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We can feel vibrations and know that people might be exposed to it. But we cannot determine if what we feel is going to be harmful. For that, we must measure vibration exposure.
Vibration is the mechanical oscillations of an object about an equilibrium point. The oscillations may be regular such as the motion of a pendulum or random such as the movement of a tire on a gravel road. The study of health effects of vibration require measures of the overall "pressure waves" that are generated by vibrating equipment or structure.
Vibration enters the body from the organ in contact with vibrating equipment. When a worker operates hand-held equipment such as a chain saw or jackhammer, vibration affects hands and arms. Such an exposure is called hand-arm vibration exposure. When a worker sits or stands on a vibrating floor or seat, the vibration exposure affects almost the entire body and is called whole-body vibration exposure.
The risk of vibration induced injury depends on the average daily exposure. An evaluation takes into account the intensity and frequency of the vibration, the duration (years) of exposure and the part of the body which receives the vibration energy.
Hand-arm vibration causes damage to hands and fingers. It appears as damage to blood vessels and nerves in the fingers. The resulting condition is known as white finger disease, Raynaud's phenomenon or hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). One of the symptoms is that affected fingers may turn white, especially when exposed to cold. Vibration-induced white finger disease also causes a loss of grip force and loss of sensitivity to touch.
The health effect of whole-body vibration is poorly understood. Studies of drivers of heavy vehicles have revealed an increased incidence of the disorders of bowel and the circulatory, musculoskeletal and neurological systems.
However, disorders of the nervous, circulatory and digestive systems are not specific to whole-body vibration exposure only. These disorders can be caused by a combination of various other working conditions and life style factors rather than by one physical factor alone. More information is available in the OSH Answers document Vibration - Health Effects that describes the effects of hand-arm vibration and whole body vibration.
If we could watch a vibrating object in slow motion, you could see movements in different directions. Any vibration has two measurable quantities. How far (amplitude or intensity), and how fast (frequency) the object moves helps determine its vibrational characteristics. The terms used to describe this movement are frequency, amplitude and acceleration.
A vibrating object moves back and forth from its normal stationary position. A complete cycle of vibration occurs when the object moves from one extreme position to the other extreme, and back again. The number of cycles that a vibrating object completes in one second is called frequency. The unit of frequency is hertz (Hz). One hertz equals one cycle per second.
A vibrating object moves to a certain maximum distance on either side of its stationary position. Amplitude is the distance from the stationary position to the extreme position on either side and is measured in metres (m). The intensity of vibration depends on amplitude.
The speed of a vibrating object varies from zero to a maximum during each cycle of vibration. It moves fastest as it passes through its natural stationary position to an extreme position. The vibrating object slows down as it approaches the extreme, where it stops and then moves in the opposite direction through the stationary position toward the other extreme. Speed of vibration is expressed in units of metres per second (m/s).
Acceleration is a measure of how quickly speed changes with time. The measure of acceleration is expressed in units of (metres per second) per second or metres per second squared (m/s2). The magnitude of acceleration changes from zero to a maximum during each cycle of vibration. It increases as vibrating object moves further from its normal stationary position.
Every object tends to vibrate at one particular frequency called the natural frequency. The measure of natural frequency depends on the composition of the object, its size, structure, weight and shape. If we apply a vibrating force on the object with its frequency equal to the natural frequency, it is a resonance condition. A vibrating machine transfers the maximum amount of energy to an object when the machine vibrates at the object's resonant frequency.
Contact with a vibrating machine transfers vibration energy to a person's organ. We know that vibration affects the organ in contact such as the hands. But we do not fully understand how vibration may affect other parts of the worker's body or only a selected particular organ. The effect of vibration exposure also depends on the frequency of vibration. Each organ of the body has its own resonant frequency. If exposure occurs at or near any of these resonant frequencies, the resulting effect is greatly increased.
Segmental vibration exposure affects an organ, part or "segment" of the body. The most widely studied and most common type of segmental vibration exposure is hand-arm vibration exposure which affects the hands and arms. Exposed occupational groups include operators of chain saws, chipping tools, jackhammers, jack leg drills, grinders and many other workers who operate hand-held vibrating tools.
Whole body vibration energy enters the body through a seat or the floor, and it affects the entire body or a number of organs in the body. Exposed groups include operators of trucks, buses, tractors and those who work on vibrating floors. Table 1 lists examples of vibration exposure in various industries.
|Table 1 |
Examples of occupational vibration exposure
|Industry||Type of Vibration||Common Source of Vibration|
|Boiler making||Hand-arm||Pneumatic tools|
|Construction||Whole body |
|Heavy equipment vehicles |
Pneumatic tools, Jackhammers
|Diamond cutting||Hand-arm||Vibrating hand tools|
|Forestry||Whole body |
|Furniture manufacture||Hand-arm||Pneumatic chisels|
|Iron and steel||Hand-arm||Vibrating hand tools|
|Machine tools||Hand-arm||Vibrating hand tools|
|Mining||Whole body |
|Vehicle operation |
|Rubber||Hand-arm||Pneumatic stripping tools|
|Sheet Metal||Hand-arm||Stamping Equipment|
|Shipyards||Hand-arm||Pneumatic hand tools|
|Stone dressing||Hand-arm||Pneumatic hand tools|
|Textile||Hand-arm||Sewing machines, Looms|
Document last updated on October 21, 2008 | <urn:uuid:f222256e-1203-4097-a05d-b6a5e2cec39d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/phys_agents/vibration/vibration_intro.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905425 | 1,370 | 3.640625 | 4 |
WHOI Team Detects Endangered Whales with Marine Robots
A team of scientists with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution detected nine endangered North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of Maine last month.
The robots are equipped with instruments that listen for whale calls and can report back to researchers within hours of detecting a whale, according to a press release.
Lead scientists Mark Baumgartner and Dave Fratantoni, reported the sightings to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA asked mariners to slow their speed when approaching the area the whales were found to avoid striking the animals
The research project was underway Nov. 12 through Dec. 5, about sixty miles south of Bar Harbor, Me., and 90 miles northeast of Portsmouth, NH. Right whales typically use this area as a mating ground during this time of year.
“We found our first right whale on the first day that we were surveying in decent weather conditions because the gliders were up there doing the leg work for us, to tell us where the animals were in real time,” said Baumgartner in a statement.
The innovative whale detection system provides a more cost effective way to locate whales when compared to ship or plane based methods. The system also gives whale ecologists new tools for understanding the large animals.
The project will help researchers understand what draws whales to this part of the ocean during the late fall and winter. | <urn:uuid:b39f84d4-5050-48c5-9889-7f9a7c790eff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://plymouth.patch.com/articles/whoi-team-detects-endangered-whales-with-marine-robots-eaa3d3e4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952594 | 290 | 3.21875 | 3 |
In my best Andy Rooney impersonation, "Have you ever wondered what prevents IT projects from fully meeting expectations on time and on budget?" It may not be due to the software. It may not be due to the people. It may, however, be due to not paying sufficient attention to the speed bumps in the project lifecycle that present obstacles to the basic human nature in all of us.
his article, Who
to Blame for Project Failure? Look Up - Not Down, Not Left, Not Right. my
colleague, Olin Thompson, made a strong and articulate case that a project is
doomed for failure unless it has a top-level executive sponsor. I agree with
Olin, however, that having an executive sponsor is not a guarantee for success.
This article looks at several factors that can cause a project to fail or help it to succeed, namely: comprehensive planning, inertia/loss of momentum, sense of urgency, and commitment. Redefining the acronym, KPI, I call these factors, Key Project Impeders (KPI). I will describe several that are commonly found in IT projects and what you can do to avoid or surely minimize their effects.
This may appear to be a no-brainer. However, project planning is not simply referring to preparing a project plan in MS Project. A good project plan must be able to convey to the team members that there is a logical and fairly detailed approach that will lead to success. But equally important, the plan has to clearly specify what is to be done when and what are the expected results.
Human beings are comforted by knowing what they will be doing tomorrow and the next day and what is expected. Remember the feeling you had in college when the professor said, "Pop Quiz!" Specifically, at some point a plan needs to provide answers to questions like "What will I be doing?", "How long do I have to do it?", and "What do I have to give you when I am done?" For example, when preparing to complete the final training for the users, the following descriptions and task outline would be helpful to the team leaders responsible for conducting the training:
... 1 Objective: Train users in the use of the software to complete daily
... 2 Announce/Confirm training dates and facilities
... 3 Prepare training plan and outline
... 4 Develop training examples
... 5 Prepare training environment and data
... 6 Prepare training aides, material, and exercises
... 7 Conduct "walk thru"
... 8 Conduct training
Is it practical or even necessary to prepare this level of detail for every phase in order to issue a project plan? No, I don't think so. There is an axiom in project management that the more often dates are changed, the less believable they become. Accordingly, providing this level of detail for latter phases of a project plan, when initially issuing the plan, will most likely lead to constant changes in deadlines and deliverables.
Typically, the initial project plan would specify the detailed tasks and completion dates for the first phase. For the subsequent phases, the plan would indicate the planned start and completion dates for the phase and the detailed tasks, but without dates. Duration of the overall project would determine how far in advance the details for the next phase would be released. By the way, some of you may say that the example of the training tasks is not detailed enough. The detail and specificity of the plan and tasks vary directly on the caliber of the individuals executing the plan. Providing excruciating detail may be insulting to the team leaders and limit their creativity so I have learned from experience.
Inertia / Momentum
In every project and within every phase of project there is what I call the fear and floundering stage. This stage is not prompted by "What should I do?" but "How do I do it?" Inertia or loss of momentum can cause serious project delays or totally frustrate team members. Inertia can be prevented or minimized by providing action-oriented tools to spur activity and progress.
For example, in the user training referenced above, providing samples of outlines, presentation material, and possible exercises can break through "trainer's block." However, the best example is the area of software piloting. Often, a project team may have never conducted a pilot or, surely, not on the new ERP software being implemented. Therefore, it is not reasonable to expect the team to hit the track running unless they are given an assist.
In this case, you can provide simple business conditions for them to test. These conditions should test the basic functionality of the software and are not intended to fail. Rather, they should develop a familiarization with the software and encourage modifications to the conditions to test company-specific requirements. However, the person conducting the pilot will not have to worry what to do but simply, as Nike says, "Just Do It!" Momentum is maintained; the project is moving forward; and the team will feel more confident. Shortly, a flounder is simply another fish in the ocean.
Sense of Urgency
What was good about Y2K? Yea, it was over hyped and didn't happen to the extent predicted. But it gave projects a built-in reason for getting the job done by a specific date. There was a sense of urgency. The payrolls would bounce; general ledgers wouldn't close; and, of course, golf handicaps would explode. Seriously, it was beneficial to have a key event on which the project team could focus. At the time Y2K was a real threat. There was a sense of urgency for completing the ERP implementation project for the strike of midnight, December 31, 1999.
While projects do not have to be tied to life or death events, it is valuable that the project timetable coincide to real, tangible benefits. For a business-to-consumer company, it may be a new timed payment process that will increase sales. For another company, it may be a commitment made to external board members to have disaster recovery hot site in place before the next directors meeting. For a third company, it may be the promise to treat team members and their spouses to a weekend at a nearby resort. Whether it's increasing revenue, maintaining integrity, or preserving harmony on the home front, each has a positive effect on motivating the project team.
is not only having the time and ability to work on a project but being told
that it is OK to do so. Unless a company's management is willing to assign the
appropriate and, sometimes, the best talent to the project and convey this to
the project team, team members will spend more time worrying about their current
jobs that than on their future ones. This is why, as the project manager, you
must clearly define early on the level of commitment that it expected. Below
is a chart that you may find useful in conveying the expected level of commitment
to the project team and management.
- Project Planning & Organization
- Business Process Pilot
- Solution Integration
- Integrated Pilot
the project's executive sponsor is expected to, at least verbally, sanction
this level of involvement. Furthermore, assurance must be given to the team
members that the overall project's success is dependent on their involvement
and that this commitment been approved by senior management.
All too often we tend to overlook the human dynamics that make projects successful. When we do, we encounter the dreaded KPI's. More importantly, underestimating the human dynamics associated with a project will cause frustration on the part of team members and dissatisfaction on the part of the recipients of the project deliverables. This, in turn, can cause project delays and failure to effectively meet user expectations. You probably have encountered your own KPI's on your projects that appealed more to the nature of the human being than the nature of software and hardware. I would be interested in hearing about them and how you worked through or around them.
J. Strub has extensive experience as a manager and senior consultant
in planning and executing ERP projects for manufacturing and distribution systems
for medium-size and Fortune 100 companies in the food & beverage, chemical,
and CPG process industries.
can be reached at JoeStrub@writecompanyplus.com | <urn:uuid:189b273c-dea1-4d88-ada2-5ff07be75873> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/printer-friendly/kpis-key-project-impeders-16816/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946619 | 1,689 | 1.976563 | 2 |
Three hundred pages into Ludwig von Mises' economic masterpiece, Human Action, and I've found myself stopping for air. I'm not fatigued, as I was 300 pages into John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion; I'm not confused, like I was in the last portion of Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling. Mises is a mastermind, too interesting and fresh to find tedious (though Calvin is mostly enjoyable) and far too clear and concise to be confusing. No, Human Action is one of the most profound books I've ever read. My momentary pause has far less to do with Mises' difficulty, and far more to do with his spiritual emptiness: he must be read in segments because my soul buckles under the total burden of his meaninglessness.
I believe that my reaction to Mises' work underscores my particular problem with libertarianism in general: the fact that it has little to no soul, reducing man to a rational, pleasure-seeking animal. The central premise of Human Action, the basic theory of Mises' praxeology, is that all men are united by one logic, one universal bent toward happiness, which they seek in the most advantageous way possible. In short, man, though capable of making poor decisions, will even in failure choose the most logical poor decision known to him; he furthermore always desires one object more than everything else at any given moment, and the object of his desire is revealed only by his logical action.
Egerer's analysis is simply off the wall. Here are a couple of examples of mainstream economic analysis:
This is the mainstream and yet Egerer writes:
my particular problem with libertarianism in general: the fact that it has little to no soul, reducing man to a rational, pleasure-seeking animal.Where the hell has this guy been living? Does he have any idea how distorted from reality mainstream economics is. And how does anyone this side of Colorado's James Holmes
write in the same paragraph that
Human Action is one of the most profound books I've ever readand
[Mises] must be read in segments because my soul buckles under the total burden of his meaninglessness.After many other errors, including Egerer failing to understand why the science of economics must be wertfrei, he concludes with this doozy (my bold):
What am I to make of Mises and libertarianism, or that ideology's adherents? In the end, though I find them destructive to Western civilization, I pity them. They seek civilization in earthly pleasure, and meaning in meaninglessness. I have a destiny, have a God, have glory, have unalienable rights and The Law, have incorruptible joy -- and should Pleasure ever stand between these and me, then with the Almighty's help, She will know where Her dominion ends. Take your stand where you may; I cannot but with my whole heart reject libertarianism.Economics studies choice and action has nothing to say about whether those choices should be "earthly pleasure" or spiritual. It's similar with libertarianism. Libertarians have no problem with those pursuing "earthly pleasure" or spiritual, as long as there is no aggression against others.
Thus, Egerer is simply wrong and confused when he writes:
[Mises and libertarians] seek civilization in earthly pleasure.There is simply no basis to charge that Mises and libertarians only seek earthly pleasure. His entire article is based on misunderstanding Mises and libertarians.
(ht Christopher Barcelo) | <urn:uuid:9ba32a15-7936-4768-96f3-382a62776bb5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2012/09/claim-mises-has-no-soul.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FYZSb+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952305 | 721 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Librarians assist patrons looking for books and research materials. They centralize library catalogs and assist those seeking written or electronic publications.
Librarians determine the books, movies, magazines, and other library resources to purchase. They organize library materials, so they can be easily accessed by patrons. Many librarians work with groups of employees to complete projects.
Some librarians specialize in certain topics, such as history. Others spend time reading to children or showing them how to find books in the library. Librarians can be found in public and school libraries. They are also employed by college, hospital, and company libraries, or in companies that require information to be accessed instantly.
Several companies and libraries now utilize computers. Some librarians setup web pages and databases. They also teach patrons how to use computers to locate books and other materials.
Many librarians also work as supervisors, and they prepare budgets and maintain records.
Librarians may spend a considerable amount of time in front of a computer screen or behind a counter. They also spend a large portion of their days assisting library patrons.
How do you prepare for this career?
Most librarians complete a master’s program in library science or information science before beginning their careers, but a bachelor’s program must be completed prior to applying for a master’s program. Most state legislators require that school librarians acquire a teaching certificate.
How much will I earn?
According the the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, librarians made a median salary of $54,500 annually during 2010. Those with salaries in the lower 10th percentile made $33,590 or less while those in the upper 10th percentile made $83,510 or more annually.
How many jobs are there?
Nearly 156,100 librarians were employed in the United States in 2010. The majority worked in school libraries while others worked at community libraries. Some were employed at company or hospital libraries.
If you want to become a nail technician, there are certain skills you should possess. You should have personal skills, such as being an organized person and able to keep a hygienic work environment. Other personal skills a nail technician should have are thinking with a creative mind, keeping a positive attitude at all times, [...]
Hairstylists are almost always in demand for cutting and styling men's and women’s hair. As a stylist, you of course will be responsible for cutting and styling hair. You may often be asked to color, bleach, highlight or lowlight your customers’ tresses. You could also be called upon to curl or straighten their hair. Sometimes [...]
Cosmetologists are licensed professionals. As a cosmetologist, you will attend cosmetology school to learn to care for hair, nails and skin. You may be referred to as a hairdresser, beautician or beauty operator, and you may work in a beauty salon, spa or own their own business. Other opportunities for licensed cosmetologists are abundant with [...]
Being a makeup artist can be a fulfilling and exciting career. If you have always loved fashion and had an artistic side, this may be the career for you. Becoming a makeup artist, like any other career, requires training. Most of the training you will be doing will be hands-on and not of the traditional [...]
A trained esthetician provides professional-quality skin and body care treatments, such as facials, waxing and even laser treatments for more highly trained estheticians. For an esthetician, the skin is the primary area of focus and study and treatment surrounds improving the look, feel, cleanliness and health of the skin. While estheticians primarily focus on the [...]
Featured Student Profile
Learn Anytime, anywhere.
...even on a remote island!
Every year more and more students are turning to the Internet and distance learning in order to further their education and expand their horizons.
Read our exclusive one on one interview and learn how a busy student fits online learning into his schedule while living abroad. | <urn:uuid:f6a12dc8-cc14-4827-bbc2-1dc7b0770dd0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://educationatlas.com/librarian-career.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963154 | 839 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Presentation: Secure Programming with Static Analysis
Creating secure code is a hard thing to do. The number of things to get right is almost endless and the price for not succeeding can be extremely high.
In this talk, Brian Chess explains how static source code analysis can help finding the kinds of errors that leads to vulnerabilities and exploits. Highlights from the talk include:
- The most common security shortcuts and why they lead to security failures
- Why programmers are in the best position to get security right
- Where to look for security problems
- How static analysis helps
- The critical attributes and algorithms that make or break a static analysis tool
- How static analysis works and how to integrate it into the software development processes and security code reviews.
Along the way, Brian shows examples taken from real-world security incidents, showing how coding errors are exploited, how they could have been prevented, and how static analysis can rapidly uncover similar errors.
To learn more, spend the next hour on Brian’s presentation: Secure Programming with Static Analysis
Video doesn't seem to work after approximately 30 mins | <urn:uuid:672836ce-34e5-4d0d-be85-5b8673aa7998> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infoq.com/news/2008/08/secure-prog-static-analysis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91685 | 222 | 2.546875 | 3 |
I wrote "jahangir's book" to have you an overall idea about the topics and course of Muslim Law.But if you are consulting B.A level book as a primary book then consult Mulla's book for detailed study as this book is considered authentic on the subject.Moreover,its easy to understand and contains many relevent examples.But again,some topics are also missing in it.
In my personal opinion go with these two books initially.Later on you can prepare remaining topics from somewhere else.
Or Put your queries on forum.
For Public Ad:
Yup... I am available for any kind of help in this regard.This is an easy subject and may seem interesting to you too.Its just about management.Look around you you will discover it everywhere.
While preparing for Muslim law ..have a look at these video lectures:
vu's Channel - YouTube
Hope so you will enjoy the scene and please put your Public ad queries in relevent threads.
Admin se mar he na parh jaye...... | <urn:uuid:2331505d-a333-46d2-a6fe-4f5ba950e3df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cssforum.com.pk/css-optional-subjects/group-f/muslim-law-jurisprudence/28343-muslim-law-syllabus-concern-5.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937482 | 212 | 1.585938 | 2 |
For the Love of Fish
Fish traps and ladders at Cabinet Gorge
For thousands of years, Dolly Varden trout swam freely throughout what came to be called the Cabinet Gorge. They were once sea-going trout. Much like salmon, they returned to spawn in the fresh water habitat they began life in. Their travels were impeded neither by nature nor by man. Nature struck first.
Scientists speculate that an ice age occurred, lasting until twelve thousand years ago. A giant glacier formed, plugging up rivers throughout the Northwest. Separated by an impenetrable wall of ice, the Dolly Vardens on both sides of the ice wall continued on their evolutionary journey. They did not evolve in an identical manner.
Biologists tell us that all species are continually evolving and adapting to their environment. Distinct features within a specie that provide the biggest advantages for finding food; for protection; for reproduction; move forward in time. These advantageous features, possessed by a subset of the species, eventually evolve to become a general characteristic of the entire specie. The characteristics become a part of the specie because the members of the specie possessing the characteristic survive, reproduce, and pass along the trait. This adaptation concept forms the basis for Evolutionary Theory.
The Dolly Vardens on the east side of the ice wall found a freshwater environment different from that which their cousins to the west swam in. Undoubtedly, some Dolly Vardens on the east side of the ice wall possessed characteristics distinct from the rest of the fish population. These characteristics were favorable to the new environment the ice wall created. These characteristics gave the Dolly Vardens that possessed them an advantage over the other fish. The characteristics allowed this subset of Dolly Vardens to survive, to reproduce, and to evolve the population into something other than what it was.
The Dolly Vardens on the west side of the ice wall were unable to return to many of their freshwater spawning grounds. The Dolly Vardens on the east side of the ice wall were landlocked, unable to continue on with their journey to the sea. They evolved into a fresh water fish. And they underwent changes in their skeletons and in their DNA, the building block of all living things. The Dolly Vardens evolved into a new species, which we now call Bull Trout.
Eventually, the ice glacier melted and the landscape was forever changed. And fish populations on both sides of the ice wall swam amongst each other again. This time, however, they swam as Dolly Vardens and as Bull Trout. Separated by the barrier of Evolution, they were now distinct species.
Fifty years ago, a new barrier emerged in the form of man-made dams on the Clark Fork River. The Bull Trout were separated, unable to freely swim in their native habitat. And they were unable to return to their native spawning grounds. Stressed by man-made habitat alterations and pollution in the form of mining waste, sewage, agricultural runoff, and erosion from logging and construction, the number of Bull Trout plummeted. They became a Threatened Specie- i.e., a species now facing the threat of extinction.
Avista Corporation is licensed to run the Cabinet Gorge and Noxon Rapids Dams on the mighty Clark Fork River. Both dams interfere with the spawning of the native Bull Trout. According to Rich Russell, a Water Resources Specialist with the Dept of Natural Resources and Conservation, Avista Corporation is trying to mitigate the damage to the Bull Trout through the building of fish traps. The fish traps catch the Bull Trout as they migrate upstream. The trapped fish are then netted and driven by truck around the dams. Once released, they are free to continue on with their upriver migration. There is no other way for the fish to travel upriver. Similar to the ice glacier, the dams are an impenetrable barrier to the fish.
The fish trap and ladder at the Cabinet Gorge Fish Hatchery dam was built in 1991 as an aid for Kokanee salmon. For the last three years, it has also been used to safely trap Bull Trout. Last year 68 Bull Trout were trapped and netted. This year the total numbers are not in yet. However, 35 fish have so far been transported over Cabinet Gorge Dam. Trapped fish are weighed, measured, and implanted with tracking devices. They are released upstream in Bull River Bay, a popular recreational area just west of Noxon. Of those trapped this year, at least eight fish went up the river and spawned. A number of fish hung around the mouth of Rock Creek, unable to navigate the Creek due to low water level. Three fish turned around and successfully swam down through the dam’s turbines. There is still no safe passage corridor for fish attempting to swim downriver. The turbines are a dangerous gauntlet they must run.
Unlike salmon, Bull Trout do not die after spawning. Those that live will attempt to spawn again next year. Many will attempt to winter in Lake Pend Oreille. That means a downriver swim through the turbines of the dams. Some may decide to stay in Cabinet Gorge Reservoir. And, because they have a strong homing instinct, it means an upriver truck ride around the dams during spawning season.
Joe DosSantos is the Avista employee in charge of their fisheries program. Possessing a Masters Degree in Fish and Wildlife Management, he has been working with fisheries in western Montana for over 20 years. According to DosSantos, Avista applied for a water use permit in March of 2001 to build a fish trap downstream of the Noxon Rapids Dam. They anticipate approval of the permit any day now.
The permit was needed to divert the water of a spring area that enters into the Clark Fork River just below Noxon Rapids Dam. They found the river water in that area much cooler than the surrounding river, due to the influence of the spring area. Bull Trout favor cooler water. Therefore Avista plans to divert 4,000 gallons a minute of water from the spring area into cisterns that form the basis of the fish traps. The Bull Trout will follow the cooler water straight into the new fish ladder and trap.
The Noxon Rapids Dam fish trap is scheduled for completion sometime in year 2002. It is hoped that it will enable the return of a strong Bull Trout population in the Clark Fork River tributaries of Martin Creek, Vermilion River, Graves Creek and Prospect Creek. Most of these creeks are located around the town of Trout Creek, and all are downstream from Thompson Falls.
According to DosSantos, no local, above-ground streams will be impacted by the water diversion. The estimated cost for the spring development and the new fish ladder and trap will be one half million dollars. The costs will eventually be absorbed by the rates paid by Avista customers, who are primarily located in northern Idaho and eastern Washington.
DosSantos explained that the fish traps are a pro-active approach on Avista’s part to open up the Bull Trout’s migration corridor. Avista has made a commitment to help the Bull Trout for the next 45 years. That’s about a decade less than the dams have already impacted the Bull Trout’s migration corridor. When queried about the odds of this fish surviving another 45 years, DosSantos admitted that they are breaking new ground, and that the project is experimental in nature. He also added that it’s a long-term plan because, “You don’t restore natural resources overnight. It takes a while.”
For additional information, contact Rich Russell at 406-752-2288 or Joe DosSantos at 406- 847-2729. | <urn:uuid:88c82f16-7446-4e01-9e4d-d3f71cfbfdb2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://riverjournal.com/vivvo/outdoors/huntfish/1268-fortheloveoffish_masten_10102001.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95695 | 1,599 | 3.46875 | 3 |
Around the world on March 22nd, people recognized World Water Day. The day serves as a reminder of the vital importance of access to clean water and the large numbers of people who live without that access.
Nearly 900 million people around the world lack access to an clean water source, and 2.6 billion people lack access to proper sanitation. The dearth of clean water, sanitation, and hygiene is linked to over 2 million deaths every year mainly from diarrhea and diarrhea-related malnutrition.
The impact of water on all aspects of development is undeniable. The health, economic, and social consequences of water deficits in both quantity and quality for all users, as well as for the environment, are enormous and linked to many U.S. foreign assistance priorities in tangible and substantive ways. As a result, forging a water-secure world is an essential step in all of USAID’s development goals.
The people of the United States are dedicated to helping Liberia address water and sanitation challenges. Through USAID programs in the country, we are actively engaged in improving Liberian’s access to clean, safe drinking water and use of water for enhanced hygiene.
USAID’s Rebuilding Basic Health Services (RBHS) program includes activities to prevent water-borne and water-washed diseases by providing adequate quantities of good quality water, access to adequate sanitation, and the promotion of sound hygiene practices in schools and health facilities in rural communities across Liberia.
USAID also has a separate, new multi-year, multi-million dollar water and sanitation program that will seek to improve water supply, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), as well as the enabling environment for WASH, in target areas within the six counties of Grand Cape Mount, Bomi, Lofa, Nimba, Bong and River Gee in Liberia and the selected communities of Bensonville and Duport Road in Greater Monrovia.
We are also strongly committed to improving the lives of women and girls who are disproportionately impacted by the lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
Sanitation is a critical gap and, in many countries, has lagged behind improving water supplies in terms of investment, political commitment, and progress. This is beginning to change, and USAID supports state-of-the-art approaches to sanitation that focus on behavior change, market development, and facilitating access to sanitation products and services.
In 2009 USAID activities world-wide gave about 6.4 million people access to safe drinking water and 3.4 million people to better sanitation.
In commemoration of World Water Week, USAID reaffirms its commitment to helping Liberians gain access to clean, safe water and vital sanitation and hygiene practices. | <urn:uuid:fbd9d087-15d7-4441-beb3-c7a463e13878> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sanitationupdates.wordpress.com/tag/world-water-week/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950147 | 551 | 3.453125 | 3 |
Significance and Use
4.1 The test method is designed to measure the force required to crack the grain of leather by steady hydraulic pressure on a diaphragm of definite diameter applied to the flesh side of the specimen to form a sphere. The cracking of the grain is a result of failure under elongation or stretch. The elongation or stretch of the leather can be measured at different loads or at the failure of the grain to determine if the stress leather will withstand under lasting conditions. Cuts, scratches, and other defects will cause considerable variation in the results by concentration of the applied force to the weak points. This test method is excellent for manufacturing control, specification acceptance, and service evaluation in the lasting property of leather. This test method may not apply when the conditions of the test employed differ widely from those specified in the test method.
1.1 This test method covers the determination of the resistance of leather to grain cracking and for measuring the extension of the leather. It is limited to light leathers such as shoe uppers, garment, gloves, and upholstery. This test method does not apply to wet blue.
1.2 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded as standard. The values given in parentheses are mathematical conversions to SI units that are provided for information only and are not considered standard.
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
2. Referenced Documents (purchase separately) The documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard.
D1610 Practice for Conditioning Leather and Leather Products for Testing
D1813 Test Method for Measuring Thickness of Leather Test Specimens
burst strength extension; grain crack; leather; Mullen ;
ICS Number Code 59.140.30 (Leather and furs)
ASTM International is a member of CrossRef.
Citing ASTM Standards
[Back to Top] | <urn:uuid:603a8619-7f63-44d1-88b4-7334b3b46eff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.astm.org/Standards/D2210.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906912 | 440 | 2.296875 | 2 |
The Highway's Agency will soon begin deploying portable motorway screens to hide accident scenes from passing motorists. The anti-rubberneck partitions are designed to reduce the number of cars that slow down to get a better look at accidents and incidents, causing tailbacks in the process.
More than 3,000 screens, each of which measures 2.1m by 2m high, have been purchased. They will be divided into 105 sets, each of which can consist of 30 portable partitions, and placed at depots at strategic locations around the UK. Used end to end, the partitions can cover up to 75m of motorway. Each set cost a whopping £22,000, with the total purchase cost estimated to be £2.3m.
The Government is confident the screens will help reduce the estimated £750m cost to the economy that incidents cause on motorways in England every year.
The rubberneck screens have been purchased as part of a scheme that also aims to improve accident clear-up times. The Department for Transport's CLEAR - collision, lead, evaluate, act and reopen - initiative was launched last year to help ensure motorways and roads reopen quickly after major accidents.
Other CLEAR initiatives include laser scanners that rapidly produce a 3D image of an incident scene, reducing the time it would take investigators to painstakingly survey multiple sections of a scene.
Roads minister Stephen Hammond said: "This will be another great advantage to hopefully clearing up collisions but also getting the roads moving rather more quickly afterwards.”
"People will recognise these screens, recognise that something's happening behind it, but actually realise it won't impact on their motorway - there's nothing to see, and we want to keep the motorways flowing."
RAC Foundation director, Stephen Glaister, said the screens should be welcomed as they speed up journeys.
"Incident screens reduce disruption to traffic following an incident [and] assist the emergency services. Ensuring that motorists not involved in an incident complete their journeys safely and on time is important. The economy relies on an efficient road network. Traffic jams following incidents increase frustration and the risk of low speed collisions," he said.
The screens will be deployed across the UK in 2013.
Via: BBC News | <urn:uuid:3c82c6ca-46fa-4b5b-bb26-ab30afaab2e6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://recombu.com/cars/articles/news/portable-motorway-screens-to-prevent-accident-rubbernecking | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959735 | 460 | 1.78125 | 2 |
TPOL S 251
Selected themes in American and occasionally other modern and contemporary cultures. Themes and readings may include: advertising and consumer culture; class and culture, gender and sexuality, identity, and post-9/11 culture.
PLEASE NOTICE: This course is subtitled TORTURE AND HUMAN RIGHTS--a focus developed out of the last in the series of the official description (above): "post-9/11 culture." Shortly after September 11, 2001, the United States government, under the banner of a “global war on terror,” authorized detention and interrogation practices that are widely acknowledged to constitute torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and that therefore violated national and international law. President Obama reversed most of these policies by executive order. This course introduces students to the recent history of U.S. torture policy in the context of the “war on terror.” We will examine what is now known about such policies, where they originated, how they were implemented, and how they were legally and politically facilitated. In addition, we will examine the conditions that contributed to the torture and abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. We will compare these policies to existing human rights law and other legal constraints. Finally, we will examine the issue of accountability for these human rights violations.
Student learning goals
develop a more thorough knowledge of social institutions through focused engagement with both contemporary and enduring social issues
strengthen analytical skills
develop ability to write with style and precision
develop ethical and logical reasoning
learn to synthesize and evaluate information through an application of knowledge and methods across different disciplines.
learn to converse with others about serious and complex social and political issues
General method of instruction
This course will require good reading skills and an ability to analyze key arguments of authors and how those arguments are supported.
Class assignments and grading
Daily discussion of the reading; two midterm exams; end of quarter essay.
Prior to the beginning of the course, instructor reserves the right to change this structure of grading.
Student participation: approximately 20% Two midterm exams: approximately 60% End of quarter essay:approximately 20%
Prior to the beginning of the course, instructor reserves the right to change this distribution of grading | <urn:uuid:55e6c7fc-a6ba-4e2f-bcaa-459801d818ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.washington.edu/students/icd/T/tpols/251crawford.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924795 | 455 | 2.8125 | 3 |
It has been statistically shown that during the past five years, the number of fatalities and injuries associated with road accidents are steadily increasing.
Fatalities due to road incidents have now reached a grand total of 181 (1999), significantly greater than its total, five years ago, in 1995, which was 105. Since 1995, road deaths have increased by an average of 14 people per year. This type of carnage impedes the positive growth of our country and needs to be stopped.
The attitude of drivers plays a major role in road safety. Drivers need to be cautious, and sensitive to all the rules and safety regulations of the road. Safe habits need to be adopted and practised constantly. Drivers must take responsibility for their condition at all times. For example, if some external stimuli affects normal bodily activities, such as normal vision or normal reaction time, for example, alcohol or drugs, drivers should not drive. Drivers who feel sick, tired, or upset should also not drive during these periods. If drivers use corrective lenses, these should always be worn. All these are elements of “social responsibility”. It must be understood by all drivers that driving is the privilege of mature, responsible individuals who need to recognise that things such as these are potentially dangerous, if not taken seriously. Road rules such as speed limits and no parking zones also need to be strictly adhered to by drivers. Due to drivers disobeying these simple rules, they significantly increase the risk of accidents and make it difficult for other drivers in the process [continues]
Cite This Essay
(2010, 12). Road Safety. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 12, 2010, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Road-Safety-518249.html
"Road Safety" StudyMode.com. 12 2010. 12 2010 <http://www.studymode.com/essays/Road-Safety-518249.html>.
"Road Safety." StudyMode.com. 12, 2010. Accessed 12, 2010. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Road-Safety-518249.html. | <urn:uuid:b094658f-84bd-4481-bd6e-14e9c1fbad9e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.studymode.com/essays/Road-Safety-518249.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943078 | 437 | 3.28125 | 3 |
As the weather gets chilly, we humans begin to think of ways to stay warm. We get out the comforters, extra blankets, and bring out our warmer clothes – Many dog breeds lack an under-coat of hair to keep them insulated when the temperatures drop, and they benefit from bedding to stay comfortable and beat the cold.
More and more “dog parents” are giving their canine companions a bed of their own, in fact, it is one of the top things dog owners are doing more often in recent years. Increasingly, beds top the list of holiday presents we give to our dogs.
If you’re considering a replacement or first-time bed for your dog this season, you’ll be in good company with those who have recognized the value of dog beds for our cherished companions.
Right now you can save 15% on organic dog beds for your canine companion(s) until November 9th! Enjoy Savings NOW!
Here are some top reasons to give your dog a bed this year:
* Secure and happy dogs: Most dogs have a den-making urge, and a bed helps your dog feel more secure with a space of their own. Dogs can be quite sensitive to territory, and giving them their own special area can provide them with a place of sanctuary when they feel tired or emotionally stressed.
* Extra support and comfort: Particularly for older dogs, a bed can insure better sleep by giving extra support and comfort to aching muscles and stiff joints. With their slower metabolism, older dogs may have difficulty regulating body temperature, so providing a source of additional warmth can make a difference in how restful their sleep time can be.
* Better dog hair containment: There are also practical considerations for the human members of the household. Many dogs prefer sleeping in a bed of their own, and will be less likely to sleep or nap on furniture. When dogs use their bed as their primary sleeping space, there is less dog hair and dander all over the house to clean up or to be breathed in by the family.
* More great choices: There are more great dog bedding options than ever before, with great beds made from all-natural materials like organic cotton and natural hemp, to sleeping pockets/snuggle sacks for smaller dogs that like to burrow under covers.
Why Organic Bedding?
Sleeping should be a time for nourishing and replenishing the body in a safe and pure environment. Wouldn’t you rather avoid the chemicals used in mainstream bedding materials than absorb or inhale them?
If you are a regular reader here, chances are that you are already feeding your dog a species appropriate diet and eliminating chemicals in, on and around your dog. If you have gone this far in providing a toxin free environment for your dog then please think about this…Why would you let your dog sleep on a bed made with petrochemicals, flame retardants and other additives? Beds made of synthetic materials can off-gas phthalates and other chemicals, even regular mattresses with synthetic covers or slip covers can be a source of toxic off-gassing. Ongoing exposure to chemical offgassing can cause increased illness in our pets (as well as ourselves.
The Consumer Products Safety Commission lists the following chemicals as the primary ones used in material for bedding to meet current laws: boric acid, formaldehyde, antimony trioxide, decabromodiphenyl oxide (DBDPO Deca), vinylidiene chloride, zinc borate, and melamine.
Don’t automatically think you and your dog are safe when using “natural” fiber bedding. Just because the material is Cotton does not mean it is non-toxic. Cotton is said to be the worst offender, because it is the most heavily sprayed crop. Cotton batting barriers contain 10% poison, 7.5% Boric Acid plus 2.4% Antimony.
This is why it pays to buy Organic and not just natural. Organic means the contents have been grown in an environment, harvested, processed, and manufactured without chemicals, with a lower carbon footprint than traditional.
Save 15% on organic dog beds for your canine companion(s) until November 9th! Enjoy Savings NOW! | <urn:uuid:c4837efa-6a91-44ca-ae16-139438afec82> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thewholedog.org/wholedognews/doggy-its-getting-cold-outside-why-organic-bedding-for-our-dogs/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944469 | 872 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Active Transportation Systematic Review by Richard Larouche Published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health
A paper by Richard Larouche and other HALO researchers including Travis Saunders, Dr. Rachel Colley and Dr. Mark Tremblay titled, “Associations Between Active School Transport and Physical Activity, Body Composition and Cardiovascular Fitness: A Systematic Review of 68 Studies,” was recently published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health. Citation details are below.
Larouche R, Saunders TJ, Faulkner G EJ, Colley R, Tremblay M. Associations Between Active School Transport and Physical Activity, Body Composition and Cardiovascular Fitness: A Systematic Review of 68 Studies. J Phys Act Health. 2012 Dec 17. [Epub ahead of print]
ABSTRACT: Background: The impact of active school transport (AST) on daily physical activity (PA) levels, body composition and cardiovascular fitness remains unclear. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to examine differences in PA, body composition and cardiovascular fitness between active and passive travelers. The Medline, PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo and ProQuest databases were searched and 10 key informants were consulted. Quality of evidence was assessed with GRADE and with the Effective Public Health Practice Project tool for quantitative studies. Results: 68 different studies met the inclusion criteria. The majority of studies found that active school travelers were more active or that AST interventions lead to increases in PA, and the quality of evidence is moderate. There is conflicting, and therefore very low quality evidence, regarding the associations between AST and body composition indicators, and between walking to/from school and cardiovascular fitness. However, all studies with relevant measures found a positive association between cycling to/from school and cardiovascular fitness; this evidence is of moderate quality. Conclusion: These findings suggest that AST should be promoted to increase PA levels in children and adolescents and that cycling to/from school is associated with increased cardiovascular fitness. Intervention studies are needed to increase the quality of evidence.Subscribe to HALO's content by email | <urn:uuid:9c630e4e-d5fc-4074-b4cc-77911bb49d48> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.haloresearch.ca/blog/2012/12/20/active-transportation-systematic-review-by-richard-larouche-published-in-the-journal-of-physical-activity-and-health/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932747 | 419 | 1.867188 | 2 |
Mon January 28, 2013
Brazilian Nightclub Disaster: Toxic Smoke, Barriers Blamed For Horrible Toll
Originally published on Mon January 28, 2013 10:59 am
Survivors and authorities are telling harrowing tales of what it was like early Sunday inside the Kiss nightclub in the southern Brazilian city of Santa Maria, where more than 230 people died as a fire swept through the building.
From the BBC: "The metal barriers they used to keep people in line on their way in, ended up blocking people from getting out," Mattheus Bortolotto, a young dentist, told local TV. "People were bumping into each other, crushing each other, falling down."
From The Associated Press: "Survivor Michele Pereira told the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper that she was near the stage when members of the band lit some sort of flare. 'The band that was onstage began to use flares and, suddenly, they stopped the show and pointed them upward,' she said. 'At that point, the ceiling caught fire. It was really weak, but in a matter of seconds it spread.' "
The AP adds that "Most of the dead apparently were asphyxiated, according to Dr. Paulo Afonso Beltrame, a professor at the medical school of the Federal University of Santa Maria who went to the city's Caridade Hospital to help victims.
"Large amounts of toxic smoke quickly filled the room, and I would say that at least 90 percent of the victims died of asphyxiation," Beltrame told the AP.
"The toxic smoke made people lose their sense of direction so they were unable to find their way to the exit. At least 50 bodies were found inside a bathroom. Apparently they confused the bathroom door with the exit door."
There's also this sad note from ABC News:
"Hours after the fire, cellphones on the victims were ringing inside the still-smoldering nightclub as family members tried to contact their loved ones, Brazilian radio reporter Sara Bodowsky told World News anchor David Muir."
According to the AP, among the things investigators are looking at is the club's operating license: "Police said it was in the process of being renewed, but it was not clear if it was illegal for the business to be open. A single entrance area about the size of five door spaces was used both as an entrance and an exit."
The tragedy in Brazil has stirred painful memories for the survivors and family members of victims in the 2003 blaze at a club in West Warwick, R.I. That fire killed 100 people and injured 200. In the years since then, the AP notes:
-- "A flare ignited ceiling foam at an overcrowded nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 194 people [in 2004]."
-- "Indoor fireworks were blamed for a fire at a club in Bangkok on New Year's Eve 2008 in which 66 partygoers were killed."
-- "Another indoor fireworks display at a nightclub in Perm, Russia, ignited a plastic ceiling decorated with branches, killing 152 people in December 2009."
Update at 10:55 a.m. ET. Reports: Three Arrested; Police Seeking Fourth Person.
There are reports from Brazil that authorities have arrested three people, so far, in connection with the fire and that they are looking for a fourth suspect. USA Today writes from there that "the Zero Hora newspaper quoted lawyer Jader Marques as saying his client Elissandro Spohr, a co-owner of the club, was arrested. The paper also said two band members were arrested."
According to The Wall Street Journal, "the state authorities said the arrests were 'temporary' and were part of efforts to push the investigation forward, a legal power available to Brazilian courts, and didn't necessarily mean the men would be charged." | <urn:uuid:d65d7bf7-fa23-45d9-9123-e39672632584> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wlrn.org/post/brazilian-nightclub-disaster-toxic-smoke-barriers-blamed-horrible-toll | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981788 | 785 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Google Mail: Email Confidentiality
Email in and of itself is not considered confidential. When you send someone an email, they can then forward that email to as many people as they want. Furthermore, you have no way of knowing if the email address you send an email to is being accessed by the actual person who owns that account. And when you receive an email, you have no way of knowing if the person who owns that account actually sent you the email.
In GroupWise, classifying an email as confidential only let the recipients know the email contained confidential information. In Google Mail, just like in GroupWise, there is no way to send confidential emails.
However, there are several steps you may take that may help increase confidentiality and security of emails you send. These are the following:
- Blind copy someone on an email (so no other recipients can see they received the email)
- Add a confidentiality message to your signature (so recipients know the email contains confidential information)
- Send confidential information in a locked PDF as an attached file
When you blind copy (also known as Bcc) someone on an email, they will receive the email in their inbox. However, all recipients in both the “To” field and the “Cc” field will not be able to see that the person who was blind copied received the email.
To blind copy someone in Google Mail, please see the Google Mail: Use Email Blind Copy Feature computer help page.
To let recipients of an email know that an email is confidential, you can add a confidentiality message to your signature. This message simply tells recipients that the email is confidential. It does not prevent them from forwarding the email to whomever they want. However, it does let them know that the information in the email is confidential.
If you want a confidentiality message in your signature, simply add it after all other information at the bottom of your signature. To do this in Google Mail, please see the Google Mail: Add a Signature computer help page.
If you have information you want to send someone but feel is too confidential to include in the body of an email, you may send it as an attached locked PDF. A locked PDF requires users to type in a password to view the PDF. You may provide the password to them over the phone or in-person.
To create a locked PDF, you must type the desired information in a Word document, save it as a PDF and then protect the PDF with a password. To save a Word document as a PDF, see the Create a PDF computer help page. To protect the PDF with a password, see the Protect a PDF with a Password computer help page.
Keywords: send confidential emails, mark emails as confidential, email safety, email security, gmail confidentiality | <urn:uuid:564b6e01-ab46-4c33-973d-d5c57a13d9f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cedarville.edu/help/Google-Mail-Email-Confidentiality?device=Mobile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939911 | 572 | 1.875 | 2 |
Like partners in a faltering love affair, CIOs should look to themselves, not their colleagues on the board, to improve relations between IT and the business.
Their frustration at less than optimum relations is understandable. Members of the IT team often have the most detailed knowledge of the end-to-end processes that drive their organisations they are de facto experts at managing process change and they are ace at innovation. Why then, does the rest of the business not embrace them and make them feel loved?
The reasons are as complex as the individuals involved, because relationships, in both the personal and the business context, are a blend of strategic alliance and emotions. And that is where the problem lies - emotions can get messy and alliances are often poorly understood.
The importance of skills for building alliances and managing the emotional element of relationships has only recently dawned on the IT community, and its academic supply chain has been caught on the back foot.
Computing courses, focused almost exclusively on technology and its applications, have been turning out graduates who understand how to change a sales processing system into a CRM system, but not how to change users' attitudes to new ways of working.
The employers themselves have also been partly to blame. Read the IT job ads and see how few specify skills beyond a particular programming or hardware environment. Some do mention communication skills, but empathy? The ability to feel someone else's pain? Not on your life.
The truth is, these basic relationship needs make the average techie a bit squeamish. Computing is based on logic, which enables systems people to bring a certain elegance to their solutions.
Users, however, are not always logical in their demands or their approach to computer operation, to the annoyance of many a systems designer. But it is time to recognise that it is neither possible nor logical to change the end-user.
What needs to change is the IT professional's expectations of user behaviour and motivation. I have heard a helpdesk agent shout at an end-user who failed to notice the file name extension on a vital document that had become lost.
The user was a key member of the firm's legal team, who was under pressure to negotiate a time-critical corporate merger, yet the support agent was blaming her for the frustration her lack of systems knowledge was causing him.
Back to alliances and relationships - were both individuals working towards the same corporate objectives? Had anyone clearly thought through the most efficient way of working together?
Information technologies have enabled corporations to focus on producing results, yet business gurus, senior executives and financiers have all begun to realise that results can only be achieved through people. It's time the IT community also embraced this truth.
Shirley Redpath is principal at consultancy Management Arts
Do you agree with Shirley Redpath? If you have an opinion about this or any article in Computer Weekly, e-mail email@example.com
Improve people skills, IT and finance bosses urged
This was first published in March 2007 | <urn:uuid:020dfe55-2c85-4492-b864-23d57c56f8e6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/A-relationship-thats-in-need-of-improving | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966339 | 616 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Bill McKibben wrote one of the first books on global warming (a title I do not like, so from now on, I will call it climate change) back in 1988. He warned us all that if we did not change our ways, in 100 years or so we would be living on a very different planet. Well, he was wrong. We’re living on that different planet now. A planet so different, but that still sort of looks like the planet we all know and love, that we might a s well call it Eaarth.
Let me explain why I don’t like the phrase global warming. Whenever I would tell people that I was reading a book about global warming, they would invariably say something along the lines of, “Global warming?! It’s 25 degrees outside!” But, if I said that I was reading a book about climate change, people automatically changed their response. They would say things like, “Oh yeah, the weather is really different now than when I was a kid!” Or, “Did you hear about that [insert strange weather formation]?” People just respond better to the term climate change, for all its ambiguities. If I could change one thing about the way we talk about climate change and global warming, it’s that we would simply refer to it as climate change. Would that solve all our problems? No! But it might help.
Okay, back to Eaarth. The bottom line of this book is simple: Look at what we’ve done to Earth, look at what we can do to help. It is organized very succinctly into 4 chapters. The first two chronicle the changes that are already occurring and what will happen in the coming years. The second two chapters, and last 100 pages, talk about changes that need to be made and includes some practical real world examples of how our society is already changing to accommodate our new world.
I am of two minds of this book. I think it is excellent and I think it should be required reading but I do not think it can stand alone. I also don’t think McKibben intended it to, but I found myself wanting more. I thought it easily could have been 4oo pages instead of 200, because I wanted more practicality. I agreed with most of what McKibben said, and even though he really did use a lot of real world examples, there were some things that I wanted more explanation for. I hope that there are many books to follow demonstrating how we can change our world for the better with a more practical, rather than idealogical, approach.
All in all, I learned a lot. I was terrified, and then incredibly hopeful for the future. The idea is that we will no longer be able to support constant growth and big government and big farms, so we will have to return to small communities. If we make this political (which it shouldn’t be, because this will be everyone’s problem) I think both liberals and conservatives will find things to latch onto in this book, something I wasn’t exactly expecting. I also very much approved of McKibben’s stance on the internet as a big, magical community that should never go away. Amen to that.
Though this book does feature the efforts of other countries, it is very US centric, but Eaarth never pretends to be otherwise, so I didn’t really find this to be a flaw. This is the first book about climate change that I have ever really read and it has made me eager to read more and to do more, which was probably its secret purpose all along. Please go read this book, it is important.
“Don’t let your eyes glaze over at this parade of statistics (and so many more to follow). These should come as body blows, as mortar barrages, as sickening thuds. The Holocene is staggered, the only world that humans have known is suddenly reeling. I am not describing what will happen if we don’t take action, or warning of some future threat. This is the current inventory: more thunder, more lightning, less ice. Name a major feature of the earth’s surface and you’ll find massive change.”(5)
“As we’ve seen, though, scientists are far more guilty of understatement than exaggeration, and our economic troubles are intersecting with our ecological ones in ways that put us hard up against the limits to growth. This book has been dedicated, so far, to the idea that we’re in very deep trouble. Now we must try to figure out how to survive what’s coming at us. And that survival begins with words.
We lack the vocabulary and the metaphors we need for life on a different scale. We’re so used to growth that we can’t imagine alternatives; at best we embrace the squishy sustainable, with its implied claim that we can keep on as before.” (102)
“Community may suffer from overuse more sorely than any word in the dictionary. Politicians left and right sprinkle it through their remarks the way a bad Chinese restaurant uses MSG, to mask the lack of wholesome ingredients. But we need to rescue it; we need to make sure that community will become, on this tougher planet, one of the most prosaic terms in the lexicon, like hoe or bicycle or computer. Access to endless amounts of cheap energy made us rich, and wrecked our climate, and it also made us the first people on earth who had no practical need of our neighbors.” (133)
There were so many more quotes that I would like to include here. Bill McKibben knows how to terrify and he knows how to inspire. From this book, I’ve already been inspired to start composting and being more diligent with recycling (which I should have been already), but beyond that, I am just so entirely hopeful for our future world.
So go read this!: now| tomorrow | next week | next month | next year | when you’ve exhausted your TBR | <urn:uuid:1bc350ce-eb4c-436c-9539-845d121d5800> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://regularrumination.com/tag/eaarth-making-life-on-a-tough-new-planet/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970312 | 1,280 | 2.25 | 2 |
Home > Public Lands, State Lakes and Wildlife Management > State Lands > Forever Wild. Forever Yours. > Forever Wild Program Land Tracts
25. The Mobile-Tensaw Delta-McMillan 1 Tract
Date of purchase: March 15, 2003
Location: Baldwin County; Tract 1 Township 1N, Range 2E, Section 29
THE MOBILE-TENSAW DELTA-MCMILLAN 1, 2 & 3 TRACTS in Baldwin County consist of tract #1 181 acres, tract #2 151 acres, and tract #3 308 acres of wetlands dominated by flood prone hardwood timber adjoining previously purchased land along Bottle Creek and Mifflin Lake. A $1,000,000 grant from the North American Wetlands Conservation Program permitted this purchase of unique habitats essential for avian conservation, as well as several rare, threatened species of plants and animals.
The Mobile Tensaw Delta is the nations second largest river delta. This highly productive delta provides habitat for the rare red bellied turtle, herons, kites, water snakes and game fish. The delta has over 50 rare and endangered plant and animals known to inhabit its vast bottomlands, wetlands, and waterways. When the delta is not flooded it provides opportunity for canoeing, fishing, bird watching and nature study. An extensive canoe trail is being planned to provide over 100 miles of optional routes for day and overnight trips. Camping is permitted in designated areas.
These tracts are only accessible by water. Tract #1 can be accessed off the Tensaw river to the west or Tensaw Lake to the east. Tract #2 can be accessed off Bottle Creek via either the Tensaw of Middle Rivers. Tract #3 can be accessed of Little Bayou Jessamine or Fisher Lake to the northwest of Mifflin Lake to the south. All three tracts are located north of Interstate 65 in the vicinity of Aikin Island. | <urn:uuid:c5b92b61-7790-499e-a9ab-becf246be3e5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.outdooralabama.com/public-lands/stateLands/foreverWild/FWTracts/MobileTensawDeltaMcMillan1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906569 | 396 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Years ago, I told people I was going to write an article titled, “Wall Street Made Me Do It.” The problem is, we’ve all been living under this unspoken assumption that companies can always grow 25 percent a year, every year. Underlying everything was this driving assumption that growth would always increase. The market would always go up, home values would always rise. Unfortunately, all those high expectations led companies and individuals to do some risky things to meet those expectations. A lot of poor decisions were made by a lot of people.
The economic meltdown offers a classic example of how decisions go bad when people are unaware of the assumptions driving them.
In the beginning, these financial companies may have been offering mortgages that were just under the border of acceptable risk. And, on net, because of increasing real estate values, that was working. Then you change the standard and go down another notch and another. Eventually that strategy no longer works because the risk has become too great, but each step has been incrementally tiny and therefore acceptable. But in the end all those tiny steps add up to a larger risk than you may have originally been comfortable taking.
Leaders are especially vulnerable to errors in judgment, ironically because of the qualities that fuel their climb to leadership: self-assurance and decisiveness. Numerous studies have shown that leaders overestimate their own power and ability while underestimating that of their rivals.
Also, despite the fact that the higher up the command chain, the less accurate the information leaders have, they believe that they know all the answers. At the same time, leaders tend to have an unwavering belief in their own rightness. And that is when they get themselves and their organizations in trouble.
For all those reasons, I believe that behind every successful leader there must be a devil’s advocate. An organization that does not foster devil’s advocates is unlikely to engage in internal debate and likely to be the victim of bad decisions.
Instead of debate, what gets perpetuated is “groupthink.” Without forethought, people adopt a set of unarticulated values, and not much good comes of that.
If you’re ever confronted with an ethical dilemma, but no one is available to serve as devil’s advocate, just look to your mother. It turns out Mom is the best virtual devil’s advocate on the planet.
I tell my students, “Ask yourself if you’d be comfortable telling your mom about the point in question. If the answer is “no,” that’s a bad sign, a stop sign. It’ll save you from doing something you’d regret later.”
Excerpted from “Having coffee with . . . Ann Tenbrunsel: Corporate counsel for a troubling time” by John Monczunski, published in the summer edition of Notre Dame Magazine. | <urn:uuid:d13fe95a-81b5-4221-9738-d6590e7e99c9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://business.nd.edu/ask_more/commentary.aspx?id=2464 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969684 | 605 | 1.882813 | 2 |
Today is Tuesday, Jan. 29, the 29th day of 2013. There are 336 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Jan. 29, 1963, poet Robert Frost died in Boston at age 88.
On this date:
In 1820, Britain's King George III died at Windsor Castle.
In 1843, the 25th president of the United States, William McKinley, was born in Niles, Ohio.
In 1845, Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" was first published in the New York Evening Mirror.
In 1861, Kansas became the 34th state of the Union.
In 1863, the Bear River Massacre took place as the U.S. Army attacked Shoshone in present-day Idaho. The New York Stock & Exchange Board changed its name to the New York Stock Exchange.
In 1919, the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, which launched Prohibition, was certified by Acting Secretary of State Frank L. Polk.
In 1929, The Seeing Eye, a New Jersey-based school which trains guide dogs to assist the blind, was incorporated by Dorothy Harrison Eustis and Morris Frank.
In 1936, the first inductees of baseball's Hall of Fame, including Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, were named in Cooperstown, N.Y.
In 1958, actors Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were married in Las Vegas.
In 1963, the first charter members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame were named in Canton, Ohio (they were enshrined when the Hall opened in September 1963).
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter formally welcomed Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping to the White House, following the establishment of diplomatic relations.
In 1998, a bomb rocked an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Ala., killing security guard Robert Sanderson and critically injuring nurse Emily Lyons. (The bomber, Eric Rudolph, was captured in May 2003 and is serving a life sentence.)
Ten years ago: The Congressional Budget Office predicted the federal deficit for fiscal 2003 would soar to $199 billion even without President George W. Bush's new tax cut plan or a war against Iraq. A dust explosion at the West Pharmaceutical Services plant in Kinston, N.C., killed six people and injured dozens more.
Five years ago: John McCain won a breakthrough triumph in the Florida primary, easing past Mitt Romney for his first-ever triumph in a primary open only to Republicans. Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton claimed victory in a campaign-free Florida presidential primary in which all the candidates had signed pledges not to compete. (The national Democratic Party had stripped the state of its delegates as punishment for moving its primary ahead of Feb. 5.) Margaret Truman, the only child of President Harry S. Truman, died in Chicago at age 83. Raymond Jacobs, believed to be the last surviving member of the group of Marines photographed during the first U.S. flag-raising on Iwo Jima, died in Redding, Calif., at age 82.
One year ago: Eleven people were killed when smoke and fog caused a series of fiery crashes on I-75 in Florida. Lydia Ko of New Zealand became the youngest person to win a professional golf tour event by winning the Bing Lee/Samsung Women's NSW Open on the ALPG Tour (she was 14 years and 8 months at the time). Novak Djokovic began defense of his Australian Open title with a 5-hour, 53-minute match against Rafael Nadal (Djokovic won 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 at 1:37 a.m. Jan. 30). Team Chara won a 12-9 victory over Team Alfredsson in the NHL All-Star game. The AFC beat the NFC 59-41 in the Pro Bowl. Jeremy Abbott won his third title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif.
Today's Birthdays: Actor Noel Harrison is 79. Author Germaine Greer is 74. Actress Katharine Ross is 73. Actor Tom Selleck is 68. Rhythm-and-blues singer Bettye LaVette is 67. Actor Marc Singer is 65. Actress Ann Jillian is 63. Rock musician Tommy Ramone (Ramones) is 61. Rock musician Louie Perez (Los Lobos) is 60. Rhythm-and-blues/funk singer Charlie Wilson is 60. Talk show host Oprah Winfrey is 59. Country singer Irlene Mandrell is 57. Actress Diane Delano is 56. Actress Judy Norton Taylor ("The Waltons") is 55. Rock musician Johnny Spampinato is 54. Olympic gold-medal diver Greg Louganis is 53. Rock musician David Baynton-Power (James) is 52. Rock musician Eddie Jackson (Queensryche) is 52. Actor Nicholas Turturro is 51. Rock singer-musician Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera) is 49. Actor-director Edward Burns is 45. Actress Heather Graham is 43. Actor Sharif Atkins is 38. Actress Sara Gilbert is 38. Actor Justin Hartley is 36. Actor Sam Jaeger is 36. Actor Andrew Keegan is 34. Actor Jason James Richter is 33. Blues musician Jonny Lang is 32. Pop-rock singer Adam Lambert ("American Idol") is 31.
Thought for Today: "And were an epitaph to be my story I'd have a short one ready for my own. I would have written of me on my stone: 'I had a lover's quarrel with the world.'" — Robert Frost (1874-1963). | <urn:uuid:3640a2a5-a395-42cf-805d-da44d5b156f4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pontiacdailyleader.com/article/20130129/NEWS/130129011/0/education | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95675 | 1,151 | 2.78125 | 3 |
870,000 images of New York City and its municipal operations are being made available to the public on the Internet for the first time, The Associated Press reports.
The photos, some of which date back to the mid-1800s, come from the city's Municipal Archives collection, and they feature all manner of city oversight - from stately ports and bridges to grisly gangland killings.
Ah, some more interesting photographs, these were taken before Israel was a state, There were a group of dedicated Christians from the last half of the 19th century until about 1941, who supported the Jewish idea of returning to Israel. While many of these people in especially England were not even Dispensationalists, q.v., Dispensations, e.g. Charles Spurgeon, they did think Jews would return to their land, and this is one reason we have so many pictures of the pre-state Israel, Life of the Jews of Palestine the import excerpt from that article being,
Lenny Ben-David wrote: The Library of Congress has recently digitalized a collection of over 10,000 photographs, taken by the "American Colony" in Jerusalem, a group of Christian utopians who lived in Jerusalem between 1881 and the 1940s. The photographers returned to the US, and bequeathed their massive collection to the Library of Congress in 1978. The collection includes Winston Churchill's visit to Jerusalem, Jewish expulsions from the Old City during Arab riots, and the building of Tel Aviv.
John, notice the name of the site? But no sometimes even SA may want to turn a mildly curious eye to the secular world. You notice I did mention it, and even gave it something a religious perspective, which is fine --by me--anyway.
As far as pictures are concerned about this tragedy, there is absolutely not shortage of them. The building is still being used, by NYU, I think I saw somewhere. Wikipedia has even good pictures of it, which are too graphic, I think, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. I see there was celebration or at least an acknowledgement of the 100th anniversary of the event.
Perhaps, these pictures will encourage the return of the use of caps and hats?
Hitchcock Dictionary wrote: HEAD-DRESS: Not in common use among the Hebrews. It is first mentioned in Ex. 28:40 (A.V., "bonnets;" R.V., "head-tires"). It was used especially for purposes of ornament (Job 29:14; Isa. 3:23; 62:3). The Hebrew word here used, _tsaniph_, properly means a turban, folds of linen wound round the head. The Hebrew word _peer_, used in Isa. 61:3, there rendered "beauty" (A.V.) and "garland" (R.V.), is a head-dress or turban worn by females (Isa. 3: 20, "bonnets"), priests (Ex. 39:28), a bridegroom (Isa. 61:10, "ornament;" R.V., "garland"). Ezek. 16:10 and Jonah 2:5 are to be understood of the turban wrapped round the head. The Hebrew _shebisim_ (Isa. 3:18), in the Authorized Version rendered "cauls," and marg. "networks," denotes probably a kind of netted head-dress. The "horn" (Heb. keren) mentioned in 1 Sam. 2:1 is the head-dress called by the Druses of Mount Lebanon the tantura. | <urn:uuid:1969efa1-9b64-4550-94b8-a611d0a52f4b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sermonaudio.com/new_details.asp?ID=33947 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952435 | 744 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Pig Tissue Seen Fixing Injury That Sidelined Lin: Health
A tiny tissue tear has gotten in the way of the careers of former New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin and English Premier League soccer star Michael Essien. The same injury also routinely ruins the fun of millions of weekend warriors. Now a new technology using pig tissue may save those careers and undo the painful damage from torn meniscus in knees.
The removal of damaged meniscus tissue is the most common orthopedic procedure in the U.S. and is a major cause of osteoarthritis. While replacing damaged meniscus with donor tissue helps reduce pain and restore normal range of motion, a shortage of donors has limited the scope of such operations. That may soon change. Tissue Regenix Group Plc (TRX) of York, England, is developing a new product using material from pigs that holds the hope of producing abundant quantities of tissue.
“A product that restores normal function of the meniscus and prevents or delays development of arthritis would have huge demand,” said Marc Galloway, an orthopedist in Cincinnati and a spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons who isn’t involved in Tissue Regenix’s research.
The menisci are made of C-shaped cartilage that serve as shock absorbers for the knees. Currently, tears are treated through surgical repairs with stitches, a fifth of which fail, or partial removal of damaged portions. The market for these procedures is about $3 billion, according to Peel Hunt LLP.
Tissue Regenix’s dCELL technology involves taking animal tissue and removing cellular material from it that would cause humans to reject the implant. That allows doctors to use the stripped tissue without anti-rejection drugs to replace worn out or diseased body parts. Once implanted, the cellular scaffold is repopulated with the patient’s own stem cells.
This decellularization technology may also potentially be applied to heart valves and wound care. Tissue Regenix received European approval in August 2010 for its first product, a vascular patch, which replaces tissue removed during open-heart surgery, and the company is in the process of obtaining U.S. clearance.
Data from a pre-clinical trial for the meniscus application will be released this year, with a trial in humans to start in 2013, Chief Executive Officer Antony Odell said in a phone interview. The company may file for approval as early as 2014, he said.
A recent study at Yale University showed that Tissue Regenix’s dCELL scaffold in vascular patches led to much quicker cell re-population after one week, compared with a limited effect after one month for a competing product using cow tissue from Synovis Life Technologies Inc., which was acquired by Baxter International Inc. (BAX) in February.
“This study shows that after the dCELL process, the stripped tissue is so similar to human tissue that the body accepts it more rapidly than conventional patches,” said Alan Dardik, an associate professor of surgery at Yale who led the study published in the journal PLoS One in June. “It appears to be a new breakthrough in acute healing,” added Dardik, who has no financial interest in the company. “It might be a very useful replacement in the meniscus area as well.”
Currently, no tissue engineering companies have commercialized an orthopedic product, according to Paul Cuddon, a London-based analyst at Peel Hunt LLP, Tissue Regenix’s investment banker. “It’s a totally unique product in its field,” he said.
The technique, if proven to work, could reduce demand for knee replacements by reducing cases of severe arthritis. That would threaten the growing $7 billion prosthetic knee industry, prompting device makers such as Smith & Nephew Plc (SN/) or Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) to consider acquiring Tissue Regenix as a hedge, said Ingeborg Oie, a Jefferies International Inc. analyst in London who follows medical device makers.
The company may also attract bidders or licensing agreements for the technology’s other applications based on pending clinical study results, Cuddon said. Given the growing market for heart valves, Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW), Medtronic Inc. (MDT), St. Jude Medical Inc. (STJ) and Johnson & Johnson may take an interest, he said.
“They are all major heart-valve players that could do with better decellularization technology,” he said.
Tissue Regenix issued shares in June 2010 at 5 pence each after a reverse takeover of Oxeco. The shares traded at 9.13 pence as of 3:05 p.m. in London.
For weekend athletes with knee injuries, tissue transplant procedures can’t arrive soon enough. Erin Hallock had four stitches sewn into her meniscus to repair a tear after a fall while skiing on icy slopes in Zermatt, Switzerland in March 2010. Two years later, Hallock, 35, is able to ski and cycle, but she worries how long the repair work will last and one important challenge remains completely out of her grasp: long- distance running. “My doctor said, ‘You can’t run a marathon anymore,’” she said.
For professional athletes, of course, the consequences of such injuries can be even more devastating. A torn meniscus forced Lin into surgery in April and has taken Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin off the U.S. Olympic basketball team. Essien, the Chelsea player, injured his anterior cruciate ligament along with his meniscus last year, keeping him off the field for six months.
While calcium build-up, which hardens the donor tissue, is a drawback of decellularization technology developed by others, Tissue Regenix has found an alternative solution. Instead of using the disinfectant glutaraldehyde favored by competitors, the company has chosen to use sodium dodecyl sulphate, an approach that doesn’t lead to calcium build-up, Cuddon said.
The timeline for obtaining approval from the Food and Drug Administration is unclear. The FDA requires more clinical analysis for non-pharmaceutical medical devices than European regulators. And tissue products like those derived from dCELL’s scaffold are categorized as medical devices since they are implanted and not metabolized by the body.
Erica Jefferson, a spokeswoman for the FDA, declined to comment on the approval prospects for Tissue Regenix’s products.
Still, researchers remain hopeful. Given the acceptance of porcine tissue by the medical community, especially in heart valves, safety isn’t a concern, Yale’s Dardik said.
“It’s extremely similar to human tissue and is implanted thousands of times every day across the world,” he said. “In the future, there will probably be pig organ transplants. That’s the holy grail of transplant surgery.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Makiko Kitamura in London at firstname.lastname@example.org
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at email@example.com | <urn:uuid:1fac6fd5-cbaa-4a25-938e-06eb22d39618> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-26/pig-tissue-seen-fixing-injury-that-sidelined-lin-health.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940165 | 1,549 | 1.921875 | 2 |
Solving your most demanding control valve application—this has been the single driving force behind Red Valve Company and Tideflex Technologies since our founding in 1953. Today we remain dedicated to responding to your needs with valve products and engineering services that set the standard for the toughest applications. Our first order was for the world’s first coal slurry pipeline, for which we created the first valve ever capable of reliable slurry control. Today, Red Valve Company and Tideflex Technologies is the world’s largest manufacturer and supplier of pinch valves, slurry knife gate valves, annular seal pressure sensors, expansion joints, duckbill check valves, potable water mixing systems, aeration systems and effluent diffusers. We are the preferred supplier for municipalities and industrial plants worldwide.
600 North Bell Ave.
Preventing Backflow with Inline Check Valves
Your Winning Move for Backflow Prevention
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Mixing systems research and developments for water storage tanks and reservoirsDistribution storage tanks and reservoirs could have a negative impact on water quality... more | <urn:uuid:8a9891c2-7478-4872-a9dc-b8fd1e54e1e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wwdmag.com/company/red-valve-company-and-tideflex-technologies | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939092 | 547 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Monitors criticise Russian election
Western observers have criticised Russia's weekend presidential election, saying it was not fully fair or democratic, but said its outcome broadly reflected the will of the people.
President Vladimir Putin's hand-picked candidate, Dmitry Medvedev, won the ballot by a landslide.
Russia's liberals criticised the election as a farce, saying it was stage-managed by the Kremlin from the outset.
Head of a monitoring group from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Andreas Gross, said "the results of the presidential election are a reflection of the will of an electorate whose democratic potential was unfortunately not tapped".
He told reporters the outcome of the election "amounted, in effect, to a vote of confidence in the incumbent president", adding most of the flaws seen in Russia's parliamentary election last December were repeated.
"Equal access of candidates to media has not improved," he said.
Observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) refused to monitor Sunday's election, citing a lack of official cooperation. | <urn:uuid:965ca481-1fbf-45e0-885d-c660f35b0623> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-03-03/monitors-criticise-russian-election/1060874 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969307 | 221 | 1.789063 | 2 |
History of the Brewhaus
It was a simple concept... create an environment where the UWSP
community could gather to share ideas, stories, a friendly game of
billiards, a cup of coffee and maybe even a cold beer. Students and
staff of the University Center gathered during the second semester of
1997 to put their ideas on paper and put the plan in motion.
department formerly known as Recreational Services was moving to Allen
Center to create better access to their equipment. The space they were
vacating was unique in size and structure; some paneled walls, carpeted
floor, cement floor and a variety of pipes running through the ceiling.
A "perfect" place for a coffeehouse/pub!
committee struggled for a long time with a name for the department. But
after seeing the location, and the budget, the "basement" theme seemed
appropriate. Since a lot more than coffee and beer would be brewing in
the new area, the committee combined the physical location with what
was happening and came up with the "Basement Brewhaus."
keep with the theme and the budget, the staff spent the entire summer
prior to opening scavenging through rummage sales looking for
furniture, lamps, board games and anything else that you might find in
your typical basement recreation room. The staff also spent countless
hours painting water pipes, putting up wall decorations and arranging | <urn:uuid:3ae0fb7d-7996-4075-9aa0-249569c33180> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www3.uwsp.edu/centers/shoppingservices/pages/brewhaus/history.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959407 | 294 | 1.578125 | 2 |
I keep thinking I'm ready to move on from the Sierra Nevada, John Muir, and the big trees, but yet another Civil War connection presents itself. Just goes to show that, to some degree, the Civil War touched every corner of the fledgling nation, and the young Union state of California was populated—much as it is now—by transplants from other states. There were many geographical features still to be named, and so it is that we have today the Alabama Hills (best known as the backdrop for Hollywood westerns), named by Southern-leaning miners to celebrate the Confederate commerce raider. And the nearby Mt. Kearsarge (among other things), named by rival miners from Northern states, after the USS Kearsarge sank the Alabama.
According to the National Park Service, the General Sherman tree is the largest tree in the world (though not the tallest).
By contrast, the General Grant comes in 3rd just ahead of the Lincoln tree. But Grant's tree has other distinctions. For one, it's the National Christmas Tree. Bet you didn't know that. For another thing, it's a shrine to service men and women. Quoting the NPS web site linked above, "the General Grant Tree is a living memorial to the men and women of the United States who have given their lives in service to their country. It was proclaimed a National Shrine on March 29, 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The official dedication was made that year on Veterans Day, November 11, by the president's personal representative, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz."
The Robert E. Lee tree, on the list of the 30 largest Giant Sequoia, ranks a respectable 12th (named during Reconstruction, five years after Lee's death). See a photo here.
As an aside, the General Sherman apparently started out as a Communist tree. Quoting Wikipedia (at my peril), "The utopian socialist community Kaweah Colony first identified it as the largest giant sequoia and named it after Karl Marx. The National Park Service later renamed it." To those miners who named the Alabama Hills, I'm sure it hardly seemed an improvement. | <urn:uuid:f5131617-be63-4a3c-929f-30332d6d13fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://obab.blogspot.com/2006/06/grant-and-lincoln-are-big-sherman-is.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964789 | 436 | 3.046875 | 3 |
As the title implies, I need help on a "Prime Number Producer". By that I mean the following: If someobody enters a number, they are supposed to get shown all the prime numbers up to the entered number.
This is what it's supposed to look like.
Here's my code:
Dim Maximum As Double Dim i As Integer Dim y As Integer Dim Prime As Boolean For Maximum = 3 To y - 1 Step 2 If y Mod Maximum = 0 Then Prime = False Exit For For i = 3 To Math.Sqrt(y) Step 2 Prime = True lst_Prime.Items.Add(i) Next End If Next Maximum End Sub
The problem is that it isn't giving me out any numbers. I have tried checking it but I just can't seem to find the error ;. I tried checking out books, browsing forums but nothing has helped.
Do not worry, this is not supposed to be homework. It is merely a practice for me, programming-wise, and for somebody who wants to help teaching their children the prime numbers (so that they can double-check when they practise).
I thank you for your help in advance! :-) | <urn:uuid:f886fcbd-0fa1-4afc-8ef0-5033cb1aa2ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dreamincode.net/forums/topic/298059-prime-number-producer-cant-get-it-to-work/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940957 | 243 | 2.09375 | 2 |
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President Ulmanis. Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, President Meri, President Brazauskas, honored guests, and all those gathered here and Who can see or hear me: This is a great moment. For the first time in the history of the Baltic states, it's the first time in Latvia's 76-year existence an American President is on our soil.
In the name of the people of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, I welcome you, Mr. President, to Riga. This day will take its place in history and in the hearts of many, not only as an (inaudible) but also as a symbol of your country's support for Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian freedom and independence. For your speech you have chosen the appropriate site - our homeland and freedom symbol that rises above our heads and which is understood by all.
Whether in a small or a large country, freedom is equally cherished by all. This monument has not been raised in honor of a special hero or to commemorate a special event. Through individual contributions, it has been chiseled out of respect and commemoration to freedom in order to live, in order to exist, and in order that we can look to the future in hope.
The loss of the Baltic states' independence as a result of (inaudible) prompted an invitation to action to the League of Nations of which Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia were members. Mr. President, we are convinced - and our conviction is strengthened] by this shared moment with you - that nothing like that will happen again. We hope and await that in the next months foreign troops will leave Estonia and Latvia - which were never invited and whose presence can be interpreted as a fact of occupation.
The most beautiful flowers have been brought here to the monument to commemorate the memory of countless victims whose lives have been trampled by foreign powers. The Latvian people whose ancestors lived here by the Baltic Sea for 4,000 years is one of the few European nations that, as a result of genocide has shrunk in numbers since the turn of the last century. A similar fate holds true for the Estonians and Lithuanians. The objectives of Baltic States are clear: Our path leads in a direction of democracy and free markets.
To rejoin the family of independent states is a difficult and complicated responsibility. Lacking in experience, we may not use all the available opportunities, and, occasionally, we make mistakes. In working to renew our independence and our democratic institutions, our strength is sapped by lies and hateful propaganda. In these moments, it is worthwhile to remember what we were taught at school - that the use of force is not a just argument, irrespective of what hides behind the mask.
Mr. President, the Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian people express their appreciation to the United States of America for expanding support - unending support and trust in the Baltic states. We will in the future, as now, rely on America's democratic traditions and its countrymen's characteristic love of freedom. We are convinced that on American maps the Baltic states are fixed in perpetuity. We strongly believe that like your and our children, they will have a place in the world which we jointly need to create as a better and just place.
We do not doubt, Mr. President, that this trip will bring you and the American people closer to the Baltic State. I hope that America will not forget what happened to us during the mid-course of this century. The suffering of people and their victimization should not have been for nothing but should be a historic lesson. This is also chiseled in this monument, which invites us to work for a better future keeping to the stars above us.
God bless Latvia. God bless Lithuania and Estonia. God bless America. And, now, the President of the USA, William Clinton, will address you. Thank you.
President Clinton. Today we celebrate a moment of renewal. Today we remember your courage. Today we rejoice; for one force rules in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and that force is freedom. Thank you, President Ulmanis, for your gracious words and your warm welcome to this beautiful capital. And my thanks, also, to President Meri and President Brazauskas for your contribution to this historic event.
To the people of these lands, to those gathered in this square, to those listening or watching from afar, to all who have kept the faith, I am deeply honored to stand before you - the first President of the United States to set foot on free Baltic soil.
Today we remember - we remember an August day just five years ago when the peoples of your nation joined hands in common cause from Tallinn to Vilnius. A million strong , you reached across the boundaries of fear. And here in this Square, sheltered by the Freedom Monument, that human chain found its center. You showed the peoples of the world the power of the Baltic way. Now, today, I stand with you here. And on behalf of all Americans, I proudly take a place in that unbroken chain for freedom.
The chain stretches back to your grandparents exiled to the wastelands of Siberia, many never to return; back to your fathers, men who took to the forests to resist the occupying troops; and to you, who took up their cause, stood vigil over the bonfires of liberty, and sang the songs of independence; and to those in all generations who gave their very lives for freedom. [The President speaks in Latvian.] Freedom!
No matter what the language, it is the link that unites the peoples of our nations: Estonian, Lithuanian, Latvian, and American, no matter the century, no matter the invader. You have proved that freedom never dies when it lives in the hearts of men and women. You have taught us to never give up. You have inspired the world. And America has kept faith with you.
For 50 years we refused to recognize the occupation of your nation. Your flag flew in our capital. Many of your countrymen and women sought refuge on our shores. Now some have returned to serve their homelands, while others remain to keep your spirit alive all across America. The chain that binds our nations is unbreakable. We marvel at your strength and your reborn independence. But we know, also, that many of you face hardship and uncertainty in your daily lives, for the path of reform is not always smooth. Yet America calls on you to hold fast to that path, to seize this moment of renewal, to redeem the struggles of your ancestors, to extend the chain of freedom so that it reaches across generations to your children and beyond.
And as you return to Europe's fold, we will stand with you. We will help you. We will help you to restore your land, to bring new markets to light, to find prosperity … | <urn:uuid:36fd51ca-d1fa-4344-9a9a-cb5078bcb1ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-15811370/president-clinton-visits-europe.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959458 | 1,432 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Earth Hour and Girl Scouts Team Up to Honor the Planet
Partnership encourages environmental education, conservation
NEW YORK, March 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Girl Scouts around the world are learning about saving energy this month through Girl Scouts Forever Green. This “100th Anniversary Take Action Project” was created after Girl Scout research found that an overwhelming number of girls consider protecting the environment a top priority.
Girls taking part in Girl Scouts Forever Green–Earth Hour are replacing incandescent light bulbs with ENERGY STAR®-qualified (or other energy-efficient) light bulbs and urging their friends and family members to do the same. In addition, girls across the country will participate in Earth Hour by turning off lights from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 31.
“Earth Hour and Girl Scouts of the USA have a common purpose: to create a better environment for future generations,” said Andy Ridley, co-founder and executive director of Earth Hour. “Girl Scouts of the USA’s participation in Earth Hour illustrates without question what can be achieved when people unite with a common purpose and rally to action.”
Earth Hour is the largest-ever voluntary action for the environment, and Earth Hour 2011 was the biggest year in the campaign’s five-year history, taking place in a record 5,251 cities and towns in 135 countries and territories in all seven continents. It had an estimated reach of 1.8 billion people across the globe. In addition to this, the campaign’s digital footprint grew to 91 million. Across the United States, countless Girl Scouts will be participating in Earth Hour 2012.
Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania (GSWPA) will be introducing a “watt watchers” project to the girl members that participate on their property site teams. They will identify the wattage each cabin uses when lights are left on and convert that to a monetary value to make users aware of the resulting waste. In addition, Girl Scout Troop 2407 of Galway, New York, asked members of the community to participate in Earth Hour while at the same time exchanging incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient varieties. Further, Girl Scouts of Colorado will host two Earth Hour events in Fort Collins and Colorado Springs, sharing environmental messages and discussing ways to sustain our natural resources. A light bulb exchange will also take place.
“By participating in the Girl Scouts Forever Green Earth Hour project, girls are making a significant environmental statement, saving energy both here in the U.S. and globally with Girl Scouts around the world,” said Sue Williams, national operational volunteer, Girl Scouts Forever Green. “This has been a true test of the power of Girl Scout leadership and our enduring commitment to protecting the environment.”
In February, Earth Hour launched its 2012 campaign, “I Will If You Will,” with the intention of engaging its growing global community to “go beyond the hour.” Using a dedicated YouTube platform (www.youtube.com/earthhour), IWIYW asks Earth Hour’s digital community to inspire people from all corners of the globe to take sustainability actions, and to share their commitment to the environment with their own social media networks.
Girl Scouts Forever Green also seeks a broad reach, encouraging everyone to take the online Girl Scouts Forever Green Pledge developed in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The pledge supports resource conservation activities and the measurement of their impact.
About Girl Scouts
Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls, with 3.2 million girl and adult members worldwide. Girl Scouts is the leading authority on girls’ healthy development, and builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. The organization serves girls from every corner of the United States and its territories. Girl Scouts of the USA also serves American girls and their classmates attending American or international schools overseas in 90 countries. For more information on how to join, volunteer or reconnect with, or donate to Girl Scouts, call 800-GSUSA-4-U or visit www.girlscouts.org.
About Girl Scouts Forever Green
Girl Scouts Forever Green, Girl Scouts of the USA’s 100th Anniversary Take Action Project, is a global effort to improve the environment and protect natural resources. Girl Scouts Forever Green coincides with Girl Scouts’ latest Leadership Journey, It’s Your Planet–Love It!, a collection of six books which tackles issues like conservation, pollution, and renewable and reusable resources while challenging girls to take the lead in protecting the planet. To register your participation in Girl Scouts Forever Green–Earth Hour and to take the Girl Scouts Forever Green Pledge, visit http://www.girlscouts.org/gsforevergreen.
About Earth Hour
Hundreds of millions of people, businesses, and governments around the world unite each year to support the largest environmental event in history: Earth Hour. More than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour 2011 alone, sending a powerful message for action on climate change. It also ushered in a new era, with members “going beyond the hour” to commit to lasting action for the planet. Without a doubt, it’s shown how great things can be achieved when people come together for a common cause.
SOURCE Girl Scouts of the USA | <urn:uuid:9fdb9f05-4640-4381-a11d-f0a3c7cede66> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1112504405/earth_hour_and_girl_scouts_team_up_to_honor_the_1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90634 | 1,126 | 2.625 | 3 |
There are many conversations taking place right now about creativity -- how our future depends on it, how our kids are losing it, how most schools are killing it, and how parents ought to be nurturing and encouraging it.
I recently attended a lecture on the topic by Tony Wagner, Innovation Education Fellow at Harvard's Technology & Entrepreneurship Center and author of "Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World." The lecture took place in an auditorium that was packed with parents, well-motivated on behalf of their kids.
As the mother of two small children, I, too, am very interested in what enables young innovators to flourish and perhaps even go on to change the world.
But I am equally interested in what reignites "old" innovators. That is, how can people well past what our culture defines as their prime awaken to mobilize dormant creativity?
"I loved your book for young innovators," I told Wagner a few days after his lecture. "But what about the rest of us? Where's our path to innovating, to changing the world?"
"The path is still there," Wagner said with a chuckle, "but it can become more difficult to find later in life."-
Why is that?
"We must work very hard to listen to ourselves, because the distractions continue to multiply."
Living a life of innovation needs no justification, but there are plenty of good reasons -- both pragmatic and otherwise -- to do so.
The link between creativity and better mental and physical health is well established by research. Creating helps make people happier, less anxious, more resilient and better equipped to problem-solve in the face of hardship. | <urn:uuid:dd07c3f9-c960-414f-839f-874d0a4d5b51> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wdsu.com/news/health/A-creative-life-is-a-healthy-life/-/9853288/14165004/-/q9d5g5z/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969462 | 346 | 2.3125 | 2 |
(Image: Zef Delgadillo under CC 3.0)
Poorer girls are not getting a vaccine that would save their lives because they can’t afford it.
Mississippi and Arkansas, two of the nation’s poorest states, also have the highest death rates from cervical cancer. The reason is many girls who live in both states don’t have affordable medical insurance, and as a result don’t receive health screenings, and basic care.
The cancer prevention vaccine, Gardasil, is administered a lot more frequently in wealthier states, and the impact is quite evident. In the wealthier state of Rhode Island, cervical cancer mortality is half as high as in Mississippi and Arkansas, 55% of girls received Gardasil.
The only hope for improving such inequalities is in the government. Congressional leaders are slated to vote on a health bill this weekend. If passed, the government will cover the cost of insurance for millions of people without good health coverage. | <urn:uuid:ed5d4a8f-9329-4655-8f25-15b92d7b0b39> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vitalonehealth.com/health-news-blog/healthy-living/poorer-girls-dying-of-preventable-cancer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960811 | 203 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Kahle’s purchases the most select grade of cherry hardwood available. Cherry is a medium density wood with a fine, straight grain. Narrow brown pith flecks and small gum pockets are found in this specie and not considered a defect. Cherry’s color varies from a rich red to a reddish-brown, and the color will darken considerably with age and exposure to light. Cherry has been rated a favorite among cabinetmakers for years because of it’s beauty and versatility.
Our hard maple is premium with respect to both quality and color. The preferred white-colored stock is hand selected from the sapwood of the tree. Hard maple, also known as sugar maple, is generally straight grained but can sometimes show curly or wavy figure. The fine, uniform texture of maple is showcased best on natural or light colored stains. Hard maple’s flexibility allows it to be used for furniture, flooring, cutting surfaces, and even bowling pins.
Red Oak, one of the countries most abundant and preferred hardwoods, is most often straight grained and open pored. The heartwood of the tree is where the favored color, brown with a tinge of red or pink, is found. Red Oak’s structure allows stains to penetrate into the pores making the graining more prevalent especially on darker stains.
It's unique color variation makes hickory distinct from other species. The extreme contrast between it’s tan or reddish-brown heartwood and it’s white to cream colored sapwood coupled with naturally occurring mineral marks exhibit hickory’s rustic characteristics beautifully when finished natural or with light colored stains. Hickory is also the hardest, heaviest, strongest American wood, making it a durable favorite in today’s cabinet industry.
Quarter-Sawn White Oak
During the early 20th Century, Quarter-Sawn White Oak became one of the hallmarks of the Arts & Crafts style. Quarter sawing means cutting at a 90-degree angle from the growth rings on a log to produce a vertical and uniform pattern grain. The grain on the face of a quarter-sawn board will be parallel lines that are straight, tight and run the length of the board making it very stable. Expansion and contraction across the face of the boards when exposed to temperature and humidity fluctuations is much less than plain sawn lumber. Quarter-Sawn cabinetry’s radiating elegance and traditional beauty allow you to incorporate a timeless classic into your own home.
Walnut is the only dark North American wood. It’s straight graining is noted for showcasing more figure variation than any other species. Kahle’s walnut is steamed, blending together the lighter sapwood with the deeper colored heartwood. Walnut develops a rich patina which grows more lustrous with age.
Kahles's rustic cherry, unlike our select cherry, displays many of the naturally occurring characteristics of the species. The color of rustic cherry will range from the white sapwood to the dark reddish-brown heartwood. Defects such as knots, split knots, gum streaks, splits, pits, bird pecking, worm holes, etc. are considered desirable in this grade and are acceptable. The frequency and type of defects which occur naturally are completely random so no guarantee can be made as the the extent or array of rustic qualities present in any given piece. | <urn:uuid:ffbdaf79-f99a-48dc-aa2e-b3d93ce7220c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kahleskitchens.com/c/40/custom-made-cabinets-wood-species-styles-construction/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925712 | 706 | 1.648438 | 2 |
From IBD via CNNMoney:
Some developing countries are waking up to a big problem: Power shortages could short-circuit their economic growth.
In Latin America and elsewhere, governments have been restructuring utilities to spur private and foreign investment. Heavy-handed regulatory policies are being replaced by market-based systems that give utilities higher returns on investment.
Hiking electricity rates is a tough political step for governments in countries where much of the population still lives in poverty. But, emerging markets need to build more power plants and modernize infrastructure.
"In most developing countries, power demand grows more quickly than the economies," said Jed Bailey, managing director of the Asia and Latin America groups at Cambridge Energy (OOTC:CNGG) Research Associates. "To get investment in place, there's a sense that regulatory structures will evolve and prices on average will go up."But after running up for much of the year, shares in Latin American utilities traded on the New York Stock Exchange have retreated along with stocks worldwide...Much More | <urn:uuid:6155c309-5e69-4de7-9bf0-a2faccdfb545> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://climateerinvest.blogspot.com/2007/09/emerging-markets-fast-growth-triggers.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942 | 208 | 1.914063 | 2 |
|Andros the Invincible|
Unknown form; it had the size of a Giant
Andros was born in Greece, in the Classical antiquity. At some point, he mastered wandless spellcasting as well as the Patronus Charm. His Patronus, it was claimed, was the size of a Giant, although the shape it took is unclear. In recognition of his skill in wizardry, he earned the epithet 'the Invincible'.
- The word Andras, from which Andros comes, is Greek for "man". The word is currently used as a prefix in many non-Greek words. It is also the name of a Greek island (Andros), an Atlantic island, and several fictional characters in franchises such as Power Rangers, Sandman and Marvel Comics.
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
- Wonderbook: Book of Spells (Mentioned only)
- Pottermore (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card) | <urn:uuid:1ca222ae-7fe5-4661-9416-3c90fc4e7002> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Andros_the_Invincible | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939452 | 231 | 2.40625 | 2 |
The Alliance Internationale de Tourisme (AIT) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization representing the interests of national automobile associations and touring clubs. Established in 1898 in Luxembourg by seventeen clubs from Europe and America it started as the first international organization of tourists. Today AIT became a world-wide federation of touring clubs and automobile associations. It´s mission is to promote safe travel and freedom of personal mobility around the globe.
The International Road Transport Union assists bus and coach as well as taxi and truck operators throughout the world and briefs them on developments affecting their business. Through its national associations on every continent, the IRU speaks for the entire road transport industry.
The IATM main goal is to promote and maintain the highest standards of competence, integrity and professional conduct on the part of all Tour Managers and to promote, protect and improve the welfare and status of Tour Managers.
Since its birth in 1904, the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, the FIA, has been dedicated to representing the interests of motoring organizations and motor car users throughout the world. It is also the governing body of motor sport worldwide.
This combination of road and track gives the FIA a unique responsibility as an independent world body concerned with a wide range of automotive, motoring and mobility issues.
The Alliance Internationale de Tourisme (AIT) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization representing the interests of European and American automobile associations and touring clubs. Established in 1898 in Luxembourg by seventeen clubs from Europe and America it was the first international organization of tourists. Today AIT is a world-wide federation of touring clubs and automobile associations whose mission is to promote travel safety and personal mobility throughout the world.
The Universal Federation of Travel Agents Association (UFTAA) is a federation of national associations of travel agents and tour operators and is the largest world body representing the travel industry. The Universal Federation of Travel Agents Association represents 114 National Associations and additional Affiliate members in a total of 121 countries. UFTAA has consultative status with the UN/NGO/ECOSOC, and works closely with other world bodies such as UNESCO, WHO for a sustainable development and responsible tourism.
The International Forum of Travel and Tourism Advocates (IFTTA) is the largest professional organization of travel law attorneys and travel industry personnel dealing with travel law matters from around the world whose law practices emphasize the travel and tourism industries. Member advocates represent agents, carriers, cruise lines, hotels, and government tourism departments. IFTTA'S objectives are to:
- Provide a Forum for the exchange of information on the legal aspects of Travel Law. | <urn:uuid:76408e20-f746-440d-b588-53aa39674136> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://iftta.org/category/organizations/international-associations | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92728 | 540 | 1.617188 | 2 |
What is in this article?:
- Food allergy study may boost allergen-free food sales
- Allergen-free food companies capitalize on research
- Convincing retailers to stock allergy-free foods
A recent study found that 1 in 12 children have a food allergy, twice as many as previously thought. This is bad news for parents and kids, but the growth in food allergies is creating opportunities for manufacturers of allergen-free foods.
Convincing retailers to stock allergy-free foods
As public awareness of allergies increases, so does the demand for local natural health and grocery stores to stock solutions.
"We get calls all the time from consumers asking 'Where can I get your product?'" said Dena Zigun, brand manager for Ian's Natural Foods, a Lawrence, Mass.-based allergen-free children's food company with breakfast, entrees, snacks and fries. "They're not finding it in as many local stores as they like." Zigun said the company plans to include this new study in retailer presentations to help them understand the market for allergen-free foods.
The second biggest impact of the study, said Zigun, is greater awareness of allergen-free foods with secondary caregivers, such as the mom of a child's best friend or a babysitter. Ian's packages its foods with a big red banner across the top that states what the food is free from to make it easy for shoppers. This is also fodder for convincing retailers to stock allergen-free, because the need for these foods goes beyond those who have allergies.
Are you allergic to your supplement?
But allergies aren't solely caused by what's in our food—even nutritional supplements, which parents may give children to supplement their diets, could pose problems.
"We need to feed our body nutrients that are targeted and effective and are not delivered with binders, anti-caking agents and stabilizers," said Myra Michelle Eby, founder of BoulderCeuticals, a whole food, organic nutritional supplements company in Boulder, Colo. "It's unbelievable what's on the shelves of a health foods' store," she said, citing sodium benzoate and artificial colors, which research has linked to hyperactivity in kids.
While this ingredient isn't classified as a traditional food allergy, perhaps it should be. Fillers and preservatives are food additives that could create an adverse effect in a child's health, which is the essence of a food allergy.
All the food manufacturers NewHope360 talked to were optimistic about how this study could impact sales. "It's hard to isolate the effect of a particular study or news piece," said Zigun, "But we've been experiencing double-digit growth rates over the last several years," indicating that allergen-free foods are necessary now more than ever. | <urn:uuid:b448325b-5a6f-41a8-8b88-573d3e3f4a5a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://deliciousliving.com/allergies-amp-sensitivities/food-allergy-study-may-boost-allergen-free-food-sales?page=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970567 | 584 | 2.21875 | 2 |
WEDC is working with PiYi (Pee-Yee) Investment Management Co. Ltd, a private investment management fund that manages private equity and venture capital funds for high-net worth Chinese investors. PiYi has expressed interest in deploying an initial investment of $100 million in Wisconsin companies across a broad range of industries including agriculture (with emphasis on food production, food transportation or food safety); energy production, storage, controls, distribution; clean-technology or environmental remediation; infrastructure; information technology; biotechnology; manufacturing or medical devices.
While this sounds good, there are a number of things you may want to know, and do, before you start sharing your business plans, intellectual property or company information with a Chinese investment firm. If you keep in mind how Checkpoint Charlie worked – verification before exchange – you will have a better chance of getting what you are looking for.
Chinese outbound direct investment (ODI) increased dramatically from the 1982-89 period, when the total cumulative ODI was $500 million, to over $1 trillion as of 2011. Know that much of the early investment involved "roundtrip investments" (money shipped overseas and then back into China to take advantage of China's domestic direct investment policies), and you will understand that ODI is a new industry in China.
Today, because of declining foreign investment incentives and increased scrutiny "roundtrip investments" are on the decline. But other investment considerations are taking their place, including, diversifying personal investment portfolios, obtaining Green Cards, acquiring natural resources, finding new technology and/or access to distribution.
Historically, other parts of Asia, especially Hong Kong, have received the largest share of Chinese ODI. Part of this is due to the flexibility of Hong Kong investment vehicles and physical proximity. Today, the Chinese are looking everywhere, and there has been a surge in interest in the United States and Europe, in part because of the economic conditions.
In 2004, China Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) published China's first Guiding Catalogue of Countries and Industries for Overseas Investment, which listed 67 industries – mostly types of manufacturing – in which Chinese companies would receive preferential treatment if they invested abroad. In 2009, the rules and regulations governing ODI were revised, bringing significant change to outbound investment procedures. These included expedited reviews, allowing investments of between 10 million and 100 million to be reviewed at the provincial level and relaxed Forex restrictions. The new rules applied to large Chinese and SME companies making investments and acquisitions abroad.
The rules for ODI Funds are a little less clear, as the area is dominated by large state licensed investment entities, either associated with large State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) or directly under the control of the government. What is clear is that to raise money for these funds requires specific licenses, permissions and minimum capital requirements.
So if a Chinese ODI Firm shows up and wants to audition you, here are some things you may want to consider:
- Where are they incorporated?
- When were they incorporated?
- In China different businesses require different minimum capital. What is it and has it been paid or is it in the process of being paid?
- What licenses do they have?
- Are the licenses the ones required to do this kind of business in China and the United States (remember we have our own SEC)?
- Are there other related entities with similar licenses (can be a red flag)?
- What is their experience, as a firm and as individuals?
- Have they made their deal book available, showing previous deals, amounts, role and references?
- If you get to this point, do some due diligence. If they are not willing to disclose, or your due diligence turns up with more questions than answers, you should seriously review whether you are interested and how much information you are willing to share.
- Keep in mind a non-disclosure/confidentiality agreement is only good if it is enforceable.
Einar Tangen, formerly from Milwaukee, now lives and works in Beijing, China. He is an adviser to Heilongjiang Province, Hebei Province QEDTZ, China.org.cn, China International Publishing Group, Beijing Baotong and DGI DESIGN. He is also a weekly public affairs commentator for CCTV News' Dialogue and the author of "The Kunshan Way," an economic development history of China's leading county level city. While in Milwaukee, he was a partner at Jackson, Morgan and Tangen, president of E-Tech and a senior vice president at Stifel Nicolaus. He chaired various boards in Milwaukee and was a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago. Readers who would like to submit questions or suggest areas of interest can send an e-mail to email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:fce3702d-a673-483e-8a2b-1c31b51f3e6b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.biztimes.com/article/20120723/MAGAZINE03/307239999/-1/realestate_blog/Checkpoint-Charlie-strategy-may-be-in-order | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956278 | 993 | 1.75 | 2 |
A Dickensian social drama with Horror film flourishes, Character won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 1997, and yet still seems to be a little-known quantity. Director Mike van Diem, who strangely enough hasn’t made a film since, executes his period vision with terrific, inventive fluency, refusing to let his narrative slow and settle into literary adaptation stuffiness (it’s based on a linked novel and short story by reputed Dutch novelist Ferdinand Bordewijk). Young Katadreuffe (Fedja van Huêt) is a bright young go-getter battling the prolific dampeners of social mobility in 1920s Holland, whilst engaged in a furious psychic and fiscal conflict with his father, Dreverhaven (Jan Decleir). That pudgy beast is a ruthless capitalist loan shark and bailiff, who seems bent on playing a mysterious game of cat and mouse with his illegitimate, hardly acknowledged progeny, the result of an affair with his taciturn former secretary Joba (Betty Schuurman), who chose a life of drab poverty rather than countenance marrying him.
In supervising her son’s growth, Joba has seemed fearful of his becoming a man like his father, but her chilly demeanour can’t prevent him becoming a gifted, yearning, but emotionally closed-off individual, who badly fouls up his romance with fellow employee in a law office, Lorna (Tamar van den Dop), even whilst he triumphs against worldly odds; worse yet, he keeps a lid on a simmering violent streak that only occasionally but memorably reveals itself. Decleir’s Dreverhaven stalks through the landscape like an expressionist monster, whose lack of fear of physical and moral punishment seems sourced initially in a lack of human empathy, but he finally proves a self-loathing, sado-masochistic Caliban. Bookend scenes reveal Katadreuffe being grilled by police over his father’s apparent murder, and his long journey to manhood does indeed lead to a bristling scene of intergenerational violence, and the percolating metaphor for the struggle of old and new societies is personified with real force. The story manages to be both highly dramatic and yet ambiguous in the right ways, refusing to solve or explicate all the problems of character, that eponymous concern, whilst asking what the word means, both in terms of inner resolve before a foreboding society, and in terms of family, in the difficulties of understanding even the hearts of those so vitally close to us. The core performances are superb, and Victor Löw does great work with a gift of a role, as De Gankelaar, Katadreuffe’s mumbling but sympathetic mentor. | <urn:uuid:6b1acc76-7f7d-4a21-af5c-1bd10180076f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thisislandrod.blogspot.com/2009/11/character-karakter-1997.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959506 | 576 | 1.59375 | 2 |
For a non-pianist, the idea of a microtonally fluid piano might seem either no big deal or baffling. But this weekend a composer will reveal the result of a 10-year mission – nothing less than the reinvention of one of the most important instruments in western music.
Geoff Smith believes he has come up with the first multicultural acoustic piano – what he has trademarked as a fluid piano – which allows players to alter the tuning of notes either before or during a performance. Instead of a pianist having a fixed sound, 88 notes from 88 keys, Smith's piano has sliders allowing them access to the different scales that you get in, for example, Indian and Iranian music. For good measure, Smith has included a horizontal harp.
The Guardian was last weekend given the first access to an instrument that is already generating considerable excitement – and it can be seen and heard on our website. It will be formally unveiled at the University of Surrey on Saturday and receive a London premiere at the Purcell Room in March.
Smith, a Brighton-based composer and performer, said: "The fluid piano is a western piano as we know it, similar to an early fortepiano, but because of the tuning mechanisms, suddenly, musicians can explore scales from the Middle East, from Iran."
Smith's instrument has been made by the Somerset-based Christopher Barlow and a light ash has been deliberately chosen as the wood – Smith said he did not want it to look like a dark coffin.
The fluid piano has generated much interest since it was first mentioned in the Guardian six years ago – when it was Smith with little more than a one-key mechanism and an ambition. Now he has the actual instrument he has been getting performers on board.
"I've said to musicians they might feel insecure about this piano, they might feel scared. But if they embrace it they will have this big feeling of liberation, a big high."
At the premiere, three pianists will perform, including Pam Chowhan, the head of planning at the Royal Festival Hall. She admitted to being daunted when first confronted with the piano.
"It was really scary, it is even now. I'm mainly a classical pianist and you kind of know what you're doing, you know how the piano is going to respond and you spend ages and ages on tone control andknowinghow it is going to sound. Suddenly I've got a piano which sounds like nothing I've heard before. It opens up so many choices that you become almost paralysed."
There have been all sorts of challenges, including having to come up with her own way of writing music for the instrument.
Chowhan said the internet had helped open access to all sorts of music from around the world. "If you're going to start delving into different cultures and bring those influences into your work you need to think about tuning and the traditional piano simply can't cut it. The piano, for me, is absolutely useless in a non-western context because it can't respond to the subtle and fluid tuning of other cultures."
Also performing on Saturday will be London-based jazz pianist Nikki Yeoh and the Leeds-based improvisational pianist Matthew Bourne. He said playing the fluid piano was "like walking into a huge sweet shop. The possibilities are endless. Sometimes I do nothing, I just sit and stare at it".
Smith said he had received much support – from Arts Council England for example– but had also encountered resistance. "Instruments of the western orchestra are locked in time, ringfenced. Why is that? It's not for technical reasons, so it must be for political or cultural reasons. There's a lot of talk in classical music about making orchestras more diverse. The only way you're going to bring new people in is by changing the instruments. To some people that is a completely alien concept.
"We are one of the most multicultural societies in Europe. Some people need to put their money where their mouth is."
Smith, who has written scores for silent films and is a highly regarded player of the hammered dulcimer, has been invited to take his piano to a Chopin festival in Poland. But the dream is to get his fluid piano manufactured. "It has become a fundamental part of my life, because it's driven by a vision. It's not just about money, although I haven't got much money so of course I'd like to make some. Any money I have had has gone on this," he said. "The thing was, I always knew it would work – I wasn't like some crazy inventor." | <urn:uuid:ca53576d-1898-4063-ae49-7bc7bc06463a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/nov/23/composer-fluid-piano-geoff-smith | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982815 | 949 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Middle-aged and older voters will remember the "boy" governor of the 1970s as the politician who eschewed the lavish trappings of office. He famously refused to take up residence in the governor's mansion and slept on a mattress on the floor of his bachelor pad.
For transportation, the governor chose a light blue Plymouth Satellite from the motor pool, in which Sacramento residents could see him driving himself. Although he actually had two Plymouths -- the second based in Southern California -- and he was often driven about by a Highway Patrol officer, the image of the frugal sage became part of his mystique.
On returning to the Governor's Office last year, Brown returned to his old playbook. He immediately announced that some state employees would lose their cellphone privileges. While it is hard for a taxpayers' advocate to argue against this move, the actual savings to the state were minuscule. But what must have made Brown smile was that his token savings generated laudatory headlines from a new generation of reporters agog over the governor's parsimony in defense of taxpayers.
Benito Mussolini -- no relation to Jerry Brown -- was a newspaper editor before becoming Il Duce and he, too, understood the value of political symbolism. It is said that he believed in governing through press release -- that merely saying you had solved a problem was 99 percent
What is actually included in this ballyhooed government employee pension reform measure is much less important than what it does not include: Real reform that will lift the overwhelming burden of the unfunded pension liability from average Californians. Analysts are saying the typical California family is on the hook for at least $23,000 to cover pensions to government employees, some of whom are retiring as young as 50 with full benefits. If Californians are lucky, the agreement the governor has made with his allies in the Legislature may reduce the bill for these families to $18,000.
So while Brown will trumpet his success, here is what is really going on. His goal, and that of most of the Sacramento politicians, is to persuade voters to approve Proposition 30, a $50 billion increase in sales and income taxes. The governor, a smart guy, knows that average voters are less likely to give the politicians more money if they believe that the tax increase is to shore up salaries and pensions for those who work in government.
Brown's pension reform is just political theater, a symbolic fig leaf to cover our state's out-of-control pension system and its $500 billion unfunded liability and make Proposition 30 more palatable to voters. And here is the rub.
If Proposition 30 passes, what is to keep the governor and lawmakers from reversing course and eliminating what small gains have been made for taxpayers? If this happens, the fig leaf will have been proven to be poison oak for California taxpayers.
Jon Coupal is president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. Contact him through the organization's Web site, www.hjta.org. | <urn:uuid:4cdd6769-6deb-40cf-adf6-736dbb0f4ae2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_21476032/jon-coupal-beware-gov-jerry-browns-fig-leaf?source=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980842 | 609 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Cabo Falso to Playa Migriño
Early explorers once believed that a cape three kilometers west of Cabo San Lucas marked the southern tip of the peninsula. Later cartographers discovered the mistake and named the cape Cabo Falso.
Today the wide, sandy beach is protected so that sea turtles can lay their eggs undisturbed; once a popular destination for ATV tours from Cabo San Lucas, the dunes are now off limits as well, due to pending development. An abandoned lighthouse, El Faro Viejo, was in operation from 1895 to 1961; some years back, the original lens was moved to a modern lighthouse located higher on the beach.
Inland from Cabo Falso, Mexico 19 enters the foothills of the Sierra de la Laguna and reaches the village of Migriño. The coast here consists of a long, sandy beach dotted with rocks and a small estuary at the mouth of Río Candelaria.
In winter surfers can find a right point break at the north end of the beach, but the camping is no more. Rancho Migriño has moved in, with new home sites for sale.
Playa Migriño is easily accessible from Cabo San Lucas (about 15 minutes by car), with access roads at Km. 94 and Km. 97. The beach is about 2.5 kilometers west of the highway on either road.
© Nikki Goth Itoi from Moon Baja, 9th Edition | <urn:uuid:0b735256-3240-48a7-87fa-ba1f573f7389> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.moon.com/destinations/baja-cabo/cabo/west-cape-and-todos-santos/west-cape/cabo-falso-playa-migrino | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92613 | 303 | 1.75 | 2 |
Arditti + RDT Arquitectos complete reflective space in Museum of Memory and Tolerance
The Museum of Memory and Tolerance has been constructed using a mixture of reinforced concrete and steel in a seven level structure (three of permanent exhibition space and four temporary). It is set on a continuous colonnade of the Plaza Juarez complex, designed by Legorreta + Legorreta Architects on the site of the former Hotel Alameda (which fell during the 1985 earthquake).
Arditti + RDT designed the Museum with the rooted belief that the only hope for humanity lies in the education of future generations. Therefore, the main force behind the conceptual idea of the Museum is sustaining the ‘floating' Children's Memorial. In order to anchor this main motif of the interior atrium, the volume that contains Memory and Tolerance is displayed like two open arms embracing the Children's Memorial.
This Memorial has two interrelated intentions: remembering approximately two million children who have been exterminated in genocides, and educating our children to foster future coexistence among all people. On the interior atrium, the different functions of the building are read as independent volumes. The Museum's Permanent Exhibits (Memory and Tolerance) are held behind the exposed concrete ‘L' shaped mass. A wooden box holds the Auditorium, which cantilevers over a ramp that leads towards a sunken Children's Educational Area. At the same time, its top serves as a base to host the Temporary Exhibition Hall, which attracts visitors through a recessed transparent enclosure.
The Administrative Space is held behind a dark granite element, separated from the upper main exhibition area by a glazed gap that integrates an Educational Center linked by a transparent ramped corridor to a Public Library within the colonnade overlooking the Juarez Plaza.
Transitioning from Memory into Tolerance, the visitor is temporarily taken outside to the Atrium into the olive skinned Children's Memorial (created in collaboration with the Dutch artist Jan Hendrix) within a naturally lit space, where a cascade of 20,000 ‘tears' symbolises the victims - one for each 100 vanished souls. Exiting the Memorial, the visitor moves down a staircase above the open space and into a crystal walkway. A mural by the Mexican artist Gustavo Aceves marks the re-entry to the permanent exhibition on Tolerance on the third floor.
Enabling to make a final reflection, a secluded, quiet introspection space was created in collaboration with the late Mexican artist Helen Escobedo (recipient of the National prize of Art and Science 2009). The space is a minimalist room of tall proportion where a suspended ceiling/platform moves constantly downward and upward. | <urn:uuid:e25c4e9d-8651-46cf-9097-d376fecb66b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=15265 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933334 | 555 | 2.296875 | 2 |
By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Becoming Radically Free
Last week we began our exposition of Hebrews 11 by asking why it is here and what it has to do with our lives today. The answer I gave was that it is here to help us become the kind of people described six verses earlier in Hebrews 10:34. These were Christians who "joyfully accepted the confiscation of their property" in the service of Christ and the cause of love. In other words, they were radically free from the love of this world and the values that drive most of what passes for success in America. They were free from this bondage because, verse 34 says, "they knew that they had a better possession and an abiding one."
That's where chapter 11 picks up. "Now faith is the assurance (or the substance) of things hoped for, the conviction (or the evidence) of things not seen." In other words the "knowledge" or assurance of 10:34 ("they knew they had a better possession and an abiding one") is now called "faith." And a whole chapter of living examples of this radicalizing faith is about to be given. So the point of chapter 11 is to flesh out and demonstrate more stories of faith so that we would imitate the faith and inherit the promises of God.
Imitation and Inheritance
You can know we are on the right track here by remembering Hebrews 6:11-12, which described exactly the same pattern of imitation and inheritance: "We desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." That's the point of Hebrews 11 - to give more examples of "those who through faith and patience inherit the promises" so that we can imitate their faith and join them in the inheritance.
And if you wonder whether you should only look at Old Testament saints in this way for encouragement and imitation, Hebrews 13:7 says no, you should also look at those who taught you the word and be inspired by their faith too. "Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith." So this is a big issue in the book of Hebrews. Have heroes. Know some church history. Know some missionary biography. Know some great Christian businessmen. Know some great women who poured their lives into family and church and community for the sake of Christ. Know their faith and be encouraged by them and imitate them. That's the point of Hebrews 11.
Enduring, Doing and Receiving
Or we could take verses 35-36 in chapter 10 and say that this expresses what is at stake as we read chapter 11. The writer pleads with us: "Do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised." Notice the three-step pattern: 1) enduring confidence in God; 2) doing the will of God in the power of that confidence; and 3) receiving what is promised.
What I feel impelled to stress as we take another step in Hebrews 11 this morning is the need for our endurance, as verse 36 says: "You have need of endurance." Day before yesterday I was in Charlotte at the Christian and Missionary Alliance annual meeting. David Wells was one of the speakers, and we had a chance for a brief conversation. We talked about the perils of doctrinal weakness spreading in an evangelicalism that defines itself increasingly in terms of methods and relationships rather than truth. At one point in the conversation he said something very crucial, and then later repeated it in his message. He said that many people don't realize how vulnerable and how perilous is the life of faith.
What he meant was that we dare not take for granted the faithfulness of our churches or our denominations or our schools or our families - or even of our own hearts, as if vigilance and conscious endurance were not continually necessary. Without earnest attention to truth and faith, everything decays, including our own personal walk with God.
So with renewed concern for my own faith, and the faith of our church and the faith of your soul and your family I say this morning in the words of Hebrews 10:36, "We have need of endurance." We have need of endurance! Oh, how clearly I saw this in the lives of pastors that I spoke to in Charlotte, some with tears, who had lost their joy and their passion and didn't know if they could press on in the ministry. The issue of endurance, and perseverance for the long haul, and staying alive, and thriving and being renewed day after day, and finding the pace to finish the race - It is a huge issue for us all. And there is no resting on past experiences. There is no casual coasting. Today's zeal can become tomorrow's doubt and boredom. And today's sense of spiritual numbness can become tomorrow's ecstasy and power.
Men of Old Gained Approval
That is why God gave us Hebrews 11. Example after example of true faith so that we will be "imitators of those who through faith and patience (longsuffering, endurance) inherit the promises."
Now to make the connection between last week's text and today's, you may remember that I did not say a word about Hebrews 11:2 last week. I was saving it for today. It makes a perfect bridge to today's text. Let's read verses 1-2, "Now faith is the assurance (or substance) of things hoped for, the conviction (or evidence) of things not seen. (2) For by it the men of old gained approval."
Let me paraphrase this to bring out its meaning: We see that faith is two things, as verse one says. 1) It's being sure of God's promises - that they are worth putting our hope in ("the substance of things hoped for"). 2) It's being sure that the invisible God and his hand in creation do in fact exist ("the evidence of things unseen") which we saw illustrated in verse 3. And then he says in verse 2: we see this because it's played out in the lives of the Old Testament saints: "For by it (=by this kind of faith) the men of old gained approval (= were attested by God, or pleased God)."
So the lives of the Old Testament saints are illustrations of this kind of faith. They don't prove that faith is what verse 1 says it is. They illustrate it. In fact the writer doesn't try to prove that this is what faith is at all. He sees this as one of the most basic assumptions of the nature of reality. His whole interpretation of the Old Testament hangs on it. Let me show you simply what I mean.
The first two Old Testament illustrations he gives of the truth of verse 2 (that the men of old gained approval by faith) are Abel, the second son of Adam and Eve, and Enoch, the seventh generation after Adam, mentioned in Genesis 5. So he says in verse 4, "By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous (there's God's approval, or attestation - the same word as in verse 2), God testifying (same word again) about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks." So what the writer focuses on with Abel is that God approved his offering and in that counted Abel righteous or just. And he says that the key to Abel's being approved was that he made the offering by faith. It is not just what we do that matters, but how we do it. Do our actions express "the assurance of things hoped for"?
Then in verse 5 he gives Enoch as an example of the principle of verse 2 (that men of old gain approval by faith): "By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness (there's the same word from verse 2 - gained approval or was attested) that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God." Two times in Genesis 5 (verses 22 and 24) Moses says that Enoch "walked with God." This is why the writer of Hebrews says he pleased God. So he concludes that "by faith" Enoch was blessed by God with translation into heaven.
Now the writer is fully aware of the problem he has created. He has chosen two Old Testament saints to illustrate his principle in verse 2 - that by faith the men of old gained approval - when in fact in neither of these Old Testament stories is faith ever mentioned. This is no slip-up. He knows exactly what he is doing. And if we are willing to follow him, we will see how profound his insight is.
He is not arguing for the nature of faith from these Old Testament texts. He is not saying: because I find faith mentioned in these stories, therefore faith must be the way they pleased God. His argument is just the opposite, in fact. He sees faith in the stories, not because it is mentioned, but because these men did, in fact, please God, and there is no other way to please him than by faith.
Look at verse 6. That's what it says. Catch the flow of verse 5 again. It ends by saying that Enoch "obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God" - that is, he walked with God. Then verse six picks up this fact of Enoch's pleasing God and argues like this: "And without faith it is impossible to please Him." Now that is why he sees faith in the lives of Abel and Enoch. The Bible says that both of them pleased God - Abel in his "better offering" and Enoch in "walking with God." And then the writer concludes that this offering and this fellowship with God must have been by faith, because "without faith it is impossible to please God."
Now this is very basic reasoning. And Oh, how I pray that you will all respect, and cultivate in your own God-given minds, the reasoning of Scripture. If someone had shown me as a youth that the Bible reasons rather than just asserting, it would not have taken till I was 22 to begin to discover so many of the riches of God's word. This is basic reasoning. I would say that an average 8 or 9 year old can get this.
Two statements lead to a conclusion:
Statement #1: "Without faith it is impossible to please God" - or positively, "Only with faith will our obedience be pleasing to God."
Statement #2:Enoch pleased God. Now what's the conclusion? · Conclusion: Enoch had faith. Or: it was by faith that Enoch walked with God and was taken up to heaven. This is how the writer arrives at the statement of verse 2: "By [faith] the men of old gained approval."
Why Faith Pleases God
But we are not at the bottom of things yet. The argument is not resting yet on the deepest truth about God. Yes, Enoch pleased God. Yes, without faith we cannot please God. Yes, Enoch (and Abel), therefore, had faith, and acted by faith - illustrating the principle of verse 2. But where does this premise - this statement - come from that "without faith it is impossible to please God"? What's the basis for that claim? What's the bottom of it? The foundation?
He gives his answer in the last part of verse 6. First he makes the claim: "Without faith it is impossible to please [God]." Then he gives the foundation. Here's the bottom of it all: You can't please God without faith, "For (= because) he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." Because of this, only by faith can we please God.
There are two parts to faith in this verse which show why it pleases God. Beyond this the writer doesn't go. He rests his case here. This is the bottom of it all. First, he says that faith believes that God exists. Second, he says that faith believes that God is the rewarder of those who seek him. Because faith is these two things: it pleases God.
Now ponder this with me for a moment and you will get to know your God more deeply, perhaps, than you have ever known him. That's why this verse is here; so that we will know God. He does not say why God is pleased by these two aspects of faith. He just says that he is. There is something about the nature of God that makes this obvious. It does not need an argument. It belongs to the very essence of what it means to be God that God should be pleased by these two things.
He is Real and He is a Rewarder
Let's put them into our own words. God is pleased by us when two things about him are reflected in our relation to him. One: that he is real; and the other: that he is rewarding.
Behind these two assertions about God are two great facts:
1. God exists absolutely. He did not come into being and will never go out of being. He is not becoming or growing or changing. He said, "I am who I am" (Exodus 3:14). That is his name. He absolutely is. Therefore, he is pleased when this absolute existence is known and embraced. He is pleased when what he is is reflected in our lives.
2. Behind the assertion that God is rewarding is the fact that God is so full and so completely self-sufficient that he overflows. Rather than needing our service, he is like a never-ending Spring of life and energy and joy and beauty and goodness and power. Therefore it pleases God when we come to him in a way that affirms this and delights in it - when we come to him as a Rewarder.
Now the writer of Hebrews simply asserts that this is what faith does: faith comes to God with the confidence that he is, and faith comes with the confidence that God will be a generous Giver. He is not arguing that faith is this way because he finds it defined in the Old Testament stories. He is saying: given the absolute reality of God's being and God's fullness, this is what faith has to be. This is the end of the argument. This is the bottom of the reasoning.
We could say it like this: what pleases God is that our hearts and minds display God's being and God's beauty. That we display God's existence and his excellence. That we display how real he is and how rewarding he is. This is what pleases God, and this is faith.
Faith Depends on What God is Like, not on What we are Like
Which brings us back to verse 1. Notice how the two parts of verse 6 correspond to the two parts of verse 1. "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." That's verse 1. The "conviction of things not seen" corresponds to faith's belief that God exists (verse 6a). And the "assurance of things hoped for" corresponds to faith's belief that God is the rewarder of those who seek him (verse 6b). Faith has at least these two components: one is the conviction that there is a great unseen God who exists absolutely and does not depend on us in the least. And the other is the assurance that this great unseen God is a God of love and bounty and free and sovereign grace for all who seek him in truth.
I began by saying that in our day the life of faith is vulnerable and perilous. Schools, denominations, churches, families, and souls are vulnerable to the subtle encroachments of the world and sin and error and Satan. Vigilance and endurance are crucial for your soul and your family and our church and our Christian schools.
What we have seen in Hebrews now is that the nature of faith and the vitality of faith is rooted in what God is like, not what we are like. You don't find out what Christian faith is by consulting your felt needs. You find out by consulting the nature of God. Therefore, if you would have your faith be strong, and your soul be strong and your family be strong and your church be strong and your denomination and schools be strong, know your God. Know your God!
The more you know what God is like, the more conformed to his greatness will be your faith. You will be more and more assured of things hoped for and more and more convinced of things unseen. And God's existence and fullness will be wonderfully displayed in your life. | <urn:uuid:b3820582-9df5-4d04-922a-f2849b01f6c6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/without-faith-it-is-impossible-to-please-god | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978546 | 3,617 | 1.765625 | 2 |
The public is invited to witness sunrise and sunset associated with the spring equinox among the standing stones of the UMass Amherst Sunwheel on Wednesday, March 20 at 6:45 a.m. and 6 p.m. These Sunwheel events mark the astronomical change of seasons when days and nights are nearly equal in length in the Northern Hemisphere.
At the gatherings, which have attracted more than 10,000 visitors over the past 15 years, UMass Amherst astronomers Judith Young and Stephen Schneider will discuss the astronomical cause of the sun’s changing position during the hour-long gatherings. They will also explain the seasonal positions of Earth, the sun and moon, phases of the moon, building the Sunwheel and answer questions about astronomy.
The exact time of the vernal equinox this year is 7:02 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. This ushers in the beginning of spring and is also the day the sun rises into the sky to be visible for six months as seen from the North Pole, and the day it sets for six months as seen from the South Pole.
On the equinox, an observer located on the Earth’s equator will see the sun pass directly overhead at local noon, and that person will cast no shadow at noon. On any day other than the equinox, either the Earth’s Northern or Southern Hemisphere is tilted towards the sun.
For observers, except those at the North and South Poles, the sun on the equinox (for equi, “equal” and nox, “night”) rises due east and sets due west and stays up for 12 hours and down for 12 hours. From the Sunwheel in Amherst, observers see “a very lovely sight” as the sun rises and sets through the stone portals in the east and west directions, Schneider notes.
The UMass Amherst Sunwheel is located south of McGuirk Alumni Stadium, just off Rocky Hill Road (Amity St.) about ¼ mile south of University Drive. Visitors to the Sunwheel should be prepared for especially wet footing this year. Rain or blizzard conditions cancel the events. Donations are welcomed and will be used to help with the cost of additional site work at the Sunwheel and future events. | <urn:uuid:8f080bf9-5cb2-451b-adf4-beabaaa830d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.umass.edu/events/spring-equinox-sunwheel-and-sky-watching-events | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941848 | 476 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Czechoslovakia 1938 – Georgia 2008 ?
This autumn will mark the seventieth anniversary of the Munich Agreement, when the democratic powers of Western Europe, Britain and France, weakened as they were by the self-hating, ’anti-war’ defeatism of wide sections of the Western chattering classes - on the left as well as of the right – allowed a fascist, expansionist imperial power to carve up a much smaller and weaker multinational state, using the excuse that it wanted to protect the rights of its co-nationals. Of course, Hitler analogies are very tired, and ‘anti-war’ activists are fond of complaining that all our enemies are ‘Hitler’ – from Nasser through Galtieri to Saddam and Milosevic. But in the case of Vladimir Putin of Russia, their best legitimate counter-argument no longer applies: that however brutal these despots may have been, the states that they ruled were not nearly as powerful as Nazi Germany.
Now, for the first time since World War II, the democratic West is faced by a brutal, neo-fascist, expansionist regime in command of an imperial state whose military might is comparable to that of Hitler’s Third Reich. Putin is an aggressive despot who came to power determined to reverse the defeat and perceived humiliation of Russia in the Cold War, much as Hitler aimed to reverse Germany’s humiliation in World War I (Putin even employed a stunt to cement his power that was highly reminiscent of the 1933 Reichstag fire – the stage-managed ‘terrorist’ bombing of Russian cities by his security services, that could be conveniently blamed on the Chechens). He then used weapons of mass destruction against his own Chechen civilians, destroying the European city of Grozny. He has waged campaigns of persecution against Jewish magnates (‘oligarchs’) and Caucasian ethnic minorities. He has established a fascist-style youth movement (‘Nashi‘). He has suppressed the free Russian media, murdered independent journalists and effectively abolished Russian democracy. He has threatened and bullied his neighbours – even NATO-member Estonia. His state assassins are the likely culprits in the murder of his critic, the British citizen Alexander Litvinenko. And now he has invaded a sovereign state in an attempt both to overthrow its democratically elected government and to annex part of its territory. His own supporters view this act of military aggression as a strike against the US; The Independent‘s Matt Siegel quotes one Russian volunteer: ‘This war is absolutely a war between Russia and America. The biggest mistake was in underestimating us. Now you’ll see what happens.’
At this moment of danger, democratic Europe is paralysed by the same kind of political, intellectual and moral malaise that brought our continent to ruin in the 1930s. Today, fashionable left-liberal hatred of the liberal-democratic order expresses itself not merely in opposition to military intervention abroad and to our own governments, but frequently in a readiness to solidarise with anyone with whom our governments come into conflict - be they Iraqi and Afghan Islamist rebels, Sudanese genocidal murderers, Iranian and Venezuelan demagogues, Chinese Communist apparatchiks, Serb nationalists, Lebanese Shia fundamentalists, and so on. All this is filtered through a self-indulgent anti-Americanism of unparalelled virulence – naturally, the concerns about invading a sovereign state without UN Security Council authorisation that have so fired our left-liberal intelligentsia over Iraq are not being manifested quite so strongly over Russia and Georgia. Meanwhile, our armies are stretched in Iraq and Afghanistan and our publics are war-weary.
This already toxic brew contains another dangerous ingredient – the most likely candidate for a twenty-first century Neville Chamberlain in the form of France’s Nicolas Sarkozy. With France holding the EU presidency, Sarkozy travelled to Moscow to reassure the Russians: ‘It’s perfectly normal that Russia would want to defend the interests both of Russians in Russia and Russophones outside Russia.’ No doubt the French president would have been equally tactful if Putin had invaded France to protect ‘Russophones’ in Marseilles or Nice, but this kind of language highlights the EU’s unreadiness to oppose Russian aggression. This is particularly so given Sarkozy’s disgraceful record of pursuing narrow French national interests at South East Europe’s expense, which involved, among other things, denying Georgia a NATO Membership Action Plan in order to appease Moscow. Sarkozy has joined with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to impose a six-point plan on Georgia, that requires Tbilisi to ‘agree to the start of international talks on the future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia’, as the Moscow Times puts it, but which makes no reference to Georgian territorial integrity. With Medvedev openly advocating the dismemberment of Georgia, Sarkozy may be preparing the ground for a new Munich Agreement.
Some may ask whether we have any choice but to acquiesce in Russia’s geostrategic coup, given our existing military entanglements in Iraq and Afghanistan, and our concerns with Iran, North Korea, Zimbabwe, etc. Some may ask why we should care about distant Georgia and its territorial integrity. The best way to respond is to turn this question around, and ask whether we can afford not to care, and not to respond to Russian aggression. If we cannot afford to defend Georgia because of our existing military commitments, we presumably cannot afford to defend Ukraine, or NATO-member Estonia, should Putin decide to build upon his success by moving against one of these countries – something which, given his past record, is not unlikely. At what point do we decide that, however costly it may be, we cannot afford to stand idly by as Russia rampages across Eurasia ?
As was the case in the late 1930s, the longer democratic Europe waits before responding to the aggressor, the more difficult and costly the eventual confrontation will be. Putin has successfully crushed and humiliated a staunch Western ally that contributed two thousand troops to Iraq. We cannot legitimately expect our allies to stand by us in Iraq, or in Afghanistan, if we do not stand by them when they are under attack. The states of Eastern and South Eastern Europe – both those inside NATO, and those wanting to join it – are closely watching the Russian operation against Georgia. They may decide that a NATO unable or unwilling to protect a country whose desired future membership it has itself loudly declared is a NATO it cannot rely on, and which is not worth joining or upholding. The Balkans are finally drifting toward stability, as the dominant elements of the Serbian political classes appear finally to have turned away from destructive nationalism – a turn spectacularly demonstrated by the arrest of Radovan Karadzic. Some of them may now feel, as they witness the West’s weak response to the crushing of Georgia, that their turn has been premature, and that they can afford to be a bit more aggressive than they had thought until a week ago. In which case, we may be faced with another front opening up against us in the Balkans.
I write these words, not with any confidence that democratic Europe is likely to take an appropriately firm stance against Russian aggression in the immediate future, but with full confidence that the attack on Georgia is only the beginning, and that we will see further acts of Russian aggression in the months and years to come. Putin is an unreconstructed product of the Soviet intelligence services; a sworn enemy of the liberal-democratic order at home and abroad; an autocrat whose mission it is to reverse Moscow’s defeat in the Cold War.
Let there be no mistake: we are in for the long haul. It is time to prepare a long-term strategy of resistance to the new Russian imperialism so that, if we were caught unprepared this time, we will not be unable to respond next time. Britain must join with the US in sending troops to Georgia, even if these troops at the present time have a purely symbolic deterrent value. We must massively increase our financial and military assistance to our beleaguered ally, and reassure it that it is not being abandoned. Georgia’s accession to NATO and the EU must be accelerated – as, indeed, must the EU accession of Turkey, which will be a crucial ally in the coming confrontation; one that we cannot afford not to have on our side. We must insist that the precondition for any negotiations over the disputed territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is an acceptance by Moscow of Georgia’s territorial integrity. But this conflict is not just about Georgia, and it will not just be played out over Georgia.
Cold War II has begun. Western leaders must begin to prepare their publics for this reality, which means countering the defeatist and anti-Western currents of thought that are popular among wide sections of the chattering classes, and preparing the publics for the consequences of economic warfare with an enemy that supplies a large part of our energy. Full-scale sanctions against Russia may soon be necessary, and though this will hurt Moscow more than it will hurt us, it will hurt us too. Western leaders must state very loudly and clearly that any further military attack by Moscow against any other state in Eastern or South Eastern Europe will invite a military response from us.
There are several ways in which Moscow’s aggression can be immediately punished. We should expel Russia from the G8 group of industrialised nations, veto its accession to the World Trade Organisation and the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development, suspend the EU’s Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Russia, abandon all negotiations for a new EU-Russia agreement, suspend the NATO-Russia Council and announce a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi. Given Moscow’s shameless promotion of the secession of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia, it is time to raise openly the question of Chechnya which, in terms of size, national homogeneity and viability as an entity, has a much stronger case for independence than either of Georgia’s enclaves. Since Moscow is demanding ‘self-determination’ for South Ossetia, let us openly challenge it to recognise the same right for the much larger Ossetian population in North Ossetia. Finally, our strategy vis-a-vis Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and other trouble-spots must be modified to take account of the new geopolitical front-line; this does not mean we should surrender the battle on any of these fronts, but we cannot continue to fight them as if the Russian threat did not exist.
Dangerous ? The real danger will come from burying our heads in the sand and hoping Putin will go away and leave us alone. It is better to adopt a tough but non-violent stance against Moscow now, than to encourage further Russian expansionism that will compel us to adopt more drastic measures in the future, measures that we may not be able to limit to the non-violent. Toughness in 1938 might have stopped Hitler without war; appeasement in 1938 led to war in 1939.
This article was published today on the website of the Henry Jackson Society.
See also John McCain’s excellent article, We are all Georgians
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- The Left | <urn:uuid:9f58c99f-ce1c-494e-972e-9d033e231279> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://greatersurbiton.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/czechoslovakia-1938-georgia-2008/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944846 | 2,401 | 2.25 | 2 |
Listen. Do you hear that? Whatever it is — the hum of a computer, the birds outside, a car going by — you can hear it and tell which direction it's coming from thanks to your ears.
Hearing is their main job, but it's not all your ears do. They also help you keep your balance, and if pierced in a safe and sanitary manner, they can be an interesting place to show off your fashion sense.
There's a lot more to an ear than what you see on the side of your head. In fact, what you're seeing is only the outer ear, one of three parts of the ear. Hidden from view, but equally important, are the middle ear and inner ear. These complex structures process sounds and transmit signals to the brain.
Your ears work together to gather and process multiple sounds at a time. They also tell you where a sound is coming from and how far away it is.
Our ears are delicate organs that need care and protection. Sounds that are too loud can damage the ears and lead to hearing loss. Unsafe piercings can lead to painful infections.
Knowing how your ears work and what things can affect them will help you better understand your amazing ears and the job they do.
Our ears have three different sections that work together to collect sounds and relay them to the brain:
The part of the ear that is visible on the side of your head is called the pinna (also called the auricle). It's made of tough cartilage covered by skin. The pinna's main job is to gather sounds and funnel them to the ear canal, which leads to the middle ear. The pinna includes the earlobe, the part that people pierce to wear earrings.
The ear canal, the hollow passage that leads to your eardrum, is also part of the outer ear. Glands in the skin lining your ear canal produce earwax, which protects the canal by cleaning out dirt and helping to prevent infections.
The middle ear is an air-filled cavity about the size of a pea. The purpose of the middle ear is to turn sound waves into vibrations and deliver them to the inner ear. The middle ear is separated from the outer ear by the eardrum (medical name: tympanic membrane). This thin, cone-shaped piece of tissue stretches tight across the ear canal.
In order for people to hear properly, the pressure on both sides of the eardrum needs to be equal. You probably notice when pressure is out of sync as you go up or down in an airplane. Changes in elevation like this can lead the air pressure to change, and you may feel a popping sensation as your ears adjust.
The reason your ears are able to adjust and maintain equal pressure is because of a narrow tube called the Eustachian tube. This tube connects your middle ear to the back of your nose and acts as a sort of pressure valve, opening to keep the pressure equalized on both sides of the eardrum.
It's in the middle ear that you'll find the three smallest bones in the body. Located just past the eardrum, they're collectively known as the ossicles:
the malleus (Latin for "hammer"), which is attached to the eardrum
the incus ("anvil"), which is attached to the malleus
the stapes ("stirrup"), which is attached to the incus and is the smallest bone in the body
The inner ear consists of tiny organs called the cochlea and the semicircular canals. The snail-shaped cochlea acts as a sort of microphone, converting the vibrations from the middle ear into nerve impulses that travel to the brain along the cochlear nerve, also known as the auditory nerve. The brain then interprets these sounds so we know where they are coming from and what they are.
The semicircular canals look like three tiny, interconnected tubes sticking out in loops from the top of the cochlea. It's their job to help you balance. The canals are filled with fluid and lined with tiny hairs. When your head moves, the fluid in the canals sloshes around, moving the hairs. The hairs send this position information as impulses through the vestibular nerve to your brain. The brain interprets these impulses and sends messages to the muscles that help keep you balanced.
When you spin around and stop, the reason you feel dizzy is because the fluid in your semicircular canals continues to slosh around for a while, giving your brain the idea that you're still spinning even when you aren't. When the fluid stops moving, the dizziness goes away.
The cochlear (auditory) nerve, which sends sound information to the brain, and the vestibular nerve, which carries balance information to the brain, are collectively known as the vestibulocochlear nerve, or 8th cranial nerve.
When something vibrates, it makes a sound. Most of the sounds we hear and interpret are vibrations in air (but they can happen in other gases, and in liquids or solids).
When an object or thing vibrates, it flexes in and out. Flexing out pushes the object against the air molecules around it. These molecules in turn push against the molecules next to them. The vibration created travels outward in this manner, much like a ripple or wave. This is a process called compression.
Flexing in while vibrating creates a drop in air pressure that pulls nearby air molecules toward an object. This, in turn, creates another drop in pressure that pulls in the surrounding air molecules, and so on. This process is called rarefaction.
These waves of fluctuation (change) in air pressure — compression and rarefaction — are what we hear as sounds.
Detecting Where Sounds Come From
When a sound wave reaches the ear, it's corralled by the pinna and directed into the ear canal. The pinna, through its distinctive shape and curves, helps people determine the direction a sound is coming from. Sounds coming from different places bounce off the pinna differently. The brain can recognize the difference and decide if the sound is coming from in front or behind.
The two pinnae (plural of pinna) of a person's left and right ears work together to determine if a sound is coming from the right or left. A sound that's coming from the right reaches the right eardrum sooner than the left. It also sounds slightly louder in the right ear. The brain compares the input from both ears and uses this to decide which side the sound came from.
Once inside the ear canal, sound waves vibrate the eardrum, which is very sensitive. The tensor tympani muscle that's attached to the eardrum keeps it taut. So the entire eardrum vibrates no matter where it is hit by a sound wave. This allows the eardrum to detect even the slightest fluctuations in air pressure.
As the eardrum is moved back and forth by the compressions and rarefactions of sound waves, the ossicles move, too. The movement of these tiny bones transmits and amplifies sound waves into the cochlea.
The Ear 'Talks' to the Brain
The cochlea is filled with fluid and contains thousands of tiny fibers. These fibers — which are short and stiff in some areas and longer and more flexible in others in order to decipher frequencies (pitches) — detect movement of sound waves.
When sound waves travel into the cochlea, they reach the fibers and give off a burst of energy. This burst of energy is detected by something called the organ of corti, a structure that lines the cochlea and contains thousands of tiny hair cells. When energy is released, it's strong enough to move these hairs.
The organ of corti sends an electrical impulse to the brain telling it which hairs (and how many) were moved. This information helps the brain's cerebral cortex determine the pitch and volume of a sound. So, for example, when a person hears a loud sound, it's because a stronger burst of energy affected more of the hairs in the organ of corti.
Given the outer ear's exposure to the elements and the middle ear's connection to the nose via the Eustachian tube, more than a few things can affect the ear and bring on hearing loss. Fortunately, most of these conditions can be treated effectively if they're detected early by a doctor.
Some of the more common ear problems include:
Noise-induced hearing loss(NIHL). This hearing loss is brought on by too much exposure to loud noise. Loud noises can damage the hair cells in the cochlea. For kids in America, one of the main culprits is portable music players. Video games, TVs, movie theaters, traffic, power tools, and even some appliances can also be too noisy for most people. NIHL can also be caused by a one-time exposure to a very loud sound such as an explosion or thunder clap. NIHL is almost 100% preventable if you take steps to protect your ears.
Otitis media. This infection of the middle ear is the most common cause of hearing loss in children. It can affect one or both ears and happens when pus and mucus build up behind the eardrum if the Eustachian tube gets blocked by allergies or a cold or upper respiratory infection. Otitis media, if left untreated, can damage the eardrum, causing hearing loss and an infection of the mastoid bone behind the ear.
Otitis externa. Also known as "swimmer's ear," this infection of the outer ear happens when water and bacteria get trapped in the ear canal. The bacteria can multiply in the warm, moist environment, leading to irritation and infection of the skin lining the ear canal. This is called "swimmer's ear" because it's a common problem for swimmers, but it can affect anyone who bathes or takes a shower.
Tinnitus. A ringing, humming, buzzing, roaring, or clicking in the ears is known as tinnitus. It happens as a result of damage to nerve endings in the inner ear. In young people, the main cause of tinnitus is exposure to loud noises. Medical treatments or hearing devices can often help people who have tinnitus.
Impacted earwax. Earwax, also known as cerumen, traps dirt and dust before they reach the eardrum. Usually, earwax dries and falls out of the ear or is washed away. But in some people it can build up and plug the inside of the ear canal (known as "impaction") and cause hearing loss. Fortunately, doctors and nurse practitioners can usually treat this kind of hearing loss simply by washing away the wax. Because earwax can get impacted, doctors recommend never using cotton swabs in the ear canal because doing this can push wax deeper into the ear canal and make it harder to get out.
Ruptured eardrum. A puncture or rupture of the tympanic membrane is known as a ruptured or perforated eardrum. Ruptured eardrums are sometimes accompanied by pain, discharge from the ear, and decreased hearing. Ruptured eardrums can often heal on their own, but sometimes people need surgery to repair the rupture. Things can get serious if water gets into the middle ear. So if you have a ruptured eardrum, your doctor will tell you how to protect your middle ear from water and bacteria while it heals.
Cholesteatoma. This is a type of skin cyst that affects the middle ear. Someone can be born with cholesteatoma, but usually it's a complication of untreated otitis media. If the Eustachian tube isn't working properly, it can cause negative pressure in the middle ear. This pulls the eardrum into the middle ear, creating a cyst or pocket that can fill with dead skin cells and other waste material and become infected. People who have cholesteatoma need to get surgery to remove the cyst. If it's not treated, it's possible for the infection to spread to the brain, causing more serious problems like meningitis.
Meniere's disease. Meniere's disease causes problems with balance and hearing. It occurs when a part of the semicircular canals called the endolymphatic sac becomes swollen. This affects the movement of the fluid in the canal and sends an incorrect signal to the brain regarding body position and balance. Episodes of Meniere's disease, which can produce severe dizziness, can happen without warning. Some people get them a lot, others as rarely as once a year. Doctors don't know exactly what causes Meniere's disease, and it can't be cured. But there are treatments and things people can do to help relieve symptoms.
Injuries, burns, and frostbite. Exposed to the elements as they are, your ears are subject to all manner of minor injuries. Usually that's no big deal, but an injury to the outer ear or ear canal can lead to bleeding and infection that may affect other parts of the ear. A direct blow to the ear, such as from a car accident or sports injury, may tear the eardrum, dislocate the ossicles, or damage the inner ear. Repeated hits to the outer ear can cause bruising and blood clots that disrupt blood flow to the cartilage of the pinna and damage its shape and structure. This is a condition called "cauliflower ear."
Piercing problems. If you decide to pierce your ears, go to reputable, trained practitioners in clean, sanitary surroundings. Because piercing breaks the skin, there's always a risk of infection. To protect against germs, use a cotton ball or swab to apply rubbing alcohol or antibiotic ointment to the earlobe around each earring. Rotate earrings at least twice a day to keep the holes open while they heal. Pierced earlobes generally take about 6 to 8 weeks to heal. Pierced ear cartilage takes 4 months to a year to heal completely.
There's an old saying about how you should never stick anything in your ear except your elbow. It's meant to be funny, but there's a kernel of truth to it. Sticking things like cotton swabs and fingernails into your ears can scratch the ear canal, push earwax deeper into your ear, and even rupture your eardrum. If you find yourself having trouble removing earwax from your ear canal, seek a doctor's help.
Protecting your hearing is mostly a matter of common sense. Start by turning down the volume on your car stereo and TV and especially on your portable music player. If you know you will be exposed to loud noises, such as at a concert, car race, or construction site, bring protection for your ears in the form of earplugs or protective earmuffs.
If you notice problems with your hearing, get tested by a doctor right away. You may not be able to recover lost hearing, but if hearing loss is treated early, the damage can be limited.
Hearing damage accumulates over the years. But it doesn't take as long as you'd think for problems to develop. Tiny earbuds can harm your hearing as much as a large chainsaw — by damaging the tiny hairs in the cochlea. Keep this in mind when you reach to turn up the volume, and your hearing will be yours for decades to come! | <urn:uuid:bc44e7e4-6118-4e65-93c6-e746c9d7d126> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kidshealth.org/PageManager.jsp?dn=Willis_KnightonHealth_System&lic=304&cat_id=20121&article_set=83893&tracking=T_RelatedArticle | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95557 | 3,245 | 3.5 | 4 |
May 4, 2010, 02:12PM PT in Exam Preparation Blog |
What Percent Do I need to Pass the Certification Exam?
(updated May 2, 2011)
I hear this question from exam candidates frequently and the short answer is…I can’t give you an exact percent. But I can give you some details about how the certification exam is scored (which will explain why I can’t give you an exact percent).
ACE certification exams are comprised of 150 multiple choice questions – with 125 of these questions contributing towards your score, and the other 25 questions being introduced as experimental items for potential use on future exams.
When dealing with the multiple choice questions, there are some easier questions – usually the recall type, and some harder questions – usually the application type. (Did you know that application and analysis questions make up the majority of the multiple choice test questions? Yes, we mean it when we say that just memorizing the information and recalling it isn’t the focus of the exam.) For more details on question type, see my previous post about dissecting multiple choice questions .
Each ACE certification exam is put together using the exam content outline for that certification (check the earlier blog post on Exam Content Outline for specifics). This process helps ACE ensure that each exam for that certification – Personal Trainer or Group Fitness Instructor or LWMC or AHFS – has a similar composition in each area the Exam Content Outline covers.
So for the team putting together the exams, the first step is to make sure that what is on the test is what is covered in the Exam Content Outline. The next step is to make sure that the ACE Personal Trainer certification exam you take next week is the same level of difficulty as the ACE Personal Trainer exam your cousin takes next month, or the ACE Personal Trainer exam your boss took last year. This involves a lot of statistics and equations, but the end result is that each candidate for an ACE certification exam has a fair chance to show that they meet the level of competence necessary to hold the certification – regardless of the specific certification exam they happen to complete.
In the end, achieving a good score on your ACE certification exam is dependent on your preparation. Rather than focusing on the bare minimum to pass, strive to comprehend as much as possible. Study wisely for the exam and choose wisely when presented with your answer choices. Remember, this is more than just an exam…it’s the next step in your career.
Questions? Contact an ACE Education Consultant at 1-888-825-3636 x782.
Extra thanks to our exam expert Todd Galati for his help with this post. | <urn:uuid:b6f25083-f0aa-48dd-bb4e-ab31a0b1dd0d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.acefitness.org/blogs/postdetail.aspx?page=128&postid=655 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931299 | 541 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Made Right Here: Foose Cookie Cutters
Kristy Killian left her mark on her family's business at a young age. She's the third generation in a family of tinsmiths.
Foose is their name and cookie cutters are their game!
"My grandfather started the business in the early 1970's," said Killian, who handles marketing and Internet sales for Fleetwood, Berks County based H.O. Foose Tinsmithing Co. "He was a tinsmith. He and my grandmother traveled the country doing different craft shows."
Bugs, balls, hearts, hands and more- every shape is made by hand.
"The raw tin comes on like a thousand pound roll," said Rick Keller, the supervisor of production. "And then from there we take it through the machine and cut it."
After the tin is cut into strips, each strip is inserted in a rolling machine to make it round.
That way it works better around the pattern. Then, that strip of tin becomes whatever these "tinsmiths" want it to be.
The storage room is stocked, floor to ceiling, with shapes for every occasion and imagination. Just don't expect those shapes to linger there for long.
"The other day I did ship one to Portugal, Congo, you name it," said Killian.
And every hand-crafted creation has one thing in common: the Foose name is stamped on all the tin.
"With my grandfather's last name on every cookie cutter, there's no doubt for our customers they're getting a USA handmade, tin cookie cutter," said Killian.
Copyright 2012 WFMZ. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:d42f3cde-7caa-45db-ad59-88cf820c59c1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wfmz.com/features/Made-Right-Here/Made-Right-Here-Foose-Cookie-Cutters/-/8175038/8771510/-/view/print/-/15o763ez/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959105 | 362 | 1.523438 | 2 |
AIA Guide to New York City, Fifth Edition
by Norval White & Elliot Willensky with Fran Leadon
This is a thousand-page love letter to one of the world’s great cities as well as a meticulous catalogue of its physical features. The format is similar to that of the first edition of 1968, but the new guide is fifty percent longer, and the entries are now arranged in two columns to make room for more and larger maps and photographs. Each building is numbered and a tiny icon identifies its architectural style. The history of each neighborhood is briefly sketched, and the reader is led on walking tours that cover each borough, beginning at the Battery and ending on the outer islands. The text is erudite, opinionated, and compelling. Open the book at any page and you’ll be hooked, gazing upwards on a virtual tour of districts you may never have visited.
From the start, this guide was the product of passion: an urgent appeal to cherish and preserve an urban legacy that was under assault. The authors were among the architects who protested the wanton destruction of Penn Station in 1962, a catastrophe that launched the New York preservation movement. Their guide helped focus public attention on the soul and substance of a great work of art; today, almost everything is preserved, and the greater threat is the gentrification of what were once gritty neighborhoods. New York has become too much like San Francisco: a tough, blue-collar city transforming itself into a pretty tableau for tourists and a playground for malefactors of great wealth.
Elliot Wilensky died in 1990; Norval White completed most of the revisions for the fifth edition just before his death at age 83, with help from architect-teacher Fran Leadon. White’s age may explain the cursory and often dismissive entries on new work by Frank Gehry, Thom Mayne, Norman Foster and Jean Nouvel—just as Robert Winter, another traditionalist, soured on radical additions to LA in the last Gebhart-Winter guide. It’s pure speculation but did he resent the bold interventions by outsiders in his beloved city? | <urn:uuid:323a7180-bf99-4dbf-a824-3bb4a0ce13eb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.formmag.net/michael-webb/tag/books?currentPage=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951122 | 438 | 1.953125 | 2 |
A most interesting paper by Adrian Raftery and Le Bao appeared in the Early View section of Biometrics. It aims at better predictions for HIV prevalence—in the original UNAIDS implementation, a naïve SIR procedure was used, based on the prior as importance function, which sometimes resulted in terrible degeneracy—, but its methodological input is about incremental mixture importance sampling (IMIS), thus relates to the general topic of adaptive Monte Carlo methods I am interested in. (And to some extent to our recent AMIS paper.) Actually, a less elaborate (and less related) version of the IMIS algorithm first appeared in a 2006 paper by Steele, Raftery and Edmond in JCGS in the setting of finite mixture likelihoods and I somehow managed to miss it…
Raftery and Bao propose to replace SIR with an iterative importance sampling technique developed in 2003 by Steele et al. that has some similarities with population Monte Carlo (PMC). (A negligible misrepresentation of PMC in the current paper is that our method does not use “the prior as importance function’”.) In its current format, the IMIS algorithm starts from a first guess (e.g., the prior distribution) and builds a sequence of Gaussian (or Gaussian mixture) approximations whose parameters are estimated from the current population, while all simulation are merged together at each step, using a mixture stabilising weight
where the weights depend on the number of simulations at step r. This pattern also appears in our adaptive multiple importance sampling (AMIS) algorithm developed in this arXiv paper with Jean-Marie Cornuet, Jean-Michel Marin and Antonietta Mira, and in the original paper by Owen and Zhou (2000, JASA) that inspired us. Raftery and Bo extend the methodology to an IMIS with optimisation at the initial stage, while AMIS incorporates the natural population Monte Carlo stepwise optimisation developed in Douc et al. (2008, Annals of Statistics) that brings the proposal kernel closer to the target after each iteration. The application of the simulations to conduct model choice found in the current paper and in Steele et al. can also be paralleled with the one using population Monte Carlo we conducted for cosmological data in MNRAS.
Interestingly, Raftery and Bo (and also Steele et al.) refer to the defensive mixture paper of Hesterberg (1995, Technometrics), which has been very influential in my research on importance sampling, and (less directly) to Owen and Zhou (2000, JASA), who did propose the deterministic mixture scheme that inspired AMIS. Besides the foundational papers of Oh and Berger (1991, JASA) and West (1993, J. Royal Statistical Society Series B), they also mention a paper by Raghavan and Cox (1998, J. Statistical Simulation & Computation) I was not aware of, which introduces as well a mixture of importance proposals as a variance stabilising technique. | <urn:uuid:8c99ee17-477d-4ede-a42d-e35cdc794acc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://xianblog.wordpress.com/tag/incremental-mixture/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925024 | 618 | 1.59375 | 2 |
BAGUIO CITY — Officials of the Department of Health (DOH) and related agencies are in town Thursday and Friday to thresh out a national health plan that would prioritize efforts on the treatment and management of non-communicable diseases.
DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III, in a press conference told the press Thursday, the gathering of health agency heads here will draw up plans to address hypertensive and heart ailments; cancer; diabetes; and asthma.
Of late, health officials note, there are more deaths associated with non-contagious ailments. “These are preventable illnesses that may be associated with lifestyle,” DOH-Cordillera Regional Director Myrna Cabotaje claimed.
Although she did not mention figures, Cabotaje said there would be a shift in budget items with the re-gearing of efforts towards lifestyle-born ailments.
Duque said, there is a need for a massive information dissemination on the causes of these diseases that have been the major cause of deaths.
“People should watch their diet, cut down on alcohol intake, frown at tobacco or cigarettes and get more exercise,” Duque said.
Non-communicable diseases like heart condition and stroke are gradually replacing diarrhea, tuberculosis and infections as the chief killers globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) in its report released in May this year.
“The shifting health trends indicate that diseases such as diarrhea, human-immuno virus (HIV), tuberculosis, infections in the newborn and malaria will kill fewer people than non-communicable diseases globally over the next 20 years,” the report said.
The trend as health officials observe is that fewer people would be dying of infectious diseases across the world, as shown by WHO’s Department of Health Statistics and Informatics. # Lyn V. Ramo | <urn:uuid:f6e953bf-ad73-4753-a622-2c311250266a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nordis.net/?p=3340 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949708 | 382 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Editor's note: LZ Granderson writes a weekly column for CNN.com. A senior writer and columnist for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, he has contributed to ESPN's "Sports Center," "Outside the Lines" and "First Take." He is a 2010 nominee and the 2009 winner of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation award for online journalism and a 2010 and 2008 honoree of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for column writing.
Grand Rapids, Michigan (CNN) - After last week's GOP debate it would be safe to assume that President Obama pretty much has the 2012 gay vote all sewn up.
Not only has he done more for the gay community than any president in history, but some of his Republican challengers are threatening to undo all of the gay good he's already done if elected. Five of the seven GOP candidates said they would go so far as to support some form of anti-gay discrimination written directly into the Constitution, including leading candidate Mitt Romney.
Now how much of the anti-gay rhetoric was merely pandering to their base and how much of it was authentic likely varies from person to person. But one thing is clear for the proponents of gay rights, President Obama is the lesser of two evils.
So why is this week's speech at a fundraiser targeting the gay community such a big deal?
Because it's in Manhattan, which happens to be in the state of New York, which happens to be in the throes of a marriage equality debate, which happens to be the one area Obama remains right of center on.
If asked he would tell you that his opinion on the topic is "evolving."
If pushed he would tell you he believes marriage should be between one man and one woman.
That makes asking gay folks for campaign money ... tricky.
If marriage equality passes in New York, he's in the clear. All he has to do is show some clips from last week's debate, mention the Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal a few times and pass a bucket around.
But if it fails, oh boy.MORE
Anderson Cooper goes beyond the headlines to tell stories from many points of view, so you can make up your own mind about the news. Tune in weeknights at 8 and 10 ET on CNN.
Questions or comments? Send an email
Want to know more? Go behind the scenes with | <urn:uuid:969127c9-9d77-47b3-a5b2-67dc75b101c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/21/opinion-is-obama-ready-to-support-gay-marriage/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971852 | 488 | 1.617188 | 2 |
# | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
T-GRAIN Emulsion: Emulsion made up of tablet-like crystals rather than conventional silver halides crystals; produces high-speed films with fine grain. Proprietary technology developed by Eastman Kodak Company, also a trademark.
T-Stop: Like F-number, measures the diameter of the lens opening. T-stop factors in the loss of light through the glass lens elements.
Tail Ends, Tails: The end of a film. The film must be rewound before projection if it is tails out.
Take-up Reel: The reel, which the already projected film winds up on.
TECHNISCOPE: A system designed to produce 35 mm anamorphic prints from a 35 mm negative having images approximately one half the height of regular negative images and produced by using a special one half frame (2 perforation) pulldown camera. During printing, the negative image was blown up to normal height and squeezed to normal print image width to produce a regular anamorphic print that provided a projected aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The system was designed primarily to conserve negative raw stock.
Telecine: A device for transferring motion picture film to an electronic state.
Thin: As applied to a photographic image, having low density. As applied to the physical properties of film, thin base film materials provide for more film per given roll diameter.
Timing: A laboratory process that involves balancing the color of a film to achieve consistent color and density from scene to scene. Also, includes adjusting exposure settings in duplication.
Timecode: A frame numbering system adopted by SMPTE that assigns a number to each frame of video which indicates hours, minutes, seconds and frames (e.g., 01:42:13:26).
Toe: Bottom portion of the characteristic curve, where slope increases gradually with constant changes in exposure.
Tonality: Smooth transition from one tone to another (light to dark).
Tone-scale neutrality and linearity: The ability of a film to reproduce truly neutral gray tones from black to white (this is a function of how the contrast ratio from red to green to blue in the negative aligns with the ratios in the print). Closely correlated is the linearity of the film’s characteristic curve in all three-color records from shadows to highlights. Poor linearity can lead to poor neutrality in smaller ranges of the tone-scale. Performance here can also be related to flesh-to-neutral reproduction and film latitude.
Trailer: A length of film usually found on the end of each release print reel identifying subject, part, or reel number and containing several feet of projection leader. Also a short roll of film containing coming attractions or other messages of interest.
Transmittance: Amount of incident light transmitted by a medium; commonly expressed as percent transmittance.
Travelling Matte: A process shot in which foreground action is superimposed on a separately photographed background by optical printing.
Trims: Manual printer controls used for overall color correction. Also, unused portions of shots taken for a film; usually kept until the production is complete.
Tungsten: Artificial lighting with a color temperature of approximately 3200K.
Uprezzing (Upsampling): Resizing a digital image to a larger size.
Ultraviolet Light: Energy produced by the (invisible) part of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths of 100 to 400 nanometers. Popularly known as “black light.” UV radiation produces fluorescence in many materials.
Underexposure: A condition in which too little light reaches the film, producing a thin negative or a dark reversal or print.
Unsteadiness: An objectionable amount of vertical motion in the screen image.
Video Dailies: Synched videotapes with burn-in used for editing and confirming a day’s shoot.
Visual Density: Spectral Sensitivity of the receptor that approximates that of the human eye.
Wavelength: A unit of measurement, from on crest to the next, in the spectrum, stated as nanometer (one billionth of a meter).
Wide Area Network (WAN): A network that spans a large geographical area.
Widescreen: A general term for form of film presentation in which the picture shown has an aspect ratio greater than 1.33:1.
Winding: Designation of the relationship of perforation and emulsion position for film as it leaves a spool or core.
Workflow: A group of processes—employing hardware, software, and people—that, when put into action, delivers an end result, or a portion of an end result.
Workprint: Any picture or sound track print, usually a positive, intended for use in the editing process. A series of trail cuttings leads to the finished version of a film. The purpose is to preserve the original intact (and undamaged) until the cutting points have been established.
Yellow: Minus-blue subtractive primary used in the three-color process.
Zero-Frame Reference Mark: Dot which identifies the frame directly below as the zero-frame specified by both the human-readable key number and the machine-readable bar code. | <urn:uuid:da4e3202-c6f4-4bd9-af3a-e06fd02a551b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.motion.kodak.com/motion/Support/Technical_Information/Film_Video_Glossary/glossary3.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905301 | 1,136 | 3.171875 | 3 |
The problems of the world seem to be growing more difficult to solve. Consider public education: K12 is a set of complex and intertwined challenges that seem to defy resolution.
To understand K12 education as an ecosystem, think of it as series of interactions among a variety of closely knit stakeholders. Teachers, parents and students are the principal actors, but there is a host of others, including area school boards, local communities, a raft of state legislatures, the Federal DOE, and a handful of text book companies. And the forces at work are strong. Tradition, culture and silo-thinking work against change, essentially anchoring us to the status quo.
Among stakeholders there are significant conflicts and diverging priorities. Ecosystem outcomes routinely fail to align with our intentions. Look at dropout rates. Look at teacher pay and attrition. Look at despair in the inner city.
Everyone admits that it shouldn’t be this way. Yet viable answers are elusive.
Reared in an industrial world, the machine is the operative metaphor and ’cause and effect’ thinking is the guiding force. We instinctively seek simple answers to all our problems. Often, in the U.S., it’s done by throwing money at issues. Why can’t we just fix schools? Or healthcare? Or the economy? It’s because these are all social ecosystems, and they all defy simple solutions. There is no one law (NCLB), one model (Charters, Montessori), or one big idea (Race to the Top) that will address systemic issues.
The people behind ECOSYS come together with these challenges in mind.
Who are we? Most of us are parents. Many are teachers and educators. But all of us are engaged stakeholders who support high quality education for children everywhere. With focus and positive energy people can to come together to drive that change, working to solve hard problems like these. Public conversation draws in a variety of viewpoints, which is key for surfacing new ideas and new thinking.
How do we frame the challenge? The emergence of complexity thinking tells us that studying interactions helps us understand the patterns that work. How do people across the ecosystem behave? What motivates them? What ultimately drives outcomes? Once we understand those forces and patterns, we can identify possible solutions and ways to guide their implementation.
What is our approach? We’re using the collaborative potential of social media to connect & interact publicly. We discuss challenges each week, documenting key takeaways – and the evolution of our thinking – as a means to move the ball forward. Have a look at our collaboration space (our wiki) to get an idea.
If this approach seems novel, we’d agree. Most self-organizing communities use a birds of a feather model, coming together to discuss and share common practices. In contrast, we come together to discuss our differences, to learn from them and to highlight our wins. We think we’re onto something. Each week for the past two years, the K12 ECOSYS discussion group has been meeting via Twitter chat (hashtag: #ecosys) to brainstorm our approach for unpacking K12 challenges.
Follow the links and the people of ECOSYS to learn more.
Our problems are significant, but they’re also close to home. In the end, it’s about priorities. Our kids need our help. Connect. Engage. And welcome to ECOSYS. | <urn:uuid:3f4b4edd-0701-4f61-aa24-61c25badf311> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ecosysedu.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/unpacking-k12/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942751 | 713 | 2.875 | 3 |
Recently the web saw the emergence of a new online nuclear detonation simulator: NUKEMAP.
Created by Alex Wellerstein, a historian of science at the American Institute of Physics and blogger at “Restricted Data The Nuclear Secrecy Blog,” this simulator is the best example of an admittedly small class of apps. It allows one to pick the target and yield of the device, either through drop down boxes or by entering unique values. For the sake of simplicity, it defaults with an idealized air burst which eliminates the computational messiness of modeling the influence of unique geography and weather.
So this isn’t your National Lab/FEMA 3-D model tailored to individual cityscapes. But it gives you a general idea about the varying effects of different sizes of nuclear weapons.
The features, in Alex’s own words:
- Easily draggable target marker (which has an adorable little atom on it)!
- Bright, stomach-churning colors indicating major negative effects of atomic detonations!
- Effects described include zones of 500 rem exposure, major overpressures, and fire! Plus, the legend breaks these down into easy-to-understand descriptions of what they mean for your average person caught inside of them.
- Lots of pre-sets for both places to drop them (I didn’t want to discriminate) and yields of historical weapons! It has never been easier to put a 50Mt H-bomb on the Eiffel Tower.
- Automatically tries to drop the bomb on wherever Google thinks you are accessing the Internet from (based on your IP address)!
- You can link to specific detonations and send them to your friends to enjoy forever!
- Automatic zooming to make sure that all of a given nuke’s effects fit within the view window! (This can be disabled.)
- More historically contextualized than your average web app!
While obviously trying to inject some levity in the most serious of subjects, among Alex’s stated goals for this project was to visually explain the difference between fission and fusion weapons effects:
I have in the past made maps of this sort for use in teaching, when I want to emphasize how “impressive” the first hydrogen bomb was when compared to the first atomic bombs. If you dropped a Fat Man-style bomb onto downtown Boston, the results wouldn’t be pretty, but the effects would be limited to the immediate area surrounding the peninsula, primarily. (In other words, I would tell the students, Harvard is probably not too bad off, fallout excepting, but MIT is completely fried.) Do the same thing with an Ivy Mike-sized bomb and you’ve set houses on fire all the way out to Concord (a visual argument, when done with appropriate build-up and theatricality, that never failed to result in a horrified gasp from the auditorium of undergrads). It becomes quite clear why many of the atomic scientists of the day considered H-bombs to be exclusively genocidal weapons.
For homeland security planners what this simulator makes vivid is how the threat has changed since the end of the Cold War. Multiple Soviet warheads in the hundred kiloton or megaton range is a totally different story than a single nuclear terrorist device around the size of the Hiroshima bomb or even lower. While any local and state response will be immediately overwhelmed, the current threats are still national catastrophes than can and should be planned for at a regional level. | <urn:uuid:1bcc2256-b2d7-46e4-ac28-88c9fb91331f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hlswatch.com/2012/02/27/nuclear-blast-simulatornukemap/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928379 | 723 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Air Force Pilot Missing In Action From Vietnam War Is Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial.
Air Force Maj. Russell C. Goodman of Salt Lake City, Utah
, will be honored this week at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., home of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbird demonstration team. At the time of his loss, Goodman was assigned to the Thunderbirds and was flying with the U.S. Navy on an exchange program. He will be buried in Alaska at a date determined by his family.
On Feb. 20, 1967, Goodman and Navy Lt. Gary L. Thornton took off in their F-4B Phantom from the USS Enterprise for a bombing mission against a railroad yard in Thanh Hoa Province, North Vietnam. They were struck by enemy antiaircraft fire and their plane exploded. Thornton was able to eject at just 250 feet altitude, but Goodman did not escape. Thornton survived and was held captive until his release in 1973.
Search and rescue attempts were curtailed because of heavy anti-aircraft and automatic weapons fire in the area of the crash.
Between October 1993 and March 2008, joint U.S.-Vietnamese teams led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) investigated the crash site twice and conducted two excavations, recovering human remains and pilot equipment. The aircraft debris recovered correlates with the type of aircraft the men were flying.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA – which matched two of his maternal relatives -- in the identification of Goodman’s remains. | <urn:uuid:0afff5f2-2dd0-43a4-abaa-36ce9e63d273> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?153886-In-Memoriam/page27 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973047 | 377 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Those three or four words on the cover can make all the difference to a book's chances of success, writes Caroline Baum.
Julian Barnes is a terrific writer. His prose is elegant, witty and erudite on every subject from relationships to French culture. But when it comes to titles, he unwittingly started a trend from which he has not been able to reap the profit. "If I had a euro for every book title that copies the formula of Flaubert's Parrot, I'd be a rich man," he says, citing the examples of Pushkin's Button and the recently published Audubon's Elephant.
Always striving for originality, Barnes avoided
referencing himself when he changed the title of
his book Staring at the Sun from its working title
of Lindberg's Sandwiches, "because it sounded
too cute and too much like Flaubert's Parrot;
I'd have been exploiting my own franchise". (The
sandwich reference came from the story that on
his journey across the Atlantic, the aviator carried
five sandwiches but only ate three-and-a-half.
Mystery surrounds the fate of the other one-and-a-half.)
Barnes's titles range from the short and snappy, such as Metroland and The Porcupine, to the wordy History of the World in 10½ chapters. His new collection of short stories, due out in March, carried the working title of Rage in Age, which he knew he would never use - "it's too flip and discloses too much",' he says. Instead, the collection will be called The Lemon Table, which discloses nothing, except for a hint of Mediterranean zest.
Working titles are a useful shorthand that authors use until inspiration strikes or the right label is suggested by publishers, editors, agents or friends. In Barnes's case, it was biographer Hermione Lee who suggested the title for his collection of essays on the French, Something to Declare; she got a bottle of champagne in gratitude.
But is the title an important factor in a book's success? Barnes thinks not. "It is always the case that the book makes the title and not the other way round," he says. "Although perhaps commercial fiction is not as flexible as literary fiction in that regard."
Having said that, Barnes confesses that he avoided one work of literary fiction for years because its title acted as a deterrent. "I did not read The Catcher in the Rye until I was in my 40s because I thought it was going to be about baseball in a field. It did not intrigue me enough.
"Mind you, it does not seem to have had that effect on many other people."
Barnes nominates Peter Carey's Illywhacker as a successful title. "It's tricky, but not too much, and you have no idea what it means so it makes you curious." HarperCollins editor Linda Funnel believes the title has a crucial role to play "because often it is the first selling point for people who are scanning lists of books".
Sometimes authors are too close to their work to judge how it might best be summed up in a title. Often it is up to publishers to come up with something that is catchy and commercial or to avoid a title that might condemn the book to oblivion.
Funnel recently persuaded Paulette Gittins to change the name of her memoir Pickled Eel and Treacle Tart to The Secret World of Annette Robinson (due out in April 2005). The unappetising combination of ingredients reference childhood rhymes and games, which form an integral part of the story of a family growing up in Kings Cross during the 1950s, but Funnel felt, with good reason, that they would put readers off.
When the Sydney Morning Herald's literary editor, Malcolm Knox, sent in the manuscript of his first novel to publisher Jane Palfreyman at Random House, it bore the title The Inert Family of Gases. Wisely, the title was changed to Summerland. The choice might have been different a couple of years later, when there would have been another Summerland on the market, under the authorship of American Pulitzer winner Michael Chabon. Duplication does occur; Delia Falconer's The Service of Clouds is also the title of a novel by British writer Susan Hill, published a year later. "I suppose we should check on these things by looking on the net," muses Palfreyman, "but we don't. It's surprising it does not happen more often."
For Funnel, what matters is the market the book is targeting. "When Peter Carey's Bliss first came out there was another book by the same title by a writer called Pat Booth. Hers was directed at the popular fiction market, while his was aimed at the literary fiction market, so it didn't really matter and there was no question of confusion," Funnel says.
"On the other hand, we published Anthony O'Neill's Scheherezade at the same time that Arnold Zable's Cafe Scheherezade came out and although they were targeted at the same kind of readers, in some ways, the books may have helped sell each other."
Barnes has his own experience of titles doubling up. "Originally, Talking It Over was called Love Etc.,. I then discovered one day when I was walking past a second-hand book barrow in a London street, a book of that title and my heart just fell. It was by an American writer called Belle Kaufman, who was the author of a bestseller called Up the Down Staircase. Her Love Etc., was out of print but I didn't feel I could use it. I came up with Talking It Over but by that time I had already given my French publishers the title of Love Etc., and they refused to change it.
"To add to the confusion, a film of that book came out, also called Love Etc.,. When I wrote the sequel, 10 years later in Britain, I decided that Kaufman's title had lapsed into forgettingness and decided to use it, except in France, where the book was called Dix Ans Apres (Ten Years Later)."
But what happens if a publisher finds itself with two books with similar titles? This happened recently at Penguin, which is publishing British author Julia Llewellyn's The Love Trainer. It is also publishing a novel by Moya Sayer Jones, which she originally brought to them with the title of Love Coach. Sayer-Jones's book is not in the chick-fiction genre and was only too happy to change her title to avoid confusion. After many hours of workshopping with husband, friends and agent, her novel will appear as Love Rat.
Palfreyman remembers a struggle leading to the naming of Michelle de Kretser's first novel The Rose Grower. "It was chosen out of a list of endless possibilities like Blood and Revolution, Roses and Revolution, the Reverse of History. In the end, the winning title was suggested by the UK publisher. I thought it was too bald. Sometimes, the whole company gets involved, not just the publisher and the editor."
Palfreyman also remembers that Roger McDonald's Mr Darwin's Shooter, a title that for some is perhaps a little obscure, was originally called The Lion Ant, because McDonald had a moment in the manuscript in which Darwin was observing some ants. Palfreyman thought the insect angle might be unappealing to potential readers.
There were many early names for F.Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby; Fitzgerald had originally called the novel Under the Red White and Blue because it was about the American dream. His editor, the great Maxwell Perkins, disregarded Fitzgerald's urgent telegrams on the matter, thought the title lacked sales appeal and changed it to the one we now know. An early version of the novel was called Trimalchio's Banquet, referring to the vulgar and rich host of the famous orgy in Petronius's study of excess, Satyricon. Still another title that Fitzgerald considered was The High Bouncing Lover, a phrase taken from a rather bad poem he wrote but credited to the character of Thomas Parke D'Invillers in This Side of Paradise.
Not all published titles are necessarily better than their author's first choices. Jane Austen first called Pride and Prejudice First Impressions, which may not have the same alliterative resonance, but is nonetheless a good summing up of what the novel is about. Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow may be a beautiful phrase and an intriguing image referencing a rocket's trajectory from launch to landing, but the book's working title of Mindless Pleasures is not bad either.
It seems impossible to believe now, but Margaret Mitchell originally named the heroine of her great American civil war novel Pansy rather than Scarlett O'Hara, and intended to call the book after her. She argued with her publisher, Macmillan, over this and they suggested the alternative title of the novel's immortal last line: "Tomorrow is another day."
She came up with a list of alternatives of which her favourite was a line from a poem by Ernest Dowson, Gone with the Wind.
In his memoirs, Alexander Korda suggests that Joseph Heller's Catch 22, the novel whose title became an expression synonymous with the absurdity of life, was originally called Catch 18. Doesn't have quite the same ring to it, does it?
Apparently his publisher baulked because Leon Uris had recently published a novel called Mila 18, but many Heller fans believe this story to be apocryphal.
Anyone who has ever worked on a women's magazine knows that numbers work well in cover lines - you know the ones that say 50 new ways with hair, or 346 new looks for summer. Numbers do seem to work well in book titles - at least for author Elliot Perlman. His first novel was called Three Dollars and his second is called Seven Types of Ambiguity, but the origins of both titles are based, in the first case, on the author's personal experience of having just that amount of money left in his own account on the day he started writing the book, and in the second, as a direct reference and homage to an influential work of criticism by William Empson.
Other numerical book titles include: The Thirty Nine Steps, Three Men in a Boat, The Hundred and One Dalmatians and One Hundred Years of Solitude.
One numerical title that got changed is Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf (My Struggle), which he originally intended to call Four-and- a-half Years of Struggle Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice. The sentiment may be the same, but when expressed with economy, it had greater impact.
Memoirs often have memorable titles: Clive James' Unreliable Memoirs clearly signals its author's playful taking of liberties with the past; Robert Dessaix's A Mother's Disgrace, a title thought up by his partner, art critic Peter Timms, promises mildly shocking revelations. Eric Hobsbawm's Interesting Times is an understated and ironic quotation from the proverb (erroneously attributed to the Chinese): "May you live in interesting times."
But even authors writing about themselves are sometimes at a loss for how to name their account. Raimond Gaita confesses that he had no titles for Romulus, My Father until his publisher, Michael Heyward, suggested it. "I like the tenderness it suggests," says Gaita, for whom Heyward also came up with the title of his latest book, The Philosopher's Dog.
Anna Funder's Stasiland got its name "at the very last minute, with many misgivings because I worried that it blankets the entire population of the GDR (former East German Republic) as being in bed with the Stasi", says Funder, who admits that previous titles included The Linoleum Palace, The Unforgiven and the Vanished Land. She is in negotiations with her German publisher as the book will be published there next year "and the term Stasi is abusive, like the term Nazi, so I don't want people to feel I am tarring the whole populace as informers".
Two of the most successful recent accounts of life overseas are Sarah Turnbull's Almost French and Sarah Macdonald's Holy Cow!. Publisher Fiona Henderson at Random House says: "Sarah Turnbull came to us with the working title of French Connection, but that didn't feel right so we went to and fro with her editor, making lists. Then I went to the cinema and saw Almost Famous - that gave me the idea.
"When Sarah Macdonald sent in her manuscript, it had no title, but we started referring to it round the office as Round India with a Randy Cowboy because she'd told us that was what people in India called one of their gods. Of course, we knew we couldn't call it that and lists went to and fro to India to Sarah on the phone.
"Now it's being published in America with the same title, which at first we thought they wouldn't accept because of its association with Batman and Robin's favourite expression."
Some key words appear to have their own magic title buzz. One of these is midnight. Think of Midnight in Sicily, Midnight's Children and John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It seems that the word itself conjures up enough mystery and intrigue to be a potent lure to readers.
Charlotte Wood, whose first novel title, Pieces of a Girl, cleverly suggests fragmentation and fragility, had to abandon her choice of title for her forthcoming second novel (due out in April), because it sounded too similar to Berendt's. "It was going to be called The Hour of the Garden and the Night, but it was not only too long, but sounded too much like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. And the word ‘garden' does crop up in a lot of titles - The Fog Garden, A Map of the Garden. I actually went into a bookshop and checked that out."
Eventually her friend, painter Peter Simpson, who was working in a neighbouring studio to Wood's at Bundanon, where she completed a draft of the novel, came up with the suggestion of The Submerged Cathedral, referencing the piece by 19th century French composer Claude Debussy.
"It made me write the music into the book, but the funny thing is that because of its subject matter, which is about a monastery, there were already cathedrals in the story."
Dessaix came up with Night Letters "in the middle of the night, literally. I liked the fact that it carried a faint echo of all the other night titles". Sue Woolfe is responsible for one of the most enigmatic titles in contemporary literary fiction - Leaning Towards Infinity - an abstract and poetic phrase, which came to the author about four years into the writing of the novel.
"Infinity is the preoccupation of the central protagonist, Frances, in mathematics, but it is also everyone else in the book's preoccupation in non-mathematical ways. I woke up with the title one morning. When I tried it out on people they looked askance - someone said it sounded more like the name of a rock group than a book, someone else laughed and said it would never sell, but once a title arrives in your mind, it has to be respected, come what may. It's as if you have to keep faith with whatever sends these messages to you - especially when it somehow says what you've been struggling for years to say."
Her latest novel, The Secret Cure, went through two previous incarnations, first, with the working title Girl in a Party Dress, from an image that had transfixed Woolfe as she began on the novel about scientific research and autism. For several years, the book also progressed as An Unauthorised History of the Brain, which, if it had survived, might have seemed a little too off-puttingly clinical and dry for a book charged with emotion.
Helen Garner's favourite title - Cosmo Cosmolino - came to her in a dream, which is a phenomenon that many writers confirm. She admits that the title of her earlier collection of short stories, The Children's Bach, was not popular: "Nobody liked it. In New Zealand they pronounced it ‘batch' thinking it refers to a holiday shack, which is what they call them over there." She can't remember how she came to call the now classic Monkey Grip by that name.
Nineteenth century authors seemed to take a much more straightforward approach to titles than writers in the present day. After all, most of Charles Dickens's novels are simply called after the central character: David Copperfield, Martin Chuzzlewit, Oliver Twist, although he did come up with more conceptual titles, such as Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend.
Other character-based titles of the period were Silas Marner and Anna Karenina (which, in a less censorious time and place might easily have been called The End of the Affair).
When translated into foreign languages, titles may change beyond recognition, sometimes conveying a different meaning or emphasis that is more culturally relevant. Some book titles also change within English speaking countries. A recent example of this was the changing of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in the US market, where it became Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, in a decision taken by author J.K.Rowling after discussions with her American editor Arthur Levine.
Once the juggernaut had started rolling (forgive the pun), it might have been tempting for a more cynical or lazy author to avoid wasting time on subsequent titles. The next instalments of the adventure might as well have been called Harry Potter, Part Five or just Harry Potter - Come and Get It.
Come to think of it, no one has used the word Untitled as the name for their book - yet.
Caroline Baum presents Talking Books on Foxtel's Ovation network.
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|advertise | contact us| | <urn:uuid:c231c244-79fa-4f74-89d0-66beae0ce55b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/10/1073437508345.html?from=storyrhs | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977059 | 3,799 | 1.539063 | 2 |
July 16, 2012
Pink’s the thing in the Bahamas, where the Caribbean flamingos of Inagua National Park have produced a bumper crop of chicks this year. In June, WCS veterinarians and Bronx Zoo bird experts joined a crew of international researchers to band the juvenile birds, and give them health check-ups. The group also taught local students about Caribbean flamingo conservation, and trained community members to conduct future banding projects.
Led by Dr. Nancy Clum, Bronx Zoo Curator of Birds, the researchers attached ID bands to 198 juvenile flamingos, and took their measurements. The bands will allow for long-term monitoring of the birds, as experts track their movements to different breeding colonies throughout the Caribbean. The WCS veterinary team, led by Dr. Bonnie Raphael, performed health assessments on 47 of the flamingos, drawing blood samples and conducting genetic testing as part of a regional flamingo study. They also obtained other samples, including mouth swabs, to determine possible exposure to avian diseases.
In total, the field team included 29 participants from five countries representing the Bahamas National Trust, Morton Salt, SeaWorld Orlando, Niños y Crías, Ardastra Gardens, Fort Worth Zoo, and the Bonaire Department of Environment and Nature. Susan Sheridan, the International Flamingo Foundation, Morton Salt (Bahamas), and Bryan Construction supported their work. | <urn:uuid:3b95518e-e5c3-49a9-b9f5-53fcd4239383> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bronxzoo.com/bronx-zoo/media/headlines/expedition-bahamas.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928478 | 283 | 2.484375 | 2 |
(You are here.)
is your first
visit, please stop by:
Available in Française, Español, Português, Deutsch, Россию,
日本, and others.
airplanes are elegant machines that hold the same fascination as
tall ships, steam locomotives, and vintage automobiles. And it's not
just because they are old or quaint. They are the essence of flying -- a
set of wings, an engine, propellers, and a place to sit. Their design is
entirely functional, there is no ornament, not a part that does not have a
purpose. Yet, for all that function, they have a striking and exciting
appearance. If adventure were a solid thing, this is the form it would take.
It's no surprise that some of our members with a craftsman's
appreciation for a fine machine have built replicas of these pioneer aircraft.
Presently, we have completed ten Wright aircraft – six to study in flight,
two for display, and two we helped students to build. Most of these flying machines are designed for over-the-road travel
so they can reach
the widest possible audience. Some are part of our "portable
museum" that we tour to schools and libraries -- the
Project. Others are available for
museums and exhibitions.
All of the aircraft we have built so far are replicas of the
Wright's "experimental" kites, glider, and Flyers – the aircraft the
Wrights built between 1899 and 1905 in their quest for a practical
flying machine. We have collected pictures of our replicas here so
you can do virtual "walk-around."
The 1899 Wright
Kite was the Wright brothers first aeronautical experiment. It
wasn't a really a kite, but a miniature glider designed to test an
aerodynamic control system. Wilbur Wright devised a system to twist or
"warp" the biplane wings of the model glider, causing one wing tip to
turn up while the other turned down. This caused the wings to develop
more lift on one side and less lift on the other, rolling the aircraft.
This flying reproduction was featured in the PBS documentary Kitty
Hawk: A Journey of Invention. It is one of the artifacts in our
"portable museum" that tours with our
1899 Wright Kite.
1900 Wright Glider was the Wright brother's first
man-carrying aircraft, and first in which they made free flights. It did
not produce enough lift to fly much more than a few hundred feet,
nonetheless it gave the brothers a taste of what it was like to fly. The
glider had aerodynamics controls for roll (wing warping)and pitch (a
forward elevator). Early on the aircraft had a stationary tail with
vertical and horizontal fins, but this was discarded after a few tests.
This replica was flown at Jockey's Ridge State Park, North
Carolina on October 22, 2000 to mark the centennial anniversary of the
Wright's first gliding flights. It was also featured in the documentary
Kitty Hawk: A Journey of Invention.
1900 Wright Glider.
1901 Wright Glider was the Wright brother's second attempt
to build a
man-carrying aircraft, and first in which they tried to make a turn in the
air by rolling the aircraft. It was much larger the 1900 glider before
it, but still did not produce the predicted amount of lift. Furthermore,
their aerodynamic controls were less effective than on their previous
machine. These multiple problems very nearly convinced the Wright
brothers to abandon aeronautics. This replica flew at Jockey's Ridge
State Park, North
Carolina on September 9 to mark the centennial anniversary of the
Wright's 1901 gliding experiments. It was also featured in the documentary
Kitty Hawk: A Journey of Invention.
1901 Wright Glider.
The 1901 Wright
Wind Tunnel, along with its balances, was the scientific
instrument the Wright brothers built to help design an aircraft capable
of lifting itself and a pilot off the ground. You don't necessarily
expect to find a wind tunnel in a hangar – even a virtual hangar – but
this machine was crucial to the Wright brothers' eventual success. It
was this machine that allowed them to compare the shape and camber of
hundreds of wings and pick the best one for their purposes. For that
reason it was also crucial to our archaeological investigation. We built
a replica tunnel, then conducted the same tests as the Wrights. Like
many of the machines in our hangar, this tunnel was featured in the
documentary Kitty Hawk: A Journey of Invention. It is also one of
the artifacts in our portable museum that tours with our
1901 Wright Wind Tunnel.
The 1902 Wright
Glider was the first fully controllable aircraft, with
surfaces for 3-axis control – wing-warping for roll, an elevator for
pitch, and a rudder for yaw.. It was also the aircraft on which the
Wrights based their patent. Every successful aircraft made
since can trace its roots back to this machine. This reproduction
was flown on by test pilots from the US Air Force, US Navy, and US
Army at Jockey's Ridge State Park, North Carolina to celebrate the
Centennial of Controlled Flight on October 8, 2002. We have flown it
many times since then, including for the documentary Kitty Hawk:
A Journey of Invention. Another 1902 glider replica, built and
flown by young men and women from Russia, Ohio is the centerpiece of
Secret of Flight Project.
1902 Wright Glider.
The 1903 Wright
became the first aircraft to successfully make sustained, controlled
powered flights on December 17, 1903. On that date, the Wrights made
four flights, the longest lasting 59 seconds and covering 852 feet
(260 meters). After the last flight it was wrecked by a gust of wind
and never flew again. We attempted to fly our replica in 2003 and
2004 in both North Carolina and Ohio. On January 7, 2004 we
successfully repeated the first flights of the Wright brothers and
Connie Tobias, a veteran pilot from US Airways, became the first
woman to successfully fly the 1903 Wright Flyer. This aircraft was
also featured in the documentary Kitty Hawk: A Journey of
1903 Wright Flyer I.
The 1905 Wright
Flyer III was the first "practical" airplane – an
airplane that could take off in a wide range of weather
environments, navigate to a predetermined location, and land
"without crashing," as Wilbur so succinctly put it. It was also the
first airplane with independent controls for each axis. In the 1902
glider and the 1903 Flyer, the Wright brothers had "coupled" the
wind-warping with the rudder so that both were activated by the same
control. In the Flyer III, the rudder and the elevator had separate
controls which aided the pilot's ability to maneuver the airplane.
Our replica includes a reproduction of the Wright catapult, a wooden
tower that drops a substantial weight to provide extra thrust to the
aircraft during its launch.
1903 Wright Flyer III.
Why don't we include the 1904 Wright Flyer II in this
line-up? For the simple reason that the Flyer II was a
copy of the Flyer I. The Flyer I made only four
flights at Kitty Hawk before a gust of wind rolled the aircraft and
destroyed it. When they arrived back in Dayton in 1903, the Wright
brothers realized that they hadn't thoroughly tested their airplane
and hadn't learned enough about it to build a better one. So they
rebuilt the design in 1904 and proceeded with test flights.
were a very few changes on the Flyer II. When the first Flyer
rolled, the Wrights discovered how fragile the ribs were -- every
single one broke! So they simplified the rib design to make them
stronger and slightly altered the camber from 1:20 to 1:24. They
also beefed up the frame of aircraft, particularly the skids, to
make it stronger. This made the airplane heavier. Finally, they
built a new engine and added an oil pump. There may have also been
further improvements to the engine to help it produce more power and
run cooler. But all these were minor tweaks. Visually and
aerodynamically, the second Flyer was the twin of the first one.
The 1903 Wright Flyer I (top) and the 1904 Wright Flyer II (bottom),
photographed from nearly the same angle. | <urn:uuid:41643763-6587-4147-bb84-8e6a255ea2f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wright-brothers.org/Adventure_Wing/Hangar/Hangar.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950073 | 1,859 | 3.09375 | 3 |
PHOTOS: ASPCA saves the city’s pitbulls
Monday was the second year anniversary of the ASPCA’s “Operation Pit.”
As part of “Operation Pit,” all New Yorkers are encouraged to bring their pits in to the ASPCA’s Upper East Side animal hospital to be spayed and neutered — free of charge.
The program offers the free service to any healthy pitbull or pitbull mix between the ages of three months and six years, as experts say that’s the breed most at risk to be euthanized.
“[Pitbulls] grow into big strong dogs that require a lot of exercise; they’re not portable if you’re moving and they have large litters. When people realize that they can’t take care of them they’ll take them to a shelter,” explained Dr. Louise Murray, vice president of ASPCA’s Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital.
Since launching “Operation Pit” in 2010, the ASPCA has fixed more than 1,300 pitbulls free of charge. Spaying or neutering the dogs is a procedure that can normally cost between $150 to $350 or more, depending on the veterinarian.
For Veronica Lopez, 32, the free spay was a blessing.
“My vet was going to charge me $500,” said Lopez, who took a taxi down from the Bronx with her 4-year old pit, Timbs. “A friend recommended this place, so of course I came.”
In addition to preventing unwanted pups, the entire appointment includes a full physical for the dogs, life-saving vaccines, and microchipping.
“We’re recruiting [these dogs] into a life-saving mission,” said Murray. “They are honorable soldiers and when they’re done it’s like they’re graduating.”
Sure enough, before they go home each pup receives a camouflage handkerchief and a post-operative “honorable discharge” for completing the “mission.”
ASPCA offers the free spay or neuter to any pitbulls or pitbull mixes at Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital on 92nd Street by appointment every weekday. The service is also available at the ASPCA Spay/Neuter Clinic in Queens on select Sundays. Call (877) 900-PITS to schedule a free appointment.
Too many pitbulls killed
Unwanted pitbulls crowd New York City’s animal shelters, and shelters throughout the country. Unfortunately, the sheer number of the dogs means they are killed by shelters at a higher rate than other breeds.
According to animal advocacy groups, pitbulls make up 33 percent of all the dogs taken in by animal shelters nationwide. But in big cities like New York that number can be as high as 65 percent.
Above, Dr. Louise Murray with 4-month-old Foxy.
Some studies estimate that up to 1 million pitbulls are euthanized per year in the U.S. That’s 2,800 pitbulls put to sleep per day. Other estimates say that number is even higher.
An estimated 35,000 pitbulls are available for adoption. | <urn:uuid:4a4c5534-933c-4f04-83ce-8a397b310918> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.metro.us/newyork/news/local/2012/07/17/photos-aspca-saves-the-citys-pitbulls/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939161 | 694 | 2.015625 | 2 |
(AP) -- China plans to tighten control over rare earths producers and restrict output in a five-year development strategy, the Cabinet said Wednesday, amid concern abroad about plans to reduce exports of the exotic minerals used in high-tech goods.
A Cabinet statement promised to "reasonably set annual quotas for production and export" but gave no details. It said the government will tighten environmental controls and block unauthorized production.
China accounts for almost all production of rare earths, a group of 17 minerals that are used in products such as flatscreen TVs and lightweight batteries for mobile phones and hybrid cars. It announced in 2009 that it would reduce exports in what appears to be an effort by Beijing to transform China from a bulk supplier of raw ores into a producer of higher-value lightweight magnets and other products.
Wednesday's statement said Beijing will encourage mergers to create more technologically advanced Chinese rare earths producers. It promised to encourage development of technology to create rare earths products.
China will "establish healthy development of the rare earths industry with appropriate development, orderly production, high utilization and technological advancement," the Cabinet said on its website.
The United States, Canada and Australia have rare earths but stopped mining them in the 1990s as lower-cost Chinese supplies became available. China has about 30 percent of rare earths deposits but accounts for about 97 percent of production.
Foreign manufacturers were alarmed when Beijing temporarily blocked rare earths shipments to Japan last year after a Chinese fishing boat captain was detained near disputed islands.
China's Commerce Ministry said exports of rare earths rose 14.5 percent in the first 11 months of last year over the same time a year earlier despite the decision to reduce sales. The ministry gave no explanation of why the government's quota was exceeded.
Surging global demand earths has prompted companies in the United States and Australia to start work on developing or reopening rare earths mines.
Shaken by the threat of supply disruptions, Japan has considered becoming a rare earths recycling center and is establishing partnerships with other Asian nations including Vietnam and Mongolia to develop new mines.
Explore further: Yahoo! to buy blog-maker Tumblr for $1.1 billion: report
More information: Chinese Cabinet (in Chinese): http://www.gov.cn | <urn:uuid:53263cfc-58f5-4db3-8de8-c9846b7e751b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://phys.org/news/2011-02-china-shakeup-rare-earths-industry.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951566 | 463 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Inter-generational conflict and moral panic
I'm still working on a post which tries to explore some of the political science of the recent English riots, but in the meantime I’m struck by the wave of commentary on the riots which positions them as an inter-generational issue. I touched on this in my last post, but only briefly.
And perhaps it’s not surprising that it has taken little longer to emerge. The older generation, who are generally more blind to this issue (what? us? inter-generational beneficiaries?) include the politicians and media commentators who have more privileged access to the media and were therfore able to construct their preferred narratives more quickly.
I was interested in this because in several of the scenarios we’ve done since the crisis, the pattern of inter-generational conflict has emerged strongly. Let’s start with the economist David Blanchflower, who’s been more right than most on both the crisis and the downturn, in the New Statesman:
It is quite clear that the coalition decided very early on to protect the old at the expense of the young, presumably because this was politically expedient. It cut spending on youth workers and youth centres, abolished the Future Jobs Fund and Education Maintenance Allowance for children from disadvantaged families and slashed funding for charities at a time when demand was rising. An explosion in the inner cities was almost inevitable. What the heck did they expect?
On Open Democracy, politics lecturer Andrew Mycock made a similar point, but drew it more widely, albeit in a somewhat moralising post:
There has been a gradual abrogation of the responsibilities of the state towards young people which is rarely acknowledged by politicians. This curtailment of the role of the state has been viewed as politically expedient. Many of the young people most affected are not old enough to vote whilst those who can have become increasingly disengaged from a political system which increasingly focuses on older voters.
The great disconnect
The most entertaining exchange, though, came on the pages of Prospect‘s blog. Prospect’s editor, David Goodhart, had spent time on the blog developing a more literate version of David Starkey’s argument on Newsnight, connecting the riots to hip-hop and Britain’s Anglo-Jamaican experience. The headline caught the tone: “The riots, the rappers and the Anglo-Jamaican tragedy”.
What Davids Goodhart, Starkey and Cameron seem not to understand is that young people, especially those in Britain, live completely different economic lives to their elders. This is the great disconnect. To fail to understand that this massive generational difference in economic plight would not translate into anger is a remarkable failure—or just willful blindness—on behalf of our political and cultural leaders.
Malik points to employment and housing as singificant issues. The unemployment rate for young people is five times that for over-50s; one-third of under-30s live with their parents; those who live in rented accommodation (unable to afford to buy) have seen rent increases far outstrip inflation. And the cuts – as Blanchflower observes above – have fallen disproportionately on the young.
The message is plain: if you’re young, you’ll have to pay your own way because this country can’t afford you—even though we will depend on you to pay for the older generation’s pensions and health care in the coming decade.
If you’re not from here
One of the more entertaining parts of the exchange between Goodhart and Malik is watching two writers engaging in textual analysis of Lethal Bizzle’s rap song, “You’ll Get Wrapped” (yes, I was new to it as well). There’s a line in it which goes, “You don’t come ’round here. You don’t know”. The older Goodhart hears this as saying, if you’re not from here, if you’re not one of us, you don’t have a right to speak. The younger Malik: “Geography matters, and if anything, I’d read Lethal Bizzle’s statement as an invitation to come and witness his reality.”
If you’re not from here, if you’re not one of us… You can turn that on its head, of course. One way of looking at this – which is underlined by the severity of the post-riot sentences – is that we’re seeing a “moral panic”, a term popularised in the early ’70s in his book Folk Devils and Moral Panics by Stanley Cohen which described how “[a] condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests.” Folk devils, meanwhile, are those people who supposedly threaten the social order, and in a moral panic they’re are labelled and ‘othered’. Cohen identifies groups which are repeatedly on the end of moral panics; the first is ‘young working class violent males’.
Labelling the young
Abby Day talks about the way young people have been labelled in a post called “Riots, Respect and Research“:
Mindless, crass, materialistic, and, probably most unforgiveable by those on the left, apolitical. Those are the common descriptors of, principally, the young people involved in last week’s riots. Unsurprisingly, they are the words most commonly employed to describe young people even in the absence of rioting.
Similar stories, in similar tones, she says, are told in Australia and the US, as well as the UK. This is because they are myths, not insight.
And as it happened, I stumbled this week on The Insecure Offenders, a book published in 1961 and written by T.R.Fyvel, a left-wing journalist and sometimes collaborator of Orwell’s. His subject was “rebellious youth in the welfare state”, and he was much taken with the difference between the Teddy Boys of the early ’60s and another group of young people which he called “Thrusters and Drifters”.
In the early ’60s, the Teddy Boys – like their close cousins, the mods and the rockers – were a puzzle. Fyvel suggests tht this was because they were the first generation of working class kids to have money to burn. In contrast, his notes on the ‘Thrusters and Drifters’ culd come from this month’s riot discourse: “An idea of being excluded or unfairly treated, which can set off their floating resentment like a spark of fire, often motivates cases of vandalism”.
One of the reasons for moral panics, it’s argued, is that the underlying phenomenon is too difficult to discuss directly. In the early 1960s, the notion of an affluent working class, which might not behave the same way as the existing middle classes, represented such an underlying social fear. In the end that cohort was the bedrock of Thatcher’s electoral success. Now that 30 years of neoliberalism has once more stripped that brief moment of affluence from the working class – at least in relative terms – the spectre of the young urban poor, and the hidden fear of the return of the English mob, is certainly enough to cause a moral panic. The other question that has emerged in our post-crisis scenarios is, where does the anger go? At least we have one answer to that now.
The painting at the top of the post is ‘When Did You Last See Your Father?’, by William Frederick Yeames, which is in the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. It is used with thanks. | <urn:uuid:b504ba5c-db10-4eec-8d1e-721ea2e865f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.resilience.org/stories/2011-08-29/inter-generational-conflict-and-moral-panic | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966188 | 1,642 | 1.75 | 2 |
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SOURCE: Xlibris Publishing
New Novel Narrates Four Generations of Two Penghu Families
British Columbia, Canada (PRWEB) January 28, 2013
Louise Lee Hsiu is an award-winning Taiwanese writer who published ten books in Taiwan before moving to Canada in 2002. Because she wants more English-speaking people to understand her home country of Taiwan, she has translated Penghu Moon in the Well (????) from Chinese to English. In fact, it was this book’s financial success that enabled her to immigrate to Canada.
The novel begins in Waian, Penghu, Taiwan, the place of her parents’ birth, and then it shifts to the Taiwanese port of Kaohsiung when her parents move there. In 1895, China’s Ch’ing Dynasty was forced to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki, ceding Taiwan and Penghu to Japan, and so this historic event forms the background of Penghu Moon in the Well.
The main character, Lee Lian-Zi, who embodies the author herself, narrates the lives of four generations of two Penghu families. There are novels that present tragic epic histories and others that portray the loving bonds that sustain families, and this one is both.
This book will be featured at the 2013 Taipei Book Fair in Taipei, Taiwan, on January 30 – February 4, 2013.
For more information on this book, interested parties may log on to http://www.Xlibris.com.
About the Author
Louise Lee Hsiu was born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. There she earned her BA in the Humanities and three English Language certificates. In 2002, she moved to Canada. Since then, she has earned two diplomas in Creative Writing.
An award-winning author, she has had ten books published in Taiwan. Her published writings include novels, short stories, essays and poetry. At this time, she is translating Taiwanese poetry and her own works from Chinese to English and she is writing a series of stories in English and Taiwanese. In addition to being a professional writer, Louise Lee Hsiu is an accomplished pianist and painter.
About the Editor
Barbara Ladouceur has been writing, editing and teaching for many years. She has co-edited two books published by Ronsdale Press: Blackouts to Bright Lights: Canadian War Bride Stories and Canadian Women Overseas: Stories of the Red Cross Corps. Most recently, she has very much enjoyed working with Louise Lee Hsiu on her book Penghu Moon in the Well. She has applied both her editing and teaching skills to help Louise Lee Hsiu translate her novel from beautifully written Chinese to beautifully written English.
Penghu Moon in the Well * by Louise Lee Hsiu
A Novel Centered on the Lives of Two Penghu Familiies During The Colonial Years in Taiwan
Publication Date: December 27, 2011
Trade Paperback; $19.99; 248 pages; 978-1-4653-7558-2
Trade Hardback; $29.99; 248 pages; 978-1-4653-7559-9
eBook; $3.99; 978-1-4653-7560-5
To request a complimentary paperback review copy, contact the publisher at (888) 795-4274 x. 7879. To purchase copies of the book for resale, please fax Xlibris at (610) 915-0294 or call (888) 795-4274 x. 7879.
For more information, contact Xlibris at (888) 795-4274 or on the web at http://www.Xlibris.com.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2013/1/prweb10366822.htm | <urn:uuid:dd11b555-7e29-40d5-ab0b-546de917ab65> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fox54.com/story/20719715/louise-lee-hsiu-adapts-her-successful-novel-to-reach-english-speaking-audiences | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944884 | 843 | 2.265625 | 2 |
Achieve, Inc. Achieve, Inc. is an independent, bipartisan, not-for-profit organization formed in 1996 by governors and corporate CEOs to develop innovative initiatives for helping states implement high-quality education reforms that will improve student performance.
The American Diploma Project A partnership of four national organizations and five states (including Indiana), The American Diploma Project is working to guarantee that that American high school graduates have the knowledge and skills they will need for success after graduation: in college, the workforce, and the armed services.
American Federation of Teachers The American Federation of Teachers is a trade union representing workers in education, health care, and public service. Today, the AFT continues to be known for its democratic ideals and its cutting-edge work on behalf of its members and the public they serve by exerting strong influence on standards and professional practices in its members' workplaces.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The foundation's goal is for all students—regardless of race or family income—to graduate from high school prepared to succeed in college, career, and life. All students, all schools, everywhere.
The Business Roundtable The Business Roundtable (BRT) is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. corporations that are committed to advocating public policies that foster vigorous economic growth, a dynamic global economy, and a well-trained and productive U.S. workforce essential for future competitiveness. The Business Roundtable's issue analysis is done by BRT Task Forces that develop policy recommendations and lay out plans for action on a specific issue area. The BRT's Education & The Workforce Task Force works to improve education performance and workforce competitiveness in the U.S. with an emphasis on ensuring that American high school graduates are prepared to succeed in the global economy.
CareFinder Indiana CareFinder is the Family and Social Services Administration's guide to finding child care in Indiana. Users can learn about child care, including policies, rules and laws as well as how to become a Care Provider in Indiana.
Center for Evaluation & Education Policy (CEEP) The Center for Evaluation & Education Policy (CEEP) promotes and supports rigorous program evaluation and education policy research primarily, but not exclusively, for educational, human services, and nonprofit organizations. CEEP takes a dynamic approach to evaluation and education policy research, using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, including experimental designs.
Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL) Created in 2001, the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL) at the University of Indianapolis serves as a leading convener, catalyst and collaborator for dynamic, innovative education change to dramatically impact student achievement throughout Indiana. CELL's efforts are rooted in the principle that all students, regardless of background, should graduate from high school prepared for postsecondary education, training and success in the 21st-century global economy.
Council of Chief State School Officers The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is a nationwide, nonprofit organization composed of public officials who lead the departments responsible for elementary and secondary education in the states, the US extra-state jurisdictions, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity. In representing the chief education officers, CCSSO works on behalf of the state agencies that serve pre K-12 students throughout the nation.
Education Commission of the States The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is a national, nonprofit organization that helps governors, legislators, state education officials and others identify, develop and implement policies to improve student learning at all levels.
The Education Trust The Education Trust is an independent nonprofit organization that works for the high academic achievement of all students at all levels, kindergarten through college, and forever closing the achievement gaps that separate low-income students and students of color from other youth. The Education Trust advances its mission along several fronts, from raising its voice in national and state policy debates to helping teachers improve instruction in their classrooms.
The Indiana Center for Family, School and Community Partnerships is a non - profit organization that is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education to act as a Parent Information and Resource Center (PIRC). As a PIRC, they seek to improve education in Indiana by forming strong and lasting family-school-community partnerships, and to empower parents so that they may become more involved in the educational lives of their children.
Indiana Commission for Higher Education Working closely with public and independent colleges and universities, the Commission for Higher Education coordinates planning and budgeting for higher education in Indiana.
Indiana Department of Education The mission of the Indiana Department of Education is to serve the citizens of Indiana by fulfilling its statutory responsibilities, implementing the policies of the State Board of Education, and supporting the priorities of Indiana's Superintendent of Public Instruction. This site provides educational news and information from the Hoosier state.
Indiana Gold Star School Counseling The Indiana Gold Star School Counseling Initiative provides schools and communities with the tools and professional development needed to transform their school counseling program to an accountable system of guidance and counseling implemented by counselors, teachers, and community members. The Gold Star School Counseling Initiative enables students to 1) master defined guidance standards, 2) make choices that support high achievement, and 3) reach standards of high achievement. All initiatives are voluntary with the exception of the counselor licensing standards.
Indiana Principal Leadership Academy The Indiana Principal Leadership Academy is committed to strengthening the leadership of principals. Focusing on people, the Academy provides innovative and uncompromising quality services for educational leaders to improve school communities.
Through partnerships with states and communities, national and local foundations, and other organizations, JFF accelerates opportunities for people to advance in education and careers through: research, analysis and policy development; practical, on-the-ground projects; and advocacy, communications and peer learning.
Lumina Foundation for Education Through grants for research, innovation, communication, and evaluation, as well as policy education and leadership development, Lumina Foundation addresses issues that affect access and educational attainment among all students, particularly underserved student groups, including adult learners. The Foundation bases its mission on the belief that postsecondary education remains one of the most beneficial investments that individuals can make in themselves and that society can make in its people.
The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) NCHEMS provides state policymakers and analysts timely and accurate data and information that are useful in making sound higher education policy decisions. The Information Center is a comprehensive "one-stop-shop" for state-level higher education data and information, and a leader in coordinating the collection of missing data and information that are crucial for higher education policy analysis.
The National Council on Teacher Quality The National Council on Teacher Quality advocates for reforms in a broad range of teacher policies at the federal, state, and local levels in order to increase the number of effective teachers.
National Governors' Association The National Governors Association is the only bipartisan national organization of, by, and for the nations' Governors. Through NGA, the Governors identify priority issues and deal collectively with issues of public policy and governance at both the national and state levels. The association's mission is to provide a forum for Governors to exchange views and experiences among themselves; assistance in solving state focused problems; information on state innovations and practices; and a bipartisan forum for Governors to establish, influence, and implement policy on national issues.
SHEEO (State Higher Education Executive Officers) SHEEO organizes regular professional development meetings for its members and their senior staff; maintains regular systems of communication among the professional staffs of member agencies; serves as a liaison between the states and the federal government; studies higher education policy issues and state activities and publishing reports to inform the field; and implements projects to enhance the capacity of the states and SHEEO agencies to improve higher education.
State Scholars Initative and Indiana Core 40 Scholars The State Scholars Initiative creates public/private partnerships to motivate high school students to take courses that prepare them for college and careers. Based on research that shows a direct relationship between challenging high school courses and college completion rates, State Scholars promotes a core course of study that emphasizes math, science, language arts, and social studies. The Center for State Scholars is a 501(c)(3) established in 2002 to increase the percentage of high school students completing a rigorous course of study. In partnership with the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education, the Center is introducing the Initiative in 12 pilot states during the 2003-2004 school year.
Thomas B. Fordham Foundation The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation supports research, publications, and action projects of national significance in elementary/secondary education reform, as well as significant education reform projects in Dayton, Ohio and vicinity. It has assumed the work of the Educational Excellence Network and is affiliated with the Manhattan Institute. | <urn:uuid:02566a41-630d-4742-8d6d-a0b1460e6e28> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://in.gov/edroundtable/2329.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941823 | 1,786 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Thanks to the World Wide Web, almost anyone can provide information on the Internet in a visually pleasing and widely distributable manner. You have undoubtedly navigated the Web and have looked at other people's sites, and you now probably know that intimidating acronyms such as "HTTP" and "HTML" are simply fancy acronyms for "Web" and "way to express information on the Web." Perhaps you have some experience providing information over the Web as well.
The Web has proven to be an ideal medium for distributing information as can be seen from its immense popularity and exponential growth. Although some have questioned the Web's utility and attributed its growth and popularity mostly to media hype, the Web is unquestionably an important means of providing all sorts of information. Not only are many up-to-the-minute news services (providing real-time news, weather, and sports) and reference materials available electronically, vast amounts of other types of data exist, as well. The Internal Revenue Service, which made all of its 1995 tax forms and other information available over the World Wide Web, recently remarked that it was actually receiving fan mail for its Web site. Who would have thought that the IRS could ever receive fan mail for anything? It was not because its site was good looking, but because it was a genuinely useful tool for thousands, perhaps millions, of people.
What makes the Web unique and so appealing as an information server? First, it provides a hypermedia interface to data. Think about the hard disk drive on your own computer. Typically, data has been expressed in a linear fashion analogous to a filing system. For example, you have a bunch of folders and within each folder, you either have documents or more folders (see Figure 1.1). The Web uses a different paradigm for expressing information called hypermedia. A hypertext interface consists of a document and links. Links are words on which you can click to see other documents or retrieve other types of information (see Figure 1.2). The Web extends the concept of hypertext to include other types of media such as graphics, sounds, and video (hence the name "hypermedia"). Selecting text or graphics on a document enables you to see related information in any number of forms about the item you selected.
Figure 1.1. The file system representation of data.
Figure 1.2. Hypermedia.
Almost every type of person benefits from this easy and unique way of representing and distributing information, from academics who want to share data with their peers immediately to business people who want to offer information about their company to anyone who is curious. However, although giving information is extremely important, over the past few years, many have realized that receiving information is just as important.
Although the Web provides a unique, hypermedia interface to information, there are many other effective ways to distribute data. For example, network services such as the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and gopher existed far before the World Wide Web. E-mail has been the primary medium for communicating and exchanging information over the Internet and most other networks almost since the inception of these networks. Why did the Web become such a popular way to distribute information? The multimedia aspect of the Web clearly contributed to its wild success, but in order for the Web to become most effective, it had to be interactive.
Without the capability to receive input from users as well as provide information, the Web would be a completely static medium. Information would be available only in a format defined by the author. This seems to undermine one of the powers of computing in general: interactive information. For example, instead of forcing a user to browse through several documents as if he or she were flipping through a book or a dictionary, it would be better to let the user specify the keywords of the topic in which he or she is interested. Users can customize the presentation of the data rather than rely on a rigid structure defined by the content provider.
The term "Web server" can be confusing because it can refer to either the physical machine or the software running on it that makes it interact with Web browsers. When a browser queries a given Web address, it first makes a connection to the machine over the Internet, submitting the request for a document to the Web server software. This software runs constantly, waiting for such requests to come in, and responding appropriately.
Although Web servers can send and receive data, the server itself has limited functionality. For example, the most basic Web server can only send the requested file to the browser. The server normally does not know what to do with any additional input. Unless the Web provider tells the server how to handle that additional information, the server most likely ignores the input.
In order for the server to do anything more advanced than retrieving and sending files to the Web browser, you must know how to extend the functionality of the Web server. For example, a Web server cannot search a database based on a keyword entered by a user and return several matching documents unless you have somehow programmed that capability into the server.
The Common Gateway Interface (CGI) is an interface to the Web server that enables you to extend the server's functionality. Using CGI, you can interact with users who access your site. On a theoretical level, CGI enables you to extend the capability of your server to parse (interpret) input from the browser and return information based on user input. On a practical level, CGI is an interface that enables the programmer to write programs that can easily communicate with the server.
Normally, if you wanted to extend the Web server's capabilities, you would have to modify the server yourself. This is an undesirable solution because it requires a low-level understanding of network programming over the Internet and the World Wide Web protocol. It would also require editing and recompiling the server source code or writing a custom server for each task. For example, suppose you want to extend your server to act as a Web to e-mail gateway that would take user input from the browser and e-mail it to another user. You would have to insert code into the server that would parse the input from the browser, e-mail the input to the other user, and send a response back to the browser over a network connection.
First, such a task requires having access to the server code, something which is not always possible. Second, it is difficult and requires extensive technical knowledge. Third, it works only for your specific server. If you want to move your Web server to a different platform, you would have to start over or at least spend a lot of time porting the code to that platform.
CGI provides a portable and simple solution to these problems. The CGI protocol defines a standard way for programs to communicate with the Web server. Without much special knowledge, you can write a program in any computer language that interfaces and communicates with the Web server. This program will work with all Web servers that understand the CGI protocol.
CGI communication is handled over the standard input and output, which means that if you know how to print and read data using your programming language, you can write a Web server application. Other than parsing the input and output, programming CGI applications is almost equivalent to programming any other application. For example, if you want to program a "Hello, world!" program, you use your language's print functions and the format defined for CGI programs to print the proper message.
Because CGI is a "common interface," you are not restricted to any specific computer language. An important question many people ask is what programming languages can you use to program CGI? You can use any language that can do the following:
Almost all programming languages and many scripting languages perform these three activities, and you can use any one of these languages.
Languages fall under one of the following two classes: compiled or interpreted. A compiled languagesuch as C or C++tends to be smaller and faster, whereas interpreted languagessuch as Perl or Rexxrequire loading a sometimes large interpreter upon startup. Additionally, you can distribute binaries (code compiled into machine language) without source code if your language is compiled. Distributing interpreted scripts normally means distributing the source code.
Before you choose your language, you must first consider your priorities. You need to balance the speed and efficiency gains of one programming language versus the ease of programming in another. If you think you want to learn another language rather than use one you already know, carefully weight the advantages and disadvantages of the two languages.
Perhaps the two most commonly used languages for CGI programming are C and Perl (both of which are covered in this book). Both have their own distinct advantages and disadvantages. Perl is a very high-level yet powerful language especially useful for parsing text. Although its ease of use and flexibility and power make it an attractive language for CGI programming, its relatively large size and slower performance sometimes makes it unsuitable for certain applications. C programs are smaller, more efficient, and offer more low-level control over the system, and yet are more difficult to program, do not have easy built-in text processing routines, and are more difficult to debug.
Which language is the superior CGI programming language? Whichever language you are most comfortable programming. Both are just as effective for programming CGI applications, and with the proper libraries, both have similar capabilities. However, if you have a heavily accessed server, you might want to use smaller compiled C programs. If you need to quickly write an application that requires a lot of text processing, you might want to use Perl instead.
There are some important alternatives to CGI applications. Many servers now include a programming API that makes it easier to program direct extensions to the server as opposed to separate CGI applications. Server APIs tend to be more efficient than CGI programs. Other servers include built-in functionality that can handle special features without CGI such as database interfacing. Finally, some applications can be handled by some new client-side (rather than server-side) technologies such as Java. With such rapid change in technology, is CGI rapidly becoming obsolete?
Probably not. CGI has several advantages over the newer technologies.
The Common Gateway Interface is the protocol by which programs interact with Web servers. The versatility of CGI gives programmers the opportunity to write gateway programs in almost any language, although there are many tradeoffs associated with different languages. Without this ability, making interactive Web pages would be difficult at best, requiring modifications to the server and putting interactivity out of the reach of most programmers who are not also site administrators. | <urn:uuid:753585de-2b81-4f11-afce-9471f53b4783> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://alas.matf.bg.ac.rs/manuals/cgi/chd01fi.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942314 | 2,132 | 3.46875 | 3 |
Samsung is drawing closer and closer to the technology that will transform the future of smartphones and tablets. The company will show off its progress in a couple of weeks at CES 2013 when it demos a 5.5-inch flexible display with a 1,280x720-pixel resolution and a 267-pixel density (an upgrade to the one pictured above from CES 2011).
While these displays are still at least a couple of years away from being used in mainstream products, they represent the next big innovation in mobile devices. They will enable much thinner, more power-efficient smartphones and tablets, and a lot more flexibility (pun intended) in product designs and form factors.
The big question is whether Samsung will share this innovation with Apple.
As you know, Apple and Samsung are still embroiled in an epic legal battle over whether Samsung has illegally mimicked Apple devices and infringed on Apple patents with its Galaxy family of smartphones and tablets.
Since Samsung is also the maker of lots of mobile-hardware components, Apple had been one of its best customers. And from Apple's point of view, Samsung was one of its most important partners for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod lines.
However, the legal cold war between the two companies has inevitably altered the relationship. Apple has been methodically moving business away from Samsung. While some of this has been guised in the wisdom of diversifying its supply chain, it's impossible not to suspect this as retribution for Samsung's perceived improprieties.
Apple has significantly reduced its reliance on Samsung for memory chips. It is reportedly doing everything in its power to stop using Samsung to build the processors for its mobile devices. And it has moved much of its display business from Samsung to rival LG -- though it had to reportedly go back to Samsung and use it to make the Retina display for the iPad 3 because neither LG nor Sharp could meet Apple's next-generation display requirements.
Overall, the lost Apple business clearly hasn't hurt Samsung too badly. It has likely used the extra capacity to supply its own Samsung Mobile business, which saw the Galaxy S3 smartphone overtake the iPhone in 2012 as the most widely sold mobile device on the planet. The Galaxy Note has been a bigger seller as well.
Meanwhile, both Apple and Samsung continued to gobble up most of the profits in the mobile device market in 2012. As they go their separate ways, both companies are doing fine. The two will almost certainly continue to dominate the mobile market in 2013, as they introduce incremental improvements to their market-leading devices.
However, it's when we get to the next big leap forward that the divergence between Apple and Samsung could really matter.
The kind of flexible OLED displays that Samsung is showing off at CES in January are going to change the game. Because they are bendable, less breakable, lighter, thinner, and more energy-efficient, they will unleash a wave a new designs in mobile devices -- lots of things that haven't even been imagined yet, as well as designs that weren't possible until the right technologies and materials were available.
Samsung is far and away the leader in this category. According to its own executives, Samsung produces over 90 percent of the OLEDs currently sold. And it's the only company publicly showing off these types of bendable OLEDs on a large scale -- and it's been doing it for more than two years.
Other companies, like Philips, Sony, and Nokia, have talked up this concept, but none of them are as close to bringing it to the real world as Samsung is.
So, the natural question is where this would leave Apple if Samsung does end up as the clear winner in the OLED race. Would Samsung withhold the technology from its bitter rival and reserve flexible displays only for its own Samsung-branded devices?
The division that makes Samsung displays and the one that makes Samsung smartphones and tablets are two separate businesses within Samsung and each has its own profit-and-loss statements to optimize. So, it's doubtful Samsung would keep the display technology to itself -- at least not indefinitely.
But, since Samsung and Apple have such a fierce rivalry in the mobile market and now have such bad blood between them because of their legal squabbles, it's not hard to imagine Samsung giving its own devices the exclusive first implementation of flexible OLED displays.
It will eventually sell them to Apple and other device makers to make their own designs. But, since this technology represents such game-changing, corner-turning opportunity, the rest of Samsung's competitors will be a step behind and could inevitably be viewed as copycats.
What a turning of the tables that could be.
Apple certainly won't let this pass without a fight. Don't be surprised if Apple makes some quiet acquisitions to bring more display technology and expertise in-house. But, it may already be too late. Samsung could have its earliest flexible OLEDs to market before the end of 2013.
This story originally appeared at ZDNet's Between the Lines under the headline "Could Samsung cripple Apple by withholding the next big innovation in mobile?" | <urn:uuid:4bf7e967-bdcc-4d25-b47f-7bc92c4cbc88> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57560518-37/will-samsung-top-apple-by-withholding-revolutionary-tech/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96371 | 1,031 | 1.578125 | 2 |
By Dov Michaeli
Posted 1/6/12 on The Doctor Weighs In
Massage therapy feels good, everybody loves it. But is it also good for your health? Intuitively we “know” that it is “good for you,” but where is the objective evidence?
For the weekend warriors, which is most of us, the feeling is familiar. You run 10 miles, or do one hundred pushups; you feel great, and disgustingly self-rightous. But then comes the morning-after, and it’s payback time: your muscles are sore, you are waddling like a duck, and you feel generally stupid for overdoing it. First thing you do is reach for the ibuprofen or aleve, or some other NSAID (non-steroidal anti inflammatory drug). Don’t! There is a better way to deal with it.
A February 1, 2012 paper in Science Transnational Medicine by Mark A. Tarnopolsky and his colleagues from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, is the first study that puts our intuitive “gut feeling” on solid experimental ground. The paper is also featured in an article in the New York Times. To assess the effects of massage, they administered either massage therapy or no treatment to separate quadriceps of 11 young male participants after exercise-induced muscle damage. They “inflicted” the damage by having the volunteers exercise on a stationary bicycle for over an hour, to exhaustion. Muscle biopsies were acquired from the quadriceps (vastus lateralis). On a first visit, they biopsied one leg of each subject at rest. At a second session, after the exercise on the stationary bicycle they massaged one thigh of each subject for 10 minutes, leaving the other to recover on its own. Immediately after the massage they biopsied the thigh muscle in each leg again. After allowing another 2.5 hours of rest, they did a second biopsy to track the process of muscle injury and repair.
They found that two intracellular signalling cascades were activated: one that respond to mechanical stimulation (FAK) and one that responds to extra-cellular chemical signals (ERK). Mechanical deformation of tissue is what the kneading and pushing and pressing is what a massage does.
But wait, that’s not all. By examining the biopsies they found an increase in the bio-genesis of new mitochondria. These are the tiny organelles in the cytoplasm that are the cell’s powerhouses. How could the cell increase it’s content of mitochondria in response to massage? By receiving a signal from a protein (PCG-1α) that triggers the synthetic mechanism of mitochondrial biogenesis. This protein was elevated in the massaged tissue.
These finding make perfect sense. After vigorous exercise there are tiny tears in the muscles that need to be repaired. This explains the rise in cell growth and division signals, like FAK and ERK. And the intensive cellular activity that takes place during wound healing requires a lot of extra energy -which is supplied by the newly-formed mitochondria.
These findings explain the enhanced healing of the muscle, but there is another aspect to exercise-induced trauma: the injury itself. It turns out that massage of the injured muscle also helped reduce damage to the muscle fibers. When tissue is injured the body responds with inflammation.
Inflammation is a double-edged sword. It serves to clean out the cell debris caused by the trauma, but in the process it causes damage to the innocent bystanders who happen to reside in the neighborhood; “collateral damage” in military parlance. Only when the inflammation subsides does the re-building of new tissue begin. The instigators of inflammation are the injured cells themselves, as well as white blood cells rushing to the injured site. They secrete proteins called cytokines with such colorful names as interleukin 6 (IL 6), tumor necrosis -α (TNF-α), as well as intracellular factors such as Heat-shock Protein 27 (HSP27), and Nuclear Factor κB (NFκB), all of which all signals for initiating and sustaining inflammation. Is there an effect of massage on the mediators of inflammation? Yes. It reduces their release, thereby limiting their injurious effect on the surrounding muscle fibers.
So now we have the complete picture of what we can call the cell biology of massage. It limits inflammation and its destructive activity, and it promotes rapid healing of the injured tissue.
One last question: why not simply take anti-inflammatory drugs? For two reasons: first, they can interfere with wound healing and actually delay your return to full activity. Second, they are not as pleasant and emotionally healing as a massage given by a masseur or masseuse who know what they are doing. This of course assumes that massage has an effect of the brain, and it does. More on that tomorrow. | <urn:uuid:991e9f11-b291-45a6-87f4-d773f83055bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://careandcost.com/2012/02/07/massage-benefits-the-scientific-evidence/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949252 | 1,039 | 2.171875 | 2 |
How to Install Cement Board (CBU) for Floor Tile
Cement board replaces the old plaster and lathe underlayment for tile. It’s a lot easier to work with preformed cement board rather than laying a bed of mortar on the job site, and it still carries the same great qualities. Cement board is moisture and mold resistant, and it doesn’t deteriorate or warp in the presence of water. For these reasons, and because it bonds so well with mortar, cement board is the preferred underlayment for tile.
I’ve been working with Jim and Rich from Diamond Tile here in Maryland to produce this series of articles. Jim and Rich have been installing tile for nearly three decades, and they are very knowledgable. It’s been great to learn the tricks of the trade from them.
Tools & Materials
- Cement board – usually 1/2″
- Mapei Ultraflex 2 – a polymer modified thinset
- 1/4″ square-notched trowel
- Galvanized roofing nails or cement board screws
- Grinder with diamond blade
- Alkali-resistent mesh tape
Step 1: Plan Layout
There are a few requirements to keep in mind when installing cement board so Jim and Rich always plan the layout a bit. They staggered joints so that four corners never meet, and panels were offset about 8″ from the subfloor joints. Also, the guys maintained a 1/4″ gap around the perimeter walls.
Pro-Tip: Cement board features a smooth side and a textured side, and the textured side provides a better surface for bonding tile.
Step 2: Clean Subfloor
Jim and Rich always clean the subfloor with a foxtail brush. As they cleaned, they inspected the subfloor looking for signs of damage especially around toilet flanges. If the OSB or plywood was flaking, they cut away any loose pieces.
Step 3: Dry Fit
The guys dry fit each piece of cement board before installing, and they placed cut edges around the perimeter, butting factory edges together. Each panel had about 1/16″ gap between adjacent pieces. To cut panels to size or create cutouts for pipes, toilet flanges, etc., the guys used a grinder with a diamond blade. However, a circular saw, jig saw or even a utility knife can be used as well.
Pro-Tip: Cutting cement board with power tools creates a lot of silica dust so make cuts outside if possible.
Step 4: Mix Mortar
Rich mixed up a 5 gallon bucket of mortar. As usual, he let the mortar slake before re-mixing and taking it inside.
Step 5: Spread Mortar
It’s a common mistake to install cement board and skip over laying a bed of mortar. Jim used a 1/4″ square-notched trowel to comb out the mortar, and he spread just enough to lay one row of cement board at a time.
Step 6: Fasten Cement Board
With the mortar in place, the cement board goes down overtop, and it’s fine to immediately walk on it. Rich hammers galvanized roofing nails every 6″ around the perimeter of the panel and throughout the field. The nails ensure good adhesion between the cement board and the mortar. However, the mortar is what holds the cement board in place long-term.
Step 7: Tape Joints
Lastly, the guys use an alkali-resistent mesh tape and mortar to cover all the joints. This locks all the cement panels together, and they act as one, large sheet.
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Enjoy this? Share it! | <urn:uuid:a2d42550-07f1-4d65-8d8c-219cc102a2a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/how-to-install-cement-board-floor-tile/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921948 | 797 | 1.835938 | 2 |
The Akemi research department has formulated a weather resistant Color Intensifier, which is designed to enhance the color and structure of pale and colorless appearing wall and floor coverings, house entrances and terraces, the company reports. During permanent and strong influence of sunlight, the color deepening effect is said to remain long lasting. The Color Intensifier produces a "wet appearance" on non-polished stone surfaces that matches the color of polished surfaces. The product is especially suited for color enhancement of rough, porous, sawed, ground, flamed, absorbent natural and cast stones (such as marble, granite, gneiss, porphyry, slate, Solnhofer limestone and concrete ashlar), according to Akemi.
Furthermore, Akemi Color Intensifier has a water and dirt-resistant effect, which makes the care easier. The stone remains capable of breathing; no odor nuisance appears during application. The product is available in 1-liter and 5-liter packaging.
Circle No. 250 | <urn:uuid:bda1e87c-2399-4dce-a021-813413dc142b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stoneworld.com/articles/color-intensifier | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920474 | 209 | 1.5 | 2 |
Daleks designer Cusick dies aged 84
The man who brought to life Doctor Who's army of Daleks has died aged 84, his daughter said.
Former BBC designer Raymond Cusick will be remembered for devising the race of mutants who move around in tank-like travel machines.
The pepper pot-shaped villains - created by writer Terry Nation - were designed by Mr Cusick based on a short description in the show's scripts.
His daughter Claire Heawood announced his death.
She said he had been suffering from an illness and died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday.
Mr Cusick, from Horsham, West Sussex, had two daughters and seven grandchildren.
Doctor Who is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. | <urn:uuid:c2ff9c9e-eb56-4e17-98b9-6d9a5e8a4a45> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/uk_national_news/10248523.Daleks_designer_Cusick_dies_aged_84/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989692 | 156 | 1.585938 | 2 |
CBS News report from 1975 detailing the last APR 21 2008
CBS News report from 1975 detailing the last World Airways flight out of Da Nang near the end of the Vietnam War.
The flight was supposed be for stranded women and children but as soon as the plane landed in Da Nang, it was swamped by South Vietnamese soldiers attempting to flee the oncoming North Vietnamese forces.
There were 260 people aboard a plane which is designed to carry 105. The plane was overloaded by 20,000 pounds. The baggage compartments were loaded with people. Some of the problems during the flight included, the rear stairway remained partially extended for the entire flight, the main wheels would not retract, a hand grenade damage to one of the wings causing fuel loss, and the lower cargo doors were open. The plane had to fly at 10,000 feet because of lack of pressurization thus fuel consumption was three times greater than normal.
In the end, only 5 women and 2 or 3 children made it onboard. That's some powerful journalism. (thx, brandon) | <urn:uuid:e945d4fe-097c-47c0-8f46-4102b0ff45b1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kottke.org/08/04/cbs-news-report-from-1975-detailing-the-last | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984705 | 217 | 2.046875 | 2 |
After seeing this week's premiere of FOX's new high school musical comedy-drama, Glee, and recently catching Rock of Ages on Broadway, it struck me how classic rock, pop, and pop-metal songs from the '70s and '80s have turned into show tunes.
There used to be a clear distinction between "show tunes" and other songs. Show tunes, as their name implies, came from classic Broadway shows, and sometimes from films of Hollywood's golden era. Popular music that you heard on mainstream radio — whether pop, rock, or country — lived in a separate cultural world. Not that you couldn't like both. But you didn't hear them in the same context.
Now Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" is a show tune. Who would have thought?
I blame Mamma Mia, which helped spawn Jersey Boys and other semi-revues based on popular music. The end is not in sight; there's even a show in development based on Green Day's American Idiot.
Journey's hit, along with many other hard-rock anthems and ballads of its era, form the score of Rock of Ages, the new Broadway hit musical. "Don't Stop Believing" also famously accompanied the controverial final scene of the last episode of The Sopranos, and now it fuels the grand production number that climaxes the debut of Glee, a new show about high school glee club performers.
It's not a current song, by any means, and not the kind of music we'd expect today's high schoolers to be into. But the theater kids are into it, at least on Glee, and why? Because just like a classic show tune, "Don't Stop Believing" is a fundamentally good song that's also deliciously over the top. The kids also make a very funny production number out of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab," a much newer song that shares those traits.
Of course there's always been "showiness" in pop and rock. For every sinewy, straight-up act like Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones, there's an equally successful act that's more self-consciously showy: the glam-rock of Bowie and T-Rex, the grandiloquent Freddie Mercury of Queen, the theatricality of Pete Townshend's Tommy and Quadraphenia scores, the stagy productions of early prog-rockers like Genesis, and of course the arena-pop music extravaganzas of the likes of Cher, Tina Turner, and Madonna.
But there was still a separation. And when rock did start to appear on Broadway, it came in the form of new shows with new music written for them (Hair, Godspell), or material that already existed in "show" form, like Tommy, which was conceived as a rock opera from the start.
Once Abba came to Broadway, there was, it seems, no turning back; it was just a matter of time till Rock of Ages appeared. And just as theater geeks of the '70s took inspiration from the music of an earlier era — what we knew then as "show tunes" — the kids of a new TV show circa 2009 (not to mention American Idol and its cohorts) go back to what is, for them, a correspondingly early era, the '70s.
So pop music feeding the theater is a well-established thing by now, but it's still a bit of a shock, if a happy one, to see Journey, Whitesnake, and Amy Winehouse becoming show tune fodder. Back in the '80s, "oldies" radio stations played doo-wop. Now they play music from the '70s and '80s. The definition has changed. And the same has happened to the meaning of "show tunes." Musical eras are like waves on the beach, arriving one after another, each one crashing, then falling back into the sea to feed the next wave. Cowabunga, dude! And don't stop believing. | <urn:uuid:6a032f11-ff8e-4b41-9eae-ab8be776ce20> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jonsobel.com/?p=530 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956325 | 840 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Answer Tuesday — Trolley tumbles off the ‘Brooklyn Bridge’
Last Friday, I asked if you could name the location of the trolley accident. The accident took place in Carbondale on Brooklyn St. on June 30, 1922. According to reports dispatched to the Scranton Times, the trolley car, Scranton Railway Co. No. 346, was traveling on Brooklyn St approaching a bridge that covers Fallbrook Creek. Suddenly the rear of the car swerved and it crashed through the guard rail on the bridge. Two boys, Donald Kennedy and Joseph Barrett, were sitting on the rail and they were thrown into the creek. The car continued through the guard rail and dropped 14 feet before coming to a stop.
There was 35 passengers abroad the car at the time of the accident. 19 of the passengers were injured. The reporter described the scene as “a tangled mass of struggling humanity in the end of the car.” Here are the names of the injured that were taken to hospital: Donald Kennedy, 14 years old, fractured shoulder and internal injuries; Joseph Barrett, 18 years old, crushed hand requiring some fingers to be amputated at hospital; Kathryn Gilligan, internal injuries; Mrs. Ada Gates, possible hip fracture; Isabelle Swinglehurst, cuts to shoulder and face; Edith Burnett, injuries to right arm and leg. The remaining 16 injured were treated by a family physician at home. The 16 were: William Munley, the conductor; Frank Soloman, the motorman; Sophie Curachak, Alice Binski, Fred Davis, Geraldine Budd, Flossie Robinson, Josie Coyle, Delia Dalton, Elsie Kiest, Dora Briton, Anna Morish, Alfred Masters, Lucy Latka and Loretta Duffy. Most of the passengers were employees of the Stone Silk Co. and office workers of the Ontario & Western Railroad, both located in Childs.
William May, superintendent of transportation for the Scranton Railway Co., released a statement on the accident after speaking with Jilson Coleman, general manager of the company. Mr. May said, “It was truly an accident. There is no apparent cause. The car was on scheduled time, was not traveling fast and was under proper control as it approached the bridge.Both members of the crew were at their proper stations and attending their duties. General road conditions at the point are excellent. The fact that the rear wheels had derailed did not become apparent to the crew because they ran along in the soft dirt and did not bump along the ties.”
Mr. May continued “The car No. 346, was of the largest type we have and had been entirely rebuilt within the last 60 days, so it could not have been any defect in the car. It might have been a broken wheel which caused the accident, but I can’t figure that, because we use solid steel wheels. However, this can not definitely established until we raise the car from the creek. The trucks are still in the water and we will have to get a crane to lift the car out.”
The article appeared in the Scranton Times on June 30, 1922.
I would like to congratulate Kristopher Kruk and Mary Barna for solving our mystery. Keep up the good work.
Remember to stop back on Friday for another chance to play mystery photo. | <urn:uuid:c48c13e1-250c-4e5a-b540-af3788b060ba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.thetimes-tribune.com/pages/?p=2347 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975626 | 693 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Just one in 10 elementary kids walks or bikes to school, a drastic drop from three decades ago when some 60 percent of students relied on the heel-toe express to beat the morning bell.
Some local schools are trying to change that. On Oct. 5, the sixth annual International Walk and Bike to School Day, millions of students from around the globe, including the Chicago area, will use their feet and pedals—rather than mom or dad’s minivan—to get to class.
It’s all an effort to encourage kids to be physically active, and to remind communities that their streets need to be safe for kids, say local representatives for Safe Routes to School, an international movement that promotes walking and biking to school.
"It is just one day, but our hope is that it kicks off a larger desire to make [walking and biking to school] a routine part of kids’ lives," says Melody Geraci, of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation (www.biketraffic.org), which heads up Safe Routes to School initiatives in the suburbs.
During the rest of the year, Safe Routes also helps schools teach bike safety, says Beth Gutelius, of Mayor Daley’s Safe Routes Ambassadors, which works with Chicago schools.
For some kids, the message is getting through.
"I feel good when I ride my bike to school," says Eddy Jakovec, 12, a sixth-grader at John B. Murphy School in Chicago.
Schools must coordinate and raise money for events encouraging kids to walk and bike to school, but Safe Routes can help. Visit either www.chicagowalks.org or www.walktoschool-usa.org for information.
And while it’s work, volunteers say it’s worth it. Hinsdale mom Maryann Romanelli organized Community Consolidated School District 181’s first Walk and Bike to School Day in 2000, hoping to encourage officials to improve area roads, sidewalks and signs.
Volunteers led clusters of kids to the district’s seven elementary schools. The school buses were still running, but they were empty, she says.
On that walk, says Romanelli, one official tripped on a rough patch of sidewalk—a move she couldn’t have orchestrated if she tried. Five years later, she still leads the district’s walk and bike to school festivities—and says Hinsdale has increased its budget to improve the infrastructure around schools.
If your kids are walking or biking to school, remember to be safe, says Gutelius. Kids under 8 should walk with an adult. Look left, right, then left again before crossing the street. Leave iPods and other earphone gadgets at home to hear approaching cars and pedestrians. In neighborhoods without sidewalks, walk in the street against traffic. However, always ride a bike in the direction of traffic and obey the rules of the road, such as stopping at stop signs and signaling turns. Find more safety tips at www.saferoutes- toschools.org/pdfs/SafetyTalkingPoints.pdf.
This article appeared in the
edition of Archives.
Error parsing XSLT file: \xslt\article-detail.xslt | <urn:uuid:ef10a6a8-4c65-4a3e-ad27-d843450923d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chicagoparent.com/magazines/archives/2005/pedal-(and-foot)-power | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948169 | 689 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Written by French botanists who explored North American forests in the late 1700s, The North American Sylva is a monumental work with masterful illustrations and extensive botanic profiles. The book would help France reforest its post-war countryside, and become a landmark in North American forestry. Today, it remains readable and interesting—certainly a work of evergreen value.
"This tree, which surpasses most others in North America in height and in the beauty of its foliage and of its flowers, is also one of the most interesting from the numerous and useful applications of its wood.
In the large towns in the United States, [the tree's] boards ... are exclusively used for the panels of coaches and chaises. When perfectly dry they receive paint well and admit of a brilliant polish. The vicinity of Boston does not produce this tree, and the coach-makers procure it from New York and Philadelphia.
In the spring, [the flowers] are gathered by the women and children in the neighborhood of New York, and sold in the markets of that city." | <urn:uuid:3148e751-c365-4059-a0a1-d09a9f750cd4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gardendesign.com/ideas/art-botany-the-north-american-sylva?pnid=131818 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96609 | 217 | 3 | 3 |
Temperatures Around the World
Provide newspapers for your class. Have your students compare daily temperatures of the city in which they live to that of cities around the world. Have them select 10 cities with a variety of temperatures and see where their city fits in. Have them make a simple graph. | <urn:uuid:a3b2c31c-5e69-45b4-9bee-6b93a0cf0e51> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.innovativeclassroom.com/Teaching-Toolbox/Bell-Work/index.php?id=84 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941842 | 60 | 3.0625 | 3 |
E na lingua, na qual quando imagina
Com pouca corrupção crê que é a latina. (1)
Professor Cyrus Gordon was raised in the old Portuguese rite Jewish congregation of Philadelphia, and he credits his mentor there for establishing the principles which have guided his life. I am privileged to offer him this essay at the intersection of two cultures which have influenced him. May he be granted many more years of productive endeavor.
It is the thesis of this paper that certain unique features of the Portuguese language can be explained as Jewish influences In particular, the Jews' habit of translating the Bible literally into their vernacular influenced their speech, and these Hebraic turns of phrase and constructions penetrated the standard language.
The custom of translating the Holy Scriptures literally into other languages is an ancient Jewish habit which dates back to the first century CE, with the Bible translation into Greek of Aquila, and the Aramaic translations known as Targumim. The translators were not interested in producing a polished translation. It was meant rather to assist the student to understand the Hebrew text, and hence the language could become quite distorted. But this 'pony' served its goal of familiarizing the faithful with the text and meaning of Scripture. There was probably such a Jewish translation into Low Latin (see Vulgar Latin), and hence these translations are in a sense as old as the Romance languages themselves. (2)
Latter day Jewish scholars regarded such jargons with distaste. Isaac Nieto described Judeo-Spanish (or Ladino) in 1740 as 'un castellano-hebraico que no es ni hebraico ni castellano'. (3) and made the effort in his translation of the prayer book to avoid this type of language. Books printed by Menasseh ben Israel in Amsterdam were similarly bowdlerized. In most instances this type of literary activity had no effect on the standard language. Isaac Nieto, Menasseh ben Israel and others wished their brethren to get away from their 'Ladino' and use the standard language. However, the process in Portuguese was somewhat different for reasons which will be discussed later.
The most striking example of a Hebrew calque in standard Portuguese is the expression 'quem me dera' 'who would give me' in the sense of the Castihan ojalá 'would that' lit. 'O Allah grant'... (4) This is the only place in modern Portuguese where the simple pluperfect of any verb (as opposed to the compound form with ter or haver) is used in the spoken language. (5) This verb is a pluperfect in form only, actually being used as an imperfect subjunctive -- compare the use of diera/diese in Spanish. Such an expression is found in no other Romance language, and clearly does not have its basis in Latin. I would posit that this expression is a calque, a literal translation of the Hebrew . In Deut. 28:67 the Arragel Bible -- which uses 'good' Spanish -- translates:
Por la mañana dirás ¡o si ya fuese la noche! e por la noche dirás ¡o si ya fuese la mañana! (6)By contrast, the Ferrara Bible of 1553, which is in the literal Jewish tradition, renders:
Por la mañana dirás quien diesse tarde y en la tarde dirás quien diesse mañana. (7)Compare also in the Spanish Haftara (Jer. 8:23):
Quien diesse mi cabeça aguas... quien me diesse en el desierto.I have also heard the expression 'quien me diera' (not 'diese') in the mouth of an old Jewish lady from Tangier. This expression is not found in standard Spanish, but is alive and well in Portuguese -- a literal translation from Hebrew by means of the Jewish Bible translations into Romance.
Recognition of the influence of the Hebrew Bible can also help solve a problem which has troubled many students of the Portuguese language. José Maria Rodrigues called it
'uma das caracteristicas da lingua portuguesa ... interessante fenómeno morfológico'. (8)Togeby called it
'énigmatique..., une création sensationelle', (9)M. Said Ali referred to it as
'uma forma extrememente curiosa, estranha as linguas irmãs'. (10)This is, of course, the 'infinito pessoal' (the personal infinitive). (11)
'Si l'infinitif personnel est le résultat d'une confusion entre le futur du subjonctif et l'infmitif, pourquoi n'a-t-on pas eu une forme analogue en italien où les conditions étaient les mêmes?'(12)He knew that such a phenomenon exists in Hungarian, as he remarks on its existence in that language. He did not know, however, that such a phenomenon is very common in Hebrew, consisting of the infinitive of the verb plus a suffix. It is my view that the influence of the Jews and of their literal Bible translations was sufficient to carry over this usage into the standard language -- but only in Portugal. (13) Let us observe first that in Jewish Spanish until this day the word for nos is mos.This, added to the infinitive, gives us sermos, estamos which is exactly the Hebrew (= ser) + (= nos or mos) giving (= sermos). Note that classical Hebrew does not require the prefixed - in all cases. This now resembles a finite verb, and hence the other forms of the infinito pessoal were generated by analogy. In Ladino, in general, the form is found in the passive. Thus is rendered in the Ferrara Bible 'fasta seres destruydo' (Deut. 28:61). Otherwise, they are replaced by forms more natural in Romance like 'su poder' 'your (his etc.) being able' -- which is a Hebraism also -- but the true personal infinitive survived only in Portuguese.
There are two other manifestations in Portuguese, which may not have come directly from Hebrew influence, but were retained on account of Jewish preferences.
The forms of the days of the week segunda-feira, terça-feira and so on, are exactly the same as their Hebrew equivalents as found in the first chapter of Genesis. Their use avoids the names of heathen gods found in lunes, martes and so on. The use of feira (= ) may also be Jewish influence, since it is typically optimistic (and effective against the evil eye), compared with the use of the neutral and colorless word día.(14) Of course, this could be an influence from Arabic also, and doubtless early pillars of the Church looked askance at the hint of heathen deities in the names of the days of the week. But strong Jewish preferences in this regard may well have favored the retention of these forms. It is noteworth that Spanish speaking Jews, even today, frequently use al-had (first [day] in Arabic) to avoid the religious implication of the name of the first day of the week ('Lord's day').
Finally, we may mention another typically Portuguese usage. The answer to a question such as 'A moça escreve a carta?' 'Does the girl write the letter?' is not simply sim yes, as in most Romance languages. It is usual to repeat the verb escreve 'she writes, followed optionally by sim. This is typically Hebraic, as in:
And he said: "Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?" And they said: "We know" (Gen. 29:5).This indeed has a basis in Latin, but may well have been preserved in Portuguese under the influence of the literal Bible translations.
I suspect that there is a socio-linguistic
reason why these items exist in Portuguese and not in Spanish, even though
the two languages are closely related. When the Jews were expelled from
Spain, they were given a genuine option of staying and becoming Christians,
or leaving. Of course, it was a great hardship to leave, but they could
leave if they wished. (15)
In Portugal, on the other hand, when the Portuguese in 1497 were unwillingly
forced to expel their Jewish population, they did everything possible to
impede the exodus, and many were forced to stay who did not wish to stay. (16)
This had linguistic results. It was highly dangerous in Spain after the
expulsion of 1492 to do anything that was recognizably Jewish. It was better
not to cover one's face when the monstrance was raised in church, and it
was better not to use typically Jewish expressions. In Portugal, on the
other hand, since the Jews had been forced to stay, there was more tolerance
of judaizing and behaving in ways associated with Judaism and Judaism. (17)
Several periods were granted to former Jews in which deviations from the
Catholic faith were overlooked. In Portugal, Jews did not feel the necessity
to avoid Jewish expressions. Hence they persisted and are still with us.
1. The language [i e Portuguese] which with a little imagination, you can believe is Latin, but little corrupted. L de Camoes, Os Lusiadas, canto I stanza 33. Click on the arrow to return! =>
2. See Encyclopaedia Judaica. IV p. 856. For similar Arabic versions, see the entry Judeo-Arabic. See also my The Spanish Haftara for the Ninth of Ab, JQR 48 1 (1957) pp. 13-34. There the Hebrew
is translated 'sobre mi mi koraçon doloryozo'. =>
3. 'Castilian Hebrew which is neither Castilian nor Hebrew'. Introduction to his Oraciones de Ros Asana y Kipur (London R Reily 1740). Nieto was born in Livorno and lived in London, where for a time he served as the Haham of the Sefardi Jewish Community. =>
4. It is interesting to note that the Spanish expression is Islamic in origin, while I assert that the corresponding Portuguese expression is Jewish. =>
5. In point of fact it is archaic at two removes since the form in haver is now largely restricted to the literary language. =>
6. In the morning you shall say "Would it were night!". And in the evening you shall say "Would it were morning!". =>
7. In the morning you shall say: "Who would give evening" and in the evening you shall say: "Who would give morning!" =>
8. 'one of the characteristics of the Portuguese language... an interesting morphological phenomenon'. J.M. Rodrigues, Sobre o uso do infinito inipessoal, Boletim de Filologia 1 (1932), p. 3. =>
9. 'enigmatic... a fantastic creation'. K. Togeby, L'énigmatique infinitif personnel en portugais, Studia Neophilologica 25 (1955), pp. 210. 216. =>
10. 'an extremely curious form, unknown to the sister languages'. M. Said Ali, Dificuldades da Lingua Portuguesa, Rio: F. Aloes, 1957, p. 55. =>
11. The personal infinitive, also called the inflected infinitive, is formally identical in regular verbs with the future subjunctive:
falar, falares, falar, falarmos, falardes, falarem.The meaning is roughly 'for you to speak', and so on. In irregular verbs it is distinct; thus, the future subjunctive of dizer is based on the stem disser, while the stem of the personal infinitive is the impersonal infinitive dizer. =>
12. 'If the personal infinitive is the result of a confusion between the future subjunctive and the infinitive, then why was there not an analogous form in Italian. where the conditions were the same?' =>
13. The inflected infinitive which appears in the Spanish Haftara quoted above ('ora de seren perdonados nuesos pekados' 'the time of our sins being pardoned', p. 19) is probably a contamination of Spanish by the vernacular Portuguese in use among the Amsterdam Sefardim. Although they used Spanish for trade purposes. their natural language was Portuguese. In the synagogue, announcements (including the.excommunication of Spinoza!) were made in Portuguese, even though the liturgical Haftara was read in Spanish. =>
14. See J. Corominas, Diccionário crîtico etimológico de la lengua castellana (Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1980), p. 881. =>
15. The number expelled is uncertain, since no precise records were kept. Guesses vary from a few tens of thousands to as much as a quarter of a million. Of course, the world population was much smaller at this time. =>
16. See H.P. Salomon, The Portuguese Inquisition and its Victims in the Light of Recent Polemics, Journal of the American Portuguese Cultural Society 5.3-4 (Summer, 1971), p. 21. 'The king. .. wanted to keep the Jews in Portugal. He thought they would be useful to the national economy.' =>
17. On a number of occasions general pardons were granted to those who had judaized. The very form of indictment before the Inquisitional tribunal took these amnesties into account:
This article was first published
Boundaries of the Ancient Near Eastern World (A Tribute to Cyrus H. Gordon),
ed. by Meir Lubetski, Claire Gottlieb and Sharon Keller.
It is included in the Orbis Latinus with the permission of the author.
(see more about Alan D. Corré)
of the Portuguese Language
Portuguese Language Main Page
Orbis Latinus Main Page
This page is part of Orbis
© Zdravko Batzarov | <urn:uuid:a599e5aa-3309-4c4c-be54-f519ca79380f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.orbilat.com/Languages/Portuguese/History/Influence_of_Hebrew.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931605 | 3,039 | 3 | 3 |
Zambia takes its name from the Zambezi River, which forms it's southern boundary with Zimbabwe. Its neighbours include Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi in the east, Congo to the north, Mozambique to the south-east, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana to the south and Angola in the west. Zambia is 750 000 square kilometres and contains a spectacular variety of people, places and wildlife which provides the ultimate African experience.
A leopard surveys his surrounds from a tree
The Real Africa
The tourist slogan adopted by the Zambian National Tourism Board describes the country to perfection. "The Real Africa" evokes images of a land, which is somehow reminiscent of the Africa of old, an Africa where many of the people cling to traditional lifestyles, of wide-open spaces and of wild places where animals and birds dictate the pace of life. Zambia offers all of this and much more in abundance. The spectacular Victoria Falls is Zambia's premier and best-known tourist attraction, however the country, covering a vast area in south central Africa, has many almost unknown attractions.
An aerial view of Victoria Falls - "the smoke that thunders"
The Luangwa Valley
The Luangwa Valley is probably the best known of the wildlife safari destinations in Zambia. Large concentrations of elephant, hippopotamus and buffalo are a feature of this area. The lion and leopard encounters in the Luangwa Valley are legendary. A number of operations have been established both within and on the periphery of the South Luangwa National Park. The North Luangwa National Park remains practically untouched. This is a vast area adjoining the spectacular Luangwa River and the area is a wildlife paradise and provides a wildlife experience unequalled in Africa. The special attraction of this area is its wildness and remoteness and the fact that very few tourists visit the area at present.
An aerial view of the Luangwa River
The Bangweulu Swamps and Lakes
The enormous Bangweulu Swamps and Lakes situated in the northern part of the country remains virtually untouched. This vast area is home to an incredible variety of aquatic and other bird life and the rare and unusual Shoebill. The bird count in the area numbers some 400 separate species. The endemic black lechwe, which occurs only in this area, congregates in enormous herds of up to 10 000 animals. The shy and elusive sitatunga is also found in the swamps together with a wide variety of other species. This area rivals the world famous Okavango Swamps in Botswana.
Elephants wading in the water
The Liuwa Plains
The Liuwa Plains, in the western areas of Zambia, is the venue for southern Africa's only substantial migration, where thousands of wildebeest and zebra migrate across the plains from Angola at the beginning of the rainy season. The area is remote and beautiful and because of the absence of large numbers of tourists, is evocative of an Africa untouched by western influences and in touch with its primeval roots. The area is a mecca for birding enthusiasts and is a superb safari destination. Further south from Liuwa Plains the Zambezi traverses the Barotseland floodplains before spilling over the Ngonye Falls at Sioma. The river is a mecca for fishing and canoeing and for tranquil days under the blue African skies.
A peaceful sunset canoe ride
The Victoria Falls and Lake Kariba
The Zambian bank of the Zambezi River, in the vicinity of Victoria Falls is far less developed than the Zimbabwean bank. An incredible variety of activities including white water rafting, bungi jumping off the Victoria Falls bridge, elephant-back safaris, sundowner cruises on the upper Zambezi River and safaris into nearby wildlife reserves can be enjoyed.
The Zambezi River spills into the enormous man-made Lake Kariba. Most of the lakes shoreline is wilderness and a number of islands dot the lake. The lower Zambezi valley below Lake Kariba is a wildlife wonderland, which can be enjoyed simultaneously with spectacular fishing and boating on the magnificent Zambezi River. The valley is host to large concentrations of wildlife and especially elephant can be seen in large numbers along the banks of the river.
The exhilaration of white water rafting below Victoria Falls
The Kafue National Park and other features
The Kafue National Park, west of Lusaka, is one of Africa’s largest and least disturbed wildlife areas. Vast floodplains, waterways and grasslands stretch seemingly to infinity and the area is a superb wildlife destination.
Other spectacular wildlife and natural features of Zambia include the water wilderness of Lake Tanganyika and Lake Mweru in the far north of the country and the Nyika Plateau National Park in the north-east adjacent to Malawi, which is a spectacular highland area of rolling hills and gentle mountain streams.
Zambia is a spectacular slice of modern and ancient Africa. It is a land of warm and friendly people and spectacular scenery and wildlife. It is also unspoilt by large volumes of tourists and consequently its essential character is unchanged. Direct flights from Europe to Lusaka and via Nairobi and Johannesburg provide easy access to Zambia. Daily flights from Johannesburg to Lusaka and Victoria Falls provide easy regional access to the country.
|Population Density||11||per km2|
|Population Growth||3.2||% pa|
|Life Expectancy (M)||47||years|
|Life Expectancy (F)||50||years|
|Conversion||1 Kwacha = 100 ngwee| | <urn:uuid:1e72fc70-e8af-4c94-9a4e-1ba01f03d74e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://natureworkshop.com/NatureDestinations/CountryDetails.asp?Op=1&CID=12 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909275 | 1,175 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Teamwork, effective work teams, and team building are popular topics in todays organizations. Successful teamwork fuels the accomplishment of your strategic goals. Effective work teams magnify the accomplishments of individual employees and enable you to better serve customers.
If you're experimenting with ongoing teams, start with a few to determine what team activities your organization can support. Teams require resources, and especially, time. Your work teams are most effective when:
- a diverse group of employees is able to participate,
- you limit the number of teams on which any one employee may participate
- the teams establish a regular meeting schedule,
- you require periodic team goal setting,
- minutes or notes are posted from team meetings or projects, and
- teams self-perpetuate by regularly adding newer employees.
There are five work teams that every organization needs. Ive seen many different approaches to team roles and responsibilities. Different organizations may also group responsibilities differently. For example, I asked the safety committee to take on employee wellness responsibilities in one organization. The team refused, preferring instead to add environmental responsibilities. With this in mind, these are the five teams I most frequently recommend.
Often an organizations senior managers or department heads, the leadership team is the group that must pull together to lead your organization. The leadership team is responsible for the strategic direction of your organization, The leadership team plans, sets goals, provides guidance to, and manages your organization.
Motivation or Employee Morale TeamKnown by different names in various organizations, the Employee Morale Team plans and carries out events and activities that build a positive spirit among employees. The teams responsibilities can include activities such as hosting employee lunches, planning company picnics, fund raising for ill employees, and fund raising for philanthropic causes. The team leads the celebration of company milestones, employee birthdays, and the arrival of new babies. The team sponsors company sports teams. You can have fun with this team as the teams only limit is the imagination of the team members.
Safety and Environmental Team
The team ensures the safety of employees in the work place. The team takes the lead in safety training, monthly safety talks, and the auditing of housekeeping, safety, and workplace organization. Recycling and environmental policy recommendations and leadership are provided by the team as well.
Employee Wellness TeamThe wellness team focuses on health and fitness for employees. Most popular activities include walking clubs, running teams, and periodic testing of health issues such as high blood pressure screening. The wellness team can sponsor whole person wellness activities such as how to make a budget or lunch and learns about investment products not investment advice.
Culture and Communication Team
The team works to define and create the defined company culture necessary for the success of your organization. The team also fosters two-way communication in your organization to ensure employee input up the chain of command. The team may sponsor the monthly newsletter, a weekly company update, quarterly employee satisfaction surveys, and an employee suggestion process.
Start several company teams, such as these, and nurture their success. When employees see successful teams, more employees become interested in serving on the teams. The teams make the company a better place to work and provide the opportunity for real employee involvement and commitment.
Teams create a difference in the workplace whether they are ongoing teams or a team that was formed to accomplish a single purpose. Successful teams help you build a true sense of teamwork across your organization. Start with these for awesome success.
Enjoy this article? You can stay up-to-date on everything published here by subscribing to the free HR newsletter. | <urn:uuid:5c1cf8be-1b24-409c-8611-4f0db867c1c9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://humanresources.about.com/od/involvementteams/a/five_teams.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952038 | 733 | 1.96875 | 2 |
Things that made me laugh today, and some that have intrigued me.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Were You Born Mean?
When researchers at the University of Buffalo and University of California, Irvine, set out to look into the neurogenetics of being nice, they set out to collect a few things: first, answers to several survey questions such as "Are people basically good or bad?" and "Do you donate blood? Go to PTA meetings?" and then they asked surveyers to spit.After analyzing the answers and the saliva, they found that some people have receptors that are especially sensitive to the hormones oxytocin and vasopressin, and that those people did nice things even when their survey answers revealed that they generally feared others in society.
"We’ve found that these genes also predict people’s willingness to be nice on behalf of other people or aggressive on behalf of other people," study co-author and assistant professor of psychology Michael Poulin told CNN.
Past tests have shown people to be nicer after squirts of oxytocin in their noses. And without the extra sensitivity to those hormones, this study revealed that people who perceive the world as threatening did not participate in charitable activities. | <urn:uuid:0d876ab0-7041-467d-8e11-d032eea1ea9b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://zagica.blogspot.com/2012/04/were-you-born-mean.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967885 | 251 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Help your child develop his or her motor skills with a Walkness Monster. The walker comes with 12 brightly colored balls that move from the front of the walker and up the handle before dropping onto the included tray and falling down a small hole. The 4 wheels on the bottom help the walker keep up with your active child. A large handle helps your child hold on to it.
- Manufacturer's Suggested Age: 10 Months and Up
- Includes: Balls
- Features: Phthalate-free, BPA Free
- Educational Focus: Motor Skills
- Number of Pieces: 10
- Dimensions: 16.25 " H x 9.5 " W x 20.0 " L
- Product Weight: 5.93 Lb.
- Care and Cleaning: Wipe Clean With a Dry Cloth | <urn:uuid:a2999494-d6ae-4734-b09e-6d7552e7d33c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.target.com/p/b-walkness-monster/-/A-14132520?selectedTab=item-guestreviews-link | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912356 | 169 | 1.640625 | 2 |
At the age of 32, with our household income breaking the $100,000 (US) mark for 2007, I was finally convinced by family and friends to take our tax preparation to a specialist, a Certified Public Accountant (“CPA”). I was always wary of the idea, primarily because since I started filing taxes at age 16, I would usually get a refund of about $200 to $500. And from asking around, I learned that the average price for a CPA to do your taxes was around $250. My taxes were never more complicated than looking at my W-2s (most years there are multiple W-2s, but don’t worry, I’ve never really been fired), and copying numbers from the boxes on the paper into the boxes on the screen.
When we filed our taxes for 2006, now that we were married and filing jointly, things got a little more complicated. We both purchased hybrid cars that year and were expecting the associated tax credits to supply us with a big refund on the order of around $6,000, but the refund we saw was actually closer to $1,200. In 2007, we became homeowners for the first time, which, along with marriage, is also supposed to give you some credit around tax time.
My wife reads. She devours information like Robert Redford in Three Days of the Condor, and she generally surrounds herself with brilliant people. So when she once again floated the idea of using a CPA to help us with our taxes, especially given that the previous year didn’t work out like it was supposed to, I finally conceded. We picked a local independent CPA based on location, and the fact that his web site was usable, accessible, and provided an RSS feed. We’re geeks like that.
Before I went to see our CPA, I took our tax information and plugged it into TaxACT Online, which doesn’t charge you anything until you actually hit the “file taxes now” button, to see what the numbers would look like. I got the shock of my life when I saw that we were projected to owe the IRS over $6,000. This is roughly the same number of dollars I was expecting to see, but in refund form, not as a debt. We’re married! We bought a house last year! How can this possibly be?
Well, I’ll explain in an upcoming entry what I learned about W-4 forms and marriage, but suffice it to say that I was even less inclined to go see a CPA and pay him (in our case it’s a man) hundreds of dollars to tell us that we owe the IRS $6,000. But I’d made a commitment, and there was always a chance that maybe I transposed a number or two, or misunderstood some part of the tax code, and he could fix it.
To make a long story less long, he wasn’t able to fix it, ’cause nobody had really done anything wrong. What I did get from him, however, was two hours’ worth of really good advice. He took a genuine interest in our finances, aligned himself with our point of view about how life should be lived, and gave us specific tasks to do in 2008 that would make filing taxes next year as painless as possible.
I wrote everything down, of course, and will be sharing bits and pieces of his advice with you in the future as it comes up. But the end result is this, unless you’re single and renting, with no investments to speak of, I think it’s worth the cost to hire a professional to help you with your taxes. As of this writing, it’s still early March, and there’s plenty of time to find someone to help you prepare for next year. Just try Googling “certified public accountant [your zip code]” and poke around until you find someone trustworthy, preferably with a blog attached to their site.
My name is Smithee, and I’m an almost-total personal finance newbie. My wife and I bring in over $100,000 a year, and we have no savings at all. Just like Flexo when he started this site, we’re writing here in order to keep ourselves accountable, and to turn our lives around. | <urn:uuid:0f9bdbc6-4212-47f3-b3b9-2d4089b97642> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/hiring-our-first-cpa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985877 | 915 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Gene Transfer Restores Regenerative Power to Circulating Angiogenic Cells
St. Michael’s Hospital ♦ University of Toronto
Published in Molecular Therapy, April 26, 2011
An interesting new approach to autologous cell therapy for patients with coronary artery disease uses gene transfer to enhance the regenerative activity of circulating angiogenic cells (CACs). These rare cells circulate freely throughout human vasculature, and are of interest to researchers because of their ability to promote the formation of new blood vessels and contribute to endogenous vascular repair. The regenerative capacity of these cells is impaired in humans that have cardiovascular disease, however, limiting their use as a therapeutic tool for this patient group.
Noting that the regenerative activity of CACs is linked to the availability of nitric oxide (NO), researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto hypothesized that up-regulation of the gene encoding endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) could remedy the problem. This enzyme, typically found in the vasculature, is responsible for endogenous NO production. To test their theory, researchers used a virus to transduce a construct containing the eNOS gene directly into CACs from patients with coronary artery disease; first they looked at the results in vitro. The modified CACs were able to contribute to angiogenic tube formation when grown in the petri dish along with umbilical vein endothelial cells.
A look at the capabilities of transduced CACs in vivo confirmed the in vitro findings. Transduction of the eNOS gene restored the ability of CACs to improve ischemic hind limb perfusion in an animal model. These data support the notion that CACs may prospectively be used to help repair vasculature in patients with coronary artery disease. In this treatment paradigm, CACs would be removed from patients, isolated in the lab, transduced with the eNOS gene, and then injected back into the patient for tissue regeneration.
Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion Determines Viability of High-Risk Donor Lungs
Toronto Lung Transplant Program ♦ Published in NEJM, April 14, 2011
A large majority of donor lung transplants fail to meet the criteria for lung transplantation. A combination of the damage that occurs following brain death, and the injury that occurs to lung tissue in the ICU, renders them unsuitable for medical use. When using sub-optimal donor lungs, graft dysfunction is prevalent, leading to acute lung injury that occurs within the 72 hours following transplantation.
Normothermic ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) was developed by a group of researchers in Toronto to increase the percentage of donor lungs that can be used for transplantation. This biotechnology allows for the perfusion of lungs at body temperature in an ex vivo circuit that attempts to mimic normal physiological conditions. EVLP lasts for roughly 4 hours, and provides a means to quantitatively assess the function of donor lungs prior to transplantation. In this clinical study, funded by Vitrolife, researchers assessed the feasability of transplanting high-risk donor lungs into patients following EVLP.
During the clinical study a total of 136 donor lungs were transplanted. Of these, 23 were classified as high-risk and underwent EVLP prior to transplantation, while the remainder made up the control group. The primary endpoint of the study was graft dysfunction after 72 hours; secondary endpoints included 30-day mortality, bronchial complications, duration of mechanical ventilation, and length of stay in the hospital ICU. No significant differences were observed in any of the secondary endpoints between treatments. The incidence of graft dysfunction in patients who received high-risk donor lungs prepared with EVLP was only half of that observed in patients receiving donor lungs considered to be “standard” by clinicians (15% and 30% respectively). These results indicate that EVLP does a better job selecting donor lungs for transplantation. | <urn:uuid:f0a4fd60-377d-4e30-8cd9-b8765d67b212> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://crossborderbiotech.ca/2011/04/29/friday-science-review-april-29-2011/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932318 | 813 | 1.859375 | 2 |
[bill2009] wanted to reuse some common seven segment LCDs, but the question was how to drive them. Armed with a couple application notes from [Microchip] and [Atmel], an oscilloscope and an Arduino, he has made a proof of concept which shows its not super hard to drive those little reflective LCDs that so many devices have.
First finding out that these things are indeed multiplexed, he went on to what is needed to drive them, which is about +-2 volts difference from the backplane, next up was to find a donor, which he found readily at Staples, in the form of a “clocky” style run away alarm clock.
After poking around watching what signals do to the different segments on the LCD he whipped up a little circuit to control the display from the Arduino. The positive and negative voltages the segments require are made possible by the use of a set of pull down resistors, and switching pin modes on the micro controller.
These small type segmented LCDs are everywhere, and being able to use them is a big bonus. | <urn:uuid:87d446e6-ef5b-463d-9cad-fd82eb733a79> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hackaday.com/2011/02/10/driving-a-salvaged-lcd/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968108 | 225 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Millions mourn Kim Jong-Il
The following is from Fight Back! News:
The morning of Dec. 19 started like a normal Monday for the Korean staff at the Hae Dang Hwa restaurant in Beijing. The greeting staff welcomed hungry customers at the front door, the chefs began prepping their fine selection of kimchi and other Korean dishes and the waitresses and waiters began taking down orders for their guests. All of that changed when a China Daily reporter mentioned in a conversation with a waitress that Kim Jong-Il, the head of state for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), had died that morning of a heart attack. In minutes, the entire Korean staff – from the waiters to the chefs in the kitchen – broke down in tears and, after apologizing to the customers, closed the restaurant early for the day so they could grieve the national tragedy together.
Several thousand miles away in Pyongyang, mass sorrow like that experienced in this Beijing restaurant took the swept the capital as men, women and children – from the most esteemed party official to the steel worker – took to the streets to mourn Kim’s death.
Most people in the United States have a hard time understanding the sorrow of the Korean people and the Western media spent the better part of the past few days ridiculing this mass display of grief. After all, it’s inconceivable to imagine the death of any U.S. leader – President or otherwise – eliciting unanimous mourning from the American people. Nevertheless, even the harshest critics could not deny the sincerity of the tears shed by the Korean people, both in the DPRK and abroad, on the morning of Dec. 19.
The following article by Masao Suzuki is the first in a three article series from Fight Back! News:
Occupy Boston march, Oct. 10. (Fight Back! News/Staff)
Across the country, the movement sparked by Occupy Wall Street has caught fire. This movement, identified by the slogan, “We are the 99%” targets the 1% of rich and powerful who are running the country for their interests and profit, at the expense of the rest of us who face high unemployment, lower wages, soaring tuition costs, home foreclosures and lack of affordable health insurance. In addition, servants of Wall Street are pushing to dismantle Social Security and Medicare and to raise taxes on the poor while cutting taxes even more on the rich. They say that they have no money, but are sending bombers and troops to more and more countries, so that military spending is now the single largest expense of the federal government, costing more than $800 billion a year.
So who are the 1%? Continue reading
Protestors shout slogans during a rally outside Houston's City Hall Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011. Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Dallas, Houston and Austin on Thursday as cities around Texas joined the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations demanding an end to corruption in politics and business. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
The following editorial is from Fight Back! News:
On Sept. 30, the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) publicly stated that the United States economy was tipping into a new recession. This adds to the growing evidence of a serious slowdown in the U.S. economy, including the zero job growth and falling personal income in August as well as falling prices and sales of homes in August. | <urn:uuid:715b32ad-38fa-4ae1-9d35-4477c8b5f66c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://marxistleninist.wordpress.com/tag/fight-back-news/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955806 | 699 | 1.742188 | 2 |
‘Collaboration’ is being used pretty loosely these days and often in the same breath as enterprise 2.0. But, simply because people work together to meet objectives and reach goals, doesn’t mean they are collaborating. Other ‘c’ words like communicating, co-operating or co-ordinating may be more appropriate descriptions of what is actually taking place.
By recognising the nature of the interactions, we can better understand the restrictions of, and relationship between, the associated behaviours. We can then focus more sharply on initiatives which (i) improve controls and efficiency, or (ii) add value through creativity and innovation, or more ambitiously (iii) both! In terms of technology, that aids in the design and implementation of appropriate spaces for people to work in, equipped with the right tools to facilitate the capture, exchange and creation of information and expertise.
In his article “Collaboration vs C-Three (Cooperation, Coordination, and Communication)“, Leo Denise (1999) distinguished between those terms as follows (and to which I have added a few thoughts):
- ‘Communication’ refers to how people understand each other and how information (including prospects, rumors, feelings and failures) is transferred. Often the problem of communication is thought to be solved with more newsletters, memos and meetings – which often serve only to waste more time by circulating floods of irrelevant generic news and distracting people from the critical activity of listening. Now there’s nothing wrong with noise, provided the means are available to filter the things worth listening to, and then something constructive can be done with the filtered information.
- ‘Coordination’ is about efficiency and making sure people know when and how to act. Because of natural overlaps in organisations, it is important for people to have visibility of what others are doing to avoid redundancy or inconsistency. Whilst coordination tries to get people pulling together, the effort must nevertheless be directed towards a desired goal.
- ‘Cooperation’ is a factor in moving in a unified direction, but highest value doesn’t derive from group think and continually following established norms. Consequently, it needs to be balanced with diversity, and the spark of creativity which comes from ideas, dissent and debate.
- Whilst the above ‘C’s tend towards controlling and centralising efforts, ‘collaboration’ is about creation and is the driver of innovation. It involves bringing people together to achieve a goal which cannot be achieved by applying more effort to the other ‘C’s. ‘Collaboration’ thrives on difference, insight and spontaneity, rather than structural harmony. As such, it requires a shared space, time and environment to allow people to devise the solution to meet the goal.
Conventional enterprise technology that accelerated people’s productive 10 years ago no longer has the same impact, and in fact is counter-productive for many workers in today’s global, information overloaded environment. The classic example here is the systemic overuse of email as the means to facilitate each of the ‘C’s. Whilst email doesn’t necessarily need to be replaced, it does need to be put in its place. And with the range of social tools presently available, companies’ competitiveness will depend on identifying and adopting those tools which best suit their work processes. In fact, when integrated in a platform, social tools can facilitate new models of interaction, co-creation, collective intelligence, networking and user participation, whilst supplementing traditional face-to-face, telephone and email communications.
This is precisely what Gary Curtis of Accenture was reporting in yesterday’s Financial Times (5 November 2008):
“At Proctor & Gamble … an internal social network modeled closely on YouTube is proving effective for communicating complex programme initiatives and for better connecting large, geographically dispersed teams. … Other consumer-oriented [social tools] are proving equally beneficial in enterprises. Members of a team at a multinational had been sending as many as 150 emails a day discussing their project while never being certain of involving the right people. When they moved the discussion to a blog, their email boxes emptied, and the key team members joined in as needed.”
These examples illustrate how efficiencies can arise from facilitating better communications and coordination of efforts. We are also seeing improvements to these ‘c’s through the use of personal dashboards. They are ideal for allowing people to easily add content, and organise their feeds and information widgets. As a result, people have precisely the information they want, in the manner they want to receive it, which helps increase their productivity and connections. And because people’s activities and interaction with content are aggregated, everyone has a clear up-to-date picture of each other’s work, status, interests, favourites and connections with other people in the firm.
Enabling people to interact with information and each other in this way has a dramatic (measurable) effect on people’s productivity, by reducing the amount of time spent looking for information and expertise, or re-doing work completed in another business unit. It also means that people send and receive fewer emails and instead get more precise requests for assistance.
We have also seen how teams are better able to co-ordinate their resources through group spaces (e.g. in wikis) and online discussions (e.g. in group blogs). Those tools give people visibility of a range of information, including recent or important projects, actions, discussions, comments, news and events, and ensure people know who’s working on what. With greater delivery of information, and its filtering using tags and ratings, the immense flow of information which now inundates people can instead be tailored to their needs, put into context (e.g. of a project, client matter, pitch or operation issue), and made more relevant to daily work.
Instead of broadcasting information in mono-directional newsletters, people can engage in discussions. And through those discussion, views can be debated, actions negotiated and common goals established. But that requires the creation of spaces where people feel confident about participating and that it is worthwhile to do so. In other words, to ‘get with the group’ there needs to be a culture which accepts that people don’t necessarily add value by contributing non-contentious thoughts. Consequently, ‘cooperation’ in the enterprise 2.0 sense provides the space and leadership to cope with challenges to existing norms, processes and assumptions.
Improvements to each of the above ‘c’s sets the stage for a culture and organisational structure conducive to creative and collaborative work practices. Practices that thrive on spontaneity and interaction, and result in the types of innovative products and processes which give a company its edge. Practices that are so well supported by new social technologies, such as facilitating social connections between employees split by geographical and organisational distance, increasing people’s peripheral vision and thereby enabling them to stay up-to-date with and share information, ideas and expertise, and ensuring they can easily create communities of practice built up around conversations and common interests revealed through on and off line activity.
Therefore, providing workers with more flexibility in how they communicate with each other, and customers, can result in new forms of cooperative action, more fruitful collaboration, faster decision-making, and greater productivity. And whilst its a question of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ companies introduce social tools, having a clear view of the driver for their introduction (i.e. tending towards efficiency or value-added/innovation) will ensure the appropriate technologies are implemented and organisational behaviours nutured. | <urn:uuid:969e4daf-f407-4abb-976b-c26f791462fb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pennyedwards.wordpress.com/2008/11/06/are-we-really-collaborating/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953951 | 1,588 | 2.75 | 3 |
7-God At Work
7- God at Work
We now come to the same passage we discussed in the last chapter, but to look this time not at man but at God. For centuries a dirty lie about God has been making the rounds. This lie suggests that at the fall of man God ruthlessly lowered the boom on guilty Adam and Eve, that he gave them no chance to explain but simply tracked them down, sternly rebuked them (my children would say he yelled at them), began cursing everything in sight, and ended by booting Adam and Eve out of the garden--slamming and locking the door behind them. Nothing could be further from the truth! We must trace very carefully the actions of God in this account because, of course, this is the same way God will treat us after we fall into temptation.
God begins his dealings with man by raising three questions. The first one is found in verses eight and nine:
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the nun and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" (Genesis 3:8,9)
It is most striking to me that all religions, apart from Christianity, begin with man seeking after God. Only the Bible starts with the view of God seeking after man. That highlights an essential difference between our Christian faith and the other great religions of the world. Furthermore, this first question in the Old Testament is matched by the first question asked in the New Testament. Here, God is asking man, "Where are you?" and in the New Testament, in Matthew, the first question that appears is that of certain wise men who come asking, "Where is he?"
If we take this account in the garden literally (as I believe we must), then it is clear that God habitually appeared to Adam in some visible form, for now Adam and Eve in their guilt and awareness of nakedness hide from God when they hear the sound of his footsteps in the garden. This indicates a customary action on God's part. He came in the cool of the day, not because that was more pleasant for him but because it was more pleasant for man.
We know from Scripture that whenever God appears visibly in some manifestation it is always the second Person of the Godhead, the Son, who thus appears. If that is true then we have here what is called a theophany, that is, a visible manifestation of God before the incarnation. Thus the One here who asks of Adam and Eve, "Where are you?" is the same One of whom later men would ask, "Where is he who was born King of the Jews?"
Now notice the importance of this question, "Where are you?" Suppose you were on your way to a friend's house, but got lost and called him up to direct you. What would have to be his first question? "Where are you?" He would have to know where you are in order to have a starting point for his directions.
Today we are seeking to find a way out of the confusing situation which prevails in our world. We will never do it until we start with this question which God first asked man, "Where are you?" "Where am I?" Perhaps the reason many are unable to be helped today is either because they cannot or will not answer that question. Ask it of yourself now. Where are you? In the course of your life, from birth to death, moving (as you hope you are moving), to develop stability of character, trustworthiness, integrity of being, all these qualities which we admire in others and want in ourselves--where are you? How far have you come? Until you can answer that, in some sense at least, there is no possibility of helping you. What do you say?
Perhaps you will have to say, "I don't know where I am. I don't know. I only know that I am not where I ought to be, nor where I want to be. That's all I can say." If that is all you can say, at least it's an honest answer and therefore the most helpful answer you can give, and in that sense is the only right answer. "I don't know. I only know that I'm not where I ought to be."
Now God's second question to man is even more significant:
And he [Adam] said, "I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." He [God] said, "Who told you that you were naked?" (Genesis 3:10)
Let us be sure we read that question rightly. God is not asking Adam, "Look, who let the cat out of the bag about this? What rascal has been telling you tales out of school?" No, this is a rhetorical question. God does not expect a direct answer; it is a question designed to make Adam think.
An Inner Change
God is asking "how do you know this? You say you're naked; you didn't know that before. From what source has this knowledge come? Something has happened, a change has occurred; where did your knowledge come from?" The answer, of course, is that no one told him. Then how did he know?
It did not come from without at all, it came from within. A change had occurred within him and instinctively he senses that change and knows something that he did not know before. An evil knowledge has come to man, just as God said it would. The tree of which he partook was the tree of "the knowledge of good and evil," and by partaking man immediately gained an evil knowledge. From where did it come? From within. It is the birth of conscience, that strange faculty within us that tells us often what we do not want to hear. This is what God awakens Adam to see.
Now, in order to sense the full significance of this, we must link it with the first question, "Where are you?" which had only one proper answer; "I'm not where I want to be. I'm lost, hopelessly lost, hidden. I don't know where I am." Well, why don't you? Why is it that we have such difficulty pinpointing ourselves in our progress and relationship to the world around us? It is because of something within, isn't it? Remember Jesus said that it is not what enters a man which defiles him, but what comes from within. For out of the heart of man proceeds evil thoughts, fornication, murder, adultery, covetousness, licentiousness, pride, foolishness--all these evil things come from within and defile a man (Matthew 15:11-19).
It is what I am within which makes me ashamed and guilty, and sends me scrambling for fig leaves to cover myself up. Someone has well said, "If the best of men had his innermost thoughts written on his forehead, he'd never take his hat off." We know this is true. The basic, fundamental issue of humanity is not what is happening outside, but what is happening inside, within us.
Now God moves to his third question and it is in two parts, one addressed to the man and one to the woman.
"Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" The man said, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." Then the Lord God said to the woman "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent beguiled me, and I ate" (Genesis 3:11-13).
Now there is something very interesting here. God asks them both the same question. He is saying to each, "Tell me, what is it that you did? Specifically, definitely, clearly; what is it that you did?" But there is an exquisite touch of delicacy and grace here, which I hope you do not miss. He does not put the question in the same form to each. To the man he is forthright and blunt. "Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"
But to the woman he puts the question much more softly and gently. Every married man knows that his wife does not like a direct question. A man may say to his wife, "Where did you buy this meat?" Her answer is not usually, "At Safeway," but perhaps, "What's wrong? Why do you ask?" or, "I bought it where I always buy it." If he says to her, "Have you seen so-and-so lately?" she says, "What's happened?" Or perhaps she says, "Well, I never get out to see anybody--you know that." Or, "Why would I want to talk to her, anyway?" It is comforting to me to realize how fully God understands women and to see him put the question to her very gently. He says, "Tell me in your own way now, what is this that you have done?"
In their answer it is significant that both of them come out at the same place. Each blames someone else (we now call this "human nature," it is so widespread, so universally true), but when they come to their final statement they both use exactly the same words, "and I ate."
Reduced to the Facts
This is where God wants to bring them. This is what the Bible calls "repentance." It is a candid statement of the facts with no attempt to evade them, color them, or clothe them in any other form. It is a simple, factual statement to which they are both reduced; "and I ate." This is the point God has been seeking to lead them to.
Do you see how these questions have followed a certain course? God has made them say, first, "We're not where we ought to be--we know that. We ought not to be hidden here in the garden. We ought not to be lost. We ought not to require a question like this, 'Where are you?'" Then God has made them see that it is because something has happened within them. They have seen that they are where they are because of what they are, and that it all happened because they disobeyed, because they ate the forbidden food, they sinned. God has led them gently, graciously and yet unerringly to the place where each of them, in his own way, has said, "Yes, Lord, I sinned; I ate."
That is as far as man can ever go in correcting evil. He can do no more. But this immediately provides the ground for God to act. This is where he constantly seeks to bring us. This is seen throughout the whole Bible, in the Old and New Testaments alike. When God is dealing with men he seeks to bring them to the place where they acknowledge what is wrong.
Remember Jesus' dealing with the woman of Samaria at the well? After they have been involved in a discourse about the meaning of the water, he awakened her curiosity and interest by offering her living water so that she would not have to come to the well to draw. He then forthrightly put the demand, "Go and call your husband."
That elicits from the woman the only answer she could honestly give. "I have no husband," she says. Then Jesus lays it right out before her. "That's true," he says, "you have no husband. You have had five husbands, and the man you are living with now is not your husband, in this you said truly." He commends her for speaking the truth and from that point on he moves to open her eyes to the character of the One who stands before her (John 4:7-26).
Now this is what God wants to do with us. He finds us in our failure, our estrangement, our guilt, our sense of nakedness and loss, and immediately he moves to bring us to repentance. We misunderstand his moving. We think he is dragging us before some tribunal in order to chastise us or to punish us, but he is not. He is simply trying to get us to face the facts as they are. That is what he does here with Adam and Eve. As John says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all on righteousness" (1 John 1:9).
As soon as Adam and Eve say these magic words, Òand I ate," there are no more questions from God. There is no more prodding or probing on his part. God begins now to speak to the serpent, to the woman, and to the man. What he says to the man and the woman is not punishment, as we will see shortly, but grace. How badly we have misread these passages in Genesis. And when he gets through, we read these wonderful words:
And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them (Genesis 3:21).
Here is the beginning of animal sacrifices: God sheds blood in order to make clothing for Adam and Eve. He made them from the skins of animals and therefore those animal lives were sacrificed to clothe Adam and Eve. This is but a picture, as all animal sacrifices are but pictures-a kind of kindergarten of grace--to teach us the great truth that God eternally attempts to communicate to us as men and women. Ultimately it is God himself who bears eternally the pain, the hurt, the agony of our sins. As John the Baptist said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away [who is continually taking away] the sin of the world!Ó (John 1:29)
Paul uses a wonderful phrase in Ephesians, "accepted in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6, KJV). When we have acknowledged our guilt, when we have acknowledged that what we have done is contrary to what God wants, and we stand before him without attempting to defend ourselves, but simply in honest acknowledgment of our own doing, then, Paul says, we are "accepted in the beloved."
There were many sheep farms in the area of Montana where I grew up. Spring was the season when the little lambs were born. But spring in Montana can be brutal; sleet storms can come whirling down out of the north, and snow can still be three or four feet deep on the prairies. Often there are long, protracted seasons of bitter cold during lambing season.
Of course, when the sheep must bear lambs in that kind of weather many of the lambs and ewes die. As a result, sheep farmers have many mothers whose newborn lambs have died, and many newborn lambs whose mothers have died. A simple way to solve the problem, it would seem, would be to take the lambs without mothers and give them to the mothers without lambs, but with sheep it is not that simple. If you take a little orphan lamb and put it in with a mother ewe, she will immediately go to it and sniff it all over, but then she will shake her head as though to say, Well, that's not our family odor, and she will butt it away, refusing to have anything to do with it.
But the sheep men have devised a means of solving this problem. They take the mother's own little dead lamb and skin it, and take the skin and tie it onto the orphan lamb. Then they put the little lamb with this ungainly skin flopping around--eight legs, two heads--in with the mother. She pays no attention at all to the way it looks, but she sniffs it all over again, and then she nods her head, all is well, and the lamb is allowed to nurse. What has happened? The orphan lamb has been accepted in the beloved one.
There came a time when God's Lamb lay dead on our behalf and God took us orphans--he does it all the time--and clothed us in his righteousness, his acceptability, his dearness and nearness to him, and thus we stand "accepted in the Beloved One," received in his place. That is where repentance brings us.
It Doesn't End Here
But repentance is not only for the beginning of the Christian life. It is the way you start as a Christian, true. You come to God, like Adam and Eve, and say, "Yes, Lord, I'm the one. I've been running from you, I've been hiding from you, I've been estranged from you. It's because of what I've done. No one else is to blame but me." Then immediately God says, "I've taken care of all that. My Lamb has died for you and you stand in his place, acceptable to me." That is the way you begin the Christian life.
But that is only the beginning. Repentance is the basis upon which the whole Christian life is built. We must be continually repenting of those areas where we fail or fall back upon a way of living which God has said is not right. I find that as a Christian I am repenting far more than I ever did before; about things I never dreamed of repenting of before, because I am learning more and more that the Christian life is lived on a totally different basis.
I find I must repent of my self-dependence, and so must you. "Without me," says the Lord Jesus, "you can do nothing." If you attempt to do anything apart from that sense of dependence upon him to work through you, you need to repent, to change your mind, to accept again the covering of God, the clothing of his grace, the cleansing of his love.
This can, and perhaps will, occur dozens of times a day until we learn at last, little by little, to walk in this way, to count on his working. He is ours, and all that he is belongs to us. This is standard operating procedure, not just emergency treatment.
Now that Adam and Eve are standing before God, having acknowledged their sin, having said the same thing about it that God said, having admitted that they did the thing God said was wrong, his whole relationship to them has changed and he is on their side, he is "for" them, as Paul tells us God is "for" us (Romans 8:31). He has been this way all along but Adam and Eve could not enjoy it until they repented.
Prayer: Our Father, we thank you that we can echo with the Apostle Paul these words, "if God be for us, who can be against us?" If his love is made available to us then nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord. We pray that this may have meaning for us more and more, as we learn to repent of our self-dependence and to cling consciously and helplessly to the continual flow of grace and strength from our loving God. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. | <urn:uuid:050a3fec-94e5-4627-a669-a568e4827ceb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fcap.org/index.php?page=7-god-at-work | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986508 | 3,995 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Advocates for female ordination in the Catholic Church welcomed the news on Monday that Pope Benedict XVI is resigning.
Pope Benedict prays at catholic Fatima shrine in Portugal, May 2012.
Catholic Church (England and Wales)
NEW YORK (WOMENSENEWS)—The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI is a "holy shakeup" in the Catholic church, according to an association advocating for the ordination of female priests, the National Catholic Reporter reported Monday.
"The Pope’s resignation is a positive sign that the Spirit is at work renewing the church," the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests said in a press statement.
"We need a top down shakeup and new structures of accountability in the Roman Catholic Church," said the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, which ordains women outside the formal structures of the church. "Married priests, women priests, are only a few of the necessary steps the Vatican needs to take in a more just and compassionate church that honors the gifts of God in the people of God."
The pope announced on Monday that he is resigning for health reasons and will step down on Feb. 28. A papal conclave will follow to elect his successor, who will be in place by the end of March, in time for Easter, The Los Angeles Times
reported Jan. 11.
Pope Benedict is the first Pope to resign since the 1500s. He was elected in 2005 to succeed the enormously popular John Paul.
During his years as leader of the Vatican, Pope Benedict strengthened the Church’s opposition to female priests, alienating some women. He also worked to reinforce Church teachings against abortion and birth control.
Benedict eventually accepted to review the church’s stance on contraception, Business Week
reported Jan. 11. He commissioned a 200-page report to explore the effect that condoms could have in stopping the spread of infectious diseases, including AIDS. The effort eventually yielded to a more practical attitude to sex. In 2010, Benedict said that condom use can be justified in “single cases,” for example by sex workers, as a necessary “humanization of sexuality.”
Pope Benedict turned the Church back to its orthodox roots, Forbes
wrote Jan. 11. He has been criticized for making insulting remarks to Muslims, financial scandals during his tenure and doing little to address the priest sex abuse scandals and for calling homosexuality an intrinsic moral evil.
He later apologized for the church’s shortcomings in not better protecting children from wayward priests and he met and prayed with victims of abuse.
BIO: Hajer Naili is a New-York based reporter for Women’s eNews. She has worked for several radio stations and publications in France and North Africa and specializes in Middle East and North Africa. Follow her on Twitter @H_NAILI | <urn:uuid:34ed23d9-6eb6-4cc2-bca6-ab6bc652a173> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mailto:editors@womensenews.org/story/religion/130211/female-ordination-group-sees-%E2%80%98holy-shakeup%E2%80%99-0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96119 | 587 | 1.71875 | 2 |
I'm Julie Marcus. I'm an
anthropologist. I've written
a biography of Olive Pink
whom I first came across in 1984 and it was the stories circulating around the town of Alice Springs that really attracted me to her. And then I discovered she was an anthropologist and, as I hadn't heard of
her, I thought
I'd better have a look and see who this amazing woman was.
In 1930 she came
here at the age of 46 for the first time, and she really lost her heart
to Central Australia, to the people who lived here and to the Aboriginal people who were really struggling with the first impact of colonisation at that time.
Her first understanding of herself was an artist so she really loved painting the Australia wildflowers. And it was very fortunate for her and perhaps for us that in the year after her mother died and Olive Pink inherited a small legacy she was also able to get cheap rail tickets from the Railway Commission where she worked, and to have a holiday to recover from losing her mother.
And that tour brought
her up from Adelaide on the Ghan, from Adelaide to Alice Springs. And she stopped at the railway sidings and hopped on and off
that train and she sketched the whole way and she met
Aboriginal people as she came along the track, talked to them. And she hopped up
on a camel and off she did, she rode off
with three Aboriginal men into the desert.
A lone white woman was a rarity in those times and Olive Pink dressed in the clothing of her youth, at the turn of the century. She wore long skirts, long sleeved blouses with high-buttoned necks. She often wore a cravat around her neck and, of course, a hat and often gloves, and so there were lots of stories about this old woman who was a witch and who haunted the streets of Alice Springs.
As an anthropologist - she did some anthropological training - she came to Alice Springs which is right in the centre of Australia and did two lots of field work. One time she was at Junction Waterhole, just north of Alice Springs, about 30 miles out of the town. Her other field work was done among the Warlpiri people of the Tanami Desert which is north west of Alice Springs and she lived for four years at a place called Thompson's Rockhole, which is close to The Granites.
She wanted to try to find out what Aboriginal people wanted for themselves and she tried to browbeat and harass the government into giving them the sorts of policies and the sorts of choices that other Australians have.
So, really, the most extraordinary thing about her is her hardiness in the face of real opposition and her determination. I think almost every day of her life she would have written to someone.
Now she also, she wrote
to friends and family, long newsy letters, about her life up here but the other letters that she wrote were the fierce letters she wrote to politicians over party and in every jurisdiction, asking them to take action on behalf of Aboriginal people.
She had a magnificent Victorian era hand which was very expressive and large letters and they were full of information and instructions and directions but they were often quite hard to follow because she was the queen of the digression. So if she thought a point she was making wasn't quite clear she'd throw in a bracket and it would repeat it and then she'd have a couple of dashes and a few exclamation marks, and then she'd put it in a different way just in case they didn't understand it.
And the important points were underlined three or four times and then she'd get out the coloured crayons and she'd.. the really important points would be in green or blue or red or orange, and the end of a particularly damning statement would have four or five exclamation marks and then perhaps a couple of question marks and then the red underlining.
She lived until she was 90. She was still writing letters to politicians saying 'You Devil, you've done the wrong thing. Why are you doing that?' and they just hated it.
Just after her 90th birthday she died and that was in 1975, and at that time she had been living for many years in a corrugated iron shed. She was living in very reduced circumstances
. All her money had been spent
on her anthropological research and on the Aboriginal people that she wanted to help. And she really lived on the sniff of an oily rag
She absolutely loved the Central Australian landscape and that love sustained her for the rest of her life. She just loved to sit in the bush and look up at the McDonnell Ranges and see Mt Gillan, and then she'd have a sweet sherry at the end of the day and go to bed. | <urn:uuid:eeff923a-03f1-4c8a-a127-b9873016f344> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://australianetwork.com/nexus/stories/s1912654.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991535 | 991 | 2.03125 | 2 |
I have toddler twins that are currently in the same class at school. What research has been done so that I can decide whether or not to separate them next year?
This really depends on your twins. There is no generic answer that fits every twin couple. It all depends on the competitiveness of the children. If you see that one is constantly overruled by the other, splitting up might be good. If they really develop well and they like the others company, let it be in one class. We have kept our twins together, but we continue to assess the situation.
Don't separate unless there's a good reason to.
Here's my story, and the reasons behind it:
We were separated because my brother relied too much on me; he didn't make notes on what housework was required, so if I didn't write it down or remember, we were both screwed. By separating us, my brother learned to get by alone, and so it wasn't a problem that we were in the same class again later.
But the separation had social downsides because the two classes were not on speaking terms so we were isolated from each other also during breaks, and having class friends over was always difficult. The teachers knew about this class "war" in advance but didn't think it would matter. It did.
So if there is a good reason to separate, and there are no serious known downsides, then do go ahead. But consider when and how to join them again if other issues arise.
At the same time, make sure they get opportunity to spend enough "twin time" together away from that "split-class" context, like in a sports club or scouts club. | <urn:uuid:2581286f-2b06-4f71-9fb8-d485a6afc534> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://parenting.stackexchange.com/questions/17/have-there-been-long-term-studies-on-the-effects-of-separating-twins-at-school?answertab=votes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986789 | 346 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Reading the answers to Python vs. Perl in ten years time here on SE, most people seem to say go with Python. I agree (sorry Perl fans ;-) ). I already know Python, and I think it is a very good language, sure, as any programming language it does come with its defects, but when I tried Perl I just didn't like it nearly as much as I liked Python.
I "know" C, Python, Java and Scheme and have toyed with several other languages. Now, is there any good reason for me to learn Perl? What is Perl "better" at than Python?
I do (hobby) application development and am learning some systems development as well (mostly programming for the Linux kernel).
I'm pretty sure Perl is not fundamentally enough different from what I know this far to broaden my mind too greatly either (I would probably do better by focusing on Haskell, Scala, Forth or something like that for that purpose). | <urn:uuid:b01d963e-8828-4d6a-b07b-5273b65b98ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://programmers.stackexchange.com/questions/65150/is-there-any-good-reason-for-someone-who-knows-python-to-learn-perl/65236 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979008 | 196 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Jacquelyn Martin / AP file
Will Americans believe President Barack Obama was fighting for their consumer rights by trying to force a vote on Consumer Financial Protection Bureau nominee Richard Cordray, or will they believe Senate Republicans were fighting to prevent creation of an unwieldy new government agency with unchecked powers?
We're about to find out.
Thursday morning brought congressional theatre that ended with the Senate effectively rejecting Obama's nominee to head the newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. There was little mystery to the vote -- 44 Republicans pledged in May to block his nomination, and only 41 were needed to spike it. The final tally was 53-45, with Republican Olympia Snowe of Maine voting "present." Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, facing the bureau's inventor Elizabeth Warren, was the lone dissenting GOP vote.
The only mystery is, who will Americans blame now?
Obama and Democrats spent the week campaigning for Cordray in several states where Republican Senators face re-election campaigns, including Maine and Nevada. Senate Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky responded by accusing Obama of playing politics.
“Now he’s suddenly making a push to confirm his nominee — because it fits into some picture he wants to paint about who the good guys and the bad guys are in Washington,” McConnell said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “... So once again he's going to use the Senate floor this week to stage a little political theater. He’s setting up a vote he knows will fail so he can show up afterward and say he’s shocked.”
Speaking in Kansas on Tuesday, Obama argued that Republicans are simply being obstinate.
"Nobody claims (Cordray's) not qualified,” he said in a speech about the economy. “But the Republicans in the Senate refuse to confirm him for the job; they refuse to let him do his job. Why? Does anybody here think that the problem that led to our financial crisis was too much oversight of mortgage lenders or debt collectors?”
Political considerations aren't far behind, however, as White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Republicans who vote against Cordray will have to "to explain to their constituents why they did not support common sense reforms," according to the Wall Street Journal.
As a practical matter, Thursday's cloture vote prevented Democrats from ending debate on the Cordray nomination, thus preventing an actual vote on his nomination. It doesn't mean Cordray has no shot to run the agency, however. The administration could still attempt a recess appointment, and some observers speculate that the Senate vote is merely a step along that path.
Such a move could threaten the legitimacy of the entire agency, however, and would undoubtedly lead to accusations foul play from Republicans, and perhaps trigger litigation from banks the agency would try to regulate.
But without a director, the bureau is already hamstrung on a number of fronts. Many of the bureau's regulatory powers don't kick in until a director is named. It can't supervise so-called non-bank banks, like payday lenders, for example.
“The list of financial tricks and traps that consumers are forced to deal with keeps growing,” said Travis Plunkett, legislative director of the Consumer Federation of America, an advocacy group. “Fourteen months after Congress created the CFPB, the agency needs a permanent leader so it is not fighting financial abuses with one arm tied behind its back.”
The nascent bureau has begun to take on some less controversial tasks during this start-up phase. Last week it announced results of a story of credit card complaints; this week it released a new, simplified model credit card agreement that cuts down verbiage from 5,000 to 1,100 words.
Still, Republicans held firm, because they say the new consumer bureau would have too much power as currently constructed. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking committee, went so far as to call it "a monster, as far as future regulation."
Five Republican Senators, including moderate Susan Collins of Maine, attended a public event on Tuesday to reiterate their view that the bureau shouldn't fully open for business unless dramatic changes are made.
“It is inconceivable that in this time of tight budgets that we would create a new agency that is completely unaccountable in terms of its budget,” Collins said.
Among their demands: the bureau should be led by a commission, not an individual; it should be not have its own source of funding from the Federal Reserve; and it should be subject to Senate committee oversight.
So far, Democrats haven't budged on any of those demands -- setting up a fight over public opinion that Obama didn't shy away from at his speech in Kansas,
"Every day we go without a consumer watchdog is another day when a student, or a senior citizen, or a member of our armed forces … could be tricked into a loan that they can't afford -- something that happens all the time," he said. "And the fact is that financial institutions have plenty of lobbyists looking out for their interests. Consumers deserve to have someone whose job it is to look out for them. And I intend to make sure they do. And I want you to hear me, Kansas: I will veto any effort to delay or defund or dismantle the new rules that we put in place." | <urn:uuid:76c0f921-f030-47d4-ada3-62008da57127> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://redtape.nbcnews.com/_news/2011/12/08/9280557-senate-gop-blocks-consumer-agency-nominee-cordray-but-whos-to-blame?lite | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971059 | 1,101 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Do you really think your posts on social media are private?
Yesterday, social media was ablaze after reports started to emerge that the company had changed its policy to that which it would essentially be able to sell user’s photos to companies without compensating the user. Instagram users took to Twitter and Facebook to voice their displeasure. Many users hastily deleted their account. Many celebrities have already deleted their accounts out of fear that their pictures will be used for advertising purposes without their consent. The new changes were supposed to go into effect on January 16th.
In addition, National Geographic posted on its account that it would be suspending posting new photos until there is a clarification to the new terms. Later that evening Kevin Systrom, founder of Instagram, blogged that there was a miscommunication of sorts and that by no means would Instagram sell photos without consent from the user (don’t know if I believe him, but I sure believe that he got scared he’d begun the downfall of his fledgling company).
I have an Instagram account. As well as a Facebook and Twitter account. I do not post pictures of myself or my family on these social media apparatuses. No matter the written policies I don’t trust that the pictures aren’t stored somewhere in perpetuity. I am very cautious with what I post as well. I think it is a bit naive to think that you can post something online and it somehow remains private. If you want your thoughts to remain private, don’t post anything.
As for this latest controversy, I did not delete my account for the following reason. I first did not believe for a second that this would end up happening. There is no way this company would be able to survive the departure of most of its users. Many people have started accounts because they follow other users be them celebrities or other organizations. If they go, so will their fan base (I one of them).
I think people need to remember that Facebook recently bought Instagram. Facebook has certainly had its share of privacy setting backlash. In the end, the users always win. Some people may have forgotten that not too long ago Facebook floated the idea of charging a $1 annual membership. The backlash to that proposal shut down any future suggestion.
My questions to you are the following:
If you do use any social media, do you honestly believe that your statuses, tweets, updates or pictures will forever remain public?
And do you really believe that Instagram would systematically kill its company by changing its policy to where it essentially steals the rights of your photo?
Twitter: @adrakontaidis & @talkrealdebate
About adrakontaidisA conservative who doesn't pander to the GOP.
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- What would you do if you won the Powerball Jackpot? wp.me/p2Gcas-Ri via @wordpressdotcom #Powerball #lottery #MegaMillions #jackpot 3 days ago | <urn:uuid:dc18d737-5638-4cd7-9d41-b23da8911b07> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://realtalkrealdebate.wordpress.com/2012/12/19/instagram-tries-to-change-its-policy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942753 | 1,049 | 1.617188 | 2 |
A glass of milk may be the ultimate weapon in the fight against osteoporosis, according to new research released in conjunction with National Healthy Bones Week in Australia.
The study, conducted by the University of South Australia, found that increasing dairy intake to the daily recommended serving could have saved Australia’s national health-care system $112 million annually, while sparing 40,000 men and women from the degenerative bone disease. To read more about the study, click here.
A similar study released in 2011 found that dairy could have also saved Australians nearly $2 billion in health care by helping consumer maintain a healthy body weight. In addition to osteoporosis, dairy also has beneficial effects on type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and hypertension. Find out more about the 2011 study.
This isn’t the first time dairy has been pegged as an important tool in preventing and controlling osteoporosis. Here are more articles confirming dairy's role in battling osteoporosis:
- Older Americans need more calcium
Milk marketers may want to look toward a new target audience. A recent study by researchers at the University of Connecticut and Yale University shows that older men and women consume less calcium through their diets than younger adults, and may need to adjust their food intake or increase their use of calcium supplements to prevent osteoporosis. Read more.
- Milk protein may help osteoporosis
Researchers have discovered that lactoferrin, a protein found in milk, may help those who suffer from osteoporosis. The discovery could lead to new osteoporosis treatments. Read more.
- FDA health claim further strengthens dairy’s role in a healthy diet
A new health claim recently finalized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) links calcium and vitamin D to improved bone health — giving the public another reason to consume more dairy. Read more.
More related articles can be found by searching for “osteoporosis” on the Dairy Herd Network website. | <urn:uuid:f6d3a8f1-482d-4062-83bc-14071d176c12> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dairyherd.com/dairy-news/Milk-a-powerful-tool-in-fighting-osteoporosis-166934856.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942979 | 416 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Surprise mosquito attackDemonstrating that one never knows where danger lurks, an unprecedented mosquito infestation suddenly erupted across areas within a few miles of the Palo Alto Baylands early last week, signaling a significant problem with the flood-control equipment that protects us against flooding.
The culprit is a major breach in an important flood-control gate that regulates the amount of water in the flood basin. The leak has caused the flooding of more than 200 acres of marshland and has created the conditions for millions of decade-old mosquito eggs to suddenly hatch and begin a breeding cycle, including some nasty bites.
The agency responsible for the flood gate, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, acknowledges that it has known about a smaller leak since last November and said it "had plans to budget an investigation for a repair project for the coming budget year," according to a statement on its website.
But about two weeks ago the leak expanded significantly, triggering not only the mosquito infestation but all-out efforts by another agency, the Santa Clara County Vector Control District, to bring the problem under control. Helicopters sprayed the Baylands Thursday morning and another spraying is anticipated next week, which is hoped will be adequate if repair plans remain on track.
The annoyance of the nasty mosquitoes aside, the problem with the flood-control tidal gate cannot be taken lightly. The water district sent divers into the water last fall to investigate the leak and determined that a basketball-sized hole had developed under the flood gates, allowing tidal water into the flood basin when the gates were closed.
At that time, the district staff concluded the leak was harmless and dangers of a larger breach were small enough to simply monitor the problem and plan for a later fix.
Fortunately, last winter was mild and didn't bring any flood-threatening run-off conditions requiring use of the flood basin. But the proper functioning of this tidal gate is essential to providing an outlet for water flowing from Barron, Adobe and Matadero creeks during high tides and flood-danger conditions.
With the larger leak now posing a bigger problem, the Santa Clara Valley Water District is moving forward to obtain the emergency permits and approvals to do the repairs that they should have undertaken last November.
The current plan, assuming approvals from numerous state and federal agencies, calls for closing the leak under the flood gate with a temporary patch in early September, which should end the immediate crisis.
Aside from the error in not getting this problem fixed before it got worse, neither the water district nor the vector control district met their responsibility for good public communications. No public notifications were made by the water district about the initial leak and both agencies failed to take initiative to alert the public to the larger breach. The situation became public when a resident posted on Palo Alto Online's Town Square forum the response she had received after emailing the vector control district to complain about the mosquitoes. That is not an acceptable public information strategy.
A small but important program that uses local teen and adult volunteers to provide no-questions-asked safe rides home to teens between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights is on the verge of shutting down.
The Red Cross has decided the small $15,000 a year "Safe Ride" program no longer fits into their mission and will discontinue it Sept. 5 unless another group steps forward to take it over. Safe Ride uses student volunteers and numerous adult chaperones who answer phones and drive the cars that are the backbone of the program. In recent years the number of successful Safe Ride missions has decreased, down to 200 or so from a high of more than 600 in 2008-09, either reflecting a lack of promotion and marketing or teens being more responsible about drinking and driving and using designated drivers.
Unfortunately, the Red Cross has not given other potential sponsors, such as the YMCA or other groups affiliated with Palo Alto's Project Safety Net, much time to assess the need and value of the Safe Ride program and to consider taking it over. We hope the short time frame doesn't keep those groups from doing just that. | <urn:uuid:1d6a97e3-6306-4f6f-9c34-924f70b70f53> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/story.php?story_id=17517 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95665 | 833 | 2.421875 | 2 |
As you get older, it seems that no one wants you to have any fun. You have to be more careful about your health. When you exercise, you're supposed to make sure your heart rate doesn't get too high. Some folks even want to take away your driver's license once you get to a certain age.
With investing, seniors face the same challenge. After a lifetime of investing experience, and after you've become familiar with dozens of companies that have served you well, you may well hear financial planners telling you that you should bid farewell to those trusty stocks -- even blue chips like Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG ) . They argue that the risk of holding those stocks is too great now that you're older.
One size fits all?
Sure, there's something to that logic -- as the ongoing bear market has made perfectly clear. After all, when you're young, you have decades before you'll need the money you set aside for retirement. With all of that time ahead of you, you can afford to take some big risks.
Even if your investments do badly at first, you can wait for them to turn back up again. Your timeline and risk profile would accommodate volatile stocks such as Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU ) , Ctrip.com (Nasdaq: CTRP ) , and lululemon athletica (Nasdaq: LULU ) . Although each has a beta greater than 2, analysts are expecting all three to grow at 25% or more per year for the next five years -- though you should be careful about relying too much on analysts' projections.
Conversely, as you approach or enter retirement, you no longer have the luxury of weathering long downturns in stocks. You need that money now for your living expenses. If you were unlucky enough to get hit by the next recent downturn, you may have to sell at very low prices just to pay your bills.
The concept that you should reduce your allocation to stocks as you age is so engrained in common wisdom that certain mutual funds do it automatically. So-called target retirement funds, which we've discussed in the past in our Motley Fool Rule Your Retirement newsletter, are designed to change their investment strategy gradually over time, to accommodate your changing risk tolerance. Yet even though these funds make investing very simple, they may not be able to handle all of your specific needs.
There's one big problem with reducing stock exposure as you get older: Although falling stock prices may seem like the biggest danger -- especially now -- people face other risks as they move toward retirement.
Even if your portfolio is adequate to cover your costs when you're just about to retire, the threat of inflation is ever-present. With a $1 million portfolio invested entirely in ultra-safe Treasury bills, you won't even earn $10,000 to cover expenses each year, thanks to rock-bottom interest rates. Moreover, the value of your principal will stay locked at that $1 million mark, and it won't be long before rising costs eat away at its purchasing power.
Stocks, on the other hand, offer not only prices that rise over time, but also rising dividends. Companies such as PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP ) , Dover (NYSE: DOV ) , and Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB ) have a long history of increasing their dividends regularly, providing extra income that can help seniors keep up with inflation -- even when the stocks themselves have suffered temporary drops.
On the other hand, if you've saved up a substantial nest egg for your retirement, you may be able to tolerate the risk of market downturns. For instance, a typical plan for a retiree might have you sell some of your stocks every year to supplement your retirement income.
However, you can hedge the risk of a market drop by keeping enough money in safer securities to give your stocks a chance to recover. Even though this strategy involves keeping several years of expenses in bonds, CDs, or cash, it still gives you the ability to keep a substantial fraction of your portfolio in assets that will provide a better return.
As an example, if you had retired in 2007 following this strategy, you could have avoided having to sell stocks at the market's lows, waiting until the market recovered to sell and replenish your cash reserves.
Rules of thumb are helpful for beginning investors. To get the best results, however, you have to know when to break those rules. By weighing the risks of different investment strategies, you can pick the one that will work best for you. And you won't have to give up the fun of stock investing, no matter how old you get. | <urn:uuid:a1f494e9-2f27-4c3e-bb11-1d04cd8a45ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2009/11/11/are-you-too-old-for-stocks.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96912 | 957 | 1.523438 | 2 |
In response to the New York Civil Liberties Union's recent report criticizing the privacy and security policies governing the state's health information exchanges, New York state health officials have formed a committee to develop and update its information exchange policies, InformationWeek reports.
The Statewide Health Information Network of New York Policy Committee was created by the New York State Department of Health and the New York eHealth Collaborative (Lewis, InformationWeek, 4/5).
Background on NYCLU Report
The NYCLU report -- released last month -- argued that while there are benefits to sharing electronic health records, patients should have greater control over the dissemination of their own records.
The report criticized the state's policy to allow health care providers to upload patient data into regional databases without patients' consent, as well as its "all-or-nothing" approach, which does not allow patients to choose which parts of their health records physicians can access (iHealthBeat, 3/9).
Details of the New Committee
The new 17-member committee is tasked with establishing and updating policies aimed at protecting patients' personal health data.
The committee also will work to develop policies that expand interoperability to increase the sharing of EHRs between health care providers, patients and other health-related organizations in the state, according to an NYeC release.
Corinne Carey -- a committee member and the assistant legislative director at NYCLU -- said she would like the committee to "ask the state to conduct a thorough review of the policies and procedures governing health information exchange to determine if they are consistent with New York state law, in particular section 18 of the public health law which requires affirmative patient consent before any medical information is shared with a third party" (InformationWeek, 4/5). | <urn:uuid:c0603590-6691-4000-9a18-5a2c1fdec58e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2012/4/6/ny-forms-health-data-exchange-policy-panel-after-recent-criticism.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944742 | 357 | 1.875 | 2 |
DUBAI // The health authority has announced an overhaul of its licensing regulations for healthcare centres and workers.
Dubai Health Authority (DHA) announced at the opening of the Arab Health conference yesterday that it will update its Healthcare Professional Licensing Guide.
It means all healthcare laws will come under one banner, several new job titles have been recognised for specialist areas and medical licences from 30 more countries will be accepted by the DHA.
"There is a huge change. We put all the federal and local laws in one place so there is no hassle, there is no confusion," said Dr Ramadan Ibrahim, the authority's director of health regulation.
"There was no law embracing everything in one place. There was a law about pharmacies, a law about professionals, a law about facilities - so we took all these and put them in one place."
Dr Ibrahim said the old laws did not have enough weight to penalise licence breaches.
The DHA's licensing guide, which covers healthcare licences for physicians, allied health professionals, alternative medicine practitioners and nurses, has been modified to keep in-line with "worldwide trends and developments in the field", he said.
"It is a comprehensive guide and has updated information for seven different processes such as licensure for new professionals, transfer of licence, cancellation of licence, upgrading speciality of professionals, part-time requests, et cetera."
The guidelines are available on the DHA website and include details of general licence requirements.
Other changes include 25 new titles for physicians, 10 for dentists and an undisclosed number for allied health professionals.
Allowing for more titles increases the number of experts in a particular field, said Dr Mohammed Kayali, head of the health regulation section.
"In addition, we have introduced 30 new countries in the approved list of speciality certification, bringing the total number of countries to 70," said Dr Kayali.
Countries added to the list accepted by the DHA include Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, China, Estonia and South Korea.
New speciality titles for physicians include anatomical pathology and clinical pathology, endocrinology - including treatment of diabetes - gastroenterology, geriatrics medicine, haematology, immunology and paediatric cardiology.
Oral surgery has been added as a speciality licence for dentists.
The system upgrade will help the DHA to cope with the rise in demand for services, said Essa Al Maidoor, the director general.
"There is a growth in Dubai and in the region in general, and any growth, for sure, sometimes … goes at a different speed," Mr Al Maidoor said.
An e-inspection system, introduced recently, has found 1,500 licence offences.
"The thing is, a violation is a violation, like a doctor working without a licence," said Dr Ramadan. "That was the concept behind this. With this law, we are hoping to reduce the number of violations.
Offences include being in possession of expired medicine, and professionals working outside their area of expertise.
The upgrade follows regulations introduced at last year's Arab Health summit to close gaps between public and private centres.
They included measures such as the design and construction of health facilities, health records and dental protection to prevent infection. | <urn:uuid:c489d3eb-3ede-43e6-8095-5e4918dd25ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/health/dubais-new-bill-of-health | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959091 | 676 | 1.570313 | 2 |