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Bible Summary. When we put things above God and do things that displease Him, our sin nature is telling God we hate Him and hate anything that is of His righteous. This is why Cain hated his brother, Abel. He hated his brother was righteousness. We tend to dislike things we do not know. To hate God and deny His Truth will only result in our early death and destruction. See below for Biblical commentary and advise on why people hate God.
Cain Hated His Brother’s Righteousness
Our Hatred Of God Is Rooted In Our Sin Nature.
From God’s perspective we either love Him or hate Him. When we put things above God and do things that displease Him, our sin nature is telling God we hate Him and hate anything that is of His righteous. Proverbs 29:10 advises us that the bloodthirsty hate the upright.
Proverbs 29:10, “The bloodthirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul.”
Like Cain, Hating God’s Righteousness.
Cain hated his brother Abel because his brother was righteousness. Abel’s righteousness highlighted that Cain’s works were evil. This is the only reason that Cain murdered Abel. 1st John 3:12 tells us that Cain killed his brother because of his hate of his brother’s righteousness.
1st John 3:12, “Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
We Hate God Because We Do Not Know Him.
We tend to dislike things we do not know. If we are confronted with something we do not know and perceive it as a threat, our reactions can be quite hateful. This is the way many of us our with God. We do not really know God so we hate God. Jude 1:10 advises us that brute beast speak evil of things they do not know, and corrupt themselves with what they do know.
Jude 1:10, “But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.”
No One Can Blot Out God’s Truth.
The only answer to our human situation and our sin nature is Jesus. God is a righteous God that punishes sin with death and destruction. To hate God and deny His Truth will only result in our early death and destruction. John 7:7 advises that the world hates the Word of Jesus because He testifies against the world.
John 7:7, “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. | <urn:uuid:d70deb71-e8ed-4463-a2dd-be4e93d5cf04> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://access-jesus.com/hate-god.html/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988717954.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183837-00509-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971285 | 582 | 2.171875 | 2 |
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Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of bronchiolitis and viral death in infants. Reduced CD8 T-cells and negligible interferon gamma (IFNγ) in the airway are associated with severe infant RSV disease, yet there is an abundance of alveolar macrophages (AM) and neutrophils. However, it is unclear, based on our current understanding of macrophage functional heterogeneity, if immature AM improve viral clearance or contribute to inflammation and airway obstruction in the IFNγ-deficient neonatal lung environment. The aim of the current study was to define the age-dependent AM phenotype during neonatal RSV infection and investigate their differentiation to classically activated macrophages (CAM) using i.n. IFNγ in the context of improving viral clearance. Neonatal and adult BALB/cJ mice were infected with 1×106 plaque forming units (PFU)/gram (g) RSV line 19 and their AM responses compared. Adult mice showed a rapid and robust CAM response, indicated by increases in major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC II), CD86, CCR7, and a reduction in mannose receptor (MR). Neonatal mice showed a delayed and reduced CAM response, likely due to undetectable IFNγ production. Intranasal (i.n.) treatment with recombinant mouse IFNγ (rIFNγ) increased the expression of CAM markers on neonatal AM, reduced viral lung titers, and improved weight gain compared to untreated controls with no detectable increase in CD4 or CD8 T-cell infiltration. In vitro infection of J774A.1 macrophages with RSV induced an alternatively activated macrophage (AAM) phenotype however, when macrophages were first primed with IFNγ, a CAM phenotype was induced and RSV spread to adjacent Hep-2 cells was reduced. These studies demonstrate that the neonatal AM response to RSV infection is abundant and immature, but can be exogenously stimulated to express the antimicrobial phenotype, CAM, with i.n. rIFNγ.
Citation: Empey KM, Orend JG, Peebles RS Jr, Egaña L, Norris KA, Oury TD, et al. (2012) Stimulation of Immature Lung Macrophages with Intranasal Interferon Gamma in a Novel Neonatal Mouse Model of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection. PLoS ONE 7(7): e40499. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0040499
Editor: Malcolm Gracie Semple, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
Received: November 23, 2011; Accepted: June 12, 2012; Published: July 6, 2012
Copyright: © 2012 Empey et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: The project described was supported by the National Institutes of Health through Grant Numbers KL2 RR024154 and KL2TR000146, Central Research Development Fund from the University of Pittsburgh Research Council, and resources provided by the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the primary cause of infant bronchiolitis and the most frequent cause of viral death in infants worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, there are 64 million cases of RSV each year resulting in 160,000 deaths globally. In the United States, annual RSV infection results in approximately 1.5 million outpatient visits among children <5 years of age with 75,000–125,000 estimated hospitalizations related to RSV among children aged <1 year, emphasizing the importance of age at initial infection , . Despite the global burden of RSV disease, there remains no vaccine and no effective treatment. Disease pathology has been linked to host immune responses, which differs markedly in infants and adults , . The critical role of CD8 T-cell and interferon gamma (IFNγ) production in adult RSV clearance has been well described –. Conversely, severity of infant RSV infection coincides with a deficient adaptive cytotoxic T-cell response and negligible IFNγ production , –. In the absence of a mature and efficient lymphocyte response, viral clearance in the infant airway is thought to rely more heavily on immature innate immune responses mediated largely by macrophages and neutrophils . However, strikingly little is known regarding the phenotype and function of immature infant alveolar macrophages (AM) in the skewed T-helper 2 (Th2) cytokine (IFNγ-deficient) lung environment.
Far from our original understanding that all macrophages are pro-inflammatory, the concept of macrophage functional heterogeneity has gained considerable ground over the past decade . Classical activation of macrophages differentiated by IFNγ and Toll-like receptor (TLR)-binding pathogens, including RSV, was historically believed to be the only pathway of macrophage activation. Classically activated macrophages (CAM) are characterized by production of nitric oxide (NO), secretion of interleukin-12 (IL-12), IL-1, IL-6, macrophage inflammatory protein-alpha (MIP-1α), and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), and increased expression of major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC II), CD86, CCR7, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) and reduction in mannose receptor (MR) expression –. This pro-inflammatory response increases intracellular killing of phagocytosed organisms and promotes recruitment of additional antimicrobial cells, often at the expense of increased tissue damage. Alternatively activated macrophages (AAM), induced by IL-4 and IL-13, promote tissue repair through clearance of apoptotic cellular debris . They also secrete the anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-10 and produce arginase-1 that competes with inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), rendering them useless in the killing of intracellular pathogens. Shirey and colleagues recently published a model for the role of AAM during RSV infection in adult rodents, which showed an immediate increase in CAM followed by a later rise in AAM through secretion of IL-4 and IL-13 from AM themselves . This model provides a timely and critical explanation regarding how Th2-type cytokines may be released in the absence of T-cell infiltration in the infant airway during RSV infection. Yet, the extent to which CAM expression and anti-viral function occur in the RSV-infected infant lung in the absence of T-cell-derived IFNγ remains unknown. It also remains unclear if the promotion of AAM without the balance of CAM expression in the Th2 skewed, RSV-infected infant lung would remain protective or promote immunopathogenesis due to delayed viral clearance. To this end, we tested the hypothesis that RSV infection would result in increased CAM expression in adult mice due to the abundance of lymphocyte-derived IFNγ, but CAM expression would be reduced in neonatal mice with negligible IFNγ production. We further hypothesized that intranasal (i.n.) IFNγ would increase neonatal CAM expression during RSV infection leading to a reduction in viral load and improved weight gain.
We used an immunologically relevant neonatal mouse model of RSV infection to more closely recapitulate the human infant airway and an in vitro macrophage cell (J774A.1) line to further link the functional response of CAM following IFNγ priming. Similar to human infants, our infant mouse model demonstrated reduced lymphocyte infiltration, deficient endogenous IFNγ production, and a dominant macrophage response following RSV infection. Compared to RSV infected BALB/c adult mice, neonatal mice did not express CAM and had delayed viral clearance. Following treatment with i.n. IFNγ, RSV-infected, neonatal AM showed significantly increased expression of CAM markers, expedited RSV clearance and improved weight gain with no apparent increase in CD4 or CD8 T cell lung infiltration or activation. In vitro, RSV infection alone induced an AAM phenotype in J774A.1 macrophages and mediated the spread of virus to Hep-2 cells. However, when macrophages were first primed with IFNγ, cells expressed a CAM phenotype and the viral spread to adjacent Hep-2 cells was significantly reduced.
Materials and Methods
This study was carried out in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health. Mice were housed at The University of Pittsburgh Division of Laboratory Animal Resources. These animal experiments were approved by The University of Pittsburgh Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), approved protocol number 1103468 and mice were handled according to IACUC guidelines. All efforts were made to minimize animal suffering.
Mice and viral preparation
Pathogen-free breeder BALB/cJ mice were purchased at 5–7 wks of age from The Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME) and were maintained in specific pathogen-free facilities. Female mice were cohoused for 2 wks to synchronize estrus for timed pregnancies. Additional pathogen-free, non-breeder female BALB/cJ mice were purchased at 8 weeks of age from The Jackson Laboratory for infection and control adult groups described below. Guidelines were followed for the care and use of animals as indicated by our animal review board. The line 19 subtype of RSV was provided by Dr. Martin Moore, Emory University, Atlanta, GA. RSV line 19 was passed through 4 rounds of plaque purification for generation of master stocks; working stocks were propagated in HEp-2 cells (American Type Culture Collection) and titered in HEp-2 cells using standard hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) plaque assays, as previously described . Viral stocks were quick-frozen in alcohol/dry ice and stored at −80°C. Uninfected HEp-2 cell cultures were similarly processed to obtain a control, virus-free, mock preparation, referred to as cell lysate or mock. Viral stocks and HEp-2 cell lines were assessed to be free of mycoplasma and other common contaminants using the Plasmo Test Mycoplasma Detection Kit (InvivoGen) according to manufacturer's instructions. Lung titers were determined, as previously described, within one month of sterile removal and storage of infected lungs at −80°C . Mice are considered neonates at less than 7 d of age and will be referred to in figures as pups.
Heart-lung blocks were harvested 7 days post-infection (dpi) and fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde overnight. The lungs were transferred to 70% ethanol and then embedded in paraffin blocks. Tissue sections were stained with periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) to assess goblet cell hyperplasia as a measure of mucin expression. Slides were examined and scored by a single pathologist (T.O.) who was blinded to experimental groups. Individual airways were scored for goblet cell hyperplasia according to the following scale: 0 = no PAS positive cells; 1 = 1–25% PAS positive cells; 2 = 25–50% PAS positive cells; 3 = 50–75% PAS positive cells; 4 = 75–100% PAS positive cells. All airways involved in the tissue sections were scored.
Neonatal and adult mice were infected with a high dose/high volume (HD/HV) inoculation of RSV line 19. Between two to four days of age, neonates were infected intranasally under isoflurane anesthesia with a HD/HV of 1×106 plaque forming unit (PFU)/gram (g) body weight of RSV line 19 in 10 microliters/g of body weight. Adult mice (8–9 weeks of age) were anesthetized with intramuscular (IM) ketamine 40 ug/g and xylazine 6 ug/g. They were simultaneously infected with 1×106 PFU/g body weight of RSV line 19 in 9 microliters/g of body weight. Mock-infected mice were inoculated simultaneously with virus-free cell lysates in the respective volumes described above for neonates and adults. When held upright with the neck fully extended, the mice readily inhaled the stock virus placed over their nostrils with a micropipette. Following infection, mice were evaluated until full recovery from anesthesia. All adults and 92% (55 of 60) of neonates survived the infection protocol; this is similar to the survival rate for our standard volume (adults = 50 µl; neonates = 10–12 µl) infection protocols.
Two groups of neonatal mice, two to four days of age, were infected with HD/HV RSV line 19. Recombinant murine IFNγ (rIFNγ) or diluent (0.1% mouse serum in PBS) was administered to neonatal mice intranasally as previously described . Briefly, RSV-infected (RSV+) and mock-infected (mock) neonates received 16 ng/g rIFNγ (Peprotech, Rocky Hill, NJ) diluted in 10 µl of 0.1% mouse serum/PBS on 1, 3, 5, and 7 dpi. Groups are as follows: 1) RSV-infected/rIFNγ-treated = RSV/rIFNγ+; 2) RSV-infected/diluent only = RSV/rIFNγ−; 3) Mock-infected/rIFNγ-treated = mock/rIFNγ+; 4) Mock-infected/diluent only = mock/rIFNγ−. The mock/rIFNγ− control group was from a separate experiment with age-matched (two to four day-old) BALB/cJ mice.
Isolation of lung interstitial and alveolar cells
Lung cells were prepared as previously described . Briefly, adult and neonatal lungs were lavaged with five washes (for final volumes of 5 and 1.5 to 3 ml, respectively) of cold HBSS-EDTA (3 mM). Left lung lobes were used for viral titers; right lung lobes were used for flow cytometry analysis. Briefly, they were excised, weighed, minced, and enzyme treated at 37°C for 1 h in RPMI 1640 medium containing 3% fetal calf serum, 50 U/ml DNase (Sigma-Aldrich), and 1 mg/ml collagenase A (Sigma-Aldrich). Digested lung tissues were pushed through mesh screens to obtain a single-cell suspension. Red blood cells (RBCs) were lysed by treatment with a hypotonic buffer, and the cells were then resuspended in HBSS for enumeration and phenotypic analysis by flow cytometry.
Surface protein expression and intracellular cytokine secretion were determined by flow cytometry. Isolated aliquots of 5×105 to 106 cells from lung lavage and digest were resuspended in staining buffer (1× PBS, 0.1% BSA, 0.02% sodium azide) and centrifuged at 1200 rpm for 8 min, at 4°C. After removal of supernatants, cells were blocked with anti-CD16/32 (BD Biosciences) for 15 minutes. Cells were stained with appropriate combination panels of fluorochrome-conjugated antibodies (Abs) specific for murine CD11b-perCpCy5.5, CD86-v450, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II (MHC II; I-ad)-FITC, and CD4-FITC, and CD62L-V450 (BD Biosciences, Mountain View, CA); CD11c-PE-Cy7, CD8a-APC, and CD44-PE (eBiosciences, San Diego, CA); and (mannose receptor) MR-Alexa Fluor 647 (AbD Serotec), as well as their isotype controls. Prior to staining MR, cells were treated with Leucoperm according to manufacturer's instructions (AbD Serotec). Cells were washed (2×) with staining buffer, fixed with 0.5% paraformaldehyde and analyzed within 12 hours; analysis showed all tandem dyes remained intact following fixation. Labeled cells were analyzed with an LSRII flow cytometer system (BD Biosciences). For figures in which cell numbers are given, percentage of the gated cell subset for each sample was multiplied by the number of cells manually counted by hemocytometer. FlowJo software (Tree Star Inc. Ashland, OR) was used to analyze the data.
Cytokine and chemokine analysis
Neonatal and adult lungs were lavaged with 1.5–3 mls and 5 ml respectively, of HBSS/3 mM EDTA; bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was stored at −80°C until analysis. Lung supernatants were assayed for IFNγ, IL-12p40, IL-6, TNFα, MCP-1, IL-10, and IL-4 using mouse inflammation multiplex assays (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA) according to manufacturer's instructions. The plates were read using a Luminex® 200™ Total System machine (Luminex Corp, Austin, Tx). The data were analyzed using the LDS1.7 Software.
Infection center assay
The mouse macrophage cell line, J774A.1 (TIB-67) was purchased from ATCC and cultured according to recommended specifications. Cells were seeded in 12-well plates at a concentration of 1×104 cells/well and allowed to adhere. In separate experiments, cells were primed with 165 ng/ml of rIFNγ, 10 ng/ml each of IL-4/IL-13 (Peprotech, NJ), or media only for 24 hours after which time the priming solutions were removed. The cells were then immediately infected with RSV line 19 (generous gifts from Dr. Stokes Peebles, Vanderbilt University and Dr. Martin Moore, Emery University) at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 0.05. The cells were rocked for 3 hours, then overlaid with Hep-2 cells and incubated for 5 hours. The cells were then covered with methylcellulose and incubated for 5 days at which time a standard H&E staining protocol was followed. Control wells consisted of C1) BLANK, C2) J774A.1+, RSV+, rIFNγ−, C3) J774A.1−, RSV+, rIFNγ+, C4) J774A.1+, RSV−, rIFNγ+.
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
J774A.1 macrophages were seeded in 12-well plates at a concentration of 1×104 cells/well and allowed to adhere as described for the infection center assay. In separate experiments, cells were infected with RSV line 19 alone at a MOI of 3 or were first primed with 100 ng/ml of rIFNγ, prior to RSV infection; control wells received media only in all experiments. mRNA was isolated from cells harvested at 24 hour and 72 hours post-infection using RNeasy Mini Qiagen Kit (Life Technologies, NY) and quantified using a NanoDrop® spectrophotometer (Invitrogen, NY). The mRNA was reverse transcribed to cDNA using a Superscript III First-strand synthesis Supermix for qRT-PCR kit (Life Technologies, NY) and quantified on a 7500 ABI Fast RT-PCR system (Life Technologies). Pre-mixed Taqman primer and probes using a Fam/Tamara reporter/quencher combination were purchased from ABI specific for Arginase-1, mannose receptor (MRC-1), FIZZ1, iNOS, and COX-2. Results are represented as a relative increase from media only or from media+IFNγ, using the delta, delta ct method indicating fold change over the house keeping gene (GAPDH). Data are compared to control wells treated with media only using a paired T-test for 3–4 wells per group.
Data are expressed as the mean ± SD of at least five mice per group and each experiment was repeated at least twice. Statistics were performed using GraphPad Prism 5 Software (La Jolla, CA). A two-way ANOVA was used to compare differences among data collected at days post-infection between neonatal and adult groups and between IFNγ-treated and IFNγ- neonatal groups and J774A.1 primed or unprimed groups, followed by a Bonferroni post-test. A paired student's t-test was used to compare viral titers for IFNγ-treated versus non-treated pups to show a less rigorous analysis, as the analysis at each time point was not dependent on the previous time point. A linear regression analysis was used to compare the slopes of RSV versus mock infected pup weights as a percent change of original weight over time using GraphPad Prism 5 Software. A Student t-test was used to determine the difference between average values of the slopes between the two groups; R2 values for each fitted line was ≥0.9.
Infection of neonatal BALB/cJ mice with RSV line 19 effectively models human infant RSV infection
To validate our neonatal mouse model as an effective tool for evaluating human infant AM responses to disease, viral load was quantified from neonatal and adult BALB/cJ mouse lungs following RSV line 19 infection. Virus was delivered to the upper and lower airways (data not shown) using a high dose/high volume (HD/HV) inoculum of 1×106 PFU/g of RSV in 9 µl and 10 µl/g of diluent in adults and neonates, respectively. Mice were inoculated at two to four days and eight to nine weeks of age in three separate experiments. Viral titers were quantified from left lung lobes on 0, 2, 4, 7, and 10 dpi from four to six mice per age group at each time point; the same dosing strategy was used in all subsequent experiments. Adult viral lung titers peaked at 4 dpi and become undetectable after 7 dpi (Fig. 1A). Neonatal lung titers showed persistent growth through 10 dpi, suggesting lower peak titers, but extended viral replication in infant compared to adult mouse airways. Daily weights were monitored for signs of illness. A characteristic bimodal weight loss pattern was observed in adult mice following RSV line 19 as is common with RSV A2 , yielding a peak weight loss of ∼20% total body weight by 7 dpi (Fig. 1B). To account for continuous weight gain in infant mice of about ∼1 g every 1–2 days, linear regression analysis was used. Weight data from each of three repeat experiments (15 pups per group) showed a moderate, but significant divergence in growth rates between RSV-infected and mock-infected neonatal mice (Fig. 1C).
Adult (8–9 wks old) and pup (2–4 days old) BALB/cJ mice received a HD/HV inoculum of RSV line 19 or cell lysate. Serial viral titers were determined by standard H&E plaque assay (A). Daily weights were measured in adults (B) and pups (C). For linear regression analysis, pup data are representative of 3 separate experiments with 15 pups per group. For viral titers and adult weights, data are representative of 3 experiments and points represent data for at least 5 mice per group ± SD. *, Significant compared with mock groups at p<0.05.
Mucus production is a hallmark of severe infant RSV disease and has been shown to inhibit macrophage phagocytosis . To determine if our neonatal mouse model of RSV infection demonstrated increased mucus production, we compared PAS-staining in RSV- and mock-infected neonatal and adult lungs. Lungs were harvested at 7 dpi, a time frame in which viral load is elevated and neonatal mouse weights were beginning to diverge among infected animals (Fig. 2A–B). A morphometric scale (Materials and Methods) shows more airways were producing mucin in RSV line 19-infected compared to mock-infected animals. RSV-infected neonatal mice had a greater relative expression of inspissated mucin lining the surface of bronchoepithelial cells. In contrast, adult mucin appeared intracellular, with little to no secretion observed. Together, these data demonstrate active RSV infection in infant BALB/c mice with increased mucus production and weight loss that serves as an effective model for testing immune modulating anti-RSV treatments, such as inhaled IFNγ.
Adult (8–9 wks old) and pup (2–4 days old) BALB/cJ mice received a HD/HV inoculum of RSV line 19 or cell lysate. The lungs were harvested at 7 dpi and sections were stained with PAS. Airways were scored 0 to 4 for PAS positivity (Materials and Methods). Twenty to 42 airways were scored per mouse. (A) Examples of airway mucin scores. Bright pink PAS-positive cells can be visualized in RSV-infected adult and pup sections. (B) Total numbers of mice and airway scored for each group are shown. The pie charts indicate the mucin scores ranked as a percentage of total airways from the respective groups.
Innate immune cells, rather than CD8 T-cells, predominate during neonatal RSV infection
Despite the well-established role of CD8 T-cells in RSV clearance reported in adult mice, recent evidence in human infants suggests innate immune cells, namely macrophages and neutrophils, may be more critical to viral clearance due to the absence of an efficient lymphocyte response . To determine dominant cell population(s) during RSV infection, differential cell counts from BALF were determined at 7 dpi in four to six neonatal and adult animals. This time point represents the nadir of weight loss in infected adult animals, the divergence in weights among RSV- and mock-infected neonatal mice, and initial viral clearance among both age groups. Macrophages (96%) were the predominant cell type in RSV- and mock-infected neonatal mice (Fig. 3A). Conversely, RSV-infected adult animals responded with a significant increase in lymphocyte (16%) and neutrophil (11%) infiltration relative to mock-infected controls. To elucidate the effect of age on cellular infiltration following RSV infection, total cells were enumerated and compared in neonatal and adult BALF and lung tissue on 0, 2, 4, 7, and 10 dpi following RSV or mock infection. Total cells in neonate compared to adult lungs were significantly increased on 7 and 10 dpi in RSV- compared to mock-infected groups; however, the relative increase in the neonatal group was minimal (Fig. 3B, F). Cells did not enter the airways until 10 dpi in both neonatal and adult animals, and once again, cell numbers increased only minimally in infant airways (Fig. 3C, G), suggesting little cellular recruitment to the lung. To better understand the age-dependent infiltration of T-cells entering the lung at 7 dpi, neonatal and adult lungs were harvested following RSV- or mock- infection for analysis by flow cytometry. Adult animals responded to RSV infection with a robust increase in the percent of CD8 T-cells compared to mock-infected animals by 7 dpi in both the lung and BALF; no increases in CD4 T-cells were detected (Fig. 3D–E). Conversely, neonatal mice showed a modest increase in percent CD4 T-cells and CD8 T-cells relative to adult animals infected with RSV (Fig. 3H–I). Together, these data demonstrate that adult animals have a more robust lymphocyte response to RSV infection compared to neonatal animals. Regardless of age, lymphocytes appeared to be retained in the lung and failed to reach significant levels in the alveolar space until 10 dpi.
Adult (8–9 wks old) and pup (2–4 days old) BALB/cJ mice received a HD/HV inoculum of RSV line 19 or cell lysate. (A) At 7 dpi BALF was collected, H & E stained, and 200 cells per slide were counted using a 100× oil emersion objective lens. Data are depicted as percent of total cells that are macrophages (Mac), neutrophils (Neu), eosinophils (Eos), and lymphocytes (Lym). Cells were isolated from adult (B–C) and pup (D–E) BALF (C, G) and digested lung tissue (B, F). Total cells were quantified on 2, 4, 7, and 10 dpi by hemocytometer. Cells in adult (D–E) and pup (H–I) digested lung tissue were stained with anti-CD4 (D, H) and anti-CD8 (E, I) and analyzed by flow cytometry on 2, 4, and 7 dpi. Mean values ± SD are depicted, and statistical difference was defined as a P value.05 for differences between groups at the same time point (*); data are representative of two separate experiments.
It has been postulated that AM are more important for viral clearance in the RSV-infected infant airway due to age-related deficiencies in CD8 T-cell responses, known to be critical for viral clearance in adult lungs , . Thus, we interrogated the age-dependent cellular distribution of AM and lymphocytes following RSV infection. Neonatal and adult mice were infected with RSV or mock-infected as previously described. Single cell suspensions were stained with primary conjugated antibodies commonly used to discriminate AM (CD11b−/CD11c+high cells) and dendritic cells (DC) (CD11b+/CD11c+ cells) from lungs and BALF harvested at 0, 2, 4, 7, and 10 dpi and analyzed by flow cytometry . Infection of adult BALB/cJ mice with RSV resulted in a rapid and continuous increase in the percent of DC with a simultaneous decrease in percent of AM which persisted through 10 dpi (Fig. 4A–D). Infection of neonatal mice with the same weight-based inoculum of RSV resulted in a transient peak in DC percentage at 4 dpi that rapidly subsided by 7 dpi with a concomitant increase in the percent of AM. By 10 dpi, AM approached 80% of total large cells in the airways of both RSV- and mock-infected neonatal animals suggesting the transient viral effects observed at 4 dpi were rapidly usurped by age-depended factors in order to achieve sufficient AM numbers (Fig. 4E–H). Together these data confirm that AM are the predominant cell type in the infant mouse model of RSV infection.
Adult (8–9 wks old) and pup (2–4 days old) BALB/cJ mice received a HD/HV inoculum of RSV line 19. The animals were lavaged at 0, 2, 4, 7, and 10 dpi. The percent of immune cell subtypes were analyzed by flow cytometry in adult (A–D) pup (E–F) BALF, including CD11b− CD11c+ high (nonlymphocyte gate) (A, E) and CD11b+ CD11c+ (nonlymphocyte gate) (B, F). Dot plots are representative of at least five mice per group for mock adults at 7 dpi (C), RSV adults (D), mock pups (G), and RSV pups (H). Mean values ± SD are depicted, and statistical difference was defined as a P value.05 for differences between groups at the same time point (*); data are representative of three separate experiments.
Differential expression of cytokines following RSV infection indicates an early anti-inflammatory lung environment in infant compared to adult mice
RSV disease and early age of infection are independently associated with a Th2-type cytokine response, hallmarked by increased IL-4 and/or reduced IFNγ production , . To better understand the age-dependent cytokine environment that drives AM differentiation or result from AM activation, cytokines were measured by Luminex analysis in neonatal and adult BALF harvested at 2, 4, and 7 dpi. Following RSV infection, adult mice produced a significant increase in IFNγ and a modest increase in IL-4 which appeared to coincide with increases in lymphocyte infiltration into the lung at 7 dpi (Fig. 5A–B). Increases in cytokines associated with CAM, including MCP-1, IL-6, and IL-12, increased rapidly after RSV infection in adult animals (Fig. 5D–E); no increase in IL-10 was observed. Conversely, infection of neonatal mice with the same weight-based dose of RSV resulted in an absence of IFNγ, coupled with increases in IL-4 and IL-10 (Fig. 5G–I). Moreover, neonatal mice produced no detectable increases in MCP-1 or IL-6 and delayed and reduced levels IL-12p40 in response to RSV infection (Fig. 5J–L). These data suggest lymphocyte-derived IFNγ and moderate IL-4 levels are produced in response to RSV infection in adult animals as well as a robust early pro-inflammatory response. In neonatal mice, IFNγ production is absent but IL-4 and IL-10 increase by 2 dpi, long before lymphocyte infiltration into the lung, suggesting a non-lymphocyte source of IL-4.
Adult (8–9 wks old) and pup (2–4 days old) BALB/cJ mice were infected with HD/HV RSV line 19 or cell lysate, then lavaged with 5 ml or 1.5–3 ml of cold HBSS/EDTA, respectively at the indicated dpi. The first wash of each lavage was reserved and frozen for analysis by luminex multiplex assay. Adult (A–F) and pup (G–L) cytokine concentrations were measured at 2, 4, and 7 dpi. Dashed lines represents limits of quantification (LOQ) for the assay; if no dashed line given, all points are above the LOQ. Mean values ± SD are depicted, and statistical difference was defined as a P value .05 for differences between mock-infected animals at the same time point (*); data are representative of two separate experiments.
Neonatal BALB/cJ mice express an immature, age-dependent AM phenotype following RSV infection
The functional heterogeneity of AM is driven primarily by pathogens and environmental IFNγ and IL-4 ratios; disruption of influences that control the CAM and AAM balance could have severe consequences on airway inflammation and resolution of infection , . Based on our findings that the ratio of IL-4 to IFNγ was greater in neonatal compared to adult animals following RSV infection, we sought to compare age-dependent AM phenotypes following RSV- or mock-infection. To determine the extent to which RSV induced CAM in neonatal versus adult BALB/cJ mice, the expression of surface markers indicative of CAM: MHCII, CD86, CCR7 and AAM: MR were quantified following isolation of AM from BALF harvested at 0, 2, 4, 7, and 10 dpi , , . RSV infection of adult animals resulted in a robust increase in the expression of MHC II and CD86 and to a lesser degree CCR7; these marked changes in combination with a significant reduction in MR is suggestive of a CAM phenotype (Fig. 6A–D). Conversely, RSV infection of neonatal animals resulted in a striking absence of AM differentiation (Fig. 6E–H). A significant, but moderate increase in MHC II at 10 dpi suggested neonatal AM are activated in a delayed and deficient manner relative to adults during RSV infection (Fig. 6E). Moreover, an apparent ontologic shift toward a resting AAM phenotype was observed in both RSV- and mock-infected animals as indicated by reduced CCR7 and increased MR (Fig. 6G–H). When similar measurements were made on digested lung tissues, equivalent trends in MHC class II, CD86, CCR7, and MR expression were observed in tissue macrophages of adult and neonatal BALB/cJ mice infected with RSV or mock-infected (Fig. S1). Together, these data suggest RSV line 19 induces CAM in adult mice, but fails to effectively induce classical activation in immature neonatal AM, likely due to the absence of IFNγ.
Adult and pup BALB/cJ mice were infected with HD/HV RSV line19 or cell lysate. Cells were isolated from pup and adult BALF on 0, 2, 4, 7, and 10 dpi. The percent of immune cell subtypes were analyzed by flow cytometry in adults (A–D) pups (E–F), including MHC II (A, E), CD86 (B, F), CCR7 (C, G), and MR (D, H) on the CD11b− CD11c+ high gate. Mean values ± SD are depicted, and statistical difference was defined as a P value .05 for differences between mock-infected animals at the same time point (*); data are representative of two separate experiments.
Inhaled rIFNγ expedites viral clearance in RSV-infected neonatal mice
We previously observed delayed viral clearance in our neonatal BALB/cJ mouse model of RSV infection in the absence of endogenous of INFγ compared to adult animals. Thus, we sought to determine if treatment with i.n. rIFNγ would then expedite the RSV clearance in our infant RSV mouse model. Mice were RSV- or mock-infected between two to four days of age as previously described. Mice within each of these groups were treated with i.n. rIFNγ or diluent on 1, 3, 5, and 7 dpi. To assess potential toxicity due to rIFNγ, daily weights were compared among treated and untreated mice. Lungs and BALF were harvested at the indicated days pi. No weight loss in the RSV line 19 or mock-infected groups due to rIFNγ was observed; rather a significant increase in weight gain was observed in the RSV/rIFNγ+ group (Fig. 7A). Increased levels of IFNγ in BALF among treated mice indicated inhaled cytokine delivery was an effective method of administration (Fig. 7B). To determine the effect of rINFγ on RSV clearance, viral lung titers were quantified by plaque assay. A more conservative 2-way ANOVA was used to analyze the results indicating a significant reduction in viral burden at 2 dpi compared to untreated mice (Fig. 7C). Considering the apparent decrease in viral load observed at 4 and 7 dpi, separate paired t-tests were used to analyze viral titers at each time point, showing significant reductions in viral titers at 2, 3, 4, and 7 dpi (Fig. 7D). These data determined that inhaled delivery of rIFNγ reduced RSV lung titers by a log-fold reduction and effectively expedited viral clearance to within 7 dpi (Fig. 7C) compared to untreated animals, in which titers extended beyond 10 dpi (Fig. 1A).
On 1, 3, 5, and 7 dpi pups received 16 ng/g of i.n. rIFNγ or diluent only. (A) Daily weight change compared to weight prior to infection was plotted; (B) IFNγ was measured from BALF by Luminex assay. Viral titers were measured from left lung lobes by H&E plaque assay on 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 dpi. RSV titers were analyzed by a 2-way ANOVA and graphically represented with a line graph (C) and by paired t-test, which is graphically represented by a bar graph (D). Mean values ± SD are depicted, and statistical difference was defined as a P value .05 for differences between mock-infected animals at the same time point (*); data are representative of two separate experiments.
Inhaled rIFNγ increases CAM activation in RSV-infected neonatal BALB/cJ mice without T-cell activation
RSV-infected infants are prone to Th2-type cytokine responses. Reduced IFNγ and increased IL-4 and IL-13 have been attributed to immature host immune responses combined with the RSV organism itself, thought to induce Th2 cytokines from CD4 T cells, mast cells, basophils, and monocytes , , . Thus, despite its macrophage stimulating properties in mature adults, the extent to which i.n. IFNγ induces CAM in RSV-infected, neonatal lungs cannot be assumed and remains largely unknown. To assure i.n. rIFNγ wasn't depleting the intended target cell population, AM were analyzed in BALF harvested on 4, 7, and 10 dpi from two to four day-old mice infected with RSV or mock-infected and treated with rIFNγ or diluent on 1, 3, 5, and 7 dpi as described above. Cell differential counts showed the RSV/rIFNγ+ group maintained a higher total number of macrophages compared to the RSV/rIFN- group at 4 dpi. Compared to lymphocytes, macrophages remained a dominant cell population in the RSV-infected infant airway (Fig. 8A–C). Despite increased viral clearance in the rIFNγ-treated group, total T-cell infiltration and activation was not increased compared to untreated animals on or before the time of increased viral clearance (Fig. 8B, D–H). To determine extent of CAM in RSV- and mock-infected neonatal mice treated with i.n. rIFNγ in AM (CD11b−/CD11c+ cells), cells were isolated and processed for flow cytometry from BALF harvested at 4, 7, and 10 dpi. As previously described, MHC II, CD86, CCR7, and MR expression were quantified over time in treated and control animals. RSV-infected mice treated with rIFNγ had significantly increased expression of CD86 by 4 dpi, MHC II was increased by 7 dpi and by 10 dpi CD86, MHC II and CCR7 expression was significantly increased and MR was reduced compared to untreated mice, indicating induction of a CAM phenotype (Fig. 9A–C, E–F). A multiplex cytokine analysis was performed on cytokines commonly produced by CAM in the BALF of RSV/rINFγ+ animals compared to RSV/rINFγ- animals. Similar to adult animals infected with RSV in Figure 5D–F, RSV-infected neonatal mice treated with IFNγ had increased production of IL-12p40, IL-6, and TNFα (Fig. S2). Moreover, no increase in IL-4 or IL-10 was observed following IFNγ as was previously shown in untreated infant mice. These data demonstrate that exogenous treatment with inhaled rIFNγ can overcome immaturity of AMs in a neonatal mouse model of RSV infection as measured by increased CAM expression of CD11b−/CD11c+ cells, increased production of IL-12p40, IL-6, and TNFα, and expedited viral clearance.
Pup (2–4 days old) BALB/cJ mice received a HD/HV inoculum of RSV line 19 followed by 16 ng/g of i.n. rIFNγ (RSV/rIFNγ+) or diluent only (RSV/rIFNγ-) on 1, 3, 5, and 7 dpi. Control groups were mock-infected with cell lysate followed by16 ng/g of i.n. rIFNγ (mock/rIFNγ+) or diluent only (mock/rIFNγ −) on 1, 3, 5, and 7 dpi. BALF and lungs were collected at each time point. Cells were isolated from BALF, H & E stained, and 200 cells per slide were counted using a 100× oil emersion objective lens. Data are depicted as Total number of cells that are macrophages (Mac) (A), lymphocytes (Lym) (B), and neutrophils (Neu) (C); eosinophils were negligible. Lungs were enzyme digested, stained with fluorochrome-labled antibodies specific CD4, CD8, CD44, and CD62L, and analyzed by flow cytometry (E–H); all cells were first gated by small forward and side scatter (D). Bars represent data for at least five mice per group from two experiments. Mean values ± SD are depicted, and statistical difference was defined as a P value .05 for differences between groups at the same time point (*).
Pup (2–4 days old) BALB/cJ mice received a HD/HV inoculum of RSV line 19 followed by 16 ng/g of i.n. rIFNγ (RSV/rIFNγ+) or diluent only (RSV/rIFNγ−) on 1, 3, 5, and 7 dpi. Control groups were mock-infected with cell lysate followed by 16 ng/g of i.n. rIFNγ (mock/rIFNγ+) or diluent only (mock/rIFNγ −) on 1, 3, 5, and 7 dpi. Cells were isolated from BALF on 4, 7, and 10 dpi and percent CD11b− CD11c+ (nonlymphocyte gate) (A), CD11b+CD11c+ (nonlymphocyte gate) (D), and MHC II, MR, CD86, and CCR7 (gated on CD11b− CD11c+ cells) (B, C, E, F) were determined by flow cytometry. Points represent data for ≥5 mice per group ± SD. (†) indicates P<0.05 for comparisons between RSV/rIFNγ+ and RSV/rIFNγ−; (‡) indicates p<0.05 for comparisons between mock/rIFNγ+ and mock/rIFNγ−; (*) indicates p<0.05 for comparisons between RSV/rIFNγ+ and mock/rIFNγ+.
Priming RSV-infected J774A.1 macrophages with IFNγ changes the expression phenotype from AAM to CAM and reduces the spread of virus to adjacent Hep-2 cells
To determine if CAM contribute to RSV clearance, viral spread from infected J774A.1 murine macrophages to adjacent Hep-2 cells was examined. Briefly, J774A.1 macrophages were primed with rIFNγ, IL-4/IL-13 or media only, washed, infected with RSV line 19 at an MOI of 0.05 for 3 hours, and then overlaid with Hep-2 cells. After 5 hours, the cells were covered with methylcellulose and incubated for 5 days followed by standard H&E staining. Plaques represented RSV that had replicated in macrophages and infected adjacent Hep-2 cells. In vitro priming of J774A.1 macrophages with rIFNγ significantly reduced the number of RSV line 19 plaques compared to media-primed macrophages, in Hep-2 cells by at least 50 PFU per well (Fig. 10A). Conversely, in a separate experiment, J774A.1 macrophages primed with IL-4/IL-13 significantly increased the spread of virus to Hep-2 cells, presumably through a reduction in nitric oxide involved in intracellular killing of organisms (Fig. 10B). To assess changes in iNOS expression and other markers often used to discriminate between CAM and AAM, real-time PCR was used to measure message expression in J774A.1 cells after RSV infection (Fig. 10C). Greater increases in the expression of MR and arginase-1 compared to Cox-2 and iNOS indicate AAM differentiation in J774A.1 cells infected with RSV after 24 hours. By 72 h pi a greater increase in fold expression of MR and arginase-1 over iNOS and Cox2 was observed (Fig. 10D). When J774A.1 macrophages were primed with IFNγ prior to RSV infection, iNOS expression increased markedly over arginase-1 after 24 h, indicating CAM differentiation (Fig. 10E), which likely contributed to the reduced spread of virus to adjacent Hep-2 cells. Interestingly, priming with IFNγ alone was not sufficient to differentiate CAM, suggesting that RSV binds TLR on macrophages and provides an adequate secondary signal for CAM differentiation in mature J774A.1 macrophages. By 72 h after IFNγ priming, Arginase-1 and MR once again increased, indicating AAM expression resumes (Fig. 10F). Together, these data show that treatment of neonatal mice with i.n. rIFNγ not only reduces RSV lung titers by ∼ a log-fold reduction/gram of lung, but also expedites RSV clearance by 3 days in infant mice without causing weight loss. In vitro data support our hypothesis that i.n. rIFNγ induces CAM in the presence of RSV infection and contributes to viral clearance.
The mouse macrophage cell line, J774A.1, was cultured in vitro and primed with rIFNγ or media (A) or IL-4/IL-13 or media (B) prior to infecting with line 19 RSV for 3 hours. Infected cells were overlaid with Hep-2 cells and culture for 5 hours, covered with methylcellulose, incubated for 5 days and a standard H&E stain; plaques are reported as PFU per well. (C) Relative quantification by real-time PCR was performed on RNA extracted from cells infected with RSV line and presented as the fold expression over cells not infected with RSV; all assays were normalized to GAPDH. (D) Relative quantification by real-time PCR was performed on RNA extracted from cells primed with IFNγ and infected with RSV and presented as the fold expression over cells cultured in media alone (E–F); all assays were normalized to GAPDH. For infection center assays, data represent the mean ± SD of 12 wells per treatment and each control arm (Materials and Methods). For RT-PCR, data represent the mean ± SD of 4 wells per treatment and each control arm Statistical difference was defined as a P value .05 for differences between groups (*); data are representative of two separate experiments.
The aim of the current study was to define the age-dependent AM phenotype during neonatal RSV infection and investigate their differentiation to CAM using i.n. rIFNγ in the context of improving viral clearance. To accomplish this, a neonatal mouse model of RSV infection was developed based on five critical criteria regarding severe human infant RSV disease: 1) severe disease occurs when virus enters the lower airway, 2) mucus production is increased, 3) lymphocyte infiltration is minimal, 4) IFNγ production is negligible, and 5) there is an abundance of AM , –. The HD/HV inoculum is not a physiologic method of human infant infection; however, in our neonatal mouse model, this method introduced more virus to the lower airway compared to standard low volume methods which leaves more virus in the upper airway and nasal septum (data not shown). A similar method using 99m Technetium sulfur colloid in four-week-old mice also demonstrated improved delivery to the lungs compared to the nasopharynx . Moreover, in adult animal models, Lukacs et al, showed the RSV line 19 subtype induced significantly more mucus production than the A2 strain commonly studied in rodent models , . Using these strategies, our neonatal mice maintained consistent viral lung titers compared to adult mice, which coincided with reduced weight gain (Fig. 1A–C) and increased PAS staining in neonatal and adult lungs (Fig. 2). These findings confirm that this model is an effective tool for studying immature infant host responses to RSV infection and targeted immune modulating RSV treatment strategies.
CD8 T-cells are critical in the response to RSV infection leading to both viral clearance and illness in adult mouse models . In our neonatal mouse model we showed that macrophages were dominant in the infant airway with markedly reduced levels of CD8 T-cells compared to adults. Interestingly, adult animals had a predominant CD8 T-cell response, whereas infant mice did not. Coupled with significantly increased levels of IFNγ and IL-12p40, these data indicate a strong anti-viral cytotoxic T-cell response in adult animals, which was markedly reduced in neonatal mice. This immature lymphocyte response has been implicated in the dominant AM and neutrophil response observed in human infants with severe RSV disease , . Welliver and colleagues analyzed lung tissue from infants with fatal cases of RSV and showed almost a complete absence of CD8 T-cells and NK cells coupled with an abundance of macrophages and neutrophils . A similar study by Johnson and colleagues evaluated the histopathology of four fatal, untreated human infants with acute RSV infection . They observed a majority of AM around the bronchioles, alveolar interstitium and airspaces. In our study, direct comparison of RSV-infected neonatal and adult animals emphasized the deficient lymphocyte and abundant AM response among neonatal mice and corroborates the findings in human RSV-infected infants (Fig. 3–4) . Based on differential cell counts in the BALF at 7 dpi, 16% of the total cells in the adult BALF were lymphocytes compared to 1% in neonatal BALF. Similarly, there were significantly more CD8 T-cells in RSV- infected (17%) compared to mock-infected (7%) adult lungs versus neonatal RSV-infected (9%) and mock-infected (4%) lungs by 7 dpi, which coincided with an overall reduction in total cellular airway infiltration (Fig. 3). While some lymphocyte infiltration into infant lungs was apparent following RSV infection (albeit less than adults) the cells did not appear to migrate into the airway. Delayed migration of T-cells into infant airways was also recently reported by Lines and colleagues in a neonatal mouse model of influenza virus, indicating an age-dependent delay in cellular migration to the alveolar space during infection; despite i.n. administration of exogenous IFNγ, neonatal T cells could not be drawn into the airway before two weeks post-infection in this model .
Lymphocyte-derived cytokines, IFNγ and IL-4, increased in adult BALF in concert with the infiltration of lymphocytes into the lung at 7 dpi; however, IFNγ levels did not increase in RSV-infected compared to mock-infected neonatal mice. Interestingly, neonatal IL-4 levels increased very early by 2 dpi indicating that although production was not significantly increased, it had to be from a non-lymphocyte source. Shirey et al. recently published evidence in adult rodents suggesting that AM themselves are capable of IL-4 and IL-13 production, leading to the continuous promotion of an AAM phenotype and increased IL-10 production. While we did not observe an increase in IL-13 production, we did observe an early increase in the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in neonatal mice by 2 dpi, which was absent in adult animals. It is intriguing to consider that the innate host immune response is capable of initiating and maintain a Th2-type cytokine in the absence of T-cells. Increasing evidence to this effect is being realized, although the extent and the consequences in the infant airway remain unclear . A balance of CAM and AAM in the absence of adaptive immunity may be critical to keep viral replication in check. Additional cytokines representative of CAM were increased early post-infection in adult animals compared with mock-infected animals, including MCP-1, IL-6, and IL-12p40. Neonatal mice failed to increase production of these cytokines, but for IL-12p40 which was delayed and reduced in its production relative to adult animals (Fig. 5). These cytokines were evaluated in total BALF and do not discriminate between macrophage-derived, or other acute response cell types, including DC, or airway epithelial cells. However, production of neonatal IL-12p40 does not occur until 7 dpi as DC are rapidly declining and AM are significantly greater than mock-infected controls. These data do not exclude the potential contribution of DC in the neonatal host immune response to RSV disease. However, together these data conclude that the neonatal AM phenotype and cytokine response are anti-inflammatory following RSV infection and their potential for targeted immunotherapy requires further investigation.
There is growing interest in AM as a potential vaccine or therapeutic target for severe neonatal RSV disease , . However, understanding the age-dependent changes in AM functional heterogeneity, driven largely by IFNγ and IL-4, is critical to advancing this line of research. Using adult rodent models, Shirey and colleagues showed RSV A2 stimulation of primary cultured BALB/c BAL macrophage induced an early increase in CAM indicators, including iNOS, IL-12p40, and COX-2 . Markers of AAM, Arginase-1, FIZZ1, and MR were constitutively elevated and increased later during viral infection, suggesting adult AM are responsible for both viral clearance and containment of a robust inflammatory response. In our neonatal mouse model, CAM was significantly impaired following RSV infection relative to adults. Rather, we observed an age-dependent increase in MR expression and uniform decrease in CCR7 expression through 10 dpi regardless of RSV infection (Fig. 5G–H). Increased MR expression with increasing age suggests the neonatal AM are achieving a resting steady state despite the added insult of RSV infection, likely due to an increased IL-4 to IFNγ ratio . In the developing post-natal airway, this may serve as an important protective mechanism to avoid damaging inflammatory responses in lieu of added infection risks. In an attempt to balance the IL-4/IFNγ ratio in the RSV-infected neonatal airway, treatment of neonatal mice with i.n. rIFNγ significantly increased the CAM phenotype in RSV-infected neonatal mice without causing weight loss (Fig. 9); in fact, treatment moderately improved weight gain (Fig. 7). The increased CAM phenotype was greater in RSV-infected animals treated with IFNγ compared to mock-treated animals suggesting the effect was not due to IFNγ alone. Macrophage-derived cytokines, IL-12p40, IL-6, and TNFα were also increased in the RSV/rIFNγ+ compared control group indicating the combination of secondary stimulation with RSV induced greater activation than either virus or IFNγ alone (Fig. S2). Total neutrophil counts were significantly increased at 7 and 10 dpi in the RSV/rIFNγ+ group. Neutrophil infiltration has been implicated as a contributing factor in airway obstruction in severe RSV disease , thus some caution is warranted for consideration of IFNγ as a vaccine or therapeutic tool in infant RSV disease. Total lymphocytes were also increased by 10 dpi, however, this was well after RSV clearance had occurred suggesting lymphocytes played a minor, if any role in IFNγ-induced viral clearance in the neonatal mouse model (Fig. 8A). The reduction in viral load and improved weight gain increased in concert with CAM suggesting that i.n rIFNγ-induced macrophage activation contributed, at least in part, to viral clearance (Fig. 7 and 9).
We have demonstrated that neonatal AM are abundant in the neonatal BALB/cJ airway following RSV infection, similar to human infants, and their immature phenotype likely contributes to viral spread in the IFNγ-deficient lung environment. However, discriminating viral infection of AM versus phagocytosis of RSV or RSV-infected cells remains difficult. The pathology of acute RSV infection reported from four human infants showed that most AM were immunostain-positive for RSV suggesting AM associate with RSV in vivo during infection . To better understand this association, we conducted functional and phenotypic studies in vitro. Our group, using J774A.1 macrophages (data not shown), and others using primary human cells, have shown that macrophages and monocytes are permissible to RSV and that permissibility is greater in cord blood monocytes>adult monocytes>adult macrophages, suggesting permissibility varies in relation to macrophage maturity –. In a culture environment, with no environmental signals, we showed J774A.1 macrophages differentiated to an AAM phenotype following RSV infection and mediated the spread of virus to adjacent Hep-2 cells. However, when J774A.1 macrophages were primed with IFNγ prior to infection, they differentiated to a CAM phenotype and the spread to Hep-2 cells was significantly reduced compared to cells that were not primed. It is conceivable that these in vitro studies closely model neonatal and adult airways following RSV infection in that the neonatal airway is devoid of IFNγ leaving the fate of the AM phenotype at the hands of RSV, which we showed differentiates to an AAM phenotype. Conversely, adult airways are rich in IFNγ during RSV infection, which lead to CAM differentiation capable of intracellular killing, pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion, and initiation of the adaptive immune response. These studies do not conclusively rule out the possibility that reductions in viral load in vivo may be partially attributable to the intrinsic anti-viral “interfering” properties of IFNγ. However, in our in vitro experiment design, RSV does not come in direct contact with IFNγ. Rather, J774A.1 macrophages are primed with IFNγ, the IFNγ solution is removed, and then the cells are infected. Additional control wells containing only RSV and rIFNγ showed no reduction in viral plaques, indicating that rIFNγ was activating macrophages to reduce the spread of infection to adjacent HEP-2 cells. Together, these data show rIFNγ stimulates macrophages to prevent the spread of RSV infection.
In summary, these data show the neonatal response to RSV infection depends on an abundant but immature AM population that fails to express a CAM phenotype in the IFNγ-deficient infant lung environment. Despite their age-dependent phenotype, treatment with i.n. IFNγ induces a CAM phenotype characterized by a significant reduction in MR, increases in MHC II, CD86, and CCR7, coupled with significant increases in the macrophage-derived cytokines, IL-12p40, IL-6, and TNFα. Treated mice showed a log-fold reduction in viral lung titers, expedited RSV clearance, and a significant increase in weight gain compared to untreated mice. Our in vitro data further supports our hypothesis that IFNγ-primed macrophages different to a CAM phenotype and reduce the spread RSV infection. Taken together, these data demonstrate i.n. IFNγ, a product that is already commercially available, is a viable treatment option and should be considered for further studies in neonatal RSV disease.
Neonatal BALB/cJ mice express an age-dependent tissue macrophage phenotype following RSV infection. Adult and pup BALB/cJ mice were infected with HD/HV RSV line19 or cell lysate. Cells were isolated from pup and adult digested lung tissue on 0, 2, 4, 7, and 10 dpi. The percent of immune cell subtypes were analyzed by flow cytometry in adults (A–D) pups (E–F), including MHC II (A, E), CD86 (B, F), CCR7 (C, G), and MR (D, H) on the CD11b− CD11c+ high gate. Mean values ± SD are depicted, and statistical difference was defined as a P value.05 for differences between mock-infected animals at the same time point (*); data are representative of two separate experiments.
Pro-inflammatory cytokines are increased in RSV-infected neonatal mice following i.n. rIFN treatment. Pup (2–4 days old) BALB/cJ mice received a HD/HV inoculum of RSV line 19 followed by 16 ng/g of i.n. rIFNγ (RSV/rIFNγ+) or diluent only (RSV/rIFNγ−) on 1, 3, 5, and 7 dpi. Control groups were mock-infected with cell lysate followed by 16 ng/g of i.n. rIFNγ (mock/rIFNγ+) or diluent only (mock/rIFNγ −) on 1, 3, 5, and 7 dpi. Pups were lavaged with 1.5–3 ml of cold HBSS/EDTA at the indicated dpi. The first wash of each lavage was reserved and frozen for analysis by luminex multiplex assay. Concentrations of IL-12p40 (A), IL-6 (B), and TNFα (C) were measured 4 and 7 dpi; all points are above the assay's LOQ. Mean values ± SD are depicted, and statistical difference was defined as a P value.05 for differences between groups at the same time point (*); data are representative of two separate experiments.
Conceived and designed the experiments: KME JGO RSP LE KAN TDO JKK. Performed the experiments: KME JGO LE TDO. Analyzed the data: KME JGO LE TDO. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: KME RSP TDO. Wrote the paper: KME. In addition to design and intellectual contribution to the paper, he contributed with editing of paper: RSP JKK. Intellectual development of paper: KAN.
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- 26. Stout RD, Suttles J (2005) Immunosenescence and macrophage functional plasticity: dysregulation of macrophage function by age-associated microenvironmental changes. Immunol Rev 205: 60–71.
- 27. Edwards JP, Zhang X, Frauwirth KA, Mosser DM (2006) Biochemical and functional characterization of three activated macrophage populations. J Leukoc Biol 80: 1298–1307.
- 28. Legg JP, Hussain IR, Warner JA, Johnston SL, Warner JO (2003) Type 1 and type 2 cytokine imbalance in acute respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 168: 633–639.
- 29. Becker Y (2006) Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) evades the human adaptive immune system by skewing the Th1/Th2 cytokine balance toward increased levels of Th2 cytokines and IgE, markers of allergy–a review. Virus Genes 33: 235–252.
- 30. Lukacs NW, Moore ML, Rudd BD, Berlin AA, Collins RD, et al. (2006) Differential immune responses and pulmonary pathophysiology are induced by two different strains of respiratory syncytial virus. Am J Pathol 169: 977–986.
- 31. Johnson JE, Gonzales RA, Olson SJ, Wright PF, Graham BS (2007) The histopathology of fatal untreated human respiratory syncytial virus infection. Mod Pathol 20: 108–119.
- 32. Moore ML, Chi MH, Luongo C, Lukacs NW, Polosukhin VV, et al. (2009) A chimeric A2 strain of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) with the fusion protein of RSV strain line 19 exhibits enhanced viral load, mucus, and airway dysfunction. J Virol 83: 4185–4194.
- 33. Lanson NA Jr, Friedlander PL, Schwarzenberger P, Kolls JK, Wang G (2003) Replication of an adenoviral vector controlled by the human telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter causes tumor-selective tumor lysis. Cancer Res 63: 7936–7941.
- 34. Kaiko GE, Phipps S, Angkasekwinai P, Dong C, Foster PS (2010) NK cell deficiency predisposes to viral-induced Th2-type allergic inflammation via epithelial-derived IL-25. J Immunol 185: 4681–4690.
- 35. Benoit A, Huang Y, Proctor J, Rowden G, Anderson R (2006) Effects of alveolar macrophage depletion on liposomal vaccine protection against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Clin Exp Immunol 145: 147–154.
- 36. Reed JL, Brewah YA, Delaney T, Welliver T, Burwell T, et al. (2008) Macrophage impairment underlies airway occlusion in primary respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis. J Infect Dis 198: 1783–1793.
- 37. Mokoena T, Gordon S (1985) Human macrophage activation. Modulation of mannosyl, fucosyl receptor activity in vitro by lymphokines, gamma and alpha interferons, and dexamethasone. J Clin Invest 75: 624–631.
- 38. Cirino NM, Panuska JR, Villani A, Taraf H, Rebert NA, et al. (1993) Restricted replication of respiratory syncytial virus in human alveolar macrophages. J Gen Virol 74 (Pt 8): 1527–1537.
- 39. Midulla F, Huang YT, Gilbert IA, Cirino NM, McFadden ER Jr, et al. (1989) Respiratory syncytial virus infection of human cord and adult blood monocytes and alveolar macrophages. Am Rev Respir Dis 140: 771–777.
- 40. Panuska JR, Cirino NM, Midulla F, Despot JE, McFadden ER Jr, et al. (1990) Productive infection of isolated human alveolar macrophages by respiratory syncytial virus. J Clin Invest 86: 113–119.
- 41. Panuska JR, Hertz MI, Taraf H, Villani A, Cirino NM (1992) Respiratory syncytial virus infection of alveolar macrophages in adult transplant patients. Am Rev Respir Dis 145: 934–939.
- 42. Panuska JR, Merolla R, Rebert NA, Hoffmann SP, Tsivitse P, et al. (1995) Respiratory syncytial virus induces interleukin-10 by human alveolar macrophages. Suppression of early cytokine production and implications for incomplete immunity. J Clin Invest 96: 2445–2453. | <urn:uuid:528280b9-24fd-490f-8e5c-ada1d270aa2d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0040499 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279169.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00219-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931689 | 16,835 | 1.5625 | 2 |
It starts in elementary school. You talk about different careers in your class, and your teacher tells you to write about what you want to be when you grow up. It’s simple. We only have about a dozen things to choose from when we’re that age. We’ve only been exposed to parents, teachers, firefighters, police officers, doctors, etc. There’s always that one kid that loves animals so she wants to raise horses. There’s one kid who wants to play soccer or basketball or baseball because he plays it on the playground. I was the kid who wanted to be a teacher, because I loved school and loved my teachers to no end. It was that simple.
When you get to middle school, the world gets a little bigger. There are more paths to choose from. The girl who wanted to raise horses now wants to be a cardiovascular surgeon. The boy who wanted to play soccer now wants to be in a rock band. And so it goes. They say adolescence is paired with a sense of immortality and invincibility, and this is where we all said, “We want to be XYZ, and we will be XYZ.” The student body president said, “When I’m President of the United States, I will lower the voting age.” The valedictorian said, “When I become a scientist, I will find a cure for breast cancer.” I said, “When I become a filmmaker, I will work in Hollywood.” The choices began to multiply but we were not fazed. We were so far away from the so-called real world that “whens” and “wills” thrived in our vocabularies as if we had been fed them everyday since we were young.
But at some point, depending on your awareness and maturity, the “whens” and “wills” began to taper off. In high school, you get discouraged by tests and college admissions, frightened by tough teachers and the realization that you may not be the top of your class or your sport any longer. Competition becomes fierce amongst you, your classmates, and the rest of your generation. Financial realities reveal themselves, their ugly existence haunting you while you ask yourself why you never saw them before. I would hear classmates say, “If I don’t get enough financial aid, I can’t go to Stanford,” or “If I don’t pass this class, I’ll never get into college.” And then it became, “If I go to community college, hopefully I can transfer out in less than 2 years, and then maybe I can go to UC San Diego or UC Santa Barbara and try to major in English or History.” We didn’t grow up talking like that. That tentative language was acquired. It appeared somewhere between “I want to” and “But…” The “buts” are what ruined us.
But you can’t afford it. But you don’t have the grades. But you are one in a hundred thousand applicants. But there are so many athletes that run faster than you, so many students that are smarter than you, so many filmmakers that edit better than you.
This isn’t about when you reach your goal. This is about IF you reach your goal.
There is plenty of literature out there on how our generation was spoiled by the notion that “we could do anything,” how it set us up to run into walls as we exit adolescence. They say we have a false sense of entitlement, a delusional belief that we can do more than we are capable of. They say we are doomed to fail as long as we cling to our participation trophies and our 3rd grade essays that claimed, “I will be successful.”
I think otherwise. Our generation is not delusional — we are very well aware of the obstacles that lie before us. We know that some dreams are easier to achieve than others. But our downfall will not be from believing in ourselves and striving towards our goals; it will be from second-guessing ourselves and slipping “ifs” and “buts” into every statement that describes who we are and what we want to be.
So many people go from “I will be this” to “I want to be this, but it depends on if I can do this and that.” Although it’s a safe, acceptable way to speak (and usually regarded as reasonable), it’s that sort of mindset that sets you up to fail. Why? Because you’re making failure a viable option. It may sound cliché, but it’s true. How inspired would you be if you walked into a 1st grade class and heard, “Well, I want to be a lawyer, but if I can’t pass my LSAT, I guess I’ll go into sales.”
I’m not saying that every kid who wanted to be Derek Jeter is going to play in the big leagues. Obviously, our dreams have to change sometimes, and that’s okay. What’s not ok is compromising and telling yourself that your goals may not happen. Like I said, dreams change. Just because you don’t achieve what you said you were going to in 1st grade doesn’t mean you’ve failed. But once you have your heart set on something, go out and do it. By any means necessary. In this crazy dog-eat-dog world, the ones that never say “if” or “but” are the ones that make it through the fire.
And when you do succeed, you will be glad that you never said “if.” | <urn:uuid:0a45b49e-226a-4550-84da-dcec78c4e1ba> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://thoughtcatalog.com/alyssa-royce/2014/06/what-happens-when-whens-become-ifs/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572021.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814083156-20220814113156-00067.warc.gz | en | 0.973307 | 1,231 | 2 | 2 |
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This traditional South American dipping sauce is spicy, tangy, fresh – and highly addictive.
- As a dipping sauce for grilled chicken or fish
- Stirred into Greek yogurt or sour cream and used as a dip for crudités or grilled vegetables
- As a marinade for chicken
- Tossed with grilled potatoes for a vibrant potato salad
- Dolloped over deviled eggs or avocado toast
- Tossed with grilled bread, tomatoes and onions for a twist on a panzanella salad
Gochujang is a fermented hot pepper paste and a staple in Korean cooking. Here, we use a few pantry staples to transform it into a spicy-sweet dressing.
- Tossed with cold soba noodles and charred broccoli and cauliflower florets for a lively sweet, spicy and tangy salad
- As a marinade for pork, beef, chicken or tofu, or as a finishing sauce after grilling
- As a salad dressing, tossed with thinly sliced cucumbers, green onions and leaf lettuce for a refreshing salad with zip
Fragrant lemongrass, ginger and Thai chiles blend into coconut milk to create the ultimate flavorful marinade.
- As a marinade for chicken, fish, shrimp or tofu (marinate at least 1 hour or overnight for best results)
- As a marinade for satays using your protein of choice
- As a dip for sturdy, grilled veggies such as cauliflower
These homemade sauces contain only wholesome ingredients with high nutritional value. Aji amarillo paste, the star ingredient in our Aji Verde, is made from a Peruvian pepper with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The coconut milk in our Yellow Curry sauce contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), fats that have been linked to weight loss and improved body composition. Trade in barbecue sauce for our Gochujang Dressing, flavored with vitamin C–rich Korean hot pepper as well as honey, famed for its antibacterial and antioxidant properties. | <urn:uuid:59975743-2131-468e-bef9-6ce4d250663a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.cleaneatingmag.com/clean-eating-recipes/clean-dressings-sauces/3-ways-with-grilling-sauces-recipes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00676.warc.gz | en | 0.876842 | 447 | 1.53125 | 2 |
This activity is closed to further registration.
Using familiar stories, improvisation, and creative movement, children leap into action as story characters! Classic children's books are used to teach children
how to use their bodies and voices to create fun and familiar characters. Story Acting classes allow children to unleash their unique creativity as they discover the wonderful world of theatre. Class may be repeated. This is not a parent participation class.
Story Acting Class for 4 - 5 year olds. Mitchell Park Oak Room.
Activity Secondary Category
MPCC - Oak Room (ECR) at Mitchell Park Community Center (MPCC)
Children's Theatre Staff
Kidz Love Soccer
City of Palo Alto | <urn:uuid:50adca6f-675b-4cc9-8895-a8d4764fd6f3> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.activekids.com/palo-alto-ca/classes/children-s-theatre-story-acting-2016-3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279650.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00435-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904059 | 138 | 2.78125 | 3 |
This class meets in Modular "F" located east of the auditorium. This class is designed for single adults who have graduated from high school or are in college. This class discusses age appropriate issues and are challenged with God's word to help them grow in their walk with Him.
Stockton Baptist Church is proud to be a multi-cultural church. We love all nationalities of people and aim to provide classes in their language.
These classes are being taught in the English and Tagalog language to both men and ladies of various ages. The class will eventually be diversified in other classes of couples as it grows.
These classes are being taught in the Spanish language to both men and ladies of various ages. The class will eventually be diversified in other classes of couples as it grows.
As Stockton Baptist Church grows we look forward to starting new classes of other nationalities being taught the word of God.
College and Career
Stockton Baptist Church provides a nursery for babies and toddlers for parents who wish to have their children supervised during Family Bible Time and Worship Service. Our nursery workers are trained and qualified, so you can rest assure that your little one will be well taken care of in a safe and clean environment.
We love children of all ages here at Stockton Baptist Church and provide excellent classes with screened volunteers. Each class is geared for their age level. The children will sing interactive songs, and learn exciting Bible lessons with visual aids.
Our teens meet in a group setting environment led by our Teen Director and Workers. They discuss great life decisions and receive challenging thoughts from the Bible. They attend youth rallies, conferences and group activities throughout the year.
Stockton Baptist Church offers Sunday School classes for all adults -- young, single, married, or in various other stages of life. Our programs are designed to help you live a more meaningful and fulfilling Christian life.
Nursery/Beginners (0-5 Years of Age)
Children's Classes (1st - 6th Grade)
Teens Classes (7th - 12th Grade)
At Stockton Baptist Church, we provide classes for all ages, from infants to senior citizens. One of our goals is to help others grow in Christ and encourage others to get involved in a Family Bible Time (Sunday School) Class. Here are classes you and your family can get involved in to help strengthen your walk with Christ: | <urn:uuid:907520c1-b574-4307-b78a-d39dcdd6b1d3> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.sbcstockton.com/ministries | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570765.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808031623-20220808061623-00271.warc.gz | en | 0.962448 | 499 | 1.507813 | 2 |
By Dr. Mercola
Dust mites, animal dander, molds, and pollen are among the most common environmental triggers of asthma attacks and allergy symptoms. For some, however, a spring or summer thunderstorm may lead to a flare-up of symptoms.
Research shows an association between thunderstorm activity and worsening of allergy and asthma symptoms; one study found a 3 percent increase in emergency-room visits for asthma attacks in the 24 hours following thunderstorms.1 As the researchers explained:
"While a three percent increase in risk may seem modest, asthma is quite prevalent… and a modest relative increase could have a significant public health impact in the population."
What Causes Thunderstorm Asthma?
The phenomenon, known as "thunderstorm asthma," isn't so much an issue of people being allergic to rain. Instead, thunderstorms form the "perfect storm," literally, of circumstances to increase breathing difficulties. Researchers wrote in the journal Thorax:2
"The most prominent hypotheses explaining the associations are that pollen grains rupture by osmotic shock in rainwater, releasing allergens, and that gusty winds from thunderstorm downdrafts spread particles and/or aeroallergens, which may ultimately increase the risk of asthma attacks."
In other words, pollen and mold particles that may otherwise be too big to get into your lungs (and instead tend to cause mostly nose-related symptoms) suddenly become broken up by a thunderstorm. This allows entrance into the lungs, potentially leading to an asthmatic reaction, even in some people who have never had asthma before.
It's also been suggested that storms' electrical charge makes tiny pollen and mold particles stickier, increasing the likelihood that they'll cause trouble in your lungs once inhaled.3 As written in Current Allergy and Asthma Reports:4
"The weather system of a mature thunderstorm likely entrains grass pollen into the cloud base, where pollen rupture would be enhanced, then transports the respirable-sized fragments of pollen debris to ground level where outflows distribute them ahead of the rain.
The conditions occurring at the onset of a thunderstorm might expose susceptible people to a rapid increase in concentrations of pollen allergens in the air that can readily deposit in the lower airways and initiate asthmatic reactions."
So what can you do? Pay attention to weather reports, especially if you've experienced thunderstorm asthma before. Although the condition is relatively uncommon, it's known to strike without warning, so if a thunderstorm is coming, stay indoors and close up your windows to avoid unnecessary exposure to ruptured pollen grains.
Your Mind May Trigger Asthma Symptoms
If it seems surprising that a thunderstorm would trigger asthma and allergy symptoms, then you'll probably be shocked to learn that your mind may do so, too.
In one recent study, asthmatics were exposed to a harmless odor (phenylethyl alcohol, a rosy, pure scent that has no known harmful properties). One group was told the odor was therapeutic while a second group was told the odor might cause respiratory issues.
There were marked differences in how the two groups reacted to the scent, with those who believed the odor was harmful experiencing significantly more airway inflammation. Furthermore, the elevated levels of inflammation stayed that way for 24 hours, which in turn might increase sensitivity to other asthma triggers, resulting in a negative cascade effect.5
Meanwhile, the group who was told the odor was therapeutic had no increase in airway inflammation, even among those who said they were highly sensitive to many odors.
Considering that strong odors, including perfumes, deodorants, cleaning supplies, scented candles, hair spray, personal care products, and more, are widely publicized as potential asthma triggers, could it be that asthmatics' expectation of harm when exposed to these scents is part of the problem?
The study's lead author, Cristina Jaén, Ph.D., noted,6 "It's not just what you smell, but also what you think you smell." The study suggests that managing fear and anxiety about asthma triggers may help to improve your symptoms. This isn't as far-fetched as it may initially seem, as strong emotions are a recognized asthma trigger that may lead to rapid breathing and more.7 This includes:
- Laughing or crying too hard
- Feeling stressed or anxious
The helps explain why the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) has been demonstrated to be helpful in about 80 percent of asthma cases. EFT is a form of psychological acupressure, based on the same energy meridians used in traditional acupuncture to treat physical and emotional ailments for over five thousand years, but without the invasiveness of needles.
You can use EFT directed toward your asthma symptoms or to help relieve emotional trauma that may be causing you chronic stress. You can also use it to eliminate phobias you may have about certain triggers causing you an asthma attack.
Tapping with EFT has been shown to alter conditioned responses, such that, if you've become conditioned to experience asthma symptoms in response to various triggers, it might help you to break free.
Got Asthma? Try Buteyko Breathing
There are many natural strategies for treating asthma, which I review in the video above. One that you may not have heard of is a simple technique called The Buteyko Breathing Method—named after the Russian physician who developed the technique--which can help restore normal breathing patterns, improve the delivery of oxygen to tissues and organs, increase the oxygen carrying capacity of your blood, and radically improve your overall health and fitness.
Asthmatics typically breathe through the mouth. They also tend to breathe heavier and have a higher respiratory rate than non-asthmatics. According to Patrick McKeown, who is one of the top teachers of the Buteyko Method in the world, there's a feedback loop, in that the heavier breathing volume that's coming into your lungs cause a disturbance of blood gasses, including the loss of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Contrary to popular belief, carbon dioxide is not merely a waste gas. Although you breathe to get rid of excess CO2, it's very important that your breathing volume is normal, in order to maintain a certain amount of CO2 in your lungs.The heavier you breathe, the less oxygen that's actually delivered throughout your body due to lack of carbon dioxide, which causes your blood vessels to constrict.
The Buteyko Method teaches you how to bring your breathing volume back toward normal or, in other words, to reverse chronic hyperventilation or chronic overbreathing. When your breathing is normal, you have better oxygenation of tissues and organs.
Exposing Babies to Dust Mites, Pet Dander, and Other Allergens May Reduce Asthma and Allergy Risk
A child raised in an environment devoid of dirt and germs, and who is given antibiotics that kill off all of the bacteria in his gut, is not able to build up natural resistance to disease, and becomes vulnerable to illnesses later in life. This theory, known as the hygiene hypothesis, is likely one reason why many allergies and immune-system diseases have doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled in the last few decades, and now new research is further backing it up. One study, presented at the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark, exposed babies to oral dust-mite drops twice a day from the age of 6 months to 18 months.8
Dust mites are one of the most common allergens in the US and the UK, and are a common trigger for asthma symptoms as well. Remarkably, the dust-mite exposure reduced the incidence of allergy by 63 percent, and this was among infants at high risk of allergy (they had a history of allergy in both parents). Among the infants exposed to dust mites, only 9.4 percent developed allergy to dust mites or other allergens, compared to more than 25 percent in the placebo group.
In a separate study, researchers found that urban babies exposed to cockroach, mouse, and cat allergens (via house dust), as well as to certain types of bacteria, during their first year of life were less likely to suffer from wheezing and allergies at the age of 3.9 In fact, wheezing was three times more common among children who grew up in homes without allergen exposure. Dr. Todd Mahr, an allergist-immunologist and chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Section on Allergy & Immunology, told WebMD:10 "The environment appears to play a role, and if you have too clean of an environment the child's immune system is not going to be stimulated."
Why Does Your Immune System Need Dirt to Stay Healthy?
Your immune system is composed of two main groupst's not just what you sm that work together to protect you. One part of your immune system deploys specialized white blood cells called Th1 lymphocytes, which direct an assault on infected cells throughout your body. The other major part of your immune system attacks intruders even earlier. It produces antibodies that try to block dangerous microbes from invading your body's cells in the first place. This latter strategy uses a different variety of white blood cells, called Th2 lymphocytes. The Th2 system also happens to drive allergic responses to foreign organisms.
At birth, an infant's immune system appears to rely primarily on the Th2 system, while waiting for the Th1 system to grow stronger. But the hygiene hypothesis suggests that the Th1 system can grow stronger only if it gets "exercise," either through fighting infections or through encounters with certain harmless microbes. Without such stimulation, the Th2 system flourishes and the immune system tends to react with allergic responses more easily.
In other words, the hygiene hypothesis posits that children and adults not being exposed to viruses and other environmental factors like dirt, germs, parasites, and even certain viruses results in their not being able to build up resistance, which makes them more vulnerable to illnesses. In addition to allergies and asthma, eczema, autoimmune diseases, and even heart disease11 have been associated with the hygiene hypotheses. Fortunately, it's easy to avoid being "too clean," and in turn help bolster your body's natural immune responses. Try:
- Letting your child get dirty. Allow your kids to play outside and get dirty (and realize that if your kid eats boogers, it isn't the end of the world).
- Not using antibacterial soaps and other antibacterial household products, which wipe out the microorganisms that your body needs to be exposed to for developing and maintaining proper immune function. Simple soap and water are all you need when washing your hands. The antibacterial chemicals (typically triclosan) are quite toxic and have even been found to promote the growth of resistant bacteria.
- Avoiding unnecessary antibiotics. Remember that viral infections are impervious to antibiotics, as antibiotics only work on bacterial infections.
- Serving locally grown or organic meats that do not contain antibiotics.
- Educating yourself on the differences between natural and artificial immunity, and making informed decisions about the use of vaccinations. | <urn:uuid:db49d8f0-8e6b-4c40-a8df-66e71f31cc68> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/08/20/thunderstorm-asthma.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280761.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00099-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95603 | 2,296 | 3.5 | 4 |
This essay has been submitted by a student. This is not an example of the work written by our professional essay writers.
"Quality is not merely a measure of efficiency; it also has a value dimension. The attempt to improve the quality of education will succeed only if it goes hand in hand with steps to promote equality and social justice" (NCERT 2005, p 102).
When values are intrinsic in educational goals, quality in education would not be free from values. Educational policies are oriented by certain values that they derive from its usefulness in meeting certain ends that are valuable, for example self reliance; from our socio cultural political context, for example equality. The idea of education is also considered as being valuable in itself, as has been discussed to some detail in section 2. Which values in education get addressed by the quality improvement efforts planned in the policies of education?
There are schools that are branded and are island of excellence in school education. They are exclusive, ensure high achievement and have a higher status than most other schools. With their special status and standard, they are selective about students and are obviously not equitable. How in a country with right to equitable elementary education, such iniquitous practices in school education thrive? Can we say the best possible actually is possible without offering/providing/ensuring all an equitable opportunity? Is there something about quality notion that does not correspond with equal opportunity for all?
Aligned with the values in our Constitution education should be provided equitably. Equality is not just a valuable in education because of constitution, "Education itself immediately raises questions of equality" (O' Hear,1981, p 137)
Selection at any level of education implies unequal opportunities. Examinations are made educationally equal, persons from different social background fair differently even if schooled similarly. That students are differently abled is not a matter of socially remediable policy, and is a fact of nature. But academic ability is not a socially neutral fact, but the inequality in birth and upbringing; social inequalities closely relate to difference of academic attainment (ibid).The issue of fairness by eliminating such differences as far as possible has strength. Equality can be viewed as that before law, as non-discrimination on certain grounds, or in treatment for fairness.
Different policies have different ways to seek equality. One step to achieve equality in education is to aim for universalization of education up to a certain level. To universalize means to bridge all the existing gaps and lacunae in the educational system (Rustagi, 2009, pp5). The challenges and debates arise in the path of universalizing education (Rustagi).
The National Policy of Education, 1986 recommended that "up to a given level, all students, irrespective of caste, creed, location or sex, have access to education of comparable quality" (Section 3.2).
In seeking equality of opportunity, quality got tied to it. The NPE1986 recommended Common School System to promote equal access as was suggested by the policy in 1968.In addition to equal opportunity to all in access, but also in the conditions of success (Sharma, 2002). Yet until that reality of equal opportunity comes about. In a transitional phase, seemingly to first make easy access feasible, alternative educational plans for 'comparable quality' were proposed. This was also thought to promote the decentralization which can facilitate universalization of education in a large democracy like ours.
NPE 1986 and the subsequent review report 1990 recommended some strategies of reducing disparities in access to education by opening Residential schools, Ashram Schools for the SC, ST and Non Formal Centers with different curriculum that consider their different needs and life-styles. Non Formal Education has been an option for children who cannot attend whole day school and yet ensuring comparable quality education For universalizing elementary education, regulating provisions and facilities for schools, adjusting timings of schools to suit children's needs were some proposals.
At the same time, opportunity for good quality education of the specially talented yet poor children is created through Pace-Setting schools, Navodaya Vidyalaya Scheme. Nation wide programme for school improvement included such residential schools with no fee.
The policy prescribes two contrasting approaches of opening parallel channels for educational access and other structures to nurture special talent. Do these appear to be equalizing educational opportunities? They reflect an acceptance of a position of quality being different from equality. Alternative options to formal schools and common schools came in both shades- those offering unequal opportunity (non-formal sector) with comparable quality, and those offering free good quality education to the brighter ones.
Is equality a criterion of judging quality of education? How is 'quality' in relation to 'equality' placed and considered in the policies? Some policy analysis and a little conceptual understanding seem required. Especially in view of rising inequalities where a huge number of children continue to remain outside the school, the school system in the country is perhaps the most unequal in the world. Many government and aided schools have largely become non-functional and private schools cater to a large population (Sharma, 1981).
First we try to examining how policies to promote equality in education sought equal access to educational opportunity. Expanding educational system for equal access has been a challenge.
The moves like Non Formal Education (NFE), a parallel stream to mainstream formal school education, were meant to be merely 'comparable' with the corresponding formal education. This indicates creation of 'a layer of lower quality below the formal school' (Sadgopal, 2006). The character of the policy itself promotes the exclusion and discrimination found in the system. With formal government schools deteriorating, cheap private schools replace them while the demand for education is high. This promotes privatization and commercialization of school education (ibid).
Speaking against the differential provisions for the disadvantaged groups of dalits, tribals and girls, Velaskar (2010) interprets it as a concern for 'quality for some' against precedence over that of 'quality access to all'. According to Velaskar (2010, p 66) "The idea of Common School System, the main vehicle for operationalizing equality of opportunity… evoked overt political endorsement but stiff covert resistance… The common schools existed more by default than design in the form of solitary village schools", that too only in the form of physical integration and not accorded to 'philosophical, sociological and educational principles that are integral to the ideal' (Velaskar, 2010). This also contributes to keep the inequalities alive. The state uses education as its ordering instrument (Durkheim, 1979, f. Sarangapani, KK, 2004)
There is evidence that equality is generally not viewed as an end in itself, but as a means of reducing economic and social inequalities ? (Husen & Pstlethwaite… 1985). The need for development can be one motivation for valuing equality. Equitable access with all diversity (no disparity) is essential to sustained development. With this as a stance let's look into what international documents say on equality and quality.
In the world conference, Education For All, Jomtien, 1990 the focal points are Universalizing access and promoting equity and broadening the means and scope of basic education.
The concern for quality has been clearly expressed in Dakar Framework, " …quality must not suffer as access expands and that improvements in quality should not benefit the economically well-off at the expense of the poor…". A powerful correlation is found between low enrolment, poor retention and unsatisfactory learning outcomes and the incidence of poverty (DF, p 13). This also explains shift from 'education for all' at Jomtien conference,1990 to 'excellence for all' in Dakar Framework 2000. The conference placed both outcomes and class-room processes important.
''…qualitative achievements tell nothing of the plight of millions who are still excluded from education''…therefore information on nature and quality of teaching-learning and of educational outcomes at all levels is also required ( DF p 13). "Millions of people are still denied their right to education and the opportunities it brings to live safer, healthier, more productive and more fulfilling lives" ( DF, p12).
"Quality is at the heart of education, and what takes place in classrooms and other learning environment is fundamentally important to the future well being of children, young people and adults. A quality education is one that satisfies basic learning needs, and enriches the lives of learners and their overall experience of living" (DF, p 17) .
So far the said expresses concern for exclusion, the related quality of life and concern for quality even while expansion and access is pursued. While commitment to attaining universal enrolment is essential, improving and sustaining the quality of basic education is equally important in ensuring effective learning outcomes (DF, p16).
The patterns in education have been shifting from enrolment drives and completion to strategies for improving achievement at both national and international levels. In other words, focus is increasingly moving from equity in access to equity in achievement, from provision to outcomes.
A difficult aspect to understand in the stance is the justification for assessing quality in terms of specific and measurable learning outcomes. How is it then in tune with the 'enriching experiences of children, learning environment? Quality focus on outcomes has many implications that seem objectionable. Those relating to equity issue are being exposited here. Other implications of such a shift in focus on quality will be discussed later.
The quality in terms of specifiable outcomes assumes that learning is a quantifiable end point. It places learning (as an achievement) out of its socio-cultural context, weighing everyone on same scale. Where is the individual, his enriching experience and values that have been talked of? When outcomes become the criteria for quality, what chance does the equitable access stand?
Equality of educational opportunity is a concern of social justice while quality focus on outcomes can promote economic/ employment. Such emphasis on quality implies competition, privatization and commercialization. The 'quality' is outwardly focused on achievements, comparable and measurable. Quality and equality have thus become dichotomized as the programmes for universalization progressed (Kumar, 2010). Quality has been redefined, education has been restructured and universal access to education, as a child's right, is still a threat to our idea of education and long term goals. The strategies for equitable access still eliminate and exclude favouring the elite (Kumar, 2004, eco regime).
Students from many strata of society and regions experience problems in education. It is the systematic assessment of learning outcomes that show problematically low and/or unequal levels of learning among different sections of students in most countries that is taken to indicate (close association between quality and) equity (Govinda, 2009).Many children, even after attending primary education for five years lack basic learning skills and remain excluded from mainstream development (Govinda & Bandopadhyay). The students pass out without learning the required/ expected. How do we understand/explain this, and how can we ensure learning? Some strategies to improve both access and ensuring some levels of learning have been introduced in our education system.
Some educational programmes like DPEP and SSA have been turning points in Indian education. They have emphasized on ensuring learning. The DPEP has been a district level plan therefore suiting the needs of the district and flexible though centrally sponsored. Its objectives have included increasing access and retention, decrease drop out and disparity, and achieving measured baseline levels. It was flexible with parameters that were meant to ensure that the plan is within the framework of national concerns and priorities ( net Department of Education: 1994). It took quality 'of education to enable all children to achieve essential levels of learning' and many intervention strategies developed.
SSA is meant to universalize as well as to improve quality of education through decentralized and context specific planning and a process based implementation strategy. "Improving the quality and efficiency at school-classroom level is a major thrust area of SSA programme" (Dhar, p ix), along with "efforts directed towards increasing access, enrolment and retention".
The programme aims to provide 'useful and relevant' elementary education in the 6 to 14 age group by 2010. Its overall goals include universal access and retention, bridging of gender and social category gaps in education for better social justice. It aims at improving performance of school system with enhancement of learning levels of children.
Both programmes are decentralized therefore can work to suit the needs and problems of local community, yet 'serve' to achieve the levels of learning (MLL).
The clear emphasis on levels of learning, that is, educational outcomes is another version of 'comparable quality' in the NPE 1986.
Under the SSA, alternatives like the educational guarantee schemes (EGS) and para- teacher system were launched for universalisation of elementary education. Such alternative forms of providing education have been considered equivalent to formal schooling and sufficing as an entitlement or a right to education. Universalisation of elementary education through such questionable methods does not yield sustainable positive outcomes (Kumar, 2010).
The dichotomization of access and quality by policy guided choices like para-teachers and Educational Guarantee Scheme, NPE had already legitimatized alternatives to formal schooling for achieving universalisation, which Krishna Kumar (2010,pp9) alleges is institutionalization of long-term damage to education.
These versions of quality imply much harm to education in the sense that it separated the process of learning from outcome, that is, quality (Sarangapani, 2010). The significance of process lies in achieving the levels of performance, not really in the experience and relevance to the child. When process of learning is out from focus, learner cannot be in focus either. The system works indifferent to the learner, his individuality, his personality, his talent, his problems and the student has to cope to perform.
The Public Report on Basic Education, 1999 has reported somewhat similar findings from the study of people's perceptions of educational scenario and their expectations. The survey was dome in seven states of Northern India. The purpose of the survey was to assess how far 'the country is ready to provide elementary education of decent quality to every child'. It has been of help in locating some obstacles in achieving universalisation of education and suggesting the kind of effort that would be required for universalisation of elementary education. It explores reasons for not reaching full enrolment, retention and explanation for high drop out rates. This is not anticipated with the public demand for education on the rise.
The PROBE Report found the reasons for such problems in universalisation in the school environment. The school environment is not conducive to meaningful and joyful learning. The content and pedagogy/learning activities are not enhancing lives of students; rather alienate them from their environment also. There is lot of social discrimination in practice. The physical, organizational and social learning environment is also found inadequate by most people. The quality education, in effect, seems to be for the elite. Education, by the report, is not democratic or equal in opportunity and marginalizes the poor and disadvantaged.
Not meeting the learning needs of students, poor and socially discriminating environment, and inadequate education, joyless, meaningless, irrelevant learning that becomes burdensome, strugglesome experience for many (PROBE).
Some issues get attention and voice in the NCF2010. "Schools range from the high- cost 'public' (private) schools, to which the urban elite send their children, to the ostensibly 'free', poorly functioning local- body -run primary schools where children from hitherto educationally deprived communities predominate. A striking recent feature is the growth of multigrade schools in rural areas, based on the mechanical application of 'teacher - pupil ratios' to the need to provide a school within 1 km. of each habitation, yet unsupported by the necessary curricular concepts or clarity on materials or pedagogy. Such developments unintentionally reinforce privilege and exclusion in education and undermine the constitutional values of equality of opportunity and social justice." Our vision of development perhaps needs scrutiny as equity is not a concern, quality is ( Tilak, 2007 EPW).
"Even as the system attempts to reach every child, the issue of quality presents a new range of challenges. The belief that quality goes with privilege is clearly irreconcilable with the vision of participatory democracy that India upholds and practices in the political sphere. Its practice in the sphere of education demands that the education available to all children in different regions and sections of society has a comparable quality "(NCERT 2005, P7, 8).
Overall school expansion patterns took widely divergent paths resulting in inequality, imbalance and unevenness. There is a clear movement towards greater polarization, greater relative inequality of quantity and quality (Velaskar, 2010).
The policies show ambiguities in their concerns, contrariness and duality in their recommendations, tacitly resisting the clear implementation for a goal. The policies and strategies seem to ensure inequalities. Indian state is alleged to be playing 'dual role of both main arbiter of welfare policy and protector of dominant interests' (Velaskar, 2010). The problem of alienation and meaningless learning also prevails. The cases of successful completion with no increase in the targeted areas are many. The impact of policies is thus limited and weakens further by the international attention, direction with support/ funding.
The structural and managerial approaches define quality by valuing 'satisfying the customer', 'serving the purpose', 'fitness for use' and /or 'conformity to requirements' (Charantimath, 2006). This shows that quality is assessed by refernce to something from outside the system, because the system exists to serve some demands, some ends as well as it can. There is a competitive edge to serving the required well.
The policies recommending restructuring education and focus on new structures and mechanisms to ensure equality, namely, NPE 1986, has been discussed.
When system is efficient, it can put minimal efforts to maximize output. The output can be in terms of level of learning, or in terms of number of people going through educational programmes. When the focus is number, the quantity, which is dealt through expansion of educational possibilities, will rise and thus more people can be educated. Here, equality is not a value, except for development, but an unintended by-product.
Improving quality through management may be effective if the voice of the deprived and disadvantaged reaches those managing. Even if equality is a goal for structural approach, it may lack the 'philosophical, sociological and educational principles' necessary for real change, and would perhaps address equality only through increasing quantity/ output. Procedures may succeed in ensuring equitable admission, but can procedures ensure against discrimination occurring within schools and class rooms (PROBE 1999)? What worth are such operations if the attitudes and values of people operating it don't change? Does quality address that?
Can both quality and equality be achieved? Can quality in education improve without equal opportunity for education? Quality and equality sound as divergent concerns, one egalitarian and the other relates to meritocracy (ability). If the concern for equality was important to quality in education, the tension and relationship between the two would be addressed rather than separating the two, as is alleged.
"…policy makers, administrators and researchers do find certain antimonies and tensions they see in the quality debate "(Aspin, 1994, p 37). One major tension is "between providing opportunities for all students to do well and encouraging a high standard specialized knowledge and training" (ibid, p 37). The issue of quality schooling is that of choosing between the optimum and all round development of all/ each and the highest possible for promising few persons.
Balakrishnan (2006) asserts that equity and excellence must hold in equal parts of an educational arrangement (p42) if provision of education is to serve any worthwhile purpose, that the two need hardly be divorced from one another. He thinks, equity, even of opportunity, a purely relational concept, is more or less worthless without excellence. Equally, the feature of islands of excellence in a sea of squalor would leave condemned, from a macro perspective, educational arrangements that maintain this state of affairs. The two ideas, equality and quality are meaningful and valuable only when proximate. Supporting the position are views like universalisation and access are meaningless without quality (Rampal).The access can't be said equal when the quality (as outcome?) is unequal. Padma Velaskar questions the meaning of meritocracy when educational opportunities are unequal.
Krishna Kumar (1985) observes, between the two major concerns of education, namely access and quality, the government is obviously more inclined towards the latter. This he interprets through starting of 'Central schools' that hold places for meritorious among children, and the rise of private schooling that based on the idea that separation of worthy from the ordinary is necessary for the country's talent and breed merit which somehow is bound by caste-grouping. To generate new talent children from all social strata, both sexes need to study together (p948).
Krishna Kumar (2010) considers equality as an aspect of quality, and argues that programs for universalisation of education have dichotomized quality and equality. Equality itself reflects the quality of education as an involvement in the long term growth of a person. Equality cannot be treated mechanically, it depends on context. He thinks that a systematic goal of equality can only nurture quantity while quality would require regulation of equality.
As interpreted by Andre Beteille ( EPW,2001), access is about making a service available, creating opportunity that is about universality of education. He distinguishes universality from equitable access or equality of opportunity made available. Euality in opportunity concerns fairly equal access for all.
Justice, he clarifies, is widely thought to consist in equality. The general principle of is a criterion in liberal political theory. He further argues that fairness need not consist in equality (ibid).
The principle of universality is not free from the principle of scarcity ( Hirsch 1977, ref in Beteille). However compelling the demands of universality, we cannot disregard the constraints imposed by the scarcity of resources. R.F. Atkinson reasons, because of limited resources, that is, scarcity, quality may have to be pursued at the expense of equality. With conditions of abundance, justice and equality would be superfluous and irrelevant. (Brown 1975, p150).
Even at the elementary level of education, universality does not mean equality (Beteille, p2625). What we can offer at best is equality of opportunity for those already qualified for admission, and this leads inevitably to the quality of outcome. There are limits to which equality can be taken and beyond which inequalities are bound to come into play. He concludes with the assertion that universality is an important principle, distinct from equality.
Equality can be interpreted as both meritarian and compensatory. The first is expressed as formal impartiality/legal equality or non discrimination due to caste, gender, religion etc., a form of social justice expressed in rules and norms. The compensatory form of equality is about fair treatment and concerns opportunity which privileges individual freedom, action and mobility where effort and talent should matter, nothing else. Upholding the second principle grants special treatment recognizing deep rooted inequalities and injustices, acknowledging systematic and cumulative deprivation (Beteille, Velarkar). These notions of equality arise resistance due to the fact of human diversity. The issue of where compensation is justified and where not, often becomes controversial.
Winch 1996, pp127 asserts conclusively that education aims to nurture each ones potential…the highest possible standard should always be achieved irrespective of social-political considerations (Winch,).
Supporting it, John Rawls has also posited that although the bias of policy should be towards equality, an increase of inequality overall is justified if it benefits the most disadvantaged members of society (Rawls 1972; 75-83). Strict egalitarianism does not seem to favour anyone, even the disadvantaged.
Velaskar (2010) clarifies that equality is a pursuit of synthesis of two divergent principles- that of meritarian and of compensatory principles. She holds that only a broader vision dissolves the perceived contradictions between the two (individual and society). Beteille asserts that inequality of outcome is inevitable, no matter how much equality in opportunity is offered.
At a conceptual level, Cooper (1975) claims that 'Quality for all' is self defeating, because quality implies striving for excellence, the highest possible which implies a hierarchy, a comparison and so the same level of achievement is not conceivable for all. Cooper argues from two opposing camps- the 'egalitarians' and the 'qualitarians' and concludes that egalitarian wants us all pulled up to higher levels, which is difficult if not impossible to identify. In the system of equality, he points out, the vital means for identifying what the methods of high quality education could be (Brown p 129). Quality and equality may not be logically incompatible but conflict in choice. This is reiterated (Peters) by the fact that expansion has been found to be detrimental to quality.
Timothy O'Hagan counters Cooper's assertions by arguing that even when resources are limited, quality may have to be pursued at the expense of equality in order to attain a situation in which both quality and equality can be promoted together. Inequality is temporarily justified if it serves to bring about equality. Inequality as a value in itself is condemned, or that inequality is justified by the essential inequality of men (natural- genetic and environmental, i.e. unequal distribution of excellence/talent).
R.F. Atkinson (Brown, 1975) understands the issue as the fundamental conflict in terms of individualism and collectivism, almost on lines with the two equality principles talked of earlier. Cooper, then stands by individualism and argues that educational quality has to be judged intrinsically and in terms of processes not products. But can we ignore assessing the quality of a system without assessing the quality of its produces?
If equality becomes a criterion for judging quality of education, education fails so long as inequalities in talent, capability, achievements, outcomes, cultures exist!
The relation of equality to quality leads us into another discourse (area of reflection) on opportunity and can improve our understanding of 'opportunity'. That equality of result cannot be evidence of equality of opportunity is voiced by many. How can we determine the level of 'equality of opportunity'? How do we interpret opportunity, whether in terms of 'providing physical access', creating 'right environment' , learners' 'perception of opportunity' which is determined by his socio-cultural circumstance and his motivation, development among many other things, or by outcome as perceived by the system?
The idea of equality of opportunity as a criterion of judging quality of a school system arose in a set up/ socio-political context where production was more important than in places/countries where leisurely pattern of growth occurs, e.g., where large population is occupied in agriculture. The educational goals a country seeks should change with its stage of economic development (Beeby 1969, pp61). History shows that the schools for common people increased for industry to make use of their products.
The conceptualization and parameters for then seem to differ with different social political contexts. The values in education are influenced by values from its social political context. And that may explain how and why 'democracy and education are being ruled by market forces' (Kumar, 2004, eco regime). The extent to which education is to be shaped by its circumstance of serving political and economic ends is a significant/relevant concern. (Kumar, 2001; Winch 1996). It is a concern of this work also.
Once we understand that having an opportunity depends on having power to take it up, we can increase opportunities by increasing powers. Relating the issue of equal opportunity with justice, John Wilson (1993) argues that 'equality in opportunity' and power is an issue of justice rather than equality because if equality involves the idea of 'sameness', then sameness of opportunity would rely on sameness of powers which is neither sensible nor an attainable ideal.
Inequalities exist and will persist. Only which forms of equalities are more desirable than others and which inequalities need to be reduced creates the discourse of justice that weaves into the discourse of education also.
Through Isaih Berlin and Amartya Sen we are aware that the equality of opportunity, seen as a global absence of coercion, cannot translate into a positive variant of opportunity when capabilities differ. It is the systematic assessment of learning outcomes that show problematically low and/or unequal levels of learning among different sections of students in most countries that is taken to indicate (close association between quality and) equity (Govinda, 2009).
Is it for education system to discriminate between those from different social background? How is educational quality affected when education accommodates social differences? Is education to compensate for all kinds of inequalities (to shape for new possibilities that seem fairer)? The issue seems to be about deciding what is more just- treating the unequals equally or equals unequally?
Equality, in view of overall growth and to achieve educational aims may find justification. R.S. Peters questions, if an effort for common good, in tune with socio-political ideas, deserves to be judged by calculable standards? He has raised a question crucial to nature of education and how its decisions are to be taken.
Cooper helps us focus on similar core concern by raising the question if we can and should judge all schools on the same scale, without reference to their different functions as institutions. He argues that quality in education has to do with the capacity of a system to effect 'educational transformation'.. And to assess educational transformation, we need to decide 'what is it to be educated' (Peters and Warnock's views on it accepted). The quality-equality issue leads us to the question of meaning of education. It only shows that the notion of quality is inbuilt to the concept of education. It settles according to what we value in education in our context.
Quality education targeting equity comes back to the priority setting process, the questions it raises and the values it embodies. (Aspin et al1994, p 42)
Understanding the complexity of balancing the three- quality, quantity and equality in education, J.P. Naik suggests that the three may require different kind of attention as quality is internal to education, while the other two are not. A decision on quality in education is about educational values, which would and should be in tune with our socio-political values (egalitaritarian or inegalitarian values).
Closes Sec 3.
The quality cannot but reflect what we hold valuable in education. We have observed that the focus of quality has been towards outcomes more than equality, a concern for social justice. There is need to explore how quality is perceived. Perhaps quality in education presents what is held as most relevant/valuable in education.
What do these quality improvement drives address, if not equity, a social reform/justice ? What are the implications of measurable, minimal levels of learning that are pursued through quality discourse? Do they follow some ideology?
Discussing what should be the criteria for quality, NCF examines student performance at examination, physical resources, teacher resources, school ethos or child's experiences as criteria. The conclusion is that quality can be legitimately assessed with reference to educational goals. The goals cannot be away from "the larger perspective of the challenges facing humanity and the nation today" (ibid, p 8). "The greatest national challenge for education is to strengthen our participatory democracy and the values enshrined in the Constitution. Meeting this challenge implies that we make quality and social justice the central theme of curricular reform. Citizenship training has been an important aspect of formal education. Today, it needs to be boldly reconceptualised in terms of the discourse of universal human rights and the approaches associated with critical pedagogy. A clear orientation towards values associated with peace and harmonious coexistence is called for. Quality in education includes a concern for quality of life in all its dimensions. This is why a concern for peace, protection of the environment and a predisposition towards social change must be viewed as core components of quality, not merely as value premises.
Sadgopal, A. 2006 Dilution, Distortion and Diversion A Post -Jomtien Reflection on the Educational Policy in Ravi Kumar's 'The Crisis of Elementary Educationin India' Sage Plublication, New Delhi,
O' Hear, A.(1981) Ch 6 Education and Society in Education, Society and Human Nature An Introduction to the philosophy of education, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. London.
Sharma,A K (2002), NPE: Implementation in School Education in K.Sudha rao Educational Policies of Promise and Performance , NEIPA,
(Husen & Pstlethwaite… 1985)
Tilak, 2007 EPW
The 'quality' in education is defined in terms of two principles /objectives : first learners' cognitive development as the major explicit objective of all educational systems; the second emphasizes education's role in promoting values and attitudes that are judged necessary for good citizenship and effective life in the community (EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005, Education for All, The Quality Imperative, Summary, UNESCO Publishing, published in 2004).
Ensuring excellence of all with measurable learning outcomes achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life-skills ( DF, p8).
Some of the goals are : Ensuring access to and complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality ; improving every aspect of the quality of education, and ensuring their excellence so that recognized and measurable
learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills (DF, p 17).
It seems evident that access and quality factors interact ( Govinda, p33)
Does 'quality' itself signify a valued attribute?
Depriving some from the possibilities of growth, exclusion of many groups of people is a concern at international level, Jomtien and Dakar conferences, The EFA goal remains unfulfilled if all do not access and complete the basic education level which correlates powerfully to poverty, health and many other aspects affecting their quality of life. All children must have the opportunity to fulfill their right to quality education ( DF p15). Quality must not suffer as access expands and that improvement in quality should not benefit the economically well-off at the expense of poor (DF p13). Fulfilling basic learning needs and ensuring excellence in terms of clearly stated outcomes is important (p15-17). | <urn:uuid:834f0f89-aeb6-4d61-b3a6-118ce95c719f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.ukessays.com/essays/education/mapping-the-quality-discourse-education-essay.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280504.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00142-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950672 | 7,147 | 3.609375 | 4 |
Although we continue to distinguish between various mood states the sad fact is most people diagnosed with a mood disorder problem experience more than one. For example, the most common issues for people with anxiety are depression and substance misuse. If we look at the breakdown of mental health issues we find anxiety disorders top the list, then depression with anxiety and then depression alone. In fact depression is now so prevalent that it affects roughly 5 per cent of the population in the USA at any one time. Look at the stats more broadly and we find that 17 per cent of people will experience a major episode of depressive illness at some point in their lives.
What are we to make of this level of misery? The standard approach to treating mental health hasn't changed much for a long time and involves treatment, of sorts, being offered once symptoms appear. You only have to look at the average forum to see how poorly the current system recognizes and deals with the array of distress that people experience. Perhaps, in a general sense, the current approach reflects a preference to emphasize physical wellbeing? Whether or not this is the case the mental health needs of patients remain a pretty hazy, costly and poorly understood state of affairs.
Yet, we have to look to experts in the field to identify problems and then show us what to do about them. As far as psychiatry is concerned we have a revised diagnostic manual to look forward to, but this is likely to be a reshuffling of the same hand we've been dealt for decades. Perhaps we need to dig a bit deeper and ask more searching questions about the nature of psychiatry, what it has to offer and how well it is providing the answers and leadership we need?
Self-help literature isn't the first place you might expect to find a coherent challenge to what is currently on offer. However, Professor Jane Plant & Janet Stephenson manage to deliver something of a broadside to the system we're all expected to cope with. They challenge psychiatry's ageing interpretive framework which still seems to stand outside of much of what is known of the biological bases of memory and emotion.
Psychiatry remains a Cinderella service and this has all sorts of ramifications for the type of person it tends to attract and the nature and sophistication of research undertaken. Have we not reached a point where technicians should be screening for mental illness in much the same way we screen for other health problems? Shouldn't specialists be available to routinely interpret functional brain scans? We have the technology yet it is barely used outside of a few research centers.
If we could turn things around where should we start? Maybe we could do worse than follow Plant & Stephenson's call for all specialists involved in the treatment of mental illness to pass advanced examinations in neurology, physiology and biochemistry of the brain and nervous system. This new neurophysician, would replace psychiatrists as the person most capable of fully comprehending and treating the complexity of mental illness. It may seem contentious but if we want to get serious about mental health we surely need to take a fresh look at the service that currently purports to serve our psychological wellbeing and demand more and better.
Plant, J & Stephenson, J (2008) Beating Stress, Anxiety & Depression: groundbreaking ways to help you feel better. Piatkus books. London.
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For the past six years, Skoch Consultancy Services has been doing its bit of cheerleading – and some more. It has been creating a knowledge repository of development, culled from the myriad initiatives in the country – more specifically in the areas of e-governance, capacity building, microfinance, financial inclusion and ICT enablement– in the firm conviction that the accumulation and transfer of this knowledge will increase the momentum of development. Skoch teams have travelled far and wide – from Majuli in Assam and Kanaipur in West Bengal to Dungarpur in Rajasthan and Kheda in Gujarat, from Temi and Namchi in Sikkim to Nalgonda in Andhra Pradesh, Neerpara in Kerala and Puducherry – to see these initiatives first hand. These self-funded (read: independent) observers have already put together over 150 case-study films, based on primary research and citizen feedback. Skoch has documented the progress on close to 550 governance projects. It has also instituted the ‘Skoch Challenger Award’ – which are editorially independent – to salute best practices in the areas of e-governance, education, ICT enablement, empowerment, capacity building and digital and financial inclusion. The Year 2008 edition of the Challenger Awards, the Sixth in an unbroken annual series, held up to light 17 such stories – of some individuals, some institutions, some initiatives. Here’s a sample:
Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan: MKSS focuses on issues of transparency
In public works. Located in the village of Devdungri, near Bhim in Rajsamand district of Rajasthan, MKSS has only a handful of dedicated workers. But that hasn’t hindered its successful campaign for public right to information. It all started with MKSS demanding access to Panchayat records on the plea that there had to be transparency in the use of taxpayers’ money for public welfare programmes. Over time, a process called ‘social audit’ – connoting comprehensive review of expenditure and asset creation from public work programmes – has been institutionalised. The effort is to track every payment made by the government and verify that it has been made correctly. What started as a movement to bring in transparency in the functioning of a Panchayat later snowballed into a national movement and legislation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. It wasn’t even only a symbolic victory – detailed audits by the MKSS show that leakages have reduced to a single-digit percentage. The MKSS is now working on social audits with the Andhra Pradesh government, and has so far helped recover nearly Rs 70 lakh. A Skoch team attended one of the social audits in Devdungri recently and was witness to disgorgement.
HMIS, TCS implementation in Gujarat:
After successfully piloting the Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) project in Gandhinagar Civil Hospital, the Gujarat government has scaled up the initiative to cover all district-level hospitals in the state. This makes for greater accountability and transparency and also facilitates prompt and vital policy decisions. HMIS has been developed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on the Microsoft .NET technology platform. For the patient, it means: a) less time spent per visit; b) standard charges for services; c) relief from carrying bulky medical fi les to the hospital and the pain of preserving/ maintaining these records; and d) online information about availability of doctors. For doctors, the system means at the first level easier access to the medical history of patients, which has a direct bearing on the efficiency of treatment. For the hospital management, this means better inventory control, the facility to monitor predefined health indicators and decision support based on exception reporting using alerts and triggers.
Its experiments with the Panchayati Raj system of governance have been frequently held up as a model for other states to follow. The standout feature of the state’s model of Panchayati Raj is the degree to which it has been able to devolve power to the people: in a state administration spanning 999 Gram Panchayats, 152 Block Panchayats and 14 District Panchayats, a third of the plan budget is spent through Panchayats; two-thirds of public services are delivered through Panchayats. By setting aside such a large chunk of plan funds for Kerala’s Panchayats – and enacting institutional reforms to support this process – the state’s administration has gone a long way involving people in the process of setting their own development agenda. The Information Kerala Mission (IKM), which grew out of the needs of the People’s Planning Campaign, launched in 1996, has invigorated this grassroots democracy. | <urn:uuid:d13e89e7-60f5-4ab9-acf4-d361c4880961> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://challengers.skoch.in/awardees/2008/skoch-challenger-award-2008/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571056.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809155137-20220809185137-00666.warc.gz | en | 0.945803 | 991 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Start with a grassland, maintained in a state of ecological diversity by human care for 5,000 years…
…and under human use for 12,000 years.
A productive grassland.
Then add cattle.
And horses. They can tear up grassland soil, too, the dears.
And they can trudge. They are very good at trudging.
Eventually, nothing is left but dust and weeds (deposited by cattle [and horses].)
Then plant an orchard. That’ll be a better agricultural idea. Yay! Good thinking! Hey, or a nut orchard on a 12,000-year-old village site!
And then, hey, I know, instead of cattle to kill almost all growing things, you can use weedkillers. Very modern. Nice.
And pesticides. That’s how to make healthy food!
Oh no, there’s no money in it!
Blast it, then cut the trees down
Cherry stumps help in that. Just saying.
Or, you can graze horses among the stumps. Nice, too.
Then declare the land unfit for agriculture, and declare agriculture a colonial endeavour anyway, and then … what do you think? Give the land back to its original people and say, “Ooops. Sorrrrrrrry? How can we help you, like, get something growing here again?” And be free of colonialism? You’d be right to hope so, but no, no, no, no, no, your hope is misplaced. You build houses on it…
…that’s what you do, and declare them environmentally responsible, because they have trees for birds, berries and nuts for birds…
…and flowers for bees that have nowhere else to go.
But then, oh dear, after 50 years, you do this:
Well, that’s 12,000 years of life gone poof. Nothing grows here anymore. Oh, wait, is that a Christmas wreath on the door? Well, that’s all right then. If the deer are hungry…
… you can leave some apples at the edge of the deer fence for them.
You can say whatever you like, in defence of any part of this crime, but it’s still colonialism gone rotten. The cows don’t even like it:
Best to give it back.
It’s time to stop thinking a good thing is being done here in the work of “civilizing” this social land, ie making it “civil” or a “city,” or a “beautiful landscape.”
This is another face of excess atmospheric carbon. Please look long and hard on it. And then plant something for the birds instead. At least that.
What a degradation of culture over just the last fifty years. The civilization here has left the Earth during that time period. Now we are 12,000 years back in time, but, hey, it’s a beginning. We can work with that.
Let’s be done with endings. Let’s begin again. | <urn:uuid:4161767f-5968-4fde-baad-0b692f54ab5f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://okanaganokanogan.com/2021/12/18/the-evolution-of-a-dead-planet-and-what-to-do-next/?like_comment=27184&_wpnonce=2049b5084e | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571190.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810131127-20220810161127-00065.warc.gz | en | 0.909061 | 670 | 2.34375 | 2 |
Local councils are taking part in a national antifraud programme to identify fraudulent claims, errors, and overpayments from people in Lincoln and the county.
The City of Lincoln Council and Lincolnshire County Council will submit in October a range of financial and personal records to the Audit Commission.
The Commission will then compare the data with that received from other organisations, in a huge nationwide data matching exercise.
The councils will then investigate high risk or unusual data matches in an attempt to uncover any fraud or error that may exist.
For example, when data matching shows a person listed as dead and also in receipt of a pension, the relevant body will investigate and stop pension payments.
It is claimed the City of Lincoln Council recovered several thousand pounds through this initiative, while the County Council clawed back over £119,000 this year.
Over £215 million was traced in fraud nationally last year, and a total of £664 million since the initiative’s start in 1996, according to the National Fraud Initiative.
“We’re determined to see that money for the people within Lincolnshire is only used for legitimate purposes,” said Lucy Pledge, Head of Corporate Audit & Risk Management a the Lincolnshire County Council. | <urn:uuid:80b96794-ac44-4dc1-9ad9-7846b3e5ad8b> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://thelincolnite.co.uk/2010/09/councils-chasing-public-cash-fraudsters/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719215.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00200-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929726 | 252 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Model T by Ford or popularly known as the 'Tin Lizzie' was produced between 1908 to 1927. Most people consider old cars to be simple and inefficient. Now the Model T takes on the Ramp Travel Index (RTI) to measure suspension flex.
The ramp is designed in a way that forces front and rear wheels to flex in different directions. All four tyres have to be in contact with ground and ramp. Once the vehicle cannot go any further a reading is taken thus, providing a suspension flex score.
Ford's Model T climbed up to 103 inches on a 20-degree ramp. The total score on RTI for the Model T was 1,030. Several popular SUVs and 4x4 models have managed to score a maximum of 350 to 500 on the RTI scale.
Rubicon and Wrangler by Jeep have modern 4x4 models have secure 769 and 724 on the RTI respectively. The 1,000 score is what custom off-road and 4x4 builder try to achieve. Ford Model T is almost a decade old and has proved that its suspension was an engineering marvel. | <urn:uuid:0c6450e6-8119-4479-adc3-55887447d502> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.drivespark.com/four-wheelers/2016/ford-model-t-suspension-rti-test-014572.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285315.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00570-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96499 | 229 | 2.484375 | 2 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 21, 2020
CONTACT: Susan Lamontagne, firstname.lastname@example.org or 917 568-0969
First Community Health Worker Institute to Reimagine their Role in Health Centers and Communities
$250,000 grant from the RCHN Community Health Foundation will launch worker training initiative by the Northwest Regional Primary Care Association
New York and Seattle – Community Health Workers (CHWs) play an important role in the health care system, and as the nation plans for a more resilient future, are poised to help transform health care delivery. Now a major grant from the RCHN Community Health Foundation will help to establish the Community Health Worker Institute to provide job training and serve as a thought-center to reimagine the role CHWs play in advancing health prevention and promoting wellness at the community level.
Launched by the Northwest Regional Primary Care Association, the Community Health Worker Institute will serve as a training, technical assistance, and resource hub for community health centers to help them more effectively train, support and integrate CHWs into health center care teams. It will also promote ways to leverage the CHW model to strengthen the health care system while advancing public health.
“The global pandemic has laid bare some of the things we need to do better in our current health care system,” said Northwest Regional Primary Care Association CEO Bruce Gray. “And it all comes back to rethinking not a better illness system, but how to prevent disease and improve people’s health.”
“Engaging at the community level is the key to improving health,” said Dr. Patrick Luedtke, Senior Public Health Officer of Lane County Oregon and current NWRPCA board chair. “For example, the COVID-19 vaccine will travel at the speed of trust and community health workers are key to developing trust.”
Evidence shows that CHWs are uniquely able to serve as a liaison between health care, social services, and the community. They facilitate access to services and improve the quality and cultural competence of service delivery. Yet despite this vital role, efforts to integrate, train, and promote their engagement in community health centers, and across systems of care, remain fragmented.
Based in Seattle, the Community Health Worker Institute will:
- Build capacity, leadership, and professional development for CHWs;
- Provide organizational development to integrate CHWs in community health center systems; and,
- Lead policy development to support the CHW workforce and strengthening the CHW model in health care.
“Community Health Workers are vital to the community health center model, but there is a lack of consistency in terms of workforce support, training, and standards,” said NWRPCA’s Director of Strategic Initiatives Seth Doyle. “Our new Institute will provide access to high-level training, deepen the understanding of the role of Community Health Workers within medical homes and the health care system, and promote greater recognition of their impact on addressing the social determinants of health.”
While engaging with patients directly, CHWs often work to address community-level health issues – food insecurity, unsafe housing conditions such as lead paint or rodent and bug infestations that can worsen asthma symptoms, or neighborhood environmental issues. Yet this vital work is not always reimbursable. The Institute will also promote sustainable policy approaches to CHW engagement. To help develop the Institute’s work, NWRPCA will engage partners with expertise in public health, community health worker training and professional development.
“We’re thrilled to help launch this new Institute, which is an exciting new development to improve health and health care,” said RCHN Community Health Foundation President and CEO Feygele Jacobs. “Community Health Workers, who have played an important role in many health centers for decades, facilitate health care for hard-to-reach people and promote community-based wellness, both of which are essential to moving beyond the pandemic and transforming our system of care.”
The RCHN Community Health Foundation is a not-for-profit foundation based in New York City devoted exclusively to supporting community health centers. www.rchnfoundation.org
The Northwest Regional Primary Care Association’s (NWRPCA) mission is to support and strengthen community and migrant health centers in the Northwest region through technical assistance, clinical coordination, training, and advocacy. www.nwrpca.org
Seth Doyle, NWRPCA Director of Strategic Initiatives, email@example.com
Maribel Montes De Oca, NWRPCA Community Health Improvement Program Manager, 206-519-5053 Direct | firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:85194645-a747-464a-b105-cf2db243da1b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.rchnfoundation.org/?p=9421 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572304.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816120802-20220816150802-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.936181 | 990 | 1.734375 | 2 |
If your loved one's health declines, you may find yourself taking responsibility for complicated, difficult tasks that used to fall to medical professionals. "It's not unusual for caregivers to feel overwhelmed," said Linda Pellegrini, a Gerontological Nurse Practitioner at UMass Memorial Medical Center. In her blog post, she explains which tasks are considered complex, how to find resources to help you and why it's imperative to take care of yourself.
As part of the Shared Voices choir, people living with early-stage dementia and their caregivers sing together in a fun, stress-free group. It's a good way to take time to appreciate each other’s company—while also developing friendships with people going through similar challenges.
Try these 6 tips for managing care for older and younger loved ones simultaneously during the coronavirus pandemic, while also maintaining your own physical and mental well-being.
Family caregivers and all types of health care professionals have had to drastically change their routines and expectations during this time of COVID-19 and “social distancing.” Social worker Emily Lemire discusses ways to keep your social connections and adapt to circumstances.
Whether you’re a caregiver now or expect to be in the future, Dr. Gerald Gleich has advice to help as you go through the experience. | <urn:uuid:ab970078-77fc-4364-a69e-d38c8ff8fc9b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://fallonhealth.org/caregiver-blog.aspx?tag=stress | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572063.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814173832-20220814203832-00672.warc.gz | en | 0.958888 | 271 | 1.71875 | 2 |
The UK Patent Office, who persist in calling themselves the UK Intellectual Property Office, have issued a corporate plan, announced on their website here yesterday. They say that this is an ambitious and demanding programme of work for itself and its "delivery partners", and is apparently a new way of working, following the Gowers report and last year's 'Innovation Nation' white paper.
(Right: the plan's cover page. What can it all mean? Is it something like that Coldplay album?)
The Minister for Intellectual Property, Baroness Delyth Morgan, says that the Government's goal is now to make the UK the best place in the world to run a creative, innovative business, with new knowledge and ideas being exploited to develop more effective products, services, processes and organisations a vital step in achieving this goal. The plan, she says, sets a "very clear and dynamic programme of activity for the next three years".
The IPKat, who is very impressed by the colourful layout of the plan, is unfortunately completely unable to tell his readers what any of it means. He was looking for some snappy soundbites to show his readers what a forward thinking and dynamic outfit he knows the UK-IPO to be, but unfortunately couldn't find anything that he could make any sense of. The following, being two of the UK-IPO's goals for next year (31 March 2009, to be precise), will therefore have to do:
Could any of his readers help the IPKat and others see what is really going to happen over the next 3 years (other than Baroness Morgan losing her job)?
- "We will have ensured that any decisions in the EU affecting the patent system are influenced by UK thinking and show clear potential benefits for business and society (one year goal).
- We will have shown that thinking on the CTM system has been developed on the basis of economic evidence and UK policy objectives (one year goal)."
More management speak here, here and here. | <urn:uuid:caaa5c0f-e44a-402e-8626-b06d86f5649b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2008/06/uk-ipos-corporate-plan.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279489.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00008-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969286 | 408 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The Loss of the Princess Sophia
by Jim Kalafus
Canadian Pacific's liner Princess Sophia is seen off Taku Glacier in this 1913 photograph.
The Princess Sophia, a 245 foot long vessel of 2320 tons, holds the unenviable record of being the worst wreck, in terms of verifiable fatalities, on the North American west coast.
Running at high speed in deteriorating weather, the liner grounded on Vanderbilt Reef, Lynn Canal, Alaska on the morning of October 24th, 1918. The 356 passengers and crew aboard the Princess Sophia found themselves doubly trapped: the ship sat so far up on the reef that at high tide virtually all of the boats would have been beaten to pieces had they been lowered, and at low tide there was not enough water over the reef to float them free. Would-be-rescue vessels arrived on the scene, but Captain Locke of the Sophia, in a decision still debated, opted not to attempt an evacuation early on in the stranding when, some would later claim, it might have been possible to offload at least some of those on board.
The Princess Sophia seemed secure, sitting as she did on an even keel and supported for much of her length by the reef itself. During the evening of the 24th, her electricity failed but was eventually restored.
An Ohio family travelling to the Yukon in June 1916 took this view of the Princess Sophia's port side.
On several occasions on the 24th and 25th, activity was seen on deck by nearby observers that suggested those aboard the Sophia were about to abandon ship. Passengers and crew came out on deck, boats were swung out, but ultimately nothing was done. It is assumed that Captain Locke was waiting for the weather to moderate before commencing an evacuation, but on the afternoon of October 25th, it worsened and the rescue ships standing by had to seek shelter in high seas, in a near-zero visibility blizzard.
At 4:50 on the afternoon of the 25th, David Robinson, the Sophia's wireless man radioed "Ship foundering on reef. Come at once." At 5:20 came the second message; 'For Gods sake hurry, The water is coming in my room' followed by an unintelligible transmission and then the final words received from the ship, 'You talk to me so I know you are coming.' Although the Cedar left shelter and sailed into the storm to locate the Sophia or her people, rescue was not possible and finally the effort had to be terminated.
The Princess Sophia stranded on Vanderbilt Reef
October 26th brought the break in the weather that those aboard the Princess Sophia had hoped for, but by then it was far too late. She was gone, as were all 356 who had been trapped aboard her. Her cargo mast still broke the surface, marking her final resting place, but of those lost there was no immediate sign.
The previous afternoon, as the storm worsened, the combination of high wind and waves had caused the Princess Sophia to pivot on the reef, tearing her bottom out as she went, until only her bow remained on solid footing. She then 'floated' free and, to judge by the time elapsed between her first distress call at 4:50 and the time the watches found on most of the victims had stopped, 5:50, foundered relatively slowly. Divers later discovered that during the sinking her boiler had exploded, severely damaging her superstructure. Close to 100 were trapped below decks as the ship sank (divers recovered perhaps 90 bodies from within her in a series of operations that ran through August 1919) but the remaining 250 or so who floated free died quickly of exposure or from the effects of ingesting fuel oil. There is a chance that Second Officer Gosse made it to shore and died of exposure while waiting for rescuers to arrive, but 1918 accounts were contradictory and at this point, barring the discovery of new and conclusive evidence, it is impossible to give a conclusive 'yes' or 'no' to the question of Gosse's brief survival.
There are vague reports that an attempt was made to raise the liner in 1920, but if such was the case, the efforts were not successful. Commercially available video of the wreck site, and of the wreck itself, show that scars from 1918 are still visible on the surface of Vanderbilt Reef, and that the wreck, although badly deteriorated, still has recognizable and intact components. | <urn:uuid:3d02f2e3-6847-4f8a-8a1c-4613568478c0> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.garemaritime.com/features/princess-sophia/index.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280410.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00450-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985585 | 898 | 2.859375 | 3 |
|Born||Anne Elizabeth Campbell Bard
March 26, 1908
Boulder, Colorado, U.S.
|Died||February 7, 1958 (aged 49)
|Genre||Autobiography, Children's literature|
|Spouse||Robert Eugene Heskett (m. July 1927 – c. 1931)
Donald C. MacDonald (m. April 24, 1942– )
|Children||Anne MacDonald Canham
Joan MacDonald Keil
|Relatives||(sisters) Mary Bard (Jensen), Dorothea, Sylvia, Alison
(brother) Sydney Cleveland Bard
Betty MacDonald (March 26, 1908 [some sources indicate 1907] – February 7, 1958) was an American author who specialized in humorous autobiographical tales, and is best known for her book The Egg and I. She also wrote the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series of children's books. She is associated with the Pacific Northwest, especially Washington state.
Life and work
Her family moved to the north slope of Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood in 1918, moving to the Laurelhurst neighborhood a year later and finally settling in the Roosevelt neighborhood in 1922, where she graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1924.
MacDonald married Robert Eugene Heskett (1895–1951) at age 20 in July 1927; they lived on a chicken farm in the Olympic Peninsula's Chimacum Valley, near Center and a few miles south of the seaside community of Port Townsend. She left Heskett in 1931 and returned to Seattle, where she worked at a variety of jobs to support their daughters Anne and Joan; after the divorce the ex-spouses had virtually no contact. She spent nine months at Firlands Sanitarium near Seattle in 1937–1938 for treatment of tuberculosis. On April 24, 1942, she married Donald C. MacDonald (1910–1975) and moved to Vashon Island, where she wrote most of her books. The MacDonalds moved to California's Carmel Valley in 1956.
MacDonald rose to fame when her first book, The Egg and I, was published in 1945. It was a bestseller and was translated into 20 languages. Based on her life on the Chimacum Valley chicken farm, the books introduced the characters Ma and Pa Kettle, who also were featured in the movie version of The Egg and I. The characters become so popular a series of nine more films were made featuring them. In the film of The Egg and I, made in 1947, MacDonald was played by Claudette Colbert. Her husband (simply called "Bob" in the book) was called "Bob MacDonald" in the film, as studio executives were keen not to raise the matter of MacDonald's divorce in the public consciousness. He was played by Fred MacMurray.
Although the book was a critical and popular success at publication, in the 1970s it was criticized[by whom?] for its stereotypical treatment of Native Americans. It was also been claimed that it "spawned a perception of Washington as a land of eccentric country bumpkins like Ma and Pa Kettle." MacDonald's defenders point out that in the context of the 1940s such stereotyping was far more acceptable. MacDonald faced two lawsuits: by members of a family who claimed she had based the Kettles on them, and by a man who claimed he was the model for the Indian character Crowbar. One lawsuit was settled out of court, while the second went to trial in February 1951. The plaintiffs did not prevail, although the judge indicated he felt they had shown that some of the claims of defamation had merit.
MacDonald also published three other semi-autobiographical books: Anybody Can Do Anything, recounting her life in the Depression trying to find work; The Plague and I, describing her nine-month stay at the Firlands tuberculosis sanitarium; and Onions in the Stew, about her life on Vashon Island with her second husband and daughters during the war years. She also wrote the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series of children's books and another children's book, entitled Nancy and Plum. A posthumous collection of her writings, entitled Who Me?, was later released.
MacDonald's sister, Mary Bard (Jensen), was also a published author. MacDonald had two other sisters, Dorothea Bard and Alison Bard, and one brother, Sydney Cleveland Bard. Another sister, Sylvia, died in infancy. All the Bard siblings are deceased.
MacDonald's younger daughter, Joan MacDonald Keil, died in July 2005.
In 2007, MacDonald's daughter, Anne MacDonald Canham, published Happy Birthday, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, based on stories and characters created by her mother. The book is attributed to both mother and daughter.
On March 13, 2008, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a tribute programme to Betty MacDonald, commemorating the 100th anniversary of her birth. In 2009, BBC Radio 4 also broadcast a reading of MacDonald's book, Anybody Can Do Anything.
- 1945 The Egg and I
- 1947 Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (illustrated by Hilary Knight)
- 1948 The Plague and I
- 1949 Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic (illustrated by Hilary Knight)
- 1950 Anybody Can Do Anything
- 1952 Nancy and Plum
- 1954 Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm (illustrated by Maurice Sendak)
- 1955 Onions in the Stew
- 1957 Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (illustrated by Hilary Knight)
- 1959 Who, Me? The autobiography of Betty MacDonald (a collection of selected chapters from her four adult books, credited posthumously as Betty Bard MacDonald)
- Looking for Betty MacDonald: The Egg, the Plague, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, and I by Paula Becker, 2016, University of Washington Press
- U.S. census of 1910, taken in Placerville, Idaho on May 2 and 3, shows that Elizabeth Bard was three years old.
- U.S. census of 1920, taken in Seattle, Washington on January 15, 1920, shows that Elizabeth Bard was 12 years old.
- U. S. census of 1930, taken in Center, Washington on April 24, 1930, shows that Elizabeth Heskett was 23 years old.
- In the 1930 census Robert and Elizabeth Heskett are noted as having been married for three years
- "Betty MacDonald profile". HistoryLink. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
- ^The New York Times, February 22, 1951, p. 40. "'Egg and I' Author Wins Suit", (Accessed 20 March 2007, via ProQuest, New York Times (1857–Current File), Document ID 87109916)
- "MacDonald's centennial reminds Vashon of her place on the Island". Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber. March 28, 2008. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
- February 2002 article on MacDonald in the Seattle Press; accessed August 28, 2014.
- Brief biography of Betty MacDonald with pictures, historylink.org; accessed August 28, 2014.
- "Betty MacDonald Had a Farm' BBC Radio 4 100th anniversary tribute of her birth, bbc.co.uk; accessed August 28, 2014. | <urn:uuid:d5b5e010-31ca-4a3d-a5da-b6248a7c31c6> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_MacDonald | 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 | 0.962911 | 1,511 | 1.875 | 2 |
Born at Leucate in 1587; died at Avignon, 28 July, 1661. He was a member of the Society of Jesus, rector of the Jesuit colleges at Aix, Nîmes, and Avignon, and Provincial of Lyons. He composed a number of devotional works on the Blessed Virgin, St. Joseph, and the saints, and a "Pensez-y-bien", which latter had a large circulation and has been translated into several languages. The only ones of his works translated into English are "Pious Remarks upon the Life of St. Joseph", published in 1600; the "Glories of St. Joseph" (Dublin, 1835); "Devotions to St. Joseph", edited by the Rev. G. Tickell, S.J. (London, 187- [sic]).
The Catholic Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive resource on Catholic teaching, history, and information ever gathered in all of human history. This easy-to-search online version was originally printed between 1907 and 1912 in fifteen hard copy volumes.
Designed to present its readers with the full body of Catholic teaching, the Encyclopedia contains not only precise statements of what the Church has defined, but also an impartial record of different views of acknowledged authority on all disputed questions, national, political or factional. In the determination of the truth the most recent and acknowledged scientific methods are employed, and the results of the latest research in theology, philosophy, history, apologetics, archaeology, and other sciences are given careful consideration.
No one who is interested in human history, past and present, can ignore the Catholic Church, either as an institution which has been the central figure in the civilized world for nearly two thousand years, decisively affecting its destinies, religious, literary, scientific, social and political, or as an existing power whose influence and activity extend to every part of the globe. In the past century the Church has grown both extensively and intensively among English-speaking peoples. Their living interests demand that they should have the means of informing themselves about this vast institution, which, whether they are Catholics or not, affects their fortunes and their destiny.
Copyright © Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company New York, NY. Volume 1: 1907; Volume 2: 1907; Volume 3: 1908; Volume 4: 1908; Volume 5: 1909; Volume 6: 1909; Volume 7: 1910; Volume 8: 1910; Volume 9: 1910; Volume 10: 1911; Volume 11: - 1911; Volume 12: - 1911; Volume 13: - 1912; Volume 14: 1912; Volume 15: 1912
Catholic Online Catholic Encyclopedia Digital version Compiled and Copyright © Catholic Online | <urn:uuid:0fe5399a-d9e5-4608-917b-8a22d1adf60e> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=1533 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720380.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00054-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947913 | 551 | 2.546875 | 3 |
MHVS Heart Failure Clinic
Heart failure is one of the leading causes of hospitalization among older adults, and the number of people diagnosed with heart failure has increased significantly in recent years. Early recognition and treatment is critical because heart failure can be a debilitating condition.
What is heart failure?
Heart failure occurs when your heart is weakened and unable to pump effectively. Your body depends on the heart to supply oxygen-rich blood to the body’s cells. When the heart does not squeeze strongly enough or relax appropriately, blood can back up into the heart and lungs. Increased pressure then forces fluid from the blood into the breathing spaces of the lungs as well as other places.
What are the signs and symptoms of heart failure?
Patients with heart failure may experience some or all of the following symptoms:
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue, tiredness, loss of energy
- Loss of appetite, abdominal discomfort
- Abdominal bloating (stomach swelling)
- Swollen ankles or legs
- Weight gain
Heart failure symptoms may seriously limit your activities, and many times patients are frightened by their diagnosis. However, there are treatments for heart failure that can help you feel better, stay out of the hospital, improve your quality of life and live longer. You can take control of your heart failure by understanding and carefully following your treatment plan.
What does Memorial's Heart Failure Clinic offer patients?
Memorial's Heart Failure Clinic takes a proactive, multidisciplinary team approach to prevention and treatment of heart failure. Patients with heart failure can benefit greatly from this program specifically designed to help them live more comfortably with their disease. The Heart Failure Clinic helps patients learn to recognize early signs and symptoms of heart failure and know when to seek treatment. Ignoring early symptoms and delaying treatment can lead to an emergency situation. Patients who have been diagnosed with heart failure can ask their physician to refer them to this program.
Memorial's Heart Failure Clinic offers the following services:
- Patient and family education
- Medication review and instruction by a registered pharmacist
- Dietary consultation
- Activity/exercise instruction
- Referrals to support services
- Technology, like Cardiocom Telescale, to help manage symptoms and medications
Memorial Medical Center continually performs independent research to improve patient outcomes.
For more information, please call 217-788-0220.
If you feel you could benefit from the services provided by Memorial's Heart Failure Clinic, please contact your physician for a referral. | <urn:uuid:c7dc4682-ce69-44a1-87ed-8b047568dc08> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.memorialmedical.com/services/heart-and-vascular-services/outpatient-heart-failure-clinic | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721008.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00116-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929887 | 511 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Sadly, it is the Australian way
"It's un-Australian," Dick Smith asserted this week, as he railed against the seven-year detention of Peter Qasim, the Kashmiri asylum seeker recently transferred from the Baxter detention centre to an Adelaide psychiatric ward. "We drove him mad," Smith said on ABC radio, and then repeated his charge: "It's un-Australian."
Sorry, Dick, but it's not un-Australian at all. It might be unjust, unkind, unfair, unreasonable and inhumane but, unhappily, it's not un-Australian. Yes, seven years is a long time to lock someone up without charge or conviction, reducing them to such a state of despair that they lose their mind. It might not sound like the kind of thing Australians would do, but we do it.
Here's another thing we do: we lock up children whose only crime is to be the offspring of asylum seekers. Some of their parents might turn out not to be "genuine" asylum seekers (though still refugees, of course) but we treat them and their children as if they are criminals of the worst kind rather than people so desperate to leave their homelands they were prepared to undertake almost unbelievably perilous journeys to start a new life here.
I'm in total sympathy with Dick Smith's sentiments; I only wish there were grounds for saying we Australians would never tolerate such appalling treatment of refugees being carried out in our name. I wish we didn't have to own up to a policy deliberately designed to inflict suffering on people who have already been traumatised in the countries from which they've fled.
The melancholy truth is that it is, indeed, Australian to persist with a policy of indefinite and even brutal mandatory detention of asylum seekers. Our Government has been doing it for years with broad community support, so we might as well accept that it is a characteristically Australian act. In fact, it's so characteristic of us that some other countries, including Britain, are now examining ways of adopting the "Australian" model of mandatory detention.
But this is not a column about asylum seekers; it's about the implications of this gruesome newcomer to our vocabulary: "un-Australian".
Surely it's "Australian" to do whatever Australians do. It's Australian to smuggle drugs in and out of the country. It's Australian to minimise your income tax payments to the point where you're not pulling your weight as a taxpayer. It's Australian to cheat if you can get away with it - at work (PricewaterhouseCoopers reports 47 per cent of companies have suffered some form of corporate crime, mostly committed by employees), on the sporting field (the "professional foul", for instance), or in personal relationships (where, these days, cheating on your partner scarcely counts as cheating at all).
It's Australian to drink and drive, get hopelessly into debt, lie to secure an advantage - whether political, commercial or personal - and engage in merciless and slanderous gossip. It's Australian to give vent to our xenophobia through outbreaks of racism, to reserve our nastiest prejudices for indigenous people, and to worship celebrity.
Sound a bit negative? Not at all. It's Australian to do such things because, however uncivilised they may seem, it's human to do them. The Dutch do them; so do South Africans, Turks, Indonesians, British, Italians, Brazilians, etc. Like everyone else on the planet, Australians are a mixture of good and bad, noble and shameful, exemplary and slippery.
So, to balance the ledger, I ought to acknowledge that it's entirely "Australian" (but also entirely French, Korean, etc) to help neighbours in distress, to bake cakes for fund-raising stalls, to give our children clear moral guidance, and to respond to the needs of strangers. It's Australian to befriend the lonely, comfort the sick, pay the taxes we should pay, charge fair prices for our goods and services, make donations to charity without seeking recognition or acknowledgement, cheerfully obey the rule of law, behave with integrity - at work, on the sporting field, in love - and even to celebrate the joys of honest toil.
We're human, OK? So let's not get carried away by hubris: Australians are no better than anyone else when it comes to occupation of the moral high ground. After all, this is the country where many people who opened their hearts and wallets to the tsunami relief appeal then grumbled about the ungrateful Indonesians who dared to convict Schapelle Corby of being a drug courier, as if our charity was part of some implicit trade-off.
Let's not assume that if it's praiseworthy or beautiful, it's Australian, and if it's blameworthy or ugly, it's un-Australian. Can you imagine Italians criticising each other for being "un-Italian"? Have you ever heard of un-Scottish or un-Irish activity? What would un-Swedish behaviour look like?
There was a brief period, it's true, when "un-American" was in vogue. That was during the hysterical early days of the Cold War when the US anti-communist crusade was in full swing. There was even a congressional committee commissioned to investigate un-American activities. The whole thing fell apart when the neurotic and obsessive ringleader, Senator Joe McCarthy, was both discredited and disgraced, though not before the trashing of countless citizens' reputations, especially in the film and broadcasting industries.
We should be warned: "un-Australian" is an ugly word and a signpost to an ugly trend.
Mike Carlton is on leave.
FOR PETER QASIM, THE JOKE'S OVER
Perhaps the recent adoption of "un-Australian" is merely another stage in our endless quest for a clearer sense of who we are. But it's ultimately a fruitless quest: our identity is still evolving and we'd be foolish to try to define it prematurely.
In this, we're a bit like Canada. A recent competition asked Canadians to complete the following: "As British as the bulldog; as American as apple pie; as Canadian as …" The winning entry, I'm assured, was "as Canadian as it's possible to be in the circumstances".
That's about right for us, too, though we're something else as well. Like every culture, we have our distinctive style and it emerges most clearly in our jokes about ourselves. Here's my personal favourite: a Texan is visiting an Australian cattle station and he's bragging about the size of his ranch back home: "I can get up in the morning and ride all day, sleep out under the stars, ride all the next day and still not get to the western boundary."
"Yeah," says the Aussie, "I used to have a horse like that but I shot the bastard."
That seems to capture something distinctively Australian, though it's probably not a story our PM should share with his Texan mate, George Bush. In any case, how distinctive is it? For all I know, the Kashmiris might have their own version, but I suspect Peter Qasim is in no mood to see the funny side of anything. | <urn:uuid:dbbf9a9c-8596-4d04-b9ed-f1c09aaa5ead> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.smh.com.au/news/Opinion/Sadly-it-is-the-Australian-way/2005/06/17/1118869093816.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280929.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00423-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968349 | 1,493 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Apartment managers help people make decisions about where they live. Their enthusiasm and ability to listen to what types of units customers desire -- size, bedrooms, lake views and so on -- help new residents choose one apartment complex over another. Apartment managers schedule the painting and maintenance for all apartments, keep records of rental payments and prepare financial statements for apartment complex owners. Apartment managers earn salaries that are relatively low compared to other occupations.
Salary and Qualifications
Apartment managers earned average annual salaries of $32,000 as of 2013, according to the jobsite Indeed. At a minimum, apartment managers are required to have a high school diploma and one or two years' experience in customer service or apartment management. Apartment owners, who pay their salaries, are usually entrepreneurs or corporations. Other essential qualifications for an apartment manager include an outgoing personality, stamina and organizational, communication, negotiating and computer skills.
Salary by Region
Average salaries for apartment managers vary slightly within the four U.S. regions in 2013. In the South region, they earn the highest salaries of $38,000 in Washington, D.C. and the lowest salary of $27,000 in Louisiana. Those in the Northeast make between $28,000 and $39,000 per year, respectively, in Maine and New York. Apartment mangers employed in the West earn $23,000 to $35,000, respectively, in Hawaii and California. Moreover, those in the Midwest make the highest salaries in Illinois and lowest in Nebraska and South Dakota -- $34,000 and $25,000, respectively.
A number of factors can contribute to an apartment manager's earnings, which usually includes a base salary and bonus. Bonuses are paid if they meet quotas on the number of units they rent. Apartment managers will likely earn more in larger apartment complexes because they generate more revenue to support the higher salaries. They earn more in states such as California and Illinois, or Washington, D.C., because housing and living costs are higher in those areas. Apartment managers may also earn slightly more if they work for the government. For example, property managers -- who perform similar duties to apartment managers -- earned $65,640 working for local government agencies as of May 2012, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics -- vs. an industry average of $63,570. Local governments usually purchase some apartments in cities and allow poorer residents to pay what they can afford. These units are usually known as Section 8 apartments.
The BLS indicates that jobs for property, real estate, community and association managers, including apartment managers, are expected to increase 6 percent in the next decade. Despite the relatively low growth rate, more people are expected to live in apartments due to population increases. Older Americans may sell their homes and prefer living in apartments and avoid home and yard maintenance.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers: Job Outlook
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment Statistics: Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers
- ApartmentCareerHQ.org: Launching Your Apartment Career
- Education Jobsite: Bethel University: Apartment Manager
- Zip Recruiter: Apartment Community Manager
- Indeed: Apartment Manager Salary
- Indeed: Apartment Manager Salary in Maine, and New York
- Indeed: Apartment Manager Salary in Hawaii, and California
- Indeed: Apartment Manager Salary in Louisiana, and Washington, DC
- Indeed: Apartment Manager Salary in South Dakota, Nebraska, and Illinois
- Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images | <urn:uuid:1ef68589-6659-49d7-84cc-db7cf82436f2> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://work.chron.com/much-apartment-managers-make-22508.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280242.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00073-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944397 | 747 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the international community to help fund Ukraine’s reconstruction after the war and use frozen Russian assets to compensate victims.
Borrowing words used to launch the reconstruction of Europe after the second world war under the Marshall Plan, Ukraine’s president said that his proposal to help cover a rebuild that looks set to cost more than $500bn was “designed to counter hunger, poverty, despair and chaos”.
Speaking by video link to a packed main conference hall at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zelensky said: “I invite you to take part in this reconstruction. The work to be done is colossal. There are more than [$500bn] in losses. Tens of thousands of buildings have been destroyed.”
He suggested a “special, historically significant reconstruction model” under which separate countries, cities and companies would take leading roles in rebuilding specific cities and industries in Ukraine.
Russian assets in various jurisdictions “should be found, seized or frozen, and allocated to a special fund to compensate all the victims of the war”, he told business leaders and officials, adding that this would set a precedent that could be used around the world.
The US and Europe have frozen assets worth €300bn from the Russian central bank, but are yet to confiscate them. Ukraine’s officials accept that there are no internationally legal ways to confiscate frozen Russian assets as yet. But that has not stopped them pushing the moral arguments to such a move. “If the aggressor loses everything, then it deprives him of his motivation to start a war,” Zelensky said.
His comments echoed those of other Ukrainian representatives, who have come to the Swiss mountain resort with a disciplined and unified message on sanctions, the global impact of the conflict and rebuilding.
The president slammed the “brute force” deployed by Russia in his country. He also claimed that “tens of thousands of lives” could have been saved if the west had given Ukraine all of the weaponry, political and financial support it needed as well as passing more sweeping sanctions against Russia when the invasion began in February. “Values must matter when global markets are being destabilised,” Zelensky said.
Ukraine, Zelensky said, needed “at least $5bn a month” in financing to survive Russia’s onslaught, separate from the even larger sums required to rebuild the country. US and European finance ministers met last week to discuss how to plug Ukraine’s short-term financing gap, with Treasury secretary Janet Yellen acknowledging that existing commitments fell short. Western countries, led by Switzerland, have organised a conference in the summer to discuss the reconstruction of Ukraine’s cities, infrastructure and industry, but no proposals are yet on the table.
Zelensky called for tougher sanctions on Russia and for all foreign companies to leave the country. He added that Russian banks should be thrown out of the global financial system, all relations with Russian IT companies should cease, and no trade with Moscow should take place.
“[Sanctions] should be maximum, so that Russia and every other potential aggressor that wants to wage a brutal war against its neighbour would clearly know the immediate consequences of their actions,” he said.
European countries are still arguing over an EU plan to ban the import of Russian oil. Robert Habeck, Germany’s vice-chancellor, told the forum on Monday that the world was “seeing the worst of Europe” in the debate over a ban on Russian oil. Some states, notably Hungary, are blocking the development. | <urn:uuid:d03900da-a36a-44d9-b7aa-23e713e51e8f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://businessremark.com/2022/05/23/zelensky-calls-for-global-plan-to-rebuild-ukraine-after-war/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571987.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813202507-20220813232507-00267.warc.gz | en | 0.957749 | 756 | 1.828125 | 2 |
I have an ongoing thesis at the moment which I'm exploring in the programming language literature, which is that programming language features do well (all other things being equal) when they eliminate either distant or dynamic state and replace it with either close or lexical state. the underlying point being that we may favour language features that facilitate copying and modifying small bits of code -- fragments which work in their new context -- as a fundamental programming activity.
so along these lines I was thinking about exception handling mechanisms the other day. exceptions are a dynamic control transfer system, or else they are an "error recovery" system, depending on who you ask. I've been browsing around LtU's recent link to crash-only software, the restart system in common lisp, and the checked-vs-unchecked debate in java.
the static checking part really got me curious, because there's a clearly dynamic bit of state that the java designers have tried to patch into the lexical structure of a program, and have mostly failed. nobody likes checked exceptions because the signature of a method needs an exception specification covering the union of all possible dynamic contexts it will find itself in, which is almost always just "Exception". so there's no point.
I think what lexical exception checking -- if you believe in it at all -- ought to do is specify which exceptions will not be thrown from a method. this would at least let the compiler tell you when a particular catch clause is dead code -- probably an error on your part -- and erase it, along with the associated try context setup. that's something, but not much; you may still fail to catch the "right" exception. but at least it works with an open set of possible thrown exceptions, which is the practical fact, most of the time.
but I wonder if this thinking could be combined with crash-only design, so that you have only one throwing-like statement called crash and a conservative type of signature which says whether your method confines crashes (those without the indicator are assumed to propagate crashes). the confining ones can be checked by a compiler; the "confines crashes" bit can be propagated based on static knowledge between caller and callee, so a method which calls only crash-confining methods (and doesn't do any dangerous pointer fiddling or crashable arithmetic) is itself crash-confining; finding the transfer point during a crash is easier; and the call setup would (I think) be a little shorter on crash handling and crash propagating code. you'd still need destructors, of course, and for diagnostic sake you'd still want to collect stack traces and error descriptors. but I think that's a separate issue: using exceptions as cheap debugging vs. using exceptions to help a program keep running in the face of errors are two different things.
unfortunately I don't think you can quite implement this scheme in java or C++ as it stands. they both treat exceptions a little wrong; java will not statically check for handling of unchecked exceptions, hence the name, and C++ ignores (in a horribly fatal way) everything undeclared, unless you declare nothing. both are a bit broken. ah well.
pfremy writes that diff's output is unintuitive. this may be the case, but his explanation of the two algorithms used is not right.
diff uses a myers LCS method, a careful dynamic programming construct. it is not the fastest known variant, but it is O(ND) time, where D is the size of the minimal edit script, and it finds that edit script. it also has a very important property that you can implement a version which eats only linear space.
python's difflib uses a "junk-sensitive" recursive greedy matcher (documented here) which is apparantly similar in spirit to the Ratcliff-Oberhelp "gestalt pattern matching" algorithm, but with more desirable running time (R-O is quite awful). it does not find minimal edit scripts, and it might -- or might not -- run at competitive speed and space with myers stuff. I can't find any clear analysis.
anyways, there is a lot of literature on string matching. it's one of the huge problems you can lose the rest of your life in. it is certainly possible to improve diff -- I don't want to put you off the cause -- but be sure to do some large tests and background reading before discounting the decisions made in implementing diff. | <urn:uuid:c6a48848-f5f2-4d15-b90f-0e5ccab2693e> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.advogato.org/person/graydon/diary/105.html | 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 | 0.948243 | 910 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Modernisation and Quality
High-tech materials for aerospace, polymer compounds for the transport sector, sports equipment for top-level competition, works of architecture and design are some of the examples of the potential and excellence of cork. The increase in the quality of the cork stoppers and product innovation have also been in the front line.
The cork industry is today one of the most advanced and innovative industrial sectors. It has managed to cross its ancestral know-how with modern knowledge and technologies.
700 million euros have been invested in research and development over the last 15 years, which has made cork one of the most studied raw materials, ever. The result is evident in different areas. In addition to all the studies and advances in the traditional sector of stoppers (Fight against TCA), research in the sector has given rise to benchmark works of architecture and design, sports equipment of top-level competition, high-tech materials for aerospace, composite polymers for the transport sector. The heavy investment in R&D, applying the most advanced technologies in the different stages and processes, opens the door to innovative and more and more surprising products.
187 projects were approved between 2007 and 2014 under the NSRF – National strategic reference framework, totalling an eligible investment of 146 million euros. These projects were set up by companies of the cork industry, other entities with ties to industry or companies in other sectors but whose projects had application to the cork industry or involved the use of cork. APCOR submitted 6 projects which account for 18.5% of the investment. The projects submitted under NSRF and related to cork represent 1.3% in total, and 1.4% of nationwide investment.
How to improve the quality of cork, how to get more profitability and standardize cork, how to exploit the technical features of cork to find new applications, how to … the world of research is endless. Here are some examples.
Cork moistened with water and exposed to microwave radiation can expand by 40% to 85% of its original size. The characteristics of this 100% natural material are thus reinforced in a process that just expands the cork cells, without changing the structure and without any chemical degradation, and maintaining the properties that give it interesting behaviour in several areas. This patented method makes it possible to expand cork in a short space of time and with the least amount of energy, which of course has an impact on the industry.
Portuguese investigators have unearthed another impressive ability of cork, i.e. its “growth” when the cells are subject to a certain humidity and temperature increase by radiation. Helena Pereira, professor and researcher at Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA) of the Lisbon Technical University, and António Velez Marques, professor and researcher of Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa, of Lisbon Polytechnic Institute, coordinated this research which will certainly lead to new applications for cork. The uniformisation of the raw material improves the performance and reliability of the material’s performance in very demanding industries such as the manufacture of insulators for space purposes.
Research and training-related organisations | <urn:uuid:d5388187-be67-4116-8b18-e26321bea204> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.apcor.pt/en/cork/quality/rd/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572043.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814143522-20220814173522-00476.warc.gz | en | 0.945725 | 654 | 2.0625 | 2 |
On the edge
A GROUP of 19th-century pioneers heading for California became trapped in a blizzard in the Donner Pass of the Sierra mountains. The few survivors ate the frozen cadavers of their colleagues and ploughed onward. Today, Donner is a ski resort. Joan Didion, in her unusual and elegiac memoir of growing up in the Golden State, insists on reminding the reader about the Donner pioneers and how California has evolved in the century and a half since their tragic demise in pursuit of the California dream.
Anyone who reads this book (out in America for some months but just published in Britain) hoping to find the glamour for which California is famous will be disappointed. “This book”, writes Miss Didion, “represents an exploration into my own confusions about the place and the way in which I grew up, confusions as much about America as about California.” This writer's California is less the stuff that dreams are made on than a place defined by the aspirations of generations of pioneers and immigrants, gold-diggers and coolies who came to the edge of the continent to make a new life.
She probes California's contradictions: its myth of individualism, tolerance, boundless opportunity and non-conformism, tethered to the reality of a state that spends more on its vast prison system than on its university network, paves over ranch land with suburbs, and whose schoolchildren aged nine and ten in 1994 had the lowest literacy rates in the country. Why is it, she asks, that Californians keep moving forward, like the survivors of the Donner party, restless to find the next new thing without ever looking back?
Her answers revolve around her lengthy description of her own family's pioneer history. In her spare prose, citing her grandfather's definition of true Californians as people who kill rattlesnakes when they see them in case they hurt someone else, describing her family's mundane work building irrigation systems and dams to make the drought-ridden Central Valley bloom, she occasionally veers more towards “Little House on the Prairie” than “East of Eden”. But she succeeds in evoking a sense of history about a place usually thought of in the present tense.
As Miss Didion moves from childhood into adulthood, her personal narrative becomes intertwined with the history of her native state and her quest to understand it. In seemingly unconnected episodes drawn from her work as a journalist and her fiction, she examines the micro-culture of California life.
In a famous case, high-school sports stars were accused of raping younger girls and bullying others into silence. How did this perfect world, proud of its “tremendous park and recreation programme” in which men played ball and women supported the teams, spawn such crimes among its middle-class youth? She gets to grips with a town in denial, suburban Lakewood, in southern California. Both the sons and their parents blame everyone else for their woes—the media, the government (what did the government think would happen by providing condoms in schools?), Mexican immigrants who were stealing their jobs.
Lakewood is part of the endless post-war sprawl created by the boom in the federally funded aerospace industry. Miss Didion asks what will become of this suburbia built to supply a now defunct industry? Who will shop in the malls? There seems among everyone she talks to an inability to look at a bigger picture, a fantasist belief that dreams can come true in California, and when they don't it is someone else's fault.
She writes later in the book, “For most of my life California felt rich to me: that was the point of it, that was the promise.” What happens when that promise is not kept? Although Miss Didion never discusses such grand narratives as elections for governor and recalls, nor does she mention Hollywood, she offers illuminating insights into California's capacity for delusion and reinvention. Before reading this book, some may have wondered how Arnold Schwarzenegger could ever have been elected. After reading it, few will.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline "On the edge"
From the May 1st 2004 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contentsExplore the edition
The prequel to “Predator” draws on the history of the Comanche and underlines the political subtext of the franchise
Making tepache, like any other fermentation project, is a lesson in co-operation
The narrator of “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida” is a ghost | <urn:uuid:91486cb9-a612-4600-9a6d-2b85c8264904> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2004/04/29/on-the-edge | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573533.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818215509-20220819005509-00271.warc.gz | en | 0.970528 | 949 | 1.96875 | 2 |
SAMJ: South African Medical Journal
versão On-line ISSN 2078-5135
versão impressa ISSN 0256-9574
BACKGROUND: Office spirometry remains an integral part of a comprehensive respiratory evaluation and is used to categorise the nature, severity and progression of respiratory diseases and to measure response to treatment. These updated guidelines are aimed at improving the quality, standardisation and usefulness of office spirometry in South Africa. RECOMMENDATIONS: All equipment should have proof of validation regarding resolution and the system's linearity (consistency). Moreover, equipment must be calibrated daily and quality controlled. It is also important to have standard operating procedures in place, including the documentation of ambient conditions and infection control measures. Adequate spirometry relies on a competent operator, accurate equipment, standardised operating procedures, quality control and patient co-operation. The indication for spirometry in a particular patient should be unambiguous and should be documented. Subjects should be appropriately prepared for testing, and patient details must be documented. Forced vital capacity (FVC) manoeuvres (either closed or open circuit) must be performed strictly according to guidelines, and strict quality assurance methods should be in place, including acceptability criteria (for any given effort) and repeatability (between efforts). Testing should continue until at least 3 acceptable curves are produced (with 2 fulfilling repeatability criteria). Other indices are derived from these efforts. CONCLUSION: Test results must be categorised and graded according to current guidelines, taking into account the indication for the test and the appropriateness of reference values. | <urn:uuid:36394f11-3ddb-4b2d-860b-65a92cce3737> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S0256-95742013000100024&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279489.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00012-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918952 | 324 | 1.875 | 2 |
THE first fossil of our cousins the Denisovans ever to be discovered outside Siberia has been identified in Tibet. It hints that fossils from these extinct humans are more widespread than we thought, and may help settle a long-running debate about our origins.
Denisovans were discovered in 2010, when the DNA from an ancient bone fragment found in Denisova cave in Siberia was sequenced. Since then, a few other fossil fragments have been uncovered in the cave, and genetic analysis has discovered that many people in China and South-East Asia carry a little Denisovan DNA. This reveals that our ancestors must once have lived alongside and interbred with our cousins.
Studies like these also found that people in Tibet carry a specific Denisovan gene that allows red blood cells to cope with low oxygen levels, helping people to live at high altitude.
“It is mind-blowing that they could have lived in such an extreme, low-oxygen environment”
Jean-Jacques Hublin of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, wondered if any human remains previously found in Tibet might really be Denisovan.
He and his colleagues examined a jawbone discovered in 1980 in Baishiya Karst cave, in Tibet’s Jiangla river valley. They found that the shape of the jaw and large size of the teeth are different to those of modern humans.
Radioisotope dating suggested that the fossil is 160,000 years old at least, which is tens of thousands of years before our own species is thought to have reached the Tibetan Plateau.
No DNA could be extracted from the fossil, but analysing collagen protein in its teeth confirmed the jawbone came from a Denisovan, because modern humans and our other extinct cousins the Neanderthals have different genes for collagen (Nature, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1139-x).
The finding could explain the 30,000-year-old stone tools discovered in Tibet last year. It is mind-blowing that hominins could have been living in such an extreme environment, says Hublin. “Even today, Tibet is not an easy place to live. There aren’t many resources and there’s a lack of oxygen.”
The study is the first time that protein analysis has been used as the sole way of identifying an ancient hominin, says team member Frido Welker at Lanzhou University in China.
This technique will prove increasingly useful for fossils without any DNA left, says Murray Cox of Massey University in New Zealand. “As we move away from hominin remains in the cold parts of Eurasia, we simply have to get used to the fact that we often won’t have any ancient DNA to work with.”
Hublin says several previously discovered fossils from sites in China have features that don’t match those of modern humans or Homo erectus, another ancient hominin which is, like the Denisovans and Neanderthals, thought to have left Africa long before we did.
“I predict that most of the Chinese hominin fossil record younger than 350,000 years and older than 50,000 is made of Denisovans,” says Hublin.
“We probably have lots of Denisovan remains sitting in museums all over the world, but they have different names on them,” says Cox.
If Hublin is right, these fossils could help settle the debate over whether our ancestors evolved solely in Africa, or whether important steps took place in Asia too. Previous discoveries of fossils in China have been interpreted by some as intermediate species between H. erectus and modern humans, suggesting that we evolved in eastern Asia. But this idea will lose ground if the fossils turn out to be Denisovan.
However, Sheela Athreya at Texas A&M University says that linking such fossils to Denisovans would be putting the cart before the horse. We know so little about the Denisovans’ physical characteristics and where and when they lived, she says. “We don’t know what ‘Denisovan’ is.”
More on these topics: | <urn:uuid:bda9f884-da8c-4730-9d01-84345a6f2731> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24232283-700-major-discovery-suggests-denisovans-lived-in-tibet-160000-years-ago/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571246.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811073058-20220811103058-00270.warc.gz | en | 0.95184 | 871 | 3.984375 | 4 |
Want to know how many white five-year-old males live in Ann Arbor or the number of female Pacific Islanders between ages 4044 in Bay Countywithout thumbing through massive U.S. Census texts? Want the latest median sales price of new houses sold last month? Want instant information on economic indicators or employment statistics broken down by city?
All that information and much more is now available through the new ULibrary system, a service based on the Gopher software developed at the University of Minnesota. (Hence, the nickname Gopher, for the other U-Ms mascot.) Anyone with access to the campus network can enter the Gopher system.
ULibrary helps even inexperienced computer users navigate the Internet, the vast highway of electronic information networks that is rapidly expanding throughout the world. ULibrary functions as an easy-to-use roadmap by identifying and linking users to selected Internet resources, explains Wendy P. Lougee, head of the Graduate Library.
The ULibrary system enables anyone to cruise the Internet to see whats available, Lougee says. It also allows us to organize information available on the Internet and to create new files of useful information.
Through ULibrary U-M users can brouse many on-line library catalogs around the world and tap into hundreds of data bases via ULibrarys simple instructions. ULibrary, alone, contains a growing store of primary informationincluding the full texts of five electronic journals, all major documents drafted at last Junes Earth Summit Conference, 1990 Census data for Michigan, and hundreds of economic statistics files.
Soon, ULibrary users can read breaking world news 24 hours a daywithout touching that messy newsprint. The UPI newswire will be on ULibrary by late September and accessible to the U-M and Ann Arbor communities. The newswire provides coverage of world and national events, sports, syndicated columns and financial news.
Although ULibrarys database currently emphasizes the social sciences and humanities, were evaluating additional resources and eventually hope to incorporate all disciplines, Lougee says.
Most of the information on ULibrary also is accessible to users of other gophers, including a growing number of universities across the country. The U-M library already has received much positive feedback from people at other institutions about ULibrarys organization and ease of access and the quality of information on it, Lougee says.
U-M users, in turn, are finding ULibrary a great asset to their research. ULibrary lets the scholar browse an immense range of library catalogs, both in North America and abroad, notes Richard W. Bailey, professor of English. Electronic workstations have thus gained another powerful toolin this case, one that could not be duplicated by any other technology.
The ULibrary system can even put scholars with similar interests in touch with each other, as well as their publications. James A. Winn, director of the Institute for the Humanities, decided to test the new system by signing on to several British libraries and looking for his most recent book. He found a library in Bristol, where the book had been bought, cataloged and checked out for an extended period. Since the opening screen listed faculty borrowing privileges as a yearbut only three weeks for studentsWinn deduced that the book was in the hands of a young Dryden scholar who teaches there.
I printed off the screen, Winn said, and sent him a letter asking how he was enjoying the book, adding that Big Brother was watching!
Another U-M offshoot of Gopher, the GOpherBlue system compiled by the Information Technology Division, provides a constantly updated encapsulation of the University and community. The database includes a faculty, staff and student locator; local weather; U-M employment opportunities (with full text of postings); and a guide to U-M services, organizations and resources.
Not only can users read information, accessible via gophers, they also can have it. Any part of a screenload can be sent to an electronic mailbox at any time during a gopher session. | <urn:uuid:f1c4f7a3-d9f4-47fc-ab3b-5ae58ce762a2> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.ur.umich.edu/9293/Sep14_92/11.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280718.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00405-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944207 | 820 | 2.234375 | 2 |
The development and prosperity of any society or nation depends on its culture. The strongest and fittest the culture, highest is the fulfillment and achievement. To preserve & propagate the Indian amazing cultural in society, a number of cultural and traditional activities are organised by Gurukul.
- Raas, Folk Dance, Gymnastics, Yoga, Pyramids, Drama, Band etc. are the parts of Gurukul’s cultural activities.
- To encourage various arts, competitions have their own importance. Students of Gurukul secure higher ranks generally.
- Gurukul celebrates various cultural, social and national festivals to cultivate glory towards cultural heritage, social brotherhood and patriotism.
- Music makes life musical. The music training schools are very active. Saints and students learn music in these schools.
- In the modern era of IT, the attraction for audio-visual techniques has increased. By the use of science and recent technology, it has deemed possible for placing culture on a vast and wide platform. This goal has met with glorious success by scientific cultural exhibitions. Many people – including kids, youngsters as well as elder have derived tremendous advantage by it. | <urn:uuid:22e5a949-7de6-4578-8820-3a4e12864b7d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.rajkotgurukul.org/activites/moral-cultural-2-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280587.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00565-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938624 | 234 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Chronological Index of the Years and Times from Adam unto Christ
The following chronology is based on the first edition of the King James translation of the Bible, which was produced by Philadelphia printer Matthew Carey in 1801 and is credited to him. The chronology provided is mostly based on Rev. James Ussher’sAnnals of the World, which was first published in 1658 and is still in print today. Ussher’s chronology divided the history of the universe into six ages, beginning with creation and ending with the destruction of Jerusalem. While Carey’s Bible contains a header indicating the First Age, no such heading is seen in the subsequent eras.
This is supported by the Scriptures, which are drawn from a variety of authors.
From the time of Adam until the time of Noah’s flood are the years 1656.
Enos was born to Seth, who lived 105 years.
- Cainan had Mahaleel when he was 70 years old.
- Enoch was born to Jared when he was 162 years old.
- Lamech was born to Methuselah when he was 187 years old.
- According to the seventh chapter of Genesis, Noah was 600 years old at the time of the flood’s arrival.
- From the time of the aforementioned deluge of Noah until Abraham’s departure from Chaldea, 422 years and 10 days had elapsed.
- In the following two years, Shem (who was Noah’s son) gave birth to Arphaxad.
- Salah, who was 30 years old at the time of conception, gave birth to Eber.
Peleg had Reu when he was 30 years old.
Nahor was born to Serug when he was 30 years old.
Terah had Abram when she was 130 years old.
These are 422 years and 10 days, according to the records.
When Isaac was 60 years old, he had a son named Jacob.
Then subtract 80 years from this figure, because Moses was 80 years old when he led the Israelites out of Egypt.
Amram was born to the Kohath when he was 67 years old.
As a result, the 430 years referenced in the 12th chapter of Exodus and the 3rd chapter of Galatians are included in this chronology.
Moses spent 40 years in the desert, often known as the wilderness.
Ehud is 80 years old.
Gideon has been alive for 40 years.
Tola is 23 years old.
It wasn’t until the 18th year of Jephthah that they were able to recruit a captain.
Ibzan is seven years old.
Abdon is eight years old.
Heli served as a judge and a priest for four years.
David reigned as king for 40 years.
This corresponds to the 480 years recorded in Chapter VI of the first book of Kings.
Solomon ruled for a total of 36 years.
Abija is three years old.
Jehoshaphat has been alive for 25 years.
Ahaziah has been alive for one year.
Joash is 40 years old.
Uzziah is 52 years old.
Ahaz is 16 years old.
Manasses has been alive for 55 years.
Josiah is 31 years old.
Eliakim is eleven years old.
The Babylonian captivity begins at this point in time.
After 70 years of Babylonian captivity, Jerusalem was re-edified and rebuilt from the ground up.
During the first year of Cyrus’ reign, the children of Israel were delivered.
After Darius had reigned for 20 years, Nehemiah was granted his freedom and set out to rebuild the city, which was completed in the 32nd year of the reign of the aforementioned Darius.
The total number of years is seventy-one.
In the ninth chapter of Daniel, it is said that Jerusalem will be rebuilt, and that from that time until the return of Christ, there would be 69 weeks, with each week representing seven years.
5775 years, six months, and those odd ten days are the total number of years from the beginning of the world to the present year of our Lord God 1801, according to this calculation.
In what ways was Moses similar to Jesus?
The life of Moses is strikingly similar to the life of Jesus in many respects. This foreshadows the role that Jesus will play in bringing redemption to humanity by his deliverance of the Israelites from the Egyptians and his guiding them to the Promised Land that God had prepared for them. As a matter of fact, Moses informed the Israelites, “The LORD your God will rise up for you a prophet like me out of among you, from among your brothers—it is to him that you must pay attention” (Deuteronomy 18:15).
- Here are some of the parallels between their respective tales.
- In the time of Moses, the Hebrews were slaves in Egypt, and in the time of Jesus, Israel was under the dominion of the Romans.
- Pharaoh ordered the slaughter of all Hebrew men in order to keep the population from growing too large.
- He was later discovered and adopted by a daughter of Pharaoh, who raised him as her own (Exodus 2).
- The parents of Jesus fled to Egypt until Herod was killed (Matthew 2).
- In the book of Luke, Jesus is identified as the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:32); He is also known as the King of kings and the Lord of lords (Matthew 28:18-20).
- Although He took on human flesh, He was adopted by Joseph and became known as the Son of Joseph (Philippians 2:5–11).
- The burning bush was Moses’ first encounter with God, and after some persuading, he was filled with God’s Word and the ability to perform miracles (Exodus 3—4).
In Matthew 3:16–17, the Bible says that when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, “the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him,” and that “a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'” 40 years in the land of Midian, where he learned the Law and fasted, followed by another 40 days and 40 nights of fasting and intercession for the Israelites at various periods (Deuteronomy 9), and another 40 years in the desert, waiting for the Israelites to be allowed to enter the Promised Land.
- During his forty-day and forty-night fast in the wilderness, Jesus was able to successfully reject the Devil’s temptation (Matthew 4:1–11).
- Both Moses and Jesus served as leaders throughout their respective missions.
- He served as a mediator in the establishment of the old covenant between God and the nation of Israel (Deuteronomy 30:15–18), and he was a prophet who delivered God’s Word to the people and performed miracles to demonstrate his authority.
- He instructed them in the law and served as a judge for them.
- Moses directed the construction of the tabernacle, which served as a dwelling place for God among His people and a place of worship for them.
- Jesus came to earth in order to redeem humanity from sin and to bring people into a relationship with God that would remain for all eternity.
- Jesus performed miracles in order to fulfill the prophecies of the prophets.
Matthew 5:17 says that Jesus fulfilled the Law, and Matthew 25:31–46 says that Jesus will be the Judge on the last judgment day.
Hebrews 4:14–16; 10:19–23; Matthew 27:50–51 are examples of how Jesus provides us with direct access to God.
He was authoritative in His teaching, and he was strong in the miracles that He performed.
Jesus accepted young children and outcasts into his home.
Similarly, Moses divided the Red Sea (Exodus 14), and Jesus calmed the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35–41) and even walked on it (Mark 6:45–52) during his ministry.
God handed Moses the Law on Mount Sinai, and Jesus vowed to carry out the provisions of that Law (Matthew 5:17).
‘For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ,’ says the Bible in John 1:17.
Just as I have loved you, you are to love one another as I have loved you.
Moses had a face-to-face conversation with God and had to hide his face thereafter because it had been lighted (Exodus 33:7–11; 34:29).
His face shined brightly during His earthly ministry (Luke 9:28–36).
Moses made his appearance at the transfiguration as well.
Jesus introduced communion over a Passover dinner in order for His people to recall how His sacrifice had freed them from their sins (Matthew 17:26–29).
Multiple times throughout the desert, the Israelites expressed their dissatisfaction with Moses (Exodus 15, 22, 25, 16, 2–12, 17:2–7).
As recorded in Luke 4:16–30, Jesus was rejected by the majority of religious authorities as well as certain people from His hometown.
Judas, one of Jesus’ twelve followers, betrayed Him (Mark 14:10–11), and Jesus was executed.
When Jesus was jailed before his crucifixion, all of his followers deserted him (Mark 14:50).
Moses was a savior of the Israelites, and his role was to foreshadow the one genuine Savior—Jesus Christ—who would come later on.
Moses himself was denied entry into the Promised Place because of his sin, despite the fact that God showed him the land and buried Moses Himself there (Deuteronomy 34).
He will come one day to take us to be with Him for all eternity (John 14:1–3; Acts 1:6–11; Philippians 3:20; Revelation 21:4).
While there are many parallels between Moses and Jesus, there is one significant difference: Moses was a mere mortal.
Jesus, on the other hand, is both a human being and a divine being.
We can only be forgiven and receive salvation if we place our trust in Him and His promises.
Truths that are related: What is the identity of Jesus Christ?
Was Moses a historical figure in the Bible? What is the Mosaic Covenant and what does it entail? The titles “prophet,” “priest,” and “king” refer to three distinct roles held by Jesus. In accordance with the new covenant What exactly is it? Return to: The Bible’s Statements on Individuals
In what ways was Moses like Jesus?
QuestionAnswer Moses made the following messianic prophesy during one of his final speeches: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, among your fellow Israelites.” “You must pay attention to him” (Deuteronomy 18:15). The prophet whomMosesforetells will have the following characteristics: He will be brought up by God, he will come from among the Israelites, he will be like Moses, and he will be worthy of being heard and obeyed by the people of Israel. The prophet who brings these words to fruition is Jesus Christ, who is compared to Moses as a prophet.
- “Do you claim to be the Prophet?” they inquire.
- “Among you sits one you do not know,” John stated emphatically, pointing them to the One who was the Prophet: “Among you stands one you do not know.” “He is the one who comes after me, whose sandal straps I am not worthy to untie” (verses 26–27).
- The portrayal of the Messiah as “one among you” in John’s gospel parallels Moses’ statement in Deuteronomy 18:15 that God will bring up the Prophet “from among you” to be the Messiah.
- The apostle Peter asserts in his lecture at the Temple that Jesus is a prophet in the same way that Moses was (Acts 3:22, quoting Deuteronomy 18:15).
- In a number of respects, Jesus resembles Moses.
- Throughout history, Jesus was generally regarded as a prophet who uttered the Word of God (Matthew 21:46), and He issued rules for His disciples to observe (John 13:34; 15:12, 17; Galatians 6:2).
- (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 9:15).
In Exodus 2:1–4 and Matthew 2:13–14, we learn that both Moses and Jesus had a relationship to Egypt.
Moses and Jesus were both well-known for their gentleness (Numbers 12:3 and Matthew 11:29).
In Egypt, Moses led the Israelites out of physical bondage and slavery, and in the same way, Jesus led God’s elect out of spiritual bondage and slavery to sin with even more authority.
Jesus came “to announce liberation for the captives and.
“Through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death,” the Bible says (Romans 8:2).
In some ways, Moses’ miracles are similar to Jesus’ miracles.
People’s minds quickly turned to Moses’ prophesy after seeing Jesus multiply the loaves and fishes: “After the people witnessed the sign Jesus did, they began to believe that this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” (See also John 6:14.) An other aspect in which Moses resembled Jesus was that he had personal discussions with God: “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one would speak to a friend” (Deuteronomy 6:4).
- (Exodus 33:11).
- (John 10:15).
- This reminds us of Jesus’ transfiguration, when “His face shone like the sun” (Matthew 17:2).
- Moses was always ready to intervene on the Israelites’ behalf when they sinned, petitioning God on their behalf and pleading with God for their pardon.
- Sinai, which involved the golden calf, Moses interceded on their behalf twice more (Exodus 32:11–13, 30–32), and his intervention was required at other occasions as well (e.g., Numbers 11:2; 12:13; 21:7).
- In the event that someone commits a transgression, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1).
- Jesus “continues to live in order to intercede” for us (Hebrews 7:25).
- In Exodus 32:32, Moses offers his life as a sacrifice for the sins of the people.
John 10:15). Questions about Biblical Characters Return to: Questions about Biblical Characters What characteristics did Moses have with Jesus?
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SIMILARITIES BETWEEN JESUS & MOSES
My understanding of the Bible grows as I read it, and I realize that it is not simply a collection of many separate tales, but that it is a collection of many stories that eventually convey one story. Several generations of Christians have viewed the Bible as a collection of old, heroic, and moral stories that inspire and educate us. Is there a way for any of these stories to be related to one another? Is there a common thread that runs across them all? I’m not talking about some strange conspiracy theory about how all Pixar movies take place in the same galaxy (if you haven’t heard of this idea, it’s really very fascinating, but that’s beside the point).
- Interestingly enough, it was Jesus himself who was the first to clearly establish such a “intersection” or “connection” between all of the events in the Bible—and in an intriguing twist, he argued that every narrative was ultimately abouthimself.
- Jesus, without a doubt, provides us with the proper glasses for accurately reading and comprehending the Scriptures.
- Jesus claims that all of these tales eventually point to him, that they are fulfilled in him, and that they find their fuller significance in his larger story.
- Rather than simply being the fulfillment of these other tales, his narrative is the fulfillment of these other stories in and of itself.
- It was my intention in writing this blog post to expressly address how the famous Old Testament character Moses looks forward to, foreshadows, and prefigures the coming of Jesus in several ways.
- Take a look at this: The Pharaoh of Egypt, during the time of Moses, ordered the mass execution of every Hebrew child under the age of two years.
- Moses led his people out of Egypt in order to redeem them.
He remained in Egypt throughout his childhood.
Moses was born in a straw-thatched basket, floated down a river, and was later adopted by Egyptian royalty after being abandoned by his parents.
Moses grew raised in the palace of Pharaoh, which was the most prestigious position in his society at the time.
Moses was a descendant of the Levites of Israel.
Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, where they had been held captive.
God gave Moses the ten commandments on Mount Sinai, which is where he received them.
Moses was the bearer of the law and the pointer to the gospel.
They were enslaved in Egypt for 400 years, until Moses was born and came to their aid.
Before beginning his ministry to save the Israelites, Moses journeyed through the desert and expressed his skepticism to God.
Despite the fact that Moses was king in Egypt, he gave up his position of authority in order to serve and save an oppressed people.
Incredibly, Moses was both royalty and a slave at the same time, having been born a prince while simultaneously being raised as a Hebrew.
It was a burning bush that God used to communicate with Moses, yet it was not burned by the fire.
The Red Sea was parted by Moses.
A total of 12 spies were chosen by Moses and dispatched into the Promised Land.
In prayer, Moses begged God to supply enough food for the multitudes of Israelites who were starving in the desert; God responded to his appeal by miraculously providing more manna and quail from the skies than they could possible consume.
Jesus implored with God that he would supply enough food for his thousands of disciples so that they would not starve in the countryside; God fulfilled his petition, and Jesus miraculously provided more bread and fish than they could ever consume.
Moses was the first person to receive God’s covenant.
The law was written by Moses, who is also known as the author of the law.
Moses was the first to act as a middleman.
Moses carried the Ark of the Covenant and the improvised tabernacle, which held the presence of God, around with him on his back and shoulders.
A snake was tied to a pole, and anybody who stared at it would be protected from the dreadful snakebites that would otherwise befall them.
The Passover Lamb was initially instituted by Moses in order to absorb the wrath of God.
The Passover Lamb of Moses was just a type of the Passover Lamb of Christ, who would come later.
Water was transformed into wine by Jesus.
The law was fulfilled through Jesus.
Jesus will marry the church, which is not entirely comprised of Jews, but includes non-Jews as well, who have been grafted into Israel’s salvation inheritance via the work of the Holy Spirit.
Ultimately, Jesus will guide us into the eternal, ultimate Promised Land of heaven, which will be the better Promised Land of reconciliation with God.
The same is true when we are dying of spiritual thirst in the desert of spiritual separation from God.
And I’m confident that there are more parallels to be found.
And it is precisely for this reason that I believe it to be true.
Jesus is the focal point of all existence, and God was delighted to be able to honor his Son in this manner.
As a matter of fact, Moses, for all of his greatness, is only a symbol, a pointer, and a shadow of the truer and bigger Moses, JESUS. Here are several additional instances, some of which are a little more far-fetched.
Moses – Moses the man
My understanding of the Bible grows as I read it, and I realize that it is not simply a collection of many different stories, but rather a collection of many stories that ultimately tell a single story. Thousands of years ago, ancient heroes and moral stories inspired and taught people all over the world. Does any of these stories, on the other hand, have a way of connecting them? What if there’s a common thread that runs through them all? In this case, I’m not talking about some bizarre conspiracy theory about how all Pixar movies take place in the same galaxy (if you haven’t heard of this theory before, it’s actually pretty cool, but it’s beyond the scope of this discussion).
When Jesus is speaking to his disciples in the gospel of Luke, he says, “everything written about me in Moses’ Law as well as in the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled;” He then went on to explain everything about himself, starting with Moses and all the Prophets and working his way through all of Scripture (24:44, 27).
- So the Bible is not a book that is predominantly comprised of numerous stories, but rather a book composed of many smaller stories that together convey a single, larger story.
- For better or worse, all of the other tales in the Bible are interwoven into the larger story of Jesus, in which the fulfillment of their storylines finally occurs via his life and ministry.
- Given that all of the tales of the Old Testament lead to, anticipate, and ultimately come to fruition in Jesus, it follows that these stories would contain persons and events (as well as customs and symbols) that foretell Jesus Christ in more or less visible ways.
- Although I’m sure there are more, here are a few examples of parallelism that sprang to mind: Please take a look at the following link.
- The Roman emperor Herod ordered the execution of every Hebrew child under the age of two years during the time of Jesus.
- Despite the fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, he and his family fled to Egypt when he was a little child in order to avoid Herod’s persecution.
- And, like Moses, Jesus ascended out of Egypt in order to rescue the entire world for himself.
Jesus, like Joseph, was born in a straw-filled barn and was visited by members of the Herodian royal family throughout his early life.
Jesus grew raised in the synagogues of Jerusalem, which were held in the greatest regard in his society during the time he lived there.
It’s possible that Jesus was also a Levite from the Hebrew nation.
During his ministry on earth, Jesus freed Israel as well as the rest of the world from the bonds of sin and death.
While teaching on the Mount, Jesus gave a new interpretation of the Ten Commandments from God.
As the law was fulfilled in Jesus, Jesus became the gospel.
Before Jesus was born and came to redeem them, the people of Israel had endured 400 years of darkness and silence from God.
In preparation for his mission to rescue the world, Jesus journeyed through the desert and was tempted by Satan.
Even though Jesus was a member of the royal family in Heaven, he chose to serve and rescue a world that was imprisoned by sin and death.
While being the transcendent Son of God, Jesus is also a descendant Son of Man, which makes him incomprehensibly both God and man at the same time inconceivable.
As an analogy, God speaks to us through Jesus’ body on a cross, which was consumed by the fire of God’s wrath but did not perish from it.
In the Sea of Galilee, Jesus brought calm.
12 disciples were chosen by Jesus, and they were sent to proclaim the truer and better Promise Land, one that is not based on earthly geography under God, but one that is based on spiritual reconciliation with God.
God answered Moses’ plea and miraculously provided more manna and quail from the heavens than they could possibly eat in one day.
Thousands of Jesus’ followers were starving in the countryside, so he pleaded with God to provide them with enough food.
As a matter of fact, there were numerous baskets of leftovers.
Christ is the consummation of God’s covenant with humanity.
Our faith is the work of Jesus, who is its originator.
Ultimately, Jesus is the final and most effective intermediary.
Rather than being confined to four walls or holy places, Jesus is the presence of God everywhere.
A similar example is the cross on which Jesus was crucified, and anyone who sees it will be saved from sin and the sting of death caused by Satan.
When it comes to sin, Jesus is the ultimate and final Passover Lamb, having fully and completely absorbed the wrath of God once and for all.
Water was turned into blood by the hand of Moses!
The law was taken over by Moses.
Although Moses married a Jew, she was not a full Jew; rather, she was a non-Jew who was grafted into the Jewish heritage.
Moses led his people all the way to the Promised Land, but he did not take them into the land itself.
As they were dying of thirst in the desert, Moses struck a rock with his staff, and the rock erupted, releasing water that quenched their thirst.
Fortunately, God struck a better Rock for our sins, Jesus, and from the blow, Living Water gushed forth, quenching our thirst for spiritual alienation from God.
That is to say, you couldn’t make something like that up.
Each page of history contains the words of God, who uses them to tell the greatest story ever told in an unprecedented display of brilliance and glory.
As a matter of fact, Moses, however great he may be, is only a symbol, a pointer, and a shadow of the truer and greater Moses, JESUS. Continuing with the theme of absurdity, here are some additional examples.
Exodus 1–10: ‘Let My People Go’
(9-26) It is Moses and the pharaoh who serve as the primary protagonists in these chapters. We now know that the Lord knew both of these guys before they were ever born into this world. Both were put to the test of mortality at this point, with the Lord certain that they would carry out their distinct roles in the future. When God called Moses, he remained calm and allowed himself to be guided by the hand of the Almighty. As a result, he performed vast and amazing miracles in order to liberate God’s chosen people, Israel, from captivity.
When it came to the Lord’s might, he was mostly unimpressed with it.
Assume you’re preparing to give a lecture in sacrament meeting with the topic “Using Exodus 1–10 as a Source of Wisdom for Personal Development.” When it comes to becoming more Christlike in our characters, what characteristics from the lives of Moses and the pharaoh would you recommend we mimic or avoid?
Exodus 21–24; 31–35: The Mosaic Law: A Preparatory Gospel
(12-26) Ancient Israel was brought to a firm understanding of the fact that the world belonged to the Lord. He is the Sovereign and King of the land. As a result, He not only has the authority to dictate its rules, but also to establish peoples on its territory. This is something that the Book of Mormon, along with the Bible, attests to. Take a minute to study the following passages from the Bible: 1 Nephi 17:36–39; 2 Nephi 1:7; Deuteronomy 4:20, 37–38; 1 Nephi 17:36–39; 2 Nephi 1:7 You can see from these texts that a nation’s claim to land is only secured by adherence to the rules of the One who owns the land on which the nation resides.
- As a result, it is the responsibility of man to establish God’s rules and build His order.
- Is there anyone who isn’t included?
- Is there such a such as a sin that solely affects the one who does it?
- What makes all sins against God crimes against God, even though they appear to cause no harm to anybody else?
- (12-27) Reread the passage with attention.
- Now, please respond to the following questions:
- Why were the ancient Israelites subjected to this more stringent law? How much more could they have gotten out of life if it hadn’t been for their wrongdoing
- Suppose they had followed the law as it was presented to them
- What would have happened as a result? Whether or if there are any members of the Church today who are in a state akin to that of the ancient Israelites, the question remains. What, therefore, is the benefit of studying the law of Moses to a modern-day Latter-day Saint
Who Was Moses in the Bible?
Moses, maybe more than any other character in the Bible, is perhaps the most well-known. Throughout his life, he took on a variety of responsibilities, which I will discuss briefly.
It’s easy to romanticize Biblical heroes who do great things, yet they were real people who had real problems, just like us. Let’s take a look at eight facts about Moses — who he was according to the Bible, as well as some specifics about his life.
1. Moses was a Hebrew.
He was born to Jochebed and Amram, both of whom were from the tribe of Levi, during the time when the children of Israel were held as slaves in Egypt. He was the youngest of three children, with a sister called Miriam and a brother named Aaron. He grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia.
2. Moses was a special baby.
Because there were so many Israelite slaves, the Pharaoh was terrified of them, and he ordered that all of the boy newborns be slaughtered as a result. Moses’ mother shielded him from harm. For three months, she kept him concealed since she realized he was an unique baby (Exodus 2:2). Then, when she realized she couldn’t keep him hidden any longer, she built a small boat, sailed it down the Nile River, and concealed baby Moses in the reeds along its banks. He didn’t last long in the tomb before being rescued by the daughter of the Pharaoh.
It just so happened that this woman happened to be Moses’ mother.
3. Moses was raised as royalty.
After Moses was weaned, the Pharaoh’s daughter took care of him in the palace, where he was surrounded by all of Egypt’s riches.
4. Moses was a murderer.
He grew raised in the palace, yet he was well aware that he was a Hebrew. “Looking this way and that and finding no one, he murdered the Egyptian and hid him in the sand,” the Bible tells of Moses’ reaction when he witnessed an Egyptian assaulting a Hebrew slave (Exodus 2:12). Because a Hebrew slave called him out on it the next day, it wasn’t the best coverup.
5. Moses was afraid.
We are all familiar with dealing with fear, but Moses was not. When Pharaoh discovered what Moses had done, he attempted to assassinate him. Moses was on the run for his life. He spent 40 years in the desert of Midian, where he met and married Tharbis and Zipporah, and raised their sons Gershom and Eliezer. When God “.came to him in flames of fire from behind a bush,” fear arose once again in his mind. Moses saw that, despite the fact that the bush was on fire, it did not burn” (Exodus 3:2).
Moses was terrified and made excuse after excuse, the most notable of which was that he stammered.
God was displeased with Moses and became enraged with him for refusing to send someone else.
6. Moses was a courageous leader.
God enlisted the assistance of Moses’ brother Aaron in order to help him overcome his fear, vowing to support them both. Moses stepped up to the occasion. He led the Israelites out of Egypt after a long and drawn-out narrative including the 10 plagues and the Pharaoh’s resistance. When the Israelites were caught between the Pharaoh, who had changed his mind and was pursuing the newly liberated slaves, and the Red Sea, Moses encouraged them not to be scared. Maintain your resolve, and you will witness the rescue that the LORD will bring you today” (Exodus 14:13).
The prophet also said, “The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.” (Exodus 14:13), and he was absolutely correct. By the might of God, Moses was able to guide them over the Red Sea on dry ground. That was only the beginning of Moses’ brave and self-sacrificing leadership.
7. Moses was close with God.
The task that God assigned to Moses was fraught with obstacles and problems. Moses was never able to keep his feelings and inquiries hidden from God. They spent 40 days together on the summit of Mount Sinai, when God presented Moses with “.the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone written by the finger of God,” according to the Bible (Exodus 31:18). Meanwhile, the people had grown bored of waiting for Moses and had constructed an idol, which they began to worship. God was enraged by this, and He promised to murder them all instead, turning Moses into a mighty nation in the process.
God heard Moses, yet He did not respond to Moses’ pleas with His emotions.
In front of Moses, he shouted, ‘The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, preserving love for thousands, and forgiving iniquity, disobedience and transgression.’ (See Exodus 34:6-7 for further information.) Moses led the Israelites for 40 years, and God remained faithful to His promise to be with him at all times.
According to the Bible, Moses was “the only one whom the LORD saw face to face” (Deuteronomy 34:10).
8. Moses was buried by God.
God remained at Moses’ side till the very end, burying him in secrecy. Moses lived to reach 120 years old and was in perfect health throughout his life. The strength and vision of “.his eyes were not weak, nor his strength gone” (Deuteronomy 34:7). The people mourned for him for 30 days until God intervened and instructed Joshua to assume the post of leader. According to what God had spoken beforehand, Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab. He buried him in Moab, in a valley overlooking Beth Peor, but no one knows where he is buried to this day” (Deuteronomy 34: 5-6).
- Whether or not this is accurate, God might be burying his companion at this time.
- Danielle Bernock is a multi-award-winning novelist with a global audience.
- It is anticipated that her latest book, Because You Matter: How to Take Ownership of Your Life so that You Can Really Live, will be published in the fall of 2019.
- Image courtesy of Getty Images/Ivan96
B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. (In the Year of our Lord)
is an acronym that, according to Webster’s Dictionary, stands for “before Christ” and refers to the period of time preceding the birth of Jesus Christ. People and events that you read about in the Old Testament, for example, lived in the approximate time periods that are listed below:
|Years Before Christ (B.C)||Event in World History|
|2100 B.C.||Abraham was called by God (approximately2100 years before the birth of Christ)|
|1525 B.C.||Moses was born|
|1445 B.C.||Ten Commandments given to Moses|
|1090 B.C.||Sampson is a judge for Israel|
|1005 B.C.||David becomes king of Israel|
|870 B.C.||Elijah the prophet begins ministry|
|740 B.C.||Isaiah begins his ministry|
|586 B.C.||Temple in Jerusalem destroyedby Babylonians|
|535 B.C||Daniel’s last vision|
|460 B.C.||Ezra returns from exile|
|356 B.C.||Alexander the Great was born|
|200 B.C.||Rome defeats Hannibal|
|37 B.C.||Herod is king of Judea|
|~4 B.C. **||Jesus is born|
A.D., according to Webster’s Dictionary, is derived from the Latin phrase “anno Domini,” which means “in the year of our Lord,” or “in the year of our Lord.” This relates to our present calendar, which is a countdown from the date of Jesus’ birth, as in:
|In the Year of our Lord (anno Domini – A.D.)||Event in World History|
|27**A.D.||John the baptizerbegins his ministry.|
|27** A.D.||Jesus begins His ministry (atthe approximate age of 30).|
|30** A.D.||Jesus is crucified on crossraised from dead (at the approximate age of 33).|
|30** A.D.||Jesus’ church begin in Jerusalemon the day of Pentecost and the Lord begins adding peopleto His church (see Acts 2:37 through the end of thechapter).|
|70 A.D.||Jerusalem and the temple destroyedby the Roman emperor Titus.|
|410 A.D.||Fall of Rome to the Visigoths.|
|1451 A.D.||Christopher Columbus was born.|
|1776 A.D.||U.S. declaration of IndependenceAdopted.|
|1914 A.D.||World War I started.|
|2000 A.D.||The world celebrates the startof a new millennium, approximately 2000 years afterthe birth of Jesus.|
** The 4 lost years:
According to the world’s current calendar, the years are counted backwards from the date of Jesus’ birth (for example, the year 2010 A.D. would indicate 2010 years after Jesus’ birth). Although there have been a number of different calendars (e.g., Roman, Jewish, and so on) and different systems of counting the number of days and months in a year throughout history, there has been a consistent pattern throughout the past two thousand years (for example, the Jewish calendarhas only 360 days). After several hundred years of international agreement on a universal definition of a year (e.g.
Despite the fact that your calendar may have indicated that it was 1940 A.D.
According to our current calendar, it was really 1943 years after the birth of Christ that this occurred.
As a result, the present date has not changed, but the dates of historical events have, for the most part, been adjusted (for example, Jesus’ birth is now reported to have occurred in 4 B.C.
If these calendar differences had never existed, Jesus would have been born in the year 0 A.D., He would have begun His ministry in the year 30 A.D., He would have died on the cross in the year 33 to 34 A.D., and you would have needed to add approximately 4 years to today’s date to arrive at the correct date.
Note about alternatives to the use of “A.D”:
Some writers now choose to use the abbreviations “c.a.” or “c,” rather than “A.D.” when referring to the year A.D. It is said that the abbreviation “c.a.” or “c” comes from the Latin word “circum,” according to Webster’s dictionary. Some, on the other hand, say that it signifies “present age.” Other writers use the acronym “c.e.” which originally meant “Christian era,” but has come to be known by others as “current era,” which refers to the time period that does not include the birth of Christ.
The Sermon on the Mount and Jesus as the New Moses
Patrick Schreiner contributed to this article. 3 years ago today
It is my philosophy while teaching the book of Matthew that the book may be summed with one word: fulfillment. Israel’s long-awaited aspirations and desires are finally realized, according to the first evangelist, in the person of Jesus. Despite the fact that Matthew links Jesus to a variety of individuals, Moses receives the most attention. Some people are startled to hear that Jesus is never referred to as “the prophet like Moses” or even “the new Moses,” as some believe he should have been.
While explicit parallels to Moses are important, basing a case on them ignores the more legendary, and at times cryptic, character of Matthew’s tale.
A distinction may be drawn, according to one academic, between “direct definition” and “indirect presentation” inside a story.
There are two basic texts in the Bible that lend evidence to this assertion.
A prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him that you will listen—just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you cried out, ‘Let me never again hear the voice of the LORD my God, nor see this great fire again, lest I perish in this wilderness.’ ‘They are correct in their statements,’ the LORD revealed to me.’ It is from among their brethren that I will bring up a prophet like you for them to serve them.
- And I will put my words in his mouth, and he will talk to them in the manner in which I direct him to do so.
- The phrases “redemption” and “exodus” are the most frequently used to refer to Jesus as the new Moses.
- I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, and the King of Israel.
- “Remember not the ancient things, nor recall the things of old,” declares the LORD, who creates a way in the sea, a passage across the huge seas, who puts forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they fall down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a lamp.
As you can see, I’m up to something fresh; it’s just about to burst forth, can’t you see it? It is I who will carve a path through the wilderness and create rivers in the desert.” Matthew is the only New Testament author who builds the portrayal of Jesus as the new Moses in nearly the same way.
Discourses and Their Connection to Moses
Matthew employs a variety of things to establish a connection between Jesus and Moses, but one of the most evident is that Matthew portrays Jesus as the ultimate teacher or prophet when reading the Gospel as a whole. Matthew, in contrast to Mark and Luke, includes five separate discourses. To put it another way, he groups the teachings of Jesus together into huge chunks of information. It is evident that Matthew is putting together Jesus’ teachings in order to depict him as the new prophet, despite the fact that these talks have been given different names by different persons.
- 5-7: Blessings, and Entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven 10: Discourse on the Mission
- 13: Parables of the Kingdom
- 18: Discourse on the Community Woes, and the Coming Kingdom
- Chapters 23-25
Even more than that, B.W. Bacon has suggested that Matthew’s desire to offer his Gospel as the new Pentateuch is reflected in this organizational structure (the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures). A five-fold pattern of discourses and narrative, according to Bacon, combine to produce five “books” that make up the Gospel of Matthew. Specifically, Bacon said that Mark was edited in the book of Matthew to indicate that he was the scribe who was teaching about the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven through his structure.
Labeling chapters 1-2 as a prologue and chapters 26-28 as an epilogue, on the other hand, appears to place much too little attention on these critical portions of the book.
Some of Bacon’s critiques are valid, and some of his fundamental insights are sound.
As an illustration, Matthew depicts Jesus’ teaching in such a way that it is comparable to Moses’ teaching, who is known as the “teacher of Israel” (Matthew 23:35).
Moses and Setting up the Sermon
While the entire first discourse (the Sermon on the Mount) might be viewed through the lens of Jesus as the new Moses, I will concentrate mostly on the events leading up to the sermon. The fact that Matthew describes Jesus as the new Moses when he ascends to give the new law may be explained by four factors. First and foremost, Matthew situates the sermon within the broader backdrop of the arrival of a new prophetic voice. In Matthew 4:12–17, Jesus learns that John the Baptist has been arrested and imprisoned.
- It is difficult to overstate the importance of John’s imprisonment at this time.
- Matthew quickly identifies Jesus as the one who is greater than John by recounting the story of his baptism (Matt 3:13–17).
- It is only at this moment that Jesus begins his own ministry on the earth.
- John the Baptist is the last of the Old Testament prophets (Matt 11:13–14), and his death marks the beginning of an eschatologically new period in human history.
- To add to this reference to Mosaic imagery, Matthew’s preface to his lecture contains the opening lines of the prologue.
- The story of Moses ascending Mount Sinai to receive the law is told in Exodus 19.
- Each of the three times it is mentioned, it is in connection to Moses’ journey to Mount Sinai (Ex 19:3, 24:18, 34:4).
When Matthew refers to a mountain, he frequently does not employ the definite article unless the mountain has already been described in the prior context (Matt 8:1, 17:9).
However, in Matthew 5:1, there is no mention of a mountain that was directly preceding it.
Matthew is suggesting a comparison with Mount Sinai, which is the most significant mountain in the Hebrew Bible.
In this way, it is similar to Moses’ position when he received God’s Torah on Mount Sinai.
All three of these characteristics situate the speech in the context of the biblical mountain of Sinai.
The similarities, on the other hand, remain throughout the discourse. Matthew’s purpose appears to be to establish a connection between the law of the Torah and the law of the new covenant. As the new Moses, Jesus brings the new covenant doctrine to the people.
Matthew is concerned with achieving one’s goals. Jesus is presented in Matthew as the new Moses, to be more explicit. The way he does this is by portraying Jesus as the teacher of Israel in five speeches. In some respects, these discourses are a mirror image of the five books of the Pentateuch. Then, when Jesus begins his first talk, there are four indications that he is the new Moses. He began his ministry immediately following the death of the final Old Testament prophet (John the Baptist).
However, although Matthew never expressly states that Jesus is the new Moses, the imagery he employs is unambiguous in its meaning.
Patrick Schreiner’sMatthew: Disciple and Scribewas used as a source for this adaptation (to be published in 2019). | <urn:uuid:c32bc9fa-ca62-4f0d-b5aa-c3b6ae560856> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.provenway.org/commandments/who-came-first-moses-or-jesus.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573540.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819005802-20220819035802-00476.warc.gz | en | 0.975528 | 10,455 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Repeating a Course
You cannot repeat a course in which you earned a grade of C- or better. An engineering student who has earned a grade of D-, D, or D+ in a required mathematics, science or a required engineering course, may with permission of his or her adviser, director of undergraduate studies, and academic dean, repeat the course. To do this, you'll need to fill out a course repeat request form (PDF). The form needs to be approved and signed by your Academic Dean.
If you repeat the course, both grades will appear on your transcript and both will be calculated into your grade point average. Only one will count toward the 34 courses/credits required for graduation and for fulfillment of continuation requirements.
Repeating a course may be warranted when it is part of a sequence of courses in a discipline of importance to your academic future. Repeating the course may be particularly important if much of the course material was beyond your comprehension and there are serious gaps in your knowledge, Experience suggests that progressing uninterrupted to the next level when your background in a subject is weak will often lead to a repetition of the original difficulties, compounded by the weak foundation from the first semester. You would probably do better to repeat the course with the help of a tutor or other support from the Academic Resource Center before going on to the next level in the subject.
If you have no compelling need to repeat a course, there may be no advantage to doing so. It may be better to take other course work in which you are more interested and experienced and are more likely to meet with success.
Last updated: August 24, 2007 | <urn:uuid:976eda05-5bba-484e-90d5-6369bd8789cc> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://pratt.duke.edu/undergrad/students/policies/3526 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282926.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00393-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963253 | 330 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Vulnerability Note VU#827267
Microsoft Server service RPC stack buffer overflow vulnerability
A stack buffer overflow vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows Server service may allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges.
MS08-067 includes the following information about the Microsoft Server service:
The Server service provides RPC support, file print support and named pipe sharing over the network. The Server service allows the sharing of your local resources (such as disks and printers) so that other users on the network can access them. It also allows named pipe communication between applications running on other computers and your computer, which is used for RPC.
Exploit code for this vulnerability is publicly available, and the vulnerability is being currently exploited in the wild.
A remote, unauthenticated attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges on a vulnerable system.
Apply the updates referenced in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-067.
Block or Restrict Access
Systems Affected (Learn More)
|Vendor||Status||Date Notified||Date Updated|
|Microsoft Corporation||Affected||-||05 Nov 2008|
CVSS Metrics (Learn More)
Thanks to Microsoft for reporting this vulnerability.
This document was written by Will Dormann.
- CVE IDs: CVE-2008-4250
- US-CERT Alert: TA08-297A
- Date Public: 23 Oct 2008
- Date First Published: 23 Oct 2008
- Date Last Updated: 02 Nov 2009
- Severity Metric: 88.20
- Document Revision: 30
If you have feedback, comments, or additional information about this vulnerability, please send us email. | <urn:uuid:f8f24fb1-4532-4b13-9969-394b63dff52b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/827267 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281450.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00171-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.747534 | 350 | 1.773438 | 2 |
A Sad Election Day
Election Day is among one of the most important foundations that America stands on. The problem is that not many people come out to perform their civic duty and vote. As high school student Andrew Uhring stated, some of the worst offenders are America’s youth: the college students. One might expect that this age group would be especially focused on who will be running their country in the next few years, but instead, they are busy studying and trying to find jobs. In State College, many students do not feel like it is their permanent home or duty to vote in local elections. Political Science major Andrew Uhring disagrees with these students and believes all elections, large or small, hold significance to each and every one of the students’ lives. | <urn:uuid:89acc801-5c05-4d6e-b7da-8a9ce1890b9d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.commmedia.psu.edu/news/story/a-sad-election-day | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570741.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808001418-20220808031418-00079.warc.gz | en | 0.975715 | 156 | 2.0625 | 2 |
The middle of God’s Kingdom on Juneteenth June 1865 Black History African American Freedom Shirt earth is to be human beings. Whatever the purity of the individuals of this society, in the event that they have been residing in primitive circumstances like cavemen, this might not be thought of as the Kingdom of Heaven that each God and human beings need. We should act like adults and take accountability for our actions and put the wants of our youngsters first… For those who’re not feeling the chemistry in the first place, the likelihood is it’s not going to work out for the long-term whenever you’re residing and dealing in shut proximity day after day. God’s best of creation was that the primary human ancestors fulfill the aim of the Phrase by incarnating the Phrase. We’ve got mentioned how God’s objective in Juneteenth June 1865 Black History African American Freedom Shirt creating human beings was to rejoice with them. Therefore, human beings are endowed with emotional sensitivity to the Coronary heart of God, instinct and motive to grasp His Will, and the requisite talents to observe it.
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Created beings apart from Juneteenth June 1865 Black History African American Freedom Shirt people are endowed with the innate nature to develop to maturity naturally and grow to be object companions which deliver God pleasure. Human beings, then again, can grow to be true and genuine object companions who deliver pleasure to God solely by means of their free will and free actions. They can’t grow to be the article companions who encourage God with pleasure except if they perceive His Will and make effort to stay accordingly. We should put stress on political leaders to make courageous political selections to fully de-carbonize our economies and attain net-zero greenhouse fuel emissions by the yr 2050 on the newest. We’re pleased with our youngsters for standing as Funny I Paused My Game To Celebrate Juneteenth Black Gamers Shirt much as massive and highly effective governments, however it breaks our hearts to see our youngsters so determined for us to hearken to the science that they’re stepping out of their lecture rooms and into the streets to make themselves heard…
Other Products: Afro Woman Juneteenth 1865 Melanin Pride African American Shirt | <urn:uuid:3cfd4fed-03b3-42c8-8354-d9bdad4d3c59> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://sharktee.com/product/juneteenth-june-1865-black-history-african-american-freedom-shirt/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573399.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818185216-20220818215216-00065.warc.gz | en | 0.937908 | 481 | 1.671875 | 2 |
For those of us who have only just now discovered the power of the internet for business and are exposing some of it's uses, a sticky about that subject would be great. Explained from a non-technical aspect, in simple terms. Some examples of questions that could be answered... Why is my domain host so slow to load my site and how can I fix this? How do I more quickly load information into my mySQL database froma spreadsheet? How do I expose myself to algorithmic search engines to get the best return from traffic? and so on... I guess of course, we could make a thread for each, but it would suck for those of us who are business owners and not highly tech savvy, to have to translate techno-speak into common English every time we read the posts. | <urn:uuid:bd63ad2b-4bbf-457e-bcb2-35b12063bad3> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.offtopic.com/threads/i-think-a-newbie-sticky-would-be-a-great-idea.3349540/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284411.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00455-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963371 | 161 | 1.5 | 2 |
How do you find the p.d across a resistor?
Lets say I have a series circuit, 10v flowing through, two resistors one being a 2 ohm another a 3ohms.
What’s the p.d. across the 2ohm resistor?
I’m more interested in knowing how I work this out than the answers but what ever way helps in explaining it to me would help.
This question is in the General Section. Responses must be helpful and on-topic. | <urn:uuid:e7dc2a34-9981-4d2a-b6b4-eb280bdb29d2> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.fluther.com/66221/how-do-you-find-the-pd-across-a-resistor/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279489.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00016-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921906 | 107 | 2.4375 | 2 |
Install Shower Faucets
Installing a shower faucet isn’t a herculean task. If you know the right tricks it is as straightforward as conjuring up a rabbit in mid-air. Here is a way to install a shower faucet in 7 simple steps.
Always clean the pipe thread and apply a new pipe joint compound. The wall must be impervious to moisture to keep the encircling of the shower faucet dry at each point. Clean the pipe thread always then use the new pipe joint compound. Steps on a method to install shower faucet are as follows:
You can use copper pipes or you can decide to use PEX pipes. Then turn off the water supply and make a hole in the wall. Position the valve so the UP indication points up and attach the hot and cold pipes on all sides of the valve. Confirm that overheating does not happen when you are welding. Then place the valve in the wall and then attach the raised tube and spout pipe to the welded adapters.
Use a brass cap if the valve has no spout to block the outlet that isn’t to be used. Then to complete the installation of the valve, place the shower. To set the tap handle, slide it into the valve then place the handle screw adapter in the cartridge making use of the hexagonal key. To install the spout, turn the spout on the copper pipe so the screw faces up. Then to check if there are no leakages, turn on the hot and cold water supply.
Then take the tap handle by turning the screw clockwise. This will be done with the aid of a screwdriver. If they are corroded or worn out then take them to a retailer. If the brass screws are corroded you can replace them too. If they are worn out you can reface them using the seat dress tool. As taps are available in various shapes and sizes do remember to install the right tap washer.
If it is a loud tap then the difficulty might be in the loose washer. In such cases take the tap and tighten the washer.
The taps might be loud due to poor design and construction also. When threading the stem back into the tap body try moving the stem up and down. If it moves then the complete tap may want to get replaced. In washer-less taps, you will need to replace the working parts.
Shower Faucet Repair
The real thing when it comes to shower faucet repair is easy. Now, I am sure you have heard numerous tales of shower faucet repair problems from friends or family who’ve tried their hand at it.
But did you know why some folks don’t do well when it comes to such sort of shower faucet repair? It is due to the fact they did not do their homework well and simply dove headfirst into a job which they essentially know nothing about and that my chum, is the most important mistake anybody can make. If you can turn on the tap, then you can do this. But to be ready, you’ve got to have a basic knowledge of how your tap is made. There are varied construction types with the most typical ones requiring the employment of washers to control the flow of water.
From here, find out the damage and what tools as well as additional fixtures it would need. If there’s a need for anything to get replaced get the replacements previously just because you would not need to go to war without the correct artillery. You know what occurs to squaddies who are without their gun in a war, right? They lose.
If in case you can’t find the brand name, you can take an image of the shower faucet and show it to the saleswoman.
Then describe the difficulty with the shower tap to the one helping you in the hardware store. They can offer tips and advice on how what sort of tools you want. So after you already have the things you need it’s time to correct them. To switch off totally the water supply, look for the valve that is sometimes found under the sink.
This is vital because you’re going to get rid of little screws and they would roll down the drain if you weren’t ready to catch them. Take the new one and then screw it in place by following the instructions on the manual that incorporates it.
You made sense of the science of the tap; it is now time for being creative to take over.
* Start by turning off the water supply to the tap. This is achieved by turning the main shut-off valve of the house in the clockwise direction.
* Take the cap fixed on the tap awfully gingerly. You may now be ready to see the tap handle screw that predates the tap handle.
* In some taps, the handle is followed by a trim sleeve from the valve.
* You have now successfully reached the valve stem, with the end being the faulty washer. To try this, you will need to get the packing nut attached to the valve stem out of the way.
* In the event of washerless faucets, it is the cartridge that needs replacement.
In each case, the new part must be of the same dimensions as the old one. | <urn:uuid:42d6fe6b-bff0-4d90-890f-8195adc35864> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://mediashow.cc/installing-shower-faucet-is-not-that-hard/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573172.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818063910-20220818093910-00277.warc.gz | en | 0.946647 | 1,101 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Energies of the Enneagram Heart Triad
Two, Three, and Four make up the heart center triad. The emotion that fuels their drives is grief. Other Enneagram authors also refer to this triad as the “image” triad, due to these three types’ concern with how others perceive them. Grief or sadness ensues when each feels s/he has substituted an image as full or partial replacement for a loss of self.
Emotion: Grief - Externalized
Energy: Aggressive Affection
Point Two is the externalized version of grief. S/he feels others feelings, empathizes with their pain, and works to meet their needs and heal them. A Two has an image of himself as the Giver and caretaker; the one without needs who can intuit and meet the needs of others. The “charge” of the emotional battery is externalized to others by the Two, so s/he doesn’t need to feel her own. Of course the downside of this occurs when the Two’s battery is discharged until it is empty.
The drive for Two is Pride. The Two tells a story of feeling her energy coming out from the middle of her chest to another with whom she desires connection. She divines through her emotional center what the significant person needs. Unfortunately, because her life force is externalized and probing others, she is out of touch with herself. Her pride shows itself in that she believes she knows not only another’s needs, but how to meet those needs. Another aspect of pride is reflected in Two’s belief that she herself does not have needs.
Those of us who attract the Two’s focused attention feel the intensity of being the center of the Two’s universe. Our intrinsic value is verified by the Two. The energy feels like a warm, aggressive force field coming from the Two’s heart toward us, enfolding us. This can feel wonderful or intrusive.
When a Two is overwhelmed or frenetically giving, s/he can fall victim to a swirling chaos of emotions or ‘hysteria’. Although this energy is like an emotional whirlwind, it is important for us to stay present and solid when hysteria erupts. Twos already fear that we will abandon them - if we stay steady, offer focused clarity, and do not leave the room, the Two will profoundly appreciate this. And we will avoid getting caught up in the maelstrom of ‘hysteria’.
Emotion: Grief - Internalized
Energy: Dramatic Pull
Four represents the internalized version of grief in the Heart triad. Fours tell a tale of loss and longing for a pivotal missing piece that is central to their feeling whole and complete. Rather than externalize grief like the Two (others need help, I don’t), the Four internalizes and focuses on her sadness. In fact, the Four may amplify or intensify the sadness in order to explore it deeply. An image that reveals Four’s uniqueness or defectiveness in others eyes, serves to enhance and continue the feeling of loss that no one else can understand. The emotional charge of grief is found in the Four’s rich inner life of bittersweet longing.
Envy grows out of this grief and becomes the Four’s drive. Not only is the Four missing some elemental piece that would make life complete, but it is clear that others have it. The Four longs for the completeness, the love, that others have. If she fixates attention on a person (or job, place, whatever) that she feels will complete her, she feels the tug of her heartstrings toward the desired.
The rest of the the Enneagram Points feel the Four’s heart as if it were pulling at them. Four does not want to leave her rich inner world, but rather to bring the other to them to join and make her finally complete. Energetically, there can be a magnetic pull toward the Four’s depth. Even their energy seems “special,” somehow different. The difference pulls seductively.
The Four’s energy pulls at the desired. As it comes closer to being realized, the Four may find flaws and push it away. So energy can pull - and then push away. As the desired person or object recedes into the distance, it may become desired again, and the Four pulls it back toward her. It may be confusing to the desired person to experience this push-pull energetic.
The Four wishes to be met emotionally. Remember your own boundaries and cultivate clarity when you meet a Four’s intensity. This will make it possible to honor the realm in which they live, without feeling pulled into the vortex of emotion. Listen and stay present with the Four, work on understanding rather than helping or changing them. Constancy and steadiness will help you deal with the push-pull energy.
Emotion: Grief - Forgotten
Energy: Charismatic Producer
Three is the member of the heart triad, who simply “forgot” their grief. Threes are busy, optimistic people. The emotional charge of grief is set aside while enormous amounts of energy are channeled into doing and presenting a successful image to others. The Three can appear very driven or workaholic. They are prodigious producers. Grief is an emptiness that the Three can avoid by continuing to juggle multiple tasks, projects,, or adjusting his image to be seen as successful.
The Three’s habit of deceit is mainly self-deceit, in that he deceives himself into believing that he is the image that he projects. “I am what I do” or “I am my image” displaces authentic desires and preoccupations. Three tricks himself into believing that he is whatever will gain him success in others’ eyes. On a deeper level, the Three believes that there is no authentic self underneath the image, so he’d better keep dazzling you with his successful performance. Otherwise you could see that there is nothing but smoke and mirrors covering an empty hole.
Swirling like smoke and brilliant like mirrors, the Three’s energy is captivating. It is moving and shaking, inspiring energy. We listen with bated breath, suspending our own disbelief, when the Three comes toward us from his heart, simultaneously divining and making the subtle image shifts that will gain our love. A Five described a famous Three politician “I saw him speak and I was so uplifted and inspired, I would have followed him anywhere. Later, I tried to recall what he said, and I couldn’t come up with a single concrete position. And I consider myself a critical thinker.”
Be attentive to substance as well as performance. Cultivate awareness of your own center when confronted with the charisma of the Three. Do not directly confront or embarrass a Three by declaring the Emperor has no clothes. Honor a Three for who s/he is rather than the performance. | <urn:uuid:9c398b98-39e2-46b6-aeaa-015f96ae72bb> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://everydayenneagramblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/energies-of-enneagram-heart-triad.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280763.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00512-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955324 | 1,467 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Ipilimumab (MDX-010, Yervoy; Bristol-Myers Squibb), a fully human monoclonal antibody against CTL antigen 4 (CTLA-4), was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. In both early- and late-phase trials, ipilimumab has shown consistent activity against melanoma. For example, in a randomized phase III trial that enrolled patients with previously treated metastatic disease, ipilimumab, with or without a peptide vaccine, improved overall survival: Median overall survival was 10.1 and 10.0 months in the ipilimumab and ipilimumab plus vaccine arms, respectively, versus 6.4 months in the vaccine-alone group (hazard ratio, 0.68; P ≤ 0.003). Serious (grade 3–5) immune-related adverse events occurred in 10% to 15% of patients. Thus, although it provides a clear survival benefit, ipilimumab administration requires careful patient monitoring and sometimes necessitates treatment with immune-suppressive therapy. Here, we review the mechanism of action, preclinical data, and multiple clinical trials that led to FDA approval of ipilimumab for metastatic melanoma. Clin Cancer Res; 17(22); 6958–62. ©2011 AACR.
T cells, both CD4 (helper) and CD8 (cytotoxic), contribute to the adaptive immune response against pathogens and tumors, and activation and recruitment of specific T cells constitute a complex process. For a T cell to become fully activated (and subsequently proliferate and mediate effector function), at least 2 receptor–ligand interactions are required. The first of these occurs when the unique receptor of the T cell recognizes its cognate ligand, a short peptide presented in the context of a MHC molecule. This interaction is exquisitely specific, and if a good fit occurs, T-cell activation is initiated. However, full activation of a CD4 or CD8 T cell requires a second signal transmitted by costimulatory molecules present on the same antigen-presenting cell that expresses the peptide/MHC. This second signal is transmitted from costimulatory molecules (B7.1 and/or B7.2) to a receptor on T cells known as CD28. Only when both signals are received and integrated does a specific T cell proliferate, acquire effector function, and migrate to sites of antigen expression.
CTL antigen 4 (CTLA-4) was first cloned in 1987 (1). Subsequent studies showed this molecule to be a homolog of CD28, suggesting that CTLA-4 might serve, along with CD28, as a costimulatory molecule (2). However, several other studies provided opposing results, and for some time, it was not clear whether CTLA-4 transmitted a stimulatory or inhibitory signal to T cells. The generation of mice lacking CTLA-4 provided a solution for this conundrum: Knockout mice developed a progressive accumulation of activated T cells and died of lymphoproliferative disease ∼3 to 4 weeks after birth (3). These and other results (4) suggested that blockade of CTLA-4 with a monoclonal antibody could augment an adaptive immune response to an infectious agent or an evolving tumor. The seminal study in this area (5) showed that CTLA-4 blockade could attenuate the growth of several implanted murine tumors, consistent with the model shown in Fig. 1. On an immunologic basis, this model of T-cell activation and the function of CTLA-4 represents a significant simplification. A more complete description can be found in several relevant reviews (6, 7).
Early Clinical Development
To translate these findings into a clinical setting, the Medarex Corporation generated a series of monoclonal antibodies using a unique transgenic mouse (HuMAb), in which the endogenous murine immunoglobulin genes have been knocked out and replaced with human loci (8). Immunization of these mice results in fully human monoclonal antibodies devoid of murine sequences that can lead to infusion reactions. The clinical development of MDX-010 was recently reviewed (8); only several selected trials that are most relevant in terms of the current U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for use in melanoma will be outlined here.
Initial phase I studies included both single and repetitive dosing regimens and showed safety and an intriguing suggestion of efficacy (8). In subsequent trials at the National Cancer Institute, investigators administered ipilimumab, first at 3 mg/kg along with a gp100 multipeptide vaccine, and then at doses between 1 and 3 mg/kg (9, 10). They observed sustained responses (>2 years) in several patients. Immune-related adverse events (irAE) were also seen and seemed to correlate with clinical response. An important phase I/II study to determine the pharmacokinetic profile of MDX-010 was conducted in patients with metastatic melanoma (11). A secondary endpoint of this study (MDX-015) was clinical activity, and the study included both single- and multiple-dosing regimens. Escalating single doses of up to 20 mg/kg, as well as every-3-weeks dosing at 10 mg/kg, were examined. Although the study was not adequately powered to compare regimens, the group of patients who received 10 mg/kg every 3 weeks had the highest disease control rate. This study also confirmed the toxicity profile noted in earlier trials, with 19% of patients experiencing grade 3 or 4 adverse events. Many of these events were irAEs, predominantly colitis, rash, and liver function abnormalities. In this study, irAEs appeared to be somewhat correlated with response and were observed in 13 of 14 patients with stable disease, as well as in all 4 patients with an objective response.
Based partially on these findings, a randomized, multi-institution, double-blind, dose-ranging study was performed (12). This study (CA184-022) enrolled 217 patients with previously treated metastatic melanoma, and the patients were randomized to doses of 0.3, 3, or 10 mg/kg MDX-010 administered every 3 weeks. Patients without progressive disease at week 24 entered into a maintenance phase in which MDX-010 continued to be administered every 12 weeks. The primary endpoint of this study was efficacy. The best overall response rates were 0%, 4.2%, and 11.1% in the 0.3-mg/kg, 3-mg/kg, and 10-mg/kg groups, respectively. Survival data were encouraging, with 30% of patients in the 10-mg/kg cohort alive at 2 years, as opposed to 18% in the 0.3-mg/kg cohort. IrAEs were again noted in 0%, 5%, and 18% of patients in the 3 dose cohorts. These findings supported the efficacy of MDX-010 and reinforced the every-3-weeks dosing regimen that was subsequently adapted for phase III investigation.
In terms of combination studies, the safety and efficacy of ipilimumab administered with dacarbazine was first investigated in a phase II trial that randomized 72 chemotherapy-naïve patients to receive ipilimumab at 3 mg/kg every 4 weeks for 4 doses either alone or with dacarbazine (13). The primary endpoint, the objective response rate, was 14.3% [95% confidence interval (CI), 4.8–30.3] with ipilimumab plus dacarbazine and 5.4% (95% CI, 0.7–18.2) with ipilimumab alone; that is, there was a trend toward an increased response rate in the combination treatment group.
Positive results from a pivotal phase III trial of MDX-010 were reported in 2010 (14). This study randomized 676 HLA-A*0201-positive, previously treated melanoma patients 1:3:1 to ipilimumab alone, ipilimumab plus a gp100 vaccine, or gp100 vaccine alone. Mirroring the phase II schedule, ipilimumab was administered every 3 weeks for up to 4 doses at 3 mg/kg. The primary endpoint of this study, overall survival, was significantly better in the groups receiving ipilimumab than in the group receiving gp100 vaccine alone: Median overall survival was 10.1 and 10.0 months in the ipilimumab and ipilimumab plus vaccine arms, respectively, versus 6.4 months in the vaccine-alone group [hazard ratio (HR), 0.68; P ≤ 0.003]. The best overall response rate was 10.9% in the ipilimumab-alone cohort, compared with 5.7% in the ipilimumab plus vaccine group and 1.5% for vaccine alone. The longitudinal survival benefit suggested by phase II studies was confirmed, with 22% of ipilimumab-alone patients alive at 24 months, versus 24% for ipilimumab plus vaccine and 14% for vaccine alone. The rate of grade 3/4 irAEs was also comparable with that observed in previous studies: 10% to 15% in the ipilimumab groups compared with 3% in the gp100 group. This study was especially significant in that it was the first randomized study ever to show a survival benefit in patients with metastatic melanoma.
Similar positive results were seen when ipilimumab was administered as first-line therapy (15). In a randomized phase III study, 502 patients with previously untreated metastatic melanoma were randomized 1:1 to ipilimumab (10 mg/kg) plus dacarbazine (850 mg/m2) or dacarbazine plus placebo, given at weeks 1, 4, 7, and 10, followed by dacarbazine alone every 3 weeks through week 22. Patients with an objective response or stable disease and no dose-limiting adverse effects received maintenance ipilimumab or placebo every 12 weeks thereafter. Overall survival (the primary endpoint of the trial) at 1 year in the ipilimumab–dacarbazine group was 47%, compared with 36% in the dacarbazine–placebo group. Grade 3/4 adverse events were noted more frequently than in trials not involving chemotherapy (56% ipilimumab plus dacarbazine, 28% dacarbazine plus placebo). Of interest, the pattern of irAEs was different, with more frequent hepatotoxicity (∼20%) and less frequent colitis (2%). Overall, this study played an important role in bringing ipilimumab into the first-line setting for metastatic melanoma and in showing that the patterns of toxicity of this agent can vary depending on the context in which it is administered. It should be noted that although this study provided information about the safety and tolerability of ipilimumab dosed at 10 mg/kg, the FDA approved the drug at a dosage of 3 mg/kg.
Integration of Ipilimumab into the Melanoma Treatment Paradigm
Currently, few therapeutic options are available for patients with unresectable American Joint Committee on Cancer stage III or stage IV melanoma. Chemotherapy regimens include paclitaxel alone or with a platinum agent, temozolomide, or dacarbazine. Immune therapies include dacarbazine- or temozolomide-based biochemotherapy and high-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2), which result in clinical responses in ∼15% to 20% of patients, about one third of whom experience durable, complete responses (16, 17). Administration of IL-2, however, is limited to patients with an excellent performance status who have no evidence of cardiac dysfunction or active central nervous system metastases. Given these constraints, the addition of ipilimumab to the therapeutic armamentarium is particularly welcome because it expands the population of patients who can receive immunotherapy. Indeed, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has added ipilimumab as a category 1 recommendation in its guidelines of systemic therapy options for advanced or metastatic melanoma (18).
In clinical practice, the order in which a patient receives different therapies may become relevant, particularly if irAEs are encountered. Although high-dose IL-2 administration may be complicated by side effects around the time of drug delivery, such side effects will generally resolve completely within several weeks. The same is not true with certain of the irAEs seen with ipilimumab (19). Some patients who develop ipilimumab-related pan-hypopituitarism, for example, will require long-term replacement with multiple steroid hormones, potentially disqualifying them from receiving IL-2. It may make sense, then, for patients who could tolerate either IL-2 or ipilimumab as initial therapy to consider beginning treatment with IL-2.
The irAEs associated with ipilimumab treatment (Table 1) necessitate careful patient selection as well as thorough and frequent patient monitoring. The NCCN guidelines note “Ipilimumab should be used with extreme caution, if at all, in patients with serious underlying autoimmune disorders.” Bristol-Myers Squibb, in collaboration with the FDA, has developed a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy program designed to facilitate early identification and appropriate management of patients with moderate or severe irAEs. In addition, comprehensive toxicity management algorithms have been developed and are included in the ipilimumab package insert. It is important to note that the vast majority of these irAEs are reversible with early intervention. Moreover, it appears that the majority of antitumor responses persist despite corticosteroid therapy (11).
A further unresolved question involves the concept of ipilimumab maintenance therapy. It should be noted that in the ipilimumab plus dacarbazine trial, patients who had stable disease or an objective response and no dose-limiting toxic effects after receiving 4 doses of ipilimumab (10 mg/kg) at weeks 1, 4, 7, and 10 received ipilimumab or placebo every 12 weeks thereafter as maintenance therapy. This treatment was administered until disease progression or development of toxicities occurred, or until conclusion of the study. This design was similar to that used in the aforementioned phase II trial CA184-022. Likewise, Hodi and colleagues (14) offered additional courses of a participant's assigned treatment (reinduction) to patients with stable disease of 3 months' duration after week 12 or a confirmed partial or complete response. In that study, ipilimumab was dosed at 3 mg/kg. FDA approval for ipilimumab does not include maintenance dosing. Although maintenance or reinduction therapy was included in the above studies and both approaches are currently being examined in several nonmelanoma trials (e.g., CA184-043 and CA184-095 for prostate cancer), the role of these therapies is still unclear.
In addition to its documented activity in metastatic melanoma, ipilimumab has shown early evidence of clinical activity in several additional tumor types, including renal cell, lung, and prostate cancers. Two ongoing randomized phase III studies are evaluating ipilimumab in patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer either before (CA184-095) or after (CA184-043) administration of docetaxel. In addition, phase II studies combining ipilimumab with standard chemotherapy or other immunotherapy modalities are ongoing in a number of tumor types (NCT01331525, NCT01194271).
Combining ipilimumab with targeted therapy, such as the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib, will almost certainly become an area of active investigation in the near future. A recent report by Chapman and colleagues (20) showed improved survival for patients with stage IV melanoma treated with vemurafenib compared with standard chemotherapy with dacarbazine. At 6 months, overall survival was 84% in the vemurafenib group and 64% in the dacarbazine group. Vemurafenib has a remarkably high response rate (48% for vemurafenib vs. 5% for dacarbazine) in patients with V600E mutated melanoma, and thus it may be well suited to decrease or mitigate a tolerogenic tumor burden. Additionally, in vitro data suggesting that vemurafenib does not lead to decreased adaptive immunity (21) lend further support to the upcoming trial of vemurafenib plus ipilimumab for patients with BRAF mutation–positive melanoma (NCT01400451).
Another interesting issue regarding the future development of ipilimumab involves its combination with cancer vaccines. Indeed, many of the preclinical studies of this agent showed remarkable enhancement of activity when it was combined with anticancer vaccines, particularly cell-based vaccines that secrete granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Some of the earliest published data in this regard showed that the combination of anti-CTLA-4 plus GVAX was able to cure established, poorly immunogenic B16 melanomas, a result that was not achievable with either agent alone (22). However, these results were not reflected in the pivotal phase III trial discussed above (14). This apparent discrepancy most likely stems from the nature of the gp100 vaccine used (2 epitopes administered s.c. in incomplete Freund's adjuvant). Comparative data supporting the clinical efficacy of this particular gp100 vaccine were not striking. In a randomized phase III trial, in combination with IL-2, the vaccine showed a small but statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival (2.2 vs. 1.6 months) but no significant improvement in overall survival (23). It is critically important to note that negative data derived from one particular vaccine should not be misinterpreted as evidence that other ipilimumab/vaccine combinations could not confer additive or synergistic efficacy.
With the best overall response rates in the 10% to 15% range in most published studies, it appears that ipilimumab is not effective in the vast majority of patients treated. In addition, the significant rate of irAEs and other adverse events compels the development and prospective validation of a predictive biomarker that would allow pretreatment selection of patients likely to benefit from treatment. Unfortunately, no such marker appears imminent, despite the ∼3,500 patients treated with this agent to date (8). Some insight in this area was provided by the recent observation that patients with an absolute lymphocyte count ≥1,000/μL after 2 ipilimumab treatments had a significantly improved clinical benefit rate and median overall survival compared with patients with a count of <1,000/μL (24). Future studies, perhaps involving paired tumor biopsy analysis or serum antibody profiling, are clearly needed to identify those patients whose disease is most likely to respond to ipilimumab.
The development and FDA approval of ipilimumab represent a major step forward in cancer immunotherapy. Although multiple phase III trials have confirmed a survival benefit for this agent, perhaps the most compelling data are those showing a small but significant proportion of patients with metastatic melanoma surviving 2 and even 3 years from the time of treatment initiation. Given the significant rate of irAEs, clinical application of ipilimumab is challenging and requires careful monitoring and prompt attention to potential adverse events. Future clinical research will likely address the development and verification of predictive biomarkers, permitting the identification of a subgroup of patients most likely to derive clinical benefit. Perhaps more exciting, though, is the potential for additive and/or synergistic efficacy, which may be achieved by combining ipilimumab with targeted agents such as vemurafenib, with radiotherapy, or perhaps with cancer vaccines that optimally prime a tumor-specific T-cell response.
Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest
C.G. Drake is a clinical investigator for Damon Runyon-Lilly; serves as a consultant for Dendreon and Pfizer; has served as a paid consultant for Bristol-Myers Squibb and, through Johns Hopkins University, has licensed patents to that entity; and has an ownership interest in Amplimmune and Bristol-Myers Squibb. E.J. Lipson disclosed no potential conflicts of interest.
NIH (R01 CA127153 and 1P50CA58236-15), Patrick C. Walsh Fund, OneInSix Foundation, and Prostate Cancer Foundation. E.J. Lipson was supported by the John P. Hussman Foundation and an NIH/NCI T32 training grant.
- Received June 22, 2011.
- Revision received August 4, 2011.
- Accepted August 7, 2011.
- ©2011 American Association for Cancer Research. | <urn:uuid:eac9009c-1f61-4bd2-bb7c-d0fdfcf5dd82> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/17/22/6958 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282935.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00241-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945205 | 4,330 | 1.734375 | 2 |
In theprevious weeks, we examined the functional finance approach of Abba Lerner. Itis clear that Lerner was analysing the case of a country with a sovereigncurrency (or what many call “fiat” currency). Only the sovereign government canchoose to spend more whenever unemployment exists; and only the sovereigngovernment can increase bank reserves and lower (short term) interest rates tothe target level. It is important to note that Lerner was writing as theBretton Woods system was being created—a system of fixed exchange rates basedon the dollar. Thus it would appear that he meant for his functional financeapproach to apply to the case of a sovereign currency regardless of exchangerate regime chosen.
Still itmust be remembered that all countries in Lerner’s time adopted strict capitalcontrols. In terms of the “trilemma” they had a fixed exchange rate anddomestic policy independence, but did not allow free capital flows. We haveseen that domestic policy space is greatest in the case of a floating currency,but that adopting capital controls in combination with a managed or fixedexchange rate can still preserve substantial domestic policy space. That isprobably what Lerner had in mind. Most countries with fixed exchange rates andfree capital mobility would not be able to pursue Lerner’s two principles offunctional finance because their foreign currency reserves would be threatened(only a handful of nations have amassed so many reserves that their position isunassailable). Managed or fixed exchange rates, with some degree of constrainton capital flows, can provide the required domestic policy space to pursue afull employment goal.
Weconclude: the two principles of functional finance apply most directly to asovereign nation operating with a floating currency. If the currency is pegged,then the policy space is more constrained and the nation might have to adoptcapital controls to protect its international reserves in order to maintainconfidence in its peg.
The US Twin Deficits Debate. Deficit hawks in the US frequentlyraise three objections to persistent national government budget deficits: a)they pose a solvency risk that could force to government default on its debt;b) they pose an inflation, or even a hyperinflation, risk; and c) they impose aburden on our grandkids, who will have to pay interest in perpetuity to the Chinesewho are accumulating US Treasuries as well as power over the fate of theDollar. This often leads to the claim that the US Dollar is in danger of losingits status as international reserve currency.
We haveseen that national budget deficits and debts do not matter so far as nationalsolvency goes. The sovereign issuer of the currency cannot be forced into aninvoluntary default. We also have dealt with possible inflation effects of deficitspending (more on that later). To summarize that argument as briefly aspossible, additional deficit spending beyond the point of full employment willalmost certainly be inflationary, and inflation barriers can be reached evenbefore full employment. However, the risk of hyperinflation for a sovereigncountry like the US is low.
Later wewill address the connection among budget deficits, trade deficits and foreignaccumulation of treasuries, the interest burden supposedly imposed on ourgrandkids, and the possibility that foreign holders might decide to abandon theDollar.
Let us setout the framework thoroughly examined in previous blogs. At the aggregatelevel, the government’s deficit equals the nongovernment sector’s surplus. Wecan break the nongovernment sector into a domestic component and a foreigncomponent. As the US macrosectoral balance identity shows, the governmentsector deficit equals the sum of the domestic private sector surplus plus thecurrent account deficit (which is the foreign sector’s surplus). We will put tothe side discussion about the behaviors that got the US to the currentreality—which is a large federal budget deficit that is equal to a (large)private sector surplus (spending less than income) plus a rather large currentaccount deficit (mostly resulting from a US trade balance in which importsexceed exports).
There is apositive relation between budget deficits and the current account deficit thatgoes behind the identity. All else equal, a government budget deficit raisesaggregate demand so that US imports exceed US exports (American consumers areable to buy more imports because the US fiscal stance generates householdincome used to buy foreign output that exceeds foreign purchases of US output.)There are other possible avenues that can generate a relation between agovernment deficit and a current account deficit (some point to effects oninterest rates and exchange rates), but they are at best of secondaryimportance if not wrong.
To sum up:a US government deficit can prop up demand for output, some of which isproduced outside the US—so that US imports rise more than exports, especiallywhen a budget deficit stimulates the American economy to grow faster than theeconomies of our trading partners.
Whenforeign nations run trade surpluses (and the US runs a trade deficit), they areable to accumulate Dollar denominated assets. A foreign firm that receivesDollars usually exchanges them for domestic currency at its central bank. Forthis reason, a large proportion of the Dollar claims on the US end up atforeign central banks. Since international payments are made through banks,rather than by actually delivering US federal reserve paper notes, the Dollarsaccumulated in foreign central banks are in the form of reserves held at theFed—nothing but electronic entries on the Fed’s balance sheet. These reservesheld by foreigners (mostly, central banks) do not earn interest.
Since the central banks would prefer to earninterest, they convert them to US Treasuries—which are really just anotherelectronic entry on the Fed’s balance sheet, albeit one that periodically getscredited with interest. This conversion from reserves to Treasuries is akin toshifting funds from your checking account to a certificate of deposit (CD) atyour bank, with the interest paid through a simple keystroke that increases thesize of your deposit. Likewise, Treasuries are CDs that get credited interestthrough Fed keystrokes.
In sum, aUS current account deficit will be reflected in foreign accumulation of USTreasuries, held mostly by foreign central banks. You can see the evidencehere, in Figures 2 and 3:
While thisis usually presented as foreign “lending” to “finance” the US budget deficit,one could just as well see the US current account deficit as the source offoreign current account surpluses that can be accumulated as treasuries. In asense, it is the proclivity of the US to simultaneously run trade andgovernment budget deficits that provides the wherewithal to “finance” foreignaccumulation of US Treasuries. Obviously there must be a willingness on allsides for this to occur—we could say that it takes (at least) two to tango—andmost public discussion ignores the fact that the Chinese desire to run a tradesurplus with the US is linked to its desire to accumulate Dollar assets. At thesame time, the US budget deficit helps to generate domestic income that allowsour private sector to consume—some of which fuels imports, providing the incomeforeigners use to accumulate Dollar saving, even as it generates Treasuriesaccumulated by foreigners.
In otherwords, the decisions cannot be independent. It makes no sense to talk ofChinese “lending” to the US without also taking account of Chinese desires tonet export. Indeed all of the following are linked (possibly in complex ways):the willingness of Chinese to produce for export, the willingness of China toaccumulate US Dollar-denominated assets, the shortfall of Chinese domesticdemand that allows China to run a trade surplus, the willingness of Americansto buy foreign products, the (relatively) high level of US aggregate demandthat results in a trade deficit, and the factors that result in a US governmentbudget deficit. And of course it is even more complicated than this because wemust bring in other nations as well as global demand taken as a whole.
While it isoften claimed that the Chinese might suddenly decide they do not want UStreasuries any longer, at least one but more likely many of these otherrelationships would also need to change. For example it is feared that Chinamight decide it would rather accumulate Euros. However, there is no equivalentto the US Treasury in Euroland. China could accumulate the Euro-denominateddebt of individual governments—say, Greece!—but these have different riskratings and the sheer volume issued by any individual nation is likely toosmall to satisfy China’s desire to accumulate foreign currency reserves.Further, Euroland taken as a whole (and this is especially true of itsstrongest member, Germany) attempts to constrain domestic demand to avoid tradedeficits—meaning it is hard for the rest of the world to accumulate Euro claimsbecause Euroland does not generally run trade deficits. If the US is a primarymarket for China’s excess output but Euro assets are preferred over Dollarassets, then exchange rate adjustment between the (relatively plentiful) Dollarand (relatively scarce) Euro could destroy China’s market for its exports.
This shouldnot be interpreted as an argument that the current situation will go onforever, although it could persist much longer than most commentators presume.But changes are complex and there are strong incentives against the sort ofsimple, abrupt, and dramatic shifts often posited as likely scenarios. Thecomplexity as well as the linkages among balance sheets ensure that transitionswill be moderate and slow—there will be no sudden dumping of US Treasuries—thatwould destroy the value of the financial wealth held by the Chinese, as well asthe export market they currently rely upon.
Beforeconcluding, let us do a thought experiment to drive home a key point. Thegreatest fear that many have over foreign ownership of US Treasuries is theburden on America’s grandkids—who, it is believed, will have to pay interest toforeigners. Unlike domestically-held Treasuries, this is said to be a transferfrom some American taxpayer to a foreign bondholder (when bonds are held byAmericans, the transfer is from an American taxpayer to an American bondholder,believed to be less problematic). So, it is argued, government debt really doesburden future generations because a portion is held by foreigners. Now, inreality, interest is paid by keystrokes—but our grandkids might decide to raisetaxes on themselves to match interest paid to Chinese bondholders and therebyimpose the burden feared by deficit hawks. So let us continue with ourhypothetical case.
What if theUS managed to eliminate its trade deficit so that it ran a perpetually balancedcurrent account? In that case, the US budget deficit would exactly equal the USprivate sector surplus. Since foreigners would not be accumulating Dollars intheir trade with the US, they could not accumulate US Treasuries (yes, theycould trade foreign currencies for the Dollar but this would cause the Dollarto appreciate in a manner that would make balanced trade difficult tomaintain). In that case, no matter how large the budget deficit, the US wouldnot “need” to “borrow” from the Chinese to finance it.
This makesit clear that foreign “finance” of our budget deficit is contingent on ourcurrent account balance—foreigners need to export to us so that they can “lend”to our government. And if our current account is in balance then no matter howbig our government budget deficit, we will not “need” foreign savings to“finance” it—because our domestic private sector surplus will be exactly equalto our government deficit. Indeed, one could quite reasonably say that it isthe budget deficit that “finances” domestic private sector saving.
Yet, thedeficit hawks believe the federal budget deficit would be more “sustainable” ifforeigners did not accumulate Treasuries that supposedly burden futuregenerations of Americans. But how could the US eliminate the current accountdeficit that allows foreigners to accumulate Treasuries? The IMF-approvedmethod of balancing trade is to impose austerity. If the US were to grow muchslower than all our trading partners, US imports would fall and exports wouldrise. In fact, the “great recession” that began in the US in 2007 did reducethe trade deficit—although only moderately and probably temporarily. In orderto eliminate the trade deficit and to ensure that the US runs balanced trade,it might need a much deeper, and permanent, recession. By reducing American livingstandards relative to those enjoyed by the rest of the world, the nation mightbe able to eliminate its current account deficit and thereby ensure thatforeigners do not accumulate Treasuries said to burden future generations ofAmericans.
Now, canthe deficit hawks please explain why Americans should desire permanently lowerliving standards on their promise that this will somehow reduce the burden onthe nation’s grandkids? It seems rather obvious that grandkids would prefer ahigher growth path both now and in the future, so that America can leave themwith a stronger economy and higher living standards. If that means that thirtyyears from now the Fed will need to stroke a few keys to add interest toChinese deposits, so be it. And if the Chinese some day decide to use dollarsto buy imports, America’s grandkids will be better situated to produce thestuff the Chinese want to buy.
Inconclusion, while there are links between the “twin deficits”, they are not thelinks usually imagined. US trade and budget deficits are linked, but they donot put the US in an unsustainable position vis a vis the Chinese. If theChinese and other net exporters (such as Japan) decide they prefer fewer dollarassets, this will be linked to a desire to sell fewer products to America. Thisis a particularly likely scenario for the Chinese, who are rapidly developingtheir economy and creating a nation of consumers. But the transition will notbe abrupt. The US current account deficit with China will shrink, just as itssales of US government bonds to Chinese (to offer an interest-paying substituteto reserves at the Fed) decline. This will not result in a crisis. The USgovernment does not, indeed cannot, borrow Dollars from the Chinese to financedeficit spending. Rather, US current account deficits provide the Dollars usedby the Chinese to buy the safest Dollar asset in the world—US Treasuries.
To beclear: the US Dollar probably will not remain the world’s reserve currency.From the US perspective, that might be a disappointment. In the long view ofhistory, it is inconsequential. There is little doubt that China will becomethe world’s biggest economy. Its currency is a likely candidate forinternational currency reserve, but that is not a foregone conclusion—norsomething to be feared. | <urn:uuid:251e78fc-a7e5-40a5-bcdf-4708392d1cc5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://neweconomicperspectives.org/2012/01/mmp-34-functional-finance-and-exchange.html?shared=email&msg=fail | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571909.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813051311-20220813081311-00276.warc.gz | en | 0.933516 | 3,103 | 2.25 | 2 |
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Sharp differences exist between the way blacks and whites view the treatment of blacks by police, according to a poll being released Wednesday by the National Bar Association, the organization of black lawyers and judges.
According to the poll, 88% of blacks believe black people are treated unfairly by police, compared to 59% of whites who share that view.
In the South, those differences are even more stark. In the South, considered to be the region stretching from Florida to Delaware, it’s a view held by 90% of blacks but just 55% of whites. In the Northeast, by comparison, the gap is much narrower — 74% of blacks say police treat blacks unfairly compared to 63% of whites.
But more whites, 67%, compared to blacks, 52%, said police are misunderstood by black people. Those views are consistent across most regions for whites, but in the Northeast, a national low of 35% of blacks agreed. In the South, 70% of whites agree compared to 58% of blacks.
The national poll of 1,088 adults was conducted June 25-July 6 by Tallahassee-based Sachs Media Group, for the association, the country’s oldest and largest national association of predominantly black lawyers and judges. Tallahassee attorney Benjamin Crump was elected president of the association in July. Crump, a nationally known civil rights attorney, worked with the family of Trayvon Martin after the 17-year-old was killed by George Zimmerman.
The poll was conducted in the midst of a heated summer of debate about police treatment of blacks, especially young black men — Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., Eric Garner in New York, Tamir Rice in Cleveland and Freddie Gray in Baltimore, where the city just agreed to a $6.4 million wrongful death settlement and officers are awaiting trial.
“Our national conversation about race has been going on for a long time, and it’s encouraging to see signs of progress,” Crump said. “However, 50 years of conversation is too long without seeing more movement and, to a certain extent, regression. This survey shows that clearly there remains work to be done.”
Crump, along with Clarence Anthony, executive director, National League of Cities, and Karen Cyphers, director of Sachs Media Group’s Breakthrough Research division, will present complete poll findings Wednesday during a national media conference call.
Other highlights of the poll:
• In response to the statement that certain races are genetically superior or inferior, both black and white respondents strongly disagreed, with whites at 88% and blacks at 74%.
However, the difference in opinion across the racial divide was more pronounced among younger respondents. Ninety-four percent of whites between the ages of 18 and 34 disagreed that certain races are genetically superior or inferior, while 67% of blacks in the same age group disagreed.
“These data show younger generations of Americans expressing greater concerns about the future of race relations than older generations,” said Cyphers, who supervised the survey.
“Younger Americans also report avoiding interactions with people of other backgrounds to a greater extent than older Americans,” Cyphers said. “These findings validate the need for improved communications within communities, and more engagement from public, private and non-profit leaders.”
• To the statement that most black people are racists, only 11% of black respondents agreed, while 27% of whites agreed.
• To the statement that most white people are racists, 41% of blacks agreed, as opposed to 28% of whites.
• To the statement that the media fuels racial tension, both whites (88%) and blacks (78%) agreed.
• To the statement that the news media portrays people fairly based on race, 74% of whites disagreed, and 70% of blacks disagreed.
“These findings should concern all citizens and public officials who still see the need to build a greater sense of community after so many years of policy progress,” Anthony said. “There is significant work to be done — especially among young adults who don’t see positive change around them.
“While they’ve grown up at a time when we’ve made considerable advances in creating more racially inclusive communities, clearly we all have a lot more work to do.” | <urn:uuid:d7b80b31-64c0-4907-86b4-8bd6a269e7dd> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/09/09/poll-blacks-whites-agree-police-treat-blacks-differently/71918706/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279368.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00328-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959693 | 895 | 2.09375 | 2 |
London, Nov 1 : Amnesty International has stated that Pakistan should declare the dismissal of judges in 2007 as illegal, while suggesting Islamabad to take more measures to set right its poor human rights record.
Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Director, Sam Zarifi said, "The new civilian government which replaced Musharraf has taken some steps to improve on Pakistan's poor human rights record, but it could and should do more, starting immediately with declaring the 2007 dismissal of judges illegal."
In a press release, the AI said last year the former President Pervez Musharraf sacked 60 judges of the higher judiciary, suspended the Constitution, including the human rights protection it guaranteed, and replaced it with the Provisional Constitution Order, reported the Dawn, as saying. The new civilian government took office after general elections in February 2008 but has not done enough to improve country's human rights situation since then, the Amnesty International added.
Zarifi said, "Pakistan's leaders need to actively demonstrate that they respect the rule of law and that the government is responsible for the human rights of all Pakistanis."
"Without re-establishing its legitimacy and credibility through a strong independent judiciary system the Pakistani government will be unable to overcome the many troubles facing the country," Zarifi added.
On November 3, 2007, Musharraf had unlawfully declared a state of emergency in Pakistan. | <urn:uuid:1cebc843-e7db-4446-91fe-b99be7fd63b7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.oneindia.com/2008/11/01/amnesty-international-pak-poor-human-record-1225541100.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280504.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00146-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967396 | 276 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Genius provocateur Nagisa Oshima, an influential figure in the Japanese New Wave of the 1960s, made one of his most startling political statements with the compelling pitch-black satire Death by Hanging. In this macabre farce, a Korean man is sentenced to death in Japan but survives his execution, sending the authorities into a panic about what to do next. At once disturbing and oddly amusing, Oshima’s constantly surprising film is a subversive and surreal indictment of both capital punishment and the treatment of Korean immigrants in his country.
New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
New interview with critic Tony Rayns
New high-definition digital transfer of director Nagisa Oshima’s 1965 experimental short documentary Diary of Yunbogi
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: An essay by critic Howard Hampton and a 1968 director’s statement by Oshima | <urn:uuid:ca85efc0-210c-4a24-ae8f-a24ecc90b5d3> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.bullmoose.com/p/21509119/death-by-hanging-death-by-hanging-dvd-criterion-nr | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279368.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00329-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931618 | 189 | 1.976563 | 2 |
Exploring different types of subject matter.
Image of Edward VII Public Domain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ File:Edward_VII_in_coronation_robes.jpg; Image of Mary Beale Creative Commons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mary_beale_self_portrait.JPG; Image of Above Eternal Peace Public Domain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ File:Levitan_nad_vech_pok28.jpg; Image of Dishes and Fruit Public Domain http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Matisse_-_Dishes_and_Fruit_(1901).jpg; Image of Fall of the Rebel Angels Public Domain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ File:Pieter_Bruegel_the_Elder_-_The_Fall_of_the_Rebel_Angels_- _Google_Art_Project.jpg
Hello, I'd like to welcome you to this episode of Exploring Art History with Ian. My name is Ian McConnell and today's lesson is about subject matter. As you're watching the video, feel free to pause, move forward, or rewind as many times as you feel is necessary. As soon as you're ready, we can begin.
Today's objectives, or the things you're going to learn today are listed below. By the end of lesson today, you will be able to identify and define today's key terms, and identify examples of today's key terms. The big idea for today is that the Subject Matter of a work of art is the content the artist is choosing to depict.
Key terms for today, as always, are listed in yellow throughout the lesson. First key term is portrait as an image of an individual person. Self portrait is an artist's portrait of herself. Landscape is a work of art that takes the countryside as subject matter.
Still life is a work of art that depicts artfully arranged inanimate objects. A narrative is the visual depiction of a story in works of art, and subject matter is the content of a work of art, what the artist chooses to depict. And today's lesson is a rather short one, but I'm showing you examples of most of these key terms.
So we'll start with the portrait and self portrait. And the reason that we care-- is it's important to understand the difference between the two, because both are portraits, but one is painted by another person and the other is painted by the artist themselves or herself.
So we'll begin with portrait, which was painted by someone else. And this is a portrait of Edward VII of England. This is his coronation painting from 1902. Self-portrait, again painted by the artist, and this is a self portrait of the artist Mary Beale from the late 17th century. So the subject matter is of her, and she is the one that painted it. So it's a self portrait.
We'll talk about the still life and landscape next. And why do we care? Well, the still life is a painting of arranged, inanimate or still objects. Simple enough. The landscape is a painting of the countryside. So this first still life, or the first image rather, is a still life of dishes and fruit by the French artist Henri Matisse from 1901. This landscape is by the Russian painter Isaac Levitan from 1894. Two good examples there.
Now the narrative. Once again, this artwork is about the fall of the rebel angels in heaven. I've shown this in a different lesson. It's a Christian story, and it's by the artist Pieter Bruegel of the Elder from the mid 16th-century. So why do we care? Well, the narrative is a work of art that depicts a story. In popular themes or really common themes involved were stories from the Bible, some Christian stories, classical myths from ancient Greece and ancient Rome, and regional folklore, were the most common themes.
So that brings us to the end of this lesson. Let's take a look at our objectives to see if we met them. Now that you've seen the lesson, are you able to identify and define today's key terms, and can you identify examples of today's key terms? The big idea once again is that the Subject Matter of a work of art is the content the artist is choosing to depict. So that's it. Thank you for joining me. I'll see you next time.
An image of an individual person.
An artist’s portrait of herself.
A work of art that takes the countryside as subject matter.
A work of art that depicts artfully arranged inanimate objects.
The visual depiction of a story in works of art.
The content of a work of art, what the artist chooses to depict. | <urn:uuid:17d79177-984c-4ba8-a35b-c0c1c0499d5f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.sophia.org/tutorials/subject-matter | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281353.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00062-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955079 | 1,001 | 3.4375 | 3 |
Netcat - also known as nc is considered the Swiss army knife of system administrators. In its most basic usage, netcat acts as a simple utility which reads and writes data across network connections, using TCP or UDP transport protocols. But this simple tool finds diverse uses for system administrators (Unix & Linux alike). Hence the name Swiss army knife.
Here is a tiny list of the things Netcat can accomplish -
- Simultaneously act as a server at one end and a client at the other to seamlessly transfer files between remote machines.
- Scan for open ports on the host machine or on a remote machine.
- Setting up a chat server
- Act as a web proxy
You will be amused to know that a few people have even broadcast the World Cup Soccer live in Ascii characters, which you can view using
If you are looking for more uses of netcat, then you should check out the examples listed on the netcat Wikipedia page.
Netcat is available for Unix, Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows platform. | <urn:uuid:67f89357-30c9-42ae-9d68-c0a0b561a3e4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.aboutlinux.info/2009/09/netcat-nc-command.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284411.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00458-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917893 | 215 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Adventure therapy is a type of psychotherapy that originated in the 1960s. This therapy is a combination of nature, community, and daring tasks. The goal of adventure therapy is to improve the client’s physical, social, spiritual, and psychological well-being through the healing powers of wilderness with the help of evidence-based, experiential therapy, wilderness expeditions, and recreational activities.
Adventure therapy can be used for groups, individuals, and families in order to overcome their behavioral issues, substance use disorder, or various other mental health concerns. It is a highly effective method and therapists seek to actively stimulate the client with various activities and tools.
Adventure therapy works by promoting rehabilitation, growth, development, and enhancement of an individual’s social, physical, and mental well-being. This is achieved by the application of structured activities involving direct experiences. Adventure therapy includes the use of activities from traditional therapy. It is conducted in a group or as a family and the environment is the key element in it. It uses the environment by utilizing experiences and action with cooperative games, trust, problem-solving initiatives, and high adventure. After every session debriefing is done which is important as individuals discuss their experiences. This is important as facilitators help the participant internalize the experience and relate it to the therapeutic goals.
It is often observed that adventure therapy is often confused with wilderness therapy. Wilderness therapy is a part of adventure therapy that uses only weather and landscape. Adventure therapy adopts man-made obstacles whereas in wilderness therapy the main focus is adaptability and endurance which are different from the emotions and physical challenges of adventure therapy. Wilderness therapy also includes some threats and risks as well as different strategies and treatments.
Benefits Of Adventure Therapy
- This therapy is a more powerful treatment approach to anxiety, depression, grief, and eating disorders.
- This therapy can be an exciting and productive element of the relationship and family therapy
- It is beneficial for the treatment of schizophrenia
- This therapy can be used with adolescents, young adults, and individuals with various mental health concerns.
Adventure therapy is useful in teaching the client the importance of mindfulness, and the major aim of the therapy is to connect the client's life experiences with their current outdoor activities. Clients gain a new sense of confidence which improves their social skills. They become more independent and adventure therapy offers them flexibility and growth while being active. The therapist is involved in the client's goal-oriented decision-making process supporting and centering groups’ experience.
More Uses Of Adventure Therapy
- It encourages and promotes a sense of responsibility
- It helps in building positive relationships and develops a skill of cooperation with others.
- Helps in acquiring positive social skills like communication and conflict resolution
- Helps and encourages openness and emotional discovery
- It improves self-esteem and behavioral functioning.
A WORD FROM SOCIALLY SOULED
Adventure therapy incorporates the healing powers of nature but it is not necessary that it refers to participating in adventure activities. It involves applying emotionally and physically challenging activities toward cognitive and behavioral therapeutic goals. | <urn:uuid:c66485a8-a9cc-4ef3-9b9a-23f456644fb8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.sociallysouled.com/blogs/souledblog/what-is-adventure-therapy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572304.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816120802-20220816150802-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.944602 | 628 | 2.890625 | 3 |
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About this product
- DescriptionContends that democracy - along with its secular norms - is founded on the idea of a promise deferred to the future. This title presents examples of religion in public life and calls into question the projects of refashioning the aporetic premises of liberalism and secularism.
- Author BiographyAnanda Abeysekara is associate professor of religious studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He is the author of Colors of the Robe: Religion, Identity, and Difference, which won the American Academy of Religion's award for Best First Book in the History of Religions.
- Author(s)Ananda Abeysekara
- PublisherColumbia University Press
- Date of Publication17/04/2008
- Series TitleInsurrections: Critical Studies in Religion, Politics, and Culture
- Place of PublicationNew York
- Country of PublicationUnited States
- ImprintColumbia University Press
- Content Noteblack & white illustrations
- Weight635 g
- Width152 mm
- Height229 mm
- Spine28 mm
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Thanks, we'll look into this. | <urn:uuid:a2cbd449-34e7-4924-9c91-b93151803151> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.ebay.co.uk/p/The-Politics-of-Postsecular-Religion-Mourning-Secular-Futures-by-Ananda-Abeysekara-Hardback-2008/87066891 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280266.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00502-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.840431 | 359 | 2.09375 | 2 |
A publication by the UN Environment Programme assesses 92 indicators to provide “global scorecard on the environmental dimension of the SDGs,” along with scorecards for each world region.
The 2020 'Protected Planet Report' from the UNEP-WCMC and IUCN announces the expected achievement of the Aichi target on protected or conserved land, corresponding to SDG target 15.1.
A publication by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) assesses 92 environmental indicators of the SDG framework, finding that 67% “follow a positive trend” while 33% show little change or are trending negatively. On a more positive note, another assessment, the 2020 ‘Protected Planet Report,’ announces the expected achievement of a 2020 global target on protected or conserved land, corresponding to SDG target 15.1.
Released on 22 May 2021, the report titled, ‘Measuring Progress: Environment and the SDGs,’ examines the 92 indicators UNEP has classified as the most relevant to the environmental dimension of the SDGs. Progress on each indicator is assessed using data from the UN’s SDG Global Indicator Database. The publication provides a “global scorecard on the environmental dimension of the SDGs.” Scorecards are also provided for each of the five regions.
The authors report that an increasing number of environmental indicators have sufficient data to be assessed. Unfortunately, they note, the additional data “reveal a less promising picture in terms of progress” towards meeting the environmental aspects of the SDGs.
Indicators experiencing positive trends include those on safe drinking water and investment in water and sanitation, clean fuels, research and investment in clean energy and energy efficiency, energy intensity, protection of mountainous and other biodiversity areas, forest area, preventing invasive alien species, and investment in biodiversity and ecosystems.
Among the indicators experiencing negative trends, the report highlights indicators on use of handwashing facilities with soap and water, water stress levels, consumption of materials, hazardous waste generation, fish stock levels, and the Red List Index.
The report also notes that limited capacities to “collect, disseminate and effectively use” environmental data hinder the world’s comprehension of the environment’s effect on socio-economic factors. The authors call for pairing big data and new data science techniques with traditional data compilation, to enable policymakers to develop more robust responses to environmental challenges.
UNEP also recently released the 2020 edition of the Protected Planet report, produced by UNEP’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The report of 19 May 2021 is the final “report card” on Aichi Target 11, which covered the years 2011-2020 and called to protect “at least 17% of terrestrial and inland water, and 10% of coastal and marine areas.” This relates to SDG targets 14.5 (coastal and marine areas) and 15.1 (conserve and restore terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems), which also had a 2020 deadline.
The 2020 report reveals “great progress” since 2010 in the amount of protected or conserved land and ocean. The amounts protected as of 2020 are:
- For terrestrial and inland water, 16.64% out of the targeted 17%; and
- For coastal and marine areas, 7.74% out of the targeted 10%.
The authors explain that many protected and conserved areas are unreported, thus when all data are made available, coverage on land will considerably exceed the 17% target.
Beyond meeting or exceeding the global targets in the Aichi framework and the SDGs, the report emphasizes that it will be critical to improve in a few ways:
- A third of critical biodiversity sites lack any coverage, pointing to the need for designating new areas for protection/conservation;
- Protected/conserved areas should be connected to each other, to enable species to move, but currently only about half of protected land area is also connected; and
- The way protected and conserved areas are managed matters for equity and ensuring that local people can enjoy their benefits and not only bear their costs.
With the Aichi targets and associated SDG targets having expired at the end of 2020, governments are expected to adopt a post-2020 global biodiversity framework when they meet for the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 15) in October 2021. The head of IUCN is calling on CBD Parties to “set an ambitious target that will ensure protected area coverage of 30% of land, freshwater and ocean by 2030 – and these areas must be placed optimally to protect the diversity of life on Earth and be effectively managed and equitably governed.”
The 2020 targets of the SDG framework will also be the subject of discussion at the July 2021 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). The programme includes a session on the status of the 21 SDG targets originally set to be achieved in 2020, and how to continue reviewing them and maintaining ambition.
The outcome of the 2021 HLPF session is expected to refer to the 2020 targets and the need to update them with an appropriate level of ambition for 2030, accounting for other intergovernmental processes. [Publication: Measuring Progress: Environment and the SDGs] [Publication: Protected Planet Report 2020] | <urn:uuid:1ec5ec1c-360a-4d51-bf1d-01b964ad9edd> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://sdg.iisd.org/news/unep-publications-assess-status-of-environmental-targets/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571692.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812105810-20220812135810-00071.warc.gz | en | 0.904955 | 1,122 | 3.515625 | 4 |
Should driving a car with an iPhone deserve a ticket? Nah, it should be rewarded. It might look dangerous but this iPhone hack is just another example of what can be done with an iPhone and uncommon ingenuity. The 10 Outstanding DIY iPhone Hacks we covered a while back show more superb ways modders have exploited the iPhone.
Follow along the Waterloo Engineering team as they show us a video how-to on how to remote control a full sized automobile. Controlling the car with an iPhone is not just a case of an iPhone app and Wi-Fi. It’s also a lot of ‘behind the wheels’ engineering as the gas, the brake and the steering are rigged up with three separate controlling motors. The motors are interfaced to a Wi-Fi enabled Compact RIO controller.
The car can be remotely steered using a laptop with LabView software as the brains. A custom app lets you control the pedal and gas with touch sliders on the phone. The steering is taken care of by the iPhone’s accelerometer.
Three instructional videos take us through the project. The first gives an overview, the second focuses on the components and the third is all about the code for the iPhone app. All three end with glimpses of car-surfing with a driverless car. You can also check out the text description on how they did it.
Get yourself a salvaged car, some scavenged motor parts and the other hardware mentioned. Try this one out far away from the cops.
iPhone hacks never cease to amaze. Check out a few more: | <urn:uuid:0638103b-f2a4-474b-90ec-af01235c4852> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://hacknmod.com/hack/car-hack-remotely-drive-a-car-with-an-iphone/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280763.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00520-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926608 | 333 | 2.125 | 2 |
Since COVID-19 first shuttered schools last spring, American children have been subjected to a kind of natural experiment in inactivity. The last 18 months have seen three school years interrupted sporadically by closures, quarantines, and virtual instruction, during which time children have spent more time in front of screens than ever before. And the physical effects are now becoming clear.
According to a paper circulated last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, body mass index (a common measure of weight relative to height) in a sample of 430,000 children increased between March and November 2020 at nearly double the rate that it did before the pandemic began. The changes were especially prevalent among elementary-aged children, as well as those who were already overweight or obese. Read more.. | <urn:uuid:9732f357-ed5e-46bc-8472-fb2b1cf48572> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://con-alerts.com/the-real-pandemic-child-obesity-skyrockets/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571758.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812200804-20220812230804-00677.warc.gz | en | 0.983361 | 159 | 2.59375 | 3 |
LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- As the ethanol industry awaits the release of renewable volume obligations for 2021 and 2022 and a possible change to 2020 volumes, a Democratic group of lawmakers is pressing on the Biden administration to not make cuts to the RFS.
Since July reports surfaced the Biden administration was first delaying the release of already-late volumes, followed by news there may be cuts to the RFS for 2021 and 2022 and retroactive drawbacks on 2020 volumes.
On Tuesday, Democratic members of Congress called on the Biden administration to increase RFS volumes, in a letter Biden and Gina McCarthy, White House national climate advisor.
In the letter led by Reps. Cindy Axne, Iowa, Cheri Bustos, Illinois; Angie Craig, Minnesota; and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota, the bicameral group of congressional members from seven states said they were concerned about the reports.
"We have strong reservations about the potential for the administration to destroy over 5 billion gallons of biofuel volume from the 2020, 2021, and 2022 RVOs," the letter said.
"This action would directly undermine your commitment to address climate change and restore integrity to the Renewable Fuel Standard. Every gallon of biofuels that is blended into our nation's fuel supply displaces a gallon of oil and cuts carbon emissions. Reducing biofuel blending requirements will increase greenhouse gas emissions."
The industry's anticipation of the release hit a fever pitch last week when several energy-pricing services released proposed ethanol volume numbers purporting to show steep RFS cuts.
One ethanol industry group called it an alleged "spoofing" attempt that led to a drop in prices for Renewable Identification Numbers. Corn and bean oil prices fell during the middle of last week, as well.
The Renewable Fuels Association sent out an email midmorning last Wednesday stating that the group had been made aware that some reporters were receiving an email showing "fake 2020-2022 RVO numbers that were supposedly shared by RFA with its members."
The lawmakers called on the administration to provide certainty to the biofuels industry by issuing "strong RVOs" for 2021 and 2022 and declining to remand gallons from the 2020 RVO.
"These actions will create jobs, drive American investment and cut carbon emissions from the transportation sector," the letter said.
"The RFS was designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the vehicle-transportation sector, diversify our fuel supply, strengthen our national security, and drive economic opportunity. When allowed to function as Congress intended, the RFS has delivered on these goals while serving as the economic engine behind a burgeoning bio-based manufacturing sector across rural America and a biofuel industry with a 100% U.S. supply chain and a higher union density than the national average."
The lawmakers said the RFS was intended to be a "forward-looking" policy to "drive investments" in biofuels production.
"We thank these congressional champions for their strong support and reaching out to the administration at this crucial time," Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association said in a statement.
"As the U.S. EPA prepares to roll out proposed renewable volume obligations for 2021 and 2022, rumors are circulating about massive cuts that will even reach back to 2020's volumes, which were settled back in 2019 and automatically adjusted based on lower volumes during the pandemic.
"If true, these reduced volumes will be devasting for the ethanol industry and rural America -- and slow down the goal of significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions as low-carbon biofuels are replaced by more fossil fuels. In fact, the new, lower volumes, if true, would increase GHG emissions by up to 15.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent."
Numbers posted last week by OPIS, Bloomberg and Reuters "leaked view" of supposed RVO numbers showed a change in 2020 blend volumes. The 2020 blend volumes were previously finalized at 20.09 billion gallons for total renewable fuel, but the "revised" figures were posted at 17.129 billion gallons, a 2.96-billion-gallon decline in the 2020 RVO.
Read the letter here: https://axne.house.gov/…
Read more on DTN:
"Supposed RFS Numbers Leak Moves Prices,"
"Biden Admin to Delay Late RFS Proposals,"
Todd Neeley can be reached at email@example.com
Follow me on Twitter @DTNeeley
(c) Copyright 2021 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:bd897fd3-2f19-4d98-b587-77b53bfef447> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/blogs/ethanol-blog/blog-post/2021/09/28/democratic-members-congress-ask-rfs?itm_source=parsely-api | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573118.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817213446-20220818003446-00668.warc.gz | en | 0.949991 | 945 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Uncle Zaki was more than a friend to scholar Kenneth Bailey; he was his trusted guide on challenging excursions into the vast Sahara. By following Uncle Zaki, Bailey says that he and his team were demonstrating their complete trust in him. In essence, they were affirming, “We don’t know the way to where we are going, and if you get us lost we will all die. We have placed our total trust in your leadership.”
In a time of great weariness and heartache, David looked beyond any human guide, seeking direction from the God he served. In Psalm 61:2 we read, “From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” He longed for the safety and relief of being ushered afresh into God’s presence (vv. 3–4).
God’s guidance in life is desperately needed for people the Scriptures describe as sheep that have “gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6). Left to ourselves, we would be hopelessly lost in the desert of a broken world.
But we are not left to ourselves! We have a Shepherd who leads us “beside quiet waters,” refreshes our souls, and guides us (Psalm 23:2–3).
Where do you need His leading today? Call on Him. He will never leave you.
Listen to Psalm 23: A Psalm of a Good Shepherd at discovertheword.org/series/a-psalm-of-a-good-shepherd.
Historical context for Psalm 61 isn’t provided in the superscription, so the only thing we know about the background for this psalm is that David is being pursued. Fleeing from Jerusalem, he prays, “From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint” (v. 2). We’re not told who was pursuing him; however, some scholars believe there may be a clue in verse 6: David asks for God to prolong “the king’s life.” This seems to indicate that this is a different time period than when he was pursued by Saul to prevent him from becoming king. In this psalm, David is already king, which would more likely place it during the time he fled from the attempted coup orchestrated by his son Absalom. | <urn:uuid:e21b15b0-d406-4c8b-82c6-a098d5fb2e28> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://ourdailybread.ca/needing-his-leading/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572063.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814173832-20220814203832-00675.warc.gz | en | 0.975736 | 522 | 2.203125 | 2 |
Development of free space - applications for iPad and AndroidLooking for exciting and innovative new ways in which you can set up your home? One of those ways is to get into an empty room and visually present the arrangement of furniture inside. But thanks to some very practical applications, you can create the desired space planner and customize as you wish. The following steps must be followed when an internal device: 1. Design a floor plan.
2. Create a digital version of your space plan, using the appropriate software.
3. Integrate. The same furniture in a room for an overview Exhibition
3D Room Planner for the whole apartmentDisplay is very easy to compare the different interior and choose the best for your home. Here are some applications that are suitable for iPad and Android tablets: Lead
1. Home Design 3D (iOS) free
2. Free Floor Plan Creator (Android)
3. Magic Plan (iOS) free
4. Inard Map (Android) Free
5. Room Planner by the chief architect (iOS) useful and fun
6. Master-Design Furnish (Android)
7. The floor plan (iPad)
8. ROOM + Tablet (Android)
9. Homestyler (iOS and Android)
10. Floorplanner (Android) design strong color Set up according to the size and shape of your living space With more rooms Live score and combined with a Compact designed Easy and effortless design design stone wall More Alternative Wooden furniture as an essential component Apartment with several rooms Comfortable living in a traditional style Lederecksofa - living room and kitchen in one room Plan living room with the 3D application and organize
[related_posts_by_tax format="thumbnails" image_size="medium" posts_per_page="9"] | <urn:uuid:efa88391-237d-4ffc-baab-0760e4f9c980> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.avso.org/interior-design-ideas/room-planner-free-3d-room-planner | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00674.warc.gz | en | 0.865765 | 370 | 1.828125 | 2 |
For Immediate Release
jamie [at] 350.org
350.org’s Bill McKibben on New EPA Rules
WASHINGTON - 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben released the following statement on the new EPA rules for existing coal fired power plants:
“This is good–these rules will help advance the obvious tasks of moving America off coal. It’s one of the many things that simply have to happen if we have a chance of catching up with the physics of climate change. Others include rejecting Keystone XL, securing a powerful international agreement, and ending dangerous energy exploration, like fracking and tar sands mining. This is what good organizing does, and more of it will keep the ball rolling. Movement pressure is starting to bring results.”
Over the coming months, 350.org will work with its hundreds of thousands of grassroots activists across the country to strengthen and support the new regulations, and continue to build a strong movement for bold climate action.
350.org is working with a broad coalition of groups to organize the largest climate march in history in New York City this September in the lead up to the Ban Ki-moon Climate Summit. President Obama is expected to address the summit and announce more steps the US will take to address the climate crisis.
350 is the red line for human beings, the most important number on the planet. The most recent science tells us that unless we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million, we will cause huge and irreversible damage to the earth. But solutions exist. All around the world, a movement is building to take on the climate crisis, to get humanity out of the danger zone and below 350. This movement is massive, it is diverse, and it is visionary. We are activists, scholars, and scientists. We are leaders in our businesses, our churches, our governments, and our schools. We are clean energy advocates, forward-thinking politicians, and fearless revolutionaries. And we are united around the world, driven to make our planet livable for all who come after us. | <urn:uuid:c16ca69b-d9a0-4e74-a53f-17dfad61791d> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2014/06/02/350orgs-bill-mckibben-new-epa-rules | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719286.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00498-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933461 | 425 | 1.914063 | 2 |
The obesity epidemic. You’ve heard about it; I’m sure. According to numerous studies, more of us are getting fat than ever before. Considering that being overweight puts you in a higher risk category for so many other diseases of modern civilization, it’s not surprising that the statistics are so alarming.
Everyone who comments on the obesity epidemic points fingers at various culprits. We don’t exercise like we used to. We eat more calories than we used to. We eat more fat than we used to. We eat more refined carbohydrates than we used to. It’s the wheat! It’s the gluten! It’s the polyunsaturated fats found in vegetable oils! It’s the lack of play! The extra TV time!
But, would you believe that for the first time ever, a report has actually pointed the blame at agricultural subsidies?
A report recently issued by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group is blaming our lopsided subsidy structure for the societal damage. The report looked at subsidy spending for the last 15 years:
But while $262 million has gone to apples — the only fruit or vegetable with a significant subsidy — nearly $17 billion has spent on four common food additives — corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, corn starch and soy oils — known to contribute to weight gain. The group says the taxpayer contribution amounts to 19 Twinkies per taxpayer every year.
And speaking of Twinkies, the report says that of their 37 ingredients, at least 14 of them are made with federal subsidies.
“At a time when childhood obesity rates are skyrocketing, it’s absurd that we’re spending billions of taxpayer dollars to make the problem worse,” said Mike Russo, a policy analyst for U.S. PIRG. “It’s absurd that junk food is subsidized by taxpayers, while fresh fruits and vegetables barely get a bite at the apple.”
The report notes that one in five children ages 6 to 11 are now obese, a rate that has tripled over the last three decades.
“These increases in obesity rates will translate into kids who are at greater risk for heart disease and diabetes, undermining the health of our country and driving up medical costs by hundreds of billions of dollars,” the report reads.
The Farm Bill comes around once every five years, and it’s due for a re-hash next year. This giant bill pours hundreds of millions of dollars into subsidies which artificially create cheap corn, soy, and wheat. Without these subsidies, growing these crops in the quantities we do would be cost prohibitive for farmers. They would actually LOSE money.
It’s a matter of supply and demand. Subsidies ensure a huge supply. This, of course, floods the markets with these crops and then cheapens the price. Farmers are forced to sell the crop for less than it cost to plant, raise, and harvest it. Then they receive federal subsidies for the crop, ensuring that they make a marginal profit depending on how productive their acres of cropland were. It’s a seemingly endless cycle.
And what do we do with these mountains of corn and other subsidized crops? Well, we use a healthy portion to feed our livestock in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). We use a small portion to feed ourselves. And, in the case of corn, we use what’s left to flood the market with unbelievably cheap food additives like high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, corn starch, corn oil, and hundreds of other industrially produced waste products that fuel the processed foods industry.
Unfortunately, getting rid of farm subsidies out of hand would wreak havoc on our nation’s farmers. If you’re against subsidies, you’re against farmers. (Or so they would argue.)
But surely there must be a way to phase out these subsidies which have not only created an imbalanced (although cheap) food supply but which have arguably contributed to this country’s obesity epidemic.
As the Farm Bill comes up for review again next year, it will be our job as vocal consumers to let our representatives know that we’ve had enough. What do you think? Do you have any thoughts on alternatives to the current subsidy structure that could reform the way our nation’s agricultural sector does business?
(photo by ConanTheLibrarian) | <urn:uuid:000b9837-d154-454f-80f5-9a6dd78ddc61> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.foodrenegade.com/ag-subsidies-linked-obesity/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279224.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00480-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942272 | 920 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Building on the original TOOLKIT lessons, CONTENT LITERACY includes brand new lessons designed to teach reading, writing, and thinking across disciplines. Both Primary and Intermediate editions are available.
Six research-based comprehension strategies are the foundation for TOOLKIT instruction:
- Monitor comprehension
- Activate and connect to background knowledge
- Ask questions
- Infer and visualize meaning
- Determine importance
- Summarize and synthesize. | <urn:uuid:43283555-466a-4e0e-97fb-f366eafc3b91> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://stephanieharvey.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281424.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00339-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.853467 | 94 | 3.421875 | 3 |
On January 13, 1814, Thomas Kemp advertised the “Privateer Schooner Chasseur” for sale and Captain William Wade prepared to take the ship out on its first cruise. Built by Thomas Kemp for local merchant William Hollins, the Chassuer launched on December 12, 1812 but failed miserably in two attempts to evade the British blockade of the Chesapeake on commercial ventures with the second trip ending in mutiny.
Captain William Wade took command in February 1813 after the ship received a privateer commission and brought recent experience privateering as a second officer on the Comet under Captain Thomas Boyle. The Chasseur weighed almost twice as much as the Comet (resting in Puetro Rico after a damaging fight with the Hibernia just days earlier) and already had a reputation as one of the fastest top sail schooners built to date. Even with Wade’s experience and the ship’s speed, getting past the British might be a difficult task. | <urn:uuid:0e6a1036-0a9b-4681-9e48-d869762490fb> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://1814.baltimoreheritage.org/advertisement-for-sale-the-privateer-schooner-chasseur-now-ready-to-sail/?replytocom=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573533.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818215509-20220819005509-00266.warc.gz | en | 0.962654 | 203 | 3.359375 | 3 |
Davis is a city of 65,000 residents, located in Yolo County, in the heart of the Central Valley. Famous for the University of California at Davis and conveniently located to both the Sacramento and San Francisco Bay Area regions, Davis has a vast amount of amenities and resources, yet exudes a small-town style.
Davis is a unique, progressive, vibrant and family-oriented city. It is a close-knit and friendly community, ideal for families, students and businesses. The city’s logo of an antique bicycle is indicative of the city’s active lifestyle. There are 100 miles of bicycle lanes and paths on city streets and throughout the many community greenbelts, and bicycles as transportation have been built into the city’s infrastructure for many years.
The city is also known for its commitment to environmental awareness. Solar-powered traffic signals, electric vehicles, and the afore-mentioned bicycles are a way of life. Davis has tree-lined streets that provide shade in the summer, retain heat during the winter, and provide a natural beauty to the city. | <urn:uuid:ab521846-b258-434a-a2bc-4bc516746839> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.davischamber.com/welcome-to-davis.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284411.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00466-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970386 | 220 | 1.65625 | 2 |
HUD Issues Two Family Self-Sufficiency Guides
To celebrate 25 years of the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program, HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) and Office of Multifamily Housing Programs (Multifamily) each issued FSS guidebooks for their respective programs. The guidebooks provide information about promising practices that may help housing authorities and private owners establish and run effective FSS programs.
FSS helps households who volunteer to participate in the program increase their earnings and build financial capability and assets by providing them with a financial incentive to increase their earnings in the form of an escrow savings account that increases as their earnings increase and case management or coaching to help participants access services that they might need to overcome barriers to employment, strengthen financial capability, and address other challenges.
Some public housing agencies are required to administer FSS programs, while others are not. Congress has appropriated $75 million for PHA FSS programs in recent years. The PHA-tailored guidebook, Administering an Effective Family Self-Sufficiency Program: A Guidebook Based on Evidence and Promising Practices, is at https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/FSS-Program-Guidebook.pdf. And online training based on this guidebook can be found at https://www.hudexchange.info/trainings/courses/family-self-sufficiency-training/.
For private owners of HUD-assisted properties, the Family Self-Sufficiency Program Guidebook for Owners of Project-Based Section 8 Developments can be found at https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/FSS-Guidebook-for-Multifamily-Owners.pdf. This guidebook provides an overview of the FSS program for owners of HUD-assisted multifamily housing and outlines the steps owners need to take to establish and operate an FSS program. There is also a new website that provides owners with comprehensive information on the Multifamily FSS program, including recorded webinars and applicable guidance materials. This website can be found at https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/multifamily-fss/. | <urn:uuid:e6179d1f-da78-4fef-8fda-c7f70acc8c66> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.assistedhousinginsider.com/article/hud-issues-two-family-self-sufficiency-guides | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572215.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815235954-20220816025954-00673.warc.gz | en | 0.929795 | 462 | 1.914063 | 2 |
OTPIC Officially Retired
As of December 2, 2005, the Online Training Program on Intractable Conflict (OTPIC) has been officially retired, and is no longer open to new registrations.
The successor to OTPIC is a course called Dealing Constructively with Intractable Conflicts (DCIC). The new curriculum is built around one of our major projects, Beyond Intractability, and offers a much more extensive and informative set of learning materials than that available through OTPIC.
Citation: Persic-Todorovic, Divna. Conflict Resolution, Working with Refugees. Conflict Resolution Notes. V. 12, No. 4. April, 1995. Pp. 44-45.
This article is about the work on interpersonal conflict resolution in refugee camps in Serbia by the MOST group for non-violent conflict resolution. Difficult living conditions in refugee camps (lack of facilities; the necessity to share them) created many interpersonal disagreements. The situation was worsened by the sense of hopelessness that people brought from the places which they had to flee. They shared horrible stories of the war and of failed attempts to make their lives better. This circular motion of pain produced more sorrow. To break these dynamics, MOST organized activities in summer camps for refugees to teach people problem solving skills and active listening, promoting more understanding between them. They used such techniques as "Communication Games", the "Secret Friend" game and workshops with an emphasis on conflict analysis. The "Secret Friend" game created an atmosphere of joy. People were coming up with creative ideas for how to make another person happily surprised. In analyzing their relationships, people were exercising active listening techniques and learned to recognize each others' needs. Going from there, they tried to create solutions. The author concludes that the work done by MOST produced encouraging results in improving refugee's relations and their view of life.
Use the "back" button to return to the previous screen.
Copyright © 1998-2005 Conflict Research Consortium -- Contact: firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:1839962f-5b9c-4822-90be-aa49920886ae> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/example/pers6815.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720153.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00323-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956918 | 419 | 2.546875 | 3 |
- ARDLResults.plot_diagnostics(lags=10, fig=None, figsize=None)¶
Diagnostic plots for standardized residuals
Number of lags to include in the correlogram. Default is 10.
If given, subplots are created in this figure instead of in a new figure. Note that the 2x2 grid will be created in the provided figure using fig.add_subplot().
If a figure is created, this argument allows specifying a size. The tuple is (width, height).
Produces a 2x2 plot grid with the following plots (ordered clockwise from top left):
Standardized residuals over time
Histogram plus estimated density of standardized residuals, along with a Normal(0,1) density plotted for reference.
Normal Q-Q plot, with Normal reference line. | <urn:uuid:1ef9ada4-7cc1-4029-a788-9942381b4219> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.statsmodels.org/devel/generated/statsmodels.tsa.ardl.ARDLResults.plot_diagnostics.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571150.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810070501-20220810100501-00672.warc.gz | en | 0.710952 | 238 | 1.875 | 2 |
[I]f loyalists could come back from the grave, they would probably say that their fears and prophecies had been fulfilled in the most extraordinary manner; sometimes liberally; in most cases substantially. There is no question that the Revolution was followed by a great deal of bad government, political corruption, section strife, coarseness in manners, hostility to the arts and refinements of life, assassination, lynch law, and other things which horrified Englishmen.Foseti also tipped about Alexander Boot's thoughts on democracy and totalitarianism a while ago and further thoughts on democracy.
Mr. Boot starts off:
In most people’s minds, totalitarianism and democracy are antonyms. Yet the two can happily coexist not only on the same planet but also in the same country. To understand this, we should focus on the essence of totalitarianism, not its incidental manifestations, such as violence.And this is a candidate for the one-liner of the year (2012):
The benefits of unchecked democracy are held to be self-evident, which is just as well for they would be impossible to prove either theoretically or empirically.Mr. Boot also says:
[O]ne has to be a citizen to serve in the army, and a taxpayer to vote, but one neither has to have the vote nor to pay taxes to be a citizen. One-man-one-vote isn't a sine qua non for a society of citizens -- and neither is it the sole possible alternative to tyranny. The opposite belief made its historical entrance only in the 20th century, not coincidentally the most murderous period of history.And he asks a poignant question:
Who, pray tell, will make the world safe from 'democracy' before a real catastrophe befalls? | <urn:uuid:fb5c78eb-326e-4037-a35a-d11af6c83d9d> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://wilsonrevunplugged.blogspot.com/2013/01/reading-and-democracy.html | 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 | 0.961036 | 367 | 2.03125 | 2 |
The owners of China’s largest social networks, Alibaba and Tencent have partnered with the Chinese government to create something akin to the US credit score. Under the innocuous name of “Sesame Credit”, they have created a score for how good of a citizen you are.
Instead of measuring how regularly you pay your bills, it measures how obediently you follow the party line. They dredge data from your social networks. So, if you post pictures of Tiananmen Square, your Sesame Credit score goes down. Share a link from the state-sponsored news agency about how good the economy’s doing, and your score goes up.
As Alibaba and Tencent are also the largest online retailers in China, Sesame Credit is also able to pull data from your purchases. If you’re making purchases the state deems valuable, like buying work shoes or local produce, your score goes up. If you import anime from Japan though, your score goes down.
This score has real-world consequences. Having a higher score gives you special benefits, like making it easier to get the paperwork you need to travel or making it easier to get a loan. Allegedly, there are no consequences for having a low score, yet but there’s been talk about implementing penalties once the system becomes mandatory in 2020 (!) Penalties would include slower internet speeds for low-scoring citizens or even restricting the jobs that a low-scoring person’s allowed to hold.
There’s another layer to Sesame credit that goes from being repulsive to downright insidious. As all of this data is part of a social network, Sesame also scans your friends. Participants will lose points for having friends with low-obedient scores. At any point, anybody can check anyone else’s score. When you check your own score, Sesame Credit provides a handy map of your friends.
In the past, you obeyed power because you were afraid. Fear kept you motivated, but fear is negative. It fosters resentment. The world we’re stepping into instead uses positive reinforcement to promote being subservient to the will of the regime. Its big brother’s kinder, gentler hand.
The system’s not mandatory yet. For now, it’s opt-in but it will be mandatory in 2020 (!) There’s a terrible brilliance to phasing that in. Early adopters will be excited about this system. Those who are already patriotic may be eager for anything that’ll help display that patriotism to the world. As early adopters, they’ll talk it up. They’ll give it an air of being positive and fun.
Then it will be foisted on the society as a whole.
More than that though, the early adopters will compete to see who can agree with the government the most, using the psychological motivating rules identified in video games plus Big Data algorithms and artificial intelligence. It will be interesting to see how the Chinese people respond to this. | <urn:uuid:f1c5172f-cd69-443f-ab4e-f4701fa04255> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://forbiddenknowledgetv.net/propaganda-games-sesame-credit/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571147.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810040253-20220810070253-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.93248 | 625 | 2.328125 | 2 |
The World Health Organization announced on Tuesday that the largest ever round of yellow fever vaccinations, for about 12 million people, would be launched in three West African countries next week.
"The largest ever drive against yellow fever is going to kick off in three countries in West Africa next Monday," said WHO spokeswoman Aphaluck Bhatiasevi.
Advertisement"These three countries are Benin, Liberia, Sierra Leone and 11.9 million people will be vaccinated in ten days," she told journalists.
The vaccination drive, which is also backed by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), was launched in 13 West African countries at the end of 2007.
Some 29 million people have been vaccinated against yellow fever so far, according to the WHO.
About 30,000 people die every year from the viral disease, which is carried by mosquitoes. It's most virulent form can kill more than 50 percent of those infected.
The UN health agency has blamed deforestation, urban growth, climate change and low levels of immunization for resurgence of the disease in recent years, mainly in South America and in Africa. | <urn:uuid:91975872-c1ce-4293-a206-35383ab7a6d9> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.medindia.net/news/Mass-Vaccination-Drive-to-Fight-Yellow-Fever-in-Africa-61059-1.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00473-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963532 | 236 | 2.390625 | 2 |
- According to Sports Illustrated, around 2,000 schools use Native American mascots. Besides the Redskins, what are names of mascots with direct or indirect Native American associations?
- In general:
- Specific groups:
- In general:
- Are mascots ever associated with other ethnic groups?
- Today, rarely. The Fighting Irish and the Celtics, for instance, are associated with Irish people.
- Historically, yes. Be ready to cringe:
- The Wahpeton (North Dakota) Huskies were the Wops until 1989.
- The Coachella Valley (California) Mighty Arabs kept the name but updated the mascot in 2014.
- The Akron (Ohio) East Community Learning Center’s Dragons were the Orientals until 2010.
- Last but not least among the most offensive team names, the Pekin (Illinois) Dragons were the Chinks until 1981.
- According to Sports Illustrated, Adidas “has offered [all 2,000 schools] both financial and design resources” to change mascots. What might need to be changed?
- uniforms and other athletic wear
- signs associated with facilities
- mascot costumes
- school stationery
- alumni and fund-raising materials
- That’s a lot of money. Can Adidas afford this commitment?
- Yes. Adidas, a German company which also owns Reebok and Rockport athletic apparel as well as the FC Bayern Munich soccer franchise, is one of the world’s most valuable brands, with a market cap of more than $17 billion and 53,000 employees. Their glowing 9-month report was released the same day as their offer to help schools with mascot transition.
- What are some possible alternatives to mascots with Native American associations? What would you choose?
- Big Cats!! Lions, cougars, tigers, and panthers are all popular mascots. Click here to learn how the National Tigers for Tigers Coalition and other groups are working to “amplify school spirit to empower students and fans of tiger mascot colleges to save tigers.”
- Powerful concepts, such as thunder or storm, are popular team names. (This thunder’s mascot is a bison, while this storm’s mascot is named Doppler.)
- Names associated with history, such as Spartans or Brewers, are popular.
- Some schools choose to maintain a loose affiliation with their former mascot, changing from the Redskins to the Redhawks, for instance.
Sports Illustrated: Adidas aims to help high schools change Native American mascots | <urn:uuid:7134dd0f-b60c-4ec0-afa7-83776028c503> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://blog.education.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/06/adidas-aims-to-help-schools-change-native-american-mascots/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283301.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00507-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941771 | 530 | 2.59375 | 3 |
The vessel, which was operating as a harbour cruise ship under the name High Spirits, was saved by the president of McMillen Yachts, Earl McMillen III. McMillen was able to introduce a new party that was interested in saving the vessel and was integral in arranging the transfer of the boat from California to Rhode Island.
McMillen Yachts will now helm a full-scale restoration from the keel up with a view to meticulously maintain her classic charm. Originally launched in 1929, the boat was designed by John Trumpy and built by Mathis Yacht Building Company.
Earl McMillen III and the team were heavily involved in the transport of the vessel to the McMillen facilities in Portsmouth. “The yard had already cut large holes in the side of the hull and had removed the engines and machinery, in anticipation of cutting her up,” he explained.
“We had to repair the holes and replace the planking that had been removed so that we could re-float her. She remained at a local San Diego marina until a ship was available to bring her to the east coast.” Due to local laws, the vessel had to be towed on her own bottom to Mexico where she was then loaded onto a ship bound for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“Coincidently, she was offloaded in the river just offshore from where she was originally built in Camden, New Jersey 93 years ago, in 1929,” added McMillen.
The vessel was due to be scrapped just days before McMillen heard of her fate. “I received a call from a yacht broker on Tuesday asking whether I was aware that [the vessel] was scheduled to be cut up on Friday,” he said.
“I contacted the owners and asked for more time. The boat yard was only willing to give us one more week," he continued. "We were able to send a team out from Newport and bring a barge in to take the boat away by the following Saturday."
Maemere has a rich history behind her, with onboard relics including a Joe Selby painting and a cigar humidor that was once owned by one of the boat’s former crew. She also features silver julep cups which were gifted by the granddaughter of the original owner, DeWitt Page.
McMillen is no stranger to restorations of this size and scale, having completed the restoration of Maemere’s sistership, Freedom. The restoration took place between 2004 and 2004 and cost around seven million dollars.
Once the restoration is complete, Maemere will be operated as a private yacht. | <urn:uuid:e5b0ed9d-8f74-4d21-b0c3-f0a05c730d06> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/news/maemere-yacht-arrives-for-restoration | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572192.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815145459-20220815175459-00068.warc.gz | en | 0.990445 | 549 | 1.875 | 2 |
MADRID (AP) — Spain paid tribute Thursday to the nation's victims of the new coronavirus and workers who put their lives at risk during the worst of the pandemic with a solemn state ceremony in Madrid.
Relatives of around 100 people who died during the pandemic, representatives of medical personnel, police and other essential workers joined King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, government members and officials from the European Union and the World Health Organization at an esplanade in Madrid’s Royal Palace.
The guests, masked and seated in a socially distanced fashion surrounding a central cauldron, included representatives from a dozen religious organizations and ambassadors. The ceremony was shown live on television and online.
In an emotional speech, Hernando Calleja said he was sharing the pain of the loss of his brother José María, a well-known journalist and writer in Madrid, with other relatives of “anonymous” victims.
“Let’s not forget that the coronavirus was and continues to be a cold, cruel and wrecking executioner,” Calleja said.
Aroa López, a nurse from the Vall d’Hebron hospital in Barcelona, spoke representing workers in hospitals, health centers and laboratories, at least 52.600 of whom have been diagnosed as infected with the virus. She also remembered truck drivers, cleaners and thousands of others who “took care of the millions of Spaniards who were confined.”
After telling how some health workers made videocalls between relatives and dying patients, or held the hands of those who didn’t want to die alone, she urged politicians to protect the public health system.
“Who will take care of us if the person who takes care of us cannot do it?” she implored. “Let us never forget the lesson learned.”
As a live performance of string music took over from the words, attendees left white roses by the cauldron.
The country's monarch praised the citizens' response to the outbreak and called for responsible behavior in fighting the virus.
“We have a moral obligation to always recognize and respect the dignity of the deceased and a civic duty to promote the best values that underlie our society,” Felipe VI said before the ceremony came to an end with a minute of silence.
All Spanish political parties attended the state tribute except for the far-right Vox, whose leader has called the event an “act of propaganda” and “an exculpatory ceremony” for the left-wing ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Spain has officially recorded 28,413 victims who died after testing positive for the COVID-19 disease, although excess mortality figures suggest the actual figure is thousands higher. The country is grappling with dozens of fresh outbreaks after it emerged from a strict lockdown last month. | <urn:uuid:b6a95fd5-b780-4579-afad-59646d021002> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://wintergames.ap.org/laurinburgexchange/article/solemn-ceremony-spain-honors-pandemic-victims-and-heroes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571198.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810161541-20220810191541-00278.warc.gz | en | 0.963967 | 602 | 1.578125 | 2 |
New Delhi- Wrapping up the activities of the BRICS 4th Summit in the Indian capital New Delhi, the Leaders of the BRICS group expressed Thursday rejection of foreign interference in Syria's internal affairs and the necessity of putting an end to the terrorism of the armed groups in Syria, asserting that dialogue is the only solution to the crisis in Syria.
Leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa underlined that dialogue is the only way to reach a solution to the Syrian crisis and Iran's nuclear issue.
President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia said the leaders of the BRICS countries agreed on principles for resolving the crisis in Syria based on supporting the mission of the UN envoy to Syria Kofi Annan, rejection of foreign interference in Syria's internal affairs, adopting dialogue as the only way out of the crisis and putting and bringing the terrorism of the armed groups and gangs to an end.
Medvedev added that an initiative was presented to extend humanitarian aid by the BRICS countries to the Syrian people.
"We should equally give the Syrian Government and the opposition the opportunity to engage into a dialogue without claiming in advance that the dialogue is doomed to failure," said Medvedev, adding that his country will contribute to making this dialogue a success.
The Russian President hoped the BRICS organization could reflect a new trend of international relations in the future, stressing the necessity of coordinating cooperation between the BRICS group and the UN for further cooperation in implementation of the international law, supporting world peace and security, preventing using the UN and the Security Council to exert pressures on countries whose policies do not agree with some parties.
On the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, President Medvedev and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao reiterated that their countries' stance towards the Syrian crisis is of supporting stability in Syria, stressing that the international community should respect Syria's sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and safety as well as the choice of its people.
The Chinese Xinhua news agency quoted China's President during his meeting with Medvedev as expressing Beijing's support to Annan's efforts and readiness to work with Russia and the international community to play a constructive role in resolving the Syrian crisis properly.
For his part, the Russian President voiced Moscow's readiness to work with China for an immediate end to violence in Syria and preventing escalation of the tense situation, calling on all the parties to solve the issue through peaceful means.
Making up 40 percent of the world population and 18 percent of global gross domestic product, the BRICS group, which held its first summit in 2009, seeks to turn its emerging and growing economic power into a diplomatic power to give diversity to the world system. | <urn:uuid:1abea8cf-c3ee-496c-b349-a9d03488d76d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.dp-news.com/en/detail.aspx?articleid=115981 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00045-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944023 | 541 | 1.773438 | 2 |
The NN1001 was developed in partnership with Texas Instruments. It combines several existing components into a single chip, thus reducing manufacturing cost. Neonode says that it is going to cost about the same as existing resistive touchscreen controllers, which will make it competitive with existing controllers on the market.
It's not clearly stated in the press release, but I'm guessing that this chip is intended to work directly with the zForce touchscreen. That means that the next ereader to use Neonode 's touchscreen tech is going to be that much cheaper.
A demo unit using this chip will be on display at CES next week. It's reportedly going to be a automotive application. But other than that there's no word yet on what devices will use the new chip, though Neonode did say that it will hit the market in late 2012.
image by HighTechDad | <urn:uuid:ac58bd4b-9bba-4bed-b372-9b1970acf296> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://the-digital-reader.com/2012/01/04/neonode-releases-new-touchscreen/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281649.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00437-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961653 | 175 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Well, better late than never.
People who should never have gotten married
Euro Civilization (the elder)
NDE’s and the scientific method
Christians Flock to Religious Media….
China resurrects world’s earliest seismograph
2 poems by Pablo Neruda…
People who should never have gotten married….
Found: Europe’s oldest civilisation found right around the corner from Dresden….
Found: Europe’s oldest civilisation
By David Keys, Archaeology Correspondent
11 June 2005
Archaeologists have discovered Europe’s oldest civilisation, a network of dozens of temples, 2,000 years older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids.
More than 150 gigantic monuments have been located beneath the fields and cities of modern-day Germany, Austria and Slovakia. They were built 7,000 years ago, between 4800BC and 4600BC. Their discovery, revealed today by The Independent, will revolutionise the study of prehistoric Europe, where an appetite for monumental architecture was thought to have developed later than in Mesopotamia and Egypt.
In all, more than 150 temples have been identified. Constructed of earth and wood, they had ramparts and palisades that stretched for up to half a mile. They were built by a religious people who lived in communal longhouses up to 50 metres long, grouped around substantial villages. Evidence suggests their economy was based on cattle, sheep, goat and pig farming.
Their civilisation seems to have died out after about 200 years and the recent archaeological discoveries are so new that the temple building culture does not even have a name yet.
Excavations have been taking place over the past few years – and have triggered a re-evaluation of similar, though hitherto mostly undated, complexes identified from aerial photographs throughout central Europe.
Archaeologists are now beginning to suspect that hundreds of these very early monumental religious centres, each up to 150 metres across, were constructed across a 400-mile swath of land in what is now Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and eastern Germany.
The most complex excavated so far – located inside the city of Dresden – consisted of an apparently sacred internal space surrounded by two palisades, three earthen banks and four ditches.
The monuments seem to be a phenomenon associated exclusively with a period of consolidation and growth that followed the initial establishment of farming cultures in the centre of the continent.
It is possible that the newly revealed early Neolithic monument phenomenon was the consequence of an increase in the size of – and competition between – emerging Neolithic tribal or pan-tribal groups, arguably Europe’s earliest mini-states.
After a relatively brief period – perhaps just one or two hundred years – either the need or the socio-political ability to build them disappeared, and monuments of this scale were not built again until the Middle Bronze Age, 3,000 years later. Why this monumental culture collapsed is a mystery.
The archaeological investigation into these vast Stone Age temples over the past three years has also revealed several other mysteries. First, each complex was only used for a few generations – perhaps 100 years maximum. Second, the central sacred area was nearly always the same size, about a third of a hectare. Third, each circular enclosure ditch – irrespective of diameter – involved the removal of the same volume of earth. In other words, the builders reduced the depth and/or width of each ditch in inverse proportion to its diameter, so as to always keep volume (and thus time spent) constant .
Archaeologists are speculating that this may have been in order to allow each earthwork to be dug by a set number of special status workers in a set number of days – perhaps to satisfy the ritual requirements of some sort of religious calendar.
The multiple bank, ditch and palisade systems “protecting” the inner space seem not to have been built for defensive purposes – and were instead probably designed to prevent ordinary tribespeople from seeing the sacred and presumably secret rituals which were performed in the “inner sanctum” .
The investigation so far suggests that each religious complex was ritually decommissioned at the end of its life, with the ditches, each of which had been dug successively, being deliberately filled in.
“Our excavations have revealed the degree of monumental vision and sophistication used by these early farming communities to create Europe’s first truly large scale earthwork complexes,” said the senior archaeologist, Harald Staeuble of the Saxony state government’s heritage department, who has been directing the archaeological investigations. Scientific investigations into the recently excavated material are taking place in Dresden.
The people who built the huge circular temples were the descendants of migrants who arrived many centuries earlier from the Danube plain in what is now northern Serbia and Hungary. The temple-builders were pastoralists, controlling large herds of cattle, sheep and goats as well as pigs. They made tools of stone, bone and wood, and small ceramic statues of humans and animals. They manufactured substantial amounts of geometrically decorated pottery, and they lived in large longhouses in substantial villages.
One village complex and temple at Aythra, near Leipzig, covers an area of 25 hectares. Two hundred longhouses have been found there. The population would have been up to 300 people living in a highly organized settlement of 15 to 20 very large communal buildings.
NDEs raise questions about human consciousness, light and time.
Near-death experiences attract attention of researchers
When Deb Foster died in a San Diego hospital, she found herself on a stairway surrounded by cats and dogs and mesmerized by a celestial blue sky, the likes of which she had never seen on Earth.
When it was Mary Clare Schlesinger’s turn, she hovered above her bed in the intensive-care unit, watching her husband and daughter react in shock and fathomless grief at the thought of her passing.
Beverly Brodsky said she went on a spectacular journey through a tunnel of intense light, a magic ride with angels and a shapeless God to a place of perfect knowledge, wisdom, truth and justice.
All three said the journeys on which they embarked while “clinically dead,” a period of a few moments when their hearts stopped, transformed their lives and left them with no fear of death.
They are not alone.
more at site….
Christians flocking to religious media
China resurrects world’s earliest seismograph
Now here are two poems from that wily old Stalinist, Pablo Neruda.
Love Sonnet XI
I crave your mouth, your voice, your hair.
Silent and starving, I prowl through the streets.
Bread does not nourish me, dawn disrupts me, all day
I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps.
I hunger for your sleek laugh,
your hands the color of a savage harvest,
hunger for the pale stones of your fingernails,
I want to eat your skin like a whole almond.
I want to eat the sunbeam flaring in your lovely body,
the sovereign nose of your arrogant face,
I want to eat the fleeting shade of your lashes,
and I pace around hungry, sniffing the twilight,
hunting for you, for your hot heart,
like a puma in the barrens of Quitratue.
A Song of Despair
translated by w.s.merwin
The memory of you emerges from the night around me.
The river mingles its stubborn lament with the sea.
Deserted like the dwarves at dawn.
It is the hour of departure, oh deserted one!
Cold flower heads are raining over my heart.
Oh pit of debris, fierce cave of the shipwrecked.
In you the wars and the flights accumulated.
From you the wings of the song birds rose.
You swallowed everything, like distance.
Like the sea, like time. In you everything sank!
It was the happy hour of assault and the kiss.
The hour of the spell that blazed like a lighthouse.
Pilot’s dread, fury of blind driver,
turbulent drunkenness of love, in you everything sank!
In the childhood of mist my soul, winged and wounded.
Lost discoverer, in you everything sank!
You girdled sorrow, you clung to desire,
sadness stunned you, in you everything sank!
I made the wall of shadow draw back,
beyond desire and act, I walked on.
Oh flesh, my own flesh, woman whom I loved and lost,
I summon you in the moist hour, I raise my song to you.
Like a jar you housed infinite tenderness.
and the infinite oblivion shattered you like a jar.
There was the black solitude of the islands,
and there, woman of love, your arms took me in.
There was thirst and hunger, and you were the fruit.
There were grief and ruins, and you were the miracle.
Ah woman, I do not know how you could contain me
in the earth of your soul, in the cross of your arms!
How terrible and brief my desire was to you!
How difficult and drunken, how tensed and avid.
Cemetery of kisses, there is still fire in your tombs,
still the fruited boughs burn, pecked at by birds.
Oh the bitten mouth, oh the kissed limbs,
oh the hungering teeth, oh the entwined bodies.
Oh the mad coupling of hope and force
in which we merged and despaired.
And the tenderness, light as water and as flour.
And the word scarcely begun on the lips.
This was my destiny and in it was my voyage of my longing,
and in it my longing fell, in you everything sank!
Oh pit of debris, everything fell into you,
what sorrow did you not express, in what sorrow are you not
From billow to billow you still called and sang.
Standing like a sailor in the prow of a vessel.
You still flowered in songs, you still brike the currents.
Oh pit of debris, open and bitter well.
Pale blind diver, luckless slinger,
lost discoverer, in you everything sank!
It is the hour of departure, the hard cold hour
which the night fastens to all the timetables.
The rustling belt of the sea girdles the shore.
Cold stars heave up, black birds migrate.
Deserted like the wharves at dawn.
Only tremulous shadow twists in my hands.
Oh farther than everything. Oh farther than everything.
It is the hour of departure. Oh abandoned one!
More Tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by. | <urn:uuid:7e02ed0b-b8a5-4c4d-aa18-05de0b05f061> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://earthrites.org/2005/06/tuesday-fumble-3/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280310.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00190-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95389 | 2,269 | 2.75 | 3 |
Philosophy's Violent Sacred
Heidegger and Nietzsche through Mimetic Theory
- ISBN: 9781611863871
- Published By: Michigan State University Press
- Published: April 2021
When some people read René Girard, their response is a shrug of the shoulders, or even a negative dismissal. Others, however, find reading him to be transformative to their understanding of the human condition, key texts in the tradition, and the subtle changes in history that have resulted in many of the salient features of the modern world, such as intense concern for victims. Philosopher Duane Armitage, author of Philosophy’s Violent Sacred: Heidegger and Nietzsche through Mimetic Theory, is clearly the second type of reader. He speaks in his acknowledgments of his “recent obsession” with Girard’s writings after a mentor gave him a book by Girard in 2012.
This short book, of roughly one hundred pages, presents a critique of Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger from a Girardian point of view. Girard himself, of course, made comments about those two thinkers in his writings. This work expands on those comments from the perspective of a philosopher who has studied the primary and secondary literature much more thoroughly than Girard himself did. Armitage wrote two previous books on Heidegger, and anyone who can make that claim will unavoidably also be a Nietzsche scholar as well.
Chapter 1 presents an introduction to Girard’s thought, focusing on his theory of how violence forms and maintains human culture. The author’s thesis is that if Girard is correct, then most of what passes as postmodern philosophy in the modern academy is premised on certain errors of understanding and judgment. The “cultural death” of Platonism and of religious belief has created problems for which postmodern thought does not have adequate answers. More specifically, contemporary thought mistakenly blames reason and truth as the source of violence, and it fails to recognize the biblical roots of its own concern for victims and its sense of justice.
Chapter 2 is a careful reading of Nietzsche’s thought, developing Girard’s idea that Nietzsche saw more deeply into the heart of Christianity than almost anyone else in the modern world. He saw Christianity’s concern for victims and its critique of violence as its core—and he rejected that idea in favor of a reaffirmation of Dionysian violence. That which Nietzsche describes as the “slave morality” of the Judeo-Christian tradition is precisely what he thinks must be rejected and overcome. Armitage quotes Nietzsche: “The weak and the ill-constituted should die off: first principle of our philanthropy. And one shall help them to do so. What is more harmful than any vice?—Active sympathy for the ill-constituted and weak—Christianity” (23). This support for a version of social Darwinism is, of course, the polar opposite of the Sermon on the Mount and the pacifist ideal of Christianity. Nietzsche saw that Christianity had undermined the mythology that supports mob violence, and he wanted to restore the previous way of life, which is, in reality, impossible—and insane.
Chapter 3 focuses on Heidegger, drawing on the author’s expertise in that locus of philosophical thought. Armitage notes that Heidegger drew a distinction between the Greek logos and the Hebraic logos, favoring Greek thought and accusing the Hebraic of forgetfulness of being. The details of the summary and analysis of Heidegger’s thought cannot be presented here; suffice it to say that this book advances the cutting edge of refinement in the secondary literature that discusses the relationship between Heidegger and Girard (and also Nietzsche and Friedrich Hölderlin). Armitage notes that Heidegger argues that the Christian idea of creation leads to the dominance of technology after the death of the Christian God, as humans take God’s place. Gianni Vattimo, another Heidegger scholar who entered into dialogue with Girard, is discussed by the author in connection with the idea of the weakening of God in modern thought, which can be connected with the weakening of systems of control and violence.
Chapter 4 is where the author really hits his stride, as he discusses Girard’s critique of postmodernity. The modern world has to a great extent adopted moral relativism as the first article of its creed, yet it also wants to be able to critique and denounce anyone who can be labeled as an oppressor of victims. This denunciation is expressed in a tone of objective truth, not Nietzschean perspectivism and relativism. We cannot lift up Nietzsche and his will to power, which bifurcates the world into those who have power and those who don’t, and also maintain that the lives of all human beings, and most especially historically oppressed people (e.g., Black Lives Matter), must be protected from violence. Girard says, correctly, that our instinct to side with the weak is the result of two thousand years of Christian catechesis (and three thousand years of Torah). Yet fashionable currents in academia seek to undermine precisely that history and to usher in a post-Christian world.
Armitage echoes Girard in pointing out the absurdity of such a quest. It is not possible to ever be post-Christ because the story of his lynching has become the foundation of our deepest moral sensibilities. Any attempt to stand on a superior moral ground in modern culture thus must base its claim on defending a particular class of victims. But there are so many different possible victimage narratives coming from the left and the right that we are left with a cacophony of denunciations with no end in sight. For example, the author refers to “the white nationalism that conceives itself as victimized, or members of Antifa who seek to enact violent, public lynchings of fascists in the name of the defense of victims” (99). He adds that “postmodernism’s overcoming of absolutism is just as absolute as the absolutism it thinks it has overcome” (100). In addition to the other thinkers mentioned, Karl Marx also makes an appearance here, because he is such a clear example of a claim to defend victims leading to Dionysian orgies of violence in various countries. Girard’s voice overlooks this cacophony and says that the central imperative ought to be to stop scapegoating truth—the truth revealed in the Scriptures and the Judeo-Christian tradition.
Charles K. Bellinger is associate professor of theology and ethics at Brite Divinity School.Charles K. BellingerDate Of Review:April 7, 2021 | <urn:uuid:5ffb7b45-ee0a-4e7a-9d7a-0609bbdd3e27> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://readingreligion.org/9781611863871/philosophys-violent-sacred/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573744.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819161440-20220819191440-00471.warc.gz | en | 0.953315 | 1,399 | 2.015625 | 2 |
In what ways can expressive and poetic discourse impact writerly self-efficacy during a writing center consultation? The focus of this study is on assessing the internal construct of writerly self-efficacy—to understand the connections between poetic (specifically, creative writing) /expressive writing techniques, encouraged during in-person writing consultations, and the student writer’s perceived competence development as an academic writer. Provocative revision activities inspired by creative writing technique will be specific to High-Order concerns (i.e. Limiting, Adding, Switching, and Transferring). Critical reflection will also be encouraged during each peer in-person writing consultation. A mixed-methodologies approach will be used to garner a comprehensive look at whether including expressive/poetic writing during the session aids in developing the student’s perceived writerly self-efficacy. Data collection will include a measurement scale inspired by the Post-Secondary Writerly Self-Efficacy Scale (PSWSES) that will be tailored to measure the effectiveness of poetic/expressive discourse during the writing center consultations conducted during Summer Intersession 2014. Comparative analysis will also be made against client satisfaction assessments of consultations facilitated by the Boise State Writing Center.
King, Allison, "Developing Perceived Writerly Self-Efficacy: A Proposed Study of Expressive and Poetic Discourse in the Writing Center" (2014). College of Arts and Sciences Presentations. 61. | <urn:uuid:c4ab6578-c12c-42ff-a599-1f1ca0bf1f6d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/as_14/61/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571097.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810010059-20220810040059-00275.warc.gz | en | 0.924887 | 345 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Do Counselors Use Telephone Counseling?
Professionals use telephone counseling—often.
In a recent survey of American Psychological Association (APA) member psychologists, 98% affirmed that they have provided counseling services over the phone. And 69% responded that they provide psychotherapy by phone, at least on occasion.8 Similarly, a survey of psychiatrists found 45% use the telephone as an adjunct to face-to-face (FTF) sessions, and 19% use it as their primary medium for providing treatment.9
Also, research has found that for some medical practices up to 70% of problems are handled solely by telephone. 10 In my own study of 841 mental health professionals, 73% reported using telephone counseling. Such data irrefutably shows that the use of the telephone in the delivery of mental health services is almost universal, and this doesn’t even include para-counseling services, such as those provided through radio or television call-in programs.
8VandenBos, G.R., & Williams, S. (2000), October. The Internet versus the telephone: what is telehealth, anyway?Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 31(5), 490-492.
10Anderson, D. M., Duffy, K., Halltt C. D., Marcus A. C. (1992, May-June). Cancer prevention counseling on telephone helplines. Public Health Reports, 107(3), 107. | <urn:uuid:7ccd1770-6c42-40cc-9cea-17dcda84901e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://thriveworks.com/do-counselors-use-telephone-counseling/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573197.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818124424-20220818154424-00671.warc.gz | en | 0.912763 | 308 | 2.546875 | 3 |
The impact of the storm Sandy on UN Headquarters in New York from Monday October 29, until 3 pm Wednesday, October 31 was essentially the suspension of all meetings and official silence. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was away from UN Headquarters, on a trip to South Korea. For over two days, little had been heard from the UN except for an occasional email notice that the UN would be closed. This went on for Monday, Tuesday and part of Wednesday. But then on Wednesday, around 3:05 pm a new email arrived announcing that there would be a Security Council meeting to take place at 3:00 pm, but not in the usual Security Council meeting area .
It was possible to view the meeting itself on the UN web site and it was evident that the UN meeting was taking place in the temporary building known as NLB, not in the headquarters building itself where it usually meets. Why the change, however, was not announced.
An email to the Spokesperson’s office at the UN asking about the problem was answered explaining:
“The building has had some water damage in the basement, but the larger problem is simply the one facing the area: the difficulties in commuting to work and in the communications networks. Thanks.”
It was helpful to get this response to the question of what had happened, but this was not a sufficient explanation for not hearing how the UN had suspended operations at its New York headquarters for almost three days with little explanation of what was happening being offered to the public.
During the Security Council meeting held at what seemed short notice, Guatemala’s Ambassador to the UN, Gert Rosenthal gave a hint at what had happened. He said that his mission was without electricity, water and Internet. He ended the last Security Council meeting of October 2012 with the statement, “What we have discovered is that the world without Internet just doesn’t work.” | <urn:uuid:8f3fda4c-0469-403f-a6a6-b8a94d096577> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://blogs.taz.de/netizenblog/2012/11/01/un-headquarters-oct31-2012/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281746.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00291-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987977 | 388 | 2.078125 | 2 |
1. From census to Census
Belgium has a long tradition of organising general population and housing censuses. The first Belgian census was organised in 1846 by Adolphe Quetelet. More or less 10 years separated the different censuses: 1846, 1856, 1866, 1876, 1880, 1890, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1947, 1961, 1970, 1981, 1991 and 2001. Not only was the census a population count, but it also had a socio-economic and scientific value.
In the early stages, however, the administrative value of a general census was particularly high: it was used to establish the official population figures for each municipality. The population figures of a municipality are for instance still important for the allocation of subsidies, the salaries of local government officials and for establishing the number of municipal and provincial councillors, to name but a few examples.
The 1980s saw the introduction of the national register of natural persons. This population register tremendously facilitated the population count, allowing much quicker publication of population figures. The general census consequently lost its administrative nature.
In 1991, part of the variables in the population and housing census came from the national register. This eventually led to a name change in 2001, because it was no longer the census but the national register that provided the population count. Hence the new name “General socio-economic survey 2001”, abbreviated to SEE 2001. The SEE 2001 is in fact a collection of important socio-economic data and consists of two main parts: population characteristics and the housing stock. From 2011 onward, the survey is referred to as ‘Census’.
Why a census if it no longer counts the population?
As mentioned above, the censuses did not only have an administrative purpose, but also socio-economic and important scientific value. The name may have changed, but the collected data are still invaluable.
On policy level: the statistical information can be used to take certain political decisions.
For the scientific world: universities among others regularly use data from previous censuses and from the SEE 2001. Also in 2011 there is a large demand for the Census. It is a source of very detailed information on small geographical areas and smaller sections of the population. It can produce interesting studies, for example in the field of sociological research. Smaller subpopulations cannot be studied with a small sample.
For international institutions: e.g. Eurostat, OECD, United Nations. This allows comparisons between different countries.
For public social welfare centres and other municipal public services: they regularly carry out studies based on data from the censuses.
For private individuals and enterprises: statistical information can help decide what part of the city is most suitable to start an enterprise. The neighbourhood may depend on the type of enterprise.
2. A new name, a new way of working
The approach to the 2011 Census will be completely different from the previous traditional censuses, which consisted of exhaustive surveys each time. In the past we could only obtain considerable parts of the necessary data by asking the person in question. Now a vast amount of information can be recovered from administrative databases. It is therefore more suitable to use these administrative data than to burden the citizens with a survey. The following administrative databases are vital for the Census 2011:
The national register of natural persons
DBRIS2: statistical database derived from the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE)
The data warehouse Labour Market and Social Protection of the Crossroads Bank for Social Security (CBSS)
The General Administration of the Patrimonial Documentation (former land register)
Educational data from the Communities
See following websites
The Central Identification Address Database (CIAD)
Fiscal data from the FPS Finances
Many administrative data on education are available from 2001 onward. The level of education of people who graduated before 2001 is available through the SEE 2001.
A number of existing sample surveys will be used to collect part of the lacking variables in administrative databases. Estimation procedures similar to the model the Netherlands has been using for years (the virtual Census) will be used to integrate the survey data with the exhaustive data.
A schematic overview of the working method can be found below:
The different arrows indicate which databases need to be linked. Two arrows are thicker because they refer to several types of links between the databases.
The new working method was tested by means of a pilot project. In 2002 the Higher Council of Statistics appointed an academic research team to map every potential information source for the administrative census. Three years of scientific research were concluded with a report that contains these potential data sources. Subsequently the pilot project Microcensus 2006 was launched to already collect data and test some databases. This project also took three years and was also supported by an academic research team. A sample of 20% for the situation on 1 January 2006 (halfway between both censuses) revealed that the data from administrative sources were sufficient to organise an administrative census for the first time in 2011.
3. Your data are in good hands
The new method unites different information sources. Data confidentiality of course cannot be compromised. Legal and technical measures ensure citizen privacy.
Statistics Belgium employees are subject to statistical confidentiality. They may never release identifiable information. Also non-identifiable individual information requires approval from the privacy commission. Only anonymous and global statistics are disseminated directly.
The administrative data used by Statistics Belgium are requested through the privacy commission or "Vlaamse Toezichtcommissie". They will only approve cases if it can be proven for each requested item that it is vital for the project (the requested data must be in proportion to the project needs) and that data protection can be guaranteed sufficiently.
Public services such as the land register deliver data to Statistics Belgium, but confidential information never flows back to these services. It can therefore be seen as one-way traffic. When Statistics Belgium finds a mistake in administrative data, they cannot give individual feedback to the public service. This should prevent negative consequences for citizens. When linking administrative data to survey data reveals an undeclared conversion or renovation for example, this will not have fiscal consequences for the citizen.
Of course no more people than strictly necessary have access to the census data. Only those people from the census team and definitely not everyone in Statistics Belgium have access to some of the data. The technical security of the database system and of the IT network is very strict.
There is also a general procedure for granting access. This procedure is also repeated regularly for people who already have access to certain data to ensure nobody can access tables they do not strictly require for their work. A logging system also exists, that saves the actions performed when consulting data. The data warehouse system shows the data used by each civil servant.
Statistics Belgium has already proven that statistical data are always treated with the highest regard for privacy.
4. Benefits of the new method
The way the Census is organised in 2011 (based on administrative databases) has a number of benefits compared to a classic survey. A few examples are listed below:
The cost of an administrative census is much lower than that of a traditional census. It does no longer require poll-takers and processing of paper surveys. Using the national register and a survey by post already reduced the cost by half in 2001. Now that almost all data originate from administrative sources, the cost for the 2011 Census will be even lower. It will become even much lower in the future because creating quality databases still requires much time.
It is clear that the administrative census also requires less paper.
The burden on citizens disappears. Why ask it to people if the data already exist in databases? As part of administrative simplification it became increasingly difficult to support a traditional census. In 2000 the government therefore decided to organise an exhaustive survey for the last time in 2001 and to look for alternatives to reduce the burden on citizens.
Contrary to the General socio-economic survey 2001 (SEE 2001), which was a recording of a given moment in time (except for the national register), the Census 2011 has a number of source files with historical data.
CBE / DBRIS
It will be possible to study the evolution of certain data. In the long run a retrospective approach of the data will also be possible.
There are different approaches to linking data. The patrimonial documentation can for example be linked to DBRIS (thicker arrow on figure). This can be done by means of the location of the property and allows us to deduct its purpose. The two files can also be linked by means of the owner of the property, if the owner is an enterprise. This link has another meaning: the owner of a property can be determined by means of his/her enterprise. These different approaches allow a wide range of possibilities.
Possibility of a potential increased frequency of the Census. Once the new system is up and running, results will be available much more quickly.
Availability of geographical coordinates:
It will be easier to visualise data on maps. Calculations with adapted software (e.g. route planners) are possible. Previous subjective questions will be replaced by objective criteria.
There will no longer be a risk of misunderstanding questions or of answering questions incorrectly. There will also no longer be confusion between certain terms as there was in the 2001 questionnaire. Respondents are no longer obliged to choose one specific answer (see below for examples).
No problems with coding of data (e.g. NACE codes).
No more confusion of the terms households, houses and buildings. The SEE 2001 for example equated a household with a house. However, one of the questions asked if respondents shared some of their rooms with other households, which is impossible according to the above principle.
The number of floors of the building respondents live in will be more correct. During the SEE 2001 some people included the ground floor, others did not. This was especially noticeable since some households who lived on the same address gave different answers.
The purpose of the property will be much more detailed based on databases. Not only will we be able to see if a property has other purposes besides housing, but we will also be able to indicate in great detail if respondents for example live above a café, a bakery, and so on. DBRIS (or CBE) data can be linked to the housing stock.
Data on the date of construction and possible conversions or renovations will be much more correct in the housing stock than in the SEE 2001. Especially tenants do not always know exactly when ‘their’ home was built. Additionally the exact year will be known, instead of categories of years usually.
Homeowners: since the Patrimonial Documentation’s mission is to tax owners of real estate, data on property rights (from the Patrimonial Documentation) are by definition the official and correct data. They are much more objective than the answers to the 2001 census questions. The data are also more detailed and precise. This allows many options that were previously impossible.
All the different kinds of rights of disposal and enjoyment (e.g. usufruct) can be mapped.
We can see how large someone’s share in the ownership of a property is, how many proprietors there are, and so on.
We can see the difference between direct owners and owners who have the property through their enterprise.
Not only occupied properties but also vacant houses and houses for secondary use will appear in the housing stock. This was not the case in 2001.
The possibility exists to create age-specific fertility figures without delay, compared to the sometimes years of delay for figures based on birth certificates.
Not only the highest completed level of education will be available. The highest completed level of education does not always equal the most recent completed level of education. Longitudinal studies will be possible.
The Flemish Region has very detailed information available through the variable administrative group.
Much smaller risk of errors. In 2001 people for example responded that they had a high level of education when they were still studying (they confused their current ongoing education with their level of education). This is suggested from comparisons of the data from databases with the SEE 2001 responses.
Labour market and social security
Much more objective than in 2001. Back then, people were forced to select a specific answer (e.g. student, employed, retired, and so on) whereas in reality it is possible to be retired and still working. CBSS data resolve this issue and allow mapping of the different possible combinations.
5. Results and use
The Census results will be saved in a data warehouse, facilitating the dissemination of the results. Also modern dissemination methods have been adopted, such as web services and dynamic tables on our website (be.STAT).
Data will of course become available for Eurostat, but additional tables will also be available for all census users. Politicians, public institutions, enterprises, universities, students, private individuals and so on will all be able to use the census data, which will be available as global and anonymous tables. Additionally, authorised institutions will be able to order individual coded data for scientific research by filing a request to the Statistical Supervisory Committee.
This is the first time Belgium has organised the Census based on administrative data. The start-up of this project requires additional work, since the administrative data need to be prepared for statistical purposes for the first time. When the new system is fully up and running, we will be able to publish statistics much more quickly (no longer comparable to a traditional census) and we will be able to organise the Census more frequently.
6. And Europe?
2011 is the first census year bound by a European regulation. European regulation 763/2008 of 9 July 2008 obliges us to organise a census at least on a ten-year basis, compared to the non-binding gentleman’s agreement in the past. Belgium has chosen 1/01/2011 as a reference date for this census.
Next to the European regulation there are a number of commission rules that give more details on Europe's needs. On the one hand they establish the definitions of the variables. These definitions are based on the recommendations of the United Nations. On the other hand they set the minimum requirements of the level of detail. They determine which contingency tables are definitely needed and they also ask for a quality report. The European regulation is completely output-oriented, which means that it establishes which data should definitely be available. The regulation makes the census internationally comparable, which is a good thing. However, it does not impose a certain method to organise the census.
It is clear that the information from the Belgian census will be much more elaborate than what Europe prescribes. We have conducted a study into the needs of census users. Based on the results we have made a selection of the data that will be included in the Census. | <urn:uuid:049a3cc4-4919-4c64-aa8d-98014d5d8c8e> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://statbel.fgov.be/en/statistics/surveys-methodology/census/Census2011/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719273.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00066-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934865 | 3,025 | 3.1875 | 3 |
JOHN LEWIS, “SPEECH AT THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON” (28 AUGUST 1963)
We march today for jobs and freedom, but we have nothing to be proud of. For hundreds and thousands of our brothers are not here. For they are receiving starvation wages, or no wages at all. While we stand here, there are sharecroppers in the Delta of Mississippi who are out in the fields working for less than three dollars a day, twelve hours a day. While we stand here there are students in jail on trumped-up charges. Our brother James Farmer, along with many others, is also in jail. We come here today with a great sense of misgiving.
It is true that we support the administration’s civil rights bill. We support it with great reservations, however. Unless Title III is put in this bill, there is nothing to protect the young children and old women who must face police dogs and fire hoses in the South while they engage in peaceful demonstrations. In its present form, this bill will not protect the citizens of Danville, Virginia, who must live in constant fear of a police state. It will not protect the hundreds and thousands of people that have been arrested on trumped charges. What about the three young men, SNCC field secretaries in Americus, Georgia, who face the death penalty for engaging in peaceful protest?
As it stands now, the voting section of this bill will not help the thousands of black people who want to vote. It will not help the citizens of Mississippi, of Alabama and Georgia, who are qualified to vote, but lack a sixth-grade education. “One man, one vote” is the African cry. It is ours too. It must be ours!
We must have legislation that will protect the Mississippi sharecropper who is put off of his farm because he dares to register to vote. We need a bill that will provide for the homeless and starving people of this nation. We need a bill that will ensure the equality of a maid who earns five dollars a week in a home of a family whose total income is $100,000 a year. We must have a good FEPC bill.
My friends, let us not forget that we are involved in a serious social revolution. By and large, American politics is dominated by politicians who build their careers on immoral compromises and ally themselves with open forms of political, economic, and social exploitation. There are exceptions, of course. We salute those. But what political leader can stand up and say, “My party is the party of principles”? For the party of Kennedy is also the party of Eastland. The party of Javits is also the party of Goldwater. Where is our party? Where is the political party that will make it unnecessary to march on Washington?
Where is the political party that will make it unnecessary to march in the streets of Birmingham? Where is the political party that will protect the citizens of Albany, Georgia? Do you know that in Albany, Georgia, nine of our leaders have been indicted, not by the Dixiecrats, but by the federal government for peaceful protest? But what did the federal government do when Albany’s deputy sheriff beat Attorney C.B. King and left him half-dead? What did the federal government do when local police officials kicked and assaulted the pregnant wife of Slater King, and she lost her baby?
To those who have said, “Be patient and wait,” we have long said that we cannot be patient. We do not want our freedom gradually, but we want to be free now! We are tired. We are tired of being beaten by policemen. We are tired of seeing our people locked up in jail over and over again. And then you holler, “Be patient.” How long can we be patient? We want our freedom and we want it now. We do not want to go to jail. But we will go to jail if this is the price we must pay for love, brotherhood, and true peace.
I appeal to all of you to get into this great revolution that is sweeping this nation. Get in and stay in the streets of every city, every village and hamlet of this nation until true freedom comes, until the revolution of 1776 is complete. We must get in this revolution and complete the revolution. For in the Delta in Mississippi, in southwest Georgia, in the Black Belt of Alabama, in Harlem, in Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, and all over this nation, the black masses are on the march for jobs and freedom.
They’re talking about slow down and stop. We will not stop. All of the forces of Eastland, Barnett, Wallace, and Thurmond will not stop this revolution. If we do not get meaningful legislation out of this Congress, the time will come when we will not confine our marching to Washington. We will march through the South; through the streets of Jackson, through the streets of Danville, through the streets of Cambridge, through the streets of Birmingham. But we will march with the spirit of love and with the spirit of dignity that we have shown here today. By the force of our demands, our determination, and our numbers, we shall splinter the segregated South into a thousand pieces and put them together in the image of God and democracy. We must say: “Wake up America! Wake up!” For we cannot stop, and we will not and cannot be patient. | <urn:uuid:0c19c490-2a0e-4318-9edf-cb8f4e5ec761> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/lewis-speech-at-the-march-on-washington-speech-text/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280128.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00391-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958206 | 1,133 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Consider your motives before offering advice
Published 1:09 pm, Wednesday, September 4, 2013
The Book of Deuteronomy, 27:18, proclaims: "Cursed is he that makes the blind go astray."
The medieval French rabbinic commentator, Rabbi Shlomo Itzhaki (Rashi), wrote that this biblical verse is not to be taken literally, but rather to be understood as you are to "never provide bad advice to anyone who is inexperienced."
Rashi's notion, which became rabbinic law, is that advice must only be offered so that the information provided will help lead the other(s) on the right path.
The concern is that if the information is delivered with poor motive or clumsy words, then the recipient is likely to ignore the advice, and go astray by either making, or continuing, on a pathway of poor choices.
More InformationFact box
One of the sins for which we "beat our heart" on Yom Kippur is if we have given "bad advice." This is a ritual reminder that when we feel the impulse to give advice, we have to be extremely mindful of our intentions. Problematic intentions plant the seed for "bad advice."
Sometimes the impulse to advise comes from a place of personal disapproval and/or our desire to communicate our own bias. While our bias may be correct, we must think about how the advice will be taken.
By simply disapproving, we often do not procure the results we would hope.
When we give advice to a loved one, we need to be especially mindful of our intentions and be accountable and transparent in why we are offering the words we do.
Even if advice is offered with true love, if the result will be anger from the other person then we've been counter-productive.
The rabbinic dogma is that we are to "never pick up a twig to hit one's hand if we fear they will want to respond by picking up a club and hitting us on the head."
Consider the mundane example of advising a friend or loved one to not take that drink, have that cigarette or eat that cupcake.
If the delivery of your advice is to parade your own discipline, or it puts the recipient on the defensive, then the advice, while probably correct, becomes bad and ineffective.
This makes giving advice difficult.
We must examine our own motives and then adjust our words to achieve how it can best be heard. Advice must be offered with perceived love and support.
Pausing before giving advice to think it through, rather than speaking to reflect our own authority, is the better way to give advice. In this sense, advice is more accurately "counsel."
This pause also allows us to simply listen, rather than teach, which in many cases is all that our fellow human being wants.
Before we give advice, ask: "What's my motive for offering this advice and what is the likely response to my advice if offered?" An honest reflection to these two questions can help us avoid the need to repent for our "sin."
As we enter our New Jewish Year: "May God bless you and keep you; May God cause the divine light to shine upon you and be gracious to you; May God turn toward you, and grant you peace -- Amen" Shanah Tovah Umetukah -- A Happy, Healthy & Peaceful New Year!!
Rabbi Mitchell M. Hurvitz is Senior Rabbi at Temple Sholom of Greenwich,co-founder of the Sholom Center for Interfaith Learning and Fellowship and a past-president of the Greenwich Fellowship of Clergy. For an archive of past Greenwich Citizen Columns, please visit www.templesholom.com. | <urn:uuid:c21b6040-81d3-436c-9d6e-a4ee92adb23c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.greenwichtime.com/opinion/article/Consider-your-motives-before-offering-advice-4786296.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282926.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00397-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948929 | 767 | 2.21875 | 2 |
April 24, 2018
Acts 8:32-40…“Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus.” vs. 35
If we were to share the good news about Jesus with someone, we probably wouldn’t start with a passage from Isaiah. It would be a lot easier to go straight to one of the gospels. But Philip didn’t have a New Testament–the gospels hadn’t been written yet. But he firmly believed that the Hebrew scriptures were a jumping off point for telling the story of Jesus’ life and he was right. Early believers had found dozens of connections, and studying those passages became a central part of Christian worship and education. It really wasn’t possible for them to know and understand Jesus’ life and teachings without looking at the scriptures that were the foundation of his ministry. Jesus was a Jew and his whole mission and ministry was guided by what he had learned from the law and the prophets. The Ethiopian listened eagerly and the chariot ride was long. When Philip wrapped up the lesson with the story of resurrection and new life, his pupil was ready to be baptized and join the community of believers. In later years, meetings like this proliferated and the gospel spread rapidly through Africa, Asia, and Europe. In every place where the good news of love and forgiveness was proclaimed hungry hearts were satisfied and thousands came to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the incarnate Word of God.
Thought for the Day: What do the Hebrew scriptures teach me about Jesus? | <urn:uuid:9da2f3f9-d980-4840-aa2d-a109fdaf525f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://spiritinthedesert.org/daily-devotions-april-24-2018/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570767.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808061828-20220808091828-00475.warc.gz | en | 0.9856 | 327 | 2.140625 | 2 |
People who use extended wear contact lenses increase the risk of developing corneal ulcers tenfold.
Although users are told that the lenses can be worn continuously for up to 14 days, studies have shown that they are not as sterile as first believed.
Now a new study has underlined the risks of ulcers. Eleven wearers, with an average age of 26 and who had worn their lenses continuously for between two and 12 days, had 13 corneal ulcers.
They sought medical care between one and four days, and all had used their lenses correctly.
They were all treated with quinolones, and vision returned to normal in every case.
Researchers reckon that ulceration may occur in about one in 5,000 extended wear lens users, which is about 10 times the level for daily wear lens users.
People who have a history of corneal ulceration should not wear the extended wear lenses, and those who do develop ulcers should be treated with topical broad spectrum antibacterials.
Doctors have been urged to ask patients if they are contact lens users should they complain about sudden, unexplained painful eyes. | <urn:uuid:1400994c-28ea-4934-9363-2407d16075c2> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.wddty.com/news/1995/03/ulcers-likely-with-new-contact-lens.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719677.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00560-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980052 | 233 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Prague, 30 December 1996 (RFE/RL) - This was the year that the European Union (EU) was supposed to have moved steadily and confidently toward the basic internal structural reforms that will allow it to open its doors to candidate nations from Central and Eastern Europe.
Once those reforms were accomplished, high EU officials said repeatedly, the Union would soon begin negotiations on full membership with some or all of the Eastern states already closely associated with it -- Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
But attempts at basic EU reforms failed spectacularly in 1996. A special EU Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC) began in March and was given 15 months to complete its work. The IGC had been decreed by the 1993 Maastricht Treaty that turned the European Community into a Union, and its task was to review Maastricht and propose additional reforms in the form of a new treaty. Ever since its inception, the conference has been bogged down in discord and inertia.
The IGC was originally advertised as "midwife-ing" the birth of what EU officials optimistically called "Maastricht Two." The officials said it would do so by agreeing on important changes in the powers of the Union's three chief institutions -- the popularly-elected Parliament, the appointed Executive Commission and, perhaps most important, the Council of Ministers of its current 15 member states. Members had especially to agree on new, complex and controversial voting procedures that would allow the EU to cope with an expansion to almost double its present size within a decade.
Meeting at least twice a month -- sometimes with mid-level officials, sometimes with ministers -- the IGC has been unable to come anywhere near these objectives during its first nine months of existence. The conference was supposed to conclude at the end of June 1997 with a treaty all 15 members could sign.
But now there is talk of the IGC continuing at least through October, and perhaps longer. Several weeks ago, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl -- the EU's most fervent federalist -- even publicly suggested that if the IGC continued to prove infertile, it should simply be adjourned permanently and another conference scheduled before the year 2000. He later retracted the remark, but it was understood as a clear reflection of the pessimism now prevalent within the EU.
What accounts for the IGC's failure to date? Analysts and EU officials cite several factors. Foremost among them, perhaps, is the loss of federalist momentum within the Union that began with the painful birth of the Maastricht Treaty itself. Maastricht was signed in the Dutch city after which is named in late 1991.
But it took two strenuous years -- including dangerously narrow positive margins in two national referenda (Denmark and France) -- for the treaty to be fully ratified. By that time, the peoples of the EU had woken up to the fact that they would soon be asked to given up their national currencies, some of their national prerogatives and, many imagined, their very national identities.
That, in no small part, explains the resurgence in national interests that has overtaken the EU in recent years and has so far rendered the IGC an exercise in futility. A change in leadership has also contributed to the loss of the EU's integrationist momentum.
France's Jacques Delors, for a decade (1984-94) the most activist and federal-minded president ever of the EU's Commission, gave way to Luxembourg's Jacques Santer, a well-meaning caretaker wary of any major initiative. It was Santer, nevertheless, who three months ago told the European Parliament that expansion to the East will "come to nothing (if the Union) does not provide a solution to the institutional problems posed by enlargement."
In addition, the generally bleak West European economic climate of the past several years also slowed down federalist momentum and made basic EU reforms a secondary issue for many member governments. With a high Union-wide unemployment rate -- over 10 percent today -- and low growth rates, governments must respond to their own dissatisfied peoples before they can even consider EU priorities.
As a result, power in the EU has devolved away from its headquarters in Brussels to the capitals of some its larger member states -- notably, Bonn, Paris and London. It's no accident that early in the year Britain was able to paralyze the EU in retaliation for Brussels' sanctions over its responsibilities for exporting "Mad Cow Disease." Significantly, too, France and Germany -- traditionally, the Union's bilateral integrationist motor -- are now virtually its only source of new ideas or reasonable compromises.
The trouble is, Franco-German relations are now at their lowest level in recent memory. One reason is a personality conflict, or at least a misfit. Since the election of French President Jacques Chirac 19 months ago, Chancellor Kohl has been unable to build the kind of constructive relation he had with Chirac's predecessor, Francois Mitterrand, and continues to have with other world statesmen like the United States' Bill Clinton and Russia's Boris Yeltsin. But current Franco-German difficulties go beyond personalities and reflect profound cultural as well as political differences.
Thus, France under Gaullist Chirac -- like Britain, the EU's perennial odd-man-out -- wants to preserve the power of the individual nation-state, and is therefore wary of changes in voting procedures. Germany's Kohl wants a more federal Europe in which EU member states reach more decisions through majority voting. Kohl wants to increase the powers of the European Parliament, Chirac wants to enhanced powers given to members' national parliaments.
Chirac wants to introduce an employment clause -- a so-called "social chapter" -- into the new EU Treaty, but Kohl does not. Chirac is for EU foreign affairs being handled by a figurehead, a "Mr. Europe." Kohl wants the secretary-general of the EU's Council of Ministers, a bureaucrat whose name is hardly a household word, to become a kind of EU foreign minister.
Growing Franco-German differences came to a sort of a head this month when, after no less than four separate Kohl-Chirac meetings in a fortnight, the two countries were unable to agree on a mechanism to regulate the European Monetary Union (EMU), due to begin in two years. Kohl, backed by a German Mark-proud electorate, wanted strict automatic rules that would sanction EMU members whose economies strayed from the prescribed path.
Chirac, worried about his country's slow economic growth, wanted decisions on sanctions to be taken against errant EMU members to be political, not to be automatically invoked by central bankers. Only an 11th-hour, face-saving compromise at last week's EU summit in Dublin kept the Franco-German quarrel from exploding in public. But there are other contentious issues between them that could provoke explosions in the future.
Basic internal EU reform is impossible without Franco-German agreement. Even with such accord, it will be difficult and long, as the protracted IGC has shown. In the very best of scenarios, if the Union does agree on structural reforms next year, 2002 is the earliest possible moment for the entry of one or more Central European nations into the EU.
But the year that is now coming to a close has shown that the best possible scenario is far from probable. More likely, the internal disagreements and general lack of momentum the EU has shown in 1996 will continue unabated -- and continue to frustrate the ambitions of Central and East European nations seeking early EU membership. In Brussels these days, there is talk among officials of the year 2005 being the earliest possible "realistic" entry date. Clearly, 1996 has not proved to be a happy year for those in the East yearning for quick integration with the EU. | <urn:uuid:c90dcde5-9d92-4cbc-b67a-6cfb458625e1> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.rferl.org/a/1082745.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284411.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00460-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966412 | 1,621 | 1.75 | 2 |
Je tu Rab nu manana, nusrat qawwali AshaMan
Je Tu Rab Nu (Full)
This is a brilliant sufi qawwali. There is a short version but this is way better.
hi how r u ? i like to know that who has wrote down this qawali ? can u be of any help
Have no idea but its about Bulleh Shah, the great sufi
Will someone be kindly translate this brilliant Qawali – Je Tu Rab Nu Manana? I enjoy it so much and will like to understand it better.
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Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. | <urn:uuid:71e1a008-c9b0-471f-948e-c3779e1c0fd5> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://nfalikhan.wordpress.com/2008/08/01/je-tu-rab-nu-manana-ae-full/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280761.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00089-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.822076 | 227 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Rail freight company Aurizon and Gina Rinehart's part-owned Queensland coal company have agreed on a rail solution to develop the Galilee Basin as part of a $6 billion plan.
The rail and port development aims to unlock the Galilee Basin coal reserves and help support the next phase of coal growth in the Bowen Basin.
Aurizon and Mrs Rinehart's joint-venture company, GVK Hancock, plan to develop and manage a port and rail project with the capacity to ship 60 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).
Under the newly agreed proposed rail solution, 300km of track will be constructed before connecting into existing Aurizon infrastructure.
This will also allow a phased development at the Abbot Point T3 terminal and reduce initial cost of infrastructure.
The joint venture partners have not released figures on the transaction but said the southern rail connection would be able to carry trains of up to 25,000 tonnes and be open to other miners.
The projects involve a new rail project and a development right for a coal terminal at Abbot Point, near the town of Bowen.
"Collectively the proposed development of the rail and port infrastructure is expected to attract an investment for Queensland in the order of $6 billion and provide over 1,300 jobs during construction and around 300 long-term jobs once operational," a joint statement said.
Aurizon shares gained five cents to $4.74.
Under the proposed framework, Aurizon will acquire a 51 per cent interest in Hancock Coal Infrastructure Pty Ltd (HCI), which owns GVK Hancock's rail and port projects.
Chairman of GVK, Dr G V Krishna Reddy, said the company had spent a considerable amount of time with the senior management of Aurizon over the past few months.
"This milestone symbolises our common vision and I look forward to progressing this historic infrastructure development with Aurizon," Mr Reddy said.
Aurizon managing director Lance Hockridge said the agreement brought the partners a step closer to providing the primary rail and port solution for the Galilee.
"We're pleased this also aligns with government objectives - getting early tonnes out of the Galilee, at lower cost," he said. | <urn:uuid:3d52b111-3315-4124-95ea-85b00f080c8e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.smh.com.au/breaking-news-business/aurizon-and-gvk-hancock-agree-on-rail-20131125-2y56z.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281151.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00108-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946451 | 452 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Although they are typically despised, textbooks are often sought after by many students. Textbooks are often hated, but they are needed. In many cases, students would always look for affordable options to get their books. Many textbooks can be hard to find and it is important for students to look for local sources. It is also an unfortunate fact that many local bookstores near college tend to inflate the prices during the start of new semester. There are methods we can choose to not only save us time but our money. The best way to find cheap textbook is through the Internet. The online realm is known for its power, versatility and speed. Browsing for proper textbook can be performed from the comfort of our dorm room. In many cases, we should be able to receive our textbook in a matter of days.
Compared to local bookstores, online sellers often provide with much larger variety. The whole process should be quite easy and if we are serious enough about buying textbook online, we should be able to save big money. In this case, we should get the textbook we need easily and quickly. We should make a list of textbooks required by our college. Details may include title, authors, edition and ISBN number. Often, we could quickly locate a rare textbook by entering its ISBN (International Standard Book Numbering). ISBN is usually found in introduction page and the back cover of the book. Buying textbook online would only require us a device with internet access, such as computer, tablet and laptop.
In this case, we should get our debit and credit cards out. Some online sellers are also able to accept PayPal payments. We should do proper research and make sure that we are dealing with the proper vendor. We should check their websites and make sure that they look reliable. Book sellers should be located in the same country, preferably in the same state or even city. We should know how long will it take for us to get our order. If we can’t find the proper answer in the website, we should call their toll-free phone number and contact their email address. In this case, it is important for us to obtain all the details before we place our order.
We should spend enough time to understand about all the details, even before we search for the textbook. We don’t want to waste time looking for textbook in a website that is essentially made to scam people. Reputable online vendors should have worked with many satisfied students and it is also a good idea to ask other students about websites that they are using. After we have chosen our books, we should make sure that the website is using proper security methods. As an example, the website must have SSL encryption and we shouldn’t send our credit card or any kind of payment information to a website that can’t guarantee our security. | <urn:uuid:9e34c186-072e-4ecf-b52e-4af3f8a8aa64> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.langsqueezer.com/how-students-could-find-cheap-textbook-online/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284405.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00033-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964837 | 572 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Prehistory refers to the time before written records. There are few written accounts about the people of Europe before the growth of the Roman Empire brought literacy to most of the region by AD 100, and although the ancient Greeks had traded with peoples in temperate Europe they knew little about them. As a result most of our knowledge about prehistoric Europe (up to AD 100) is derived from archaeology. Some objects on display here provide evidence for the exchange of raw materials like metals, amber and salt at this time. Others illustrate the spread of knowledge and cultural traditions in the region.
A display of highly polished jadeite axe heads with a geological source in the Western Alps shows how these items were found as far north as Scotland and and as far south as Sicily, illustrating that people moved long distances during the Neolithic Period. The technical advances in ceramics and metalwork are also illustrated. Cauldrons and horns on the end wall show that feasting and music was important to prehistoric societies and there are some fine examples of jewellery and metalwork on display in other cases. A display of coinage shows how Celtic mercenaries to Mediterranean armies took their pay home leading to the establishment of a system of currency.
One of the central displays focuses on how physical principles such as leverage and tension were applied in prehistoric societies. The use of bows and spears in hunting is investigated and an interactive activity gives you a chance to see how good your judgement is for projecting an arrow. Nearby you can try your hand at raising a large block of stone and discover the ideal point of leverage. Examples of other prehistoric tools and weapons are displayed such as deer antlers which were adapted to be used as picks.
By the end of this period most of Europe had become part of the Roman Empire. As you leave the gallery there is a display of Roman coins with depictions of how the Romans viewed the people they had conquered. | <urn:uuid:33fda802-d3b3-4585-bd37-8f309148191b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.ashmolean.org/european-prehistory-gallery | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572161.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815054743-20220815084743-00466.warc.gz | en | 0.975464 | 383 | 4.03125 | 4 |
The selection of the proper catalyst for a new process is not straightforward. Particularly in the field of chiral catalysis, the need for catalyst screening is essential to identify the most active and selective catalyst for the enantioselective transformation. The push to shorten development times, InCatT uses different robotic platforms to speed up the catalyst identification process.
Every catalyst screening is tailor-made to the requirements of the customer. Requirements like use of off-patent catalyst, cheap catalysts, screen commercial or in-house catalysts are all possible. Besides catalyst screening, we also offer our high pressure infrastructure (20 Liter autoclave) for third party production campaigns.
InCatT has developed its’ own privileged catalysts for asymmetric hydrogenation. The METAMORPhos ligands and UREAPhos ligands show great potential for some of the most challenging substrates in asymmetric hydrogenation. With our own developed catalyst systems we have developed production processes to obtain unnatural (fluorinated) amino acids, β-amino acids, 2-amino tetralins and Roche ester and their derivatives.
InCatT B.V. (short for Innovative Catalyst Technologies) is a privately held company founded in 2009 based in The Netherlands as a spin-off company of the University of Amsterdam. The company has developed in an all-round catalysis research company able to tackle most catalytic problems. Each member of the management team has more than 20 years’ experience in homogeneous catalysis.
I have contacted InCatT B.V. with a request to develop new catalytic
processes based on hydroformylation chemistry for the development of
scalable technology for manufacture of perfumery raw materials. Our
new process should perform in the presence of typical diene poisons
and meet the stringent economical requirements that we have set.
Within just 6 weeks, a robust catalytic conversion was delivered that
met all requirements and scale-up in just 3 months at a manufacturing
partner. After this project we have worked together on many different
catalyst development projects. I really enjoyed InCatT’s
proactive approach to solve problems together with the fast and clear
reporting. InCatT’s customer oriented approach resulted in a fruitful
collaboration over the last years. | <urn:uuid:7851398f-5136-4149-9849-a457904fef90> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.incatt.nl/ | 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 | 0.929447 | 480 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Recently, my friend Bob approached me with an idea. He has decided that he wants to become a medical coder. When he first told me he was interested in exploring coding as a career, I didn’t really think he knew what he was talking about. As Bob itemized the reasons for his interest however, I became more and more convinced it could work.
Bob told me he’s looking for:
- Something challenging that will stretch his brain.
- Something he could potentially do from a home office.
- Something in demand in the market.
- Something he could train for in a year or less.
- Something for which the training expense was affordable for him ($2000 or less.)
Knowing this gentleman fairly well, I think the characteristics he has that will potentially make him a good candidate to train for a coding career are:
- Enjoys reading.
- Has the ability to focus on details.
- Has the ability to retain details.
- Has good communication skills for interacting with physicians, patients & insurance companies.
- Has good computer skills.
- Has an interest in healthcare.
Bob had thought it through pretty well so I agreed to research programs and help him choose one. We narrowed the field down to certificate/diploma programs as he is unwilling to spend the time and money to obtain an associates degree at this point in his life – he is an older adult learner.
I found many training programs out there – so many in fact that I think choosing one can be a time-consuming and potentially difficult task for anyone.
Here is how I chose a short-list of recommended training programs for my friend Bob. I looked for schools or programs that:
- Are accredited, either nationally or regionally or both, or have an established reputation.
- Provided clear, cohesive information online about the program details, tuition and what’s included in the certificate without having to complete any information or give my email address!
- Took no longer than one year.
- Looked legitimate online! (Subjective, I realize.)
Each of the following programs on my list met Bob’s basic requirements, but varied greatly in cost, time to complete and comprehensiveness.
|Program Name||AverageProgramCost||Add’lFees**||Pymt.Plan||Anatomy& Term.Included***||#MonthstoComplete||AssociatedTestAuthority||AccreditationNational orRegional|
|AHIMA||$2000||Y||Y||N||15||AHIMA||N & R|
|Blackstone||$1442||N||Y||Y||6-12||AAPC, AHIMA||N & R|
|Career Step||$2200||N||Y||Y||4-12||AAPC, AHIMA||None found|
|Medical Mgmt Institute||$1100||Y||Y||Y||2-4||AAPC, ARHCP||None found|
|Penn Foster||$1750||Y||Y||Y||6||AAPC, AHIMA||N & R|
|Practice Mgmt Institute||$999||Y||Y||N||1||Own exam||None found|
|US Career Institute||$1279||Y||N||Y||4-12||AAPC, AHIMA||N|
*AAPC price includes the certification exam
**Additional fees may include books (procedure & diagnosis) and membership fees
***Most programs either require or strongly recommend a prerequisite of Anatomy & Physiology and Medical Terminology
Bob’s list is not intended to be an all-inclusive one. I spent a significant amount of time researching programs, but I could have gone much deeper, given an unlimited amount of time. I called the programs listed above to verify basic information, but I recommend program-seekers take it further.
Other criteria that I am advising Bob to include in his final review are:
- How long has the school been in business and how long has it offered medical coding education?
- What is the pass rate of students taking the various certification exams?
- What are the interest rates on payment plans?
- Is any financial aid offered?
- Who are the instructors and what are their qualifications?
- What student support is offered? Online chat with teacher or other students? Externships? Time extensions available?
- Would classes transfer as credits to an associates or bachelors degree if I decided to continue my education?
- Is there a refund policy if I decide that coding is not for me?
- Is the online course compatible with a Mac?
- How is the course provided? Online interactive/non-interactive modules? Online videos? DVDs? Workbooks?
- Are there module or chapter tests? Is there an end of program test to pass to receive the certificate? What grade or test score constitutes passing?
- Is a certification exam included in the price of the training program? Are exam retakes included?
- How deeply does the course dive into ICD-10?
- Do these programs prepare you to take certification exams from the:
- American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC)
- American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)
- International Association of Registered Health Care Professionals (ARHCP)
- National Healthcare Association (NHA)
Additionally, I am recommending that Bob research local schools in his county and state that offer online programs. Many state universities and community colleges offer great values in coding programs for state residents. Bob should look for websites that list and describe all the coding training programs offered by his state university and community college systems.
Next time: what program did Bob choose? | <urn:uuid:01bf37c2-e32b-411d-92fd-0b7df748e0ad> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://managemypractice.com/tales-of-a-coder-part-i-choosing-an-online-medical-coding-training-program/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718296.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00539-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940445 | 1,207 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Our regularly scheduled event for Easter/Spring break has been
cancelled due to the COVID-19 directive to practice Physical Distancing
and Stay at Home.
In its place the Easter Bunny delivered an Easter bunny cookie
decorating kit and fun stay-at-home game suggestions to each
member of Happyland.
COVID-19 is a flu-like virus that spreads from person to person very
easily and can make some people very sick. Some people can die from
it. Unlike the flu, there is no “flu shot” for COVID-19 to prevent people
from getting sick.
COVID-19 virus is spread from person to person when a person with
the virus talks, coughs or sneezes while standing too close to a person
without the virus.
Doctors are working to find a vaccine to stop the spread of COVID-19.
For the time being we can each help to stop the spread of COVID-19 by
If it is not safe to stay home, phone ____________ and they will help you
come up with a safe solution.
If you or a family member have to go outside for exercise, a walk or to
grocery shop we can all stay safe by practicing “physical distancing”.
Physical distancing is a rule that says people who do not live in the
same household must stay at least 2 metres apart from one another at
2 metres is the same as 6 feet. It is about as tall as a professional
basketball player or about as long as two baseball bats laid down end-
to-end, or two garden shovels laid down end-to-end. | <urn:uuid:d1dfad3d-2b86-4e33-821d-03c0efb29c44> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://happylandevents.com/kids-%26-parents | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571198.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810161541-20220810191541-00269.warc.gz | en | 0.961718 | 362 | 1.859375 | 2 |
"Seeing your child in distress, and particularly if that distress is directed at you, is the most dysregulating experience there is. Wild, out of control thoughts of epic disaster come unbidden. Rage, self doubt and other destructive feelings quickly cloud your thinking. What if you could work to push those thoughts aside, and in a way analogous to meditation, concentrated on being in the moment, concentrated on remembering to breathe? It would help you focus on your child, and on the immediate task before you rather than its global implications."
When our child acts out, lashes out, or is simply in distress, it's natural for us to panic. We're plunged into "fight, flight or freeze" because it feels
like an emergency. And if our child's distress is directed at us, then he looks like the enemy.
But it's natural for children to have big feelings, and to act them out. If we "lose it" when our child gets upset, we give her the message that her feelings
aren't permitted, which doesn't help her learn to regulate her emotions. Worse, we're saying that we can't control ourselves until she controls herself!
Whether she's 5 or 15, that's not what we want to model.
Of course, we know that we can handle any parenting situation better from a state of calm. But when we're in the grip of strong emotions, we aren't thinking.
We can't help ourselves.
Or can we? What if there were three steps that would help you shift back into calm, AND keep your child from getting upset as often? There are.
STEP 1: Get Your Own Emotions Regulated
STOP, DROP, BREATHE
STOP, DROP whatever else you're doing and BREATHE deeply.
Reduce the pressure
Remind yourself that there is no emergency. No one is dying.
Change Your Thoughts
Say a little mantra in your mind: "She's acting like a child because she IS a child. I'm the grown-up here."
Physically release your tension
Notice where you're holding tension in your body and shake it out. Take a deep breath and blow it out. Make a loud (but nonthreatening) sound. Often, water
helps ground us. Hold your hands under running water, or get a drink of water.
Be Here Now.
If you can bring yourself into the present moment, your upset will drop away. That's because when we're upset, we're actually over-reacting -- we're triggered
from the past ("My parents would have smacked me for saying such a thing!") or frightened of the future ("My child is going to be a sociopath!"). In
this moment, if you can let all that go, there's no emergency.
Step 2: Shift the Energy
Make things emotionally safe.
Say "We're having a hard time, Sweetie. Let's try a Do-Over."
Acknowledge your child's perspective. "Seems like you want ______. "
Find the common ground.
"You need _____And I need _______. What can we do to solve this?"
In this moment, what action would be healing? Anything else can wait.
Help your child get emotionally regulated.
Kids usually do this best by crying in the safety of our arms/presence. Now that you're calm, you can offer your compassion to help him feel safe enough
to cry. Breathe your way through this, reminding yourself that his tears are his way of opening his heart to reconnecting.
Step 3: Learn the Lesson
When you're calm, reflect on what you can learn from what happened. How can you support yourself to stay more emotionally regulated? (Allow more time,
get more sleep, fewer commitments, see things from your child's perspective?)
Later, when you and your child feel calm and connected, say "We had a hard time today, didn't we? I'm sorry I got upset. I guess I was worried. I am working hard not to yell. What can each of us do differently next time?"
If this is a recurring situation, make a list of possible solutions and start trying them. Life is too short to endure the same problems over and over
You won't remember these steps in the heat of the moment. Why not print out a little cheat sheet and carry it around with you? A few months of practice,
and you won't even remember the last time you lost your temper.
See this article in Portuguese.
See this article in Spanish. | <urn:uuid:8c659396-7613-4336-a934-c63705d83f1e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.ahaparenting.com/blog/3_Steps_to_Stay_Calm_When_Your_Child_Isnt | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279489.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00017-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961895 | 953 | 2.296875 | 2 |
A lot of graduate recruiters do their first interview over phone. Telephone interview is a devise for recruiter to measure whether you are serious for the job or not and make a decision whether or not to take you ahead through application process. Questions are more probably to focus on general competences and skill. Aim is to try to illustrate enthusiasm and commitment in short conversation.
Positive thing about phone interviews is that they are rapid and more suitable for both you and interviewer than arranging initial meeting face-to-face. If job you are applying for relies as much on personality or telephone abilities as on qualifications and experience, recruiter will be mainly interested in how you come across. Though, phone interviews can be tricky as neither party can see other, so common visual clues are absent.
It is normal to be anxious before telephone interview, but it will actually help if you know you have done groundwork. Ensure you discover as much as you can about recruiter. Read job description cautiously and think about how you match selection criteria. Note down any questions you may like to enquire, also plan answers to those questions you believe are probable to come up – specially questions like ‘Tell me about yourself’ and ‘What interests you in job?
Practise before interview
As we all heard practice makes perfect. Any knowledge you have of using phone in professional context will assist, for instance temporary telesales job, research during work experience or voluntary fundraising. If you sense you require more experience to make confidence, ask friend, a relative or someone at the careers service to assist. They will be able to provide you feedback on how you come across by phone.
You could also trace yourself so that you can take note and recognize any problems, like speaking too quietly or quickly.
Control your environment
Turn off television. Let your housemates make out what is going on and request them to leave room and provide you some peace and quiet. Use speakerphone only if you are sure there will be no disruption and you are at ease with this mode of using phone. You can sit next to table or desk with notes, copy of the application or CV, interview details and pen and paper to hand. Place them into good order so that you can effortlessly reach for information you want to refer to.
Before you dial, take couple of deep breaths and smile. It will demonstrate in your voice. You will forget about nerves once you are focused on interview. Speak clearly and at reasonable pace. If you are asked difficult question, take time to consider you can forever say something such as, 'Let me just think on that for moment,' to acquire time.
Respond the phone professionally: Greet him/her' must do trick. Talk to your interviewer as Miss, Mrs or Mr unless invited to use his or her first name. Be lively and excited, but respectful. Do not be over familiar and do not start chatting as if you were talking to friend. Keep in mind to listen cautiously and try to be concise. It is improbable that you will need to ring in to interview, but if you are ringing in, reflect beforehand what you will speak so that you do not mess up it
Remember this is only initial round
Do enquire questions at end, but this is not time for conversation about training, salary and start dates. You may discover that telephone interviewer is working on behalf of employer to do early screen of applicants and can’t reply thorough questions about job and company. If you progress to next stage, you will have possibility to assess company in more depth.
If you can, write down notes during interview, or note down what you can keep in mind about questions and answers right away afterwards, as it is still fresh. It will be useful record to refer to when you go through to next stage.
In telephone interview turn off:
plenty of background noise: cafes are not at all good place to take interview call.
Chewing and slurping: have glass of water close by just in case mouth goes dried out mid call, but do not eat or drink proper during taking part in telephone interview.
Taking other calls or responding to texts: switch off mobile if you are using landline; switch off landline if you are using your mobile. or go to another room.
Being too laid back, literally: Do not slump on couch; sit up straight, as it will assist you sense and sound more confident and alert. Some people discover taking calls standing up right away gives energy to conversation. | <urn:uuid:4ee2d523-f964-4ae5-9089-4976020d4bfe> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.tutorsglobe.com/blog/effectively-show-your-calibre-to-ace-critical-telephonic-interview-767.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279489.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00013-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955005 | 916 | 1.898438 | 2 |
On the Relationship Between Horizontal Organization of Precipitating Systems, Easterly Waves and Gulf Surges
Gustavo Pereira, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO; and S. A. Rutledge
Despite the fact that some recent studies have pointed to a relationship between easterly wave troughs and the occurrence of Gulf surges (Stensrud et al., 1997), this relationship has not yet been quantified. A conceptual model for the initiation of Gulf Surges was proposed by Rogers (2005), where convective evaporative cooling near the south-central part of the Gulf of California (GOC) induces a northward propagating linear Kelvin wave-like disturbance along the west facing slopes of the Sierra Madre Occidental. We are interested in examining possible relationships between the size and structure of the convective systems and their ability to drive this dynamical mechanism. It is hypothesized that easterly waves play a major role in organizing convective activity near the south central part of the GOC. Hence, understanding the organization of convection during different phases of the easterly wave and its relationship to Gulf surge initiation is of paramount importance for operational forecasting and cloud modeling. The horizontal organization of precipitating systems during NAME (North American Monsoon Experiment) is examined in this study using composite data from three radars located near the GOC. This study focuses on the relationship between the horizontal organization modes of precipitating systems in south-central part of the GOC, easterly wave troughs and gulf surges. There were approximately 15 easterly waves and two gulf surges during the NAME Extensive Observation Period. One Gulf surge initiated in the central part of the GOC, while the other initiated further south and coincident with the passage of Tropical Storm Blas near the mouth of the GOC.
Poster Session 2, The North American Monsoon
Tuesday, 25 April 2006, 1:30 PM-5:00 PM, Monterey Grand Ballroom
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What do the lamb of God and White Buffalo Woman have in common? For one thing, they illustrate the sometimes-blurry intersection of humans, animals, and the divine; for another, they illustrate the powerful role played by animals in the religious imagination. As the French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss once remarked, ?animals are good to think.? As others have pointed out, they?re also good to eat, ride, look at, hunt, train for battle, make things out of, and keep as companions. In religion, animals have additionally served as sacrificial offerings, totems, signifiers of purity and pollution, and foreshadowers of the apocalypse. In this class students begin to trace the vast interplay between human and non-human animals in the history of religion. Drawing from the emerging field of Critical Animal Studies, Japanimals weaves together rigorous critical theoretical inquiry with case studies drawn broadly from the history of religions, with a particular focus on case studies from Japan. Students emerge from this course able to articulate how different religious traditions have viewed animals, how religions have influenced modern conceptions of animals, and how religious traditions may (or may not) provide resources for addressing contemporary challenges facing human and non-human animals.
Prerequisites: One course in Religion or permission of the instructor. | <urn:uuid:143e5bf0-ac95-416c-9cde-78d48e70162c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.pugetsound.edu/ajax/peoplesoft-course/?id=1276 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280242.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00071-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925749 | 266 | 3.484375 | 3 |
- Research article
- Open Access
A cautionary note regarding count models of alcohol consumption in randomized controlled trials
BMC Medical Research Methodology volume 7, Article number: 9 (2007)
Alcohol consumption is commonly used as a primary outcome in randomized alcohol treatment studies. The distribution of alcohol consumption is highly skewed, particularly in subjects with alcohol dependence.
In this paper, we will consider the use of count models for outcomes in a randomized clinical trial setting. These include the Poisson, over-dispersed Poisson, negative binomial, zero-inflated Poisson and zero-inflated negative binomial. We compare the Type-I error rate of these methods in a series of simulation studies of a randomized clinical trial, and apply the methods to the ASAP (Addressing the Spectrum of Alcohol Problems) trial.
Standard Poisson models provide a poor fit for alcohol consumption data from our motivating example, and did not preserve Type-I error rates for the randomized group comparison when the true distribution was over-dispersed Poisson. For the ASAP trial, where the distribution of alcohol consumption featured extensive over-dispersion, there was little indication of significant randomization group differences, except when the standard Poisson model was fit.
As with any analysis, it is important to choose appropriate statistical models. In simulation studies and in the motivating example, the standard Poisson was not robust when fit to over-dispersed count data, and did not maintain the appropriate Type-I error rate. To appropriately model alcohol consumption, more flexible count models should be routinely employed.
Count outcomes are common in randomized studies of alcohol treatment. Subjects may be queried about their daily consumption of alcohol, measured as a number of drinks over a recent period (typically 30 days), and these values are used to estimate average drinking per day. In this setting, estimating differences between treatment group and control group is of primary interest.
A challenge in modeling consumption outcomes is to appropriately account for the distribution of drinking. These distributions are characterized by a large number of zeros (abstinent subjects) along with a long right tail (heavy drinking subjects). An extensive literature describes models for counts [2–8], and they have been commonly applied in economic analyses, traffic accidents, and health services utilization. Many routines are now available in general purpose statistical software (e.g. Stata) . A natural model for counts is the single-parameter Poisson distribution. One disadvantage of the Poisson is that it makes strong assumptions regarding the distribution of the underlying data (in particular, that the mean equals the variance). While these assumptions are tenable in some settings, they are less appropriate for alcohol consumption. Extensions of the Poisson, such as the over-dispersed Poisson, negative binomial and two stage (hurdle) or zero inflated models have been proposed [2–5].
Our methods are motivated by the analysis of the ASAP (Addressing the Spectrum of Alcohol Problems) study, a randomized clinical trial comparing a brief motivational interview to usual care for a sample of inpatients with unhealthy alcohol use at an urban hospital . These subjects were followed to see if there were differences in drinking outcomes that could be attributed to randomized group assignment.
In this paper, we will demonstrate the limitations of the standard Poisson model in the presence of over-dispersion. We begin by describing several count models for alcohol outcomes, compare their performance in a series of simulated randomized trials, apply them to the ASAP study, and conclude with some general recommendations.
Statistical methods for the analysis of count outcomes
We begin by introducing notation to be used throughout. Let Y ij denote the number of events for the jth subject (j = 1,..., n i ) in the ith group (i = 1, 2), where n i is the number of subjects in the ith group. Typically in a randomized trial n 1 and n 2 are approximately equal.
The Poisson distribution is one of the simplest models for count data. Let λ ij indicate the average number of events (in this case drinks consumed) in a given time interval for subject j in group i, where f(Y ij = k|λ ij ) is the probability of observing k events. The Poisson distribution [8, 10] is denoted:
for k = 0, 1, 2, ..., i = 1, 2, and j = 1,..., n i where λ ij > 0 and we assume that λ ij = λ i for all j (i.e. all subjects in a given group have the same rate of drinking). The λ parameter uniquely specifies this distribution, and is equal to the expected value (mean) and variance (i.e. E[Y ij ] = Var(Y ij ) = λ ij for all i and j). The maximum likelihood estimate (MLE) of i is given by i . In this setting, the test of randomized group effects for the Poisson model is a test of the null hypothesis that λ 1 = λ 2.
One limitation of this model is that it may be overly simplistic and may not provide an adequate fit to consumption data of the type that we consider. The constraint that the variance is equal to the mean may lead to incorrect test results.
Consider as an example the data from the ASAP study control group at 3 months. For this dataset, non-integer count values are possible. These arise when subjects consume a number of drinks not divisible by 30 (in the case of 30-day assessments). One approach in this situation would be to model the number of drinks consumed in a 30 day period, or utilize the non-integer values. Sometimes even the 30 day value is non-integer because people report a drink size that is then translated into standard drinks. The maximum likelihood estimates of the probability distributions remains the same for non-integer values, though it is necessary to move each non-integer observed value to the next integer (using a ceiling function) to be plotted. For the models that we discuss, we can plug non-integer values into the software and still get sensible results.
Figure 1 displays the observed distribution and superimposed Poisson with 1 = 1 = 4.98 using the prcounts routine in Stata . The axis for the number of drinks per day after 3 months was limited to 25 drinks to improve readability (the maximum observed count was 48.6). There is a pronounced lack of fit to this model, particularly for values of less than 10 drinks per day. For the ASAP data, the assumption that the mean is equal to the variance is not tenable. In fact, the observed variance (71.7) is more than an order of magnitude larger than the mean. Also, note that there is some evidence for digit preference (even numbers are more common than odd numbers).
One approach to loosen the restrictive variance assumption involves use of an empirical (or robust or sandwich) variance estimator [11–13] to account for the over-dispersion. This more flexible extension of the Poisson allows the variance to be unconstrained. The over-dispersed Poisson option is available in a number of general purpose statistics packages (e.g. the robust option in Stata).
where Γ(·) denotes the Gamma function, λ i > 0 and θ i > 0. We note that E[Y ij ] = λ i and Var(Y ij ) = λ i + * θ i = λ i * (1 + λ i * θ i ) for all i and j and that Var(Y ij ) > E[Y ij ]. It can be shown that the negative binomial can be derived in terms of a Poisson random variable where the parameter λ i varies according to a gamma distribution.
The negative binomial model is attractive because it allows the relaxation of strong assumptions regarding the relationship between the mean and the variance. This flexibility comes at some cost, since a two-parameter model is inherently more complicated to interpret.
Other models have been proposed that allow for an extra abundance of subjects with no consumption. In alcohol consumption outcomes, there may be subjects who are "non-susceptible" (e.g. abstinent). These "zero-inflation" (or "hurdle") models account for subjects who are structural zeros (e.g., abstinent subjects thought of as "non-susceptible") [2, 3]. Conditional on being susceptible (with some probability), the distribution is assumed to be Poisson or negative binomial.
Zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) models separately estimate a parameter p i that governs the proportion of non-susceptible subjects in the ith group:
for 0 <p i < 1 and λ i > 0 where I(k = 0) is equal to 1 when k = 0, and equal to 0 otherwise. By distinguishing Always-0 (with probability p i ) and Not Always-0 group (with probability (1 - p i ) * exp(-λ i )) for abstainers and drinkers who didn't drink during the reporting period, respectively, it can incorporate an overabundance of zeros . Conditional on being a Not Always-0, counts are given by the Poisson distribution. This approach has been generalized to a regression framework, and implemented in general purpose statistical software (e.g. zip in Stata).
In many settings, the assumption that after accounting for the zeros the remaining counts are Poisson may not be tenable. The zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) allows for over-dispersion in this manner, though at the cost of more parameters.
Another approach to the modeling of count data involves use of a linear model (assuming that the observations are approximately Gaussian). While this is an extremely flexible model that is typically robust to misspecification (since the mean and variance are not linked), the linear model is less attractive because it may predict negative values of drinking given the skewness of the distribution. Use of a linear model is also inefficient if the variance is a function of the mean.
To better understand the behavior of these methods in a known situation, we conducted a series of simulation studies with parameters derived from the motivating example. These simulation studies were designed to address the question of whether or not the models were robust to misspecification of the underlying count distribution. More formally, we wanted to assess whether these models preserved the appropriate Type-I error rate (the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis when it is true) when there are no true differences between groups (i.e. do they reject the null at the appropriate α level).
For each set of parameters within a simulation, 100 observations were generated in each of two groups, to mimic a randomized clinical trial setting. The amount of alcohol consumption, in drinks per day was the outcome. For each simulated dataset a series of models (Poisson, negative binomial and zero-inflated Poisson) were fit. This process was repeated 2500 times for each set of parameters, where E[Y i ] = λ = 5 (taken from the ASAP control group) and an α level of 0.05 was used. For the simulation of Poisson data the variance was equal to the mean. Negative binomial distributions were simulated using three arbitrary variances (13.3, 40 and 70), with the latter value comparable to the observed variance from the ASAP control group. The zero-inflated model had a probability of 0.2 of being a structural zero, and Poisson with λ = 5 otherwise. The true distributions for the simulations are displayed in Figure 2. Models were fit using the Poisson distribution, over-dispersed Poisson using an empirical variance estimator, negative binomial and zero inflated Poisson. We estimated the probability that each model rejected the null hypothesis and constructed a 99% confidence interval around this estimate. The code for the simulations is available upon request from the first author.
The ASAP study was a randomized clinical trial of the effectiveness of a brief motivational intervention on alcohol consumption among a group of hospitalized patients at Boston Medical Center. Details of the recruitment procedures, inclusion criteria, description of sample and results of the RCT have been published . The Institutional Review Board of Boston University Medical Center approved this study, and the Institutional Review Board of Smith College approved the secondary analyses. After consenting to enroll, all subjects received an interviewer-administered baseline assessment prior to randomization into the control or intervention group. Subjects were randomly assigned to control or intervention group using a blocked randomization procedure. Intervention subjects participated in a brief motivational interview with a counselor (less than half an hour). Control subjects received usual care.
Follow-up was planned at 3-month and 12-month timepoints. Because the subjects came from a transient and hard-to-reach population, the researchers employed exhaustive techniques to track subjects over the follow-up period. The two primary alcohol-related outcomes were measures of alcohol consumption and linkage to appropriate alcohol treatment; for these secondary analyses we focus solely on treatment differences in alcohol consumption. The outcome of interest was the average number of standard drinks consumed per day in the past thirty days as reported using the Timeline Followback method at the 3 and 12-month interviews. For the purpose of this secondary analysis we consider the 3 month time point; similar results were seen utilizing 12 month data (not reported here).
Eight models were fit comparing treatment to control for the ASAP study:
Poisson standard Poisson model,
Over-dispersed Poisson Poisson model with empirical ("robust") variance estimator,
NB negative binomial,
ZIP zero-inflated Poisson, shared inflation parameter estimated for both randomized groups (p 1 = p 2),
ZINB zero-inflated negative binomial, shared inflation parameter estimated for both randomized groups (p 1 = p 2),
TTEST two-sample unequal variance t-test,
WILCOXON Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney, a non-parametric two-sample comparison procedure suitable for ordinal data, and
PERMUTE two-sample permutation test.
In the simulation studies we assessed the behavior of models when the null hypothesis was true (there were no differences between alcohol consumption for groups 1 and 2). We note that the ZIP model failed to converge for more than a quarter of the simulations from the standard Poisson distribution. This is likely due to the fact that many datasets had no zeros whatsoever (for the Poisson distribution with λ = 5, the probability that a dataset has no zeros whatsoever is equal to (1 - exp(-5))100 = 0.51).
Table 1 displays the estimated Type I error rate (when there is no difference between the groups) when α was set to 0.05. The negative binomial model was conservative when the underlying data were zero-inflated. When the underlying distributions were not Poisson, the Poisson model did not maintain the appropriate Type I error rate. When the count models were over-dispersed by a factor of more than 2 (i.e. Var(Y i ) > 2 * E[Y i ]), the Poisson model rejected more than 22% of the time. When the over-dispersion was more extreme (factor of 8 and 14), the Type I error rate was 47% and 58%, respectively. The severe lack of robustness of the Poisson model in this setting is a serious concern.
Of 341 subjects enrolled in the clinical trial, 169 subjects were randomized to the control group and the other 172 into the intervention group. The mean age of the subjects was 44.3 (SD = 10.7). Twenty-nine percent were women, 45% were Black, 39% White, 9% Hispanic, and 7% Other. Sixty-three percent were unemployed during the past three months and 25% of the subjects were homeless at one point during the past three months. Four percent of the subjects met criteria for current (past year) alcohol abuse and 77% were alcohol dependent.
We analyze the 3-month follow-up data for which 271 subjects were observed (141 control, 130 treatment), for an overall response rate of 79%. Table 2 displays the distribution of drinks per day at baseline and 3-month follow-up separately for each group. As noted earlier, drinking outcomes are highly skewed to the right, with some extremely large values. These extreme values are plausible given the large number of dependent drinkers in the sample, many of whom have developed tolerance (the need to consume large amounts of alcohol to induce effects). We also note that reported drinking quantities decreased for both groups between baseline and 3-month outcome.
Table 3 displays the results from the ASAP study using a variety of count models. Use of the Poisson model yielded a statistically significant p-value, in contrast to the other methods (all other p-values > 0.45).
Figure 3 displays the observed and predicted counts for the Poisson, negative binomial, and ZIP models, while Figure 4 displays the plot of (observed minus expected) for the Poisson, negative binomial and ZIP models for the control group. The standard Poisson model provides an unsatisfactory fit, and is not appropriate for the analysis of this dataset. The fit of the zero-inflated Poisson is improved, particularly for modeling the probability of no drinking, but remains unsatisfactory over most of the remaining values. The negative binomial provides an excellent fit for these data, and that there is no indication that any further zero-inflation is needed, since the model already overpredicts zeros (hence the predicted values for the NB and ZINB would be identical).
In this setting, there was little indication from the observed plots that there were significant group differences. As seen in the simulation studies, the Poisson may not have preserved the appropriate Type I error rate due to the extremely large values of drinking for some subjects. The Appendix includes the Stata commands to fit these models and the output, along with the code to generate observed and predicted plots using the prcounts routine.
Discussion and conclusion
A number of models have been proposed for the analysis of count data, and these models are now available in general purpose statistical packages. We have described these methods in the context of modeling reports of alcohol consumption, where a large proportion of respondents report no drinking, and a small number of respondents typically account for an extreme amount of drinking.
For the analysis of the ASAP study, we found that the standard Poisson had an extremely poor fit, and yielded a statistically significant p-value (in contrast to all of the other models, which had highly non-significant results). The unrealistic assumption that the expected rate of drinking is the same for all subjects may partially account for the poor fit of the Poisson distribution. We caution against use of the Poisson for this analysis. The negative binomial fit particularly well, and we saw no evidence for zero-inflation.
In settings where there are excess zeros, zero-inflation models are attractive. One advantage of these models is that they can estimate the probability of being a zero as a function of covariates, as well as allowing the rate parameter to be a function of covariates. In an alcohol study, the intervention may be hypothesized to affect the abstinence proportion as well as the rate parameter for drinkers. Ad-hoc methods in this setting might involve estimating the proportion of drinkers at follow-up, and in a separate model, estimating the amount of drinking amongst the subset of subjects who reported any drinking. A more principled approach involves the simultaneous estimation of the zero-inflation factor (testing p 1 = p 2) and the rate parameter (testing λ 1 = λ 2). Slymen and colleagues adopted this approach by simultaneously fitting separate models for what they describe as the "logistic" component and the "Poisson" component, and this approach is also detailed in books by Winkelmann as well as Cameron and Trivedi .
The results of the simulation studies and the secondary analyses of the ASAP study demonstrated the importance of appropriately modeling count outcomes. We caution against the use of the standard Poisson model when the mean and variance are not equal. Extensions of the Poisson (incorporating an over-dispersion parameter or use of the negative binomial distribution and/or zero-inflated models) are now available in general purpose statistical software, and address many of the shortcomings of the overly simplistic Poisson model.
As always, analysts are obliged to look at their data and utilize models that provide an appropriate fit in their situation. In particular, for models of alcohol consumption, attention should be paid to the functional form of the outcome to ensure that underlying assumptions of the methods utilized are met.
Sobell LC, Sobell MB: Timeline follow-back: a technique for assessing self-reported alcohol consumption. Measuring Alcohol Consumption: Psychosocial and Biochemical Methods. Edited by: Litten RZ, Allen JP. 1992, Totowa: Humana Pr, Inc., 41-69.
Slymen DJ, Ayala GX, Arredondo EM, Elder JP: A demonstration of modeling count data with an application to physical activity. Epidemiologic Perspectives & Innovations. 2006, 3 (3): 1-9.
Lambert D: Zero-inflated Poisson regression, with an application to defects in manufacturing. Technometrics. 1992, 34: 1-14. 10.2307/1269547.
Cameron AC, Trivedi PK: Regression analysis of count data. 1998, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press
Gardner W, Mulvey EP, Shaw EC: Regression analyses of counts and rates: Poisson, overdispersed Poisson, and negative binomial models. Quantitative Methods in Psychology. 1995, 118 (3): 392-404.
Hilbe JM: Negative binomial regression: modeling overdispersed count data. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press in press
Winkelmann R: Econometric analysis of count data. 2003, Berlin: Springer-Verlag, fourth
Long JS, Freese J: Regression models for categorical dependent variables using Stata. 2003, Texas: Stata Press Publication
Saitz R, Freedner N, Palfai TP, Horton NJ, Samet JH: The severity of unhealthy alcohol use in hospitalized medical patients: the spectrum is narrow. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2006, 21 (4): 381-5. 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00405.x.
McCullagh P, Nelder JA: Generalized linear models. 1989, Chapman & Hall
Zeger SL, Liang KY: Longitudinal data analysis for discrete and continuous outcomes. Biometrics. 1986, 42: 121-130. 10.2307/2531248.
Liang KY, Zeger SL: Longitudinal data analysis using generalized linear models. Biometrika. 1986, 73: 13-22. 10.1093/biomet/73.1.13.
Huber PJ: The behavior of maximum likelihood estimates under non-standard conditions. Proceedings of the Fifth Berkeley Symposium on Mathematical Statistics and Probability. 1967, 1: 221-233.
Miller WR, Rollnick S: Motivational interviewing: Preparing people to change addictive behavior. 2002, New York: Guilford Press, second
Saitz R, Palfai TP, Cheng DM, Horton NJ, Freedner N, Dukes K, Kraemer KL, Roberts MS, Guerriero RT, Samet JH: Brief intervention for medical inpatients with unhealthy alcohol use: A randomized-controlled trial. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2007, 146 (3): 167-176.
The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/7/9/prepub
This research was supported in part by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism R01-AA12617, the Smith College Summer Research Program and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Thanks to Jessica Richardson for editorial assistance, Emily Shapiro and Min Zheng for assistance with simulations and Joseph Hilbe and Jeffrey Samet for helpful comments on an earlier draft.
NH conceived of the project and provided overall guidance, in addition to reviewing and interpreting analyses, and drafting the manuscript. EK participated in the drafting of the manuscript, and carried out analyses and simulations. RS led the ASAP study and participated in the drafting of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Horton, N.J., Kim, E. & Saitz, R. A cautionary note regarding count models of alcohol consumption in randomized controlled trials. BMC Med Res Methodol 7, 9 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-7-9
- Alcohol Consumption
- Negative Binomial Distribution
- Negative Binomial
- Unhealthy Alcohol
- Standard Poisson Model | <urn:uuid:f82707ee-6807-4d2f-961e-2185c85e5b13> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://bmcmedresmethodol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2288-7-9 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572127.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815024523-20220815054523-00273.warc.gz | en | 0.901048 | 5,365 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Optical fibres - Part 1-34: Measurement methods and test procedures - Fibre curl
Note: a redline version of this publication exists
IEC 60793-1-34:2021 RLV
- method A: side view microscopy;
- method B: laser beam scattering.
Both methods measure the radius of curvature of an uncoated fibre by determining the amount of deflection that occurs as an unsupported fibre end is rotated about the fibre's axis. Method A uses visual or digital video methods to determine the deflection of the fibre while method B uses a line sensor to measure the maximum deflection of one laser beam relative to a reference laser beam. By measuring the deflection behaviour of the fibre as it is rotated about its axis and understanding the geometry of the measuring device, the fibre's radius of curvature can be calculated from simple circular models, the derivation of which are given in Annex C. Both methods are applicable to type B optical fibres as described in IEC 60793 (all parts). Method A is the reference test method, used to resolve disputes. This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition published in 2006. This edition constitutes a technical revision. This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition:
- modification of several derivation equations for laser scattering;
- change of angular increment from 10° to 30° to 10° to 45°;
- change of Annex B from informative to normative.
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Please send your enquiry by email or call us on +41 22 919 02 11 between 09:00 – 17:00 CET Monday to Friday. | <urn:uuid:8066fd14-44e8-44c0-9944-c5d2e443e119> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://webstore.iec.ch/publication/64976 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00677.warc.gz | en | 0.899922 | 450 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Court adds one new case
The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to rule on a state prison inmate’s right to challenge in federal court when a new sentence has been imposed. The key issue is whether such a challenge is barred when it could have been pursued in an earlier habeas plea. The Court thus granted review of the first question in Magwood v. Culliver (09-158). In addition, the Court asked for the federal government’s views on an appeal by the Vatican, testing whether it is immune to damages lawsuits in U.S. courts for the sexual abuse of minors by priests in the U.S. That case was Holy See v. John Doe (09-1).
In a summary decision, the Court ruled that a defense attorney had not provided inadequate legal assistance to a California death row inmate in a murder case by carefully composing the offering of favorable evidence so as not to provide an opening for prosecutors to bring in evidence of an earlier brutal murder. The unsigned ruling in Wong v. Belmontes (08-1263) apparently will reinstate the death penalty against Fernando Belmontes, Jr., for a bludgeoning murder and a robbery in which the killer obtained $100 and used it to buy beer and drugs to consume that same night. The “Per Curiam” ruling — decided without formal briefing or oral argument — was tightly confined to the specific facts of the case, and did not appear to provide any new legal standard on the effectiveness of criminal trial lawyers’ work.
The Court refused, in a Nevada case, to reopen the constitutional controversy over students’ religious speeches at public school graduation ceremonies. It denied without comment a student’s appeal in McComb, et al. v. Crehan, et al. (08-1566). The Court also declined to hear a civil liberties group’s challenge to the Miami school board’s decision to ban from public school libraries a children’s book about life in Cuba — a ban that followed protests from the local Cuban-American community. That case was ACLU of Florida v. Miami-Dade County School Board (08-1564).
In another order, the Court — in a case involving six “Redskins” trademarks owned by the pro football team in Washington — refused to clarify when a challenge may be made to an existing trademark. The question raised in Harjo, et al. v. Pro-Football, Inc. (09-326) was whether such a challenge may be made at any time, or whether it must be pursued without delay. The D.C. Circuit Court ruled that if a challenger waits years to contest a mark, the doctrine of “laches” bars the claim, thus turning aside the claim that the “Redskins” marks were illegal because they were disparaging to Native Americans. The Circuit Court found that a group of Native Americans had waited at least eight years before formally moving to get the six trademarks cancelled.
The new habeas case that the Court will hear involves an Alabama death-row inmate, Billy Joe Magwood of New Brockton. He was sentenced to die for murdering a county sheriff in front of the county jail. He has long suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, and believed that the Army had sent him orders through a surgically implanted device that the sheriff and other authorities were interfering with completion of his “mission.”
After an original death sentence for Magwood was overturned in 1986, he was again given a death sentence following a new proceeding in state court. After state courts rejected his challenge to the new sentence, Magwood’s lawyers filed for federal habeas, contending that he had had no notice that a state court ruling adverse to his case would be applied retroactively, and thus to his case. A federal judge ruled in his favor, but the Eleventh Circuit Court overturned that result. The Circuit Court ruled that the claim of a lack of fair warning was a second or successive habeas claim, and thus was barred. The claim could have been raised at Magwood’s initial sentencing, that court decided.
In taking the case on to the Supreme Court, Magwood’s counsel argued that habeas petitions brought against new sentences should be treated as initial, first challenges when an inmate has succeeded in winning a chance for a new sentence. Oral argument of the case is likely to be in March.
The Vatican case in which the Court invited the U.S. Solicitor General to weigh in on an attempt by the Holy See to head off a damages lawsuit in federal court in Oregon over alleged sexual abuse by a parish priest in Portland in 1965 and 1966. The lawsuit was filed by an individual identified in court papers only as “John V. Doe.” The lawsuit claimed that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which normally shields foreign governments from damage claims in U.S. courts for official actions, allows such a case to go forward if a government was responsible for one of its employees’ conduct, taken as part of their regular work.
The Vatican is formally a foreign government. The Ninth Circuit Court ruled that the “John Doe” lawsuit could go ahead, relying on an Oregon law that makes an employer responsible for an employee’s misconduct, if the employee had been placed in a position that later led to the wrongdoing — even when the wrongdoing itself was outside the scope of the employee’s job.
The Supreme Court will await the federal government’s response before deciding whether to hear the case and rule on it. There is no deadline for the Solicitor General’s response. | <urn:uuid:88ca632f-7499-41fd-84a4-3eecd6b09bd8> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.scotusblog.com/2009/11/court-adds-one-new-case/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280761.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00094-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968963 | 1,162 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Today's Mass readings: If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you; if you trust in God, you too shall live; he has set before you fire and water to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand. Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him.
Today's Mass readings: Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners. http://www.my-catholic-family.com/4555/mass-readings-friday-thirteenth-week-ordinary-time/
Today's Mass readings: The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. http://www.my-catholic-family.com/4613/mass-readings-sixteenth-sunday-ordinary-time/
Today's Mass readings: http://www.my-catholic-family.com/3767/daily-scriptures-lord-close-brokenhearted/ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves. Many are the troubles of the just man, but out of them all the Lord delivers him.
Today's Mass readings: I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. http://www.my-catholic-family.com/4477/mass-readings-for-solemnity-of-the-nativity-of-saint-john-the-baptist/ | <urn:uuid:d8caef14-4a7c-464d-a592-480f4b56570d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://za.pinterest.com/explore/today's-mass-readings/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281649.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00440-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911991 | 364 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Indian cobra (Naja naja)
A large international team of researchers affiliated with corporate and academic institutions has sequenced the genome of the Indian cobra. In their paper published in the journal Nature Genetics, the group describes their goal of using the sequenced genome to develop an antivenom.
Every year, approximately 5 million people around the world are bitten by venomous snakes—approximately 400,000 lose limbs and 100,000 lose their lives. Scientists have identified what they call “the big four” of snakes—the four species of venomous snakes that inflict the most harm. They are, the common krait, the Russell’s viper, the saw-scaled viper and the Indian cobra. Scientists have worked for many years to develop an antivenom for each of these snakes, but have thus far come up short. The current method involves injecting a small amount of venom into an animal such as a horse and collecting the resulting antibodies—an approach that is both expensive and prone to errors. The scientists with this new effort began with the idea of sequencing the genome of the Indian cobra hoping that it would lead to the development of an antivenom based on synthetic recombinant venom built from proteins.
The researchers employed a variety of long-read and short-read sequencing technologies. They also used chromosomal contact data and optical mapping. In all, they used tissue from 14 different cobras, which they used to predict 31,447 transcripts and 23,248 protein coding genes. Because they were interested in the genome data that was associated with venom production, they annotated genes relevant to venom glands and closely studied the genomic organization of the gene families that were encoding toxin proteins involved in venom glands.
They found 19 genes that were associated with toxin production in the venom gland. Using mass spectrometry, they were also able to verify the proteins that were produced due to the gene . As an aside, they compared what they found with available data on prairie rattlesnakes—in so doing, they determined that 15 of the toxin genes they found were unique to the Indian cobra. The researchers suggest their findings could allow for research to commence on the development of a synthetic recombinant venom for use in creating an antivenom.
More information: Kushal Suryamohan et al. The Indian cobra reference genome and transcriptome enables comprehensive identification of venom toxins, Nature Genetics (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41588-019-0559-8
Journal information: Nature Genetics | <urn:uuid:a775df69-3abc-4c48-826d-6b234594be7d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.soulask.com/indian-cobra-genome-sequenced-in-search-for-new-antivenom/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571190.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810131127-20220810161127-00065.warc.gz | en | 0.955181 | 519 | 4.03125 | 4 |
People with Tourette syndrome display unusual movements or sounds over which they sometimes have little or no control. For instance, they may repeatedly blink their eyes, shrug their shoulders or jerk their heads. In rare cases, they might even blurt out obscenities.
These kinds of movements and sounds are called tics, and for people with the disorder, they can be extremely distressing. With great effort and concentration, people with Tourette syndrome can sometimes stop themselves from having these tics or hold back the tics until they find a place where it's less disruptive to express them. But most tics must be expressed eventually — it's the nature of the disease.
The condition is named for the French neurologist who first described it in 1885. It's also known as Tourette's syndrome and Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome. Although you may think Tourette is a type of mental illness, it's actually a neurological disorder.
An estimated 1 to 2 percent of American children and adults have Tourette syndrome. However, this may be underestimated because people with mild tics may not even realize they have the disorder. Males are about three to four times more likely than females to develop Tourette.
Although there's no cure, people with Tourette syndrome can live a normal life span, and many don't need treatment when symptoms aren't troublesome. In fact, many children outgrow Tourette syndrome after adolescence.
The exact cause of Tourette syndrome isn't known, and there's no known way to prevent it. Theories about the causes of Tourette include :
- Genetics. Some studies of twins and families suggest that Tourette may be an inherited disorder. No specific gene has been found, but researchers are zeroing in on target genes.
- Brain structure abnormalities. Some imaging studies show that some regions of the brain are abnormal, including the basal ganglia, the frontal lobes and the cortex.
- Brain chemical abnormalities. Certain neurotransmitters in the brain may play a role, including dopamine and serotonin.
- Infections. Some research suggests that there's a link between childhood streptococcal infections and Tourette, but this remains controversial.
Risk Factor :
Some factors may increase the risk of developing Tourette syndrome. These may include :
- Having a family history of the disorder or other tic disorders
- Being male
- Premature birth
When to seek medical advice :
Signs and symptoms of Tourette syndrome almost always begin in childhood, usually showing up between ages 7 and 10. Motor tics usually begin before vocal tics do. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, children themselves may notice the tics, or parents, family members or friends may see them.
If you notice your child displaying unusual movements or behavior, pay a visit to your pediatrician. Not all tics indicate that someone has Tourette syndrome. Many children develop tics that last for a few weeks or months and then go away on their own.
But whenever a child shows unusual behavior, a medical evaluation is important to identify the cause and rule out serious health problems.
Tics are the hallmark sign of Tourette syndrome. Symptoms range from very mild to severe and debilitating.
The first sign of Tourette is often a facial tic, such as eye blinking. But the spectrum of tics that people experience is amazingly diverse, and there's no typical case.
Tics involve movement (motor tics) and sound (vocal tics). They're classified in two ways:
- Simple tics, which are sudden, brief and repetitive and involve a limited number of muscle groups
- Complex tics, which are distinct, coordinated patterns of movements involving several muscle groups
|Some of the more common tics seen in Tourette syndrome
||Touching the nose
||Touching other people
|Sticking tongue out
||Flapping the arms
||Using different voice intonations
||Repeating one's own words or phrases
||Repeating others' words or phrases
Some people with Tourette experience sensory symptoms or tics before the onset of motor or vocal tics. Sensory tics may include sensations of pressure, tickling, warmth, cold, pain or other feelings.
Tics can vary in type, frequency and severity over time. They may worsen during periods of high stress and anxiety, fatigue, illness, recent head injury or excitement. They can even occur during sleep. People may develop different tics over time. For most people with Tourette, the symptoms are at their worst during the teenage years and then sometimes get better during the transition to adulthood.
There's no specific test that can diagnose Tourette syndrome. Instead, doctors must rely on the history of the person's symptoms to diagnose the disorder. To diagnose Tourette, both motor and vocal tics must be present for at least a year. That's because some tics are transient — lasting a few months before going away on their own.
Even so, diagnosis may be delayed because families and even doctors are sometimes unfamiliar with the symptoms, or the symptoms may mimic other problems. Eye blinking may be initially confused with vision problems, for instance, while sniffing may be attributed to allergies. Because the symptoms are sometimes incorrectly attributed to psychological or behavioral problems, your doctor may recommend seeing a psychiatrist.
Because tics and movement problems can be the result of other serious health conditions, your doctor may suggest having tests to rule out other problems. These tests include blood tests or neuroimaging studies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) scans or electroencephalogram (EEG) scans.
People with Tourette syndrome have a normal life span and often lead a healthy, active, happy life. The complications that Tourette may cause are usually psychosocial. That is, they can negatively affect self-image, social relationships, and school or work situations.
In addition, it's not unusual for people with Tourette to develop some mental health problems, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorders, depression and anxiety disorders.
Treatment of Tourette syndrome is intended to help control bothersome tics and to help cope with psychosocial aspects of the condition. There's no cure for Tourette. When tics aren't severe, treatment may be unnecessary.
Treatment options include :
- Medications. Some medications can be used to help control or minimize tics. These may include certain antipsychotic medications, antidepressants, stimulant medications and central adrenergic inhibitors. But none eliminates symptoms completely, and the side effects may outweigh any benefits gained.
- Psychotherapy. Psychotherapy can be helpful for two reasons. It can help with accompanying problems, such as ADHD, obsessions, depression and anxiety. Therapy can also help people cope emotionally.
- Brain surgery. In a very limited number of cases, brain surgery has been done in an attempt to stop severe symptoms by removing certain areas of brain tissue. Brain surgery is experimental and is not offered at every medical center. | <urn:uuid:c1c48fbf-5411-4a49-878e-3e1211f623ef> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.knowyourdisease.com/treatment-of-tourette-syndrome.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281649.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00444-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941051 | 1,453 | 3.765625 | 4 |
Converts Markdown to the svnwiki syntax used on the Chicken wiki. It uses lowdown to transform Markdown into SXML before transforming it into svnwiki with sxml-transforms. Much credit goes to those two libraries, particularly lowdown which heavily influenced the code in markdown-svnwiki.
markdown-svnwiki includes pre and post-processing phases for performing customizable transformations on the input and output. Some transformations, meant to make working with the Chicken wiki more convenient, are included by default. They are described in the section Special Syntax.
markdown-svnwiki installs both a module and a command line utility. The command line utility is used as follows:
usage: markdown-svnwiki [-h | --help] [-o | --output-file NAME] [-e | --extension EXTENSION] [-t | --no-toc] [file]
Convert the given Markdown file to CHICKEN's svnwiki syntax. If no file is given, stdin is read. If neither the output-file or extension arguments are given, the result is written to stdout. If the output-file argument is provided, the resulting svnwiki file is written to a file of that name. If the extension argument is given, the svnwiki file uses the same name as the input file, with the given extension.
- markdown->svnwiki inputprocedure
Convert the given input (may be a string or a port) into svnwiki, outputting to current-output-port.
An alist of functions that accept a string (the input to markdown->svnwiki) and should transform it in some way. By default contains one entry: code-blocks, for dealing with code blocks as described in Special Syntax.
An alist of functions that accept a string (the pre-post-processed output from markdown->svnwiki) and should transform it in some way. By default contains: code-blocks, procedure, macro, read, parameter, record, string, class, method, constant, setter, syntax, and type, for dealing with code blocks and definition tags as described in Special Syntax.
If true, inserts [[toc:]] after the first-level heading(s). Defaults to #t.
markdown-svnwiki supports the syntax highlighted code blocks that GitHub, Pandoc and perhaps others support. It converts these blocks into the <enscript> tags that highlight with the given language. It does this using a pre and post-processing step, both named code-blocks. These code blocks take the following form:
``` Scheme code ... ```
<enscript highlight="scheme"> code ... </enscript>
Additionally, markdown-svnwiki supports a special syntax for adding the definition tags supported by the Chicken wiki. Single-line verbatim code blocks that begin with exactly four spaces followed by [definition-type] are given a <definition-type> tag. Only the tags supported by the Chicken wiki are supported. For example:
[procedure] (my-proc ...)
This example can be compiled to make a command line program that accepts one argument - a Markdown file - and outputs a svnwiki file into the same directory. It shows the addition of of a pre-processing step - one that removes the first section called "Installation" (fairly indiscriminately, it stops at the first #).
(import scheme (chicken irregex) (chicken process-context) (chicken pathname) markdown-svnwiki) (define file-name (cadr (argv))) (define output-name (pathname-replace-extension file-name "svnwiki")) (pre-processing (cons (cons 'remove-installation (lambda (s) (irregex-replace "## Installation[^#]*" s ""))) (pre-processing))) (call-with-output-file output-name (lambda (output) (call-with-input-file file-name (lambda (input) (current-output-port output) (markdown->svnwiki input)))))
7 April 2019
- Fix error on empty input
- Remove unnecessary whitespace from tags and code blocks
17 March 2019
- Ported to CHICKEN 5
22 October 2014
- Add command line utility
11 May 2014
- Add newlines after lists
- Improve definition post-processing to allow multiple definitions to be placed with a single new line between them
- Fix misplaced @s in emphasis, strong
- Accept zero whitespace before language definition of code blocks
- Fix erroneous newline in code blocks
- Initial release
Source available on GitHub.
Bug reports and patches welcome! Bugs can be reported via GitHub or to alex.n.charlton at gmail. | <urn:uuid:2990edc4-2725-481e-b312-c27a95fe533d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://api.call-cc.org/5/doc/markdown-svnwiki | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00668.warc.gz | en | 0.758012 | 1,130 | 1.867188 | 2 |
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