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Three Thematic Series are currently open for submission: (1) Cancer nanotheranostics (2) 2D materials (3) FEBIP/FEBID chemistry
Direct-write polymer nanolithography in ultra-high vacuum
2US Patent and Trademark Office, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
3Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
4Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute for Science and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA
Polymer nanostructures were directly written onto substrates in ultra-high vacuum. The polymer ink was coated onto atomic force microscope (AFM) probes that could be heated to control the ink viscosity. Then, the ink-coated probes were placed into an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) AFM and used to write polymer nanostructures on surfaces, including surfaces cleaned in UHV. Controlling the writing speed of the tip enabled the control over the number of monolayers of the polymer ink deposited on the surface from a single to tens of monolayers, with higher writing speeds generating thinner polymer nanostructures. Deposition onto silicon oxide-terminated substrates led to polymer chains standing upright on the surface, whereas deposition onto vacuum reconstructed silicon yielded polymer chains aligned along the surface.
Keywords: additive lithography; polymer; scanning probe lithography; ultra high vacuumTop
The deposition of materials in vacuum is the foundational technology for creating modern electronic circuits; a vacuum being essential both to preserve the cleanliness of the substrate and the deposited materials and to minimize the creation of defects . Consequently, most deposition techniques from thermal evaporation to atomic layer deposition require a high level of vacuum, preferably ultra-high vacuum (UHV), to be used effectively. While the suite of established vacuum deposition technologies is vast and capable of highly precise deposition, there are relatively few methods to perform additive lithography in a single deposition step. Additive lithography deposits only the material that is needed for the intended device in the correct position. This is in contrast to the standard practice where an entire film is generated, the great majority of this film is then removed. In addition to the benefit of reduced material cost, additive techniques have further benefits, including the ability to create softer, heterogeneous structures – such as polymers – that would be contaminated or destroyed by the multiple requisite coating and removal steps associated with conventional “lift-off” lithography. To date, additive lithographies such as inkjet , dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) and micro-contact printing have been limited to deposition under ambient pressures, and therefore cannot achieve the benefits of the controlled environment under vacuum.
One type of additive lithography is scanning probe lithography (SPL) where sharp probes either guide the deposition of material to a substrate or modify previously deposited films [5,6]. In the case of DPN, the AFM probe can be used to write a wide range of molecular inks with resolutions down to 15 nm [3,7,8]. However, in conventional DPN writing depends on the intrinsic fluidity of the ink molecules or on the creation of ink fluidity using solvents . Unfortunately, inks and solvents that have sufficient intrinsic fluidity for DPN evaporate quickly in vacuum. This paper reports that thermal dip-pen nanolithography (tDPN) can deposit polymer nanostructures from a heated AFM tip in a high vacuum environment (Figure 1b). In tDPN, the probe temperature may be varied precisely within microseconds over a temperature range of 1000 °C. The probe temperature controls the viscosity of the coated ink allowing independent control over the overall deposition rate and the ability to turn off and on deposition (Figure 1a). Many different materials (e. g., metals , nanoparticles , and SAM molecules ) have been deposited using this technique. Thermal DPN closely mirrors the capabilities of conventional DPN but with greater control over the ink flow . Critically, the heat from the probes enables the deposition of high melting point inks such as polymers that also have low volatility and so may be deposited under a vacuum.Top
Results and Discussion
Our initial approach for depositing organic inks was to attempt DPN with octadecanethiol (ODT), a classic ink for DPN that reproducibly transfers to the substrate. However, it was found that the ink on the DPN tip would invariably evaporate in the load lock chamber (~10−7 Torr) leaving insufficient coverage for observable deposition. Evaporation is readily observed visually since the ink leaves a haze on the tip that is absent after placing in a load lock chamber. This anecdotal observation was more rigorously examined by creating a sample that mimicked the DPN tip surface chemistry: A silicon oxide on a silicon chip that was coated by holding it over ODT in a scintillation vial heated to 65 °C, for 30 min. This procedure produced an ODT film that was 20 nm thick (measured by ellipsometry). After placing the chip briefly under vacuum in a load lock chamber (~10−7 Torr), no ODT film was detectable. Additional attempts with less volatile inks – such as eicosanethiol – yielded similar results, leading us to conclude that typical inks used in conventional DPN cannot be used for DPN under vacuum.
While alkanethiols could not be deposited, we found that heated probes would retain and deposit polymer in UHV. For this work, we chose the polymer to be poly(3-dodecylthiophene) (PDDT), a conducting polymer that has found widespread usage in organic electronics (Figure 1b) . PDDT is also interesting because it becomes highly ordered, forming self-assembled layers on a silicon surface , when it is properly annealed. This ordering increases its ability to conduct current after electron beam exposure .
The probe temperature was controlled by applying current through the probe heater . One of the advantages of UHV tDPN is the lower melting point of inks under UHV. Because the molar volume of PDDT is lower in solid form than in liquid form, thermodynamics indicate that its melting point should drop as the surrounding pressure is lowered. Thus, while PDDT routinely deposits at its melting point of 120 °C in air, we observed that the writing temperature of PDDT could be decreased down to ~100 °C in UHV. As a result, the temperature window between melting and thermal decomposition of PDDT (175 °C in air) widens, thereby enabling greater control of line widths and thicknesses deposited in UHV. The lower deposition temperature also reduces the risk of thermal damage when applied to pre-fabricated devices.
While heating the probe to the vacuum melting temperature of the PDDT, the tip was rasterized across the “as is” native oxide Si substrate at different speeds. We found that monolayer-by-monolayer control of the film thickness, as previously established under nitrogen, is also possible under UHV. Figure 2 shows two polymer nanowire lines written at different speeds. Assuming a thickness of 2.6 nm for each PDDT monolayer as previously determined by XRD , the polymer deposited by the probe moving at 20 µm/s was only a single monolayer thick, with the structure written at 8 µm/s being four monolayers thick. The widths of the deposited polymer structures were 280 nm at 20 µm/s and 303 nm at 8 µm/s, with the width principally determined by the relatively blunt silicon tip. Note that recent advances – where the tips remain sharp due to a coating of wear-resistant diamond – readily show line thicknesses of 40 nm . The line width and heights were measured as a function of the probe speed (Figure 3). The heights of the deposited polymer structures roughly decrease as the inverse square root of the scan speed. The widths of the deposited structures decrease monotonically with the scan speed but do not show a clear power law relationship. When patterning under ambient conditions, dimensional control may be achieved by varying the tip temperature; however, the tip temperature was fixed in UHV to limit the number of experimental parameters.
Polymer nanostructures were also written on atomically clean and flat Si(001)-2×1 (Figure 4) where monoatomic steps are clearly visible. Interestingly, we found that surface chemistry of the silicon substrate had a major effect on the apparent structure of the deposited polymer as determined by the monolayer film thickness. On the native oxide surface, PDDT self-assembles in such way that the side chains are perpendicular to the surface (Figure 2a), as typically observed for PDDT deposited on non-UHV prepared surfaces under ambient conditions . The upright orientation is due to the hydrophobic alkyl side chains minimizing their exposure to the hydrophilic oxide substrate. In contrast, PDDT written on Si(001)-2×1 has a film thickness of ~0.4 nm, corresponding to polymer side-chains oriented parallel to the surface, as illustrated in Figure 4a. Note that the thickness of our films lies intermediate to values reported previously for PDDT on other substrates. Scifo et al. used STM to measure the thickness in UHV of a PDDT film drop cast on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and reported a film thickness of 0.24 ± 0.04 nm . In contrast, Terada et al. reported poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) on H-terminated Si(100) in UHV to be 0.5 nm thick. Our measured value is closer to the 0.4 nm intermolecular spacing measured for thick films of PDDT . In the prior STM measurements, the measured thickness is a convolution of the topographic height and electronic properties of the polymer film, complicating the comparison. However, the polymer’s lying flat strongly suggests that alkyl side chains must interact more favorably with the silicon surface than with the oxide surface and so has a significant impact on the observed molecular film thickness.Top
In conclusion, we have developed a method for direct, additive deposition of polymer in UHV using thermal dip-pen nanolithography. The molecular structure of the written PDDT monolayer nanostructure films depends on the chemistry of the silicon surface. Oxide termination leads to polymer side chains aligning perpendicular to the substrate, whereas silicon termination leads to the polymer lying flat. The thickness of the deposited polymer is a function of the speed of the scanning probe and may be controlled monolayer-by-monolayer. This new UHV-compatible direct-write technique should be of value both for nanoscale lithography of polymer structures and for the study of molecularly-ordered polymer nanostructures. This result would also open a new method of studying polymer-semiconductor surface interaction at a molecular level which is useful to develop polymer-based electronics compatible with inorganic semiconductor technology.Top
The silicon wafer substrates were prepared using one of two protocols. In both protocols, substrates for depositing PDDT were scribed from Sb-doped Si(001) wafers (0.01 to 0.02 Ω·cm) oriented to within 0.1° of (001). The substrates were then sonicated in CHCl3, dried with a stream of N2, and transferred into the UHV chamber (base pressure ~5 × 10−11 Torr). In the first protocol, the substrate was used as-is to take advantage of the ~2 nm thick native oxide. In the second cleaning protocol, samples were prepared to leave an atomically pristine, 2×1-reconstucted Si(001) surface. In this protocol, the substrates were initially degassed in UHV overnight at 500 °C and resistively heated for 30 s at 1230 °C, cooled down for at least 5 min, and then briefly heated again to 1230 °C for 5 s, while maintaining a pressure below 1 × 10−9 Torr. Depending on the sample holder history, several heating-cycles were necessary before the pressure could be maintained below 1 × 10−9 Torr.
Poly(3-dodecylthiophene) (PDDT) was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Mw ~ 60,000) and used without any further purification. To pattern PDDT via tDPN in UHV, the heatable cantilever was first mounted on a UHV tip holder. Next, a solution of 0.1% by volume of PDDT in chloroform was loaded onto the cantilever and tip by using a 3 mm diameter loop of copper wire containing the solution in the meniscus. Using a micromanipulator, the tip was immersed into the droplet, dried on a hot plate at 60 °C and then loaded into the UHV chamber.Top
This is an Open Access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The license is subject to the Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology terms and conditions: (http://www.beilstein-journals.org/bjnano) | <urn:uuid:561c4657-ba0c-44f9-ab20-f55d34ce68d4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.beilstein-journals.org/bjnano/single/articleFullText.htm?publicId=2190-4286-3-6 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279650.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00430-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925738 | 2,824 | 2.203125 | 2 |
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If the mashup does not appear or displays an error after initially appearing, it is possible that the URL has changed or the item was deleted from Flickr, SlideShare, or YouTube. | <urn:uuid:79f67462-3c37-4bc0-9c2e-088bbd95306c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://en-us.help.blackboard.com/Learn/9.1_Older_Versions/9.1_SP_10_and_SP_11/Student/050_Courses_and_Content/Mashups | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00027-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.837456 | 489 | 2.90625 | 3 |
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My company has a large system inventory database that often needs updating and correcting. Manually checking more than 75 servers is tedious, so I wrote the SystemInventory.vbs script to obtain system information about servers in our environment. Listing 1 shows an excerpt from SystemInventory.vbs. You can download the full script from the Windows Scripting Solutions Web site. (Go to http://www.windowsitpro.com/windowsscripting, enter 45824 in the InstantDoc ID text box, then click the 45824.zip hotlink.)
As Listing 1 shows, SystemInventory.vbs uses Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) to report on more than 400 system objects from 11 Windows classes: BIOS, BootConfiguration, ComputerSystem, ComputerSystemProduct, DiskDrive, DiskPartition, DisplayConfiguration, NetworkAdapter, NetworkAdapterConfiguration, OperatingSystem, and Processor. The script creates a Microsoft Excel worksheet that contains important information from each of these classes. SystemInventory.vbs saves the Excel spreadsheet that it creates to C:\~COMPUTERNAME.xls, where COMPUTERNAME is the name of the computer you're querying. The script requires Excel on the computer from which you run the script and WMI on the system you're checking. (Windows 2000 and later includes WMI.)
SystemInventory.vbs uses a simple Web input form that accepts the server's name, user credentials (i.e., Domain\UserID), and a masked password. Listing 2 shows the code for this form. You can use the IP address instead of the server name if name resolution is unavailable. If you need to authenticate to another domain or need to use different credentials, enter the domain name, a backslash, and the user ID and associated password. Otherwise, just enter the server name or IP address and click OK. If you leave the server name blank, SystemInventory.vbs queries the local machine.
You need Administrator rights to run SystemInventory.vbs. In addition, SystemInventory.vbs and SystemInventory.htm need to reside in the same folder. To stop SystemInventory.vbs from running, click the X on the Web input form's title bar to close the form. SystemInventory.vbs includes minimal error-checking code; if the computer that you're querying doesn't exist or doesn't have WMI installed, the script ends. | <urn:uuid:41aee34f-6e60-4b52-901a-2bfc1cd129e0> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://windowsitpro.com/scripting/updating-system-inventory-databases | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284352.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00194-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.832292 | 577 | 2.078125 | 2 |
I am often asked, “If I, or my company, has made a mistake, how should we apologize?” I used to tell people that one apology at the start of the conversation, and one at the end, was sufficient; any more, and it seems like you are begging for forgiveness. However, new research conducted by Case Western Reserve University has discovered that apologies almost never have the desired effect we want. Surprisingly, angry customers report greater satisfaction when the employee skips the apology altogether; focusing instead on finding an immediate solution.
This advice might seem counterintuitive, until you examine the delicate psychology of familial vs. non-familial relationships. If we have a lunch date with a close friend, and she is twenty minutes late, we not only expect an apology, we will stew in our anger until we get a heartfelt atonement. That is because the basis of the relationship is emotional, not based on an outcome. However, if the scenario is you not having an item delivered to a client when promised, the client is not interested in a positive emotional experience, he just wants to know how the problem is going to be solved. In fact, the researchers at Case Western Reserve discovered that, in non-familial relationships, employees who tried to express empathy or contrition were viewed as even less trustworthy than those who focused solely on solving the problem.
Why the opposite reactions to an apology? Because the brain has a special place for people in our inner circle—familial relationships—and for people who aren’t—non-familial relationships. People in our inner circle rely on shared experiences to cement the relationship. If people outside the inner circle try the same approach, the brain deems it inauthentic. The outcome of an inauthentic approach is that even good solutions can be viewed with suspicion. Even professions that rely heavily on empathy must be careful not to tread too close to the familial relationship border. Take, for example, a visit to the emergency room. You would expect that nurses, being in an empathic profession, could utilize apologies to great effect. Not so. Let’s say you injured your leg and are waiting in an exam room at the ER. When a nurse pokes his head in to see how you are doing, you say, “My leg is really starting to hurt.” Which of the following responses would you want to hear from the nurse?
- “Oh, I’m so sorry. You sure did bang your leg up pretty bad, and it must feel awful. I’m so sorry about the wait. We’re going to get to you as soon as we possibly can. We have some other patients, but I’ll be back when it’s your turn. Again, thanks so much for your patience.”
- “Okay, then we need to get your pain under control as soon as possible. The doctor is with another patient, but I’m going to let her know about your situation and we’ll get you taken care of right away.”
In the two examples above, even if the length of time to solve the problem turns out to be the same, the second response is more effective because it displays a sense of urgency. In non-familial relationships, chit-chat is not only perceived as disingenuous, it wastes time. I experienced the wasting of time while trying to clear up an issue with a customer service rep on the phone. I was trying to gain access to an online account and my password wasn’t working. I was clearly dealing with a rep who was trained to follow a script (one of my biggest pet peeves in the customer service industry). Every time I stated a problem, she responded with, “We are very sorry you are experiencing this issue.” After at least a dozen, “We are very sorry” statements, I finally said, “At the risk of being rude, I need to ask you to stop apologizing. It is taking way too much time, and I need to resolve this quickly.” She paused and said, “I am very sorry for apologizing so much.”
There is an old saying, People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Demonstrating how you care is different, depending on whether the listener is in your inner circle. Skip the chit-chat, and solve the problem.
Stevie Ray is a nationally recognized corporate speaker and trainer, helping companies improve communication skills, customer service, leadership, and team management. He can be reached at www.stevierays.org or firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:0d4f2011-ddd8-428f-b1b8-784023320119> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.stevierays.org/no-apologies-necessary/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571869.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813021048-20220813051048-00075.warc.gz | en | 0.968616 | 973 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Ethics and Medico Legal Aspects of "Not for Resuscitation"
Salins, Naveen Sulakshan
Pai, Sachin Gopalakrishna
Indian journal of palliative care 2010 May; 16(2): 66-9
Not for resuscitation in India still remains an abstract concept with no clear guidelines or legal frame work. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a complex medical intervention which is often used inappropriately in hospitalized patients and usually guided by medical decision making rather than patient-directed choices. Patient autonomy still remains a weak concept and relatives are expected to make this big decision in a short time and at a time of great emotional distress. This article outlines concepts around ethics and medico legal aspects of not for resuscitation, especially in Indian setting.
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject. | <urn:uuid:897c8953-6c64-4f03-96e4-0aea1fc50228> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/1023049 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285315.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00575-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914511 | 175 | 1.546875 | 2 |
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(Note: Information Originally Published In 1955 - Presented For Historical Perspective!)
This famous district is formed by the two counties bearing those names. Napa yields some of the finest of all California wines, especially table wines, while Solano, adjoining its exalted neighbor to the east, produces table wines of greater-than-average merit. In number of active bonded wineries Napa, with thirty-eight, rates third.
From a viticultural point of view Napa County and Napa Valley are interchangeable terms, for it is from the valley and its bordering hillsides that the county's famed wines originate. Only the Mayacamas Mountains separate Napa Valley from that of Sonoma, to which it lies parallel. Napa possesses its own romantic name, for in the Indian language it is said to mean "plenty:" Napa is indeed the "Valley of Plenty," one of abundant beauty and fertility. Even in ancient times grapes, though wild, are said to have grown here in profusion.
The Napa River which flows through the valley, is little more than a creek and empties, like its Sonoma neighbor, into the waters of San Pablo Bay, connecting with that of San Francisco. Dominating the valley to the north thrones Mt. St. Helena, christened after that saint by the Princess Helena Gagarin, wife of the onetime Russian Governor of Siberia and of the Russian Northern Pacific Colonies and daughter of the Czar of all the Russias.
The Napa Valley can be divided into two separate winegrowing areas, the uppper and the lower. The upper Napa Valley centers around the town of St. Helena, flanked to the north by Calistoga and to the south by Rutherford, as famed as St. Helena itself for wines of the highest quality. The vineyards are to be found both high and low on the hillsides as well as on the valley floor. The lower Napa Valley takes in the area northwest of the town of Napa in the Mayacamas Mountains toward the Sonoma County line. | <urn:uuid:7c089c3b-9899-4b81-a56c-8e4f5c05ba68> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.oldandsold.com/articles02/napa1.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281353.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00061-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945577 | 445 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Soldiers Footprints: Leaving Their Mark on a Nation
Exhibition Dates: June 11 - July 6, 2008
The Soldiers' Footprints exhibit was inspired by Framations co-owner, Sarah Merideth, granddaughter of deceased WWII veteran, Luke U Patton. In creating a way to honor Mr. Patton's service to our country, we decided that every veteran who has served our country has left an indelible footprint on our hearts. It is our intention to honor those veterans & create a lasting tribute to their bravery & selflessness. We will never forget their sacrifices.
The artists of Framations Art Gallery shared insights and connections to veterans who left a personal footprint in their lives. The artists honored these special veterans thru not only their artwork, but also in sharing photos and mementos from these special veterans.
This exhibit was shown at Framations Art Gallery in St Charles, MO and a portion of the proceeds from this exhibit benefitted the Disabled American Veterans.
"Soldiers Footprints: Leaving their mark on a Nation"
The collection of memorabilia on display during this exhibition was a mixture of items from living veterans and those whose memories have been passed down through generations. Each item has a story to tell, and in some cases, the stories stand alone. Some of these items are on loan from the family of deceased WWII veteran, Luke U. Patton, who served in the 104th Infantry, also known as the Timberwolves. In the years after the war, Patton found solace through writing, using his experiences in the war as his inspiration. He found that by putting the horrors he witnessed down on paper, he could not only keep those memories alive as a reminder of a terrible time, but also as a way of getting past it. He received the Silver Star, among other medals for his bravery in the war.
"Yes, footprints in the mud, footprints in the snow, footprints at the altar in Inden, Germany. Footprints across France, Belgium, Holland to [Zundert], then from Aachen to Berlin. Up in Holland I left footprints in the mud, red with another man’s blood."
~Excerpt from Soldiers' Footprints (read the full text),
by Luke U. Patton, CO. L 415th Inf., 104th Timberwolves.
Framations invited the public, particularly our veterans, current military, and their families, to view this multi-media exhibit. A portion of proceeds from this exhibit was donated to the local chapter of the Disabled American Veterans to aid the programs they offer to our local veterans. | <urn:uuid:1fb2d53b-a66c-4729-ab53-adaf6b033de8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.framations.com/soldiers_footprints.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571745.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812170436-20220812200436-00470.warc.gz | en | 0.965037 | 525 | 1.828125 | 2 |
11-03-2021 04:36 AM
In school this week, we were talking about jobs when the students leave school.
I have mostly boys in my class who are OBSESSED with playing the likes of Fortnight, Fifa etc.
We watched a youtube video recently and it talked about how it is a $157 billion dollar industry and now they are HOOKED on working in Gaming as a career.
What do you think about recommending Gaming as a career to children? I don't want to mislead them down a bumpy path!
Any videos/links that I can share with them are welcome!
Thank you in advance!
11-03-2021 03:37 PM
Thank you for sharing this with us @kidfitmindset
Firstly, I’d like to celebrate how great it is that you’re taking an interest in your student’s passions. I can speak from my experience that I was/am definitely interested in this area, and it would have been fantastic for my teacher to have taken an interest and supported me in pursuing my passion.
There is a tendency to vilify technology because of its newness, but I think that it has definitely opened up many new opportunities for young people. There is a rise of “content creators” and professional video gamers who are creating new norms and demonstrating that it’s okay to pursue what you love.
There are some helpful resources that may help you as a teacher to understand and support your students. There’s one here about “Young people as content creators, managers and distributors” and another here about “Why it’s important to understand students’ needs and interests”.
I want to thank you again for your support for your students and I’m sure there are community members here who will comment on their experiences too. | <urn:uuid:57093508-8eb5-4d2d-b276-4b82a4d2769a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://forums.parents.au.reachout.com/t5/Everyday-parenting/Is-The-Gaming-Industry-a-Viable-Option-for-a-Career/m-p/20013 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573623.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819035957-20220819065957-00667.warc.gz | en | 0.978957 | 387 | 2.171875 | 2 |
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Karl Andersen, Alexandra Vitale, Bekah Helene Gensure, Marissa Larochelle, Akbar Shakoor, Albert T Vitale, Paul S Bernstein, Lydia Sauer; Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) in Birdshot Chorioretinopathy: A Possible Tool for Monitoring Disease Activity. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2019;60(9):1597.
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Effective monitoring of disease activity in birdshot chorioretinopathy (BSCR) has proven difficult. To investigate the characteristics of fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) in patients with BSCR, we performed a cross-sectional study with follow-up imaging and analyzed how fundus autofluorescence (FAF) lifetimes vary with clinical disease activity.
82 eyes of 41 patients (mean age 56 ± 13 years) with HLA-A29 positive BSCR as well as an age-matched healthy control group of 46 eyes of 29 subjects (mean age 57 ± 14 years) were investigated. Patients were imaged initially and then received follow-up imaging one year later. The Heidelberg Engineering Spectralis-based FLIO device was used to investigate a 30° retinal field centered at the fovea. FAF lifetimes were detected in two spectral channels, a short spectral channel (SSC) with a range of 498-560 nm and a long spectral channel (LSC) with a range of 560-720 nm. FAF decays were approximated by a 3-exponential function, resulting in the mean fluorescence lifetime tm.
FAF lifetimes in quiet disease states present similar to healthy eyes (around 400 ps), while eyes with active disease show focally shortened FAF lifetimes (<200 ps) in the LSC. These focal areas show significantly shorter lifetimes compared to the adjacent retina (p<0.01). These changes correspond with abnormalities observed in OCT imaging, especially in the ellipsoid zone. Scars and old lesions, however, show very prolonged lifetimes (>600 ps). Some patients with a clinically quiet exam but progression to an active disease within 3 months of examination also show focally shortened FAF lifetimes at baseline.
Focally shortened FAF lifetimes in the LSC, often located outside of the immediate fovea, are likely associated with disease activity. FLIO may be able to detect disease activity in BSCR, possibly even at very early stages. This application of FLIO may help direct focused OCT imaging to areas of disease activity and may eventually lead to better treatment and follow-up protocols for patients at risk of disease progression.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.
Fundus autofluorescence (FAF) intensity and lifetime images from the long spectral channel (560 - 720 nm) of a patient with quiet (A) and a patient with active (B) birdshot chorioretinopathy.
This PDF is available to Subscribers Only | <urn:uuid:e92fcb22-bbbb-4af5-8419-bd861436d91e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2745722&resultClick=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573399.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818185216-20220818215216-00073.warc.gz | en | 0.918561 | 682 | 1.585938 | 2 |
The beauty about living in Malaysia is that as a multicultural society, we have loads of holidays for each of the major ethnic groups/religions in Malaysia. So even though I don’t celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid-al-Fitr (or Hari Raya as it’s known colloquially), my office still gave us a three-day break. Plus the weekend, I had five days off – plenty of time for some R&R!
The Hubs and I did not plan to go to the usual tourist places like Penang/Malacca, as the highways were extremely congested – but we did a short day trip to Kuala Selangor, where we got into some… monkey business. Literally.
Located about 70km from Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Selangor, or “Estuary of Selangor”, lies at the point where the Selangor River meets the sea. Surrounded by forest and mangroves, it was once the capital of the Selangor sultanate in the 18th century, thanks to its strategic location. Today, the town oozes a sleepy, laidback vibe, but is well equipped with facillities, including major banks, a school for sciences, a firestation, and places of worship.
We arrived a little after lunch and hopped onto the tram (a modified vehicle with carriages attached to a tractor). For RM5 (locals) and RM10 (foreigners), it ferries you up to the top of Bukit Malawati. Along the way, you’ll pass by large boulders on the hillside – all that remains of the ancient Malawati Fort.
Built during the Malacca Sultanate in the 16th century, the fort offered a strategic vantage point, with its steep hill face and surrounding mangrove swaps acting as natural defensive ramparts. It fell to Dutch invasion in the 18th century, and they renamed it Altingburg, fortifying its walls and strengthening the fort with cannons. They also built a lighthouse on top of the hill. A year later, a surprise attack by Selangor sultanate forces drove the Dutch back to sea. It remained under Malay rule until the late 19th century, when British gunboats pounded the walls to smithereens.
These days, people come for more than just the history: they come to see monkeys! A colony of silverleafed monkeys (and a couple of macaques) call the hill summit home. Because the hill is a tourist attraction, the primates are used to humans, and are reliant on them for their source of food. There are peddlers here selling food like bananas and fruits that you can feed to the animals, but beware because the animals will climb onto you to get your food.
The silverleafed monkey, or silvery lutung, is an Old World ape endemic to the forests of Sumatra, Borneo, and Peninsular Malaysia. They are categorized as vulnerable, with populations declining due to deforestation and loss of habitat. Like their namesake, they have silvery fur, although babies are golden with pale skin.
The summit of the hill is the highest point for miles around, affording visitors panoramic views of the river winding towards the sea. There are a couple of canons here as well, but I’m not sure if they are well preserved originals or just replicas.
Also here you will find the Baitulhilal, a moonsighting pavilion, which I believe our Muslim religious authorities use to sight the moon on the eve of Ramadhan, which would then signify the beginning of the holy month.
Another prominent landmark here is the Altingsburg Lighthouse, built by the Dutch and spruced up by the British almost a century on. Unfortunately you can’t access the buildling, but the views from the outside are still great, and it looks well maintained. Within its grounds is a museum chronicling the history of the fort, but it wasn’t open during our visit.
We spent some time enjoying the sea breeze under the cool shade of the trees while watching the monkeys. It was fascinating to see them interacting with each other; relaxing on the branches, playfully chasing one another, jumping across branches, fighting, grooming – very human interactions.
If you’re up to a walk around the area, there are a couple of interesting historical attractions to see, including a Poisoned Well, where traitors were apparently lowered into a mix of poisonous latex and juice from bamboo shoots, undergoing a slow and painful death. There’s also a large stone slab, where legend has it that a palace maiden was beheaded for adultery.
We spent about an hour on the summit, before returning to town and driving 2 minutes away (the weather was scorching, it wasn’t coz we were lazy lol) to Auntie Foo, a cafe in the middle of town. Only outdoor seating was available as they told us the inside was ‘reserved’ (we came and went, but no one showed up though) – so we had to sit on the verandah. It was still fairly cool, as are most of the old shophouses. Perhaps something to do with the design and materials used in the old days?
Auntie Foo serves mostly Western and Asian fare. We already had lunch, so we got some dessert to quench our thirst and cool down from the sweltering heat. The cendol was nice but the portion was small; the Hubs gulped it down within two mouthfuls. The Ais Kacang, on the other hand, was humongous, topped with a dollop of sweet vanilla ice cream, crushed peanuts, rose syrup, and other goodies.
The cafe also sells souvenirs and handicrafts.
Aside from visiting the hill and its monkeys, there are a lot of other things you can do in Kuala Selangor, namely firefly watching at night on the river, and taking photos at the Sasaran Sky Mirror beach (which is often dubbed the Salar Uyuni of Malaysia, because the beach appears like a mirror at certain hours of the day). You can also go eagle feeding, or take a hike at the Kuala Selangor Nature Park.
As our trip was kinda spontaneous, we were content with just visiting Bukit Malawati and enjoying the relaxing drive. If you like the laidback vibe of small towns, history, and nature, it’s worth the drive for a daytrip, or even an overnight stay as there are plenty of homestays and boutique hotels around.
Kuala Selangor is best accessed by car. Driving along the North-South Highway, exit at Sungai Buloh and follow the signs towards Kuala Selangor. There are buses plying the route as well, but I wasn’t able to find updated information online. | <urn:uuid:45bf774e-a3ee-4aa1-b3e1-7577620d9be7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://erisgoesto.com/2022/05/11/day-trip-to-bukit-malawati-kuala-selangor/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570692.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20220807181008-20220807211008-00669.warc.gz | en | 0.966928 | 1,438 | 1.914063 | 2 |
High schools struggle to make the grade
MONMOUTH — Few Illinois high schools perform well enough on standardized tests to earn statewide recognition for excellence.
Knox and Warren County have a couple of spotlight K-8 schools, but no high schools. In fact, Illinois had only one spotlight high school and only .9 percent of Illinois high schools — six out of 679 — received excellence awards in 2010.
Both awards are given out by the Illinois State Board of education. In order to receive a spotlight award least 50 percent of students must be low income and the schools must make Adequate Yearly Progress during the award year and two previous years.
Adequate Yearly Progress is measured by standardized testing. The tests measure aptitude in reading and math and set a benchmark for proficiency, with incremental increases from 40 percent in 2003 with a goal of 100 percent in 2014. Last year, the benchmark was 77.5 percent and it will be 85 percent in 2011.
"Rising AYP standards appear to have been a factor in the declining number of Spotlight Schools," according to the Illinois honor roll website.
To receive an academic excellence award, high schools must have at least 80 percent of students meet or exceed standards on the Prairie State Achievement Exam in 2008-2010.
The Illinois State Board of Education has actually given out more academic excellence awards over the last five years, but all those gains have been at the K-8 level.
One possible reason for the discrepancy is a difference in testing. The K-8 exam is evaluates students based on benchmarks, where as the high school test compares students against one another.
"One of the biggest problems is there's a difference between how kids are tested," Stan Adcock, principal of Abingdon Middle School — a spotlight school, said.
Monmouth-Roseville High School Principal Jeff Bryan said the tests differ not only in how they are evaluated but also in subject matter. For example, the reading section of the PSAE challenges students to summarize information and make conclusions, where the reading section of the Illinois State Achievement Test asks students memory based questions.
A small subset of students can cause an entire district to fail AYP and cost the district money, which impairs its ability to help its other students.
"We've found that 4 percent of kids were responsible for 60 percent of the failures," Bryan said.
Galesburg Assistant Superintendent Joel Estes said he is concerned about rote learning to get students to improve on tests.
"They (the students) are sick of rote learning. They sit there bored to death or drop out," he said, later adding,"We have to reconnect the students with the concept of learning. Sometimes you have to understand what their motivation is."
Adcock said one reason high schoolers might be less effective is there are "too many distractions at high school level. The kids are driving."
Improving high school scores is a focus for the state, said Mary Fergus of the Illinois State Board of Education. The board is pushing for every student in Illinois to attend college because in the future students will need a college education to compete in the job market.
"I think our work here has been to get students college and career ready," she said. "They will likely need to have more than a high school education to work today."
Bryan said jobs also will require more education in the future. For example, current mechanics, he said, must be able to read complicated charts and understand computer systems their predecessors might not comprehend.
Bryan said one reason high school students are less successful is because they don't receive as much support as they did in K-8. For example, every hour high school students see a different teacher who might not know their students as well.
As a result, Bryan has begun having study hall teachers check up on students progress in all of their other classes, monitoring their test results and homework grades.
"We have tried to set it up so there is someone who is accountable for them," he said.
Bryan has also put student data online so parents can access it and see whether their child has completed their homework.
"It has to be constant support," he said of students. | <urn:uuid:3430c755-1fd3-48d7-a5f4-3bd3ee85a6bc> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.reviewatlas.com/story/news/education/2011/02/19/high-schools-struggle-to-make/44970076007/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572127.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815024523-20220815054523-00269.warc.gz | en | 0.978893 | 865 | 2.21875 | 2 |
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3 SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH. 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
This is yet another instance where I think we tend to cut the verses short. I might step on a few toes here. Certainly we ALL know the commandment from Exodus about obeying your father and mother. Firstly, I think it is interesting how he points out that it is the first of the commandments listed with a promise. I’ve talked before about putting yourself in a place of blessing . This is one of those instances where God has told us why we should listen to what He says.
Just to step back a moment, I also want to point out something in verse 1: in the Lord. To be clear, this doesn’t mean only obey your parents if they are in the Lord, rather it means obey your parents because it’s what your Lord wants you to do. Just as Paul mentioned before about wives being respectful to their husbands regardless of the husbands’ actions because it will ignite a transformation, so too us children should respect and honor our parents REGARDLESS of their actions. This is how we love people into the kingdom.
Now, parents, for the hard part to swallow that we would like to gloss over. Verse 4 is the flip side of the coin. Discipline and instruction of the Lord. Well, what exactly is that? Love. God’s message to the world, through Christ our Lord, is love. Generally, this is the opposite of provoking to anger, isn’t it? We’ve heard before that power corrupts. Over children, we have power. It’s more given to us than it is earned. Respect, well, that’s a different thing. Respect we must earn regardless of age, bloodline, or anything else. However, we must be careful to not take advantage of our positions over our children as 1) it will teach them those things as they grow and 2) because it is not according to the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Whether you like it or not, you are charged, purposed even, to bring up your kids in the ways of God. Likewise, as children we are to respect our parents, regardless. Just as God has charged us to respect and support our leaders, for they are not there by happenstance, rather because it’s where God put them, for His benefit. We should be mindful to remember that our parents and our children were appointed by God to be our parents and children.
How have you antagonized your children in an ungodly way? How have you disrespected your parents? You might as well be giving the finger to God, distrusting Him, disregarding His authority, and disrespecting His divine assignment of people in your life.
What if it was the other way around? | <urn:uuid:980be2ee-79cd-4e0c-b9dc-3f06c5f48723> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://thethoughtsofasimpleman.com/divine-parents/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573623.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819035957-20220819065957-00673.warc.gz | en | 0.964979 | 657 | 1.929688 | 2 |
Having leveled my palace, don’t erect a hovel and complacently admire your own charity in giving me that for a home.Emily Bronte
How I stifled a revolution
The first time I heard someone say that social work played a distinct role in maintaining social inequality on oppressive political systems I got really angry. I felt personally insulted by the suggestion that social work should be seen as a form of control – as part of the force that keeps those who suffer worst from social injustice in check. “Why don’t you go piss someone off who deserves it?” I thought. “We’re only trying to help after all.”
That night I had a shift in the homeless shelter I worked at. I worked with homeless men with drug abuse issues. People who are often considered the ‘underbelly of society’. As I settled down in my office one of the residents came in. He was obviously upset and angry about a visit to the local job centre that day. He had had an appointment with this his caseworker and felt he had been treated disrespectfully. ”She treated me like scum.” He said. “If she talks to me like that again I will take her fucking computer screen and bash it in her face”. I talked to him for a while. I told him I understood how he felt. That I knew how unfair it was. But that this was just the way it was. And that he would just have to suck it up and smile and nod, or he would be off even worse. He seemed calmer after we talked and went to bed after assuring me that he was not going to physically attack anyone. As I watched him walk away it dawned on me that I had just successfully stifled someone’s plan to resist being a victim of oppression.
This experience is not untypical. By sticking band aids onto the gaping wounds of social injustice we alleviate some of the most obvious symptoms of a systemic violence in our society. We become part of the problem while trying to be part of the solution ...Zum vollständigen Artikel | <urn:uuid:ed440899-c586-4093-8d2f-f0e744d9687a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.jurablogs.com/2013/12/01/against-charity-whats-wrong-feel-good-charity | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279933.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00118-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987837 | 447 | 1.59375 | 2 |
- Copyright © 2009 Society of Exploration Geophysicists
TTI depth imaging technology is routinely applied to image structures that lie beneath dipping, anisotropic overburden in the Canadian Foothills (Vestrum and Vermeulen, 2004), the North Sea (Hawkins et al., 2002), and offshore West Africa (Ball, 1995). Until now, ray-based migration algorithms served as the only choice for TTI imaging because upgrading ray-based imaging algorithms for TTI is straightforward and incurs minor additional computational cost. Unlike ray-based algorithms, TTI wave-based algorithms are difficult to formulate, and their implementations are often unstable and computationally intensive. Unfortunately, ray-based algorithms perform poorly in comparison to wave-based algorithms in imaging structures beneath a complex overburden such as the salt canopy in the Gulf of Mexico. However, the use of TTI imaging in this area is impeded by the lack of appropriate check shots and offset VSPs that can constrain anisotropic parameters. | <urn:uuid:c4dcb184-184e-4515-afa0-ffdcf0868d9c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://tle.geoscienceworld.org/content/28/4/448 | 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 | 0.916147 | 207 | 2.53125 | 3 |
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Individuals with schizophrenia show magnocellular visual pathway abnormalities similar to those described in dyslexia, predicting that reading disturbance should be a common concomitant of schizophrenia. To date, however, reading deficits have not been well established, and, in fact, reading is often thought to be normal in schizophrenia based upon results of tests such as the WRAT, which evaluate single word reading. This study evaluated “real world” reading ability in schizophrenia, relative to functioning of the magnocellular visual pathway. Standardized psychoeducational reading tests and contrast sensitivity measures were administered to 19 patients and 10 controls. Analyses of between group differences were further refined by classification of participants into reading vs. non-reading impaired groups using a priori and derived theoretical models. Patients with schizophrenia, as a group, showed highly significant impairments in reading (p<0.04–p<0.001), with particular deficits on tests of rate, comprehension and phonological awareness. Between 21% and 63% of patients met criteria for dyslexia depending upon diagnostic model vs. 0–20% of the controls. The degree of deficit correlated significantly with independent measures of magnocellular dysfunction. Reading impairment in schizophrenia reaches the level of dyslexia and is associated with compromised magnocellular processing as hypothesized. Findings related to symptoms, functioning and recommendations for reading ability assessment are discussed.
Mastery of the three R's – reading, writing, and arithmetic – is critical for professional success (Caspi et al., 1998). Despite extensive research on cognition in schizophrenia, relatively little work has focused on these basic academic skills (Schirmer et al., 2005). Furthermore, when reading has been studied, tests such as the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) reading subtest have primarily been used. Rather than measuring all aspects of reading ability, this test assesses only single word recognition which, as a measure of premorbid IQ, is largely unaffected in schizophrenia (Dalby and Williams, 1986; Harvey et al., 2000; Kremen et al., 1996). Further, recent sensory studies have demonstrated substantial impairments in functioning of the magnocellular visual system in schizophrenia (Butler et al., 2005). Dysfunction of the magnocellular system, in turn, is implicated in the clinical phenomenon of dyslexia, a condition where reading is impaired relative to overall cognitive function (Demb et al., 1998). Based upon these two observations, a high rate of reading impairment in schizophrenia would be expected.
In its broadest sense, dyslexia is defined as a specific deficit in reading relative to other aspects of cognitive function (Manzo and Manzo, 1993). Initial criteria for dyslexia excluded individuals with low IQ or education, poor nutrition, poverty, or presence of co-morbid other mental disabilities. Currently, severe reading impairment (dyslexia) is differentiated from poor reading in general. Specifically, dyslexia is defined as a developmental disorder characterized by major difficulties in learning to decode printed material (Vellutino and Fletcher, 2005), and, in particular, to convert printed material into appropriate phonological representations (Hoover and Gough, 1990). Current models emphasize core deficits in word recognition at the orthographic (awareness of spelling patterns or letter combinations) and/or phonological (awareness of sound structure) levels (Vellutino et al., 2004; Vellutino and Fletcher, 2005) rather than placing emphasis on language impairment alone (Tallal, 2000).
Reading deficits are predicted strongly by recent research demonstrating impaired functioning of the magnocellular visual pathway in schizophrenia. The magnocellular (M) pathway is one of two primary low-level visual pathways in the human brain, and is primarily responsible for processing low spatial frequency and motion information, and for organizing visual space. Magnocellular processing deficits have been extensively linked to dyslexia (Demb et al., 1998; Talcott et al., 1998; Romani et al., 2001; Ridder et al., 1997). Although evidence for M-pathway involvement in dyslexia varies somewhat across studies, it has nevertheless been proposed that up to 75% of individuals with dyslexia have visual processing deficits attributable to M-pathway dysfunction (Talcott et al., 1998; Ridder et al., 1997). Furthermore, deficits have been detected in reading-impaired children and adults using an assortment of psychophysical measures including critical flicker fusion and coherent motion detection (Talcott et al., 1998), contrast sensitivity (Lovegrove, 1993), and visual evoked potentials (Romani et al., 2001). Respectively, disabled readers have elevated detection thresholds, lower magnocellular-related contrast sensitivity, and smaller electrophysiological responses than controls. Many of the same M-system deficits, including reduced ability to detect low spatial frequency (Butler et al., 2001, 2005) and motion (Kim et al., 2005) stimuli, and reductions in visual evoked potentials (Schechter et al., 2003) have been found in schizophrenia. However, the relationship of M-system dysfunction to reading impairment has not been previously investigated in schizophrenia.
Along with visual deficits, dyslexia is also frequently associated with deficits in phonological processing, resulting potentially from auditory-level disturbances in phonemic sequencing. Patients with schizophrenia, like those with dyslexia, show deficits in early auditory processing including, for example, deficits in tone matching (Javitt et al., 2000), mismatch negativity generation (Javitt et al., 1995b) and ability to detect phonetic boundaries (Cienfuegos et al., 1999). Thus, dyslexia-like deficits would be expected in schizophrenia based upon consideration of auditory, as well as visual, processing dysfunction.
Although most studies in schizophrenia have evaluated only single word reading, scattered studies have obtained findings suggestive of fundamental disturbances in reading ability. For example, Fuller et al. (2002) found that patients who developed schizophrenia showed relatively intact reading on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills while in 4th and 8th grades, but reduced reading ability while in 11th grade. The Iowa emphasizes passage comprehension, rather than single word reading, and thus may be more indicative of “real world” reading skills. Similarly, Hayes and O'Grady (2003) demonstrated reduced passage comprehension relative to single word reading in schizophrenia, but did not examine potential sensory antecedents. To our knowledge, this is the first study to utilize multiple, standardized, psychoeducationally-based reading batteries in schizophrenia. Statistical comparisons are made relative to both local non-psychiatric comparison subjects and published norms of specific test batteries.
Twenty-nine individuals signed written informed consent to participate after procedures had been fully explained: 19 patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder diagnosed by SCID interview and 10 community-dwelling adults. All participants met inclusion criteria (18 to 55 years old; visual acuity corrected to 20/30 for near and far distances, IQ>85, native English speakers). Individuals with a history of neurological impairment, mental retardation, color vision deficits, or current alcohol or drug abuse (<1 month) or substance dependence (<6 months) were excluded.
Groups did not differ significantly in age, Quick IQ score (Ammons and Ammons, 1962), parental Hollings-head socioeconomic status (SES), Edinburgh score for handedness, gender, or ethnicity (Table 1). Groups differed significantly on years of education (t=−4.78, df=25.2, p<0.01) and SES (t=−3.96, df=26, p<0.01).
The patients had on average been ill for 16.8±8.6 years (mean±S.D.) prior to testing and were all receiving antipsychotic medication (1077.7±574 chlorpromazine equivalents). Scores for positive, negative, cognitive, depression and excitement factors on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) (Lindenmayer et al., 1994) were 13.5±4.1, 13.9±5.3, 12.1±3.5, 13.8±5.0, and 8.7±3.2, respectively. Global level of function as measured by the Independent Living Scales (ILS-PB) (Revheim and Medalia, 2004) was 40.1±12.2, with some individuals requiring maximum supervision (37% score < 40) while others were capable of independent living (26% score 50+). Limited neuropsychological testing was obtained using the WAIS-3 (Wechsler, 1997) Working Memory Index (WMI: 81.2±15.6, n=12) and Processing Speed Index (PSI: 80.5±8.3, n=18). These measures were obtained for patients only, but were significantly reduced vs. population norms.
Instruments assessed both single word and passage reading, and incorporated tests sensitive to both global comprehension, as well as to specific orthographic and phonological processes. Specific measures included the following.
The Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT3), reading subtest, (Wilkinson, 1993) measures basic word-reading skill without demands on comprehension. Raw scores are converted into standard scores using age-related norms with a mean of 100 and a S.D. of 15.
The Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT-4) (Wiederholt and Bryant, 2001) measures oral reading skills and offers norms through age 18 years 11 months. Individuals read aloud up to 14 stories and answer five multiple-choice questions that follow. The GORT-4 provides five separate scores: Rate (amount of time taken to read the story); Accuracy (ability to pronounce each word correctly); Fluency (Rate+Accuracy); and Comprehension (correctness of answers to multiple-choice questions) reported as standard scores with a mean of 10 and a S.D. of 3. An overall reading ability, the Oral Reading Quotient (ORQ), with a mean of 100 and S.D. of 15, combines fluency and comprehension scores.
The Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP) (Wagner et al., 1999) measures three components of phonological processing: phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid naming; using 12 subtests. Norms are provided for ages 7 through 24 years old. Five composite scores are obtained based on subtest scores: Phonological Awareness (PA), Phonological Memory (PM), Rapid Naming (RN), Alternate Phonological Awareness (APA), and Alternate Rapid Naming (ARN), and are reported as a standard score with a mean of 100 and a S.D. of 15. PA and APA measure the awareness and ability to grasp the phonological structure of oral language, using real words or nonwords, respectively. PM measures the ability to code information phonologically and to store it in short-term or working memory. RN or ARN incorporates the retrieval of phonological information from memory as an individual executes a series of operations (line reading) with speed and repetition.
The Woodcock–Johnson III Tests of Achievement (WJ-III) (Woodcock et al., 2001) measures academic strengths and weaknesses. Seven specific reading tests were used to obtain cluster scores: Broad Reading (BR), Basic Reading Skills (BRS), Reading Comprehension (RC) and Phoneme/Grapheme Knowledge (PGK), reported as a standard score with a mean of 100 and a S.D. of 15. BR measures reading decoding, reading speed and comprehension of paragraphs. BRS measures sight vocabulary, phonics and structural analysis. RC measures overall comprehension, vocabulary and reasoning. PGK measures proficiency in phonic and orthographic processes used during decoding and encoding.
The Nelson–Denny Reading Test (NDRT) (Brown et al., 1993) measures vocabulary, reading comprehension and reading rate for individuals at the high school and college level. The timed multiple-choice vocabulary (NDRT-V) and passage comprehension (NDRT-C) sections are performed silently and combine to form the total score (NDRT-T). All scores are reported as grade equivalent levels or percentile scores.
Reading measures were administered according to specified directions over 1–2 sessions, for a total of 3–4 h of testing. Testing occurred in a well-lit/quiet room, with opportunities for rest periods. Scoring was performed by hand or computer software (e.g. WJ-III) and age-norms were used or approximated (e.g. oldest age groups for GORT-4 and CTOPP).
Integrity of magnocellular functioning was evaluated using contrast sensitivity, as previously described (Butler et al., 2005). Briefly, participants were tested binocularly following light adaptation to background luminance. Horizontal sine-wave gratings were then presented at 0.5, 7, and 21 c/deg on one half (either right or left side) of a visual display, with the other side remaining blank. Subjects had to state which side of the display contained the grating. Each grating was presented for 500 ms. Contrast was varied across trials using an up-and-down transformed response method to determine contrast sensitivity (the reciprocal of threshold) associated with 70.7% correct responses for each spatial frequency. The mean of 10 reversals was used to obtain thresholds.
Demographic characteristics between groups were analyzed with t-tests and Mann–Whitney U-tests. Group differences on reading measures were analyzed with t-tests and followed up with MANCOVA using education or SES as covariates. For patients, symptom profiles and limited neuropsychological test scores were correlated with reading measures to explore potential confounds.
In order to overcome limitations imposed by nomothetic analyses, idiographic reading profiles were explored on a case-by-case basis using several models for diagnosing reading impairment, including “dyslexia” (described below). Participants were then correctly classified into sub-groups (impaired vs. non-impaired) as per the pre-determined criterion. Individuals assigned to the “reading impaired” group were those individuals classified as having reading deficiencies in at least two of the five models.
Group analyses for contrast sensitivity measures were performed using one-way ANOVA for the three subgroups of participants: patients with or without reading impairment and controls. Further validation of sub-group analyses was executed by using one-way ANOVA to determine group differences on an alternate reading measure not used in the primary classification schemas.
Because of the relative lack of information regarding reading dysfunction in schizophrenia and lack of consensus regarding “ideal” reading tests, four separate test batteries were used (GORT-4, CTOPP, WJ-III, and NDRT). An omnibus MANOVA demonstrated first that patients showed significant impairments in reading relative to controls across respective test batteries (Table 2). In order to identify specific subtests that were particularly sensitive to reading dysfunction, individual subtests were compared between patients and controls using Bonferroni-corrected t-tests. Significant between-group differences were found on the following measures: GORT-4-Rate, GORT-4-Fluency, GORT-4-ORQ, CTOPP-APA, WJ-III-BR and NDRT-C (Table 2). Scores on GORT-4-Rate, Comprehension and ORQ; CTOPP-PA, CTOPP-RN, CTOPP-APA, CTOPP-ARN, WJ-III-BR and NDRT-C were also significantly below adult population norms (p<0.01), as well as CTOPP-PM and NDRT-T (p<0.05). Significant correlations with NDRT-C were found for GORT-4-Rate and CTOPP-APA, respectively (r=0.82, n=29, p=0.001; r=0.63, n=29, p=0.001).
The NDRT-C assesses reading performance relative to grade appropriate norms. Grade equivalent reading scores were significantly reduced for patients (8.9±5.0) relative to years of education completed (12.4±2.3), with the mean difference being 3.4±3.8 years (paired t=3.9, df=18, n=19, p=0.001). In contrast, controls showed no significant difference between education level completed (15.2±0.85) and reading ability (15.2±3.4), leading to a significant group × diagnosis interaction (F=5.51, df=1,27, n=29, p=0.03).
As opposed to the significant deficits in specific reading functions, patients showed only a marginal deficit in WRAT3 reading scores vs. control (p<0.04) that did not survive Bonferroni correction. Further, patient WRAT3 scores were not significantly different from population norms (t=−0.35, p=0.73), consistent with prior literature.
Several theoretical models for diagnosing reading impairment were used in order to classify participants on an individual basis. This idiographic approach was proposed to further elucidate differences between individuals distinguished as reading impaired or non-impaired.
Based upon available literature, five models were selected (Fletcher et al., 1992; Aaron, 1995; Boder, 1970; Wolf and Bowers, 1999; Ramus et al., 2003) and participants were classified according to the criteria. Significantly more patients were identified as having a specific reading disability across models than controls (21–63% vs. 0–20%). Since multiple models were employed, it was decided a priori that individuals assigned to the “reading impaired” group would be classified as having reading deficiencies in at least 2 of the 5 models, which led to identification of nine patients as reading impaired.
As a final step, we defined an experimental diagnostic model using two tests, GORT-4-Rate and CTOPP-APA, which showed the greatest between-group differences. These tests tap orthographic and phonological awareness, respectively. Using deficient performance on these two tests, we identified 9 patients and no controls who met criteria for reading disturbance (Fisher exact test p=0.011). This group subsumed the individuals identified by other models, while nevertheless maintaining between-group specificity.
In order to validate group reading performance differences for our experimental model, we looked at group differences for percentile scores for NDRT-reading rate. Overall significant differences were found (F=4.1, df=2,28, n=29, p=0.03); with significant Bonferroni post hoc comparisons between impaired patients (12.7±16.3, n=9) and non-impaired patients (48.6±39.7, n=10, p=0.05), but not between impaired or non-impaired patients and non-impaired controls (45.1±28.0, n=10).
Within the patient group as a whole, GORT-4-Rate and Fluency deficits were significantly related to contrast sensitivity for low (0.5 c/deg) (r=0.56, n=18, p=0.01; r=0.64, n=18, p=0.004 respectively) but not medium (7 c/deg) (r=0.34, n=18, p=0.16; r=0.33, n=18, p=0.18), or high (21 c/deg) (r=0.31, n=18, p=0.21; r=0.27, n=18, p=0.27) spatial frequency stimuli.
In categorical analyses, mean contrast sensitivity measures at 0.5 c/deg were significantly reduced in the group of patients with reading impairment (43.7±18.4) compared to patients without (94.5±28.9) (F=11.48, n=28, p=0.001) (Fig. 1). By comparison, the patient groups showed no significant contrast sensitivity differences at 7 or 21 c/deg (97.8±31.2 vs. 118.6±50.1 and 4.0±2.1 vs. 5.0±5.0 respectively).
GORT-4-Comprehension correlated significantly and inversely with the PANSS Cognitive-factor score (r=−0.68, n=18, p=0.002). In contrast, neither the WAIS-3 Working Memory Index (r=0.12, n=12, p=0.71) nor the WAIS-3 Processing Speed Index (r=0.16, n=18, p=0.52) significantly predicted GORT-4 performance. No other significant relationships were found for reading tests with symptoms or neurocognitive tests.
GORT-4-Comprehension (r=0.64, n=19, p=0.003); GORT-4-ORQ (r=0.61, n=19, p=0.006); NDRT-T (r=0.63, n=19, p=0.004); and NDRT-C (r=0.63, n=19, p=0.004) were all also significantly correlated with ILS-PB scores, with higher levels of reading comprehension being associated with less need for community supervision.
Since significant differences were found between patient and comparison groups on education and SES, the analyses for between group differences were repeated using education or SES as covariates. Using MANCOVA, no significant between-group differences survived, suggesting that impairments in reading may have significantly influenced the reduced educational achievements and SES levels of the subjects since education and SES were significantly interrelated (r=0.74, p=<0.01). However, significant between group differences remained for five of six measures (GORT-Rate, GORT-Fluency, GORT-ORQ, CTOPP-APA, and NDRT-C) following covariation for parental SES.
Although reading is a critical life skill, it has been consistently understudied in schizophrenia. The major finding of this study is that patients show substantial impairments in reading ability vs. both normal comparison subjects (p<0.003) and age-appropriate norms (p<0.01). As a group, patients' reading level was 3.4 years below their achieved educational levels. Between 21% and 63% of patients met criteria for dyslexia depending upon diagnostic model. Further, deficits correlated both with independent measures of visual magnocellular functioning and with global achievement as measured by the SES, suggesting that failure to achieve appropriate reading levels may significantly reflect underlying perceptual level disturbances and may significantly affect occupational and role functioning. This finding is congruent with previous results regarding limitations in attainment and compromised performance commensurate with education in secondary school for individuals with schizophrenia (Fuller et al., 2002).
In contrast to substantial deficits in specific reading functions, patients showed no substantial deficit in single word reading, as measured by the WRAT3, nor in premorbid IQ, consistent with prior research. Reading deficits were significantly impaired not only on measures of comprehension (e.g., GORT-4-Comprehension), but also on tests that specifically evaluated orthographic (e.g., GORT-Rate/Fluency) and phonological (e.g., CTOPP-APA) processing. Among batteries tested, the deficits were most pronounced on the GORT and CTOPP. Least deficits were observed on WJ-III tests where life experience and language comprehension skills may permit the use of compensatory strategies (e.g., guessing based on context: e.g., WJ-III-C) to overcome mechanistic deficits. Impaired scores on some tests, such as the GORT-4-Comprehension, were significantly related to more global cognitive functioning, as reflected by PANSS cognitive factor score, suggesting a contribution of higher order dysfunction. In contrast, impaired performance on GORT-4-Rate and CTOPP-APA were unrelated to generalized cognitive symptomatology, suggesting that symptoms do not interfere with visual and auditory aspects of reading. Further, deficits in GORT-4-Rate and CTOPP-APA also showed correlations with Comprehension, suggesting both “bottom up” and “top down” influences on impaired reading comprehension in schizophrenia. Our finding of low GORT-4-Comprehension and NDRT-C scores is consistent with prior reports of low comprehension during silent reading in schizophrenia (Hayes and O'Grady, 2003).
To answer our research questions of whether a distinct pattern of reading deficits for individuals with schizophrenia emerged and whether these deficits are associated with magnocellular processing deficits, we used a range of models for diagnosing specific reading disability and classified our sample accordingly. The prevalence of reading impairment in our patient sample was higher than in our comparison group (0–20%) or the general population (2–20%) (Spafford and Grosser, 2005), with almost half the patients and no controls meeting criteria for our proposed Model 6. Together with the discrepancy between reading level and education, this is highly suggestive that individuals with schizophrenia are prone to learning disabilities particularly in the years immediately preceding illness onset. Reading skills normally improve during high school years. If the poor reading scores of our patients predated onset of their illness, our results may help to explain the limited number of patients who participated in post-high school education. Most diagnostic models appeared approximately equivalently successful in identifying reading dysfunction in schizophrenia. Overall, patients were classified as having generalized, rather than specific orthographic or phonological patterns, consistent with documented deficiencies in both early auditory (Javitt et al., 2000; Javitt et al., 1995a; Cienfuegos et al., 1999) and visual (Butler et al., 2005, 2001; Kim et al., 2005; Schechter et al., 2003) processing in schizophrenia.
As predicted, we found a strong relationship between reading impairment and magnocellular processing deficits as demonstrated by impaired contrast sensitivity to low-, but not high-, spatial frequency stimuli. Patients with reading impairment had lower contrast sensitivity (higher thresholds) than either non-impaired patients or controls. Performance by patients without reading impairment did not differ significantly on contrast sensitivity measures compared to controls.
Study limitations include a small sample size and constricted variability of ethnicity and socioeconomic status in our patient sample, which limit generalizability of the results. In addition, further evaluation with a broad array of neurocognitive measures would be beneficial for investigating additional potential contributions to reading comprehension (e.g. verbal learning measures).
We believe that reading, as a complex and integrative functional behavior, is an important area for future research in sensory processing deficits in schizophrenia. We suggest that researchers view single word reading (WRAT3) performance with caution because it may have limited value as a true estimate of reading ability. We also recommend consideration of a brief reading battery inclusive of the GORT-4, as a test of global reading ability that can focus on rate, fluency and comprehension as separate components, as well as CTOPP phonological processing (e.g. CTOPP-APA), for adults with schizophrenia for potential diagnosis of specific reading disorder. Deficits in reading ability should also be considered in distribution of written materials (e.g., legal notifications, consent forms, psychoeducational materials).
In summary, while patients do indeed show relatively intact single word reading, as per previous reports, they nevertheless show highly impaired reading ability when confronted with “real world” materials. The deficits are manifest not only as reduced comprehension, but also as deficits in decoding the orthographic and phonological information necessary for parsing written text and converting written information into the “inner speech” necessary for semantic decoding. Since reading fluency depends on lower level processes of phonological processing and orthographic processing being intact (Wolf and Katzir-Cohen, 2001), our data suggest that impaired comprehension in our patients is related to these earlier processes as expected. It has been said that the act of reading requires the reader to simultaneously read the lines (decode for comprehension), read between the lines (make inferences about meaning) and read beyond the lines (transfer the knowledge) (Manzo and Manzo, 1993). While individuals with schizophrenia are known to have difficulty in inferential and abstract thinking and transferring information from one situation to another, our findings highlight the implicit difficulties in the first step of just “reading the lines”.
Although the present study did not employ specific measures of occupational or role performance, reading ability was found to correlate with global outcome as measured by the ILS-PB. Because none of the subjects in the present study had a childhood history of schizophrenia and had not previously been diagnosed with dyslexia during childhood, it is quite possible that the deficits we observed did not manifest until relatively late in childhood or during teen-age years. Indeed, such a supposition is consistent with a retrospective analysis of reading scores among individuals who subsequently developed schizophrenia. The finding that reading deficits in schizophrenia show both phonological and orthographic antecedents suggest that reading remediation approaches designed for treating developmental dyslexia may be effective also in schizophrenia remediation.
This study was made possible with grant support from NIMH, R01-MH049334, awarded to DCJ and NIMH, R01-MH66374 awarded to PDB.
The authors would like to acknowledge Dolores Perin, Ph.D., Teachers College, Columbia University, for her expertise and consultation regarding reading theory and assessment. | <urn:uuid:036825c8-5ad8-4417-8ede-ccf6d65a978c> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC2901807/?lang=en-ca | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988722459.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183842-00345-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931809 | 6,258 | 2.828125 | 3 |
BACKGROUND: NATO-Georgia cooperation started in 1992, when Georgia became a member of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC). Georgia joined the Partnership for Peace (PFP) program on March 23, 1994, and has since been an active participant in every political and peacekeeping initiative open to non-member states. On May 1, 1997, the Parliament of Georgia ratified the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the States Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty and the other states participating in the Partnership for Peace program, and in March 1999, Georgia joined the Planning and Review Process (PARP) of the Partnership for Peace Program, helping to achieve interoperability of Georgian forces with other partners and allowing Georgia more active participation in NATO activities.
At the NATO Summit in Prague on November 21-22, 2002, Georgia declared its aspiration to NATO membership and expressed its desire to take part in the new Individual Partnership Action Plan program. The announcement came against the backdrop of ongoing Russian military operations in the Republic of Chechnya, a part of the Russian Federation bordering Georgia, and Russian demands to use Georgian territory for military operations against Chechen rebels. Russia also accused Georgia of harboring Chechen rebels in the Pankisi Gorge. In the face of strong political pressure from Russia, punctuated by occasional bombings of Georgian territory by Russia’s air force, Georgia managed to avoid war with Russia and to initiate policies that brought Georgia closer to the West. The Georgian government supported the U.S. sponsored “global war on terror” for the purpose of protecting its borders from penetration by radical Islamist groups and expelling militant Chechen insurgents from Georgian territory. Under the “Train and Equip” program, the U.S. funded and trained Georgian troops in managing antiterrorism operations. This was the first instance of combat training for Georgian troops under NATO standards, and it has had significant political implications for the modernization of Georgia’s armed forces.
On October 29, 2004, NATO’s North Atlantic Council approved an Individual Partnership Action Plan for Georgia, thus further advancing Georgia’s integration process with the Alliance. Reflecting on Georgia’s progress, NATO stated at the Bucharest Summit in 2008 that Georgia will become a member of NATO, but fell short of granting Georgia a Membership Action Plan. This decision was subsequently reconfirmed at successive NATO summits. After the five-day war with Russian September 2008, NATO and Georgia established the NATO-Georgia Commission (NGC), an instrument that allows more intense high-level communication between NATO and Georgia. Since 2011, NATO documents refer to Georgia as an aspirant partner country.
Georgia was an active part of the NATO peacekeeping operation in Kosovo, and had more than 2,000 troops in Iraq before the war with Russia. Georgia currently has almost 1,600 servicemen in Afghanistan, constituting the largest non-NATO-member contribution to ISAF and serving in one of the most dangerous areas, the Helmand province. Georgian casualties in Afghanistan include 29 dead and a larger number of severely wounded soldiers. In June, Georgia suffered its largest loss since the start of operations when 7 soldiers died in a suicide car explosion at the entrance of Georgia’s military base in Helmand.
A great majority of the Georgian population supports Georgia’s NATO membership as documented by plebiscite and multiple polls. On March 7, 2013, the newly elected Parliament of Georgia passed a bipartisan resolution on foreign policy, re-confirming Georgia’s NATO and EU membership aspirations, as well as a commitment to non-use of force in the process of restoring its territorial integrity.
IMPLICATIONS: Three major implications can be observed in the process of Georgia’s aspiration for transatlantic integration and NATO membership. Firstly, the process is bringing Georgia closer to an advanced political, economic, technological, educational and cultural space, and thus contributes to the country’s progress. The European and Euro-Atlantic vector of Georgia’s foreign policy will remain dominant, but Georgia envisions a Euro-Atlantic future together with its South Caucasian neighbors, Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as Turkey. Yet, if Europe does not firmly support Georgia’s aspirations, there is little incentive for others to follow the same path, especially in the face of likely Russian repercussions.
Secondly, Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspiration irritates the Russian Federation. Russia’s leadership portrays Georgia’s desire to join NATO and integrate with the EU as a threat to Russian national interests. In reality, Georgia’s NATO membership will strengthen the security of Russia’s southern border and help stabilize the North Caucasus. Unfortunately, Russia has not learned its lesson from the 1990s when it supported the separatist war in Abkhazia against Georgian central government, which helped destabilizing and radicalizing the region. Chechen fighters, who fought against the Georgian government, soon turned their arms against Russia. The same pattern can be observed in the North Caucasus after Russia’s aggression against Georgia in 2008 and the stationing of Russian troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The security environment in the North Caucasus has deteriorated since the 2008 war. Yet, Russia remains firm in its anti-Western and anti-NATO rhetoric, using this sentiment for domestic political purposes and playing a dangerous great-power nationalistic game. In reality, NATO is no threat to Russia, quite the contrary, and it is the job of Europeans, as well as the U.S., to explain the benefits of a Russian partnership with NATO.
The third major implication of Georgia’s NATO aspiration is the uncertainty of European strategies. The U.S. has taken a much clearer stand on the issue of NATO enlargement. In Europe, while Central and Eastern European states are supporting further enlargement of the Alliance and Georgian membership, some of the Western European countries are highly ambiguous: on the one hand they signed the 2008 Bucharest declaration, and they officially term Georgia a membership aspirant country. On the other hand, they are avoiding both political confrontation with Russia and spending political capital in convincing Russia that NATO enlargement does not constitute a threat, but would rather lead to stability, security and prosperity at its borders, ultimately strengthening Russia. NATO and its European members should be honest regarding the real reasons behind their resistance to Georgia’s NATO membership and elaborate on an adequate strategy to resolve the issue.
Georgia needs a NATO integration process as a driver for its internal political and military reforms. The country has made substantial progress on its path toward NATO integration. According to certain indicators, Georgia is even ahead of some existing NATO members. Georgia has a military that is a provider of security in the most difficult areas of Afghanistan. There is still significant work ahead to get closer to NATO standards, but Georgia has already reached the point when it can be awarded with a clear plan for membership with a timeline. The sacrifices made by the Georgian people should be adequately recognized. Georgia has all the elements of cooperation with NATO that can lead to membership, but some members avoid formalizing the process and calling it a Membership Action Plan.
CONCLUSIONS: As history has shown since the 19th century, stability in the North Caucasus can only be achieved if there is stability and security in the South Caucasus. NATO can bring much needed security and stability to Georgia, and thus contribute to greater stability in the North Caucasus. NATO is no threat to Russia. Conversely, Russia’s security will benefit from NATO’s presence at its southern border, just like it has benefited from NATO’s presence in Afghanistan. Thus, instead of targeting Georgia and manipulating its security environment, Russia could benefit from adjusting its policies and accepting Georgia’s NATO membership. This is an argument that Europeans need to make to Russia. Sooner or later Russia will recognize that strategically, NATO provides security to Russia, dealing with threats that Russia shares as well. If Russia changes its position, the issue of the conflict areas in Abkhazia and South Ossetia can be resolved in direct negotiations between Abkhaz and Georgians, and Ossetians and Georgians, where the international community can serve as a guarantor of agreements between the parties.
AUTHOR’S BIO: Mamuka Tsereteli is Director of Research at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute. | <urn:uuid:372ccf69-ad7f-4f70-9cde-6cdb42fdf903> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/12784-georgias-nato-membership-will-bring-regional-stability.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572408.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816151008-20220816181008-00666.warc.gz | en | 0.946714 | 1,702 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Sister Agnes Eileen O’Brien
Our current example of the virtue of patience in her almost 80 years of religious life is our Sister Agnes Eileen, said Sister Mary Roger Madden in her commentary for Sister Agnes Eileen O’Brien who died March 23, 2013.
Eileen Nora O’Brien was the daughter of John J. O’Brien of County Cork, Ireland and Ellen Early of County Roscommon, Ireland. Eileen was born in Chicago, Illinois on May 20, 1915. She had one sister, Marie O’Brien Hill, who preceded her in death. The O’Briens were members of Saint Sylvester Parish and later of Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, and the girls were educated by the Sisters of Providence in both schools. Later Eileen attended Providence High School where she graduated in 1933.
In August of 1933, two months after her graduation, Eileen was accepted into the postulancy of the Sisters of Providence. A few months later she received the name Sister Agnes Eileen.
Sister Agnes Eileen earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Saint Mary of the Woods College and later received a Master’s degree in education from Ball State University.
As an educator, Agnes Eileen spent 38 years as a teacher of primary grades in Sisters of Providence elementary schools. She taught in Indiana at St. Philip Neri, Indianapolis; St. Simon, Washington; St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis and St. Mary in Lafayette. In Illinois she taught at St. Sylvester, St. Mel, St. Angela and St. Genevieve in Chicago; St. Athanasius in Evanston; Immaculate Conception in Norwood Park; and St. Joseph in Lockport. In Oklahoma she taught at Immaculata Conception in Tulsa. In California she taught at St. Joseph in Hawthorne and St. Elizabeth in Van Nuys. And in Missouri she taught at Our Lady of Providence in St. Louis.
Her gentle, thoughtful spirit flourished in an environment where the demands of the very young schooled her in patience for her ministry among the elderly and infirm which she began in 1974 in Lourdes Infirmary at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. For eight years she served in various capacities among the sick. In 1976 she initiated the SPs first physical therapy department. This endeavor was the seed bed of the flourishing physical therapy facility in what has become Providence Health Care.
In 1982 Mother Theodore High School in River Grove, Ill., put out a call for someone to fill a non-teaching position. Sister Agnes Eileen responded in her usual generous way and spent five years in supportive services for the faculty and administration, as receptionist, secretary and supervisor of students. At age 73, Sister returned to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods where she took up once more her service in health care for the next six years.
Now nearing 80 years of age and with increasingly failing health, Sister Agnes Eileen began what may have been her most trying ministry of all. For the last l9 years of her life she suffered from neuropathy which required that she wear heavy, uncomfortable metal braces on both legs. The disease seems to have spread so that in the end the nerves throughout her body were affected and she had almost constant pain and could scarcely bear a human touch. Now she, who had given so many years of her life to service of the sick, was forced to be herself a patient and the recipient of care. The years she had spent molding young minds and characters, the years she had spent patiently meeting the varied needs of the elderly and infirm were to bear fruit. The patience she learned on behalf of others would be needed now for herself, Sister Mary Roger continued.
Dictionaries give as synonyms for the noun “patience”: forbearance, endurance, perseverance. But the etymology of patience suggests a deeper significance. The Latin root of the word patience is a word for suffering found also in passion, sympathy, empathy etc. This virtue is acquired only by long, intense, internal struggle. Patience with our life situation; patience with our ministry and its demands; patience with the body and temperament we have been given; patience, most of all, with the mysterious other. It is out of these struggles that emerges at last the quiet mind and the quiet heart that we see reflected in a peaceful countenance. It is out of this unseen struggle, often unsurmised by others, that one is refined over a lifetime into the image of our patient God who has waited for us so long and never grows weary. For Sister Agnes Eileen, the peace her patience has purchased at a great price lives now and forever in her undistracted unity and joy with her infinitely patient God, Sister Mary Roger concluded.
The funeral Mass for Sister Agnes Eileen O’Brien was April 2, 2013 in the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Burial was at the Sisters of Providence cemetery. Sister Agnes Eileen was 97 years old and had lived 79 years as a Sister of Providence.
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Find her here! Photos, articles, obituaries of sisters you have known and loved. | <urn:uuid:d6294fc6-13c4-46f5-b0a9-ed07d87629dd> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://spsmw.org/2013/03/25/sister-agnes-eileen-obrien/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570871.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808183040-20220808213040-00271.warc.gz | en | 0.971539 | 1,124 | 1.554688 | 2 |
What is E-mail?
E-mail is defined as the transmission of messages on the Internet. It is one of the most commonly used features over communications networks that may contain text, files, images, or other attachments. Generally, it is information that is stored on a computer sent through a network to a specified individual or group of individuals.
Email messages are conveyed through email servers; it uses multiple protocols within the TCP/IP suite. For example, SMTP is a protocol, stands for simple mail transfer protocol and used to send messages whereas other protocols IMAP or POP are used to retrieve messages from a mail server. If you want to login to your mail account, you just need to enter a valid email address, password, and the mail servers used to send and receive messages.
Although most of the webmail servers automatically configure your mail account, therefore, you only required to enter your email address and password. However, you may need to manually configure each account if you use an email client like Microsoft Outlook or Apple Mail. In addition, to enter the email address and password, you may also need to enter incoming and outgoing mail servers and the correct port numbers for each one.
Email messages include three components, which are as follows:
The email was developed to support rich text with custom formatting, and the original email standard is only capable of supporting plain text messages. In modern times, email supports HTML (Hypertext markup language), which makes it capable of emails to support the same formatting as websites. The email that supports HTML can contain links, images, CSS layouts, and also can send files or "email attachments" along with messages. Most of the mail servers enable users to send several attachments with each message. The attachments were typically limited to one megabyte in the early days of email. Still, nowadays, many mail servers are able to support email attachments of 20 megabytes or more in size.
In 1971, as a test e-mail message, Ray Tomlinson sent the first e-mail to himself. This email was contained the text "something like QWERTYUIOP." However, the e-mail message was still transmitted through ARPANET, despite sending the e-mail to himself. Most of the electronic mail was being sent as compared to postal mail till 1996.
Differences between email and webmail
The term email is commonly used to describe both browser-based electronic mail and non-browser-based electronic mail today. The AOL and Gmail are browser-based electronic mails, whereas Outlook for Office 365 is non-browser-based electronic mail. However, to define email, a difference was earlier made as a non-browser program that needed a dedicated client and email server. The non-browser emails offered some advantages, which are enhanced security, integration with corporate software platforms, and lack of advertisements.
Uses of email
Email can be used in different ways: it can be used to communicate either within an organization or personally, including between two people or a large group of people. Most people get benefit from communicating by email with colleagues or friends or individuals or small groups. It allows you to communicate with others around the world and send and receive images, documents, links, and other attachments. Additionally, it offers benefit users to communicate with the flexibility on their own schedule.
There is another benefit of using email; if you use it to communicate between two people or small groups that will beneficial to remind participants of approaching due dates and time-sensitive activities and send professional follow-up emails after appointments. Users can also use the email to quickly remind all upcoming events or inform the group of a time change. Furthermore, it can be used by companies or organizations to convey information to large numbers of employees or customers. Mainly, email is used for newsletters, where mailing list subscribers are sent email marketing campaigns directly and promoted content from a company.
Email can also be used to move a latent sale into a completed purchase or turn leads into paying customers. For example, a company may create an email that is used to send emails automatically to online customers who contain products in their shopping cart. This email can help to remind consumers that they have items in their cart and stimulate them to purchase those items before the items run out of stock. Also, emails are used to get reviews by customers after making a purchase. They can survey by including a question to review the quality of service.
History of E-mail
As compared to ARPANet or the Internet, email is much older. The early email was just a small advance, which is known as a file directory in nowadays. It was used to just put a message in other user's directory in the place where they were able to see the message by logging in. For example, the same as leaving a note on someone's desk. Possibly MAILBOX was used at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which was the first email system of this type from 1965. For sending messages on the same computer, another early program was SNDMSG.
Users were only able to send messages to several users of the same computer through email when the internetworking was not beginning. And, the problem became a little more complex when computers began to talk to each other over networks, we required to put a message in an envelope and address it for the destination.
Later in 1972, Ray Tomlinson invented email to remove some difficulties. Tomlinson worked (Like many of the Internet inventors) for Newman and Bolt Beranek as an ARPANET contractor. To denote sending messages from one computer to another, he picked up the @ symbol from the keyboard. Then, it became easy to send a message to another with the help of Internet standards; they were only required to propose [email protected] One of the first users of the new system was Internet pioneer Jon Postel. Also, describing as a "nice hack," credited goes to Jon Postel.
Although the World Wide Web offers many services, email is the most widely used facility and remains the most important application of the Internet. On the international level, over 600 million people use email. There were hundreds of email users by 1974, as ARPANET ultimately encouraged it. Furthermore, email caused a radical shift in Arpa's purpose, as it became the savior of Arpanet.
From there were rapid developments in the field of the email system. A big enhancement was to sort emails; some email folders for his boss were invented by Larry Roberts. To organize an email, John Vittal developed some software in 1976. By 1976 commercial packages began to appear, and email had really taken off. The email had changed people and took them from Arpanet to the Internet. Here was appeared some interesting features that ordinary people all over the world wanted to use.
Some years later, Ray Tomlinson observed about email. As compared to the previous one, any single development is stepping rapidly and nearly followed by the next. I think that all the developments would take a big revolution.
When personal computers came on the scene, the offline reader was one of the first new developments. Then, email users became able to store their email on their own personal computers with the help of offline reader and read it. Also, without actually being connected to the network, they were able to prepare replies like Microsoft Outlook can do today. In parts of the world, this was specifically useful for people where the telephone was expensive as compared to the email system.
Without being connected to a telephone, it was able to prepare a reply with connection charges of many dollars a minute and then get on the network to send it. Also, it was useful as the offline mode allowed for more simple user interfaces. In this modern time of very few standards being connected directly to the host email system often resulted in no capacity for text to wrap around on the screen of the user's computer, and backspace keys and delete keys may not work and other such annoyances. Offline readers helped out more to overcome these kinds of difficulties.
The SMTP (simple mail transfer protocol) was the first important email standard. It was a fairly na´ve protocol that is still in use. And, it was made in terms of no attempt to find the person who sent a message that was the right or not what they claimed to be. In the email addresses, fraudulent was very easy and is still available. Later, these basic flaws were used in the protocol by security frauds, worms and viruses, and spammers forging identities. From 2004, some of these problems are still being processed for a solution.
But as developed email system offered some important features that helped out people to understand easily about email. In 1988, Steve Dorner developed Eudora that was one of the first good commercial systems. But it did not appear for a long time after Pegasus mail come. Servers began to appear as a standard when Internet standards POP (Post office protocol) for email began to mature. Each server was a little different before standard post office protocol (POP). POP was an important standard that allowed users to work together.
Individual dialup users were required to charges for an email per-minute in those days. Also, on the Internet, email and email discussion groups were the main uses for most people. There were several issues on a wide variety of subjects; they became USENET as a body of newsgroups.
With the World Wide Web (WWW), email became available with a simple user interface that was offered by providers like Hotmail and Yahoo. And, users did not require to pay any charges on these platforms. Now everyone wanted at least one email address as it is much simple and affordable, and the medium was adopted by millions of people.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) started to connect people with each other all over the world by the 1980s. Also, by 1993 the use of the Internet was becoming widespread, and the word electronic mail was replaced by email.
Today, email has become a primary platform to communicate with people all over the world. There are continuing updates to the system with so many people using email for communication. Although email has some security issues, there have been laws passed to prevent the spread of junk email over the years.
Advantages of Email
There are many advantages of email, which are as follows:
Disadvantages of Email
Different types of Email
There are many types of email; such are as follows:
Newsletters: It is studying by Clutch, the newsletter is the most common type of email that are routinely sent to all mailing list subscribers, either daily, weekly, or monthly. These emails often contain from the blog or website, links curated from other sources, and selected content that the company has recently published. Typically, Newsletter emails are sent on a consistent schedule, and they offer businesses the option to convey important information to their client through a single source. Newsletters might also incorporate upcoming events or new, webinars from the company, or other updates.
Lead Nurturing: Lead-nurturing emails are a series of related emails that marketers use to take users on a journey that may impact their buying behavior. These emails are typically sent over a period of several days or weeks. Lead-nurturing emails are also known as trigger campaigns, which are used for solutions in an attempt to move any prospective sale into a completed purchase and educate potential buyers on the services. These emails are not only helpful for converting emails but also drive engagement. Furthermore, lead-nurturing emails are initiated by a potential buyer taking initial action, such as clicking links on a promotional email or downloading a free sample.
Promotional emails: It is the most common type of B2B (Business to Business) email, which is used to inform the email list of your new or existing products or services. These types of emails contain creating new or repeat customers, speeding up the buying process, or encouraging contacts to take some type of action. It provides some critical benefits to buyers, such as a free month of service, reduced or omitted fees for managed services, or percentage off the purchase price.
Standalone Emails: These emails are popular like newsletters emails, but they contain a limitation. If you want to send an email with multiple links or blurbs, your main call-to-action can weaken. Your subscriber may skip your email and move on, as they may click on the first link or two in your email but may not come back to the others.
Onboarding emails: An onboarding email is a message that is used to strengthen customer loyalty, also known as post-sale emails. These emails receive users right after subscription. The onboarding emails are sent to buyers to familiarize and educate them about how to use a product effectively. Additionally, when clients faced with large-scale service deployments, these emails help them facilitate user adoption.
Transactional: These emails are related to account activity or a commercial transaction and sent from one sender to one recipient. Some examples of transactional email are purchase confirmations, password reminder emails, and personalized product notifications. These emails are used when you have any kind of e-commerce component to your business. As compared to any other type of email, the transactional email messages have 8x the opens and clicks.
Plain-Text Emails: It is a simple email that does not include images or graphics and no formatting; it only contains the text. These types of emails may worth it if you try to only ever send fancy formatted emails, text-only messages. According to HubSpot, although people prefer fully designed emails with various images, plain text emails with less HTML won out in every A/B test. In fact, HTML emails contain lower open and click-through rates, and plain text emails can be great for blog content, event invitations, and survey or feedback requests. Even if you do not send plainer emails, but you can boost your open and click through rates by simplifying your emails and including fewer images.
Welcome emails: It is a type of B2B email and common parts of onboarding emails that help users get acquainted with the brand. These emails can improve subscriber constancy as they include additional information, which helps to the new subscriber in terms of a business objective. Generally, welcome emails are sent buyers who got a subscription to a business's opt-in activities, such as a blog, mailing list, or webinar. Also, these emails can help businesses to build a better relationship between customers.
Examples of email attacks
Although there are many ways to travel viruses in the devices, email is one of the most common vectors for cyberattacks. The methods include spoofing, spamming, spear-phishing, phishing, ransomware, and business email compromise (BEC).
There are many organizations (around 7710) hit by a BEC attack every month, as one out of every 412 emails contains a malware attack. According to the Symantec Internet Threat Security Report, spear-phishing is the most widely used infection vector. Below is given a complete description of these types of attacks:
Popular email sites
There are some free email website examples include the following:
Email is a platform that allows users to communicate with people or groups of people around the world. As email security is more important but consequent, it is not inherently secure.
There are many techniques that can be used by individuals, organizations, and service providers. These techniques provide how to protect sensitive information with email communication and accounts from unauthorized access, loss, or destruction.
Individuals can protect their account with the help of creating strong passwords and changing them frequently. They can use alphabetical, numerical, special symbols to make a strong password that helps to protect your account. Users can also install and run an antivirus and antimalware software on their computer, as well as create spam filters and folders to separate potentially malicious emails and junk mail.
Also, there are some techniques the helps organizations to secure email include implementing an email security gateway, training employees on deploying automated email encryption solutions, and proper email usage. By processing and scanning all received emails, email gateways check emails for threats, and analyze that should be allowed into the system or not. A multilayered gateway is a powerful technique since attacks are increasing rapidly and becoming complicated and sophisticated. Some emails that cannot be caught by the gateway, training employees on how to differentiate malicious messages, and properly use email are the best approach, which helps users avoid threatening mails.
For potentially sensitive information, the automated email encryption solutions are used that scans all outgoing messages; it will encrypt the sensitive information before it is sent to the intended recipient. This process helps to send email securely and prevent hackers from gaining access to the secret information, even if they stop it. The only intended recipient can view the original information with permission.
Email service providers can also help to enhance security with the help of accessing control standards and mechanisms and establishing a strong password. Additionally, providers should also offer digital signatures and encryption solutions to secure emails in transit and in users' inboxes. Finally, to protect users from malicious, unrecognized, and untrustworthy messages, service providers should implement firewalls and spam-filtering software applications.
E-mail address breakdown
Let's take an example of [email protected] to describe the breakdown of an email.
In the email address, before the part of the @ symbol, contains the department of an organization, alias, user, or group. As shown in the above example, help is the support department at our company javatpoint.
Next, the @ (at sign) is required for all SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) email address that is a divider in the email address, since the first message was sent by Ray Tomlinson.
Finally, users belong to the domain name, javatpoint.com. For the domain, the .com is the top-level domain (TLD).
What can be sent in an e-mail?
An email is a platform that enables users to communicate with each other. It allows users to send text messages, including a file or other data on the e-mail all over the world. It is also possible to attach a picture, word processor document, PDF, program, movie, or any file stored on your computer in an e-mail. However, due to some security issues, it may not be possible to send certain types of files on the email; they need some additional steps. For example, the .exe file can be blocked by many companies from being sent over the email, and you will need to compress the file into a .zip file format. Additionally, you may be unable to send any large files or programs from being sent over e-mail as most e-mail providers have file size restrictions.
What should be write e-mail or email?
You can use any word email or e-mail according to the style guide you are following as both are valid and have the same meaning. However, the e-mail word has a hyphen and is a compound noun that describes "electronic" and "mail."
How to send and receive e-mail
You can use an email program to send and receive an email. An email program is also known as an e-mail client. There are many email programs available to send and receive an email, including Mozilla Thunderbird and Microsoft Outlook. A server is used to store and deliver your messages while you use an email client. Often, your ISP (Internet service provider) host this server but can be another Internet company to host this server. To download the new emails, an email client requires connecting a server, whereas online stored emails are always available on Internet-connected devices.
An online e-mail service or webmail is an alternative way and the popular solution for most people in sending and receiving e-mail. Examples of online emails are Yahoo Mail, Gmail, and Hotmail (now Outlook.com).
Some of the popular e-mail clients?
Today, there are different software-based e-mail clients available for users, but these are not online. Below is given a list that contains the most popular clients.
What makes a valid e-mail address?
Users need to follow the various rule that is given below to make valid email address: | <urn:uuid:fb36385b-6f5e-4153-8643-b5f33afb5a48> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.javatpoint.com/e-mail | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571536.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811224716-20220812014716-00278.warc.gz | en | 0.95898 | 4,176 | 3.46875 | 3 |
Once people have already started the first two days of the HCG diet, it will be time for them to start with phase 2. There are a lot of people who find the first few days of Phase 2 the hardest because it requires a real change in diet. Essentially, phase 2 is the stage wherein people teach their hypothalamus to store fat the correct way. Aside from that, undergoing phase 2 will help people increase their metabolism. One of the main reasons why people gain weight especially when they have gotten older is the decrease in metabolism. With the phase 2 stage of HCG diet, the metabolism will get a jump start and it will reset the type of weight that the body requires from the person.
Do remember that phase 2 of the HCG diet starts from day 3 and ends at day 23. This is the stage wherein people are only allowed to eat certain type of food. This is different from phase 1 wherein people are allowed to eat as much as they want and all the things that they want. With phase 2, it will all be different.
Here are some of the things that you have to remember about HCG Phase 2 Diet:
- 500 Calories Maximum – This is the maximum amount of calories that you can take in throughout the day. You may be tempted to take in some other food products that contain empty calories but do remember that you cannot go over 500 calories for your meals.
- 2 Meals a Day – Since you will only need to consume 500 calories, you can only meat up to 2 meals every day. This is typically lunch and dinner.
- No Breakfast – Unlike other diets that stress the importance of eating breakfast in order to jump start their day, this is very different from the HCG diet wherein people are not allowed to eat breakfast. For people who cannot live without breakfast, take a part of the food that will be eaten for lunch or dinner and eat that for breakfast. This is also the same for the fruits and vegetables that can be consumed for lunch and dinner.
- Water , Coffee and Tea Overload – Very different again from other diets wherein the intake of coffee is strongly advised against, when people are doing the HCG diet, they are allowed to drink as much water, coffee and tea that they want. Drinking a lot of fluids can be extremely helpful especially in curbing hunger.
- Follow the Rules – People will always have some troubles with sticking to plan but following the rules will make the diet happen faster and better.
It will be best to know all the right food products that are allowed during the phase 2 of the HCG diet. There are some that should be avoided because this may hinder the diet from being effective. | <urn:uuid:10bbc898-15cd-4a27-b8ca-f20b2b9a976c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://realhcgdropsguide.com/hcg-diet/phase-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573876.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20220820012448-20220820042448-00067.warc.gz | en | 0.962731 | 544 | 2.328125 | 2 |
In Part 1 of this two-part series, we talked about oxidative phosphorylation, a process by which the body’s cells make energy but also create cellular waste that has to be managed and neutralized. Excessive buildup of cellular waste will lead to accelerated aging, disruption of systemic pH, inflammation and more.
Here in Part 2, we’ll discuss steps for using evidence-based nutrition to address these issues…
As a clinician, you don’t treat every spinal injury and dysfunction the same way. The needs of each patient and the nature of each injury are unique, and thus require a unique approach.
Nutrition is exactly the same way. Evidence-based nutrition is the future of clinical nutrition and supplementation, and for good reason. Using empirical data to assess and address dietary imbalances is the best way to identify dietary imbalance and dysfunction, and to implement a tailored protocol to address those deficiencies.
An advantage today’s clinicians enjoy is access to affordable, reliable and easy-to-use tools for assessing a patient’s cellular health:
pH Test Strips
The ideal pH of the body is slightly alkaline, meaning a range of around 7.30 to 7.45. You would be appalled if you realized how far to the other side of the spectrum (too acidic) your patients are. A pH test strip is a great way to visually demonstrate this imbalance to your patients, and the concept is pretty easy to understand: You need to eat fewer acidic foods, and more fruits and vegetables.
An FDA approved, at-home, finger-stick blood test for your patients to take at home. The kit comes with a pre-paid envelope for your patient to mail their results to the testing lab, and you get an email with the results. The results provide you (the practitioner) with 2 critical biomeasures: the Omega-3 Index, and the Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio.
Omega-3 Index – The membrane of your cells should be composed of at least 8-12% EPA and DHA (the active components of Omega-3)
- If you’re below 8%, you’re likely experiencing (or at high risk for) chronic inflammation, which often has no symptoms
- If you’re below 4%, you’re at significant risk of developing chronic disease
- 20% of the US population has 0 detectable levels of EPA in their systems – that’s 1 in 5 patients walking through your door!
Omega 6/3 Ratio – There’s a reason why humans crave foods high in Omega-6 fatty acids: Healthy Omega-6 is needed for a variety of processes in your body. The problem is that our technology has developed faster than our biology has, and we now get Omega-6 in excess, particularly the “bad” kind found in fried foods and vegetable oils. This is harmful because the same delivery enzymes that our bodies use to deliver healthy and needed Omega-3 can be “hijacked” by Omega-6. In other words, they compete for absorption, and can cause or aggravate inflammation, both in the acute and chronic varieties.
- Your ideal Omega-6/Omega-3 ratios should be 1:1
- You can get away with 3:1
- The majority of Americans are anywhere from 25:1 to 50:1
Just as chronic inflammation causes will vary, so should the approaches to chronic inflammation treatment. Once you know what the deficiencies and imbalances are, and how off-kilter they are, you need to know what to do about them:
Antioxidants and Alkalinity
The human body is an acid-making machine, but produces exactly 0 alkalinity. That means that all alkalinity must be introduced from the outside. This becomes even more important as your patients’ alkaline reserves can become increasingly depleted as they age, and by the fact that the Standard American Diet (SAD) is highly acidic, with the overwhelming majority of your patients fall far short of their needed fruit and vegetable intake.
- Products like Greens First PRO powdered supplements can help your patients bridge these dietary gaps by offering 15 servings of high-octane, polyphenol-rich fruits and vegetables. Polyphenols act as antioxidants, preventing damage from free-radicals.
- Sometimes polyphenols alone aren’t enough. Introducing alkalizing minerals, like those found in Greens First Acid Neutralizer, is a great way to help your patients move the ball farther down the field, creating an alkaline pH balance that is more conducive to cellular health.
- Ubiquinol – This is a reduced (active) form of CoQ-10. All living organisms on the planet have Coenzyme-Q in their cells; CoQ-10 is the version unique to humans. CoQ-10, known as the universal antioxidant, is among the first nutrients to be depleted from the body. So it’s important your patients replenish their supply.
Not all Omega supplements are created equal. Your patients may balk at getting their fish oil or other omega products from you, saying that they can get the same thing from the drug or grocery store for a fraction of the cost. The best way to show a patient the light is to have them simply look at the back of the bottle. The most distinguishing feature of a quality fish oil versus a bargain brand is the EPA/DHA yield. Being that these components have the most significant impact on moving the needle regarding nutritional support, at the end of the day, they are the most important.
Most fish oils will have a total Omega -3 yield of around 1,000 mg. Look at the label of your fish oil. On the back, there should be an itemized breakdown of both EPA and DHA (as separate rubrics)
- If there isn’t an itemized, separate breakdown of EPA and DHA on the back, don’t even bother – the product is almost useless.
- Add the EPA and DHA numbers together – if they don’t make up at least half of the total Omega-3 yield, you’re looking at a sub-standard fish oil. For example, if your Omega-3 yield is 1,000 mg, the EPA and DHA total should be at least 500 mg
- Greens First’s Omega-3 PRO has a total yield of 88.9%
Healthy Omega-6 is also important. Just as all Omega-3’s are not created equal, there are good and bad forms of Omega-6. Greens First AhiFlower is a great way to supplement with both healthy Omega-3 and Omega-6.
- 4x the potency of flax oil
- Vegan friendly
- Optimal balance of Omega-3 and healthy Omega-6
Just as testing at the beginning of a protocol is important, it’s critical to re-test. This is typically done every three months, the amount of time it takes for the body’s cells to turn over. Not only is it critical to show the patient empirical progress (if you follow the protocol described above, you can prove that progress has been made at the cellular level), but it’s also important to monitor the progress and adjust the protocol over time.
For more info on products mentioned in this article or for info on current product specials, please contact your personal MeyerDC Account Manager.
If you don’t know who your Account Manager is, please call 800.472.4221 to find out. | <urn:uuid:3e9ff60b-ca72-4763-a40f-e067925061c3> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://news.meyerdc.com/chiropractors/product-reviews/oxidative-phosphorylation-assess-address-re-test-part-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571989.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813232744-20220814022744-00475.warc.gz | en | 0.924296 | 1,611 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Like most of the other popular casino games, roulette’s history is not always as clear-cut as we would hope to believe. The game has been around for quite a while and we have tracked its progress over the centuries. As it happens, roulette has developed much since its inception and here, we will take a look at how that happened exactly.
Early Years of Roulette
The exact origins of the game of roulette remain a mystery to this very day. There have been reports which state that inspirations for roulette could be traced back to ancient civilizations, such as China, the Roman Empire and Ancient Greece. Each of these supposedly had games with a spinning element to them. How they relate to roulette is not exactly clear. Moreover, there have been doubts about the authenticity of these reports. Some claim that they are based in fact, while others believe them to be stories with no substantial backing.
Some historians used to joke that roulette is as old as the wheel itself. We know that is not true; but one thing most experts agree upon is that the game (as seen today) originated in France some 200 years ago, where it has been expanding ever since.
The first mention of the game was in a publication, dating back to 1801. It was a French novella, bearing the name La Roulette ou le Jouer, written by the author Jacques Labelle. He describes a wheel bearing 36 number slots; plus a zero and a double zero pocket which were the house numbers. The novella also goes on to describe the basic roulette layout; pretty much the same kind we are used to playing on now.
The only significant difference between the roulette at the time and the modern iteration of the game was that colour of the zero and double-zero pockets. Originally, the zero pocket was red, while the double-zero was black. As you can imagine, this gave the red/black bet a 0% house edge. Regardless, the colour of both pockets was changed to green at some point.
A casino in Homburg, Germany, was the first recorded gambling establishment (the casino opened doors in 1843) to ever implement the single-zero wheel. French noblemen François and Louis Blanc brought the game over after gambling had become illegal in France. It was an instant hit with players and the game caught on. This was done as a very thought-out marketing scheme, to draw crowds away from European casinos, who at the time were playing on double zero wheels only.
But it wasn’t the Homburg casino that made single-zero roulette wheels the standard, which all other casinos had to follow. The biggest contributor in regards to popularizing the single-zero wheel was none other than the casino in Monte Carlo. After doing some major renovations, the casino owners decided to place only single-zero roulette tables; thus increasing their popularity. And because the casino was so influential, soon the rest of Europe accepted this norm and from there on it became the standard.
Roulette in North America
New Orleans was the first American city to have ‘French style’ roulette wheel decorating casino establishments. This came after a shipment of older French double-zero wheels happened to land on American soil. Before that, roulette wheels in America had 28 number slots, and three house numbers (0, 00, and Eagle). The house had a tremendous edge of 12.9%, which made players dislike the game from the very beginning.
French wheels offered a much better payout (35 to 1 on any straight bet), giving an overall house edge of 5.26%, which is considerably less than the aforementioned 12.9%. Proficient players soon understood the advantage of playing on a 38 pocket wheel; and so the game became a common attraction, that no self-respecting establishment can do without.
Nowadays, the double-zero wheel has become the norm in North American casinos. Even as European establishments switched to the single-zero version, North American ones proved more resistant to change. Now the two variations exist side-by-side and are offered as European Roulette and American Roulette.
Roulette in the Modern Day
In the 21st century, roulette has become a global phenomenon. It is played all over the globe and all respectable establishments feature some form of roulette. The full table version is primarily reserved for the high-end casinos, while lower-tier venues feature only the wheel.
With the rise of online gambling during the 90s and into the 2000s, roulette was one of the first games to be adapted for virtual play. Developers have created countless roulette titles and while most of them follow the traditional rules, as found in American and European Roulette, several variations have come forth that add something extra to the experience.
The iGaming scene is home to a wide range of roulette titles, ranging from the classic to the extravagant. Some of the latter include games that feature jackpots, as in the case of Diamond Roulette or Age of the Gods Roulette, or multiple balls, such as Double Ball Roulette. In the virtual space, roulette games are targeted at all demographics. One can bet as little or as much as they please, with table limits starting at £1.00 and going as high as £10,000 or more in some cases.
The variety that online gambling offered in comparison to its land-based counterpart meant that players could experience much more than ever before. Whereas before, participants only had a limited number of games available to them at any given time, online gambling put dozens of them at their disposal. What’s more, these games were only a click away and one could play without even leaving their home.
As the online casino scene developed, software providers introduced live roulette to the masses. Now, players could place bets online but without having to miss out on the genuine casino experience. Live dealer games come in many varieties and can be found at most online casinos. It is considered by many to be the future of iGaming and with good reason. | <urn:uuid:834fdc37-cb6b-4f75-a7ce-3580e71170cd> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://gamblingplex.com/roulette/history/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573760.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819191655-20220819221655-00670.warc.gz | en | 0.97587 | 1,254 | 2.125 | 2 |
Pepsi has recently started something called the “refresh project”. The point of this program is to allow people to pitch and vote for ideas they believe need funding. Pepsi then provides financial backing to the winning ideas.
Although many of the ideas submitted to the refresh project are valuable, few are as vital as research for P.A.N.D.A.S. (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Assoc. with Strep). A fellow karateka made me aware of this disorder and how it is being neglected throughout the medical community. As I am not a medical person by any means, I’ll provide the research project’s description of the disorder:
“When a child contracts strep, antibodies that are aimed to kill the strep turn on the child and begin to ATTACK THEIR BRAIN causing inflammation. This swelling causes dramatic behavior changes. A once “normal” child suddenly has OCD, tics, high anxiety, sensory issues, and more. Most doctors are not aware of the complexity of PANDAS, how it presents itself, or how to treat it. This may lead to a misdiagnosis of clinical OCD, TS, or other mental disorders. Imagine a childhood of unnecessary psychotropic meds, suffering, and unanswered questions. With CORRECT DIAGNOSIS and treatment, remission is possible.”
Dr. Cunningham (research director at the University of Oklahoma) is making great strides in studying and diagnosing the disorder, but needs the $50,000 refresh project grant to make significant headway. The money will be put toward building a means for proper recognition, treatment, and testing for P.A.N.D.A.S.
I’d like to welcome you to vote for this project. Voting requires no commitment on your part besides logging in (you can even connect through Facebook), and they send you no spam or offers after you vote. You can vote once a day, every day until May 31st.
As martial arts instructors one of our goals is to help children build focused and healthful lives. This is another way for us to reach out and help them. | <urn:uuid:9298b7d9-dffe-4c86-b283-94d262a6f765> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.ikigaiway.com/helping-kids-in-crisis-p-a-n-d-a-s/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571198.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810161541-20220810191541-00275.warc.gz | en | 0.946322 | 449 | 2.125 | 2 |
We have account lockout enabled to slow down attacks that try to guess passwords. Of course, users occasionally lock themselves out when they keep trying to guess a password that they've forgotten. I'd like to follow the advice in "Setting Active Directory Property Permissions" (July 2000, InstantDoc ID 9187) and grant Help desk staff members permissions to all the accounts in my domain so that Help desk staff can unlock user accounts when necessary. However, I have 1300-plus accounts in Active Directory (AD) and don't want to make the permission change manually to each account. Is there a way to make the change to all accounts in one sweep, maybe using a Group Policy Object (GPO) or the security policy?
There is a way, and making the change is very easy once you know where to do it. GPOs and the security policy don't have anything to do with controlling AD permissions. Instead, you use permission inheritance and your organizational unit (OU) hierarchy. I'll use an analogy to explain. On file servers, we control file permissions through a hierarchy of folders and subfolders. Permissions we define on a folder propagate down to child folders and files. Likewise in AD, we control permissions on directory objects, including user accounts, through the hierarchy of OUs and sub-OUs.
So, to give Help desk staff the ability to unlock all user accounts, open the Properties dialog box of the domain's root in the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in and select the Security tab. Click Advanced and add an ACL entry. Select the Properties tab, then in the Apply to drop-down list, select User objects. Find the lockoutTime property and grant Read or Write access as desired. Click OK twice and verify that the new permission entry was added to the ACL. Because you added this entry at the root of the domain, AD will propagate it down to all users in the domain--except to any OUs or user objects that have the Inherit from parent the permission entries that apply to child objects. Include these with entries explicitly defined here option disabled on their Permissions tab. Why might you clear the Inherit from parent... option? To prevent permissions from flowing down to a special set of users. For instance, you wouldn't want to give Help desk staff the ability to reset IT administrator account passwords; therefore, you might uncheck that box for the OU that holds your IT administrators. | <urn:uuid:b8dd73f9-2c09-4c7a-a8b6-4f11eef48701> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://windowsitpro.com/active-directory/changing-ad-account-permissions-en-masse | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280730.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00245-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923882 | 500 | 1.539063 | 2 |
The word “Imagine” inevitably brings to mind the classic work of legendry John Lennon of Then Beatles. The world knows him for this compositions and singing. It was this intellectual who dared to tell the world to aspire for a free world where everyone lived in peace.
All of us want to live in a peaceful, prosperous country where there is brotherhood and no one sleeps hungry. Ask any youth and he/she will tell you that they wish for no corruption, no war, no crime but only harmony.
The Imagine Trust is the story of a group of youngsters who wanted to do their bit towards building that one world heralded by Lennon.
In a fast paced city of Mangalore two college boys were engrossed in loads of extra-curricular activities. They met each other in a forum for social service. This friendship grew deeper and the good work that happened at their hands brought many link-minded people together. This was the birth of Imagine. But it all actualized when their hands were strengthened by to more members. This group of four formed The Imagine Trust.
The Imagine Trust believes in bringing together people who want to work towards any social cause. Be it recording books for the visually impaired or organizing a career development camp.
Here there is no long term commitment or meetings which you have to attend. It’s just reaching out to those who are in need at the time when you are free. We have been blessed with numerous talents. With Imagine you can channelize them towards a social cause. If I am good with dance, I can teach them to kids of a poor locality. If I am good at technology you can build a website for a poor school or a genuine NGO. The list is endless.
We have several projects running parallel.
· Imagine Talking Books - Record books for the visually impaired
· Imagine Sponsorship– Sponsoring poor children’s education
· Imagine Celebrations– Birthdays, marriage, anniversary or any special occasion, celebrate it with sponsoring food or items to the needy
· Imagine Inspire – Career guidance for youth
Those interested to have some fun and spend their free times changing lives write to us at email@example.com
Visit our website www.theimaginetrust.com | <urn:uuid:3055d87e-c874-490e-8267-3ab783b437f5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://theimaginetrust.blogspot.com/2012/07/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00677.warc.gz | en | 0.952384 | 465 | 2.125 | 2 |
Guard the Borders -- And Face Facts, Too
America, the only developed nation that shares a long -- 2,000-mile -- border with a Third World nation, could seal that border. East Germany showed how: walls, barbed wire, machine gun-toting border guards in towers, mine fields, large, irritable dogs. And we have modern technologies that East Germany never had: sophisticated sensors, unmanned surveillance drones, etc.
It is a melancholy fact that many of these may have to be employed along the U.S.-Mexican border. The alternatives are dangerous and disagreeable conditions for Americans residing near the border, and vigilantism. It is, however, important that Americans feel melancholy about taking such measures to frustrate immigration that usually is an entrepreneurial act: taking risks to get to America to do work most Americans spurn. As the debate about immigration policy boils, augmented border control must not be the entire agenda, lest other thorny problems be ignored, and lest America turn a scowling face to the south and, to some extent, to many immigrants already here.
But control belongs at the top of the agenda, for four reasons. First, control of borders is an essential attribute of sovereignty. Second, conditions along the border mock the rule of law. Third, large rallies by immigrants, many of them here illegally, protesting more stringent control of immigration reveal that many immigrants have, alas, assimilated: They have acquired the entitlement mentality created by America's welfare state, asserting an entitlement to exemption from the laws of the society they invited themselves into. Fourth, giving Americans a sense that borders are controlled is a prerequisite for calm consideration of what policy that control should serve.
Of the nation's illegal immigrants -- estimated to be at least 11 million, a cohort larger than the combined populations of 12 states -- 60 percent have been here at least five years. Most have roots in their communities. Their children born here are U.S. citizens. We are not going to take the draconian police measures necessary to deport 11 million people. They would fill 200,000 buses in a caravan stretching bumper-to-bumper from San Diego to Alaska -- where, by the way, 26,000 Latinos live. And there are no plausible incentives to get the 11 million to board the buses.
Facts, a conservative (John Adams) said, are stubborn things, and regarding immigration, true conservatives take their bearings from facts such as those in the preceding paragraph. Conservatives should want, as the president proposes, a guest worker program to supply what the U.S. economy demands -- immigrant labor for entry-level jobs. Conservatives should favor a policy of encouraging unlimited immigration by educated people with math, engineering, technology or science skills that America's education system is not sufficiently supplying.
And conservatives should favor reducing illegality by putting illegal immigrants on a path out of society's crevices and into citizenship by paying fines and back taxes and learning English. Faux conservatives absurdly call this price tag on legal status "amnesty." Actually, it would prevent the emergence of a sullen, simmering subculture of the permanently marginalized, akin to the Arab ghettos in France. The House-passed bill, making it a felony to be in the country illegally, would make 11 million people permanently ineligible for legal status. To what end?
Within a decade the New York and Washington metropolitan regions will join the Miami, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco regions in having majorities made up of minorities, partly because immigrants have higher birthrates than whites. Since 2000, births, not immigration, have been the largest source of growth of America's Latino population.
Urban immigrant communities, with their support networks, are magnets for immigrants. Good. Investor's Business Daily reports a new study demonstrating that "over the past 30 years rising immigration led to higher wages for U.S.-born workers. Cities that served as migrant magnets did better than others. Why? Hiring one worker creates wealth with which to hire more workers."
The president, who has not hoarded his political capital, spent some trying to get the nation to face facts about the bleak future of an unreformed Social Security system. Concerning which: In 1940 there were 42 workers for every retiree; today there are 3.1. By 2030, when all 77 million baby boomers will have left the work force, there will be only 2.2. And that projection assumes net annual immigration, legal and illegal, of 900,000, more than double the 400,000 foreigners who, under the terms of proposed Senate legislation, could come here to work each year.
Today the president is spending more of his depleted political capital by standing to the left of much of his political base, which favors merely preventative and punitive measures regarding immigration. He is right to take his stand there. | <urn:uuid:082bf0d7-4f4a-4db2-8507-a836499ac578> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/29/AR2006032902004.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280483.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00292-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95396 | 986 | 1.742188 | 2 |
The gear is an important part of any machinery. It is the only way of transmitting power and motion in the machines. Gears are manufactured through a variety of procedures. Some of the most popular ones are blanking, metallurgy, powder, extrusion, casting, and forging. Always make sure that you choose the best gear manufacturers in India.
There are mainly 6 types of gear:
- Bevel gear
- Worm and worm wheel
- Herringbone gear
- Rack and pinion gear
- Spur gear
To help you in selecting the best gear manufacturer for the smooth running of your business, here we are sharing with you the list of the top gear manufacturers in India.
1. Anand Udyog Belgaum
Based in Karnataka, they are one of the top gear manufacturers in India. They offer services like manufacturing gearboxes, conveyor rollers, and machinery spares. Established in 2008, Anand Udyog has become a leading player in fabric and machine spares manufacturing. For them, customer satisfaction holds utmost importance.
Here is a list of all manufacturing of Anand Udyog.
- Conveyor roller
- Cutting knives used on the crane
- Forged steel belts
- S conveyor roller
- Machinery spares
Address: Plot No.208, Udyambag Belgaum,
Belgaum - 590008,
2. Gears and Gear Drives (India) Pvt Ltd
Gears and Gear Drives (India) Pvt Ltd is one of the engineering companies globally. They are engaged in offering manufacturing of gears manufacturers, screw manufacturers, motion technology, classic worm gear screw, pinion, and gear, IMA screw jacks, cubical worm gear screws, etc. With almost 30 years of experience in the machine manufacturing industry, this gear manufacturer company is dedicated to developing processes with multiple applications, like industrial automation, process machinery, solar tracking, making of lifting platforms, material handling, etc. This is the reason; it is a part of the list of top gear manufacturers in India. It is an ISO 9001-2015 certified company.
- Spiral welded pipe mills
- Industrial automation
- Manufacturing of saw pipes
- Manufacturing of ERW pipe for mills
- Processing plants manufacturing
- Cement plants manufacturing
- Antenna position
- Steel plants – cold and hot rolling
- Bottling plants
- Conveyor Systems
- Food and Beverages
- Ships berthing
- Automobile assembly
- Textile machinery
Address: Gears and Gear Drives (India) Pvt Ltd
Sy. No. 31/2, M. Ramaiah Colony, Bandapura Village, Old Madras Road,
Near Cheemasandra Gate, Virgonagar Post, Bidarahalli Hobli,
Bengaluru East Taluk, Bengaluru – 560049.
Phone: 91-8088931951 / 53 / 54 / 58
3. Helical Gears, Spiral Bevel Gear, Miller Gears manufacturers
They are one of the most proficient gear manufacturers dedicated to providing quality services expertise to their clients. To fulfil customer expectations, they always use modern technology for gear manufacturing. It also tops the charts when it comes to the best gear manufacturers in India. This company came into existence in gear manufacturing in 1995.
List of the products offered:
- Types of bevel gearboxes
- Helical gears
- Spur gears
- Straight Bevel gears
- Miter gears
- Worm gears
- Timing pulleys
- Chain sprocket
- Internal grinding
Address: 21, Patel Marg, Gurudwara Road,
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh 201001
Contact no: 098188 13698
|Kitchen Equipment Manufacturers in India||Bamboo Products Manufacturers in India||Sanitary Pads Manufacturers in India|
4. Shanti Gears Ltd
If you are looking for industrial gear solutions, Shanti Gears Ltd could be the right place. They are best in manufacturing and designing gearboxes, manufacture gears, gear motors, gear assemblies, integrated gear manufacturing facilities. This company is a sister concern of Murugappa group since 2013. For almost four decades, they have been into the manufacturing of gear products.
- Installation support
- On-site service
- Case studies
Address: 2nd Floor, Jeevan Deep Building 10, Sansad Marg,
New Delhi, Delhi 110001
Phone: 070425 22771
5. Bharat Gears
They are global gear manufacturing leaders known for offering services not only in India but also across Asia, the USA, and Europe. It is one of the global suppliers of products like the wide variety of ring gears, pinions, shafts, transmission gears, differential gears, and gearboxes of the automotive industry.
Adress: 20 Km, Mathura Road, Sarai Chowk,
Faridabad, Haryana 121003
Phone: 0129 428 8888
6. Bajrang Engineering works:
When it comes to counting the top gear manufacturers of India, you cannot forget to count Bajrang Engineers Works. They have almost 58 years of experience in gear manufacturing of spur gears, ring gears, worm and worm wheels, pinions and tacks, spline shafts, dog clutches, internal hubs, etc. With their superior services, this gear manufacturing company achieved a respectable position not only for gear manufacturing but also for other services like supplying and exporting various types of gear.
Top gear products manufactured by Bajrang Engineering Works
- Industrial gears
- Automobile gears
- Spur gears
- Spiral bevel gears
- Internal ring gears
- Profile ground gears
- Helical gears
- Planetary gearbox
- Worm reduction gearbox
- Gear couplings
- Pinions and racks
Address: 556, Sector 8, Imt Manesar,
Gurugram, Haryana 122050
Contact no: 099997 77470
Also read: Bearing Manufacturers in India
7. JRB Engineering
JRB Engineering offers a wide range of industrial gear products in the market. With its years of experience, the company holds a leading position as an exporter, supplier, and gear manufacturer all over India.
Main products offered
- Gear parts
- Automotive gears
- Earth moving machinery gear parts
- Right-angle gearboxes
- Automotive axles
- Conveyor gearboxes
Address:C-3/10, Mayapuri Industrial Area Phase II, Mayapuri,
New Delhi, Delhi 110064
Contact no: +918037402266
8. ROTEC Transmissions
ROTEC Transmissions is one of the leading gear manufacturers in India. It holds expertise in producing various types of gearboxes and gears. The popular manufacturing of ROTEC Transmission are gear box, draw work frame, making spiral connections required for steel plants, mud pump sprockets, Gear G02, Geargb01, work rolls, and gear couplings under the categories- sprocket and gear parts, gearbox, axle. It is an ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company by M/s. LRQA.
Address: Shed N0.2, Phase lll, l.D.A., Patancheru
502 319 Medak Dist., A.P. India.
Phone No: 08455-242117.
Fax No: 08455-240837
e-mail: email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.org,
Choosing an experienced gear product supplier and manufacturers is very important as it is the main part of the machinery. As there are tons of gear manufacturers available in India, it becomes confusing to choose the right one. This is the reason we shared a list with you of the top gear manufacturers in India.
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Q. What is the common standard used in the manufacturing of gear and gear products?
Ans. The most common standard used in the manufacturing of gear and gear products is DIN 3962, which defines parameters to be measured on a 1-12 scale.
Q. What kind of machine is used in the manufacturing of gears?
Ans. In manufacturing gears, a universal milling machine is used for gear cutting, formation, and finishing of gears and machines.
Q. What are the most popular methods of gear manufacturing?
Ans. The most popular processes of manufacturing gear products are forging, extrusion, casting, blanking, and metallurgy.
Q. What is the fastest way of gear cutting?
Ans. Broaching is the fastest way of gear cutting. This method is performed using the multi-tooth cutting tool. This process is also known as broach. Each tooth of the broach is higher than the previous tooth. This is the reason that the depth of the gear cutting increases as broach operation progresses further.
Q. What are the most popular types of gears available?
Ans. The most popular types of gears available in the market are:
- Helical gears
- Spur gears
- Bevel Gears
- Worm gears
- Racks and Pinion
Q. What are the benefits of gear shaping?
Ans. Gear shaping benefits include:
- Used for helical gears, spur gears, racks, splines, and many others.
- Easier to cut gears at a faster pace.
- Best for medium and large types of batch production.
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Spring engages our senses, inspiring us to stretch and move after a long winter of stagnation. Join 3 herbalists from the Madison Herbal Institute for a panel discussion on herbal spring tonics to find out how plants support us in this seasonal change. David Milbradt will contrast Winter, Spring, and Summer energetics and talk about how the Chinese concept of the liver is related to growth and renewal. Kathrine Alexander will give a Western approach to clearing winter stagnation focusing on how to use what grows in your yard. Kathy Eich will speak about the Greek tissue state perspective, stressing the importance of tonics to support eliminatory organs and inspire internal synchronicity. This program is offered in partnership with The Madison Herbal Institute. The Madison Herbal Institute (MHI) has been growing organically since 1999. It blossomed from an herbal study group with the intention of providing herbal education services for the increasing number of herbal enthusiasts in our area. Call 224-7100 to register. | <urn:uuid:6ec43071-2d5c-4b03-8371-36b5c7d5cf9b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://isthmus.com/events/Madison-Herbal-Institute_2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281450.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00174-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901809 | 201 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Debt is a global problem. Every day more and more people are falling further into the debt spiral. They take up loans they cannot repay and max out credit cards with high-interest rates. Falling into the debt spiral is detrimental to anyone. Additionally, crippling debt is spilling over into our younger generations. Paul Philips of the Debt Line says this has in fact greatly impacted the overall economy.
Over-indebtedness and credit which has for years been overextended are starting to play a massive role in the economy of the country. In this piece we will take a look at the different types of debts which have affected almost everyone:
Pay Day Loans
Pay Day Loans are notoriously easy to get and offer those in a pinch a chance to access money quickly. Credit checks are not as stringent as those run by banks and this has meant that even those who are already over expended could access them. PayDay loans are far smaller than those available through banks but they are paid back at great interest rates. This, in turn, leaves the applicant in a worse off position than before they took out the loan. People who usually take payday loans are 80% more likely to reapply for the loan once they have been paid back. This, in turn, throws them into a never-ending spiral of debt.
Not everyone will have the means to study further after school. This is where student loans come in. They give the prospective student the financial means to study with payments only due once the applicant has completed their studies. These high-value loans are paid back in small installments and at extremely high-interest rates. It is not uncommon for those paying off student loans to do so for up to 10 years after they have completed their studies. Additionally, the loan applicants are unlikely to find employment which allows them to live comfortably while still paying off their loan. This will lead to the applicant taking out additional loans as a means to live.
Credit cards are easy to access and easy to use. They are not as easy to pay off. In the banking sector, this type of loan is also called revolving credit. This means that when used correctly, a credit card is meant to be paid off a month or two from using it. But, this is not how most people use credit cards. Once the applicant of the card maxes out the facility they find that the payment into the account is unsustainable. The repayments are minimal and the interest rate of the card is high. This means for the first 15 months of repayment, the cardholder will only pay off the interest accumulated on the card. The months that follow will slowing dig into the capital amount on the card. Many people find it hard to completely pay off their credit card and will resort to using it time and time again until it is maxed out. Then they will have to start the repayment process again. | <urn:uuid:bf8ca9f1-7e5d-4cc6-b6d5-281d8f9b0904> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://isitvivid.com/biggest-personal-debts-understanding-personal-debt/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573163.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818033705-20220818063705-00065.warc.gz | en | 0.982738 | 583 | 2.78125 | 3 |
|McAfee AntiVirus Plus|
McAfee Antivirus is a longstanding program that has been around for many years, protecting computers and their users. With their new McAfee Antivirus Plus, this company takes another stab at the market by improving many of its older features and adding some interesting new ones. While some people have expressed problems with McAfee in the past—especially in 2010, when an update accidentally made the McAfee program think a Windows file was a virus, causing many Windows computers to enter a reboot loop—this company has always done its best to protect computers and correct any mistakes it made. After being acquired by Intel in 2011, McAfee has shown considerably more power in the antivirus sector. You should notice this upgrade too after noting their new program’s features.
Features : 8/10
One of the best new features with this program is “Safe Searching.” There are websites with viruses lurking even in search engines, and McAfee is dedicated to finding them. When you search for something, color icons will show you how safe the link is.
There is also a two-way firewall, which further protects your computer against hackers. Another thing McAfee has stepped up is its malware detection through its “Active Protection” feature. This quickly determines the risk of any possible safety hazard, so you are always safe.
Ease of Use : 8/10
When it comes to virus protection on Windows Vista or Windows 7, McAfee is a very easy program to use. Past versions of McAfee could be somewhat difficult to handle, but this newer version works painlessly. You just install it, make some small configurations for your preferences and it does all the work.
Customer Support Quality : 8/10
As with most antivirus programs, customer service is usually there to help you, but you may sometimes feel a little abandoned after waiting for 10 to 15 minutes without any response. Normally after you get someone on the phone or online, they will be able to help you out with any problems. However, there are times when the McAfee staff seems a little confused about their own product. All in all, the customer support is average. It is usually helpful, but not always.
Main Advantages of McAfee Antivirus
The main advantages are the new features included in McAfee AntiVirus Plus. The search feature is incredibly helpful, because you never know when a virus will come up from a random website, and the “Active Protection” feature gives you ease of mind. If you choose this program, you should get a lot of use out of it.
Shopping and banking online are two activities that should be more convenient than worrisome, so protect your personal data with McAfee AntiVirus Plus. It keeps your identity and information safe with colour-coded search results and a high quality scanning engine. You can even visit your favourite websites while automatically blocking pop ups that could contain malicious software.
McAfee AntiVirus Plus is practically a mini-suite, with firewall, phishing protection, and a variety of bonus features. It's not quite an Editors' Choice, but it's definitely an effective tool.
With phishing protection and a top-notch firewall joined to essential antivirus protection, McAfee AntiVirus Plus could serve as a bare-bones security suite (as long as you don't need parental control or spam filtering). Its collection of bonus tools like QuickClean, shredder, and My Home Network just make it seem more suite-like. McAfee did earn an excellent score in my malware-blocking test, but other products have rated better with the independent labs.
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Below are resources for psychiatrists advocating for Medicaid payment for the Collaborative Care Model. This includes:
- Overview of the Collaborative Care Model
- Talking points to use when speaking with payers
- Funding streams available for implementation, including states with 1115 waivers
- Examples of states implementing the model through legislation and Medicaid waivers, and
- Additional resources about the Collaborative Care Model
Understanding the Collaborative Care Model
Over the past decade, the integration of behavioral health and general medical services has been shown to improve patient outcomes, save money, and reduce stigma related to mental health. Significant research spanning three decades has identified one model — the Collaborative Care Model — in particular, as being effective and efficient in delivering integrated care. Below are handouts to share with an overview of the model, as well as information about billing codes that have been developed to receiving payment for services provided through the model.
- One Pager – Collaborative Care Model for Mental Health (.pdf)
- Rigorous Research Meets Real World Success – Collaborative Care Model for Mental Health (.pdf)
- Integration of Mental Health Into Primary Care: The Collaborative Care Model (Available to APA Members )
However, successfully expanding use of the model depends on appropriate reimbursement for services related to care management and psychiatric consultation, and infrastructure support for staffing changes and implementation of data tracking tools. New CPT codes are available to submit for reimbursement under those plans, such as Medicare, that provide coverage. FQHCs and RHCs can also receive reimbursement using specific HCPCS codes.
Adopting the Psychiatric Collaborative Care Management Codes
Primary care practices that are providing collaborative care services can now bill for those services using CPT® codes for Psychiatric collaborative care management services (99492, 99493, 99494). Medicare, and some commercial payers, and Medicaid plans are also providing coverage — check the local coverage policies in your area to determine coverage. Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics can bill for these services using HCPCS code G0512 (for the initial 70 minute or subsequent 60 minute visits).
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has provided a fact sheet and a short list of FAQs that describe CoCM services and their associated billing requirements as well as provides a information on a brief care management service, General behavioral health integration care management (99484). They have classified all of these as Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) services on their care management site: Care Management – Behavioral Health Integration.
Talking Points: Advocating for the Collaborative Care Model with Payers
- One in five Americans experienced mental illness in the past year. 1
- Mental health and substance use disorders (MH/SUD) are often chronic conditions that people experience with other health conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes.
- Yet, only 25 percent of patients receive effective mental health care, including in primary care settings, where the majority of patients with MH/SUD receive their usual care.2
- Better care coordination via integration of mental health and primary care has been shown to improve patient access, outcomes, and reduce costs.
- Three decades of research and over 80 randomized controlled trials (RCT) have identified one model in particular — the Collaborative Care Model — as being effective and efficient in delivering integrated care.3
- In the Collaborative Care Model, a primary care physician treating patients’ behavioral health problems leads a team that consists of a behavioral health care manager and psychiatric consultant.
- It is estimated that $26 – $48 billion could be saved annually through effective integration of mental health and other medical care.4
We urge you to support coverage and reimbursement for the Collaborative Care Model as approved in the 2018 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.
- Department of Health and Human Services. “Mental Health Myths and Facts.” http://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/myths-facts/
- Unützer J et al. “The Collaborative Care Model: An Approach for Integrating Physical and Mental Health Care in Medicaid Health Homes.” Health Home Information Resource Center Brief. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. May 2013.
- Advancing Integrated Mental Health Solutions (AIMS) Center. “Evidence Base.” https://aims.uw.edu/collaborative-care/evidence-base
- Milliman, Inc. “Economic Impact of Integrated Medical-Behavioral Healthcare. Implications for Psychiatry.” April 2014.
Funding Opportunities Available to Support Integrated Care
This section provides background information for speaking with your state officials about what funding opportunities may be available to incorporate the Collaborative Care Model into existing or future efforts.
Increasingly more states are reforming their Medicaid programs and working to integrate behavioral health services (including mental health and substance use disorder services) with general medical care through Medicaid waivers and funding streams available from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation Center.
Below is a list of funding streams available that may be used to integrate services, including by implementing the Collaborative Care Model. We’ve also included a chart of certain states approved for an 1115 waiver, which states may use to test new or existing ways to deliver and pay for health care services in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
- View federal funding streams available for integrated care (.pdf)
- View states approved to use Section 1115 waivers (.pdf) (as of August 2017)
State Action on Collaborative Care
New York started implementing the Collaborative Care Model through a statewide grant in 2012. Following its success, the State turned on a Medicaid code to reimburse a limited number of practices in the model in 2015.
The Maryland legislature has shown interest in the Collaborative Care Model by requesting the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene examine the model as a way to better integrate the delivery of physical and behavioral health services.
Washington State has been implementing the Collaborative Care Model statewide since 2009.
During the 2016-2017 legislative session, House Bill 1272, Relating To Improving Access To Psychiatric Care for Medicaid Patients, was introduced in the Hawaii State Legislature to include Medicaid reimbursement for the Collaborative Care Model. The bill was approved by both the House and Senate but was stalled in the final days of the legislative session and not ultimately approved. Discussions are now underway with the State Medicaid office on the potential of implementing the model through the state’s 1115 waiver.
Introducing Legislation or Adopting Reimbursement Codes in Your State
Start a discussion with either members of your state legislature or Medicaid office on how to advance the use of the Collaborative Care Model. To begin discussions, draft legislation is available to use with your state legislature. Also available is draft waiver amendment language you may use to start a discussion with your Medicaid office to advocate for the Collaborative Care codes. Check our chart on 1115 waivers to see if your state has one.
- DRAFT Information – State Plan Amendment for 1115 Waiver (.pdf)
- Collaborative Care Legislation Draft for the States (.pdf)
- Free Training available in the Collaborative Care Model
- Full Report – Economic Impact of Integrated Medical-Behavioral Healthcare Implications for Psychiatry (.pdf)
- Summary – Economic Impact of Integrated Medical-Behavioral Healthcare: Implications for Psychiatry (.pdf)
- Dissemination of Integrated Care Within Adult Primary Care Settings: The Collaborative Care Model | <urn:uuid:29519743-f554-4eff-aa31-d7d85ea87680> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/professional-interests/integrated-care/get-paid/medicaid-payment-and-collaborative-care-model | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571246.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811073058-20220811103058-00264.warc.gz | en | 0.908362 | 1,561 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Havanese and Allergies
Havanese and Allergies – Truth or Myth?
Published in Dogs in Canada Breedlines Jan/Feb/March 2006
Pet Allergies – You may have heard that Havanese are non-shedding and hypo-allergenic. You or other family members have allergies and/or asthma, so is a Havanese a good choice of pet for you? Maybe yes. but maybe not. An estimated 10 to 15 percent of the population is allergic to animals; even so, approximately 1/3 of these choose to live with at least one pet in their household. Choosing and living with a Havanese despite having allergies needs a basic understanding of pet allergies and a few sensible guidelines.
Understanding allergy triggers – Glands in the dog’s skin secrete tiny proteins, which can be allergy triggers in people with sensitive immune systems. These proteins linger on the dog’s body but also easily drift in the air. Proteins are also found in a dog’s saliva and urine. Sensitive individuals can be allergic to one or more of these proteins. Dander is the most common allergy trigger, followed by saliva and then urine.
Symptoms – Reactions to these protein allergens vary from one person to the next, ranging from very mild to severe. Reactions may include sniffling, sneezing, runny or stuffy nose, itchy and watery eyes, skin itch, rashes, hives, headaches, coughing and shortness of breath, wheezing, and life threatening asthma attacks. These can happen as quickly as a few minutes after exposure or as much as 24 hours or more later.
Hypo-allergenic dogs? Contrary to long held belief, there is no dog breed that is truly non-allergenic. Seeing as all dogs of all breeds have skin and produce saliva and urine, they all have the potential of provoking allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. The term hypo-allergenic is typically used in reference to breeds such as the Havanese that appear to have a lower incidence of provoking allergic reactions. This may attributed in part to the breed’s tendency to have lower dander levels and shed less than other breeds. Many people refer to these as hypo-allergenic or allergy friendly breeds (meaning less likely to provoke an allergic response)
Does that mean that anyone with allergies can add a Havanese to their family without concern of experiencing allergic reactions? Not at all; if you or a family member have ever experienced an allergic reaction to any dog or other animal, it is wise to check for potential allergies to Havanese before choosing to add one to your family. Even though allergic reactions to Havanese may be less common, they can and do happen. Lets look at what else needs to be considered and how Havanese can potentially trigger allergies in sensitive individuals.
If Havanese are considered low dander or hypo-allergenic, why can a sensitive individual still get a reaction to them? A review of the potential Havanese allergy triggers may give better understanding.
Dander – what is it? Dander is small particles of dead skin cells that flake off the body as the skin regenerates itself. If dogs have skin, they will produce dander. Some breeds of dog like the Havanese seem to produce low(er) amounts of dander, however; it must be kept in mind that individual dogs produce individual amounts of dander. This means that one Havanese may be more irritating to an allergic individual than another Havanese. Tiny, almost invisible flakes of dander can also float through the air.
Fur – Some very few people may be specifically allergic to dog fur. Contrary to popular belief, rather than reacting to the fur itself, allergic individuals are likelier to be reacting to allergens that cling to the fur. Similarly, it is not specifically the amount or length of hair that causes allergic reactions. While a full coated Havanese does not necessarily produce more dander than a Havanese with a clipped coat, because of the volume, it has more space to hold dander and may also pick up and carry other allergens more easily. The long luscious Havanese coat can pick up an amazing amount of debris in the yard and on walks or playtime in the park including grass, seeds, dust, pollen, molds and other allergens which may be additional triggers for allergic individuals.
Shedding – If fur is not specifically an allergen, what does shedding or non-shedding have to do with allergies?
Dogs that shed profusely may leave more hair everywhere so allergens carried by the hair are naturally distributed more widely than by breeds of dog that shed less. Note: Havanese which carry the short hair gene (a genetic mutation) seem to produce more dander and also shed more than the coated Havanese.
Saliva – Havanese form very strong bonds to their families and can be very expressive in their love with lots of kisses and licking which can be an issue with saliva sensitive individuals. It’s important to know that saliva protein can be transmitted not only by licking but also by residue which lingers on the skin and fur from self grooming. Some Havanese do self groom extensively.
Urine – Urine protein is the least likely to provoke allergic reactions since housebroken Havanese eliminate outdoors or in designated areas and there is minimal direct contact. However, urine residue on the belly or leg fur may cause unexpected problems in sensitive individuals. This may also be an issue around young puppies before they are reliably housebroken.
Can You Live With a Havanese?
Check for reactions – Tell the breeder about your allergies when you visit. Stay as long as possible; hold, hug, cuddle and kiss all their Havanese, puppies and adults. Rub your face into their fur; let them lick you, especially the sensitive skin on your face and neck and inside your arms. This will test your allergic reaction to dander and saliva and help you to determine a basic allergy level to Havanese. A mild reaction does not necessarily mean you cannot live with Havanese. It may simply mean you need to check further. While some mildly sensitive individuals can tolerate 1 or 2 Havanese with few problems, they may not be able to tolerate a houseful. A visit perhaps with a pet owner who only has one Havanese is a good next step. If, upon careful checking, you are highly sensitive to Havanese, it is probably best to avoid getting one and look to other breeds if you are determined to add a dog to your family. (the ideas presented below are not to be considered as long term solutions for highly allergic individuals)
Living with allergies to your pet – Many people with only mild, tolerable allergic symptoms can live with a low dander minimally shedding Havanese with proper environmental controls. Here are a few ideas to help reduce allergens on the dog and in the home to minimize triggers.
- First and foremost, keep your Havanese clean and groomed. Regular brushing helps remove loose and dead hair and the allergens carried by them. Bathing your Havanese every 7-10 days can reduce levels of fur borne allergens by as much as 80%.
- If possible, groom in a specific area, a dog room with a closed door to minimize allergens loosened during grooming from becoming airborne throughout the home. Ideally, a non-allergic family member should do the grooming as well as the cleaning of this room afterwards. Even better, bath day can be done at a self-wash station of a local pet store.
- Daily or weekly use of products that claim to reduce allergens when sprayed on an animal’s fur may be helpful for some, though studies show they are less effective than weekly bathing.
- Regular, thorough cleaning of the home as well as the use of heating and air-conditioning filters and HEPA filters are all ways of reducing allergens. An anti-allergen detergent for pet laundry may be another good idea. – It makes sense that saliva sensitive people discourage their Havanese from kissing or licking them, especially on the face and neck; also important to wash hands thoroughly after handling or playing with the dog. For fur and dander sensitive individuals, the Havanese should be kept out of the bedroom and off the bed to keep the bedroom a dog free zone.
- Many allergy sufferers are sensitive to more than one allergen including dust, pollen, smoke etc in which case the overall allergen level in the environment must be reduced by concentrating on all of the causes, not just the pet allergy.
- A combination of methods is most likely to succeed in allowing a mildly allergic person to live with a Havanese. | <urn:uuid:374f7656-eb6e-4f83-9d95-276a1ae7dcb5> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://leginshavanese.com/?p=625 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720238.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00190-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956666 | 1,832 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Wild fox in Minnesota tests positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza
A wild fox from Anoka County has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. This is the first confirmed case of HPAI in a wild mammal in Minnesota.
The University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory alerted the Minnesota DNR, which is responsible for monitoring the health of the state’s wildlife. The National Veterinary Services Laboratory later confirmed the positive test earlier this week.
Last week, two red fox kits in Ontario, Canada, tested positive for HPAI. Those kits were the first reported cases of the current HPAI outbreak in a wild mammal in North America. The Minnesota fox also was a kit.
The DNR routinely responds to reports of sick wildlife and conducts testing for many wildlife diseases, including canine distemper and rabies in foxes. In light of these most recent findings of HPAI in fox kits, the DNR will add avian influenza to the routine screening process when foxes exhibiting neurological symptoms are submitted to the Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
This year’s HPAI strain is more aggressive and has caused more deaths amongst domestic poultry and wild birds than the previous strain in 2015.
“Testing in Minnesota has confirmed HPAI in nearly 200 wild birds, including 19 species of birds, primarily waterfowl and raptors,” said Michelle Carstensen, the DNR’s wildlife health program supervisor.
The DNR is coordinating bird sampling efforts with U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Raptor Center, the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota, Wild and Free, and other wildlife rehabilitation centers. The DNR and its partners are still learning about this new HPAI strain and its effects on wildlife. The DNR’s monitoring efforts are designed to learn where the strain is spreading and what species might be affected.
“Wild animals can sometimes transmit diseases to humans, and while we typically think of rabies or other well-known diseases as the primary concerns, this shows that there are other risks to keep in mind as well,” said Dr. Joni Scheftel, state public health veterinarian with the Minnesota Department of Health. “The best advice we have for Minnesotans is to avoid contact with wildlife that appear sick or injured and contact your healthcare provider if you are bitten or have other close contact with wildlife.”
Minnesotans who find sick or dead waterfowl and raptors — which are the wildlife most affected by HPAI — should contact the DNR to file a report. | <urn:uuid:2a89e820-52d6-4281-9442-49038bbf721f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.outdoornews.com/2022/05/11/wild-fox-in-minnesota-tests-positive-for-highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571284.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811103305-20220811133305-00472.warc.gz | en | 0.938424 | 545 | 2.53125 | 3 |
I had put this as a part of the Internet Of the Backyard Challenge, and I was accepted for the forget me not challenge. The theme for both these is IOT and I am doing just that. I recently received confirmation that I was accepted for the CC3200 roadtest and since the beyond the phone challnege, I had already purchased a lot Of TI parts, I though I would give it a go here as well. Even though I was not selected for this challenge, I still want to participate hence these posts. The project proposed here is based entirely on the CC3200 and IOT cloud services and is explained as follows:
Backyard MET system and Clothes line management system. aka "The IOT_Clothesline"
One of the problems in India when monsoons arrive is that they bring with them sudden showers and high speed winds. There is a chain of events that happen which are undesirable. In India, most of the power lines are overhead cables which are unprotected and hence if there are strong winds, there is a very good chance that a tree will fall on them or something of the sort will break them loose towards the ground. To avoid damage to pedestrians, the power company typically turns the power off till the storm has subsided and the cables have been checked... everytime! And if there is any kind of damage, you can expect the power to be out for hours, sometimes throughout the night. Now there is nothing you can do to avoid this but there is a list of connected events that we can do something about.
- In order to dry out clothes, we put them out in the sun, however strong winds tend to blow clothing away. And if there is rain in the mix then it's "wash, rinse, repeat"
- Strong winds without rain or before rain means that there is a dust storm. The dust storms are so bad that they can ruin everything inside the house if the windows are left open.
I will be trying to accomplish the solution to one of the above stated. The system consists of the following components:
- MET System: A meteorological system composed of an anemometer(wind speed sensor), rain sensor, light sensor and temperature sensor will monitor param
- Electronic Clothesline: A mechanical arrangement which uses a motor and pulleys to control the location of clothes hanging on a line.
The board will talk to an online weather forecast system to determine if the winds are just temporary or part of a storm. This will prevent the clothes line from opening and closing everytime there is a gust of wind.
Additionally it will talk to an MQTT server posting status and receiving control messages. I am not worried about security right now since I have a different plan for that. I will be focusing on the implementation and the code.
Wish me luck | <urn:uuid:3f80ec3a-e2ff-4723-aaa7-0d81654e326c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/internet-of-the-backyard/b/blog/posts/iot_5f00_clothesline-proposal-no-11?CommentId=feb25a16-cc56-4a06-a988-2f2993e4c48e | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571246.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811073058-20220811103058-00269.warc.gz | en | 0.963691 | 593 | 1.882813 | 2 |
I hope this site provides a little inspiration for amateur astronomers and perhaps a germ of interest in non-astronomers. If you have any suggestions about the website or if you have a question about astronomy, please do let me know.
If you would like to know more about how Celbridge Observatory came about, click here (30KB pdf file)
Clear and dark skies
Eclipsing Binary discovery
Asteroid 2009 FM14
Asteroid 2008 TM9
Asteroid 21782 Davemcdonald
Top tips for getting into Astronomy
For information on Light Pollution inititiatives in 2009, click here.
IFAS Advanced Observing Program | <urn:uuid:21d9f286-fa01-42f3-b4dd-09c1cd123fd5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://astroshack.net/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570767.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808061828-20220808091828-00474.warc.gz | en | 0.845341 | 143 | 1.914063 | 2 |
Adélie Penguin Pictures
- Pygoscelis adeliae
There are more Adélie penguins than any other penguin species. They live in the deep south and frequently have to cross many kilometers of sea ice to reach land in the spring to build their nests.
All pictures on this page copyright of Paul Ward and coolantarctica.com | <urn:uuid:0e5b9930-d7f4-41b5-af68-d4d470a7d9bd> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.coolantarctica.com/gallery/penguins/penguin_pictures_thumbnails_p1_adelie.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282140.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00125-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906378 | 75 | 1.898438 | 2 |
2020-21 Through the Faculty Ranks Series
This series of workshops includes special topics that are of interest to a cross-section of faculty members across campus.
Stopping the Spread of Microaggressions: Breathe, Listen, Resolve
To stop the spread of microaggressions we must intervene. But to intervene successfully, we must remember to breathe, so that we can fully listen and assess the situation. This interactive workshop teaches you how to manage your discomfort and employ active listening techniques so that you can effectively resolve microaggressions and promote inclusion both in and out of the classroom.
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Mardia Bishop, Teaching Associate Professor of Communication
Kristopher Weeks, Assistant Professor of Communication, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
Evaluating Teaching Excellence
Teaching evaluation serves many important functions for advancing the quality of education at Illinois. Based on recent innovations and research, our campus has embarked on an important mission to make teaching better, have streamlined evaluation processes, and support personnel functions that are efficient and equitable. In this session, members of the Provost’s Task Force on Assessing Teaching Effectiveness will share their findings and recommendations, including a new teaching evaluation system and instruments for gathering input from students, peers, and instructors.
Thursday, February 11, 2021
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Amy Ando, Provost Fellow and Professor of Agricultural and Consumer Economics
Denise Loyd, Associate Professor of Business Administration and Associate Dean for Equity
Ann Yeung, Professor of Harp, School of Music
View Handouts and Other Resources for the Evaluating Teaching Excellence workshop on Box. (Illinois login credentials required.)
Click Play below to listen to the audio recording of Evaluating Teaching Excellence. | <urn:uuid:7d7e2ee5-71ef-422e-8f75-4cc2add0f140> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://provost.illinois.edu/faculty-affairs/seminars-workshops/through-the-faculty-ranks-series/2020-21-through-the-faculty-ranks-series/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573193.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818094131-20220818124131-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.904986 | 380 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Big6 in Action: The Big6 in Israel
Author: Reuven Werber
My name is Reuven Werber. I work at Neveh Channah High School for Girls in the Etzion Bloc, Israel. Our school is a 9–12th grade high school for Jewish modern Orthodox girls in the Etzion Bloc-Jerusalem area. We have two classes in every grade level with a total of about 250 students. I am a Judaic studies teacher and ed-tech coordinator at the school. I work with a staff (English teacher, math teacher, and school librarian) to develop and teach an educational technology information literacy course for 9th and 10th graders. I provide ed-tech support and professional development for our staff (about 50 teachers). I also teach a number of courses in ed-tech information literacy skills at the Herzog Teachers College of Yeshivat Har Etzion at the Etzion Bloc.
When I discovered the Big6 on the WWW, I joined and participated in the Big6 mailing list. Later, I bought and read a few Big6 books. Building on this knowledge base, I began translating Big6 materials and applying them at Neveh Channah. Two summers ago, it was my privilege to meet Bob Berkowitz who was in Israel for an International School Librarians conference. Bob visited our school and saw some of our projects. He gave us some very helpful tips and ideas for future program development. He invited me to present some of our projects at the school librarian conference, which I gladly did.
Our program teaches the students to use the Big6 model to complete various curricular projects (in cooperation with the curricular instructors). The projects emphasize different aspects of the model. Each year, we try to apply the Big6 model in a year-end team project. Last year, students in our 9th grade classes did a large project on Jerusalem neighborhoods. The students split into teams of four—chose a Jerusalem neighborhood, gathered information about it from books, periodicals, CD databases, the Web, visits to the neighborhood, and interviews with its residents. The teams utilized the information to prepare PowerPoint multimedia presentations. The students loved the project, and devoted many hours beyond the allotted class time for working on it.
The site is documented at http://www.nevnet.etzion.k12.il/jerusalem.htm (in Hebrew).
Title: Neighborhoods in Jerusalem
Authors: (from Neveh Channah Torah High School for Girls, Etzion Bloc, Israel)
Subject Areas: Geography, history, holiday celebration (Jerusalem Day)
Big6 Skills covered:
Goal: Study the geographical, historical, and demographic development of Jerusalem.
Content Area Objective:
Two 9th grade classes of 31-32 students each, are divided into teams of four. Each team chooses a neighborhood in Jerusalem and gathers, sorts, and organizes information about that neighborhood. Each team prepares a presentation about its neighborhood using Microsoft PowerPoint, and each team project will be exhibited to the school on Jerusalem Day (a day commemorating Jerusalem”s liberation in 1967). Each team divides into two subteams of two students each. All subteams write a report on a problem facing its neighborhood today and propose some possible solutions. This lesson can be adapted to the study of neighborhoods, towns, or cities in any geographical location.
Materials (in Hebrew):
©2014 by Big6 | <urn:uuid:df834dec-ca01-4e9f-80d3-1d974e0f6322> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.big6.com/pages/lessons/articles/big6-in-action-the-big6-in-israel.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280128.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00390-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937704 | 718 | 1.710938 | 2 |
In this tutorial I'll show you how you can develop a better and solid solo using your knowledge. I'll show you how to develop better improvisational skills. I'll look at a number of approaches and I'll clear some of myths you may have heard over the years.
The Number One Rule
Given a certain chord, you can play (over that chord) every scale that has the note of the chord in it
This has to be your mantra, from now on. Well, what I meant is that it is this perspective that I personally find the best to write solo or to choose scale in general.
The main principle is that the chord comes first. The more the chords is defined, and by that I mean that has more notes in it, the more narrow the scale choices will be.
To be clear on what this means, Key center is the idea of grouping all the chords of a progression into one key. For instance:
That's the key of A natural minor, Aeolian. You don't think about every chords separately, instead you see a giant block of A natural minor.
Another example could be:
This time I have an A Dorian progression. Same mindset as before: you can play A Dorian on every chord of the progression.
Using this approach is straightforward, but consider the pro and the cons:
- Easy to use because it doesn't require lot of thought. You just need to find the key and then you can jam over it
- Appropriate for generic pop/rock/metal solo
- It doesn't emphasize the chords you're playing over it
- It's a static way to create interesting melodies. It gets hard to make your instrument really sing
Here's a final example of this progression
I'm using the A Dorian scale over the entire progression.
This is essentially the opposite of what I discussed above.
Don't consider a progression as a box with lots of different chords in it. Instead you analyze and break down the progression until you can refer every chord to a specific scale.
This will require some basic theory knowledge.
Consider this progression:
I added roman numeral below the chords: those are the degrees of the chords in the key of D Ionian, or major.
As you can see D is the one chord, A is five minor and so on. I want you to think about the modes of the major scale that I have compiled in this chart.
As you can see the mode build from the first degree of the major scale is named Ionian, the second Dorian, the third is Phrygian and so on.
If you now connect the roman numeral of the progression to the modes of the chart you will end up with this scale choices.
On the D you can play D Ionian (D major). On the A, which is the chord build from the fifth degree, you can play A Mixolydian. On the Bm you can play B Aeolian, and on the G you play G Lydian.
As I said earlier this approach requires some extra theory knowledge as well as some scale knowledge.
You may have noticed that D Ionian, A Mixolydian, B Aeolian and G Lydian are all the same scale just named differently. They are, note-wise at least. You might consider the advantages and disadvantages of this approach.
- By thinking a scale from the root of the chord that is played behind you will surely create better sounding motif, that will emphasize both the chord and his extension at the same time
- Appropriate for tons of genres but much used in jazz and fusion
- Hard to digest. It requires knowledge both theoretical and scale wise. Unless you're very good at theory this won't be the fastest way to improvise on a progression
I'd like to outline the advantages of using chord scale approach since I personally found it hard to understand at first.
The hardest thing when playing guitar is achieving the skill whereby you're not played by the instrument. You should always decide what you play based on which impact will have without falling into a sort of noodling move on guitar. The moment you forget you're making music and not an exercise, the music dies.
The mindset offered by this approach is unique: in fact every time you will have a new chord you will mentally refer to a new root in your scale even if you're always using the same note.
Even if I'm playing the same note on every bar, every time a new chord will appear, that note will have a different color. I need, as a player, to visualize that note differently every time.
Here's an audio sample where I play over the progression with discussed trying to highlight my chord scale choices:
Chord tones is a mixture of what I talked about above. Chord tones are the most important notes of the chord. You can easily identify them as the root, the third and the fifth. If you have a seventh chord you can definitely think of the seventh as a chord tones.
Those are the most important notes because they spell out the entire chord. This concept is express, technical wise, with arpeggios.
A great knowledge of arpeggios can definitely save your life nine times out of ten. But this approach doesn't only refers to arpeggios: in the end you do want to expand your possibilities and choices. So this is how I use the chord tones mindset.
You need first of all to know your arpeggios well. Then you need to be able to switch arpeggios both staying in the same position and moving up and the neck. Once your mind targets instantly the chord tones, you just need to use the notes in between as connection. If you try this out you will get very chromatic. At the same time, although, you can decide to remain more diatonic and use just the diatonic note when moving from a chord to another.
I'll show you what I'm saying by soloing over this progression:
I'm going to use Am arpeggio, C major arpeggio, Dm arpeggio and E arpeggio. And of course all the notes in between.
Take a listen:
I recommend that you to read this tutorial step by step trying to spend a little time on every approach I outlined before moving on.
None of those are easy and in the end they all are tools that should improve your playing as well as your confidence on how to approach soloing.
Now that you have the guidelines, experiment with them, break the rules and go writing a killer solo. | <urn:uuid:e79b3294-4b04-4f4c-9eb5-963d6777bdcd> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://music.tutsplus.com/articles/how-to-choose-which-scale-to-play--cms-23973 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279169.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00213-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951758 | 1,372 | 2.75 | 3 |
| A scene from The Summit
Theatre is like one-day cricket in some ways. If the openers cannot make an impact in the first 15 overs (corresponding to the first 15 minutes in theatre), it means an uphill struggle lies ahead for the team. The partnership of Ralf Ralf failed to gather momentum in the opening segment of The Summit (presented by British Council at Birla Sabhagar on January 27) and effectively lost our attention.
Occasional flashes of brilliance later on salvaged some respect, but in general the production sounded forced, if not childish at certain points.
The Gorbachev-Reagan summit inspired the Stone brothers, Barnaby and Jonathan, to create this piece in 1987 and it has been rolling ever since, gathering a bit of moss, one dares say. The idea of invented languages on stage is not new (Ted Hughes wrote Orghast for Peter Brook), and the Stones implemented it only passably. For a barely sixty-minute-long show, too many sequences seemed drawn out beyond measure.
To be fair, it convinced whenever the duet met at the level of that cliche, “Music is the universal language.” In these instances, the verbal nonsense was superseded by communication through shared and recognisable musical idioms, in a sense underlining that theatre (hence human expression as well) gets across through texts other than the purely linguistic.
The brothers’ first long exchange in this manner skillfully traversed Western vocalese in parody, from opera songs to hip-hop rap. Later, they had a go at their version of talking drums, pounding out accomplished rhythms and counter rhythms at two ends of the negotiating table.
A rivetting, because unexpected, transformation took place when the siblings morphed into their bestial inner selves, grotesquely crawling over the table, hunched like gargoyles and antagonistically spitting at each other through their nether orifices. Then back again to a cappella harmonising that would do Simon and Garfunkel proud.
However, the debate portions and the hand-shaking did not work well.
At the level of body language, therefore, the Stones did not strike me as remarkably original, and could take a tip or two from their more famous rock namesake.
Another disappointment, though this time expected, was the theatrical leg of Sangit Kala Mandir’s annual five-day Utsav, in which the cast of the popular small-screen serial Kusum thought fit to grace the stage with their presence in a Hindi play written for them, Kusum Manohar Lele.
As always with such exploitation of the marketability of television stars, they look and sound most ill-at-ease in drama, and the script shows little variation from the screen stereotypes as regards situation and characterisation. Neither Naushin Sardar nor Sudesh Beri gave a noticeably different, let alone memorable, portrayal; Sardar’s super-virtuous persona was almost painful to watch. | <urn:uuid:c4c376eb-7076-42b2-9977-a0fe063bed87> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040206/asp/atleisure/story_2859597.asp | 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 | 0.947621 | 627 | 1.75 | 2 |
Abandoned mine lands meetings scheduled
CAMBRIDGE — The Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association (OMEGA) will hold a series of public meetings throughout the region to discuss the Abandoned Mine Land Pilot Program, administered by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Mineral Resource Management (DMRM), a federally funded program which aids in the reclamation of eligible mined lands for long-term economic and community site development purposes.
Site criteria include risk to public health and safety or environmental conditions of the abandoned mine site, the location of the site, intended end use, anticipated economic and community benefits, project partnerships, estimated project cost and availability of leveraged funds.
“Guidance for Project Eligibility Under the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Economic Development Pilot Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2018” was developed by the Office of Surface Mining to provide additional guidance. The guidance document is available online:
Please RSVP for one of the meetings below to Lisa Duvall at 740.439.4471 Ext. 205 or via email at email@example.com by May 28.
All meetings will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
• May 29: Dover Public Library, 525 North Walnut St., Dover
• June 3: Crossroads Library, 63500 Byesville Road, Cambridge
• June 4: Belmont College, 68094 Hammond Road, St. Clairsville
• June 5: New Castle School of Trades, 129 East 5th St., East Liverpool | <urn:uuid:05e688bb-a1ae-4dda-a75f-699719959463> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.daily-jeff.com/story/news/2019/05/26/abandoned-mine-lands-meetings-scheduled/5069530007/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571502.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811194507-20220811224507-00077.warc.gz | en | 0.895333 | 358 | 1.515625 | 2 |
If your business brings merchandise into the United States from other nations, you may be considering a bond to comply with entry regulations and to guarantee payments of import duties and taxes. The following provides some information on two import bond types.
If your business imports goods and later exports the same goods to a foreign nation, a drawback bond can help recover some of the expenses associated with the trade. The most common claim type is accelerated drawback, which guarantees that overpaid drawback is paid to the U.S. Customs & Border Protection. This arrangement is unique because a refund can be provided before goods are liquidated.
Foreign Trade Zone Operator
In areas typically found in and around ports of entry, designated zones are considered out-of-reach for customs activities. In most cases, foreign merchandise tariff payments are deferred until the goods reach the customs territory. To operate in a foreign trade zone, one must secure a bond; the minimum amount being $50,000. This bond serves to assure compliance with customs laws.
An import bond can speed up trade, and in some cases help your business recover fees that were paid but are now irrelevant because the same goods are being exported. Be sure to consult with an insurance professional to consider thoroughly the unique needs of your business. | <urn:uuid:874d1035-c393-4362-a7d7-808fbf67435e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.skiprogrambusiness.com/skinny-two-import-bond-types/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573118.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817213446-20220818003446-00668.warc.gz | en | 0.95564 | 256 | 2.015625 | 2 |
These works are all profusely illustrated, some by Albrecht Diirer, and in the preparation of the woodcuts Maximilian himself took the liveliest interest.
See Ein Wort der Erinnerung an Albrecht von Grcife (Halle, 1870) by his cousin, Alfred Grafe (1830-1899), also a distinguished ophthalmologist, and the author of Das Sehen der Schielenden (Wiesbaden, 1897); and E.
The results of the international observations are discussed from time to time by Albrecht in the publications of the International Geodetic Association, and in the Astronomische Nachrichten (see also EARTH, FIGURE OF).
In this field Bechamp, Cohnheim, Albrecht Kossel, and, especially, Emil Fischer and his pupils have been extremely active.
Forster's principal works are: Beitrage zur neueren Kriegsgeschichte (Berlin, 1816); Grundziige der Geschichte des preussischen Staates (Berlin, 1818); Der Feldmarschall Blucher and seine Umgebungen (Leipzig, 1820); Friedrich der Grosse, Jugendjahre, Bildung and Geist (Berlin, 1822); Albrecht von Wallenstein (Potsdam, 1834); Friedrich Wilhelm I., Konig von Preussen (Potsdam, 1834-1835); Die Hofe and Kabinette Europas im 18.
Joachim, Die Politik des letzten Hochmeisters in Preussen, Albrecht von Brandenburg (Leipzig, 1892); K.
What in the opinion of Albrecht Dieterich (Eine Mithrasliturgie, Leipzig, 1903) is a Mithras liturgy is preserved in a Greek MS. of Egyptian origin of about A.D.
Of the scientific societies the most noted is the Royal Society of Sciences (Konigliche Sozietdt der Wissenschaften) founded by Albrecht von Haller, which is divided into three classes, the physical, the mathematical and the historical-philological.
And Albrecht I., edited by F.
While thus engaged he determined to trace the history and describe the existing condition of each of the arts and sciences on which he was lecturing, being perhaps incited by the Bibliothecae of Albrecht von Haller. | <urn:uuid:d911dabe-6bc0-4c1a-9adb-0ac7bc2bbe85> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.all-dictionary.com/sentences-with-the-word-Albrecht | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570767.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808061828-20220808091828-00469.warc.gz | en | 0.693992 | 536 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Release: NBER Macrohistory Database
Data Are Adjusted For Trading-Day And Calendar-Month Variations. Orders Are Net Of Cancellations. Revisions For 1961-1970 Data Are In Series M3-1.2. Source: United States Department Of Commerce, "Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories And Orders: 1947-1963, " Revised (Series M3-1), Published October, 1963; "Business Statistics, 1965, " (Biennial Supplement To The Survey Of Current Business). Current Estimates Are In The Survey Of Current Business Monthly Issues. The Latest Month Is From The U.S. Bureau Of The Census, Current Statistical Reports: "Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories And Orders, " Series M3-1, Monthly.
This NBER data series m06130 appears on the NBER website in Chapter 6 at http://www.nber.org/databases/macrohistory/contents/chapter06.html.
NBER Indicator: m06130
National Bureau of Economic Research, Manufacturers' New Orders, Transportation Equipment for United States [M06130USM144NNBR], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M06130USM144NNBR, October 25, 2016. | <urn:uuid:90b09f0c-818d-4056-b39a-367eac80b6e7> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?chart_type=line&s[1][id]=M06130USM144NNBR&s[1][range]=1yr | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720000.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00024-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.797622 | 278 | 1.59375 | 2 |
If you see something that looks like a small kangaroo, on its own and in more bushy areas, it’s more likely to be a wallaby.
Looking very like small kangaroos, swamp wallabies are darker than their eastern grey kangaroo cousins and have dark patches on the tips of their noses, tail, legs and forelimbs. They tend to live solitary lives and are generally very timid. At Wildlife Wonders, the swamp wallabies can often be seen way beyond the tree ferns in the temperate section of the walk.
Swamp wallabies are members of the marsupial family so (like kangaroos and koalas) the female gives birth to a tiny hairless embryo which makes its way through her fur to the safety of her pouch where it will remain for six months or so before venturing out to eat grass, but staying close until it is around a year old.
Swamp wallabies avoid open grasslands, farms and paddocks. They can be found in or at the edge of the bush, choosing fresh young plants, fungi and ferns, or grazing on the grasses at the side of the road. This makes them particularly vulnerable to cars, which probably cause more deaths than animal predators as these little wallabies are often foraging at dusk, and are hard to spot.
It’s important to keep alert and drive slowly, especially at dawn and dusk, to avoid hitting these beautiful animals. | <urn:uuid:757c0603-e792-4ce4-a762-d5b00f0c4379> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://wildlifewonders.org.au/wild-lives/swamp-wallaby/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573699.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819131019-20220819161019-00276.warc.gz | en | 0.965945 | 305 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Project Managers and other professionals are asked to manage small projects every day. Often, an individual is managing several smaller projects at the same time. These projects require a more flexible, less formal approach to project management. Even business analysts, marketing analysts, and software developers are expected to manage their own projects, while also performing much of the project work as a key team member—or the ONLY team member.Balancing the role of project manager and project team member is much easier with an understanding of how to tailor the basics of project management. In this course, students will learn to develop a project plan, assess risks, negotiate for resources, create a schedule, and manage the completion of small projects. Students will also receive a copy of PM Crash Course: What Really Matters When Managing Projects for free as part of course registration.
Tuesday, March 28, 2017 - Wednesday, March 29, 2017 9:00 AM - 4:00 PMCentral Time
Delivered Live OnlineParticipate from Your Desktop
Cvent Online Event Registration Software | Copyright © 2000-2016 Cvent, Inc. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:50fc3df5-a49a-433c-94d7-674519675120> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.cvent.com/events/managing-small-projects-delivered-live-online-12-hours/event-summary-37d0b2de335f4169bda320f76fe9b170.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279410.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00165-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930879 | 222 | 1.773438 | 2 |
8/11/2005 - Opera Software, world leader in cross-platform browser technologies, introduced Opera Mini (TM), a J2ME (Java 2 Mobile Edition) Web browser for virtually all mobile phones. Opera Mini(TM) enables Web access on more than 700 million low- and mid-tier Java-capable phones around the world, finally bringing mobile Internet into the mainstream.
Opera Mini (TM) is a fast and easy alternative to Opera's mobile browser, allowing users to access the Web on mobile phones that would normally be incapable of running a Web browser. This includes the vast majority of today's WAP-enabled phones. Instead of requiring the phone to process Web pages, it uses a remote server to pre-process the page before sending it to the phone.
"Mobile Web surfing has until now been limited to more advanced phones that are capable of running a browser," says Jon S. von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. "With Opera Mini (TM), the phone only has to run a small Java-client and the rest is taken care of by the remotely located Opera Mini server. With Opera Mini (TM) you don't have to have an advanced phone to surf the Web, which means that most people can use it with their existing phones."
Installing Opera Mini (TM) is as easy as installing a ringtone. Users simply send an SMS or visit a link through their WAP browser to receive it, and they are online in an instant.
Because Opera Mini (TM) enables Web access on low- and mid-tier phones, operators can now dramatically increase the average revenue per user (ARPU) across their entire customer base by stimulating the usage of compelling mobile Web services. Opera offers full customization of Opera Mini (TM) to companies, for example operators, broadcasters, mobile content providers and the Internet industry, that would like to include their own version of Opera Mini (TM) as part of their mobile content offerings.
The first company to take advantage of Opera Mini (TM) is Norway's leading commercial television station, TV2. It has bundled Opera Mini (TM) with its mobile services in Norway to offer its viewers a complete mobile content package that includes a branded and advanced Web browser.
"Finally we see how we can generate revenue from real mobile browsing," says Morten Holst, VP Strategy, TV2 Interactive. "By introducing TV2's portal through Opera Mini (TM) we have combined the best of mobile services with mobile Web access."
Opera Mini (TM) is available to end-users through operators and companies that choose to include it in their offerings to their customers. It is currently available as a pilot project through TV2 in Norway, with wider availability to be announced.
About Opera Software ASA
Opera Software ASA is an industry leader in the development of Web browser technology, targeting the desktop, smartphone, PDA, home media and vertical markets. Partners include companies such as IBM, Nokia, Sony, Motorola, Adobe, Macromedia, Symbian, Canal+ Technologies, Sony Ericsson, Kyocera, Sharp, Motorola Metroworks, MontaVista Software, BenQ, Sendo and AMD. The Opera browser has received international recognition from users, industry experts and media for being faster, smaller and more standards-compliant than other browsers.
Opera's browser technology is cross-platform and modular, and currently available on the following operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Symbian OS, Windows Mobile, BREW, QNX, TRON, FreeBSD, Solaris and Mediahighway.
Opera Software ASA is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with development centers in Linkoping and Gothenburg, Sweden. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. Learn more about Opera at www.opera.com.
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If you found this page useful, bookmark and share it on: | <urn:uuid:42b7304f-103f-4c95-a850-30e0cde48e49> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.embeddedstar.com/press/content/2005/8/embedded18718.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720845.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00085-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925906 | 816 | 1.804688 | 2 |
What is a Dot Plot and how does it work?
The definition of Dot plots, also known as strip plots and dot charts, are simplified histograms used in statistics to analyze small data set. It shows values falling into discrete categories. A dot plot is like a bar graph, as the “bars” of dots are equal in height and number of items within each category. Before you can create a stack of dots with high bins, you will need to count how many data points fall within each bin. You can easily create a dot plot in Excel.
Data can be encoded using dots or small circles with a dot plot. A number line shows the distribution of numerical variables values, where each dot represents a value.
This is the first graph referred to as a “traditional dots plot” (or simply “dot charts” above). The definition of this dot plot graph has existed since the dawn of time. These graphs show how data is distributed. These graphs can be useful if you want to visually represent your data to spot outliers and get a sense of the shape. Like a histogram which shows data distributions in bars, but not as dots, this is similar. This dot plot represents a single data point. They don’t need to be equally spaced along the horizontal lines. These plots are best for small data sets. If you have larger data sets, however, a histogram or box plot or box plot might be more suitable.
William S. Cleveland’s definition of dot plot is the most popular one I see in business settings today. The Cleveland dot chart is sometimes simply called that. This graph encodes quantitative data across categories. This graph can be considered an alternative to the bar charts.
You don’t have to do the complete process to create a dots-plot. You can start by moving to it using something familiar.
The connected dots plot is another common variant. The connected dots plot functions in the same way as the Cleveland dot chart, but it graphs multiple data series. Let’s continue with the example but add another data serie.
Can be considered an alternative to bar charts.
How to Create a Dot Plot?
You might be wondering, “How do I make one?”. Some tools are great for creating them. Sometimes, even if the tool does not have this functionality, it can still be created with a little imagination.
Excel can be used to create a Cleveland dots plot. You have the option to display your data in horizontal or vertical orientation. To create your categories, simply input the values for each other. As an example, in the horizontal Cleveland style that I described in my explanation, the scatterplot’s x-values are mine data values. The y-values are 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. These numbers are used to space the categories. Vertical orientation can also be achieved with a line graph. Data markers can be added to your dots to make the line between them invisible.
It’s not easy to create the connected dots graph using a tool without built-in functionality. It is possible. It will often be a combination of line graphs and scatterplots to connect dots. The connection is made using a stacked bar chart. This step-by-step guide will help you create a connected dots plot in Excel.
Although there are many ways you can make one, the easiest way to start is to draw it by yourself.
Step 1 Select a scale to put it up.
We will establish a horizontal scale. All values must be enclosed. The smallest value in this data set is 0. 9. The title will be given by the number line number books.
Step 2: Plot the dots.
Fill in the dots using your scale. Each value is assigned an integer and the dots are stacked. Let’s only plot the first row. This will allow us to verify it. Each value is represented as a dot on the plot. Once we have all the details, we can proceed with the operation. Although you may not be able do it perfectly by hand you can ensure that the dots match up. You shouldn’t have wide gaps between the dots that make one value seem more dominant than another.
That’s all! They are easy to make and understand, making them great for data representation, especially when using excel dot plots.
The pros and cons of Dot Plots
They are much lighter than a common bar chart. They use less ink. Additional freedom is offered by the connected and Cleveland dots plots. The axis does not have to start at zero. Instead, it can begin at any point.
However, dot plots aren’t as common as bars. This can be a good thing in certain cases. People unfamiliar with the situation may not accept them.
A Dot Plot is, in short, a graph showing the distribution of qualitative variables. Each dot represents a single value. A whole number can have more than one value. The dots are placed over each other, so the column’s height represents its frequency.
Note Dot charts don’t look like Scatterplots. Because it sorts data into BINs, they look more like a histogram. You can create dot charts using software like SPSS. | <urn:uuid:12b2c228-777f-4e9e-8c29-c16ad4e236fd> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://sixsigmadsi.com/glossary/dot-plots/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571472.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811133823-20220811163823-00669.warc.gz | en | 0.913026 | 1,093 | 4.0625 | 4 |
When US forces destroyed a chemical munitions dump in Khamisiyah, Iraq in March 1991, the soldiers concerned did not realize what they were getting into. Only much later it was revealed they could have been exposed to the deadly sarin gas, released during the demolition.
Sarin is a chemical weapon estimated to be over 500 times as toxic as cyanide. Non-lethal doses can create permanent neurological damage and symptoms such as loss of memory, paralysis, seizures and respiratory problems. Turns out that over eight metric tons of sarin were released during the Khamisiyah demolitions.
Still many scientists sounded skeptical. But last week a research funded by the defence department showed that even a low-level exposure to sarin nerve gas could have caused lasting brain deficits in former service members.
Also symptoms were found to be exacerbated by the use of bug repellant and a nerve-agent antidote given to roughly 250,000 troops during the Gulf War.
When the roughly 700,000 deployed troops returned home, about one in seven began experiencing a mysterious set of ailments, often called gulf war illnesses, with problems including persistent fatigue, chronic headaches, joint pain and nausea. Those symptoms persist today for more than 150,000 of them, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, more than the number of troops exposed to the gases.
Advocates for veterans have argued for more than a decade and a half that a link exists between many of these symptoms and the exposure that occurred in Khamisiyah, but evidence has been limited.
The latest study, financed by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the first to use Pentagon data on potential exposure levels faced by the troops and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan the brains of military personnel in the exposure zone. It found signs of brain changes that could be due to ex
posure, showing that troops who had been exposed at higher levels had about 5 percent less white matter than those who had little exposure.
White matter volume varies by individual, but studies have shown that significant shrinkage in adulthood can be a sign of damage.
The study was led by Roberta F. White, chairman of the department of environmental health at the Boston University School of Public Health. Dr. White and other researchers studied 26 gulf war veterans, half of whom were exposed to the gases, according to a Defense Department modeling of the likely chemical makeup and location of the plume. The researchers found that troops with greater potential exposure had less white matter.
In a companion study, the researchers also tested 140 troops believed to have experienced differing degrees of exposure to the chemical agents to check their fine motor coordination and found a direct relation between performance level and the level of potential exposure. Individuals who were potentially more exposed to the gases had a deterioration in fine motor skills, performing such tests at a level similar to people 20 years older.
Dr. White says this study and the results of research from other studies provide "converging evidence that some gulf war veterans experienced nervous system damage as a result of service, and this is an important development in explaining gulf war illnesses."
Previous research has linked sarin with brain cancer, and Freedom of Information Act requests indicate the Pentagon knew that up to 300,000 Desert Storm troops may have suffered from sarin exposure. Yet veterans seeking support were often told that their symptoms had no physical basis.
The American Journal of Public Health had said two years ago that Khamisiyah veterans were nearly twice as likely as their unexposed peers from the same war to die from brain cancer.
Further analysis showed evidence of an eff
ect based exposure levels. For instance, compared with their unexposed peers, veterans exposed to chemical munitions for one day were 72 percent more likely to die from brain cancer, while those exposed for two or more days were 226 percent more likely to die from brain cancer, it had said.
Yet it is doubtful if even now, over 16 years after the Khamisiyah disaster, the Department of Defense (DOD) will finally face the issue of US-troop sarin exposure.
One obvious reason is money. If the DoD admitted to withholding critical information connected to their medical illnesses, tens (or even hundreds) of thousands of Gulf War veterans could potentially become eligible for compensation.
Second, acknowledging the sarin issue could raise further questions about the Pentagon's 2003 admission of having tested biological/chemical agents on 5,842 service members from 1962-73. In operations called Project 112 and Project SHAD, the Defense Department tested weapons capabilities on troops in six states (Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Utah), Canada and Britain. Many veterans of those operations were not informed for decades and are still fighting for compensation and recognition.
Third, an admission of guilt would weaken the DoD's credibility regarding controversial programs today. For example, the anthrax vaccine is mandatory for military personnel and civilians deploying to "high-threat" areas across the globe, including Iraq and Afghanistan, despite being linked to serious illnesses and even death among US service members. Quite conveniently, the quarterly analysis of medical care data for vaccinated service members was ended in 2002, critics charge.
Several lawmakers who were briefed on the White team study say the Department of Veterans Affairs is now obligated to provide increased neurological care to veterans who may have been exposed.
But Dr. Michael E. Kilpatrick, deputy director of the Force Hea
lth Protection and Readiness Initiative at the Defense Department, argued the impact of the study was limited and that it did not establish a direct causal connection between sarin exposure and gulf war illnesses.
The study had depended on DOD data that was at best an estimate and at worst a guesstimate of exposure levels by troops.
"But I'm sure we will be talking with members of Congress about it in deciding how to go forward," said Dr. Kilpatrick, who has handled much of the department's work on Khamisiyah and troop health issues.Related medicine news :1
. Birds of a Feather: Children, Activists and Bird Lovers Join To Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day in Kenya2
. Professional Footballers Case Worries AIDS Activists3
. Division Among Delegates To Dilute UNs AIDS Plans: Activists4
. HIV/AIDS Activists Plan Demonstration Outside Indian Embassy5
. AIIMS Doctors yet to Get Pay; Pro-Quota Activists Attack UPA Govt6
. Bhopal Gas Victims Get Spurious Drugs, Say Activists7
. Drop Patent Petition, Activists Ask Novartis8
. Human Rights Activists Sleepless In Seattle9
. Paid Maternity Leave Pushed By Australian Rights Activists10
. Work Less to Sustain Planet Earth, Say Activists11
. Naked Activists March Against Burberry Use of Fur in Fashion | <urn:uuid:defeb655-7fd0-4845-b088-fd48ec03c8d0> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/Activists-Urge-Greater-Medical-Support-for-Gulf-War-Veterans-Exposed-to-Sarin-Gas-21101-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280730.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00251-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965033 | 1,398 | 3.265625 | 3 |
The paper presents a new meta data set covering 13 experiments on the social learning games by Bikhchandani, Hirshleifer, and Welch (1992). The large amount of data makes it possible to estimate the empirically optimal action for a large variety of decision situations and ask about the economic significance of suboptimal play. For example, one can ask how much of the possible payoffs the players earn in situations where it is empirically optimal that they follow others and contradict their own information. The answer is 53% on average across all experiments - only slightly more than what they would earn by choosing at random. The players' own information carries much more weight in the choices than the information conveyed by other players' choices: the average player contradicts her own signal only if the empirical odds ratio of the own signal being wrong, conditional on all available information, is larger than 2:1, rather than 1:1 as would be implied by rational expectations. A regression analysis formulates a straightforward test of rational expectations, which rejects, and confirms that the reluctance to follow others generates a large part of the observed variance in payoffs, adding to the variance that is due to situational differences.
Social learning information cascades failure of rational expectations meta analysis | <urn:uuid:1e2d7ca8-315d-4f74-a613-0c7c3d0cd82d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.econstor.eu/handle/10419/34852 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285315.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00576-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94147 | 251 | 2.171875 | 2 |
Living in lockdown can present some issues when it comes to running low on baby safe painting materials. How will your mini artist continue their work, exploring textures and colours and creating masterpieces to look back on in years to come?
Never fear, ARTventurers are here.
Here are some edible paint ideas you may use to create from items you will find in your kitchen.
This is such a lovely activity that babies and young children LOVE. It is a fantastic, low mess activity which is great for your baby’s sensory development.
This activity allows your baby to explore textures, patterns and colour mixing whilst developing their co-ordination and concentration skills. They can explore paint during tummy time or whilst working on their ability to sit upright.
Plus, there’s a unique little masterpiece at the end of it for their grown ups to keep forever. Win-win!! | <urn:uuid:794706cb-08b2-4b87-ac06-1244ca5fadf4> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.artventurers.co.uk/southshields/category/art-for-kids/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572221.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816060335-20220816090335-00072.warc.gz | en | 0.947842 | 181 | 1.5625 | 2 |
STRAIGHT TALK from The Leadership Speaking School
In my previous post about online meetings and how to show up as the best version of yourself, I focused on how to set up the right environment from a visual and auditory point of view. Now I want to take you one-step further by focusing on you and your presence in front of the camera.
What you wear
The first thing I want to mention is that you are what you wear during online meetings. When your audience sees you on camera, you are representing your own brand, and that image comes across through your clothing, your hair, whether or not you are wearing makeup or jewelry, or if you have ironed your shirt. All of these things point to your personal brand, so you need to put some thought into what you wear online, just as you would for live meetings. I want you to get comfortable with the idea that as a speaker, you are actually a performing artist, like a singer, dancer, or actor. Speakers are performing artists, and what they wear is just as much a part of their performance as what they say.
Be careful not to make a statement with your wardrobe that is “too loud”. If you do, it is harder for your audience to pay attention to what you are saying because they will be more focused on your fashion sense than on your message. Stick to neutral colors, nothing too out there. You should also know that patterns like stripes, checkers, or other prints can be distracting and create pixelation on camera. Go for solid colors, and avoid sharp color contrasts. If you are sitting or standing in front of a white wall, be careful not to dress in a fully black outfit. These contrasts are really sharp and can strain the eyes. You want to wear colors that are not only neutral but also relaxing for the eyes that are watching you.
Finally, avoid wearing clothing that restricts your body. Here, I am thinking about your breathing, so avoid wearing tight belts or undergarments that make it hard for you to breathe. The same goes for a tight jacket that prevents your arms from moving naturally. Make sure that your clothing is comfortable enough so that air can move freely through your body and you can move with ease.
Self-awareness is essential when you are on camera because you are literally ON! and people are watching every move and gesture you make. Remember the phrase ‘Smile! You’re on camera’? People who are not self-aware will scratch their nose or fidget or do other things that distract (and which may be inappropriate). Again, you are amplified, there is technicolor, there is detail and nuance. One major tip to remember when you are speaking is to look directly at the camera lens. Online speakers that do not have a lot of experience tend to look anywhere and everywhere when talking to their audience and this has a messy effect. You want to appear sharp, professional and crystal clear when speaking to your audience, and you do that by looking at the camera.
Pay attention to how you are using your face. If you are talking about a happy subject but you are not smiling, there is a lack of congruence because your face and body language are saying something different. Part of being self-aware in front of a camera is being aware of what you are actually saying. If you are talking about something happy, be happy and smile. The same is true for other emotions. Online viewers need to see congruence between what you are saying and what you are doing. This is really important because otherwise, the message gets stuck, and people lose attention because they are trying to pick apart how you actually feel about what you are saying.
Sitting versus standing
I have noticed that the modus operandi for most people in online meetings is sitting, rather than standing. And while doing this, they are often in some sort of pretzel formation, meaning that their arms and legs are crossed or they are leaning forward in a closed position. This is less than optimal as it restricts your airways and makes it difficult for your audience to infer a deeper meaning through reading your body language. Overall, you want your body to be open, with good posture, so that oxygen is circulating through your body, refreshing your ideas and making your voice freer. You also want to allow your body to express your words and thoughts just like you would in regular offline conversations.
I strongly believe that you deliver the best version of yourself when you stand up. It is a total game-changer. Imagine someone saying, “I caught a really big fish” while sitting down and without using their hands. You do not get much information about the size of the fish or their elation from catching it, but if they used their hands, you would visualize it more clearly and feel the message through their body language. When you are standing, you communicate supplemental information along with your words, which creates greater impact. Even if you are only using audio, without the video, I recommend standing and moving as you speak. In a nutshell, standing frees your voice, influences how you transmit your message, and makes your presence and energy shine.
Take care of yourself
The last thing I want to talk about is taking care of yourself. What does this mean? Well, it takes a lot of effort to be physical and concentrate and be present while you are ON! with people watching you. Let’s not kid ourselves, it drains energy. So every now and then try to take a little break to give yourself an energy boost. Make sure you have a bottle of water next to you so that you can stay hydrated and lubricate your vocal cords during the call. Ideally, it should be room temperature water, not ice water or water that is too hot. Having some healthy, energy-packed snacks can also boost you up. I suggest dates or dried fruit, and sunflower seeds. It is great to have these at hand when you need a little pick-me-up.
Finally, another thing that can help you stay present is to take breaks whenever possible. This is easier to do if you are in charge of the online meeting and you can give participants breaks. If you are not leading these meetings, you could ask for a break, so that you come back into the conversation more refreshed and revitalized. Your aim is to stay sharp and focused. It takes effort not only to be on, but to stay on, so remember to practice some self-care during your online meetings.
All of these tips can be used to help you show up as the best version of yourself every time that you speak online. Let’s use these speaking opportunities to elevate ourselves and to make our messages matter.
This is the second in a series of articles from The Leadership Speaking School, based on podcast episodes of Leadership Speaking Radio, delivering golden nuggets of wisdom to help you not only survive, but THRIVE in front of audiences both online and in person. | <urn:uuid:26586d03-e5d6-4595-ba6c-f787b737dbea> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.theleadershipspeakingschool.com/2020/07/26/how-to-radically-up-skill-and-thrive-in-online-meetings-part-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572127.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815024523-20220815054523-00273.warc.gz | en | 0.969543 | 1,439 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Recently, another metal has attracted the eyes of investors. This metal is the rarest and most precious one because of its industrial use in manufacturing health care, jewellery, and other industrial utilisation. It has the biggest demand in the automotive industry because of its use in catalytic converters, an automobile emission control device that converts toxic pollutants to less toxic ones.
Aside from that, because this metal is extremely rare, it is considered one of the most valuable metals. And it is less abundant compared to gold, making it more precious than other metals.
Here is the thing, Platinum has a huge amount of industrial demand but has little supply, making it hard for the miners to find. Hence, making it a top choice for the investors as their alternative investment sphere.
But is it worth the investment? Read further research and understand the best way to avoid great loss.
How is it as an Investment?
Investing in this metal is like investing in other metals such as gold, silver, or copper. However, the distinction between them is that it is limited. It is 30 times rarer than gold because of its low consistency on the Earth’s surface.
Consequently, it is influenced by its demand and supply, where weak supply means a higher price. Because of this, there is gain and risk in investing in it.
So, is it a good investment? The truth is it is a good investment, but it isn’t without gamble because it is a volatile asset class.
It means it is not for the feeble or inexperienced people due to the price that widely fluctuates in both courses. Because of it, platinum can be a short-term investment. Meaning these are the gains that hold for one year or less.
Having a financial expert to consult with is a great idea for you to understand more if this is worth an investment. Also, do some research. Study what you are about to operate.
Like any other investment, not all investments are for everyone, especially when it comes to metals. The investor’s background, risk threshold, financial status, and time extent will determine the success of the investment made.
Two Ways to Invest
In getting things straight, you should not invest in this metal if you have not had lots of experience in the market. There are two ways to invest in this:
- ETFs. This method works by letting you store in a vault the physical metal that you bought. Then sells the shares with an ETF (that knows and tracks the metal’s price in the market). But, of course, this method means that you own it via legal paper but can’t possess the metal.
- Physical. On the other hand, this method is what you can hold and transport easily. It is your hard asset and is purchased from coin dealers.
Yes, two options, but both are great choices. You may either choose one or both. Why not, when the investment is a great choice.
Having another investment is always a good idea. But be mindful of the risk factors that you are going to undergo. Compared with other metals, this is a valuable metal in the market because of the lack of supply and high demand. | <urn:uuid:e781a99c-cd69-4034-aa41-c3b94625e70a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://shiftednews.com/ways-you-ought-to-know-about-investing-in-platinum/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571536.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811224716-20220812014716-00266.warc.gz | en | 0.959946 | 659 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Tip 2.9: Using Checkboxes to Create Verse Lists
A common BibleWorks task is creating verse lists. In this Classroom Tip we look at the new Search Window Checkboxes feature, and demonstrate how useful it is for creating verses lists.
Using Search Window Checkboxes to Create Verse Lists
The Search Window checkboxes feature is a handy tool for creating verse lists. This example shows how to use the Search Window checkboxes to aid in creating a verse list of one specific meaning of the word for belief, pisto.j.
Begin by searching on the word pisto.j in the BNM, with the BNT displaying in the Browse Window. The Search Window lists 67 hits in 63 verses. Place your cursor over the Search Window, then click the right-hand mouse button to display the context menu. Select Checkbox Options, and then select Clear All Verse List Checkboxes.
The Friberg ANLEX lexicon lists two main definitions for the word pisto.j. The first definition is active; of persons trusting, believing, or of being a believer. The second definition of pisto.j is passive; being trustworthy, faithful, or reliable.
We will check the boxes that contain a use of pisto.j that fits the first Friberg definition, where pisto.j is used in an active sense of trusting, believing, or being a believer. Display each verse in the Browse Window in turn by clicking on the verse in the Search Window. Evaluate the meaning of pisto.j in the content of its verse. If pisto.j has the first meaning in that verse, select the checkbox for that verse. Continue through the list until you have evaluated all the verses.
Once you have completed checking the checkboxes, right-click inside the Search Window to open the context menu. Select Checkbox Options, and then select Delete All Unchecked. This removes all the unchecked verses, leaving you with only a list of verses that contain the word pisto.j with the meaning contained in the first Friberg definition.
You can use the Copy options button to copy the list of verses to the BibleWorks editor or to Microsoft Word. You can save the verse list to a file by selecting File on the BibleWorks main menu, then selecting Save Verse List to File. You can also import the verse list into the Verse List Manager for future work with your verse list. | <urn:uuid:442894c0-ca29-405f-9553-67913f82bf4d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://bibleworks.com/classroom/2_09/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283008.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00079-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.810171 | 493 | 2.609375 | 3 |
The evolution and use of language is vital to any study of our species, and for an insight into the human tendency to tiptoe around delicate subjects, you can’t do much better than consider the history of euphemisms. It goes back a long way. Thousands of years ago, predators were alluded to rather than directly named; since people couldn't always distinguish between spoken words and the things they stood for, they feared that simply saying “tiger” aloud would result in the undesired appearance of the beast. (Candyman, anyone?) Today we are a wiser lot – in some ways, anyhow – but plain-speaking is still well beyond our skill set, especially when it comes to subjects such as sex, death and bodily excretions.
Ralph Keyes’ book Unmentionables (originally published as Euphemania and now subtitled “From Family Jewels to Friendly Fire – What We Say Instead of What We Mean”) is an entertaining look at the history of euphemistic language, ranging from ribald Shakespearean lines (Iago to Desdemona’s distraught father: “Your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs”) to Winston Churchill being told by an American lady at a dinner party to say “white meat” instead of “breast of chicken” (a probably apocryphal story goes that he sent her a corsage with the message “Pin this on your white meat”). Along the way, Keyes reminds us of the often-surreal consequences of indiscriminate bowdlerising, such as the Associated Press article that changed the name of the athlete Tyson Gay to Tyson Homosexual, or the email filter in the Internet’s early days that prevented residents of Scunthorpe from registering themselves online. (Why, you ask? Check the second to fifth letters of the town’s name.)
Unmentionables starts to wear a little thin after the first few chapters (the book is primarily a trivia-trove), but I liked its recurring motif that certain words come to be perceived as “good” or “bad” as their associations change over time. Steven Pinker and other experts on language have written about how (for instance) the word “nigger” was once used benevolently – including by progressive-minded people who campaigned for equal rights – but eventually became taboo because of its widespread pejorative use by bigots. Many of its "politically correct" replacements have become similarly corrupted through association with prejudiced attitudes. In a world entirely free of discrimination, censorship of this sort would be unnecessary – but then, reading and writing would be drabber processes too. As it is, it’s fun to speculate that many of the words we today regard as being innocuous will have sinister connotations in a few decades.
It’s been a good month for classic Indian fiction – Penguin’s new editions of R K Narayan books were followed by Random House India’s Classics Series, with Arunava Sinha translating Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Durgeshnandini into English. The Narayans gave me a chance to catch up with a writer whom many Indian readers of my generation take for granted – if your memories of Malgudi are restricted to short stories in class 6 textbooks, rediscovering him is quite an experience.
One myth about Narayan should be quickly dispelled: that his writing is “simple” in the sense that you can just pick up one of his books and race through them. This notion has been perpetuated by some of today’s mass-market writers who seek to validate their own non-literariness through association. For example, Chetan Bhagat has admitted to being influenced by Narayan’s no-flourishes style, which might create the misleading impression that Narayan can be read in the same way that you can read a Bhagat novel (it took me barely an hour to finish Five Point Someone). Certainly there is a basic directness in Narayan’s prose – an emphasis on narrative rather than “style” – but sentence by sentence, his best work has the refinement, the carefulness, the knack for observation and description, that you expect in good literary fiction. There’s little that’s casual about it.
Consider this early passage from The Vendor of Sweets:
The bathroom was a shack, roofed with corrugated sheets; the wooden frame was warped and the door never shut flush, but always left a gap through which one obtained a partial glimpse of anyone bathing. But it had been a house practice, for generations, for its members not to look through [...] A very tall coconut tree loomed over the bath, shedding enormous withered fronds and other horticultural odds and ends on the corrugated roof with a resounding thud. Everything in this home had the sanctity of usage, which was the reason why no improvement was possible. Jagan’s father, as everyone knew, had lived at first in a thatched hut at the very back of this ground. Jagan remembered playing in a sand heap outside the hut; the floor of the hut was paved with cool clay and one could put one’s cheek to it on a warm day and feel heavenly.The prose here is functional, but it’s also assured and humorous, and commands the reader’s full attention (the passage is randomly selected, by the way; you can open the book almost anywhere and find another like it). One also senses a pioneering Indian writer in English trying to create a visual picture of his world for the foreign readership that he knows his books will reach - it’s ironical that many people take jingoistic pride in the idea that Narayan was a provincial man who never wrote for the West.
“We wanted to challenge certain notions about what a comic is, about what it can do and should do,” says the editor’s note for a slim new graphic novel titled Hush. The book’s title couldn’t be more appropriate – this story about an unhappy, angry schoolgirl with a gun in her hand is completely wordless, propelled not by written text but by vivid black-and-white drawings. The experience of “reading” it can be initially unsettling, but as I turned the pages for the second time I found the images speaking with the force of a good, visually inventive sequence in a silent movie – a film made in an era when directors could aspire towards pure cinema.
Hush – based on a story by Vivek Thomas, and drawn by Rajiv Eipe – is the first title by the independent publishing house Manta Ray Comics, set up by former engineering students Dileep Cherian and Pratheek Thomas. Cherian and Thomas are big fans of graphic novels, but as the former tells me on email, they feel the need for more mature material in the genre in India. “We think we can produce original material rather than rehashing mythology for a Western audience, and we want Manta Ray to become a platform for original creators, artists and writers.” If one of their goals, as Cherian says, is “to amplify the voices of interesting people”, they've made a good start. | <urn:uuid:75a8d5a3-3771-4108-91d2-ae8a1b4786ed> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://jaiarjun.blogspot.com/2011/02/sunday-guardian-snippets-on-euphemisms.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00030-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970353 | 1,543 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Debris of missing F-16 believed found
Italian Coast Guard divers searching for a missing American F-16 and its pilot were focusing on Tuesday on waters where a fishing boat found debris believed to belong to the jet, a Coast Guard official said.
The debris, including fragments of carbon steel, was found floating in the northern Adriatic overnight, Rear Admiral Francesco Saverio Ferrara said. The U.S. Air Force said in a statement on Tuesday it was thought to be wreckage from the missing aircraft.
"We hope to find out more during the day so we can have a more complete picture of what happened," Ferrara said.
The missing jet took off from Aviano Air Base on a training exercise on Monday evening, and the control tower lost contact with the plane at about 1900 GMT.
Search-and-rescue operations are being conducted by sea from the port of Ravenna, and Air Force planes from Aviano are spearheading the search from above, Ferrara said.
Snow and rain hampered the operation overnight, and on Tuesday fog was hampering visibility, the Coast Guard said.
Aviano is the base for the U.S. Air Force's 31st Fighter Wing. The Air Force said a board of officers would investigate the incident.
"Wing leadership remains hopeful that we will safely rescue our pilot," an Air Force statement said. | <urn:uuid:adff3b8d-b5df-4613-9d33-c18913b56559> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130129/world/debris-of-missing-f-16-believed-found.455342 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721405.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00312-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968047 | 281 | 1.5 | 2 |
Tips and tricks from a RMT
As we all know, spending hours at a time typing on a computer can be tough on our hands. A recent study found that 59% of office workers reported hand pain. To help prevent hand pain, we’ve compiled some tips and tricks from an RMT to save your hand. Keep reading for helpfuladvice on how to avoid common hand issues!
Good posture is important for overall musculoskeletal health, and this includes the hands and wrists. Poor posture can lead to joint pain, tendonitis, and even carpal tunnel syndrome. To help prevent these conditions, it is important to maintain good alignment of the hands and wrists. When typing or using a mouse, the wrists should be in a neutral position, not bent up or down. The elbows should be at a 90-degree angle, and the shoulders should be relaxed. It may also help to use a wrist support when working at a desk. If you start to experience any pain or discomfort in the hands or wrists, be sure to see an RMT for an assessment. With proper care, you can avoid hand and wrist injuries and enjoy healthy, pain-free joints for years to come.
If you’ve ever talked with an RMT about their exercise routine, they will most likely mention strength training for the forearms, hands, and wrists. Although hand and wrist injuries are common, there are several exercises that can help to prevent these types of injuries. For example, wrist curls and extensions help to strengthen the muscles and tendons around the wrist, while grip exercises improve the grip strength and dexterity. In addition, forearm exercises can help to increase the range of motion in the joints and improve protection against overuse injuries. By including these exercises in your training regimen, you can help to reduce their risk of sustaining a hand or wrist injury.
RMT Recommended Hydrotherapy
Another RMT recommendation to help reduce hand and wrist pain is hydrotherapy. It can help reduce pain and swelling and I can tell you from experience, it works! My go to form of hydrotherapy is the forearm contrast bath. It’s simple, effective and requires very little prep. First, fill a sink (or bucket or whatever you have) with cold water and another sink with hot water. You simply put your forearms, wrists, and hands into the warm water (I usually do 30 – 60 sec) and then switch by putting your arms into the cold water for 10-20 sec. Repeat this back and forth 6-8 times. Your arms and hands will feel amazing when you’re done! A word of caution, make sure the hot water is not too hot, as you don’t want to damage your skin. It should quite warm, but bearable. I also recommend putting a few ice cubes in the cold water as it can warm quickly. Hand wrist injuries are common in the workplace.
By taking some simple precautions, you can prevent these injuries from happening. We’ve outlined a few of our best RMT recommended tips for you above. How do you take care of your hands and wrists? Let us know in the comments! You can also check out some of our other blog articles here. Visit our team page by clicking here to find an RMT that is right for you! | <urn:uuid:e244401e-986e-4fb7-850c-1646f3d2f759> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://alpinemassage.ca/rmt/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573193.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818094131-20220818124131-00473.warc.gz | en | 0.949728 | 690 | 2.3125 | 2 |
Perl may be a artificial language that was originally developed for script manipulation. however currently Perl is employed for a spread of purpose as well as net development, graphical user interface development, system administration and plenty of a lot of. it’s a stable, cross platform artificial language.
For net development, Perl CGI is employed. CGI is that the entree that interacts with the online browser and Perl during a system.
Its typical use is extracting info from a document and printing out report for changing a document into another type. this is often as a result of it got its name once the expression, “Practical Extraction and Report Language”.
Programs written in Perl square measure referred to as Perl scripts, whereas system programs to execute Perl scripts square measure referred to as Perl program.
Perl is AN taken language. once a Perl program run, it’s 1st compiled into a computer memory unit code, then it’s born-again into machine directions. therefore writing one thing in Perl rather than C saves it slow.
It supports most of the operational systems and is listed in English language wordbook. Its ideas and syntax is taken from several languages like awk, bourne shell, C, sed and even English.
Perl was developed by Larry shut in 1987 as a scripting language to create report process easier.
It was 1st discharged with version one.0 on Dec eighteen, 1987.
Perl 2, discharged in 1988 adding a way higher regular expression engine.
Perl 3, discharged in 1989 adding support for binary knowledge streams.
Perl 4, discharged in 1991 with a higher documentation than earlier.
Perl 5, discharged on October seventeen, 1994. It adscititious several new options to its last version like objects, variables, references and modules.
The latest version five.24 is discharged on could nine, 2016.
It has a really straightforward Object-oriented programming syntax.
It is simply long because it supports twenty five,000 open supply modules.
It supports Unicode.
It includes powerful tools to method text to create it compatible with mark-up languages like markup language, XML.
It supports third party information as well as Oracle, MySQL and plenty of others.
It is embeddable in alternative systems like net servers and information servers.
It is open supply software package authorized below wildebeest.
Many frameworks square measure written in Perl.
It will handle encrypted net knowledge as well as e-commerce transactions.
It is a cross platform language.
It offers an everyday expression engine that is ready to remodel any sort of text.
Perl five is copyright (C) 1993-2005, by Larry Wall. it’s ASCII text file and free software package. It are often decentralized or changed below bound terms and conditions of wildebeest and inventive License.
The wildebeest General Public License provides a free and open supply software package to its users. Any program derived below wildebeest authorized ASCII text file should have same sort of license.
The inventive license states that a package derived from Perl should clearly highlights the modifications created in it. the initial module ought to be distributed along side the derived one. specifically the initial author should be recognized because the owner of the package. Users ought to be able to distinguish between the initial module and derived module. | <urn:uuid:68324faf-cd6f-44d4-b885-17e22b07240e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://eduindex.org/2021/07/21/perl/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571210.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810191850-20220810221850-00467.warc.gz | en | 0.933674 | 710 | 3.125 | 3 |
INSPIRATION AND ENCOURAGEMENT can come from many places. For some, they’re found in a lifetime of work from a literary giant. For others, they emerge, unexpectedly, from an indomitable 16-year-old prophet with preternatural vision and determination. And many of us are heartened, and challenged to see differently, by the inspired imagination of artists—from a poet who urges us to “discover the truth of wonder and rejoice in the silent voice of God” (p. 39) to creatives around the world who transform the tools of trauma into affirmations of healing, redemption, and resistance.
But art is not passive. For art to be meaningful, to be “successful,” requires engagement—and a willingness to allow our most closely held assumptions, norms, and habits of thinking and being to be shattered. Truly (and vulnerably) engaging with art requires moral courage, but it promises unexpected rewards as we’re opened to new possibilities—and even new sources of inspiration in a world that sorely needs them. | <urn:uuid:79196a18-2c9d-4660-ab30-bc2054e50d3a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://sojo.net/magazine/december-2019/editor-december-2019 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572212.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815205848-20220815235848-00475.warc.gz | en | 0.947389 | 224 | 2.265625 | 2 |
Energy Efficiency In Doors And Windows
When it comes to glass doors and windows energy efficiency is exceptionally important.
Naturally, glass doesn’t provide great insulation, however double and triple glazed units can improve it massively.
Over the years technology has improved greatly and modern windows can not only keep your home really warm, but they look really good too.
What are the key features, which will improve your windows performance?
- Low- E coating – metal oxide coating, applied on the internal part of the glass panel. Allows light and heat to go in and prevents it from escaping.
- Cavity pocket- gap (which is usually 16 mm thick) between two or three sheets of glass, filled with either air, argon, krypton or xenon. Air does not work as a good insulator compared to other gases.
- ‘Warm Edge’ spacer- synthetic pane spacer, keeps glass sheets apart from each other, helps to minimise energy loss and reduces condensation.
- Right frame- all frame materials are available in various different energy ratings. Make sure that you check that too.
Making The Right Choice
How will you know that you have made the right choice?
Ask your double glazing systems supplier what is the U- value (calculation of its ability to transfer the heat) of them.
The lower number they give you the better it is for you.
According to British Building regulations, U- values of newly installed doors and windows should not be higher than 2.0. Larger glass panels achieve better U- values than smaller one.
Passiv Haus Systems can take you down to even 0.69; they are usually triple glazed as a standard.
The goal is to make your house as economic and environmentally friendly as possible.
They have got the best performance when it comes to wind resistance, water tightness, sound insulation and security.
Design matches a timber finish on the inside and aluminium on the outside giving them a Scandinavian look and incredible durability.
Manufacturers usually give a 10-year guarantee for these systems.
High-quality systems will be very effective in preventing condensation.
Condensation happens when humid air meets a cold surface, which is why it is so common on glass doors and windows. Obviously; properly isolated units are much better at preventing it, however, they can not prevent it 100%.
Some glazing suppliers can offer anti-condensation coatings. This is applied to the external surface of the glass and chemically bonded to it. That makes it extremely smooth, so it is very difficult for condensation to stick to it.
Energy-efficient glazing will not only keep your home warm and reduce the cost of your bills, but it will also work as a very good acoustic barrier.
In order to achieve the most efficient acoustic barrier, you should choose the most robust windows. As the thicker the glass is and the deeper your cavity pocket is, the better soundproofing it will provide.
Life Span of Your Doors and Windows
Predicted lifetime for most of the double glazed units is 20 years. However, this period can vary from 10 to 35 years. It all depends on the environment and the way you are going to treat your glass doors and windows.
It’s easier to notice the drop-down in the performance in colder countries (like Scandinavian countries for example).
Performance of double glazed unit will be less satisfying if the seal becomes compromised and gas from between the panels starts leaking, which will reduce its insulating features.
Thinking of energy-efficient glazing we usually focus on its ability to retain the heat, forgetting that it is equally important for us to keep our houses at a comfortable temperature during the summer too.
Applying a Solar Control Coating to the glass will prevent your home from overheating and your surfaces from getting discoloured.
That will automatically reduce air conditioning costs, especially in places with large expanses of glass.
It is a metal oxide coating which is spread over the internal face of the external glass sheet of an insulated glass unit.
This coating is available at various different levels of intensity. The most common one is 70/35. That will allow your unit to transmit 70% of light, reducing the G factor (solar heat gain) to 35% at the same time.
Applying solar control coating on the glass does not change its appearance.
Choosing new glazing systems for your house wisely can greatly improve your comfort and be pleasing for your pocket to boot. | <urn:uuid:92464f3a-5f88-4511-acde-8de7b7dc4f11> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.glazingguru.org/energy-efficiency/energy-efficient-glazing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571909.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813051311-20220813081311-00272.warc.gz | en | 0.941078 | 942 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Senator John ThuneSouth Dakota wheat farmers, so far in 2008, have been blessed with one of the most abundant harvests ever, with bin-busting record winter and spring wheat yields being reported across all areas of the state in August. Adequate to surplus rainfall has fallen across much of South Dakota this spring and summer. Thanks to the expertise of South Dakota farmers and our state's fertile lands, rainfall, the ingredient most often missing to brew up a bumper crop, adequately watered South Dakota's wheat this year.
South Dakota's projected average yield for 2008 is expected to be 54 bushels per acre - a new record high. For every farmer I've visited with this month these high yields are even more appreciated because of skyrocketing production costs, including fertilizer, fuel and chemical expenses.
Now let's turn the clock back 110 years to the 1898 wheat crop. I recently read a newspaper article printed in The New York Times on July 13, 1898, and have to admit that I was surprised that many of the same cycles and trends we're experiencing in 2008 occurred back then. Let me share a few examples with you. The article starts out with, "The great wheat fields of this state are a source of wonderment and astonishment to the Northwestern farmer this year." This certainly applies to 2008 as it did in 1898.
Another example, as provided in the article, "The high price of wheat last fall prompted farmers to plant more extensively of wheat this year. But this was not the only reason. The Western farmer has learned to cultivate wheat at less expense." Many farmers shared with me that they planted 2008 crop-year wheat simply because wheat could be planted at much less expense per acre than corn.
According to the article, "Railroad companies are troubled over the demand that soon will be made upon them." Today, South Dakota's agriculture producers are still very much reliant on good rail access, and will greatly benefit from finalization of the Canadian Pacific Railroad's acquisition of the DM&E Railroad.
Another interesting comparison is that in 1898, ".while the rainfall has been exceptionally great, it appears to have been a benefit rather than a detriment, as the farmers predicted." This reminds me of the dire predictions for corn and soybean crops earlier this year due to excessive rainfall from eastern South Dakota all the way through the Corn Belt in Ohio. As of today, thanks to near perfect growing conditions, these same areas are expecting bountiful yields.
Finally, as one last comparison, the 1898 article provided that only six years earlier farmers in the state were "starving" and aid was sent to them from the East. The article went on to say, "But how different is their condition today. The farmers have become rich and prosperous."
Although most farmers may not have become "rich and prosperous" because of the 2008 wheat crop, I know how much they appreciate their better-than-average crop this year. However, although farmers are pleased with this year's crop, they are justifiably concerned about next year, not just because of potential uncertainty with weather, but because they are fully aware that the 2009 crop will likely set another record before it's even planted - a record high production cost per acre.
This is why I'm carefully watching and engaging with the U.S. Department of Agriculture as it implements the 2008 Farm Bill. As a Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I worked very hard to make sure the farm bill included a permanent disaster program and other safety net components that will be available when Mother Nature takes a raincheck on providing favorable growing conditions. | <urn:uuid:d36bf8d9-8ab6-4427-8556-0dcce3011dc2> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2008/8/oped-0a01ced7-f8e2-4ffd-b73c-f6f3a50c4530 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572192.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815145459-20220815175459-00077.warc.gz | en | 0.97231 | 728 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Take a dumbbell of your choice and do a bicep curl, followed by a shoulder press, a squat followed by a bicep curl or a lunge, followed by a shoulder press. Gary says that combining moves in this way gives you 30 to 40 different exercise options. “These multi-joint movements work several muscles at once and can improve joint stability, decrease the risk of injury and keep your heart rate elevated for cardiovascular benefits,” he says.
2Change your foot position
Changing your foot position instantly makes any exercise harder, according to Gary. For example, the wider your stance in a squat position, the easier the exercise. Place your feet together to make squats more difficult, or try squatting on one leg at a time. You can make arm exercises more difficult by standing in a lunge position, rather than with your feet side by side, adds Gary.
3Add a calf raise to a squat
Exercises that incorporate what’s called triple extensions allow you to extend your hips using your glutes and hamstrings, extend your knees using your quads, and flex your ankles using your calves, according to Gary. “In addition to giving your calves more attention and building muscle, you more closely replicate what you do when you run, jump or ride a bike,” he says.
MORE: We Wear Short Shorts
4Change the tempo
For cardio, add a sprint somewhere in your routine. Exercising in quick spurts can pay off. A University of Western Ontario study found that people who ran four to six 30-second sprints reaped the same fat-burning, muscle-building benefits as those who logged a 30- to 60-minute endurance workout.
For strength training, instead of doing bicep curls with a 1-up, 1-down count, try counting 3-2-1 up and 1-down or 1-2 up and 3-2-1 down. You can apply the same principle to push-ups, squats and lunges. Picking up or slowing down the pace improves your cardiovascular health and could result in more muscle definition, says McCamish.
5Add resistance to your ab workout
“Placing an object between your knees or simply holding your knees together during an ab exercise really engages the muscles in your lower belly,” McCamish says. “You’ll see improved definition in your lower abdominal area.” For extra resistance, try squeezing a towel or small playground ball between your knees, holding the contraction while you perform the ab exercise.
6Move to a less-stable surface
McCamish suggests moving from the floor to a squishy mat and striking any one-legged yoga pose. “The instability of the softer surface causes you to engage your core, strengthening your abdomen,” she says. Another tweak: Use a large, inflatable stability ball. Get into push-up position by placing your legs on top of the ball and your hands on the floor, shoulder-width apart. Simply balance or do push-ups. For more of a challenge, roll the ball in and out with your legs, maintaining a flat back in the push-up position and working those core muscles.
VIDEO: Yoga Pose a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
In cardio exercise, if you’re accustomed to running on a treadmill at a speed of five, try decreasing your speed to four and increasing the incline on the machine. Run at a speed of four for one minute and then walk for 30 seconds. Keep running at these intervals until you’ve completed your workout. Interval training improves your speed and stamina, notes Usher-Weems.
8Change the position of your weights
This tweak can be applied to several exercises, but try it first with an overhead press. Using the weight of your choice, instead of positioning your arms shoulder-width apart, narrow them, keeping your elbows glued next to your rib cage as you lower the weights and press up. By placing the weights in this modified position, you’ll feel the contraction more in your triceps and less in your chest. “Tweaking your weight placement allows you to focus on and tone different muscle groups,” says Usher-Weems.
9Modify your push-up
Change up the traditional military push-up by adding a little elevation. Get in plank position, but instead of putting your feet on the floor, place them on a 6- or 8-inch-high step or a stability ball. As you perform the push-ups, you’ll feel the contraction in the shoulders more than the chest. Says Usher-Weems: “This is another way to work additional muscle parts, to cross-train and to build strength.”
MORE: Strength Train at Home—No Equipment Required
10Increase repetitions and weight
Change the number of repetitions and the amount of weight you use. For example, try taking your workout routine from 10 reps of 10 pounds to five reps of 15 pounds. “By increasing the amount of weight you use and decreasing your reps, you should see increased muscle size and strength,” notes Usher-Weems. | <urn:uuid:3da1c5ac-ef43-4fb9-89ea-741c74485ca7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.youbeauty.com/fitness/enhance-your-muscle-workout/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00357-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923206 | 1,077 | 1.976563 | 2 |
Possibility of surf lifesaving training centre
Surf Life Saving New South Wales has flagged the possibility of a new education centre on the far south coast.
The State President, Tony Haven, has paid tribute to the work of the region's volunteers at this month's branch meeting.
He has named the region as one of two possible locations for a facility offering first aid and water training courses.
The President of the far south coast branch, Tony Rettke, says Mr Haven also presented clubs with new equipment in recognition of dwindling funds.
“Tony's visit was to present the four northern clubs, the clubs in the Eurobodalla Shire, with a new rescue board each,” he said.
“That was just to show support as they will be missing a little bit of funding, or some funding this year from Surf Life Saving New South Wales, as they did not get the contract for lifeguard services in the Eurobodalla this year.”
For more, go to the South East News Blog | <urn:uuid:c961cb22-73b2-435b-a452-a4ee30b6c307> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-24/lifeaving-centre/3850306 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282202.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00555-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968631 | 213 | 1.78125 | 2 |
You will feel a lot better if you walk into school with your friends, so you aren't so
lost or look like you don't know where to go. This is the best way to start the day.
... Day of School. Looking amazing on the first day of school will help you kick off
the year on the right foot and feel happy and confident throughout your first day.
For others, however, it can feel very stressful. There are lots of things to do if you
want to ensure a great first day at school. Preparing for school usually starts in ...
This matters, if you're planning to look awesome and give a good first ... Read on
from step one below for a steps guaranteed to allow anyone to be beautiful on
the first day of school. ... Leave the house with a smile and feel confident doing so
This will help you get right back on track, and will also help make a great first ...
Four Methods:Before School StartsThe Day Before SchoolOn the First Day of .....
It'll make others feel intimated and they'll start judging you or just avoid you ...
How to Make a Good Impression on the First Day of School. School is a place
you ... Style your hair for school - it will make you feel and look great. Try to get a
How to Look Great for the First Day of School. Are you getting nervous ... first day
of school? Looking good will help you feel good, which can actually ease nerves!
Sep 1, 2015 ... 13 Feelings We Have on the First Day of School. Her Campus ... Here are just a
few things you might be feeling as you head back to class.
Maybe you got a great T-shirt on vacation, or your ... you feel good at school —
whether it's the first day or the ...
Aug 5, 2015 ... First impressions matter - especially on the first day of school. Here are some
suggestions on how to make students feel welcome. ... “Ask your child about his
$5.00 bill” or comments like “This class has a great sense of humor! | <urn:uuid:b557e3f6-8a42-4133-b565-e4fcde2a49dd> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.ask.com/web?q=How+To+Feel+Great+On+The+First+Day+Of+School%3F&o=2603&l=dir&qsrc=3139&gc=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285289.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00145-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928561 | 440 | 1.710938 | 2 |
The United Kingdom is ready to spend close to $500 million for improved infrastructure for both electric and autonomous cars as the country strives to be at the forefront of the development of these breakthrough technologies.
The UK government has decided to invest £390 million ($484 million) to help the development of electric and autonomous vehicles, shop troche as well as the needed infrastructure. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond was in charge of the announcement during his Autumn Statement earlier this week: “reliable transport networks are essential to growth and productivity.” He also said the investment would “build on our competitive advantage in low-emission vehicles and the development of connected autonomous vehicles.” Last year autonomous cars were allowed for testing on UK roads and immediately companies took advantage – including Volvo or Jaguar Land Rover.
The electric, autonomous and connected segments are coming together as of late – for example the UK authorities understand investments in high-speed, next generation 5G wifi will be adamant to the idea of allowing autonomous cars to communicate with each other and the infrastructure. “We welcome the investment to enhance the charging network for electric vehicles, as well as further support to boost uptake of low emission buses and taxis,” added the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, representing the country’s auto industry. | <urn:uuid:f4ea83f9-09f9-4271-864a-2f264ccbc8ee> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.inautonews.com/great-britain-invests-390-million-pounds-in-ev-and-autonomous-development | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285001.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00298-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970081 | 266 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Nearly all schools file antibullying proposals
Mass. law set a Dec. 31 deadline
Ninety-nine percent of Massachusetts school districts filed bullying-prevention plans with the state by the Dec. 31 deadline — a marked turnaround from nearly two weeks ago when just 60 percent had complied with the mandate.
Only six schools — two public, one charter, and three private special education schools — failed to file plans with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as required by the new law that seeks to protect students from bullying in schools and beyond.
The law, signed by Governor Deval Patrick last May after the suicide of bullied South Hadley student Phoebe Prince, requires schools to adopt clear procedures for reporting and investigating cases of bullying, as well as methods for preventing retaliation against those who report problems.
Representative Marty Walz, chief author of the bullying prevention law, said the high rate of plan submission is evidence that schools are serious about prevention. But she said it was only a first step.
The success of the law “will be measured by how well the schools prevent bullying,’’ she said. “This is just the beginning. . . . The important work of changing school climate is what’s ahead of us.’’
Among the most effective antibullying programs, research has shown, are those that change school culture — often by involving entire school communities, including teachers, bullies, cafeteria workers, librarians, school bus drivers, and children who witness bullying, and imbuing them with a sense that bullying is not acceptable behavior.
School plans that have been submitted will be scrutinized to make sure they include the required elements, said JC Considine, the education department spokesman.
The department will conduct routine reviews to make sure schools are complying. The agency also will investigate parent complaints of bullying, if necessary.
“Parents should start locally with their principal or superintendent. But there is a system in place for them to contact the department if they have concerns,’’ Considine said.
The schools that did not submit plans by the end-of-the-year deadline are: two public schools, the tiny Gosnold Public School District on the Elizabeth Islands, and the Massachusetts Academy of Math & Science in Worcester; one charter school, the Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School of Excellence in Springfield; and three private special education schools, Metro South Academy in East Bridgewater, Children’s Study Home/Mill Pond School in Springfield, and Whitney Academy in East Freetown, according to the department.
The six schools were notified in writing yesterday of their noncompliance and will be required to tell the department when they intend to comply. The law does not specify penalties for failing to file a plan by the deadline.
Private schools — with the exception of schools for special education students — do not have to submit plans to the Department of Education.
William Davila, a deputy director of one of the six noncompliant schools, the Children’s Study Home in Springfield, said his school submitted its plan last week.
Considine said yesterday afternoon that the state had received no plan from the school.
The medical director at Whitney Academy, Donald Sherak, said his school, which is a residential treatment center, had crafted a policy but had not yet filed it.
“This is a special-needs school and a lot of these kids have been victimized so we take this very seriously,’’ Sherak said. He said he did not know why the plan had not been filed.
Calls to the four other schools were not returned immediately yesterday afternoon.
Among the components that must be included in the school plans were: descriptions and statements prohibiting bullying, clear procedures for reporting and investigating bullying, the range of punishments that can be taken against a bully, procedures for prompt notification of parents or guardians of bully targets and bullies, and provisions for staff training on bullying.
Under the law, districts were required to consider input for their plans from school staff, teachers, volunteers, parents, students, residents, and law enforcement.
In many cases, local school committees approved plans before submitting them to the Department of Education.
Considine said the public approval component might have slowed districts in their submission of plans. About 40 percent were filed with the department in the final days of 2010.
Sarah Schweitzer can be reached at email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:f10d023f-af6c-45b7-b8e9-824fde2bc3c0> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/01/04/most_mass_schools_make_antibully_plan_deadline/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573197.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818124424-20220818154424-00675.warc.gz | en | 0.976061 | 910 | 2.140625 | 2 |
Lebanon fears over slide into Syria conflict
30 April 2013 Last updated at 17:42 BST
As the conflict in Syria drags on, pro-government fighters near the country's borders are turning for increasing support to their allies in neighbouring territories.
Shia towns well inside Lebanon are being deliberately targeted by anti-Assad groups because of their allegiance to the regime, and many fear the country is being drawn into the fight.
Wyre Davies reports from northern Lebanon. | <urn:uuid:40d47a5b-a991-4133-a521-ea6324217ca6> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-22358858 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281331.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00225-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963167 | 96 | 1.539063 | 2 |
The Taylor School Readers Second Reader [Signed Copy]
by Taylor, Frances Lilian
Werner School Book Company. Hardcover. New York / Chicago / Boston, 1902. 8vo, publisher's illustrated cloth, 159 pp. Inscribed by Taylor to a friend on front free endpaper. An uncommon children's title, well illustrated. An excellent copy with minimal normal wear. . Very Good. 1902. (Inventory #: 15708)
You can be confident that when you make a purchase through ABAA.org, the item is sold by an ABAA member in full compliance with our Code of Ethics. Our sellers guarantee your order will be shipped promptly and that all items are as described. Buy with confidence through ABAA.org. | <urn:uuid:c6f9301e-c6df-403d-8e13-3d0ec44fa769> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.abaa.org/book/899328236 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280825.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00199-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911058 | 154 | 1.609375 | 2 |
TfL says it would reduce congestion and support regeneration on both sides of the river, however some local residents and environmental campaigners oppose the scheme, claiming it would increase pollution and traffic.
When I interviewed Val Shawcross, London’s deputy mayor for transport, last month one of the topics we covered was the scaling down of Transport for London’s management structure so that front line staff could be entrusted with more responsibility and those at the top had a better idea of what was happening.
Transport for London has started trials of a new type battery-powered bus stop display screen which could provide a low-cost alternative to the current generation of Countdown displays.
Over the coming months, cameras will be issued to officers in all 32 boroughs policed by the Met, as well as overt firearms officers and those in selected specialist frontline roles.
Attending the display was previously free of charge but in 2014 former Mayor Boris Johnson introduced paid-for ticketing in order to manage the numbers congregating along the Thames and at transport hubs as revellers made their way home.
Mr Khan has made clear his ambition to complete the devolution of rail services to City Hall and Transport for London which began under London’s first Mayor, Ken Livingstone. | <urn:uuid:32540f43-fef2-4684-9927-0c9a89c77197> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719286.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00497-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972401 | 255 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Mary MacLane was born in 1881 and died in 1929, and in the intervening years wrote three books, beginning in her late teens with The Story of Mary MacLane (republished by Melville House under MacLane’s intended title, I Await the Devil’s Coming). That book sold more than a hundred thousand copies, inciting scandal and inspiring parodies “by the ream.” An average American newspaper-reader in the first decade of the last century immediately understood, if he read that something was “of the Mary MacLane type,” that this name was shorthand for outsized self-absorption of a specifically feminine nature.
Unfortunately for MacLane, her subsequent books did not seize the public imagination in the same way as her initial effort had, though her skill and talent had evolved considerably by the time she published I, Mary MacLane in 1917. Reviewers mocked her for being frivolous, boring, and myopically self-obsessed. She became ill and possibly alcoholic. When she died, broke and alone in a Chicago hotel, her New York Times obituary’s first sentence described her as a “writer of sex stories.”
Over the course of the past century MacLane’s oeuvre has occasionally been reevaluated and she has been minorly republished and anthologized; she has been claimed as a pioneering feminist, notable bisexual and even as a prominent Canadian (she was born in Manitoba). Butte, Montana, where I, Mary MacLane was written and which Mary MacLane reviled for its provincial conservatism, now celebrates her as a famous daughter. But for the most part she is forgotten, and her books are no longer read.
This might be in part because these diaries are not particularly inviting to readers, at least not initially. MacLane’s defiant, exclusive celebration of herself can seem to obviate the need for anyone else’s interest. After a few pages of declarative sentences that all begin with “I,” it’s tempting to put the book down. But readers who resist that temptation will be rewarded. If you are patient and indulge her for a few pages of “I am a genius,” you will be treated to a glimpse of the Mary MacLane who deserves canonization alongside Virginia Woolf and Emily Dickinson and Gertrude Stein as an early illuminator of precisely what it was like to be conscious, moment to moment, in a time when personal and honest revelations of women’s subjectivity were not simply shunned (as they are now) but actively, violently discouraged. As I, Mary MacLane progresses, what seems at first like overweening egotism—in part because MacLane describes it, proudly, as such—comes to seem not only understandable but justified.
MacLane had interesting thoughts and the ability to describe and record them, and the temerity to imagine that other people might be interested in them, too. This temerity verged, of necessity, on insanity. Writing at a time when women were supposed to be silent and virtuous, MacLane had to be at least a little bit crazy in order to be able to create anything at all.
Via her diary entries, which are all headlined “tomorrow” in a nod to Macbeth’s soliloquy about the “petty pace” of repetitive, painful days, a portrait of MacLane gradually emerges. Her initial fame, she writes, allowed her to escape her provincial Midwestern hometown and spend her twenties living in Boston and Greenwich Village, with summers in Florida and trips to Europe. While living in New York, she wrote newspaper dispatches of her experience of the city that are some of her best work; these incidental pieces hint at what she might have been capable of writing if she had been encouraged to explore her descriptive powers in a less exclusively self-directed way. But at twenty-seven she caught scarlet fever and had to spend the next two years recuperating, and this is the Mary MacLane we meet in this book. Being ill was “the most crucial bodily adventure she had known,” and she emerged from her sickbed a changed woman, mentally and physically. I, Mary MacLane is a memoir of convalescence by someone who has new cause to record and decode every detail of her material and emotional life.
The tragedy of Mary MacLane’s life was twofold, and its first tragedy is fairly obvious: she was writing at a time when the deep misogyny of American culture had only begun to be exposed and dismantled enough for her to exist, and the patriarchy was not nearly subverted enough yet for women like her to prosper and thrive. But the second tragedy of her life was that the medium she was born to write in had not yet been invented. MacLane’s public diary entries, with their succinct, crystalline descriptions of quotidian events, would have made her an instant star on the Internet, if the Internet had existed in 1902. She was a blogger avant la lettre, to an extent that is almost eerie.
Her concern with the quotidian is what makes her writing so well suited to, say, a Tumblr. She describes her outfits and her meals, her aimless walks and her reading habits, the quality of her shoes, and in doing so she creates the impression of being imprisoned, somewhat, not just in Butte but inside her own mind. She writes of having an overwhelming impression, which she can’t confirm, that there might be women all over the country and perhaps all over the world who are as fervid-minded and as bored as she is, and she wishes she had a way of connecting with them:
While I sit here in this midnight in a Neat Blue Chair in this Butte-Montana for what I know a legionwomen of my psychic breed may be sitting lonely in neat red or neat blue or neat gray or neat any-colored chairs—in Wichita-Kansas and SouthBend-Indiana and Red Wing-Minnesota and Portland-Maine and Rochester-NewYork and Waco-Texas and La Crosse-Wisconsin and BowlingGreen-Kentucky; each feeling Herself set in a wrong niche, caught in a tangle of little vapidish crosspurpose: each waiting, waiting always—waiting all her life not hopeful and passionate like Eighteen but patient or blasphemous or scornful or volcanic like Early-Thirty: the waiting-sense giving to each a personal quality big and suggestive and nurturing—and with it a long-accustomed feeling like a thin bright blade stuck deep in her breast; each more or less roundly hating Waco-Texas and Portland-Maine and Red Wing-Minnesota and the other places: and each beset by hot unquiet humannesses inside her and an old yearn of sex and the blood warring with myriad minute tenets dating from civilization’s dawn-times.
The poignancy of this passage has to do with its deep familiarity—versions of it are being written on WordPress and Tumblr and even as Facebook status updates, every day. But it is also poignant because we know that MacLane was not alone; there were women just like her, sitting full of thoughts and feelings that had no outlet. Now at least modern-day MacLanes can easily confirm their suspicions that women like them exist.
It’s impossible to overstate how much reviewers hated MacLane and how deeply they held her in contempt, citing her “vulgarity” and calling her book “a revelation of self which is not interesting or sympathetic.” Their insistence on calling her “boring” quickly begins to seem absurd: if she was so boring, why were they so obsessed? Critics also insisted that she was doing the world a disservice by getting attention that they (disingenuously) declared ought to be granted to presumably worthier writers: “Think of the hundreds of poor lonesome girls working away at the making of literature who cannot get their literature printed and published.” When asked to explain MacLane’s popularity, they mostly just threw up their hands in befuddlement: “People go wild over young girls writing slush about themselves,” the author of a MacLane parody “explained” in 1902.
Reading these reviews and parodies provokes the same sense of familiarity as MacLane’s writing does; I’ve read these criticisms before, many times, in reviews of books that were published much more recently. I read a review like this of Sheila Heti’s novel How Should A Person Be?. Just last week I read a review like this of Kate Zambreno’s Heroines. And of course, my own first book, a collection of autobiographical essays, received a similar critical reception: I was taking up space worthier writers should be filling, my concerns were trivial, I was not interesting. Several reviewers expressed faux concern at the way I had “exploited” myself by writing about sex and implied that I had “invaded the privacy” of men by writing about my relationships with them.
I had to spend some time wondering about whether I had done either of these things. Luckily I discovered MacLane soon after my book’s publication, and around the same time I read I Love Dick by Chris Kraus.
In that autobiographical novel, which concerns Kraus’s crumbling marriage to literary theorist Sylvere Lotringer and her affair with art critic Richard Hebidge, Kraus anticipates this kind of criticism and addresses it directly. “Why,” she wonders, “does everybody think that women are debasing themselves when we expose the conditions of our debasement?”
Kraus’s revolutionary reimagining of privacy—her calling into question of whom it is, exactly, that “privacy” is intended to protect—saved me from believing that I had erred somehow by attempting to describe the reality of my own life, rather than transmuting it into “fiction” and thereby, at least theoretically, protecting myself and the people I wrote about from “exposure.” Writing about Kraus’s book, critic Elizabeth Gumport explains that:
What the pretense of privacy often does is protect us from reality. It is called on to conceal the fact that there are two realities: the world as it is lived in by men, and the world of women, which has historically been exiled from political and philosophical consideration. It has been regarded as beneath such consideration, its truths narrowly and inescapably personal—rather than universal—and therefore inevitably trivial.
“I must express myself or lose myself or break,” Mary MacLane wrote.
Before she faded into obscurity, MacLane wrote, directed and starred in a short silent film, released in 1917, called Men Who Have Made Love to Me, which detailed with humor and great detail the different types of men she had encountered; no known copy of this film exists. It is believed to be the first film in which an actor directly addresses the camera and also the first whose director also starred in it. In 2010, my friend the playwright Normandy Sherwood recreated this film, using MacLane’s original script, as part of a play she wrote about MacLane. When I went to see it the audience laughed a lot at how seriously Mary (played by the hugely talented Juliana Francis-Kelly) took herself, but Francis-Kelly portrayed her so sincerely that she seemed to come alive.
After the show, after Francis-Kelly had come out for her curtain call and was walking around greeting friends still in costume, I had the bizarre impulse to go up to her and throw my arms around her, as I would if she’d really been Mary. I wanted to tell her that eventually she would be recognized. Mary, I wanted to say, you will be known as an early practitioner of an art-form that’s only now beginning to come into its own; women are finally making mainstream works of art that are not only valued as provocation but taken seriously as cultural forces. 1917 was too early; so, in some ways, was 2010. But I have high hopes for 2013, and beyond.
I didn’t do this, of course. But I’m saying it now, and if Mary MacLane’s hungry ghost can hear me, I hope she will be a little bit satisfied.
This excerpt is drawn from the introduction to I, Mary MacLane by Mary MacLane, to be published by Melville House on March 19.
Emily Gould, Kara Jesella, & Normandy Raven Sherwood will discuss the legacy of Mary MacLane at BookCourt in Brooklyn on Wednesday, March 20. Details here. | <urn:uuid:5441eecb-8222-429a-a3e4-86246bc63ec8> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://therumpus.net/2013/03/the-ghost-of-mary-maclane/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281069.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00271-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976816 | 2,703 | 1.625 | 2 |
Enough talk about the economy being lousy (ask the folks at Urban Outfitters if they think the economy is lousy! Heck, check out the Urban Outfitters blog if you want to see innovation from a retailer).
Enough talk about postage increases. It happened a year ago, it was damaging. Time to move on.
Enough talk about third parties and their contempt for various forms of direct marketing.
The only way to stay in business is to generate profit. Lots of profit.
Direct Marketers are transitioning to a new reality, one that views the customer in three different, unique ways:
- Customers who do not purchase unless they are advertised to.
- Customers who are advertised to, then research product, then purchase product.
- Customers who are self-sufficient, purchasing without the need for advertising.
Guess which segment of customers we focus our efforts on?
We do everything in our power to identify customers who require advertising, then invest all of our energy in deciding how to advertise as efficiently as possible to this audience.
We spend almost no energy thinking how to move customers along the direct marketing customer continuum. We need to figure out how to facilitate the process whereby customers simply love us, trust us, and support us.
Here is a typical profit and loss statement for a segment that is dependent upon advertising.
|Less Adv. Expense||$16,000|
|Variable Op. Profit||$18,800|
|% of Net Sales||23.5%|
Now let's take a look at the same segment of customers, a segment not dependent upon advertising.
|Less Adv. Expense||$0|
|Variable Op. Profit||$34,800|
|% of Net Sales||43.5%|
Now the critic will use the traditional phrase "yabut" to express the fact that historically, a direct marketer had to market to the customer to get the customer to purchase something.
The world is different today. Your e-commerce site is more like a retail store than a traditional direct marketing piece. Think of your own behavior. You don't need a lot of direct marketing to shop at Home Depot. You need something to kill weeds in your lawn, you go to the Home Depot. Websites serve a similar function. You need shoes, you go to Zappos.com. Sure, Zappos uses online advertising. But they get a ton of volume from word of mouth, a ton of volume just because "they are Zappos".
In the chart at the top of this post, Zappos has a customer base that is split between the middle box, and the box at the far right.
Most catalogers cultivate a customer base that requires advertising in order to purchase something. Catalogers spent the past decade proving (via matchbacks) that customers needed advertising. Via this self-fulfilling prophesy, catalogers are now at a significant disadvantage, because all of the costs associated with advertising are increasing. Simultaneously, customers are moving from the left to the right side of the direct marketing customer continuum slide.
In the short term, direct marketers need to cope with recessionary issues and expense inflation.
In the long term, direct marketers must migrate their customer base from an "advertising-needs" customer to a "self-serving customer", one that doesn't require advertising. This is where a boatload of profit exists --- profit that can be pocketed, or reinvested in free next-day shipping or other customer-friendly strategies.
For those of you about to say "yabut", this can be done. Pay attention to Zappos, Blue Nile, Amazon. Use Multichannel Forensics to see if your current customer is willing to make this transition with you. | <urn:uuid:a10f892d-c834-4a5b-91dc-73b90d06654d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://blog.minethatdata.com/2008/03/profit-week-three-customer-segments.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00029-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926846 | 780 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Definition of Time Management
Definition: Time management is a set of principles, practices, skills, tools, and systems that work together to help you get more value out of your time with the aim of improving the quality of your life.
In arriving at a definition of time management, it is important to note that time management is a broad subject that covers many different areas from your day-to-day actions to your long term goals.
Some of the skills associated with time management include planning, prioritizing, goal setting, scheduling, and managing your workload.
A good time management system integrates all these different skills using a consistent set of tools designed to work well with each other.
Improve your time management skills fast and take your productivity to the next level: Check out the Be More Productive training program.
Investing in yourself through time management training could be one of the best investments you make because time is one of your most precious and valuable resources.
If you'd like additional help, time management coaching and life coaching are both a great resource to implement these ideas and improve your time management skills. You can use personal coaching or group coaching depending on your needs.
In a corporate setting, executive coaching is also very valuable to help you be more productive and perform at your best.
If you've been looking for a tool to help you get organized, increase your productivity, and work more effectively, give it a try free for 30-days.ctively, give it a try free for 30-days. | <urn:uuid:3e5b5651-3dbc-4cae-87cf-e68d9ef6af1b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.timethoughts.com/timemanagement/definition-time-management.htm | 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 | 0.953792 | 308 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Today I would like to present a series of recent studies about Down syndrome that focus on the overall impact that it has on the family and the well being of individual family members (including the person with DS themselves). The information in each of these studies was gathered with new or expecting parents of a child with Down syndrome in mind.
The first study asked families how they felt about their child with Down syndrome.
"The overwhelming majority of parents surveyed report that they are happy with their decision to have their child with DS and indicate that their sons and daughters are great sources of love and pride." - Having a son or daughter with Down syndrome: Perspectives from mothers and fathers., Skotko BG, Levine SP, Goldstein R., © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc
- 99% stated they loved their son or daughter
- 97% stated they were proud of their son or daughter
- 95% stated that their other children (without DS) had a good relation with the siblings with DS
- 79% stated that they felt their lives were made more positive by their son or daughter
- 5% stated they felt embarassed by their child
- 4% regretted having their son or daughter
The second asked siblings of those with Down Sydrome how they viewed and felt about their brother or sister.
- 96% stated they were affectionate toward their brother or sister with DS
- 94% of older siblings were proud of their younger siblings with DS
- >90% planned to remain involved in the lives of their siblings with DS as they became adults
- 88% of older siblings felt that they were better people because of their younger sibling with DS
- <10% felt embarrassed by their brother or sister
- <5% wished to trade their younger sibling for another without DS
The third study asked people with Down syndrome (that were 12 or older) questions regarding their self-perception.
- 99% expressed love for their families
- 99% stated they were happy with their lives
- 97% liked who they are
- 97% liked their siblings
- 96% liked how they look
- 86% felt they could make friends easily*
- A small percentage expressed sadness about their life.
"In our qualitative analysis, people with DS encouraged parents to love their babies with DS, mentioning that their own lives were good. They further encouraged healthcare professionals to value them, emphasizing that they share similar hopes and dreams as people without DS. Overall, the overwhelming majority of people with DS surveyed indicate they live happy and fulfilling lives." - Self-perceptions from people with Down syndrome., Skotko BG, Levine SP, Goldstein R., © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc
...And that's the facts, Jack. Happy Friday! | <urn:uuid:cd32930e-3beb-49fc-b77e-4e17379e4a07> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://downwitdat.blogspot.ca/2011/10/factoid-friday-perceptions-of-down.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719155.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00334-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989852 | 562 | 2.265625 | 2 |
The paper shows throught some examples the foundamental characters of the sicilian landscape, that in some particular areas of the region is designed, bulit and modelled with different stone materials. The island of Favignana is completely dominated by calcareous stone that create relations with the "locus" identity. The island of Pantelleria entirely built with vulcanic stone material or Lampedusa where the stone is used for the construction of the typical "mandre" dividing lands and gardens. For this and other reason the knowledge of the different identity features of the various territories is necessary to create tools to increase the value of lands based on sustainable use of the natural resources.
|Numero di pagine||6|
|Stato di pubblicazione||Published - 2007| | <urn:uuid:b46fd44d-72d5-491e-a568-055d3c907e25> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://pure.unipa.it/it/publications/dal-paesaggio-naturale-al-paesaggio-costruito-relazioni-fra-le-is-2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572127.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815024523-20220815054523-00266.warc.gz | en | 0.831735 | 184 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Ideally this page uses frames, but since your
browser doesn't support them here is just the main text of the page.
We are a British same-sex couple who legally married in Canada in 2003.
With the support of the human rights organization Liberty, we are seeking a declaration of
the validity of our marriage in the UK. The High Court hearing will start on 6 June 2006.
For the first two years of our marriage, it had no legal recognition at all in our home
country. When the Civil Partnership Act became law (December 2005), it was automatically
treated as a civil partnership. Any different-sex couple married in Canada would
have had their marriage recognized as a marriage in the UK from the outset. We believe
that to treat same-sex couples differently from heterosexual couples in this way is deeply
Our lawyers will argue that any failure to recognize the validity of our marriage is a
breach of our rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. Although our
case calls specifically for the UK government's recognition of our valid civil marriage
abroad, it has far-reaching implications for lesbian and gay equality and human rights
more generally across Europe. | <urn:uuid:0cac5ea2-f536-4c77-9ea8-a6ceebab8bc6> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.equalmarriagerights.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280587.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00568-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969699 | 241 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Convert AIFF to M4A
AIFF MP3 Converter converts AIFF to M4A. It's an ALL-IN-ONE
audio converter that supports more than 100 audio and video files.
The software also supports batch conversion, and is full compatible
with Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP/2000.
- Free Download AIFF MP3 Converter
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Click "Add Files" to choose AIFF files and add them to conversion
Choose one or more AIFF files you want to convert and then click Open.
- Choose Target File Format
Choose "to M4A"
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Click "Convert" to convert all AIFF files to M4A format.
The software is converting AIFF files to M4A format.
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Destination" to play the destination file; or choose "Browse Destination
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What is AIFF?
Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is an audio file format standard used for
storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices.
The format was co-developed by Apple Computer in 1988 based on Electronic Arts'
Interchange File Format (IFF, widely used on Amiga systems) and is most commonly
used on Apple Macintosh computer systems. AIFF is also used by Silicon Graphics
Incorporated. The audio data in a standard AIFF file is uncompressed big-endian
pulse-code modulation (PCM). There is also a compressed variant of AIFF known
as AIFF-C or AIFC, with various defined compression codecs.
Standard AIFF is a leading format (along with SDII and WAV) used by professional-level
audio and video applications, and unlike the better-known lossy MP3 format, it
is non-compressed (which aids rapid streaming of multiple audio files from disk
to the application), and lossless. Like any non-compressed, lossless format, it
uses much more disk space than MP3¡ªabout 10MB for one minute of stereo
audio at a sample rate of 44.1 kHz and a sample size of 16 bits. In addition to
audio data, AIFF can include loop point data and the musical note of a sample,
for use by hardware samplers and musical applications.
The file extension for the standard AIFF format is .aiff or .aif. For the compressed
variants it is supposed to be .aifc, but .aiff or .aif are accepted as well by
audio applications supporting the format.
What is M4A?
MPEG-4 Audio. Because of its exceptional performance and quality, Advanced Audio
Coding (AAC) is at the core of the MPEG-4, 3GPP and 3GPP2 specifications and is
the audio codec of choice for Internet, wireless and digital broadcast arenas.
AAC provides audio encoding that compresses much more efficiently than older formats,
such as MP3, yet delivers quality rivaling that of uncompressed CD audio.
AIFF to M4A Related Topics: AIFF
to WAV, AIFF to WMA, AIFF
to OGG, AIFF to AAC, AIFF
to AMR, AIFF to M4A, AIFF
to M4B, AIFF to MP4, AIFC
to MP3, AIFC to MP4, AIFC
to WAV, AIFC to WMA, AIFC
to OGG, AIFC to AAC, AIFC
to AMR, AIFC to M4A, AIFC | <urn:uuid:fdd29d16-c1c4-4199-917f-b1845f1183c7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.hootech.com/aiff-mp3-converter/aiff-to-m4a.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00359-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.834418 | 822 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Presenters highlighted identity stigmatization and low income as barriers to health care for LGBT people at the 2012 LGBT Student Health Symposium, organized by Howard Brown Health Center, the Center on Halsted and the University of Chicago School of Medicine.
“There’s oppression everywhere; it will impact us. We have to recognize it impacts mental health and the ability to access health care when people need it,” said Dr. Harvey J. Makadon, a clinical professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the National LGBT Health Education Center at the Fenway Institute in Boston.
His report for the Institute of Medicine indicates LGBT youth have an elevated risk for attempted suicide and depression, and sexual minority youth may have higher rates of substance use than heterosexual youth. The report also found LGBT people fear discrimination in health are settings, which prevents them from seeking routine care.
Makadon spoke in depth on transgender health care, explaining the importance of transition-related care. He also suggested adding sexual orientation, biological sex, gender identity and preferred gender pronoun fields to intake questionnaires.
“Transgender people often have to teach doctors because it’s hard to find a physician in the area who knows anything about transgender people,” said Makadon.
Representatives from Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus discussed the HIV epidemic in the black men who have sex with men community, which account for 52 percent of new infections nationally, approximately twice their white and Latino counterparts.
“When 2 percent of the population makes up 52 percent of infections, hello, we’ve got some issues,” said Craig Johnson of the Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus.
Magda Houlberg, chief medical officer of Howard Brown Health Center, explained the unique need for LGBT clinics, especially ones that offer patient-centered care, focusing on informed consent and harm reduction when advising patients. Many patients utilize the clinic’s sliding scale payment plan because they live in poverty and/or lack health insurance. While Howard Brown Health Center does offer primary care, the clinic is known for HIV related services and the transgender hormone replacement therapy program.
“[Howard Brown Health Center] actually serves patients from 30 states and one Canadian province. People travel very far for our services,” said Houlberg. “This illustrates the great need for LGBT health centers … We have a high percentage of folks who don’t have access to care outside our center or county services.”
Stigma around all identities, especially sexual orientation, gender identity, race and social class, can intersect and effect access to medical care, according to Piper Coutinho-Sledge, a sociology doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago. People with a stigmatized identity are also more likely to be in poverty and lack insurance, so that also keeps people out of the doctor’s office.
“Medical professionals have to be a fierce advocate for people who may not want to walk through your door,” said Coutinho-Sledge.Follow @QueerKnowledge | <urn:uuid:1d8d8674-bcca-445c-9bab-7eea5a9e320d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://stuffqueerpeopleneedtoknow.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/stigmatization-low-income-lead-to-unequal-access-to-health-care-for-lgbt-people/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279915.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00272-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936051 | 629 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women is one of
the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for 2015 - set up by
the United Nations.
Under this framework and with the endeavour to promote cotton
production, productivity, quality, increased earnings, improved
working conditions and more influence in decisionmaking processes
for women, it is vital to understand the role of women at all
levels in the Cotton sector.
In that context the International Trade Centre (ITC)1
is conducting a survey of the role of women in the Cotton sector in
producing countries. The data is used in discussions with donors of
possible assistance to women in the Cotton sector in various
Without relevant data, organizations and donors would not know
how and on what basis to assist gender mainstreaming in the cotton
sector. We therefore kindly request you to respond to the following
few questions regarding your country.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
To download the
full document in pdf format, please click here
1 International Trade Centre (ITC) is the technical cooperation
agency of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for operational,
enterprise-oriented aspects of trade development. | <urn:uuid:c6683211-6f5f-46a0-b277-30212dbf20f1> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.intracen.org/cotton-guide/the-role-of-women-in-cotton/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284411.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00462-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.883366 | 261 | 2.296875 | 2 |
These content provide info on borrowing money. The data supplied is not legal services. If you would like legal advice or services, communications a legal professional. Make use of this banner to exit this website easily.
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- Not at all times available. In some states, payday advance loan aren’t legitimate. If you reside in one of all of them, consider installment loans or personal loans as an alternative. | <urn:uuid:a787c078-666d-4d97-b138-ac233f718f19> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://ecosolucoes.net/2021/11/30/choices-to-more-pricey-financial-loans-along-with/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573760.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819191655-20220819221655-00676.warc.gz | en | 0.945918 | 1,324 | 1.5 | 2 |
A coast-to-coast network of 500,000 impartial manufacturers, distributors, components stores and repair retailers demand technology that strikes as quick as business does. Rik Paul was the automotive editor for Shopper Stories for 14 years, where, in addition to road tests and auto accessories, he edited the entire publication’s automobile-care recommendation, including its data on motor oil and engine maintenance. BLDC: Constant torque as much as base speed, constant energy as much as max speed. Fingers-on training is a key aspect of the curriculum, and you may interact with experienced, devoted college in our state-of-the-artwork, 18,000-square-foot automotive lab.
It’s important to understand that the manufacturing steps I skilled are only used to show out the faster, largely automated processes that will likely be used in Maryland and to manufacture prototype motors for testing and growth of the Chevy Spark EV and other GM electrical cars. You might have the opportunity to affix Morrisville’s Automotive Club to extend your knowledge of the automotive industry through video tutorials, skilled engineers and discipline journeys.
So, if you’ll be able to mannequin the motor efficiency and costs precisely, you possibly can plot it towards battery value financial savings. Relying upon your cellphone, chances are you’ll need a reminiscence card reader or an additional cable as a way to get the videos from the telephone to your pc. Per-magazine DC:Â These are the second hottest electric automobile motors within the EV Photo Album, however that is not essentially as a result of they’re the best thing going.
Carbon Fiber &Â Brightwork Sharpening – Many occasions your automobile might have inside accents that can look scratched and swirled similar to the exterior painted surfaces of your automotive. So yes, even when you can call an electric motor an engine, it’s fairly unusual as of late to do so. The starter motor is of a special kind that operates beneath a heavy overload, producing high power for very short durations.
Moraine Valley Automotive Expertise A.A.S. degree graduates can complete two more years at either Southern Illinois University or Ferris State College to earn a Bachelor’s Diploma in Automotive Technology. Along with automobiles, Hemmings helps you locate onerous-to-find components in your mission vehicles. In a 2012 patent software, BMW inventors notice that synchronous permanent magnet motors generate a difference between a sequence inductance within the course of the magnets (that is, within the course of the pole) and a cross inductance transverse to the route of the pole, producing reluctance torque when the drive motor is suitably actuated. | <urn:uuid:63615f23-986f-4592-86af-a8847ab58d0f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://louislvuitton.com/who-invented-the-automotive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570879.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808213349-20220809003349-00470.warc.gz | en | 0.928725 | 560 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Friday, November 15, 2013
(INDIANAPOLIS) - WGU Indiana has signed its newest partnership with Indianapolis-based St. Vincent Hospital and Health Care Center, Inc.
This corporate partnership serves to promote continuing education for adults in the workplace with an affordable, flexible model that suits their busy lifestyles.
"We are excited to provide this educational opportunity to our employees. WGU Indiana's innovative, competency-based model is an affordable approach that truly focuses on helping working adults achieve their educational goals," Darcy Burthay, chief operating officer at St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital, said.
Under the terms of the partnership, St. Vincent employees will receive a five percent tuition discount at WGU Indiana. Included in the agreement is not only St. Vincent's Indianapolis Hospital, but also St. Vincent Women's and Children's Hospital, St. Vincent Stress Center, St. Vincent Home Health and Hospice and Seton Specialty Hospital. Employees can choose from over 50 accredited bachelor's and master's degrees in the colleges of IT, Business, Teachers and Healthcare, including nursing. Tuition for WGU Indiana has remained at $6,000 a year since the university opened its doors in 2010.
"Our unique, online model allows students to accelerate in their degree path. This suits St. Vincent employees perfectly as many of them are balancing work, school and family responsibilities," Chancellor Allison Barber said. "This partnership furthers both WGU Indiana and St. Vincent Health's commitment to the advancement of hard-working Hoosiers."
WGU Indiana introduces a new learning model in its competency-based education. Students are able to accelerate in their degree paths based on prior knowledge of the subject matter. They are paired with a student mentor who is a specialist in their field of study to provide guidance throughout the student's time at the university. Course mentors teach courses completely online via e-textbooks and webinars. Students are eligible for federal and state aid, as well as a number of university-sponsored scholarships. Each of the four colleges - IT, Business, Healthcare and Teachers - are accredited by regional standards.
About WGU Indiana
WGU Indiana is the state's nonprofit, online university established by the State of Indiana to expand access to higher education for Indiana residents. Using a competency-based model that allows students to proceed at their own pace and curriculum developed with input from leading employers, WGU Indiana offers more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Business, Education, Information Technology and Healthcare Professions, including Nursing. In 2012, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education recognized WGU Indiana in its Reaching Higher, Achieving More agenda for its excellence in academic quality. The university was also recognized as one of Fast Company's 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2013.
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Click here to go back to previous page | <urn:uuid:426121dc-b3d9-456c-96bc-2907b304afd4> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.wbiw.com/state/archive/2013/11/wgu_indiana_signs_partnership_with_st_vincent_health-print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988725470.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183845-00076-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960233 | 642 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Thalidomide movie revives old anger 50 years on
9 November 2007, Berlin (dpa) - Thalidomide, a medicine which caused horrific birth defects in 10,000 children worldwide 50 years ago, comes back to haunt Germans. A two-part TV special on public television this week - called "Side Effects" in English - is to dramatize one of the worst-ever blunders by a drug company. Sold over the counter as a sedative, and used by pregnant mothers as a remedy for morning sickness, the drug caused unborn children to develop with abnormally short limbs, such as flipper-lik
9 November 2007
Berlin (dpa) - Thalidomide, a medicine which caused horrific birth defects in 10,000 children worldwide 50 years ago, comes back to haunt Germans.
A two-part TV special on public television this week - called "Side Effects" in English - is to dramatize one of the worst-ever blunders by a drug company.
Sold over the counter as a sedative, and used by pregnant mothers as a remedy for morning sickness, the drug caused unborn children to develop with abnormally short limbs, such as flipper-like hands emerging from the shoulders. Other infants had eye and ear defects.
Gruenenthal, a German company which has 800 million euros in current annual sales, put thalidomide on sale in October 1957 and did not take it off the market as a sedative till 1961.
The drug, now out of patent protection, is used today as a treatment for leprosy and a rare form of blood cancer.
Germany was hardest hit by thalidomide, with about half, or 5,000, of all cases worldwide.
Many of the 2,700 German victims still alive are bitter at what they see as the inadequate 100 million Deutschmarks (73 million dollars at current rates) paid out to them in a 1970 settlement by the Gruenenthal company of Aachen, close to the Dutch border.
The German government contributed a matching amount to the relief fund, which pays modest monthly stipends to the survivors.
Margit Hudelmaier, chairwoman of the association of victims, said other countries' legal systems had ensured more generous compensation.
Middle-aged by now, the victims often suffer from arthritis caused by a lifetime of awkward movements.
Being regarded as a freak is bad enough.
Anna, 46, who has no legs, says she finds it just as irritating to have people fawn over her agility amid disability. "I always feel like a circus horse performing for applause," she said crossly.
The two-part TV dramatization tells the story of a fictitious lawyer whose wife takes "just one tablet" - "Eine einzige Tablette," as the German title puts it - and gives birth to a child with no arms and only one leg.
"What's the matter? Show me my baby," says the mother, Vera Wegener, amid a ghastly silence in the delivery room. "Don't worry," says a doctor, "you can put it in an orphanage." A doctor calls the "deformed" daughter "horrible."
Adolf Winkelmann for WDR television explained, "In those days people did not speak of a 'disability'. The terms they used were pretty insensitive."
Part one shows the lawyer gradually becoming convinced that the birth defect was caused by the medicine.
The second part of the dramatization re-enacts the legal battle for compensation, with the corporate lawyers hoping to delay until the case is out of time.
The producers spent 18 months in their own legal clinch with Gruenenthal and the real lawyer who led the compensation fight, with both claiming they had been misrepresented.
Changes were made to the script. The dramatization comes with disclaimers insisting that the characters do not represent true persons, and Winkelmann said about half the points objected to in the script never made it into the film anyway on artistic grounds.
Several weeks ago, Germany's Federal Constitutional Court struck down temporary injunctions that had kept the programme off the air, and said they would hear substantive argument afterwards about whether the TV special was defamatory.
Michael Souvignier, the film's producer, says that the latter-day legal fight shows Germany still has not fully come to terms with the disaster.
As director Winkelmann admitted, the film treads a fine line between exhibiting the victims as oddities and bringing the viewer to see the tragedy from the victims' point of view, particularly the mockery and exclusion they had to endure.
The disabled girl, Katrin, played by Denise Marko, is shown in the film dressed up as she waits in vain for any of her schoolmates to arrive at her birthday party.
The mother says, "This was the most awful day of my life, not the day Katrin was born."
The criminal trial in Germany of eight Gruenenthal executives and the firm's proprietor, Hermann Wirtz, was abandoned in December 1970, shortly after the civil settlement, on the grounds that their guilt was insufficient to justify a continued legal odyssey.
Variety, the entertainment newspaper, reported last month that Warner Home Video Germany has picked up domestic home entertainment rights to the movie and will release it as a double DVD on Friday.
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The Paediatric First Aid Book (A4)
A Comprehensive Training manual for people who work with children. It covers the content as required by the Department for Education and Ofsted for both the Paediatric First Aid course and the Emergency Paediatric First Aid course. Ideal for Teachers, Nursery Nurses and Childminders.
• Updated to 2021 UK Resuscitation Council Guidelines
• A4 Page Layout (80 Pages)
• Written in plain language
• Medical terminology kept to a minimum
• No complicated systems to learn
• Notes pages and test yourself questions
Please be aware that we have produced our Paediatric First Aid book as an A4 size publication containing 80 pages, we feel this is necessary because of the amount of content and the high profile of Paediatric First Aid at this time. Consequently this has required us to increase the cost of the Paediatric First Aid book (compared to other published books) in line with our FAW publication which is also A4 and which has a similar number of pages.
As an introductory offer we have slightly reduced the cost of the Paediatric First Aid Book compared to that of the FAW book. However the price may increase in the future in line with the FAW book.
Free Personalisation is offered on orders of 200 or more in each category. Logo format should be a Vector file, AI /EPS or High Resolution JPEG.
PowerPoints are available to compliment the books and are free of charge if 50 or more books are orders in that category, otherwise there is a one off charge for each PowerPoint of £95 + VAT
Members please use the discount code issued in our newsletter for discounted prices | <urn:uuid:641d1d0b-b7ac-4876-acb7-3d97ca6c6689> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.fofato.co.uk/shop/paediatric-first-aid-book-a4-65-pages/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572063.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814173832-20220814203832-00674.warc.gz | en | 0.935135 | 348 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Shooting stars may fill you with child-like wonder, but these celestial showstoppers are also reminders that Earth is hardly alone in space, and some of those cosmic objects can be downright dangerous.
The Perseid meteor shower, which appears every year in mid-August, occurs when Earth passes through a trail of debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle. In 1973, based on calculations about the object’s orbit using limited observations, astronomer Brian Marsden at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics predicted that Comet Swift-Tuttle could collide with Earth in 2126. The catastrophic prediction was later retracted, but what would happen if Comet Swift-Tuttle smacked into our planet?
“We have to be clear that it’s not going to happen,” Donald Yeomans, a senior research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and author of “Near-Earth Objects: Finding Them Before They Find Us” (Princeton University Press, 2012), told Live Science.
When Swift-Tuttle was last seen in 1992, Yeomans was among those who produced revised models for the comet’s motion, making the complicated calculations to account for the gravitational effects of the sun and planets on the space rock’s orbit. The 1992 sighting, along with data from 1862 and 1737, provided astronomers with enough information to rule out the possibility of a collision in 2126.
Even still, Comet Swift-Tuttle isn’t just another space rock.
Comet Swift-Tuttle is “certainly one of the largest” objects that crosses paths with the Earth, Yeomans said. The cosmic object measures about 16 miles (26 kilometers) across, and when it passes close to the Earth, roughly every 130 years, it’s hurtling through space at about 36 miles per second (58 km/s), or more than 150 times the speed of sound.
If the comet were to strike the planet, the impact energy would be about 300 times that of the asteroid collision that was thought to have caused the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction that killed the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago, according to Yeomans. “It would be a very bad day for Earth,” he said.
But the size of a comet or asteroid isn’t the only thing to consider with cosmic collisions, said Gerta Keller, a geoscientist at Princeton University.
A comet strike on land or in shallow seas would be “rather destructive” regionally, but the real damage would likely come from gases put into the stratosphere, the part of Earth’s atmosphere where the ozone layer is located, Keller told Live Science. Sulfur dioxide would initially cause cooling, and then carbon dioxide would lead to long-term warming, she added. An event like this would likely cause the planet’s climate to change drastically, leading to mass extinctions around the globe. [Crash! 10 Biggest Impact Craters on Earth]
But Keller also pointed out that most of Earth’s surface is covered in ocean. An impact in the deep ocean could trigger earthquakes and tsunamis, but based on what scientists know about the effects ofunderwater volcanic eruptions, the atmospheric effects likely would be mitigated by the ocean, she said. In this case, Keller said it’s unlikely that a comet colliding with Earth would cause mass extinctions.
Scientists calculate that Swift-Tuttle’s next approach to Earth will be on Aug. 5, 2126, when it will come within about 14 million miles, or 23 million km, or about 60 times the distance from Earth to the moon, Yeomans said. Current models don’t expect the comet to ever get any closer than about 80,000 miles (130,000 km) to Earth’s orbit, but as time passes, those predictions become less and less certain. So although Yeomans is sure that Earth faces no threat in 2126, he said 10,000 years from now, “you can’t rule out the possibility, but it would seem to be very unlikely.”
Part of that slim uncertainty is due to small influences on the comet that change its orbit ever so slightly each time it swings around the sun. For example, as comets pass near the sun and heat up, expanding gases act like jet thrusters, slightly altering the trajectory. For Swift-Tuttle, that effect is very small, likely due to the comet’s tremendous mass, Yeomans said. But over thousands of years, these minute, unpredictable effects make it more difficult to predict the orbit of cosmic objects.
And there are plenty of other objects out there to be aware of, Yeomans said. “We have a long, long list of asteroids for which we haven’t completely ruled out a collision, but the impact probabilities are so small that it’s not really worth worrying about,” he said.
source: livescience.com By | <urn:uuid:3b831e84-411d-48c8-aa36-52df01178b7e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://thafcc.wordpress.com/2016/07/22/what-would-happen-if-comet-swift-tuttle-hit-the-earth/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570879.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809003642-20220809033642-00668.warc.gz | en | 0.944155 | 1,061 | 4.15625 | 4 |
By Matthew Robinson
PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro (Reuters) - A team of British experts is to review Kosovo's future security needs, officials said on Wednesday, as the U.N.-run province nears talks which the Albanian majority hopes will yield independence.
Invited by Kosovo's U.N. governor, experts from the British Ministry of Defence will create a "secretariat" comprising mainly ethnic Albanians, to consider what security and civilian oversight bodies Kosovo will need once its status is decided.
U.N. chief security adviser Iain Smailes said regional capitals including Belgrade would be kept informed. "There will be no secrets" but the process would have "local ownership".
"The hopes and fears of everybody in Kosovo will be taken into account," Smailes told reporters. Belgrade opposes independence for what is still formally a Serbian province.
U.N. governor Soren Jessen-Petersen said in a statement: "It is only appropriate that a system that addresses the security needs of Kosovans is designed by Kosovans themselves."
The United Nations has run Kosovo since the 1999 war. It plans to open negotiations this year that will answer Yes or No to the 90-percent Albanian majority's demand for statehood.
NO RETURN TO 1999
Western powers have refused to go public on whether or not Kosovo should become independent but have ruled out a return to its pre-1999 status. The West believes Serbia forfeited the moral authority to rule because of its treatment of Albanians.
Washington and several European capitals are said to be considering some form of "conditional independence" under the oversight of the European Union.
Analysts say forcing Kosovo's 1.9 million ethnic Albanians back to Serbian rule would mean a return to violent conflict.
Smailes said the security review would run parallel with and "feed off" the negotiations expected to begin in September.
Serbia has frequently accused the United Nations of flouting its sovereignty over land it says is the sacred cradle of the nation by helping Albanians establish the trappings of independence.
The U.N. mission has replaced the Serbian dinar with the euro, established a customs service, licence plates and postal codes and has applied for an international telephone code.
Serb leaders say such moves prejudge the outcome of negotiations.
A 17,100-strong NATO-led peace force and 3,000 U.N. police officers currently head security in Kosovo but are gradually handing responsibility to the multi-ethnic Kosovo police.
Kosovo does not have its own military. The rebel army which fought the 1998-99 guerrilla war against Serb forces was later transformed into a civilian emergency force, but most Kosovo Albanians still see it as the embryo army of their state. | <urn:uuid:51e10ded-eff5-4d59-9299-51548c88b833> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://kosovareport.blogspot.com/2005/06/security-needs-of-future-kosovo-now-on.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281450.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00173-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957569 | 572 | 1.875 | 2 |
This could be caused by inflammation of the prostate or the glands that help produce semen. While red semen can be alarming, the cause is usually harmless (benign), especially in younger men. Yellow or green semen. This could be caused by an infection, jaundice, or the presence of vitamins or medication in the semen.
Normal semen is generally a clear, white, or gray color. Changes in its color may be temporary and may resolve without medical treatment. However, if people experience changes in semen that do not go away or come with other symptoms, such as infection or inflammation, they should seek medical attention.
As you get older, the colour of your semen can change, and this is perfectly natural. ‘With age, the colour of your semen may change to a yellowish colour,’ confirms Abbas. However, this colour change often happens so gradually that it is not usually noticeable.
Blood in semen can go away and come back, but it generally clears up without treatment and doesn’t increase the risk of other diseases. On its own, blood in your semen doesn’t put your sexual partner at the risk of other diseases either.
Some women express liquid from their urethra when they climax. For some, this consists of a small amount of milky white fluid – this, technically, is the female ejaculate. Other women report “squirting” a much larger amount of fluid – enough to make it look like they’ve wet the bed.
Normally, semen is a thick, whitish liquid. However, several conditions can change the color and consistency of semen. Watery semen can be a sign of low sperm count, indicating possible fertility problems. Ejaculating thin, clear semen may also be a temporary condition with no serious health concerns.
Healthy semen is usually white or whitish gray in color. If your semen changes color, you may wonder if something is wrong with your health. Yellow semen may be nothing to worry about, but it may also be a sign of an underlying medical condition.
Symptoms Problems with sexual function — for example, low sex drive or difficulty maintaining an erection (erectile dysfunction) Pain, swelling or a lump in the testicle area. Decreased facial or body hair or other signs of a chromosome or hormone abnormality.
For the most part, yes, the components that make up semen are safe to ingest. Swallowed semen is digested in the same way as food. However, in very rare circumstances, some people might discover that they’re allergic to semen. This is also known as human seminal plasma hypersensitivity (HSP).
Summary. If someone prefers to clean their vagina and vulva after sex, the safest way to do so is with unscented soap and warm water. Some people claim that urinating, showering, bathing, or using vinegar may remove semen from the vagina after sex.
A 2018 analysis of multiple studies by Chinese researchers found that moderate ejaculation of around 2 to 4 times a week was associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer — but that the risk did not decline by ejaculating more often than that.
Overall, seminal fluid typically leans slightly alkaline. Anything between 7.2 and 8.0 is considered a healthy pH level. When your body’s pH levels are balanced, semen should smell like ammonia, bleach, or other alkaline substances. You might notice variations in this scent, especially after you have sex.
It’s unusual to find blood in your semen when you ejaculate, but try not to worry. It’s usually only temporary and the cause is rarely anything serious. The semen may be blood stained, brownish-red in colour or have a pink tinge.
STIs (commonly referred to as sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs ), such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, or herpes, can also cause blood in semen. Infections caused by viruses, bacteria, or fungi can also lead to this condition.
Common Causes Infection: The testicle and epididymis, the part of the testicle that stores sperm, can sometimes become infected, causing pain and swelling that starts quickly and gets worse. Fluid Buildup: An injury or infection can cause fluid to build up around the testicle, causing painful swelling. | <urn:uuid:b74b0823-7c85-4eb9-a908-afa523f8cf8a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://mundomayafoundation.org/interesting/quick-answer-what-does-it-mean-when-your-sperm-is-a-brownish-color.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571758.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812200804-20220812230804-00668.warc.gz | en | 0.936415 | 888 | 2.59375 | 3 |
The Penn State Extension’s Master Watershed Steward program received a $10,000 Healing the Planet Grant from Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.
The Healing the Planet Grant funding is supported by The Giant Corporation and will provide for the installation of 30 demonstration downspout planters across the state, two stormwater basin naturalization projects and one live stake nursery installation.
The Master Watershed Steward program of Berks and Schuylkill counties was included in this grant and was able to install four demonstration downspout planters in Berks County.
Downspout planters are decorative landscaped planters specially designed to absorb and filter stormwater before it enters stormwater management or sewer systems. Downspout planters are filled with a base layer of gravel to allow for drainage, a stormwater-friendly soil mix, and native perennial vegetation that comes back every spring. During storm events, water from the roof flows into the planter and is captured. If the volume of water is greater than the capacity of the planter, it exits the planter through an overflow outlet or can be diverted back into the original downspout. The native plants in the planters provide pollinator habitat and beautification for homeowners.
During the month of June, four of these demonstration downspout planters were installed by Master Watershed Steward volunteers from Berks and Schuylkill counties. Two planters were installed at Bethel Elementary School, one at Penn-Bernville Elementary School, and the fourth planter was installed on June 20 at Pendora Park in Reading.
Now that the downspout planters have been installed, the local program will work with educators at the elementary schools to develop educational materials to teach the importance of stormwater management and the benefits of these unique planters.
For more information about this event or the Master Watershed Steward Program, contact program coordinator Natalie Marioni at 610-378-1327 or email email@example.com.
The Pennsylvania State University encourages qualified persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, call 610-378-1327 in advance of your participation or visit. | <urn:uuid:7c574c24-a1fe-47f3-b1dc-fa1159b2c2ec> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.readingeagle.com/2022/06/28/master-watershed-steward-program-presented-10000-healing-the-planet-grant/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573744.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819161440-20220819191440-00475.warc.gz | en | 0.933584 | 453 | 2.109375 | 2 |
The loading speed of a website is very important and any web designers manage to minimize it. So, before finding out the solution to improve your website, let’s see why your website is loading so slowly? This article will give you the answer.
This entry is the part 1 of 6 in the WORDPRESS WEBSITE PERFORMANCE SERIES
The main reasons here is mostly caused by the web hosting, theme using, the running plugins, the images and the home page structure of the site.
Let’s continue to have a detail look at them now!
1. You are not using the best host
Most of us want to get a free or cheap hosting account. However, is it truly an economic solution?
A shared hosting or bad one may stop your site from loading speedily no matter how good your site is. This kind of host is often a SHARED hosting, which means that there are many websites running at the same time. By this way, the resource will be shared and that prevents your site’s speed.
So, let’s think about choosing a good web hosting for your home.
2. You do not use a good WordPress theme
In the term of loading time, how is a good WordPress theme? Well, it is a theme that does NOT include spyware or viruses – which can slow down your website.
In addition, there is no abundant HTML, code or CSS in the theme. All of them are optimized and function well.
If you choose a free theme, it may include spyware or viruses. You know what, anything has its own price and a free theme is not always a good choice. Therefore, let’s choose a premium themes with both good theme quality and support service from reliable developers.
3. The images take too much space
Yeah! Image is an essential element of any website and there is no beautiful website without stunning images. However, the problem is that, the higher the size and quality of the image is, the longer it takes time to be loaded.
Especially for the website with huge number of photos, it will really make the website slower.
Therefore, let’s think about the solutions to minimize the image size in your world.
4. There is too much information in your Homepage
When entering your homepage, visitors will have first step on the home page first, that’s why you consider the homepage as the face of the website. Therefore, you want to put as much as information as possible here.
However, this will also increase the loading of your site. Especially for the one page website style, there are many block with images, video, slider, text and other elements. When the page loads, all of them will be called and be back at the same time.
And it is just like the traffic in the rush hour. So, let’s have wise arrangement for your face – homepage.
5. There are too many plugins running in your site
There are millions of plugins for WordPress site and we also use many plugins in a website like speed up site plugin, translation plugin, color plugin, image plugin, eCommerce plugin and even plugin for plugin.
When using more plugins, your site will take more time to work and to load as well. Also, not all of them are good. There is also the bad quality, outdated ones that will slow your site performance.
These are some main causes that make a website performs slowly. In conclusion, let’s think twice about choosing host server and the theme, installing plugins, how to build your homepage and use images in your site to gain the best speed for your online store. | <urn:uuid:9ed304a1-4553-46fa-8f57-e004c0e39d24> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://wpthemego.com/why-your-website-loading-slowly | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570871.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808183040-20220808213040-00274.warc.gz | en | 0.949641 | 761 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Analysing and addressing gaps and biases in primary biodiversity data
The GBIF Ebbe Nielsen Challenge is an annual competition that seeks to inspire innovative applications of open-access biodiversity data.
GBIF—the Global Biodiversity Information Facility—is an open-data research infrastructure funded by the world's governments. We operate through a worldwide network that includes dozens of member states and hundreds of publishing organizations, and a coordinating Secretariat based in Copenhagen.
Through our website, GBIF.org, and associated web services, we provide free and open online access to species occurrence data, sometimes also called primary biodiversity data. Whether drawn from field observations, museum specimens, scientific literature or other sources, these occurrence records represent evidence of an organism observed or collected at a specific time and place.
In 2016, the Challenge will focus on the question of data gaps and completeness, seeking tools, methods and mechanisms to help analyse the fitness-for-use of GBIF-mediated data and/or guide priority setting for biodiversity data mobilization. We expect both data users and data holders to benefit from this year’s emphasis on gaps and completeness.
So: how well do data about life on earth—and specifically, biodiversity data mobilized through GBIF—allow us to understand how the world works? The answer can be different based on the research question.
Data users need help in assessing whether available data is suitable and sufficient to address their research investigations or to model biodiversity patterns of interest. If it is, the data are often described as ‘fit for use’.
Meanwhile, data holders (and, more importantly, their funders) can profit from an increased understanding capable of guiding and prioritizing mobilization and digitization efforts toward significant known temporal, spatial or other use-specific gaps.
Three useful (complementary) ways to think about and approach this issue:
- Information: How much detail can be seen of real-world biodiversity patterns through available data
- Gaps: Where are the major weaknesses in the data aggregated through GBIF.org?
- Ignorance: What are the aspects of biodiversity that we wish we could see but which have not been measured?
Each of these perspectives may be applied to the geographic, taxonomic, temporal, environmental and other aspects of available data.
In this challenge, entrants should explore and demonstrate how the approach used in their tools, methods and mechanisms apply to one or more of the following cases:
- Determining the completeness and consistency of data coverage for any taxonomic group at continental or global levels
- Providing a national view of the coverage and detail of available data for all taxa or particular taxonomic groups throughout the country.
- Providing a view of coverage and detail for other area types, such as environments (e.g., marine) or geographies (e.g., protected areas)
- Evaluating the data for an individual species to assess confidence in the completeness of coverage for that species
While the intent of the Challenge is for entries to improve users’ and/or publishers' understanding of GBIF-mediated data, entries may make use of external data (e.g., species traits, environmental information, protected areas, etc.) as appropriate.
Summarized from the Official Rules
The Challenge is open to individuals, teams of individuals, companies and their employees, and governmental agencies and their employees.
The Challenge is NOT open to:
- Members of the GBIF Secretariat
- Individuals currently under an external contract issued by the GBIF Secretariat
- Members of the GBIF Science Committee
- Heads of Delegation to GBIF
Submissions will consist of three main elements:
- Entry details, including the names of all team members; identification of a lead team representative; the taxonomic, temporary, geographic and other ‘dimensions’ of gap(s) considered; key audience(s) and user groups served (see GBIF Communications Strategy), and the objective of the entry
- Narrative description, which defines the gap(s); justifies or provides evidence of its relevance; describes the tool, method or mechanism for addressing it; and the solution’s relevance to GBIF and/or GBIF.org
- Results, in the form of a prototype, demo, video or slides, along with any relevant technical requirements or implementation details.
How to enter
- Register for the Challenge. Registrants must either create a ChallengePost account or log in with an existing ChallengePost account. There is no charge for creating a ChallengePost account, and doing so will ensure that you receive updates and can access the “Enter a Submission” page. Note that all team members must also create a ChallengePost account in order to be added to a Submission.
- Review the suggested reading, which catalogues previous investigations into existing gaps and biases in GBIF-mediated data.
- Familiarize yourself with your methods for accessing GBIF-mediated data, whether through GBIF.org, GBIF web services, or other tools like rgbif.
- Consider existing GBIF analyses of global data trends. If appropriate, see also national mobilization trends, national publishing trends, and the national reports available on each of the detail pages listed here.
- Produce a concept, prototype or method that a) defines and analyses a geographic, taxonomic, temporal, environmental or other gap or bias in GBIF-mediated data, b) identifies the audience(s) affected by this gap and how addressing it improves their use of or access to GBIF-mediated data, c) outlines how identifying these gaps or biases can help set priorities for data mobilization or enhancements to GBIF
- Complete and enter all of the required fields on the “Enter a Submission” page of the Challenge Website (each a “Submission”) by the end of the Challenge Submission Period—that is, by midnight CEST (UTC +1) on 30 Sept 2016.
Co-founder and partner, OpenCore
Head of Plants Division, Natural History Museum, London
Co-founder and full-stack developer, Datafable
Professor of Taxonomy, University of Glasgow
How relevant is the submission for addressing particular gaps or measures of completeness?
How creative and effective is the proposed tool, method or mechanism?
How well does the proposed solution work? How easily and reliably can it be integrated or linked with tools, services and/or workflows connected to GBIF.org and GBIF API? | <urn:uuid:8b7c78b5-0b20-4543-bd6e-d324e39907ef> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://gbif2016.devpost.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279169.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00212-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.894451 | 1,361 | 2.828125 | 3 |
This week, an opinion piece in the Washington Post was reacting to the decision in some Massachusetts school(s?) to remove Homer’s Odyssey from the curriculum because Homer and other authors do not align with the values that schools want to teach children.
While initially uncomfortable with this proposal, one thing became very clear to me while I was scrubbing my bathroom sink this morning. The words quoted in the piece from one of the people cancelling Homer were nearly exactly the same as Plato’s argument against teaching Homer in the Republic:
“Then shall we so easily let the children hear just any tales fashioned by just anyone and take into their souls opinions for the most part opposite to those we’ll suppose they must have when they are grown up?”
“In no event will we permit it.”
“First, as it seems, we must supervise the makers of tales; and if they make a fine tale, it must be approved, but if it’s not, it must be rejected. We’ll persuade nurses and mothers to tell the approved tales to their children and to shape their souls with tales more than their bodies with hands. Most of those they now tell must be thrown out.”Plato, Republic 377b, trans. Bloom.
And then —
“Which sort?” he said.
“In the greater tales we’ll also see the smaller ones,” I [Socrates] said. “For both the greater and the smaller must be taken from the same model and have the same power. Don’t you suppose so?”
“I do,” he said. “But I don’t grasp what you mean by the greater ones.
“The ones Hesiod and Homer told us, and the other poets too. They surely composed false tales for human beings and used to tell them and still do tell them.“
“But what sort,” he said, “and what do you mean to blame in them?”
“What ought to be blamed first and foremost,” I said, “especially if the lie a man tells isn’t a fine one.”
“When a man in speech makes a bad representation of what gods and heroes are like, just as a painter who paints something that doesn’t resemble the things whose likeness he wished to paint.”
“Yes, it’s right to blame such things,” he said. “But how do we mean this and what sort of thing is it?”
“First,” I said, “the man who told the biggest lie about the biggest things didn’t tell a fine lie — how Uranus did what Hesiod says he did, and how Cronos in his turn took revenge on him.”Plato, Republic 377c-e, trans. Bloom.
With that excitement (bold emphasis mine in both passages) — that people, far from wanting to erase engagement with older literature and myths, are actively working to create the Kallipolis and instill children with prosocial, just values, as everyone seeks after the good and wants to make the next generations’ lives better¹ — the remainder of this post is a sequence of quotations from Sallust, Dodds, Plato, and Proclus with some interjections from myself. Like most religions, Hellenism in antiquity had a rich philosophical and theological commentary tradition. If one were to teach any myths at all from any polytheistic religion, I think it should be integrated with commentaries so students have a better understanding that it’s okay to do critique and that the meaning of these stories is a living, breathing puzzle that people have wrestled with since the stories were first uttered, and I’m not sure that a lit class is the best place for that. I hope this post inspires those who have read less in the commentary tradition to consider how such texts can enrich their understanding of Greek myths and the millennia-long discourse about them.
As an aside, I read neither the Iliad nor the Odyssey in high school, but on my own (the Iliad) and in a college Greek Mythology course when I was 21 (the Odyssey and an Iliad reread). Maybe, given my upbringing in Neopaganism and the emphasis on ritual and prayer that entailed, that is one of the reasons I have historically been less attached to how the Gods are depicted in Homer than what I do when I am worshipping them, as I had been worshipping some of them (Apollon, Mnemosyne, the Mousai, Iris) for years before I first cracked open the Iliad or knew what the Homeric Hymns were.
Dodds Gets Salty About Platonism
Dodds translated Proclus’ Elements of Theology, and from the sounds of it, I truly wonder if he hated Proclus. From the tone of his endnotes, it seems as if he thought that (1) the Platonic emphasis on virtue and (2) the way the Gods are viewed as perfect goods that poets have tried in vain to capture in storytelling — and the substantial critique of traditional myths that this produced — were an absolute buzzkill.
That Homer’s Olympians, the most vividly conceived anthropomorphic beings in all literature, should have ended their career on the dusty shelves of this museum [Platonism] of metaphysical abstractions [he’s referring to the doctrine of the henads] is one of time’s strangest ironies.Dodds, in the endnotes to Proclus’ Elements of Theology, p. 260, commenting on PROP. 112
Earlier in the note, Dodds had said that the place of the Gods in Platonic myth had “depriv[ed] the gods of all personality” (p. 260), and he finds no value in the polytheistic Platonic system. In fact, far from being austere, Plato loves myths, and the commentaries’ exegesis of them is often truly dazzling. He writes his own wholesome, philosophical myths² that are present in many of the dialogues — myths that adhere to the criteria set in the Republic that good exoteric myths should ensure that good behavior is rewarded and that the Gods are treated as truly good.
It’s also odd here that Dodds calls the Olympians Homer’s beings, erasing the complicated relationship between the Greek people and the Gods that extended from private ritual to public observance to philosophical treatise to theatrical performance. They’re not Homer’s, as anyone who has read Plato’s Ion would understand; divinely-inspired poets try to translate the ineffable beauty that strikes them like lightning into words and concepts that are culturally contextual.
A fair way of teaching Hellenic — or Hindu, or Aztec, or Yoruba, or any — myths is to fight back against the reductionist views taken up by Imperialists who believed that everything other than Christianity was a primitive curiosity. Fighting back means unsevering myths from cultural contexts. The way “Western” schools teach myth is usually wedded to the tradition of Christian polemic against whichever people they were converting by painting their Gods, their holy people, their cultures, their religious rituals, and their myths as subhuman and uncivilized, in need of replacement by a universalized Christian hegemony with some quirky cultural curiosities for personalized flair. In order to be equitable, we need to rip out such demeaning intellectual heuristics at the root, and we need to prioritize emic (in-culture) perspectives in cases where nuance (AKA “let’s unpack this”) is warranted.
Sallust on Myths
Many of the dialogues that integrate myths are part of the Iamblichean dialogue sequence of the Alcibiades I, Gorgias, Phaedo, Cratylus, Theaetetus, Sophist, Politicus (AKA Statesman), Phaedrus, Symposium, Philebus, Timaeus, Parmenides. The Gods unfold from the henads into the procession of being in an elegant, beautiful way, and Platonists integrate traditional myths allegorically to explain how the core of the myth corresponds to what is going on at each level of reality:
Concerning [Myths], that these are divine, and on what Account they are so.
On what account then the ancients, neglecting such discourses as these, employed [myths], is a question not unworthy our investigation. And this indeed is the first utility arising from [myths], that they excite us to inquiry, and do not suffer our cogitative power to remain in indolent rest. It will not be difficult therefore to show that [myths] are divine, from those by whom they are employed: for they are used by poets agitated by divinity, by the best of philosophers, and by such as disclose initiatory rites. In oracles also [myths] are employed by the gods; but why [myths] are divine is the part of philosophy to investigate. Since therefore all beings rejoice in similitude, and are averse from dissimilitude, it is necessary that discourses concerning the gods should be as similar to them as possible, that they may become worthy of their essence, and that they may render the gods propitious to those who discourse concerning them; all which can only be effected by [myths]. [Myths] therefore imitate the gods, according to effable and ineffable, unapparent and apparent, wise and ignorant; and this likewise extends to the goodness of the gods; for as the gods impart the goods of sensible natures in common to all things, but the goods resulting from intelligibles to the wise alone, so [myths] assert to all [people] that there are gods; but who they are, and of what kind, they alone manifest to such as are capable of so exalted a knowledge. In [myths] too, the energies of the gods are imitated; for the world may very properly be called a [myths], since bodies, and the corporeal possessions which it contains, are apparent, but souls and intellects are occult and invisible. Besides, to inform all [people] of the truth concerning the gods, produces contempt in the unwise, from their incapacity of learning, and negligence in the studious; but concealing truth in [myths], prevents the contempt of the former, and compels the latter to philosophize. But you will ask why adulteries, thefts, paternal bonds, and other unworthy actions are celebrated in [myths]? Nor is this unworthy of admiration, that where there is an apparent absurdity, the soul immediately conceiving these discourses to be concealments, may understand that the truth which they contain is to be involved in profound and occult silence.Sallust, On the Gods and the World, Chapter III, trans. Thomas Taylor, with some emendations from me in brackets.
Sallust follows this with another passage on myths, and fortuitously (perhaps by design), it addresses the same myth that Plato had Socrates mention in the Republic towards the end of the second quotation (scroll up) in this post’s intro:
Of [myths], some are theological, others physical, others animastic, (or belonging to soul), others material, and lastly, others mixed from these. [Myths] are theological which employ nothing corporeal, but speculate the very essences of the gods; such as the [myth] which asserts that Saturn devoured his children: for it obscurely intimates the nature of an intellectual god, since every intellect returns into itself. But we speculate [myths] physically when we speak concerning the energies of the gods about the world; as when considering Saturn the same as Time, and calling the parts of time the children of the universe, we assert that the children are devoured by their parents. But we employ [myths] in an animastic mode when we contemplate the energies of the soul; because the intellections of our souls, though by a discursive energy they proceed into other things, yet abide in their parents.Sallust, On the Gods and the World, Chapter IV, trans. Thomas Taylor, with some emendations from me in brackets.
Here, Sallust is drawing on the Platonic sense of remaining, proceeding, and reverting, a triadic structure that is crucial to Platonic metaphysics. There are also hypostases, or levels of reality, that emanate from the One (which neither is, nor is one; it’s essentially the principle that each thing is a unity and one, except with a bunch of caveats that Damascius and Proclus discuss at length), with Intelligible, Intelligible-Intellective, Intellective, and other levels of Gods based on how they unfold in the detailed version of the structure.
There’s a good breakdown from a Platonic philosopher here (Edward Butler) for how philosophers in the Platonic tradition undertake mythological exegesis, and there’s also a book called Seven Myths of the Soul by Tim Addey that embarks on exegesis.
Admittedly, exploring the Hellenic myths (and Homer and Hesiod) without this additional context would be Herculean outside of a rigorous college course with so much reading to do in ten weeks that it would make even a Smithie cry.
Reverting to Plato: Proclus and Poets
Proclus comments on myths a lot. His fifth and sixth essays on Plato’s Republic have been translated into English twice, once with Greek on the facing page, once without it.
How could there be any reconciliation between the man who, in the Phaedo (95a) is called by Plato a “divine poet” and the one shown in the Republic [10.597e] to be “third in line from the truth”? These cannot be woven together like two linen threads: the same individual could not possibly take both positions. In the first assertion, we have a Homer who has transcended all human and partial notions in his poetry and has rooted his own thought among the gods; in the second, a Homer who knows only images of truth and strays far from wisdom about the divine. This is not to mention that, when Plato at one point calls poetry in general possession by the Muses and madness and calls the race of poets divine [Phdr. 245a], and then turns around and says that poetry is a fabricator of images and extravagant and many times removed from true knowledge, he hardly appears to be free of contradictions, even with regard to judgments about the content of poetry.Proclus, Essay 6 on the Republic of Plato, trans. R. Lamberton, in Proclus the Successor on Poetics and the Homeric Poems, p. 61, probably K70.20-K71.2
The above quotation comes from (nearly) the top of Essay 6, and it presents one of the big questions that Proclus will address in this essay based on Proclus’ development of his esteemed teacher Syrianus’ views.
Beginning from the top, then, let us state the reason why, when [Plato or Socrates] himself was giving the outlines of educational theory, he did not accept poetry, even though these things were well regarded as educative in those times. It seems that, since all poetic activity is mimetic, he recognises that there are two ways for them to go wrong in their mimetic activities. Sometimes they represent the things about which they produce their narratives in a way that lacks similitude (377e). Other times there is similitude, but since they are imitators of various things, they produce correspondingly various imitations, as one would expect.
When they imitate the things that concern gods or heroes, they are thus unaware of the fact that they imitate in a way that lacks similitude. They attempt to say something about them through impassioned language and even contrary to nature or contrary to divine law, whether within the fictions (plasma) of myth or outside of the myths. On the one hand, they assimilate heroic things to human traits and verbally drag them down into the same passions like greed, illiberality, pretentiousness, and licentiousness. (These things are entirely unworthy of heroes whom we take to be children of the gods.) On the other hand, in the case of the gods, they use indecent language as a screen for the truth about them — these being matters about which it is not easy for the audience in general and for young people in particular to become competent readers (krites).
Both these things manifest imitation that lacks semblance. One of them obviously does not conform to that which it imitates, while the other does not obviously conform due to the appearance of absurdity corresponding to the screen of myth-making. It is necessary for the one who imitates to choose concepts that are appropriate to the things, given that they are intended as icons of those things, and he must select language that is fitting for those conceptions. It is for this reason that that he [Plato] was long in the habit of saying about the poetry of divine myths that it lies beautifully calling that lie beautiful which hides the truth through beautiful language.Proclus, Essay 5 on the Republic of Plato, trans. Baltzly, 43.26-44.26
Bold emphasis mine. The full section this quotation is from is fabulous, as Proclus says that poets are “particularly capable of imitating those things that they were raised with” and “that which lies outside each person’s upbringing is something that becomes hard for [lim] to imitate in actions and harder in words” (Ibid., 45.6-11). Proclus continues:
They go wrong for the same reason when it comes to the gods. On the basis of understanding the language that they [sc. the poets] are accustomed to and the things with which they were raised, they suppose such things to contribute towards concealing the gods — thefts, rapes, mistakes, adulteries, wars and plots that involve the gods — while they entirely neglect to apply to the things about which they speak those very words that belong to people who were brought up properly and which are repeated constantly, high and low, in well-functioning polities, such as right, justice, law, simplicity, respect and all such things. These are part of the shared upbringing of people who have been properly turned into citizens. In any event, it is unbearable for them to have things that are shameful and illicit uttered, for they do not hold it fitting to defile the tongue by saying these words, since the tongue is an instrument for celebrating the gods and for conversing with good people. Thus, since the imitation that lacks semblance is double, his rebuke against the poets is offered in these terms: what they do is similar either to the case where someone intends to represent Achilles in a picture but [mistakenly] depicts Thersites or else it is similar to the case where he represents Achilles but does not preserve his courageous way of life — [the opposite of] what he called in the Laws (II 668d) [depicting] well and with correctness.Proclus, Essay 5 on the Republic of Plato, trans. Baltzly, 45.18-46.8
Both of these essays are absolute gold for thinking of how to approach Homer and other poets, Essay 5 being much shorter than Essay 6. One of the tragedies of scholarly publishing is that both of the translations of these essays are so expensive when getting these into the hands of educators and students could be useful — especially given what I bolded above, which is exemplary food for thought. The essay also serves to properly locate critique of myths in the poets, not in the Gods themselves. Apollon, Zeus, and Hera are wholly good. Why poets choose to depict them doing what they do is complex, driven (as Plato says in some dialogues) by storytellers being beholden to crowd-pleasing (like the writers of an HBO television series trying to satisfy their viewers’ cries for gore, sex, and mayhem), but also by the fusion of divine inspiration with the cultural substrate. As we know, no culture is perfect, and many cultures have heinous inequalities that are ignored or reasoned away even by the best people who have been brought up in them.
What would it look like for a myth to be just and equitable? I think we can point, again, to what Plato does in many of his dialogues, as Plato weaves myths into many of them. In the Platonic writings, Plato is often associated with the God Apollon (who, as Proclus reminds us in Essay 5, is the “poet/creator of imitations that are endowed with harmony and rhythm” at 69.1) and the writer of the anonymous Prolegomena to Platonic Philosophy elevates him to such a height: “[An] oracle was given that two children would be born, Asclepius, son of Apollo, and Plato, son of Aristo, one of whom would be a healer of bodies, the other of souls” (I.6.14-16).
And Cronos’ deeds and his sufferings at the hands of his son, not even if they were true would I suppose they should so easily be told to thoughtless young things; best would be to keep quiet, but if there were some necessity to tell, as few as possible ought to hear them as unspeakable secrets, after making a sacrifice, not of a pig but of some great offering that’s hard to come by, so that it will come to the ears of the smallest possible number.Plato, Republic 377e, trans. Bloom.
While praying to Apollon a few hours after cleaning the sink, some additional factors suddenly occurred to me. This entire post is beholden to Platonism. What I profess to be a secure foundation in the myths has been achieved, and is being continuously achieved, by the sacrifice of time and lifeblood, the sweat of intellectual activity, and the tears of frustration when the meaning of a passage eluded me. There are researchers who discuss the nature of transformative experiences and how it is impossible to describe to someone what it is like to have a child, complete a Ph.D., lose a parent, have cancer, publish a book, experience a God, and so on — they’re transformative and complicated, not communicable by words. I’d place reading the Iamblichean sequence (plus the Republic and the Laws) alongside Platonic commentaries about them in that bracket. The most frustrating thing about observing the supercelestial place in the Phaedrus is not being able to communicate to people who haven’t read it or prayed to a God after reading it just how beautiful and wondrous the Gods are, and the second-most frustrating thing is that my mind now automatically does exegesis whenever I read a myth, and I no longer have a great sense of what the experience of reading the myth is like for people whose minds haven’t been marinating in Plato, but something else or nothing at all. Specialization can reduce empathy and relatability.
The great offering that’s hard to come by could be the outcome of the rigorous study itself, a self-initiation into the sublime that burns us up and transforms us into something new, be we poets like myself or philosophers like the Platonists I enjoy reading, utterly incapable of exposing the mystery to people outside of the initiated not due to the will to keep a secret, but the impossibility of sharing something that is experiential, not spoken. The question, if violent myths are to be sequestered from the uninitiated, then becomes: How do we educate young people to be intellectually curious and to possess flexible mental frameworks that provoke rigorous inquiry so that, when those who are to be initiated stumble across Homer and Hesiod and are stunned into silence, they even know what to look for beyond the initial aporia of youths who have been raised in a just world? Asking if such stories belong in a literature course is, and has always been, the wrong question.
- If the Republic is cancelled in school, that may be a good decision, as many Platonists believe it is one of the absolute worst dialogues to start from. My personal recommendations are the Ion and the Phaedrus — the first is a great introduction to inspired poetry that could be used in conjunction with reading someone like Sappho or Pindar, and the second provides a wholesome account of love, the Greek Gods, and appropriate/inappropriate speeches while helping a young man come into a place of confidence. I would also recommend Plato’s Seventh Letter.
- While some sexism is present in a few of them because Plato does comment that male lives are privileged over female lives in reincarnation cycles, I interpret that as a comment about gender, privilege, and oppression. It is true that in many places, until the women’s rights movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, education, property ownership, financial independence, and other things were denied to most women, and since both Plato’s Socrates and Timaeus seem to privilege having the freedom to be in control of one’s own life (see some of Socrates’ arguments in the Gorgias especially), being beholden to others due to sex and/or enslaved status would have posed significant, albeit not impossible, legal and social barriers to achieving that control. In late antiquity, philosophers’ daughters tended to be married off to other philosophers — it was the best way to ensure they retained access to the intellectual community and to freedom in an unequal society. Reducing poverty, taxing the wealthy, and ensuring that all people are treated as legal equals are ways for a nation to reduce barriers to those freedoms. Conservatives tend to be drawn to the idea of a stratified city-state in the Republic, and hierarchy is important to their values system, but they ignore the more progressive ideas in Plato about reducing wealth inequality or fact that the hierarchy is imposed in a fevered city that is destined to sink from a good city-state to a tyrant-controlled one because people make mistakes, and we open ourselves up to death by a thousand cuts. That hierarchy is not present in the first city that Socrates proposes. They also ignore Plato’s intense criticism of people who hoard wealth and the seeds within the Gorgias that could lead to a useful implementation of restorative justice. | <urn:uuid:4a662db3-b4e2-41e5-8c5a-ba8c1049d441> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://kallisti.blog/2020/12/30/from-plato-there-is-no-escape/comment-page-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571909.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813051311-20220813081311-00271.warc.gz | en | 0.964358 | 5,613 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Europe’s automobile industry is facing a worse year than the Covid-battered 2020 with sales falling a fifth straight month amid a global shortage of electronic chips used in new models. European sales fell back 20.5 percent year-on-year to 713,346 units, the worst slump since 1993, the European automobile manufacturers association (ACEA) said on Friday. Although economic activity bounced back relatively strongly in the first 11 months of the year compared with last year, car sales on the continent stagnated, falling 0.04 percent. “The impact of the microchip shortage on vehicle output dragged the EU’s year-to-date sales performance into negative territory despite 2020’s record-low base for comparison,” the ACEA said in a statement. Several major markets also saw double-digit falls in November sales German registrations dived 31.7 percent, Italian and Polish sales were off by a quarter and Spain and Belgium were down 12.3 and 17.1 percent while France limited the fall to 3.2 percent. Bulgaria, Ireland, and Slovenia saw small gains, by contrast. Taken January-November, three of the four largest EU markets posted gains, even so on 2020, Italy rising 8.6 percent, Spain 3.8 percent, and France 2.5 percent. But Germany saw a fall of 8.1 percent compared with 2020. European market leader Volkswagen saw January-November sales drop back 1.6 percent to 2.2 million with Skoda suffering in particular although strong showings from Seat and Porsche compensated. Multinational Stellantis, which grew out of the merger earlier this year of PSA and Fiat Chrysler, saw sales for the year to date rise 0.4 percent to close on two million units. France’s Renault saw sales for the year to date dive 9.9 percent on sales of 922,000 and Mercedes sales were down 11.6 percent. Korea’s Hyundai-Kia in stark contrast posted a 20.4 percent gain to 763,000 sales on the year to date while Toyota added 12 percent. | <urn:uuid:8be5f42e-c511-4371-8b24-02560301acd6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://dailytimes.com.pk/856195/europes-car-industry-faces-worse-year-than-2020/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572286.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816090541-20220816120541-00266.warc.gz | en | 0.935575 | 429 | 1.507813 | 2 |
The Olympics Chelsea
Winter Olympics • In the Winter Olympics people play ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, snowboarding, and freestyle skiing.
Summer Olympics • In the Summer Olympics people play baseball, tennis, track and field, water polo, weight lifting, and wrestling. It seems like a lot of fun.
Where the Olympics Are • The first Olympics was in Athens, Greece. This year they are holding the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. In 2010 they are holding the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.
The Olympic Flag • The rings on the Olympic Flag represent the five parts of the world that are joined together in the Olympic movement.
Olympic Flame and Motto • The Olympic Flame represents the death and the rebirth. The Olympic motto is Swifter, Higher, Stronger. | <urn:uuid:1f362cc1-6365-49cd-af69-2ba17721ff95> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://esysbio.org/the-olympics-8.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573699.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819131019-20220819161019-00270.warc.gz | en | 0.928798 | 165 | 1.953125 | 2 |
To define the basis of the heterogeneity of angiotensinogen, we have characterized the immunoreactivity of high molecular weight (HMW) and low molecular weight (LMW) plasma angiotensinogen, the angiotensinogen precursor synthesized by cell-free translation, and angiotensinogen secreted by human hepatoma (Hep G2) cells. Angiotensinogen precursor synthesized by rabbit reticulocyte lysate primed with RNA prepared from liver or Hep G2 cells was compared with angiotensinogen secreted by Hep G2 cells by using immunoprecipitation and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). So as to assess the contribution of N-glycosylation of angiotensinogen, Hep G2 cells were incubated in the presence of tunicamycin. Glycosylation of secreted angiotensinogen was further characterized by using chromatography on concanavalin A-Sepharose, digestion with neuraminidase, and treatment with trifluoromethane sulfonic acid. In Sephadex G-200 column chromatography, HMW plasma angiotensinogen eluted just after the column void volume and was clearly separated from LMW angiotensinogen which eluted just before bovine serum albumin. Both HMW and LMW plasma angiotensinogen were shown to bind to monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies raised against pure LMW angiotensinogen. Only one angiotensinogen precursor (mol wt 50,000) was identified by cell-free translation which, after cleavage by renin, was reduced to mol wt 45,600. Angiotensinogen secreted by Hep G2 cells showed electrophoretic heterogeneity (mol wt 53,100-65,400). Tunicamycin-treated Hep G2 cells secreted five discrete forms of angiotensinogen, a predominant form of mol wt 46,200, with other forms (mol wt 46,800, 48,100, 49,200, and 49,600) representing 10% of secreted angiotensinogen. All five forms showed a similar reduction in molecular weight after cleavage by renin. The predominant 46,200-mol wt protein represented nonglycosylated angiotensinogen in that, after cleavage by renin, it had an electrophoretic mobility (mol wt 45,600) identical to the desangiotensin I-angiotensinogen resulting from renin cleavage of the angiotensinogen precursor. The other higher molecular weight forms of angiotensinogen secreted by tunicamycin-treated Hep G2 cells were shown to represent O-glycosylated angiotensinogen in that they were reduced to 46,200 mol wt by treatment with trifluoromethane sulfonic acid. Dexamethasone (10(-7) and 10(-6)M) stimulated angiotensinogen secretion by Hep G2 cells two- to fourfold, both in the absence and presence of tunicamycin. However, a small stimulatory effect of mestranol (10(-7) M) was evident only in the presence of tunicamycin. Neither dexamethasone nor mestranol influenced the electrophoretic pattern (SDS-PAGE) of angiotensinogen secreted by Hep G2 cells. However, when incubation media were chromatographed on Sephadex G-200 with subsequent immunoprecipitation of the column fractions, both dexamethasone and mestranol were shown to stimulate the secretion of HMW angiotensinogen (eluting just after the column void volume) which, on SDS-PAGE, migrated in a position identical to LMW angiotensinogen. From these studies, we conclude that all forms of human angiotensinogen are derived from a single precursor. The heterogeneity of secreted angiotensinogen represents differences in posttranslational processing of angiotensinogen. This processing includes both N- and O-glycosylation, and also the formation of HMW complexes (HMW angiotensinogen) through association either with other angiotensinogen molecules or with some other protein(s) whose secretion by hepatocytes is stimulated by glucocorticoids and estrogens.
D J Campbell, J Bouhnik, E Coezy, J Menard, P Corvol | <urn:uuid:1bf81bea-e0c4-4910-ac9e-d0782f820747> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.jci.org/articles/view/111902/pdf | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00356-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.886812 | 974 | 1.5 | 2 |
problem [in economics] is that methodology frequently trumps the question. Once you have a way to model things, much of the research becomes very self-referential; that is, it becomes more about how the model behaves and less about the question. I think the question really matters, but a lot of economists believe the methodology matters more than the question. And this leads to very elaborate models of very many things without much of an outside reality check.
Another interesting impression I get from her talk, which is not explicit and may be a misreading on my part, flows from this point and concerns the importance of default models: The “default” or “canonical” model of economics describes a perfect-competition well-functioning market. We know that this is an incorrect description of the world, but it frequently shapes our “gut reaction,” and because we understand it fully we feel more comfortable arguing about this model than about the world. As a result, economists who give policy advice are treated more leniently by fellow economists if their advice is consistent with the standard model.
[…] the people who go and give advice usually end up with a very bad rap in economics. I am amazed at how much hatred—and I will say hatred—Paul Krugman evokes from some fellow economists. But one of the reasons for this is that he says things for which there is not “scientific” support and which go against what these people believe is "good" economics. Now, people on the other side also say things for which they do not have "scientific" support incidentally, and they don’t get the same amount of hatred.[…]
Take the argument we’ve been having recently. Should we be trying to increase aggregate demand or should we be reducing the deficit? […] Well, a model is not going to give you the answer because it depends on whether you write the model in such a way that getting aggregate demand up is a good idea, or whether you write it in such a way that people are really worried about future deficits that are coming around the road and they won’t invest because they know that taxes are going to be high in the future.
These things are rigged into the model from the beginning when it’s such an unsettled question, and we don’t really have an exact science-based way to answer it, which is why we argue about history. […]
Economists don’t have to be free-marketers. But that ends up being the canonical model, and then everything else ends up being a departure from the canonical model, which you’ve then got to explain why you’re departing from. It’s not because the canonical model is right, it’s because you ask most economists and they’ll say, “At least we understand how that economy works very, very well. So you want to tell me that we’re going to move away from this one and move to something else, that’s fine, but you have to explain why you’re putting in all of these imperfections.” So it’s not that you can’t write those things down, it’s just that there is less of a standard way of doing it. | <urn:uuid:c618edc4-0564-48ab-8ef7-6edca276f8b3> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.olerogeberg.com/2011/11/google-post-from-al-roth-alerted-me-to.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 | 0.966503 | 683 | 1.601563 | 2 |
On Wednesday, Davoud Rahmani, also known as “Haj Davoud,” the notorious former head of Iran’s Ghezelhesar Prison, died. During his career as a prison guard, he tortured and killed thousands of Iranians, mainly women, in accordance with the misogynist ideology of Iran’s criminal regime.
Haj Davoud was a blacksmith in southern Tehran. He was known in his neighborhood as a misogynist thug who tortured his sister. Rahmani soon joined Ruhollah Khomeini’s “club wielders,” harassing Iranians on the street and stifling any voice of dissent.
Thus, he rapidly rose through the regime’s ranks and became the deputy of Assadollah Lajavardi, Iran’s most brutal prison official and torturer in Evin prison. When Ghezelhesar prison was constructed in the early 1980s, Rahmani became its chief warden.
As the head of Ghezelhesar Prison, Rahmani used many forms of torture to break political prisoners, primarily female supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Rahmani invented two inhumane torture methods known as the “residential units” and “cages” to break women. Many survivors of these tortures have shared their horrific memories.
Ms. Homa Jaberi is one of these survivors. In her memoirs, she writes: “The head of Ghezelhesar prison was a big fat man called ‘Haj Davoud.’ He was uneducated and was a real thug. They said he was a blacksmith or traded iron. Haj had brought his wife and three children to the prison and spent all his time in the prison.
“It seemed that Haj Davoud did not care about the prisoners’ charges. He categorized them in his own way and tortured them accordingly. He was sensitive about those who had colored eyes or wore glasses,” Ms. Jaberi adds.
Ms. Jaberi is one of the survivors of the residential units. During an international conference on July 19, 2019, she recounted some heart-wrenching memories.
“They kept us standing face against the wall for three days without any rest. We became delirious, had lost our balance, and kept falling on the floor. On the third day, I went unconscious,” she said, adding, “The situation in the Residential Unit was that the torturers were always with us in the same room and all night long.
“We were blindfolded and facing the wall, all the time. I was there for 40 days, but some of my friends were kept there for six months, or even more than a year. There was absolute silence; no one was allowed to make any noise. We got severely tortured for coughing or sneezing. We were not even allowed to scream under torture. If anyone screamed or cried out, the torture would get worse,” she added.
iran-prison-torture3 iran-prison-torture3 iran-prison-torture3 iran-prison-torture3
Ms. Jaberi also said that “every command was accompanied by beating and lashes. The torturer used a heavy thick cable to whip. If he hit once, it meant that we could sleep for an hour after a few days.
“Another form of torture at the Residential Unit was psychological. For example, we had to curse ourselves in writing. We had to write insults against ourselves hundreds of times. Or we had to verbally insult ourselves,” Ms. Jaberi said.
“Haji told us you should hold on to the wall. He made us stand with open legs facing the walls. I saw him as he came back and kicked those facing the wall and hit their heads to the wall. He did so while laughing and saying didn’t I tell you to hold on to the wall?” Ms. Jaberi wrote.
Martyrs’ Museum in Ashraf 3
Many inmates lost their sanity due to these tortures. According to Ms. Jaberi, “Farangis Mohammad Rahimi, Shekar Mohammadzadeh, Ashraf Fadaii, and Tahmineh Sotoudeh were among those in the Residential Unit who lost their sanity and were executed in the 1988 massacre.”
Rahmani’s other original torture, the “cage,” was built with two boards of approximately 160 x 60 cm and 70 cm in height. Ms. Hengameh Hajhassan, a MEK member who survived this inhumane torture, detailed in her memoirs, “Face to Face with the Beast,” how Haj Davoud tortured them in cages and “coffins.”
Model of the “cage” in the Martyrs’ Museum in Ashraf 3
Model of the “cage” in the Martyrs’ Museum in Ashraf 3
The following are some excerpts of her book:
After having been interrogated and tortured again in the disciplinary blocks at Evin, these prisoners were sent to the first unit of Ghezelhessar, nicknamed “the cages.” Until then, everyone was ignorant of the existence of “the last judgment unit,” “the cages,” and the “residential units.”
Even in Ghezel, we didn’t know they existed. We only knew that there were places for punishment in the first unit and that men had been taken there, without any more details.
They took me to the right under the entrance door and left me in an empty room. I don’t know how long afterward they came to fetch me, and we went towards the corridor and the sub-units. At the entrance to the corridor, I must have gone into a room where a woman took me in hand. She made me sit down in a space between two upright boards 50 cm apart. It was hot and heavy, and it smelt like a bathroom. I still had the bandage over my eyes.
All around the room, by putting boards at every 50 cm, they had made numerous cages, about 80 or 90, and in each one of them, someone was sitting facing the wall. I tried to recognize the bags so as to know who was there.
Every day, they relayed to us the deafening singing of Ahangaran and other singers and sprayed us with war propaganda. The loudspeakers poured out news of the regime’s total victory at the front, of “good over evil.” As to the “educational program,” we were fortunately forbidden to go to it, but it was retransmitted to us through loudspeakers so that “we shouldn’t lose a crumb of it.”
The worst was to suffer from insomnia. There had come a time when the flood of thoughts like “there’s no hope that this will ever finish” prevented me from sleeping in spite of my fatigue. Yet, I waited impatiently for the moment when I could lie down and sleep. Whichever way I turned, I still saw that dark, endless tunnel without an opening in front of me. And suddenly dawn came, and another day began. Heavens, how could I endure that day with all this fatigue?
Iran’s 1988 Massacre: Testimony by MEK witness Hengameh Haji Hassan, Ashraf 3, Albania, 15 July 2019
Haji came every day to see if his system was working properly and to try to destroy us even more. “Nobody will come to your help,” he used to say sneeringly. “Your adored [MEK leader] Massoud isn’t there. Not unless you decide to turn into human beings.” In the torturer’s language, all words mean their opposite. “Deciding” meant “lowering your arms,” “turning into human beings” meant “turning into vultures, into spies, into traitors!”
Haji chose a few women from among us, took them outside, beat them black and blue, then asked them to recant. As to those on whom the spies had reported, he persecuted and tortured them right there in the cage. Sometimes, he came noiselessly and covered his victim with punches and kicks. One day, a violent noise rang out. At the same moment, we heard a stifled cry, then the sound of my neighbor’s head hitting the wall opposite her. Then we heard Haji spitting insults: “You still haven’t turned into a human being?!” he howled. But not a sound came from my neighbor any longer.
One day, I, too, was his prey. I suddenly felt a weight fall on my head, and I thought my neck was sinking into my ribcage. I felt dizzy, and my vision was fogged. Then I heard the groans of Haj Davoud being vituperative. He had surprised me by a blow on the head with his enormous fist.
I realized how cruel the enemy was and how much he hated us.
I felt that he wanted to crush me and make me inferior. And this feeling gave me a motive for resisting.
Ms. Azam Hajheydari also survived the cage. In her book, “The Price of Staying Human,” she describes the horrific situation she endured in Ghezelhesar prison’s cage and how Rahmani tortured her. She recalls Haj Davoud as saying, “It’s the day of the last judgment, either you come back to the right path, or you go to Hell.” Below are some excerpts of her book:
The cage section didn’t have the same structure as the others. Each part consisted of wide corridors with a vast room filled with perhaps two hundred ping-pong tables piled up to the ceiling. A year earlier, when we had been transferred from Evin to Ghezelhesar, they had first brought us into a room filled to the ceiling with ping-pong tables. We had joked about it with the girls, laughing: “Look! They’re going to make a games room for us! Nice!”
In the space between every two tables were the prisoners, crumpled up, their eyes perpetually bandaged. The cages were separated so that nobody could speak to anyone else. A traitress was on guard night and day over the length and breadth of the place, high and low, to check on the prisoners and make sure they didn’t speak to one another.
The first time they took us to make our ablutions and prayers, Haji Davoud was there. I knew that we had to remain with our eyes bandaged all the time and not move, but I asked Haji Davoud if I could have a Qur’an or a Nahj-ol-Balagheh.
All of a sudden, Haji’s oily laugh rang out: “You want the Qur’an and the Nahj-ol Balagheh? Here!” And he gave me what felt like a bludgeon strike on the head. “And now, what else do you want? Poor hypocrite! Go and think about your misfortune, as if you didn’t know where you’ve landed! Eh?”
I had elaborated a program according to which I knew at what time I had to sing, what I had to sing, and even what I had to think about. I realized that I was beginning to learn to use my brain and how to draw from it the things that were there and that I had forgotten.
In the cage, there was a law of complete silence. We had absolutely no right to speak. In case of need, we had to raise a hand and keep it in the air for as long as it took for the Pasdaran or the traitress to see it and choose the moment to come to us. And then the person approached and pressed their wretched mouth to the prisoner’s ear to say: “Speak softly!”
Residential Unit: The Secret Torture Chamber to Break PMOI Women
Iran’s Guantanamo Bay: The Cover-up Won’t Work
The 1988 Massacre of Political Prisoners in Iran: Eyewitness Accounts
If we spoke the slightest bit too loudly, blows rained down, and the guards reported that we had tried to communicate with another prisoner. In that case, it was Haji Davoud and Ahmad who came over to beat us violently on the head. They hit the prisoner’s face and head against the wall with the aim, as they admitted loud and clear, of bringing her to death’s door in order to cure her of the slightest wish to ask for anything. Before a meal was distributed, the guards gave me a blow on the head. That meant “eat.” However, most of the time, I was deprived of meals.
Haj Davoud, the torturer, went on with a ringing, oily laugh: “We’ll keep you here till you die. I’ll make you hope to leave here with the title of tortured Mojahedin. I shan’t let you become a heroine! I’m the champion, and I’m the one who’ll make the hypocrites bend.”
One day when the pain was drowning me, I was taken to the guards’ room and forced to stay standing for half a day. Then Haji Davoud came and shouted at me: “Come on, we’ll talk. You defend your ideas, and I’ll defend the imam. We’ll see which of us will convince the other.” Almost as soon as he had finished his sentence, I fell to the ground, being unable to stand any longer.
Some torturers and interrogators who were questioning prisoners came towards me: “You see how you’re dying, you wretch? You can’t even manage to stand up. How do you expect to resist or struggle? Who are you struggling for? Who do you want to die for? Think of yourself and your family for a bit! Look what you’ve done to yourself!” While that torturer was shouting his “advice” at me, I watched our martyrs, my companions in the struggle, filing past.
Thinking of them, I recovered some strength. I rose and held on firmly to the wall so as not to fall again. Noticing my gesture, Haji Davoud, very angrily, shouted to his men: “Leave her! Leave her standing so that she’ll die! But in fact, she’s a nice girl, don’t bother her too much!” It was like a coded message among them. From then on, every time a torturer came up to me to assault me sexually, he would say to me: “But you’re still the same nice girl!” Powerless, no longer able to react as before to those ignoble acts, I was often seized with convulsions. As they didn’t manage to make a Mojahedin woman break down, they had recourse to that bestial weapon.
For a long time, as if it had been my turn to be lashed, they came and pulled me by my chador, dragged me out of the room, without saying a word for fear of alerting the other prisoners in the cage section, and inflicted sexual assaults on me right behind the door. After spending several months, night and day, in the cage without letting anyone hear me cry under that pressure and those intolerable pains, those bestial acts weakened me.
One day I decided to attack with all my strength the first man who came up to me with that aim. I concentrated as hard as I could to hear the man who tried to approach. In spite of the blindfold over my eyes, I was able to glimpse a man arriving. Then I gave him the strongest kick I could. My reaction took him by surprise, especially as he had seen me fall a short while before. Then he gave me two or three kicks before going away, and I was taken back to my cage. I was at once full of joy and filled with shame at not having done the same thing sooner. Once again, I had learned a lesson: the torturer draws back when a prisoner takes the offensive.
An endless struggle
The aforementioned shocking prison memoirs are just a part of an ongoing struggle between two forces in Iran. On the one hand, we have the misogynist mullahs’ regime that goes beyond cruelty and is clearly inhumane. This regime, represented by thugs like Davoud Rahmani, leaves no boundary in harassing and assaulting prisoners, mainly women.
On the other hand, we see a democratic force that sacrifices everything for humanity and human values, and freedom of people. We see resistant MEK women who overcame fear, torture, sexual harassment, and other forms of torture. Many of them were eventually executed, but they defeated the beast by clinging to their ideals and resisting until their last breaths.
Davoud Rahmani died on Wednesday. He, among other regime criminal officials, and the regime as a whole will be remembered as criminals and advocates for an inhumane ideology that, in the name of Islam, committed the most horrific and brutal crimes against Muslims and non-Muslims alike. But on the other hand, the MEK, as a genuine Muslim organization with heroes and heroines like Azam, Homa, Hengameh, and those who gave their lives for freedom would always be remembered for their sacrifice and commitments for human values and their love for people and their freedom. They have become the source of inspiration for Iranian women, who have been playing a major role in Iran’s major uprisings in recent years. | <urn:uuid:3d1b70c9-2493-49dc-87c4-05479ffc0092> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://defendashraf.org/davoud-rahmani-a-thug-representing-irans-misogynist-regime/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572408.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816151008-20220816181008-00670.warc.gz | en | 0.981781 | 3,844 | 1.960938 | 2 |
Kai Ryssdal: Those of you who live in pedestrian-friendly cities may not believe this, but there are people from more car-centric cultures -- Los Angeles, just for instance, or Houston, Texas -- where it's nothing to drive, like, a mile on a quick errand instead of just hoofing it. Part of that's force of habit. Part of it, though, is a lack of inviting places to walk, or enough safe routes to ride your bike.
In Houston, though, one group is trying to change that -- block by block. From KUHF, Wendy Siegle reports.
Wendy Siegle: Zacq Lockrem rolls a small paint-striping machine down Holman Street in Houston.
Zacq Lockrem: There we go. Bike lane. So now we will go down and put the little bike guy in the middle too.
Within hours, that bike lane will be painted blue. It's all part of a 24-hour stunt to turn a boring urban block into a vibrant one overnight. Lockrem and more than a dozen volunteers will pick up trash, and set up food stalls and cafe seating on the sidewalk.
Jay Crossley is an organizer with Houston's Better Block Project, a movement that started in Dallas and is now spreading to other parts of the country.
Jay Crossley: We're trying to show just how we can transform a neighborhood through transforming the street.
They're also adding some greenery with young trees and purple flowers to spruce up the block. And they're doing this even though it'll all be taken down and washed away tomorrow.
Andrew Howard: The Better Block is a temporary art installation.
Andrew Howard is a transportation planner in Dallas. He and a friend came up with the Better Block Project last year. Howard calls them "urban defibrillators," saying they can bring a flat-lining street back from the dead. He hopes the event will create a sort of virtuous circle: If there's more foot traffic, more stores will open, and with more stores comes more foot traffic.
Howard: Maybe they come there because of the art gallery, but then they found out ah, there's a great dress shop, there's a really nice coffee shop, and between those two there's a great cafe -- then we've captured them and got them before they've gotten back into their car.
But can changes that are washed away the very next day have any kind of lasting effect? Howard says they already have. Since the very first Better Block a year ago in Dallas, two businesses have taken up leases on that street. And it impressed the Dallas City Council, which has since hired Howard's urban planning firm to design a walkable public plaza on what used to be traffic lanes. Howard says the car-free space will be dotted with trees and benches to encourage people to hang around.
Volunteer: So theoretically it's supposed to fit 12 bikes.
Back in Houston, the crew is nailing together pieces of wood to make a temporary bicycle rack. Paul Nicosia, another Better Block organizer, surveys all the work that will be torn down in a few hours. He insists the block's face-lift will prove to locals that it is possible for Houston to become walkable. But more than that, he hopes to catch the eye of the politicians who can actually make these changes permanent on blocks around the city.
Paul Nicosia: What we show today may not happen just as we show it. But if we can get this to happen in another spot in the city, and then another, and then another. And then all of a sudden it becomes second nature to all the design professionals, all the city officials.
He says pedestrian-friendly streets make for more active communities. Better Blocks are popping up in Tulsa, New York and elsewhere. The challenge, though, is to convince the right people that it also makes economic sense.
In Houston, I'm Wendy Siegle for Marketplace. | <urn:uuid:1c2fbf8c-9493-450c-8c65-03ce03a6eea1> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.marketplace.org/2011/08/05/sustainability/building-better-cities-24-hours-time | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279169.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00214-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953479 | 821 | 1.734375 | 2 |
(engineers should recognize this as a feeble attempt to modify Kipling’s ‘The Hymn of Breaking Strain’…
The Hymn of Flying Strain
(with apologetic thanks to Rudyard Kipling)
Flight manuals precisely tell us in lines of black and white
The load, the power, the speed of air to use when we take flight.
So when our fragile steeds of air lie mangled, scattered on the ground
The blame for loss or error must eventually be found,
And laid upon a man,
Not upon the machine or it’s workings, but a man.
Instruments carefully measure the force, speed and strain
On things that pull, push and spin so we can read them plain.
And know within those careful bounds
We can boldly take to flight yet return safe and sound.
Books of regulation in words of legalese
Tell us what we must and mustn’t do
To please watching authorities
Yet in our daily dealings of things aeronautic we find
God put no words or numbers in view before mankind.
To no paper regulation He made us, to no procedure tied.
No sure track laid before us in what we do or tried.
We bend metal, fuel, plastics, electrons with imagining bold
And dare darkness, storm, height, heat and cold
Until flaws of knowledge, strength or calculation,
Exceeds some hidden, unknown limitation
We who fly must stay inside man’s careful bounds
Avoid those lines undrawn beyond where trouble will be found.
So we may take to the air with wings of earthly measure
Until lift, and power and speed we no longer need treasure
And with God’s blessing fly free from earth’s constricting ties.
Just had this published in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots magazine, so I can unleash it on the unsuspecting world…
Shawn Coyle 9758 | <urn:uuid:5f716e0d-2289-45b7-aff8-9bfdb1a5d028> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://everitas.rmcclub.ca/the-hymn-of-flying-strain/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571536.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811224716-20220812014716-00273.warc.gz | en | 0.869949 | 418 | 2 | 2 |
In September 2007 Chevron Corporation launched a massive global advertising campaign “aimed at engaging people in today’s energy issues and highlighting the steps Chevron is taking to bring more energy supplies to the global marketplace. The campaign, called the “Power of Human Energy,” will launch on television in the United States on Sept. 30 and internationally on Oct. 5.”
I noted the glitzy new TV ads with irritation and skepticism. While I motored with Chevron products most of my adult life, my attitude changed with the dramatic surge of gasoline prices which began in the early years of 2000. Californians have long paid higher prices for fuel anyway; prices in the the Bay Area were even higher, and the feeling was and is that we’re being gouged. If that wasn’t irritating enough, Chevron dealers were almost always ten to twenty cents higher per gallon than the competition. Refiners blamed California environmental regulations (thank you, MTBE) and “Market Forces”. The “market forces” explanation comes across as particularly arrogant, patronizing and insulting.
Understanding market forces pricing mechanisms is one thing. Explaining why oil company profits also soared, hitting world records in 2001, is another matter. It got worse by 2006:
So, does Chevron’s “Human Energy” campaign mark a sea change of direction for Big Oil, or is this just more PR feel-good fluffery?
The TV ads are slick. They convey the impression Chevron is actively engaged in important alternative-energy projects, without actually saying so, and without specifying which projects, what kinds of alternative energy, or what kind of investment is being redirected to this brave new world. The ads are narrated by a soft, over-controlled male voice. The inflections do not convey relaxed confidence and assurance, like the ads of Men’s Wearhouse CEO George “We Guarantee It” Zimmer. The Chevron voice, hushed but slightly strident, hints at the excitement you would expect during an important putt at the Golf finals, but it also has the denial overtones of the teenager who has just been busted for shoplifting. Listen to the ad again, and decide whether you would buy a used car from the salesman.
How much truth is there in Chevron’s TV claims?
Chevron’s “willyoujoinus” site features an expensive, attractively arty multi-tab layout with sections on Demand, Population, Environment, Supply and Geopoliticswith carefully crafted say-nothing phrases like “Meeting the energy demands of the world continues to be a tremendous ongoing challenge.” There’s a submenu for “Other Alternatives“, listing Nuclear power and Hydrogen, without claiming Chevon is actually connected with either field. There’s a big emphasis on “Becoming More Efficient” – at producing refined petroleum products.
In fairness, there’s also a link to Chevron Energy Solutions with projects like this:
MILPITAS, Calif., December 15, 2008 — Milpitas Unified School District, Chevron Energy Solutions and Bank of America announced today the completion of a 14-site, district-wide solar and energy efficiency project designed to supply 75 percent of the district’s total annual electricity needs through solar energy.
The 3.4-megawatt solar parking canopies and shade structures generate what is believed to be the highest percentage of solar power for any K-12 school district in the United States and supplies 100 percent of the district’s power during the summer months when California’s peak-demand electricity needs are greatest.
HONOLULU, November 21, 2008 – Chevron Energy Solutions announced today the opening of a new office in Honolulu and its selection by the State of Hawaii as one of the state’s pre-qualified energy service companies. This selection allows the company to perform energy services – including developing and installing cost-reducing energy efficiency improvements and renewable power facilities – for public entities in the state effective December 1.
“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to work with Hawaii’s public education and government agencies to develop projects that will lower energy costs and reduce the carbon footprint of facilities,” said Jim Davis, president of Chevron Energy Solutions. “We are uniquely positioned to satisfy the unprecedented growth in demand for energy saving and renewable power projects and to work with the State of Hawaii to achieve their renewable energy and efficiency goals.”
Also listed are other projects sponsored at the county or school district level.
Chevron lists a very slick and educationally instructive page on Geothermal energy. Chevron geothermal plants are said to power 7 million homes in the Philippines and Indonesia. California’s only geothermal power plants are operated by Pacific Gas and Electric at The Geysers, California.
An article at UPI.com, “Chevron devotes $20M to renewable energy“, reports:
SAN RAMON, Calif., Feb. 18 (UPI) — U.S. supermajor Chevron announced a $20 million plan to develop a technology center in Qatar devoted to renewable energy and efficient technology.
Chevron issued a statement on its Web site saying the five-year plan envisions a partnership with the Qatar Science and Technology Park in Doha to work toward renewable energy and strategies to develop efficient technology for the regional climate.
“The center, expected to open in late 2009, also anticipates conducting research in the development and application of renewable power, such as solar, and developing and training Qatari engineers, scientists and students to build expertise and capabilities within the country,” Chevron said.
According to Wikipedia, “An oil-rich nation, Qatar has the highest GDP per capita in the world according to the CIA World Factbook.” Qatar’s economy is primarily based on exports of petroleum and natural gas. Chevron has Google listings of petroleum projects in Qatar as long as your arm.
According to CNNMoney.com’s “FORTUNE 500” page on Chevron:
In an effort to clean up its image, Chevron launched its largest-ever global advertising campaign, called “The Power of Human Energy,” to prove that it too is concerned with climate change. The company’s progress is promising. With a net income of $18.7 billion in 2007, it was the fourth consecutive year Chevron achieved record earnings. 2007 revenues were $210 billion.
$20 million in Quatar, millions more to school districts and regional energy service investments: do the math. $20 million is roughly one tenth of one percent of 2006 net income.
To put this into scale, that’s proportionally about what a lower-profile company might donate to United Way or March of Dimes.
I didn’t find evidence of Chevron embracing wind, solar or other truly “green” technologies in any significant way. Is this Chevron’s answer to T. Boone Pickens’ “America is Addicted to Foreign Oil” Plan?
Pickens’ plan involves:
– Create millions of new jobs by building out the capacity to generate up to 22 percent of our electricity from wind. And adding to that with additional solar capacity;
– Building a 21st century backbone electrical grid;
– Providing incentives for homeowners and the owners of commercial buildings to upgrade their insulation and other energy saving options; and – Using America’s natural gas to replace imported oil as a transportation fuel.
As a replacement for gasoline, natural gas still adds to the CO2 buildup, but there is no additional refining overhead in energy costs and other pollutants, and natural gas burns clean. Pickens hopes to use natural gas as an auto fuel stopgap to wean us off foreign oil until we can develop truly green fuel sources and infrastructures.
Pickens apparently puts his money where his mouth is. According to CNN, his company, Mesa Power, has launched a multibillion dollar program to build the world’s largest wind farm in Pampa, Texas. Pickens’ initial investment was announced at $2 billion.
Big Oil interests are eventually going to have to follow suit, or perish, and we can be sure they know that. According to SFGate, Watchdog consumer organizations have placed Chevron “and eight other companies on a “climate watch list” of corporations that aren’t adequately addressing global warming.”
For the time being, it appears that Chevron is conducting “business as usual.” For my money, Chevron’s “Human Energy” ad campaign really is just more PR feel-good fluffery.
1,308 total views, 1 views today | <urn:uuid:eb8206d4-2dfd-4beb-94c7-8f4f4962d8d9> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://summitlake.com/wp_1commentary/?p=362 | 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 | 0.944943 | 1,822 | 1.929688 | 2 |
Term, often used in Halo
, to identify an opponant in which one shot to the head with most weapons (Battle Rifle, Magnum, Carbine) will kill said opponant. In other words, the player has no shield.
Commonly used in serious MLG
games, this term is often combined with the location of the player.
The purpose of using this term is to request assistance from a nearby teammate in killing the opponant, because in most cases the player identifying said opponant would be unable to do so.
It is important to remember when using this term in-game that it is only effective when paired with a specific location of the player. | <urn:uuid:3ca761d7-ee49-4676-bfb0-c6bac6c8b2b8> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.urbandictionary.com/author.php?author=Enzo+N20 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281746.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00283-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972718 | 140 | 1.625 | 2 |
Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
Putin, Merkel discuss purchase of Russian gas by Kiev, situation in Syria
Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have discussed by telephone the situation with Russian gas supplies to European consumers through Ukraine, as well as the situation in Syria, the Kremlin press service reported.
The two leaders agreed to intensify bilateral contacts.
"Vladimir Putin has reiterated his concern about the fact that Ukraine evades coordination of agreement for purchases of gas in Russia during this winter season, which creates a threat to (gas) transit to Europe. In the context of peaceful settlement of internal Ukrainian conflict the leaders stressed the need to intensify efforts for a comprehensive implementation of the Minsk agreements dated February 12, 2015," according to the statement.
During the discussion of the situation in Syria, Putin informed Merkel about Russia's steps to fight international terrorism and large-scale humanitarian assistance sent to the Syrian regions that were freed from militants.
[Source: Itar Tass, Moscow, 13Dec16]
|This document has been published on 14Dec16 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.| | <urn:uuid:b752af4e-7ca8-400e-bdd2-163e2e9b3ce1> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.derechos.org/peace/russia/doc/uerus309.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281331.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00227-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930643 | 277 | 1.546875 | 2 |
CINEMA: COMMUNICATOR OF CULTURE AND OF VALUES
Pope John Paul II
Message the 1995 World Day of Communications, May 28.
This year, on the occasion of World Communications Day, I would like to invite you to think about the cinema as "a communicator of culture and of values." As you certainly will know, during the current year celebrations are being held around the world to commemorate the first centennial of this special and widespread medium of expression, now so easily accessible to all.
The church has often pointed out the importance of the communications media in transmitting and promoting human and religious values (cf. Pius XII, Miranda Prorsus, 1957) and the special responsibilities that ensue for those who work in this difficult field. The church, in fact, considering the progress that has been made and the developments that have taken place in the world of social communication in recent decades, is well aware both of the dangerous conditioning power enjoyed by the mass media as well as of the capacity that they offer, if wisely used, of being useful for evangelization.
As I wrote in the message published on the occasion of the World Communications Day of 1989, "The question confronting the church today is not any longer whether the man in the street can grasp a religious message but how to employ the communications media so as to let him have the full impact of the Gospel message."
Among the media of social communication, the cinema is by now a universal and esteemed medium from which messages are often sent which are capable of influencing and conditioning the choices of the public, and especially young people, in a form of communication that is based not so much on words as on concrete events, expressed in images which impact greatly on the viewers and on their subconscious.
The cinema, since it was invented, while sometimes giving rise to criticism and disapproval on the part of the church on account of some aspects of its extensive output, has also often dealt with themes of great meaning and value from an ethical and spiritual point of view.
I would like to recall here, for example, the numerous film presentations of the life and passion of Jesus and of the lives of the saints, still available in many film libraries, and which are useful, above all, to animate numerous cultural, recreational and catechetical activities undertaken by many dioceses, parishes and religious institutions. From those beginnings a rich body of religious cinema has been produced, with a large number of films that have had significant influence on many people, albeit with the limitations that the passage of time, inevitably, tends to highlight.
Human and religious values that deserve attention and praise are often present not only in films that make direct reference to the tradition of Christianity, but also in films of different cultures and religions. This confirms the importance of the cinema as a vehicle for cultural exchange and as an invitation to openness and reflection in dealing with realities foreign to our upbringing and mentality. In this sense, the cinema serves to overcome distance and acquire that dignity particular to culture which is "a specific dimension of the existence and being of man. It creates among the persons within each community a complex of bonds, determining the interpersonal and social character of human existence" (John Paul II, Message for World Communications Day, 1984).
To those who work in the field of cinema, I would like to extend a warm invitation not to abandon this important cultural element, because it is not in accordance with the most authentic and deep demands and expectations of the human person to produce films which are devoid of content and which are aimed exclusively at entertainment, or have the sole motive of increasing the size of the audience.
As happens with all the media of social communication, the cinema, as well as having the power and the great merit of contributing to the cultural and human growth of the individual, can oppress freedomparticularly of the most weakwhen it distorts the truth (cf. Pius XII, Miranda Prorsus, 1957) and when it presents itself as the mirror of negative types of behavior, using scenes of violence and sex offensive to human dignity and "tending to excite violent emotions to stimulate the attention" of the viewer (John Paul II, Message for World Communications Day, 1981). The attitude of those who irresponsibly bring about degrading imitative behavior whose harmful effects can be read about each day in the pages of the newspapers cannot be defined as free artistic expression. As the Gospel reminds us, only in the truth are we made free (cf. Jn. 8:32).
The urgency of such a problem in our society, that seems too often to draw negative models from the daily stimuli offered by the cinema, as well as by television and by the newspapers, urges me to extend, once again, a pressing appeal both to those who are responsible for the industryso that they may commit themselves to working with professionalism and responsibilityas well as to the viewersso that they may know how to react in a critical way in the face of the ever more demanding proposals offered by the world of the media, including the cinema, and be ready to judge between what may be an opportunity for growth or an occasion of harm.
When the cinema, in obedience to one of its principal aims, presents us with an image of how we are as human beings, it must provide, from a basis in reality, worthwhile opportunities for reflection on the concrete conditions in which we live. It must therefore offer material for reflection on issues such as social commitment and the condemnation of violence, of all form of exclusion, of war and of injustice. These concerns, often dealt with by the cinema in its 100-year history, cannot leave indifferent all those who are worried about the fate of humanity. This means encouraging those values that the church has at heart and contributing directly to their spread through a medium which so easily and effectively reaches the public (cf. Pius XII, "The Ideal Film," 1955).
On this day above all, on the threshold of the third millennium, it is essential to ask ourselves definite questions, not avoiding the problems but looking for answers and solutions. In this context there is no question of not giving the cinema the place and the value it is due. However, I would appeal to the responsible persons at every level to be fully aware of the great influence that they exercise on people and the mission that they are called upon to pursue at this present time which has such urgent need of universal assertions of peace and tolerance. This is simply to recall those values which are to be found at the heart of that dignity which has been given to each one of us by God the Creator.
Those that work in the sensitive field of cinema must as communicators remain open to dialogue and to the reality that surrounds them. They must undertake to highlight the most important realities with films that provoke reflection, in the awareness that this approach, which permits the drawing together of different cultures and of the people that live them, will bring about positive results for all.
In order to be sure that the messages that the cinema might offer for the human and spiritual growth of those who use it are fully understood, it is also important to take care of the education of viewers in the language of film, which often departs from the direct representation of reality in order to use systems of symbols not always easy to comprehend. It is very useful when, even in school, teachers devote attention to this problem, sensitizing the students to images and gradually developing their critical attitude toward an idiom that is by now an integral part of our culture; because "the application of communications technology has been a mixed blessing, and its use for good purposes requires sound values and wise choices on the part of individuals, the private sector, governments, and society as a whole" (Aetatis Novae, 1992).
While the memory of the statements and of the reflections that accompanied the celebration of the Year of the Family just completed is still with us, I think it important to remind families that to them also is entrusted the duty of educating their children in an accurate reading and understanding of the films that enter their homes each day, thanks to television, and to the videocassette recorder, which even the youngest children seem capable of using.
In the context of the necessary education of viewers, the social component of the cinema must not be forgotten. This could offer suitable opportunities for dialogue among those that use the medium, through an exchange of opinions on the issue in question. It is also very usefulespecially for young peopleto organize film circles where, with the guidance of qualified persons, they may learn to express themselves and to listen to others, in a constructive and serene exchange of opinions.
Before concluding this message, I could not but draw attention to the distinctive duty that this matter of the cinema requires from all those who profess themselves to be Christians, who are aware of their own special mission in the world and who know well that their task is the proclamation of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus, "the Savior of all," to the people of their time.
The cinema, with its vast possibilities, could become a powerful means of evangelization. The church urges directors, filmmakers and all those involved who profess themselves to be Christians and who work in the complex and unique world of the cinema, to act in complete consistency with their own faith and to make courageous initiativeseven in the area of productionin order that through their professionalism the Christian message that is for each man and woman the good news of salvation might be more present in the world.
The church feels obliged to offer, above all to young people, that spiritual and moral help without which it becomes almost impossible to function in a worthwhile manner. It must take concrete steps, where necessary, with suitable initiatives of support and encouragement.
In the hope that these words could be for all a motive of reflection and an occasion of renewed commitment, I send from my heart a special blessing to all those who, with their different tasks, work in the cinema industry and also to those who endeavor to use the cinema as an authentic vehicle of culture for the integral growth of each person and of society as a whole.
Electronic Copyright � 1999 EWTN
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