrum joystick adapters used this joystick type).
The joystick itself consisted of five switches which are arranged such that four of them correspond to the joystick direction (UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT) and one was for the fire button. The joystick connector was 9 pin D-shell connector. Normally all of those switches are open, but when the joystick is moved from the center position, one or two position switches are closed (according to what direction the stick is turned). The fire button worked so that it closes when the button is pressed. All of the swiches are connected between ground and corresponding signal pin of the joystick connector.
Comment by James : A set of paddles can be connected to the 2600 for games like pong etc
it is a rotary pot like a volume control. 2 paddles are on every connector.
each one has a single button as well, connected to 2 of the joystick direction lines.
Many faqs on the 2600 are incorrect because they dont have the following pins:
5. B Potentiometer Input
9. A Potentiometer Input
The paddles are the Atari CX30 paddle controller
Atari 400, 800, 1200XL, 600XL, 800XL, 65XE, 130XE and 800XE have the same connector and can use both single button joystick and the paddles.
Light pens use pin 6.
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Water Science for Schools
Water Basics • Earth's Water • Water Cycle • Special Topics • Water Use • Activity Center • Water Q&A • Galleries • Search this site • Help • Water glossary • Site map • Contact us • Back • Home
Sinkholes are common where the rock below the land surface is limestone, carbonate rock, salt beds, or rocks that can naturally be dissolved by ground water circulating through them. As the rock dissolves, spaces and caverns develop underground. Sinkholes are dramatic because the land usually stays intact for a while until the underground spaces just get too big. If there is not enough support for the land above the spaces then a sudden collapse of the land surface can occur. These collapses can be small, as this picture shows, or they can be huge and can occur where a house or road is on top.
The most damage from sinkholes tends to occur in Florida, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania. The picture to the left shows a sinkhole that quickly opened up in Florida, apparently eating a swimming pool, some roadway, and buildings.
Areas prone to collapse sinkholes
The map below shows areas of the United States where certain rock types that are susceptible to dissolution in water occur. In these areas the formation of underground cavities can form and catastrophic sinkholes can happen. These rock types are evaporites (salt, gypsum, and anhydrite) and carbonates (limestone and dolomite). Evaporite rocks underlie about 35 to 40 percent of the United States, though in many areas they are buried at great depths.
Sinkholes can be human-induced
New sinkholes have been correlated to land-use practices, especially from ground-water pumping and from construction and development practices. Sinkholes can also form when natural water-drainage patterns are changed and new water-diversion systems are developed. Some sinkholes form when the land surface is changed, such as when industrial and runoff-storage ponds are created. The substantial weight of the new material can trigger an underground collapse of supporting material, thus causing a sinkhole.
The overburden sediments that cover buried cavities in the aquifer systems are delicately balanced by ground-water fluid pressure. The water below ground is actually helping to keep the surface soil in place. Ground-water pumping for urban water supply and for irrigation can produce new sinkholes In sinkhole-prone areas. If pumping results in a lowering of ground-water levels, then underground structural failure, and thus, sinkholes, can occur.
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Appealing mid-summer bloomer deserves a closer look
TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHY BY GINA DENNISTON
Belamcanda chinensis is the botanical name for the underused blackberry lily. Not actually a lily, it is a member of the iris family, largely owing to its swordlike foliage.
|The orange and red coloration of the blackberry lily flower really pops. In the fall seed pods burst open to reveal shiny black seeds.
So what is this nonlily, and why the blackberry moniker?
It is a herbaceous perennial that blooms in July and August and whose flowers resemble, in a diminutive, less-in-your-face way, a tiger lily. In late summer seed heads open up to reveal a cluster of black, shiny seeds reminiscent of blackberry fruit.
The blooms open for only a day, but this plantís charm lies in the pop of orange it provides amongst its long, pale-green leaves. (It also comes in yellow.) The red spots scattered across the orange petals are rather sweet.
Blackberry lily grows in clumps, which can add a lot of substance to a needy spot in the garden. Plus, it is easy to grow in ordinary well-drained soil in full or partial sun. Propagate it by dividing the clumps or by sowing seeds. If you know someone who grows this plant, ask for a division in the fall. (It is difficult to find plants to buy.)
According to monticello.org, Thomas Jefferson planted blackberry lilies in an oval flower bed at Monticello in 1807. Does anyone need a better reference than that?
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I drop the dinghy’s anchor below the red-streaked cliffs of Maug. The uninhabited island group is among the most remote of the Mariana Islands, which are territories of the United States in the Western Pacific. Maug's three steep, parentheses-shaped islands are the top of an underwater volcano.
Maug, part of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, is one of a string of underwater volcanoes—some active and spewing mud, sulfur and carbon dioxide—that boasts some of the world’s most spectacular geology. A nearby seamount hosts the only known sulfur lake this side of Jupiter. And Maug is the only place in the world where underwater volcanic vents emit carbon dioxide in a tropical, shallow-water environment.
Wearing a mask and fins, I slide into the water and swim north for a short trip into the future of our oceans.
As I start paddling against the current along the inner shore of the eastern island, I see abundant small fishes and plenty of coral heads washed in pastel blue, pink and white. Then the water gets warmer and murkier and there is less and less coral. Another 100 feet and I start seeing little bubbles rising in bursts from among the small rocks on the bottom, which are covered in brown slime called cyanobacteria. The small fishes disappear, a sign the water quality is changing.
Where the bubbles come out, the pH of the water is 6.07, a level of acidity that would kill all life in the oceans. A few feet away, where I swim, the acidic emissions have been diluted to a pH of 7.8, which is what scientists predict surface ocean water will average in half a century.
This is the death zone—dark and foreboding, and not a pretty sight. But it’s utterly fascinating to Rusty Brainard, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Ecosystems Division, who was among the first to swim through it in 2003. That's because, he says, it may help us understand how reefs around the world will react to an acidifying ocean.
Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have emitted a mind-boggling 500 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. This heat-trapping gas caused the planet—which was poised for 100,000 years of cooling driven by variations in the Earth’s orbit—to get warmer instead.
Ken Caldeira, a climate change scientist at the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University, says we’re spewing out 30 billion tons of CO2 a year from burning coal and oil, plus another 7 billion tons from the indirect effects of deforestation and making cement. In comparison, he says, the natural CO2 production from volcanic vents, in the air and in the water, is about half a billion tons a year.
About a third of the CO2 that has been emitted since the year 1800 has been absorbed by the oceans, which means our climate isn’t as hot as it would be otherwise. But what’s good for polar bears is not good for corals: CO2 in the water turns into carbonic acid, which has increased the acidity in the top 300-foot layer of the ocean by 30 percent.
As ocean water becomes more acidic, corals and shellfish must spend more energy to make their calcium carbonate shells, a process known as calcification.
“Already, the rate at which corals grow in the Great Barrier Reef has fallen by 15 percent in less than 20 years,” says Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, director of the Center for Marine Studies at the University of Queensland, Australia. “At this rate, corals will start to decline probably in 25 years.” Calcification will plummet to minimal levels–in which coral growth is barely perceptible–by the middle of the century, Hoegh-Guldberg calculated in a paper published in Science in December 2007.
Many reefs are already stressed by temperature spikes that kill coral colonies in a process called bleaching and by the overharvesting of fish that keep coral-smothering algae in check. “It doesn't take much of a decrease in reef calcification for coral reefs to begin to crumble and erode away,” Hoegh-Guldberg explains. “That leaves all the fish and the species that support them in the coral reefs essentially homeless, so they’ll just disappear.”
Hoegh-Guldberg published evidence for this scenario in 1999. Today he is no longer a lonely Cassandra. Many researchers believe that by mid-century, when atmospheric CO2 will be double what it was in 1800, “all coral reefs will cease to grow and start to dissolve,” asserts Jacob Silverman of Hebrew University of Jerusalem in a paper published in March in Geophysical Research Letters.
“Predicting the effect of acidification on coral is relatively easy,” says Caldeira of Carnegie, who coined the term “ocean acidification.” “We know it will make it harder for a lot of other marine species to reproduce, we just don’t know to what extent.”
The problem is that while there have been several periods during which the ocean has been much more acidic than it’s expected to be in a century, the process took at least 5,000 years, which gave marine species much more time to adapt. Now the process is 1,000 times faster than ever before, says Hoegh-Gulberg, which is why he worries about mass extinctions.
Which brings us back to Maug.
The unique death zone, where the water is so acidic from the volcanic vents that no coral can survive, is only 30 feet across and 200 feet long. After I swim out of it into gin-clear water full of fish and coral, I turn around and head back south, with the current, past the vents. Both the death zone and the transition zone, where highly acidic water merges with normal sea water, should yield insights into how corals will react to a changing ocean.
“This is the only shallow reef we know of where certain spots look just like we expect a lot of reefs will look like in 50 or 100 years,” Brainard says in his office in Honolulu. “We need to study what goes on in the space between the dead zone and normal one to find out exactly how corals react to increasingly acidic water.”
Because the ocean absorbs CO2 so slowly and there is already so much in the atmosphere, acidification will be much harder to reverse than climate change. As I swim back to the boat, I wonder how much coral my (hypothetical) grandchildren will see. They will certainly see ample and captivating photographs and film footage of coral reefs. Unlike the unphotographed dodo, our reefs, even if they are reduced to sand, will live on in our imagination.
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Training and Skills Required to Become a Volunteer Firefighter
There is physical training and several skills required for people to become volunteer firefighters. Although some of this varies among states and even fire stations, most of it remains generally the same.
Physical Test and Training
After applying and going through an interview and background check, volunteer firefighters need to pass a physical test. This varies by state, but participants should be ready to drag up to 180 pounds, lift as much as 70 pounds and crawl through tight spaces while wearing firefighting gear. After passing, they are required to complete a 110-hour training program to become certified by the National Fire Protection Association.
One of the most important skills a firefighter needs to have is knowledge of safety techniques and procedures. This includes attention to detail to assess the scene of a fire and identify the dangers before continuing. It also includes being able to communicate with victims at the scene, their colleagues and other emergency responders. Volunteer firefighters need to know the safe, approved process for any emergency as well.
Know the Equipment
Firefighters need to be skilled when they go to use firefighting equipment. They have to be able to use hand tools, like axes, the high-pressure fire hose and saws, as well as their gear and more complex machinery. Itís harder to drive a fire engine than a regular vehicle. They will need to demonstrate that they can use all equipment safely and effectively before they are called to the scene of a fire.
Be Well Skilled in First Aid
The emergencies that volunteer firefighters are called to arenít always fires. They may need to respond to car accidents, natural disasters, false alarms and other medical emergencies. In these scenarios, someone could need immediate treatment. Because of this, firefighters need to have extensive knowledge of first aid procedures and techniques, such as the basic assessment of a victim, stabilization and CPR.
Volunteer firefighters can be thrown into some really hectic and stressful situations. They need to be able to remain calm during these scenarios and be able to handle the stress. This includes maintaining communication with their colleagues at all times, listening to everyone around them, and using common sense. These cases may even call for them to make decisions right away, so they need to be able to keep a clear head and not let their emotions get the best of them.
Be Flexible and Self-Motivated
Since there is no way to plan for an emergency, volunteer firefighters need to be flexible and even work under short time frames. This may mean they have to determine which parts of their lives take priority over others in order to be there for their colleagues and the community. Additionally, volunteer firefighters need to be self-motivated, which means taking charge when they have to and working with little to no supervision.
Working as a volunteer firefighter needs the same training and skills as a career firefighter. By completing the training and developing these skills, as well as others, anyone interested can volunteer for their community.
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Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer in 1951 and, ever since, samples of her uniquely immortal cancerous cells have been used in scientific research, sparking great leaps in medical knowledge.
But the cells—taken without her knowledge or consent—have also fueled controversy and called into question the ethical underpinnings of the research they made possible. Her story, made famous in the book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by science writer Rebecca Skloot, underscores the continuing need—65 years after her death—for society to find a way to balance the advancement of medical knowledge with the protection of individual rights.
At a February 22 bioethics forum at Baxter Lecture Hall, Caltech president Thomas F. Rosenbaum introduced a panel of Caltech faculty that examined the ethics of using Lacks's cells—known as HeLa cells—along with issues of privacy, informed consent, and who profits from the technologies her cells engendered. Caltech trustee Ronald L. Olson moderated the panel of Caltech faculty, which featured David Baltimore, President Emeritus and the Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Biology; Ellen Rothenberg, the Albert Billings Ruddock Professor of Biology; Barbara J. Wold, the Bren Professor of Molecular Biology; and Changhuei Yang, professor of electrical engineering, bioengineering, and medical engineering.
The evening event revisited a topic that incoming freshmen had tackled earlier in the academic year in roundtable discussions of the book, which the students had been asked to read prior to their arrival at Caltech.
"HeLa cells were a miracle," said Baltimore, who has used them in his research since 1962. After noting their incalculable value—and how rare it was to have found cells that underwent the specific mutations that conferred their ability to divide indefinitely in culture—he brought the discussion back to the question of who owns the cells.
"So it seems to me the question is, what rights does she have as a consequence of this rare, basically random event, that made her cells different than anybody else's cells? . . . We are the product of a genetic lottery. What rights do we get as a consequence of our particular genes? Everyone else around us has a representation of those same genes, but not identical. What is ownership in this case?"
Rothenberg discussed how the cells have enabled key advances in molecular biology, stem cell research, and immunology—advances that would have been considered "complete science fiction fantasy" when Lacks was alive. Because the innovations her cells made possible would have been impossible to foresee, questions naturally arise as to whether Lacks could have understood the ramifications of her consent, had it been sought.
The structure of DNA was only discovered two years after Lacks' death, and the revolution in molecular biology that followed completely transformed the possibilities for use of any human cells that were able to grow in culture. "How could she possibly have given informed consent? In the case of a rapidly advancing field like molecular biology, there's no way she could have been asked at that time what she was really consenting to," Rothenberg said.
When the conversation returned to ownership of a patient's cells, and who should profit from their use, Rothenberg pointed out that simply saying the patient owns them, period, could generate a raft of unintended consequences. For example, medical institutions might, for legal liability reasons, refuse to accept certain tissue samples, hampering the delivery of personalized medicine to patients. Equally disturbing, she says, would be the possibility that the commercially valuable products of cells might incentivize individuals to view a cancer-patient relative "as a possible cash cow, and sell their tissues in the hopes of winning the lottery. . . . You definitely don't want people to be in a position where they or their family members want to sell parts of their body because they're starving."
Wold said her research seldom involves HeLa cells but, she added, "that doesn't mean I'm not an avid consumer of what's been learned over 60 years of studying them." She hailed the "beautiful science" the cells have engendered, but lamented the scientific community's repeated failings in communicating with and involving the Lacks family over the years as to how the cells were being used and what was being learned from them. For example, she said, teams of researchers in Germany and at the University of Washington sequenced and published the HeLa genome in 2013 and made the information freely available worldwide. In doing so, however, they made portions of the family's genome public—without thinking to seek the family's approval or tell the family what was happening. The research community "quickly recognized this as a catastrophe," said Wold, prompting the creation of a board that includes Lacks family members and now regulates access to the data.
Such ethical considerations continued during the event's Q&A, which stirred discussion about such critical questions as how to address medical privacy when one family member's consent might make public another family member's information, and whether proposed consent rules might jeopardize access to older cell lines that were obtained prior to a stricter consent regime.
Yang, whose lab has used HeLa cells since 2008, said he only recently learned about the ethical concerns around their provenance, adding, "Honestly I was quite surprised to find there were all these [controversies]. . . . As an outsider to American culture—I actually grew up in Singapore—my instinct would be that the DNA is a common good, not personal property. If my cells would be useful for research, I would gladly give them up without any expectations."
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King Henry III
King Edward I
King Edward II
Deposed and murdered in 1327.
King Edward III
King Richard II
Deposed. Murdered in 1400.
Reigned Before the Plantagenets:
The Angevins (reigned reigned 1154-1216)
Reigned After the Plantagenets:
The House of Lancaster (reigned 1399-1461)
Full List of English Royal Dynasties:
Unless otherwise noted, these books are for sale at Amazon.com. Your purchase through these links will result in a commission for the owner of the Royalty.nu site.
Book categories: Plantagenets, Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, Isabella of France, Edward III, Order of the Garter, Black Prince, Richard II, Hundred Years' War, DVDs, Normans, Angevins, Lancastrians, Yorkists, Wars of the Roses
The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England by Dan Jones. Eight generations of the greatest and worst kings and queens England has ever seen -- from the White Ship to the Lionheart, bad King John to the Black Prince and John of Gaunt.
The Plantagenets: History of a Dynasty by J. S. Hamilton. A complete account of the rulers and politics of the Plantagenet reign.
The Demon's Brood: A History of the Plantagenet Dynasty by Desmond Seward. An overview of the whole dynasty, based on major contemporary sources and modern research.
The Plantagenets: The Kings That Made Britain by Derek Wilson. A year-by-year chronology of a tumultuous period in the development of the English nation. Includes portraits, maps, and other images.
The Plantagenet Chronicles edited by Elizabeth Hallam. This attractively illustrated book draws on the writings of 14 contemporary chroniclers to tell the story of medieval Europe's most tempestuous family.
Four Gothic Kings: The Turbulent History of Medieval England and the Plantagenet Kings (1216-1377) edited by Elizabeth Hallam. Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, Edward III seen through the eyes of their contemporaries. Includes more than 200 illustrations.
Three Medieval Queens: Queenship and the Crown in Fourteenth-Century England by Lisa Benz St. John. How Margaret of France (wife of Henry II's son Henry the Young King), Isabella of France (wife of Edward II), and Philippa of Hainault (wife of Edward III) exercised power and authority.
The Last Plantagenet Consorts: Gender, Genre, and Historiography, 1440-1627 by Kavita Mudan Finn. Examines fabrications about 15th century English queens as reflections of questions and anxieties that haunted their writers.
The Plantagenets & Their Times
The Lordship of England by Scott L. Waugh. Royal wardships and marriages in English society and politics, 1217-1327.
Kings and Bishops in Medieval England, 1066-1216 by Roger Wickson. Explores thel relationship between the kings of England and their bishops, from the Norman Conquest to the Magna Carta.
The Rise of Alchemy in Fourteenth Century England by Jonathan Hughes. The Plantagenet kings and the search for the Philosopher's Stone.
The Fourteenth Century by May McKisack. From Oxford's "History of England" series.
Books by Thomas Costain
The Conquering Family by Thomas B. Costain. First volume in Costain's popular four-book series about the Plantagenets. This book starts with William the Conqueror and ends with the reign of King John I. Easy to read and entertaining.
The Magnificent Century by Thomas B. Costain. Covers the long reign of King Henry III.
The Three Edwards by Thomas B. Costain. As its title suggests, this third volume in Costain's series covers the reigns of Edward I, Edward II, and Edward III.
The Last Plantagenets by Thomas B. Costain. Continues the family's story through the Wars of the Roses and the downfall of Richard III.
The Gothic King: A Biography of Henry III by John Paul Davis. Often overlooked by historians, Henry III was a powerful, unyielding monarch who faced down the De Montfort rebellion and hammered out the terms of the Magna Carta with the barons.
The Reign of Henry III by D. A. Carpenter. Essays on the long reign of Henry III (1216-1272) was one of the most significant in English history. This book discusses his personal rule, the revolution of 1258, the rise of Simon de Montfort, and more.
Eleanor of Provence: Queenship in Thirteenth-Century England by Margaret Howell. About the wife of King Henry III.
Eleanor de Montfort by Louise Wilkinson. Biography. As sister of Henry III and aunt of the future Edward I, Eleanor de Montfort was at the heart of the bloody conflict between the Crown and the English barons.
Simon De Montfort by J. R. Maddicott. Biography. Once a favorite of Henry III, De Montfort led a revolt against the king, took him prisoner, and ruled England himself for a time.
The Holy Blood: King Henry III and the Blood Relics of Westminster and Hailes by Nicholas Vincent. In 1247, English king Henry III gave Westminster Abbey a relic said to contain the blood of Christ. The author investigates the background of this relic and others like it.
Henry III of England and the Staufen Empire, 1216-1272 by Bjorn K. U. Weiler. Using Henry's dealings with the rulers of the Staufen Empire (Germany, Northern France, Northern Italy and Sicily) as a case study, the author shows that the English king acted within the same parameters as his peers.
The Growth of Royal Government Under Henry III edited by David Crook and Louise J. Wilkinson. Essays about such topics as 13th century developments in legal and financial administration, the roles of women and the church, and the office of escheator.
Henry III in Fiction
The Sister Queens by Sophie Perinot. Novel about 13th century sisters Margaret of Provence, wife of King Louis IX of France, and Eleanor of Provence, wife of King Henry III of England.
Four Sisters, All Queens by Sherry Jones. Amid the lush valleys of Provence, Marguerite, Eléonore, Sanchia, and Beatrice are raised by an ambitious mother. Marguerite marries King Louis IX of France. Soon Eléonore is betrothed to Henry III of England. Shy, devout Sanchia and tempestuous Beatrice will also become queens. Enemies are everywhere, and sister is pitted against sister for the prize of Provence itself.
Falls the Shadow by Sharon Kay Penman is a novel about Henry III and Simon de Montfort. This is a sequel to Here Be Dragons, which focuses on Welsh royalty. The third book in the series is The Reckoning, about Edward I's conquest of Wales.
The Queen From Provence by Jean Plaidy. Novel about Henry III's wife, Eleanor of Provence.
Edward I by Michael Prestwich. Biography from the Yale English Monarchs series.
A Great and Terrible King: Edward I and the Forging of Britain by Marc Morris. Biography of a truly formidable king who believed it was his right to rule all of Britain. His reign was one of the most dramatic and important of the entire Middle Ages.
Eleanor of Castile: The Shadow Queen by Sara Cockerill. The wife of England's King Edward I, Eleanor was her husband's close adviser, ventured on Crusade, and endured captivity amid a civil war.
Edward I and the Governance of England, 1272-1307 by Caroline Burt. Through three detailed case studies, the author re-evaluates the king's motivations and achievements.
The King's Jews: Money, Massacre and Exodus in Medieval England by Robin R. Mundill. In July 1290, Edward I ordered all Jews expelled from England, their houses confiscated by the king.
England Under Edward I and II by Sandra Raban. Examines the key events and institutions of the period and uses a wealth of artistic material to capture the era's color and diversity.
Edward Longshanks by Jean Plaidy. Novel about Edward I.
The Chronicles of Pauncefoot and Longshanks: The Making of a King by David Stedman. Tells the story of a (fictional) jester who insinuates himself into the service of England's future king Edward I, known as Longshanks.
King Edward II: His Life, His Reign, and Its Aftermath, 1284-1330 by Roy Martin Haines. A biography that examines Edward II's character and reign in the context of his times.
Edward II, 1307-1327 by Mary Saaler. A clearly-written account of Edward's life and reign. Sadler covers all the main issues, including Piers Gaveston, the Templars, military and political conflicts, and the death of the king.
Edward II: The Unconventional King by Kathryn Warner. Focuses on the king's relationships with his male favourites and his disaffected wife, his unorthodox hobbies, and the mystery surrounding his death, using almost exclusively 14th century sources and Edward's own letters and speeches.
The Tyranny and Fall of Edward II, 1321-1326 by Natalie Fryde. Reassesses the violent rule of Edward II and the Despensers, showing how a grasping courtier, the younger Despenser, worked with an equally grasping king. Examines Queen Isabella's contribution to the king's overthrow.
Edward II by Seymour Phillips. Conventionally viewed as a worthless king, Edward II was not fundamentally different from most English monarchs. This biography takes account of the problems he faced, and examines whether he was really murdered in 1327 or lived on as a captive and then a wanderer.
Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England by Alison Weir. Biography of Isabella of France, wife of 14th century English king Edward II.
Isabella of France: The Rebel Queen by Kathryn Warner. Wife of King Edward II, Isabella of France (c. 1295-1358) rebelled against her husband and forced the first-ever abdication of an English king.
Isabella and the Strange Death of Edward II by Paul Doherty. Biography of Edward II's wife Isabella. She and her lover, Roger Mortimer, deposed Edward, who died mysteriously.
The Greatest Traitor: The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England 1327-1330 by Ian Mortimer. Biography of Roger Mortimer, the lover of Edward II's wife Isabella of France. After deposing and apparently killing the king, Mortimer ruled England for three years.
Fiction About Edward II & Queen Isabella
Harlot Queen by Hilda Lewis. Novel about Isabella of France, wife of King Edward II of England. Rejected by her husband, she would tear England in half to quench her rage.
A Secret Chronicle: Edward II by Jane Lane. Joanna, exiled daughter of Edward II, orders a writer to go to investigate what happened to her father, uncovering a horrific plot born from a struggle for power.
The Traitor's Wife: A Novel of the Reign of Edward II by Susan Higginbotham. Novel about Eleanor de Clare, niece of Edward II and wife of his favorite Hugh le Despenser.
The Confession of Piers Gaveston by Brandy Purdy. The history books tell us that Piers Gaveston enticed and enslaved King Edward II. In this novel, the king's favorite tells his side of the story.
Queen of Shadows: A Novel of Isabella, Wife of King Edward II by Edith Felber. In 14th-century England, beautiful Queen Isabella and her lover, Roger Mortimer, plot to take power.
The Templar, the Queen and Her Lover: A Knights Templar Mystery by Michael Jecks. It is 1325, and England's Queen Isabella is dispatched to France to negotiate peace. Murder, betrayal, adultery, and evil ensue.
Edward II by Christopher Marlowe. A 16th century play about the king.
The Follies of the King by Jean Plaidy. Novel about Edward II and his wife, Isabel of France (also called Isabelle and Isabella).
Isabel the Fair by Margaret Campbell Barnes. Novel about Isabel of France.
The She-Wolf by Maurice Druon. Another novel about Queen Isabella.
The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation by Ian Mortimer. Biography. He ordered his uncle beheaded and usurped his father's throne. Yet under the rule of Edward III, England experienced its longest period of domestic peace in the Middle Ages.
Edward III by W. Mark Ormrod. Biography that emphasizes how the warrior king's rule was affected by his family relationships.
Edward III: A Heroic Failure by Jonathan Sumption. Edward ruled England for 50 years and was regarded with awe even by his enemies. But he lived too long, and saw 30 years of conquests reversed in less than five years. From the Penguin Monarchs series.
Edward III and the Triumph of England: The Battle of Crecy and the Company of the Garter by Richard Barber. This book recreates the world of King Edward III, who founded one of the most famous of all knightly orders, the Company of the Garter. It is a book about knighthood, battle tactics and grand strategy, but also about fashion, literature and the privates lives of everyone from queens to freebooters.
The Wars of Edward III: Sources and Interpretations by Clifford J. Rogers. When Edward III came to the throne in 1327, England's military reputation had reached a low ebb. His first campaign was a complete failure, but 22 years later he was considered the most skilful warrior in the world. This book tells the story of his battles.
War Cruel and Sharp by Clifford J. Rogers. English strategy under Edward III, 1327- 1360.
Edward III and the English Peerage: Royal Patronage, Social Mobility and Political Control in Fourteenth-Century England by J. S. Bothwell. Detailed analysis of how Edward III used royal favor to create a new nobility and control the established peerage.
Edward III's Round Table at Windsor: The House of the Round Table and the Windsor Festival of 1344 edited by Julian Munby and Richard Barber. In 1344, King Edward III ordered the construction of a 'House of the Round Table' to show off his power and rally support for his military adventures.
St George's Chapel, Windsor, in the Fourteenth Century edited by Nigel Saul. Essays examine the early history of the Chapel, its role in the history of the Order of the Garter, and the building campaign started by Edward III which made Windsor the grandest royal residence of its day.
The Most Noble Order of the Garter: 650 Years by Peter J. Begent and Hubert Chesshyre. The Order of the Garter was founded by King Edward III in about 1348. This is the first comprehensive survey of the history of the Order from its inception to modern times.
Shame and Honor: A Vulgar History of the Order of the Garter by Stephanie Trigg. Did the Order really originate in a 14th century wardrobe malfunction? This history ranges from medieval romance to Victorian caricature, from imperial politics to medievalism in contemporary culture, exploring the Order's attempts to modernize itself while holding on to its past.
The Order of the Garter 1348-1461: Chivalry and Politics in Late Medieval England by Hugh E. L. Collins. Scholarly study from Oxford University Press.
History of the Most Noble Order of the Garter & the Several Orders of Knighthood in Europe by Elias Ashmole. First published in 1715.
Fiction & Drama About Edward III
The Vow on the Heron by Jean Plaidy. Novel about Edward III.
The King's Mistress by Emma Campion. Edward III's notorious mistress Alice Perrers tells her story.
The King's Concubine: A Novel of Alice Perrers by Anne O'Brien. Mistress of King Edward III and confidante of the king's wife, Alice Perrers faces a threat worse than the malicious whispers of the court.
The People's Queen by Vanora Bennett. Alice Perrers, mistress of 14th century England's Edward III, becomes the virtual ruler of the country when the king falls ill.
The First Princess of Wales: A Novel by Karen Harper. High-spirited Joan of Kent is sent to the politically charged court of King Edward III of England, where treachery runs rampant. First published in 1984 under the title Sweet Passion's Pain.
King Edward III edited by Giorgio Melchiori. The author of this play is uncertain, but many experts believe it was written by William Shakespeare.
Edward the Black Prince: Power in Medieval Europe by David Green. Biography of of the most controversial and flamboyant characters in English history, Edward the "Black Prince," son of King Edward III.
Edward, Prince of Wales and Aquitaine by Richard Barber. Biography that separates the legendary prince's image from reality.
Joan of Kent: First Princess of Wales by Penny Lawne. Born in 1328 and brought up at English court after the execution of her father, Joan secretly married at age 12 and refused to deny her first love despite imprisonment. She went on to marry the Black Prince, and became the mother of King Richard II.
Victory at Poitiers: The Black Prince and the Medieval Art of War by Christian Teutsch. In 1356, the small English army of Edward, the Black Prince, crushed the forces of the French King Jean II. This book reassesses the classic battle.
In the Steps of the Black Prince: The Road to Poitiers, 1355-1356 by Peter Hoskins. The author walked more than 1,300 miles across France, retracing the routes of English king Edward III's son Edward the Black Prince.
Fiction About the Black Prince
As a Black Prince on Bloody Fields by Thomas W. Jensen. An uncertain 16-year-old steels himself to lead the vanguard of his father's army. He is Edward Plantagenet, the Black Prince. This is his story as he tells it, from a childhood in the Tower of London to his love for Joan, the Fair Maid of Kent.
A Triple Knot: A Novel by Emma Campion. Joan, the "Fair Maid of Kent," secretly pledges herself to one of Edward III's knights, but the furious king wants to marry her off to someone else.
Richard II by Nigel Saul. Biography from the Yale English Monarchs series.
Richard II: A Brittle Glory by Laura Ashe. Richard II (1377-99) came to the throne as a child with an exalted sense of his own power, only to succumb to a coup, imprisonment and murder. (From Penguin's British Monarchs series.)
Richard II: Manhood, Youth, and Politics 1377-99 by Christopher Fletcher. Far from being the effeminate tyrant of historical imagination, Richard was a typical young nobleman of his time, trying to establish his manhood by conventional means.
The Reign of Richard II: From Minority to Tyranny 1377-97 translated and annoted by Alison K. McHardy. Material from chronicles and records arranged chronologically to form a coherent narrative of the first 20 years of Richard II's reign.
Richard II and the Rebel Earl by A. K. Gundy. An in-depth survey of Richard's reign from the perspective of one of his opponents, Thomas Beauchamp, the Appellant Earl of Warwick. It explores not only why the Earl rebelled against the King, but also why Richard lost his throne.
Richard II: The Art of Kingship edited by Anthony Goodman and James Gillespie. The record of Richard II's reign was muddied by hostile chroniclers. This collection of essays by leading historians aims to present a more accurate version of the king's reign.
The Sister Queens: Isabella & Catherine de Valois by Mary McGrigor. Catherine de Valois, bride of Henry V, conducted a passionate love affair that founded the Tudor dynasty. Her sister Isabella was married aged seven to Richard II and fled England following his murder.
The Age of Richard II edited by James L. Gillespie. Historians appraise Richard's diverse reputation: tyrannical opponent of the Peasants' Revolt, the great literary patron of Chaucer, inventor of the handkerchief.
Richard II and the English Royal Treasure by Jenny Stratford. This richly illustrated book reveals the remarkable treasure of gold and silver Richard II amassed.
The Peasants' Revolt
England, Arise: The People, the King and the Great Revolt of 1381 by Juliet Barker. The dramatic and shocking Peasants' Revolt is the backdrop for this look at everyday life in the Middle Ages, exploring why ordinary men and women united in armed rebellion against church and state.
Summer of Blood: The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 by Dan Jones. Examines village life and the failings of government from the perspective of the Revolt's key players.
Fiction About Richard II
Within the Hollow Crown: A Valiant King's Struggle to Save His Country, His Dynasty, and His Love by Margaret Campbell Barnes. First published in 1941, this novel tells the story of England's King Richard II.
Passage to Pontefract by Jean Plaidy. Novel about Richard II.
Richard II by William Shakespeare. Play.
These DVDs are formatted for North American audiences.
Edward II. Steven Waddington stars as Edward II, who upset England's noblemen by sharing his throne with his lover, Piers Gaveston (Andrew Tiernan). Tilda Swinton costars as Edward's scorned wife, Queen Isabella.
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That likely means that many people will be unable to acquire vaccines before the onset of cold weather and traditional flu season.
The seasonal flu vaccine will not offer protection against H1N1.
The CDC won't know the vaccine's effectiveness until clinical trials end in early September, but the agency is confident.
"When we have a virus that's a good match for the vaccine, and we have a good match, vaccines are effective in preventing influenza and effective in preventing the serious consequences that can lead to hospitalization," Skinner said.
The CDC has also issued vaccination guidelines that give priority to pregnant women; caregivers for children under six months of age; health care and medical workers with direct patient contact; kids six months through four years of age; and children and young adults 5 through 18 with chronic medical conditions such as asthma, heart disease, kidney disease, or diabetes.
"Not only is this group of people at risk for serious complications from influenza, they also serve as spreaders of the flu as well," Skinner said.
One noticeable group is missing from the list—the elderly.
While seasonal flu is especially dangerous for the aged, the H1N1 strain has had a far greater impact on young people under 25 years of age.
Health officials believe that U.S. adults older than 60 may have acquired at least partial immunity to the strain from exposure to previous H1N1 viruses, which circulated in the United States in the first half of the 20th century.
Dodging the Virus
How can you best minimize your chances of catching H1N1? You've likely heard it before: Clean your hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Try not to touch your mouth or nose, which can spread germs.
To avoid passing the flu along always cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze—you can unknowingly infect others even before your own symptoms appear.
H1N1 sufferers report fever, cough, stuffy nose, sore throat, chills, exhaustion, and headache. Lab tests are the only way to confirm infection with the H1N1 strain and not another type of flu.
If you do get sick, experts urge, stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone.
You won't need to invent an excuse for missed time at work or school. Authorities are urging employers and administrators to develop flexible plans to respond to widespread absenteeism if infections begin in earnest.
With the prospect of a tough flu season ahead, no one knows if the fast-spreading H1N1 will mutate into a far more dangerous form.
Scientists have seen no signs of this so far, but Skinner noted that even routine flu can put people at risk.
"All of the attention that's been given to this new strain really should serve as a reminder of how serious flu season is every year.
SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES
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The Summer Picnic
CONCEPT: Growing Up With PKU, Will Power
Read a story about two children who learn about will-power and how to use it. Discuss different situations where will-power can be involved, especially in relation to the PKU diet.
After completing this activity, children will be able to:
- define "will-power"
- describe how the characters in the story used will-power
- share times in their lives when they have used will-power
- identify will-power when they see it in different scenarios
Read the story The Summer Picnic with the children. Let the children turns reading the story out loud.
Lead a discussion with the children:
What is will-power?
How did the children in the story discover will-power?
How did they use it?
Hand out the "Will-Power: Do You Use It?" worksheet. As a group discuss each scenario and take turns answering the questions. At the end, encourage the children to share times in their lives when they have used will-power (related to the PKU diet or in other areas of daily living).
Distribute the other worksheets to the children, "A Summer Picnic Phe-Esta" and "Will-Power". Allow time for them to work through them independently. Discuss their answers together.
- Story: The Summer Picnic
- Will-Power: Do You Use It? worksheet
- A Summer Picnic Phe-Esta worksheet
- Will-Power worksheet
- Crayons or markers
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Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. won the Pulitzer Prize for The Age of Jackson. It is a triumph of historical scholarship, analysis, and interpretation and throws much new light on a host of Americans, well-known and less well-known, who come to life in remarkable portraits that are both brilliant and sensitive. We learn a good deal that is new about the Jacksonian era, its relation to the Jeffersonian age it succeeded and to the periods that have followed.
Back to top
Rent The Age of Jackson 1st edition today, or search our site for other textbooks by Arthur M. Schlesinger. Every textbook comes with a 21-day "Any Reason" guarantee. Published by Little Brown & Company.
Need help ASAP? We have you covered with 24/7 instant online tutoring. Connect with one of our tutors now.
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Lake Chapala is Mexico’s largest freshwater lake. It is located approximately 45 km southeast of Guadalajara, Jalisco, and stands on the border between the states of Jalisco and Michoacán.
The altitude of Lake Chapala is 1,524 metres above sea level. Its approximate dimensions are 80 km from east to west and 18 km from north to south, and it covers a total of some 1,100 km². It is a shallow lake, with a mean depth of 4.5 metres and a maximum of 10.5.
Lake Chapala is fed by the Río Lerma, Río Zula, Río Huaracha, and Río Duero rivers, and drained by the Río Santiago. The water then flows northwest into the Pacific Ocean.
The lake has two islands, the largest of which is Isla de los Alacranes.
Lake Chapala’s water levels and water quality are threatened due to over-exploitation of its waters and of the surrounding land. The over-exploitation of this lake has been a result of Guadalajara’s growing demand for fresh water. The water level drop has uncovered political issues that had been hidden for many years.
Its fast decay has raised concern in the surrounding areas and in the scientific community. It was the Global Nature Fund’s “Threatened Lake of the Year” in 2004.
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Successful preparation for online learning is not significantly different from classroom preparation. As with any new concept, however, it is important for an instructor to communicate how existing practices integrate with a new concept (in this case, learning online).
High dropout rates are not a function of the online learning environment - they are a function of poor course design, lack of instructor familiarity of the environment, and learner preparation. Preparing learners to learn online is perhaps the greatest skill that we can offer.
In an era of "lifelong learning", skills for acquiring knowledge play a greater role in success than do knowledge concepts (as they often cycle to obsolescence).
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Venomous snakes are found in Mayan art and in the forests and fields of all the Maya countries
Snakes, especially pit vipers and rattlesnakes, are common in Pre-Columbian art
Snakes in Maya art, including decorations on facades of monumental structures, are especially common in the dry Yucatan area. But snakes are found in the murals, painting on ceramics, of the seasonal rain forests of Peten.
This page is a general introduction to snakes in Classic Maya art, but focusing on the snakes in the swamps and forests and fields. We can better understand the images in the murals and on pottery if we have personal experience with the actual reptiles.
Snakes in pre-Columbian art are mixed with crocodiles and bird feathers
In my 1985 dissertation, published in 1987 (Monsters und Menschen in der Maya Kunst) I show crocodiles as well as snakes. Often they are conflated, meaning that a supernatural creature has features of both a crocodile and a snake. And of course we all know of the “feathered serpent.”
The feathered serpent is because the scales of some species look like feathers under some angles of lighting.
Snakes are even more common in the forests than in the art!
Growing up in Missouri I am used to rattlesnakes, copperheads, and cottonmouth water moccasins. According to the University of Missouri there are actually three species of rattlesnake in Missouri. Since I grew up on a farm, I am accustomed to having snakes around, including wandering into the house sometimes.
Having lived in Tikal for 12 months and having mapped the ancient Maya city of Yaxha over five seasons, I am used to snakes in Petén. I have plenty of snake encounters to relate (but I will spare the readers of this web page). But if provided a bottle of wine, or a margarita, I can entertain guests with snake stories. Mostly the fer-de-lance.
Here is a short basic list of the most common venomous snakes.
- Rattlesnake, Crotalus durissus
- fer-de-lance, Bothrops asper
- green colored vipers, such as Bothriechis bicolor
- other venomous snakes, Cerrophidium godmani
- a pit viper that likes to jump (at you), Atropoides nummifer or Bothrops nummifer or Atropoides occiduus
- coral snake, coralill
There is also a venomous lizard, a Guatemalan relative of the Gila Monster of the deserts of the USA. We cover the venomous lizard in a separate page.
The bushmaster is not found in the Maya area.
Snakes which are not venomous
There are perhaps close to a hundred non-poisonous snakes in the overall Maya area (from Tabasco to El Salvador). It would be helpful to list all those whose scale pattern and coloration provided inspiration for creating Maya snake monsters. However generally it is the triangular and circular rings pattern of venomous snakes which show up in the art. Here I list only the boa constrictor, Boa constrictor
Rattlesnake, Crotalus durissus
Most of us from America have an awareness of the rattlesnake. I can always remember as a child on our farm in Missouri. When I was out collecting wild blackberries, you knew there would probably be rattlesnakes near blackberry patches: waiting for the rodents who came to feed on the berries.
I can still hear their tales rattle, even though it is half a century since these episodes. The Ozark Mountains are filled with snakes, especially where there are creeks, springs, and ponds (as there are everywhere on our farm).
In Guatemala during the years that I lived in Peten, it was mainly snakes other than rattlers that I ran into.
fer-de-lance, Bothrops asper, barba amarilla, nauyaca
Sometimes one Spanish name is used for various different snakes. Also, each country has preferences. And also farmers may use one name and herpetologists may use another name.
This is called the yellowjaw Tommygoff in Belize.
There are also green colored vipers, such as Bothriechis bicolor. Andother venomous snakes, Cerrophidium godmani. Cantil, Agkistrodon bilineatus is another character that awaits you during field trips!
A pit viper that likes to jump (at you), Atropoides nummifer, mano de piedra
Also called or Bothrops nummifer Again the snag with the imprecise nature of Spanish vernacular for naming species (of plants or animals). “Jumping pit viper” can be used to describe any one of several different snakes.
Variable Coral Snake: Micrurus diastema
Some authors say there are also other species Micrurus nigrocinctus (Campbell 1998:fig. 176 caption) and Micrurus hippocrepis (1998: 266).
Whether there is one species or many varations within one species the herpetologists are all still discussing. When they reach consensus then this will be helpful.
Most snakes in Maya art have triangular patterns, so until we find mythical snakes with the pattern of a coral snake, we can continue to concentrate on the pit vipers (and less on the coral snakes).
It is well known that there are snakes which mimic the coral snakes colored rings of body coloration.
Snakes that are especially photogenic
Some snakes have pretty coloration, and are worth photographing for the sheer beauty of their body decoration.
Leptophis mexicanus, parrot snake
Boa constrictor, Mazacuata
The pattern of the skin coloration is remarkable and surely these patterns are found in Maya art. As with many snakes, the patterns are not identical on each snake. Plus the pattern on a mature snake may be different than an immature serpent. And the pattern on the tail section may not be the same as the pattern on the rest of the body.
All these are reasons why it is helpful to have many photographs of each species. Thus we appreciate the herpetologists in Guatemala who facilitate our photography.
When you handle a boa, be aware that although they are not venomous, they do bite when they feel threatened.
How to become familiar with snakes
On several occasions in the 1970’s and 1980’s I requested and was granted permits to photograph in ZOOMAT in Tuxtla Gutierrez. Their herpatologist was helpful and the whole staff at ZOOMAT was hospitable.
Over the last three years, in Guatemala, we have received comparable assistance and hospitality at the La Aurora zoo in Guatemala. And we look forward to photographing in some of the private snake collections in coming months.
To do good photography of the reptiles it is essential to have them out on a table, out of their cage. You do not want glass or Plexiglas between you and the snake. You want to be able to see (and photograph it) clearly.
We also recommend having a good camera and appropriate lighting. We will be showing images of our set up so you can see how we do the photography.
INTRODUCTORY BIBLIOGRAPHY TO SNAKES OF BELIZE, MEXICO, GUATEMALA
CAMPBELL, Jonathan A.
Amphibians and Reptiles of Northern Guatemala, the Yucatan, and Belize. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. 380 pages.
CAMPBELL, Jonathan A, and W. W. LAMAR
2004 The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. 2 volumes. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca and London. 1032 pages, 1500 plates.
LEE, Julian C.
1996 The Amphibians and Reptiles of the Yucatan Peninsula. Comstock Publishing Associates.
2000 A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of the Maya World: The Lowlands of Mexico, Northern Guatemala, and Belize. Cornell University Press, 416 pages.
First posted November 2, 2011.
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Contents - Previous - Next
This is the old United Nations University website. Visit the new site at http://unu.edu
S&T policy: rhetoric and reality
During the American rule in the Philippines, science and technology policy was outwardly benevolent and paternalistic but implicitly colonial in purpose. The early articles in the first issues of the Philippine Journal of Science were mostly aimed at investigating the country's natural resources, which were extremely useful to the colonizers. There were inventories of flora and fauna in various places, analyses of local minerals, taxonomy, geologic explorations, and tropical medicine. There was practically no "frontier" research in which the motive was simply to discover and elaborate the laws of nature. The Filipino scientists generally served as apprentices to the American researchers.
The scientist as classifier, data-gatherer, and taxonomist became the model of the Filipino students. Many of the first American-trained Filipino scientists were cast in this image. The scientist as a technician rather than a discoverer became a tradition which persists up to the present time. This is the taxonomy tradition in science in the Philippines. Its non-biological equivalents are, for example, the irradiation of various local materials, the chemistry of Philippine natural products, and the geology of various sites in the country.
There was no serious attempt to introduce industrial technology in the Philippines. The first colleges were the College of Agriculture (1909) and the College of Medicine (1910). Industrial technology was introduced later, in 1926, with the establishment of the Philippine School of Arts and Trades. Although a College of Engineering was established at the UP in 1910, engineering was not actively promoted, with the exception of civil engineering, which was needed for the construction of public facilities and for the surveying and mapping of the country. It was perhaps for this reason that the Philippines today has significant capability in this field. Philippine construction and surveying firms are carrying out projects in other countries.
The recognition of the importance of science and technology in the Philippines has not been wanting. In the 1935 Constitution, there is a provision (Article XII, section 4) which affirms: "the State shall promote scientific research and inventions." In the 1973 Constitution, the provision even clarified the role of S&T in development. Article XV, section 9(1), states: "The State shall promote scientific research and invention. The advancement of S&T shall have priority in national development. "
The first concrete step in the implementation of the constitutional policy on science and technology was the enactment of the Science Act of 1958 (Republic Act 2067). It reaffirmed, in no uncertain terms, the belief in S&T as a tool for national development.
However, the picture that emerges from the actual allocation of government resources belies these good intentions. Upon its creation, the National Science Development Board was given a lump appropriation for five years. During this period, the growth rate in R&D expenditure was apparently a healthy 12.3 per cent. However, the average growth rates of all other government expenditure at that time was 13.0 per cent. Thus, the S&T sector received no special treatment. On the contrary, after the lump sum period, when NSDB had to compete with other government agencies, the growth rate for R&D funds was less than 1 per cent.5
In more recent times, the appropriation for NSTA has been, in general, declining as a percentage of the national budget. This is shown in figure 2. The sudden increase in 1983 was merely due to the reorganization of NSDB into NSTA: some new agencies were created or were attached to NSTA, resulting in an apparent increase in appropriations. Figure 3, which shows the R&D budget of NSTA as a fraction of the national budget, demonstrates the government's real attitude towards S&T research.
In sharp contrast with the financial reality, the rhetoric of presidential statements of policy have been bold, ebullient, and encouraging. Support for science in the Philippines has become something like motherhood statements. In the budget message of 1957, the President said: "Scientific research shall be intensified and accelerated, scientists adequately paid, because the results of our scientific investigations are the bases of economic and social progress." In 1966, in the State of the Nation Address, the President stated: "Our best efforts shall be directed to encourage the development of research." In 1968, the President once again bravely asserted that the country would "put scientific research on a systematic and continuing basis and it [in reference to a proposed, but never realized, science centre] will become the focal point of the scientific effort of the nation."
These statements were by three different Presidents of the Republic. Statements of this nature are common during science weeks, sponsored by the NSTA. NSTA usually takes them seriously as policy statements and formulates programmes accordingly, only to be disappointed at the actual results.
There have been three major policy episodes in science and technology in the Philippines, corresponding roughly to the present, the 1970s, and the 1960s. In the 1960s, the slogan was "import substitution," which mimicked the economic thrust of the government. Four priority areas were identified:
1. Basic needs and import substitution.
2. Quality improvement of exports.
3. Waste materials and product utilization.
4. Science promotion and education.
Looking back and evaluating the tangible results of this effort, it was only in education that the policy possibly made some mark. This was simply because of the continuous support of NSDB scholarships. Some curricular materials for science subjects were developed at UP.
In the 1970s, the battle cry was "mission-oriented research." Although several S&T missions were identified and planned' none was actually funded or implemented. The inertia of the R&D community in doing what they have been doing, and the antipathy toward the Marcos administration, ultimately led to the demise of the policy and the NSDB administration that supported it. The policy package also included organizational reforms of the NSDB. These were the only ones that were actually realized. Organizational changes are always easier to undertake than programmatic changes.
Fig. 2. NSTA general budget, 1976-1985
Fig. 3. R&D allotment of the NSTA, 1976-1985
The general policies of the NSTA for the 1980s were the following:
1. The strengthening of the support system for industries, and the emphasis on mission-oriented research for agriculture, natural resources, health, and energy.
2. The provision of increased resources for S&T, particularly for R&D and manpower development.
3. The strengthening of regional S&T institutions in order to encourage industrial dispersal and country development.
4. Encouraging the scientific community to evolve largely self-regulatory but centrally coordinated R&D organizations that would promote creativity and minimize administrative impediments. "Demand-pull strategy" was the policy strategy of the early 1980s. This was accompanied by an elaborate National Science and Technology Plan. To a certain extent, the demand-pull strategy accomplished its goals. Some consumer products, such as soy sauce, bath soap, salt, and charcoal, were produced in cooperation with private industry and eventually marketed.
The National Science and Technology Plan was obviously the work of a committee. It contained a good number of priority areas, from ecology to micro-electronics' that could not possibly be supported at any reasonable level by the meagre funds of the NSTA. As previously, no specific missions were identified and pursued under a mission-oriented approach. The flamboyant commitment made by statutes and plans to S&T had not been matched by the outlay of financial resources.
An examination of the kind of research projects undertaken by the NIST from 1946 to 1982 shows a continuation of the emphasis on the analysis and use of Philippine natural products: earthenware from Philippine clays, sweet potato flour, powdered dills (dried fish), oxalic and oxalates from Philippine vegetables, cottonization of ramie fibers, and others of the same genre.6
Thus, there was no essential departure from the colonial S&T policy. The only difference was that there were no American overseers. This kind of research has acquired so much momentum that it continues to command the commitment of a significant fraction of R&D funds. While its importance cannot be denied, the resulting inhibition of the development of other scientific fields is unfortunate. The colonial policy has a historical momentum, a life of its own, as it were. It appears to be impervious to policy innovations. The most difficult problem in S&T policy formulation seems to be the cultivation of the receptivity of the political leaders and the science community itself to new policy directions.
The economic history of the Philippines is one of chronic crisis and increasing poverty for an increasing number of its citizens. This is reflected in the continous devaluation of the Philippine peso from 2 pesos to the US dollar in 1946 to 20 pesos to the dollar in 1986. Poverty has also inexorably increased. Forty years ago, about 40 per cent of the population was below the poverty line. Today, the figure could be as high as 85 per cent.7 Although the economy showed impressive gains in the three decades after the Second World War,8 the lasting foundations for sustainable growth in terms of indigenous capability to support modern productive processes were not put into place. In spite of the respectable increase in Net Domestic Product in the last few decades, Philippine economic development was accompanied by high rates of unemployment, wide disparities in income distribution, and regional concentration of productive facilities in the Metro Manila area.
During the period 1949-1969, the annual average growth of manufacturing was an impressive 8.5 per cent. However? this was mostly illusory industrialization, because there was negligible enhancement of local technological capability. Furthermore, the policy merely favoured the manufacture of import-substituting consumer goods and discriminated against the manufacture of capital goods and exports.
The lack of concern for the technological aspects of industrialization is also reflected by the expenditures of private industry on R&D. In a survey of the 50 largest industrial firms in 1956, it was found that only 350,000 pesos were spent for R&D.9
The early exuberant growth of manufacturing in the Philippines in the 1950s was not sustainable because it was not self-reliant growth. It was not based on local technological capability, and it did not rely on local innovation and international competitiveness for growth. It was simple import-substitution with most of the capital goods and technology imported.
Dependence on foreign technology is apparent in the predominance of foreign brands in the Philippine consumer market. To a certain extent, this was the result of the early industrialization efforts based on an undiscriminating import-substitution policy. The case of the cigarette industry provides an interesting insight. Before the 1950s, there were many local brands of cigarettes. When the American brands were introduced in the 1960s, local brands were pushed into oblivion. What eventually survived were those companies with strong links to American companies.
Because of the failure of the policies of the 1960s to stimulate the industrial sector, a package of attractive incentives was put together in the form of the Industrial Incentives Act of 1967. The Act was aimed at stimulating investment in industrial enterprises, and consisted primarily of fiscal inducements. In subsequent legislation (P.D. 92), fiscal incentives were also provided to promote labour intensiveness and backward integration.
Yet these incentives did not include a provision on the transfer of technology and the assurance of a learning process for local technologists. Although a Technology Transfer Board was created, the main motivation was to safeguard the interests of local investors and not to ensure a real technology transfer.
In spite of the Industrial Incentives Act and its obvious attractions, industrial growth was very modest in the 1970s (table 3). Only a few took advantage of the government incentives. In 1973, there were only 131 firms registered with the government."' It was clear that entrepreneurs had no real interest in new, pioneering ventures- an attitude which persists up to the present.
The uneven growth of agriculture since the 1950s (table 2) and the lack of a outstanding performance indicates that the relatively heavy emphasis on agricultural R&D was not significant.
The general picture of S&T manpower in the Philippines is shown in table 4. In this table, the 1965 data, obtained from the Survey of Scientific and Technological Manpower conducted by the NSDB in 1965, serve as the baseline figures. Using these figures, the future supply of S&T manpower was calculated from the data on graduates of the country's educational system.
Table 3. Average annual growth rates of domestic product (1972 prices) by industrial origin, 1949-1982 (percentages)
|Net domestic product||8.6||6.2||4.2||4.8||4.6||4.9||6.1||4.3|
Source: National Accounts Staff, National Economic and Development Authority.
Table 4. S&T manpower in the Philippines
Scientists and engineers
Working in R&D
Breakdown by field of education training (units)
|Year||Population(in unite)||Total stock (in units)||Total number (in units)||Natural sciences||Engineering and technology||Agricultural sciences||Medical sciences||Social sciences|
The following observations could be made from the manpower figures:
1. The proportions of scientists and engineers increased only slightly, from 26.5 per 10,000 in the 1960s to 27.0 per 10,000 in the 1970s. This is expected to remain more or less constant up to the 1990s. The growth rates are quite low. The numbers appear to be rather high when compared to more developed countries. However, a small fraction of the total S&T manpower has graduate training and fewer still are engaged in R&D.
2. In the natural sciences, there were marked increases. For the 1980s, increases in all fields are predicted except in agriculture. However, growth rates will decrease.
3. The trend shows that the number of scientists and engineers in R&D will increase, but at a decreasing rate.
There were 1,157 colleges and universities in the Philippines in 1984. About ?3 per cent of these were private schools. Of the graduates of these schools, classified by field, only 22 per cent studied engineering and the sciences.11 The state of science education in the country is perhaps reflected by the figures in physics, chemistry, and mathematics. In a survey conducted by the Kilusan ng mga Siyentipiko sa Pilipinas, the following facts were reported
1. In the 1970s, there were 250 chemists. Only 15 per cent of them had graduate degrees.
2. In physics, there were 21 Ph.D.s and 15 M.Sc. degree-holders. Only 10 were actively engaged in research. More than 95 per cent of college physics teachers did not have a B.Sc. physics degree.
3. In mathematics, fewer than 1 per cent of the teachers had Ph.D. degrees.
4. There were only 10 institutions which were doing research. The University of the Philippines had 75 per cent of the total research projects.
Tables 5 and 6 reflect the allocation of financial resources for R&D. Three general sources are: the government, the private sector (private industry and foundations), and foreign sources.
Table 5. R&D expenditures: Breakdown by source and
sector of performance, 1979
(in thousands of pesos)
|Sector of performance||
|Government funds||Other funds|
Source: UNESCO, Science and Technology in Countries of Asia and the Pacific Policies, Organization and Resources, Paris: UNESCO, 1985.
Table 6. R&D expenditure: trends
|Year||Population (millions)||GNP (in millions of pesos)||Total R&D expenditure (in thousands of pesos)||R&D expenditure as percentage of GNP||Per capita R&D expenditure|
Source: UNESCO, Science and Technology in Countries of Asia and the Pacific: Policies, Organization and Resources, Paris: UNESCO, 1985.
Table 7. Per capita government budget for education
|Schools||Cost per student (1982 pesos)|
|Public elementary schools||392|
|National secondary schools||1,037|
|Locally funded high schools||123|
|Government tertiary schools||5,636|
Source: MECS and NSTA, Science Education Development Plan, Vol. 1, November 19X5.
It is worth noting that in 1979 about 69 per cent of the total R&D funds were provided by the government. The private sector contributed about 39 per cent, with foreign sources contributing about 2 per cent. The total amount spent for R&D was 367 million pesos (US$50 million). As seen in table 6, the expenditure on R&D as a fraction of the GNP is not expected to change significantly up to 1990.
Looking at trends in R&D expenditure in the decade ending in 1975, there was no significant change in terms of US dollar values. In 1983-1985, there was a significant decrease in the US dollar values of R&D expenditures because of inflation.
In regard to expenditure in education at the tertiary level, the 313 government colleges and universities were allocated 717 million pesos in 1983-1984. The country's investment in education is shown in table 7.
The institutions engaged in S&T activities are shown in figure 4. Three categories are used: R&D agencies, S&T education and training, and S&T services and delivery.
Fig. 4. Institutional network (Source: UNESCO)
The mechanisms and interrelationships in this network are as follows:
1. The R&D institutions are linked through the NSTA and its policy councils. R&D in the universities and colleges is coordinated through the grants-in-aid programme of the NSTA. 2. The private and government educational institutions produce the manpower for the R&D and S&T services and delivery systems.
3. In S&T services, those provided by the private sector are also utilized by the government. On the other hand, the information services of the universities are used by both the government and the private sector.
4. In the delivery of S&T services, government agencies that have commercially viable technologies are assisted in contacting private industry for possible ventures. The principal agency for S&T development is the National Science and Technology Authority (NSTA), whose organizational chart is shown in figure S. While the NSTA attempts to centralize S&T activities, almost the entire government bureaucracy is involved in one way or another.
The R&D of various research institutes is intended to be coordinated by the various councils of the NSTA. Except in the case of agriculture and natural resources, this has not been very successful.
In 1978, a "consortium concept" was introduced by the NSTA. The general idea was to pool the resources of the various S&T units, particularly the universities. In 1983, another concept called "science communities" was included in the growing lexicon of S&T in the Philippines. Four science communities were established: the Bicutan, Diliman, Ermita, and Los Banos. These communities are groupings of research and academic institutions that are in physical proximity to each other. They are expected to promote an environment of productive and creative interaction and cooperation among the members. Housing and other social amenities are supposed to be provided. Sharing of facilities and resources is encouraged.
In the Philippines, foundations registered with the NSTA enjoy some privileges, such as tax exemptions, provided they do scientific and technological R&D. In 1979, there were 69 foundations registered. The top three in terms of R&D expenditure are the Population Centre Foundation, the Philippine Business for Social Progress, and the Filipinas Foundation. None of these is engaged in R&D in the hard sciences. In private industry, there were 118 private firms engaged in R&D in 1980. Most of the R&D was in the areas of textiles, paper products, food, beverages, tobacco, and chemicals.
Fig. 5. Present NSTA organizational chart
Contents - Previous - Next
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It used to be that kids changed sports with the season. Spring baseball was followed by soccer, which flowed into hockey or skiing during the winter months. But that has changed. Today’s kids are expected to choose one sport and compete year-round if they want to earn a spot on a competitive team. And during those rare weeks or months when kids aren’t playing or practising their sport, they’re in the gym following a sport-specific training program.
That kind of single-minded focus isn’t encouraged just for teenagers: Many sports organizations are asking kids as young as eight and nine to “make a choice.”
Does early sports specialization give kids the leg up when it comes to beating the competition? That’s the idea, but while data are scarce, what is available suggests that it may not be as vital to success as coaches and parents believe.
A 1997 study of high performance sport in Russia, believed to be one of the first adopters of early sports specialization, suggests that only 0.14 per cent of 35,000 Russian athletes attending sport schools transitioned from early selection to a high level of success in sport. A similar study of young German athletes revealed that only 192 of 11,287 athletes in elite sports schools won a medal in international competition.
Closer to home, a UCLA study of 296 NCAA Division 1 male and female athletes reported that 88 per cent participated in an average of two to three sports as children and 70 per cent didn’t specialize in one sport until after age 12.
Does that mean early specialization in sport is a waste of time? Not necessarily — some sports like gymnastics, diving and figure skating demand a certain degree of athletic competency before puberty. Swimming, too, requires skills that need to be developed at a young age.
By contrast, most late-specialization sports require athletes to dedicate themselves to the sport at 12 to 15 years of age, though there’s no universal number of training hours recommended to acquire the necessary expertise. The old theory that it takes 10,000 hours of specific practice to become successful in sport has been questioned by many experts who say there’s not enough evidence to support the much-lauded notion. Despite the lack of hard data, most coaches have their own idea regarding the amount of time needed to acquire the skills associated with their sport.
One of the problems associated with early specialization in sport is that kids repeat the same movements practice after practice with not enough rest. The associated wear and tear is causing more kids to get adult ailments like tendinitis that are directly related to overuse. Once considered an injury found almost exclusively in baby boomers after decades of repetitive use, kids are complaining of sore achy joints almost as much as their parents.
Montreal physiotherapist Andrea Dewar, a former Olympian and member of the women’s national water polo team, says she sees many young athletes whose bodies are starting to break down from overuse.
“Programs like sports études (a school-based program that allows developmental athletes to combine a heavy training schedule with their school work) are demanding kids train a minimum of five days a week,” said Dewar. Gymnasts, swimmers, hockey and soccer players are some of her best customers.
Larry Lincoln, a Montreal-based orthopedic surgeon names swimmers and baseball pitchers among his most frequent young customers, with sore shoulders and elbows the most common complaint.
“The pain and injury these young athletes experience can ruin their careers,” said Lincoln.
It’s not just physical pain that can sideline the budding careers of young single sport athletes. Burn out and social isolation are also by-products of spending too much time playing to win and not enough time playing for fun.
So how much time should kids spend in organized sport?
There are no absolutes, especially considering the specificity of sport, but a study presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibit last month stated that athletes age eight to 18 who played more hours per week than their age had an increased risk of injury.
The ideal way to prepare kids for a lifetime in sport is to diversify their early training. Being able to perform a variety of physical skills, like running, jumping, catching and throwing in a variety of environments sets kids up for success in whatever sport they choose.
That said, encouraging your child to master several sports when most sport organizations encourage specialization can be an uphill battle. But if the goal is to keep our kids healthy and in sports for life, it’s time to rethink how we develop our young athletes.
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Water Quality Collaborative Conference for 1862, 1890 and 1994 Land-grant Institutions
The 1890-1862-1994 Water Quality Collaborative Conference met in July, 2004 in Atlanta, GA. The purpose of the Conference was to:
- Facilitate sharing of water quality resources and expertise.
- Establish multi-institutional water quality work teams.
- Improve collaboration and linkages among the 1890, 1994 and 1862 institutions.
- Increase awareness of water quality work at 1890 and 1994 institutions.
- Strengthen linkages between USDA-CSREES, minority institutions and other agencies.
The Conference was very successful ( evaluation) and planning for a 2nd Collaborative Conference is underway. Work groups have begun implementing action plans developed at the Conference ( Proceedings). Following the Collaborative Conference, attendance and participation at the USDA-CSREES National Water Conference and regional meetings by water quality coordinators from 1890 institutions sharply increased. Several 1862 and 1890 collaborative projects implemented through regional coordination projects are underway. Using networks developed at the Collaborative Conference, 1890 institutions wrote a National Facilitation Project proposal to further support their efforts to bring educational water programming to their clients. This proposal has been funded by CSREES. In addition, with assistance from CSREES, 1890 institutions are developing an on-line database of water resource expertise at the 1890s.
For more information about the Collaborative Conference, contact the conference chairs, Mike Smolen or Cass Gardner. For information regarding the National Facilitation Project entitled, "Facilitation of 1890 Institutions' Water Resource Education, Extension and Research Efforts," contact Sam Dennis.
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Installing wind turbines is not just about finding the spot where the wind blows the strongest.
A team of researchers from the University of Delaware and Stanford University found out that if they place wind turbines in different locations they can get more leveled and uniformed power.
The study was conducted off the east coast, a region that accounts for 34 percent of the nation’s electrical demand and 35 percent of its carbon dioxide emissions.
“An offshore grid as an extension of the onshore grid in this region will improve reliability, while reducing congestion and energy price differences between areas,” said Mike Dvorak, the lead author of the study and a recent doctoral graduate in civil and environmental engineering at Stanford.
The best locations for connected wind turbines have been identified from Long Island, N.Y., to Georges Bank, a shallows about 100 miles to the east of Cape Cod.
By combining coastal and further offshore locations, an even better pattern was achieved, much different from land-based wind in this region.
“The wind resource along the East Coast of the United States is phenomenal.”
“Average wind power generation at some of these locations can be twice as high as that at a wind farm over land. Also, by doing this ‘smart’ interconnection, we were able to reduce variability by almost 40 percent,” said co-author and UD faculty member Cristina Archer.
Offshore WIND staff, April 27, 2012; Image: vattenfall
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Home > links > educational links
Last update: May 11, 2009
Lecture notes -
Amateur Seismology -
School Seismology -
Public information -
Lecture notes and books (academic level)
(Advanced) amateur seismology
- Public Seismic Network Redwood City, CA, USA.
For the advance amateur seismologist, with a.o. instructions of how to build your own seismograph system, recording system, available software to view professional seismograms, etc. Initiative: Larry Cochrane.
Includes links to other amateur seismology networks.
- Friuli Experimental Seismic Network, Italy. A private network created by amateur seismologists in Italy. Contact: Giovanni Rotta.
- Italian Experimental Seismic Array, Italy. Network of (advanced) amateur seismic stations in Italy. Contact: Francesco Nucera.
- Amateur seismology web page Site with a number of relevant links for amateur seismology. Maintained by Mauro Mariotti.
- New Zealand Public Seismic Network maintained by Dave Nelson, map of the PSN stations and links to amateur seismologists and their activities.
- Amateur Seismic Centre The Amateur Seismic Centre (ASC) is dedicated to spreading knowledge and awareness of earthquakes, in South Asia, primarily in India, using the Internet.
Based in Pune (Maharashtra), India, we monitor seismic activity in the region on an amateur basis.
- France, SISMOS à l'école, (41 active stations, 2009).
- Ireland, Seismology in Schools (Seismeolaíocht sa Scoil), (43 active stations, 2009)
- Germany, Eduseis in Germany
- UK, UK School Seismology Program (143 active stations 2009)
- Italy, Eduseis in Italy
- USA, United States Seismographs in Schools program (IRIS) (200 active stations 2009)
- Public education for Earthquake Hazards
by Sarah Nathe, Paula Gori, Marjorie Greene, Elizabeth Lemersal, and Dennis Mileti. General information on what to do and not to do with earthquakes and related subjects.
- Savage earth Online Archive site of the Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) with general information on earthquakes.
- BBC Science Earthquakes Information and basic background information on natural disasters. Recent earthquakes in the News.
- Rapid Earthquake Viewer, a very simple quick interface to current seismic data from the IRIS database
- SSA Seismology Resources
SSA Seismology Resources for Teachers (old site).
Interesting information for educational software. video's, books, etc. Seismological Society of America
- Introducing and Demonstrating
Earthquake Engineering Research in Schools (IDEERS).
Educational site from the Earthquake Engineering Research Centre at
The University of Bristol, UK.
- Verband der Deutsche Schulgeographen (german).
Relevant (school) educational links.
- Virtual Eartquake Interactive Web-based program. Introduces concept of Epicenter, Richter Magnitude, etc.
- EarthView project Columbia University, New York, USA. Educational access to a wide range of contemporary information on the earth sciences.
- EqIIS Earthquake Image Information System
Library of slides/photographs on earthquake related phenomena. Berkeley, California. US.
- General Earthquake information from the USGS: handouts.
Elementary earthquake information, statistics, magnitudes, maps, glossary, plate tectonics, etc. Useful for presentations, etc.
- SAGUARO Science And GIS Unlocking Analysis & Research Opportunities (SAGUARO).
Using GIS as a problem solving and inquiry tool in the Earth Sciences.
Different modules on different aspects of Earth Sciences.
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Many people are interested in Ninoy Aquino Jr, especially since the anniversary of his death was proclaimed a national holiday in the Phillippines in 2004. Ninoy Aquino accomplished many things in his life. He was one of the most vocal opposers to Ferdinand Marcos and his death ultimately led to his wife, Corazon Aquino, leading a 1986 "People Power" revolution.
Ninoy Aquino's Life
The real name of Ninoy Aquino Jr. was Benigno Simeon Aquino, Jr; but, he is widely known by his nickname Ninoy. Ninoy came from a family with a history of political involvement and his death helped to spur political change in the Philippines.
- Benigno Simeon Aquino, Jr. was born on November 27, 1932 in Concepcion, Tarlac in the Philippines, and died on August 21, 1983, in Manila.
- He was born into a military and political family. His grandfather, Servillano had served as a general in the revolutionary army. His father, Benigno, or Ninoy Sr., had been a member of the World War II Japanese government of Jose Laurel, serving as vice president.
- The Aquinos were wealthy landlords and were honest politicians. Often, they refused payment for their services.
Education and Early Career
- Benigno received an education at private schools including Ateneo de Manila, De La Salle College, National University, St. Joseph’s College, and San Beda College.
- When he was 17, he was a war correspondent to the Korean War for The Manila Times. For his journalism, he received the Philippine Legion of Honor award when he was 18 years old.
- At 21, he was a prominent advisor to defense secretary Ramon Magsaysay.
- He began to study law at the University of the Philippines. However, instead of receiving a degree, he returned to a career in journalism.
Entering into Politics
- In 1954, Benigno was appointed by President Ramon Magsaysay as a personal emissary to Luis Taruc. Taruc was the leader of the Hukbalahap group of rebels.
- A few months later, Benigno secured Taruc’s unconditional surrender.
- His political career began when he was elected the mayor of Concepcion in 1955 when he was 22 years old. He was the youngest person to ever be a city mayor.
- Not only was Benigno the youngest mayor, but also became the youngest vice governor of the nation at the age of 27.
- In 1961, he went on to be the governor of Tarlac province. He was 29 years old.
- In 1966, he became the secretary-general of the Liberal party.
- He set a record again in 1967 by being the youngest ever elected senator at the age of 34.
- As the only member of the Liberal Party in the senate, Benigno was seen to be the biggest political threat to Ferdinand Marcos. During his first year he warned Marcos that he was well on the way to establishing a garrison state by his actions, including militarizing the civilian government.
- It was only four years before he was proven right and martial law was established.
- Aquino was public in his disapproval of the government and Imelda Marcos, whom he said was extravagant. This angered Ferdinand and he called Aquino a liar. While he was senator, Aquino was named an outstanding senator by the Philippine Free Press magazine.
- Martial law was declared on September 21, 1972 and Aquino was one of the first to be arrested on made-up charges of murder, subversion, and firearm violations.
- He went on a 40 day hunger strike to protest the injustices of his trial, and although he was sentenced to death, his sentence was later commuted, probably because the government did not want to make him a martyr.
- After seven years in prison, Aquino had a heart attack. Imelda Marcos visited him in the hospital and told him that the United States offered to send him to the U.S. for surgery if he promised to return and not to speak ill of the government while in the U.S.
- In May of 1980, he made the trip to the U.S. and was operated on in Dallas, Texas. He lived near Boston, Massachusetts for three years, writing and making public speaking appearances where he criticized the Marcos government.
- In 1983, Benigno Aquino decided to return to the Philippines. On August 21, 1983, he was shot in the head as he left the airplane under guard. An investigation did not find the guilty party or parties. However, after the Marcos government was overthrown another investigation was launched and 16 people were found guilty and sent to prison.
- After Ninoy was killed, his wife Corazon's opposition to Ferdinand Marcos resulted in her leading the opposition against Marcos.
- In 1985, Corazon ran for president against Marcos, but it was announced in 1986 that she had lost the election.
- Aquino believed that she had been the rightful winner of this election and she called for Civil Disobedience to protest the injustice.
- The "People Power Revolution" began as a result of her call-to-action. It resulted in Marcos being ousted and Corazon being named the first female president on February 25, 1986.
Ninoy, therefore, made an important contribution not just in life but also in his death.
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LED light bulbs are gaining momentum in today’s markets. They solve a huge number of environmental and economic problems that have plagued many users of traditional types of lamps. LED light bulbs are used in many common fixtures, including track lighting, accent lighting, outdoor spotlights and room lighting. Owing to the high efficiency of LED light technology, LED light bulbs have transformed the lighting tradition across the globe.
LED light lamps have an outstandingly long lifespan. Some can last up to 50,000 hours, making them an ideal option for hard-to-reach lighting. Moreover, they have no moving parts or filament which makes them extremely durable. However, most LED light bulbs cannot be completely enclosed in a fixture since heat decreases their lifespan. In this case it is important to opt for LED bulbs that can withstand humid outdoor conditions.
Another great feature of LED light bulbs is that they do not have mercury content. And since these lights do not depend on any kind of inert gases, they are environmental-friendly, and the materials of which they are made of are practically unbreakable as compared to those of standard lamps.
When it comes to wattage, LED light bulbs use a lot less electricity than incandescent and fluorescent bulbs. In that case, LED lights provide substantially more illumination with smaller wattage. For example, a 9 Watt LED bulb is equivalent to a 45W incandescent bulb, although the brightness level may differ.
LED lights are available in different color temperatures range. Most of them provide white light in different shades, from soft white, like a yellow-tinted incandescent light, to bright white, like a blue-tinted fluorescent tube. Soft white lights are best if used indoors for task lighting while bright white lights are often recommended for outdoors and are well-matched for accent lamps.
Depending on where the LED light bulb is situated on the color temperature spectrum, there can be all kinds of colors blue, green, red, yellow and shades of white. Another aspect of the LED light color is the color rendering index (CRI). These bulbs give great color rendering, which is the capability of a bulb to display the true color of objects. The best LED lights produce light whose CRI is 85%, so there is a great diversity in these LED bulbs. Usually, the greater the CRI value, the greater the number of objects illuminated by the LED light bulb, which will appear natural.
LED light products also come with better dimming capabilities compared to compact fluorescents. This makes them great for hallways, the main bedroom, or just for mood lighting. Some LED light bulbs also have remote control which provides convenience and eliminates the need for dimmers. In addition, quality LED bulbs have good lumen quality, with a luminous efficacy between 60-70 lumens/watt.
There are different LED light bulb makes and designs available in the current market. The sizes and weight of these LED lights are typically not the same as traditional incandescent bulbs. These bulbs are generally a quarter of an inch taller. The standard diameter of LED light products is comparable to that of incandescent lights, but varies with the model. They also come with different shapes including flood, spotlights, candle and A-Line. These lights are typically heavier than other lighting options.
In addition, LED light bulbs are available in different base types. The typical plug and Pin are two common kinds of LED bulb bases. Many common household fixtures have pin, also known as screw-in, bases. There are a number of kinds of screw-in bases for LED light bulbs, ranging from smallest to largest, and are categorized as the Candelabra and the Intermediate. It is important to choose a base type appropriate to the intended use.
The beam spread is another feature of LED bulbs and individual bulbs can be arranged in a way to change the light beam angle. A LED light beam angle may vary from 11 degrees to 360 degrees to focus light on small areas. Unlike incandescent lights that distribute light in all directions, LED bulbs normally send light in one direction. The ones comparable to 60W incandescent bulbs distribute light around the lamp and also from the top.
LED light bulbs present a new, more environmentally-friendly option. They are long-lasting and can save you a lot of money in the long run. And even though LED lighting bulbs may call for a higher initial investment, their low maintenance, longevity and substantial cost savings make these bulbs a great purchase.
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From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
Benedictus de Spinoza or Baruch de Spinoza (lived November 24, 1632 – February 21, 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Jewish origin. Revealing considerable scientific aptitude, the breadth and importance of Spinoza's work was not fully realized until years after his death. Today, he is considered one of the great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy, laying the groundwork for the 18th century Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism. By virtue of his magnum opus, the posthumous Ethics, he is also considered one of Western philosophy's definitive ethicists.
Spinoza lived a quiet life as a lens grinder, turning down rewards and honours throughout his life, including prestigious teaching positions, and gave his family inheritance to his sister. Spinoza's moral character and philosophical accomplishments prompted twentieth-century philosopher Gilles Deleuze to name him "The absolute philosopher" (Deleuze, 1990). Spinoza died in February 1677 of consumption, likely compounded by fine glass dust inhaled while tending to his trade. Variations to his surname are abundant: Despinoza, d'Espinoza, de Spinoza, Spinoza, et cetera.
Late 20th-century Europe demonstrated a greater philosophical interest in Spinoza, often from a left-wing or Marxist perspective. Notable philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Antonio Negri have each written books on Spinoza. Unlike most philosophers, Spinoza and his work were highly regarded by Nietzsche.
Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein evoked Spinoza with the title (suggested to him by G. E. Moore) of the English translation of his first definitive philosophical work, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, an allusion to Spinoza's Tractatus Theologico-Politicus. Elsewhere, Wittgenstein deliberately borrowed the expression sub specie aeternitatis from Spinoza (Notebooks, 1914-16, p. 83). The structure of his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus does have certain structural affinities with Spinoza's Ethics (though, admittedly, not with the latter's own Tractatus), in erecting complex philosophical arguments starting from basic logical assertions and principles. Furthermore, in propositions 6.4311 and 6.45 he alludes to a Spinozian understanding of eternity and interpretation of the religious concept of eternal life: stating that "If by eternity is understood not eternal temporal duration, but timelessness, then he lives eternally who lives in the present." (6.4311) "The contemplation of the world sub specie aeterni is its contemplation as a limited whole." (6.45) Furthermore, Wittgenstein's interpretation of religious language, in both his early and later career, may be said to bear a family resemblance to Spinoza's pantheism.
Spinoza has had influence beyond the confines of philosophy. The nineteenth century novelist, George Eliot, produced her own translation of the Ethics, the first known English translation thereof. The twentieth century novelist, W. Somerset Maugham, alluded to one of Spinoza's central concepts with the title of his novel, Of Human Bondage. Albert Einstein named Spinoza as the philosopher who exerted the most influence on his world view (Weltanschauung). Spinoza equated God (infinite substance) with Nature, consistent with Einstein's belief in an impersonal deity. In 1929, Einstein was asked in a telegram by Rabbi Herbert S. Goldstein whether he believed in God. Einstein responded by telegram "I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings." Spinoza's pantheism has also influenced the environmental theory. Arne Næss, the father of the deep ecology movement, acknowledged Spinoza as an important inspiration. Moreover, Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges, was greatly influenced by Spinoza's world view. In many poems and short stories, he makes constant allusion to the philosopher's work, not as a partisan of his doctrines, but merely in order to use these for aesthetical purposes. He has done it many times with all the philosophers whose work he admired.
Spinoza is an important historical figure in the Netherlands, where his portrait was featured prominently on the Dutch 1000-guilder banknote, legal tender until the euro was introduced in 2002. The highest and most prestigious scientific award of the Netherlands is named the Spinoza prijs (Spinoza prize). Spinoza's work is also mentioned as the favourite reading material for Bertie Wooster's valet Jeeves in the P. G. Wodehouse novels
- Amor est titillatio, concomitante idea causæ externæ
- Treatise of the Three Impostors
- Thomas Hirschhorn's monument dedicated to Baruch Spinoza (Amsterdam, 1999)
- Atheism in the Age of the Enlightenment
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So, let’s imagine we want to construct our own Mozilla based browser.
We order the “Mozilla 3.0 Kit” by LEGO, and after a few days we receive at home a big packet containing two boxes.
One of them is a big black box labeled “Gecko”. The other one is labeled “User Interface”. We'll ignore the big black box for now.
It seems that first we have to build this “User Interface” and then connect it to the big black box…
Let’s have a look inside the “User Interface” box. It contains some big, some medium-sized and some small things. We can call them elements or objects. We will see lots of objects: "windows", "preference windows", "dialogs", "pop ups", "buttons", "toolbars", "horizontal boxes", "vertical boxes", "menus", "menu items"… There are indeed many, many elements.
So - we can begin by building a window to accommodate a big panel (which we will connect to the “Gecko” black box) just to navigate the Internet, looking at home pages and similar stuff… We will call this panel (actually a horizontal box), “browser”.
This window that will accommodate the “browser” box we call “main-window”. So, now we begin inserting all kinds of elements inside this window. We insert a menu bar and populate it with menus and menu items. We insert some toolbars that we can populate with some buttons, some text boxes. All of those elements can also contain other elements like images, drop markers and so on…
We can imagine these objects as layers that we are consecutively overlapping. First a window, then toolbars, then menus, toolbar buttons and so on...
Similarly, we will build other windows, such as a window to customize the browser, a preference window, a window to manage extensions, dialogue windows and many, many other parts we understand should belong to our “User Interface”.
In this process we’ve noticed some curious things. Those objects have some properties, attributes, methods, etc… Some windows can be resized, some objects can be dragged. Buttons react to mouse clicks. Pop-ups appear when we mouse over some elements. Some of them "communicate” with us (as users), like pop-ups, dialogs, labels, etc. Most of them have an appearance.
It would be fantastic if we could share our “User Interface”, our windows, our objects, how we have organized them, describing their exactly positions, properties, attributes, words with which they speak to us and so on, just using plain text.
In this way we can have the whole "User Interface" as a set of descriptions. And so detailed that we don't need the objects themselves.
But let’s think about how we can organize these files.
It makes a lot of sense to describe things like properties, methods, attributes, etc. separately from words which those elements “talk” (they can change according to the language used by our users) and the appearance those elements have (it can also be changed by themes and other user tools).
So we can imagine we could reorganize our “User Interface” box, inserting in it a package for each window, each one containing three other small packages describing:
Now we have a new “User Interface” box with a set of packages describing how we organized our (XUL) elements, the special abilities they have, words that they speak and how they have to look.
This set of packages is called Chrome.
Add-ons work in this way too. They too add to Firefox a package describing how it works.
If you look carefully inside add-ons, you will see the same structure.
A theme is an add-on that contains just a skin provider.
A language package will contain only the locale provider.
Extensions may contain all of these providers plus some other files or maybe just one content part.
Let's go back to our LEGO box. Imagine you'd like to have a clock on the toolbar
You can maybe build one. You can take some other objects (as pointers, or LCD display) to compose it.
You can for example decide if your clock will read the time from user system or from some atom clock in the net.
You can think about if it will interact with the user and so on...
You are extending the UI adding a new functionality.
You could make the same as we did for our windows, describing your new object "myClock".
You will have also three sets of descriptions:
content - all attributes, properties, types (analog, digital), methods, getters, setters, etc.
locale - If your clock will display for example, the actual date, it would be very nice to display it in the user's language
skin - how your clock will appear, if the display type is analog or digital, etc.
So, you've just built an extension for the browser. You can now package it and offer it at AMO...
A clean installation from Firefox brings some native packages. We can investigate how many and which packages they are, not looking for the jar files inside the chrome directory, but looking at the chrome manifests (see on the link the XULRunner application part) inside it.
We will look only for those lines that start with content, locale and skin and only for the first and second terms in those lines.
There's no requirement that says each package needs to have all three kinds of chrome providers. Not every package contains all three kinds. So, we can recognize some packages with full chrome providers like:
and other with partial providers:
This is the chrome structure, and is very important for us. All linkage to documents and images we make, are using the chrome protocol:
This chrome structure has nothing to do with the files we have on the hard disk. To get our files into this chrome structure, we have first to tell Mozilla where those files exist on the hard disk, i.e., make the association between the chrome protocol and the file protocol. This is the job from chrome.manifest, the Chrome Registry.
I like to think Firefox (as a Mozilla application) has also this chrome structure, or better, a Firefox mapping of chrome packages:
We can understand how an Add-on adds itself to the Firefox Chrome Mapping. Let’s take an arbitrary add-on: myaddon
After the chrome registration from myAddon, Firefox changes the Mapping:
I’m just supposing this “Mapping”.
Actually, at a chrome perspective, the packages are organized in the following way. See for yourself with the Chrome List add-on.
I have on my workbench an installation of Firefox that has all the chrome files uncompressed. If you look at the file organization after uncompressing the jar files, you will got something very similar to fig.04 :
To get this installation to work -- so that Firefox loads from these files instead of the packaged-up files it installed for itself -- I have to modify the chrome manifests to point to the new locations from my files. Let’s take, e.g., the pippki.manifest:
content pippki jar:pippki.jar!/content/pippki/ xpcnativewrappers=yes
This manifest registers only one content provider for the pippki package.
The manifest instructions for a content provider is build in this way:
content packagename uri/to/files/ [flags]
We can see in this manifest a new protocol, the "jar:" protocol. We can use this protocol to point files inside a compressed jar file.
But now, after I uncompressed the jar files, I have to point to where my uncompressed files are. We do this relative to where the chrome.manifest resides (actually the pippki.manifest):
Doing this, we are simply telling the chrome registry that the contents from chrome://pippki/content are inside our file://content/pippki/. It sounds confusing, doesn’t it?? But it's actually very simple:
Looking at the above structure we can notice something curious.
We use to organize our files in the way showed above just for convenience.
Actually it doesn't matter which names you give for your folders. You can have any other file structure.
Once you register (point) these files to the corresponding chrome provider, everything will work fine:
which gets the result:
Now your file://myroot/mydirectory/doc01 will be available at chrome://pippki/content/doc01
You can also have an uncompressed installation of Firefox.
But make sure you do this installation in a separate folder. Don't use it as your default browser.
The best is to pick a zipped file from the nightly and unzip it into a folder of your choice.
Go to the chrome directory and extract the jar files into the same folder that contains those jars.
To the question if you want to override contents, answer yes.
Now you have just to edit the .manifest files with any good text editor and remove this part of code:
Exactly like I did for the pippki package on fig.10.
Now you have a working uncompressed installation from Firefox!
Let’s suppose we want to write a default theme for Firefox. This default theme will be shipped together with Firefox.
Our job now is to write a skin provider for all skinnable packages inside Firefox. Let’s take the native packages from table01, which have a skin part:
global, mozapps, help, browser, communicator and reporter.
We know that from the perspective of Firefox's chrome, the packages will have this chrome structure (fig.07, makes easy to understand the "Chrome Protocol"):
But as we could see on fig.04, the "Chrome Mapping", a skin package will have this structure:
Anyway, let’s build a file structure to accommodate our theme on the hard disc.
Now we have to register our files in the Chrome Registry so they can be accessed using the chrome protocol.
To make our folders and files that reside on our hard drive available for Firefox, we need to associate them to corresponding addresses with the chrome protocol. The same as we did for the pippki package, remember?
So, let's see how a skin registry looks:
In the above image we can see one item that is different from the content manifest. The skinname. That's the internal name and every theme must have one. The default theme's internal name is classic/1.0.
Let's write our chrome.manifest:
With this manifest we are associating our files to the chrome structure:
This means that, for example, a file placed inside myDefaultTheme/very_classic/folder01/ will be available for Firefox at chrome://skin/browser/. All right?
It's easy to see that the structure we've chosen for our files isn't really good. It's highly recommended for our convenience that we name our folders in a more consistent way (but notice that's not necessary at all .. The file naming on disk is completely up to us):
Now it looks very similar as fig.08, doesn't' it?
But if you look carefully to table01, you will notice that the reporter package already register a skin provider:
This means we don't need to register a skin provider for the reporter package, because a skin provider is already registered for it.
Otherwise, we would substitute the skin provider for the reporter package, needing to provide css rules for it.
After we remove it our workbench will look so:
Now we have to rewrite our chrome.manifest to point to the new folders:
And while we're at it, let's rename the file chrome.manifest as classic.manifest.
If we look again at tab.01, we will notice that the help package has no content provider.
Searching for links that could point to the help skin package, I've found nothing.
This leads me to think the skin provider for the help package is unnecessary.
(Also the locale provider. Firefox 3.5 will not have them anymore).
Now let’s look which files we need to have inside our folders.
As we repackaged our LEGO "User Interface", we came to a set of object descriptions instead of the objects themselves.
The most important package was the content provider. The content provider has not only descriptions about how objects work (attributes, methods, properties, etc) but also links to the other providers indicating how they look, and what words (and which language) they "speak".
Inside the content provider we will find several files like .xul files, .js , .xml, .xhtml and .css files. They describe how windows are composed out of objects, functions, behaviors and widgets..
We can notice that the content provider already contains some .css files. They contain bindings statements and some basic rules for XUL elements.
For other appearance statements, they contain links to style sheets or images inside the skin provider.
The skin provider must contain these files.
Two files we need to place on the root from our theme. They will appear on the Extension Manager:
Let's look inside the browser/content directory and search for the keyword "chrome://browser/skin/" to pick files we must provide. Or we can search for the string directly on Firefox 3.0 source . We will search files inside browser/base and browser/components.
We will find on the .xul files some links like:
<?xml-stylesheet href="chrome://browser/skin/" type="text/css"?>
Actually chrome://browser/skin/ means chrome://browser/skin/browser.css, so the code above is the same as:
<?xml-stylesheet href="chrome://browser/skin/browser.css" type="text/css"?>
Thanks to bsmedberg for pointing this out.
From .xul, .xml and .xhtml files we can see these .css files we must provide:
"chrome://browser/skin/" alias "chrome://browser/skin/browser.css" .
From .js, .cpp and .xhtml files we have unfortunately some hardcoded images:
Now, our job is to provide all images and css rules necessary to give appearance to elements defined in browser content packages (with XUL, XML, XHTML). We can do this by creating new folders and links to new files, giving us a structure we find reliable and consistent..
We repeat this process for all the other packages: communicator, global, help(?) and mozapps.
So, we are writing a theme, which will be shipped with Firefox for Windows. It may be installed on supported Windows Operating Systems versions like Windows XP and Windows Vista.
To ensure compatibility and stylistic integration with these different flavors of Windows, we now want to include in our default theme some different files for Windows Vista.
These manifest flags are a kind of conditional statements. Interesting for us is:
With these manifest flags we can match Windows Vista with this:
A complete list of possible OS values can be seeing here.
So, our manifest now could look something like this, if we want to provide different image and rules for the browser package on Vista :
Our file structure will look in this way:
The conditional flag manifest we've wrote above will match in this way:
if the Operational System is Windows XP then register the content from classic/browser as chrome://browser/skin/
if the Operational System is Windows Vista then register the content form classic/anotherfolder as chrome://browser/skin/
And now suppose we want to provide different Vista files also for the global and mozapps packages.
Let's also choose some better organization for our files on the hard drive and our structure from fig.19 will become:
And our classic.manifest:
This will result into this chrome structure:
Actually the default theme's manifest is not created "by hand" as we did, but in Firefox's build process.
It uses JAR Manifests that are automatically processed from the building system.
The work on making the default theme is far more complicated as I described above...
Finally let's talk about third party themes.
Now we want to provide an alternative theme to the default theme we've written above.
This theme will be additionally installed and, according to the user preferences, will take effect or not."If more than one skin is registered for a package, the chrome registry will select the best-fit skin using the user's preferences."
Remember that our Default Theme we've written above has already been installed together with Firefox (or any other Mozilla Application).
It means all necessary skin providers for the native packages (and, as we have seen above, extensions bring also their skin providers), are already registered.
The third party theme will fully substitute skin providers for the skinnable packages and/or will overwrite rules defined from the already registered skin providers.top
Our third party theme has to be installed first.
For it, we have to provide a file with some information about the theme: the Install Manifest.
This file must be named install.rdf and have to live at the root from our theme.
Let's have a look at this manifest:
<?xml version="1.0"?> <RDF xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns:em="http://www.mozilla.org/2004/em-rdf#"> <Description about="urn:mozilla:install-manifest"> <!-- properties --> </Description> </RDF>
The required properties we have to insert in our Descriptions tag are:
Make sure you are on the safe side and don't use for internalName spaces in the string. Also avoid uppercase.
For example, don't use something like My Theme, but mytheme, or my_theme instead.
For the name property you can use whatever you want.
OK. Let's see an example how an Install Manifest could look like. This Manifest will install a Theme "Our Theme" on Firefox:
Everywhere we use the string ourtheme, please change it to the name of your theme!!!!
<!-- Our Theme GUID -->
<!-- Target Application this extension can install into,
with minimum and maximum supported versions. --> <em:targetApplication>
<!-- Firefox GUID -->
<!-- Front End MetaData -->
<!-- Front End Integration Hooks (used by Theme Manager)-->
As we have seen at Necessary Files,
we need also two other files living at the root from our theme:
And of course a chrome.manifest file.
We can imagine such a structure for our theme:
As we already know, the structure inside the chrome folder can be whatever we want. It depends how we register then at chrome.manifest.
Actually, we can immediately install "Our Theme" and start to play with it:
When Firefox get started, it will say that a new Addon has been installed. Select "Use Theme" and restart Firefox.
You have successfully installed the new "Our Theme"!
* On your install.rdf, you can change the em:name, em:id and em:version to fit your wishes.
But remember: your root folder must be named as the string you have on em:id.
Create also your own icon.png and preview.png.
OK. If you did the steps on the Tip above, you will see the same like using the default theme. Why?
If you know the answer, congrats! You have really read all the above stuff... Wow!
You are seeing the same like the default theme because we didn't register any skin provider. But actually skin providers are already registered for all skinnable packages from the Default Theme.
To make some changes on the appearance we have to work first with the chrome.manifest.
If we want to replace some toolbar buttons, change some backgrounds, some font colors for the main-window (browser.xul), this approach is the right one for us.
It is actually perfect for beginners.
It will simply overwrite rules defined from the Default Theme, without having to register other skin providers for the skinnable packages.
This approach is very similar to the userChrome.css way of customization. But with an important difference:
The userChrome.css rules will always apply. Also when the user changes the theme.
With this approach our rules applies only if our theme is the one we are using.
So, let's see another Manifest Instruction, the style instruction:
Thanks to Mook for pointing this out
This instruction will register an overlay, a custom CSS, which will be applied to a chrome window, in our case the main-window. The chrome://browser/content/browser.xul.
We have to indicate a file which will overlay the default set of rules applied to browser.xul.
But note that only stylesheets at chrome URIs can be applied in this way.
So, to make this file available at a chrome perspective we have to first register a package containing only a skin provider. Let's call this new package customskin.
The skin instruction could look like:
The skinname we have to use is the same we've declared on our install.rdf as internalName.
Notice that once we have registered a chrome package, it belongs now to the Chrome, and the file customskin.css is available to the whole application.
Since a style overlay will also exist for the whole application once we've called it at our chrome.manifest, it's necessary to first registry an empty file customskin.css for the default theme.
After this we can define our own skin provider, which will substitute the first one.
In this way we are sure that our customskin.css will not apply when the Default Theme (or another theme) is in use instead of our theme.
Our skin instructions will look like:
This means that if the user has selected our theme as used theme, our customskin.css will take effect. If the default theme or some other theme is the chosen one, the empty file (at chrome/classic/customskin) will take effect.
Another theme using this same approach will apply its rules as soon as the user choose it... So, it's very convenient for all themes following this approach to maintain this name.
Now, let's organize the file structure. We need a folder named classic/customskin with an empty file - customskin.css - inside it, for other themes except our theme.
And we need another folder named customskin and a file customskin.css inside it, to accomodate our rules. Something like this:
At a chrome perspective (fig.07), after registering the customskin package and the respectively skin providers, the chrome will look like:
Our style instruction now looks:
And our chrome.manifest will look like:
style chrome://browser/content/browser.xul chrome://customskin/skin/customskin.css skin customskin classic/1.0 chrome/classic/customskin/ skin customskin ourtheme chrome/customskin/
OK. Now let's play a bit with our installed theme "Our Theme".
style chrome://browser/content/browser.xul chrome://customskin/skin/customskin.css skin customskin classic/1.0 chrome/classic/customskin/ skin customskin ourtheme chrome/customskin/
You can make several changes, just overwriting the rules defined on the Default Theme. You can also create new rules. Whatever you want.
Let's see another example:
-moz-image-region: auto !important;
This method has many advantages:
So, but maybe we need more control over our theme, because we have really different UI proposition as the Default Theme.
We could considerate to substitute all or some skin providers for the skinnable packages.
We will need knowledge about:
The approach described here is very similar to that we used writing our Default Theme. It's also the approach on most Themes Tutorials you can find on the web.
Here we will substitute the already-registered skin providers for the skinnable packages we want to style.
Our file structure will be very similar to what we used for the "light-weight" approach. Something like fig.28.
As we have seen at Theme Structure for the Default Theme we wrote, the skinnable packages will be:
global, mozapps, help, browser, communicator and reporter.
But... as we have seen on Skin Registry:
So, our file structure will look like this:
And our chrome.manifest:
Remember that this approach actually substitute the Default Theme, it means we have to provide all rules and images necessary to fully skin the three packages.
The best way to start to work on this is to copy the correspondent files we'll need from the Default Theme.
If you only have installed your theme like at Tip - Installing "Our Theme":
Now your file structure looks like fig.34.
Now, register the folders you created:
skin browser ourtheme chrome/browser/ skin global ourtheme chrome/global/
skin mozapps ourtheme chrome/mozapps/
It's time to change something:
Remember: you can every time transform your "light-weight" Theme to a "heavy-weight" and vice-versa!
Now we have to package our theme for distribute it.
The best way to do this is using the .jar in .jar approach:
We will firstly package our chrome folder and subsequently package it and the remaining files, so that we will have at the end a .jar inside another .jar.
Because we have now our files inside a .jar file, we have to modify our chrome.manifest, to point to the files inside the .jar file.
We have already seen the JAR Protocol at fig.09.
For our "light-weight" Theme, we will have such a chrome.manifest:
style chrome://browser/content/browser.xul chrome://customskin/skin/customskin.css skin customskin classic/1.0 jar:chrome/ourtheme.jar!/classic/customskin/ skin customskin ourtheme jar:chrome/ourtheme.jar!/customskin/
The file structure from fig.31 will turn into this jar structure:
For our "heavy-weight" Theme, the chrome.manifest will be:
skin browser ourtheme jar:chrome/ourtheme.jar!/browser/ skin global ourtheme jar:chrome/ourtheme.jar!/global/
skin mozapps ourtheme jar:chrome/ourtheme.jar!/mozapps/
and the file structure from fig.34 turns to:
Now it's time to package your theme. It doesn't matter if you made it in the "light-weight" or "heavy-weight" approach.
The procedure will be the same.
You need first a good compression's software. I heavily recommend 7-Zip.
Now you have an installable theme, which you can distribute ;-)Using a script on Windows
You can also "automate" this process using the command line from 7-zip:
On my workbench I have wrote a script that does the job automatically.
You just need to build a comfortable file structure.
@echo off & setlocal enabledelayedexpansion set extShortNameTag=em:internalName cd ..\ set extFolder=%cd% set xmlTag=em:version SET path=%extFolder%;%path% if not exist %extFolder%\install.rdf ( echo ---------------------------------- echo #### INSTALL.RDF IS MISSING ###### echo ---------------------------------- pause goto :eof ) ::::*** look for name on install.rdf file ***:::: for /f "delims=</> tokens=3" %%i in ('findstr "%extShortNameTag%" "%extFolder%\install.rdf"') do set extShortName=%%i :::: delims will separate all words between <, / or >. Tokens gives the third word which is separated ::::****** Important: this will create a folder C:\"name of theme"\releases. Feel free to choose another folder if you want ******:::: set tempFolder=C:\%extShortName%\releases ::::************************************************************************************************************:::: ::::*** look for version's number on install.rdf file ***:::: for /f "delims=</> tokens=3" %%i in ('findstr "%xmlTag%" "%extFolder%\install.rdf"') do set version=%%i :::: delims will separate all words between <, / or >. Tokens gives the third word which is separated ::::*** going inside chrome folder ***:::: cd /d %extFolder%\chrome ::::*** make the inner jar file (no compression) ***:::: set name=%extFolder%\chrome\%extshortName% if exist %name%.jar del %name%.jar %ProgramFiles%\7-Zip\7z.exe a -tzip "%name%.jar" * -r -mx=0 -x@%extFolder%\build_jar\list.txt cd /d %extFolder% :::: rename chrome.manifest files ren chrome.manifest chrome.manifest.dev ren chrome.manifest.rel chrome.manifest set filename=%tempFolder%\%extShortName%_%version% :::: build outer jar if exist %filename%.jar del %filename%.jar %ProgramFiles%\7-Zip\7z.exe a -tzip -r -mx=9 %filename%.jar chrome.manifest install.rdf icon.png preview.png *.jar cd /d %extFolder% :::: rename chrome.manifest files ren chrome.manifest chrome.manifest.rel ren chrome.manifest.dev chrome.manifest :::: cleanup after making the outer jar cd /d %extFolder%\chrome del %extShortName%.jar
I hope this article can be useful for you!!
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