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What if Google existed in the 1960s?
That's the question posed by Google60, a new web project and installation which recreates the search engine as a punch cards and typewriter invention from the past, and the future, at once.
It's a remarkable little tool. Type in your search on punch cards and watch as the typewriter labouriously prints out the answer.
You can even search for news and images - which are rendered as little matrices of dots and stars.
It's been created by designer Norbert Landsteiner, who said that many of the sounds used for the new tool were based on actual equipment, like the IBM 129 Keypunch.
Landsteiner was also responsible for the recent Google BBS project, which imagined the search engine as an 80s-style bulletin board. | <urn:uuid:16e10bcd-8221-4fbf-b9cd-0839eee2d772> | CC-MAIN-2018-17 | https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/12/11/google60-project-google-in-the-1960s-nathan-landsteiner_n_2276278.html?ir=Technology | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524127095762.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20180427075937-20180427095937-00507.warc.gz | en | 0.970178 | 170 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Submit your word to be a Word of the Day!
Old English scamu, sceomu "feeling of guilt or disgrace; confusion caused by shame; disgrace, dishonor, insult, loss of esteem or reputation; shameful circumstance, what brings disgrace; modesty; private parts," from Proto-Germanic *skamo (cf. Old Saxon skama, Old Norse skömm, Swedish skam, Old Frisian scome, Dutch schaamte, Old High German scama, German Scham). The best guess is that this is from PIE *skem-, from *kem- "to cover" (covering oneself being a common expression of shame).
Until modern times English had a productive duplicate form in shand. An Old Norse word for it was kinnroði, literally "cheek-redness," hence, "blush of shame." Greek distinguished shame in the bad sense of "disgrace, dishonor" (aiskhyne) from shame in the good sense of "modesty, bashfulness" (aidos). To put (someone or something) to shame is mid-13c. Shame culture attested by 1947.
Old English scamian "be ashamed, blush, feel shame; cause shame," from the root of shame (n.). Cf. Old Saxon scamian, Dutch schamen, Old High German scamen, Danish skamme, Gothic skaman, German schämen sich. Related: Shamed; shaming. | <urn:uuid:8b1c265c-dd48-47ae-9201-f84cc264578a> | CC-MAIN-2014-41 | http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/%20shame | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-41/segments/1410657131376.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20140914011211-00316-ip-10-196-40-205.us-west-1.compute.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.900792 | 315 | 3 | 3 |
Visiting the dentist for regular cleanings and needed dental work can do wonders for keeping your teeth and gums in tip-top shape. But if you’ve seen or heard about infections occurring in healthcare facilities, you might be a little concerned that your trip to the dentist might expose you to one. Don’t be! You and your family will be out of harm’s way because your dental team has made protection from viruses, bacteria and other infectious agents a top priority. To highlight this effort, the American Academy of Oral Medicine commemorates each September as “National Dental Infection Control Awareness Month.”
As a healthcare provider, dentists have a legal, moral and ethical obligation to protect patients (and staff members too) from infection through what are known as “standard precautions.” These include barrier protection, disinfection and sterilization practices, and safe disposal of contaminated items.
But dentists and their professional organizations don’t stop with the minimum requirements—they’re committed to a higher standard when it comes to infection control. The bedrock for this commitment is adherence to an infection control checklist developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), updated regularly. This in-depth checklist recommends several best practices and protocols, including:
- Creating a written infection control plan that outlines all practices and procedures to be followed by the provider and staff;
- Barrier protection, including the wearing of disposable gloves, face shields or gowns by providers as appropriate;
- Proper disposal methods for used items;
- Proper hand washing and other hygiene practices before and after treatment procedures;
- Proper disinfection and sterilization of instruments and equipment;
Most licensing bodies also require that dentists and their staff undergo continuing education in infection control, usually every two years.
Because you as a patient have a right to know the details about your medical and dental care, you have public access to infection control guidelines and requirements. You can also ask your dental provider about what steps they take to protect you and your family from infectious disease. They’ll be glad to answer any questions you have to put your mind at ease about your safety.
The dental profession’s commitment to patient and staff safety has drastically reduced the risk of any infection. Rest assured, your dental visit will be beneficial for your oral health—and safe for your general health too.
If you would like more information about infection control in the dental office, please contact us or schedule a consultation. To learn more, read the Dear Doctor magazine articles “Infection Control in the Dental Office” and “Shingles, Herpes Zoster: A One-Sided Facial Rash.” | <urn:uuid:eb8191d8-9c80-4d63-bff0-0dbe91e31896> | CC-MAIN-2019-39 | https://www.brightsmilesdentalcare.net/blog/post/dental-office-infection-control-protects-you-from-viral-infection.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-39/segments/1568514573465.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20190919081032-20190919103032-00120.warc.gz | en | 0.935188 | 558 | 2.9375 | 3 |
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Rickets is a condition that affects bone development in children. It causes the bones to become soft and weak, which can lead to bone deformities.
Rickets in adults is known as osteomalacia or soft bones.
Rickets can cause bone pain, poor growth and deformities of the skeleton, such as bowed legs, curvature of the spine, and thickening of the ankles, wrists and knees.
Children with rickets are also more likely to fracture their bones.
Read more about the signs and symptoms of rickets.
A lack of vitamin D or calcium is the most common cause of rickets. Vitamin D largely comes from exposing the skin to sunlight, but it's also found in some foods, such as oily fish and eggs. Vitamin D is essential for the formation of strong and healthy bones in children.
In rare cases, children can be born with a genetic form of rickets. It can also develop if another condition affects how vitamins and minerals are absorbed by the body.
Read more about the causes of rickets.
Rickets was common in the past, but it mostly disappeared in the western world during the early 20th century after foods like margarine and cereal were fortified with vitamin D.
However, in recent years, there's been an increase in cases of rickets in the UK. The number of rickets cases is still relatively small ‐ less than 700 cases were diagnosed in hospitals in England in 2013-14 ‐ but studies have shown a significant number of people in the UK have low levels of vitamin D in their blood.
Any child whose diet doesn't contain enough vitamin D or calcium can develop rickets, but the condition is more common in children with dark skin, as this means they need more sunlight to get enough vitamin D, as well as children born prematurely or taking medication that interferes with vitamin D.
For most children, rickets can be successfully treated by ensuring they eat foods that contain calcium and vitamin D, or by taking vitamin supplements.
If your child has problems absorbing vitamins and minerals, they may need a higher supplement dose or a yearly vitamin D injection.
Read more about treating rickets.
Rickets can easily be prevented by eating a diet that includes vitamin D and calcium, as well as spending some time in sunlight.
Your hands and face only need to be exposed to sunlight for about 15 minutes a few times a week during spring and summer to provide enough vitamin D.
In some cases, vitamin D supplements may be recommended to reduce the risk of rickets.
Read more about preventing rickets, including information about good sources of vitamin D and calcium.
Take your child to see your GP if they have any of the signs and symptoms of rickets.
Your GP will carry out a physical examination to check for any obvious problems. They may also discuss your child's medical history, diet, family history, and any medication they're taking.
A blood test to measure calcium, phosphorous and vitamin D levels can usually confirm a diagnosis of rickets, although your child may also have some X-rays or possibly a bone density scan (DEXA scan). This is a special type of X-ray that measures the calcium content in bones.
Why not sign up to our mailing list and receive regular articles and tips about IBD to your inbox? | <urn:uuid:1a69742b-05c3-490d-87ca-5226362ebb2c> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://www.ibdrelief.com/learn/complications-of-ibd/osteomalacia-introduction | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100762.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20231208144732-20231208174732-00751.warc.gz | en | 0.966191 | 708 | 3.9375 | 4 |
Our Scotch-Irish Heritage
|"The term "Scotch-Irish" is an Americanism, generally unknown in Scotland and Ireland, and rarely used by British historians. In American usage, it refers to people of Scottish descent who, having lived for a time in the north of Ireland, migrated in considerable numbers to the American colonies in the eighteenth century." The Scotch-Irish, A Social History, pg. i - James G. Leyburn.|
The "plantation" of Ulster, in northern Ireland, with Scottish immigrants, took place from roughly 1606 through 1700. The "Great Migration" of Scotch-Irish to America took place from 1717 through 1776. An estimated 200-250,000 Scotch-Irish migrated to America during this period. The period of the "Great Migration" of Scotch-Irish took place at approximately the same time as the German Palatine migration.
It is believed that, at the time of the Revolution, they comprised 10-15% of the population of the United States. Their negative feelings toward England played no small part in the emotion of the "stew" that led to the American Revolution.
Although there is evidence of the use of this term, or others, (Ulster Irish, Northern Irish, Irish Presbyterians) to differentiate the Scotch/Irish immigrants from other citizens of America, it is believed to have generally fallen into non-use by the 1840's, wherever it had been used. The use of the term "Irish" in the United States up to that time usually meant Scotch-Irish, as the Catholic Irish simply had not been a major immigrating force until that time.
All that changed, however, with the potato famine and the resulting crunch of the greatest immigration America has ever experienced, from the southern regions of Ireland. An estimated 2 million Irishmen, mostly Catholic, and mostly from the southern parts of Ireland, immigrated to America during the period 1846-1856. They were poor. They congregated in the cities in which they landed in ghetto clusters. They were Catholic. They would work for next to nothing while native born American workers saw jobs threatened and the decline of value in their own labor. The Irish, as many new classes of immigrants are in a new country, were not looked on favorably by the general population.
This caused a renewal in the resident population of Scotch-Irish Americans to identify themselves in such a manner that they would not be thrown in the same "class" of citizenry as the new, Catholic, Irish immigrants. Thus, a renewal in the use of the term Scotch-Irish.
It is a useful term to the family historian as the Scotch-Irish people are definitely a different class of immigrant than the southern, Catholic Irish; nor, can they be thrown in the same pot as their Scottish brethren. "..the Scots who lived in Ulster before they came to America simply were not, in background, religion, and many other aspects of culture, identical with the Irish of the southern provinces of Leinster, Munster, and Connaught; neither were they, after many decades, any longer identical with the people of Scotland." The Scotch-Irish, A Social History, pg. 333 - James G. Leyburn.
Before 1603 - - Background: For centuries, England had tried repeatedly and constantly to subdue the island of Ireland and the Irish had stubbornly resisted. There had been attempts over the years to transplant English settlers to Ireland in an attempt to "infiltrate" and/or "control" the Irish people and their society, but these had failed. By 1603, the problem was even more acute:
An area that had been hit hard during this destruction was the north, the "kingdom" of Ireland called Ulster, consisting of nine counties.
In the meantime, in Scotland, times were never all that good, but the turn of the century saw the typical Scottish farmer in dire straits. The western coast of Scotland is only 20-30 miles from the Ulster coast.
Thus, the scene was set for a series of developments leading to:
1606.. The first Ulster colonies are settled. Ironically, by private entrepreneurs, and Scottish at that. Some Scottish entrepreneurs had come up with the idea of acquiring some land and transplanting their own countrymen to farm them. These beginning colonies were successful and word quickly spread back to Scotland.
1607.. King James I declared that the land held by the defeated Irish rebel leaders, who had fled to the continent, was reverted to the Crown. This legal action was over-reaching, but when you're the King, what the heck. King James I took control of 3,000,000 acres of Ulster land.
1609.. James I inform the Privy Council of Scotland: "the King.. out of his unspeakable love and tender affection for his Scottish subjects, has decided that they will be allowed to participate in this great adventure". Remember, James I, becoming King of England in 1603, had already been King of Scotland for 35 years before that (he was crowned the King of Scotland when he was one year old.)
1620.. An estimated 50,000 Scottish (and some English) settlers are now in northern Ireland (Ulster).
1625.. King James I died and his son Charles I was crowned King. King James I was a definitely pro-Anglican and anti-Presbyterian, but at least he was somewhat of a politician about trying to convert the Scots to the more traditional Church of England. Charles I, however, had no tact, he tried to force the Anglican church down the throats of the Scottish people and deprive them of their Presbyterianism. (This is the same climate that led to the first flight of Puritans to found the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630.)
1637.. King Charles required changes in the churches of Scotland to more closely resemble the Church of England. The Scottish people arise and overthrow the episcopacy that Charles I has tried to implement. Presbyterianism in Scotland survived.
1640.. An estimated 100,000 Scottish (and some English) settlers are now in northern Ireland (Ulster).
1642.. England is now in a Civil War, principally over the religious issues of the day: Puritanism versus the Church of England. The Scots are on the fringes of this war. They favor the more like-minded Puritans, but, after all, Charles I is still a Scot.
1642.. The Catholics in Ireland rebel against the north. Estimates of the deaths in this uprising vary, but many thousands die. The emigration of Scots to Ireland drops off.
1650.. The English Civil War ends with Oliver Cromwell responsible for the beheading of King Charles I. Then, he invaded Scotland , conquering the Scots at Dunbar. He then set out to crush the Scottish spirit.
1650.. Meanwhile, back in Ireland, the Irish rebellion went on for ten long years, until Cromwell came from England in 1650 and crushed the rebellion. He took neither side, however. He killed both Catholics and Presbyterians alike to let them know that England was in charge and wouldn't take disobedience from either side. He was particlularly cruel and viscious during his campaigns.
Whether the ends justify the means or not, at least peace did follow Cromwell's "policing action". The immigration of Scots Ireland now resume in 1650.
1653.. Cromwell ordered venerated leaders of their church driven from their places of meeting by English soldiers and led like criminals through the streets of Edinburgh.
1660.. The Puritan Cromwell dies and Charles II resumes the crown. Here we go again, a pro-Anglican as head of the country. As bad as times were for the Scots under Cromwell, worse times were ahead. During the 1660's, the Scottish suffered through what is called the "killing times", as the English tried again to force the Church of England down the throats of the Scots. This was the time of the rise of the term "covenanter", those Scots that, in effect, were guerillas fighting against the English landlords.
We have an example of the "killing times" that has been passed down in our family. A fourteen year old girl was arrested because of her failure to give allegiance to the English King in a way that connoted his being head of the church. This fourteen year old girl was ordered to DEATH BY DROWNING for refusing. This is how cruel things were getting over there at that time.
Emigration from Scotland to Ireland increased with the killing times.
1679.. The Covenanters (protestant rebels) are decisively defeated at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge in Scotland.
1690.. The King of England, William of Orange soundly defeats James II at the Battle of Boyne in Ireland. William is staunchly protestant, James is Catholic. This assures the continuation of the protestant Irish of the north, most Scottish descendants, to continue their protestant faith.
A result of of the English victory at the Battle of Boyne is reponsible for the last wave of immigrants from Scotland to England in the last decade of the 1600's. An estimated 50,000 Scots leave Scotland for northern Ireland.
1717.. The Exodus of the Scotch-Irish from Ulster to America now begins in earnest. Five thousand Ulstermen leave for America that year. Between 1717 and the American Revolution, approximately a quarter of a million Scotch-Irish will leave Ireland for America. Approximately 100 years after the original Ulster plantations have been planted they have succeeded... and they have also failed. In 100 years, Ulster had been transformed from a totally obliterated landscape to a respectable area with an economy that produced goods. Plagued by high rents, four years of drought, English import/export policies, and the religious factor thrown in (although religion wasn't a prime motivating factor in the Scotch/Irish migration as it was, say, with the Puritans.), many Scots look for a better life in America.
It is interesting to note that even though the Catholic Irish endured many of the same hardships as their Northern counterparts, the Catholic Irish did not participate in this Exodus. The emigration was 99% Protestant, Ulster-Scots leaving for the America's. Although there were Catholic Irish who fled to other Catholic countries, principally France and Spain.
1776.. The American Revolution marks the end of this immigration era. Approximately 200-250,000 thousand Scotch-Irish have immigrated to America since 1717. There are more than that by 1776. If one is to assume the doubling of a population every 30 years, and a ratable rate of immigration, one could expect the Scotch-Irish numbered perhaps 10-25% of the 2 1/4 million Americans in 1776. At the time of the Revolution, the Scotch-Irish comprised the second largest ethnic group in America after the English, and ahead of the Germans.
(PS. As you do your census work, you may see the results of a study done by the census bureau by categorizing names based on where the name "might" have come from in estimating the ethnic make-up of the 1790 census. That study is a joke. Pay no attention to it. (How can one look at a Scottish name and tell if it is Scottish or Scotch-Irish? Or look at Smith or Taylor and tell what nationality it is?).
One parting word. All of the above history speaks in terms of generalities. As we family historians try to discover and unlock the secrets of the past of our individual ancestors, there are always individual exceptions to account for. There were English settlers in northern Ireland. There were French Huguenots (the French protestant rebels, "roughly" equivalent to the Puritans in England and the Covenanters in Scotland) in northern Ireland. There were German Palatine refugees in northern Ireland. There were refugees from other parts of the world to Ireland, as well, at various times.
My recommendation is to not worry about the actual blood line of your ancestry, but to appreciate the historical significance of the above events that your ancestor lived through, no matter how he or she got there. (e.g. your ancestor passing through Scotland for a generation or two, or three, or four, was simply one more stop on the genealogical chain of your past, just as significant as two or three generations of your ancestors living in Ohio in the 1800's.)
You also certainly cannot rely on a name to guarantee any source of your ancestry. French, English, and German names could all be "Irish'd" on coming to Ireland, as they might have been again been "anglicized' in coming to America. In fact, Scotch names were "Irish'd", as well as the other way around, on coming to America, ie O'Neill switched to MacNeil or vice versa. I even have one line of Scotch-Irish relatives that changed their name from Campbell to McCampbell on coming to America. There is no equivalent for McCampbell in either Ireland or Scotland - it is an all-American original made-up name!
Many Scotch/Irish settled in Pennsylvania. Here is a history of early Pennsylvania that you might find interesting that discusses the different immigrant classes, including the Scotch/Irish to Pennsylvania.
A Chronicle to the Scotch-Irish in Virginia. A specific, surname indexed, listing of Scotch-Irish settlers tied to events.
See the Canada Ulster Scots Page for an interesting perspective of our Scotch-Irish heritage.
A family that married into the first generation of descendants from the Edwin Taylor's were the McBrides, Scotch / Irish immigrants. Read their story, passed through the generations, of their McBride and McKee ancestors' story in coming to America: A Miracle Finding of Lost Love.
The Huguenots were the French equivalent of the Puritan movement - Protestant reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries. Here is a list of Huguenot resources.
The Scotch-Irish - A Social History, James G. Leyburn, Chapel Hill, The University of North Carolina Press, 1962. (Available in paperback at many bookstores.)
The Romancing the Web On-Line Bookstore has an on-line collection of Scottish Books. (I am not connected with this commercial site. I only list it here for your information.) | <urn:uuid:f0976e3c-4f7b-4f07-8614-ebf1e1700069> | CC-MAIN-2015-32 | http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~riss/hrtg/scirish.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-32/segments/1438042981969.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20150728002301-00026-ip-10-236-191-2.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974024 | 2,962 | 3.640625 | 4 |
GSM vs. CDMA - Two Competing Cell Phone Technologies
There are two main types of cell phones used in the US. These are GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and CDMA/iDEN. GSM phones utilize SIM cards (Subscriber Identity Module) while CDMA/iDEN do not. As of this writing only T-Mobile and Cingular utilize GSM in the US, Sprint and Verizon use CDMA/iDEN.
GSM was developed in Europe and allows for easy international roaming. The key feature of GSM, the SIM card allows the subscriber information to be stored on a small, removable card, rather than on the phone. This means that personal information such as contacts, and key technical information for connecting to your service, are stored on a card that can be moved from phone to phone. Changing services is as easy as swapping the card, and changing phones is as easy as popping out your card and moving it to a new phone. This allows for easy portability of service. Even when a phone’s SIM card is locked by a service, it is usually quite easy to unlock the card and/or phone.
Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN) was originally developed from GSM by Motorola for use by Nextel (now Sprint). Although this technology allows for SIM cards, today providers often hard wire the SIM information into the phone, defeating the ease of portability. Nextel’s acquisition by Sprint likely means the demise of iDEN in the US.
Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) is the other large technology for cell phones. While CDMA has a larger coverage footprint in the US, it’s global coverage is much smaller than GSM. CDMA phones do not utilize SIM cards and therefore the subscriber personal information is not easily portable or accessible.
With the introduction of Apple’s new iPhone (which is a GSM phone) perhaps we’ll see a rise in GSM adoption in the US. If the iPhone reaches market share anywhere close to that of the iPod then I could easily see GSM becoming a standard in the US, which would be nice since we’ve seen how well forging a nonstandard path has worked for Americans with unit measures (lost space probe anyone?). | <urn:uuid:a490558b-63ba-486f-b0b7-919395efdf36> | CC-MAIN-2015-27 | http://www.madirish.net/268 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-27/segments/1435375099361.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20150627031819-00079-ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950903 | 469 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Sanna, which can be translated as perception, recognition or remembrance, is another cetasika among the seven 'universals' which accompany every citta. Sanna accompanies every citta, there is no moment without sanna. Sanna experiences the same object as the citta it accompanies but it performs its own task: it 'perceives' or 'recognizes' the object and it 'marks' it so that it can be recognized again.
The Atthasalini (I, Part IV, Chapter 1, 110) states about sanna:
...It has the characteristic of noting and the function of recognizing what has been previously noted. There is no such thing as perception in the four planes of existence without the characteristic of noting. All perceptions have the characteristic of noting. Of them, that perceiving which knows by specialized knowledge has the function of recognizing what has been noted previously. We may see this procedure when the carpenter recognizes a piece of wood which he has marked by specialized knowledge...
The Atthasalini then gives a second definition:
Perception has the characteristic of perceiving by on act of general inclusion, and the function of making marks as a condition for repeated perception (for recognizing or remembering) , as when woodcutters 'perceive' logs and so forth. Its manifestation is the action of interpreting by means of the sign as apprehended, as in the case of blind persons who 'see 'an elephant . Or, it has briefness as tusks believes that it is Iike a ploughshare, and so on. Thus, there is recognizing of a sign or label which was made before.
The Visuddhimagga (XIV, 130) gives a similar definition. We can use the words perceiving, noting, recognizing and 'marking' in order to designate the reality which is sanna, but words are inadequate to describe realities. We should study the characteristic and function of sanna.
Sanna is not the same as citta which is the 'leader' in cognizing an object. As we have seen, sanna recognizes the object and it 'marks' it so that it can be recognized again. This is explained by way of a simile: carpenters put tags or signs on logs so that they can recognize them at once by means of these marks. This simile can help us to understand the complex process of recognizing or remembering. What we in conventional language call "remembering" consists of many different moments of citta and each of these moments of citta is accompanied by sanna which connects past experiences with the present one and conditions again recognition in the future. This connecting function is represented by the words 'recognition' and 'marking' when the present experience has fallen away it has become past and what was future becomes the present, and all the time there is sanna which performs its function so that an object can be recognized. If we remember that sanna accompanies every citta, we will better understand that the characteristic of sanna is not exactly the same as what we mean by the conventional terms of 'recognition', 'perception' or 'marking' . Each citta which arises falls away immediately and is succeeded by the next citta, and since each citta is accompanied by sanna which recognizes and 'marks 'the object, one can recognize or remember what was perceived or learnt before.
The Atthasalini mentions as a manifestation of sanna:
'briefness, like lightning, owing to its inability to penetrate the object'.
Sanna merely recognizes and 'marks' the object. Sanna is different from citta which is the 'chief in knowing an object and different from panna which can know the true nature of realities. The proximate cause of sanna is an object, in whatever way that appears. The object can be a paramattha dhamma, i-e nama or rupa, or a concept (pannatti). Whatever object citta cognizes, sanna recognizes and marks it. Sanna performs its function through each of the six doors.
There is sanna at this moment. When there is seeing there is sanna and it recognizes and marks visible object. When there is hearing there is sanna which recognizes and marks sound.
There is sanna when there is smelling, tasting, touching or when there is the experience of objects through the mind-door. cittas experience objects through the six doors and the sanna which accompanies citta experiences the object through the same doorway and performs its function accordingly. When we recognize someone's voice, this is actually the result of different processes of cittas which experience objects through the sense-door and through the mind-door. At are moment there is sanna which performs its function.
There are moments of hearing of what appears through the ears, of sound, and when we think of someone's voice there are cittas which experience concepts.
The hearing conditions the thinking, we could not think of a voice if there were not hearing. It is the same when we think we 'see' a person. There is thinking of a concept, but is thinking is conditioned by the seeing of visible object, The recognition of a person is the result of many different processes of citta and each moment of citta is accompanied by sanna.
There is seeing which experiences visible object and after the eye-door process has been completed visible object is experienced through the mind-door There are other mind-door processes of cittas which experience concepts. Sanna accompanies every citta and also when citta experiences a concept sanna marks and remembers that object. When we are engaged in the activities of our daily life, do we notice that there is recognition or remembrance? We remember how to use different objects, how to eat which fork, knife and spoon, how to turn on the water tap, how to write or how to find our way when we walk in our house or on the street. We take it for granted that we remember aII these things. We should know that it sanna which remembers
The Visuddhimagga (XIV, 3-5) explains the difference between, citta and panna by way of a simile. Sanna is like the mere perception of a coin by a child who does not know its value. Citta is like the villager who knows its value. Panna is like the money-changer who penetrates its true characteristics.
When we are reading it is due to sanna that we recognize the letters and know their meaning. However, we should not forget that when we are reading there are also moments of seeing and at such moments sanna performs its function as well. it seems that we see and recognize what we see all at the same time, but this is not so. When we recognize letters and words and remember their meaning, this is not due to one moment of sanna but to many moments of sanna accompanying the cittas which succeed one another in the different processes. The study of sanna can remind us that cittas arise and fall away extremely rapidly.
Countless moments of sanna succeed one another and perform their function so that we can remember. successive events such as sentences we hear when someone is speaking. There are moments of hearing and the sanna which accompanies hearing-consciousness merely perceives the sound, it does not know the meaning of what is said. When we understand the meaning of what has been said there are cittas which experience concepts and the sanna which accompanies those cittas remembers and 'marks' a concept. Because of many moments of sanna we can follow the trend of thought of a speaker or we ourselves can reason about something, connect parts of an argument and draw conclusions.
All this is not due to 'our memory' but to sanna which is not self but only a kind of nama. What we take for 'our memory' or 'our recognition' is not one moment which stays, but many different moments of sanna which arise and fall away. Because of sanna past experiences and also concepts and names are remembered, people and things are recognized. Also when we do not remember something or we mistake something for something else, there is sanna which accompanies the cittas at such moments. If we have forgotten something, we did not think of the object we wanted to think of but at that moment we were thinking of another object and this was remembered and marked by sanna. For example, if we go to the market and forget to buy lettuce because we suddenly notice tomatoes and our attention turns to the tomatoes, we say that we have forgotten to buy lettuce. In reality there are moments of sanna all the time since it accompanies each citta, and sanna performs its function all the time. it depends on conditions what object is remembered at a particular moment, it does not always turn out the way 'we' want it.
Also when we in vain try to remember a name, there is still sanna, but it remembers and 'marks' an object which is different from the concept we think we should remember. We may have aversion because of our forgetfulness and also then there is citta accompanied by sanna which performs its function. Sanna accompanies cittas which arise in a process and it also accompanies cittas which do not arise in a process, namely the patisandhi-citta (rebirth-consciousness), the bhavanga-citta (life-continuum) and the cuti-citta (dying-consciousness).
When we are sound asleep and not dreaming them are bhavanga-cittas and also in between the different processes of cittas there are bhavanga-cittas. The object of the patisandhi-citta, the bhavanga-citta and the cuti-citta is the same as the object experienced by the javana-cittas which arose shortly before the cuti-citta of the previous life (Abhidhamma in Daily Life, Chapter 15.) 'We', or rather the cittas which are thinking at this moment, do not know what that object is. However every time the bhavanga-citta arises in between the processes of cittas it experiences that object and the sanna which accompanies the bhavanga-citta remembers that object. Sanna never arises alone, it has to accompany citta and other cetasikas and it is conditioned by them. Sanna is sankhara dhamma, conditioned dhamma. Sanna arises with the citta and then falls away with the citta, sanna is a khandha, it is one among the five khandhas. We cling to sanna, we take it for self. Sanna arises with all cittas of the four jatis.
Sanna is of the same jati as the citta it accompanies and thus sanna can be akusala kusala, vipaka or kiriya. Sanna can be classified according to the six kinds of objects which are experienced through the six doors and this reminds us that sanna is different all the time. We read in the Gradual Sayings (Book of the sixes, Chapter VI, 9, A Penetrative Discourse):
"Monks, perceptions are six: perceptions of visible objects, sounds, smells, tastes, touches and ideas."
The perception of visible object is not the perception of sound and it is not the perception of a concept. When we for example talk to someone else there is sanna which perceives sound, there is sanna which perceives visible object, there is sanna which perceives tangible object, there it sanna which perceives a concept. All these sannas are completely different from one another and they arise at different moments. Objects appear one at a time through the different doorways and different sanna mark and remember these objects. When we understand this it will help us to see that our life actually is one moment of citta which experiences one object through one of the six doors. The ultimate truth is different from conventional truth, namely, the world of people and things which seem to last.
Sanna which arises with akusala citta is also akusala. Sanna may arise together with wrong view. When one takes for permanent what is impermanent the citta with wrong view is also accompanied by sanna which remembers the object in a distorted way. It is the same when one takes for self what is not self. We read in the Gradual Sayings, Book of the Fours, chapter V, 9, Perversions about four perversions (vipallasas) of sanna, citta and ditthi:
Monks, there are these four perversions of perception (sanna), four perversions of thought (citta), four perversions of view (ditthi). What four?
To hold that in the impermanent there is permanence, is a perversion of perception, thought and view. To hold that in dukkha there is non-dukkha, is a perversion of perception, thought and view. To hold that in the not-self there is self, is a perversion of perception, thought and view. To hold that in the foul there is the fair, is a perversion of perception, thought and view. These are the four perversions of perception, thought and view...
So long as we have not attained to the stage of panna which knows the impermanence of nama and rupa, we may still think that people and things can stay, be it for a long or a short time. Nama and rupa are impermanent and thus they are dukkha, they cannot be true happiness. We still take what is dukkha for happiness and we still cling to the concept of self. We also take the foul for the fair. The body is foul, it is not beautiful. However, we cling to our body and take it for something beautiful. So long as one has not attained the first stage of enlightenment, there are still the perversions of sanna, citta and ditthi, The sotapanna, who has attained the first stage of enlightenment, has eradicated ditthi, wrong view, and thus he has no more perversions which are connected with ditthi. But he has not eradicated all perversions since they are eradicated in different stages, The sotapanna still clings to objects and therefore he can still have the perversions of citta and sanna while he takes for happiness what is not happiness and takes for beautiful what is foul. When we think of a concept such as a flower, we may take the flower for something which lasts.
The ariyans, those who have attained enlightenment, also think of concepts but they do so without wrong view. When they recognize a flower, they do not take that moment of recognizing for self. Neither do they take the flower for something which lasts. So long as defilements have not been eradicated we are subject to rebirth, we have to experience objects through the senses and on account of these objects clinging arises. We tend to become obsessed by the objects we experience. We read in the Middle Length Sayings (I, no.18, Discourse of the Honey Ball) about the origin of perceptions and obsessions and their ending. Maha-Kaccana gave to the monks an explanation about what the Buddha had said in brief:
……Visual consciousness, your reverences, arises because of eye and visual object; the meeting of the three is sensory impingement (phassa); feelings are because of sensory impingement; what one feels one perceives; what one perceives one reasons about; what one reasons about obsesses one; what obsesses one is the origin of the number of perceptions and obsessions which assail a man in regard to visual object cognisable by the eye, past, future, present...
The same is said with regard to the other doorways. Is this not daily life? We are obsessed by all the objects which are experienced through the six doors, objects of the past, the present and the future. It is due to sanna that we remember what we saw, heard, smelled, tasted, touched and experienced through the mind-door. We attach so much importance to our recollections, we often are dreaming about them. However, also such moments can be object of awareness and thus the thinking can be known as only a kind of nama which arises because of conditions, not self. When realities are known as they appear one at a time through the six doorways, one is on the way leading to the end of obsessions.
When all defilements have been eradicated there will be no more condition for rebirth, no more conditions for being obsessed by objects. Sanna is conditioned by the citta and the other cetasikas accompanies and thus sanna is different as it accompanies different type of citta. When we listen to the Dhamma and we remember the Dhamma we have heard there is kusala sanna with the kusala citta, Remembering what one has heard and reflecting about it again and again are important conditions for the arising of sati which is mindful of what appears now. The sanna which accompanies mindfulness of the present moment is different from the sanna accompanying the citta which thinks of realities. Sanna does not only arise with kamavacara cittas (cittas of the sense-sphere), it arises also with cittas of other planes of consciousness.
When one develops samatha, sanna recognizes and 'marks' the meditation subject of samatha. When calm is more developed, one may acquire a 'mental image' (nimitta) of the meditation subject. The sanna which remembers a 'mental image' of a meditation subject is different from the sanna which arises all the time in daily life and perceives sense-objects. When one attains jhana, sanna accompanies the jhanacitta and then sanna is not of the sensuous plane of consciousness. When sanna accompanies rupavacara citta (rupa-jhanacitta) sanna is also rupavacara and when sanna accompanies arupavacara citta (arupa-jhanacitta) sanna is also arupavacara. The sanna which is arupavacara is more refined than the sanna which is rupuvacara.
The fourth stage of arupa-jhana is the 'Sphere of neither perception nor non-perception' (n'eva-sanna-n'asannayatana). The sanna which accompanies the arupavacara citta of the fourth stage of jhana is extremely subtle. we read in the Visuddhimagga (X,50):
the perception here is neither perception, since it is incapable of
performing the decisive function of perception, nor yet non-perception,
since it is present in a subtle state as a residual formation. thus it is
neither perception nor non-perception..
Sanna accompanies lokuttara citta which experiences nibbana and then sanna is also lokuttara. Nibbana cannot be attained unless conditioned realities are known as they are: as impermanent, dukkha and anatta. We read in the Gradual Sayings (Book of the Tens, Chapter VI, 6, Ideas) about ten kinds of sanna which are of great fruit and are leading to the 'deathless' , which is nibbana. The Pali term sanna is here translated as 'idea'. we read about the ten 'ideas 'which should be developed:
Monks. these ten ideas, if made to grow and made much of are of great fruit, of great profit for plunging into the deathless. for ending up in the deathless. What ten ideas? The idea of the foul, of death, of repulsiveness in food, of distaste for all the world, the idea of impermanence, of dukkha in impermanence, of not-self in dukkha, the idea of abandoning, of fading, of ending. These ten ideas, monks, if made to grow... are of great profit for plunging into the deathless, for ending up in the deathless.
- Sanna accompanies each citta, but it falls away completely with the citta. How can we still remember things which happened in the past?
- When we see a house, through which doorway does sanna perform its function?
- When we mistake something for something else, how can there still be sanna at such a moment?
- When we recognize a house, can there be perversion of sanna?
- Can the sotapanna think of concepts and recognize people and things?
- Give examples of akusala sanna.
- How can one develop 'perception of impermanence' (anicca sanna)?
June 17, 2001
Footnotes and references:
In Pali: sanjanati, cognizing well
I am using the translation of the ven. Nyanaponika, Abhidhamma Studies, page 69, BPS, Kandy, 1976
Here I use the English translation of the Visuddhimagga, XIV, 130, instead of the English text of the Atthasalini, the commentary refers to a story in the "Udana" (Verses of Uplift, Minor Anthologies, 68-69) about blind people who touch different parts of an elephant. Each of them interprets in his own way what an elephant is Iike: the Person who touches the head believes that the elephant is Iike a pot, since he remembers whet a pot is Iike; the person who touches the manifestation, like lightning, owing to its inability to penetrate the object. Its proximate cause is whatever object has appeared, like the perception which arises in young deer mistaking scarecrows for men.
See Abhidhamma Studies, by the Ven. Nyanaponika, 1976, page 70, where it is explained that the making of marks and remembering is included in every act of perception.
Abhidhamma in Daily Chapter 22.
Abhidhamma in Daily Life chapter 22.
Abhidhamma in Daily Chapter 21 | <urn:uuid:4a77e812-5949-43d4-b857-870115465c0d> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.wisdomlib.org/buddhism/book/cetasikas/d/doc2852.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371803248.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20200407152449-20200407182949-00257.warc.gz | en | 0.958881 | 4,686 | 3.375 | 3 |
Dynamic model for adding two 2-digit numbers
- Pellumb Kllogjeri
Base ten system and its respective materials provide an effective dynamic model for addition that allow children to recognize the importance of adding ones to ones, tens to tens and so on. This model also is used to demonstrate the processes involved in regrouping. The children learn that in the case of having 10 or more ones (10 or more tens etc.), as result of addition operation, is required that 10 ones (10 tens) be grouped to form a ten (a hundred) and the new formed group must be joined with the respective block. The use of such models is so important: they help children understand the procedures involved in addition and subtraction algorithms. Here is the geometrical representation of the addition operation (Dynamic Model) for 38 + 16 .
Demonstration: Click on slider i and assign for it the value i = 0, then the 10 rectangles will be grouped in one block. Click on slider a, and slide its point to the left. Then the formed block will jump to the left joining the 4 blocks on the left side. The new situation of the 5 blocks and 4 rectangles resembles the sum of the given numbers (54). The simulation of the above model is a resemblance of the mental process for adding two 2-digit numbers. _ Try to understand how the model is built. _ Try to build your dynamic model for other cases of adding 2 two-digit numbers. | <urn:uuid:7d586383-6222-4968-8ecf-0eda3efc51a5> | CC-MAIN-2018-30 | https://www.geogebra.org/m/wPrreE2C | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676592861.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20180721223206-20180722003206-00508.warc.gz | en | 0.917507 | 300 | 3.984375 | 4 |
American anti-slavery society
is an acrostic for aas.
On this page:
The American Anti-Slavery Society was an abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave, was a key leader of this society and often spoke at its meetings as well. William Wells Brown was a freed slave who often spoke at meetings. By 1838, the society had 1,350 local chapters with around 250,000 members.
- written works: "Proceedings of the American Anti-slavery Society", "Declaration of the National anti-slavery convention", "The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Part 4 of 4", "The constitution of the American Anti-Slavery Society", "The Fugitive Slave Law and Its Victims", "American Slavery as It Is"
Printed dictionaries and other books with definitions for American anti-slavery society
Click on a title to look inside that book (if available):
For the present we simply state, what we suppose will not be contradicted, that the American Anti-Slavery Society is a permanent body, in distinction from those popular assemblages or conventions, which are customarily held in this country for ...
by Martin A. Klein
AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY (AASS). Founded in Philadelphia in December 1833, the American Anti-Slavery Society brought together a number of abolitionist organizations. Led by Arthur and Lewis Tappan, New York businessmen, ...
Online dictionaries and encyclopedias with entries for American anti-slavery society
Click on a label to prioritize search results according to that topic: | <urn:uuid:7fbbde51-2207-4a23-a84a-48f1f562f1f2> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.omnilexica.com/?q=American+anti-slavery+society | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720945.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00518-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936954 | 361 | 2.8125 | 3 |
mobile View, to the German Version tap the flag
- secessionist region in Burma
• Numbers and Facts
• Additional text about history
Source, by: Die Welt der Flaggen
This country is a theoretical construct that a separatist movement is striving for as a goal for an independent state. The parameters that roughly describe this goal are listed here. This has nothing to do with an actual – neither partial nor complete – existence of this area, country or state.
Area: ca. 11.500 square miles
Inhabitants: ca. 2.100.000
Capital: Akyab, 110.000 inh.
Time Zone: GMT + 6,5 h
Source: Wikipedia (EN)
ca. 1580 to 1750 · State of Arakan
1784 · to the Awa-Empire (Burma)
1826 · British conquest
1937 · on the occasion of the detachment of Burma from British-India Arakan became Burmese
1942–1945 · occupied by Japanese troops
4th of January 1948 · independence of Burma
Source: Atlas zur Geschichte
The Arakan belong to the ethnic group of the Burmans, are of Tibeto-Burman origin and entered after the beginning of our era in time in different waves into Burma and settled in the west of the country, especially the area between the Bengal Sea and the Arakan Yoma Mountains – which from there is called Arakan. The Arakans are in their majority Muslims. Arakan became from 1824 to 1826 conquered by the British, colonized and connected to British India. In 1937, Arakan, although it is inhabited mostly by Muslims, became Burmese on the occasion of the detachment of Burma from British-India. So there arised conflicts between the Burmans and the Muslims in Arakan. The Arakans began an armed struggle against Burma's central government for an independent Arakan, which continues to this day.
Clickable map of the separatist areas in the region:
Source: Map is Freeware, University of Texas Libraries, modyfied by: Volker Preuss | <urn:uuid:f07160f0-9316-41e1-8044-399213f6aaf6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.flaggenlexikon.de/farakan_me.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570901.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809033952-20220809063952-00319.warc.gz | en | 0.916417 | 477 | 3.3125 | 3 |
1.Which of the following statements are correct?
(i) Strategic information is mainly used by senior management in an organization.
(ii) Productivity measurements are examples of tactical information.
(iii) Operational information is required frequently by its main users.
A. (i) and (ii) only
B. (i) and (iii) only
C. (ii) and (iii) only
D. (i), (ii) and (iii)
2. Reginald is the manager of production department M in a factory which has ten other production departments.
He receives monthly information that compares planned and actual expenditure for
department M. After department M, all production goes into other factory departments to be completed prior to being dispatched to customers. Decisions involving capital expenditure in department M are not taken by Reginald.
Which of the following describes Reginald's role in department M?
A. A cost cent re manager
B. An investment center manager
C. A revenue center manager
D. A profit center manager
Reginald is only responsible for costs
3. Which of the following is NOT CORRECT?
A. Cost accounting can be used for inventory valuation to meet the requirements of internal reporting only
B. Management accounting provides appropriate information for decision making,
planning, control and performance evaluation
C. Routine information can be used for both short-term and long-run decisions
D. Financial accounting information can be used for internal reporting purposes
Cost accounting can be used for inventory valuation to meet the requirements of both internal reporting and external financial reporting. | <urn:uuid:755ca9e8-54d9-4319-bd14-ddc2e3ae78fd> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.gfedu.cn/acca/content_8339.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719136.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00551-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.877701 | 335 | 3.046875 | 3 |
On December 31, 2012 the federal renewable electricity production tax credit (PTC) for wind energy is set to end; this has led to a lot of debate over the viability and importance of wind energy and the need for the PTC. With this in mind I have interviewed wind energy experts and politicians on both sides of the issue in order to break down this important matter.
What is the PTC?
It is first important to understand what the production tax credit is. According to The Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency
The federal renewable electricity production tax credit (PTC) is a per-kilowatt-hour tax credit for electricity generated by qualified energy resources and sold by the taxpayer to an unrelated person during the taxable year. Originally enacted in 1992, the PTC has been renewed and expanded numerous times, most recently by H.R. 1424 (Div. B, Sec. 101 & 102) in October 2008 and again by H.R. 1 (Div. B, Section 1101 & 1102) in February 2009.
What this means in layman terms is that companies who build renewable energy facilities are able to get a tax credit for each kilowatt-hour (kWh) of renewable energy they produce. According to DSIRE this last for ten years from the date the facility is built in most cases – though it is only 5 in some. In the case of wind energy DSIRE reports that a 2.2€/kWh credit is applied; however, this credit is set to expire for wind energy at the end of this year (for all other forms it is set to end in December of 2013).
Is wind energy important?
The first question that comes to mind when trying to decide if we should extend the PTC is if wind energy is important at all; after all, if it is not then there is no reason to provide tax incentives to utilize it. With this in mind I spoke with Paul Gipe
, an expert in the field of renewable energies and especially wind power. When I asked Mr. Gipe if he how important he thought wind energy in comparison to other forms (renewable and fossil) of energy he answered with an unequivocal “critically important” and followed up by saying he was, “a proponent of renewable energy policies, and wind is an essential part of that.”
Over the course of the next half hour he explained to me the many advantages to having a “smart energy system” - not to be confused with a “smart grid” - that he says would “limit the need for batteries” while making “100% renewable energy” a possibility.
Gipe goes on to point out that many countries in Europe are already dedicating themselves to reverting to 100% renewable energy in the future. He pointed out the many countries in which renewable energy already accounts for vast amounts of their total power grid; however, most notable was Portugal which Gipe states “receives nearly 50% of its energy from renewable sources” with “25% coming from wind”. (I was able to independently verify
that 45% of Portugal’s energy will come from renewable sources by the end of the year, however, I was unable to find wind specific numbers to verify the 25% number.) Many opponents would point out that Portugal is a rather small country (especially when compared to the United States), however, Gipe points out that even large industrial countries like Germany are receiving over 20% of their energy from renewable sources which I was able to independently verify based on a Reuters
report. That same report makes the notable point that wind energy accounted for 9.2% of their total energy on its own, making it the largest individual renewable energy source.
Why are there opponents to wind energy if it is so beneficial?
It would be easy to simply write off all opponents to wind energy as individuals who are somehow profiting from fossil fuel energy sources; however, this would be an unfair generalization and would ignore the real downfalls of wind energy. I did attempt to locate an opponent of wind energy to interview, however, was unable to. Regardless, I will do my best to present the primary arguments I have seen against wind energy; though it should be noted that after significant research I was unable to find many compelling arguments against wind energy.
I will first point out two serious cons that Paul Gipe pointed out to me in my interview with him.
First, the upfront cost of wind turbine farms is high. According to a report by Nuclear Fissionary
wind is second only to solar in upfront cost. This upfront cost results in a larger per kWh price initially as the cost of building the facility is recouped. It is important to note, however, the same report points out that wind is one of the cheapest with regard to production cost. It is for this very reason that many supporters of the PTC believe it is necessary to keep energy cost down through the initial stages in order to set up for the long term benefits of cheaper and cleaner energy.
The second con Mr. Gipe pointed out was the fluctuations in power production. This is often pointed to by opponents of many renewable sources (wind, solar, and hydro) as a point of concern. Gipe is quick to point out however, that we “now have data from Germany showing that wind and solar dampen out the fluctuations” in the way that “advocates and academics have said for decades” that they would. It is for this reason that he states it is important that we have a well rounded renewable energy policy focused on all forms, not just wind.
Another major concern raised by opponents of wind energy is the fact that wind turbines can in fact kill migrating birds. According to Energy Informative
, “[a] study from 2009, comparing the causes of avian mortality in the U.S., found that wind turbines are responsible for 20 000 annual deaths . . .” however, they are quick to point out that, “in comparison to annual avian deaths caused by transmission lines (175 000 000!)” this is a very small number.
After much research the only other arguments that I could find against the use of wind energy seemed to be what are referred to as “not in my back yard” arguments. These pertain to the fact that wind turbines are far from pleasant to look at and can be somewhat loud to some people if they are nearby. I will leave it to the reader to decide if this is a justifiable argument.
Should we subsidize wind power?
When reviewed next to each other the pros of wind energy – and renewable energy as a whole – seem to far outweigh the cons. The question then becomes if the federal government should subsidize wind energy through the PTC.
At this point the question becomes less a technical discussion on the benefits of wind energy, and more a political discussion with regard to federal spending. I reached out to several members of the Energy and Commerce Committee (E&C) and the Ways and Means Committee of the United States House of Representatives in an attempt to clarify their stances on the matter.
The press secretary for John Shimkus (R-IL)
, Steve Tomaszewski (Rep. Shimkus sits on the E&C) and he told me that although Rep. Shimkus “has not stated a position at this time” on the PTC that he was for a “all of the above approach” which includes “traditional, solar, and wind” among other forms of energy. Tomaszewski was sure to point out, however, that “wind alone cannot handle base load requirements” but that in combination with other forms of energy the Congressman was, “not opposed to it”. When I asked, if the estimated “37,000 Americans [who] stand to lose their jobs within the next six months, according to the American Wind Energy Association” as reported by Politico
affected the Congressman’s stance on the PTC he assured me that “Rep. Shimkus has visited wind farms and is familiar with the impact they have on communities,” however, he has not taken a stance on the PTC as it is an issue that will go before the Ways and Means Committee, not the E&C.
I also reached out to the office of Congressman Bobby L. Rush
(D-IL) who is the ranking Democrat on the E&C. They provided me with the following statement in strong support of wind energy and the PTC:
I believe wind energy is and will continue to be an important part of our nation’s overall energy portfolio. The wind industry has created tens of thousands of jobs in the Midwest and across the country and it has more than doubled its capacity over the past four years. As the Ranking Member on the Energy & Power subcommittee, I will continue to support wind energy as an important part of a comprehensive energy policy and that includes my support for an extension of the federal production tax credit, which is scheduled to end at the end of the year. As a valuable source of clean, domestic, renewable energy I view the wind industry as an integral part of the nations’ energy portfolio moving forward well into the future. I hope that we will be able to work in a bipartisan fashion to maintain federal support of the wind industry, as Congress has done for the more established fossil fuel energy sectors over the past several decades.
The idea of extending the ETC does have broad bipartisan support according to the White House
which points to several letters from both industry and state leaders requesting that the PTC be extended.
One member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Congressman Earl Blumenauer
(D-OR) who currently is trying to pass a bill to extend the PTC. Unfortunately the Congressman was travelling so I was unable to speak with him directly; however, I was able to discuss the issue with his communications director, Patrick Malone, via email.
According to Malone the bill that Rep. Blumenauer has before the committee would extend the PTC until January 1, 2017 (approximately 4 years).
When asked how likely the Congressman felt the bill was to pass he responded that, “[h]e is optimistic that it can pass in a lame duck session. It’s a bipartisan bill that puts Americans to work."
When asked why the Congressman felt it was important that the PTC be extended he replied:
Without the security of knowing if the PTC is going to be extended, wind energy part manufacturers have to shut down production and lay off workers. A four year extension in the PTC allows wind energy to remain competitive and brings stability to the market
I was unable to reach a Republican member of the House Ways and Means Committee, however, the Chairman Dave Camp
(R-MI) has supported the PTC in the past. According to a 2009 press release
from the office of Rep. Camp at that time he stated:
"I have always been a strong advocate for a more sustainable energy policy, increasing our utilization of domestic energy sources and reducing our dependence on costly foreign oil,” Camp said. “Keeping energy prices low is critical to helping our economy grow. That is why I authored the law to expand tax credits to produce wind and solar energy and incentives for consumers to purchase alternative fuel vehicles. Creating new sources of energy will also create new jobs in states like Michigan, where we are fast becoming a leader in solar energy.”
With the current political atmosphere of Washington it is true that his stance may have changed slightly, but this seems to be an indication that he is at least likely to support extending the PTC, although, I have been unable to find any statements made by the Congressman expressing his views at this time. Further, the strong bipartisan support that the bill has gives good reason that he would support it.
After closely studying wind energy it become clear that it is in fact a viable, and critical, part of any renewable energy policy. Given the extensive upfront cost it is also clear that in order for it to be able to grow to its full potential it will require some kind of government subsidy to become a fundamental part of our energy policy, and right now the PTC seems to be the most fiscally and politically viable option.
It is easy to forget that in the 1940’s hydro-power alone made up 70% of energy consumed in the United States according to the U.S. Department of the Interior
and to therefore assume that any compelling argument for renewable energies is a pipe-dream for the future. New technologies, including those in wind, however, have made it a viable option for today if we are willing to invest in the infrastructure needed to make it work. As Paul Gipe said best, “there is a energy revolution going on, at one point this country led revolutions” but this is one revolution which the United States stands to miss if we don’t act soon. | <urn:uuid:d30f8225-f3ad-4d1a-9dec-534acbaccd11> | CC-MAIN-2015-22 | http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/333636 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-22/segments/1432207928030.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20150521113208-00079-ip-10-180-206-219.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973015 | 2,687 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Problem Description Graphic
A utility truck uses an extendible arm to raise and lower supplies and equipment. If the arm is raised and then rotated perpendicular to the length of the truck, it will affect the equilibrium of the truck.
What is known:
- The initial length of the arm is 8 m.
- The arm is raised 30° above the horizontal.
- The mass of the truck is 2,000 kg.
- The arm is hoisting a 400 kg load of bricks.
- The mass of the arm and the length of the truck can be neglected. | <urn:uuid:2a388671-56a8-49b2-a8f1-0769989bded2> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | http://www.ecourses.ou.edu/cgi-bin/ebook.cgi?topic=st&chap_sec=05.2&page=case_intro | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323585280.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20211019171139-20211019201139-00614.warc.gz | en | 0.835259 | 118 | 3.375 | 3 |
More people are beginning to appreciate the environmental benefits of window film. Property owners are now looking into “greener” homes and buildings in a bid to reduce their carbon footprint and to save natural resources. One way of protecting the environment is by using energy efficient windows with solar film.
Reducing Carbon Footprint
Governments are now looking into ways to make their countries more energy efficient by encouraging their citizens to reduce their carbon footprints. For those confused by the term, a carbon footprint is the accumulated amount of carbon dioxide released or used by an individual due to the consumption of fossil fuel.
There are numerous ways to reduce one's carbon footprint, like riding a bike or buying local produce. Most homeowners might not be aware of this, but applying window film is another simple and affordable way to lessen carbon footprint and protect the environment.
Benefits of Window Film to the Environment
There are numerous benefits of window film, like saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Data have confirmed that window film definitely makes a huge difference.
One of the primary benefits of reflective window film is the reduction of solar heat. Window film aids in keeping the interior temperature of a residence or building consistent and comfortable.
Window film can keep the interior relatively cool during warm weather, as it can absorb around 57% to 60% of solar heat. Because of this, residents don't have to use air-conditioning units or personal fans as often.
Aside from that, window film also traps radiant heat inside during cold months. It makes maintaining temperature levels easier and reduces the need for space heaters. This wonder product can save 2% to 5% energy during winter.
Other benefits of window film are preventing UV rays from entering living spaces and the reduction of window glare. Window film also provides added privacy and security to the home.
Since window films lower the need to use heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, less electricity and natural gas are used. This leads to fewer fossil fuels being burned and the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) and greenhouse gasses being released into the atmosphere are minimized.
Homeowners can save the environment by using Turf Guard Window Film on their windows. Covering every window with this film will help the home become more energy efficient. This, in turn, will reduce greenhouse emissions. With Turf Guard, you'll enjoy all the environmental benefits of window film. | <urn:uuid:bba9c712-a4ed-4f12-b15d-219152e95237> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://windowfilmforturf.com/blogs/stop-turf-melting-window-film-artificial-grass/top-benefits-of-window-film-to-the-environment | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334871.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220926113251-20220926143251-00598.warc.gz | en | 0.94906 | 488 | 2.953125 | 3 |
A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n
Helping Your Students With Homework: A Guide for Teachers - February 1998
Tips for Getting Homework Done
5. Create assignments that challenge students
Homework can give students an opportunity to apply a concept beyond the controlled conditions of the classroom. It can also help students pull together and connect information from different places, sources, and subjects.
to think and to integrate
Good assignments often challenge students to break free of their usual way of thinking. Such assignments might require students to combine two ideas that are usually not associated.
Ms. Faucette suggests the following assignments for junior high students:
Open a junk drawer and list 22 nouns for things you find there.
Read the chapter on letter-writing. Then write a letter that breaks every single rule you know. "One hundred percent return on this one," she says: "How can you break the rule without knowing it?"
Write a paragraph about your crazy Aunt Melba or Uncle Albert that breaks 10 rules of capitalization. The next day students present their paragraphs to see if their peers can figure out which rules were broken and correct them.
Sit outside for 5 minutes and listen. Spend the next 5 minutes listing all the sounds you hear. Circle your favorite five. Write a poem about one.
Write a 30-second radio spot using George Washington to sell deodorant soap. Work in four facts about his role as a general.
Generate 10 new classes for the school curriculum. Write a letter to school board members persuading them to implement one.
Here is an answer: 54. Now generate 10 different questions, problems, or situations that can be answered with that number.
- Students in Fie Budzinsky's 11th-grade chemistry classes participate in "Chemistry on Stage," an assignment that integrates chemistry with theater, art, and writing. The Connecticut teacher instructs her students to research the life of a chemist who has made a significant contribution to his or her field. Students then write a script, which includes some aspect(s) of the chemist's life and a simulation of his or her scientific contributions. Students also design costumes, props, and sets and perform their 10- to 15-minute productions. Parents and students throughout the entire school are invited to attend, and food is served--always a draw for students. And Ms. Budzinsky says that, in addition to learning a lot, "Everybody has fun."
[4. Make assignments focused and clear]
[6. Vary assignments] | <urn:uuid:9babb9c5-a3c6-48cf-bd29-30cf18c7f007> | CC-MAIN-2015-06 | http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/HelpingStudents/5create.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-06/segments/1422121983086.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20150124175303-00242-ip-10-180-212-252.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955665 | 530 | 3.8125 | 4 |
University of California, Berkeley scientists have said that ionized plasma can not only can sterilize water, but also make it anti-microbial for as long as a week after treatment.
Devices able to produce such plasmas are cheap, which means they could be life-savers in developing countries, disaster areas or on the battlefield where sterile water for medical use - whether delivering babies or major surgery - is in short supply and expensive to produce.
"We know plasmas will kill bacteria in water, but there are so many other possible applications, such as sterilizing medical instruments or enhancing wound healing," said chemical engineer David Graves, the Lam Research Distinguished Professor in Semiconductor Processing at UC Berkeley.
"We could come up with a device to use in the home or in remote areas to replace bleach or surgical antibiotics," he stated.
Graves and his UC Berkeley colleagues reported that water treated with plasma killed essentially all the E. coli bacteria dumped in within a few hours of treatment and still killed 99.9 percent of bacteria added after it sat for seven days.
Mutant strains of E. coli have caused outbreaks of intestinal upset and even death when they have contaminated meat, cheese and vegetables.
In the study, Graves and his UC Berkeley colleagues showed that plasmas generated by brief sparks in air next to a container of water turned the water about as acidic as vinegar and created a cocktail of highly reactive, ionised molecules - molecules that have lost one or more electrons and thus are eager to react with other molecules.
They identified the reactive molecules as hydrogen peroxide and various nitrates and nitrites, all well-known anti-microbial. Nitrates and nitrites have been used for millennia to cure meat, for example.
Graves was puzzled to see, however, that the water was still anti-microbial a week later, even though the peroxide and nitrite concentrations had dropped to nil.
This indicated that some other reactive chemical - perhaps a nitrate - remained in the water to kill microbes, he said.
The study has been published n the November issue of the Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics. | <urn:uuid:70a19c47-ecf2-45c0-8952-dd78a251aadb> | CC-MAIN-2017-26 | http://www.medindia.net/news/Cheap-Sterilizers-in-the-Developing-World-Ionized-Plasma-93615-1.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320915.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20170627032130-20170627052130-00598.warc.gz | en | 0.97076 | 440 | 3.453125 | 3 |
MOSCOW, March 29. /TASS/. An international research team with the participation of Professor of Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) Artem Oganov defined the crystal structure and chemical composition of sodium boride, with its properties being the issue of debate for a long time, Skoltech’s press office reported.
Boron is a chemical element that builds complex ultra-hard crystal modifications. The compounds of boron and metals - borides - often possess complex chemical compositions and crystal structures. Using the USPEX code developed by Professor Oganov, which is a computer prediction of a crystal structure, the scientists managed to settle the ‘Na2B30 or Na2B29’ dispute on the composition of sodium boride.
A real mystery
"This work was a mystery. It turned out that everyone in some way was mistaken. Some made mistakes in the chemical formula, others in the structure. For me, it is always surprising in such cases that although we often talk about living in the 21st century and possess super-devices enabling us to do nearly everything, despite the really tremendous progress in science, we often don’t even know which substance we typically hold in our hands," Oganov explained.
The results of the new scientific study were published in the journal Physical Review B .
According to the researcher, the sodium boride is "a substance which is notably softer than a diamond and is at the lower end of the super-hardness range." "In contrast to diamonds, the synthesis of sodium boride does not require pressure and is therefore much cheaper," Oganov added.
He also noticed that during the course of the research it turned out that Na2B30 is stable while Na2B29 is not. It has been shown that the addition of a single atom dramatically changes not only the stability but also the electronic properties by transforming the substance from a metal into a semiconductor and boosting the hardness of the material.
"The crystal structure of Na2B30 discovered in our work is more stable than those suggested by previous researchers, but similarly it is also dovetails well with experimental diffraction data," Oganov said.
According to Oganov, in the future, sodium boride can be applied in any field where very hard elements are required, for example, for creating drilling devices or other technical equipment. | <urn:uuid:d163d539-a3c9-4594-ab4b-e3da6d293f90> | CC-MAIN-2019-39 | https://tass.com/science/996757 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-39/segments/1568514574058.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20190920175834-20190920201834-00157.warc.gz | en | 0.951326 | 514 | 2.984375 | 3 |
An endangered tree than can help your health and help others in low poverty regions generate income.
Agarwood is an excellent example of an endangered tree that has tremendous potential for creating economically sustainable tropical agro-forests. It produces one of the world’s most valuable aromatic resins, which is highly in demand as an incense and medicine. Agarwood trees grow in the foothills of Assam, Burma, Vietnam, and Papua New Guinea. The fragrant resin is secreted within the heartwood as an immunological response to a fungal disease which attacks the trees. Trees of 80 years old are the richest in content of agar, but trees of 50 years or older yield commercial quantities. Agarwood is highly endangered. Its resin has been prized for centuries for perfumes and incense, but the tree has nearly vanished due to a long history of reckless harvesting.
At $1,000 an ounce, pure oil of wild harvested aquillaria is one of the most expensive oils in the world; because of its rarity and cost, it is also one of the most frequently adulterated oils. A number of successful projects are underway to develop sustainable agarwood cultivation and increased resin production. In order to have success growing a long-term tree crop, these projects require coalitions of scientists, foresters, farmers, distillers, and industry officials.
These projects have found that agarwood plantations can be successfully developed as an agro-forestry enterprise, and that agar trees can be induced to produce resin nearly ten times faster than in nature. Development of agarwood plantations is an ideal way of generating income and employment for low-income families living in and around project areas, as there is a long-term market for a wide range of agarwood products with rising demand and a rapidly diminishing supply. The oil of agarwood is deeply hypnotic, calming, and meditative.
The wood is used in both Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine as a pungent, bitter, and warming stimulant. It is a strong analgesic, anti-emetic, and benefits certain kinds of asthma. | <urn:uuid:c08eb3c4-d61f-4106-9d6a-03b3422e0489> | CC-MAIN-2017-26 | http://healthandwellnessforfamilies.com/agarwood-endangered-treasure/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320595.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20170625235624-20170626015624-00167.warc.gz | en | 0.949107 | 440 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Dozens of brain-injured Camp Pendleton troops from the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan soon will climb inside a pressurized chamber
and breathe pure oxygen to see whether the treatment speeds their
Up to 100 Marines will take part in the experiment, which will
measure whether the technique can ease the headaches, memory loss
and other ailments from the injury most often suffered in roadside
"Camp Pendleton's role is pivotal for us," U.S. Army Col.
Richard Ricciardi, at the Defense Centers of Excellence for
Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, said Friday. "Any
individual who has deployed and suffers from traumatic brain injury
might be eligible."
Troops with lingering effects from the injury are often assigned
to the base's Wounded Warrior Battalion, and most of those who
undergo the treatment will be drawn from its ranks.
The battalion's executive officer, Maj. Gary Zegley, said the
experiment is a welcome "exploration of any new treatment regimen
that could help wounded Marines."
During a telephone interview from his office at the Defense
Centers for Excellence in Virginia, Ricciardi said the trial study
was among several commissioned in recent months by the Pentagon as
the medical community works to improve brain injury care.
"It's one part of the arsenal of treatments being tested across
the system to tackle this challenging problem and do the right
thing for our warriors," he said.
A nurse practitioner, Ricciardi specializes in research and
He was chief of nursing research at Walter Reed Army Medical
Center before joining the Defense Centers.
About 7,000 Camp Pendleton troops are serving in Afghanistan,
including about 4,500 Marines and sailors who left in the past
couple of weeks as part of the 30,000-troop surge ordered by
President Barack Obama.
Traumatic brain injury has emerged as a common injury among
troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, where anti-government forces rely
on homemade bombs as a primary weapon.
Improvements in protective gear and battlefield emergency
medicine have resulted in more troops surviving bomb blasts.
As a result, about 134,000 U.S. troops have been treated for
brain injuries since the 2003 start of the Iraq war, according to
A large chamber inside a trailer near Naval Hospital Camp
Pendleton is where the troops will undergo the hourlong procedure
for five days a week over 2 1/2 months.
Pressure inside the hyperbaric chamber will be equivalent to
what divers experience at about 20 feet under water.
The pressurization forces pure oxygen into the cells. The
experiment tests whether the repeated trips to the chamber speeds
healing, Ricciardi said.
Most of the troops will breathe pure oxygen, but a control group
will breathe normal air under near-similar pressure conditions to
test the results between the two sets, Ricciardi said.
Camp Pendleton's role is to help establish the precise treatment
regimen and baseline testing that troops will undergo.
After the trial period, researchers will evaluate the Marines'
experience and then refine the testing protocol when a larger test,
administered to more troops at Camp Pendleton and other bases
around the country, begins late this year or in early 2011. | <urn:uuid:ac861fdf-5f72-46d4-91eb-81f68c59c871> | CC-MAIN-2014-10 | http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2010/apr/02/military-brain-injured-marines-to-test-new/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-10/segments/1394011101613/warc/CC-MAIN-20140305091821-00081-ip-10-183-142-35.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923895 | 686 | 2.59375 | 3 |
My students are often young parents, young teachers-in-training, or just students frustrated that they are just beginning to learn something about constructive conflict management as they take college courses. They want to know exactly how to teach nonviolent conflict management to children.
There are an enormous number of articles, workshops, trainings, curricula, activities books and both academic and trade books on this topic. I am only going to touch on one recent scholarly study that shows some research into one strand of this, how we can predict and affect children's abilities to respond to conflict in a nonviolent fashion meant to de-escalate it. The researchers looked at 364 urban 4th, 5th and 6th graders.
What they found, basically, was that when students are taught two skills that then seems to correlate with this ability.
One, strong narrative communication. They need to be able to listen to stories and tell their own stories with skill.
Two, they need to be able to specifically communicate to others about their own internal states.
The direct quote from their research findings:
"Qualitative analyses revealed a relationship between children’s response to conflict and their narrative skills, moral evaluations, and descriptions of emotion, intentions, and mental states. Children who reported the use of communication in response to conflict wrote stories containing very low levels of violence and also displayed attentiveness to others’ internal states and strong narrative form. In contrast, children whose narratives reported the use of retaliation in response to conflict were unlikely to report about internal states or to display strong narrative form."
What does this mean?
First, it's important to keep it all in perspective. Again, from the discussion of their specific research:
"Nine percent of the conflicts children chose to write about included acts of criminal or life-threatening violence. It is appalling, of course, to have such violence be a part of any childhood. However, it is important to note that the vast majority of the stories in our corpus described ordinary peer and sibling conflicts—the kinds of conflicts that have long been recognized as critical to moral and social-cognitive development (Piaget 1932; Shantz 1987; Shantz and Hartup 1992). Although these children lived in the middle of a city that was then third in the nation in violent crime (according to the FBI Uniform Crime Report), in neighborhoods where a majority of adults were afraid to walk outside (Kirby 2001), their lives did not appear to be defined or dominated by violence. For the most part, these children found good resources in their families and schools to help them understand and learn from interpersonal conflict."
That's the good news.
The bad news is the adults' role in many of the stories (these were true stories from the children's lives, according to the children). The response when kids did as they had been told, which was to seek adult help:
"There were relatively few stories describing the seeking of adult help, and they gave us a disquieting glimpse of how children assess the effectiveness of adult assistance. Several children reported being ignored when they sought adult help. (One-sixth grader attempted to tell the principal about being sexually harassed by a classmate in the haunted house, but ‘‘the principal was too busy.’’) In the large majority of stories that involved adult intervention, the adult role was to mete out punishment or to separate the antagonists. There were only five stories like the one in Example 5, in which an adult served as a consultant to help children solve interpersonal problems."
Some of these unresponsive adults were in the school system, some in the home. We have much work to do in both environments and we should do that work wherever we can.
The authors looked at the literature on this and at their own study and certainly recommend some measures for our educational system:
"Chen (2001, 2003) suggested to teachers of young children that although the first reaction to peer conflict in the classroom may be to squelch it, teachers should try to see conflict as an opportunity for social and moral development. When teachers view conflict as a manageable and important part of childhood, rather than as a threat, conflict can become a part of the learning that goes on within schools. When peer conflict threatens to disrupt ongoing instruction, teachers need to have an established classroom practice that allows them to postpone the conflict without suppressing it. By third grade, most students have learned enough self-control to be able to cooperate with a teacher’s instruction to ‘‘hold that dispute until we finish this lesson, and then you can take it up in the dispute center.’’ This can most reliably be successful if teachers have the support of a second adult in the classroom. Peer Mediation is a good example of a program that has given teachers support in implementing this kind of practice. Peer Mediation programs have been successful in helping schools to manage conflict not by attempting to suppress it, but by giving students the time, space, and assistance to talk through their conflicts with other peers (Johnson and Johnson 2001; Bell et al. 2000, Lupton-Smith et al. 1996)."
Finally, they had one last specific recommendation: teach children to be able to communicate about conflict:
"Conflict resolution interventions tend to encourage communication, sometimes with the use of a mediator (Johnson and Johnson 2001; Bell et al. 2000; Lupton-Smith et al. 1996). These programs, however, do not necessarily stress the development of children’s ability to communicate effectively. In the stories that children wrote for this research, they often reported unsuccessful attempts at communication as a response to conflict. Many of the children who described violence in their stories did not seem to recognize that the thoughts, feelings, emotions, and motives of the actors were relevant. We believe that children with strong narrative skills are well-equipped to solve interpersonal problems. They are likely to exercise social perspective taking skills and to make moral evaluations of conflict situations. Good storytellers will be able to explain their own motives and goals in ways that will be acceptable to their peers. Narrative is a site where meaning is constructed according to social and cultural expectations. Personal narrative writing and storytelling tasks can be used to facilitate the development of critical peacemaking skills."
One of the proven ways to enhance that set of skills is to work with children on keeping a journal. I'd recommend both Freedom Writers and Precious, two films that really show the power of the journal as both therapy and competency development.
Harris, Alexis; Walton, Marsha. “Thank You for Making Me Write This.” Narrative Skills and the Management of Conflict in Urban Schools. Urban Review, Nov2009, Vol. 41 Issue 4, p287-311.
So, while this doesn't answer all our questions about teaching children to handle conflict in constructive ways, it does offer some researched guidance that can inform us as parents and teachers who hope that our children will grow up with more advanced abilities to manage conflict than those we were guided toward in many of our personal histories. | <urn:uuid:33a60545-a4e3-4bdd-ac5e-59a67f3d0ebe> | CC-MAIN-2017-43 | http://hastingsnonviolence.blogspot.com/2010/01/teaching-children-to-get-it-write.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-43/segments/1508187825264.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20171022132026-20171022152026-00283.warc.gz | en | 0.974984 | 1,442 | 3.671875 | 4 |
Dachau, a German concentration camp during WO-II. The first Nazi concentration camp opened in Germany, operating from 1933 till 1945. Starting with 200 political prisoners and holding more than 35000 at liberation. Abuse of power made it a place unworthy of man. Between 1945 and 1948 many accused war criminals and members of the SS were imprisoned at the camp. Today it is a memorial site.
Photography School of the Netherlands. Specialising in documentaries. | <urn:uuid:244772ef-b837-4423-a5f4-23476c1befcb> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | http://photoawards.com/winner/zoom.php?eid=8-58096-13 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886123359.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823190745-20170823210745-00462.warc.gz | en | 0.963464 | 93 | 3 | 3 |
We humans breathe in oxygen—you probably knew this—and we breathe out carbon dioxide. In an enclosed space, it’s possible for carbon dioxide to build up in the air. Some research shows that meeting rooms and classrooms may be enclosed enough to reach mind-numbing carbon dioxide concentrations.
It’s a tricky question, though, and Veronique Greenwood recently tackled it for the New York Times. Some studies have found that people do worse on problem-solving tests after breathing air with 2,500 parts per million of carbon dioxide (a high-ish level you might see in a classroom or meeting room).
But other studies, including NASA ones that involved proofreading text, didn’t find a connection between stuffy air and performance. Maybe the effects are only noticeable on some types of tests, or maybe something about the study design or other aspects of the test-takers’ environment affected how they were able to think.
But since it’s possible that poor ventilation is a problem, the actionable advice for you and me might be to open a window if you’re spending a long time in a crowded, enclosed space—or to step outside when you get a chance. Sure, you might have to deal with allergies or outdoor pollution, but taking a walk or spending time in nature tend to be good for you anyway. | <urn:uuid:af4eb431-5001-431d-8c69-5fb07edc152f> | CC-MAIN-2021-25 | https://lifehacker.com/get-out-of-that-stuffy-room-if-you-want-to-have-an-effe-1835276499 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-25/segments/1623487611089.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20210613222907-20210614012907-00381.warc.gz | en | 0.938891 | 280 | 3.125 | 3 |
Most of you have probably already had a cup or two of coffee today or started the laundry. Now imagine starting your day without that morning brew, brushing your teeth, or washing your toddler’s hands before breakfast. Imagine what it’s like to not have water, even for one day, and you can see life grinds to a halt.
For decades, Americans have been privileged to have access to clean water at a moment’s notice. Pouring a glass of water, washing hands, brushing teeth – all activities that require water. With largely outdated infrastructure supporting our clean water access, those days may not be so assured for all Americans.
Today, October 23 is the fifth annual Imagine A Day Without Water—a day of national education and awareness. On this day, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is asking Americans to contemplate what just one single day would look like without available clean water and modern wastewater treatment.
Water infrastructure is out of sight, out of mind, but in reality, the United States uses 42 billion gallons of water per day to support our daily life. U.S. drinking water relies on a system of one million miles of pipes across the country, most of which were laid in the early-to-mid 20th century, built with an expected life span of 75 to 100 years. In fact, Americans across the country know the importance of clean and dependable drinking water and wastewater system: 85% of American voters (with 52% strongly supporting) increasing federal water infrastructure investment.
We’re seeing the results of aging infrastructure now. Of the 42 billion gallons we consume daily, nearly six billion is lost due to leaking or severed pipes. The U.S. is averaging water main breaks nearly once every two minutes across the country, or 240,000 per year. After all, U.S. drinking water only received a dismal “D” on ASCE’s 2017 Infrastructure Report Card and our wastewater systems earned a “D+.” If we do not have clean water, our health, safety, economy, and environment will all be at risk.
U.S. drinking water is still almost universally high, but we are seeing some unsettling and unacceptable exceptions. Flint, Michigan saw dangerous levels of lead infiltrating the supply just a few years ago. Flint residents are still forced to use bottled water while officials work on a solution. In Newark, New Jersey, residents have been dealing with elevated lead levels since 2017. The levels reached a tipping point this past August when around 15,000 households were forced to rely on bottled water for daily use.
The Environmental Protection Agency recently issued a proposed lead and copper rule update, aimed at improving the process for how communities test for lead, which the agency’s been working to revamp since 2005. This rule would create a “trigger level” of 10 parts per billion (ppb) to require utilities to review the chemicals they use to prevent lead pipes from corroding. The current lead action level is 15 ppb. While many implementation questions remain, this legislation is a huge step forward in modernizing our water infrastructure because no one should have lead in their drinking water.
Significant funding is needed to prevent future water crisis and ensure that all communities have access to adequate drinking water and wastewater treatment. Outdated infrastructure, including leaky water pipes, costs the average American family $9 dollars a day. As ASCE advocates for robust legislation that addresses our nation’s infrastructure needs, we ask Congress to fully fund critical water resources infrastructure programs such as the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds and the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act.
ASCE is a proud advocate of infrastructure investment and participant in Imagine a Day Without Water. Join the Value of Water and ASCE on social media in the ongoing conversation about investing in our drinking water and wastewater infrastructure networks.
As you go about your day, be sure to Imagine A Day Without Water: what would a lack of water mean to you? | <urn:uuid:f700a0ca-28cd-487b-925a-538698df01f9> | CC-MAIN-2020-34 | https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/take-some-time-today-to-imagine-a-day-without-water/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-34/segments/1596439735792.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20200803083123-20200803113123-00453.warc.gz | en | 0.953286 | 822 | 3.375 | 3 |
Empathy, compassion and gratitude -- these traits don't usually spring to mind when you think about Darwinism and natural selection. No, your mind more immediately drifts toward anti-social characteristics like competition, survival of the fittest, and selfishness (as in the "selfish gene"). But above, on the first day of 2015, UC Berkeley psychologist Dacher Keltner reminds us that evolution can bring out the best in us, and Darwin recognized that. As Darwin wrote in The Descent of Man, the strengthening of our capacity for "sympathy" played a central role in human evolution:
With mankind, selfishness, experience, and imitation, probably add .... to the power of sympathy; for we are led by the hope of receiving good in return to perform acts of sympathetic kindness to others; and sympathy is much strengthened by habit. In however complex a manner this feeling may have originated, as it is one of high importance to all those animals which aid and defend one another, it will have been increased through natural selection; for those communities, which included the greatest number of the most sympathetic members, would flourish best, and rear the greatest number of offspring.
That's not to say that we don't have a dual nature -- a capacity for being unsympathetic, selfish, power hungry. That's something Keltner studies too, and, indeed a while back, we told you about his studies showing that the wealthy tend to be less sympathetic and giving than the poor. You can find courses taught by Keltner on Human Emotion and Human Happiness in our collection of Free Online Psychology Courses, part of our larger collection, 1,300 Free Online Courses from Top Universities. | <urn:uuid:53e0d499-6a05-4799-a179-68affd35efed> | CC-MAIN-2017-43 | http://www.openculture.com/2015/01/we-are-wired-to-be-kind.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-43/segments/1508187823839.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20171020063725-20171020083725-00232.warc.gz | en | 0.954142 | 348 | 2.984375 | 3 |
When we go through history books, we often see paintings and illustrations of famous people. However, this is often left up to the artist’s interpretation of the person. More often than not, paintings we see of famous people look so drastically different, it’s difficult to tell what they actually looked like. Written records can also help give us an idea of how some people looked, but these are also often biased. Lastly, there were plenty of people who were too poor to afford to have their portraits painted. Common people were rarely ever featured in records until the invention of photography. Lucky for us, modern technology has become advanced enough to where we can get a much better picture of how people actually looked from history.
30. The Ditchling Road Man Shows The Common Farmer With A Short Lifespan
In 2019, The Brighton Museum and Art Gallery put on a showcase of depictions of people living in Brighton, United Kingdom over the course of 40,000 years. They used 7 different skulls from 7 different time periods, spanning thousands of years apart. I’ve chosen to focus on the Ditchling Road Man, estimated to be from 2,400 B.C. He was a farmer whose skeleton was stunted by several periods of malnutrition throughout his life. You can even see in the shape of his face how he must have struggled to survive, and he died at just 25 years old. He’s considered to be one of the “Beakers” of the Bronze age. Whoever buried him left behind pottery, and snail shells near his mouth. This must have been some sort of long-forgotten burial ritual, or a last-ditch attempt to feed the starving man. | <urn:uuid:88d1c669-96cc-4cac-bdc8-3ae8aa30d2fc> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://historycollection.com/cgi-technology-reveals-what-these-historic-figures-looked-like/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=HC2&utm_campaign=23850388915930073&utm_content=23850388916280073_23850388916240073/16/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233506027.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20230921105806-20230921135806-00157.warc.gz | en | 0.987556 | 349 | 3.625 | 4 |
Dude .. what is a shader? To understand what is going on inside that graphics card of yours, please allow me to explain what is actually happening inside that graphics processor and explain shaders in very easy to understand terminology (I hope). That and how it relates to rendering all that gaming goodness on your screen (the short version).
What do we need to render a three dimensional object; 2D on your monitor? We start off by building some sort of structure that has a surface, and that surface is being built from triangles. Triangles are great as they are really quick and easy to compute. Now we need to processes each triangle. Each triangle has to be transformed according to its relative position and orientation to the viewer.
The next step is to light the triangle by taking the transformed vertices and applying a lighting calculation for every light defined in the scene. At last the triangle needs to be projected to the screen in order to rasterize it. During rasterization the triangle will be shaded and textured.
Graphic processors like the GeForce series are able to perform a large sum of these tasks. Actually the first generation (say ten years ago) was able to draw shaded and textured triangles in hardware, which was a revolution.
The CPU still had the burden of feeding the graphics processor with transformed and lit vertices, triangle gradients for shading and texturing, etc. Integrating the triangle setup into the chip logic was the next step and finally even transformation and lighting (TnL) was possible in hardware, reducing the CPU load considerably (surely everyone remembers the GeForce 256 right ?).
The big disadvantage at that time was that a game programmer had no direct (i.e. program driven) control over transformation, lighting and pixel rendering because all the calculation models were fixed on the chip. This is the point in time where shader design surfaced.
We now finally get to the stage where we can explain Shaders.
In the year 2000 DirectX 8 was released, Vertex and Pixel shaders arrived and allowed software and game developers to program tailored transformation and lighting calculations as well as pixel coloring functionality which gave a new graphics dimension towards the gaming experience, and things started to look much more realistic.
Each shader is basically nothing more than a relatively small program (programming code) executed on the graphics processor to control either vertex, pixel or geometry processing. So a shader unit in fact small floating point processor inside your GPU.
When we advance to the year 2002, we see the release of DirectX 9. DX9 had the advantage for the use of way longer shader programs than before, with pixel and vertex shader version 2.0.
In the past graphics processors have had dedicated units for diverse types of operations in the rendering pipeline, such as vertex processing and pixel shading.
Last year with the introduction of DirectX 10 it was time to move away from the pretty inefficient fixed pipeline and create a new unified architecture.
So each time we mention a shader processor, this is one of the many shader processors inside your GPU. Once I mention a shader ... that's the program executed on the Shader engine (the accumulated shader processor domain).
NVIDIA likes to call these stream processors. Same idea, slightly different context. GPUs are stream processors processors that can operate in parallel, aka many independent vertices and fragments at once. A stream is simply a set of records that require similar computation.
Okay, we now have several types of shaders, Pixel, Vertex, Geometry and with the coming of DX11 likely a compute shader, which is a pretty cool one. As you can run physics acceleration without needing to go through a graphics API. Fun thing, this is already possible through through the CUDA engine, but we'll talk about that later on.
There. I do hope you now understand the concept of shaders and shader processors. Let's talk a little about the GeForce series 200, shall we?
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ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1080 ArcticStorm Review All hail liquid cooling ! Wann see a GeForce GTX 1080 review based on an all custom and proper liquid cooled setup ? Well, meet the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1080 ArcticStorm Edition. We'll check out the 8 G... | <urn:uuid:af0ccbf4-44c4-44f6-87e2-ac2679dd0fd7> | CC-MAIN-2016-50 | http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_280_review_test,2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-50/segments/1480698541324.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20161202170901-00432-ip-10-31-129-80.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941267 | 971 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Throughout the history of the United States, many immigrants have come looking for a better life. While this country can present new opportunities, many immigrants stay grounded to their roots and are proud of their heritages.
This is true for those of Italian descent who have a long history of immigration to this country. Between 1900 and 1915, more than three million Italian immigrants that came to this country. Today, Italian-Americans are one of the largest ethnic groups here and according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Philadelphia also has the second largest population of Italian-Americans of any city in the country.
The History of Italian Immigration Museum is located at 1834 E. Passyunk Ave., an area long a hot-spot of Italian immigrants and Italian-centered businesses.
The idea of opening a museum to display the history of Italian immigration was originally suggested by Dr. Pasquale Nestico, founder of Filitalia International. Filitalia International is a non-profit organization located in South Philadelphia which began in 1987 with a goal to promote and preserve the Italian heritage, language and customs.
When he brought the idea to the organization’s board of directors in 2013, they believed it was a great idea. Just one year later, the museum was open to the public.
“When we had the idea for the museum our goal was to help Italians located in the city and surrounding communities retain their culture and most importantly display the history behind it,” said Nicholas Santangelo, a board member at the museum.
Even though the museum is not large in size, it uses every inch to display something related to the history of Italian immigration and show different parts of Italian-American history.
One section displays some of the jobs Italian immigrants found when they arrived. A replica of an authentic Italian barbershop can be seen, showing a trade some Italian immigrants became involved with when they arrived in the 1950s and 1960s. The display features barbershop utensils and a barbershop chair from the previous era.
Also on display are items from shoemakers and carpenters, other jobs immigrants from Italy found.
Another area features pictures and items from prominent artists, musicians, educators and inventors of Italian heritage. It notes contributions to society which were often swept under the rug or not appreciated by society because of the heritage.
“A lot of people of Italian heritage and their contributions to society have been forgotten over the years or these people haven’t been appreciated for what they’ve done,” Santangelo said. “Without a place like this museum, future Italian-Americans may further lose more history of their people that have not yet been swept under the rug.”
The museum includes artifacts donated by families involved with Filitalia International. Many of the items came with these families when they emigrated from Italy to the U.S., from luggage to common household items to displays of popular Italian businesses. The museum also features many photos of families that were taken when they arrived here.
“It’s so important to have a museum like this because it helps keep the Italian heritage alive,” curator Michael Bonasera said. “Heritage can’t be destroyed or taken away from you, so with this museum we are keeping our heritage alive and passing it down to future generations.”
– Text, images and video by Minh Mai and Jacob Guzdek. | <urn:uuid:d9c1302c-3136-4c05-b439-08d54f72267c> | CC-MAIN-2019-39 | https://www.philadelphianeighborhoods.com/2017/09/27/south-philadelphia-museum-puts-history-of-italian-immigration-on-display/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-39/segments/1568514572879.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20190916155946-20190916181946-00472.warc.gz | en | 0.97076 | 707 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Worldwide users of plastic are leaving a negative impact on the oceans and wildlife all around the world. In this article, I will take you through plastic users analysis with Python which is a very simple task of data analysis for beginners.
Plastic Users Analysis
As this is a beginner level task based on data analysis with Python, so I will only use 3 Python libraries here. Pandas for data handling, NumPy for numerical calculations and Matplotlib for data visualization.
Now let’s import all these libraries and get started with the task to analyse the plastic users with Python:
I will analyse the plastics users based on how much a country uses plastic for the packaging of its food products. So the data I am using is based on food facts which can be easily downloaded from here.
Now let’s import the data and move further with the task of Plastic users analysis with Python:
Now before moving further let’s have a quick look at how our data looks like so that we could know what we are going to work with. I will use the pandas.head() method to look at the first 20 rows in the dataset:
manufacturing_places packaging_tags 137 Canada plastic 397 china plastic 478 uk plastic 629 USA plastic 735 Crèmerie Soignon,Poitou-Charente,France plastic 771 Royaume-Uni plastique 964 United States plastic 967 États-Unis plastique 992 United States plastic 1001 United States plastic 1254 États-Unis plastique 1403 Mexico plastic 1438 Ravens Oak Dairy,Nantwich,Cheshire,England,Uni... plastic 1440 Thailand plastic 1519 Ireland plastique 1806 Moray,United Kingdom plastic 1897 Canada plastic 2075 Switzerland plastic 2079 Canada plastic 2223 Switzerland plastic
Hopefully, this dataset does not contain any missing values. So we can move further to analyze the plastic users without any data preparation and cleaning. Now to analyze the worldwide plastics users let’s sort the countries according to their usage of plastic to pack food products:
Australia 153 France 146 Allemagne 24 Belgique 22 Germany 14 Italie 12 Italy 10 United Kingdom 9 Union Européenne 9 United States 9 Name: manufacturing_places, dtype: int64
The output shows that Australia is the biggest user of plastic. To get more detailed insights, let’s prepare the data and visualize it in the form of a bar plot by using the matplotlib library in Python. I will also annotate the graph that will highlight the biggest user of plastic by using an arrow.
Let’s see how to visualize the bar plot with a text annotation:
So this is how to analyze such data with a text annotation by using the Python programming language. I hope you liked this article on Plastic users analysis with Python. Feel free to ask your valuable questions in the comments section below. | <urn:uuid:b1c115c2-bafd-421a-a8f4-5d1a0f68b663> | CC-MAIN-2021-39 | https://thecleverprogrammer.com/2020/11/09/plastic-users-analysis-with-python/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-39/segments/1631780061350.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20210929004757-20210929034757-00719.warc.gz | en | 0.80807 | 610 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Winter has its own set of rules for fire safety. It is particularly important to go over fire safety with seniors before the beginning of the winter. Most fires seem to start during the colder season. Seniors feel the cold more and are therefore more apt to use a space heater or other heating device that may be dangerous. Their sense of smell may be diminished as well as their ability to hear smoke alarms. This can cause a slower reaction to a fire that might start in their homes.
- Smoke alarms. Ensure that each level of the home has smoke detectors, especially outside of any sleeping areas. These should be tested regularly and the batteries changed. If seniors are hard of hearing they can purchase alarms that have a flashing light when the batteries get low.
- Cooking fires. These are still the number one cause of fires in the home, usually due to carelessness. Never walk away or leave the room when cooking. If you are deep frying, purchase a special deep fryer with a locking lid. All kitchens should have a fire extinguisher handy. Pot lids should be kept near any pots on the stove. If a fire should start, the lid can be slid back onto the pot and the stove turned off.
- Emergency exit. Work with loved ones to plan an emergency exit in case of fire. Each room should have an alternate exit other than the door in case it is blocked. Stairs and hallways should be kept free of clutter. Curtains or drapes should not be near stoves or other sources of heat. If a fire starts the most important thing is to get out of the building. Arrange with a neighbour to go there or else to a nearby public building. Not all seniors can quickly exit their homes and should have a phone beside their beds.
Before the start of the cold season, make sure all furnaces or heaters are working properly. Flashlights should be used instead of candles or you can purchase flameless candles which run on a battery. This winter ensure that you have done everything you can to keep your home and yourself safe from fire. | <urn:uuid:6aa074c9-dbcb-48e7-9c0b-570bac6e40a3> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://seniorslifestylemag.com/health-well-being/senior-safety/winter-fire-safety-tips-for-seniors/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335530.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20221001035148-20221001065148-00130.warc.gz | en | 0.955376 | 426 | 3.25 | 3 |
I believe the idea that galactic cosmic rays (GCR) play a role for the present global warming is unlikely to fade soon, despite a growing number of scientific arguments that normally would falsify a hypothesis and lay it dead (see links here and here). Despite all the arguments against the role of GCR, there was a solicited talk about ‘cosmoclimatology’ at the European Meteorological Society’s (EMS) annual meeting in Toulouse. Henrik Svensmark is further invited by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (NASL) to provide an introduction to their seminar on climate. So why is the GCR-hypothesis still perceived as an interesting explanation?
My impression from the solicited talk, is that the confidence in the GCR hypothesis now rests on two points that were made explicit in the presentation, and that we have not adequately addressed here. So, here they are:
Point I: When I asked Svensmark why he presented a curve describing low cloud-cover from the ISCCP – used for correlation study with GCR (link) – that differed from the curves presented at the ISCCP web site (link), he informed me that he used a corrected version that has been published. Nevertheless, the ‘correction’ of the curve is controversial, and the ISCCP team is clearly not convinced, despite the likelihood of instrumental degradation.
Good practice would then be to present all the curves that cannot be ruled out because of errors. When asked why he didn’t present the other cures too, he said that he only wanted to show the one curve. Not a very convincing answer, and not very reassuring.
Point II involves a ‘remarkable’ correlation, meant to demonstrate a link between high GCR flux and cold conditions. This analysis is based on a comparison between band-pass filtered ice-rafted debris from iceberg drifts (Bond, 2001) and Carbon-14 (a cosmogenic isotope) over the last 12,000 years (e.g. after the most recent ice age).
The relationship between temperature and drifting icebergs, however, is complicated and not so straight forward. Icebergs are formed when chunks of ice break off glaciers and icesheets – a process known as ‘calving’.
On the one hand, icesheets and glaciers grow when the accumulation of precipitation at below freezing temperatures (snow) exceeds the summertime melting. Very low temperatures, tend to be associated with low precipitation, however. One the other hand, iceberg calving does not require very low temperatures (as long as the ice is present), but is favoured by reduced friction at the base of ice caps, resulting in a faster flow towards the sea. Melt water can lubricate the ice sheets and hence affect the ice flow.
Once the icesheets have calved and produced icebergs, they will drift according to the winds and ocean currents. The most influential ocean currents for iceberg drift in the North Atlantic include the East Greenland Current EGC), which follows the east coast of Greenland and flows from northeast to southwest, the West Greenland current (WGC) into the Labrador Sea, and the Labrador current (LC), a coastal current following along the perimeter of the Labrador sea basin in an anti-clockwise fashion.
Many of the cores used to study the ice-rafted debris were from locations away from these currents. It is not clear whether anomalous cold conditions produced more southerly winds and ocean currents. However, many of the core locations are associated with a surface flow from the south in the present climate, so it is possible that the icebergs transported by the EGC, WGC, and LC end up in the North Atlantic current. One explanation is that the icebergs got caught in the warm currents from the south, and melted on their way north, but that does not necessary imply cold conditions in that region, as these warm ocean currents provide a heat transport and the melting of icebergs suggest higher temperatures.
Cold conditions favour the formation of sea-ice, which have very different characteristics to icebergs. Sea-ice forms when the sea surface freezes, and can affect the ocean circulation through their effect on salinity. However, sea-ice does not create debris of rocks and minerals, as the icebergs do when the bottom of the sliding icesheets scrape the rocks.
It is plausible that very cold conditions can produce thick sea-ice that will lock icebergs in place near their sources in the Labrador sea and along the east coast of Greenland, but seasonal variations in the sea-ice may also imply open water in the summer. Nevertheless, very cold conditions may not necessarily favour the production of icebergs, as freezing temperatures will prevent the formation of melt water acting as lubrication and the accumulation of ice is expected to be less due to lower precipitation.
In summary, the ‘remarkable’ correlation does not seem to support the hypothesis that high flux of GCR produces a very cold climate. The question is rather whether the ocean and atmospheric circulation were influenced by the level of solar activity and associated changes in the total solar irradiation (TSI) – without involving GCR. After all, GCR is affected by the level of solar activity through its influence of the inter-planetary magnetic field, and anti-correlated with the sunspots.
When taken in the context of the global warming, there are other problematic issues such as the lack of trend in GCR (here and here), stronger warming during nighttime than daytime, large unknowns regarding the physical mechanisms involved in the growth of ultra-small molecule clusters to much larger cloud condensation nuclei (here and here), and questionable data handling and statistical analysis (here). In addition, it is difficult to statistically distinguish between the apparent response to solar forcing in the observations and GCM which do not take GCRs into account (link to a recent paper by Gavin and myself), implying that GCRs are not needed to explain past global temperature trends.
So what makes the GCR-hypothesis so convincing that warrants a solicited talk at the EMS annual meeting and an invited presentation at the NASL? Is the support based on the attention in media, or does it have a scientific basis?
I want a response from the community still supporting the GCR hypothesis, explaining why they find it convincing after all these misgivings. The spirit of science is about discussing different ideas and challenge unconvincing points of view. So far, I feel that many of these issues have gone unheeded outside the climate research community. Perhaps an improved dialogue between various research communities can help resolving these issues – the counter-arguments and GCR hypothesis represent a paradox that should be sorted out if the science is to progress. Either the supporters of the GCR hypothesis should convincingly explain why these misgivings are unfounded or irrelevant, or the GCR hypothesis should be buried. However, I feel that there is a lack of dialogue and willingness to listen, so I think that progress is not likely to happen regarding a commonly accepted solution on the GCR hypothesis.
Update: According to a recent (October 16) news relsease from the International Ice Charting Working Group (IICWG), over 1,200 icebergs drifted into the trans-Atlantic shipping lanes in 2009, making the iceberg season in the North Atlantic the eleventh most severe since the tragic loss of the RMS Titanic in 1912.
P.S. So far in 2009, three articles have been published in the arXhive on GCR and clouds (here, here, here). It is possible that such articles are more accessible to communities other than climate research, and hence enhances the awareness about the controversy surrounding the GCR-hypothesis. | <urn:uuid:f2686102-052d-4049-ab72-725f2919639a> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2009/10/why-the-continued-interest/comment-page-11/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1409535922087.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20140909043921-00138-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952403 | 1,604 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Those facing this condition won’t be able to breathe easy anytime soon – it’s a health problem that affects the lungs (causing scarring), but more importantly how the lungs feed oxygen to the rest of the body.
All of your major organs – including your heart and your brain – rely on a steady supply of oxygen to function properly. Obviously, this is not good news for those who have been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. Let’s take a closer look at six facts about this condition…
1. There are Telltale Symptoms
While some sources note that pulmonary fibrosis is diagnosed years after it actually begins in some patients, some of the associated symptoms include shortness of breath, and a persistent dry and hacking cough, according to Pulmonary Fibrosis News.
Other symptoms that may not seem as obvious include fatigue, unexplained weight loss, aching muscles and joints, and even clubbing of the fingertips, adds the source. There are other conditions that can cause these health problems, so it’s important to be assessed by a doctor.
2. The Cause Isn’t Always Known
GBHealthWatch.com explains the telltale signs of pulmonary fibrosis – including “thick and stiff” lungs, are recognized by the health world. What isn’t always known is the root cause of the problem, adds the site.
Most of the time, doctors won’t be able to trace the cause, and these cases are called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), it explains. The fibrosis can come on quickly or slowly in other patients, it adds. Genetics may play a role.
3. It’s Unpredictable
Pulmonary Fibrosis News explains the prognosis for most patients with this problem isn’t good. In fact, the median survival rate of patients is 2.5-years, although some patients do live a lot longer than that, it adds.
“A lack of reliable prediction models that can be used in clinical practice makes it difficult to access individual risk of mortality,” explains the site, meaning it’s difficult for doctors to predict patient outcomes. This can make it difficult to schedule final arrangements and even to time lung transplants, it adds.
4. There are Risk Factors
The American Thoracic Society explains the highest risk group for pulmonary fibrosis is the 50-and over crowd, with men being “slightly more likely” than women to develop the disease.
Smoking raises the risk of develop the disease significantly, adds the society. We mentioned genetics earlier – this source says about 1 in 5-cases will run in families, as “there are a few known genetic changes that can be found in most of the families with the disease”. The site concludes that “one of certain abnormal genes and particular environmental exposures” puts people at higher risk.
5. Treatments Can Vary
As the disease is unpredictable, treatments are delivered on a case-by-case basis. “There is no ‘standard’ or expected clinical course,” explains PulmonaryFibrosis.org. With that being said, the source outlines a number of drug and non-drug approaches to managing the disease.
Aside from lung transplants, non-pharmacologic treatments include home pulse oximetry, which is a way of monitoring blood oxygen levels, notes the source. Other non-drug methods include pulmonary rehabilitation, which are exercises for people with chronic lung diseases. Meanwhile, medications to treat the disease include the corticosteroid Prednisone, chemotherapy agent Cytoxan, and autoimmune suppressant Azathioprine among others, it adds.
6. It’s a Common Lung Disease
Although the disease can affect more than 200-people out of 100,000 aged 75-years or older, pulmonary fibrosis itself is the most common interstitial lung disease, according to MedicinePlus.gov.
There are many types of interstitial lung disease, although they are all characterized by inflammation and damage to the lung tissues. The lungs contain tiny air sacs called alveoli, which are responsible for absorbing oxygen. The interstitium is the tissue around these air sacs, explains the source. | <urn:uuid:5fe4586d-6ebd-48f2-9a7a-fc42fb21c2ad> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | http://www.activebeat.com/your-health/breathe-in-these-6-facts-about-pulmonary-fibrosis/?streamview=all | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257644701.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20180317055142-20180317075142-00730.warc.gz | en | 0.937476 | 885 | 2.796875 | 3 |
– Researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed a machine learning tool that can accurately predict two of the most challenging side effects of radiation therapy for patients with head and neck cancers, including significant weight loss or the need for a feeding tube.
According to the research team, approximately 53,000 people are diagnosed with head and neck cancer each year in the US. These cancers are more than twice as common in men as in women and are typically diagnosed later in life. While radiation is an effective form of treatment for these cancers, it can also damage the oral tissue and upset the balance of bacteria in the mouth, leading to sore throats, mouth sores, and loss of taste.
As a result, patients with head and neck cancers who receive radiation may experience significant weight loss or require the temporary insertion of a feeding tube.
To build the model, the team examined more than 700 clinical and treatment variables for patients with head and neck cancer who received more than 2,000 courses of radiation therapy across five practice sites.
Researchers used the model to predict three endpoints, including significant weight loss, feeding tube placement, and . The machine learning tool was able to predict weight loss accurately, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.751, and the need for feeding tube placement with an AUC of 0.755.
“The models used in this study were consistently good at predicting those two outcomes,” said Jay Reddy, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of radiation oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and lead author on the study. “You could rerun those models with a new patient or series of patients and get a number saying this adverse effect is likely to happen or not to happen.”
However, researchers also found that the model fell short of predicting unplanned hospitalizations with sufficient accuracy, achieving an AUC of 0.64. Performing the analyses again with more training data for unplanned hospitalizations could improve this, researchers said.
“As we treat more and more patients, the sample size gets bigger, so every data point should get better. It’s possible we just didn’t have enough information accumulated for this aspect of the model,” said Reddy.
This new approach could help identify patients who may benefit from interventions that prevent significant weight loss after treatment or reduce the need for a feeding tube.
“In the past, it has been hard to predict which patients might experience these side effects,” said Reddy. “Now we have a reliable machine learning model, using a high volume of internal institutional data, that allows us to do so.”
Although this machine learning approach can’t isolate the single-most predictive factor or combination of factors that result in negative side effects, it can provide physicians and patients with a better understanding of what to expect during treatment.
“Being able to identify which patients are at greatest risk would allow radiation oncologists to take steps to prevent or mitigate these possible side effects. If the patient has an intermediate risk, and they might get through treatment without needing a feeding tube, we could take precautions such as setting them up with a nutritionist and providing them with nutritional supplements,” said Reddy.
“If we know their risk for feeding tube placement is extremely high – a better than 50 percent chance they would need one – we could place it ahead of time so they wouldn’t have to be admitted to the hospital after treatment. We’d know to keep a closer eye on that patient.”
Researchers noted that going forward, machine learning tools could help predict which treatment plans are best for each patient, leading to more personalized care and better outcomes.
“Machine learning can make doctors more efficient and treatment safer by reducing the risk of error,” said Reddy. “It has the potential for influencing all aspects of radiation oncology today – anything where a computer can look at data and recognize a pattern.”
Credit: Google News | <urn:uuid:316e3f3e-1533-401b-8b86-d6b4fb83df14> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://nikolanews.com/researchers-predict-radiation-side-effects-using-machine-learning/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046154471.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20210803191307-20210803221307-00392.warc.gz | en | 0.96106 | 832 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Peer review has long been regarded as beneficial practice in the teaching of writing. In North American educational settings, learners are often asked to provide feedback on each other’s papers. However, when international students come to study either in intensive English programs or in institutions of higher education, they may encounter difficulties during peer review activities because many of them never had experiences with this kind of practice. As a result, students tend to give each other broad, irrelevant, essentially unhelpful comments.
This may be part of the reason that second language writers sometimes don’t take peer review activities seriously and/or disregard classmates’ feedback. Therefore, it is important that writing teachers equip students with the knowledge on how to provide helpful comments on each other’s drafts.
Modeling is one of the most effective pedagogical tools in teaching a foreign language, and we can certainly use it to teach learners how to give useful feedback. I would like to share two modeling activities that I implement in my writing classes to help students become more effective peer reviewers. In today’s blog, I will describe the first activity—which will teach students to thoroughly analyze someone else’s draft. In my next blog, I will share the second activity, which will focus on providing effective comments.
Activity 1: The Analysis Chart
- For this activity, you need to prepare a sample essay. You can also use one of your students’ drafts if they are comfortable with that. In some classes that I’ve taught, students didn’t mind me displaying their drafts for the purpose of teaching a particular principle or giving an example.
- Display the essay on the projector or give students paper copies. Whether or not I use a projector, I prepare paper copies for students, anyway, so they can take notes, highlight, underline, or comment if needed.
- Draw a three-column chart on the board. The first column is entitled “Strengths” or “What the author did well,” the second one is called “Weaknesses” or “What the author didn’t do so well,” and the title of the third column is “Changes to be made” or “What the author needs to improve.”
- Read the first paragraph and analyze it together with the students. Help them see the strengths of the paragraph. Many times, students have a hard time finding specific positive features of someone else’s writing, and they end up making general comments such as “It’s nice!” or “Good job!”. So help them see why this particular paragraph you are analyzing is “nice” or how the author did “a good job.” (Perhaps the paragraph has a sufficient number of supporting details, or the author uses a good variety of academic vocabulary, or the writing demonstrates a good command of grammar.) Write down these strengths in the first column.
- Continuing with the same paragraph, point out some of the weaknesses that the paragraph may have (or you can find them together with the students). Perhaps the paragraph displays lack of unity or syntactic variety, or the author did not provide specific or clear examples, or the paragraph lacks coherence. Write down these “weaknesses” in the second column of the chart.
- Still staying in the same paragraph, discuss with the students some of the improvements that the author needs to make in this paragraph. Share with the students some of your recommendations but also ask them what they think needs to be revised to make this paragraph more effective. Write down these ideas in the third column.
- Repeat the same procedure for the second paragraph.
- You can continue modeling this analysis for the rest of the essay, or you can put students in small groups and have them finish the activity on their own.
I usually encourage students to do a similar analysis with their own drafts. Most students find it very effective as they work on revisions of their drafts. As far as peer review goes, they learn how to notice both strong features of someone else’s writing and parts that need to be revised. Accordingly, students learn not only to make comments that contain recommendations or suggestions for improvement, but also provide feedback that points out a writer’s strengths.
My next blog will describe an activity that you can do to help students provide effective feedback on each other’s writing. | <urn:uuid:351e8311-ca5c-4dd9-ba29-1d21854232d0> | CC-MAIN-2017-09 | http://blog.tesol.org/effective-peer-feedback-through-modeling-part-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501174163.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104614-00052-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951903 | 914 | 3.09375 | 3 |
The racial teachings of Rudolf Steiner2005, Jun 1st | Emner: Myths & Mysteries, New Age, Pseudohistory, Pseudoscience
Anthroposophs have long rejected the accusations of racist origins in Anthroposophy – there simply are no racist skeletons in the closet. 1, 2 This article will investigate just what the inventor of Anthroposophy, Rudolf Steiner 3 actually said about human races.
If you are a serious student of Steiner’s writings, it quickly becomes obvious that the question of human races was not immaterial. Steiner returned again and again, and often quite detailed, to the origins and characteristics of human races. This is an important part of his writings on the progress and development of humanity. How do you get a black skin color?
The physiological characteristics which traditionally (but quite in conflict with modern biology) is called a human race are achieved through heritance. Steiner, who did not believe in biological Evolution, thought that it was only recent that the racial characteristics became hereditary. His spiritual science showed that “historically, the racial characteristics came from where people were born”. 4 He also wrote in detail on how these racial characteristics had come about. In the case of the “negroes”, they came from forces emanating from “a point in the heart of Africa. Just about all of the forces that specifically influences the human during her early childhood come from here.” 5 This point works through “those people who throughout their lives are completely dependent on these powers, so that this point permanently infuses them with the first childhood characteristics. This is approximately a description of all the people – regarding their racial characteristics – that, so to speak, sets free the decisive forces from this point. What we call the black race is essentially conditioned by these characteristics.” 6 According to Steiner, black people were, in effect, childish.
In a different context, he described the blacks as “the last remnants of the group of humans by which the intestines are hardened”, 7 and wrote further:
“But the people that didn’t develop their id, that was too exposed to the influence of the sun, they were like plants: They produced far too much carbon under their skin – and became black. That is why the negroes are black.” 8
The Asian Peoples
The Asian peoples are, according to Steiner, conditioned by a point on the surface on the Earth that endows them with “the later characteristics of youth.” 9 These peoples are, he thought, far too introvert:
“Look at these colours, from the Negro to the Yellow population found in Asia. From those you have bodies which are once again containers of the most different souls, starting with the totally passive negro-soul, completely devoted to the surroundings, the outer physis, to the passive soul’s second level in the different parts of Asia.” 10
Steiner didn’t hesitate when it comes to judging separate Asian peoples. The huns were described as “the last remnants of old Atlantic peoples. They are deeply decadent, which shows in their decaying astral- and ether-bodies.” 11
Furthermore, there were “such people, that are degenerated because the nervous system hardened at a much too early stage and didn’t stay soft long enough – the last remnants of those are the Malayan race.” 12
Another type of hardening relegated the Mongols to a “lower class of people”. 13
The dying-out Indians
The group of people that Steiner found least appealing was the native American Indians. Even though these had a certain age in human life, Steiner considered their case to be connected with “the forces that have a lot to do with human extinction.” 14 He described the Indians as “a degenerated human race”, 15 which was the reason why they had succumbed to such a degree.
“It isn’t because of the whims of the Europeans that the Indian population has died out, but because of the Indian population had to acquire those forces that led it to die out.” 16
While he ascribed an abnormously weak Ego to the Africans, the Indians had the opposite problem. This was also the cause of their skin color (or rather the skin color Steiner thought they had):
“And they developed this Ego so strongly that it has gone into their skin color: They became copper-red. They have developed into decadence.” 17
The white “race”
The “race” which Steiner described in positive terms was – not surprisingly – the white one. When listing the different “races”, he described how they were inflicted by “hardening” of different organs. The list ended with those people who “did not become hardened at all”. They were found in “those areas that comprise of today’s Europe and Asia.” 18
Elsewhere, he stated that “the most mature characteristica are found in the European area. It is simply (a natural) law.” 19
When non-European peoples proved to be successful, Steiner explained this by claiming that they had learned from Europeans:
“It is often claimed that the Japanese are going through an important development based on their character – this is an illusion. There is no development made from their own abilities. The reason they were victorious in the latest war was that they used warships and cannons invented by the European peoples, thereby using a foreign culture. It is no development if a people has taken what another people’s characteristics has produced – it has to develop based on its own nature. That is what counts!” 20
According to Steiner’s teachings on soul travel, the same soul could assume different “races” in different lives. What race it would be depended on how you behaved in the previous life.
“A soul can be incarnated in any race, but if this soul doesn’t become evil, it doesn’t need to be reincarnated in a descending race, it will reincarnate later in a ascending race.” 21
In other words, it is important to be a good person, so you won’t be black, Japanese or even American Indian in your next life.
The Anthroposophical Defense
The Anthroposophs have mainly used three lines of defense, when Steiner’s racism has been brought up. The first line of defense is to describe the quotes as “taken out of context”.
This is a very weak defense. In a trivial way, all quotes are of course taken out of context, but it doesn’t follow that they are misleading. To defend Steiner, it isn’t enough to call quotes like the ones above “taken out of context
” without also showing that there is an explanation in the text that shows that Steiner does not speak in a racist context.
No such explanation exists. That is why those Anthroposophs who use this argument are satisfied with the general accusation of out-of-context, and make no attempt of showing how those quotes aren’t representative for the texts they are taken from.
One might wonder how the non-racist text would look like, where the author expresses his views with phrases like “the totally passive negro-soul” or “a degenerated human race”.
The second line of defense is that Steiner’s statements are said to be the norm for their time, and cannot be regarded as particularly noticable or perhaps even controversial. This claim can only convince those who are not familiar with the historical background. Steiner’s quotes were made during the first decade of the 1900′s, before the Nazi era. His wordings on non-European peoples were for their time unusually degrading and offensive, even within the German language area. Steiner belonged to those many who paved the way for Nazism through expressing the idea about the superiority of the “white” race.
The latest argument
Lately, some Anthroposophs have started using a third line of defense. Now, they claim that the texts from these and other quotes come from are not from the “official” Steiner. The majority of the quotes are not from this books, but from his lectures, that is, recordings of his lectures made by his staff.
This argument is very odd for those who know Anthroposophy and its history. Steiner’s lectures have always been central within Anthroposophy. They make up the primary source to the so-called esoteric Anthroposophy, which cannot actively be presented to people outside the movement. The common wisdom among Anthroposophs is that unprepared people cannot understand these texts correctly. Earlier, many of these texts were kept strictly a secret. Nowadays, they are part of Steiner’s printed collected works, published by a company which cooperates with the highest international leadership of Anthroposophy. The defense that the lectures cannot be used as sources have, to my knowledge, not earlier been put forth, when non-Anthroposophs criticize them in public. The lectures are still used internally in the Anthroposophic world.
In Steiner’s printed books the statements about the human races are more subdued than in the lectures. This is part of a pattern: The books were meant to be read by non-Anthroposophs. Therefore, they are usually, regardless of subject, more general and careful in their expressions than the lectures.
A tough problem for Anthroposophy
Of course, it isn’t just Anthroposophs who have skeletons in the closet. There are many other examples, e.g. the founder of modern mathematical logic and analytic philosophy, Gottlob Frege, who had racist views. This is not a problem for either, since they are separated from his racism. First and foremost, there are no analytic philosophers who use Frege’s writings as a source for knowledge of life’s various areas.
It is quite different in Anthroposophy. Steiner’s comprehensive explanations of “human races” and their actions take up a large part of his writings on history, where concepts as root races and peoples souls are central. To remove the racial teaching from Anthroposophy is no easy task. It is not like removing an isolated tumor but like removing a tumor with many metastases. That is why this is so difficult for the Anthroposophs. What is at stake is the very foundation of the movement, namely the belief in Rudolf Steiner’s spirit visions as a source of knowledge.
Translated by Claus Larsen
Translated by Claus Larsen | <urn:uuid:47fd31a4-413f-4af7-b76e-bdc424c6ca9b> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://www.skepticreport.com/sr/?p=480 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1406510274979.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20140728011754-00171-ip-10-146-231-18.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975164 | 2,268 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Memory and memorials: Yale scholar’s work influences removal of Lee statue
Yale historian David Blight visited Richmond, Virginia, often in the late 1990s while researching the Civil War’s effect on American memory. When not sifting through archives, he’d jog along the city’s famed Monument Avenue, named for the five grandiose memorials to Confederate leaders that adorned the tree-lined boulevard and grassy mall.
At the time, Blight couldn’t imagine that those monuments would ever come down.
“It was unthinkable,” he said. “This was the most important shrine to the Confederacy right in the heart of Richmond, the former Confederate capital.”
More than 20 years later, Blight had a role in the legal battle that paved the way to removing the last and most prominent of the avenue’s Confederate monuments: a towering equestrian statue of rebel general and slaveowner Robert E. Lee.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s legal team invited Blight, Sterling Professor of History at Yale and Pulitzer-Prize winning author of “Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom,” and his colleague Gaines Foster of Louisiana State University, to submit an amicus brief to the state’s supreme court supporting the governor’s decision to remove the monument to Lee, a man who declined Abraham Lincoln’s offer to appoint him major general, resigned his commission in the U.S. Army, and led the Army of Northern Virginia in many of the Civil War’s bloodiest battles.
The historians helped the governor’s lawyers draft the brief, which puts the monument’s origins in historical context, relying on the work of Blight, Foster, and several of their colleagues to demonstrate that the statue was erected in 1890 to celebrate the defeat of Reconstruction and the redemption of white supremacy in the South. The brief augmented testimony delivered in a court hearing by historians Edward Ayers of the University of Richmond and Kevin Gaines of the University of Virginia.
In a unanimous Sept. 2 ruling affirming the governor’s decision, the court cited the historians’ arguments that the monument honored the “Lost Cause” of the Confederacy — the myth that the rebel states had noble aims not centered on preserving slavery — and symbolized racial injustice.
On Sept. 8, the 21-foot bronze statue was lifted from its nearly 40-foot granite pedestal. It was buzz-sawed in two at the rebel commander’s waist so it could clear highway overpasses as it was hauled to an undisclosed state-owned facility where it awaits a decision on its future, the Associated Press reported.
The amicus brief draws on Blight’s 2001 book, “Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory” — which he was researching during those visits to Richmond in the 1990s — to describe the motivations of those who commissioned and raised the statue in 1890 as Jim Crow was tightening its grip on Virginia and the South. It argued that removing the statue was not an act of historical erasure.
“To the contrary, it would be part of a broader reckoning with historical truth that has led many institutions to rethink Confederate displays,” the brief stated. “Lee and other Confederate leaders knowingly betrayed their country to preserve the institution of slavery and its systematic subjugation of Black Americans. Denying that truth while reasserting control over those whom the Confederacy sought to enslave was the essential goal of the Lost Cause movement.”
The brief points out that in the Civil War’s immediate aftermath, memorials in the South focused on grieving the fallen soldiers — nearly a fifth of all white military-aged southern males died in the conflict. Those monuments tended to be somber, understated, and located in cemeteries, according to the brief.
“The Lee statue on Monument Avenue bears no resemblance to these early war memorials,” the brief stated.
By the time the Lee monument was erected, white southerners had fully embraced the “Lost Cause” myth, which they celebrated with dramatic memorials on city squares and town greens in “a stunningly successful effort to remake the public’s memory of the Confederacy and its leaders,” the brief notes.
“It was the white South saying, ‘You think we lost that war? Well, we won Reconstruction,’” said Blight, director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale’s MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies. “The unveiling drew massive crowds — 150,000 people, more than Richmond’s population. All cultural movements need a saint-like figure and they found theirs in Robert E. Lee. He was the model southern gentleman and a fierce warrior. He fit the bill.”
The brief offered details that shed light on the intentions of those who oversaw the monument’s creation, such as their insistence that the Lee memorial be taller than an equestrian statue of George Washington in Richmond’s Capitol Square.
With the statue’s removal, Monument Avenue is now bereft of Confederate memorials. The other four — monuments to Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson, J.E.B Stuart, and mariner Matthew Fontaine Maury — were removed from their pedestals by the city last summer amid nationwide unrest over police brutality and racial injustice. Removing the Lee statue required the governor’s approval as it was located on state property. Private citizens filed two lawsuits disputing the decision. The state’s highest court ruled for the governor in both cases.
The boulevard’s lone remaining monument is a memorial to Arthur Ashe, the tennis champion, civil rights advocate, and Richmond native, which was erected in 1996.
To Blight, the Lee statue’s removal is the latest in a sequence of events that began in June 2015 after nine Black Americans were massacred during a Bible study by a white gunman at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. In the wake of the murders, the state’s legislators voted to remove the rebel battle flag from the State Capitol grounds with muted opposition from those who often vigorously defend the public display of Confederate imagery. In 2017, the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia — ostensibly organized to protest the planned removal of a Lee statue in the city’s former Lee Park — further intensified criticism of Confederate memorials, he said.
Nationwide protests last summer ignited by the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, among others, became a tipping point regarding Richmond’s Confederate memorials, Blight explained.
“What happens from here is hard to say,” he said. “This is not over. There are thousands of Confederate monuments in the South. There are more of these fights to come.”
For his part, Blight appreciated the opportunity to participate in the amicus brief.
“It was a reminder of why I do this work,” he said. “When you write about race, slavery, and public memory — an inherently public issue — it puts you at the center of many controversies that divide us. The field couldn’t have more resonance. I’m lucky to be a part of it.”
Written by Mike Cummings for YaleNews. | <urn:uuid:4e6e18d0-495d-44b7-ac85-723e88d62ef6> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://macmillan.yale.edu/news/memory-and-memorials-yale-scholars-work-influences-removal-lee-statue | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662588661.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525151311-20220525181311-00617.warc.gz | en | 0.951416 | 1,561 | 3.0625 | 3 |
VERY BEST FRIENDS
New Short Story for Kids written by: Nayeli La Bombmta.
One upon a time…two bears and three squirrels were living in a faraway forest. Nobody could understand how could the bears get along with the squirrels.
One day, a very evil animal arrived at the forest and said:
– “They are easy prey!! haha !”.
The animal was a tiger.
-“I will become their friend and I will tricked them. I will lie to them to break their friendship“. – the tiger said.
Went to look for them and caused a fight between them; the poor animals went home crying.
Against this background the animals of the forest arranged a meeting to give a lesson to the tiger, to make him stop annoying them.
They made the tiger understand that fighting or arguing is not right, and is better to talk; and they never fought again, they were relaxed and happy.
And that is the end of the story…
Values of the Short Story for Kids: Friendship, do not lie.
Share this short story for kids with your friends on Facebook, Google +, or Twitter with the buttons you’ll find at the end of the story. Thank you! | <urn:uuid:785a02c6-d07e-46ea-8f4d-879aacd7ebc5> | CC-MAIN-2017-26 | http://www.shortstories.net/short-stories-for-kids-best-friends/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320368.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20170624235551-20170625015551-00611.warc.gz | en | 0.969212 | 265 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Great Basin Stemmed Points
Form And Function Of Great Basin Stemmed Points
By Linsie Lafayette
Variability in Great Basin stemmed point morphology could represent: (1) temporal differences; (2) stylistic differences; (3) functional differences; or (4) degree of resharpening. Temporal differences do not appear to account for this variation because many point types date to 7000-11,200 14C B.P. Resharpening also does not appear to be a factor because caches of unused stemmed points have been found. Thus, variability in point morphology may be related to style or function. To address this question, I conducted a study of experimental use of stemmed point replicas and use-wear analysis of both these replicas and stemmed points from archaeological sites (herein referred to as prehistoric stemmed points). James C. Woods produced six Parman, six Haskett, and six Windust types for use in the experiment. I used half of the replicas as projectiles that I threw at a deer carcass. The other half was used as knives to butcher the carcass. After use, I examined the replicas under magnification for use-wear and compared them with 59 prehistoric stemmed points from sites in the Great Basin.
Replica stemmed points made on obsidian
The results of this experiment suggest that variability in Great Basin stemmed point morphology are not related to function. Each point type each appear to have been used as projectiles and for other purposes. This supports the argument that stemmed points were multipurpose tools. Haskett types performed poorly as both projectiles and knives. This may suggest that they were used for purposes other than those conducted in the study or that there was a problem in the way they were hafted for the experiment. If we can rule out differences in the age, degree of resharpening, and/or function of the majority of these types, then variation in stemmed point morphology may result in part from stylistic differences between individuals, groups, or cultures.
Butchering a deer carcass with a replica point
Prehistoric stemmed points from buried contexts in the northwest Great Basin. | <urn:uuid:2b798981-5dce-43dd-a14c-42ebd083e820> | CC-MAIN-2019-30 | https://www.unr.edu/anthropology/research/gbpru/past-projects/stemmed-points | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-30/segments/1563195529480.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20190723151547-20190723173547-00394.warc.gz | en | 0.935163 | 436 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Atlantic Fish Crisis May Be Due to Global Warming
|January 9, 2002|
Scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA), U.K., are involved in
a major research project investigating a possible link between global
warming and falling numbers of cod.
A team from the UEA is currently analyzing sea samples containing zooplankton, the tiny marine animals that are the staple diet of the fish and other species such as haddock.
Researchers on board the science vessel Discovery collected the samples at 17 sites from the ocean surface to within a few hundred meters of the sea floor in the northern Atlantic between Greenland and Iceland.
Current flows and the water chemistry were also analyzed.
The (British) 6.5 million pound (U.S. $10 million) study by the National Environment Research Council (NERC) was prompted by concern about dwindling numbers of fish stocks.
Previous studies in the North Sea have shown a 90 percent decline of zooplankton in the past 40 years at a time when cod, haddock, herring, and mackerel levels have also fallen, fuelling speculation that overfishing may not be the sole cause of their decline.
And experts are keen to discover if a similar pattern is being repeated in the Atlantic waters.
One theory being investigated is that rising water temperatures could be affecting ocean circulation patterns, moving the shrimp-like creatures north into waters away from traditional fishing grounds.
Phil Williamson, a UEA marine biologist coordinating the research, said that early findings suggested that levels of zooplankton were also dropping in the Atlantic, which could have an impact on the rest of the food chain.
"The numbers seem to be lower than what we expect but it's very difficult to know what to expect when we haven't done a study like this before. It's early days but we have got some indications from some surveys that the numbers might have gone down a bit," he said.
Further studies were to be carried out as part of the project in a bid to confirm if the drop was climate linked or a coincidence. "In six months to a year we will certainly be more confident in answering that," Williamson said. "We want to know where they are moving to and where water currents are taking them."
And although the cause of the decline is yet to be determined, its effect is sure to be another blow for the commercial fishing fleet.
"If ocean currents change then zooplankton is going to change and usually where there are changes things suffer before they get better," Williamson said.
Copyright 2001 Eastern Counties Newspapers Group Ltd.
|© 1996-2008 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved.| | <urn:uuid:b464af9c-399b-4d61-b302-ff5d2226e54c> | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/pf/58212143.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1413507449153.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20141017005729-00311-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95875 | 556 | 3.109375 | 3 |
|In April 2015, Národná banka Slovenska announced a public competition for the design of the national side of a 2 euro commemroative coin marking Slovakia's first Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
A total of 24 designs from 13 designers participated in the competition and in June 2015 the designs were evaluated anonymously by a committee, assisted by expert consultants: Elena Mallicková and Ondrej Gažovič European Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Slovakia.
Vladimír Pavlica's design won first prize and the Committee praised it for its clear composition. The coin depicts the national emblem of the Slovak Republic and on the background dynamic centripetal lines representing the position and the importance of the Slovak Republic during his first presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The second prize was awarded to the same designer, who sumbtted a very similar variation of his first design.
The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is responsible for the functioning of the Council of the European Union, the upper house of the EU legislature. It rotates among the member states of the EU every six months. The presidency is not an individual, but rather the position is held by a national government. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the President of the European Union. The presidency's function is to chair meetings of the Council, determine its agendas, set a work programme and facilitate dialogue both at Council meetings and with other EU institutions.
Diameter - 25.75mm
Thickness - 2.2mm
Weight - 8.5gr
|"SLOVENSKA REPUBLIKA" with two stars and a linden leaf in the middle | <urn:uuid:84879054-a584-4166-bcda-5fabc22d21fc> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | https://www.fleur-de-coin.com/coin-shop/Slovakia-2-euros-2016-Slovak-Presidency-Council_eur30408 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314852.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819160107-20190819182107-00060.warc.gz | en | 0.951841 | 352 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Visiting a North Carolina Barrier Island
About fifteen miles east of Wilmington is a ten mile long barrier island that sits between the Atlantic and the Cape Fear River. Two tourist towns have been here since the 1920’s, and the North Carolina Aquarium was located here about twenty years ago. Fort Fisher, an earthworks Confederate fortification, is also here. It guarded the entrance to the Cape Fear during the Civil War.
The first ten years of my life found me at the smaller southernmost town of Kure Beach (pronounced as two syllables with long “U” and “E”), where my grandmother ran a rooming house and three tourist cottages. Much has changed in the past fifty years since Grandma passed, but this past weekend found me back on the expansive beach behind where her house used to stand. I was transported to a place of long ago.
The original fishing pier at Kure Beach was built in 1923, and was the first such ocean pier constructed along the entire Atlantic coast.
The only place in the entire US that was attacked by German submarines during the second World War was a Dow Chemical bromine extraction plant that stood atop this stretch of beach. The shells went long, and harmlessly fell into the Cape Fear River.
Many hurricanes have devastated this narrow island over the years. The pier has been destroyed and rebuilt many times, but the fishermen still return.
The current incarnation has lasted for decades as the weathered railings can attest.
By building the pier higher than before, it seems to escape the destructive power of the giant waves.
When schools of Mackerel and Bluefish are running, it’s difficult to find an open spot to drop your hook. Definitely not the case on this day.
The small collection of shops and restaurants west of the pier are the only such places along this entire beach.
New dunes with Sea Oats have been constructed along the entire barrier island to protect the shoreline from erosion. Wooden walkways connect the roadway with the sand.
That’s yours truly standing atop the dune, and the photo below was made in the same area sixty years ago. I’m the kid on the left, with my mom and little sister. | <urn:uuid:073f5fb1-a8db-4934-9525-3b8818b01339> | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | https://blueridgeimpressions.wordpress.com/2014/03/25/visiting-a-north-carolina-barrier-island/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618039554437.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20210421222632-20210422012632-00262.warc.gz | en | 0.969747 | 465 | 2.53125 | 3 |
How did Quaker faith come to be based on direct experience rather than authority? How can a Quaker community nurture how we live, work, worship, and make decisions? “Introduction to Quakers and Friends’ Ways” is a free online course that explores the origin of Quaker testimonies – such as the traditional peace testimony and testimony of equality – in Canadian Friends’ history and beyond. It also invites participants to deepen their understanding of the role of Monthly Meetings in Quaker life.
- experiencing the Spirit;
- early Friends in Canada and the world;
- Quaker decision-making;
- living the Spiritual community.
New attenders as well as experienced Friends will find opportunities to grow in this course, which meets online once per week over 6 weeks. | <urn:uuid:244e5fb4-65b5-445c-b001-c0780d30cd9f> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | https://quaker.ca/resources/education/introduction-to-quakers-and-friends-ways/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247481832.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20190217091542-20190217113542-00298.warc.gz | en | 0.936901 | 161 | 2.59375 | 3 |
To get the economy of a developing country going, its government must stamp out corruption, ramp up efficiency and use open-source technology to build a cheap, reliable information infrastructure, experts at a conference sponsored by the United Nations told investors and policy-makers this week.
By sticking with basic, low-cost, open-source technology, developing countries have a better chance of establishing vibrant economies, executives at the Net World Order conference said. The event was held at technology trade show CeBIT in New York City and was sponsored by the Business Council for the United Nations, a U.N. strategy research center.
"These countries need cheap and efficient technology to make the giant leaps necessary to catch up with the rest of the world," said Bruno Lanvin from the World Bank. "Many are now using Linux, which looks to become the No. 1 operating system in China and India soon."
Also under discussion at the conference was the need to reconstruct Iraq's technical infrastructure in a way that would provide economic opportunity and terrorism-fighting capabilities to the local government and the international community. The goal shouldn't be to simply rewire Iraq's phone and Net access, some said.
The country should be wired with chemical and radiation detectors, cameras and other sensors to give security officials a heads-up on saboteurs bent on keeping the country in disrepair, said Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, a Middle East economist and member of the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force. Participants discussed ways to build terror-tracking and alert systems into the infrastructure of developing nations.
The importance of openly sharing information was the central thread of the conference.
Investors attending the "Developing World" session were advised to look into open-source projects by Rishab Aiyer Ghosh from the Maastricht University Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology.
Ghosh also pointed out that without knowing the needs of the developing world, any tech projects are doomed to fail. When geeks are put in charge, they tend to lust for the newest, coolest technologies that often do not suit developing nations' needs.
"Stick to the basics," Ghosh advised.
Article was found here http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,59334,00.html | <urn:uuid:43d647c5-2ef5-46b4-bbce-4738b9078dec> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.undergroundnews.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/36886/Developing%20World%20Needs%20Linux.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280310.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00299-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950738 | 470 | 2.5625 | 3 |
‘Thanks to early warning and disaster management, catastrophic mortality rates are history’
By the Climate Centre
(The IFRC last week launched an emergency appeal for 5 million Swiss francs to assist the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Myanmar and Bangladesh working with nearly 40,000 people affected by Cyclone Mocha.)
The World Meteorological Organization says that while economic losses from disasters have soared, improved early warning and disaster management have greatly reduced the human casualty toll over the past half-century.
The WMO issued new data for the World Meteorological Congress, held every four years, which opened today in Geneva with “a high-level dialogue on accelerating … action to ensure that early warning services reach everyone on Earth by the end of 2027,” a press release said.
The figures are included in an update covering 2020 and 2021 to its Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes, which initially covered 1970–2019; they show total recorded deaths for 2020–21 of just over 22,600, although this constituted “a further decrease in mortality relative to the annual average of the previous decade.”
Economic losses significantly increased, however, mostly due to storms.
WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said: “The most vulnerable communities unfortunately bear the brunt of weather, climate and water-related hazards. [Cyclone] Mocha exemplifies this. It caused widespread devastation in Myanmar and Bangladesh, impacting the poorest of the poor.
“In the past, both Myanmar and Bangladesh suffered death tolls of tens and even hundreds of thousands of people. Thanks to early warnings and disaster management, these catastrophic mortality rates are now history. Early warnings save lives.”
The update highlights major disparities in the experience of developed and developing countries.
Four fifths of disasters in developed countries caused losses of less than 0.1 per cent GDP, while in Least Developed Countries 7 per cent of disasters had an impact equivalent to at least 5 per cent of GDP, with several disasters causing losses up to nearly 30 per cent.
In Small Island Developing States some disasters causing economic losses above 100 per cent.
Key regional data in the new atlas show that in the 50-year period starting in 1970:
*The US alone incurred US$ 1.7 trillion in disasters losses, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of the global total.
*Droughts accounted for all but 5 per cent of reported deaths in Africa, where Tropical Cyclone Idai in March 2019 was the costliest event ever.
*Asia accounted for nearly half of all reported deaths worldwide, with cyclones the leading cause of deaths.
*Bangladesh historically suffered the highest death toll in Asia, losing just over 520,000 people in nearly 300 events.
*Floods accounted for just over 60 per cent of extremes reported in South America.
*In Europe, extreme temperatures (mainly heatwaves) were the leading cause of deaths and floods were the leading cause of economic losses.
The global initiative on early warnings is being spearheaded by the WMO, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the International Telecommunications Union, and the IFRC, with support from at least 20 other UN agencies as well as “a very wide range of stakeholders, from financial institutions to the private sector,” the WMO said today.
A first set of 30 countries have been identified for the roll-out of the initiative later this year.
Myanmar Red Cross volunteers providing emergency relief, drinking water and (pictured) basic health care to communities in Rakhine state affected by Cyclone Mocha. (Photo: Myanmar Red Cross) | <urn:uuid:76eaaea9-a367-45f4-b610-de9205054553> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://www.climatecentre.org/10322/thanks-to-early-warning-and-disaster-management-catastrophic-mortality-rates-are-history/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233506429.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20230922234442-20230923024442-00630.warc.gz | en | 0.946209 | 770 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Harvesting crops is hard work, but the advancement of machine technology has lessened the load substantially. In the Farm Machinery: Harvesting Project, you’ll get to weigh and analyze forage samples, examine worn and damaged parts and learn about harvesting bottlenecks.
In this project, you’ll:
- Investigate forage harvesters, blowers and wagons
- Learn why adjustments are crucial to avoid delays and prevent crop losses
- Learn about combine uses and parts
- Discuss horticultural harvesting equipment related to Ontario crops like hay and straw
4-H Project Disclaimer
4-H Ontario is pleased to be able to provide 4-H project resources for use by volunteers in 4-H clubs. With so many topics to choose from, 4-H volunteers are trusted to use these resources to provide safe, respectful and quality programming while using their judgement to assess the appropriateness of activities for their particular group of youth.
By downloading any 4-H resource you agree not to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and publicly display such resources (in whole or in part) for any purpose other than delivering the 4-H program. You also agree to give credit to the original creators. Your provincial or national 4-H organization may have restrictions on the types of 4-H projects or activities which can be completed in your area.
4-H Ontario grants permission to 4-H volunteers to photocopy these 4-H project resources for use in their local 4-H program.
All information presented in these project resources was accurate and appropriate at the time of development.
Science & Technology
Did you know?
There are two main types of forage harvesters used in Ontario – 1) Pull Type and 2) Self-Propelled. Learn more about farm machinery used for harvesting in this 4-H project! | <urn:uuid:faea950b-5fc0-4030-9e61-4ad667934418> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://4-hontario.ca/youth/club-projects/farm-machinery-harvesting-project/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296948632.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20230327123514-20230327153514-00446.warc.gz | en | 0.926217 | 393 | 2.984375 | 3 |
In the seaside town of Katwijk in Zuid-Holland a plot of land has been contaminated by activities of a dry cleaning company and a broken sewage system. A large plume of tetrachloroethylene is slowly spreading in the soil. The plume is on the verge of contact with the groundwater, which can cause the contaminants to reach the surface water. To prevent this a biological remediation of the soil has been started in April 2016. The contaminants are degraded on site by pumping billions of bacteria of the genus Dehalococcoides into the soil.
In the fifties bacteria were not yet capable of degrading chlorinated compounds, that entered the soil due to activities of dry cleaning companies and the metal industry. By years of adaption they are now capable of this degradation. Bioclear earth uses this in a smart way. By injecting these bacteria with nutrients (among others potato starch) into the soil, the contamination is targeted at the source and degraded faster. Afterwards, all that is left is the harmless ethylene and kitchen salt.
Nature helps us out even more with the naturally present bacteria in the sediment of the Prins Hendrik canal. A small fraction of the contaminants is still spreading with the groundwater via the sediment to the canal. The bacteria in the sediment naturally degrade these contaminants and hereby prevent spreading to the surface water. During the next years Bioclear earth monitors the degradation process to determine if the concentration of contaminants in the canal rises.
Curious to find out if biological soil remediation is an option for your contamination, please contact Marloes Luitwieler. | <urn:uuid:23b013bb-f229-4ded-9dd1-40734fbb0132> | CC-MAIN-2019-43 | https://bioclearearth.com/projects/invisible-reinforcements-at-katwijk | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570987822458.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20191022155241-20191022182741-00260.warc.gz | en | 0.928461 | 332 | 3.3125 | 3 |
World’s oldest known natural pearl discovered on Abu Dhabi Island
The oldest known natural pearl in the world was discovered recently off the coast of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) by Abu Dhabi archaeologists working at a Neolithic site on Marawah Island. It has been dubbed as ‘Abu Dhabi Pearl’. It was discovered in soil layers that have been radiocarbon dated to 5,800-5,600 BCE, during the Neolithic period.
Significance of this discovery: It gives proof that pearls and oysters were being used in UAE nearly 8,000 years ago. It also represents the earliest known evidence for pearling yet discovered anywhere in the world.
Previous Oldest Pearl: Prior to the Abu Dhabi Pearl discovery, the earliest known pearl in the UAE was discovered in Neolithic site of Umm Al Qaiwain. Besides, ancient pearls also have been found at a Neolithic cemetery close to Jebel Buhais, in UAE’s another province Sharjah.
Marawah Island’s neolithic sites
They were first identified in 1992 during a survey carried out by Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey (ADIAS). Subsequent excavations on these sites have shown them to include numerous collapsed stone structures, the earliest architecture yet discovered in the UAE. Aside from the priceless Abu Dhabi Pearl, significant finds from these sites includes imported ceramic vase from Ubaid civilisation in Mesopotamia (Iraq), beautifully worked flint arrowheads and shell and stone beads. Moreover, numerous painted plaster vessel fragments were also discovered, representing earliest known decorative art yet discovered in the UAE.
Category: Places in News Current Affairs
|View All E-Books: Recent Release| | <urn:uuid:d50c61d9-1968-4e52-b85f-b66949b329ad> | CC-MAIN-2021-49 | https://www.gktoday.in/current-affairs/worlds-oldest-known-natural-pearl-discovered-on-abu-dhabi-island/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-49/segments/1637964358688.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20211129044311-20211129074311-00077.warc.gz | en | 0.957575 | 389 | 3.203125 | 3 |
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(described by Carmichael in 1966)
Exophiala is a dematiaceous fungus widely distributed in soil, plants, water, and decaying wood material. As well as being a saprophyte in nature, it is the causative agent of various human infections [531, 1295, 2202].
The genus Exophiala contains several species. The most common ones are Exophiala castellanii, Exophiala jeanselmei, Exophiala moniliae, Exophila pisciphila, Exophiala salmonis, and Exophiala spinifera. Exophiala jeanselmei currently has two varieties: Exophiala jeanselmei var. heteromorpha and Exophiala jeanselmei var. lecanii-corni.
Several morphological and physiological differences aid in differentiation and identification of Exophiala spp. The morphological keys are summarized below.
Key to the Human Pathogenic Species of Exophiala
1. Yeast cells two-celled, usually the predominant form in the culture, rounded at one end, tapering towards the other with annellations at the tapering end; some annellides integrated within hyphae; annelloconidia one-celled, occasionally two-celled, accumulating in balls that tend to slide down the hyphae (Priorly known as Exophiala werneckii and Phaeoannelomyces werneckii and currently reclassified as Hortae werneckii)
1' two-celled yeast cells absent. (2)
2. Annellides arising on spinelike conidiophores from the hyphae. (E. spinifera)
2' Spinelike conidiophores absent. (3)
3. Annellides moniliform with long necks. (E. moniliae)
3' Annellides cylindrical to lageniform. (E.jeanselmei)
See the summary of synonyms for the Exophiala spp.
Capronia is the probable teleomorphic state of the genus Exophiala [529, 531].
Exophiala spp. are among the fungi causing infections wholly referred to as phaeohyphomycosis. Subcutaneous infections such as mycetoma and chromoblastomycosis may develop due to Exophiala isolates. These infections are usually acquired via traumatic implantation and are associated with the existence of local or systemic immunosuppression, such as organ transplantation. As well as infection and abscess formation in subcutaneous tissues, prosthetic valvular vegetations, fungemia, and disseminated infections due to Exophiala spp. have also been reported. Exophila pisciphila is a neurotropic species causing infections in fish as well as humans [449, 531, 533, 602, 908, 919, 1659, 2184, 2202].
Exophila spp. are initially yeast-like, moist, and brownish to greenish black in color. The texture of the colony eventually becomes velvety due to development of short, aerial grayish hyphae. The front color is olivaceous-black and the reverse is black in mature colonies [531, 1295, 2202].
In the young cultures, subspherical, budding, yeast-like cells are visualized. These cells often form long chains. As the culture gets older, septate hyphae which bear conidiogenous cells (annelides) are eventually formed. The annelides are tubular and rocket-shaped and typically taper to form a narrow elongated tip. Ellipsoidal, conidia (1-3x3-6 µm) are produced from the annelides. These conidia are usually one-celled and are found in clusters at the apices of annelides or at the sides of the conidiophores [531, 602, 1295, 2202].
Phaeoid (brown) hyphae and phaeoid yeast-like cells are visualized in infected tissues .
Exophiala species differ from members of the genera Phialophora and Wangiella by forming annellides rather than phialides. Variations in decomposition of casein and tyrosine, ability to grow in 15% sodium chloride, KNO3 assimilation, and the maximum temperature of growth also help in differentiation of Exophiala from Phaeoannellomyces and Wangiella .
Some of the species have synanamorphic forms in the genera Cladosporium, Phialophora, Rhinocladiella, Phaeococcomyces and Phaeoannellomyces.
No special precautions other than general laboratory precautions are required.
There are a small number of reports available on a limited number of isolates. The clinical significance of these data remains unclear [384, 531, 558, 1490, 1491, 1864].
For Exophiala jeanselmei, fluconazole yielded very high MICs. The MICs of flucytosine and miconazole appeared lower than fluconazole but were still relatively high. MICs of amphotericin B, ketoconazole, and voriconazole were similar and relatively low. The lowest MICs were obtained for itraconazole and terbinafine. Exophiala jeanselmei showed decreased susceptibility to both amphotericin B deoxycholate and ABLC in other workers' hands. The novel echinocandin, caspofungin, on the other hand, yielded favorable in vitro activity against Exophiala jeanselmei isolates.
For Exophiala pisciphila, amphotericin B yielded the highest MICs. Flucytosine and voriconazole MICs were similar; itraconazole and ketoconazole MICs were lowest.
For Exophiala spiniphera, MICs of amphotericin B, itraconazole, and voriconazole were similar and encouragingly low.
For MICs of various antifungal drugs for Exophiala, see our susceptibility database.
The correlation of in vitro susceptibility with clinical outcome for Exophiala is not yet known. While there is no standard treatment, combination of surgical and antifungal treatment is usually preferred for subcutaneous Exophiala infections. Amphotericin B with or without flucytosine, itraconazole, and terbinafine have been used. The combination of amphotericin B, flucytosine and itraconazole appeared useful in a case with subcutaneous infection due to Exophiala jeanselmei [449, 462, 919, 2184, 2425].
384. Carrillo-Munoz, A. J., G. Quindos, C. Tur, M. Ruesga, R. Alonso, O. del Valle, V. Rodriguez, M. P. Arevalo, J. Salgado, E. Martin-Mazuelos, F. J. Bornay-Llinares, A. del Palacio, M. Cuetara, I. Gasser, J. M. Hernandez-Molina, and J. Peman. 2000. Comparative in vitro antifungal activity of amphotericin B lipid complex, amphotericin B and fluconazole. Chemotherapy. 46:235-244.
449. Clancy, C. J., J. R. Wingard, and M. H. Nguyen. 2000. Subcutaneous phaeohyphomycosis in transplant recipients: review of the literature and demonstration of in vitro synergy between antifungal agents. Med Mycol. 38:169-175.
462. Collier, L., A. Balows, and M. Sussman. 1998. Topley & Wilson's Microbiology and Microbial Infections, 9th ed, vol. 4. Arnold, London, Sydney, Auckland, New York.
529. De Hoog, G. S., B. Bowman, Y. Graser, G. Haase, M. El Fari, A. Van den Ende, B. Melzer-Krick, and W. A. Untereiner. 1998. Molecular phylogeny and taxonomy of medically important fungi. Med Mycol. 36:52-56.
531. de Hoog, G. S., J. Guarro, J. Gene, and M. J. Figueras. 2000. Atlas of Clinical Fungi, 2nd ed, vol. 1. Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
533. De Hoog, G. S., F. Queiroz-Telles, G. Haase, G. Fernandez-Zeppenfeldt, D. A. Angelis, A. van den Ende, T. Matos, H. Peltroche-Llacsahuanga, A. A. Pizzirani-Kleiner, J. Rainer, N. Richard-Yegres, V. Vicente, and F. Yegres. 2000. Black fungi: clinical and pathogenic approaches. Med Mycol. 38:243-250.
558. Del Poeta, M., W. A. Schell, and J. R. Perfect. 1997. In vitro antifungal activity of pneumocandin L-743,872 against a variety of clinically important molds. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 41:1835-1836.
602. Dixon, D. M., and A. Polak-Wyss. 1991. The medically important dematiaceous fungi and their identification. Mycoses. 34:1-18.
908. Groll, A. H., and T. J. Walsh. 2001. Uncommon opportunistic fungi: new nosocomial threats. Clin Microbiol Infect. 7:8-24.
919. Guarro, J., M. Nucci, T. Akiti, J. Gene, J. Cano, M. D. C. Barreiro, and C. Aguilar. 1999. Phialemonium fungemia: Two documented nosocomial cases. J Clin Microbiol. 37:2493-2497.
1295. Larone, D. H. 1995. Medically Important Fungi - A Guide to Identification, 3rd ed. ASM Press, Washington, D.C.
1490. McGinnis, M. R., and L. Pasarell. 1998. In vitro evaluation of terbinafine and itraconazole against dematiaceous fungi. Med Mycol. 36:243-6.
1491. McGinnis, M. R., and L. Pasarell. 1998. In vitro testing of susceptibilities of filamentous ascomycetes to voriconazole, itraconazole, and amphotericin B, with consideration of phylogenetic implication. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 36:2353-2355.
1659. Nucci, M., T. Akiti, G. Barreiros, F. Silveira, S. G. Revankar, D. A. Sutton, and T. F. Patterson. 2001. Nosocomial fungemia due to Exophiala jeanselmei var. jeanselmei and a Rhinocladiella species: Newly described causes of bloodstream infection. J Clin Microbiol. 39:514-518.
1864. Radford, S. A., E. M. Johnson, and D. W. Warnock. 1997. In vitro studies of activity of voriconazole (UK-104,496), a new triazole antifungal agent, against emerging and less-common mold pathogens. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 41:841-843.
2184. Sudduth, E. J., A. J. d. Crumbley, and W. E. Farrar. 1992. Phaeohyphomycosis due to Exophiala species: clinical spectrum of disease in humans [see comments]. Clin Infect Dis. 15:639-44.
2202. Sutton, D. A., A. W. Fothergill, and M. G. Rinaldi (ed.). 1998. Guide to Clinically Significant Fungi, 1st ed. Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore.
2425. Whittle, D. I., and S. Kominos. 1995. Use of itraconazole for treating subcutaneous phaeohyphomycosis caused by Exophiala jeanselmei. Clin. Infect. Dis. 21:1068.
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Learn About Research Studies
Why participate in research?
Research is essential to increasing our understanding of mood disorders, developing new treatments, and deciding which treatments work best for which people. At DBSA, we support research that shares in our mission to improve the lives of people living with mood disorders.
But participating in research is not for everyone. And some research studies have risks. This page was created to help you learn about types of research and make an informed decision about participating.
Types of Research
Clinical trials are studies that compare different treatments. They may compare a new treatment (like a new medication) to an older one. Or they may compare a new treatment to a placebo (like a sugar pill). Participating in a clinical trial usually means letting researchers decide what treatment you will receive. Learn more about clinical trials.
Other research studies collect information without providing any treatment. These studies might range from a one-time survey to a longitudinal study collecting information over months or years. In these types of studies, it's important to understand that the researchers are collecting information that might help other people, not providing treatment intended to help you.
Protecting Your Rights as a Research Participant
Ethical Review and Approval
Every research study should be reviewed and approved by an ethics committee (often called an Institutional Review Board or IRB). This committee decides whether the value of the study outweighs any risk to participants.
Before you participate in any research, you should understand the risks and give your permission. That process is called informed consent, meaning that you should be informed before you decide whether to consent.
This process can happen in different ways depending on the type of study. In a clinical trial (a study comparing different treatments) you will usually meet with a member of the research staff in person to discuss the study and sign a consent form. If the study involves a survey by telephone or mail, then you may give consent over the phone or by signing and mailing in a consent form. In any case, you should have a chance to ask questions.
Whether you are informed about a study in person, over the phone, by mail, or over the internet, the informed consent process should provide the following information:
You should take as much time as you need to decide about participating. That may mean thinking about it overnight or talking with your friends, family members, or usual care providers (doctors or therapists).
Informed consent is not a one-time event, but a continuing process. Throughout a study, the research team must provide information about your participation in the study. They must respond to any questions you have about the research and inform you if any new risks are identified. At any time you may withdraw your consent and end your participation in the study.
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance does not endorse nor recommend any particular research study. Patients should discuss all options with their health care providers and family members before beginning any study.
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Business Acumen 101 – The Effects of Positive Cash Flow
Yesterday, I discussed the impact of negative cash flow and how it can create major disadvantages to an organization of any size. The effects of a negative cash flow can range from a loss of competitiveness to placing a company in bankruptcy court.
Today, I want to talk about the impact of positive cash flows on an organization. Since Cash is King – then it becomes simple to understand that a positive cash flow creates cash. So, what are some of the effects of a positive cash flow. The following are the key impacts of a positive cash flow:
First, a positive cash flow keeps the bankers and lenders happy. This means that executives are not having to spend time and energy justifying their business decisions. Thus, the leaders of the organization can focus on important strategic issues and optimizing day to day operations. This is very important to the continued health of an organization.
Second, a positive cash flow allows the leaders of an organization to use the extra cash to reduce debt. Reducing debt can come in two primary forms: 1. Paying their payables early and taking advantage of discounts; and 2. Paying down loan balances. Both of these actions have favorable results. The discounts taken on early payment can offer lead to lower cost of goods and higher gross margins. The early payment on loans reduces the interest expense on the lower principle amounts leading to lower operating cost and a possible lower break-even level for the organization.
Third, the flexibility of choice for leaders is an advantage to the organization. Greater choice actually gives an organization more control over their destiny. No one else is making demands on the use of cash – like a lender demanding certain actions or decisions to conserve cash (actually to protect their loan position). More choices allow a management team to exploit opportunities that others may miss without the cash needed to act.
Fourth, expansion and growth can only come from spending more cash on these opportunities. If growth is occurring AND cash flow is positive – the company is probably whipping the market big time! This is a clear sign of a market leader – growth with profitability and positive cash flow. Even if growth is exceeding the organic growth of cash from operations – it will take cash flow in the future to pay back any loans used to fund the additional growth.
Finally, organizations that have a strong positive cash flow are fun to work for and with due to the flexibility of cash availability. New equipment can be purchased, improvements in facilities, updating operations and warehouses, and expansion opportunities come with cash availability. Usually financially strong organizations attach the higher quality employees or talent. Energy levels are higher and flowing, rather than the fearful group in the negative cash flow organizations.
A note for sales people at this point. You must be aware of cash flow and its impact in dealing with customers. Some of the things that help cash flow:
- Selling at higher margins – which creates more discretionary cash.
- Selling to customers who pay their bills faster. 30 days is better than 45 or 60 day terms.
- Sell to more financial strong customer so outright losses are lower.
- Sell higher levels of product mix to lower inventory carrying expenses – saving or converting cash.
- Increase the inventory turns to create higher velocity of cash flow and higher returns.
- Negotiate harder to lower expenses or commitment of “marketing funds” to distributors.
- Find ways to provide services with little extra cost involved – or maximize existing resources.
These are a few of the ways a sales person can influence cash flow in a positive way. Any thing in the opposite direction of the above list moves the needle of cash flow toward the negative side.
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- As a Leader, Sharing Clarity or Confusion? - February 10, 2019 | <urn:uuid:a7a53d39-de97-4b66-bb33-5ee3646a905e> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://insights.inneractiveconsulting.com/business-acumen-101-the-effects-of-positive-cash-flow/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600400244231.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20200926134026-20200926164026-00497.warc.gz | en | 0.937273 | 836 | 2.625 | 3 |
The UN Security Council [official website] on Friday commemorated the twentieth anniversary of the creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website; JURIST news archive]. On May 25, 1993, the UN passed Resolution 827 [resolution, PDF], which established the ICTY as an "ad hoc measure" for the prosecution of "persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law" in the wake of "continuing reports of widespread and flagrant violations" occurring within the territory of the former Yugoslavia, the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the time, reports indicated "mass killings, massive, organized and systematic detention and rape of women, and the continuance of the practice of 'ethnic cleansing'" during the Bosnian civil war [JURIST news archive], which left approximately 100,000 people dead and about 2.2 million homeless. Since its inception 19 years ago, the ICTY has indicted 161 persons. In addition the Security Council praised the forthcoming International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (MICT) [official website] located in the Hague. The UN established the MICT in December 2010 to take over the work of the ICTY and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website; JURIST news archive] once their charters expire in 2014. The UN urged both tribunals to continue in the fight against impunity [UN News Centre report].
In March the ICTY sentenced [JURIST report] two former Bosnian Serb police officers to 22 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Bosnian civil war that spanned from 1992-95. Former interior minister Mico Stanisic and his subordinate, Stojan Zupljanin, faced charges [JURIST report] of persecution, extermination, murder, deportation and torture of Muslims and ethnic Croats, as part of a plan to establish "a Serb state, as ethnically 'pure' as possible." The ICTR was established by UN Security Council in 1994 to investigate and prosecute alleged prominent players of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Since then the ICTR has heard more than 70 cases [ICTR case index] and is set to dissolve in 2014 after hearing its final 15 appeals in light of the completion of its trial mandate. | <urn:uuid:fec1953e-2443-430b-93c1-9aa75478ba23> | CC-MAIN-2015-48 | http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/05/icty-marks-20th-anniversary.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398453805.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205413-00137-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94715 | 482 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Earlier visits can help early detection of potential problems,
All primary teeth have come in (usually around age 2½), your dentist may start applying topical fluoride. Fluoride hardens the tooth enamel, helping to ward off the most common childhood oral disease, dental cavities (also called dental caries). Cavities occur when bacteria and food left on the teeth after eating are not brushed away. Acid collects on a tooth, softening its enamel until a hole — or cavity — forms. Regular use of fluoride toughens the enamel, making it more difficult for acid to penetrate.
Many towns require tap water to be fluoridated, others don't. If the water supply is not fluoridated, or if your family uses purified water, ask your dentist for fluoride supplements. Most toothpastes contain fluoride but toothpaste alone will not fully protect a child's mouth. Be careful, however, since too much fluoride can cause tooth discoloration. Check with your dentist before supplementing.
Discoloration can occur from prolonged use of antibiotics, and some children's medications that contain a large amount of sugar. Parents should encourage children to brush after they take their medicine, particularly if the prescription will be long-term.
Our child's permanent teeth grow in, the dentist can help seal out decay by applying a thin wash of resin to the back teeth, where most chewing occurs. Known as a sealant, this protective coating keeps bacteria from settling in the hard-to-reach crevices of the molars.
Dental research has resulted in increasingly sophisticated preventative techniques, including fillings and sealants that seep fluoride, a dentist's care is only part of the equation. Follow-up at home plays an equally important role. For example, sealants on the teeth do not mean that a child can eat sweets uncontrollably or slack off on the daily brushing and flossing — parents must work with kids to teach good oral habits health .
Proper dental care begins even before a baby's first tooth appears. Remember that just because you can't see the teeth doesn't mean they aren't there. Teeth actually begin to form in the second trimester of pregnancy. At birth your baby has 20 primary teeth, some of which are fully developed in the jaw.
Running a damp washcloth over your baby's gums following feedings can prevent buildup of damaging bacteria. Once your child has a few teeth showing, you can brush them with a soft child's toothbrush or rub them with gauze at the end of the day.
Even babies can have problems with dental decay when parents do not practice good feeding habits. Putting a baby to sleep with a bottle in his or her mouth may be convenient in the short term — but it can harm the baby's teeth. When the sugars from juice or milk remain on a baby's teeth for hours, they may eat away at the enamel, creating a condition known as bottle mouth. Pocked, pitted, or discolored front teeth are signs of bottle mouth. Severe cases result in cavities and the need to pull all the front teeth until the permanent ones grow in.
Parents and childcare providers should help young kids set specific times for drinking each day because sucking on a bottle throughout the day can be equally damaging to young teeth. | <urn:uuid:44597c8a-ee02-4aed-ad55-359028a976e3> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | http://care-for-your-health.blogspot.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917121893.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031201-00065-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947601 | 680 | 3.59375 | 4 |
Since 2016, the key stage 1 and 2 national curriculum tests (NCTs) have been reported using scaled scores. The key stage 1 (KS1) NCTs have a scaled score ranging from 85 to 115, and the key stage 2 (KS2) NCTs from 80 to 120, with a scaled score of 100 representing the expected standard at the end of the key stage.
Scaled scores show whether a pupil has met an expected standard or not. This is different to the 100 in a standardised test, where 100 represents the average during the standardisation and gives you information on the proportion of the population who achieved a particular score.
For the NCTs, the score of 100 represents the threshold of the expected standard, not the national average on the test. If a pupil scores 100 or above, they have achieved the expected standard. If they score lower than 100, they have not met the expected standard and are still working towards it. In the case of the national tests, the national average scaled score is likely to be higher than 100, since the government targets are for all pupils to have reached the expected standard by the end of KS2. In 2018, the national average for reading was a scaled score of 105, for maths was a scaled score of 104, and for grammar, punctuation and spelling a scaled score of 106. In total, 64 per cent of pupils reached the new expected standard for reading, writing and maths.
The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) has provided guidance on the scaled scores used in the NCTs. NFER has produced a webinar outlining the differences between raw scores, standardised scores and scaled scores.
For more on the effective use of assessment, look out for our upcoming ‘Brushing up on assessment’ series, a collection of free weekly guides designed for those looking to build their assessment knowledge. Sign up to our assessment newsletter to be the first to hear when each guide is released and for other exclusive content delivered direct to your inbox.
For further short reads on classroom assessment, visit our Introduction to Assessment page. | <urn:uuid:e75e8fcc-a665-4e88-b266-409f991edc5b> | CC-MAIN-2018-39 | https://www.nfer.ac.uk/for-schools/free-resources-advice/assessment-hub/introduction-to-assessment/understanding-scaled-scores/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-39/segments/1537267157028.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20180921092215-20180921112615-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.937206 | 423 | 3.828125 | 4 |
Orion's Belt is not part of the Little Dipper. The Little Dipper is part of a larger constellation known as Ursa Minor. Orion's Belt is part of the larger constellation of Orion.
Both Orion's Belt and the Little Dipper are asterisms, which mean they are star patterns that are not considered constellations on their own. The Little Dipper contains a group of seven stars, including Polaris. Four of Little Dipper's stars are faint and hard to see. Orion's Belt are the three stars of Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. They form a straight line and can be easily seen on the southern horizon in winter. | <urn:uuid:de9f0737-8a82-4469-9b76-14e85dcd8fe6> | CC-MAIN-2019-43 | https://www.reference.com/science/orion-s-belt-little-dipper-eae2679bee4ebae6 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570987779528.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20191021143945-20191021171445-00245.warc.gz | en | 0.957246 | 136 | 2.796875 | 3 |
It could be in your DNA. A gene variant that increases a person’s obesity risk by 30 to 40 per cent is the strongest genetic predictor of body weight discovered in humans so far.
Having just one copy of a particular variant of a gene called CREBRF is associated with a 1.5 increase in BMI. For a person weighing 83 kilograms who is 1.75 metres tall, this is the equivalent of putting on 4.6 further kilograms.
The genetic variant was uncovered during a genomic analysis of more than 5000 people in Samoa, where obesity rates are among the highest in the world. Ryan Minster at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and his team found that a quarter of Samoans carry this variant, which may have evolved during their history of colonising the South Pacific.
The CREBRF variant appears to be rare in other populations, but studying how the gene works may help researchers better understand obesity.
However, the team found no association between the gene variant and diabetes, even though the two conditions normally go hand in hand.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Most powerful obesity gene yet boosts risk by 40 per cent | <urn:uuid:757b53fa-dcab-4f33-8ab6-8d3764531790> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2016/07/28/gene-common-among-samoans-strongest-genetic-predictor-obesity/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593655889877.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20200705215728-20200706005728-00000.warc.gz | en | 0.951025 | 256 | 3.1875 | 3 |
The Rudolphine Tables (Latin: Tabulae Rudolphinae) consist of a star catalogue and planetary tables published by Johannes Kepler in 1627, using some observational data collected by Tycho Brahe (1546-1601). The tables are named as "Rudolphine" in memory of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor.
Previous tables
Star tables had been produced for many centuries and were used to establish the position of the planets relative to the fixed stars (particularly the twelve constellations used in astrology) on a specific date in order to construct horoscopes. Until the end of the 16th century, the most widely used had been the Alphonsine tables, first produced in the 13th century and regularly updated thereafter. These were based on a Ptolemeic, geocentric model of the solar system. Although the Alphonsine tables were not very accurate, nothing else was available and so they continued to be used.
In 1551, following the publication of De revolutionibus orbium coelestium by Nicholas Copernicus, Erasmus Reinhold produced the Prutenic Tables based on a heliocentric model of the solar system, but these were no more accurate than the earlier tables.
Tycho's data and Kepler's model of the solar system
Tycho Brahe had spent much of his life obtaining measurements of the position of stars and planets to a much greater accuracy than had been possible previously. He wished these observations to be the basis of a new and more accurate set of star tables. Kepler was able to prepare these new tables using Tycho's accurate observations together with a heliocentric model of the solar system and his own discovery of the elliptical orbits of the planets. Accurate calculation was aided by the newly published system of logarithms which simplified accurate calculation and made them less prone to errors.
While publishing the Rudolphine Tables, Kepler was hard-pressed to fight off Tycho's numerous relatives. During the publication process, these relatives repeatedly tried to obtain control of the observations and the profit from the publication of the tables. They argued that Tycho's work should benefit his own family, and not one of Tycho's competitors. Kepler counter-argued that he and Tycho had been collaborating on the data for many years before Tycho's death. Kepler further asserted that he was responsible for most of the calculations and also for the organization of the data. In the end, Kepler did win control of the tables and published them himself, while the Brahe family got no benefit from them.
Tycho had intended that the tables should have a dedication to Emperor Rudolf II, but by 1627, when the tables were published, Rudolf II had died, so instead the tables were dedicated to Emperor Ferdinand II but are named after Rudolph II. They contain positions for the 1,006 stars measured by Tycho Brahe, and more than 400 stars from Ptolemy and Johann Bayer, with directions and tables for locating the planets of the solar system. The tables included many function tables of logarithms and antilogarithms, and instructive examples for computing planetary positions.
For most stars these tables were accurate to within one arc minute, and were the first to include corrective factors for atmospheric refraction. The tables were sufficiently accurate to predict a transit of Mercury observed by Pierre Gassendi in 1631 and a transit of Venus observed by Jeremiah Horrox in 1639.
See also
- The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution, James Hannam, 2011, 448 pages, p.294, webpage: BGoogle-XU.
- "Kepler and Astronomical Tables".
- Uranometria 2000.0, vol 1, page XVII, Tirion, Lovi and Rappaport, 1987, ISBN 0-9933961-5-8
- The New Encyclopædia Britannica, 1988, Volume 10, pg. 232
- A. Athreya and O. Gingerich, An Analysis of Kepler's Rudolphine Tables and Implications for the Reception of His Physical Astronomy
- Universitätsbibliothek Kiel – Digiport: Tabulæ Rudolphinæ - Bartsch version from 1627, with appendices on Schiller's Christian constellations and Bartsch'es own constellation innovations.
- Johannes Kepler, Tabulae Rudolphinae | <urn:uuid:60564338-246e-4e00-8f10-0fa9f5e9f4d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolphine_Tables | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132729/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937702 | 921 | 3.84375 | 4 |
The Go Outdoors Georgia website is a one-stop location to obtain fishing and hunting licenses / permits (including no cost Harvest Records, HIP and SIP Permits), register, renew, and manage your boat / watercraft registrations, apply for quota hunts, Register for safety education courses, and more!
Georgia's coastal creeks and rivers consist primarily of mud and sand bottoms. With the current velocities produced by daily tides ranging from 6 to 9 feet, this type of substrate often gives way to erosion creating a steep drop-off at the foot of many boat ramps. In addition, many people use their boat engines to push or load their boats onto their trailer. During low tide, such boat loading practices often accelerate erosion at the foot of boat ramps. Therefore, boaters should take caution when launching boats during low tide periods to be sure that the ramp surface extends our far enough to safely back trailers.
In 2011, the DNR Board approved Rule 391-2-3-.05. The purpose of the Rule is to create a process whereby boaters desiring to live-aboard their vessels in coastal Georgia waters for more than 90*-days may make application to be the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources.
On the state's tidal water bottoms, 130 abandoned or derelict vessels have been identified as non-historic wrecks (vessels that have no significant historical value). These vessels include shrimp boats, abandoned recreational vessels, barges, and cranes. Recently, DNR's Coastal Resources Division began the task of locating, documenting, and cataloging these non-historic wrecks with GIS.
Clean Vessel Act Pumpout Grants and Pumpout Map Locations
The Clean Vessel Act (CVA) of 1992 was signed into law to reduce pollution from vessel sewage discharges, prohibiting the discharge of raw sewage into fresh water or within coastal salt-water limits. The act established a federal grant program administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which to date has awarded nearly $150 million for states to install thousands of sewage pumpout stations. | <urn:uuid:75c0b4af-b5b0-422b-b847-0b6edf89550d> | CC-MAIN-2019-51 | https://coastalgadnr.org/CoastalBoating | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575541310866.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20191215201305-20191215225305-00413.warc.gz | en | 0.936594 | 425 | 2.75 | 3 |
Topic: The Role of Media in Our Lives INTRODUCTION Thesis Statement: There are some roles of media such as, as information provider, as an entertainment, as a tool for communication,….
The role of Media in Society
Nowadays it is customary to call the information era, because today information is one of the most important values. And its creation and distribution are the work of the media.
As we have already noted, the role of media in society is invaluable. Today we can receive information about what is happening both on a neighboring street and in another part of the world. And not only learn, but also get an assessment and commentary from eyewitnesses and experts. The role of the media cannot be overestimated, because today it is already difficult to imagine any sphere of life without informational relations. It should be noted that the media play a role in shaping public opinion. Television, like other media, has an impact on people’s minds.
Its effectiveness is directly related to the audience’s need for information, to increase social, spiritual and political demands. But the media by their nature are prone to manipulative actions, so obtaining information inextricably entails the creation of certain norms of behavior and the imposition of ideals. This allowed the media to wage so-called information wars.
Information warfare is understood to mean a set of actions aimed at achieving superiority by means of damage to information. Simply put, the information war contains the manipulation of information, propaganda, the collection of information, etc. Its main purpose is to change the behavior and worldview of the audience. Moreover, the impact is on both its audience and the audience of the enemy. After all, the same event can be shown in completely different ways.
Meaning of Mass Media
What is Mass Media?
Outside the realm of interpersonal communication exists another form of communication, which involves communication with mass audiences and hence the name mass communication; and the channels through which this kind of communication takes place are referred to as mass media
Mass communication is the term used to describe the academic study of various means by which individuals and entities relay information to large segments of the population all at once through mass media.
Mass communication can also be defined as ’a process whereby mass-produced messages are transmitted to large, anonymous and heterogeneous masses of receivers’. By ’mass-produced’ we mean putting the content or message of mass communication in a form suitable to be distributed to large masses of people.
Heterogeneous – means that the individual members of the mass are from a wide variety of classes of the society. This means the individuals in the mass do not know each other. The source or sender of the message in mass communication does not know the individual members of the mass. Also, the receivers in mass communication are physically separated from each other and share no physical proximity.
What is the role of media in our society?
Three main sociological perspectives on the role of media exist:
the limited-effects theory,
the class-dominant theory,
and culturalist theory.
What are the 3 roles of media?
The Media’s Roles. The media typically plays three roles. In no particular order, the media plays the role of a gatekeeper, scorekeeper, and a watchdog. The media as a gatekeeper simply means that the elites who control a particular news entity decide what gets on the air or in a newspaper.
Elements of Mass communication
it is observed that the term mass communication must have at least five aspects:
Fairly undifferentiated audience composition
Some form of message reproduction
Rapid distribution and delivery
Low cost to the consumers
Directs messages toward the relatively large, heterogeneous and anonymous audience.
Messages are transmitted publicly no privacy.
Short duration message for immediate consumption
Feedback is indirect, non-existent or delayed
Cost per exposure per individual is minimum
Source belongs to organization or institutions
Mostly one way
Types of mass media
Mass media can be classified according to their physical form, the technology involved and the nature of the communication process.
The general classification on this basis is as follows:
Traditional Media – the traditional arts and folk arts combine several art forms like dance, music, songs, and theater to attract audiences. The performances are spontaneous and most often made on the spot.
Print Media – Print media served as the major means of communication reaching a wide audience.
Major forms of print media are:
Magazines and periodicals
Electronic Media – The history of electronic media starts with the invention of cinematography by Lumiere Brothers who conducted the premiere show of cinema in 1895. Later the radio was invented by Guglielmo Marconi. The first radio station was set up in Pittsburg, New York, and Chicago in the 1920s.
In short, the term electronic media include Film, Radio, and Television.
Role of Mass Media in Society
Mass media is communication – whether written, broadcast, or spoken – that reaches a large audience. This includes television, radio, advertising, movies, the Internet, newspapers, magazines, and so forth.
Mass media is a significant force in modern culture. Sociologists refer to this as a mediated culture where media reflects and creates the culture. Communities and individuals are bombarded constantly with messages from a multitude of sources including TV, billboards, and magazines, to name a few. These messages promote not only products, but moods, attitudes, and a sense of what is and is not important.
Manipulation methods in the information war:
Language tricks. Using lexical or phonetic techniques, you can create a certain coloring of information. For example, comparing opponents with animals or plants.
Abuse of statistics. Statistics often becomes a powerful weapon, especially referring to the majority opinion. This technique is especially effective during opposition when an unprepared opponent cannot operate with other numbers.
Change of the agenda, putting on the plan of profitable events.
Link to anonymous sources. It is no secret that during the information war, fake facts are often used.
Appeal to authorities. Often given the opinion of experts whom the audience is inclined to believe.
Alternative scenario. When the advantages are over, the disadvantages of the enemy need to be made even brighter! What will happen if everything is according to the plan of the opposing side? Description of all the horror in the colors provided. | <urn:uuid:efed9f06-be3e-4f3f-a92b-9f1c121e160a> | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | https://qualityessays.net/the-role-of-media-in-society/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618038060603.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20210411000036-20210411030036-00080.warc.gz | en | 0.930983 | 1,312 | 3.140625 | 3 |
by Ralph H. Lutts
Published in Forest and Conservation History 36 (October 1992): 160-171.
Walt Disney's influence is so pervasive in American culture that it often goes unrecognized. It is easy to overlook the obvious. "All the world is watching the United States," proclaimed a bumper sticker, "and all the United States is watching Walt Disney." A pop-psychologist put it another way. "After all," she wrote, "Disney cartoons are a shared cultural heritage that predate Beaver Cleaver and Howdy Doody. They are the beginning of our global media village.... For better or worse, Uncle Walt pioneered the notion of a standard-issue childhood memory." Disney's animal characters, in particular, are truly "a part of our cultural DNA."(1)
One of these characters, Bambi, has played and continues to play a key role in shaping American attitudes about and understanding of deer and woodland life. It is difficult to identify a film, story, or animal character that has had a greater influence on our vision of wildlife than the hero of Walt Disney's 1942 animated feature, Bambi. It has become perhaps the single most successful and enduring statement in American popular culture against hunting. An examination of this cinematic statement will reveal some of the ideas underlying the present debate between those who support sport hunting and those who seek its end. The film was based on Bambi: A Life in the Woods, written in 1926 by Felix Salten (pen name of the Austrian novelist, journalist, and theater critic, Siegmund Salzmann), and published in the United States in 1928. Whittaker Chambers' superb English translation reflected his own deep, aesthetic love of nature.(2) The film's success was built on the foundation of a fine book, on superb animation that was scripted and designed by people who knew how to appeal to the interests of the viewing public, and on Disney's extraordinary marketing machine that has promoted Bambi for the past fifty years. In the process, Disney's Bambi acquired a content and character that are distinctly its own, despite its many similarities to Salten's original novel.
The Disney Version of Bambi
Walt Disney's version of Bambi opens with a long scene panning through the forest that establishes Its mysterious and lyrical beauty. Then birds announce the birth of the fawn, Bambi. Woodland animals, including Friend Owl and Thumper, gather around to observe the "Young Prince" and his first stumbling effort to stand up. A buck, his father, watches from a distant rock ledge. ("Dad isn't around much," noted a People Weekly reviewer. "He strikes macho poses on mountaintops, part of his job as great prince of the forest.") Later, Bambi sets off for his first walk during which he meets new friends including Thumper, the rabbit, and Flower, the skunk, and learns to talk.(4) He and his mother return to the thicket when it begins to rain, which leads into a musical segment about April showers.
The next day, Bambi's mother takes him to visit the meadow. She cautions that although it is a wonderful place, it also can be a very dangerous place. He must always be careful when he approaches the meadow. In the meadow he meets and plays with another fawn, his cousin Faline.(5) Soon a large herd of bucks arrives. The greatest of them all, his father, stops to look at Bambi and then walks away. He returns quickly though, to warn that Man is nearby, and the deer race off to the sound of a gunshot.(6)
Autumn arrives, symbolized by two lone leaves remaining on a tree, which are pulled off by the wind and float to the ground. Time passes and Bambi wakes to discover snow on the ground. Thumper appears and introduces Bambi to ice skating, but Bambi can do little but fall. This happy segment is followed by scenes of winter's harshness as the deer must strip bark from high in the trees to stave off starvation. Eventually there is none within reach. "I'm awfully hungry," Bambi tells his mother. "Yes," she replies, "I know." Then she finds the first sign of spring, new grass sprouting amidst the melting snow. Suddenly, as they are eating, his mother senses that Man is near and warns Bambi to run and not to look back. A shot rings out. Bambi reaches safety, but cannot find his mother and wanders off in a snowstorm looking for her. His father appears and tells him, "Your mother can't be with you anymore."
The next scene is an upbeat counterpoint to the death of his mother. Bambi has grown and proudly sports a rack of antlers. All the forest creatures are in love, but Bambi, Thumper, and Flower are determined to have nothing to do with females. Their resolve is short-lived as each finds a mate, including Bambi who falls in love with the beautiful Faline. He wins her, however, only after fighting with another stag, Ronno. Some time later, Bambi's father appears to announce the arrival of Man and warns him to seek safety deep in the forest. But Bambi must first find Faline who is being chased by a pack of hunting dogs. He saves her, but as he leaps to safety Bambi is shot. Meanwhile, the hunters' campfire escapes and quickly becomes a major forest fire. The Great Prince of the Forest appears beside the fallen Bambi and urges him to get up, despite his wound. After a great effort Bambi rises and they flee to safety on an island, where Bambi and Faline are reunited.
In the concluding segment, life returns to the scorched forest and Faline gives birth to twins. Bambi and his father watch together from a height. His father then walks off, leaving Bambi the new Great Prince of the Forest. The cycle is complete.
The Death of Bambi's Mother
The scene with the single greatest impact on the public was the death of Bambi's mother, an impact compounded by Bambi's vulnerability and dependence upon her. It followed the scene in which Bambi and his mother found the new spring grass, giving the impression that the winter's danger was over. Walt Disney proposed that the mother be the one who finds the grass rather than Bambi, because it would make the audience "feel he's more helpless and everything." Initially, Disney had considered showing the mother's death on screen, with Bambi later returning to find her impression in the snow where the hunters had dragged away her carcass. He finally decided that this would be too much for the viewer. The mother's death happens completely offscreen. Nevertheless, its impact is so great that many people will swear that they actually saw her shot. It was an emotionally compelling scene and even one of Disney's daughters chastised him for allowing Bambi's mother to be killed.(7)
Critics agreed that the scene was powerful. "It is one of the paradoxes of movie business," wrote film critic Pauline Kael, "that the movies designed expressly for children are generally the ones that frighten them the most. I have never heard children screaming in fear at any of those movies we're always told they should be protected from as they screamed at Bambi and Dumbo. Bambi's mother is murdered, Dumbo's mother is goaded to madness and separated from Dumbo; those movies really hit children where it counts." Another critic called the death "surely one of the most devastating moments in any movie." Even horror novelist Stephen King wrote that it was the Disney cartoons, including Bambi, that frightened him most as a child.(8)
Each time the film is rereleased parents worry about the impact of the death scene on their children. In the summer of 1988, for example, a psychologist told USA Today that the film "feeds into a young child's worst fear, that of losing a parent," and advised that children under the age of seven should not be allowed to see the movie. However, many parents found that their children handled the film well, especially if they prepared their children in advance for the death scene. One parent remarked, "I wonder if it was my own anxiety that played into what I'd heard about the movie. I'm a working mother and I'm loaded with guilt." Another commentator suggested that, "if parents want to use this movie for lessons, they might emphasize how Bambi learns to survive with his friends despite the terrible loss of a parent." (Good advice at a time when single parent households are increasingly common.) A Chicago Tribune editorial argued that it is really the parents who are most frightened by the scene. "What has made 'Bambi' arguably the most memorable of the Disney animated movies," the editorial continued, "was that it did touch some real human emotions.... Besides, how are [children] going to know what to worry about when it's their kids' turn to see 'Bambi,' if they don't get to cry at the movie now?"(9)
This death scene is central to the film's antihunting message. The dog pack chasing Faline, the shooting of Bambi, and the general panic among and killing of the wild animals during the hunt certainly contribute to this message. It is, however, the death of Bambi's mother that people remember. Disney spent nearly three-quarters of the film building sympathy for Bambi as a cute, lovable, vulnerable child. His mother nurtured and cared for him, and then, just as they had come through winter's hardships, she was killed. Bambi was left a virtual orphan, without his principal caregiver, alone until his loving but aloof and uncommunicative father appeared. The film never voiced a word against hunting. The antihunting message was conveyed on a completely emotional level through sympathy with its characters. It was targeted at children in their most impressionable, formative years. The memory of the incident remains with them even into adulthood.
The film's immediate impact was not limited to children. It also shaped the opinions of many adults. For example, one man told how his grandfather, an avid hunter, had taken him to the theater to see Bambi when he was a child. When the film was over and they were walking out into the sunlight, his grandfather said, "I'll never hunt again." He disposed of his hunting paraphernalia and never did hunt again."(10)
The "Bambi Factor" and the Anti-Bambi Backlash
Hunter opposition to Bambi began even before the film was released. Following a preview of the film, Raymond J. Brown, editor of Outdoor Life, sent Walt Disney a telegram pointing out that it was illegal to shoot deer in the spring. The film, he argued, unfairly implied that the nation's law-abiding hunters were "vicious destroyers of game and natural resources." He asked Disney to add a foreword to the film explaining that it is a fantasy and is not representative of American sportsmen. Receiving no satisfaction, he tried to have the film's distributor force Disney's company to attach a foreword to the him. When this failed, he condemned the film as an insult to American sportsmen and called upon the nation's hunters to rally to their own defense, confident that they would have the last laugh. Commenting on the flap, the managing editor of Nature Magazine wrote that "few rod and gun editors who have rushed into print on Mr. Brown's say-so" had probably even seen the film. For his part, though, he could not "believe that any real sportsman or conservationist will regard himself as the prototype of the invisible man in Bambi. As for the rest, we do not care what they think."(11)
It is not surprising that some hunters viewed the film as a threat. Public opposition to hunting did not originate with Bambi. Even before the twentieth century many people, particularly those who were economically comfortable, appreciated the grace and beauty of deer and regretted seeing them killed. This attitude became increasingly widespread in the late nineteenth century. An 1887 primary school reading lesson, for example, told of a child's delightful encounter with deer and ended with the hope that "the hunters will not find those deer." Disney provided a morality play and a national symbol that became touchstones for opposition to hunting. For example, although public outcries against killing does were not new, Bambi fueled the fire. In 1943, the year after the film was released, Aldo Leopold pressed for an antlerless deer season to control an overpopulated Wisconsin herd by reducing both its size and its rate of reproduction. Public opposition killed the proposal. Both Susan Flader and Curt Meine have suggested that Bambi played a role in shaping public opinion on the issue. (12)
"Take Bambi's mom. Please ...," recently urged a columnist addressing similar issues in Sports Afield. He complained that, whether from a misplaced sense of sportsmanship and sentimental reluctance to kill females or a fixation on antlered trophies, hunters are themselves responsible for much of the opposition to policies that encourage shooting does. Some of these hunters, he suggested a bit facetiously, "still felt responsible for Bambi's losing his mom."(13)
Over the years, "Bambi" has become almost synonymous with opposition to hunting. "Naturally," wrote Field & Stream columnist George Reiger, "once Bambi is raised in status from mere deer to Jesus Whitetail Superstar, man's hunting of deer becomes a crime comparable to the persecution of Christ." The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported that, "A poll taken by supporters of a June ballot measure that banned mountain lion hunting in California found that people reacted more negatively to the lions when told that they regularly kill deer than when informed that lions had mauled a couple of children." Although the public may have responded to the mauling as little more than isolated incidents, the executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy concluded that "there was a real Bambi constituency out there." "After seeing 'Bambi,' nobody wants to kill a deer," commented an Institute for Advanced Study scholar regarding efforts to reduce the size of the deer herd on the institute's New Jersey grounds. On the same issue, Peter Benchley, author of Jaws, called the deer "wretched, sickly creatures starving to death" and lamented, "If only they didn't have those saucer eyes and Walt Disney behind them. The Bambi complex seems to have taken over around here."(14)
The "Bambi complex," "Bambi factor," and "Bambi syndrome" are three terms used interchangeably for sentimental, sympathetic attitudes toward wildlife, especially deer. They are usually used derogatorily and reflect a backlash against the humane, antihunting, and preservationist values, and the excessive sentimentality that Bambi has often come to symbolize. Anthropologist Elizabeth Lawrence found that, "Ranchers invariably 'love deer,' both by their own admission and the observations of wildlife personnel, who call this mystique 'the Bambi complex.'... Cattlemen are very proud of the fact that in winter they willingly let deer eat from their haystacks, 'even with the high price of hay."' National Park rangers also refer to visitors' willingness to treat wild bears as if they are tame storybook animals, or to oppose the use of controlled fires as a management tool because they may injure some animals, as manifestations of the Bambi complex. People who oppose hunting have been diagnosed by those who support hunting as suffering from the Bambi complex. "They anthropomorphize these animals and exhibit the brightness akin to a 10 watt lightbulb," wrote one such diagnostician."(15)
The anti-Bambi backlash is generally associated with people who support hunting or who view the issue as more complex than do those "suffering" from the Bambi factor/complex/syndrome. It can also be seen in the black humor voiced by the owner of a herd of fifteen hundred deer on his New York venison farm. He worried that the "Bambi syndrome" might cut into his market, but "[w]hen asked how he can possibly kill such beautiful animals, his response was: 'They're much easier to eat when dead." The backlash is perhaps best symbolized in the film Bambi Meets Godzilla, which makes no reference to hunting.(17) This short bit of animation consists of little more than an idyllic, cute image of Bambi grazing peacefully in the meadow until suddenly and without warning a gigantic reptilian foot descends from the sky, squashing the fawn. End of film.
There have been many satirical jabs at people suffering from the Bambi syndrome. A magazine article titled "Should They Shoot Bambi" began with a full page illustration of Bambi standing in the sights of a hunter's rifle, with Thumper watching aghast. "Whether or not starving deer feel pain," wrote the author Ted Williams, "will likely be debated until one of them, other than Bambi, speaks." Williams was writing about animal rights activists who had argued that starvation is painless. This was part of a controversy over the use of hunting to reduce an overpopulated herd of white-tailed deer on the Crane Memorial Reservation in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The controversy led to a number of tongue-in-cheek articles using and abusing Bambi. The Boston Globe published a hypothetical conversation among Bambi, Thumper, and Flower in response to an opponent of the hunt who proclaimed, "I'd rather see [the deer] starve to death than shot." An emaciated Bambi explained to his friends that he was starving because there were too many deer and the population had grown beyond the reservation's carrying capacity. His mother was already dead, not by hunters' guns, but killed by pet dogs when she was too weak from starvation to run. "Why are you sitting?" Flower asked, "Fawns don't sit." "I'm too weak to stand," said Bambi. "I think I'll lust sit here for a few days until I fall over and die." And he did."(17)
Another, more lighthearted contribution was a response to the proposal that the problem be solved by administering contraceptives to the deer herd. Science writer Chet Raymo concocted a conversation between Bambi and his father. "Bambi," the Old Stag said, "It's time we talked about the birds and the bees." "The birds and the bees," Bambi responded, "I often talk to Magpie, Jay and Owl. They tell me lots of things. I know all about the birds and the bees." "Hmm," muttered the Old Stag, "That's not what I had in mind."(18)
In some cases, the backlash against Bambi has even grown to encompass the whole environmental movement. A strongly negative review of Bill McKibben's The End of Nature, for example, appeared in Forbes. The reviewer wrote that McKibben "yearns to return to a nature 'independent' of mankind." But, he argued, independent nature produced the bubonic plague and "bound most of mankind to stoop labor. But never mind: People like McKibben and his admirers weren't raised on history but on a Walt Disney view of nature. For McKibben, nature is solely a 'sweet and wild garden.' Hi there, Bambi."(19)
What Disney did to Bambi
What is the "Disney view of nature?" Does Bambi actually present a terribly distorted view of animal behavior and woodland ecology? Walt Disney and his staff went to great lengths to present an accurate representation of deer and other wild animals in Bambi. In an effort to ensure accuracy in the film's backgrounds, he had an artist spend six months sketching forest scenes in Maine's Baxter State Park. A pair of fawns, named Bambi and Faline of course, was shipped from Maine to Disney's California studios where they became models for his artists, who underwent special training in drawing wildlife. Bambi, a Black Forest roe deer in Salten's book, thus became a white-tailed deer in Disney's film. The task of animating accurately the movements of four-legged deer as they walk, lie down, and get up, and of maintaining correct perspective for a rotating rack of antlers as a buck moves his head was daunting. The film set a new standard for naturalistic realism in animated films.(20) The "April Showers" segment, for example, ends with an image of ripples radiating from the last raindrops to fall on a pool of water. The splash of the raindrops is accurate even to the momentary central pillar that rises when the drop hits the water, although viewers must slowly advance their Bambi video frame by frame to notice it.
Disney, like Salten, tried to establish a relationship between Bambi and his father while respecting the biological fact that male deer do not form a lasting bond with females and do not participate in rearing the young. This is why the Great Prince remains a loner, aloof and uncommunicative. Bambi's father stands on the distant rock ledge because a buck would not be present at the birth of his offspring. In Salten's Bambi even Bambi and Faline are only temporary mates. Although Disney's version does not progress beyond their first mating season, Bambi joins his father on the ledge when Faline gives birth. Nevertheless, for the sake of the story both Salten and Disney set a limit to authenticity and anthropomorphize deer by establishing a caring relationship between father and son.
Disney, however, changed the nature of this relationship. The ability of Bambi's father to live a solitary life, to appear without warning, and then to vanish into the forest, are keys to his survival. To be visible is to be vulnerable. Bambi's maturation in Salten's story is a process of learning the lessons of survival. "If you live, my son," his mother explains, "if you are cunning and don't run into danger, you'll be as strong and handsome as your father is sometime, and you'll have antlers like his, too." Bambi's father, the Great Prince, achieved his stature by surviving to become the oldest and wisest of the deer. In Salten's book, the Great Prince is a teacher who passes his survival wisdom on to Bambi. He teaches mostly by example, but also with words. His first words to Bambi come at a time when the fawn is alone, crying for his mother. The stag suddenly appears and scolds, "Can't you stay by yourself? Shame on you!" Bambi learns his lessons well and eventually becomes as skillful and solitary as his father; he learns "the most vital lesson of the woods: 'Be alone'." These lessons in survival come full cycle years later when, at the very end of the book, old Prince Bambi comes across a pair of fawns crying for their mother. "Can't you stay by yourselves?" he scolds.(21)
In his effort to wrest a coherent plot out of Salten's episodic novel, Disney did away with the cycle of survival lessons and replaced it with the cycle from Bambi's birth to the birth of his own children. In the process, Disney made Bambi's father primarily a protector rather than a teacher and turned Bambi and Faline's love story into the film's central plot. It is a story of childhood's end as Bambi matures from an awkward child, who continually falls down, into a buck who must learn to stand up for himself and for his mate. This is best symbolized when he lies shot and in the path of the forest fire and his father appears and urges, "Get up, Bambi. Get up. You must get up."(22)
"All too often, animal books are highly emotional, over-sentimental stories of creatures who act amazingly like humans," pointed out the teacher's guide accompanying a Walt Disney Educational Products record album of Bambi. "Although the animals in Bambi speak, they still retain their animal characters, and the portrayal of their way of life is scientifically true. From Bambi, children learn accurate information as well as feel deep concern and tenderness for the characters." However, the same teacher's guide included an absurd picture of Bambi staring at a family of opossums hanging by their tails from a tree limb." In the film, Bambi meets these improbable opossums during his first walk. The forest fire segment even shows an opossum finding safety on the island, with her children hanging by their tails from her tail! Although opossums are capable of hanging by their tails, this is not a preferred behavior and they certainly do not sleep hanging by their tails.(24) Nevertheless, this bit of nature fakery appears again and again in children's books based on Bambi, even in spin-off books minimally connected with the movie.(25) The film and books have done more than anything else to perpetuate this folklore. The Disney Stores are even selling coffee mugs emblazoned with this scene.
The film is an extraordinary work of animation artistry. On another level, it is an odd mixture of beautiful, impressionistic backgrounds, naturalistic forest and wildlife images, and classic Disney cartoon characters. Virtually all of the film's birds are cartoon fantasies. Friend Owl can even turn his head completely around two or more times without choking to death or breaking his neck. The artists give Bambi antlers in springtime; fanciful appendages necessary to help the viewer distinguish his sex from Faline's. Bambi's touted authenticity is severely limited. The film is faithful to visual, artistic accuracy in the general appearance and movements of many of its animals, not to a scientific or ecological accuracy. Even the visual accuracy is compromised for the sake of cuteness: for example, the more traditional cartoony cuteness of Thumper and Flower, and the tail-hanging opossums.
In short, despite their efforts to be accurate, Salten's original version of Bambi underwent a transformation as Disney and his staff reshaped it to fit a different medium, their own sensibilities, and a mass market. In the process much of Salten's ecological and moral subtlety were winnowed away. From the start, what attracted Disney to Bambi was its potentially interesting cast of characters. It was the director/producer Sidney Franklin and the artist Tyrus Wong who managed to educate Disney and his staff to appreciate the artistic and poetic potential of the story. Nevertheless, Disney realized that to win the viewing public's attention he had to provide an upbeat story with sympathetic animal characters. The spotted fawn has long been recognized as a particularly cute and attractive image. This image of cuteness has become so popular that even adult deer are sometimes mistakenly shown with spots.(26) Disney, however, had a well-tested technique for carrying cuteness to an extreme.
Both Salten and Disney gave their characters distinctive personalities. However, Disney's medium required that he accomplish this quickly and visually, and the film lost much of the subtlety of Salten's novel. His artists habitually exaggerated the size of their cartoon characters' heads and eyes and reduced their muzzles, thus giving them the proportions of human infants. Initially, Disney's staff had tremendous difficulty rendering the deer in Bambi as sympathetic personalities capable of dramatic expression because they were trying to draw them too realistically. They finally solved the problem by reverting to some of their standard cartoon techniques. "A smaller muzzle and much larger cranium," wrote two of the supervising animators, "finally created the new design and made all of the expressions available to the animators." Note the difference between the preceding description and the photograph accompanying this article. Young Bambi's head became almost as large as the rest of his body. (One of Disney's artists called him "little pumpkin-head.") Disney's artists also added exceptionally large white eye patches surrounding and exaggerating his enormous eyes. "With a huge head dwarfing its trunk and a pair of oversized eyes with pupils and lashes," writes anthropologist Elizabeth A. Lawrence, "Disney's Bambi arouses sympathy and nurturance and a sense of parenthood toward this relatively sociable species that sometimes responds to human attention."(27) This technique of manipulating the viewer's emotions is also used in "motel art" paintings of sad-eyed puppies, kittens, and human waifs. Similarly, the large eyed, anthropomorphic face of baby harp seals help to motivate efforts to prevent their slaughter.
No wonder that Bambi, Thumper, and Flower win our sympathy; they display the features that elicit our nurturing sympathy for human children. Disney's Bambi relies on the child Bambi to win viewer sympathy. Although Bambi was an antlered buck through half of Salten's book, he remains a fawn through three quarters of the film. It is not surprising that most people picture only a cute, vulnerable fawn when they think of Bambi.(28) On a subliminal level, the Disney version of Bambi motivates opposition to hunting, in part, by representing deer visually as surrogate human children.
Disney also presents a distorted image of woodland ecology, one in which all animals live at peace. For example, Friend Owl, who appears to be a great homed owl, is Thumper's and Flower's friend. Apparently great horned owls do not consume their normal quota of rabbits and skunks in Disney's forest because Disney's world is a world without predation. In the world of Disney's Bambi, all wild creatures are friends. Children's books based on the film, including spin offs only loosely tied to the film, perpetuate this image of nature. For example, a recent children's activity book shows all creatures, predators and prey alike, in happy proximity. It even has Bambi and Thumper asking a friendly fox for travel directions. Predation does appear in one spin-off book when a fox tries to make a meal of Thumper. Bambi and his father save the day. This rare appearance of predation is placed within a very clear moral framework, however. Flower describes it as "a very mean fox," and it is obvious that the fox is morally flawed. But what alternative has the fox? Predation must be akin to original sin in this moral universe.(29)
The Disney version of life in the woods stands in sharp contrast with that of Felix Salten, which presents a far more ecologically and philosophically complex vision of nature. Although Salten's vision has its own limitations, comparing the two underscores the trouble with Disney's. Salten's Bambi found a very different world when, during his first walk in the forest, the fawn heard something rustle in the foliage. "A thread-like, little cry shrilled out piteously; then all was still.... A ferret had caught a mouse. He came slinking by, slid sideways, and prepared to enjoy his meal." Bambi asked, "What was that?" but his mother answered only, "Nothing." "'But,' Bambi trembled, 'but I saw it.' 'Yes, yes,' answered his mother. 'Don't be frightened. The ferret has killed a mouse."' When Bambi asked, "Shall we kill a mouse, too, sometimes?" "No," his mother reassured him, "Because we never kill anything." George Reiger has argued that this conversation underscores the book's failure as a life history, because the mother avoided the whole issue of death by saying deer "never kill anything." Also, she did not explain that ferrets must kill to live. She implied, he wrote, "that such creatures have a choice--like man." It seems more reasonable, however, to interpret her response to Bambi's questions as an effort to calm her very young child, who will soon learn more about such things. Reiger also noted that, "because even foliage talks to itself in Bambi and apparently has a soul, if not an afterlife, Bambi does 'kill things' by eating grasses and later destroying shrubs while thrashing the velvet from his antlers."(30)
Nevertheless, Salten's Bambi lives in a world in which the food web is a very active presence. The mouse's death was not an isolated incident. During a winter that produced far more suffering than Disney's, "the crows fell upon Friend Hare's [the original model for Thumper's] small son who was lying sick, and killed him in a cruel way. He could be heard moaning pitifully for a long while." In other incidents a fox killed a pheasant, a fox killed a duck, an owl killed a mouse, and a squirrel (that Bambi mistook for its father) explained that its grandmother was killed by a ferret and its father by an owl. These incidents are all presented in almost a casual manner. They are normal occurrences that may cause momentary pain and consternation ("You never know who's going to go next," one autumn leaf said to another as they debated the nature of death), but they are neither out of the ordinary nor evil.(31) Predation and death are ever present, independent of Man's presence, in Salten's woodland drama.
The process of creating the Disney version of Bambi was a process of erosion as the normal and pervasive, although uncomfortable, presence of predation and death emphasized in Salten's version was omitted or blunted. This process continues in the children's book spin-offs based on the film. They tend further to reduce the severity of winter starvation. They also have difficulty acknowledging that Bambi's mother was actually killed. In two coloring books, for example, Bambi says, "My mother's gone!" and his father says only, "You'll live with me now, son." Another book reports only that "The hunters had caught her," thus suggesting that she was still alive. A read-along booklet accompanying a Bambi audio tape omits any reference to the incident. As another example of this process, one children's book ends with a picture of Bambi in an anthropomorphic family setting with Faline and their fawns, rather than off on the distant hill.(32) As a result, Salten's sharp, naturalistic vision of woodland life is degraded into a fantasy of nature cleansed of the traumas and difficulties that may trouble children and that adults prefer to avoid.
One wildlife biologist has argued that despite its shortcomings Disney's film is really quite accurate in its representation of deer ecology, and that it presents a strong argument in favor of using hunting as a tool to manage deer herds.(33) In the film neither Bambi nor Faline has brothers or sisters. This presents a problem, since deer usually give birth to more than one fawn. Their mothers must have been under some sort of stress that caused them to produce only single births. The evidence, he argues, was in the meadow. On Bambi's first visit he saw a great many stags in the meadow, evidence of an overpopulated deer herd. Malnourishment must have led to the single births. During the winter, Bambi and his mother could find food only by stripping bark from high in the trees. This is a sure indication that the size of the herd had exceeded the carrying capacity of its range. Although the film blunted the severity of the winter's hardships, many deer in that overpopulated herd must have starved. However, starvation and the toll taken by hunters must have brought the herd back down to a reasonable size, thus reducing the stress on individual deer. The evidence? As the film ended Faline gave birth to twins.
This is an interesting argument that has biological merit, but Disney never intended the film to be open to this interpretation. Although this argument may tease animal rights activists, it is simply not apparent to the film's viewers. Disney's is a "Sunday school" vision of nature as a place without stress, conflict, or death. The sole exceptions are the difficulties of winter, which the film acknowledges but minimizes, and the short period of conflict between bucks during the mating season (they are friends at other times). The state of nature is a simple, uncomplicated, romantic state of happiness and virtue--an escapist fantasy. Disney did not create his audience's desire for such fantasies, but he did feed it. In short, he presented nature as an earthly Eden. There is, however, no place for humans in this garden.
Bambi and the Problem of "Man"
Humans, although never seen in the film, are the sole source of evil in the Disney view of nature. "'Bambi' does have a more vivid sense of evil than any other Disney film," wrote a movie reviewer, "perhaps because the evil isn't personified.... The warning issued by Bambi's mother--'Man is in the forest'- has the compacting force of a phrase from Brecht." Another reviewer called this line memorable and intimidating, and recalled that it "still creates shudders." No wonder that People Weekly listed "Man" among the top movie "Hot Heavies" adding, "That's the hunter who kills the hero's mom--the ultimate in dastardly deeds."(34) Hunters not only kill Bambi's mother, they also kill the woodland creatures indiscriminately, their dogs attack Faline, and their fire ravages the forest. The fierce, hungry flames that devour the forest and its creatures become a surrogate for Man that continues and subliminally magnifies the hunters' destructive hunger for the lives of Bambi and his friends.(35) Hunters are represented virtually as a satanic force. Disney adds to this impression by using crows, circling and cawing ominously over the forest, as dark harbingers of Man.
Salten's version of Bambi also presents hunters as objects of fear, perhaps even more than did Disney. Salten's hunting scenes are far more terrifying. Disney protected his viewers from the full force of the horror of Salten's major hunting episode, transforming Salten's wave of panic into a forest fire that appears only in the film. However, Salten represents "Man" not as satanically evil, but as a powerful force of godlike proportion. "Man" is always capitalized, just as one capitalizes "God." In Salten's book, Man is both a force to be feared and a puzzle. In the children's books based on Disney's Bambi, Salten's "Man" becomes "MAN." The awesome word spoken both with wonder and fear in Salten's book thus becomes virtually a scream in Disney's.
Bambi and the other creatures try to understand the nature of Man. They watch, they speculate, and they fear. A crow observed that, although she often saw Man, "no one can explain Him."(36) The problem of Man is one of the book's central themes, a problem that Bambi must solve in his effort to learn the lessons of survival.
At one point, when the deer have gathered together during the long winter, they discuss the nature of Man. The aging deer, Old Nettla, hates Man, saying "He is loathsome!" But young Marena offers, "They say that sometime He'll come to live with us and be as gentle as we are. He'll play with us then and the whole forest will be happy, and we'll be friends with him." Old Nettla heatedly scoffs at such youthful idealism. "Friends with Him! He's murdered us ever since we can remember, every one of us, our sisters, our mothers, our brothers! Ever since we came into the world He's given us no peace.... And now we're going to be friends with Him. What nonsense!" Nevertheless Marena persists, "'Love is no nonsense,' she said. 'It has to Come.'"(37)
With this dialogue Felix Salten framed a critical question for his readers. Is human nature mutable or is it fixed? Can humans make peace with the deer? Salten does not present an easy answer. The reader could see that Faline's brother, the weakly fawn Gobo, was not able to survive the harsh winter, and his life appeared to be shortened only a little more quickly when he lost his strength and was unable to flee the hunters. But Gobo reappeared in the summer. He had been rescued by the hunters, nursed back to health, and released. He had, however, lost his fear of Man and trotted out to meet his human friends during the next hunt. It was a fatal mistake. "Gobo lay with his bloody entrails oozing from his torn flank," and when the hunters reached him the other deer "heard Gobo's wailing death shriek." The hunters could give both life and death, a power proclaimed by a hunting dog in his argument with a fox he was about to kill. "He's all-powerful," the dog shouted exultantly. "He's above all of you. Everything we have comes from Him. Everything that lives or grows comes from Him."(38)
The climax of Salten's novel comes when Bambi learns that what the dog had said was wrong. His father brought him to see the corpse of a poacher lying against a tree. The bullet wound in his neck "gaped like a small red mouth. Blood was oozing out slowly." "He isn't all-powerful as they say," his father explained. "Everything that lives and grows doesn't come from Him. He's lust the same as we. He has the same fears, the same needs, and suffers in the same way. He can be killed like us, and then He lies helpless on the ground like all the rest of us, as you see Him now." Bambi pondered upon this lesson and concluded, "There is Another who is over us all, over us and over Him."(39) With this final lesson the old stag's work was done. His responsibility to Bambi was over, and he went off to die. The lesson, of course, was intended for Salten's readers. Humans and deer, he was arguing, are equal before the eyes of God.
Walt Disney intended to conclude his version of Bambi with this powerful scene and argument against hunting. It was to be the climax of the film. Bambi and his father were to find the corpse of a dead hunter amid the charred remains of the forest, killed by the fire caused by his own carelessness. But Disney's staff were unsure how to present a "real" death, rather than a fanciful or fairy tale cartoon death, in a way that was acceptable to the audience. They tried one version on a test audience and "four hundred people shot straight up into the air" when the corpse appeared. Thus ended Disney's efforts to bring a philosophical conclusion to the film. All that remains of Salten's powerful scene in the Disney version is the symbolic departure of the old stag, leaving Bambi on the mountain side overlooking Faline and her fawns.(40)
The Trouble with Bambi
Both Felix Salten and Walt Disney represent humans as intruders whose presence disrupts the Edenic forest garden of nature. However, it is not a human nature-lover whose contemplation of the garden is disrupted by the intrusion of hunter and gun. Nor is the viewpoint that of a frontier father hunting to feed his family or a sportsman seeking a trophy. Instead, the reader and audience are shown nature as experienced by the forest dwellers, the objects of the hunt. It is not the presence of the machine that disrupts this garden, but the presence of the human.(41) Despite this similarity, Salten's and Disney's versions of Bambi differ in their treatment of this theme. Both versions appear to represent biocentric views of nature. The test of their biocentrism, however, lies in the faithfulness of their fictional animals to the reality of their biological counterparts. Disney's Bambi falls this test even when granted the wide latitude that is appropriate for children's fiction.
Salten's Bambi presents a poetic vision of woodland life and a powerful statement against hunting. Although he humanized his animal characters, they live in a world of complex ecological relationships that includes the ever present reality of death by predation and winter starvation, as well as by the hunter's gun. Humans often bring death, as do other creatures in the forest, but Salten presents humans as a problematic force, rather than as an unmitigated evil. His Bambi offers some hope, however remote, that we may be able to establish a more gentle relationship with nature. People may, depending on their own views, praise or condemn his position on hunting. Regardless, Felix Salten should be commended for conducting his morality play on a naturalistic stage.
Walt Disney's Bambi is an extraordinary work of cinematic art that also evokes a poetic vision of nature and makes a strong antihunting statement. It presents, however, an extraordinarily one-sided view of nature and of people. There is no predation in Disney's forest. With few exceptions--Bambi, his mother, a few birds, and the rabbits--the animals do not eat at all. Although winters may be harsh, death comes only by the hand of Man, an evil force in the world. Disney did not set out to present this as his philosophical view of nature. Instead, Salten's complexities were whittled away in the pragmatic process of shaping the story for a visual medium and a mass market. Financial problems also forced Disney to cut the length of the film by nearly a third.(42) As a result, the story lost its ecological and philosophical depth, but the film gained an aesthetic elegance and simplicity that have earned it a reputation as one of Disney's finest works of art.
Nevertheless, what gives the film artistic elegance also gives it ecological shallowness. Bambi is not unique in its lack of ecological sophistication, and despite its shortcomings it is a joy to watch. However, the film was praised for establishing a new standard of naturalistic realism for its medium, including scientific accuracy. Its problems are compounded by the film's enormous popularity and the Disney corporation's tremendous, sustained success in bringing it to a mass market. The marketing of Bambi has also been the dissemination of a vision of nature, and its success also marks the success of that vision.
Marketing Disney's Bambi
Bambi was not the first wild animal character to capture the attention of the American public. Naturalistic stories and books sympathetic to the perspective of wild animals were first published nearly fifty years before Bambi appeared in theaters. Jack London's dog, Buck, triumphed in winning freedom in the Alaskan wilderness and leadership of a wolf pack. Charles G. D. Roberts's Red Fox raised his family and learned how to avoid hunters and traps. Ernest Thompson Seton's wolf, Lobo, symbolized wild cunning and devotion to one's mate. Seton's stories, in particular, have been read, reread, and continue to be read by generations of children and adults. However, no other wild animal character achieved the stature of Walt Disney's lovable fawn. No others have been so carefully shaped to appeal to a mass market or so successful in capturing the hearts and wallets of the nation.
The film received its world premier at the Radio City Music Hall on 12 August 1942. The following week, on 21 August, Disney released it for distribution via RKO Radio Pictures. it was generally well received despite some reviewers' difficulty in adjusting to an animal cartoon without zany characters and slapstick humor. ("Mickey wouldn't be caught dead in this," complained one critic.) The film did not recover its production expenses, however, and was considered a financial failure. Nevertheless, subsequent releases following World War 11 made the film one of the industry's great money makers. Based on total rental fees paid to distributors through 1988, Bambi earned $47,265,000. By comparison, Casablanca, also released in 1942, earned $4,145,178 during the same period. Only two films released between 1939 and 1969 had accumulated more rental income by the end of 1988: Gone with the Wind (1939), and The Sound of Music (1965). Gross sales during this time, estimated by Disney at $490 million, are even more impressive. In the last six months of 1988, the film's latest rerelease grossed $38.1 million .(43)
These figures do not include income from the video version of Bambi. In 1989, Disney launched an aggressive marketing campaign for Bambi and Roger Rabbit videos at a combined cost of $60 million. A senior Disney/Buena Vista executive called it "the largest [marketing] program ever in home video." The campaign included marketing tie-ins with Crest Toothpaste and M&M candies. Sixty percent of the initial release of ten million units of the Bambi video were shipped to mass outlets, such as K-Mart and Target. Finally, nearly fifty years after its premier, Bambi was first broadcast on television, via the Disney Channel, of course, on Sunday, 3 February 1991. The broadcast was repeated seven other times that month, and we are bound to see it on television again in the years to come.(44)
It is fair to say that Bambi has become an inevitable
part of the childhood education of most people in America and in many other
parts of the world. As a result of Disney's aggressive promotion, merchandising,
and licensing enterprises, many children meet Bambi long before they see
the film. Throughout the 1940s Disney used these mechanisms to bring Bambi
to the public's attention and keep it there, and also to ensure a steady
flow of collateral income. In
1941, the year before the film was released, a Bambi comic book giveaway was distributed through Horlick's Malted Milk and toy stores. A Bambi Sunday comic strip began running in newspapers on 19 July 1942, a month before the film was released, and continued to 4 October. RCA Victor released a three record set based on the film. Dell Publishing Company released a Walt Disney Bambi comic book in the same year and another in 1948. A Thumper comic book also appeared, as did Bambi's Children, a comic book based on Felix Salten's sequel to Bambi. In addition, the 1940s saw the publication of at least nine other Bambi books based on the original Salten story, the Disney film, or characters from the film. At least three manufacturers produced a variety of ceramic figurines based on Bambi, Thumper, and Flower. One company produced a set of Bambi children's dinnerware (plate, bowl, mug, and pitcher), and Bambi lovers could purchase their own Ingersoll Bambi wristwatch. In 1947, the New York Graphic Society advertised full color prints of scenes from Bambi.(45)
More books and other products continued to appear as the years passed. From 1950 to the present dozens of books, not to mention such items as an alarm clock, a lamp, and stuffed toys, based on Disney's Bambi have appeared in addition to new editions of Salten's classic novel. These include coloring books, a "scratch-and-sniff" book, children's introductory "A-B-C" and counting books, new comic books, ViewMaster 3-D reels, and new stories based on the Disney Bambi characters. A video comprised of clips from various Disney films was released for the Christmas market. It included the Bambi segment with Bambi and Thumper playing on the ice, opportunistically called "Bambi's first Christmas Day." Recorded versions of the Disney story continually appear on records and tapes, a number of film strip versions have been produced for classroom use, and Disney now markets packages that include a Bambi audio cassette and "read along" books for elementary school reading programs. Disney Educational Products has mined Bambi for a variety of educational offerings, including a film and video based on Bambi's first, memorable walk. The advertisement promises, "An encouraging lesson for youngsters who must overcome embarrassment at failure or fear of trying is demonstrated as the newborn Bambi tries to walk and talk for the first time." In addition, new Bambi character ceramic figurines and stuffed dolls, posters, books, and other items are sold through a growing national chain of well over one hundred Disney stores.(46) The presence and influence of Disney's Bambi has been and remains pervasive.
The Impact of "Bambi" on American Culture
The name Bambi has become a part of our language and is often used as a synonym for "deer." Examples abound. "Look," a parent will tell his or her child on spotting a deer, "there's Bambi!" When an orphan fawn wandered into an Iowa barnyard, the family raised it and named it Bambi. A Los Angeles Times article about radio tagging deer was titled, "Now, Bambi has a Beeper." When a Virginia game warden placed a stuffed deer beside a road to catch hunters illegally shooting from their cars, newspapers dubbed the operation "Bambi scam." Esquire gave a "Dubious Achievement of 1990" award to the hunter whose shotgun fired, killing him, while he was clubbing a deer with it. The magazine announced this honor under the score, "Bambi 1, Asshole 0."(47)
Bambi has also become synonymous with something soft and sentimental, even wimpy. An article in Art News told of a group of Native American artists who were "outspokenly opposed to the more lyrical, nostalgic and even, as they maintain, 'Bambi-like' traits of so much Indian arts around and before them." In a 1988 speech supporting the Dukakis/Bentsen presidential campaign, Senator John Glenn said, "Lloyd Bentsen believes that when other countries take advantage of us, you can't talk like Rambo and act like Bambi." Johnny Carson took advantage of the sharp contrast between the images of Bambi and Rambo. Disney was violent enough to kill Bambi's mother, the comedian offered, but he drew the line at creating "Bambo," and Carson displayed a drawing of an angry deer returning fire with an assault rifle.(48)
The film's influence has been far-reaching and sometimes quite surprising. Shortly after the film and its forest fire sequence appeared, the Wartime Council used Bambi and his friends in a national poster campaign to promote fire prevention. (Bambi was replaced a year later by the newly invented character Smokey Bear.) The Wall Street journal reported that former daredevil Evel Knievel had become an artist, selling inexpensive limited edition prints based on his paintings on various themes, including Bambi. A columnist spoofing the National Rifle Association reported seeing "ads for video tapes from the NRA, with the latest tips for Uzi-toting psychopaths. 'How to Shoot Bambi's Mother While Bambi's Watching.'" And, amazingly, actor Kiefer Sutherland told Playboy that Bambi was the first film he ever saw and, he said, "it's still the film with which I compare everything.... It taught me about--I guess on a broad scale--sexuality. I was in love with Thumper's girlfriend from the time I was seven until I was ten. She's got all that eye shadow on and she's looking real good."(49)
More important to the present study, Bambi has made an enduring mark on popular American ideas about the environment. One commentator recalled vividly remembering three things from her childhood viewing of the film: 1) "The extraordinary lyrical beauty of the forest setting;" 2) "The must-touch cuddliness of the major characters;" and 3) "The death of Bambi's mother."(50) Its powerful antihunting message, especially the death of Bambi's mother, left a lasting impression on the public. "Yes, it's sappy and sentimental," wrote a Sierra Club reviewer, but "this 45-year-old lawyer cries at every viewing." He added that the film promotes "at least a few wistful ecocentric thoughts." People Weekly, not known as an environmental publication, found that despite its anthropomorphism and "several too many shots of cute, twitching little tails... there is also what amounts to an early pro-environmental message about the havoc wrought in the forest by man's incursion."(51)
We are in the midst of a national debate over hunting and our proper role in the forest. It is a complex debate involving a tremendous diversity of perspectives and arguments. At one extreme are people who are defending an American tradition and a way of experiencing nature that is personally fulfilling. They argue that hunting is an essential and humane means of keeping game populations in balance with their environment. At another extreme are those who value the lives of individual wild animals and seek to prevent their destruction, arguing that hunting disrupts the balance of nature. Advocates on both sides profess a keen interest in wildlife protection. Effective action for the benefit of wildlife, however, requires a sound understanding of the natural history and ecology of wild animals, as well as humane values and a deep personal commitment to the cause.
It may be that more people have, consciously or unconsciously, based their understanding of deer and woodland life on Walt Disney's Bambi than on any other single source. Its images and concept of nature have been impressed on the American psyche and reinforced through decades of exposure to the film, its multitude of spin-offs, and Disney's marketing magic. Bambi has become one of our most widespread and emotionally powerful national symbols of nature, one that motivates deep concern, and dedicated action to protect wildlife. However, Disney's Bambi is an empty symbol, because the concept of nature that his fawn represents is impoverished. The film motivates, but does not educate. It may stimulate action, but not understanding. Instead of affirming nature, it represents a flight from the natural world into a comfortable nature fantasy. Ironically, it offers no hope for us poor humans to be anything other than destroyers of the natural world
Nature, symbolized by Disney's infant Bambi, an infant with endearing human qualities, becomes something fragile and vulnerable. It becomes something that we must nurture and protect. (52) This can be a useful metaphor, given our enormous technological abilities to destroy our environment. However, grave problems lie ahead if we confuse a fetching metaphor with the living reality of deer, other wildlife, or our environment. After all, the challenge we face is to protect real wildlife in a real environment, not the Disney version. | <urn:uuid:a2fe46a5-7264-46e0-a0b5-7b14b6bf2504> | CC-MAIN-2018-47 | http://www.history.vt.edu/Barrow/Hist2104/readings/bambi.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-47/segments/1542039742338.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20181115013218-20181115035218-00067.warc.gz | en | 0.975978 | 12,383 | 2.859375 | 3 |
What is the Rotavirus Vaccine?
There are currently two rotavirus vaccines available for use in the United States, Rotateq® and Rotatrix®. They are designed to eliminate severe gastroenteritis caused by rotavirus infection. It is not a mandatory childhood vaccination.
Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe acute gastroenteritis in children. Symptoms include watery diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, and decreased urination. In some circumstances, these symptoms can also lead to dehydration.
Rotavirus disease is highly contagious. It is present in the stool of an infected person. It can also remain viable on contaminated surfaces for a long period of time. Rotavirus is often transmitted when a child touches something that is contaminated with rotavirus and then puts their hands in their mouth. Unfortunately, rotavirus infections spread easily in hospitals and day care settings from child to child. Older children and adults can also suffer the virus, but the illness is generally milder.
Who should receive the Rotavirus vaccine?
The rotavirus vaccine is typically administered to infants. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the minimum age for dose 1 of rotavirus vaccine is 6 weeks; the maximum age for dose 1 is 14 weeks and 6 days. The CDC further states that vaccination should not be initiated for infants aged 15 weeks and 0 days or older because of insufficient data on safety of dose 1 of rotavirus vaccine in older infants. The minimum interval between doses of rotavirus vaccine is 4 weeks; no maximum interval is set. All doses should be administered by age 8 months and 0 days. Rotavirus vaccines are administered in either a 2 or 3-dose series, depending on the brand. | <urn:uuid:549c65d1-88d8-436e-a543-a91633ff5abf> | CC-MAIN-2019-47 | https://ccandh.com/vaccine/rotavirus/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496671411.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20191122171140-20191122200140-00545.warc.gz | en | 0.938439 | 360 | 3.796875 | 4 |
Today is Armistice Day. Ninety-six years ago, Germany surrendered and brought World War I to an end. The wreckage left behind by the war was enormous. More than 16 million people died, seven million of them civilians. Monarchies had ended in Russia, Austria-Hungary, Germany and the Ottoman Empire. The maps of Europe and the Middle East were redrawn. New nations were formed. Lenin and the Communist Party had taken control in Russia, except the control was tenuous, only to be decided by an ugly civil war. Massive war reparations were imposed on Germany, which would ultimately contribute to ruinous hyperinflation. Victorious Britain and France faced huge war debts.
The emotional and psychological impact on victor and defeated was just as significant. That emotion and psychology had begun during the war, and it no better articulated than by the group of Britons collectively known as the War Poets.
We’ve spent the last several weeks discussing the poets and poetry of World War I. What we have not considered in detail in the context of the poets and what they wrote – and that context is the war itself, the Great War, the War to End All Wars.
In Some Desperate Glory: The First World War the Poets Knew, historian, novelist and biographer Max Egremont (he’s also written a biography of the war poet Siegfried Sassoon) does something unusual in a book. He combines three literary genres – history, biography and poetry – to provide the context of the poets of World War I. I’m not a fan of military history, but that’s not what Some Desperate Glory is. I haven’t read a book quite like this one before, and it’s compelling as it is insightful and highly readable.
Egremont uses a chronological structure, covering the five years (or parts of years) the war lasted. He places the poets within the events they were part of – the horrific battles, the hospitals in the fields and back home, the trenches, and the home leaves. And then he highlights each section with poems written during that year. The reader sees not only who these poets were and what they wrote but also the actual conditions they faced and engaged in.
And we see many of these young poets, home in London on leave, clustering around Harold Munro’s Poetry Bookshop in Bloomsbury near the British Museum, meeting each other, talking with each other and visiting Americans like Robert Frost, attending readings, and seeking to get their poems published. As the war progressed, their numbers thinned.
The 11 poets followed in the book are Siegfried Sassoon (whom we discussed here last week), Wilfred Owen, Edmund Blunden, Julian Grenfell, Rupert Brooke, Isaac Rosenberg, Charles Sorley, Edward Thomas, Robert Nichols, Ivor Gurney, and Robert Graves. Some died early in the war; some died of illness and not battle wounds. Others survive the war and go on to build literary careers. And as Egremont points out, the war poets cut across the British class system, coming from the upper, middle and working classes.
Most of the major battles of the war are represented as well, although the focus is the war on the Western Front in Belgium and France, because that’s where the poets were concentrated. And so the names move across the pages – Ypres, Verdun, Loos, the Marne, the Somme, Antwerp and more. (Only Brooke died in another theater of war, of a non-war-related illness, before he reached what would become the Battle of Gallipoli near Constantinople.)
An example of the poems included with each chronological section is this one by Ivor Gurney, written in 1915:
To the Poet Before Battle
Now, youth, the hour of thy dread passion comes;
Thy lovely things must all be laid away;
And thou, as others, must face the riven day
Unstirred by rattle of the rolling drums,
Or bugles’ strident cry. When mere noise numbs
The sense of being, the sick soul doth sway,
Remember thy great craft’s honour, that they may say
Nothing in shame of poets. Then the crumbs
Of praise the little versemen joyed to take
Shall be forgotten; then they must know we are,
For all our skill in words, equal in might
And strong of mettle as those we honoured; make
The name of poet terrible in just war,
And like a crown of honour upon the fight.
Gurney would survive the war, but longstanding mental illness that predated the war would dog him the rest of his life. He was institutionalized in 1922, and live in asylums until he died of tuberculosis in 1937.
Some Desperate Glory is a fine volume, pulled from poems and letters and infused with history and biography. It explains where so much of this famous poetry came from, and it teaches us some of what these war poets experienced and endured.
On this Armistice Day, stop and remember the sacrifices of World War I; stop and remember the beautiful poetry that emerged from the horror.
Photo by Susan Etole. Post by Glynn Young, author of the novels Dancing Priest and A Light Shining, and Poetry at Work.
Want to brighten your morning coffee?
Subscribe to Every Day Poems and find some beauty in your inbox. | <urn:uuid:5215be30-17ab-46fc-87ef-2bc8ccabd952> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | https://www.tweetspeakpoetry.com/2014/11/11/world-war-poets-war/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247484689.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20190218053920-20190218075920-00574.warc.gz | en | 0.963135 | 1,147 | 3.046875 | 3 |
The third decade of the twentieth century has been variously called “The Roaring Twenties”, “The Jazz Age”, “The Age of Intolerance” and “The Era of Wonderful Nonsense”. The decade of the ‘20s was the first time in American history when more people lived in cities than on farms. The wealth of the nation doubled and consumerism was on the rise – buying on credit became widely accepted. By the end of that decade more than twelve million homes had a radio and one in every five Americans owned a car.
So why would a society, obviously becoming more upwardly mobile, pay attention to all the silly fads of that era (“The Era of Wonderful Nonsense”)? There were dance crazes (the Charleston, the Shimmy and the Black Bottom), and even the new music of jazz was considered a vocal fad. One of the strangest fads, however, that arose in the 1920’s was flagpole sitting.
Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly called himself the “Luckiest Fool on Earth” and his claim to fame was flagpole sitting. There are various stories as to how Alvin acquired the nickname “Shipwreck” – ranging from his days as a sailor and a boxer to actually having survived the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 (except no records exist of that occurring). Alvin himself claimed to have survived five shipwrecks, two airplane crashes, three car crashes and one train wreck – all without a scratch.
It’s not clear whether his first sitting was the result of taking a friend’s dare or a publicity stunt, but in 1924 Alvin’s first foray took place in Los Angeles and lasted thirteen hours and thirteen minutes. Quickly thereafter, flagpole sitting became a national craze with hundreds of people vying for the title of “King of the Pole”. As time went on and audiences remained enthralled with his stunts, Alvin increased his endurance levels. In 1926 he set a record of seven days and one hour in St. Louis.
In June 1927, just a few weeks after Charles Lindbergh’s historic flight, Alvin attempted another record and this time he wanted to sit for eight days in Newark, New Jersey – he sat for twelve days. Obvious questions arise as to how he accomplished these feats – how could he go that long without sleep or taking nourishment or have a way to dispense with bodily functions, all while sitting continuously for hours and days at a time.
Alvin consumed mostly liquids which were hoisted up the flagpole and when nature called there was a hose or a bucket (with discrete curtaining). He carried on “normal” daily habits such as bathing, shaving, reading the newspaper, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. What about sleeping? He was able to take “catnaps” by placing his thumbs in holes in the flagpole shafts. If he happened to sway while dozing, the pain in his thumbs would cause him to right himself.
What about weather? One certainly couldn’t expect the weather to always cooperate. According to the New York Times, during his career as a flagpole sitter Alvin Kelly sat in the air 20,613 hours and the weather was often a challenge:
He [Kelly] totaled the bad weather as follows: Forty-seven hours of snow, 1,400 hours of rain and sleet, 210 hours in temperatures below freezing.
His services as a performer to promote theater, bank and store openings was said to be quite lucrative – one source said he was paid as much $1,000 a week. Not bad for someone who knocked around trying various professions (sailor, boxer, stunt performer) prior to his flagpole feats. Alvin was born in Hell’s Kitchen in 1893, his mother dying in childbirth. Shortly after his birth, Alvin’s father fell off a derrick and plunged to his death. At age thirteen he ran away to become a sailor.
In 1929 Alvin visited Baltimore and inspired a craze among the youth of that city. One news report had this to say:
It all started when, a few weeks ago, a curious fellow known as Shipwreck Kelly, who goes from city to city demonstrating the hardihood of the American posterior by sitting for extended periods on flagpoles, visited the conservative city of Baltimore and “put on a sitting” …. Inevitably there was a juvenile aspirant to Shipwreck’s fame. Boys from time immemorial have wanted to be locomotive engineers, bareback riders, and major generals. Their heroes are, quite naturally, those who cause the most excitement.
It was no great surprise, therefore, when one read in the Baltimore newspapers the modest announcement that Avon Freeman, fifteen, had mounted a flagpole and would sit there until he had broken what might be considered the “juvenile record.” When he had sat for ten days, ten hours, ten minutes and ten seconds, he decided that the “juvenile record” in his field had been broken, and he came down . . . .The mayor of Baltimore congratulated the boy for showing “America’s pioneer spirit.”
According to Rainbow’s End: The Crash of 1929, “an eager mother placed her 20-month old son in a box atop a seven-foot pole and left him there for one hour to claim the ‘infant record’.”
The sitting in Baltimore lasted for 45 days and, according to The Baltimore Sun, he survived a June heat wave and strong thunderstorms. In an interview with The Sun, Alvin remarked, “the top of a flagpole is the safest place for a married man to be.” Cosmopolitan Magazine panned the stunts as “competitive imbecility.”
Alvin tried again for another record by sitting atop the Steel Pier flagpole in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He sat for 1,177 hours or 49 days and one hour. The record didn’t last long, however – Bill Penfield sat on a pole for 51 days and 20 hours in Strawberry Point, Iowa in 1930.
After the stock market crash in October of 1929, the populace was more focused on their dire financial straits than publicity stunts. Flagpole sitting and other crazes of the “Era of Wonderful Nonsense” faded. The Baltimore Evening Sun reported in 1944 that Alvin thought that the stock market crash had killed pole-sitting: “people couldn’t stand anything higher than their busted securities.”
Thereafter, Alvin performed occasional stunts and gimmicks – in 1939 in celebration of National Donut Dunking Week, he stood on his head atop the Chanin Building, a 42nd Street skyscraper, while being fed donuts dunked in coffee.
Locked in his arms was a scrapbook of clippings from earlier days. He had titled it: “The Luckiest Fool on Earth.” Unemployed for the last six months of his life and largely forgotten, Kelly had lived in a rooming house. Upon entering his room, police found it strewn with ropes and tackle, souvenirs of happier days.
Have a GREAT day . . . someday it will be HISTORY!
© Sharon Hall (Digging History), 2014. | <urn:uuid:78ed9ae9-bf9e-4c76-ad2a-06781fe37a75> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | https://digging-history.com/2014/01/31/far-out-friday-alvin-shipwreck-kelly-the-luckiest-fool-on-earth/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917127681.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031207-00607-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977741 | 1,537 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Copper sulfate ia a required material for the preparation of TACC (Section I, No. 16).
- Pieces of copper or copper wire
- Dilute sulfuric acid (battery acid)
- Potassium Nitrate (Section I, No. 2) or
- Nitric Acid, 90%conc. (1.48 sp. gr.) (Section I, No. 4)
- Alcohol Water
- Two 1 pint jars or glasses, heat resistant
- Paper towels
- Wooden rod or stick
- Improvised Scale (Section VII, No. 8)
- Container Heat source Teaspoon
1. Place 10 grams of copper pieces Lnto one of the pint jars. Add 1 cup (240 milliliters) of dilute sulfuric acid to the copper.
NOTE: Nitric acid gives a product of greater purity.
3. Heat the mixture in a pan of simmering hot water bath until the bubbling has ceased (approximately 2 hours). The mixture will turn to a blue color.
CAUTION: The above procedure will cause strong toxic fumes. Perform Step 3 in an open, well ventilated area.
4. Pour the hot blue solution, but not the copper, into the other pint Jar. Allow solution to cool at room temperature. Crystals will form at the bottom of the Jar. Discard the unreacted copper pieces in the first Jar.
5. Carefully pour away the liquid from the crystals. Crush crystals Into a powder with wooden rod or stick.
6. Add 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) of alcohol to the powder while stirring.
7. Filter the solution through a paper towel into a container to collect the crystals. Wash the crystals left on the paper towel three times, using 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) por-tions of alcohol each time.
9. Air dry the copper sulfate crystals for 2 hours.
NOTE: Drying time can be reduced to 1/2 hour by use of hot, not boiling, water bath (see Step 3). | <urn:uuid:eb01286f-a441-4806-98af-4c10af94cd00> | CC-MAIN-2016-36 | http://www.libertyreferences.com/preparation-of-copper-sulfate.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-36/segments/1471982294158.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20160823195814-00289-ip-10-153-172-175.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.796109 | 429 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Student Voices, Global Echoes: Service-Learning and the Gifted
Secondary and Middle Grades Education
Implementing service-learning programs in schools for our gifted may help nurture the development of more highly moral people. Service-learning, a method by which students learn and develop through curriculum integration and active participation in thoughtfully organized service experiences that address needs in their community, has three levels: community service, community exploration, and community action. Community action, most appropriate for gifted youth, involves a high degree of service that produces a broad community impact and the highest degree of learning. This article discusses case studies of four gifted, middle-grade students who participated in community action service-learning projects that positively impacted both the community and the students. Could service-learning be helpful in creating more people like Thoreau and Gandhi by developing co-cognitive traits in gifted youth?
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Terry, A. W. (2008). Student voices, global echoes: Service-learning and the gifted. Roeper Review, 30(1), 45-51. doi:10.1080/02783190701836452. | <urn:uuid:5d9fd4c0-fefd-4624-9607-d0da0e90ae97> | CC-MAIN-2018-34 | https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/facpubs/651/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221214713.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819070943-20180819090943-00569.warc.gz | en | 0.883585 | 235 | 3.1875 | 3 |
As you may know I don’t actually think that democracy is a good thing; at best it’s the ‘least worst’ political system as they exist currently. However I was drawn into a debate (again) recently about the European Union. The accusation was that the laws that we receive from the EU were somehow less democratic than those enacted unilaterally by the UK Government, that the EU is unrepresentative and so its laws are forced on us.
As I pointed out all legislation has to be passed by the European Parliament, where elected Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), such as Nigel Farage, sit. These are democratically chosen by the UK electorate, in a Proportional Representation (PR) process, so therefore more democratic than the way that Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected to the UK Parliament. The European Parliament “may approve or reject a legislative proposal, or propose amendments to it.”
The argument against this process being democratic was that the European Commission alone creates the legislation, not the European Parliament, and that the Commission is ‘unelected’.
There is a Commissioner for each of the 27 member countries, elected by its own national government (which in turn is elected by its own electorate), so this is still democratic with respect to each national electorate. The Commission (the cabinet) and the President together comprise the executive of the EU. The European Parliament then has to elect the President and the Commission, so the nationally-elected MEPs vote on whether to accept the President and Commission: still democratic so far.
So the argument that the EU is ‘less representative’ can be seen to be specious: every step of the way in creating EU legislation involves a decision by the MEPs, who are elected nationally by a ‘fairer’ democratic process than our First-Past-The-Post (FPTP). Yes, the Executive aren’t directly elected, but so what? Let’s compare that to the UK system, shall we?
We will ignore the anachronism that is the monarchy, for the Queen is generally regarded as only a figurehead, although constitutionally she is the final arbiter and the government acts in her name.
Within the UK we have two bodies involved in proposing and enacting legislation. The ‘lower’ house is the House of Commons: the ‘upper’ house is the House of Lords.
For the House of Commons in the UK we elect MPs via a FPTP electoral system, which is widely regarded as ‘unfairer’ than the Proportional Representation system that European Parliament elections utilise. The leader of the party that wins the most seats (usually, in a simple majority situation) becomes the Prime Minister (PM). Note that constitutionally they don’t even need to be an MP, though it’s a long time since this last happened (Lord Palmerston was Prime Minister twice between 1855 and 1865 for over 9 years).
Although the winning party leader may be elected as an MP, he is not elected directly as PM by anyone other than his own party, often years previously. So already the European Parliamentary system is more democratic.
This unelected head of government then chooses his own cabinet, which along with the PM forms the executive: this is analogous to the European Commission. They alone decide the legislation that the government introduces in each session of parliament (yes, I know there is a very limited mechanism for lone MPs to introduce their own legislation, but this is often thwarted in each parliament without the majority government support).
The elected MPs within the House of Commons then vote on this legislation proposed by the executive. If they vote for it to become law then it moves on to the unelected House Of Lords (the Lords are a collection of hereditary peers, politicians chosen by their party colleagues and Bishops – none directly chosen by the electorate). Both houses can choose to amend the legislation, although amendments can be rejected at subsequent stages.
Once both houses have ‘read’ the proposed bill three times it passes to the Queen for Royal Assent and then the government chooses when to enact it.
As can be seen very little of this legislative process is ‘democratic’ by any definition, and every single step has an analogous step in the EU legislative process. Comparison shows that the EU legislative process and its actors are, at every stage, at least as democrative and frequently more democratic than the UK process.
Ergo, by voting in European elections, you have more say in the legislation that comes from the EU than you do over that made only in the UK (if you choose to participate in democracy within the UK).
I still don’t like democracy by the way, but let’s at least make sure we’re accurate about the reasons we slate an institution. | <urn:uuid:1f500466-4eb6-475c-8b2e-a5e0599512be> | CC-MAIN-2020-34 | https://thenewliberty.wordpress.com/tag/democracy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-34/segments/1596439735833.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20200803195435-20200803225435-00080.warc.gz | en | 0.973754 | 1,003 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Grammar Main Page
Present Simple Tense ESL Grammar Exercises Test WorksheetA simple esl printable grammar exercises test for learning, teaching and practising Present Simple Tense. Write the third person singular form of the verbs. Rewrite the sentences with the subjects in brackets. Fill in the blanks with do or does. Fill in the blanks with don't or doesn't. Rewrite the sentences making them negative. Write questions to the underlined words.
Present Simple Tense Main Page | <urn:uuid:81a7033f-ba1f-4178-9266-6d48719a978a> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://www.englishwsheets.com/m.present-simple-4.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600401617641.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20200928234043-20200929024043-00563.warc.gz | en | 0.878029 | 105 | 3.5 | 4 |
I have blogged previously regarding a proposed imposition of a FAT TAX, which the governments of the world seem to deem a necessity to protect us from ourselves.
It does not seem to matter much if there is ample proof that our bodies need good healthy fats in our diets to function well. The government is still stuck it would seem, in the dark ages, along with Ancel Keys, in labelling fat as being bad, unhealthy and detrimental to our health. In their esteemed estimation, they should tax fat and save us from ourselves!
The Alliance for Natural Health – an organisation I would trust any day in preference to a government funded organisation, has this to say regarding a Fat Tax:
“Fat taxes” are tariffs on what governments feel are unhealthy foods. If only they had an inkling about which foods are truly unhealthy!
Denmark has just started imposing a tax on all foods containing saturated fats. Other countries have also started taxing food and drink they think are unhealthy, hoping to reduce cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes. In the process, they are totally ignoring the latest scientific research.
The law that went into effect this month specifically targets saturated fats—the fats found most commonly in animal products like butter, cream, and meat, though the legislation makes no distinction between a McDonald’s Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese and milk from an organic farm.
The big problem is that the scientific evidence, honestly evaluated, simply does not support the assertion that saturated fats cause heart disease or are generally bad for us. In fact, as Joseph M. Mercola, MD, recently wrote on his website, saturated fats from animal and vegetable sources provide a number of important health benefits—and our body actually cannot function without saturated fats!
As Mary Enig, PhD, and Sally Fallon point out in “The Skinny on Fats,” published on the Weston Price website and reprinted as “The Truth about Saturated Fat” on Mercola.com, saturated fats play many important roles in the body’s chemistry:
- Saturated fatty acids constitute at least 50% of cell membranes, giving cells their necessary stiffness and integrity.
- For calcium to be effectively incorporated into the skeletal structure, at least 50% of the dietary fats should be saturated.
- Saturated fats lower Lp(a), a substance in the blood that indicates proneness to heart disease, and protect the liver from alcohol and other toxins such as Tylenol.
- They enhance the immune system, and have important antimicrobial properties.
- Healthful omega-3 fatty acids are better retained in the tissues when the diet is rich in saturated fats.
- The heart is most directly nourished by saturated fats; in fact, the body creates reserves of highly saturated fats around the heart muscle, so the heart can draw on it in times of stress.
And as we reported previously, coconut oil is a saturated fat that is extremely important for good health, and may prove effective in the fight against Alzheimer’s Disease.
Note that it’s not just the Danish government that can’t seem to grasp the science about saturated fats—the US government similarly demonizes saturated fat in its dietary guidelines (while simultaneously subsidizing the sale of cheese). And France, in imposing a tax on sugary sodas, apparently has no problem with diet drinks filled with demonstrably unhealthy artificial sweeteners.
It’s bad enough that governments wish to control what we put into our mouths. It’s even worse when they ignore sound scientific research and make laws based on fear, hype, and ignorance.
Ancel Keys and his cronies have much to answer for….. the fat is bad (for you) hypothesis has not stood the test of time, and like all garbage, should be allowed to go down the drain to the sewage disposal facility! | <urn:uuid:6972bde5-5208-4998-80cd-f41f28e1fcb9> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | https://justmeint1health.wordpress.com/2011/10/16/they-just-cannot-get-it-right/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917118519.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031158-00464-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954037 | 793 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Tips for Healthy Living
By Jennifer Quaglio, student, Center for Distance Learning
May 15, 2014
Many college students tend not to prioritize fitness and health. Homework, family obligations, social obligations, intimate relationships, careers and stress often get in the way of achieving a healthy diet and exercise routine. According to foxnews.com, Dr. Matthew Kwan, a researcher at McMaster University, in Ontario, Canada, said, "The transition from late adolescence to early adulthood represents the most dramatic declines in physical activity across a person's life."
It is important to dedicate at least 30 minutes each day to exercise, especially as college students. Making time for exercise can be easier said than done, but there are many ways to achieve your goal. Whether it is to lose weight, get toned or simply to stay healthy, it is a good idea to take good care of your body and monitor what goes into it. Taking just a little time out of a busy day to focus on yourself will do wonders. It can be as simple as doing jumping jacks and squats before the shower, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator, if your time is too crunched for regular exercise.
“Another crucial element — and the reason that many college students gain weight — is overcoming emotional eating,” (denverpost.com) said Daphne Oz, author of, “The Dorm Room Diet: The 10-Step Program for Creating a Healthy Lifestyle Plan That Really Works.”
Below are seven simple steps to get you started:
- Replace unhealthy snacks such as chips and ice cream with fruits such as kiwi or strawberries when you are craving sugar.
- Incorporate vegetables into your daily diet; start slowly by replacing a carbohydrate like mashed potatoes with some leafy greens.
- Learn a new recipe every week. Challenge yourself and plan a healthy eating goal that you can achieve.
- Avoid fad diets as a means of weight loss. Most fad diets lack proper nutrients, which you need to stay healthy.
- Use the “buddy system.” Go to the gym with friends, or rent a workout DVD from your local library and exercise in the comfort of your own home.
- Dancing is still exercise. Dancing around the house for an hour can burn just as many (or more) calories as walking on a treadmill -- and it’s free.
- Don’t put your health on the back burner.
For recipes, daily workouts, de-stressing routines and other healthy living tips, visit Student Health 101.
Tips for Healthy Living , By Jennifer Quaglio, student, Center for Distance Learning
STTI Honor Society of Nursing, Tau Kappa Chapter, Welcomes Empire State College As New Member at Ceremony, By David Henahan, director of communications, Office of Communications and Government Relations
"Financial Aid: The Dollars and Sense of Financing College" to Be Presented in Free Workshop at Plaza May 21, By Susan Eve Tepper LeClair, recruitment specialist, Empire State Plaza Office
Did You Know
The deadline to submit your artwork to the Student Art Competition has been extended to May 23. | <urn:uuid:23751edd-df35-499b-88f8-d49667de3e8e> | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | https://www.esc.edu/student-connection/issues/issue-64/other-news/tips-for-healthy-living-.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084892238.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20180123191341-20180123211341-00246.warc.gz | en | 0.936827 | 656 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Voting Law Changes in 2012
Ahead of the 2012 elections, a wave of legislation tightening restrictions on voting has suddenly swept across the country. More than 5 million Americans could be affected by the new rules already put in place this year — a number larger than the margin of victory in two of the last three presidential elections.
In October 2011, this report was the first full accounting and analysis of this year's voting cutbacks. Click here to read an up-to-date summary of both the bills that have been proposed and the legislation that has been passed since the beginning of 2011.
Over the past century, our nation expanded the franchise and knocked down myriad barriers to full electoral participation. In 2011, however, that momentum abruptly shifted.
State governments across the country enacted an array of new laws making it harder to register or to vote. Some states require voters to show government-issued photo identification, often of a type that as many as one in ten voters do not have. Other states have cut back on early voting, a hugely popular innovation used by millions of Americans. Two states reversed earlier reforms and once again disenfranchised millions who have past criminal convictions but who are now taxpaying members of the community. Still others made it much more difficult for citizens to register to vote, a prerequisite for voting.
These new restrictions fall most heavily on young, minority, and low-income voters, as well as on voters with disabilities. This wave of changes may sharply tilt the political terrain for the 2012 election. Based on the Brennan Center’s analysis of the 19 laws and two executive actions that passed in 14 states, it is clear that:
- These new laws could make it significantly harder for more than five million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012.
- The states that have already cut back on voting rights will provide 171 electoral votes in 2012 – 63 percent of the 270 needed to win the presidency.
- Of the 12 likely battleground states, as assessed by an August Los Angeles Times analysis of Gallup polling, five have already cut back on voting rights (and may pass additional restrictive legislation), and two more are currently considering new restrictions.
States have changed their laws so rapidly that no single analysis has assessed the overall impact of such moves. Although it is too early to quantify how the changes will impact voter turnout, they will be a hindrance to many voters at a time when the United States continues to turn out less than two thirds of its eligible citizens in presidential elections and less than half in midterm elections.
This study is the first comprehensive roundup of all state legislative action thus far in 2011 on voting rights, focusing on new laws as well as state legislation that has not yet passed or that failed. This snapshot may soon be incomplete: the second halves of some state legislative sessions have begun.
- New State Rules Raising Hurdles at Voting Booth (New York Times 10/2/11)
- Study Predicts Voting Laws Will Change Political Landscape (Washington Post 10/3/11)
- Brennan Center: Millions Of Voters Impacted By New Photo I.D., Citizenship And Registration Laws (Huffington Post 10/3/11)
- Millions of legal voters face barriers, Brennan Center warns (The National Law Journal 10/3/11)
- Voter ID, Registration Laws May Affect 5 Million Americans in 2012 Election: Report (International Business Times 10/3/11)
- Study: New laws restrict voting for 5 million (USA Today 10/3/11)
- GOP War on Voting: New Laws Could Block Five Million From Polls (Rollingstone.com 10/3/11)
- Florida and other GOP-dominated states’ new elections rules could shut out 5 million voters next year (Palm Beach Post 10/3/11)
- The GOP's new voting laws: Disenfranchising 5 million Americans? (The Week 10/4/11)
- The Myth of Voter Fraud (New York Times 10/9/11)
- Why Isn’t Attorney General Holder Fighting GOP Efforts to Turn Back the Clock on Voting Rights (Foxnews.com 10/19/11)
- Voter ID, other initiatives follow GOP’s resurgence (Washington Times 10/23/11)
- Obama's Toughest Opponent: State Election Laws? (National Journal 10/20/11)
- New State Laws Could Impact 2012 Vote (WSJ 10/3/11)
- Study predicts voting laws will change political landscape (Washington Post 10/3/11)
- 2012 election: Disenfranchised voters, hacked machines? (CBSnews.com 10/3/11)
- Draconian laws could disenfranchise 5 million voters (The Bellingham Herald 10/3/11)
- Maine vote coalition: Study supports same-day law (Houston Chronicle 10/3/11)
- Study: Voter ID Laws Could Impact Millions (Commentary 10/3/11)
- Restrictions Could Keep Five Million Traditionally Democratic Voters From The Polls In 2012 (TPM 10/3/11)
- Report: New TX Voter Laws Reflect Major Nationwide Shift (Public News Service 10/11/11)
- Study Quantifies Impact of New Voting Laws (The Business Journal 10/3/11)
- The Pulse: The real mischief at the polls (The Philadelphia Inquirer 10/9/11)
- Democrats Launch Campaign To Counter Alleged GOP Voter Suppression (Huffington Post 10/5/11)
- Same-day Voter Registration at issue in Maine (Msnbc.com 10/9/11)
- GOP Voting Laws Could Swing the 2012 Election (The Nation 10/3/11)
- The Republican "Voter Fraud" Fraud (The Guardian 10/31/11)
- Sen. Bill Nelson Wants Investigation of Election Law Changes (Orlando Sentinel 11/1/11)
- 5 Reasons Why You Should Care About New Restrictive Voting Laws (Colorlines 11/8/11) | <urn:uuid:86198b3b-f5aa-43e7-83a2-64936c808951> | CC-MAIN-2015-40 | http://www.brennancenter.org/publication/voting-law-changes-2012 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-40/segments/1443737961332.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20151001221921-00065-ip-10-137-6-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908807 | 1,240 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Journal or Book Title
Nitrogen fixation by the Haber–Bosch process has more than doubled the amount of fixed N on Earth, significantly influencing the global N cycle. Much of this fixed N is made into N fertilizer that is used to produce nearly half of the world’s food. Too much of the N fertilizer pollutes air and water when it is lost from agroecosystems through volatilization, denitrification, leaching, and runoff. Most of the N fertilizer used in the United States is applied to corn (Zea mays L.), and the profitability and environmental footprint of corn production is directly tied to N fertilizer applications. Accurately predicting the amount of N needed by corn, however, has proven to be challenging because of the effects of rainfall, temperature, and interactions with soil properties on the N cycle. For this reason, improving N recommendations is critical for profitable corn production and for reducing N losses to the environment. The objectives of this paper were to review current methods for estimating N needs of corn by: (i) reviewing fundamental background information about how N recommendations are created; (ii) evaluating the performance, strengths, and limitations of systems and tools used for making N fertilizer recommendations; (iii) discussing how adaptive management principles and methods can improve recommendations; and (iv) providing a framework for improving N fertilizer rate recommendations.
Works produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted.
Morris, Thomas F.; Murrell, T. Scott; Beegle, Douglas B.; Camberato, James J.; Ferguson, Richard B.; Grove, John; Ketterings, Quirine; Kyveryga, Peter M.; Laboski, Carrie A. M.; McGrath, Joshua M.; Meisinger, John J.; Melkonian, Jeff; Moebius-Clune, Bianca N.; Nafziger, Emerson D.; Osmond, Deanna; Sawyer, John E.; Scharf, Peter C.; Smith, Walter; Spargo, John T.; van Es, Harold M.; and Yang, Haishun, "Strengths and Limitations of Nitrogen Rate Recommendations for Corn and Opportunities for Improvement" (2018). Agronomy Publications. 489. | <urn:uuid:bcaa2282-0e58-401c-8f82-08013ab39ac3> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/agron_pubs/489/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600400198942.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20200921050331-20200921080331-00522.warc.gz | en | 0.826937 | 487 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Shorter days, fall décor and “pumpkin spice everything” help us validate the changing of the seasons, and the fact that the new school year is well under way. A change from the last 18 months of roadway traffic, there has been an increase in the number of school buses transporting our most precious cargo to classrooms, learning labs, extracurriculars and more.
This year, National Association for Pupil Transportation’s School Bus Safety Week takes place October 18-22. Trish Reed, VP, IC Bus, sits on the NAPT Board of Directors and works closely with their safety advocacy efforts. To date, the school bus remains the safest mode of transportation for students, with more than 25 million daily riders who are 70 times more likely to get to school safely when compared to the drop-off lane. While school buses rank and maintain several dozen vehicle safety standards – with IC Buses leading the charge among OEMs – it’s important to know what those are, as well as some DOs and DON’Ts of interacting with school buses on the road.
School Bus Etiquette
There are likely several bus-related “rules of the road” you have not revisited since the last time you took a driving test. See below for several tips you can use:
- It is illegal to pass a stopped school bus with any combination of flashing lights and/or deployed stop arms.- Yellow flashing lights mean the bus is getting ready to stop, and motorists should prepare to stop.- Red flashing lights and a deployed stop arm and stop sign mean children are loading or unloading, and motorists must stop their vehicles; movement cannot resume until the bus has pulled in the stop sign and stop arm and started moving again itself.- Distracted driving is dangerous driving – no fumbling with the radio and no cell phone use of any kind, especially in a school zone.
Additionally, here are some reminders to convey to the children you care about:
- The most dangerous area around the school bus is within a 10-foot radius on all sides of the bus.- If you can’t see the driver(s), they can’t see you – stay “ five big steps” away from vehicles on all sides, and especially when crossing in front of one.- Always look both ways before and while crossing a street, even in a designated crosswalk (the situation can change quickly).- Do not kneel in a parking lot or crosswalk without being sure of your surroundings (to tie a shoe, pick up a dropped item, etc.) – you become unseeable low to the ground.
School Bus Safety & Technology
If you own or have driven a newer car, truck, or SUV, you have undoubtedly experienced consumer-level features aimed at keeping you out of harm’s way, like cross traffic detection and lane departure assist. School buses today offer similar safety options to keep everyone safe, and IC Bus leads the charge in offering the best. Here are a few notable features:
- Electronic Stability Control (ESC): Helps mitigate loss of control and possible rollovers through automatic driver alerts and intervention capabilities, including selective brake application and engine speed reduction.- Active Collision Mitigation: Using radar technology (as well as cameras in advanced systems), this system can detect objects as possible hazards from as much as 500 feet away and employs alerts as well as passive and active assistance measures.- Camera Systems: Mounted inside a school bus, camera systems help keep drivers and students safe from internal threats, while exterior mounted cameras expand a driver’s viewing range to reduce blind spots around the bus.
Even though safety never takes a nap, it’s an important annual milestone to showcase helpful tips and info during Bus Safety Week. | <urn:uuid:18169f05-5e93-4d40-8f73-e6725a746b54> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://navistar-sitecore93-456880-cd.azurewebsites.net/blog/2021/bus-safety | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030336674.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20221001132802-20221001162802-00416.warc.gz | en | 0.956809 | 774 | 2.640625 | 3 |
A Historic Oceanfront Hotel
Built in 1942 by L. Murray Dixon, the architect responsible for many famous Miami Beach Art Deco hotels, The Betsy stands as the lone surviving example of Florida Georgian architecture on Ocean Drive today. Enamored with “the colonial chic” of the post Great Depression era, Dixon’s ‘Betsy Ross Hotel’ has an expansive four-column portico and signature shuttered windows. Located at the edge of the water with an Ocean Deck that peers three stories above the Atlantic, The Betsy is a historic boutique hotel that combines 21st century technology with the architecture and grace of yesteryear.
THE BETSY HOTEL - PART OF MIAMI BEACH'S HISTORY
1920: Town of Miami Beach is incorporated
The 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in the 1920’s ushered in a period of nostalgia for the early years of the nation. John D Rockefeller’s restoration of Colonial Williamsburg was a prime case in point. Completed in the 1930s, it served as a catalyst for other historic preservation efforts around the country.
The past was renovated and gussied up, perhaps to magnify it as a way of renewing the faith of Americans struggling to emerge from the Great Depression. Everything from restaurants to furniture was re-created in a colonial image, and even Hollywood provided its powerful endorsement of colonial style.
1935: Ocean Drive’s historic Art Deco skyline begins to take shape with the addition of other hotels
1940: L. Murray Dixon builds The Betsy Ross Hotel
1942: The Betsy Ross Hotel opens
1942: US troops stationed at The Betsy Hotel during WWII
1946: "Trunkline to Sunshine," non-stop service to Miami ushers in a new era of tourism
1948: The Betsy begins its decade of management by the Lipman Family
1952: Esther Williams' Million Dollar Mermaid, which was shot in Miami, opens at the Box Office
1960: Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack perform at the Fontainebleau in Miami
1964: The Beatles come to Miami Beach to perform on the Ed Sullivan show
1964: The Jackie Gleason show moves to Miami Beach
1965: The AFL grants Miami an expansion franchise, the Dolphins
1970: The Betsy Ross Hotel is added to the State Registry of Historic Places
1972: Gloria Steinem headquarters NOW at The Betsy Ross Hotel during the Democratic Convention
1980: Amid numerous Art Deco revival movements, The Betsy Ross Hotel maintains its classic Florida-Georgian architectural façade.
1985: Renowned fashion photographer Bruce Weber chose Miami Beach for Calvin Klein’s 'Obsession,' spurring an onslaught of fashion photography shoots in the Art Deco District.
1993: The Florida Marlins are established as Major League Baseball’s newest professional team
2002: Art Basel and Miami Beach join forces to present one of the world’s premier international art shows
2003: The Betsy Ross Hotel undergoes a complete exterior restoration while maintaining its original façade
2005: MTV Video Music Awards are held at the American Airlines Arena, Miami is the first city outside of New York and Los Angeles to host the Awards
2006: Restored as a luxury boutique hotel, The Betsy Ross Hotel becomes The Betsy Hotel South Beach
2009: The Betsy Hotel reopens after a complete renovation
2010: The Betsy receives worldwide recognition for consummate design and luxury hospitality, including four separate Condé Nast Hot List Designations: US, UK, Italy, and Spain (see Press page on this website for up to date coverage)
2011: The Betsy is host hotel for O, Miami, hosting United States Poet Laureate WS Merwin and James Franco, and receives an award for community service programming in arts, culture, and philanthropy from the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association
Reminiscent of a grand colonial estate, this historic landmark hotel perpetuates vintage glamour.
- Azure Azure
"Perfect romantic getaway in our favorite beach town! The rooms were very cute, very clean, and perfect for our beach needs."- Melliet
"The The Betsy Hotel is in a great location where you can park your car and walk to everything."- Stuart B - Hoover, Alabama
"Perfection is the only word that fits it—beautiful in every way."- William - Prescott, Arizona
"I can’t say enough nice things about the The Betsy Hotel. The service was excellent and very friendly."- Joe M
"Amazing restoration of a beautiful property within walking distance of the beach and Del South Beach for dinner."- Mike R - Juno Beach | <urn:uuid:dda06bc2-5f2b-4ebd-a83e-86f203a5305f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.thebetsyhotel.com/the-betsy/history | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284429.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00240-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910046 | 954 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Brand is from Old English brand, brond "fire, flame, destruction by fire; firebrand, piece of burning wood, torch," and (poetic) "sword," from Proto-Germanic *brandaz "a burning" (source also of Old Norse brandr, Old High German brant, Old Frisian brond "firebrand; blade of a sword," German brand "fire"), from PIE root *gwher- "to heat, warm." Meaning "iron instrument for branding" is from 1828. Meaning "mark made by a hot iron" (1550s), especially on a cask, etc., to identify the maker or quality of its contents, broadened by 1827 to marks made in other ways, then to "a particular make of goods" (1854).
Brand identification is one of the five decision drivers. It does make sense. Where there is fire and burning there is action and decision. Shaping the brand is part of the customer experience. The customer experience shapes the brand as an artist shapes a sculpture. Branding is an art and a science. Customer experience in our culture is becoming increasingly science based. AI and blockchain are shaping future interactions with brands. Branding 2019 is very different from branding 1500.
Experienced brand, interact and intersect, follow the compass | <urn:uuid:48a5b975-1ba3-4c1e-b859-0890546e9b19> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://www.globalmesh.link/blog/brand | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178368431.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20210304021339-20210304051339-00568.warc.gz | en | 0.956787 | 271 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Cow in Hindu Dharma earns a special status and is synonymous to divinity. It is not looked down on as an animal but as the truest incarnation of mother – a mother who is venerated for her infinite love and protective nature to her own offspring. According to Hindu mythology, Gavu means cow while shala denotes shed or home and all gods (Devata Devi) dwell in a cow. Even the holy cow Kaamdhenu turned up following churning of cosmic ocean. If one has to realize the basis of this divinity, he must go through profundity of Vedas. In Book VI of Rig Veda, Hymn XXVIII attributed to Rishi Bhardwaja, glorifies the virtue of the cow whereas in Atharva Veda (Book X, Hymn 10), cow is designated as Vishnu; she is also mentioned here as “all that the Sun surveys.” Kautilya in Arthshastra (Chapter XXIX) is also found to laud the divine character of cow.
But all these noble nature come to a halt in contemporary India where cow has become the greatest casualty. Islamists do not miss a single opportunity to insult Hindus and in this context, slaughtering of cows is the first and best option to them. Gone are the days when Hindu perspective used to dominate the Indian political scene. Cashing in on pathetic nonchalance of Hindus, importance of minority votes, to be precise Muslim votes, has gained unimaginable significance. As a result, both slaughter and smuggling of cows have surged but the administration, under the aegis of “secular” political parties, remains silent altogether. And this surreptitious maneuver incites Islamists to open slaughter houses of cows far and wide vitiating the environment.
Can this be stopped? This single question haunts a sane Hindu mind repeatedly when myriad instances of flouting court orders to prohibit open slaughtering of cows especially on the day of Bakri Id are readily available. On November 2, 2011, by the decision bench headed by Chief Justice of Kolkata, Mr J. N. Patel and Mr. Ashim Kumar Roy (J), the Cow Slaughter on Bakri Id and trading of Cattle for sacrifice at Cattle markets was banned by the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court. The historic judgment stated in clear terms “the all Officials of the State and local bodies have no power to facilitate holding of markets for trading of cattle for sacrifice and also the movement of cattle for the said purpose on the occasion of Id-uz-Zoha festival to be celebrated on 7th, November, 2011.” But by now the order has fallen through. Slaughtering and smuggling of cows is no more a covert but an overt affair and almost on a daily basis, such reports are found from different parts of Bengal. It is a steady affair leading to communal disturbances at different areas.
Violation of court judgments does not urge administration to take up apposite measures and venerate the Role of Judiciary in an independent country like India (ever ready to laud itself as the largest democracy in the globe). In this situation, are incidents like riots in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh too unexpected? It resulted from the harassment of a Hindu girl and murders of Hindu boys for protesting.
Perhaps, Hindus have learnt at last that trust on Role of Democracy and Judiciary in India is nothing save for stupidity. As democracy defines the canon that the numerical majority of an organized group can make decisions binding on the whole group, Hindus are also realizing the need of exerting force. If Hindus become both militant and dominant, it’s the failure of Indian democracy only.
Surely, there is the need of more combativeness to stop slaughtering and smuggling of cows. Indian legal system has failed miserably by now to check this escalating menace. | <urn:uuid:90746e1e-7ee8-420c-8163-f546b0669378> | CC-MAIN-2017-51 | http://indianmotherland.blogspot.com/2013/09/hindu-aggression-only-hope-to-stop.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-51/segments/1512948615810.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20171218102808-20171218124808-00008.warc.gz | en | 0.948339 | 789 | 2.78125 | 3 |
There are several handy sayings and rules of thumb that experienced troubleshooters use to cut through whatever problem they’re trying to overcome. And while not all of them are specific to computers, they can usually be applied to computer-related troubleshooting tasks. Here are a few that might help nudge you in the right direction if you’re trying to troubleshoot past some pesky nuisance without success.
Check Your Cables
Well, this one is computer — or at least electronics — related. When weirdo problems arise, check your cables. Reseat your cables, too. You don’t always have to do this for internal cables because it usually takes a good physical jolt to mess those up, but external cables come loose quite often, and are usually the ones where experienced administrators thump their heads and say, ‘how stupid!’ which leads to the next rule…
Occam’s Razor is another one of those scientific/philosophical approaches to problem solving that you may have heard about, and it follows rules that, above all, seem to appeal to the basic tenets of common sense. Basically, it tells us that, when you’re considering two different theories, the simplest one is most likely to be the correct one. This is a contorted way of saying “Follow the path of least resistance.”
Think in His Shoes
Even if he is an it (like a computer), you can easily use this tactic to follow the path of least resistance. The goal is to determine how the computer followed the easiest path and landed with your problem. This requires some existential thinking. See the computer, network, hard disk, virus; be the computer, network, hard disk, virus. This is definitely a skill that takes some practice, but if you can learn when and how to do this, you’ll find solutions to your problems so fast that your peers will think you’re a genius.
Consider the Consequences of What You’re Doing
Of course, you realize that bringing down the server will solve the problem, but that also creates a bigger problem. Think through every possible solution that you have to a problem (once you’ve determined what the problem really is) and consider a few things: Does it solve the problem? Does it create a problem? Does it solve multiple problems? Keep in mind that a single problem can produce multiple symptoms, so a ‘yes’ answer to the question ‘Does it solve multiple problems?’ definitely puts you on the path of least resistance.
Even while you’re troubleshooting, and before you move to actually eliminate a problem, consider the consequences of what you’re doing. Schrödinger’s cat is a famous thought experiment in quantum mechanics that involves a cat in a sealed black box. The idea is that, in order to observe the activities (or lack thereof because the poor kitty would suffocate), you alter the results. After all, an otherwise suffocating kitty would get air from the peephole you poked in the box. Observation always affects outcome in the same way a guy with a TV camera and a journalism badge somehow attracts idiots (myself included). The same principle applies to your server. If you use Performance Monitor to track a problem, you might make it worse because of the overhead and resources that are necessary to run Performance Monitor to begin with. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you shouldn’t run Performance Monitor any more than you should simply wait for the server to keel over. What it means is that you need to consider the intended — and unintended — results of what you do. Determine if these are acceptable. If they’re not, can they be reduced or eliminated, or would this knock you off of the path of least resistance?
Don’t Be Stubborn
When you’re solving a problem, the goal is to solve the problem — not become a hero (although this can’t hurt if it’s a by-product of success and not the goal itself)! There’s nothing wrong with having an idea and abandoning it. There’s also nothing wrong with proving yourself wrong. The only wrong here is if the results don’t solve the problem and the consequences get you fired. Somewhere along the line, you might encounter a problem where you realize that it’ll take you longer to troubleshoot and solve the problem (assuming that it’s not a human-related issue) than it would to simply reinstall Windows and rebuild the server. A good troubleshooter is always curious to know who or what caused the problem, and sometimes it’s easy to forget that the goal is not finding the problem, but solving it. Sometimes the time factor associated with the whole process demands that you throw in the towel and start over. Hopefully you have a good disaster recovery plan in place that will enable you to do this. If not, you’re stuck, and you’ll quickly learn the lesson…
Prepare for the worst, and hope for the best. Make sure that you have a plan in place that is appropriate for your environment in the event that a disaster occurs. If you need to rebuild the server, make sure that backups are available, current, and valid. Help yourself in a crisis by pre-thinking as much as possible. At what point should you choose to rebuild the server? Remember that troubleshooting is solving problems, even those that aren’t computer related, but do have an impact upon your systems, such as power outages and floods. While you can’t really solve these problems, you can overcome them by moving the systems, sending employees home, purchasing new equipment, or even relocating the business to a temporary facility. Consider the ability of the company to conduct business, also.
So these are just a few ways to get through the process of troubleshooting with, it is hoped, your sanity intact and your problems solved. Of course, these make up just the tip of a potential troubleshooting iceberg; what suggestions do you have that could be added to this list of troubleshooting tips? | <urn:uuid:56118f69-e7b0-4869-aa3a-7403a4428b33> | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | http://www.lockergnome.com/it/2013/04/03/troubleshooting-electronics-and-life/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1413507452681.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20141017005732-00122-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946942 | 1,278 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Parshat Ha’azinu, Deuteronomy 32:1-52
This is one of the shorter sections of the Torah, and it is made up almost entirely of a breathtaking and chastening poem. The term “awesome” tends to be overused today, but this poem is truly awesome. Unfortunately, the power of the Hebrew rhythm and poetic style is lost in the English translation, but we can still sense some of the majesty.
“Give ear, O heavens, let me speak; Let the earth hear the words I utter!” Thus Moses commences to “sing out” the majesty of God (the word for poem in Hebrew, shir, is also the word for song).
God is the “The Rock, whose deeds are perfect, indeed, all God’s ways are just.” And yet Israel is a “dull and witless people” that God “found … in a desert region, in an empty howling waste. [God] engirded them, watched over them, guarded them as the pupil of God’s eye.” But the Israelites “forsook the God who made them.” God considers releasing the divine wrath on them, yet relents. “For the Eternal will vindicate God’s people.” Not because God is weak, but because God is almighty. “See then, that I, I am the One. There is no god beside Me. I deal death and give life; I wounded and I will heal: None can deliver from My hand. … When I whet My flashing blade and My hand lays hold of judgment, vengeance will I wreak on my foes.” Then, after more frightening references to making God’s “arrows drunk with blood — [God’s] sword devouring flesh,” the poem ends with, “O nations, acclaim God’s people! For He’ll avenge the blood of His servants, wreak vengeance on His foes, and cleanse his people’s land.”
God will certainly punish His “dull and witless people,” but God’s love always remains. The poetry reaffirms the need for hope, for despite life’s unavoidable travails, God keeps the divine, covenantal promise even when that very promise is broken by the Children of Israel.
Immediately following this powerful discourse comes God’s command to Moses to “ascend these heights of Abarim to Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab facing Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving the Israelites as their holding. You shall die on the mountain … for you broke faith with Me among the Israelite people, at the waters of Meribath-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, by failing to uphold My sanctity among the Israelite people. You may view the land from a distance, but you shall not enter it — the land that I am giving to the Israelite people.”
Why was Moses, the quintessentially loyal servant of God, punished by being forced to die outside the Land of Israel but in full view of its beauty? This is one of the most puzzling questions of the Torah. It seems that virtually every Bible commentator tries to explain the problem, but the explanations do not satisfy.
The punishment hearkens back to an incident in Numbers 20:1-13 when the Israelites lacked water in the desert and complained bitterly that they should never have left a verdant Egypt. Moses was exasperated by their constant whining and lack of gratitude to God for saving them from Egyptian slavery, but God commanded him to speak to a rock that would bring forth water for them. Moses then struck it in anger with his staff. In a previous episode (Exodus 17:6) God had instructed Moses to strike a rock to bring forth water for the people, so it could not have simply been his striking of the rock that was problematic.
What was the problem here? The 11th century French Bible commentator Rashi explains that Moses and Aaron disobeyed God by striking the rock when, in this case, they were commanded to speak to it rather than strike it. Midrash Tanchuma suggests that they actually did speak to the rock, but it was the wrong rock, so it did not respond. In frustration they hit another that brought forth water. It is clear from the narrative that Moses disobeyed God. But why such a horrific punishment for what seems like an understandable lapse in judgment and leadership?
Rashi’s Spanish contemporary, Rabbi Moses Hacohen Ibn Gigatilla, argued that it was what Moses and Aaron said while striking the rock that brought on their punishment. They called out in anger, “Shall we get water for you out of this rock?” (Numbers 20:10), which could be perceived by the people as if the two men had brought water from the rock through their own power rather than through the power of God. The 12th century Spanish Bible scholar, Moses Ibn Ezra, gave a Kabbalistic explanation. It was thought (and still is among some Kabbalists today) that a person can accomplish miracles by cleaving entirely to God. Moses was told to speak to the rock and could have manipulated nature to bring forth the water through his absolute and single-minded embrace of God, but he became distracted by his anger and lost his concentration. Failing to bring out water from the rock, he struck it, and in doing so he regained his concentration. Only then did water pour out, but he had lost his intention (kavanah) and failed to lead properly.
Maimonides also argued that it was Moses’ failure of leadership that brought God’s reckoning. Moses lost emotional balance (the “golden mean”) and gave in to his anger at the moment when he called out, “Listen you rebels!” (Numbers 20:10). It was therefore this instance of poor public leadership in relation to the divine imperative that caused his downfall. The problem, says Maimonides, is that such public failure among leaders results in public desecration of God’s majesty and transcendence. He calls this “profaning God’s name,” chilul HaShem.
Textual references in the passages suggest that Maimonides’ concern for chilul HaShem may be the core issue. In response to Moses’ striking the rock, God says, “Because you did not trust me enough to affirm My sanctity in the sight of the Israelite people, therefore you shall not lead this congregation into the land that I have given them” (Numbers 20:11-12). “To affirm My sanctity” is rendered in the Hebrew as l’hak’disheini. In traditional Jewish parlance, that is the opposite of profaning the divine name: kiddush HaShem versus chilul HaShem. And in our parshah, God reiterates to Moses and Aaron, “For you … broke faith with Me among the Israelite people … by failing to uphold My sanctity.” This again references failure to demonstrate kiddush HaShem by behaving improperly.
When Jews behave with compassion and justice — as Jews — we sanctify God’s name. That is kiddush HaShem. But when we fail to do so, we profane God’s name. This is chilul HaShem. According to our Sages the notion is of particular importance when the behavior is in public and people, including non-Jews, observe it and draw conclusions therefrom about Jews and Judaism.
Whatever it was that Moses did was a failure to sanctify God’s name. According to our tradition, we are always expected to sanctify God’s name in our living behavior. If we act poorly, we profane God’s name. When we act ethically and with dignity we sanctify God’s name. This is even more important for community leaders. When leaders act improperly or take advantage of their office for personal gain, or forsake their public responsibility by failing the people they are supposed to lead, they are engaging in chilul HaShem, desecrating God’s name.
One key Torah verse brilliantly sums up the difference between the two: “You shall not profane My holy name, that I may be sanctified in the midst of the Israelite people — I the Eternal who sanctify you” (Leviticus 22:32-33). That is to say, do not engage in chilul HaShem. Be just and compassionate and fair. Such behavior is a public declaration of God’s sanctity and more. By sanctifying God’s name through our modest good conduct, we step into a dynamic relationship through which God also sanctifies us.
Rabbi Reuven Firestone, Ph.D. teaches medieval Jewish Torah commentary at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. A version of this article first appeared on reformjudaism.org. | <urn:uuid:c22cddad-d032-4b7a-962d-db8b9376fd25> | CC-MAIN-2018-47 | https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/a-failure-of-leadership-and-moses-downfall/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-47/segments/1542039742316.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20181114211915-20181114233915-00365.warc.gz | en | 0.964281 | 1,930 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Look through the materials provided to students for the lesson. Spend 5-7 minutes talking about, explaining, asking questions and introducing materials (aka vocabulary) to students. Make sure they now understand how to use it. ▶️ Spend more time on this part if necessary ▶️ You goal is to make students realize that they actually learned something today
▫ What comes to mind when you hear the word adventure?
▫ What was the finest adventure you've ever gone on?
▫ What adventures do you look forward to in the future?
▫ Is the idea of an adventure different between different ages?
▫ Is learning a new skill an adventure?
▫ Do adventure films or video games make you want to go on an adventure? ▫ Can you recommend one?
▫ Young generation today doesn't want to go on a real adventure, they can have everything in the virtual world.
▫ Christopher Columbus' adventure caused slavery in the US.
▫ If adventure is not dangerous, it is no adventure.
▫ You can live happily without adventures.
▫ Adventure = travel.
▫ Self-development is an internal adventure.
Spend 5-7 minutes discussing the mistakes people made. Give good and bad examples of how the vocabulary you discussed in the beginning was used during the lesson. Visit breakout rooms and write down students’ mistakes engage with the students as much as the situation requires write down common mistakes write down misuse of the vocabulary (materials) of the lesson
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Try clicking the ⋯ next to your doc name or using a keyboard shortcut ( | <urn:uuid:cf958ded-e784-4750-86c8-0b53df63b05f> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://coda.io/@olya-ananko/inter-thu | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662539101.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20220521112022-20220521142022-00443.warc.gz | en | 0.925442 | 359 | 4.3125 | 4 |
You should study history if you wish to learn how and why the world and its peoples came to be as they are today.
History asks "How did things get to be this way?" There is nothing in the world that does not become more intriguing and far more mysterious - once we recognize the complicated events and causes that led to its creation.
At the same time, history also recognizes that there is far more to the past than the events that created the world we know today. As the British writer L. P. Hartley once famously remarked, "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there." Recognizing what we share with people in the past, while simultaneously exploring how profoundly their lives differed from our own, provides some of history's most fascinating insights.
History revels in exploring the diversity of the human experience: how profoundly people have differed in their ideas and institutions and cultural practices, how widely their experiences have varied by period and nationality and social circumstances, how much they have struggled with each other while inhabiting a shared world.
History seeks to understand past lives and societies by exploring every conceivable aspect of their reality. It takes as its field of study the entire human experience in all times and places, but does so in ways that pay very close attention to the fine-grained particularities of, and differences among, those times and places.
History analyzes the past, assessing the complex web of causes the help explain why particular events and phenomena occur, but it often communicates its findings in the form of narratives—stories—that make the past come alive as few things can. In this, history straddles the boundary between the sciences and the humanities. It is among the very few modern academic disciplines that can claim for itself one of the classical muses, Clio, of Greek antiquity. At its best, history is a form of literature, an art as much as a science.
As such, history is an ideal undergraduate major not just because of the extraordinary
perspectives it offers on the past, present, and future of human beings on this planet. It teaches analytical skills, and is as good a place to learn the craft of fine writing as anywhere in the university. Participate actively in the seminars and small-group discussions that are an essential part of the history curriculum, and it also teaches good oral communication skills as well.
The many skills history majors learn prepare them for an almost endless array of career
opportunities. Although some go on to graduate school and become professional historians, the majority go on to careers as diverse as law, business, journalism, public service, even medicine. Because history gives us tools for analyzing and explaining problems in the past, it is an essential tool for problem-solving in the present and future. Any career that rewards clear thinking, good writing, articulate speaking, and the ability to ask and answer complicated questions about how the world works will be open to a well-trained history major. | <urn:uuid:8f8da290-58ad-4f1c-bf50-e34e54f00718> | CC-MAIN-2013-48 | http://history.wisc.edu/undergraduate/moreinfo.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1386164003787/warc/CC-MAIN-20131204133323-00012-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972864 | 603 | 3.171875 | 3 |
In turn, mental health language has rapidly entered our cultural vernacular – in precisely the wrong way. Every day we hear words related to mental health being used in ways that are nothing short of absurd.
If you feel a little bit sad today, but felt OK yesterday, you’re probably not ‘bipolar’. If you wash your hands after you go to the toilet, and like having your bed made, it’s unlikely you’re suffering from ‘OCD’. If your boyfriend dumped you two days ago, and you haven’t stopped crying, you’re not necessarily ‘depressed.’
You’re human. The condition you’re experiencing is called ‘being human.’
Here, we’ve outlined the eight most common misconceptions about mental illnesses, because they need to be challenged if we’re to remove the stigma from mental health issues.
Watch: Mia Freedman discusses how she deals with her anxiety. (Post continues after video.)
1. Being a clean, organised person makes you “a little bit OCD.”
First, let’s address the grammatical issue with this statement. It doesn’t make sense to say, “I’m a little bit Obsessive Compulsive Disorder!” It’s like saying, “I’m a little bit depression”. Microsoft Word would give you a very angry green squiggly line.
OCD actually involves obsessions (e.g. the obsessive thought that you’ve left the oven on), and compulsions (e.g. checking the oven multiple times to see whether it’s on), and sufferers often feel a great deal of shame about their behaviours. That is, they’re not making Youtube videos about how to neatly stack cookie jars in a series called ‘KHLO-C-D’ (this is the title of Khloe Kardashian‘s web series).
2. People with a mental illness are violent.
When we hear about a person committing a violent crime, it’s often assumed they’re suffering from some sort of mental illness. To a degree, this makes sense; if someone attacks, rapes, or murders another human being, we can probably infer that they’re not stable and well adjusted. | <urn:uuid:fc96d48b-a505-4c6a-9918-b1b1b063166c> | CC-MAIN-2021-25 | https://www.mamamia.com.au/common-mental-illness-myths/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-25/segments/1623488552937.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20210624075940-20210624105940-00033.warc.gz | en | 0.90361 | 500 | 2.765625 | 3 |
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is committed to creating a more sustainable government. GSA recently completed a five-year research project that looked at how to reduce operating costs and carbon emissions as well as improve energy and water performance in the federal government’s green buildings. The report, “Living in a High-Performance Building: The Story of EPA’s Region 8 Headquarters,” has details on one of the most extensively studied federal buildings in the country — the regional headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency in downtown Denver, Colorado.
Academics, scientists, and private sector experts, worked together to assess the Wynkoop Building’s water performance, data center energy use, under-floor air distribution effectiveness, daylight effectiveness, thermal comfort air quality, occupant experience, workplace functionality, and green roof applications for the Denver climate. The study reveals how technologies and approaches are working at different stages of the building life cycle. Serving as research learning laboratories, the evaluation of these federal facilities helps to advance the understanding of high performance green buildings.
For example, energy analysis showed that desktop equipment contributed significantly to building energy use. An experiment on different ways to reduce desktop energy showed that the most effective method was to automatically shut down computers and other equipment when they were not being used. This method was more effective than an information campaign urging workers to turn off devices or a competition among workers who received feedback on their group’s performance compared to other groups.
Operating costs for the building are 43 percent below the industry baseline and carbon emissions 50 percent below industry baseline. The building features the first planted roof in the City of Denver, which is just one of its many green features. Solar panels, elevators that generate power, a daylit atrium wth an innovative technology to reflect light into the building interior,window shades that vary depending upon the building orientation, underfloor air distribution, recycled materials, and restrooms that use less water all contribute to the building’s overall performance. However, the study also found that occupants’ behavior is just as important to performance as the technology and construction materials. People can improve the building’s performance by operating the shades effectively, turning the lights off, and powering down electronics when they are not being used.
The building was designed and constructed through a design-build public-private partnership to be as sustainable as technology and budget permit, incorporating sustainability elements developed jointly by GSA, as the government lessor, and EPA, as the tenant agency.
For more information on “Living in a High-Performance Building: The Story of EPA’s Region 8 Headquarters,” click here. | <urn:uuid:b6ebb4c1-e2c6-4d17-be54-2b4319e02be3> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | https://gsablogs.gsa.gov/gsablog/2013/08/13/new-study-reveals-federal-green-buildings-best-practices/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218189771.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212949-00272-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95188 | 544 | 3.21875 | 3 |
article 7: Cavazzoni and the Birth of the Harpsichord Toccata
Additional notes to
NAXOS 8.572998: Marco Antonio Cavazzoni, Complete Works
Except for dances, Italian keyboard music of the 16th century - a time of extremely important developments in the history of the genre and for instrumental music in general - is consigned in the musicological literature and in editions, over and over again, exclusively to the organ. Prima facie this ought raise eyebrows, but in the light of massive evidence to the importance of the harpsichord in the period, not only in Italy but in the rest of Europe, this automatism is nothing short of astounding. Harpsichordists, with their lopsided fixation on the 18th-century literature (Bach, Scarlatti, Rameau, and Couperin le Grand ad infinitum) are partly to blame for the loss of some of their richest repertoire.
Let a few selected title pages begin to illustrate the organ fallacy:
- The first collection of keyboard music printed in Italy, Andrea Antico's Frottole Intabulate (1517, a collection of frottolas arranged for keyboard - per sonar organi ) shows the editor seated at a harpsichord.
- Musica Nova (1540), the landmark collection of ricercars for keyboard or ensemble, which survives in a single bass part book, can be reconstructed only by using the Lyons reprint called Musique de Joye, which was published as a means of learning to play "les epinettes" (a term encompassing the harpsichord and its smaller cousins) and melody instruments. The organ is not mentioned.
- Antonio Valente's Intavolatura de Cimbalo ("Harpsichord Tablature") (1576) contains (besides dances) fantasias, ricercars and a Salve Regina. Again, there is no mention of the organ.
For music from outside of Italy, similar prejudices in favor of the organ can consistently be observed. One striking example is Bernhard Schmidt the Elder’s Zwey Bücher Einer Neuen Kunstlichen Tabulatur auff Orgel und Instrument (1577). “Instrument” at this time translates as “harpsichord”. Das Erbe Deutscher Musik published the collection in 1997 as an “Orgeltabulatur”, and the editor does not mention the Instrument once in his extensive prefatory material.
Many non-musical sources testify to the harpsichord’s importance and popularity in 15th- and 16th-century Italy. Letters and other documents in official archives reveal that the line of musical patrons which I would call the most distinguished in all of musical history were harpsichordists: Ercole I, Duke of Ferrara, who established that magical city as the center of the musical world around 1470, owned several harpsichords housed in a special music room in the castle, and sent one to his famous son, Cardinal Ippolito. Duke Ercole was consoled on his deathbed by Vincenzo da Modena’s harpsichord playing. Ippolito and his sister Isabella d’Este (who was called the “First Lady of the World”) had harpsichord lessons from Girolamo da Sestola; and Isabella’s daughter Eleonora was the patroness of the harpsichordist Marco Antonio Cavazzoni after she became Duchess of Urbino.
Also belonging to the first century of the harpsichord’s existence are the following three highly prominent performers:
- Isacco Argiropulo (Argyropoulos) was given a contract as harpsichordist in 1472 by the Duke of Milan, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, as was already revealed in an article from 1881. This brutal tyrant, who quickly built his private chapel into one of the finest in Europe, names Isacco as “nostro Cortesano et Sonatore de gravacymbolo”. The organ is not mentioned in the document; nevertheless, in all literature and lexica he is consistently referred to only as an organist and organ builder. Isacco was later appointed cubicularius secretus (private chamberlain) of Pope Sixtus IV, possibly the first mention of keyboard player in such a capacity at any court (Pirotta).
- The Spaniard Laurenzo of Cordova, documented from 1476 at the brilliant Aragonese court of King Ferrante I of Naples, and given an introduction by him to Lorenzo de’ Medici in 1484, is praised for his interpuncta facilitas (able precision) on the Gravecordium by the papal secretary Paolo Cortese (or Cortesi) in his famous treatise De Cardinalatu (1510). This term has been incorrectly translated (Pirrotta, Atlas) as “clavichord”, but clavicordio was the Spanish name for the harpsichord, and the prefix “grave-” is only associated with this instrument.
- The earliest-born known composer of keyboard ricercars, Jacobo (or Giacomo) Fogliano da Modena, whose memorial plaque can still be seen in the cathedral where he spent most of his long life, is already described when he was still a teenager in 1483 as a master of the harpsichord.
Here are a few later sources of various kinds:
- A correspondence of 1524 regarding Adrian Willaert's controversial chromatic part-song "Quid non ebrietas" refers to the famous theorist Pietro Aron playing the piece on his harpsichord (which, by the way, puts the instrument at the center of furious arguments about tuning and temperament).
- Ortensio Lando's book of lists (1552) mentions two of the most important keyboard composers of the era as harpsichordists only: Giulio Segni, the initiator of Musica Nova, is "most excellent on quilled instruments", and the great Jacques Brunel of Ferrara is "miraculous on quilled instruments and expert in chromatic music" (cf. the previous remark).
- Segni, one of the greatest masters of the early ricercar, is mentioned again in Cosimo Bartoli's Raggionimenti Academici (1567), which includes a list of active keyboard players in which the harpsichord dominates. Segni is said to play beautifully on the organ, but to be "worth far more" on quilled instruments. Bartoli tells two stories of important political conferences, one of them involving Pope Clement VII, where Segni's quiet background music on the harpsichord caused the pressing subjects at hand to be dropped, and those involved to wander over to the instrument and listen, spellbound. The harpsichord is specified in the source, but an organ, with its accompanying inconvenience and indiscretion of a bellows-blower, would be in any case inconceivable in such situations.
- Bartoli also has one of his speakers tell of hearing "il Moschino" (the nickname of the Florentine Baccio Moschini) play alone on the harpsichord for an hour "for his own pleasure and study", causing his listener to be cleansed of all bitterness and anger. He played the whole while "in contrabattuta", in which style he is said to be unrivaled; I take this to mean what was later called "senza battuta" or "con discrezione", in which case we may have here the earliest reference to free preluding on the harpsichord.
- The Venetian envoy to the Papal court reports as follows on a 65-course dinner given by Cardinal Francesco Cornaro, the dedicatee of Marco Antonio Cavazzoni's epochal publication of 1523 which is the focus of our recording, on the occasion of Isabella d'Este's visit to Rome: "At the end of the meal we rose from the table...deafened by the continual concert, carried on both within and without the hall and proceeding from every instrument that Rome could produce - fifes, harpsichords and four-stringed lutes in addition to the voices of hired singers."
- A letter from Antonfranceso Doni to the sculptor Giovanni Angelo refers to Claudio Veggio, composer of a few brilliant ricercars preserved at Castell'Arquato, as a harpsichordist. (Both Doni and Veggio were from Piancenza, members of the local Academy of Gardeners dedicated to the garden-fertility god Priapus, which was disbanded by the authorities for bad behavior. Veggio makes a rare personal appearance in Antonfrancesco Doni's Dialogo della Musica (1554) as a feisty young fellow trying to interrupt the loose talk and get on with music-making; he is also jealous of the attention which the multi-talented Girolamo Parabosco (Segni's succesor as first organist at San Marco) is getting.
- Vincenzo Galilei (the astronomer's father), in a critique of contrapuntal music found in his famous Dialogo (1581), criticizes composers for using extremely long notes, which render their performance on lute and harpsichord, "those noble instruments", impossible unless "the experienced performer" re-strikes them.
These are some of the results of a few winter evenings’ trolling of the internet; I feel certain they could easily be multiplied by a more diligent researcher than I.
Why is this bias in favor of the organ - which has slowly become as irritating to me as all those Urtext editions of Bach for “Piano” or Klavier - so powerful? I think it is mostly because of the massive presence of these formidable and dangerously powerful instruments in churches all over the world, under which the fragile remains of 16th-century harpsichords, largely mute and untouchable in museums, are simply crushed. Then there is the Roman Catholic Church itself, housing so many magnificent organs, with its tremendous influence on society at large, then and now. Nothing could be published in 16th-century Italy without her blessing. Even such a raucous gathering as that described in Doni’s Dialogo had to begin with the singing of motets to the Virgin. The harpsichord was a private instrument; for personal delectation, gatherings of friends or “Academies”, small concerts and entertainment during potentates’ meals, and for purposes of learning the keyboardist’s art at home.
There is also considerable confusion regarding the term “organo” itself, perhaps best illustrated by Antico’s cover mentioned above. The full title includes “per sonare organi”, which has to include the harpsichord, given the picture of Antico playing one on the cover. The literal German translation of the original Greco-Latin word “organon/organum”, Instrument, is an extreme example of this conflation in that it quite simply means “harpsichord”. The most influential theorist of the period, Zarlino, says the term organo covers “any man-made instrument”, the original usage that goes back to the ancient Greeks. The invention of the instrument we now call the organ of course goes back to Alexandria in the third century BC, and the term slowly shifted in later languages to apply, at least in music, to that complicated apparatus, without ever quite losing the original senses, which included “tool” and “sensory organ”. When the clavichord and harpsichord were invented in the 14th century, the fact of their having keys like their predecessor nudged them into the same general category.
Particular confusion has been caused for centuries by the Psalmist’s exhortation to praise God in organis, which simply means “with instruments”, and has nothing whatsoever to do with the modern organ, which had yet to be invented when the original Hebrew was composed (although St. Jerome, who wrote the Latin Vulgate translation quoted here certainly knew the organ).
The term “intavolatura d’organo”, meaning a keyboard score, is similarly ambiguous. The emphasis should be on “intavolatura”, the making of a “table” of many notes, not on “organo”; it just happened that organists were already looking for ways to notate their music before the younger instruments came along and took it over. It is telling in this respect that some of the earliest mentions of the clavichord, in its earliest form called the chekker, say that it is “played like” or “resembles the organ”. There are numerous examples of harpsichord music in sources described as being notated in “intavolatura d’organo”. The old, somewhat oxymoronic Spanish term canto de organo - “organ (or instrumental?) song” - is a similar case; it means “mensural music”, as opposed to canto llano - plainchant. Here again, a term was taken from what was conveniently nearby, although in this case proximity concerned the location of choir and organ, not a similarity of mechanism.
This association of organ and harpsichord is borne out by the extraordinary prevalence of the combined instruments called claviorgana in the 16th century, which culminated in the monstrosity containing a harpsichord and three separate spinets built in the 17th century for Palazzo Verospi Vitelleschi in Rome. Inventories from several countries cite dozens of them. A notable example is famous the portrait of Paul Hofhaimer in the “Triumph of Emperor Maximilian”, where he is shown sitting at a positive organ. But on the camel-drawn mythical float, a claviorganum (with “Baldachinorgel” and upright harpsichord elements) and a clavicytherium (upright harpsichord) in their protective cases are also clearly visible. In 1585 at Palazzo Pitti in Florence, Claudio Merulo played a particularly elaborate one, with a register that initiated a mock naval battle on its top, to the astonishment of four Japanese boys who had been sent by the Jesuits to Europe to illustrate their success in training the people of that otherwise stubborn nation.
Italian keyboard music of the 16th century centers on the dance, on arrangements of vocal music, but especially on the ricercar. The form began its life, as far as we know, as an improvisatory prelude on the lute, but the term came to mean almost anything (dances and variations excepted) played on solo instruments which involved no text. Eventually it developed into the most complex form of contrapuntal music.
This lost art of polyphony - the simultaneous interweaving of more than one melodic line - was once the glory and pinnacle of Western music. As it was practiced in Flanders and Italy during the early 16th century, it had the straightforward, muscular beauty of ancient Greek, and is now equally as dead to a world drowning in ephemera. Its Mannerist late flowering in the 17th and 18th centuries, the fugue, still echoes faintly, thanks largely to the harpsichord works of J. S. Bach (and his three-part ricercar in the Musical Offering returns the circle to improvisation). But the foundation upon which that last great master of polyphony built his edifices - the Italian ricercare for instrumental ensemble or keyboard - has been consigned, if anywhere, to university classrooms, where one imagines reluctant students of music history yawning as they consult their social media. Musica Nova represented the decisive shift in the form from something reflecting the word’s literal meaning (“to search out”), which evolved into the toccata, to the sober counterpoint that challenged composers to exercise their craft to the highest degree.
There are a very few examples of a type of ricercar which fits neither the category “improvised prelude”, nor that of “strict counterpoint”. A distinguished Canadian musicologist, Warren Kirkendale, has called the former “Aristotelian” and the latter “Ciceronian”, citing the Stagirite’s descriptions of extemporaneous exordia, and contrasting them with Cicero’s recommendations for careful preparation, as propagated by Cavazzoni’s friend and patron, Cardinal Bembo. This discursive, in-between type might, by the same token, be called “Epicurian”, since I think they were composed for gatherings of friends, which in the philosophy of Epicurus represent the highest form of pleasure. The prime examples of this third type are the two which appear in Marco Antonio Cavazzoni’s print of 1523, which forms the centerpiece of the recording for which this essay provides some background, and which since they were first discussed (Jeppensen, 1943) and published have been called “organ music”. There is, however, strong internal evidence that they represent Cavazzoni’s work as a harpsichordist, which is strongly documented:
- We know of his youthful service at the court of Urbino because of letters from Duchess Eleonora in 1512 (the year when Cavazzoni's native Bologna was conquered by her husband) which call him "mio musico"; this implies work as a chamber musician, which could involve small organs, but more likely stringed instruments. Some years ago I saw, in the Museo Nazionale located in the palace where he played, a drawing of a small group of people around a harpsichordist marked "15th-16th century". I made a mental note at the time and thought no more about it. In spite of my best efforts to date, and those of curators at the museum, I have not been able to trace what may be a picture of Cavazzoni performing in a gathering similar to those described in Castigione's famous Cortegiano, set in Urbino. The frottolist Marco Cara and a few other musicians are mentioned there, but the brief period of overlap between Cavazzoni's and Castigione's residence in Urbino (the author left for Rome in 1513), the fact that the book was already begun in 1508, and the older man's close association with the peripatetic duke, have robbed us of a description of Marco Antonio d'Urbino role in intimate gatherings at the most refined court in the world.
- A Venetian ambassador to the Papal court writes that Leo X kept Cavazzoni dal gravicembalo "very close to him".
- The dedication of a 1523 edition of Petrarch refers to Cavazzoni's service with the Pope, and calls him the world's greatest master of the harpsichord.
- The salary records of the papal Curia refer to him only as harpsichordist.
- A papal singer reports back to Ferrara that Cavazzoni performed feats on the harpsichord at a concert for the Pope which were "miraculous, not to say which might resurrect the dead."
- Pietro Aretino, besides addressing two of his famous letters to Cavazzoni, mentions him alongside Giulio da Modena in his comedy Il Marescalco as players of the "cimbalis bene sonantibus", a Biblical reference which puns on "cembalo".
The book of 1523, entitled Recerchari Motetti Canzoni Libro Primo, contains no reference to any specific instrument whatsoever; there is only a standard mention in the printing privilege, granted in the name of Pope Adrian VI, to the praise of God in organis, as explained above. It is divided into two parts of four pieces each, for a total of eight, then considered a perfect number. The first part is sacred, the second, secular; domains which are usually assigned to the organ and harpsichord respectively. That division can be easily affirmed for part two, heavily-ornamented arrangements of four chansons, which, while certainly playable on a chamber organ, rely to an extraordinary degree on long written-out trills. This points rather clearly to primacy of the harpsichord. So does the fact that (judging by their titles) the lost originals, efforts by Cavazzoni in the fashionable French-language form, are eminently of this world, not the next.
The first part, consisting of two ricercars each followed by an arrangement of a motet in the same key, requires considerably more comment. I hope to show that they, too, are conceived for the stringed instrument.
There can be no objection to playing Cavazzoni’s two motet arrangements on the harpsichord; all the harpsichord collections mentioned at the beginning of this essay contain sacred music, as do several dance sources. In France, three collections published by Attaingnant in 1531 containing ONLY music for the liturgy are presented for “organ, harpsichord or clavichord”. Private devotion, general keyboard study, and even performance in religious houses that had no organ are some of the reasons which can be given for this practice. Restricting such music to the organ on pious grounds cannot be justified.
Having liberated Cavazzoni’s part one from the organ monopoly, we must next sever it from the organ and from the church altogether. The main reasons for this are found within the two ricercars themselves. They are threefold.
First, range: The first ricercar uses the range G-e’’’, the second goes even farther, to F-f’’’. This is beyond the range of Italian organs of the time. In the 15th century this was fairly standardized at F-f’’. Larger “doppio” organs extended this down an octave, to cover pull-down pedal range. By Cavazzoni’s time extensions up to a’’, and down to C or CC were becoming common. It was the harpsichord and spinet which went up as far as f’’’. It is sometimes asked what was played up that high; these are the only pieces I know of that answer that question, with one exception, a set of mass versets by “Jaches” in Castell’Arquato, which goes up to d’’’. This piece looks texturally like harpsichord music, and I would suggest it is just such a work for such small chapels with no organ as I mentioned a couple of paragraphs back. Of course, it could also have been intended for a small organ with a higher range; such did exist, but not in sufficient numbers to justify an expensive publication such as Cavazzoni’s, assuming he ever had the organ in mind for it.
I am aware that organists like to claim an historical right to transpose an octave higher or lower at will if their instrument allows it. Both these ricercars could be played an octave lower on, say, the large organ at San Petronio in Bologna, but that only leads to a confused growling in the nether regions of the pipework, even if the principal registers are not drawn. Such an expedient is unnecessary in any case when there is such a clear historical alternative: harpsichords and spinets with C-f’’’ (or F to f’’’, which fits Cavazzoni to perfection) ranges. There is no need whatsoever to change the pitches notated in the source.
Secondly, the very texture of the two ricercars points clearly to the harpsichord. All music of the period which is definitely for the organ respects the flowing, connected lines which the instrument’s sustained sound requires. By contrast, the melodies in our two ricercars leap around wildly, and often break off suddenly, even at leading notes.The number of voices is also subject to constant and often sudden changes, as is the general Affekt. These pieces are floods of sudden inspirations; they manipulate a small number of motifs and modulate violently in a way never before seen in music history, fairly careening from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other and back again. All this is typical for the chameleon-like, thrust-and-parry character of the harpsichord, and is utterly foreign to the early organ literature.
In addition, the frequent parallel fifths and octaves in left-hand chords, which resemble the octave and quint registers of an organ, are also characteristic of the harpsichord’s wonderful dance literature, and are very rarely found in organ music, simply because they are redundant there. And to me, at least, the dissonant parallel thirds in the left hand against the repeated chords in the right at the beginning of the Recercare primo sound simply awful on the organ, whereas the transparency of the harpsichord renders them delightful. This is not Gothic music, as this instance, as well as some of the many errors in the print (if taken as they stand) might cause one to suspect. (Initial repeated chords like these are found in organ music as far away as Poland, and are not, as might be thought, indicative of the quickly diminishing sound of the harpsichord.)
Thirdly, both pieces are inconceivable in the liturgy because of their extreme length. All sources instruct organists to be brief; these two ricercars compare in duration with the massive ricercars of Jacques Buus. The Roman Catholic church was at this time under great pressure from the Reformation to simplify its ceremonials, and came within a hair of eliminating all church music except Gregorian chant a few year later at the Council of Trent.
The only clearly liturgical pieces which can match the 1523 ricercars in length come more than a century later, in Frescobaldi’s Fiori Musicali, which contain very long ricercars. But he supplies many cadences where, as he tells us, the organist can break off when necessary; and anyway, I think he was just showing off his latest masterpieces in print.
Cavazzoni’s pieces are not for the church; they are distant mirrors of the long improvisations on chamber organs and harpsichords which made Paul Hofhaimer, keyboardist to the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, famous all over Europe. This might seem far-fetched, but it must be remembered that the Venetian Dionisio Memmo, another widely-travelled virtuoso, studied with Hofhaimer, and worshipped him as a demi-god. I think it can be assumed that Cavazzoni, as a young man in Bologna, heard and knew Memmo, and possibly even studied with him. Hofhaimer, who constantly sought out the companionship of humanists to supplement his poor education, was working at the time of his death in 1537 on a setting of Latin poetry which is purest Renaissance. His four surviving organ pieces are Gothic, and must be much earlier. I am reminded by this contrast of two adjacent bishops’ tombstones by Tilman Riemenschneider in the cathedral of Würzburg, where I live; one late Gothic, the other early Renaissance. And let me say again that the much younger Cavazzoni was emphatically on the later side of that divide.
So much for the internal evidence; but there is one more objection to performance of Cavazzoni and other ricercarists on organs. The way the ranks of the Italian church organ are built up weighs them heavily to the treble. There are no mixtures to balance the bass (although smaller registers break back when their pipes become too small). Large organs even sometimes have additional ranks of principal pipes in the discant. This shows, to my mind, that their main function was the harmonization of choral melodies (falso bordone). Recordings, as well as my own experiences as performer and listener, confirm that lower contrapuntal voices come through poorly. This, however, is a general problem with all big organs, as noted by Arnold Schlick in his Spiegel as early as 1511, which the Germans tried to solve by adding independent pedal divisions. It is no problem at all on the harpsichord, which is why I, for one, will always prefer it for polyphony. In addition to this difficulty, there are many passages in Cavazzoni’s ricercars where all the voices cluster in the lower range. These are reduced to mud on any organ.
The word “ricercar” first appears in a church context in 1531, in the report of a competition for the organist’s post in Treviso. It refers there to improvised music (preludes, postludes, responses, elevations) with no cantus firmus. The three preludes in the three Attaingnant collections mentioned previously (which rather surprisingly contain some organ music as advanced as anything from Italy) provide a sensible example of what a good organist might have provided: highly expressive, but stable, clear, mostly three-part textures.
Cavazzoni himself provides us with one ricercar which can be seen as suitable for the church, his only work not preserved in print, but rather in the priceless manuscripts at Castell’Arquato. It is of a suitable length; it stays within the organ’s range; the lines, while sometimes virtuosic, do not leap around; and the fugal sections are short and clear. It leads directly to the toccatas of the later Venetian school, and the contrast to the two pieces under discussion is striking.
Marco Antonio Cavazzoni, close friend of Cardinal Bembo, Pietro Aretino and Titian, was very much part of the artistic and literary life of Venice during its most famous flowering. Music often lags behind the other arts, because of its cumbersome, arcane burden of theory and the difficulty of achieving its practice at the highest level. In these two ricercars we see a brief flash of congruence, perhaps even of a leading edge of some kind. They are so far in advance of their musical neighbors that one must seek the source of their inspiration in the improvising mind of a genius who watched Raphael and Michelangelo at work in the Vatican, and who could have observed Titian while he painted one of his portraits of Eleonora née Gonzaga, Cavazzoni’s early patroness, in whose service the composer earned the sobriquet “d’Urbino”. Who knows, he might have even helped to inspire them by his playing on the sober little instrument from 1516 shown on our cover, formerly the property of Leo X, which happens to be the oldest harpsichord to have survived the havoc of the intervening centuries. This project celebrates the 500th anniversary of its existence.
In Greek mythology, the satyr Marsyas challenged Apollo to a contest: his panpipe vs. the god’s lyre. The defeat of the impudent creature is invoked in Renaissance literary discussions of the relative merits of wind and stringed instruments, in which strings obviously come out on top. I am not suggesting that organists who play Cavazzoni and other early ricercars should be flayed alive, as poor Marsyas was; but a little less presumption would be in order.
A perusal of “Della Musica in Mantova” by Pietro Canal (Venice, Real Istituto Veneto di
Scienze, Lettere ed Arte, 1881) yielded a two more early 16th-century references to the
- From an eclogue describing contemporary life in Mantova by the macaronic poet Teofilo
Folengo (a.k.a. Merlino Coccaio):
Semper in ballis godit et moreschis;
Hic strepunt pivae, cifoli, canelli;
Hicve zampognae, pifari, rubebae;
- Dionisio Memmo, Venetian nobleman, star student of Paul Hofhaimer, organist of San
Marco, later close associate and chapel master of Henry VIII of England, played
harpsichord at court after assisting at the organ for the first performances of the newlyconstituted
ducal capella in 1511. He is referred to as il frate de’ Crosaccheri, Venetian
dialect for the Croceferi (Crutched Friars), a notoriously loose order for the nobility with
connections to Mantova.
Finally (for the moment): the diarist Marino Sanudo relays a private report from the
Venentian ambassador in London: Giovanni da Legge (Zuan da Leze), another noble
Venetian (referred to by Giovannni del Lago as “dignissimo sonator d’organo”), is said to
be outstanding especially on the clavicembano. He travelled to England in hopes of an
appointment at the court of Henry VIII like that which Memmo had, but was fobbed off with
a small gift of money; whereupon he hanged himself on his dagger-belt. | <urn:uuid:4e2f1e4b-4623-405e-91b7-6f946cafa6fd> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | http://glenwilson.eu/article7.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247518497.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20190222155556-20190222181556-00240.warc.gz | en | 0.959178 | 7,199 | 2.875 | 3 |
What Is A Takeaway in Hockey?
Hockey has been around for over a century, and while it has seen some changes over the years, it’s still a popular game today. One of the things that makes hockey so unique is its rules. There are many different ways to play hockey, and each one has its own set of rules. The rules can seem complicated at first, but once you learn them, they become second nature.
In this article, we’ll take a look at one of the most common rules in hockey: the takeaway. What is a takeaway? Also, the difference between takeaway and giveaway.
What Is A Takeaway In Hockey?
A takeaway is a statistic used to describe the number of times a player successfully strips the puck from another player. It’s a great way to measure how good your team is at getting the puck away from your opponents, and it’s an important part of hockey: each time you succeed at taking the puck away from someone else, you increase your chances of scoring!
A takeaway occurs when an offensive player pucks the puck away from another player in possession. If you’re on offense and you manage to take the puck away from one of your opponents, it will result in a takeaway for your team!
It’s important that you know how to create pressure on opposing players so they don’t have time to plan their next move. That means moving quickly and decisively and if you can do that consistently enough, you’ll be sure to get some takeaways!
See more: What Is A Giveaway In Hockey?
Takeaway Vs Giveaway: What Are The Differences?
You might have heard the terms “giveaway” and “takeaway” while watching hockey. But what do they mean?
Here are the differences:
Giveaways are unforced errors that result in the opposing team getting possession of the puck. Giveaways often occur when a player attempts to pass or shoot but their pass is intercepted by an opponent.
Takeaways, on the other hand, are forced mistakes that result in the opposing team losing possession of the puck. Takeaways often occur when a player forces an opponent to make a bad pass or shoot.
In other words, giveaways are accidental and takeaways are intentional.
Who Leads The NHL In Takeaways?
Joe Thornton is the leader of the pack when it comes to takeaways in the NHL.
He has 49 takeaways, which is more than any other player in the league.
Joe Thornton is a player that has been around for a long time and he has been able to keep up with the new generation of players. He has been able to stay healthy for most of his career and he continues to impress everyone with his play on the ice.
He may not be as fast as some of the younger players. But he knows how to use his body in order to get past defenders and make plays happen.
He has a knack for getting his stick on pucks and taking them away from his opponents as they try to control them. It’s no wonder why he leads the pack!
See more: Why Do Hockey Coaches Wear Suits?
The takeaway is a very important maneuver in hockey. It allows the player to take the puck away from an opponent and get it into their team’s possession.
The takeaway is a quick, effective move that can be executed by any player on the ice. It is a skill that can be practiced, improved, and perfected by players of all ages. | <urn:uuid:3324c908-9bbb-4a2c-a807-c540229cd718> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://sportaider.com/takeaway-in-hockey/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296943589.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20230321002050-20230321032050-00773.warc.gz | en | 0.976465 | 739 | 2.671875 | 3 |
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The world's biggest extraterrestrial explorer, NASA's Curiosity rover, rocketed toward Mars on Saturday on a search for evidence that the red planet might once have been home to itsy-bitsy life.
It will take 8½ months for Curiosity to reach Mars following a journey of 354 million miles.
An unmanned Atlas V rocket hoisted the rover, officially known as Mars Science Laboratory, into a cloudy late morning sky. A Mars frenzy gripped the launch site, with more than 13,000 guests jamming the space center for NASA's first launch to Earth's next-door neighbor in four years, and the first send-off of a Martian rover in eight years.
NASA astrobiologist Pan Conrad, whose carbon compound-seeking instrument is on the rover, had a shirt custom made for the occasion. Her bright blue, short-sleeve blouse was emblazoned with rockets, planets and the words, "Next stop Mars!"
Conrad jumped and cheered as the rocket blasted off a few miles away.
"It's amazing," she said, "and it's a huge relief to see it all going up in the same direction."
The 1-ton Curiosity — as large as a car — is a mobile, nuclear-powered laboratory holding 10 science instruments that will sample Martian soil and rocks, and analyze them right on the spot. There's a drill as well as a stone-zapping laser machine.
It's "really a rover on steroids," said NASA's Colleen Hartman, assistant associate administrator for science. "It's an order of magnitude more capable than anything we have ever launched to any planet in the solar system."
The primary goal of the $2.5 billion mission is to see whether cold, dry, barren Mars might have been hospitable for microbial life once upon a time — or might even still be conducive to life now. No actual life detectors are on board; rather, the instruments will hunt for organic compounds.
Curiosity's 7-foot arm has a jackhammer on the end to drill into the Martian red rock, and the 7-foot mast on the rover is topped with high-definition and laser cameras. No previous Martian rover has been so sophisticated or capable.
With Mars the ultimate goal for astronauts, NASA also will use Curiosity to measure radiation at the red planet. The rover also has a weather station on board that will provide temperature, wind and humidity readings; a computer software app with daily weather updates is planned.
The world has launched more than three dozen missions to the ever-alluring Mars, which is more like Earth than the other solar-system planets. Yet fewer than half those quests have succeeded.
Just two weeks ago, a Russian spacecraft ended up stuck in orbit around Earth, rather than en route to the Martian moon Phobos.
"Mars really is the Bermuda Triangle of the solar system," Hartman said. "It's the death planet, and the United States of America is the only nation in the world that has ever landed and driven robotic explorers on the surface of Mars, and now we're set to do it again."
Curiosity's arrival next August will be particularly hair-raising.
In a spacecraft first, the rover will be lowered onto the Martian surface via a jet pack and tether system similar to the sky cranes used to lower heavy equipment into remote areas on Earth.
Curiosity is too heavy to use air bags like its much smaller predecessors, Spirit and Opportunity, did in 2004. Besides, this new way should provide for a more accurate landing.
Astronauts will need to make similarly precise landings on Mars one day.
Curiosity will spend a minimum of two years roaming around Gale Crater, chosen as the landing site because it's rich in minerals. Scientists said if there is any place on Mars that might have been ripe for life, it would be there.
"I like to say it's extraterrestrial real estate appraisal," Conrad said with a chuckle earlier in the week.
The rover — 10 feet long and 9 feet wide — should be able to go farther and work harder than any previous Mars explorer because of its power source: 10.6 pounds of radioactive plutonium. The nuclear generator was encased in several protective layers in case of a launch accident.
NASA expects to put at least 12 miles on the odometer, once the rover sets down on the Martian surface.
This is the third astronomical mission to be launched from Cape Canaveral by NASA since the retirement of the venerable space shuttle fleet this summer. The Juno probe is en route to Jupiter, and twin spacecraft named Grail will arrive at Earth's moon on New Year's Eve and Day.
NASA hails this as the year of the solar system. | <urn:uuid:f96fe8ae-2ec0-4122-9205-d49a8d96f05d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lamonitor.com/content/nasa-launches-super-size-mars-rover-red-planet-see-videos?quicktabs_2=0&mini=calendar-date%2F2012-12 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941842 | 988 | 3.5 | 4 |
Did you know that Meniscus tears affect approximately 1 million people in the US each year?
As a crucial part of the knee joint, an injury to the meniscus can cause extreme pain and impact daily activities. That’s why proper protection and recovery are essential for those with meniscus injuries. This is where a knee brace comes in.
In this article, we will discuss the importance of wearing a knee brace for meniscus injury prevention. Continue reading to learn more.
The Role of Knee Brace
When it comes to meniscus injuries, a knee brace can help in several ways. Here are some of its primary roles in preventing meniscus injuries:
A knee brace can provide stability to the knee joint. It helps to keep the knee in proper alignment and prevents any sudden movements that may cause further damage. This is important for those with weak or damaged menisci.
The brace acts as an external support. This reduces the risk of re-injury and promotes proper healing.
Many knee braces offer compression. This can help to reduce pain and swelling. This is beneficial for those with meniscus tears as it can aid in the healing process.
Compression also improves blood circulation. This allows for nutrients and oxygen to reach the affected area. This promotes a faster recovery process.
A knee brace can act as a protective barrier between the injured knee and potential hazards. The brace can absorb impact and distribute force evenly.
It reduces the risk of further injury to the meniscus. This is important for those who lead an active lifestyle or participate in sports.
The Importance of Proper Wear
It’s not enough to just have a knee brace, proper wear and usage are crucial for effective protection and recovery. Here are some key reasons why:
A knee brace needs to fit snugly around the knee to provide optimal support. Improperly wearing a knee brace can result in slipping. This could lead to further injury.
Ensure that your knee brace is the correct size and has adjustable straps for a custom fit. This will ensure maximum protection and comfort.
Different knee braces may have specific instructions for wear and usage. It’s important to follow these instructions carefully to receive the full benefits of the brace.
For example, some braces types may need to be worn only during activities while others may need to be worn for longer periods. Make sure you understand and follow these instructions to avoid any complications.
To see effective results, consistency is key. This means wearing your knee brace as recommended by your doctor or physical therapist.
Skipping days or not wearing it as directed can delay the healing process. It’s important to wear your brace consistently for the recommended duration. For additional information, you might also want to check the Newoptionssports.com article.
Optimizing the Use of a Knee Brace for Meniscus Injury Prevention
A knee brace for meniscus injury prevention can be a lifesaver. It provides stability, compression, and protection to the injured knee.
However, proper wear and usage are crucial for effective prevention and recovery. Make sure to follow instructions, get a custom fit, and remain consistent in wearing your knee brace. This will help you get back to your daily activities and sports in no time.
If you found this article helpful, discover more insightful articles and resources on our website | <urn:uuid:630ce327-f1d4-4d2c-808a-a82fde3a11f5> | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | https://arenteiro.com/importance-properly-wearing-knee-brace-meniscus-injury-prevention/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947474775.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20240229003536-20240229033536-00031.warc.gz | en | 0.93244 | 694 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Bosnian Pyramids May Have Been Built With knowledge Received from SPACE
A bizarre documentary claims the PYRAMIDS in Bosnia were built using knowledge from space.
American historian Semir Osmanagic has said there is a civilisation older than the Egyptians that built the pyramids in Europe. Mr Osmanagic claims he has discovered the world’s oldest pyramids in the Balkans. He says these are not just any pyramid, but what Mr Osmanagich calls the Pyramid of the Moon, the world’s largest, and oldest, step pyramid.
Looming above the opposite side of town is the so-called Pyramid of the Sun — also known as Visocica Hill — which, at 720 feet, also dwarfs the Great Pyramids of Egypt.
According to the historian, a third pyramid is in the nearby hills. All of them, he says, are some 12,000 years old.
In Amazon Prime’s “The Pyramid: Finding the Truth”, the documentary reveals how highly developed civilisations could have received their knowledge from space in what could be a revelation to how the mystery of the pyramids was built.
The documentary includes an interview with Semir Osmanagic, who describes himself as Bosnian American, is becoming known as the person who discovered the existence of pyramids in the Bosnian town of Visoko.
At the centre of attention is a decade-old claim by the archaeologist that he had found several large pyramids disguised as pointy peaks around the former medieval capital of Bosnia.
The narrator reveals scientists criticised Mr Osmanagic on his alternative view of the past.
As he writes in the book Alternative History, he believes that in the past highly developed civilisations already existed in previous cycles 15 or 30 thousand years ago.
The academic also writes about the possibility they received their knowledge from space, particularly the Mayan civilisation.
The documentary questions if it is possible that any other species could do this.
Mr Osmanagic said: “My opinion is, anything is possible. I have to stay open for any option.
“But in my case I will just have to allow the possibility that on this planet we really did have civilisations, intelligent men, in the previous cycles who are just developed enough to do such things.
“I think they did have some other technologic means. It doesn’t have to be technology now in our present way.”
Mr Osmanagic sparked a cottage industry in what he believes are 30,000 year-old structures that dwarf the pharaohs’ pyramids in Egypt, even while some of the world’s most prominent archaeologists have called it a pyramid-sized hoax. | <urn:uuid:0cb8a2c4-f8cb-42cd-b9b2-a58d806289c8> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | https://bendedreality.com/bosnian-pyramids-may-have-been-built-with-knowledge-received-from-space/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547584520525.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20190124100934-20190124122934-00300.warc.gz | en | 0.972133 | 560 | 3.125 | 3 |
Project to help children in Palestine
Project: Rehabilitation of a playground for children from refugee camp of Deheishe
The project allows children to access to a secure playground with sport equipment to have fun and unwind. Those young would be able to exercise in an open-air to better concentrate once they are in the classroom and improve their school results.
The Palestinian organization Karama offers educational, creative and recreational activities to children from refugee camp of Deheishe. But unfortunately, the playground of the Karama center is in poor condition.
With the support of Humanium, the playground could be renovated, secured and equipped. Soon, children would be able to play football, basketball, volleyball and baseball, since a goal, a hoop and others facilities would be set-up.
The rationale for the project: In Palestine, many children are victims of psychological trauma and are in a constant state of stress due to their environment, under Israeli occupation. The children from refugee camp are living in especially difficult circumstances. Trauma that children are suffering manifest in distraction of attention and behavior problems, which prevent them from getting successful results in school and compromise their future.
A student is like a sportive: he cannot beat records without training and feeling comfortable in his shoes! Karama is convinced that sport and leisure activities are essential to the children’s development and well-being.
Playing stimulates cooperation and team spirit, kicking a ball helps to release tension and unwind. Sport encourages them to surpass themselves and build self-confidence, and once they are in the classroom, children are more concentrate and willing to learn. | <urn:uuid:ae08a346-feb4-4cfa-8e8f-2d54cc1e2526> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://www.humanium.org/en/childrens-aid-project-in-palestine-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224652116.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20230605121635-20230605151635-00183.warc.gz | en | 0.967668 | 331 | 3.015625 | 3 |
The Province is introducing amendments to the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act to provide the upcoming electoral boundaries commission with more independence and flexibility as it works to recommend an electoral map for the next two general elections.
Under the act, a commission must be appointed and in place within a year of the last general election. To ensure the upcoming commission’s mandate is clear before the commission is appointed, government is introducing amendments to the act.
Improving commission independence:
This bill would remove the amendments made to the act in 2014, which limited the commission’s independence by establishing three regions that were collectively restricted to a minimum of 17 seats, regardless of their population or the preferred recommendations of the commission. This made B.C. an outlier, as most other provinces do not have these kinds of regions. Those that do have regions offer fewer restrictions on seats than B.C.
The intent of these amendments is to ensure the location of political boundaries between seats is determined not by politicians, but by an independent commission. The process will not be guided by political interests, but by a legislated mandate to establish effective representation for British Columbians. The commission will be asked to achieve through recommendations – to the extent possible – the fundamental democratic principle that everyone’s vote should be reasonably equal in weight in choosing elected officials.
Other factors that will be considered by the commission under the legislation will be population, geography, means of communication and means of transportation to help ensure effective representation.
Responding to B.C. population growth and restoring flexibility to the commission:
The proposed amendments include changes to enhance the commission’s ability to respond to B.C.’s significant population growth.
B.C.’s population is expected to have grown by over 500,000 people since the last electoral boundaries were set. The current legislation caps the maximum number of electoral districts at 87, which is the current number of electoral districts. One of the amendments would give the commission the option to recommend adding up to as many as six new districts, ensuring the commission has the flexibility to develop an electoral map that supports effective representation throughout the province.
Factors to consider in deviating from equally weighted votes throughout the province:
The amendments continue the principles that:
- the commission must seek to recommend electoral districts with populations within plus or minus 25% of the average electoral district population; and
- the commission may recommend electoral districts with populations outside that range.
However, the proposed amendments further recognize the representation concerns in less populated regions by specifying that the commission may take into account special considerations respecting demographic and geographic factors. These factors include keeping a manageable geographic size for electoral districts in order to ensure effective representation.
- An electoral boundaries commission is non-partisan and independent of government. It will be made up of three individuals:
- B.C.’s chief electoral officer;
- a judge or retired judge of the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal, nominated by the lieutenant-governor in council;
- another person nominated by the Speaker of the legislative assembly, in consultation with the premier and leader of the official Opposition.
- The commission will present an initial report to the legislature within 12 months of being appointed.
- It will then have six months to hear from the public and consider any further input before a final report is presented to the legislature.
- The Province will confirm the members of this year’s commission by Oct. 24, 2021. | <urn:uuid:b1b2c012-5cd2-4d08-9bb8-173def369182> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021AG0065-000880 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046157039.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20210805193327-20210805223327-00119.warc.gz | en | 0.954934 | 707 | 2.625 | 3 |
China releases no official information about its nuclear weapons stockpile. However, according to open-source research, China currently has fewer than 300 nuclear warheads.
China also has a wide range of nuclear weapon delivery systems. These are mostly ballistic missiles of various ranges, which can carry nuclear warheads to targets around the world.
Unlike those of the United States and Russia, it is commonly believed that China’s nuclear weapons are kept in storage and are not deployed on active alert in peacetime.
China’s overall nuclear arsenal is at least ten times smaller than those of the United States or Russia. Washington and Moscow each have around 4,000 nuclear weapons in their arsenals, plus thousands more that are retired and waiting to be dismantled.
China’s nuclear stockpile is of a similar scale to those of other medium-sized nuclear weapon states. It seems to be slightly smaller than that of France, which has about 300 warheads, but a bit larger than that of the UK, which has about 215.
China feels that the credibility of its existing nuclear deterrent is not strong enough.
In other words, Beijing is anxious that other countries are not completely convinced that, if they were to launch a preemptive strike against China’s nuclear weapons, China would be able to strike back and destroy them.
If China only needs enough nuclear weapons to show it can defend itself, why does it want more?
As long as there is a decent chance that some Chinese nuclear weapons could survive a hypothetical hostile first strike and be available for a Chinese counterstrike, Beijing’s deterrent would be credible enough.
The problem is that many Chinese experts have started to worry that this second-strike credibility is eroding. They believe China needs more and better nuclear weapons to show that it could still strike back if attacked.
Their fear is mainly due to new challenges from emerging non-nuclear technologies, such as missile defense and conventional precision strike weapons.
Chinese experts worry that other countries’ conventional weapons are now sophisticated enough to endanger Chinese nuclear weapons, if the other country struck first.
And enemy missile defense could make it harder for China to strike back. This is because any remaining Chinese nuclear missiles that survived a hypothetical first strike would risk being shot down before reaching their targets.
Worse, some U.S. experts have published research that says a first strike by the United States could potentially strip China of any ability to retaliate with nuclear weapons. In light of such research, Beijing is increasingly uneasy and keen to make its nuclear forces more robust, more diverse, and more high-tech.
Does China want to increase the size of its nuclear arsenal overall?
China’s main goal is not to significantly increase its number of nuclear weapons.
Instead, Beijing wants to arm certain submarines with nuclear warheads. The plan is to diversify the structure of its nuclear force and to make sure that each category of nuclear weapons would be as survivable as possible. Essentially, China wants to avoid having all its eggs in one basket.
How many nuclear submarines does China want?
As a rule, China would need at least four nuclear-armed submarines to keep one submarine deployable at all times. This is because the other three submarines would need to undergo regular maintenance and crew training or would be on their way to or from patrol areas.
By the same logic, if Beijing feels it needs to keep at least two nuclear-armed submarines constantly at sea to constitute a credible deterrent, it would have to build at least eight nuclear-armed submarines.
Why do maintenance and refueling take so long?
Submarines need frequent and regular maintenance. In particular, refueling submarine reactors is a time-consuming, expensive process, which typically involves cutting the submarine open.
For example, one type of nuclear-armed submarine, the U.S. Ohio-class model, currently requires a four-year, mid-life overhaul, including a two-year refueling period. Future models of this particular U.S. submarine will have a core that lasts as long as the ship itself, but it is unlikely that Chinese submarines will be so cutting-edge.
Can China just move underwater some of the nuclear weapons it already has on land?
No. These additional warheads cannot simply come from the existing land-based missile force.
This is because land-based missiles are still the most important component of China’s nuclear deterrent. Even if China uses the same type of warheads for its submarine-launched missiles, it cannot afford to risk undermining its land-based deterrent by moving too many of those warheads out to sea.
Why is it a good idea to keep nuclear weapons underwater in the first place?
The mainstream view is that putting nuclear weapons on submarines makes them more likely to survive enemy detection and attack. In most cases, it is harder for an enemy to detect and track submarines in the open ocean than land-based missiles.
Submarine-launched missiles have another benefit. They make it difficult for an enemy to predict where a missile strike may come from. This could make it harder for the enemy to intercept the missiles.
Does putting nuclear weapons underwater make them harder to defend?
It depends. The noisier a submarine is, the more vulnerable it is. That’s because enemy technology can detect where submarines are by the sounds they make. To build and maintain a quiet fleet requires advanced technology and good operational experience. Beijing is still in the process of trying to achieve these standards.
What’s more, putting nuclear weapons on submarines would mean that China is deploying its nuclear weapons outside of its territory for the first time, making them more vulnerable to potential enemies.
How might other countries respond to China getting more nuclear submarines?
Other countries may see China’s growing nuclear submarine fleet as part of an effort to beef up its nuclear forces and to make nuclear weapons a bigger part of the country’s national security strategy.
If they believe this to be the case, U.S. allies may rely more on the U.S. nuclear umbrella for their security. This commits the United States to responding with a nuclear counterstrike if a rival were to launch a nuclear attack against one of its allies.
To protect its nuclear-armed submarines, China needs to deploy massive general-purpose forces in its coastal waters to fend off enemy ships and aircraft that could threaten them. Other countries may see this as an aggressive Chinese move to seek regional military dominance. Neighboring countries may increase their security cooperation with the United States, and among themselves, to counter the perceived growth of China’s sphere of influence.
What might be the broader consequences?
A growing Chinese nuclear stockpile may make the United States and Russia more reluctant to reduce their own nuclear arsenals.
If the world’s major powers were to renew their interest in nuclear weapons, this would have a devastating impact on regional and international strategic stability. Everyone would feel a greater need to invest more in their own nuclear weapons and would feel less secure.
Furthermore, by adding more Chinese military patrols to already crowded waters, China’s efforts to protect its submarines and counter U.S. anti-submarine warfare would also make things more tense between conventional military forces. There would be no winner in the end.
Could these dynamics make a nuclear war more likely?
The risk of a nuclear war may increase as a result of unforeseen incidents and unintentional escalations.
One issue is that China’s nuclear-armed submarines could be mistaken for nuclear-powered attack submarines armed with only conventional weapons. Nuclear attack submarines are nuclear-powered, but they do not carry nuclear weapons, whereas nuclear strategic submarines do. A threat to the latter is seen as a much higher-level threat.
In a crisis, for example, the Chinese could misinterpret a U.S. effort to track and trail China’s conventionally armed nuclear attack submarines. They might wrongly believe that the United States was actually preparing for a preemptive strike against China’s nuclear strategic submarines, which probably operate in the same area.
In such a scenario, China might decide to use its nuclear weapons before it believes they will be destroyed, resulting in a nuclear exchange.
The reported lack of reliability in China’s nuclear command, control, and communication system may make such risks even more dangerous. If there were a breakdown in communication in a crisis, it would be more likely that China might misjudge the situation and overact.
What do people in the West not understand about how China thinks about its nuclear deterrent?
President Donald Trump and his administration’s 2018 Nuclear Posture Review portrays China as adopting some sort of escalate to de-escalate strategy—meaning that Beijing supposedly may intend to use nuclear weapons first to intimidate an enemy if China were facing a major defeat in a hypothetical conventional military conflict.
In such an instance, this line of U.S. thinking goes, Washington would have to consider using tactical nuclear weapons to deter or respond to Beijing’s potential use of nuclear weapons.
But there is no evidence that China actually does embrace or is considering such a strategy. On the contrary, Chinese military strategists seem to have incorporated the country’s unconditional no-first-use policy deeply in their military thinking and planning.
This U.S. misunderstanding of China’s nuclear posture could lead to misjudgment and overreaction, which could increase the risk of inadvertent nuclear war.
What should China and other countries do to make a nuclear war less likely?
They need to better understand each other’s nuclear thinking and nuclear postures, and they must avoid exaggerated threat perceptions and overreactions.
They ought to limit the role of nuclear weapons to only deterring the use of nuclear weapons by others, thus minimizing the part nuclear weapons play in their national security strategies.
They should also avoid dangerous nuclear postures, such as putting nuclear forces on high alert during peacetime or allowing nuclear and conventional weapon systems to share the same set of command, control, and communication systems.
Finally, they should give up any plans to incorporate unproven artificial intelligence technologies with nuclear weapons (such as self-navigating nuclear torpedoes) or efforts to use cyber technologies to interfere with each other’s nuclear command, control, and communication systems. | <urn:uuid:32297235-e968-427a-9441-af3413e1f619> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | https://carnegietsinghua.org/2018/10/22/china-wants-more-nuclear-armed-submarines.-should-everyone-be-worried-pub-77546 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547583658928.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20190117102635-20190117124635-00352.warc.gz | en | 0.961031 | 2,111 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Luxury in Ancient Greece: 'Nothing in Excess?’ Click here for credits
Luxury in the Middle Ages: ‘A Deadly Sin?’
Click here for credits
Presented by Dr Michael Scott
1. Luxury in Ancient Greece
2. Luxury in the Middle Ages
Guilty Pleasures shows how ideas about luxury have shaped our history and ourselves, from the ancient Greeks to the Black Death. The first film, 'Nothing in Excess?' on Ancient Greece explores how the gilded treasures of Alexander the Great, the bizarre political significance of Athenian fish-cookery and the privations of ancient Sparta combined to build an complex and contradictory attitude to luxury which has lingered to this day. That is followed by 'A Deadly Sin?', about Medieval Britain which explores how those ideas were transformed by Christianity, Chivalry, pestilence and rebellion to create the wicked temptations and consumer delights of the modern world.
“Luxury isn't just a question of expensive and beautiful things for the rich and powerful,” says Dr Scott in the series. “It feeds into ideas of democracy and patriotism, of social harmony and epic courage, not to mention our values as individuals and our relationships with the divine. Indeed the most fascinating thing about luxury is that it is almost impossible to define, and yet we all know it when we see it, because we each have our own ideas of what luxury is (from some – including me – it might be as simple as a day off!) It all depends on who you are. That’s what makes luxury so good to think with as a way into understanding societies, past and present.” | <urn:uuid:a2042bea-a0f7-482f-91ba-e942141808e9> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://davidgmwilson.wixsite.com/david/guilty-pleasures | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662532032.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20220520124557-20220520154557-00101.warc.gz | en | 0.948406 | 354 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Sunday is the 45th anniversary of the moon landing, and the hype is in full swing. You might even be tempted to think mankind's never done anything remotely comparable, or even important or valuable, since that day in '69 when we fired up a rocket and put a real human man person on the damn moon.
But consider this: Later this year, we're going to land a spaceship on a moving comet.
No people, sure. Oxygen not an issue; granted. But you've gotta admit, in terms of the tech, this is beyond a new degree of difficulty. Comets whip around the solar system much much faster than bullets, and they spew gases, and tumble and spin, and crumble into dust and steam, and they're teeny-tiny, really, compared to the big old, fat, lazy, choose-any-flat-dry-landing-spot-you-like moon.
This Bruce Willis movie is really happening, right now, 360 million miles from Earth. Way out in the Sagittarius constellation, a spaceship from Earth and a comet from the dawn of the solar system are closing in for an intimate tango.
This dance has been ten years in the making. Way back in March 2004, the European Space Agency launched the Rosetta spacecraft. Its mission: to attempt our solar system's ultimate crack-the-whip thrill ride, hooking onto a tail-spewing comet and sling-shotting with it around the sun at up to 100 miles per second.
But it's more than a thrill ride. Comets zoom around in the freezer-pop vacuum of space, essentially unchanged, sometimes for billions of years. They contain valuable information about the early universe that's uncontaminated by smog, or weathering, or French fry grease.
Our target comet is a rocky little fella named 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Imagine a dirty potato as tall as Mount Fuji. (Like most comets, 67P doesn't have enough mass to pull itself together into a sphere.) It's presumed to be mostly made of the usual stuff, including various kinds of ice and what might loosely be called dirt, though of course finding out its exact ingredients is half the fun.
67P orbits the sun every six and a half Earth years, and as it approaches the sun, it speeds up and warms up, releasing an 800-mile-long trail of dust that looks white or yellow to us and follows in its orbital path, and a second, bluish "ion trail" of gas, that always points away from the sun because it's affected strongly by the solar wind.
But how do you catch a comet? 67P is whipping along at a blistering 33,000 mph, and it's only going to get faster as it approaches the Sun. To work up enough speed to catch 67P before things heat up, Rosetta has used a series of gravitational slingshots: three loops around Earth and one around Mars, using each planet's gravity to build velocity. The closer the sling-shotting object dares approach the planet, the faster its exit velocity; on one Earth flyby, Rosetta came close enough to the surface to be seen by amateur astronomers.
After this nausea-inducing loop-de-loop through the solar system, Rosetta flew off on its final trajectory, and was essentially shut down, except for the space heater keeping it from the frostbite absolute zero of space, to conserve fuel for the mission to come. On January 14 of this year, Rosetta was successfully awakened after nearly 1,000 days shivering in hibernation, and is now firing a series of burns to bring it close; on or about August 6 it's scheduled to go into orbit around 67P.
And that's when the fun begins!
The Rosetta probe, minus its 46 feet of unfolded solar-panel dragonfly wings, is around 9 feet by 7 feet by 6.5 feet. Its lander, Philea, is much smaller — just a 3-foot by 3-foot by 3-foot cube. So landing this probe on the surface, from orbit, is a little like pushing a college beer fridge out of a slowly orbiting treehouse about six-tenths of a mile above the ground.
But don't worry: Earth's metaphorical beers are in no danger of smashing on impact.
Gravity is a laughably weak force: Earth is a six-thousand-trillion-ton ball of rock and molten iron, yet any four-year-old can separate herself from it by hopping like a bunny. A relative pipsqueak the size of one Earth mountain, 67P causes only the slightest perturbation in the local gravitational field. The beer-fridge lander weighed 220 pounds back on Earth, but out here will weigh more like a single bottlecap.
In fact, Philea can't rely on 67P's gravity to draw it in. It isn't so much landing on the comet as it is being fired at it, on a slow marshmallow-gun trajectory, and when it reaches the comet the lander will fire harpoons to anchor itself to the surface so it doesn't bounce off into space like the world's most expensive basketball.
This November, we'll push that beer fridge out the treehouse door. Whether or not the lander touches down safely, Rosetta will continue to orbit, pirouetting with its partner in a dance around the sun, reaching "perihelion" (the closest point to the sun) on Aug. 23 of next year, and running all kinds of valuable tests.
If all goes well Rosetta should remain locked with its partner, looping around the sun every 6.5 years as Earth civilizations rise and fall. Hopefully Philea will be there too, harpooned to the rocky surface, an unexpected treasure to delight future beeping and blinking drone archaeologists.
One small step for a beer fridge…One giant leap for the unmanned probes of mankind. | <urn:uuid:ac7f502e-d0cc-4010-9e7c-a5032050448c> | CC-MAIN-2016-50 | http://theweek.com/articles/445303/how-going-land-spaceship-freaking-comet | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-50/segments/1480698541864.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20161202170901-00411-ip-10-31-129-80.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943845 | 1,244 | 2.5625 | 3 |
On the one hand we are told that women were always oppressed in the home and never allowed to have careers. Now after the feminist movement historians have been trying to constantly convince us that women “always” worked and the 1950s were some kind of cult of domesticity where women were forced to stay in the home but before that women were always out in the workforce and plowing the fields and were always “equal partners” with their husbands so feminism wasn’t really even necessary after all because women have *always* worked. One can read a five hundred page history book today and most generally the authors will spend half the book talking about “male divorce power” and the sexual double standard and how adultery was never a crime for husbands, only for wives and so on and so on. They will spend half the book trying to convince us that women have always been forced to work and bear children (that they never had rights to) and live under the rule of men. Barely a word is ever spoken about men’s duties to their wives or the truth about hardly anything. This is what women today are fed and why so many undoubtedly turn to feminism:
“For more than five thousand years, men—fathers—were legally *entitled* to sole custody of their children. Women—mothers—were *obliged* to bear, rear, and economically support their children. No mother was ever legally entitled to custody of her own child.” (1)
This, of course, is a complete lie. See here how they first try to convince us women were never *allowed* to work and then they turn around and tell us that women *always* worked, were forced to work. Then historians will now try to convince us that all women worked in the factories and plowed the fields even when heavily pregnant, then gave birth in the fields and got right back up and went right back to plowing! Another thing undoubtedly many have heard is a story that goes something like this: First, man marries woman for dowry, then proceeds to squander it all away within a month, then man goes and gets drunk every night and heads to the local brothel to have a good time (because adultery wasn’t a crime for men!) then man comes home to beat and rape his wife. But, realistically, the husband would only really uncover the wife just enough to penetrate her to do his “duty” to procreate and have legitimate heirs (because women knew nothing about sex and were clueless about their own sexuality and body until feminists came along and sexually liberated them) and then it was back to the brothel! Of course, women had no rights and men could use and abuse their wives as they pleased. They could do anything they wanted because women were less than chattel and marriage was nothing but slavery for women. The description of the book “Love, Honor and Obey” tells a 100% accurate description of life for women before feminism:
“In 1889, women were chattel, prized solely for their physical attributes, the contents of their dowries, their skills at the helm of the family’s wood-burning cook stove, their capacity to conceive endlessly and their willingness to endure marriage and miscarriage in silence. Women could not vote or smoke in public. Motherhood was sanctified and only the whores ventured out unescorted after dark, dyed their hair and wore make-up.Blissfully young and naïve, Emma Miller nearly lost herself in Edward Richardson’s seductive blue eyes until the reality of her husband’s alcoholic rampages began to erode her cherished dream of marriage. Like the practiced coward that he was, Edward abandoned his wife and children in the dead of night, taking with him their horse and their cookie jar savings.Emma had willed herself to survive Edward’s beatings but could she survive life as a single parent with three children? At a time when women were to be seen but never heard, Emma marched boldly into the dawn of a new era for women. Emma defied polite society by embarking upon a career, taking a lover and refusing to bend in the face of personal and professional conflict.” (2)
What women wouldn’t be a feminist after listening to that? Historically the dowry was always something the groom paid to the father of the bride for her hand in marriage. Often it is called a “bride price.” Later the dowry came to be something that the bride brought into the marriage from her family. Historians don’t know why, some speculate that the absence of eligible men for marriage started the tradition of the bride’s family dowering the daughter instead of it coming from the groom. Some other historians point out that bride-price seemed to be the way in polygamous societies and dowry coming from the bride’s family the way in monogamous societies. A bride price is where the groom pays the woman’s father a sum of money for her hand in marriage or, in some societies, the money would go to the bride herself. A dowry is a sum of money, property or other goods given to the groom upon marriage for no other purpose than the maintenance of his bride. In some societies the bride still controlled the dowry and in others the groom controlled the dowry. If divorce should occur or if the bride was widowed then the dowry had to be returned intact to the bride and her family. Dowry was always a way of signaling social class and the woman’s status in society and the larger a woman’s dowry the wealthier a mate she could be expected to attract (social class was always very important to people and everyone was generally expected to marry someone of their own class). Traditionally a young woman would be dowered by her father or sometimes other male family members. Ancient Rome even had laws requiring that fathers provide dowries for daughters. A poor peasant girl whose family could not afford to dower her might either marry without a dowry or work before marriage to provide for her own dowry. In other cases sometimes donations were made to poor girls’ dowries to help them get married. The dowry, however, did not mean the husband did not have to support his wife. The dowry would help the woman get settled and start a new household. Also important was the woman’s dower, the portion of her husband’s property that the wife would inherit to be used for her support upon her husband’s death. A man could not get rid of his own property nor his wife’s dowry without her consent, which had to be given without coercion as she could reclaim her third (or in some societies half) of her husband’s property that he could not take from her.
After marriage a man was by law required to provide for his wife all of her necessities. There were no obligations upon a wife to support her husband or pay the family’s bills until very recently with women’s lib where the law became bastardized as support being something both spouses “owe” each other and the egalitarian vision of the mother working equally as the father to support the family. Of course, throughout history women taking on masculine responsibilities does resurface and it always seems to correlate well with societal decline. Feminism is not a new thing. All throughout history women have tried to usurp their husband’s authority and men have tried to evade responsibility. From the fall of Rome in the fifth century to the crumbling of the monarchy in the tenth and eleventh centuries and the ending of Anglo-Saxon rule in England, women taking masculine responsibilities and husband and wife being “equals” sharing in rights and responsibilities resurfaces and usually destroys society. Usually once a great empire falls, it never regains its former power or glory.
The role of housewife for women is not new. Modern technology has made the work easier than what it used to be, but the idea that this “50s housewife” ideal is a new thing is a lie. Families have been organized in many different ways throughout time and in different societies but the modern idea of the “traditional” family of a husband, wife and their kids living in one household apart from any others is not a new thing. Speaking of the Western world specifically here, people living together with their extended kin in one household seems to resurface throughout the centuries but the nuclear family of husband, wife and kids in one household with the man standing alone as sole provider for wife and children has been around for centuries. Barbara A. Hanawalt speaks of the life of a medieval peasant woman in England in her book “The Ties that Bound; peasant families in medieval England”
“Women’s daily household routines are very well summed up in the ‘Ballad of the Tyrannical Husband.’ The goodwife of the poem had no servants and only small children, so that her day was a full one. She complained that her nights were not restful because she had to rise and nurse the babe in arms. She then milked the cows and took them to pasture and made butter and cheese while she watched the children and dried their tears. Next she fed the poultry and took the geese to the green. She baked and brewed every fortnight and worked on carding wool, spinning, and beating flax. She tells her husband that through her economy of weaving a bit of linsey woolsey during the year for the family clothes, they would be able to save money and not buy cloth from the market. Her husband insists that all this work is very easy and that she really spends her day at the neighbors’ gossiping…”
This woman sure sounds like a housewife to me, only without the modern-day convinces of an electric cookstove, washing machine and prepared food from the grocery store. Coroners’ reports reveal a clear pattern of traditional gender roles for the medieval wife and mother. The same as we see today, women who were rich in the past could afford to hire a wet-nurse and have a maid to do the household chores and watch the kids. Poor women were in the home doing all these things themselves.
In America, as well, there is no evidence to suggest women were out plowing fields or all women were out in the workforce. In America there is actual statistical and census data to show that only 5% of married women were actually engaged in “gainful occupation” (as opposed to 96% of married men) in the 19th century and single women only worked at a rate of around 45% which is much lower than the rates of even married women working today.(4) Also many left journals describing their daily lives as housewives which correlate very well with what Alexis de Tocqueville wrote of American women (in 1830) in his book III of “Democracy in America:” (emphasis mine)
“In no country has such constant care been taken as in America to trace two clearly distinct lines of action for the two sexes, and to make them keep pace one with the other, but in two pathways which are always different. American women never manage the outward concerns of the family, or conduct a business, or take a part in political life; nor are they, on the other hand, ever compelled to perform the rough labor of the fields, or to make any of those laborious exertions which demand the exertion of physical strength. No families are so poor as to form an exception to this rule. If on the one hand an American woman cannot escape from the quiet circle of domestic employments, on the other hand she is never forced to go beyond it…
Nor have the Americans ever supposed that one consequence of democratic principles is the subversion of marital power, of the confusion of the natural authorities in families. They hold that every association must have a head in order to accomplish its object, and that the natural head of the conjugal association is man. They do not therefore deny him the right of directing his partner; and they maintain, that in the smaller association of husband and wife, as well as in the great social community, the object of democracy is to regulate and legalize the powers which are necessary, not to subvert all power. This opinion is not peculiar to one sex, and contested by the other: I never observed that the women of America consider conjugal authority as a fortunate usurpation of their rights, nor that they thought themselves degraded by submitting to it. It appeared to me, on the contrary, that they attach a sort of pride to the voluntary surrender of their own will, and make it their boast to bend themselves to the yoke, not to shake it off. Such at least is the feeling expressed by the most virtuous of their sex; the others are silent; and in the United States it is not the practice for a guilty wife to clamor for the rights of women, whilst she is trampling on her holiest duties…
As for myself, I do not hesitate to avow that, although the women of the United States are confined within the narrow circle of domestic life, and their situation is in some respects one of extreme dependence, I have nowhere seen woman occupying a loftier position; and if I were asked, now that I am drawing to the close of this work, in which I have spoken of so many important things done by the Americans, to what the singular prosperity and growing strength of that people ought mainly to be attributed, I should reply – to the superiority of their women.”
Now everyplace in the world has had their own traditions, but I speak not of every place in the world. I speak of the Western world, of Europe and the Americas and my own ancestors. High numbers of married women in the workforce is a new thing. I personally am American and American women were always sheltered from the workforce and masculine duties as well as any dangerous jobs or jobs that required hard physical labor. On the other hand, every occupation has long been open to women. The only exceptions I could find in American history were the obvious prohibitions of women to be in the military and women were prohibited from being coal miners and being bartenders unless they were the wife or daughter of the owner. I have found no other exceptions in our history. Obviously there is always going to be your amazon woman out proving she can work like a man, but she would have been the rare exception, not the rule. I know personally from those I’ve talked to how much neighbors would try to help a family who’s husband was injured or gone and could not work to take care of the family. Women were never left out on their own to fend for themselves and their children as so great was the ethic of providing for and protecting women until feminism came along.
But let’s just say those attempting to redefine history were actually right. Let’s say women have always worked in the fields and in the home and borne the babies and this housewife thing is new. Does that mean we should destroy a cultural and legal ethic that did shield women from the masculine burdens just because women in the past were in the fields? Does that justify tearing down a system that actually worked well, even if it was a supposedly new and temporary invention? What sense does that make? Surely if something better had been invented to protect women and families it would only makes sense to embrace it, not destroy it. Only a fool would think otherwise.
Woman Suffrage and the Laws
Doctrine of Necessaries Law & Legal Definition
Questioning Economic Necessity | <urn:uuid:f2f4d6f9-d2f8-45a3-99f4-4f08496b9a93> | CC-MAIN-2018-51 | https://whatswrongwithequalrights.wordpress.com/tag/breadwinner-husband/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-51/segments/1544376827596.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20181216073608-20181216095608-00089.warc.gz | en | 0.985645 | 3,227 | 2.71875 | 3 |
R For Dummies 2nd Edition PDF
Book Name : R For Dummies
Edition : 2nd Edition | | ISBN : 978-1119055808
Author Name : Andrie de Vries; Joris Meys;
Category : Academic
Format / Pages : PDF – 432 Pages
R For Dummies 2nd Edition pdf
Picking up R can be tough, even for seasoned statisticians and data analysts. R For Dummies, 2nd Edition provides a quick and painless way to master all the R you’ll ever need. Requiring no prior programming experience and packed with tons of practical examples, step-by-step exercises, and sample code, this friendly and accessible guide shows you how to know your way around lists, data frames, and other R data structures, while learning to interact with other programs, such as Microsoft Excel. You’ll learn how to reshape and manipulate data, merge data sets, split and combine data, perform calculations on vectors and arrays, and so much more.
R is an open source statistical environment and programming language that has become very popular in varied fields for the management and analysis of data. R provides a wide array of statistical and graphical techniques, and has become the standard among statisticians for software development and data analysis. R For Dummies, 2nd Edition takes the intimidation out of working with R and arms you with the knowledge and know-how to master the programming language of choice among statisticians and data analysts worldwide.
Covers downloading, installing, and configuring R
Includes tips for getting data in and out of R
Offers advice on fitting regression models and ANOVA
Provides helpful hints for working with graphics
R For Dummies, 2nd Edition is an ideal introduction to R for complete beginners, as well as an excellent technical reference for experienced R programmers. | <urn:uuid:83c55664-d538-4085-a40a-69118385b359> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://medicalbooksfreedownload.com/r-dummies-2nd-edition-pdf/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764499790.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20230130003215-20230130033215-00258.warc.gz | en | 0.879359 | 383 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Malcolm X Was Assassinated 52 Years Ago Today; Twitter Remembers the Slain Leader
Malcolm X, the Black liberation leader and former minister of the Nation of Islam, was assassinated during his address at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem, N.Y., 52 years ago today (Feb. 21) at the age of 39.
A former criminal, Malcolm X was educated by the teachings of Islam while in prison for burglary at the age of 21. When he was released, he became a minister for the Nation of Islam under the guidance of its leader Elijah Muhammad. During his tenure, he was remembered for his fiery speeches where he advocated self-defense and defiance against white supremacy. His voice would become very influential in the civil rights movement.
Malcolm X's legacy was remembered on social media as people went on Twitter to honored the late Muslim leader by tweeting out quotes from his speeches, posting archival photos and writing personal testimonies of how the late Muslim leader shaped their lives.
In light of it being the day of Malcolm X's death, fellow civil rights icon John Lewis, the late Nina Simone and Barbara Jordan were also born on this day. All of them are deserving of tributes as well.
"Don't let anyone tell you what Malcolm X represented.... read his autobiography and learn the truth for yourself," tweeted one person, while another user wrote, "Listen to Malcolm's words for yourself. Understand his development over time. Appreciate his complexity. Resist revisionism."
Below is just a sampling of tributes to Malcolm X. The revolutionary leader may be gone but he certainly has not been forgotten. | <urn:uuid:625e791c-c8e4-48ba-af52-49f18785053f> | CC-MAIN-2019-26 | https://club937.com/malcolm-x-assassinated-52-years-ago-twitter-remembers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560628000231.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20190626073946-20190626095946-00314.warc.gz | en | 0.985738 | 331 | 2.796875 | 3 |
06 December 2011
I am sure you have already found that risks and dangers stand behind every corner. Here is the next one called cell phones radiation. When I got familiar with this issue, I suddenly remembered how many times I have let my toddler playing with my mobile or “speaking” with his grandmas. I know you will not throw away your phone when you read this, but hope that it will at least make you smarter when using a cell phone, buying a new one and especially when your kids are nearby such a device.
What is Cell Phones Radiation?
I won’t give you a lesson on cell phones radiation. I will just say that mobile phones emit energy in waves (electromagnetic radiation or EMR) that penetrates the human head and body. And what’s the big deal with this? Television, computers, coffee blenders, hair dryers, and even the vacuum cleaners, they all emit EMR…
In order to sell mobile phones in the USA the manufacturer has to receive an approval from the FCC (Federal Communications Commission). To get that approval there should be SAR (specific absorption rate) tests done. In other words, the manufacturer should prove that the radiation emitted by his phones are within the FCC standards of acceptable radiation absorbed by a cell phone user’s brain and body.
You will ask what the problem is? Actually, there are a few:
– usually cell phones radiation tests are done by the manufacturer himself or by Telecommunications Certification Bodies. The latter take active part in determining the compliance of cell phones together with FCC;
– current SAR measurement is based on animal studies done in the late 70s and early 80s;
– FCC standards give adults only a thin margin of safety over radiation levels that harm animals;
– the cell phones radiation standards ignore children.
Cell phones radiation effects & Why kids are at greater risk?
The World Health Organization classifies cell phones radiation on the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) scale in Group 2B, which means possibly carcinogenic. Long-term (over 10 years) cell phone users can get
– glioma: brain tumor,
– acoustic neuroma: tumor of the nerve that connects the year to the brain,
– parotid gland tumors.
Cell phones are around for 2 decades only. I imagine that you are old enough to have had a childhood without cell phones. What about our kids? Approximately at 15 years of age they will be already considered long-term users. Moreover, research shows that kids have thinner and softer skull, which means that their heads absorb more radiation that adults. A recent study of Danish kids that use cell phones and whose mothers have also used cell phones during pregnancy reveals that they are 80% more likely to have hyperactivity and emotional problems. What would these same kids suffer when they reach our age?
How to reduce kids’ exposure to cell phones radiation?
1. Don’t let kids to use cell phones. If this is necessary, it is better for them to send text messages or use a headset or speaker rather than speaking on the phone.
2. Buy them a low-radiation phone. Check the EWG Guide to choose a cell phone with the lowest possible radiation.
3. Don’t let your kids use any antenna caps or keypad covers. This forces the cell phone to use more power and consequently to emit more radiation.
4. Don’t let your baby or toddler play with cell phones.
Next time when you plan to buy a cell phone, apart from the look and features, consider also the radiation level. Be informed and take the best decisions to protect your family and yourself.
Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur,
El Monte, California
Costa Rica, San Jose,
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte,
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo
Click on any of the pictures below
to learn more | <urn:uuid:6435c0c6-f737-46e4-b36b-658fd573b9b1> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://www.emfnews.org/articles/cell-phones-radiation-kids-are-more-exposed-and-vulnerable-than-adults/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738661962.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173741-00002-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930363 | 815 | 3 | 3 |
30 Days of Prayer Int'l
Colorado Springs, CO
The “Gospel” of Barnabas
The Gospel of Barnabas is a medieval forgery, of unknown origin.
The book seems to have been written in Europe sometime during the 14th–16th centuries. It includes geographical and historical inaccuracies as well as errors about Christian and Islamic beliefs. In the Gospel of Barnabas Mohammed is called the Messiah which means “anointed one” (Christ) while in normal Islamic belief Jesus is understood as being the Messiah. In several places the Qur’an itself proclaims that Jesus is the Messiah (see our article for day 22). In the Gospel of Barnabas Jesus is called the Christ (chapter 6). The author did not realize that The word Christ is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah. This is a significant error.
Here are quotes from chapters 96 and 97: Jesus answered: “As God lives, in whose presence my soul stands, I am not the Messiah whom all the tribes of the earth expect, even as God promised to our father Abraham, saying: ‘In your seed will I bless all the tribes of the earth.’ But when God shall take me away from the world, Satan will raise again … making the impious believe that I am God and son of God, whence my words and my doctrine shall be contaminated … God will send his messenger …. who shall come from the south with power, and shall destroy the idols with the idolaters … The name of the Messiah is admirable … Mohammed is his blessed name.”
It is an interesting distortion that Satan is portrayed as the one to claim Jesus as God. The author of the “Gospel of Barnabas” has attempted to rewrite the Biblical Gospel to make it agree with the Qur’an. The aim of the book is to try to convince people that Jesus was a Muslim and predict the coming of Muhammad. And, as such, it is both a weak attempt to distort scripture and an effort to mislead Muslims.
In recent years many Muslims have cited the book in order to show that Jesus was a good Muslim. Jesus is portrayed in the book as a prophet who prays, speaks and acts exactly like traditional Muslims.
- The Gospel is cross-cultural. Pray that this truth be believed and acted upon by Christian’s throughout the Muslim world.
- Pray that believers will accurately be able to show that Jesus was always submitted to the Father but He was more than simply a good prophet.
- May God give Muslims insights into the errors of the Gospel of Barnabas. | <urn:uuid:2bd3cd25-ac1c-47ac-9d7e-a7689a6fd739> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.pray30days.org/the-gospel-of-barnabas | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337446.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20221003231906-20221004021906-00643.warc.gz | en | 0.96378 | 554 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Intraperitoneal (IP) Therapy for Cancer
Intraperitoneal (IP) therapy is used to treat cancer in the abdomen and/or pelvis. This includes cancer of the ovary, and less commonly, gastrointestinal cancer. With this therapy, chemotherapy (chemo) is put directly into the belly (abdominal cavity). Chemo is medicine used to kill cancer cells. IP therapy is often done with other treatments. These may include surgery or chemo given through a vein.
How IP therapy works
Medicine is given through a tube that is placed into the space between the muscles and organs in the abdominal cavity. This is called the peritoneal space. The chemo stays inside this space for hours or days, depending on the treatment plan. Here the medicine comes into contact with the tissues. This lets the chemo directly kill the cancer cells and helps shrink tumors there.
Before you get IP therapy, you will need to have a special port put in. This port is called a peritoneal port. It is a thin, flexible tube called a catheter. One end of the catheter is in the peritoneal space. The other end of the catheter is attached to a wider piece of tube that stays outside the body. IP therapy is injected through this port. The procedure to put in a port takes about 1 to 2 hours. It is done 2 to 14 days before IP treatment is given.
Having IP therapy
You lie down on a table. A small tube called an IV (intravenous) line is put into a vein in your arm or hand. This line gives you fluids and medicines. A topical anesthetic is put on your port site to numb the area. A special needle with a tube attached is put into your port. Then medicine is given through the tube. It goes into the port and into your belly area. You may feel some cramping while the medicine is being given. You will be asked to move from side to side to make sure the fluid spreads throughout your belly. This therapy can take about 2 to 4 hours. The medicine stays in your body for a few days, then is slowly absorbed by the body.
After IP therapy
Because IP therapy adds fluid to your belly, you may feel some pressure and bloating. It may help if you walk around after treatment, or sit upright. Wear comfortable clothing with a stretchy waistband for the next few days. As the fluid is absorbed by your body, you may need to urinate more often. You may also be told to drink a lot of fluids during this process.
Possible side effects of IP therapy
Chemo medicines are used during this treatment. So the side effects of this treatment are similar to those of chemo. Side effects will depend on the type of chemo given, but can include:
Your healthcare provider can tell you more about the side effects you might expect and how to manage them.
Contact your healthcare provider if you have any of the following:
Fever of 100.4ºF (38ºC) or higher, or as directed by your healthcare provider
Redness, swelling, or worsening pain around the port site
Extreme tiredness that doesn’t get better between treatments
Shortness of breath, wheezing, or trouble breathing
Rapid, irregular heartbeat; chest pain
Constant feeling of being cold
A cut or rash that swells, turns red, feels hot or painful, or begins to ooze
Any other signs or symptoms indicated by your healthcare provider
Checking your progress
During the course of your treatment, you’ll have routine follow-up visits with your healthcare provider. You may also have tests. These allow your healthcare provider to check your health and response to the treatment. After treatment ends, you and your healthcare provider will discuss your treatment results. You’ll also discuss whether you need additional cancer treatments.
Your healthcare provider will tell you about other risks that may apply to you. | <urn:uuid:bc5d5288-1b3a-4a3a-925d-8870ccf7d5a1> | CC-MAIN-2021-21 | https://providenceportalib.staywellsolutionsonline.com/RelatedItems/3,41367 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-21/segments/1620243988774.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20210506235514-20210507025514-00612.warc.gz | en | 0.950012 | 819 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Modern world is well aware of poverty and the threats caused by this evil. Hundreds of international organizations are working on this issue in various countries. It is generally believed that the poverty could be controlled if not totally eradicated in poor and developing countries by improving their economic conditions. Micro-financing is considered as a good remedy for this long standing problem. But its fruits seldom reach to needy people in poor countries due to social problems prevailing in those countries like corruption, bad governance and mismanagement. Good poverty research papers must include all the aspects of poverty and its solution.
Poverty does not have one clear definition
is a hard nut to crack. Working with poverty research papers will require much effort and knowledge of the subject and necessary execution. Here are some useful tips on writing research paper on poverty:
It is a complicated, multi-faceted concept
The competition description offered in the email does not give any of the criteria for selection, which allows for a degree of flex on the part of the parties sponsoring the contest. One might argue that the metrics for a successful — a best — poverty paper would be sensitive to the lens through which the paper was written, thereby screening the selection for liberating or desire-based narratives. Yet the existence of the competition encourages people to find ways to make their poverty paper sexy so as to separate their research from the others.
FREE Essay on Defining Poverty - Essays and Papers Online
To encourage a new generation of urban policymakers and promote early career research, the Wilson Center’s is teaming with , the , , and to sponsor the 6th Annual Urban Poverty Paper Competition for students enrolled in a Master’s or PhD program working on topics relating to urban poverty in the developing world. | <urn:uuid:b0723a9d-f2f8-450d-89cb-784dcd1c34d3> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | http://nicolabravetti.com/poverty-paper.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257648205.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20180323083246-20180323103246-00407.warc.gz | en | 0.946351 | 352 | 2.890625 | 3 |
This post is a point of reference post, an attempt to clearly define "Government". It may be helpful as a point of reference for a future post or three.
Government is about management and control. It refers primarily to two entities associated with those endeavors.
1. The governmental body: Those individuals who exercise control of a community or organization.
2. The governmental system: The method applied to the task of governing a specific community
Governmental systems can be thought of as a sort of continuum.
On one end, you have a supreme dictatorship. In this case, the government body consists of a single individual, who controls everything. This is really only practical for relatively small communities. As the community grows larger and more complex, a supreme dictator becomes overwhelmed, and must ultimately relinquish some power to equals, or to subordinates (a democratic dictatorship or a representative dictatorship, if you will).
The other extreme is the consensus democracy. A system in which all decisions are made by a consensus vote of the entire community. This is also untenable for groups of any size, as it is virtually impossible to get a large group of people to agree on anything.
Most practical governments fall in between these two extremes. The figure below attempts to illustrate this. Note that Anarchy is not present. It is NOT a form of government, rather it is the absence of any government.
The most fundamental government then, is the family. In smallest form, a husband and wife make up the community. The system they employ can be a dictatorship or a consensus democracy. Perhaps they will apply both at different times, as one individual makes a 'grab for power'.
The family community grows through the addition of children. In the beginning they have no say in the affairs of the community, and the governmental system looks more like a dictatorship (I should point out, that a dictator is not necessarily evil or overbearing. A dictator can be entirely benevolent, supremely loving, and still be the one making all the decisions. Some may argue the the one month old is in fact the dictator, and does in fact control the decision making process. But in terms of governmental power, within the confines of the family community the parent has the ultimate say, this has been demonstrated all too often in cases of infant abuse and neglect).
As children mature, many families will shift more decision making power, and the family government system will move to the right on the continuum toward democracy. In time, the children will leave the family community and repeat the process.
Beyond the family, we participate in dozens, even hundreds of communities and governments during our lives. Some neighborhoods have governments. These governments are typically some form of democracy or representative democracy, and exercise control over aspects of neighborhood appearance, dictating size of house, type of fencing, condition of yards, and so forth.
There are of course the obvious; city governments, county governments, state governments, and national governments.
It is sometimes overlooked, but businesses and corporations are also governments. They are communities of individuals. They have certain common goals ("make money" at the very least). They have resources to be managed, and they have a governing body and government system. Most businesses and corporations look more like dictatorships. An owner, CEO, or board of directors make most of the decisions. Some authority may be delegated to lower level 'managers. Employees primarily do as they are directed.
Some would argue that this is not accurate, as an employee, through initiative can be promoted to a position of leadership. That is not forbidden by a dictatorship. Even in the monarchies of the past, a peasant could rise in the ranks, be granted land, and titles through acts of valor (or subterfuge).
This perhaps makes clearer the relationship between corporations and state governments. They are both governing bodies. Sometimes, they make alliances through a mutual exchange of power or resources. Sometimes they wage war over power or resources. It is really no different than the alliances and conflicts of the tribal or feudal past (other than the mode of warfare - infantrymen with swords have been replaced by lawyers with pens).
In all cases the objective of the governing body is to thrive. It wants to survive, grow, succeed (sometimes, the governing body makes decisions which seem entirely contrary to this objective. that is because governing bodies are made up of people, and people are stupid).
In all cases, the success of the government is entirely dependent upon the community. If the community supports the government, participates in the government (whether by following the dictator, or by actively participating in the democracy), the government will tend to succeed. If the community does not support the government, it will inevitably fail.
Governments are an essential part of human evolution. An individual can only get so far (try building a rocket and flying to the moon by yourself, using only the rocks, dirt, and plants in your backyard, or manufacture a smart phone from scratch). Without community, and common goals, we'd still be running naked through the trees, banging rocks together.
The most common mistake people make with respect to government is that of anthropomorphism; assigning human characteristics to it. A government is just a tool, it doesn't think for itself, it doesn't act by itself. It is a hammer. Those who wield it can use it to build, or destroy. "The Government" does nothing by itself.
The second most common mistake is the assumption that (continuing the tool analogy) government is wielded by the governing body. In fact both the governing and the governed wield it collectively. Those who govern only have power insofar as those who are governed grant it.
As with any tool, the better you understand it - how it works, and how to use it correctly - the less likely you are to cut your arm off with it. | <urn:uuid:f34d68b5-2e4a-4f32-8978-9a91be804679> | CC-MAIN-2018-30 | http://r-pentomino.blogspot.com/2012/10/government-101.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676591718.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20180720154756-20180720174756-00436.warc.gz | en | 0.966411 | 1,188 | 3.359375 | 3 |
A Solution for Low-Cost Electronics
November 13, 2013
USC chemists create a long-sought solvent for semiconductors
Researchers at USC have created a solvent that will dissolve semiconductors safely and cheaply, allowing them to be applied as a thin film that could create the next generation of low-cost electronics.
The technology already exists to “print” electronics using semiconductor “inks” at room temperature – a much cheaper process for making electronics than low-pressure vapor deposition.
The problem, until now, is that the only substance that could effectively dissolve semiconductors to form these inks was hydrazine – a highly toxic, explosive liquid used in rocket fuel.
Richard Brutchey and David Webber of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences mixed two compounds to create a solvent that effectively dissolves a class of semiconductors known as chalcogenides at room temperature.
“When the two compounds work together, they do something quite remarkable,” said Brutchey, a professor of chemistry at USC Dornsife.
Brutchey and Webber call the solvent an “alkahest,” after a hypothetical universal solvent that alchemists attempted to create to dissolve any and all substances. They’ve patented their alkahest, and presented their findings in the Journal of the American Chemical Society on Oct. 15.
In the paper, they show how a mixture of 1,2-ethanedithiol (a colorless liquid that smells like rotten cabbage) and 1,2-ethylenediamine (a colorless liquid that smells like ammonia) is able to effectively dissolve a series of nine semiconductors made from combinations of arsenic, antimony, bismuth, sulfur, selenium and tellurium. Such semiconductors are often used in lasers, optics, and infrared detectors.
The solution was then applied as a thin film to substrates like glass and silicon and heated, evaporating the solvent and leaving only a high-quality film of crystalline semiconductor – perfect for use in electronics.
“It’s inexpensive and easily scalable,” Brutchey said. “Our chemical understanding of the solvent system and how it works should allow us to expand it to the dissolution of a wide range of materials.”
Funding for this research came from the National Science Foundation and USC Dornsife.
Image: On the left, bulk antimony triselenide (Sb2Se3) dissolved in the solvent mixture created by Webber and Brutchey, and on the right, a thin film of antimony triselenide derived from that solution using low-cost and low-energy input processing methods. Some day, this could be used for the low-cost processing of semiconductors for transistors, solar cells, LEDs and more. (Photo: Jannise Buckley) | <urn:uuid:97a1505a-efb2-4603-b5e1-9f084fff7f1c> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | http://pressroom.usc.edu/a-solution-for-low-cost-electronics/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257648198.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20180323063710-20180323083710-00182.warc.gz | en | 0.918024 | 608 | 3.1875 | 3 |
4.6.1 Grounding. Proper understanding of what "grounding" means is
essential to engineering an effective grounding system. For signals, ground
is merely an agreed-upon potential to which signal voltages may be
referenced. It is not necessary, may not be desirable, nor in some cases be
possible, to cause signal return currents to flow through the earth. The
equipotential ground plane or ground bus providing the signal ground
reference, however, is returned to the earth electrode subsystem (EESS).
This is done to provide a dump for induced high currents. Other sources of
current are at some potential relative to earth, and these currents must be
and power system fault currents.
4.6.2 Bonding. Bonding means connecting two conductors in such a way that
the impedance through the connection is not appreciably greater than the
method. Soldering is acceptable where the bond will not carry fault
protection for ac power, lightning, or EMP/HEMP currents. Pressure bonds
such as split bolts can be used with proper rare, but are not recommended.
Bolts require constant checking for tightness.
4.6.3 Shielding. Shields are used to attenuate electrostatic, magnetic, or
EM fields. Ferrous metals are required to contain magnetic fields.
Nonferrous metals are sufficient to exclude or to contain an electrostatic
field. To be completely effective, a shield must be closed and grounded. | <urn:uuid:cfb62780-f114-446d-845e-8ee4a2b731a5> | CC-MAIN-2019-18 | http://navalfacilities.tpub.com/hdbk232a/hdbk232a0051.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578527518.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20190419081303-20190419103303-00299.warc.gz | en | 0.901693 | 309 | 3.828125 | 4 |
What is JCI?
JCI stands for Joint Commission International. The organization is an accrediting organization, which is a process of assessing a medical facility to make sure it meets basic standards and requirements involved in providing quality of care.
Throughout the United States and the world, undergoing the accreditation process is voluntary and provides a means of gauging the commitment of any healthcare facility or a provider to ensure a safe environment as well as reduce risks to both patients and staff members. The most commonly used evaluation and management method around the world, JCI credentials are an important measure of the credibility and quality of a multitude of medical facilities.
What is JCI's Function and Mission?
The Joint Commission International supports quality care among healthcare organizations around the globe and works with the World Health Organization, and with national accreditation programs and agencies, in a multitude of countries. JCI standards as well as evaluation methods are created by health professionals in a multitude of health sectors, and can be tested in all world regions. The standards of the Joint Commission International apply to health care organizations and systems and are designed to support and sustain improvement in patient care and safety.
The JCI governing body includes experts from around the world and bases its decision on an international committee of health care experts as well as standard revisions offered by advisory councils from different regions.
The goals of the Joint Commission International are to reduce risks, adverse effects, and consistently improve healthcare methods and procedures. The JCI works with hospitals, health providers, medical consultants, government agencies, and patients to provide standards, rules, and processes for medical facilities.
Understanding JCI Accreditation mean?
The Joint Commission began to partake in international accreditation in the late 1990s, and the standards of the Joint Commission International are based on design, expectations, processes and outcomes for standards in global hospitals and medical facilities. JCI accreditation team members help to ensure quality of patient care as well as to evaluate and offer suggestions for improvement in health care organizations and hospitals.
JCI team members rate levels of compliance to basic and core requirements, as well as to additional standards that offer the opportunity for healthcare facilities to meet the highest expectations of quality and best practice services and procedures.
Many facilities and organizations undergo the certification on a periodic basis, which facilitates continued quality of care and focus on providing patient safety and compliance on a long-term basis.
Benefits of JCI-accredited facilities
The Joint Commission International uses its standards and guidelines to approve quality health care not only in medical facilities and hospitals, but also in laboratories, long-term-care scenarios, rehabilitation units, and assisted living environments. Standards are also applied to emergency transport services and private and public ambulance systems.
JCI accredited facilities offer peace of mind to consumers, who can be guaranteed that standards and quality will offer comprehensive care in a wide range of medical needs, procedures and services.
The Joint Commission International is based in the United States and is a part of the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in the United States. The JCI has accredited hospitals in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, and Africa.
More hospitals around the world are seeking JCI accreditation, especially due to the large influx of medical tourists in such countries as India, Thailand, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina and European destinations such as Poland and Hungary. Keep in mind that many countries have their own organizations that develop standards and regulations that are similar to those developed by the JCI.
Consumers and visitors may use the accreditation process or credentials to evaluate physician staff as well as facilities to gauge the credibility and quality of care provided by any potential care provider. As always when seeking medical treatments or procedures, take the time to research not only medical facilities, but also the standards of care provided by that facility, as well as the credentials of physicians and staff members. | <urn:uuid:7e37a374-18d1-4efa-a879-4bb101dcfe55> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.placidway.com/article/55/Understanding-JCI-Credentials | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141681209.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20201201170219-20201201200219-00509.warc.gz | en | 0.96404 | 784 | 2.59375 | 3 |
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