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Paul Hummel is a professor of electrical engineering at Louisiana Tech University. He earned a Bachelor of Science in engineering with a computer concentration at LeTourneau University, and went on to earn a PhD in engineering with a concentration in micro/nano electronics from Louisiana Tech. His dissertation was on manufacturing electronic devices using carbon nanotubes.
What is electrical engineering?
Electrical engineering is the skill or discipline of applying scientific principles to design and build devices in the areas of electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. Anything that we use that involves electricity, from automobiles to cell phones, was designed and built by an electrical engineer.
What do you find most interesting about electrical engineering?
I find the electronics, specifically digital electronics, the most interesting. I grew up in the time when household computers and Internet connections became the norm. So how those devices work on a hardware level has always fascinated me.
What is your least favorite aspect of electrical engineering?
Power is my least favorite discipline in electrical engineering. I am very grateful for those that keep electrical power plants and substations running so that I have electricity at my home, but I do not find the material interesting.
Are there subfields of electrical engineering that students might not be aware of?
The main subdisciplines of electrical engineering are:
1. Power: covering anything with AC electricity, large motors, power stations
2. Control: covering devices or systems that have some type of control mechanism. For example, the cruise control in your car is a control system that keeps your car moving at a set speed.
3. Analog Electronics: although this area may seem to be shrinking to digital electronics, it is still very important in some fields like audio.
4. Digital Electronics: covering any circuitry or device that deals in digital information (data stored as groups of 0s and 1s).
5. Communication: covering the transmission of data from one device to another. This includes everything from FM radio to high-speed WiFi.
6. Embedded Devices: involving devices that include a microprocessor or microcontroller that are used to collect data or control a larger system. This area typically involves a significant amount of computer programming.
What careers do students commonly pursue with a degree in electrical engineering?
There is a very wide range of careers for electrical engineers as you may be able to guess from the range of disciplines I mentioned above. Students can work for oil and gas companies, power companies, automobile makers, computer companies, integrated circuit designers (build computer chips), radio stations, electronics manufacturers (everything from cell phones to TVs to microwaves), satellite companies (GPS), and using robotics in manufacturing just about anything … just to name a few. Many of the graduates from Louisiana Tech pursue careers in the power industry because Louisiana has a good supply of oil and natural gas, although we are also making connections with electronics companies like Texas Instruments, IBM, and Intel.
Is a graduate degree preferable for a career in electrical engineering, or can someone enter the field with a bachelor’s degree?
A bachelor’s degree is fine for entering the field of electrical engineering. A master’s degree does not really create any more opportunities for an engineer. When applying for a job, if you have a master’s, it could be an incentive over a fellow candidate who only has a bachelor’s degree. A master’s degree could improve a student’s opportunity for moving up into management in a company. A PhD degree will change the type of work an engineer will do in the field. A PhD is a requirement for some research and development positions, to work at a research lab like Los Alamos, or to work in academia. However, getting a PhD will exclude you from some job opportunities that are available to those with a bachelor’s degree.
What personality traits do you think a student should have in order to be successful in an electrical engineering program?
Work ethic is probably the most important quality needed in a student. You do not have to be incredibly intelligent to get a degree in electrical engineering, although it does help. You must be willing to work hard though. The typical work load for an engineering course is four hours of outside work for every hour you are in class.
The next most important ability is problem solving. When solving an engineering problem, the actual work to solve it is not all that difficult. The difficulty is knowing what steps are needed. Knowing how to solve the problem is typically the most difficult part of actually solving it.
Lastly, I would suggest students get the best mathematics background they can before going to college. At college, engineering students are expected to be able to jump into calculus. In practice, many students are not ready for calculus in their first term because they were not prepared. Math to an engineer is like a wrench to a mechanic. The mechanic doesn’t need to know all of the intricacies of how a wrench works, but he does need to know how to use it to fix things. The engineer doesn’t need to know mathematics on the same level as a mathematician, but he does need to know how to use it to solve problems.
What electives would you recommend that a student in an electrical engineering program take?
I would recommend any math and science electives they can take. Any math subject can be useful. Science topics in physics and chemistry are probably the most useful. Computer programming can also be a very useful skill to have.
What study tips would you give to a student to help him or her succeed in an electrical engineering program?
Studying engineering is a little different than studying other subjects. In history, biology, and chemistry, students typically have to memorize a lot of information. In engineering, students learn to apply concepts. Memorizing the concept or formula is easy, but understanding the concept enough to use it in any application is difficult. The only way to really learn how the concept is applied in a variety of situations is to work a lot of problems. Usually some of the problems will be similar to ones worked in class while others have something in the problem that is a little different. The learning comes during the process of figuring out how that same concept works in a new problem. That process takes time and cannot be rushed in 10 minutes of doing homework. Students need to learn to not procrastinate on homework so they have enough time to adequately attempt assignments. Students also need to learn to be persistent when doing homework. The first attempt at a problem is usually incorrect. They need to learn to keep working on problems and not give up when they get a wrong answer.
Do you think electrical engineering is a subject that can be studied online, or is a traditional class environment ideal?
There are some courses in an electrical engineering degree that could be studied online. Some of the course material in an electrical engineering degree involves labs and hands-on building and testing that cannot really be duplicated online.
What subjects should a prospective student of electrical engineering study before entering an engineering program?
The most common one that students wish they had studied before starting electrical engineering is pre-calculus or calculus. Programming (Java, C, C++, Basic) can also be useful in some electrical engineering courses.
What pieces of advice, or caution, would you offer to a prospective student of electrical engineering?
I would advise them that studying electrical engineering is going to be much harder than high school. They need to be prepared for homework taking hours to complete every day. I also advise students when they are looking for a major to consider what job they would want. I tell them to go online and look at job openings at some of the companies they may want to work at. They can look at the job openings to find a position they would like to have. Then they can look at the degree options the company is looking for so they know what degree they need to pursue to get the job that they want. | <urn:uuid:0e8cb2cd-7847-4d54-8ac3-9d973b1d6bd3> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.khabza.com/how-to-become-an-electrical-engineer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572212.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815205848-20220815235848-00469.warc.gz | en | 0.967781 | 1,622 | 2.5625 | 3 |
A similar dwelling, “The Bunkie”, meant to serve as a guesthouse or office, recently started taking orders.
They were, according to a Korea expert and recent visitor to Pyongyang, being held in a guesthouse.
Their guesthouse is particularly lauded for its restaurant and beverage program.
Insurgents seem to be able to strike anywhere, even at a U.N. guesthouse full of election workers in the middle of Kabul.
A militant attack a U.N. guesthouse in the Afghan capital did more than kill eight civilians.
Besides, there is no need, since your aunt has her own guesthouse.
He got back in his car and peeled across the road to the shantytown and the guesthouse.
We also saw the guesthouse, where it was very pleasant to see what neat preparation there is for the poor.
Oftener have the men of Erin been contending for thee every night than thou hast been wandering about for a guesthouse.
Bring her here to laugh at me as she laughed in the twilight beneath the guesthouse window. | <urn:uuid:98c08333-581c-4aa8-a1b6-b285743a311d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.dictionary.com/browse/guesthouse | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281450.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00175-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977293 | 227 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Ducted reverse cycle air conditioning is an efficient technology that can be used to cool buildings and provide warmth during winter. It uses electrical fans to blow air past metal heat-dissipating plates. The heat inside a building slowly pumps out into the outside atmosphere. It has many uses, including providing ventilation and keeping indoor air cool in the warmer seasons. If you’re wondering if your home has air conditioning, keep reading! There are several important facts you should know about it.
The thermostat is the most common source of AC trouble. When this happens, the air conditioner will either turn on or off prematurely, or stay on too long. This can cause certain rooms in the home to be too hot or cold. The compressor of the outside unit may be malfunctioning. If your AC unit is making strange noises or isn’t working properly, it may need to be repaired. If the AC is not working, a qualified HVAC technician can inspect the system and repair it.
If you are considering installing a split system air con in your home, before you sign a contract and go with a provider, it’s crucial to understand exactly how air conditioning works and which functionality best suits your needs. Once you have chosen your system, a skilled air conditioner installation team should handle all of the process, from the installation of the compressor to the commissioning of the system. The process of installation should be smooth and hassle-free. A skilled team can provide a quality product and ensure a smooth transition. A professional team will also provide you with a warranty and will guarantee their work. | <urn:uuid:0439c639-beb9-4af7-aed5-3ecfbfac05e6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www.qtec.info/author/admin-2-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571210.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810191850-20220810221850-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.934775 | 328 | 2.578125 | 3 |
While in college, Ludmila Ulehla, already an accomplished pianist, chose to learn to play the flute as her minor subject. She composed Capriccio shortly after graduation. It is a happy, brilliant piece, fun to perform. The accompanying piano part supports the flute with a modern harmonic style that introduces young players to the contemporary idiom. Capriccio begins with a forte allegro theme, then settles for a warm, lyrical section and after a flute endenza, closes with its original flash.
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Bill Dobbins - Remembering The Master - Flute & Piano Arrangement
B4B - Flute and Piano
10 Easy Jazz Duets in C (Flute, Guitar, Violin, Vibraphone, Piano)
Gary Schocker: Duets for 2 Flutes and Piano (Deluxe 4CD Set) (minus Flute) | <urn:uuid:171e40d5-3e6f-4b4b-90d6-00a29ab7526e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.jazzbooks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=JAJAZZ&Product_Code=08506&Category_Code= | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571758.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812200804-20220812230804-00669.warc.gz | en | 0.915323 | 198 | 1.828125 | 2 |
... to the website of the Dialogue Modeling Group in Amsterdam!
We carry out research at the interface of computational linguistics, cognitive modelling and artificial intelligence.
Our aim is to understand how we use language to communicate with each other in situated environments and how dialogue
interaction shapes learning -- about the world and about language itself. These are some of the topics we work on:
Semantics and pragmatics of dialogue phenomena, visually grounded language and visual reasoning,
conversational agents and learning from interaction, language variation and change in communities of speakers.
12/07/2022 We are looking for new members to join the group:
20/03/2022 Arabella J. Sinclair moves out to take up a Lectureship at the University of Aberdeen - congrats, Janie!
14/03/2022 Mario presents his work on strategies of language production at the Language Technology Group Seminar of the Univerisity of Oslo.
15/12/2021 Justine Winkler has joined our team as PhD candidate. Welcome, Justine!
01/10/2021 Joris Baan has joined the group as ELLIS PhD candidate, co-supervised by Barbara Plank. Welcome, Joris!
01/09/2021 Sandro Pezzelle is now Assistant Professor in Responsible AI at the ILLC - congrats, Sandro!
New work by our group to appear at EMNLP, CoNLL, TACL, and SemDial; checkout our publications.
22/02/2021 Blog post by science journalist Iris Proff, featuring work led by Ece on using human gaze to guide image description generation.
Ece will be discussing this work at the AI Meetings of Koç University on 9 March.
Lennert Jansen (controlled generation in dialogue)
Gabriele Gennaro (agent adaptation in reference games)
Xinyi Chen (language understanding and reasoning abilities of visually grounded models)
Pauline Sander (meaning change; Erasmus+ student from Saarland)
Jelle Bosscher (interactive language modelling)
Lars Laichter (dialogue style transfer)
Alumni (incomplete list)
Arabella J. Sinclair, postdoc 2019-2022, moved to lecturer (assistant professor) at University of Aberdeen. Marco Del Tredici, PhD candidate 2017-2020, moved to Machine Learning Scientist at Amazon Berlin. Elia Bruni, postdoc 2016-2018, moved to Marie Curie fellow at UPF Barcelona. Ravi Shekhar, PhD candidate 2016-2019, based in Tento and co-supervised with Raffaella Bernardi; moved to postdoc at Queen Mary University of London. Julian J. Schlöder, PhD candiate 2014-2018, moved to postdoc at the ILLC. Janosch Haber, MSc student 2018-2019, moved to PhD candidate at Queen Mary University of London. Laura Aina, MSc student 2015-2017, moved to PhD candidate at UPF Barcelona. Bill Noble, MSc student 2014-2016, moved to PhD candidate at CLASP, University of Gothenburg.
Datasets, code, and other publicly available resources developed by the Dialogue Modelling Group.
Datasets and resources related to the problem of aggregating the judgements of multiple individuals, regarding a linguistic annotation task or similar, into a single collective judgement that reflects the view of the community. Project jointly led with Ulle Endriss. | <urn:uuid:23fb4c2d-c618-472d-b798-dc5d3e974414> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://dmg-illc.github.io/dmg/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571692.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812105810-20220812135810-00068.warc.gz | en | 0.872358 | 746 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Imagine enlarging the size of breasts without going under the knife.
Sounds inconceivable, right?
Thanks to John Grosso, President of Stem Cell Bra, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Leslie Miller and inventors Howard Leonhardt and Dr. Jorge Genovese, that concept is not implausible at all.
In fact, it is now completely within reach.
Grosso, Leonhardt, Genovese and Miller have been working together for seven years to bring this product to life — and the stages of the testing has been miraculously successful.
Grosso spent seven years developing a shape-conforming bra with actor Peta Wilson of the La Femme Nikita TV series. The bra ended up being ideal for this new stem cell application. Miller and his colleagues had separately developed a patent-pending bioelectric stimulator — originally designed to home stem cells to heart scar tissue after a heart attack — that was adaptable to home stem cells to breast tissue.
“The discovery actually happened by accident,” Leonhardt says. “The doctors were treating a mouse for heart attack recovery and the electrical conduction probe connected to the external bioelectric stimulation signal generator accidently slipped out of the mouse heart and landed in the breast tissue. Surprisingly, the team observed an increase of the breast tissue volume as a side effect of this slippage and Stem Cell Bra was born by serendipity.”
When Grosso and Wilson — and their shape-conforming bra — met Leonhardt, Genovese and Miller – and their bioelectric signaling system for breast tissue regeneration – it was a natural match for the two groups to join forces. What followed was successful animal studies using bioelectric stimulation to stimulate the native genes and proteins responsible for tissue regeneration in the body – with specific signals for native breast development.
The team took its animal-testing phase to Argentina where they began painlessly stimulating one breast in a sheep for one hour at a time three days per week for four weeks. It led to a 20% increase in breast size with a biopsy of the breast showing an increase in normal glandular tissue.
Next, the groundbreaking team stimulated the utters of three different species of cattle that showed the physiologic result of similar stimulation of an average 15% increase in milk production. The increase, in mild production, lasted for over two months once the stimulation was discontinued and the biopsies of the utter confirmed only normal glandular tissue enlargement.
The 15 animals completed thorough histopathological examinations and the stimulation method “put us in position to be comfortable to file institutional review boards, ethics committees, regulatory authorities and qualified investigational centers with proper controls and patient consent processes in place to begin pilot study clinical evaluations,” Grosso says.
The first clinical trials began in Brazil and South Africa. The next step is bringing the trials to the U.S. At this time, the product is being assembled outside of the U.S. primarily from U.S. and Australian-sourced components.
The best part about the Stem Cell Bra? “No pain and no discomfort,” Miller says, enthusiastically. He adds: “it is simply a potentially safe and painless way to enhance the size of breasts enhancing normal tissue. We are committed to undertaking properly controlled studies in small steps with patient safety put first to prove this out over time.”
Miller is author or co-author of 240 peer-reviewed publications and was an investigator in 80 FDA-cleared clinical trials. He was Chairman of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Minnesota for more than a decade and co-editor of one of the leading textbooks on regenerative medicine.
The Stem Cell Bra may potentially be beneficial for women who come out of surgery, according to Grosso. Whether the surgery is one for breast enhancement, a mastectomy, a double mastectomy, or anything else, women are not allowed to wear wire bras “because it can be very painful and dangerous,” he says.
The Stem Cell Bra changes that because it does not have the same functionality as a wire bra. Instead, it is lined with a conductive gelatin that, with the help of a bioelectric stimulator, works to enlarge breast size. What makes the bra more unique from others is the way it is fitted, Grosso says.
“A women changes shape every month,” he adds. “They have their cycles. They have their moments throughout the month. So what ends up happening is that sometimes one breast is bigger than the other.”
This isn’t just during a woman’s cycle — it is common for women to have one breast that is slightly bigger than the other. Thus, she is left with a bra that “just fits ok,” as Grosso puts it, “so the $300 bra she bought ends up leaving her dissatisfied.”
The Stem Cell Bra accommodates cup sizes A-G because of its “adjustability strap that adjusts 4-8 inches on each side,” Grosso says.
It is so comfortable, in fact, that when tested on the cattle and sheep in Argentina, the animals fell asleep while wearing it.
“Post-op patents can wear our bra. Double mastectomies patients can wear our bra. It is the perfect marriage for the stem cell trial,” Grosso says.
Using the Stem Cell Bra will also save money that would otherwise have to be used for breast augmentation or other invasive procedures. “It will cost far less than any surgery,” Grosso says.
Better yet, the bra — and the work that it does — is all-natural.
The team is working with cGMP certified suppliers for stimulators and gel tape electrodes that already have FDA market clearance for other indications of use such as improving blood circulation, pain relief and accelerated healing.
“We are gathering sufficient data in properly-controlled studies over time to authorize broadening of the indications of use labelling for the already market cleared products,” Grosso says.
At this time, the bra is only available for investigational use in South Africa and Brazil. Safety and efficacy have not yet been proven.
In addition to the Stem Cell Bra, Leonhardt’s Launchpads innovation and startup accelerator has 29 other startups in its 2019 portfolio class. All but one is based on the same core IP platform of applying bioelectric signaling, including stem cell homing, and when needed biologics to organ regeneration and recovery.
“For every disease or condition we can think of, there exists encouraging evidence that we can stimulate the release local proteins, such as Klotho, sonic hedgehog, SDF1, IGF1, tropoelastin and PDGF that can potentially result in native tissue regeneration,” Miller says.
When asked how the team goes about testing this wide array of ground-breaking medical-related products, Miller shared this intriguing analogy: “Imagine an old wave radio and when turning the knob to find the best reception, you get static and then it becomes a crystal-clear signal. Then it fades out again on the other side. We have been able to identify over 25 signals that when delivered into target tissues results in significant increase in that protein right where we want to stimulate. Sometimes, it’s almost too good to be true.”
Some of Grosso’s and Miller’s other current projects on personal health treatments including ErectiSTIM to aid with erectile dysfunction, treatment of skin and hair regeneration using a very potent new anti-aging gene signal, as well as a range of treatment from painful osteoarthritis in large joints to wound healing.
“We believe that our platform of tissue and organ regeneration is applicable to all forms of tissue damage or dysfunction. We have 30 companies with the Accelerator focused on a wide variety of conditions,” Leonhardt says.
With all the projects happening at the same time, the most significant buzz is about the Stem Cell Bra.
“There are many regenerative factors outside of only an increase in breast size. We are talking about the many issues of elasticity, as well as repairs and issues outside of just trying to grow the breast,” Grosso says.
“We are excited about delivering a service that many women are very interested in,” Miller says. “The alternatives are high costs and possible disfiguration. The bra is simple, easy, and fulfills the science we found in animals to help women across the world.”
As the team is quick to point out, the bra is in the earliest stages of clinical investigation and does not imply – in any way — that safety or efficacy has been proven yet despite the encouraging results in large animals, Grosso says.
“The research investigators are proceeding slowly with great caution putting safety first and starting with very low dosing times,” he adds. “All patients must be cleared through thorough breast cancer examinations before being permitted into these early pilot studies.”
Copyright © 2019 California Business Journal. All Rights Reserved. | <urn:uuid:9ab67c55-b3b3-4e0b-8f98-5dedd68f0807> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://calbizjournal.com/stem-cell-bra/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571758.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812200804-20220812230804-00671.warc.gz | en | 0.950791 | 1,900 | 2.328125 | 2 |
The shift program
shift shifts the positional parameters of an execline script.
shift [ -n argn ] [ -b blockn ] prog...
- shift shifts argn positional parameters,
then blockn blocks. It then execs prog....
- By default, argn and blockn are both zero;
but if neither the -n nor the -b option is given,
then argn is 1 and blockn is 0.
- shift reads the number of "positional parameters" in the
# environment variable. Let n be that number.
- If the # environment variable is not set or does not
contain a valid number, or one of the 0, 1, ...,
n environment variables is not set, shift
exits 100 with an error message.
- shift calculates a shift value m, corresponding
to argn arguments followed by enough arguments to make
- It shifts the positional parameters m times: the
value of the m+1 variable becomes the value of the
1 variable, m+2 becomes 2 and so on,
and # is set to n-m (floored at zero).
- shift then execs into prog....
- shift is a standard shell builtin. Be careful if you
want to use it outside of an execline script.
- The -b option is only useful to implement execline
commands in the execline language. You shouldn't normally have to | <urn:uuid:6d4e4658-b19e-4266-8f29-e310eac56b95> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www.skarnet.org/software/execline/shift.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570793.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808092125-20220808122125-00678.warc.gz | en | 0.688575 | 339 | 3.125 | 3 |
The story is a legend in Chicago politics and machine politics generally. In the middle of the last century, a young University of Chicago student named Abner Mikv -- later a leading liberal congressman, then a federal judge, then Bill Clinton's White House counsel, and today an adviser to Barack Obama -- wandered off campus to a Democratic ward headquarters, looking to volunteer in an upcoming election.
"Who sent you?" the ward committeeman asked.
"Nobody," said Mikva.
"We don't want nobody nobody sent," the committeeman replied.
Such is the logic of a closed political system, where an outsider becomes an insider only if an insider vouches for hi -- or, even more, for her. And when we look across the nation to ascertain which states have elected the most women to political office and which the least, it turns out that states once (or still) dominated by party machines don't create a political culture in which women can thrive. Where entry into politics depends entirely on who sent you -- on winning the backing of the boy -- women often end up outside the clubhouse, the legislature, and the Congress.
Women, of course, can be outsiders even when the power structure isn't all that structured. Regions of the country where religious traditionalism remains strong also tend to be hostile terrains to women's political advancement. A look at those states with the highest and lowest levels of female elected officials suggests that neither old time religion nor old school politics generates a favorable climate for women aspiring to public office.
The states with the highest percentage of women state legislators in 2008 are, in order, Vermont, New Hampshire, Washington, Colorado, Minnesota, Arizona, Hawaii, Oregon, Maryland, and Maine. The only one of these states to have been home to a classic urban machine is Maryland, where the Baltimore Democratic organization once flourished (and it's no accident that the most politically gifted daughter of that organization -- Nancy Pelosi, whose father and brother both served as Baltimore mayor -- built her own career in a far less traditional and hierarchical city, San Francisco). None of these other states even had a large city in 1900 (large cities in 1900 almost all had machines). Some preserved the traditions of New England small-town direct democracy. Some embraced early 20th-century progressivism, which abolished party patronage and thereby crippled parties as political gatekeepers. And where parties no longer shaped political careers, that function was performed either by self-starting pols or by an array of disparate groups: professional associations, unions, community organizations, ethnic networks, activist clubs -- and, eventually, women's activist organizations. Some of these groups were even less welcoming to women than the machines had been, but some weren't, and the sheer multiplicity of such groups in time created a less daunting (though hardly egalitarian) political culture than that of hegemonic party organizations.
A century later, this helps explain why these states have a higher percentage of women legislators than other states -- such as Massachusetts, which ranks 21st, or New York, which ranks 22n -- that may seem more liberal and egalitarian but where political careers for well over a century were made and broken by party bosses.
The other factor that correlates with a more woman-friendly political culture is the relative weakness of cultural -- chiefly, religious -- traditionalism. The states with the highest percentage of women legislators roughly correspond to those states with the highest percentage of people who, when asked their religion in a 2001 City University of New York survey, answered, "None." Of the top five states with the most women legislators, Vermont ranked second in percentage of no-religion respondents. Colorado ranked fourth, New Hampshire ranked ninth, Washington ranked first. Minnesota was in the middle of the no-religion pack, but if it's not among our most secular states, it is among those with the richest progressive heritages.
Not surprisingly, the states with the lowest percentages of women state legislators are the states of the old South and Appalachia. It's no small irony that the states in which Hillary Clinton has won the greatest share of the white vote in her primary contests against Barack Obama overlaps considerably with the states that elect the fewest women. The state with the lowest percentage of female legislators is South Carolina, followed by Oklahoma, Alabama, Kentucky, West Virginia, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Virginia, and Ohio. In Pennsylvania, one can adduce a series of regional explanations for women's low level of representation: The middle of the state is Appalachian traditionalist, while both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh were home to major political machines.
There are, of course, exceptions to these patterns. Perhaps the most striking is the career of Ella Grasso, who served as the Democratic governor of Connecticut from 1975 until shortly before her death in 1981 and was the first elected woman governor in U.S. history who was not the wife or widow of a previous governor. Grasso was a talented political leader and one of the most successful governors of her time, but at nearly every stage in her long political career, she was championed by the state's legendary political boss, John Bailey, who not only ran the Connecticut Democratic machine for decades but was John F. Kennedy's emissary to all the big-city bosses in the 1960 campaign and was then appointed Democratic National chairman by Kennedy. The machine -- Bailey -- promoted Grasso, but in general, women have done better in places where churches are relatively scarce and machines altogether absent.
Check out the rest of the articles in our package on women in politics:
Beyond Hillary: Strength in Numbers by Ann Friedman
By Invitation Only by Ezra Klein
7 Democratic Women to Watch
Janet Napolitano and the New Third Way by Dana Goldstein
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(If there's one thing we know about comment trolls, it's that they're lazy) | <urn:uuid:53f510fb-335b-45dd-b933-7b4ad74ff834> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://prospect.org/article/beyond-hillary-woman-versus-machine | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281162.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00534-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965524 | 1,199 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Mullens roost site is always beautiful on a high tide. Kayaking in there when there is no wind is especially beautiful.
The bay is very shallow and covered with saltmarsh plants which gradually go underwater as the tide comes in. The birds retreat from the tide until they are roosting up against the higher vegetation.
Saltmarsh plants are low growing and small shorebirds - such as these Lesser Sand Plovers - can be very hard to see amongst the plants. Several of these birds are beginning to show breeding colors. They get a dark red color down their front and around the neck.
Some of the birds continue to hunt around for food while the water comes around the plants. The birds and the plants make perfect reflections in the still water. These are also Lesser Sand Plovers not yet showing breeding colors.
These Red-necked Stint were perfectly posed around the small plants.
This post is for World Bird Wednesday. | <urn:uuid:70058819-3df3-4b12-b375-27936409b544> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://sandystraitsandbeyond.blogspot.com/2011/03/reflections.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988725475.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183845-00509-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961468 | 196 | 2.875 | 3 |
International Standard Bible EncyclopediaCHARAX; CHARACA
kar'-ax, kar'-a-ka; (eis ton Charaka; the King James Version Charax): A place mentioned only in 2 Maccabees 12:17. It lay East of the Jordan and is said to be 750 stadia from Caspis, and to be inhabited by Jews called Tubieni, that is, of Tobie (Tob) in Gilead (1 Maccabees 5:9, 13; 2 Maccabees 12:17). There is no clue as to the direction in which Ch. lay from Caspis. Possibly Kerak (Kir-moab), in post-Biblical times called Charamoba and Moboucharax, may represent the place. It lay about 100 miles South of el-Mezerib, Southeast of the Dead Sea.
... CHARAX; CHARACA. kar'-ax, kar'-a-ka; (eis ton Charaka; the King James Version Charax):
A place mentioned only in 2 Maccabees 12:17. ...CHARACA. kar'-a-ka. ...
/c/characa.htm - 7k
Character (27 Occurrences)
LinksBible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus | <urn:uuid:644431ac-6355-4369-8d40-33b72d3a64f5> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://biblehub.com/topical/c/characa.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284352.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00193-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.737783 | 285 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Writing great questions is an art that like all arts requires a
great amount of work, practice, and help from others. The following discussion
is one that identifies some of the common pitfalls in creating a great
Avoid loaded or leading words or questions
wording changes can produce great differences in results. Could, Should, Might
all sound almost the same, but may produce a 20% difference in agreement to a
question (The supreme court could.. should.. might.. have forced the breakup of
Microsoft Corporation). Strong words that represent control or action, such as
prohibit produces similar results (Do you believe that congress should prohibit
insurance companies from raising rates?) Sometimes wording is just biased: You
wouldn't want to go to Rudolpho's Restaurant for the company's annual party
Questions placed out of order or out
of context should be avoided. In general, a funnel approach is advised. Broad
and general questions at the beginning of the questionnaire as a warm-up. Then
more specific questions, followed by more general easy to answer questions like
Mutually non-exclusive response categories
choice response categories should be mutually exclusive so that clear choices
can be made. Non-exclusive answers frustrate the respondent and make
interpretation difficult at best.
Do you like orange juice? This is
very unclear...do I like what? Taste, texture, nutritional content, Vitamin C,
the current price, concentrate, fresh squeezed? Be specific in what you want to
know about. Do you watch TV regularly? (what is regularly?).
Confusing or unfamiliar words
Asking about caloric
content, bits, bytes, mbs, and other industry specific jargon and acronyms are
confusing. Make sure your audience understands your language level, terminology
and above all, what you are asking.
Non-directed questions give respondents excessive
What suggestions do you have for improving tomato juice? The
question is about taste, but the respondent may offer suggestions about texture,
the type of can or bottle, mixing juices, or something related to use as a mixer
or in recipes.
Respondents may not want, or may not be
able to provide the information requested. Privacy is an important issue to most
people. Questions about income, occupation, finances, family life, personal
hygiene and beliefs (personal, political, religious) can be too intrusive and
rejected by the respondent.
Do you have all of the options
covered? If you are unsure, conduct a pretest using the "Other (please specify)
__________" option. Then revise the question making sure that you cover at least
90% of the respondent answers.
Unbalanced scales may be appropriate
for some situations and biased in others. When measuring alcohol consumption
patterns, One study used a quantity scale that made the heavy drinker appear in
the middle of the scale with the polar ends reflecting no consumption and an
impossible amount to consume. However, we expect all hospitals to offer good
care and may use a scale of excellent, very good, good, fair. We do not expect
Double barreled questions
What is the fastest and most
convenient Internet service for you? The fastest is certainly not the most
economical. Two questions should be asked.
Make sure answers are independent.
For example the question "Do you think basketball players as being independent
agents or as employees of their team?" Some believe that yes, they are both.
Multiple choice questions are the longest
and most complex. Free text answers are the shortest and easiest to answer. When
you Increase the length of questions and surveys, you decrease the chance of
receiving a completed response. | <urn:uuid:de940413-5767-49f0-9136-19df6cb46a47> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.esurveyspro.com/article-online-survey-design-questions.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279650.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00429-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906659 | 767 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Sir Harry Atkinson
|10th Premier of New Zealand|
1 September 1876 – 13 October 1877
|Preceded by||Julius Vogel|
|Succeeded by||Sir George Grey|
25 September 1883 – 16 August 1884
|Preceded by||Frederick Whitaker|
|Succeeded by||Robert Stout|
28 August 1884 – 3 September 1884
|Preceded by||Robert Stout|
|Succeeded by||Robert Stout|
8 October 1887 – 24 January 1891
|Preceded by||Robert Stout|
|Succeeded by||John Ballance|
|7th Speaker of the Legislative Council|
23 January 1891 – 28 June 1892
|Preceded by||George Waterhouse|
|Succeeded by||Henry Miller|
Harry Albert Atkinson
1 November 1831
Broxton, Cheshire, England
|Died||28 June 1892 (aged 60)|
Wellington, New Zealand
|Resting place||Karori Cemetery, Wellington, New Zealand|
Amelia Jane Skinner
(m. 1856; died 1865)
Ann Elizabeth Smith
|Relatives||Arthur Atkinson (brother)|
Maria Atkinson (sister-in-law)
William Richmond (brother-in-law)
Harry Atkinson (grandson)
Torchy Atkinson (grandson)
Monica Brewster (granddaughter)
Arthur Atkinson (nephew)
Harry Atkinson (nephew)
Mary Richmond (niece)
|Allegiance||Colony of New Zealand|
|Unit||Taranaki Rifle Volunteers|
Sir Harry Albert Atkinson(1 November 1831 – 28 June 1892) served as the tenth premier of New Zealand on four separate occasions in the late 19th century, and was Colonial Treasurer for a total of ten years. He was responsible for guiding the country during a time of economic depression, and was known as a cautious and prudent manager of government finances, though distrusted for some policies such as his 1882 National Insurance (welfare) scheme and leasehold land schemes. He also participated in the formation of voluntary military units to fight in the New Zealand Wars, and was noted for his strong belief in the need for seizure of Māori land.
Atkinson, born in 1831 in the English village of Broxton, Cheshire, received his education in England, but chose at the age of 22 to follow his elder brother William to New Zealand. He was accompanied by his brother Arthur together with members of the Richmond family. On arriving in New Zealand, Harry and Arthur bought farmland in Taranaki, as did the Richmonds, and also the Ronalds family – five brothers and sisters of Dr Edmund Ronalds. James and William Richmond also later entered politics and the Ronalds sisters married Atkinson's brothers. Atkinson's correspondence shows that he was highly satisfied with his decision to move to New Zealand, seeing it as an opportunity to prosper. He named his small farmhouse Hurworth after a village in England where he had lived as a boy, although—as his father worked as an itinerant builder and architect—the family did not settle anywhere.
Atkinson was made a sergeant of the Taranaki Volunteer Rifle Company in February 1859 and then commissioned as a captain in March. He led No. 2 Company throughout the First Taranaki War and saw action at the Battle of Waireka, Mahoetahi and Kaitake. He was promoted to Major in February 1864.
Atkinson first became involved in politics, as a member of the Taranaki provincial council. He represented the Grey and Bell electorate from 1857 to 1865, and again from 1873 to 1874. He was a member of the Executive Council from 1868^ and again in 1874 (May to October). He was Deputy Superintendent in 1861–1862 to Charles Brown, and again in 1863.
Of particular interest to him was policy regarding Māori-owned land, which he wished to see taken over by the British settlers. Continued Māori ownership, he believed, prevented economic development for the colony. Atkinson and his Richmond relations regarded the Māori as "savages", and believed in war as a reasonable option for ensuring Māori co-operation with British land-acquisition.
|1861–1866||3rd||Grey and Bell||Independent|
|1867–1869||4th||Town of New Plymouth||Independent|
The death of William Cutfield King in February 1861 caused a by-election in the Grey and Bell electorate. Atkinson was elected to Parliament unopposed. In 1864, he was made Defence Minister in the government of Frederick Weld. He was highly active in this portfolio, advocating a policy of self-reliance in the conduct of the war. In 1866, however, he retired due to the death of his wife Amelia (whom he had married in 1856). The following year, he married his cousin Annie. He returned to parliament from 1867 to 1869 for the Town of New Plymouth electorate, but in April 1869 he resigned to concentrate on maintaining his farm.
In 1872, Atkinson returned to politics for the Egmont electorate; to defeat William Sefton Moorhouse, who was allied with William Fox, a prominent supporter of Māori land rights. Atkinson declared that he would "not see a Foxite get in", and narrowly defeated Moorhouse. Once in parliament, Atkinson soon became involved in economic matters, opposing the policies of Julius Vogel (who also happened to be a supporter of Māori land rights). Vogel, who supported extensive borrowing to finance public works, was attacked by Atkinson as reckless. Vogel's response was that Atkinson was overly cautious, and would delay economic progress.
Atkinson and Vogel both agreed, however, that borrowing by provincial government (as opposed to the central government) was indeed out of control. The two also believed that provincial politicians were petty and self-interested, and that more co-operation was needed between provinces and the state. It was this shared view of provincial government that enabled Vogel and Atkinson to co-operate, although they never resolved their differences on borrowing by the central government or on dealings with the Māori. Atkinson eventually became part of Vogel's cabinet, but not with portfolios related to negotiations with Māori or to finance. He did continue to express his opinions on these matters, but found it increasingly harder to convince people of his views.
In 1876, Vogel retired, and Atkinson managed to secure the Premiership. One of his first acts was to abolish the provinces. He also took over direct responsibility for financial policy, and implemented a less aggressive strategy for borrowing. He attempted to reform the system by which money was handled, placing all responsibility for borrowing with the government while increasing control of spending at a district or municipal level. However, growing economic problems caused his plan to encounter difficulties. As the economy declined, Atkinson became more and more unpopular.
Atkinson lost power in 1877, only slightly over a year after he gained it. He entered opposition, continuing to promote his ideas of financial caution. He also proposed a number of other measures, including national insurance. In 1883, he managed to make a comeback, gaining the Premiership for eleven months before losing it to Robert Stout. The two then engaged in a protracted struggle for the leadership. A strong counter-offensive by Atkinson enabled him to unseat Stout again after only twelve days. Stout, however, was not so easily defeated, and took the Premiership again after seven days. This time, Stout held his position for three years, defeating Atkinson's attempts to oust him.
There was confusion in Wellington in September 1887 when the members gathered to form a government. John Bryce, Robert Stout and William Rolleston had all lost their seats. Sir John Hall said he was too old. Sir Julius Vogel's policies had been rejected by the voters. So there was no alternative to Harry Atkinson, and after two weeks of negotiations he announced a ministry on 11 October. Only two ministers had served with him before. The Scarecrow Ministry was not expected to last, but did. The years 1887 and 1888 were the worst of the Long Depression, and Atkinson cut salaries, raised loans and raised customs duties. He was not popular with the wealthy, but they feared the Opposition leaders Grey and Ballance even more.
During this term, Atkinson was Colonial Treasurer (1887–1891), Postmaster-General (1887–1889), Commissioner of Telegraphs (1887–1889), Minister of Marine (1887–1891), Commissioner of Stamps (1887–1891), Minister of Education (1889), and Commissioner of Trade and Customs. In January 1888, Atkinson was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George. A Freemason, he was installed as the Wellington district grand master in May 1888.
By 1890 Atkinson was too ill to make speeches in the House.
In 1891, Atkinson was finally superseded as Premier by John Ballance of the newly created Liberal Party, the country's first organised political party. Atkinson acceded to the wishes of his friends, and on 23 January 1891 he was appointed to the Legislative Council, along with six other men, to attempt to block any radical bills that Ballance might introduce in the Lower House. Ballance became Premier on 24 January, and appointed Atkinson as Speaker of the Legislative Council.
The Liberals, who represented the ideas of William Fox, Julius Vogel, and many other of Atkinson's opponents, were to hold power for 21 years after Atkinson's defeat, but Atkinson was not to see this. After presiding over the first meeting of the Council on 28 June in the 1892 session, Atkinson returned to the Speaker's Room, where he died. He was buried in Karori Cemetery. | <urn:uuid:85f9b0df-288d-4eb5-8b69-6fb83ea47dbc> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://db0nus869y26v.cloudfront.net/en/Harry_Atkinson | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572833.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817001643-20220817031643-00274.warc.gz | en | 0.97934 | 2,314 | 2.75 | 3 |
SECTION VI.-OF THE DIFFERENCE AS TO THE EXERCISE OF CIVIL AUTHORITY WITH REFERENCE TO RELIGION AND THE CONNECTION BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE.
THAT civil and religious society, and where revelation is enjoyed, church and state, with their respective authorities, are distinct and mutually independent, in their proper line and employment, will readily be granted by all who have just notions on the subject. But societies and powers which are distinct and independent, may have common objects about which they are employed, and may promote these with harmony and co-operation. Religion is an object of common interest to mankind, and as it enters into, and deeply affects the various relations in which they stand connected with one another, becomes an object of attention and care to all. Magistrates, Ministers, Masters, and Parents have all a distinct and peculiar concern with it; and the authority of each may be employed about it, without encroaching on the business, or usurping the powers of the others. Inattention to this general view of religion, and the connection which it necessarily has with the various relations of life, lies at the foundation of many of the modern errors which prevail on this subject.
That more special concern which certain persons have with religion, particularly in consequence of their being placed, according to divine institution, in offices properly religious and ecclesiastical, in which the immediate administration of religious ordinances is committed unto them, and unto which they are to ‘give themselves wholly,’—does not set aside the more general concern which other persons have with it as connected with their office and station, and those powers and duties which are founded in nature and more clearly unfolded by revelation. When masters and parents employ their authority for promoting religion, they do not interfere with the office of ministers of the gospel, nor does their power thereby become ecclesiastical, but still remain herile [relating to a master] and parental. In like manner, when civil rulers employ their authority for the same purpose, they do not encroach upon the proper business of church courts; their power remains civil and political, and does not become ecclesiastical or spiritual, although it be exercised about objects religious and ecclesiastical. To set aside or deny the powers belonging unto any of these, because we may not be able exactly to define their limits, or because they may interfere with, and encroach upon one another (which, in real life, and among erring and corrupt men, may be expected), would be unreasonable and absurd. In large and extensive societies, in particular, which coordinate, such as a kingdom, and a church of equal or nearly equal extent, and consisting chiefly of the same individuals, there must he more danger of such interferences, with the jealousies consequent upon them; yet as these do not arise from any formal or particular alliance, but from circumstances resulting from their co-existence and actings, so far from being an objection against every connection and alliance, they, on the contrary, demonstrate the propriety of agreeing to and establishing such rules as may bid fairest for preventing these evils, and for conducting matters so as that both societies may gain their ends more fully to their mutual benefit.
The brethren who protested against the late deeds of Synod, have had no difference with them as to the necessary distinction between church and state, or the independence of the former upon the latter in all her intrinsic jurisdiction and administrations. This has been an eminent part of the testimony and contendings of the church of Scotland, and to it they cordially adhere, in opposition to all Erastian tenets, and the sinful encroachments of civil powers, which have long prevailed, and do still continue to prevail in some protestant countries. To the general propositions of the Synod on this head, in their late Testimonies, (chap. 23. of that which was enacted in 1801, and chap. 24. of the one enacted in 1804), they do not object, in as far as they state the common doctrine respecting the essential distinction between church and state, and their mutual independence; although they consider many of their explications and inferences as false and misapplied. That Christ is the sole Head of the church; that he has an exclusive right to appoint all her laws and ordinances of worship and service; that all administrations in his house are to be performed in his name and by his authority, and that his servants, in the proper line of their office, do not act by the authority of, or by delegation from any earthly prince or legislature, so as to receive and execute their mandates, or be responsible to them for their ministrations;—are precious articles of testimony which these brethren hold as dear as any in the Synod, and which, it is hoped, they shall not be left to relinquish or forget. To charge them with making the civil magistrate the Head of the church, investing him with an ecclesiastical power and supremacy over her, or ascribing to him a lordship over the faith and consciences of men, they regard as the language of ignorance, gross inattention, or perverse misrepresentation.
But, in full consistency with these principles, they think they can maintain, that civil authority may be lawfully and beneficially employed in the advancement of religion and the kingdom of Christ. The care of religion, in the general view of it (in which respect the consideration of it is previous to that of the form which it assumes in consequence of supernatural revelation and the erection of a church state), belongs to the magistrate’s office; and it is his duty to watch over its external interests, and to exert himself in his station to preserve upon the minds of his subjects an impression of its obligations, and sanctions, and to suppress irreligion, impiety, profanity, and blasphemy. It is also the duty of civil rulers, and must be their interest, to exert themselves to introduce the gospel into their dominions when it may be but partially enjoyed; and by salutary laws and encouragements to provide them with the means of instruction, and a settled dispensation of ordinances; especially in poor and desolate, or in ignorant and irreligious parts of the country;—all which they may do without propagating Christianity by the sword, or forcing a profession of religion on their subjects by penal laws. When religion has become corrupt, after it has been received and established in a nation, and has degenerated into a system of falsehood, superstition, idolatry, and tyranny, carried on by churchmen, aided by the civil powers; and where various abuses of this kind are interwoven with the civil constitution and administration,—an eminent exercise of civil authority is requisite for the reformation of these; not by the abolition of all laws respecting religion, as a matter which civil government has no concern with, and by leaving every thing to individual exertion or voluntary associations, which would only breed anarchy and endless disorder; but by magistrates taking an active part in prosecuting a public reformation, removing external hindrances, correcting public and established abuses, allowing, and in some cases calling together and supporting ecclesiastical assemblies for settling the internal affairs of the church and of religion, "that unity and peace may be preserved, &c.;" as was done by the rulers of different countries at the period of the Reformation from Popery, and in Britain at the time of the Westminster Assembly. In an ordinary state of matters, they also judge, that it is the duty of civil rulers to maintain and support the interests of religion, and the kingdom of Christ, by publicly recognising and countenancing its institutions, giving the legal sanction to a public profession, or confession of its faith, a particular form of worship and ecclesiastical discipline, which are ratified as national; and by making public and permanent provision for the religious instruction of their subjects, and the maintenance of divine ordinances among them. These with other things of a similar kind agreeable to the principles of presbyterians, civil rulers may do in the exercise of their authority, without encroaching upon. the office or business of the church and its office-bearers, without compelling their subjects to believe or practise what they do not believe or judge sinful, and without punishing persons who may conscientiously dissent from the authorised and established religion, or depriving them of their natural rights merely on this ground; while at the same time, by using their authority in this way, magistrates do act for the honour of him by whom they rule, for the promotion of religion, the advancement of the kingdom of Christ, and the public good of their subjects.
When these things are considered, it will appear, that many of those propositions which are usually brought forward to set aside the exercise of magistratical authority about religion are impertinent and inconclusive, being founded upon a mistake of the principles upon which it proceeds, and a confounding of things totally distinct. We may also see, that several of the assertions of the Synod, in illustration of their propositions, are so general and vague that they can give no satisfaction to those who seek for distinct ideas upon the subject, It is true, as asserted by them that ‘the Christian religion—annexes no new powers to any office or relation founded in nature;’ but it is also true, that it does more than ‘lay every one who professes it, under the strongest obligations to the faithful discharge of the duties of his station.’ It gives new and higher qualifications to them for the discharge of duties, and also presents new objects about which they are to be employed. The Christian religion does not properly add any new powers to masters, parents, husbands; but it not only lays them under stronger obligations to the discharge of their respective duties, and give them greater fitness for this, it also widens the sphere of their operation, and brings new objects within their reach. It is the same as to magistrates. The Synod say, Christian magistrates ‘have no power to give laws to the church.’ But, without doing this they can make laws, in that civil society of which they are the organs, for the good of the church, and the advancement of the interests of religion. The Synod say further, ‘they have no power to prescribe a confession of faith, or form of worship to the church, or their subjects in general.’ But may not ecclesiastical as well as civil rulers be guilty, by assuming the power of prescribing a confession of faith and form of worship? The original and proper appointment of articles of faith and the mode of worship belongs to Christ, and he hath prescribed these in his word. But if, by prescribing, be meant recognising and settling forward these then this may be competent to both, when they act in subordination to the divine authority, and in their direct line and order. When the body of a nation are agreed in the profession of the true religion, and a particular confession of faith, form of worship, &c. have been drawn from the scriptures by those to whom this work immediately belongs, the adding of the civil sanction to them (though this does not give them any spiritual authority, nor make them more binding as ecclesiastical deeds), and their being thus considered as national, may be justified as lawful, expedient, and, in many cases, highly necessary. Nor does this ascribe to magistrates any juridical powers incompatible with the nature of their office, or which encroach upon the province of ecclesiastical courts.
The testimony now adopted by the Synod is not only very defective, as it does not contain or exhibit any principles upon which the civil reformation in this land, formerly witnessed for, can be vindicated; but it also advances doctrine eversive of this, and directly opposite to that which is contained in the word of God, in the standards of the church of Scotland, and in the public papers of the Secession, respecting the authority and duty of civil rulers.—It denies that the authority of magistrates extends to religion or matters ecclesiastical, limiting its exercise to the civil or secular concerns of mankind. ‘The power (say the Synod) competent to worldly kingdoms is wholly temporal, respecting only the secular interests of society.’ This is still more apparent from the 6th section of the same chapter, in which they profess to state the duty of civil magistrates with respect to the church, and the interests of religion. The whole of what is said to be incumbent upon them in their official character is contained in one sentence, and is confined to protection, and the securing of an universal liberty of worship. ‘It is their duty, in their official character, to protect her (the church) in the peaceable possession of her rights as a society, and to secure all her members the full enjoyment of liberty of conscience, so long as they act as peaceable members of the civil state.’ This protection, it is evident, is no more than what the Synod must consider as due to every society calling itself a church, however heretical and corrupt, yea, to every society erected for the most common purposes; and the securing of liberty of conscience, of which they speak, cannot be confined to those who are members of the Church of Christ; for the Synod had before declared, that ‘a liberty of worshipping God in the way which they judge’ agreeable to his will, is a right common to all men;’ and this must be the right which magistrates are to secure. So that, in their official character, according to the Synod’s doctrine, magistrates are to do no more for a true church than a false, and no more for Christians, than for Jews, Deists, Mahometans, or Pagans. All that follows, after the sentence above quoted, to the end of the section, it is carefully to be observed, respects magistrates solely in their private character. For it is immediately added; ‘But there are many other things incumbent upon the magistrate in his private character, for the glory of Him by whom kings reign, and for the prosperity of his interest in the world.’ He is ‘as well’ as ‘all other men to acquaint himself with the divine word,’ &c. It is his duty, like every ‘subject of God’s government,’ to use his ‘own advice and example’ for promoting and preserving religious worship. And like other church members, he is to contribute ‘according to his ability, for the spread of the gospel, and the support of a gospel ministry;’ only it is allowed that his private purse is heavier than that of other church members, and that his advice and example may have more influence. And this is all that is specially allotted and allowed to magistrates in the word of God! all that is meant in such passages of scripture as Isa. 49:23. Psalm 72:10. to which the Synod refer at the foot of the page! This is all the sense and meaning in which the Synod adhere to the passages of the Confession, which teach the duty of civil rulers as to religion.
The reference to the Confession of Faith, and the use of its words, with the explication and limitation added, deserve particular notice. The following are the Synod’s words, and the manner in which they are printed: ‘It is his duty as a subject of God’s government, in obedience to the second commandment, to use his endeavours that the truth of God be kept pure and entire; that all blasphemies and heresies be suppressed; that all corruptions in the worship of God and discipline of the church be prevented or reformed; and that all the ordinances of God be duly administered and observed. The endeavours for accomplishing these ends, must all be such as are consistent with the spirit of the gospel, not by the interposition of the civil sword, but by his own advice and example.’ The things about which it is here said the magistrate must use his endeavours, include the whole of the public worship and ordinances of God, whether natural or revealed, moral as well as positive. This is evident from their being arranged under the second commandment of the moral law, said to be the duty of the magistrate as a subject of God’s government, and from the particulars enumerated. What then are the endeavours which the magistrate is to use, what are the means which he is to employ for gaining these ends or any of them? That they ‘must all be such as are consistent with the spirit of the gospel,’ none will doubt, as all that the magistrate does ought to be so. But the Synod add, ‘not by the interposition of the civil sword, but by his own advice and example.’ Although it is not improbable that the phrase the ‘civil sword’ is here introduced in terrorem, yet as contrasted with ‘advice and example,’ it must refer to the authority of the magistrate in general; as the expression ‘the sword’ is used by divines, agreeably to scripture, to express civil authority, in like manner as ‘the keys’ is used as the denomination of that authority which is ecclesiastical. Accordingly, the Synod exclude all exercise of civil authority about divine worship and ordinances, confining him to the use of ‘advice and example’ in suppressing all blasphemies and errors, preventing or reforming all corruptions and abuses in worship or discipline, and in taking order to have all the ordinances of God administered and observed.—The abuse which is committed upon the Confession of Faith is not less glaring than the departure from its doctrine. The evident tendency of condescending upon these particulars, of using the words of the Confession, and of fixing the readers attention upon them by printing them in Italics, is to make him believe that the Synod is still adhering to the doctrine of that book upon the article in question. Yet there cannot be a more glaring contradiction of the doctrine laid down in that part of the Confession of Faith than what is taught by the Synod. For the limited sense imposed upon the words is not only what the compilers of the Confession would have rejected, but it is a sense which it was the express design of that paragraph to condemn. This must be apparent to any one who will take the trouble to examine it as it stands in Conf. Chap. 23 sect. 3. The design of that section is to explain the power and authority of the civil magistrate respecting religion. In the first part of it they mention some things to which his authority does not extend; they then go on in the latter part to state some things to which his authority reaches, in opposition to those who denied the magistrate’s power about religion; and they say, ‘yet he hath authority, and it is his duty to take order that unity and peace be preserved in the church, that the truth of God be kept pure and entire, that all blasphemies,’ &c. But the Synod cut off the words he hath authority which give meaning to all that follows, and teach that he hath no authority in those matters, but is limited to the use of ‘his own advice and example.’ After having thus excluded all exercise of civil authority from the settlement of religious worship and ordinances, after having restricted magistrates from disposing of the nation’s property—for the spread of the gospel, and ‘the support of a gospel-ministry;’ it is surety a farce, it is something worse than a farce, to pretend that the Synod do not enter into the question respecting the lawfulness or unlawfulness of civil establishments of religion.
Let us now contrast these sentiments of the Synod, with the doctrine maintained on this head by the Protestant and Reformed churches. These harmoniously agree in declaring, as with one mouth, that civil authority is not limited to the secular affairs of men, and that the public care and advancement of religion is a principal part of the official duty of magistrates. A few extracts from their public Confessions will clearly establish this. The first Confession of Helvetia or Switzerland, says, ‘Seeing that every magistrate is of God, his chief duty (except it please him to exercise tyranny) consisteth in this, to defend religion from all blasphemy, to promote it, and, as the prophet teacheth out of the word of the Lord, to see it put in practice, as far as lies in him. In this matter the first place is given to the pure and free preaching of the word of God, the instructing of the youth of citizens, right and diligent teaching in schools, lawful, discipline, a liberal provision for the ministers of the church, and an attentive care of the poor.’—The latter Confession of Helvetia (which was expressly approved by the church of Scotland and most of the reformed churches), teaches, that ‘magistracy, of whatsoever sort it be, is ordained of God himself, for the peace and tranquillity of mankind; so that the magistracy ought to have the chief place in the world. If he be an adversary to the church, he may greatly hinder and disturb it; but if he be a friend and member of the church, he is a most profitable member, and may excellently aid and advance it. His principal duty is to procure and maintain peace and public tranquility; which, doubtless, he will never do more happily than when he is seasoned with the fear of God and true religion, particularly when he shall, after the example of the most holy kings and princes of the people of the Lord, advance the preaching of the truth, and the pure unadulterated faith, shall extirpate falsehood and all superstition, impiety, and idolatry, and shall defend the church of God. For, indeed, we teach that the care of religion doth chiefly appertain to the holy magistrate.’
The Confession of Bohemia, called also the Confession of the Waldenses, says, ‘The Christian magistrate ought also to be a partaker, and, as it were, a minister of the power of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, whom God hath, in our nature, made Lord and King of kings, that kings of the earth, who in times past had been heathen, might come under the power of the Lamb, give their glory unto the church, and become nurses of it, which began to be fulfilled when they received the Christian religion. The Christian magistrate is peculiarly taught, by this authority of his, to promote the truth of the holy gospel, &c. Whereunto the second Psalm doth exhort magistrates: And now, ye kings, understand,& c.’ The Confession of Saxony declares, that ‘the word of God doth, in general, teach this concerning the power of the magistrate; First, that God wills that the magistrate, without all doubt, should sound forth the voice of the moral law among men, according to the ten commandments, or law natural, by laws forbidding idolatry and blasphemies, as well as murders, theft, &c. For well has it been said of old, The magistrate is a keeper of the law, i.e. of the first and second table, as concerning discipline and good order.—This ought to be their special care (of kingdoms and their rulers), to hear and embrace the true doctrine of the Son of God, and to cherish the churches, according to Psal. 2, and 24. and Isaiah 49. And kings and queens shall be thy nurses, i.e. let commonwealths be nurses of the church, let them give entertainment to the church, and to godly studies.’ The Dutch Confession (approved also by the French church) teaches, that it ‘is the duty of magistrates not only to be careful to preserve the civil government, but also to endeavour that the ministry be preserved, that all idolatry and counterfeit worship be abolished, the kingdom of antichrist brought down, and that the kingdom of Christ be enlarged: In fine, that it is their duty to bring it to pass that the holy word of the gospel be preached every where, that all men may serve God purely and freely, according to the prescribed will of his word.’ And the French Confession declares, that God hath ‘delivered the sword into the magistrate’s hand, that so sins committed against both tables of God’s law, not only against the second but the first also, may be suppressed.’
In the Confession of the English Congregation in Geneva (which was approved and used in Scotland before the establishment of the Reformation here), it is said, ‘Besides this ecclesiastical discipline, I acknowledge to belong to this church a politic magistrate, who ministereth to every man justice, defending the good and punishing the evil. To whom we must render honour and obedience in all things which are not contrary to the word of God. And as Moses, Ezechias, Josias, and other godly rulers, purged the church of God from superstition and idolatry, so the defence of Christ’s church appertaineth to the Christian magistrates, against all idolaters and heretics, as Papists, Anabaptists, with such like limmes [i.e., limbs] of Antichrist.’ The Scot’s Confession says, ‘Moreover, to kings, princes, rulers, and magistrates, we affirm, that, chiefly and most principally the conservation and purgation of the religion doth appertain; so that not only they are appointed for civil policy, but also for maintainance of the true religion, and for suppressing of idolatry and superstition whatsoever, as in David, Josaphat, Ezekias, Josias, and others, highly commended for their zeal in that case, may be espied.’—The Second Book of Discipline declares that, ‘Although all the members of the kirk be holden every one in their vocation, and according thereto, to advance the kingdom of Jesus Christ, so far as lieth in their power, yet chiefly Christian princes, and other magistrates, are holden to do the same. For they are called in the scriptures nourishers of the kirk, for so much as by them it is, or at least ought to be maintained, fostered, upholden, and defended against all that would procure the hurt thereof. So it pertains to the office of a Christian magistrate,—to make laws and constitutions agreeable to God’s word, for advancement of the kirk, and policy thereof, without usurping any thing that pertains not to the civil sword, but belongs to the offices that are merely ecclesiastical, as is the ministry of the word and sacraments, using of ecclesiastical discipline, and the spiritual execution thereof, or any part of the power of the spiritual keys, which our Master gave to the apostles, and their true successors.’
The Westminster Confession teaches, that Christian magistrates, ‘in the managing’ of their office, ‘ought especially to maintain piety, justice, and peace;’ that ‘the civil magistrate may not assume to himself the administration of the word and sacraments, or the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven; yet he hath authority, and it is his duty, to take order, that unity and peace be preserved in the church, that the truth of God be kept pure and entire, that all blasphemies and heresies be suppressed; all corruptions and abuses in worship and discipline prevented or reformed; and all the ordinances of God duly settled, administered, and observed. For the better effecting whereof he hath power to call synods, to be present at them, and to provide that whatsoever is transacted in them be according to the mind of God.’ The Larger Catechism teaches that ‘the charge of keeping the Sabbath is more especially directed to governors of families and other superiors, because they are bound not only to keep it themselves, but to see that it be observed by all those that are under their charge;’ also, that in the second petition we pray, among other blessings, connected with the advancement of Christ’s kingdom, that ‘the church’ may be ‘furnished with all gospel-officers and ordinances, purged from corruption, countenanced and maintained by the civil magistrate.’
Such is the harmony of doctrine in the Protestant churches on this head, expressed in their Confessions and public formularies drawn from the word of God: a harmony which deserves great attention, and from which none should rashly depart. From this doctrine there was no deviation in the original Testimony and public papers of the Secession. In adopting the Confession of Faith and other standards of the church of Scotland no exception was ever stated on this subject. This appears from the second and third questions in the old formula, and from the I. II. and VI. articles of the assertory part of the Testimony, concerning worship, government, and discipline. On the contrary, the whole doctrine contained in the confession of Faith and Larger Catechism, as received by the church of Scotland, is expressly approved and homologated. In the Declaration and Defence of the Associate Presbytery’s principles respecting the present Civil Government, or Answers to Mr. Nairn, after laying down the principles upon which the magistrates power is founded and can be defended, it is added, ‘there is noticing especially allotted and allowed unto magistrates by the word of God and the Confessions of the Reformed Churches, but what can be so’ argued for and defended.
If we have recourse to the writings of those who were concerned in the compilation of the public papers of the Secession, or who have vindicated them, we will find that they maintain the common Presbyterian doctrine respecting the magistrate’s power about religion, and condemn the opposite doctrine as a hurtful error. Mr. William Wilson, of Perth, in his Defence pronounces ‘the legal or civil establishment’ enjoyed by the church of Scotland, ‘good in itself,’ although it was at that time abused by the judicatories. ‘We will readily agree (says he) that the countenance of civil authority is not necessary to the being of the church, though it is very profitable and useful to her outward peaceable being: As also, that the countenance and protection of the civil magistrate, given unto the judicatories of the church, in the faithful discharge of their duty, is a great outward blessing, promised unto her in New Testament times, Isa. 49:23. and 60:5. 10. Rev. 17:16.’ Having mentioned a number of the peculiar and distinguishing ‘principles’ of the Anabaptists and Brownists, among which is the following, ‘they affirmed, that the Christian magistrate had no right to meddle at all with any matters of religion; and they plead for a universal toleration, under the specious pretence of liberty of conscience.’ Mr. Wilson adds, ‘Against the above extravagant principles our reformed divines employed their pens, and discovered the contrariety of them to the holy scriptures, and their affinity to several of the gross principles of the ancient Donatists and Novatians. The above are the principles that the most part of our divines, cited by the author of the Essay, do reason against; and the principles of the Seceding ministers are as far distant from them as east from west.’ Again, ‘The greatest deceits have been brought into the world under the name or notion of new lights. It is to be regretted (continues he) that such new lights have of late appeared in our horizon, who plead against the establishment of confessions of faith, &c., by the laws of the land: If our author had employed his pen against such new lights, providing he had done it to purpose, he had thereby done more service to our Reformation rights and our Presbyterian interest than he has done by his Essay on Separation.’ His antagonist, Mr. Currie, having charged Seceders with one of the principles held by one Roger Williams, Mr. Wilson answers; ‘But, how comes our author to conceal his other principle mentioned by Mr. Mather in the place quoted by him, viz. His violent urging, that the civil magistrate might not punish breaches of the first table in the laws of the ten commandments? Our author has, no doubt, his reasons for not mentioning this Sectarian principle, mentioned by Mr. Williams; however, according to Mr. Mather, in his history, the above principles bred as much disturbance in New England as that which our author mentions.’
Mr. Alexander Moncrieff, of Abernethy, inculcates the same doctrine in his writings. ‘Christian magistrates (says he), in their characters, are to maintain and defend the faith in Christ. We do not mean that they are to propagate the religion of Jesus by sword, fire, and faggot, but that Christian states are to employ their power and authority for support of the worship and service of God, as well as for regulating our behaviour to our fellow-creatures.—Both precepts and examples under the Old Testament are strong and clear to this purpose; and these were not temporary laws, but founded upon perpetual and moral grounds, such as the peace of societies; the good of men's souls; the duty of all dependent beings to pay homage to their Creator, in the manner himself has prescribed; and the duty of all magistrates, the ministers and delegates of the great God, to vindicate and maintain his honour among men. No doubt magistrates have mistaken error for truth, and made a bad use of their power upon many occasions; but if the abuse of a power take away the lawful use of it, mankind will be in a strange and unheard of situation!’ The same learned and pious author, in another part of his works, gives a very perspicuous and succinct statement of the difference between civil and ecclesiastical authority, and of the power which Presbyterians allow to magistrates respecting synods and matters ecclesiastical, in opposition both to Erastian and Sectarian extremes. With this doctrine, his son, Mr. William Moncrieff of Alloa, agrees; ‘It has been proved (says he) by such divines as have wrote against the Erastians—that, though the Christian magistrate has a power circa sacra (about holy things); yet he has no power in sacris (in holy things); that it belongs to the church in her judicatures to judge of religious matters; and the magistrate is to strengthen the church’s hands by giving the civil sanction (so far as proper) to their determinations.’
Mr. William Campbell of Ceres, after quoting chap. 23, sect. 3. of the Confession of Faith, adds the following explication: ‘From this quotation of our Confession, we may notice what power the magistrate hath about the church, both negatively and positively. (1.) Negatively, he hath not a power in sacred things, viz. the power of dispensing the word and sacraments, nor the keys of the kingdom of heaven. (2.) Positively, he hath a power about sacred things; he is to be nursing father to the church, to use that power given him of God in her defence; nevertheless he is not to use this power of himself, but that he may employ it for the good of the church, he is to call her judicatories that they may go about their work, at which he may be present; and so his proper work is to ratify, by civil sanction, what they determine and conclude.’ Mr. David Wilson of London says, ‘It is not strange that those who are of opinion that there can be no such thing as a national church under the New Testament, should deny the warrantableness of national covenanting; but if the rulers, or representatives of any nation or kingdom, with the concurrence of the .greater part of the people, shall embrace the Christian faith, authorize the profession of the true religion, and agree to promote the same to the utmost of their power, subordinating all their civil and secular interests to the glory of God, may not this be called a national church? And can it be said that it is unwarrantable for any nation to do so, or that such a thing can never be expected to take place under the Christian dispensation? If this were true, I do not see how the following prophecies could ever have an accomplishment; Isa. 45:5. Jer. 4:2. Rev. 11:15.’ ‘Open breaches of the law of God (says the same author), when they are not punished by magistrates and men in authority, but are either patronized and encouraged, or tolerated and connived at by them, become national sins; and it is just that God should punish them by national judgments. The open violation of the law of God shews a daring contempt of his authority, and when no proper check is given to it by rulers and magistrates, the guilt of it is imputable to them. The guilt of sins committed by a people is chargeable upon rulers and magistrates when they do not take care to have the people subject to their authority instructed in the principles of religion, that they may know what is sin, and what is duty, the danger of committing the former, and the many advantages that attend, and follow upon a conscientious performance of the latter.’
Mr. Adam Gib of Edinburgh, in his Examination of a late Survey, vindicates the Confession of Faith, Chap. 23 Sec. 3. As to the charge of Erastianism brought against it by the Surveyor, he says, ‘he might as well have charged’ it ‘with Mahometanism;’ and his allegation that it is inconsistent with itself, he asserts, ‘he will never be able’ to prove. ‘For clearing the principles of the Associate Synod, and of all the reformed churches, with regard to civil establishments of religion,’ Mr. Gib lays down a number of propositions, in which he guards, on the one hand, the natural rights of men, and the independence of the church, in respect of all her peculiar and intrinsic concerns, and on the other, the propriety of an established profession of religion, with public provision for the officers and ordinances of the church. ‘Is there no difference (say he) betwixt these two; an establishing a national profession of religion, and a compelling all the subjects to embrace it by the terror of civil penalties?—The establishment now spoken of is to be considered as a bestowing of additional privileges upon some; not as a detracting from the natural and common privileges of any.—And though the bestowing of temporal encouragements or advantages upon the church has been carried too far—unto a corrupting of her officers and ordinances; yet this says nothing against such a measure thereof, as is truly serviceable to the interests of religion: While the civil power can also refuse or withdraw these, as they appear undeserved; without any encroachment on their natural privileges.’—‘The wicked import and effect of this new scheme is—to be considered. And, 1. It means an abolishing of all scripture-precepts, promises, and prophecies, about the state of the gospel-church with regard to civil powers. For, according to this scheme, kings are not to be wise now, nor are the judges of the earth to be instructed that they should serve the Lord, the King upon the holy hill of Zion!—No kings, in their kingly state, should fall down before him; no nations in their national state, should serve him! It is to be of no consequence to the church, that the Lord hath said, Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; nor is it to be admitted of, according to any intelligible use of the words, that the kingdoms of this world should become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ! 2. This new scheme is for abolishing all obligation upon Christians to manage their secular callings and advantages in a way of homage to the Lord Christ.—Whatever opportunity and power any Christian man has, from his civil station—for favouring or promoting the interests of Christ in the gospel-church, so as may be still agreeable to her nature, he should reckon it his chief business thus to improve the same, in opposition to a heathenish way of managing the concerns of that station; and this must be principally incumbent on civil rulers, from the principal measure of their opportunity and power. To imagine that civil rulers, professing religion, should not use their power and influence in behalf of the religion which they profess—or that they can otherwise put a due value upon it, and be truly in earnest about it, this is one of the Surveyor’s chimerical notions—which never can be, nor ought to be exemplified in the world!’
‘Some people (says Mr. Morison of Norham) may perhaps be shocked at hearing of a legal establishment of religion, as if it were an antichristian abomination. But there is no manner of ground for the heinous charge, provided always the establishment be not formed on the antichristian plan. Nor are we to be presently alarmed, as if all that must needs be antichristian, which is boldly opposed under that odious character. It is no unusual thing for Satan to transform himself into a angel of light; and under the cover of appearing to condemn a thing, to seek to establish it in another shape.’ Considering the Christian Magistrate as a Magistrate, the same author asserts, that ‘there is no doubt, but particularly in this capacity it is incumbent on him to do whatever is here (i.e. in the Confession, Chap. 23 sect. 3.) said to be his duty to do.’ And among other things, ‘it is competent to, and consequently incumbent on the magistrate, to provide the church in an honourable patrimony, and to protect her in the possession and enjoyment of it, against all invaders whatsoever, for the support of schools and colleges, in order to the training up of young men for the work of the ministry, and for the maintenance of those who are employed in the ministry of the church.—It is further competent to, and consequently incumbent on the magistrate, to see and provide that his subjects be not left destitute of a faithful gospel ministry.—That the time shall come when the kings of the earth shall thus honour the Lord Christ, is secured to the church by manifold promises. See Psal. 72:10, 11; Isa. 49:23; Rev. 11:15.’
Such is the doctrine which was taught in the Secession, both in public acts and private writings, in conformity to, and vindication of the principles contained in the word of God, and the Confessions of the Reformed churches. And it is easy to see that they must have maintained such sentiments, to be consistent with their subscriptions and the Testimony to which they avow an adherence. If it were not to avoid tediousness, we might have contrasted these, with the sentiments advanced of late by Seceders in different publications, in which the doctrine of the Confession on this head is yielded up as unjustifiable, and condemned; the civil establishment of any particular profession of religion is represented as incompatible with the genius and constitution of the Christian church, and Antichristian; the divine promises and providence about the church are urged as superseding all necessity of human securities; the conduct of the church, in seeking to be secured in her collective capacity by the sanction of human laws, is compared to the sin of the people of Israel in desiring a king, that they might be like the rest of the nations; religious tests in general, as qualifying men for civil offices, are condemned, as evidently inconsistent with the natural rights of men; and the abolition of the public funds for supporting religion is recommended. These are sentiments which are now not only current among Seceders, and avowed in private writings, but introduced, in all their leading articles, into the new deeds of Synod.
Some may be ready to enquire here, how the Synod can pretend that they are still of the same profession, or deny the change of principle which is so obvious. Upon what principle do they attempt to vindicate themselves in this? In general, they have done so by taking shelter under some general principle or expressions contained in the former standards and public papers, and alleging that they approved of and agreed to other things in them, only in so far as they were consistent with these. Nothing, however, can be more untenable and dangerous than such a mode of defence. It contradicts every rule of just reasoning and interpretation, as to the declarations both of God and of men. Certainly, general declarations are to be explained and limited by those which are particular and more specific; and not the latter by the former. If an opposite practice is adopted, the writings of no man, or body of men, can ever be understood as expressing any definite set of principles, nor can they be free from perversion. This would overturn all use of tests of orthodoxy. A person has only to lay hold of some general declaration or expression, and explaining it in his own way, and drawing inferences from it directly contradictory to those allowed in the public standard, to say, that he agrees to all other things in that standard, only in so far as they are consistent with this; that is, only in so far as they are consistent with his private construction of it There are certain general propositions in which Socinians and Arminians may agree with the Orthodox, while, in the sense which they affix to them, and the inferences which they draw from them, they essentially differ. Take for an example the 5th question in the Shorter Catechism: Are there more Gods than one? A. There is but one only, the living and true God. To this the Socinian assents; but could he conscientiously and honestly approve of and adopt the Shorter Catechism, with this salvo, that he understood other parts of it in consistency with this fundamental principle? Or, if he should revise and throw into a new mould this Catechism, expunging the 6th question, with every thing that implied the doctrine of the Trinity, could he defend himself, by saying that he had advanced no new principle, no principle that was not taught in some part of that book, and that he had only rendered it more consistent with itself? The answer would be easy, that it was only his private construction of that question, in direct opposition to the meaning of the compilers, as appears from what they immediately add. Another example may be taken from the first question in the formula: Do you believe the Scriptures of the Old ad New Testament to be the word of God, and the only rule of faith and manners? The opposers of subordinate standards and tests of orthodoxy agree with the affirmative of this, and they think that it completely sets aside all use of any other standard or rule. What then? This is only their particular construction of the question; that the compilers of the formula thought otherwise is plain, because, in the following question, they proceed to put a subordinate test to the candidate, to try his orthodoxy by a subordinate rule. They think there is a glaring inconsistency here; the compilers certainly saw none: and we do not allow that there is any. The same reasoning is applicable to those passages in the Confession, and other public papers, under which the Synod attempt to screen themselves; as will appear from a very little attention to them.
One passage to which they refer is Conf. Chap. 20. sect. 2. ‘God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are in any thing contrary to his word, or beside it, in matters of faith or worship; so that to believe such doctrine, or obey such commands, out of conscience, is to betray true liberty of conscience; and the requiring of an implicit faith, and an absolute and blind obedience, is to destroy liberty of conscience, and reason also.’ From this the Synod infer that civil authority is wholly inapplicable to matters of religion. Nothing, however, can be farther from the design of the Confession than to countenance this notion, which they expressly guard against in the following paragraph; in which they state, that ‘the powers which God hath ordained, and the liberty which Christ hath purchased, are not intended to destroy, but mutually to uphold one another;’ that ‘they who, upon pretence of Christian liberty, oppose any lawful power, or the lawful exercise of it, whether it be civil or ecclesiastical, resist the ordinance of God.’ And that there is a lawful exercise of civil power about religious matters, they declare, both in that passage, and in Chap. 23. But further, as it was not the design of the Confession, in the above quotation, to condemn this exercise of civil authority, so no such doctrine can justly be inferred from the words. For,
1. If they condemn all exercise of civil authority, then they condemn also all exercise of every other species of human authority about these things, whether ecclesiastical, parental, &c. Is it not equally true, that God hath left the conscience ‘free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are in any thing contrary to his word, or beside it, in matters of faith or worship,’ whether these be the doctrines and commandments of ministers or magistrates, of masters or parents? Is not ‘an implicit faith, or an absolute and blind obedience,’ unreasonable and sinful, whether it be yielded to synods or parliaments? The design of the words is, to teach the subordination of all human power to the sovereignty and laws of God, particularly in matters of faith and worship. Nay, they seem in that passage to be more immediately levelled against invasions by church-authority, which have been fully as frequent and pernicious in religion as those of civil rulers; such as the assumed lordship of popes, councils, prelates and convocations, in devising new articles of faith, decreeing, and imposing unscriptural rites and ceremonies, canons, &c., here called ‘the doctrines and commandments of men,’ in contradistinction from divine institutions; as the traditions and superstitions of the Scribes and Pharisees, superadded to the divine law, are called by our Lord. If civil rulers concur in these impositions, or if they shall attempt the like by their own sole authority, and the claim of an ecclesiastical supremacy, this doctrine equally condemns their tyranny, and teaches, that no error, will-worship, or any species of false religion, by whomsoever commanded in churches or states, can lay any obligation on conscience, which is immediately subject to God alone. But no such thing is taught, as that men’s consciences are set free from obedience to any human authority, when acting in entire consistency with the word of God, and enjoining nothing beside it, or beyond its own proper limits; which authority of any kind may certainly do.
2. The lordship of God over the conscience, here asserted, extends to morality, as well as religious worship; and, if it sets aside all exercise of human authority about the latter, it must do so also as to the former. Persons often speak of conscience as if it were confined to the worship of God, whereas it extends to all duty. The lordship of God and liberty of conscience may be invaded by rulers in the one as well as the other; and if they shall command any thing which is contrary to the second table of the law, or prohibit what it requires, they are not to be obeyed any more than if their commands contradicted the first. "We ought to obey God rather than man," is a sufficient answer in both cases. ‘God has left the conscience free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are in any thing contrary to his word,’ as well as in those which are ‘beside it in matters of faith and worship.’ But shall we infer from this, that there can be no exercise of civil authority respecting matters of morality, and of the duties of the second table? Certainly not.
Another general principle, to which recourse is had to vindicate the new sentiments adopted by the Synod, is contained in the Associate Presbytery’s Declaration and Defence of principles respecting Civil Government, commonly called the Answers to Nairn, in which they state, that ‘the whole institution and end’ of the office of magistrates ‘are cut out by, and lie within the compass of natural principles.’ The inference which is drawn from this is, that the power of magistrates does not extend to religion, particularly to matters of revelation; and it is pleaded, that this declaration of the Associate Presbytery, did limit and set aside that power in religious matters, which is ascribed to civil rulers by the Confession and other public papers of the Secession. The answer to this is similar to what was given to the preceding plea. This never was, it could not be the design of this paragraph, or of the Associate Presbytery. On the contrary, what is there taught in regard to the origin, object, and extent of the office of civil magistrates is an introduction to the fullest approbation, of what is ascribed to them in the Confessions of the Reformed churches, which, it is asserted, may be vindicated upon the same principles. By withholding this concluding part of the sentence and paragraph, in their quotations of it in their new deeds, the Synod have given a mangled view of its meaning, and limit their adherence to a part of the doctrine taught in that Declaration. After having done this, they hold forth this part of a paragraph, dismembered and detached from its connection, and understood in a sense contradictory to it, as exhibiting a just and adequate representation of the doctrine of the Associate Presbytery in their Declaration; although all office-bearers were hitherto taken bound to the whole doctrine contained in that paper! Further, in the same Declaration the Presbytery expressly approve of the application of civil power to religion, in what they say respecting the former Reformation of this land, and in the doctrine which they lay down, as to the duty of a nation and its rulers in settling their constitution, and conducting its administrations, as we have formerly shewn. The general principle, above referred to, must be understood in a sense consistent with these express and particular specifications. But it is in a sense inconsistent with them that it is now explained and applied by the Synod.
Nor is this imposed meaning less inconsistent with the proper import of the words, than it is with the intention of the Associate Presbytery, and the whole scope of their Declaration. For, 1. Natural principles include religion, as one of their most important branches. This, however, is entirely overlooked by the Synod in their new deeds, as well as in the defences of them read in the Synod. Although they affect to make the difference to turn chiefly upon matters of revelation, yet they have preserved a deep silence respecting religion, as founded in natural principles, and forming, in this view, a great object of magistratical concern and duty. They have taught nothing respecting the duty of civil rulers to preserve these principles; but, on the contrary, have excluded all interference of authority about them, as well as matters of supernatural revelation, by confining it to things merely civil, and the secular interests of mankind, and by proclaiming an universal liberty in matters of religion and the worship of God. Thus they have, in so far, gone over to the principles, and patronized the designs of those modern philosophers and politicians, who have made a total separation between religion and civil government; a scheme, which, considering its extensive spread of late times, and its pernicious tendency (as formerly hinted, HERE), there was a louder call to testify and guard against, than as to many things which the Synod have condemned in their new Testimony.
2. The right which magistrates have to interfere with religion, and to employ their power for its support is founded in natural principles; and is not pleaded for as originating from the Mediator’s office, or as of supernatural institution, any more than other parts of his official power and duty.
3. Natural principles teach, that if God be pleased to grant a supernatural revelation of his will, declaring in what manner he will be worshipped (as he has done in the Scriptures), it is the duty of all, magistrates and people, to whom it is made known, to embrace, and, in their several stations, to promote and support this. The form which religion assumes in consequence of supernatural revelation is the only true one, and has a divine claim upon all that countenance and support which human laws can give it; and the application of the common principles of magistracy to the support of the true religion, and of the kingdom of Christ, as visibly erected in the world, does not remove it from its proper foundation, or ascribe new powers to the office.
4. Much error is also occasioned by an improper limitation of the end of the magistratical office. This is indeed ‘the public good of outward and common order,’ in distinction from ‘the disorders of men’s hearts,’ about which the gospel ministry is versant. But, instead of excluding, this must comprehend the care of religion, which (as we shall see) is necessarily connected with the welfare of society; and particularly the true religion, as eminently calculated to promote this.
5. What belongs to magistracy in general, and to all magistrates, is not to be confounded with those things which belong to and are incumbent upon those who enjoy the benefit of divine revelation, and who rule over a people who make a profession of Christianity. Such a people have peculiar interests and privileges to secure and advance; and as it is their duty to provide for these in their constitution, so it is the duty of their rulers to attend to the same great object. Without this they cannot ‘exercise their office for promoting the church’s public good,’ and the public good of that society over which they are placed in all its circumstances.—Another distinction, connected with the above, may be also here mentioned: What the magistrate owes to all his subjects in common, in the administration of justice, and the preservation of order and peace among them, is not to be confounded with what is competent to and incumbent upon him, in promoting and countenancing, by his authority, such institutions as contribute materially to the prosperity of the people over whom he rules; among which religion and pure Christianity must hold an important place. This distinction is laid down and illustrated by Mr. Gib. After stating that, ‘as to all temporal jurisdiction about men’s natural rights and privileges,—the civil power is to proceed only upon natural, not upon revealed principles,’ he adds: ‘In all PUBLIC or MAGISTRATICAL administrations, which do not affect men’s natural rights or privileges, the civil power when Christian is to proceed upon revealed as well as natural principles. He is to exercise his Christian judgment of discretion as to his countenancing or discountenancing of any in the matter of their religious principles and profession; as to what particular Church-state should be favoured with legal securities and privileges; and as to what persons should be entrusted with places of power under him, for the public good of ecclesiastical as well as of civil society. In all which he encroaches upon no man’s birth-right; but only maintains a good conscience about a proper subserviency of his power to the kingdom of JESUS CHRIST.’
Before leaving this part of the subject, it may be proper to advert, very briefly, to another pretext for departing from the principles of the church of Scotland on this head, which is taken from the Act of Assembly receiving the Westminster Confession of Faith. This Act may be seen prefixed to the Confession, and any person who gives it an attentive perusal may be convinced, that, instead of giving any countenance to the proceedings of the Synod, it condemns them. The explication which it contains does not refer to the general doctrine which the Confession teaches respecting the Magistrates’ power about religion, which the Assembly approved, as well as its other doctrines, as ‘most orthodox, and grounded upon the word of God.’ It bears no reference whatever to Chapters 20. sect. 4.; [chap.] 23. sect. 3. against which the Synod except. It refers exclusively to some parts of the second article of the thirty-first chapter, and to the single point of the calling of ecclesiastical assemblies. It does not condemn the doctrine there taught, but simply declares, that ‘the Assembly understandeth’ it ‘only of kirks not settled or constituted in point of government.’ It asserts the intrinsic right of the church to hold her own assemblies as often as necessary, although the magistrate, after proper representation, should with-hold or deny his consent; which had always been the avowed principle and right of the church of Scotland. When we consider the faithfulness of that church in asserting and holding fast what she had always professed, and had sworn to maintain, at the time she was receiving a new Confession, it is certainly preposterous to urge this as a vindication of the conduct of a Synod who have departed from a doctrine which they had received, and excepted and set aside articles contained in that Confession, the whole doctrine of which they had avouched and sworn to maintain and defend against all contrary errors.—Besides, the Act of Assembly expressly allows to Magistrates a power of calling assemblies occasionally; ‘it being always free to the magistrate to advise with Synods of ministers and ruling elders, meeting upon delegation from their churches, either ordinarily, or, being indicted by his authority, occasionally and pro re nata.’ This allowance is also expressly made by the Associate Presbytery in the Judicial Testimony, in the very place in which they assert the spirituality, freedom, and independence of the church, and the intrinsic warrant which her office-bearers have from the Lord Jesus to hold ecclesiastical assemblies; so far were they from thinking that the exercise of civil power about ecclesiastical concerns, when duly limited, was inconsistent with these important truths. So that, in every point of view, the plea from this Act is untenable, and only serves to involve those who urge it in contradiction and inconsistency.
By the preceding statement of the doctrine of the Reformed churches and the Secession, it is far from our design to rest the truth of the doctrine, or our adherence to it, upon the opinions of men, or the authority of churches. We have been necessitated to state these things so particularly, by the bold and unaccountable allegations of men, who, in order to cover the introduction of a new scheme of principles, and the imposition of it upon others, have denied all change, and attempted to fix principles upon men and churches opposite to those which they have publicly avowed; and who, by such conduct, have struck at the foundation of all certainty as to any knowledge of sentiments conveyed by the plainest and most unequivocal expressions, and thus, in so far, frustrated the great end for which subordinate standards were composed and received. As we have no hesitation respecting the agreeableness of the sentiments which we maintain to reason and revelation, it would have been a more grateful task to us to have confined ourselves to this part of the subject, and to have begun with what we now proceed to state. To use the words of one who formerly pleaded the same cause; ‘though we have such a noble cloud of witnesses to lead us in this contest, let none of our adversaries think that we fly to their great names for shelter to a weak cause; no, we are willing it be tried at the bar of scripture or reason, as they please. Though indeed they may know how oft it hath been tried there already, and come off with triumph; and we are persuaded will still do so.’
New Testimony, p. 194.
Nar. and Test. p. 193.
Ibid. p. 197.
Ibid. p. 195.
Nar. and Test. p. 198.
‘That harmony is beautiful which we may observe amongst the several Confessions of the Reformed Churches. and an evidence that there was a special presence of God with them, and also of a plentiful effusion of the holy Spirit upon them; it is likewise a hopeful presage, that when the Lord turns again the captivity of Zion, and when his holy arm shall give the blow unto the throne of the beast, the several churches and their watchmen shall see eye to eye, and in the voice together they shall sing.’ Wilson’s Defence, p. 37.
Display, vol. i. p. 157. 161.
Ibid. p. 311.
Defence, p.417. 530. comp. 167.
Defence, p. 189. 190.
Ibid. p. 196.
Defence, p. 201. 202.
Moncrieff’s Practical Works, vol. i. p.27. 28.
Ibid. vol. ii. p. 91-93.
Observations on an Essay on National Covenanting, p. 2, 8.
Campbell’s Vindication of the Judicial Testimony, p. 43. See also p.44-47.
A Modest apology for the conduct of Seceders, p. 41.
Wilson’s Discourses on National Calamities procured by National Sins, p. 41. 43, 44.
Display, vol. ii, p. 336. 401.
Display, vol. ii. Append. iii. p. 403, 406, 407.
Display, vol. ii. Append. iii. p. 405-6.
The Secession-Testimony abundantly consistent with Liberty of Conscience, apud Present Duty, p. 368.
Present Duty, p. 351 373, 375 377.
Graham’s Review of Ecclesiastical Establishments, Chap. iv. Sect. 1.
Young’s Sermons, vol. iii. p. 179, 181.
Jamieson’s Use of Sacred History, vol i. p. 316. and his alarm to Britain, p. 89. 188. 194.
Overture by Mr. James Robertson, p. 94.
The public good of outward and common order in all reasonable society, unto the glory of God, is the great and only end which these invested with Magistracy can propose, in a sole respect unto that office. And as, in prosecuting this end civilly, according to their office, it is only over men’s good and evil works that they can have any inspection; so it is only over these which they must needs take cognizance of, for the said public good; while, at the same time, their doing so must be in such a manner, and proceed so far allenarly, as is requisite for that end; without assuming say Lordship immediately over men’s consciences, or making any encroachment upon the special privileges and business of the church. And moreover, as the whole institution and end of their office are cut out by, and lie within the compass of natural principles; it were absurd to suppose, that there could or ought to be any exercise thereof towards its end, in the foresaid circumstances, but what can be argued for and defended from natural principles: as indeed there is nothing especially allotted and allowed unto Magistrates, by the word of God and the Confessions of the Reformed Churches, but what can be so. Now, it must be agreeably to all THIS, that the apostle signifies Magistrates to be God’s Ministers for good; concerning themselves with good and evil works,—in a way of terror, praise, or revenge; for he does so in a sole respect unto their civil office. Display, vol. i. p. 311.
See HERE.
Display, vol. i. p. 312.
When we speak of what is incumbent upon a person as a Magistrate, there is often an ambiguity in the use of the phrase. It sometimes means what is incumbent upon him in his official capacity, in distinction from what belongs to him in his private character, as a man or a Christian. But at other times, it signifies what is essential to the office, and belongs to all Magistrates, in every place and situation, in distinction from those things which belong to certain rulers, as placed in certain circumstances. In the latter sense there are duties and acts of rulers, in their official capacity, which cannot be said to belong to them simply as Magistrates, but as clothed with some additional consideration. For example, there are many things incumbent upon the British Monarch, which are not incumbent upon him simply as a king or magistrate, but as a British king and magistrate. These arise from the particular constitution and laws, which in their turn (as far as they are proper) are rendered necessary by the peculiar interests and advantages of the nation, which need to be secured or advanced; such as their being a Christian and Protestant nation, a commercial nation, &c. As religious privileges and interests are of vastly more importance than those which are merely temporal, it is incumbent upon such a people to provide principally for their security and advancement, and a similar obligation must lie upon their rulers in the discharge of their office.
But all this respects the duty of the nation and its rulers, and is carefully to be distinguished from the duty of individuals, in acknowledging and submitting, in all lawful things, to a constitution and rulers, where there may be sinful negligence and deficiency in this matter, both as to qualifications and conduct. This constitutes an essential difference between the present controversy and that which the Associate Presbytery formerly managed with Mr. Nairn. The question then was ‘not—what Magistrates ought to be or do. There is nothing this way incumbent upon them, by the word of God or our Covenants, which the Presbytery do not acknowledge and plead for.’ But the question was, whether, while ‘inviolably bound in our several capacities to confess, oppose, and testify against all the corruptions and evils of the present civil government over these nations; whereby the reformation once established therein has been departed from, opposed, and overthrown: OUGHT we not at the same time to acknowledge the civil authority of the said government, in the administration and commands thereof that are lawful, and to yield subjection thereunto in these circumstances?’ Display, vol. i. p. 291. 292. The question presently agitated between the Synod and the brethren who have protested against their late acts, does not at all respect the point of subjection in the foresaid circumstances, on which these brethren hold the affirmative with the Associate Presbytery. But the present question is, What Magistrates OUGHT to BE and DO.
Display, vol. ii. p. 408.
Display, vol. i. p. 157.
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Matters of family law are generally full of emotion and often difficult to navigate without the support of a knowledgeable family lawyer. When faced with difficult decisions, creating family disagreements, people often find themselves in a lawsuit. Filing a family lawsuit may bring a resolution handed down by the court, but trials are costly, unpredictable, and time-consuming.
Growing in popularity within the practice of family law are methods of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). ADRs allow family members to settle disputes out of court with the assistance of experienced mediators and facilitators. Generally, ADRs offer a streamlined timeline for resolving family issues at a fraction of the cost of litigation.
For further details on family conflict resolution services in Rockville, Maryland, contact Resolution Matters. Led by veteran conflict resolution lawyer, Steve Shapiro, the dedicated team provides family conflict resolution services to eliminate family squabbles. Conflict resolution services also save you from the cost and headache of going to family court.
What Is Alternative Dispute Resolution?
ADR is a method of conflict resolution taking place outside a courtroom. In the state of Maryland, even if you file a lawsuit, the court may refer you to participate in a form of ADR.
Conflict resolution is used to guide conversations and settle disputes in various areas of family law:
- Divorce and separation
- Parenting plans and co-parenting agreements
- Child custody and support
- Alimony and spousal support
- Asset division and distribution
- Prenuptial agreements
Mediation is a form of ADR that encourages family members to work collaboratively. With the assistance of a skilled, impartial mediator, the voluntary process encourages participants to work together to reach an agreement. Mediation allows each party to share their points of view in an effort to come to a mutually acceptable arrangement.
Once an agreement is reached, it is thoroughly documented and signed off on by each party. If the parties are unable to reach an agreement, no one is coerced into signing off. At this point, the matter ends up in the hands of the court.
The major benefit of mediation is you retain your decision-making power. When a dispute goes to trial, that power is given to the court. The court does its best to rule with everyone’s best interests in mind, but only you know the true impact those decisions will have on your day-to-day life. With the help of a skilled mediator, you may strike a compromise that is easier to live with than an unpredictable court decision.
A settlement conference is another form of alternative dispute resolution, aimed at finding an agreeable common ground. Unlike mediation, a settlement conference is less of a collaborative approach. Instead, the disputing parties (or their attorneys) present their cases to a knowledgeable neutral-party facilitator.
The facilitator is often a judge or attorney with experience in the related area of law. The job of the facilitator is to impartially review the case. Using their knowledge of the law, they will suggest how the case may be settled. The facilitator may reference related case outcomes or discuss how the court may rule on the matter.
Like with mediation, the major benefit of a settlement conference is you maintain decision-making power. A facilitator’s suggestion is not legally binding unless both parties agree. Should you not agree with the proposed agreement, you can still take your issue to court.
Dispute Resolution Lawyer, Rockville
Attorney Steve Shapiro opened Resolution Matters with a mission to offer conflict resolution services that effectively and cost-efficiently address family law matters. Attorney Shapiro and his team are dedicated to helping families strategize ways of moving through a dispute and onto the next chapter of their lives.
Contact Resolution Matters today to schedule a consultation or obtain further details on how a conflict resolution services lawyer can help you. Using the principles of collaborative conflict resolution law, your family may just put your disputes behind you.
Contact Our Office For Further Details | <urn:uuid:2bbf572c-d374-412e-9233-6127a2fe2669> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.resolutionmatters.com/Conflict-Resolution-Services/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571987.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813202507-20220813232507-00270.warc.gz | en | 0.959435 | 818 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Since 9/11, a pall of pessimism has covered the U.S. Polls show that between 60 and 85 percent of Americans have believed that the U.S. is in a recession or would go into one the following year. But from September 2001 through August 2008, those polls were wrong.
Nonetheless, the failure of Lehman Brothers, with its ripple affect on money market accounts and confidence in the U.S. banking system, finally made this prognostication a reality. The U.S. entered a real recession in September. Rather than a prolonged recession, however, or one that is worsening, we’re seeing a temporary “V” shaped recession caused by a sharp, fear-driven slowdown in the turnover of money, or velocity.
Even though real GDP expanded at a 2 percent annual rate in the first half of 2008, the latest conventional wisdom is that the recession we find ourselves in today is either a continuation of one that began a year ago, or a recession that will last a very long time. The difference between the optimistic and pessimistic reading of the current situation is huge. If it is a “V” shaped recession, then the markets will recover quickly and strongly. If the U.S. is in a prolonged and deep recession, then the markets could fall much further.
Clearly, short-sellers have bet heavily on the latter being true. Short interest in October reached an all-time high, and it is clear that coverage of the economy by the mainstream business press has sided with this view. The argument that investors must eventually capitulate to the downside, and accept prospects for a deep and prolonged recession, is the conventional wisdom of the day.
But events are more likely to unfold in a much more positive way. With a “V” shaped recovery on the way, and corporate earnings unlikely to drop by anywhere as much as the bears believe, it will be the shorts that must capitulate in the months ahead. As a result, a “melt up” in equity values is much more likely than a further “melt down.”
ESSENTIALLY, WHAT THE U.S. is experiencing is a crisis of confidence. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Survey fell to an all-time low of 38 in September, lower than its level in 1980 when inflation rose above 14 percent and unemployment was surging. This is irrational.
But it is understandable because the survey accounts for the period immediately after the President of the United States went on national TV and said people could lose their pensions, jobs and homes. This was hyperbole designed to gain support for the $700 billion bailout bill.
Financial markets are healing, in part because the government has finally put so much money into them that they can’t help but heal. Moreover, they are healing because the problems at hand were never as bad as many have thought, even though securities fell to levels that priced in one of the worst economic calamities since the Great Depression.
Much of the problem was due to mark-to-market accounting. While it may work well within a one or two standard deviation event, it breaks down, and actually accentuates problems, when the world faces market liquidity and pricing issues on the severe tails of the distribution. A $300 billion problem of bad loans has morphed into disaster three or four times as large. In addition, mistakes by the federal government in the early going of the current crisis, which included not suspending mark-to-market accounting rules, made U.S. financial market problems much worse.
MY VIEW OF WHAT has happened is completely different from the conventional view. Market pundits argued that when oil prices rose above $40 a barrel, the consumer would be wiped out. But oil went to $60, $80, and eventually $148. Yes, car sales suffered, but overall consumer spending continued to rise. It was in September, when panic over the viability of the banking system set in, that consumer spending was undermined. And by that time oil prices were falling sharply.
Another fear was that slumping housing prices would undermine consumer spending. This did not happen either. And still others have argued that the world is so wildly leveraged that an unwinding of this would create financial market mayhem. Nouriel Roubini, one of the most bearish forecasters around, predicted that it was going to get so bad that governments around the world would eventually be forced to close financial markets for a week.
The odds of this actually happening are very remote. What finally killed the consumer was not high oil prices (even though it did hurt car sales), or falling house prices, or tightened credit markets. What finally killed the consumer was fear. Fear that money market funds and bank accounts were not safe. Fear that credit would not be available. Fear that stock prices would continue to plummet.
The good news is that this fear will not last long. The bailout scheme put in place by the government, especially the support of the commercial paper market in late October by the Fed, has stopped the deterioration of the banking system and begun to firm up asset prices. It would have been easier and cheaper to suspend fair value accounting rules, but the government would not do that.
Don’t misunderstand: mark-to-market accounting should still be suspended; but that would be gravy at this point. Within the artificial accounting restraints the government has created, enough money has finally been injected to contain the problem.
STILL, IT IS CLEAR that many do not share this optimism. And why should they? Short-sellers have made a bundle in recent months. But we are now at a point of over-confidence on the short side. Irrational pessimism has set in, and just like a bubble to the upside, this downside bubble must eventually burst.
The short-sellers and pessimists were right about a recession and large stock market declines, but for the wrong reasons. The markets fell apart because of accounting rules and ham-handed government intervention, and this is what undermined confidence and led to a drop in consumer spending.
The key thing to remember is that while the U.S. financial system may have taken a beating, it has not completely broken down. The Great Depression was caused by a massive deflation and the destruction of money as thousands of banks failed. Today, the Federal Reserve has more than doubled its balance sheet to a whopping $2 trillion and the Treasury has drawn a line in the sand, essentially taking any more large bank failures (for accounting reasons alone) off the table.
And every time the Fed injects money into the system, the economy reacts. The money will find its way into the economy and a sharp recovery in spending will begin quite quickly. And when the velocity of money actually increases, the injection of money into the system will be like gasoline on a fire.
When that happens, short-sellers will have nowhere to run. But because they have grown overconfident, it will take some time before they fully capitulate. In the process, the markets could have a spectacular run to the upside. Already, we have seen this in Japan, where the Nikkei rose 26 percent in just three days. Look for a “melt up” in the months ahead as irrational pessimism finally must give way to reality.
Notice to Readers: The American Spectator and Spectator World are marks used by independent publishing companies that are not affiliated in any way. If you are looking for The Spectator World please click on the following link: https://spectatorworld.com/. | <urn:uuid:7020dfb3-014e-4f29-8ed7-47cb74c91a62> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://spectator.org/42690_irrational-pessimism/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571745.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812170436-20220812200436-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.973831 | 1,556 | 1.875 | 2 |
This year's Roger Needham lecture - Computer Vision and the Geometry of Nature - will examine the search for mathematical models and algorithms that can explain and emulate the human visual abilities most of us take for granted.
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We can easily recognise thousands of objects, follow complicated movements, and almost subconsciously build a three-dimensional view of the world through stereo vision.
When a camera captures a scene, its rich visual complexity is not lost and we can still enjoy the images and recognise the picture's contents.
However, the visual patterns are translated into complex numerical arrangements which current mathematics and statistics strive to represent and understand.
Although science is far from having a complete understanding of the processes of vision, the past decade has seen applications of artificial vision move out of the lab into the real world.
In the lecture, Andrew Fitzgibbon will be talking about the use of computer vision in obtaining a 3D representation of the world, and the application of these techniques with regard to cinematic special effects in films such as the Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings series.
It will begin by looking at various aspects of the human visual system, and try to answer the question of whether it is reasonable to expect to emulate human vision without first building an artificial intelligence.
Fitzgibbon will describe several classic experiments which suggest that not all tasks require artificial intelligence and will consider applications where these tasks arise, for example robot navigation and special effects.
He will also show how a combination of engineering and geometry can provide reliable systems, after looking at how a man-made world simplifies the solutions to these problems.
"We will be able to see how modern models of the statistics of the irregular natural world can be brought to bear, in combination with the paradigm of Bayesian inference, yielding powerful algorithms, which work on trees and clouds as well as on buildings and roads," said Fitzgibbon.
The final section of the lecture will speculate on the tractability of some harder problems, such as object recognition and unsupervised learning of visual competences.
The Roger Needham Lecture will take place on 23 October at the Royal Society in London. | <urn:uuid:d2420dfb-9baf-4c6c-b92e-cc232b8f015a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240063104/Seeing-numbers-can-computing-hope-to-recreate-human-vision | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282202.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00555-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929917 | 463 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Well-known ski industry retired executive Cal Conniff and historian E. John B. Allen have authored Skiing in Massachusetts, a wonderful book full of photos and stories from the beginnings of this sport in the last century.
Conniff is the former executive director of the National Ski Areas Association and once operated Mount Tom Ski Area in Holyoke, now among the lost ski areas of the region.
The book includes posters and photos of ski areas and ski clubs in Massachusetts, primarily in the Berkshires, dating back to the early 1900s. Skiing began as a rugged endeavor, in which skiers would slog uphill packing their trails and then schuss downhill, less well-attached to their boards than the skiers of today.
Remember long thongs and cable bindings? Well, some of you might.
The early days evolved through rope tows and T-bars to high-speed quads, from snowmaking guns that threw slush to efficient towers and fans, from groomers that left icy rubble in their wake to the carpet-layers of today.
Skiing in Massachusetts looks back across the century in which all those changes happened.
It's a fascinating read, written by a man who took part in much of the action.
Skiing in Massachusetts is published by Arcadia Publishing and sells for $19.99. | <urn:uuid:b91da459-11b7-4ca9-baf1-e7c822dd303e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.onthesnow.com/news/a/4304/skiing-in-massachusetts-tells-tales-of-yesteryear | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282926.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00390-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96923 | 276 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Machine learning with R
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You will learn to make use of the R language to access databases, clean, analyze, and visualize data with R. Through our guided lectures and access to labs, you will get hands-on experience tackling fascinating data issues. This's an action-packed learning path for data science enthusiasts who wish to work on real-life problems with R.
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Lockheed Constellation – USAF (First Issue)
Constellation – USAF (First Issue)
3 in stock
3 in stock
Lockheed Constellation in the attractive markings of the USAF. Early first issue from Sep 98. Has to be seen to be appreciated and now quite hard to find. PLEASE NOTE: These early Corgi castings and their paint finish was never to a perfect standard, so buyers should expect light imperfections to both. Please don’t purchase if you’re expecting an immaculate model as they do not exist. As with all Corgi Constellations the boxes have light scuffs and creases, mainly to the undersides as a result of being on shop display. How cheap do you want this model? It’s a total bargain!
The Lockheed Constellation (“Connie”) was a propeller-driven airliner powered by four 18-cylinder radial Wright R-3350 engines. It was built by Lockheed between 1943 and 1958 at its Burbank, California, USA, facility. A total of 856 aircraft were produced in numerous models, all distinguished by a triple-tail design and dolphin-shaped fuselage. The Constellation was used as a civilian airliner and as a U.S. military air transport, seeing service in the Berlin Airlift. It was the presidential aircraft for U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. | <urn:uuid:63204d5e-28fd-47b6-8880-a00d9b184666> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://planestore.co.uk/shop/corgi-aviation/1144-scale/constellation-usaf-first-issue/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570651.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20220807150925-20220807180925-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.961713 | 295 | 1.703125 | 2 |
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How Can I Forge a Career in RFID?
I would like to work in the radio frequency identification field. I have a little exposure to the technology, and I am also preparing myself for the CompTIA RFID+ exam. How can I build a career in RFID if companies are not hiring people without experience? Do you know of any classes or courses that can provide hands-on RFID training in the Toronto area?
Taking CompTIA's RFID+ training and getting certified is a good start. Academia RFID offers such training in Toronto, and RFID Journal offers CompTIA RFID+ distance learning (see www.rfidjournal.com/training).
I would also suggest that you volunteer to work on projects in your spare time. Academia RFID offers consulting, and McMaster University's RFID Applications Lab undertakes projects and might need help from time to time. In addition, you can post messages on our forums as a way of finding opportunities and making connections.
—Mark Roberti, Editor, RFID Journal
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Fishing gaffs are essential tools for landing large fish. These fishing gaffs tools are made of lightweight aluminum and designed to hold even the biggest of game fish. There is a fishing gaffs brand available, including telescopic and fixed models. Choosing the right gaff for the task at hand is vital if you want to catch and release the big one! Read on to learn more about fishing gaffs.
The fishing gaffs for boats used in tournaments are usually eight or twelve feet long. These fishing gaffs have super sharp stainless steel hooks. Gaff lengths vary depending on the type of boat and the size of the gunnel. Longer gaffs are often used on bigger boats with high gunnels. They are lightweight and easy to handle and can save you energy and help you land the fish without missing a bite.
Fishing Gaffs For Tuna
When you’re pursuing large gamefish, you’ll want to keep in mind the location. In deep colors, it is much more difficult to gaff the fish. The fish will dig even deeper into the water. When landing a big game fish, make sure to wait until it has tired and is prone to wriggling. If you’re landing a big game fish, fishing gaffs for tuna is in the head or forward shoulder, which are both easier to grasp with fishing gaffs.
The fishing gaffs for kayaks are another essential piece of equipment for fishermen. The hook is usually made of stainless steel and should have a minimum of three inches in diameter. This makes it ideal for landing medium-sized saltwater gamefish. Fishing gaffs come in a variety of sizes and materials, and you may want to purchase a different size for your boat. In most cases, gaffs are four or six feet long and are the perfect length for a twenty to forty-foot sportfishing vessel.
Fishing Gaffs Brand
Fishing gaffs hook have been used for as long as people have been eating fish. Some historians even have examples from various native tribes around the world. The first written record of a “landing hook” dates back to the 1600s. There are several different types of gaffs and the right one depends on the type of fish you’re targeting. The more durable your fishing gaffs are, the better.
In addition to holding a hook, fishing gaffs help anglers land fish with less effort. A slightly tapered gaff tip will slice through the water with greater accuracy, and a swaged shaft will eliminate extra weight and make the hook seat in the gills of the fish. The gaff’s hook is held securely in place by a tough plastic insert. A 20-lb. test line is tied to a steel post.
Hand fishing gaffs are a common offshore fishing tool, with a variety of uses. A gaff is a useful tool for moving a fish, and pro anglers typically keep theirs on the boat under the covering board or dangle it from their fighting chair. It is also handy for transferring a fish whose sharp teeth are difficult to handle. In skilled hands, a hand gaff can also double as a bottle opener.Explore full detailed information & find about Fishing Gaffs For
A gaff is a long metal pole with a large hook on the end. It is used to lift large fish into the boat when the weight of the fish exceeds the strength of the rod and reel.
Hook sizes should be selected to be approximately ⅓ to ½ the width of the maximum body diameter of the fish to be flying gaffed.
It is important to determine if you really need to gaff a fish. If it is at all possible, use a landing net to bring a fish aboard. | <urn:uuid:f98b3f60-3f05-449a-947a-6fc0e5882fa7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://fishingrod-en.com/fishing-gaffs-for-boats-and-tuna-these-telescopic-fishing-gaffs-are-incredible-new/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571210.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810191850-20220810221850-00468.warc.gz | en | 0.957099 | 793 | 1.914063 | 2 |
This article was written by Darlene Antonelli, MA. Darlene Antonelli is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. Darlene has experience teaching college courses, writing technology-related articles, and working hands-on in the technology field. She earned an MA in Writing from Rowan University in 2012 and wrote her thesis on online communities and the personalities curated in such communities.
This article has been viewed 8,169 times.
If you have Philips Hue, LIFX, or Nanoleaf lights, you can sync them to Apple Music to create a light show or set ambient moods depending on the music playing. This wikiHow will teach you how to connect your lights to Apple Music with an iPhone and iPad app called iLightShow. Unfortunately, this app does not work with any Mac or Windows desktop computers, so you'll only be able to use either an iPhone or an iPad.
1Get iLightShow for Philips Hue from the App Store
- The app is highly rated, free (with an available upgrade for a one-time $5.99 charge, and offered by Nicolas Anjoran. X Research source
2Open iLightShow. This app icon looks like a multicolored hexagon with lines inside it that you'll find on one of your Home screens.Advertisement
3Log in with your Apple Music account. Your Apple ID is usually the email account that you signed up with.
4Open Apple Music. This app icon looks like a music note that you'll find on one of your Home screens.
5Start your music. You can read How to Use Apple Music on iPhone or iPad if you need more information on joining and using Apple Music on an iPhone or iPad.
6Return to iLightShow and tap . You'll see this in the menu along the bottom of your screen.
- If the app prompts you for permission to use the microphone, you'll need to accept to best utilize the music-syncing ability. X Research source Use Apple Music on iPhone or iPad
- You'll be able to follow on-screen prompts to add and name lights as they are detected (lights like Philips Hues are automatically detected).
7Tap a light to change its behavior. After you've set up the light, you can tap On or Off to alter your light's activity.
- You can drag the sliders to change the light's brightness and intensity as well as change the colors. X Research source
- ↑ https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ilightshow-for-philips-hue/id1247273887
- ↑ Use Apple Music on iPhone or iPad
- ↑ http://ilightshow.net/
About This Article
1. Get iLightShow for Philips Hue from the App Store.
2. Open iLightShow.
3. Log in with your Apple Music account.
4. Open Apple Music.
5. Start your music, then reopen iLightShow.
6. Tap a light to change its behavior. | <urn:uuid:0b71ba73-3c9e-4ace-9f84-54d57f618a39> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.wikihow.com/Connect-Home-Lights-to-Apple-Music | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571246.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811073058-20220811103058-00264.warc.gz | en | 0.916351 | 657 | 1.773438 | 2 |
On the move with e-mobility
The employees at FACILITA Berlin GmbH manage more than 110,000 of Deutsche Wohnen’s residential units in Berlin and handle other services such as classic caretaker duties. This means they need to be mobile – or more precisely, ‘e-mobile’.
The Deutsche Wohnen subsidiary’s sustainable fleet now includes 32 electric cars, 20 e-bikes and 79 bicycles. The last car with a combustion engine was sold in 2019, which means FACILITA’s fleet is now completely electric. But that’s not all, as the vehicles still need to be charged. That’s why a total of 38 charging stations have been installed at 19 FACILITA locations in Berlin and Potsdam. Electric cars emit at least 16% less greenhouse gas than cars with combustion engines. This allows FACILITA Berlin GmbH to make a sustainable contribution to protecting the environment.
At Deutsche Wohnen’s headquarters, our employees can use a charging station for their own electric cars and can also make use of the company’s electric cars on business trips. We are planning to switch our entire fleet of service vehicles to alternative drives by 2024.
Services for our customers
We also want to create demand-driven electrical infrastructure in our neighbourhoods. We are working with our partner GETEC to install over 2,000 charge points across Germany. Plans for the first joint charging infrastructure projects are already under way. | <urn:uuid:e1c2451f-38d6-4162-b350-4256a3d21227> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.deutsche-wohnen.com/en/building-living/living-in-transition/e-mobility | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573172.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818063910-20220818093910-00274.warc.gz | en | 0.936787 | 313 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Software updates are always recommended by manufactures as each comes with new features, bug fixes and most importantly security updates – but it’s a lottery when it comes to whether the update will improve every aspect of your phone.
New research has shown how updating your phone software can affect your storage and your battery life – for better and for worse.
The research comes from UK based publication Which? testing both phones and tablets before and after software updates.
In the testing, the Nexus 6P lost three hours of its battery life when jumping from Android 6.0 Marshmallow to 7.0 Nougat, dropping from the average web browsing time of 716 minutes to 535 minutes.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A tablet had the opposite effect though with its latest update going up to 4.5 hours. But the iPhone 6 was also negatively affected when updating to iOS 10 from iOS 8, losing 38 minutes of its web browsing time.
Storage is also a major issue with updates too - the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 lost 3GB of its 24GB of available storage in only one update.
On the flip side, the Moto X Force gained 2.5GB of storage with its latest software update.
It's quite unpredictable, and there's no way of knowing how an update is going to affect your phone before you press the button.
You should be wary when you update your phone or tablet and know it may have an effect on your storage and battery either way. That said, ensure you always keep your devices up-to-date to ensure each is secure and has the newest features. | <urn:uuid:a1b286b4-7959-4a65-878a-7c4240ea186a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-software-updates-are-like-russian-roulette-for-battery-life | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280483.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00298-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927595 | 327 | 2 | 2 |
Guide to Windows 10 System Tools
The Windows 10 system tools aren’t entirely different from those in earlier Windows platforms. The one notable exception is perhaps the Task Manager, which has undergone a notable overhaul in Windows 8 and 10. These are a few of the most notable Win 10 system tools that will come in handy.
As mentioned, the Task Manager is the system tool that has undergone the most notable changes in more recent Windows platforms. The new Task Manager now has more tabs, new graphs and includes a start manager. The best way to open it is probably to right-click the taskbar and select Task Manager from there.
There are numerous tabs at the top of the window. It will probably open with the Processes tab selected, which will show you all the processes and software running. Select a software package listed there under Apps and click End task to close it. That might come in handy if the program isn’t closing when you click the X button at the top right. Closing applications will also free up some RAM, and you can see which are hogging the most resources from this tab.
Click the Performance tab to open the graphs shown in the shot below. The graphs show you CPU and RAM usage. Below them you have some system resource stats as well.
Start-up is another new tab included on the Windows 10 Task Manager. This shows you all the software that opens on the startup. Click a startup item there and press the Disable button to remove a program from the startup. Removing some programs listed on that tab will speed up the Windows 10 startup.
Click the Details tab for further info about the running processes on your desktop or laptop. They can be either running apps or background services managed by Windows. Right-click a process there for further options or click End task to switch it off.
MSconfig is a tool that you can further configure your system with. Press the Win key + R to open Run, and then enter msconfig there to open the System Configuration window in the shot directly below. It will open on the General tab from which you can select some startup options such as Diagnostic startup that will load only the basic window devices.
Click the Boot tab to open further options. There you can select some extra boot options. For example, select the No GUI boot check box to remove the graphical moving bar during the Windows 10 startup.
The Tools tab on MSconfig opens a list of handy system tools. As such, you can open system tools listed there by selecting them and pressing the Launch button.
The Resource Monitor is another system tool you can check system resource allocation with. You can open it from MSconfig’s Tools tab. Overall, it’s still more detailed than the Task Manager.
Click the Memory tab to open a list of processes as below. That tab includes further graphs that show how much of your RAM is in use and how much is available. You can close processes from there by right-clicking them and selecting End Process from the context menu.
The Resource Monitor doesn’t just show you RAM allocation, it also give you a more detailed overview of CPU, disk and network resource usage. Click the Disk, CPU and Network tabs for further details for those system resources.
The Registry Editor
The Registry Editor is not exactly a system maintenance tool, but you can make a variety of configurations with it. This is the tool that you can edit the Windows 10 registry with, which is an extensive database of platform and application settings. Enter regedit in Run to open its window below.
So how can you customize Windows 10 with the Registry Editor? For starters, you can add a variety of shortcut options to the desktop’s or File Explorer’s right-click context menus. You can also speed up the Windows shutdown with it.
If you need to check your system specifications, System Info is a tool to note. You can also open this from MSconfig’s Tool tab by selecting System Info from there and pressing Launch. That opens the window below that gives you a detailed overview of your system specs.
The above window gives you details for all the system specs pertaining to hardware resources, software and components. System info categories are listed on the left and further details for them are included on the right of the window. It might come in handy for checking hardware details if you need to make some updates.
System Restore is a tool that reverts Windows 10 back to a former state. Its restore points will take your laptop or desktop back to a specific date and effectively undo any system changes made afterwards. You can open it by pressing Win key + X, selecting System and System Restore. Then press the System Restore button to open the window below.
After opening the above window, you can then select a system restore point (or date) to revert back to from there. This might be a handy tool for restoring lost documents or files if they got deleted. Simply revert back to a restore point before they got deleted.
You can also fix a corrupted user account with a system restore. Simply press F8 when Windows 10 boots up to log in to Safe Mode, and then open the System Restore tool from there. Select to revert back to a restore point before the user account was corrupted to fix it.
The Disk Cleanup tool is also handy for system maintenance. This is a tool that you can delete junk files with and free up some storage space on disk. Enter disk cleanup in Cortana’s search bar to find and open this tool’s window as shown below.
The window above tells you how much space you can free up with the tool. Select the checkboxes to choose specific file categories to delete, and select Clean up system files to erase them. The tool could free up more than 500 megabytes of disk storage.
So those are a few of the best system tools in Windows 10. With them you can fix things, free up system resources, customize context menus in Windows 10 and clean up your hard disk. Plus there are a few other tools such as Event Viewer, Device Manager and Disk Management. | <urn:uuid:a5df5e9b-32d1-45fd-bc1d-44e221b32efb> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.techjunkie.com/windows-10-system-tools/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280310.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00181-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918053 | 1,249 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Planning your pension takes less time than you think
If you’re not already saving for retirement, it’s a good time to start. You should also begin to think about how much money you might need.
Why not take an hour to watch videos from experts, get to grips with the pension basics, use the calculator to find out what your retirement income might be and start planning for a comfortable future?
See if you're making the most of your company pension and how to trace a lost one.
Learn how much you might need to consider saving for retirement and what people think they'll need on average.
Use the pension calculator and see what you might get when you retire.
Hear what a financial expert says and how the pension freedoms could work for you.
Gain insight from a behaviour expert and see how you can enjoy planning your future.
Know your options and discover how you can access your pension pot when you retire.
Isn’t it amazing what you can achieve in an hour? Before you take your next steps towards a more comfortable retirement, why not encourage friends and family to join in by sharing our video?
See how to make your family prize-winning costumes in an hour.
Here’s a head start if you’re planning for a more comfortable retirement
How can I find out how much my pension is worth?
I’m in a company pension scheme. Am I set for retirement?
Can I combine my pension pots together?
How do I trace a lost pension?
Watch more Pension Basics in 30 Seconds films
People have already made a start
Here are the top ten cities in the UK for visiting our Change your life in an hour website.
12.6% is the proportion of income that people save on average
£22,672 is the average annual amount that 40-49 year olds think they’ll need to feel comfortable in retirement
Only 22% of 40-49 year olds understand the term ‘pension freedoms’.
31% of 40-49 year olds check their pension balance less than once a year
23% of people have no idea if their savings will meet their income needs in retirement
Source: Scottish Widows 2016 Retirement Report.
So far, we've told you people think they'll need £23,990 each year when they retire. If you've used the pension calculator, you'll also have a sense of whether you're on track to meet your retirement goals.
TV personality and independent money expert Sarah Pennells explains what you should think about when planning for retirement – and how financial advisers can help.
Things to consider as you approach retirement
Getting financial guidance
Think about what you’ll need in retirement
For more information on the pension basics, read our Jargon buster. For more in-depth videos and information, read our FAQs.
You now have more freedom about what to do with your pension savings. Here's a short guide to how you can access your money when you're 55.
You can combine these options:
Want the reassurance of knowing how much money you'll receive each year? You might like to consider an annuity.
You'll get a guaranteed income for life, which is usually paid monthly.
The amount you'll get depends on factors like:
You can take up to 25% of your pension pot as a tax-free cash lump sum. You can then use the rest to buy an annuity – the income from the annuity will be subject to income tax.
How could an annuity work for you? See Helen's story.
Want to leave some money invested where it would have the potential to grow in value? If your pension provider offers flexible access drawdown, you might like to consider it.
You can access your pension savings when you want, taking the money you want. You can also pass on any money left when you die, and should you die before 75, it will not be subject to tax. However, you'll need to budget properly, or you might run out of money.
You can take up to 25% of your pension pot as a tax-free cash lump sum when you move into drawdown. You can then take lump sums or income from the remaining funds, but these will be subject to tax.
How could flexible access drawdown work for you? See Ted's story.
Want to take some, or all, of your pension pot as cash? You might like to consider Partial Pension Encashment, or Full Pension Encashment (you may only have the Full Pension Encashment option on your pension plan).
Every time you withdraw money 25% is available tax-free with the remaining 75% subject to tax (which could push you into a higher tax bracket)
If you take your money as cash, you'll be in control of it. Remember it is there to help you through your retirement so you’ll need to manage it appropriately.
How could taking your pension as cash work for you? See Jill's story.
Want more time to plan and give your money the potential to grow? You might like to consider leaving your pension invested.
You should check you don't lose any guarantees or benefits by deferring your pension past your chosen retirement age.
How could deferring your pension work for you? See Nigel's story.
Peter Ayton, Professor of Psychology at London City University, explains how it can be hard to plan for your future – but why it can be uplifting once you've done so.
Why could making a decision be empowering?
How can you enjoy planning for your future?
Do you know what your future self will want?
So far, you've learned from the experts about making a plan and why it can be challenging to do so. You should also be aware of the ways you can access your pension pot.
If you want to review your current plan, or put a new plan in place, your next step is to speak to your employer or contact an independent financial adviser.
A financial adviser will make sure you have the right plan but be aware that there may be a fee.
There are two types: Independent Financial Advisers and Restricted Advisers.
Both are regulated, have passed the same qualifications and can help you decide what pension is right for you. However, there are differences.
Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) – give unbiased advice about the whole range of financial products from all the available companies.
Restricted Advisers – give advice on a limited range of products. They may specialise in one area, like pensions, or advise on products offered by a limited number of companies.
When you first speak to an adviser they must tell you in writing if they offer independent or restricted advice. If you are not sure, ask.
You can find a full list of authorised advisers on the Financial Conduct Authority website.
To make sure you can complain if things go wrong, you should also ensure they’re regulated by checking the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) register.
You may also find these websites useful:
During your meeting, we recommend you:
Before your first meeting:
During your meeting:
At the end of your meeting:
We hope you agree that planning your retirement takes less time than you think – and that you’ve learned a lot in just an hour.
Isn't it amazing what you can achieve in an hour? Inspire your friends and family with our video.
Pensions are a long-term investment. The retirement benefits you receive from your pension plan will depend on a number of factors including the value of your plan when you decide to take your benefits which isn't guaranteed, and can go down as well as up. The value of your plan could fall below the amount(s) paid in. The tax treatment of your pension depends on your individual circumstances. Your circumstances and tax rules may change. | <urn:uuid:2c56eb70-7650-49b5-8f07-39c0f7af87dd> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://scottishwidows.co.uk/change-your-life-in-an-hour/nearing-retirement.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280763.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00516-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951513 | 1,638 | 1.734375 | 2 |
|Over four Metasys Access Controllers and seven Johnson Controls card readers manage the campus security system
Frederick Community College is an associate degree, two-year institution serving more than 14,000 students each academic year. The 110-acre campus has 10 buildings, including a new library and academic centre.
- Design a technologically advanced facility to accommodate rising enrollment.
- Increase the operating efficiency and comfort levels of existing buildings.
- Allow greater access to buildings and parking lots through electronic monitoring, instead of requiring security guards to physically verify entry.
- Maintain an efficient staff to support campus growth.
- Install a Johnson Controls Metasys® Facility Management System (FMS), security control and digital telecommunications systems.
- Provide remote monitoring of temperature and security points from a central computer, which also optimises chiller and boiler activity.
- Issue students, faculty and staff a single card for building and parking lot access, borrowing library materials and charging purchases at the bookstore.
- Freed support staff from routine duties that are now handled by Metasys.
- Prevented equipment failure through early identification of problems.
- Reduced energy consumption through tight control of mechanical equipment and the installation of energy-efficient lighting, doors and windows.
- Contributed to recruitment as a result of reliable indoor temperatures, improved safety and exterior appearances.
Student enrollment prompts need for expansion
Frederick Community College has been growing in popularity ever since it opened its doors in 1957, with 77 evening students. From its humble roots in a high school building, the college now has its own modern campus that serves more than 4,300 full-time students and 10,000 others through part-time or continuing education. Enrollment has increased 50 percent over the last 10 years, putting a severe strain on the campus infrastructure.
College officials had no alternative than to construct a new building and remodel nine existing buildings, most of which date back to 1970. To get this ambitious project off the ground, the college turned to county and state funding for support. Recognising that public funds may be tight, the college did its homework to make sure that the $17 million investment would yield numerous operational and energy savings – as well as immediate comfort improvements.
In addition to providing more space through a new library and academic centre, the project’s goals were to gain air-tight control over the operations budget, increase the comfort of the learning environment for students, and create positive first impressions to help attract students and top faculty members.
|The Metasys system optimizes the functions of all mechanical equipment on campus, monitors access to buildings
“We wanted both the new building and the older buildings to run as efficiently as possible so that we could pump the savings back into our operations budget,” says Donald Neel, Director of Plant Operations. The installation of a Johnson Controls Metasys FMS has helped achieve this efficiency. The sophisticated system optimises the functions of all mechanical equipment on campus, monitors access to buildings, and pages on-duty personnel when comfort or security problems arise.
Cutting-edge technology cuts out inefficiencies
Sophisticated equipment comes at a price, however, so college officials had to convince the State of Maryland that an “intelligent building” would be a smart financial investment in the long run. A major selling point was emphasising the efficiency of using a new fiber-optic network for multiple purposes – building automation controls, security functions, campus-wide data systems and a digital telephone system.
The eight major campus buildings are now linked together through the fiber-optic backbone. The building automation and security systems work seamlessly together and can be adjusted from a single personal computer.
At the same time, each building is wired for standalone HVAC, security and telecommunications systems for extra protection. In the past, a mainframe computer had always handled these critical functions. When it went down, Neel recalls, the entire campus was brought to its knees. The Metasys solution offers the best of both worlds – centralised control without all buildings relying on a single nerve centre.
Another efficiency improvement involves identification cards for students, faculty and administrative staff. Everyone has a single I.D. with magnetic coding that – depending on the person – allows after-hours building entry and access to reserved parking lots. It also serves as a library card and as a credit card for student bookstore purchases.
“Everyday life on campus is much more convenient for everyone,” says Dr. Jon Larson, Vice President of Administration. Johnson Controls coordinated its access control system and card reading devices with the firm that was developing the library card system for the new library and academic centre. Now each new student or employee is issued a single multi-purpose card, which is generated on-site by a security guard.
If you find that impressive, consider this: The college’s electric bill did not increase after adding the 60,000 sq. ft. library and academic centre to the previous campus total of approximately 300,000 sq. ft. This is because the following improvements were made, in addition to the new control system:
- Doors and windows were replaced in all buildings.
- All lighting systems on campus received an energy-efficient upgrade.
- Motion sensors were installed in certain areas to turn on lights when occupants entered the room.
- In selected rooms of the new library, Metasys automatically adjusted heating and cooling levels depending on whether rooms were occupied or unoccupied.
“The ability of Metasys FMS to diagnose problems and avoid exploratory visits by our maintenance staff has had an enormous impact on our operations"
Better use of security and maintenance personnel
Before the electronic security system was installed, security guards spent three to four hours a day unlocking 100 plus doors in the morning and locking them at night. Their time is now better spent on a variety of activities that directly relate to increased customer satisfaction – that is, students and staff.
Metasys also reduces the amount of unproductive time spent by the maintenance staff. The powerful system pinpoints comfort or security situations that require immediate attention. Many times, a temperature or air fiow adjustment can be made at a computer terminal – or a laptop – which the on-call mechanic takes home after hours. If the trouble cannot be solved remotely, the mechanic will have a good idea of what needs to be done and which tools are required.
“The ability of Metasys FMS to diagnose problems and avoid exploratory visits by our maintenance staff has had an enormous impact on our operations,” so that mechanical equipment should last longer as a result.
Metasys is the campus nerve centre
At the heart of the Metasys FMS are three Operator Workstations and eight Network Control Units that, together, manage the information collected from direct-digital controllers throughout the campus. The HVAC system comprises 20 Air Handling Unit Controllers, four DX-9100 Controllers for the central plant, 212 Variable Air Volume (VAV) Box Controllers, and six Unitary Controllers for fan coil units. Four Metasys Intelligent Access Controllers and seven Johnson Controls card readers manage the campus security system.
Metasys also performs start/stop optimisation routines on the college’s three chillers and three boilers. Two of the chillers are new 375-ton Trane centrifugal units, while the third is a 350-ton York centrifugal chiller. Heating is provided by two 350-horsepower gas boilers and 50-horsepower gas unit. Demand limiting/load rolling schedules for chillers, boilers and all other pieces of mechanical equipment – also sequenced through Metasys – contribute to additional energy savings, thereby stretching the operations budget.
Not all of the improvements are focused on dollars and cents. According to Neel, noisy overhead fans had been a campus-wide problem for years. So he made sure that every VAV box was equipped with a miniature variable speed drive to run the motor. The result is a smooth transition between each increase or decrease in fan speed – and a quiet environment that is conducive to learning. A Johnson Controls S66 fan speed controller regulates the motor inside each VAV box, which also reduces energy consumption.
The importance of ongoing support
Frederick Community College is justifiably proud of the largest capital improvement project in its history. The buildings have been fine-tuned on the inside, and a re-roofing project has given the campus a pleasing, unified appearance to help attract students, faculty and administrative staff. Just as important, the college can rely on the continued support of its strong partnership with Johnson Controls – a Fortune 200 company that provides an important local presence through its office in Frederick. | <urn:uuid:2e989a22-5289-4139-852f-f440beb6d1ef> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.sourcesecurity.com/product-services/integrated-systems/case-studies/co-2900-ga.2426.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719136.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00467-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946691 | 1,790 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Plains Exploration and Production Company (PXP)
Situation: Limited oil production capacity caused by a difficult-to-operate, under-sized low-temperature separation unit (LTS)
Solution: Installation of a Xebec Fast-Cycle Pressure-Swing Adsorption (PSA) Unit to remove heavier hydrocarbons from field gas to meet sales gas specifications
Benefits: Lower Cost, Increased Capacity, Fewer Fugitive Emissions, Shorter Lead Time
Location: Los Angeles Basin, California
Building a Better Purification System
Plains Exploration & Production (PXP), an oil producer located in downtown Los Angeles, was struggling to meet California's new and more stringent sales gas specifications for ethane and heavier hydrocarbons. Oil production had to be decreased due to limited capacity of their LTS unit, which was used to dehydrate and de-rich the field gas from the oil wells to produce sales gas. Gas production in an oil field is a necessary function of oil production. Therefore, a limitation in gas throughput automatically drives a decrease in oil production, resulting in revenue loss. A new LTS unit was considered, however, it would have taken over 12 months to come online and a multi-million dollar capital investment would have been required. Additionally, due to space limitations and installation requirements, start-up of a new LTS unit would have disrupted oil production by several weeks, resulting in an unacceptably high total project cost. PXP turned to Xebec for a better solution.
XEBEC engineers re-designed the gas processing system to incorporate the use of XEBEC's Fast-Cycle PSA unit. The new system cost less than one-third of a new LTS unit, and by reusing the existing LTS to improve methane recovery, the gas throughput capacity doubled. As an added benefit, the basic design of the Fast-Cycle PSA incorporated the use of a single rotary valve to replace the multitudes of valves found on conventional PSA technologies. This reduced the potential for fugitive emission levels, resulting in a quickened permitting process. From design to start-up, the entire project time took less than eight months. And by incorporating the use of existing equipment, disruption to the operation was minimized.
The Redesigned Facility in Los Angeles
In the re-designed facility, the PSA processes field gas from the oil wells to sales gas specifications. Tailgas from the XEBEC Fast-Cycle PSA is compressed then chilled through the old LTS unit producing gas which is combined with the product stream from the PSA and natural gas liquids (NGL's). The liquids are then stabilized for sale, while vapors from the NGL Stabilizer are processed in a MicroTurbine to generate electricity for re-use by the producer, as shown in Figure 1.
The XEBEC Fast-Cycle PSA has been successfully integrated with virtually no operating and/or performance issues. Sales gas meets and/or exceeds California's new regulatory gas specifications, where the sales gas quality is monitored and can be controlled. Given the high reliability of the gas processing equipment, operating personnel can now devote more time to maximizing oil production. | <urn:uuid:c398756c-84d4-4295-95b0-93ded2b71ab1> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.environmental-expert.com/articles/benefits-of-fast-cycle-psa-in-an-oil-production-facility-case-study-450667 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719079.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00033-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944555 | 659 | 2.078125 | 2 |
In patients with hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus infection, there is strong evidence of an increased risk for Parkinson’s disease (PD), according to research published in Neurology.1
Researchers from the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford in London, United Kingdom, conducted a retrospective cohort study using English National Hospital Episode Statistics and mortality data from 1999 to 2011.
Individuals were grouped into 5 different cohorts: hepatitis B (n=21,633), hepatitis C (n=48,428), autoimmune hepatitis (n=6225), chronic active hepatitis (n=4234), and HIV (19,870). These 5 cohorts were compared with a reference cohort of more than 6 million individuals with minor medical and surgical conditions.
After adjustments for demographic and socioeconomic factors, the standardized rate ratio (RR) for PD was 1.76 (95% CI 1.28-2.37, P <.001) after hepatitis B virus (HBV) diagnosis (44 patients in HBV cohort vs 25 in the reference cohort). The RR for PD was 1.51 (95% CI 1.18-1.9, P <.001) after hepatitis C virus (HCV) diagnosis (73 patients in HCV cohort vs 48.5 in the reference cohort). People in the autoimmune hepatitis, chronic active hepatitis, and HIV cohorts did not have an increased rate of PD.
In an effort to reduce surveillance bias and reverse causality, the researchers excluded data from the first year after PD diagnosis, and found similar RR results for HBV and HCV:
- HBV: 1.82 (95% CI 1.29-2.50, P <.001)
- HCV: 1.43 (95% CI 1.09-1.84, P =.008)
The findings from this study on the association between HCV and PD are in agreement with 2 previous Taiwanese studies.2,3 However, the risk associated with HBV and PD is new and needs further confirmation.
“It’s possible that the hepatitis virus itself or perhaps the treatment for the infection could play a role in triggering Parkinson disease or it’s possible that people who are susceptible to hepatitis infections are also more susceptible to Parkinson disease. We hope that identifying this relationship may help us to better understand how Parkinson disease develops,” concluded lead investigator Julia Pakpoor, BM, BCh, in a press release by the American Academy of Neurology.4
Study limitations included the inability to control for lifestyle factors such as smoking and alcohol use. Furthermore, this was a hospital-based study and thus patients included in this study may have represented patients at the more severe end of the disease spectrum.
- Pakpoor J, Noyce A, Goldacre R, et al. Viral hepatitis and Parkinson disease: A national record-linkage study [published online March 29, 2017]. Neurology. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000003848
- Tsai HH, Liou HH, Muo CH, Lee CZ, Yen RF, Kao CH. Hepatitis C virus infection as a risk factor for Parkinson disease: a nationwide cohort study. Neurology. 2016;86:840-846. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000002307
- Wu WY, Kang KH, Chen SL, et al. Hepatitis C virus infection: a risk factor for Parkinson’s disease. J Viral Hepat. 2015;22:784–791. doi:10.1111/jvh.12392
- Hepatitis B and C may be linked to increased risk of Parkinson’s disease [press release]. Minneapolis, MN: American Academy of Neurology; Published March 29, 2017. Accessed April 6, 2017.
This article originally appeared on Infectious Disease Advisor | <urn:uuid:aa088d62-a428-43b0-9cb1-467d7a84ed9a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.neurologyadvisor.com/topics/movement-disorders/parkinsons-disease-linked-to-hepatitis-b-c-infection/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571147.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810040253-20220810070253-00475.warc.gz | en | 0.901076 | 806 | 2.3125 | 2 |
The White House has released a lengthy report written by a five-member panel recommending sweeping reforms of the NSA. Included among the 46 recommendations by the “Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies” is one to delete all bulk telephone metadata on Americans from the NSA’s servers. The panel also suggested that the data should be allowed to be stored by the private telecoms for a capped length of time — five years in most cases — accessible by the NSA only through court order or other official third-party permission.
The metadata in question numbers more than 1 trillion records according to “some former officials,” reports the Washington Post. They include information about all Americans’ telephone calls, such as who they called, when they called them, and so on, but not necessarily the content of the communications themselves.
The panel also recommended that the NSA be forced to stop requesting “back doors” and “zero days” to privately produced encrypted software as a means of hacking into computers running those programs. The practical reasoning behind this recommendation is that the back doors are weakening global encryption standards set up in 2006 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Americans’ privacy wasn’t the only subject addressed in the report. The panel — whose members’ names and occupations are unknown as of right now — additionally recommended that foreign individuals be included under the Privacy Act of 1974. That bill currently protects Americans not suspected of a crime from being snooped by law enforcement, as per the 4th Amendment. More of the NSA’s spying should go through the White House, Congress, and the courts, rather than continuing to let the NSA act unilaterally.
A chief concern of the panel is that there are not just civil rights issues at stake, but also economic consequences of the NSA spying on literally the entire world. Companies overseas are becoming increasingly wary of doing business with American tech companies for fear they are serving at the behest of the Orwellian “Big Brother”, as it were. (The fear goes in both directions, of course.)
The recommendations to the White House are just that. The Obama administration is under no obligation to follow them. Moreover, some of the recommendations would have to be applied by Congress or the courts, not the White House.
Whether President Obama moves aggressively on any of the recommendations remains to be seen in the coming weeks and months, but the recent court case in which a federal judge deemed the NSA bulk phone data collection unconstitutional should have some effect on the President’s response to the panel. | <urn:uuid:0bfb48d4-ef9f-42f4-9d7c-95c6aa16ca26> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.slashgear.com/obama-hears-panel-stop-nsa-bulk-phone-data-collection-18309315/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719155.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00332-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956931 | 535 | 1.84375 | 2 |
More and more small businesses right this moment are utilizing online business directories to their benefit. In the event you run a small enterprise, you likely spend a substantial amount of your time thinking about your marketing plan. online enterprise directories generally is a nice addition to your present small enterprise marketing strategy. Those sites may also help your small enterprise expand its website site visitors, increase the likelihood that your website will probably be discovered by interested visitors and enhance your backside line. If you have not taken a look at those directories and considered how your small business could use them to increase its market presence, then now could be the time to start!
What Are On-line Business Directories?
There are many totally different types of on-line business directories available on the Internet. Every of those sites serves a selected purpose and can be utilized by your small business in specific ways.
A web-based business directory is a website submission service that enables your small enterprise’ website to be added to a specific category the place it may be looked for by interested visitors. Listing your small enterprise on an internet enterprise directory will increase your website’s visibility on the web and helps to create inbound links to what you are promoting’ website. This places make it straightforward for people to search out what they’re looking for. These directories may be accessed from just about anywhere that has an internet connection. This signifies that folks might discover your corporation’ website from their home, office and even while traveling.
Every website that’s submitted to an internet business directory is positioned in a specific category. These categories can range in how they are organized. Some are organized by business-associated classes, some are organized in response to personal preferences and others are organized by subject. Each category consists of several websites regarding a particular topic. Each website listing options the name of the website, a direct link to the website and a short description of the website. Interested Internet visitors will be able to flick through the various categories in the directory and locate websites like yours that they might be desirous about visiting. Essentially, those places make it easier for any visitor to find your online business’ website.
How Do On-line Business Directories Work?
The concept of on-line enterprise directories is actually a fairly easy one. These webistes are similar to the Yellow Pages within the real world, only these listings are only online. (Truly Yellow Pages.com is now one of many largest on-line directories as well.) A directory is just a listing place for a number of websites. Any type of website might be listed in a web based enterprise directory. Some directories are huge and cover every subject that somebody may create a website for, while others are very small and specific to a specific niche.
Let’s use an example. Say you are a model airplane fanatic and also you want to discover some websites that cater to your particular interest. You possibly can look by a huge online business directory comparable to Google My Enterprise and discover a number of dozen websites that are associated to model airplanes. Or you may look for an online business directory that’s niche-specific, which means that all the online business directory could be primarily based on hobbies comparable to model airplanes. With a distinct segment-specific directory it’s possible you’ll find even more websites which can be primarily based on your specific interest than what you might discover on the bigger directories.
Since online business directories are organized by categories, discovering websites that relate to a specific interest reminiscent of model airplanes may be very easy. You possibly can find data and websites about model airplanes in your local area too, when you use a regional-particular on-line enterprise directory. So should you live in Phoenix you might discover websites that relate to both model airplanes and the Phoenix area. These places will direct you to websites that you simply need to find. All you must do is perform a search within the on-line business directory for a particular matter or browse through the varied categories till you discover the type of websites you’re looking for. Whenever you perform a search you’ll be given a list of all of the websites that relate to your search term. You will be offered with a number of links to these websites and every link may have a short description of what you might be likely to seek out on the website. You can read the descriptions and select to click on the website that finest suits you.
There are numerous different types of websites that you could find under a selected subject as well. For example, when you search a number of of these sites for info relating to model airplanes chances are you’ll discover websites that are about building model airplanes, flying model airplanes, creating historically accurate model planes, suggestions and directions about how one can fly model planes, websites that sell model airplanes and charters and associations that you can join regarding model airplanes. These are just a number of of the examples you would discover using a web-based enterprise directory. There are just too many subjects to list all of them here.
If you have any inquiries regarding where and ways to utilize lake of the ozarks attractions, you could contact us at our website. | <urn:uuid:f6cd3299-a866-4500-9df3-768b4321d6c4> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://getcleanedgetorganized.com/the-power-of-online-enterprise-directories-and-the-way-to-get-started-fast/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571982.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813172349-20220813202349-00069.warc.gz | en | 0.935881 | 1,057 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Challenge your students this Halloween season with this fun word search and story. There are 15 words for your students to search for. This word search is challenging and fun! Words can be backwards, forward, and diagonal.
When they are finished searching for their words, the fun is not over... there is a story they can finish about Frankenstein and his bride. It will be so much fun this season. Reading, spelling, and writing all in one!
Run your copies double sided and have your students complete the word search first, then they can move on to the fun story about Frankenstein. You could also do these as two different projects this season.
AN ANSWER KEY IS INCLUDED!!
Perfect for a literacy center or a writing center!
Check out my other Halloween word search and story for BEGINNERS:
Halloween Word Search and Story (Easy Version) | <urn:uuid:65e9587d-0aee-4193-95b7-157786188cee> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Halloween-Word-Search-and-Story-2810053 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721174.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00281-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927941 | 180 | 2.828125 | 3 |
A Natural Experiment on Discrimination in Elections
102 Pages Posted: 17 Feb 2017 Last revised: 28 Jan 2020
Date Written: January 27, 2020
We exploit a natural experiment to study discrimination in elections. In Illinois Republican presidential primaries, voters vote for delegates bound to presidential candidates, but delegates' names convey information about their race and gender. We identify discrimination from variation in vote totals among delegates bound to the same presidential candidate and who face the same voters. Examining delegate vote totals from 2000 to 2016, we estimate nonwhite delegates receive 9 percent fewer votes. We find essentially no gender discrimination. Negligible incentives for statistical discrimination, costs to preferred presidential candidates, and heterogeneity are consistent with an interpretation of this behavior as taste-based.
Keywords: Taste-Based, Racial Discrimination, Voter Behavior
JEL Classification: D72, J15
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation | <urn:uuid:07cd7edb-209d-4e92-acc1-c5abd06c57e2> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2919664 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572163.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815085006-20220815115006-00679.warc.gz | en | 0.8803 | 181 | 2.109375 | 2 |
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Iran - GEOGRAPHY
In November 1986, the government reported that the preliminary count in the fourth national census, which had been conducted during October, showed a total population of 48,181,463. According to the government, this total included about 2.6 million refugees who had come from Afghanistan and Iraq since 1980. The population of Iranian nationals, approximately 45.6 million, represented an increase of about 12 million over the 33.7 million enumerated in the 1976 census. This indicated that the Iranian population had grown at an annual rate of 3.6 percent between 1976 and 1986. A population increase in excess of 3.3 percent per year puts Iran's population growth rate among the higher rates in the world.
The preliminary report on the 1986 census showed that Iran's population had been growing at a faster rate since 1976 than during earlier periods. Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, estimates and scattered population surveys indicated that the average population growth rate was less than 2 percent annually. After World War II, however, the population growth rate began to rise. Between the first national census in 1956, when Iran's population numbered 19 million, and the second national census in 1966, when the population count was 25.3 million, the annual growth rate averaged 2.9 percent. The results of the 1976 national census, however, indicated a slight decrease in the average annual growth rate to 2.7 percent.
The sharp increase in the population growth rate from 2.7 percent to nearly 3.6 percent per year between 1976 and 1986 appeared to be related to the Revolution in 1979. Prior to the Revolution, the government had promoted a family planning program; however, following the Revolution, the new government ceased all official involvement in family planning. Although there has been no religious prohibition on birth control, government pronouncements and literature have tended to extol the virtues of large families.
In mid-1987, data on vital statistics from the 1986 preliminary census were incomplete, but some demographic changes were already evident. The 1976 census data had indicated that 51.4 percent of the population was male and 48.6 was female. The median age of the population was 16.5 years, and less than 3.5 percent of the population was over 65. The relatively large population increase between 1976 and 1986 had the effect of increasing the already extreme youthfulness of the population. In 1986 the government announced that 50 percent of the population was under 15 years of age, and about 45 percent was in the 15- to 59-year age group, while only 5 percent was over the age of 60.
According to the preliminary results of the 1986 census, the average population density for the country was twenty-nine persons per square kilometer. In some regions, especially along the Caspian coast and in East Azarbaijan, the average density was significantly higher, while in the more arid regions of the Central Plateau and Baluchestan va Sistan, average population density was ten or fewer persons per square kilometer.
Tehran, the capital, is the country's largest city and the second most populous city in the Middle East after Cairo. Tehran is a comparatively young city, the origins of which date back about 700 years. The old part of the city is a few kilometers to the northwest of ancient Rey, an important city that was destroyed by the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century. Tehran was founded by refugees from Rey, but remained an insignificant small town until the end of the eighteenth century, when the founder of the Qajar dynasty chose it to be his capital. Tehran has been the capital of the country ever since.
The centralization of the government and the expansion of the bureaucracy under the Pahlavis, the last royal dynasty, were major factors in Tehran's rapid growth after 1925. The city's population doubled between 1926 and 1940 and tripled between 1940 and 1956, when it reached more than 1.5 million. Tehran's population continued to grow rapidly, exceeding 2.7 million by 1966. Its population in the 1986 census was slightly over 6 million. This figure represented a 35 percent increase over the 1976 census of slightly under 4.5 million.
In 1986 Iran had one other city, Mashhad, with a population over 1 million. Mashhad's population of more than 1.4 million represented an increase of 110 percent since 1976. Much of its growth was attributed to the large number of Afghan refugees, approximately 450,000, who were living in the city. The historical origins of Mashhad are similar to those of Tehran inasmuch as the city essentially developed after the centuries- old city of Tus, near modern Mashhad, was destroyed by the Mongols. Mashhad has served as the principal commercial center of Khorasan since the nineteenth century, although its major growth has occurred only since the mid-1950s. It also has become an important manufacturing center and has numerous carpet, textile, and food-processing factories.
Iran's other major cities include Esfahan, Tabriz, and Shiraz, all of which had populations of 800,000 or more in 1986. Like Mashhad, these cities have experienced relatively rapid growth since the mid-1950s. All three of these cities are important manufacturing centers, especially Esfahan, where many of Iran's heavy industries are concentrated. Smaller cities (populations of 100,000 to 500,000) such as Ahvaz, Bakhtaran (before the Revolution Kermanshah), Hamadan, Karaj, Kerman, Qazvin, Qom, Rasht, and Urumiyeh (or Urmia, formerly known as Rezaiyeh) also have grown considerably since 1956. A total of 30 cities, more than double the number in the 1966 census, had populations exceeding 100,000 in 1986.
More about the <>Population of Iran.
Since the Revolution, there has been a small but steady emigration of educated Iranians. Estimates of the number vary from 750,000 to 1.5 million. Most such emigrants have preferred to settle in Western Europe or the United States, although there are also sizable communities of Iranians in Turkey. Newspapers in Istanbul claimed during 1986 that as many as 600,000 Iranians were living in Turkey, although the Turkish Ministry of Interior has reported that there are only about 30,000 Iranians in the country. The United States census for 1980 found 122,000 Iranians living in the United States. By 1987 it was estimated this number exceeded 200,000, with the largest concentration found in southern California.
Iranian emigrants tended to be highly educated, many holding degrees from American and West European universities. A sizable proportion were members of the prerevolutionary political elite. They had been wealthy before the Revolution, and many succeeded in transferring much of their wealth out of Iran during and after the Revolution.
Other Iranians who have emigrated include members of religious minorities, especially Bahais and Jews; intellectuals who had opposed the old regime, which they accused of suppressing free thought and who have the same attitude toward the Islamic Republic; members of ethnic minorities; political opponents of the government in Tehran; and some young men who deserted from the military or sought to avoid conscription. There were virtually no economic emigrants from Iran, although a few thousand Iranians have continued to work in Kuwait, Qatar, and other Persian Gulf states, as before the Revolution.
More about the <>Population of Iran.
The preliminary 1986 national census figures included approximately 2.6 million persons listed as refugees of foreign nationality. The largest number, consisting of slightly more than 2.3 million, were Afghans. The refugees from Afghanistan were concentrated in several refugee camps in eastern Iran, but approximately one-third of them were living in such cities as Mashhad, Shiraz, and Tehran at the time of the census. In addition, there were nearly 300,000 refugees from Iraq, with which Iran had been at war since 1980.
The influx of foreign refugees was the direct result of war on Iran's borders. Since early 1980, the Afghan refugees had been fleeing the fighting in their country between various Afghan resistance groups and government forces assisted by more than 100,000 Soviet troops. The Iraqi refugees were expelled by their own government, which claimed that they were really Iranian descendants of persons who had immigrated to Iraq from Iran many years ago. In addition to refugees of foreign origins, Tehran has had to cope with several hundred thousand Iranian civilian refugees from the war zones.
The Iraqi advance into Khuzestan in the fall of 1980 resulted in extensive damage to the residential areas of two of Iran's major cities, Abadan and Khorramshahr, as well as the destruction of numerous small towns and villages. The intensive shelling of the large cities of Ahvaz and Dezful also destroyed residential neighborhoods. Consequently, tens of thousands of civilians fled southwestern Iran in 1980 and 1981, and the government set up refugee reception areas in Shiraz, Tehran, and other cities removed from the battle zone. During the Iraqi occupation of Khuzestan, the government had to shelter up to 1.5 million refugees. Efforts to resettle at least some of the refugees were undertaken in 1983 after Iran had recaptured much of Khuzestan from Iraq; however, continued fighting in the area and Iraqi air strikes on cities and towns in western Iran resulted in a steady stream of displaced civilians in need of food and shelter.
During the period 1980 to 1981, the government of Iraq expelled into Iran about 200,000 persons whom it claimed were Iranians. Most were Iraqi citizens, sometimes whole families, who were or had been residents of Iraq's Shia shrine cities and also were descendants of Iranian clergy and pilgrims who had settled in the religious centers as far back as the eighteenth century. In most cases, the refugees had never been to Iran and could speak no Persian (Farsi). Furthermore, they were required to leave the greater part of their possessions in Iraq. Thus, the Iranian government had to provide them with basic food and shelter.
Developing policies to deal with the Afghan refugees became a major burden for the government as early as 1984 because the number of Afghan refugees had continued to increase almost daily since the first group crossed the border in 1980. Iran, however, received virtually no international assistance for the Afghan refugees. It set up several camps in eastern Iran where the refugees were processed and provided with basic shelter and rations. These camps were located in or near towns in Khorasan and were provided with certain municipal services such as free access to public schools for registered refugee children. Although no data have been published on the gender and age composition of the refugees, press reports indicate that most were probably women, children, and men too old to fight, as in the Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan. Most of the young men probably remained with the Afghan resistance forces for the greater part of the year.
Although the Afghans were required to live in the special refugee camps, by 1986 an estimated one-third of them had left the camps and were living in residential areas of large cities such as Mashhad, Shiraz, and Tehran. The Afghans apparently came to the cities in order to earn money to support families who remained in the camps. They engaged in street vending and worked on construction sites or in factories. The Iranian press periodically reported on the roundup of such Afghans and their forcible return to the camps. The Afghans needed special work permits, but it was not clear whether these were difficult or easy to obtain or whether private employers required them as a condition of employment.
More about the <>Population of Iran.
Iran has a heterogeneous population speaking a variety of Indo-Iranian, Semitic, and Turkic languages. The largest language group consists of the speakers of Indo-Iranian languages, who in 1986 comprised about 70 percent of the population. The speakers of Indo-Iranian languages are not, however, a homogeneous group. They include speakers of Persian, the official language of the country, and its various dialects; speakers of Kirmanji, the term for related dialects spoken by the Kurds who live in the cities, towns, and villages of western Iran and adjacent areas of Iraq and Turkey; speakers of Luri, the language of the Bakhtiaris and Lurs who live in the Zagros; and Baluchi, the language of the seminomadic people who live in southeastern Iran and adjacent areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Approximately 28 percent of the population speaks various dialects of Turkish. Speakers of Semitic languages include Arabs and Assyrians.
<>The Persian Language
<>Lurs and Bakhtiaris
<>Semitic Language Groups
The official language of Iran is Persian (the Persian term for which is Farsi). It is the language of government and public instruction and is the mother tongue of half of the population. Persian is spoken as a second language by a large proportion of the rest. Many different dialects of Persian are spoken in various parts of the Central Plateau, and people from each city can usually be identified by their speech. Some dialects, such as Gilaki and Mazandari, are distinct enough to be virtually unintelligible to a Persian speaker from Tehran or Shiraz.
Persian is an ancient language that has developed through three historical stages. Old Persian dates back to at least 514 B.C. and was used until about A.D. 250. It was written in cuneiform and used exclusively for royal proclamations and announcements. Middle Persian, also known as Pahlavi, was in use from about A.D. 250 to 900. It was the official language of the Sassanid Empire and of the Zoroastrian priesthood. It was written in an ideographic script called Huzvaresh.
Modern Persian is a continually evolving language that began to develop about A.D. 900. Following the Arab conquest of the Sassanid Empire in the seventh century and the gradual conversion of the population to Islam, Arabic became the official, literary, and written language, but Persian remained the language of court records. Persian, however, borrowed heavily from Arabic to enrich its own vocabulary and eventually adopted the Arabic script. In subsequent centuries, many Turkic words also were incorporated into Persian.
As part of the Indo-European family of languages, Persian is distantly related to Latin, Greek, the Slavic and Teutonic languages, and English. This relationship can be seen in such cognates as beradar (brother), pedar (father), and mader (mother). It is a relatively easy language for English-speaking people to learn compared with any other major language of the Middle East. Verbs tend to be regular, nouns lack gender and case distinction, prepositions are much used, noun plural formation tends to be regular, and word order is important. The difficulty of the language lies in the subtlety and variety of word meanings according to context. Persian is written right to left in the Arabic script with several modifications. It has four more consonants than Arabic-- pe, che, zhe, and gaf--making a total of thirty-two letters. Most of the letters have four forms in writing, depending on whether they occur at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a word or whether they stand separately. The letters stand for the consonants and the three long vowels; special marks written above or below the line are used to denote short vowels. These signs are used only in dictionaries and textbooks, so that a reader must have a substantial vocabulary to understand a newspaper, an average book, or handwriting.
Persian is the most important of a group of several related languages that linguists classify as Indo-Iranian. Persian speakers regard their language as extremely beautiful, and they take great pleasure in listening to the verses of medieval poets such as Ferdowsi, Hafez, and Sadi. The language is a living link with the past and has been important in binding the nation together.
There is no accepted standard transliteration of Persian into Latin letters, and Iranians write their names for Western use in a variety of ways, often following French spelling. Among scholars and librarians a profound dispute exists between those who think Persian should be transliterated in conformity with the rules for Arabic and those who insist that Persian should have its own rules because it does not use all of the same sounds as Arabic.
Among educated Persians, there have been sporadic efforts as far back as the tenth century to diminish the use of Arabic loanwords in their language. Both Pahlavi shahs supported such efforts in the twentieth century. During the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi (1925-41), serious consideration was given to the possibility of Romanizing the writing of Persian as had been done with Turkish, but these plans were abandoned. Since the Revolution, a contrary tendency to increase the use of Arabic words in both spoken and written Persian has emerged among government leaders.
The Persians constitute the largest ethnic component in Iran. They predominate in the major urban areas of central and eastern Iran--in the cities of Tehran, Esfahan, Mashhad, Shiraz, Arak, Kashan, Kerman, Qom, and Yazd--and in the villages of the Central Plateau. An estimated 50 to 60 percent of the population speaks Persian as a first language.
In music, poetry, and art the Persians consider themselves--and are generally considered by other groups--as the leaders of the country. This feeling is strengthened by a consciousness of a heroic past and a rich literary heritage. Both before the Revolution and since, Persians have filled the majority of government positions.
The vast majority of Persians are Shia Muslims. The Shia religion serves as a source of unity among Persians and other Iranian Shias. Since at least the beginning of the nineteenth century, Persians have dominated the higher ranks of the Shia clergy and have provided important clerical revolutionary leaders such as ayatollahs Khomeini and Hosain Ali Montazeri. Fewer than 500,000 Persians are followers of other faiths. These include Bahais, Jews, or members of the pre-Islamic Zoroastrian faith.
In the central and southern Zagros live the Bakhtiaris and the Lurs, two groups that speak Luri, a language closely related to Persian. Linguists have identified two Luri dialects: Lur Buzurg, which is spoken by the Bakhtiari, Kuhgiluyeh, and Mamasani tribes; and Lur Kuchik, which is spoken by the Lurs of Lorestan. Like the Persians, the Bakhtiaris and Lurs are Shia Muslims. Historically, each of the two groups was organized into several tribes. The tribal leaders or khans, especially those of the Bakhtiari tribes, were involved in national politics and were considered part of the prerevolutionary elite.
The Bakhtiaris have been considered both a political and a tribal entity separate from other Lurs for at least two centuries. They are concentrated in an area extending southward from Lorestan Province to Khuzestan Province and westward from Esfahan to within eighty kilometers of the present-day Iraqi border. A pastoral nomadic tribe called Bakhtiari can be traced back in Iranian history to as early as the fourteenth century, but the important Bakhtiari tribal confederation dates only from the nineteenth century. At the height of Bakhtiari influence, roughly from 1870 to 1930, the term Bakhtiari came to be associated not just with the nomadic tribes that provided the military prowess of the confederation but also with the villagers and even town dwellers who were under Bakhtiari jurisdiction. Thus, some Arabic-, Persian-, and Turkic-speaking peasants were considered part of the Bakhtiari. Beginning in the 1920s, the Pahlavi shahs gradually succeeded in establishing the authority of the central government in the Bakhtiari area. Several campaigns also were undertaken to settle forcibly the nomadic pastoral component of the Bakhtiari. The combined political and economic pressures resulted in a significant decline in the power of the Bakhtiari confederation. Detribalized Bakhtiaris, especially those who settled in urban areas and received an education in state schools, tended to be assimilated into Persian culture. By the time of the Revolution in 1979 the term Bakhtiari tended to be restricted to an estimated 250,000 tribespeople, most of whom still practiced pastoral nomadism.
Historically, the Bakhtiaris have been divided into two main tribal groups. The Chahar Lang are located in the northwest of the Bakhtiari country and until the middle of the nineteenth century retained the leadership of all the Bakhtiari tribes. The Haft Lang, the southwestern group, have been more closely associated with modern Iranian politics than the Chahar Lang and in some instances have exercised significant influence.
The Lurs (closely related to the Bakhtiaris) live in the Zagros to the northwest, west, and southeast of the Bakhtiaris. There were about 500,000 Lurs in Iran in the mid-1980s. The Lurs are divided into two main groups, the Posht-e Kuhi and the Pish-e Kuhi. These two groups are subdivided into more than sixty tribes, the most important of which include the Boir Ahmadi, the Kuhgiluyeh, and the Mamasani. Historically, the Lurs have included an urban segment based in the town of Khorramabad, the provincial capital of Lorestan. Prior to 1900, however, the majority of Lurs were pastoral nomads. Traditionally, they were considered among the fiercest of Iranian tribes and had acquired an unsavory reputation on account of their habit of preying on both Lur and non-Lur villages. During the 1920s and 1930s, the government of Reza Shah undertook several coercive campaigns to settle the nomadic Lurs. Following the abdication of Reza Shah in 1941, many of the recently settled tribes reverted to nomadism. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi's government attempted with some success through various economic development programs to encourage the remaining nomadic Lurs to settle. By 1986 a majority of all Lurs were settled in villages and small towns in the traditional Lur areas or had migrated to cities.
The Baluchis--who constitute the majority of the population in Baluchestan va Sistan--numbered approximately 600,000 in Iran in the mid-1980s. They are part of a larger group that forms the majority of the population of Baluchistan Province in Pakistan and of some areas in southern Afghanistan. In Iran the Baluchis are concentrated in the Makran highlands, an area that stretches eastward along the Gulf of Oman coast to the Pakistan border and includes some of the most desolate country in the world. The Baluchis speak an Indo-Iranian language that is distantly related to Persian and more closely related to Pashtu, one of the major languages of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Historically, Baluchi has been only an oral language, although educated Baluchis in Pakistan have developed a written script that employs the Arabic alphabet. Unlike the majority of Persians, the majority of Baluchis are Sunni rather than Shia Muslims. This religious difference has been a source of tension in the past, especially in the ethnically mixed provincial capital of Zahedan. Religious tensions have been exacerbated since the establishment of the Republic.
About half of the Baluchis are seminomadic or nomadic; the remainder are settled farmers or townsmen. Tribal organization remains intact among nomadic and seminomadic Baluchis; tribal patterns of authority and obligation have also been retained by the majority of settled Baluchis. The Baluchis have been one of the most difficult tribal groups for the central government to control, in large part because of poor communications between Tehran and Baluchestan va Sistan. With the exception of the city of Zahedan, neither the monarchy nor the Republic invested any significant funds in local development projects. As a result, the Baluchis are one of the poorest and least educated peoples in Iran. Most of the principal Baluchi tribes in Iran border Pakistan or Afghanistan. They include the Yarahmadzai, the Nauri, the Gomshadzai, the Saravan, the Lashari, and the Barazani. Along the coast of the Gulf of Oman live the important tribes of Sadozai and Taherza.
The Kurds speak a variety of closely related dialects, which in Iran are collectively called Kirmanji. The dialects are divided into northern and southern groups, and it is not uncommon for the Kurds living in adjoining mountain valleys to speak different dialects. There is a small body of Kurdish literature written in a modified Arabic script. Kurdish is more closely related to Persian than is Baluchi and also contains numerous Persian loanwords. In large Kurdish cities, the educated population speaks both Persian and Kurdish.
There are approximately 4 million Kurds in Iran. They are the third most important ethnic group in the country after the Persians and Azarbaijanis and account for about 9 percent of the total population. They are concentrated in the Zagros Mountain area along the western frontiers with Turkey and Iraq and adjacent to the Kurdish populations of both those countries. Kurds also live in the Soviet Union and Syria. The Kurdish area of Iran includes most of West Azarbaijan, all of Kordestan, much of Bakhtaran (formerly known as Kermanshahan) and Ilam, and parts of Lorestan. Historically, the Kurds of Iran have been both urban and rural, with as much as half the rural population practicing pastoral nomadism in different periods of history. By the mid-1970s, fewer than 15 percent of all Kurds were nomadic. In addition, during the 1970s there was substantial migration of rural Kurds to such historic Kurdish cities as Bakhtaran (known as Kermanshah until 1979), Sanandaj, and Mahabad, as well as to larger towns such as Baneh, Bijar, Ilam, Islamabad (known as Shahabad until 1979), Saqqez, Sar-e Pol-e Zahab, and Sonqor. Educated Kurds also migrated to non-Kurdish cities such as Karaj, Tabriz, and Tehran.
There are also scatterings of Kurds in the provinces of Fars, Kerman, and Baluchestan va Sistan, and there is a large group of approximately 350,000 living in a small area of northern Khorasan. These are all descendants of Kurds whom the government forcibly removed from western Iran during the seventeenth century.
Most of the rural Kurds retain a tribal form of social organization, although the position of the chief is less significant among the majority of Kurds who live in villages than it is among the unsettled pastoralists. An estimated forty Kurdish tribes and confederations of tribes were still recognized in the mid-1980s. Many of these were organized in the traditional manner, which obligated several subordinate clans to pay dues in cash or produce and provide allegiance to a chief clan. The land reform program of the 1960s did not disrupt this essentially feudal system among most tribally organized Kurds.
The majority of both rural and urban Kurds in West Azarbaijan and Kordestan practice Sunni Islam. There is more diversity of religious practice in southern Kurdish areas, especially in the Bakhtaran area, where many villagers and townspeople follow Shia beliefs. Schismatic Islamic groups, such as the Ahl-e Haqq and the Yazdis, both of which are considered heretical by orthodox Shias, traditionally have had numerous adherents among the Kurds of the Bakhtaran region. A tiny minority of Kurds are adherents of Judaism.
The Kurds have manifested an independent spirit throughout modern Iranian history, rebelling against central government efforts to restrict their autonomy during the Safavid, Qajar, and Pahlavi periods. The most recent Kurdish uprising took place in 1979 following the Revolution. Mahabad, which has been a center of Kurdish resistance against Persian authority since the time of the Safavid monarch Shah Abbas (1587-1629), was again at the forefront of the Kurdish autonomy struggle. Intense fighting between government forces and Kurdish guerrillas occurred from 1979 to 1982, but since 1983 the government has asserted its control over most of the Kurdish area.
The second major element of the population is composed of various Turkic-speaking groups. The Turkic languages belong to the Ural-Altaic family, which includes many languages of Soviet Central Asia and western China, as well as Turkish, Hungarian, and Finnish. The various Turkic languages spoken in Iran tend to be mutually intelligible. Of these, only Azarbaijani is written to any extent. In Iran it is written in the Arabic script, in contrast to the Azarbaijani in Turkey, which is written in the Roman script, and that of the Soviet Union, which is written in the Cyrillic script. Unlike Indo-European languages, Turkic languages are characterized by short base words to which are added numerous prefixes and suffixes, each addition changing the meaning of the base. They are also distinguished by their vowel harmony, which means that the kind of vowel used in the base word and the additives must agree. Thus, lengthy words might be filled with "o's" and "u's" or with "a's" and "e's," but not with mixtures of the two.
Turkic speakers make up as much as 25 percent of Iran's total population. They are concentrated in northwestern Iran, where they form the overwhelming majority of the population of East Azarbaijan and a majority of West Azarbaijan. They also constitute a significant minority in the provinces of Fars, Gilan, Hamadan, Khorasan, Mazandaran, and Tehran. Except for the Azarbaijanis, most of the Turkic groups are tribally organized. Some of the Turkic tribes continue to follow a nomadic or seminomadic life. Educated Turkic speakers in the large cities speak and understand Persian.
By far the largest Turkic-speaking group are the Azarbaijanis, who account for over 85 percent of all Turkic speakers in Iran. Most of the Azarbaijanis are concentrated in the northwestern corner of the country, where they form the majority population in an area between the Caspian Sea and Lake Urmia and from the Soviet border south to the latitude of Tehran. Their language, Azarbaijani (also called Azeri or Turkish), is structurally similar to the Turkish spoken in Turkey but with a strikingly different accent. About half of all Azarbaijanis are urban. Major Azarbaijani cities include Tabriz, Urmia, Ardabil, Zanjan, Khoy, and Maragheh. In addition, an estimated one-third of the population of Tehran is Azarbaijani and there are sizable Azarbaijani minorities in other major cities, such as Hamadan, Karaj, and Qazvin. The life styles of urban Azarbaijanis do not differ from those of Persians, and there is considerable intermarriage among the upper classes in cities of mixed populations. Similarly, customs among Azarbaijani villagers do not appear to differ markedly from those of Persian villagers. The majority of Azarbaijanis, like the majority of Persians, are Shia Muslims. A tiny minority of Azarbaijanis are Bahais.
The Qashqais are the second largest Turkic group in Iran. The Qashqais are a confederation of several Turkic-speaking tribes in Fars Province numbering about 250,000 people. They are pastoral nomads who move with their herds of sheep and goats between summer pastures in the higher elevations of the Zagros south of Shiraz and winter pastures at low elevations north of Shiraz. Their migration routes are considered to be among the longest and most difficult of all of Iran's pastoral tribes. The majority of Qashqais are Shias.
The Qashqai confederation emerged in the eighteenth century when Shiraz was the capital of the Zand dynasty. During the nineteenth century, the Qashqai confederation became one of the best organized and most powerful tribal confederations in Iran, including among its clients hundreds of villages and some non-Turkic-speaking tribes. Under the Qashqais' most notable leader, Khan Solat ad Doleh, their strength was great enough to defeat the British-led South Persia Rifles in 1918. Reza Shah's campaigns against them in the early 1930s were successful because the narrow pass on the route from their summer to winter pastures was blocked, and the tribe was starved into submission. Solat and his son were imprisoned in Tehran, where Solat was subsequently murdered. Many Qashqais were then settled on land in their summer pastures, which averages 2,500 meters above sea level.
The Qashqais, like the Bakhtiaris and other forcibly settled tribes, returned to nomadic life upon Reza Shah's exile in 1941. Army and government officials were driven out of the area, but the Qashqais, reduced in numbers and disorganized after their settlement, were unable to regain their previous strength and independence. In the post-World War II period, the Qashqai khans supported the National Front of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq. Following the 1953 royalist coup d'état against Mossadeq, the Qashqai khans were exiled, and army officers were appointed to supervise tribal affairs. The Qashqais revolted again in the period 1962 to 1964, when the government attempted to take away their pastures under the land reform program. A full-fledged military campaign was launched against them, and the area was eventually pacified. Since the mid-1960s, many Qashqais have settled in villages and towns. According to some estimates, as many as 100,000 Qashqais may have been settled by 1986. This change from pastoral nomadism to settled agriculture and urban occupations proved to be an important factor hindering the Qashqai tribes from organizing effectively against the central government after the Revolution in 1979 when exiled tribal leaders returned to Iran hoping to rebuild the confederation.
By the 1980s, the terms Qashqai and Turk tended to be used interchangeably in Fars, especially by non-Turkic speakers. Many Turkic groups, however, such as the urban Abivardis of Shiraz and their related village kin in nearby rural areas and the Baharlu, the Inalu, and other tribes, were never part of the Qashqai confederation. The Baharlu and Inalu tribes actually were part of the Khamseh confederacy created to counterbalance the Qashqais. Nevertheless, both Qashqai and non-Qashqai Turks in Fars recognize a common ethnic identity in relation to non- Turks. All of these Turks speak mutually intelligible dialects that are closely related to Azarbaijani. The total Turkic-speaking population of Fars was estimated to be about 500,000 in 1986.
Arabic and Assyrian are the two Semitic languages spoken in Iran. The Arabic dialects are spoken in Khuzestan and along the Persian Gulf coast. They are modern variants of the older Arabic that formed the base of the classical literary language and all the colloquial languages of the Arabic-speaking world. As a Semitic language, Arabic is related to Hebrew, Syriac, and Ethiopic. Like these other Semitic languages, Arabic is based on three-consonant roots, whose meanings vary according to the combinations of vowels that are used to separate the consonants. Written Arabic often is difficult to learn because of the tendency not to indicate short vowels by diacritical marks. There is no linguistic family relationship between Arabic and Persian, although Persian vocabulary has been heavily influenced by Arabic. The Arabic loanwords incorporated into Persian have been modified to fit the Persian sound patterns. Arabic also continues to be the language of prayer of all Muslims in Iran. Children in school learn to read the Quran in Arabic. Persian- and Turkic-speaking Iranians who have commercial interests in the Persian Gulf area often learn Arabic for business purposes.
In 1986 there were an estimated 530,000 Arabs in Iran. A majority lived in Khuzestan, where they constituted a significant ethnic minority. Most of the other Arabs lived along the Persian Gulf coastal plains, but there also were small scattered tribal groups living in central and eastern Iran. About 40 percent of the Arabs were urban, concentrated in such cities as Abadan, Ahvaz, and Khorramshahr. The majority of urban Arab adult males were unskilled workers, especially in the oil industry. Arabs also worked in commerce and services, and there was a small number of Arab professionals. Some urban Arabs and most rural Arabs are tribally organized. The rural Arabs of Khuzestan tend to be farmers and fishermen. Many of the Arabs who live along the Persian Gulf coastal plains are pastoral nomads who keep herds of cattle, sheep, and camels.
Both the urban and the rural Arabs of Khuzestan are intermingled with the Persians, Turks, and Lurs who also live in the province. The Khuzestan Arabs are Shias. While this physical and spiritual closeness has facilitated intermarriage between the Arabs and other Iranians, the Arabs have tended to regard themselves as separate from non-Arabs and have usually been so regarded by other Iranians. Among the Khuzestan Arabs there has been a sense of ethnic solidarity for many years. The government of neighboring Iraq, both before and after the 1979 Revolution in Iran, has claimed that the Khuzestan Arabs are discriminated against and has asserted at various times that it has assisted those desiring "liberation" from Tehran. When Iraq invaded Iran in 1980 and occupied much of Khuzestan for nearly two years, however, an anticipated uprising of the Arab population did not occur, and most of the local Arabs fled the area along with the non-Arab population.
Apart from Khuzestan there is little sense of ethnic unity among the scattered Arab settlements. The Arabs in the area stretching from Bushehr to Bandar-e Abbas tend to be Sunnis. This has helped to strengthen their differentiation from most non-Arab Iranians and even from the Arabs of Khuzestan.
The other Semitic people of Iran are the Assyrians, a Christian group that speaks modern dialects of Assyrian, an Aramaic language that evolved from old Syriac. Language and religion provide a strong cohesive force and give the Assyrians a sense of identity with their coreligionists in Iraq, in other parts of the Middle East, and also in the United States. Most Assyrians adhere to the Assyrian Church of the East (sometimes referred to as the Chaldean Church or Nestorian Church). Many theologians regard this church as the oldest in Christendom. In the nineteenth century, Protestant and Roman Catholic missionaries proselytized among the Assyrians and converted many of them.
There were about 32,000 Assyrians in Iran at the time of the 1976 census. Many of them emigrated after the Revolution in 1979, but at least 20,000 were estimated still to be living in Iran in 1987. The traditional home of the Assyrians in Iran is along the western shore of Lake Urmia. During World War I virtually the entire Assyrian population fled the area, which had become a battleground for opposing Russian and Turkish armies. Thousands of Assyrians perished on the overland flight through the Zagros to the safety of British-controlled Iraq. Eventually, many of the Iranian Assyrians settled among the Assyrian population of Iraq or emigrated to the United States. During the reign of Reza Shah, Assyrians were invited back to Iran to repopulate their villages. A few thousand did return, but, since the 1940s, most young Assyrians have migrated to Tehran and other urban centers.
Armenians, a non-Muslim minority that traditionally has lived in northwestern Iran adjacent to the historic Armenian homeland located in what today are eastern Turkey and Soviet Armenia, speak an Indo- European language that is distantly related to Persian. There were an estimated 300,000 Armenians in the country at the time of the Revolution in 1979. There has been considerable emigration of Armenians from Iran since, although in 1986 the Armenian population was still estimated to be 250,000. In the past there were many Armenian villages, especially in the Esfahan area, where several thousand Armenian families had been forcibly resettled in the early seventeenth century during the reign of the Safavid ruler, Shah Abbas. By the 1970s, the Armenians were predominantly urban. Approximately half lived in Tehran, and there were sizable communities in Esfahan, Tabriz, and other cities. The Armenians tend to be relatively well educated and maintain their own schools and Armenian-language newspapers.
Most Armenians are Gregorian Christians, although there are some Roman Catholic and Protestant Armenians as a result of European and American missionary work in Iran during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Armenian Orthodox Church is divided between those who give their allegiance to the patriarch based at Echmiadzin, near Yerevan in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, and those who support his rival, the patriarch of Cicile at Antilyas, near Beirut in Lebanon. Since 1949 a majority of Armenian Gregorians have followed the patriarch of Cicile. Clergy from Soviet Armenia were at one time active among the Iranian Armenians and had some success in exploiting their sense of community with their coreligionists in the Soviet Union. Several thousand Armenians emigrated from Iran to Soviet Armenia during World War II, and, except for occasional interruptions by one government or another, such emigration has continued. There has also been steady emigration of Iranian Armenians from Iran to the United States.
Iranians have a very strong sense of class structure. In the past they referred to their society as being divided into tiers, or tabagheh, which were identified by numbers: the first tier corresponded to the upper classes; the second, to the middle classes; and the third, to the lower classes. Under the influence of revolutionary ideology, society is now perceived as being divided into the wealthy, a term generally prefixed with negative adjectives; the middle classes; and the mostazafin, a term that literally means disinherited. In reality, Iranian society has always been more complex than a three-tier division implies because each of the three broad classes is subdivided into several social groups. These divisions have existed in both urban and rural areas.
Historically, towns in Iran have been administrative, commercial, and manufacturing centers. The traditional political elite consisted of families whose wealth was derived from land and/or trade and from which were recruited the official representatives of the central government. In larger cities, these families could trace their power and influence back several generations. Influential families were also found among the Shia clergy in the largest cities. The middle stratum included merchants and owners of artisan workshops. The lowest class of urban society included the artisans, laborers, and providers of personal services, such as barbers, bath attendants, shoemakers, tailors, and servants. Most of these, especially the artisans, who were organized into trade associations or guilds, worked in the covered bazaars of the towns.
The urban bazaar historically has been the heart of the Iranian town. In virtually all towns the bazaar is a covered street, or series of streets and alleyways, lined with small shops grouped by service or product. One part of the bazaar contains the shops of cloth and apparel dealers; another section those of carpet makers and merchants; and still another, the workshops of artisans making goods of copper, brass, or other metals, leather, cotton, and wool. In small towns the bazaar might be the equivalent of a narrow, block-long street; in the largest cities, such as Tehran, Esfahan, Mashhad, Tabriz, and Shiraz, the bazaar is a warren of streets that contains warehouses, restaurants, baths, mosques, schools, and gardens in addition to hundreds and hundreds of shops.
The modernization policies of the Pahlavi shahs both preserved and transformed all of these aspects of urban society. This process also led to the rapid growth of the urban population. The extension of central government authority throughout the country fostered the expansion of administrative apparatuses in all major provincial centers. By the 1970s, such cities were sites not just of the principal political and security offices but also of the local branches of diverse government offices such as education, justice, taxation, and telecommunications.
The establishment of modern factories displaced the numerous artisan workshops. Parts of old bazaars were destroyed to create wide streets. Merchants were encouraged to locate retail shops along these new streets rather than in the bazaars. Many of the stores that opened to meet the increased demand for commerce and services from the rapidly expanding urban population were in the new streets. The political elite in the last years of the Pahlavi dynasty spoke of the bazaars as symbols of backwardness and advanced plans to replace some of them with modern shopping malls.
Prior to the Revolution of 1979, the political elite of the towns consisted of the shah and his family and court in Tehran and the representatives of the monarchy in the provincial towns. These representatives included provincial governors and city mayors, all of whom were appointed by Tehran; high-level government officials; high- ranking military officers; the wealthiest industrialists and financiers; the most prominent merchants; and the best known professionals in law, medicine, and education. The highest ranks of the Shia clergy--the clerics who had obtained the status of ayatollah--were no longer considered part of the national elite by the mid-1970s, although this social group had been very important in the elite from the seventeenth to the mid- twentieth century.
The Revolution of 1979 swept aside this old elite. Although the old political elite was not physically removed, albeit many of its members voluntarily or involuntarily went into exile, it was stripped of its political power. The new elite consisted first and foremost of the higher ranks of the Shia clergy. The most important administrative, military, and security positions were filled by lay politicians who supported the rule of the clergy. The majority of the lay political elite had their origins in the prerevolutionary middle class, especially the bazaar families.
Opposing the political elite through much of the twentieth century has been the bazaar, an important political, economic, and social force in Iran since at least the time of the Qajar dynasty. The Pahlavi shahs viewed the bazaar as an impediment to the modern society that they wished to create and sought to enact policies that would erode the bazaar's importance. They were aware that the alliance of the mercantile and artisan forces of the bazaar with the Shia clergy posed a serious threat to royal government, as occurred in 1890 and again during the Constitutional Revolution of 1905-07. The emergence of such an alliance in the period from 1923 to 1924 is believed by many scholars to have convinced Reza Shah not to establish a republic, as Atatürk had done in Turkey, but to establish a new dynasty based upon his family.
Reza Shah recognized the potential power of the bazaar, and he was apparently determined to control it. As his secularization programs had adversely affected the clergy, many of his economic reforms hurt the bazaar. His son also sought to control the influence of the bazaar. As a consequence, the bazaar remained a locus of opposition to both Pahlavi shahs. During 1978 the bazaar spearheaded the strikes that paralyzed some sectors of the economy and provided support for the political actions of the Shia clergy. In essence, the feared alliance of the bazaar and clergy had once again come to play a pivotal role in effecting political change in Iran.
The Republic has been much more solicitous of the bazaar than was the Pahlavi dynasty. Several of the early economic programs implemented by the governments of the Republic have benefited the interests of the bazaar; nevertheless, the complexities of managing an economy under the impact of a total war have also forced the central government to adopt economic policies that the bazaar has opposed. Generally, the government leaders have favored varying degrees of state regulation over such economic issues as the pricing of basic commodities and foreign trade, while entrepreneurs, bazaar merchants, and some prominent clergy have opposed such restrictions. These economic issues have been among the main reasons for the emergence of two contentious factions among the political elite.
Prior to the Revolution of 1979, political connections were considered a key measure of one's social status. In other words, the amount of access that one was perceived to have to the highest levels of decision making was the major determinant of prestige. Wealth was important, but acquiring and maintaining wealth tended to be closely intertwined with access to political power. Consequently, members of the political elite were generally involved in numerous complex interrelationships. For example, some members of the Senate (the upper house of the parliament, or Majlis), a legislative body that included many members of the political elite appointed by the shah, were also on the boards of several industrial and commercial enterprises and were owners of extensive agricultural lands. Since being part of an elite family was an important prerequisite for entry into the political elite, marital relationships tended to bind together important elite families.
The other classes attempted to emulate the political elite in seeking connections to those with political power, whether on the provincial, town, or village level. By the 1970s, however, the nonelite of all classes perceived education as important for improving social status. Education was seen as providing entry into high-status jobs that in turn would open up opportunities for making connections with those who had political power. Despite a great expansion in educational opportunities, the demand far outstripped the ability or willingness of the elite to provide education; this in turn became a source of resentment. By the late 1970s, the nonelite groups, especially the middle classes, rather than admiring the elite and desiring to emulate them, tended to resent the elite for blocking opportunities to compete on an equal basis.
As a result of the lack of field research in Iran after the Revolution, it was difficult in the late 1980s to determine whether the traditional bases for ascribing class status had changed. It is probable that access to political power continued to be important for ascribing status even though the composition of the political elite had changed. It also appears that education continued to be an important basis for determining status.
The postrevolutionary upper classes consisted of some of the same elements as the old elite, such as large landowners, industrialists, financiers, and large-scale merchants. They remained part of the upper class by virtue of having stayed in Iran and having retained a considerable part of their wealth. For the most part, however, such persons no longer had any political influence, and in the future the absence of such influence could impede the acquisition of new wealth. The element of the upper classes with greatest political influence was a new group, the senior clergy. Wealth was apparently no longer an attribute of authority, as the example of Khomeini demonstrated. Religious expertise and piety became the major criteria for belonging to the new political elite. Thus, key government administrators held their positions because of their perceived commitment to Shia Islam. They were part of the new political elite, although not members of the old social elite.
After the Revolution of 1979, the composition of the middle class was no different from what it had been under the monarchy. There were several identifiable social groups, including entrepreneurs, bazaar merchants, professionals, managers of private and nationalized concerns, the higher grades of the civil service, teachers, medium-scale landowners, military officers, and the junior ranks of the Shia clergy. Some middle- class groups apparently had more access to political power than they had had before the Revolution because the new political elite had been recruited primarily from the middle class.
Prior to the Revolution, the middle class was divided between those possessed of a Western education, who had a secular outlook, and those suspicious of Western education, who valued a role for religion in both public and private life. In general, the more secularly oriented tended to be found among those employed in the bureaucracy, the professions, and the universities, while the more religiously oriented were concentrated among bazaar merchants and the clergy. Among entrepreneurs and especially primary and secondary school teachers, the secular and religious points of view may have had roughly equal numbers of proponents. Since the Revolution, these two outlooks have been in contention. The religious outlook has dominated politics and society, but it appears that the secular middle class has resented laws and regulations that were perceived as interfering with personal liberties.
The middle class was divided by other issues as well. Before the Revolution, an extremely high value had been placed upon obtaining a foreign education. The new political elite, however, regarded a foreign education with suspicion; accordingly, many members of the middle class who were educated abroad have been required to undergo special Islamic indoctrination courses to retain their jobs. In some cases, refusal to conform to religiously prescribed dress and behavior codes has resulted in the loss of government jobs. As a result of these tensions, thousands of Western-educated Iranians have emigrated since 1979.
The working class has been in the process of formation since the early twentieth century. The industrialization programs of the Pahlavi shahs provided the impetus for the expansion of this class. By the 1970s, a distinct working-class identity, kargar, had been established, although those who applied this term to themselves did not actually constitute a unified group. The working class was divided into various groups of workers: those in the oil industry, manufacturing, construction, and transportation; and mechanics and artisans in bazaar workshops. The most important component, factory workers, numbered about 2.5 million on the eve of the Revolution, double the number in 1965, and they accounted for 25 percent of Iran's total employed labor force.
The workers within any one occupation, rather than sharing a common identity, were divided according to perceived skills. For example, skilled construction workers, such as carpenters, electricians, and plumbers, earned significantly higher wages than the more numerous unskilled workers and tended to look down upon them. Similar status differences were common among workers in the oil industry, textile manufacturing, and metal goods production. The heaviest concentration of unskilled workers was in construction, which on the eve of the Revolution employed 9 percent of the entire labor force. In addition to relatively low wages, unskilled construction workers had no job security.
The unions played only a passive role from the viewpoint of workers. Under both the monarchy and the Republic, union activity was strictly controlled by the government. Both the shah and the government of the Islamic Republic considered strikes to be unpatriotic and generally suppressed both strikes and independent efforts to organize workers. Although strikes played an important role in undermining the authority of the government during the final months of the monarchy, once the Republic had been established the new government embraced the view of its royalist predecessor regarding independent labor activities. Thus the government has considered strikes to be un-Islamic and has forcibly suppressed them. A long history of factionalism among different working- class occupational groups and between skilled and unskilled workers within an industry traditionally has contributed to the relative success of governments in controlling the working class.
Members of the urban lower class can be distinguished by their high illiteracy rate, performance of manual labor, and generally marginal existence. The lower class is divided into two groups: those with regular employment and those without. Those who have regular work include domestic servants, bath attendants, porters, street cleaners, peddlers, street vendors, gardeners, office cleaners, laundry workers, and bakery workers. Thousands work only occasionally or seasonally at these or other jobs. Among the marginally employed there is much reliance on begging. In the past, some members of this group also resorted to prostitution, gambling, smuggling, and drug selling. Since the Revolution, there have been severe penalties for persons convicted of moral offenses, although newspaper reports of the uncovering of various crime rings would indicate that the new codes have not eliminated such activities.
At the time of the Revolution, it was estimated that as much as one- third of the population of Tehran and one-quarter of the population of other large cities consisted of persons living on the margins of urban society. Life was typified by squalid slums, poverty, malnutrition, lack of health and educational facilities, and crime. In 1987 there was no evidence of measures undertaken by the new government to alleviate conditions in the urban slums.
A main characteristic of the working class has been its peasant origins. The rapid growth of the working class in the 1960s and 1970s was the result of migration from villages to cities. There also has been some migration from small towns to larger cities and from economically depressed areas, such as Baluchestan and Kordestan, to more economically vital regions. The result of these population transfers has been an inability of urban services to keep pace with the population growth and the consequent spread of slum areas. In 1987 south Tehran was still Iran's most extensive urban slum, but other large cities also had notable slum sections. It was in these areas that marginally employed and unskilled workers were concentrated. Immediately after the Revolution, the government announced its intention of making living and working conditions in rural areas more attractive as a means of stemming rural- to-urban migration. Although the slowdown in the economy since the Revolution may have contributed to a generally reduced rate of urban growth, there was no evidence that migration from the villages had ceased. The preliminary results from the 1986 census indicated that such cities as Mashhad and Shiraz have grown at even faster rates than before the Revolution.
At the time of the Revolution there were about 68,000 villages in Iran. They varied from mere hamlets of a few families up to sizable settlements with populations of 5,000. Social organization in these villages was less stratified than in urban areas, but a hierarchy of political and social relationships and patterns of interaction could be identified. At the top of the village social structure was the largest landowner or owners. In the middle stratum were peasants owning medium to small farms. In the larger villages the middle stratum also included local merchants and artisans. The lowest level, which predominated in most villages, consisted of landless villagers.
Immediately before the Revolution in 1979, Iran's agriculturally productive land totaled about 16.6 million hectares. Approximately one- half of this land was owned by some 200,000 absentee landlords who resided in urban areas. Such owners were represented in the villages by agents who themselves were generally large landowners. The property of the large-scale owners tended to be among the most fertile in the country and generally was used for the production of such cash crops as cotton, sugar beets, fruit, and high-demand vegetables. Agricultural workers were recruited from among the landless villagers and were given either a share of the crop or a cash wage. In some cases, landlords contracted with small peasant owners to farm their fields in return for a share of the crop. Such agreements netted for the landlords from 20 to 70 percent of the harvest, depending upon the crop and the particular inputs provided by the respective parties.
In 1979 about 7 million hectares were divided among approximately 2 million peasant families, whose holdings ranged from less than 1 hectare up to 50. They had acquired ownership as a result of a land reform program implemented between 1962 and 1971. In a typical village a few families owned sufficient land--ten or more hectares--to engage in farming for profit. About 75 percent of the peasant owners, however, had less than 7 hectares, an amount generally insufficient for anything but subsistence agriculture.
Approximately 50 percent of all villagers owned no land. Within individual villages the landless population varied from as little as 10 percent of the total to more than 75 percent. The landless villagers were composed of three distinct social groups: village merchants, village artisans and service workers, and agricultural laborers. Village merchants were found primarily in the larger villages. Their interests tended to coincide with those of the peasant owners, and it was not uncommon for the better-off merchants to acquire agricultural landholdings. Village artisans included blacksmiths, carpenters, cobblers, and coppersmiths. The increasing availability of urban-manufactured goods throughout the 1960s and 1970s had caused a sharp decline in the numbers of village artisans, although carpenters were still important in the larger villages.
The largest group of landless villagers consisted of agricultural laborers who subsisted by contracting with landlords and larger peasant owners to work in their fields on a daily or seasonal basis. In return for their labor they received a wage, based upon the nature of the work performed, or, in some cases, a share of the crop. This group also provided many of the migrants from rural areas in the 1970s. In some areas the migration rate was so great that landlords were compelled to import foreign workers, primarily unskilled Afghans, to work their lands. The Afghan and other foreign workers were rounded up immediately after the Revolution and expelled from Iran.
Traditionally, in each village the kadkhuda-- not to be confused with the head of the smallest tribal unit, a clan--was responsible for administering its affairs and for representing the village in relations with governmental authorities and other outsiders. Before land reform, landlords appointed the kadkhudas from among the peasants. Sometimes kadkhudas also served as the landlord's agent in the village, although the tendency was for these two positions to be filled by separate persons. After land reform, the office of kadkhuda became, at least in theory, elective. However, since the kadkhuda was the primary channel through which the government transacted its affairs with the villages, any villager desiring to be a kadkhuda had to demonstrate that he had sufficient political access to government officials in the nearest town to protect the interests of the village. In effect, this meant that kadkhudas were actually selected by government officials. In general, "elected" kadkhudas tended to be among the richest peasant landowners. The land reform and various rural development programs undertaken prior to the Revolution did not produce positive results for the majority of villagers. Economic conditions for most village families stagnated or deteriorated precisely at the time that manufacturing and construction were experiencing an economic boom in urban areas. Consequently, there was a significant increase in rural-to- urban migration. Between the 1966 and the 1976 censuses, a period when the population of the country as a whole was growing at the rate of 2.7 percent per year, most villages actually lost population, and the overall growth rate for the rural population was barely 0.5 percent annually. This migration was primarily of young villagers attracted to cities by the prospect of seasonal or permanent work opportunities. By the late 1970s, this migration had seriously depleted the labor force of many villages. This was an important factor in the relative decline in production of such basic food crops as cereals because many farming families were forced to sow their agricultural land with less labor-intensive crops.
The problems of rural stagnation and agricultural decline had already surfaced in public debate by the eve of the Revolution. During the immediate turmoil surrounding the fall of the monarchy, peasants in many villages took advantage of the unsettled conditions to complete the land redistribution begun under the shah, i.e., they expropriated the property of landlords whom they accused of being un-Islamic. In still other villages, former landlords who had lost property as a result of land reform tried to regain it by flaunting their commitment to Islam and their antagonism to the deposed shah.
Thus, from the beginning the republican government was compelled to tackle the land problem. This proved to be a difficult issue because of the differences among the political elite with respect to the role of private property under Islam. Some officials wanted to legitimize the peasant expropriations as a means of resolving the problem of inequitable land distribution resulting from the shah's land reform program. Such officials generally believed in the principle that the peasant who actually tilled the soil should also be the owner. In contrast, other officials opposed legitimizing land expropriations on the ground that private property is both sanctioned and protected by Islamic law. By 1987 no consensus had been reached, and the question of land redistribution remained unresolved.
The government, however, has demonstrated considerable interest in rural development. A new organization for rebuilding villages, the Crusade for Reconstruction (Jihad-e Sazandegi or Jihad), was created in 1979. It consisted of high-school-educated youth, largely from urban areas, who were charged with such village improvement tasks as providing electrification and piped water, building feeder roads, constructing mosques and bath houses, and repairing irrigation networks.
There has never been a census of pastoral nomads in Iran. In 1986 census officials estimated that nomads totaled 1.8 million. The number of tribally organized people, both nomadic and sedentary, may be twice that figure, or nearly 4 million. The nomadic population practices transhumance, migrating in the spring and in the fall. Each tribe claims the use of fixed territories for its summer and winter pastures and the right to use a specified migration route between these areas. Frequently summer and winter camps are widely separated, in some cases by as much as 300 kilometers. Consequently, the semiannual migrations, with families, flocks, and household equipment, may take up to two months to complete. The nomadic tribes are concentrated in the Zagros, but small groups are also found in northeastern and southeastern Iran.
The movements of the tribes appear to be an adaptation to the ecology of the Zagros. In the summer, when the low valleys are parched from insufficient rainfall, the tribes are in the higher elevations. When the snows begin to fall and cover the pastures of the higher valleys, the tribes migrate to low-lying pastures that remain green throughout the winter because of the seasonal rainfall.
Traditionally, the nomadic tribes have kept large herds of sheep and goats, which have provided the main source of red meat for Iran. During migrations the tribes trade their live animals, wool, hair, hides, dairy products, and various knotted and woven textiles with villagers and townspeople in return for manufactured and agricultural goods that the nomads are unable to produce. This economic interdependence between the nomadic and settled populations of Iran has been an important characteristic of society for several centuries.
During the Qajar period (1795-1925), when the central government was especially weak, the nomadic tribes formed tribal confederations and acquired a great deal of power and influence. In many areas these tribal confederations were virtually autonomous and negotiated with the local and national governments for extensive land rights. The largest tribal confederations, such as those of the Bakhtiari and the Qashqai, were headed by a paramount leader, or ilkhan. Individual tribes within a confederation were headed by a khan, beg, shaykh, or sardar. Subtribes, generally composed of several clans, were headed by kalantars. The head of the smallest tribal unit, the clan, was called a kadkhuda.
Reza Shah moved against the tribes with the new national army that he began creating while minister of war and prime minister (1921-25). After he became shah, his tribal policy had two objectives: to break the authority and power of the great tribal confederation leaders, whom he perceived as a threat to his goal of centralizing power, and to gain the allegiance of urban political leaders who had historically resented the power of the tribes. In addition to military maneuvers against the tribes, Reza Shah used such economic and administrative techniques as confiscation of tribal properties and the holding of chiefs' sons as hostages. Eventually, many nomads were subdued and placed under army control. Some were given government-built houses and forced to follow a sedentary life. As a result, the herds kept by the nomads were unable to obtain adequate pasturage, and there was a drastic decline in livestock. When Reza Shah abdicated in 1941, many nomadic tribes returned to their former life-styles.
Mohammad Reza Shah continued the policy of weakening the political power of the nomadic tribes, but efforts to coerce them to settle were abandoned. Several tribal leaders were exiled, and the military was given greater authority to regulate tribal migrations. Tribal pastures were nationalized during the 1960s as a means of permitting the government to control access to grazing. In addition, various educational, health, and vocational training programs were implemented to encourage the tribes to settle voluntarily.
Following the Revolution, several former tribal leaders attempted to revitalize their tribes as major political and economic forces. Many factors impeded this development, including the hostile attitude of the central government, the decline in nomadic populations as a result of the settlement of large numbers of tribespeople in the 1960s and 1970s, and the consequent change in attitudes, especially of youth raised in villages and towns.
By the mid-1980s, it seemed that the nomadic tribes were no longer a political force in Iranian society. For one thing, the central government had demonstrated its ability to control the migration routes. Moreover, the leadership of the tribes, while formally vested in the old families, effectively was dispersed among a new generation of nonelite tribespeople who tended to see themselves as ethnic minorities and did not share the views of the old elite.
For most Iranians the reciprocal obligations and privileges that define relations between kinsfolk--from the parent-child bond to more distant ones--have been more important than those associated with any other kind of social alignment. Economic, political, and other forms of institutional activity have been significantly colored by family ties. This has been true not only for the nuclear family of parents and offspring but also for the aggregate kinsfolk, near and distant, who together represent the extended family at its outermost boundary.
Historically, an influential family was one that had its members strategically distributed throughout the most vital sectors of society, each prepared to support the others in order to ensure family prestige and family status. Since the Revolution, this has meant that each of the elite families of Tehran and the major provincial centers included a cadre of clergy, bureaucrats, and Pasdaran (Pasdaran-e Enghelab-e Islami, or Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or Revolutionary Guards). Business operations have continued to be family affairs; often large government loans for business ventures have been obtained simply because the owners were recognized as members of families with good Islamic and revolutionary credentials. Political activities also followed family lines. Several brothers or first cousins might join the Islamic Republican Party. Another group of siblings might become members of a clandestine opposition group such as the Mojahedin (Mojahedin-e Khalq, or People's Struggle). Similarly, one member of a family might join the clergy, another the Pasdaran or the armed forces. Successful members were expected to assist less successful ones to get their start. Iranians have viewed this inherent nepotism as a positive value, not as a form of corruption. A person without family ties has little status in the society at large. The severing of ties is acceptable only if a family member has done something repugnant to Islam. Even then, the family is encouraged to make the person aware of his deviance and encourage repentance.
Religious law supports the sanctity of the family in diverse ways, defining the conditions for marriage, divorce, inheritance, and guardianship. Additional laws have been passed by the Majlis that reinforce and refine religious law and are designed to protect the integrity of the family.
The head of the household--the father and the husband--expects obedience and respect from others in the family. In return, he is obligated to support them and to satisfy their spiritual, social, and material needs. In practice, he is more a strict disciplinarian. He also may be a focus of love and affection, and family members may feel a strong sense of duty toward him. Considerable conflict and irresolution have resulted in many families, especially in urban areas, because young Iranians, imbued with revolutionary religious views or secular values, have not been able to reconcile these new ideas with the traditional values of their fathers.
Marriage regulations are defined by Shia religious law, although non- Shias are permitted to follow their own religious practices. Before the Revolution, the legal marriage age was eighteen for females and twenty- one for males, although in practice most couples, especially among lower- class urban and rural families, actually were younger than the law permitted when they married. Consequently, the average marriage age for both sexes was 18.9 years. Since the Revolution, the minimum legal age for marriage for both males and females has been lowered to fifteen and thirteen years, respectively, although even younger boys and girls may be married with the permission of their fathers. The average age of marriage is believed to have fallen as a result of official encouragement of earlier marriages.
The selection of a marriage partner is normally determined by customary preference, economic circumstances, and geographic considerations. Among the Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians, the choice may be restricted by religious practice. There is a distinct preference for marriage within extended kin networks, and a high incidence of marriages among first and second cousins exists. A traditionally preferred marriage is between the children of two brothers, although this kind of consanguineous marriage was declining among the old regime elite and secular middle class by the eve of the Revolution.
Marriage arrangements in villages and among the lower and traditional middle classes of urban areas tend to follow traditional patterns. When a young man is judged ready for marriage, his parents will visit the parents of a girl whom they believe to be a suitable match. In many cases, the man will have already expressed an interest in the girl and have asked his parents to begin these formalities. If the girl's parents show similar interest in the union, the conversation quickly turns to money. There must be an agreement on the amont of the bride-price that will be given to the bride's family at the time of marriage. In principle this payment is supposed to compensate the girl's family for her loss, but in practice it is used primarily to finance the cost of the wedding. The exact sum varies according to the wealth, social position, and degree of kinship of the two families.
Once the two families have agreed to the marriage, the prospective bride and groom are considered engaged. The courtship period now commences and may extend for a year or more, although generally the engagement lasts less than twelve months. The actual wedding involves a marriage ceremony and a public celebration. The ceremony is the signing of a marriage contract in the presence of a mullah. One significant feature of the marriage contract is the mahriyeh, a stipulated sum that the groom gives to his new bride. The mahriyeh usually is not paid at the time of the marriage, especially in marriages between cousins. The contract notes that it is to be paid, however, in the event of divorce or, in case of the husband's death, to be deducted from his estate before the inheritance is divided according to religious law. If the mahriyeh is waived, as sometimes happens in urban areas, this too must be stipulated in the marriage contract.
Marriage customs among the secularized middle and upper classes tend to follow practices in the United States and Europe. The prenuptial bride-price may be paid in installments or even eliminated altogether, especially if a substantial mahriyeh is guaranteed. It is typical for the marriage partners to have chosen one another. The bride and groom usually sit together at the reception, to which both male and female guests are invited.
Polygyny in Iran is regulated by Islamic custom, which permits a man to have as many as four wives simultaneously, provided that he treats them equally. During the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, the government attempted to discourage polygyny through legal restrictions, such as requiring the permission of the first wife before the state would register a second marriage. The practice of kin marriages also tended to work against polygynous marriages, since families would exert pressure on men not to take a second wife. No reliable figures existed on the number of polygynous marriages in the 1960s and 1970s, but they were believed to be on the decline and largely confined to the older generation. After the Revolution, the republican government abolished the secular codes relating to marriage and decreed polygyny acceptable as long as such marriages were in accordance with Shia religious law.
Shia Islam, unlike Sunni Islam, also recognizes a special form of temporary marriage called muta. In a muta marriage, the man and woman sign a contract agreeing to live together as husband and wife for a specified time, which can be as brief as several hours or as long as ninety-nine years. The man agrees to pay a certain amount of money for the duration of the contract. Provision is also made for the support of any offspring. There is no limit on the number of muta marriages that a man may contract. Traditionally, muta marriages have been common in Shia pilgrimage centers such as Mashhad and An Najaf in Iraq. Under the monarchy, the government refused to grant any legal recognition to muta marriages in an effort to discourage the practice. Since the Revolution, however, muta marriages have again become acceptable.
Under both Islamic law and traditional practice, divorce in Iran historically has been easier for a man to obtain than for a woman. Men could exercise the right of repudiation of wives according to the guidelines of Islamic law. Women were permitted to leave their husbands on narrowly defined grounds, such as insanity or impotence. Beginning in the mid-1960s, the royal government attempted to broaden the grounds upon which women could seek divorce through the Family Protection Law. This legislation was frequently criticized by the clergy and was one of the first laws abrogated after the Revolution. In 1985, however, legislation was passed permitting women to initiate divorce proceedings in certain limited circumstances.
Statistics on divorce since the Revolution were unavailable in early 1987. The government claimed that the divorce rate in Iran was much lower than in industrialized countries. Furthermore, members of the clergy have preached that divorce is "reprehensible" under Islam even though it is tolerated.
With the notable exception of the Westernized and secularized upper and middle classes, Iranian society before the Revolution practiced public segregation of the sexes. Women generally practiced use of the chador (or veil) when in public or when males not related to them were in the house. In the traditional view, an ideal society was one in which women were confined to the home, where they performed the various domestic tasks associated with managing a household and rearing children. Men worked in the public sphere, that is, in the fields, factories, bazaars, and offices. Deviations from this ideal, especially in the case of women, tended to reflect adversely upon the reputation of the family. The strength of these traditional attitudes was reflected in the public education system, which maintained separate schools for boys and girls from the elementary through the secondary levels.
The traditional attitudes on the segregation of women clashed sharply with the views and customs of the secularized upper and middle classes, especially those in Tehran. Mixed gatherings, both public and private, were the norm. During the Pahlavi era the government was the main promoter of change in traditional attitudes toward sexual segregation. It sought to discourage veiling of women at official functions and encouraged mixed participation in a variety of public gatherings. The result was to bring the government into social conflict with the Shia clergy, who sought to defend traditional values.
Among the ideas imported into Iran from the West was the notion that women should participate in the public sphere. The Pahlavi government encouraged women to get as much education as possible and to participate in the labor force at all levels. After 1936, when Reza Shah banned the chador, veiling came to be perceived among the minority of elite and secular middle-class women as a symbol of oppression. Before the Revolution, Iranian society was already polarized between the traditionally minded majority and a minority of involved women who were dedicated to improving the status of women. As early as 1932, Iranian women held a meeting of the Oriental Feminine Congress in Tehran at which they called for the right of women to vote, compulsory education for both boys and girls, equal salaries for men and women, and an end to polygyny. In 1963 women were given the right to vote and to hold public office.
Prior to the Revolution, three patterns of work existed among women. Among the upper classes, women either worked as professionals or undertook voluntary projects of various kinds. Whereas secular middle- class women aspired to emulate such women, traditional middle-class women worked outside the home only from dire necessity. Lower class women frequently worked outside the home, especially in major cities, because their incomes were needed to support their households.
Women were active participants in the Revolution that toppled the shah. Most activists were professional women of the secular middle classes, from among whom political antagonists to the regime had long been recruited. Like their male counterparts, such women had nationalist aspirations and felt that the shah's regime was a puppet of the United States. Some women also participated in the guerrilla groups, especially the Mojahedin and the Fadayan. More significant, however, were the large numbers of lower class women in the cities who participated in street demonstrations during the latter half of 1978 and early 1979. They responded to the call of Khomeini that it was necessary for all Muslims to demonstrate their opposition to tyranny.
Following the Revolution, the status of women changed. The main social group to inherit political power--the traditional middle class--valued most highly the traditional role of women in a segregated society. Accordingly, laws were enacted to restrict the role of women in public life; these laws affected primarily women of the secularized middle and upper classes. Hejab, or properly modest attire for women, became a major issue. Although it was not mandated that women who had never worn a chador would have to wear this garment, it was required that whenever women appeared in public they had to have their hair and skin covered, except for the face and hands. The law has been controversial among secularized women, although for the majority of women, who had worn the chador even before the Revolution, the law probably has had only negligible impact.
The overwhelming majority of Iranians--at least 90 percent of the total population--are Muslims who adhere to Shia Islam. In contrast, the majority of Muslims throughout the world follow Sunni Islam. Of the several Shia sects, the Twelve Imam or Twelver (ithna- ashari), is dominant in Iran; most Shias in Bahrain, Iraq, and Lebanon also follow this sect. All the Shia sects originated among early Muslim dissenters in the first three centuries following the death of the Prophet Muhammad in A.D. 632.
The principal belief of Twelvers, but not of other Shias, is that the spiritual and temporal leadership of the Muslim community passed from Muhammad to Ali and then sequentially to eleven of Ali's direct male descendants, a tenet rejected by Sunnis. Over the centuries various other theological differences have developed between Twelver Shias and Sunnis.
Although Shias have lived in Iran since the earliest days of Islam, and there was one Shia dynasty in part of Iran during the tenth and eleventh centuries, it is believed that most Iranians were Sunnis until the seventeenth century. The Safavid dynasty made Shia Islam the official state religion in the sixteenth century and aggressively proselytized on its behalf. It is also believed that by the mid-seventeenth century most people in what is now Iran had become Shias, an affiliation that has continued.
All Shia Muslims believe there are seven pillars of faith, which detail the acts necessary to demonstrate and reinforce faith. The first five of these pillars are shared with Sunni Muslims. They are shahada, or the confession of faith; namaz, or ritualized prayer; zakat, or almsgiving; sawm, fasting and contemplation during daylight hours during the lunar month of Ramazan; and hajj, or pilgrimage to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina once in a lifetime if financially feasible. The other two pillars, which are not shared with Sunnis, are jihad--or crusade to protect Islamic lands, beliefs, and institutions, and the requirement to do good works and to avoid all evil thoughts, words, and deeds.
Twelver Shia Muslims also believe in five basic principles of faith: there is one God, who is a unitary divine being in contrast to the trinitarian being of Christians; the Prophet Muhammad is the last of a line of prophets beginning with Abraham and including Moses and Jesus, and he was chosen by God to present His message to mankind; there is a resurrection of the body and soul on the last or judgment day; divine justice will reward or punish believers based on actions undertaken through their own free will; and Twelve Imams were successors to Muhammad. The first three of these beliefs are also shared by non- Twelver Shias and Sunni Muslims.
The distinctive dogma and institution of Shia Islam is the Imamate, which includes the idea that the successor of Muhammad be more than merely a political leader. The Imam must also be a spiritual leader, which means that he must have the ability to interpret the inner mysteries of the Quran and the shariat. The Twelver Shias further believe that the Twelve Imams who succeeded the Prophet were sinless and free from error and had been chosen by God through Muhammad.
The Imamate began with Ali, who is also accepted by Sunni Muslims as the fourth of the "rightly guided caliphs" to succeed the Prophet. Shias revere Ali as the First Imam, and his descendants, beginning with his sons Hasan and Husayn (also seen as Hosein), continue the line of the Imams until the Twelfth, who is believed to have ascended into a supernatural state to return to earth on judgment day. Shias point to the close lifetime association of Muhammad with Ali. When Ali was six years old, he was invited by the Prophet to live with him, and Shias believe Ali was the first person to make the declaration of faith in Islam. Ali also slept in Muhammad's bed on the night of the hijra, or migration from Mecca to Medina, when it was feared that the house would be attacked by unbelievers and the Prophet stabbed to death. He fought in all the battles Muhammad did except one, and the Prophet chose him to be the husband of his favorite daughter, Fatima.
In Sunni Islam an imam is the leader of congregational prayer. Among the Shias of Iran the term imam traditionally has been used only for Ali and his eleven descendants. None of the Twelve Imams, with the exception of Ali, ever ruled an Islamic government. During their lifetimes, their followers hoped that they would assume the rulership of the Islamic community, a rule that was believed to have been wrongfully usurped. Because the Sunni caliphs were cognizant of this hope, the Imams generally were persecuted during the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. Therefore, the Imams tried to be as unobtrusive as possible and to live as far as was reasonable from the successive capitals of the Islamic empire.
During the ninth century Caliph Al Mamun, son of Caliph Harun ar Rashid, was favorably disposed toward the descendants of Ali and their followers. He invited the Eighth Imam, Reza (A.D. 765-816), to come from Medina to his court at Marv (Mary in the present-day Soviet Union). While Reza was residing at Marv, Mamun designated him as his successor in an apparent effort to avoid conflict among Muslims. Reza's sister Fatima journeyed from Medina to be with her brother but took ill and died at Qom. A shrine developed around her tomb, and over the centuries Qom has become a major Shia pilgrimage and theology center.
Mamun took Reza on his military campaign to retake Baghdad from political rivals. On this trip Reza died unexpectedly in Khorasan. Reza was the only Imam to reside or die in what is now Iran. A major shrine, and eventually the city of Mashhad, grew up around his tomb, which has become the most important pilgrimage center in Iran. Several important theological schools are located in Mashhad, associated with the shrine of the Eighth Imam.
Reza's sudden death was a shock to his followers, many of whom believed that Mamun, out of jealousy for Reza's increasing popularity, had him poisoned. Mamun's suspected treachery against Reza and his family tended to reinforce a feeling already prevalent among his followers that the Sunni rulers were untrustworthy.
The Twelfth Imam is believed to have been only five years old when the Imamate descended upon him in A.D. 874 at the death of his father. The Twelfth Imam is usually known by his titles of Imam-e Asr (the Imam of the Age) and Sahib az Zaman (the Lord of Time). Because his followers feared he might be assassinated, the Twelfth Imam was hidden from public view and was seen only by a few of his closest deputies. Sunnis claim that he never existed or that he died while still a child. Shias believe that the Twelfth Imam remained on earth, but hidden from the public, for about seventy years, a period they refer to as the lesser occultation (gheybat-e sughra). Shias also believe that the Twelfth Imam has never died, but disappeared from earth in about A.D. 939. Since that time the greater occultation (gheybat-e kubra) of the Twelfth Imam has been in force and will last until God commands the Twelfth Imam to manifest himself on earth again as the Mahdi, or Messiah. Shias believe that during the greater occultation of the Twelfth Imam he is spiritually present--some believe that he is materially present as well-- and he is besought to reappear in various invocations and prayers. His name is mentioned in wedding invitations, and his birthday is one of the most jubilant of all Shia religious observances.
The Shia doctrine of the Imamate was not fully elaborated until the tenth century. Other dogmas were developed still later. A characteristic of Shia Islam is the continual exposition and reinterpretation of doctrine. The most recent example is Khomeini's expounding of the doctrine of velayat-e faqih, or the political guardianship of the community of believers by scholars trained in religious law. This has not been a traditional idea in Shia Islam and is, in fact, an innovation. The basic idea is that the clergy, by virtue of their superior knowledge of the laws of God, are the best qualified to rule the society of believers who are preparing themselves on earth to live eternally in heaven. The concept of velayat-e faqih thus provides the doctrinal basis for theocratic government, an experiment that Twelver Imam Shias had not attempted prior to the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
In addition to the seven principal tenets of faith, there are also traditional religious practices that are intimately associated with Shia Islam. These include the observance of the month of martyrdom, Moharram, and pilgrimages to the shrines of the Twelve Imams and their various descendants. The Moharram observances commemorate the death of the Third Imam, Husayn, who was the son of Ali and Fatima and the grandson of Muhammad. He was killed near Karbala in modern Iraq in A.D. 680 during a battle with troops supporting the Umayyad caliph. Husayn's death is commemorated by Shias with passion plays and is an intensely religious time.
Pilgrimage to the shrines of Imams is a specific Shia custom. The most important shrines in Iran are those for the Eighth Imam in Mashhad and for his sister Fatima in Qom. There are also important secondary shrines for other relatives of the Eighth Iman in Rey, adjacent to south Tehran, and in Shiraz. In virtually all towns and in many villages there are numerous lesser shrines, known as imamzadehs, which commemorate descendants of the imams who are reputed to have led saintly lives. Shia pilgrims visit these sites because they believe that the imams and their relatives have power to intercede with God on behalf of petitioners. The shrines in Iraq at Karbala and An Najaf are also revered by Shias.
Historically, the single most important religious institution in Iran has been the mosque. In towns, congregational prayers, as well as prayers and rites associated with religious observances and important phases in the lives of Muslims, took place in mosques. Iranian Shias before the Revolution did not generally attach great significance to institutionalization, however, and there was little emphasis on mosque attendance, even for the Friday congregational prayers. Mosques were primarily an urban phenomenon, and in most of the thousands of small villages there were no mosques. Mosques in the larger cities began to assume more important social roles during the 1970s; during the Revolution they played a prominent role in organizing people for the large demonstrations that took place in 1978 and 1979. Since that time their role has continued to expand, so that in 1987 mosques played important political and social roles as well as religious ones.
Another religious institution of major significance was a special building known as a hoseiniyeh. Hoseiniyehs existed in urban areas and traditionally served as sites for recitals commemorating the martyrdom of Husayn, especially during the month of Moharram. In the 1970s, some hoseiniyehs, such as the Hoseiniyeh Irshad in Tehran, became politicized as prominent clerical and lay preachers used the symbol of the deaths as martyrs of Husayn and the other Imams as thinly veiled criticism of Mohammad Reza Shah's regime, thus helping to lay the groundwork for the Revolution in 1979.
Institutions providing religious education include madrasehs and maktabs. Madrasehs, or seminaries, historically have been important for advanced training in Shia theology and jurisprudence. Madrasehs are generally associated with noted Shia scholars who have attained the rank of ayatollah. There are also some older madrasehs, established initially through endowments, at which several scholars may teach. Students, known as talabehs, live on the grounds of the madrasehs and are provided stipends for the duration of their studies, usually a minimum of seven years, during which they prepare for the examinations that qualify a seminary student to be a low-level preacher, or mullah. At the time of the Revolution, there were slightly more than 11,000 talabehs in Iran; approximately 60 percent of these were studying at the madrasehs in the city of Qom, another 25 percent were enrolled in the important madrasehs of Mashhad and Esfahan, and the rest were at madrasehs in Tabriz, Yazd, Shiraz, Tehran, Zanjan, and other cities.
Maktabs, primary schools run by the clergy, were the only educational institutions prior to the end of the nineteenth century when the first secular schools were established. Maktabs declined in numbers and importance as the government developed a national public school system beginning in the 1930s. Nevertheless, maktabs continued to exist as private religious schools right up to the Revolution. Since 1979 the public education system has been desecularized and the maktabs and their essentially religious curricula merged with government schools.
Another major religious institution in Iran is the shrine. There are more than 1,100 shrines that vary from crumbling sites associated with local saints to the imposing shrines of Imam Reza and his sister Fatima in Mashhad and Qom, respectively. These more famous shrines are huge complexes that include the mausoleums of the venerated Eighth Imam and his sister, tombs of former shahs, mosques, madrasehs, and libraries. Imam Reza's shrine is the largest and is considered to be the holiest. In addition to the usual shrine accoutrements, Imam Reza's shrine contains hospitals, dispensaries, a museum, and several mosques located in a series of courtyards surrounding his tomb. Most of the present shrine dates from the early fourteenth century, except for the dome, which was rebuilt after being damaged in an earthquake in 1673. The shrine's endowments and gifts are the largest of all religious institutions in the country. Traditionally, free meals for as many as 1,000 people per day are provided at the shrine. Although there are no special times for visiting this or other shrines, it is customary for pilgrimage traffic to be heaviest during Shia holy periods. It has been estimated that more than 3 million pilgrims visit the shrine annually.
Visitors to Imam Reza's shrine represent all socioeconomic levels. Whereas piety is a motivation for many, others come to seek the spiritual grace or general good fortune that a visit to the shrine is believed to ensure. Commonly a pilgrimage is undertaken to petition Imam Reza to act as an intermediary between the pilgrim and God. Since the nineteenth century, it has been customary among the bazaar class and members of the lower classes to recognize those who have made a pilgrimage to Mashhad by prefixing their names with the title mashti.
The next most important shrine is that of Imam Reza's sister, Fatima, known as Hazarat-e Masumeh (the Pure Saint). The present shrine dates from the early sixteenth century, although some later additions, including the gilded tiles, were affixed in the early nineteenth century. Other important shrines are those of Shah Abdol Azim, a relative of Imam Reza, who is entombed at Rey, near Tehran, and Shah Cheragh, a brother of Imam Reza, who is buried in Shiraz. A leading shrine honoring a person not belonging to the family of Imams is that of the Sufi master Sayyid Nimatollah Vali near Kerman. Shias make pilgrimages to these shrines and the hundreds of local imamzadehs to petition the saints to grant them special favors or to help them through a period of troubles.
Because Shias believe that the holy Imams can intercede for the dead as well as for the living, cemeteries traditionally have been located adjacent to the most important shrines in both Iran and Iraq. Corpses were transported overland for burial in Karbala in southern Iraq until the practice was prohibited in the 1930s. Corpses are still shipped to Mashhad and Qom for burial in the shrine cemeteries of these cities.
The constant movement of pilgrims from all over Iran to Mashhad and Qom has helped bind together a linguistically heterogeneous population. Pilgrims serve as major sources of information about conditions in different parts of the country and thus help to mitigate the parochialism of the regions.
A traditional source of financial support for all religious institutions has been the vaqf, a religious endowment by which land and other income-producing property is given in perpetuity for the maintenance of a shrine, mosque, madraseh, or charitable institution such as a hospital, library, or orphanage. A mutavalli administers a vaqf in accordance with the stipulations in the donor's bequest. In many vaqfs the position of mutavalli is hereditary. Under the Pahlavis, the government attempted to exercise control over the administration of vaqfs, especially those of the larger shrines. This was a source of conflict with the clergy, who perceived the government's efforts as lessening their influence and authority in traditional religious matters.
The government's interference with the administration of vaqfs led to a sharp decline in the number of vaqf bequests. Instead, wealthy and pious Shias chose to give financial contributions directly to the leading ayatollahs in the form of zakat, or obligatory alms. The clergy in turn used the funds to administer their madrasehs and to institute various educational and charitable programs, which indirectly provided them with more influence in society. The access of the clergy to a steady and independent source of funding was an important factor in their ability to resist state controls and ultimately helped them direct the opposition to the shah.
From the time that Twelver Shia Islam emerged as a distinct religious denomination in the early ninth century, its clergy, or ulama, have played a prominent role in the development of its scholarly and legal tradition; however, the development of a distinct hierarchy among the Shia clergy dates back only to the early nineteenth century. Since that time the highest religious authority has been vested in the mujtahids, scholars who by virtue of their erudition in the science of religion (the Quran, the traditions of Muhammad and the imams, jurisprudence, and theology) and their attested ability to decide points of religious conduct, act as leaders of their community in matters concerning the particulars of religious duties. Lay Shias and lesser members of the clergy who lack such proficiency are expected to follow mujtahids in all matters pertaining to religion, but each believer is free to follow any mujtahid he chooses. Since the mid-nineteenth century it has been common for several mujtahids concurrently to attain prominence and to attract large followings. During the twentieth century, such mujtahids have been accorded the title of ayatollah. Occasionally an ayatollah achieves almost universal authority among Shias and is given the title of ayatollah ol ozma, or grand ayatollah. Such authority was attained by as many as seven mujtahids simultaneously, including Ayatollah Khomeini, in the late 1970s.
To become a mujtahid, it is necessary to complete a rigorous and lengthy course of religious studies in one of the prestigious madrasehs of Qom or Mashhad in Iran or An Najaf in Iraq and to receive an authorization from a qualified mujtahid. Of equal importance is either the explicit or the tacit recognition of a cleric as a mujtahid by laymen and scholars in the Shia community. There is no set time for studying a particular subject, but serious preparation to become a mujtahid normally requires fifteen years to master the religious subjects deemed essential. It is uncommon for any student to attain the status of mujtahid before the age of thirty; more commonly students are between forty and fifty years old when they achieve this distinction.
Most seminary students do not complete the full curriculum of studies to become mujtahids. Those who leave the madrasehs after completing the primary level can serve as prayer leaders, village mullahs, local shrine administrators, and other religious functionaries. Those who leave after completing the second level become preachers in town and city mosques. Students in the third level of study are those preparing to become mujtahids. The advanced students at this level are generally accorded the title of hojjatoleslam when they have completed all their studies.
The Shia clergy in Iran wear a white turban and an aba, a loose, sleeveless brown cloak, open in front. A sayyid, who is a clergyman descended from Muhammad, wears a black turban and a black aba.
Shah Ismail, the founder of the Safavid dynasty, who established Twelver Shia Islam as the official religion of Iran at the beginning of the sixteenth century, was revered by his followers as a Sufi master. Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, has a long tradition in Iran. It developed there and in other areas of the Islamic empire during the ninth century among Muslims who believed that worldly pleasures distracted from true concern with the salvation of the soul. Sufis generally renounced materialism, which they believed supported and perpetuated political tyranny. Their name is derived from the Arabic word for wool, suf, and was applied to the early Sufis because of their habit of wearing rough wool next to their skin as a symbol of their asceticism. Over time a great variety of Sufi brotherhoods was formed, including several that were militaristic, such as the Safavid order, of which Ismail was the leader.
Although Sufis were associated with the early spread of Shia ideas in the country, once the Shia clergy had consolidated their authority over religion by the early seventeenth century, they tended to regard Sufis as deviant. At various periods during the past three centuries some Shia clergy have encouraged persecution of Sufis, but Sufi orders have continued to exist in Iran. During the Pahlavi period, some Sufi brotherhoods were revitalized. Some members of the secularized middle class were especially attracted to them, but the orders appear to have had little following among the lower classes. The largest Sufi order was the Nimatollahi, which had khanehgahs, or teaching centers, in several cities and even established new centers in foreign countries. Other important orders were the Dhahabi and Kharksar brotherhoods. Sufi brotherhoods such as the Naqshbandi and the Qadiri also existed among Sunni Muslims in Kordestan. There is no evidence of persecution of Sufis under the Republic, but the brotherhoods are regarded suspiciously and generally have kept a low profile.
Iran also contains Shia sects that many of the Twelver Shia clergy regard as heretical. One of these is the Ismaili, a sect that has several thousand adherents living primarily in northeastern Iran. The Ismailis, of whom there were once several different sects, trace their origins to the son of Ismail who predeceased his father, the Sixth Imam. The Ismailis were very numerous and active in Iran from the eleventh to the thirteenth century; they are known in history as the "Assassins" because of their practice of killing political opponents. The Mongols destroyed their center at Alamut in the Alborz Mountains in 1256. Subsequently, their living imams went into hiding from non-Ismailis. In the nineteenth century, their leader emerged in public as the Agha Khan and fled to British-controlled India, where he supervised the revitalization of the sect. The majority of the several million Ismailis in the 1980s live outside Iran.
Another Shia sect is the Ahl-e Haqq. Its adherents are concentrated in Lorestan, but small communities also are found in Kordestan and Mazandaran. The origins of the Ahl-e Haqq are believed to lie in one of the medieval politicized Sufi orders. The group has been persecuted sporadically by orthodox Shias. After the Revolution, some of the sect's leaders were imprisoned on the ground of religious deviance.
Sunni Muslims constitute approximately 8 percent of the Iranian population. A majority of Kurds, virtually all Baluchis and Turkomans, and a minority of Arabs are Sunnis, as are small communities of Persians in southern Iran and Khorasan. The main difference between Sunnis and Shias is that the former do not accept the doctrine of the Imamate. Generally speaking, Iranian Shias are inclined to recognize Sunnis as fellow Muslims, but as those whose religion is incomplete. Shia clergy tend to view missionary work among Sunnis to convert them to true Islam as a worthwhile religious endeavor. Since the Sunnis generally live in the border regions of the country, there has been no occasion for Shia-Sunni conflict in most of Iran. In those towns with mixed populations in West Azarbaijan, the Persian Gulf region, and Baluchestan va Sistan, tensions between Shias and Sunnis existed both before and after the Revolution. Religious tensions have been highest during major Shia observances, especially Moharram.
The largest non-Muslim minority in Iran is the Bahais. There were an estimated 350,000 Bahais in Iran in 1986. The Bahais are scattered in small communities throughout Iran with a heavy concentration in Tehran. Most Bahais are urban, but there are some Bahai villages, especially in Fars and Mazandaran. The majority of Bahais are Persians, but there is a significant minority of Azarbaijani Bahais, and there are even a few among the Kurds.
Bahaism is a religion that originated in Iran during the 1840s as a reformist movement within Shia Islam. Initially it attracted a wide following among Shia clergy and others dissatisfied with society. The political and religious authorities joined to suppress the movement, and since that time the hostility of the Shia clergy to Bahaism has remained intense. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Bahai leader fled to Ottoman Palestine--roughly present-day Israel--where he and his successors continued to elaborate Bahai doctrines by incorporating beliefs from other world religions. By the early twentieth century, Bahaism had evolved into a new religion that stressed the brotherhood of all peoples, equality of the sexes, and pacifism.
The Shia clergy, as well as many Iranians, have continued to regard Bahais as heretics from Islam. Consequently, Bahais have encountered much prejudice and have sometimes been the objects of persecution. The situation of the Bahais improved under the Pahlavi shahs when the government actively sought to secularize public life. Bahais were permitted to hold government posts (despite a constitutional prohibition) and allowed to open their own schools, and many were successful in business and the professions. Their position was drastically altered after 1979. The Islamic Republic did not recognize the Bahais as a religious minority, and the sect has been officially persecuted. More than 700 of their religious leaders were arrested, and several of them were executed for apostasy; their schools were closed; their communal property was confiscated; they were prohibited from holding any government employment; and they were not issued identity cards. In addition, security forces failed to protect Bahais and their property from attacks by mobs.
Iran's indigenous Christians include an estimated 250,000 Armenians, some 32,000 Assyrians, and a small number of Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant Iranians converted by missionaries in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Armenians are predominantly urban and are concentrated in Tehran and Esfahan; smaller communities exist in Tabriz, Arak, and other cities. A majority of the Assyrians are also urban, although there are still several Assyrian villages in the Lake Urmia region. Armenians and Assyrians were recognized as official religious minorities under the 1906 constitution. Although Armenians and Assyrians have encountered individual prejudice, they have not been subjected to persecution. During the twentieth century, Christians in general have participated in the economic and social life of Tehran. The Armenians, especially, achieved a relatively high standard of living and maintained a large number of parochial primary and secondary schools.
The new, republican Constitution of 1979 also recognized the Armenians and Assyrians as official religious minorities. They are entitled to elect their own representatives to the Majlis and are permitted to follow their own religious laws in matters of marriage, divorce, and inheritance. Other Christians have not received any special recognition, and there have been a number of incidents of persecution of Iranian Anglicans. All Christians are required to observe the new laws relating to attire, prohibition of alcohol, and segregation by sex at public gatherings. Christians have resented these laws because they have infringed on their traditional religious practices. In addition, the administration of the Armenian schools has been a source of tension between Christians and the government. The Ministry of Education has insisted that the principals of such schools be Muslims, that all religion courses be taught in Persian, that any Armenian literature classes have government approval, and that all female students observe hejab inside the schools.
In 1986 there were an estimated 50,000 Jews in Iran, a decline from about 85,000 in 1978. The Iranian Jewish community is one of the oldest in the world, being descended from Jews who remained in the region following the Babylonian captivity, when the Achaemenid rulers of the first Iranian empire permitted Jews to return to Jerusalem. Over the centuries the Jews of Iran became physically, culturally, and linguistically indistinguishable from the non-Jewish population. The overwhelming majority of Jews speak Persian as their mother language, and a tiny minority, Kurdish. The Jews are predominantly urban and by the 1970s were concentrated in Tehran, with smaller communities in other cities, such as Shiraz, Esfahan, Hamadan, and Kashan.
Until the twentieth century the Jews were confined to their own quarters in the towns. In general the Jews were an impoverished minority, occupationally restricted to small-scale trading, moneylending, and working with precious metals. Since the 1920s, Jews have had greater opportunities for economic and social mobility. They have received assistance from a number of international Jewish organizations, including the American Joint Distribution Committee, which introduced electricity, piped water, and modern sanitation into Jewish neighborhoods. The Jews have gradually gained increased importance in the bazaars of Tehran and other cities, and after World War II some educated Jews entered the professions, particularly pharmacy, medicine, and dentistry.
The Constitution of 1979 recognized Jews as an official religious minority and accorded them the right to elect a representative to the Majlis. Like the Christians, the Jews have not been persecuted. Unlike the Christians, the Jews have been viewed with suspicion by the government, probably because of the government's intense hostility toward Israel. Iranian Jews generally have many relatives in Israel--some 45,000 Iranian Jews emigrated from Iran to Israel between 1948 and 1977--with whom they are in regular contact. Since 1979 the government has cited mail and telephone communications as evidence of "spying" in the arrest, detention, and even execution of a few prominent Jews. Although these individual cases have not affected the status of the community as a whole, they have contributed to a pervasive feeling of insecurity among Jews regarding their future in Iran and have helped to precipitate large- scale emigration. Most Jews who have left since the Revolution have settled in the United States.
In 1986 there were an estimated 32,000 Zoroastrians in Iran. They speak Persian and are concentrated in Tehran, Kerman, and Yazd. Zoroastrianism initially developed in Iran during the seventh century B.C. Later, it became the official religion of the Sassanid Empire, which ruled over Iran for approximately four centuries before being destroyed by the Arabs in the seventh century A.D. After Iran's incorporation into the Islamic empire, the majority of its population was gradually converted from Zoroastrianism to Islam, a process that was probably completed by the tenth century.
During the Qajar era there was considerable prejudice against Zoroastrians. In the mid-nineteenth century, several thousand Zoroastrians emigrated from Iran to British-ruled India to improve their economic and social status. Many eventually acquired wealth in India and subsequently expended part of their fortunes on upgrading conditions in the Zoroastrian communities of Iran. The emphasis placed on Iran's pre- Islamic heritage by the Pahlavis also helped Zoroastrians to achieve a more respected position in society. Many of them migrated from Kerman and Yazd to Tehran, where they accumulated significant wealth as merchants and in real estate. By the 1970s, younger Zoroastrians were entering the professions.
Like the Christians and Jews, the Zoroastrians are recognized as an official religious minority under the Constitution of 1979. They are permitted to elect one representative to the Majlis and, like the other legally accepted minorities, may seek employment in the government. They generally enjoy the same civil liberties as Muslims. Although Zoroastrians probably have encountered individual instances of prejudice, they have not been persecuted because of their religious beliefs.
Prior to the mid-nineteenth century, it was traditional in Iran for education to be associated with religious institutions. The clergy, both Shia and non-Shia, assumed responsibility for instructing youth in basic literacy and the fundamentals of religion. Knowledge of reading and writing was not considered necessary for all the population, and thus education generally was restricted to the sons of the economic and political elite. Typically, this involved a few years of study in a local school, or maktab. Those who desired to acquire more advanced knowledge could continue in a religious college, or madraseh, where all fields of religious science were taught. A perceived need to provide instruction in subjects that were not part of the traditional religious curriculum, such as accounting, European languages, military science, and technology, led to the establishment of the first government school in 1851. For many years this remained the only institution of higher learning in the country.
By the early twentieth century there were several schools teaching foreign languages and sciences, including a few for girls. These schools were run by foreign missionaries, private Iranians, and the government. Their function was to educate the children of the elite. During the Constitutional Revolution (1905-1907), a number of reform-minded individuals proposed the establishment of a nationwide, public, primary school system. Progress in opening new schools was steady but slow, and by the end of the Qajar dynasty (1925) there were approximately 3,300 government schools with a total enrollment of about 110,000 students.
During the Pahlavi era (1925-79), the government implemented a number of policies aimed at modernizing the country and expanded the education system. The Ministry of Education was given responsibility for regulating all public and private schools and drafted a uniform curriculum for primary and for secondary education. The entire public system was secular and for many years remained based upon the French model. Its objective was to train Iranians for modern occupations in administration, management, science, and teaching. This education system was the single most important factor in the creation of the secularized middle class.
The goal of creating a nationwide education system was never achieved during the Pahlavi era. In 1940 only 10 percent of all elementary-age children were enrolled in school, and less than 1 percent of youths between the ages of 12 and 20 were in secondary school. These statistics did not increase significantly until the early 1960s, when the government initiated programs to improve and expand the public school system. By 1978 approximately 75 percent of all elementary-age children were enrolled in primary schools, while somewhat less than 50 percent of all teenagers were attending secondary schools.
Modern college and university education also was developed under the Pahlavis; by the 1920s, the country had several institutes of higher education. In 1934 the institutes associated with government ministries were combined to form the University of Tehran, which was coeducational from its inception. Following World War II, universities were founded in other major cities, such as Tabriz, Esfahan, Mashhad, Shiraz, and Ahvaz. During the 1970s, these universities were expanded, and colleges and vocational institutes were set up in several cities.
One of the first measures adopted by the government after the Revolution in 1979 was the desecularization of the public school system. This was a three-pronged program that involved purging courses and textbooks believed to slander Islam and substituting courses on religion; purging teachers to ensure that only those who understood the true meaning of Islam (i.e., were not secular) remained in the schools; and regulating the behavior and dress of students.
Although the government reintroduced the study of religion into the public school curriculum from primary grades through college, it did not act to alter the basic organization of the education system. Thus, as late as the school year 1986-1987, schools had not changed significantly from the pattern prior to the Revolution. Students studied in primary schools for five years, beginning the first grade at about age seven. Then they spent three years, designated the guidance cycle, in a middle school. In this cycle, the future training of students was determined by their aptitude as demonstrated on examinations. Students were then directed into one of three kinds of four-year high schools: the academic cycle, preparing for college; the science and mathematics cycle, preparing for university programs in engineering and medicine; and the vocational technical cycle.
The Ministry of Education announced that nearly 11.5 million students were registered for elementary and secondary schools during the academic year 1986-1987. Statistics on the percentage of young people aged seven through nineteen enrolled in school have not been available since the Revolution. It is generally estimated that the percentages have remained similar to those before the Revolution: school attendance of about 78 percent of elementary-age children and less than 50 percent of secondary-age youth.
Since the Revolution, higher education has experienced significantly more drastic changes than elementary and secondary education. The university campuses became centers of conflict between students who supported a thorough desecularization of administrations, faculties, and curricula and students who wanted to retain a secular system. There were violent clashes at several universities in the 1979-1980 school year; as a result the government closed all 200 institutes of higher learning in April 1980. The universities then were purged of professors and students considered insufficiently Islamic and were not completely reopened until the fall of 1983. When the colleges resumed classes, they enrolled only a fraction of the 1979 to 1980 student body. At the University of Tehran, Iran's largest, student enrollment was reduced from 17,000 to 4,500; similarly large declines were registered at other institutions. The decline in the number of female students was even more dramatic: whereas on the eve of the revolution women had constituted about 40 percent of the total number of students in higher education, after 1983 they formed only 10 percent.
An educational problem in Iran since the early twentieth century has been the general perception among the upper and middle classes that foreign education is superior to Iranian. Thus, there have been large numbers of Iranians studying abroad. As long as the foreign-educated students returned to Iran, they were able to apply their skills for the overall benefit of the country; however, under both the monarchy and the Republic, thousands of Iranians have elected not to return to their homeland, creating a veritable "brain drain." Since the Revolution, the government has tried to discourage Iranians from going abroad to study, although it has not prevented the practice.
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Copyright 2013 Mongabay.com | <urn:uuid:a63cb2a2-44e5-4f81-b55f-9ddcc9310407> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://data.mongabay.com/reference/country_studies/iran/GEOGRAPHY.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282926.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00392-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97568 | 25,435 | 3 | 3 |
Im sure this isnt news to any of you-- Honey Bees are dying.
We dont know why.
I thought we had an answer to this problem, and the answer was a virus-- Israeli acute paralysis virus. But although IAPV definitely has an effect on honey bee immunity, apparently it fell through as The Cause of CCD.
We do not have a honey bee parasitome/microme/virome, so we dont totally know which parasites/microbes/viruses are 'normal' and which are the trouble makers, out of the countless parasites/microbes/viruses found in honey bee colonies all over the world. So it could be that CCD is some kind of 'syndrome' effecting honey bees-- one colonys collapse being caused by one thing, another colony by another thing, etc.
But the features of CCD in honey bee colonies were so specific, it was hard to believe that a collapse in Spain was completely different from a collapse in Iowa.
So a group of researchers apparently put a bunch of bees in a blender and got the Army to figure out what the bees were infected with (Army looked for peptides instead of DNA/RNA-- apparently its a neat procedure developed to ID biowarfare agents. huh!). They found that collapsed or collapsing colonies were infected with a) a virus, and b) a fungus:
First of all, that virus is cool.
IIV particles are organized into crystalline arrays. Light reflected from such arrays interferes with incident light, resulting in the characteristic iridescent colours that are the most obvious sign of patent infection. Patent disease is lethal in the larval or pupal stages.
Infected insects sparkle. Heh.
The fungus is also neat. I know about Microsporidian because of their effects on AIDS patients. Youll note in the intro in that link:
Microsporidia are small, sporeforming, obligate intracellular protozoan parasites that are found in the intestine, liver, kidney, cornea, brain, nerves, and muscles of a variety of wild and domesticated animals.
Apparently it isnt enough for a colony to be infected with the virus OR the fungus. They have to be infected with both the virus AND the fungus. They did a neat experiment where they infected bees with one or the other or both, and plotted survival. Bees infected with both died faster.
But I wasnt really excited about that experiment, as they needed more controls. What if they infected the bees with a virus that should have nothing to do with CCD AND/OR a fungus that should have nothing to do with CCD? Its not entirely surprising that if you infect an organism with two deadly things instead of one deadly thing they die faster. There were no diseased controls.
And these pathogens... they were kinda everywhere. Collapsed colonies, collapsing colonies, strong colonies...
Im not 100% convinced this mystery has been solved yet.
What the authors likely meant is to refer to the Microsporidian as a Protist as opposed to a Protozoan. Although the exact definition of both of these terms is somewhat iffy. While Microsprodians are clearly highly derived fungi, modern usage of the term protist is meant to mean any unicellular eukaryote that doesn't generally form colonies or if it does form colonies exhibits no tissue differentiation. This includes various fungi and close relatives of fungi and Metazoa. Protozoa is generally reserved for the hetertrophic protists (so excluding algae) and often to also exclude fungal species. Its even trickier in usage than protist.
Neither term is phylogenetically meaningful because both refer to a paraphyletic group of organisms. Certainly those that I know where were involved in much of the research showing that Microsporidia were indeed Fungi still refer to them as protists.
I agree with the conclusion you make; the more I read, the more skeptical I become. Nothing is particularly compelling, as far as I can tell.
Personally, i blame the mercury in the vaccines they give to bees. *solemn nod*
Seems to me that CCD has a synthetic etiology, in that no one factor 'causes' it; it is instead the result of multiple causes acting synergistically or nonadditively. These causes include viral & fungal pathogens, insecticides and climate change, along with others yet to be identified. No one factor is solely responsible for CCD but all or several acting in concert cause colonies to collapse and contribute to the decline of apoidean diversity.
How long until someone incorporates iridovira into Twilight fanfiction?
Never mind the fanfiction. Maybe we can get some of the annoying fan-girls to infect themselves.
One of many things I don't understand: why wasn't this "So a group of researchers apparently put a bunch of bees in a blender..." done sooner?
I heard a research talk about CCD last spring. The speaker described at least four contributing infectious agents (all previously known), but the underlying cause appears to be just poor hygiene on the part of beekeepers.
Disinfecting empty hive frames and putting newcomers into quarantine wasn't important in the past because opportunities for cross-infection were limited. But now queens are routinely shipped all over the world, and hives are trucked around the country and combined and recombined with hives from other sources, creating ideal conditions for the spread of pathogens.
Apparently the paper's first author, Jerry J. Bromenshenk, has received funding from Bayer in recent years. A pesticide of Bayer's has been suspected of being involved. This paper and the media coverage, of course, take some heat off Bayer and help it fight calls for regulation or testing.
Obviously, colony collapse disorder, along with the die-offs of bats and frogs, is just another sign of the approaching Rapture! LOL!
Just noticed that the Texas Free Thought Convention was this weekend. Hope your talk went well, Abbie.
Hi really like that paper on Mimivirus. They waited to get the whole story before they ran around saying "new human pathogenic virus!". Lots of different lines of evidence, including infection of a lab technician who works with the pure virus.
Maybe some other labs, researching some other potentially pathogenic newly-discovered viruses, should take notes.
@9: if you're making an accusation of fraud, that could be libellous, and if you're not, the information you posted is irrelevant to virology, so probably a bit OT for this blog.
I am loving the Sparkle Virus, but abbie's right, the causation doesn't seem clear. One does have the image of pathologists looking for a cause of Human Being Collapse Disorder- you'd see an awful lot of rhinoviruses and E. coli but that wouldn't mean that colds and gut flora are responsible for people dying.
When the link between IAPV and CCD came out, I was TOTALLY CONVINCED that IAPV wuz killen allz teh beez!!1!!1! Then, I followed the literature for awhile and a bunch of things WUZ KILLEN TEH BEEZ! Then, I started searching for grad schools and forgot about it.
Insect pathology has been an active field for quite awhile, but as I understand things we really didn't start caring about bee pathogens until they started to die. So right now, we're in a stage where we're all like 'HOLY SHIT, BEES GET SICK AND DIE TOO WHARGARBGLE!!!!' and we're seeing all these crazy correlations but don't know fuck about what's actually causing the collapses because we're still not exactly sure what all makes them sick.
Let's take Nosema, for example. Nosema is common among beekeepers, usually at low levels. Place I worked had it, and most other places in the state had it as well. We treated our colonies a couple times a year, but it was continually present as evidenced by the insect shit-stains just outside the colony. I'm not at all surprised it would take hold in a colony weakened by another pathogen. I'm also not at all surprised a colony would die when coupled with something else which was potentially pathogenic.
Could it be a Nosema/Iridiovirus combo? Sure. Could it be IAPV? Maybe. They also could have decided to be those welfare queens Fox news talks about but nobody ever seems to see IRL.
If an entomologically curious gunman put a gun to my head and asked what I thought, I'd tell them that there would probably be more than one factor/disease here and that regional variation in susceptibility could potentially play a role in who gets sick with what. It's the safest thing to say at this point, but nowhere near a 'if we kill this, the bees all come back!!!!' sort of answer everybody wants to hear.
@11: bite me. It's relevant as hell. Perhaps in your little deconstructed world you can separate the bad science from the bad scientists. The adults here can't.
"The long list of possible suspects has included pests, viruses, fungi, and
also pesticides, particularly so-called neonicotinoids, a class of
neurotoxins that kills insects by attacking their nervous systems. For
years, their leading manufacturer, Bayer Crop Science, a subsidiary of the
German pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG, has tangled with regulators and fended
off lawsuits from angry beekeepers who allege that the pesticides have
disoriented and ultimately killed their bees. The company has countered
that, when used correctly, the pesticides pose little risk.
The Bayer pesticides, however, go unmentioned.
What the Times article did not explore -- nor did the study disclose -- was
the relationship between the study's lead author, Montana bee researcher Dr.
Jerry Bromenshenk, and Bayer Crop Science. In recent years Bromenshenk has
received a significant research grant from Bayer to study bee pollination.
Indeed, before receiving the Bayer funding, Bromenshenk was lined up on the
opposite side: He had signed on to serve as an expert witness for beekeepers
who brought a class-action lawsuit against Bayer in 2003. He then dropped
out and received the grant."
While it may be satisfying to blame those evil pesticides for killing the bees there are laws which must be followed when applying those pesticides.
One of those laws requires farmers to notify all beekeepers who keep bees within a certain radius (~2 miles IIRC), or at least seal them in the hive (which is pretty simple...a wooden stick in the right place will do fine)when they spray. I'm pretty sure there are pesticides and formulations which can't be used around pollination season, either. Not 100% sure on that, though.
There are also pesticides other than neonicotinoids which can affect bees...some forumulations of carbamate pesticides, for example, make the bees think HURR DURR DIS POLLEN PWETTY which ends up with them bringing it back to their nest and feeding the pesticide to their larvae.
So...yeah. There's a possibility newer pesticides are involved because we're not entirely sure how sublethal doses affect bees. One potential conflict of interest (not gonna bother to look at your link, sorry) doesn't exactly prove a nationwide conspiracy especially when there are far less nefarious explanations on the table.
Bees concentrate nectar to make honey.
"Harmless" pesticide residues in the nectar are less than likely to remain "harmless" while they do that.
Well, no because it's not as simple as pesticide->bee->honey.
First and foremost as I understand honey production, most of the hives which are used to pollinate crops aren't used to make honey. A lot of the hives used to make honey are set aside for the bees to forage separately.
Another issue is the question of where the nectar comes from. Nectar is stored in a place that's relatively inaccessable...basically inside the flower. Plus, the bee actually ingests the honey so if there were an appreciable concentration of pesticide, I'm sure the bee would die.
The USDA keeps tabs on pesticides in honey, and the only pesticide which shows up in appreciable amounts on a regular basis is Dicofol. These 'appreciable amounts' are under 100 parts per billion, and the maximum acceptable dosage in drinking water is something like 1 part in 10,000.
Soooo...yeah. Pesticide residues in honey are really nothing to worry about unless some jackass lets his bees forage on oleander. | <urn:uuid:9d0210b1-fb7a-4905-8396-f4202f0721cb> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://scienceblogs.com/erv/2010/10/08/viral-mysteries-colony-collaps | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571056.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809155137-20220809185137-00668.warc.gz | en | 0.967157 | 2,665 | 2.34375 | 2 |
200519 broadbandteleconference houseec communicationsandtechsubcom
May 19, 2020
Dear Chairman Doyle and Ranking Member Latta:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Chamber Technology Engagement Center (“C_TEC”) applauds the Communications & Technology Subcommittee for hosting its COVID-19 teleconference with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of broadband to facilitate working from home, telemedicine, e-commerce, food delivery, and education.
Chairman Pai’s leadership has enabled the nation’s communications infrastructure to weather the challenges posed by the pandemic. He led a voluntary effort by broadband providers to continue service to customers experiencing economic hardship. The Commission’s regulatory approach to the Internet has spurred investment and contributed to narrowing the Digital Divide.
Unfortunately, many Americans do not have access to high-speed Internet, particularly in rural America. A C_TEC report from last year highlighted that adoption of digital tools by rural small businesses (many of which are struggling during the pandemic) would increase annual U.S. GDP by approximately $41 billion, and would create 316,605 jobs. Broadband will be crucial to economic recovery, especially for small businesses.
C_TEC encourages Congress to provide technology-neutral, non-duplicative targeted funding and permitting relief to ensure that unserved Americans have access to the Internet. Broadband access is a bipartisan issue and will be vital to ensuring millions of Americans are not left behind in this new digital economy, an issue rendered even more pressing by COVID-19. The Chamber stands ready to work with you.
Executive Vice President
Chamber Technology Engagement Center
cc: Members of the Subcommittee on Communications & Technology
Chamber Technology Engagement Center, Unlocking the Digital Potential of Rural America at 5 (March 2019) available at https://americaninnovators.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Unlocking-the-Digital-Potential-of-Rural-America.pdf. | <urn:uuid:6297c4bf-2ea8-49ed-a4bf-2cd0cd042216> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.uschamber.com/technology/broadband/us-chamber-letter-broadband-access | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570692.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20220807181008-20220807211008-00667.warc.gz | en | 0.905042 | 449 | 1.757813 | 2 |
By Randall Luthi, President, National Ocean Industries Association
To: Mr. Julius Genachowski,
Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
Ref: LightSquared, Inc.,
L-Band allocations impacting GPS FCC File No. SAT-MOD-20101 1 IS-00239
Dear Chairman Genachowski:
The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA), which represents approximately 270 member companies involved in outer continental shelf (OCS) energy production throughout the United States, is gravely concerned over the pending allocation of Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) spectrum to LightSquared, Inc. for terrestrial high-powered transmissions. LightSquared’s proposed transmission structure will adversely impact GPS and Inmarsat signals along our coastlines, both of which are critical to marine operations. Specifically, NOIA is concerned that:
1. Coastal and near shore GPS operations will be impacted even at (promised) reduced LightSquared power levels. While NOIA understands that LightSquared will be required to reduce its tower transmission power along the coastline, their reduced power transmissions will still be many orders of magnitude greater than GPS signals, virtually guaranteeing interference for users in coastal and near-shore areas.
2. GPS receiver types used by NOIA members will be impacted substantially. NOIA members primarily use high-precision GPS receivers for their high-accuracy coastal and near shore work. High-accuracy GPS receivers require a wide-band front end, which will be seriously impacted by LightSquared transmissions.
3. Inmarsat-linked DGPS corrections will have interference. Virtually all of the high-accuracy GPS work requires the use of differential GPS corrections transmitted by Inmarsat in “L” band. These corrections will be jammed by the LightSquared signal. Implications are, for example, dredging or excavation work in areas near buried high-pressure natural gas pipelines. This work will become much more dangerous due to inaccurate, intermittent, or unreliable GPS readings.
4. Offshore oil and gas operations will be impacted because of interference on land. LightSquared interference from their 40,000 proposed transmission sites across the nation will interfere with dozens of high-accuracy DGPS reference stations used to generate differential corrections for offshore use and high-accuracy operations on shore. Because of this land-based interference with high-accuracy GPS reference stations, hundreds and possibly thousands of coastal users will be impacted. High-accuracy differential GPS corrections are used by a wide cross-section of marine users including dynamically positioned drilling rigs, pipeline construction vessels, rig supply vessels and others. Loss of GPS corrections or erroneous differential GPS corrections due to shore-based interference can cause a floating drilling rig to deviate from station resulting in catastrophic blowouts, environmental damage, and fatalities.
5. LightSquared will cause interference with Inmarsat. NOIA understands that LightSquared has paid Inmarsat, and will continue to pay Inmarsat a fee, to “endure the pain” caused by the interference. However, Inmarsat’s customers, including virtually all NOIA members, will still be required to endure the pain. Isotropic Inmarsat antennas will be impacted the most. NOIA understands that Inmarsat plans to move user frequencies at their cost. However, NOIA cannot be assured that this solution is viable given the financial drivers LightSquared is offering Inmarsat; it is not reasonable to assume that Inmarsat can compensate thousands of users for the costs of making the changes, even if the equivalent frequencies and powers are available.
6. NOIA is concerned that the FCC was premature in its decision to issue a waiver to LightSquared. Unlike the FCC’s historic test-then-approve, NOIA is concerned that the FCC has fast-tracked the effort and has improperly and unnecessarily implemented an approve-then-test procedure for this applicant. NOIA is concerned that the FCC may have directed findings of the professional staff in its decision making.
7. NOIA believes that millions of land and airborne GPS and DGPS user groups will be severely impacted by LightSquared transmissions. In conclusion, NOIA and its 270 member companies are extremely concerned that high-end GPS, DGPS, and the associated GPS reference stations will be interfered by LightSquared transmissions in the band previously protected for the very low power signals typical of satellite communications. The real-time GPS positioning needs of NOIA member companies are critical to the safety and success of their operations, and although these operations are at-sea they are totally dependent on shore-based GPS reference receivers, therefore LightSquared’s land-based operations will affect the offshore regions as well. With the marine industry’s giant assets including very specialized 2 vessels of all types completely dependent on GPS, the safety and environmental implications of GPS interference is astronomical. NOIA is concerned that other specialized Inmarsat installation members will also be disrupted.
Finally, NOIA believes that the FCC is moving too quickly and needs to step back and make its decisions based on sound science, understanding that national wireless coverage is being pursued with all deliberate speed by several knowledgeable industrial groups that have paid for the value received from their frequency allocations. It does not need this asymmetric and competition-reducing spectrum grab by a group without the years of experience and trust of those who are building the infrastructure to accomplish the very laudable outcome that is ostensibly LightSquared’s motivation. | <urn:uuid:087c0ad2-97cc-4e40-844c-fbb9a9675471> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://gpsworld.com/gnss-systemexpert-advice-energy-production-concerns-about-lightsquared-11838/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718285.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00105-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952471 | 1,132 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Download Autodesk Inventor 2010 Tutorials
Getting Started Guides (pdf)
Autodesk Inventor 2010 comes with several new features to compete with Pro/Engineer and SolidWorks. Simulation, Routed Systems, Tooling and Mold Design has several new functionalities that will definitely test other high end 3D software. A trial download of Autodesk Inventor 2010 for US and Canadian users with just filling a simple form.
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Getting the initial design concept right is the key to a successful project. Move your initial design studies from paper by using the new sketch block capabilities in Autodesk Inventor 2010 to develop initial concept sketches and kinematic models.
The enhanced simulation environment provides improved support for motion simulation and static and modal finite element analysis at both the part and assembly level.
4. BIM Interoperability
The enhanced AEC Exchange tool in Autodesk Inventor 2010 simplifies the exchange of data for use in building design. AEC Exchange allows users to publish data files with simplified 3D representations and intelligent connection points for use in building models created using Autodesk® Revit® MEP and Autodesk® Revit® Architecture software.
5. Usability and Productivity
Autodesk Inventor 2010 enhances usability and productivity with the introduction of a modern task-based user interface and a large group of user-requested enhancements. | <urn:uuid:827108d7-1e7b-41d2-b9ea-a8d9e905d79b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.meadinfo.org/2009/11/download-autodesk-inventor-2010.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573197.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818124424-20220818154424-00668.warc.gz | en | 0.852613 | 390 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Three Shakespeare sonnets : for low voice and piano
by Justin McKay (2012, this version: 2013)
Also known as: 3 Shakespeare sonnets
Performance by Justin McKay from the CD Selected Works by AMC Represented Artists, vol. 45.
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Composed in 2012, after having premiered an opera (The
Tempest) and incidental music (Much Ado About
Nothing) based upon Shakespeare's works, Three
Shakespeare Sonnets are written in a restrained and
understated style. Falling within the form of lieder, the richly
melodic vocal parts are set over inventive and at times intricate
piano fantasies. The composer has chosen to highlight certain
aspects of each sonnet, giving each a slightly different
character, and remaining with it throughout. Sonnet 18 has an
amorous character, Sonnet 30, more contemplative, while Sonnet 76
draws on baroque influences.
Throughout, the text has been set in a somewhat, but not fully, declamatory style: at times the iambic rhythms are evident, and at others they take a backseat to the flow of the music. The composer's intention in setting Shakespeare's poetry has been to bring out the intrinsic music of the text, with emphasis on the underlying emotions which they may awaken in the reader or listener.
Year: 2012, this version: 2013
Instrumentation: Low voice, piano.
Duration: 9 min.
Contents note: Sonnet no. 18 -- Sonnet no. 30 -- Sonnet no. 76.
Performances of this work
Unknown date: featuring Justin McKay.
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To post a comment please login. | <urn:uuid:5daf52fa-2d55-4b44-87b4-21c36c9f094a> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/workversion/mckay-justin-three-shakespeare-sonnets/28701 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721558.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00045-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.89522 | 464 | 1.804688 | 2 |
bye bye byrd
Hailed as one of the leading performers of his time, Bye Bye Byrd held twelve world pacing records during his racing career. Bred by the Larkins of Poplar Hill Farm, he was by Poplar Byrd out of Evalina Hanover. He was named Horse of the Year in 1959 and retired from the track to the stud barn in 1961 with more than a half-million dollars in earnings. He became a top sire, with well over one hundred 2:00 horses to his credit. Bye Bye Byrd was the first Horse of the Year to sire another Horse of the Year - Keystone Ore (1976). One of his daughters, Niagara Dream, produced the champion Niatross. Bye Bye Bird died in 1980 at age twenty-five.
Published in the Harness Racing Museum's 1994 book, The Immortals | <urn:uuid:2552fc77-8e4e-48be-b221-3b95c6eff9c8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://harnessmuseum.com/content/bye-bye-byrd | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571472.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811133823-20220811163823-00679.warc.gz | en | 0.983225 | 174 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Optimization of Connection-Oriented, Mobile, Hybrid Network Systems
ElBatt, Tamer A.
MetadataShow full item record
In this paper we consider the extension of a cellular system by means of satellite channels. Specifically, we consider an area covered by a number of cells that is also covered by a number of spot-beams. We consider connection-oriented service and call durations are assumed to be exponentially distributed. Also, users are mobile and, as such, they may cross cell and/or spot- beam boundaries, thus necessitating hand-offs. We incorporate the possibility of call-dropping due to unsuccessful hand-off attempts, in addition to satellite propagation delays along with the probability of new call blocking and formulate a specific cost function that must be ultimately minimized. The minimization is to be carried out by choosing (1) the optimal split of the total number of channels between the cellular and the satellite systems, and (2) the call admission and assignment policy, subject to the constraints of a demand vector that consists of an exogenous (new-call) generation process and an internal (hand- off-based) process that results from the mobility model. This complex optimization problem is solved by means of both numerical and standard clock simulation techniques along with the ordinal optimization approach. This paper was presented at the "17th AIAA International Communications Satellite Systems Conference and Exhibit", February 24-26, 1998, Yokohama, Japan. | <urn:uuid:d419fa5c-0bb2-46f3-b8e7-80f28381b659> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/5980 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279189.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00054-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937648 | 299 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Fissures Emerge in Ohio’s Reliably Republican CD-12
Fissures Emerge in Ohio’s Reliably Republican CD-12
Ohio’s 12th Congressional District has a reputation for electing moderate Republicans. This is John Kasich territory. The popular governor first won an election here in 1982 as the U.S. representative, and was re-elected eight times. Since 2001, the district has been represented by former Kasich aide Pat Tiberi. Tiberi’s retirement announcement set up an August special election that will determine the next representative of the district, making it a useful case study of battleground terrain in Ohio this election cycle.
Despite decades of strong performance by GOP moderates, Cook Political Report labeled the district a toss-up. Of Ohio’s 16 congressional districts, OH-12 has the highest median household income and the highest percentage of adults with a bachelor’s degree. In a sense, the district is a microcosm of GOP strongholds throughout the country, featuring both the wealthy Columbus suburbs and poorer, more rural communities. The Columbus suburbs are similar to the suburban Pittsburgh and Northern Virginia communities that have swung away from the right and toward Democrats emphasizing worker issues. Making inroads with both wealthier suburban and working-class voters will be critical to Democratic efforts to retake Ohio this fall.
Working America has been on the ground in OH-12, holding face-to-face conversations to get a unique insight into what’s animating voters in this district. In a moment when political orthodoxy has been turned on its head, is OH-12 still a bastion of moderate Republicans? With this project, we set out to understand voter opinion by conducting a large-scale listening project in the district. We spoke with 401 voters in OH-12, which includes communities north and east of Columbus, including Zanesville, Mansfield and Newark. Our canvassers asked voters to rate the job performance of Gov. Kasich, Sen. Sherrod Brown and President Donald Trump, although we didn’t gauge support for the CD-12 candidates. We also wanted to learn how they felt about key issues like jobs, education and infrastructure. Our conversations reveal a window of opportunity for progressives in Ohio.
Here’s what we found:
- Trump has lower net approval in Ohio’s 12th Congressional District than in other swing areas, regardless of voters’ partisan leanings. Forty-one percent of the voters we spoke with approved of Trump, while 51 percent disapproved. These job approval numbers are substantially lower than in PA-18, the similarly situated suburban/rural district won by Democrat Conor Lamb in a March special election. Trump’s approval rating in PA-18 was 49 percent, with 39 percent of voters disapproving. Trump won PA-18 by 20 points and OH-12 by 11 points. In the PA-18 special election, we saw that Trump approval correlated closely with candidate choice. To the extent Trump’s approval in OH-12 is net negative, it is a promising sign for Democrats in the special election and statewide contests this fall.
- More than half of all voters surveyed say there’s no one in elected office who is fighting for working people. Over half of Trump voters say that there isn’t a politician fighting for working people, compared to 43 percent of Clinton voters. Fully 71 percent of moderates said that there wasn’t a politician fighting for working people. These findings are consistent with earlier Front Porch Focus Group reports from central Ohio, where voters had no recognition of either U.S. senator, suggesting a low baseline of information about politics.
- The two most economically depressed counties in OH-12 were much more likely to support Trump. While voters in OH-12 expressed high levels of personal economic confidence overall, there were pockets of voters who were concerned about the state of the economy. Voters in Richland and Muskingum counties had both the lowest levels of community economic confidence and the highest levels of Trump support, compared to other parts of the district closer to Columbus (Licking, Delaware and Franklin counties).
- Sherrod Brown has an opening with moderate and even likely Republican voters. Among likely Republican voters, nearly 25 percent approve of Brown’s job performance, and an additional 33 percent are undecided. Among moderate voters, 45 percent approve of Brown, and an additional 45 percent are undecided.
- Infrastructure is a winning issue for progressives in Ohio. In our work in states like Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Iowa, voters consistently tell us that their top issue is good jobs and the economy. In OH-12, an unusually high number of people picked infrastructure as their top issue. Again and again, our canvassers spoke with voters who were deeply concerned about roads and flooding. In fact, when we asked people what they wanted to change in their city, the top response was infrastructure. Our work in OH-12 suggests that progressives would do well to emphasize infrastructure in 2018 campaigns.
Trump has lower net approval in Ohio’s 12th Congressional District than in other swing areas, regardless of voters’ partisan leanings.
Among the voters we spoke with, 41 percent approved of the job Trump has done as president, while 51 percent disapproved.
The following table compares Trump’s job approval numbers in OH-12 to PA-18 and IA-01. PA-18 recently sent Democrat Conor Lamb to Congress, despite the fact that Trump defeated Clinton there by nearly 20 points. In contrast, Trump won IA-01 by 3.5 points and OH-12 by 11 points. Trump’s net job approval in OH-12 is substantially lower than in those other districts. Regardless of whether we spoke with a likely Republican, moderate or Democratic voter, Trump has far less approval in OH-12. Crucially, middle partisans in OH-12 are far less approving of Trump than in PA-18 or IA-01.
Note: VCI (vote choice index) is a model developed by Catalist to predict a voter’s partisan leaning. Low VCI voters, with a score of 0-29, are more likely to vote for Republicans. Middle VCI voters, with a score of 30-69, have weak partisan history. High VCI voters, with a score of 70-100, are more likely to vote for Democrats.
When we weight responses based on who’s likely to vote and compare OH-12 to PA-18, we still see that in OH-12, more voters disapprove of Trump, and fewer approve. In PA-18, 49 percent of voters approve of Trump while 39 percent disapprove (+10 point net favorability). By comparison, 44 percent of voters in OH-12 approve of Trump while 47 percent disapprove (-3 point net favorability).
Anecdotally, a notable portion of voters expressed remorse about voting for Trump, or said that their approval was tempered by his behavior, particularly on Twitter.
Robert, a 74-year-old in Gahanna, said, “Yeah, I got fooled. I voted for Trump.”
Theresa, a 47-year-old Trump voter and Delaware resident, said, “Donald Trump should rein back on Twitter.”
The data and anecdotal evidence suggest that Ohio could be turning away from Trump. Lamb’s special election victory in PA-18 has been the biggest upset win for Democrats so far this cycle, and Trump enjoyed higher approval there than in OH-12. Throughout our work in states like Pennsylvania and Minnesota, we’ve seen that Trump support was the strongest predictor of vote choice in other races. These numbers suggest that progressives in Ohio could see similarly dramatic swings in their favor this fall if they run the kind of smart, thorough ground game that we saw in PA-18.
More than half of all voters surveyed say there’s no one in elected office who is fighting for working people. We asked voters which politician, if any, was fighting for working people in Ohio. Over half said there wasn’t such a politician.
Of the people we spoke with, moderate voters were the least likely to identify a politician fighting for working people, suggesting a possible motive for their mercurial voting behavior. Fully 71 percent of moderate voters said no one was fighting for working people, compared to 51 percent of likely Republican voters and 43 percent of likely Democratic voters. Moderate — or middle VCI — voters lack a strong partisan preference, and they’ll be critical of Democratic efforts in Ohio. These voters represent a substantial portion of the electorate and could help swing the results this fall.
The two most economically depressed counties in OH-12 were much more likely to support Trump.
We asked voters how confident they felt about the economic future of their families and their communities. The following below breaks down economic confidence by county and includes average income.
We see a correlation between average income and economic confidence, with voters in higher-income counties generally expressing more economic confidence than voters in lower-income counties.
When we look at economic confidence along with 2016 vote choice, we find that the two counties with the lowest economic confidence had the highest Trump support. Franklin County — where voters had the highest personal economic confidence — had by far the lowest level of Trump support in 2016.
We also asked voters whether they thought that more jobs were coming to their community. In Muskingum County, over half the voters we spoke with said that there were no new jobs coming to their community.
Mark, 59, a resident of Zanesville (in Muskingum County), said he was concerned with a “lack of meaningful employment” in the area. He went on to say, “Training doesn’t match the available opportunities.”
A common refrain among voters we spoke with was that jobs weren’t coming to the area, and that new jobs were only in more urban areas.
Gary, a 56-year-old Mansfield resident, said, “I have to drive 125 miles a day to get to a good job in Elyria.”
Furthermore, many voters felt that job opportunities were undesirable or inadequate.
James, 46, of Newark, referenced a new Amazon distribution center in Etna. He said, “Everyone keeps saying, ‘Just go to Amazon,’ but their quotas and conditions are impossible.”
Shannon, a 32-year-old Zanesville resident, was frustrated with a lack of employment opportunities. She said, “You can either go into health care or fast food, that’s all we have here.”
Sen. Sherrod Brown has an opening with moderate and even likely Republican voters.
Among all voters, 41 percent approved of Brown, 28 percent disapproved and 17 percent were neutral. Broken down by VCI, Brown’s approval follows the expected trend. Sixty-seven percent of likely Democratic voters approve of Brown, compared to 24 percent of likely Republican voters. What stands out are the high numbers of moderate and likely Republican voters who are undecided about Brown. Forty-six percent of middle partisan voters are undecided about Brown, along with 33 percent of likely Republican voters.
The prevalence of voters undecided about Brown suggests that he has an opportunity to pick up support from swing and likely Republican voters, with the right type of engagement.
When we asked voters about a politician fighting for working people, roughly equal numbers of people named Brown and Kasich. In conversations with canvassers, even some Republicans had good things to say about Brown.
Mark, 59, of Zanesville, said, “I’m as Republican as you can get.” He said he approved of Brown because “he hasn’t had any scandals.”
Many voters described Brown as an honest, uncorrupted politician.
Lawrence, a 66-year-old Gahanna resident, said that he liked Brown because “he’s not beholden to special interests.”
The chart below shows Brown’s net job approval broken down by voters’ top issue.
While Brown has a negative net job approval with tax-sensitive voters, he enjoys solid support from voters most concerned with infrastructure, education and jobs. In our other Front Porch Focus Group projects, Republicans generally have performed better with voters who pick jobs as their top issue. That Brown enjoys such a high net approval among jobs voters suggests he’s seen differently than other Democrats.
Infrastructure is a winning issue for progressives in Ohio.
In our work in states like Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Iowa, voters tell us that their top issue is good jobs and the economy. In OH-12, an unusually high number of people picked infrastructure as their top issue.
Again and again, our canvassers spoke with voters who were deeply concerned about roads and flooding.
Sandra, a Gahanna resident in her 60s, said that if she could change one thing about her community it would be to “modernize infrastructure.” She went on to say that “things have looked the same here since I moved from New Jersey.”
Given the decaying local infrastructure and share of people who report having to commute long distances for work, the focus on infrastructure repair is understandable. In fact, when we asked people what they wanted to change in their city, the top response was infrastructure by a significant margin.
Desired change in community
Our work in OH-12 suggests that progressives would do well to emphasize infrastructure in 2018 campaigns.
In a key battleground state with two major elections — for governor and senator — Ohio is a top priority for progressives in 2018. Trump’s unpopularity in OH-12 relative to districts like PA-18 and IA-01 — along with the relationship between Trump approval and vote choice — indicates that Ohio may be poised for a Democratic wave election in the fall. Despite the fact that OH-12 has the highest median income of any Congressional district in the state, there are sections where people are struggling economically. These areas broke for Trump, but they could very well swing back toward progressives with an effective engagement strategy that helps restore trust and delivers good information. Particularly on infrastructure, progressives have an opening to connect with Ohio voters. Working America’s canvass-centered model is just what’s needed to directly engage with voters.
From April to May 2018, we held 401 conversations in the counties of Delaware, Franklin, Licking, Muskingum and Richland. Specifically, we canvassed in Delaware, Gahanna, Zanesville, Mansfield, and Newark.
The group canvassed was slightly more female than male, with 210 women and 191 men. The largest age cohort was baby boomers. The average household income of the group canvassed was $65,193. The voters we spoke with were roughly evenly split between Clinton and Trump voters, with 162 and 171 voters, respectively. | <urn:uuid:38c92ab9-12e8-4772-b68b-78aaa7963b19> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.workingamerica.org/ohio12report | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572908.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817122626-20220817152626-00073.warc.gz | en | 0.96935 | 3,147 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Every day one autumn, Vaassen picked up the leaves of a single tree. This archive of leaves shows a record of time and of the natural process to which the tree is subject. Vaassen's intervention also shows the tree's natural cycle by revealing its transience in a variety of shapes, textures and colours.
Fractals, leaves, metal frames, diaprojectores, variable dimensions, 2018
Image cedits: Kasteel Wijlre estate / Peter Cox
Made possible thanks to the generous support of the Mondriaan Fonds and Fondskwardraat | <urn:uuid:38ef9579-1980-412e-b1d1-eeb69936c4da> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://sannevaassen.com/selected-works/fractals/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573699.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819131019-20220819161019-00273.warc.gz | en | 0.863185 | 124 | 1.695313 | 2 |
16 U.S. Code § 214 - Rules and regulations
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park shall be under the control of the National Park Service and administered under such regulations not inconsistent with law as it may from time to time prescribe.
As originally enacted, this section read as follows:
Prefixes making the provisions of this section effective, upon the passage of this Act and the vesting of the title to the property accepted, have been omitted as temporary.
“Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park” substituted for “Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site” pursuant to Pub. L. 111–11.
“Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site” substituted for “Abraham Lincoln National Historical Park” pursuant to Pub. L. 86–231.
“Abraham Lincoln National Historical Park” substituted for “Abraham Lincoln National Park” pursuant to act Aug. 11, 1939.
All national parks, national monuments, and national cemeteries consolidated in an office of National Parks, Buildings and Reservations in Department of the Interior, at head of which should be a Director of National Parks, Buildings and Reservations, and cemeteries and parks of War Department transferred to Department of the Interior by Executive Order 6166, § 2, as amended by Executive Order 6228, § 1, set out in a note under section 901 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. This service designated the National Park Service in Department of the Interior by act Mar. 2, 1934.
For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174,64 Stat. 1262, set out in the Appendix to Title 5.
LII has no control over and does not endorse any external Internet site that contains links to or references LII. | <urn:uuid:878227d6-990e-46be-ab39-2984e873a7aa> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/16/214 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718296.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00540-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.89408 | 426 | 2.0625 | 2 |
The Washington Post publishes a yearly contest in which readers are asked to supply new meanings for old words and create new ones. Some of these ought to become part of our vocabularies for 2003! Keep reading to find out this year’s winning entries.
Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach. Carcinoma (n.), a valley in California, notable for its heavy smog. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightie. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp. Coffee (n.), a person who is coughed upon. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified demeanor assumed by a proctologist immediately before he examines you. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish expressions. Circumvent (n.), the opening in the front of boxer shorts. Frisbatarianism (n.), The belief that, when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck there.
The Washington Post’s Style Invitational also asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are some recent winners:
Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the reader who doesn’t get it. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of obtaining sex. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously. Karmageddon: It’s like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it’s like a serious bummer. Glibido: All talk and no action. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a refund from the IRS, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with. Ignoranus: A person who’s both stupid and an asshole.
If only these were in daily use, communication would be so much easier!
NOTE: This news story, previously published on our old site, will have any links removed.
Subscribers, to watch the subscriber version of the video, first log in then click on Dreamland Subscriber-Only Video Podcast link. | <urn:uuid:0e3ee378-6a0e-476e-aa09-452fc548bcd5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.unknowncountry.com/headline-news/new-words-much-needed/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572304.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816120802-20220816150802-00471.warc.gz | en | 0.91486 | 582 | 1.742188 | 2 |
New Year’s is coming around once again, and once again, we will celebrate it in our own unique way.
The celebrations started 4,000 years ago with the ancient Babylonians. This day was celebrated with the first new moon of the vernal equinox, and it was religious festival called Akitu.
As calendars advanced and went through different incarnations, it was Julius Cesar who initiated January 1st as the beginning of the New Year.
Typically, New Year’s celebrations begin on December 31, New Year’s Eve, and continue into the early morning hours of January 1. During this time, people enjoy meals and snacks thought to bring good luck for the coming year.
In Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries, people bolt down a dozen grapes right before midnight with hopes of good luck for the upcoming year.
Throughout the world, New Year’s dishes feature legumes, which are thought to resemble coins and bring financial success. In Italy, people eat lentils on New Year’s Day, and in the Southern United States, black-eyed peas are popular.
Another symbol of luck in the new year is the pig, which represents progress and prosperity in some cultures. In Cuba, Austria, Hungary, and Portugal, pork dishes are part of the new year’s menu. And in Sweden, rice pudding with an almond hidden inside is served. Whomever finds the almond can expect 12 months of good luck.
In the United States, our most iconic tradition is the dropping of the ball in New York’s Times Square, but it is not necessary to go to Times Square to experience a large celebration because many cities and towns have started their own celebrations to usher in the New Year. Throughout the world, watching fireworks and singing songs to welcome the new year’s celebration.
Though many traditions exist, the overriding feature of all these celebrations is to welcome the New Year. Happy New Year!
PS: Making a New Years resolution? How about giving back? Resolve to volunteer in 2015! | <urn:uuid:e3fd3152-8f91-4341-8478-e34aa36a6a77> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://redcrossdallas.blogspot.com/2014/12/new-years-eve-from-past-to-present.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281069.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00272-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9514 | 424 | 2.765625 | 3 |
The Spirit of Sonship
Romans 8:15 – For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “”Abba,” Father.”
1 John 3:1 – How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
1 John 4:18 – There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
John 8:35 – Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
Today we will be exploring the difference between Sons and Slaves. In the above scripture the word son is used and no daughter is mentioned. This is not because God disregards women or is gender biased. The reason for emphasising sons is because of inheritance. At time that the bible was written when it comes inheritance the people understood it in the context of sonship. That is why in the bible we are all called sons of God so that both male and female can be equal partakers of God’s inheritance. It is actually more discriminatory in the bible times if you differentiate between sons and daughters when talking about inheritance. By differentiating, you single out the daughters and deprive them of any rights to their father’s inheritance.
Some of God’s children don’t relate to Him as their daddy, they relate to him as the creator, king, mighty God, judge, master and the list goes on and on. While God is all of these, His greatest title and role in the life of every Christian is His father role. To magnify any of His other roles in your life more than His role as a father is to deprive yourself of major privileges and the fullness of the comprehension and manifestation of his love in your life. Sadly, a large percentage relates to God mainly as master and they put themselves unknowingly in the class of a slave. Yes in one light we are servants of God because we choose to serve him out of love but our most important role and position is that of Sons. Every other role and position is inferior to this. Your role as a son of God supersedes all your other roles, yet that is the least explained and appropraited. Adam the first man was not referred to as a creature or servant of God, though he was; He was referred to as the Son of God(Luke 3:38). Jesus our perfect example was referred to and is still referred by God as His beloved Son (Mark 1:11). So it is in our best interest in light of our inheritance to see ourselves as sons that our father God loves unconditionally.
The following are some of the difference between Sons and Slaves
|Has Inheritance||Has no inheritance|
|Calls out to his father||Call out to master|
|Correction for mistakes made||Punishment for mistake made|
|Have dominion||Under dominion|
|Have rights and privilege||Has no rights and privilege|
|Is a owner||Is a commodity owned|
|Has Authority||Has no authority|
|Has favour||Has fears|
|Identity – Son and slave owner||Identity – Slave and owns nothing|
Through Christ we have been adopted into the family of God. But we need to believe and receive and our new identity and hold fast to it. It is the understanding of God’s love for you that helps you come into the fullness of your identity. So begin to renew your mind in light of sonship and not slavery.
For further study:
Personal declaration for the day:
I am a son of God and I am loving it.
Questions for you to reflect on:
Do you know who you are, who are you?
What is your inheritance? | <urn:uuid:797238d6-a154-4d7a-88bc-48eefc40dc29> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://christiancommunitychurcharklow.hdpm.org/the-spirit-of-sonship/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573399.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818185216-20220818215216-00074.warc.gz | en | 0.962869 | 874 | 1.796875 | 2 |
A Return to the Whales
Provincetown, Mass. — Nearly 100 years after its last voyage, the whaleship Charles W. Morgan returned to sail among whales during a visit to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, one of the world’s premier whale watching sites. On a day sail out of Provincetown, Mass. on Friday, July 11, the ship encountered humpback whales on the sanctuary. In company with the sanctuary’s research vessel Auk, the Morgan lowered a whaleboat to observe whales in a gesture to symbolize the change in humankind’s relationship with the oceans and marine mammals.
“This was an amazing day of sailing,” said Capt. Kip Files, the 22nd master of the Morgan. “To bring this historic vessel to this place, and to have her sail with humpback whales breaching right next to us, was really incredible. You can’t help but think about how much we as a people have changed. Where the Morgan once hunted whales, now she watches them with a message of conservation.”
The Morgan, a National Historic Landmark built in 1841, is the last of an American whaling fleet that numbered more than 2,700 vessels and is the flagship of the watercraft collection at Mystic Seaport, the nation’s leading maritime museum located in Mystic, Connecticut.
The Morgan is on its first sailing voyage since 1921. Over an 80-year whaling career, the Morgan sailed on 37 voyages to the remote corners of the globe. During this historic 38th voyage to ports across southern New England, the ship is spending several days from July 11-13 visiting the sanctuary. While there, the Morgan crew is teaming with the National Marine Sanctuaries staff to conduct outreach activities highlighting the sanctuary’s role in whale conservation and ocean research.
The public is able to follow the Morgan’s visit to the sanctuary on OceansLIVE (http://www.OceansLIVE.org), which broadcast from the vessel and other locations, offering interviews and commentary with historians, scientists, authors and artists discussing the shift from whaling to watching in New England.
Stretching between Cape Ann and Cape Cod, offshore of Massachusetts, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary is a critical feeding and nursery ground for several whale and dolphin species, including the endangered humpback, North Atlantic right, sei, and fin whales.
The sanctuary is a center for whale watching in New England. Ongoing research at the sanctuary is focused on better understanding whale behavior so as to reduce whale mortality caused by entanglement in commercial fishing gear and ship strikes. Human-induced sources of underwater noise and their potential impacts on marine animals are also topics of substantial concern among scientists.
The Morgan will continue to sail in the sanctuary on Saturday and Sunday, July 12-13. | <urn:uuid:ebae54ec-1db7-425f-b354-5dfd15474420> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.mysticseaport.org/news/2014/morgan-sails-among-whales-on-stellwagen-bank/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280763.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00521-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943019 | 593 | 2.625 | 3 |
Home Remedies For Sinuses
Sinusitis refers to inflammation of the sinus passage and over secretion of mucus by the membrane lining the nose and throat. It is often followed by a common cold, influenza and other general infections.
Sinus is a medical condition wherein the mucous membranes that line the paranasal sinuses tend to get inflamed. In most cases a sinus will follow general infection such as the influenza and a common cold. Some of the symptoms of a sinus infection are low grade fever, headaches and sneezing constantly. The person suffering from a sinus infection may also experience a headaches as well as pressure around the face, eyes and head and may also lose their appetite. Sinus infections home remedies include consuming plenty of mangoes. Mangoes are known to provide sinus infection relief on account of the high concentration of vitamin A in them which result in the formation of healthy epithelium which in turn reduces and even prevents the attacks of sinus and other such common infections. Sinus relief home remedies include gradually increasing the use of pungent foods such as onions and garlic in ones daily diet as they are known for their antibacterial properties. Another one of the home remedies for sinus is to prepare a tea of fenugreek seed by boiling a teaspoon of fenugreek seeds in some water and then consuming this liquid once it has cooled down. This home remedy is known to also be one of the effective sinus headache remedies as it cause the body to perspire thereby reducing the period of the fever and also helps the body in expelling the toxins. One may consume almost four cups of the fenugreek on a daily basis till one gets relief from sinus. Home remedies for sinus also include consuming a mixture of a 100gms ground and roasted cumin seeds along with 200gms of pure honey on a regular basis. Another one of the home remedies for sinus include consuming some carrot juice by itself or even combining it with some spinach, beet or cucumber juice. This treatment of sinus via vegetables juices is known to be highly effective in providing sinus infection relief. One of the most effective home remedies for sinus is to consume a diet that is rich in vitamins A and C. This because Vitamin A is known to act a s a membrane conditioner which helps in building healthy mucous membranes in the throat as well as the nose. Some of the sources of vitamin A are milk, egg yolk, carrots, tomatoes, leafy vegetables etc. One of the key sinus headache remedies is to consume a low calorie, vegetable and raw fruit diet along with plenty of drinking water.
Excessive or constant sneezing, running nose, blockage of one or both nostrils, headaches and pressure around the head, eyes and face, fever, lack of appetite and difficulty in breathing are symptoms of sinusitis.
- A tsp of black cumin seeds tied in a thin cotton cloth provides relief when inhaled.
- Take few capsules of cayenne during or after each meal for several days till the infection is cleared up. Alternatively put 1 tsp of cayenne in cup of hot water and drink a cupful of this thrice a day.
- Add few drops of eucalyptus oil to 1/2 cup boiling water. Pour the mixture into a bowl and inhale the steam for 10 - 15 minutes with your head covered with a large towel.
- Put few drops of eucalyptus oil on your handkerchief and sniff periodically.
- Dissolve 1 tsp of salt in 2 cups of water and use it through a nasal inhaler.
- Make a nasal flush by mixing 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda in one cup of warm water. Fill the syringe with the solution and drop the mixture up your nose.
- Dissolve 1 tsp uniodized salt and 1/2 tsp baking soda in a pint of water and inhale it through nasal inhaler.
- Steep 1-2 tsp of thyme in a cup of boiling water for 10 minutes. Drink a cupful of this mixture three times a day. Because of its strong antiseptic properties, thyme is good for respiratory infections.
- Sipping hot teas made with herbs such as fenugreek, fennel, anise, or sage may help move mucus even more and keeps it flowing.
- Blow one nostril at a time. This will help prevent pressure buildup in the ears, which can send bacteria further back into the sinus passages.
- Sniffling whenever your nostrils feel stuffed is a good way to drain the sinuses and stale secretions down the throat.
- Press your thumbs to the either side of the nostril to bring a fresh blood supply to the area and soothing relief.
- Apply warm wash cloth over your eyes and cheekbones. Leave it till you feel the sinus pain subsiding.
- Carrot and spinach juice taken regularly is also found to be highly beneficial.
- Eat pungent herbs like garlic, horseradish because it contains a chemical that moves mucus and makes it less sticky.
- Garlic, Onions, Horseradish, Hot Pepper and Ginger added to any soup broth will open the sinuses.
- Steep fresh basil in cupful of water and drink it to alleviate the stuffiness caused by inflamed membranes.
- Pungent oils such as thymol and camphor help open clogged passages.
- Tilt your head back and place a tsp of onion juice in each nostril. Repeat when needed.
- Grate fresh lotus root, mix it with grated ginger and unbleached white flour. Apply the mixture directly to the skin. You can leave this for several hours or overnight. Repeat for a week or more till you get relief. This is mixture is quite effective dispersing and moving stagnated mucus. There could be watery discharge from the eyes or nose.
Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.
More articles from the Medicines and Remedies Category | <urn:uuid:7ed74e45-659e-4cf2-bf23-dce224e59042> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/articles/136/medicines-and-remedies/home-remedies-for-sinuses.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280504.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00138-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928889 | 1,303 | 2.484375 | 2 |
Dr. Tom Linares
Communication Disorders & Special Education
Chairing the Department
Our faculty are very close to their students and really practice an open-door policy. Because both programs lead to professional careers, it requires a lot of hands-on training. While we might have fifty students in a class that is primarily lecture, during practicum the faculty-to-student ratio may be one to three or one to four--so they get to know faculty very well.
Both of our programs are nationally known and respected. We maintain the caliber of these programs by focusing on student learning first. In addition, the national level of competency is very high in both areas, so we expect our students to meet that criteria. In fact, they won’t graduate unless they do. That’s why we invest so much effort and time in students. They’re advised from the day they
get on campus. And they’re 100-percent employed | <urn:uuid:37248876-5767-4e12-a8d6-3be5637dbebc> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.minotstateu.edu/profiles/profile_027.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281419.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00490-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96907 | 199 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Courtesy Sherrie Levine, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York, and Galerie Priska Pasquer, cologne.
Terry Jones himself spent 30 years in cologne, as a missionary and church leader.
A "recycled" sofa by the artist-designer Florian Borkenhagen, who shows with Gabrielle Ammann gallery in cologne.
Like other members of Dove Outreach, Luke comes from cologne.
Jones helped found the Christian Community of cologne in Germany in the 1981, but was tossed from his post at the church in 2008.
In doing so the clever native of cologne never failed to draw brilliant pictures of the splendour of the imperial court.
Her husband had been in the employ of the cologne Golf Club.
It's about a tower made of cologne bottles, with a cupola of lovely glass arches, built on the white sand by the blue sea.
Behind the high altar is the shrine of the Three Kings of cologne.
See, among others, the cologne Gazette of the 22d February, 1863.
1814, Cologne water, loan-translation of French eau de Cologne, literally "water from Cologne," from the city in Germany (German Köln, from Latin Colonia Agrippina) where it was made, first by Italian chemist Johann Maria Farina, who had settled there in 1709. | <urn:uuid:002f6689-8e80-4ee2-b65a-b3950b66463f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.dictionary.com/browse/cologne | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284411.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00464-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942973 | 287 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Posted by amanda on Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 9:51pm.
Salut! I am stuck with a homework question.
Directions: Put each phrase in logical order. Use passe compose when necessary.
I think it would be:
Ne perdu pas votre argent.
Or should I not use passe compose?
- french - SraJMcGin, Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 9:58pm
This looks like a command = Don't lose your money.
Ne perdez pas votre argent.
IF you want the passé composé = you did not lose your money.
Vous n'avez pas perdu votre argent.
Sra (aka Mme)
- french - amanda, Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 10:04pm
Merci! Can you correct these for me too?
1.Hier, Paul a perdu son portefeuille au centre commercial.
2.Quand notre pere travaille, nous repondons au telephone.
3.Mes parents ont vendu leur voiture bleu la derniere semaine.
4.Michel a vendu des bonbons pour gagner de l'argent.
Merci! Vous etes tres gentille!
- french - SraJMcGin, Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 11:37pm
Don't forget the necessary accents,
pere = père & répondons téléphone
voiture bleue & dernière
If you need the chart on how to make accents with a PC, let me know.
Sra (aka Mme)
- french - amanda, Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 11:40pm
i copied and pasted all the accents onto word, so i just use that, but whenever i try to do that on here, it says i can't post websites on here, but i know where to put them.
Answer This Question
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"I will hold Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." - Charles Dickens.
Visit my friend:
The Easter Bunny
Birthday Celebrations Net
The most exciting moment at the Christmas dinner is finding out who the lucky person is whose portion of the pudding contains the coin. Children treasure this custom even if the coin is of no value.
The coin in the pudding is attributed to the festivities held in the last days of the Christmas period, Twelfth Night. This is done in memory of the three kings who are said to have arrived in Bethlehem, a mock 'king' would be chosen for the day only.
There were several names given for this day also such as the 'King of Misrule' where everyhting was reversed made topsy turvy, another name for this "king for a day" was "King of the Bean", which was based on the method by which he or she is chosen.
A bean was mixed into the cake and baked for the occasion. When the cake was broken up and its pieces distributed among the company, whoever found the hidden bean was supposed to be crowned the 'King of the Bean'. This ancient ritual may be the origin of the modern coin in the pudding.
Another ritual was that belonging to the pagan celebration of Saturnalia where the person who found the coin was killed.
Mens.Net | Womens.Net | Mothers.Net | Fathers.Net | Grandparents.Net | Teenagers.Net | Santas.Net | EasterBunnys.Net | JackOLanterns.Net | FatherTimes.Net | StValentines.Net HarvestFestivals.Net | BirthdayCelebrations.Net | ToothFairys.Net | <urn:uuid:d50cedfc-c9bd-4359-8f5a-6f9b3105ac36> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://santas.net/thecoininthepudding.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282140.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00127-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957987 | 356 | 2.203125 | 2 |
This paper focuses on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper—National Strategy for Development and Integration (PRSP–NSDI) for Albania. The paper provides an overview of the key challenges facing the country. It presents a brief statement of the national vision, identifies the strategic priorities, and articulates the strategic goals to be achieved. The paper also summarizes the key points of each of the underlying strategies by strategic priority, and discusses the main changes in the distribution of resources across broad sectors that will be needed in the period 2007–13.
This paper examines the Progress Report for Albania’s National Strategy for Socio-Economic Development (NSSED). 2002 was the first year of implementing the NSSED. The implementation process has been oriented toward achieving the annual objectives and in accordance with the program of public priority measures for 2002–04. The experience gained in NSSED implementation, the definition and improvements to objectives and medium-term NSSED measures, the Millennium Development Goals, and Albania’s European integration objectives have all contributed to further improvements of the vision and medium and long-term NSSED objectives.
International Monetary Fund. Secretary's Department
The speeches made by officials attending the IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings are published in this volume, along with the press communiqués issued by the International Monetary and Financial Committee and the Development Committee at the conclusion of the meetings. | <urn:uuid:ae962b73-c3fb-4991-a9ba-49faedf1966a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://0-www-elibrary-imf-org.library.svsu.edu/subject/AL?pageSize=10&sort=datedescending&t=GE105&type_0=book&type_1=journalissue | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573667.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819100644-20220819130644-00075.warc.gz | en | 0.901208 | 282 | 1.992188 | 2 |
Helping children displaced by fighting in Pakistan rebuild their lives
By Antonia Paradela
Katcha Garhi camp, Peshawar. October 2008. The face of 16 year old Khair Ullah Khulozai grows sombre when he describes the circumstances that forced him to become the head of his family, as he sits on the floor of his tent surrounded by his younger sisters and brothers in a dusty camp for displaced people in Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in Pakistan.
'We walked for seven hours with our mother and other people from our village until we managed to hire a pick up and come to Peshawar', said Khair.
The five children, three boys and two girls, had to flee their home with their mother in mid September, during the holy month of Ramadan. "Planes were bombarding our village; we thought the walls of our house were going to collapse. We ran away in the middle of the night. My father accompanied us across a mountain and then he headed back to look after our cattle and home for fear of looting. We walked for seven hours with our mother and other people from our village until we managed to hire a pick up and come to Peshawar".
This lanky boy comes from Bajaur, one of Pakistan's seven tribal areas, on the border with Afghanistan's Kunar province. Armed conflict there involving government forces and militant groups including the Pakistani Taliban forced the displacement of more than 200,000 civilians, according to official sources, between August and October 2008. Figures have been fluctuating as some families have been able to return to their villages while others have been forced to leave. Thousands of families also been displaced in other tribal areas and in the district of Swat in NWFP due to fighting in recent months. In October 2008, an estimated 168,000 people from Bajaur were living in camps or with their extended families in Pakistan. Surveys in three camps, including Katcha Garhi, indicated that 66 per cent of those displaced were children.
Life has been difficult for Khair Ullah and his younger siblings since hostilities started in their village in June. For two months the children endured aerial bombardments during the day and exchange of fire at night as villagers tried to repel the Taliban presence. For Khair Ullah's youngest sister, five year old Ajmina, the constant pounding of bombs was terrifying. "I would cry and run to hide behind the maize bags", she says.
Before the fighting started, things were much easier, remembers Khair Ullah: "We had our own house, land where we cultivated wheat and maize, cows and goats. My father also used to work as a construction worker on daily wages. We had a good life". The boy left school after the fourth grade to help his family work in the land. His second brother was attending the local government school until the Taliban closed it. His sisters never had the chance to go to school as there was no girls' school in their village.
Now he is in charge of his siblings in an unfamiliar city. His mother went back to their village to help the father look after the family property the previous day, a day after they were moved to Katcha Garhi from another crowded camp. Sikander Shah, a field monitor working for UNICEF's child protection implementing partner STEP in the camp, identified them and checks in with them daily. "We are making sure that the children receive assistance as well as emergency supplies and that they are protected from abuse or exploitation", he says. He knows that relatives of the children living in nearby tents are also keeping an eye on them until their mother returns in the coming days.
While working to meet the urgent needs of children and families displaced by conflict, UNICEF has been linking up vulnerable groups such as separated, unaccompanied and orphaned children as well as households headed by women with relief supplies and services. The organisation has also provided clean drinking water and provided latrines in the camps. It has taken part in immunisation campaigns against measles and polio to prevent the outbreak of preventable diseases, and it has provided nutrition services to malnourished children and pregnant and lactating women.
UNICEF has also set up child friendly spaces and supplied educational materials and rebuilt schools for displaced children.
"Assisting the displaced families has been particularly challenging, as the situation evolves rapidly and it is likely to remain unpredictable in the coming months", says the UNICEF Pakistan deputy representative, Luc Chauvin. "The influx of people has been constant and while some families have been able to go back to their villages, new families have been coming to the camps almost every day", he adds.
Khair Ullah says he is anxiously waiting for an end of hostilities in his village. "We want to go back. We are very sad. We are proud and independent people. Now we have to ask for everything". One day, however, he hopes things will change and he can return home in peace. "I would like to open a shop in my village," he says. "I want to live there for the rest of my life". | <urn:uuid:383e9022-4d46-4479-9985-947221dd0362> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.unicef.org/pakistan/reallives_4731.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279224.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00486-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986353 | 1,055 | 2.421875 | 2 |
TROY, N.Y., April 29, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Augmented Reality, Microsoft Kinect, mobile apps, and so-called "serious games" are all part of GameFest 2011, to be held May 6-7 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The annual festival, now in its eighth year, is larger than ever, drawing on three collegiate game design programs, an exhibition of more than 30 student games, and appearances by industry leaders including Brian Reynolds, chief game designer at Zynga, developer of FarmVille and FrontierVille.
"GameFest is a showcase of creativity in games and electronic media - a public event to talk about how games and simulation are evolving," said Ben Chang, associate professor of arts and co-director of the Games and Simulation Arts and Science (GSAS) program at Rensselaer. "It features games of all kinds including ones that stretch the boundaries of what we think games are."
Both the games expo, and the symposium to follow, go beyond conventional video games to include the technology and uses that are broadening the field of games and simulation, and opening opportunities for students, said Lee Sheldon, associate professor of language, literature, and communication and co-director of GSAS.
"One of the things that we like to do with GameFest is show that all games don't have to be guys in metal suits with big guns," Sheldon said. "In fact, thanks to the iPhone and Facebook, the days of expensive AAA titles are pretty much over as the dominant form of game. Our students are making games that can reach an audience and make money outside that narrow form."
GameFest is hosted by the GSAS program at Rensselaer. The GSAS program was launched in the fall of 2007 to provide comprehensive understanding of interactive digital media, a balance of disciplinary competencies, and the mastery of a self-defined set of interrelated disciplinary challenges at the nation's oldest technical institute. GSAS has been named among the top 15 out of 150 undergraduate game design programs in the United States and Canada, according to a new survey from the Princeton Review. The program will graduate its first full class in May 2011.
GameFest Expands in 2011
GameFest 2011 is sponsored by Vicarious Visions, Zynga, Champlain College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, as well as 1st Playable Productions and Agora Games. The festival is divided into two days, with an expo of student-designed games on Friday, May 6, and speakers and panels on Saturday, May 7.
Sheldon said the theme of GameFest 2011 - "Transitions" - speaks to the transition of students as GSAS graduates its first full class, and the transition of a festival that is expanding its reach.
"Up until now it has been an RPI-centric event. This year we are expanding: we're welcoming other schools in the region. For the first time, GameFest will also include Champlain College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. And we're expanding participation of commercial and serious game companies from startups like Deadman Productions to giants like Zynga," said Sheldon.
Student Game Demonstration and Competition
The games expo will be held on Friday, May 6, from 5 to 9 p.m. in the Alumni Sports and Recreation Center on the Rensselaer campus.
As part of the expo, 20 games will compete for cash prizes in an exhibition juried by Vicarious Visions, an Albany, N.Y., company founded by brothers Karthik Bala, RPI '97, and Guha Bala.
The competitors include:
- Feast, a mobile-phone based augmented reality game for the Android Operating System
- Dream Catcher and Rail Brawler - two games for the Microsoft Kinect system
- A Night in Twistwyck Manor, now available at UnPossible Games
- Yamada Box Legend, which explores a universe on the nanoscale
- And Tic, a game poised for release on the XBox Live Indie Marketplace
In Tic, designed by Rensselaer student Julian Volyn, gamers take the role of an industrial robot (a "unicycling, wall-drilling, helicoptering" robot at that, according to Chang) on a valiant quest to save its kind from the plans of Evilcorp. The game's intricate graphics draw users through a fantasy landscape of swirling shapes and marvelous creatures.
Feast, designed by Rensselaer students Yuting Lian, Nick Coppola, Chris DiPastina, and Paul DiPastina, is mobile phone-based for the Android Operating System that employs augmented reality, a new horizon in gaming that combines the physical world with the virtual world. The game is layered onto video captured through the phone's on-board camera.
"The way this game works, you have objects and images on a table top that when seen through your phone are transformed into the game world," said Chang. "It's a whole new area in games."
Marc deStefano, a clinical assistant professor of cognitive science at Rensselaer, said he was pleased to see Dream Catcher and Rail Brawler, two student-designed games building on the Microsoft Kinect platform.
"It's a new and exciting computer interface, and it could change the way we interact with machines in general," said deStefano. "It's only been out for a few months, so I considered it notable that we have two entries this year that use it."
A Night in Twistwyck Manor, designed by Rensselaer students Sheila Porter, Josh Elliot, Jesse Natalie, Kevin Todisco, and Erin McQuade, revolves around a boy who is dared to spend the night in a haunted house.
"It's a very creepy game that does some really fascinating things that mess with your sense of space and reality. It's a terrific puzzle-solving game," said Chang.
Yamada Box Legend, designed by Rensselaer students Thomas Astle, Justin Burdick, Ben Esposito, Yuliy Vigdorchik, Russell Honor, and Allie Johnston, takes users through the concentric worlds inside a nesting series of magical cardboard boxes.
"It explores the idea that what you do at the microscopic level, and in one of these nanoscale worlds, can have huge effects on the macro world," Chang said.
GameFest will present a series of speakers and panel discussions on Saturday, May 7, with sessions running from 9:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., in the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS).
Brian Reynolds will give the keynote address from 10 to 11 a.m. in the CBIS Auditorium. Reynolds is the chief game designer at the world's most successful mobile and social media game company, Zynga, developer of FarmVille, Mafia Wars, and FrontierVille.
Reynolds will discuss the fastest growing segments of the video game industry. Research firm Gartner expects global revenue from mobile gaming, the segment that includes games for smart phones, to rise 19 percent to more than $5.6 billion in sales this year, while it is forecast to grow to $11.4 billion in 2014.
Following the keynote address, four panels will take up the theme of "Transitions" with discussions on commercial games, serious games, entrepreneurship, and graduate schools.
Joining representatives of the sponsors at GameFest will be participants from Breakthrough, a human rights organization that uses the power of media, pop culture, and community mobilization to inspire people to take bold action for dignity, equality, and justice. Breakthrough recently launched a new alternate reality Facebook game, America 2049, that explores questions of democracy and human rights.
For more information on GameFest, including the schedule of events and registration for the symposium, visit the GameFest page on the GSAS website.
This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise™. For more information, visit http://www.newswise.com.
SOURCE Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) | <urn:uuid:2b144f0f-2153-43ac-bd99-ee71d44552db> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gamefest-2011-at-rensselaer-expands-the-boundaries-of-games-and-simulation-120955569.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570741.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808001418-20220808031418-00079.warc.gz | en | 0.947089 | 1,704 | 1.5 | 2 |
20 Toe Touches
Perform this set ten times for a total of 200 Toe Touches and 200 Cat-Camels!
For the Toe Touches:
1. Lie down on your back with your legs and arms lifted off the ground, straight into the air so that your legs are directly above your hips and your arms are outstretched towards your toes.
2. Raise your shoulders off the ground slightly, keeping your lower back pressed against the floor, while you curl upwards (using your abdominal muscles) to try to touch your toes with your finger tips. Use your abs to slowly contract and reverse the position. This is one rep.
TIP: Stare at your feet or the ceiling the entire time so as not to put strain on the neck.
For the Cat-Camels:
1. Kneel on all fours on a mat. Look upwards and keep your abs tight and your back straight.
2. Lift your face towards the ceiling so that your back curls, creating a dip as your torso reaches for the ceiling and your belly reaches for the floor.
3. Arch your back, curling your head under to look down at the floor. This is one rep.
TIP: Use your back muscles to perform this movement and do it in a slow, controlled fashion so as not to hurt your back with quick, jarring movements. | <urn:uuid:ff7b4bab-995c-4973-a5ae-fa54311a522e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://livingintherealworld.net/day-19-of-the-200-reps-challenge/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572089.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814234405-20220815024405-00075.warc.gz | en | 0.930049 | 290 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Free Study Guide for The Lord of the Rings J. R. R. Tolkien
Previous Page | Table
SYMBOLISM / MOTIFS / IMAGERY / SYMBOLS
The imagery of light and dark has been very well used to stand for good and evil
respectively. Gandalf the White stands for good, as does Galadriel who gives Frodo
the Phial to show him light in dark places. The Black Riders stand for evil and
all of Mordor is covered with a shadowy blackness. Every time a Nazgul passes
overhead, the sun or moon is completely blocked out. Evil creatures live in dark
places; Shelob, for example, lives in a pitch-black cave called Cirith Ungol.
Tolkien has used the images of light and dark to portray good and evil.
White stands for the forces of good whereas black stands for evil. Gandalf the
white stands for the forces of good. His staff issues for lightening. Galadriel
gives Frodo a Phial that lights up places that are dark. The coming of dawn always
brings hope and gladness to the heart of the dwellers of Middle-earth. Night always
brings fear and evil. The dark is symbolic of the power of Sauron. He commands
a thick cloud to cover Mordor for his own protection. His power is greatest under
cover of darkness. Even Gollum hates the light of day and craves the anonymity
Tolkien has used this image very effectively, borrowing from
manís natural fear of night and the unknown.
STUDY QUESTIONS - BOOK
1. Is there a true Lord of the Rings? Explain your answer
with specific details from the text.
2. Compare Middle-earth to Earth.
Be sure to include politics and religion in your comparison, as well as social
issues like racism and war.
3. What is the thematic importance of the
Ring? Of the Eye?
4. What does power do to those who wield it? List some
characters who appear to be immune to the corrupting influence of power.
5. Discuss responsibility and the concept of the "greater good"
in The Lord of the Rings.
6. Explain the significance of the "changing
of the guard" that takes place at the beginning of the novel between Bilbo
and Frodo. Relate this to the similar scene at the end of the novel between Frodo
7. Compare Denethor (father of Boromir and Faramir) to Aragorn.
How do they differ as leaders?
8. Compare the relationship between Gandalf
and Sarumon to the one between Frodo and Bilbo. (i.e., both are mentor relationships)
9. Discuss the symbolism of light and dark in The Lord of the Rings.
10. How does Sam change as the story progresses?
does Frodo change?
12. Compare the characters of Aragorn, Gandalf and
Sauron as leaders of their people.
13. Lady Galadriel and Tom Bombadil
are purely benevolent characters. Discuss the roles they play in Frodoís adventure.
14. Boromir is redeemed by a last-minute repentance. Denethor, his father,
dies in the shame of his own corruption. Where does Faramir fit into this scheme?
15. Make a list of the following three groups of characters: Good Characters,
Conflicted Characters, Evil Characters.
16. Which characters from the
above lists are the most compelling? Why?
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Lord of the Rings Study Guide - Free BookNotes Plot Summary | <urn:uuid:71a16341-2508-4cda-88db-e29173e51ccd> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://thebestnotes.com/booknotes/Lord_Of_The_Rings_Tolkien/Lord_Of_The_Rings30.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721405.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00313-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905033 | 812 | 2.890625 | 3 |
The Health Benefits of Surya Namaskar
Salutations to the Sun God Surya
If you're looking for a simple, enjoyable way to start your day that provides a diverse range of health benefits, consider practicing Surya Namaskar. Surya Namaskar is a special sequence of yoga postures and chants that together comprise the traditional Sun Salutation.
Surya Namaskar has its origins in Hindu worship of the solar deity, and it has been practiced in India for thousands of years. There are twelve poses in the Surya Namaskar series, and a full round consists of performing two sets of this series. During the second set, practitioners move the opposite leg from the one involved in movement during the first set.
Whether you regularly practice yoga or not, you can enjoy the health benefits. Performed correctly, it is a completely safe set of yoga poses that will not cause strain or injury. You will experience health benefits by practicing the Sun Salutation just once daily, but you can also practice the series of poses as often as you like morning, noon or night.
Once you become familiar with Surya Namaskar and how wonderful it makes you feel, you will probably find yourself drawn to performing it multiple times throughout the day, including just before bedtime. When practiced in the morning, it relieves stiffness, energizes the body and refreshes the mind. During the day, it is a rejuvenating alternative to caffeine, and at night, it can help you relax and get a good night's sleep.
Surya Namaskar provides all of the key health benefits of yoga in a very succinct package. It is a holistic exercise that provides physical health benefits, but also mental or emotional as well as spiritual benefits. The obvious advantage is the workout it provides for the muscles, but it also benefits joints, ligaments and the skeletal system by improving posture, flexibility and balance.
In addition to these physical benefits, this practice stimulates and conditions virtually every system in the body. It is good for the heart and stimulates the cardiovascular system. It oxygenates the blood and helps strengthen the heart. Surya Namaskar is good for the digestive system and the nervous system. It stimulates the lymphatic system and supports respiratory system health, as well.
Practicing Surya Namaskar also benefits the endocrine system and enables the various endocrine glands to function properly. These include the thyroid, parathyroid and pituitary glands as well as the adrenal gland, testes and ovaries.
Like most forms of exercise, Surya Namaskar provides mental benefits to regular practitioners. You will feel wonderful after performing the Sun Salutation. It is relaxing and rejuvenating, and tension, stress and anxiety melt away.
Surya Namaskar is an excellent alternative to caffeine and other stimulants. If you suffer from insomnia or sleep disturbances, you will find it aids in helping you fall asleep without the need for depressants.
With regular practice, it is an excellent way to manage stress and alleviate depression. You will expend a tremendous amount of energy as you move through the two sets of poses. Surya Namaskar teaches you to concentrate, and learning to achieve the poses is incredibly gratifying.
Poses & Positions : A Complete Demonstration
12 Positions of Surya Namaskar, Sun Salutations
Specific Health Benefits
In addition to the general health benefits, each of the yoga poses in the series provides specific health benefits:
- Pose 1 (and 12): Promotes balance, stimulates the respiratory system, exercises shoulder, back and neck muscles
- Pose 2 (and 11): Promotes balance, promotes digestion, exercises arms and shoulder muscles, tones the spine, promotes flexibility in back and hips
- Pose 3 (and 10): Promotes blood circulation, tones abdominal tracts, stretches back and leg muscles, stimulates spinal nerves, stimulates lymphatic system
- Pose 4 (and 9): Exercises spine, strengthens hand and wrist muscles
- Pose 5 (and 8): Stimulates blood circulation, strengthens the heart, strengthens wrist and arm muscles, relieves neck and shoulder tension
- Pose 6: Strengthens leg and arm muscles, increases flexibility in neck and shoulders, stretches arms, shoulder, neck and back muscles, exercises back muscles, releases tension in neck and shoulder
- Pose 7: Stimulates circulation to abdominal organs, tones digestive tract, stretches upper and lower body, promotes flexibility in the back, stimulates nerves in spine
Poses 8 through 12 are essentially repetitions of poses 5 through 1, respectively. The health benefits of each are similar to their corresponding poses.
Surya Namaskar is an exercise in itself, but it is also sometimes used as a warm up for other, more strenuous workouts. You can also perform Surya Namaskar at the end of other exercise routines as a way to relax and wind down. One of the best things is how flexible and versatile a form of exercise it is for individuals at all fitness levels.
Surya Namaskar will provide health benefits for individuals regardless of their level of interest in its spiritual benefits or their religious beliefs. Whether you consider it of spiritual benefit or not, learning the poses and practicing them regularly is incredibly gratifying and humbling.
Over time, Surya Namaskar will help you achieve a sense of well-being and purpose. It is a spiritually uplifting exercise and promotes a keen awareness of the interconnectedness of your body, mind and breath. | <urn:uuid:918f9428-1aa0-4581-a9b4-c7f147fcf285> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://caloriebee.com/workout-routines/benefits-of-surya-namaskar | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280872.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00311-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932671 | 1,139 | 2.15625 | 2 |
NEW YORK – Chuck Close, a painter, photographer and printmaker best known for his monumental grid portraits and photo-based paintings of family and famous friends, has died. He was 81.
His attorney, John Silberman, said Close died Thursday at a hospital in Oceanside, New York. He did not give a cause of death.
Close, whose professional highlights include a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1973, was known for using a grid structure for the representation of an image in nearly all of his works, which he said helped him break the face down into “incremental units.”
Time consuming and labor intensive, he produced a plethora of paintings that dissect the human face of such luminaries as President Bill Clinton, composer Philip Glass and the artist himself.
His works have been displayed in museums, galleries and even the New York City subway.
In 2017, Close faced accusations of sexual harassment from some women who said he made inappropriate sexual comments when they had gone to his studio to potentially be models for him in prior years.
He told The New York Times that he had spoken to the women about their bodies as part of evaluating them as models, and apologized for causing any discomfort.
Close, who had been diagnosed with dementia-related conditions in 2013, also had serious mobility issues after suffering a spinal artery collapse in 1988, requiring him to use a wheelchair.
In Close’s work, the “pixilated” images “are filled with tiny abstract colored shapes, individual brushstrokes or even the artist’s fingerprints. When viewed from a distance, the individual marks miraculously resolve into a surprisingly realistic face,” the Akron Art Museum in Ohio said in describing Close’s paintings and prints for an exhibition titled “Familiar Faces: Chuck Close in Ohio Collections.”
Born in Monroe, Wisconsin, Close graduated from the University of Washington, Seattle, and received a MFA from Yale University.
He was married twice, both of which ended in divorce, and is survived by two daughters. | <urn:uuid:683fd365-5bef-408d-bff9-40a609f1b962> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.click2houston.com/entertainment/2021/08/19/chuck-close-artist-of-monumental-grids-dies-at-81/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573623.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819035957-20220819065957-00673.warc.gz | en | 0.982653 | 428 | 1.859375 | 2 |
HMS Victory has been sitting in a dry dock in Portsmouth since 1922 supported by 22 steel cradles positioned six metres apart. It has been well documented that the 252-year-old ship is creeping under her own weight and following a detailed laser scan of 89.25 billion measurements and computer modelling, a new support system has been designed to mimic how the ship would sit in water.
Rather than the existing steel “blades” which are placing considerable strain on the hull structure, these will be replaced by 134 15-foot adjustable steel props fitted over two levels. This will completely revolutionise the support system and share the ship’s 2000 tonnes load between them. Each prop is telescopic and features a cell monitoring the load around the clock and which is easily adjusted.
Andrew Baines, Project Director at The National Museum of the Royal Navy, which now owns and operates the ship said “Over the last 40 years, all the outer planking of the ship has been replaced. The outer planks held the hull in place but, like a corset, with its strings loosened, the hull is now moving and bulging.
“The hull is moving at a rate of 0.5cm each year, so 20 centimetres over the last 40 years. This is untenable and must be remedied before irreversible damage is done.
“The new support system will cradle the ship much like she would be in water. The existing cradles will be removed in stages across the project’s duration and visitors will start to notice a real change in the look of the dry dock.”
Professor Dominic Tweddle, Director General of The National Museum of the Royal Navy said “Victory is possibly the most famous ship in the world. She remains a commissioned ship and the flagship of the First Sea Lord. The dry dock, in which she sits, is also the oldest in the world, and this is the first time something like this has ever been done on a historic ship. So we have been really tested with this scheme. Our priority though is to stop the ship from moving, get her into a stable condition and then take the necessary steps to ensure the hull is here for another 250 years.”
The National Museum awarded the £3 million project to BAE Systems. The work to conserve HMS Victory began in 2011, which included removing the masts and yards before work to prevent water ingress and reduce rot, repainting of the ship’s hull and refurbishing Hardy’s Cabin and the Great Cabin. A new walkway for visitors was also installed enabling access to more of the ship, along with a new fire detection and fire suppression system.
The ship, which has welcomed over 30 million visitors since it opened in 1928, will remain open in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
Watch our video: | <urn:uuid:129bc8ec-c22d-4ace-a10b-7e3265efa045> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://cms.historicdockyard.co.uk/hms-victory-support | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573029.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817153027-20220817183027-00273.warc.gz | en | 0.9653 | 586 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Many of you have asked us about how we plan and prepare in Azure so that you can learn from our best practices as well as have the peace of mind that your applications, and data, are safe and available in Azure. Today we are pleased to announce that Microsoft Azure has achieved ISO 22301 certification. Microsoft is the first hyper-scale cloud provider to achieve this important certification that ensures your Azure applications are backed by the highest standard for business continuity and disaster preparedness.
For years, we’ve heard from organizations about the importance of disaster preparedness and continuous improvement in their operations to ensure their IT systems can survive, and be restored, in the aftermath of major incidents (such as natural disasters, power outages, or cyber-attacks). As of today, we are the only major cloud provider to prove our commitment of being fully prepared for all eventualities through this internationally recognized standard for business continuity, ISO 22301. Our ISO 22301 certification is applicable across both our Azure public and Azure Government clouds.
What does Azure achieving ISO 22301 provide? It gives you the assurance that you can trust Microsoft Azure with your mission critical applications by providing an extensive independent 3rd party audit of all aspects of Azure’s business continuity. This includes the following:
- how backups are validated
- how recovery is tested
- the competency/training of critical staff
- the level of resources available
- buy-in by senior management
- how risks are assessed/mitigated
- adherence to legal/regularly requirements
- the process for response to incidents
- the process for learning from incidents
Being prepared for whatever happens is not easy, but it’s something that we in Azure take seriously. We test at all levels of our infrastructure to ensure that every day we are working to improve the cloud experience for you. We do tests as small as fault injections at the individual service layer, all the way up to entire region fail-over tests. We’ve been doing these tests for years and this work has helped us continuously improve the Azure infrastructure and services you use every day. ISO 22301 reviews and validates that we are selecting the right tests of our cloud services, that we’ve created programs to continuously run those tests, and that we implement improvements based on those test results.
Achieving the ISO 22301 certification demonstrates the seriousness of our commitment to providing you the highest quality of service, and our achievement of this rigorous third party attestation is part of our promise to provide you the most robust infrastructure possible for deploying your applications in the cloud. To learn more about Microsoft Azure’s ISO 22301 certification and download a copy of the certification, please visit https://aka.ms/iso22301cert. | <urn:uuid:f1d67fdc-170a-4b8f-8aea-46c87a2c10cf> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://azure.microsoft.com/pt-pt/blog/iso22301/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281746.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00290-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94603 | 559 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Designed for dogs and cats but can still be used to measure other small & large animals like sheep or horse, etc. For S.G. measurement, Dog Scale is used for large animals & Cat Scale for small pets
Renal failure depends on many parameters including urine S.G. When tubules (filter out toxins & metabolites from blood) are damaged water conservation is less efficient. SG measures concentrating ability of kidney tubules. It's the ratio of the weight of urine to the weight of an equal volume of water, meaning Urine S.G. measurement (SpG) indicates how concentrated urine compared to distilled water (SpG=1.00).
With this refractometer, you can:
* Measure urine S.G. and Blood Serum Protein instantly
* Do a quick & affordable way to measure S.G. for all vet. practices w/out need for further high-cost laboratory analysis
* Measure w/ confidence
Just a few drops on the testing prism, cover, look and read the result!
COMMON FEATURES ON OUR REFRACTOMETERS:
• Auto Temperature Compensation (ATC) 10~30°C, increase accuracy & eliminates concerns on temperature
• Easy to use and calibrate
• Cushioned with soft & comfortable non-slip rubberized grip, insulate test solution from body heat
• Adjustable focus and clearly defined scale, with large easy-to-read measurements
• Approved by strict quality & safety standards
•MEASURING RANGE: Dog and Cat Urine specific gravity: 1.000 - 1.060SG ; Serum Protein: 2-14g/dl
•DIVISION: Dog and Cat: 0.001SG ; Serum Protein: 0.1g/dl
•Reads specific gravity (SG) over a wider range, giving veterinarians quick and accurate indication of vital fluids levels.
•LIGHTWEIGHT, made with the highest and finest quality of ALUMINUM & rubber
•Features automatic temperature compensation (ATC) and comes with Portable USB LED Light
• Urine specific gravity (Dog and Cat): 1.000 - 1.060SG
• Serum Protein: 2-14g/dl
• Urine specific gravity (Dog and Cat): 0.001SG
• Serum Protein: 0.1g/dl
Reference Temp: 20°C
Item Length :20.5cm
Item Weight: 143 g
Shipping size: 21 x 9 x 6 (cm)
1 x Traditional Clinical Refractometer
1 x English Instruction manual
1 x Mini screwdriver
1 x Cleaning Cloth
2 x Pipettes
1 x Portable USB LED Light (Power Bank not included)
1 x Pouch
You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).
You should expect to receive your refund in the same payment form used at the time of purchase within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper, the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it, and the time it takes for the refund to be credited to your account.
We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.
When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.
Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.
For more information, please refer to our Shipping Policy.
Most of our items come with 1 year warranty for manufacturer defects. It does not include damage caused by misuse, accidents, abuse, alterations, neglect or other external causes.
The warranty will not extend to consumables (i.e. electrodes, calibration solution, battery, index oil), accessories, cable, compact disk and/or any written document bundled with the item.
For more information, please refer to our Warranty Policy. | <urn:uuid:9bba5d78-e45f-40c2-872c-a6ea6d032fd2> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.tekcoplus.com/collections/refractometers/products/retk-71 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571150.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810070501-20220810100501-00670.warc.gz | en | 0.884051 | 972 | 1.734375 | 2 |
It is important that you understand your shoulder pain to relate it to the specific disorder, so that the appropriate treatment can be used.
Shoulder pain is a sign pointing to a certain condition. The condition can be a mild one like muscle pain, which can be gotten rid of by self home care measures; or the condition can be a severe one like dislocated shoulder which needs immediate medical attention. If you are experiencing mild pain, then follow some home care measures of resting the affected area and applying ice compress in case you have swelling.
You can also take an over-the-counter painkiller like acetaminophen or ibuprofen, to reduce the pain. However, if you are showing severe pain symptoms or can’t figure out the reason of the pain, then it is important that you consult a doctor to get the appropriate treatment.
Shoulder Pain Disorders & Their Symptoms
Arthritis is the inflammation of one or more joints, which can cause pain symptoms. If you have inflammation of the shoulder joints, then the symptoms are:
- Shoulder joint pain
- Shoulder joint swelling
- Reduced ability to move the shoulder joint
- Stiffness of the joint, especially in the morning time
- Warmth around the joint
- Redness of the skin around the joint
Shoulder strains are a common complain and there are many reasons for it. Your job, lifestyle, age, etc. can contribute to it. When one has shoulder strains they can experience these symptoms.
- Mild strain
- Mild/severe pain
Sometimes while playing sports or during a shoulder exercise, due to poor practices or improper gear people can suffer from sports injuries.
- Mild or intense pain of shoulder
- Shoulder pain with pain of other body areas. For example if you got hit or fell on your shoulder and back then you can experience shoulder and back pain.
- Swelling of the shoulder and other affected area
- Reduced ability to move the arm part
The symptoms of shoulder dislocation depend upon the severity of the dislocation.
- Intense arm and shoulder pain
- A visibly deformed shape which can be seen out of the shoulder
- Inability to move the shoulder joint
Myofascial Pain Syndrome
This condition means muscle pain. It develops due to a muscle injury or due to excessive straining of a particular muscle, ligament or tendon. The symptoms of this condition are:
- Muscle stiffness
- Pain which persists or becomes worse
- Stiffness of joint near the affected muscle
- Deep ache in a muscle
- Difficulty while sleeping due to the pain
- Area of tension in the affected muscle can feel like a knot, and can be sensitive to touch
- If a back and shoulder muscle is sprained it can cause upper back and shoulder pain
- Working in front of a computer for prolonged periods, can cause neck and shoulder pain
Torn Rotator Cuff
The rotator cuff helps to lift and rotate the arm, and provides stability to the ball of the shoulder joint. Here is a list of the symptoms experienced when suffering from this condition:
- Thinning of the muscles about the shoulder
- Pain while lifting the arm
- Crackling sensation while moving the arm in certain positions
- Ache when lowering the arm from a fully raised position
- Weakness while rotating or lifting the arm
Frozen shoulder is also known as adhesive capsulitis, which occurs if a peons had their arm in a sling for several weeks or if you had surgery in which your arm was immobilized and kept in a certain position for a long time. The frozen shoulder symptoms are categorized into three stages.
- During the painful stage, pain will occur while moving your shoulder as the range-of-motion of your shoulder becomes limited.
- During the frozen stage, pain will diminish, however the shoulder will become stiffer and range-of-motion will decrease notably.
- During the thawing stage, the range-of-motion of the affected shoulder begins to improve.
In this condition calcium gets deposited inside the tendons of the rotator cuff. These deposits are common among diabetics and middle aged people. Here are symptoms of this condition.
- Pain in the shoulder
- Mild to moderate pain
- Pain in the side of the arm
- Pain while lifting the arm over the head
- Pain while the injured side is in contact with a surface
This condition can affect anyone, however people with autoimmune diseases and rheumatoid arthritis are more likely to get this condition. This condition causes muscle pain and tender points mostly on neck, back, hips and shoulders. Here are symptoms related to it.
- Muscle stiffness
- Pain that changes location
- Sensitivity to pain
- Burning pain
- Trouble sleeping
When there is a crack, partial or total in the bone then it is called a fracture. There are various types of fractures. Here are the symptoms associated with it.
- Severe pain
- Redness and bruising around the affected area
- Deformation can also occur
- Numbness or tingling sensation
- Inability to move the arm and shoulder
Take some home care measures to get rid of the shoulder pain, in case you are suffering from common sprain or strains condition. However, if you have a serious condition like dislocated shoulder or torn rotator cuff, then seek medical care. It is also important, that you seek medical care if your symptoms do not get better within 3-4 days use of home care measures.
Disclaimer: This HealthHearty article is for informative purposes only, and should not be used as a replacement for expert medical advice. | <urn:uuid:7a4ace96-330b-49de-87cb-31b45a74479d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://healthhearty.com/shoulder-pain-symptoms | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571147.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810040253-20220810070253-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.928473 | 1,241 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Cost savings are just one of the oldest kinds of investments, and are really comparable to financial investments. They entail depositing a section of your profits. There is no danger entailed with saving, but you don’t gain any kind of revenues, and the value of your money continues to be flat. Investment, on the other hand, leverages your money for revenue or return. Right here are some instances of investing. This write-up describes the standard difference in between conserving and also investment and also how to take advantage of both.
The first thing to bear in mind is your time perspective. The longer you plan on holding a particular financial investment, the more you can intensify interest. Investing is not just for the well-off, but any person can begin with a minimum of $1,000. In fact, most mutual funds will permit you to invest as low as $1,000. By enabling yourself to make use of the substance passion of a couple of years, you can make your very first million quickly. gold star self directed ira
Real estate is one more means to spend. Property investment company can give a steady income for their shareholders. Mutual funds and also exchange-traded funds permit financiers to buy many typical financial investments, therefore diversifying their profiles and also reducing threat. Some capitalists also purchase fiat money and cryptocurrencies. You may discover that you have a better understanding of these financial investments than you formerly thought. You ought to constantly seek specialist suggestions before choosing on which financial investment to make.
Stocks are the most typical type of financial investment. By purchasing shares of a firm’s supply, you come to be component proprietor of it and participate in its gains. Some stocks pay dividends, which are regular repayments of the company’s earnings. Nonetheless, there is no guarantee that your financial investment will raise or lower. And also considering that specific companies can fail, a stock financial investment can be a dangerous investment. In addition to supplies, you can invest in assets such as farming items, power items, metals, and rare-earth elements. Although stocks offer a consistent return, there are dangers of loss if a company’s stock exchange chokes up.
Before investing in stocks, you have to recognize the threats and also charges connected with each sort of financial investment. Before making any kind of choices about an investment, consider your objectives, risk tolerance, cash flow requirements, and also tax obligations. Likewise, it is very important to figure out the sort of technique you’ll utilize. After that contrast brokers and investment firms to discover the best alternative for your cash. If you’re uncertain, speak to trusted pals or family members about your plans as well as request for their suggestions.
While supplies aren’t the only kind of investment, they are among one of the most usual kinds of possessions. Financial investment in stocks can be made straight or indirectly, via exchange-traded funds, or via mutual funds. Mutual funds, for example, purchase a variety of various possessions from a large firm to a smaller group of assets. They are the most popular and also most typical forms of investment in the U.S. The dangerous part of spending involves shedding cash in supplies. gold ira company
An additional sort of investment is debt. It includes borrowing money from a business or government to purchase a certain property, such as a stock. The provider will certainly pay the purchaser a fixed rates of interest or stated value of the financial investment at maturation. CDs as well as bonds are both debt financial investments, and also financiers should determine what type is right for their requirements and also take the chance of hungers. When choosing in between financial obligation as well as equity funds, bear in mind to consider the risk-return ratio.
The theory of financial investment is an important part of business economics. Economists have long understood how firms buy order to maximize their revenues. When an economic climate is experiencing an economic downturn, companies deal with uncertainty regarding the future. As a result, they wait to invest, developing wild swings in financial investment. This phenomenon has been studied by economists such as Ricardo Caballero, Eduardo Engel, and also John Haltiwanger. The theories they established have shown beneficial in the research of financial growth.
Financial investment danger is the degree to which an investment can trigger losses compared to the anticipated return. It is an indication of the threat entailed, as well as aids financiers identify whether they can pay for the threats involved in their investments. High risk financial investment items are normally riskier than low-risk investments, which suggests they are riskier as well as have a higher possible return. When choosing an investment option, it is very important to keep in mind your risk resistance and also other monetary objectives.
Energetic investing involves attempting to select champions in the market and buying and selling details possessions. Easy investing involves holding a diversified portfolio and also rebalancing when required. Active investors are usually called traders or day-traders. These people buy and sell numerous times every day. An effective varied portfolio offers lower risk. The trick is to locate an investment technique that fits your risk tolerance and degree of commitment. By incorporating different financial investment methods, you can maximize the overall returns of your financial investments and also protect your money from threat and maintain your profile balanced.
In business economics, financial investment is a term that explains the quantity of cash invested in a task. Investment is the amount of cash spent into the production of a machine that will certainly produce services for many years to find. Financial investment in an economic situation is either independent or offered. The last is one of the most common form of financial investment. The previous entails a company’s own cash. It likewise refers to external financial investment. Both kinds of financial investment work in analyzing economic situations.
Buying supplies requires a lasting commitment, both financial and also psychological. For most Americans, this means a 401(k) or 403(b) account. Individual retirement account accounts are likewise an excellent choice. An employer’s retirement is an additional excellent way to buy stocks. Nevertheless, if you are aiming to spend your very own cash, you should create a method. Choose how much cash you fit running the risk of, and the length of time you desire your investments to expand.
Bonds and also stocks are among the most popular types of investment. A typical share of supply provides you voting legal rights. A participating preferred stock does not provide you voting legal rights yet pays a set reward. A bond is a low-risk investment that permits various other entities to obtain money from you. When the bond has actually matured, the borrower entity will certainly repay you. You can select to buy one or several sorts of bonds based upon the threat profile of your investment. how to convert ira to gold
Buying stocks and also bonds is a long-term endeavor. The best capitalists make their money by investing frequently. A lot of these financial investments can be automated or perhaps pay-roll reductions from their paychecks. By spending consistently, you can accumulate a savings of wide range. There are numerous means to purchase supplies and also bonds and also lots of people choose to automate this procedure with automatic reductions from their bank account. However, the secret is to be disciplined as well as persistent! | <urn:uuid:cfd65512-00cc-47e4-927e-a7590c9fc75c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://hdd-nagano.com/2022/04/19/belows-what-people-are-saying-about-investment/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571246.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811073058-20220811103058-00266.warc.gz | en | 0.966716 | 1,494 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Here comes a brand new, updated edition of this best-selling book for any keen vegetable grower, demonstrating acclaimed gardener, Ed Smith's, unique system for growing high yield organic vegetables at home.
A comprehensive guide to growing your own fruit and vegetables, it is full of practical advice about everything from building raised beds, planning your veg patch to making your own compost.
Learn how to make the most of your garden and grow vegetables to feed your family and friends.
Smith's easy-to-follow techniques will ensure you get maximum yields for less work.
It includes a much expanded plant directory with a focus on specific fruit and vegetables and how to grow them, as well as tips on harvesting and storing techniques.
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 352 pages, 300 colour illustrations
- Publisher: David & Charles
- Publication Date: 25/03/2011
- Category: Gardening: growing fruit & vegetables
- ISBN: 9781446300558 | <urn:uuid:0af89df8-940e-472a-828c-1a4e02aa4d2f> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.speedyhen.com/Product/Edward-C-Smith/The-Vegetable-Gardeners-Bible/6445736 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719041.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00169-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.882783 | 201 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Eternal Matters | STEADY as WE GO
Monday— Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired…for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven (v 1).
Doug kicked a dirt clod and watched the dust settle on his shoe. He stared for a long moment at the deserted football field. Weeds bullied their way through cracks in the bleacher seats where crowds once cheered his name. He shut his eyes and tried to remember the screaming fans, sweat-soaked jerseys, and his name in lights. Now he wasn’t even welcome in his own house. Losing another job was bad enough, but the fifth DUI was too much. Sandy had taken the kids and gone. No one knew when the hometown hero had gone from celebrity to washout, but he did. It happened the day the applause stopped.
We learn before preschool that pleasing people feels good—Mommy’s smile, Daddy’s high-five. We can find the reward of praise so addicting that we never grow past the need for it. Admiration can be so intoxicating that we even structure our spiritual lives around it. Doing good feels good and we might assume that applause we hear is coming from God Himself. But then it stops. When the feel-good wears off, many fall away. That’s why Jesus told us to do our good deeds in secret, to invest in a heavenly IRA. When we stand before Him one day, we get it all! Cashing in our reward for temporary praise is like liquidating an IRA to buy a teletype machine. God has rewards that last forever, but if we cash them in now, that’s all we get. The world’s applause feels good for thirty minutes, but then it’s gone forever. With God’s reward, the applause never stops.
Final Thought: Evaluate your motives for doing good. Is it for the world’s applause or are you listening for Heaven’s?
Prayer: Father, if I’m to remain steady in my loyalty to you, I have to let go of my need for earthly validation. Jesus wasn’t always popular, but He always obeyed you. He was steady. Help me develop steadiness in my obedience. In His name, amen.
Tuesday—Store your treasures in heaven, where moth and rust cannot destroy and thieves do not break in and steal (v 20).
Bret thought he was being smart. He worked hard and saved a lot. He vacationed at Branson instead of Fiji, bought refurbished technology, and drove a Prius not a Lexus. When he built his house, he got the plans from a book and the materials from demolition sites. Then he added an extra room with a state-of-the-art security system for his money because he didn’t trust banks. Two-thirds of every paycheck was converted into twenties and fifties and stacked inside his money room. No one knew about the room until the tornado went through and the sky rained twenties and fifties for an entire afternoon.
No matter how hard we try to be in control of our lives, there are some things no human can control. The best planning and safest security system are still no guarantees that our treasures will be safe. That’s why Jesus told us to stock up on a different kind of treasure. When we focus on packing Heaven’s money room, nothing can get to it. Not cancer. Not economic collapse. Not thieves or ex-spouses. It’s the safest possible place to store treasure that will last forever. We do it by switching savings plans. We turn from placing our security in what we have and placing it in who we are. Jesus promised that every cup of water, every sacrificial dollar, and every act of obedience goes into our money room where nothing can touch it. At the final judgement, Jesus will turn to each blood-bought child of His and say, “Now, let me show you what I’ve been storing for you!”
Final Thought: Where are you storing the most treasure? Is it truly safe?
Prayer: Jesus, I want to take seriously your words about storing up treasure. I’ve put too much emphasis on money and possessions as a means of security. But I can’t control either of them. Help me redirect my focus to your safe room. Amen.
Wednesday— For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (v 21).
Ted slowly backed the trailer onto the slab designed for his new boat. It had taken years of saving and scrimping but at last his dream was home. He smiled at the thought of parties and weekends at the lake. Pastor Ken would surely understand why they weren’t in church anymore. Across the street, Alice was screaming into the phone. Her hairdresser had messed up big time. This was totally the wrong color and that woman should have known it. The whole salon would pay for this! Despite what both Ted and Alice claimed, everyone knew where their treasure was because that’s where their hearts were.
This is where we start feeling uncomfortable. We’ve all got earthly pleasures that delight us and it can be hard to know whether we’ve crossed a line into idolatry. There’s an easy way to tell: Ask yourself who owns it. If it belongs to God, then He can remove this person or thing and your worship wouldn’t change. But if such a thing would cause you to turn away from God, that might be a clue. God delights in giving us treasures on earth, but not at the expense of treasure in heaven. When earthly treasure competes with heavenly treasure in our hearts, we’ve crossed a line that will take us away from God’s plan for us.
Final Thought: We remain steady when we refuse to give anything on earth the power to unseat us.
Prayer: Father, I don’t always know where my heart is, so I invite you to search my treasures and show me the ones I’m keeping off limits from you. That’s the one that will unseat me. I give it to you now and let go. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Thursday— If your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness (v 23).
We live in a visually overstimulated culture. Since the creation of television, technology has raced against itself to provide more and more visual information. Flashing lights, billboards 50 feet high, text notifications, words, images, and colors demand our attention 24/7. Psychological researchers warn us, but we don’t listen. We can’t listen. We’re too busy taking it all in. Children’s attention spans have shriveled while adult anxiety has expanded, due in great part to what our eyes are seeing all the time.
This did not take God by surprise. He already warned us about it thousands of years ago. What we see shapes who we are. Stare at an image for five seconds. Then shut your eyes. You can still see it, can’t you? It stays with you. So if our eyes gaze on evil, it stays with us when we shut off the screen. We take that evil to bed, to work, to church. Once that image is in our heads, it’s ours to keep. It will continue delivering messages behind closed lids. That’s why Jesus told us to guard what comes in through our eyes because it has the power to shape our whole lives. Likewise, we when we direct our eyes to that which is good, honorable, pleasant, and beautiful, our minds are reshaped to fit God’s design. Evil is in the eye of the beholder.
Final Thought: Are you guarding what you allow into your life through your eyes?
Prayer: Father. I have not been the best guardian for my eyes. I’ve allowed them to look at things that direct my life away from you. Guide me as I let you reshape my thinking by refocusing on what I see. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Friday— No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money (v.24).
“Welcome to 21st Century Christianity! In this class, you will learn a refreshing, progressive approach to God, the Bible, and how it relates to you. We’ll dismantle some cliched assumptions from your grandparents’ generation and learn to view the Christian religion from a healthier perspective. You’ll discover that you really can have all this and God too! God is in all of us and he—or she or it—exists to help you find your authentic self. If you want to call it the Christ consciousness, or salvation, or becoming one with the universe, it doesn’t matter. Truth is not “either-or.” It can be “both-and.” Ready to get started?”
You didn’t have to sign up for this course. You’re being force-fed the curriculum day and night and, for the most part, you are unaware that it is happening. The professor behind this study is none other than Satan himself and he has employed a host of assistants to help him get the message across. Some of them might be your favorite TV preachers, your favorite authors, or the podcast that really made you take another look at what your pastor taught you. This “new approach” is actually not new at all, it’s just been glammed up to appear cutting-edge. The few hand-selected verses make it appear that Jesus taught a “both-and” message when in fact, He said the opposite. If you want the Cliff’s Notes, here’s the summary: You can be your own god and also have Jesus as your friend. He’s more like a coach or cheerleader, calling encouragement from the sidelines while you pursue your dreams. Is New and Improved Christianity legit? To find out, read: Luke 9: 23, 14:25-33, and Matthew 10:37-39.
Final Thought: Have you been auditing the 21st Century Christianity course? Drop it now or you’ll be stuck in it for eternity.
Prayer: Lord, have I bought into the new-and-improved version of Christianity because its sounds nicer to me? Am I listening to teachers who were hired by Satan? Take me back to your word for my only textbook. In Jesus’ name, amen. | <urn:uuid:caca0761-33ba-402e-8a7c-2b02501677b3> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://cedarpoint.church/steady-as-we-go-eternal-matters/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572833.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817032054-20220817062054-00474.warc.gz | en | 0.954469 | 2,285 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Titus: Extra ID Needed To Cross US Border
Summer will be here before we know it and many New Yorkers are already making plans to travel outside the United States. Beginning June 1 a change in federal law will require most U.S. citizens to present a valid passport or other approved document to enter the United States at all land and sea border crossings between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean.
If you are planning to travel to any of these destinations by land or sea, an enhanced driver license (EDL) or enhanced non-driver photo ID card (ENDID) will be an acceptable form of identification to enter the U.S. The fee for the enhanced card is $30.00 in addition to any fees required for your driver license or non-driver photo identification card transaction. To calculate the cost of your EDL or ENDID, visit https://harmonia.dmv.state.ny.us/edlcalc/.
You can obtain the new license at any New York State Department of Motor Vehicles office that processes driver license transactions. You must apply in person. You can wait to get an EDL or ENDID when your current license or ID expires, or you may apply for an EDL as part of an early renewal that extends the expiration date of your current license.
All license classes, including commercial and motorcycle, can be converted to an EDL. It can serve as both your driver license and the necessary documentation for the specified land and sea travel. The EDL looks similar to a standard license but contains several features to distinguish it from current New York State documents - it contains an American flag image and has the word "Enhanced" on the front, and contains a machine-readable zone on the back. It also has a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, a requirement of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that can help to expedite traffic and reduce the environmental effects of traffic at border crossings. Border equipment can recognize a RFID tag from as far as 30 feet away.
To apply for an EDL or ENDID, you must provide your Social Security card, proof of identity, proof of U.S. citizenship and New York State residency. A complete list of documentation that can be used as proof can be found at www.nydmv.state.ny.us/edl-faqs.- htm#proof. After you complete your application it will take approximately two weeks to receive your document in the mail, the same amount of time it takes to receive a regular driver license or photo ID card.
Another option for land and sea border travel is the U.S. passport card. The wallet size passport card is convenient and less expensive than the passport book, and cost $45.00 for the first time adult applicant. A new U.S. passport can cost more than $100.00. It is important to note that a U.S. passport card, EDL or ENDID will not take the place of a passport book for international travel by air.
Enhanced driver licenses will help ease long lines at our New York-Canada border crossings, which is a plus for the upstate economy. Currently, more than 468,750 New York State jobs are supported by U.S.-Canada trade. | <urn:uuid:926309a3-3cc5-4806-86dc-69af2c08b1cb> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.rockawave.com/news/2009-02-27/top_stories/050.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280761.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00088-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923114 | 676 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Leaves that can help
by Winyan Staz
For either using them to serve food on like plates or to cook your food in the firepits with or to use in your personnal cleaning needs. You need to learn which leaves are safe to use and how to use them.
Skunk cabbage leaves are great for placemats, food wrapping and serving and for drying things on. They also make a good berry basket or an impromptu rain hat. You can cook with both skunk cabbage and burdock leaves.
To wrap your food, simply slice the thicker part of the center stem down to make the leaf easier to bend etc.. and then simply hold the green leaf for a few seconds over the heat of your campfire. It makes them soft and very flexable.
Thimbleberry, burdock and skunk cabbage leaves also make good wipe when you need it. You can also use the large vine maple leaves for these things. All the larger leaves can be bent into a basket shape and the stems woven into the leaves to held them in place and to make a carrying basket.
If you are drying food, cut some stems of st. john's wort and lay them over the food..it will keep the bugs and flys away. Cedar needles and cedar bark will keep fleas away. If you use them to smudge your debree hut.. it will also chase away all the spiders.
Marigold, mint, st johns wort, garlic and basil are all good ones to use for bug repellant just to name a few of the leaves that can help you survive. | <urn:uuid:12439f1b-a036-4e24-9b25-8986b02ef6f1> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.wilderness-survival-skills.com/leaves-that-can-help.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280587.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00566-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955872 | 336 | 2.046875 | 2 |
IT cover letters are essential for those candidates who want to commence their career in the IT sector. While compiling your IT cover letter, you have to appear keen and focused towards the applied job. Along with your impressive cover letter you have to attach your resume with it. An efficient and impressive cover letter should be written so that, your job recruiter gets the notion about the post or the job you have applied for. In addition, your cover letter also highlights your educational credentials as well as your professional experience in the respective field. Therefore, your cover for IT position must be well-written, as this can decide your fate for getting selected for an interview.
Primary Purpose of an IT Cover Letter: The job recruiters receive a number of cover letters for each post they wish to recruit for. Therefore, the primary purpose of your cover letter is to get noticed by the recruiter and enable your resume to get selected and short-listed for an interview. Basically, your cover letter must be an outstanding device, which can distinguish your application among the thousands of applications. Even try to explain your motive, as to why you are sending this application and resume to the organization. Your cover letter should reflect your confidence, personality and attitude towards your work.
Enthusiasm, patience, hardwork, and additional knowledge of software's these are some skills that must be present in an IT professional. Logic development is another major element. And these skills are well described in the given letters.
Important Tips for your Cover Letter: You have to perform an absolute research about the organization prior to, compiling your cover letter for the applied post. Basically, your cover letter must highlight your educational qualifications, your job experience as well as your technical experience in the respective field. According to the job recruiter, your cover letter is not just an application but, it also reflects your skills, communicative techniques, writing ability and your developmental ideas that would prove an asset to the organization. Hence, your cover letter must be extremely attractive to your employer and prompt the organization to hire you for the applied position. There are certain basic tips regarding the compilation of your cover letter. They are as follows:
- Your cover should have a specific addressee
- Try to mention the purpose of writing this application to the organization
- Mention your current status of employment
- Even mention that your resume is attached with your cover letter
- Try to make an association between your abilities and technical skills
- Explain your interest and ideas that can benefit the organization
- Make an absolute research about the organization and then state your opinion about the company
- Categorize the career you are looking for
- Try to be concise while writing your cover letter
- Signature in your cover letter
- Concluding statement in your cover letter should be simple
Format of your Cover Letter: Your cover letter must be in accordance to the post or according to the organization you have applied for. The cover letter should be compiled according to the standard format. It should highlight your qualifications and your professional abilities and achievements in order, to attract your job employer's attention. There are certain essential conditions that are to be noted while compiling your cover letter. They are as follows:
- Your specific address
- The employer's specific address
- Salutation with a specific name
- Matter or text in your cover letter
- Closing compliment
- Your signature
- Typed name
Outline of your Cover Letter: An efficient and impressive cover letter for IT position must be well-written as per the post you have applied for. Your cover letter must highlight your specific abilities, educational qualifications, work experience as well as your interest for the position you have applied for. Your efficient cover letter can provide a golden opportunity to your resume.
First Paragraph: In the opening paragraph, you have to create a strong impression of yourself and this can be efficiently done by your introduction. Try to mention about yourself, the interested field and why you are keen to join the organization or the company. Even mention your purpose of writing this application to the organization. Briefly, describe the source from where you came to know about the company or about the job opening.
Second Paragraph: In the following paragraph, state your educational qualifications as well as your technical abilities. Describe about your key strengths and explain how they can prove an asset to the future organization. Pick out a strong skill from your resume and discuss in detail about it. Even talk about your work experience and also about your technical skills in the respective field.
Third Paragraph: In the last paragraph, provide them your contact details for further response. Emphasize on personal interview with them and conclude on a positive note.
Here, we provide you certain examples regarding IT cover letters. You can use them and alter them as per your job requirements. | <urn:uuid:1aad5ea1-fcd5-4570-a68c-ff5a1ac9b724> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.resumecoverletterexamples.com/it/it-cover-letters.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279410.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00163-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954145 | 976 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Managing Your Money While in School
Student-Related Tax Credits and Deductions
- American Opportunity Credit: You may be eligible for an income tax credit of up to $2,500 per eligible student for qualified education expenses.
- Lifetime Learning Credit: You may be eligible for a lifetime learning credit of up to $2,000 per eligible student for qualified education expenses.
- Student Loan Interest Deduction: You may be eligible to deduct up to $2,500 in student loan interest from your taxable income.
Tip: You cannot claim American Opportunity Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit for the same student in the same tax year.
Financial Aid Disbursement
If your financial aid award is larger than your school’s costs to cover your tuition and any other on-campus expenses, you are entitled to receive those excess funds directly. You can use this extra money to cover rent, school supplies, and other expenses.
Some colleges work with financial companies to disburse these additional funds to students on debit or prepaid cards that may also function as the students’ ID cards.
Tip: You don't have to receive your excess federal student loan funds on a card. You can choose to receive any additional aid funds via check or other similar means. You can even return excess funds to your lender if you don’t need them to cover your school-related expenses. That means you’ll have less to repay down the road.
Student Bank Accounts
You will probably open a checking or savings account in the city or town where you will be attending school. Make sure that you shop around to find the financial institution that is best suited to your needs.
Tip: Your school cannot require you to bank with any specific financial institution.
The following questions can help you choose a bank account that is right for you:
- How much money do I need to have to open an account?
- How much interest will I earn?
- Does this account include a debit or check card?
- What are the charges for using my debit card at my bank? At another bank?
- Can I bank online or by phone?
- Are there any fees that I should be aware of?
Learn more about Opening a Bank Account.
Fees can add up, and increase the cost of banking. Take into account any and all applicable fees when choosing an account. Fees can include:
- Monthly fees - You may need to maintain a minimum account balance and/or set up a direct deposit to the account to avoid fees.
- Check fees - Fees for bounced checks or fees for writing more than a specified number of checks per month.
- ATM fees - Can apply to in-network or out-of-network ATMs.
- Fees for non-preferred purchases - Some banks may charge a fee if you use your PIN during a debit card transaction instead of choosing to sign for your purchase.
- Overdraft fees - Charges for transactions that are covered by the bank even though your account does not have enough money to pay for the purchase.
Avoiding Overdraft Fees
If you make an ATM withdrawal or a one-time debit card purchase that costs more than your available account balance, this is known as an overdraft. If you authorize your bank to allow overdraft transactions, then your account will be charged the amount needed to cover the purchase. In addition, the bank will charge you an extra fee, called an overdraft fee, every time that you overdraft the account.
The average overdraft fee is about $30. Once your account is negative, your bank might charge you for every purchase that causes an additional overdraft, or charge you every day until you repay the overdraft.
If you do not opt into overdraft service, then your bank will decline all ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases made on your account that would cause an overdraft. This means that you will not be able to make a withdrawal or purchase that your account balance cannot cover.
Tip - Avoid Overdraft Fees: If you have opted in to overdraft coverage, you can avoid overdraft fees through proper account management. Keep track of your account balance. Remember that ATM withdrawals, ATM fees, debit card purchases, online purchases, and recurring debits (like cable bills and rent) can affect your available balance.
Tip: If you have previously opted in to overdraft coverage, you can opt out at any time.
Learn More about Overdraft Protection. | <urn:uuid:149de40c-e23e-436b-ba1e-22af0e1d8370> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.dfs.ny.gov/consumer/student_protection/managing_money_at_school.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280483.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00299-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942463 | 916 | 1.804688 | 2 |
To ensure the continuity of essential IT services and reduce the risk of costly and damaging downtime caused by power outages, the Protect Blue modular UPS family from AEG Power Solutions provides next-generation 3-phase power protection for all data centre and mission critical applications. The new UPS range provides an eco-friendly power solution with low total cost of ownership and low carbon impact.
Designed and built for maximum flexibility, efficiency and availability, the new UPS is engineered around AEG Power Solutions’ 250kW building blocks. Up to 16 units can be connected in parallel to support the redundancy requirements of larger critical loads.
In addition to providing a solution which can be scaled up as requirements grow, Protect Blue is 95% efficient at only 20% load. The new UPS also provides 99% efficiency when being operated in Eco Mode.
“Protect Blue has been developed by AEG PS specifically to fulfil the need for high efficiency, high reliability power protection devices for today’s data centre and computer room requirements. Protect Blue is a high performance, compact and competitively priced power protection solution,” said Iain Campbell, business development director – UK and Ireland, AEG Power Solutions.
The new UPS features 3-level IGBT technology to reduce switching losses, and together with VFI topology and a transformerless design, provides a smaller, lighter and more efficient UPS implementation.
Other advantages include an optimal input power factor, low THDi, reduced capital and operating costs, lower audible noise and enhanced battery life. Protect Blue is designed to be compatible with renewable and alternative energy storage and sources as well as tomorrow’s Smart Grid and Micro Grid technology.
Local control is via a large, easy to use touch-screen which conveniently displays available battery status and runtime. 3 front panel LEDs are provided to indicate UPS status and a convenient audible alarm sounds if a fault should occur.
Remote signalling is available from up to 2 stackable cards with user selected configuration. Connection may be via internal modem, RS485, Profibus, Ethernet, SCADA interface or SNMP adapter and Protect Blue is supplied with the CompuWatch software suite for remote status control and monitoring.
To support customers’ power protection requirements, AEG Power Solutions offers a full range of professional services including turnkey solutions, installation and commissioning, Pro Care maintenance services, 24/7 hotline, onsite training, onsite battery replacement, power quality assessment and complete facility and equipment management.
AEG Power Solutions | <urn:uuid:7652bc26-d699-4811-8084-1e0af8ad4b40> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://electricalreview.co.uk/2011/12/01/high-efficiency-ups/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570921.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809094531-20220809124531-00268.warc.gz | en | 0.906849 | 520 | 1.53125 | 2 |
So I'm trying to create a simple website where I run a computationally intensive task on the backend based on input submitted by a form. For reference: my goal is not too dissimilar from something like this. Here the underlying computation that's being performed is too intensive to be run by the webserver and should be handled separately by a worker. I currently have the worker that performs the computation written in Python. My current plan for the architecture is to run microservices in Docker containers. There would be a container for the web engine (nginx), the web app (flask), and the math computation (this has already been written in python).
My question is: What is the best way for me to communicate between my web app and my computation service? My current thought is to use a message queue (probably RabbitMQ) deployed as a separate container with a callback. It would function pretty similarly to this example/tutorial. When I make the RPC I would add the outstanding web request to a hashmap that maps from a unique queue identifier to the outstanding web request. That way when I pop the response from the callback queue, I know which web request to send that answer to.
Firstly, is this the best approach? Am I missing a better and/or more natural way to accomplish this? I've considered just exposing my worker computation via a RESTful api designed in flask. I'm not sure if this is better/worse.
Secondly, how do i handle RPC calls that I never get a response for? If something were to go wrong and a response never gets placed back into my callback queue, the original web request would sit in my hashmap indefinitely. Is there a common design pattern here that's used to prevent this? | <urn:uuid:5d7609ba-5f5c-4238-a113-a5b85b73beb9> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/411525/question-about-the-best-way-to-architect-a-small-webapp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573197.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818124424-20220818154424-00671.warc.gz | en | 0.947341 | 355 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Lakeview, also spelled Lake View, is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois, in the city’s North Side. It is bordered by West Diversey Parkway on the south, West Irving Park Road on the north, North Ravenswood Avenue on the west, and the shore of Lake Michigan on the east. The Uptown community area is to Lakeview’s north, Lincoln Square to its northwest, North Center to its west, and Lincoln Park to its south. The 2020 population of Lakeview was 103,050 residents, making it the second-largest of the Chicago community areas by population.
Lakeview includes smaller neighborhood enclaves: Sheridan Station Corridor, Northhalsted, Southport Corridor, Wrigleyville, and Wrigley Plaza. Boystown, famous for its large LGBT population, holds the pride parade each June. Wrigleyville is another popular district. It surrounds Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. Lakeview is home to the Belmont Theater District showcasing over 30 theaters and live performance venues located near the Belmont “L” station. In 2013, Money Magazine named Lakeview as number 3 of its top 10 Big-city neighborhoods for its selection of Best Places to Live.
Lakeview was used as a camp and trail path for the Miami, Ottawa, and Winnebago Native American tribes. In 1837, Conrad Sulzer of Winterthur, Zürich, Switzerland, became the first known European settler to live in the area. In 1853, one of the first permanent structures was built by James Rees and Elisha Hundley on the corner where present-day West Byron Street (or West Sheridan Road) meets North Lake Shore Drive and was called the Hotel Lakeview, named for the hotel’s unobstructed view of the shore of Lake Michigan. It gained what was characterized as a resort atmosphere. Pest Control Chicago
Lakeview’s laidback atmosphere and picture-perfect shoreline make it a favorite hangout among locals. And spots like lively Wrigleyville and the Belmont Theater District make it a major entertainment hub, too. Anchored by a beautiful stretch of shoreline to the east, Lakeview melds several distinct areas — East Lakeview, Central Lakeview, Boystown, and Wrigleyville. Each spot has its unique character, but they’re all pulled together by Lakeview’s casual, welcoming feel. Hit the bustling shopping districts along Broadway in East Lakeview, along Belmont near Boystown, and the bustling Southport Corridor for local boutiques, record shops, and vintage treasure hunting.
Restaurants and Pubs
- Golden Apple Grill & Breakfast is located at 2971 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL
- Farm Bar is located at 1300 W Wellington Ave, Chicago, IL
- Full Shilling Public House is located at 3724 N Clark St, Chicago, IL
- Harrigan’s is located at 2816 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL
Check out other neighborhoods like Lincoln Park | <urn:uuid:77422977-c2ac-4aa7-8f19-ab45482c29e2> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://getridofthosebugs.com/lake-view/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573760.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819191655-20220819221655-00666.warc.gz | en | 0.956843 | 636 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Institutional Review Board
Respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.
The Institutional Review Board Committee (IRB) at Keystone College is responsible for protecting the rights of human subjects who participate in research conducted by faculty, students, professional and administrative staff.
The Committee is charged with assuring that people engaging in research as representatives of Keystone College and people who wish to use members of the campus community as human subjects honor the ethical principles set forth by the Belmont Report (1978).
The IRB carries out its duties by reviewing research activities that intend to use human subjects.
Activities within the scope of the IRB’s responsibilities include research, development, and related activities, which would normally be construed as biomedical and behavioral investigations involving human participants. Included are studies involving not only adults and children, but also investigations of prenatal life and the deceased. Studies or procedures utilizing organs, tissues, bodily fluids of a human being are also included, as are the use of graphic, written, or recorded information about individuals even when other institutions or investigators have collected this information.
Definition of Research
Any systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to the well-being of participants and to general knowledge. Activities that meet this definition constitute “research” for the IRB, whether or not they are considered research in other contexts. Excluded from this definition are activities whose sole purpose is instructional; also excluded are activities whose purpose is related to routine course or program development. However, when such research involves students outside of the course, the investigator should file an IRB application sheet and consent form. Research activity would normally include the following:
- Persons or programs requesting extramural (federal, state, or private) funds for research or training.
- Individual faculty members (as well as members of the staff and administration) engaged in research as part of their professional role within the College or as part of their job assignment.
- Students performing human subjects research as part of a course, an independent study or the honors program.
- Individuals (including students or persons from outside the College other than faculty, staff, or administration) conducting research at Keystone College.
The probability of and magnitude of harm or discomfort anticipated in the research are not greater in and of themselves than those ordinarily encountered in daily life or during the performance of routine physical or psychological examinations or tests. (Investigators have the obligation to request a clarification by the IRB regarding activities or procedures that are seen by the investigator as questionable in terms of their inclusion in this description).
Means that the IRB has reviewed the research and that the research will be conducted within the policies and procedures outlined in this booklet and within the constraints of other institutional and federal requirements. IRB approval does not necessarily include approbation of the research itself.
Student IRB applications are due to the chair of the IRB committee no later than the Friday of mid-term week each semester. Applications must be reviewed and approved by the course instructor and the School IRB representative prior to submission to the IRB chair.
Hours by appointment.
Chair, IRB Committee:
Heather A. Shanks-McElroy, Ph.D., M.S.W., B.Ed.
- Location: 2nd Floor of Ward Hall | <urn:uuid:53146d8b-c124-4853-b133-9a23815a7f88> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.keystone.edu/department-directory/institutional-review-board/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280929.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00425-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957834 | 678 | 2.0625 | 2 |
|This article is a stub. It is short and in need of fortification. Why not help out?|
The Natter rocket plane (English: Viper, Adder) was a World War II rocket powered interceptor designed by German engineer Erich Bachem. Thirty-six were produced with the only manned flight resulting in the death of the pilot.
— Tooltip, Natter Rocket Airplane
Featured in Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII, the Natter is a fighter jet issued to the German Elite Forces. It has one position and fires four rockets at a time. It is lightly armored and won't survive concentrated small arms or anti-aircraft fire, though this is offset by the Natter's sheer speed and maneuverability. It is best used against ground targets.
The Natter appears on the map "Hellendoorn", wherein there are two possible spawn sites for the Natter, one in Sector F5 and the other in Sector C2 (the latter being if the flag is captured by the German team). The Natter also appears on the map "Peenemünde". Two Natters are placed at the German base at the airstrip, next to the hangar in which the HO-229 is located.
Unlike conventional aircraft, it takes off from a special launching unit. Once launched, it will maintain flight until its fuel runs out (a couple of minutes) and will then slowly start to descend. It cannot be landed properly, so it is advised to eject the plane and parachute to safety. It has a Rocket launcher with 20 rockets, which can be fired without stopping. It has very little health, and is vulnerable to AA guns, Machine guns and even pistols can destroy it in one clip. | <urn:uuid:b41f3770-9b05-4b04-a147-dd99b06736b0> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://battlefield.fandom.com/wiki/Natter_Rocket_Plane | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571993.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814022847-20220814052847-00674.warc.gz | en | 0.968723 | 363 | 2.609375 | 3 |
|Número de publicación||US7092254 B1|
|Tipo de publicación||Concesión|
|Número de solicitud||US 10/913,255|
|Fecha de publicación||15 Ago 2006|
|Fecha de presentación||6 Ago 2004|
|Fecha de prioridad||6 Ago 2004|
|Número de publicación||10913255, 913255, US 7092254 B1, US 7092254B1, US-B1-7092254, US7092254 B1, US7092254B1|
|Inventores||Eric Monsef, Christiaan Ligtenberg, Zach Zeliff, Ihab A. Ali|
|Cesionario original||Apple Computer, Inc.|
|Exportar cita||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Citas de patentes (10), Citada por (41), Clasificaciones (11), Eventos legales (5)|
|Enlaces externos: USPTO, Cesión de USPTO, Espacenet|
Aspects of the present invention pertain to a cooling system and a method for cooling electronic devices such as a hard drive, an optical device, a battery, a central processing unit (CPU) or other integrated circuit device of a computer and more particularly, of a laptop/notebook computer.
Advances continue to be made in the manufacture of solid-state electronic devices, resulting in increasing functionality, density, and performance of the integrated circuits (ICs). The amount of heat generated, and accordingly the amount of power needed to be dissipated, by modern integrated circuits generally increases with increases in the density and speed of the circuits. Removal of heat produced by the integrated circuits therefore continues to be of a significant concern in modern integrated circuit package and system designers. For instance, a loss of performance and the degradation in reliability of integrated circuits may occur and often does when the circuits operate at elevated temperatures.
In addition, the trend toward more compact electronic systems is also continuing, thus exacerbating the thermal problem produced by the high-complexity and high-performance integrated circuits. For example, laptop or notebook sized computers have recently become quite popular, with continuing market pressure toward even smaller computer systems such as personal digital assistants (PDA). However, these small computer systems eliminate many of the traditional techniques for heat removal available for large-scale computer systems, such as the use of fans for convection cooling of the integrated circuits.
Many methods and apparatuses have been developed to remove heat from heat generating components located within the confines of a computer system enclosure. Many methods employ a fluid flow model to dissipate heat generated from the components such as immersing the components in a pool of inert dielectric liquid, using thermosyphons where a liquid evaporates with applied heat and condenses dissipating that heat elsewhere in a closed system, and using heat pipes where the liquid evaporates, condenses at another region and reaches the hot area through wick structures that line the heat pipes.
The cooling devices described have several disadvantages. Devices similar to the cooling devices 100 and 200 tend to be too large and thus not practical for small electronic devices where spaces are limited and electronic devices need to be cooled are typically placed in small confines of a slim/small design (e.g., laptop or notebook computer). Devices similar to the cooling devices 100 and 200 use a jetting device to accelerate the liquid over the CPU 102 and that may exert too much pressure on the CPU 102. Devices similar to the device 300, on the other hand, can be small but do not have the liquid flowing fast enough to increase efficiency of the cooling devices. Additionally, the liquid tends to stay stagnant above the CPU thus heat generated by the CPU is not transferred or removed quick enough
In accordance to embodiments of the present invention, a cooling device or system for an electronic device is provided. The cooling device utilizes a fluid flow cooling device in combination with a vibration transducer to agitate or causes turbulent in the fluid as it is flown across the electronic device. In one aspect, the vibration transducer can be a piezoelectric transducer or other ultrasonic transducer that can cause a vibration at a non-audible frequency range to the liquid. In one aspect, the cooling device employs a cross flow cooling model to flow the liquid across the electronic device.
One aspect of the invention pertains to a cooling system that comprises a housing having an inlet and an outlet. A liquid is flown from the inlet into the housing and out of outlet to exit the housing to cause heat to transfer from an electronic device to the liquid. The housing further has an interior portion for the electronic device to reside therein. The housing also includes a vibration transducer coupled thereto. The liquid is flown across the electronic device to dissipate heat from the electronic device. The vibration transducer causes turbulent or agitation in the liquid as the liquid is flown across the electronic device.
One aspect of the invention pertains to a semiconductor device with a cooling system that comprises an integrated circuit bonded to a substrate, a housing coupled over the integrated circuit, an inlet provided in the housing, an outlet provided in the housing, and a vibration transducer coupled to the housing and placed above the integrated circuit. A liquid is flown across the integrated circuit from the inlet and exit through the outlet to cool the integrated circuit.
One aspect of the invention pertains to a computer system with a cooling device which comprises an electronic device disposed within an enclosure case, and a cooling device placed over a surface of the electronic device of the computer system. The cooling device further comprises a housing having an inlet and an outlet, a liquid to be flown from the inlet into the housing and out of outlet to exit the housing, the housing further having an interior portion for an electronic device to reside therein, and a vibration transducer coupled to the housing. The liquid is flown across the electronic device to dissipate heat from the electronic device and wherein the vibration transducer causes turbulent or agitation in the liquid as the liquid is flown across the electronic device. The electronic device can be any one of an integrated circuit, a semiconductor device, a central processing unit, a controller, a graphic controller, a memory chip, a display element, a hard disk drive, a battery, a printer circuit board, an optical disk drive, and other internal components of the computer system.
Another aspect of the invention pertains to a method to dissipate heat from an electronic device that comprises placing a cooling device over the electronic device, flowing a liquid into the cooling device and over the top surface of the electronic device, and agitating the liquid while the liquid is flowing across the electronic device. The liquid agitation prevents stagnation of the liquid over the electronic device. The cooling device is a cross flow cooling device in one embodiment. The vibration transducer is a piezoelectric transducer in one embodiment.
Embodiments of the present invention will be understood more fully from the detailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings of various embodiments of the invention, which, however, should not be taken to limit the invention to the specific embodiments, but are for explanation and understanding only. In the drawings:
Exemplary embodiments are described with reference to specific configurations and techniques pertaining to an apparatus and method for removing heat from a heat generating component located within an electronic or computer system enclosure is described. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth such as material types, dimensions, processing steps, etc., in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be obvious to one of skill in the art that the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well known elements and processing techniques have not been shown in particular detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention. In order to illustrate the need for cooling systems that are capable of being integrated within an enclosure especially one having limited available space, this discussion will mainly be limited to those needs associated with removing heat from integrated circuits housed within portable computers, such as notebook and laptop computers. It will be recognized, however, that such focus is for descriptive purposes only and that the apparatus and methods of the present invention are applicable to other thin profile or small form factor electronic devices. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate the various changes and modifications to be made while remaining within the scope of the appended claims. Additionally, well known elements, devices, components, circuits, process steps and the like are not set forth in detail.
Embodiments of the present invention pertain to a cooling device or system for an electronic device. The cooling device utilizes a fluid flow cooling device in combination with a vibration transducer to agitate or causes turbulent in the fluid as it is flown across the electronic device. In one aspect, the vibration transducer can be a piezoelectric transducer or other ultrasonic transducer that can cause vibration at a non-audible frequency range. The non-audible frequency range will allow the cooling device to be substantially noiseless which is a desirable feature in electronic devices such as a laptop computer. In one aspect, the cooling device employs a cross flow cooling model to flow liquid across the electronic device. The cooling device can be used for cooling electronic devices such as a hard drive, an optical device, a battery, a central processing unit (CPU), a memory chip, or other integrated circuit devices of an electronic device, a computer system and more particularly, of a laptop or notebook computer.
As shown in the figure, a coolant liquid is flown into the housing 414 from the inlet 410 and exit the housing 414 via the outlet 412. The housing 414 includes an interior portion 415 where the electronic device 406 can reside. In one embodiment, the housing 414 is made of a rigid material such as plastic, ceramic, or other insulating or non-conductive rigid material. In one embodiment, the vibration transducer 416 is placed on the top surface area of the housing 414. The housing 414 can be configured to have an opening created for the vibration transducer 416 to be placed therethrough. The housing 414 is placed over the electronic device 406 and is sealed over the electronic device 406 to prevent leakages from the housing 414 into surrounding area.
Coolant liquid is flown across the electronic device 406 to dissipate heat generated by the electronic device 406. As the coolant liquid is flown across the electronic device 406, the vibration transducer 416 is turned on to cause a turbulent or agitation 446 in the liquid flow system. The vibration transducer 415 prevents stagnation of the coolant liquid over the area above, especially immediately above the electronic device 406. Often, in a conventional cross flow cooling system, as liquid is flown across the electronic device, the liquid immediately above the electronic device is stagnant and has very low movement, or substantially no movement. Heat is thus not efficiently transferred since new liquid is not replacing the heated liquid fast enough. In the embodiments of the present invention, with the addition of the vibration transducer 416, the liquid that is flown across the electronic device 406 is agitated or vibrated such that there is no or substantially no stagnation in the liquid flow. Heat can thus be transferred more efficiently without the need to increase the flow rate of the liquid or the amount of the liquid into the cooling device 400. Since agitation is applied to the liquid, only a thin layer of the liquid is needed to be flown over the electronic device 406 at any one point to cool the electronic device 406. Additionally, the cooling device 400 can be made much smaller than a device similar to the device 100 or 200 illustrated above. Additionally, only a small space is required for the fluid path across the electronic device 400 since the vibration transducer 416 will agitate the liquid resulting in much faster heat exchange.
In one embodiment, the electronic device 406 is placed on a substrate 404 which may be placed on a printed circuit board 402 or other component of a computer system. Soldering balls or other adhering features can be used to couple the electronic device 406 to the substrate 404 and the printed circuit board 402 as is known in the art. In one embodiment, the housing 414 is a manifold placed over the electronic device 406 using gaskets 408 to couple and seal the housing 414 over the electronic device 406 or a particular region of the electronic device 406.
In one embodiment, the vibration transducer 416 is positioned above the electronic device 406 at a predetermined distance. The vibration transducer 416 can be positioned so that there is a distance between about 1 mm to about 30 mm between the electronic device 406 and the vibration transducer 416. The vibration transducer 416 can also be configured to direct vibration or agitation over a particular region of the electronic device 406. The vibration transducer 416 is a piezoelectric transducer, in one embodiment. The vibration transducer 416 causes a vibration in a non-audible range so that the cooling system 400 can operate essentially in a noiseless fashion. The vibration transducer 416 also causes vibration in an ultrasonic range so that it is substantially non-audible. The vibration transducer 416 can also operates at high frequency for optimal vibration or agitation movement.
The energy from the vibration transducer of a cooling system can be directed geometrically or the vibration transducer can be physically moved or placed to provide agitation to the area of the electronic device that needs the most cooling.
In the cooling device 700, a fluid path 732 which leads to the inlet 710 and a fluid path 734 which leads from the outlet 712 are included. The coolant liquid is flown into the housing 714 through the fluid path 732 and the inlet 710. The coolant liquid exits the housing 714 through the outlet 712 and the fluid path 734. The cooling device 700 further includes a reservoir 720 which supplies the coolant liquid and a pump 718 placed in fluid communication between the reservoir 720 and the inlet 710. In the present embodiment, the fluid path 732 can be a tube or conduit leading from the reservoir, through the pump and into the inlet 710 to bring the coolant liquid into the housing 714. Additionally, the fluid path 734 can also be a tube or a conduit leading form the outlet 712 into the reservoir 720. The coolant liquid thus can be recycled through the action of the pump 718. The pump 718 can be a conventional miniature pump capable of pumping the liquid into the cooling device 700. The pump 718 can also be a piezoelectric pump known in the art.
The cooling device 700 also includes a handle or an actuator 722 disposed within the housing 714. The vibration transducer 716 is coupled to the handle 722. In one embodiment, the handle 722 is configured to be able to move vertically up and down so as to give the vibration transducer 716 vertical adjustability. In the present embodiment, the handle 722 includes a stand off feature 730 to define the lowest vertical movement point of the vibration transducer 716. The stand off feature 730 defines the minimal distance between the electronic device 706 and the vibration transducer 722. Once the vibration transducer 716 is set at the desired position, the handle 722 can be fixed or locked in place.
In another embodiment, a cooling device 800, which is similar to the device 700, includes a handle 822 similar to the handle 722 with the addition of a lateral adjustability. The cooling device 800 is similar to the device 700 except that the housing can be configured so that the handle 800 can be moved laterally to place the vibration transducer over a particular region of the electronic device. Similar to above, the cooling system 800 includes a housing 814 with an inlet 810, an outlet 812 and a vibration transducer 816. The housing 814 includes an interior portion 815 within which an electronic device 806 can be placed. The electronic device 806 can be coupled to a substrate 804 which can also be coupled to a printed circuit board 802 or other surface. The housing 814 is placed over the electronic device 806 and sealed over the electronic device 806 using gaskets 808.
In the cooling device 800, a fluid path 832 which leads to the inlet 810 and a fluid path 834 which leads from the outlet 712 are included. The coolant liquid is flown into the housing 814 through the fluid path 832 and the inlet 810. The coolant liquid exits the housing 814 through the outlet 812 and the fluid path 834. The cooling device 800 further includes a reservoir 720 which supplies the coolant liquid and a pump 818 placed in fluid communication between the reservoir 820 and the inlet 810. In the present embodiment, the fluid path 832 can be a tube or conduit leading from the reservoir, through the pump and into the inlet 810 to bring the coolant liquid into the housing 814. Additionally, the fluid path 834 can also be a tube or a conduit leading form the outlet 812 into the reservoir 820. The coolant liquid thus can be recycled through the action of the pump 818.
The cooling device 800 also includes a handle or an actuator 822 disposed within the housing 814. The vibration transducer 816 is coupled to the handle 822. In one embodiment, the handle 822 is configured to be able to move vertically up and down so as to give the vibration transducer 816 vertical adjustability. In the present embodiment, the handle 822 includes a stand off feature 830 to define the lowest vertical movement point of the vibration transducer 816. The stand off feature 830 defines the minimal distance between the electronic device 806 and the vibration transducer 822. Additionally, the housing 814 can include slots 831 so that the handle 822 can be withdrawn partially into the slots 831 a position the vibration transducer 806 over a particular region of the electronic device 806. Once the vibration transducer 816 is set at the desired position, the handle 822 can be fixed or locked in place.
The vibration transducers of the exemplary embodiments can be excited at its resonance frequency (or multiple thereof) so that their power consumption can be very low (and the energy it imparts on the liquid may in turn be low). This way, the power source to supply power to the cooling system needs not be a new device to be implemented into a computer system and can be drawn from already existing power source. Additionally, because of the addition of the vibration or agitation, the cooling devices of the embodiments of the present invention can operate under low pressure.
The coolant liquid that can be used for the cooling devices include water and fluorocarbon liquids such as fluorinert liquid (FC-77) manufactured by 3M Company. Other suitable coolant liquid can also be used. Instead of a liquid, the fluid can be a gas such as air. An inert gas can be used for this purpose.
In one embodiment, a cooling device in accordance to embodiments of the present invention is incorporated into a notebook computer. The notebook computer comprises a main logic board that has a plurality of interconnection contacts (e.g., solder ball or pin connections) placed thereon. An integrated circuit chip (e.g., a graphic controller chip or a CPU) is coupled to the main logic board as is known in the art. The IC chip makes electrical and mechanical interconnection to the main logic board through conventional interconnection contacts. In one embodiment, the IC chip has a ball-grid-array packaging format that makes interconnection to the main logic board via a plurality of solder balls, lead wires, or other suitable electrical interconnections for high density circuit. A cooling device such as the cooling device 400, 500, 600, 700, or 800 is placed over to the IC chip. The IC chip can be the electronic device 406, 506, 606, 706, or 806 previously shown. It is to be noted that the notebook computer may comprise other internal electrical devices or components as is well known in the art. After all the internal components of the notebook computer are assembled, an enclosure case is placed over all of the internal components including the cooling device.
The notebook computer also includes a display apparatus, e.g., a flat panel display, coupled to the enclosure case. In one embodiment, the display apparatus is controlled at least in part by a graphic controller chip. The graphic controller chip can be the IC chip that is coupled to the cooling device.
It is to be understood that the cooling devices in accordance to embodiments of the present invention can be adapted for other electronic components and other computer system besides a notebook like computer system. The cooling devices can be configured (shape, size, thickness, etc . . . ) to be placed over a surface of an internal electronic component (e.g., a central processing unit or a circuit board) of a particular machine or a particular computer system such as a desk top computer. A few examples of other electronic devices that can benefit from the cooling devices include a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular phone, and a monitor display.
The exemplary embodiments described herein are provided merely to illustrate the principles of the invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the subject matter of the terms of the claimed invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. Moreover, the principles of the invention may be applied to achieve the advantages described herein and to achieve other advantages or to satisfy other objectives, as well.
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|Clasificación de EE.UU.||361/699, 257/E23.098, 257/714, 165/80.4, 174/15.1|
|Clasificación cooperativa||H01L2924/00014, H01L2924/15311, H01L23/473, H01L2224/16225|
|6 Ago 2004||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: APPLE COMPUTER, INC., CALIFORNIA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:MONSEF, ERIC;LIGTENBERG, CHRISTIAAN;ZELIFF, ZACH;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:015671/0429
Effective date: 20040806
|16 Ago 2005||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: APPLE COMPUTER, INC., CALIFORNIA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:ALI, IHAB A.;REEL/FRAME:016643/0656
Effective date: 20050812
|1 Oct 2007||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: APPLE INC., CALIFORNIA
Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:APPLE COMPUTER, INC., A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:019943/0163
Effective date: 20070109
|14 Ene 2010||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4
|15 Ene 2014||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 8 | <urn:uuid:3113b187-7b40-4bdc-a59f-9c2915d03a41> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.google.es/patents/US7092254 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280761.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00093-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.856855 | 6,757 | 1.976563 | 2 |
Farmers wanting to borrow against their environmental and social goals now have the ability to raise a loan and earn a discounted interest rate, should those goals be achieved.
BNZ has announced an agribusiness sustainability linked loan (SLL) product, claimed to be the first of its type available to farmers.
Head of natural capital Dana Muir says while there have been loans made available that link to specific sustainability projects on farm, BNZ’s product is not limited to a set amount and can be drawn from the bank’s entire capital pool.
“This is more about BNZ setting a target of $10 billion of sustainable finance lending to be achieved by 2025,” Muir.
The prototype for the SLL was founded in BNZ’s three-year $50 million sustainability linked farm loan to dairy farming company Southern Pastures, owners of Lewis Road Creamery.
The deal with the 20-farm company targeted environmental performance, with AsureQuality acting as an independent on-farm auditor visiting annually to collect data and verify progress.
Discounts on interest rates will be applied during the loan’s term when targets are met.
Muir confirmed the system would be similar for the bank’s SLL product, with greenhouse gas emission reductions being a non-negotiable outcome of the loan’s investment.
Beyond that, farmers have the opportunity to choose from a range of environmental and social measures they may wish to address.
“It is crucial we reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the structure of our SLL reflects that,” she said.
Other goals farmers may wish to incorporate include pollution prevention and control, sustainable use and protection of water and waste prevention and recycling.
Social goals like animal welfare, labour practices and health and safety are also included.
The loan’s term has to run for more than three years and AsureQuality will also be providing the auditing assessment on an annual basis.
While the auditing costs will be at the expense of the borrower, Muir said the pricing benefits of achieving the targets considers the expense and effort of assessment.
“If you achieve the targets it works in your favour,” she said.
She said the sustainable financing sector was an invaluable tool available to help farmers achieve their environmental and social targets at a time when expectations and regulations were intense.
“It is crucial we reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the structure of our SLL reflects that.”Dana Muir
Globally, the sustainable finance sector has undergone extraordinary growth in recent years.
Financial data company Refinitiv reported that in 2021 the sector, which did not exist a decade ago, had sustainability linked loans surge 300% to more than US$700 billion, more than three times the previous record.
She said the BNZ’s loan product was the first of its type in NZ and possibly the world, based on the bank’s own assessment.
The loan is also the first of its type to come in under the Sustainable Agriculture Finance Initiative (SAFI) outlines.
These were developed by the Aotearoa Circle industry and agency group last year and were aimed specifically at developing sustainable financing for the primary sector. | <urn:uuid:4c1ce983-2617-4afc-b436-33da88a191a3> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/bnz-offers-sustainable-loans-to-farmers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571982.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813172349-20220813202349-00069.warc.gz | en | 0.962961 | 671 | 1.695313 | 2 |
First off, numerous individuals don't understand that an organization promoting business, for instance, is actually what the word says. It's a business. Possessing a business implies assuming liability. As I used to advise a portion of my understudies back when I offered classes to individuals who had consistently held positions, yet were going to set out on their own business, "You are going to discover how great an administrator you are, however you will discover how great a worker you are."
Somebody who goes into business, anticipating that IT should by one way or another mysteriously produce pay is living in a ridiculous situation. To come clean, nearly anybody going into business will potentially need to work a bigger number of hours than the normal representative.
On account of a physical business, the individual frequently needs to leave the security net of a "task" to get their business going. Some portion of the arranging cycle will be to have some information on what money stores will be required during the beginning up period, and to guarantee that those assets are available. | <urn:uuid:78162e94-330e-45af-9624-355c1e759f78> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.marylandgeroassn.org/forum/legislation/looking-to-start-your-own-internet-buiness-take-a-7-day-test-drive | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570868.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808152744-20220808182744-00074.warc.gz | en | 0.97503 | 210 | 2.015625 | 2 |
April Fool's Day 2021Thursday, April 1
The day is celebrated every year on 1 April, it is also called a day of jokes or a day of fools. On this day, it is permitted to make jokes and pranks and mislead other people on purpose. On 1 April, even the media can report false information. The Day is celebrated in many countries of the world. | <urn:uuid:73ea3478-ea98-4333-ad5e-352fd1b8f93e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.calendar-12.com/holidays/april_fools_day/2021 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572304.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816120802-20220816150802-00476.warc.gz | en | 0.965941 | 77 | 2.375 | 2 |
Ruling narrows trade secret loophole
By Summit Voice
FRISCO — Fossil fuel companies in Wyoming may soon have to disclose more the chemicals they use for fracking, as the Wyoming Supreme Court decided this week that the state’s oil and gas commission has the burden of justifying the use of a trade secrets exemption that has enabled companies to keep their toxic recipes secret.
“The Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed that the public’s right to know is paramount under state law. If fracking operators don’t want to reveal what chemicals they use, they will have to prove that the chemicals are trade secrets, which means they shouldn’t be able to capriciously keep secrets from the public about dangerous chemicals,” said Katherine O’Brien, an attorney with Earthjustice, which represents the plaintiffs.
The Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case back to the District Court in Casper, Wyoming, finding that the definition of trade secrets under the Freedom of Information Act applies in Public Records Act case. By contrast, the oil and gas commission wanted to use a broader definition of trade secrets, which would allow more withholding of chemical information from public disclosure and review.
“We’re pleased the Court recognized that the Oil and Gas Commission has to fully and rationally justify its use of trade secrets exemptions before it can hide fracking chemical information from public review,” said Marilyn Ham, Resource Council Board Member from Laramie County, Wyoming. “We’re looking forward to the next stage of the case and hopefully to getting better information out to the public on what chemicals are used in fracking operations.
“It is important for public health and safety that citizens have timely access to what chemicals are used in fracking operations on and near our land,” said Kristi Mogen, Resource Council Board Member who lives near fracking operations in Converse County, Wyoming. “We applaud Powder River Basin Resource Council for their hard work in bringing this case and for their dedication to empowering the residents of Wyoming.”
“If chemical information is being improperly labeled a trade secret that means it is not available as public information as Wyoming’s hydraulic fracturing regulations intended,” stated Shannon Anderson of the Resource Council.
“We appreciate that the court took seriously the need for the public to know what chemicals are being injected during oil and gas production. We hope that now the state agency will do likewise,” said Bruce Baizel of EARTHWORKS.
The decision is available at: http://www.courts.state.wy.us/Opinions/2014WY37.pdf | <urn:uuid:ee51b34a-8f0d-45e8-862b-e471e429b995> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://summitcountyvoice.com/2014/03/13/wyoming-supreme-court-makes-it-harder-for-fossil-fuel-companies-to-hide-fracking-cocktail-ingredients/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279915.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00279-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949523 | 542 | 2 | 2 |
Milan Begovic Net Worth
Milan Begovic made money by Authors niche. For all time, at the moment, 2016 year, Milan Begovic earned $52 Million. Exact sum is $52000000.
Short biography, height, weight, dates:
Birth date: January 19, 1876, Vrlika, Croatia
Death date: May 13, 1948, Zagreb, Croatia
Birth place: Vrlika, Croatia, Yugoslavia [now Croatia]
Wikipedia Source: Milan Begovic
Milan Begovi? was a Croatian writer, born in Vrlika, in the territory of todays Croatia. He was educated in Split, Zagreb and Vienna and spent some time as high school professor in Split before going to Hamburg and Vienna to pursue career in theatre. He died in Zagreb. Begovi? wrote stories and novels, but he is best known for plays he wrote in 1920 and 1930. The best known titles are Pustolov pred vratima and comedy Amerikanska jahta u splitskoj luci. He also wrote the lyrics for a famous Croatian opera Ero s onoga svijeta. In 1942, he edited Hrvatska proza XX. stolje?a, a collection of contemporary Croatian writers. | <urn:uuid:e523ed0c-b344-49d9-8e84-253e82640a43> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://heightweighnetworth.com/milan-begovic/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281424.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00331-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966091 | 274 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Since the late 1800s, if someone wants to be a taxi driver in London they have to pass The Knowledge and usually this means riding around London on a scooter for a couple of years or more, learning the city. During this time they learn 25,000 streets and all the landmarks, junctions etc. along them. They must know the best way to get from any A to any B within a 6 mile radius of
One result is a very large hippocampus. A ScienceDaily item summarizes some research on experienced
The study showed that a region of the hippocampus was enlarged in London taxi drivers compared to the general population the difference is linked to ‘The Knowledge’ of the city’s 25,000 streets built up by taxi drivers over many years
Taxi drivers used the virtual reality simulation to navigate the streets of
“The hippocampus is crucial for navigation and we use it like a ‘sat nav’,” says Dr Spiers from the Institute of Behavioural Neuroscience at
In their study, Dr Spiers and Professor Maguire found that a part of the brain called the medial prefrontal cortex increased its activity the closer the taxi drivers came to their destination…Inside the hippocampus and neighbouring brain areas scientists have identified three types of cells which, says Dr Spiers, make up the sat nav. These are called place cells, head direction cells and grid cells.
Place cells map out our location, lighting up to say ‘you are here’ when we pass a specific place. There are thought to be hundreds of thousands of place cells in the brain, each preferring a slightly different geographical place. Head direction cells act like a compass, telling us which way we are facing. Grid cells … tell us how far we have traveled using a grid-like pattern akin to how we use latitude and longitude for navigation.
Our whereabouts is something we are often very conscious of. Our consciousness also seems to never loss its spatial quality. Everything we are conscious of seems to have a location in our visual space or some other space. | <urn:uuid:2e989187-5883-4314-9c0a-c4bd155736c9> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://charbonniers.org/2008/09/30/built-in-sat-nav/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279410.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00173-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947913 | 418 | 3.34375 | 3 |
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An African swine fever outbreak has decimated China's pork stocks, keeping food prices high and contributing to overall high inflation. The high prices will make Chinese New Year's feasts more expensive.
An ongoing African swine fever outbreak in China is squeezing the country's pork supply, keeping prices up and contributing to high inflation, according to numbers released Thursday by the National Bureau of Statistics.
Government data shows pork prices nearly doubled in December 2019 compared to the same month in 2018. Food prices overall increased by 17.4% in the same period.
The shortage comes ahead of pork-laden feasts celebrating the Lunar New Year on January 25. The government has been attempting to stop the increase in pork prices by releasing more than 100,000 tons of frozen meat from stored reserves over the past several weeks.
Although pork prices remain high, there was some success slowing the increase compared with the November 2019 time frame, during which year-on-year prices had risen by 110%.
"With positive changes in hog production, a release of pork from central and local reserves to the market, as well as a rise in imports, the pork supply situation has eased slightly," the National Bureau of Statistics said.
China is the world's largest producer and consumer of pork, and increased import demand has spiked pork prices worldwide.
Year of the expensive pig
The consumer price index in China, a gauge of retail inflation, rose 4.5% year-on-year in December 2019. That is the same as November's inflation rate, which was the highest since 2012. For the full year of 2019, consumer prices rose 2.9%.
The index has been rising consistently over the past year, as swine fever decimated pig herds across China.
Harmless to humans, African swine fever broke out in China in August 2018. Since then, authorities have since been forced to cull more than a million pigs to try and contain the spread of the disease.
Forecasters expect shortages to continue, as many Chinese farmers have stopped raising pigs and others will need to rebuild their herds.
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In Tasarim Takarim’s art studio, two Turkish artists are busy working to turn kids’ drawings into a highly creative jewelry as special keepsakes. The idea came from Ysemin Erdin Tavukcu’s daughter, Serin, as she wanted a jewelry out of her own drawings.
Our beautiful childhood memories will remain longer when we wear our drawings as kids on our necks, ears or wrists. Hopefully, memories of special time when we were kids will stay in our small pendants of gold or silver, while at the same time, they show eternal imagination of children creativity.
As Tasarim Takarim turn more kids drawings into silver or gold jewelries which they then collaborated with goldsmith named Ozgur karavit also assisted by his son, Kerem. To satisfy their customers from all over the world, Tasarim Takarim let them send in their sketches and the studio will help transform them into wearable piece of artwork. During an interview with Huffington Post, Tavukcu said that all incoming drawings are unique and so are the results in sculptures.
Mostly, Tasarim Takarim’s work are gifts, and as a bonus. Kids would love to see their own drawings in jewelry, feeling happy and very proud since they find the jewelry to be really of their own design. Kids feel that their creativity is now well-appreciated and loved by other people.
You can find Tasarim Takarim’s personal collections for sale at ETSY | <urn:uuid:78c0804f-b2bb-43d1-9b76-fe89cea27bb5> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://veri-art.net/jewelries-of-kids-drawing-makes-childhood-memories-everlasting/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285001.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00301-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968697 | 317 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Use what works. That’s what it always comes down to for me, especially when people are talking about technology. That’s why I got interested in this comparison between iPads and Netbooks in a 1:1 project. This first article in a promised series focuses on cost. Yes, I do admit that cost is always a factor, a concern and a pressing interest from supervisors and those who control the purse-strings. Yes, it’s important to not flush away money (my bank account and pitiful pension contributions can attest to that). Isn’t there something else to consider though – the experience?
The article concludes with a rousing support for Netbooks, and in the current way education works, it makes sense. Yes, Netbooks are cheaper, provide more bang for the buck, may even be a better tool for the job. Maybe the iPad, or any other tablet if you want to cut costs, works better for collaboration (in fact, I’d suggest based on how I’ve seen it work, it does). Anytime you have a keyboard you inevitably have one controller of the device. With tablets, I’ve seen first hand how people are more willing to share duties on it – searching for something on Google, then passing the tablet to a colleague, then collectively watching a video. I’m not saying that people can’t do that on a Netbook, they absolutely can, but intuitively, they treat them differently. I think people treat different computers, well, differently.
For the purpose of the comparison, they needed students to create media. I’m still not sure on how good a media creation device the iPad is. I think the iPhone has much more capabilities for better media capture out of the box. Certainly the form factor of an iPad is a draw back for media capture. I’m actually going to be a bit of a snob and say that neither a Netbook nor an iPad are ideal. I’d say buy a fleet of Netbooks, then add a dedicated video/audio multimedia machine with the savings. With all that said, I think the iPad is a much better device, for surfing the web (even with the Flash embargo, most well designed modern sites that use Flash have an alternative available) and for consuming media. I also feel that the iPad despite it’s heftier price tag is a more enjoyable experience rather than a Netbook. Most of my Netbook issues are that the whole device is cramped and poorly laid out. It’s why I didn’t buy a Netbook two years ago and instead bought a larger laptop. Ultimately, that was probably a wrong decision as the laptop is not a great device either. Needless to say, I like the time I’ve spent with the iPad and other Android based tablets, I haven’t liked the time I’ve spent with laptops and Netbooks.
My dad, who’s always been a tradesperson, told me very early on, use the tool that works. In fact it’s been words to live by for me. I grew up using a 386 PC for games and Macs (a IIci that cost me a bundle) because they provided better audio tools at the time. Later I programmed using a PC that I built myself because the integrated programming environments were Windows only (this is pre-OSX). Even more recently I use the tool that works for me in the situation. I am lucky to be able to do that though. I realize that not everyone has the luxury or access to do this. I’m only here as a reminder that a dedicated tool for something is usually better than a multitool. Of course, your mileage may vary. | <urn:uuid:e0702e0c-bc45-4491-91af-e185ef6b6c0e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.robotvsrobot.com/2011/09/23/use-what-works/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280242.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00070-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957206 | 776 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Interesting facts about iron are a great opportunity to learn more about alloys. Today, iron (from Latin Ferrum) is one of the most popular metals in the world. In addition, it is found in the bodies of humans and animals.
So, here are the most interesting facts about iron.
What are some interesting facts about iron?
- In its modern form, iron is almost never used in its pure form. It is usually remelted with carbon to make steel or cast iron.
- In one form or another, it is present in most alloys.
- Iron is the second most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust, second only to aluminum.
- About 25 times more iron is mined on Earth per day than gold was mined during the history of mankind.
- If its carbon content is higher than 2.14%, you get cast iron, and if it is lower, you get steel. Iron will remain itself only if its carbon content does not exceed 0.8%.
- It is almost never found in its pure form. Iron ore usually contains a variety of impurities.
- The first iron tools and blades on Earth were made from iron meteorites found by our distant ancestors. Nobody yet knew how to mine and process iron ore.
- The corrosion rate of iron is directly affected by temperature and humidity. Heat and moisture quickly lead to rust.
- In pure oxygen, the metal burns very well.
- Fine iron powder may well ignite itself right out in the open air.
- Modern science believes that this metal makes up 80-90% of the Earth’s liquid inner core.
- Iron makes up a significant part of many asteroids. Apparently, it is very widespread in the Universe.
- In the distant past, when humans first learned how to work iron, it was worth more than gold.
- This metal is what canning jars are made of. They are simply coated with a thin layer of tin to keep them from rusting.
- Mercury is the second densest planet after Earth. This high density is due to the fact that most of Mercury’s core is iron.
- Rusted iron weighs more than pure iron, because rust (iron oxide) is heavier than this metal in its pure state.
- It is iron that ranks first in the world in terms of annual production among all minerals.
- Back in the Middle Ages, it was used to make not only weapons and armor, but also jewelry.
- The Kursk Magnetic Anomaly covers an area of 120,000 km², which is more than most countries in Europe. It is the largest iron ore deposit on Earth, with proven reserves of about 55 billion tons.
- When heated to 1,538 °C, iron changes to a liquid aggregate state, and at 2,862 °C it evaporates.
- It is what gives our blood its red color. It is iron oxide that transports oxygen through blood. This is why some mollusks have blue blood, because they use copper to carry oxygen.
- The soil of the planet Mars is very rich in iron oxide, that is simply rust, which is why it has such a red-brown color.
- About 4.65% of the mass of the Earth’s crust accounts for this metal.
- On average, the body of a normal adult has about 5 grams of iron at any given time. It is present not only in the blood, but also in some other organs.
- In the Middle Ages in Europe, only the nobility had the right to wear iron jewelry. They were even more expensive than silver or gold.
- Iron ore can contain up to 300 other minerals in the form of impurities. Absolutely pure iron ore is extremely rare, and such deposits are very highly valued.
- The largest single piece of iron ever discovered is the Goba meteorite, about 9 m³ in volume and weighing 66 tons. It fell in what is now Namibia during the time of primitive people, and it was not discovered until 1920.
- Iron dissolves without residue in sulfuric and nitric acids.
- Deposits of iron nuggets without any impurities were found only in Greenland. The ore there is of excellent quality, but the deposits themselves are small.
- The content of this metal in sea water is 100-1000 times less than in fresh water, i.e. in rivers or lakes.
- Magnetized piece of iron loses its properties when heated to a high temperature, and they do not return to it after cooling. But it can be magnetized again.
- Lack of iron in the human body leads to anemia, weakness, hair and nail loss.
- There is the Taylor Glacier in Antarctica, and on it is the famous Bloody Falls. Its water is reddish-brown, and that’s because it has a very high iron oxide content.
These were the most interesting facts about iron. If you liked this article or if you like different interesting facts – share it with your friends | <urn:uuid:41a6394b-7865-4a8b-91a7-3f22c52423a5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://healthandanimals.com/interesting-facts-about-iron/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571147.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810040253-20220810070253-00476.warc.gz | en | 0.956411 | 1,049 | 3.21875 | 3 |
The Property Rights Alliance has released the International Property Rights Index of 2019, which measures the quantity and way that physical and intellectual property is protected. The ForFreeChoice Institute aligned with the International Property Rights Alliance and took part in helping create and research aspects of this Index.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT Property rights are natural rights that fuel economic growth and social development. They promote innovation and stimulate productivity, while at the same time constituting an effective mechanism for defending individual freedoms.
The International Property Rights Index (IPRI) is a study carried out annually by the Property Rights Alliance and includes 127 Member States. It covers 98 percent of the world’s gross domestic product, and 94 percent of the population. Each member state then receives scores in four categories, overall IPRI, Intellectual Property Rights, Physical Property Rights, and Legal and Political Environment. The scores range from one to ten, with ten being the best.
GENERAL RESULTS The average IPRI score considering all the Member States was 5.726. The weakest component on average was the Legal and Political Environment (5.16), with Intellectual Property Rights following close behind (5.55), and Physical Property Rights as the strongest aspect (6.47). Although the overall IPRI score fell (-0.26%), the highest scores in the categories increased from the last year.
TOP RANKS Finland leads the overall 2019-IPRI score (8.713) as well as the score for Intellectual Property Rights (8.90). Switzerland ranks 2nd place overall (8.57) with New Zealand earning 3rd place (8.51) and then first place in the Legal and Political Environment (8.89). Meanwhile, Singapore leads in the Physical Property Rights component (8.71) and comes in 4th place for total IPRI score (8.46).
MORE PROTECTION EQUALS MORE INNOVATION The index shows that there is a positive correlation between innovation and property protection. It is not a coincidence that the countries at the top of the ranking (Scandinavia, Singapore, Switzerland, USA) are also technologically and economically advanced countries with high rates of innovation.
Fostering property rights protection means defending consumers’ choice and help humanity prosper and develop. | <urn:uuid:a397800d-31d0-42f8-bf76-d0b195704959> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.forfreechoice.org/featured/ipri-2019-property-innovation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573760.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819191655-20220819221655-00673.warc.gz | en | 0.916892 | 463 | 2.234375 | 2 |
Indigenous communities in eastern India have had success in halting expansion plans by the mining giant Vedanta
News special: Vedanta victory masks threats to indigenous people
6th October, 2010
Following the landmark decision by the Indian government to prevent Vedanta from mining on tribal land, the Ecologist reports on the other tribes - including the Penan in Sarawak and the Guarani in Brazil - facing similar threats but being ignored by the media
The Indian government’s recent decision to ban Vedanta Resources from mining on sacred land belonging to an indigenous community came after months of pressure from campaign groups, extensive media coverage and unprecedented levels of opposition from a variety of quarters.
Despite the victory for the Dongaria Kondh people, an alarming number of other indigenous communities across the world are now under serious threat from mining, logging, cattle ranching and other industrial activities, The Ecologist has established.
Campaigners say that greater media coverage of these often unreported case studies could boost the chances of indigenous people's successfully defending their land from enchroachment.
Earlier this month the British owned Vedanta’s plans to mine for bauxite in a remote part of eastern India were halted, but not without a fight. The Indian Ministry for Environment and Forestry found Vedanta found guilty of violating the human rights of the local communities, but had to thrash it out first with the state government who originally supported Vedanta in its plans.
Activists argue media exposure of the plans and suspected impact may have helped push the government to make a decision.
Bratindi Jenna, head of tribal rights at ActionAid India, said the ‘media has played a very very important role…[it] has highlighted the cause and the plight of the Dongaria people and the environmental hazards that will happen with mining of the site.’ She praised the fact the Vedanta issue had been taken up in both Indian and international media as a strong environmental and human rights case.
Peter Jones, editor of Indigenous Peoples Issues and Resources, agreed: ‘Because indigenous Dongria Kondh and local activists were able to disseminate their voices and concerns to international NGOs and alternative media outlets, enough international pressure was eventually raised that the environmental authority had to reconsider their decision.’
While the Dongaria people are now hopeful for a future they could only dream of during their eight years of protesting against Vedanta, many tribes across the globe are locked in similar conflicts over their land and their lives, but without such widespread media attention.
The Penan people of Sarawak
In the Malaysian part of Borneo, the Penan people of Sarawak are in a race against time to get their rights recognised as their forests are cleared for logging, oil palm plantations and hydroelectric dams. The Sarawak state government, which does not recognise the Penan’s rights to their land, is allowing large-scale commercial logging on the tribes’ territory and is now planning 12 hydroelectric dams. The Penan have resorted to making human road blocks and risking prison to protect their rainforest.
Campaign groups are calling on the Malaysian and Sarawak state governments to recognise and uphold the Penan's rights, including the right to say no to logging, oil palm cultivation or dams on their land. A spokesperson for Survival International said: ‘The Sarawak state government almost completely ignores these rights, and allegations of corruption are widespread. The wishes of private companies are being allowed to take precedence over the rights and the needs of the indigenous people who are seeing their means of survival - the forests - destroyed before their eyes.’
‘We hope that pressure on Malaysia will make it more and more difficult for the government to disregard international standards on how indigenous people must be treated.'
Bushmen of Botswana denied water for diamonds
Evicted from their land in the middle of Central Kalahari Game Reserve in 2002, after diamonds were discovered there, the Bushmen of Botswana won the right to return in 2006 but are still fighting for their basic right to water. In June 2010 a judge ruled against them accessing the borehole they used before they were evicted; they are now appealing this decision and face more maltreatment as demand for diamonds increases. Survival International warns ‘diamond exploration was put on hold during the recession but plans are now going ahead with the recovery in price for diamonds.’
The UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People states that 'no relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned, and after agreement on just and fair compensation and, where possible, with the option of return’, yet it appears the Bushmen received much less from the Botswana government.
Guarani tribe resorts to suicide
In Brazil, the Guarani tribe is rapidly depleting from violence, assassination, overcrowding, starvation and now suicide as their land is stolen by cattle ranchers.
Survival director, Stephen Corry, told The Ecologist: 'The situation of the Guarani is appalling - it's one of the worst faced by indigenous people in the whole of the Americas. The violence, racism and abuses they experience are a result of the Brazilian government's failure to resolve conflict with the ranchers who have taken over their land. The assassinations, the suicides and the deaths of Guarani children from malnutrition will continue unless rapid action is taken to get the Guarani back on their land. It is a crime on an enormous scale.'
Dam building on a global scale
It could be argued one of biggest threats to indigenous tribes is the ‘global dam movement.’ As reported in Survival International’s ‘Serious Damage’, the World Bank alone is investing $11bn in 211 hydropower projects worldwide.
The Belo Monte dam is just one in a series of ‘mega dams’ planned in Brazil where a network of roads and dams is being constructed throughout the Amazon to stimulate the country’s growth. The Belo Monte dam, predicted to be the third largest in the world, is also predicted to dry up parts of the Xingu River, devastate rainforest, reduce fish stocks and destroy the livelihoods of thousands of tribal people who depend on the forest and river for food and water.
In contrast to other campaigns with relatively low publicity, actress Signorvey Weaver and James Cameron, director of box office hit Avatar, have now joined forces with Amazon Watch and International Rivers to fight against the Belo Monte dam. Cameron’s special feature film and Weaver’s animation with Google Earth can only help to raise awareness of its harmful affects and rally international support against it; but there is a question over whether it’s too late.
Tribes have been protesting against the dam since the 1980s and development is already taking place. Widespread international media could now be the only hope for the people and land of the Brazilian Amazon.
‘Uncontacted tribes’ at risk
Many indigenous communities are actively protesting against companies like Vedanta moving in on their land. However, in remote regions of the Peruvian Amazon it is estimated there are 15 uncontacted tribes, all under threat of extinction and land loss from oil workers and illegal loggers.
Pressure groups are fighting to oppose the plans on behalf of these groups, who have never before had contact with anyone outside of their tribe, yet this work could be regarded as futile in countries like Peru where the government has denied the existence of the ‘uncontacted’ tribes.
The construction of the Jirau and Santo Antônio dams is currently threatening the lives of ‘uncontacted’ tribes in the Western Amazon, some living as close as 10km to the development. On top of the likely devastation of their land, way of life and culture, extinction of these uncontacted tribes is a very real possibility due to their susceptibility to western diseases.
Why is it happening?
Governments are benefiting financially from the situation. In the case of the Penan ‘it is well known the state is profiting from logging,’ according to a Survival International spokesperson. This was a similar situation faced by the people of Dongaria Kondh where the state government seemed to be supporting Vedanta for economic reasons.
In addition, indigenous tribes are facing some of the world’s most powerful corporate bodies and institutions. The Norwegian government is one of the biggest shareholders in the controversial Indonesian logging and palm oil group Sinar Mas. The Church of England was revealed by The Ecologist as being a major investor in Vedanta before pulling out earlier this year. While governments and banks continue with their plans and invest in mining, logging and dam construction there seems little hope development will stop, or the rights of local tribes will be protected.
Peter Jones said it takes a ‘near superhuman effort’ on the part of the indigenous communities, NGOs, and local activists to halt these projects. The media can play a vital role.
‘Indigenous communities are often denied access to the media and the political process,’ says Amnesty International UK campaigner, Naomi McAuliffe. ‘They often face discrimination in their own countries and simply aren’t listened to. It’s a sad truth that politicians often don’t pay attention until international organisations start kicking up a fuss about something.’
Bratindi Jenna agrees and says the media both in the country and on an international scale has a duty to take up the issues ‘wherever indigenous or tribal people are struggling to protect their rights, irrespective of whichever countries it may be’.
Sign up to the international law on tribal peoples
Vedanta ‘in total contempt of the law’ says Indian government
Damning Indian government report says British-owned mining company’s plans should be blocked, as two local tribal campaigners are abducted
Determination in the face of destruction
What do you do when your faith, identity, independence and livelihood are all endangered by a mine that has the backing of a multi-billion pound company and even your own government? For the Dongria Kondh hill tribe of Orissa, India, there is only one answer: you stop them.
Global rise in hydroelectric dams threatens tribal peoples
A new wave of hydropower projects is under way in the quest for clean renewable energy but tribal and indigenous peoples continue to be ignored by those pushing through the plans
UK companies linked to devastating Indian mine
Plans to bulldoze an Indian mountain sacred to local people were controversial enough... before shareholder data revealed that a raft of UK household names, ranging from Jaguar cars to the Church of England, own shares in the company behind the mine, Vedanta Resources plc
Indonesia wages war against tribe
Armed and financed by Western corporations, Indonesia is waging a brutal war against a tribal people with little more than bows and arrows to defend itself.
Using this website means you agree to us using simple cookies. | <urn:uuid:c040310f-91af-49c7-8ecd-f27aa392c211> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/605906/news_special_vedanta_victory_masks_threats_to_indigenous_people.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282202.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00552-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957065 | 2,262 | 3.0625 | 3 |
This truly global book helps site West, East, North and South similarities and differences between womens activism on behalf of equality, liberation, and more human conditions. Fourteen reprinted essays appear within chapters called Nation-building, Sources of Activism, Womens Liberation, and New Waves in the 1980s and 1990s. The collection offers perspectives from 19th and 20th century Egypt, Vietnam, South Africa, Brazil, Kenya, Korea, Britain, Japan, Russia, Iran, Germany and the United States. Of notable interest are discussions of contemporary international movements dealing with womens human rights, Amnesty International, the NGO-ization of feminism, and reflections on the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. A must resource for world and feminist historians. | <urn:uuid:ab934b0a-2b2c-4696-910e-9a1349756e25> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://womeninworldhistory.com/review-38.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280718.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00401-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93128 | 151 | 2.46875 | 2 |
The electron microscope (EM) is a tool for landing high-resolution images of natural and-biological material. It’s used in biomedical exploration to look into the structure of apkins, cells, organelles, and macromolecular complexes in great detail. The employment of electrons (which have veritably short wavelengths) as the source of illuminating light leads to the great resolution of em filmland. To address specific issues, electron microscopy is employed in musicale with several ancillary ways (e.g., thin sectioning, immuno-labeling, negative staining). Em filmland reveals important details on the structural base of cell function and illness.
The transmission electron microscope (TEM) and the scanning electron microscope (SEM) are the two primary types of electron microscopes (sem). The transmission electron microscope is used to examine thin samples ( towel sections, motes, and so on) that allow electrons to pass through and induce a protuberance image. In numerous aspects, the TEM is like a traditional ( emulsion) light microscope. The TEM is used to image the innards of cells (in thin sections), the structure of protein motes ( varied by essence shadowing), the association of motes in contagions and cytoskeletal fibers ( prepared by negative staining), and the arrangement of protein motes in cell membranes, among other effects (by snap-fracture).
Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)
The transmission electron microscope is the first type of electron microscope, and it uses a high-voltage electron ray to illuminate the instance and produce a magnified image of it.
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
To gain magnified images of the instance, the scanning electron microscope used a process known as raster scanning. It sends a riveted electron ray across the instance’s blockish region, losing energy as it passes through. The energy is converted into heat, light, secondary electrons, and backscattered electrons, among other effects. This data can be used to fantasize the original instance’s geomorphology and composition.
What Is an Electron Microscope Used For?
To gain information about structure, morphology, and composition, electron microscopes employ signals generated by the commerce of an electron ray with the material.
Electrons are produced by the electron gun.
The electron ray is concentrated on the instance and converted into a thin tight ray by two sets of condenser lenses.
An accelerating voltage ( generally between 100 kV and 1000 kV) is supplied between the tungsten hair and anode to transport electrons down the column.
The instance to be viewed is made exceedingly thin, at least 200 times thinner than the optic microscope samples. Ultra-thin sections with a consistency of 20-100 nm are cut and placed on the instance holder.
The electrons are scattered when the electrical ray passes through the instance, depending on the consistency or refractive indicator of different regions of the instance.
Because smaller electrons strike that area of the screen, the thick portions of the instance smatter more electrons and feel darker in the image. Transparent areas, on the other hand, are lustrous.
The electron ray exiting the instance is concentrated by the objective lens, which has a high exaggeration and produces the intermediate magnified image.
The final magnified image is produced by the optical lenses.
Operation of Electron Microscope
In practice, electron microscopy has a wide range of operations. Its capacity to observe an instance’s bitsy structure at an advanced resolution than optic microscopy provides it a unique place in scientific study and artificial operations. Several of these operations are bandied in further depth further below.
In exploration labs, universities, and nanotechnology centers, electronic microscopes are considered employed. The structure of the instance can be examined in detail at these institutions to learn further about its function. Other groups, similar to artificial pots, can also take on and use the findings of scientific exploration centers.
Electron microscopy is constantly used in assiduity to prop in the development of new goods and the production process.
Organic accouterments may be characterized and anatomized using electron microscopy, which is veritably useful information for mining businesses. Microscopes can incontinently give automatic, objective, and quantitative data about the terrain. Canvas and gas pots can also use the approach to check a region and gather information about it. This can help to alleviate the pitfalls connected with canvas and gas disquisition and birth.
Forensic wisdom is another operation of electron microscopy, which comprises an analysis to produce substantiation for felonious and legal purposes. An electron microscope, for illustration, could be used to examine the fine details of an application instance, similar to projectile residue or a sample of clothes filaments, blood, or another natural element.
In comparison to other ways, electron microscopy provides further information, allowing forensic scientists to learn further about the crime scene, which can prop in the provision of substantiation.
The electron microscope was essential in relating the unproductive agents of contagious ails in early exploration. It’s still an important fashion for diagnosing conditions and testing for microorganism identification.
An electron microscope is a microscope that illuminates with a ray of accelerated electrons. Electron microscopes offer an advanced resolving power than light microscopes and may expose the structure of lower objects since the wavelength of an electron is times shorter than that of visible light photons.
If you want to learn about the best microscopes manufacturer and supplier in India, then you should check out this blog.
Microorganisms, cells, big motes, vivisection samples, essence, and chargers are among the natural and inorganic samples that electron microscopes are used to dissect the ultrastructure of. Electron microscopes are constantly used in the assiduity for quality control and failure analysis. | <urn:uuid:10332a0c-d854-4aa0-86f2-1457ba6a1ce2> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.nativesdaily.com/what-is-an-electron-microscope-how-does-it-work/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570871.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808183040-20220808213040-00275.warc.gz | en | 0.898236 | 1,236 | 3.375 | 3 |
There is not a person in the world who enjoys hearing the words oral surgery – but there are some oral surgeries that are quite commonplace. These include dealing with impacted wisdom teeth, surgery to install dental implants, and more.
Here are five types of oral surgery you may not be familiar with, but you can bet your dentist is:
· Impacted Wisdom Teeth. The final molars to form in the mouth, wisdom teeth like to show up underneath of the teeth in front of them. But most people do not have space in their mouths for wisdom teeth. If these teeth do not have enough room to emerge and get stuck in your jaw, it is called an impaction. Oral surgery may be necessary to remove impacted wisdom teeth. Oftentimes, wisdom teeth are extracted before they can become impacted.
· Dental Implants. If you’ve lost a tooth, you may opt to replace it with a dental implant, which involves surgically installing the dental implant into your jaw. A dental implant is a titanium screw that is anchored into the jawbone where the tooth was. After the implant and jaw have a chance to fuse together, usually about 4-6 months, the final crown is affixed to the implant. The result is a tooth that looks, feels, and functions like your natural teeth.
· Tooth Extraction. If a tooth is significantly cracked, decayed, or infected, it may be necessary to pull it. Tooth extraction is relatively straightforward, although it may become a more complex type of oral surgery if the tooth is impacted or too fragile to remove whole.
· Signs of Oral Cancer. A biopsy is required to confirm a diagnosis of oral cancer. This involves cutting a sample of the suspect tissue from the gums, lips, or inside of the cheeks. Your dentist may perform the biopsy, but if cancer is confirmed, you may require the services of an oral surgeon to ensure removal of all cancerous cells.
· Root Canals. When tooth decay involves the innermost core of the tooth – the pulp – it may require a root canal. Oral surgery may be a part of a root canal procedure if the tooth root or nearby bone are damaged and require treatment, or to remove calcium deposits in the root itself.
If you or someone in your family needs oral surgery or you are just looking for a new dentist, contact Hagerman Dental Care by calling (651) 646-2392 or request an appointment now and treat your teeth to the best care possible in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota. | <urn:uuid:cc1676a4-58b1-4794-bfa6-0d4ca29b9274> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.hagermandentalcare.com/2019/07/26/5-common-types-of-oral-surgery/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570868.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808152744-20220808182744-00072.warc.gz | en | 0.925783 | 518 | 2.4375 | 2 |
WASHINGTON — President Trump announced a second summit this month with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un the same day that news leaked of a confidential United Nations report detailing the regime hiding nukes and selling weapons.
A UN Security Council diplomat told CNN that the report, compiled by experts empaneled by UNSC resolutions and submitted to a UN sanctions committee, found “evidence of a consistent trend on the part of the DPRK to disperse its assembly, storage, and testing locations.”
North Korea “continues to defy Security Council resolutions through a massive increase in illegal ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products and coal,” states a report summary, as “global banks and insurance companies continue to unwittingly facilitate payments and provide coverage for vessels in ever-larger, multi-million-dollar, illegal ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products.”
The communist country is also accused of violating a UN arms embargo by selling weapons and military equipment to Libya, Sudan, and Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Later, at his State of the Union address, Trump declared that “if I had not been elected president of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea with potentially millions of people killed.”
“Much work remains to be done, but my relationship with Kim Jong-un is a good one,” he added. “And Chairman Kim and I will meet again on February 27 and 28 in Vietnam.”
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told the Senate Intelligence Committee last week that the intelligence committee assesses North Korea “will seek to retain its WMD capabilities and is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capabilities because its leaders ultimately view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival.”
“Our assessment is bolstered by our observations of some activity that is inconsistent with full denuclearization,” Coats told lawmakers. “While we assess that sanctions and exports have been effective and largely maintained, North Korea seeks to mitigate the effects of the U.S.-led pressure campaign through diplomatic engagement, counter-pressure against the sanction’s regime, and direct sanctions evasion.”
North Korea was also listed among the nations that “have all used chemical weapons over the past two years, which threatens international norms and may portend future use.”
CIA Director Gina Haspel told senators that “of course the regime is committed to developing a long-range nuclear armed missile that would pose a direct threat to the United States.”
“It is positive that we have managed to engage them in a dialogue,” she added. “They have taken some voluntary measures to close a site, dismantle a site, but ultimately the objective is to lessen that threat by getting them to declare their program and then ultimately dismantle the program.” | <urn:uuid:0df47d31-fe5a-45ff-82dc-2c4730d56ea9> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://pjmedia.com/columns/bridget-johnson/2019/02/06/report-finds-kim-hiding-nukes-selling-weapons-as-trump-announces-vietnam-summit-n119397 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571987.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813202507-20220813232507-00275.warc.gz | en | 0.964686 | 594 | 1.828125 | 2 |
The Counseling and Wellness Center’s training program offers a broad range of training and service opportunities utilizing a practitioner-scholar model. Training consists of individual and group supervision, mentoring, a training seminar/case consultation, and professional development programs.
Core training areas are:
- Professional practice – emphasis on diagnosis, assessment, treatment planning, and psychotherapy.
- Evidence based treatments – utilization of a broad range of intervention modalities including cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal, systemic, dynamic and experiential techniques within a multicultural and solution-focused framework.
- Non-specific psychotherapy factors – establishing a relationship, utilizing therapy skills, building strengths and responsiveness, utilizing conceptualization in therapy.
- Supervision – emphasis on client cases while discussing individualized goals; includes consultation as well as exploring the intersections of characteristics that impact treatment access, process and outcome.
Training related to ethical and legal issues is woven throughout each core area. While the focus is on time-limited treatment, each practicum student and post-doctoral resident will work with the supervisor to identify long-term cases. Opportunities for experiences will include areas such as psychopathology, sexual assault/trauma, crises intervention, substance abuse, career development, disability adjustment, and personality disorders.
The majority of a practicum student or post-doctoral resident’s time is committed to direct service activities. Each practicum student receives a minimum of two hours of supervision that includes one hour of individual supervision by a licensed psychologist and one and a half hours of group supervision in a treatment team meeting on Friday mornings. Each Post-doctoral fellow also receives a minimum of two hours of supervision that includes one hour of individual supervision by a licensed psychologist and one and a half hours of group supervision in a treatment team meeting on Friday mornings. The following licensed psychologists are available to serve as supervisors:
Anne E. Fisher, Ph.D., L.P.
Erin J. Robinson, Psy.D., L.P.
The Postdoctoral Fellowship offers supervision across a range of experiences in the area of psychological treatment and mental health counseling in a college and wellness center. Interdisciplinary opportunities are offered in the area of advanced clinical practice and the integration of research into practice.
All supervisors are licensed psychologists. Postdoctoral fellows are provided one hour of face-to-face supervision each week in addition to group supervision obtained through clinical activities (case consultation and multidisciplinary case review) at Friday morning team meetings. These meetings involve regular staff case consultation and mental health case review on a weekly basis. Supervision and mentoring is also available though consultation with other members of the multidisciplinary team as requested. The supervisor will provide postdoctoral fellows with continuous feedback on their progress during weekly supervision meetings. The postdoctoral fellow and supervisor establish goals and objectives at the beginning and midterm in the fellowship. Evaluations are interactive, and both the postdoctoral fellow and supervisor exchange impressions and information related to the supervisory experience as well as the evaluation of the postdoctoral training program.
Fellows receive supervision on clinical work, their consultation and communication with other staff members, and their overall professional conduct. Fellows and practicum students participate in a seminar. The focus of the seminar is on treatment techniques, case presentations, and best practices.
The training provided meets requirements for licensure as a psychologist in the state of Florida.
Qualifications for Post-Doctoral Fellowship
It is desired that Applicants have completed a Ph.D./Psy.D degree in a clinical or counseling psychology program accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) and must have completed a clinical or counseling internship (APA-approved) prior to entering the program.
Applicant must have completed all internship prerequisites before beginning the fellowship. Additionally, prior experience in a college or university counseling center is preferable. This Postdoctoral Fellowship is primarily focused on individual counseling experience with supplemental opportunities with outreach programming and consultation.
Please contact Dr. Anne Fisher if you have questions regarding the post-doctoral fellowship. Positions generally start in mid-late August/early September. Applications are reviewed and interviewed between April and June each year.
Anne Fisher, Ph.D.
P: (941) 487-4254
New College of Florida
Counseling & Wellness Center
5800 Bay Shore Rd.
Sarasota, FL 34243-2197 | <urn:uuid:c1755eaf-96b9-46f1-8a9a-60d6a0d9d458> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://usfsm.edu/counseling-wellness-center/clinical-training/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282140.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00135-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933555 | 894 | 1.585938 | 2 |
The combination of cinema and science is the ambition of international science and cinema meetings organized by the Poli Maggot Association in Marseille. For this 13th edition of the festival, a selection of 69 short and feature films on science issues (fundamental sciences, life and environmental sciences, human and social sciences, etc.) will be presented.
A “Kovid” version
Determined for March 2020, the 13th edition of RISC will finally be online a year later and only online, requiring the Kovid epidemic, rather than investing in various locations in the city of Marseille. But Polly Magogo wanted them to somehow take the place, so as not to break the link between the public, the filmmakers, and of course the films, the main objects of these meetings. This time, therefore, the entire selection can be viewed on the Kinov platform, provided you register in advance (for free). Various films will be available throughout the week, à la carte. But not to lose all the flaws associated with this event, interactive sessions will still be held.
RISC 13TH Edition Trailer from Polly Magigo on Vimeo.
17 thematic sessions
In all, there will be 17 thematic sessions: The first is scheduled today at 8:30 pm with the theme “Geography, Sociology and Town Planning”. Each session will be followed by videoconferencing discussions with directors, researchers and the public. However, to participate, it will be necessary to register before the 25th hour on the stage, as the audience gauge is set at 100, to facilitate dialogue.
Topics we’ve identified include: a focus on March 23 at 4 pm Chloe Galliebert-Laen, Director and Researcher École Normale Superior – PSL. His film Forensicness Will be shown there: This is a mise en abyme of the film Watch detectives By Chris Kennedy, the 2013 Boston bombings dedicated to the pursuit of terrorists. The filmmaker dissected the mechanics of the victim through images on social networks that led to the arrest of the suspects.
One more evening to note: A special “Observation, Microscopy and Instrumentation” on March 27 at 6:00 pm, with 7 short films in the presentation. The festival will close with 4 awards (Short Film Young Audience Award, Short Film Audience Award and Short and Feature Film Jury Award). The entire program can be viewed on the RISC festival page.
Analyst. Amateur problem solver. Wannabe internet expert. Coffee geek. Tv guru. Award-winning communicator. Food nerd. | <urn:uuid:783e4c33-de61-4d43-b42b-48d8500ab7e0> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.insidewalessport.co.uk/international-science-and-cinema-meetings-online/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572408.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816151008-20220816181008-00679.warc.gz | en | 0.890425 | 542 | 1.523438 | 2 |
IntelliCrop™ - Weather Systesm
IntelliCrop is an online global agro-meteorological service combining climatological, meteorological and agronomic modeling with optional pre and post satellite analysis to create season long yield projections. These yield production estimates are specifically designed for decision and risk support in the insurance, finance, commodity projection, gene performance, biofuel and global transport sectors. IntelliCrop is a powerful decision support service that can be tailored to deliver most users demands.
An objective and quantitative interpretation of a sub-national weather scene – each day’s new weather and forecasts in terms of its whole impact on the crop status and outlook for the remainder of the season.
An advanced interpretation of an area’s crop situation and its yield forecast for the remainder of the year that is consistent across the globe.
The option for advanced post integration of satellite spectral and agro-meteorological analysis to enhance the accuracy of both acreage and yield estimates (production).
The ability to deliver weekly output data for crop growing region across globe via API or FTP to various end-user decision tools.
Currently the IntelliCrop service is for Corn and Soybean. Wheat and sugar cane will be added later in the 2014 growing season. | <urn:uuid:6f1642a9-2f05-453c-86a8-c41b266d30cd> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.agriculture-xprt.com/products/intellicrop-weather-systesm-425078 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718278.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00241-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.893915 | 261 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Computer and Internet Crime Laws
Computers and the internet have ingrained themselves as such an indelible part of modern society that it isn't surprising how often they're used to commit crimes. Computer and internet crimes run the gamut from identity theft to computer fraud and computer hacking. States and the federal government have laws that criminalize various types of behavior involving computers, computer systems, and the internet, and each has its own requirements and potential penalties.
There are a number of offenses which can fall under the category of “computer crime.” Any crime that either targets a computer, or in which someone uses a computer to commit a crime, falls into this category. State computer crime laws differ widely, and when a person uses a computer to commit a crime, that crime may be covered under several different state or federal laws.
- Unlawful use or access. Some states have laws that make it a crime to use or access a someone else's computer without permission or authority. This type of crime includes instances where a person physically accesses someone else's computer, gains access electronically, or uses a virus to gain access. These laws are often used in computer hacking cases where someone gains access to someone else's computer without permission.
- Access for fraudulent purposes. Other states have laws that punish using a computer to accomplish a fraudulent act. Some states, for example, make it a crime to use a computer, computer software, or computer network to fraudulently obtain goods or services of any kind.
- Data theft. Even if you're allowed to use or access a computer, you can still commit a computer crime if you access, copy, damage, or alter information you don't have permission to use. Some states provide additional penalties in cases where the data theft resulted in damage, while less severe penalties apply for thefts which did result in data being damaged, altered, or destroyed.
- Child pornography. It's a crime to make, possess, or transmit images that portray child pornography. All 50 states, as well as the federal government, have laws which prohibit keeping pornographic images of children. There are also laws which prohibit transmitting harmful materials to children. “Harmful materials” include sexual or pornographic images that may be legal for adults to view, but which are harmful to, or inappropriate for, children.
While computer crimes cover a wide range of activity, internet crime laws punish activity that specifically involves the internet in some way. These laws apply to emails and websites, as well as using the internet to commit identity theft or other forms of fraud. Like computer crimes, both individual states and the federal government have laws that apply to internet crime.
- Luring or soliciting children. Nearly all states have laws that make it a crime to use the internet to solicit, lure, or entice a child to engage in a sexual act. These laws apply when a person aged 18 or older uses the internet to communicate with a child. The age limit of a child for the purposes of these laws is usually 16. However, a person can violate these laws as long as they believe the person they're talking to is 16 or younger, even if the person is actually an adult.
- Harassment, stalking, and bullying. Various states have enacted laws which criminalize using the internet to stalk, harass, or make criminal threats against someone. State stalking laws typically require that the threats made must be credible, but a state's harassment laws may also punish internet communications intended to threaten or harass even if the threat is not credible. Recently, some states have enacted cyber bullying laws which criminalizes harassment aimed specifically towards minors.
- Other laws and new laws. There are any number of federal and state crimes that may also apply in computer and internet criminal cases. Federal wire fraud, for example, can apply to any case where a person uses a computer or electronic communications device to fraudulently deprive someone else of property. As computers and the internet continue to change and proliferate, legislatures regularly introduce new criminal laws which apply to internet and computer use.
Because there are numerous different types of computer and internet crimes, there are also a wide range of potential penalties. Some computer crimes have minor penalties associated with them, while more serious crimes can impose significant fines and lengthy prison sentences.
- Fines. Fines for a conviction of various computer and internet crimes range widely. A misdemeanor conviction can result in relatively minor fines of a few hundred dollars, and possibly up to a $1,000 or more, while felony convictions can have fines that exceed $100,000.
- Jail or prison. A person convicted of certain internet or computer crimes may also face a jail or prison sentence. The most serious crimes, such as possessing child pornography, can result in a prison sentence of 20 years or more.
- Probation. Probation sentences for computer crimes are also possible as either individual penalties or in addition to jail or fines. Probation terms can differ widely, but typically last at least one year and require the person on probation to not commit more crimes, maintain employment, report to a probation officer, and pay all court costs and fines.
Talk to an Attorney
Being accused of a computer or internet crime is very serious. Even if you're never convicted you can lose your job and suffer the stigma of being an accused criminal. Computer and internet crimes can be very complicated, involving numerous laws, evidentiary issues, and extensive government investigations. Anytime you're charged with a computer crime you face the vast resources of the state or federal government. Your best defense against those powers is to find a qualified, experienced criminal defense attorney in your area. Whether you're facing state or federal criminal charges, a local defense attorney will be able to provide you with legal advice based on the facts of your case and the law. You need an attorney who has knowledge of the local courts, police, and prosecutors, and who can help you at every stage of your case. | <urn:uuid:eec183d1-e1ac-4dc4-8822-3491b0b0498b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/crime-penalties/federal/computer-crimes.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279410.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00174-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941077 | 1,208 | 2.984375 | 3 |
A new partnership that includes IHE Delft and eight European partners aims to consolidate approaches, methods and tools to tackle the effects of climate change in cities through research, innovation, knowledge sharing and capacity development.
The Urban Climate Change Research Network for Higher Education (UCCRN-EDU), launched in March in Naples, Italy, is an initiative of the international consortium Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN) which works to foster cross-sectoral action on urban climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The new network will help future urban climate leaders develop the skills they need to research and design solutions, as well as to develop policies for climate-change resilient cities, said Chris Zevenbergen, IHE Delft Professor of Flood Resilience and Urban Systems.
“The next generation of urban climate leaders need to be able to navigate the complexity of interconnected fields – they need to use multidisciplinary ways to make cities more resilient and sustainable,” he said, adding that the network’s courses, workshops and trainings would support the development of such skills.
The partnership combines expertise in fields needed to tackle urban climate challenge: climate science and urban microclimate; urban policy, legislation and governance; water and energy; multi-scale climate-resilient planning and design; nature-based solutions, biodiversity and ecosystems; hazard/impact modelling and IT tools; multi-stakeholders/community engagement and co-design.
It will offer:
- Three academic courses that foster multidisciplinary education and blended learning modes;
- Seven intensive interactive workshops for IHE Delft students shaped as workshops co-designed with urban stakeholders and communities;
- Two short-term joint staff training events focused on innovative educational approaches and tools;
- Eight multiplier events to maximise the outreach at a global scale and the potential future employment of students in relevant sectors worldwide.
Ten members of the international UCCRN consortium and five leading international networks (ICLEI, C40, Cite-ID, URNet and Climate Chance) are associated partners to the new network, created as part of a three-year project financed by the EU Erasmus+ Program. | <urn:uuid:74d67d08-7ecd-49c7-b945-0045cdc8e643> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.un-ihe.org/news/new-partnership-urban-climate-change-research-network-higher-education | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571538.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812014923-20220812044923-00467.warc.gz | en | 0.914985 | 443 | 2.625 | 3 |
Journalists’ Facebook Pages Reveal Struggle with Neutrality, Free Speech
There's going to be a party in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Most Americans won't experience it in person, but many will share their feelings about it on social networking sites.
How will journalists react when Barack Obama puts his hand on Lincoln's Bible? If Election Night was any indication, some of them will be quite happy -- and, like everyone else, they'll say so on Facebook.
Journalists have taken to social networking. They post photos, find old friends, reach out to new ones, and tell them all what's going on in their lives. Some use Facebook and MySpace to find sources and conduct interviews. Yet judging from the posts in November -- and what they likely will broadcast on Tuesday to their Facebook friends -- I'm not sure we've figured out how these sites fit into our identities as journalists.
Back in November, I asked my colleagues at Poynter to be on the lookout for fellow journalists' Facebook "status updates" regarding the election. I suspected many would express happiness at Barack Obama's victory, and that's pretty much what I saw in the 50 or so status updates we collected.
Some were overt. Others were vague enough that it wasn't exactly clear what people were so excited about; considering the historic event, though, the context was practically unnecessary. As I learned, that vagueness often was intentional.
I contacted most of those 50 or so people and interviewed about 15 of them. I wanted to know how they reconciled what they post on social networking sites with newsroom guidelines that discourage getting involved with or expressing support for political causes and candidates.
What I found was a disconnect between what these journalists said and what they did. Most agreed that journalists should accept some limitation on free speech so they don't undermine their position as fair brokers of information. Almost all of them said they never would have put an Obama sign in their front yards or a bumper sticker on their cars.
Yet they posted status updates such as:
"voted for change"/"change is coming"/"yes we did"/"is thrilled."
"is hoping the American people elect to leave behind the dark ages and step back into the hopeful light. It's been a long time."
"helped turn her state blue."
"I live in the United States of America again."
"is getting out the vote for Barack Obama."
They get the guidelines, but they haven't figured out how to apply them to the digital world. Yard signs and bumper stickers matter when your car and your house are part of your public identity. Now that we do so much work online, our presence on Facebook and MySpace are our yards and cars. (Kelly McBride, Poynter's ethics group leader, has developed a newsroom ethics policy that addresses this very issue. The New York Times also has a policy on social media use.)
As I contacted people, it became clear that this is a sensitive issue. Some of my colleagues remarked that they felt like they were ratting out their friends. One woman changed her privacy settings so Poynter colleagues couldn't see her status anymore (which is one way to address this issue). A couple of journalists expressed regret about what they had posted and asked that I not publicize it. I felt like the J-school hall monitor.
I understand their sense of betrayal in learning that someone had saved screen images of their status updates. There is a presumption of trust among friends, even Facebook friends. But really, how much do you trust someone whom you met once at a conference? How much confidentiality can you expect from a group of 300 people?
"Facebook is both private and public," said Tommy Tomlinson, a Charlotte Observer columnist who is doing a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University. "How many people are going to drive by my yard in a day versus how many people have my Facebook feed?"
Moreover, how many of those drivers even know that a journalist lives in that house? In many ways, our physical presence is more anonymous than our digital one. Unlike on Facebook, you probably don't have a sign on your house noting that you work for the local newspaper or television station.
"It's so much more now than putting a bumper sticker on your car," Tomlinson said. "Everyone, in some sense, has their diaries online. So I don't know how you get along being a journalist and totally being objective in every aspect of your life."
On Election Night, he told his 200-odd Facebook friends that "Tommy Tomlinson is still up at 3 in the morning, loving his country."
"Facebook is both private and public," said Tommy Tomlinson, a Charlotte Observer columnist who is doing a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University.He told me he believes he has more latitude to express himself because he's a columnist and he's on leave from the newspaper. Other journalists offered similar explanations; they said they can express opinions more freely because they have gone back to school, or they don't cover politics, or they don't directly gather news, or they don't deal with sources on Facebook.
But how many of these distinctions matter to our audience and our communities? Let me get this straight: If I cover high school football, I can support political candidates, but if I move over to city hall, I should stop. And should my audience forget everything I professed before? In reality, we don't have the power to decide what people factor into our professional identities. Once it's out there, it's fair game.
That's one of the reasons many bloggers and social media users advocate transparency: Admit our preferences and explain why they don't matter.
Jim Ogle, general manager of WIBW-TV and its associated Web sites in Topeka, Kan., said he's believed for years that transparency is a better solution than hiding one's beliefs. Now he's taking advantage of social networking to express them. On Election Day, he posted on Facebook (he had about 440 Facebook friends at the time) that he was "getting out the vote for Obama." He said he's also publicly supported candidates for local office.
That's a bold position -- one not taken by any of the others I interviewed. Most are still in this middle ground, anxious to express themselves but worried about what they can say. They type what they're thinking but delete it before they click "post."
"I think lot of journalists see that everyone else gets to be pundits and espouse their thoughts ... Maybe some of it is, 'I get to be me somewhere,'" said Tiffany Shackelford, executive director of CapitolBeat, an association of state government reporters and editors. "I wonder if we're being archaic in holding on to these things or [whether] holding on to these things is the only thing we have left."
Back on Election Day, Shackelford told about 940 Facebook friends, made up of personal friends and professional contacts, that she was "thrilled."
"I think that was the most blatant that I've gotten," she said, noting that while she considers her Facebook presence personal, she tries to avoid taking political or religious stands. Her updates "tend to mock on both sides, which is sort of my veiled way of protecting myself."
That's a common strategy: Don't leave, as Chicago Tribune photographer Scott Strazzante put it, a "paper trail." (When Obama was elected, Strazzante's message to almost 900 Facebook friends was a simple "woo hoo!" He said that expressed happiness at the success of a hometown candidate.)
What we don't know is how these revelations, whether it's speaking in code or blatant opinionating, affect our credibility with our audience.
"You're in great mood, a great thing happens and you want to tell the world," Tomlinson said. "Facebook provides a platform for that. I can see in ... context of events, that could really hurt someone's career."
Tuesday morning, I'll be on the National Mall -- my second presidential inauguration, the first for an African-American. I'm excited, for several reasons that I'll refrain from describing here. I haven't decided what I'll write on my Facebook status that day. And Twitter? That's another story altogether. | <urn:uuid:21ab0baf-de2a-46c9-809d-36a99b35ac7f> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.poynter.org/2009/journalists-facebook-pages-reveal-struggle-with-neutrality-free-speech/93679/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720475.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00353-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977847 | 1,720 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Iran has sent military submarines to the Red Sea, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
"Iranian military submarines entered the Red Sea waters with the goal of collecting information and identifying other countries' combat vessels," Fars said in a Tuesday report, citing an unidentified source.
It did not say how many submarines were involved or what type they were but noted they had sailed alongside warships from the Iranian Navy's 14th fleet.
State-run Press TV said in a report earlier in May that the 14th fleet – which is comprised of two vessels, the warship Bandar Abbas and the destroyer Shahid Naqdi – had been sent to fight piracy.
"The fleet entered the Gulf of Aden region in May and has now entered the Red Sea in the continuation of its mission," Fars said.
Two Iranian warships passed through the Suez Canal en route to Syria in February, for the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israel called that move a "serious provocation."
According to Reuters, Iran announced last August it had expanded its fleet of domestically built 120-ton Ghadir-class submarines to 11. These, it said, would be used to patrol the Gulf and the Sea of Oman.
Israel reportedly stationed submarines near Iran last year. | <urn:uuid:c010d968-0004-45f0-b8bf-f564af1ab6e8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/144811 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573699.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819131019-20220819161019-00275.warc.gz | en | 0.979319 | 261 | 1.882813 | 2 |
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