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Mobile technology is one of the best productivity tools of all time. It has an influence in every part of our life, and of course plays a big part in the educational system.
Nowadays every section of education can be found on android as an app. Making the learning process more convenient, accessible and portable than ever. There are a variety of audio books, contents and many other educational features in the form of an app that you can download and use to expand your knowledge.
Udemy was one of the first educational apps that offered courses, and nowadays offers over 32,000 courses from technology and science to foreign languages and cooking. You can basically find courses for everything that you want to learn, although some courses are paid.
LinkedIn Learning is a very popular Android App that offers a variety of subjects and sectors. You can learn web development and illustration, music making, Photoshop, etc. LinkedIn makes their courses easy to understand and also allows you to download them, so you can study them offline.
Everyone has used Wikipedia, or at least knows the name, but something that many don’t know is that Wikipedia also has an app on google play. This app offers you access to over 40 million different issues, in over 300 different languages, which is a solution to every possible academic problem. And the best thing is that it is completely free.
Memrise Learn Languages Free
If you want to learn a new language, then you should try Memrise Learn Language Free. It is a helpful app that offers tons of techniques that will help you learn faster, and also tests and practices where you can examine your developed knowledge. Some of the languages that this app features are English, German, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Mexican Spanish, Bangla, Arabic, Swedish, Dutch, Norwegian, Italian, Polish and many more.
Duolingo: Learn Languages Free
Duolingo is another very helpful and well known app for learning new languages. This app offers a variety of fun and effective learning methods, tips and memory techniques with which you will learn the language easily. Their courses are less than 5 minutes, and spending 34 hours with this app is equal to a course in a semester.
Paperell is not an android app that you can download from the play store. Instead, it is a website that you can easily access using your phone. Mainly is a site that writes essay for you. However, they have many professional employees who work on case studies, term papers, dissertations, etc. They can even help you create a business plan. Their website contains many free essay examples that you can use as an idea or inspiration, or you can let some of the professionals write it for you.
Socratic by Google
Socratic is a fantastic app that lets you take photos of many things and tells you everything about them. You can take photos from history questions, a math problem, a chemistry formula, or whatever you want, and it will answer your question, but also show you how to answer it on your own next time.
This app is similar to Socratic, but a bit more powerful. It covers many categories and it helps with geography and history questions, math problems, etc. This app can be helpful to anyone, not just students, however it is not a free app, it goes for $2.99 to purchase it.
YouTube is one of the best apps for practical learning. You can find video tutorials for basically everything out there, such as solving math problems, lectures about art and music, lectures about astronomy and even how to change the oil in your car. You can even find full free courses for subjects. However, to remove the ads, you will have to pay $12.99 per month to get the YouTube Premium.
Coursera: Online Courses
You can learn almost everything with the over two thousand courses that Coursera app offers. They have video courses for a variety of subjects, and all of the instructors are trained from different universities. So you can easily learn about your favorite subject, and at the end of the course, they offer you a certification from some of the world-class universities.
Google Arts and Culture
If you are interested in culture, arts and literature, then you will get a lot of use of Google Arts and Culture. they offer explanation of different literary works and artworks, they have an option to zoom and view each work closer, daily digest preferences that help you learn something new every day and they also have a search option that you can use to find cultural events near your location or browse about art and culture by name, time and factor. Simply, you can’t get bored with this app.
This is also a well-known app that offers video courses, tests, and exercises in different subjects such as science, math, literature and more. They have over 10 thousand explanations and videos of various problematic facts, with whom you can easily learn many formulas. Using Khan Academy will definitely create a strong foundation for your chosen subject.
Books are the best source of knowledge, so a book app makes an amazing educational app. Kobo Books offers a huge collection of Audiobooks and EBooks. They have a lot of options, the text of the books is customizable, you can choose if you want to read the book or listen to it, you can use a night mode, etc. Their books range in different categories, so you can surely find your favorite books on this app.
Knowledge is power, so we have nothing to lose if we learn more, but we have a lot to gain. All these apps will help you a lot in developing your education in their own unique way. Although, of course you should choose the one that is compatible with your needs. So start by downloading the perfect app that will work for you and learn from anywhere anytime.
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As the world is grappling with coronavirus, the process of home buying or mortgage is witnessing a change. With slight changes in applying for a mortgage, a lot has changed about getting a mortgage, especially during COVID-19. Mortgage rates have become volatile, longer waiting times; the buying process has lost its velocity.
To make it a smooth process, providers have become more online friendly; from touring a place to closing the deal, digital has become the new trend in the mortgage industry.
Coronavirus has supposedly affected each Canadian’s life – postponing vacations, managing finances, working from home, dealing with stress and anxiety, and dawdling the home buying process.
What to do, how to manage during Covid battle?
There haven’t been many clear answers to these.
Whether you are a first-time homebuyer or fourth, changes in the process, canceled open houses, fluctuating interest rates Covid has left people bamboozled. Some have even postponed their buying or mortgage process.
For those who decide to proceed with the process, there are extra considerations as most have been affected financially by the global pandemic.
Here is everything to know before getting a mortgage during Covid time;
1. Start the process Early.
Since the process is taking longer than usual, it is wise to initiate the process early; else, you might have to face long waits.
With dropping or slashing rates, lenders have received a sizable number of refinancing applications. Moreover, many employees are working from home, which can further hinder the process.
So, it is better to start early to kick things off.
2. Check your credit report
Credit reporting agencies in Canada maintain a credit report which has a credit history and credit score.
A healthy credit score is 700 and above and showcases creditworthiness. It helps the lender in determining your credit limit and interest rate. Due to pandemic or COVID 19, it is wise to scan your credit report/ score regularly. If you have accumulated a lot of debt or have become jobless, or missed your monthly payments due to the pandemic, your credit score might have dropped. So make sure to rebuild your credit score (by maintaining monthly payments, paying off the debt, keeping credit balance below 35%) before applying for a mortgage.
3.Pay Off The Debts.
Apart from credit score, lenders also consider the Total Debt Service (TDS) ratio, which should be less than 42% before determining your mortgage amount. Make sure to clear all the debt you might have taken during the pandemic, to drive up your TDS ratio, thereby increasing your chance of approval of mortgage application.
4. Scrutinize Your Budget
Covid-19 has undoubtedly taught us the actual worth of many simplest things of life, like steady income, a house, food, comfort.
Before applying for a mortgage, it is vital to have a good look at the budget and scrutinize it, considering something worse happens. Like if you and your spouse lose your respective jobs, will you both be able to afford monthly mortgage payments? If yes, then for how long? In the era of COVID-19, it is imperative to examine, evaluate the actual financial potential or budget for a new home.
The ideal thing would be to lower the maximum purchase price, pay off the pending debts, give a bigger down payment, and stock some emergency fund.
It is always essential to hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
5. Ask for video and virtual tours
As a precaution to prevent the spreading of COVID-19, many companies are providing video or virtual tours of the houses.
Thankfully, in the era of digitalisation, apart from pictures, you can request for digital tours, live chats for a better experience.
Companies today are producing panoramic 3D tours of the house which will give to an authentic or real experience. It is an incredible technology for complete house tours without actually visiting the property. This technology has gained popularity since the advent of pandemic and is a boon for buyers and sellers.
6.Secure Reliable Employment
Before COVID-19, secure, steady employment was crucial for a mortgage, and even during the pandemic, it continues to be so.
Without a full-time regular job, your mortgage application needs to be put on hold. Pandemic has led to massive lay-offs; if that is your case, have a secured career for at least six months and then move ahead with the mortgage application.
7.Avoid Applying for New Credit
Another critical aspect that is essential to keep in mind before applying for a mortgage includes a good credit score and no recent credits. As current extra credit can signal financial instability, giving a red flag to the lenders. Managing new credit during a pandemic can be challenging due to a shortage of funds, periods of unemployment, and lower wages.
So, either avoid applying for any new credit or put your application on hold if you require extra credit, as it can become more challenging during the pandemic.
The procedure of home buying is not very different from pre-covid times. It is just that more work has become online, management of finances has changed, rates have become volatile.
If you feel ready to buy now, Contact MMC, and we will help you make fiscally responsible choices.
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Cost of living in Omsk, Russia compared to Zurich, Switzerland
|Personal Care||- 74%|
WARNING! This comparison is based on only a few data points. At this point it is only a guess. It is based on 1,049 prices entered by 174 different people.
These prices were last updated on January 22, 2017. Exchange rate: 0.01673 CHF / RUB
Do you live in Zurich? We need your help!
What do you think about this comparison?
Cost of living in Omsk (Russia) is 76% cheaper than in Zurich (Switzerland)
For example, to keep the same standard of living that would require CHF 15,625 in Zurich you would need to make just about CHF 3,786 (руб 226,250) in Omsk.
Recent Prices Added
- Basic lunchtime menu (including a drink) in the business district in St. Louis, Missouri costs $20 (10 minutes ago)
- 1 kg of rice in Manchester costs £1.00 (18 minutes ago)
- Combo meal in fast food restaurant (big mac meal or similar) in Rome costs €8 (22 minutes ago)
- One-way ticket in public transport in Wrocław costs 3.00 zł (37 minutes ago)
- 1 liter of gasoline in Tehran costs ﷼ 10,000 (about 1 hour ago)
- Monthly rate for domestic cleaning help in Hyderabad costs ₨13 (about 1 hour ago)
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Platform economy repository
Platforms are digital networks that coordinate transactions, both commercial, such as the provision of goods and services for payment, and non-commercial, such as volunteering activities or social media. The activity of platforms collectively is typically referred to as the platform economy. This economy began to emerge in Europe in the mid-2000s, driven by technological, economic and societal developments and is rapidly expanding in scale and scope. Out of it has emerged a new business model and a new form of employment – platform work, defined as the matching of supply and demand for paid labour through an online platform.
As of March 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak started to have a serious impact on the world economy. The consequences for platform workers are especially severe in light of forced work stoppages due to self-isolation and lack of sick pay in many cases. Read more in the article below:
What does platform work mean to you?
Platform work is expected to grow, but there is widespread concern about the quality of work and employment of the workers involved in it. Platform work is also clearly challenging existing regulatory and institutional frameworks, and its effects on the economy and society are uncertain. These issues have made platform work the subject of intensive discussion among policymakers and academics, who are exploring the characteristics of the platform economy, its potential effects and how to tackle the negative consequences it may have. Their work is generating a wealth of information, but it is challenging to stay abreast of research findings and initiatives.
Eurofound’s online repository aims to provide a solution by making information on the platform economy and platform work in Europe and beyond accessible in a user-friendly way. The different types of documents are organised into separate sections, and users can browse through the sections or use the search function to look for specific information. Users can also set up subscriptions and alerts to be notified about new publications on specific topics.
Research carried out prior to the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union on 31 January 2020, and published subsequently, may include data relating to the 28 EU Member States. Following this date, research only takes into account the 27 EU Member States (EU28 minus the UK), unless specified otherwise .
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COPING STRATEGIES IN PATIENTS WITH KIDNEY FAILURE IN THE DIALITIC STAGE
Authors: CARMEN ALICIA SIERRA LLAMAS*, JUAN CARLOS JULIO
Number of views: 263
The objective of this research was to identify coping strategies undertaken by patients with kidney failure on current dialysis. The approach chosen for this research was quantitative, since the empirical analytical paradigm, with a rate of descriptive design. The sample
comprised 10 patients aged between 20 and 60 years, on current hemodialysis in Clinica de la Costa Renal Unit, Patients were intentionally selected besides their voluntary participation. Standardized questionnaire was used in Colombia to the stress of coping
Sandin & Chorot. According to the results, the coping style they use, is focused on the problem with its three
dimensions: focus on the problem, with a score of 80% of the population, also in the positive reappraisal with 80% of the population studied, and seeking support with 60% of the population, indicating that this group of patients take an active role, are still concrete steps, what they do to appropriately respond to changes and demands, and treatment imposed by the disease. It is then the religion as a coping style with a 60% higher in the
standings. Religion belongs to the dimension of avoidance and escape, indicates that this sample perceived as a significant interference of their health condition on their physical function and consequently feel less vital, turns to their religious beliefs as a way of relief that the situation will improve.
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K. Keen: Ms. Ibrahim as Co-head of Trauma Care and Health and a psychotherapist at Jiyan Foundation you have a lot of experience treating survivors of domestic violence (DV) in Kurdistan-Iraq. Can you tell me a bit about the clinics and services run by Jiyan Foundation?
A. Ibrahim: Jiyan Foundation has opened the first inpatient clinic for women – and in particular, Yazidi women – in all of Iraq. The women who come to us take part in a four week program, where they and their children live at the clinic. During their time here, our female patients receive social support, physiotherapy, psychiatry, and medical services. It’s the community that is really irreplaceable and can’t be mimicked by short-term therapy or at-home treatment. The women can also participate in everyday activities like cooking, baking, lunches, and even some shopping. The therapy sessions were specifically developed by Jiyan with the goal of providing long-term mental health stabilization for women and their children.
In all, Jiyan Foundation operates nine outpatient centers in Kurdistan-Iraq, Iraq, and Syria which are dedicated to providing mental health support for survivors of violence, terrorism, war, and genocide. All of Jiyan Foundation’s services are provided free of charge and encompass a holistic approach to recovery.
K. Keen: What part of the counseling process that you provide with Jiyan Foundation are survivors most resistant to?
A. Ibrahim: It’s more of a lack of understanding of the type of therapy that Jiyan provides. Our counseling and psychotherapy is psychoeducation. It’s difficult for the survivors who lack reading and writing skills because they have a much longer road in gaining trust. People are more inclined to take medication over psychotherapy. This is in part because taking medication requires less effort and provides quicker results than the psychotherapy process, which needs long-term commitments. There is cultural acceptance of treating physical pain, while there is still a stigma around treating mental health. This stigma prevents people from even admitting they may need assistance.
K. Keen: How have you helped survivors of DV overcome the stigma surrounding mental health?
A. Ibrahim: The treatment and support we provide to survivors are unique to every case. We usually start by teaching about the psychotherapy process, giving psychoeducation to the patients, and addressing their own prejudices of having a psychological problem, and seeking mental health support.
Survivors of domestic violence continue to endure verbal and non-verbal abuse in their own communities. Unfortunately, this type of abuse is accepted as “normal” and the status quo dictates survivors should stop complaining about their abuse. It takes courage to stand up to this behavior. Married women are especially at risk of community abuse because they are often blamed for divorces and are the victims of character assassination by other community members.
As part of survivors’ treatment plans, we invite the patients’ families to join some therapy sessions and also provide them with information about psychotherapy and the healing process. Jiyan Foundation’s staff also conducts ongoing sessions for all community members to raise awareness about human rights, mental health support, and legal rights. This is part of our regular advocacy in the region.
K. Keen: How do you think we (the general public) can help survivors of DV, especially if we don’t live in the region where you work?
A. Ibrahim: We need to first try to understand the survivor’s individual experiences and be committed to supporting their mental health needs. We also need to address our own biases around mental health and talk about our cultural differences and the complexities that go with them. There is a need for us to recognize the global impact that mental health has on security and our ability to process information. Public and private agencies should commit to providing long-term support to civil society organizations such as Jiyan Foundation so that we can continue our work in helping survivors. Recovery from domestic violence and trauma requires sustained treatment.
K. Keen: What is something unexpected that you’ve learned about the survivors you work with?
A. Ibrahim: I have learned and personally seen just how transgenerational trauma can affect survivors of domestic violence and their children. This type of trauma is empirical behavior that passes from generation to generation. It can be paralyzing, rage-provoking, and hard to control. Once it takes hold, this type of trauma manifests in many different forms, including shaping behavior and personalities across generations. That’s one reason we bring children to the women’s clinic. The abuse suffered by a mother or a parent can transmit to their children through the communication of those experiences.
K. Keen: What are your goals for Jiyan Foundation in the next 5 years?
A. Ibrahim: Jiyan Foundation works in difficult places – Kurdistan-Iraq, Iraq, and Syria – where mental health treatment is often hard to come by and misunderstood. We are at a critical juncture in our development, where we can become a stable institution for survivors and the region. We want to be a beacon for women and survivors to get help, learn, and be empowered to take their lives back from their abusers, but we cannot do it alone. I hope the public and institutions realize the global benefit of providing psychotherapy to survivors so that they may become mentally strong and financially stable. I urge people to support Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights and bring dignity to survivors.
Kimberly Keen Esq.
Kimberly Keen is a family lawyer in San Diego, California. She holds a juris doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law and studied international human rights at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. She is a human rights advocate with Jiyan Foundation and champions all things women’s empowerment.
Asmaa Ibrahim is Co-head of Trauma Care and Health at Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights and assistant lecturer at the Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychotraumatology at the University of Duhok in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. Ibrahim is one of the first to graduate from the master’s degree program at the Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychotraumatology in Dohuk. After graduating, Ibrahim began to work in Jiyan Foundation’s clinic where women who had severe mental disorders, survived trauma and violations from war were treated. She has recently written on the need for continued and sustainable mental health and medical support by the United States for survivors in Iraq.
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(Reuters) – Gripped by fears that Europe’s debt crisis is driving the world economy into a ditch, companies are delaying plans to raise capital and canceling deals, while investors are taking refuge in cash or any other place they think their money will be safe.
The retreat has been so acute that yields on German two-year bonds have gone negative, meaning investors have become so wary of losses elsewhere that they are willing to pay for the privilege of lending money to the German government. Stocks and commodities have been hammered.
And with the economic picture dimming in the United States and major developing economies, including Brazil, India and China, brave is the major corporation willing to take on new workers. The pace of hiring in the United States in May was the slowest in a year.
“What we’re seeing is a sharp deterioration in economies worldwide. It’s a very unstable situation. Markets are being driven by fear, and they’re tougher to call than ever,” said Gregory Whiteley, who helps manage $35 billion at DoubleLine Capital in Los Angeles.
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Amanda Bianco received a Bachelor's of Science in Exercise Science from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2011. She is an ACSM Certified Health Fitness Specialist. She is currently pursuing a degree in Nutrition from the University of Alabama with aspirations of becoming a Registered Dietitian.
Heath and Wellness, Vegetarianism, Veganism
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Volunteered with this organization for 2 years mentoring an elementary age child.
Aug 2011 - Present
Primrose School of Midlothian
- Develop lesson plans based on the Primrose Balanced Learning Curriculum.
- Responsible for before and after school care of elementary age children.
Nov 2008 - Present
Lifeguard, Swim Instructor, GirlForce Instructor
YMCA of Greater Richmond
- Observe swimmers to ensure safety.
- Monitor pool chemicals.
- Attend monthly in service training to maintain skills.
- Teach swimming lessons and water safety to various age groups of children.
- Instructed GirlForce, which is a program for girls that promotes a healthy lifestyle.
- Taught topics relating to fitness, nutrition, and positive body image.
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Proudly part of Shoalhaven City Council, Shoalhaven Water manages the collection, treatment and distribution of water in the Shoalhaven City. Shoalhaven Water is also responsible for the collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater (treated sewage) safely back into the environment.
Shoalhaven Water offers a range of useful information including the links below which take you to the Shoalhaven Water website. Please note that all links open in a new window.
Effluent Pumpout Services
Effluent pumpout and septic tank information
(Upon request an emergency service will be provided within 24 hours)
- Phone: (02) 4429 3214
- Afterhours Pumpout Emergencies: (02) 4443 4535
Below are some useful links to assist you in understanding your water account
- General Information - includes information on water quality, your water meter, and sewerage related issues
In this section you will find information relating to a range of useful resources for your business including:
- Downsizing your Water Meter - includes information for business customers who may wish to downsize, disconnect or determine a nominal size of a water meter connection because of fire services or low water pressure flows
Building & Development
Whether you are planning a small home extension or a large residential or commercial development, water and sewer service experts are here to help
- Building & Renovating - includes information on development applications, building over or near sewers, demolition information, and dial before you dig
- Water & Sewer Connections - includes information relating to connections and disconnections, sewer diagrams, and fire services
- Plans & Specifications - includes Development Servicing Plans for Water Supply and Sewerage Services, Shoalhaven Water Supplement to the WSAA Water Supply and Sewer Code, and the Survey Plan Preparation and Work as Executed
As well as providing water and sewer services across the region, Shoalhaven Water is also involved in other initiatives including:
- Saving Water - provides information on saving water in and around your home
About Shoalhaven Water
Over 96,000 people rely on Shoalhaven Water to maintain a clean, regular water supply and an efficient waste water service.
- Our Systems & Operations - provides information on water and wastewater treatment plants, communication towers, and quality control
- Water Quality Monitoring - provides detailed analysis undertaken in accordance with the Australian Water Drinking Guidelines
- Major Projects - includes up-to-date information on all of the projects currently being undertaken including our award winning Reclaimed Water Management Scheme and the Porters Creek Dam Remediation Project
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You don't have to shy away from red meat just because you are on a diet. A lean cut of steak has about the same amount of saturated fat as chicken.
Even if you are dieting, you shouldn't have to go without dessert! Unlike ice cream, sorbet doesn't contain fat, but it still has a creamy taste.
High in fat and calories? Actually, people who eat peanut butter are more likely to lose weight and keep it off than people following a regimented, low-fat diet, according to research from Brigham and Women's Hospital. Research from Purdue University indicates that men feel fuller after eating the sticky snack.
For years there has been much debate over eggs: to eat or not to eat? Now, research has proven that eating eggs in the morning are good for you since they are packed with protein, which will keep you fuller longer.
Caffeine raises blood pressure and heart rate, which can be bad for people with heart problems. But some studies have shown that caffeine speeds metabolism and suppresses appetite. However, drinking sugary soft drinks or adding lots of sugar and cream to your coffee will negate caffeine's positive effects.
Although it contains saturated fat, coconut oil can actually increase your metabolism and help you lose weight, according to www.coconut.org. Additionally, coconut oil won't increase your cholesterol levels and it also has been shown to reduce symptoms of some digestive disorders.
Cheese is crucial to weight loss because of its calcium properties. Studies have showed that obese adults who eat diets high in dairy lose significantly more weight than those who do not. On the down side, cheese is usually high in fat and salt.
It can stick to your dental work and ruin your teeth if you chew the sugary kind, but a professor of nutrition at the University of Rhode Island believes the act of chewing gum suppresses the appetite and stimulates the metabolism.
Oh no, not bread. It's filled with carbs, right? Well, high-quality bread filled with fiber, minerals and vitamins is actually low on the glycemic index - meaning it won't cause the spike in blood sugar that can lead to weight gain. If you are looking to lose weight, you should be looking for the words "100 percent whole wheat or whole grain" when picking out a loaf. However, avoid words like "wheat flour," which is not high in fiber like whole wheat or whole grain.
Nuts may be loaded with fat, but it's the good kind of fat. They also have plenty of 'filling' fiber. So it may be worth it to snack on almonds, peanuts or cashews instead of potato chips or cookies.
You don't have to give up your favorite foods in order to lose weight. From steak and eggs, to peanut butter and bread, here are the top foods to keep you in shape.
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Funding coup for rare diseases researchers
Hundreds of thousands of people Australia-wide are expected to benefit from a major funding grant to be administered by Murdoch University for rare diseases research.
Announcing the $989,884 grant, WA Health’s Director of Population Health Genomics, Dr Hugh Dawkins said the money would be used to link information on rare diseases from around the world.
Also an Adjunct with Murdoch University’s Centre for Comparative Genomics (CCG), Dr Dawkins said around one in 12 Australians had a rare disease such as Muscular Dystrophy, Cystic Fibrosis, Huntington’s, Motor Neurone or early-onset Alzheimer’s.
"More than 6000 conditions – most known to be inherited genetically – are classified as rare diseases because they affect fewer than one in 2000 people," he said.
"While rare diseases are quite prevalent in the community, some of them only affect as few as one family – or one person – in Australia, and many do not even have their own medical code for classification.
"This research grant will help build a database of these rare diseases.
"By systematically pooling together information, including clinical and genetic information and research and trial datasets from across Australia and around the world, it is hoped that researchers will have more to work with."
Dr Dawkins said rare diseases were often referred to as orphan diseases because they provided little financial incentive for pharmaceutical companies to invest in or ‘adopt’ them.
"With so few cases to study, researchers also have less data with which to work," he said.
"This not only limits our knowledge of these diseases but clinicians’ ability to manage individuals living with a rare disease."
Dr Dawkins said the National Health and Medical Research Council – European Union (NHMRC-EU) Collaborative Research Grant would be coordinated by WA Health and administered by Murdoch University over a five year period.
"The project that has received the funding – RD Connect – is a collaborative project," he said.
"Research partners include the Centre for Comparative Genomics and the Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Murdoch University and Genetic Services at King Edward Memorial Hospital.
"Other collaborating partners include Royal Perth Hospital, the University of Western Australia, Edith Cowan University, the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland.
"RD-Connect will become an important resource for rare disease researchers worldwide and help further knowledge and treatment of rare diseases.
"Ultimately it will lead to better outcomes for people with rare diseases."
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JCI Programs: Empowering Young Citizens
JCI Programs, offered locally, nationally and internationally, provide members opportunities to learn, achieve and inspire active citizenship while engaging their communities in new and innovative ways.
JCI Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World (JCI TOYP)
Every year, JCI selects 10 outstanding young people under 40 who live the JCI Mission in extraordinary ways. Highlighting the accomplishments of these young active citizens in a variety of fields inspire us to be better and realize our full potential as active citizens.
Providing development opportunities that empower young people is an essential part of the JCI Mission. JCI Training provides opportunities for JCI Members to improve themselves and use those skills to improve the world around them. Better leaders, better citizens, better societies.
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JCI World Debating Championship, Sponsored by 1963 JCI President Eric H. Stevenson
Debating skills equip members to resolve conflicts, respect differences and overcome obstacles. Discussing topics that range from profound to comical, contestants argue their truth, relevance and accuracy. Capacity-building events like this build a foundation of teamwork, critical thinking and problem solving that members use to address issues in their local communities.
The JCI Twinning Program formally links two or more JCI Local Organizations from different countries who are interested in collaborating. Twinning partners learn, exchange ideas, forge diverse connections and gain a unique perspective on the world as they participate in joint cross-cultural projects. Twinning leverages the JCI global network to gain a deep understanding of international cooperation.
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|Paper Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko
UK-Nordic Meeting 15-16 April 1999
The UK-Nordic Initiative on Information and Communication Technologies is based on the initiative of the SSRCs of United Kingdom and Nordic countries with a view of addressing the relation between ICT and social sciences, i.e. to deal with the question whether the social sciences have developed adequate theories attending to social aspects of ICTs. The particular focus of UK-Nordic Co-operation is upon information and organisation, on the one hand, and power and democracy, on the other.
To deal with the question mentioned above is, in a sense, to seek a reorientation in the situation in which both the context and theories and methodologies of social sciences have changed during the last two decades and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. This development has at least three main sources. First of all, technological, economic, political, and societal developments have changed the 'research object' of social sciences, and they surely challenge a wide range of 'modern' concepts, models and theories. Indeed, the meanings and references of such concepts as 'society', 'social structure', 'interaction', 'democracy' etc. need to be redifined. For example, the radicalisation and intensification of technological mediation in an information society have pervasive influence on the social phenomenon known as the social science, and visa versa, theoretical knowledge and technology have contributed to the change in dynamics of the modern world, as presented in the classic studies by Drucker (1969) and Bell (1973), and in a more popularised way in Toffler (1976) and Naisbitt (1984).
Along with the changes in our 'material social relations' new developments in postmodern culture and more or less reflexive modernity have taken place, and affected people's ways of viewing and doing things. From a viewpoint of science studies the increased reflexivity and transparency, uses of ICTs, and new modes of interaction and communication, have had an impact on the internal dynamics of science in the making. The origin of this reflective view in science studies, a post-kuhnian revolution, may be traced back to the late 1960's, though its contributions became more sophisticated and well-known around the 1980's (see e.g. Laudan 1984; Latour 1988; and Woolgar 1988). One of the basic tenets was to see the science as a social phenomenon, though at the same time this new approach tried to avoid 'ontological gerrymandering' by refusing the simple return to the subject side of the continuum of 'tonal points'. Rather, entire fundamental criteria was to be reconsidered. One of the apparent consequence of this insight was expressed by Latour (1990) when he wrote that [t]he 'same' entity will be immanent and then transcendent, made and non-made, human made and discovered, freely decided and imposed upon us as a fatum. (Woolgar 1988, 11-13.) Now, at the turn of the century, it looks as if are witnessing a shift to the phase of a radicalisation of science in action. There are three dimensions of this transformation which are all gradually radicalising our cognitive horizons: postmodern mentality, cognitive globalisation, and virtual reality.
In addition to contextual transformations and changes in the internal aspects of a social science, science as an institution seems to be changing, too. Based on his sharp observations of the emerging discontinuities of the 1960's Peter Drucker in The Age of Discontinuity (1969, 326-327) concluded that existing faculties, departments and disciplines will not be appropriate for long because of the new role of knowledge. Moreover, all institutions should get rid of yesterday's practices, and the university is no exception. As to the role of universities, it may be correct to say that they still have a priviledged position as higher level educational institutions in society, but there are several indicators that show that this position is undermined many ways and under attack by several organisations and networks. There is an increased number of new nodes of reflexivity and know-how which are well resourced and operate successfully outside academia.
Figure 1. Social science in the context of social transformation.
Kühn and Hoff (1998) have presented an interesting background report concerning the relation between ICT and social science. They say that ICT has an immense impact on our lives, and emphasise the need to investigate the links between the theories of social science and the development of ICT. Their discussion implies that the social sciences have not developed adequate theories on this development. This is an important question which puzzles the entire scientific community, I assume. How much, in fact, do the "good old theories" and conceptions deserve appreciation from today's perspective. Are they just old books gathering dust on our shelves? It is understandable that such classics as Drucker (1969) and Bell (1973; 1976) do not have much to give in the late 1990's, but how about, let's say, the works of Alvin Gouldner (1976) or Eliot Freidson (1988), who seem to focus on "wrong things" if judged from the perspective of narrowly defined information society studies and its fashionable and attractive concepts? What is the fate of those social and cultural theories in which information or knowledge are dealt within a broader social theoretical framework of a disorganised capitalism, welfare state, risk society, modernity or postmodern culture (e.g. Beck 1992; Beck & Giddens & Lash 1994; Bryant & Jary 1991; Giddens 1986; 1992; Lash & Urry 1987; Luhmann 1990)? Indeed, how does the dilemma of postmodernity relate to our discussions on information society or the role of ICTs in society (see e.g. Best & Kellner 1991; Cahoone 1988; and Callinicos 1989)? Is this a change in which the safe realm of social structures, relations and institutions must be opened to the realities of technologically mediated social practices, and in which a new reflexivity is called for (Latour 1988; 1990)?
From this point of view such reviews as The Information Society. Economy, Social, and Structural Issues edited by Jerry L. Salvaggio (1989) as well as Frank Webster's Theories of the Information Society (1995) are interesting and valuable, though they leave this basic dilemma open. Related to UK-Nordic Co-operation, it was interesting to read Scott Lash's (1999) arguments on why he is willing to refer to contemporary times in terms of information society, rather than as postmodern society, risk society, or late capitalism. Be that as it may, what this all implies is that whether I focus on the IS development or ICT/social science relation on the basis of traditional theories and conceptions, there is something that does not fit into the picture, something that demands redefinition and reconsideration. I have no answers to this dilemma, but what follows here is my tentative attempt to provide some clarification of the plurality of aspects with reference to IS and ICTs. The main focus will be on power and democracy.
Three perspectives on social science in the information age
In order to avoid a 'balkanisation' of the social sciences, there is need to integrate ICT and other technologies into different spheres of social sciences. At a very general level it is to develop new conceptual and theoretical tools to understand the emerging society at least from three perspectives: our experiences and ways we construct our social practices; changes in living conditions and in the material aspects of social relations; and interrelatedness of the subjective and objective elements of social reality; e.g. transformations in the role of institutions.
In order to shed light on the relations between ICT, society and social science, I first trace some approaches to the information society. My discussion is inspired by a presentations given by Bruno Latour (1998) and the works of Manuel Castells (1989; 1996; 1997). I try to show how some basic dimensions of social existence match with the concept we use when discussing the information society.
My starting point is Castells' claim that our societies are organised around human processes structured by historically determined relationships of production, power and experience. Before going further, let me give here some short definitions of these concepts. Production is the action of humankind on matter to appropriate it and transform it for its benefit by obtaining a product, consuming part of it, and accumulating surplus for investment. These are organised in class relationships, and conducted according to a variety of socially determined goals. Experience is the action of human subjects on themselves, and also their understanding of themselves and each other. It is determined by the interaction between their biological and cultural identities, and in relationship to their social and natural environment. It is ultimately constructed around the endless search for fulfillment of human needs and desires. As to its basic tensions, suffice it to say that it is structured around gender/sexual relationship, historically organised around patriarchal family in most cultures. And the third category, power, can be defined as the relationship between human subjects which, on the basis of production and experience, imposes the will of some subjects upon other by the potential or actual use of physical or symbolic violence. It should be noted that institutions are built to enforce power relationships existing in each historical period. In modern societies power is founded upon the state and its institutionalised monopoly of violence. (Castells 1996, 15)
My idea is to conceptualise the emerging "information society" by using three different attributes - informational, digital, and virtual - which all express some aspects of social being and also of related technological mediation. Castells (1989; 1996) has emphasised in his analysis of informational society that we are facing a new trinity of production, power, and experience, in which networking is the main principle of social organisation, in which the global networks are dominant forces, and in which they mirror the change in the dynamics of society. These three realms are represented in the three perspectives described below. Informational society is ultimately about power, digital society is ultimately about production and transactions, and virtual society is more than anything about experience and social interaction.
When these perspectives of a society are combined, we have a framework which serves as a heuristic device in analysing how society, science and ICT relate to each other. The table below shows how this framework can be used when focusing on ICT and social science.
Table 1. Three approaches to society, science and ICT in the information age.
First category, informational society, is a social science perspective to the formation of information society. Many of these conceptualisations are based on theory constructions which have some structuralist aspirations. They emphasise the relation of subjective and objective elements of social reality, and are based on more traditional social theories, such as Marxist-inspired or rather post-Marxist theories (Castells, Harvey, Kellner etc.), more or less critical theories of modernity and/or postmodernity (Giddens, Habermas, Cahoone, Lash, Beck etc.), or theory of structuration (Giddens 1986; 1992; and Bryant & Jary 1991). In the same category we may place a range of macro theories of informationalism, post-industrial society and information society (see Webster 1995). One of the most important contributions since Bell, Touraine and other scholars in this field is Manuel Castells' analysis of the informational network society. It is the 'grand theory' of the information age par excellence, a kind of conflict theory which attempts to deal with the underlying social tension between the global network of instrumental exchanges (the Net) and social movements and historically and locally rooted identities (the Self). It is this opposition that characterises the emerging information age. (Castells 1985; 1989; 1996; 1997; 1998.) Such developments can be seen as an attempt to construct a new framework based on analytical resources developed in modern social theory and political economy.
Bruno Latour (1998) made a very interesting point as he tried to relativise the hype around virtuality by stating that "once you can get information as bores, bytes, modem, sockets, cables and so on, you have actually a more material way of looking at what happens in Society". He continues: "Virtual Society, thus, is not a thing of the future, it's the materialisation, the tracibility of Society." The more we rely on computer-mediated communication and interaction, the more material we become. Here the 'virtuality' changes into 'digitisation', so to speak. The more we are dependent on network infrastructure (ISDN, ATM etc.), cable networks (Copper, Coaxial, Fibre-to-the-home etc.), local area networks (Ethernet, Token Ring, High speed LANs etc.), WWW technologies, personal or network computers, and other equipment, the more traceable are our social interactions and transactions. This is a sophisticated way to address the core of a digital society. Usually the conceptions and descriptions within this framework are, however, much more technologically and commercially oriented, and pay less attention to the social consequences of the 'digitisation' of society.
An additional element in understanding the social aspects of ICT can be based on the category of experience. This is the world of new frontiers of virtual reality, of the excitement of those who have found a new world in the cyberspace. On the other hand, it is also about 'cyberia' or about 'future shock' as described by Alvin Toffler in his classic book Future Shock (first published in 1970). What is essential in this is that from this angle a society has not so much to do with 'material' social relations, but rather with being a part of a global village or a virtual community (see e.g. Rheingold 1995; and Schuler 1996). This is what we may indicate properly as a virtual society.
Science in the information age
Manuel Castells has presented one of the most comprehensive macrosociological theories of the paradigmatic shift from the industrial age to the information age. His ideas had a sophisticated form as early as the late 1980's, as presented in his The Informational City (1989). But more comprehensive analysis was given in his seminal trilogy The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture (1996-1998). According to Castells, two key features of the emerging new era are informationalism and globalism. It is 'informational' because in the economy the higher productivity and success in competition depend on economic actors' ability to utilise information in the process of creating innovations and new information, and it is 'global' because the central functions of production, consumption, communication and other areas of social action are organised on a global scale through global networks. The most important tool in these processes is information and communication technology. (Wilenius 1998.)
According to Castells, societal processes cannot be understand without underlying technology. Technology does not determine the social actions or structures in any simplistic sense. Rather, it represents the society, or to be more precise, the use and development of technology mirrors us as human beings. Castells even claims that the question of determination relations between technological and social factors is misleading. (Wilenius 1998.) I would formulate this by saying that our social existence is becoming increasingly technologically mediated.
Technological revolution, restructuring of the economy, and the 'critique of culture' (or the raise of cultural movements and creation of new identities) converge bringing about a globalised information society, a new trinity of production, power and human experience. Networking has become the dominant form of social organisation, and it is the reason why Castells subtitled the first volume the trilogy as The Rise of the Network Society.
Castells' analysis provides interesting arguments and insights which have many implications to the role of science and scientific theories. Here some key concepts and ideas of his theory:
There is no point in going into details of Castells' analysis in this paper. What the selected points above show well is that this kind of holistic view of the present world system and the underlying logic of informational capitalism may help us to identify the structural changes which have a direct or indirect impact on theory formation. They may also provide some ideas of what is the actual relation between social science and ICT, and how they related the social relations and practices. In addition, it gives a framework which may prove useful in analysing power and democracy, the issues which will be discussed briefly in the next two chapters.
Aspects of power
Pedersen and Hoff (1998) emphasise in their introductory paper that recent developments have brought about paradoxical and challenging situations in power and democracy studies. This is certainly true. For example, it is obvious that a traditional power analysis is not adequate in studying power in the information age.
It seems evident, as Pedersen and Hoff (1998) suggest, that new frameworks should be developed. Let us think about traditional ways to approach the dilemma of power with a view to the impact of ICTs. First, there are different types of systems analyses which operate usually at macro level and are based on certain formal(ising) principles derived, ultimately, from the metaphysics of systems theory. On the other hand, there is a wide range of micro-level approaches which aim at providing a picture of the concrete uses of ICTs in specific situations. As Pedersen and Hoff point out, these both approaches deal with the question of power in relation to ICTs in a rather superficial way. One reason for this is obviously that traditional power analysis has difficulties in conceptualising the new roles and practices evolved around the uses of Internet, just to name one of the most well-known examples. Ultimately this is due to the premises of traditional power analysis, which usually lack a view of experiences related to the virtuality, the power of space of flows, new forms of adhocracy, and certain other related aspects of a network society.
How to react to this? Pedersen and Hoff (1998) conclude that the traditional framework still has a relevance when studying the uses of ICT by different actors, the role of ICT in strategy formulation of different societal actors, identifying those who benefit from these new developments at the expense of others, and how to use ICT to empower citizens. But new approaches are needed to conceptualise the changing fields of power. These aspects could be studied within the framework of postmodern theories focussing on discourses related to ICT, strategies of inclusion and exclusion, and changes in power relations. Yet, Pedersen and Hoff call for new approaches and theories which allow us to grasp the 'power of ICT' in a proper way. It seems apparent that our fundamental categories of power need to be reconsidered and redefined.
One way to do this is to direct attention from hype to the materialisation of virtual reality (cf. Latour 1998). My contention is that this idea has a close connection to what Manuel Castells (1989; 1996) has tried to do in his analysis of informational network society. Let us take a brief look at this conception.
According to Castells (1996, 469), we are entering a new state of development in which the networking is becoming the main form of social organisation. This is one of the key concepts if we wish to understand the real nature of the power related to ICT. Namely, presence or absence in the network and the dynamics of each network in relation to others are critical sources of domination and change in our society. This is why Castells focusses in his analysis on the 'network society' characterised by the preeminence of social morphology over social action.
What then is the network? Castells (1996, 470) defines network as a set of interconnected nodes. A node, in turn, is the point at which a curve intersects itself. Concrete examples of nodes are stock exchange markets, and their ancillary advanced services centres, in the network of global financial flows. Or national councils of ministers and European Commissioners in the political network that governs the EU. They are television systems, entertainment studios, computer graphics milieux, news teams, and mobile devices generating, transmitting, and receiving signals in the global network of the new media. The inclusion in and exclusion from networks enacted by light-speed operating ITs configurate dominant processes and functions in our societies, concludes Castells.
Networks are open structures and they serve as appropriate instruments for a capitalist economy based on innovation, globalisation, and 'decentralised' concentration. Yet, the network morphology is also a source of reorganisation of power relationships. Thus, switches connecting the networks are the privileged instruments of power. For example, when financial flows take some control of media empires that, in turn, influence political processes, there are "switchers" who are power holders in several fields of society. This is ultimately how new material basis is built in networks, and how it earmarks dominant social processes shaping social structure itself. (Castells 1996, 470-471). Says Castells (1996, 3), "[Y]et identity is becoming the main, [...], source of meaning in a historical period characterized by widespread destructuring of organizations, delegitimation of institutions, fading away of major social movements, and ephemeral cultural expressions. People increasingly organize their meaning not around what they do but on the basis of what they [...] believe they are. Meanwhile, on the other hand, global networks of instrumental exchanges selectively switch on and off individuals, groups, regions, and even countries, according to their relevance in fulfilling the goals processed in the network, in a relentless flow of strategic decision. It follows a fundamental split between abstract, universal instrumentalism, and historically rooted, particularistic identities."
What this implies is that power is no longer concentrated in institutions (the state), organisations (capitalist firms), or even symbolic controllers (corporate media, church). It is diffused in global networks of wealth, power, information, and images. But, claims Castells, "[p]ower still rules society; it still shapes, and dominates, us. Not only because apparatuses of different kinds can still discipline bodies and silence minds. This form of power is, at the same time, eternal, and fading away. It is eternal because humans are, and will be, predators. But, in its current form of existence, it is fading away: the exercise of this kind of power is increasingly ineffective for the interests that it is supposed to serve." On the basis of these insights Castells concludes: "The new power lies in the codes of information and in the images of representation around which societies organize their institutions, and people build their lives, and decide their behavior. The sites of this power are people's minds." (Castells 1997, 359) This brings us close to the economy of signs. Robert Goldman and Stephen Papson conclude in their interesting book entitled Nike Culture (1998, 169) that Nike is representative of a new stage of capitalist institutions rooted in the kinds of cultural economies they have observed. Global and transnational capitalism has, they claim, brought with it industries where commodities are themselves symbols.
In the critical theories of early 20th century the subject of change was, roughly speaking, the proletariat guided by left-wing intellectuals. This is not the case in the late 1990's. Real subjects of the information age are neither labour movement nor political parties, but social movements emerging from communal resistance to globalisation, capitalist restructuring, organisational networking, uncontrolled informationalism, and patriarchalism. That is, in the contemporary society the potential of change is in the hands of ecologists, feminists, religious fundamentalists, nationalists, and localists. (Castells 1997, 360-361) Their forces and strategies should be taken into account in a new 'informational' power analysis.
Aspects of democracy
What was previously said about power has direct implications to democracy, of course. Pedersen and Hoff (1998) raise the ICT related dilemmas such as direct democracy vs. totalitarian state, optimistic visions vs. empirical evidence, creation of new forms of democracy vs. support to existing forms of democracy, and the potential of the uses of ICT in democratic processes vs. poor understanding and/or utilisation of this potential. All of these tensions have been discussed in the last twenty years, though it seems that most of us are confused about what is really happening to our cherished democracy. And the emergence of new modes of technological mediation, in their actual and potential forms, in social relations is increasing this confusion.
As in the case of power, there is evidently need for more adequate understanding between ICT and democracy. This should help us to reconstruct new descriptive and normative theories which, in turn, form a precondition for the realisation of the potential of electronic democracy (or teledemocracy or cyberdemocracy or something similar).
Castells writes about the crisis of democracy, a theme familiar to all of us. One of the most striking indicator of this development is the transformation of the nation-state, i.e. it has lost much of its sovereignty, undermined by the dynamics of global flows and transorganisational networks of wealth, information and power. Another undermining factor is the reconstruction of political meaning on the basis of specific identities, thus undermining the idea of democracy and citizenship. These are accompanied by the crisis of credibility of the political system. These all have led to frustration with the current system and a search for new frameworks. What to do in this situation in which there is convincing evidence of the growing political alienation worldwide? (Castells 1997, 342-345.) All the changes in political life seem to indicate that we are witnessing the fragmentation of the state, the unpredictability of the political system, and the singularisation of politics. Political freedom may still exist, but as Castells claims, political democracy, as conceived by the liberal revolutions of the eighteenth century, and as diffused throughout the world in the twentieth century, has become an empty shell. (Castells 1997, 349.)
The ideas of participatory democracy have been widely discussed in last two decades (e.g. Barber 1984). Another idea is that ICTs allow us to develop a new mode of Athenian democracy, a direct democracy which is based on televoting systems. Are these what we really want? I think it is worth noting Niklas Luhmann's observation that things are made chaotic for politics. Luhmann also points out that democracy is not a principle that states that all decisions have to be made so as to enable participation. This, he argues, would lead to a never-ending increase in decisional burdens, a gigantic tele-demo-bureaucratization and a hopeless opacity of the power relationships. (Luhmann 1990, 232-234) Indeed, what do we gain by increasing participation or information and communication frequencies.
Thus, I am inclined to maintain that 'sustainable' solutions must be based on other ways of organising public space, collective decision-making processes (local government, communities and civic activism), community life, and local service provision. Postmodern tendencies form a new agenda for discussion (Anttiroiko 1998):
- Do we want to participate, and do we simply have enough time to participate in local affairs?
- Will there be an inevitable polarity between active minority and passive majority?
- Are there suitable and efficient ways to participate, and what are the impacts of active participation?
- Is there anything that can please a postmodern citizen as to the public decision-making processes?
- Do participation and community politics matter beyond rhetoric, in real life?
There is no doubt that one of the most promising 'mediation techniques' of our age is based on ICT and Internet in particular. For example, the Internet can be used in voting, deliberative polling, computer assisted democratic practices, electronic town meetings and networking and public discussions. In addition, there already exists such experiments as simplifying citizens' access to government, presenting information about elected officials and candidates, publicizing meeting agendas and minutes, informing citizens of planning issues, of pending decisions and of traffic conditions, announcing community events, enhancing public safety awareness, promoting business and tourism, obtaining lower cost contracts and so on.
What I have said above does not mean that there is no point in developing citizens' participation with the help of telematics. It is an important innovation for democracy (see Stewart 1995). Net communication provides new horizons for civic and communal life as well as local governance, there is no doubt about it (see e.g. Rheingold 1995; and Schuler 1996). These promises include such elements as means for effective communication; formations of new communities and community-based identities; 'virtual' aspects of communicative collective action; and flexibility in interaction and communication. But, as useful as these may prove to be, they are just a part of the solution. A wider perspective is provided by Castells when he outlines the potential paths of democratic reconstruction. He emphasises three trends which are highly relevant for the future of informational politics:
1) Re-creation of the local state, which is, in essence, about revitalising local democracy;
2) Electronic communication to enhance political participation and horizontal communication among citizens; and
3) Development of symbolic politics, and of political mobilization around humanitarian and other 'non-political' causes. (Castells 1997, 350-352)
Territorial identitiy and local and/or regional governments seem to have become decisive forces in the fate of citizens. Says Castells: "the local state, and therefore people's control over their lives, will fade away, unless democracy is reinvented to match the space of flows with the power of places." (Castells 1997, 273; cf. Castells 1989, 346-347, 352) This is one expression for the principal task of institutions in the information age: to ease the tension between global megatrends and local conditions and identities and to build a dialogue between them on a more equal basis. Paradoxically, it is maybe not ICT that is the key to reinventing or revitalising democracy, for it seems possible - and even evident - that only modest democratic gains can be made through electronic means (Raab 1997, 166). The uses of ICTs may be most effective in two ways: (a) increasing transparency in public discussions and communications, and (b) bringing democratic practices close to our everyday lives by strengthening user and grassroots democracy. These should help us to create a 'precision democracy', or tailored or custom-made (or rather, citizen-made) democracy for the information age.
What is suggested above has its limitations. First, as Schiller (1989, 106) has put it, we have to face the fact that telecommunication systems have been conceived, designed, built and installed with the maintenance of economic privilege and advantage and the prevention of the kind of social change that would overturn and eliminate this privilege as the primary objectives. Another element relates to globalisation. If the global networks operate on a global scale, how does it impact on the preconditions of democracy? There seems to be a need not only for grassroots democracy but also for new cosmopolitan democracy, as suggested by David Held (1993; 1995).
What has been described above hardly gives any cut-and-dried solutions to the dilemma of complex relations between ICT, sciences, and society. Rather, what has been indicated is some themes that clearly need elaboration and rethinking. Above all, the bipolar opposition between the Net and the Self is the question that needs clarification. It may be the burning issue of the information age in which social sciences have a role to play. What are the forms of exclusion? How to strengthen inclusion in the emerging state of jobless growth? How to support alternative ways of life and lifestyles within the context of growth-oriented economy, globalisation and IS development? What is happening to people's identities and mentalities, and how do they relate to emerging power of networks of instrumental exchanges? These are questions that arise from Castellsian analysis of the informational network society. In addition to this, there is a need to focus on more 'concrete' aspects of this development, such as the genealogy of ICT practices (cf. Thrift 1999).
Anttiroiko, Ari-Veikko (1998) The Promises of Net Communication to Citizen's Participation Presentation in the Workshop on Locality in the Global Net in April 25, 1998. The University of Tampere. ULR: http://www.uta.fi/~kuaran/citizen.html
Barber, Benjamin (1984) Strong Democracy. Participatory Politics for a New Age. University of California Press.
Beck, Ulrich (1992) Risk Society. Towards a New Modernity. Teoksesta 'Risikogesellschaft: Auf dem Weg in eine andere Moderne' (1986) kääntänyt Mark Ritter. SAGE Publications.
Beck, Ulrich & Giddens, Anthony & Lash, Scott (1994) Reflexive Modernization. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Bell, Daniel (1973) The Coming of Post-Industrial Society. A Venture in Social Forecasting. New York: Basic Books, Inc.
Bell, Daniel (1976) The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism. New York: Basic Books, Inc.
Best, Steven & Kellner, Douglas (1991) Postmodern Theory. London: Macmillan.
Bryant, Christopher G. A. & Jary, David (eds.) (1991) Giddens' Theory of Structuration. A Critical Appreciation. Routledge.
Cahoone, Lawrence E. (1988) The Dilemma of Modernity. Philosophy, Culture, and Anti-Culture. State University of New York Press.
Callinicos, Alex (1989) Against Postmodernism. A Marxist Critique. Polity Press.
Castells, Manuel (1985) High Technology, Economic Restructuring, and the Urban-Regional Process in the United States. In Manuel Castells (ed.) High Technology, Space, and Society. Urban Affairs Annual Reviews, Volume 28. SAGE Publications
Castells, Manuel (1989) The Informational City. Information Technology, Economic Restructuring, and the Urban-Regional Process. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Castells, Manuel (1996) The Information Age. Economy, Society and Culture. Vol. I: The Rise of the Network Society. Oxford: Blackwell.
Castells, Manuel (1997) The Information Age. Economy, Society and Culture. Vol. II: The Power of Identity. Oxford: Blackwell.
Castells, Manuel (1998) The Information Age. Economy, Society and Culture. Vol. III: End of Millenium. Oxford: Blackwell.
Coates, Joseph F. & Jarratt, Jennifer (1990) What Futurists Believe. World Future Society, 1989. Second Printing 1990.
Drucker, Peter F. (1969) The Age of Discontinuity. Guidelines to our Changing Society. London: Heinemann, 1968, 1969.
Freidson, Eliot (1988) Professional Powers. A Study of the Institutionalization of Formal Knowledge. The University of Chicago Press, 1986. Paperback edition 1988.
Giddens, Anthony (1986) The Constitution of Society. Outline of the Theory of Structuration. Polity Press, 1984. First paperback edition 1986.
Giddens, Anthony (1992) The Consequences of Modernity. Polity Press, 1990. Reprinted 1992.
Goldman, Robert & Papson, Stephen (1998) Nike Culture. The Sign of the Swoosh. SAGE Publications.
Gouldner, Alvin W. (1976) The Dialectic of Ideology and Technology. The Origins, Grammar and Future of Ideology. Macmillan.
Held, David (1993) Democracy: From City-States to a Cosmopolitan Order? Teoksessa David Held (toim.) Prospects for Democracy. North, South, East, West. Stanford University Press.
Held, David (1995) Democracy and the Global Order. From the Modern State to Cosmopolitan Governance. Polity Press.
Kühn Pedersen, Mogens & Hoff, Jens (1997) Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the Social Sciences - Organisation and Information; Power and Democracy. Draft. September 1997.
Lash, Scott (1999) Notes on the Notion of Information. E-mail: Mon, 5 Apr 1999 10:35:03. Subject: anglo-nordic. April 5, 1999.
Lash, Scott & Urry, John (1987) The End of Organized Capitalism. Polity Press.
Latour, Bruno (1988) The Politics of Explanation: An Alternative. In Steve Woolgar (ed.) Knowledge and Reflexivity. New Frontiers in the Sociology of Knowledge. SAGE Publications.
Latour, Bruno (1990) One more turn after the social turn ... Easing Science Studies into the Non-Modern World. Manuscript. To be published in Ernan McMullin (ed.) The Social Dimensions of Science (published in 1992).
Latour, Bruno (1998) Thought Experiments in Social Science: from the Social Contract to Virtual Society. 1st Virtual Society? Annual Public Lecture: 1st April 1998, Brunel University. http://www.brunel.ac.uk/research/virtsoc/events/latour2.htm
Laudan, Larry (1984) Science and Values. The Aims of Science and Their Role in Scientific Debate. University of California Press.
Luhmann, Niklas (1990) Political Theory in the Welfare State. Laajennettu versio alkuteoksesta Politische Theorie im Wohlfahrtsstaat (1981), kääntänyt John Bednarz, Jr. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
Naisbitt, John (1984) Megatrends. Ten New Directions Transforming Our Lives. Macdonald & Co., 1982. Futura edition 1984. London: Futura.
Raab, Charles D. (1997) Privacy, democracy, information. In Brian D. Loader (ed.) The Governance of Cyberspace. Politics, technology and global restructuring. Routledge.
Rheingold, Howard (1995) The Virtual Community. Finding Connection in a Computerized World. First published in Great Birtain 1994. Reprinted 1995. London: Minerva.
Salvaggio, Jerry L. (ed.) (1989) The Information Society. Economy, Social, and Structural Issues. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associate, Publishers.
Schiller, Herbert I. (1989) Information for What Kind of Society? In Jerry L. Salvaggio (ed.) The Information Society. Economy, Social, and Structural Issues. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associate, Publishers.
Schuler, Douglas (1996) New Community Networks. Wired for Change. New York: ACM Press. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. (see also in the Internet, the URL address is the following: http://www.scn.org/ip/commnet/wired.html.
Stewart, John (1995) Innovation in Democratic Practice. INLOGOV, The University of Birmingham.
Thrift, Nigel (1999) UK-Nordic Co-operation. Information and Communication Technology and the Social Sciences. ULR: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/research/virtsoc/nordic/thrift.htm.
Toffler, Alvin (1976) Future Shock. First published 1970. Pan Books, 1971, 13th printing 1976.
Webster, Frank (1995) Theories of the Information Society. London: Routledge.
Wilenius, Markku (1998) A New Globe in the Making: Manuel Castells on the Information Age. Review Essay. To be putlished in Acta Sociologica 3/1998.
Woolgar, Steve (1988) Science: The Very Idea. KEY IDEAS Series. Ellis Horwood Limited, Tavistock Publication.
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http://virtualsociety.sbs.ox.ac.uk/nordic/anttiroiko.htm
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India will begin vaccinating children aged 12 to 14 years old on March 16 as part of an expansion of its COVID-19 immunisation programme, according to the government.
Tweeting the announcement in Hindi, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, “if the children are safe then the country is safe! I am happy to inform that the COVID vaccination of children in the age group of 12 to 13 and 13 to 14 is starting from March 16. Also, everyone aged 60 years and above will now be able to get precaution doses.”
Mandaviya also urged the families of children and people in the age group of 60 years and above that they must get the vaccination done.
India began administering precaution doses of COVID-19 vaccine to healthcare workers, frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with co-morbidities, from January 10 amid a spike in coronavirus infections fuelled by the Omicron variant of the virus in the country.
Co-morbidity is no longer a requirement for patients aged 60 and up to receive a prophylactic dose. Booster injections are now available to everyone in that age group. India saw a further dip in daily COVID-19 cases as 2,503 new infections were recorded, the lowest since May, 2020, while the active cases dipped to 36,168, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.
With the fresh cases, the total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,29,93,494.
The death count climbed to 5,15,877 with 27 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The active cases comprise 0.08 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate further improved to 98.72 per cent, the ministry said.
A reduction of 1,901 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The number of cases is the lowest since May 4, 2020.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, measles, polio and other vaccines were out of reach for 20 million children below the age of one every year. Over 13 million children below the age of one globally did not receive any vaccines at all in 2018, many of whom live in countries with weak health systems. Given the current disruptions, this could create pathways to disastrous outbreaks in 2020 and well beyond.
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PHP is a very simple and easy-to-learn programming language – it provides anyone with minimal programming skills an easy way to get things done. For example, you can assign a value to a variable without even declaring that variable. It is those types of practices and often lack of knowledge of the weakness of PHP that makes web sites more prone to attacks. In our attempt to help you make your PHP site and web applications more secure, we’ve compiled a list of useful PHP security and auditing tools.
There are various directives located in the PHP’s configuration file (php.ini) that can be tweaked to provide a more secure development environment. For example by turning off register_globals, you ensure that hackers cannot invoke your variable with fake data. The purpose of phpSecInfo is to provide an equivalent to phpinfo() function that reports security information about the PHP environment. It also offer suggestions for improvement for certain setting directives. Remember, phpSecInfo is just a reporting tool and it does not do any type of code or application auditing.
Cross-site scripting (XSS) and SQL injection (SQLI) vulnerabilities are present in many modern web applications. In the past, finding such vulnerabilities usually involved manual source code audits. Unfortunately, this manual vulnerability search is a very tiresome and error-prone task. Pixy is a Java program that performs automatic scans of PHP 4 source code, aimed at the detection of XSS and SQL injection vulnerabilities. Pixy takes a PHP program as input, and creates a report that lists possible vulnerable points in the program, together with additional information for understanding the vulnerability.
Spike is an open source PHP security audit tool that performs a static analysis of PHP code for common security exploits. After uploading and running the file, Spike will generate a source code analysis report in HTML about errors, warnings or possible security holes.
Suhosin is an advanced protection system for PHP installations. It was designed to protect servers and users from known and unknown flaws in PHP applications and the PHP core. Suhosin comes in two independent parts, that can be used separately or in combination. The first part is a small patch against the PHP core, that implements a few low-level protections against bufferoverflows or format string vulnerabilities and the second part is a powerful PHP extension that implements all the other protections.
HPIDS (PHP-Intrusion Detection System) is a simple to use, well structured, fast and state-of-the-art security layer for your PHP based web application. The IDS neither strips, sanitizes nor filters any malicious input, it simply recognizes when an attacker tries to break your site and reacts in exactly the way you want it to. Based on a set of approved and heavily tested filter rules any attack is given a numerical impact rating which makes it easy to decide what kind of action should follow the hacking attempt. This could range from simple logging to sending out an emergency mail to the development team, displaying a warning message for the attacker or even ending the user’s session.
ModSecurity is a web application firewall that can work either embedded or as a reverse proxy. It provides protection from a range of attacks against web applications and allows for HTTP traffic monitoring, logging and real-time analysis. It is also an open source project that aims to make the web application firewall technology available to everyone.
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http://www.hotscripts.com/blog/6-free-php-security-auditing-tools/
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Bettina Cuce Rodriguez, a dog lover who volunteers in animal rescue, heard that a pit bill mix had been chained outside a mobile home in a rural community near Virginia Beach in bad weather and without food or water. The dog was said to be near death, and the county animal control was not responding to reports of the situation. So Rodriguez and two others took the dog—and got charged with dog larceny, a felony, after the dog was reported stolen on Jan. 11, 2015. Rodriguez's trial began Wednesday, the Virginian-Pilot reports, and she faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty. But the trial was continued for a month after odd circumstances Thursday: The alleged owner of the dog showed up at the courthouse but left before it was his turn to testify, WAVY reports.
Rodriguez and her cohorts were turned in by a passerby who saw three people take the chained dog, then flee when he confronted them. Animal lovers in Virginia Beach say this is just one of many incidents in which a dog is left in poor conditions. "Have we reached the point where people from outside the area feel the need to come and steal a dog because they think things are that bad and that nothing is being done?" says one man who formed a volunteer organization to help struggling pet owners after this incident. "There’s a right way and a wrong way to rescue dogs," he adds. What Rodriguez allegedly did "was the wrong way." The other two defendants, Charlene Boyajian and Gordon Shell, are scheduled to be tried in March and May, respectively. As for the dog, it's not clear what happened to it.
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http://www.newser.com/story/220863/woman-faces-10-years-for-taking-chained-dying-dog.html
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If you're concerned about environmental crisis and climate change, learn about sustainability.
What world leaders and citizens do to change the way we use resources early in this century will influence how we live for generations in the future. If you're concerned about environmental crisis and climate change, you will want to learn about sustainability - the concept and practice that may let us continue to enjoy life on this planet.
Sustainable development means "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (Brundtland Commission). That means cutting only enough trees per year that can be regrown. That means minimize the burning of fossil fuel, which causes global warming. That means designing energy-efficient buildings, using recycled materials when possible. And it means rethinking our social institutions and the way we conduct our business to be more equitable to all both across the globe and in future generations.
Because universities are at the forefront of research and development, many U.S. campus leaders have decided that all future construction will be "sustainable" and that they will transform the daily operation of the campus to conserve resources. Moreover, they are introducing courses, majors and conferences on sustainability and the environment.
You, the international student, can learn firsthand about this crucial concept the minute you decide to study abroad in the U.S.A. You can practice recycling, eat locally grown food and wash your car and clothes with non-toxic, biodegradable products.
A leader in sustainability is Arizona State University near Phoenix, which has established the world's first School of Sustainability. The undergraduate, graduate and research programs focus on problems including urbanization, energy and water use, biodiversity, and economic and social development. Graduate students will be able to specialize in areas such as water use and conservation, sustainable construction techniques and materials, urbanization and planned communities, alternative fuels, and environmental health issues, including ozone pollution and "brown clouds." Students in Global Launch at ASU have visited local "green" buildings and toured the School of Sustainability as part of their ESL studies.
English for Sustainability and the Environment
Global Launch at Arizona State University offers English for Sustainability and the Environment, possibly the only U.S. English language course focused solely on this topic. International students improve English language skills by discussing contemporary environmental issues and concerns. They take field trips to "green" buildings on campus and nearby, listen to expert speakers, and work on research projects dealing with such topics as water resources, Native American environmental practices, recycled building materials, and life in a desert community (the desert climate, adaptations by plants and animals, and implications for people.) Classes have visited the Grand Canyon and rare or threatened environments like the Desert Botanical Gardens, to explore how these treasures can be enjoyed and preserved for future generations.
The University of Findlay in Ohio developed the first U.S. bachelor's degree in hazardous waste studies, now broadened into a degree in environmental, safety and occupational health management. Students in the environmental program and in the sciences study and do research in the 47-acre Rieck Wilderness Area,'known for diverse habitat - riparian, woods, flood plain and prairie - as well as a bird observation room, feeding station and butterfly/hummingbird gardens. For those who already have an associate's degree, the environmental program offers a degree-completion option entirely online. And for those already working in the field, a master's in environmental, safety and health management can be earned entirely online as well.
An important benefit of attending the University of Maryland is student involvement in "green" or sustainable programs and initiatives. More than 25% of the university's electric power comes from renewable energy, and students take an active role in supporting the effort.
The University of Maryland offers students the chance to pursue careers in sustainability, sponsoring an annual conference to introduce students to jobs in the renewable energy field. Undergraduate students can choose from 15 majors that specifically address environmental issues and sustainability, such as Agriculture and Resource Economics, Environmental Science and Policy, Landscape Architecture, and Natural Resource Management. Graduate students have 22 programs from which to choose, ranging from Civil and Environmental Engineering to Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology.
On campus, 14 different student organizations, from the "College Park Environmental Group" to the "Society for Green Business" engage students in finding sustainability solutions. Environmental Group members, for example, work on service projects, such as tree plantings and watershed clean-ups, watch environmentally themed movies with film discussions, and organize awareness activities to help promote environmental concerns.
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In Yellow Fever Black Goddess, popular author and biology professor, Christopher Wills, brings the latest scientific developments to the page in entertaining, dramatic form. Through meticulous yet riveting research, he pens a vivid account of deadly microbes struggling for survival in hostile hosts. Beginning with ancient illnesses like the Black Death and syphilis, Christopher Wills explores how these devastating diseases have changed their method of attack through the years. And against the backdrop of more contemporary threats—the spread of AIDS and deadly outbreaks of the Ebola virus—he attempts to answer the compelling question: Will dangerous new plagues sweep the world with death and disfigurement? A remarkable book, Yellow Fever Black Goddess examines headline-making maladies with a balanced approach that respects their powers, yet has faith in the victory of scientific research. Veteran narrator Richard M. Davidson holds listeners spellbound with his thought-provoking rendition.
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To access this title, visit your library in the app or on the desktop website.
Interesting but needs updating
Overly complicated and boring
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https://mobile.audible.com/pd/Science-Technology/Yellow-Fever-Black-Goddess-Audiobook/B006BDWLKM
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The availability of a detailed feasibility study is often a key prerequisite for a successful project. Feasibility studies are typically required for hospital expansions, modernisations or for a green field new hospital to be constructed. But it can also be for the supply of medical equipment and systems, or a digital health project.
Our healthcare consultants, architects and financial and other specialists cooperate closely with the client to achieve predefined deliverables. Topics normally addressed are:
- Market analysis
- Medical and functional plan
- Conceptual design
- Financial model
- Financing structure
- Project implementation plan
A pre-feasibility study with reduced scope or depth is also possible.
A distinction is made between public and private projects.
For private/non-government projects, our market analysis takes an in-depth look at the relevant:
- Healthcare growth drivers
- Competitor analysis
- Health insurance market & ability to pay
For public projects, we also take into account:
- Public health needs
- Gaps in public service provision
- Existing referral systems
Medical and functional plan
Based on strategy and outcome of the market study, the medical portfolio to be offered will be defined, taking into account the local context and future demand. This includes capacity calculations. The medical portfolio is the basis for the functional plan and medical equipment plan. The functional plan describes all services that will be provided (clinical, clinical support, diagnostic, digital health, treatment, emergency, logistics, administration, maintenance etc.), the scope and type of customers that will be served and the relations to other facilities in the area.
Based on a site survey, workshops with the client and expert meetings, a Program of Requirements is developed based on which, a conceptual design of the hospital or clinic is established by our architects. The conceptual design is an important part of the feasibility study as it provides crucial input for the investment calculation.
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CC-MAIN-2022-33
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http://www.healthaccessinternational.com/project-development/
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|
en
| 0.924995
| 406
| 1.617188
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|
Everyone loves Twitter. Some research reports seem to indicate that it was the number one most often used word on Twitter last year. That would be 1 in every 3 words written on Twitter are about Twitter. A sampling of these tweets would be:
- Listen to our podcast about Twitter
- 10 Reasons I Love Twitter
- Twitter is my girlfriend
- The only thing better than Twittering from my iPhone is Twittering from my iPhone while taking a crap
- Twitter helped me make money
- Twitter helped me find God
- Twitter helped me find a #blinddate
- Did you know Shaq was on Twitter?
- We don’t talk to each other, even though we are in the same room. We twitter back and forth
- Twitter is down! FAIL
- Barack Obama is on Twitter, did you know that? Huh?
- Let’s talk about Twitter
- Twitter me this, Twitter me that
- Business are on Twitter too
- How is Twitter making money anyway?
- Twitter is bigger than FriendFeed
Anyways, my point is this. The most important thing on earth, if you want to tap into the collective conscience of the webgeeks is Twitter. It’s clear why. With so many mainstream people like Rick Sanchez of CNN, Shaq, Ashton Kutcher and of course, ROBERT SCOBLE (pant, pant, pant), it is clearly The Important Thing™ to be talking about.
Are you talking about Twitter? If not, you should be. It’s rewarding.
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CC-MAIN-2017-04
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https://technosailor.com/2009/02/17/twitter-is-life/
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| 0.944835
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|
1. Securitization: Wonder Drug or Financial Alchemy?
2. Mobilising Capital for the Poor – How Does Structured Finance Fit in Emerging Markets?
3. The Role of Public and Private Investors for Structured Finance in Emerging Markets
4. Structured Finance – Mobilising New Means to Attract Capital
5. Mobilising Structured Finance for Development – Potential Welfare Benefits and Challenges of Securitisations in Large Emerging Markets
6. Structured Finance for Development – Outlook for New Applications
Andreas A. Jobst
7. Shari’ah Compliant Structured Finance – Characteristics, Analogies and Legal Risks in Common Law Jurisdictions
Paul U. Ali
8. Securitization of Worker Remittances
9. Structured Finance Approaches to Livelihood Projects in India
Bindu Ananth, Anand Sahasranaman
10. The Use of Structured Finance for a Deposit Based MSME Banking Group in Emerging Markets – The Case of ProCredit
11. Using the Toolbox – Solutions in Customizing Structured Finance
12. Microcredit as an Asset Class:Structured Microfinance
Gregor Dorfleitner, Michaela Leidl, Christopher Priberny
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CC-MAIN-2022-33
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https://www.ellibs.com/book/9783540922254/mobilising-capital-for-emerging-markets
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en
| 0.733809
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OTTAWA - Federal Environment Minister Peter Kent is in London today to kick off another global tour to sell Canada's record on global warming.
Kent says new controls on oil and gas emissions are on their way, but companies will need a better price for their crude in order to be able to deal with a new regulatory burden.
He says that if the so-called Canada discount can be reduced, then companies will have enough money to invest heavily in new technology that will reduce emissions.
A better price requires approvals for pipelines such as the Keystone XL project to send Canadian crude to tidewater in Texas.
But in the complicated world of climate change politics, those approvals also depend on Canada showing the world it is cracking down on emissions.
Kent's roadshow follows a similar trip by Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver through Europe last week, and will be augmented by Prime Minister Stephen Harper making the pitch to Wall Street on Thursday.
Kent says he hopes to lower the temperature of public discussion around the environmental record in Canada's oil patch.
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The Value of Regional Annual Nitrogen Needs Information for Wheat Producers in Oklahoma
Crop producers are increasingly interested in reducing nitrogen use without sacrificing yield. Technology is available for precise application at the sub-field level, but adoption has been sluggish. This paper estimates the relative profitability of a field level annual predictor of mid-season N requirements and a regional predictor of the same.
|Date of creation:||2008|
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More information through EDIRC
References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Tembo, Gelson & Brorsen, B. Wade & Epplin, Francis M., 2003. "Linear Response Stochastic Plateau Functions," 2003 Annual Meeting, February 1-5, 2003, Mobile, Alabama 35217, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:saeaed:6734. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.
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If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.
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The family of an Iranian dissident who has been imprisoned for 20 years in Iran without ever being granted even 1 day of leave is now seeking international help to get parole from a life sentence that was imposed on him for supporting an exiled opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s (NCRI), and the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran).
Saeed Masouri, who is now in his mid-50s, has been in an Iranian prison since Jan 8th, 2001, just because he was a supporter of the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran). This organization is led by the France-based activist, Maryam Rajavi, who argues that Iran’s ruling Islamic regime be overthrown so that a secular democratic government can replace it.
Family of #Iran Dissident Jailed Since 2001 Appeals for Help to Secure Parole: Saeed Masouri, who is in his mid-50s, has been imprisoned in Iran since Jan. 8, 2001, for being a supporter of #MEK. The group is led by #MaryamRajavi advocates overthrow regime https://t.co/Tl9FK8wV5n pic.twitter.com/U2dnGpY7Sg
— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) January 16, 2021
Vahid Masouri, who is his brother, lives in Canada and told VOA Persian in an interview that took place on Wednesday that the jailed dissident never committed any crime and has been in jail for 20 years without being allowed any contact with his family or released for medical purposes. He said Saeed has been inflicted with several physical problems while in detention, including agonizing toothache and back pain, but has never been allowed any medical treatment.
When family members took the matter of Saeed to court, Vahid said they were told to tell Saeed to stop publishing letters about the poor living conditions of the inmates in prison. Court officials also told family members that Saeed may even be given a new sentence if he remained outspoken.
Vahid Masouri said Saeed had joined the (PMOI / MEK Iran) in the 1980s after spending a period studying in Norway. He was arrested and imprisoned in 2001. His family was never told about the reason for the arrest. He actually spent the first 13 months in a prison in Ahvaz in solitary confinement. Later in May 2002, following just a 10-minute trial, he was sentenced to death because of his association with the (PMOI / MEK Iran). The regime believed this was harming national security. He was immediately transferred to Evin prison.
— #رای_من_سرنگونی abfarideh (@abfarideh) August 20, 2017
The family members wrote to international human rights organizations requesting help, so in 2007 Saeed was sentenced to life imprisonment. Saeed was transferred from Evin to Rajaei Shahr prison in the nearby city of Karaj in 2009.
Saeed Masouri has written and signed numerous letters highlighting the poor conditions in Iran’s prisons, including a letter he shared with Iran’s Human Rights Activist News Agency just last week. In that letter which was published online Masouri paid tribute to fellow inmates who were later executed.
— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) March 10, 2016
Masouri also in 2016 wrote a letter to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva to raise the alarm about what he said were threats to the lives of prisoners at Rajaei Shahr. The (PMOI / MEK Iran) published his letter on its website.
The dissident’s brother said he hopes that more prisoners will not face the death penalty due to the pressure that all the family has put on the regime to get his death sentence commuted.
The abridged version of an article written by Michael Lipin and Ramin Haghjoo for the Voice of America Iran News.
— M Masouri (@MaryamMasouri) August 22, 2017
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Venezuela’s President, Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday told top United Nations (UN) officials on a visit to Caracas that his country was keen on finding a resolution to the border controversy with Guyana.
Before meeting with UN Assistant Secretary General on Political Affairs, Miroslav Jenca, the Venezuelan leader was quoted by sections of the media there as saying on television that wanted to use provisions of the 50-year old Geneva Agreement to end the controversy over the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award that has awarded the Essequibo Region to Guyana.
“We thank the Secretary-General has opened floodgates for these issues go channeled via the Geneva agreement,” Maduro said at the meeting with the special envoys of the United Nations (UN), Miroslav Jenca and Guillermo Kendall at the presidential palace of Miraflores.
The Venezuelan leader said Tuesday that the visit by the UN delegation seeks a solution “through dialogue” and “peace diplomacy” to “find formulas” under the Geneva Agreement “. “We say, Guyana Essequibo is Venezuelan, but say in the same way (that) the Geneva Accord is the one that should lead to a practical arrangement satisfactory to the parties and by way of diplomacy,” Maduro said in a televised speech.
Weary that the UN Good Officer mediation process has yielded no solution to the controversy, Guyana is pushing for the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon to use provisions of the Geneva Agreement to refer the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) also called the World Court.
Border tensions flared last year May after American oil giant, Exxon-Mobil, announced the discovery of a huge oil reservoir in the Atlantic Sea offshore Essequibo.
Following up on formal warnings to the company prior to the announced discovery that oil exploration should cease, Venezuela retaliated by unilaterally annexing the Atlantic waters off the Essequibo Region.
The 15-nation Caribbean Community (Caricom) has condemned Venezuela’s re-drawing of its maritime boundary by way of a presidential decree, saying that such a move will have serious implications for several Caribbean islands as well as Suriname and French Guiana.
Exxon-Mobil is currently taking steps to quantify the reserves before deciding whether to embark on commercial production by 2018.
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by Arnaud and Naja Girard
This began as an environmental mystery. The images appearing on our computer screen were puzzling: they showed the before and after aerial photos of a ravaged seagrass meadow now turned into an ugly mud bank.
“Do you see the tracks?” asked the man at the other end of the phone.
We zoomed in on the high definition aerials he was sending us: What we saw looked like bulldozer tracks looping around in every direction and intersecting on the shallow banks as if a tank battle had taken place.
“Yes, we see the tracks.”
Our caller poorly disguised his emotions. For 42 years biologist, Curtis Kruer, has been working to protect Florida Keys resources and seagrasses. His work mapping boating impacts to shallow seagrass is used to monitor and manage this fragile habitat.
On September 10, 2017 the 130 mile per hour winds of Hurricane Irma, or possibly even a tornado, knocked down four electricity transmission poles and severely damaged three others near Rockland Key.
“What you see here,” says Mr. Kruer, “is the damage made by the utility contractor who repaired the line. They just let those guys loose on the seabed. There’s 20-25 acres of damage here – something we haven’t seen in the Keys in decades.”
After some quick research we found that the initial repair permit issued by the Army Corp of Engineers to Keys Energy Services required the use of “shallow draft work boats” only to be operated at high tide, and that there be “no impacts to the seagrass.”
Michels Power, one of the largest utility contractors in the U.S., had replaced seven electric poles off Rockland Key’s Line 4 at a cost of over 4-million-dollars.
We decided to look into it.
Neither the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) nor the Marine Sanctuary responded to our public records requests because the investigation was “still open.”
Keys Energy however sent us copies of over 400 emails and documents. Here we found the entire history, from the issuance of the first “no environmental impact” permit to the discovery of broken commitments.
The most dramatic piece of information came after we found an email containing this cryptic sentence: “The video was taken down at the request of Michels.”
So… there was a video on the web?
In fact, there was a video on Youtube but it was locked behind a hidden URL. When we were finally able to play it back it showed a damning account of what had happened. It was a time lapse of the worksite showing large hydraulic excavators mounted on tank-like caterpillars crawling around the seagrass meadows and stirring up clouds of mud.
The permit required the contractor to use only specified narrow pathways, going from each pole straight to the nearest deep-water:
Observers Could Not See
A disturbing fact is that while the repair work was occurring local officials, including law enforcement tasked with protecting the environment, were on site, apparently witnessing the breach of the permit and environmental laws, but said nothing.
By compiling a time log of all visits by agents of all the agencies involved, we were able to establish that each work day there was at least one outside observer witnessing Michels’ destructive construction methods.
On October 12th, 13th, and 24th, 2017, biologist Phil Frank, Keys Energy’s hired environmental consultant, was onsite observing the work. Frank was the one who negotiated the permit, promising the use of designated narrow pathways; a method that was supposed to guaranty that no more than 0.44 acres of seagrass would be impacted. Frank never reported on the reckless methods being used right in front of him.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officials also made visits to the site. On October 16th they even flew overhead in a helicopter, which likely gave them the best possible view of the damage being done.
Keys Energy had also hired a monitoring company: Leidos Engineering LLC. Each day a Leidos inspector stood by and methodically listed the number of workers on site, what equipment was being used and problems observed.
On October 30th Dale Finigan was on site. At the time Mr. Finigan was Keys Energy’s Director of Engineering and the person who had authorized the 4-million-dollar contract with Michels Power. The next day, in an email to Michels’ senior manager, Finigan discussed his observations about the progress of the work.
The record shows that everyone from law enforcement to environmental consultants and parties directly involved with the construction permit had witnessed what was going on.
Seagrass beds are specially protected in the Keys. According to Pamela Reynolds, Ph.D, a single acre of seagrass can produce 10 tons of leaves a year, providing food for marine life, nursery areas, and can support as many as forty thousand fish and fifty million small invertebrates.
Yet none of the people entrusted with protecting this essential habitat ever reported the blatant violation of the permit or even tried to enforce the law.
Accountants Could Not Count
The lack of accountability is not limited to environmental issues. It also extends to the financial aspects of Keys Energy’s relationship with Michels Power.
When we interviewed Keys Energy representative, Julio Torrado, we asked whether the 4-million-dollar quote for the replacement of just seven power poles on Line 4 was higher than normal. Torrado said yes. “It was more than on a regular day… more than it would be, you know, on a sunny October day.” The higher cost, he said, was justified because of the emergency situation.
Yet when we asked how many customers were left without electricity due to Line 4 being shut down, we were told there were none. In fact, Mr. Torrado told us that electricity had been restored to all Keys Energy customers within 20-25 days of Hurricane Irma’s passing, which is about one and a half months before the Line 4 repairs were completed.
Line 4 is an old transmission line used only as a back-up. It loops into the backcountry and comes back to join the main transmission line on US 1 at the entrance of Stock Island without distributing electricity to any customers.
So why did Keys Energy accept the 4-million-dollar “emergency” rate from Michels if there was no immediate need?
A few hours after receiving an email from the Army Corps on March 2nd about the seagrass destruction at Line 4, Keys Energy’s Dan Sabino began to have doubts. He questioned an invoice showing $225,000 for 1000 man hours that Michels Power claimed were expended for environmental protection: “Does Michels have support for that?” he asked in an email to colleague Sandy Brown. Apparently, that issue was not pursued, and that line item was paid in full in spite of the resounding failure to protect the environment.
Law Enforcement Forgot the Law
Only on one occasion, during the month long operation, did any official take a stand for the environment. Sanctuary Resource Protection and Permit Coordinator, Joanne Delaney, shut down the project shortly after the machinery arrived on scene, questioning the company’s intended “means and methods.” That was on the 11th of October.
That same day Keys Energy‘s hired environmental consultant, Phil Frank, countered that Michels would be imposing an $88,000 per day additional cost for any permitting delays.
On the 12th Ms. Delaney withdrew her stop work order.
The contractor finished mobilizing the machinery, which seemed completely incompatible with the Florida Keys environment, and no one would question the contractor’s on the ground methods again — until it was all over.
Interestingly, a hot topic soon became whether there should be an after-the-fact environmental survey. Keys Energy’s Dan Sabino argued that the Army Corp permit did not require a post completion benthic survey. He responded to Sanctuary officials on December 13th stating, “Without this documentation, I believe KEYS will be unable to seek reimbursement from FEMA; and therefore, I will be unable to authorize the survey.”
Ultimately Keys Energy was required to go ahead and provide the infamous benthic survey to the Sanctuary and the Army Corp.
Lawyers Could Not Read Contracts
This is how the contract defines contractor liability: “Permit violations or environmental damage caused by the Contractor shall be mitigated or repaired by the Contractor, at the Contractor’s expense, to the satisfaction of the governing authority citing such damage.” It also says, “The vendor shall be responsible for any fines, penalties, damage, or assessments made against the Vendor or KEYS resulting from the performance of this contract by or on behalf of the Vendor.”
Yet in some 400 emails between government entities and Keys Energy the contractor’s liability under the contract is never directly addressed. Better yet, in a March 5, 2018 email, Steve Werndli, NOAA’s enforcement and emergency response coordinator, suggests that Keys Energy should ask FEMA to pay for the seagrass restoration on Rockland Key.
Lying to FEMA
And from there things get even more puzzling.
By April 25, 2018 Keys Energy had completed its FEMA application asking for 75% reimbursement of the over 4-million-dollars in so-called “emergency” repairs to Line 4. In that application Keys Energy was required to certify compliance with environmental laws and permits.
To be clear, On March 2, 2018, after receiving the benthic survey showing over ten acres of seagrass destruction, Robert Kirby of the Army Corp of Engineers enforcement section sent Keys Energy a scathing email about “permit compliance concerns about the repair work that occurred at Line 4.” The email mentions the severe damage done to the seagrass bed and the violation of the Army Corp permit that required use of “shallow draft work boats.” Kirby’s email was immediately followed by another, with similar concerns, from NOAA (Sanctuary).
The March 2018 emails from the Army Corp and NOAA clearly put into question the issue of compliance with environmental laws and the permit for the Line 4 repairs. But Keys Energy went ahead and certified to FEMA in their request for reimbursement that: “Applicant [Keys Energy] and its contractors [Michels Power] adhered to environmental compliance requirements.”
At every turn it seems that all parties involved went out of their way to favor and protect giant utility contractor, Michels Power:
- Keys Energy agrees to pay Michels Power an emergency rate for what was, arguably, non-emergency work.
- Everyone is turning a blind eye while witnessing the blatant violation of environmental laws and permit requirements.
- Keys Energy chooses to be untruthful on its FEMA reimbursement application rather than to hold Michels to its contractual liability.
Where Does it Go From Here?
Officially, the massive seagrass destruction near Rockland Key is still “under investigation” by the Sanctuary and DEP. Phil Frank, who conducted the post construction benthic survey on behalf of Keys Energy, found about 10.5 acres was damaged, but biologist Curtis Kruer believes upwards of 20 acres was impacted. The investigation has been open for almost a year and a half with no end in sight.
However, there are indications that the parties involved see a benefit to sitting on their hands. In an August 24, 2018 email, Frank mentions that Sanctuary officials are on slow mode regarding the investigation. He wrote to Keys Energy: “The longer it lingers the more the area recovers. Unless you have a better strategy, I’d say we continue to work with FKNMS [Sanctuary] at their pace and schedule. Keep the ball in their court, be responsive but not necessarily push them for a fast resolution.”
As to the Army Corp, the Jacksonville branch has been ordered not to pursue enforcement of Michels Power’s permit violation. Robert Kirby wrote in an April 30, 2019 email that the decision came down “through the chain of command.”
With the Sanctuary in “slow mode” and the Army Corp ordered to stand down, it doesn’t look as though anyone is ready to tackle giant post-hurricane contractors anytime soon.
In the meantime, Michels Power and Keys Energy, just last month on May 22nd, entered into a new pre-approved emergency response contract for the 2019 hurricane season.
Keys Energy is still unclear about its environmental responsibilities: After the disaster at Rockland Key, one Keys Energy employee still had questions about instructing a new contractor on Line 4. She emailed the following questions to Phil Frank: “Should I give them a map of where they can go and not go. Like deep water then into pole and back out same way. Can’t cross pole to pole? Or – delete the email and forget you know anything about it?”
Whether FEMA will agree to reimburse the over 4-million-dollars paid to Michels is an open question. FEMA could refuse to pay, either because the contractor violated environmental laws or because Keys Energy lied about environmental compliance on the reimbursement application.
Lower Keys residents might find themselves on the hook for millions of dollars payable through their electric bills.
“You know,” said Curtis Kruer, “when I first came across those aerial photos, I emailed Gus Rios, (Regional head of DEP – Marathon). His answer was a little odd, something like, ‘Thank you for the information. We will be looking into it.’ He was acting as though he didn’t already know. But, that’s at least 20 acres of destruction, something we haven’t seen in decades. How could he not know?… Damage to the sea bed used to be taken very seriously.”
In 1997 treasure hunter Mel Fisher’s company was made to pay $562,778 for destroying seagrass while looking for shipwrecks in the Keys.
According to Mr. Kruer, whose company, Coastal Resource Group, authored a 2015 study, the average cost of seagrass restoration today in the Keys is approximately $1 million/per acre.
“They think the seagrass is going to grow back quickly on its own? It’s not,” says Mr. Kruer, “It takes decades.”
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11 September 2012—The wind may qualify as a renewable resource, but “renewable” has its limits. Exactly how much energy we can feasibly pull from the wind has been something of a controversial question in recent years, with some studies suggesting that wind power is not the planet saver it’s cracked up to be. Simulations unveiled this week by scientists in Delaware and California, though, argue that if anything, economics and politics will hold wind development back, rather than geophysical limits.
Wind-power systems work by taking the kinetic energy of wind and turning it into mechanical energy in the turbine to create electrical energy. Laws of physics tell us that the total amount of energy can’t change, so at least a minor slowing of the wind is expected as it passes through the turbine.
“Adding a turbine represents a trade-off: We get energy, but the wind is slowed down,” says Kate Marvel of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in California, who did one of the analyses along with Ben Kravitz and Ken Caldeira, of the Carnegie Institution for Science at Stanford University. “At some point, adding one more turbine leads to diminishing returns: The wind is slowed to such an extent that we don’t get any more energy. This is what we call the geophysical limit.”
Marvel’s research, published Sunday in Nature Climate Change, used a climate model to estimate that limit, both for turbines placed near Earth’s surface—as they are built now—and for high-altitude turbines, such as the kite-like tethered devices currently under development. [Editor’s note: Look for a feature article on kite-power systems in the December 2012 issue of IEEE Spectrum.] They found that the geophysical limit for Earth-based turbines is 428 terawatts or more but a whopping 1873 TW for high-altitude systems. The current global power demand? About 18 TW. “While there is a geophysical limit, civilization-scale wind power is nowhere near it,” Marvel says.
This is a comforting result, given the findings of some earlier research. One study of wind power’s geophysical limits, published in the journal Energy Policy in 2011, arrived at an upper limit of about 1 TW. But Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford, says that “the calculation of 1 TW was literally done with a back-of-the-envelope single-line equation” and didn’t take actual physical properties of turbines or the atmosphere into account.
Jacobson and Cristina Archer of the University of Delaware conducted what they say is a far more detailed analysis than earlier efforts; their report is published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “We remove energy from the atmosphere exactly where the turbines remove it, not near the ground at the surface,” says Archer. The model they used takes atmospheric dynamics, water-vapor effects, and other factors into account. “We even incorporated a real power curve from a modern turbine directly into the code in real time,” she says. “None of the previous studies did anything like this. Thus we believe that our results are far more reliable.”
Using a different climate model than Marvel’s group, they calculated a maximum power of more than 250 TW at 100 meters above the ground, and 380 TW at the jet-stream height of 10 kilometers. “In reality, we will never get even close to such high penetrations of wind power,” Archer says. “We humans do not even have enough cement to build so many turbines.” To get to even 100 TW of installed capacity would require somewhere around 20 million very large turbines. A somewhat more realistic 4 million turbines, installed nonuniformly around the world, could easily supply about half the world’s power.
Both new studies also address a separate issue that arises with massive numbers of wind turbines: Can they actually cause climate change? The changes in kinetic energy that result from millions of spinning turbines do have an effect, but Marvel says significant alterations to global temperature or weather patterns are only likely at “truly absurd extraction rates.” Even “civilization-scale reliance on wind power” would change mean temperatures by one-tenth of a degree Celsius and mean precipitation rates by about 1 percent, according to the California scientists. On a more local level, near-surface turbines do have a minor warming effect, and high-altitude turbines would have a small cooling effect. The former finding caused a minor stir earlier this year after reports of warming from a wind farm in Texas, but on a global level it does not appear that wind power can do much to the climate.
Marvel says the primary questions when discussing truly massive wind-power expansion are these: Will we run out of wind? And will we destroy the climate? “As far as practical implications go, no one is seriously suggesting that we blanket the surface of the Earth or the whole atmosphere with uniformly distributed wind turbines,” Marvel says. “But I’d argue that it’s reassuring to have physically defensible ‘no’ answers to [those] questions.”
About the Author
Dave Levitan is a science journalist who contributes regularly to IEEE Spectrum’s Energywise blog. In our June 2012 issue, he reported on what’s behind the persistent efficiency gap between that of record-setting solar cells and what comes off the manufacturing line.
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Changjiang Daily & middot; Novel coronavirus pneumonia was reported in Wuhan on April 1st, according to the report. As of March 30th, 1461 new crown pneumonia patients were still in hospital in China, including 350 severe cases and 147 critically ill patients.
The overall situation is settled. However, for these 1461 patients, such a group of white soldiers are still holding on and continue to race against death.
From January 25, Huang Luqi, academician of the Chinese Academy of engineering, led the first national TCM medical team to Han and settled in Jinyintan hospital, becoming the first TCM medical team to take over the critical ward.
As of March 30, in Jinyintan hospital, academician Huang Luqi's team had treated 158 patients with severe and critical diseases, and 140 were cured and discharged.
The novel coronavirus pneumonia, developed by Huang Luqi, was included in the latest seventh edition of the diagnosis and treatment plan, and was recommended as a recommended prescription for severe pneumonia in new crown. On March 30, Huashi Baidu granule realized technology transfer. The transfer proceeds will be used for the cultivation of talents in traditional Chinese medicine. A "special talent training program of the Chinese Academy of traditional Chinese medicine" will be established to encourage more people to learn traditional Chinese medicine and train and select high-quality talents in traditional Chinese medicine. He also hoped to deepen and promote international cooperation in traditional Chinese medicine in epidemic prevention and control.
Zhang Boli also stayed to fight again.
On January 27, the third day of the lunar new year, Zhang Boli, academician of the Chinese Academy of engineering, was urgently called by the central epidemic prevention and control steering group and flew to Wuhan. As a member of the central steering group, he has been fighting on the front line of anti epidemic in Wuhan.
On February 14, Zhang Boli, as an expert of traditional Chinese medicine in the central steering group, took charge of the 'national team' of traditional Chinese medicine to take over Jiangxia shelter hospital. In the shelter hospital, patients mainly drink traditional Chinese medicine decoction, supplemented by Taijiquan, Baduanjin and other methods to recover. On the afternoon of March 10, Jiangxia shelter hospital officially "closed". Among the more than 500 patients discharged from the shelter hospital, none of them became severe.
Due to high workload working day and night, Zhang Boli had an acute attack of cholecystitis. On February 19, he underwent cholecystectomy in Wuhan. A few days after the operation, despite the doctor's dissuasion, the old man couldn't wait to start working. He said with a smile: 'this time he left his courage in Wuhan. It seems that he is destined to be with the patient & lsquo; Treat each other sincerely & rsquo; It's too late. "
Novel coronavirus pneumonia was the first day after the new confirmed case in Wuhan, and Zhang Boli was in the process of rehabilitation assessment, diagnosis and treatment and medical observation for the patients. Almost every day, he held video conferences with foreign experts to introduce the experience of Chinese medicine in preventing and treating the new crown pneumonia and explore the trend of global epidemic. At present, Zhang Boli is also involved in the rehabilitation management and intervention of infected medical personnel across the country.
Academician Wang Chen, academician Qiao Jie and academician Chen Wei stayed to fight again.
"In addition to our own Tongji Hospital, the Sino French new town hospital, there are also many critically ill patients from other hospitals who are turning to us to become a centralized treatment point for critically ill patients." On March 31, 137 medical and nursing staff of the Third Hospital of Peking University led by Qiao Jie, academician of the Chinese Academy of engineering, still adhered to the first-line treatment of critical diseases in Wuhan.
They also stayed to fight again:
6 Beijing medical teams, 1 part of the medical team of the second hospital of Jilin University, a total of 922 people fought in the Sino French new town of Tongji Hospital;
461 people from the medical team of the Institute of respiratory diseases of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (Guangdong severe ICU medical team), the second batch of medical team from Shaanxi to Hubei, the medical team from the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat sen University and the medical team from Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat sen University fought hard in Xiehe Hospital;
A total of 324 people from Jiangsu medical team, the medical team of the First Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, the medical team of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University and experts dispatched by the National Health Commission fought in Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital;
More than 500 people from Guangdong and Shanghai are in Leishen mountain, more than 300 people from Huaxi and Qilu of the 'Four Heavenly regiments' are in the provincial people's Hospital, and more than 500 people from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Hunan are in Jinyintan & hellip& hellip;
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Religious and community organisations have been paid thousands of pounds by the Home Office to assist immigration enforcement teams in removing people from the UK, in most cases rough sleepers.
There is mounting concern about Home Office tactics to deport migrant rough sleepers from the UK and its use of payments to assist with these removals, with the department facing accusations of racial profiling.
A list obtained by the Manchester-based human rights charity Refugee and Asylum Seeker Participatory Action Research, and seen by the Guardian, reveals that 21 Home Office immigration surgeries are embedded in community centres and places of worship across London and in Birmingham, Slough and Manchester. It shows that Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs are being targeted for removal, along with Brazilians, Albanians and Chinese people.
Fizza Qureshi, the co-chief executive officer of the Migrants’ Rights Network, condemned the practice of faith and community organisations assisting the Home Office with removals.
“The extent to which the Home Office is infiltrating our communities by co-opting community and faith organisations is extremely shocking,” she said. “These kinds of practices destroy trust within and between communities. It will also leave many marginalised people wondering who they can turn to and trust in their time of need.”
The Public Interest Law Centre previously brought a successful high court action against the Home Office for rounding up migrant rough sleepers from the EU for removal. A spokesperson expressed concern about the variety of Home Office schemes that can lead to the deportation of migrant rough sleepers.
He said: “There appears to be a strong element of racial profiling in the way the Home Office is targeting charities and faith groups for involvement in immigration enforcement. We are concerned that community groups are being paid to play ‘good cop’ to the Home Office’s ‘bad cop’ and help the government meet its targets for getting people out of the country.”
Two linked Sikh organisations – Sikh Council and Sikh Youth and Community Service – have received six-figure sums between them from a series of Home Office grants in recent years. They say they have helped the Home Office to send more than 400 people back to India. The Brazilian organisation Casa Do Brasil says it helped with the removal of about 320 people in 2018.
Balvinder Kaur of the Sikh Youth and Community Service in Nottinghamshire, said about 220 people had returned to India in “a respectful and dignified manner” since 2016. She said her faith-based organisation did not operate immigration surgeries in places of worship but put out messages in Punjabi media in the UK about the service the organisation provided to assist with voluntary return.
A spokesman for the Sikh Council said: “The scheme was a direct response to the need on the streets where people were sleeping rough, had ill health. It is not considered as conflict in charities accessing government funds to alleviate poverty and suffering of the homeless. The funding has to be applied for annually and paid in arrears. The allocation and actual spend figures differ due to unpredictability of numbers wishing to return voluntarily.”
A spokesperson for the north London-based Casa do Brasil said: “We do provide specifically a voluntary departure service from [the] Home Office every Monday for people without the right to stay in the UK to return to their country. Our budget is based on the work done and expenses incurred to make the programme available to the public.” There had been about 320 successful returns since 2018, he said.
On Monday, a letter signed by 15 different organisations was sent to all London councils raising separate concerns over the Home Office’s Rough Sleepers Support Service. The initiative involves local authorities and others identifying a course of action for migrant rough sleepers which may include a voluntary or enforced return. About half of London’s rough sleepers are estimated to be migrants.
Migrants Rights’ Network, Liberty and Public Interest Law Centre put together the letter calling on councils to suspend cooperation with the scheme because of concerns that migrant rough sleepers may be removed from the UK rather than receiving support.
The letter calls on the Home Office to provide detailed and transparent guidance about how the scheme works, asks councils not to pass on personal information about migrant rough sleepers to the Home Office without their informed consent and asks the councils to fund independent accommodation, advice and support for this group.
A Home Office spokesman said: “Immigration surgeries give people the opportunity to speak to immigration officers about the steps they should take to regularise their stay or to get practical support to return voluntarily. These are held in community and faith-based locations, including mosques, in order to have conversations with individuals without the fear of arrest. Home Office staff build relationships with community leaders and surgeries are conducted with their permission.”
Source link Google News
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Promote regenerative land practices and equitable inclusion of producers of food, fiber, and forest products in the Appalachian region by providing training, networking, and investing opportunities to farmers and businesses, with priority for enterprises led by women and people of color.
Accelerating Appalachia educates and trains fifteen growth-stage businesses in a twelve-month program that includes a twelve-week intensive plus a nine-month follow-up. These businesses are connected to national and regional mentors, investors, peer networks, customers, and supply webs. They can then create good jobs and reach thousands of land producers in the region, influencing impacts on soil health and water retention across Appalachia. In 2018, Accelerating Appalachia will add updated regenerative business development and diversity and inclusion trainings. Accelerating Appalachia’s long-term vision is to license its unique “Building Soil & Soul” accelerator design to communities globally.
Saraday Evans founded Accelerating Appalachia (ACAP) to marry her years of work in sustainable economies, environmental protection, and social justice into a program to accelerate a regenerative, socially-just economy. For seventeen years, Saraday worked at Kentucky’s Department for Environmental Protection and North Carolina’s Department of Commerce where she built programs to promote healthier people and places. She received U.S. presidential commendations and state and regional awards for this work. When Saraday’s sustainable economy program for high unemployment counties in North Carolina lost its funding, she launched ACAP to continue the important work of restoring the people and place of one of the most biologically diverse, yet poverty-stricken and over-extracted, regions in North America: Appalachia.
Issue Area ?
A general program area that describes the focus of this Fellow’s organization during their Fellowship.
Organization/Fellow Location ?
Our most recent information as to where the Fellow primarily resides.
Impact Location ?
Countries or continents that were the primary focus of this Fellow’s work at the time of their Fellowship.
Organization Structure ?
An organization can be structured as a nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid (a structure that incorporates both nonprofit and for-profit elements).
- Visit website
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For Christmas this year, Phoenix lawmakers are taking aim at puppy and kitten mills. This week, the city council passed a law that bans the sale of dogs and cats from commercial breeders. As of next January, pet stores will only be able to sell dogs and cats that come from rescue organizations and shelters.
It should probably come as no surprise that there was a lot of pushback against the ordinance as the city council struggled to pass it. There’s almost nothing more heartwarming than puppies in the window, especially during Christmas. In the media, pushing against the sale of commercially-bred pets can sound almost like you’re against puppies and children themselves.
There’s also the economic factor. In Phoenix, opponents said that the ordinance would hurt local businesses, and that at least one store, Puppies ‘N Love, would have to close. Frank Mineo, the owner of the store, said, “We do everything in our power to screen breeders, make sure they’re from reputable sources.” He also said that animal rights activists falsely claim that all puppies from pet stores are from puppy mills.
Councilwoman Thelda Williams responded to criticism of the ordince, saying, “We support local business, we’re not putting them out of business. We are giving them an option where they can get dogs. I think if the big stores can survive really well on it, the little ones can too.”
But despite opposition from local business leaders and even the Vice Mayor of Phoenix, Bill Gates (no connection to Microsoft that we can find), the ordinance passed, 5-3, on Tuesday. Phoenix certainly isn’t the first city to demand that pet stores avoid selling animals from puppy and kitten mills. Similar laws have passed across the country, including in major cities like Los Angeles and El Paso.
As we reported earlier this month, the city of Delray Beach in Florida is now considering legislation that would completely ban the selling of dogs and cats in pet stores. The big sticking point in the Delray Beach ordinance is whether stores would still be allowed to sell rescued dogs from shelters.
The doggie in the window or under the Christmas tree may be an iconic American tradition, but it’s clear that people are taking a hard, serious look at that tradition. Phoenix isn’t the first city to change how stores sell pets, and they most likely won’t be the last.
More on Puppy Mills and Pet Stores:
Via AZCentral (Caution: Autoplay video.)
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Nova Scotia’s songbird wishes a proposed wind farm in Gulf Shore would just fly away.
Singer Anne Murray, who has a summer home in the area, is joining other residents in opposing the construction by Atlantic Wind Power Corp. of 20 to 27 100-metre-high wind turbines in the province’s northwest corner.
“I just think it’s too close. It’s in all our backyards,” said Murray, who grew up in nearby Springhill.
“I think wind power is a good thing, and I am all for them when they’re in the right place. I don’t believe these ones are in the right place.”
The project is presently undergoing an environmental assessment. Depending on how that goes, construction could begin in 2009.
Area residents have been fighting the project since it was first proposed and urged Cumberland County to set the distance between the turbines and their properties at a minimum of two kilometres. Instead, the municipality passed a bylaw setting the distance at the greater of three times the height of the turbine, or 500 metres.
Company president Charles Demond has said a two-kilometre setback would kill the project.
Murray feels the concerns being raised by the Gulf Shore Association and area residents aren’t being taken seriously. She believes there are too many unanswered questions surrounding the placement of turbines close to homes, including the effects of noise, vibration and shadow flicker.
“Some people think this is just a bunch of hysterical people opposed to change, but nothing could be farther from the truth,” she said. “These people are in favour of wind power, but the bylaw passed by the county doesn’t set the distance far enough between their homes and these turbines.
“I’m all for progress and I’m all for change, but not this close.”
Murray said she’s also not opposed to using her celebrity to help project opponents because she feels this wind farm will have a “catastrophic” impact on Pugwash and the Gulf Shore area.
By Darrell Cole
The Canadian Press
The Amherst News
4 July 2007
|Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Funding
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Feb 20: Trinity Forum, Alienated America
Join the Trinity Forum and Pepperdine University School of Public Policy's American Project for an Evening Conversation on "Alienated America" with journalist and author Tim Carney on the release of his new book, Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse , with a response from Anne Snyder. This fascinating discussion will delve into the ways in which our social fabric is increasingly riven not only by economic strains, but the weakening of the moral, religious, and social institutions that helped form and reform individual and civic character—and engage the possibilities for re-energizing the organizations and institutions that help form character, instill hope, and reweave our civic Fabric.
Join us on Wednesday, February 20, 2019, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (EST), at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, for this not-to-be-missed conversation! Our program will begin with light appetizers and drinks at 6:30 p.m., followed by remarks and audience questions.
This event is held in partnership with the Trinity Forum as part of their continuing series on the "Moral Sense in Politics and Policy."
About the "Moral Sense" Speakers Series: For the past seven years, the Pepperdine School of Public Policy has collaborated with Washington, DC's Trinity Forum in hosting twice-annual speaking events that look at the intersection of virtue and public policy. The phrase, "moral sense" is borrowed from one of the SPP founders—the late Dr. James Q. Wilson—who felt that effective public leadership demanded a more humanistic approach based in a rigorous liberal arts education.
Pepperdine alumni can register for free by emailing firstname.lastname@example.org.
Non-Pepperdine guests, please register here .
This event is held in partnership with the School of Public Policy's American Project, which is exploring the future of conservative thought and policy on issues ranging from religious liberty to foreign affairs.
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Freshmeat page: http://freshmeat.net/projects/aspseek/
ASPSeek is a web search engine, written in C++. It consists of an indexing robot, a search daemon, and a search frontend (CGI or Apache module). ASPseek uses a mix of SQL tables and binary files as a storage. It can index as many as a few million URLs and search for words and phrases, use wildcards, and do a Boolean search. Search results can be limited to time period given, site or Web space (set of sites) and sorted by relevance (PageRanks are used) or date.
ASPSeek is optimized for multiple sites (threaded index, async DNS lookups, grouping results by site, Web spaces), but can be used for searching one site as well. ASPSeek can work with multiple languages/encodings at once (including multibyte encodings such as Chinese) due to Unicode storage mode.
Other features include stopwords and ispell support, a charset and language guesser, HTML templates for search results, excerpts, and query words highlighting.
Full set of documentation is included.
This project has the following developers:
New HTML Parser: The long-awaited libxml2 based HTML parser code is live. It needs further work but already handles most markup better than the original parser.
Keep up with the latest Advogato features by reading the Advogato status blog.
If you're a C programmer with some spare time, take a look at the mod_virgule project page and help us with one of the tasks on the ToDo list!
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Patricia Osseweijer (1958) has a PhD in science communication and a masters degree in molecular biology. In 1999 she was appointed Managing Director of the Department of Biotechnology and Executive Secretary for the Research School Biotechnological Sciences Delft Leiden at the Delft University of Technology. She initiated a new research and education group on society issues in biotechnology which led to the establishment of the Section Biotechnology and Society. She has organised many international workshops and courses in this field such as the international “Advanced Workshop on Bioethics and Public Perceptions of Biotechnology” in Oxford recently for the seventh occasion. Since 2002 Patricia is appointed Managing Director of the Kluyver Centre for Genomics of Industrial Fermentation. She developed its Genomics and Society Programme and became Programme Leader responsible for the coordination of the societal research projects in several universities and for the collaboration with the Netherlands Centre for Society and Genomics. She launched a successful science communication project for secondary schools for which she established the “Imagine” Life Sciences Foundation in 2005. In 2006 she received the Netherlands Biotechnology Society education award for this project which was also nominated for the 2006 EU Descartes Prize for Science Communication. Her research interests focus on the role of scientists in public interaction, public opinion forming, novel forms of public communication and ethics. She has published over thirty-five articles, reports and papers and delivered more than forty invited presentations. She has contributed to several national debates, radio interviews, newspaper articles and television presentations.
Scientific publications (selection)
- Jacobs, J. F., I. Van de Poel, and P. Osseweijer. 2014. Clarifying the debate on selection methods for engineering: Arrow's impossibility theorem, design performances, and information basis. Research in Engineering Design 25: 3-10.
- Jacobs, Johannes. F., Ibo Van de Poel, and Patrica Osseweijer. 2010. Sunscreens with titanium dioxide (TiO2) nano-particles. A societal experiment. Nanoethics 4:103-113. available online
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In case you obtain Social Safety Incapacity Insurance coverage (SSDI), you’ve in all probability anxious sooner or later about dropping advantages. In any case, the appliance course of is notoriously lengthy and cumbersome. In case you’re nearing retirement age, these fears could turn out to be extra pronounced. So what precisely occurs to your SSDI while you attain retirement age?
The excellent news is that you just received’t lose these month-to-month checks. Learn on to be taught what occurs to Social Safety incapacity while you retire.
How Social Safety Incapacity Advantages Work
To qualify for Social Safety Incapacity Insurance coverage (SSDI), you need to have an sickness or impairment that severely impacts your potential to work. You’ll additionally want to offer proof that your incapacity is both anticipated to final for no less than a 12 months or lead to your dying.
Basically, SSDI advantages observe an analogous system because the one used for Social Safety retirement advantages. Whether or not you’re receiving incapacity or retirement advantages, Social Safety makes use of your earnings file to reach at what’s generally known as your major insurance coverage quantity. (In Social Safety jargon, “major insurance coverage quantity” means 100% of your retirement profit.) Retirement advantages are calculated utilizing your highest 35 years of earnings. Incapacity advantages are based mostly in your common earnings earlier than you grew to become unable to work.
In a nutshell, Social Safety calculates your incapacity profit as when you’d reached full retirement age. That’s while you get your major insurance coverage quantity, or 100% of your profit. For anybody born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is 67. However bear in mind: In case you meet Social Safety’s strict definition of disabled, it’s as when you’re already at full retirement age. So let’s say you turn out to be disabled at 55. Social Safety would nonetheless provide the profit you’d usually get at full retirement age.
Although you get your full Social Safety profit while you’re authorised for incapacity, the typical SSDI profit is about 21% decrease than the typical retirement profit. The rationale? Your earnings are likely to rise over time, so disabled employees usually miss out on these higher-earning years.
Most SSDI recipients are eligible for Medicare 24 months after they qualify for incapacity advantages.
What Occurs to SSDI When You Attain Retirement Age?
Whenever you attain full retirement age — which is 66 or 67, relying on while you have been born — your incapacity profit will robotically convert to your retirement advantages. Because you’re already getting your full retirement profit, sometimes your month-to-month checks can be for a similar quantity.
However lots of people take retirement advantages lengthy earlier than their full retirement age. You’re eligible for Social Safety retirement advantages as early as age 62, although you get a lowered quantity.
In case you’re getting incapacity advantages while you turn out to be eligible for retirement advantages, it in all probability received’t make sense to start out retirement advantages early. Since you’re already getting your full profit, your month-to-month checks would shrink. For instance, when you switched to retirement advantages proper at age 62, your advantages could be about 30% decrease.
However when you take Social Safety early after which turn out to be disabled, you possibly can turn out to be eligible for a better incapacity profit. Suppose you begin advantages at 62 however proceed working whereas gathering Social Safety. Then you definitely turn out to be in poor health at age 64. In case your incapacity declare is authorised, your profit would enhance to your full retirement profit.
As a result of the method of getting authorised for SSDI is commonly so lengthy, many employees who turn out to be disabled will take Social Safety early. Then, if their incapacity declare is authorised, they’ll swap to the upper quantity. Be cautious about pursuing this technique, although. In case your declare is denied, you’ll should reside off of a completely lowered profit. It’s a good suggestion to speak to a Social Safety legal professional earlier than you proceed.
Can You Gather SSDI and Social Safety on the Similar Time?
No. Social Safety offers you whichever is increased: your incapacity profit or your retirement profit, however not each. More often than not, these two advantages would be the identical. However there are just a few circumstances the place one profit could possibly be increased than the opposite.
For instance, when you obtain employee’s compensation, you’ll usually qualify for much less cash from SSDI. In that case, you possibly can anticipate to obtain extra out of your retirement profit.
Can You Enhance Your Social Safety Profit When You Attain Retirement Age?
When you attain full retirement age and also you’re receiving Social Safety advantages, you may droop your profit to get a bigger quantity later. This is applicable whether or not you have been already receiving advantages or in case your SSDI transformed to retirement advantages. You’ll earn 8% retirement credit for every year you delay. Then your profit will max out at age 70.
Suppose you’re receiving month-to-month incapacity funds of $2,000 per thirty days and also you flip 67, your full retirement age. You resolve you may afford to go one 12 months with out advantages in change for bigger checks for the remainder of your life. You name Social Safety and voluntarily droop your profit. Whenever you reinstate your advantages one 12 months later, you’d get $2,160 a month, plus any cost-of-living adjustment. You’d have the identical possibility when you’re already taking retirement advantages.
When you attain full retirement age, the principles about working get much more versatile. In case your situation improves and also you turn out to be capable of work, you received’t face the stringent earnings limits that apply to SSDI advantages.
Social Safety additionally received’t withhold a portion of your retirement advantages when you work previous full retirement age.
The underside line is that your Social Safety profit will swap from incapacity to retirement while you attain full retirement age. Likelihood is, this can be a non-event for you. Your examine quantity will keep the identical, and also you received’t be any higher or worse off from it.
Robin Hartill is a licensed monetary planner and a senior author at The Penny Hoarder. She writes the Pricey Penny private finance recommendation column. Ship your tough cash inquiries to [email protected]
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As part of Tullow Ghana Limited’s (TGL) continued commitment towards oil spill and emergency response preparedness, an annual exercise was conducted over a four day period from 6th – 9th November, 2015. The aim of the exercise was to test all functions of the TGL Incident Management System.
The exercise scenario was centred on an incident that occurred during drilling operations on board the Seadrill West Leo, located in TGL’s TEN field. The incident, as well as causing large scale damage to the rig, also resulted in an uncontrolled loss of oil due to multiple events including a direct failure of the rig’s Emergency Shutdown system
All offshore oil spill response planning and coordination was completed ahead of the exercise. Oil Spill Response Limited’s (OSRL) West and Central African (WACAF) aircraft was relocated to the Takoradi Air Force Base on the eve of the exercise and dispersant spray tank loaded with 1m3 of fresh water.
On the morning of Friday 6th November, ahead of the start of the exercise, a flight safety brief was conducted between Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen (NHV Rotary Wing), TGL Aviation Team and the WACAF air crew. The safety brief covered all operational schedules such as flight altitude, flight times, exercise location and safe aircraft separation.
To be able to test response in case of an incident, all equipments were deployed in real time. On receiving instruction from the TGL Incident Management Team (IMT) in Accra, the WACAF aircraft transited from Takoradi Air Force Base at 5000ft to the TEN Field before descending to 500ft at 130 knots to pre-determined coordinates approximately two miles NNE of the West Leo drilling rig.
The location of the release had been identified using data received from oil spill response tracking buoys that had been deployed by TGL EHS Security and Oil Spill Response vessels located in the field. Once on location, the WACAF aircraft conducted several aerial surveillance sorties in a parallel track search pattern originating from the rig location and moving along the current / wind corridor in a NNE direction. The aircraft then dropped to the required height of 50ft and commenced the first of four spray runs along the same corridor indentified to the West of the Field. After each spray run the WACAF aircraft would climb to 500ft and fly in a box pattern before descending back to 50ft for the next spray run. Once the 4th spray was completed, the WACAF aircraft the returned to Takoradi Air Force base for debrief.
The offshore exercise was considered extremely successful. The WACAF aircrew performed all tasks in a highly professional manner achieving all exercise objectives safely without issue and therefore clearly demonstrating the capabilities and effectiveness of the WACAF Tier 2 Service.
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Did you know that today at least 1% of the planet is overheated, which makes them uninhabitable and that by 2070, that percentage will rise to 19%, forcing more and more people to displace, inside or outside the country?
Also, how many of you know that the effects of climate change, according to recent forecast models, will lead more than 143 million people in Africa, Asia and Latin America to become environmental migrants by 2050? So how can we improve our information, awareness and resilience to the new waves of environmental migrants?
Athens Comics Library in collaboration with dutch organization Drawing the Times and Comicdom Con Athens are organizing four 2-hour comics journalism workshops in the framework of the Climate of Change program, in collaboration with ActionAid, to discuss, reflect and, above all, envision the future of our planet and the people who inhabit it. With comics as a vehicle for change we will research facts, we will collect and compose information and then we will tell our own stories.
Thursday, April 14
- Comics and journalism: an introduction
- Field work in pairs
- Interviews methodology
Friday, April 15
- What is journalism with comics?
- What is climate migration?
- Field work in the city
Saturday, April 16
- Storytelling Exercises
Sunday, April 17
- Create your own comic
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HOBART, March 13, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A private member's bill that proposes complete decriminalization of abortion in the Australian state of Tasmania has been condemned by critics as a draconian measure that would violate Tasmanians’ human rights. The bill also imposes severe penalties for conscience objection by health professionals and even public protest against abortion.
“This isn’t about women’s access to abortion,” said Mishka Gora of the pro-life group Human Rights for the Unborn – Tasmania, a new umbrella organization created in response to the draft Reproductive Health (Access to Terminations) Bill 2013 tabled on March 8 by Tasmania's health minister Michelle O'Byrne.
“Abortion was legalized in Tasmania in 2001, right up until birth. This legislation introduces a number of draconian laws that severely restrict the right of conscientious objection and freedom of speech. It also discriminates in favour of and against certain groups,” Gora said.
The proposed legislation places a “duty to treat” on doctors and nurses if a pregnant woman is deemed to be at risk of serious injury. (Sec 6-3)
Click “like” if you are PRO-LIFE!
“This means that doctors who believe it is best to treat the symptoms arising from pregnancy or to terminate the pregnancy via caesarean section or induction rather than an abortion would be forced to directly destroy a human embryo or foetus against their conscience and better judgment. It also means that Catholic hospitals will be required to offer abortion as a treatment option,” Gora wrote in an article published by MercatorNet.
The bill mandates that doctors and counselling services who have a conscientious objection to abortion will have to refer women to a doctor/counsellor who does not have a conscientious objection. The proposed penalty for non-compliance is up “500 penalty units,” or A$65,000. (Sec 7)
“If this bill passes, a part-time volunteer counsellor for an organization supporting pregnant women could be jailed for a year and fined up to A$65,000 if she refuses to refer a woman to a place where she can get an abortion,” Gora said
“Overnight, all agencies which disagree with abortion will be forced to shut down.”
The proposed Bill also imposes a 300-metre-wide exclusion zone around abortion centers, prohibiting a range of activities that include peaceful protests, church rallies, and even street photography.
The exclusion zone around Hobart's CDB abortion clinic includes four major thoroughfares, St Joseph’s Catholic Church and the Anglican cathedral. In Launceston, the other major city in Tasmania, the exclusion zone includes part of a Catholic hospital and a major park.
“A priest preaching against abortion in his own church, or participants in a prayer vigil, or someone wearing a pro-life T-shirt while walking through the city, or a photographer taking candid shots of street life could all be arrested,” Gora said.
Of great concern to critics of the proposed legislation is the Green-Labor Coalition government's allowance of only two weeks for public input on the Bill.
The Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services has invited written comments on the draft legislation, but all responses must be received by 5:00pm Friday, March 22, 2013.
Liberal MP Jeremy Rockliff said the Bill and the short time allowance for public input is a smokescreen put up by the state government to hide its mishandling of the economy.
“The distraction of even the abortion legislation today – of course we'll make a contribution to that and a very considered one, and passionate debates of all sides when it comes to these matter of conscience vote,” he said according to ABC News. “But really the government needs to wake up.”
“Abortion has effectively been legal in Australian states for more than 40 years, although it has remained in the criminal code. The number of prosecutions in all that time can be counted on one hand. So why the sudden enthusiasm for decriminalization?” asked Ms Gora.
“Because the real aim of the Labor-Green coalition which is running Tasmania is to criminalize abortion dissent. With only two weeks for the public to respond, the Health Minister, Michelle O’Byrne, has drafted what may be most draconian abortion law anywhere,” Gora said.
“The neighbouring state of Victoria decriminalized abortion in 2008. Ms O’Byrne says that this is the model for her bill. But the Victorian bill contains no penalties for conscientious objectors; the Tasmanian bill does. The Victorian bill doesn’t mention counsellors; the Tasmanian bill threatens counsellors with jail. The Victorian bill doesn’t mention protests; the Tasmanian bill threatens protesters with jail,” she said.
The full text of the proposed Reproductive Health (Access to Terminations) Bill 2013 is available here.
Human Rights for the Unborn – Tasmania has launched a Facebook page with information about the proposed abortion legislation and actions that can be undertaken to oppose it.
Information on commenting procedure is available of the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services website.
Comments on the draft Bill must be in writing and emailed to [email protected] or posted to Population Health Equity, GPO Box 125 Hobart, TAS, 7001. All responses must be received by 5:00pm Friday 22 March 2013.
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Intersections: History and New Media
Viewing History at the Intersection of Past and Future
Robert B. Townsend, May 2009
For more than a century now the AHA has been struggling to present new methods and new media to bring fresh vitality to the presentation of history. In one of the first multimedia presentations at an AHA meeting (back in 1909), the history teaching specialist Henry Johnson (at Teachers College, Columbia) presented an exhibition of “aids to visualization of history consisting of lay figures, models, casts, utensils, weapons, coats of arms, and other objects of various kinds as well as pictures, maps, stereoscopic views, lantern slides, etc.”
Johnson’s goal at the time was to get the profession to dispense with the standard teaching method of the day—rote memorization from a book and “recitation” of facts from memory. But the new media and methods of the early 20th century only slowly displaced the older practices of teaching. Some in the profession dismissed such tools as having little pedagogical value, and as a result, the recitation method was still heavily used well into the 1930s.
We seem to be at a similar moment today, with new technologies capable of extending the way we present history not just in the classroom, but also to a much larger audience in the general public. But as the example of Henry Johnson suggests, change often comes at its own pace, as new habits and methods of teaching and presentation are developed and prove their worth over time.
This issue of Perspectives on History takes stock of one of these transition points while it is still in process. The essays consider how the new media of the internet are changing the practice of history in our capacities as scholars, teachers, and general disseminators of knowledge of the past to the general public.
This special issue had its origins in a workshop held at the Association’s January 2008 meeting on the theme, “The Intersection between Teaching and Research in the New Media.” That workshop set about exploring some of the questions and challenges that the digital environment presents for historians in their roles as teachers and researchers—providing an opportunity to discuss some of the practical ways of addressing some of these challenges and demonstrating some of the new tools being created in the field. We offer them here, revised, expanded and with some supplementary pieces, to expand the discussion about how these might serve the profession and how we might develop additional tools to address the new challenges we face.
The new digital media becoming available raise fresh questions about how we as historians approach our work as teachers and scholars. As the articles in this special issue suggest, interactivity allows us to reach a wider audience as scholars and work with students in new ways as teachers. But it also tends to blur settled boundaries between epistemology and practice, and between traditional lines between research and teaching. To get a better handle on the issues involved, we have clustered the essays that follow into three primary sections about theories of practice, the practice of theory, and making it all work in the classroom.
We start with four essays that weigh some of the larger questions about where new media fits into the work of our discipline. Stefan Tanaka, Jan Reiff, Tim Grove, and E. Thomas Ewing address these questions from the perspectives of historians bridging the traditional divide between historical research and audience. The next two essays, by John McClymer and David Jaffee, approach many of the same questions from a more specifically pedagogical perspective.
These essays explore the way history research work—whether done in the setting of a university or a museum—can be brought to a larger audience—or as E. Thomas Ewing suggests, how following research questions in the digital environment can “produce new materials easily integrated into classroom teaching.”
Read together, these essays demonstrate that new media projects open up a number of our seemingly settled research habits, particularly the need for close collaboration with other scholars and other technical specialists—a habit that does not come easily to the solitary habits of research in our discipline. But they also demonstrate that the results of such work can provide new ways of seeing the past, and sharing it with a larger audience. These articles set up many of the questions in the essays that follow.
The next set of articles focuses on particular technologies, and specific projects, raising more practical questions about how digital media changes historical practices. Douglas Seefeldt and William Thomas offer a broad survey of recent work in this area, while Kathryn Kish Sklar and Thomas Dublin talk in detail about the process of building one of these projects (on women’s history) from the ground up. Jeffrey Wasserstrom and Kevin Sheets follow up with essays on some of the newer Web 2.0 technologies (focusing on blogs and wikis, respectively).
A common theme in these essays (as well as those in the section that follows) is the way historians perceive an area of need that can be solved by the technology, and the effort—either by developing a larger collaborative project or by taking advantage of newly available software—to create projects to address those needs.
A recurring question throughout these essays is just how “democratic” history can be—how much freedom scholars or teachers in the discipline are willing to confer on the general public or students in the practice of history. This poses the challenge of deciding how much latitude we can afford to give to those without our expertise to work with the source materials of history, and what that does to the traditional authority of the scholar and teacher. This forum will not settle that question, as the authors here come out on different sides of that issue.
But as Roy Rosenzweig observed a few years ago, “Thus far we have done much better at democratizing access to resources than at providing the kind of instruction that would give meaning to those resources.”1 The essays in the next section try to address how this shift in authority and meaning actually plays out in classroom settings.
Trudi Abel and Lisa Rosner discuss two small-scale projects to produce new tools for their classrooms, and how these might serve a pedagogical purpose. We then turn to a series of essays offering different perspectives on the use of one particular tool—The History Engine developed at the University of Richmond—to present history scholarship in the classroom. The three essays in this section (by Andrew J. Torget with Scott Nesbit; Lloyd Benson, Julian Chambliss, Jamie Martinez, Kathryn Tomasek, and Jim Tuten; and Kathryn S. Meier and Rachel Shapiro) written from the viewpoints of designers and teachers at a wide range of institutions, emphasize the challenges of developing such materials, the collaborative nature of such projects, and the benefits for teachers and students of integrating such materials into the history classroom.
The final essay in this section speaks to the integration of new media into the very different setting of graduate instruction, as Dan Cohen discusses the development of the first doctoral program with a new media component at George Mason University.
In an elegiac coda, Steven Mintz concludes the discussion with a remembrance for Roy Rosenzweig, who was to serve as the keynote speaker for the workshop. He saw the future for history and new media, back when many of us were still struggling to grasp the present, and as a number of the essays indicate, he left a lasting legacy for all who work in this area.
We hope that this tour of the horizon of the discipline’s efforts in the medium will provide added perspective and a sense of the possibilities for the future. J. Franklin Jameson, the first editor of the AHR and one of the leading lights of the Association back in its earliest days, often spoke favorably of the need “to make the publication of materials as much an object of the historical scholar’s care as the publication of results.”2
Digital materials raise important questions about how one evaluates the results of their use and development—a particularly important question for the assistant professor coming up for tenure or the associate professor seeking promotion. As these essays attempt to show, the development of new media materials in history represent a significant original contribution to the discipline and the profession, and as such, needs to be given fair and due consideration, especially in this pioneering stage for the field.
—Robert Townsend is the AHA’s assistant director for research and publications. He places himself at the intersection between history and new media not just by professional necessity, but more, like many other historians today, by personal choice.
1. Roy Rosenzweig, “Digital Archives Are a Gift of Wisdom to Be Used Wisely,” Chronicle of Higher Education 51 (June 24, 2005), B20; also available online at http://chnm.gmu.edu/resources/essays/d/32.
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The eleventh of December 2015 was very auspicious indeed as it marked the ‘Karthika Ammavasya’ which is very propitious for Bhagavatas. One of the proponents of Bhajana Sampradaya, Sri Sridhara Ayyaval Swamigal, out of his divine grace and compassion, made the river Ganges flow down to the south. River Ganges by flowing in the well of Sri Sridhara Ayyaval Swamigal’s home blessed the whole Bhagavata community. On the Shardha day of his ancestors, he fed a wayfarer with the food that was prepared for the Shardha and the brahmanas which in turn angered the Brahmanas and they failed to perform the Shardha. The divine lordships, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva themselves partook the offerings of the Shardha. The brahmanas were still displeased that Sri Sridhara had committed a mistake (apachara), and wanted him to undergo expiation by taking a dip in river Ganges. Sri Sridhara Ayyaval, composed Gangastakam, which consists of eight verses invoking river Ganges. He spoke to the Brahmanas with all humility as compassionate souls, who out of their mercy have asked them to do a repentance and expiation (prayaschitta) by taking a dip in river Ganges. The beauty of Gangashtakam is that he puts himself in a lowly state. In the first verse, he says , ‘I have been chanting the divine names of Lord Shiva, and the result of Shiva nama is showing itself”. This is in accordance with Bhagavata Dharma that when one chants the divine names, he first experiences a transition within himself.
Evam vratah sva priya nAma kIrtyA jAtAnurAgo drutha cittha uccaiḥ
hasaty atho roditI rauti gAyaty unmAda van nṛutyati loka bAhyaḥ
kham vAyum agnim salilam mahIm cha jyotImsi sattvAni disO drumAdIn
sarits amudrAms cha hareḥ sarIram yat kim cha bhUtam praṇamed ananyaḥ [Srimad Bhagavatam 11.2.40-41]
When one chants the divine name, he starts to experience a transformation within himself ‘jAtAnurAgo drutha cittha uccaiḥ’. The bhakti [Anuragam]will begin to spring in one’s heart, which will exhibit through the senses, where one will sing in joy and dance in ecstasy. This is the first step and as the bhakti progresses, one will perceive Lord in the entire world. Sri Ayyaval says that with his incessant chanting of Lord Shiva’s divine names, he can only see Lord Shiva everywhere. He says that he saw Lord Shiva in the beggar and so he offered the prasad, and so he asks ‘Is there anything wrong in what I did?
shambO bhavan nAma nirantha rAnu santhAna bhAgyena bhavantha meva |
yadhEva sarvathra thathAnthyajEdhya pashyanthyahO kOthra kruthOparAgaha ||
He then says in the second verse that the best atonement for any transgression with respect to the ShrAddha ceremony is taking a dip in river Ganges, however by merely chanting ‘Gange’ the sins are absolved . He sadly says that no one believes that chanting the divine names and simply proclaim it as ‘ArthavAdha’. He then asks if he cannot take this recourse in this situation?
asthvEsha manthuhu pithru yagna nishtE gangAplavO yO vihithOpachithyaihi |
dhoorAthu thannAma japEna shuddihi na syadhu katham mae smrithi artha vAdhaha ||
He ponders within himself and thinks may be he doesn’t believe in Nama Sankirtan. He compares himself to Trisanku. He says that if I had strong belief and conviction in Lord’s names, then I don’t have to pay heed to people who say Nama is Arthavadham. He wishes to have that strong conviction in Bhagavan Nama and not caught in the midst of all rights and rituals. This precept is again mentioned in Bhagavatha Dharma by Karabhajanar. In Krishnakarnamrutham, Sri Leela Sukar also proclaims this beautiful precept – ‘SandhyAvandhana badram asthu bhavathE’ where he says that since he has tight grip on the lord’s divine names, there is absolutely no need to catch hold onto any other karma.
Sri Ayyaval in his third verse ponders as to whether he has strong faith on Nama but for which he is getting caught in the Karma and questions to how he will be alleviate himself from the thrisanku swarga?
thvan nAma nishtA na hi thAvathO me shaddhA yathaha karmasu na pradhagdhA |
thrI shangavam mae pashu pantha rAyaha muchyeya thasmAth katham Artha bandhO ||
He then looks compassionately at the Brahamanas and surrendered unto Lord Shiva and said that it may be your wish that the Shraddha should not take place and so be. But what about the Brahmanas who are fasting since yesterday and that they will not partake food anywhere else today. Sri Ayyaval calls the Brahamanas as Sharahalus and Dayalus and if the Sharddha doesn’t take place, it will be an apachara for not serving them food.
yadhadhya the shrAdhva vinashtirishtA kOham thathOn yachharithum samarthaha .
shArdhe vruthaha poorva dhinO pavAsAhA nAn yathra bhunji yuhu yidham thu kidhyE ||
Bhagavatam says -‘yatra dandena shudhyathi‘ . He hails the Brahmanas as Dayalus who want him to undergo the expiation in order to be purified.
shrAdhvAlavaha shrAdha vIgAtha bIthvA svAthmOparOgam vignayya dhIraha |
Yath prochu rathrapachitham mahanthaha thathrochitham yadhyayA videhI ||
Sri Ayyaval then looks at himself and says, ‘Oh Siva, all I know is to chant your name – Gangadahara’. He says he doesn’t even go to Kaveri river to take bath because as soon I set out, I get entangled in worldly thoughts and I stop chanting the divine names. That is verily why I take bath in my own well (koopa). When I don’t even know Kaveri, how can I know Ganges.
gangAdhara tvad bhajanAntharAya bithvA gruhE koopa kruthavagAha |
jAnena na thirthAntharam adhya gangAyAm aAsAdhayEyam katham Artha bandhO ||
I am not a Tapsvi like Sagara or Bhagiratha who prayed for Ganges to come. I also don’t know who Jahnu is. Jahnu was the great sage who drank Ganges and spit it out of his ears and Ganges became Jahnavi. I am not Brahma who can ordain you to release Ganges from your matted hair and lo the ganges flow down to the earth.
nAham thapasvi sagaranva vAyaha jAnena na jahanuhu charathi kvavEthi |
shambhO jatAjOta mapAvru nushvaethyamyarthane nAlamayam varAkaha ||
I am a normal being and Oh Shiva, your divine name Gangadhara is my only refuge and I am extremely confident that it will absolve my worldly problems. As he kept on chanting ‘Gangadhara Gangadhara Gangadhara’, he saw Ganges coming in his own well. Oh Lo! Look at Ganges who out of her compassion flows in the well. Akin to Gajendra, Sri Ayyaval prays for the prosperity for the entire mankind.
gangAdharAkyA gathirathra nanyA thAmAshrayE sangkata-mOchanAya |
hantha pravAhaha katham athra koopae vispoorjathIshaha kalu the prasannaha ||
As he kept on chanting ‘Gange Gange’, he was not inundated by the waters, but flooded in Lord’s compassion. The water of the Ganges has flooded the well and flowing out and he asked for a boon for Ganges to remain there in the well forever and thus be a solace for the posterity and all the Bhagavatas who come to take a bath in this well on the auspicious day of Karthika Ammavasya.
gangEthi gangEthi harathi grunhan aAplAvithOham dayayA porArehe |
kupOthi thOyam karunA prahavAhaha gangAshvi rAyAthra janAn punAthu ||
Sri Ayyaval was verily Srikantam (Lord Shiva); ‘Srikantam iva bhAshvantham shiva nama parayanam shreyase gurum ashraye‘ .
Sri Narayananji from Boston continued with his beautiful exposition of Govardhana Leela. The beauty of the lord being crowned with the beautiful name ‘Govinda’ , verily shows the compassion of Lord Krishna – ‘rakshisyati iti vishwasaha’ and ‘gothrupthva varanam’. 6 different precepts of Sharanagathi are completely seen in Gopas and Gopis. They surrendered unto the lord, when they were trembling in cold (seedarthaha) and wanted protection from that and surrendered unto Krishna as Govinda.
‘gopah gopyascha seedharthaha govindam sharanam ayuhu ‘
They had all the lakshanas of Sharanagathi. They had Krishna as the only refugee and were completely confident that he will protect them. The lord witnessed this and immediately lifted the mountain in order to protect them.
tasmAn mach charaṇam goshtam man nAtham math parigraham
gopAye svAtma yogena so yam mE vrata Ahitah [Srimad Bhagavatam 10.25.15]
The lord ordained the residents of Gokula to prepare different kind of rice items, dishes with dals, payasam, savories from rice flour (murrukku), appam. The lord being ‘akila kaladi gurunanartha’, is very conversant in cooking and he himself gave the menu for Govindha Pooja
tasmAd gavAm brAhmaṇAnAm adrEs chArabhyatAm makhah
ya indra yAga sambhArAs tair ayam sAdhyatAm makhah
pachyantAm vividhAh pAkAh sUpAntAh pAyasAdayah
SamyAvApUpa shashkulyah sarva dohas cha gruhyatAm [[Srimad Bhagavatam 10.24.25-26]
Sri Vallabhacharya analyzes this phrase ‘sUpAntAh pAyasAdayah’ that the lord ordained them to begin with payasam and end with dishes made with dhal items. The lord not only gives advice on what dishes to prepare but also how to prepare them. The reason the lord gives instructions to first make payasam is that it takes a long time for it be prepared and to make dhal related items at the end. This bhava is just a sample to demonstrated that the lord is indeed a connoisseur of culinary art. This can be viewed in another way. One needs to first cook dishes that has to be offered to Devas and Bhagavan and secondly cook food-items that has to be offered to Sadhus and finally make dishes that can be served for the common man.
Then the lord ordains the Gopas to circumambulate the Govardhana hill and offer all the offerings to the hill.
tasmai namO vraja janaih saha chakra AtmanAtmane
ahO pashyata sailOsau rUpI no anugraham vyadhAt [Srimad Bhagavatam 10.24.36]
Suddenly Lord Krishna took the unprecedented form of a big mountain and partook all the food offerings.
krishnas tva anyatamam rUpam gopa vishrambhanam gatah
sailo smIti bhruvan bhUri balim Adad bruhad vapuh [Srimad Bhagavatam 10.24.35]
The Gopas and Gopis totally believed that it was indeed the mountain who is eating the food and joyfully offered all the food items. Meanwhile, Lord Indra who was waiting for his share of food-items became furious ordered heavy rains to pour down in Gokula. Everyone took refuge in Krishna and he protected them by lifting the Govardhana mountain. He assured them by saying ‘mA baihI’. The lord took care of all of them and no one felt any pain anymore. It rained heavily for seven days. After the rains stopped, the lord kept back the mountain in the same place.
bhagavAn api tam sailam sva sthAnE pUrva vat prabhuh
pashyatAm sarva bhUtAnAm sthApayAm Asa lIlayA [Srimad Bhagavatam 10.25.28]
It was indeed lord’s divine play not only when he lifted the mountain but also when he placed it back . Everyone went back home happily not because they were not drenched in the rain or for Krishna protecting them but they now had another leela of the lord to reminisce all their lives.
tato nuraktaih pashupaih parishritO rAjan sva goshtam sa balo vvrajad dhariḥ
tathA vidhAny asya krutAni gopikA gAyantya Iyur muditA hṛudi-sprusaH [Srimad Bhagavatam 10.25.33]
Everyone in Gokula was truly happy because they could now fondly call the lord as ‘Giridhari’ and ‘Govinda Giridhari’. They could perceive Radha Devi’s friend Chamapakalatha coming down as Meera Bhai and singing the divine glories of the lord as Giridhari.
Everyone in Gokula were wonderstruck on the lord’s divine play of lifting the mountain. They started to reminisce the lord’s divine plays right from how he drank the poison and the life of Putana and all his other plays all the way to his naming ceremony. They fondly recollected how Garga named him ‘Krishna’ and called the verses from Garga as Garga Geetham.
yah sapta hAyano bAlah karenaikena lIlayA
katham bibhrad giri varam pushkaram gajarAd iva [Srimad Bhagavatam 10.26.3]
tokenAmIlitAkshena pUtanAyA mahaujasah
pItah stanah saha prAnaih kAleneva vayas tanoh [Srimad Bhagavatam 10.26.4]
iti nanda vacah shrutvA garga gItam tam vrajaukasah
muditA nandam Anarcuh krishnam cha gata vismayAh [Srimad Bhagavatam 10.26.16]
The residents of Gokula realized that the rains were sent by Indra and it is not a feat possible by normal mortals to lift the Govardhana mountain. They then started to perceive Krishna as a divine soul. Sage Suka does a beautiful Mangalasasanam on Lord Krishna as to how he culled the ego of Indra.
deve varshati yajna viplava rhushA vajrAsma varsAnilaih
sIdat pAla pashu striyAtma sharanam drishtvAnukampy utsmayan
utpAtyaika karena sailam abalo lIlocchilIndhram yathA
bibhrad goshtham apAn mahendra-mada-bhit prIyAn na indro gavAm [Srimad Bhagavatam 10.26.25]
All the Gopas and Gopis came and joyfully narrated the events to Nanda Baba and he acknowledged them and inturn mentioned that he knew all about it and reminisced what ever Garga had mentioned about Lord Krishna-‘narayana samO gunaih’ and Krishna’s naming ceremony events.
It was then the turn of Lord Indra to come down. He first sent Surabhi, the cow, ‘ Govardhane drithE sailE’ , who saw that the entire cowherd was protected by Krishna. Then Indra came down. Generally, Indra’s crown’s shines so brightfully akin to hundred sun-rays. The crown touched the holy feet of Lord Krishna as soon as it came in the divine contact of Lord Krishna’s feet, the crown indeed was blessed with Lord’s Tejas and hence began to glow like sunshine. Vedanta Desika goes a step forward and says that it was Paduka’s tejas that was imparted to Indra’s crown.
viviktha upasangamya vrIdItah kruta helanah
pasparsha pAdayor enam kirItenArka varchasA [Srimad Bhagavatam 10.27.2]
He came with his face covered due to shame. – ‘drushta shruthA nu bhAvOsya’
Until now, Indra had only heard about the glories of Lord Krishna. Now, whatever he had witnessed whatever he had seen and came to terms with the fact that Krishna is not a normal person ; ‘krishnasya amitha tejasaha’.
Indra was absolved of his ego that he was the ruler of the three worlds and fell at the feet of the lord and began to speak:
vIshuddha sattvam tava dhAma shAntam tapO mayam dhvasta rajas tamaskam
mAyA mayo ya guṇa sampravAho na vidyate te grahanAnubandhah [Srimad Bhagavatam 10.27.4]
Indra says to Krishna, ‘Oh Krishna, you never get angry because the two qualities ,rajas and thamas are verily the reasons for anger are completely bereft in you. ‘Poornam brahma sannadhanam’ has indeed taken a sattva guna and come down as Krishna. He also says that anger is related to Maya. You only punish at times to establish dharma. You don’t punish because of anger.’
When Indra showered the rains, Krishna could have immediately stripped off the power from Indra. The reason he didn’t do so was because, Indra was an epitome of Kriya and hence the lord had to do a Kriya in order to subdue Indra’s ego. The lord countered Indra directly to establish Bhagavata Dharma.
Indra then refers to the lord as Pitha (father), Guru and ruler of the entire earth and that take a form to punish. Here Indra refers to the Dashavataram .
The first Purusha avatar of the lord is considered as the father. Matsya avatar is the form of the lord where he is a Guru ‘paramO guruhu’. The other incarnations of the lord like Koorma and Varaha are indeed to protect the earth,’jagathathma dIshaha’. Narasimha and Vamana avatars of the lord are to punish and goes to the extent of killing Hiranyakashipu and punishing Bali.
The ten vitals of Lord Indra became his ten slokas in praise of the lord. The four Purusharthas and six divine qualities which he had possessed earlier and in-turn lost them due to his ego eventually became the ten slokas in praise of the lord.
yaE madh vidhAjnA jagad Isha mAninas tvAm vIkshaya kAle bhayam Asu tan madam
hithvArya mArgam prabhajanty apasmayA IhA khalAnAm api te anushAsanam [Srimad Bhagavatam 10.27.7]
Lord Indra said that it is my ego that the lord enacted this leela to subdue his ego. Indra did a retrospective analysis for the shoot up of his ego and verily attributed to his wealth (Aishwaryam).
sa tvam mamaIshvarya mada plutasya krutAgasas tE vidushah prabhAvam
kshantum prabhO thArhasi mUdha cEthasO maIvam punar bhUn matir Isha mE sathI [Srimad Bhagavatam 10.27.8]
Indra hails lord’s compassion to punish him in order to subdue his pride.
tavAvathAro yam adhokshajeha bhuvo bharAnAm uru bhAra janmanAm
chamu pathInAm abhavAya deva bhavAya yushmac charanAnuvartinAm [Srimad Bhagavatam 10.27.9]
The lord came down to remove the Asuras who were the burden on the earth. The lord prostrated to the lord and said that now being egotic, he was also a burden on the earth and instead of removing him, the lord removed his ego thus reducing the burden of the earth.
Indra finally apologized to the lord that out of his severe anger , pride and ignorance, he caused the entire destruction of entire Gokula. He then mentioned that the lord’s determination was greater than his pride and anger and corrected him thus vanquishing his pride.
Indra surrendered to the lord and beheld Krishna as Ishwara, Guru and Deivam.
The lord then replied tersely in four slokas to Indra’s stuthi. He imparted four precepts in the four slokas. He blessed Indra in the first sloka and in the second sloka he told Indra the reason for stopping Indra Yaga. He explained how Indra’s pride was nulled in the third sloka and in the fourth sloka the lord showers his grace on Indra.
The lord beautifully clarified that when he punishes someone it is not that he is angry with that person but only because of his compassion. He ordained Indra to go back and continue his work bereft of any pride. After Indra departed, Surabhi came and surrendered unto the lord and all of them did a beautiful Pattabhishekam . Surabhi brings her milk and baths Krishna in it, Airavatha brings Akasha Ganga and sprayed it on Krishna and everyone crowned Krishna with a beautiful name called ‘Govinda’. The lord was showered with different kinds of flowers, by different deities (Devas, Thumbaurus, Gandarvas, Kinaras, Siddhasm Charanas and Narada)
indrah surarsibhih sAkam chOditO deva mAtrubhih
abhyasinchata dAsArham govinda itI chAbhyadhAt [Srimad Bhagavatam 10.27.23]
The satsang concluded with prayers to Govindha to subdue all the pride which is the source of all sufferings in this mundane world and that he delivers us from the sufferings and bless us with Nama ruchi and bhakti.
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Releasing the soul: The death rituals of Pashupati
Story, video and photos by Amber Baesler, NewsNetNebraska
Pashupati is a sacred area in Kathmandu and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is well known for its ancient Hindu temples. It is also a place where many people in Nepal come for worship. Some come here to die.
Many people in Nepal are cremated on the banks of the Bagmati River, which runs through Pashupati. These public cremations can take up to four hours, using hay, butter and massive amounts of wood to keep the fire burning until the bodies of the deceased turn to ashes.
Many different rituals are a part of the funeral process. Each is designed to free the deceased’s spirit from the cycle of reincarnation.
In 2016, I spent three weeks documenting the different aspects of Pashupati’s cremations. Death is a shared part of the human condition. It is perceived differently across cultures, but it has the same emotional impact.
Click on the video below to learn more about Pashupati’s cremation rituals.
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Lady Pink’s crew named her Pink because she was one of the only graffiti writers on the scene at the time who was a woman—while she herself notes, “I titled myself Lady Pink because we were royalty.” She reflects, “I was a feminist before I even knew what the word was. … A lot of those female themes are in my work because early on I could see we haven’t reached equality.” She eventually founded the all-women graffiti crew, Ladies of the Arts.
During the late 1970s and the 1980s, the growing graffiti subculture in New York was the target of increased police surveillance and security, making Lady Pink’s successful missions to tag hard-to-access sites even more challenging and impressive. At the same time, graffiti artists’ renown grew within popular culture and the art world. In 1982, Lady Pink was featured in the film Wild Style, a fictionalized chronicle of the scene, also starring famed graffiti artists Fab 5 Freddy and Lee Quiñones. A year earlier, all three artists were part of the legendary New York/New Wave exhibition (MoMA P.S.1, New York) alongside artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Sarah Charlesworth, Keith Haring, Maripol, and Robert Mapplethorpe.
Lady Pink x Jenny Holzer
B6: The Robert W. Wilson Building, Fl 3
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, both Lady Pink and Jenny Holzer infiltrated public spaces in New York with their respective artworks: Lady Pink created large-scale graffiti murals, while Holzer anonymously pasted posters and applied stickers bearing thought-provoking texts. After meeting circa 1982, the artists collaborated on a series of paintings combining text by Holzer and imagery by Lady Pink. They have reunited for a new project at MASS MoCA. Much as Holzer’s Truisms and Inflammatory Essays represent a variety of perspectives and philosophies, the images in Lady Pink’s mural—from memento mori to characters rendered in a style reminiscent of mid-century comic books—reference a range of artistic idioms and histories.
Collaborative paintings by Holzer and Lady Pink have been shown at Tate Modern (London), Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), and the Albertina Modern (Vienna), and feature in public collections such as Museum of Modern Art (New York), Milwaukee Art Museum (Milwaukee), and Ludwig Museum (Budapest).
Lady Pink x ROOTS Teen Center
51 Ashland St., North Adams, MA
During the month (July 2022), Lady Pink is holding a series of workshops with local teens to design and install two new murals at the ROOTS Teen Center in downtown North Adams. ROOTS offers a safe, supervised space for teens to explore their community, develop their talents and skills, and have their voices heard. These murals—on view long-term on the exterior of ROOTS—visualize ideas and topics important to these young artists and creators.
This project is a collaboration between Lady Pink, ROOTS Teen Center, and MASS MoCA.
About the Artist
Lady Pink was born in Ecuador and raised in New York City. Her graffiti writing and murals have been seen in public spaces in cities including New York and Minneapolis. Her paintings are also in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Brooklyn Museum; the Museum of Fine Art, Boston; MoMA, New York; the Groninger Museum, Groningen, the Netherlands, and numerous other museums. Today, alongside continuing to create paintings, Lady Pink shares her years of experience with young people by holding mural workshops and lecturing to college students around the world. She resides in the countryside north of New York City.
Sarah Cascone interviewing Lady Pink, “‘I Was a Feminist and I Didn’t Know It’: How Lady Pink Made a Space for Herself in the Boys Club of New York’s Graffiti Scene,” Artnet, July 18, 2019.
Jenny Holzer, DON’T SHOOT CIVILIANS, (in collaboration with Lady Pink), 1983
Spray paint on canvas
112 x 120 in. / 284.5 x 304.8 cm
Text: Survival, 1983–85
© 1983 Jenny Holzer, member Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
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MapThirty pen and ink maps of the Maryland Campaign, 1862 : drawn from descriptive readings and map fragments Photocopies of manuscript maps showing Union and Confederate troop positions. Confederate troop positions annotated in red pencil. Title from typewritten label (5 x 14 cm.) affixed to p. . LC Civil War maps (2nd ed.), 243 LeGear. Atlases of the United States, 10668 Each map includes note. At lower right of each map: 2. Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as ...
- Contributor: Russell, Robert E. L.
- Date: 1862
View 31 Results
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – At its Dec. 16 meeting in Jefferson City, the Missouri Conservation Commission voiced final approval for regulation changes recommended by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) related to smallmouth bass and rock bass. The regulation changes become effective on March 30, 2017.
The regulation changes create a standard 15-inch minimum length limit for smallmouth bass and a daily limit of one for all Smallmouth Bass Special Management areas. They also expand these areas on the Big Piney, Jacks Fork, Big, and Meramec rivers.
The existing minimum length limit for smallmouth bass of 12 inches and daily limit of six fish remain for Missouri streams other than those of Smallmouth Bass Special Management areas.
The regulation changes also set a statewide length limit of seven inches for rock bass (also called goggle-eye, warmouth, Ozark bass, and shadow bass) and remove the Osage Fork of the Gasconade River from the Rock Bass Special Management areas.
The regulation changes are based on extensive scientific research related to bass populations and harvest with consideration of public input received, including from nine public meetings held by the Department.
For more information on bass fishing, visit huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/fishing/species.
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- Let’s View Videos On the web With Fire Heat and House Baked Popcorn
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You are in no way too young or also old to commence taking care of your skin. In truth, skin care and protection need to be an essential portion of your overall health, fitness, and beauty regime. If you take care of your skin, your skin will take care of you! But with all of the lotions, creams and potions on the industry, it can be tough to know what product will work for your skin. Lots of products claim to get rid of wrinkles or heals dry skin and others claim to contain high-priced ingredients that say will assist boost the effects of the product. Here is a guide to the simple skin care items on the marketplace and how you can determine which item will function very best for you.
シルクリスタ at the Goods
There are quite a few forms of skin care products that may possibly make a valuable further to your every day skin care. These involve cleansers, sunscreens, moisturizers, eye creams, toners, exfoliants, retinoids, herbals and skin care supplements.
Toners: Skin toners provide an added cleansing properties to the skin that assists eliminate oils, dirt and makeup. But if your skin has turn into dry, steer clear of applying toners or use significantly less regularly. These skin care goods normally contain alcohol or acetone and it can aggravate dry or sensitive skin.
Sunscreen: Sunscreen is an essential product for the care and protection of our skin. Although it is correct that some exposure to sunshine is required for the body to synthesize vitamin D, you genuinely only want 10-15 minutes each and every day to achieve this. Excess sun exposure can trigger alterations in the skin cells major to damages which can develop brown spots, skin cancer, dry skin and premature wrinkles. It does not matter if your skin is fair or dark, each skin color can turn out to be damage if its becoming expose also a lot of the sun. Prevent sun damages and reduce your risk of building skin troubles by applying a liberal quantity of sunscreen with at least a SPF 15 cream or lotion each day. Lots of moisturizers come with sunscreen already incorporated.
Retinoids: Topical Vitamin A based items called Retinoids have made significant advances in lowering the look of wrinkles and fine lines. They enable to temporarily “plump up” wrinkle regions and diminish its visibility.
Cleansers: Cleansers aid to get rid of dirt, debris, pollutants and perspiration that accumulate on your skin all through the day. These cleansers may well come in liquid, foam or bar kind.
Eye Creams: An eye cream can assist increase the condition of the fragile skin around the eyes. It assists to hydrate and shield the eye region and it may possibly even support to reduce dark circles or temporarily tighten fine lines.
Exfoliation: The use of moisturizer and cleansers assistance increase the look of skin by sloughing off dead skin cells on the surfaces. These may well also aid to smooth out the skin’s appearance and even discoloration from more than exposure to the sun. As we age, the skin builds up dead skin cells which makes us appear older, have rough skin and wrinkles or fine lines seem. Your skin appears healthy and youthful by exfoliating everyday as nicely as feeling cleanliness and freshness.
Supplements: Coenzyme Q10 is a naturally occurring cellular antioxidant that has shown prospective in the prevention and therapy of various illness, such as heart illness, Parkinson’s Disease, diabetes and particular varieties of cancer. It is also utilized in many moisturizing merchandise for wrinkles lowering properties.
Herbals: Green tea and other herbal antioxidants can be applied topically or taken orally to fight free radical harm and improve its general look.
Moisturizer: Moisturizers can soothe dry skin and make wrinkles significantly less noticeable. They come in cream, lotion and oil kind. Oily primarily based moisturizers are very good for severely dry skin whereas a cream or lotion is a improved selection for the face as it will leave the face feeling less heavy and greasy. To get very good benefits, use a moisturizer appropriate after bathing to seal moisture into your skin.
Identifying the Components Label
You may be wondering why skin care goods come with such a confusing labeling technique. The Food and Drug Administration receives a lot of requests each and every year to decipher the language of cosmetic and individual care solution labels. But whilst the FDA empathize with consumers, there really is no way to change the labeling and retain the info accurate. The ingredients require to be listed by the chemical names since it is primarily what they are. Even though a item may perhaps be marketed by its trade name, the labeled name will provide little clue as to recognize its components. But in spite of the technical language of the private care product’s label, it is doable to glean some helpful info. Ingredient labeling will have to be listed in sequence primarily based on how substantially is incorporated in the formula. As a consumer, you can compare similar merchandise by seeing exactly where a certain ingredient falls on the list. For instance, if you have sensitive skin, you might want to prevent merchandise that has alcohol listed as its initial ingredient verse obtaining alcohol listed as one particular of the last ingredients.
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Residue and Accumulation of Phosvel in Adipose Tissue of Hens.
Proceedings of the VII International Congress of Rural Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, September 17-21, 1978, International Association of Agricultural Medicine 1978 Sep:296-298
The accumulation of phosvel (21609905) (leptophos) in adipose tissue was studied in hens. Six, 21, or 24 month old White-Leghorn-hens were given single oral doses of 0, 50, or 250 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) leptophos or 0, 5, 10, or 20mg/kg daily for 7, 14, 21, or 28 days. The birds were observed for clinical signs of toxicity. In the single dose experiments, selected hens were killed at various times ranging from 1 hour up to 28 days after dosing and abdominal adipose tissue was removed and assayed for leptophos. Blood samples were collected for determining plasma leptophos concentrations. In the multiple dose experiment the hens were killed after the last dose and the adipose tissue was analyzed for leptophos as before. In 6 month old hens given 250mg/kg leptophos, peak adipose tissue leptophos concentrations of 25.1 parts per million (ppm) occurred 1 day after dosing. These decreased slowly thereafter, no leptophos residues being detected after 28 days. In 21 month old hens given 250mg/kg leptophos adipose tissue concentrations averaged 9.52ppm 1 day after dosing, decreasing slowly thereafter. Leptophos could still be detected in these animals 28 days after dosing. No evidence of delayed neurotoxicity was seen in the 6 month old hens. Some 21 month old hens developed ataxia and paralysis after 15 to 19 days. Plasma leptophos concentrations peaked at 106 and 805 parts per billion 3 hours after dosing with 50 and 250mg/kg leptophos, respectively, decreasing rapidly thereafter. Adipose tissue leptophos concentrations in hens given 5 or 10mg/kg increased progressively for 21 days, decreasing slowly thereafter. In birds given 20mg/kg daily, adipose tissue leptophos concentrations increased slowly for 14 days, then rose rapidly thereafter. The maximum leptophos concentrations occurred at day 25. The 10 and 20mg/kg doses caused symptoms of delayed neurotoxicity starting at days 19 and 17, respectively. The authors conclude that leptophos is readily absorbed by the adipose tissue of hens and induces delayed neurotoxicity.
NIOSH-Grant; Grants-other; Organo-phosphorus-pesticides; In-vivo-studies; Animal-studies; Adipose-tissue; Feeding-study; Neurotoxic-effects; Tissue-distribution;
Prev Med & Environmental Hlth University of Iowa Inst/agric Med & Environ Hlth Iowa Oakdale, Iowa 52319
Other Occupational Concerns; Grants-other; Neurotoxic Disorders; Neurotoxic-effects;
Proceedings of the VII International Congress of Rural Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, September 17-21, 1978, International Association of Agricultural Medicine
University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
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Gold is a high-quality hedge hedging tool, favored by investors. Especially in recent years, with the increasing instability of the world economy, gold has become one of the preferred asset allocations of investors because of its functions of hedging and fighting inflation.
Earlier, the worsening situation in Ukraine sent gold prices soaring to a two-year high of $2,070 an ounce. But gold, along with other commodities, fell back last week as conditions changed and bulls took profits, hitting a low of $1,895 an ounce. Rising gold prices may also have an impact on the magnesium stearate prices.
According to China Business News, Goldman Sachs raised its gold price forecast in early March, considering Asian buyers' gold consumption demand, investment demand and central bank gold purchase demand continue to rise. Three -, six - and 12-month targets were raised to $2,300, $2,500 and $2,500 an ounce, respectively, from $1,950, $2,050 and $2,150. The last time all three accelerated was in 2010-11 when gold prices rose nearly 70%.
The World Gold Council has also noted that global gold demand is at its highest level in nearly two years, which is linked to a recovery in consumption and consumer sentiment to combat inflation.
What is Magnesium Stearate?
Magnesium stearate is a salt formed when stearate molecules combine with magnesium ions.
Stearates come from stearic acid which is a long-chain saturated fat found in:
milk and dairy products
Stearic acid is the only long-chain saturated fat that doesn't raise cholesterol levels, experts say.
Salt forms the coating you see on medicines and vitamins in powder form. Magnesium stearate may stick to your hands and feel greasy when touched. Many manufacturers of processed foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals also add magnesium stearate to their products.
What is magnesium stearate used for?
Drugs. The company calls magnesium stearate a "fluid agent." Its main job is to prevent the ingredients in the capsule from sticking together. It also creates a barrier between drugs and the machines that make them. The powder improves the consistency and quality of drug capsules.
Another function of the powder is to slow the absorption and breakdown of the drug. That way, your body absorbs them in the right areas of your gut. Without magnesium stearate, it is difficult to predict the effectiveness, quality, and consistency of drugs.
Cosmetics. Magnesium stearate is a useful ingredient in many cosmetics. It can be used as filler, anti-caking agent, colorant, and so on. Here, it's a low-hazard product, but there are limited data.
What does magnesium stearate do to your body?
Magnesium stearate is usually safe to eat, but too much can have a laxative effect. In large quantities, it irritates the mucus lining of the intestine. This can cause bowel movements or diarrhea.
Immune function. The powder may impair your immune T cell function. Research into this effect is still in its early stages.
Nutrient and drug absorption. There are concerns that magnesium stearate may prevent the body from absorbing nutrients the way it should. One study found that tablets containing magnesium stearate dissolved longer than tablets without magnesium stearate.
Other studies have found that how long magnesium stearate is dissolved does not affect the drug's effectiveness. It also does not change the dissolution of tablets or the effectiveness of supplements or drugs.
Biofilms. There are also concerns that magnesium stearate can lead to the formation of harmful biofilms in the digestive system. Biofilms occur when groups of bacteria form a protective barrier. These claims come from the fact that soap contains magnesium stearate and forms a scum film. But your gut wall, unlike your bathroom wall or door, doesn't have the same scum film.
What is the source of magnesium stearate?
Stearic acid comes from animal or plant sources.
Vegetarian sources of magnesium stearate include palm oil, coconut oil, and vegetable oil.
PURE LAB VITAMINS uses "plant-based" as a source of magnesium stearate.
Is magnesium stearate from a vegetable source safe?
In general, vegetable magnesium stearate is safe to use and eat. But if you take too much of it, studies show it has a laxative effect.
What is stearic acid?
Stearic acid is a saturated fatty acid found in many foods, including animal and plant fats and oils. Cocoa and flaxseed are examples of foods that contain high levels of stearic acid.
What effect does stearic acid have on the body?
Stearic acid can be found in foods such as chicken, eggs, cheese, chocolate, walnuts, salmon, and coconut oil. Stearic acid acts as a lubricant for filling capsules when dry powder ingredients have problems such as density, viscosity, and fluidity under pressure.
According to NCBI, stearic acid lowers LDL cholesterol compared to other saturated fatty acids. It may also slightly lower the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol compared to other fatty acids.
Magnesium Stearate Price
The price is influenced by many factors including the supply and demand in the market, industry trends, economic activity, market sentiment, and unexpected events.
If you are looking for the latest magnesium stearate price, you can send us your inquiry for a quote. ([email protected])
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The day after the shooting at a Texas elementary school, the National Rifle Association issued a statement saying it "extends its deepest sympathies to the families and victims involved in this terrible and evil crime," adding it would "reflect on these events and pray for the victims."
It comes just days before the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Houston, Texas. Houston is less than five hours away. Texas Governor Tony Abbott, Senator Ted Cruz, and others are scheduled to attend the event, which has also caused a lot of controversies.
Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark O 'Rourke took to social media to call on Abbott to pull out of the convention, urging that it be held outside Texas. Many American netizens also took to social media to express their dissatisfaction. "I wish the NRA's annual meeting was held three days after 19 children and two adults were massacred," said one. "The school shooting was not a lone Wolf, but with the help of the NRA."
Between 2000 and 2020, US gun manufacturers produced more than 139 million guns for the civilian market, according to the Justice Department report. The NATIONAL Rifle Association (NRA) is one of the leading gun rights advocates with more than 5m members and deep pockets. The United States has not passed major gun control laws for more than two decades, blocked by gun interests.
The magnesium stearate price is predicted to increase in the next few days.
In the context of the comprehensive lifting of epidemic prevention measures, the number of newly confirmed cases in the UK has risen sharply again. Health experts warn that a new wave of infection is already on the way.…
Recently, covid 19 outbreak spreads in Shanghai, China. There are more than 25,000 new asymptomatic domestic infections every day. China is implementing a dynamic zero-out policy. A leading respiratory expert said the key to COVID-19 prevention and c…
Tungsten Sulfide (WS2) or Tungsten Disulfide is a very smooth dry film friction coating.…
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April can be a strange month for high school seniors. The weather isn’t quite warm enough to make them dream about an upcoming summer of freedom, but with graduation just around the corner, some get a serious case of “senioritis” and don’t want to do much work at all. That wasn’t the case when a senior AP Geography class from Northmont High School visited the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC) in Dayton, Ohio, on April 27, 2016. They were ready to learn about MVRPC and how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) integrates into planning.
Northmont High School is located in Clayton, Ohio, and serves 1770 students from the communities of Clayton, Englewood, Phillipsburg and Union, in northern Montgomery County. Twenty-four (24) students and their teacher, Mr. David Jones, were welcomed by MVRPC’s Executive Director, Brian O. Martin, AICP, via Skype, as Mr. Martin was out of the office, on business, in Columbus, Ohio. He explained the overall function of MVRPC, outlined the counties served (Darke, Greene, Montgomery, Miami, Preble and parts of Warren County in Ohio) and the three main focuses of planning – transportation, environmental, and land use. Referencing the students’ bus trip they took to get to the agency, Mr. Martin explained that bridge and road funding, the roads and highways on which they just traveled, are made possible due to MVRPC working with local jurisdictional members. Using transportation alternatives, such as cycling on any of the 330+ miles of paved bike trails in the Region, or riding a Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority’s “next generation” hybrid buses, are also made possible due to MVRPC’s coordination with member jurisdictions. Several of the students commented that they have a bike trail near their school and use it frequently.
Mr. Martin also touched on the structure of MVRPC explaining that he has about 75 “bosses,” the Board of Directors. Mayors, councilmembers, business leaders, and university representatives comprise the Board and work with him to implement the agency’s mission and vision. Together, they make decisions about funding and policies that impact the Region as a whole. In closing, Mr. Martin suggested they check out the agency’s website, www.mvrpc.org, for more information on the agency and specific topics.
MVRPC’s Director of Regional Planning, Mr. Martin Kim, took over the presentation and peppered the students with a series of questions about what they had just learned from Mr. Martin. After the first student responded correctly and received a giant candy bar as his prize, the others quickly followed suit, answering question after question correctly. They were definitely listening!
The students were then broken down into five groups and each group was matched with an MVRPC staff member who uses GIS on a daily basis. The staff members spoke about a variety of applications including analyzing crash data and depicting high crash areas on a map, reviewing Census data to create maps outlining vacant property locations, calculating and mapping impervious surface cover at the sub-watershed level, and serving MVRPC member jurisdictions that don’t have GIS skills or expertise to do what needs to be done.
Several students asked “Why did you study GIS?” or “How did GIS help you find a job?” Each staff member answered honestly (e.g., “I’m a self-proclaimed computer nerd and I love how data comes together to help validate a decision.” and “I saw how planning and GIS went hand-in-hand especially when it comes to legal rights of land owner and development of land. Plus both skills made me more valuable to an employer.”).
The students gathered one last time as a full group to report back about what they learned from talking with staff members. Mr. Kim introduced more specific definitions of GIS and how it helps to facilitate better decision-making, expands public participation, and most importantly, how data compiling and analysis can help planners formulate scenarios and make recommendation.
Mr. Kim introduced Mr. Tom Harner, MVRPC’s GIS Coordinator. He mentioned that when he was in college, which would be “pre-GIS,” his geography programs included lots of Mylar, ink and exacto-knives in order to map what was needed. Over his 17 years of being with the agency, Mr. Harner has seen GIS evolve tremendously. He introduced the students to the www.mvrpc.org Data & Mapping section of the website which houses a considerable amount of data that will come in handy for future school projects.
Overall, the students said they enjoyed themselves and were surprised at the many uses for GIS. Perhaps in a few years, one of them will be working for MVRPC.
For more information about MVRPC, please contact Executive Director, Brian O. Martin, AICP, at 937.223.6323 or go to www.mvrpc.org.
Laura A. Loges
Director of Marketing & Public Affairs
Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission
10 N. Ludlow St., Suite 700
Dayton, OH 45402-1855
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As on land there are hills and valleys on the seabed too. Bathymetry is the study of underwater depth of lake or ocean floors.
The shape of the seabed has a great influence on currents and therefore on the climate, the flora and fauna, the occurence of natural resources, the tides, tsunamis and of course on a ships safety at sea. Along the edges of tectonic plates huge trenches and ridges are formed.
It would be very interesting to display detailed bathymetry data on a free nautical map (e.g. OpenSeaMap.org). While for the deep sea a rather coarse resolution is sufficient, it is vital to have very detailed data for the shallow coastal waters.
- For shoals see:Water Depth.
- Maps of dry land
Map Link Equidistance Shading opencyclemap.org 10 m topo.geofabrik.de 10 m ja openpistemap.org 10 m Slowakische Karte freemap.sk 20 m ja
- Nautical Chart
Seekarte OpenSeaMap.org not jet...
- Tobias Wendorff is computing a depth data model and rendering
- Christoph Eckert computed the whole world in 1° tiles
- A student of Frederik Ramm did something too.
- Alexander Zipf computes Europe
in the OSM-Wiki
- Contours of the Cyclemap
- Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT) - as a base for water depths in costal waters
- Srtm2Osm: automatically downloads the data and converts it to OSM file format. One requests data within a bounding box , the resolution of the resulting data and it outputs an OSM file. This tool directly downloads SRTM3 V2 data. Caveats: Doesn't work with a proxy, the original data has enormeous artefacts within the bigger mountains, and it doesn't work with very large areas.
- SRTM all about SRTM data and the data itself
- Cleantopo2, edited SRTM30_plus data (land and sea data), public domain, full resolution, 16-bit tiff files, resolution 10.800 x 5.400 px.
- NDGC: Coastal data for the US, Pacific and atlantic coast, Gulf of Mexico, public domain
- CIGAR: SRTM to fill the gaps, according to Frederik Ramm not CC-BY-SA-compatible
|Zoom 3||1000 m||Relief|
|Zoom 4||1000 m||Relief|
|Zoom 5||1000 m||Relief|
|Zoom 6||1000 m||Relief|
|Zoom 7||1000 m||Relief||200-m-zone colored|
|Zoom 8||1000 m||Relief||200-m-zone colored|
|Zoom 9||500 m||200-m-zone colored|
|Zoom 10||500 m||200-m-zone colored||20-m-zone|
|Zoom 11||100 m||200-m-zone colored||20-m-zone|
|Zoom 12||100 m||20-m-zone|
|ab Zoom 13||50 m||20-m-Line, 5-m-zone, 2-m-Linie|
All this has to be adapted to the certain areas of interest. In the Mediterranean, with a depth of about 4000 meters, the rendering has to be different from, say, the Baltic Sea with an average depth of 50 meters.
Details have to be shown in coastal waters at zomlevel 12 and above.
Bigger lakes should have depth lines too, at zoomlevel 13 or above.
For sailors, Fischermen and Divers
maximum detail in coastal waters where it is most interesting for sailors, fischermen and divers:
|5 m||zone colored blue|
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If you, or someone you know, are looking for ways to help your mental health, we hope the suggestions and tools on this page can help. If you, or your friend, are in a dark place, please click the Help! button on the menu bar of this page. According to the Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, “Mental health challenges in children, adolescents, and young adults are real and widespread. Even before the pandemic, an alarming number of young people struggled with feelings of helplessness, depression, and thoughts of suicide — and rates have increased over the past decade.”
Click on the images below for some great info.
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Content Or Design – Which Should Come First on the Website?
Is this the trendy and intriguing mother of the hen and egg scenario or what! Typically, when designers are creating a website, one fundamental difficulty they continuously run into – should they create content or design first. Come up with the content and then design around it, or should they create a gripping design and then wait to see where the content fits?
Similarly, if you are setting up a new website or subsequently contemplating redesigning the existing one, it is highly likely that you are beyond ecstatic. The odds are that you simply cannot wait to get a glimpse of what your designers produce, how it will all unfold, or even the type of the first impression your awaited website will make on your site visitors. What’s more, it is highly probable that you are all set on the distinct design of the new website and perhaps forgetting about an equally important aspect of the entire project: the content!
Design Without Content or Vice Versa?
As the phrase goes, a design without good content is only a decoration! Likewise, no matter how compelling a website is, it is not useful without the proper presentation. Ideally, these two components combine to create successful and gripping websites. These are sites that inspire high user engagement levels, as well as promote high search engine rankings and conversion rates.
Therefore, it is apparent that both are important for your project, something you probably already knew. However, just like the dilemma most web designers face, have you thought about which of them should actually come first? Essentially, the content or design argument isn’t as straightforward as ‘design an exceptionally compelling site, and then create some content to fix it.’ So, which should come first? Keep reading to understand and learn this and much more!
Content Or Design – Which Comes First?
Although it is undeniable that both content and design are crucial, the query is on which of them; your focus should be in the initial stages of your site. Typically, shoddy design may effectively squander otherwise great content; while bad content may make an impeccable design appear silly. All style, but nil substance! Designers usually go for content first, while content writers go for designs first. But who is right?
To unravel this puzzle, this excerpt evaluates both sides of the spectrum, researches deeply about the nitty-gritty details of both approaches, and tries to come up with a prospective solution. In the end, you will get the necessary assistance you need to make the decision.
Design-First Approach – From A Design Perspective
Ideally, content is created to promote more traffic to websites. Unless users organically discover you or through your deliberate marketing efforts, what is the likelihood that your site will get high traffic amounts day after day? Arguably, even the most elegant design around is not enough to save a website otherwise packed with poor content. In any case, what is most important is that which you have to sell or say, right? Craigslist list is a perfect example. While their site is not a sight to behold, many individuals can’t imagine life without it. Ideally, this is a shallow destination that functions effectively for the purpose.
The site is not a perfect blend of text and visuals, nor is it lean or colorful either. It is basically not an example of the best website practices at work, and yet, owing to the content; it does the job! When a user logs in, they have an idea of what to expect, and the site effectively meets this expectation. Similarly, there are numerous such websites, many of which appear to be ‘clueless’ or derived from creativity concerning design. Does this, therefore, signify that you can also pull it off? Honestly, Yes. If possibilities are anything to go by, you may, although it is highly unlikely.
The only way you can have a ‘wanting design’ and still get away with it is if you are offering something no other brand is. Or rather, your services are not that common across the industry. In short, you would need to provide an extraordinary product or service to pull this off.
Content or Design – Why Design Should Be First
While this might not be a popular choice for many designers and associated parties, it is crucial to understand why strategists and content creators might consider a design-first approach. Here’s why.
Guardrails for Your Content
Sound familiar? Naturally, good content writers are experts at fitting content, no matter the constraints. A preliminary design or basic sketch affords an excellent frame for content creation. Usually, content writers effectively do this when it comes to Facebook ads, email pre-headers and subject lines, SERP descriptions, and Twitter posts, among many others. Therefore, it is safe to state that design may offer content writers a concrete foundation to create great content.
Combating the White Blank Page Concern
Essentially, when it comes to any brand campaigns, the teams may be accountable for creating product landing pages, digital ads, ‘how to’ blog posts, accompanying social media organic content, opt-in, and post-purchase emails. This is quite a load of content. In such a case, who is responsible for the unpopular white blank page? Is it the content strategist or content writer that is to blame first? Possibly, or possibly not!
Essentially, although websites are practically ineffectual without the presence of relevant content, you need to prioritize your web design process. However, if, and a big, if I to add, you have top-notch content, you may just pull it off with an otherwise less impressive design (although this is not advisable). Luckily, you need not go through this. Now, there are numerous sites that can assist you in determining the most effective trends in web design to get you started. Similarly, countless freelance professionals and agencies can also help you to come up with top-notch content.
In fact, just as it is with standard college essay assistance services, the process is quite easy. All you need to do is get your assignment writers informed on what you need and how you need it done, and you can go on with your other duties while they do the job for you! Nonetheless, the important thing is that you do thorough research and create a unique website that sums up your organization’s vision.
Content-First Approach – From the Content Perspective
‘Design without content is simply not a design, but just decoration!’ naturally, you are creating a website to get your message across an audience, and undeniably, words are at the hub of this message. Your website solely exists to communicate/deliver content, and as for the design components, they are there to support your content. While users may visit your page since it is appealing, they will, however, return due to the content quality. As such, you must understand precisely what role your content plays in your overall marketing strategy as well as where and how you should fit it.
What is Content About
Content refers to everything that is found on websites. Take videos, for instance, if you want to utilize them extensively, then you must design a site on templates designed for video. Furthermore, if you decide to go for a distinct Word Press theme, then you should choose one that enables you to tailor your website with multiple plugins and videos as you desire. Likewise, if you prefer the text-based option, you should pick an appropriate theme or design your website accordingly. This basically means that although design and content both are vital, what you begin with is dependent on your objective.
In the case of Design agencies, for example, their websites would definitely be their most persuasive and most significant PR official. As such, the design will and should come before ‘content.’ This would also apply for eCommerce websites as their goal is to highlight what they are offering in a manner that is appealing to users. Design can effectively help you accomplish this. It can remarkably highlight certain sections of your website, which you want to capture the users’ attention. A great example of this is the Problogger.net website.
Not only is it a favorite among many, but also a valuable resource for individuals in the content marketing business. So, what makes it unique? It boasts top-notch content. Not until sometime back that they had a dull look. While few might refer to it as non-intrusive, but the focus was placed correctly on their content! This strategy worked remarkably for them, and owing to their prominence, they recently refurbished it, giving it the modern, slick, professional trendy look. Superior content with a fantastic design is a winner.
However, Problogger rose to dominance with a less-charming design. It started as a typical personal blog with a well-placed focus on the right approach. For them, it was assisting individuals in understanding blogging as a practical way of life.
Content or Design – Why Content Should Be First
Sadly, no matter how compelling a design appears, it does not, however, boost your search results ranking. Ahead of making an impression on your users, you must lure them to your site. Naturally, unique content is strongly favored by Google’s algorithms. Original and innovative content demonstrates and presents valid, relevant, and valuable information that inspires decisive customer action. Since this approach has established itself as a useful marketing tool and which fulfills Google’s requirements, your website design action needs to focus on content. Why?
Guardrails for Creating Your Design
Your content establishes the guardrails around the main message or story you are trying to present. Content answers questions such as, ‘where should I encourage a productive action? And what the readers hook is. Where there is no clear and definite story, designers usually find it challenging to come up with a seamless, sensible flow to a key point or call to action.
Illustrating What the Big Picture Is
Besides the guardrail, designers prefer much more-they want the complete picture of exactly how content collectively works towards an objective. Ideally, the content needs to echo a distinct content strategy. This strategy should subsequently lead to primary business and marketing objectives, like promoting 100 more leads in the following three months. Effectively, designers can subsequently use this goal to create various design layouts and ideas that appeal to individuals.
Ideally, great content writers are known to spend a substantial amount of their time trying to find the right words. However, this is not the case with designers. What’s more, hassling to alter a few words on a few drafts is time-consuming. If you want to save time, the most appropriate approach would be to start with content before jumping to design.
So to answer the question of what is first content or design, while the effectiveness of either strategy is dependent on the expected outcome, the truth is that you simply cannot utilize one without the other. Design and words are fundamentally entwined, and as such, for the best results, they need not be separately considered. Designers and content writers are much more productive when they operate in unison. Your content need not feel as if it competes with the other and vice versa.
In the end, if you are working towards creating your website or refurbishing the existing one, refrain from approaching the design process with a viewpoint of which between my design and my content should come first.
Instead, coordinate with your team to establish a process that will ensure your content and design are created collectively. You can even set regular check-in times to keep everyone updated and in line. Your design and writing need to be focused on the audience as well as their needs. This promotes a better user experience. The best way to build trust with your prospects is making a lasting and positive first impression courtesy of design and content that is collectively utilized to boost communication. Ideally, it is a somewhat fragile balance.
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In April 2016, I published a short article in the Oxford Analytica Daily Brief discussing the role of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet post-Crimea annexation. Here’s the text, as usual with no edits other than restoring some cuts made for space reasons.
SUBJECT: The growing power of the Russian navy in the Black Sea region.
SIGNIFICANCE: Russia’s annexation of Crimea has reshaped the geopolitical environment in the Black Sea and its neighbourhood. New frigates and submarines are being acquired, and cruise missiles will provide a much extended range. With its strategic options no longer constrained by Ukrainian sovereignty over the Sevastopol base, Moscow can use naval and air forces to dominate the sea and create a forbidding environment for potential adversaries, including NATO.
- The deterioration in relations with Turkey could manifest itself in maritime tensions between the two states.
- Access to the Bosphorus may restrain both Russia and Turkey from encroaching on one another’s maritime rights despite hostile rhetoric.
- US and European militaries will review naval capacity and may reinforce Mediterranean patrols to counter the increased Russian presence.
The Black Sea Fleet ranks third in importance for the Russian navy, behind the Northern and Pacific fleets, but ahead of the Baltic Fleet and the Caspian Flotilla. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Black Sea Fleet has had four main missions:
- protecting shipping in the Black Sea;
- controlling maritime access to the sea in general and to the Caucasus in particular;
- supporting the navy’s Mediterranean squadron and counter-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean; and
- maintaining links with the Russian naval base at Tartus in Syria.
The bulk of the fleet is based at Sevastopol in Crimea, as is its land-based air arm.
The Black Sea is of great economic significance to Russia, whose commercial ports — mainly Novorossiysk — carry 30% of its total maritime exports.
For Russia, the sea is an access route to the Mediterranean and to the Atlantic and Indian oceans, and hence important for both economic and geopolitical reasons. The Black Sea Fleet is needed to underpin that access, as well as to deal with potential instability in the Caucasus. It provides logistical support to the Mediterranean squadron which was reconstituted in 2013.
Reviving the fleet
During its post-Soviet history, successive lease agreements of the Sevastopol naval base from the Ukrainian government stipulated that Russia could not base new ships in Crimea. This clause was intentional, designed for the fleet to rust away. By 2014, the Moskva cruiser was the only Black Sea Fleet surface ship able to operate out of area for extended periods of time. Even its basing arrangements in Ukraine were such that it had little need to defend the peninsula, since this was Ukrainian territory.
After annexing Crimea, Russia moved quickly to rebuild its forces on the peninsula. The fleet is undergoing a dramatic transformation and is rapidly rebuilding its forces. The Sevastopol base is central to Russian anti-access/area denial efforts in the Black Sea and its airspace. There are several components to the ongoing build-up:
- up to six new Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates;
- two Buyan-M-class missile corvettes;
- six improved Kilo-class diesel-powered submarines;
- Su-30SM interceptors and Su-34 tactical bombers; and
- nuclear-capable Tu-22M3 long-range bombers.
Three of the frigates will be commissioned in 2016, while the others will take some years to complete because Ukrainian-made gas turbines are unavailable. Both the corvettes and two of the six submarines have been commissioned, with the remaining submarines to enter service within two years.
Cruise missiles extend fleet’s reach
The corvettes and submarines will carry the 3M-54 Klub anti-ship system, a supersonic cruise missile allowing the navy to deny access to much of the Black Sea. They will also be armed with the 3M-14 cruise missile designed to attack targets on land at ranges of up to 2,500 kilometres.
The combination of coastal and air defences, maritime aviation and corvette-based groups will free the submarine and frigate force to operate in the Mediterranean.
The Black Sea had been likely to receive one of the two French Mistral helicopter carrier/amphibious assault vessels that Russia ordered in 2010. Since France cancelled the sale in August 2015, there has been no announcement from Moscow about acquiring amphibious ships from elsewhere. Nor is it clear what will happen to the old Alligator- and Ropucha-class landing ships which were instrumental to the occupation of Crimea.
Naval support for Syria campaign
The Russian military intervention in Syria, begun in September 2015, has redefined the mission of the Black Sea Fleet:
Before Russia aircraft were deployed in Syria to bomb rebel forces, vessels from the fleet were playing a key role in the military supply operation known as the ‘Syrian express’. Initially, older landing ships were used to supply arms and equipment to the Syrian military. Once Russia decided to launch air attacks, the Black Sea Fleet provided the maritime transport.
The conventional wisdom that Russia was incapable of conducting military operations beyond its immediate vicinity was confounded by the successful use of large transport aircraft, naval freighters and even Turkish commercial cargo ships reflagged as Black Sea Fleet vessels.
The Russian navy provided long-range air defence with the S-300 missile system carried on the flagship Moskva in the first half of the operation. Having a ship-based, long-range air defence system allowed Russia to protect Syrian airspace while avoiding tensions with Israel, which had made it clear it would be unhappy if such weapons went to the Syrian army.
In October 2015, the Russian navy launched 3M-14 cruise missiles against targets in Syria from relatively small vessels in the Caspian Sea. By launching missiles from the Caspian, Russia demonstrated its strike capacity from well inside its air defence perimeter. The cruise missiles were also meant to show NATO military planners and neighbouring states the successful development of a missile capability that would be difficult to neutralise.
Once the Black Sea Fleet acquires vessels armed with 3M-14 cruise missiles, its range will extend to most of Southern and Central Europe and the Middle East.
Russia’s demonstration of new naval strike capabilities continued in December 2015, when Kalibr cruise missiles were launched against targets from a new diesel-powered submarine which was transiting the Mediterranean en route to its permanent base at Sevastopol. This use of hard-to-track platforms further highlighted the threat to Russia’s potential opponents.
New missions for the post-Crimea context
Russia’s annexation of Crimea has remade the geopolitical environment in the Black Sea. Crimea’s geographic position allows the country that controls it to dominate the maritime environment. Sevastopol is by far the best harbor on the sea. By taking Crimea, Russia has ensured that its military will not be constrained by Ukraine. This will allow its navy and air force to dominate the Black Sea, creating a forbidding A2/AD environment that will be difficult for any potential adversary, including NATO, to penetrate.
Given the adversarial nature of Russia’s relationship with the West, the Black Sea Fleet will take on additional missions beyond the Black Sea in the coming years. In addition to continuing to provide sealift for Russian operations in Syria, the BSF’s cruise-missile equipped ships and submarines will have a power projection role in the Mediterranean. Even with a fairly small number of frigates and diesel submarines, the fleet will present a potential threat to other naval forces in the region, even U.S. carrier strike groups.
This does not mean that the Russian Navy should be expected to undertake aggressive actions in the Med. Rather, its objective will be to create conventional deterrence against a Western attack by threatening to use its air and sea capabilities to inflict unacceptably high casualties on enemy naval forces attempting to engage Russian forces in the Black Sea or eastern Mediterranean.
CONCLUSION: In the context of Russia’s adversarial relationship with the West, the fleet is likely to be assigned tasks outside the Black Sea such as sustaining a capable naval force in the eastern Mediterranean and continuing to support the Russian military presence in Syria. The fleet will also deliver conventional deterrence through its implicit capacity to inflict unacceptably high casualties on potential adversaries in the Black Sea or the eastern Mediterranean.
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Unless your home has radiant heat floors or solar heating, you are probably having to change air filters. The reason being is that most homes regulate heating and cooling using a network of ducts requiring filtration. These ducts are either flexible or rigid. Regardless of the type, all ducting needs to be maintained. The most diligent, responsible homeowners change their air filter on a routine basis. Is this enough? Ever set a glass of ice water on the counter in the summer? It sweats! The same principle can be applied to networks of ducting running through open vent crawlspaces. (The photo shows foil/fiberglass wrapping the duct I hold in my hands.) Ducting housed in open air crawl spaces poses the greatest risk to Air Quality. Most homes in the Upstate built ten or more year ago, house ducting in crawl-spaces.
Compromising this system or (including but not limited to; seal deterioration, drip line clogs, shifting in units. ) trunk lines, ducting, pumps, motors, and discharge drains, can affect the whole HVAC system. Cable guys, HVAC, Exterminators or even mold inspectors can just bump any part of the network and wreak havoc your air quality. Oftentimes this goes unnoticed until mold begins to grow in the home, odd smells fill your living space or much worse, a loved one gets sick!
How do you know? Red flags or possible clues to ducting contamination include but are not limited to;
Sinusitis, Rhinitis, Hay-fever, Fatigue, Skins Irritations or Flu-like symptoms or increased trips to the Doctor. Before it’s too late, consider if you or a loved one is affected by any of these issues. Feel free to speak with me, Douglas @ 864-710-6413. Arrayofsolutions.com now offers air-duct cleaning at a price much lower than the bigger Upstate Companies.
Douglas R. Whitehead II
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The source of the Soča is ranked as one of the most beautiful karst springs in the Julian Alps. The water, flowing from the mountain slopes of Jalovec, Šite, Travnik and Mojstrovka, gushes out of an abyss, joining the riverbed in a waterfall. Its fall is irregular and lively. Soča Trail, which starts at the source of the Soča, measures 20 km in length and runs down the valley to the hamlet of Kršovec.
Access: 15 minutes; by a well-marked trail from the mountain hut at the source of the Soča. In its upper section, the path is secured by steel ropes. Comfortable hiking shoes are recommended. However, small children and the elderly are not advised to take the path.
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Toronto, July 26 (IANS) There were grim scenes at the BlackBerry headquarters at Waterloo near here Monday after the most famous Canadian company axed 2,000 jobs - about 11 percent of its total workforce.
The biggest lay-off in the history of Research In Motion (RIM), which invented the smart phone, reduced its global workforce to 17,000 with one stroke.
Since many of those dismissed Monday belonged to its 9,000 strong local staff in Waterloo and nearby Cambridge, grim scenes were witnessed outside RIM plants soon after the BlackBerry maker announced the steepest job cuts in its history.
'Dozens of cabs were dispatched to company offices in Cambridge and Waterloo, where employees were escorted out the door by security guards moments after getting their layoff notices. Clutching manila folders, about 50 workers were led to waiting taxis which drove them home,' reported the local Hamilton Spectator.
'But if anyone was panicking within RIM on the day the company announced its worst job losses since its creation in 1984, no one would admit it publicly. The troubled high-tech firm, which employs about 9,000 locally, has laid off people before - 200 last month and another 220 nine years ago - but it's never faced a slashing like this,' the daily said.
The lay-offs come after RIM's declining market share, shrinking revenue, profit warnings and delays in replacing the aging handsets. RIM stock, which has sunk nearly 60 percent this year, further slipped more than four percent to close at $25.19 Monday after the lay-offs.
But technology analysts expect even more job cuts by the troubled BlackBerry company.
According to Sameet Kanade of Northern Securities here, job cuts at RIM would reach 3,000. However, these lay-offs wouldn't help RIM much as they would prove to be disruptive for it, he said.
'It doesn't help employee morale, it doesn't help the expectant financial performance,' said Kanade.
Marianne Peters, a chef who used to do catering for axed RIM employees, aptly summed up the despondent mood in the BlackBerry town, saying, 'It is a stressful time. There is a lot of uncertainty looming. They knew this was coming but not to this extent. They thought maybe a couple of hundred jobs, but not this.'
(Gurmukh Singh can be contacted at email@example.com)
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Here we will look at faux fur pillow covers and protectors and understand what they are, how they work, and of course, the benefits they have.
What are the faux fur pillow covers and covers – Faux fur cushion covers are accessories designed to protect your pillow from bed bugs, mites, and build-up of dust and dirt. You can buy a maternity pillow for a good night's sleep during pregnancy. However, being dirty can pose a lot of health risks.
Image Source: Google
Many modern pillowcases and protectors protect more than just your pillow. They can also provide great comfort while making sure you fall asleep and most importantly, sleep as long as you need.
The best pillowcase benefits – Protection against allergens: House dust mites and other common household allergens can have a strong influence on people with allergies. However, the cover is usually made of a material that prevents allergens from sticking to the pillow.
Insect Repellent: Bed bugs are tiny insects that like to make pillows in their homes. Bed bug infestations can have serious health consequences because bed bugs feed on blood for animals and humans.
Improve Pillow Life: Whether you have a maternity orthopedic pillow or a pillow-shaped one, these are less likely to wear out. If you're careless, your favorite pillow could become unusable sooner than you expected. You can even search online for more information about faux fur pillow covers.
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If you live in an area that gets a lot of snow, you know how important it is to clear your driveway, roof, walkways, and other areas. Not only is it a pain to have to shovel all that snow, but it can also be dangerous. Snow and ice can make surfaces slick and difficult to walk on. If you don't clear the snow, you or someone else could slip and fall.
Thus, if you don't want to slip and fall on your way to getting the mail, you should consider snow removal to be a priority. It can take a bit of time and energy, but it’s worth it. Plus, your neighbors will appreciate it if they have to walk past your house.
Dangers of not clearing snow
Although snow may look beautiful while falling from the sky, it can be very dangerous if it isn't cleared away. One of the dangers of not clearing snow is that it can create slippery and icy conditions that can lead to serious injuries. In addition, large amounts of snow can block roads and driveways, making it difficult for people to get around. Finally, not clearing snow can also lead to the formation of dangerous ice dams, which can cause roofs to collapse.
Each winter, countless people are injured from slips and falls on icy sidewalks and parking lots. Many of these accidents could have been prevented if the snow had been cleared in a timely manner. While it may be tempting to leave the snow shoveling for another day, it's important to be proactive and clear the snow as soon as possible. Not only will this help keep you and your loved ones safe, but it will also prevent costly accidents and injuries.
While most people focus on clearing snow from walkways and driveways, it’s also important to clear snow from roofs. Heavy snow can cause roofs to collapse, and even if that doesn’t happen, the weight of the snow can still cause serious damage.
Plus, if the snow melts and then refreezes, it can create an ice dam that can also damage your roof. In addition, the snow can block your gutters, causing water to back up and leak into your home. So, when it snows, be sure to clear the snow off your roof, too. Clearing the snow off your roof is a simple and effective way to protect your home during the winter.
If you want to avoid the dangers and costly repairs that come with a collapsed roof, it's important to regularly clear snow from your roof. As you can see, there are several reasons why you should remove snow from the roof of your home.
Not only is it a good idea for the safety of your family, but it can also help to prevent damage to your home and save you money in the long run. If you are not sure how to remove snow from the roof, there are plenty of resources available online or you can always hire a professional to do it for you.
Driveways and walkways
As the weather gets colder and the snow starts to fall, it's important to be aware of the dangers that come with it. Snow and ice can make driveways and walkways very slippery, which can lead to falls and serious injuries. It's important to clear your driveway and walkway of snow and ice before using them and to be extra careful when walking on them.
One of the dangers of snow on driveways and walkways is that it can create ice. When water from melting snow freezes, it creates a layer of ice that can be very slippery. This can cause people to fall and hurt themselves. In addition, ice can also damage driveways and walkways.
It's important to keep in mind that injuries from falls are one of the most common types of injuries during the winter months. If you must go outside, be sure to wear proper footwear and take your time.
Snow can make mornings tough, especially if you have to dig your car out before you leave for work. However, letting snow accumulate around your vehicle isn’t just an inconvenience. It can also damage your vehicle in the long run.
Parking in snow means getting snow in the nooks and crannies of the underside of your car. This means that your car will be exposed to snow and moisture for more time than advisable. Because of this, certain parts of your car may be subject to corrosion, which can cause extensive damage.
Best time for shoveling snow
In general, it is best to shovel snow as soon as possible after it has fallen to prevent it from becoming compacted and more difficult to remove. It’s also best that you start shoveling early in the morning before the sun has a chance to melt the snow and make it heavier. This is especially important if you live in an area where the snow is likely to refreeze overnight.
Of course, you’ll also need to regularly shovel snow throughout the day. You may also need to shovel snow every hour or so, at least during heavy snowfall. This will keep the snow from accumulating and compacting, which can make it even more difficult to deal with later on.
Having to shovel snow regularly, as often as every hour during the day, can seem like a tedious chore. However, letting the snow accumulate can lead to even more work at the end of the day.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you should use the right equipment and materials when removing snow. For example, make sure to avoid salting snow on concrete, because it can damage the concrete and exacerbate any cracks. Try to use lightweight plastic snow shovels to make moving snow easier. If you’re dealing with wet snow, however, then a metal shovel is the better choice.
Snow removal safety
While shoveling snow may not be the most fun activity, it is important to do it correctly to avoid any injuries. Snow shoveling can be a dangerous activity if you're not careful.
Every year, people suffer from heart attacks, back injuries, and even frostbite from shoveling snow. But it doesn't have to be this way. With a little bit of careful planning, you can avoid these hazards and stay safe while you shovel.
By doing a few simple and easy things, you can make the job a lot easier and less dangerous. First, dress warmly and in layers. This will help you stay comfortable and avoid getting cold-related injuries. Second, take your time. shoveling too quickly can lead to accidents or injuries. Finally, be sure to stretch before and after shoveling to avoid strains or pulled muscles. By following these tips, you can keep yourself safe during snow removal.
Check out more tips on how to shovel snow properly.
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Public assessments of the Supreme Court have reached a quarter-century low. Unlike evaluations over much of the past decade, there is very little partisan divide. The court receives relatively low favorable ratings from Republicans, Democrats and independents alike.
The survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted April 4-15, 2012 among 1,514 adults nationwide, finds 52% offering a favorable opinion of the Supreme Court, down from 58% in 2010 and the previous low of 57%, in 2005 and 2007. About three-in-ten (29%) say they have an unfavorable view, which approaches the high reached in 2005 (30%).
According to the poll, 56% of Republicans, and 52% of both Democrats and independents rate the Supreme Court favorably. That compares with April 2009, when 70% of Republicans, 63% of Democrats and 64% of independents held a favorable opinion of the court.
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Violin for All: Lessons for Any Age Group and Level (Beginners to Advanced)
In this course, we are going to learn the basics of the Violin, improve your prior knowledge, and even learn a song that you want to play¡ It Is going to be a great time.
Hector Marchant, Violin/Piano Teacher
16 total reviews for this teacher
15 reviews for this class
Completed by 31 learners
Once per week
learners per class
How does an “Ongoing” course work?
Meets on a weekly schedule, join any week, no need to catch up on previous material
Live video chats, recorded and monitored for safety and quality
Discussions via classroom forum and private messages with the teacher
Automatic payment every Sunday, cancel any time
Great for clubs and for practicing skills
How Outschool Works
Available TimesPacific Time
Don't see a time that works for you?
Do you want to learn how to play the Violin or continue with your previous lessons? You are in the right place, I can help you with my experience teaching all levels and ages. Even if you want to learn a specific musical piece, there is no problem at all¡ We could find an arrangement that is suitable for you and I will give you the tools to do it and have fun¡ I have more than 10 years of working with students from 6 years to more than 18 years old. I was a member of the educational team in...
Students will improve their prior knowledge about Violin and Music, or learn the basics from the beginning. Also, if they want to play a specific song, we are going to evaluate the possibilities and find a suitable arrangement for each one. If you want to prepare an audition, concert or competition, I know about how to manage your time of practice to achieve your goals. To summarize some points that we are going to work: - Left and Right-hand position - Bow technique - Intonation - Pulse - Music Theory - How to practice
I was born in Chile and started playing the piano at the age of 10. After that, I begin my Violin studies at the age of 15 years old. In my experience as a musician, I can say that I have a rich and varied career in professional symphony orchestras, chamber music, and one of the activities that inspire me the most, teaching. All this allows me to perform my violin and piano in professional orchestras and chamber music ensembles in North, South America, and Europe. I have more than 10 years of experience teaching in different Schools, Music Academies, and Youth Orchestras added to my Private Students. In all this time, I have learned how to help students reach their highest levels as performers and continue with the musical journey as a great hobby or even professionally. To define my principal goals as a teacher, I can say that I want to create an educational environment that allows me to guide young learners to begin their journeys in this amazing world that is the music. I love teaching, and I want to express this through my teaching philosophy. Every student is a completely different person, and for this reason, has a unique way of learning. Currently, I am using different methods and books that are suitable for the plans of each student, and we can do the necessary variations in every scenario. To achieve those objectives, I have to prepare myself in the best way. I did my Bachelor’s degree and Performers certificate, multiple extra Pedagogy Courses as a Kodaly certificate focused in early music education, and now my Masters of Music in performance. I strongly believe that everyone can learn to play a musical instrument, we just have to find their specific plan, setting our objectives and also having a good time¡
About homework, I will attach a summary report after each lesson with the contents studied and the assignment for the next time. I will be available for any questions about the lessons or how to practice between our classes.
-Violin ( I can help you to find a violin suitable in order to age and height ) -Bow -Shoulder Rest ( or a violin pad for kids, I can help you to find the right one ) -Rosin -Pencil Colors -Books and Violin Methods (I will send you the sheet music and books concerning the levels) -Notebook
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
I will do a little audition after completing 2-3 songs of our books. If the student and parents want, this audition could be open for their families.
40 minutes per week in class, and an estimated 2 - 4 hours per week outside of class.
Hector Marchant, Violin/Piano Teacher
16 total reviews
10 completed classes
I was born in Chile and started playing the piano at the age of 10. After that, I begin my Violin studies at the age of 15 years old. In my experience as a musician, I can say that I have a rich and varied career in professional symphony...
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Corn Removal Procedure
Mole Removal Surgery
Mole Removal Procedure
Skin Polishing Treatment
Deep Pigmentation Treatment
Cysts Removal Procedure
Cutaneous Fillers Treatment
Small Dermatologic Surgery
Earlobe Repair Procedure
Line And Wrinkle Smoothing Procedures
Patient Review Highlights
nice i will tell using that cream and after that she experienced or not
Dr. Priyanka Pal Mantri provides answers that are very helpful. Nice
Apart from the skin on your face, the skin on your elbows and knees needs special attention as well. Whether you’re fair skinned or dark skinned, with age you may notice your skin on the elbows and knees becoming darker than usual. This happens because the skin in these areas is thicker than the rest of the body and has more folds than usual. It also has no oil glands and very little blood supply that makes this area rough and dry.
Genetics, exposure to the sun, improper hygiene, hormonal imbalances and certain medications are some of the factors that play a role in the darkening of the skin in these areas. Resting your elbows on the tables or kneeling puts the skin on your elbows and knees in contact with other surfaces and causes friction that can also make the skin darker. Luckily this is not a condition that requires medical attention and can be treated with simple home remedies. Here are a few-
Lemon and Honey Scrub: Lemon and honey are excellent for the skin. Lemon juice has natural bleaching properties and honey is a great moisturiser. When combined together, they lighten the skin and make it softer simultaneously. Mix 1 lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of honey and apply on the affected areas. Leave on for at least 20 minutes and then rinse.
Vinegar and Yogurt Mask: The combination of vinegar and yoghurt helps remove black spots and moisturises the skin. To use, mix a few tablespoons of vinegar with yoghurt and apply on the skin. Once dry, rub the mixture in a circular motion to scrub the dead cells off and then wash off.
Aloe Vera Gel: Along with all its other health benefits, aloe vera gel is also very good for the skin. In particular, it addresses damage caused by sun exposure and moisturises the skin. Ideally, use the gel from a plant directly. Apply aloe vera gel on the elbows and knees and leave to dry for at least half an hour before rinsing it off.
Turmeric, Milk, and Honey: Turmeric is well known as an antiseptic and when combined with the moisturising properties of honey and the bleaching properties of milk can do wonders for darkened elbows and knees. To use, mix equal proportions of all the three elements into a paste and apply to the affected areas. Leave on for 20 minutes and scrub in a circular motion before washing off. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a dermatologist and ask a free question.
Skin condition which is marked by red, itchy and scaly patches is known as Psoriasis. It is one of the most chronic and long lasting diseases relating to the skin.
The top five conditions that can damage the condition are listed below:
- Infections: Psoriasis also gets worsened by common infections like an earache, bronchitis, throat infection, and such others. It is highly recommended for you to consult your doctor if you have anybody infections along with psoriasis. So the doctor will be able to tell you the risk of the infection and how to go about managing it.
- Weather changes: Medical researchers have proved that psoriasis tends to grow in colder and drier conditions. It has reportedly been observed that people having psoriasis have smoother skin during summers than during winters.
- Alcohol: There is a direct link between your drinking habits and your skin health. Drinking, in general, tends to cause harm to the overall body. Skin being no exception also gets affected adversely by alcohol consumption. If you have psoriasis, then you should immediately consult your dermatologist so that he/she can assign you a daily limit for your alcohol consumption in a manner that it does not worsen the condition of your skin.
- Stress: Stress has been known generally to affect the skin in an adverse manner. Stress can cause your body to have a greater incidence of inflammation on your skin which further affects your skin disease. Your doctor can help you out with the ways to manage your stress so that it does not cause any further damage to your skin.
- Cuts and bruises: If there are any kinds of breakouts or irregularities in your skin, then it would further worsen your psoriasis. Your cut skin may lead to a flare which is known as the Koebner phenomenon in medical terminology.
Dandruff is one of the most common chronic hair conditions. It is characterized by a white, flaky substance on the scalp. Dandruff is not a serious condition and neither is it contagious. However, people still want it gone so that their hair looks better.
Following are the misleading conceptions about Dandruff :
Myth 1: Dandruff results from bad hygiene?
Fact: while regular shampooing can help keep dandruff under control, this condition does not stem from a lack of hygiene, even the most diligent hair washers can find themselves suffering from it. This is because dandruff is caused by various components, which include a characteristic overproduction of hair oil or an excess of parasitic microorganisms that live normally on our scalps.
Myth 2: Dandruff only occurs on the scalp?
Fact: it's true that your scalp is the most widely recognised spot to experience dandruff, yet it's by all account not the only possibility. A few individuals additionally observe that areas such as the eyebrows, ears, and around the nose are inclined to flaking too.
Myth 3: All flakes in your hair is dandruff?
Fact: sometimes flakes are only a consequence of dry skin on your scalp. While the difference between dryness and dandruff might be unclear to the common individual, medical experts do make a distinction between the two. If your flakes are relatively small and white, chances are you are dealing with a dry scalp, dandruff flakes tend to be larger and yellowish in colour.
Myth 4: Dandruff is contagious?
Fact: dandruff is not something that you can catch from someone else. The fungal bacteria that can lead to the appearance of dandruff are present on everybody's scalp, which means that our scalp is naturally predisposed to the condition.
Myth 5: Dandruff can cause hair fall?
Fact: hair fall is at some point connected with dandruff and an irritated scalp; however, these conditions are not mutually exclusive. Hair fall is not brought about by dandruff, but rather might be prompted by the incessant need to scratch a bothersome scalp. When we scratch our heads, the activity causes breakage in the hair. The root cause of hair fall includes anxiety, diet and the overall health of your scalp.
Measles refer to an infection caused by a virus. It mainly affects the respiratory system and its onset is accompanied by high fever, runny nose, frequent coughing and itchy rashes all over the face. It is extremely contagious and spreads through saliva or even mucus. This infection has several symptoms. Some of them are:
- Persistent coughing: Affecting the respiratory system, the onset of measles can be identified by persistent and a nagging cough, one that refuses to recuperate.
- Fever: As discussed above, if you are infected by the measles virus, chances are very high that you will suffer from extremely high fever. It is often accompanied by chills.
- Sore throat: The throat forms an important part of the respiratory system and if it is infected, its repercussions can be felt in the throat. You will have extreme difficulty in eating or swallowing food when suffering from measles.
- Small white spots develop inside the mouth: Sometimes you may notice outbreak of small white spots in the interior of your mouth. In case you do, do not take it lightly. This is an important symptom of measles and you must consult a doctor immediately.
Notwithstanding the contagious nature of the infection, there are various treatments available in order to treat this infection. Some of them are:
- Acetaminophen: This is used to relieve one of fever as well as pain in the muscles.
- Take rest: Suffering from measles is an extremely uncomfortable situation and taking rest always helps. Your immune system, being infected by a virus is rattled and needs sufficient rest to recuperate.
- Drink lots of water: Nothing can be an alternative to water. Therefore when suffering from measles, drink as much water as you can. Try to drink at least six to seven glasses of water, a day in order to purge your system.
We all think of sunscreen as something that goes into our vacation kit when heading out on a hike in the hills or to the beach. What we fear is being out in the sun can reduce fairness, can cause a tan, and a sunscreen will help maintain complexion.
Well, these are completely wrong notions. What we need to be aware of is that even the regular, daily sun exposure during driving or going to the office can do as much damage, if not more. The sunscreen, therefore, assumes a very important role in your daily personal care. Read on and find out more.
Relationship with skin cancer: Studies in the US have shown that skin cancer is the most common type of cancer and sun exposure is the leading cause of this. It is the regular exposure on a daily basis that cumulatively leads to this, rather than a one day exposure minus the sunscreen. Using sunscreen on a daily basis provides a good shield against skin cancer.
Slows down aging: Dry skin, wrinkles, sun spots, and dark circles on the skin are more related to unprotected exposure to the sun rather than just aging. The sun is the most powerful agent that can lead to these effects and it is very essential to guard yourself against it.
While a general belief is that the sun is less harmful during cloudy days, it is not so the case. The ultraviolet rays of the sun filter through clouds and can cause equal damage as they would during sunny summer days. Studies have shown that the rays, which filter through the clouds are capable of accelerated aging effects and continue to do so, even after you have reached home.
It is not just the amount of time, you are actually out in the sun that counts. The collagen in the skin that gives it the firmness, if is damaged, leads to sagging and bagging of skin. Using a sunscreen provides a shield against these harmful ultraviolet rays.
Research has shown a 73% reduction in the invasive forms of skin cancer by using sunscreen on a regular basis. It is a popular belief that fair complexion is more affected by exposure to the sun. It is true that darker complexion has more melanocytes that increase the natural protection, but this does not ensure complete protection against the harmful ultraviolet rays.
After reading this, a sunscreen lotion with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or more should surely find its way into your grooming kit.
Related Tip: "Can Use Of Sunscreen Reduce Skin's Aging?"
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CC-MAIN-2017-04
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https://www.lybrate.com/gurgaon/clinic/skinfully-yours-sohna-1
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The Green Restaurant Association (GRA) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to create an ecologically sustainable restaurant industry. Using the collective powers of both restaurants, who want to be more environmentally sustainable and cost-effective, as well as the customers, who want to support these types of businesses, GRA created this organization and Web site: dinegreen.com.
Use the Web site to search for restaurants that are in various stages of becoming a certified green restaurant, which means they (1) use a comprehensive recycling system for all products that are accepted by local recycling companies; (2) are free of polystyrene foam (“Styrofoam”) products; (3) commit to completing four Environmental Steps per year of membership; (4) and at least one Environmental Step after joining.
You can also print the Suggestion Card off to leave with your bill at restaurants who are not part of GRA to educate them to the opportunity. If you know someone that works in a restaurant there is a quiz to assess the environmental responsibility of the restaurant. A library could also peruse the guide to endorsed products for ideas on tissue, cleaning products, hand dryers, etc.
If none of these restaurants are in your local area, think about checking some of these places out while traveling for events, conferences, or workshops. There are many in large cities especially NYC, Boston and several in California.
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CC-MAIN-2017-04
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|I will continue talking about the three truths of existence, aka The Three Characteristics. Last week we explored the truth of impermanence and what it would be like to fully live from the understanding that all of nature, including us, in constant flux.
This week I'll be talking about the second truth, not-self. This is a concept in Buddhism that is often miss-understood as no-self giving an impression of nihilism. We unpack the truth of not-self, how it fits with this spiritual path, and how it can inspire us in our day-to-day.|
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CC-MAIN-2022-33
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https://bfm-ca.dharmaseed.org/talks/57530/
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Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe, 24 March – Portuguese construction company Monte Adriano Tuesday began reconstruction work on 52 kilometres of roads between Sao Tome and agricultural company Ribeira Peixe, in the south of the West African island of Sao Tome.
The work, estimated to cost 25 million euros, will be funded by Portuguese cooperation and will take two years. Monte Adriano will partner three small Sao Tome construction companies, Constromé, Socobrise and Major Construções in the project.
The road will be built from bitumen concrete and work will involve construction of ditche and signage along the road.
The project also includes refurbishment of seven bridges, four of which provide access to Ribeira Peixe, and three others located beyond the area where the road ends. (macauhub)
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CC-MAIN-2022-33
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In this increasingly anxious world, we often get caught up in a frenzy to find the right answers to calm ourselves and be able to take action. Many times we find ourselves searching for answers outside of ourselves. When in reality, the answer is within. If only we were to look for it.
We give our power away when we believe someone else knows or has the answer. But what if you already have all your answers. I’m not saying don’t get advice. In other words, when you begin to rely on your own inner wisdom, you make better decisions and feel more confident as a result.
Thus, when you don’t know where to go, go within.
Most of us are not used to listening to our inner wisdom. We often react emotionally, try to logic things out, or search for answers externally.
How To Go Within & Get Your Highest Answers
To start cultivating your inner wisdom listening skills, get curious about your own feelings and emotions. Get curious about why you react a certain way. When we stop worrying about what others think and instead focus on our own feelings, the truth has space to emerge.
Presence your emotions and feel into them… notice the thoughts and ideas that come along. Perhaps you can then name the emotion and what you are feeling. Maybe you’ll identify what triggered it.
Beware, however, of going down the thinking rabbit hole. If you find that your emotions are creating more negative energy, likely your thoughts are doing a number on you and there is a lot of judgment happening. Instead, breathe and feel. Go back to curiosity. Something subtle happens when you allow yourself to witness your emotions and let go of the grip of any stigma or judgment about them. Accept the emotions and the feelings they bring up as OK.
The feelings that develop then have a chance to calm way down and you may even find that their energy changes.
This will require slowing down. Yep, I said it. Bring your awareness to your breath, practice listening beyond the thoughts and for the information in your emotions and you’ll likely receive resolution, insight, and best options as long as you remove the pressure for that to happen.
With the practice of identifying and presencing your emotions and being with your feelings, you will begin to trust yourself. Eventually, it becomes a habit to go within and listen. Taking 5 minutes to slow down, breathe, and get curious can bring you clarity and save you hours in your day.
To connect with yourself, get grounded, and become centered, allow the chatter in your head to be there. Try not to resist what is there, be with it. There are a variety of ways you can go within including:, including working in the garden, walking a labyrinth, listening to music, relaxing with a coffee, and whatever else helps you relax.
How To Interrupt the Pattern
Sometimes, getting to the place of slowing down just isn’t working. If you feel like you are not in touch, connected, and just want to reset, my advice is to NOT push it. When you are in a mode that does not feel quite right to you, then you may need to interrupt the energy you currently have.
Stop and take 5 slower breaths. Extend that into 5 minutes if you need to. When you focus on your breathing, then you are going inwardly. You’ve heard people recommend meditating. Instead of putting pressure on yourself to “meditate,” simply take a few breaths and bring your awareness to your breath. That’s a great start.
Change Your Energy
If I only have a minute I will just do 10 jumping jacks in my kitchen to just move my body. Physical movement is good for the mind. I may not have time to do a workout but I can do a few jumping jacks or listen to some spa music and poof I am in a different mindset.
Keep a Proactive Action List. I write on the back of a business card some simple ideas of ways I can shift my energy in just a few seconds and keep it in my wallet, or you can keep a list on your phone that you can refer to. Buy a Feminine Power Card Deck. It’s a great energy-shifting tool. You can pick a card any time you want to reconnect, go within, and/or shift your energy that will open you up to healing, resolution, and ultimately peace of mind.
Now before you go on with your day, take a moment and take 3 deep breaths. Inhaling slowly, focus exhale as you are ready, and repeat. Nice!
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60 Famous + Original Labor Day Quotes | Happy Labor Day!
Labor Day is one of the most important public holidays in the United States. It honors the immense contributions that hardworking Americans have made to the prosperity of the nation.
In commemoration of this great annual occasion, we have compiled a bunch of famous and original Labor Day quotes for you. Feast your eyes on these quotes and share them with friends, co-workers and family as you kick back, celebrate and enjoy this well-earned day off.
Famous Labor Day Quotes
- Nothing will work unless you do. Maya Angelou
- Dare to be honest and fear no labor. Robert Burns
- I learned the value of hard work by working hard. Margaret Mead
- The end of labor is to gain leisure. Aristotle
- Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. Aristotle
- All happiness depends on courage and work.
- Take rest. A field that has rested gives a bountiful crop. Ovid
- Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Thomas Edison
- It is labor indeed that puts the difference on everything. John Locke
- I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.
- Labor Day is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race or nation. Samuel Gompers
- If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it would probably be Labor Day Weekend. Doug Larson
- Labor Day is seen as a day of rest for many hardworking Americans. James P. Hoffa
- As we celebrate Labor Day, we honor the men and women who fought tirelessly for workers’ rights, which are so critical to our strong and successful labor force. Elizabeth Esty
- Each year, Labor Day gives us an opportunity to recognize the invaluable contributions that working men and women make to our nation, our economy and our collective prosperity. It gives us a chance to show gratitude for workers’ grit, dedication, ingenuity and strength, which define our nation’s character. Thomas E. Perez
- Be steady and well-ordered in your life so that you can be fierce and original in your work.
- A man is not paid for having a head and hands, but for using them. Elbert Hubbard
- The fruit derived from labor is the sweetest of pleasures. Luc de Clapiers
- When you put a lot of hard work into one goal and you achieve it, that’s a really good feeling.”— Derek Jeter
- Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration. The rest of us just get up and go to work. Stephen King
- The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it. Mother Teresa
- Find something you love to do, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life. Harvey Mackay
- Genius begins great works. Labor alone finishes them. Joseph Joubert
- All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- No human masterpiece has been created without great labor. Andre Gide
- Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. Confucius
- Without labor, nothing prospers. Sophocles
- My grandfather once told me there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to be in the first group; there was much less competition. Indira Gandhi
- Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it. Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Work is no disgrace; the disgrace is idleness. Greek proverb
- Before the reward there must be labor. You plant before you harvest. You sow in tears before you reap joy. Ralph Ransom
- The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Mahatma Gandhi
- Nothing ever comes to one that is worth having except as a result of hard work. Booker T. Washington
- For working people and union members, Labor Day stands for something special and profound. It’s a day to honor the deep commitment each of us has to serve the children we teach, the families we heal, and the communities we love. Randi Weingarten
“Happy Labor Day” Quotes
- As we celebrate this holiday, let’s not forget those who made it possible, the men and women of yesteryear who though names now forgotten made genuine sacrifices, in some cases even their lives, in order to make America great.
- One thing that unifies all Americans, regardless of race, ethnicity or origin, is our commitment to building this nation through our sweat and toil, and this special day was created to acknowledge our worthy accomplishment, so let’s cast aside all prejudices and embrace each other in the spirit of Labor Day, the spirit of recognizing and appreciating our fellow worker as a reflection of ourselves.
- Many of our fellow laborers, indeed some of the hardest working ones, don’t have the benefit of belonging to a union to have their collective voices heard, just as were many of the people who established Labor Day in the first place, but know that we, your fellow brothers on the grind, know your sufferings, feel you pains and want to acknowledge you on this day set aside for us all.
- Please take this Labor Day to get in a last few moments of joy and unrepentant freedom before the new work season begins!
- The summer has ended and all the joy that comes with it, so now it’s time for us to laser focus on productivity and being the best employees we can until our next big break comes at Christmas.
- Not every holiday is worthy of its own parade, but Labor Day definitely is. We need to go out, have fun and celebrate our accomplishments as the infrastructure that holds America, the most exceptional nation on earth, together.
- Happy Labor Day to all of my fellow co-workers! Some of you may use today to get some extra hours of rest, but I’m going to use it to get my shopping on!
- Gone is the summertime, with its beautiful sunlit days and carefree vacations, but nature has something better in store for us – good old fashioned male rivalry in the form of football. Happy Labor Day! Let the NFL begin!
- The laborers of America put the us in USA. Happy Labor Day to you all!
- Labor Day serves as a reminder to all employees that we’re not the first generation of Americans to hate our bosses.
- The achievements of American workers can not only be measured in economics but also in their overall social contribution to the greatest nation on earth. Workers labor not only for their families and communities but also for the upkeep of the entire country, and without their efforts life as we know it would disintegrate.
- Today, let’s remember our forefathers who saw the importance of having a day off to chill, shop and barbeque. Happy Labor Day!
- I’m privileged to work for a company who recognizes the contribution of its workers and understands our need for time off. So my sincere happy Labor Day wishes extend to you, my employer, also.
- I’ll be honest and say I don’t know much about Labor Day, but any extra day off from work is a cause for celebration. Happy Labor Day!
- I’m glad I got to spend this Labor Day in the relished company of my family and friends, and I look forward to seeing you all again come Christmastime.
- Let’s take the occasion of this Labor Day to cook, drink and be merry because come tomorrow our toils begin anew.
- There is perhaps no better holiday whose origin exemplifies the spirit of America than Labor Day. At its roots, Labor Day symbolizes the vein through which the timeline of this country flows and the belief that we can accomplish more as a collective than we can as individuals.
- Adult life can be cruel, but occasionally it gives us breaks, like Labor Day.
- This Labor Day, let’s turn off the TV, the computer, the smartphones and just enjoy each other’s company. During this time that we usually spend with co-workers, let’s instead give unequivocally to our families and close friends, because by tomorrow we’re going right back to the norm anyway.
- I don’t know what to celebrate more, the day off from work or the fact that the kids are about to return to school. Happy Labor Day!
- On this Labor Day, where many of us are granted the day off and our place of business closes its doors, let’s take time to recognize the most important laborers of all – those working in hospitals, law enforcement and other essential services – who if they all took a consensual day off, would put many lives at risk.
- Our big bosses, who sit in unseen offices in the sky, aren’t the reason our companies are successful – we are. Happy Labor Day!
- I always find it ironic how the one day of the year set aside for masses of employees not to work during their regular hours is rather called Labor Day.
Labor Day in various countries
Unlike other countries, Labor Day in Australia isn’t held universally on one fixed date, but instead the date of observance of this day varies, from March all the way ‘til October, depending on what part of the country you’re in. However, like other countries, the Australian practice of Labor Day has its foundations in workers striking in search of more humane working conditions or more specifically an eight-hour work day based on the rationale that a day should be split evenly between work, recreation and rest. In some parts of Australia, Labor Day is known as May Day (as it is referred to in the UK and other nations), and on the island state of Tasmania it is called “Eight-Hour Day”. As with the general international observance of Labor Day, in Australia this holiday is set aside to remember the past struggles of common workers which have paved the way for the fairer working conditions many of us experience today, and it is also marked by public events, including parades.
Unlike other nations where Labor Day tends to be observed in early May or September, in New Zealand it is observed on the fourth Monday in October, meaning that it basically comes at the end of the month. New Zealand’s struggles for an eight-hour work day dates all the way back to 1840, with the first Labor Day being held in 1890 with a parade to commemorate the success of these endeavors; the holiday becoming an official, government backed practice in 1900, and due to its relatively progressive labor movement New Zealand became known as a “working man’s paradise” at the time. Labor Day was also the first non-traditional holiday established in New Zealand. Parades serve as public acknowledgements of New Zealand’s Labor Day, but more significantly it serves as a holiday where many workers, including government employees, get to stay home and relax as opposed to report to the office. Although the establishment of New Zealand’s Labor Day has undoubtedly been influenced by Chicago’s “Haymaker affair” (a famous labor protest in the United States) and other incidences that occurred outside the country, its origins can actually be traced back to an individual carpenter, Samuel Parnell, as opposed to some type of mass, organized labor movement. Parnell is widely credited as the initiator of the eight-hour working day.
Labor Day in the United Kingdom traces its origins back to the “Haymarket affair”, a US-based labor protest held in 1886 that turned violent yet spurred many effective labor movements throughout the world. In the UK, Labor Day is observed on May 1st and is known as “International Workers’ Day”. It was founded by trade unions over a century ago and is an occasion to recognize working class people as well as those who have been injured or even died at the workplace. In modern times, as with the free speech nature of the United Kingdom, some organizations have used International Workers’ Day as occasion to hold protests, in some cases even violent ones, that may be more politically than labor-oriented, although the day is more known for peaceful demonstrations held by labor unions. Labor Day itself, though dear to labor unions, is not a government mandated holiday in the UK, with that distinction instead being held by May Day, which happens to share the same date with International Workers’ Day. What is peculiar about Labor/May Day is that if May 1st doesn’t fall on a Monday then the actual “bank holiday”, when workers get the day off, will be held on the first Monday of the month.
International Labor (or Workers) Day in India is also known as “Antarrashtriya Shramik Diwas” or other names depending on what part of the country you’re referring to. It is a public holiday held annually on May 1st, thus coinciding with the universal practice of May Day. International Labor Day was actually inspired by the labor movement in the United States, as it was on this day in 1886 American labor unions went on strike in demand of 8-hour work days, with the holiday being established to acknowledge the past and present contributions of laborers and working class employees. Although the first Labor Day in India was held in 1923, the establishment of a standard 8-hour work day didn’t manifest until about 1950, around the same time India had become independent from British rule, as historically the labor movement in India had undertones of anti-colonialism. In its modern manifestation, Labor Day in India is celebrated by labor organizations holding public events such as parades, displays in support of improved economic and working conditions and activities for children that promote unity. In India May 1st is also when another holiday unrelated to labor, “Maharashtra Day”, is observed.
Unlike most countries in which the Labor Day is observed, in Canada it is held annually on the first Monday of September. Canada’s southern neighbor, the United States, also practices Labor Day on this day, though it seems that the foundation of the holiday in Canada predates and in fact even influenced its establishment in America. However, both nations ratified the observance of Labor Day in 1894. In the spirit that led to Labor Day becoming an international phenomenon, Canada’s own was founded in the efforts of labor unions against a repressive system that outlawed their organization. Labor Day being strategically placed on the first Monday of September allows for an extended three-day weekend, which many employees and their families, since children also return to school around this time, use as an opportunity to unofficially end summer. Some ways in which they do so is by engaging in public celebrations – like a picnic or fireworks display – or taking an excursion. Other ways in which Labor Day is publicly acknowledged is via parades, nationally-televised football games, and of course labor organizations themselves using the opportunity to advance their causes politically.
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As the trend of “natural” bushy brows grows, so does the cosmetic tattooing industry.
Microblading, powder, ombre — the before and afters are all over social media and selling the promise of brows like actress and model Cara Delevingne.
And if you are after a full look that is beyond your natural reach, it’s tempting to get it sorted once and for all (for a couple of years, at least) to avoid a daily brow application.
But it’s clear people have received, or at least are concerned about, bad ink jobs.
“How to remove eyebrow tattoo at home?”, “How to erase eyebrow tattoo?” and “Can eyebrow tattoo be corrected?” were just some commonly searched questions I found while researching this story.
Here are some things you might like to know before seeking out new inked brows.
How does eyebrow tattooing work?
When cosmetic tattooing first gained traction in the 1980s, it was often performed by body tattooists using regular tattoo tools.
“Most of the tattoos from the early ’80s were harsh colours and with fuzzy edged lines that, with time, developed further hazy edge. There was no subtlety in colour or application,” says Samantha Eisman, a dermatologist based in East Melbourne.
These days you are more likely to see subtle transformation using techniques known as microblading and microshading.
“Body tattoos are permanent as the tattoo ink has bigger particles that don’t get cleared by the body,” Dr Eisman says.
“With cosmetic tattoos, a pigment rather than an ink is used … and generally does not last for more than five years.”
Both are deposited into the layer of skin known as the dermis.
She says the cosmetic tattoo pigments comes in soft colours, allowing for a subtle result.
Eyebrow tattooing requires a minimum of two treatments.
The beauty trend is popular with all nationalities and can also be used for medical reasons, explains Paula Reali, president of the Association of Cosmetic Tattoo.
“It can help people with alopecia … and anyone undergoing cancer treatment can still have it done — they just have to be under a doctor’s supervision.”
Powder or microblading technique?
Microblading, or feathering, is a technique where hair strokes are created by manually etching pigment into the skin.
It’s performed by hand with a manual tool and has a softer finish.
Because the pigment is deposited more superficially, it may require more frequent touch ups and is not as suitable for oily skin, Dr Eisman says.
Microshading, or powder and ombre brows, are suitable for all skin types. A digital device is used, creating a more solid and defined look, Dr Eisman says.
Touch-ups are required less often than with microblading.
Some artists use a combination of both techniques.
Healing time and how long it lasts
Eyebrow tattooing takes seven to 10 days to heal, and generally lasts about 18 months to two years, fading over time.
How quickly that happens will depend on genetics, sun exposure, if you exfoliate with retinoids and hydroxy acids, and how oily your skin is, says Dr Eisman.
Your health can also play a role, Ms Reali says.
“If you have people who suffer from immune problems like diabetes, the retention [of the pigment] will be less.”
What are the risks of eyebrow tattooing?
The main risks associated with eyebrow tattooing are allergic reaction, scarring and infection.
“Anything that breaks the skin can predispose to infection, but reputable tattooists will ensure complete sterile technique and good hygiene as is required by the Department of Health regulations for skin penetration,” says Dr Eisman.
To reduce the risk of allergic reaction, she recommends finding out what type of pigment is being used.
“Organic is more likely to cause allergic reaction and fade faster. Inorganic is synthetic, and made from iron and zinc oxide with less chance of allergy,” she says.
If you have known allergies you can request a patch test, but some reactions can be delayed.
Swelling and granulomas (reaction to pigment where a mass of tissue forms around a foreign substance) are other associated risks.
Dr Eisman recommends avoiding anti-inflammatory medication (aspirin, ibuprofen, alcohol) one week prior to treatment.
Eyebrow tattooing is not advised while pregnant or breastfeeding, Dr Eisman warns, due to the infection risk, as well as others including skin being more susceptible to pigment darkening during this time.
Who is qualified to perform the procedure?
Billie Kubeil is a cosmetic tattooist from Narre Warren in Victoria.
She says tattooists should be qualified and registered for skin penetration with their local shire.
“Clients should also be able to see their certificates of qualification and insurance. Technicians will not be able to gain insurance without having a certificate of course completion.”
She says referrals from others who have used the tech are important because photos on a website can’t be verified as their actual work.
The environment is a good indicator of their standards, Ms Kubeil says.
“If a client goes to a clinic or salon and the tattooist is not wearing the appropriate attire and using safe international hygiene standards, they should not go ahead with this procedure.
“Maintaining infection control is extremely important … as we are using needles and penetrating the skin.”
After-care advice should be offered, as well as recommendations for hygienic healing products.
Ms Reali says you can also contact Fair Trading to see if a technician has had complaints.
How much does eyebrow tattooing cost?
The average cost for a brow tattoo service is between $600 and $750, says Ms Kubeil.
Ms Reali says it can vary from $400 to $1,500.
“It can depend on their location and therefore rent costs,” she says.
Often a service provider will include the follow-up appointment for touch-ups in the total price, but check there isn’t an additional cost.
Does eyebrow tattooing hurt?
Accredited cosmetic tattoo technicians use topical anaesthetics, but they need to be supplied by the client as tattoo artists and laser technicians are not authorised to sell or supply scheduled medicines.
The technician can help you organise the sourcing of anaesthetics from a compounding pharmacy.
“The topical anaesthetics work really well. Some people might feel a bit of discomfort, but it’s not a pain that’s traumatic or one needs to get nervous about.”
What if I don’t like the result?
Fear of an undesired result is understandable when having something semi-permanent inked on your face.
Dr Eisman advises it’s better to start light then go darker if unsure, as removal is tricky.
“Most cosmetic tattoos can be removed with specific tattoo removal lasers but it can be difficult and many treatments may be needed,” she says.
“Laser treatment to remove the tattoo come with their own complications.”
This is general information only. For detailed personal advice, you should see a qualified medical practitioner who knows your medical history.
Editor’s note: Originally this story stated that ink from body tattoos is deposited into a deeper layer of skin than pigment for cosmetic tattoos. They are deposited into the same layer of skin.
Authored by: Kellie Scott
Original article published on ABC Life.
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NEW YORK WAS proud to be first, and New Jersey will follow suit soon, but legislators in Illinois and several other states are debating whether to jump on the bandwagon for mandatory use of seat belts.
``There`s no doubt this will be one of the major issues in the state legislatures and the courts this year,`` said Nils Lofgren of the Motor Vehicles Manufacturers Association. ``There`s been a much higher level of acceptance of seat belts than ever before.``
Elaine Petrucelli, director of the American Association for Automotive Medicine, said: ``It`s mushroomed all over the place. The whole idea of a healthy lifestyle has taken hold, and people see motor-vehicle safety as part of that.`` The association is a national group of physicians and health-care professionals that has been lobbying for the legislation.
Thirty-six states, including Illinois, have legislation pending on mandatory seat belts, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
IN THE LAST decade, all states except Wyoming have passed laws requiring children in cars to be buckled into restraints, thus saving thousands from serious injury or death, an agency spokesman said.
In Illinois, where a year-old child-restraint law has reduced accidents and injuries among children by 68 percent, seat belt legislation passed both houses narrowly and awaits Gov. James Thompson`s signature. But the governor, bombarded by phone calls, letters and a lobby of conservative legislators, hasn`t indicated whether he will sign the bill, which would take effect July 1. It would make drivers and front-seat passengers subject to a $25 fine for not buckling up.
``People should decide for themselves how to protect themselves,``
argued State Rep. Sam Vinson (R., Clinton), leader of the opposition. Vinson has warned that Thompson could lose conservative support by signing the legislation. ``To have the government tell adults that they have to do something to protect their own safety is absolutely wrong,`` he said.
Vinson and others around the country who oppose the legislation contend that it is merely a way for automakers to avoid federal requirements to place air bags or other automatic safety restraints in new cars.
INDEED, A LARGE part of the lobbying effort was prompted by a decision last July by Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole. In an effort to end the 15-year debate over air bags, she ordered that unless states representing two-thirds of the nation`s population enact seat belt legislation before April 1, 1989, automakers will be required to install costly passive-restraint devices, such as air bags, that work automatically.
Lobbyists for automakers argue that making seat belt use mandatory is a cheaper and more efficient way to handle the problem. For one thing, air bags are only effective in frontal crashes, safety experts point out, but forcing people to wear seat belts could save thousands of lives in all kinds of accidents.
In addition, it would take years for all cars on the road to be equipped with air bags or similar devices, while most already have seat belts, Lofgren said.
``Automatic air cushions probably would add at least a few hundred dollars to a car purchase,`` Lofgren said. ``And since we have seat belts that are equally effective, (the other) can be avoided. . . . Seat belts are available now, and you get the results now.``
BUT OTHER safety experts disagree, and though they are pushing for seat belt legislation, they also don`t want the battle for automatic restraints to be lost.
``Our position is that we need both in order to save the most lives,``
said Brian O`Neill of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research group financed by the insurance industry. He said government estimates of the cost to society of injuries and deaths in auto accidents tops $25 billion a year.
``Seat belts are a step forward,`` he added. ``They are not the complete solution, and the fact of the matter is everybody won`t use them.``
Nevertheless, even a 70 percent use rate would save as many as 7,500 lives a year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. More than half of the deaths and injuries caused by traffic accidents could be prevented by seat belt laws, safety experts say.
In Illinois, that would translate to 326 fewer fatalities and 43,000 fewer injuries a year if only slightly more than half of the drivers and passengers were to buckle up.
Safety experts point to the success of laws in more than 30 countries, including Australia, Britain, Sweden and France.
IN BRITAIN, where the law took effect two years ago, more than 90 percent of the motorists use seat belts, compared with about 40 percent in the past, according to the traffic safety administration. Highway casualties and serious injuries have dropped about 25 percent.
The New York Traffic Safety Commission expects the law to save 300 to 400 lives a year in the state and to eliminate 72,000 injuries. Since Tuesday, police have been stopping cars for seat belt violations and issuing tickets that carry a maximum $50 fine.
New Jersey`s law will take effect March 1. Gov. Thomas Kean said that any infringement of rights caused by the law will be outweighed by the lives it saves.
But residents of the two states appear to be divided on the issue.
``It`s a restriction and an invasion of privacy,`` said Ann Dixon, a New Jersey accountant.
But Manhattan construction worker Kevin Hoyler isn`t concerned about his rights. ``The whole point of the law is safety,`` he said, ``and I think that`s right.``
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By Brady Haran
BBC News Online, East Midlands
BBC News Online is exploring the River Trent with a series of stories "From the Source to the Sea". In his first report, Brady Haran investigates water quality.
This reporter reveals a source
For such a mighty waterway, the Trent has a humble beginning.
The nation's third longest river - and second largest in terms of water flow - begins as a muddy puddle in Staffordshire.
The "Head of Trent", marked only with an old monument and rusty gate, lies on the edge of a cow paddock in the small village of Biddulph Moor.
From there it trickles down a hill towards Stoke-On-Trent where the first serious pollution enters the river.
In fact, the early stages of the Trent have historically been among the most polluted, causing many problems further downstream.
The River Tame, one of the Trent's early tributaries, is used to drain waste from Birmingham and further adds to the Trent's woes.
As a result, water taken directly from the Trent has not been used as a drinking supply in living memory.
Ruth Needham, from the OnTrent partnership, says: "For many years the Trent has suffered from high pollution levels from sewage discharges and from run-off from agriculture.
"It has not been worth the water company's while to treat it."
However the Trent is a river on the mend, according to the Environment Agency.
Major pollution incidents have fallen from 165 in 1995 to just 64 last year.
Since its worst days in the mid-1960s, overall water quality has also improved along the river and its tributaries.
This improvement is best demonstrated at a place called Witches Oak Waters, just off the A50 near Castle Donington.
The site, managed by water company Severn Trent, is a quarry filled with water from the Trent.
It is being used as back-up water supply for Nottingham and Derby, to be drawn upon if other sources encounter problems.
The supply was recently trialled successfully, marking the first time water from the Trent has been consumed by people in the East Midlands.
Severn Trent conservation manager, Geoff Nickolds, says: "We have invested over £2 billion on river water quality improvement in the Trent over the past 10 years or so.
Philip Precey has been spotting more otters
"It's now at a standard where we can treat it for drinking water, which it hasn't been for 70 or 80 years or more.
"It's opening up a whole new possibility of supply for us."
In addition to this, Witches Oak is also becoming a site teeming with wildlife, such as birds and otters.
It is the return of otters to the Trent which many conservationists are citing as the best example of the river's recovery.
Philip Precey, from the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, is a veteran 'otter spotter' and has noticed an increase in spraints (droppings) along the river.
He says: "From the mid 1950s until the end of the 1980s, otters were extinct through virtually all of lowland England, but very much so in the Midlands.
"Since the late 1990s, they have slowly come back, and hopefully back to stay."
The National Otter Survey for England from May last year showed the network of the Trent and its tributaries had the biggest increase of any region in the UK.
Mr Precey says otters are a flagship species to help environmentalists convey their messages.
"If you try to explain to people about wetland conservation, it all sounds a bit wishy washy.
"But if you say to them it's about otters, that's something big and sexy, a big animal... people understand otters and then we can explain all the other things."
Also in our series from the Trent:
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The number 922,342 is NOT a PRIME number.
How to check if the number 922,342 is a prime number
A prime number can be divided, without a remainder, only by itself and by 1. For example, 13 can be divided only by 13 and by 1. In this case, the number 922,342 that you looked for, is NOT a PRIME number, so it devides by 1,2, 461171, 922342, and of course 922,342.
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(WOMENSENEWS)–Progress provokes reaction. After the American Civil War, an energetic surge partially kept in check while the nation tore itself apart was let loose. Serious education for women began to flourish. Professions opened their doors a crack. The reaction came from men with titles, expertise and power.
On December 16, 1872, Dr. Edward Clarke of the Harvard Medical School was the invited speaker at The New England Women’s Club in Boston, where reformers of all stripes met to discuss the issues of the day.
Dr. Clarke issued an alarm. Education for women, he warned, was so dangerous, it could prove deadly. Mental exertion could have catastrophic physical consequences, including “monstrous brains and puny bodies; abnormally active cerebation and abnormally weak digestion; flowing thought and constipated bowels.” The greatest risk, of course, was damage to the most valuable female body part–the womb, already housed in frail bodies “diseased” by monthly bleeding. Womanliness itself was at risk.
Members of the club that December night included a pantheon of female energy and intellect: Julia Ward Howe, club president was a poet whose “Battle Hymn of the Republic” had nearly become a national anthem. Louisa May Alcott earned money writing. Lucretia Mott was a tireless abolitionist and suffragist. Lucy Stone, an Oberlin College graduate, had started a trend by keeping her own name when she married. Not a puny or weak specimen among them.
As Dr. Clarke went on to publicize his “ideas” in popular books and talks, he inspired others in his profession to prescribe “rest cures” for ambitious women. Howe and the others disputed them. Physician Mary Putnam Jacobi joined the fray with clinical evidence that menstruation was evidence of health, not debility and arguing that women’s capacity in all areas–studying, working, or voting–had been grossly underestimated.
Myths about the frailties of bodies that bled monthly took assumed the form of restrictions on female athletics in our time, but they were rooted in 19th century desires to shut down that most dangerous organ, the female brain.
Louise Bernikow is the author of seven books and numerous magazine articles. She travels to campuses and community groups with a lecture and slide show about activism called “The Shoulders We Stand On: Women as Agents of Change.” She can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.
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Hello there everybody! I’m Tawni! Growing up, I was the girl who rearranged my bedroom (and five other siblings rooms) almost weekly! My mother always asked my opinion whether it was on furniture selection, placement, color, or even her outfit for the day. She always thought I had a keen eye for good design. I carried that passion with me to further graduate with a bachelors degree in Interior Design. In Uni, I remember being scolded for thinking too far “outside of the box,” on a project. However, within weeks of working with Dallas Design Group, I was complimented that it was a strong suit of mine. And thanks to our awesome builders—I now see our innovative ideas can actually come to life! Thinking outside of the box I believe is a talent we should all exercise in the design field. So I decided to write my first blog on just that!
Three reasons we should all keep our creative minds young.
Reason #1: Thinking outside of the box opens up an endless amount of possibilities in a design.
Although we can ponder some pretty outrageous ideas—the more inspiration in the conceptual stage, the better!
Reason #2: You’re surrounded by everything you need!
By simply noticing the elements of design in objects and the environment around us—we can be inspired ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE! Ex. The Line, Color, Shape, Positive and Negative Space, Texture, Scale, Dominance and Emphasis, Balance, Harmony, etc.
Reason #3: What if it works? We never know until we try. Having a supportive team to collaborate with (like Dallas Design Group) is vital. It can be scary to deviate from the set way of doing things, but if you’re on auto-pilot all the time you can’t look at things from a different angle. And often, that’s when you find the solution!
It’s easy to get stuck in our ways, repeatedly doing things the way they have always been done—I mean why not, it’s worked hasn’t it!? But, while thinking outside of the box may initially be used as a tool for inspiration, I do believe thinking inside of the box is just as important. Especially in terms of functionality and longevity! But, the two together are the perfect combination for a fabulous outcome!
Below are some pictures I took while studying in Paris. These architects and designers obviously achieved unique and beautiful design!
Louis Vuitton Foundation –Frank Gehry
Eiffel Tower –Gustave Eiffel & Steven Sauvestre
Louvre Pyramid –I.M. Pei
Musee du quai Branly –Jean Nouvel
Centre Georges Pompidou –Piano & Rogers
We’ve got to keep those creative juices flowing! You have a unique contribution to society that only YOU can give! And remember, nothing ever starts with a harvest—it all starts with a seed that initiates the process.
“What if the long list of explorers, leaders, inventors, scientists, and more who have each stepped outside the box to bring their own unique influence and ideas never did? What if all of history had never been touched by the bravery and radical choices of those who opened up their minds to the possibilities of new and different things? The concept is mind-boggling. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your contribution, your uniqueness, is not important enough to pursue, either. For every historic icon, for every hero, for every name that rings of greatness, there are hundreds of thousands who made their own contribution that, while it significantly impacted our society, we will never know by name.”
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TCF7L2 and Glucose Metabolism: Time to Look Beyond the Pancreas
Noncoding genetic variation in the locus encoding for the Wnt signaling effector TCF7L2 remains the strongest genetic determinant of type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk in humans. This association raises the hypothesis that disease variants alter the quantitative, spatial, and/or temporal expression patterns of this gene. Understanding the mechanisms by which TCF7L2 and Wnt signaling regulate glucose metabolism may reveal novel insights into the pathogenesis of T2D, as well as highlight cellular and genetic pathways amenable to becoming novel therapeutic targets. Therefore, a large body of work has emerged over the past 4 years describing previously unknown glucose metabolism roles of TCF7L2.
Curiously, most of this work has focused on TCF7L2 actions in pancreatic β-cells, despite evidence that canonical Wnt signaling is not active in adult β-cells (1). The extensive evaluation of TCF7L2 actions or Wnt signaling effects in β-cells have resulted in contradictory findings at the molecular (2,3), cellular (1,4), and whole-animal physiology levels (5–7). Particularly difficult to reconcile is the incongruence of data showing that the presumed diabetogenic effects of TCF7L2 in β-cells, such as a blunted glucose-stimulated insulin secretion response, arises from reducing TCF7L2 expression (3,8). In contrast, evidence from human genetics and genomics studies suggests the risk alleles associated with T2D lead to increased expression of TCF7L2 (2,9–11), a notion recently confirmed by mouse models harboring germline null alleles or overexpressing TCF7L2 (6,7).
Not surprisingly, the lack of agreement among these reports has resulted in examination of the appropriateness of techniques, animal models, or developmental stages used in those studies. Some of these considerations are interesting and remain unexplored, such as the possibility that disease alleles may promote an imbalance of alternative splice forms of TCF7L2, thereby resulting in protein isoforms with opposing physiological effects (12). Critically lacking in the discussion, however, is the appreciation that TCF7L2 is expressed in a broad spatial domain pattern, including tissues with important roles in glucose metabolism such as brain, liver, skeletal muscle, fat, and bones (Fig. 1). This raises the possibility that, in vivo, TCF7L2 may not regulate glucose metabolism primarily through actions in β-cells, but rather in tissues outside the pancreas that remain poorly characterized. Importantly, the physiological roles of TCF7L2 in these tissues may underlie the mechanisms linking genetic variation and T2D risk.
In this issue of Diabetes, Shao et al. (13) illustrate one such example. They show a TCF7L2-mediated pathway regulating glucose metabolism in the brain (13) that uncovers cross-talk between Wnt and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1)/cAMP signaling that controls aspects of glucose metabolism in mice (Fig. 1). GLP-1, a transcription product of the glucagon gene (Gcg) in intestinal L cells and certain brainstem neurons, exerts powerful actions that promote glucose disposal in the body, including stimulation of insulin secretion in β-cells and a central anoretic effect in the brain. However, the mechanisms by which brain GLP-1 controls glucose metabolism remain incompletely defined, as well as the demonstration of a possible intersection of incretin effects with Wnt signaling in the brain.
Extending similar observations made by this laboratory in the gut (14), Shao et al. now demonstrate that TCF7L2 regulates expression of Gcg in the brain, and they also show colocalization of TCF7L2 and Gcg transcripts in brainstem neurons. To determine the functional consequences of alterations in TCF7L2 levels on GLP-1 biology, the authors engineered transgenic mice carrying a dominant negative form of TCF7L2, effectively creating a functional knockdown of TCF7L2 exclusively in Gcg-expressing cells in the brain and gut. This led to a significant decrease in Gcg transcription in intestinal enteroendocrine cells and brainstem neurons, but not pancreatic α-cells. Transgenic mice expressing the dominant negative TCF7L2 isoform showed impaired glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity when fed a high-fat diet. These results indicate that TCF7L2 may be an important mediator of the GLP-1 signaling pathway in the brain, and indicate a central action of TCF7L2 in control of glucose homeostasis. While brain GLP-1 production is restricted to a neuronal subpopulation in the brainstem, GLP-1 receptors are expressed in a broader pattern, including hypothalamic nuclei, suggesting they are a site of action for GLP-1–mediated control of glucose metabolism in the brain. Mechanistically, injections of forskolin, which result in increased cAMP levels, led to increased Gcg transcription both in gut and brainstem, as well as phosphorylation of cAMP-responsive element-binding and β-catenin in hypothalamic neurons. These data suggest a model whereby brain TCF7L2 activates GLP-1 expression in the brainstem, and GLP-1 acts in hypothalamic nuclei promoting Wnt signaling activation via cAMP/cAMP-dependent protein kinase. The ensuing repression of AMP-activated protein kinase mediates the anorectic effect of GLP-1.
Yet unanswered is how this novel cross-talk between Wnt and GLP-1 signaling controls peripheral glucose disposal and insulin sensitivity. Moreover, it remains unclear whether this mechanism is altered in humans harboring alleles associated with increased T2D risk. Also, it is interesting to note that TCF7L2 has a broad expression pattern in the brain, particularly high in the hypothalamus, where TCF7L2 regulates processes directing the differentiation and patterning of neurons. TCF7L2 is dynamically expressed in the mediobasal hypothalamus during development, a region of the brain that plays a critical role in regulating glucose homeostasis. It will be interesting to specifically target the hypothalamic actions of TCF7L2 and their possible interface with glucose metabolism.
Showing how TCF7L2 controls a pathway that regulates glucose homeostasis in the brain, Shao et al. illustrate the likely roles of this transcription factor as an important regulator of glucose metabolism in multiple tissues (Fig. 1). Recent studies have also reported on significant glucose metabolism phenotypes following TCF7L2 knockdown in rat hepatocytes (15), coupled with data showing that TCF7L2 directly binds to cis-regulatory elements and promoters of a large number of genes involved in hepatic glucose metabolism. Little is known about the possible metabolic roles of TCF7L2 in tissues such as muscle, fat, and bones. The realization of these effects and the dissection of the molecular and physiological pathways regulated by TCF7L2 beyond pancreatic β-cells may uncover the basis for its association with T2D and result in novel targets for therapeutic development.
M.A.N. is supported by the National Institutes of Health (Grant DK093972).
No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.
See accompanying original article, p. 789.
- © 2013 by the American Diabetes Association.
Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for details.
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Glutamic acid, also known as glutamate, is an amino acid that is used by the body to build proteins. According to the University of California San Diego, glutamate is the most common stimulating neurotransmitter in the central nervous system of the body. They go on to state that most people do not require glutamic acid supplementation because an adequate amount of the amino acid can be found in high protein foods like fish, dairy, eggs and meat.
Soy Protein Isolate
Soy protein isolate is derived from soybeans, and it is one of the most abundant protein sources for vegetarians and vegans. According to DietandFitnessToday.com, soy protein isolate contains one of the highest concentrations of glutamic acid when compared to other high protein foods. For every 100 grams of soy protein, there is 17 grams of glutamic acid.
The University of California SanDiego states that poultry is a rich source of glutamic acid. Chicken is also a rich protein source that is low in fat, so it’s a nutritious food that is a good choice as part of a well-balanced diet.
Because eggs are good sources of protein, they are also rich in all-natural glutamic acid. According to DietandFitnessToday.com, eggs contain about 10 to 11 grams of glutamic acid per 100 grams portion of eggs. This is equivalent to about two to three eggs, depending upon their size.
Different varieties of seeds contain varying amounts of glutamic acid, although they are all relatively concentrated compared to low protein food choices. For instance, three ounces of sesame seeds contains 9.3 grams of glutamic acid while 3 ounces of cottonseeds contains 10.2 grams of glutamic acid, according to DietandFitnessToday.com.
Much like varying species of seeds, levels of glutamic acid found in cheese varies by type. DietandFitnessToday.com lists Parmesan cheese as one of the most concentrated varieties at 8 grams of the amino acid per 100 grams of cheese.
Fish is loaded with lean protein and so is a rich source of natural glutamic acid. An example of one such fish species that can be a nutritious source of glutamate includes Atlantic cod, which contains about 15 grams of glutamic acid per 6 ounces of portion.
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On Kosi’s banks, lives upended every monsoon with little support, succour
For several decades, the Kosi has earned itself the moniker of the “river of sorrow”, changing course and causing devastation every monsoon.
He’s wearing a torn red t-shirt, a gamcha on his head, and a lungi wrapped around his waist. As the sun beats down, 40-year-old Birender Yadav sits on his haunches and stares out into the Kosi. Suddenly, he lets out an expletive-filled cry of anguish that shatters the silence. The only response is the steady, threatening gurgle of the swollen river. In front of Yadav, in his line of sight, are four stone pillars that jut out from the ground, lonely and useless; pillars that were once the foundation for his painstakingly built home. A home that no longer exists.
On July 12, as he worked at a bangle factory in Ghaziabad, over 1,200 kilometres away, Yadav received a phone call that he was afraid would come. “My relative told me to rush home because the Kosi is turning again, and coming closer to our village. My wife, two children, and aged parents are at home, and I was worried,” Yadav said.
In the days after he rushed home, there was a hurried evacuation. As the Kosi changed course, the residents of Bela village in Supaul picked up everything they could and moved to safer ground. Some, like Yadav, moved to higher land in the adjacent Dighiya village. Others took shelter at the local primary school and prayed for a miracle that never came; they watched as 150 homes of the village collapsed into the swirling water.
Among them was Yadav’s home — one that he had poured all his ₹7 lakh saving into, using cement, boulders, and bamboo thatch. “Now everything has been swallowed by the river. Till last year, only a small stream flowed 2km east of the village. Last month, it turned into a roaring river and swept away the entire village,” Yadav said.
For several decades, the Kosi has earned itself the moniker of the “river of sorrow”, changing course and causing devastation every monsoon. In Bihar, what this means is villagers along a 125km stretch from Birpur to Kopadiya, cutting through the districts of Saharsa, Supaul, Madhubani and Khagariya, are always at the ready to upend their lives and homes, schools and public infrastructure at the risk of being washed away.
Mohammad Jabbar, for instance, now lives in a shanty in an embankment near Supaul. “Nemua used to be our village of around 2,500 families, in the middle of a river island, till 2002. Every single one has had to relocate. Without compensation, without rehabilitation, we are now refugees in our own state,” Jabbar said.
River of sorrow
The awareness that the Kosi would cause damage has existed for several decades, even pre-Independence. A plan to build embankments that would hem the river in, and mitigate disaster, was first discussed in 1937. A decade later, this was one of the new Indian government’s first points of action in Bihar and a budget of ₹100 crore was announced for it. But with India struggling for finances at the time, work only began in 1955, but with a modified plan, and at an increased cost of ₹177 crore. Under the original scheme, the embankments were to be built from Chatara, about 10km inside Nepal’s territory. “But when actual work started, it did so with a modified plan that envisaged construction of bunds only in Indian territory, from Birpur to Koparia,” said Dinesh Mishra, author of a seminal work on the Kosi, “Do patan ke beech mein”.
Mishra said that the basic principles of the construction of an embankment were forgotten. “The width of the embankment at Birpur is around 4.5km, which widens to 16km downstream at Ghoghardiha in Madhubani. However, the embankment area further reduces to 8km near Baluaha near Mahishi in Supaul, making the bund vulnerable to breach. The river has been further constrained to flow within 2km after a railway bridge was constructed between Nirmali and Saraigarh in Samastipur in the year 2020,” said Mishra.
What this means is that the embankments do not do their primary job, to safeguard the interests of people that live on the banks. “A vast stretch of land outside the embankments on both sides remains waterlogged for more than six months every year. The embankments were made to save around 2.14 lakh hectares of land. But general assessment is that the embankments have turned around 4.2 lakh hectares of land infertile due to perennial waterlogging in four districts,” said Mishra.
In 2003, the gushing current of the river damaged over 11,600 houses and left at least 30 people dead. In 2008, in one of the worst floods in Bihar’s memory, the Kosi washed away 286,000 homes after it breached the embankment near Kusaha. The river changed its course by 60-70km after the break, leaving more than 500 dead. An officer of the disaster management department said that houses worth ₹3.52 crore were damaged.
Ramakar Jha, a professor of civil engineering at the National Institute of Tenchnology Patna, who is also associated with the Namami Gange project, said that the Kosi, unlike other rivers, comes down from a heavy slope atop the Himalayas and hence carries a huge amount of silt. “It comes down with a lot of momentum from the hills. But once its falls on the plains of Bihar, it begins to deposit the silt which the currents are unable to carry along with them. The course of the river gets flattened due to this and the river meanders to find a way. The Ganga and the Gandak for instance cover a long distance before they come down to the plains,” said Jha.
Officials of the Bihar Disaster Management Department said that there are measures that they have put in place. “We generally discourage concrete structures within the embankments. Relief and rehabilitation camps are organised during the floods to provide succour to the marooned people. We also rebuild schools, anganwadi centres and primary health care centres at safer places,” said a senior DMD official.
Water resources minister Sanjay Kumar Jha said that the department is looking for a permanent solution, including plantation drives along the banks. “We have pushed for a national silt policy so that the state government can gain the right to carry out silt management. On the spur embankments are also set up to protect the villages. Besides, anti-erosion work is carried along the course of Kosi on a large scale every year,” he said.
Life on the banks
In June, 34-year-old Sanjay Kamath was one of the many people from Narhaiya village of Balua panchayat to have migrated away from home, working in paddy fields on a daily wage in Punjab. One day, like Birendra Yadav, he received a concerning phone call. One of the four streams of the Kosi had begun a menacing march towards his village. He rushed home. Over the next five days, Kamath made 10 trips a day on a dilapidated boat, from his hut to the other side of the bank, jostling with other residents. He first transported stored foodgrain, then his gas stove, a bed, and two cows. Everything was abandoned.
Next to his temporary shanty on the embankments is 45-year-old Bacchiya Devi. This year, she lost her home. Last year, it was her children’s school. “How will we provide education to our children? The middle school of our Narhaiya village was swallowed up by the river last year. Now it runs out an anganwadi centre which has no facilities. The classes barely take place, and the children are mostly at home,” she said.
For most, the choice to move away permanently doesn’t exist. Their villages are where their agricultural land is, and when the waters recede, it is still those lands that they must till. “This is why we can’t move away. If we move to the nearest town, our farmland will be far away. But every year, the ability of the land to produce crop reduces because there is a heavy sheet of silt when the water goes down. Often the land remains waterlogged for several months,” said Mahendra Yadav of Belagot who sows “garma dhaan” (summer paddy), oilseeds and vegetables.
In Bihar, any displacement, even of a few metres from one bank to another, collides with the complication of caste. Villagers of Belagot, a Scheduled Caste village in Supaul district, for instance, told HT that they were chased away from the makeshift huts they set up to escape the Kosi. “We were terrorised and attacked by lathis by local upper caste people, who kept screaming at us to go away. They took away our wooden beds and baskets. There were even officials of the water resources department that told us our huts would be demolished. But what can we do? We settled and live in fear of the consequences,” said Ram Vilas Sada, who owns no land.
The state government has laid down the norms for compensation to the damages of houses and crops inside the Kosi embankment. “The maximum compensation of pucca house, if fully damaged, comes around ₹98,000. Since pucca construction is not allowed inside the embankments, we generally offer ₹4,100 to each kuccha house washed away. The district authorities dole out the compensation after thorough verification,” said a senior officer of Supaul.
Locals, however, say that despite evident damage to their homes, even total submersion, compensation is rare. Residents ofBela village said that 200 homes were swallowed up by the river this year, while 50 were washed away in Chandel Mircha village. Nobody has received compensation. “Forget compensation, nobody has even come to enquire,” said Mohammad Irshad, from Dighiya village.
A senior officer of the Supaul district administration admitted that an inordinate delay in the release of funds from the nodal agency, which is the disaster management department, has often left them to the ire of local residents. “This year, we have received information about damages of 157 houses in the district. Last year, as many as 1,300 houses were reported to have been washed away. However, we have not been able pay the compensation for the last year’s damage for want of allotment,” said the officer.
BJP MLA from Sarharsa Alok Ranjan, however, said that the government has worked to bring roads, electricity, and water supply to provide some relief. “The government should look for a permanent solution to help people do away with shifting of their addresses every now and then,” added Ranjan.
NIT professor Jha said that in the long term, there needs to be an action plan that is built around regular large scale dredging for silt management. “In the absence of this, people within the embankments and outside would continue to suffer from perennial waterlogging. They will not be able grow regular crops on their land. We could also look at a series of check dams,” said Jha.
Back at Bela, Birender Yadav has fallen quiet again, and has not moved from the four pillars that were once his home. His mind is scrambled, the future uncertain. “Even if it is under the water, this is the only home I have ever known.”
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Monday’s Washington Post touted on page A3 how "Californians Shape Up as Force on Environmental Policy," over three large pictures of liberals Henry Waxman, Nancy Pelosi, and Barbara Boxer. Something amazing followed: the word "liberal" is never used in the piece to describe them. (Pelosi merely is pressed to "find common ground between conservative and liberal Democrats.") Reporter Lyndsey Layton’s feat began in paragraph one:
California Democrats will assume pivotal roles in the new Congress and White House, giving the state an outsize influence over federal policy and increasing the likelihood that its culture of activist regulation will be imported to Washington.
Despite the Post’s welcoming of a "culture of activist regulation," Layton actually attempted to dismiss the idea that Waxman/Pelosi/Boxer will be in ideological lockstep:
One longtime Capitol Hill observer cautioned that although these Californians are in key positions to shape federal policy, they don't necessarily share a single California philosophy. [!] Still, they have been shaped by experience in a state that has led the nation in regulatory policy.
Layton also found a liberal political scientist to suggest moderation will follow:
Barbara Sinclair, a political scientist at the University of California at Los Angeles, said the Californians are pragmatic and mindful of overreaching. "All these folks really want to make policy change," she said. "On the other hand, they very, very much want to stay in power."
To complete this act of journalistic servility to the California liberals, Layton quoted from a telephone interview with Senator Boxer, but the sophisticated reader would wonder why the Post would need a phone interview to solicit the press-release quotes that were offered:
"California has always valued protecting the environment and health and safety of our people," Boxer said in a telephone interview. "The people from California who are coming here to work on this and Congressman Waxman and myself, we are very strong on this."
And: "Californians coming, they don't have to rewrite the laws. They just have to enforce them. It's like the EPA has been asleep for eight years. The Californians are coming to wake the sleeping beauty."
Only liberals would see an entrenched regulatory agency as a "sleeping beauty."
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Long neglected because of its brevity, the Gospel of Mark is now recognised to be a work of genius. Mark’s was the first gospel to be written. Combining something of the freshness of the earliest memories of Jesus’ life with an ordered presentation of his material, Mark intends to provide a guide to authentic discipleship – as a following of the crucified Saviour. Today’s incident – which tells of the rejection of Jesus by the people of his own town, at the end of his ministry in Galilee - illustrates this. Mark’s telling of the story of Jesus comes to its climax with the Saviour’s passion – the rejection of the Messiah by God’s own people. It seems that Mark was writing for the Christians of Rome in the decade of the first persecutions, calling them to be true disciples of the crucified Christ.
Today’s gospel also conveys the sense of immediacy often present in Mark. We have an echo of the reaction of those who witnessed the event (the ‘disciples’ who accompanied Jesus to his “home town”) – they are surprised and disconcerted by the very human reaction of Jesus. Rejected by the people of ‘his own country’ and ‘his own relations’, Jesus seems to be disarmed, so that ‘he could work no miracle there’. A very human situation and a typical human reaction – Jesus truly became one of us, our brother. What the gospel describes is so true to life that Jesus’ summing up has become a proverb: ‘No honour for prophets among their own’.
For Mark, of course, as we have seen, this rejection is a foreshadowing of the great rejection described in the final chapters of the gospel - something for which Jesus will repeatedly prepare his disciples as they make their way to Jerusalem: he is to be ‘rejected’, ‘put to death’, but he will ‘rise again’ (Mk 8: 31). The reading from Ezekiel reminds us that a pattern of rejection and rebellion runs through the whole story of the Scriptures. The patient but firm spirit of the Saviour, so well captured in Mark’s gospel, is an expression of the patient firmness of God as the divine plan unfolds in the life of an uncooperative and self-centred people.
Jesus made his own a life that shares in our common human experience. In the reading from Paul, the great apostle takes us into his confidence, explaining how he has faced his immense difficulties. It is uncertain what his ‘thorn in the flesh’ was: a physical ailment perhaps, or more probably the betrayal and persecution he had to suffer from those who should have been his friends. But he has learned the lesson of Mark’s gospel, and he gives expression so well to what he has learned in this passage that it is very familiar. Having, at first, ‘pleaded with the Lord’ to be freed of his trial, he has come to recognise it as discipleship’s taking up of the Cross, giving him a share in the divine power unleashed in the world through the Paschal Mystery. He will even ‘boast’ of his weakness, as bringing an assurance that ‘the power of Christ’ will ‘stay over’ him: ‘For it is when I am weak that I am strong’.
John Thornhill sm
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C-Nation Font Family 1 Fonts $40
OTF | TTF
Marit Otto about C-Nation: The building typeface. Although the 70ties were very liberating and progressive, still girls played mainly with dolls and sweet things and boys with all kinds of challenging stuff. They did all sorts of basic scientific experiments in mini labs and of course built cool things with Meccano building sets. As a girl I was perfectly happy with the toys I had access to. But at the same time I was very curious about all the adventure toys and discoveries my brother did. It also made me wonder why the grown up people thought that our world could be separated so easily by separating our toys in pink and blue sections. At this day of age Meccano is probably hopelessly old fashioned and far to manual. Children of today are fed by fast images and cool animations on screen, they learn, play, communicate and relax in the same space, the digital space. The special feature of Meccano was that even though it was very basic there was the promise you could create anything. It might even contribute to a logical mind. The typeface I designed refers to the Meccano feel. It is a creative typeface. A bit masculine and bold looking perhaps but after the first impression a subtle and refined female touch is revealed. It has links to architecture and associations with metal constructions like ‘The Eiffel Tower’ and (old railway) bridges. I am convinced that we all think of that as very charming man-made objects.
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This resource is no longer available
The assumption of trust: Outdated and dangerous
Traditional, perimeter-centric security strategies are no longer effective against today’s cyber-attacks. The ineffectiveness of these strategies is caused by the outdated assumption that everything on the inside of your organization’s network can be trusted and a lack of network visibility. This informative resource discusses a new approach to network security that removes the assumption of trust, deploying essential security capabilities in a way that provides policy enforcement and protection for all users and resources, regardless of location. Read on to learn how you can utilize this new network security strategy.
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Construction begins on a giant bonfire at Texas A&M University on this day in 1999, the continuation of a tradition that began 90 years earlier. Two days later, the bonfire collapsed, killing 12 students and injuring another 27.
For nearly a century, students in College Station, Texas, created a massive bonfire—self-proclaimed to be “the world’s largest”—prior to their school’s annual football game against their archrival, the University of Texas. The beloved pre-game tradition had been canceled only once, in 1963 following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Over the years, the bonfire grew so big that its construction became an elaborate project requiring days of work by teams of student volunteers. On two previous occasions, the bonfire had partially collapsed; neither episode had been disastrous.
The 1999 bonfire was supposed to require more than 7,000 logs and the labor of up to 70 workers at a time. Just after dawn on November 18, students were working near the top of the 59-foot-high pile (4 feet higher than authorized) when, in the words of Jenny Callaway, a student who was on the stack, “It just snapped.” Without warning, scores of students became caught in the huge log pile. Other students, including Caleb Hill who suffered only broken bones in his 50-foot fall, were lucky enough to fall away from the pile.
“People were running around calling people’s names and crying,” sophomore Michael Guerra said. “Other people were just like zombies. They couldn’t believe what had happened.” Cranes were immediately brought in to remove the logs and free the students but the process was painstaking, as any wrong movement could cause further collapse. The last survivor was pulled from the pile about six hours later.
The bonfire was cancelled for only the second time ever and an investigation began into the causes of the collapse. It was later determined that the first stack of logs did not have sufficient containment strength. The wiring used to tie the logs together was not strong enough for the job; the steel cables employed in prior years had not been used. The construction effort in general was also blamed, for creating “a complex and dangerous structure without adequate physical or engineering control.
Texas A&M’s official bonfires were suspended indefinitely following this tragedy but unofficial bonfires have been built since 2002.
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We're sorry, but Internet registration is not allowed for this activity.
Hoopster Skills is a development program that uses a variety of fun games to engage kids while teaching the sport of basketball and developing fundamental skills. The goal is to build fitness, muscle coordination, basketball fundamentals and create a love for the game. Please visit www.supertotssport.com for more information or to register.
Senior Center-Lonestar Room
Colleyville Parks and Recreation Department
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The SMRHS is building a model railroad in the Scottsdale-McCormick Railroad Park that represents how the Santa Fe Railway could have been circa 1959. The railroad does not try to model locations exactly, but hopes to capture the general look and feel of the real town’s represented that is within the limitations of model building.
Historically the Santa Fe reached Phoenix via two branch lines off their transcontinental route from Chicago to Los Angeles. The first originates in Ash Fork, Az. It passes southward through Prescott, Wickenburg and Glendale to reach Phoenix from the northwest. This connects Phoenix with eastern destinations. The second branch departs from the transcontinental route at Cadiz, Ca. It enters Arizona at Parker and joins the other branch at Wickenburg. This is the route to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Late in the 19th century the citizens of Phoenix chafed under the cloud of being the new territorial capital without mainline railroad service. The Santa Fe arrived on a branch line from its northern Arizona main line as did the Southern Pacific from its southern Arizona main line. Both lines terminated in Phoenix.
The movers and shakers in Phoenix coordinated with the Santa Fe to build a line up the Gila River Canyon through Hayden and Safford. This line would crest the continental divide east of Safford at 3500 feet, making it the lowest crossing of the divide in the US. The line would then proceed into New Mexico and Texas to join the Santa Fe lines there. This would give the Santa Fe a second transcontinental with a low-level grade that would avoid the long steep climbs required to cross northern Arizona. It also put the Santa Fe squarely in competition with the Southern Pacific, who fought the Santa Fe in and out of court for decades. Eventually the Corps of Engineers built the Coolidge Dam creating San Carlos Lake which blocked the proposed route, thus ending all ideas of running a rail line through the Gila River Canyon.
But we did it. In our 1950s HO world, Santa Fe had won in court and the Corps of Engineers never built Coolidge Dam. Our railroad runs from California to Phoenix via Parker, Wickenburg, and Glendale continuing to El Paso via Mesa, Magma Jct., Hayden, and Safford. There is a secondary line from Wickenburg to Ash Fork via Prescott that provides access to Albuquerque and the east. A branch line runs to Superior from Magma Jct. There is a connection to the Southern Pacific in Tucson via Magma Jct. Staging from Wickenburg to California, Ash Fork to Flagstaff and the east, Magma Jct. to Superior and Tucson, and Safford to Globe and El Paso are represented by staging.
Town by town, starting in the east, we find the rural, farming town of Safford. There we see typical farm related industries in an arid valley landscape. The lines from Globe and El Paso arrive here from staging. From Safford the line travels through the Gila River canyon with steep cliffs above and below. From time to time the river is depicted far below. At the outlet of the canyon we enter Hayden where the smelter dominates the scene. Many spurs feed the various functions of the smelter. The next town is Magma Jct., which has a small mine and a mining supply warehouse. The lines to Superior and Tucson branch off here. We arrive in Mesa, again with many agricultural support businesses.
Phoenix has a major classification yard and three industrial districts. At the west end of the yard is a section of downtown Phoenix which includes the Westward Ho Hotel. Alongside the tracks you can see the Arizona Brewing Company brewery much as it looked like in 1955. Glendale is next and is dominated by the beet processing plant which was modeled after the real thing. Other industries typical of small towns are scattered on both sides of the main. Wickenburg is at the other end of a short section of double track and has the junction of the line to LA with the line to Ash Fork. The industrial district is up a hill and reached by a switchback. A large coal mine dominates the west end and a sausage plant with stock yard is at the east end. Various small industries fill the center. The line then enters the Pea Vine, so called for the way it clings to the side of the hills like a vine. Prescott and Ash Fork are in ranching country, so stock pens and feed dealers outnumber the other industries. Ash Fork also has a small engine facility to handle the locomotives serving the Ash Fork to Phoenix route. From Ash Fork we can continue west to Seligman or east to Albuquerque.
Flagstaff is a large town with extensive dual gauge trackage to serve the interchange traffic between the standard and narrow gauge. Ore from Jerome, limestone, and cattle outward and ore from Superior, coal, oil, and supplies are some of the commodities transferred. Anyone switching the yard needs to use the idler car to switch cars of the other gauge to get them out of the way. There is also a large lumber mill. The narrow gauge climbs out of Flagstaff up on to the Coconino plateau and passes through Newman Park, a small farming community with a limestone quarry. Two logging transfers later, the narrow gauge enters Jerome which has the copper mine and smelter among its industries. The houses of Jerome are perched on the hillside above the railroad yard.
The railroad was built to represent the ATSF in Arizona during the steam to diesel transition period and operates under Timetable and Train Order rules out of the ATSF 1955 Rule Book. We operate equipment prototypical of that era 1955 plus or minus ten years.
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Cyber bullying guide hopelessly out of date - Boherbue teen speaks out!
NEWS FOCUS BATTLE AGAINST CYBER BULLYING
Published 15/11/2012 | 10:46
GOVERNMENT guidelines on bullying are hopelessly out of date, according to a Boherbue teenager who has been receiving national recognition for her outspoken views on cyber bullying.
Just this week the latest shocking story of Cyber bullying emerged where an 11 year old girl from Blackrock in Cork was threatened with a knife attack by tormenters of the same age on Facebook, and in recent times many tragic suicides world wide have been attributed to online bullying.
Áine Curtin, who is a fourth year student at Boherbue Comprehensive School, was recently invited to participate in the Safer Internet Ireland Advisory Panel which was organised by Webwise.ie, the Irish Internet Awareness Centre which is affiliated to the European network 'In Safe'.
Áine's involvement arose as a result of an essay she wrote on cyber bullying. Due to extensive coverage of the topic in the press, Boherbue Comprehensive teacher Patrick Hickey encouraged his pupils to further explore the issue and was so impressed by Áine's contribution, he submitted it to the Irish Examiner.
Following the publication of her letter, Áine was invited to her first meeting in Dublin where she and nine other panel members from all over Ireland discussed both the positive and negative fall out from the extensive use of social media.
Áine told The Corkman that guidelines on bullying published by the Government are hopelessly out of date as they were set up back in 1993. "I don't think this is good enough", she said. "Obviously, the Government thinks this isn't a serious enough issue for them to be bothered with.
"They have enough time to take money from our children and make cutback after cutback, but do nothing to save young people's lives.
"In 1993, when the current anti-bullying guidelines were drawn up, the Internet was not even a fraction of what it is today".
She went on to explain how teenagers spend hours every day checking Facebook and Twitter, and are therefore, extremely vulnerable to online bullies.
Áine will attend a further meeting in Dublin shortly and hopes that she and her fellow panel members can come up with some useful strategies to tackle this grave and sinister problem.
Launched in 1993, Safer Internet Day is an initiative of the European Commission Safer Internet Programme.
The Irish Safer Internet Ireland Youth Advisory Panel was launched in 2010 by the then education and science minister Batt O'Keeffe.
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Drill bits come in all shapes and sizes and at Cromwell we have a wide range of drill bits of all types and materials to aid you with what ever project you're undertaking. With big names in power tools like Bosch, DeWalt and Kobe along side our own quality brand Kennedy, you'll be sure to find the right tooling to get the job done.
Drill bits are in essence the cutting tool used to drill holes. They slot into to chuck and are secured in place. Once loaded into the drill they rotate to cut through the material and bore the hole. They come in various types, each designed for specific applications, although some common types like twist drills can be used for more than one. They are commonly made of high-speed steel, although other compounds can be used such as carbide for use with harder materials.
Drill bits are a quick and efficient way to put holes into workpieces or surfaces. They are interchangeable with your power tool so you can adjust size and type easily and quickly without holding up the job. Some specialised drill bits like tile drills are specifically designed to cut holes in hard materials like tiles without cracking their brittle exterior.
Drill bits are used the world over with hobbyists and professionals all using them to complete projects.
• Twist drills - Twist drills are the most common types of drill. They are sometimes referred to as high-speed bits. Their flutes design allows the removal of stock from the workpiece whilst drilling.
• Masonry drills - These closely resemble twist drills, but the tip has an extra cutting face designed to cope with the hardness of cutting through tough materials like brick and stone. Because of the materials they are used with they tend to wear out quicker than standard drills but make up for it with their extra cutting power when working with these materials.
• Brad point drills - These are designed for making clean and precise holes in surfaces. They are particularly popular in woodworking applications as they come with rubber stoppers that can be used to set the drill depth.
• Auger drills - These drill bits produce clean and precise holes. They are particularly useful when working with dry wood of thickness, as the tip of the drill resembles a screw allowing the initial cut to be made more easily.
• Countersink drills - These are mostly used to pilot holes into workpieces (usually wood) they leave a recess that allows fasteners like screws to sit flush to the surface for a more precise finish.
• Metal drills - These are designed for drilling holes in metal and feature a robust construction, usually titanium or titanium coated.
• Hammer drills - A heavier duty version of a masonry drill bit. These drill bits feature a "hammerlike" cutting tip designed for powering through concrete to make precise cuts.
• Tile drills - These feature a carbide tip to allow the precise cutting of tiles and ceramics, without cracking them.
• Bit material - Drill bits are made from various compounds each having its advantages and disadvantages. Below are some of the most common materials used in drill making along with the types of materials they are used to cut.
• High-speed steel - The most common type of material that drills are made from. Both hard wearing and durable high-speed steel can be used to cut a range of materials from wood, plastic, and soft metals. It is usually comprised of a carbon steel base with chrome vanadium additives.
• Cobalt - These can be an alloy form mixed with HSS or another cobalt alloy. They are tough and can cut through hard materials like stainless steel, whilst withstanding the heat generated.
• Carbide tipped - Usually used to cut through tough materials like masonry and concrete, carbide tipped drills feature as their name suggests, a carbide tip. Carbide is extremely hard, but expensive, so a carbide tipped drill bit is a cost-effective solution to a solid carbide bit.
• Solid carbide - These are used when cutting through hard materials. The entire bit is made from carbide meaning it retains its sharpness when drilling through hard materials. The downside of carbide other than cost is their brittleness. Dropping them can be a costly mistake.
• PPE - Drilling is a dangerous pursuit as debris can easily fly out of surfaces at a rate of knots and cause serious injury. Not only that but drill bits themselves are sharp and pointed. Ensure thy you wear adequate eye protection and gloves as well as strong footwear like safety boots. Drilling into masonry can create a fair amount of dust particles in the air, a dust mask should be worn to avoid inhaling particles that could cause breathing problems.
• Size - The size of the drill bit determines the size of the hole you are going to make in the workpiece. Ensure that the size matches the size of the fastener you are going to use.
Will drill bits fit any drill?
Most drill bits are compatible with most power drills. Also most branded bits are interchangeable with drills from other manufacturers as long as the size is compatible with the chuck.
Do I need to replace drill bits?
Drill bits inevitably wear down over time, with proper maintenance their lifespan can be prolonged but eventually with continued usage the cutting surfaces dull and they will need replacing. It is important to not that you should not use damaged bits as doing this could cause further damage to the drill bit, the drill itself or cause a serous injury.
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The credibility of the flagship of U.N. "reform" — aka, the newly created Human Rights Council — sunk during its very first session, which ended June 30. The deck chairs on the Titanic had simply been rearranged when the Council replaced the discredited Human Rights Commission.
Serial human-rights abusers were elected members from the get-go. Nevertheless, the Bush administration's decision to vote against the council, along with Israel and only two other states, was widely condemned as a sign of American disdain for multilateralism, disinterest in the welfare of human-rights protection and a personal failure of United States U.N. Ambassador John Bolton.
Support for the council also came from Human Rights Watch executive director Ken Roth, who called it a "historic step towards enhanced human rights protection." Amnesty International proclaimed it a "victory."
The widespread misrepresentation of the council made its self-immolation in its first two weeks of operation even more striking. The Human Rights Council is the U.N.'s lead human-rights body, and examples of egregious human-rights violations should not have been hard to find.
In Darfur, three-quarters of a million people lie beyond humanitarian reach, 2.5 million people have been displaced by violence, 385,000 people remain in immediate risk of starvation, and more than 2 million are dead after years of bloodshed and deprivation.
But it wasn't genocide in Sudan that interested the Human Rights Council. Nor was it a billion Chinese without civil and political rights. Not 13 million women in Saudi Arabia, whose lives depend on hiding from sight in public places and never being caught behind the wheel of an automobile.
Not the dire human-rights conditions of 23 million people in North Korea. Not Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's incitement to genocide or his country's legal system, which includes crucifixion, stoning and amputation.
No, there was only one country singled out by the U.N. Human Rights Council — and that was Israel.
The council decided that the program for the first session should focus discussion on five issues; the first one being the "human-rights situation in the occupied Arab Territories, including Palestine."
The council placed criticism of Israel permanently on the agenda of all future sessions. It gave only the special investigator on Israel what amounted to a permanent mandate. And on its final day, the agency passed just one resolution condemning human-rights violations by any of the 192 U.N. members, and directed it at Israel.
When it was all over, the council decided to hold its first special (emergency) session within the next few days — on Israel.
It's now clear that there are only 12 countries on the council — or one-quarter of its members who are prepared to stand together as democracies. And just as Ambassador Bolton foresaw, U.S. membership on the council would not have made any difference to these outcomes.
At the Commission, over a 40-year period, some 30 percent of the resolutions condemning human-rights violations by specific states were directed at Israel. The council is now batting 1.000. And given a behind-the-scenes deal not to have any country-specific resolutions at least in the first year of operation (with the exception of Israel), that figure is not likely to change any time soon.
Perhaps one of the most insidious features of the U.N. world is the idea that the demonization of Israel is the reasonable price of doing business at the U.N. Human Rights Watch, expressing "concern" about the Israel-bashing, for example, but concluding that "the first session of the new U.N. Human Rights council was largely successful in laying a foundation for its future work."
The spectacle of discrimination and double-standards applied to the Jewish state and unmistakably aimed at its delegitimization and destruction, however, may not strike congressional leaders the same way. After all, 22 percent of the costs of the Human Rights Council and its special session to come are paid for by the American taxpayer.
The original mission of the United Nations was rooted in the legacy of the Holocaust — the shield of "never again," and the lance of human-rights protection. We are witnesses to the hijacking of the organization to serve the purveyors of bigotry and hate. Continuing support — financial or otherwise — for this travesty should no longer be an option.
Anne Bayefsky is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, professor at Touro Law Center and editor of: www.EYEontheUN.org.
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Living in the High Desert is amazing. Less than three weeks ago we had nighttime freezes down to 28°F so I was running around making sure the flowering fruit trees were protected. A week later I was setting tomatoes, peppers and other seedlings out in the garden.
For the last three days it has already hit 90°F and no rain is forecast for about a month…or more. The answer to the big question on how to handle the heat involves both watering and shading strategies. As you can see in the photos I have set up shade over my pepper and tomato beds. Yes the seed packets say to plant in full sun – but they were written by someone living in Michigan or Maine. When you live a mile above sea level that means there is a lot less atmospheric protection. Many plants live long healthy lives with sunlight that is reflected or diluted in some fashion.
There are a plethora of ways to keep your plants happy. You can use shade cloth which is suspended above in some way. Used sheer curtains from Goodwill work well. The sheers can be attached to 10 foot lengths of PVC with small clamps – which allows you to pull them down out of the way.
Square tomato cages offer supports for wrapping cloth around. Wrap just the west side if you want to offer the plants protection only during the latter half of the day. Which brings us to another option. If you set plants on the east side of a wall or building they will get full sun for half the day and are protected from the blistering heat of the afternoon. Trees placed on the west side of a yard stretch afternoon shadows over yards and gardens. You can tell if they are getting too much sunlight as you will see pale white patches of sun scald on the leaves.
You can also use some plants to shade others in a garden. Interplanting corn with beans shades the beans, or plant a stand of corn, swiss chard, or sunflowers on the west side to offer shorter vegetables some afternoon shading.
Another important aspect of desert gardening is the watering plan. Below 90°F I will water every two to three nights. Yes…I said nights. You do not want to water during the day when the water is evaporated practically before the plant has a chance to drink it. Water between sunset and sunrise to give them time to suck up as much H2O as they can before being blasted. It also allows some water to sink into the earth, releasing it slowly as the day progresses.
Above 95°F watering goes to nightly. You’ll find that above 95°F the plants tend to not grow or produce much in vegetable gardens…they will play a waiting game for more favorable temps.
If you want to find more options for creating beneficial conditions for plant growth, get a copy of my book Creating Microclimates for High Desert Gardening. It is available on Amazon. Click here to order.
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The UK employment rate has fallen to a fresh multi-year low at 4.8% it was revealed in November's labour market report but one forecaster warns it will rise sharply in 2016 as Brexit starts to bite.
November's official employment and earnings data release which covers September and October 2016 shows further improvement overall.
But that improvement is taking place at a slowing rate.
According to data from the ONS, the UK's unemployment rate unexpectedly slipped to 4.8%, its lowest level since 2005.
The claimant count rose by 9.8K, well above the 2K forecast by economists.
Average earnings with a bonus included rose 2.3%, unchanged from the previous month's 2.3%.
"Today’s figures confirmed the indications from the surveys that the leave vote is starting to sap the jobs recovery of its previous strength. Employment growth slowed sharply – with the 49,000 rise in the three months to September down from August’s 106,000 and well below the consensus forecast of 91,000," says Ruth Gregory, UK Economist at Capital Economics.
Economic Weakness Ahead
Analysts at UBS say this relative resillience in the labour force will not last.
UBS believe the UK’s current steady economic growth is a short-term effect almost entirely due to the fall in the Pound.
“The resilience of activity in the wake of the referendum on EU membership in June 2016 has been primarily a result of the very large depreciation of Sterling, which has declined by 20% on a trade-weighted basis over the past year,” states UBS Economist Arend Kapteyn.
The weak Pound has helped exports and kept the economy going but the effect is unlikely to be sustained over the medium-term, argues Kapteyn, as the negative side-effects increasingly feed-through in the form of rising inflation.
Since most UK exports are made up of combinations of foreign components which have to be imported, Sterling's weakness makes those components more expensive, offsetting some of the gains from increased demand. is not as beneficial to the economy as it would otherwise be if components were homegrown and more value was added in the UK manufacturing process.
This makes UK exports less beneficial to the economy compared to nations where the majority of sub-components are homegrown allowing more value to be added during the manufacturing process.
Rise in Unemployment Forecast for 2017
The unemployment rate is forecast to rise again when Brexit starts to become a reality.
UBS forecasts the rate to rise from its current 5.0% to 5.5% in 2017 and 6.3% in 2018.
The main driver for unemployment will be a combination of slowing growth due to inflationary pressures and companies playing “defensively” when it comes to hiring new staff around the time of high uncertainty which will accompany the triggering of Article 50.
This I likely to have a negative knock-on effect on, wages, spending, consumption and growth.
“Nominal earnings are likely to stay soft in such an environment, and real wages should, therefore, be squeezed hard.
“Consumption and investment are both likely to slow next year, and are the key drivers of our expectation of weaker growth over the next two years,” says Kapteyn.
Capital Economics' Gregory agrees saying the 9,800 rise in the timelier claimant count measure of unemployment in October – which is a useful guide to future movements in the headline LFS measure – and the weakening in the employment surveys suggest that employment growth will probably slow further.
"This moderation should prevent wage growth from picking up in coming months."
Bank of England to increase Monetary Stimulus in 2017
As a result of an expected slowdown in the labour market analysts are expecting the Bank of England to act and provide further support.
UBS expect the BOE to cut interest rates and perhaps even raise stimulus in 2017.
The BOE will raise rates despite inflation rising because the inflation will be almost all because of the weak pound, and not due to growth.
The stimulus will be to help continue supporting growth during Brexit negotiations and the triggering of Article 50.
Government May Not be as Generous as Expected
Hopes that UK fiscal policy will be generous may be dashed according to UBS.
“We expect any stimulus to be modest in scale, at least for the time being.
“The government continues to make clear its intention to eliminate the budget deficit when possible, even if it acknowledges a near-term need to allow automatic stabilisers to fully deploy and is open to the idea of a degree of front-loading of scheduled infrastructure spending,” remarks Kapteyn.
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Trapezius and Yoga
The trapezius is a muscle that works closely with the scapula or shoulder blade. The trapezius consists of three parts, namely:
Trapezius Muscles Anatomy
- The upper trapezius.
- The middle trapezius.
- The lower trapezius.
The trapezius is a superficial muscle layer with four sides that is located at the back. The latissimus dorsi muscle covers the trapezius to an extent. The upper trapezius has its origin on the base of the occiput (back of your neck), the ligamentum nuchae, and the spinous processes of vertebrae C1 to C7.
The middle trapezius originates on the spinous processes of C7 to C3, and the lower trapezius originates at the spinous processes of T4 to T12.
The upper trapezius has its insertion on the lateral clavicle and acromion process, while the middle and lower trapezius both insert on the spine of the scapula.
All three components of the trapezius work together to rotate the scapula upward (as you lift the arms up towards the ceiling). Apart from rotating the scapula, each section specializes in its movement.
- The upper trapezius performs elevation; it lifts the shoulder blades up, as in when you lift the arms up towards the ceiling during a Sun Salutation or standing postures.
- The middle trapezius performs a retraction; draws the shoulder blades towards each other, as in cobra pose.
- The lower trapezius performs depression; pulls the shoulder blades down, as in upward facing dog or sphinx pose.
Trapezius strains are common injuries that typically result in lowering strength in the arms, reducing the range of motion, and causing trapezius muscle pain.
A strain typically happens when you stretch the fibers inside the trapezius beyond its limit. A strain can occur over time or suddenly as the result of an injury. One of the best ways to increase your trapezius’s strength and flexibility is with yoga for neck and shoulder tension, trapezius exercises for pain, and trapezius stretches.
If a person is under stress or anxious, their trapezius may tighten which, in turn, increases the risk for an injury due to strain. A tense upper trapezius can also result in a headache and neck pain. Yoga can help to manage this stress and alleviate tension in the trapezius. (How to Heal a Trapezius Strain? n.d.)
Yoga for Shoulder Pain
For most people, the upper trapezius is overused as the tension gets stuck there, desk work, bad posture, etc. This usually is not the case with the middle and lower trapezius. Therefore, it makes sense to focus on yoga exercises to strengthen and lengthen the lower and middle trapezius.
The first useful yoga asana is called the Fish pose. Sit down on your mat with your legs extended in front of you. Lift your torso and place your hands' palms down underneath the small of your back. While inhaling, arch your back, lift your chest towards the sky, and put the top of your head on your mat.
The second pose to strengthen the trapezium is called the Locust. Lie on your stomach and let your arms lie next to your thighs with your palms on the floor. While inhaling, lift your chest, arms, and legs as high as you can from the floor while keeping them straight. When you exhale, lower your limbs and torso back to your mat.
Repeat this exercise five to ten times per session to increase the strength of your lower and middle trapezius, and to stretch the muscles to increase flexibility. Incorporating these exercising into your practice routine may help to prevent trapezius strains in the future.
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The current issue of Foreign Trade has a profile of Taedonggang TV factory, which sits on the outskirts of Pyongyang and makes a number of TV sets carrying several North Korean brand names, according to the magazine.
“The factory has several workshops for magnetic substances, metal processing, plating of printed circuit, moulding and coiling and a branch factory for assembly of color TVs,” the magazine reports. “Its daily output is thousand of sets.”
The magazine said it produces TV sets with screens between 15- and 29-inches under the “Samilpho,” “Tabaksol” and “Osongsan” brands and with screens between 15- and 42-inches under the “Samilpho,” “Unbangul” and “Haebaragi” brands.
Through the profile in Foreign Trade, the country is promoting the TVs sold through Korea Samgwang Trading Corp.
The factory has been around since September 1979, when the Korean Central News Agency first mentioned its existence.
“A large modern television factory has been built in Pyongyang,” the agency said on September 14.
“The Taedonggang television factory has over 10 workshops including the assembling, mechanical processing, outer case and mechanical and maintenance shops for the production of television sets, the production processes are serialized. There are in the factory 15 research rooms including the colour television and electronic appliance research rooms. It has its own broadcasting facility sending standard transmissions for the regulation of the television sets produced. The factory, with a floor space of tens of thousands of square metres, has scores of main production buildings and auxiliary production buildings, and cultural and welfare service facilities.”
“Its construction had been estimated to take 5-7 years in view of its scale and equipment. But the constructors waged the “speed campaign” and successfully built it in less than 1.5 years. The factory has started producing Pyongyang model and Taedonggang model television sets.”
While its completion was reported in 1979, the official opening doesn’t appear to have taken place until September 1980, when Xinhua noted the factory was built with Romanian assistance.
“On the process of the construction and trial production of the plant, Korea received technical assistance from Romania. On the occasion of the inauguration of the plant, President Kim Il Sung sent a letter and gave presents to the Romanian technicians in appreciation of their assistance,” it said.
In April 2000, as South Korea’s sunshine policy was gaining momentum, the factory began producing TV sets for LG. Plans were drawn up for Taedonggang TV factory to produce up to 15,000 20-inch TVs for the South Korean company.
The factory was most recently in the news on September 20, 2011, when it was visited by Choe Yong Rim, who was then premier of the DPRK.
“He organized the work to produce more quality electronics goods needed for better material and cultural life of the people,” KCNA reported at the time.
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Nov. 12, 2013: Cyber Security Solution Protects Building, Energy Management Systems
IT Security Technology and Practices Combined with Real-Time Building Operating and Control
LYNX CyberPRO was developed by Lynxspring, a leader in open platform technology and device-to-enterprise integration solutions for building automation, energy management, and equipment control, in conjunction with Netop, a leader in secure remote software solutions.
Incorporating IT security technology and practices along with real-time building operating and control methods, the companies said that LYNX CyberPRO hardens the corporate firewall by removing exposed devices and ports from the public Internet. It reinforces the perimeter defense and creates additional layers of continuous protection and prevention for the devices and systems across a building network by securing, managing, controlling, tracking, and monitoring access and activities.
According to Lynxspring and Netop, LYNX CyberPRO is non-disruptive, simple to install and operate, and does not require any changes or enhancements to existing networks. The solution supports leading building automation protocols using TCP/IP networks, open and legacy systems, and can be accessed anywhere without exposing building system devices to the public Internet on a full-time basis. It enables quick and reliable remote connectivity while simultaneously reducing possible attacks. The solution is scalable and can be deployed within existing buildings or new construction in single and multi-facility environments.
“LYNX CyberPRO is an innovative security solution designed to address the increasing number of cyber threats facing the building automation and energy management industry,” said, Kurt Bager, CEO, Netop. “In combination with an easy-to-install hardware component, the service eliminates the ability for potential hackers to discover a company’s building automation system while providing reliable and secure remote access to devices and applications for authorized personnel and external vendors.”
“Cyber-related issues are continuing to play a growing role within building and energy management systems. They are not immune to attacks. All it takes is a single breach to cause a serious issue”, said Terry Swope, president and CEO of Lynxspring. “LYNX CyberPRO combines a solid foundation of proven cyber protection technology and best practices in building and energy systems management that strengthens the cyber protection of these systems.”
For more information, visit www.lynxcyberpro.com.
Publication date: 11/11/2013
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Maybe, maybe not. Now, as the nation’s largest providers prepare to implement usage-based pricing plans, a tool created by Georgia Tech researchers could empower consumers to ensure they are getting the service they are paying for.
Developed by Beki Grinter, an associate professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Interactive Computing, and her team, Kermit is an easy-to-use application that allows users to monitor and control network usage within their home environment, including measuring the actual network speed made available by their Internet service providers (ISPs) and tracking bandwidth usage over time.
“I think it’s widely recognized now, and the FCC is [aware], that people are not getting the speeds that are sometimes advertised,” Grinter said. “What Kermit does is it makes that very visible to people in their homes.”
Kermit is being presented Wednesday, May 11, at the CHI 2011 Conference on Human Factors in Computing, held in Vancouver. The paper it is based on, “Why Is My Internet Slow? Making Network Speeds Visible,” was one of 13 to be awarded CHI 2011 Best Paper.
Kermit works by showing the user a simple view of all the home’s devices connected to the Internet: computers, mobile devices, digital video recorders, game systems or anything else that’s networked. Users can rename their devices, or label them with photos to show what they are. At any moment, Kermit can not only show who’s using the Internet, whether through a desktop or mobile device, but it can also limit a device’s speed. The user can even limit or prioritize a specific machine’s traffic.
To test the system, researchers recruited a select number of users, most of whom were not overly savvy with computers or networking technology, to take Kermit home and try it out.
“Even people who were not Internet gurus tried to do this,” said Kermit developer Marshini Chetty, a Ph.D. candidate at Georgia Tech and first author of the CHI paper. “With one husband-and-wife couple, the wife actually limited her husband’s machine because she worked from home. Before, she wouldn’t have gone to the router Web interface to do that, but because Kermit made it easier for her, she was feeling more comfortable to do it. Of course, her husband didn’t really like that.”
In addition to providing real-time information, Kermit allows users to view historical data on their Internet connection such as how much bandwidth different machines use over time, making it easier to spot patterns
“After we gave them Kermit, they were able to see the speeds over time,” Chetty said. “So, by the end of the study, they started to question: ‘Am I getting what I paid for?’ Or they knew a little bit more about it and realized, yes, they were actually getting what they paid for. I think Kermit was successful in actually making them more informed about these issues, which is one of our goals.”
Study participants also had some of their own ideas for Kermit.
“A lot of parents said that they would like to use Kermit to schedule access for their kids,” Chetty said. “In one household, for example, a mom and dad talked about how their son always used the Xbox past midnight, and they didn’t want to stay up to make sure he stopped because they had to get up for work the next day. So they saw a use for Kermit to basically set up a time restriction so that their son would automatically be cut off at midnight.”
For the next study, the researchers plan to implement some of the suggestions participants made such as the ability to cut off specific users’ access completely. They also plan to develop more tools to help users track and manage their bandwidth usage – a feature that’s increasingly more important as ISPs introduce data caps on home Internet connections.
Article written by David Terraso.
Liz Klipp | Newswise Science News
Ultra-precise chip-scale sensor detects unprecedentedly small changes at the nanoscale
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Data analysis optimizes cyber-physical systems in telecommunications and building automation
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An important step towards a completely new experimental access to quantum physics has been made at University of Konstanz. The team of scientists headed by...
Yersiniae cause severe intestinal infections. Studies using Yersinia pseudotuberculosis as a model organism aim to elucidate the infection mechanisms of these...
Researchers from the University of Hamburg in Germany, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Aarhus in Denmark, have synthesized a new superconducting material by growing a few layers of an antiferromagnetic transition-metal chalcogenide on a bismuth-based topological insulator, both being non-superconducting materials.
While superconductivity and magnetism are generally believed to be mutually exclusive, surprisingly, in this new material, superconducting correlations...
Laser-driving of semimetals allows creating novel quasiparticle states within condensed matter systems and switching between different states on ultrafast time scales
Studying properties of fundamental particles in condensed matter systems is a promising approach to quantum field theory. Quasiparticles offer the opportunity...
Among the general public, solar thermal energy is currently associated with dark blue, rectangular collectors on building roofs. Technologies are needed for aesthetically high quality architecture which offer the architect more room for manoeuvre when it comes to low- and plus-energy buildings. With the “ArKol” project, researchers at Fraunhofer ISE together with partners are currently developing two façade collectors for solar thermal energy generation, which permit a high degree of design flexibility: a strip collector for opaque façade sections and a solar thermal blind for transparent sections. The current state of the two developments will be presented at the BAU 2017 trade fair.
As part of the “ArKol – development of architecturally highly integrated façade collectors with heat pipes” project, Fraunhofer ISE together with its partners...
19.01.2017 | Event News
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19.01.2017 | Physics and Astronomy
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RICHARD AMBROSE V/O: Now it's time to look at an everyday object using an infrared camera. Hot things give off lots of infrared whilst cold things give off less. And this camera can actually do what our eyes can't. It can see the variations in temperature. There are about 30 million fridges in the UK alone. What will the infrared camera reveal about this one?
JONNY PHILLIPS: Are you ready Rich?
RICHARD AMBROSE: I'm ready.
JONNY PHILLIPS: So what do you see?
RICHARD AMBROSE: Black, and very dark blue.
RICHARD AMBROSE V/O: Most of the fridge is at plus 4 degrees Celsius. But because heat rises, the top section is at double that.
JONNY PHILLIPS: Do you want to look at the freezer? See if there's any difference?
RICHARD AMBROSE: You can't see any definition in there at all. It's very cold.
RICHARD AMBROSE V/O: Well that's a shock revelation. The freezer is cold.
Inside it's around minus 18 degrees Celsius.
RICHARD AMBROSE V/O: So it's no wonder that after just seconds, Jonny's fingers have halved in temperature. Another few minutes and he'd officially have frostbite.
RICHARD AMBROSE V/O: Until 1929 fridges used toxic gases including ammonia and sulphur dioxide as coolant. Unfortunately, several fatal accidents occurred.
RICHARD AMBROSE V/O: Today, fridges use refrigerant. A man-made chemical which absorbs heat. It's circulated by this compressor, which is the hottest part of the fridge. The refrigerant travels in the walls of the compartment, absorbing heat from the food. When it comes out at the back of the fridge, the liquid coolant is warm. As it travels down through these tubes it cools down. The change from red to green represents a massive temperature drop. By the time it gets to the bottom it's cool enough to pass inside the fridge again.
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ABOUT EYE SPY LA
The local's Guide for events,
places to go, and things to do.
EDITOR: Andrea Kirk
MODERN CATARACT TREATMENT
|Health & Fitness in San Gabriel Valley|
Address: 1890 Huntington Drive, San Marino, CA 91108
GO TO Website Link
TELL YOUR FRIENDS
In the United States, over 24 million people age 40 and older have cataracts, which was a 19 percent increase from year 2000 to year 2012.* Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness, affecting 20 million people worldwide.** On Friday January 8 at 11:00 a.m., Dr. David Richardson will explain what a cataract is, its symptoms and what surgical solutions are available at Crowell Public Library in the Barth Community Room.
When cataracts start to affect your quality of life and interfere with normal activities, such as reading a newspaper or driving a car, it’s time to consider treatment. Delaying surgical treatment for cataracts won’t cause irreversible blindness. However, decreased vision due to cataracts may cause discomfort and even result in accidents. Cataracts often develop slowly and people typically don’t realize their vision has deteriorated until the cataracts interfere with something they need or like to do. Some people start to have trouble reading, watching TV or driving at night.
Presenter David Richardson, MD. is a board-certified ophthalmologist who graduated Magna Cum Laude from USC and earned his medical degree at the Harvard Medical School. He completed his medicine internship at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, followed by ophthalmology training at LAC+USC/Doheny Eye Institute. He is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology at Keck School of Medicine and serves as Vice Chief of Staff at San Gabriel Valley Medical Center. As part of the latter group, he presented a very well-attended program at Crowell in 2009 as part of The Doctor Is In series. He has authored a patient-centered book on cataracts, So You’ve Got A Cataract? which is available for checkout at Crowell Library.
Whether cataract surgery is in your future or someone you know, this free program will answer all your questions.
*Reference: Preventblindness.org. New Vision Problems in the U.S. Report | Prevent Blindness National [Internet]. 2015 [cited 2015 Jul 8]. Available from: http://www.preventblindness.org/new-vision-problems-us-report
**Reference: Who.int. WHO | Priority eye diseases [Internet]. 2015 [cited 2015 Jul 8]. Available from:
NOTE: It is always a good idea to verify date, time, location and other information prior to going.
Eye Spy LA is not responsible for the accuracy of this information.
Go To Website *** Get MAP ***
Follow Eye Spy LA
ART THIS WEEK IN L.A.
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“As you know, SARS reported in 2020 an excise in VAT loss of approx. 9.2 Billion conservatively. The focus now should fall on SARS so their full resources are used to contain the illicit trade given the billion of Rands at stake.
The solution is not harsher laws, but better enforcement. Therefore, any increase in tobacco excise rates should not exceed inflation for the 2022 budget.” Studies have proven that excessive taxes reach a saturation limit. At a certain point, consumer affordability leads to the consumer to the black market for cheap, possibly unhealthy, counterfeit products.
In south Africa 44% of every pack of cigarettes go straight to the government, in the form of excise tax. @South African Revenue Service (SARS) @National Treasury of South Africa, @The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa support inflation-linked tax increases only, for the good of the SA economy.
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Four (4) confirmed cases of Pertussis (also known as Whooping Cough) have occurred at Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School, and one (1) confirmed case at Douglas High School.
Due to Nevada school-entry immunization requirements, the vast majority of students are vaccinated and protected against Pertussis. (DTaP and Tdap are intended to guard against Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis.) We still encourage families and staff of to be aware of possible symptoms. Symptoms of Pertussis include:
- mild to severe and repeated cough
- dry hacking cough
- runny nose
- low grade fever
- rapid inhaling between coughs that makes a "whoop" sound
- choking spells in infants.
If you or any member of your family experiences these symptoms, we recommend you see a medical doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment. If you do not have a family doctor and you do not know where to go for medical attention, please contact your School Nurse for referral assistance.
More information on Pertussis can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/.
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NEW DELHI, June 7 (UPI) -- India's Cabinet, in a major boost to U.S. aircraft maker Boeing Co., approved the purchase of 10 of its C-17 heavy-lift planes for $4.1 billion.
The Indian Express newspaper reported the approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security is the country's biggest-ever defense deal, and would greatly facilitate the military's ability to transport personnel and equipment. The planes can carry cargo in paratroop operations and in humanitarian relief missions.
The C-17 Globemaster III is a four-engine aircraft with a range of about 2,800 miles. The report said the planes are to be delivered in the next four years.
Boeing will invest over $1 billion in the Indian domestic market as part of its offset obligations under India's procurement policy.
"This is the highest value single contract with a U.S. defense company," a Defense Ministry official was quoted saying.
The Los Angeles Times reported the order will extend work at Boeing's Long Beach, Calif., plant through 2014.
"We're still waiting on the signatures, but the deal is 99.9 percent," said Stan Klemchuk, president of the United Aerospace Workers local representing 1,600 workers at the plant. "Folks are buzzing in Long Beach. It gives us one more year of work and couldn't come at a better time."
The report said the C-17 has been used extensively for transporting supplies to Iraq and Afghanistan, and on humanitarian missions in Japan and elsewhere. The report said the Indian purchase could open a new business market as India itself may buy another six C-17s in the coming years.
"India will have the second-largest C-17 fleet in the world, behind that of the United States -- a highly visible manifestation of the U.S.-India defense partnership," a U.S. State Department spokesman said.
Ron Somers, president of the U.S.-India Business Council in Washington, said, "This is a testament to India's appreciation of U.S. technology and confidence in the U.S. as a long-term defense sales partner," the Press Trust of India reported.
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Empires often follow the course of a Greek tragedy, bringing about precisely the fate that they sought to avoid. That certainly is the case with the American Empire as it dismantles itself in not-so-slow motion.
The basic assumption of economic and diplomatic forecasting is that every country will act in its own self-interest. Such reasoning is of no help in today’s world. Observers across the political spectrum are using phrases like “shooting themselves in their own foot” to describe U.S. diplomatic confrontation with Russia and allies alike. But nobody thought that The American Empire would self-destruct this fast.
For more than a generation the most prominent U.S. diplomats have warned about what they thought would represent the ultimate external threat: an alliance of Russia and China dominating Eurasia. America’s economic sanctions and military confrontation have driven these two countries together, and are driving other countries into their emerging Eurasian orbit.
American economic and financial power was expected to avert this fate. During the half-century since the United States went off gold in 1971, the world’s central banks have operated on the Dollar Standard, holding their international monetary reserves in the form of U.S. Treasury securities, U.S. bank deposits and U.S. stocks and bonds. The resulting Treasury-bill Standard has enabled America to finance its foreign military spending and investment takeover of other countries simply by creating dollar IOUs. U.S. balance-of-payments deficits end up in the central banks of payments-surplus countries as their reserves, while Global South debtors need dollars to pay their bondholders and conduct their foreign trade.
This monetary privilege – dollar seignorage – has enabled U.S. diplomacy to impose neoliberal policies on the rest of the world, without having to use much military force of its own except to grab Near Eastern oil.
The recent escalation of U.S. sanctions blocking Europe, Asia and other countries from trade and investment with Russia, Iran and China has imposed enormous opportunity costs – the cost of lost opportunities – on U.S. allies. And the recent confiscation of the gold and foreign reserves of Venezuela, Afghanistan and now Russia, along with the targeted grabbing of bank accounts of wealthy foreigners (hoping to win their hearts and minds, enticed by the hope for the return of their sequestered accounts), has ended the idea that dollar holdings – or now also assets in sterling and euro NATO satellites of the dollar – are a safe investment haven when world economic conditions become shaky.
So I am somewhat chagrined as I watch the speed at which this U.S.-centered financialized system has de-dollarized over the span of just a year or two. The basic theme of my Super Imperialism has been how, for the past fifty years, the U.S. Treasury-bill standard has channeled foreign savings to U.S. financial markets and banks, giving Dollar Diplomacy a free ride. I thought that de-dollarization would be led by China and Russia moving to take control of their economies to avoid the kind of financial polarization that is imposing austerity on the United States. But U.S. officials are forcing Russia, China and other nations not locked into the U.S. orbit to see the writing on the wall and overcome whatever hesitancy they had to de-dollarize.
I had expected that the end of the dollarized imperial economy would come about by other countries breaking away. But that is not what has happened. U.S. diplomats themselves have chosen to end international dollarization, while helping Russia build up its own means of self-reliant agricultural and industrial production. This global fracture process actually has been going on for some years, starting with the sanctions blocking America’s NATO allies and other economic satellites from trading with Russia. For Russia, these sanctions had the same effect that protective tariffs would have had.
Russia had remained too enthralled by free-market neoliberal ideology to take steps to protect its own agriculture and industry. The United States provided the help that was needed by imposing domestic self-reliance onRussia. When the Baltic states obeyed American sanctions and lost the Russian market for their cheese and other farm products, Russia quickly created its own cheese and dairy sector – while becoming the world’s leading grain exporter.
Russia is discovering (or is on the verge of discovering) that it does not need U.S. dollars as backing for the ruble’s exchange rate. Its central bank can create the rubles needed to pay domestic wages and finance capital formation. The U.S. confiscations of its dollar and euro reserves may finally lead Russia to end its adherence to neoliberal monetary philosophy, as Sergei Glaziev has long been advocating, in favor of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT).
The same dynamic of undercutting ostensible U.S aims has occurred with U.S. sanctions against the leading Russian billionaires. The neoliberal shock therapy and privatizations of the 1990s left Russian kleptocrats with only one way to cash out on the assets they had grabbed from the public domain. That was to incorporate their takings and sell their shares in London and New York. Domestic savings had been wiped out, and U.S. advisors persuaded Russia’s central bank not to create its own ruble money.
The result was that Russia’s national oil, gas and mineral patrimony was not used to finance a rationalization of Russian industry and housing. Instead of the revenue from privatization being invested to create new Russian means of protection, it was burned up on nouveau-riche acquisitions of luxury British real estate, yachts and other global flight-capital assets. But the effect of sanctions making the dollar, sterling and euro holdings of Russian billionaires hostage has been to make the City of London too risky a venue in which to hold their assets – and for the wealthy of any other nation potentially subject to U.S. sanctions. By imposing sanctions on the richest Russians closest to Putin, U.S. officials hoped to induce them to oppose his breakaway from the West, and thus to serve effectively as NATO agents-of-influence. But for Russian billionaires, their own country is starting to look safest.
For many decades now, the U.S. Federal Reserve and Treasury have fought against gold recovering its role in international reserves. But how will India and Saudi Arabia view their dollar holdings as Biden and Blinken try to strong-arm them into following the U.S. “rules-based order” instead of their own national self-interest? The recent U.S. dictates have left little alternative but to start protecting their own political autonomy by converting dollar and euro holdings into gold as an asset free from political liability of being held hostage to the increasingly costly and disruptive U.S. demands.
U.S. diplomacy has rubbed Europe’s nose in its abject subservience by telling its governments to have their companies dump their Russian assets for pennies on the dollar after Russia’s foreign reserves were blocked and the ruble’s exchange rate plunged. Blackstone, Goldman Sachs and other U.S. investors moved quickly to buy up what Shell Oil and other foreign companies were unloading.
Nobody thought that the postwar 1945-2020 world order would give way this fast. A truly new international economic order is emerging, although it is not yet clear just what form it will take. But the confrontations resulting from “prodding the Bear” with the U.S./NATO aggression against Russia has passed critical-mass level. It no longer is just about Ukraine. That is merely the trigger, a catalyst for driving much of the world away from the US/NATO orbit.
The next showdown may come within Europe itself as nationalist politicians seek to lead a break-away from the over-reaching U.S. power-grab over its European and other allies to keep them dependent on U.S.-based trade and investment. The price of their continuing obedience is to impose cost-inflation on their industry while subordinating their democratic electoral politics to America’s NATO proconsuls.
These consequences cannot really be deemed “unintended.” Too many observers have pointed out exactly what would happen – headed by President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov explaining just what their response would be if NATO insisted on backing them into a corner while attacking Eastern Ukrainian Russian-speakers and moving heavy weaponry to Russia’s Western border. The consequences were anticipated. The neocons in control of U.S. foreign policy simply didn’t care. Recognizing Russian concerns was deemed to make one a Putinversteher.
European officials did not feel uncomfortable in telling the world about their worries that Donald Trump was crazy and upsetting the apple cart of international diplomacy. But they seem to have been blindsided by the Biden Administration’s resurgence of visceral Russia-hatred via Secretary of State Blinken and Victoria Nuland-Kagan. Trump’s mode of expression and mannerisms may have been uncouth, but America’s neocon gang have much more globally threatening confrontation obsessions. For them, it was a question of whose reality would emerge victorious: the “reality” that they believed they could make, or economic reality outside of U.S. control.
What foreign countries have not done for themselves to replace the IMF, World Bank and other strongarms of U.S. diplomacy, American politicians are forcing them to do. Instead of European, Near Eastern and Global South countries breaking away as they calculate their own long-term economic interests, America is driving them away, as it has done with Russia and China. More politicians are seeking voter support by asking whether their countries would be better served by new monetary arrangements to replace dollarized trade, investment and even foreign debt service.
The energy and food price squeeze is hitting Global South countries especially hard, coinciding with their own Covid-19 problems and the looming dollarized debt service coming due. Something must give. How long will these countries impose austerity to pay foreign bondholders?
How will the U.S. and European economies cope in the face of their sanctions against imports of Russian gas and oil, cobalt, aluminum, palladium and other basic materials. American diplomats have made a list of raw materials that their economy desperately needs and which therefore are exempt from the trade sanctions being imposed. This provides Mr. Putin a handy list of U.S. pressure points to use in reshaping world diplomacy and helping European and other countries break away from the Iron Curtain that America has imposed to lock its satellites into dependence on high-priced U.S. supplies?
The Biden Inflation
But the final breakaway from NATO’s adventurism must come from within the United States itself. As this year’s midterm elections approach, politicians will find a fertile ground in showing U.S. voters that the price inflation led by gasoline and energy is a policy byproduct of the Biden Administration’s blocking of Russian oil and gas exports. (Bad news for owners of big SUV gas guzzlers!) Gas is needed not only for heating and energy production, but to make fertilizer, of which there already is a world shortage. This situation is exacerbated by blocking Russian and Ukrainian grain exports to the United States and Europe, causing food prices already to soar.
There already is a striking disconnect between the financial sector’s view of reality and that promoted in the mainstream NATO media. Europe’s stock markets plunged at their opening on Monday, March 7, while Brent oil soared to $130 a barrel. The BBC’s morning “Today” news broadcast featured Conservative MP Alan Duncan, an oil trader, warning that the near doubling of prices in natural gas futures threatened to bankrupt companies committed to supplying gas to Europe at the old rates. But returning to the military “Two Minutes of Hate” news, the BBC kept applauding the brave Ukrainian fighters and NATO politicians urging more military support. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 650 points, and gold soared to over $2,000 an ounce – reflecting the financial sector’s view of how the U.S. game is likely to play out. Nickel prices rose by even more – 40 percent.
Trying to force Russia to respond militarily and thereby look bad to the rest of the world is turning out to be a stunt aimed simply at ensuring Europe contribute more to NATO, buy more U.S. military hardware and lock itself deeper into trade and monetary dependence on the United States. The instability that this has caused is turning out to have the effect of making the United States look as threatening as Russia is claimed to be by the NATO West.
Libya’s gold also disappeared after NATO’s overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
See most recently Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson (2021), “Beyond Dollar Creditocracy: A Geopolitical Economy,” Valdai Club Paper No. 116. Moscow: Valdai Club, 7 July, repr. in Real World Economic Review (97).
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The owners of Chilli, a black and white Friesian steer, believe he may be the tallest bovine in Britain.
Naomi Clarke, care manager of the Ferne Animal Sanctuary in Chard, Somerset, who raised the bullock, said: “As he was growing up we began noticing that he was bigger than our other cattle.
”He now stands at 6ft 6ins from the floor to the top of his shoulder and he is massive when he holds his head up.”
Despite his size, Miss Clarke described him as being “very friendly and gentle.”
The steer grazes on grass during the day and enjoys the occasional swede as a treat. A farmer abandoned him and his twin sister Jubilee on the sanctuary's doorstep in September 1999, when he was six days old. The sanctuary named him Chilli because it already had a cow called Chutney.
He would normally have been on a farm and slaughtered for meat at an early age. But because he has been in a sanctuary he has lived to the age of nine.
Miss Clarke said: “As the years passed we noticed he was getting rather tall.
”Although he weighs over a ton he is quite lean and not as fat as some of his companions. We don't know what has made him so tall. He doesn't eat that much and Jubilee is 6ft in comparison. His feet and head are in proportion; he is just very large.”
Balancing him on a set of scales would need 16 St Bernard dogs; 12 newborn elephants; five adult gorillas; or 1.5 Smart cars. He could provide 5,510 8 oz steaks.
The sanctuary has referred Chilli's details to Guinness World Records in the hope that it might claim a record. Guinness World Records said it was researching the application.
As of November last year, the record for the tallest oxen is Fiorino, an Italian chianina ox who measured 6 ft 8 in to the withers.
The largest cow on record was an American Holstein-Durham cross named Mount Katahdin, which stood at 6 ft 2 in and had a girth measuring 13 ft. The cow died in a barn fire in 1923.
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The present invention relates to nucleic acids encoding a novel Vespula venom protease or fragments thereof, recombinant vectors comprising such nucleic acids, and host cells containing the recombinant vectors. The invention is further directed to expression of such nucleic acids to produce a recombinant Vespula venom protease, or recombinant fragments thereof, or synthetic peptides thereof. Such a protease or fragments thereof or synthetic peptides thereof are useful for diagnosis of insect venom allergy and for therapeutic treatment of insect venom allergy.
- Top of Page
OF THE INVENTION
Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated insect sting allergy to Hymenoptera is of common occurrence. Hymenoptera stings are classified into normal local reactions, large local reactions, systemic anaphylactic reactions, systemic toxic reactions, and unusual reactions. The most frequent clinical patterns are large local and systemic anaphylactic reactions. Based on the results of four studies, the prevalence of large local sting reactions ranges from 2.4% and 26.4% (for a review, see Biló et al 2005). In children the prevalence yielded by one study is 19%. Nine epidemiologic studies report a prevalence of self-reported systemic anaphylactic sting reactions between 0.3% and 7.5% (for a review, see Biló et al 2005). For most venom-allergic patients an anaphylactic reaction after a sting is a very traumatic event resulting in an altered health-related quality of life. In some instances the anaphylactic reaction may cause death, and this fatal outcome can occur as the first manifestation after a sting (Barnard 1973). Risk factors influencing the outcome of an anaphylactic reaction include the time interval between stings, the number of stings, the severity of the preceding reaction, age, cardiovascular diseases and drug intake, insect type, elevated serum tryptase, and mastocytosis.
Hymenoptera include the family Apidae consisting of the genera Apis (including the species Apis mellifera, honeybee) and Bombus (bumblebees), and the family Vespidae (vespids) consisting of the Vespinae and Polistinae subfamilies. The Vespinae subfamily includes the three genera Vespula (called wasps in Europe, yellow jackets in the USA), Dolichovespula (called hornets in the USA) and Vespa (called hornets in Europe and the USA). In the USA there are many species of Vespula, Dolichovespula and Polistes (called paper wasps in Europe and the USA) (King 1994). Vespine wasps are generally considered to be the most common source of stings, due to their abundance, aggressiveness and relatively large colony size (up to several thousand workers) of some species. In areas with mild winters, including Florida, California and Hawaii multiple queens may inhabit the same nest and produce enormous perennial colonies with a high potential for mass stinging (Greene and Breitsch 2005). Polistine wasps have small colonies of usually no more than a few dozen workers, but their nests can be extremely abundant around human habitations. The most pestiferous species is the recently arrived Polistis dominulus, an invasive European wasp (Greene and Breitsch 2005). Although honeybees are often invoked as a sting hazard, accidental disturbance of feral colonies in the US was rare until recently, because nests were typically located within tree cavities or structural voids. The arrival of Africanized bees (Apis mellifera scutellata) in 1990 markedly increased the stinging risk in several southwestern states, as this subspecies has an extremely low defensive response threshold and is capable of some of the most severe attacks known for any social insect (Greene and Breitsch 2005).
In Europe Vespula species V. vulgaris and V. germanica are dominating. In the genus Dolichovespula the most common species in Europe are D. media, D. saxonia and D. sylvestris and in the genus Vespa, Vespa crabro (European hornet) is the most prevalent in Europe. Among Polistinae (called paper wasps in Europe and the USA), Polistes gallicus, P. nimpha and P. dominulus are widespread especially in the Mediterranean area. In central and northern Europe vespid (mainly Vespula spp.) and honeybee stings are the most prevalent, whereas in the Mediterranean area stings from Polistes and Vespula are more frequent than honeybee stings, bumblebee stings are rare throughout Europe and more of an occupational hazard (Biló et al 2005).
The symptoms of IgE-mediated (type I) sting allergic reactions are due to release of mediators (e.g. histamine) resulting from cross-linking of effector cell-bound IgE antibodies by venom allergens. The symptoms can be suppressed by various pharmacologic treatments, but allergen-specific immunotherapy (SIT) represents the only curative approach. A rise in allergen-blocking IgG antibodies, particularly of the IgG4 class (Wetterwald et al 1985), a reduction in the number of mast cells and eosinophils, and a decreased release of mediators (Varney et al 1993) were found to be associated with successful SIT. Based on these observations, determination of the serum levels of allergen-specific IgE and IgG4 antibodies is useful to describe the immune status of an allergic patient.
In vitro measurement of specific serum IgE antibodies can be performed by the radio-allergosorbent test (RAST), various enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and other IgE-binding techniques such as immunoelectrophoresis, immunoblot, immunodotblotting, bead array technology and various fluid phase systems. The analytes can also be allergen-specific antibodies of the IgG4 or other IgG subclasses. As an alternative to the above listed assay systems, basophil cells derived from patients or from basophil cell lines such as the KU812 have been used for the in vitro measurement of allergen-specific IgE antibodies in serum by in vitro mediator release assays (MRA). Furthermore, in vivo tests for diagnosis of hymenoptera venom allergy are performed by skin prick or intradermal testing. Such tests are well known in the art (Biló et al 2005).
Composition of Vespid Venoms
Knowledge of the composition of venoms and structural as well as immunological features of individual venom allergens is a prerequisite for the accurate diagnosis and treatment of insect venom allergy. Hymenoptera venoms contain a number of toxins, enzymes, and biologically active peptides. Since it was easy to obtain sufficient quantities of material, honeybee venom has been well studied. Honeybee venom contains at least 18 active substances. Many of the proteins and polypeptides in honeybee venom have been identified as hypersensitizing agents including phospholipase A2 (Api m 1), hyaluronidase (Api m 2), acid phosphatase (Api m 3), melittin (Api m 4), dipeptidylpeptidase (Api m 5; allergen C), Api m 6 polypeptides (4 isoforms), a 39 kDa protease (Api m 7), and a 70 kDa protease (Biló et al 2005; Winningham et al 2004, Blank et al 2008. Vespid venoms (venoms of the Vespidae family) are also complex mixtures of toxins, enzymes including phospholipases, hyaluronidases and proteases, and biologically active peptides. These venom components can act on the cardiovascular system, nervous system and immunological system of mammalians. Antikoagulant effects of vespid venom obtained from a hornet species (Vespa orientalis) was attributed to the proteolytic degradation of coagulation factors. The purified Protease migrated under reducing conditions as a double band (42 kDa and 44 kDa) on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) (Haim et al 1999). Potential allergenic properties of this enzyme (or enzymes) have not been determined.
Another anticoagulant protease has been purified from the venom of a different hornet species (Vespa magnifica) (Han et al 2008). This protein, named magnvesin, contains serine protease-like avitivity and inhibits blood coagulation. The cDNA of magnvesin cloned from the venom sac cDNA library of Vespa magnifica (GenBank accession EU267370) encodes a protein precursor of 305 amino acids and a mature protease of 242 amino acids with a molecular weight of 27.4 kDa (Han et al 2008). Potential allergenic properties of this enzyme have not been determined.
Proteases have been identified also in the venom of Polistis species. A cDNA cloned from the venom sac cDNA library of Polistis dominulus (GenBank accession AY285998) encodes a protease of 244 amino acids (Winningham et al 2004). This protease contains 6 potential N-linked glycosylation sites, 4 of which appear to be glycosylated in the natural molecule. Due to its IgE binding activity the protease has been assigned the name Pol d 4 by the IUIS Allergen Nomenclature Subcommittee (Winningham et al 2004). Another protease prepared by benzamidine affinity chromatography from Polistis exclamans, has been reported to migrate in SDS-PAGE with the phospholipase as a protease from Polistis gallicus (Winningham et al 2004), but for none of these proteases a molecular weight or sequence information is provided by the authors. All three proteases are claimed to be highly cross-reactive, although the identity of the proteases from Polistis exclamans and Polistis gallicus remains to be elucidated.
An elastase-like protein was purified from the venom of the solitary spider wasp Cyphonyx dorsalis of the family Pompilidae which is part of the Vespoidea superfamily (Yamamoto at al 2007). The cDNA cloned from total RNA of a whole body (GenBank accession AB264172) encodes a protein of 256 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of 25.7 kDa (Yamamoto et al 2007). The result of a homology search showed a 30.1% homology with the elastase-tike serine proteinase from the red fire ant Solenopsis invicta. Potential allergenic properties of this enzyme have not been determined.
A protein (Vn50) isolated from the venom of the endoparasitoid wasp Cotesia rubecula has been shown to be homologous to serine proteinase homologs (Asgari et al 2003). The cDNA cloned from total RNA from the venom gland of Cotesia rubecula encodes a protein of 388 amino acids. Vn50 contains two structural domains, a carboxy-terminal serine proteinase domain and an amino-terminal “clip” domain. However, the serine proteinase domain is not functional since it lacks a serine residue at the conserved site (Asgari et al 2003). Potential allergenic properties of this enzyme analog have not been determined.
Although in Europe Vespula species (V. vulgaris and V. germanica) are dominating, only few Vespula proteins and polypeptides have been identified as allergens so far including those in the venom of Vespula vulgaris, Ves v 1 (phospholipase A1), Ves v 2 (Hyaluronidase) and Ves v 5 (antigen 5) (for a review, see Biló et al 2005). The presence of proteases in the venom of Vespula species has not been reported and according to several publications there is no evidence for the presence of significant amounts of proteases in these venoms (Winningham et al 2004; King and Spangfort 2000; Hoffman 1985). Considering the complex venom composition of honeybees, however, the venom of Vespula species is likely to contain more than three allergens. Therefore, there is a need in the art to for more information about allergens in the venom of Vespula species to optimize accurate diagnosis and treatment of venom allergy caused by these species.
B and T Cell Epitopes
In order to fully address the basis for allergic response to Vespula venom allergens and the molecular mechanism of allergen-based immunotherapies, there is a particular need in the art to delineate B and helper T cell epitopes of Vespula venom allergens. Antibody responses to a protein require the collaboration of T helper and B lymphocytes and antigen presenting cells (APC). T helper cells are activated when their T cell receptor binds to complexes of antigenic peptide-MHC class II molecule on the surface of APC. On the basis of their patterns of lymphokine production, T helper cells are divided into two groups: TH1 cells producing IL-2 and IFN-γ, and TH2 cells producing IL-4 and IL-5. These lymphokines in turn influence antigen-activated B cells to differentiate and proliferate into plasma cells secreting antibodies of different isotypes. IL-4 is one lymphokine known to influence IgE synthesis (Finkelman et al 1990).
B cell epitopes of proteinaceous allergens can include native protein structures (conformational or discontinuous or topographic epitopes), linear peptides (linear epitopes) and carbohydrates. The conformational type consists of amino acid residues which are spatially adjacent but may or may not be sequentially adjacent. The vast majority of IgE epitopes has been reported to be of the conformational type (King 1990). The linear type consists of only sequentially adjacent residues. However, even linear B cell epitopes are often conformation-dependent, and antibody-antigen interactions are improved when the epitope is displayed in the context of the folded protein. It is believed that the entire accessible surface of a protein molecule can be recognized as epitopes by the antigen receptor of B cells, although all epitopes are not necessarily recognized with equal likelihood (Benjamin et al 1984). Programs have been developed for the prediction of both linear and conformational B cell epitopes (Zhang et al 2008). For example, DiscoTope is a method for discontinuous epitope prediction that uses protein 3D structural data as input. It is based on amino acid statistics, spatial information and surface accessibility for a set of discontinuous epitopes determined by X-ray crystallography of antibody-proteinaceous antigen-complexes.
T cell epitopes consist of only the linear type since they are peptides that have been processed in the lysosomes of APC by proteases. Analysis of naturally processed antigenic peptides bound to MHC class II molecules indicates that their size ranges typically from about 13 to 25 amino acid residues, but analysis of synthetic peptide-MHC class II molecule complexes for their T cell proliferative response suggests a minimal size of about 9 amino acid residues (Rudensky et al 1991, Wang at al 2008). T cell epitopes are distributed throughout the entire protein molecule, and they may function as major or minor determinants depending on the MHC haplotype of the immunized host (O'Hehir 1991). MHC proteins are highly polymorphic and each binds to a limited set of peptides. Thus, the particular combination of MHC alleles present in a host limits the range of potential epitopes that are recognized.
Because of the central role of TH2 cells in determining the isotype switch event of B cells, the T cell epitopes of several allergens have been mapped (O\'Hehir 1991). However, defining epitope sequence specificity for a particular host including cleavage of the polypeptide by the proteasome, transport of peptides into the endoplasmatic reticulum by the transporter associated with processing (TAP) and binding to MHC molecules poses serious problems. Therefore, an abundance of methods has been developed for the prediction of T cell epitopes (see, e.g., Zhang et al 2008; Korber at 2006). The MHC class II binding prediction provided by a publication in 2008 in Nucleic Acid Res. (Zhang et al) includes 4 methods, ARB, SMM_align, the method of Sturniolo which is also the basis of TEPITOPE, and a consensus approach, all of which have been identified as top performing ones.
In order to avoid undesirable systemic reactions on specific immunotherapy with natural allergens, there has been continued interest in the development of modified allergens with reduced allergenic activities for immunotherapy. In one approach T cell epitopes are used to modulate allergen-specific immune responses. It has been observed in vivo in mice for the allergen Fel d 1 (cat hair), Der p 1 (acarian: Dematophagoides pterissimus) and Bet v 1 (birch pollen) that the nasal, oral or subcutaneous administration of peptides carrying T cell epitopes of these allergens inhibits the activation of the specific T lymphocytes (Briner et al 1993; Hoyne et al 1993; Bauer et al 1997). Based on these results allergen peptide fragments capable of stimulating T lymphocytes in allergic patients were evaluated in clinical studies. In the case of the major honeybee venom allergen Api m 1 fragments 50-69 and 83-97 have been described as being active during a study comprising a single patient (Dhillon et al. 1992). In a study comprising forty patients (Carballido et al 1993) Api m 1 fragments 45-62, 81-92 and 113-124 proved to be active. However, these three fragments proved to be T cell epitopes for only 25 to 45% of the patients, pointing to the existence of other epitopes. Nevertheless, the three peptides have been used successfully for desentization of five allergic patients whose T lymphocytes proliferated in the presence of these peptides (Müer et al 1998). No serious systemic effect was observed and the patients became tolerant to honeybee stings. This demonstrates the benefit of using peptides for desensitization. Therefore, there is a need in the field to identify peptide fragments of allergens in vespid venoms capable of stimulating T lymphocytes in allergic patients, and in particular from allergens in the venom of Vespula species.
In another approach, B cell epitopes of allergens are modified to decrease the risk of potential systemic reactions. The aim of such allergen modification is to decrease the allergenicity while retaining its immunogenicity. Since allergenicity depends on the interaction of a multivalent allergen with basophil- or mast cell-bound IgE antibodies, allergenicity can be reduced by decreasing the density of B cell epitopes. One approach is by partial or complete denaturation of allergens on chemical modification because the vast majority of B cell epitopes are of the discontinuous type, being dependent on the native conformation of proteins. However, there are serious limitations to the use of such molecules. While linear T cell epitopes are preserved, the surface structure is not maintained and, thereby, the capacity of such molecules to stimulate an allergen-specific non IgE antibody response is severely limited. Similar\'considerations apply to an approach in which the accessibility of B cell epitopes is reduced by polymerization on formaldehyde or glutaraldehyde treatment or by attachment of nonimmunogenic polymers. Usually near-complete loss of the discontinuous B cell epitopes occurs when allergens are modified with >100-fold reduction in allergenicity.
Using recombinant DNA technology well defined allergens can be produced which allow the determination of their three-dimensional structure and site-directed modifications of their surface structure. Unfortunately, however, knowledge of IgE-specific B cell epitopes is scarce and useful tools for reliabe identification of such epitopes are not available. While several IgE epitopes could be determined by mapping with synthetic overlapping peptides synthesized according to the allergen amino acid sequence, many relevant IgE epitopes could not be identified because peptides frequently fail to display conformations mimicking discontinuous epitopes. There is no doubt that naturally occurring IgE antibodies represent ideal tools for structural analyses of IgE epitopes. However, the number of monoclonal allergen-specific IgE antibodies isolated from blood lymphocytes of allergic patients so far is extremely limited. In an alternative approach, animal derived monoclonal allergen-specific antibodies can be useful to identify IgE epitopes. For example, from a panel of mouse monoclonal antibodies that effectively inhibited binding of birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 to specific IgE, several monoclonal antibodies identified a continuous epitope within an exposed surface area of Bet v 1 that could be part of a discontinuous IgE epitope (Lebecque et al 1997) Provided such antibodies bind to Bet v 1 with high affinity, they represent useful tools for further structural analyses by X-ray diffraction of crystals obtained from allergen-antibody complexes. Although the surface area recognized by animal-derived allergen-specific antibodies may not be identical with that recognized by human IgE antibodies, both areas are closely related as indicated by the inhibition experiments. Therefore, structural information obtained from the analysis of such allergen-antibody complexes provide a valuable basis for the modification of IgE epotopes by site-directed mutagenesis. One problem of this approach, however, is the need of a panel of high affinity antibodies with different epitope specificities for each allergen to allow for a detailed analysis of the total spectrum of potential IgE epitopes. Assuming that a B cell epitope takes up an area of approximately 900 A2, the vast majority of allergens is likely to display more than one IgE epitope, in the case of allergens with a molecular weight of >40 kDa most likely several IgE epitopes. Therefore, there is a need in the field to develop high affinity allergen-specific antibody panels that are capable of inhibiting IgE binding.
Another serious problem associated with the design of hypoallergenic molecules for an improved immunotherapy is the lack of understanding of the immune response that guarantees a lasting protection after specific immunotherapy. The aim to decrease the allergenicity of a given allergen while retaining its immunogenicity is widely accepted, but the term immunogenicity remains to be defined. Evaluation of modified recombinant allergens with a strongly reduced IgE reactivity that display the full spectrum of linear T cell epitopes but a different surface structure as compared to the corresponding natural allergen, have demonstrated that such molecules are capable of reducing specific IgE development towards the native allergen (Niederberger et al 2004; Karamloo et al 2005). However, a long lasting protective effect after treatment with these molecules has not been demonstrated. Apparently, the capacity of recombinant allergens to stimulate a long lasting protective allergen-specific non IgE antibody response requires also a surface structure that is closely related to that of the corresponding natural allergen. Since disruption of IgE epitopes is associated with a significant alteration of the surface structure, there is a need in the field to identify those surface structures of allergens that mediate an appropriate non-IgE response for a long lasting protection. There is a particular need in the field to identify those surface structures of allergens in the venom of Vespula species that mediate an appropriate non-IgE response for a long lasting protection.
There is a further need to determine whether there is cross reaction of the B and T cell epitopes of vespid venom allergens with other environmental and/or homologous proteins. Thus, there is a need to determine whether vespid venom allergens share partial identity with environmental and/or homologous proteins, and more importantly, to obtain the sequences of the regions of the partial identity, in particular the specific amino acid sequence of partial identity. There is a further need to determine the level of cross reactivity of vespid allergens with other proteins at the B cell and T cell level, the relevance of this cross reactivity, and whether such cross reactivity is pathological, i.e., involved in or responsible for allergy, or beneficial, i.e., inhibitory of allergy.
- Top of Page
OF THE INVENTION
The invention is based, in part, on the discovery of a novel Vespula venom protease, which has been named Ves v 4. This protease or fragments, derivatives or analogs thereof can be used, e.g., for diagnosis of insect venom allergy and for therapeutic treatment of insect venom allergy.
The present invention provides a nucleic acid molecule encoding a novel Vespula venom protease, fragments thereof, or derivatives or analogs thereof. In a specific embodiment, nucleic acid molecules of the invention encode polypeptide fragments containing one or more B cell epitopes of the Vespula venom protease. In another specific embodiment, nucleic acid molecules of the invention encode T cell epitope-containing polypeptide fragments of the Vespula venom protease capable of stimulating T cells of subjects allergic to Ves v 4. In another specific embodiment, nucleic acid molecules of the invention encode polypeptide fragments containing one or more T cell epitopes and one or more B cell epitopes of the Vespula venom protease. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide fragments are between 20-150 amino acids in length.
The present invention further provides methods for isolating nucleic acid molecules from any species of the family Vespidae which are hybridizable under moderate or high stringency conditions to a nucleic acid having the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:1.
In one embodiment the invention provides a nucleic acid molecule comprising the nucleotide sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 and nucleic acids hybridizable to the nucleotide sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 under moderate or high stringency conditions, and fragments, derivatives, mutants and analogs thereof.
In one embodiment the invention provides a nucleic acid molecule comprising the nucleotide sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 and nucleic acids that are at least 70% identical, preferably more than 80% identical and more preferably more than 90% identical to the nucleotide sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1, and fragments, derivatives, mutants and analogs thereof.
In one embodiment the invention provides a nucleic acid molecule comprising the nucleotide sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 and nucleic acids hybridizable to the nucleotide sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 under moderate or high stringency conditions, and nucleic acids that are at least 70% identical, preferably more than 80% identical and more preferably more than 90% identical to the nucleotide sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1, and fragments, derivatives, mutants and analogs thereof.
The present invention further provides polypeptides encoded by the nucleic acids of the invention wherein the polypeptides comprise an amino acid sequence that is at least 70% identical, and more preferably 90% identical, to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2.
In a further embodiment, the polypeptide of the invention comprises the amino acid sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO:2 and polypeptides that are at least 70% identical, preferably more than 80% identical, more preferably more than 90% identical, more preferably more than 95% identical and most preferably more than 99% identical to the amino sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 2, and fragments, derivatives and analogs thereof.
In a specific embodiment, the invention provides polypeptide fragments of the Ves v 4 polypeptides of the invention, containing one or more B cell epitopes of the Vespula venom protease. In another specific embodiment, the invention provides T cell epitope-containing polypeptide fragments of the Vespula venom protease capable of stimulating T cells of subjects allergic to Ves v 4. In another specific embodiment, the invention provides polypeptide fragments containing one or more T cell epitopes and one or more B cell epitopes of the Vespula venom protease. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide fragments are between 20-150 amino acids in length. In stilt another specific embodiment, the invention provides T cell epitope-containing peptides of at least 9 amino acids corresponding to a consecutive amino acid sequence within the Vespula venom protease wherein the peptides are capable of stimulating T cells of subjects allergic to Ves v 4. Such peptides of the invention are preferably immuno-modulatory peptides as well in that they induce T cell anergy when administered to a subject allergic to the Vespula venom protease, or otherwise affect the immune response of the subject.
In another embodiment, the present invention provides methods for identification and modification via site-directed mutagenesis of those amino acid residues involved in the interaction of the polypeptides of this invention with human IgE and IgG antibodies, including IgG4 antibodies. In specific embodiments, the present invention provides methods for decreasing the allergenicity (IgE reactivity) of the polypeptides of this invention in a structure-based approach via mutagenesis of IgE epitopes with limited impairment of the residual surface structure important for IgG and IgG, including IgG4, immunological responses. In a preferred embodiment, the allergenicity of the polypeptides of this invention is reduced by at least 50% while at least 50% of IgG epitopes, including IgG4 epitopes, are maintained. In a more preferred embodiment, the allergenicity of the polypeptides of this invention is reduced by at least 70% while at least 50% of IgG epitopes, including IgG4 epitopes, are maintained. In a most preferred embodiment allergenicity is reduced by at least 90% while at least 50% of IgG epitopes, including IgG4 epitopes, are maintained.
In another embodiment, the present invention provides methods for modification of N-glycosylation of the polypeptides of this invention. In a specific embodiment, the present invention provides polypeptides comprising N-linked glycosides without detectable core α(1,3)-fucosylation. In another specific embodiment, the present invention provides polypeptides comprising mutated N-glycosylation sites instead of N-glycosylation sites with Asn-Xaa-Ser/Thr sequences. In still another specific embodiment, the present invention provides polypeptides lacking N-glycosylation.
The present invention further provides expression vectors comprising the nucleic acids of the invention operationally associated with a promoter. The present invention also provides methods for producing the polypeptides encoded by the nucleic acids of the invention. In particular, the present invention provides for culturing cells transformed with an expression vector of the invention so that the Vespula venom protease, fragments thereof, or derivatives or analogs thereof are expressed by the cells, and recovering these polypeptides so expressed from the culture.
In a further embodiment, the present invention features a pharmaceutical composition that includes the Ves v 4 polypeptides of the invention and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. In some embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition includes an additional polypeptide, e.g., a second, third, fourth, or more Vespula venom polypeptide or polypeptides. The additional Vespula venom polypeptides can include, e.g., the Ves v 1 polypeptide (phospholipase A1), the Ves v 2a polypeptide (hyaluronidase), the Ves v 2b polypeptide, the Ves v 3 polypeptide (dipeptidylpeptidase), the Ves v 5 polypeptide, glycosylated IgE-binding proteins, or analogs or derivatives thereof.
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This morning, Fiat Chrysler recalled 1.4 million vehicles with Uconnect dashboard computers after digesting a fact that was clear a year ago: The cars could be hacked remotely. Chris Valasek and Charlie Miller, who demonstrated that hack at last years Black Hat conference in Vegas (the fact that this year’s event is upcoming seems relevant here) were never circumspect about their work; Chrysler just under-reacted slowly. Still, today’s announcement was interesting for two reasons: The recall only required owners to update software with distributed USBs, and the prevailing wisdom among marketers is that car tech is the whole game.
The car sales bust that the auto industry started fretting about as soon as it was done fretting about the U.S. economic implosion of 2008 never really arrived. Today, the young people incessantly referred to as Millennials by the sort of people that talk like that, are the second largest group of new car buyers. Much of the auto industry credits the proliferation of in-car tech with the conversion of smartphone consumers to car consumers. What does the Fiat Chrysler mean in the context of that trend? It’s hard to say on a consumer level because market prognosticators have demonstrated an impressive ability to be wrong, but it likely presages a movement within the industry to improve tech, particularly software.
For drivers, particularly younger, computer-literate drivers, this is great news — and not because of hacking. Yes, the auto industry needs computer talent, and coding talent in particular, to shore up its defenses, but it also needs to rethink the basic interaction between the humans and wheels. With ridesharing and [Uber](https://www.uber.com/, and something called Lyft on the rise, consumers aren’t being unreasonable when they expect to get more than transportation from their cars. Cars should provide a home base for the people who drive them, a moveable office and a comfort. Our phones can get us from point A to point B, so we need out cars to do something else. Software isn’t the whole answer, but it should be part of it.
As for whether or not there’s going to be a migration from Menlo Park to Detroit, well, it’s unlikely to happen tomorrow. But you better believe that company recruiters will be flocking toward the setting sun. They may be too late, but that is — within the context of the domestic auto industry — just in time.
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