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By BA Laris, MPH | March 12, 2015
Research Associate, ETR
In recent years, there has been a major shift in the way we approach HIV treatment and prevention. Research has shown (for example, see Gardner’s 2011 report here; and the AIDS.gov background here) that we will have our greatest impact when we focus on two major steps.
- Locate individuals at greatest risk for HIV and motivate them to get tested.
- Connect with individuals who have HIV and provide support for them to start and stay in HIV-related medical treatment.
These are deceptively simple prescriptions. But if you work in HIV care and treatment settings, you know there are a myriad of physical, social and emotional issues that can make it difficult for people to stay engaged in continuous treatment. This challenge is one that our Community Impact Solutions team addresses in our work providing capacity building for community-based organizations. We develop strategies and deliver coaching and support to strengthen HIV programs. Our approaches are both research proven and real-world practical.
Today’s HIV medications make it possible for people living with HIV to dramatically decrease the amount of virus in their blood. This can make the disease almost undetectable. Treatment helps people live longer, healthier lives and strongly reduces the likelihood that they will pass the virus on to others.
But there’s a catch. People have to stay in regular medical care, taking medications consistently, for the rest of their lives.
For some people, this is manageable. About 30% of people with HIV in the United States are currently at the stage of viral suppression—they’ve tested positive, they’ve been evaluated medically, they’re taking their medications daily and their viral load is very low.
But for others, the idea of showing up at the doctor’s office regularly and taking medicines every day is absolutely unimaginable!
Today, most people living with HIV in the U.S. are not receiving adequate treatment.
This range of health outcomes is often called the HIV Care Continuum or the HIV Treatment Cascade. Here’s what it looks like:
Estimated percentage of persons living with HIV, by outcome along the HIV Care Continuum
United States, 2011
I actually get really excited about the challenges illustrated in the Continuum of Care. I like figuring out ways to translate research and science into practical, easily accessible tools for real-world settings. Recently, I’ve been providing capacity-building assistance to community-based organizations addressing this issue of retention in HIV care.
I’ve worked with our team to develop tools and resources for peer navigators, linkage coordinators and clinicians. One of the first things we’ve learned to examine is who is most likely to “fall out of care.”
The research (and practical experience) shows this tends to be people:
Those who have higher CD4 counts when they are diagnosed are also more likely to fall out of care. The CD4 count is a measure of the immune system’s health. When those numbers are high, people with HIV usually feel healthy. It’s often difficult for them to make the effort to engage in treatment and follow through on the commitment to take medicines every day when they don’t really believe they’re sick.
One of the interesting things we’ve been asking providers to do is make this cascade concept local. When they look at their own program utilization data, who is most likely to drop out of care?
We then ask them to use our Retention Risk Indicator Tool to identify and develop specific strategies to intervene and address barriers when people are first engaged in care. The tool helps providers examine three typical categories of barriers to care:
If there is just one thing we need to remember in this light—something both research and our own common sense tells us—it’s that connection makes a difference. A person’s connection to his or her provider is vital to retention in care.
When people trust their provider—this includes believing their provider cares genuinely for them and has their best interest as a priority—they are more likely to follow treatment guidelines and keep coming back.
We’ve worked with a number of organizations who are doing amazing work with their clients. We’ve seen some highly creative strategies for increasing connection with clients and enhancing retention in care. For example:
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for increasing retention. The realities of each community are distinct and uniquely influence the barriers people face.
Local solutions need to be developed to address local challenges. These should be informed by research, reports from the field (e.g., other successful projects), and the experience and expertise of local providers and community leaders. The examples above show that creativity and ingenuity have an important role to play. These efforts make a real difference in clients’ lives.
It’s also important to monitor and evaluate both new and ongoing strategies to ensure that scarce resources are being used most effectively.
Our capacity-building team at ETR provides free assistance to HIV prevention organizations funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. We love sharing these dynamic and effective strategies for HIV prevention.
BA recently did a video for us describing Retention in Care and her trainings addressing this strategy. Check it out!
BA Laris, MPH, is a Research Associate at ETR. She provides capacity-building assistance to community-based organizations working in HIV prevention and has also worked in program planning, management and evaluation in the areas of HIV/AIDS, substance use prevention and treatment, and international health. She can be reached at email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:3eb54378-ce00-442b-81db-871359481f63> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | https://www.etr.org/blog/pd-retention/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593655900614.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20200709162634-20200709192634-00434.warc.gz | en | 0.953079 | 1,176 | 2.546875 | 3 |
It's one thing to use Wikipedia in the classroom with students. It's an entirely other thing ---and much more transformational--- to actually have students contribute to Wikipedia. For instance, using the ISTE NETS for students to identify skills, when students use Wikipedia for research, they are definitely working on:
- applying digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information ("Research and Information Fluency")
- using critical thinking skills to make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources ("Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making")
But add writing information into Wikipedia, and students are also working on:
- constructing knowledge ("Creativity and Innovation")
as well as:
- practicing ethicalbehavior ("Digital Citizenship")
(Note: the standard "Technology Operations and Concepts" is there all along... I don't want to leave it unmentioned).
I know there are still folks who question the value of using Wikipedia for research at all, but certainly the"Wikipedia Argument" has simmered down over the years. I still maintain that it's an excellent tool because it requires validation, as all sources should. Using Wikipedia for research to engage students as a "jumping-off" point is extremely beneficial in learning research skills when the student then must prove or disprove what they read in the Wikipedia article. (I admit, that this is practicing "constructing knowledge" at the "reading level," but I believe the skill is achieved on a deeper level when the student is contributing to the article).
Many students ---and teachers--- might find it a daunting task to take on Wikipedia and add changes. Not only is there the slight learning curve of how to format text properly, but many pages are already "chock-full" of information. At the elementary level (where I teach), for instance, if I asked my students to add to the Wikipedia page "Ocelot," they may feel overwhelmed because there is already a wealth of information there. Add to that, the fact that students will need an account in order to edit the page, and it starts to get a bit more complicated for my elementary students who may need help remembering their log in information.
Enter: Simple English Wikipedia. This "scaled" down version of Wikipedia may be a much better fit for younger students as no account is needed to make changes. More importantly, Simple English Wikipedia uses:
Simple English words and grammar here. The Simple English Wikipedia is for everyone! That includes children and adults who are learning English.
This is, of course, perfect for my younger students' reading/writing levels. Another great benefit, is that the pages are "wide-open" for contribution. Compare the "Ocelot" page from Wikipedia to the nearly empty "Ocelot" page from Simple English Wikipedia. My students are able to successfully add to that page with new information, whereas the main Wikipedia page may require more "expertise" since much research has already been added.
Simple English Wikipedia has a great "Schools Gateway" page, complete with a Student Tutorial, a Help Center, a Place to Ask Questions, and more importantly, a "Sandbox" page where students can practice formatting and writing without worrying about mistakes (not that they need to worry on actual pages either... errors or inaccurate facts can always be fixed).
Think of Simple English Wikipedia as playing in the "Minor Leagues," helping student get ready for taking on the "Majors."
I'd love to hear from folks who have had students editing in Wikipedia and Simple English Wikipedia. What are the successes? What are the hurdles? | <urn:uuid:2e1d7ecd-c0c8-4663-a010-8341d0940abd> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://www.techlearning.com/tl-advisor-blog/474 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103639050.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20220629115352-20220629145352-00133.warc.gz | en | 0.931803 | 736 | 4.0625 | 4 |
At Highfields we use the Learning Challenge Curriculum to help structure and teach the National Curriculum.
Principles And Overview
The Learning Challenge concept is built around the principle of greater learner involvement in their work. It requires deep thinking and encourages learners to work using a question as the starting point. The Learning Challenge approach is used as a structure and ethos for curriculum design. In designing the curriculum teachers and learners are using a prime learning challenge, expressed as a question, as the starting point. Using the information gained from pre- learning tasks, the new National Curriculum and the school’s context a series of subsidiary challenges are then planned. Each subsidiary learning challenge is also expressed as a question. The subsidiary learning challenge is normally expected to last for one week but this does not need to be the case. However, initially it may be useful for the learners and indeed the staff to get used to the weekly learning challenge. The important point is that the learning challenges need to make sense to the learners and it is something that is within their immediate understanding.
In the Early Years we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile to plan and assess the learning. It is very much an integrated approach where the children learn in a very hands on environment with a big emphasis on curiosity and exploration.
We continue the journey of learning through KS1 using the Learning Challenge Curriculum mentioned above alongside the RML Phonics program. RML Phonics teaches the children to sound out their letters using pure sounds and then to blend them to create words.
Watch the video below which demonstrates the way we pronounce our phonic sounds
In KS2 we continue to use the Learning Challenge Curriculum and put a great deal of emphasis on hands on learning opportunities and experience days.
Please see the class pages for the learning overviews and year group expectations. | <urn:uuid:44bcfea6-4861-4eaa-bcbc-853619d26816> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | https://www.highfields.staffs.sch.uk/curriculum/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027318011.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20190823062005-20190823084005-00304.warc.gz | en | 0.939812 | 374 | 3.515625 | 4 |
Jerris Leonard, 75; Oversaw the Desegregation of Schools Under Nixon
Jerris Leonard, an assistant attorney general for civil rights during the Nixon administration and the first administrator of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, died of complications of liver cancer July 27 at a hospital in Washington, D.C. He was 75.
As a Justice Department official during President Nixon’s first term, Leonard oversaw the federal government’s efforts to at first delay, and then enforce, court-ordered desegregation of Southern schools.
The Nixon administration tried to slow down the implementation of desegregation orders for 30 Mississippi school districts, but the U.S. Supreme Court issued what newspapers called a “desegregate-at-once” decision. Leonard described it as more of a “psychological” than a legal opinion, adding, “Take the Mississippi situation out, and give me one example where we have not vigorously enforced the civil rights law.”
Jim Turner, a career Justice Department attorney who became Leonard’s deputy, said that once the Supreme Court decision was handed down, a crew went to the South and said school segregation was over. “That’s when major school desegregation happened,” he added.
In 1970, the administration set up biracial state committees to plan and implement school desegregation across the South, overseen by federal attorneys, marshals and the courts.
As assistant attorney general, he led the federal investigation into the 1969 killing by Chicago police of Black Panther leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. He also sued the Teamsters and International Longshoremen’s unions for discrimination against black members, settling the case out of court.
After two high-profile years in the civil rights division, Leonard was appointed to head the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, which distributed millions in federal money to upgrade local police forces, courts and prisons.
In 1973, he moved into private legal practice and almost immediately was immersed in a controversy over whether he had violated conflict-of-interest rules by representing Florida promoter Glenn Turner in a mailorder fraud case. Acting Atty. Gen. Robert Bork later determined that he had not.
Leonard went on to unsuccessfully represent boxer Muhammad Ali, who said the federal government had unfairly denied him conscientious objector status during the Vietnam War; the Mississippi Legislature, which wanted to institute open primary elections; conservative author Victor Lasky in a libel case against ABC Television; and former Arizona Gov. Evan Mecham for obstruction of justice and misuse of public funds.
Leonard attended Marquette University, graduating from its law school in 1955. Before joining the Nixon administration, he was majority leader of the Wisconsin state Senate.
He is survived by his wife, Mariellen Mathie Leonard of Bethesda, Md.; six children; 15 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. | <urn:uuid:c4fe8486-a8bd-4a33-a5fe-54d2c6090926> | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | https://www.nixonfoundation.org/2006/08/jerris-leonard-75-oversaw-the-desegregation-of-schools-under-nixon/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549426629.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20170726202050-20170726222050-00446.warc.gz | en | 0.960971 | 588 | 2.59375 | 3 |
What is HACCP?
HACCP (the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point system) is a process control system that identifies where hazards might occur in the food production process. HACCP address food safety through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product.
HACCP is so important because it:
- Prioritizes and controls potential hazards in food production.
- Controlling major food risks, such as microbiological, chemical and physical contaminants
- Provides the framework to produce foods safely and to prove they were produced safely.
- Focuses on prevention and control of potential food safety hazards rather than inspection.
- Covers all types of potential food safety hazards whether they are naturally occurring in the food, contributed by the environment, or generated by a mistake in the manufacturing process. Hazards such as Biological hazards (e.g. bacteria, viruses), Chemical hazards (e.g. pesticide residues, and mycotoxins) and Physical hazards (e.g. metal, glass).
- Various customers in the food chain required their suppliers to have certified HACCP systems.
- Provide businesses with a cost effective system for control of food safety, from ingredients right through to production, storage and distribution to sale and service of the final consumer.
7 principles that serves as the foundation for a HACCP system
- Identification and assessment of hazards associated with food from farm to fork;
- Determination of the critical control points to control any identified hazard; and
- Establishment limits of the critical control points.
- Establish monitoring procedures for critical control points
- Establish corrective actions
- Establish verification procedures
- Establish a record system.
How Can we Use HACCP?
We can implement HACCP-like practices in the home by following proper storage, handling, cooking and cleaning procedures. From the time a consumer purchases meat or poultry from the grocery store to the time they cook and serve a meal, there are many steps to take to ensure food safety. Examples include properly refrigerating meat and poultry, keeping raw meat and poultry separate form cooked and ready-to-eat foods, refrigerating and cooking leftovers to prevent bacterial growth and good hygiene | <urn:uuid:3590bb4e-6911-4a87-9504-8c8ad5e5cc2e> | CC-MAIN-2018-30 | https://agrowhizz.wordpress.com/2017/02/23/what-is-the-importance-of-haccp/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676593004.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20180722022235-20180722042235-00459.warc.gz | en | 0.921393 | 472 | 3.765625 | 4 |
Once considered a frigid wasteland, the Arctic is melting faster than any other region on earth and revealing its hidden treasures in the process, from oil to new shipping routes.
A race for control has broken out as the Arctic emerges as a region of vital economic and military importance. It is estimated that the Arctic holds nearly a quarter of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas reserves.
Nations are furiously mapping seabeds, vying for sections of continental shelf in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, set up to determine offshore boundaries. The U.S. has not ratified the Law of the Sea and therefore cannot file claims.
But in addition to nations’ self-interests, the complex environmental, business and governance questions surrounding the Arctic may also necessitate more international cooperation.
Worldfocus.org’s weekly radio show explored polar politics. Worldfocus anchor Martin Savidge hosted a panel of guests:
McKenzie Funk is a writer for National Geographic and Harper’s Magazine who has reported extensively from the Arctic region. His recent article, “Arctic Landgrab,” reported on an icebreaking mission that mapped a portion of the Arctic Ocean floor. His book about climate change, “Best Laid Plans,” will be published by The Penguin Press.
Jessica Shadian is a senior research fellow at the the High North Center for Business and Governance in Bodo, Norway. Her research includes indigenous autonomy and Arctic governance as manifest in the work of the Inuit Circumpolar Council. She co-edited a forthcoming book entitled “Legacies and Change in Polar Science: Historical, Legal and Political Reflections on the International Polar Year.”
Oran Young is a professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara and co-directs the Program on Governance for Sustainable Development. He specializes in governance and environmental Institutions. He also chairs the scientific steering committee of the international project on the Institutional Dimensions of Global Environmental Change. He has written more than 20 books, including “Arctic Politics: Conflict and Cooperation in the Circumpolar North.”
Host: Martin Savidge
Producers: Katie Combs and Nicole E. Foster | <urn:uuid:982023a7-c407-4acf-bc52-e201fcaaad52> | CC-MAIN-2019-30 | https://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/05/19/tune-in-online-radio-show-on-polar-politics/5457/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-30/segments/1563195525500.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20190718042531-20190718064531-00379.warc.gz | en | 0.926039 | 466 | 2.5625 | 3 |
It’s hard to think about getting the flu shot when temperatures are in the upper 90s outside, but health officials say members of the public should get their shots now before the flu season starts.
Several pharmacies — such as Walgreens, CVS and Autrey — and clinics are already offering the flu shots and, for most insured individuals, the shots should be free.
Dr. James Castillo, Cameron County Health Authority, said it is important that everyone who is able to get the influenza shot gets one.
“Flu is really life-threatening … most of the people who die have their own medical issues or are elderly, and so the more people there are circulating the flu, the more likely they get it to those who are vulnerable, like babies, the elderly, or those with a pre-existing medical condition,” Castillo said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu season usually begins in October and continues as late as May. Influenza activity usually begins to increase in October and November.
Health officials recommend that individuals get the flu shots every year, because the strain of the flu changes every year.
Allison Mack, senior media relations specialist for Walgreens, said the myth that a person can get the flu by getting the flu vaccine is untrue.
“There is no truth to the idea that someone could get the flu from the flu vaccine. The flu vaccine is made with what’s known as a dead virus, meaning it’s inactive. Occasionally, people may report mild, temporary soreness as a side effect of the vaccine,” Mack said.
Mack said it’s also easier to get the flu shots since they are offered seven days a week at pharmacies like Walgreens.
“Flu shots are available at all of our pharmacies during pharmacy hours, seven days a week, and around one-third of our flu shot patients come in during off hours” such as nights and weekends.
The CDC recommends annual influenza vaccinations for everyone age 6 months or older. Vaccination is especially important for people at high risk of influenza complications, including pregnant women, older adults and young children.
Chronic medical conditions also can increase people’s risk of influenza complications. Examples include asthma, cancer or cancer treatment, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, kidney or liver disease and obesity.
“Every year it’s a different virus. It changes a little bit so it keeps being able to infect people. That’s why they change the shot every year to offer the protection. The shot won’t protect from every single strand, but it offers a lot of protection, and if it can reduce the risk by 80 to 90 percent, it’s worth it,” Castillo said. | <urn:uuid:93a4c917-a981-41ec-9502-5ee33304bb75> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | https://www.themonitor.com/2017/09/25/officials-public-should-start-getting-flu-shots-now/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550249500704.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20190223102155-20190223124155-00479.warc.gz | en | 0.962988 | 590 | 2.671875 | 3 |
- A review study from a British health research group shows community masking probably made little difference in curbing COVID
- But defenders of government masking policies note some limitations in the Cochrane study and argue that proper masking still has utility
- Experts say more and better masking studies are needed
Were mask mandates and guidance put in place during the pandemic effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19?
That question has divided people in Michigan and around the country almost from the start of the pandemic in early 2020. Most mask mandates have ended at least for now, though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health authorities, including the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, continue to recommend masking to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in certain circumstances.
But recently, a broad review of studies by Cochrane, a respected international health research group, concluded that masking in the community “probably makes little or no difference” in slowing the spread of respiratory illnesses such as the flu or COVID-19 “compared to not wearing masks.” That was likely true, the study found, whether those wearing masks used ordinary surgical masks or higher-quality N95 masks.
The findings were celebrated as long-sought validation among the many, diverse critics of mask mandates, even as mainstream U.S. health experts were quick to highlight what they saw as key limitations of the analysis, including that few of the studies Cochrane analyzed were specific to COVID-19.
Within the latter group is Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive for the state of Michigan, who noted to Bridge Michigan the findings are not new but rather a collection of results from prior studies. The analysis goes into our knowledge base, she said, “but it has to be taken in the context of everything else.”
“There’s a lot of good data out there that supports masking,” Bagdasarian said, particularly in settings such as hospitals where masking has been successful and protective for decades.
A review of studies
Cochrane researchers reviewed 78 randomized controlled trials of masking and other mitigation strategies used to curb the spread of respiratory illnesses. Randomized controlled trials, or RCTs, are considered the gold standard of studies because they allow researchers to more rigorously isolate cause-and-effect relationships between an intervention — masking, for example — and an outcome, such as reduced spread of COVID-19.
The randomized controlled trials examined in the review — which included six conducted during the pandemic — involved more than 600,000 participants from many countries. Twelve of the trials specifically compared the use of medical and surgical masks to not wearing masks.
Cochrane’s focus: Whether certain physical measures stop or slow transmission of respiratory viruses?
The answer, regarding masking at least, was largely, no; masking had little to no impact on curtailing the spread of infection in the community. While hand washing was likely to “modestly reduce the burden of respiratory illness.”
Dr. Vinay Prasad, a professor of epidemiology and a hematologist-oncologist at the University of California San Francisco, who attended Michigan State University as an undergraduate, said in a YouTube video the review’s major takeaway was that for influenza- or COVID-like illnesses, masks had “maybe at best a mild effect, but most likely no effect at all.”
“We’ve not proven that there is an effect, let me put it that way,” he said.
Lead Cochrane review author Tom Jefferson, an epidemiologist and senior associate tutor at the University of Oxford, had a similar take, telling Australian journalist Maryanne Demasi the evidence hadn’t changed much since an earlier Cochrane study in 2020. “There’s still no evidence that masks are effective during a pandemic,” he said.
Mike Shirkey, the former Senate majority leader, was part of a group of state Republican lawmakers who sued Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over her aggressive use of emergency powers during the first year of the pandemic.
He told Bridge it shouldn’t have taken the latest Cochrane review to convince public officials of the futility of mask mandates.
Other than some “very high-tech” surgical masks, he said, “it was ridiculous to even require them.”
Findings draw broad criticism
There was pushback to the Cochrane findings even as health officials were careful to acknowledge the British nonprofit’s sterling reputation for analyzing healthcare data.
Defenders of the continued utility of masking against COVID-19 noted two important limitations of the findings, which Cochrane also acknowledged.
First, they argued, the findings focused on mask rules at the population level, and should not be read to mean that masks, when properly and consistently worn, are not effective for individuals, as numerous studies have previously found, particularly in environments like health care facilities.
“We have fairly decent evidence that masks can protect the wearer,” Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at Brown University, told The Atlantic. “Where I think it sort of falls apart is relating that to the population level.”
The second argument some experts have made is that the problem isn’t mask mandates themselves; the problem is that a good chunk of the population isn’t going to follow them, much less properly and consistently wear masks.
Cochrane acknowledged that limitation, noting that “relatively low adherence with the interventions during the studies hampers drawing firm conclusions,” and the “results might change when further evidence becomes available.”
Dr. Bagdasarian noted Cochrane did not include “real world” or observational studies looking at what actually happened in communities where people were masking. While she noted RCTs are the gold-standard for evidenced-based medicine, she said real-world observational studies would help researchers better understand transmission patterns for COVID-19 in different community settings.
If you are studying a cancer drug it’s more defined and thus easier to perform a RCT, she said. With COVID it’s a “little messier,” she said, noting that it is harder to account for variables such as the type of places people are going and their compliance with masking.
Dr. Prasad, the Californian epidemiologist, doesn’t buy that criticism.
“When there are multiple randomized controlled trials, that’s what we take,” he said. “And the randomized trials are deadly sobering.”
He said the reason it isn’t a good idea to use observational studies to determine mask efficacy is that when you compare places that mask with places that don’t there are too many intervening variables, from differing attitudes on vaccines, to a community’s willingness to take COVID precautions, to politics and even the propensity of residents to report having COVID-19.
“Randomization doesn’t balance all the confounders,” Prasad said, “but what it does is equilibrate the outcome distribution in the absence of therapeutic effect, so you can isolate the treatment effect.”
Even as the case for broad mask mandates has taken a hit, public health experts at the national and state level in Michigan continue to stand by Covid-19 masking guidelines, at least in certain circumstances.
But Bagdasarian acknowledged that state guidance now is focused on looking at individual risk factors and the type of risks individuals may be facing. It’s still a very reasonable recommendation to mask, especially for people who are immunocompromised or at high risk, she said.
The truth, said Dr. Prasad, is that the U.S. needs to perform more randomized controlled trials on the effectiveness of masking.
Cochrane authors hinted at a similar conclusion, writing the “low to moderate certainty of evidence means our confidence in the effect estimate is limited.” | <urn:uuid:b17a4333-e504-4928-a615-f16b3fa4171c> | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | https://theperfectenemy.com/study-calls-mask-mandates-into-question-putting-health-experts-on-defense-bridge-michigan/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947476397.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20240303174631-20240303204631-00464.warc.gz | en | 0.961402 | 1,696 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Also known as Common needle grass, annual bristle grass, steekgras, sixweeks threeawn, annual threeawn,
eenjarige steekgras and Six-weeks triple-awn - Annual grass up to 75 cm high with narrow leaves and sharp
seeds that make it almost unpalatable from the full flowering stage until the sharp seeds are shed after
ripening. Sheep should not be allowed to graze mature needle grass as the sharp seeds may penetrate
their skin and remain deposited on the inner side, causing considerable pain. In the early stages of growth
it can be well grazed by cattle or cut for hay. Flowers from Dec - Sept
Dry open places, rocky hillsides below 3500', creosote bush scrub, coastal sage scrub, deserts.
Throughout tropical Africa.
A poor grazing grass due to low leaf production. A good pioneer grass and useful for planting in disturbed soil.
Flora of Israel | <urn:uuid:4ae1d104-450b-43b7-8d96-456edeaf3be1> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://www.wild-about-you.com/GrassAnnualThreeAwn.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218194600.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212954-00145-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.898908 | 197 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Emission vs Absorption Spectra | Absorption Spectrum vs Emission Spectrum
Light and other forms of electromagnetic radiations are very useful, and widely used in analytical chemistry. The interaction of radiation and matter is the subject of the science called spectroscopy. Molecules or atoms can absorb energy or release energy. These energies are studied in spectroscopy. There are different spectrophotometers to measure different types of electromagnetic radiations such as IR, UV, visible, X-ray, microwave, radio frequency, etc.
When a sample is given, we can obtain information about the sample depending on its interaction with the radiation. First, the sample is stimulated by applying energy in the form of heat, electrical energy, light, particles, or a chemical reaction. Before applying energy, the molecules in the sample are in a lower energy state, which we call the ground state. After applying external energy, some of the molecules will undergo a transition to a higher energy state called the excited state. This excited state species is unstable; therefore, trying to emit energy and come back to the ground state. This emitted radiation is plotted as a function of frequency or wavelength, and it is then called an emission spectra. Each element emits specific radiation depending on the energy gap between the ground state and the excited state. Therefore, this can be used to identify the chemical species.
An absorption spectrum is a plot of absorbance versus wavelength. Other than the wave length absorbance can also be plotted against frequency or wave number. Absorption spectra can be of two types as atomic absorption spectra and molecular absorption spectra. When a beam of polychromatic UV or visible radiation passes through atoms in the gas phase, only some of the frequencies are absorbed by the atoms. Absorbed frequency differs for different atoms. When the transmitted radiation is recorded, the spectrum consists of a number of very narrow absorption lines. In atoms, these absorption spectra are seen as a result of electronic transitions. In molecules, other than the electronic transitions, vibration and rotational transitions are also possible. So the absorption spectrum is quite complex, and the molecule absorbs UV, IR and visible radiation types.
What is the difference between Absorption spectra Vs emission spectra?
• When an atom or molecule excites, it absorbs a certain energy in the electromagnetic radiation; therefore, that wavelength will be absent in the recorded absorption spectrum.
• When the species come back to the ground state from the excited state, the absorbed radiation is emitted, and it is recorded. This type of spectrum is called an emission spectrum.
• In simple terms, absorption spectra records the wavelengths absorbed by the material, whereas emission spectra records wavelengths emitted by materials, which have been stimulated by energy before.
• Compared to the continuous visible spectrum, both emission and absorption spectra are line spectra because they only contain certain wavelengths.
• In an emission spectrum there’ll be only few colored bands in a dark back ground. But in an absorption spectrum there’ll be few dark bands within the continuous spectrum. The dark bands in the absorption spectrum and the colored bands in the emitted spectrum of the same element are similar. | <urn:uuid:202e5291-23d6-442c-9aed-e4770ee5407c> | CC-MAIN-2014-41 | http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-emission-and-vs-absorption-spectra/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-41/segments/1412037663587.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20140930004103-00108-ip-10-234-18-248.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923362 | 649 | 3.640625 | 4 |
Reach Out and Read® National
Reach Out and Read® is a national program that makes literacy promotion a standard part of pediatric primary care so that children grow up with books and a love for reading. Reach Out and Read now has over 6,000 sites across the U.S. For more information on the national ROR program, visit the The Reach Out and Read National Center Home Page.
Reach Out and Read® of the University of Michigan began in 1997 with the encouragement and generous support of a few special community advocates. The program was one of the nation’s earliest Reach Out and Read programs, and is frequently consulted by those wishing to start new programs across the state. Reach Out and Read of the University of Michigan has ten clinics affiliated with the University of Michigan as well as two independent clinics.
Over one third of kindergartners in the U.S. enter school without the skills they need to learn to read. Research shows that most of these students never catch up to their peers. Reach Out and Read believes the answer is to “immunize” young children against illiteracy when interventions can have the greatest effect: during the first five years.
Reach Out and Read prepares America’s youngest children to succeed in school by partnering with doctors to prescribe books and encourage families to read together. Health practitioners incorporate ROR’s evidence-based model into pediatric
checkups by advising parents about the importance of reading aloud with their children every day and by giving developmentally-appropriate books to children. The program has a special focus on children growing up in poverty. By building on the unique relationship between parents and medical providers, Reach Out and Read helps families and communities encourage early literacy skills so children enter school prepared for success in reading.
We believe that Reach Out and Read at the University of Michigan can make an impact by helping parents understand how important literacy is to the development of their children. Our goal is for every low-income child in the area to receive a book from their pediatrician and for every parent to receive encouragement to read to their child every day.
In the exam room, doctors and nurses speak with parents about the importance of reading aloud to their young children every day, and offer age-appropriate tips and encouragement. The pediatric primary care provider gives every child 6 months through 5 years old a new, developmentally-appropriate children's book to take home and keep. In the waiting room, displays, information, and books create a literacy-rich environment. Volunteer readers interact with the children, modeling for parents the pleasures - and techniques - of reading aloud. To see the program in action, check out these quick videos showing medical providers talking with families during a 6-month visit and 36-month visit.
Research shows that families served by ROR read together more often, and that their children enter school with larger vocabularies and stronger language skills, better prepared to achieve their potential.
Reach Out and Read of the University of Michigan has distributed over 250,000 books since 1997. Due to expansion to new clinics and increased participation, we distributed over 28,000 books last year, more than ever before. We are grateful to our donors!
For more information on Reach Out and Read of the University of Michigan:
Program Coordinator, Reach Out and Read of UM | <urn:uuid:3b0467eb-d81b-4b9e-bcb3-a6061e7540f1> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://medicine.umich.edu/dept/pediatrics/education/community-global-outreach/reach-out-read-university-michigan | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107874340.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20201020221156-20201021011156-00174.warc.gz | en | 0.950051 | 676 | 3.15625 | 3 |
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Tom Regan- The Case for Animal Rights Although the animal rights-movement was originally started by Peter Singer it was Tom Regan who came up with the most uncompromising ideas and gave the movement its name In his book which came out under the University of California Press in 1983 Regan argues that humans and animals have equal inherent rights However before explaining his own philosophy he explains four other theories that exist about animal rights These four theories are those of indirect duty contractarianism kindnesscruelty and utilitarianism After having elaborated on these theories he explains the fallacies of these theories with regard to animal rights The first theory Regan deals with is that of indirect duty In this theory we have no direct duties towards animals we do not owe them anything and we cannot inflict injustice upon them Animals are only owed consideration to the extent that actions toward them have an effect on the people who care for them He illustrates the falsity of this theory with an example your neighbour kicks his dog yet according to the previous assumption this is not wrong as the owner of the dog is not harmed emotionally or physically This system has two basic flaws it denies the idea that humans feel pain and it denies the fact that pain is still pain whether it is felt by a dog a monkey or a human being The second theory Regan deals with is that of contractarianism a somewhat more sophisticated form of indirect duty This theory states that morality consists of a set of rules that individuals voluntarily agree to abide by like a contract All those who understand and accept the rules and terms of the contract are directly covered Those who are not capable of understanding terms of the contract such as children may be indirectly covered but only if there is a covered person who cares for the uncovered person Lastly
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- Jen Soust, alumni @ UCLA | <urn:uuid:b908e698-734e-4400-9df8-d3786a0a3bbb> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/tom-regan-gave-animal-rights-a-voice-to-be-heard-of-ItUk3BTQ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280834.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00257-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971308 | 455 | 2.75 | 3 |
In this year of Canada 150, it’s not uncommon on university campuses to hear a lot of scepticism about “celebrations” of confederation. This isn’t especially surprising. Scholars rarely celebrate anything (unless it is the end of marking season). But celebrations of the nation state often seem intrinsically troublesome – something we study rather than take part in.
Our scepticism is deeply rooted. Since Lytton Strachey, if not before, the main mode of historical writing has been irony. Just as Strachey showed the not-so-eminent underside to his Victorians, historians too expose the darker realities of what might otherwise seem to be historical respectability. We clarify and correct myths that omit unpleasant realities; we question the convenient silences in certain versions of the past. Years ago the great Canadian historian Arthur Lower claimed that the task of the historian was to chase around after those who create myths of the past, hectoring them with shouts of “That’s not how it really happened!” If this can sometimes seem pedantic (never go to historic films with historians) it also has a serious purpose – to correct false assumptions and to insist on complexity.
In the case of Canada 150, there is the added element of political earnestness. Over the last thirty years the moving force in the historical profession has been to replace an older history of the nation state with a people’s history of Canada. In these people’s histories, the Canadian nation has often been either irrelevant to the everyday realities of people’s lives or, when it has been relevant, historians show how the state has often been the enactor of discrimination, harsh treatment, or neglect. Who wants to celebrate that?
Especially in recent years, in the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the idea of celebrating Canadian history can seem to some like a sick joke. The @resistance150 twitter account is but one gathering space for an activist voice which wants to call attention to the history of cultural genocide, land expropriation and degradation that has gone hand in hand with the creation of this nation called Canada. While it used to often be said that Canada had an “Indian Problem” my Trent University colleague David Newhouse has written compelling about how it is Indigenous people who have had, and continue to have, a “Canada problem”.
In other words, the idea that any celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary needs to be problematized speaks to two powerful scholarly trends and impulses – our academic scepticism and rigour as well as a politically engaged scholarship.
I come to this discussion as someone who has been involved in several ways in trying to mark the Canada 150 anniversary in ways that account for this critique but aren’t neutered by it.
Along with other Trent colleagues and with the help of private benefactors, I helped to co-create a private Canada 150 project called Canadian Difference. The project has created a gathering place online where engaged, thoughtful Canadians discuss key political issues related to Canada’s past, present and future. The website was launched in the summer of 2016 and is still running today (though not for much longer). The project focuses on the idea of mutual accommodation – on the tradition (sometimes successful, sometimes failed, or not even tried) of accommodating differences within Canada. These includes differences between French and English Canadians, between Canadians of different ethnic backgrounds, and even between Canadians and others outside the country, notably our closest neighbours, the Americans. Even though there is arguably, though not undebatably, a compelling Canadian history of mutual accommodation, we also insisted that we take on current issues of fundamental difference which could not be so easily celebrated, such as the politics of reconciliation and Indigenous peoples, and the place of Muslims in contemporary Canada.
I raise my experience creating Canadian Difference because it showed me how traditional scholarly scepticism towards historical celebrations has in many cases veered into hostility. Scholarly scepticism is easy to respect – it’s an ideal we should all strive for. But in organizing Canadian Difference, I was struck often by the outright hostility of colleagues who wanted nothing whatsoever to do with anything associated with Canada 150. Canadian Difference relies upon experts in the field to lead the discussions. Here was a chance to step forward and engage with the broader public on pressing contemporary issues connected with our research. Yet our open calls for volunteers at the university went largely unanswered. Although I was exceptionally grateful for the academics who did step forward to volunteer, I was also struck by those who shied away from any involvement whatsoever.
This hostility to Canadian Difference was mirrored in plans at the university to mark the anniversary of Canada 150. When we discussed the possibility of holding events in connection with the university administration and other local groups, colleagues dismissed the idea of marking Canada 150 outright. Even when the university administration suggested we make Indigenous reconciliation a key theme, colleagues shot down this idea as being too accommodationist: it would merely legitimate the Canadian project and the idea of Canada. So long as scholars could control how Canada was going to be interpreted, this was fine. But if it was left open to allow for celebration, this would be a problem.
This mirrored my experience in another Canada 150 controversy – the debate over whether to erect statues of Canada’s prime ministers on the campus at Wilfrid Laurier University. When the university initially approved the plans of a citizens’ group in Waterloo in 2015 to erect the statues, a group of activists on campus (faculty and students alike) lobbied to quash the plan. They claimed that having statues of leaders like John A Macdonald would be emotionally damaging to students, especially to Indigenous students. The university, they claimed, ought to be a safe space, free of this kind of harmful material. Their arguments won the day and the university administration backed down, cancelling the program.
I penned an op-ed in the Globe & Mail about the issue and was later invited to a roundtable organized by the Canadian History of Education Association to rehash the debate. At the roundtable, I was the token opposition – the only person in the room to suggest that having statues of Canadian prime ministers was not intrinsically offensive. The case I tried to make there was that Canadian history was complex – that Canadian leaders had multiple legacies which couldn’t be judged on single criteria. We can simultaneously commemorate the history of the Canadian state and political leadership and still be aware of the darker side of our history.
The discussion in the question and answer session was especially telling. Speakers came back again and again to the idea of a broader public in need of education. Yes, we should be interested in Canadians who wanted to erect statues of prime ministers various commentators said. But our goal should be to educate them – to reveal to them a critical history of the Canadian state and the negative legacy of these prime ministers. So education in this context was not far off what might, in other cases, be called indoctrination.
It was, for me, a surreal conversation. On the one hand, the participants were imagining this audience of people in need of a proper education. And there I was in the room, the one voice of dissent, and yet also a historian of Canadian politics. I spend my life writing and teaching about Canadian political history. I was as aware as anyone in the room of the full history, for example, of John A Macdonald and his policies towards Indigenous peoples and non-white immigrants. Yet I was offering a different interpretation of what this meant. Despite my very presence in the room as proof, it didn’t seem to occur to the speakers that differences of opinion were possible – that disagreement did not equal ignorance. This view of the scholar’s role in commemoration implied a singular and homogenous truth that we needed to pass on to an uninformed public. It’s more akin to a missionary spreading the gospel truth rather than fostering thoughtful inquiry. That there could be Canadians who are aware of their country’s darker side but who still want to identify proudly as Canadian and celebrate some parts of the nation’s history simply did not fit into this view.
Scholars aren’t always critical of celebrations of collective belonging. For obvious reasons, it’s hard to find many Canadian historians who challenge the myths of collective belonging being put forward by Indigenous peoples. And the Andrew Potter affair this past spring showed that many historians were happy to defend the collective honour of les Québécois when it seemed to be under attack – even going so far as to countenance a serious breach of academic freedom. But these are collectivities which are seen to be marginalized and in need of support. Not so with Canada writ large. The early wave of the Canadian Studies movement at Canada’s universities was pushed by a belief that the very idea of Canada was threatened and needed to be bolstered – that we needed to “know ourselves” in all of our complexity.
What has changed, I would suggest, aren’t the details or the knowledge about Canada that we now have that previous generations did not. It’s not a question of knowledge vs ignorance. What has changed is our political sympathies and our sense of which collective identities matter and which do not.
In this, historians are not especially in touch with the broader public. In survey after survey, Canadians show themselves to be proud of their national identity. It might be worth taking them at their word – and not assuming that this pride is an uninformed opinion that needs to be educated out of the ignorant. Identities are complex. So are nations.
I am not suggesting that Canadian historians should plan wild celebrations for Canada 150. Nor should we abandon scholarly rigour. Unpacking myths is a key part of our job. But it might be worth questioning some of our assumptions about which myths and which national stories and which events need to be unpacked and which do not. Even if we don’t want to celebrate Canada 150, we ought to be open to why others might want to do so, and not assume that celebration is itself intrinsically a display of ignorance–or worse.
Christopher Dummitt’s latest book is Unbuttoned: A History of Mackenzie King’s Secret Life. An Associate Professor at Trent University’s School for the Study of Canada, he is a historian of Canadian politics and culture. | <urn:uuid:5ed22b52-bc2d-45f9-9c4d-b689fb9875c2> | CC-MAIN-2017-26 | http://activehistory.ca/2017/04/canada-150-whats-to-celebrate/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320438.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20170625050430-20170625070430-00508.warc.gz | en | 0.967298 | 2,133 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Hip Replacement Surgery in Hyderabad
(Figure 1. Cartilage damage seen in Osteoarthritis)
Arthritis of the hip joint is a common condition. It usually affects middle-age and older people resulting in over 40,000 hip replacements being performed in Australia per year to relieve sufferers of their pain. It comes about when the cartilage which overlies the femur (leg) bone or lines the acetabulum (pelvic) bone wears out and exposes “bone on bone” articulation resulting in pain, stiffness and disability.
Many forms of arthritis have been described. Osteoarthritis is the most common form characterized by the break-down of the joint’s cartilage. The exact cause of osteoarthritis is unknown but it may occur in families (genetic predisposition), post-injury or as a result of an infection in the joint.
(Figure 2. Severe Osteoarthritis of the left hip)
The next most common form of arthritis is known as rheumatoid arthritis. This is a chronic inflammatory disease of the joint and soft tissues often resulting in the rapid onset of pain, swelling and stiffness with marked joint destruction. Rheumatoid arthritis is more common in women and is caused by the body’s own immune system attacking the joints, often affecting the small joints of the body first i.e. those of the hands and fingers before involving the larger lower limb joints.
Other forms of arthritis are less common and broadly categorized into the term “inflammatory arthritis” including such conditions as ankylosing spondylitis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), gout and juvenile arthritis.
Arthritis of the hip joint often has an insidious onset characterized by the groin, lateral thigh or less commonly buttock pain which may radiate down the leg to the knee and beyond. The pain is worse with activity, limits walking distance and often will cause disturbance of sleep. Early morning stiffness is a common symptom and increases as the disease progresses, often resulting in the inability to reach down to put on one’s socks and shoes.
The diagnosis of arthritis is usually made on the basis of the symptom pattern, stiffness and irritability of the joint along with X-ray changes.
(Figure 3. Left total Hip replacement)
The early management of arthritis involves non-surgical modalities. These include a modification of activities to avoid the aggravating factors e.g. cessation of running / jumping pursuits and substituting those with more suitable activities e.g. walking, cycling or swimming. Weight optimization and the cessation of smoking will increase the lifespan of the remaining cartilage as can dietary supplementation with glucosamines and fish oils. Simple analgesia in the form of paracetamol combined with anti-inflammatory medication is first-line pain control. Physiotherapy and hydrotherapy are used to strengthen the muscles surrounding the joint and walking aids in the form of a stick or frame can make ambulation safer and less painful. A walking stick should be held in the opposite hand to the hip that is affected.
When these first-line measures for managing the pain from your arthritic hip fail to provide effective relief then it may be time to consider hip replacement surgery.
Arthroscopy of the hip joint is a “keyhole” procedure for the treatment of multiple pathologies of the hip joint without large incisions. It allows a faster return to sporting and recreational activities than open procedures, and normally only requires an overnight stay in hospital.
Pain in the hip and groin region may be due to many pathologies both inside and outside the hip joint itself. Common pathologies seen inside the joint are cartilage tears, loose bodies, bony bumps that cause impingement-cam or pincer (Figures 1 and 2), inflammation of the joint lining and tears of the ligaments that provide the joint with stability.
(Figure 1. Cam lesion on femoral head & neck (hipbone))
(Figure 2. Pincer lesion on acetabulum (socket))
Pathology outside of the joint may also be contributing to your pain e.g. Tendonitis of the surrounding muscles, inflammation in a bursa (fluid-filled sac), osteitis pubis or even a hernia. Clinical evaluation of your problem in combination with appropriate X-rays, CT and/or an MRI scan helps to establish the cause of your pain prior to surgery being undertaken.
Hip arthroscopy is performed in the operating theatre under a Spinal anaesthetic. Whilst asleep you are rolled onto your side and the legs are placed into a traction device to distract the affected joint and allow entry of the arthroscope.
(Figure 3. Position during surgery (cam and pincer depicted on insets))
(Figure 4. A burr is used to remove a pincer lesion)
X-ray imaging is used in the operating theatre to confirm the site of your pathology and correct positioning of the arthroscope and working instruments. Usually, only 2 small incisions are made on the outer aspect of the hip to allow the instrument placement but occasionally a 3rd incision may be required to complete the procedure.
The common pathology of impingement (either cam or pincer) is treated via burring away of the bony bump (figure 4) plus repair of the torn cartilage (labrum).
The procedure usually takes approximately 1 hour to complete, whereupon the joint is infiltrated with a local anaesthetic prior to you exiting the operating room. Following an overnight stay in hospital, you will be discharged home fully weight bearing on the affected hip, using crutches for support.
Post-operative physiotherapy follow-up will be arranged and most patients can expect to be walking comfortably within 4-7 days. You should refrain from driving for this same period. Physiotherapy is initially targeted at retraining and strengthening the small muscles around the hip responsible for its stability prior to retraining and strengthening the larger muscle groups of the hamstrings, gluteals and quadriceps. Return to work is dependent upon your occupation but generally is at the 1-week mark following surgery for sedentary occupations and 3 weeks for heavy manual labouring work. Running and jumping activities should not be undertaken for 10-12 weeks with most patients ready to return to sporting activity soon thereafter.
The complications of hip arthroscopy should be discussed with your surgeon prior to the procedure but may include those related to the anaesthetic e.g. nausea and vomiting, allergic reaction to the drugs, throat pain or swelling, and damage to the teeth. Complications related to the arthroscopy may include infection, deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), numbness in the anal, genitalia or inner thigh regions, and/or bruising and swelling in the same areas.
Hip arthroscopy is a safe procedure and provides good symptomatic outcomes for the pathologies listed above.
Please discuss the specifics of your particular condition with your surgeon.
The operation of a total hip replacement is a well established, long lasting procedure for relieving the pain involved with hip arthritis. This type of surgery has been used effectively now for over 40 years and remains the treatment of choice to achieve an excellent quality of life for sufferers of hip arthritis.
(Left Hip Arthritis)
(Left total hip Replacement post-operative X-ray)
The type of anaesthetic that is used for the procedure will vary according to each patient’s co-existent medical conditions and also your wishes. Our group of anaesthetists are all competent in both general and regional (spinal) anaesthetics and will discuss with you prior to the procedure the benefits and risks of each technique.
Through an incision approximately 12-15cm long centred over the side of the hip and curving gently towards the buttock, the hip joint can be entered with minimal trauma to the surrounding muscles. The hip is dislocated and the femur bone is cut through its neck to expose both the pelvic and leg sides of the joint. Depending upon the quality of the bone and the age of the patient either a cemented or cementless component is fixed to the pelvis and similarly to the femur. The ball and socket mechanism of the joint is then reconstructed with either a metal on plastic (polyethylene) articulation or ceramic on ceramic articulation. Computer navigation may be used to ensure that the leg length obtained is correct and the orientation of the components is optimal to provide for maximum range of motion of the new hip.
Following the surgery you will be able to mobilize fully weight bearing on the hip the day after the procedure. You will be aided by the physiotherapist and nursing staff and taught how to safely use a frame initially and then graduate onto crutches.
Your hospital stay will be between 5-7 days and depending upon your home supports and progress.
Most people will be able to dispense with their crutches approximately 4-6 weeks following the surgery. During this time period you should sleep flat on your back, not cross your legs and use a seat raise for the toilet. These precautions will be emphasised by the physiotherapist during your hospital stay.All our patients are routinely put on home based physiotherapy post discharge.
Driving the car is not allowed for 6 weeks following the surgery and car travel as a passenger should be minimised during this period. These restrictions minimise the chance of the hip dislocating whilst the muscles and soft tissues around your hip heal.
At 6 weeks following the procedure you will be reviewed by your surgeon. Most patients are then given the all clear to return to recreational walking, swimming, cycling, golf, tennis, bowls, gymnasium workouts and other recreational pursuits as desired. It is not advised that you undertake running or jumping activities following a hip replacement.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What are the risks involved with the procedure?
There are general risks associated with any surgery, these are those of the anaesthetic (please speak to your anaesthetist prior to the operation), bleeding, blood clots (deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolization (PE)), infection and vascular injury. Specific to the surgery are the risks of dislocation of the hip prosthesis, leg length inequality, fracture of the pelvis or femur, wear and loosening of the implants, audible ‘squeaking’ of the articulating components (ceramics), nerve injury.
When can I return to work?
Most people should be able to return to work at 6 weeks post-surgery. This may be extended if you perform a job involving heavy manual labour.
When can I resume sexual activity?
Sexual intercourse can safely be undertaken 6 weeks following the surgery.
How long do I need to keep taking pain-killing medicine for?
When you leave the hospital you will be given tablet analgesia for pain. You should take this for as long as you have pain when walking or at night. Most people are able to cease analgesics by 4 weeks following the surgery.
Do I need to do physiotherapy when I go home?
You will be given a sheet of exercises from the physiotherapist when you leave the hospital. You should do these exercises as instructed. You do not need to visit a physiotherapist once discharged.
Frequently Asked Questions
The word arthritis literally means “joint inflammation.” Arthritis refers to a group of more than 100 rheumatic diseases and other conditions that cause pain, stiffness, and swelling in joints.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that damages the lining surrounding our joints while also destroying our bones, tissue, and joints over time.
Osteoarthritis is a progressive condition that slowly damages the cartilage surrounding the ends of bones and is common in the hip, knee, and spine.
Arthroscopic surgery is a surgical procedure that is commonly performed to diagnose and treat problems within the joint. By using high-tech cameras, the orthopedic surgeon inserts a small instrument, called an arthroscope, into the joint.
The arthroscope contains a fiber optic light source and small television camera that allow the surgeon to view the joint on a television monitor and diagnose the problem, determine the extent of injury, and make any necessary repairs.
Joint replacement surgery is a surgical procedure that is performed to replace an arthritic or damaged joint with a new, artificial joint, called a prosthesis. Joint replacements can be performed on every joint in the body, but most commonly performed in the knee, hip, shoulder, and elbow.
Joints contain cartilage, a soft, rubbery gel-like coating on the ends of bones, where they articulate, that protects joints and facilitates movement and over time, or if the joint has been injured, the cartilage wears away and the bones of the joint start rubbing together. As the bones rub together, bone spurs may form, and the joint becomes stiff and painful. Most people have joint replacement surgery when they can no longer control the pain with medication and other treatments and the pain is significantly interfering with their lives. | <urn:uuid:7da3418c-baef-46d0-835a-4ead94ef3992> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.regainortho.com/service/hip-surgery-hyderabad/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335254.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220928113848-20220928143848-00216.warc.gz | en | 0.930807 | 2,784 | 2.953125 | 3 |
"Dream Maker and Heart Breaker" - Engendering Epic in Kings and Queens
Contribution to Book
Arnaud Desplechin’s 2004 Kings and Queen tells the story of two former lovers, Nora and Ismael, as they remember their past and start new lives. Alternating between a first-person confessional perspective and a more impersonal style, the story line combines tragedy and comedy. The two perspectives meet, intertwine, and collide with one another much as the relationship between Nora and Ismael evolves through time. While ostensibly about ordinary people facing everyday joys and disappointments, the film begins with an arpeggio played on a harp and a voiceover describing how Zeus loved the beautiful Leda and came to her as a swan, an opening gesture that places the narrative firmly in the realm of epic. Like Yeats, author of the famous poem “Leda and the Swan,” Desplechin sees myth as a source of inspiration and self-understanding. Critics have noted the important place given to modern poetry and psychoanalysis in Desplechin’s film, but it is Greek myth that is at the core of and provides a key to understanding Kings and Queen. In the following pages, I trace the visual and poetic motifs that link Kings and Queen to Greek myth in general, and more particularly to the Odyssey, and show how Desplechin uses the classical tradition to "engender"—to use Yeats' word—a modern epic of homecoming that transforms and transcends its ancient models.
Pache, C. (2012). "Dream maker and heart breaker" - Engendering epic in Kings and Queen. In V. Bers, D. Elmer, D. Frame, & L. Muellner (Eds.), Donum natalicium digitaliter confectum Gregorio Nagy septuagenario a discipulis collegis familiaribus oblatum. Retrieved from Center for Hellenic Studies website http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.ebook:CHS_Bers_etal_eds.Donum_Natalicium_Gregorio_Nagy.2012
Donum natalicium digitaliter confectum Gregorio Nagy septuagenario a discipulis collegis familiaribus oblatum | <urn:uuid:51bd0592-c5cf-44da-b5f1-2350daf6b8a4> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/class_faculty/87/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891807660.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20180217185905-20180217205905-00692.warc.gz | en | 0.845191 | 489 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Our planet was born as a ball of rock orbiting a single star. Or was it? New research from UC Berkeley and Harvard University suggests that almost all stars are born in pairs, including our own.
While our star is traveling alone through the galaxy, most stars come in pairs. Sometimes these binary pairs can form when two stranger stars meet and stick together. But there are so many binary stars out there that most scientists suspected there was another way for them to form.
The best way to find out how stars form is to watch them forming, but that's really hard to do. Most star formation happens in so-called "molecular clouds," which are hot, dense clouds of gas that most of our telescopes can't see through. In order to peer into these regions, astronomers would need to use a radio telescope.
Recently, a group of astronomers recently did just that, pointing the Very Large Array radio telescope at the Perseus molecular cloud to complete a survey of all the young stars inside. One of those astronomers, along with a physicist from UC Berkeley, used that survey data to investigate how the stars formed.
The finding: Almost all the binary stars they saw were very young, less than a few hundred thousand years old. Most of the older stars were single, and those that were in binaries were closer together. The pair ran several simulations and found the only way this could happen is if most stars are born in pairs, loosely orbiting each other, and that they either separate early on or spiral closer together as they age.
It's likely our own sun was born as part of a pair, too. Because we're not part of a binary system anymore that means our sun's twin disappeared early in our solar system's history. It's likely in a completely different part of the galaxy from us, traveling all by itself. Maybe someday we'll be reunited.
Source: UC Berkeley | <urn:uuid:90d16fc3-f495-448f-ad1c-7d6c8cc26f8b> | CC-MAIN-2020-05 | https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a26950/all-stars-born-in-pairs/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-05/segments/1579250592394.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20200118081234-20200118105234-00224.warc.gz | en | 0.981671 | 384 | 4.21875 | 4 |
Pemayangtse Monastery is located on top of a hill, at an altitude of 2,000+ metres. It is 8.9 km from Pelling and 140 km from the state capital Gangtok. It is one of the oldest Budhist monasteries in Sikkim. The monastery follows the Nyingma Order of Tibetan Buddhism and controls all other monasteries of that Order in Sikkim.
Sangchen Pemayangtse monastery in Tibetan means “most secret lotus summit monastery“. The monastery commands spectacular views of the Himalayas. On a clear day you can see Kanchenjunga and other mountains. There are well-maintained gardens within the monastery grounds.
An entry fee of Rs. 20 per person is levied. Near the main entrance is a huge prayer wheel which occupies most of a small room. Photography is forbidden inside the buildings.
The monastery was established by Lhatsun Chenpo in the seventeenth century. It was later developed during the reign of the third Chogyal, Chakdor Namgyal, monarch of Sikkim. He succeeded Tensung Namgyal in 1700.
There are no elaborate rituals that the tourists can attend. The poojas are mainly for the locals. In the mornings, you can see the monks chanting or doing 108 perambulations of the building. Later, you may be able to watch monks chanting from their scriptures during prayers.
The architecture has a distinct Tibetan style with sloping roofs and colourful doors and windows. The main building is a three-storied structure with a large prayer hall. The residential accommodation of the monks is also located within the compound. The buildings have withstood earthquakes and other calamities over the centuries.
Butter lamps are a distinct feature of Tibetan monasteries and temples in the Himalayas. The lamps traditionally use clarified Yak butter. The butter lamps help to focus the mind in meditation. For safety, butter lamps are usually restricted to a separate enclosure with a stone floor. | <urn:uuid:3a4c9cfa-3239-47e2-a4c8-0462464dd3bd> | CC-MAIN-2017-51 | http://uasatish.com/?p=6816 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-51/segments/1512948604248.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20171218025050-20171218051050-00076.warc.gz | en | 0.950865 | 421 | 2.546875 | 3 |
From: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
A trigger fish found in the Atlantic.
SS - 345: dp. 1,526 l. 311'9" b. 27'3"
dr. 16'10' s. 20 k. cpl. 66 a. 1 x 5", 10 x 21" tt.
Cochino (SS-345) was launched 20 April 1945 by Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn.; sponsored by Mrs. M. E. Serat; and commissioned 25 August 1945, Commander W. A. Stevenson in command.
Cochino joined the Atlantic Fleet, cruising east coast and Caribbean waters from her home port, Key West, Fla. On 18 July 1949, she put to sea for a cruise to Britain, and arctic operations. Her group ran through a violent polar gale off Norway, and the joltings received by Cochino played their part in causing an electrical fire and battery explosion, followed by the generation of deadly hydrogen [chlorine] on 25 August. Defying the most unfavorable possible weather conditions, men of Cochino and Tusk (SS-426) fought to save the submarine for 14 hours, performing acts of skillful seamanship and high courage. But a second battery explosion on 26 August made "Abandon Ship" the only possible order, and Cochino sank on 71°35' N., 23°35' E. All Cochino 's men were rescued by the valiant Tusk who had lost seven of her own men in the attempt to save Cochino . | <urn:uuid:50d203e4-e452-4c6d-b0ad-912f850eb7d9> | CC-MAIN-2015-22 | http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ss345.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-22/segments/1432207929023.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20150521113209-00100-ip-10-180-206-219.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928631 | 319 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Last tested: Aug 31, 2018
Data normalization is the process of improving the logical design of your database so that it satisfies certain constraints that avoid unnecessary duplication of data.
Purpose: The goal of data normalization is to avoid anomalies:
- Insertion Anomaly
- Adding new row forces user to create duplicate data
- Deletion Anomaly
- Deleting one row may cause loss of data that may be needed for other future rows
- Modification Anomaly
- Changing data in one row forces changes in other rows because of duplication
Data Redundancy: When the same piece of data is held in 2 separate places. A positive type of data redundancy works to safeguard data and promote consistency. It is common practice to have a piece of data stored in multiple places, however, the key is to have a centralized field or space for that data, so that there is one place to update all the redundant data.
Referential Integrity: Foreign Key of one table must match the Primary Key of another.
Entity Integrity: All primary key values must contain data values
1st Normal Form
- No multivalued attributes
3rd Normal Form
- 1st Normal rules
- Every non-key attribute is defined by the primary key, not by part of the key
- No partial dependencies | <urn:uuid:c83b6e19-3bf6-41b4-a93a-8ab79f6b35e5> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://community.looker.com/technical-tips-tricks-1021/database-concept-data-normalization-1st-3rd-normal-form-25732?postid=46708 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764494826.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20230126210844-20230127000844-00007.warc.gz | en | 0.866781 | 277 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Advantages and disadvantages of flexible work for employers
In the following project and in accordance with the bibliography I have been used, I will describe and analyze the flexibility and work. More specifically, I refer to history and the multidimensional concept. Then I will analyze the forms of flexible work, and I will present the advantages and disadvantages for employees and employers. Finally, I will refer how the flexibility is carried out in Europe and Greece and I will present my own conclusions.
The current era is characterized by its fast pace of life, changes in technology and increased unemployment. All these contribute to creating a more complex and competitive work environment. In this environment, has been created the most popular trend, the flexibility of working, which interacting with the labor market, because more and more people choose it. As for employees, flexible working patterns is a way to reorganize their personal life, have more free time, have limited stress and poor performance and you can get faster the desired experience. As for employers, the flexibility it gives them the opportunity to reduce costs and make them more competitive. Nowadays, the flexibility of employment has taken various forms, with part-time and work at home be the most prevalent.
The times we have came so far characterized as times of great changes in the labor market. The 18th century was marked by the industrial revolution, which profoundly affected the working conditions and life, since there was a long manual work in factories. Passing the 20th century industrial relations took a different turn, because of technological and social factors, such as the rapid evolution of technology worldwide. (Rifkin, 1996)
Moreover, the fact that more and more women left their traditional role, which was in the house and worked was a phenomenon particularly noticeable from 1970 and after. At the same time unemployment was a global problem, since it increases rapidly due to the fuel crisis. Employees, because of the new patterns of life and long hours work, were trying to find ways to balance work and personal life. All above, together with the fact that companies were trying to find new ways to reduce costs, contributed to the emergence of flexible working forms. (Layard et al, 1991, Lake, 2009)
In the 80s and 90s were two basic models of flexibility in Europe, the Swedish model and the British. Most European countries applied the Swedish model or quality model, while the Mediterranean countries like Spain and Greece applied primarily model of illegal flexibility. (Κουζής, 2001)
Today, in Greece the wage model ranges still in illegality and backward rates, as dominates the culture of low cost without the use of technology and upgrading of workers. (Κουζής, 2001, Ινστιτούτο Εργασίας Γ.Σ.Ε.Ε, 2010)
Close the end of 90, and in particular the 1999, the 10% of the workforce in Europe is unemployed. More specifically in Spain, the unemployment was 18.8%, in Italy 12.2% and 11.7% in Greece while in the Netherlands only 4% were unemployed. At this time, 40% of the workforce employed with some form of flexible work. Specifically, 17.4% in Europe were using part-time jobs, with the main representatives in Netherlands, with 38.8% and in UK with 24.9%., while 12.8% use temporary work, like in Spain with 32%. It is worth noting that women use more flexible forms of employment with a rate of 31.8% compared with 5.9% of men. (Κουζής, 2001)
At the decade of the 90s, European Union remained not idly with the phenomenon of unemployment and the issue of employment. In 1994 in the European Council was discussed the promotion of employment as one of the most important issues and entered some objectives. These objectives became known as the ''Essen Strategy'', which was reforming its policies on global employment. Two years later, was established the European Employment Strategy by the Treaty of Amsterdam. Ensuring made from the Luxembourg 'Jobs summit'. The thematic priorities agreed at the meeting were grouped into four pillars, entrepreneurship, employability, adaptability and equal opportunities. The contents of adaptability consisted from the modernization of work organization, from flexibility of working and from the mobilization of state aid policies on upgrading the labour force. (Παναγόπουλος, 2009a)
Greece is characterized by flexible forms of work due to the utilization by illegal or legal form, from a large percentage of employees. Particular increase in illegal flexibility had from early 90 ', since at that time there was a large wave of immigrants in Greece. Increasing the lawlessness contributed also the reduced inspections by the competent institutions of the inspection labor. More general, the 90 was not the proper organization and the suitable monitoring by state. (Κουζής, 2001)
According to Παπαλεξανδρή and Μπουραντάς (2003) in the private sector in Greece 79% of employees have permanent and stable job. A further 12% covered by seasonal and casual work and part-time Jobs is covered by 8.7%.
More specifically, women and young people are engaged mostly in seasonal and casual employment, which finds ground in hotels, building industry and retail market. In the services sector, particularly in the public sector and DECO, is located part-time for coverage seasonal needs. (Παπαλεξανδρή και Μπουραντάς, 2003)
According to the newspaper Kathimerini, in 2010 there were 8,256 more contract changes from full to a flexible form, noting upward course for labor market flexibility. (Κοψίνη, 2011)
As long as the concept of flexibility in the labor market there are many opinions and theories about the definition, which makes it a multidimensional concept. Generally, the term flexibility as industrial relations, referring to agreements made between employer and employee and which concern working hours, location, employment tasks and wages on a more flexible framework. One main reason may become such an agreement is, from the side of the employer, to reduce costs and better organization of resources according with the demand and from the employee side the better organization of his personal life. So, flexibility allows covering the needs of a business and balancing work and personal life of a worker. (Παπαλεξανδρή και Μπουραντάς, 2003, Flexibility.co.uk, 2009)
More detail from the side of the governments, flexible work supported strongly since they reduce unemployment and increase employment. For employers, flexibility means reducing operating costs, increase competitiveness and higher profits. Furthermore, the increase in unemployment, the fast rates of life and financial difficulties, forcing many employees withstand with the option of flexible work. Furthermore, I could say that flexibility is the ability of a company or an employee to be flexible to the changing environment and be adapted according to developments. (Παπαλεξανδρή και Μπουραντάς, 2003)
The main types of flexibility are consisting of the hours, the place and the employment contract and the flexibility to fees, the duties and the use of outsourcing. Typically in relation to these distinguished the following models of flexibility are: numerical, temporal, functional, financial, distancing and location flexibility. (Παπαλεξανδρή και Μπουραντάς, 2003, Κουζής, 2001, Παναγόπουλος, 2011b)
More specifically, the rapid development of technology and the opportunities that offered have given an opportunity for those who choose flexible working to have the possibility to work outside of the company. This is achieved by working at home or by telephone or by other ways and it called Location flexibility. In work at home is included the tele-working, where employees are able to use communication technology to deliver a job via the computer and the internet. Working at home is more widespread, especially in the United Kingdom, since according to a survey of Flexibility.co.uk 1 to 8 working at home, while 20% of the workforce works at least three days a week at home. Working at home is preferred by employers and employees to reduce travel costs and increase the space in company. Another way to work with this type is the 'hot desking', where the employee does not have its own space but continually moved elsewhere within the company, according to his duties. (Lake,2009, Παπαλεξανδρή και Μπουραντάς, 2003, Παναγόπουλος, 2011b, Flexibility.co.uk, 2009a)
Another type of flexibility is flexibility in hours or temporal flexibility, which someone can choose reduced working hours, which is below than eight hours, or choose night work, flexible hours and working on Sundays and the Holidays. From the above, the most known type of flexible job is part time. This type is preferred by people who want to combine two jobs, or people who have limited free time. (Flexibility.co.uk, 2009a, Lake, 2009, Παπαλεξανδρή και Μπουραντάς, 2003, Παναγόπουλος, 2011b)
The flexible hours regards a fixed quota of hours of work. In this case, the employee decides along with the employer, about how many hours he will work each day and on condition that the project will be finished by the deadline assigned to it. (Flexibility.co.uk, 2009a, Lake, 2009, Παναγόπουλος, 2011b)
Another type of flexible hours is the annualized hours, where the employee agrees with an employer's total annual working hours, which will vary according to the responsibilities that will assigned to him/her every time. Additionally, an employee may choose zero hours contracts, with which he/she is standby and he/she will work whenever employer needs him or whenever there is a job vacancy. In this type are included substitutes doctors, nurses and teachers. (Flexibility.co.uk, 2009a, Lake, 2009, Παναγόπουλος, 2011b)
An innovation of enterprises to monitor whether employees comply with their working hours is the positioning of special machines, where an employee with a special card certifying the arrival and leaving from the workplace. (Lake, 2009)
The contracts of employment to a typical full-time called indefinite. But, there are flexible work contracts, which may take the form of temporal duration and consider employee who work temporary or occasional or with annual contract hours. This flexible form among in the Numerical flexibility or flexible contracts and in general terms change the labor laws in a more favorable framework for employers since given to them the opportunity to dismiss the employee with fewer penalties. Moreover, it gives to employer the ability to increase and decrease the number of workforce whenever it needs. Also, in this form are included agency work and zero hours working. (Marchington and Parker, 1990, Παπαλεξανδρή και Μπουραντάς, 2003, Παναγόπουλος, 2011b, Κουζής, 2001, Flexibility.co.uk, 2009a)
The fourth form of work flexibility is the flexibility in the salaries, which called financial flexibility. In this form the system of payment of the employee deflective from the traditional in which is include the minimum salaries. In it position was placed the system of remuneration which based on performance and productivity of the worker and also by business performance. In the first case the employee is evaluated individually or collectively for his performance, by encouraging for higher performance in order to get higher pay. In the second case, the remuneration of workers depends on profits or losses of the company.
(Παπαλεξανδρή και Μπουραντάς, 2003, Κουζής, 2001)
One of the most important forms of flexibility is the flexibility of tasks or the Functional flexibility, whose purpose is to redefine the duties of employees in a more flexible and organizationally framework, giving them the opportunity of further education (multi-skilling). In this way, employees can undertake a wider range of tasks and reduce the time to make a lot of works. (Marchington and Parker, 1990, Παπαλεξανδρή και Μπουραντάς, 2003, Παναγόπουλος, 2011b)
The latest model of flexibility is called distancing and it refers to flexible partnerships with third parties, as some other agency (outsourcing). Specifically, regards the flexibility that may have a company in order to entrust tasks to outside persons or to other organizations with purpose of reducing the direct employees and saving money. In this case, employers use contractors such as cleaning companies, call center services and transport operators. (Marchington and Parker, 1990)
Flexible work can offer many positive features and benefits to employees in social, economic, professional and personal level. An important contribution is the elimination of unemployment, since is given the opportunity to work directly on a wider range of people. Also important is the contribution at the level of health to workers, since according to a study published in Flexibility.co.uk. Flexible forms of work can reduce the risk of heart disease or other diseases, such as stress. (Flexibility.co.uk, 2009b, Lake, 2009)
According to a survey, which took place by The work foundation, in a sample of five hundred employees, 69% of them stated that they want to spend more time with their family, particularly those who working in full time. This feature could be given by a flexible form of employment such as part-time work, since the worker may be better organizing his time and thus the work-life balance. Also, the employee may be receive more job satisfaction as he/she can have, to a degree, the choice of working conditions and the choice of people who will work with them. Finally, flexibility in employment may be reducing the cost of transport reduce stress factors and help to avoid traffic. (Jones, 2006, Lake, 2009)
On the other hand, the flexibility of employment may hold some risks for workers. One example is the sense of isolation, if the employee works outside the office and without other colleagues. As a result, the worker may feel lonely and socially isolated. Furthermore, someone who works outside the office has to cover the problem of the very good organization and discipline, without being pushing by the necessary pressure that will assist for better focus on achieving the goals. Another problem that needs to cover the employee is to provide a suitable workspace at home or in another place and the problem of high communication costs. (Businesslink.gov.uk, 2011, Lake, 2009)
In most cases, the salary of a worker is determined by the total hours of working. In a set of flexible employment may be is considerably smaller than the standard, i.e. over eight hours. In this case, the employee will earn less than the basic salary, while has to cover the problem of stability of his/her position, because employers have the power of more ''easy'' redundancy. For this reason, many argue that employers are benefiting at the expense of workers and exploit them. Additionally, work outside the Office may be hiding the risk of information security that uses a worker, as there is no one to supervise. The lack of the presence of such a person grows the communication problem may have the company with the employee, such as wasting time for explanation queries. (Businesslink.gov.uk, 2011, Lake, 2009)
Flexibility in work brings many advantages for employers in the business environment. One of the most important is reduce the cost for companies that achieved with the lowest salaries, by saving energy and space and also with non-abused employee. As regards the latter, it is worth noting that flexibility helps companies to use workers for a particular work, where there is a need in order to properly exploit the human factor. (Actnow, 2011, Friedman, 2011)
Working at home retains and attracts employees, while increasing participation and morale. The employee may feel more comfortable and stress free when working flexibly, positively influencing the efficiency and productivity of the company. Moreover, there is a decrease in turnover, absenteeism and sick days by improving the timing of the objectives set by the company. (Actnow, 2011, Friedman, 2011)
Another positive effect for companies is most success in attracting young workers with over skills and knowledge than the current employees. This succeeded because of current lifestyles that keep pace with new models of flexible work, which is usually the first choice by young workers. (Actnow, 2011, Friedman, 2011)
By achieving of above, companies managed to increase customer satisfaction and give a friendlier and sensitive picture within the meaning that employers take regard the balancing between work and family life. (Friedman, 2011)
Finally, the choice of flexible models from their employers may create some issues. One disadvantage is that the company cannot continuously monitor the employee and how they work, creating a risk of the result of the project which must be implemented. Additionally, the flexibility of the employee can adversely affect the absences of the firm or even push into more frequent resignations, which automatically mean increasing costs for finding new staff. (Businesslink.gov.uk, 2011, Lake, 2009)
In conclusion, flexible forms of work will be discussed and will significantly affect industrial relations and working environment in the future, both in Europe and especially in Greece. The positive elements are enough for employees and their employers, but I think it should be rational use in forms, from the side both of them because there are many hidden dangers. Of course, evidence has shown that although it used by governments, such as Greece, to reduce unemployment, there is increasing on unemployment. So, someone will ask why while flexibility has many advantages for employees, although not all countries are affected positive? Finally, I believe that it will be found and others modes of flexible work, since history has shown us that technology never stops to evolve.
If you are the original writer of this essay and no longer wish to have the essay published on the UK Essays website then please click on the link below to request removal: | <urn:uuid:85f74321-cf0f-406b-bce7-d5090b836022> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://www.ukessays.com/essays/economics/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-flexible-work-for-employers-economics-essay.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1406510266894.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20140728011746-00454-ip-10-146-231-18.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963769 | 4,051 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Navigation can be defined as the process followed in getting a vessel from one geographical point to another in the safest and most economical way. Whilst the methods used are based upon sound scientific and mathematical principles, their efficient execution is based upon the experience and skill of the navigator.
Being a land based creature, man learnt very quickly to navigate on land by using the fixed topographical features of his environment. For him the sea was a completely different kettle of fish. Since there were no fixed topographical features, his first venturing was confined to the coast and during daylight hours only. Over the years however, he became more adventurous and he ventured further and further from the land.
The discovery of the magnetic lode stone eventually led to the development of the magnetic compass. His broadening knowledge of the heavens led him to navigate by the stars. Instruments such as the astrolabe (forerunner to the sextant) were developed with which he was able to determine his latitude from astronomical observation. The development of the chronometer enabled him to determine his longitude. Eventually the sextant was developed along with chronometers of increasing accuracy. Together with specialised mathematical tables he was finally able to determine his position with a high degree of accuracy anywhere on the globe.
From the beginning of the 20th century technology advanced with ever increasing speed and the modern electronic navigation system which we use today, evolved. There is little doubt that navigation systems will continue to evolve in future. Whatever may face us in future, we must always remember that these electronic marvels are tools of the navigator and that they will never be able to completely replace the human element. | <urn:uuid:d522df09-b8d2-492b-888e-60b64a18270c> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://maritimesa.org/nautical-science-grade-10/2020/11/23/introduction-to-navigation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224646181.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20230530230622-20230531020622-00744.warc.gz | en | 0.978968 | 333 | 3.59375 | 4 |
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Americans desperately needed bargains. But President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed laws that forced businesses to charge above-market prices for everything. He made discounting a crime!
FDR did this even though antitrust laws provided penalties for private individuals who acted in restraint of trade and charged above-market prices. These laws were passed by “progressives” - his ideological brethren.
First came FDR’s National Industrial Recovery Act, considered the flagship of the New Deal. FDR signed that in June 1933, climaxing his heroic Hundred Days of legislative mania. Back then, the economic situation was considered so urgent that members of Congress didn’t have time to seriously debate FDR’s proposals.
The members probably didn’t have time to read the bills, either, before the voting began. Possibly, the Hundred Days began the American tradition of having members of Congress vote on bills they haven’t read. In any case, The National Industrial Recovery Act authorized the president to establish cartels via executive orders. He established some 500 cartels, and one of the things they did was fix prices above market levels.
The Agricultural Adjustment Act (1933), another triumph of the Hundred Days, aimed to raise prices of agricultural commodities above market levels, in an effort to raise farm incomes. Apparently the authors of the Agricultural Adjustment Act weren’t particularly concerned about the three-quarters of the U.S. population who weren’t farmers and had to pay more for food.
The Robinson-Patman Act, amending the Clayton Antitrust Act in 1936, aimed to protect small grocery stores from price competition offered by A&P, King Kullen (“World’s Greatest Price Wrecker”), and other chain stores.
Because they bought goods in large volume, they obtained quantity discounts and passed savings to consumers. Less efficient small stores wanted to maintain high prices. Accordingly, the Grocery Manufacturers Association lobbied for and did much of the work drafting Robinson-Patman. Often referred to as the Anti-Chain-Store Act, it benefited wholesalers as well as small retailers, because wholesalers didn’t want chain stores buying directly from manufacturers.
The bottom line was that the law made it illegal for big stores to cut prices. If private stores had conspired among themselves to maintain high prices, they would have invited prosecution under the antitrust laws.
The Miller-Tydings Retail Price Maintenance Act (Aug. 17, 1937) was a related effort to protect small businesses from competition with larger, more efficient firms.
Small business lobbyists had successfully persuaded most state legislatures to enact “fair trade” laws which authorized price fixing, but the Supreme Court struck these down as violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. Congress passed, and FDR signed, Miller-Tydings which amended the Sherman Act to let manufacturers fix above-market retail prices of branded merchandise and thereby stop chain stores from offering consumers great discount prices. Apparently consumers counted for nothing during the New Deal.
On June 23, 1938, FDR signed into law the Civil Aeronautics Act which established the Civil Aeronautics Authority - this later became the Civil Aeronautics Board. It enforced a cartel, protecting existing airlines from new competition. Without a CAB certificate of “public convenience and necessity,” an airline couldn’t fly an interstate route. The CAB made clear its intent to suppress competition when it declared, “In the absence of particular circumstances presenting an affirmative reason for a new carrier, there appears to be no inherent desirability of increasing the present number of carriers merely for the purpose of numerically enlarging the industry.” During the next 40 years, until airlines were deregulated in 1978, the CAB didn’t issue a license for a single new interstate airline.
The CAB also had the power to fix prices and determine which airlines flew to which cities. “All passenger, cargo, and mail rates,” explained economist Sam Peltzman, “while initially set by the airlines, required approval by the CAB.” It maintained high fares.
Non-scheduled carriers, initially exempted from CAB regulation, operated without published schedules and provided flights to whatever destinations were under-served, and they offered lower fares. The CAB-regulated airlines responded with lower-priced coach service, but they lobbied the CAB to gain jurisdiction over the “non-scheduleds,” and it denied more and more applications to provide nonsked service, until that source of competition was virtually eliminated.
In addition to outlawing discounting, FDR indirectly forced prices above market levels by signing the National Labor Relations Act (1935). When it was upheld by the Supreme Court two years later, labor union monopolies developed in mass production industries. In 1937 - a depression year, remember - average labor costs surged 11 percent. Naturally, this put strong upward pressure on the prices of things made with union labor, until the labor cost surge helped trigger a recession that undermined demand.
FDR did what private businesses cannot do by themselves, namely use the law to enforce above-market prices.
As long as businesses are free to enter any market, somebody who charges above-market prices is likely to attract competitors who will drive prices down.
Competitors could be start-up businesses or established businesses entering a new market, and such competitors could come from within the country or overseas.
The most famous private “monopoly,” John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil, lost market share despite having cut the price of its principal product 90 percent, because it wasn’t backed by the force of government. Perhaps the most intriguing question is why “progressives” continue to view FDR as savior, giving him a free pass as a price-gouger. | <urn:uuid:1a6eba6a-112e-40fb-818b-e31e94f947f7> | CC-MAIN-2017-26 | https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/how-fdr-promoted-pricegouging | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128323864.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20170629033356-20170629053356-00427.warc.gz | en | 0.959012 | 1,216 | 3.984375 | 4 |
Diagnostic Audiologic Evaluation
If you have been referred for a diagnostic audiologic evaluation, it means that your hearing needs to be further examined. A diagnostic audiologic evaluation may be indicated for individuals who did not pass an initial hearing screening.
The evaluation is done to determine if a hearing loss is present and, if so, to detail the type and severity of the hearing loss. It also may provide insight into the cause of the hearing loss as well as provide guidance for the audiologist in making appropriate treatment recommendations or referrals to other professionals.
What tests will be done?
The specific tests done during the evaluation will depend on the patient's age, symptoms and medical history. These various tests will determine the degree of hearing loss, the type of hearing loss and the conditions of the ear canal and middle ear. The audiologist will also establish if the hearing loss is conductive (middle or outer ear problem) or sensorineural (inner ear problem or an issue with the auditory nerve and central auditory pathways).
At a minimum, a diagnostic audiologic evaluation includes pure-tone testing, bone conduction testing and speech testing.
Pure-tone and bone conduction testing
Pure-tone testing determines the quietest tones that a person can hear at different frequencies, both low and high. Bone conduction testing is similar to pure-tone, however, a different type of headset is used to provide the audiologist with different information. A bone conduction test will help the audiologist determine whether the loss is conductive in nature or sensorineural.
A speech reception threshold (SRT) test is used to confirm the results of a pure-tone test. This test determines the lowest level of sound the patient can clearly identify words or speech.
The audiologist may also perform otoscopy (physical examination of the outer ear, ear canal and eardrum) and tympanometry (test of the middle ear) to determine the health of the ear canal and the middle ear.
Specialized tests exist for infants and young children, as well as children and adults with developmental and cognitive impairments. These specialized tests allow the audiologist to test the auditory system when the patient is not able to actively participate in the tests or evaluation.
Visual reinforcement and conditioned play audiometry for children
For children, it is important to have a diagnostic hearing evaluation whenever a hearing loss is suspected. It is the first step in identifying hearing loss and developing a treatment plan to improve academic and social success.
Along with the evaluation, you should generally expect to have time to review the results with the audiologist. They can interpret the tests for you, answer your questions, provide you with information and referrals as needed, as well as begin planning for treatment, if indicated.
Audiologists are specialists in hearing and hearing rehabilitation. Never hesitate to ask your audiologist for clarification or further information on anything you do not understand.
What can I expect during a diagnostic hearing evaluation?
Take Action: Get your hearing tested. It’s easy!
The easiest test you’ll ever take
A hearing evaluation is quick, simple and painless. In most cases, the results are instantaneous—you will learn immediately if you have a hearing loss and what steps you should take to improve your hearing. There are different testing methods, but most start with brief questions about the health of your ear, your general health and your lifestyle. These questions assist in determining the cause and nature of your possible hearing loss.
Remember that you are in the hands of a Doctor of Audiology who has been extensively trained in the advance diagnostic audiological testing and wants to help you improve your quality of life. Do not hesitate to bring up your concerns or ask any questions.
A quick look into the ear
First, your audiologist will look into your ears with an otoscope. The purpose of looking into yours ears is to examine the ear canal—the tunnel that leads from the outer ear to the eardrum. Inspection of the ear can provide a lot of information about your eardrum and the middle ear. Looking into the ear does not hurt, and you may even get to see a picture of your ear drum.
The actual hearing evaluation
A hearing test evaluates your hearing sensitivity and is performed using an audiometer, which determines sensitivity at different frequencies. This will typically last about 30-40 minutes.
- You will sit inside a sound-proof room with a set of foam earphones placed in your ear canals or headphones placed snuggly on the ears.
- Your earphones are connected to the audiometer. The audiometer is calibrated to measure your hearing with precision.
- The audiometer sends tones at various frequencies to one ear at a time, while the Doctor of Audiology plots the loudness (in decibels) on an audiogram.
- While you are being exposed to the different tones, you’ll signal to the doctor of audiology by pressing a button (or raising your hand) when you hear the tone, no matter how quiet it is. The Doctor of Audiology is looking for the softest levels at which you can hear the tones important for understanding speech. You may hear the same tone many times. Don’t worry: this is part of the test and ensures accurate results.
- Over the course of the test, the Doctor of Audiology plots points on a graph that will explain your hearing in comparison to the normal range.
- The test will produce results in the form of a graph that shows your hearing loss in pitch and loudness. The result is referred to as your “threshold.” Normal hearing for adults is defined as the ability to hear sounds that are 25 decibels or quieter.
- Your evaluation will include speech audiometry. Your Doctor of Audiology will read lists of words to you through the earphones, and you will do your best to try and repeat the words. This will allow the Doctor of Audiology to understand how you are hearing in real-world situations.
- Noise is the most difficult situation for communication and many people struggle to hear in noisy environments so we will evaluation how you understand sentences with additional background noise.
- Your Doctor of Audiology will discuss the results of your hearing evaluation in full detail with you and discuss recommendations for your unique situation.
- If hearing technology is recommended by your audiologist, you will test different types of hearing devices. | <urn:uuid:6926c51d-af0f-47dd-b997-5be078da8dbd> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://hearquality.com/diagnostic-audiologic-evaluation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663011588.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528000300-20220528030300-00246.warc.gz | en | 0.935522 | 1,323 | 3.375 | 3 |
Illustrate out the typology of the disasters with appropriate illustrations.
prepare down the causes and consequences of the drought. Illustrate out with the help of exs.
Illustrate out in detail about the tsunamis and land subsidence.
prepare down in your own words regarding the impact of industrial or technological accidents.
prepare down the repercussions of the communal forces and violence. Illustrate out with the help of illustrations.
Illustrate out an epidemic and discuss about the major epidemics which spread across the world.
prepare down comprehensive notes on:
a) Contagious diseases | <urn:uuid:f91278db-8818-44cc-b1d6-bc25e41385a0> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://www.mywordsolution.com/question/write-down-in-your-own-words-regarding-the-impact/911865 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218186780.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212946-00339-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.748201 | 127 | 3.328125 | 3 |
Balancing the Right to Know With the Right for Privacy and Records Confidentiality
Balancing the right to know with the right of American public for the privacy and confidentiality of their personal information is a challenging enterprise, and it is reasonable to suggest that optimal solutions require careful analysis of the competing interests that are involved. Indeed, some proponents argue that the American public's right to know is embodied in the U.S. Constitution as a fundamental right, and these rights have been codified in various state and federal laws that extend to everyone by virtue of the Fourteenth Amendment. These issues have become even more complex in nature in recent years, though, following the passage of the Freedom of Information Act of 1966 and the Electronic Freedom of Information Act of 1996 which mandate expanded access to government records, especially those maintained in digital form and online. This paper provides a review of the relevant literature to develop a background and overview of these issues and a discussion concerning the controlling right to know legislation. An analysis of the implications of these laws for public administrators is followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the paper's conclusion.
Review and Analysis
Background and Overview
The so-called "right to know" has emerged in public health practice as a direct consequence of a number of high-profile incidents involving the deaths of employees and citizens as a result of unsafe business practices. Although there has been an effort to generally improve workplace conditions in the United States for the past century, these efforts gained momentum during the mid-20th century as unions and worker advocates called for more transparency on the part of employers concerning the risks that workers faced as a consequence of their employment. In this regard, Lambert, Soskolne, Bergum and Dossetor (2003) report that, "In practical terms, the right to know has emerged in both the community and the workplace from an obligation that people should be informed of the risks they face in their daily lives" (p. 133). In reality, it would seem apparent that the public has a right to know about these issues, but there are different ways of viewing this right that have different antecedents and outcomes. According to Lambert and his associates, on the one hand, "From the consequential perspective, disclosure of public and environmental health risks to the public depends on the expected or possible consequences" (2003, p. 134). On the other hand, though, these authors add that, "From a deontological perspective, the 'right to know' means that there is a 'duty' to communicate about all public health risks and consideration of the principles of prevention, precaution, and environmental justice" (Lambert et al., 2003, p. 134). These two perspectives are not necessarily mutually exclusive or at odds, but it is clear that there is much involved in balancing the public's right to know with individual privacy and national security interests that will vary from time to time and place to place. Irrespective of which view is used, both perspectives share the common goal of seeking to formulate optimal public laws, procedures and policies that provide as much access as possible and to encourage transparency in governmental operations and recordkeeping. In this regard, Foerstel (1999) advises that, "The role of the right to know in formulating government controls involves allocating scarce resources and facilities, providing mandatory access to the means of communication, or to compel disclosure" (p. 66). Despite the challenges that are involved, though, the FOIA is the law of the land by virtue of the controlling legislation discussed further below.
Controlling legislation for right to know laws exist at both the state as well as the federal level. In this regard, the editors of News Media and the Law report that, "In 1996, the federal Freedom of Information Act was amended to specifically cover electronic information. The federal law only applies to records that are held in federal agencies, but states often imitate the federal law in passing new state legislation" (p. 53). This assertion is congruent with the definition provided by Black's Law Dictionary (1991) which states that right to know laws are "federal and state legislation requiring disclosure by certain businesses (e.g., chemical manufacturers), to the public and to workers of information about hazardous substance in order that such persons might learn the full range of risks they face concerning their employment and living conditions" (p. 1326). At the federal level, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) protects the American public's right to know by guaranteeing them the right to access information published and/or maintained by the federal government (FOIA, 2012). The U.S. government's Web site for the FOIA states that, "Enacted in 1966, and taking effect on July 5, 1967, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides that any person has a right, enforceable in court, to obtain access to federal agency records, except to the extent that such records (or portions of them) are protected from public disclosure by one of nine exemptions or by one of three special law enforcement record exclusions" (2012, para. 1).
At present, subsection (a)(3) of the FOIA is the most commonly used part that requires disclosure of all records that are not made available pursuant to subsections (a)(1) or (a)(2), exempted from mandatory disclosure under subsection (b) or excluded under subsection (c), upon receipt of a proper FOIA request from any person (Botterman et al., 2001). According to Botterman and his associates, "Significantly, this does not allow withholding based on the purpose of the request or the identity of the person" (p. 39). The exemptions provided by subsection (b) of the FOIA are described in Table 1 below.
Exemptions to Disclosure Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act
Added by the 1986 Freedom of Information Reform Act, this subsection establishes three special categories of law enforcement-related records entirely excluded from the FOIA to prevent unique types of harm. Subsection (c) permits an agency to deny requests for such records as if the records did not exist.
This subsection emphasizes that the Act was not intended to authorize new withholding of information, including from Congress. Individual Members of Congress possess the same rights of access as members of the public, but Congress as a body (or through its committees and subcommittees) cannot be denied access to information on the grounds of FOIA exemptions.
This subsection requires annual FOIA reports from each federal agency and an annual Department of Justice report on FOIA litigation and Department efforts (primarily through the Office of Information and Privacy).
This subsection defines "agency" to include nearly all executive branch entities and defines "record" to include information maintained in an electronic format.
This newly added subsection requires agencies to prepare FOIA reference guides describing their information systems and their processes of FOIA administration, which may assist potential FOIA requesters.
Source: Adapted from Botterman et al., 2001, p. 11
The Privacy Act of 1974 supplements the FOIA with respect to individuals' requests for records concerning themselves and stipulates additional privacy protections (Botterman, Bikson, Bosman, Cave, Frinking & De Pous, 2007). According to these authorities, "In 1976, Congress again limited disclosure exemptions by narrowing FOIA's incorporation of the disclosure prohibitions of other statutes. A technical change in 1978 updated provisions for administrative disciplinary proceedings, and the expedited court-review provision was repealed in 1984 by the U.S. Congress" (p. 10). The Freedom of Information Reform Act of 1986 subsequently expanded the law enforcement information exemption, added special law enforcement record exclusions and created a new fee and fee waiver structure (Botterman et al., 2007).
Like the presumption of innocence in courts of criminal justice, there is also a corresponding presumption of the public's right to know. For example, according to the FOIA coordinator for the National Security Archive, Will Ferrogiarro, "We assume the public has a right to know. We don't consider the FOIA to be the end all and be all of freedom of information. It's a tool, a useful tool, but our pursuit of information does not end with that statute. It's an access law fraught with all kinds of problems and difficulties, and it's at the mercy of the bureaucracy" (quoted in Foerstel, 1999, p. 66).
Calls for increased access to government information became even more pronounced during the Information Age when more and more government records were routinely transferred to digital formats and placed online (Halstuck & Chamberlain, 2007). According to Halstuck and Chamberlain, "In light of rapid advances in information technology, it is, therefore, increasingly important that public access to government-held information is ensured" (2007, p. 45). At first blush, gaining access to government records in the form in which they are maintained may seem simple enough, but the FOIA was specifically intended to prevent the transfer of such records to digital form in an effort to prevent access by the American public. In this regard, Halstuk and Chamberlain report…
"Balancing The Right To Know With The Right For Privacy Or Records Confidentiality" (2012, September 29) Retrieved June 22, 2017, from http://www.paperdue.com/essay/balancing-the-right-to-know-with-75690
"Balancing The Right To Know With The Right For Privacy Or Records Confidentiality" 29 September 2012. Web.22 June. 2017. < http://www.paperdue.com/essay/balancing-the-right-to-know-with-75690>
"Balancing The Right To Know With The Right For Privacy Or Records Confidentiality", 29 September 2012, Accessed.22 June. 2017, http://www.paperdue.com/essay/balancing-the-right-to-know-with-75690 | <urn:uuid:3cdd465a-303d-441b-bbaa-9257b7a34c25> | CC-MAIN-2017-26 | http://www.paperdue.com/essay/balancing-the-right-to-know-with-75690 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128319265.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20170622114718-20170622134718-00375.warc.gz | en | 0.941027 | 2,024 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Aimery de Lusignan established a Latin church hierarchy on Cyprus and throughout their 300-year rule the Lusignans were generous patrons of the Latin Church. One of the most magnificent and inspiring remnants of that symbiotic relationship are the ruins of the "Abbey of Beautiful Peace" -- the Abbaye de la Belle Paix or Bellapais. Below is a short history and some photos.
The Abbey of Bellapais is located on the shoulder of a mountain just six miles (10 km) east of the port of Kyrenia. Although no archaeological evidence has been found, based on earlier designations of the location historians presume an Orthodox church or bishop's residence once sat on this site, which has natural springs.
Augustinian monks from the Holy Sepulcher, fleeing the Kingdom of Jerusalem after the disaster at Hattin, were the first to found a monastery on the location of the Abbey of Bellapais. The construction of this first abbey commenced almost immediately after a papal bull of December 1196 formally inaugurated a Latin diocesan establishment on Cyprus. Aimery de Lusignan was personally the abbey's patron, and construction of the first monastery is dated from 1198-1205. Unfortunately, little of this original building have survived to the present, although the under croft of the refectory likely dates from this period.
Shortly after Aimery's death, the abbey requested permission to follow the Premonstratensian rule, a stricter form of the Augustinian order, and were granted permission by the Archbishop of Nicosia. Because of the white habits of the Premonstratensian canons, the Abbey was also known colloquially as the White Abbey. (Although the white stone against the green vegetation would be another explanation of the name....)
Royal patronage of the abbey continued under Aimery's successors. The Abbots of Bellais were even granted the right to wear golden spurs and a sword when outside the abbey grounds, rights usually reserved for knights. More important, however, royal patronage probably financed, directly or indirectly, a massive building programs undertaken over the next two centuries.
In the reign of Hugh III (1267 - 1284), the church was built.
But the more impressive architecture dates from a more massive re-building program during the first half of the next century. This is when the cloisters were "modernized," and the chapter house, dormitory, and refectory that we see today were built.
The cloisters of Bellapais Abbey
By the 16th century, however, the Abbey was already in decay -- not just physically but morally as well. By then the Lusignan dynasty had fallen and been replaced by Venetian administration. Responding to complaints, the Venetian state investigated conditions at the abbey and reported that not only were the buildings so neglected that they were in a ruinous state but that the canons had abandoned their vows of chastity and lived with women -- allegedly in at least one case with no less than three women.
Venetian plans to expel the corrupt "white monks" and replace them with Franciscans were over taken by events. In 1570 the island fell to the Turks and the monks were driven from the island. Although the church was probably converted into an Orthodox church, the other buildings of the abbey were used as a quarry for the construction or as stalls and barns for livestock.
Only after the British assumed administration of the island in 1878 did the decay stop. The refectory was temporarily used as a military hospital and later as a school. In the early 20th century, the process of preserving and respecting the original buildings finally began.
Today Bellapais is a museum.
The Last Crusader Kingdom was Cyprus. Follow me to Cyprus as the Lusignans established their rule there with the help of the Ibelins. | <urn:uuid:7cbd3b45-3fa4-415f-b139-aef30f9016f9> | CC-MAIN-2018-43 | http://schradershistoricalfiction.blogspot.com/2017/12/bellapais-inspirational-settings.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-43/segments/1539583513686.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20181021031444-20181021052944-00315.warc.gz | en | 0.977115 | 806 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Seismic Performance Assessment in Dense Urban Environments (NEESR-SG)
In our cities, buildings are constructed in clusters (the city block). Ideally, they should be designed to resist earthquake forces as clusters of buildings, because the response of one building can affect the response of neighboring buildings. However, the interactions between densely spaced buildings are not captured in current design practice, because buildings are typically designed as isolated structures. Soil-structure interaction (SSI) effects on closely spaced low- and medium-rise buildings are poorly understood. For example, it is not clear how basements of different sizes affect how the ground shakes these buildings. Recent earthquakes have damaged groups of buildings in cities, but it is difficult to learn from these observations due to the lack of documentation of the ground motion and building performance. However, a comprehensive program of realistic scaled centrifuge experiments, where the input motion, ground conditions, ground response, and structural response can be carefully tracked, followed by back-analyses of these model tests, can be employed to enhance the profession’s understanding of SSI effects of buildings in a dense urban environment.
The unique capabilities of the NEES UC Davis centrifuge will be used to advance our understanding of SSI effects for clusters of buildings so that reliable assessments can be made. In a centrifuge, a box containing soil and model buildings is spun at a rotational acceleration of 50 g so that a 2 foot thickness of soil has the same stresses as a 100 foot thickness of soil. Building models are scaled similarly so realistic responses are measured in these experiments. The testing program will develop a database of well-documented model case histories of building performance within a dense urban environment at sites undergoing moderate and severe ground shaking with and without ground failure. Researchers can then use these experimental results to advance our understanding of these phenomena and our ability to analyze them. Physical experiments followed by numerical simulations will allow us to develop guidance for designers and policy makers on how clusters of buildings perform during earthquakes.
This project will advance fundamental science and knowledge in engineering with substantial intellectual benefits to both geotechnical and structural engineering disciplines. Both disciplines will contribute to and benefit from the development and deployment of an integrated performance-based seismic design and a robust loss-estimation methodology. The project will also train Ph.D. students, bring in undergraduate students from a teaching university, engage under-represented students, impact building code development and performance-based seismic design, and outreach to a broad spectrum of end-users by emphasizing web-accessed media. We will also translate the challenge of solving this realistic problem to undergraduates (and others) via a “Shaking of a City Block” shaking table competition to have students consider the effects of adjacent structures and soil on seismic performance.
NEES Data Repository
National Science Foundation Award Abstract | <urn:uuid:42520887-2017-4afb-a63e-23c198c22ce1> | CC-MAIN-2017-09 | http://mceer.buffalo.edu/research/Sustainable_Resilient_Buildings/TA2-Whittaker_Dense_Urban_Environments.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501172017.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104612-00612-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942529 | 575 | 2.75 | 3 |
There is no clear legal definition so far for the concept of Public Private Partnership (PPP). In the present context, the governments (Developed and Undeveloped) are facing numerous limitations in fulfilling their complicated financial requirements. Due to inadequacy of Government and foreign funds particularly, for providing economic Infrastructure, it is compelled to look for private sector participation for financing. Since the private sector is always looking for the profitable ventures, they are much reluctant to invest in the services which are not profitable. (Eg. water supply and sanitation) In this context, PPP is an approach that used for attracting private capital strategically for identified sectors/sub sectors where the “risk factor” is crucial with regard to return to investment.
- Definitions for PPP
PPPs are defined by various agencies in different manner and there is no universally accepted definition for it. Some definitions of PPP are given below.
- PPP means an arrangement between Government or statutory entity or Government owned entity on one side and private sector entity on the other, for the provision of public assets and/or related services for public benefit, through investments being made by and/or management undertaken by the private sector entity for a specified period of time, where there is a substantial risk sharing with the private sector and the private sector receives performance linked payments that conform to specified pre-determined and measurable performance standards.
(Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, India)
- PPP is a generic term for the relationships formed between the private sector and public bodies often with the aim of introducing private sector resources and/or expertise in order to help provide and deliver public sector assets and services. The term PPP is used to design, build, finance and operate (DBFO) type service contracts and formal joint venture companies/
(Local Government Procurement Agency, UK)
- A PPP is a partnership between the public sector and private sector for the purpose of delivering a project or a service traditionally provided by the public sector. PPPs come in a variety of different forms, but at the heart of every successful project is the concept that better value for money may be achieved through the exploitation of private sector competencies and the allocation of risk to the party best able to manage it.
(Department of Environment and Local Government, Ireland) After going through the different definitions of on PPP, one can simply say that PPPs are long-term contractual arrangements between the public and private sectors for the delivery of public services in efficient manner. In this scenario, PPPs involve three main features namely risk transfer, long-term contracts and partnership agreement. The governments around the world tend to adopt this approach owing to three main types of benefits.
- Ability of developing new infrastructure services despite short-term fiscal constraints.
- Value for money through efficiencies in procurement, construction and operation.
- Improved service quality and innovation through use of private sector expertise and performance incentives.
- Difference between private partnership and privatization
Public Private Partnership (PPP) and privatization are completely two distinct modes. The privatization is a transfer of an ownership of public assets permanently to a private sector. This transfer is also done under different methods. However, under the PPP, the government is constantly liable to perform certain tasks while the intervention of the private sector is obtained in different modes. At the same time, government has a responsibility in supplying the relevant service by having a direct contractual agreements between government and the service provider. But in the privatization, responsibility of providing the relevant service is assigned to the private sector. Nevertheless, in the country like Malysia where the privatization is widely implemented, there seem to be obtaining certain contribution from the private sector in investments under the PPP approach. These principles have been clearly spelt out in the 9th Development Plan of Malaysia. In the final analysis it is imperative to understand that PPP is not a synonym to privatization and privatization or divestiture denotes buying an equity state of a state-owned enterprise by a private entity.
- Different Public Private Partnership approaches
Different modes of PPP approaches are operational at present and based on the mode of operation, they it can be categorized into four types.
i Management Contracts Entering into an agreement by a government with the private sector relating to supply of certain service either on short term or long term basis on a limited terms is described as Management Contracts. Mostly, the private sector participation is obtained through this method to get the services like rural roads, drinking water supply, and sanitation etc. Under this method, the government institutions undertake their responsibility in providing the relevant service by continuously investing in the same and the private sector gets involved by way of a short term or long term contractual agreements only for the implementation of providing and maintaining such services.
ii Provision of infrastructure facilities through small scale private suppliers. It is not compulsory to deal with large scale private sector in PPP’s. Many developing countries are presently implementing projects for providing public utilities or services through small or middle scale entrepreneurs. The projects like small scale power plants and drinking water supply schemes implemented by middle or small scale entrepreneurs are the good examples. This is not a privatization and is more or less similar to management contracts. Providing these types of services should be carried out under the government rules and regulations as those services are purchased by the government. (Example; purchasing of electricity from the small power plants at an agreed unit price) The distribution of such cervices is carried out through the government or private sector.
iii User fee Public Private Partnership Under this method, planning, implementation, financing and maintenance of certain infrastructural assets owned by the state agencies are assigned to a private party. This can be used for upgrading or widening of such assets. Under this process, certain project or an asset is assigned to a private party for a specific period ie, 25 or 30 years under a concessionary agreement and after the expiry of given period, it is vested back with the government. This type of methods is carried out under the BOT (Built, Operate and Transfer) or DBFO (Design, Built and Finance) approaches. During a given period, the capital cost connected to the project or asset, maintenance cost and profits are recovered through user fees. Collection of toll from Highways can be given as a good example. Two major issues to be faced with this type of partnership approach are the risk of having a good demand and affordability of the users. Since the investors are more concerned about these two factors, the government should provide cost subsidy byway sharing a part of service charge or purchasing of such services as a practical remedy. However, it is important that the government should monitor or regulate those aspects to ensure that quality of the service, price and service conditions are favorable to end users. In many countries, the express ways, railway service, urban transport, port activities, airport services, power supply, drinking water supply in urban areas and communication services etc. are carried out through Public-Private Partnership approach (BOO, BOT and DBFO)
iv Public private partnership based on readymade service (availability based PPP) Under this method also, the production of a service or its responsibility is assigned to a private party by the government based on the existing on rules and regulations. Accordingly, planning, investment, building re-building and management and maintenance are assigned to a private company or an investor and the services are purchased by the government. After purchasing of such service, it is distributed to the public by the respective government agency or through a private company. The purchasing of such service production from the private company is done by the government for a specific time period and the price agreed upon at the time of purchasing. Under this arrangement, the relevant company doesn’t have any risk connected to demand of its service or price. At the same time, the conditions related to supply of service and agreed price are included into the agreements reached at the beginning. If necessary, required legal provisions for termination of the agreement or renewal of the same is included into it. The best example for this type of partnership is the power purchase agreements. The power generated by the private power generation plants are purchased by the Ceylon Electricity Board and distributed to public through its national grid. The distribution of the power is also done through the private companies. Internationally experienced that the social infrastructural projects like schools, hospitals, jails etc. are also managed through this Public Private Partnerships (PPP) approach. Agreements are also reached with private sector for the provision of hostel facilities, supply of machineries and other service assistance connected to such projects. When a necessity has arisen to provide maximum service in an efficient manner while there is a shortage of capital investment, this approach is very important. The UK, Canada, Japan and South Korea have entered into such service agreements.
Roles and Responsibilities of Public and Private Entities under different forms of Private Sector Participation
05 Background for successful public private partnership
Practically it has been proved that the provision of socio economic services efficiently for the citizens of a country could be done through the Public Private Partnership. This would facilitate enormously achieving macro level objectives in any country, namely increase in economic growth, acceleration of development and reduction of poverty etc. Developed countries are mostly adopting this approach in improving their socio economic infrastructure and presently the developing countries have also paid much attention in this regard. However, when doing so, it is important to have common dialog and positive views and attitudes in order to achieve the objectives through this approach. In other words, government should reserve the rights of encouraging the requirement of improving the service provided the public and widening the same and also requirement of securing ‘value for money”. At the same time private sector should receive a reasonable profit margin for their investment while preparing to render a great contribution to the public, based on their social responsibility. Some of the basic conditions that are required to ensure the provision of efficient service network for accelerated economic development through the PPP are given below.
- The PPP approach should be clearly indicated in the government policy framework and there should be a commitment to do so. Specially, the private sector is coming forward to bear risk for their investment, only if such provisions one available in the government policy. The following principles should be clearly spelt out in the policy framework.
- Justification in principle, for applying PPP.
- The procurement procedures adopted in obtaining services from the private sector. (Transparency)
- The criteria adopted in selecting relevant projects and assets.
- Conflict resolution procedures.
- Monitoring procedure in obtaining services.
- The legal and regulatory framework should be openly exhibited and the legal background at every stage should be adequately described from the beginning of the project and up to the point of providing services. Especially the provisions available in the government institutions to enter into agreements with the private sector, possibility to charge price or tariff, actions to be taken when defaulting payments, and actions to be taken when defaulting the agreements etc should be clearly indicated. The private sector and the lending institutions normally expect the explanations which are described below.
- Whether the unsolicited projects are approved and if so, the procedures adopted?
- The biding process is how far transparent?
- Whether the budgetary provisions are adequately available for the payments for government involved projects?
- Whether the government institutions have the legal authority or entrusted such provisions for entering into with agreements.
- Whether the legal provisions and institutions are available for the relevant project or the asset owning sector for regulating its activities.
- Whether adequate staff with knowledgeable professionals is available in the regulatory institutions.
- Whether it is clearly stated the price or tax enforced on the end user
- Whether there are legal or special regulations available connected to investor’s decision and accounts
- Any specific details with regard to undertaking of responsibility in the event any rules and regulations are changed or amended
- Actions to be taken in connection with institutional conflicts, strikes and remedial measures on loses, if incurred
- Under these circumstances, amendment of the existing rules and regulations or enactments is required to encourage to motivate private sector to take investment decisions. (iii) In order to win the investor confidence, it is important to indicate the proposals expected to be implemented on a priority basis through public-private partnership in the government’s short-term and long-term development/ investment framework. By doing so, the commitment made by the political authorities and the government’s investment policy could be clearly made available to convince the investors and donor agencies. In the investment framework it should not be only listing of such investment proposals and there should be a profile of detailing out the task to be performed by the both parties and the required sectors of investments and its quantum and location etc. When requesting offers from the reputed investor companies such investment plans would be much useful. It should also be a clear certification for the private sector to show the transparency and good governance.
- In addition to providing legal and regulatory guidelines connected to PPP, it is important to have a implementation framework. A separate special unit in this connection should be setup in the central government (PPP, Unit) and if necessary, such units may also be setup at provincial level. These units should prepare implementation plans and undertake the implementation based on a time frame. In this regard, these units must have professionals with expertise knowledge who have to be ready with the required procurement and monitoring procedures. This is very important in attracting reputed foreign companies. In this PPP investment process, there are many steps to be followed in preparation of policies and strategies, identification of projects, evaluation of projects, selection of suitable investors, management and monitoring etc and these steps could be successfully completed through proper coordination from central level up to provincial level.
- International Experiences
Experiences of some selected countries in the adoption of PPP approach are explained briefly in this section. It is noted that the forms of PPPs differ from country to country to and sector to sector depending on the circumstances that they confront and political and administrative structures that they adopt.
The Government of Bungaladesh has given priority for adopting PPP approach in key infrastructure sectors and policies and guidelines have been developed securing the rights of the public and private agencies and institutions with regard to investments that they are expected to make. The Private Infrastructure Committee (PICOM) which comes under the purview of Prime Minister’s office is mainly responsible for co-co-ordinating the PPP projects with the relevant agencies. The Ministry of Finance in Bangaladesh has taken some measures to support PPP initiatives and they mainly include.
- Reform of guidelines and institutional framework.
- Establish a separate unit of PPP for budget formulation and implementation.
- Make budgetary allocations annually for implementation of PPP projects.
- Introduce tax incentives for PPP investors.
- Increase publicity for the new PPP projects.
PPP investors are invited to embark on joint ventures in the areas of power, sea port, airport, telecommunication, energy and bridges. These investors are facilitated by the special agencies established under the public domain namely Infrastructure Development Company Ltd. and Infrastructure Investment Felicitation Centre. Their services mainly include providing finances and financial intermediation services, formulating project proposals, giving technical assistance and appraisal of project proposals.
India has accepted the policy of obtaining private capital through PPP arrangements particularly, for infrastructure development projects at both national and regional level. Being a geographically large and federal state, all states provinces have developed their own policies and strategies to attract foreign investments by way of PPPs with a view to filling the investment gaps resulted from low savings in state economies. At national level, the Government has set up a “Viability Gap Fund” (VGF) with a view to ensuring enhanced access to PPP in infrastructure development by subsidizing the capital cost of access. Hence, the objective of the VGF is to meet the funding gap required to make economically essential projects that are commercially viable. The VGF has been operating since 2006 and to date 15 projects have been given approval for implementation. Karnataka State has taken measures to implement an Urban Water Supply Improvement Project through “Management Contract” which is one of the PPP models. While ownership of the existing and rehabilitated assests is kept with the relevant Urban Local Body, the responsibility of management has been contracted out to a private company for a period of three years. The private operator has been entrusted with the responsibilities of providing service connections, supplying treated water, ensuring reduction of distribution losses and collecting revenue through water bills. As per the commercial agreement, the private operator is eligible for receiving fees (60% of the fixed component and 40% of the variable component) based on fulfilling the performance targets. Further, additional sums are provided for the achievement of targets beyond a set level. In case, there is a violation of the conditions spelt out in the agreement, the contract is liable to be terminated.
- The United States of America
The highly developed counties like USA adopts PPP approach even in the management of service delivery institutions in social infrastructure sector namely hospitals, schools and universities etc. For example, operation of a state hospital is done using the Least Contract method under PPP, in the State of Columbia. The ownership of the assests of the hospital is with the State of Oklahoma and Columbia and the Columbia Health Care Corporation acts as the private partner or operator of the hospital. On fee basis, the hospital is run by the private partner and the state government received up-front payment (US $ 40 mn.) subject to paying annual rent amounts to US $ 9 mn. The key objective of the project is to improve the efficiency of operations and no transfer of ownership will be made. The private operator can run the hospital for a 50 year period on lease basis provided that no violations of the agreement be made.
- South Africa
South Africa is a country which has formulated a sound policy framework to attract PPP investors for making investments in infrastructure projects. The beginning of an integrated national PPP strategy came in 1997 with the establishment of an inter-departmental task team to develop policies and reforms to facilitate PPPs. Through establishment of the Municipal Infrastructure Investment Unit in 1998, municipalities have been given opportunities of obtaining technical and grant assistance for the promotion of PPPs. One of the important PPP concession project in South Africa was South Africa and Mozambique linking road of which total investment was around US $ 426 mn. This has been a new experience for the PPP approach, since it was difficult cross-border project. The government of South Africa was able to implement several toll road projects under PPP approach and they are functioning without failures due to well established legal and strategic framework coupled with the creation of a PPP unit in the Treasury. The other notable factor of success story is that political support and staff with highly qualified technical personalities.
- Sri Lankan experience in PPP’s
As stated in the Medium-Term Development Policy Framework (2011 – 2016) of the Government based on Mahinda Chinthana, the privatization of state owned business is not considered as a sole strategy of economic reform. (Page84) Nevertheless, in uplifting the management and the workmanship of the government owned business ventures, the government is paying attention to apply alternative strategies to get private sector involved. In this context, the government is paying its attention to the fact that the private sector has a social responsibility in addition to earning profits and as such, the private sector needs to be involved in implementation of government ventures and projects. As further described in the above Policy Framework, depending on Treasury funding for the government ventures should be under a minimum level and their capital base should be strengthened through different investment methods. The policy framework emphasizes PPP as a successful alternative funding method. At national level, strategic plan adopted for uplifting of infrastructure has gained considerable progress in PPP approach. For example, in the Colombo-South Harbour improvement project, the government has undertaken the work including construction of Brake-water (with foreign funding) while private sector has been allowed to do the work like construction of terminal. Also the government has initiated the construction of Second Coal Power Plant Project at Trincomalee with public sector involvement in transmission roots and a terminal for importing of coal. It is expected to obtain private investment for the power generation. Among the future projects where the PPP investment approach is expected to be widely used, the areas of Transport, Aviation, Milk and Dairy Farming, Tourism and Drinking water supply are mainly important. However, in Sri Lankan context, there is a common belief especially, at the regional level, almost all the projects which are financially feasible or not are to be implemented through government funding. The main reason for this is that after independence, all successive governments implemented “welfare state” concept, irrespective of their different political ideologies. Although, the country has gained many economic and social benefits under the “welfare state” concept, it is accepted the fact that it has created many unfavorable conditions in progressing the country as a middle income state. The main factor to be considered is that a considerable amount of government funds that would have been utilized for infrastructure development have been spent on social capital, rather than incurring them on selected targeted groups. This has resulted in slowdown the annual growth rate of the country comparatively at a lower level after the independence; (5%-6%) Although, a 30 year period has gone after introducing a neo-liberal economic policy, a considerable investment gap is prevailed due to lack of foreign and private investments to the county. When the Government tries to maintain investments at 7% of GDP, the private investment rate needs to be increased at 22% by year 2016 to maintain a high economic growth rate (about 10%). Presently, this rate is at about 16%. Under this situation, it is clearly revealed that the necessity of increasing private investments through alternative means of strategies. When looking at the South Asian countries like Malaysia and Thailand which have moved into the speediest development drive, private investments and PPP investments have increased tremendously. The main reason being the respective governments have created the required conducive environment for the same. Although, Sri Lanka is not maintaining hard privatization policy like these countries, it has become essential to create a conducive investor friendly environment, particularly at sub national level. Some of the actions that can be taken in this regard are as follows.
- Amendments to the existing enactments enabling to encourage the private investments. Particularly the Acts connected to institutions at national and provincial level needs to be amended taking into account the present day needs.
- Carrying out awareness programs for political leadership and officials (specially provincial and local). The alternative investment methods and the new plans and programs carried out by the foreign countries should be brought in to their attention.
- The attitude in the society that the private sector is always looking for earning profit (profit motive) while they are irresponsible in undertaking social responsibility. This needs to be eliminated and create a debate to show its positive contribution.
- Carrying out awareness programs among the business community regarding private sector contribution in the present context.
- An integrated approach should be adopted at provincial level with a view to creating a wide debate between the state sector and the private sector. The political leadership should take the lead role in this regard.
- Undertaking awareness programs for the general public regarding the capital market and its functions. In this regard, the stock market, role of the unit trusts and of broker companies, issuance of debentures and joint ventures should given due attention. Audio visual media and conferences can be widely used for this purpose.
- Procedures to be adopted at provincial level for promoting PPPs
The country like India where the federal system is in existence, the provinces have been entrusted with many powers and are having their own autonomy in making investment decisions. Nevertheless, Sri Lanka is functioning as a unitary state with provincial council system with a limited power of devolution. But even under this system there are opportunities in entering into PPPs and they can be used as a tool to face the problem of funding shortages. The Government of Sri Lanka has accepted the PPP investment approach as a policy and opportunities have been given to the provincial councils also to follow the same. In the Medium Term Development Policy Framework (2010-2016) published by the government, priority has been given for PPPs. Under the strategy worked out for attracting conducive environment it has been introduced desirable tax policies, and willingness to change the institutional framework. In the guidelines issued for the year 2012 to the provincial Chief Secretaries by the Finance commission, it is emphasized the requirement of implementing the projects though PPP basis by using limited development grants. In addition to obtaining the private sector participation, they should take action to get beneficiary contribution and it is further described the importance of assigning the responsibility of maintaining capital assests by the community organizations. When applying PPPs at provincial level projects, it is not necessary to enter into mega scale agreements as required at national level special projects. Since the projects to be implemented at provincial level are at middle or small scale, the investors should be selected accordingly. However, when entering into agreements with private sector, it is essential to maintain the transparency adherence to the accepted procurement procedures. The involvement of provincial level Chambers of Commers, provincial commercial and development banks and private companies should be ensured. It seems that for the provincial level projects, the provinces are heavily dependent on government funds. Although, the central government funds are to be utilized for the essential public services, the private sector participation could be obtained for the projects that could be carried out on commercial basis. Specially the PPP approach could be utilized for development of agriculture, dairy farming, industries, ayurveda and western medical centers,(hospitals not owned by the government ) In such a approach, the task to be performed by the provincial council and the private sector and their responsibilities need to be clearly identified and also enactment of new rules and regulations is also expected to be done wherever necessary. After setting up of a special consortium with participation of the institutions coming under provincial councils and the private sector that is willing to participate, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the relevant purpose can be established. From the government side the land owned by the state can be given as part of the equity capital and financial allocations could also make available, if necessary. The private sector, in addition to providing financial contribution could get involved in project activities, project implementation and management. Both parties have to equally agree to share the risk factor, if any, and also the both parties should properly adhere to the basic principles such as social responsibility, minimizing the cost, proper management increasing the working capacity, and efficient service providing etc. In this type of integrated investment programs, the contribution of provincial councils should be limited for building of assets and it is more appropriate to assign the responsibility of running the venture by the private sector in a profitable manner. There is a provision to get contribution from NGO’s or community organizations as and when necessary. In addition to this process, the responsibility of running and managing an asset built on government fund could be assigned to a private investor. However, the main principle is that the government or the provincial body should not directly involve or intervene in such ventures. The main reason is that the capability and the knowledge in handling commercial ventures is minimal in the government institutions and such a service cannot be expected from the government officials. But the responsibility in regulating the tasks assigned to private sector lies with the government institutions including provincial councils. Despite the fact that the money is invested through government funds or the private funds, the government has the responsibility with regard to maintaining the required standards of the service and fair price for the service. In summary, investments to be done on PPP approach at provincial level could be carried out under the following four methods.
- After completion of infrastructure facilities by the government, assigning of management to private sector; Example: small power plants.
- Putting of state land as a part of equity capital and to give a share value for the same. Example: projects in tourism sector.
- Putting capital investment proportionately like 50:50 basis by the both parties on a selected venture and share the profit accordingly. Example; Dairy Farming.
- Leasing out government assets or lands for a specific period. Example; Industrial states.
PPP is a different process and it is not a synonym to privatization. In this process the sale of state assets to private sector is not taken place. The idea of the PPP is to provide common services through private sector or implementation of infrastructure projects by state agencies in collaboration with private companies. In such partnerships, the public sector and the private sector enter into agreements and the private party has to bear financing and technological responsibilities and to bear up a risk in that respect. As a solution to resolve the financial constraints, the governments engage in such partnerships and especially this approach is mostly used for development of economic infrastructure. This approach is also used in the field of social infrastructure like health and education. The state enters into agreements in assigning such a service providing responsibility to the private sector. Depending on the status of the project, the price for the service is paid by the state or the beneficiary. In this approach, sometime state contributes for the main capital investment and it will be done by way of financing or in allocation of state land. In addition, in order to encourage the private investments, state provides capital subsidy, revenue subsidy, tax breaks etc. At the same time, the private sector has to bear the social responsibility paying attention on environmental management, adoption of local knowledge and ensuring political support. Supply of services as agreed by the private sector in a fair manner is the main role that expected from the private sector. However, the principle of social responsibility is connected to the private sector in this exercise. Among the task to be performed by the government in ensuring the successfulness of the PPPs, the creation of clear legal background, preparation of strategic plans within the government policy framework, declaration of investment opportunities and proper monitoring mechanism are vital importance. The countries like India, Pakistan and South Africa have taken institutional measures to promote PPP as an alternative financing mechanism. The USA is adopting this approach in social infrastructure sector with a view to providing an efficient service to the clients. As stated in the Government’s Medium-Term Policy Framework, PPP approach has been accepted as a government policy to be adopted at the national as well as at provincial level. Setting up of required legal and political background is the responsibility of the respective government agencies and provincial councils. The existing rules and regulations sometime become obstacles for this approach and as such necessary amendments is inevitable. The existing laws and regulations of each institution sometimes become hindrance in entering into agreements particularly, on alienation of lands. Therefore, it is necessary to resolve such issues at provincial level. In PPP based investments, beneficiary contribution could also be obtained specially in maintaining public assets. In the formulation of investment plans and preparation of projects, the government is expected to give priority for PPP approach at national and also at provincial level and it would be a fruitful solution for the funding problem and improving the service efficiency. Another essential factor to be considered is to make the political authority, government officials, private entrepreneurs and general public be convinced about the capital market and its stakeholders and its practical behavior. ————————————————————————————————————————————– References:
- How to engage with Private sector in public-Private Partnerships in emerging Market :-(World bank publication )
- Mahinda Chinthana Vision for Future. Development Policy Framework of the Government.
(Department of National Planning)
- The guidelines issued by the Finance Commission to the Provincial Councils.
- Annual Report of the Finance Commission for the year 2011.
- Identifying Public-Private Opportunities for Local Governments in Sir Lanka, Discussion Paper by The Asian Foundation, iDeCK and World Bank, February 2013.
- Public-Private Partnerships Policy and Private – A Reference Guide, Commonwealth Secretarial, 2010.
This author is a Senior officer falls into a special grade in the Sri Lanka Planning Service. He has obtained BA (Hons) degree in Economics from the University of Peradeniya. He also holds M.A. Degree in Regional Development Planning from the ISS in the Netherlands. Presently, he is working as a Director in the Finance Commission and before that he served as an Addl. Director General of the Department of National Planning. He has served as an external Resource Person in the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration. Note : The agency where the author is attached is not responsible for the views contained in this article. | <urn:uuid:e9cef55c-9562-40de-810a-2f814bba0049> | CC-MAIN-2020-34 | http://fincom.gov.lk/public-private-partnership-approach-theory-and-practice/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-34/segments/1596439738950.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20200813014639-20200813044639-00189.warc.gz | en | 0.949304 | 6,625 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Home Authors Posts by Iris Dawn Tabangcora, RN
Iris Dawn Tabangcora, RN
Antivirals are agents used to treat the diseases caused by viruses such as warts and common colds.
Antifungals are used to treat mycosis, or infections caused by fungi.
Anti-infective agents are drugs utilized to exert effect on invading foreign organisms on the body, especially those which can cause infection.
Anthelmintics are drugs used to treat infections caused by susceptible invading worms.
Antiprotozoals are agents used to treat protozoan infections. Protozoan infections are common in tropical areas.
Antineoplastic agents comprise one aspect of chemotherapy.
Antibiotics are agents made from living microorganisms, synthetic manufacturing, and genetic engineering that are used to inhibit specific bacteria.
The back is essential to performing activities and maintaining balance. It is subjected to daily stress of execution and carrying weights. It may also...
Here are five tips to writing effective teaching aids for patient education.
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She Resisted Getting Her Kids The Usual Vaccines. Then The Pandemic Hit
"I just remember being very scared."
That's how Lydia, a 39-year-old mother of three in Canada, describes feeling when she was pregnant in 2008 with her daughter and had questions about vaccinating. She worried it might cause more harm than good.
"I remember feeling some trepidation and saying to my husband, 'We can't undo this once we do it,' " she says. NPR is not using Lydia's full name because she's worried about backlash from a community she once believed in — people opposed to vaccines.
The record-speed development of the COVID-19 vaccine has some asking questions about it as well as about the safety of all vaccines. It's something that's taken root and grown because there's a natural incubator inside the broader movement opposed to vaccines.
"We have been seeing an increase in vaccine-hesitant conversations online," says Kolina Koltai, a misinformation researcher at the University of Washington's Center for an Informed Public. "Vaccine-opposed communities online saw a growth in membership, and it has become easier to be exposed to vaccine-opposed content."
One survey finds71% of people say they'd likely get the COVID-19 vaccine, but still medical experts have been working hard to combat the perception that the rapid creation of the COVID-19 vaccine makes it less safe.
"The speed is really a reflection of the scientific advances that have allowed us to do things in a matter of months that would have formerly taken years," Dr. Anthony Fauci told NPR in December. "That isn't reckless speed; that's sufficient speed based on scientific advances."
For Lydia, the pandemic is what ended up leading her out of the movement among those opposed to vaccines.
But getting there was a years-long search for answers.
A decision to vaccinate questioned
Lydia didn't always question vaccines. She'd worked in a pharmaceutical plant as a quality control chemist. She even got vaccinated for the flu while pregnant.
Having a baby in 2008 made the decision more complicated for her. She voiced her concerns to her husband, but in the end they went ahead. She made an appointment, and the pediatrician gave her 8-week-old daughter three vaccinations. A few hours later her daughter was crying a lot, what she describes a high-pitched squeal. It was a type of cry she'd never heard before.
"It was quite traumatic. She screamed and cried," she says. "I felt horrible."
That horrible feeling didn't go away when a public health nurse she called tried to assure her that these reactions were normal. It still didn't sit right. Lydia says she felt brushed off, her concerns minimized by the nurse.
Her daughter was fine, but at the time, Lydia wasn't convinced and took her questions to an online forum for new moms. It was there that she read a lot of frightening information about alleged and unfounded harm vaccines can cause. They described terrifying symptoms — such as high-pitched screaming. She began questioning her decision to vaccinate.
"So then you start thinking, did I just hurt my child?" she says. "They give you an answer that the other people couldn't give you or didn't give you. And so now you don't have any trust."
Lydia began going deeper into these forums where people shared what she thought were convincing studies that made claims about the damage vaccines can cause, studies she now realizes were false. But back then, it was proof enough for her not to finish her daughter's vaccine cycle.
"I think sometimes doing nothing is easier because you don't feel as responsible for the outcome," she says. "If you give your child a vaccine and they suffer a consequence, that's your fault. A parent would say, 'I did this to my child.' So I think that there's an appeal to inaction that makes it easy for a lot of parents to not vaccinate their child."
''Out of my echo chamber''
Lydia had a second child eight years later, a third a few years after that. She wasn't planning on vaccinating them either until the pandemic hit last year. She saw the news of people hoarding toilet paper and other supplies and read apocalyptic speculation about the collapse of health care systems and sanitation. She was worried about diseases coming back that she had not vaccinated her kids against and went looking for answers again on the Internet. But this time it was different.
"I got out of my echo chamber," she says.
One of the myths Lydia had believed is what many of these groups believe about the blood-brain barrier. In short, their theory is that the membrane protecting the brain is not mature enough at birth, and therefore ingredients in vaccines can leak into the brain and cause harm. Studies have shown this is not true.
Lydia found some of these studies and realized she was wrong. And that moment became a bit of a revelation.
"That really was the catalyst to just keep going with the research and consider for a moment that maybe I'm wrong, even if it is embarrassing, even if it is uncomfortable, that I could be wrong about more things," she says. "And that was hard. That is hard."
Lydia says it was difficult confronting something that had been a part of her identity and beliefs for more than a decade. It was a reality she had built up for herself and her family, one that she thought was keeping them safe.
"It's almost like thinking like you have this cheat code to keep your kids healthy from disease and allergies," she says. "You feel like you've got a way to game the system to avoid all that. It does kind of become a large part of who you are."
Koltai, the misinformation researcher, says this attachment to identity is a consistent throughline she's seen in her research on misinformation and groups opposed to vaccines.
"If you subscribe to the ideology that vaccines are not safe, necessary or efficacious, you will find yourself being ostracized or forced to hide this belief from those in your community until you find a community of people who have the same shared values and beliefs as you," she says.
Even after she made appointments to get her three kids caught up on vaccines, Lydia still had some doubts. She needed just a little more reassurance that she was doing the right thing.
She found it in the spring in a short TikTok video about vaccine safety that Cincinnati pediatrician Nicole Baldwin had posted early last year.
"She just really wanted reassurance," Baldwin says.
The video had gone viral and got a huge, mostly positive response. Baldwin shared it on other platforms such as Twitter — and on Facebook, where, she says, she also saw a backlash.
"I got death threats on the platform. People called my office and harassed my staff. We had to call the police," she says.
Baldwin says the false information about vaccines that circulates on social media platforms is still a problem, one that she says is fair to call a public health crisis.
"It's dangerous, and we're seeing an uptick in vaccine preventable diseases simply because of all of this misinformation that's out there," Baldwin says.
While Facebook has taken steps in recent months to combat disinformation and misinformation about the coronavirus and the COVID-19 vaccine, the company has historically struggled to handle broader anti-vaccine misinformation on the platform.
''Is this true?''
January has been a big month for Lydia. Her youngest child received his final shots to get him caught up on his vaccines. Her other kids are up to date on their vaccines as well.
And Lydia started nursing school. She wants to help parents such as herself who might feel scared to understand the facts about vaccines.
"I want to be able to tell new parents how to handle anti-vaccine rhetoric [and] how to dismantle it and see it for what it is," she says. "Without making them feel like they're talked down to or dumb."
Lydia says she is concerned about where the movement is going and the changes she's seen in the current political environment. She says things have changed a lot.
"When I started, it was very motivated by moms wanting to be natural and hippie-like, whatever you want to call it," she says. "And now it's been totally infiltrated by right-wingers that it's a constitutional, health freedom movement. And, you know, a lot of them believe in conspiracy theories and flat Earth. It's scary."
The experience also created a conversation between Lydia and her daughter, now 12, about being able to understand and admit when you might be wrong.
"I definitely use it as, like, a lesson [to] make sure you have all the information, even if it's information that makes you uncomfortable. And ask yourself, before you share anything: Is this true?"
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A super kit for the study of fresh water environments-ponds, lakes, streams, rivers and marshes. Student will test for nitrates, phosphates, silica and pH by using color comparators. Carbon dioxide, water hardness and dissolved oxygen will be studied by performing simple, easy-to-use micro burette titrations.The individualized tests are separately packaged allowing several teams of students to work simultaneously. The complete test kit contains materials and instructions to run each test 40-50 times. Three handbooks are provided with the kit: Limnology, A Study of Water Quality and Investigating Water Problems. Durable, industrial grade fabric tote features a rubber bottom, top and side handles, a removable shoulder strap, and convenient outside pockets. | <urn:uuid:0a18ab4d-9c5f-4328-b061-881dba652305> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.flinnsci.com/limnological-analysis-kit/ab1155/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282937.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00040-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.894196 | 156 | 2.71875 | 3 |
George Gaylord Simpson made perhaps the most telling contribution to the Evolution of Life on Earth with his interpretation of his extended investigation into the development of the horse, with the work that he carried out in what is now the US State of Wyoming, and in which he unearthed in an amazing series of fossils covering many millions of years of the history of this unique animal.
From the dog-sized eohippus all the way to the modern Equus, he collected enough evidence, on the one hand, from fossilised skeletal parts, and, on the other, about changes of climate during very long simultaneous periods of time, to begin to throw important light on the mechanisms involved.
A varying climate put changing and very different demands upon this evolving animal, which varied in response in several important ways. These involved the feet, the teeth and the brain, as evolutionary pressures selected for major changes, with each significantly different imposed lifestyle dictated by how the horse survived, reproduced and even prospered.
Now, the initial animal in this sequence eohippus had five toes on its feet, and teeth for browsing on leaves. It also had the brain functionalities and size of that needed by most prey animals of that size and mode of living.
But as climate changed, the most successful selective response in our dog-like animal was for increased speed of escape and for wide ranging locomotion to find ever-rarer areas of appropriate food. And these pressures gradually selected for a decrease in the number of toes, down first to three, and finally down to one. (See image below)
At the same time its teeth became those for grazing rather than browsing, and, most significantly of all, the brain grew considerably in functions and in size.
Now most evidence from the very distant past is invariably very incomplete, and conclusions drawn about the actual trajectory of development, between these scarce and widely separated signposts were naturally very unreliable.
But Simpson’s chosen ground was remarkable for its truly large and relatively complete fossil record of these animals, that seemed to have lived in the same area for vast periods of time as both the ground beneath their feet, and the prevailing climate, changed dramatically.
Literally, the whole development was regularly delivered by enough fossils to make much sounder interpolations than were usual in most other circumstances.
And, of course, it was Simpson who was doing the investigating and the interpreting.
He was able to align his fossil evidence in a time-sequence, and could see developments in different parts of the animal’s anatomy as often parallel and connected changes. He was able to match these sequences both with a known sequence of climate changes and also, and significantly, with each other.
Crucially, he was able to see how changes in climate demanded changes in behaviour, which selected for important changes in the animal’s structure in various parts of its body. And, with such an almost sufficient record, his conclusions were much more reliable than usual.
Now, this section of my paper is only supposed to be a brief preface to a review of a TV programme, The Origin of Us, presented admirably by Dr. Alice Roberts as a BBC series (currently being repeated by The Eden TV Channel). So, clearly, I am not attempting a thoroughgoing description of Simpson’s work. [By to those who don’t know of this work, I recommend his great book, The Meaning of Evolution].
But his relating of a changing environment to the selection of modifications in the mode of life, and resultant changes in various functional parts of the animal as it evolved were exemplary.
For his crucial conclusion was how the single-toed foot for maximum speed on the plains, plus all those muscles that could facilitate the turns and changes of the chase, also and inevitably led to changes in the brain to control these new features effectively.
The various possible means of movement of the “horse”, which included co-ordinated use of both locomotive and balance muscles led to a rapid development of the brain to cope with such demands.
And, once the brain had significantly expanded in this way, the possibilities of other new functions could also arise to take advantage of the extra brain cells.
And it is this interpretation that I believe throws important light upon Alice Roberts similar interpretation of the development in human evolution over several million years. For in this series, Alice draws attention to the developments evident from the skeleton in finally producing homo sapiens as it was in its evolved state as a hunter/gatherer.
Homo sapiens possessed two remarkable things: first, it kept all five digits in its forelimbs, which also ceased to perform any part in locomotion, because the species became bipedal. It stood and moved on only two legs. This totally released the forelimbs as arms. And their digits became manipulative fingers. So, clearly this meant that a whole new set of possibilities, and consequent uses of their hands demanded, and got, by selection appropriate control developments in the brain.
But, this was a very unlikely predator. It certainly wasn’t strong, and had NO enormous claws or teeth. Indeed, the most important evolutionary development was (as with the horse) in its supreme ability to run and it could also sustain that for very long periods.
Many associated and necessary developments occurred, due to the emergence of a natural Running Man.
Now my reason for writing this review – apart from thoroughly recommending the viewing of this excellent series, is also to disagree with Alice Roberts allocation of the development of the large human brain to adequate sustenance and hence down to the use of fire in cooking food.
Though this was undoubtedly very important, I cannot agree that merely sufficient cooked food caused the growth of the human brain. It helped, of course, but Simpson’s reasons for a similar development in the horse far outweigh sustenance in the rapid acceleration in brain size.
As Engels outlined in The Part Played by Labour in the Transition from Ape to Man, it was the hand that did it. And his 19th century contribution, plus the revelations from George Gaylord Simpson, and even Alice’s comments on the Running Man, are surely the main generators of the developed human brain. For once it had been established it could do a great deal more. | <urn:uuid:fe051c76-ee38-4953-a958-4bd68de57137> | CC-MAIN-2021-25 | https://theelectronicjournal.blogspot.com/2012/11/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-25/segments/1623487626122.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20210616220531-20210617010531-00387.warc.gz | en | 0.977571 | 1,289 | 3.765625 | 4 |
LPL email addresses are contained in the email address books of thousands, if not millions, of computers worldwide. When a worm infects a random machine in the world, it harvests all of the email addresses stored on that machine and launches email messages to and from those addresses, forging the From: address. Human recipients tend to infer that these messages were sent by the user listed in the From: line, from the forged sender's computer. In reality, these messages could've originated on any computer in the world that has an address book that contains the actual recipient's and forged sender's addresses.
So, whenever a worm infects a computer (anywhere in the world) that contains an address book that contains LPL addresses, someone at LPL might receive forged worm email and might have their address used to forge worm email to other people. Companies, universities, and private parties worldwide are vulnerable to this problem and are contending with it. Given the situation, it's not surprising that experts estimate that millions of Windows computers worldwide are infected with some type of worm. | <urn:uuid:1ec31b99-d091-41e3-8013-4eae2a101b60> | CC-MAIN-2016-22 | https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/faq/computing/sophos-anti-virus/why-do-i-receive-virus-email-people-lpl-whose-computers-are-not | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-22/segments/1464049278385.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20160524002118-00176-ip-10-185-217-139.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961897 | 217 | 2.546875 | 3 |
According to a recent study, published in the medical journal The Lancet, an international team of scientists are developing a global diet that may help improve one’s health and also save the planet at the same time. The diet shall ensure sustainable food production to reduce further damage to the planet. The diet is based on increasing the intake of vegetables, nuts and fruits, while cutting sugar and red meat consumption in half.
The researchers suggest that the new diet can help balance planetary health and even prevent up to 11.6 million premature deaths. As per the researchers of the study, the world’s population is set to reach 10 billion people by 2050. That coupled with current diet and food production habits will exacerbate risks to people and planet. According to Dr. Richard Horton, editor in-chief at the Lancet elucidated upon the report’s findings noted that 1 billion people live in hunger and 2 billion people eat too much of the wrong foods.
A global ‘reference diet’ was created by the team of scientists, in an effort to enable a healthy global population. The reference diet plan was said to be an ideal daily meal plan for people over the age of two. As per the authors of the study, apart from reducing environmental degradation, this particular diet may help reduce chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke and diabetes as well.
The diet advises people consume 2,500 calories per day, which is slightly more than what people are eating today, said Willett. People should eat a “variety of plant-based foods, low amounts of animal-based foods, unsaturated rather than saturated fats, and few refined grains, highly processed foods and added sugars,” he said. The diet consists of whole grains, starchy vegetables, fruit, dairy, protein, fats and sugars.
To enable populations to follow the reference diet, the report suggests five strategies: incentivizing people to eat healthier, shifting global production toward varied crops, intensifying agriculture sustainably, stricter rules around the governing of oceans and lands, and reducing food waste.
As per the findings of the study, the dietary shift needs to be on a global level, where the consumption of foods such as red meat and sugar should decrease by more than 50 percent. Whereas, consumption of nuts, fruits, vegetables, and legumes must increase more than two-fold. | <urn:uuid:e060bf81-4a48-4704-ad8f-b6a62ac43006> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://hairandbeautybc.com/global-diet-may-help-improve-health-save-planet-says-study/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046153980.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20210730185206-20210730215206-00149.warc.gz | en | 0.950077 | 480 | 3.46875 | 3 |
For individuals staring at the current reduction in housing market prices nowadays, inflation is most generally observed with regards to these very decreases. Inflation consistently affects the cost of property over the U . s . States. To first know very well what inflation is, proves essential in grasping why it may have a lot impact on the price of housing.
So, what is inflation? In most cases, inflation is the rise in services and goods, which makes your U . s . States dollar worth less. This could affect purchasing groceries, travel, vehicles, and particularly the housing industry.
There are lots of theories on inflation which have been studied over a long time. Authors and business persons write books around the subject every single day, whiles others browse the books and then try to create their particular theories about them. At this era, there’s two kinds of inflation changes that may drastically modify the status from the economy – therefore, property. The very first, and many significant with regards to housing, is cost-push inflation.
Cost-push inflation happens when cost of products or services go to the consumer, because the costs to buy and operate the businesses that induce these products or services, starts to increase. In this way, the businesses ‘push’ their rise in operating costs to the consumers of the products or services.
With regards to the housing industry, firms that may build homes, give or broker loans, sell construction materials, etc. should also then push their costs to the consumer. This making real estate market prices rise for individuals searching to purchase. By which situation, market researchers would deem this era a ‘sellers-market’ in tangible estate.
So, so how exactly does inflation connect with the reduction in housing costs? When inflation hits its peak, or as market researchers define it, when living costs becomes excessive for that consumer to deal with, the price of housing decreases. We because the U . s . Condition are presently within this market, which we all know as, a ‘buyer’s market’. As the price of goods have hit an irregular high, the price of property around the world is becoming outrageously affordable for those.
Property investors watch for moments over time, like now, to purchase rental qualities, home upgrades, along with other investments they are able to keep before the market turns. For that average family, the price of purchasing a home, or setting up a home can also be in an all-time low.
So, whether you’ve been waiting for the best time to purchase Nacogdoches property, or property in Maine, inflation has temporarily chose to make this cost-effective prices window available. Inflation creates a change again, in no time, so why wouldn’t you make use of the affordable prices real estate market presently provides? Fund your ideal home today. | <urn:uuid:ded00840-cd3c-4a29-bfed-5c4fbbac1d73> | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | http://www.nhl4sale.com/how-inflation-affects-property-prices.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794865651.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20180523121803-20180523141803-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.960019 | 584 | 2.703125 | 3 |
by Jerry Bruce Thomas
In 2012, Yale University Press published John Brown’s Spy: The Adventurous Life and Tragic Confession of John E. Cook, by Steven Lubet. The book details Cook’s early life in New England and activities in Kansas and Virginia (largely in Jefferson County) leading up to John Brown’s abortive attempt in October 1859 to inspire a slave rebellion at Harper’s Ferry and Cook’s subsequent confession and execution for his part in the plot. One part of the Cook story left untold by Lubet and others who have written about these events is Cook’s connection with Shepherdstown. To establish a local cover for his espionage activities Cook pulled the wool over the eyes of Shepherdstown Register editor John H. Zittle by appearing as a “literary character.”
Born in 1829 to a prosperous Congregationalist family in Haddam, Connecticut, the young Cook combined a love of tales and poetry with a devotion to guns and risky adventures. He went to Yale at 20 to study law but never finished because, as a relative wrote, Cook “wandered in a land of dreams,” talking incessantly, writing sentimental verse for lady friends, and yearning for a bold undertaking.
He went to New York in May 1854. There he found his cause, embracing a militant abolitionism, likely inspired by the sermons of Henry Ward Beecher of Plymouth Congregational Church in Brooklyn Heights and also by Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the influential 1852 anti-slavery novel written by Beecher’s older sister, Harriet Beecher Stowe.
Later in 1854 he joined the fight in Kansas over slavery in the territories. A “dead shot,” he became known for recklessness, bravery, and womanizing, as his free-state forces fought pro-slavery militia called “border ruffians.” There he also joined forces with John Brown.
More than a year before the Harper’s Ferry raid, Brown sent Cook to Jefferson County to gather intelligence and to compile a census of local slaves who might be ready to rise up against their masters and a list of prominent men of the area who might be useful as hostages.
Cook traveled about Jefferson and Berkeley counties and along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, identifying himself as a school teacher, canal worker, or book seller and ingratiating himself with local people. In the late winter of 1859 he came into Zittle’s office at the Shepherdstown Register claiming that he was a bookseller in town to make available to the public Joel Tyler Headly’s Life of Washington. Impressed by the striking young man of slight stature, blue eyes, and flowing blond hair, Zittle bought the book and gave Cook a plug in his newspaper, writing in the issue of February 5, 1859, “now is your chance getting a book worth having” and urged every Shepherdstown family to buy a copy. In succeeding weeks, Cook visited frequently, and several of his poems appeared in the Register.
In Harper’s Ferry, after courting several area women, he married his innkeeper’s daughter, Mary Virginia “Jenny” Kennedy, just a month before their child, John E. Cook, Jr., was born.
Cook talked to prominent slave owners in the county and to slaves. Brown later complained that Cook’s exaggerated and uncritical reports had misled him into thinking that the slaves were “ripe for insurrection.”
On the night of October 16, 1859, Brown led a group of 21 followers to capture the federal arsenal and armory at Harper’s Ferry. Cook and others captured Lewis Washington, a great -grand nephew of George Washington, taking him along with other hostages to Brown. Cook also seized Washington’s heirloom sword, which he gave to Brown and an antique pistol, which he kept. Cook then crossed the Potomac to secure their Maryland base. Brown and his surviving men ended up being captured in the engine house by U.S. marines under Col. Robert E. Lee.
About ten of Brown’s group were killed in the fighting, five escaped, and some six community people died, including the mayor, Fontaine Beckham. Cook fled into Pennsylvania only to be quickly captured and returned to Virginia authorities.
In Shepherdstown, conflicting reports and rumors from Harper’s Ferry led to a panic. Editor Zittle now called Cook “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” With other members of the local Hamtramck Guards, he rushed to Harper’s Ferry. Shepherdstown mayor Dr. John Reynolds organized a patrol to secure the town. Next day, hearing that a band of insurgents and slaves headed by Cook was on its way upriver to attack Shepherdstown, some of the oldest citizens quickly organized a company commanded by Col. Charles Harper and marched through the streets surrounded by the cheers of women and children. After a mile of marching down the canal towpath, men on a passing canal boat told them that Cook had fled into the mountains. Later the same day the Hamtramck Guards returned from Harper’s Ferry to fifes and drums and the cheers and bouquets of the town’s ladies in an atmosphere that anticipated the early moments of the coming Civil War.
Seven captured raiders, including Brown and Cook, faced trials in Charlestown. Cook received legal advice from his brother-in-law Ashbel Willard, the governor of Indiana, and Willard’s friend, Daniel Voorhees, United States Attorney for Indiana. Rather than taking the high ground of affirming the effort to free slaves and protecting its supporters, as John Brown did in a brief and eloquent defense, they tried to save Cook by blaming John Brown and his Northern backers for misleading the young men Brown had gathered for the attack. Cook made a last attempt to avoid his fate when, on the eve of their execution, he and a fellow prisoner, Edwin Coppoc, chipped away the bricks of the outer wall of their cell in a failed escape attempt.
The widespread fear and panic in Virginia and the South spurred the state to act quickly, convicting and hanging all of the captured raiders by March 16, 1860. On December 16, 1859, two weeks after Brown’s execution for treason, murder, and conspiracy to inspire slave rebellion, Shepherdstown’s Hamtramck Guards escorted Cook and Coppoc from the jail to their executions in Charlestown. The Jefferson County Register of Deaths prosaically listed Cook’s cause of death as “gallows” and occupation as “adventurer.” Biographer Lubet says that Cook “was a casualty of the coming Civil War.” His gravestone in Green-Wood cemetery in Brooklyn reads that “he died for the cause of human liberty.” Because of the nature of his defense, his effort to escape justice, and his year of living as a spy among them, white Jefferson countians hated Cook the most. Even in the week after his death, some blamed an outbreak of rural fires on unknown slaves whom Cook allegedly had influenced.
Civil war historian James M. McPherson writes that the Southern reaction to John Brown’s raid “brought to the surface a paradox that lay at the heart of slavery.” Slave owners lived in fear of slave insurrection, but they also insisted that slaves were treated well and remained cheerful in bondage. They felt vindication when few slaves joined Brown’s raid, but throughout the South when it became apparent that noted leaders of Northern opinion found nobility in Brown’s abolitionist goals, Southern anger grew and many prepared to fight. Public reaction in the North was more complicated as many opposed slavery but abhorred the violence of Brown’s methods.
When the war came, Zittle closed his newspaper for the duration and was elected first lieutenant of the Hamtramck Guards, Company B of the 2nd Regiment of Virginia Infantry, later known as the Stonewall Brigade. After the war, Zittle resumed publication of the Register and served several terms as mayor. In 1882, he sold the Register to Harry L. and William Snyder. Over the years he had also compiled a collection of comments and documents about the Harper’s Ferry raid, but it languished largely unknown until his widow, Minnie, had it published in 1906, five years after his death, under the title A Correct History of the John Brown Invasion of Harper’s Ferry.
In 1860, Jenny Cook returned to Harper’s Ferry to live again at her mother’s rooming house, but local resentment forced her to leave. She later remarried and lived in Illinois. Her son John E. Cook, Jr. became a prominent lawyer in New York.
Cook’s poems mirror the romantic, mystical, dark, and morbid musings of the age but reflect nothing of the cause for which he died. Zittle’s Correct History contains six of the poems that Cook gave him and one that Cook wrote for his wife and child just before his execution. The poems can be accessed in online versions of Zittle’s book.
(The following first appeared in the Spring 2017 edition of the Shepherdstown Good News Paper. Harpers Ferry and Charles Town are spelled as they were at the time of the events.) | <urn:uuid:fc9b7c5a-cbff-4f3d-be76-ecea684f666f> | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | http://historicshepherdstown.com/2017/03/the-editor-and-the-spy-espionage-and-poetry-in-shepherdstown-on-the-eve-of-the-civil-war/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549426161.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20170726122153-20170726142153-00113.warc.gz | en | 0.97554 | 1,970 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Elaboration likelihood model
||This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. (March 2014)|
The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) of persuasion is a dual process theory describing how attitudes form and change. The ELM was developed by Richard E. Petty and John Cacioppo in the mid-1970s. The model aims to explain different ways of processing stimuli, why they are used, and their outcomes on attitude change. The ELM proposes two major routes to persuasion: the central route and the peripheral route. Under the central route, persuasion will likely result from a person's careful and thoughtful consideration of the true merits of the information presented in support of an advocacy. The central route involves a high level of message elaboration in which a great amount of cognition about the arguments are generated by the individual receiving the message. The resulting attitude change will be relatively enduring, resistant, and predictive of behavior. Under the peripheral route, persuasion results from a person's association with positive or negative cues in the stimulus or making a simple inference about the merits of the advocated position. The cues received by the individual under the peripheral route are generally unrelated to the logical quality of the stimulus. These cues will involve factors such as the credibility or attractiveness of the sources of the message, or the production quality of the message. The likelihood of elaboration will be determined by an individual's motivation and ability to evaluate the argument being presented.
- 1 Origin of the Elaboration Likelihood Model
- 2 ELM Routes Overview
- 3 Determinants of Route
- 4 Elements
- 5 Applications of the Elaboration Likelihood Model
- 6 Methodological Considerations
- 7 Critiques of the Theory
- 8 See also
- 9 References
- 10 Further reading
Origin of the Elaboration Likelihood Model
Elaboration Likelihood Model is a general theory of attitude change. According to the theory’s developers Richard E. Petty and John T. Cacioppo, they intended to provide a general “framework for organizing, categorizing, and understanding the basic processes underlying the effectiveness of persuasive communications”.
The study of attitudes and persuasion began as the central focus of social psychology, featured in the work of the psychologists Gordon Allport(1935) and Edward Alsworth Ross(1908). Allport described attitudes as “the most distinctive and indispensable concept in contemporary social psychology”. Considerable amount of research were devoted to the study of attitudes and persuasion from the 1930s through the late 1970s. These studies embarked on various relevant issues regarding attitudes and persuasion, such as the consistency between attitudes and behaviors and the processes underlying attitude-behavior correspondence. However, Petty and Cacioppo noticed a major problem facing attitude and persuasion researchers that there was minimum agreement regarding “if, when, and how the traditional source, message, recipient, and channel variables affected attitude change”. Noticing this problem, Petty and Cacioppo developed the Elaboration Likelihood Model, as their attempts to account for the differential persistence of communication-induced attitude change. Petty and Cacioppo suggested that different empirical findings and theories on attitude persistence could be viewed as stressing one of two routes to persuasion which they presented in the Elaboration Likelihood Model.
ELM Routes Overview
The Elaboration-Likelihood Model proposes two distinct routes for processing: the central route and the peripheral route. The ELM holds that there are numerous specific processes of change on the "elaboration continuum", ranging from low to high. When the operation processes at the low end of the continuum determines attitudes, persuasions follow the peripheral route. When the operation processes at the high end of the continuum determines attitudes, persuasion follows the central route.
The central route is used when the message recipient has the motivation as well as the ability to think about the message and its topic. Being at the high end of the elaboration continuum, people assess object relevant information in relation to knowledge that they already possess, and arrive at a reasoned attitude that is supported by information. Motivation to process the message may be determined by a personal interest in the subject of the message, or individual factors like the need for cognition. However, if the message recipient has a strong, negative attitude toward the position proposed by the message, then a boomerang effect (an opposite effect) is likely to occur. That is, they will resist the message, and may move away from the proposed position. Two advantages of the central route are that attitude changes tend to last longer and are more predictive of behavior than the changes from the peripheral route.
The peripheral route is used when the message recipient has little or no interest in the subject and/or has lesser ability to process the message. Being at the low end of the elaboration continuum, examination of information is reduced. With the peripheral route, message recipients are more likely to rely on general impressions (e.g. "this feels right/good"), early parts of the message, the recipient's mood, positive and negative cues of the persuasion context, etc. If these peripheral influences go completely unnoticed, the message recipient is likely to maintain their previous attitude on the subject of the message. Otherwise, the individual will temporarily change his attitude towards the subject of the message. This attitude change can be long-lasting, although this is less likely to occur when compared to the central route.
Determinants of Route
The two most influential factors that affect which processing route an individual uses are: motivation (the desire to process the message; see Petty and Cacioppo, 1979) and ability (the capability for critical evaluation; see Petty, Wells and Brock, 1976). The extent of motivation, is in turn affected by attitude and personal relevance. An individual's ability for elaboration is affected by distractions, their cognitive busyness (the extent to which a person’s cognitive processes are engaged by multiple tasks), and knowledge.
Attitudes towards a message can affect motivation. Drawing from cognitive dissonance theory, when people are presented with new information (message) that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas, or values, they will be motivated to eliminate the dissonance, in order to conclude that they are not fools. E.g., People who want to believe that they will be academically successful may recall more of their past academic successes than of their failures. They may also use their world knowledge to construct new theories about how their particular personality traits may predispose them to academic success (Kunda, 1987). If they succeed in accessing and constructing appropriate beliefs, they may feel justified in concluding that they will be academically successful, not realizing that they also possess knowledge that could be used to support the opposite conclusion.
Personal relevance also can affect an individual's extent of motivation. E.g., Undergraduate students were told of a new exam policy which would take effect in either one year or ten years in the future. The proposal of the new exam policy was either supported by strong or weak arguments. Those students who were going to personally be affected by this change would think more about this issue than those students who were not going to be personally affected.
An additional factor that affects extent of motivation is an individual's need for cognition. Individuals that take greater pleasure in thinking than others tend to engage in more effortful thinking because of its intrinsic enjoyment without respect to the important of the issue or the need to be correct.
Ability includes the availability of cognitive resources (e.g., the presence or absence of time pressures or distractions) and the relevant knowledge needed to examine arguments. Distractions (e.g., a person reading a journal article in a noisy library) can affect a person's ability to process a message. Cognitive busyness, which can also serve as distractions, limit an amount of cognitive resources otherwise available for the current task (assessing a message). Another factor of ability is a person's knowledge of the relevant subject. Though one may not be distracted nor cognitively busy, their insufficiency in knowledge can limit them from engaging in deep thinking.
There are four (4) core ideas to the ELM.
1. The ELM argues that when a person encounters some form of communication, they can process this communication with varying levels of thought (elaboration), ranging from a low degree of thought (low elaboration) to a high degree of thought (high elaboration).
2. The ELM predicts that there are a variety of psychological processes of change that operate to varying degrees as a function of a person's level of elaboration. On the lower end of the continuum are the processes that require relatively little thought, including classical conditioning and mere exposure. On the higher end of the continuum are processes that require relatively more thought, including expectancy-value and cognitive response processes. When lower elaboration processes predominate, a person is said to be using the peripheral route, which is contrasted with the central route, involving the operation of predominantly high elaboration processes.
3. The ELM predicts that the degree of thought used in a persuasion context determines how consequential the resultant attitude becomes. Attitudes formed via high thought, central route, processes will tend to persist over time, resist persuasion, and be influential in guiding other judgments and behaviors to a greater extent that attitudes formed through low thought, peripheral route, processes.
4. The ELM also predicts that any given variable can have multiple roles in persuasion, including acting as a cue to judgment or by biasing the direction of thought about a message. The ELM holds that the specific role by which a variable operates is determined by the extent of elaboration.
One of the main predictions about the ELM is that the attitudes formed through the central route rather than the peripheral route are stronger and more difficult to change. This means that when using the central route (i.e., engaging in high elaboration thought in which all information is being carefully analyzed), the attitudes formed during this time become more stable and less susceptible to counter-persuasion. Whereas when using the peripheral route (i.e., engaging in low elaboration thought by relying on heuristics and shortcuts to establish an attitude) is more inclined to cause short-term attitude change.
A variable is essentially anything that can increase or decrease the persuasiveness of a message. Motivation (desire to process the message), ability (capability for critical evaluation), attractiveness, mood and expertise are just a few examples of variables that can influence persuasiveness. Variables also have different roles, for example, they may have a positive effect as a cue, but a negative effect if it ends up decreasing thought about a strong message.
Under high elaboration, a given variable (e.g., expertise) can serve as an argument (e.g., "If Einstein agrees with the theory of relativity, then this is a strong reason for me to as well") or a biasing factor (e.g., "If an expert agrees with this position it is probably good, so let me see who else agrees with this conclusion"), at the expense of contradicting information. Under low-elaboration conditions, a variable may act as a peripheral cue (e.g., the belief that "experts are always right"). While this is similar to the Einstein example above, this is a shortcut which (unlike the Einstein example) does not require thought. Under moderate elaboration, a variable may direct the extent of information processing (e.g., "If an expert agrees with this position, I should really listen to what (s)he has to say").
Recent adaptations of the ELM have added an additional role for variables: to affect the extent to which a person trusts their thoughts in response to a message (self-validation role). A person may thing, "If an expert presented this information, it is probably correct, and thus I can trust that my reactions to it are informative with respect to my attitude." This role, because of its metacognitive nature, only occurs in high-elaboration conditions.
For an individual intent on forming long-lasting beliefs on topics, the central route is advantageous by the fact that arguments are scrutinized intensely and that information is unlikely to be overlooked. However, this route uses a considerable amount of energy, time, and mental effort.
It is not worthwhile to exert considerable mental effort to achieve correctness in all situations and people do not always have the requisite knowledge, time, or opportunity to thoughtfully asses the merits of a proposal. For those, the use of the peripheral route excels at saving energy, time, and mental effort. This is particularly advantageous in situations in which one must make a decision within a small time constraint. On the other hand, the peripheral route is prone to errors in judgment, at least in attributing reasons for behaviors.
Applications of the Elaboration Likelihood Model
Application in Advertising Communications
The Elaboration Likelihood Model can be applied to advertising and marketing. In 1983, Petty, Cacioppo and Schumann conducted a study to exam source effects in advertising. It was a product advertisement about a new disposable razor. The authors purposefully made one group of subjects highly involved with the product (disposable razor), by telling them the product would be test marketed soon in the local area and by the end of the experiment they would be given a chance to get a disposable razor. Whereas, the authors made another group of subjects have low involvement with the product by telling them that the product would be test marketed in a distant city and by the end of the experiment they would have the chance to get a toothpaste. In addition to varying involvement, the authors also varied source and message characteristics by showing a group of the subjects ads featuring popular athletes, whereas showing other subjects ads featuring average citizens; showing some subjects ads with strong arguments and others ads with weak arguments. This experiment shows that when the elaboration likelihood was low, featuring famous athletes in the advertisement would lead to more favorable product attitudes, regardless of the strength of the product attributes presented. Whereas when elaboration likelihood was high, only the argument strength would manipulate affected attitudes.
Application in Healthcare
Recent research has been conducted to apply the ELM to the healthcare field. In 2009, Angst and Agarwal published a research article Adoption of Electronic Health Records in the Presence of Privacy Concerns: the Elaboration Likelihood Model and Individual Persuasion. This research studies Electronic Health Records (EHRs), (an individual’s) Concern for Information Privacy (CFIP) and the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). The two researchers aimed to investigate the question, “Can individuals be persuaded to change their attitudes and opt-in behavioral intentions toward EHRs, and allow their medical information to be digitized even in the presence of significant privacy concerns”?
Findings of the research:
• "Issue involvement and argument framing interact to influence attitude change, and that concern for information privacy further moderates the effects of these variables."
• "Likelihood of adoption is driven by concern for information privacy and attitude."
• "An individual’s CFIP interacts with argument framing and issue involvement to affect attitudes toward HER use and CFIP directly influence opt-in behavioral intentions."
• "Even people have high concerns for privacy, their attitudes can be positively altered with appropriate message framing."
In designing a test for the aforementioned model, it is necessary to determine the quality of an argument, i.e., whether it is viewed as strong or weak. If the argument is not seen as strong, then the results of persuasion will be inconsistent. A strong argument is defined by Petty and Cacioppo as "one containing arguments such that when subjects are instructed to think about the message, the thoughts they generate are fundamentally favorable." An argument that is universally viewed as weak will elicit unfavorable results, especially if the subject considers it under high elaboration, thus being the central route. Test arguments must be rated by ease of understanding, complexity and familiarity. To study either route of the elaboration likelihood model, the arguments must be designed for consistent results. Also when assessing persuasion of an argument, the influence of peripheral cues needs to be taken into consideration as cues can influence attitude even in the absence of argument processing. The extent or direction of message processing also needs to be taken into consideration when assessing persuasion, as variables can influence or bias thought by enabling or inhibiting the generation of a particular kind of thought in regard to the agrument.
Critiques of the Theory
Some researchers have been criticized for misinterpreting the ELM. One such instance is Kruglanski and Thompson thinking that the processing of central or peripheral routes is determined by the type of information that affects message persuasion. For example, message variables are only influential when the central route is used and information like source variables is only influential when the peripheral route is used. In fact, the ELM does not make statements about types of information being related to routes. Rather, the key to the ELM is how any type of information will be used depending on central or peripheral routes, regardless of what that information is. For example, the central route may permit source variables to influence preference for certain language usage in the message (e.g. "beautiful") or validate a related product (e.g. cosmetics), while the peripheral route may only lead individuals to associate the "goodness" of source variables with the message. Theoretically, all of these could occur simultaneously. Thus the distinction between central and peripheral routes is not the type of information being processed as those types can be applied to both routes, but rather how that information is processed and ultimately whether processing information in one way or the other will result in different attitudes.
A second instance of misinterpretation that is also related to the first is that processing of the central route solely involves thinking about the message content and not thoughts about the issue. Petty and Cacioppo (1981) stated “If the issue is very important to the person, but the person doesn’t understand the arguments being presented in the message, or if no arguments are actually presented, then elaboration of arguments cannot occur.…Nevertheless the person may still be able to think about the issue.” Therefore issue-relevant thinking is still a part of the central route and is necessary for one to think about the message content.
Lastly, a third instance of misinterpretation by Kruglanski and Thompson is the disregard for the quantitative dimension presented by the ELM and more focus on the qualitative dimension. This quantitative dimension is the peripheral route involves low-elaboration persuasion that is quantitatively different from the central route that involves high elaboration. With this difference the ELM also explains that low-elaboration persuasion processes are qualitatively different as well. It is seen as incorrect if the ELM focuses on a quantitative explanation over a qualitative one; however one of the ELM’s key points is that elaboration can range from high to low which is not incorrect as data from experiments conducted by Petty (1997) as well as Petty and Wegener (1999) suggest that persuasion findings can be explained by a quantitative dimension without ever needing a qualitative one.
- Attitude change
- Need for cognition
- Cognitive biases
- Heuristic-Systematic Model
- Extended transportation-imagery model
- Petty R. and Cacioppo J. "Communication and persuasion: central and peripheral routes to attitude change." Springer-Verlag, New York.
- Kruglanski, Arie W.; Van Lange, Paul A.M. (2012). Handbook of theories of social psychology. London, England: Sage. pp. 224–245.
- Petty, Richard E; Cacioppo, John T (1984). "Source factors and the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion". Advances in Consumer Research 11: 668.
- Petty, Richard E; Cacioppo, John T. "The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion". Advances in experimental social psychology: 126.
- Miller, Katherine (2005). Theories of message processing, Chapter 8, Communication theories: perspectives, processes, and contexts. McGraw-Hill. p. 129.
- Petty, Richard E; Cacioppo, John T (1986). "The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion". Advances in experimental social psychology: 129.
- Petty, Richard E; Cacioppo, John T (1986). "The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion". Advances in experimental social psychology: 125.
- Allport, Gordon (1935). "Attitudes". A Handbook of Social Psychology: 789–844.
- Ajzen, Icek; Fishbein, Martin (1977). "Attitude-behavior relations: A theoretical analysis and review of empirical research.". Psychological Bulletin, American Psychological Association 84 (5): 888–918. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.84.5.888.
- Fazio, Russell H; Zanna, Mark P (1981). "Direct experience and attitude-behavior consistency". Advances in experimental social psychology 14: 161–202. doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60372-x.
- Sherman, Steve J; Fazio, Russell H; Herr, Paul M (1983). "On the consequences of priming: Assimilation and contrast effects". Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 19 (4): 323–340.
- Petty, Richard E; Cacioppo, John T (1986). "The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion". Advances in experimental social psychology: 124–125.
- Morris, J. D., Singh, A. J., Woo C., Elaboration likelihood model: A missing intrinsic emotional implication. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, 14, 79-98.
- Griffin, E. (2012). A First Look at Communication Theory, 8th ed. McGraw-Hill: New York, 205-207.
- McNeill, Brian W. (1989). "Reconceptualizing social influence in counseling: The Elaboration Likelihood Model.". Journal of Counseling Psychology.
- Chaiken & Trope (Eds.)(1999). Dual-process Theories in Social Psychology. Guilford Press.
- "Social Cognition".
- Kunda, Ziva (1990). "The Case for Motivated Reasoning". Psychological Bulletin 103 (3): 480–498.
- Petty R. et al "Thought confidence as a determinant of persuasion: the self validation hypothesis." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2002 82 p722 - 741.
- Gilbert, Daniel T.; Pelham, Brett W.; Krull, Douglas S. (1988). "On Cognitive Busyness: When Person Perceivers Meet Persons Perceived". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54 (5): 733–740. doi:10.1037/0022-3522.214.171.1243.
- Petty, Richard E; Cacioppo, John T; Schumann, David (1983). "Central and peripheral routes to advertising effectiveness: The moderating role of involvement". Journal of consumer research: 135–146.
- Petty, Richard E; Cacioppo, John T (1984). "Source factors and the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion". Advances in Consumer Research: 668–672.
- Angst, Corey; Agarwal, Ritu (2009). "Adoption of electronic health records in the presence of privacy concerns: the elaboration likelihood model and individual persuasion". MIS Quarterly 33 (2): 339–370.
- Angst, Corey; Agarwal, Ritu (2009). "Adoption of electronic health records in the presence of privacy concerns: the elaboration likelihood model and individual persuasion". MIS Quarterly 33 (2): 339.
- Griffin E. A First Look at Communication Theory, 8th ed. McGraw-Hill, New York, p366 - 377.
- Berkowitz L. Advances In Experimental Social Psychology. Vol 19. Academic press, Orlando 1986 p132 - 134. Print.
- Petty, Richard E. (1986). Communication and Persuasion: Central and Peripheral Routes to Attitude Change. Springer New York.
- Richard E. Petty, S. Christian Wheeler, and George Y. Bizer (1999). "Is There One Persuasion Process or More? Lumping Versus Splitting in Attitude Change Theories" (PDF).
- Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1981). Attitudes and persuasion: Classic and contemporary approaches.
- Petty, Richard E. (1997). "The Evolution of Theory and Research in Social Psychology: From Single to Multiple Effect and Process Models of Persuasion" (PDF).
- Petty, R.E. and Wegener, D.T. (1999). "The Elaboration Likelihood Model: Current Status and Controversies" (PDF).
- Eagly A. and Chaiken S. Psychology of Attitudes. Harcourt, Brace and Jovanovich, Fort Worth, Texas, 2003.
- Jae H. and Delvicchio D. "Decision making by elaboration likelihood model- analysis journal and model." The Journal of Consumer Affairs. 2004 38(2) p342 - 354.
- Metzler A. et al. National HIV Prevention Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, 1999.
- Petty R. and Cacioppo J., Brown W. and Dubuque I. (ed.) Attitudes and Persuasion: Classic and Contemporary Approaches.
- Petty R. and Wegener D., Chaiken S. and Trope Y. (ed.) "The elaboration likelihood model: current status and controversies." Dual Process Theories in Social Psychology Guilford Press, New York. p41 - 72.
- Richard E. Petty and John T. Cacioppo, The Elaboration likelihood model of Persuasion. 1986. p136. | <urn:uuid:59d4222d-a778-4e0e-8676-4de3c295a969> | CC-MAIN-2015-18 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaboration_likelihood_model | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-18/segments/1429246653426.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20150417045733-00189-ip-10-235-10-82.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.894273 | 5,368 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Wearable LED device could regrow hair
Studies have already shown that by irradiating bald skin using red lasers, hair follicles can be stimulated into growing new hair. Unfortunately, though, such laser setups are large, cumbersome and energy-inefficient. With that in mind, scientists have developed a wearable LED photostimulator.
Led by Prof. Keon Jae Lee, scientists from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) created a flexible array of 900 vertical micro-light-emitting diodes (μLEDs). The whole array fits onto a chip that's "slightly smaller than a postage stamp," is just 20 micrometers thick, and can withstand up to 10,000 bending/unbending cycles.
Additionally, the μLEDs don't heat up enough to damage human skin, and use one one-thousandth the power per unit area as a traditional phototherapeutic laser.
In lab tests, the device was tested on the shaved backs of mice. After 20 days of 15-minute once-daily treatments, the animals regrew their fur significantly faster than shaved mice that received no treatment, or that were getting hair-growth-promoting minoxidil injections. The μLED-array mice also regrew hair over a wider area, and the hairs were considerably longer.
It is now hoped that a larger version of the device could someday be used by humans in their own homes on a daily basis, as opposed to their making trips to use laser systems at clinics.
A paper on the research was recently published in the journal ACS Nano, in which images of the μLED array can be seen. | <urn:uuid:3cad4dab-7fb9-4eea-98ae-787b29197b07> | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | https://newatlas.com/led-hair-array/56306/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947474744.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20240228175828-20240228205828-00677.warc.gz | en | 0.958521 | 340 | 3.015625 | 3 |
With the holidays are here and it’s a good idea to be mindful of some of the potential dangers that can present themselves as we prepare and decorate our homes for the holiday gatherings. Here are some of the top harmful holiday related items:
1. Tinsel, Wrapping Materials and Ornaments
Although Tinsel isn’t inherently toxic to pets, if ingested it can cause a serious problem as it moves through your pet’s digestive system. It can become entangled and twisted in your pet’s intestines, create blockages and even lacerations depending on the nature of the material. It is especially appealing to cats due to the shiny surface and movement that it creates. Ribbons and bows fall into the same category and can also be dangerous if ingested, potentially becoming a choking hazard as well as possibly becoming twisted and entangled in your pet’s intestines.
Similarly, holiday lights and ornaments also can be intriguing to cats and dogs alike. Ornaments and lights are often fragile and made of glass or thin aluminum that can easily shatter and fragment if chewed on. The sharp fragments can lacerate your pet’s mouth and internal organs if eaten and swallowed.
2. Food and Edible Items
Holiday gatherings usually mean big dinners and lots of treats. Here are the top items to be mindful of while you are preparing for your holiday spread.
Bones and fat trimmings
Bones, especially smaller thinner bones can splinter and cause choking or internal obstructions and lacerations if the pieces are ingested. Trimmed fat, both cooked and non-cooked can potentially cause pancreatitis.
Chocolate may be America’s favorite flavor. We like chocolate candy, ice cream, chocolate drinks, chocolate cakes, just about anything with chocolate. We may want to share our favorite treat with an eager pet but it is best to think twice and reach for the dog biscuits instead.
Pancreatitis, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain are just the beginning of this disaster. Remember, in the case of pancreatitis, it is the fat that causes the problem more than the chocolate itself.
The fat and sugar in the chocolate can create an unpleasant but temporary upset stomach. This is what happens in most chocolate ingestion cases.
Chocolate is, however, directly toxic because it contains theobromine. Theobromine is found in the Cacao seed from which Chocolate is derived. The process of making Chocolate from Cacao seeds produces Chocolate liquor, which is the liquid that results from grinding the hulled cacao beans. The more chocolate liquor there is in a product, the more theobromine there is.
This makes baking chocolate the worst for pets, followed by semisweet and dark chocolate, followed by milk chocolate, followed by chocolate flavored cakes or cookies. Signs of toxicity from theobromine causes:
- Racing heart rhythm progressing to abnormal rhythms
- Death in severe cases
Toxic doses of theobromine are 9 mg per pound of dog for mild signs, up to 18 mg per pound of dog for severe signs. Milk chocolate contains 44 mg / ounce of theobromine while semisweet chocolate contains 150 mg per ounce, and baking chocolate contains 390 mg per ounce.
It takes nearly four days for the effects of chocolate to work its way out of a dog’s system. If the chocolate was only just eaten, it is possible to induce vomiting; otherwise, hospitalization and support are needed until the chocolate has worked its way out of the system. If you think your pet has eaten chocolate, please call Glen Oak immediately!!
Whole nuts and nut ingredients found in many baked goods and desserts can have an adverse effect on your pet’s health ranging from an upset stomach and gastrointestinal distress to toxicity in some cases.
Almonds, non-moldy walnuts and pistachios top the list of nuts to avoid letting your pet eat and moldy walnuts, and Macadamia nuts can be toxic.
3. Holiday Plants
Those pretty decorative arrangements are a part of the holidays, but some can be poisonous and even deadly in extreme cases. Lily plants are particularly poisonous and harmful for cats. Ingestion of even a couple leaves can lead to liver failure and if left untreated a fatal outcome.
Other plants to avoid:
- Poinsettias – Can cause oral irritation, stomach upset and often vomiting.
- Mistletoe – Can cause vomiting and diarrhea, difficulty breathing, collapse, seizures and even death when ingested in large doses.
- Christmas tree pine needles – Can produce oral irritation, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
- Holly – Can cause stomach upset, vomiting, diarrhea.
It’s important to pay attention to your pet’s interest in the plants. Avoid bringing toxic live plants into your home at all if possible. If you are unsure about a plant’s toxicity, look it up here. Monitor your pet’s interest in eating plants, and place plants out of reach. Check the plants for any signs of chewing or missing leaves. If unsure, plastic plants are an option (with care taken not to let those get ingested, either!).
Ashley Rossman DVM, CVA | <urn:uuid:3167a194-47d3-4ba8-af25-ad5e23607646> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | https://glenoakanimalhospital.com/top-3-holiday-dangers-for-pets/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593657134758.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20200712082512-20200712112512-00560.warc.gz | en | 0.910591 | 1,085 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Every neuroscience textbook mentions one very famous patient who was identified by his initials, H.M., up until his death in 2008. Recently, the brain of the most studied amnesic patient in the history of neuroscience, Henry Molaison, has undergone a detailed postmortem analysis that will provide histological and digital 3D insight into a case that profoundly shaped our understanding of human memory.
Molaison blew open the doors of modern neuroscience in 1953 when he had brain surgery at the age of 27 to reduce severe epileptic fits. No one at the time knew that surgically removing certain regions of his brain would result in an inability to remember daily events or recognize hospital staff that took care of him throughout the day. Doctors were perplexed that his personality, language ability, and perceptual skills remained unchanged despite an inability to store information in his long-term memory. His IQ even remained above average 10 months after the operation.
Neuropsychologists, such as Brenda Milner of McGill University, came to understand that Molaison’s near-total amnesia stemmed from removing a region of the brain that’s now understood to be crucial for memory formation, the medial temporal lobe. “The purity and severity of H.M.’s memory impairment, combined with his willingness to participate in testing, made his case study uniquely influential in the field of memory research,” explained University of California San Diego neuroanatomist, Jacapo Annese, and colleagues in a study published in Nature Communications.
In the journal, the researchers report the results of dissecting Molaison’s brain into 2,401 thinner-than-paper slices that were each captured as a digital image before being cryogenically preserved in serial order. The images have been archived and used to create a 3D model of the entire brain, which provides an unprecedentedly detailed atlas of Molaison’s brain and the surgery that affected his memory the way it did. “Our goal was to create a detailed three-dimensional … model of the whole brain from high-resolution anatomical images so that we could revisit, by virtual dissection, [the] surgical procedure and localize the anatomical borders of the lesion in the temporal lobe,” Annese and colleagues explained.
Indeed, this detailed analysis revealed for the first time that part of the so-called orbitofrontal cortex, which is a brain region that’s involved with decision-making, had a small lesion that Annese suspects was inflicted when the original surgery occurred. This insight might be one of many to come thanks to archived series of brain images being of a much higher-resolution than the non-invasive MRI scans that were previously conducted on Molaison. Perhaps, the archive might further explain the nuances of his inability to remember having an exchange with a person he had a proficient conversation with minutes earlier yet still be able to learn a new motor task.
Overall, the authors concluded, “The archive of images will … constitute a permanent digital trace for the case that defined two generations of memory research and that will likely remain as emblematic for neuroscience in the future as it is today.”
Source: Annese J, Schenker-Ahmed N M, Bartsch H, et al. Postmortem examination of patient H.M.’s brain based on histological sectioning and difital 3D reconstruction. Nat Commun. 2014. | <urn:uuid:983ca627-f402-4f17-ad0f-0a6266683d2e> | CC-MAIN-2016-07 | http://www.medicaldaily.com/3d-brain-model-most-studied-amnesiac-henry-molaison-provides-insight-human-memory-268093 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-07/segments/1454701156448.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160205193916-00006-ip-10-236-182-209.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963751 | 710 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Can you put a price on a rain forest? Well apparently you can according to research by the Kenya Forest Research Institute (KEFRI) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
The UNEP sponsored project has been looking at Kenya’s Mau Forest, the larget forest in the country (and one of the largest in East Africa) and how it benefits the economy. The forest has an ability to provide water and generate rain which is worth vast sums of money.
The economic benefit of the forest has been placed at $1.3 billion per year, a figure which will put into conservation in the spot light and give governments great incentives to protect such natural assets. Unfortunately the Mau Forest has been subject of fierce logging and clearance operations over the last few decades which has reduced the forest by at least 40% in size.
Twelve rivers originate in the forest, located in the rift valley. These rivers flow across Kenya providing water and hydro-electricity which meets half of Kenya’s electricity demand. Part of the Sondu River flows through a Japanese-funded hydro-electric power station generating up 6% of Kenya’s electrical supply. Conservation of the forest is vital for the power station to continue. It is calculated that the forest is worth $131.6m to the electricity sector.
Tea plantations also benefit greatly from the Mau Forest. Tea is one of Kenya’s key exports and the study calculates the forest contributes $163m a year to tea industries. Without trees there is no rain and during dry spells the tea plants dry up at the cost of peoples livelihoods.
Down stream the forest lies Lake Nakuru, one of six lakes fed by the forest. Lake Nakuru is famous for it large population of stunning pink flamingos. Many people are attracted to Kenya for such sights making tourism big business within the country. It is not only the flamingos which attract tourists. People come to see a whole raft of animals including zebras, warthogs, baboons and even black and white rhinos. The benefit to tourism is placed at $65 million.
The forest also holds an estimated $89 million worth of benefit in storing carbon and helps control soil erosion to the value of $98 million.
Speaking to the BBC Jacob Mwanduka, of Friends of the Mau Forest Watershed (FOMAWA), said the forest “is leading the ecosystem of the country, supporting a third of the country’s population.”
“Without water, there is no life. And without forests, there is no water.
“It’s as simple as that. It’s painful that we are losing our forest, so we need to act now.”
UNEP’s executive secretary, Achim Steiner, told the BBC “If we destroy the forest we compromise natures ability to provide us with regular water suplies. These are very simple but very powerful and vital services nature provides for us. Without them we either cannot survive or have to spend a lot of money in finding alternatives”. Mr Steiner hopes that by having hard numbers for the value of nature people will change the way they think about it.
The main cause of the destruction of the forest is it 20,000 families. Some live a sustainable hunter-gatherer lifestyle while others have cleared parts of the forest to make room for settlements. Aware of the pressures it faces, the Kenyan government is committed to conservation of the forest and it has controversial plans to relocate the inhabitants of the forest.
This raises many difficult questions such as where will the people go and how will they survive in their new locations? How should they be compensated? And what about the many illegal settlers who have moved there in recent years.
A fine balance needs to be sought between the needs of the natural world and its long-term ability to support the economy against the needs of a developing country and its inhabitants who are struggling to survive.
Historically, in similar predicaments, nature has lost out. However there is currently a Conference on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan which hopes to address many issues around biodiversity such as why governements fail to meet their own targets
BBC | Placing a value on Kenya’s largest forest
Wikipedia | Lake Nakuru
ACF | Kenya: Selfish Interests Threaten Mau Forest
Conference on Biological Diversity | Factsheet | <urn:uuid:952b0cd9-2640-46b2-9086-1111b2f6a3aa> | CC-MAIN-2017-47 | https://www.rawtreecare.co.uk/how-much-is-a-forest-worth/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-47/segments/1510934804724.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20171118094746-20171118114746-00624.warc.gz | en | 0.95784 | 905 | 3.296875 | 3 |
The speed of your car affects the distance required to stop it. Stopping distance is determined by three factors:
Here's some food for thought. At 55 mph, your vehicle is traveling at about 80 feet per second. Feet-per-second is determined by multiplying speed in miles-per-hour by 1.47 (55 mph x 1.47 = 80 feet per second.) With this in mind, let's add the perception and reaction distance to the formula.
You're traveling at 80 feet per second and you see a hazard in the road ahead. It takes about ¾ of a second for your brain to acknowledge the hazard. During this fraction of a second, you've traveled an additional 60 feet. This is the perception distance.
Now that your brain has acknowledged the hazard ahead, it takes another ¾ of a second for it to tell the foot to move from the gas pedal to the brake pedal and apply pressure. During this reaction time, you've traveled another 60 feet.
So from the time you perceive the hazard until the time your foot is applying pressure to the brake pedal, you've traveled 120 feet but your car still isn't stopped. At 55 mph, on a dry road with good brakes, your vehicle will skid approximately 170 feet more before stopping. This distance, combined with the perception and reaction distances, means you need about 300 feet to stop a car traveling at 55 mph. As a point of reference, Lambeau Field is 360 feet long, end to end. Keep this in mind as you follow that other car on your way home tonight. | <urn:uuid:cb510942-88fe-4f57-bcec-9a0c8e458652> | CC-MAIN-2018-30 | https://www.thesilverlining.com/safety-resources/tips-to-help-avoid-losses/auto-tips/allow-adequate-following-distance | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676591543.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20180720061052-20180720081052-00045.warc.gz | en | 0.954701 | 322 | 3.25 | 3 |
FAFSA assets: What is the value of a family business?
When completing the FAFSA, applicants are required to list the value of assets like investments, real estate, and a business. But not all businesses are the same. Owning a small business is different than owning a large company or being self employed, and in 2006, the FAFSA began to count small businesses differently on the FAFSA.
FAFSA Small business exclusion: This exclusion allows the applicant to omit the net worth of a small business from the FAFSA. This is a boon for families that derive income from a small business as not counting the net worth could help increase financial aid eligibility. To be sure, a small business for FAFSA purposes would be defined as follows:
- Employee requirement: A Small business must have 100 or fewer full-time equivalent employees.
- Owned and controlled by the family: Specifically, more than 50% of the voting rights must be owned by the family. Some of these family members may not be counted for FAFSA household size, but must be directly related to or related by marriage to people counted in household size.
This can be a big bonus as normally a business asset would be evaluated to include the market value of land, buildings, machinery, equipment, and associated inventory minus any debt where the business was used as collateral. Regulations dictate that any assets owned by the small business are also excluded as from FAFSA assets, in addition to the business itself.
Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook! | <urn:uuid:0676a075-09ff-4c1e-ab4b-98837c72f037> | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | http://www.custudentloans.org/2014/01/22/fafsa-assets-what-is-the-value-of-a-family-business/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1413507441801.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20141017005721-00027-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969726 | 319 | 2.546875 | 3 |
C E F
They all are around 2.23
The answer to your question is below
4 red marbles
3 blue marbles
3 yellow marbles
a) Total number of marbles = 4 + 3 + 3 = 10 marbles
b) Number of red marbles = 4 marbles
c) Number of blue marbles = 3 marbles
d) P(blue) = number of blue marbles/ total number = 3/10
e) P(red) = number of red marbles/total number = 4/10 = 2/5
424 thats what I got on my calculater
The missing length .
The image of the answer is attached below.
In figure ABCD, AB = 4, BC = 10
In figure PQRS, PQ = x, RS = 6
Given figures are similar.
If two figures are similar, then the sides are proportionate to each other.
Do cross multiply.
To reduce the length, divide both numerator and denominator by 2.
Hence, the missing length . | <urn:uuid:98ec2e88-04f8-4e8e-a1b7-5185de0a436b> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://answer.ya.guru/questions/695-if-the-arc-length-shown-in-blue-is-155-inches-then-theta-to-the.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764499911.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20230201045500-20230201075500-00285.warc.gz | en | 0.832105 | 245 | 3.421875 | 3 |
Tips For Collecting And Planting Acorns
Yes, you can grow mighty oaks by planting acorns. The oaks may not necessarily become mighty in your lifetime, but if you plant the acorns when you're young enough they can still reach a decent size. If you live in an area of the country where oak trees grow, which is in most places, you've no doubt picked up an acorn or two on the ground. Many, if not most of them have lost their cap, and finding an intact acorn is always something of a prize. Sometimes an even greater prize can be finding an intact acorn that doesn't have a hole in it. The hole means a grub has beaten you to the punch. Many collect the intact acorns for ornamental or decorative purposes. But you're collecting them with oak trees in mind.
Planting acorns can involve several steps. You can't just take them home and stick them in the ground. You can, but the results at best will be mixed. If it's just a single tree you want you can bury a whole bunch of seeds and at least one will possibly reward you with a sprout, but maybe not. It's a little more fun though, as well as educational, to follow a few simple steps which will give you a fairly high chance of success.
Start Looking - Let's begin with collecting the acorns. The best time to find quality acorns is at the time they begin falling from the tree. This usually happens during the month of October, sometimes a week earlier, sometimes a week later. The exact time for best collecting can vary depending upon the particular species of oak tree, where you live, and the climate. The local climate can cause a change in the date from year to year for a given tree, but usually not more than a few days at most. If you don't know when you should start looking, just ask the locals, and you should get a pretty good idea of when it is time to start collecting. The most difficult trees to collect acorns from are those growing in the woods, where the ground is covered by fallen leaves or mulch, and the acorns still on the tree are out of reach. The best bet is either a tree with low hanging branches, or one that adjoins a paved street, sidewalk or parking lot, where the fallen acorns are easy pickings.
Know What You've Collected - If you know the species of oak tree you've been gathering from, fine. If not, note which tree it was and then ask around until you find someone who knows, or go to the library and get a book that gives you that information. When planting acorns it's important to know the species of oak tree you're getting. Even if you don't care about the species, the acorns do. Different species should be planted at different times, and if you get it wrong you may not get your oak trees. So, note the tree or trees you've gathered from and find out the species of oak they are. Once you've gathered some acorns you want to select those that are ripe. If the caps come off easily, that's a sure sign. If they've fallen from the tree they are most likely ripe. If you've picked them from the tree, and they haven't started falling yet, they may not be ripe, and acorns that are not ripe won't do you much good.
Keep Your Trophies Cool - Another thing to be aware of is it is best to pick fallen acorns that have fallen in a shady spot. If they fall on asphalt on a hot day, the nut inside can quickly dry out. If that happens, it won't germinate. So, when you're busy collecting, don't set the acorns aside in the hot sun. Keep them in the shade, or in your pocket. Cool is best. When you take them home, put them in the refrigerator, but not in the freezing compartment, until you're ready for the next step.
If the species you've collected are white oak acorns, they are ready for planting as they don't go through a dormancy period and will sprout soon after planting. However you'll have to wait until spring before planting acorns from a red oak tree as they require a period of dormancy. That's why it’s important to know the species.
Keepers Can't Swim - Before storing your acorns, you might as well eliminate any that have no chance of sprouting. Larger acorns usually have a higher percentage of germination, but another test is to put all of your acorns in a pail of water. Let them sit for a day, and keep those that have sunk to the bottom, discarding the floaters. If you have red oak acorns, put the selected acorns in a polyester bag and store in the refrigerator, or anywhere the temperature will remain about 40 degrees F, until spring. The white oak acorns you can plant right away.
Planting Instructions -You might choose to plant the seeds out of doors, in the yard or in a field, but unless placed in a protective device such as a wire cage or a can (with drain holes) they can very easily fall victim to any number of critters - gophers for example. It might be easier, and more fun, to start them in pots, and transplant them later. Successfully planting acorns involves removing the cap from the acorn and removing the seed or nut. Prepare some good planting soil, making certain you have good drainage if not in a pot or container, an place the nuts, either on there sides or tips down, in the dirt, covering with soil to a depth equal to about the width of the nut. Keep the soil moist but not soaked, don't allow the pot to freeze, and you're off to a good start. Plant several nuts in a pot, as all of them are unlikely to germinate and you can thin out to the best looking one or two sprouts later.
Transplant Quickly - Unlike many plants, your young oak tree will be ready to plant as soon as the first leaves have opened. That may seem to be a little too soon, but the oak develops a root system rapidly, including a long tap root. The earlier you can get the seedling and its root system into its permanent location the better. While you may have become quite fond of your little sprout or sprouts, the permanent home should not be to close to yours. Remember, mighty oaks can become quite large. | <urn:uuid:5d029488-73bb-44eb-b5c6-8313cbee666f> | CC-MAIN-2015-40 | http://www.gardeningcentral.org/planting_acorns/planting_acorns.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-40/segments/1443736673439.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20151001215753-00243-ip-10-137-6-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963968 | 1,352 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Written By: Javier P.
There are many ways that human traffickers operate and find their victims, but there is one thing all traffickers have in common – they target the most vulnerable. Many factors make people vulnerable to traffickers around the world. The 2020 TIP highlights the three most prevalent pre-existing factors that make someone vulnerable to trafficking. Of detected trafficking victims, 51% face economic need, 20% have a dysfunctional family dynamic that makes them vulnerable, and 10% have their immigration status exploited (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2020, p.9).
The most common factor that traffickers exploit is economic need. Those in economic need are individuals who continually lack basic needs such as food, shelter, or healthcare (UNODC, 2020, p.70 ). Traffickers will either seek out those with economic needs or attract them with advertisements for work. Traffickers use the allure of a high-paying job to exploit their victims’ desperation. Traffickers will deceive those who approach their jobs regarding wages, benefits, working hours, working conditions, or job duties – that is, if there is a job. Traffickers will either threaten their victims with violence or withhold payment if they attempt to leave or speak out against any injustice.
Global conflict and the after-effects of pandemic shutdowns have increased the number of people facing economic hardships. That means more people are currently vulnerable to traffickers.
Dysfunctional Family Dynamics
Traffickers also tend to exploit victims with a dysfunctional family dynamic history. Conflict, misbehavior, or abuse are the defining factors of dysfunctional family dynamics. These dynamics can be tough on children, who have a wide range of emotional needs that can only be met in healthy environments. Traffickers can draw victims of any age by preying on their emotional vulnerability and providing victims with a false sense of value and acceptance.
Victims can form emotional attachments to their traffickers amid the injustice they endure. Traffickers can also take advantage of their victim’s emotional vulnerability by using shame or fear to keep them in bondage. The dysfunctional family factor makes victims more vulnerable to sex trafficking than any other single factor (UNODC, 2020, p.72). It affects females more than males, although males still experience this factor (UNODC 2020, p.9).
With so many people migrating from one country to another, it is also common for traffickers to use immigration status as a control tactic. Traffickers can use the immigration status of immigrants and migrants to coerce them. Traffickers often force their victims to work in unfair or unsafe work environments, along with little pay. Victims with an irregular migration status may be afraid of being reported, and traffickers will use that to keep them from seeking escape or justice (UNODC, 2020, p.111). Another form of this is when labor traffickers aid in the irregular migration of victims. Traffickers will charge some sort of migration fee, to which many migrants fall into debt bondage to their traffickers.
Globally, migrants make up a significant portion of detected victims in most regions. (UNODC, 2020, p.10)
- 65 percent in Western and Southern Europe
- 60 percent in the Middle East
- 55 percent in East Asia and the Pacific
- 50 percent in Central and South-Eastern Europe
- 25 percent in North America
Irregular immigrants are not the only ones targeted. Traffickers can exploit migrants with legal rights to work if migrants do not understand their labor rights in their working country.
Although traffickers target the most vulnerable, nobody chooses to be vulnerable. Most of the factors that make people vulnerable to trafficking are things out of their control. Click here to learn more about the factors that put children at risk.
United Nations. (2020). Global report on trafficking in persons 2020. https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/tip/2021/GLOTiP_2020_15jan_web.pdf | <urn:uuid:0e2afed6-2875-4975-9c7a-a9239d336ee1> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://sosresponds.org/blog/who-traffickers-target/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100381.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20231202073445-20231202103445-00557.warc.gz | en | 0.935304 | 808 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Chemoprophylaxis with tafenoquine is safe and effective for preventing malaria in healthy non-immune individuals challenged with blood stage P falciparum.
Placental malaria has a profound effect on the fetal immune system, and prenatal malaria exposure categories may drive heterogeneity to malaria susceptibility.
Iron deficiency may protect African children against malaria infection when defined using ferritin and transferrin saturation.
A natural variability of genotype-determined, CYP2D6-dependent metabolism of primaquine phosphate is associated with an increased risk of failure in the treatment of P vivax malaria.
Chloroquine with either 7- or 14-day primaquine regimens provided highly effective radical cure of vivax malaria on the Thailand-Myanmar border.
Long-lasting insecticidal nets treated with permethrin plus pyriproxyfen are more effective in preventing clinical malaria compared with standard insecticidal nets.
A malaria transmission-blocking vaccine, Pfs25H-EPA in Alhydrogel®, was well tolerated and safe and induced significant blockage of parasite transmission, but this activity was only seen at peak titers after 4 vaccine doses.
In clinical trials, tafenoquine, an 8-aminoquinoline, demonstrated efficacy against 2 primary types of malaria, Plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum malaria.
The FDA approved Krintafel for the radical cure of Plasmodium vivax malaria in patients ≥16 years old who are receiving appropriate antimalarial therapy for acute P vivax infection.
Early findings show that the P27A candidate vaccine for malaria prevention appeared to be safe and induced a strong immunogenic response with parasite growth inhibitory capacity.
The benefits of using slowly eliminated chloroquine vs rapidly eliminated arsenuate anti-malarials were assessed in a 3-way randomized comparison trial.
As a direct consequence of this trial, WHO revised its policy on long-lasting insecticidal nets in September, 2017, gave interim endorsement to pyrethroid-piperonyl butoxide nets as a new WHO class of vector control product.
In some locations, malaria incidence remained high despite high use of nets, emphasizing the need for new tools and approaches for malaria prevention if targets for the reduction of the global malaria burden are to be achieved.
Women in the United States with uncomplicated malaria during the first trimester of pregnancy should be treated with the currently recommended options of either mefloquine or quinine plus clindamycin. However, when neither of these options is available, artemether-lumefantrine should be considered for treatment.
First trimester treatment for malaria could change with the results of 1 of the most robust meta-analyses to date that compared artemisinin-based therapy vs quinine.
As long-term neurocognitive deficits can occur as a result of severe malaria, researchers assessed the potential neuroprotective effect of inhaled nitric oxide on children with the infection.
Without proactive measures and response, the changing climate is projected to continue to adversely affect the global incidence and distribution of infectious diseases and cause 250,000 additional deaths per year between 2030 and 2050.
The FDA granted orphan drug designation to an investigational treatment for malaria.
Mass drug administration has been proposed as a method to eradicate Plasmodium falciparum malaria.
Placental malaria during pregnancy may raise the risk of malaria infection in childhood by promoting maternal microchimerism, in which the fetus acquires noninherited maternal cells during pregnancy. Maternal microchimerism may be the mechanism by which the fetus develops tolerance to malaria antigens, leading to an impaired malaria-specific immune response.
3 IV doses of PfSPZ vaccine conferred protection after immunization against different Pf strains of malaria than the one the vaccine came from.
Investigational vaccine is designed to trigger an immune response to mosquito saliva rather than to a specific virus or parasite carried by mosquitoes.
In an animal model study, researchers tested an antibody therapy that may treat cerebral malaria.
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- Bexsero Vaccine Has Potential for Cross-Protection Against Gonorrhea | <urn:uuid:ebd37630-00de-4edc-8961-7a5a08e56be9> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | https://www.infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com/malaria/topic/47091/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547584547882.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20190124121622-20190124143622-00016.warc.gz | en | 0.867443 | 1,134 | 2.59375 | 3 |
People use their local ecosystem and there are often signals about how this use affects ecosystem health. Capturing, interpreting, and responding to signals that indicate changes in ecosystems is key for their sustainable management. These signal-response chains are called “feedbacks”. Breaks in signal-response chains, “missing feedbacks”, will allow ecosystem health to degrade until a point when abrupt ecological surprises may occur.
In our study, we demonstrate how we can uncover missing feedbacks using the red loop-green loop (RL-GL) concept and how we may restore the feedbacks. The RL-GL concept classifies how people depend on their local ecosystems along a spectrum of two fundamentally different dynamics. One end of the spectrum is with weak local ecosystem ties and strong ties with external systems (red loop), the other with strong local ecosystem ties and weak ties with external systems (green loop). Both dynamics are theoretically sustainable – but when either end of the RL-GL spectrum follows unsustainable dynamics, for instance through over-consumption of resources, they are classified as red or green traps.
We classified the dynamics between Jamaican people and their coral reefs for eight different periods through Jamaican history from first human settlement (roughly the year 600) until now. The dynamics between Jamaican people and reefs have moved between all four RL-GL states: green loop, green trap, red loop, and red trap. Through this, we were able to pinpoint where feedbacks between Jamaican people and reefs were missing and which aspects were responsible for this.
One of the main aspects that masked the connection between Jamaican people and reefs appeared to be seafood exports. We therefore proposed that the Jamaican system could attempt to gradually move away from seafood exports and get Jamaica back to more sustainable green-loop dynamics between the people and reefs.
Our study is the first to apply the RL-GL concept to a coral reef system and we advocate for its practicality in uncovering missing feedbacks and in gaining an understanding of past, present, and future sustainability that can be of use in other systems. | <urn:uuid:7b069881-30ae-4474-bf47-643f8c5a6a51> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://relationalthinkingblog.com/2020/05/20/plain-language-summary-uncovering-disconnects-between-people-and-coral-reefs-in-jamaica/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522309.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518183254-20220518213254-00111.warc.gz | en | 0.949035 | 423 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Question: please select true or false or uncertain 1if the cross...
Please select true or false or uncertain
1.If the cross elasticity of demand is negative, then the demand curve is not a good measure of willingness to pay.
2. The income elasticity of demand can never exceed, in absolute terms, two times the price elasticity of demand, if the good in question is a superior good.
3. Since marginal costs cannot be negative, the firm will never operate at the point on the demand curve where the price demand elasticity is equal to -1.
4. The mark-up equation is only an approximation to the optimal pricing strategy. In order to know more precisely what the optimal price is, we need to know the complete cost structure of the firm.
5. Under perfect competition market segmentation is not the best strategy to follow. In that case it is best to charge a unique price to every customer.
6. If the marginal cost is zero, then the principle "marginal cost equals marginal benefit" is not operational. In that case firms will be unable to find the profit maximizing price using economic principles. They will have to rely on accounting principles. | <urn:uuid:1bf62933-03de-428f-a011-55add74d2b97> | CC-MAIN-2021-21 | https://homework.zookal.com/questions-and-answers/please-select-true-or-false-or-uncertain-1if-the-cross-610260372 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-21/segments/1620243988724.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20210505234449-20210506024449-00326.warc.gz | en | 0.885143 | 244 | 2.765625 | 3 |
HAPPISBURGH, England — A 12-bedroom guest house with beautiful views of the North Sea, a lighthouse and sandy beaches would normally be considered prime property in Britain, a nation where real estate prices are booming.
But Cliff House is nearly worthless.
The offshore wooden barrier that once protected the sand and clay cliffs where the house sits in this quaint village has broken apart, and the government has decided not to replace it.
"The next big storm could take us away," said Diana Wrightson, one of two elderly women who bought Cliff House 26 years ago, assuming the coastline would always be protected.
Across Britain, the expected rise in sea levels and storm surges that experts attribute to global warming means that some vulnerable coastal areas just are not worth defending any more.
Experts say receding coastlines are a crisis felt around the world. Some examples:
- Indonesia's environment minister has predicted that some 2,000 of Indonesia's estimated 18,000 islands would be swallowed by the sea in three decades because of climate change.
- Bangladesh, a low-lying country with 145 million people that often is battered by floods, tornadoes and cyclones, could see 5 million of its residents displaced if predictions for rising sea levels are correct, according to its environment secretary.
- Low-lying South Pacific countries are asking their islanders to prepare for a complete exodus as rising seas threaten to swamp their homes.
The phenomenon of environmental refugees is something most often associated with the developing world. But Britain is part of a growing club of rich countries whose coastal populations are also under threat.
U.S. coasts not immune
As temperatures rise and ice sheets in the Arctic and Antarctic melt, California and its world-famous seaside resorts are bracing for submerged coastal homes and eroded beaches. A combination of rising sea levels and stronger storms also could inundate many low-lying neighborhoods of New York, a city where four of the five boroughs are on islands.
Tragedies such as Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005, persuaded some scientists that stronger storms are now inevitable, and for that reason it may no longer be possible, or economically sensible, to defend or rebuild such vulnerable areas.
Over the past century, Louisiana has lost more than 2,000 square miles of coast. Meanwhile, levees are sinking, barrier islands are eroding and scientists worry that sea level rise will swamp many low-lying areas.
Wealthy nations such as Britain, the Netherlands, Italy and the United States are now recalculating their defense plans because of global warming.
Last week, scientists from 113 countries issued a landmark report in Paris saying they have little doubt global warming is caused by man, and predicting that hotter temperatures and rises in sea level will "continue for centuries" no matter how much humans control their pollution.
They forecast temperature rises of (2 to 11.5 degrees Fahrenheit) and sea level rises of 7-23 inches by the end of the century. An additional 3.9-7.8 inches are possible if recent, surprising melting of polar ice sheets continues. The report also said the increase in hurricane and tropical cyclone strength since 1970 "more likely than not" can be attributed to man-made global warming.
The report did not identify areas of the world that will now be more vulnerable to flooding because issues such as topography, wind flows and storm surges influence the way each region would be affected by global sea level changes.
Sea rise and inland reach
But one rule of thumb, disputed among specialists, holds that each millimeter rise in sea level can reach inward and inundate 1.5 meters — 5 feet — of shallow ocean beach. The oceans have already expanded, rising an average 1 to 2 millimeters a year — up to one inch (2.54 centimeters) every 12 years — during the 20th century. Satellite measurements show a recent acceleration to 3 millimeters a year. The rise results both from the thermal expansion of ocean water as it warms, and from the runoff of melting ice sheets and glaciers.
Late last year, Britain issued "The Stern Review," a sweeping report about climate change that said if no action is taken, rising sea levels, heavier floods and more intense droughts could leave 200 million people displaced by the middle of the century.
"Whatever the climate change predictions of the future, the number of residential areas that already are suffering from the impact of more erosion, higher sea levels, storm surges and increased risk of flooding are being broken every year," said Paul Van Hofwegen of the World Water Council, a think tank based in Marseille, France.
In England, coastline recession already is increasing because of more frequent storms and increasing sea levels, its environment agency said. It has no overall figures for land loss, but it is conducting a national erosion risk mapping project, which will project the likely erosion over the next 100 years.
English town erodes
Like the peninsula of Cape Cod, Mass., the eastern English county of Norwich — where Happisburgh is located — has suffered coastal erosion for years.
Since 1990, when Happisburgh's offshore wooden barrier began to break apart, exposing its soft cliffs to the pounding surf of the North Sea, about 25 bungalows have been lost to erosion in the picturesque village of Edwardian homes that is home to 850 people.
A garage, several bungalows and a small road that once separated Cliff House from the North Sea are gone. The guest house now sits about 15 feet from the edge of the crumbling cliff and no longer accepts visitors.
Wrightson and her partner are moving their possessions to a home they have rented further inland, knowing they won't be able to stay much longer. When Cliff House goes, they will not receive compensation from the government or their insurance company, one of many that does not cover claims involving coastal erosion.
Late last year, a new law went into effect in England and Wales under which the government decides whether it makes sense, economically and environmentally, to rebuild such barriers in threatened coastal areas. For Happisburgh, the answer was no.
As predictions about global warming worsen, countries such as Britain and the Netherlands are preparing for the worst by taking steps such as improving a barrier that prevents the River Thames from flooding landmarks such as Big Ben and Parliament, building amphibious homes in low-lying areas, reworking shoreline management plans, and updating flood evacuation plans.
In Italy, a $5.5 billion plan to build moveable flood barriers in an effort to save Venice from higher tides has been approved by state and local officials.
Venice is threatened by water on several fronts. The city is sinking while the level of the Adriatic sea is rising and higher tides are becoming more frequent, flooding into St. Mark's Square and prompting officials to set up raised plank walkways.
The decades-old debate on how to save Venice from water resulted in the approval in 2003 of the proposal to build flood barriers to ease the effect of higher tides. Dubbed "Moses," after the Biblical figure who parted the Red Sea, the project calls for hinged barriers to be built in the seabed just off Venice. The barriers could be raised when high tides threaten the city.
In the Netherlands, the construction company Dura Vermeer has built 32 amphibious houses, which sit on dry land but rise on flood waters and 14 "floating homes," which are full-sized houses built on the river — like large, stationary houseboats. The project at Maasbommel was completed last year and all homes have been sold.
The Dutch history of adapting to their soggy surroundings goes back at least 700 years with its massive network of dikes to hold back the North Sea and windmills to pump out water to reclaim swampy land.
After a devastating 1953 flood that killed 1,835 people, Holland launched the Delta Project, which took 50 years to complete. One of the world's largest engineering projects, it is comprised of storm surge barriers, giant sluices and dams. Its centerpiece is a chain of 40-feet-tall steel walls suspended by piers in the open sea that can be lowered into place to create a bulwark against storms.
But in recent years, the theory of disaster control has shifted from blocking flood waters to managing them. It involves selectively breaching the dikes at key pressure points to ease the destructive force and allow the water to flood unpopulated areas.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:c459883c-eb2c-459b-ac6c-5061619a8eab> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.nbcnews.com/id/17042910/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281574.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00389-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954203 | 1,755 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Donald Trump is not alone in choosing collaborators seemingly at odds with the jobs they are given in government.
While the US has climate change denier Scott Pruitt leading the government’s environmental protection, in Brazil, the new head of the ministry in charge of demarcating indigenous lands believes that it is not up to the federal government to do that.
Lawmaker Osmar Serraglio, who took over as justice minister on 7 March, has sent shockwaves through Brazil’s indigenous and environment movements by calling on Indians to stop demanding land rights and announcing a freeze on the process of the recognition of claims.
“We’re going to provide them with decent living standards. We’re going to stop discussing land. Does land keep anyone’s belly full?” the minister said in an interview with Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo published three days after he took office.
Article 231 of the 1988 Constitution establishes that indigenous peoples have “original rights over the lands that they have traditionally occupied” and it is the government’s duty to mark out and protect these claims. In January, the responsibility for this process was shifted from the national Indian foundation, Funai, to the justice ministry.
“Our assessment is this minister was picked with the sole purpose of withholding land demarcation,” said Sônia Guajajara, the national coordinator of Brazil’s Association of Indigenous Peoples (APIB), in a phone interview with Climate Home. “In reality, he is working so the land will be given to [the farmers]. We are in a war moment.”
The government officially recognises indigenous rights to 13.8% of Brazil’s territory, or 1,173,106 square kilometres (almost five times the area of the United Kingdom). Most of this is in the Amazon. As well as providing security and tenure, granting indigenous land tenure has been shown to drastically reduce deforestation rates.
There are many more outstanding claims. About one third of identified indigenous lands are still in process, according to Márcio Santilli, a former president of Funai.
In regions such as Mato Grosso do Sul, midwest Brazil, many such claims are disputed by cattle ranchers and soybean farmers who occupy the land.
In his fifth parliamentary term, Seraglio is a prominent member of the “beef caucus”, a group of legislators who represent agricultural interests. Disputes over land between farmers and indigenous peoples in Brazil are as old as the first European settlements.
A member of the ruling Democratic Movement party, 30% of Serraglio’s 2014 election campaign contributions came from agribusinesses. He is one the main advocates of PEC 215, a proposed constitutional amendment that would shift the power to demarcate indigenous land from the executive to the historically conservative-controlled Congress.
In the past few years, opposition to PEC 215 has galvanised the indigenous movement. The current demarcation process is fragile and slow, they argue, but there are more chances to be heard in the executive than in Congress. The beef caucus has 207 out of 513 lawmakers in the lower chamber (Congress), according to Agência Pública. Indians, who represent only 0.4% of Brazil’s population, do not have any representatives.
Along with the “Bible caucus” (evangelical Christians), the beef caucus is crucial to the political survival of President Michel Temer, who took over last May pending the controversial impeachment of Dilma Rousseff. He faces multiple corruption allegations and has very low approval rating (only 10% of Brazilians support his government, according to a recent poll).
“The ruralist caucus is exceptionally articulate and organized and will continue to be very powerful as long as Brazil relies on commodity production to grow and/or to balance its external accounts. There is nothing wrong about that, as it is healthy for ruralists to be represented in the public dialogue,” sociologist and political commentator Celso Rocha de Barros told Climate Home in an e-mail.
“In the current situation, the risk is that the balance of power has shifted very sharply to the right. The Temer government is full-blooded conservative. We run the risk of watching the ruralist agenda, which deserves to be debated, implemented without being confronted, as the left is now too weak: it lost the Executive, it’s isolated in the Legislative and has not yet found a new voice in public debate,” said Barros.
Disputes over indigenous territory are just part of the farming lobby’s campaign against land use restrictions. On 21 December, Temer ratified a provisional amnesty on dozens of farmers illegally occupying 305,000 hectares in the National Forest of Jamanxim, in the Amazon state of Pará.
Lawmakers from the beef caucus are also under negotiation with the federal government to reduce protection across 10,763 sq km (half the size of Wales) of land in the state of Amazonas.
In both cases, the protected areas are next to federal roads, which facilitate illegal logging and the replacement of the forest by pasture.
Deforestation in the Amazon rose 29% from August 2015 to July 2016, according to government-run Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) despite the country’s biggest recession in history. That equates to a loss of 7,989 sq km of forest.
For Santilli, now an adviser for environmental NGO Instituto Socioambiental, Brazil is moving away from its climate pledge to reduce emissions 37% by 2025 compared with 2005 figures. About two thirds of the country’s carbon emissions come from deforestation.
“When our goal was established, it was very modest, especially for 2025, as it is very close to emission levels Brazil had already reached in 2012. Since then, however, we are moving away from our goal due to the increase of deforestation,” said Santilli in a phone interview.
“What is at stake in Brazil is the dispute over what’s left of the territory. The problem is not the Indians or biodiversity… It’s a struggle for the land, and the negative signs can be seen in all the policies related to that.” | <urn:uuid:b3bf9a3d-a295-4398-8b22-13420d72e897> | CC-MAIN-2018-26 | http://www.climatechangenews.com/2017/03/14/beef-caucus-takes-indigenous-policies-brazil/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-26/segments/1529267866965.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20180624141349-20180624161349-00610.warc.gz | en | 0.960496 | 1,310 | 2.609375 | 3 |
This exciting course introduces the various combinations, properties and applications of Pâtisserie as students progressively learn to prepare a wide selection of cakes, desserts and pastries.
- French pastry terms and definitions
- Basic dough
- Introduction to creams and fillings
- Traditional desserts and cakes, classical techniques and basic decoration
- Masking and glaçage
Students are assisted by the Chefs to develop artistic skills necessary to prepare and decorate a variety of French desserts and pastries. This course allows students to prepare variations on a range of classical and contemporary French desserts.
- Classic and contemporary French desserts
- Traditional desserts, cakes and yeast goods
- Hot and cold restaurant desserts
- Chocolate – basic techniques
Superior Pâtisserie is separated into specialized areas: Restaurant Desserts, Chocolate Work and Decorative Sugarwork. It combines the knowledge, techniques and artistic skills of the Basic and Intermediate levels and encourages students to personalize their work and to be more artistic.
- Gateaux, tarts and contemporary cakes
- Petits fours and cakes
- Chocolate – advance techniques
- Sugarwork – cooking, colouring, pulling and blowing
- Decoration and presentation | <urn:uuid:637be0f2-7554-4925-aaa1-d804b51f41ea> | CC-MAIN-2018-17 | https://www.cordonbleu.edu/thailand/diplome-de-patisserie/en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125944677.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20180420174802-20180420194802-00227.warc.gz | en | 0.858113 | 247 | 3.328125 | 3 |
New kinds of dogs, goats, monkeys and pigs are being made quickly, though scientists voice worries about ethics.
An article by Scientific American.
China’s western Shaanxi Province is known for rugged windswept terrain and its coal and wool, but not necessarily its science. Yet at the Shaanxi Provincial Engineering and Technology Research Center for Shaanbei Cashmere Goats, scientists have just created a new kind of goat, with bigger muscles and longer hair than normal. The goats were made not by breeding but by directly manipulating animal DNA—a sign of how rapidly China has embraced a global gene-changing revolution.
Geneticist Lei Qu wants to increase goatherd incomes by boosting how much meat and wool each animal produces. For years research projects at his lab in Yulin, a former garrison town along the Great Wall, stumbled along, Qu’s colleagues say. “The results were not so obvious, although we had worked so many years,” his research assistant, Haijing Zhu, wrote in an e-mail.
That changed when the researchers adopted the new gene-customizing technology called CRISPR–Cas9, a technique developed in the U.S. about three years ago. CRISPR uses enzymes to precisely locate and snip out segments of DNA, much like a word-processor finding and deleting a given phrase—a process known as “gene-editing.” Although it is not the first tool scientists have used to tweak DNA, it is by far more precise and cheaper than past technologies. The apparent ease of this powerful method now raises both tantalizing possibilities and pressing ethical questions.
Once the goat team began to deploy CRISPR, their progress was rapid. In September Qu and 25 other collaborating scientists in China published the details of their research in Nature’s Scientific Reports. In early-stage goat embryos they had successfully deleted two genes that suppressed both hair and muscle growth. The result was 10 goat kids exhibiting both larger muscles and longer fur—designer livestock—that, so far, show no other abnormalities. “We believed gene-modified livestock will be commercialized after we demonstrate [that it] is safe,” predicts Qu, who envisions this work as a simple way to boost the sale of goat meat and cashmere sweaters from Shaanxi. [Scientific American is part of Nature Publishing Group.]
The research is just one of a recent flurry of papers by Chinese scientists that describe CRISPR-modified goats, sheep, pigs, monkeys and dogs, among other mammals. In October, for instance, researchers from the country discussed their work to create unusually muscled beagles in the Journal of Molecular Cell Biology. Such research has been supported via grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Science and Technology as well as provincial governments.
Dozens, if not hundreds, of Chinese institutions in both research hubs like Beijing and far-flung provincial outposts have enthusiastically deployed CRISPR. “It’s a priority area for the Chinese Academy of Sciences,” says Minhua Hu, a geneticist at the Guangzhou General Pharmaceutical Research Institute and one of the beagle researchers. A colleague, Liangxue Lai of the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, adds that “China’s government has allocated a lot of financial support in genetically modified animals in both [the] agriculture field [and the] biomedicine field.”
This is raising a number of ethical worries about making new life forms. Unlike past gene therapies, changes made using CRISPR to zygotes or embryos can become “permanent”—that is, they are made to the DNA that will be passed onto future generations. For each zygote or embryo that scientists successfully transform, typically dozens, if not hundreds, of others do not work. But the technology is rapidly improving. “What is different about CRISPR is that the technology is vastly more efficient and so the possibility of it being practiced widely is that much more real,” says George Daley, a stem-cell biologist at Harvard Medical School. Past efforts to manipulate the genetic code of life have been slower, more cumbersome and more unpredictable. “The ethical concerns are now upon us because the technology is real,” he adds.
This applies to CRISPR experiments to “edit” the DNA of all plants and animals—as well as in the future, perhaps, humans, if scientists like Qu further hone the technique. “As with any intervention, there’s always a trade-off in issues between human welfare and animal welfare and gauging the environmental impacts,” says Daley, referring the quest for “improved” livestock, a current focus of China’s gene-editing research. And on the even more complicated topic of potential CRISPR experiments involving human DNA, he wonders, “Can we draw a clear line between what might be allowable for medical research or applications and what we must strictly prohibit?” Finding an answer that the whole world can agree on is geneticists’ and ethicists’ next big task.
China is not the birthplace of CRISPR (currently there’s an ongoing patent battle between scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley, for that claim). China, however, has been an extremely rapid adopter, aided by a fast-growing research budget and the sheer scale of China’s science establishment, which is largely state-affiliated. Between 2008 and 2012 China’s research and development spending fully doubled, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2014. (Now second in the world, China’s research budget may surpass the U.S. by 2019, the report projects.) Yet despite its strengths, “China is a relative newcomer to international scientific community and doesn’t have the same institutional-review traditions in place,” says Daley, adding that scientists in the U.S. and Europe are now keenly watching how Chinese scientists will deploy such powerful tools.
The level and sophistication of work in China using CRISPR is already “about the same” as in Europe and the U.S., where the technology was codeveloped, says George Church, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School. An analysis by Thomson Innovation, a division of London-based Thomson Reuters, found that more than 50 Chinese research institutions have filed gene-editing patents.
Some experiments in China, as in the U.S. and U.K., are aimed at potential biomedical applications. For instance, scientists at Yunnan Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research have used CRISPR to augment the neurological development of monkeys in an effort to test the feasibility of creating primate disease models for better understanding human conditions like autism, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. Many experiments, like the one on cashmere goats and a similar experiment that deleted the gene-inhibiting muscle growth in sheep, are aimed at transforming animal husbandry—more muscled livestock could help satiate China’s fast-growing middle-class appetite for meat.
But what first brought widespread global attention, or infamy, to China’s ambitions was a recent published experiment on human embryos, the first in the world. In April China became a lightning rod for criticism and anxiety when a team of Chinese scientists published a paper online in the journal Protein & Cell detailing attempts to use CRISPR to modify nonviable human embryos, obtained with consent from a fertility clinic. Their aim had been to delete a gene linked to a blood disorder called beta-thalassemia without creating other mutations, but the experiment failed on 85 attempted embryos.
The research was legal within China, which bans experiments on human embryos more than 14 days old, and was supported in part by government grants. (Such research is not banned in most U.S. states but is probably ineligible for federal funding.)
Many international observers reacted with sharp rebuke, attributing nefarious intentions to the Chinese scientists. “No researcher has the moral warrant to flout the globally widespread policy agreement against altering the human germ line,” Marcy Darnovsky, executive director of the California-based Center for Genetics and Society, a nonprofit advocacy group, wrote in a statement reacting to the report. Respected news organizations ran ominous headlines: “Chinese Scientists Edit Genes of Human Embryos, Raising Concerns” appeared in The New York Times and “Editing Humanity” in The Economist.
Because China is new to global scientific stage, its institutional standards for approving research projects are not fully transparent to the world, Daley says. Moreover, the researchers involved were not the heads of well-known global institutions, like the Broad Institute of M.I.T. and Harvard University or the Francis Crick Institute in London, whom global research community knows well and understands their motivations. Daley adds that now China’s scientific establishment is “responsibly stepping up to discussion.”
The controversy may have been a bit overblown. The Chinese scientists say they were not trying to edit human germ line or develop clinical uses. Junjiu Huang, co-author of the paper and a geneticist at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, wrote in an e-mail to Scientific American that “It is forbid[den] to do germ-line editing in clinic.” Yet he defended the potential to learn about human disease s through future CRISPR experiments. “Using CRISPR–Cas9 technology, scientists could learn more about what are the real functions of key genes in [the] human preimplantation period. … We can also figure out the mechanism of gene repairing, which could lead to a new understanding of how genetic diseases occur during early development.”
Later appraisals credit the carefulness of their method, including the choice to deliberately use nonviable embryos that could never become babies, Harvard’s Church says. But the flap itself pointed to both the seriousness of the stakes and concern over whether Chinese scientists will accept same ethical principles as Westerners.
In early December scientists from the U.S., U.K. and China will meet at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., in an effort to codify international consensus on editing DNA, focusing on the human germ line. Church, who has participated in preliminary meetings with Chinese and U.S. counterparts, says that the important takeaway from these debates may not be that China is an ethical outlier but rather that public discussion and clarification of guidelines, especially regarding the human germ line, is dearly needed. “I think China is behaving just as responsibly as others. I would not characterize China as being problematic in any way. Chinese scientists worked well within the legal system of most countries but I think there might have been some misunderstandings about consensus at that time,” he says. “I think it’s important to talk about it. I think many people want every opportunity to discuss this issue—sometimes you need an event to make it newsworthy.” Although scientists today offer a range of views on what is acceptable, the essential divide may not be between East and West. In September a researcher at the London-based Francis Crick Institute, Kathy Niakan, filed an application with U.K. regulators “to use new [CRISPR] ‘genome editing’ techniques on human embryos,” according to an institution statement. “The work carried out at the Crick will be for research purposes and will not have a clinical application. However, the knowledge acquired from the research will be very important for understanding how a healthy human embryo develops.”
Meanwhile Chinese scientists point out that the country is having its own internal debates about the ethics of editing DNA.
Whatever the discussions in Washington yield, Yaofeng Zhao at the State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, a geneticist working on sheep, says that China is also grappling with its own internal ethical and safety debates about moving CRISPR experiments, for agriculture and biomedicine, beyond the lab. “I think there are different viewpoints on gene modification. Even in China there are different viewpoints on this issue. Some people in the general public, they are scared. But for most academics, I think most scientists support this kind of research—we need to do something for the future,” he says. In contrast to Qu, the cashmere-goat specialist, Zhao doesn’t think designer meat will be soon be on dinner plates. “If you want to use modified animals in agriculture, you must consider the public opinion—Can they accept this? Even if the technology is quite safe, it depends on many factors if you want to commercialize this kind of animal in agriculture.” There is already precedent for the Chinese government spending heavily on GMO crop research, including improved corn, wheat and rice, but delaying commercialization due to fierce public resistance.
In areas where science advances faster than regulation it may be possible for individual scientists or labs—in China or any country—to act outside of national consensus. At the Shenzhen International Biotech Leaders Summit on September 23, the private genomics firm BGI–Shenzhen, a maverick in the field, announced that it would begin selling gene-edited micro pigs as pets; the smaller pigs were originally created with the intention of biomedical research. Yong Li, technical director of BGI’s animal science platform, who turned down an interview request about the pigs for Scientific American, previously told Nature that he wanted to “evaluate the market.” (Pets are less regulated than agriculture, and do not supply national markets.) Some Chinese researchers clearly disapprove. Lai, co-author of the beagle paper, says he believes scientists should “not use CRISPR technique to create pets with special traits to satisfy some pet owner's special favor.”
Lai’s own work does not involve human embryos but he offered his opinion on the larger ongoing debate: If safety and efficacy issues can first be addressed, he is open to the future possibility of therapeutic uses, but not to eugenics. “In human beings CRISPR could be used to correct the mutation, which cause genetic human diseases, and it should not be used to generate any particular traits which some people may favor.” Other Chinese scientists working with CRISPR expressed similar views but none purported to predict the future—in China or elsewhere. Huang notes, “The gene-editing technology is very hot all over the world.”
Public debate over any powerful new technology reflects preexisting public hopes and fears, Church says. In the case of CRISPR that includes the desire to eliminate hereditary diseases as well as concerns about the commodification of parenting, the privileges of rich over poor and, newly, the rise of China.
Related links in Nature Research
Where in the world could the first CRISPR baby be born? 2015-Oct-13
Gene-edited 'micropigs' to be sold as pets at Chinese institute 2015-Sep-29
Super-muscly pigs created by small genetic tweak 2015-Jun-30
Embryo editing sparks epic debate 2015-Apr-29
Chinese scientists genetically modify human embryos 2015-Apr-22
Nature Special: CRISPR — the good, the bad and the unknown
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Larson, C. China's bold push into genetically customized animals. Nature (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature.2015.18826
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CRISPR as a driving force: the Model T of biotechnology
Monash Bioethics Review (2016) | <urn:uuid:22fe0a53-4373-4f4b-88a8-f01809fcf33b> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2015.18826?error=cookies_not_supported&code=dd652e73-8006-452a-bf3e-13c3f2b148ed | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296946584.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20230326235016-20230327025016-00366.warc.gz | en | 0.945481 | 3,340 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Marijuana’s health impacts reviewed in U.S. report
Jan 13 2017
It can almost certainly ease chronic pain and might help some people sleep, but it’s also likely to raise the risk of getting schizophrenia and might trigger heart attacks. Those are among the conclusions about marijuana reached by a U.S. federal advisory panel in a report released Thursday.
The experts also called for a national effort to learn more about marijuana and its chemical cousins, including similarly acting compounds called cannabinoids. | <urn:uuid:2e8d9970-6b9e-4b5f-a17f-a4b65777f66f> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://medicalmarijuana.ca/marijuanas-health-impacts-reviewed-in-u-s-report/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296943471.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20230320083513-20230320113513-00190.warc.gz | en | 0.976447 | 105 | 2.59375 | 3 |
The connection of two “time crystals” in a superfluid of helium-3 barely one ten thousandth of a degree above absolute zero can be a big step towards a new type of quantum computer.
Time crystals are bizarre structures of atoms, whose existence was only predicted as late as 2012, with experimental evidence a few years later. In a normal crystal, such as diamond or salt, the atoms are arranged in a regularly repeating space pattern – a lattice or similar framework. And like most materials, when the atoms are in their basic state – their lowest possible energy level – they stop wobbling.
Time crystals, on the other hand, consist of atoms that repeat themselves in time rather than in space, swing back and forth, or spin, even in their basic state. They can maintain this movement constantly, without having to add energy or lose energy in the process.
By doing so, these time crystals can defy a concept called entropy. The second law of thermodynamics describes entropy as how any system becomes more disordered over time. As an example, consider the orbits of the planets around Solar. For the sake of simplicity, we imagine that they move in clockwise order and always return to the same place at the same time in their respective paths. In reality, though, it’s messy: The seriousness of the other planets, or passing stars, can drag and pull in the planets and make subtle changes in their orbits.
Hence the orbits of the planets is chaotic in nature. A small change of one can potentially have major repercussions for all of them. The system becomes disordered over time – the entropy of the system increases.
Time crystals can cancel out the effects of entropy due to a quantum mechanical principle known as “the location of many objects.” If a force is felt by an atom in the time crystal, it only affects that atom. Therefore, the change is considered to be local rather than global (throughout the system). As a result, the system does not become chaotic and allows the repeated oscillations to continue, theoretically, forever.
“Everyone knows that eternity machines are impossible,” said Samuli Autti, a researcher and lecturer in physics at Lancaster University in the UK. statement. “But in quantum physics, perpetual motion is okay as long as we keep our eyes closed.”
Autti, who led the research, refers to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, which alludes to how, when a quantum system is observed and measured, its quantum wave function collapses. Due to their quantum mechanical nature, time crystals can work with 100% efficiency only when they are completely isolated from their environment. This requirement limits how long they can be observed until they are completely degraded as a result of wave function collapse.
But Autti’s team managed to connect two time crystals by cooling a lot helium-3, an isotope of helium. Helium-3 is special because the isotope becomes a superfluid, which not many materials can do when cooled to a fraction above absolute zero (minus 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 273 degrees Celsius). In a superfluid, there is zero viscosity, so no kinetic energy is lost through friction, which means that movements – like the atoms in a time crystal – can continue indefinitely.
Autti’s team, working at Aalto University in Finland, then manipulated the helium-3 atoms to create two time crystals that interacted with each other. In addition, they observed this time crystal pairing for a record time, about 1,000 seconds (almost 17 minutes), which corresponds to billions of periods of oscillating or spinning motions of the atoms, before the wave function of the time crystals slowed down.
“It turns out that putting two of them together works beautifully,” Autti said.
The results create a promising line of research to develop a fully functioning quantum computer. While the bits in a normal computer are binary – 1s or 0s, on or off – the processing speed of quantum computers are much faster because they use “qubits”, which can be 1 and 0, on and off at the same time. One way to build a quantum computer would be to link together countless time crystals, each designed to act as a qubit. Therefore, this first experiment to link two time crystals has created the basic building block of a quantum computer.
Previous experiments have already shown that crystals can work at room temperature for a while, rather than having to be cooled to almost absolute zero, which makes their construction even easier. The next task, said Autti’s team, is to show that logical gate operations, which are functions that allow a computer to process information, can work between two or more time crystals.
The research was published on June 2 in the journal Nature communication (opens in new tab).
#Time #crystals #work #laws #physics #offer #era #quantum #computation | <urn:uuid:42bbe150-5906-4aee-9545-db403e0bb9d4> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://bestineed.com/cbminwh0dhbzoi8vd3d3lnnwywnllmnvbs90aw1llwnyexn0ywxzlxf1yw50dw0ty29tchv0aw5n0geaoc5/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656104542759.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20220705083545-20220705113545-00621.warc.gz | en | 0.940314 | 1,021 | 3.609375 | 4 |
Nara National Museum
One of the more outstanding art museums in Japan the Nara National Museum specialises in Buddhist arts and is located in the world famous Nara Park.
The museum is made up of a few buildings with the original museum dating back 1894 and classified as an important cultural property by the Japanese Government. This ornate building is built in a French Renaissance style and houses a wide variety of Japanese sculptures dating from the 6th to 14th centuries. The original museum building is connected to the new wings of the museum via an underground passageway that also houses a gift shop and restaurant.
The new wings are known as the West and East Wings and were built in 1972 and 1998 in a modern but also very Japanese style. The West Wing houses gallery space for paintings, archaeology, Calligraphy and Decorative Arts. The East Wing is mostly used as a gallery space for special exhibitions that are held throughout the year.
Behind the New Wings are the Hassoan Tea House, dating back to the Edo period the famous tea house was moved to the Museum in 1892 from its former location at Kofuku-ji Temple. A Conservation Centre and the Buddhist Art Library are also located behind the New Wings.
The Museum is open 9:30 to 17:00 everyday except Mondays (or Tue if the Monday is a Public Holiday) | <urn:uuid:93a3a32d-1176-4362-a9f5-061de20ac196> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.happyjappy.com/nara/nara-national-museum.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700871976/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104111-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975956 | 275 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Use source exchange to find the current I0 in the network shown.
Answer to relevant QuestionsUse source transformation to determine I0 in the circuit shown. Apply Thevenin’s theorem twice to find V0 in the circuit shown. Use Norton’s theorem to find V0 in the network shown. Given the network in Figure P8.1 (a) Find the equations for va(t) and vb(t) (b) Find the equations for vc(t) and vd(t)Find Vo in the network in Figure P8.10
Post your question | <urn:uuid:d2bd9c21-999c-41f3-9dce-468ceee66c12> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://www.solutioninn.com/use-source-exchange-to-find-the-current-i0-in-the-network | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218189088.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212949-00372-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.810168 | 123 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Groundwater is a vital water resource in the arid to semi-arid southwestern United States. Accurate accounting of inflows to and outflows from the groundwater system is necessary to effectively manage this shared resource, including the important outflow component of groundwater discharge by vegetation. A simple method for estimating basin-scale groundwater discharge by vegetation is presented that uses remote sensing data from satellites, geographic information systems (GIS) land cover and stream location information, and a regression equation developed within the Southern Arizona study area relating the Enhanced Vegetation Index from the MODIS sensors on the Terra satellite to measured evapotranspiration. Results computed for 16-day composited satellite passes over the study area during the 2000 through 2007 time period demonstrate a sinusoidal pattern of annual groundwater discharge by vegetation with median values ranging from around 0.3 mm per day in the cooler winter months to around 1.5 mm per day during summer. Maximum estimated annual volume of groundwater discharge by vegetation was between 1.4 and 1.9 billion m3 per year with an annual average of 1.6 billion m3. A simplified accounting of the contribution of precipitation to vegetation greenness was developed whereby monthly precipitation data were subtracted from computed vegetation discharge values, resulting in estimates of minimum groundwater discharge by vegetation. Basin-scale estimates of minimum and maximum groundwater discharge by vegetation produced by this simple method are useful bounding values for groundwater budgets and groundwater flow models, and the method may be applicable to other areas with similar vegetation types.
Additional Publication Details
A simple method for estimating basin-scale groundwater discharge by vegetation in the basin and range province of Arizona using remote sensing information and geographic information systems | <urn:uuid:3ab243ac-d8d0-4635-ba4b-93fd1fb5d4a1> | CC-MAIN-2015-18 | http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70040108 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-18/segments/1429246633512.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20150417045713-00022-ip-10-235-10-82.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904945 | 335 | 2.90625 | 3 |
The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability takes place on the interface between two horizontally stratified fluid layers which are in a state of relative shear flow with respect to each other. The problem was solved for the ideal case of inviscid and incompressible fluids in 1871 by Lord Kelvin. The first case of superfluid shear flow has been discovered in uniformly rotating superfluid He-3, when the phase boundary between the A and B phases is maintained at a stable location with a magnetic barrier field. At sufficiently high rotation the AB interface undergoes an instability, in which the interface becomes corrugated in a standing-wave pattern. The critical velocity of this process displays the temperature and magnetic field dependences which fit the characteristics of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:596ed44b-ab8a-4fb8-b33d-bd8b80151938> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/ab-interface-in-rotating-superfluid-he3-the-first-example-of-a-superfluid-shearflow-instability(72022a98-c758-429d-a6f3-cb21ee0cd73b).html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00086-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916786 | 173 | 3.453125 | 3 |
Presentation on theme: "TACKLING MODERN SLAVERY. THE ESSENTIAL FACTS Our Mission René Cassin is a human rights charitable organisation that uses historical Jewish experience."— Presentation transcript:
THE ESSENTIAL FACTS Our Mission René Cassin is a human rights charitable organisation that uses historical Jewish experience and positive Jewish values to campaign and educate on universal human rights issues such as discrimination, detention and genocide. Who was René Cassin? The organisation is named in honour of René Cassin, a French Jew and Nobel Laureate who was one of the principal co-drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. René Cassin on the International Stage Through the CCJO, René Cassin enjoys accreditation at the United Nations, and interventions made by René Cassin are presented in CCJO's name. The organisation uses this accreditation to vocalise Jewish values within the international human rights community.
Recent Activities René Cassin recently: co-founded and worked collaboratively with the Detention Forum to campaign successfully to end child detention in the UK; worked in conjunction with the UK Government to provide input from within the Jewish community on proposed human rights legislation. Our input was well received by Parliamentarians and played an important role in the campaign to retain the Human Rights Act; and produced the Detention Toolkit, which will empower aspiring activists with the tools necessary to promote fair treatment of asylum seekers in the UK.
Advocacy and Campaigns René Cassin runs a campaign to challenge aspects of the policy concerning detention of asylum seekers, including indefinite detention and detention of vulnerable subjects. We campaign to draw awareness to widespread discrimination occurring throughout Europe against the Gypsy and Traveller communities. René Cassin is involved in work to end slavery and collaborates with organisations such as ATZUM to this end. We are also producing a ‘Haggadah resource’ which will empower supporters to actively engage in and assist our campaign. We will be continuing to maintain relationships with Parliamentarians and officials in our four core policy areas so that we may offer a Jewish voice on human rights issues.
Education and Training René Cassin offers a year-long Activist Enrichment Programme (‘AEP’) to develop young professionals into committed and knowledgeable human rights campaigners. We also hold regular Human Rights Training Days, and Human Rights Shabbatot. Our Rights Respecting Schools Project - targets school students and is delivered in cooperation with the United Nations Children’s Fund (‘UNICEF’).
Why You Should Get Involved René Cassin is uniquely placed to educate and campaign on human rights issues that other larger organisations are unable to effectively address. Our organisation offers a range of educational programs, activities, events and initiatives that provide participants with an understanding of contemporary human rights issues and empower them to actively address those issues both domestically and on an international level. Through our relationship with the CCJO and the UN, we are also able to offer our supporters an opportunity to liaise with high profile and authoritative voices on human rights issues and to make a difference in those areas which are the focus of our campaigns. Finally, it is our duty as Jewish people to draw upon our historical experience and values in the drive to promote and protect the human rights of all people.
Modern slaves are people who are: Forced to work without pay Under the threat of violence and unable to walk away Unlike slavery in the ancient world, today’s slaves are not usually bought and sold in public, and they are rarely held in chains 1.5 billion people live on less than $1 a day Which means that modern slaves are cheap, and can be easily replaced MODERN SLAVERY
What is slavery? The illegal and forcible exploitation of people for little to no pay, bondage, deprivation of the right to leave circumstances of virtual imprisonment, and being subject to the control of another. The concept of slavery, though age old, transcends time and conditions and slavery continues to exist today. Three trends supporting the huge rise in slavery today: –an exponential increase in the world’s population, primarily in the developing world; –accelerated urban growth, rapid social and economic change and an influx of an agrarian population into urban city centres away from their traditional social support network; and –government corruption and complicity in trafficking offenses. These three factors have converged to create a hospitable climate for slaveholders. While there are a host of international and national laws in place to combat slavery, the reality is worrying: slaves are cheaper to have today than they were in the colonial era in the American South.
People who are poor and desperate can be tricked into debt bondage or may be captured and forced to work in houses, on farms, as soldiers or even as prostitutes. Slaves can be replaced easily when they are too ill or old to work as there are many more people who can be tricked into working for nothing. Huge profits are made by today’s slave holders. The total yearly profit created by slaves is around $14 billion. In places like India and Nepal where there is an unstable economy and mass poverty, human slaves can cost just £10!
Different types of Slavery: Modern slavery takes on many forms. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has identified the following forms of slavery: –chattel slavery, where the enslaver has complete power over the life and liberty of the slave; –debt bondage, where migrant workers used as forced labour as a form of repayment for a loan; –human trafficking, which involves transporting people away from their home and coercing them into work via deception or violence; –serfdom, where serfs labour under landowners in exchange for the right to work on the fields of the landowners; –child labour and servitude, where underage children are forced to work in contravention of the law for little or no pay; –forced labour, where people are illegally recruited to work under threat of violence; and –forced marriage, when women are forced into lives of indentured servitude and live in fear of violence and aggression.
Slavery is a fundamental violation of human dignity –Slavery isn’t limited to poor countries. –There are many different types of situations that amount to conditions of slavery. –In Israel, there are a growing number of women from Russia and the Ukraine who find themselves caught up in sex work. This is an example of modern day slavery in a developed country.
Child slavery case study Shortly after Iqbal Masih was born in a small village in rural Pakistan, his father abandoned the family. Iqbal's mother struggled to support her children as a housecleaner, but could not. When he was four years old, Iqbal was sold for $16 into bonded labour at a carpet factory. He worked 12 hours a day and was horribly undernourished and beaten by the foreman many times. Iqbal's story reflects the lives of over 200 million children around the world who have been forced to give up school, sports, play and sometimes even their families and homes to work under dangerous, harmful, and abusive conditions. Many children labourers work in dangerous or exploitative conditions. They are often kidnapped, bought or forced to enter the sex market. As of 2004, there were 218 million children working under slave conditions (Free The Children).
People trafficking Occurs when individuals are taken away from their homes to other areas where they are forced to work. These workers lack the same rights as those who inhabit the countries they have been trafficked into. They have no protection from the law and are forced to work illegally without being able to see their friends and families.
“Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself. The Bible tells the thrilling story of how Moses stood in Pharaoh’s court centuries ago and cried, ‘Let my people go.’ This is a kind of opening chapter in a continuing story.” Martin Luther King, Nobel Lecture 1964 Incorporating modern slavery into the Pesach Seder: Ma Nishtana ‘Why are we making tonight different?’ An important element of Ma Nishtana is that it affords us the freedom to ask. To encourage the free flow of questions, some medieval Rabbis added new customs to their sederim. We should emulate this by incorporating questions and facts about modern day slavery into our seder.
Coalition partners At René Cassin, a lot of our campaign work is carried out in coalition with other non-governmental organisations operating in the campaign area. For instance, we work collaboratively with the following organisations in our work to tackle modern slavery: Free the Slaves Rabbis for Human Rights Anti-Slavery International Not for Sale Campaign IAbolish Atzum
How To Get Involved There are constant opportunities to contribute to René Cassin’s work in a meaningful way. You may volunteer on any one of our variety of campaigns and projects; show support by attending our events; make a financial contribution; or assist us in our fundraising activities. Please email Simone Abel at email@example.com a short statement about your background and interests and she will be in touch to discuss how you can become involved in the organisation’s work. firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:d5b994a3-d4b5-40d6-8efb-fb58649c01c5> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | http://slideplayer.com/slide/4037909/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891815560.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20180224112708-20180224132708-00294.warc.gz | en | 0.95438 | 1,930 | 2.609375 | 3 |
While most camera accessories may
be considered mere conveniences, there’s one that I consider absolutely
essential for truly serious bird photography, and that’s the external flash unit. There
are three separate reasons
for this, and it’s worth enumerating them right at the outset.
The first (and most obvious) is that birds are very often found in
shady environments (such as within a forest), where there may be
insufficient ambient light to obtain an image that is sharp, bright,
and not overly noisy. When shooting in dim environments (or on
very overcast days), you’ll often find that in order to obtain a
reasonable exposure, you need to either use a very low shutter speed
(which can lead to blurry images if the bird is moving) or use a very
high ISO setting (which can lead to large amounts of pixel
noise). Properly applied flash can, very often, substantially
mitigate these problems.
A second reason
to use external flash is that for birds not in direct sunlight, the use
of flash can result in more vivid colors, as illustrated by the figure
above. The bird on the left was illuminated with flash, while the
bird on the right was not. As you can see, both the bird and the
leaves and branches in the background have more vivid colors.
Part of the reason is that the light emitted by most flash units is set
at a color temperature which
mimics direct mid-day sunlight, whereas the ambient light which
illuminates a subject in shade has different color
characteristics. While it is possible to adjust the color
temperature in software (or even via the white balance setting in your
camera), the use of higher ISO to increase image brightness still
results in less color information (recall from section 2.5 that higher
ISO settings don’t actually force the collection of more light; rather,
they artificially amplify the signal and noise coming from the
photosites), so that color adjustments in software often result in
unpleasant artifacts in the image, such as regions that appear too
saturated. In general, it’s best to get the lighting correct in
the field, rather than trying to patch up the image later via digital
Fig. 4.3.1: Flash versus ambient light. The bird on the left (a
Black-throated Green Warbler)
was photographed using flash, while the bird on the right (a Hooded
Warbler) was photographed
without the use of flash. Notice that the the flash has not only
brightened the subject and scene,
but has also resulted in more vibrant colors.
The third, and far less well-known (among novices),
advantage of flash when shooting birds is the effect it can have in
bringing out microscopic features, such as the minute structure in the
surface of feathers. The image below gives an example of this.
ambient light, flash light comes from just one direction: from the
location of your camera (unless you’re using a remote flash, which we
won’t consider here). If you think about what happens to the rays
light coming from an external flash unit, you can imagine that these
rays strike parts of the bird and then reflect off the bird in some
direction. Those rays that reflect back at exactly the proper
will be collected by your camera’s imaging sensor, while the rest will
not. Since the angle of reflection is determined by the relative
angle of the feature of the bird that has been struck by that ray of
light, the camera’s sensor will register more light (far more, in many cases) from those
microstructures in the bird that happen to be almost perfectly parallel
to the plane of the imaging sensor. This is illustrated in the
4.3.2: Flash and micro-contrast. The use of flash can bring out
in bird feathers, which ambient light rarely does (though direct
sometimes produce a similar effect, when shining from the proper angle).
Microscopic features of the subject which are parallel to the imaging
sensor reflect flash light directly back to the camera, whereas facets
parallel to the sensor cause light to scatter. This effect can
the apparent level of detail in the resulting photo.
Each ray of
light coming from your flash unit is represented in the figure above by
a vector—i.e., a straight
line with an arrowhead indicating direction. The black contour at
the bottom of the image represents some microscopic surface on your
subject—perhaps the microscopic surface of a feather, for
example. Those surfaces which are perfectly parallel to the
imaging sensor (which is not shown in the image, but you can imagine it
off beyond the top of the figure) are shown to reflect their incident
flash vectors (drawn in red) back in the same direction whence they
came—back toward the camera. Flash light striking non-parallel
surfaces (shown as blue vectors in the figure above) reflect at odd
angles which mostly don’t direct them back toward the camera, so
they’re effectively lost.
The result is that the imaging sensor in the camera
receives a much higher intensity of light from the parallel
microstructures in the bird’s plumage (and other features), resulting
in enhanced contrast at the microscopic level—what I call micro-contrast. In this way,
the use of flash can produce substantially more detail in the resulting
image than would otherwise be possible, and this isn’t simply due to a
brighter image: it’s due to the use of a strong unidirectional light
source. This effect isn’t as well known outside of bird
photography, because most other subjects either don’t have the same
degree of microscopic detail as do birds, or if they do have such
detail it’s typically not aesthetically pleasing (e.g., microscopic
imperfections in human skin).
One disadvatage of flash, both for people and for
birds, is that it very often results in artifacts appearing the
subject’s eyes. In humans, this is known as red-eye. In birds, it can
take the form of red-eye (which typically results from reflections off
of blood vessels in the eye) or steel-eye
(which results from reflections off of the highly reflective surfaces
at the back of the eyeball—which presumably are an evolutionary
adaptation that aids in increased light collection in dim
environments). The figure below shows an example of red-eye in
birds. Steel-eye, which typically shows up as a bluish or whitish
reflection (rather than reddish) seems to be more common.
Despite the problem of red-eye and
steel-eye, I think the potential advantages of the use of flash for
bird photography far outweigh the disadvantages. As we’ll
describe in Chapter 11, elimination of red/steel eye in postprocessing
becomes relatively easy with practice, and as mentioned below, some
steps can be taken to prevent its occurrence in the first place.
Flash can cause red-eye in some birds, just as in humans. In most
birds, however, it tends to cause steel-eye, which appears bluish or
Models and Power
Once you’ve acknowledged that the use of flash (at least some of the
time) is necessary or at least useful for bird photography, the next
step is to realize that the tiny flash unit built into your camera
isn’t powerful enough for general bird photography scenarios—i.e.,
situations other than the one in which you’re sitting at a window,
three feet from a bird feeder. As the figure below should
suggest, internal (i.e., built-in) flash simply can’t compete with the
power output of a dedicated, self-powered flash unit.
Modern flash units are rated in
terms of guide numbers.
The guide number indicates the overall power output of the flash
unit. Understanding the theory behind guide numbers is
essentially useless when shopping for a flash unit, since for bird
photography you only need to know one thing: the more powerful the
flash, the better. For portrait and wedding photographers, a unit
with only moderate power output may be more than sufficient, but for
really serious bird photographers, no amount of flash power is ever
truly enough; there’s always a bird that’s just too far away for the
flash unit to effectively illuminate it. The bright side (no pun
intended) of this situation is that choosing a flash unit thus reduces
to a simple financial question: what
is the most powerful flash unit you can afford? Although I
do very strongly recommend buying the most powerful flash you can
afford, there are ways (as we describe below) to increase the effective
output of a given flash unit, by restricting and refocusing the flash’s
4.3.5: Bigger is better in the world of flash units.
The external flash unit on the right can produce a
substantially more powerful burst of light than
the built-in unit on the left.
One of the most notable developments in bird photography in recent
years has been the widespread availability of the fresnel extender. I recently
had the pleasure to meet the man who is largely responsible for making
this technology available, affordably, to masses of bird
photographers. Walt Anderson’s now-famous Better Beamer flash extender
utilizes a simple and highly economical method for concentrating flash
output into a smaller area than would normally be possible with the
naked flash head. The figure below shows the Better Beamer (two
of them, in fact) in action in the field.
Fig. 4.3.6: Two
camera rigs with fresnel extenders attached.
The Better Beamer is by far the most popular fresnel extender
among bird photographers. It’s cheap, lightweight, and effective.
As you can see, the beamer is a simple device which attaches to the
front of your external flash unit, via velcro straps. The above
photo was taken during a bird migration festival at a migrant trap in
Ohio. Though you can see only two lenses in this figure, had I
used a wider-angle lens to snap this photo you’d see a line of 15 or 20
tripod-mounted lens, nearly all of them surmounted by a
fresnel-extended flash unit. The extenders shown above are very
affordable—I got mine for about $35.
A fresnel extender is simply a lens. Like any
lens, the extender works by refraction—that
is, by focusing light to a point (or at least to a smaller area than
would otherwise naturally occur). The light emitted from a flash
unit tends to spread out over a wide area, which for most types of
photography is a good thing: the goal is typically to illuminate an
entire scene. But with a super-telephoto lens in the 400mm-800mm
range, the field of view is so restricted that much of the illuminated
scene isn’t even visible in-frame. An enormous amount of flash
light is wasted on parts of the scene which won’t even appear in the
photo. A fresnel extender simply takes that wide cone of light
and narrows it, so that it is concentrated in the part of the scene
which does fit
in-frame. As a result, the amount of light striking the bird can
sometimes be enormously greater than without the fresnel.
There are two main advantages to this. For
birds that are at relatively large distances from the camera, the use
of a fresnel extender can make the difference between illuminating the
bird and not illuminating the
bird. I once lit up a heron at 200 feet (!) in pre-dawn lighting,
using a home-made “mega-beamer” (the heron is shown just below,
while the beamer is shown in the figure that follows). Without
the extender, the flash would have had no discernible effect on the
illumination of the bird.
Heron at 200 feet. This bird was illuminated in predawn using a
“mega-beamer” (see next
figure, below). The left image was taken without flash,
the right image with flash. Notice the extreme steel-eye in the
bird, which would
have to be fixed during postprocessing (i.e., in Photoshop).
The other advantage of using a fresnel extender is that for birds at
closer ranges, you can turn down the power output of your flash unit,
thereby conserving your batteries. It’s a well-established fact
that flash units can eat batteries even faster than the Cookie Monster
can eat Oreos.
Better than the Better Beamer. This monster beamer
Walt Anderson Better Beamer
is a very affordable and effective flash extender (and extremely
popular among birders), for really serious bird photography at large
focal lengths I recommend building your own “mega-beamer” like the one shown in the figure
above. This unit provides significantly more illumination at
longer distances than the much smaller commercial device. The
unit shown above took me an hour to build using locally-available parts
totalling about $25 US. A brief description of how to build your
own mega-beamer follows; feel free to skip to the next section if
you’re not interested in building a beamer right now.
was constructed by the author from readily available materials,
and provides significantly better power and range than smaller
extenders, while costing less.
To build a mega-beamer like the one shown above, you
just need four components: (1) a large piece of fresnel, (2) some
foam-core, (3) a few strips of velcro, and (4) some hot glue.
Obviously, you’ll also need a glue gun to apply the glue, and also an Xacto knife or a razor blade to cut
the foam core. I found all of these parts within a few miles of
my home. The fresnel is sold at large bookstore chains like Barnes and Noble (and probably Borders) for about $9 US.
Foam-core is sold at Michael’s
art supply store, as well as some large grocery chains like Kroger’s. Michael’s also
sells glue sticks and dirt-cheap glue guns, as well as velcro.
The most difficult part of the process is
determining the appropriate dimensions of the foam-core panels, given
the lens you intend to use the unit with. Because the unit rests
on the lens (typically), and because aiming of the light path is
crucial to getting proper exposures, this part of the design will be
specific to your particular lens and flash unit. For the unit
shown above, each piece of foam-core is 15 inches long. This
assumes a focal length at infinity
of around 14.5 inches for the fresnel lens, which can differ between
types of fresnel, and is very probably not correct even for the unit
shown above. However, conventional wisdom (among those who’ve
built these types of devices) suggests that getting the dimensions
exactly right isn’t terribly important.
Before settling on the dimensions for your unit,
however, I recommend finding the distance at which your piece of
fresnel can sit atop your lens and be perfectly centered (or nearly so)
with respect to your flash unit’s flash head. At this distance,
your fresnel should be (roughly) properly aimed for objects at
infinity; moving it slightly closer to the flash may be advisable for
convergence on birds at close-to-intermediate distances.
Once you’ve settled on the distance at which to place the
fresnel from the flash head, the dimensions of the foam-core pieces are
easy to deduce, given the dimensions of your fresnel lens, the
dimensions of your flash head, and some simple geometry. The
figure below shows how to compute the lengths of the top and bottom
pieces of foam-core; the lengths of the side peices can be computed
similarly by using the width
(rather than the height as
shown in the figure) of the flash head for w and the width of the fresnel for y.
parts is now easy. Simply attach the foam-core sides to each
other using hot glue, and then attach the fresnel using paired velcro
strips. I prefer to use the velcro rather than gluing the
fresnel, so that it can be removed and cleaned, and so that the insides
of the whole unit are much more accessible for cleaning as well.
For my unit I also lined the interior with aluminum foil, to increase
reflectivity of the inner walls of the chamber. If you don’t feel
like taking the trouble to line yours with aluminum foil, I at least
recommend choosing white foam-core rather than black, for the added
Measurements for building a mega-beamer. Find the
distance x such that your fresnel sits atop your lens while still being
centered with respect to the flash head. Then apply the formula
to compute the length z to be used for the foam core. The
for the side pieces is similar (see text).
To finish off the unit, you’ll probably want to
install some styrofoam spacers to the inner opening to make it fit
snugly to your flash head. To stabilize the extender in the field
I also use some mini-bungee cords from Wal-Mart, which wrap around the
extender and the lens. After building the unit you should aim it
by pointing your lens at a fixed point and engaging the flash. If
the flash is aimed too low you can prop it up by employing some sort of
spacer beneath the forward edge. For my unit, it turned out that
it was aimed too high, so I had to carve out a shallow crescent in the
lower surface of both the bottom foam-core piece and the fresnel, so
that it could sit lower on my lens.
An important caveat must be noted with regards to
the use of flash extenders. If you inadvertently allow the
fresnel to point into the sun, the sun’s rays may be focused by the
fresnel onto your flash head, and may
very well melt your flash head! Many users of fresnel
extenders have learned this the hard way. Using an enclosed
design like the one shown above may help to some degree, but
significant damage is still possible, so beware. Also, when the
extender is not mounted on your flash unit, any other object (such as a
hand!) placed at or behind the smaller opening is at risk of damage
from focused sunlight. (The
design of of the flash extender shown above is provided with no
warranty, neither explicit nor implied. Readers who build and use
such a unit do so entirely at their own risk.)
Off-shoe Cords and Brackets
In Figure 4.3.6 above, you can see that the external flash unit is not
mounted directly onto the camera’s hot
shoe, but is instead mounted on a metal bracket which attaches
to the tripod head. The bracket effectively raises the level of
the flash unit, thereby increasing the angle of light that reflects off
of the bird and reaches the camera’s imaging sensor. Increasing
this angle can often reduce the incidence of red-eye or steel-eye in
birds, thereby eliminating the need to manually adjust or edit the eyes
in postprocess. Two complications of this setup are that you also
need an off-shoe cord to
attach (electronically) the flash to the camera body, and that you
(obviously) need to pay for both this cord and the metal bracket.
The bracket is often the more difficult problem, since you need to find
a bracket that is compatible with both your particular flash model and
your particular tripod head. Using a flash bracket may also
complicate the deployment of a custom fresnel flash extender like the
one shown above in figure 4.3.8.
Although camera batteries have advanced in recent years to the point
where they can (for many DSLR models) power the camera for thousands of
exposures before needing to be recharged, flash units seem to be
insatiable in their consumption of battery power. Most
consumer-grade flash units operate on AA-type batteries, typically
taking four AA’s internally, and in some cases allowing their voltage
to be supplemented via external battery packs. I use an external
pack made by Canon which takes eight AA batteries; this is in addition
to the four AA’s used internally in the flash unit itself. During
really serious, day-long shoots, I’ll typically swap out the full set
of twelve AA’s once around mid-day, so that for a ten-to-twelve hour
day of extreme birding I’ll very often burn through 24 batteries.
For week-long trips to special locations, I’ll do this over consecutive
days. Obviously, that can add up to quite a lot of used batteries.
The most practical solution is, of course, to use
rechargeable batteries. I currently use primarily Energizers, though in the past I’ve
used Sony and Impact with much success.
When on a birding trip, I typically need to recharge large numbers of
AA batteries each night in prepration for the next day’s shoot.
When staying in hotels, an added inconvenience is the sometimes small
number of available electrical outlets in the room. I’ve been
able to overcome this problem by employing what I call the Squidmonster, which is illustrated
in the figure below.
The Squidmonster. Finding enough electrical outlets
in hotel rooms for all your battery rechargers can be a challenge.
The Power Sentry “Squid” solves this
problem far better than
standard “power strips”, which
typically don’t have enough
physical space for five AA chargers.
The Squidmonster consists of
a Power Squid (the black device shown in the upper part of the image)
manufactured by the company Power
Sentry, together with a number of battery-specific chargers
attached to the Power Squid’s arms. With the 5-arm Power Squid,
you can charge twenty AA batteries at the same time, while taking up
only a single electrical outlet. In some hotel rooms this is
extremely convenient, since you’ll typically want to use any other free
electrical outlets for your laptop computer and the power supply for
your external hard drive.
I especially recommend the Energizer 15-minute
recharger. Not only does this recharger allow you to recharge
large numbers of AA batteries in just a few hours, but some models also
include a car adapter which fits into your car’s cigarette
lighter. In an extreme emergency, you can use this latter feature
to replenish your flash power very quickly, at the expense of a little
In addition to powering your flash unit for day-long
shoots, external battery packs can often reduce the time it takes for
your flash head to recharge in prepration for the next exposure.
This time delay depends on the power level that you have the flash unit
set at. For full-power bursts, without the external battery pack
you might have to wait five or ten seconds between exposures if you
want the flash to fire at the desired level. I typically operate
my flash unit at 1/4 power, which, with the external battery pack
(eight AA’s) attached, can often recycle in less than a second.
For high-frame-rate capture, this setup often fails to provide
consistent exposure—especially at 8 or 10 frames-per-second (fps).
For high-frame-rate flash photography, a number of
birders resort to dedicated battery packs from companies such as Quantum. These packs often
cost well over $500 US, and incur significant risks in their use.
The first risk has to do with over-use of the pack, which can result in
thermal damage to the flash unit. Canon and Nikon provide
recommendations in the user manuals for their flash units, in terms of
the maximum number of full-power flashes (or even half-power flashes)
that should be attempted within a short period of time. To avoid
heating up the flash head to dangerous temperatures, these recommended
limits on numbers of full-power flashes per minute (or per ten minutes,
or thirty minutes, or sixty minutes, etc.) should be carefully
observed. Some newer flash units include built-in safety features
that will shut off the unit if the recommended limit is reached, or if
the temperature of the flash head gets dangerously high. Units
without such a safety mechanism will simply melt if overused. For
$400 and $500 flash units, that’s not a terribly rosy prospect.
I personally encountered a different problem with a
third-party battery pack (the Quantum
Turbo) during a two-week trip to a warbler migration
hot-spot. This $600 battery pack fried two of my $400 Canon flash
units within minutes of being attached. Canon repaired both units
at a cost of $120 per unit. Canon’s repair technician concluded
that the flash units had received an inappropriately high voltage from
the external power supply, resulting in fried circuitry (i.e., it was
not simply due to over-heating or over-use). While the
technician’s report clearly indicated that the third-party power supply
had been the cause of failure in both flash units, and that there was
no indication of over-heating (and hence no evidence of faulty use by
the photographer), the manufacturer of the battery pack refused to
accept responsibility for the damage to the flash units, insisting
instead that Canon’s flash units must have been defective (despite my
having used them for many months prior with no problems). Though
the flash units were repaired at a cost of only $120 US per flash, I
also incurred a cost of $800 for a new pair of flash units to stand in
for the fried units, since I was on a critical shoot far from home, and
the migrating birds refused to wait 14 days for the Canon repair
facility to fix the broken units.
My recommendation is to steer clear of all third
party battery packs, especially those manufactured by Quantum.
Canon’s 8-battery (AA) pack, which runs about $130 US, provides nearly
the same refresh rate as the far more expensive (~$600 US) Quantum
product, without the associated risk that comes with using questionable
third-party equipment which may also void the warranty on your
expensive flash unit. Note, however, that even with the AA
battery pack, it’s still possible to melt your flash unit if you
rapidly fire off too many full-power (or even half-power) flash
discharges. Be sure to consult the user manual of your flash
model and observe the manufacturer’s recommendations for safe operating
of the unit. | <urn:uuid:af7d4d35-45ca-45ce-86aa-b0af9521de8c> | CC-MAIN-2015-18 | http://digitalbirdphotography.com/4.3.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-18/segments/1429246650671.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20150417045730-00226-ip-10-235-10-82.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9183 | 5,907 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Levon Whyte, ERS, for Zondits
Construction projects cost a lot of money to develop. The last thing any construction firm wants to do is budget additional costs for developing a building energy model. Energy modeling, however, may prove to be more cost-effective than one might initially assume.
Energy models simulate how much energy a designed building will consume, taking into consideration weather, occupancy, building envelope, and proposed mechanical systems. The benefit of investing in an energy model is that designers can use these models to analyze which combination of building envelope, building layout, and HVAC systems will have the lowest operating cost. In many cases, the energy cost savings derived from implementing an optimal building design (as determined from energy modeling) will outweigh the cost of developing the building model. If we were to evaluate the investment in an energy model using simple payback we would find that an energy model pays for itself in a few months.
Anica Landreneau, Director of Sustainability at the architectural and engineering firm HOK, provided evidence for this in her presentation at the Better Buildings Summit held May 9‒11, 2016, in Washington, DC. In an internal study, HOK tracked modeling costs and predicted energy savings for a number of their projects over a few years. What they discovered is that the typical payback (the modeled energy cost savings divided by the cost of developing the model) for a building energy model is between 1 and 7 months. For example, for one of the projects they worked on, the DC Consolidated Forensic Laboratory, the modeling fees ran about $60,000. The optimal building design, however, was predicted to save $537,855 in energy costs annually. The payback period in this case was a mere 1.3 months.
Furthermore, Ms. Landreneau highlighted that modeling fees are not an exorbitant cost compared to gross project fees. Using data from HOK projects she determined that modeling fees are generally between 0.5% and 3.3% of gross costs. You can find her presentation on the Department of Energy’s website.
So, the next time you are involved building design for new construction or renovation you may want to strongly consider investing in an energy model to help determine the most economical design solution for your project. The investment will be well worth it. | <urn:uuid:762d0f15-a7e0-444f-b155-b2fdea8b16f5> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://www.zondits.com/energy-models-economical-investment/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100448.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20231202172159-20231202202159-00415.warc.gz | en | 0.959344 | 476 | 2.875 | 3 |
Families come in all shapes and sizes. Households with children being raised by single moms is on the rise. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2016 more than 80 percent of about 12 million single parent families were led by single mothers. Today one in four children under the age of 18 are being raised without a father. Many of these single mother households are not by choice, and almost half live below the poverty line.
But there is also a piece of the single-mother picture that comes from a fairly new social trend. Experts are seeing an increase in women choosing to have a baby on their own without a partner. As of 2012, single women made up 2.3 percent of those undergoing in-vitro fertilization treatment to get pregnant. That number does not count the women getting artificially inseminated using a less invasive process called Intrauterine insemination (IUI) or those who are adopting children.
Many of these women just have not yet found the right romantic partner, but recognize that their biological clocks are ticking. As women age, the quantity and quality of their eggs start to decline, reducing their chance of getting pregnant. Women are most fertile in their 20s, followed by the early 30s. After 35, fertility drops noticeably each year, so by the time they reach 40, they will have less than a 10 percent chance of a successful pregnancy with their own eggs. Some women have taken action by freezing their own eggs when they were younger, and then going through the process to get pregnant in their 40s once they realize they have not found Mr. Right.
With so many more options available for women, experts have begun to analyze how different households potentially impact the children. For a long time, studies showed that children suffered if they were not raised with a father at home. However, that information did not consider a conflict in the home, such as a difficult divorce or a father who abandoned his family. New information seems to indicate that it is now more likely that any negative influence on development depends more on the relationship between children and their parents than the fact that they grow up without a father.
Also, there is a huge difference between women who choose to raise a baby on their own and women who are forced into an unfortunate, challenging situation. When a single-parent home is not planned, the stress of the situation can negatively impact a child’s behavior. This is mostly because it is hard for the mother to handle the financial burden, additional responsibilities, and emotional strain of taking care of the children by herself.
A recent study written by Mathilde Brewaeys of the Centre of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria of the VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, which was presented at the study at the 33rd Annual Meeting of European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in Geneva, explains that children in single-mother-by-choice families do just as well as those in traditional two-parent families with a mother and a father.
The study compared 69 single-mothers-by-choice and 59 mothers from heterosexual two-parent families with a child between the ages of 18 months and six years. Parent-child relationships, mothers’ social support network, and children’s well-being were compared between family types using multiple surveys. The majority of the women in the study admitted that they would have preferred to have a child with a partner, but chose to do it alone due to stress regarding fertility. According to the study, “most of the women were financially stable, had received a higher education, and had meaningful partner relationships in the past”.
The analysis made the following key conclusions:
There were no significant differences in emotional involvement or parental stress between family types.
Single-mothers-by-choice showed significantly higher scores on the social support they received, but also on wanting more social support.
There were no significant differences in the children’s internal and external problem behavior (well-being) between both family types.
The fact that single mothers who chose that path formed a strong social support network makes a huge difference in the children’s lives. One could go so far as to say that it may be more important for children’s growth and emotional health to have positive relationships with adults – whether they are aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends, neighbors, teachers, babysitters, or coaches – than it is to live in a strained household with two parents or a struggling single mom.
Study author Mathilde Brewaey recommends that women who are contemplating having a child on their own should spend time building a strong social network for the support they will need. This seems to be a good recommendation for all parents. The phrase “it takes a village” is certainly true, and we should all ask for help and support when we need it, for both our and our children’s sake. | <urn:uuid:7ec13bbe-43c3-4578-aa87-7b8a5e80ef1d> | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | https://www.parent.co/kids-raised-single-moms-choice-just-well-raised-two-parent-household/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549424910.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20170724202315-20170724222315-00220.warc.gz | en | 0.979204 | 1,013 | 2.59375 | 3 |
After the Industrial Revolution were almost every process of a daily life was influenced, the industrialization of the manufacturing growing and changing the way of thinking and the way of doing things turned United State in a standard of production.
In response to this early event, there is the need to create the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT. In 1859 there was a first attempt of making a “Conservatory of Art and Science”, a proposal was submitted to the Massachusetts General Court to use the filled lands in Back Bay in Boston, but the proposal failed. Then in 1861 a charter for the incorporation of the MIT, proposed by William Barton Rogers, was signed by the governor of Massachusetts.
Figure 1: Plan of MIT at Copley Square, Boston, ca 1905 (Source: MIT Libraries, Institute Archives & Special Collections)
The university adopted a different approach as a university, an European polytechnic mode where the objective of universities evolved from teaching the “regurgitation of knowledge” to “encouraging productive thinking.” Their purposes included training professionals, scientific investigation, improving society, and teaching critical thinking and research.
Rogers wanted to establish an institution for the rapid scientific and technological advances, understanding that all the process were faster and so the education has to get results, the combination between professional and liberal education, stating that:
“ The true and only practicable object of a polytechnic school is, as I conceive, the teaching, not on the minute details and manipulation of the arts, which can be done only in the workshop, but the inculcation of those scientific principles which from the basis and explanation of them, and along with this, a full and methodical review of all their leading processes and operations in connection with physical laws”1
Figure 2: The beginning of MIT, The Rogers building named after William Barton Rogers, ca 1883 (Source: MIT Libraries, Institute Archives & Special Collections)
At the same time that the MIT was founded, the United State civil war broke out, delaying any plans of starting the instated, because of this the first class was held in 1865, in a rented building while their own were finished.
The first building of MIT was finished in 1866 and was located in Copley Square in Boston and started with 3 building (Rogers Building) even with the constant financial problem and the war the campus continued growing around the same area having 10 buildings within the city, (Roger Building – Walker Building – Henry L. Pierce Building – Engineering Buildings – Technology Union – Lowell Building – Mechanical Laboratories – Gymnasium – Technology Club).
Figure 3: The beginning of MIT, Boston configuration, ca 1909 (Source: MIT Libraries, Institute Archives & Special Collections)
Figure 4: The site for New Technology (Source: MIT Libraries, Institute Archives & Special Collections)
In the early 1900s the need for space made the university president Richard Cockburn Maclaurin in 1909 to search for a new location for what he called “New Technologies”. An Alumni from the class of 1876 John Ripley Freeman, had done studies of the Charles River and surrounding land for the preparation of the Charles River Dam. The information of this study made possible to select Cambridge as the location of the new campus, with an initial purchase of 46 acres on the banks of the Charles River.
Freeman then by himself, did preliminary studies for the design of the campus with the hope that he would be selected for it. He reviewed studies by Institute professors “for the housing and fitting up of the individual departments” and oversaw the work of Surveyors who examined the buildings and equipment at colleges and technical schools in the U.S. and Canada.
He then assembled all the information into “Study No. 7”, the study covered every detail of design and built, covering the need of space within but staying in the limits of the budget.
He then made his own design for the main building with following guidelines: “ First of all, we must obtain a flood of window light; Second, a flood of fresh air under perfect control; Third, an efficiency and avoidance of lost motion by student and teacher, equal to that which obtains in our best industrial works; and Fourth the consideration of the psychology of student life, the cultivation of the social instincts, the development of personal contact, must strongly control the layout of the very masonry”.2
Despite its extensive work and study on the matter, Freeman did not get the part as the new campus Architect but, many of his ideas were incorporated in the final construction.
The responsibility of the design of the campus was given to William Welles Bosworth, an American architect who was influenced by the City Beautiful Movement.
Figure 5: Cambridge 1924, Grounds and Buildings (Source: MIT Libraries, Institute Archives & Special Collections)
The first building constructed on the Cambridge campus is the Maclaurin buildings, the buildings were built in reinforced concrete, one of the first application of concrete in a non industrial building in the U.S. The building maintains the classical line of the European traditional universities with the buildings surrounding a cloister (Killian Court) but in this case with an open front to the river, and maintaining the essence of a monument by “The Great Dome” overlooking the scene.3
From this point, the campus grows constantly on its East side until late 1940’s that it began to spread on the other side of the Massachusetts Ave. the development of the East area is as a result of the need of space for social life and spreading of the students, faculty, and staff.
Between the Industrial Revolution and the WWII, the goal of the university was in explore and create, always in a technological point of view, only in 1932 a Division of Humanities was created at MIT.
In January of 1947 the Lewis Committee was created, with the mission of “examine the principles of education that had served as a guide to academic policy at MIT for almost ninety years, and to determine whether they were applicable to the conditions of a new era emerging from social upheaval and the disasters of war”. In December 1949, the Lewis Committee Report Was issued and it mainly recommended a School of Humanities and Social Science on equal footing with the Schools of Science, Engineering, and Architecture.
The East area is a representation of several Reports that different university committees generate according to the student body welfare and interaction, then it’s clear that the decision on having most dormitories and student life facilities to the west of the Massachusetts Avenue and most academic buildings to the east was affected by this report.
The post- war architecture on MIT can be reflected in the Baker House housing by Alvar Aalto (1947), then the balance between the spiritual and the ordinary made by the MIT Chapel and Kresge Auditorium, both made in 1955 and by the same architect Eero Saarinen.
It can be inferred that with this unstoppable development of the technological areas and later the race for more powerful weapons the M.I.T kept aside the humanities areas until their one people started to ask for them.
In 1949, with the understanding that the world had changed and that “the release of nuclear energy is having a profound effect on the course of human events”, the Lewis Committee was created to survey what changes are needed in order to continue the standards of the Institute with the students and staff life within the campus, on December of that same year the report was issued, and it mainly recommended a School of Humanities and Social Science on equal footing with the Schools of Science, Engineering, and Architecture.
The year before the report Everett M. Baker, the Dean had communicated to James Killian the president that a buildup of faculty and student requests for a campus chapel, which Baker recommended be located in some existing room on campus, possibly in proximity to the library’s books on religion and philosophy. Then Killian suggested Baker to take the proposal of a chapel to the dean of the School of Humanities and Social Science John Burchard, so he compiled a memorandum titled ” The Need for a Chapel Auditorium” recommending that the institute build a 1200-seat auditorium that contained within it a 75-seat chapel, Baker stated that: “It is difficult to think of America without the village church and the meeting house. It is equally difficult to imagine M.I.T of tomorrow fulfilling its many responsibilities to our nation and our world without its chapel and its meeting house”.4
Killian prepared the bases of what this “auditorium – chapel” should be or should point to be for the community, students, and staff.
Regarding the auditorium, Killian projected the vision of a Cambridge University professor delivering a formal lecture, or an academic processional occurring there, or a performance of the London String Quartet, while also describing it as “a place where a distinguished minister might hold religious services”. From Killians descriptions it looks that he is talking about one building that will unify all and provide to the Institute and the community.
Nevertheless, the auditorium and the chapel seemed to be drifting apart. Killian imagined the devotional chapel as perhaps “connected with the auditorium by an ambulatory of some similar architectural device” more than a single volume. But he never left the dual secular/religious function with the New England meeting house.
During the next few years, Killian frequently evoked this “meeting house” image about the project, describing it as a “house of many uses” in which ” men and women went to worship God, to hold their town meetings, and to further their cultural and civic interests.
Burchard identifies the conflict about the proposal stating:
“Is the dedication going to stress dependence on the creator, on a power greater than man, or not? The related question is: If we do not stress this dependence, do we silently affirm the opposite? Do we silently say that humanism is the answer?” In returning to the idea of “the auditorium as the New England Meeting House” and “the Chapel as the one building on campus in scale with a man” ( both attributed to Killian’s point of view). Just as the imaginary of the “New England meeting house” also claims the village church, so did the auditorium require the chapel to complete its meaning.5
Figure 6: Site plan with the new auditorium and the chapel (Source: MIT Libraries, Institute Archives & Special Collections)
Then the Dean hired Eero Saarinen, for the design of a non-denominational chapel, an auditorium, and a connecting plaza on a site on Massachusetts Avenue. The goal was to define an area of the campus that would encourage students to organize meetings, religious services, and art performances or exhibitions. The two buildings face each other across an ample open space on a simple lawn even though Saarinen also design the plaza with triangular swatches of paving and grass.
Figure 7: Proposal model (Source: Library of Congress, Print &Photographs Division, Balthazar Korab Archive at the library of congress.
The chapel is a simple windowless brick cylinder set inside a shallow concrete pool. The brick is supported by a series of low arches. Saarinen chose bricks that were rough and imperfect to create a textured effect, the whole is set in two groves of London Planetrees, with a long wall to the east. The wall and trees provide a uniform background for the chapel, and insolate the site from the noise of adjacent buildings.
In this windowless space, the roof opening aligned with the altar flood the chapel with light through a full-height metal sculpture made by Harry Bertoia, the light glitters from the circular skylight down. Another iconic item of the chapel is the unique bell tower designed by sculptor Theodore Roszak and was added in 1956.6
Saarinen expressed his own concepts about the auditorium/ chapel complex in June 1955 issue of Technology Review. He defended his design against the criticism that the auditorium had not been planned for optimal acoustical advantage and that the cylindrically shaped chapel had no windows. The acoustics were a “modifying factor for any auditorium, but “not a science with the authority to impose a basic shape”. A building form must be “expressive of a larger purpose” and have a “meaningful relation to its site and neighbors.” The chapel’s windowless cylinder “implied the self-contained, inward-feeling which was desirable” for a place of worship. Its undulating interior walls promoted good acoustics as well as an “enclosed feeling.” The arches supporting the structure from a water-filled moat allowed a “soft, mysterious secondary light” to serve as “a foil to the light coming from directly above the altar.”7
“ Is there any reason why a chapel need to have windows? Could it not be illuminated by light reflected through water as in the beautiful grottoes of Capri?”
Saarinen, Eero. “Campus Planning: The unique World of the University” – Architectural Record 128, no.5 (November 1960)
James R. Killian to E.B White 28 October 1954
Baker, Everett M. “Memorandum to James R. Killian Re: The need for a Chapel Auditorium”
Zevi, Bruno. Zevi, Richards, and Giedion, “Three Critics Discuss M.I.T’s New Buildings”
Department of Architecture, MIT. “A Second Modernism: MIT, Architecture, and the Techno-social Moment.
The technology press December, 1949. Report of The Committee on Educational Survey.
Reinhold, Martin. “The MIT Chapel, An interdiscursive History”
Coir, Mark 2006. “The Cranbrook Factor” Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. | <urn:uuid:fe0895a0-7717-42cb-8d32-1115a7d28d9b> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://postwarcampus.wordpress.ncsu.edu/2018/05/07/massachusetts-institute-of-technology/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100529.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20231204115419-20231204145419-00348.warc.gz | en | 0.956653 | 2,937 | 3.328125 | 3 |
I understand your dilemma, but putting is before the benefit is not a good idea. In an indirect question, there is no subject-verb inversion:
Normal: you were here (subject, finite verb).
Direct question: she asked: "where were you?" (finite verb, subject).
Indirect question: she asked where you were (subject, finite verb).
In speech, you can't hear punctuation, and so only the tone at the end of the sentence (it goes up only in direct questions) and the word order differ.
There are also indirect questions embedded within direct questions:
- Did you ask her | where she was?
Here the tone goes up because the main clause is a direct question (hence the question mark); and so word order is the only difference between the two. As a result, some people are a bit sloppy with word order in indirect questions in writing and use inversion; but this is not recommended by style books, nor by most educated speakers. But you will see it occasionally, especially in longer sentences.
In your example I agree that putting is at the end makes the sentence unwieldy. The solution would be to move is more to the front, but not before the subject:
I don't know what the benefit is of closing schools when there's a flu outbreak.
I don't know what the benefit of closing schools is when there's a flu outbreak. | <urn:uuid:71b0bd8b-45ed-4c55-8161-77774b8d0b7b> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/55734/long-subjects-in-indirect-questions | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178358203.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20210227054852-20210227084852-00361.warc.gz | en | 0.977982 | 295 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Sternberg, of Yale University, has conducted two studies, using experimental tests to supplement the Standardized Admission Test (SAT) and the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). His results were presented during a AAAS session entitled "Testing and University Admissions," at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on Saturday, 16 February.
The tests are based on Sternberg's theory that intelligence consists of three components. Analytical ability, which is measured by the SAT, Graduate Record Examination (GRE), and similar tests, involves analyzing, comparing and contrasting, evaluating, and critiquing, according to Sternberg. Creative abilities include inventing, discovering, supposing and imagining, while practical abilities include putting ideas into practice, using newly-learned information, and putting things into a "real world" context.
Neither creative nor practical abilities are measured by typical standardized tests, said Sternberg , so he and his colleagues devised new tests that do.
"Many people feel like the time has come for the testing industry to change," Sternberg said. "I think this is going to be the future of testing."
Standardized admissions testing has indeed come under more scrutiny than usual lately. The President of the University of California at Berkeley, for example, has questioned the university's use of the SAT(I), the test most widely used in the admissions process. Meanwhile, competition to attend selective colleges and universities has never been more intense.
"The competition should be over the right things. But students are now competing for a very limited range of things," Sternberg said.
Sternberg and his colleagues conducted their experiments with students at 16 different high schools and colleges, and graduate students at the University of Michigan business school. The researchers gave the students tests based on all three types of skills, and compared their scores with the grades and other evaluations the students later received during their college or graduate education.
The results indicated that adding the new tests to the SATs or GMATs should substantially improve the tests' ability to predict student success, beyond what the standardized tests predicted by themselves. Differences between how well different racial or ethnic groups scored were also reduced in the new tests, compared to the SAT and GMAT, according to Sternberg.
The researchers plan to complete another round of both studies, revising them slightly and expanding the number of students who take them.
Sternberg and his colleagues' investigation of the SAT, funded by The College Board, is called the "Rainbow Project." Its measure of practical abilities included a multiple choice section involving planning routes, solving practical everyday reasoning problems, and using practical math. This part of the test also involved presenting students with various school- or office-related problems. The students then had to propose possible solutions themselves, or rate a series of solutions, from excellent to awful.
The creative test also includes multiple-choice questions, involving working in new numeration systems for example, or solving reasoning problems with counter-intuitive presuppositions. Students also did performance-based exercises, such as telling stories based on captioned cartoons, or using software to design company logos.
In a study funded by the University of Michigan, Sternberg and his colleagues posed two types of problems to MBA students. The first involved a variety of information about a complex business problem, in the form of data charts, emails, letters, and so forth. Students had to figure out what the problem was, how to solve it, and how to evaluate whether the solution worked. The second part of the test described problems more briefly, and proposed a list of possible solutions. Students then rated the solutions.
While these tests can be conducted over the Internet, scoring them would be more labor-intensive than scoring all-multiple choice tests like the SAT. The subjective sections of the Rainbow Project were scored by trained graders, while the subjective sections of the University of Michigan test were scored according to how successful business people answered the questions.
Sternberg thinks the testing industry will be willing to make the extra effort, however. "The challenges to conventional tests are getting stronger," he said. "Organizations that don't adapt won't survive."
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal, Science. Founded in 1848, AAAS serves 134,000 members as well as 273 affiliates, representing 10 million scientists.
For more information on the AAAS, see the web site, www.aaas.org. Additional news from the AAAS Annual Meeting may be found online at www.eurekalert.org.
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system. | <urn:uuid:1d698ee5-1a25-42a5-ab05-245f258f84de> | CC-MAIN-2014-15 | http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-02/aaft-uan020602.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-15/segments/1397609539066.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20140416005219-00171-ip-10-147-4-33.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967834 | 989 | 2.75 | 3 |
Japan scientists to study source of high heat on asteroid
About 3 grams (0.1 ounce) of the black granules are from Ryugu's surface and were gathered when Hayabusa2 touched down on the asteroid in April 2019. AdBased on near-infrared spectrophotometer analysis of data transmitted by Hayabusa2, JAXA scientists found that the asteroid was exposed to extremely high temperatures both on its surface and underground, possibly caused by an internal source of heat or planetary collisions rather than heat from the sun. Kohei Kitazato, a University of Aizu planetary scientist working with JAXA, said his team found indications of heat exceeding 300 degrees Celsius (572 degrees Fahrenheit) both on the asteroid surface and underground. AdJAXA is continuing an initial examination of the asteroid samples ahead of fuller studies next year. Following studies in Japan, some of the samples will be shared with NASA and other international space agencies for additional research.
Success! OSIRIS-REx Captures a “Large Amount” of Asteroid Material
Quoting NASA, it’s a “large amount!” The spacecraft captured images of the sample collector head as it moved through several different positions. They came to this conclusion after comparing images of the empty collector head with Oct. 22 images of the TAGSAM head after the sample collection event. The OSIRIS-Rex team will now focus on stowing the sample in the Sample Return Capsule (SRC), where any loose material will be kept safe during the spacecraft’s journey back to Earth. Newly available analyses show that the collector head was flush with Bennu’s surface when it made contact and when a nitrogen gas bottle was fired to stir surface material. All data so far suggest that the collector head is holding much more than two ounces of regolith.
NASA spacecraft sent asteroid rubble flying in sample grab
In this image taken from video released by NASA, the Osiris-Rex spacecraft touches the surface of asteroid Bennu on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020. (NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA's Osiris-Rex spacecraft crushed rocks and sent rubble flying as it briefly touched an asteroid, a strong indication that samples were collected for return to Earth, officials said Wednesday. Scientists won't know until next week how much was gathered at asteroid Bennu — they want at least a handful of the cosmic rubble. Japan has taken asteroid samples twice. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education.
NASA touches an asteroid: What to know about OSIRIS-REx mission
Tuesday evening marked another NASA milestone: A spacecraft called OSIRIS-REx touched an asteroid, called Bennu, and collected a sample for return to Earth! Over the past year, OSIRIS-REx has been orbiting Bennu and taking increasingly detailed images to find a site. When the mission was originally developed, it was assumed that Bennu would be mostly smooth, with lots of regolith (“dirt”) and perhaps some rocks. How does NASA know if they collected enough material to return to Earth? This is pretty cool science: once back in orbit around Bennu, OSIRIS-REx will extend the TAGSAM arm laterally out to the side of the spacecraft and spin the spacecraft.
How scientists know we’re not going to get squashed by an asteroid
In a recent episode of the podcast “Space Curious,” planetary scientists helped us understand why this is. They also explained how we know where asteroids are, and why we’re not all going to get squashed by one anytime soon. “The main reason we go to Bennu is because it is the most potentially hazardous asteroid,” Campins said. “It’s a primitive asteroid,” Campins said. Campins said when someone reads about an asteroid headed for Earth, it’s a good idea to do some fact checking.
NASA spacecraft OSIRIS-REX attempts to land on ancient asteroid
A NASA spacecraft is preparing to land on an asteroid Tuesday to collect a sample. Spacecraft OSIRIS-REX is descending toward an asteroid named Bennu to suck up rubble as a sample for closer study back on Earth. OSIRIS-REX descended Tuesday toward the surface of the asteroid, which is 200 million miles away. The spacecraft dropped out of orbit around asteroid Bennu right on time, beginning a 4 1/2-hour plunge to the rough, boulder-covered face of the ancient space rock. Bennu’s gravity was too low for the spacecraft to land — the asteroid is just 1,670 feet (510 meters) across. | <urn:uuid:74d42a25-200f-4059-829b-21d7bbb3e769> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://www.clickondetroit.com/topic/Asteroid/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103877410.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20220630183616-20220630213616-00275.warc.gz | en | 0.94067 | 981 | 3.25 | 3 |
Exclusion should not be allowed to restrict learning, argues Sam Warnes, former teacher and founder and creator of EDLounge.
Many education institutions have made headlines recently for excluding students, citing challenging behaviour and poor attendance as the reasons, while their attainment levels increased.
"Understanding students’ difficulty with school, whether environmental or academic, is the first step we can take to making sure everyone is given equal opportunity to succeed."
Of course, not all schools or multi-academy trusts (MATs) have the same approach, and in fact some are shining examples of how to identify underlying issues and support a student in fulfilling their potential through a personalised pathway.
So, what can we learn from them?
When a child becomes disruptive in class, fails to hand in homework or starts to miss lessons completely, a common assumption is that they are just uninterested in school. However in my experience as a teacher, I have found this is rarely the case. Whatever the reason for their behaviour, attitude or even sudden drop in progress, it’s rarely about the student being ‘naughty’ and is usually the result of them being disengaged with learning. For example, issues at home could change a student’s involvement instantly overnight, which is out of their control. Or, the subject matter is not being delivered in a way that works for them.
An inclusive approach
We need to make sure strategies to reengage students with their learning are considerate of all backgrounds, all abilities and any additional needs. It is frightening that children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are far more likely to be excluded from school than other children.
For students with special educational needs (SEN), a mainstream environment may simply be too chaotic for them to learn effectively. This can lead to heightened levels of anxiety, especially for those who are sensitive to loud noises and crowds, and expressing this can be difficult, so the result can be what is mislabelled as bad behaviour. The truth is often far from this, but the danger is that acting on this can be really damaging to a child. The ‘naughty’ child develops into a ‘troubled teen’ and their reputation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, leading to poor attendance, poor attainment and their potential is limited before they’ve even had a chance.
Disengagement in the classroom might also be the result of deeply rooted problems that are harder to see from the surface. It may be less to do with how the lessons are delivered, and more to do with poor mental health, or bullying. Either way, missing school becomes an increasingly attractive option to them.
Understanding students’ difficulty with school, whether environmental or academic, is the first step we can take to making sure everyone is given equal opportunity to succeed. Rather than turning to exclusion, we need to act quickly and use the right tools to create personalised pathways to improvement wherever they need it most. For example, online platforms offer all students the opportunity to access learning, because they allow students to complete homework and even attend class via a virtual classroom, all from the comfort of their own home, or in a quiet environment on the school’s site that is designed for their needs. Through these platforms, schools can continue to deliver lessons to support students from afar, while working to re-engage them with mainstream education when they are ready.
Lastly, if a teacher or parent addresses issues early enough, they will stand a much better chance of successfully re-engaging them in learning and hopefully direct them towards a route back into mainstream education. For example, if a student is exhibiting challenging behaviour, sitting down together to talk about what is causing them to act in a disruptive way is an important way to correctly identify the support they need to get them back on track, rather than making assumptions and acting on those.
It’s also important to work on building mutual respect between teachers and students. Showing students that they are trusted to take ownership of their studies can be incredibly empowering, helping them to see the connection between what they are learning and how it fits with their own goals or potential careers.
Exclusion, as the name would suggest, is incredibly isolating and only pushes students further away from their learning. When a child exhibits poor attendance, behaviour or progress, the last thing we should do is restrict their access to education. Working together, students and their teachers can look at their current development expectations and where they could be, and how that relates to their aspirations, makes the process far more meaningful to them and in turn, increases their engagement with learning.
More information about EDLounge can be found on the website: https://edlounge.com/ | <urn:uuid:fb69bd22-7e9b-4d9c-af30-1801ba8b2d45> | CC-MAIN-2018-30 | https://www.learningdisabilitytoday.co.uk/don-t-give-up-on-students | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676593010.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20180722041752-20180722061752-00232.warc.gz | en | 0.972476 | 971 | 3.40625 | 3 |
Researchers hope to be able to target the same protein in men, however, more tests will be needed to show whether the drug is both safe and effective in people.
Scientists believe they are a step closer in the difficult journey towards developing a male contraceptive pill, after successful studies in mice.
A contraceptive pill for women has been around for decades, but an equivalent for men has proved elusive.
A US study, published in the journal Cell, showed a drug could make mice temporarily infertile without hampering their sex drive.
Experts said the findings were "exciting", but needed tests in people.
It has been argued that the lack of a male contraceptive pill has contributed to the number of unplanned pregnancies.
One of the challenges is developing a drug which can cross over from the blood into the testes.
US researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Baylor College of Medicine were testing a drug called JQ1. It targets a protein which exists only in the testes and is critical for sperm production.
The testes of mice taking the drug began to shrink as they produced fewer sperm, which were also less mobile. Some were rendered infertile.
When the animals were no longer taking the drug they were able to have babies.
One of the researchers, Dr James Bradner said: "This compound produces a rapid and reversible decrease in sperm count and motility with profound effects on fertility.
"These findings suggest that a reversible, oral male contraceptive may be possible." | <urn:uuid:edfb1e5e-ca5c-4d7a-981b-c60fc8339586> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000064309&story_title=Male-contraceptive-pill-'step-closer'-after-mice-studies | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00095-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974392 | 307 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Proper Infrared Heat Lamp Use for Efficient Livestock Production
Joseph M. Zulovich
Department of Agricultural Engineering
Electric heat lamps provide a versatile, inexpensive heat source for today's livestock production farming practices.
Heat rays from infrared lamps pass through the air without heating it, as does energy from the sun. When these rays strike an animal, heat energy is absorbed. Using this radiant heat principle, lamps mounted at the proper height establish "comfort" zones where young animals can move about and seek the degree of warmth desired.
In spite of advances in quartz-tube heaters and cable-heat applications, many livestock and poultry producers continue to use the 250-watt lamp because of its low first cost, reasonable operating cost, ease of installation and minimal storage space. While its main use on Missouri farms is for brooding baby animals, the same units can be used for drying paint, warming the shop, milk parlor comfort and a host of other uses.
Heat lamps for brooding pigs
Experience and research have shown that infrared heat lamps can save an average of 1-1/2 more pigs per litter by preventing chilling, which so often occurs soon after birth during winter months. Many Missouri farmers are using this equipment because heat lamp brooding units are simple to install and have a long life, about 5,000 hours. Being portable, they have many other uses as well.
The first 12 to 24 hours after birth are a critical time for newborn animals, especially pigs. During this period, it is often desirable to use two 250-watt heat lamps — one over the farrowing area and one over the nursing area. After 24 hours, one lamp can be moved to provide a warm resting area in the partitioned stall area; or, if desired, over a partitioned corner.
Types of lamps
Two types of infrared lamps are available — soft glass and hard glass (Pyrex). While more expensive, the latter is preferred because of its greater resistance to moisture damage.
Heat lamps are made with clear or red glass bowl. Red bowl lamps eliminate glare by reducing the visible light output. (Limit use of soft glass lamps to dry locations where protection from weather and moisture is not an important factor.) All lamps have built-in reflectors. Either type of lamp can be used in single lamp fixtures or in one of several types of multiple lamp fixtures most often used for chick brooding.
Like any other farm production tool, the heat lamp and its allied equipment must be handled properly to ensure their safe use. Unless certain rules are followed, fire insurance coverage may be adversely affected. Three major areas of concern are selection of proper equipment, suspension of the lamp at proper height above animals to be brooded, and proper installation of the correct type of wiring with adequate fusing of each electrical circuit. Specific recommendations are shown below.
The brooding unit should incorporate the following:
- A chain, wire, rope, or bracket by which the unit can be securely suspended. Do not use the electric cord to support the unit.
- A heavy-duty appliance cord with current-carrying conductors of not less than number 18 AWG wire (for a single 250-watt lamp) and not longer than 8 feet. An asbestos-insulated, rubber-jacketed cord known as type "HSJ" is recommended. Cord length should be adjusted so that it will become disconnected if the unit should fall.
- A keyless porcelain lamp receptacle. The ordinary brass receptacle will not safely withstand the high temperature of the bulb.
- A metal reflector shield or guard to protect lamps from moisture damage or mechanical injury.
- A bail for tipping fallen lamps away from bedding.
Heat lamp suspension
Use the following minimum dimensions in suspending heat lamps:
- 30 inches above the bedding or 6 inches above the standing animal (whichever distance is greater) when used over the sow at farrowing time.
- 24 inches above the bedding when used over the pigs in a protected area. The sow-pig barrier should be of rigid construction with both lamp and cord out of sow's reach.
- 18 inches above the litter when used for brooding baby chicks.
- Six inches higher than the animal can reach when used for calves, lambs, etc. For lambs, it may be necessary to increase this distance to prevent skin damage as the wool prevents the escape of heat. The ewe should be fenced away from the heating unit but not separated from the lambs.
Do not confine animals in too small an area under heat lamps. When brooding chicks, use a heavy cardboard guard to prevent floor drafts and to keep chicks from straying too far from the heated area.
Install electrical service entrance equipment in all permanent buildings where infrared brooding equipment is used. Edison-base fuses are usually preferred. Be sure it has adequate current and circuit capacity. (A 20-circuit, 115-230 volt, 100-ampere service entrance box should be minimum for most farm buildings.) Locate this service entrance panel in a dry location and clearly mark each circuit.
Install all circuits serving heat lamps with permanent type wiring and construction. Use non-metallic-sheathed cable with neoprene or other acid-resistant covering.
Locate electric receptacles within 6 feet of each brooder unit but out of animal reach. Ceiling mounting of such outlet boxes is most desirable. Use only grounded-type receptacles.
Use number 12 AWG copper wire (or larger) for heat lamp circuit conductors.
For number 12 wire circuits, use a 20-ampere fuse. This should be of Type S, tamper-resistant, dual-element and time delay. Do not use a larger size. Limit the number of 250-watt lamps used to seven per number 12 wire circuit.
Be sure to have all electrical wiring and equipment installed by a competent electrician in accordance with good wiring practice, the National Electrical Code, and local requirements which might prevail. | <urn:uuid:b4f3a02e-b0ca-4c1b-b2d5-ff6c37d009f8> | CC-MAIN-2015-18 | http://www.extension.missouri.edu/p/G1170 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-18/segments/1430458431586.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20150501053351-00002-ip-10-235-10-82.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.88038 | 1,238 | 3.40625 | 3 |
During February and March, we are taking on a particular initiative around the statistically troubling history in our community of education disparities, especially childhood literacy. It comes at no surprise to us that our community sits at the lowest data points in American education metrics. As we push for improved conditions and funding in Detroit schools, and more resources for educators, there are some things we can still do on our own.
On a national level, according to the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), only 18 percent of African-American fourth-graders were proficient in reading. Their white peers, however, faired well-over twice that at 45 percent, exceeding both the national average and every other racial group except Asians.
Specifically, in the state of Michigan, the NAEP data shows a relative stagnation of literacy for the African-American fourth-graders tested for the past five years. Additionally, on the NAEP reading scale of 0 to 500, “Black students had an average score that was 25 points lower than White students.” according to their Michigan Report, this is a performance gap that is not significantly different from that in 1998.
We need progress. Especially in Detroit.
In support of this campaign, we are building a library of Black children’s books to donate to local Detroit community organizations including the Walker Literacy Center and the Downtown Boxing Gym. Books depicting Black characters are essential to the positive self-esteem and identity of our children long-term. Our children deserve, just as much as any other child on this earth, to be depicted positively in the ink they learn from.
You can contribute to this cause by attending our ticketed events in February and March, or by making a direct earmarked donation that will go entirely toward purchasing books for this initiative.
Additionally, we are strongly encouraging our members, followers, and the public-at-large to volunteer for efforts to increase childhood literacy in our community. One of the easiest things you can do is read to children in your immediate and extended family, including children of friends, and also help them learn to read more challenging books above what they can read now. | <urn:uuid:5c61aa1e-bc38-4224-90a1-ff02d5d90084> | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | https://www.bypdetroit.org/black-childhood-literacy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947476432.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20240304065639-20240304095639-00377.warc.gz | en | 0.967888 | 435 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Hora is the division of the zodiac based on the luminaries, Sūrya) and the Moon (Candra). The entire zodiac is created and sustained by Sūrya and Candra. This is what we know as the ecliptic. This way of dividing the zodiac into two halves is based on the distance of the Sun from the earth. This divides the zodiac along an imaginary line passing through the zero degrees of Leo and zero degrees of Aquarius giving the two halves. The half or hora is derived from two words – “Aho” meaning day and “Ratra” meaning night. Thus, the division of the zodiac was into two parts called the solar and lunar halves. The parampara also terms this as Sūrya hora and Candra hora respectively.
आद्यन्तवर्णलोपाद्योर सिद्ध्यत्यहोरात्रात्। तत्प्रतिबद्धश्चायं ग्रहभगणश्चिन्त्यते यस्मात्॥ २-२ ādyantavarṇalopādyora siddhyatyahorātrāt| tatpratibaddhaścāyaṁ grahabhagaṇaścintyate yasmātTranslation: The word ‘Horā’ is derived from the word अहोरात्र (ahorātra). The first part of this word अहो (aho) means day or sunlight period and the second part of this word रात्र (rātra) means night. By removing the initial letter अ (a) from the first part and last phoneme त्र (tra) from the second part we obtain the new word होरा (horā). The solar half or Sūrya hora included the six signs in the zodiacal or clockwise order from Leo to Capricorn and the lunar half or Chandra Hora included the six signs from Cancer to Aquarius in the reverse or anti-clockwise order. The Sun and Moon own adjoining signs (i.e. Leo & Cancer respectively) in their Hora’s while the five other planets in the order of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn (based on their geographical distances from the Sun i.e. Mercury is closest and Saturn is the most distant) shall own the signs in their proximity to Leo (and Cancer) reckoned in the zodiacal (or reverse) order Hora based on the solstice – The Maharishi’s also observed the two solstices’ where the length of the day (i.e. daylight duration) was the longest and shortest respectively called the summer and winter solstice. The Summer solstice is the longest day and marked the end of the hot summer season and the beginning of the rainy season. So also the winter solstice marked the end of the long nights. Thus, the zodiac was divided into two halves along an imaginary line passing through the Zero Degrees of Cancer and Zero Degrees of Capricorn, which showed the position of the Sun at these two extreme points of the longest day and longest night. This formed the two Ayana or halves of the zodiac comprising three seasons each. The specific terms used are Uttar-Ayana or Northern Goal and Dakshin-Ayana or Southern- Goal and refers to the ‘goal’ of the Sun as it seeks to reach the northernmost point of the zodiac (i.e. Zero degrees of Cancer) or southern-most point (i.e. zero degrees of Capricorn). This can also refer to the goal of seeking the northernmost latitude, which coincides with the summer solstice, or the southernmost latitude, which coincides with the winter solstice | <urn:uuid:38a652ec-68f3-43bb-82e7-472ec0678de5> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://jyotishkatti.com/topic/hora-3-3/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233506528.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20230923194908-20230923224908-00342.warc.gz | en | 0.918471 | 941 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Consider this for a moment: Suppose there had been one -just one- trained, dedicated, disciplined observer, on the ground the day that the very first military aircraft flew in each of the 21 Latin American republics.
Think of it. Here we are, barely 100 years into practical, manned flight, and for lack of such witnesses at those seminal events, we are left struggling to establish, in most cases, the most elementary facts about the aircraft, airmen, dates, etc. They may as well have been events of the prehistoric era – black-and-white, fuzzy images more legendary than tangible.
Some would say that it is “too late” to seek out the details of aviation history from a period when, in many cases, record keeping of any sort was scanty, at best. I prefer to say that time is running out to do so. For if that first pilot was, himself, 21 years of age in 1924, there is an outside chance that he may still be with us. There is still time to find him – and those who followed after him.
I feel very strongly that there are a combination of traits and skills that a good Aero-Historian must possess, as a minimum. First and foremost, he (or she!) must have a passion for aviation and aircraft. This trait can make up for a host of other failings!
Secondly, the good Aero historian must speak airplane fluently. The importance of this cannot be overstressed. It is an ability developed mainly from reading anything and everything one can (with a passion, of course!) on the subject, and assimilating that data. However, it is equally important to know where to locate answers when your own knowledge of aircraft, or your own resources just can’t get you where you need to be.
Honesty, integrity and a certain degree of self control must also enter into the mix. We all know of “collectors” who delight in hoarding photos, slides, data and even “facts” when the essence of an Aero-Historian is to share what he learns with others. Our fraternity is a small one and populated, to a very gratifying degree, by folks with whom we are all very comfortable; however, it takes only one or two “barracudas” in our midst to discredit us all. In short, be an avid student of our subject (as opposed to self-styled “expert” – a word that this writer, in particular, abhors) and share what you learn. You will find that the benefits of such selflessness are very gratifying.
Being a good witness to Latin American Aviation History requires no special tools or collegiate education. It consists of studying, making notes of your observations in what some might consider excruciating detail, and checking and double-checking your findings. It means listening to “old timers” and seeking them out, wherever they may be, and letting them know that you love airplanes and flying and want to know their story. It means not cutting corners – and striving for accuracy.
You may not think of yourself as an Aero historian. It is not something that is bestowed upon you at a ceremony, or via some magic wand. It mainly devolves upon you by being a good witness. | <urn:uuid:22879e74-ccd6-4edc-9f9e-4d0d1857ed35> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://www.laahs.com/a-good-witness/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178367949.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20210303230849-20210304020849-00110.warc.gz | en | 0.973608 | 681 | 2.53125 | 3 |
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Chapter 14: Ultrafast Temporal-spatial Optical Information Processing, Conversion, and Transmission
Increasing demands for multimedia information in a networked society require an optical fiber communication system with ultrahigh transmission capacity at all times. To increase the transmission capacity of optical fiber communication systems, much research effort has been made on time division multiplexing (TDM) and wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). Certainly, the main target for a multimedia society is ultrahigh-speed transmission of high-resolution image signals. To realize this goal with the current communication infrastructure, it will be necessary to develop all-optical processors for transmitters and receivers that can make good use of the ultrahigh bandwidth of the optical fiber communication network - which is unattainable in present electronic devices and systems. As of November 2001, the best data on the transmission capacity of the primary optical communication line was 2.4 Tb/s with DWDM consisting of 240 wavelengths modulated at 10 Gb/s per wavelength for 7600-km transmission.
Recently, ultrashort-pulse laser technology has advanced rapidly and been applied to various fields. It would be desirable to apply the unique property - ultrahigh bandwidth of ultrashort laser pulses - with the ultrahigh bandwidth of optical fiber communication channels.
In applying this unique property of ultrashort laser pulses, we consider a new system called ULTIMATE for the ultrafast optical time-to-2D-space to time-to-2D-space conversion. This system can perform ultrafast conversion among image signals and time sequential ones. The techniques considered will be useful not only for ultrafast image conversion and transmission but also for measurement of the transition process in ultrafast optical phenomena. A new technique for ultrafast optical routing will also be presented.
Online access to SPIE eBooks is limited to subscribing institutions. | <urn:uuid:7928a934-7207-4a63-a4b4-7ed4c32bfc63> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/ebooks/PM/Optical-Information-Processing-A-Tribute-to-Adolf-Lohmann/14/Ultrafast-Temporal-spatial-Optical-Information-Processing-Conversion-and-Transmission/10.1117/3.2265058.ch14?SSO=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547583857993.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20190122161345-20190122183345-00283.warc.gz | en | 0.886449 | 444 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Animals belonging to the bivalve family Pulvinitidae were originally known only from fossil records dating back millions of years ago.
So it was somewhat of a surprise in 1913 when some Pulvinitid specimens were trawled from a depth of 180-460 m off the eastern coast of Victoria, by the Commonwealth Fisheries Research Vessel 'Endeavour'. Although only dead shells, they were obviously of recent origin and were named Foramelina exempla by the Australian Museum curator at the time, Charles Hedley.
No further specimens were found for over 60 years. Then in 1980, a couple of Pulvinitidae shells were brought up from a depth of 400-460 m off the coast of Sydney by commercial trawlers. This discovery was closely followed in July 1981 by a jackpot find - a whole aeroplane wing with living specimens attached, trawled from a depth of 406m also off the coast of Sydney .
This last find generated a number of intriguing questions - What was an aeroplane wing doing on the bottom of the sea floor? Why were these rarely collected animals found on a constructed object and nowhere else? Where did they live naturally?
The first question was easy - after World War II, surplus military equipment was dumped in deep waters out to sea beyond the reach of the commercial fishing of the time. Within 35 years however, with the improvement of fishing technology, Australian trawlers were regularly working at these depths. Trawlers began to come across the dumped equipment often tearing their trawl nets on it.
Fortunately in this case, the skipper with the ripped nets did not immediately throw the offending junk back overboard, but brought it back into port and contacted a shell collector about the animals living on the wing. When the collector realised that he did not recognise the bivalves, he contacted the Australian Museum. As a result, the first known living specimens of the Pulvinitidae family made their way to the Australian Museum in good condition.
The next two questions took longer to answer. In 1997, underwater video showed live Pulvinitids attached to steep rock walls at a depth of 150- 285 m in Fiordland, New Zealand. Trawlers generally avoid steep rocky areas, explaining why virtually no specimens had appeared in commercial or research trawls. The plane wing was just in the right place at the right time providing a suitably hard surface for the animals to attach to.
In 1984, T Palmer revised the Pulvinitidae family after the new discoveries and moved the dead specimens from the 'Endeavor' to the fossil genus Pulvinites . | <urn:uuid:01f98623-dd0e-42aa-a319-b867ce2e9224> | CC-MAIN-2014-52 | http://australianmuseum.net.au/Malacology-Collection-Bivalve-Pulvinitidae | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-52/segments/1418802769990.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20141217075249-00027-ip-10-231-17-201.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970078 | 534 | 3.78125 | 4 |
I am often intrigued by promotional campaigns of several upcoming developments being advertised as green buildings, the common claims being “Green podium landscape”, “rain water harvesting”, “solar powered outdoor lights” to support the statement. It would be interesting to note that lush green lawns take about 4 times more water to maintain itself than landscape with native species and trees; rain water harvesting may not be feasible for all locations and outdoor lights contribute to miniscule energy consumption in comparison to energy consumed in buildings and hence use of solar powered outdoor lights may hardly bring down energy consumption of a large complex of buildings. Incorporation of green concepts should be done with a holistic approach and yield tangible benefits to consumers and environment. Let us dwell a bit more on the issue of water.
For example, rain water harvesting, unless done properly may have serious consequence on ground water quality. Care should be taken to ensure that proper filtration and screening is done prior to recharge of rain water into ground. Roof top run-off is usually stored or recharged. Runoff from pavements, roads, unless pre-filtered appropriately, may lead to ground water contamination. Rain water harvesting may not be feasible for ground with high water table, in rocky terrains and needs careful soil investigation before it is designed . While rain water harvesting is an important measure to counter depleting water tables, the key question arises on how far are upcoming developments viable as far as water availability is concerned.
The per capita water availability in India is decreasing over years and has gone down by 15% from 1816cum/capita in 2001 to 1544 cum/ capita in 2011. Developments such as Gurgaon is facing the brunt of the problem with water table as low as 200 feet in places (although rain water harvesting is a mandate in Gurgaon) . Availability of water varies regionally and incremental urbanization without matching plan to meet increasing water demand can leave several developments high and dry.
I was on a recent visit to an upcoming green campus in the outskirts of Jaipur. Traversing quite a few kms across the dry and arid terrain ,the first glimpses of the upcoming facility for 16, 000 students , aspiring to avail world class facilities in engineering, medical and allied disciplines holds promise as a dream destination. The facility is being designed to meet highest green building standards. However there is no assured water supply from local authority. The campus is entirely dependent on ground water for its potable water supply. The construction water is purchased in tankers.
Being committed to ensure sustainable water supply and management, the campus is designed as a zero discharge campus. This is particularly crucial as the water table in Jaipur varies between 10m to 70m and is depleting @ 0.5 to 1.6 m annually. The landscape design of the campus integrates effective water management strategies. A series of pebble lined swales capture every drop of rain that falls on the site. The swales allow percolation of rainwater into ground water. Excess water filters into a series of storage tanks. The storage tanks also capture roof top rainwater. Planting of the low water consuming plant species, low flow fixtures in toilets and water efficient air-conditioning ensures low water demand. To reduce demand of purchased water during construction, admixtures are used in concrete. The entire waste water is being treated and reused for landscaping and flushing. Yet, the future is uncertain. No one knows if the borewells shall dry up one day!Environmental sustainability is currently delinked from urban policy and planning processes.
It is a fact that most of our urban centres are not planned developments. Currently master plans are available for about 1500 towns out of 5161 urban centres in the country, and implementation is a serious challenge. City development plans have been key as far as project and infrastructure investment planning for the JNNURM cities are concerned. But there is little harmonization between master plan, regional plans and CDPs. Complimenting above challenges, outdated UDPFI guidelines and CPHEEO manuals have weakened the urban development policy framework and resulting in unbinding of rules of developments. Revision of existing planning laws, norms and space standards and formulation of urban environmental policy is crucial to ensure that our future developments are sustainable. Convergence of different plans needs to be ensured through better coordination among concerned authorities.
In view of the status of urban water supply and sewage treatment and with respect to gap in delivery of basic service such as sustained water supply for future developments, the following strategies should be in place:
City water resources planning and management plan should include sustainability of surface water and protection of groundwater recharge areas.
The land use plan should consider existing water sheds, catchment areas, and it should be ensured that existing catchment areas are not impaired by faulty landuse planning.
Cities should be encouraged to plan for own sources to reduce cost of water supply.
Local water sources should be managed sustainably and equitable distribution should be ensured.
Use of treated waste water and rain water should be advocated.
Importance of water conservation and minimization of water demand for various applications should be promoted through active campaign.
Water utilities should plan for full cost recovery of water treatment, management, operation and maintenance.
Tapering of subsidies can ensure sustainable water use.Over consumption of water should attract higher tariffs.
Good practices such as rain water harvesting and recharge of aquifers, water audit and efficiency enhancement of recycle of waste water and its reuse, and complete access to sewage and sanitation system on-site or off site should be inplace.
Success of future developments is embedded in in their long term sustainability and an integrated and holistic approach to sustainable water management is essential. | <urn:uuid:239d7a12-00e4-4f05-8593-ff772d22b5d4> | CC-MAIN-2017-43 | https://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/IssuesonSustainableHabitats/constructing-in-deserts-and-dry-lands-are-we-green/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-43/segments/1508187822116.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20171017144041-20171017164041-00142.warc.gz | en | 0.946237 | 1,171 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Procedures for Handling Vaccine-Preventable Diseases at Camp
- Procedures for Handling Vaccine-Preventable Diseases at Camp is also available in Portable Document Format (PDF, 127KB).
The rapid spread of vaccine-preventable diseases can quickly change a pleasant camp visit into a difficult experience for staff and campers. The following information is provided to help prevent and identify an illness outbreak and limit its impact. Early intervention may prevent additional cases of illness. For additional information on handling vaccine-preventable diseases, contact your local health department.
Before Camp Begins: Collect & Review Immunization Records
- Obtain immunization records for campers and staff well in advance of their arrival at camp (see Recommended Immunizations for Campers).
- Review immunization records for completeness (See New York State Immunization Requirements for School Entrance/Attendance and Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, to view immunization schedules).
- Efforts should be made to assure complete vaccination status of campers and staff prior to arrival at camp.
Once At Camp: Identification & Notification
- In the event individuals arrive without complete vaccinations and unclear history of disease, discuss vaccination with parents and adult staff. Your camp's medical provider or local health department can arrange vaccination(s) for them. A list of susceptible individuals should be maintained by the camp at all times in the event of an outbreak and need for potential camper exclusion.
- Screen new campers and staff for illness as they arrive at camp. Ask about recent exposure to anyone known to have a communicable disease and recent foreign travel; log in the campers' files.
- Check the medical log entries daily for recurring ailments and increased frequency of cases of illness with similar symptoms (i.e., headache, fever, swollen glands, rash, cough, etc).
- Camps are required to notify their local health department within 24 hours of any illness suspected of being water, food, or air-borne, or spread by contact (including vaccine-preventable diseases). If multiple campers or staff are ill with similar symptoms, your camp may be experiencing an outbreak. Local and state health departments are available to consult on prevention and control of any case or outbreak of illness in a camp.
- In the event of an outbreak, work with your local health department to develop and maintain a log of ill campers and staff. This log should include the name, age, sex, camper or staff, unit/dorm/tent/cabin, onset date and time, symptoms, duration (hours), vaccine history, and treatment or action.
- Notify parents of the illness outbreak. Please contact your local health department for assistance.
What To Do Every Day: Prevention & Control
- Handwashing (staff and campers) must occur frequently and not just during outbreaks! Wash hands after activities and always after using the bathroom and before eating. Provide plenty of soap and disposable paper towels in handwash areas. In situations where sinks are unavailable, camp staff should carry a container of alcohol-based hand sanitizer and use according to the manufacturer's guidelines.
- Inform all campers and staff to cover their mouths and noses with a tissue when coughing or sneezing (or cough or sneeze into an elbow if no tissue is available).
- Maintain at least 6 feet separation between the heads of beds in sleeping quarters.
- Housekeeping – Areas in which ill people are living or which are soiled by vomitus or feces require increased housekeeping emphasis (bathrooms, sleeping areas, etc.)
- Food Service – Clean dining areas after each use. Ensure proper cleaning of all reusable common eating utensils and dishware and do not allow re-use or sharing of unclean eating utensils, drinking cups, etc.
When Disease Is Suspected/Identified: Restrictions & Exclusions
- Physically separate ill campers and staff from the well and consult with your local health department regarding their return to activities.
- If isolating ill campers and staff at camp – Designate separate activity, eating, and housing areas for anyone that is ill. Campers and staff with the same illness should stay together; if more than one illness occurs at the same time, separate ill persons according to their disease. If you are unable to house all ill people separately from well people, consider sending ill people home.
- If sending ill campers and staff home – Isolate ill persons from others while they are waiting to be picked up. Ill persons should avoid public transportation. Alert your local health department that the camper or staff member has been sent home and the camper or staff member's home address. This will enable the health department to follow up with ill persons after they leave your camp.
- In an outbreak, limit entry and exit from camp; postpone or restrict activities involving visitors, including other camps, until cleared by your local health department. | <urn:uuid:541cbc80-2412-4553-a34e-6ff6e096b764> | CC-MAIN-2015-06 | http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/outdoors/camps/vaccine.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-06/segments/1422115899686.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150124161139-00027-ip-10-180-212-252.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92498 | 1,019 | 2.796875 | 3 |
In 2015, the Houston Zoo removed plastic bags in the gift shops to protect animals in the wild. In 2017, the zoo-based conservation organization eliminated single-use plastic water bottles. As of March of 2018, the zoo has taken its third step in plastic reduction, removing single-use plastic straws from all concession stands on zoo grounds.
This move is a monumental achievement for the organization, as the Houston Zoo is among the first zoos and aquariums to eliminate these single-use consumer plastic items. Removing these single-use consumer plastics was made possible through a collaboration between the zoo and its retail, food and beverage partner, Service Systems Associates (SSA).
Because of the Houston Zoo’s commitment to conservation and its mission of inspiring action to save wildlife, the zoo will be able to prevent an estimated 80,000 plastic bags, 300,000 plastic bottles, and nearly 23,000 plastic straws from entering landfills and the environment each year. There is roughly 3.15 billion pounds of plastic in our oceans right now and the average American will add to this epidemic by throwing away approximately 185 pounds of plastic per year. Wildlife like endangered sea turtles and other marine creatures often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, one of their favorite foods, with tragic consequences. Reducing plastics keeps this type of trash out of our oceans and prevents harm to animals like sea turtles and other marine life.
“Removing single-use plastic items is a direct action to protect wildlife,” says Peter Riger, vice president of conservation and education. “The Houston Zoo is steadfast in its commitment to save animals and we encourage our visitors to join us in going single-use plastic free. Everyone that chooses to reduce their use of plastic is helping to protect wildlife.“
In zoo gift shops, guests can actively participate in saving wildlife by choosing to be completely bag-free, purchase reusable bags or use a tote brought from home. Guests have two choices when purchasing water at the zoo – an aluminum reusable water bottle (pre-filled with water) or a JUST Water recyclable, paper-based carton at any of the restaurants or kiosks. The carton itself is made of paper from certified forests and the plastic cap is made from sugarcane, making JUST Water cartons 100% recyclable. Across the park, water bottle refilling stations are available to refill JUST Water cartons, or any other reusable container, made possible by a partnership with Texas Plumbing Supply. | <urn:uuid:97ea32da-a984-4ee3-8b33-e90a286643a0> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | https://www.houstonzoo.org/blog/zoo-now-free-single-use-consumer-plastics/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593655937797.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20200711192914-20200711222914-00376.warc.gz | en | 0.936152 | 510 | 3.15625 | 3 |
What is Hallucinations?
A hallucination is a perception in the absence of external stimulus that has qualities of real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and located in external objective space. They are distinguished from the related phenomena of dreaming, which does not involve wakefulness; illusion, which involves distorted or misinterpreted real perception; imagery, which does not mimic real perception and is under voluntary control; and pseudohallucination, which does not mimic real perception, but is not under voluntary control. Hallucinations also differ from "delusional perceptions", in which a correctly sensed and interpreted stimulus (i.e., a real perception) is given some additional (and typically absurd) significance.
Hallucinations can occur in any sensory modality—visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, proprioceptive, equilibrioceptive, nociceptive, thermoceptive and chronoceptive.
A mild form of hallucination is known as a disturbance, and can occur in most of the senses above. These may be things like seeing movement in peripheral vision, or hearing faint noises and/or voices. Auditory hallucinations are very common in schizophrenia. They may be benevolent (telling the patient good things about themselves) or malicious, cursing the patient etc. Auditory hallucinations of the malicious type are frequently heard, for example people talking about the patient behind his/her back. Like auditory hallucinations, the source of the visual counterpart can also be behind the patient's back. Their visual counterpart is the feeling of being looked or stared at, usually with malicious intent. Frequently, auditory hallucinations and their visual counterpart are experienced by the patient together.
Hypnagogic hallucinations and hypnopompic hallucinations are considered normal phenomena. Hypnagogic hallucinations can occur as one is falling asleep and hypnopompic hallucinations occur when one is waking up.
Hallucinations can be associated with drug use (particularly deliriants), sleep deprivation, psychosis, neurological disorders, and delirium tremens.
The word 'Hallucination' itself was introduced into the English language by the seventeenth century physician Sir Thomas Browne in 1646 from the derivation of the Latin word alucinari meaning to wander in the mind. | <urn:uuid:8d0e0430-3242-4cc1-83cc-db4dbf97fb5c> | CC-MAIN-2019-47 | https://www.healthcaremagic.com/topics/disease-and-conditions/hallucinations/218651?iL=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496668525.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20191114131434-20191114155434-00111.warc.gz | en | 0.926421 | 461 | 3.375 | 3 |
kiss is the touch or pressing of one’s lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Although kissing brings many benefits for our health, but it can also be a way for the transmission of viruses and bacteria that cause diseases.
Bacteria and viruses that are present in the saliva or blood of one person can be transmitted to another through a kiss. Below are some of the diseases that can be transmitted through kissing;
The disease causes respiratory illness (like the flu) with symptoms such as a cough, fever, and in more severe cases, difficulty breathing. You can protect yourself by washing your hands frequently, avoiding touching your face, and avoiding close contact (1 meter or 3 feet) with people who are unwell.
Colds are spread by direct contact with the virus. By kissing an infected person we get in direct contact with the secretions of his nose and throat.
3. Cold Sores
Also caused by a virus, it can be transmitted through direct contact with the virus. Herpes is more easily transmitted when blisters are forming.
4. Kiss Disease
Also known as glandular fever or infectious mononucleosis, it is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. The virus is transmitted through saliva and infection occurs through contact.
5. Hepatitis B
Infection can occur when the infected blood and saliva of the infected person come into direct contact with the blood or mucous membranes of another person, for example if the person has open sores in or around the mouth.
6. Dental Caries
Did you know that the mouths of newborn babies lack the bacteria that cause tooth decay? Kissing babies on the lips causes these bacteria to spread to their mouths. Even though there are some diseases that can be transmitted through kissing, remember that there is no need to give up kissing for the sake of health.
7. Meningococcal Disease
This is a life-threatening disease, and is due to inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. The bacterium that causes this disease is spread by direct contact or droplets of saliva. It is a very rare form of transmission.
Most kisses do not cause any disease and the risk of serious illness is very small.
Tips to Avoid or Reduce Infections Through Kissing
* Avoid kissing or being kissed when one of the two people is sick.
* Avoid kissing someone on the lips when there is an active mouth, warts or ulcers around the lips or in the mouth.
* Maintain good oral hygiene.
* Coughing and sneezing in a handkerchief. | <urn:uuid:5f4ad2d9-18fc-41aa-84e2-0b8f717b9f77> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.olexhome.info/six-deadly-diseases-that-can-be-transmitted-through-kissing-no-1-can-kill-you-within-3-days/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141746033.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20201205013617-20201205043617-00292.warc.gz | en | 0.939734 | 542 | 3.734375 | 4 |
Spatial Requirements: Classroom with moderate space required
Activity Type: Movement/group
Group Size: 6 or more
Time: 15 minutes
This energizing group activity will help students to identify many of the challenges and stressors they face throughout their day, and it will help them to feel comfortable with making occasional mistakes. They will recognize when it is appropriate to be forgiving of their own mistakes and the mistakes of others as it relates to Street Resilience.
- 8-10 objects that are easy to throw and catch, such as different sizes of balls, balloons, etc.
- 8-10 pieces of masking tape (one for each object)
- 1 marker
Invite everyone to stand in a circle. Take one of the objects – preferably one that is very easy to throw and catch – and explain that you are going to throw it to someone in the circle. When that person catches it, they will throw it to someone else in the circle who has not caught it yet. Students should continue to throw and catch until every person in the circle has caught and thrown the object and it is returned to you. Have students remember who they are throwing the object to so that the pattern can continue in the next round. Ask the group if this portion of the activity was easy or hard. Most likely students will say that it was easy.
Ask students, “What is something in life that you have to juggle or deal with each day?” (For example, school, family commitments, clubs, homework, relationships, chores, friends, sports, after-school job, etc.) Write responses on the pieces of masking tape, then put a piece of masking tape on each object.
Throw the first object into the circle again and have students repeat the throwing pattern from the first round. After the first object has been thrown in, throw the second object, then the third, until all the objects are being tossed around the circle. This activity will typically become more and more stressful and objects will often be dropped.
After a few minutes of “juggling,” stop the activity and ask if Round 2 was easy or hard.
Before Round 3, have students come up with some strategies to make the next round more successful. Start the juggle again and observe any improvements made from the first round. You may want to allow for an additional round or two so students can continue to improve.
Processing the Experience:
- What strategies did you use to improve in this activity?
- What happened during the activity when someone dropped the ball? How did the “ball dropper” generally react? How did the rest of you react?
- In life, is it OK to make mistakes? Why or why not?
- Can mistakes always be avoided in every aspect of life?
- What’s a good way to respond when we make a mistake?
- What else can this activity teach us about Street Resilience?
- What can we learn from this activity that can help us feel less anxious if we are overwhelmed or stressed with all the things we have to “juggle” in life? | <urn:uuid:2e593853-8a25-4c6f-ac67-75f8b26de35e> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://whytryprogram.org/rfy-sr-la-group-juggle/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233511106.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20231003124522-20231003154522-00067.warc.gz | en | 0.96614 | 665 | 3.6875 | 4 |
Equality of women and men, as stated in the Istanbul Convention, is a fundamental human right, an essential element of democracy and an imperative of social justice. However, in present-day society, inequalities between women and men persist in the political, economic, social, cultural and educational fields.
The team of Europe on Track 9 wants to put a particular emphasis on the latter and with the present Manifesto, it has worked on some key principles and recommendations directed to educational institutions on how to maximise the impact that an education based on gender equality can have on young people.
The first cause of violence against women, which takes many forms, lies in the discrimination that women suffer due to the dominant patriarchal culture. Therefore, there is a need to re-evaluate training and didactic paths by promoting the overcoming of gender stereotypes through education. School is the ideal context in which to intervene to prevent the spread and take the root of sexism and misogynism and provide an alternative model of (gender) education.
Educational institutions should offer guidance on the implementation of Article 14 of the Istanbul Convention and train education professionals on how to encourage younger generations to advocate for gender equality and to help them in creating safer spaces in educational and professional environments and promoting non-stereotyped gender roles at all levels of education.
From our research, it was clear that young people surveyed shared a lack of knowledge on how to react to this kind of harassment. Many don’t know what actions they could take if confronted with harassment or violence, how to help or support victims and survivors of this, or what organisations are available to help them.
From what we gathered, the most recurring issue is lack of education and awareness on gender-based discrimination, harassment and violence on how we can tackle the issue of gender inequality has been through increased awareness and education. These suggested forms of education have been
- adapting educational environments to be inclusive, understanding and equal,
- creating and maintaining safe spaces and being active bystanders in cases of gender-based harassment, violence, etc.,
Increased awareness of the topic of gender equality is a crucial element in challenging normalised inequality and discrimination throughout society. From interactions with young people throughout Europe, the general consensus has been that there is a lack of public awareness of the types of inequalities faced by people due to their gender. | <urn:uuid:3fc844ee-669c-4de6-8729-fa5bde21877a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.europeontrack.org/europe-on-track-9-manifesto-for-creating-safer-environments-in-educational-institutions/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573744.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819161440-20220819191440-00515.warc.gz | en | 0.962779 | 471 | 3.65625 | 4 |
Rabbit behavior has long fascinated researchers and pet owners alike, as these adorable creatures display a range of complex behaviors that can both delight and perplex their human companions. Understanding rabbit behavior is crucial for providing optimal care and ensuring the well-being of these pets in domestic settings. This article aims to explore the intricacies of rabbit behavior within the context of picture, shedding light on key insights derived from scientific research.
One intriguing example that highlights the importance of understanding rabbit behavior is the case study of a pet bunny named Coco. Coco was initially observed to be frequently thumping her hind legs on the ground, which raised concerns among her owner about potential distress or health issues. As this unusual behavior continued over time, it became evident that Coco was using thumps as a form of communication with her human caretaker. Such instances emphasize the significance of comprehending rabbit behavior patterns to effectively interpret their actions and respond appropriately in order to ensure their welfare.
By delving into various aspects such as social interactions, communication methods, territoriality, exploration tendencies, and emotional expressions exhibited by rabbits, this article seeks to provide readers with an insightful overview of rabbit behavior in relation to pictures. Through an academic lens devoid of personal pronouns, we will examine existing research findings while offering practical implications for rabbit owners and enthusiasts.
One area of rabbit behavior that is commonly explored is social interactions. Rabbits are known to be social animals, and they display a range of behaviors when interacting with other rabbits or humans. They establish dominance hierarchies within their social groups, which can lead to displays of aggression or territorial behavior. Understanding these dynamics can help owners create harmonious living environments for their rabbits, whether they are kept individually or in pairs or groups.
Communication methods are another important aspect of rabbit behavior. While rabbits cannot speak, they use various means to convey their needs, feelings, and intentions. Vocalizations such as purring or growling may indicate pleasure or discomfort, while body language cues like ear position, tail movement, and facial expressions provide further insights into their emotional states. By familiarizing themselves with these communication signals, owners can better understand and respond appropriately to their rabbits’ needs.
Territoriality is also a significant aspect of rabbit behavior. Rabbits have a strong instinct to defend their territories, whether it be a hutch or an indoor space. They mark their territory through scent marking and other behaviors like chin rubbing or spraying urine. Recognizing these territorial behaviors can help owners provide appropriate spaces for their rabbits while minimizing potential conflicts with other pets or family members.
Rabbits are curious creatures by nature and possess a natural inclination for exploration. Providing opportunities for them to engage in activities like digging, chewing on safe toys, and exploring new environments not only satisfies their curiosity but also promotes physical exercise and mental stimulation. This understanding of their exploratory tendencies allows owners to create enriching environments that cater to the rabbits’ need for mental stimulation and physical exercise.
Lastly, emotional expressions exhibited by rabbits play a crucial role in understanding their well-being. Like any living being, rabbits experience emotions such as fear, happiness, contentment, and stress. Observing changes in behavior patterns such as decreased appetite or increased aggression can indicate underlying emotional distress. By recognizing these emotional expressions, owners can take appropriate measures to address any potential issues and ensure their rabbits’ emotional well-being.
In conclusion, understanding rabbit behavior is essential for providing optimal care and ensuring the well-being of these pets. By delving into aspects such as social interactions, communication methods, territoriality, exploration tendencies, and emotional expressions exhibited by rabbits, owners can develop a deeper understanding of their furry companions. This knowledge not only helps interpret their actions but also enables the creation of enriching environments that cater to the rabbits’ physical and mental needs.
Understanding Rabbit Communication
Rabbits are fascinating creatures that possess a unique system of communication. By deciphering their various behaviors and vocalizations, we can gain valuable insights into their thoughts and emotions. To illustrate this point, let’s consider the case of Coco, a pet rabbit who lives in a loving home. When Coco is feeling content and relaxed, she will often emit low-frequency purring sounds similar to those made by cats. This gentle rumbling serves as an indication of her comfort and happiness.
In order to fully comprehend rabbit communication, it is essential to recognize both their verbal and non-verbal cues. Rabbits have an extensive range of body language signals that allow them to convey messages effectively. For instance, when Coco flattens herself against the ground with ears flattened backward, it signifies fear or submission. On the other hand, if Coco stands tall on her hind legs while thumping one foot vigorously against the floor, it serves as an alarm signal to alert others about potential danger.
To further emphasize the significance of understanding rabbit communication, consider the following bullet points:
- Rabbits communicate primarily through visual cues such as ear positions, body posture, and tail movements.
- Vocalizations like grunting or honking indicate aggression or annoyance.
- Social grooming plays a crucial role in establishing bonds between rabbits.
- Binkying—a joyful leap into the air with twists and turns—is a clear expression of happiness.
Additionally, observing the social interactions among rabbits provides invaluable insight into their complex behavior patterns. The table below summarizes some common behaviors exhibited during different types of social encounters:
|Sniffing another rabbit’s face
|Rubbing chin onto objects or individuals
|Climbing over another rabbit
|Gentle biting or nuzzling of another rabbit
By delving into the intricacies of rabbit communication, we can gain a deeper understanding of their social structure and interactions. In the subsequent section on “Exploring Rabbit Social Structure,” we will further explore how rabbits establish hierarchies within their groups and engage in cooperative behaviors.
Note: The subsequent section about exploring rabbit social structure will provide insights into how rabbits interact with one another, shedding light on their hierarchical systems and cooperative tendencies without explicitly stating “step” or using transitional phrases like “In conclusion” or “Finally.”
Exploring Rabbit Social Structure
Building upon our understanding of rabbit communication, let us now delve into the intricate social structure that governs these furry creatures. By examining their interactions and hierarchies within a group, we can gain valuable insights into the dynamics of pet rabbits’ behavior.
Rabbits are inherently social animals, naturally inclined to live in groups or pairs. Within these social structures, they establish complex hierarchies based on dominance and submission. For instance, imagine a hypothetical scenario where two rabbits are introduced for the first time. Initially, they may engage in behaviors such as circling each other or even minor aggression as they determine their respective places in the hierarchy. This process is essential for establishing clear boundaries and maintaining stability within the group.
To better comprehend rabbit social structures, consider the following factors:
- Dominance Hierarchy: Rabbits establish a pecking order through various displays of dominance, which include mounting or nipping at one another.
- Group Cohesion: While some rabbits thrive when living with others, others may prefer solitary habitats due to individual temperament variations.
- Territoriality: Rabbits mark their territory using scent glands located on their chins and paws, ensuring territorial boundaries are respected by other members.
- Bonding Techniques: In multi-rabbit households or when introducing new companions, specific bonding techniques like supervised sessions can help foster positive relationships between them.
|Mounting behavior; Nipping at subordinates
|Preference for communal living; Solitary tendencies
|Scent marking to define territories
|Supervised introduction sessions
Understanding the complexities of rabbit social structures not only allows pet owners to create suitable environments but also promotes overall well-being and mental stimulation. By incorporating socialization opportunities, providing adequate space for each rabbit’s needs, and considering individual preferences, owners can help ensure a harmonious coexistence within their furry companions’ lives.
With an understanding of rabbit communication and social structures in place, let us now turn our attention to unraveling the intriguing feeding habits of these delightful creatures.
Unraveling Rabbit Feeding Habits
Understanding the social structure of rabbits is crucial for pet owners to provide appropriate care and ensure a harmonious environment. By observing their interactions, we can gain insights into how these furry creatures establish hierarchies within their groups.
For instance, let’s consider a hypothetical case study involving two bonded rabbits named Bella and Max. Upon introducing them to each other, an initial period of dominance display may occur as they establish their hierarchy. This could manifest in behaviors such as chasing, mounting, or even nipping at one another. Eventually, they will settle into a comfortable relationship where one rabbit assumes the role of the dominant member while the other becomes more submissive.
To better understand this behavior and its implications for pet rabbit welfare, it is essential to examine some key aspects:
- Dominance Hierarchy: Rabbits establish a social order based on dominance. The dominant individual enjoys certain privileges like access to resources and choice of territory.
- Territorial Behavior: Rabbits are territorial animals that mark their space with scent glands located under their chin or by leaving droppings strategically placed around their surroundings.
- Bonding Process: When introducing new rabbits, proper bonding techniques should be followed to minimize stress and aggression during the integration process.
- Same-Sex Pairing: It is generally easier to pair same-sex rabbits due to fewer hormonal conflicts; however, careful introduction and monitoring are still necessary.
In reference to our case study, Bella and Max gradually formed a bond after going through some initial adjustment challenges. They established clear roles within their social structure – Bella became the dominant rabbit while Max assumed a submissive position. As responsible pet owners, it is important to recognize these dynamics and support our furry companions accordingly by providing adequate living spaces and facilitating positive social interactions.
Now turning our attention towards understanding rabbit communication cues through body language
Decoding Rabbit Body Language
Unraveling Rabbit Feeding Habits has shed light on the dietary preferences and behaviors of pet rabbits. Now, let’s delve into another important aspect of understanding rabbit behavior: decoding their body language. By being able to recognize and interpret various signals conveyed through their physical movements and expressions, we can better communicate with our furry companions.
To illustrate the significance of deciphering rabbit body language, consider a hypothetical case study involving a pet rabbit named Daisy. One evening, as Daisy hops around her enclosure, she suddenly starts thumping her hind legs repeatedly against the ground. This rhythmic thumping is an unmistakable indication that Daisy feels threatened or alarmed by something in her environment. Understanding this body language allows her owner to quickly identify potential sources of stress and take appropriate action to ensure Daisy’s safety and well-being.
Decoding rabbit body language involves recognizing specific cues that they use to convey different emotions and intentions. Here are some key indicators to look out for:
- Ears: Rabbits’ ears are highly expressive. When relaxed, they may be held upright or slightly forward. However, if flattened against the back of their head, it indicates fear or aggression.
- Eyes: Wide-open eyes suggest alertness and curiosity, while narrowed eyes can indicate pain or discomfort.
- Posture: A crouched position often signifies submission or fear, whereas standing tall with raised front paws suggests excitement or anticipation.
- Tail: A calm rabbit typically holds its tail relaxed downwards. However, if the tail is tightly tucked under their body, it may signal anxiety or unease.
|Warning or alarm
|Affection or bonding
By familiarizing ourselves with these visual and auditory signals, we can better interpret our pet rabbits’ emotions and respond accordingly. Understanding their body language allows for a more harmonious relationship between humans and rabbits.
Analyzing Rabbit Play Behavior
Understanding rabbit body language is crucial for pet owners to effectively communicate and interact with their furry companions. By deciphering the various signals rabbits use to express their emotions, needs, and desires, we can ensure a happy and healthy relationship between humans and rabbits. In this section, we will delve deeper into decoding rabbit body language by exploring specific behaviors and what they signify.
One example of a common behavior in rabbits is thumping. When a rabbit forcefully hits its hind legs against the ground, it creates a loud sound that alerts those nearby. This behavior often indicates fear or danger perceived by the rabbit. For instance, imagine a scenario where a household object falls unexpectedly near your pet rabbit. If your bunny starts thumping right after, it is likely expressing its alarm or distress.
To further understand rabbit body language, here are some key behaviors and their corresponding meanings:
- Ears flattened backward: Signifies aggression or irritation.
- Nose twitching rapidly: Indicates curiosity or an attempt to gather information about the surroundings.
- Tail raised upwards: Suggests excitement or anticipation.
- Biting or nipping: Can be seen as either playful behavior or a sign of aggression depending on context.
By paying close attention to these behaviors and others like them, you can better assess your pet rabbit’s emotional state and respond accordingly. Remember that every rabbit may have unique ways of communicating, so observing patterns over time is essential in understanding individual preferences.
In conclusion, being able to decode rabbit body language allows us to grasp the nuances behind our pets’ actions and provides valuable insights into their emotions. Understanding these subtle cues helps us build stronger bonds with our rabbits and address their needs effectively.
Examining Rabbit Territorial Instincts
Insights into Rabbit Territorial Instincts
Building upon our examination of rabbit play behavior, we now delve into the fascinating world of rabbit territorial instincts. Understanding these innate behaviors can provide valuable insights for pet owners seeking to create a harmonious environment for their furry companions.
To illustrate the significance of territorial instincts in rabbits, let us consider an example involving two rabbits introduced to a new living space. Initially, both rabbits may exhibit signs of territorial aggression as they establish dominance and claim their respective territories. This process often involves scent marking through chin rubbing or spraying urine to communicate ownership boundaries.
When analyzing rabbit territorial instincts, several key points emerge:
Marking Behavior: Rabbits have scent glands located on various parts of their bodies, which they use to mark objects within their territory. By leaving behind distinct scents, rabbits are able to communicate with other members of their species and assert control over their surroundings.
Aggression Triggers: In certain situations, such as when encountering unfamiliar rabbits or feeling threatened by external stimuli, rabbits may display aggressive behavior to protect their territory. This can manifest as defensive posturing, lunging, biting, or growling.
Social Hierarchy: Within a group setting or multi-rabbit household, establishing a social hierarchy is crucial for maintaining order and minimizing conflicts among individuals. Dominant rabbits typically occupy higher positions in the hierarchy and enjoy privileges such as preferred access to resources like food and resting areas.
Environmental Enrichment: Providing adequate environmental enrichment is essential for addressing territorial behaviors in pet rabbits. Offering plenty of hiding spots, toys for mental stimulation, and separate feeding stations can help alleviate potential stressors associated with limited resources.
|Scent marking is a vital means through which rabbits communicate ownership boundaries
|Aggressive behavior may be triggered when facing unfamiliar rabbits or perceived threats
|Establishing a social hierarchy helps maintain order and minimize conflicts in group settings
|Environmental enrichment, such as hiding spots and separate feeding stations, can reduce territorial stress
By comprehending the intricacies of rabbit territorial instincts, pet owners can proactively address potential challenges associated with this behavior. Creating an environment that takes into account their natural tendencies not only promotes their well-being but also fosters a harmonious coexistence between rabbits and humans.
Through our exploration of both play behavior and territorial instincts, we have gained valuable insights into the complex world of rabbit behavior. These findings serve as a foundation for enhancing our understanding of these delightful creatures while enabling us to provide them with optimal care and companionship. | <urn:uuid:7ad688bc-1e9b-4ca2-82e4-78513f1e7b55> | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | https://pet-picture-pool.com/behavior/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947475711.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20240301225031-20240302015031-00102.warc.gz | en | 0.91976 | 3,296 | 3.53125 | 4 |
Yasunari Kawabata (11 June, 1899 – 16 April, 1972) was a Nobel Prize winning novelist from Japan. Mr. Kawabata was the first Japanese author to have been awarded this prize.
Fun Facts about Yasunari Kawabata:
- Mr. Kawabata was born in Osaka. Unfortunately, he was orphaned when he was four years old, and lived with his grandparents.
- His sister went to live with an aunt, he only met her once again at age 10 before she passed away a year later.
- Once his grandparents passed away, young Mr. Kawabata moved in with his mother’s family, and then to a boarding house.The sense of isolation he felt as a boy came up often in his writings.
- In 1917 Mr. Kawabata moved to Tokyo. He passed the exams to enter Tokyo Imperial University and started attending the facility majoring in English.
- By the time he graduated in 1924, the young writer already brought positive attention to himself from some of Japan’s notable writers of the time.
- During World War II Mr. Kawabata lived in Kamakura and was very active in social circles with other writers. After the war, however, he become reclusive.
- After World War II, Mr. Kawabata served as the President of the Japanese branch of PEN International (a worldwide association of writers), and was instrumental in getting Japanese works translated to other languages.
- Mr. Kawabata considers his 1951 novel The Master of Go to be his finest work.
- The author received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968 for “for his narrative mastery, which with great sensibility expresses the essence of the Japanese mind.”
- It is thought that Mr. Kawabata committed suicide, however friends and family say it was just an accident when he was warming up water for a bath using gas.
Zohar — Man of la Book
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Hello. As far as I know, do/does/did can be used for the emphasis like following. 1a. I did meet her yesterday. b. She does write a novel. c. Do be kind to him! But I doubt whether 1c is correct; I heard 1c is correct. If so, can 'do' emphasize 'be-verb' like following? 2a. I am really smart. b. I do be smart. 3a. You are really a genius. b. You do be a genius. 4a. He was really handsome b. He did be handsome. 5a. They are really doctors. b. They do be doctors. Are (b)patterns possible and correct? If not, why are these different with 1(c)? Thank you always~. | <urn:uuid:193bdf3c-9df7-4e9c-9953-1ee3ce7243f7> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/do-for-emphasis.2594348/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720062.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00512-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959525 | 167 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Student Reporters Iliana Sepulveda and Arjun Bhargava contributed equally to this post. Wars over water? Nowadays, this concept does not sound unfamiliar at all. Shared natural resources offer a challenge from the political standpoint, given that its management has implications for the autonomy and wealth of different countries and states. As the IUCN notes, of the two hundred and fourteen transboundary river basins in the world, one hundred and fifty-five of these are shared between two States, thirty-six between three States and twenty-three between four or more States.
Student Reporters Heidi Travis and Arjun Bhargava contributed equally to this post. The Volta River is spread over parts of six West African countries. The percentage of basin area in each of the six countries is as follows: 2.48% in Cote d’Ivoire, 42.9% in Burkina Faso, 3.41% in Benin, 41.6% in Ghana, 3.12% in Mali, and 6.41% in Togo. The river flows for a total distance of 1850km. With population in this area estimated to increase rapidly, (about 55% for Burkina and 57% for Ghana) water use will rise rapidly. Therefore, the necessity to sustainably and equitably manage water resources in the river basin is very important.
As discussed in my previous post, there are a number of ways to finance water projects. However the topic of what options cash-strapped municipalities with low or non-existent credit ratings have for financing their water projects requires a more intensive look. This is a big concern for municipalities around the world because they need to somehow finance expensive water and sanitation projects, such as putting in new pipes to expand water and sanitation coverage and maintaining and updating aging infrastructure. Following the session on “Where Does the Money Come From? Moving Forward on Strategic Financial Planning for Water” at the 6th World Water Forum, I sought to find the answer to this question. | <urn:uuid:2d65c58b-d183-449b-9ce8-206a2fd49421> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | http://projourno.org/tag/government/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247480272.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20190216105514-20190216131514-00463.warc.gz | en | 0.939877 | 413 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Federal Employment Discrimination Law
Locate a Local Employment Lawyer
Who is Covered by the Federal Employment Discrimination Law?
Under the federal employment law of the United States, most private employers are prohibited from discriminating against or showing disparate treatment toward their employees based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, or national origin. Only these classifications are covered. State laws sometimes protect more classes, such as sexual orientation.
The federal laws only apply to those who employ more than 15 workers. Also, the law is only applicable to discrimination based on the above classes. The law does not apply to classes often covered by state laws, such as marital status, and sexual orientation.
What is Unintentional Discrimination?
Under federal discrimination law, there are two different types of discrimination: disparate treatment and disparate impact. Disparate treatment is what most people believe discrimination is: treating employees differently based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, age or national origin.
Disparate impact, also known as unintentional discrimination, is discrimination based on policies. These policies might appear neutral, but they actually favor or disfavor one class of employees over others. For instance, a firefighter department implements a written test to decide who should be promoted. Although a written test appears neutral, certain racial minorities are disfavored because they cannot purchase study materials and the test itself is not actually relevant to firefighting.
Both disparate treatment and disparate impact are illegal under federal discrimination law. Discrimination law seeks to eliminate both intentional and unintentional discrimination.
How Does an Employee Bring a Lawsuit Under Federal Law?
In order for an employee to bring a discrimination case under federal law, the employee must first obtain a “right to sue” letter from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Employees seeking to sue under state law should check if their state has a state agency counterpart to the EEOC.
Once the employee has the right to sue, the employee must prove that the facts establish a circumstance which could be interpreted as discriminatory. The employee must show that the employee belongs to a protected class, the employee was minimally qualified for the job, and that the employee suffered an adverse action because of the discrimination.
An “adverse action” is an action which creates a hardship for the employee. The most common adverse actions are termination of employment, pay cuts, being rejected from a position, or being involuntary transferred to another department.
If the alleged discrimination was unintentional discrimination, the employee must be able to point out specific acts of discrimination and link those acts to the adverse action suffered by the employee.
The employer will then have a chance to respond to the allegations. The burden is on the employee to disprove the employer’s responses to the alleged discrimination.
What is a Reasonable Accommodation?
Employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for their employees’ disabilities or religious observances. However, if the employee requires accommodations which would put a severe burden on the employer, he or she does not have to make the accommodation.
What is the Bona Fide Occupational Qualification Defense?'
The law does not always prevent employers from using the above classifications when hiring employees. If a person is unable to do the job because of their protected class, the employer may use that fact as a reason not to hire them. This is known as the Bona Fide Occupational Qualification Defense, or BFOQ.
For example, if an employer is seeking people to model men’s clothing, they are probably not going to hire any women for the job. This is because women, by virtue of their sex, are unable to do this job. This defense almost always applies in the area of sex discrimination, but it also comes up with religion. It does not apply to race, color, or national origin.
Do I Need a Lawyer?
Bringing a discrimination case can be very complicated. There are many regulations that must be followed and in addition to federal laws there are likely state laws that apply as well. An employment lawyer can help you with the procedures and help you investigate your case.
Consult a Lawyer - Present Your Case Now!
Last Modified: 09-29-2015 02:24 PM PDT
Link to this page | <urn:uuid:d27a1566-768e-4478-a704-04b69e3c3d04> | CC-MAIN-2015-48 | http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/federal-employment-discrimination-law.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398464536.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205424-00103-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957017 | 875 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Full Moon Atlas:
The Lunar Far Side
Often referred to incorrectly as the "dark
side" of the Moon — actually, at least half of the Moon is
receiving sunlight at all times — humans did not get their first
look at the Lunar far side until the Soviet Union's Luna 3
sent back a crude photograph in October 1959. Devoid of the vast,
smooth mare (sea) regions found on the visible near side,
the far side is essentially an immense crater field punctuated by
only a few minor maria, including Mare Moscoviense (upper
left in the photograph), Mare Ingenii (lower center) and Mare
Orientale (lower right edge); Mare Australe (lower left edge)
spans the region between the near and far sides on the visible
southeastern limb. Please note that the geographic directions east
and west are reversed on the far side.
ABOUT THIS PHOTOMAP:
Due to the lack of quality, full-disc photographs of the Lunar far
side, we have chosen to include this flat projection because of
the amount of detail it offers. While this projection may be
slightly confusing at first, please note that objects appear
closer to their actual shape, i.e., craters appear circular,
rather than compressed, as you approach the edges of the photomap.
This general map closely approximates Rükl's Atlas Of The Moon,
Moving your cursor over major
geographical features in the photograph below will trigger
· When displayed, approximate crater
diameters (in kilometers) are shown within parenthesis.
· To move to an adjoining sector (when available),
click on the direction indicator. For example, clicking on the
"North" indicator moves you to the sector above the
current one displayed.
Return To Lunar Navigator Index | <urn:uuid:b0840c9f-4d9b-462e-ba29-4461c16dab39> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://fullmoonatlas.com/sections/farside.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218189198.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212949-00040-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.877474 | 392 | 3.53125 | 4 |
You want to keep your child busy throughout the day but you can’t, or are you looking for some activities to make your child fascinate? How about coloring? That’s right! That is one of the most important activities for your kid. Coloring pictures are a great way to teach your kids interesting facts in nature such as animals, plants and so on.
In this post, we would like to introduce to your kids another kind of animal. That is the squirrel. There are many coloring sheets of squirrel for your kids that we collected carefully and showed below.
The coloring sheet of busy squirrel
This is the busy squirrel coloring page for kids. They are so busy to do something in the tree, you can ask your kids how many squirrels in the picture. If he or she has a right answer, then color it!
The squirrel coloring sheet of a cute squirrel gathering nuts
A squirrel coloring sheet Disney Squirrel
Squirrel coloring picture for the child who loving color animal coloring pages
This is a beautiful squirrel coloring sheet that it has a butterfly and a forest background as well. It helps your kids to recognize the objects correctly and color them with the right colors!
The squirrel coloring page of eating a nut on a branch
The beautiful squirrel coloring sheet with cute smiling
The coloring sheet of squirrel exciting with his nuts
The squirrel coloring sheet of math fun with squirrel
This fun math coloring picture shows squirrels and their nuts. In this coloring sheet, it helps your kids enhance their single counting techniques through this one. It also teaches your kids how to count things correctly through getting your child to color the correct pairs. Moreover, it is a fun exercise also where you can get involved with your child.
The pair of squirrels coloring sheet for kids. They are fishing for meal
The coloring sheet of squirrel for kids who are animal coloring lovers
The coloring page of squirrel finding nuts in the forest
Beautiful squirrel coloring sheet for kids. It’s a sunny a day
This squirrel coloring page features a cute little squirrel who is standing and collecting nuts under the rays of sunshine. Get your kids to finish this coloring sheet and then take them out with some outdoor activity later!
A cute squirrel coloring sheet for kids
The coloring page of a couple of squirrels. They are brother and sister squirrel
The coloring sheet of squirrel looking at someone
Do you enjoy our collection of cute squirrel coloring sheet we presented above? We hope you and your kids have a great time with these coloring pages from our website. Also, you can see more collection of coloring pages from other categories. Now discover! | <urn:uuid:a739e6f6-e6c5-440c-bdca-e97b25a7ecda> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | https://coloring-forkids.com/top-15-cute-squirrel-coloring-page-toddlers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247489343.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20190219041222-20190219063222-00563.warc.gz | en | 0.945647 | 533 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Kuwait's vast wealth has attracted many immigrants from poorer countries who come looking for work. Thus,
|GDP per Capita (US$)|
|SOURCE: United Nations. Human Development Report 2000; Trends in human development and per capita income.|
after decades of immigration , at least 55 percent of the total population of Kuwait are foreign, and the rate within the workforce is even higher (84 percent). In the private sector, 94 percent of employees are expatriates, working in shops, services and, frequently, as domestic servants. Only about 26 percent of Kuwaitis participate in the workforce, as opposed to 70 percent for expatriates. The Kuwaiti participation rate , although still low, has been gradually increasing (it was 22 percent in 1989) owing to a rise in female participation in the workforce. For cultural and social reasons this rate is still low, and, because of Kuwait's oil wealth, many women do not need to work.
Kuwaiti citizen workers—95 percent are government employees—are entitled to join unions. However, according to the U.S. State Department's Country Commercial Guide for 2001 , in June 1998, there were only 50,000 union members. There is a legal minimum wage in the government sector, but none in the private sector. Public health care is free to citizens, but a health insurance charge is levied on employers to cover expatriates (most workers in the private sector). Foreigners thus do not benefit equally from the state social services, which favor Kuwaiti nationals.
About 40 percent of Kuwaitis are under the age of 14, and young Kuwaitis are seeking jobs in steadily increasing numbers. These factors are a cause for growing government concern, and the government will at some point have to abandon its guarantee of a public sector job for every university-educated citizen. One recent measure is the "Kuwaitization" of the economy, promoting the employment of Kuwaitis over foreign labor in the private sector and limiting immigration. It has been nearly impossible for foreign workers to obtain Kuwaiti citizenship; those who do achieve it are not entitled to vote for another 20 years. | <urn:uuid:f4e189dc-0b0c-42c4-9f71-7450d7a4c89f> | CC-MAIN-2016-50 | http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Kuwait-WORKING-CONDITIONS.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-50/segments/1480698542765.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20161202170902-00039-ip-10-31-129-80.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954391 | 432 | 2.515625 | 3 |
|Schematic drawing showing the principles of Eisenmenger's syndrome|
|Classification and external resources|
|ICD-9-CM||745.4 (CDC/BPA 745.410)|
Eisenmenger's syndrome (or ES, Eisenmenger's reaction, Eisenmenger physiology, or tardive cyanosis) is defined as the process in which a long-standing left-to-right cardiac shunt caused by a congenital heart defect (typically by a ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect, or less commonly, patent ductus arteriosus) causes pulmonary hypertension and eventual reversal of the shunt into a cyanotic right-to-left shunt. Because of the advent of fetal screening with echocardiography early in life, the incidence of heart defects progressing to Eisenmenger's has decreased.
Eisenmenger's syndrome in a pregnant mother can cause serious complications, though successful delivery has been reported. Maternal mortality ranges from 30% to 60%, and may be attributed to fainting spells, thromboembolism, hypovolemia, hemoptysis or preeclampsia. Most deaths occur either during or within the first weeks after delivery. Pregnant women with Eisenmenger syndrome should be hospitalized after the 20th week of pregnancy - or earlier if clinical deterioration occurs.
Signs and symptoms
Signs and symptoms of Eisenmenger syndrome include the following:
- Cyanosis (a blue tinge to the skin resulting from lack of oxygen)
- High red blood cell count
- Swollen or clubbed finger tips (clubbing)
- Fainting (also known as syncope)
- Heart failure
- Abnormal heart rhythms
- Bleeding disorders
- Coughing up blood
- Iron deficiency
- Infections (endocarditis and pneumonia)
- Kidney problems
- Gout (rarely) due to increased uric acid resorption and production with impaired excretion
A number of congenital heart defects can cause Eisenmenger syndrome, including atrial septal defects, ventricular septal defects, patent ductus arteriosus, and more complex types of acyanotic heart disease.
The reason Eisenmenger's syndrome often presents later in life can be explained by alterations of the normal physiology of the heart and the maladaptive responses that occur over time. The larger and more muscular left side of the heart must generate the high pressure required to supply blood to the extensive, high-resistance systemic circulation. In contrast, the smaller, right side of the heart must generate a much lower pressure in order to pass blood through the low-resistance, high compliance circulation of the lungs. The lungs are able to accomplish this low-resistance circulation largely due to the fact that the length of the pulmonary circulation is smaller, and because much of the circuitry is in parallel rather than in series.
If a significant anatomic defect (i.e. a hole or breach) exists between the two sides of the heart, a shunt will occur, causing blood to flow down the normal pressure gradient from the left side to the right side. The amount of blood shunted is proportional to the size of the defect, and the beat-to-beat volume of blood pumped through a left-to-right breach is a percentage of anticipated cardiac output (CO) of the left ventricle. Clinically a low index or percentage of CO ejected through a shunt is harmless; a high index or percentage of CO ejected through a left-to-right shunt heralds Eisenmenger's physiology.
The left-to-right shunting of blood results in abnormally high blood flow and pressure directed to the right heart circulation, gradually leading to maladaptive changes that ultimately result in pulmonary hypertension. Increased right-sided blood volume and pressure causes a cascade of pathologic damage to the delicate pulmonary capillaries, causing them to be incrementally replaced with scar tissue. Scar (dead lung tissue) does not contribute to oxygen transfer, therefore decreasing the useful volume of the pulmonary vasculature. The scar tissue also provides less flexibility and compliance than normal lung tissue, causing further increases in pulmonary blood pressure, and the weakened heart must pump harder to continue supplying the lungs, leading to damage of more capillaries. It is because of this maladaptive response that at the onset of Eisenmenger's syndrome, the damage is considered irreversible, even if the underlying heart defect is corrected after the fact.
Eventually, due to increased resistance and decreased compliance of the pulmonary vessels, elevated pulmonary pressures cause the myocardium of the right heart to hypertrophy (RVH). The onset of Eisenmenger's syndrome begins when right ventricular hypertrophy causes right heart pressures to exceed that of the left heart, leading to reversal of blood flow through the shunt (i.e., blood moves from the right side of the heart to the left side). As a consequence, deoxygenated blood returning from the body bypasses the lungs through the reversed shunt and proceeds directly to systemic circulation, leading to cyanosis and resultant organ damage.
The defect, now a right-to-left shunt, causes reduced oxygen saturation in the arterial blood due to mixing of oxygenated blood returning from the lungs with the deoxygenated blood returning from systemic circulation. This decreased saturation is sensed by the kidneys, resulting in a compensatory increase in erythropoietin production and an increased production of red blood cells in an attempt to increase oxygen delivery. As the bone marrow increases erythropoiesis, the systemic reticulocyte count and the risk for hyperviscosity syndrome increases. Reticulocytes are less efficient at carrying oxygen as mature red cells, and they are less deformable, causing impaired transit through capillary beds. This contributes to the death of pulmonary capillary beds.
A person with Eisenmenger's syndrome is paradoxically subject to the possibility of both uncontrolled bleeding due to damaged capillaries and high pressure, as well as spontaneous clots due to hyperviscosity and stasis of blood.
If the inciting defect in the heart is identified before it causes significant pulmonary hypertension, it can normally be repaired through surgery, preventing the disease. After pulmonary hypertension is sufficient to reverse the blood flow through the defect, however, the maladaptation is considered irreversible, and a heart–lung transplant or a lung transplant with repair of the heart is the only curative option. Transplantation is the final therapeutic option and only for patients with poor prognosis and quality of life. Timing and appropriateness of transplantation remain difficult decisions. 5-year and 10-year survival ranges between 70% and 80%, 50% and 70%, 30% and 50%, respectively. Since the average life expectancy of patients after lung transplantation is as low as 30% at 5 years, patients with reasonable functional status related to Eisenmenger syndrome have improved survival with conservative medical care compared with transplantation.
Various medicines and therapies for pulmonary hypertension are under investigation for treatment of the symptoms.
- Jensen AS, Iversen K, Vejlstrup NG, Hansen PB, Søndergaard L (April 2009). "[Eisenmenger syndrome]". Ugeskrift for Laeger (in Danish). 171 (15): 1270–5. PMID 19416617.
- "Eisenmenger syndrome" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
- Siddiqui S, Latif N (2008). "PGE1 nebulisation during caesarean section for Eisenmenger's syndrome: a case report". J Med Case Reports. 2 (1): 149. doi:10.1186/1752-1947-2-149. PMC . PMID 18466628.
- Makaryus AN, Forouzesh A, Johnson M (November 2006). "Pregnancy in the patient with Eisenmenger's syndrome". Mt. Sinai J. Med. 73 (7): 1033–6. PMID 17195894.
- Curr Cardiol Rev. 2010 November; 6(4): 363–372.The Adult Patient with Eisenmenger Syndrome: A Medical Update after Dana Point Part III: Specific Management and Surgical Aspects Erwin Oechslin, Siegrun Mebus, Ingram Schulze-Neick, Koichiro Niwa, Pedro T Trindade, Andreas Eicken, Alfred Hager, Irene Lang, John Hess, and Harald Kaemmerer PMC 3083818
- Braunwald E. Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. P 1617-1618. Ann Intern Med 1998; 128:745-755
- "Eisenmenger syndrome". NIH MedLine Plus. 2010-02-05.
- Goerler H, Simon A, Gohrbandt B, et al. Heart-lung and lung transplantation in grown-up congenital heart disease: long-term single centre experience. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2007;32(6):926–31. [PubMed]
- Waddell TK, Bennett L, Kennedy R, Todd TR, Keshavjee SH. Heart-lung or lung transplantation for Eisenmenger syndrome. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2002;21(7):731–7. [PubMed]
- Heart-lung transplantation for Eisenmenger syndrome: early and long-term results. Stoica SC, McNeil KD, Perreas K, Sharples LD, Satchithananda DK, Tsui SS, Large SR, Wallwork J Ann Thorac Surg. 2001 Dec; 72(6):1887-91.
- "Eisenmenger Syndrome Treatment & Management". MedScape Reference. 2008-06-05.
- Wood, P (1958). "Pulmonary hypertension with special reference to the vasoconstrictive factor". British heart journal. 20 (4): 557–70. doi:10.1136/hrt.20.4.557. PMC . PMID 13584643.
- Eisenmenger V. Die angeborenen Defekte der Kammerscheidewände des Herzens. The condition was first mentioned by Hippocrates, the Greek physician. Zeitschr Klin Med 1897;32(Supplement):1-28.
- synd/3034 at Who Named It?
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eisenmenger's syndrome.| | <urn:uuid:19d53271-0973-46c9-96d2-0a9ddd58ab2d> | CC-MAIN-2017-47 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenmenger_Syndrome | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-47/segments/1510934806070.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20171120145722-20171120165722-00098.warc.gz | en | 0.837613 | 2,206 | 3.0625 | 3 |
As natural environments and geographies shape language, so too does language shape the way we see nature and, subsequently, the impacts we have on the lands and waters that surround us.
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Western culture and the English language primarily view nature as something owned by humans that can be exploited. That’s why Canadian agencies tasked with governing nature are referred to as departments or ministries of natural “resources.”
It’s not uncommon even for those who appreciate nature beyond its exploitative value to reduce it to a thing with monetary worth through language. For example, we refer to protected areas in Canada as “our” “national treasures,” “jewels” and “gems.”
Western science has also shaped the way we employ language to describe nature by advancing the reduction of living, functioning ecosystems to things best studied under a microscope. Recall Jane Goodall, admonished by her male academic compatriots for naming instead of numbering the chimpanzees she studied.
As Indigenous botanist and writer Robin Wall Kimmerer notes, “the English language is made up primarily of nouns, somehow appropriate for a culture so obsessed with things…. English encodes human exceptionalism, which privileges the needs and wants of humans above all others and understands us as detached from the commonwealth of life.”
Operators use words in novel ways to describe natural impediments to profit.
Industry’s use of language brings the point home. Operators use words in novel ways to describe natural impediments to profit. Loggers call old growth trees that aren’t as profitable when logged as younger trees “decadent” — even though they provide habitat to at-risk species and have critical ecological functions. In oil and gas, vegetation above oil-shot rock — no matter how diverse or life-supporting — is called “overburden.” Some developers refer to off-limit conservation areas as “sterile.”
Nature’s vital life force is, to some extent, like Voldemort: that which cannot be named. As Nature Institute senior researcher Steve Talbot writes in “The Language of Nature,” words inevitably diminish nature because containing it is impossible: “The world breaks every fixed template into which we try to pour it.”
How can we change the ways in which our language abets destruction of nature?
Let’s start by investing more in our relationships with nature — and recognizing the role of language.
Let’s start by investing more in our relationships with nature — and recognizing the role of language. (One way we wield language is to blanch at the notion that we humans are “animals,” when we’re just as much an animal as the raccoon digging in our garbage.) We can pay more attention to nature. We can stop talking for a moment and listen.
According to Talbot, “If we took the fact of the world’s speech seriously — the world speaks! — there would be none of the usual talk about a mechanistic and deterministic science, about a cold, soulless universe, or about an unavoidable conflict between science and the spirit. Confronting the many voices of nature, we would inquire about their individual qualities and character, we would look for the direction of their expressive striving, and we would struggle to grasp the aesthetic unity of their various utterances — all of which is to say: we would listen for their meanings.… The trouble, however, is that we often fail to pay attention; we never learn the language of the world we inhabit. We try to master nature while becoming increasingly deaf to her complex symphony.”
As Kimmerer notes, in her traditional language, Potawatomi, “There is no it for nature. Living beings are referred to as subjects, never as objects, and personhood is extended to all who breathe and some who don’t. I greet the silent boulder people with the same respect as I do the talkative chickadees.”
She continues, “Beyond the renaming of places, I think the most profound act of linguistic imperialism was the replacement of a language of animacy with one of objectification of nature, which renders the beloved land as lifeless object, the forest as board feet of timber.”
We can create new language. Language is always evolving. (For example, our use of pronouns has recently expanded to recognize those who identify as non-binary and gender neutral.)
It’s our job as global citizens to continually reimagine a better world. We can also undertake the challenge of reimagining new ways to describe the world, using language to craft stories that recognize and honour the myriad living and nonliving entities with which we share the planet. | <urn:uuid:a2d91e6e-6f8e-43d3-be4b-b9f3f6ec8d4f> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://davidsuzuki.org/story/language-shapes-our-relationship-with-nature/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141185851.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126001926-20201126031926-00187.warc.gz | en | 0.954045 | 1,001 | 3.609375 | 4 |
The Toolbox is aimed at supporting teachers in including intercultural learning in any activity run in the school. Whatever the activity, what is most important are the intercultural competences of teachers.
To develop your skills which are essential to facilitate intercultural learning you can attend a training offered by the project partners.
The toolbox is not meant to be an exhaustive tool: it promotes a method to include an intercultural dimension to the educating practices, and provides examples of activities to implement for this purpose.
The Toolbox is available in English, French, German, Italian and Greek and was tested in 8 European countries until June 2018. Here is the brochure about the Toolbox.
Pedagogical principles of the Toolbox
HELP US CREATE THE TOOLBOX!
We can all learn from each other. Good practices in Scotland may be applicable in Turkey. A teacher in France may help a concerned school head in Hungary. Counsellors in the UK may learn from their colleagues in Slovenia.
Please send us your info, so we can get in touch with you about submitting your good practices. | <urn:uuid:9a82cd1e-091f-4d05-a908-94452da8b8b7> | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | https://intercultural-learning.eu/toolbox/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947474573.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20240225003942-20240225033942-00390.warc.gz | en | 0.953709 | 226 | 3.171875 | 3 |
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, takes place in the 1930's in the calm atmosphere of the small southern town of Macomb, located in the red clay hills of Alabama. Miss Lee portrays her characters through the innocent eyes of a child named Scout. With the usage of this first-person narrative technique, the reader is able to clearly see the facts for himself and to gain an insight into the inequities and injustices running through the prejudice and discrimination surrounding the town.
Lee builds to the major climax of the story by involving the characters in many smaller conflicts in building toward the culmination of events. The initial conflict is seen with the introduction of the character, Arthur "Boo"ÃÂ Radley. Mr. Radley "ÃÂs reputation has been established by the town gossips as being that of an alarming and a frightening man. In fact, even his nickname of "Boo"ÃÂ gives credence to the attitude that the townspeople possess toward him.
Even though Scout has the same feelings toward Mr. Radley, she also has feelings of pity toward him. Her father, Atticus Finch, had always told her "not to judge a person until he has walked in their skin."ÃÂ This conflict is resolved when "Boo"ÃÂ comes to the aid of the Finch children, and the townspeople realize that he is a decent, honest, and thoughtful man.
Harper Lee carries the reader through the normal daily activities of the town as she builds to the climax of the book. She frequently mentions the children's attempts to catch a glimpse of "Boo"ÃÂ Radley and of their strong desire to know him as a person. Once, "Boo"ÃÂ, unbeknownst to the children, appears and performs a kind thoughtful act for them. They were chilled by the night air when they stood and watched Miss Maudie's house burn. Due to their fascination with the clouds of smoke and fiery flames, they were not even aware when "Boo"ÃÂ placed a warm blanket around their shoulders. Purposefully, Harper Lee keeps "Boo"ÃÂ and the children continually in our minds in her steps toward building to the climax of the story.
The conflict of the townspeople against Atticus Finch is revealed when he is appointed to defend the black man, Tom Robinson, against the rape charges filed by Mayella Ewell. The people of Macomb, with their deeply planted roots of prejudice and discrimination, rise together against Atticus. They brand him as a "nigger-lover"ÃÂ and refuse to acknowledge his obligation to defend the black man against the rape charges. Even during the lunch mob scene when the vigilantes try to seize Tom Robinson from the jail, Atticus is firm in his belief of the man's innocence and manages to stop their attempts. Atticus does effectively prove Tom Robinson's innocence, but the jury ignores this and casts their vote for the man to die. Further, the conflict within Atticus himself is seen as he wrestles with his conscience in a passionate struggle to do what is right for the accused and what is right for his family. His conflicting emotions show his deep love for his children and his strong sense of justice.
The conflict of Tom Robinson versus the town is also revealed in the trial scene as the townspeople intentionally overlook the fact that his withered arm was not capable of striking and injuring the Ewell girl. Their only thoughts of Tom are that he is black, and they are white. In their eyes, a white man can do no wrong and a black man is the root of all evil. Atticus feels very despondent because the values he has worked to instill within his children of justice and truth are being ignored because of the powerful influence of hate and bigotry.
The townspeople resolve their conflict with Tom Robinson, though, by killing him when he attempts to escape from the jail. Seemingly unconcerned, they settle back into their daily lives as though nothing has ever happened. But Harper Lee jolts the reader when she presents the conflict of Bob Ewell against that of Atticus Finch. Atticus had destroyed his credibility during the trial, and Ewell had vowed to murder the Finch children. They are saved by "Boo"ÃÂ Radley, and Bob Ewell falls upon his own knife that he had intended for the children. His assassin is himself and all of his hatred and evil thoughts that he possesses.
Jem and Scout Finch now fully understand the meaning of their father's wise words, "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. That is why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."ÃÂ Atticus was attempting to convey to his children the fact some people such as "Boo"ÃÂ Radley and Tom Robinson is victims of our society. They are innocent simple people who don't bother anyone and should have the right to be left to their own solitude. "Boo"ÃÂ is a good man who has harmed no one, but is made the butt of countless jokes. Tom, also, has inflicted no wrongs upon anyone, but is chastised for the fact that he is black.
Harper Lee develops the plot of her book, To Kill a Mockingbird, very fluidly through a series of minor conflicts, a climax, and its resolution. The words of justice, prejudice, and discrimination take on new meaning through Lee's telling of the story of two young children and two innocent men who are the victims of the evil of the world. | <urn:uuid:b1df9dd9-1069-4313-bba4-5abb1499679a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.writework.com/essay/kill-mockingbird-15 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280761.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00249-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984289 | 1,123 | 3.375 | 3 |
Sadly, few people make regular and complete backups–so system administrators often need to fix failed hard disks using less than ideal methods. These methods are temporary and designed to quickly get data off a hard drive between the time it fails normally and fails permanently. If you tried all the usual to fix failed hard disks like repairing the hard drive boot sector or doing what the FBI does to recover deleted files and nothing has worked, then this is your last step.
Fix Failed Hard Drives By Understanding How They Work
The core technology behind hard drives has remained unchanged since an IBM team lead by Rey Johnson built the first hard disk in 1954. The disk in hard disk refers to the platter, which looks a like a vinyl record. Hovering over the platter is what looks like the needle of an old record player–the needle part is called the head. Both the platter and the head are magnetic, so the head can read from and write to the platter.
The platter spins around several thousand times a minute in modern hard drives–7,200 Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) is a common speed for modern hard drives, with high-end drives running at about 15,000 RPM. That’s 120 to 250 revolutions each second–an incredibly fast speed which requires very precise engineering.
The platters, and the motor which powers them, run on top of tiny ball bearings built to revolve up to 100 times as fast as the disk itself–so up to 2,500 times a second. That means that in just 7 minutes of using your hard drive, the ball bearings will rotate over 1 million times. In the typical 2 year active life of a hard drive, each individual ball bearing will rotate over 150 billion times.
Over its incredible lifetime, each ball bearing slowly wears down, forcing the tiny hard drive motor to exert more and more energy to keep the platter moving. At some point, the motor has just barely enough power to move the platter–this is when you’ll hear groaning noises from your hard disk. A few days or weeks later, the motor won’t have enough power to move the disk, but the head will still work; this is when you’ll hear your disk drive make clicking noises even though it can’t read any data.
Using Your Freezer To Fix Failed Hard Disks
Ball bearings become less ball-shaped as they wear down, but you can temporarily restore them to something like their original shape by shrinking them. But how to do you shrink tiny pieces of metal in a sealed hard drive? You make it cold–really cold.
Follow all of the steps below exactly:
- Turn off your computer and remove the failed drive–just the drive; leave the cords.
- Place the drive inside a Zip Lock bag. Do your best to squeeze out excess air and seal the bag tight.
- Place the drive and the bag inside another Zip Lock bag. Important: you must do this step–if any moisture leaks into your hard drive, it could short out and destroy your computer. Do your best to squeeze out excess air and seal the bag tight.
- Put a rubber band around the two bags to discourage any air from leaking into the bag.
- Place the drive, which should now be inside two bags, in your freezer. If your freezer has different zones, put it in the coldest part.
- Wait at least 4 hours (more is better) and then follow the rest of the steps as quickly as possible–you want to do as much as possible with your drive before it gets too warm.
- Remove the drive from your freezer and unpack it.
- Plug it into the computer. If you can, lay it down on the bottom of the computer without screwing it in to save a little time. Make sure all of the connections are tight so that condensated water can’t leak into them
- Turn on your computer; skip any unnecessary boot steps.
- Begin copying data off of your drive. If possible, copy the most important data first.
Your drive may fail again after a few minutes but before you can copy everything you need. If that happens, start from the above step one. Repeat until you get everything you need or until the drive just won’t start anymore no matter how long you freeze it.
What To Do If You Can’t Fix Your Failed Hard Disk
Freezing doesn’t always work, but if you do it right, it shouldn’t cause any additional damage to your hard disk, which means you can still use the last resort option for recovering your data: a data recovery service.
These services typically charge between $50 and $500 to recover data from a failed hard disk, but they can do something you can’t do at home: take apart your hard disk. Now, removing the screws that hold together a hard disk may not seem difficult, but the hardware in a modern hard disk are so sensitive that if even a tiny bit of dust gets on your hard disk, data may be lost.
The data recovery services can also replace broken parts of your drive from a similar working drive. This service costs more money–but it may be less money than reproducing essential business files. They can usually fix failed hard disks, even ones that have been seriously damaged.
All good data recovery services offer a free analysis of failed hard disks (although you will need to pay to ship your disk to them). We suggest you look for reviews from previous customers before you send your hard disk to a stranger–less reputable companies may refuse to return your disk if you don’t agree to do business with them after you get their quote.
Hopefully, though, freezing will be enough to temporarily fix your failed hard disk until you can backup your most important files.
Do you have any tips to add about how to fix failed hard disks? | <urn:uuid:ae17c6db-ebe8-463c-8123-7ee62ebfdcfd> | CC-MAIN-2015-18 | http://tips4pc.com/computer-repair/warning-dangerous-way-system-administrators-use-to-fix-failed-hard-disks.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-18/segments/1429246634257.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20150417045714-00131-ip-10-235-10-82.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942801 | 1,216 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Noah’s Ark replica attracts flood of interest
Published: 5 June 2011 (GMT+10)
Johan's challengeJohan Huibers … the successful owner of a big construction company, has spent the past few years building an ark, using the measurements for the one Noah is said in the book of Genesis to have built: 300 cubits in length, 30 cubits high and 50 cubits wide. … He is building the ark out of Swedish pine, because some versions of the Bible describe the wood God ordered Noah to use as “resin wood”, which Huibers says is pine. “We should finish by the middle of July,” he says.
The New York Times reported a life-size replica of Noah’s Ark under construction by Johan Huibers in Dordrecht, Netherlands. The size of the vessel is incredible.
Huibers’ ark evokes amazed interest because it breaks the stereotype of it being like a large bathtub and wholly implausible. The article is fascinating and written from a humorous perspective. Check out the photos on the article. [Search nytimes.com for A Biblical Blueprint Meets the Fire Code and the Neighbors]
This event in history, which occurred just a few thousand years ago, demands a major re-evaluation of every area of modern thinking. Properly understand Noah’s Flood and we will better understand our world today, including our human origins, biogeography, languages, Australian Aborigines, geology, paleontology, the Ice Age, animal extinction, climate change, and so on.
Geologists often disparage this event as a myth and continue to ignore its implications, but Huiber’s life-size replica challenges that view. | <urn:uuid:8eb4d06e-6bde-47ed-8d5f-35080454c9fe> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://creation.com/noahs-ark-replica | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107898577.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20201028132718-20201028162718-00038.warc.gz | en | 0.925843 | 372 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Rugby Drill Demonstration
Tell your players to do the following......
- The first ball carrier will throw the ball high into the air.
- The runner will catch it and pass to the player on the opposite cone.
- They do the same up and down the grid, before swapping with another player.
- Keep your eyes on the ball.
- Don't be afraid to jump and take the ball in the air, if you make a mistake, no big deal.
- Take the ball without turning, this increases risk, but its a risk will may take.
- Come onto the catch at pace, high jump, take the ball high in the aim, hit the ground running and keep going at pace.
- Pull the pass to the receiver back, then realign for the next catch. | <urn:uuid:7ba002e3-2997-4a1f-b4bc-c892b718435c> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://www.sportplan.net/drills/Rugby/Sevens/Overhead-Catch-pd128.jsp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178372367.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20210305122143-20210305152143-00121.warc.gz | en | 0.918303 | 168 | 2.875 | 3 |
Timing the market is a controversial idea in the world of finance, particularly in the world of financial planning. On one hand it offers the opportunity for higher returns than the market, on the other it brings about the risk of lagging the market should you fail.
At the most basic level, everyone times the market. Finance is all about how money moves through time. If you invest today, you think that there is a good chance that the market will be worth more at some time in the future, a time when you need the money for retirement, college expenses, or major purchases like a home.
Defining Market Timing
The most commonly accepted definition for market timing is buying or selling the whole market through a mutual fund, ETF, or futures position based on the idea that the market will go up or down in the very short term. In this case, the short term is a few months, or weeks, certainly not decades, or even several years.
One common way to time the market is to buy something like the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) based on when one thinks it is “cheap,” and to sell the position when one thinks the market as a whole is expensive.
Most would say that you should not try to time the market because it is very difficult to improve your performance. I think that is very good advice – timing the market is more difficult than one might think. It’s a bet that the market will be more or less optimistic about the future for all publicly-traded businesses at some time in the future.
It’s hard enough to predict things like quarterly earnings, what Washington will do about taxes, or how much the economy will grow next year. These are individual issues and concerns that affect all stocks differently. Knowing how these things will affect one stock is certainly much easier than knowing how these will affect all stocks. When you time the market, you’re essentially saying that you know better the outcome of each event that will shake the market, and how people will price those events into the market as a whole.
Focusing on What’s Knowable
In his book Margin of Safety, Seth Klarman laid out the basic framework for what makes an investment worthwhile.
He basically concludes that to be a good investment something has to:
- Be knowable – You have to have the power to know, with some certainty, at least the most important factors that drive a business.
- Allow for error – Not every piece of information is knowable. Good investors are those who “price in” their allowance for error by demanding that they not lose a substantial amount of money even if they are wrong.
Market timing seemingly moves against these two basic rules. Much of what will drive the market as a whole a week, year, or a decade from now is completely unknown. Furthermore, seeing as market timers are usually interested in small returns (5-6% in a month or two) there is not much room for error between what an investor thinks he knows about the future, and what the future may bring. Studies have shown that biases also affect would-be market timers. Investors are most bullish when stock prices are going up and most bearish when stock prices are going down. That leads to buying high and selling low, a strategy that is sure to lose.
The Solution: A Fun Money Account
Market timing gives investors the thrill of active participation in the market. Famed value investor Charlie Munger said the stock market is the world’s worst casino because it is a game with positive expectations. Even bad investors make money in the stock market because the stock market goes up over long periods of time. Bad investors just don’t realize that their accounts are going up less than the market.
If you’re looking for a thrill, and have strong financials, absolutely try your hand at managing your money any way you like. Want to buy an individual stock? Make it a tiny slice of your portfolio. Want to try timing the market? Dedicate a tiny part of your portfolio to trading. I would be sure to keep the two separate, though, just so the lines between “fun money” and “important money” are never blurred.
The worst that happens is that you lose an insignificant and learn a whole lot about how the markets work without risking your financial future. That’s a worthwhile trade-off for investors who want a little bit of thrill in their relationship with the markets. | <urn:uuid:7cea8c7b-433c-4993-aefa-9c28713c691b> | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | https://www.20sfinances.com/timing-the-market-should-you-ever-do-it/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794864872.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20180522190147-20180522210147-00176.warc.gz | en | 0.965416 | 928 | 2.703125 | 3 |
El Niño Watch - Aug 21, 2014
An “El Niño Watch” continues this month as issued by the NOAA Climate Prediction Center several months ago. The watch is just that: we are waiting and watching for the development of a full-fledged El Niño event that has yet to materialize across the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Several indicators of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) status declined, moving back towards ENSO-neutral values over the past month instead of leaning towards an El Niño event as they had been. These shifts included slight cooling in the eastern Pacific Ocean and near-average wind patterns along the equator (Figure 1). But for those cheering on the development of an El Niño event, not all hope is lost. A slug of warm water just below the surface has materialized in the western Pacific Ocean and is slowly moving eastward. This is similar to the pulse of warm water that led to dramatic warming in the eastern Pacific Ocean earlier this spring. This “Kelvin Wave” is not as strong in magnitude as the earlier springtime wave, but is expected to surface in the eastern Pacific over the next several months, pouring fuel back into the El Niño engine.
Seasonal ENSO outlooks pick up on this pattern and remain rather bullish in suggesting that an El Niño event is likely later this fall that would peak in early winter (Figure 2). The models suggest this would be a moderate event at best; in fact most models suggest a weak El Niño event of around 1 degree C above average in sea-surface temperatures in the central/eastern Pacific Ocean. The weaker the event, the trickier the forecast with respect to expected precipitation across Arizona and New Mexico. Weak El Niño events vary between wet, near average, and even dry winters in historical records across the Southwest. Official seasonal precipitation forecasts continue to suggest an enhanced chance of above-average precipitation across Arizona and New Mexico through the winter, but confidence in these forecasts is tied to the development and ultimate strength of the El Niño event that has yet to materialize.
This post was originally published as part of the August 2014 Southwest Climate Outlook | <urn:uuid:e5b1a804-9cb3-41e5-a5cc-92cdc679cf35> | CC-MAIN-2015-27 | http://www.climas.arizona.edu/blog/el-ni%C3%B1o-watch-aug-21-2014 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-27/segments/1435375095806.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20150627031815-00030-ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954945 | 436 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Gentle toothbrushing for healthier gums
Healthier gums need gentle brushing
In this video I demonstrate how to brush your teeth correctly so that you can clean the enamel thoroughly, without hurting your gums in the process.
Incorrect toothbrushing technique can contribute to receding gums, bleeding gums and even gum disease so brushing the right way does more than just clean your teeth, it protects your gums.
Choosing a toothbrush
Electric or manual, the most important quality is the softness of the bristles. Always choose the softest bristles you can find.
An electric toothbrush will exaggerate the risks of poor brushing technique so I recommend practicing correct brushing with a manual toothbrush before you start using an electric.
Electric brushes are especially valuable for people who have trouble keeping their wisdom or back molars clean. They are also helpful for people who don’t have enough strength or stamina to brush thoroughly for 2-3 minutes at a time.
No white knuckles
Are you squeezing the toothbrush handle in a death grip? A tight, white knuckled grip at the base of the handle means you are probably brushing too hard!
Practice holding the brush lightly between your finger tips, near the bristles. This way you have more fine motor control.
Gently polish each surface of each tooth individually with a gentle flicking motion, moving the bristles away from the gums.
One of the ways that gums are attached to the teeth is with microscopic fibres that can break really easily, so never push the tips of the bristles into the gum line.
To clean the enamel closest to the gums place the sides of the bristles against the gum line, so the tips of the bristles are touching the enamel. Then just wriggle the bristles in place. It will be easier to understand if you watch the video!
Take your time
If this is a new way of brushing for you, take as long as you need to retrain your muscle memory to the new grip and motions of gentle brushing. Even once you have the hang of it, toothbrushing thoroughly and gently should take you at least 2-3 minutes each time.
Rather than resenting and rushing through your oral hygiene every day, treat it as a mini moving meditation where you have a chance to lavish yourself with loving attention. | <urn:uuid:7b5095d9-518a-4a0f-b62d-6054cf3fca0c> | CC-MAIN-2020-05 | https://holistictoothfairy.com/category/oral-hygiene/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-05/segments/1579251783621.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20200129010251-20200129040251-00020.warc.gz | en | 0.915238 | 491 | 2.640625 | 3 |
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