text stringlengths 222 548k | id stringlengths 47 47 | dump stringclasses 95 values | url stringlengths 14 1.08k | file_path stringlengths 110 155 | language stringclasses 1 value | language_score float64 0.65 1 | token_count int64 53 113k | score float64 2.52 5.03 | int_score int64 3 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Africa is facing new challenges, such as climate change, growing populations, rapid technological change, and more. Meanwhile, cities, as engines of economic growth, are now tasked with solving these issues.
But as large and intimidating as these challenges may appear, it’s vital that we push into the future. New technologies like quantum computing, drones, and AI will allow us to be more efficient, dynamic and prepared to take on the challenges of the 21st century. That’s why I believe that nations can use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve municipal governance.
The future is already here
It’s clear that AI is coming. AI is already used in autonomous cars and drones. I believe it will join the printing press, the automobile, and the computer in changing the world. Let’s look at a few trends that show why AI is poised to change governance fundamentally.
The rise of the (smart) megacity. Tokyo and New York City were the only megacities, cities with 10 million people, forty years ago. Now, with over 50% of the world’s population living in cities, there are over 20 megacities, including Lagos, with approximately 21 million people. The number of megacities, specifically in Africa, is projected to increase. Nairobi, Cape Town, and Lagos are preparing for their future growth by beginning plans to transform into smart cities. There is also an African Smart City conference.
People are using technologies that enable AI. Big data, machine learning, and cognitive computing have been modernising businesses and governments for years. Cognitive analytics can generate hypotheses by drawing from a variety of potentially relevant information. It can potentially bridge the gap between these technologies and AI.
Governments are working on AI research and policy. Governments always need to be ahead of the curve. Countries are forming strategic partnerships with each other, research bodies, and universities to plan for AI’s implications. Tunisia and Kenya are the only African nations so far to start developing an AI strategy.
Give these trends, Nigeria, Africa’s most populated country, is in a great position to capitalise on the AI boom. Here are five ways AI could be used in governance at the local level.
Virtual assistants: The public sector fields thousands of questions a month from the general public, taking up valuable human resources and more importantly, time. AI-powered assistants can not only answer questions with higher speed and accuracy, but they can also learn, develop, and get smarter with each question. The US military is using virtual assistants to help prospective recruits. Think of a bureaucratic Amazon Alexa or Google Home.
Better predictions: AI can use predictive algorithms to protect governments from corruption and financial fraud. Such technologies can also predict the seriousness of wounds and help medics prioritise treatment and evacuation. Predictive AI can even forecast weather more accurately.
Better health care services:The government could use AI to assist surgeons during necessary procedures. In some cases, AI-powered surgeons have outperformed their human counterparts. African hospitals have already started using AI for analysing genomic data.
Reducing backlogs: When it comes to innovation, the patent office plays an important role. There are thousands of patent applications a year. Any delays to their approval can harm a business’s productivity. A study concluded that just one year of delay in reviewing patent applications that ultimately receive approval reduces a company’s employment and sales growth by 21 and 28 percent, respectively, over five years. Cities can apply the same principle to almost any government document or license entrepreneurs might apply for.
Crime prevention: AI could use facial recognition algorithms to identify criminals better. A study was conducted to conclude just that, and it was successful. Researchers trained their algorithm on 1856 different images of Chinese men, half of whom were known criminals. The algorithm was able to correctly spot the criminal and non-criminal 89.5% of the time.
The rise of Artificial Intelligence asks as many questions as it answers. Such a relevant technology is sure to revolutionise the way the world functions. Overall, these five points are just a few of the many reasons why nations should be optimistic about the future. AI will not only assist governments but businesses as well. It is critical that these sectors cooperate. By keeping these points in mind, I’m confident that we Africans can use AI to build smart and efficient cities. | <urn:uuid:28a7e9a3-4bbc-4107-af45-faa6637d3a0f> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://chagourygroup.com/how-african-nations-can-use-artificial-intelligence-to-improve-municipal-governance/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100529.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20231204115419-20231204145419-00117.warc.gz | en | 0.952646 | 900 | 2.765625 | 3 |
- As a warning that a patient suffers from a chronic disease or allergy that can exacerbate suddenly and that will require immediate specific treatment; one example is in the case of diabetes mellitus, in which unconsciousness may be a sign of low or high blood glucose level.
- As an aid in radiotherapy. In order to minimize damage to surrounding tissues, the radiotherapist seeks to keep the irradiated field as small as possible. Marking a number of points on the body with tattoos can aid radiotherapists in adjusting the beam accurately and consistently from one irradiation to the next.
- During breast reconstruction after mastectomy (removal of the breast for treatment of cancer), or breast reduction surgery. Tattooing is sometimes used to replace the areola which has been removed during mastectomy, or to fill in areas of pigment loss which may occur during breast reduction performed with a free nipple graft technique.
- Similar to dog tags, members of the U.S. military may have their vital information tattooed on themselves, usually on the rib cage below the armpit; they are referred to as "meat tags".
A definitive beginning for medical tattooing is difficult to pinpoint, however there are records and evidence dating back to 3,300 BCE. A naturally preserved human body found in a snowfield in the Tyrolean Alps has tattoo markings with much speculation surrounding their intentions. The markings are located over the lumbar spine, the right knee, and both ankles. Radiographic studies performed on the corpse revealed that the man had osteoarthritis in these joints and scientists suggest “that the tattoos might indicate a form of stimulatory treatment similar to acupuncture.” Expert opinions from three acupuncture societies indicate that nine of the tattoos could be identified as being located directly on or within 6 mm of traditional acupuncture points.
Another well-preserved mummy found in the necropolis of Chiribaya Alta in southern Peru dates back to 400 BCE and also has unexplainable tattoos located in areas of therapeutic importance. The Scythian horseman has ornamental and non-ornamental tattoos; “the difference in the tattoos is so obvious that there is speculation about a possible therapeutic importance of the ones in the perivertebral and retromalleolar region." The marks are circular, of simple shape and run along the spinal column.
A crude practice of medical tattooing was performed by Galen in 150 CE. He tried to cover leukomatous opacities of the cornea by cauterizing the surface with a heated stilet and applying powdered nutgalls and iron or pulverized pomegranate bark mixed with copper salt. With the rise of Christianity, tattooing declined and eventually became banned by a papal edict in 787 CE.
It was not until the mid-1800s that the first papers to unequivocally document the medical application of tattooing appeared. A German physician named Pauli used tattooing with mercury sulfide and white lead for the restoration of the natural color to the skin in cases on congenital vascular nevi (6). Other instances include the cosmetic tattooing with mercury sulfide after plastic lip procedures recommended by Shule in 1850 or the modern method of corneal tattooing put into practice by Louis Von Wecker in the 1870s.
In recent decades, medical tattoos have come to be understood as markings that indicate the medical conditions or information of the person who bears them. During the Cold War, threats of nuclear warfare led several U.S. states to consider blood type tattooing. Programs were spurred in Chicago, Utah and Indiana based on the premise that if an atomic bomb were to strike, the resulting damage would require extremely large amounts of blood within a short amount of time. Very few efforts came to fruition.
- Kluger N, Aldasouqi S (May 2012). "A new purpose for tattoos: Medical alert tattoos". Presse Med. 42 (2): 134–7. PMID 22647627. doi:10.1016/j.lpm.2012.04.009.
- Richard S. Irwin; James M. Rippe (2008). Irwin and Rippe's intensive care medicine. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp. 1256–. ISBN 978-0-7817-9153-3. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- Greer PB, Mortensen TM (1997). "Anterior-posterior treatment localization in pelvic radiotherapy: tattoos or fixed couch-to-isocentre distance". Med Dosim. 22 (1): 43–6. PMID 9136107.
- Potter S, Barker J, Willoughby L, Perrott E, Cawthorn SJ, Sahu AK (June 2007). "Patient satisfaction and time-saving implications of a nurse-led nipple and areola reconstitution service following breast reconstruction". Breast. 16 (3): 293–6. PMID 17241786. doi:10.1016/j.breast.2006.12.004.
- Kristin Wilson Keppler (18 August 2010). "The man who makes sure dead marines get home". BBC News. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
- Katherine Kington (27 February 2012). "Medical tattoos on the rise". WTVM. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
Donny says much like an Army dog tag, the soldiers call them meat tags.
- Reilly, Rick (17 February 2003). "Where Have All the Young Men Gone?". Time. Time Inc. 161 (2-10). Retrieved 22 March 2012.
A lot of 'em are young and scared to be going over," says Rachael Mays of the Sleeping Dragon tattoo parlor. "They come in for their meat tags. You know, dog tags for the skin. Their name, rank, serial number, religion, blood type and gas-mask size. They want 'em in case they're blown in half. Then at least some part of them can come back to their folks.
- Spindler, K (1994). The man in the ice. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
- Bahr, F (1998). "Expert opinions on the correspondence of tattoo locations and acupuncture points in the Tyrolean Iceman".
- Rolle, R (1992). "Die skythenzeitlichen Mumienfunde von Pazyryk—Frostkonservierte Gräber aus dem Altaigebirge". Der Mann im Eis. 1: 334–58.
- Zieglar, SL (1922). Multicolor tattooing of the cornea. Trans Am Ophthalmol Soc. pp. 71–8.
- Levy, J (1979). A short history of tattooing. pp. 851–6.
- Turell, R (1942). Technic of tattooing with mercury sulfide. Ann Surg. pp. 126–30.
- Von Wecker, L (1872). Das Tätowiren der Hornhaut. Arch Augenheilkunde. pp. 84–7.
- "Booklet tells what to do if city is bombed" (7). Chicago Daily Tribune. Dec 7, 1950.
- "Mass tattoo of 200,000 on in Lake County" (1). Chicago Daily Tribune. August 26, 1951.
- Kite, L (August 2, 2006). "Sign of the times". The Herald Journal.
- Medical Tattoos More info about mastectomy tattoos & tattoos over scars. | <urn:uuid:65ceb68c-5aef-4bc1-a274-c43c7b58824b> | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_tattoo | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549424876.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20170724122255-20170724142255-00451.warc.gz | en | 0.880674 | 1,571 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Too Often, Kitten owners resort to punishment when they feel that kitten has stepped out of line. It is a poor method for shaping behavior in most of the condition. Physical corrections and scolding are prone to cripple your relationship and can lead to more serious issues, for example, aggression.
Never hit, shake or holler at your cat. If you need to check or intrude a behavior, for example, scratching furniture, use a water spray or make a noise by tapping a tabletop or clapping loudly. Abstain from doing anything that makes your little cat act panicked or hesitant to approach you.
Understanding your little cat's body language
Kittens are good at telling you what they need, either vocally or with their bodies. It won't be much sooner than you understand what your cat is attempting to let you know.
As your little cat grows up, you begin to hear different "meows" from her. Low-pitched meows typically mean your kitten is uncomfortable or troubled. High-pitched sound mean she's happy, and if she continues rehashing them, she's need your attention. Perhaps she feels now is the right time for her most loved cat food? With a little practice, you'll soon get to understand what your cat's trying to say.
Interestingly, cat sounds are barely ever directed to other kittens, a nearly always at humans. So listen up, she's conversing with you. Try to understand more about cat's meow.
Purring is normally an indication of happiness, despite the fact that it doesn't generally show satisfaction. A cat that is sick or restless will at times purr as a solace. However, if your cat is rubbing more against you and purring noisily, it’s an indication of warmth and affection or she's request something, for example, food.
Hisses and growls
In case you're watching these, you've got one scared little cat. She's attempting to puff herself up to sound scary so that she can secure herself. You'll generally hear her hiss and growl throughout strained experiences with different creatures.
When your cat rubs her face up against you, it means she's really happy comfortable in your company and showing that she likes you.
If your cat rolls over onto her back and stretches her body and legs, she is showing complete submissiveness and belief in you. Your cat is also asking for attention. And when she hops onto your lap and snuggles down continuously, there's no doubt how she watch her new environment.
A kitten's tail is an incredible indicator of her emotions. A happy cat will hold her tail straight up; if she is panicked, she'll tuck it between her legs. The broad swishing of a grown-up cat's tail shows inconvenience or anxiousness. If she's truly disturbed, her tail will move quickly from side to side- this is threatening behavior. A twitching tail is a certain indication of your little cat's excitement. | <urn:uuid:567ba364-4341-4f69-91d5-ae8743d1364a> | CC-MAIN-2016-50 | http://kittenphysics.blogspot.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-50/segments/1480698543170.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20161202170903-00185-ip-10-31-129-80.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965837 | 619 | 2.671875 | 3 |
From Hindenburg to Honda
When Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about the hydrogen highway, it’s not that he’s still having trouble with English. Well, maybe it’s that. But the main point is a general enthusiasm, shared by pundits of various stripes, for continued investment in automobiles powered by hydrogen cells. Trusted as a reliable fuel source by such familiar authorities as Ford, Honda and the sun, hydrogen is, second only to political rhetoric, the most abundant of the universe’s many bloated gasses. Potentially, it’s a good resource that way.
Among the element’s chief propagandists is the California Fuel Cell Partnership, which invites you to its headquarters at 3300 Industrial Boulevard this Friday for a free demonstration from 1 to 3 p.m. Ride in a hydrogen-powered car! Tour a hydrogen fueling station! Learn exactly how the proton exchange membrane works! OK, it’s not exactly like riding in an Apollo rocket to the moon, but it is certainly quieter, safer and more comfortable.
You may be concerned. You may recall the incident with the Hindenberg. Well, look, technically hydrogen has been found at the scene of every one of history’s catastrophic explosions. But that’s because it’s pretty much omnipresent, and as a matter of fact that particular mishap had nothing to do with its use as a fuel. But if it makes you feel better, yes, it is still utterly moronic to light a cigarette while refueling your hydrogen-powered car.
Also, it’s still about four times as expensive to make as gasoline, and making it does require some pollution. But the exhaust from hydrogen-powered cars rather graciously consists of nothing more than warm water vapor, and unlike those of oil or gasoline, hydrogen spills tend to clean themselves up. Other benefits: Its acquisition needn’t necessitate intercontinental warfare. Not yet, anyway. Visit www.cafcp.org or call (916) 371-2870 for more information. | <urn:uuid:3433490d-c19c-446f-be8d-b2e395fe9de7> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content/from-hindenburg-to-honda/44388/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046150000.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20210723175111-20210723205111-00233.warc.gz | en | 0.950993 | 425 | 2.515625 | 3 |
P37? 53 P5? 20 Islamic Finance: An Alternative to the Conventional Financial System? ? Md. Shafi Alam* Abstract The purpose of this research is to analyze the problems within the Conventional Financial System and to determine the primary causes of the ongoing financial crisis, which originated from the sub-prime mortgage crisis of the United States. It also highlights that one of the major causes of these crises was the lack of adequate market discipline within the financial system. This led to excessive lending, high leverage and ultimately the crisis.
Risk-sharing, along with the availability of credit for primarily the purchase of real goods and services, and restrictions on the sale of debt, short sales, excessive uncertainty (gharar), and gambling, which Islamic finance stands for, can help inject greater discipline into the system and, thereby, substantially reduce financial instability. Islamic finance has observed unprecedented growth in the last five years, but it also offers many challenges and opportunities. The fundamental issue of faith and many other reasons restrict Islamic finance from being fully implemented in non-Muslim countries.
But the consistent oil-money supply from the Gulf region makes Islamic finance attractive even to non-Muslim countries. Keywords: Islamic Finance, Islamic Banking, Interest Free Banking, Shari’ah Compliant Fund (SCF), Sukuk, Takaful, Riba I. Introduction The current financial crisis has affected virtually the whole world, and the effects are gradually filtering into the real sector, causing economic recession. The financial system has decidedly played an active role in the accelerated development of the world economy, particularly after the Second World War.
An unending stream of financial innovations, including the revolution in information and communications technology, has played a crucial role in this development. The system is, however, now plagued by persistent crises. * Student, Master of Arts in International Commerce, Graduate School of International Studies, Korea University. 38 • Korea Review of International Studies According to one estimate, there have been more than 100 crises over the last four decades. 1 Not a single geographical area or major country has been spared the effects of these crises.
Even some of the countries that have generally followed sound fiscal and monetary policies have become engulfed in these crises. The prevailing financial crisis, which started in the summer of 2007, is more severe than any other in the past, and shows no significant sign of abating, despite a coordinated bail out of three to four trillion dollars by the US, the UK, Europe and a number of other countries. It has seized-up money markets and led to a precipitous decline in property and stock values, bank failures, and a nervous anxiety about the fate of the global economy and the financial system.
This has created an uneasy feeling that there is something basically wrong with the system. There is, hence, a call for a new architecture. A new architecture would demand an innovation that could help prevent the outbreak and spread of future crises or, at least, minimize their frequency and severity. Since a number of the crises generally experienced around the world are of a serious nature and have been recurring persistently, cosmetic changes in the existing system may not be sufficient.
It is necessary to have an innovation that would be really effective. In view of the financial crises which have been affecting the whole world, a solution in the name of Islamic finance could be introduced. As the global economic slowdown becomes more severe and protracted, many countries will be seeking alternatives, and Islamic finance can seize these new opportunities by offering standardized Islamic finance products with prudent regulations and supervisory arrangements.
The beauty of the Islamic finance lies in its balanced and integrated approach towards a development policy that is urgently called for in the current crisis, caused by the awesome importance attached to the promotion of the financial sector alone. A distinctive feature of Islamic finance is that it does not allow the creation of debt through the direct lending and borrowing of money or other financial assets. The debts can only be created through the sale or lease of real assets through lease-based financing schemes (such as murabaha, ijara, nd sukuk). The assets which are leased or sold must be real (building, property, or any other physical infrastructure), and the transactions must be genuine (approved by government regulators, as well as religious experts comprising the Shariah board) with the full intention of giving and taking charge, and the associated debt (risk) cannot be sold or transferred to someone else. According to McKinsey, Islamic financial assets are expected to surpass $1 trillion in 2010, which compares with $750 billion estimated for 2006. The issuance of “sukuk” or Islamic bonds grew five-fold over the past four years to reach $120 billion in 2008, and the mutual fund market is estimated to reach more than $11 billion. 3 In some countries such as Iran and Pakistan, Islamic banks are the only mainstream financial institutions while in many other countries (such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, 1 2 3 Stiglitz, Joseph. “Dealing with Debt: How to Reform the Global Financial System,” Harvard International Review Spring, 2003: 54. Islamic Banking Competitiveness report, McKinsey and Co, 2007.
Available from http://www. mckinsey. com/mgi/. Islamic Banking Competitiveness report, McKinsey and Co, 2007. Available from http://www. mckinsey. com/mgi/. Islamic Finance • 39 and the United Kingdom) Sharia-Compliant Financing (SCF) exists alongside conventional banking. II. Problems of the Conventional Financial System The current financial crisis has made such an impact, that phrases such as ‘turbulent times,’ ‘sub-prime crises,’ ‘extremely volatile’ and so on have been used to describe today’s financial markets.
In order to understand the problems of the Conventional Global Financial System, it is necessary to understand the causes of the crisis and to contribute to solutions to globally avoid a similar situation. There are numerous causes of financial crises. The generally recognized, most important cause is excessive and imprudent lending by banks, which leads to an unsustainable boom in asset prices, followed by an artificial rise in consumption and speculative investment. The higher the leverage, the more difficult it is to unwind it in a downturn.
Unwinding gives rise to a vicious cycle of selling that feeds on itself and leads to a steep decline in asset prices followed by a serious financial crisis. The main reasons for the current global financial crisis include the US sub-prime mortgage crisis arising from the securitization of financing through Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs), inadequate market discipline within the financial system, and the excessive growth of various financial derivatives, including credit default swaps. 4 The question that now arises is, whether or not market discipline is adequate within the financial system?
The market can impose discipline primarily through incentives and deterrents. If incentives and deterrents do not exist or become weak, market discipline will also become weak. The incentives and deterrents come through the prospects of making profits or sustaining losses. The major source of profit in the conventional system is interest that banks earn through their lending operations. The losses come through the inability to recover these loans with interest. There would be a check over excessive lending, if bank were afraid of suffering losses that would reduce their net profit.
This does not happen in a system where “profit and loss sharing” (PLS) does not exist, and the repayment of loans with interest is generally guaranteed. There are two factors that enable banks to assume that they will not suffer losses. The first of these is collateral, which is indispensable and unavoidable in any financial system for managing the risk of default. The collateral can, of course, do this only if it is of good quality. Collateral is, however, exposed to a valuation risk. Its value can be impaired by the same factors that diminish the borrower’s ability to repay.
The collateral cannot, therefore, be a substitute for a more careful evaluation of the project financed. However, if there is no risk-sharing, banks may not always undertake a careful evaluation of the collateral, and may extend financing for any purpose, including pure speculation. This may be compounded, if it is possible for banks to transfer the risk of default by selling the debt to someone else. The second factor that provides protection to the banks is the “too big to fail” concept, which assures them that the central bank will bail them 4 Khan, Habibullah. “Islamic Finance: Is it an Answer to Global Crisis? ” The U21 Global Newsletter 1st Quarter 2009. 40 • Korea Review of International Studies out. 5 Banks which are provided with such a safety net have incentives to take greater risks than what they otherwise would. Given that banks lend excessively to maximize their profit, why is it that the depositors do not impose a discipline on the banks? They can actually do so in several different ways: by demanding better management, greater transparency, and more efficient risk management. If this does not work, they can always punish the banks by withdrawing their deposits.
They do not, however, do so in the conventional financial system, because they are assured the repayment of their deposits with interest. 6 This makes them complacent and they do not take as much interest in the affairs of their financial institutions as they would if they expected to suffer losses. The false sense of immunity from losses provided to bankers as well as depositors impairs the ability of the market to impose the required discipline. This leads to an unhealthy expansion in the overall volume of credit, to excessive leverage, to even subprime debt, and to living beyond one’s means.
This tendency of the system gets further reinforced by the bias of the tax system in favour of debt financing-dividends are subject to taxation while interest payments are allowed to be treated as a tax-deductible expense. This shows that the absence of risk/reward sharing reduces market discipline and, thereby, introduces a fault line in the financial system. It is this fault line that makes it possible for the financier to lend excessively and also to move funds rapidly from place to place at the slightest change in the economic environment. A high degree of volatility thus gets injected into interest rates and asset prices.
This generates uncertainty in the investment market, which in turn discourages capital formation, and leads to the misallocation of resources. It also drives the borrowers and lenders alike away from the long end of the debt market toward the shorter end. Consequently, there is a steep rise in highly leveraged short-term debt, which has accentuated economic and financial instability. The IMF acknowledged this fact in its May 1998 World Economic Outlook by stating that countries with high levels of short-term debt are “likely to be particularly vulnerable to internal and external shocks, and thus susceptible to financial crises. 7 III. The Islamic Financial System Financial services that meet the requirements of the Shariah, or Islamic law are called Islamic finance. While designed to meet the specific religious requirements of Muslim customers, Islamic banking is not restricted to Muslims: both the financial services provider and the customer can be non-Muslim, as well as Muslim. Shariah- 5 6 7 Miskhin, Frederic. “The Causes and Propagation of Financial Instability: Lessons for Policymakers,” Maintaining Financial Stability in a Global Economy August. 1997: 61. Miskhin, Frederic. The Causes and Propagation of Financial Instability: Lessons for Policymakers,” Maintaining Financial Stability in a Global Economy August. 1997: 61. Chapra, M. Umer. The Global Financial Crisis: Can Islamic Finance help minimize the severity and frequency of such a crisis in future? , A paper presented at the forum on Global Financial Crisis held at Islamic Development Bank on 25th October, 2008: 4. Islamic Finance • 41 compliant financing (SCF) constitutes financial practices that conform to Islamic law. 8 Major principles of shariah law that are applicable to finance and that differ from conventional finance are: ?
Ban on Interest (riba): In conventional forms of finance, a distinction is made between acceptable interest and usurious interest (i. e. , excessive rates of interest). In contrast, under Islamic law, any level of interest is considered to be usurious and is prohibited. Some question how lenders can profit from financial transactions under Islamic law. Take for instance, in a real estate setting, SCF takes the form of leasing, as opposed to loans. Instead of borrowing money, the bank obtains the property and leases it to the shariah-compliant investor, who pays rent instead of interest. Ban on Uncertainty: Uncertainty in contractual terms and conditions is not allowed, unless all of the terms and conditions of the risks are clearly understood by all parties of a financial transaction. This condition may help eliminate most of the speculative transactions which involve gharar (excessive uncertainty). ? Risk-sharing and Profit-sharing: Parties involved in a financial transaction must share both the associated risks and profits. Earnings from profits or returns from assets are permitted, so long as the business risks are shared by the lender and the borrower.
This will help ensure that the seller (or lessor) also shares a part of the risks in order to be able to get a share of the returns. Once the seller (financier) acquires ownership and possession of the goods for sale or lease, he/she bears the risks. ? Ethical Investments That Enhance Society: Investment in industries that are prohibited by the Qur’an, such as alcohol, pornography, gambling, and pork based products, are discouraged. ? Asset-backing: Each financial transaction must be tied to a “tangible, identifiable underlying asset. 9 The debt cannot be sold, and thus the risk associated with it cannot be transferred to someone else; it must be borne by the creditor himself. According to this condition a transaction must be a genuine trade transaction, and the fact that the creditor cannot transfer the risk to someone else by selling off the debt, will also help eliminate speculative and derivative transactions, as well as prevent the debt from rising far above the size of the real economy. IV. Islamic Finance as an Alternative System Islamic finance can act as an alternative to the conventional financial system.
The major features of Islamic finance, like asset-backing, the bans on uncertainty (Gharar) and interest or usury (Riba), and risk and profit sharing seem to provide a more resilient financial system. Under Islamic banking, lending and borrowing are fully asset-backed and there is no scope for debt transfer (swaps) or speculative transactions beyond the real value. 8 9 Ilias, Shayerah. Islamic Finance: Overview and Policy Concerns, Congressional Research Service, February 9, 2009. Ilias, Shayerah. Islamic Finance: Overview and Policy Concerns, Congressional Research Service, February 9, 2009. 2 • Korea Review of International Studies The reason why Islamic banks have not felt the full brunt of the global credit crisis is that it is difficult to get loans from Islamic banks unless the loans are deemed prudent, growth promoting and beneficial to society. As a result of a strict discipline from religious as well as regulatory points of view introduced into the process of debt creation, the growth of SCF products can rise only in line with the growth of the real economy. The system thus provides a selfprotective device and curbs speculative transactions leading to excessive credit expansions.
If economic growth fails to achieve the target or enters into a phase of contraction, Islamic financial institutions will suffer, but they are unlikely to go bankrupt as borrowers are treated as joint owners and are liable to incur losses (or profits at times of high growth). From an individual investor’s perspective, Islamic finance is usually considered a “low risk low gain” system which should satisfy the needs of those who subscribe to the basic principles of shariah law (which generally discourages greed and excessive wealth accumulation).
The innocent and those who are not fully aware of the benefits (as well as of the associated risks) of financial investments are protected against any kind of fraudulent activities that may arise out of pure speculation. Internationally, Islamic banks appear to be more resilient against the global economic turndown and international financial crisis than conventional banks have been. As mentioned above, they tend to avoid speculative investments, such as derivatives, that many analysts believe led to the financial crisis affecting conventional banks.
For many observers, Islamic finance serves as a vehicle for recovering from the international financial crisis. The Islamic banking industry may be able to strengthen its position in the international market as investors and companies seek alternate sources of financing. V. Current State of Islamic Finance Currently, Islamic finance represents a small but growing segment of the global finance industry. In some countries, such as Iran and Pakistan, Islamic banks are the only mainstream financial institutions.
In others, SCF exists alongside conventional banking. As recent as five years ago, the development of Islamic finance was regarded as an infant industry striving to prove its viability and competitiveness. At that time, the growth of Islamic finance was organic and largely concentrated in countries where the Muslim population was significant. In the past five years, Islamic finance has recorded dramatic growth and has a presence in more than 75 countries, in both Muslim and nonMuslim dominated communities. 0 A growing number of the international financial centers, including London, Singapore, and Hong Kong, are beginning to offer Islamic financial products and services. The number of Islamic banking institutions worldwide, including conventional banks that offer Islamic banking services, has doubled to more than three hundred. Total Islamic financial assets under the management of these institutions are now estimated to exceed $1 trillion, about fivefold their magnitude five 10 Islamic Banking Competitiveness report, McKinsey and Co, 2007.
Available from http://www. mckinsey. com/mgi/. Islamic Finance • 43 years ago. 11 Islamic finance is now among the fastest growing financial segments in the international financial system, with a growing diversity both in the range of products and services being offered, and in the markets that have been developed therein. The sukuk market (i. e. , the Islamic bond market denominated in international currencies) has registered remarkable growth, having doubled in size, amounting to $28 billion, as compared to a year ago.
Including Sukuks denominated in domestic currencies, the size of the market is now at about $82 billion. 12 Estimates vary on the total size of assets held internationally under Islamic finance, generally ranging from $800 billion to $1 trillion. According to McKinsey, Islamic financial assets are expected to surpass $1 trillion in 2010, which compares with $750 billion estimated for 2006. The issuance of “sukuk,” or Islamic bonds, grew fivefold over the past four years to reach $120 billion in 2008, and the mutual fund market is estimated to reach more than $11 billion. 3 Table 1: Breakdown of Shari’a Compliant Assets (USD, Million) Region GCC Non-GCC MENA Sub-Saharan Africa Asia Australia/Europe/America Total Source: The Banker Magazine, 2007. 2007 178,130 176,822 4,708 119,346 21,479 500,482 The GCC, the UAE and Southeast Asia (Malaysia and Indonesia) historically have been, and continue to be the major centers for SCF. For oil producers in the Gulf region, Islamic finance could offer investment opportunities for their growing revenues from oil exports. There also has been a growing awareness of and demand for Islamicbased financial products by Muslim consumers.
Figure 1 gives the overall presence of Islamic finance in the world. Support for Islamic finance varies in the Middle East. In some countries, such as Libya and Morocco, Islamic banks are considered by some to be tied to Islamic political parties and consequently have been refused licenses. Other countries, including Jordan, Tunisia, and the Sudan, have been receptive to Islamic finance, viewing Islamic financial products as an opportunity for creating capital and fostering economic development. 11 12 13 Ilias, Shayerah.
Islamic Finance: Overview and Policy Concerns Congressional Research Service, February 9, 2009. David Oakley, Shannon Bond, Cynthia O’Murchu, and Celve Jones. “Islamic Finance Explained,” Financial Times May 30, 2008. Islamic Banking Competitiveness report, McKinsey and Co, 2007. Available from http://www. mckinsey. com/mgi/. 44 • Korea Review of International Studies Figure 1: Global Coverage of Islamic Finance Islamic Finance has a strong footprint in the Middle East and South-east Asia Source: Grail Research, 2007.
In recent years, SCF has expanded into other parts of the world. Islamic finance is growing in Europe and North America, areas in which Muslims are in the minority. In August 2004, the United Kingdom’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) approved a banking license for the Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB), the country’s first Islamic bank. The IBB would serve the consumer market with shariah-compliant products. In March 2006, the FSA licensed the European Islamic Investment Bank as the United Kingdom’s first independent bank for shariah-compliant investments.
In 1999, the Dow Jones presented its first Islamic market index, which follows shariah-compliant stocks internationally. The Dow Jones maintains more than 70 indices in its Islamic series and is advised by an independent Shariah Supervisory Board counsel. VI. State of Major Islamic Financial Products There has also been significant innovation in Islamic financial products. This has been especially evident in Sukuk products. Following the Malaysian government’s issuance of the world’s first global sovereign Sukuk in 2002, other countries have issued several other sovereign Sukuk.
This development has also encouraged the issuance of international corporate Sukuk by multinational and domestic corporations. One innovation is the landmark issuance in 2006 of the exchangeable Sukuk by Khazanah Nasional, the Malaysian sovereign wealth management entity. In this arrangement the sukuk can be exchanged for other shares held by Khazanah Nasional. In the same year a convertible sukuk, with which a sukuk can be converted into its issuer’s own shares upon initial public offering, was issued by a Middle
Eastern-based corporation. A derivative market has also been developed with the introduction of Islamic currency swaps and profit-rate Islamic Finance • 45 swaps. There has been significant growth in Islamic asset and wealth management following the development of diverse and innovative structures of Islamic investment funds, including Islamic hedge funds. There are now more than 250 mutual funds, managing an estimated $300 billion in assets, that are compliant with sharia (Islamic law).
Other developments include the creation of benchmark indices such as the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes, covering more than $10 trillion of market capitalization in over 40 countries, the Financial Times Stock Exchange Global Islamic Index Series, and the listing of Islamic financial instruments on international exchanges. These developments have enhanced the attractiveness of Islamic financial markets as an asset class for investment. VII. Challenges and Opportunities 1. Challenges
As Islamic banks operate within a global financial system, they have not been completely insulated from the recent economic and financial shocks. For instance, on the one hand, the Islamic financial industry is considered by many to be less risky because financial transactions are backed by physical assets. On the other hand, however, Islamic banks may be more vulnerable to fluctuations in the mortgage market, given their high activity in the real estate sector compared to conventional banks. The recent slowdown in real estate activity in the Gulf economies raises concerns about some Islamic banks’ financial positions.
The main challenges to be addressed by Islamic financial institutions are the following: ? The Fundamental Issue of Faith: Islamic finance comes with certain limitations which come from Islamic religious beliefs. Islamic finance, with features, like bans on Riba, Gharar and the investment in industries that are prohibited by the Qur’an, such as alcohol, pornography, gambling, and pork based products; make it less attractive to non-Muslim countries. The above restrictions may not be according to the belief systems of non-Muslim societies.
Hence, implementing a full-fledged Islamic finance looks practically impossible. ? Awareness: Though Islamic finance has been in existence for many decades, the awareness about its features, products or services and benefits are largely unknown by most of the population. Even a majority of the Muslim population is unaware of Islamic finance. ? Taxation and Legal Issues: Various products under Shariah-Murabaha, Ijara, Tawarruq, etc. attract government taxes at multiple levels. This is because, in a single transaction the property/commodity is bought and sold more than once.
The issue has been addressed in many countries like the UK and Bahrain, but still poses problems in most Western countries ? Risk Management: Since Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) are prohibited from investing in debt markets, ‘impure’ sectors and hedging instruments like derivatives, 46 • Korea Review of International Studies etc. the element of risk is higher, as compared to other conventional banks. Also, an inability to charge default interest for late payments and the imposition of preconditions on levying penalties result in higher business risks for IFIs. Excess Liquidity: Due to prohibitions on investing in debt markets, ‘impure’ sectors and hedging instruments, the secondary and inter-bank market is very thin and underdeveloped. This causes a major threat to excess funds with banks remaining unutilized and failing to earn adequate returns. ? Fragmentation: The industry is fragmented with small players who are unable to compete with international players for large-scale project finance deals 2. Opportunities Islamic finance, or financial services that conform to the tenets of Islam, offers a potential market of 1. billion Muslims that should continue to offer opportunities for foreign and domestic banks. In the last five years, Islamic finance has grown by 15 to 20 percent annually, with an estimated $270 billion in assets, controlled by approximately 300 Islamic banks in more than 25 countries. 14 Considering both a country’s Muslim population and per capita income, the largest markets for Islamic finance include Turkey, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and France. The fastest growing markets are Malaysia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Pakistan.
Figure 2: Muslim Population (Millions) Source: International Data Base-U. S. Census Bureau, 2008. 14 David Oakley, Shannon Bond, Cynthia O’Murchu, and Celve Jones. “Islamic Finance Explained,” Financial Times, May 30, 2008. Islamic Finance • 47 The potential for continuous growth in the Islamic financial sector is significant, with some estimates suggesting that within eight to ten years as much as half the savings of the world’s 1. 5 billion Muslims will be in Islamic banks. This could represent $905 billion in total assets in Middle Eastern countries alone. 5 Muslims living outside the Middle East (Figure 2), represent an even larger population, including countries such as India, Indonesia, and Malaysia, but also within developed countries including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. The market for Shari’ah compliant financial services will continue to grow, driven by both demand and supply factors. On the demand side, the desire to conduct all financial transactions in accordance with Shari’ah law is expected to further increasenot only among retail customers, but also increasingly among corporations.
There is evidence of pressure on corporations and sovereigns by the public and shareholders in the Middle East and South East Asia on to apply Shari’ah compliant solutions. This includes, for example, the adoption of Islamic bonds (Sukuk) or Shari’ah compliant syndicated lending based on Murabahah or Ijarah contracts. Interestingly, non-Muslim sovereigns such as in the UK, Japan and China have recognized this shift and are preparing Shari’ah compliant debt issues to target the liquidity-rich Middle East. The changing demographics of Muslim countries will also drive the demand for Shari’ah compliant financial services.
Many Muslim countries have population growth rates of more than 3% per annum. In addition, many of these countries are characterized by young populations, with more than 50% of the population yet to reach adulthood. 16 At the same time, there is evidence of an increasing sophistication among youthful consumers regarding their financial services and purchases. These twin effects of population growth and increasing sophistication are likely to result in a large number of savvy retail consumers in the near future.
Figure 3: Global Average Crude Oil Price and Total Nominal GDP in GCC Source: Ernst and Young analysis, 2008. 15 16 David Oakley, Shannon Bond, Cynthia O’Murchu, and Celve Jones. “Islamic Finance Explained,” Financial Times, May 30, 2008. Vayanos, Peter and Wackerbeck. How do Islamic Banks Compete in an increasingly Competitive Environment Pearson Education Limited, 12th Ed, 2009. 48 • Korea Review of International Studies Finally, from the demand side, the overall macroeconomic growth within Muslim countries will drive the growth of Shari’ah compliant financial services.
This is particularly relevant in the oil-rich countries of the Gulf, where state-owned enterprises which tend to strictly adhere to Shari’ah law are the immediate beneficiaries of the booming hydrocarbon prices. Though the sudden fall in the price of oil has slowed down growth in the region (Figure 3), in the long run it is expected to contribute to the GDP growth. On the supply side, the main driver is the increasing number of financial service institutions offering Shari’ah compliant solutions.
In addition to the new Islamic banks being formed, there is an emerging trend of existing conventional banks converting their operations to be Shari’ah compliant. For example, National Bank of Sharjah recently converted its entire operations and National Commercial Bank-Saudi Arabia’s largest bank-converted its retail operations to be Shari’ah compliant. The increase in supply has two effects. Firstly, with a greater number of players in the market, the level of awareness of Shari’ah compliant products and services is heightened.
This is important, since in many countries, including Muslim countries, the level of awareness and understanding of Shari’ah compliant products is remarkably low. Secondly, a larger number of providers lead to increased competition in the marketplace with improved product innovation and pricing. This in turn is increasing the attractiveness of Shari’ah compliant solutions to both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. VIII. Conclusion This paper has attempted to provide an overview of Islamic finance, its features and its growing importance in today’s financially integrated and interdependent world economy.
The situation of the present world economy which is going through a financial crisis has compelled economists and thinkers all over the world to question the existing financial system. Here comes the role of Islamic finance, which can act as an alternative to the conventional financial system. The major features of Islamic finance, like asset-backing, bans on uncertainty (Gharar) and interest or usury (Riba), and risk and profit sharing seem to provide a more resilient financial system.
The concept of asset-backing acts as a self-protecting device and curbs speculative transactions leading to excessive credit expansions. Under the Sharia principle, each financial transaction must be tied to a “tangible, identifiable underlying asset. ” If economic growth fails to achieve the target or enters into a phase of contraction, Islamic financial institutions will suffer, but they are unlikely to go bankrupt, as borrowers are treated as joint owners and are liable to incur losses, thus making the economy as a whole more resilient and sustainable.
Going forward, the speed and degree of success with which Islamic banking will emerge within conventional systems will largely depend on whether potential depositors and investors are well informed about the opportunities and risks at hand, and on whether Islamic banking is perceived as a transparent and well-regulated activity. The sustainability of Islamic finance will rest on how the international community Islamic Finance • 49 builds on the momentum achieved thus far. Meeting this challenge will require: ? Deepening efforts to enhance the legal and regulatory framework of Islamic finance, consistent with international practices ?
Continuing efforts to conform and align structures and products with Sharia principles in order to motivate Muslim populations to turn to this alternative financing mechanism, while also attracting others to product and risk management, mitigation innovation, and additional options being offered ? Recognizing that Islamic finance has perpetuated and changed the dynamics of cross-border private capital flows, and that this industry has great potential to augment the process of globalization and financial integration, but that this goal requires more cooperation and vigilance on the part of home and host regulators ?
Launching aggressive efforts to implement evolving Islamic financial regulatory and supervisory standards, and to capture the different types of risks associated with Islamic finance while launching consumer-protection frameworks ? Promoting more financial diversification by encouraging financial innovation and Islamic capital market development Measures such as these will both encourage and strengthen the future development of the Islamic finance industry. Islamic finance has huge potential in Muslim populated countries largely due to religious beliefs.
The countries which have significant populations are expected to observe high growth in the Islamic financial industry. Many Islamic countries could move to 100% Islamic Banking and Financial System and replace their original conventional systems. However, countries with insignificant populations of Muslims might tend to adopt only a few products from Islamic finance, such as Sukuk. The Muslim Money (i. e. money largely flowing out from the Gulf region, is mostly generated from oil income) seems to be consistent with the growing demand for crude oil in the long term.
This consistent supply of oil money provides enough incentives for non-Muslim countries such as Japan, Korea, Singapore, etc. to attract Islamic finance, which can make their financial markets more diversified and sustainable. To attract this money, which might not flow in non-Muslim countries in the absence of Islamic finance, they will have to make certain regulatory adjustments and policy changes to accommodate Islamic finance. In a long term perspective, Islamic finance may replace the conventional system in many Islamic countries, but within the global financial system it will rather simply complement the conventional system.
References Aggarwal, Rajesh K. , and Tarik Yousef. “Islamic Banks and Investment Financing,” Journal of Money, Banking, and Credit 32(1), 2000: 93-120. Ahmed, S. Muhammad. Towards Interest-Free Banking New Delhi: Adam Publishers and Distributors, 2007: 53-106. Akhtar, Shamshad. “Islamic Finance: Sustainability and Challenges,” NBR Analysis 50 • Korea Review of International Studies 18: 15-24 Aziz, Zeti Akhtar. “Enhancing Interlinkages and Opportunities: The Role of Islamic Finance,” NBR Analysis 18: 5-14 Chapra, M. Umer. The Global Financial Crisis: Can Islamic Finance help minimize the severity and frequency of such a crisis in future?
A paper presented at the forum on Global Financial Crisis held at Islamic Development Bank on 25th October 2008. David Oakley, Shannon Bond, Cynthia O’Murchu, and Celve Jones. “Islamic Finance Explained,” Financial Times May 30, 2008. El-Gamal, M. Amin. “Overview of Islamic Finance,” Office of International Affairs Occasional Paper 4, 2006. Global Insight. Qwest Investment Management, Ernst and Young analysis Available from www. ey. com, 2008. Ilias, Shayerah. Islamic Finance: Overview and Policy Concerns Congressional Research Service, February 9, 2009. Islamic Banking Competitiveness report, McKinsey and Co, Available from http:// www. ckinsey. com/mgi/, 2007. Islamic Finance Outlook 2008, Standard and Poor’s, Available from www. stan dardandpoors. com/, 2008. Islamic Funds Investment Report, Ernst and Yang, Available from www. ey. com, 2008. Khan, Habibullah. “Islamic Finance: Is it an Answer to Global Crisis? ,” The U21 Global Newsletter 1st Quarter, 2009. Khan, Iqbal. Islamic Finance: Relevance and Growth in the Modern Financial Age A paper presented at LSE and Harvard Law School public lecture on 1 February 2007. Khan, W. Masood. Transition to a Riba Free Economy New Delhi: Adam Publishers and Distributors, 2006: 1-20.
Manzoor, Nayyer. Islamic Economic-A Welfare Approach New Delhi: Adam Publishers and Distributors, 2006: 67-94. Miskhin, Frederic. “The Causes and Propagation of Financial Instability: Lessons for Policymakers,” Maintaining Financial Stability in a Global Economy August 1997: 28-30; 55-96. Muhammad Taqi Usmani. An Introduction to Islamic Finance Netherlands: Kluwar Law International, 1998. Muslehuddin Dr. M. Insurance and Islamic Law New Delhi: Adam Publishers and Distributors, 2007: 3-35. Overview of Islamic Finance, Grail Research, Available from www. grailresearch. om/PDF/ContenPodsPdf/Islamic_Finance_Overview. pdf, 2007. Salman, Syed Ali. Islamic Modes of Finance and Associated Liquidity Risks Paper prepared for Conference on Monetary Sector in Iran: Strtucture, Performance and Challenging Issues, Tehran, 2004. Stiglitz, Joseph. “Dealing with Debt: How to Reform the Global Financial System,” Harvard International Review Spring, 2003: 54-9. Suleman, M. Nasser. “Corporate Governance in Islamic Banks,” Society and Economy Islamic Finance • 51 in Central and Eastern Europe, Quarterly Journal of Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration XXII(3), 2001.
Top 500 Islamic Financial Institutions, The Banker Magazine, Available from www. thebanker. com/, November 2007. Vayanos, Peter and Wackerbeck. How do Islamic banks compete in an increasingly competitive environment Pearson Education Limited, 12th Ed, 2009. Websites References http://www. isdb. org. http://www. financeinislam. com. http://www. islamic-banking. com/. http://www. ifsb. org/. http://www. hsbcamanah. com. http://www. mckinsey. com/. http://www. dowjones. com/. www. ey. com. http://www. pwc. com/. http://www. crisil. com. www. standardandpoors. com. www. bankalfalah. com. ttp://www. aaoifi. com/. www. crs. gov. www. census. gov. Glossary ? Amanah: Trust, with associated meanings of trustworthiness, faithfulness and honesty. As an important secondary meaning, the term also identifies a transaction where one party keeps another’s funds or property in trust. This is in fact the most widely understood and used application of the term, and has a long history of use in Islamic commercial law. By extension, the term can also be used to describe different financial or commercial activities such as deposit taking, custody or goods on consignment. ? Arbun: Earnest oney/Down payment; a non-refundable deposit paid by the client (buyer) to the seller upon concluding a contract of sale, with the provision that the contract will be completed during the prescribed period. ? Gharar: Uncertainty. One of three fundamental prohibitions in Islamic finance (the other two being riba and maysir). Gharar is a sophisticated concept that covers certain types of uncertainty or contingency in a contract. The prohibition on gharar is often used as the grounds for criticism of conventional financial practices such as short selling, speculation and derivatives. Ijara: An Islamic lease agreement. Instead of lending money and earning interest, Ijarah allows the bank to earn profits by charging rentals on the asset leased to the 52 • Korea Review of International Studies customer. Ijarah wa iqtinah extends the concept of ijarah to a hire and purchase agreement. ? Maysir: Gambling. One of three fundamental prohibitions in Islamic finance (the other two being riba and gharar). The prohibition on maysir is often used as the grounds for criticism of conventional financial practices such as speculation, conventional insurance and derivatives. Mudaraba: A Mudarabah is an Investment partnership, whereby the investor (the Rab ul Mal) provides capital to another party/entrepreneur (the Mudarib) in order to undertake a business/investment activity. While profits are shared on a pre-agreed ratio, loss of investment is born by the investor only. The mudarib loses its share of the expected income. ? Mudarib: The mudarib is the entrepreneur or investment manager in a mudarabah who invests the investor’s funds in a project or portfolio in exchange for a share of the profits.
For example, a mudarabah is essentially similar to a diversified pool of assets held in a Discretionary Asset Management Portfolio. ? Murabaha: Purchase and resale. Instead of lending out money, the capital provider purchases the desired commodity (for which the loan would have been taken out) from a third party and resells it at a predetermined higher price to the capital user. By paying this higher price over instalments, the capital user has effectively obtained credit without paying interest. ? Musharaka: Profit and loss sharing.
It is a partnership where profits are shared as per an agreed ratio whereas the losses are shared in proportion to the capital/investment of each partner. In a Musharakah, all partners to a business undertaking contribute funds and have the right, but not the obligation, to exercise executive powers in that project, which is similar to a conventional partnership structure and the holding of voting stock in a limited company. This equity financing arrangement is widely regarded as the purest form of Islamic financing. ? Riba: Interest.
The legal notion extends beyond just interest, but in simple terms riba covers any return of money on money-whether the interest is fixed or floating, simple or compounded, and at whatever the rate. Riba is strictly prohibited in the Islamic tradition. ? Shariah: Islamic law as revealed in the Quran and through the example of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). A Shariah compliant product meets the requirements of Islamic law. A Shariah board is the committee of Islamic scholars available to an Islamic financial institution for guidance and supervision in the development of Shariah compliant products. Shariah Advisor: An independent professional, usually a classically trained Islamic legal scholar that advises an Islamic bank on the compliance of its products and services with the Shariah, or Islamic law. While some Islamic banks consult individual Shariah advisors, most establish a committee of Shariah advisors (often know as a Shariah board or Shariah committee). ? Shariah Compliant: An act or activity that complies with the requirements of the Shariah, or Islamic law. The term is often used in the Islamic banking industry as a synonym for “Islamic”-for example, Shariah compliant financing or Shariah compliant investment.
Islamic Finance • 53 ? Sukuk: Sukuk is the Arabic name for a financial certificate but can be seen as an Islamic equivalent of bond. However, fixed income, interest bearing bonds are not permissible in Islam, hence Sukuk are securities that comply with the Islamic law and its investment principles, which prohibits the charging, or paying of interest. Sukuk is a certificate of equal value representing undivided shares in ownership of tangible assets, usufruct and services or (in the ownership of) the assets of particular projects or investment activity. Takaful: Islamic insurance. Structured as charitable collective pool of funds based on the idea of mutual assistance, takaful schemes are designed to avoid the elements of conventional insurance (i. e. , interest and gambling) that are problematic for Muslims. ? Tawarruq: Reverse murabahah. As used in personal financing, a customer with a genuine need buys something on credit from the bank on a deferred payment basis and then immediately resells it for cash to a third party. In this way, the customer can obtain cash without taking an interest-based loan. | <urn:uuid:e0112dfb-f990-4862-a760-df047559338a> | CC-MAIN-2019-30 | https://freebooksummary.com/caxcacaazxc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-30/segments/1563195529406.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20190723130306-20190723152306-00495.warc.gz | en | 0.934447 | 9,174 | 2.546875 | 3 |
"experiment 1 tested if honeybees might have sufficient visual"
Face recognition by bees: non-specialised brains demonstrate an ability to both bind and integrate image features. AG Dyer PhD, Centre for Brain and Behavior, Physiology Dept., Monash University, Clayton 3800, Vic., Australia. Email: firstname.lastname@example.org Institut fur Zoologie III (Neurobologie), Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz 55099, Germany. Abstract: How organisms learn to recognise faces is of considerable interest, but can be confounded by the difficulty of selecting appropriate controls for ontogenetic history. In this context, studies of social insects can produce insights on what is considered to be a high-order visual task. We use free-flying honeybees (Apis mellifera) as a model to understand the mechanisms a non-mammalian brain uses to recognise human faces. Individual bees were trained with differential conditioning to achromatic target and distractor face images presented on a rotating screen (J Exp Biol v208p4709), then bee performance was evaluated in non-rewarding transfer tests using image manipluations that have previously been useful for understanding face processing by primate brains. When face images excluded either the inner (eyes, nose, mouth) or outer (hair, ears) salient features (for human e.g. see Child Dev v77p297) bee choices for target stimulus were significant from chance suggesting bees bind both internal and external features in face recognition. However, if faces were vertically devided into five sectors containing all features but disrupting configuration bee choices dropped to random (humans can solve this task, but with some degree of impairment; Perception v29p893). Bees could not recognise stretched face stimuli, an image manipulation that does not impair human face processing (Perception v31p1221). Bee face processing appears to be independent of image brightness, and bees reliably recognise faces that have had brightnes inverted (negative faces; a problem humans are poor at solving; Perception v26p1289). Finally, we evaluated the ability of miniature brains to process rotated face stimuli (a major imaging problem that has recently been shown to be solved by newborn human infant brains; Turati et al. 2008 Cognition, 106p1300). Bees could not recognise novel 30 deg. rotated faces after differential condition to either plane (0 deg.), or 60 deg. rotated faces (independent groups); however, bees that received conditioning to both (0 deg.) and 60 degree faces were able to reliably recognise target face presented at a novel 30 deg. angle. This finding points towards image integration by honeybee brains to solve a novel task (PLoS ONE 3: e4086 http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0004086). | <urn:uuid:94552228-dbeb-4d66-8abc-27940c010056> | CC-MAIN-2014-10 | http://www.docstoc.com/docs/23262913/experiment-1-tested-if-honeybees-might-have-sufficient-visual | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-10/segments/1393999668865/warc/CC-MAIN-20140305060748-00017-ip-10-183-142-35.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921794 | 588 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Winter is coming, but it won’t stop the undead! Freezing weather or sub-arctic areas may offer survivors a respite from zombie attacks; referred to as “White Zones” in Max Brooks’ popular novel World War Z. But frozen zombies are still a potential danger; simply biding their time in the darkness, and laying in wait… much like the undead wood frogs of Alaska.
This tiny amphibian can remain frozen solid for nearly seven months, due in large part to a natural “antifreeze” found in their blood. While most animals simply return to warmer climates after a harsh winter; Rana sylvatica, also known as the wood frog, rises up from the frigid ground and twitches back to life. In Alaska, this horrifying scene is particularly dramatic.
April showers usually bring May flowers, but in Alaska, spring’s rainy days will cause a different kind of life to emerge from the earth: Zombies. But these undead are more interested in mosquitos than human body parts. For the past seven months, Alaska wood frogs have been buried in mud and leaf litter, void of all appearance of life. But when temperatures consistently stay above freezing, these zombies are ready to emerge from their frozen tombs.
Kenneth Storey, a professor of biochemistry at Carleton University, has studied the molecular mechanics that allow wood frogs to repeatedly freeze and thaw. His hope is to eventually aid human organ transplants. Although, the significance for zombie research is already obvious.
Perhaps the same nucleating proteins and glucose production that help preserve the cells of these frogs could explain the zombie virus in some way. Can we actually alter the biology of the undead; allowing them to freeze to death in the cold sub-arctic “White Zones” of a post-apocalyptic world? Obviously, scientists still have a lot to learn about the wood frog.
But if you would like to learn more about the zombie frogs of Alaska for yourself, please read this article by Erin Kirkland online at AKontheGO. You can also refer to this webpage hosted by the Laboratory for Ecophysiological Cryobiology which features a ton of great information! | <urn:uuid:fe844cee-2494-45c5-a972-3ec021aff1f6> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | http://zombieresearchsociety.com/archives/30840 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891815918.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20180224172043-20180224192043-00383.warc.gz | en | 0.952125 | 455 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Millions of people globally suffer from colour blindness, a condition that changes how they see the world. From difficulties with everyday tasks like differentiating traffic signals to limited career options, this can have a significant impact on one’s quality of life. In this article, we will discuss the causes for colour blindness, the diagnosis and treatments available.
What is Colour Blindness?
Colour blindness, also known as colour vision deficiency, is a condition in which the ability to see and discriminate between colours is compromised. People who have it may find it difficult to detect red, green, and sometimes blue colour in natural light. Red-green colour deficiency is the most common variation of this condition.
What Causes Colour Blindness?
The retina of our eyes comprises of two types of light-detecting cells: rods and cones. Rods let us differentiate between darkness and light, at night. Cones, on the other hand, have excellent spatial acuity and can detect colour. There are three types of cones, each of which reacts to a particular range of wavelengths. If any of them are missing or not functioning correctly, it may result in colour blindness, which affects the identification of specific colours.
Many cases of colour blindness are inherited, which means it is passed down through genes from parents to their offspring. However, this condition also can include injury to the brain, eye, or nerve cells, cataracts, ageing, disruption to the part of the brain that receives colour information, and chemical or physical trauma to the eye.
Diagnosis of Colour Blindness
Colour blindness can be diagnosed using a variety of approaches by doctors. Most convenient & reliable is a clinical examination, which includes evaluating the eyes with the Ishihara chart Test. In this method, the doctor uses plates of different coloured dots that form a visible pattern for people with normal vision, but can be difficult or impossible to see for those with colour blindness.
What are the Treatments for Colour Blindness?
Unfortunately, there is no treatment for colour blindness at this time. Most people with this eye condition learn to adjust to their environment and rarely have any serious problems. However, if difficulties with colour perception are faced in daily tasks, there are special glasses or contact lenses that can be used. Also, there are some computer software and applications for smartphones that enhance colour identification and modify the hues of the screen.
Visit your eye doctor for further guidance & help for the same. Dr Surbhi Kapadia is a full time ophthalmologist at Aadicura superspeciality hospital, Vadodara. For appointments – 8980500015. | <urn:uuid:746d57a9-7e2e-490f-a5a6-1bc22f626859> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://www.drsurbhikapadia.com/colour-blindness-causes-diagnosis-treatment/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100651.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20231207090036-20231207120036-00191.warc.gz | en | 0.947017 | 537 | 3.59375 | 4 |
Tags: Essay Writing HandoutChristianity Peace EssayCustom Paper Coffee Cups TorontoHow To Start A College Essay ExamplesPhd Thesis TypefaceFarm Business PlanningCharles Dickens English Coursework
Sinhala literature can be traced back to two millenniums and is considered to be the successor to the ancient Aryan literary traditions.
The first parameter to add Size is a viewport size, while the second is a list of allowed ad sizes.
The official name of the nation is the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
Tamil literature in Sri Lanka developed its own style despite its ties to the Indian subcontinent.
It too has a colourful background, contributed to by both the Hindu and Muslim communities here.
Most South-east Asian countries are lumped together and the individual cultures and traditions of each country are overlooked.
As this is the silk routes session, I believe that participants from all involved countries would greatly benefit from learning about the differences between our culture and their own.Our customary traditions, art, literature, music and even cuisine all have a distinct feature to them.The large range of communities such as Sinhalese, Burghers, Tamils, Moors, etc. It is often common to see Sri Lanka as a branch of India.Prose and Sinhalese folklore were an integral aspect of literature in Sri Lanka.During the middle ages, Sri Lankan literature saw a boost and many poetic writings known as were written during this period.Language has linked many different ethnicities within the country and is important here in Sri Lanka but is given low priority amongst the newer generations.Despite the significance the two languages have with respect to Sri Lankan culture, in many schools little to no time is allocated for their literature.The island nation covers approximately 25,332 square miles (65,610 square kilometers) and is divided ecologically into a dry zone stretching from the north to the southeast and a wet zone in the south, west, and central regions.This contrast in rainfall combined with topographical differences has fostered the development of regional variation in economy and culture.Dating back to the era (200BCE to 600CE), it lasted through the Portuguese era, prevalent in the Jaffna courts.Tamil literature saw a fall during the civil war but still has its literary traditions intact. | <urn:uuid:d69b8d28-b30f-41c5-8037-9fc0b13a43ea> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://book-old2.ru/development-sri-lanka-essay-2618.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046153816.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20210729043158-20210729073158-00110.warc.gz | en | 0.953438 | 472 | 3.171875 | 3 |
TICKS & LYME DISEASE
Black legged ticks, or deer ticks, are the only ticks that carry Lyme disease. They can be found throughout Ontario and are spreading at an accelerated rate because of climate change. They are also spreading by hitching rides on migratory birds and deer. They live in grasses, brushy areas, and woodlands. According to Public Health Ontario, which tracks the spread and infection rate of ticks (click here to view a map showing risk areas), the number of infected blacklegged ticks is rising every year.
Peterborough Public Health offers comprehensive tick information – including what to do if you're bitten by a tick. Click here to read about identifying tick varieties, Lyme disease and more
Another terrific resource: eTick.ca, a citizen-science-based monitoring platform that offers tick identification (simply upload a photo of the tick found on you or your pet; it will be reviewed by experts) and real-time mapping of tick distribution. The site has easy-to-follow instructions for submitting your photos.
Removing ticks: using a good pair of fine-nosed tweezers or a tick-removal tool (as pictured here; Lee Valley has a good one) position the tool as close to the skin as possible and pull with steady, even pressure. Don't twist or turn the tool as you pull; you'll risk leaving part of the tick under the skin. Dispose of the tick by placing it in a sealed plastic bag (if you plan to have it tested for Lyme disease) or flushing it down the toilet. Wash your hands and clean the bite area with rubbing alcohol.
WHAT IS LYME DISEASE?
It's an inflammatory disease caused by the bacteria that are transmitted by ticks. Lyme disease is characterized by headache, fever and chills and can develop into arthritis and neurological and cardiac disorders. In Ontario, the blacklegged or deer tick is the only tick that carries the disease.
* Symptoms to watch for:
• muscle and joint pain
• spasms, numbness, tingling
• facial paralysis
• swollen glands
• spreading skin rash
If you experience any of these symptoms, or are otherwise feeling unwell, in the weeks following a tick bite, see your health care provider.
* Source: Peterborough Public Health
(Right) An embedded tick growing large from its "blood meal." | <urn:uuid:d7c8851c-22fb-422f-ad01-bb72ddd9d593> | CC-MAIN-2021-25 | https://www.environmentcouncil.ca/ticks | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-25/segments/1623488512243.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20210622063335-20210622093335-00414.warc.gz | en | 0.939609 | 496 | 3.40625 | 3 |
If you are new here please read this first.
Video Transcript Below:
Hi my friends. Hello my dear fellow foreign English speakers and welcome back to Robby’s English Harmony video blog. In today’s video we’re going to look at the following sentence starter / disagreement… a phrase, basically a phrase that you can use to disagree, right?
And the phrase in question is: “I can see where you’re coming from on this but…” or there could be a few variations of the same phrase. “I can definitely see where are you’re coming from. However, I think that and so on and so forth.” But basically the main structure, the basic structure of the phrase is comprised of the words, “I can see where you’re coming from.”
And if you translate this sentence quite literally, you would think that I’m saying that I can see where you’re coming from, right? But in reality it’s got nothing to do with the person coming from somewhere. It’s basically got to do with what that person thinks. And then you’re telling them that you’re actually relating to their opinion, however, you are of quite the opposite opinion for example, right?
So basically it’s a great way of disagreeing with that person and providing your own opinion instead. But if you are really interested in how to use this phrase, let me just give you a few examples, but for that you will have to bear with me for a few moments and check back in a few seconds after this English idiomatic expression intro video!
So welcome back to Robby’s idiomatic expression video where we’re looking at the following English idiomatic expression, “Well, I can see where you’re coming from but…” so here’s the first example.
Just imagine that you are having a discussion with your work colleague for example. Why am I choosing work colleague? Well, to be honest with you, I believe that most of you guys are actually working and not that many of you would be going to college, so that’s why I’m going with work as opposed to being a student for example, right?
And on top of that that’s something that I can relate to because I’ve been working for the last number of years. And what matters is that now I’m in college but basically what I’m saying is I’m in my mid 30’s, late 30’s now and the college years, the real college years seem like a lifetime ago. So I’m mainly focusing on someone who works.
Anyway, you’re talking to your work colleague for example and that person is saying “Listen. Listen Gary” – assuming your name is Gary, right? “Listen Gary, I think that this new evening shift isn’t really working very well because people are more tired than normally when they start at the noon and then they have to stay until 7 or 8 o’clock in the evening. It’s not really working very well. So I want you to think of a different shift, using different hours, so that people would be better suited for that.”
And then you are saying to that person who is your supervisor obviously, you are responding to his suggestion by saying “All right Frank, I can definitely see where you’re coming from on this. However, I strongly believe that if we were to shift those hours back or forth, it’s going to be even worse for people, for the following reasons…” And then you give him a few reasons, right?
But basically this is a typical way of relating to that person because you don’t want to be telling them “Listen, I think you’re wrong.” You don’t want to be confronting that person outright, especially if they’re your superiors, if they’re your supervisor or your boss or whatever. In that case you want to kind of tell them that you can definitely see why they would say such a thing and then tell them that you don’t really agree with their opinion. So this was the first example sentence.
And let me just have a sip of my afternoon tea before I continue with the video. Oh, it’s delicious. It’s the Irish or the British style, if you want; black tea with sugar and milk. I really love it! I would never drink such a tea before coming to Ireland but now that I’ve been living here for a good number of years, I’ve come to love it to be honest with you guys. So cheers!
Okay. Now, let’s move on to the second example and as you may know, I don’t have these example sentences in front of me. I would just brainstorm them on the spot basically, on the go. Because that’s the way I roll my friends.
Now, what would be the second example of using this sentence starter “I can definitely see where you’re coming from on this.” You can use it actually in written communication as well. Nobody says that certain expressions are only for using in real life communication in your speech basically. You can use it when writing e-mails, when responding to somebody’s request for example or suggestion.
So this is probably something that I might have used in the past when responding to one of my customers’ suggestion basically. When they would say that they think the English Harmony system should include some scripts, some transcripts and then they would give their reasons for that and then I would respond to that “I can definitely see where you’re coming from on this but the thing is that the English Harmony system has been designed with the main goal in mind which is to improve your spoken fluency. And if I were to include a transcript with it, you would be reading which actually goes against the whole spoken fluency development thing. It goes against the English Harmony philosophy. And that’s one of the biggest reasons why I would never include a script, a transcript of the videos in with the product.”
Now, let me come up with the third example. Now, let me think. Say for instance, you’re discussing politics with a friend of yours. Okay? And as we all know currently in Europe there’s a huge refugee crisis, right? People from Middle-East, from countries such as Syria, Iraq and other countries are coming to Europe to seek refuge and to basically flee the war-torn countries that they reside in. And the thing is that the opinion differs. A lot of people are against that. A lot of people think that the borders should be shut and nobody should be allowed in, whereas others think quite the opposite and point out the humanitarian crisis aspects of the whole issue, right?
So let’s say for example, you are discussing this whole thing with your friend and then your friend says that he’s against giving asylum to those people or whatever and you are actually quite shocked about what he says because in your reckoning what he’s saying is very discriminatory to say the least. But you don’t want to come across as aggressive with him because you want to maintain the friendship obviously.
So you would tell him “Listen, I can definitely see where you’re coming from on this, right? But with all due respect” – which is another phrase you can use to start a sentence to disagree with all due respect and nobody says that you can’t use such phrases in conjunction, so you can use both. “I can definitely see where you’re coming from on this but with all due respect, I would strongly disagree with you for the simple reason that we are all human beings and everybody deserves the basic human rights basically, right?
So that was the third example on how we can use this particular sentence starter. And if you want to read more about more sentence starters, please check out this article where I’ve included 25 sentence starters that are quite popular and will come in handy in your daily English conversations and self-practice sessions as well. All right my friends?
So thanks for watching this video. Post any comments, any questions you have, post them in the comment section below. And I’ll chat to you soon. Bye-bye!
P.S. Would you like to find out why I’m highlighting some of the text in red? Read this article and you’ll learn why it’s so important to learn idiomatic expressions and how it will help you to improve your spoken English!
P.S.S. Are you serious about your spoken English improvement? Check out my English Harmony System HERE! | <urn:uuid:c97ef62e-b2c5-4783-b823-55b86f224911> | CC-MAIN-2018-17 | http://englishharmony.com/i-can-see-where-youre-coming-from/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524127095762.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20180427075937-20180427095937-00522.warc.gz | en | 0.969 | 1,868 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Combined Programming Language is a programming language created in 1963. CPL (Combined Programming Language) is a multi-paradigm programming language, that was developed in the early 1960s. It is an early ancestor of the C language via the BCPL and B languages. . Read more on Wikipedia...
- the Combined Programming Language wikipedia page
- Combined Programming Language first appeared in 1963
- See also: algol-60, bcpl, pop-2, b, c
- Have a question about Combined Programming Language not answered here? Email me and let me know how I can help.
Example code from Wikipedia:
Max(Items, ValueFunction) = value of § (Best, BestVal) = (NIL, -∞) while Items do § (Item, Val) = (Head(Items), ValueFunction(Head(Items))) if Val > BestVal then (Best, BestVal) := (Item, Val) Items := Rest(Items) §⃒ result is Best §⃒
Last updated January 15th, 2020 | <urn:uuid:0c4a6ccf-3ad6-4fba-9b31-38a0e3a10d3d> | CC-MAIN-2020-05 | https://codelani.com/languages/combined-programming-language.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-05/segments/1579250591431.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20200117234621-20200118022621-00120.warc.gz | en | 0.845853 | 223 | 3.09375 | 3 |
During the period 1982–87, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) lost its base in Lebanon as a result of Israel’s invasion of this country in 1982. This was followed by a scission within Fatah, dissensions among organizations within the PLO, and a strategic shift by PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat in the direction of a negotiated settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and a return to coordination with Egypt and Jordan. This policy did not lead to significant progress in the peace process, and Israel appeared in a strong position, both at the strategic regional level, and insofar as its settlement activity in the occupied territories was concerned.. By 1987, the main Palestinian organizations (except those dependent on Syria) had reconciled, while the fire was smoldering under the ashes in the occupied territories, on the eve of the outbreak of the first intifada at the end of 1987.
The March 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty removed the strategic threat of the Egyptian army from Israel’s southern front, thus freeing the government of Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and Defense Minister Ariel Sharon to use the Israeli army to destroy the PLO’s estimated 15,000–18,000 fighters in Lebanon. Crippling the Palestinian quasi-state in Lebanon (with its political and military leadership, its bureaucratic organs, and its military formations) would not only rid Israel’s northern border of a hostile force, but would weaken the PLO influence internationally, regionally, and in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, where Begin’s government was busy establishing Jewish settlements to maintain Israel’s hold on the areas.
A July 1981 Israeli-PLO cease-fire agreement engineered by the American government had led to a brief period of peace along the Israeli-Lebanese border, but on 6 June 1982 the Israeli government used the attempted assassination in London of the Israeli ambassador by an anti-PLO Palestinian group as a pretext to launch an invasion of Lebanon. Originally claiming that Israel only wanted to advance 40 kilometers into Lebanon to clear a “security zone,” Sharon quickly ordered the Israeli army to advance toward the capital, Beirut. Ultimately, approximately 76,000 Israeli troops, and over 1,000 Israeli tanks, crossed into Lebanon. In addition to fierce fighting with PLO fighters and Lebanese militias allied with the PLO, the Israelis engaged in tank and air battles with Syrian forces that led to the loss of over eighty Syrian aircraft.
The Israelis quickly encircled West Beirut, site of the PLO’s headquarters, and laid siege to that part of the city throughout the summer, subjecting it to heavy and at times sustained bombardments from land, air, and sea. They made several attempts to enter West Beirut, but succeeded only in conquering open areas south of the city. Eventually Arafat and the beleaguered PLO leadership agreed to evacuate under the terms of another American-brokered agreement that came into effect on 20 August 1982. Some 14,000 PLO fighters left the city under the protection of a multinational force consisting of French, Italian, and American soldiers, who also were supposed to guarantee the safety of Palestinian refugees in West Beirut. Arafat himself left by ship and eventually resettled in Tunis, where the PLO established its new headquarters.
Under the agreement, Israeli troops were not allowed to enter West Beirut. After the 14 September 1982 assassination of Lebanon’s president-elect, Bashir Gemayel, however, Israeli forces entered West Beirut and encircled the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila. They allowed Phalangists (members of the militia that Gemayel had headed) and other anti-PLO Lebanese fighters into the camps, who then murdered around 1,500 Palestinian civilians. The UN condemned the massacre and an Israeli commission of inquiry determined that Sharon bore “personal responsibility” for the crime. Moreover, the massacre highlighted the vulnerability of Palestinian refugees in the absence of PLO forces.
As a result of the war, two peace plans emerged that were designed to offer a diplomatic path to negotiations on the Palestinian issue. The first was the Reagan Plan, announced on 1 September 1982 by U.S. President Ronald Reagan. It offered Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza, which eventually would be associated politically with Jordan. One week later, the Arab League announced the Fez Initiative. It was similar to the 7 August 1981 Fahd Plan, issued by Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd, which had called for establishment of a Palestinian state and implied Arab recognition of Israel in return.
Another consequence of the Lebanon war was strong dissension within the Palestinian national movement. A major rebellion broke out within Fatah that weakened Arafat’s influence within his own organization. In May 1983, Sa‘id Muragha (Abu Musa), a high-level Fatah military officer who had organized the defense of Beirut during the war, publicly criticized Arafat for his political positions, including his rapprochement with Jordan, his readiness to consider the Reagan Plan as a basis for negotiations, and his mismanagement of the affairs inside Fatah, such as promoting several undeserving Fatah officers. Soon, with support from Syria, fighters loyal to Abu Musa took over Fatah arms depots, and the rebellion within Fatah spread to include other Palestinian groups hostile to Arafat, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine–General Command (PFLP-GC), led by Ahmad Jibril. Fighting then broke out between Arafat loyalists and Abu Musa’s fighters, who were referred to popularly as Fatah Uprising (Fatah al-Intifada). Abu Musa’s rebels managed to push the Arafat loyalists out of most of Lebanon despite the fact that Arafat himself traveled to Tripoli, in northern Lebanon, to rally his loyal Fatah fighters. Some 4,000 Arafat loyalists eventually accepted a Saudi-brokered deal by which they were evacuated on Greek ships flying the UN flag in December 1983.
Beyond the Abu Musa secession, tense polarization emerged within the PLO. On one side, pro-Syrian organizations (PFLP-GC, Saiqa, Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, Fatah al-Intifada) called for Arafat’s destitution, and even to form an alternative PLO. On the other side, a grouping (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Palestine Liberation Front, Palestinian Communist Party) emerged that opposed Arafat’s leadership and Palestinian-Jordanian coordination but was not willing to abandon the PLO or work directly under Syrian sponsorship. In March 1984, it constituted the Democratic Alliance and started a dialogue with Fatah leadership. The pro-Syrian coalition formed the National Alliance in July 1984, criticizing the dialogue conducted by the Democratic Alliance with Fatah.
In the meantime, and against the background of PLO political-military losses in the Lebanese arena, the mounting tensions with Syria, and internal dissensions (that erupted as the “war of the camps” in Lebanon between 1985 and 1987), Arafat attempted to preserve the PLO diplomatic status and its role in efforts related to settling the Palestine question. As soon as he withdrew from Tripoli at the end of December 1983, he traveled to Cairo and met with Egyptian president Husni Mubarak, thus ending Palestinian official boycott of Egypt since Anwar al-Sadat’s trip to Israel in November 1977. He also resumed attempts to coordinate with Jordan on the terms that would allow negotiations with Israel. The Arafat-Hussein rapprochement opened the way for convening the 17th session of the Palestine National Council (PNC) in Amman in November 1984, although both the Democratic Alliance and the National Alliance boycotted the meeting. Following this, in February 1985, Arafat reached an agreement with Hussein (“Palestinian-Jordanian Joint Action Agreement”) that included creating a joint Palestinian-Jordanian negotiating delegation for any future Arab-Israeli peace talks as well as the principle of establishing a confederation between Jordan and a Palestinian state.
The Jordanian-Palestinian agreement left a number of ambiguous points, mainly by not explicitly referring to Resolution 242, as Jordan had requested. The fact is that the approach to the resolution remained a sticking point that prevented any progress in the negotiation process, not only in terms of Palestinian-Jordanian relations, but mainly relative to a possible PLO-U.S. dialogue. While the PLO demanded complementing the resolution with a provision recognizing the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, the United States wanted an unconditional Palestinian acceptance of the resolution as a necessary (though not sufficient) step toward opening such dialogue, and without any U.S. commitment concerning the PLO participation in the negotiation process. This impasse led to the failure of Jordanian-Palestinian talks at the beginning of 1986 and then to the Jordanian decision to terminate the talks. The end of the joint Jordanian-Palestinian action opened the way for the reconciliation between Fatah and the organizations not affiliated with Syria in September 1986 and then to the convening of the 18th session of the PNC in Algiers in April 1987.
Israel adamantly rejected giving the PLO any role in the negotiations over the future of the West Bank and Gaza, a point made clear when the Israeli air force bombed Arafat’s headquarters in Tunis in October 1985. Israel’s colonizing activities in the occupied territories brought the additional message to the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that occupation would continue. The uprising that broke out in December 1987 showed that the situation could not be so easily contained.
al-Hout, Bayan Nuwayhed. Sabra and Shatila: September 1982. London: Pluto Press, 2004.
Hussein bin Talal. “The Jordanian-Palestinian Peace Initiative: Mutual Recognition and Territory for Peace.” Journal of Palestine Studies 14, no.4 (Summer 1985): 11–22.
Khalidi, Rashid. Under Siege: P.L.O. Decisionmaking during the 1982 War. New York: Columbia University Press, 1985.
Sayigh, Yezid. Armed Struggle and the State: The Palestinian National Movement, 1949–1993. Oxford: Oxford University Press; Washington, DC: Institute for Palestine Studies, 2000.
Schiff, Ze’ev, and Ehud Ya’ari. Israel’s Lebanon War. New York: Touchstone, 1985. | <urn:uuid:251ef188-7d11-463b-94bb-2febb31d406d> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://www.paljourneys.org/timeline/overallchronology?periods%5B%5D=179&nid=179 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107881551.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023234043-20201024024043-00685.warc.gz | en | 0.950968 | 2,164 | 2.953125 | 3 |
SCORM, which stands for Shareable Content Object Reference Model, is a set of technical standards for eLearning software products. SCORM tells programmers how to write their code so that it can “play well” with other eLearning software. It is the de facto industry standard for eLearning interoperability. Specifically, SCORM governs how online learning content and Learning Management Systems (LMSs) communicate with each other. SCORM does not speak to instructional design or any other pedagogical concern — it is purely a technical standard.
Can you help me with an example or analogy?
Let’s take DVDs for example. When you buy a new movie on DVD you don’t need to check to see if it works with your brand of DVD player. A regular DVD will play on a Toshiba the same as it will on a Panasonic. That’s because DVD movies are produced using a set of standards. Without these standards a studio releasing a new movie on DVD would have a big problem. They would need to make differently formatted DVDs for each brand of DVD player. This is how online learning used to be before SCORM was created.
The SCORM standard makes sure that all eLearning content and LMSs can work with each other, just like the DVD standard makes sure that all DVDs will play in all DVD players. If an LMS is SCORM conformant, it can play any content that is SCORM conformant, and any SCORM conformant content can play in any SCORM conformant LMS.
Why should I use SCORM?
For some, SCORM is simply an obstacle on the path to a sale. For others, SCORM is a tool that enables effective, efficient online training. At its core, SCORM allows content authors to distribute their content to a variety of Learning Management Systems (LMS) with the smallest headache possible. And for an LMS to handle content from a variety of sources.
Are there different types of SCORM and do I need to support all of them?
Yes! There are technically five versions of SCORM: SCORM 1.1, SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004 2nd Edition, SCORM 2004 3rd Edition and SCORM 2004 4th edition. When it comes to which versions you should use, it really depends on what you need from your content or what type of content your customers have that you need to support in your LMS.
SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004 3rd Edition are the most widely used versions of SCORM. For more detail on the versions of SCORM, including the various flavors of SCORM 2004, visit the eLearning Standards Roadmap.
At Rustici Software, we’re here to help you make sense of SCORM. We love answering questions over an email or a phone call. We have products that make SCORM easy for you. SCORM Engine (or Rustici Engine) is the easiest route to making your LMS become SCORM conformant. SCORM Cloud is the perfect place to test your SCORM content, deliver it almost anywhere on the web, and track it.SCORM Driver (or Rustici Driver) is the quickest way to make your authoring tool produce SCORM conformant material. | <urn:uuid:8ab2ed6c-4926-4a10-b746-261316f88ef8> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://scorm.com/scorm-explained/one-minute-scorm-overview/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371799447.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20200407121105-20200407151605-00031.warc.gz | en | 0.912342 | 705 | 3.34375 | 3 |
Imagine your lungs 8x the size they are now..that's how large a giraffe's lungs are!!!
Why is this? Well the giraffe needs to bring oxygen to much larger muscles than us! The air travels down the trachea into the lungs and is then delivered to the rest of their body. The trachea is very large and narrow which leaves an area of "dead space" where "old air" remains in the giraffe. To help with this giraffes breathe at 1/3 of the rate that we do. They still breathe in oxygen and expell carbon dioxide just like humans. | <urn:uuid:39d53b1b-ad2d-414f-bd6a-b35f132b672c> | CC-MAIN-2016-18 | http://paigemikalowskygiraffe.blogspot.com/2012/04/respiratory-system.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-18/segments/1461860114285.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160428161514-00152-ip-10-239-7-51.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970829 | 126 | 3.125 | 3 |
When you see light from a fixture shining against a wall, you often observe some very clear, sharp curves as the boundaries between light and dark areas. Those curves are generally hyperbolas. Why? The light from the source is generally blocked off to produce a cone of light, and then that cone is intersected with the wall, creating a conic section. For typical arrangements of light fixtures, that section is generally a hyperbola. | <urn:uuid:81661468-051e-407d-85c8-d3de925a8667> | CC-MAIN-2020-24 | https://momath.org/hyperbolas-from-light-fixtures/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-24/segments/1590347419593.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20200601180335-20200601210335-00060.warc.gz | en | 0.962672 | 89 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Pungent aroma, potent flavor and powerful medicinal qualities make garlic a great choice for your garden and diet.
I remember a long-distance call with my mother a few years ago during which she gushed about my 3-year-old nephew. She was telling me how much he still enjoyed being cuddled and then paused.
“But,” she hesitated, “Frequently the smell of garlic coming off of him is almost overwhelming. He just loves the stuff!” My nephew has eaten a plant-based diet since he has been on solid food and he is one of the healthiest kids I know. Instinctively, he knew that garlic was one of the world’s superfoods.
Garlic lovers know how good this member of the Amaryllidaceae family tastes in myriad preparations. If you are not a fan of garlic, chances are you just haven’t tried it in a way that suits your tastebuds.
Garlic may be the original wonder drug. Remains of the plant have been found in caves used by humans 10,000 years ago. A Sumerian clay tablet dated from 3000 B.C. contains a chiseled prescription for garlic. Its use was widespread throughout the ancient world from southern Europe to China, and the herb was revered by both the Egyptians and Greeks for its ability to ward off disease and increase strength. During World War I, garlic was used to treat wounded soldiers’ infections as well as amoebic dysentery. Over the last century, scientists have confirmed the antibiotic properties of garlic through numerous studies illustrating its effectiveness against diverse fungal, bacterial, viral and yeast strains.
Affectionately known as “the stinking rose” for obvious reasons, garlic comprises a multisegmented bulb, each of which is called a clove, and thin green leaves that typically grow between 1 and 2 feet tall. At the height of summer, small white or pink flowers appear on the plant. Many varieties of garlic are available to grow from bulb or clove. A study conducted by the USDA’s National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation assessed 211 varieties including Allium longicuspis, wild garlic found in Central Asia from which A. sativum (or common garlic) is descended. The study confirmed that, while various sources often give the same type of garlic a different name, there is actually substantial diversity in chemical composition in the garlic family.
Science aside, gardeners can simply remember that these genetically similar yet unique plants can be categorized as “hardneck” and “softneck” types. Hardnecks are considered more aromatic and flavorful, and they grow edible flower stalks called scapes. Softnecks are commonly sold in grocery stores due to their longer shelf life. Both are easy to grow and make a wonderful addition to any garden.
Garlic is a relative of the onion, scallion, leek, chive and shallot, and it grows in similar conditions. Garlic likes full sun but not intense heat, high humidity or heavy rainfall. New garlic plants need regular moisture to develop their roots. Once they are established, the plants thrive in rich, loose soil that drains well. Hardneck varieties tend to fare better in colder climates.
Garlic can be planted in early spring or mid-autumn prior to the first frost. Push bulbs into the soil about 2 inches deep and 6 inches apart. If you are growing rows of garlic, leave about a foot between each row. Do not overwater garlic or you risk rotting the bulbs.
Harvest times vary based on the season of planting and the climate of your area—garlic planted in fall is typically ready for harvest early summer through late summer. When about half the leaves have yellowed, check a few plants by gently digging around the base to see if the bulbs look to be substantial size—an indication it’s time to harvest. The change of the leaves’ color usually means the garlic is ready. When your garlic bulbs are ready, carefully loosen the soil around them and pull up from the base of the neck. Keep the leaves on the plant, wash the dirt off the bulbs and let them dry in a warm place for a couple of weeks. Once they are thoroughly dry, you can string them together and store them in a well-ventilated area with low humidity.
Super Food, Super Flavor: Few savory dishes won’t benefit from the addition of garlic. It is a staple in many European and Asian cuisines. The proliferation of garlic-themed restaurants and food shops is a testament to its diverse and delicious contribution to our diet. For a quick and easy dish that puts garlic to good use, try our Garlic Lentil Bowl Recipe.Raw benefits: Although cooking or roasting garlic mellows its flavor and aroma, garlic offers more nutritional and medicinal properties in the raw state. Try recipes that use uncooked garlic such as salad dressings or aiolis. Recent research also suggests that crushing garlic and letting it stand for 10 minutes before cooking (allowing time for oxidation to occur) preserves much of the nutritional value otherwise lost when garlic is heated.
Germ Buster: Garlic contains several compounds that battle a wide array of cold and flu viruses, according to James Duke, botanist and author of The Green Pharmacy. One of garlic’s most healthful enzymes is allicin, a powerful, natural broad-spectrum antibiotic.
Cancer-Fighter: A natural antibiotic, allicin is also an antioxidant that helps prevent cell damage that can be a precursor to cancer. Researchers have concluded that garlic has the ability to inhibit tumors and lower risks of esophageal, stomach and prostate cancers. Research has also shown that allicin can slow the proliferation of human gastric cancer cells and even cause cancer cell death.
Michelle Schoffro Cook is the international bestselling author of 60 Seconds to Slim and Weekend Wonder Detox. Visit her website, Dr. Michelle Schoffro Cook.
Sit in on dozens of practical workshops from the leading authorities on natural health, organic gardening, real food and more!LEARN MORE | <urn:uuid:5f441a60-53fe-42ad-b087-e50e7bf2a69e> | CC-MAIN-2018-17 | https://www.motherearthliving.com/gardening/herb-gardening/growing-garlic-zm0z14sozpit | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125946199.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20180423203935-20180423223935-00337.warc.gz | en | 0.953413 | 1,267 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Transverse Wave Teacher Resources
Find Transverse Wave educational ideas and activities
Showing 41 - 60 of 142 resources
Wave Superposition: Interactive On-line Mac and PC
Young scholars study definitions of wavelength, wave speed, wave amplitude, and wave period using an interactive JAVA environment. Distance and time are given so speed=wavelength/period can be verified or deduced by students. Waves...
10th - Higher Ed Science
Physics Midterm Exam #3 - Electromagnetic Radiation
True-false and multiple-choice questions are posed in Part A of this exam, covering the topic of electromagnetic radiation. In Part B, problems relating to refraction must be solved. This is a well-rounded exam that will help you...
11th - 12th Science | <urn:uuid:a435befd-ee8b-43cb-bad7-26b116bc9f83> | CC-MAIN-2015-32 | http://www.lessonplanet.com/lesson-plans/transverse-wave/3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-32/segments/1438042988922.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20150728002308-00307-ip-10-236-191-2.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.850672 | 160 | 3.796875 | 4 |
Side A: Christian Deardorff (1781-1851) with his brother-in-law Jesse Slingluff (1775-1836) platted and founded Dover and built the area’s first gristmill on Sugar Creek. With the coming of the Ohio and Erie Canalto Dover, Deardorff lobbied successfully to make Dover a toll stop for the canal and the be afforded a source of water power for his mill. A dam built on Sugar Creek obstructed for the mill there. Deardorff received access to the canal near Tuscarawas Avenue, and there erected a mill, later named the Cascade Mill by the Hardesty brothers when they purchased it in 1872. The Hardestys, from Carroll County, came to Dover in the 1860s and began operating a large mill on the Calico Ditch, near the foot of 2nd Street. The Dover Milling Company bought the last Hardesty-owned mill in 1951.
Side B: Canals in antebellum Ohio made it faster and cheaper for farmers and others to bring their goods to market and for manufacturers elsewhere to bring their goods to Ohioans. Like many towns along the route, Dover, platted in 1807, grew rapidlyafter the coming of the Ohio & Erie Canal in 1830. The canal spurred the development and growth of industry in Dover, including milling and iron smelting. A blast furnace was built on West 3rd Street and operated under various owners until it closed in the late 1920s. Other industries that developed in Dover after the heyday of the canal in the mid-19th century were steel rolling mills and Reeves Manufacturing Company’s galavanizing plant. | <urn:uuid:547635d7-d8a9-4d19-8b28-992d77d2a1f5> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://remarkableohio.org/marker/27-79-the-cascade-and-hardesty-mills-the-ohio-erie-canal-and-industry-in-dover/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296948765.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20230328042424-20230328072424-00124.warc.gz | en | 0.968602 | 348 | 3.34375 | 3 |
Mar 16, 2016 | By Kira
The European Space Agency (ESA) and Swiss company SWISSto12 have developed a prototype 3D printed dual reflector antenna designed for future use on space-qualified satellites. This is the first dual-reflector 3D printed antenna for the ESA, and has so far achieved excellent test results.
Using SWISSto12’s proprietary additive manufacturing technique, the space antenna prototype was 3D printed in a single piece out of advanced polymer materials before being plated with copper to meet its radio-frequency (RF) performance requirements. It also incorporates a corrugated feedhorn and two reflectors.
3D printing technology, and particularly 3D printing the antenna in a single, all-in-one piece, allowed the engineers to ensure an extremely high level of accuracy. “We have a very good agreement between the measurements and the simulations,” explained Luis Rolo, antenna test engineer. “Making a simulation based on a complete 3D model of the antenna leads to a significant increase in its accuracy.”
"By using this same model to 3D print it in a single piece, any source of assembly misalignments and errors are removed, enabling such excellent results,” he continued.
In addition to significantly increasing the antenna’s accuracy, 3D printing provides several key advantages to space antenna manufacturing. According to SWISSto12, these include reduced costs, reduced lead times, increase in RF design flexibility, and perhaps most importantly, reduced component weight.
Indeed, when it comes to space launches and space technology, weight reduction is a critical strategy that can make or break a successful launch. Thus, SWISSto12’s cornerstone R&D goals are to reduce the size, cost, and weight of antennas, while increasing the capabilities of data transfer during space missions. So far, the company has managed to create new designs weighing as much as ten times less than existing antennas.
"The use of 3D printing open up possibilities for RF structures that were previously impossible to manufacture with conventional techniques," explains the company, which, in addition to 3D printed antennas, supplies additive manufactured waveguide and filter components for microwave and mm-wave signals. "The use of plastics allows for weight reduction and thermal insulation. High quality copper plating ensures state of the art RF performances."
So far, the all-in-one 3D printed antenna is still a prototype, however in tests at the ESA’s Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR), it has performed exceptionally well. “Although the surface finish is rougher than for a traditionally manufactured antenna, we’re very happy with the resulting performance,” said Rolo.
Simulated and actual 4.5 Ghz radiation patterns from ESA's first 3D-printed dual-reflector antenna show "excellent results" according to antenna test engineers.
The CATR is a shielded chamber for testing small antennas (up to 1m in diameter). Located in the Netherlands, it is isolated from external electromagnetic radiation, and its inner walls are covered with pyramid-shaped, non-reflective foam that absorbs radio signals and thus simulates a space environment. Larger antennas are tested at the ESA’s Hertz Chamber.
ESA Antenna Test Facility
“Designed for future mega-constellation small satellite platforms, it would need further qualification to make it suitable for real space missions, but at this stage, we’re most interested in the consequences on RF performance of the low-cost 3D printing process,” said Maarten van der Vorst, designer of the 3D printed antenna and member of the ESA’s Electromagnetics & Space Environment Division.
The next steps are therefore to further refine the 3D printed space antenna, and to design more complex geometries that target higher frequencies. In the long run, SWISSto12 and the ESA aim to 3D print space-qualified radio-frequency components for Earth observation and science instruments.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
Maybe you also like:
- Kodak partners with Carbon3D on ultrafast CLIP 3D printing technology
- 3D Systems advances medical 3D printing with state-of-the-art Healthcare Technology Center
- Russian teens develop mind controlled robotic car with help of 3D printing
- IUSM researchers pioneer 3D printed tissue implants with Regenova 3D bioprinter
- Pentagon releases secret footage of 3D printed drone swarm launched from fighter jets
- BonaDrone's 3D printed and customizable 'Mosquito' drone coming to Indiegogo
- 3D printed Smart Tags ensure 100% authenticity of collectible shoes
- Autodesk explores smart 3D printing production line for large scale parts with Project Escher
- Top 30 Best Dual Extruder Multicolor 3D Prints
- Carima unveils im-j DLP 3D printer with 20,000 hour LED UV light source
- IDC reports spending in Asia Pacific excluding Japan 3D printing market to reach $4.3B by 2019 | <urn:uuid:185d44fa-a551-4928-a9ac-655e83efc4cc> | CC-MAIN-2016-50 | http://www.3ders.org/articles/20160316-european-space-agency-tests-first-all-in-one-3d-printed-space-antenna.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-50/segments/1480698541220.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20161202170901-00511-ip-10-31-129-80.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914971 | 1,061 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Over 5,000 plants are used for medicinal purposes in Africa, but efforts to test their potency and commercialise them keep hitting snags. Scientists hope better research standards will improve outcomes, Sandrine Ceurstemont reports.
A bitter-tasting plant with silvery leaves is used in many southern African countries to treat a variety of medical conditions, from cancer to HIV. Sutherlandia frutescens—also called cancer bush—is one of 5,000 plants used for medicinal purposes in Africa. Dutch colonists in the Cape used it in the mid-1800s, a practice they most likely picked up from indigenous populations. But although scientists have studied the plant for two decades, showing that extracts from it can kill cancer cells and inhibit their growth in the lab, this work has not yet yielded scientifically-validated treatments.
“A lot of research has been done but there is still no product on the market from this specific plant which is very strange,” says Chrisna Gouws, a researcher at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa, who studies the plant and other traditional medicines.
There are various reasons for this, she says. It’s tricky to design research studies: Healers do not have standardised ways of using the medicine on which researchers can base their work. Also, promising results in the lab often do not translate to efficacy in human bodies. And it’s not just cancer bush. “Many traditional medicines, have been studied with various degrees of success, [yet] many are not yet used as commercial treatments,” she says.
There’s great hope for the potential of traditional African medicine to increase not just the continent’s health, but also its wealth. Finding active drug compounds in medicinal plants could lead to treatments that could be sold overseas at a profit. And there’s another reason to study traditional medicines: With many Africans consulting both traditional healers and Western doctors for their ailments, unexpected interactions between traditional medicine and Western drugs are a growing health concern.
But the persistent lack of rigorous efficacy and safety data for traditional medicine is a major stumbling block for African countries in their efforts to sell their traditional medicines to the global market, says Fawzi Mahomoodally, a researcher at the University of Mauritius. “Scientific tools are needed in order to check for traditional plants that we can incorporate into conventional medicine.”
Now, scientists like Gouws are working on ways to harmonise the way they design their studies so that results are easier to compare. First and foremost, the specific plants being used in a study need to be properly characterised, Gouws says—something that didn’t happen in the past. Researchers sometimes just noted a plant’s name and offered no physical description whatsoever. But the chemical composition of a medicinal plant can vary based on several factors such as when the plant was harvested, storage conditions, and place of growth. “If we can have more information about the plant material the study starts with, then we can get more correlation between studies and more standardisation.”
She says that techniques like high-performance liquid chromatography or HPLC, which gives a basic chemical fingerprint of a plant, is a minimum requirement for medicinal plant research. Charles Wambebe, a professor at Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria, South Africa, directed the development of Niprisan, a sickle-cell-anemia treatment made up of four indigenous Nigerian plants. He says his team used two types of fingerprinting to characterise the plants and also tested their effects on cells. “It’s a way to certify that you have consistent quality of the final product,” says Wambebe.
Nowadays, scientists increasingly characterise their plants, says Gouws. Major international journals also require many details about the plants studied such as GPS coordinates if they were collected in the wild and a dried and pressed sample mounted on a card. “This should decrease, at least in part, some of the inconsistencies previously found in traditional medicine research,” she says.
But there are still those who cut corners, and not all journals ask for rigorous descriptive data on the plants used in studies. Mahomoodally says when he and his colleagues looked at a number of traditional medicine studies to see if they adhered to standards set by the World Health Organization, they found much cause for concern. “We found that many studies that test toxicity or efficacy have not used protocols that are gold standard,” he says.
Gouws says that pressure from journals to keep methods sections in papers short has also led to researchers under-reporting their methods. She says important details, such as the length of time that cells have been treated with an extract and whether it was in a single dose or several, are often left out. “I think that’s one of the crucial reasons why there are some problems with reproducibility and why results often differ between labs.”
Another challenge for traditional medicine studies is choosing what dosage to use. Although many indigenous plants have been used medicinally for centuries, the quantities used are often vague and can vary significantly from healer to healer. “In many cases, they just cut the grass, cut the leaves or the roots, then boil everything, but they don’t know the weight of what they are boiling and how long they’ve boiled it,” says Wambebe. “It’s not standardised so that is a bit tricky.”
Some researchers choose to evaluate doses that are as close as possible to what is traditionally used. This involves preparing the plant in the same way as a healer would, and using a few different concentrations. Gouws and her team typically take this approach, which focuses on validating how traditional healers use a plant. But getting access to that information isn’t always easy. “Healers may be more or less forthcoming with how they treat patients,” she says. “It’s very difficult to get the trust of healers and get that information from them.”
Another approach to dosing is to focus on identifying active compounds. Here, researchers extract the chemical compounds in a plant, then test them to see if they exhibit the disease-fighting properties they are interested in. But for the purposes of verifying the efficacy—or toxicity—of traditional formulations, Gouws says this type of study isn’t ideal. “In the scientific community, there is concern that researchers often use unrealistic concentrations for their studies,” she says. “If you use such high concentrations, you will see something, but it’s not representative of the actual situation.”
Wambebe agrees that many studies of African traditional medicine don’t follow standardised methods. He says the clinical trial he led testing Niprisan, published in 2001, was the first trial in West Africa of a traditional medicine that met international standards, and few have followed since. Wambebe blames this on the high cost of instrumentation. For his work on Niprisan, he had a grant from the Japanese government to buy equipment and a further grant from the Nigerian government which totalled about US$20 million. That is rare.
But a final, and major, problem of traditional medicine studies is that preliminary tests carried out on cells show a greater effect than when extracts are tested on humans later on. Gouws thinks better cell culture models can help. Her team now cultures their cells in 3D instead of two dimensions, which is the traditional approach. And so far, her team’s work on cancer bush looks promising. “We treated an advanced colon cancer model with two extracts and got very good anti-cancer activity.”
As for Mahomoodally, he reckons that traditional medicine has a lot of potential if study protocols continue to improve. For example, Tu Youyou, a Chinese chemist, derived a cure for malaria from a plant called sweet wormwood used in Chinese traditional medicine to cure fevers. The Nobel Prize-winning discovery was made by painstakingly isolating different chemicals in the plant to see if any could kill malaria parasites. “Traditional medicine has always been a source of inspiration for the development of drugs,” he says. “It has a lot of promise.” | <urn:uuid:530c43d7-783c-4994-8f58-d72666a9eac5> | CC-MAIN-2022-05 | https://sciafmag.com/2019/12/17/barriers-from-bush-to-bedside/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-05/segments/1642320306301.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20220128152530-20220128182530-00499.warc.gz | en | 0.965716 | 1,732 | 3.796875 | 4 |
If modern people are most afraid of which health indicator when looking at the physical examination report, blood lipids must be counted as one. As the "number one garbage" in blood vessels, excessive blood lipids have long been the main driver of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Although people are afraid of it, it is the most common.
Elevated blood lipids, your body may have these symptoms:
1. Dizziness, insomnia, memory loss
This is one of the common early symptoms of hyperlipidemia, especially the middle-aged and elderly people, who often feel dizzy after getting up in the morning, which can be improved after breakfast, and it is easy to feel sleepy in the afternoon.
2. Yellow or brown-red nodules and plaques appear on the body
When blood lipids exceed the standard, yellow, orange or brown-red nodules, plaques or rashes will appear on the eyelids, back of the hand, knuckles, elbow joints, knee joints, etc.
3. Vision loss or blindness
Increased triglycerides in the blood, slowed flow rate, and leakage of lipoproteins from capillaries to the macula can affect vision.
4. Loss of appetite
The formation of fatty liver or liver function problems, resulting in loss of appetite, may also be one of the signs of hyperlipidemia.
5. Frequent tinnitus and hard of hearing
High blood lipids can make the narrow inner ear blood vessels narrower and make it difficult to supply blood.
How to detect hyperlipidemia early?
In order to prevent problems earlier, we can take the following measures:
1. Regularly check blood lipid levels and insist on annual physical examination.
2. If your blood lipid exceeds the normal range, it should be re-examined within 2-3 months to exclude temporary factors. If the re-examination results are still exceeding the standard, lifestyle intervention should be started immediately.
3. During the lifestyle intervention period, regular review of blood lipid levels (2 to 3 months). If the blood lipid level is within the normal range, the lifestyle intervention should be continued. If the blood lipid level does not improve, lipid-lowering drugs should be added according to the specific situation.
4. If the blood lipid level is within the normal range, regular review should be carried out, especially the annual physical examination, which is very important for the elderly. | <urn:uuid:e003b084-8c7e-4107-9873-573eb7e1841a> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://www.jhdcorp.com/post/when-your-body-has-these-manifestations-be-careful-that-your-blood-lipids-are-too-high | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233506480.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20230923094750-20230923124750-00193.warc.gz | en | 0.917336 | 509 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Americans with Disabilities Act: Protecting and Accommodating Special Populations - Part 2 (NA1716B)
Author(s): Patsy Barnes, RN, BA
Pre-Approved for: ABVE, ACM, CA BRN, CCM, CDMS, CLCP, COHN/COHN-S, COPS-KT, CRC, CRRN, CVE, Delaware BON, Florida BON, MSCC, RNs
Credit Hours: 8
This course is online. All course material is available online and is accessible immediately after purchase from your account homepage.
This class will present an overview of the Americans with Disabilities Act, who is protected by the law, and the requirements for businesses, schools and other public entities. After a reintroduction of the law, special populations and the protections that the law gives for those people will be discussed. We will cover the following special populations: deafness, pregnancy, blindness & visual impairment, epilepsy, diabetes, cancer, HIV, and other considerations/dress code.
- Describe the protections under the law and those whom the law protects
- Define what constitutes a "reasonable accommodation"
- Explain what exceptions exist in the ADA law.
- List those "special populations" protected under the ADA and some "reasonable accommodations" for those special disabilities.
- Overview and History of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Special Populations
c. Blindness & Visual Impairment
h. Other considerations/dress code | <urn:uuid:ced6b6ca-5b01-41b4-817b-4411c8e92d0b> | CC-MAIN-2018-51 | https://www.aaaceus.com/course_overview.asp?course=1610 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-51/segments/1544376832259.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20181219110427-20181219132427-00562.warc.gz | en | 0.864592 | 316 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Marx-Engels Subject Archive
"The first premise of all human history is, of course, the existence of living human individuals. Thus the first fact to be established is the physical organisation of these individuals and their consequent relation to the rest of nature....Men can be distinguished from animals by consciousness, by religion or anything else you like. They themselves begin to distinguish themselves from animals as soon as they begin to produce their means of subsistence, a step which is conditioned by their physical organisation. By producing their means of subsistence men are indirectly producing their actual material life.
"The materialist conception of history starts from the proposition that the production of the means to support human life and, next to production, the exchange of things produced, is the basis of all social structure; that in every society that has appeared in history, the manner in which wealth is distributed and society divided into classes or orders is dependent upon what is produced, how it is produced, and how the products are exchanged. From this point of view, the final causes of all social changes and political revolutions are to be sought, not in men's brains, not in men's better insights into eternal truth and justice, but in changes in the modes of production and exchange.
Particulars in theory and practice:
18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (abstracts)
Chapter One: "Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all dead generations weighs like an Alp on the brains of the living...."
Chapter Three: "As against the united bourgeoisie, a coalition between petty bourgeois and workers had been formed, the so-called social-democratic party.... the revolutionary point was broken off and a democratic turn given to the social demands of the proletariat; the purely political form was stripped off the democratic claims of the petty bourgeoisie and their socialist point thrust forward. Thus arose Social-Democracy.
Chapter Seven: "France therefore seems to have escaped the despotism of a class only to fall back under the despotism of an individual, and what is more, under the authority of an individual without authority. The struggle seems to be settled in such a way that all classes, equally powerless and equally mute, fall on their knees before the rifle butt. But the revolution is thoroughgoing. It is still traveling through purgatory. It does its work methodically."
Part I: Philosophy
§ 1: The idea that all men, as men, have something in common, and that to that extent they are equal, is of course primeval. But the modern demand for equality is something entirely different from that; this consists rather in.....
§ 2: Hegel was the first to state correctly the relation between freedom and necessity. To him, freedom is the insight into necessity. Freedom does not consist in any dreamt-of independence from natural laws, but in the knowledge of these laws.....
Part II: Political Economy
§ 1: Political economy, in the widest sense, is the science of the laws governing the production and exchange of the material means of subsistence in human society. Production and exchange are two different functions. Production may occur without exchange, but exchange -- being necessarily an exchange of products -- cannot occur without production.
§ 2: Private property by no means makes its appearance in history as the result of robbery or force. On the contrary. It already existed, though limited to certain objects, in the ancient primitive communities of all civilised peoples. It developed into the form of commodities within these communities.....
§ 3: The question at issue is how we are to explain the origin of classes and relations based on domination, and if Herr Dühring's only answer is the one word "force", we are left exactly where we were at the start.
§ 4: All religion, however, is nothing but the fantastic reflection in men's minds of those external forces which control their daily life, a reflection in which the terrestrial forces assume the form of supernatural forces. In the beginnings of history it was the forces of nature which were first so reflected, and which in the course of further evolution underwent the most manifold and varied personifications among the various peoples.
"What is Communism? Communism is the doctrine of the conditions of the liberation of the proletariat.
What is the proletariat? The proletariat is that class in society which lives entirely from the sale of its labor and does not draw profit from any kind of capital; whose weal and woe, whose life and death, whose sole existence depends on the demand for labor....
"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.... The modern bourgeois society that has sprouted from the ruins of feudal society has not done away with class antagonisms. It has but established new classes, new conditions of oppression, new forms of struggle in place of the old ones..... All previous historical movements were movements of minorities, or in the interest of minorities. The proletarian movement is the self-conscious, independent movement of the immense majority, in the interest of the immense majority.
Compiled by: T. Borodulina for On Historical Materialism (Marx, Engels, Lenin),
Published: in 1972 by Progress Publishers in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
This revised compilation, with a new organisation, corrections and additions, was created by Brian Baggins in 1999-2000. | <urn:uuid:dc4bbd59-567f-4a41-a805-aec0f8f766c3> | CC-MAIN-2015-06 | http://marxists.org/archive/marx/works/subject/hist-mat/index.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-06/segments/1422115858171.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20150124161058-00058-ip-10-180-212-252.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956285 | 1,122 | 2.515625 | 3 |
This article was written by Sam Daffy, a VCE Specialist Maths tutor. You can see more about Sam’s tutoring services here.
A lot of parents and students don’t really get the ATAR. And frankly, I don’t blame you – it’s quite convoluted, but hopefully, this will help.
Before we get to the ATAR, let’s start with the subjects. Each VCE subject consists of four units, and each unit takes two terms (half a year). So the four units take two years, which is why most VCE subjects are done over Years 11 and 12. The bit that affects your ATAR is units 3 and 4, which is mostly done in year 12. A lot of students do one or two ‘year 12’ subjects (units 3 and 4) in year 11 to get a taste of what SACs and VCE exams etc. are like. This is probably a very good idea, even though I didn’t do it myself.
So within each subject, for units 3 and 4, there is school assessed coursework (SACs) and at the end of the year, there’s an exam. Some more hands-on subjects have school assessed tasks (SATs) as well as SACs. Every subject has at least one SAC, but there’s a fair bit of variation between subjects. The SACs and especially the exam contribute to the study score for the subject.
So these SACs, SATs and exams combine to give you a score out of 50, right? Wrong. It’s a bit more complicated than that. Every student within each subject is ranked, then given a score according to a bell curve (called the normal distribution), as shown below:
Above: The complicated yet normal distribution of study scores
So the average score for each subject is 30, with 68% of all students getting between 23 and 37, and these scores go all the way up to a few students getting 50, and in theory, all the way down to 1.
So that’s subject scores done, right? Not quite – next we come to scaling. There are two types of scores to think about – the ones I’ve just described are called raw study scores, but then these are scaled and they become scaled study scores.
Note: the following information below was added in by Alex Niehof, a VCE Specialist Maths tutor. You can learn more about Alex’s services here.
Subject scores are scaled based off a complicated formula used by VTAC (Victoria Tertiary Admissions Centre) to make sure students picking easy subjects aren’t advantaged, and students picking difficult subjects aren’t disadvantaged. The scaling system loosely works like this:
Let’s imagine there are 100 Specialist Maths students in Victoria who also do English, and of these 100 students, exactly 10 of them get a 30 in Specialist Maths. VTAC then takes the English results of all 10 of these students and finds the average of them. For example, if of the 10 students who got a 30 in Specialist, they returned English results of; 43, 36, 49, 41, 46, 35, 40, 38, 45, and 47. The average of those is then taken; 42.
VTAC then uses this analysis to determine that students who achieve a 30 in Specialist Maths achieve on average a grade 12 points higher in English. They then scale up all 30 study scores in Specialist by 12 more than they scale up English. The same process is then completed for all 50 different study scores for every pair of subjects. In this scenario, they may determine that on average an English score of 30 scales down 1 compared to other subjects, and on average, a Specialist Maths score of 30 scales up 11 compared to other subjects. So Specialist will scale up 11 if you get a 30, and English will scale down if you get a 30, which corresponds to the calculation in the previous paragraph, where we worked out that the difference in scales between the subject must be 12.
This complex process generally succeeds at working out which subjects are hard, and which are easy. For example, In Year 12 I did all 3 VCE mathematics subjects, and they all scaled to within 1 study score of each other, so the process worked in that regards. However, the scaling system relies on a core assumption, that each student tries equally hard for all their subjects and are equally capable in all of them, and therefore any variations in study scores must be due to differences in difficulty.
There’s a couple of key exception to this assumption which goes a long way to explaining why a lot of students feel their subject has been scaled unfairly. The first involves folio subjects, such as VCD and Food Technology. Folio subjects typically require an enormous amount of time over the year, particularly toward the end of term 3 when folios are due. As a result, many folio students partially neglect their other subjects out of necessity, which lowers their result in other subjects. VTAC notices that students typically do better in folio subjects than their other subjects, (through their calculation) and scales down folio subjects accordingly, even though they’re not easy, people just put a lot of effort into them. The other exception is around common pre-requisite subjects such as Methods and Science subjects. Students pick these even though they don’t play to their strengths or interests because they’re effectively compulsory for their university pathway. As a result, these students perform worse in these subjects than the rest of the cohort choosing them because they enjoy them. This lowers the average performance in these subjects relative to other subjects. VTAC then judges them to be harder than other subjects (often they are, but this generally overstates the difficult gap) and scales them up. This goes a long way to explaining why science and maths students typically gain a lot in scaling compared to humanities focused students.
In addition, some subjects, like languages other than English, are given extra scaling because the government wants to give students an extra incentive to study them.
VTAC then takes the best English scaled study score that you have (typically English), as well as your next 3 best scaled results and adds them together. If you have 5th and 6th subjects, VTAC takes 10% of both of these and adds them to the original result. If you have 7 or more subjects completed at a 3+4 level, any additional subject beyond your best 6 won’t contribute to your ATAR.
This sum, the top English result, plus the next top 3 and 10% of 5th and 6th subjects, then becomes your ATAR aggregate. Your ATAR aggregate is then ranked against the aggregate of every other student graduating in that year in Victoria. This ranking gives your ATAR, on a scale from 0-99.95. It can’t be 100 since it’s a measure of the percentage of students you beat, and you can’t be better than everyone including yourself.
*ATAR aggregate is what is used for subject bonuses, SEAS and other university admission schemes. If a university decides to award you 2 aggregate points for getting, for example, a 30 in Chemistry, a 2 is added to your ATAR aggregate and your ATAR is then recalculated. Typically, if your new calculated ATAR is over the ATAR requirement for that subject, you’ll now get in.
**ATAR aggregates are roughly twice your ATAR. For example, my ATAR aggregate was 185.67 and my ATAR itself was 98.00. Better approximations can be found through services such as ATAR calculator.
Subject scores are scaled because some subjects are seen as harder than others. For instance, Specialist Mathematics scales higher than Mathematical Methods. Every year the scaling for each subject is slightly different, but it doesn’t usually change too much. So some subjects, like Specialist Mathematics, scale up so that if your raw score in 2015 was 30, your scaled score would be 41. Other subjects like English don’t scale much at all, while some subjects, like Further Mathematics, actually scale down, so that if your raw score in 2015 was 30, your scaled score would have been 27. This is meant to balance out the fact that some subjects are harder than others to do well in. Some subjects, like languages other than English, are given extra scaling because the government wants to give students an extra incentive to study them (in this case so that we can do business etc. with people from overseas who don’t speak English).
So once you get all your scaled study scores, including from any Unit 3 and 4 subjects that were taken in Year 11, they are added up and the number that comes out the other end is your aggregate.
Then, once again, each student is ranked, except this time it’s against every other Year 12 student in Victoria. And finally, you get your ATAR, which can be anywhere from 0 to 99.95. It can’t be 100 because it’s a measure of the percentage of students you beat, and you can’t be better than everyone including yourself.
So that’s the complicated, technical thing that is the ATAR system. To summarise, your SACs, SATs and Exams become your study scores (raw then scaled), which then become your ATAR.
LearnMate is Australia’s leading tutoring agency offering private lessons in all primary & high school subjects including English, maths, science, humanities, foreign languages, and so much more. Our mission is simple: to provide professional, engaging and enthusiastic tutors to students, while also ensuring the student feels empowered and confident during their assessments! Ultimately, our goal is to empower students all over Australia to achieve amazing results and make their dreams come true!
LearnMate provides you with tailored, one-on-one lessons for tutoring in a variety of suburbs in Melbourne, Sydney, Geelong, Brisbane, Hobart, Canberra, Perth & Adelaide! With hundreds of tutors on the LearnMate platform, you’re bound to find someone local for any primary or high school year level! You can choose to have lessons in-person or online – whatever is easiest for you!
SEARCH FOR A TUTOR AND GET INSTANT ACCESS TO CONTACT DETAILS TODAY! | <urn:uuid:6d3ab16a-c34f-4d93-a509-afc84eb1f6b0> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://learnmate.com.au/atar-explained/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600400193391.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20200920031425-20200920061425-00585.warc.gz | en | 0.958017 | 2,171 | 2.9375 | 3 |
News of Boston public schools’ decision to go with the Peters projection has gone viral over the past week, and my teeth have not stopped itching. Largely because this is very much old news: Arno Peters began promoting “his” projection 44 years ago, and the Peters map has been making the rounds in certain circles ever since then. This is not new, and the media is showing its feckless streak in its lack of awareness of that fact. After all, the West Wing episode with the Peters map in it was broadcast 16 years ago.
The Gall-Peters projection is just one of several rectilinear equal-area projections; that Peters promoted it as a tool of social justice and anti-colonialism made it awfully appealing to people who are concerned with such issues. (They are not wrong to be concerned with such issues.) But cartographers have generally always been appalled by the projection, by Peters’s rhetoric and by his general ignorance of what had gone before. (Peters’s map had already been described by James Gall in 1885; the Mercator projection‘s insufficiencies as a wall map had long been known; and there were many other projections, from the Van der Grinten to the Mollweide to the Goode homolosine, that were already being used in the Mercator’s stead.)
(The Mercator projection, for its part, makes a crap wall map: its virtue is that rhumb lines—compass headings—are straight lines, making the Mercator ideal for navigation. It’s worth emphasizing that Mercator himself died in 1594. Again, see Monmonier’s book on the subject.)
Cartographers’ response to the Peters projection is essentially, usually (and correctly) that every map projection is a compromise, because every map projection is an attempt to represent a round planet on a flat surface. All maps, in other words, lie; or at least no map is exempt from lying; or at least the Mercator is no more a liar than any other projection. It’s essentially an effort in debunking—the tedious repetition of “well, actually” to a credulous audience that doesn’t care enough to listen all the way through. (And besides: the company selling the Peters map thoroughly agrees with them!)
For the latest examples of this, see Caitlin Dempsey’s piece on teaching context, and Andy Woodruff’s response to the latest round of this. They’re good pieces, worth reading—but I can’t help wonder whether something different needs to be tried. But then again: what problem are we trying to solve? Media and public credulity? The fact that the Peters projection, bluntly, sucks? The campaign—and it is a campaign—behind it?
But the campaign for the Peters map is increasingly irrelevant. In late 2015 I argued that the debate over the right projection for wall maps was the cartographic equivalent of fighting the last war. The Peters map was a 20th-century response to a 19th-century problem (the Mercator on wall maps) that had already largely been solved earlier in the century. Sure, there are still wall maps out there that use the projection (I’m looking in your direction, IKEA), but by and large it’s not used nearly as much as the Peters defenders would have you think.
But 21st-century mapmaking is not about wall maps: it’s about web maps. As I said in 2015:
Every online map service uses a variant of the Mercator projection called Web Mercator. Whatever its shortcomings—and there are many, owing to the fact that its calculations use a spherical Mercator model to save computational cycles—Web Mercator has become the de facto standard. And the size distortions at small scales that have made the Mercator projection the target of so much ire over the decades are simply moot for most use cases.
In many ways the past debates over the Mercator are moot: arguing over the right projection for wall-sized world maps—Mercator vs. Peters vs. Robinson—is fighting the last war. Mercator has become the default option for online mapmaking, simply because so many data visualization maps rely on Google Maps or OpenStreetMap for their base map layer. Other projections will be reserved for the professionals, people with access to more sophisticated mapmaking tools and the skill to use them, but for the most part, when data is mapped on the Internet, it’ll be mapped according to Mercator.
Zoom out in Google Maps or OpenStreetMap, and what do you see? The Mercator projection, with Greenland in all its inappropriately giant glory. (Apple Maps turns into a globe when you zoom out far enough, but Apple Maps are app-only.) The reason why this isn’t generally seen as a problem is that hardly anyone uses Google Maps as a world map: like topographic maps that use UTM, at close range Mercator works just fine.
While there are efforts under way to use other projections in web maps, it’s unlikely that the Mercator-vs.-Peters battle—a false dichotomy if there ever was one—will migrate to the digital arena. | <urn:uuid:efb88000-321f-417d-b503-a708cd2aa0a5> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://www.maproomblog.com/2017/03/the-peters-map-is-fighting-the-last-war/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600400198942.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20200921050331-20200921080331-00154.warc.gz | en | 0.958055 | 1,099 | 2.546875 | 3 |
The ability of the United States government to tax and spend in specific regions
has large ... Social security is the dominant expenditure of per dollar federal
expenditures. .... Reserve Bank of Ne...
Mar 4, 2016 ... The federal government collects taxes to finance various public services. As
policymakers and citizens weigh key decisions about revenues ...
In fiscal year 2014, the federal government will spend around $3.8 trillion. These
trillions of dollars make up a considerable chunk - around 22 percent - of the US.
... In fact, tax breaks function as a type of government spending, and they are ...
Apr 18, 2016 ... What your 2015 income tax dollars paid for ... The average household paid
$13,000 in income taxes to Uncle Sam for 2015. ... The Dow Jones branded
indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by ...
The distribution of benefits, services, and taxes is examined among ... is Spread:
The Distribution of Government Benefits, Services and Taxes by Income Quintile
in ... A quintile is in fiscal surplus if the taxes paid exceed the cost of benefits and
Apr 10, 2015 ... It's tax time again, and we might find it easier to take the medicine if we ... That's
not to say, however, that federal spending absorbed a fifth of all ...
Nov 8, 2013 ... Middle-income families receive $1.48 in total spending per tax dollar, while
America's highest-income families receive $0.25 cents in spending ...
What if, for example, a particular state can afford not to tax its residents at high ....
Allocating federal dollars to states proportionately based on what they pay in ...
Apr 21, 2016 ... I did this because none of your personal income tax dollars goes to pay ...... aren't
taxed enough, the problem is how the tax dollar is distributed.
Learn about the various types of taxes, the distribution of the tax burden, ... "Far
less consensus exists about how to allocate corporate income taxes," but CBO ... | <urn:uuid:5aecc486-d83c-4a8b-a085-0b6ab721e7f3> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | http://www.ask.com/web?q=How+Are+Federal+Tax+Dollars+Distributed&o=2603&l=dir&qsrc=3139&gc=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257830064.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071030-00092-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.896925 | 421 | 2.8125 | 3 |
|Excel Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine
2801 North Decatur Road
Decatur, GA 30033 USA
This article is also available in Spanish:.
Falls can happen anytime and anywhere to people of any age. However, as people get older, the number of falls and the severity of injury resulting from falls increases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries in people age 65 and older. Common injuries due to falls are head injuries, shoulder and forearm fractures, spine fractures, pelvic fractures, and hip fractures.
There is a pattern to falls among the elderly: The fear of falling, then the injury, followed by hospitalization, decreased independence and mobility, and often relocation to a nursing or residential institution.
Falls can be a major life-changing event that robs the elderly of their independence.
Fortunately, many falls can be prevented with healthy lifestyle choices and safety modifications in the home.
- Each year, one out of three adults age 65 and older falls, according to the CDC.
- In 2000, falls among older adults cost the U.S. healthcare system more than $19 billion, according to the CDC. That equals more than $28.2 billion in 2010 dollars.
- According to the National Hospital Discharge Survey, more than 90% of hip fractures are caused by falling. Three-quarters of all hip fractures occur in women.
- Approximately 25% of hip fracture patients will make a full recovery; 40% will require nursing home admission; 50% will be dependent upon a cane or a walker; and 20% will die within one year of the fall.
Many things can put you at higher risk for a fall, such as certain medical conditions or poor dietary habits.
Medical Risk Factors
- Impaired musculoskeletal function, gait abnormality and osteoporosis
- Cardiac arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat), blood pressure fluctuation
- Depression, Alzheimer's disease and senility
- Arthritis, hip weakness and imbalance
- Neurologic conditions, stroke, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis
- Urinary and bladder dysfunction
- Vision or hearing loss
- Cancer that affects the bones
- Side effects of medications
Personal Risk Factors
- Age. The risk for a fall increases with age. Normal aging affects our eyesight, balance, strength, and ability to quickly react to our environments.
- Activity. Lack of exercise leads to decreased balance, coordination, and bone and muscle strength.
- Habits. Excessive alcohol intake and smoking decrease bone strength. Alcohol use can also cause unsteadiness and slow reaction times.
- Diet. A poor diet and not getting enough water will deplete strength and energy, and can make it hard to move and do everyday activities.
Risk Factors in the Home
- Many falls are the result of hazards like slippery or wet surfaces, poor lighting, inadequate footwear, and cluttered pathways in the home.
- Most fractures are the result of a fall in the home, usually related to everyday activities such as walking on stairs, going to the bathroom, or working in the kitchen.
Maintaining your health and staying physically active can help to reduce your risk for falling.
Understand Your Health and Medications
- Get an annual eye examination, and a physical that includes an evaluation for cardiac and blood pressure problems.
- Maintain a diet with adequate dietary calcium and Vitamin D.
- Do not smoke.
- Avoid excessive alcohol intake.
- Keep an up-to-date list of all medications and frequently provide it to all doctors with whom you consult.
- Check with your doctor(s) about any side effects of your medications and over-the-counter drugs, as fatigue or confusion increases your risk of falling.
- Make sure all medications are clearly labeled and stored in a well-lit area.
- Take medications on schedule with a full glass of water, unless otherwise instructed.
- Talk to your doctor about starting an exercise program.
- If possible, participate in an exercise program that aids agility, strength, balance, and coordination. Climbing stairs, jogging, hiking, dancing, weight training and other activities can help build bone strength and slow progression of osteoporosis, a disorder that causes bones to thin and weaken.
- In addition, active pastimes, such as bicycling and gardening, also can improve health and life quality.
- Wear properly-fitting shoes with nonskid soles. Avoid high heels.
- Tie your shoe laces.
- Use a long-handled shoehorn if you have trouble putting on your shoes.
- Never walk in your stocking feet. Replace slippers that have stretched out of shape and are too loose.
Research shows that even simple safety modifications, such as those at home where most senior falls occur, can substantially cut the risk of falls and related injuries.
- Place a lamp, telephone, or flashlight near your bed.
- Sleep on a bed that is easy to get into and out of.
- Replace satiny sheets and comforters with products made of nonslippery material such as wool or cotton.
- Arrange clothes in your closet so that they are easy to reach.
- Install a nightlight along the route between your bedroom and the bathroom.
- Keep clutter off the bedroom floor.
- Arrange furniture so you have a clear pathway between rooms.
- Keep low-rise coffee tables, magazine racks, footrests, and plants out of the path of traffic.
- Install easy-access light switches at room entrances so you will not have to walk into a dark room in order to turn on the light. Glow-in-the-dark switches also may be helpful.
- Walk only in well-lighted rooms, stairs, and halls.
- Do not store boxes near doorways or in hallways.
- Remove newspapers and all clutter from pathways.
- Keep electric, appliance and telephone cords out of walkways, but do not put cords under a rug.
- Do not run extension cords across pathways; rearrange furniture.
- Secure loose area rugs with double-faced tape, tacks, or slip-resistant backing.
- Do not sit in a chair or on a sofa that is so low that it is difficult to stand up.
- Repair loose wooden floorboards right away.
- Remove door sills higher than a half inch.
- Remove throw rugs.
- Clean up immediately any liquids, grease, or food spilled on the floor.
- Store food, dishes, and cooking equipment within easy reach.
- Do not stand on chairs or boxes to reach upper cabinets.
- Use nonskid floor wax.
- Keep stairs clear of packages, boxes, or clutter
- Light switches should be at the top and bottom of the stairs. Or, consider installing motion-detector lights which turn on automatically when someone walks by.
- Provide enough light to clearly see each stair and the top and bottom landings.
- Keep flashlights nearby in case of a power outage.
- Remove loose area rugs from the bottom or top of the stairs.
- Replace patterned, dark, or deep-pile carpeting with a solid color, which will show the edges of steps more clearly.
- Put non-slip treads on each bare-wood step.
- Install handrails on both sides of the stairway. Each should be 30 inches above the stairs and extend the full length of the stairs.
- Repair loose stairway carpeting or wooden boards immediately.
- Place a slip-resistant rug adjacent to the bathtub for safe exit and entry.
- Mount a liquid soap dispenser on the bathtub/shower wall.
- Install grab bars on the bathroom walls.
- Keep a nightlight in the bathroom.
- Use a rubber mat or place nonskid adhesive textured strips inside the tub.
- Replace glass shower enclosures with non-shattering material.
- Stabilize yourself on the toilet by using either raised seat or a special toilet seat with armrests.
- Use a sturdy, plastic seat in the bathtub if you cannot lower yourself to the floor of the tub or if you are unsteady.
- Do not panic. Assess the situation and determine if you are hurt.
- Slide or crawl along the floor to the nearest couch or chair and try to get up.
- If you cannot get up, call for help.
- If you are alone, slowly crawl to the telephone and call 911 or relatives.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS)[online]. Accessed November 30, 2010.
National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS), National Center for Health Statistics. Available at:www.cdc.gov/nchs/hdi.htm. Assessed September 14, 2011.
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
9400 West Higgins Road
Rosemont, IL 60018 | <urn:uuid:449f1d2d-33d8-440f-b25b-1823ce567faa> | CC-MAIN-2015-48 | http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00135&grpwebid=20DBE3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398459875.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205419-00108-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.887376 | 1,905 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Laura Sokal and Jennifer Katz
Inclusive classrooms provide new opportunities for group membership and creation of effective learning environments. In order to facilitate the success of inclusion as an approach and philosophy, it is important that all class members as well as their teachers develop the skills to understand one another, and to communicate and work together effectively. Social emotional learning (SEL) is aimed at developing these skills and is generally defined to involve processes by which individuals learn to understand and moderate their own feelings, understand the feelings of others, communicate, resolve conflicts effectively, respect others, and develop healthy relationships. These skills are important to both children with disabilities and to those without, in terms of overall social development, perceptions of belonging, and promotion of overall mental wellness, as well as mitigation of the development of mental illness. Research suggests that SEL programming has the potential to effectively enhance children’s academic, social, and relational outcomes. Moreover, teachers who teach SEL in their classrooms have also demonstrated positive outcomes. Despite these encouraging findings, implementation of SEL has been hampered by some limitations, including the lack of a consistent definition—a limitation that in turn affects research findings; lack of teacher education in SEL, which erodes confidence in the fidelity of implementation; and concerns that current SEL programs are not sensitive to cultural differences in communities. Together, the strengths and limitations of SEL illuminate several policy implications regarding the most advantageous ways for SEL to contribute to the success of inclusion in classrooms and schools. | <urn:uuid:ed938a5d-6377-47fd-a465-f4f5dcd45a80> | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | http://education.oxfordre.com/browse;jsessionid=E2BA5FAD3A68FD96CFB763D67ADBB220?btog=chap&pageSize=10&sort=titlesort&subSite=oreedu&t=ORE_EDU%3AREFEDU002&t0=ORE_EDU%3AREFEDU007 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794867092.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20180525121739-20180525141739-00093.warc.gz | en | 0.964621 | 300 | 3.65625 | 4 |
Deer Park Wood (DPW) was planted between approximately 2000 and 2006 at a high density with a variety of young tree species (‘whips’ – up to 1 metre) and larger specimen trees. This method of planting makes it possible for the tree foliage (canopy) to create shade: this prevents the growth of weeds which could interfere with their growth. The wood was left unattended until 2010, when WWV was licensed to work there.
A key part of woodland development, which might sound counterproductive, is to remove a proportion of the trees in order to create a more healthy environment: crowding leads to disease and stagnation. In creating a woodland, many more trees must be planted than will be alive in the wood decades ahead – most will be removed, leaving a carefully balanced range of more mature trees with more room to grow.
Now that the trees are established, the wooded areas need thinning. This is a complex process and need expert involvement. As a group of keen amateurs, we have created a path around the wood, and we have done some coppicing in many parts of the wood, but have been constrained by national forestry regulations which put a limit on what can be cut without permission.
In order to move ahead with our work, a management plan has been produced. In November 2017 the WODC agreed a Countryside Stewardship Agreement and appointed consultants who have now (January 2019) produced the Plan and registered it with the Forestry Commission. We are actively involved in the creation and execution of the plan, designing a resource for Witney for decades to come.
The main document is available for reading or download here.
(It is a very detailed document, and a large file – 44MB).
The first major intervention (December 2017) in this process was the thinning of a small section of the north east mound. Expert contractors selected and felled, and we took over to strip the side branches (brash) of the felled trees and create habitat piles which are essential for woodland health. These piles of rotting wood support a range of fungi, green plants and animals (mainly invertebrates) which are a vital part of the wood ecosystem.
Clearing felled timber – December 2017 | <urn:uuid:a02484b3-66a1-40bc-b4d4-7e7732845ab4> | CC-MAIN-2019-18 | https://witneywood.uk/deer-park-wood-management-plan/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578806528.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20190426133444-20190426155444-00448.warc.gz | en | 0.965098 | 460 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Welcome to biology-online.org! Please login to access all site features. Create account.
Log me on automatically each visit
| Page history
| Printable version
1. A carving in the base material of a denture that simulates the contours of the natural tissue that is being replaced by the denture.
2. A distinguishing characteristic of certain hard tick species, consisting of small rectangular areas separated by grooves along the posterior margin of the dorsum of both males and females.
Origin: thr. Fr. Fr. L. Festum, festival, hence festive decorations
Please contribute to this project, if you have more information about this term feel free to edit this page
This page was last modified 21:16, 3 October 2005. This page has been accessed 1,056 times. What links here
| Related changes
| Permanent link
© Biology-Online.org. All Rights Reserved.
Register | Login
| About Us | Contact Us | Link to Us | Disclaimer & Privacy | <urn:uuid:c9fa94c6-897c-4d63-a8a1-38fbffcae498> | CC-MAIN-2013-48 | http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Festoon | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1386164014919/warc/CC-MAIN-20131204133334-00075-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.849158 | 210 | 2.984375 | 3 |
There are seven kinds of indorsements: (1) Indorsement in blank (2) Indorsement in full (3) Partial indoresment (4) Conditional or Qualified indorsement (5) Restrictive indorsement (6) Facultative indorsement (7) Forged indorsement.
Indorsement in blank: If the indorser signs his name only, the indorsement is said to be blank. A blank indorsement is also called general indorsement. The name of endorsee is left blank. The indorser signs the instrument. Instrumental so indorsed is like an instrument payable to bearer. The property in the instrument passes by mere delivery of the instrument. Therefore where the holder of an instrument does not mention the name of any party but merely signs his name without any words, the instrumental is said to be indorsed in blank. A blank indorsement specifies no indorsee. The negotiable instrument indorsed in blank is payable to the bearer thereof even though originally payable to order. If it is delivered to any person property therein passes. It is negotiable by mere delivery and the bearer is entitled to its payment.
Specimens of Indorsements in Blank
1) Henry Brown
2) Thomson Robinson
3) Jonathan George.
Indorsement in full: If the indorser signs is name and adds a direction to pay the amount mentioned in the instruments to, or do the order of a specified person, the indorsement is said to be in full. The person so specified is called the indorsee of the instrument.
Specimens of indorsements in Full
1) Pay to Thomson Robinson or order — James Richardson.
2) Pay to George French — James Phillips
3) Pay to Jonathan George – George French
Where one person specifies the name of other person to whom money is to be paid and signs the instrument, it is a case of indorsement in full i.e. the indorser directs a specific person to whom money is to be paid. Indorsement in full is also known as special indorsement. No particular form of words is necessary. Intention to transfer the document to a particular person should be sufficient to make it a valid indorsement.
Conversion of indorsement in blank into indorsement in full: The holder of a negotiable instrument indorsed in blank may without signing his own name, by writing above the indorser’s signature a direction to pay any other person as indorsee convert the indorsement in blank into indorsement in full . The holder does not thereby incur the responsibility of an indorser.
Any holder of an instrument may put his own or someone else’s name above the signature of the indorser and convert the indorsement in blank into an indorsement in full. As the holder does not put his signature he incurs no liability.
Effects of an indorsement in blank when converted into full: If a negotiable instrument after having been indorsed in blank is indorsed in full, the amount of it cannot be clamed from the indorser in full, except by the person to whom it has been indorsed in full, or by one who derives title through such person.
The parties to the instrument cannot claim the amount from then indorser in full, but the person, who is the bearer of the instrument, can claim the amount from drawer acceptor or the indorser of that instrument in blank.
Thus, a negotiable instrument indorsed in blank, even after being converted in full, remains a bearer instrument and is negotiable by delivery thereof.
Partial indorsement: No writing on a negotiable instrument is valid for the purpose of negotiation if such writing purports to transfer only a part of the amount appearing to be due on the instrument. But where such amount has been partly paid, a note to that effect may be indorsed o the instrument, when may then be negotiated for the balance.
As a rule, where part of the amount due to the negotiable instrument is to be transferred by an indorsement, such indorsement is a partial indorsement and is invalid. This is because a personal contract cannot be apportioned. Only when the amount is partly paid; and such fact is noted on the instrument the balance can be negotiated by indorsement.
The maker of a promissory note for Rs 5,000 pays Rs 2000 and the act is noted on the instrument. The holder can negotiate the note for the balance amount of Rs 3,000.
But take a case like this:
A is the holder of a bill of Rs 1,000. A indorsees it thus Pay B or order Rs 500. This is partial indorsement and invalid for the purpose of negotiation. | <urn:uuid:f98123c8-2b01-4fea-9b2e-1eac1755098b> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.citeman.com/10603-kinds-of-indorsements.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337531.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20221005011205-20221005041205-00547.warc.gz | en | 0.903887 | 1,026 | 2.703125 | 3 |
- Dr. Shay Pilnik
When Should I Introduce the Holocaust to My Child?
Students listen to Holocaust Survivor Nate Taffel as a part of HERC’s field trip program “From Ignorance & Fear to Knowledge & Understanding: Jews, Judaism, & the Holocaust”
When should parent introduce the topic of the Holocaust to their children? This is a very difficult question and the answer will vary from child to child, from family to family. There is also a difference between a parent talking to his/her child about this tragedy and it being introduced at school. At home, these books and movies may be helpful to begin a discussion:
The Diary of Anne Frank (book)
Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story (book)
Number the Stars (book and film)
Inside Hana’s Suitcase (film)
Miracle at Midnight (film)
Paper Clips (film)
The Diary of David Sierakowiak (book)
Man’s Search for Meaning (book)
Night by Elie Wiesel (book)
Survival in Auschwitz (book)
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (film)
Over the last threeand a half years I have been proud to serve the Milwaukee Jewish community, our city and state as the executive director of the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center, an organization that carries the legacy of my family, fellow community members and people. While on a deeply personal level I have been introduced to the Holocaust at the age of five, when I learned that my great grandparents were shot and buried at a mass grave outside their town, together with my grandpa’s younger siblings, the memory of the Holocaust is a subject that touches people from different corners of our community, Jews and non-Jews alike. It is not hard to see in the Holocaust a unique event that also set an example for humanity’s horrific capacity to plunge into unimaginable cruelty and barbarism when blind hate and intolerance reign.
At HERC, we believe the Holocaust should be introduced to children slowly and responsibly. Our center has been approached in the past by 3rd and 4th grade teachers who taught and read stories, diaries and memoirs about the Holocaust with their students. As a rule, HERC prefers to work with 7th grade students and up, and even then, we try to avoid excessive use of graphic images and footage that will be hardly possible for students to grasp or comprehend. The role of HERC, after all, is to introduce students to this difficult subject and help them understand that learning about this very difficult subject may - and perhaps even should – be a life-long task.
For me and for the wonderful and dedicated leaders who have built our center, life is lived in the shadow of that terrible event, and it is our duty to ensure that the Holocaust will never be forgotten; that our younger generation in particular will understand the grave danger of hatred and racism, when these go unchecked. We are here to keep these dangerous trends at bay, especially in these critical times, having a powerful, transformative tool at our disposal –education.
Throughout the year HERC touches thousands of people with a variety of resources and programs:
[if !supportLists]Testimonies by Holocaust survivors, who are now joined by the children of deceased survivors (our 2G group)
[if !supportLists]Holocaust educator lessons (provided by the HERC staff and trained volunteers) and Holocaust materials trunks for the classroom
[if !supportLists][endif]Two teacher training workshops, conducted both in Milwaukee during the fall and in communities as far as Sheboygan and Oshkosh during the spring season
[if !supportLists]Films, lectures, exhibits and theatrical plays offering adults and college students stimulating programs about the Holocaust and related topics. View HERC’s upcoming events here
[if !supportLists][endif]Field trips for schools and community members as well as overseas study missions. Learn more about our upcoming trip to Poland and Israel here
I encourage you to open these links, go to our website, learn more about the wealth of our activities and programs, and join us for what is going to be a busy and highly educational season. If you wish to volunteer or support HERC, please don’t hesitate to contact us. The Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center needs you now, in these critical times, more than ever!
Dr. Shay Pilnik earned his Bachelor’s degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, majoring in Comparative Literature and Jewish Thought. He continued his academic training at McGill University in Montreal, where he graduated with an MA in Jewish Studies, specializing in East European Jewish Culture. In the fall of 2005, he began a Ph.D. program at the Jewish Theological Seminary in the field of Modern Jewish Studies. He defended his doctoral dissertation in the spring of 2013, dealing with the commemoration of the Babi Yar Massacre in Soviet Russian and Yiddish literature. From 2008-2014, he was an adjunct instructor at the Universities of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Oshkosh, lecturing on a variety of topics including modern Jewish history, the Holocaust, and the religions of the world. Contact Shay: email@example.com or 414-963-2719. | <urn:uuid:97a9c735-0512-4e38-9c00-5f8367375bbd> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://www.gojewishmke.com/post/2018/01/15/when-should-i-introduce-the-holocaust-to-my-child | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296946637.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20230327025922-20230327055922-00091.warc.gz | en | 0.953556 | 1,121 | 3.28125 | 3 |
|Ambiguous Term? This article is about Imperial Titan class. For other uses of Knight, see Knight (disambiguation).|
Knights are smaller and less powerful one-man versions of Imperial Titans. Knights are smaller than Warhound Scout Titans, and can only mount one Titan-class weapon. These can range from Vulcan Mega-bolters to Volcano cannons. Knights themselves are operated from Knightly Houses located on Knight Worlds. Pilots of Knights are known as Knight Scions.
During the Age of Strife, the Priests of Mars sent out many expeditions of spacecraft, hoping to find remnants of human knowledge on other worlds. They found an anarchic galaxy where the ancient confederacy of interdependent human planets no longer existed. The human worlds discovered retained little of their old technology. They had devolved into feudal states ruled by aristocratic nobles who welcomed the Techpriests as long-awaited saviours. The Tech-priests settled among these feudal empires, or Knight Worlds, choosing planets that were mineral rich where they could rebuild their industries. They established contacts with the Knights, trading with their worlds and investigating the ancient ruins where surviving technology could still sometimes be found. The Knights provided manpower and security against enemies such as marauding Orks and land-hungry Eldar Exodites. In return the Tech-priests provided technical expertise and help rebuilding their planets.[Needs Citation]
Over the millennia the Forge Worlds became powerful and the Knight Worlds flourished under their wing. The Tech-priests and Knights became mutually dependent and each Forge World became the hub of an empire consisting of a Forge World and its surrounding Knight Worlds. The Knights learned much from the Tech-priests and their societies were gradually transformed into technically sophisticated cultures. Many of the Forge Worlds managed to maintain sporadic contact with each other, and the Tech-priests' obsession with knowledge ensured that discoveries on one world were distributed to others throughout the galaxy.[Needs Citation]
The most important innovation that the Tech-priests brought to the Knight Worlds were the fighting machines called Knights. These machines were one-man versions of a Titan, much smaller and less powerful than a real Titan, but far better suited to the mobile style of warfare prevalent amongst the nobility of the Knight Worlds.[Needs Citation]
In the current Age of the Imperium, these Knights fight alongside the Titans and form a reserve of troops which can be called up into the Titan Legions when required. Each Knight is piloted by a noble of the Knight Worlds, these worlds having maintained their feudal societies over the millennia. Indeed, the acquisition of technology enabled the warrior nobility to strengthen its position of power on their worlds.
The Knight Worlds operate under a strict feudal system. A sub-class called the Drovers looked after the animal herds, as the nobility would not soil their hands with such work. The Drovers used walkers similar to those of their masters, but they were, by law, not armed with any weapons, despite the fact that they faced very serious threats in the form of predators and xenos raids. This forced the Drovers to rely on the Knights for protection, and created a dependency comfortable for the nobles, as it made revolt virtually impossible.
In addition to the Knight war machines, every House had multiple men-at-arms in its employ, resembling Planetary Defence Forces, although possessing a much smaller amount of heavy equipment. On several worlds, artificers and technicians became the most important subjects of the warrior nobility. They maintained the Knight walkers, and over time styled themselves as a priesthood for the half-forgotten mysteries of technology called the Sacristans. They arbitrated between the Knight Houses and ensured that the headstrong nobles did not wipe out one another in bitter feuds by ritualising the values of Duty, Honour and Valour. With the acceptance of these values, the Knights became known as The Chivalry.
In addition to the threat presented by hostile Houses, Knights had to conduct frequent battles against their worlds' indigenous predators. Hunting these beasts honed their martial skills into a deadly art. The Knights themselves would retire when they reached old age, passing their Battle Armour down to their heir, and in its stead donning the armour of a Knight Warden. They would then take the task of protecting the household and lending its members their advice. Knights form family units to fight with the Titan Legions or alongside the Imperial Guard. Knights of a given house would be led by a noble holding the rank of a Lord, or the corresponding title of a Seneschal if he happened to be a Warden.
Known Knight Houses
Knight armour comes in a variety of forms, with the two most common types seen being the Knight Paladin and Knight Errant. These both use the same basic body form but are fitted with different weapons arrays. However all Imperial Knights are protected by thick adamantium armor and potent field generators called Ion Shields.[4a]
Other, much rarer, types of Knight armour are used on some Knight worlds. Amongst the heaviest types of Knight armour made by the forge worlds are the Crusader and the Castellan. Although slower than other suit types, these two benefit from substantially increased firepower and much thicker armour, and are instead used in a fire support role. The Lancer is a faster version of a standard Knight suit. These agile machines are used to outflank the enemy, scout out their defences and distract hostile forces while slower units get into position to attack. This type of armour is sophisticated and extremely difficult to manufacture, and its use is therefore usually reserved for rulers of knightly houses, or for Nobles that have proven themselves worthy of it in the fires of victory. However, while the Crusader, Castellan and Lancer are rightly revered, the Paladin and Errant’s perfectly balanced combination of speed, firepower and armour make them the supreme examples of Knight design.[4a]
Types of Knights
- Knight Paladin: The archetypal Knight, armed with a large-calibre Battle Cannon and a giant Chainsword.
- Knight Errant: Highly suited to attacking larger targets like Mega Gargants. They carry fearsome Thermal Cannons capable of easily vaporizing steel or flesh.
- Knight Lancer: A faster version of the standard Knight, the agile Lancer out-flanks the enemy and scouts their defensive positions. The Lancer is armed with a Battle Cannon and Power Lance for close combat.
- Knight Castigator: A pattern of Knight designed to take down hordes of lesser foes with its Castigator Bolt Cannon.
- Knight Acheron: Designed to engage foes at close range with heavy Flamers and Chainswords.
- Knight Magaera: Designed as shock assault units.
- Knight Styrix: Designed for wanton slaughter.
- Knight Atrapos: Designed to combat Heretek and Xenos war engines.
- Knight Crusader: The heaviest types of Knight made by Forgeworlds along with the Knight Castellan. Though slower and less nimble, they have increased firepower in the form of Battlecannons, Lascannons, Quake Cannons, Gatling Cannons, Autocannons, and Heavy Bolters in addition to increased armor.
- Knight Warden: Close-combat Knight equipped with Avenger Gatling Cannon, Reaper Chainsword or Thunderstrike Gauntlet, Missile Launchers, and Meltaguns.
- Knight Gallant: Melee type Knight equipped with Reaper Chainsword and Thunderstrike Gauntlet.
- Knight Castellan: Similar to the Knight Crusader, but replaces its Lascannon with a multi-barrel Autocannon, giving it better firepower against enemy infantry and light vehicles.
- Knight Baron: The leader of a contingent of Knights with razor-sharp warrior skills. As a sign of status every Baron has a custom-made Knight suit. Most Barons' suits are armed with power lances and rapid-fire battlecannons.
- Knight Seneschal: A ceremonial role (rather than a specific model of Knight armor) that works closely alongside the ruling Lord of a Knightly House.
Artefacts and Relics
|Artefacts and Relics|
|Banner of Macharius Triumphant||Banner||[7c]|
|Helm of the Nameless Warrior||Faceplate||[7c]|
|Mark of the Omnissiah||Repairing Device||[7c]|
|The Paragon Gauntlet||Thunderstrike Gauntlet||[7c]|
When Knights were introduced in White Dwarf 126, they originated during the Dark Age of Technology from agricultural worlds whose human inhabitants had copied farming techniques learned from Eldar Exodites already present on them. The humans began utilising combat walkers invented by the Eldar and referred to them as "Knights". In a period referred to by the Exodites as The Coming of Men, the xenos and the human colonists clashed in a number of bloody conflicts as the Eldar Knights sought to protect their homes from the colonists.
When these planets were cut off in the Age of Strife a warrior aristocracy rose to prominence amongst its human populations, mimicking the lifestyle of the Eldar Clans. These planets were rediscovered by Rogue Trader Jeffers and brought into the newborn Imperium of Man. Most often Knight Worlds became affiliated with a particular Titan Forge World, supplying it with food and raw materials, whilst its Sacristans would fall under the control of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Other Knight Worlds were left with a large degree of autonomy, required only to produce food and obey the call to arms when it was given.
- 1: White Dwarf 178 The Titan Legions, by Rick Priestley
- 2: Codex Titanicus (1st Edition), pg. 27
- 3: White Dwarf 126 (UK), pg. 29
- 4: Codex: Imperial Knights (6th Edition)
- 5: Cerastus Knight Castigator (accessed 21-Feb-2015)
- 6: White Dwarf 66 (2015)
- 7: Codex: Imperial Knights (7th Edition) (e-book)
- 8: Sanctus Reach: The Red Waaagh!
- 9: Forge World | <urn:uuid:f5e0a5a1-7a39-471a-ad2f-e3d32b4c5666> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Knight | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399106.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00089-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938842 | 2,087 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Why can’t we eat sunflower seeds whole? Great question. I know about this one firsthand since I became hooked on sunflower seeds (and their hulls, as the shells are technically called), back in the summer after fourth grade. My summer camp took a field trip to a minor league baseball game, and as a special treat, gave out sunflower seeds to all of us to eat at the game. I thought chewing and spitting out the sunflower seed was so gross that I decided to eat the sunflower seed whole — kernel, hull, everything. Besides, the outside is the part that’s salted and tastes the best to a kid like me anyway. Great idea, right?
Before I tell you what happened to me the weekend following the sunflower seed incident, let’s talk a little about these nifty little creations. Sunflower seeds are the fruit from — surprise! — sunflowers. The outside shell of the sunflower seed is actually referred to as the hull. When the hull is left intact, the seeds are called in-shell sunflower seeds. When the hull is removed, the seeds themselves are called kernels. The former is usually found in the grocery aisle next to the nuts, while the latter is usually found next to the other seeds used as spices or toppings, such as poppy seeds or sesame seeds.
Eating sunflower seeds has long been an American pastime, particularly at baseball games. As anyone who has been to a baseball game can tell you, the floor of the bleachers is usually littered (and in some stadiums, covered) with the hulls of sunflower seeds.
So why can’t we eat the shell? The truth is, like many things in nature around us, you can eat it, but you may not like the results. The result of my trying to eat the shells of the sunflower seeds at the ball game that fateful summer? A weekend at home in discomfort. Though I was fortunate to experience only mild stomach pain, eating lots of sunflower seed shells has been known to cause constipation that can result in painful blockage. Additionally, the sharp edges of the shells can cause tears in your esophagus or elsewhere along your digestive tract. Another reason to spit the shells instead of eating them.
Why do sunflower seeds have shells in the first place, you may ask? I’ve heard that the sunflower seed shells are there for the same reason that nuts have hard shells too; the shells protect the fruit inside once the nut or seed has fallen from the plant. The nut allows the seed to stay intact long enough to germinate and produce another nut tree or seed plant.
Though you may not be able to eat the hull of a sunflower seed, the kernel itself packs a nutritious punch, providing you with valuable nutrients like vitamin E and magnesium. Bonus: Sunflower seeds are rich in phytosterols, a plant chemical that has been shown to help reduce cholesterol. Sunflower seeds also contain vitamin C, iron, and even fiber, among many other nutrients.
The lesson, folks? Snack on sunflower kernels often — and stay away from the hulls.
Related sunflower stories on MNN: | <urn:uuid:f8e6f867-f02e-43c7-a9ea-e9dcf57994ff> | CC-MAIN-2019-18 | https://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/stories/is-it-safe-to-eat-sunflower-seeds-whole | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578596541.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20190423074936-20190423100936-00410.warc.gz | en | 0.963904 | 661 | 3 | 3 |
In 2002 a Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill to liberate the flow of public information was presented to parliament for enactment. This was after the government was pressured by media activists and civil society to submit the Bill to parliament. However, parliament, dominated by members of the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD), rejected the Bill on frivolous grounds of state security, citing acts of terrorism taking place around the world, with specific reference to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attack in the United States (US). At the time, parliament argued that the FOI Bill would be inimical to state security as it would abet terrorists with easy access to sensitive information held in public offices.
Up to the time of writing this report (mid-2009), Zambia has yet to enact a law that will pave the way for easy retrieval of information held in public offices. Currently, information seekers, including the media, have to deal with bureaucrats in government: they have to send written press queries to permanent secretaries and wait for as long as a month to get a response. This has negatively affected access to information of public interest, including online. The public’s fundamental right to access information to help people make informed opinions and decisions on issues affecting their livelihoods has been relegated.
Additionally, there is no specific legislation that backs media freedom as is the case in some countries in the region (e.g., Namibia and Mozambique). Media freedom, including that of new media (online), is merely implied through the general constitutional provision on freedom of expression. This impedes the media’s performance in serving the public interest. However, media activists are pushing for the inclusion of a media freedom clause in the constitution, which is currently being reviewed.
Although no law exists enshrining the right to access public information, the 2007 National Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Policy addresses issues related to access to online information. The policy appears to be the guiding document under which all relevant legal and regulatory structures are designed. It addresses thirteen focus areas, among them human resources, education, content/access and culture, e‑governance, e‑commerce, health, agriculture, the legal and regulatory framework, and security. It envisages universal access through ICT roll-out to rural areas – including increasing the number of access points, affordable rates and toll-free services targeting poor and marginalised groups. The policy recognises that “access to information forms the basis for creating an information society – and therefore, availability of public access points, ICT tools, content and services are as important as the information itself in the deployment and exploitation of ICTs to support rural development, community-based initiatives and projects in Zambia’s developmental effort.” The goal for ICT access focuses on enhancing “widespread public access to information through appropriate traditional and new technology solutions based on relevant local content while promoting cultural heritage.” The policy also outlines guidelines on the promotion of government and commercial information (e‑government and e‑commerce) to benefit the public through increased availability of public and private information.
The ICT sector is regulated by the Communications Authority of Zambia (CAZ) under the 1994 Telecommunications Act. This Act primarily focuses on the regulation of the telecommunications industry and its infrastructure, and does not specifically address issues of access to information. Under this Act, the minister of communications appoints the regulator’s board which oversees the communications industry with regard to licensing, consumer protection, technical services, research, competition, compliance and enforcement. However, the legal and regulatory framework is inadequate to address present changes in technology and related markets. There is a need for a review and reformulation of the framework so that the legal and regulatory structures sufficiently respond to new developments, including convergence in the ICT industry.
This fact has been acknowledged by the current ICT policy itself, which suggests that the legal and regulatory framework should be constantly reviewed in relation to the emerging changes in the communications sector – there is a need to “implement a flexible and dynamic technology neutral legal/regulatory and licensing framework that restricts regulation to the barest minimum; takes into account and reflects issues relating to convergence within the sector; reinforces innovation, competition and fair play in the industry as well as ensure that the basic rights, choices and preference of consumers are protected; and that the principle of equitable universal access and service [is] reinforced”. However these “basic rights and choices” do not yet include access to information.
An ICT Bill, which is in draft form and is expected to repeal the 1994 Telecommunications Act when enacted, addresses issues on technology convergence, innovation, competition and fair play and consumer rights. In addition, an Electronic Communications Bill that seeks to deal with issues concerning the protection of information, security, access to online information, computer and cyber crimes has also been drafted. This bill, which also addresses e‑banking and other online commercial transactions, does not relate to the kind of access that is expected from a FOI Act that will make public information easily accessible. Both Bills are yet to be enacted into law by parliament (this is expected to happen before the end of 2009). In the meantime, a national cyber security working group, under the auspices of CAZ, has been formed to strategise on issues of cyber security and crime.
It can therefore be asserted that the ICT legal and regulatory framework, especially as relates to online access, cyber security and crime, censorship, and privacy and intellectual property rights, is still in its development stage.
This report focuses on access to online educational materials (including access to libraries for educational purposes). This topic is central and cuts across the development of all the focus areas that are part of the country’s ICT policy: knowledge through education is critical for the success of all the sectors.
The National ICT Policy acknowledges that education using modern technologies, especially computers, is critical to the development of a knowledge economy and society. The policy notes that the Zambian education system has low levels of ICT penetration, especially in public schools. While some ICTs have been rolled out to public schools, from primary to secondary and tertiary levels, only a few schools have incorporated ICTs into their teaching curriculum.
In 1998, the Ministry of Education embarked on a programme to introduce computer studies in selected public secondary schools. But while the outcome of this initiative is not documented, it is quite obvious that the bulk of the schools and the pupils themselves have not benefited, owing to the scanty resources that have been invested in the project. Conversely, private schools appear to have performed better in promoting ICT literacy among their pupils.
ICT literacy has also been enhanced in well-to-do households that have access to computers, especially in urban areas. In urban areas the infrastructure is readily available to support ICT roll-out, affording opportunities to many people, including school pupils, to access educational materials online. This is, however, not the case in rural communities, where income levels are extremely low and people cannot afford computers. In addition, the infrastructural support to enable the use of ICTs in rural communities is almost non-existent: a lack of electricity and poor roads, among other requisites, makes it difficult to roll out ICTs to these underserved communities.
In order to integrate ICTs into teaching and learning, as well as education management, the ICT Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education was formed to develop an ICT policy for education. The policy will adapt and drive the educational provisions contained in the National ICT Policy and other government strategies on ICTs and education. The committee collaborated with the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and various other stakeholders to develop a draft policy which outlines guidelines on the development and implementation of ICTs for education, including teacher training, content development, distance education, financing, and administrative and support services.
While it can be stated that the country has an inadequate number of online sites that are actively engaged in servicing educational needs, especially educational materials for schools from primary to tertiary levels, some credible efforts have been made by different institutions in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. One key project, called ischool, is run by Africonnect, an internet service provider (ISP) and leading supplier of high-speed wireless broadband internet services in Zambia. Other projects are those run by IICD in conjunction with the Ministry of Education: Enhancing Educational Content (ENEDCO), Educational Support Network (ESNet) and the Global Teenager Project (GTP).
The ischool project was developed and implemented in 2007 and aims at empowering Zambian schoolchildren and communities at large so that they have access to information and educational content from across the world. The focus of the project is “to provide schools with sustainable internet connectivity, computers and learning materials and improve the quality of education delivery.”
The project has several components: acquisition of computers and necessary infrastructure; high-speed broadband internet connectivity; capacity building in the use of the internet; technical trouble-shooting skills; content development to generate education material based on the Zambian school curriculum; online courseware for self-directed study; and websites so that schools can promote themselves to a global audience.
The implementation period is divided into three phases, the first phase being a pilot stage which involved sixteen schools (2007-2008). Phase two involves 100 schools (the current stage of project), while the last phase will be a countrywide roll-out.
This project aims at enhancing educational content through the use of illustrations, animations and video that visually explain and demonstrate certain learning processes. This method has been used in capturing demonstrations in science laboratories on video for the purpose of explaining how certain science laboratory experiments can be done. IICD has been supporting Mpelembe Secondary School in the city of Kitwe to produce this kind of material for educational use at the school. The materials produced are packaged and made available online, and are also produced on multimedia devices like DVDs and CD-ROMs. The visual emphasis of the project has benefited other schools with no science laboratories and schools that are unable to afford expensive chemicals for use in science experiments.
The ESNet project, which is funded by IICD and managed by One World Africa (OWA), involves eight schools across the country. The goal of this initiative is to build ICT capacity among teaching staff for them to package locally developed handwritten materials, including teaching notes, into digital formats (i.e., website, DVDs and CD-ROMs). These will then be shared with other interested groups, especially other teachers and school pupils.
This project, which is managed by Trio Consult and also funded by IICD, is active in fifteen schools in the capital Lusaka and in Kitwe. This is a worldwide project that brings together about 600 schools from 32 countries around the globe to engage in online discussions on various issues and topics. The main focus of the project is to encourage intercultural consciousness and understanding, and catalyse structured interactions – especially online discussions – among schools and teachers through the use of ICTs. This system of learning is adopted from US educator Margaret Riel’s “learning circle” concept. The initiative also aims at identifying and promoting new techniques of learning and teaching that open new windows of opportunities for the youth.
Internet library facilities are in their formative stages, especially among colleges, universities and research institutions. However, the University of Zambia, the oldest and largest public university in the country, is making efforts to improve its online library. Currently, the library provides links to a variety of international journals covering a range of subjects and topics in various fields. The university plans to upgrade its e‑library services by making more electronic materials including student theses and other studies available. This service has not yet been launched.
The penetration of ICTs in the education sector remains low. However, it is worth noting the efforts being made by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with local and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The formulation of the ICT draft policy on education is a welcome move that will guide and drive the implementation of ICTs in education.
It is also encouraging to note that some private colleges and universities that have recently emerged have plans to scale up distance learning programmes and make educational materials available online to their students. The Zambia Open University is among them.
The hosting of an annual e‑learning conference since 2007 by the Ministry of Education is a commendable attempt to bring all ICT actors in Zambia together to share experiences, take stock of Zambia’s progress in relation to international trends, and chart the way towards sustainable education through the use of ICTs, especially online connectivity. Parallel to this annual event, Zambia will host the 5th International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training (e‑Learning Africa) in May 2010. The forum will attract delegates from various countries across the continent and will be an avenue for sharing developments and best practices among African countries in the development of ICTs for education.
The following measures should be put in place to address challenges that constrain widespread access to ICTs in schools:
- Roll out high-speed broadband connectivity to schools in underserved communities, especially in rural areas. Currently, the fibre-optic backbone being installed in some parts of the country ends up feeding the city and town centres, and does not reach the grassroots.
- Intensify the rural electrification programme as part of ICT infrastructure development.
- Waive/reduce the tax regime on imported computer hardware and software for schools and research institutes.
- Integrate ICT literacy into the school curriculum (from primary to tertiary level).
- Enhance the ICT skills of teachers in schools through capacity-building programmes.
- Tighten online security for schoolchildren who may become vulnerable and exposed to online intruders.
For the above milestones to be attained, collaborative efforts among all ICT actors and stakeholders (the state, policy makers, schools, communities, donors, ISPs, NGOs, etc.) are a must.
Ibid., p. 29.
Ministry of Communications and Transport (2007), op. cit., p. 49.
Chulu, K. (2009) Government endorses global cyber-security protocol, Times of Zambia World Telecommunication Day Supplement, 17 May, p. 9.
Subsequent to the 1998 programme. | <urn:uuid:e3f8f5d9-54d7-48ee-8335-b7decb36a849> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://giswatch.org/country-report/2009/zambia | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218190234.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212950-00599-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950879 | 2,966 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Period 6: THESE QUESTIONS WILL BE COMPLETED IN CLASS ON WEDNESDAY.
(Students in both classes should not forget to have reflection journals ready to turn in on Wednesday and Thursday.)
1. What trick does Huck play on Jim?
2. Why doesn't Huck turn in Jim?
3. Why don't the slave hunters get Jim?
4. Explain the differences between Huck and the hunters.
5. What is the bad luck in Chapter 16?
6. How does Huck get to the Grangerfords?
7. Why did Twain include this adventure with the Grangerfords? | <urn:uuid:d1437093-f21e-4b02-9391-74456c7d2687> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | http://tobiaskhs.weebly.com/english-11-2012-13/huckleberry-finn-study-questions-chapters-15-18 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550249495888.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20190223082039-20190223104039-00490.warc.gz | en | 0.937515 | 127 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Don’t you just love warm, filling and flavor packed tomato soup during the chilly winter days? I’m sure none of us can turn away from the sight of this delicious, red hued soup.
Tomato soup is one of the most commonly made soups in India. The tomatoes are first roasted, stewed and later pureed to make a creamy and rich juice. This healthy, low calorie food goes best with grilled sandwiches. You can serve it as a comforting lunch or as a sophisticated starter at a dinner party.
Tomato Soup Benefits for Health:
Each bowl of tomato soup simmers with several nutrients that are highly beneficial for health. It contains vitamin E, A, C, K, essential minerals and antioxidants that can keep you healthy and fit. The health benefits of tomato soup include:
1. Bone Health:
The vitamin K and calcium present in tomato soup can help you get healthy bones. Lycopene in tomato soup improves bone mass, fighting osteoporosis. Consuming tomato soup regularly reduces the blood levels of TNF alpha by 34%. A deficiency in lycopene can increase oxidative stress in the bones and bring unwanted changes in the tissues. You can keep these issues at bay by making tomato soup a regular during your meal times!
2. Cardiovascular Health:
The high levels of vitamin C in tomato soup provide arterial protection. It strengthens the heart and protects it from diseases like blockage of arteries and stroke. It reduces the deposition of fats in the blood vessels, reducing bad cholesterol. Tomato soup also prevents the clumping of platelet cells in the blood.
3. Disease-Fighting Lycopene:
As mentioned before, tomato soup comes packed with lycopene, the pigment that gives the fruit its bright color. Processed tomato contains more lycopene than raw ones. Lycopene neutralizes the oxidative damage caused by the free radicals, a molecule that causes ageing. A diet rich in lycopene can also help fight chronic diseases and stroke. A cup of tomato soup provides 13.3 milligrams of lycopene. That’s enough to keep your body fighting fit!
4. Blood Circulation:
Selenium in tomato soup promotes blood circulation, preventing anemia. One of the amazing benefits of tomato soup! One serving of tomato soup provides 7 micrograms of selenium, amounting to 11% of the daily recommended allowance.
5. Mental Health:
The high concentrations of copper in tomato soup boost to the nervous system. Potassium aids in the transmission of the nerve signals. All these ensures that your mental health remains top notch.
Tomato soup is an excellent source of vitamin A and C. Vitamin A is required for tissue development. It activates the genes of the newborn cells, helping it grow to a mature tissue. A bowl of tomato soup provides 16% of the daily-recommended value of vitamin A. Vitamin C is required to maintain healthy tendons and ligaments. Tomato soup provides 20% of the daily-recommended value of vitamin C. So, a bowl full of tomato soup a day can definitely help to keep the body healthy!
7. Weight Loss:
Tomato soup benefits weight loss, when prepared with olive oil. It can be very beneficial for those who are on a weight loss diet. It is rich in water and fiber that keeps you full for longer time. Dieters recommend tomato soup to burn off calories and fat deposits from the body. This is definitely a yummy way to lose weight, right?
Tomato soup contains antioxidants like lycopene and carotenoid, which can help prevent the possibility of cancer in both men and women. The high levels of antioxidants in tomato soup reduce oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. Consuming tomato soup thrice a week can help to prevent breast, prostate, and colon cancer. It also protects the body from stomach and colorectal cancer.
9. Male Fertility:
Researchers have claimed that a bowl of tomato soup daily can boost fertility in men. Lycopene in tomato soup can turn a sperm into super-sperm! In a research conducted by a university in Portsmouth, six healthy men were asked to consume tomato soup daily for 2 weeks. The results found a marked increase in their sperm count. Tomato soup also helps to scavenge free radicals, which can cause infertility in men. So, if you are trying to conceive, add tomato soup to your diet!
Tomato soup can be an excellent addition to a diabetic patient’s diet. It contains chromium, a mineral that helps in the regulation of blood sugar.
A Word of Caution:
The only disadvantage of tomato soup is its high sodium content. A bowl of tomato soup contains one-third of the daily limit. Excess consumption of sodium increases blood pressure, which can damage kidney, heart and blood vessels. If you are purchasing packaged tomato soup, select the one with lower sodium content.
I am sure you love tomato soup–most of us do! But now you can binge on it without feeling guilty. A bowl of tomato soup can be your health’s best friend!
Do you like tomato soup? Did you know it contained so many benefits? Do you have any special tomato soup recipe? Do share with us in the comments section below! | <urn:uuid:9d63e6cb-6e8b-47f6-95ab-0f91a6ff0e12> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://timesqure.com/10-amazing-health-benefits-uses-of/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046154127.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20210731234924-20210801024924-00230.warc.gz | en | 0.920273 | 1,090 | 2.59375 | 3 |
"True reconciliation of Aboriginal Peoples may only be achieved if efforts are made at the individual level - each person taking steps to understand other cultures and other ways of being with the land, and taking active steps to make the world a better place for all peoples."
When Canada was being settled the Dominion Government, or Federal Crown, assumed the responsibility of purchasing lands directly from Aboriginal Peoples and negotiating treaties. When Canada was formed upon Confederation, this role of the Federal Crown was incorporated into Canada’s Constitution Act of 1867 and provided it, and not the provinces, with authority over “Indians and lands reserved for Indians”. The Dominion (federal) government began to negotiate treaties across Canada, but failed to do so in British Columbia.
Title over lands and natural resources was vested in the provinces with an important limitation: Provincial title was subject to “any other interests other than that of the Provinces”. As early as 1880, Courts have confirmed that provincial Crown Title was subject to Aboriginal Title, which means that the Provinces may only obtain clear and complete title when Aboriginal Title is addressed.
In 1982, the protection of Aboriginal Rights and Aboriginal Title was entrenched in Canada’s Constitution Act, 1982, in section 35. Courts have interpreted section 35 of the Constitution Act as sanctioning challenges to government legislation and regulations where power is being exercised in a manner that affects Aboriginal Rights and Title or Treaty Rights, and providing an opportunity to reconcile Aboriginal and Crown title.
Since 1997, Canada’s highest court confirmed that Aboriginal Title was not extinguished in BC. The court also held that Aboriginal Title is a right to occupy the lands, is an interest in the land itself (not just a collection of rights to hunt, fish, trap), and is held collectively. The Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that Aboriginal Title pre-dates Canadian sovereignty, and is derived from aboriginal peoples’ historic use and occupation of the lands. The court also identified an “inescapable economic component”, as well as an “inherent limit”. This “inherent limit”, or sustainability limit, reflects the traditional First Nations’ respect for nature and the world. Canadian Aboriginal law provides a unique opportunity to apply sustainability principles into the long-term management of the land and marine environments.
Only a small portion of the lands in British Columbia are subject to treaties. In many cases, this leaves First Nations with limited or no access to lands and waters that once sustained their vibrant cultures, and without access to an economic land base. This dispossession, taken together with the history of Canada's relationship with Indigenous Peoples (residential schools, Canadian laws outlawing both cultural practices and the freedom to bring litigation to challenge the taking of aboriginal lands without first addressing Aboriginal Title and social pressures to leave traditional ways behind and assimilate into Canadian society), has resulted in socio-economic conditions far below national averages.
True reconciliation of Aboriginal Peoples may only be achieved if efforts are also made at the individual level — each person taking steps to understand other cultures and other ways of being with the land, and taking active steps to make the world a better place for all peoples. | <urn:uuid:2e1abeed-fcc2-4606-8066-bb53c682d17e> | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | http://www.ravencallingproductions.ca/aboriginal-title-and-rights-issues | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794870604.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20180528004814-20180528024814-00267.warc.gz | en | 0.953852 | 646 | 3.9375 | 4 |
Junk DNA Plays an Important Role in Development
My wife enjoys looking for antiques (and, to my horror, buying them.) For Amy, antiques are priceless treasures. From my standpoint, these relics from the past are just old junk.
For a number of years, biochemists thought that a vast proportion of the genomes of most organisms consisted of old “junk” DNA sequences that once had value, but were transformed into nonfunctional elements.
Evolutionary biologists consider the existence of “junk” DNA as one of the most potent pieces of evidence for biological evolution. According to this view, junk DNA results when undirected biochemical processes and random chemical and physical events transform a functional DNA segment into a useless molecular artifact. Junk pieces of DNA remain part of an organism’s genome solely because of its attachment to functional DNA. In this way, junk DNA persists from generation to generation.
Evolutionists also highlight the fact that in many instances identical (or nearly identical) segments of junk DNA appear in a wide range of related organisms. Frequently the identical junk DNA segments reside in corresponding locations in these genomes. For evolutionists, this clearly indicates that these organisms shared a common ancestor. Accordingly, the junk DNA segment arose prior to the time that the organisms diverged from their shared evolutionary ancestor. Evolutionists ask, “Why would a Creator purposely introduce nonfunctional, junk DNA at the exact location in the genomes of different, but seemingly related, organisms?”
Recent studies on junk DNA provide a response to this question, one that evolutionists find surprising, yet hard to deny. Junk DNA possesses function. (For a detailed discussion of some of these discoveries see Who Was Adam?
Transposable elements (TE) are mobile pieces of DNA that have highly repetitive sequences. TEs duplicate themselves and then randomly insert into the genome, presumably creating junk DNA along the way.
Biochemists have noted, however, that when compared across organisms, the sequences of many TEs are nearly identical or conserved. Biochemists consider sequence conservation an indicator of function. To say it another way, TEs are not junk. If a DNA sequence is functional, any change to the sequence as a result of a mutation would potentially render it nonfunctional. In principle, lost function would compromise the fitness of the organism. And natural selection would weed it out of the population, conserving the DNA sequence.
Like my wife in an antique mall, the researchers from Stanford and UC, Santa Cruz surveyed 10,402 sequences in the human genome to gain better understanding of the function of TEs. It turns out that TEs control the activity of transcription factors. These proteins regulate gene expression. TEs also control developmental genes. These genes regulate the developmental process as organisms transform from an embryo into an adult form.
Interestingly, many of the functional TEs reside in gene deserts, vast regions in the genome devoid of genes. Based on this new research, it looks as if these genetic wastelands are replete with functional oases. In fact, one of the researchers noted that gene deserts are better described as “regulatory jungles”
The recognition that junk DNA has function weakens the best argument for biological evolution and common descent. It also explains why identical junk DNA sequences occur in corresponding regions of the genomes of related organisms. The precise location of TEs is critical for these sequences to properly regulate gene activity.
Junk DNA appears to be a valuable antique reflecting the enduring design of a Divine Craftsman, and not a trinket destined for the trash. | <urn:uuid:fa848f4e-bc4b-4384-ac0e-3b6cde459f19> | CC-MAIN-2021-39 | https://reasons.org/explore/publications/articles/junk-dna-regulates-gene-expression | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-39/segments/1631780057589.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20210925021713-20210925051713-00484.warc.gz | en | 0.926603 | 735 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Social Science: Anthropology - General eBooks
Anthropology is the academic study of humanity. It deals with all that is characteristic of the human experience, from physiology and the evolutionary origins to the social and cultural organization of human societies as well as individual and collective forms of human experience. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences.
Use our eBook search to find a specific book or author.
Top 10 Social Science
- Marijuana Made Simple
- Between Good and Ghetto
- The Post-Soviet Russian Media: Conflicting Signals
- The American War in Contemporary Vietnam: Transnational Remembrance and Representation
- Twilight of the Goths
- On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes
- The Happiness Equation: The Surprising Economics of Our Most Valuable Asset
- Media and Society: A Critical Perspective
- The Revolution Was Televised: The Cops, Crooks, Slingers, and Slayers Who Change | <urn:uuid:a7b541cb-c77f-40e7-9b62-fd9b78230d12> | CC-MAIN-2013-48 | http://www.ebookmall.com/categories/social-science-anthropology-general | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1387345776444/warc/CC-MAIN-20131218054936-00073-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.847799 | 202 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Throughout the 1990s, the Bolivian women’s movement was ideologically polarized between a liberal, NGO-based “gender technocracy” and the anarcha-feminism embodied in the Mujeres Creando (Women Creating) movement. Between them stood the great majority of the country’s female population—a huge contingent of women of indigenous descent living in a colonized condition. Neither the technocratic nor the anarchist tendency considered them the subject of political representation.
Today, the correlation of forces that predominated until recently is beginning to change. This is largely the result of the starring role played by women’s grassroots organizations in the social mobilizations that destabilized the neoliberal order. That upheaval launched a new period in Bolivia’s political history, one best characterized as the era of “indigenous nationalism.” Since the inauguration of Bolivia’s first indigenous president, Evo Morales, these indigenous women’s groups (both rural and urban) have come to be perceived as the legitimate representatives of large women’s majorities. At the same time, the women’s movement has significantly realigned its political stances vis-à-vis the challenges of decolonization and radical democratization represented in the platform of Morales’ party, the Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement Toward Socialism, MAS).
The NGO Movement: Gender Technocracy
The term gender technocracy was coined by autonomous Latin American feminists as a useful concept to differentiate the elite of professional women associated with NGOs working on gender-related issues from what they considered an authentic feminist movement, struggling from a fundamentally anti-patriarchal position. Bolivia’s gender technocracy was born in the mid-1980s, when international cooperation funds for development projects with a “gender approach” became available. This signaled the export of the liberal version of northern-hemisphere feminism—hegemonic since its institutionalization in the United Nations—to peripheral countries through bi- and multilateral development cooperation programs. In fact, the regulating discourse of “gender and development” was made possible thanks to the cooperation agencies’ solid institutional resources and their capacity to permeate state policies in peripheral countries. This partly explains why gender technocracy’s discourse has been unable to this day to address grassroots women’s consciousness, and even less to address the state from the “bottom up,” with demands that represent the majority of women’s interests and aspirations as women.
As NGOs arrived on the political scene, a new form of mediation developed between civil society and the state. Grassroots organizations increasingly became the “beneficiaries” of NGO projects, while NGOs began to identify themselves as “representatives” of civil society to the state and cooperation agencies. This was the case of NGOs such as Fundación San Gabriel and Caritas Bolivia, which operated food aid programs. Other NGOs, such as Fundación Tierra, Instituto Politécnico Tupak Katari and El Centro de Promoción de la Mujer Gregoria Apaza (CPMGA), also appeared in this period. (1)
Gender technocracy was organized along two axes: a state regulating body and the women’s NGOs that worked closely with it. Together they played a key role in framing the discourse of gender inequality as—solely—a matter of state management. That is why women’s NGOs increasingly took on a quasi-public-sector role, a development that took place in the context of “democratization” after the fall of the 1970s military regimes. This helped legitimize what was in fact a co-optation of the movements by the neoliberal state.
The main characteristic of the women’s NGO movement is that it builds its demands on the principles of UN conventions, rather than on a dialogue with Bolivian women about their needs. Gender technocracy thus differs from the rest of women’s organizations because its main goal has not been to confront specific relations of gender subordination in Bolivia, but rather to mitigate the poor life conditions of marginal women through short-term programs that follow UN dictates. “Influencing state policies from a gender and development perspective”—as the mission statements of practically all the gender NGOs put it—has been the real goal, yet the question of where this influence, and its legitimacy, would come from was never debated, either by the gender technocracy or by the cooperation agencies; no such debate was required as long as the technocracy was thought of as “representing” women’s interests and demands.
By accommodating the political style of each administration, the technocratic NGOs ended up endorsing the government’s social programs, beginning with the structural-adjustment package implemented in 1985. Most of them also offered near unconditional support for the popular participation project launched by President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada in 1995, which obliged social organizations to reorganize on a territorial basis, in close relationship with municipal-level political party structures, thus removing their autonomy and denaturalizing them. This was also the case with microenterprise policies, which decreased the value of labor power (that is, they depressed salaries), particularly that of the female workforce.
Finally, we have the problem of reducing women’s political participation to a matter of power quotas within formal political structures. Within the framework of Sánchez de Lozada’s reforms, the gender technocracy launched an aggressive campaign to require that 30% of all candidates in national and municipal elections be women. The quota worked to consolidate male leadership within the political parties’ patriarchal structures, rather than to actually promote the representation of women’s interests. Elite urban women linked to the leadership of right-wing parties mainly benefited. Indigenous women’s leadership, in contrast, emerged from social movements that have become political parties, including the MAS and the Movimiento Indígena Pachacuti. (2)
Thus, the class nature of gender technocracy reveals itself in two basic dimensions: First, as part of the NGO conglomerate, it has played an important role in legitamizing neoliberal policies. Second, it has maintained a strategic alliance with the neoliberal state and international cooperation agencies—an alliance key to its survival—obligating gender NGOs to define their roles very little in relation to civil society and women, or to women’s interests, needs and aspirations.
There is, however, a third aspect of gender technocracy’s class nature that has only lately manifested, and is now possible to name, in the current context of changing correlation of forces between mestizo and colonized society—a context that typifies the MAS era. (By “colonized society,” I refer to the population of predominantly indigenous heritage, which according to the last census of 2002, represents 62.2% of Bolivia’s population.) I will develop this point further in the last section of this article.
During the neoliberal period, the political parties gave birth to new women’s political organizations that were closely aligned with the gender technocracy, such as the Foro Político de Mujeres (Women’s Political Forum), the Asociación de Mujeres Parlamentarias (Association of Congresswomen ) and the Asociación de Concejalas de Bolivia (Association of Councilwomen of Bolivia). These groups’ aim was to promote the rights of women elected to public offices. They typically reproduced the ethnic and class divisions of traditional political parties.
The Mujeres Creando Movement and the Feminist Assembly
At the other end of the spectrum of the women’s movement, we find the anarcha-feminist movement Mujeres Creando, situated generally within the autonomous Latin American feminist camp. Autonomy here is defined in terms of the state and political parties (according to the principle of “no to co-optation”) and NGOs (“no to mediation”). Consistent with this autonomist position, the movement has followed an independent and unique path with regard to the processes of political reconfiguration and policy making. Its actions derive from a politics of the everyday-private, and they seek to make an impact both at the macro-level of structural problems, and at the level of the microphysics of power, in which collective subjectivities are structured and power and domination find a privileged space of reproduction and legitimacy. The movement is remarkable for its strategy, based on deconstructing symbols and languages of patriarchal domination in a context of internal colonialism. Its weapons range from graffiti, television shows and the press to silent theater, poetry and workshops.
The movement was key in sustaining two of the most important colonized women’s mobilizations: the women coca growers’ march of 1995 and the microcredit women debtors’ mobilization of 1999. In both cases Café Carcajada, the headquarters of Mujeres Creando, served as a space to strategize and as a lodge for women who arrived from different parts of the country. (3) Though small in membership, this movement has a far ideological reach and remains the only one in Bolivia that advances its political demands from a standpoint of gender subalternity. Mujeres Creando has contributed greatly to naming patriarchy as a specific form of domination that Bolivian society at large cannot yet recognize in its true dimensions.
Having rejected any kind of long-lasting alliances and stable structure, the movement must now work with other sectors of mobilized women. The Feminist Assembly, founded in 2004, has been working to join forces with the women of indigenous and peri-urban organizations; it proposes to be a parallel to the Constituent Assembly.
The Bartolina Sisa National Federation of Peasant Women
From nonfeminist positions and at the margin of the gender-and-development discourse, there exist important women’s organizations within the major contemporary social movements. The most salient are the Federación Nacional de Mujeres Campesinas Bartolina Sisa (the Bartolina Sisa National Federation of Bolivian Peasant Women, or FNMCB-BS by its Spanish acronym) and the neighborhood councils. Although the latter comprises both men and women, its members are mostly women; both are made up of indigenous-descended women to a greater or lesser degree.
Born in the late 1970s within the Confederación Sindical Única de Trabajadores Campesinos de Bolivia (the Sole Trade Union Confederation of Peasant Workers of Bolivia, or CSUTCB), the Bartolina Sisa Federation stands out as the only organization of indigenous women in the country. It is also the most important women’s organization, not only because as part of the indigenous and peasant movement it has made the most radical demands on the colonialist state, but also because it represents the largest section of the women’s movement, with a membership that reaches over 100,000 women and a trade-union structure that reaches from the national executive directors to community-level producer’s associations.
Since its creation, the Federation has been torn between an autonomist and an integrationist trend—in reference to the CSUTCB’s sexist ideology and patriarchal structures—a conflict that has taken its political toll and resulted in a significant loss in membership from which the group has recovered only in recent years. The Federation might well have separated from the CSUTCB, had it not been for its deliberate choice in 2004 to “stay with its brothers in the struggle for decolonization,” as some Federation executives said in a recent interview with the author.
This women’s organization is in the vanguard of the indigenous movement, being one of the nine organizations that founded the Pacto de Unidad (Covenant for Unity) in June 2006. The FNMCB-BS brings together peasant women from different sectors of agricultural production and is based on a solid organizational structure throughout Bolivia’s nine departments (national territories analogous to states in the U.S. or provinces in Canada).
Having been an anti-systemic organization under previous political regimes, the FNMCB-BS is now entering a conciliatory phase vis-à-vis the state. This partly results from government initiatives to establish a direct dialogue with social movements and their grassroots organizations. Policies in this direction are currently being developed by the Presidential Ministry and the recently created Vice Ministry of Coordination With Social Movements.
The Neighborhood Councils Movement
Besides the indigenous movement, the second outstanding movement in Bolivia’s contemporary history is that of the neighborhood councils. The councils represent that intermediary social category standing between the urban and the rural, comprising a large sector of indigenous people who are becoming urbanized. Having emerged from the territorial restructuring policies of neoliberal reforms, the councils have ironically taken a leading role in building demands for radical social change through a “politics of basic needs” that is closely connected to a powerful discourse of nationalization. This began with the Water War of 2000 and was later reasserted in the October 2003 uprising known as the Gas War. Together with the peasant and indigenous movement, the neighborhood councils in the western cities of La Paz and El Alto played a key role in the wave of mobilizations that both put an end to the neoliberal administrations of Sánchez de Lozada and Carlos Mesa and resulted in the popular demand for early elections and Morales’ victory in January 2006.
The confluence of the neighborhood movement’s basic-needs politics with the demands for indigenous sovereignty (such as refounding the state through a constituent assembly, new territorial divisions and redistributing land) has resulted in a new kind of nationalism that imagines an indigenous form of citizenship built on reappropriating natural resources for the benefit of Bolivians. It is precisely in the two key elements of nationalization and indigenous identity that the two movements, neighborhood and indigenous, find common ground for decolonization. (4) Both the women of the neighborhood councils and of the FNMCB-BS speak from the standpoint of the ethnic subaltern. Using a discourse of decolonization, they advocate an “indigenous” subject vis-à-vis a state that has reproduced colonial social relations between a mestizo society and an indigenous one. This is changing who gets to represent women’s interests and demands, with that role rapidly shifting to women’s grassroots organizations, while the NGO technocracy is losing its legitimacy.
The Impact of the MAS Government on Women’s Organizations
Morales’ rise to power has no doubt had a strong impact on Bolivian society. A realignment of forces is under way, as distinct social sectors respond differently to a process of decolonization that implies a qualitative change in relations between mestizo and colonized society. This is related not only to changes in the correlation of forces among the traditionally dominant classes, but also with nationalization, land redistribution and—for the technocratic political class—the loss of monopoly over the institutions and its concurrent loss of prestige. In this framework, the loss of symbolic and material power in some social sectors becomes evident. For the women’s movement this means a real change in the correlation of forces between mestizo women’s organizations and indigenous-based (urban and/or rural) women’s organizations. It is a critical moment for the technocratic middle class, particularly the NGOs, partly because their legitimacy is being seriously questioned, but also because they have resisted—rather than adjusted to—the new state of affairs. NGOs refuse to accept that decolonization implies at least the partial renouncement of the mediating role they have played between the state and civil society. However, their greatest fear probably lies in the possibility of finding themselves on an equal footing with their beneficiaries, with a government that favors direct dialogue with grassroots organizations.
Some NGOs are attempting to reorganize clearly counterrevolutionary projects. This is the case of We Bet for Bolivia, a project that was initially created during the transitional phase of the Mesa administration to stamp the Constituent Assembly with a “constitutional” agenda that radically differed from social movements’ “foundational” proposals. Put together by four traditional NGOs, (5) We Bet for Bolivia has now relaunched with the new aim of gaining “social control over the revenues of nationalized hydrocarbons” with the support of the Revenue Watch Institute, a U.S. organization. These programs signal that NGOs will not easily renounce their mediating role, even if they have to seek legitimacy from external circuits.
Beyond today’s potential opportunities for women’s grassroots organizations, there remains the issue of linking the national-decolonizing project advocated by these organizations with the patriarchal emancipation project proposed from relatively isolated—but not irrelevant—feminist positions, such as those of Mujeres Creando, the Feminist Assembly and, with significant differences, the author of this text herself. Women’s organizations in Bolivia are still conservative, and it is not clear up to what point they will adopt a double claim of gender and ethnic subordination, although this may well be possible within the FNMCB-BS. To a great extent this will depend on the ability of the women in these movements to think critically about the gender dimension of power and democracy. It will also depend on the efforts and initiatives of the (few) feminists who work in this milieu, and—largely—on whether grassroots organizations such as the FNMCB-BS, the neighborhood councils and new groups will gain access to real resources.
There is no doubt that women’s organizations’ autonomy within social movements is a fundamental issue. If efforts do not converge in this direction, their participation will remain critical for mobilizing, but invisible in terms of decision making and political leadership. Strategic gender needs6 will be indefinitely postponed as long debates on the topic fail to address the issue of internal colonialism and its reproduction mechanisms. There is still much work to be done in order to achieve this articulation. What is clear is that emancipation from patriarchy in Bolivia is not unrelated to emancipation from internal colonialism, since it is precisely in its fabric where gender identity and ethnic subordination are simultaneously constituted. Indeed, this topic remains largely unexplored.
1. The CPMGA and Fundación La Paz are specifically women’s NGOs, while the others include a gender component in their development projects. As a church institution, Caritas is the oldest.
2. See Karin Monasterios P. and Luis Tapia, Partidos y participación política de las mujeres de El Alto (La Paz: Centro de Promoción de la Mujer Gregoria Apaza, 2001).
3. A thorough account of Mujeres Creando’s mobilization strategies and its philosophical positions can be found in a paper I presented at the XXIV International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association (2003). The paper, titled “La tecnocracia de género y el feminismo autónomo de Mujeres Creando: Los extravíos de la representación de las mujeres en Bolivia y los desafíos de la acción directa,” represents the first attempt from academia to theorize the work of Mujeres Creando.
4. For further discussions on this topic, see Álvaro García Linera, “La crisis de estado y las sublevaciones indígena-plebeyas,” in Alvaro García Linera, Raúl Prada and Luis Tapia, eds., Memorias de Octubre (La Paz: Muela del Diablo, 2004).
5. I am referring to Fundación Tierra, CPMGA, Acción Cultural Loyola and the Centro de Investigación y Promoción del Campesinado. The last two are closely tied to the Catholic Church in Bolivia.
6. Strategic gender needs are those that allow women to challenge their subordination within the gendered division of labor and gendered structures of power more generally, and range from equal rights legislation to reproductive choice. See Maxine Molyneux, “Mobilisation Without Emancipation? Women’s Interests, State and Revolution in Nicaragua,” in David Slater, ed., New Social Movements and the State in Latin America (Amsterdam: CEDLA, 1985), 233–259.
Karin Monasterios P. is a sociologist and, until recently, a women’s studies professor at the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, in La Paz, Bolivia. She is now an adviser on indigenous and gender issues to the Morales government. This article is an updated version of “The Women’s Movement,” which originally appeared in the October 2004 issue of Barataria, a quarterly journal based in La Paz. | <urn:uuid:4a78ad5c-c73c-451f-8316-a4a02f30b892> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | http://nacla.org/news/bolivian-women%E2%80%99s-organizations-mas-era | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917125532.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031205-00060-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940143 | 4,352 | 2.625 | 3 |
In the past few years, security analysts have been able to take advantage of AI and machine learning tools to better identify cyberthreats. However, as adversaries grow smarter with more advanced attacks, what extent are hackers taking advantage of AI technology?
Staying on top of the latest innovations in technology has helped cybersecurity professionals around the world battle the growing, malicious cyberthreat landscape. With new artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools, analysts are able to identify and stop threats before they have the opportunity to cause serious damage. But threats continue to grow in sophistication, and adversaries grow smarter with more advanced attacks, which begs the question: to what extent are hackers taking advantage of AI technology?
A few years ago, data scientists John Seymour and Philip Tully revealed the results of their experiment to see who was more skilled at getting Twitter users to click on phishing links--humans or SNAP_R (Social Media Automated Phishing and Reconnaissance), an AI tool trained to study the behaviors of users and implement its own bait.
SNAP_R lured 275 out of 800 attempted victims, while the human in the study lured 49 users out of 129 attempts. The results of the study proved to data scientists and cybersecurity professionals that AI is highly capable of extracting data from people, and hackers are well aware of this. With proper training, AI and machine learning tools can act similarly to regular users.
How hackers may use machine learning technologies
As stated above, the type of aggression SNAP_R launched was a phishing attack, designed to mask an adversary as a legitimate person or entity to retrieve sensitive information. However, this is not the only type of malicious initiative hackers can perform using AI.
Below are some other ways digital adversaries may be able to access your information.
1. Using “botnets”
‘IoT’ has been an equally trending topic the past few years. In fact, it is projected that there will be over 20.4 billion IoT devices by 2020. However, the downside is that, at times, when one device is compromised, that could lead to an entire network of devices being controlled by adversaries.
Botnets are collections of IoT devices composed of malware. By installing the malware, attackers can compromise one of the devices and communicate the data being transmitted through them to an outside party. These automated botnets can mimic the typical AI/machine learning capabilities of IoT devices. As the cyberthreats continue to advance as well as the number of IoT devices in the world, attackers might use this to their advantage.
2. Sophisticated malware
Security vendors all around the world have been trained on how to detect malware and eradicate it from a piece of hardware or network. However, malware writers can also code their malware to avoid detection using the same tactics as security professionals.
In 2018, IBM Research introduced DeepLocker, tools using AI designed to execute attacks. The project, which was built to better understand how existing AI models can be combined with malware, was a type of malware that could conceal its intent until it reached their victim. These types of attacks are so dangerous because they easily fall under the radar, leading to hacker dwell time and more devastating breaches.
3. Gaining access to machine learning-powered threat analytics
An important part of any cybersecurity strategy today is incorporating machine learning to wean out any false positives in your threat detection. The AI-driven technologies take some of the burden off security professionals who are exposed to thousands of alerts per day.
However, hackers may abuse these analytics simply by overloading the systems with too many alerts. Even the best of machine-learning technologies and security professionals can be overwhelmed by too many false positives. The attacker can overwhelm the system and generate many false positives, and while the system is calibrating to filter out the false threats, the hacker can launch a real attack.
Preempting the damage
While adversaries do have access to the same AI and machine learning technologies that the cybersecurity professionals do, but companies have ample time to get prepared. In the meantime, before attackers have the ability to cause devastating effects for people around the world, cybersecurity professionals can teach their AI-powered devices to avoid these attacks.
All AI technologies learn from whatever humans expose them to. According to MIT Technology Review, one of the best ways to protect artificial intelligence from attacks is to show it what an attack might look like from another AI-powered machine.
Google researcher Ian Goodfellow explained that generative adversarial networks (GANs), a type of AI that makes use of two networks trained on the same data, can utilize each other to understand which input is synthetic and what is real. One creates sets of fake and real data for the other to sort through and learn from.
We still have a long way to go before we see a complete AI-powered mega breach from hackers so there is plenty of time for enterprises to get prepared. | <urn:uuid:0334bd3b-d779-47c9-aa54-6e66e189d894> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | https://it.toolbox.com/guest-article/how-hackers-may-be-able-to-take-advantage-of-ai | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593655883961.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20200704011041-20200704041041-00024.warc.gz | en | 0.951384 | 998 | 3.171875 | 3 |
- The children come to the front to hear a
reading about the visit of the Magi. Three children are carrying one of
the Magi's gifts each.
discussion leader asks the children questions about the story, to draw
out the differences between popular versions (such as the Epiphany carol
We Three Kings) and the Bible story. For example, how many
visitors were there and what kind of visitors were they?
children holding the gifts are invited to stand in front of the others,
and there is a discussion about each gift and its meaning. The
chocolate coins could be shared out at the end.
children or adults for the reading.
children to be the wise men.
- An adult
to lead the discussion.
- The Bible
reading, either from Matthew 2:1-12 or from a children's
chocolate coins in a treasure box, fancy purse or similar
you could use either incense or incense sticks.
you could use an anointing oil, or simply a small ornamental jar with a
lid to represent the myrrh.
children enjoy dressing up. You could provide cloaks for the
children who are carrying the three gifts. The children might also expect
to wear crowns, which will lead usefully into the discussion.
- Pass out
the reading and the three gifts at the beginning of the
- In the
Bible the visitors are 'magi' rather than kings, and although three gifts
are mentioned we are never told how many visitors there were, much less
their names (as in the carol). "Magi" were wise men who studied
- What did
the wise men's gifts mean? Talk about the value of gold and the
sort of people we might expect to have a lot of it today: the wise men
brought gold for a King.
- Light the
incense or incense sticks so that the children can smell it. What happens
to the smoke? It rises - and when it is used in worship, whether
in ancient times or in churches today, it represents our prayers rising
to God. The wise men brought incense for a Priest.
about the myrrh: in Jesus' time it would have been associated with death
- with younger children you might decide that this is all that you will
say - because of its use as an embalming ointment and as funereal
incense. The wise men brought myrrh for One who would die for
- The wise
men faced hardship and danger in order to worship Jesus. They
showed the sort of determination and wisdom that we all need to follow
Him today. You might also talk about what intelligent, educated men they
would have been. The media can tend to portray religious people as simple
folk who can't think for themselves, and religion itself as an easy
option. But these men were the scientists of their day and they were
prepared to travel a long way and suffer great dangers and hardship for
what they believed. They had sought the evidence for their beliefs, and
now they were prepared to act on them. In many ways they are a model for
- Herod accepted Christ's importance just as
much as the wise men did - but he responded with fear and violence. We
all need to make a choice about what we believe about Jesus - and about
how we will respond. | <urn:uuid:9ef71004-6d4f-43e3-ba94-2b5bd10f45a9> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | http://www.fossedeanery.distin.co.uk/children/allage/teaching/Yearly_Epiphany.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257647251.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20180320013620-20180320033620-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.962948 | 717 | 3.890625 | 4 |
About 75% of the confirmed or predicted Y-DNA Haplogroups for project members are R1b1a2 and its subclades with R-L193 and R-M222 being the most common. Member results are grouped by terminal SNP where this has been confirmed which has allowed us to group individuals with a recent common ancestor. For example, SNP L193 is believed to have emerged within the last 1200 years or so. Results during the past year from Big Y testing and skilled interpretation by haplogroup projects is providing a steady stream of downstream SNPs which is allowing us to identify clusters of members sharing ever more recent common ancestors.
Not only did the MacLean and MacLaine clans play an important part in the history of Scotland and the rest of the world but they are an ancient clan with recorded chiefly lines back to the 13th (and probably 12th century). This presents us with a great opportunity to review genealogical records and DNA evidence within the same historical context. This has to be one of the project’s long-term aims.
mtDNA ResultsJust as the Y chromosome follows the paternal line, mitochondrial DNA testing follows the maternal line. This hits an immediate problem in surname projects such as ours because a woman’s surname usually changes on marriage and her daughters will normally take their father’s surname and not their mother’s. Accordingly, we would expect to see a much wider variation in DNA origins when looking at mitochondrial results for one particular surname (see mtDNA Results on project pages)
Further Planned Research
- Make use of the new discoveries coming out of Next Generation Testing such as Big Y to allow us to increase the granularity of the subgrouping of our Y-DNA results, bringing them ever closer to the period covered by traditional genealogy.
- Study surname distributions in Scotland and Ireland to form a basis for linking social history with genealogical research.
- If possible, investigate the chiefly lines of the clans which provide an unbroken male ancestry back to 13th century Scotland.
The MacLean/MacLaine project covers the narrow field of one specific surname but the Scottish DNA project http://www.familytreedna.com/groups/Scottishdna/ has a wider brief covering all individuals with unbroken paternal or maternal Scottish lineage.
Our project accepts anyone with our surname irrespective of their DNA profile but many of the registered FTDNA projects take the opposite view, ie membership is open to those with a similar DNA profile irrespective of surname. One such project whose work is relevant to ours is the R1b-L513 haplogroup project http://www.familytreedna.com/groups/R-L513/ into which many MacLeans etc fall from which very valuable and groundbreaking research is emerging.
Researcher Ann Stansbarger published a paper (July 2012) where she investigated a cluster of similar results within the 11-13 Combo Project, the single largest group comprising 23 MacLean/MacLaines. (Members of this group are R1b and SNP of L21 but are specifically defined by marker values 406S1=11 and 617=13.) The aim of her paper was to calculate the Time to the Most Recent Common Ancestor (TMRCA) and her conclusions confirmed that the MRCA of the cluster calculated from DNA mutation rates was consistent with the 12th to 13th century recorded ancestors of the MacLean/MacLaine chiefly line. | <urn:uuid:e64cc278-9a9d-4958-96fb-ace4d8371bf8> | CC-MAIN-2015-48 | https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/clanmaclean/about/results | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398457127.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205417-00192-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939085 | 711 | 2.75 | 3 |
A word ending with e usually doesn't have a vowel at the end like bike and strike, so why is Nike different?
Because Nike was the Greek goddess of victory (see Wikipedia) and final 'e's are not silent in Greek. Similarly, the final 'e' should be pronounced in the name Irene, as it is in other Greek-derived names like Chloe, Zoe and Phoebe.
English spelling does not have a one-to-one relationship with English pronunciation, so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that "Nike" does not rhyme with "bike" and "strike" (except for when it does—apparently, there are some speakers who don't use the "official", disyllabic pronunciation for the brand).
"Nike" is from a Greek word-form, unlike "bike" and "strike"
To answer the question about why: "bike" and "strike" are spelled with the "silent e" that in present-day English is used to indicate a "long vowel" pronunciation. ("Bike" is an oddly formed shortening of "bicycle", coined fairly recently; "strike" comes from an Old English verb that had long /iː/.)
The "e" in Nike serves a different function: as Kate Bunting mentioned, this word is derived from Greek νίκη/Νίκη, meaning "victory/Victory (capitalized when used to refer to the goddess personifying the idea of victory)". The letter "e" in English "Nike" is a transliteration of the Greek letter η (eta).
The "traditional" English pronunciation of Latin and Greek
The Great Vowel Shift established a "traditional English pronunciation of Latin" (also used for Greek words) that continued to be used as a system for some time
There exists a tradition of pronouncing Latin words in English with certain characteristically English vowel qualities, and a tradition of pronouncing Greek words as if they were Latin words. Janus Bahs Jacquet referenced the Great Vowel Shift in a comment; this tradition did originate from this sound change, but my understanding is that not all words pronounced according to this tradition were actually taken into English before the Great Vowel Shift (which according to Wikipedia is thought to have occured approximately between 1400 and 1600).
It became an established convention for pronouncing all Latin and Greek words used in English, including words that were borrowed at some point after the Great Vowel Shift (although alternative systems have also existed alongside this system for a long time).
In the traditional English pronunciation of Latin, word-final "-e" is pronounced like the "-y" in "happy"
Word-final "e" in the traditional English pronunciation of Latin and Greek is typically pronounced with the same vowel as the word "happy"; sometimes represented in the IPA as /i/. I'm not totally sure of the history of this pronunciation (in traditional British "Received Pronunciation", this is not quite the same vowel as "long e"; it's instead considered to be the same vowel as "short i"). But it applies to Greek names ending in "e" like Nike, Calliope etc. the same as it applies to Latin words like simile, sine or carpe.
(There actually has been a tendency for word-final "e" to be reinterpreted as "silent e" in a number of words or phrases from Latin, such as "vice versa", "bona fide" and "rationale". However, as far as I know, this kind of reinterpretation has not yet come to be considered standard for the name "Nike".)
Alternative pronunciations exist for some words from Latin and Greek, but not for Nike as far as I know
The "traditional English pronunciation of Latin" (and Greek) is also why the i in "Nike" is pronounced as an English "long i" (IPA /aɪ/). The i's in via and viva are sometimes pronounced the same way. A competing "restored" or Continental-European-style pronunciation uses the English "long e"/"ee" sound (IPA /iː/). The restored pronunciation and English-style pronunciation have competed for a while; I forget exactly when the English-style pronunciation stopped being used in Latin pedagody in England. (It seems to have occured before 1920: John Sargeaunt's description published that year of The Pronunciation of English Words derived from the Latin says "This pronunciation is now out of fashion".)
But I have never heard of /niːki(ː)/, /niːkeɪ/ or /niːkɛ/ being a common pronuncation in present-day English. The pronunciation of a vowel in a word from Greek or Latin according to one pronunciation system or the other is often inconsistent and hard to explain; e.g. restored /ɑː/ is almost always used nowadays in the word "drama", but fairly rarely used in the word "data" (a word that also shows variation, apparently especially in American English, between a pronunciation with English "long a"—which is what would be regular according to the "traditional" system—and one with English "short a").
The only alternative that seems to exist is the spelling-pronunciation /naɪk/ mentioned in the first sentence and in the comments above.
(The name "Irene", as Kate Bunting mentioned, also comes from a Greek form ending in η. The pronunciation ending in /n/ might be a spelling pronunciation; I think I have also read an alternative explanation of it as possibly being influenced by the pronunciation of the French form Irène. Final vowels in Latin/Greek words correspond to "mute e" a bit more often in French than in present-day English; another similar example is the word systole, from Ancient Greek συστολή, where the final "e" is mute in French but not in standard present-day English.)
History of the transliteration "Nike": my amateur findings
I'm confident that "Nike" is pronounced /ˈnaɪki/ in accordance with the "traditional English pronunciation of Latin", but as I mentioned, I am less certain about when this pronunciation became established, since the earliest use of "Nike" in English that the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) records is from 1846:
T. S. Carr Man[ual of] Classical Mythol[ogy] xvi. 144 Nike..or ‘Victory’, was the daughter of Pallas & Styx, and was greatly honoured by the Greeks... Sometimes she is repersented as borne in the hand of Minerva.
Actually, looking through Google Books there seem to be at least a few somewhat older examples:
..and that dedicated to Nike Apteros, or Wingless Victory.
And there is a slightly older example of "NIKE" being used as the transliteration of the word in reference to the concept of victory, rather than the goddess:
1827-8, The Botanic Garden:
A Greek etymology has been given to it [the name Veronica] from PHERO, to bear ; and NIKE, victory
The 19th century may seem a bit late for the first recorded occurences in English of a name that dates back to antiquity. My guess is that it may have been more common in the past to simply spell the word/name in the Greek alphabet, which used to be more commonly used in scholarly works in English than it is presently. And rather than giving a transliteration of the Greek, a translation as "victory/Victory" or a Latin translation "victoria/Victoria" might be given alongside (or simply instead of) the Greek-alphabet spelling.
Some examples of "Νίκη/ΝΙΚΗ" being used without transliteration in English texts from before the 1840s:
1813, The Monthly Magazine, "M. Fauvel's Letters from Athens":
On the car is written ΧΡΥΣΟΣ; on the victorious Genius ΝΙΚΗ, and on the third one ΠΛΟΤΟΣ.
VICTORIA, one of the deities of the Romans, called by the Greeks νικη, supposed to be the daughter of Titian and Styx.
1823: "Universal Technological Dictionary", George Crabb:
...this æra is marked on coins with the inscription ΕΤΟΥΣ ΝΙΚΗ, i. e. the year of victory.
"Nice": an alternative transliteration that I don't think has been used much
A transliteration more along the lines of conventional Classical Latin adaptation of Greek loanwords into Latin would use C instead of K, resulting in "Nice" (compare "cinematic" and "kinematic" for a similar example of variation that is actually lexicalized). The regular pronunciation of this would be /ˈnaɪsi/, although I guess it's impossible to know for sure how people actually intended for it to be pronounced (some people apparently pronounce "encephalitis" with a /k/ sound, despite the spelling).
It's been hard for me to find evidence of "Nice" being used to refer to the Greek goddess of victory, because it has certain homographs that are more common: the adjective "nice", the French place-name "Nice"—which interestingly enough actually is derived from Greek νίκη—and the place name "Nice" that was used in the past to refer to the ancient city of Nic(a)ea in Anatolia, location of the Christian ecumenical council called the "First Council of Nicaea" or "First Council of Nice".
But "Nice" is used in at least one source as a transliteration of the name of this goddess:
VICTORIA, one of the deities of the Romans, called by the Greeks Nice, supposed to be the daughter of the giant Pallas, or of Titian and Styx.
As you can see, it appears to be a revised version of the 1819 Pantalogia entry that used "νικη".
The transliteration "Nice" for the name of a mythological human woman, and for the non-personified concept of victory, seems to occur in Bell's New Pantheon (1790) and in A Dictionary of Polite Literature, Or, Fabulous History of the Heathen Gods (1804):
NICE. Daughter of Thespius.
NICE MARATHONI. A Grecian anniversary observed by Athenians upon the 6th of Boedromion, in memory of that famous victory which Miltiades obtained over the Persians at Marathon.
The related name "Berenice" is often spelled with "c", as is the derived name "Bernice" and the probably-derived name "Veronica".
The transliteration "Nike" is also used in German, and has been for some time
As DavePhD pointed out in a comment, it is possible to find the transliteration "Nike" in use in German texts from before 1846:
This 1814 German Mythology and Religion dictionary has a big entry for "Nike" Wörterbuch der altklassischen Mythologie und Religion (etc.) – DavePhD
Another example of "Nike" used in German can be seen in the following text from 1841: Nike in Hellenischen Vasenbildern; eine archaeologische Untersuchung, by Georg Rathgeber.
This makes me wonder if the use of the spelling "Nike" in German scholarly works might have had some influence on the use of "k" rather than "c" in this name in present-day English. It seems at least possible to me, but I don't know how plausible it is.
It is important to remember that English spelling, traditionally, has no intention of describing pronunciation - its intent is rather to describe etymology (ie word origin). Only incidentally, through the etymology, is the proper pronunciation deduced. That is why Spelling Bees are so entrancing in English, and yet absurd in nearly every other language.
I would have said either "naik" ( I am in Scotland, so that is the accepted way to say it" or "nee-keh" as that is closer to the original Greek for Νίκη (not ηικε like I thought, thanks to sumelic). Proper names do not change due to the language they are spoken in: they retain the sound they are meant to have in the language of their origin.
The answer should be 'it's meant to be ˈnʌɪki rather than ˈnʌɪk. How it has been hitherto pronounced in practice is the way how it should be! That is how language goes on in English. We should not make up pseudo-rules here.
Nike /ˈnʌɪki / Greek Mythology
the goddess of victory.
– ORIGIN Greek, literally ‘victory’.
'Why questions' are tricky in any discipline. Please listen to Richard Feynman:
Why is synecdoche pronounced si-NEK-də-kee?
Because that's the way the cookie crumbles.
Oh, and because it derives from Greek too
Latin, from Greek synekdochē, from syn- + ekdochē sense, interpretation, from ekdechesthai to receive, understand, from ex from + dechesthai to receive; akin to Greek dokein to “seem good” First Known Use: 15th century
Courtesy of Merriam-Webster
Merriam Webster also informs that the first appearance of the name Nike in English was in 1846, which seems rather recent. Etymonline offers no etymology of the name nor any dates; however, it says it was used as the name for U.S. defensive surface-to-air missiles from 1952. Wikipedia opines that Nike has uncertain etymology. | <urn:uuid:23b46b57-510f-4809-b9bd-15bf686d7093> | CC-MAIN-2021-25 | https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/419371/why-is-nike-pronounced-naikee-and-not-naik | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-25/segments/1623487630518.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20210617162149-20210617192149-00162.warc.gz | en | 0.953163 | 3,039 | 2.609375 | 3 |
A study at Columbia University indicates that children who were exposed to high levels of air pollution from vehicles while they were in the womb were five times more likely to develop symptoms associated with attention-deficit disorder later in life.
The study adds to earlier evidence that mothers’ exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are emitted by the burning of fossil fuels and other organic materials, are linked to children’s behavioral problems associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
About 10 percent of U.S. children are diagnosed with ADHD, which can impair classroom performance, as well as lead to “risky behaviors and lower earnings in adulthood,” the Columbia researchers wrote.
The study, led by Frederica Perera, an environmental health scientist at the school’s Mailman School of Public Health, looked at the children of 233 African-American and Dominican women in New York City.
More from SciAmerican:
They measured the amount of benzo[a]pyrene bound to DNA – a biological marker for PAHs – in the mothers’ blood at the time of birth. Forty-two percent had detectable levels in their blood.
When the children were about 9 years old, parents filled out a questionnaire commonly used to screen for ADHD behavior problems. The researchers found that children whose mothers had the highest amounts of the PAH at the time of birth were five times more likely to show more behaviors associated with inattention than children whose mothers had the lowest levels. They were three times more likely to exhibit more total behaviors (inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity) associated with ADHD.
Read more on the Columbia website. | <urn:uuid:aa51613d-d0d0-4d19-9e62-8da4820f022c> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://www.fuelfreedom.org/columbia-study-air-pollution-can-lead-to-adhd-in-kids/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679516047.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20231211174901-20231211204901-00685.warc.gz | en | 0.976193 | 348 | 2.71875 | 3 |
France 1868 – 1941
Symbolist self-portrait (Vision)
[Autoportrait symbolique (Vision)] 1891
oil on canvas
canvas 81.0 (h) x 60.5 (w) cm
Musée d'Orsay, Paris , Purchase 2008
© RMN (Musée d'Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski
In a highly populated self-portrait, Bernard depicts himself at the bottom of the canvas. He bends forward and glances sideways with a background of naked women and paired lovers. Centred at the top is a depiction of the Veil of Veronica, a medieval Catholic relic of the visage of Christ on his way to Calvary and crucifixion. The painter portrays himself in browns, blues and pale flesh, while the phantoms of his imagination are rendered in heated tones of orange and salmon pink. After his experimental essays into Pointillism, his invention of Cloisonnism with Louis Anquetin, and his development of Synthetism with Gauguin, Bernard now looked to a more overt Symbolism. In 1892 he was to join Khnopff, Ferdinand Hodler and Vallotton, among others, in the Salon de la Rose + Croix—an occult and fervently Roman Catholic group seeking to inject Christian religion as the basis of cultural and aesthetic
life in modern France.
1891, however, marked Bernard’s final break with Gauguin. In an important essay published that year, Bernard’s friend Albert Aurier, the poet and art critic, championed Gauguin as the leader of the avant-garde in painting.1 Already unhappy at the loss of his girlfriend Charlotte Buisse,2 Bernard (only twenty-three years old) wished to assert his primacy in the artistic realm. Anxious about his reputation, and fearful of being overtaken by the older artist as the originator of modern Symbolism, he painted this vision as an overt claim to the style. Instead of the more characteristic self-representations as a painter in front of his canvases, Bernard portrays his creations as equal to reality.
After an argument with Gauguin at his Drouot sale in February 1891, the two men never communicated again. Bernard began to sign his letters ‘Vostre fraire en J. Christus’3, and increasingly painted religious subjects. Symbolist self-portrait (Vision) seems a more personal working out of the contradictions of the bourgeois artist and the Symbolist believer in the occult, as well as a realisation in paint of the tension between the pleasures of the body and the salvation of the spirit. The violence of the palette may refer to the non-naturalistic bright red field used by Gauguin in Vision of the sermon (Jacob wrestling with the angel) 1888,4 never duly acknowledged, in Bernard’s eyes, as being inspired by his own painting Breton women in the meadow 18885. The anxious young painter seems haunted by his dreams, his God and his art.
Text © National Gallery of Australia, Canberra 2009
From Masterpieces from Paris: Van Gogh, Cézanne, Gauguin and beyond Post-Impressionism from the Musée d'Orsay exhibition book, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra 2009
- ‘Gauguin: le symbolisme en peinture’, Mercure de France, March 1891, quoted in Jane Turner (ed.), The dictionary of art, vol. 2, London: Macmillan 1996, p. 732.
- Mary Anne Stevens, ‘Chronology’, in Emile Bernard 1868–1941,
a pioneer of modern art, Zwolle: Waanders Verlag 1990, p. 99.
- ‘Your brother in J. Christ’, Stevens, p. 213.
- Alexander Sturgis, Rupert Christiansen, Lois Oliver et al., Rebels and martyrs: the image of the artist in the nineteenth century, London: National Gallery Company 2006, p. 152. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh.
- Le pardon de Pont-Aven. Private collection. | <urn:uuid:8e0dcd18-7769-4c37-9071-4eaef3fc85e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-48 | http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/MASTERPIECESfromPARIS/Default.cfm?IRN=191168&BioArtistIRN=14998&MnuID=SRCH&ArtistIRN=14998&ViewID=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1386164346985/warc/CC-MAIN-20131204133906-00007-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927084 | 870 | 2.53125 | 3 |
By Ginny McPartland
Child care at the workplace was a brand new phenomenon in World War II. The government-subsidized Kaiser West Coast Shipyards nursery schools, which enrolled more than 7,000 offspring of women war workers, offered the perfect opportunity to test theories of the then-fledgling field of child development.
In 1943, Henry J. Kaiser invited key figures in child development studies to his shipyards to set up ideal facilities and programs so workers could build ships without worrying about the safety and health of their children. These model child care centers at the Kaiser shipyards in Richmond, California, and Portland, Oregon, yielded valuable research results that helped fuel the study of early childhood education for decades after the war.
Catherine Landreth, PhD, of the University of California, Berkeley, set up the Richmond schools program. Lois Meek Stolz, PhD, a child development researcher and author from Columbia University and UC Berkeley, set up the Portland centers. James L. Hymes, Jr., a student of Stolz at Columbia, served as manager of the Portland centers.
Stolz and Landreth continued to exert influence on the child development world until the end of their lives. But it was Hymes, just 30 at war’s end, who would become a prodigious contributor to the child development literature for the next five decades. His work is often quoted today. One such quote reflects lessons from the home front: “Every day-care center, whether it knows it or not, is a school. The choice is never between custodial care and education. The choice is between unplanned and planned education, between conscious and unconscious education, between bad education and good education.”
Early Hymes work discovered this summer
Recently, my colleagues and I unearthed the final report of the two Portland Kaiser wartime child development centers, along with a series of seven pamphlets written for postwar child care providers. We found these documents, mainly written by Hymes, in the Institute of Governmental Studies Library in the basement of UCB’s Moses Hall. They were originally filed in 1946 in the Library for Economic Research at Berkeley.
The series of pamphlets includes: 1) A Social Philosophy from Nursery School Teaching; 2) Must Nursery Teachers Plan? 3) Who Will Need a Post-War Nursery School? 4) Meeting Needs: The War Nursery Approach; 5) The Role of the Nutritionist; 6) Large Groups in Nursery School; 7) Should Children Under Two Be in the Nursery School? Two unnumbered pamphlets titled “Toys to Make” and “Recipes for Foods for Children” were also mentioned in the report but copies are not available in the library. Teachers bought a total of 2,582 pamphlets at 15 cents each, according to the report dated December 1945.
Pamphlets offer nuggets
The pamphlet titled “Should Children Under Two Be in Nursery School?” addressed an issue the child care centers were forced to face head-on during the war. Generally, nursery schools did not take children under 2 because experiments had shown the younger children did not thrive in group settings. But the demand for care for infants was too high in the shipyards to ignore. They agreed to accept children as young as 18 months, and in Oregon alone the centers enrolled 904 children 18 to 24 months of age.
“We therefore set out to plan a program which would include among other things: Provision for close and continuous relation of each child with one adult who would be responsible for him especially during eating, toileting and sleeping and during any time of emotional stress when he needed ‘mothering,’ ” wrote Stolz and Hymes.
Another key wartime lesson: “Food influences behavior. Small children…have pounded into us in unforgettable ways that hungry people are irritable; that they fight more; that they cry easily; that they become destructive…Some children we have seen, hungrier still, have told us that hunger can make people placid, inactive, lethargic,” Hymes wrote. In pamphlet 5, Miriam Lowenberg, chief nutritionist, discussed the crucial link between food and good health: “The (nursery school) nutritionist (helps) teachers … bring the child who needs medical care to the attention of a visiting nurse or doctor.”
The final report discussed other crucial issues such as: the need for child care services after the war for low-income women, costs of the child care operation including nourishing meals, methods of recruiting and retaining qualified teachers, nurses and counselors, providing weekly onsite professional development, and offering opportunities for staff to participate in policy decisions. Attempts to maintain a 10:1 child-to-teacher ratio for the children over 2 and a 5:1 ratio for the infants 18 to 24 months were mostly successful, the authors reported.
Kaiser experts shine on after war
After the war ended, Hymes gained national recognition as an author. Among his earliest best-selling booklets was “A Pound of Prevention” in 1947, which advised first-grade teachers on how to handle difficult “war babies.” He wrote that the “crybabies, whiners and bullies” were still suffering from the disruption of war. Hymes also wrote “How to Tell Your Child About Sex” (1949), “Behavior and Misbehavior: A Teacher’s Guide to Discipline” (1957), “Teaching the Child Under Six” (1968), and “Twenty Years in Review: A Look at Early Childhood Education 1971-1990.”
Hymes served in the Lyndon Johnson administration on the National Planning Committee for Head Start. He and Catherine Landreth both were instrumental in the development of the educational program for low-income children. Landreth was also known for her groundbreaking research in social perception. One of her studies found that children learn racial prejudice from their parents as early as three years old. She wrote three books that were influential in shaping early childhood education: “Education of the Young Child” (with Katherine H. Read), 1942; “The Psychology of Early Childhood,” 1958; and “Preschool Learning and Teaching,” 1972.
After the war, Stolz published “Father Relations of War-Born Children,” a study of how father-child relationships were affected by a father’s absence for war duty (1954); “Our changing understanding of young children’s fears, 1920-1960” (1964), among other related works.
To learn more about the legacy of child care in the World War II Kaiser Shipyards, visit the Home Front festival Saturday, Oct.2, at the Craneway Pavilion on the Richmond waterfront. Kaiser Permanente Heritage Resources is collaborating with Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park to tell the story of the wartime child care centers. | <urn:uuid:a4c2ad0d-27c9-4c2d-ad4a-941c970220c8> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://kaiserpermanentehistory.org/latest/wartime-shipyard-child-care-centers-set-standards-for-future/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738662022.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173742-00009-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961362 | 1,447 | 2.640625 | 3 |
A lot of women struggle today with the question: career, family or both?
Can family life begin at age 50?
New research suggests that it's fine to put family aside in your 30s and 40s. Women older than 50 make good mothers, too.
Women older than 50 are both mentally and physically strong enough to be good mothers, suggests research being presented at the meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in New Orleans.
"The point that should be made is that age doesn't determine if one is a good mother," said Dr. Jacques Moritz, director of gynecology at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City.
Moritz practice includes one of the largest groups of mothers older than 50 in the country.
Until now, some researchers suspected that the stress or physical limitations associated with aging could make parenting difficult for older women.
But more and more older women are now becoming first-time mothers with the help of medical and scientific advances, such as successful egg donation.
Doctors have used egg donation and other Assisted Reproductive Technology techniques to help women older than the age of natural menopause to become pregnant and deliver a healthy baby with success rates similar to those of younger women.
In January, a 66-year-old Italian mother celebrated her daughter's first birthday, and a 62-year-old California mother gave birth to her 12th child in February.
Although successful pregnancy is a possibility for older women, the pregnancy itself becomes more of a health risk to the mother-to-be as she gets older.
Pregnancies in women after age 35 are generally considered to be high risk.
But do these health risks make for a bad mother?
Researchers from the University of Southern California explored this question by comparing parenting stress levels and the physical health of older mothers to that of their younger counterparts.
Researchers say this is the first study to explore the notion that older women don't make good mothers.
The study suggests that this hypothesis is wrong.
The researchers examined 150 women in their 30s, 40s and 50s who had conceived their children using Assisted Reproductive Technology techniques between 1992 and 2004.
The study was designed so that for every woman in her 50s, researchers could look at a similar woman in her 40s and another similar woman in her 30s.
The women filled out mailed questionnaires about mental and physical well being, and on the stress of being a parent.
Overall the researchers found that women in their 50s were not more stressed out than the younger mothers, and that women in their 50s were just as physically capable of chasing a toddler as were the younger women.
Experts say it is important to understand how mothers are able to care for their children, no matter what their age.
"With more and more women seeking to have children later in life, it is imperative that we have this kind of research to help us understand the risks and how to minimize them," said the society's president, Dr. Joseph Sanfilippo, in a news release.
The finding is good news for women who want to wait to have children.
"This is an article showing that age really doesn't matter [when it comes to being a mother]," Moritz said.
But experts have concerns beyond mental and physical health -- such as money.
The study authors say they considered income when calculating their results, but this group of older Assisted Reproductive Technology women might not accurately reflect women everywhere.
"Donor egg patients tend to be mothers that are very well off financially," Moritz said. "We are looking at mothers that can afford help and a lot of it."
But no matter how much help older mothers may or may not be able to afford, this study suggests that a newborn child is nothing that an older woman can't handle. | <urn:uuid:2240c5bd-f305-45b2-a850-a3046c3f8008> | CC-MAIN-2015-35 | http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ActiveAging/story?id=2601953&page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-35/segments/1440645294817.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20150827031454-00269-ip-10-171-96-226.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98098 | 790 | 2.53125 | 3 |
The Gaussian Formulae for Pascha were created by the prolific German mathematician Karl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855).
In these formulae, mod indicates the Modulus, a mathematical operator that returns the remainder from division. For example, <math>8 mod 3 = 2</math> because <math>8 / 3 = 2 remainder 2</math>.
In addition, int indicates the Integer Part of a number. For positive numbers, it returns the greatest integer less than the number. For example, <math>Int(8.25) = 8</math>.
Year indicates the year of interest (AD).
a = Year mod 4
b = Year mod 7
c = Year mod 19
d = (19c + 15) mod 30
e = (2a + 4b - d + 34) mod 7
f = Int((d + e + 114) / 31)
g = ((d + e + 114) mod 31) + 1
f is the month of Pascha.
g is the day of Pascha. For example, if f is 3 and g is 27, then Pascha occurs on March 27.
Important, this returns the date of Pascha ONLY on the Old Calendar. To get the Gregorian date, add 13 days. | <urn:uuid:82c3c00e-1868-4e14-83dd-55f4eb8084ec> | CC-MAIN-2015-40 | http://orthodoxwiki.org/index.php?title=Gaussian_Formulae&oldid=16465 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-40/segments/1443737911339.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20151001221831-00031-ip-10-137-6-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.693743 | 271 | 3.9375 | 4 |
Buddhi Ram Mahato and his family of four share a similar story with countless other families in Nepal’s Terai Arc landscape.
Like 7 million others, they eke out a living by farming on the fringes of the several protected areas, often sharing their backyards with wild tigers, rhinos, and elephants. The forest represents life for both people and wildlife. And for humans scrambling to make ends meet, forests literally fuel their lives.
But now they rely on a new source of heat for cooking: environmentally friendly biogas.
Up in smoke
With a dependence born from necessity, Mahato and the villagers practically burned down their forests with every meal that they cooked by gathering wood from the forest to fuel their fires.
“It wasn’t a matter of choice because we did not have any other option if we wanted to cook our food and stay warm,” said Mahato. “For four hours every day, Chanar and I had to forage for wood in the forest, which we knew put us directly in danger of an encounter with wild animals.”
There was a direct impact on their health too. The design of the traditional village huts made for smoky living, affecting the lungs and eyesight of the entire family.
It seemed like everyone was losing.
A clean, green solution
WWF has a long history in Nepal, working closely with local communities to secure conservation successes. This relationship led to an innovative solution that put people and their needs at the center of our programs.
Biogas is a new technology that is gaining popularity across the Terai. A biogas unit uses a combination of animal dung and water, missed in a digester, to produce methane—a clean fuel for cooking and heating the home.
This year, Mahato took a loan from a micro-credit enterprise and WWF subsidized the cost of the biogas unit. The subsidy came with one condition: part of the funds would have to go toward a proper toilet for the household, which would also be connected to the biogas unit.
“When I learned about biogas and the benefits it would bring, I felt that this risk would be worth it in the long run for my family,” he adds.
A promising future
Biogas has brought about swift, positive changes to the Mahato family. They no longer forage for firewood, reducing the possibility of a dangerous encounter with wild animals like tigers. Their house is smoke free for the first time and their health is improving. Their small plot of land is more fertile because the slurry from the biogas unit is an excellent bio-fertilizer. The surplus produce from the farm is allowing the family to save money, also for the first time. The forest is returning too.
As more and more families like the Mahato’s adopt biogas, their dependence on the forests has reduced significantly. As the trees come back, so have wildlife like rhinos and tigers, which hadn’t been for decades.
And the planet is breathing easier.
Research indicates that on average, one biogas unit saves nearly five tons of firewood and reduces the emission of four metric tons of CO2 equivalent annually.
Almost in reach
There are countless families in Mahato’s village that could rise above poverty while benefiting nature if they had access to biogas. Now you have a chance to be part of the change.
Music For Relief, a grassroots effort led by Linkin Park to engage musicians, the industry and fans who believe that together we can create positive change, is partnering with WWF Nepal to raise funds to bring biogas to an entire village in the Terai—roughly 150 households—with truly transformative results. | <urn:uuid:30ac316a-a395-41fb-9fbf-6c97dcce84e5> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/a-flame-called-hope | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738661155.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173741-00073-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964138 | 783 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Scientology: How We Help—Defying the Education Odds
Nearly half of all American adults—60 million people—are functionally illiterate. The students of Delphian School in Sheridan, Oregon, are already exceptions to that rule.
Eight million students have been labeled as “learning disabled,” with prescription drugs too often the “remedy” rather than the three “Rs.” Standing in sharp contrast to these statistics are the test scores at the Delphian School in Sheridan, Oregon.
The Delphian School is licensed to use the educational services and materials of Applied Scholastics, a fully independent, nondenominational organization supported by the Church of Scientology and by Scientologists dedicated to raising educational standards throughout the world.
Delphi students consistently test at or above grade level in reading, language and math. As one stellar example, Delphian 5th-grade students who tested on the California Achievement Test were off the chart in language skills, achieving the maximum score the test allows—13th-grade proficiency. They were also three years ahead in math and four in reading.
Another exceptional result: For the past 11 years every Delphian student who applied to college was accepted.
Students flourish with Delphian’s unique philosophy of education based on the principles of Study Technology developed by author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard. An independent study of Delphian attitudes in 2012 found 100 percent of the students liked going to the Delphian School; 100 percent felt their teachers cared about them personally; 97 percent looked forward to school; 95 percent found their studies interesting—not boring; 95 percent felt their teachers listened to their ideas and 88 percent felt their teachers cared about what they think.
Since the inception of the Delphi curriculum in 1975, it has emphasized application in the world beyond the classroom, with the aim being to help students of any age take on life. As part of the Delphian graduation requirements, students design and carry out projects that require them to play a major role in reaching out and helping in their communities.
Whereas many Delphian high school students vacation during the summer, more than 40 participated in summer internships or projects last year.
One student was accepted into an internship at Harvard’s Korean Institute where she worked with professors and scholars. She also enrolled on an international law and international relations course which included lectures, discussions and simulated conferences in which she was required to debate topics with others on the program, 63 of whom were college students.
On completing her course and internship, she participated in a Global Leadership Adventures program in the Dominican Republic where she helped women and children in refugee camps.
“It was exciting to see some of the international theories I learned come to life and make an impact in a poor community," she said.
Another student volunteered in his home city of Torreon, Mexico, delivering classes at a school.
“I tried to make each class as interactive as possible by having the kids act out the principles we were going over,” he said. “These kids are incredibly smart—I realized that intelligence and abilities are often underestimated.”
Three Chinese students who attend Delphi during the school term volunteered at a village school in China where most of the 170 students live with grandparents while their parents work far away in the city.
One of the Delphian students took on the children who are considered “bad.” He advised them to associate with people who really cared about them doing well in life.
“They decided not to be friends with gang members. They stopped messing around with them,” he said. “They ended up as ethical students. The project made me feel that I am capable of changing things. All the things that I learned [at Delphi] are so applicable to making improvements. I don’t expect to change everything at once, but I do believe if there is only 1 percent chance to change 1 percent of a thing, you must put 100 percent of your effort into make it happen.”
Accredited by the Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools (PNAIS) and licensed to use the Study Technology of L. Ron Hubbard by Applied Scholastics International, the Delphian School in Oregon is the flagship of a network of six schools in major urban centers around the United States. All Delphi schools operate on a standardized curriculum, common teaching and administrative methods, and a comprehensive curriculum training program.
Applied Scholastics works with hundreds of affiliated schools and educational programs throughout the world, providing the effective learning tools developed by L. Ron Hubbard.
The Church of Scientology has published a new brochure, Scientology: How We Help—Applied Scholastics, Achieving Literacy and Education, one of a series of publications presented to meet requests for more information about the Scientology religion and its support of global humanitarian initiatives and social betterment programs. For more information, visit the Scientology website at www.scientology.org/AppliedScholastics .
Applied Scholastics International is a secular nonprofit public benefit corporation that addresses head-on the problem of illiteracy by making L. Ron Hubbard’s discoveries in the field of education and literacy broadly available. It has trained nearly 140,000 educators and has helped more than 39 million with Study Technology. The organization works with hundreds of affiliated schools and educational programs throughout the world, providing the effective learning tools developed by L. Ron Hubbard. | <urn:uuid:05c8cee2-e510-47c7-9a98-47dc4ec8859f> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://www.scientologynews.org/print/3628 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1405997869884.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20140722025749-00191-ip-10-33-131-23.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965834 | 1,123 | 2.546875 | 3 |
On Saturday, June 19, 2010, oil spread northeast from the leaking Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil appears as a maze of silvery-gray ribbons in this photo-like image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite.
The location of the leaking well is marked with a white dot. North of the well, a spot of black may be smoke; reports from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say that oil and gas continue to be captured and burned as part of the emergency response efforts.
© Earth Observatory | <urn:uuid:cdaebdae-417f-4739-99b5-af0fbed5e76d> | CC-MAIN-2015-18 | http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/oilspill/201006190600.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-18/segments/1429246658061.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20150417045738-00311-ip-10-235-10-82.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951203 | 121 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Understanding global cultures brazil essay
Culture essay topics the aim of this essay is to explore how useful material culture studies is to understanding societies which existed under roman rule. Cultural differences between countries: the the basic cultural points of each country brazil and china will to provide an understanding on how cultural. National cultural differences and multinational business culture as a process of “collective an understanding of deeper-level assumptions and values. Business etiques, economic growth - understanding global cultures: brazil.
Free brazil papers, essays, and research understanding global cultures: brazil - socio economic challenges overall brazil's economy has been performing. Culture and globalization cultural impacts of globalization -- maude barlow, the global monoculture, earth island journal. Chapter 17: the culture of global organizations we define a global work culture as the shared understanding of the visible rules, regulations. Understanding global cultures: metaphorical journeys through 34 nations, clusters of nations, continents, and diversity.
Understanding global cultures brazil essay
Culture and leader effectiveness: the globe study the global leadership and who brought to the project an in-depth understanding of their own culture and. This report is a country analysis on brazil cultural characteristics brazil it would be a wasted opportunity for global connections to overlook brazil. Global business cultural analysis: japan i was able to get a better understanding of the relationships between employees and brazil global business cultural. This article will focus on global culture understanding the characteristics has had on the yanomami of brazil like national cultures, global culture is.
American culture essay in this case, knowing and understanding your culture is american media influence on global culture. Performing brazil: essays on culture, identity the feminization of global manufacturing the book invites the reader to reflect on a broader “understanding. Essay about brazil culture preparing teachers for our new global order essay about brazil culture which included negotiating their own understanding. In understanding global cultures, fifth edition, authors martin j gannon and rajnandini pillai present the cultural metaphor—any activity, phenomenon, or. Understanding other cultures: the value orientations method of cultural differences within a wider, global method of understanding culture that.
Ethical issues across cultures: understanding the cultural bases for ethical behavior in both the usa the us government and many states offer global business. Technology has now created the possibility and even the likelihood of a global culture brazil’s 2010 elections the globalization of culture. Understanding global cultures : metaphorical journeys through 29 nations, clusters of nations, continents, and diversity / martin j gannon, rajnandini pillai — 4th ed p cm includes bibliographical references and index isbn 978-1-4129-5789-2 (pbk: acid-free paper) 1 cross-cultural studies 2 cross-cultural orientation 3 national characteristics.
Global business cultural analysis brazil final revision global business cultural analysis brazil final revision global business cultural analysis: brazil. Read this essay on cultural analysis of brazil and denmark come browse our large digital warehouse of free sample essays get the knowledge you need in order to pass. Read this essay on business ethics across cultures business ethics across cultures article review contribute to understanding global ethical. Methods for learning about culture village in brazil or a small and develop a realistic understanding of the cultural patterns in another society. What brazil thinks about globalization brazil the ability of brazil to overcome the effects of global crisis last year and brazil’s culture is well-known.
Open document below is a free excerpt of global business cultural analysis - brazil from anti essays, your source for free research papers, essays, and term paper. · the following is a sample of a successful gilman essay submission the student who wrote this essay was awarded a gilman scholarship for his summer. Culture essay people in our world all come from an ethnic background 154 sport can be local and global: culture and development essay. The importance and benefits of diversity by the child being exposed to diverse cultures the child can get a better understanding of in today’s global.
Understanding global cultures brazil essayRated 5/5 based on 23 review | <urn:uuid:6d4d6336-0320-4961-9f93-cb4e7e2a25e0> | CC-MAIN-2018-43 | http://echomeworkcquh.uncserves.info/understanding-global-cultures-brazil-essay.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-43/segments/1539583517628.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20181024001232-20181024022732-00323.warc.gz | en | 0.890116 | 859 | 2.765625 | 3 |
By Jihan Anwar
Considering that no less than 10 million people in Yemen suffer from severe to moderate malnutrition, U.K. Development Minister Alan Duncan wasn’t exaggerating when he recently referred to malnutrition as a “death sentence for tens of thousands” of Yemenis.
Food insecurity comes in different degrees of seriousness. Severe food insecurity means that people cannot produce their own food – nor do they have the necessary money to buy it at the marketplace.
The most affected regions of Yemen are the 13 poorest governorates which run through the country’s highlands. According to the Comprehensive Food Security Survey, CFSS, published last May by the World Food Programme (WFP), 5 million people in Yemen have been estimated to be suffering from malnutrition, based on a sample size of 2000 people interviewed across the country.
A further 5 million people are food insecure, living without a constant supply of adequate food items. Although placed at a lower imminent threat level than the severely food insecure, following Yemen’s 2011 humanitarian crisis, the situation for this last category has worsened. High food and fuel prices have further worsened their state, so that they risk becoming severely food insecure, according to Mr. Barry Came, WFP Yemen’s spokesman.
Caroline Gluck, an Oxfam Humanitarian Press Officer, remarked, “With Yemen, we are dealing with a long-term chronic emergency situation. People have very little in the best of times and these are not the best of times; these are some of the worst times Yemeni people have faced.” Caroline spoke about families she had visited in Hodeida and Haradh in which sons or daughters had died, and it was believed the reason for the children’s deaths was as simple and tragic as a lack of basic nutrients.
“In early January, WFP planned to feed 1.2 million people. In May, we had to revise the figure to 1.8 million, and in September to 3.9 million. We are planning to feed almost 4 million this year,” declared Barry Came.
What is malnutrition?
Malnutrition refers to the condition in which the nutrient intake of an individual has consistently been so low that the body’s physical activities have slowed down, been impaired or altogether arrested. This condition ultimately leads to death.
Malnutrition is measured by taking the weight-height ratio and circumference of the middle upper arm.
One WFP program has 675,000 women and children who have been diagnosed with a moderate form of malnutrition. They are provided with both curative and preventative measures; children and mothers are given specialized micronutrient-enriched food products. UNICEF treats cases of acute malnutrition.
Mr Came has noted that malnutrition in Yemen has seen an age-related trend. A UNICEF Yemen Situation Report for September 2012 estimated that children under the age of five suffered from a normal chronic malnutrition level of 16.7%, a seriously underweight ratio of 24.4%, and critically acute malnutrition rate of 18.9%. These figures add up to a total of 47% of Yemen’s children under the age of five.
Looking at the statistics, Mr. Came said, “47% under 5 is almost half of the children under the age of five in the country. There are about 4 million children in Yemen under five years of age, which means that about two million of them are chronically malnourished and another one million of those acutely malnourished. That’s a huge number of children.”
It was also found that around 13% are acutely malnourished, which was assessed using wasting measurements. WHO sets the critical wasting threshold at 15%. In Hodeida, the number is almost doubled, at 28%. “They could die at any time,” said Mr. Came.
One of the problems in the country is that less than 5% of the land is arable, which leads Yemen to import about 90% of its staple foods. As fuel prices rise, the cost of food increases.
The situation has been progressively worsening because of population growth, post–revolution conflict, political instability and massive population displacement, mostly Yemen’s northern and southern reaches.
While in previous years people had been able to get through difficult periods by selling land or animals, the current crisis has affected them so gravely and for such a relatively extended timeframe that their economical and material reserves have progressively and drastically thinned down. People are now left with close to nothing.
Gluck said, “Many farmers told me that they haven’t planted any seeds. Because diesel prices have gone so high, they can’t afford to hire a tractor, they didn’t have the money to pay for water to irrigate the crops. In some cases, they ate the seeds because they had absolutely nothing else to feed themselves.”
Came provided the example of a man in Aljabin, in Raymah. “He was a laborer who used to go to Sana’a to work, but he hasn’t had a job for about a year now. There was absolutely no money for him and his seven children to get by on and he was so happy to receive the modest ration we distributed as part of our programs that he kissed me.”
The reasons for child malnutrition are complex. Poor sanitation, the lack of a variety in diets, general illiteracy and ignorance concerning proper types of diet all contribute to the current level of malnutrition.
For instance, the CFSS has revealed that 40% of children below six months’ old were breastfed in the 24 hours preceding the taking of the survey; only 32% of children aged 6 to 23 months had been breastfed and had consumed at least one other food item.
Child malnutrition needs to be tackled early; if it goes uncured, it will set a trend for a child’s future development. The first thousand days of a child’s life are considered to be the most critical in this regard. With this in mind, troubling statistics concerning breastfeeding practices should be regarded as causes for real concern.
In addition, many communities don’t have access to clean, drinkable water, and are thus left to drink water which is unsafe and contaminated. “Sometimes even dirty water from which they risk suffering of diarrhea, and when you are 5 and undernourished that’s a potentially life threatening illness,” said Came.
Malnutrition is not necessarily connected only with poverty. UNICEF, WFP and Save the Children have taken food surveys throughout the country and found that malnutrition was also present in families that were relatively wealthy.
Education plays a role. Many women have not had the opportunity to study. Their notions of hygiene or eating practices are influenced by the environments in which they live, and knowledge of best practices are often absent.
If malnutrition is present in an infant from around birth to 24 months of age, the damages caused by under-nutrition on a child’s physical and mental development will likely be irreversible and result in permanent consequences.
Gluck emphasized that if the humanitarian crisis isn’t addressed immediately, it will jeopardize both Yemen’s short and long-term development. “Malnutrition affects future generations; it will affect their development and IQ and it will be the generation which is expected to be leading Yemen in the future.”
Stunting has been a generational problem, present in Yemen for decades. It’s usually experienced by infants whose mothers are malnourished and who had had a poor diet in early childhood. Since organs haven’t fully developed, stunting is also believed to be a factor in premature death.
“Nearly half of that generation of future-builders face stunted growth and delayed mental development as a result of under-nutrition, and over a quarter of a million more face an immediate risk of death,” declared Alan Duncan in a press release from his recent visit to Sana’a.
“It will negatively affect the child’s ability to concentrate in school, his thinking faculties and that, in turn, will reduce his ability to work and, as a consequence, his potential income,” added Came.
Some very extreme coping mechanisms have been adopted across the most afflicted governorates. People have resorted to purchasing food items on credit, particularly in rural areas, where it was estimated that the practice is common in 28% of the households. People are left indebted to shopkeepers, in some cases for a sum of several hundred dollars.
The situation is even worse in Abyan, Shabwa, and Lahj, where close to half of food items are bought on credit. Meanwhile, children have been pulled out of school to work for their families, selling bottles and tins or performing casual labor.
Caroline Gluck recalled a 14-year-old boy who lived near the Saudi border: “He showed me the bruises he had on his legs. He had been caught by border guards and beaten up and ordered not to trespass the border again. What he confessed to me was that there was no other choice for him – at 14, he had a father who was disabled, his mother couldn’t work, and his family relied on him to provide them with food.”
Though already present in Yemeni culture, another phenomenon which has become increasingly widespread is the marriage of young girls. Mrs. Gluck reported that families justify the practice by saying that they needed the dowry money to feed their families. Moreover, by marrying off one daughter, they would have one person less to provide for.
Several programs have been launched to tackle malnutrition. WFP has projects that join the treatment of child malnutrition with UNICEF and the Ministry of International Planning and Coordination, the Ministry of Health and Population, and the Ministry of Education.
While Oxfam doesn’t specifically deal with the nutritional and health sector, it has recognized that malnutrition is a factor in current crises and developed Emergency Response programs. Cash transfers represent one of the largest current responses undertaken by Oxfam. Officially launched in July, the Cash Life Line has targeted over 103,000 people by providing them with $50 a month.
The money allows them to meet a few basic needs. In some cases, they spend some of the money on medicine or clothes, but through monitoring how beneficiaries use the money, it has been discovered that in 97% of cases it is used to buy food. Actually, many instances have been registered in which poor households don’t buy food directly but instead use the money to clear the debt they owe to shopkeepers so that they may again purchase food using credit.
While Caroline admits that giving cash is not the solution to the wider problem – and that people need to be able to earn their own money – she argued that the situation is so precarious at the moment that it demands an emergency response. She expressed the NGO’s plans to replicate the same program in Haradh in November provided there are sufficient funds.
In an attempt to prevent malnutrition, Oxfam is working with farmers, providing them with tools and seeds, hiring tractors and paying for diesel so that they can plant crops. Women are being trained to sew and weave so as to allow them to have a source of income and an opportunity to earn money. Community veterinarians are also given courses so that they may rear and cure cattle.
Barry Came illustrated the Emergency Safety Net WFP has designed. It has 6 thousands ratio distribution points, with most of them elementary schools. In September alone, two million people throughout the country have been reached by the program.
Despite the fact that the major road network is a good one, once you deviate from it, sometimes there are no roads at all sometimes; otherwise, they may be very poorly constructed. This creates difficulty for trucks, especially considering that some locations are situated in mountainous areas, which leads to challenging logistical issues.
There is also an absence of quality infrastructure, trained staff, midwives, nurses and health clinics. This is especially true for the most affected areas.
“You go to these clinics in Hodeida, Mahwit and Raymah and they don’t have water, they don’t have sewage, and there’s no qualified staff. The room capacity is too limited, the place is mostly too hot and crowded,” said Came.
Even with support from the government, local infrastructures are inherently weak, with staff changing continually, thus necessitating the training of newcomers every six months.
A lack of funding is an additional issue. “In addition to our other programs, we are also feeding 500,000 IDPs and 50,000 refugees, most of whom are Somalis. The total cost of our operation this year is $223 million, but we are about $50 million short,” said the WFP spokesman.
Kelly Gilbride, Policy Advisor for Oxfam in Yemen, stated, “Friends of Yemen met in New York on the 27th September, this is the second meeting in four months. The international community has pledged 7.9$ billion. This is a generous amount. We think that they should be directed to the people who need it, to get on the ground to help people who cannot afford to eat”.
Minister Alan Duncan urged donors to follow the U.K.’s newly launched long-term program and provide predictable, long-term funding, without which agencies wouldn’t be able to commit to tackling the root causes of malnutrition as it occurs when funding is stopped half way through.
“Now is the time to invest in the future, in the children who will help to rebuild and stabilize Yemen over the next 20 or 30 years.” | <urn:uuid:85eaa536-8f12-441e-8eea-6fcb58857bfe> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://nationalyemen.com/2012/10/22/the-current-reality-of-malnutrition-in-yemen/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463122.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00017-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975239 | 2,853 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Space is the place where race, poverty, and the environment get sorted out, for better or worse. And the spaces where we live, work, learn, and play are the places where integration succeeds or fails, argues Sheryll Cashin. The Georgetown University law professor wrote 2004’s The Failures of Integration: How Race and Class Are Undermining the American Dream, one of the most important and provocative books on civil rights in recent years. (Read an excerpt from the book.)
Photo: Institute on Race & Poverty.
Like the environmental movement, the civil-rights movement has become too focused on litigation, says Cashin. While legal rights are essential, she says, the most important cause of segregation and poverty in America is the simple fact that even after 50 years of legally enforced integration in the aftermath of Brown v. Board of Education, poor people and people of color still live in spatially isolated communities. Space is the problem. But it could be the solution too.
With information and mapping tools now widely available and accessible online, communities can put all their concerns on the same map. Some are doing just that, and coming up with new solutions for integration and the environment. But to truly integrate what Cashin calls our “life space,” more environmental, civil-rights, education, and economic development organizations need to break out of their own boundaries to integrate the tools and organizing needed to bring people together in a common space.
Cashin spoke to Grist from her home in Shepherd Park, an integrated neighborhood in Washington, D.C.
Photo: Library of Congress.
People tend to think of the civil-rights movement as one of the great success stories of American history. And yet integration has failed. Why?
The chief gains of the civil-rights movement were that we delegitimated discrimination. The vast majority of Americans now believe that no one should be limited in their access to anything based on race. But the unfinished business of the civil-rights movement is actually ordering our society in a way where people really do have opportunities, so that the vision of an egalitarian society is actually true for people in their daily lives.
The reason it’s not true for people in their daily lives is that we’ve not yet made the advances to date that we should have in housing. We haven’t really opened up our life space to racial and economic integration. There’s a lot of intentional policies, both historic and current, that encourage segregation, exclusion, and homogeneity, instead of integration, heterogeneity, and inclusion. My initial impulse in writing this book was to give up on the integrationist ideal because it is too hard.
What’s so hard?
The hardest question, in my view, is this business of opening up neighborhoods and schools and institutions in a truly inclusive way.
Some of the issues that you see as important — affordable housing, for instance — involve development. Doesn’t this often conflict with environmental goals?
The existing pattern of development, the way the physical space of America is being developed, is in conflict with the goals and aspirations of environmentalism. Frankly, in brutal terms, a lot of what drives sprawled, leapfrog development is white families who want to have this elusive American dream, of a poverty-free, good-school existence, where [their] kids will be free of crime.
I’m not saying people are racist when they make these choices, but I think an increasingly diverse American society, with people who are different, creates fear in a lot of people. And our policies reflect that fear. And sprawl development leads to more people in the car, more auto gas emissions, more eating up of open space and land. And if you are a person who is concerned with sprawl, and if you are a person who is concerned with auto emissions, I think you need to understand that fundamental issues of race relations in this country are part of — not all of, but part of — the impediments to you getting saner public policies adopted. And I think you need to begin to look for allies beyond the environmental community to get you to 51 percent in any policymaking realm, because after all, you’re not going to succeed in your policy agenda until you get to 51 percent.
In an increasingly diverse world, we’re rapidly moving toward the day when we’re going to be a majority-minority America like California and Hawaii are today. If you don’t have the skill sets and the empathy to identify other communities with some potentially common goals and build those coalitions, you’re going to continue to be marginal. You’re going to continue to lose battles. And I’ve got to say, I’m not an active member of the environmental movement. But I consider myself an environmentalist. You know, I care, I recycle, I try not to overuse energy, all those things. But from my perspective, everything I see, the environmentalists are losing. And they’re losing badly. Am I wrong about that?
I don’t think so. So much of your argument seems to come back to schools, and environmentalists traditionally have paid little attention to education. Is there a case for environmentalists getting involved in educational equity and education reform?
Yes. Here’s where the intersection is: much of what fuels suburban sprawl and white flight is the chase for quality schools. There’s a book called The Two-Income Trap that shows there has been a run-up in bankruptcies because two-income families with children have been engaging in these bidding wars to get into the most expensive house they can afford. That fuels this outward development. If we could create more stable racially and economically diverse communities, there would be much less pressure on outward development.
You write that GIS [Geographic Information Systems] is one of the most powerful tools to help people in communities visualize and understand their communities and envision solutions. Could you describe why?
The real expert on this is Myron Orfield, who was a state representative and senator in Minnesota. He got the state to pay for a GIS study to look at where public infrastructure investments were going. They found this general pattern of the favored quarter. Often there will be a quadrant that is overwhelmingly white and affluent that is getting a disproportionate share of public dollars that fuel growth. And middle-income people are actually subsidizing it. And the central city was subsidizing it.
He was able to form a coalition, once he could put the data together, that transcended boundaries of race and class to work together around these interests. They realized [all] of us are in the same boat. They formed a majority in the state legislature. And they passed a series of progressive laws, including a regional authority that had strong powers over land use. It helps a lot when you put objective facts on the table.
If you could set up the perfect mapping tool for communities to grapple with these questions — say a Google Earth that could focus on your community and include all the information you needed to identify problems, ask questions, and brainstorm solutions in a spatially specific environment — what would it look like?
It’s not for me to tell a community what they should be mapping, although I have some ideas. But if you want to build a groundswell, to get hundreds of thousands of people involved, then involve them in identifying the issues that they care about and think ought to be tracked. In Seattle, they track not just school quality and testing, but salmon spawns, and what the salmon population is, air quality, number of units of affordable housing. All of these give you a clear, objective sense of how your community is doing, and you can use that information to bring in allies.
You write about some communities that are already doing this. Which ones inspire you?
Chattanooga, Seattle, a number of communities do this. What inspired me generally was that people who care about sustainable development have been empowered through this. Individuals and organizations found power and allies through this and interconnections. And they relate them back to public policy choices. And that inspires me. Individuals feel powerless to change anything. And if you’re sitting at home, you are powerless. There are mechanisms for making a difference, but you’re going to have to find allies, and find or build institutions or coalitions.
You live in a neighborhood that the Washington Post has described as “fairly well-integrated.” What’s so great about Shepherd Park?
It’s not a perfect community. It is stably integrated. You have mostly whites and blacks living together. It’s integrated down to the neighborhood block level. We are close in to the city. I get to work in 20 to 30 minutes. I can walk from where I am to restaurants and take public transportation to the gym and movies. I live in a beautiful home. The neighborhood is pretty stable. There’s some crime, but not a lot. There are people who are affluent and not affluent. And the public school — I don’t have kids yet, but I’m working on it — it’s a good public school. It could be better. But it’s solid. It works for the kids. And it shows you can live in a diverse society.
How could it be better?
More of the families who are in this neighborhood could send their kids to the public school. In the book, I analogize community to being in a marriage. A marriage is work. You have to work at communication and negotiate differences. It takes people who are committed to moving across boundaries of their race and class.
You were born and raised in Huntsville, Ala. You dedicate The Failures of Integration to your parents, who were political activists. What kind of imagined community did they see for you?
They imagined the community that they created for themselves. My parents were activists, but also members of the Unitarian church, although both became Baptists later. I grew up in a household where the most fascinating people would come through. My parents lived a very diverse life, with friends from a lot of different realms. They modeled for me how they wanted to be in the world. These were two people with very strong black identities. They wanted me to value who I was as a black person and value black institutions, but also not cut myself off from exciting, interesting things.
What would you imagine for your children?
Basically the same. I would like my kids to be able to have a broad array of choices, in terms of living, in terms of schools. I’d like them to go to institutions that actively cultivate diversity, where everyone’s included, so it’s a true community of humanity. It may sound idealistic, but that’s what I hope for. | <urn:uuid:3c1f2192-c174-43d0-aef5-0d8af9913c57> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://grist.org/article/christensen/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1406510265454.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20140728011745-00399-ip-10-146-231-18.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965422 | 2,253 | 3.25 | 3 |
- Complete the DESMOS activity (Link is in google classroom)
- You should be working through 8 Module 3 "Quadratic .." workspaces in MATHIA.
- Continue to finish Exponential workspaces
Learning Target: SWBAT when and if a basketball goes through the hoop by completing the DESMOS activity.
Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. | <urn:uuid:8f8e275a-54f4-4789-ae6c-d3230ea220ce> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | http://www.zeihen.com/im-2-blog/day-38-will-it-hit-the-hoop3870034 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610704795033.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20210126011645-20210126041645-00321.warc.gz | en | 0.835683 | 85 | 2.703125 | 3 |
School of Meteorology, University of Oklahoma
Boundary Layer Meteorology class project
A Low Level Jet (LLJ) frequently occurs to the east of the Andean mountains throughout the year. A field campaign called SALLJEX (South America Low Level Jet EXperiment) took place during the austral summer 2002-2003 to measure and investigate the thermodynamical and dynamical environmental conditions that lead to this LLJ. Pilot Balloon observations were used to produce mean wind profiles early in the morning and late in the afternoon along the jet region. NOAA P-3 aircraft data were used in this project between Jan11-Feb8 when several LLJs occured. Nevertheless, in this study, only the LLJ event that occurred on February 6 and 7 were analyzed using one second data of temperature, dew point and wind vectors. These data were used to examine these LLJs events and to limn the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) forcing mechanisms that drove such LLJs. During both flights, a relatively narrow low level wind maximum was found along the mountain barrier and in the vicinity of the so-called Andean elbow (20º S), where the orientation of the Andes changes. The presence of a boundary layer inversion has been found to be vital part of the forming wind profiles in both flights. These kinds of profiles are representative of the atmospheric wind flow within low-level jets. In this particular study, not only was the LLJ studied under this PBL environment, but also other elements that can be argued to influence the development of these LLJ events. On the one hand, PBL mixing processes were suggested explaining the wind profiles found in the vicinity of the wind maximum and all along the jet region. On the other hand, the formation of the LLJ in conspicuous narrow maximum areas and its particular spatial location were mostly suggested based upon the topographic effect which likely produces this particular flow structure. At the end of this work, there were mentioned some other questions regarding the future work toward the ABL processes involve in this LLJ are mentioned.
According to different works (Blackadar 1957; Stensrud, 1996; Hartman, 1999) a Low Level Jet (LLJ) is defined roughly by examining the vertical profile of the horizontal wind to determine whether or not a low-level wind speed maximum occurs. To that end, a LLJ frequently occurs to the east of the Andean mountain throughout the year, here called the South America LLJ (SALLJ).
The SALLJ is a northerly jet that develops along the eastern slopes of the Andes. It has been suggested that it is produced by either thermally driven flow, a local circulation, generated by the large scale topographical structure or a large/synoptic scale circulation enhanced by the topographical barrier and with a significant influence of the intrusion of the Atlantic Subtropical High and enhanced Chaco atmospheric low (Saulo et al., 2002). Therefore, the SALLJ shows a large variability on daily, intraseasonal and interannual time scales as well as an important role in the genesis of severe weather systems (Stensrud, 1996; Saulo et al., 2002; Campetella and Vera, 2002; Berbery et al., 2002; Nogués-Paegle et al., 1998) and organized convective systems (Velasco and Fritsch, 1987).
This phenomena is of great interest in the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) processes as well as in the practical sense because of the turbulence mass exchange in this atmospheric layer. These low-level wind speed maxima events are important for both the horizontal and vertical fluxes of temperature and moisture and have been found to be associated with the development and evolution of deep convection in the Northern part of Argentina and Paraguay (Stensrud, 1996; Fu and Wang, 2002; Saulo et al., 2002; Salio et al., 2002).
There are several physical mechanisms that have been shown to explain many aspects of the development and evolution of the LLJs in a wide variety of environments. First, the Inertial oscillation due to the frictional decoupling of the evening flow (Blackadar, 1957), which accounts for both the daily oscillation in the jet intensity and for the significantly supergeostropic velocities observed during the nocturnal phase, this theory cannot account for the observed amplitude and shape of the LLJ. Secondly, The shallow baroclinicity (Stensrud, 1996), which takes effect where significant changes occur in surface characteristics, sloping terrain can also form shallow baroclinicity (inclined boundary layers), large scale baroclinicity features creates mechanisms that can produce LLJs relatively constant throughout the day (this mechanism makes no appeal to variation in turbulent mixing and has the advantage of explaining why the LLJ tends to be located east of the Andean mountains, which Blackadar theory does not address). Onother aspect is the terrain effect (Zhong et al., 1996; Stensrud, 1996). Terrain blocking and other terrain features (e.g.: gap flow, corner effect) create boundary currents with consequence flow acceleration and jet-like profiles. Although PBL processes, which are also taken into account the Blackadar theory via Diurnal variation in the eddy viscosity in the PBL, produces retardation of the flow near the surface jet-like profiles.
The formation of the nocturnal inversion and related boundary layer processes have been found to be associated with the Low-Level wind maximum in a SALLJ case. In this particular study, not only the Boundary layer processes are analyzed, but also other vital elements that influence the development of two particular LLJ events.
From the above discussion it is apparent that a number of different mechanisms can be used to explain the formation of LLJ in this particular zone. Typically, none of these mechanisms alone can explain the observations as found by Blackadar (1957), who illustrated that diurnally varying eddy viscosity alone cannot give a satisfactory explanation of the diurnal wind structure. Stensrud (1996) highlighted the importance of terrain effects the structure of the LLJ, the diurnal cycle of sensible and latent fluxes, large-scale forcing, and the PBL evolution in producing LLJ. Walters and Winkler (2001) and Walters (2001) organized the LLJ event in twelve different spatial configurations of southerly warm season low-level wind maxima in the Great Plains (USA). They found that only 1 of 12 configuration types appeared to be purely boundary layer-driven wind maximum. For the remaining types, the relative influence of synoptic forcing and boundary layer forcing varied. To that end, the SALLJ case is not expected to be driven for clearly defined mechanisms. Nevertheless, this work attempts to describe via observations whether or not there is an influence of the PBL structure in the development of the SALLJ as well as to show the importance of the terrain effect in the spatial distribution of the wind maximum.
This paper proceeds as follow. Section 2 gives a brief description of the climatoly of the phenomena. Section 3 presents the characteristics of the data sets used in the analysis. Section 4 includes analysis related the diurnal cycle of the LLJ during SALLJEX . Section 5 shows the NOAA P-3 data and discusses different PBL features influencing the LLJ. Section 6 contains some remarkable aspect about the terrain effect. Comments are included in the final section.
2 Climatology And Regional Description
Figure 1 shows, based upon the long term meridional wind values, it is observed that on average the North America Low Level Jet (NALLJ) events over the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains occur mainly during summer. In contrast, SALLJ has been identified as a key part of the monsoon system, but unlike other LLJs, and in particular the NALLJ, it occurs throughout the year (Fu and Wang, 2002). SALLJ plays a major role in the moisture transport from the Amazon Basin to northern Argentina, Paraguay and Southern Brazil during the summer (Figure 1c) with both moisture and wind enhancing the develop of precipitation (Berbery et al., 2002).
The Andes and the Rockies are major mountain ranges that deflect the prevailing atmospheric flow producing low level jets. Both mountain ranges extend from the tropics to high latitudes, and effectively block the low-level circulation, particularly in summer. There are however, important differences in topography. The Andean peaks are nearly twice as high as the Rocky Mountains, and they rise abruptly from low elevations, without substantial intervening zones of gently sloping terrain, see Figure 2a. Although the Andes extend from high latitudes to equatorial latitudes, they exhibit mesoscale dimensions of the order of 500 km or less in the east-west direction. Possibly because of this, the seasonal cycle of the east Andean LLJ may not be as pronounced as that of its North American counterpart (Nogués-Paegle et al., 1998).
Elevated orography is also found around southeast Brazil, near the Atlantic coast. Although these mountains are much lower than the Andes, they are more extensive than the Appalachian mountains of eastern North America, and play a prominent role in low SALLJ (Nogues-Paegle and Paegle, 2000). The bend of the Andean mountain (the so-called Andean elbow 20º S) is other topographic structure to notice. Campetella and Vera (2002) made reference to this feature where LLJ wind maximum episodes have been observed with some frequency.
Figure 1. Panel showing the long term meridional wind for North America (upper plots), during the boreal winter (a) and summer (b), and for South America (lower plots) during the austral summer (c) and winter (d). Source: NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis.
Twenty Pilot Balloon (PPBB) stations were established over the SALLJEX region to measure vertical wind profiles, see spatial distribution in Figure 2b. Although the profiles were measured every 3-Hours, only 1200UTC and 2100UTC profiles were used to compute the early morning (AM) and late afternoon (PM) averages. Data set range from Dec/2002 to Feb/2003 (here called the Austral Summer period). Using these data, mean profiles were composed extracting the days with strong Northerly or Northwesterly low level wind events. In addition, the NOAA P-3 aircraft was used during the experiment to measure different boundary layer processes related with SALLJ including the measurement of lower troposphere moisture fluxes and the description of favorable conditions for organized convective systems, mentioned above. From 13 flights completed during the period of the SALLJEX (Jan11-Feb8/2003) only two LLJ cases were chosen for practical purposes: February 6 flight (11:55 - 19:49 UTC) and February 7 (11:56 - 19:50 UTC). In both flights, the basic flight plan was an horizontal "Z"-shaped pattern followed by a vertical sawtooth pattern (between 950 and 700 mb) across eastern the Andean mountain; this pattern was made in order to sample both along-jet and vertical structure of the jet as well as its boundary layer configuration.
The mean kinematic evolution of the wind profiles is depicted by the pilot balloon observations. Summer average (Dec-Feb) wind speed profiles at AM and PM were estimated for 16 stations. Only days with episodes of LLJ were taken into account calculate the mean values. For practical purposes, only three stations are shown in the Figure 3; see their exact location in Figure 2b. From Figure 3a to Figure 3c, the soundings were found representative of the regions upstream of the LLJ, the elbow of the Andean mountains, and downstream of the LLJ, respectively. In the AM profiles, a narrow jet-like structure develops across the LLJ region, which extends from the eastern part of Brazil to the central part of Argentina, this feature was observed all along the east side of the Andean Mountains. The characteristic LLJ signature is weaker in the PM average soundings.
Figure 3. Mean wind speed for the Pilot Balloon stations (a) upstream the SALLJ predominant region, (b) close to the Andean elbow and (c) downstream the SALLJ predominant region. Only taking into account LLJ events that occur during the Austral Summer. The filled circles represent the AM sounding at 1200 UTC and the empty one are at 2100 UTC.
The physics behind these shallow AM maxima are fairly clear. After sunset, a surface based inversion layer developed, and the stable stratification reduces vertical mixing, so that, friction was no longer effective up to such heights as during the day time. As the growing surface inversion increasingly shields the jet from the surface friction, winds above the surface inversion layer release of all frictional constraint and then accelerate developing (eventually) a low level wind maximum. The sharp vertical wind shear and the height of the jet maximum between 800 and 1000 AGL is observed all along the jet region. Nevertheless, along the jet and at the level of the wind maximum, the mean boundary layer flow is significantly accelerated (almost three times the mean flow of the station upstream and two times the station downstream). This region of vertical and horizontal wind maxima is colocated with recognized topographic structures likely leading to such acceleration, further details about this aspects will be describe in the foregoing section.
The PM profiles show a broad, higher, and relatively smooth maximum. During the afternoon actual winds are subgeostrophic due to turbulent mixing in the deep daytime boundary layer. Friction tends to slow down the speed of the winds in the PBL as you get closer to the surface and turbulent mixing smooth the velocity profiles due to the vertical momentum transfer.
Previous analyses of wind soundings (Berri and Inzunza, 1993; Douglas et al., 1999) revealed intriguing aspects that are not easily reconciled by theoretical analyses that have been successfully applied to North American cases and to the broad calculation doing so far in this paper. The principal discrepancies are a deep late afternoon, rather than a shallow early morning wind maximum at Santa Cruz (SCZ), Bolivia (Douglas et al., 1999). It is possible that those observations do not reflect climatology since they consist of only 90 observations taken over 70 days. Based upon a numerical modeling, Silva Dias (2001) found consistencies with the theoretical analysis but did not found how to support the observational evidence of a late afternoon/early evening maximum rather than a shallow nocturnal/early morning maximum.
It is worth highlighting other observable feature of the wind profiles above the wind maximum. Geostrophic flow decreasing with height is characterized upstream and close to the Andean elbow. Although downstream the flow aloft seems not to change with height (characteristic of barotropic atmospheres), it was found that at that levels the mean diurnal difference is about the same order of magnitude that was found at low level. Such difference could be attributed to the diurnal cycle of the geostrophic wind produce by the sloping terrain to the west of this location.
5 Boundary Layer Processes
Two NOAA P-3 flights are analyzed in this section. They are the Feb06 and Feb07 both corresponding to a moderate and a strong LLJ events, respectively. Both flights were designed to capture the 3D structure of such events and following almost the same track, see path of the flight in Figure 4. The intentions of this section are, first, to show the vertical profiles of the principal variables in a location close to the wind maxima and related these porfiles with the PBL processes that prodece them, and second, to argue for some possible forcing mechanism that lead such a wind maximum profiles in relation with its spatial location.
Figure 5 shows the profiles for both flights Feb/06 (Figure 5a and b) and Feb/07 (Figure 5c and d). In either case, two soundings were plotted at different times, about 3 hours in the first flight and 2.5 hours in the second one. In general, a wind maximum (about 30 m s-1) is found at the same level of capping inversion height (about 850 mb). The first day presents weaker wind maximum (15 m s-1) at heigher level (790 mb), whereas the second day has a clearer and shallower LLJ structure with winds up to 30 m s-1. Also, it is observed that the capping inversion height is rising with time, which is a typical response of the diurnal cycle of the PBL with a well-mixed layer (ML), which was faster the second day with an observed change of 50mb/2.5hr against 40mb/hr. This illustrates in a brad way the efficiency of the additional turbulence produce likely by the wind shear. Besides the wind, specific humidity and potential temperature nearly contant within the PBL bring more evidence to say that, at this location, the ML corresponds to a statically unstable air; the second day shows how this thermodynamic profiles changes more rapidly from statically neutral (or in some layer stable) PBL into a statically unstable BL.
The thermodynamic and dynamic structures of the Feb/07 jet are plotted in Figure 6, which shows a vertical section across this LLJ event (location of these cross sections are depicted in Figure 4b). There were plotted the vertical distribution of the wind speed (Figure 6a) and the potential temperature (Figure 6b). It took about 80 minutes to flight from one side to the other, nonetheless, these variables ware considered stationary along that period of time. Potential temperatures and winds with in the PBL are relatively uniform due to the strong vertical mixing, which is more evident in the zone with higher speed.
Dynamically, cyclonic vorticity at the west side of the jet wind maximum is associated with convergence at the surface and then producing deeper PBL, whereas, to the east, divergence at the surface produced by the anticyclonic vorticity suppresses the regular growth of the PBL making it shallower.
Figure 4. NOAA P-3 flight during February (a) 06 and (b) 07/2003. Barbs and stream lines were plotted for the 850 mb level. The black squares indicate the location of the sounding plotted in Figure 5. Transect c-c’ indicates the location of cross section plotted in the Figure 6b.
Figure 5. NOAA P-3 sounding (1 second time resolution) for February (a-b) 6 and (c-d) 7/2003. From the left column to the right there were plotted the temperature and dew point, the wind speed, the potential temperature and the specific humidity. The soundings (a) and (b) correspond to the same place at different times, the same for sounding (c) and (d), see Figure 4. The continuous horizontal lines indicate the PBL top level at the time of the sounding and the dash lines indicate the PBL top level of the previous pass.
The unequal heating from west to east over this sloping terrain produces the baroclinic environment, which is evidenced in the Figure 6b. Above the capping inversion the potential temperature is rising from west to east. Moreover, this temperature gradient is further enhanced due to a deep daytime PBL over the High Plains against a shallower PBL to the east. At the time of maximum heating, the mesoscale pressure gradient results in a stronger northerly geostrophic wind in this region, which bring stronger evidence to support the diurnal change of the geostrophic wind that was mentioned earlier regarding the thermal wind law.
6 Terrain effect
Several questions arise regarding the effect of the Andean mountains as a blocking structure. The observed acceleration of the mean flow east to the Andean elbow, as mention in section 4, could be attributted not only to the change of direction of the flow throughout the corner effect, but also to the gap flow produce for the some smaller topographic structures across the jet in the same region, see Figure 7. Campetella and Vera (2002) did simulations of the atmospheric circulation over South America only forced by the presence of the Andean mountains. Those simulation were capable to reproduce the main features of the LLJ but but diurnal observed differences are not well simulated. The dynamical effects associated with the flow along this conbinated structures are not well understood. So that, future work I this area could be done studying conceptual models for flow patters using separeted configuration via numerical simulation and using idealize topographical features.
Figure 6. wind speed pointing outward (a) and potential temperature on the vertical cross section in February 7/2003, see cross section c-c’ in the Figure 4b. Da(improve this plot and drow the PBL top line)
Significant low-level jets occur to the east of the Andean mountains in a topographical pattern very similar to the LLJ that normally develops during summer at the Great plain in United States in the northern hemisphere.
AM and PM wind profiles based on PPBB observations were found that agree with the classical LLJ theory and PBL concepts. Although the mean profiles were made to illustrate the diurnal differences (AM-PM) and its associated processes, they necessarily do not to take into account that pure inertial oscillation theory (Blackadar, 1957), which predicts that LLJ wind maximum should be reached earlier at higher latitudes that at lower latitudes, where the inertial period is shorter. To that end, the hours chose to represent the extremes of the diurnal cycle necessarily do not represent the phase of the actual diurnal and semidiurnal cycle.
Researh aircraft observations have been used to study the dynamical structure of the SALLJ during two events in Feb06 and Feb07 2003. The analyzed flights show a low level temperature gradient in the region where the maximum wind zone was found. Dynamically, this baroclinic zone is enhanced around the core of the jet maximum due to the cyclonic and anticyclonic vorticity produce around the wind maximum.
In the analyzed flights the height of the wind maxima coincided with the capping inversion level. Nevertheless, Stensrud (1996), Walters and Winkler (2001) and Walters (2001) found episodes in the NALLJ when the capping inversion height and wind maxima heigh do not coincide. To that end, and taking into account that both phenomenas NALLJ and SALLJ are relative similar, it is expected that the wind maximum level is not always expected to occur at the same level of the capping inversion.
Considerable extended work over the whole set of observations collected during SALLJEX will be required for a more completed and systematic analysis of this very complex phenomena. Also, a quality control has not been performed over the obsevation. So that, some comments and conclusion could change after some extend control.
Berbery, E., E. Collini, J. Paek,M. Pyle, P. Lonergan, 2002: Mesoscale Diagnosis and Simulation of the South American Monsoon System, Eos. Trans. AGU, 83(47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract A61E-02.
Blackadar, A. K., 1957: Boundary layer wind maxima and their significance for the growth of nocturnal inversions, Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc.,, 38, 282-290.
Berri, G. J. and B. J. Inzunza , 1993: The effect of the low-level jet on the poleward water vapour transport in the central region of South America. Atmos.Env.27A, 335-341.
Campetella, C. M. and Carolina S. Vera, 2002: The influence of Andes mountains on the South American low-level flow, VAMOS/CLIVAR/WCRP Conference on South American low-level jet. Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia,
5-7 February 2002.
Douglas, M, M. Nicolini and C. Saulo, 1998: Observational evidences of a low level jet east of the Andes during January-March 1998. Meteorologica, 23 , 63-72.
Douglas, M, M. Nicolini and C. Saulo, 1999: The low-level jet at Santa Cruz, Bolivia during January-March 1998, pilot balloon observations and model comparison. Preprint Volume, Tenth Conference of the AMS on Global Change Studies, Dallas TX, January 1999.
Fu, R and H.Wang, 2001: What Controls the Seasonal Changes of the SALLJ?, VAMOS/CLIVAR/WCRP Conference on South American low-level jet. Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, 5-7 February 2002.
Hartman, M.K. 1999: An Investigation on the Formation, Wind Flow, and Persistence of Boundary Layer Wind Maxima, Final Manuscript. Dept. of Geography and Meteorology, Valparaiso University.
Nogués-Paegle. J., K.-C. Mo and J. Paegle, 1998: Predictability of the NCEP-NCAR reanalysis model during austral summer. Mon. Wea. Rev., 126, 3135-3152.
Paegle, J., 1998: A comparative review of South American low-level jets. Meteorologica, 23, 73-81.
Salio, P, M. Nicolini and C. Saulo, 2002: Chaco Low-Level Jet Events characterization During the Austral Warm Season by ERA Reanalysis, VAMOS/CLIVAR/WCRP Conference on South American low-level jet. Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, 5-7 February 2002.
Saulo, C, M. E. Seluchi and M. Nicolini, 2002: Low level circulation associated with a Northwestern Argentina Low event, VAMOS/CLIVAR/WCRP Conference on South American low-level jet. Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia,
5-7 February 2002.
Stensrud, D. J., 1996: Importance of Low-Level Jets to Climate: A Review. Jrnl. Of Climate. 9, 1698-1711.
Silva Dias, Pedro, 2001: Numerical Simulations of the Andes LLJ: Sensitivity to Model Resolution and physics.
Velasco, I., and J. Fritsch, 1987: Mesoscale convective complexes in the Americas. J. Geophys Res., 92, D8, 9591-9613.
Zhong, S., J. D. Fast, and X. Bian, 1996: A Case Study of the Great Plains Low-Level Jet Using Wind Profiler Network Data and a High-Resolution Mesoscale Model. Mon. Wea. Rev., 124, 785–806. | <urn:uuid:f888938f-857d-43e1-82f8-a911524952b9> | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/projects/pacs/salljex/archive/research/mejia/ABL.Mejia.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1413507448218.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20141017005728-00334-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927165 | 5,631 | 3.421875 | 3 |
face indicates a little before 42
minutes past 4.
The hands will again point at exactly the same spots a little after 23
minutes past 8.
In fact, the hands will have changed places.
many times do
the hands of a clock change
places between three o'clock p.m. and midnight?
And out of all the pairs of times indicated by these changes, what is
the exact time when the minute hand will be nearest to the point IX? | <urn:uuid:d672bfb2-8d85-4cb6-bd36-21d930cbff20> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.pedagonet.com/mathgenius/test1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280872.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00373-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905691 | 101 | 2.828125 | 3 |
By John D. Hopkins
Around the turn of the 20th century, many people in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints were dissatisfied with existing representations of their first leader, the Prophet Joseph Smith. As evidence of this, Dean C. Jessee relates the following from some prominent Church member's opinions about some of Joseph Smith's portraits:
"In December 1894, a service commemorating Joseph Smith's birth was held in the old Sixteenth Ward meetinghouse in Salt Lake City. Bathsheba W. Smith, one of the dwindling generation of Latter-day Saints who knew the Prophet, spoke to the assembly. The aging matriarch mentioned that she had been personally acquainted with Joseph and that she prided herself as a judge of handsome men. Then, referring to cherished paintings of the Prophet adorning the walls of the chapel, she commented that they were 'but little better than cartoons'; they were nothing but 'libels' and 'ought to be burned.'
"Further, Patriarch John Smith and Angus M. Cannon, who also spoke on the occasion, echoed Bathsheba Smith's observation. Others in the nineteenth century were equally unimpressed by the pictorial record. Alfred B. Lambson noted of Joseph, 'there are no pictures that do justice to him.'"
Perhaps, not all felt so strongly, but at the time, the main representations of the Prophet in use appeared to be some crude profile drawings by Sutcliffe Maudsley and a front-view oil painting owned by The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (now known as The Community of Christ), both of which were done during Joseph Smith's lifetime. There were other portraits, but the above-mentioned images seemed to have risen to the top in their authoritative authenticity at the time.
Apparently however, Joseph and his wife Emma actually disliked this latter RLDS portrait because it "made him look foxy [sly]." Also, when Junius F. Wells visited Emma Smith in the winter of 1875--76, this painting was hanging in her home. He asked her what Joseph thought of the painting, and she replied, "I can tell you that, for I asked him, and he said: 'Emma that is a nice painting of a silly boy, but it don't look much like a Prophet of the Lord!'" More recently, Ephraim Hatch in his comparisons of Joseph Smith portraits with the death mask, concludes: "A major surprise to me was to learn that the very popular front-view [RLDS] oil painting is not a very accurate portrait of Joseph. The artist was skillful in making beautiful facial features, but the relationship of one feature to another is not correct."
Prior to 1910, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seems to have mainly used the Maudsley shadow-derived portraits of Joseph Smith in Church publications. These drawings were made by tracing the profile of a person's shadow and then filling it in. During Joseph Smith's lifetime, photography was still in its infancy --- no known photographs were actually taken of him. Though there are claims to the contrary, research has shown these daguerreotypes have turned out to be of the RLDS portrait. The RLDS portrait was apparently not available to the Church for its publications until later. Though the Maudsley shadow portrait was an accurate profile of Joseph Smith near the latter end of his life, other elements were disappointing and became tiresome to Church members as it was so frequently published, with the reproductions apparently deteriorating.
Artwork 1. "Joseph Smith, the Prophet", 1910, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in., Courtesy of the Museum of Church History and Art
Church service and religious education were important to Lewis A. Ramsey. He believed that children should be shown accurate and interesting visual images of their beliefs. So he decided to make a new portrait of Joseph Smith. His wife said, "He thought it would do some good as all we ever saw were the awful profile[s] of Maudsley which became worse and worse..."
For about ten years before Lewis A. Ramsey put to canvas his well-known portraits of Joseph Smith in 1910 and Hyrum Smith in 1911, he researched every detail. Although there was no photograph of Joseph Smith, in the early 1900's there were still many helpful artifacts and sources of information made available to him and used by him in making the portrait:
· The death masks of Joseph and Hyrum, cast the day after their martyrdom
· A lock of Joseph's hair, showing his hair color
· A black dress coat that had belonged to Hyrum Smith, provided by descendants
· A good black and white photograph of the RLDS portrait, though this would have had very limited influence in the Ramsey portrait because L. A. Ramsey knew that Joseph and Emma Smith were not pleased with it
· An original drawing by Maudsley, which served at least to show the way the Prophet combed his hair at the time, the style of his collar, tie, and clothes generally
· A living relative to serve as a model, Wesley Smith (a grandson of Hyrum Smith), whose body build and head shape were reported to be similar to Joseph's
· The knowledge of people still alive who had known Joseph and Hyrum Smith personally
· Church Historian B. H. Roberts, whose office was across the hall from L. A. Ramsey's studio for a time, provided historical details about the Prophet's appearance
Most notable among those still living that had known Joseph Smith personally was "Aunt" Bathsheba W. Smith, General President of the Church's Relief Society from 1901 to 1910. Sister Smith was the wife of George A. Smith who had been 1st Councilor to Pres. Brigham Young. She had some skill as an artist herself, having studied with an artist in Nauvoo and even made a drawing of Joseph Smith once while he was preaching. She had known Joseph very well when she was a young woman, even having her wedding breakfast in his home. She was believed to have had a more accurate remembrance of him than did many who were younger at the time, including Joseph Smith's own children who were much younger than she when Joseph was martyred.
Lewis A. Ramsey also made portraits of Bathsheba Smith in 1908 and 1910. While sitting for them, she spoke of many incidents involving Emma Smith and the Prophet. She spoke much of the Prophet's character, habits, etc., all of which helped to give a greater understanding of him. When Wesley Smith posed for Mr. Ramsey's portrait, Bathsheba Smith tied the tie depicted in the portrait as it was done in Joseph Smith's time. Wesley's hair was combed in the style of the day and he wore the coat that had belonged to his grandfather Hyrum. Bathsheba Smith also said that Joseph always wore a ring on his right hand. The RLDS portrait also showed this. So Lewis placed the ring on the right hand rather than the left.
Artwork 2. Bathsheba Wilson Bigler Smith, 1910, oil on canvas, 30 x 25 in., Courtesy of the Museum of Church History and Art
The Maudsley profiles were of course a side view of Joseph Smith and the RLDS portrait was a direct frontal view. But L. A. Ramsey's portrait was to be a new perspective of the Prophet --- a three-quarters view. He would also hold in his left arm what he himself called "the keystone of our religion", the Book of Mormon, which he translated and published to the world.
The final result appeared astonishingly authentic and seemed to truly capture the spirit of the Prophet. Mrs. Ramsey records in a letter, "Those who knew the Prophet praised the portrait." When Bathsheba Smith first saw the finished work she wept and exclaimed, "Oh, Lewis, that is the Prophet." Lucy Kimball, Joseph's last living wife, came up to Lewis' studio to view the portrait. She sat looking at it for some time, crying softly and said approvingly, "It is Joseph." Present in the studio at the time were Edna Smith, wife of President Joseph F. Smith, George D. Pyper, George Q. Morris (later a member of the Quorum of the Twelve), and others. A Church publication in 1910 corroborates this by writing of "the portrait, which many people, alive today, and who knew [Joseph Smith], declare to be more life-like than any previous painting of the Prophet." A newspaper article, also from 1910, records how others studiously approved of the portrait:
"Artist L. A. Ramsey has completed a picture of the Prophet Joseph, which promises to become the standard representation of the founder of the Latter-day Saint Church. Mr. Ramsey has made the picture from what authentic sources are extant, comprising chiefly the death mask of the prophet, also from descriptions by relatives and friends who carried his memory deeply embedded in consciousness.
"These relatives and friends have all pronounced the portrait an almost absolutely perfect one, and all express themselves as delighted with the result of Mr. Ramsey's work. Besides these more personal critics a number of others who have viewed the portrait have declared it to be a wonderful expression of personality as represented in known attributes of the subject. Among these, two well known students of physiognomy sat down before the portrait and wrote separate impressions of it which are given below:
"The first is by B. F. Cummings and the second by N. Y. Schofield.
"There is now on exhibition at the studio of Mr. Lewis A. Ramsey an oil portrait of the Prophet Joseph Smith, which will certainly create unusual interest as it comes to be better known among the cultured followers of that great reformer. At the very first glance the portrait produces a striking effect upon the beholder and this effect becomes more profound as the painting is more closely studied.
"Any person who believes in the mission of the great modern seer and has made a study of his life, works, teachings and personal peculiarities, is very likely to see in this picture a far better conception of its subject than he has ever formed in his own mind.
"We know that the prophet was a man of splendid physique and tall, athletic and well built figure: that his eyes were of a clear blue and his hair of light brown; that his language, manner and disposition were cheerful and sometimes jovial; that his nature was loving and affectionate; that he was intensely active, mentally and physically; that he was an eager student and an orator of rare power; and that he was as brave as a lion.
"Here in this portrait we have all of these traits brought out. Physical beauty of face and form, a cheerful spirit, a kindly almost loving expression of the mouth, a look of keen perception and rare intelligence overspreading the face, and an impression of courage and power are all impressively portrayed.
"Rarely does an artist
succeed in imparting to the eyes of his subject so life-like and remarkable an
expression as is here seen. ... This reproduction of the features [of] the
Prophet Joseph is pleasing and impressive in a very unusual degree and cannot
fail to add to the reputation of the artist. It is proper here to add that his
success was largely due to his diligence in obtaining from living persons and
other sources detailed information and descriptions of the prophet's personal
appearance, which he has most happily combined into a portrait that is probably
as faithful a likeness of the original as is now extant.
B. B. CUMMINGS.
"The original painting of the Prophet Joseph Smith, just finished by Mr. Ramsey, from which the accompanying photograph is taken, must be admitted a striking yet perfectly consistent departure from the usual likeness of the prophet with which we have become familiar, and whatever effect it may have upon the trained and skeptical eye of the art critic, the writer of course cannot say, but to the ordinary layman at least the production is decidedly new, pleasing and captivating.
"Without any personal knowledge of the prophet it is only possible to criticize the painting either by comparison with other pictures or from our conception of his personality obtained by a careful study of his life, his character and his achievements.
"We know for instance that, entirely apart from any consideration of divine aid, in his brief but eventful career, Joseph Smith exhibited to a marked degree certain well defined traits of character---some weak, some very strong, that necessarily distinguished him from all others, and in the intelligent, expressive features of this beautiful painting by Mr. Ramsey the student of human nature may readily detect one by one the various physical evidences of that well known power. Extraordinary results are accomplished only through the medium of extraordinary agencies, and certainly the artist in this instance has not overlooked them.
"The expression of the eye is really wonderful and many other features seem to call for special comment, but the limits of this brief article forbid detail.
"The writer disclaims any special knowledge of art, but will say that the happy blending of the different temperaments, the general contour of the head and every physiognomical [thing] are all clearly marked... and from the human nature standpoint, all are in exact accord with the well known and established characteristics of the prophet.
N. Y. SCHOFIELD."
Not all praised the portrait however. Leaders of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith's own descendants, criticized the work. This was to be expected though because their revered RLDS portrait of Joseph Smith, which had incorrect facial proportions, hung in their homes and became the main influence of their concept of Joseph Smith's appearance over the years.
At the time Lewis A. Ramsey completed the painting of Joseph Smith in 1910, the Salt Lake Tribune wanted to buy it for $1000. Mr. Ramsey went to President Joseph F. Smith of the Church and asked him what he should do. President Smith kindly said, "Oh, that portrait should belong to the Church" and that he would speak to the brethren about it. The Tribune then told Lewis, "Name your price." When President Smith learned of this, he wondered what the Tribune wanted the portrait for. Lewis' wife later said, "I have always thought they would have reproduced it and given it as a premium for subscriptions as at this time our people didn't think too kindly of the Tribune." Lewis would not even name a price to the Tribune but sold it to the Church for $1000, the amount first offered by the Tribune. Principle meant much more to Lewis than money. As to the copyright, it went to the Church with the purchase of the painting. But President Smith agreed that Lewis should have the full right of royalties and sales, except for when the Church published it. The entire financial return to the Ramsey's from royalties turned out to be less than $52.50.
Perhaps part of the reason for the low rate of return was some unauthorized reproductions outside of the Church. It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and despite the Ramsey's sincerest efforts and frustrations in controlling the copyright and reproduction outside the Church, according to the copyright laws in existence at the time, the free use or imitation of the portrait seemed irrepressible. The painting appeared so authentic that some people have even mistakenly thought it was painted much earlier.
One of the most daring imitations was by Crawford Anderson. He saw, he said, a portrait of the prophet published in some magazine. He had two of the best artists in New York make a copy of the photograph in the magazine, changing the tie to avoid the copyright. Anderson said that the magazine got the picture from an old history in Ohio. He accused Lewis of getting his from the same place. After some discussion about putting this story in the Rotogravure section of the Deseret News, the old history in Ohio was sent for. There was the portrait as Anderson said, but under it was the statement, "Inserted by the permission of the artist, L. A. Ramsey." However, there were many of these copies of Anderson's sold.
In December of 1924, The Ladies' Home Journal printed a copy of Lewis A. Ramsey's portrait of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Unfortunately they had printed it without Lewis' knowledge and without his signature or copyright notice. When Lewis found out about it, he wrote a note to the editor, Barton W. Currie of Philadelphia, Penn., dated April 27, 1925:
"In the December, 1924 issue of the Ladies' Home Journal was printed a portrait of the Prophet Joseph Smith. This is a copy of my portrait of him, which I made and copyrighted in 1910. I note that both the sign of the copyright and my signature were omitted from the print. Inasmuch as the printing of this was a violation of the copyright law, I expect a royalty and a recognition of my work.
"L. A. Ramsey"
The following month, the Journal's lawyer responded in a letter dated May 19, 1925:
"Mr. Currie has asked me to reply to your letter of April 27th regarding reproduction in the December issue of the Ladies' Home Journal of a portrait of the Prophet Joseph Smith, painted by you.
"It is and always has been the policy of The Curtis Publishing Company in reproducing an artist's work to give proper credit even though the work may not be protected by copyright, and it is a matter of regret that this was not done in this case. You will appreciate, however, that The Curtis Publishing Company were innocent of any intentional infringement of copyright in as much as the print from which this reproduction was made contained no copyright notice, and such publication could therefore not be the basis of any claim for royalty.
"Yours very truly,
"Ralph B. Evans"
Of course there were many legitimate reproductions done, such as those done by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Ramsey's were most concerned about the display of the signature and copyright date as that was important to retaining copyright under the laws of the time and that Mr. Ramsey received due credit.
Mrs. Ramsey also speaks of good reproductions of the portrait in pamphlets and such in Europe and America: "Bro Frank I. Kooyman has a fine reproduction printed in Holland, maybe like [the] pamphlet written in Dutch. [The] signature shows plainly. So good ones can be made [from it]. I have a letter written to Bro Ramsey from J. Frank Pickering. He has supplied Bro Ramsey['s] portrait to the Writer's Project for reproduction in a Nauvoo guide." This latter publication occurred in 1938 and was part of a federal work project sponsored by the Works Progress Administration. They wrote:
"The Federal Writers' Project of Illinois has compiled a Guide to Nauvoo, Illinois, which is to be published shortly by A. C. McClurg and Company. We believe it would considerably enhance the interest of the book if we could secure your permission to reproduce your two fine paintings of Joseph Smith and Hiram Smith.
"The inclusion of these pictures was suggested by Mr. J. Frank Pickering, and is heartily concurred in by both Mr. John T. Frederick, regional Director of this Project, and myself. We would, of course, give you credit in the prefatory note of the book.
Mr. Pickering, a friend of Mr. Ramsey living in Chicago also states in his accompanying letter that Church President David O. McKay and President Bryant S. Hinckley of the Northern States Mission favorably reviewed this guide. He then adds, "This Guide cannot fail to give a good impression of our people to the tourist who will be its main purchasers, and your two pictures will make this impression even stronger."
Also, earlier in 1938, the Illinois Quest in Quincy did a story of the Mormons in Nauvoo and used L. A. Ramsey's paintings of Joseph and Hyrum Smith to illustrate it. The editor states, "We selected your pictures of the Smiths in preference to any others available." They were also interested that Mr. Ramsey was a native of Illinois.
And so, L. A. Ramsey's portrait of the Prophet Joseph Smith was widely reproduced in both Church and national publications for decades, both legitimately and otherwise. It appears to have been the Church's main image of Joseph Smith in the first half of the 20th century. Later, more modern portrayals would come into use, although many people have felt that some of these newer portraits are more glamorized renditions of Joseph Smith's appearance. Nevertheless, new fresh images of the prophet leader, as long as they strive to match his true likeness, can give us new insights to the man and his personality. In a way, they carry on what L. A. Ramsey did in his time, giving people a new and hopefully more accurate perspective of Joseph Smith. Church Museum curator Richard Oman said of the Ramsey portrait in 1977, "It remains today perhaps the best likeness of Joseph Smith. It is certainly one of the most introspective rather than monumental portraits ever done of the Prophet."
In 1911, Lewis A. Ramsey painted a portrait of the prophet's older brother, Hyrum Smith who was Church Patriarch and his companion in martyrdom. This association led to the Ramsey portraits of Joseph and Hyrum also becoming companion portraits, usually being shown together. The portrait of Hyrum was eventually hung next to Joseph's in the Salt Lake Temple. Mr. Ramsey made the portrait of Hyrum similar to the way he made the portrait of Joseph Smith --- from a death mask and an early engraving or photograph.
Artwork 3. "Hyrum Smith, the Patriarch", 1911, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in., Courtesy of the Museum of Church History and Art
What is less known is that Lewis A. Ramsey painted more than one version of his portraits of the Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Hyrum Smith, the Patriarch. He made black and white versions for reproduction, which are the ones that most people recognize and use. Lewis also sold these versions himself in both black and white, and in sepia (brown tones).
Artwork 4. "Joseph
Smith, the Prophet", 1910, black &
Artwork 5. "Hyrum Smith, The Patriarch", 1911, black & white
These are those printed in the front and back respectively in From Plowboy to Prophet
Black and white versions of the portraits of Joseph and Hyrum Smith appeared in the book From Plowboy to Prophet by William A. Morton, published in 1912, which Mr. Ramsey also illustrated. When L. A. Ramsey sold prints of the Prophet Joseph, he would often also sell one of Hyrum to go along with it. Other than the obvious color difference, there are noticeable differences between the black and white versions of Joseph and Hyrum Smith and their original color oil paintings.
Lewis A. Ramsey also made a smaller color portrait of Joseph Smith a few years later, which hangs in the Joseph Smith building at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. The first large painting he made though has always hung in the Salt Lake Temple or its annex lobby. All others are probably imitations by others, particularly if they are unsigned and undated.
In recent years, more research has been done on what Joseph Smith looked like. Ephraim Hatch compared facial proportions in portraits of Joseph Smith, including the Ramsey painting, with the proportions found in Joseph's death mask and wrote a book about his findings and research. Though most of the research seems very good and his approach sound, unfortunately his placement of baselines for the Ramsey portrait is off, resulting in an inaccurately unfavorable conclusion that the portrait is short in the upper lip. Mr. Hatch asserts that the length of the nose from the brow to the tip of the nose would remain the same after death since it is bone and cartilage. This seems fine. Then by placing comparison lines from the brow and the end of the nose as common points of reference between the death mask and a work of art, one can visually judge how the other facial proportions measure up. But Mr. Hatch in his book places one of the lines at the bottom of the brow on the death mask and high on the brow of Ramsey portrait, causing other facial proportions to be off. Correcting this placement puts the portrait in correct proportion to the mask and the center of Joseph's lips in the Ramsey portraits fall into the correct place.
In comparing the Ramsey portrait of Joseph Smith in this way, one does notice how high the eyebrows ride in comparison to the top of the nose, but this may be a matter of facial expression. Joseph Smith's wife Emma is quoted to have said, "No painting of him could catch his expression, for his countenance was always changing to match his thoughts and feelings." So perhaps we can make some allowance for an expression in Joseph's eyebrows that is a bit different from that of the death mask.
Some sources say the L. A. Ramsey "adjusted for three days shrinkage" which suggests, if this is true, that he made conscious adjustments based on a belief at the time that the death masks were taken three days after the martyrdom. Recent research has demonstrated that the death masks were more likely taken within 24 hours of the martyrdom however. The faces in the Ramsey Joseph Smith portraits do appear a little more full than the somewhat more gaunt appearance of the death mask.
Figure 1. Comparison of Ramsey Portraits of Joseph Smith, the Prophet with the death mask
In conclusion, what cannot be contested concerning the Ramsey portrait is the ground broken in giving members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the early 20th century a fresh, new, more accurate and well-done representation of Joseph Smith, their first prophet leader. It fulfilled an urgent need at the time to have a painted image of him that they could be proud of and use in their publications.
Copyright 2005 John D. Hopkins
Salt Lake Herald, 24 Dec. 1894; Dean C. Jessee, "Sources for the Study of Joseph Smith," in Mormon Americana: A Guide to Sources and Collection in the United States, ed. David J. Whitaker (Provo, Utah: BYU Studies, 1995), 7.
Some sources attribute this painting to William W. Major and others to David Rogers. Ephraim Hatch is inconclusive on its artist in his work, Joseph Smith Portraits.
According to Bathesheba Smith as mentioned in a letter draft from Mrs. Bessie B. Ramsey to "Brother Ashton".
Junius F. Wells, "Portraits of Joseph Smith the Prophet," The Instructor, February 1930, 79--80.
Joseph Smith Portraits, A Search for the Prophet's Likeness, p. 107; Hatch finds quite convincing differences in how closely the eyes are set and in size of the mouth and lips and their distance proportionally from the nose.
Though there are claims that there is a photograph of Joseph Smith, recent research has determined this photograph to be that of the RLDS painting. (See Joseph Smith Portraits, A Search for the Prophet's Likeness, by Ephraim Hatch, pp 57--68)
1953 letter to M. C. Josephson from Elizabeth P. B. Ramsey
Lewis A. Ramsey Eulogy, by his son Ralph Ramsey.
1953 Letter to M. C. Josephson by Elizabeth P. B. Ramsey
1953 Letter to M. C. Josephson from Elizabeth P. B. Ramsey. This detail was criticized by one of Joseph Smith's children, President of the Reorganized Church in a letter to the Salt Lake Tribune. He said, "The only ring he ever wore was worn on his left hand." This contradicted the painting done during Joseph Smith's lifetime and Bathesheba Smith's testimony.
1943 Letter to "Bro. Ashton" from Elizabeth P. B. Ramsey (Church Archives)
Lewis A. Ramsey, Hawaiian Temple Muralist, James L. Hopkins. This story was corroborated by L. A. Ramsey's daughters Betty and Jean who had heard their mother tell the story many times.
1939 Letter Draft to T. C. Romney from Mrs. L. A. Ramsey; 1943 Letter to "Bro. Ashton also from Mrs. Ramsey
Juvenile Instructor 45, no. 4 [April 1910]: 153
1943 Letter to "Bro. Ashton" from Mrs. L. A. Ramsey
Once after attending a session in the Salt Lake Temple with my wife, we asked a supervising temple worker about some of the deeper meanings of the temple ordinances. As we walked down the hall conversing where the Ramsey paintings of Joseph and Hyrum now hang, I told him that my grandfather was the artist of these paintings. Observing our young age, he was quite skeptical and very certain that "these were brought over the plains from Nauvoo" in the 19th century. I'm not sure I ever convinced him otherwise, though the signature and date is on the paintings, albeit very faint.
Church Archives 3.1
Church Archives 3.2
1953 Letter draft to M. C. Josephson by Mrs. Elizabeth P. B. Ramsey, (Church Archives 5596)
Letter from James R. Phelan, Managing Editor, Federal Writer's Project in Chicago, dated November 30, 1938 (Church Archives 5596.7)
Letter from J. Frank Pickering, dated November 30, 1938 (Church Archives 5596.7)
Letter from Quest Publishing Company, dated July 27, 1938, (Church Archives 5596.7).
Lewis A. Ramsey 1873--1941, Richard G. Oman
1939 Letter Draft to T. C. Romney from Elizabeth P. B. Ramsey, Church Archives
Lewis A. Ramsey Hawaiian Letters, p. 112
Lewis A. Ramsey Hawaiian Letters, p. 112
Stories about Joseph Smith the Prophet, comp. Edwin F. Parry (1934), 160. | <urn:uuid:39b4652e-da53-4b46-8c92-c79bb2535f86> | CC-MAIN-2014-52 | http://home.comcast.net/~laramseyart/Joseph_Smith_Site/Portraits_of_Joseph_Smith.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-52/segments/1418802775392.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20141217075255-00097-ip-10-231-17-201.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977882 | 6,203 | 2.765625 | 3 |
|3ds Max 2008|
Don't see the file format you need?Free File Format Conversion
Have questions? Chat with us now.Live Chat Now 24/7
Nov 9, 2015
Tiktaalik is a genus of extinct sarcopterygian (lobe-finned) fish from the late Devonian period, with many features akin to those of tetrapods (four-legged animals). Tiktaalik is an example from several lines of ancient sarcopterygian fish developing adaptations to the oxygen-poor shallow-water habitats of its time, which led to the evolution of amphibians.
Tiktaalik lived approximately 375 million years ago.
This Tiktaalik 3D model is accurately done, using scientific references and can be used for education purposes as well as other types of scenes.
Hope you enjoy using our model. We are open for questions and suggestions. | <urn:uuid:8b90bee9-10f5-414a-b34f-96d081141a92> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/maya-tiktaalik-prehistoric-fish/491128 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720615.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00266-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.842873 | 187 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Patients with depression who fail to benefit from antidepressant drugs may do better if they are also treated with a type of "talking" psychotherapy called CBT, according to new research published on Friday.
In the first large-scale trial to test the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, alongside medication for depression, scientists said they found that the combination works where drug treatment alone fails.
Nicola Wiles of Bristol University's school of social and community medicine, who led the study, said the findings underline the need to increase the availability of therapy for depressed patients.
"While there have been initiatives to increase access to CBT in both the UK and Australia, worldwide initiatives are rare," she said in a statement.
Wiles and colleagues recruited 469 adults from across Britain who had not responded to at least 6 weeks of treatment with an antidepressant. For the study, 235 patients continued with their usual antidepressant medication, while 234 patients got their usual care plus CBT and were followed up for 12 months.
The results, published in The Lancet medical journal, showed
that after 6 months, 46 per cent of those who got CBT as well as their usual care had improved - reporting at least a 50 per cent reduction in their depressive symptoms. This compared to 22 per cent of those who did not get CBT.
Patients treated with CBT, which involves talking through behaviours and ways of thinking with a trained psychotherapist or psychologist, were also more likely to go into remission and have fewer symptoms of anxiety, the researchers said. Similar effects were reported at 12 months.
Major depression affects around 20 per cent of people at some
point in their lives. The World Health Organisation (WHO) predicts that by 2020, depression will rival heart disease as the health disorder with the highest global disease burden.
While there are many antidepressants on the market, including top sellers such as Prozac and Seroxat, it is widely accepted that many antidepressants work in only half of patients half of the time, and drugmakers are struggling to come up with a new generation of drugs in this field.
Willem Kuyken, a clinical psychology professor at Exeter University who also worked on the study, said its results showed that doctors and patients should be looking beyond drugs.
"This trial provides further evidence that psychological treatments like cognitive therapy can provide substantive and lasting help to people who suffer depression," he said.
Wiles added, however, that even | <urn:uuid:31eb36eb-03e7-4c9a-9255-e5cee8cfedbf> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://www.financialexpress.com/news/when-drugs-for-depression-fail-talking-therapies-help/1041816 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1409535921872.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20140909033919-00210-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974007 | 502 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Category: Research article
article id 98, category Research article
Mounding and scalping prior to reforestation of hydrologically sensitive deep-peated sites: factors behind Scots pine regeneration success. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 4 article id 98. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.98
Watering up typically ensues after clearcutting forestry-drained peatland forests. Thus, the effectiveness of maintenance drainage and soil preparation procedures becomes paramount for establishing a new generation of commercial forest. Mounding is the primary method of soil preparation applied in regeneration sites lying on deep peat. As raised planting spots, mounds are resistant to waterlogging and assumed to be beneficial for organic matter (OM) decomposition via, e.g., increased soil aeration and temperature, which would also enhance seedling growth. In recent years, however, less intensive and cheaper alternatives like scalping have been sought with some reported cases of success. Our case study investigated the survival and growth of Scots pine outplants in mounds, scalps, and unprepared microsites along a moisture gradient. After three growing seasons, mounding accelerated neither seedling growth nor OM decomposition relative to the unprepared treatment. Survival in mounds was nonetheless superior overall. Scalps behaved as water collecting depressions leading to a catastrophic regeneration result. Based on our findings, water table level (WTL) overrides other growth-controlling factors in excess moisture conditions. To combat watering up coupled with greater than normal rainfall, we recommend reforestation strategies which provide elevated, prepared planting spots (i.e., mounds) or utilize unprepared, higher microforms.
article id 233, category Research article
Macroscale variation in peat element concentrations in drained boreal peatland forests. Silva Fennica vol. 42 no. 4 article id 233. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.233
Information on the variation in soil element concentrations at different spatial scales is needed for, e.g., designing efficient sampling strategies, upscaling the processes related to carbon cycling, and planning land use and management. In spite of intensive land use, such information concerning peat soils is still scarce. We analyzed the variation in peat mineral element concentrations in boreal peatland forests drained 50–60 years earlier. We wanted to quantify the proportions of variation deriving from differences between regions and peatland basins and from within-peatland heterogeneity, and to model the variation using relatively easily measurable site and soil characteristics. We utilized 878 peat samples representing the 0–20 cm layer and collected from 289 sites in 79 peatland basins. The sites represented three different drained peatland forest site types. The two strongest gradients in the element composition captured by principal component analysis were correlated with both the North-South gradient and the site type variation, and the East-West gradient. In general, most of the variation in the element concentrations was contributed by differences among peatland basins, and variation within the floristically determined sites. Most of the element concentrations were best modeled when either the bulk density or the ash content of the peat, or both, were used in addition to site type and geographical location. The explanatory power remained modest for most element concentrations. As for the P concentrations in soil, however, our models provide means for estimating a large part of the variation among drained pine mire sites.
article id 433, category Research article
Variation in soil nutrient concentrations and bulk density within peatland forest sites. Silva Fennica vol. 38 no. 1 article id 433. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.433
The within-site variability of soil characteristics on sites with different soil types remains poorly quantified, although this information is crucial for the success of research on soil properties, and especially for monitoring soil properties over time. We used coefficients of variation and multilevel variance component models to examine the within-site variation of soil (0–30 cm) mineral nutrient concentrations (P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, mg g–1; Mn, Zn, mg g–1) and bulk density (kg m–3) on boreal deep-peat sites. We then evaluated the reliability of the site-level estimates (sample means) obtained using different sampling intensities (numbers of samples per site). Our 11 sites represented a single original site type within the oligotrophic nutrient level. Two of the sites were undrained while the rest had been drained for forestry at different points in time. Overall, P concentrations showed the smallest and Mn concentrations the largest within-site variation. The sampling depth contributed more than 50% of the total variance in all other characteristics except the concentrations of P and Fe, and bulk density. The variance proportions of peatland basin, site (within basin), and sampling location (within site) varied by sampling depth for most soil characteristics. The estimates obtained when using a certain number of samples per site were always more reliable for the 0–30 cm layer’s composite samples than for any single 10-cm layer at any depth sampled. On average, it was found that between 4 (P) and some 200 (Mn) samples per site would be needed for the estimates to have a theoretical 10% maximum deviation.
article id 603, category Research article
Tree stand development and carbon sequestration in drained peatland stands in Finland – a simulation study. Silva Fennica vol. 35 no. 1 article id 603. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.603
Drained peatland forests form an important timber resource in Finland. They also form a sink for atmospheric carbon (C) because of the increased growth and C sequestration rates following drainage. These rates have, however, been poorly quantified. We simulated the tree stand dynamics for drained peatland stands with and without cuttings over two stand rotations. Simulations were done on four peatland site types and two regions in Finland with different climatic conditions, using recently published peatland tree growth models applied in a stand simulator. We then calculated the amount of C stored in the stands on the basis of previously published tree-level biomass and C content models. Finally, we developed regression models to estimate C stores in the tree stands using stand stem volume as the predictor variable. In the managed stands, the mean growth (annual volume increment) ranged from 2 to 9 m3 ha–1 a–1, depending on the rotation (first/second), site type and region. Total yield during one rotation varied from 250 to 920 m3 ha–1. The maximum stand volumes varied from 220 to 520 m3 ha–1 in the managed stands and from 360 to 770 m3 ha–1 in the unmanaged. By the end of the first post-drainage rotation the total C store in the managed stands had increased by 6–12 kg C m–2 (i.e. 45–140 g C m–2 a–1) compared to that in the undrained situation. Averaged over two rotations, the increase in the total C store was 3–6 kg C m–2. In the corresponding unmanaged stands the C stores increased by 8–15 kg m–2 over the same periods. At stand level, the C stores were almost linearly related to the stem volume and the developed regression equations could explain the variation in the simulated C stores almost entirely.
article id 5420, category Article
Effect of macroclimate on the development of Scots pine seedling stands on drained oligotrophic pine mires. Silva Fennica vol. 24 no. 2 article id 5420. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.a15574
The influence of different fertilization treatments and ditch spacings on the height growth of young Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedling stands growing under various climatic regimes were determined. Comparisons were made between naturally regenerated and planted seedling stands. The effective temperature sum had a stronger effect on the height growth of planted seedlings, and in Northern Finland the planted seedlings seemed to be influenced to a greater degree by the adverse climatic conditions. The heavier the dose of fertilizer that had been applied, the greater the difference in growth caused by macroclimate. A considerably larger proportion of natural seedlings were located on hummocks compared with that of planted seedlings, irrespective of the region. On plots with wider ditch spacings, seedlings growing on hummocks were superior in height growth to those on flat surfaces.
The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.
article id 5341, category Article
Suopuustojen rakenteen kehitys ojituksen jälkeen. Silva Fennica vol. 22 no. 1 article id 5341. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.a15498
English title: (1988). Post-drainage development of structural characteristics in peatland forest stands.
The effect of drainage on structure of tree stands is analysed by comparing the average structural characteristics (e.g. diameter distribution) of stands in the data for different drainage age classes and selected site types. The material consists of ca. 4,400 relascope sample plots, which are part of a large drainage area inventory project. The uneven-aged structure of the virgin peatland forest is preserved for several decades after drainage. This is enhanced by the post-drainage increase of small-diameter trees, especially birch. The number of trees per hectare increased during a period of ca. 30 years and levelled off thereafter. The increase in the number of saw log stems is clearly related to the fertility of the site and its geographical location.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
article id 5237, category Article
Duration of the height growth response of young pine stands to NPK-fertilization on oligotrophic pine bogs in Finland. Silva Fennica vol. 19 no. 2 article id 5237. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.a15416
This is the latest report in a series of publications from an on-going investigation which is concerned with the influence of different fertilization treatments and ditch spacings on the growth of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings and transplants growing on nutrient drained poor bogs in different parts of Finland. This paper concentrates on duration of the growth response to NPK-fertilization on the experimental plots. The experiment was established and the treatments performed in 1965–66.
The results show that climate, expressed as effective temperature sum (dd°C, threshold +5°C) has a clear influence on the duration of the fertilization effect. In Southern Finland (>1,200 dd°C), the duration was at least 15 years. In Central Finland (1,200–1,000 dd°C), it appears to be almost 10 years, and in Northern Finland (<1,000 dd°C), slightly shorter. The amount of fertilizer applied clearly influenced the duration of the fertilization effect. The dosage of 500 kg/ha (N 14, P 7.8, K 8.3 per cent) had, on average, a shorter duration than the greater dosages of 1,000 and 1,500 kg/ha. However, there was no clear difference between the latter two dosages.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.
article id 5232, category Article
A comparison of gravimetric and volumetric soil properties in peatland and upland sites. Silva Fennica vol. 19 no. 1 article id 5232. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.a15411
Transects from upland to peatland sites were laid out so as to encounter a wide range of nutritional and hydrological conditions and volumetric soil samples were taken at 20 m intervals. For organic material, in particular peats, the correlation of ignition loss with CEC and total N were clearly higher when the variables were expressed volumetrically. The volumetric expression of variables made comparison of soils with varying organic matter contents possible. In preliminary analyses of the relationships between soil variables and dominant height of the tree stand on mineral soil sites volumetric exchangeable bases, pH and C/N -ratio in the raw humus layer showed a significant correlation.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.
article id 5198, category Article
Lannoitus- ja sarkaleveyskokeita karujen rämeiden uudistamisessa ja taimikoiden kasvatuksessa. Silva Fennica vol. 17 no. 4 article id 5198. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.a15181
English title: (1983). Fertilization and ditch spacing experiments concerned with regeneration and growth of young Scots pine stands on nutrient poor pine bogs.
The effects of variations in the intensity of drainage and NPK fertilization on the natural regeneration and planting results and the subsequent development of seedling stands under various climatic conditions on drained nutrient poor pine bogs was investigated in a 16-year-old study.
Comparison of height development of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands on drained peatlands to that of pine stands growing in mineral soil sites show that in Southern Finland the most efficient forest improvement measures (10 m ditch spacing and 1,000 kg/ha NPK-fertilization) resulted in growth that corresponds a to a height index of a stand in a Vaccinium type site. Less efficient treatment (30 m ditch spacing and no fertilizer) resulted in growth corresponding the development of young stand in a Calluna type site. In Northern Finland the effect of fertilization on height growth was almost negligible. This is possibly due to a decrease in the nitrogen mobilization from south to north of Finland. Thus, it seems evident that fertilization of young Scots pine stands on nutrient poor drained peatlands can be recommended only in the southern part of the country.
The effect of ditch spacing is same in the whole country. The narrower the spacing the better the height growth. In the south planted stands thrive better than naturally regenerated stands, but the situation is reversed in the north.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
article id 7639, category Article
Vuosina 1930-1978 metsäojitetut suot: ojitusalueiden inventoinnin tuloksia. Acta Forestalia Fennica no. 193 article id 7639. https://doi.org/10.14214/aff.7639
English title: (1986). Peatlands drained for forestry during 1930–1978: results from field surveys of drained areas.
An extensive field-based survey was conducted to establish the distribution of site types on drained peatlands, the condition of the drainage networks, the post-drainage development of the tree stands, their structure and silvicultural condition and the corresponding requirements for operational measures. The data is based on sampling of the forest drainage undertaking during 1930–78 and consists of 1,312 km inventory transect, 6,030 relascope sample plots and 21,700 studied ditches.
Of the studied peatlands more than 60% were Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) mires, slightly under 20% Norway spruce (Picea abies) mires, and under 10% each treeless mires and paludified upland forest sites. The remaining peatland area that is to be considered suitable for forest drainage according to criteria used by Heikurainen (1960) now consists mainly of spruce mires and paludified upland forest types; about 1 million ha both groups still remain undrained.
The proportion of ditches in need of ditch cleaning was estimated to be under 10% in the youngest drained areas and under 30% in the oldest. The mean tree stand volumes of the drained peatlands of different site types show the same dependence on the trophic level as in earlier studies but the volumes seem to be some 5–10% lower. These results compare favourably with those of the 7th national forest inventory.
Trends in the post-drainage development of tree stand volumes and increment are also, generally, in accordance with earlier findings but have somewhat lower values. The development of the nutrient-poor site type stands, especially in Northern Finland, seems to be significantly poorer than was earlier assumed.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
article id 7604, category Article
Lannoituksen vaikutus mäntytaimikoiden kasvuun ja hirvituhoihin karuilla ojitetuilla nevoilla. Acta Forestalia Fennica no. 166 article id 7604. https://doi.org/10.14214/aff.7604
English title: (1980). Effect on fertilization on tree growth and elk damage in young Scots pine stands planted on drained, nutrient-poor open bogs in Finland.
An attempt was made in this study to determine which nutrients and in what amounts should be used in the fertilization of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedling stands on nutrient-poor open bogs in order to obtain optimum seedling growth and to minimize the risk of elk damage.
The most important nutrient to improve seedling growth in the experiments was phosphorus. Already rather small amounts produced a significant effect although the effect of higher dosages seemed to be longer lasting. After fertilization also nitrogen gave significant increase in growth. The number of seedlings damaged by elk increased the most on N-fertilized plots. Also, phosphorus increased the occurrence of elk damage, but effect seemed to be related to the better growth and more suitable size of P-fertilized seedlings. The effect of potassium on seedling growth and on occurrence of elk damage was negligible.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
article id 7584, category Article
Lannoituksen, kuivatuksen ja lämpöolojen vaikutus istutus- ja luonnontaimistojen kehitykseen rämeillä. Acta Forestalia Fennica no. 150 article id 7584. https://doi.org/10.14214/aff.7584
English title: (1976). Effect of fertilization, drainage and temperature on the development of planted and natural seedlings on pine swamps.
The paper presents some preliminary results of a 10-year-old study the purpose of which is to determine the effect of simultaneous variations in the intensity of drainage and fertilization on the development of planted and natural seedlings on peatlands under various climatic conditions. The development of the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings appeared to be better the more intensive the degree of drainage and fertilization used. The increase in the temperature sum had a positive effect on the development of pine seedlings and decreased the mortality rate.
The best growth result was obtained with a 10 m ditch spacing and strong fertilization. As it is difficult to decrease the 10 m ditch spacing for cost reasons, it can be concluded that on such oligotrophic peatlands as were used in this experiment, only an average growth level in the seedling stands can be reached even with the most efficient forest improvement measures. Broadcast fertilization used in the experiment, at least in large doses, increases seedling mortality, as well as the coverage of the ground vegetation, particularly that of cottongrass and fireweed, and also the shrub height, thus increasing competition. It cannot be recommended for afforestation, and today spot fertilization is used. According to this experiment natural seedlings seem once they have recovered after the first years, to grow better than the planted seedlings. This was true especially in the north and in areas, where drainage was not efficient. The height and height growth of the seedlings were to a large extent dependent on the temperature sum.
The PDF includes a summary in English. | <urn:uuid:271070aa-00f4-4dfd-967a-0fd1e2561bc4> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | https://silvafennica.fi/issue/author/9968 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315329.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20190820113425-20190820135425-00139.warc.gz | en | 0.911723 | 4,216 | 2.578125 | 3 |
(LifeScript Health News) That pumping beat from the 1970s Bee Gees tune “Stayin’ Alive” might be helping people do just that. A small study at the University of Illinois found that the beat to the disco tune – 103 beats per minute – provides the perfect number and rhythm of compressions necessary for CPR. The American Heart Association already stumbled across the fact – the association has been using the song for about two years as a training tip for CPR instructors – but this is the first time the song has ever been tested. Best of all, participants say, it’s not the kind of song that has to be playing in the background for you to get it in your head: In one test, CPR students were able to keep that rhythm simply by singing it in their heads.
See All Health Alerts
The #1 daily resource for health and lifestyle news!
Your daily resource for losing weight and staying fit.
We could all use some encouragement now and then - we're human!
Explore your destiny as you discover what's written in your stars.
The latest news, tips and recipes for people with diabetes.
Healthy food that tastes delicious too? No kidding. | <urn:uuid:1acc644d-87c2-4c42-9b16-0cece1dd7990> | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | http://www.lifescript.com/health/centers/heart_health/tips/stayin_alive_to_the_bee_gees.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1414119645432.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20141024030045-00208-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949343 | 247 | 2.796875 | 3 |
A few weeks ago my Ruby-throated Hummingbird visitors left for the season. Them along with many of the other visiting songbirds that breed here in my neck of the woods (Kentucky) and the eastern half of the United States. I hate to see them leave but I know that there are many types of winter bird visitors that will be coming in to replace them to make me happy.
In fact, just today my husband and I spotted a Dark-eyed Junco, a Pine Siskin, and have had two Red-breasted Nuthatches at our feeders these last two weeks. Hopefully we will be able to keep them here all winter (fingers crossed). Other birds that we should be able to count on seeing at or around our feeders are the White-throated Sparrow (actually just hearing their song in the winter is a delight), Fox Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, and Yellow-rumped Warblers.
Then there are the potential visitors which usually depends on food supplies. They are the Golden-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, and Purple Finches. Some years we get them coming to our feeders and some years we don’t.
Here is a break down of each bird and what you can do to attract them to your feeders:
Dark-eyed Junco – Many people (like my Mom) call this bird the “snow bird” because it likes to scratch with its feet in the snow to find food on the ground. You will usually see it hopping on the ground under your bird feeder or looking all comfy sitting in the snow. This gray and white bird can be found in suburban areas and along the edges of the woods. Their diet in winter consists mainly of seeds and they will also eat fruit. If you want to attract this cute little bird make sure to have millet, sunflower hearts and cracked corn.
Pine Siskin – This is a small songbird of the finch family. In fact, it looks like a goldfinch (winter coloring) with stripes on its back. They have a slimmer bill than the Goldfinch too. That is how I can tell the difference. Pine Siskins will feed on thistle/nyger seed and you will generally see more than one at a time as they come in flocks. In the photo left the Pine Siskins are all on the sides with the Goldfinch in the bottom center.
Red-breasted Nuthatch – This nuthatch is smaller than the White-breasted Nuthatch and has red on its breast. They are a very energetic bird. This year is actually a good year to get them at your backyard feeders as there have been reports of high numbers of them coming down from up north probably due to lack of food. That is a good thing for you and me. So far we have had two coming in to our feeders daily for the last two weeks. We did not get any last year at all but the previous year we had them all winter. It all depends on their food supplies. Make sure to have birdseed that contains seed and nuts or you can have suet with these in it too. They will love it!
White-throated Sparrow – I know this bird more for its long, soft whistle that it makes more than anything. I just love hearing that when I am outside on a cold winter’s day walking on a hike. It is a refreshing sound over the quiet of winter. Attract this neat bird by putting out mixed seed, cracked corn, and sunflower or peanuts. They like to feed on the ground but we get them on our platform feeder too. So far my husband and I have just heard them in our yard, they have not been at our feeders yet this season.
White-crowned Sparrow – You can find this bird in most parts of the United States and Canada. Up north and more west of the United States you can see this bird during the summer months. In the eastern half you will mostly see them during the winter months. To attract this bird make sure to have sunflower seeds in your feeders. They will usually feed on the ground but like the White-throated Sparrow they will come to our platform feeder too.
American Tree Sparrow – This common little sparrow is plump and has a long tail and has a rusty cap. I usually see them along or under my bushes in my garden on the ground searching for food. They like to eat mainly seeds in winter. They also come to our platform feeder that has a supreme seed mix with sunflower seeds, nuts, and millet.
Yellow-rumped Warbler – This is the main winter warbler throughout North America and is pretty common. If you want to attract them to your feeder you should put out sunflower seed, raisins, and/or suet with peanut butter.
Purple Finch – You will find Purple Finches up north and on the eastern half of the United States. They can be confused with the male House Finch as they look pretty similar. The difference is that the Purple Finch has more coloring than the House Finch and has a reddish crown with a white brow versus a brown crown for the House Finch and no white brow. The problem is that add the females and juveniles into the mix it can get a little more complicated. The trick is to look at them closely to see all of the details. To attract this bird offer thistle/nyger seed or safflower seed. They will also eat black oil sunflower seeds too.
Fox Sparrow – Found mostly on the eastern half of the United States in winter this big chunky sparrow is hard to miss. It has a reddish brown coloring with a streaked breast. You will see it mainly under feeders scratching the ground looking for seeds. To attract this bird offer seeds. It will also feed on berries. We usually see this bird when the weather gets very cold and also when there is snow on the ground when food sources are more scarce.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – This woodpecker winters mostly on the southeastern half of the United States. It likes to feed on tree sap but also likes fruits and berries. So you may get them in your yard if you have trees with sap, berries, or fruit. Or you can also try putting a supreme seed mix that contains berries or fruits. We get them periodically usually when food sources are scarce in the colder winter months.
Golden-crowned Kinglet – You will see this tiny bird mostly in evergreens or hear their high thin call note. That is how we usually are able to spot them. They winter throughout most of the continent. If you have evergreens you may be lucky to get them in your yard or see them passing through. We mostly see this bird while hiking in the woods.
Winter time can be just as exciting for bird watching as spring and summer. If you pay close attention you may be able to spot any of the birds that I have mentioned above at or around your feeders. By providing the right seed mix and vegetation around your yard it is almost a guarantee that one or more of these birds will be visiting your place this winter.
That is what makes bird watching so fun. There are always new birds to watch for at each season of the year and it is fun to try to attract them to your backyard. It is always a thrill to see new bird visitors coming in. Just make sure to always include a water source even during the winter months as they need it all year long. Think heated birdbaths :-).
Affiliate Disclosure – I am an Affiliate of many products promoted on this website and may earn a commission if you purchase something at no cost to you. | <urn:uuid:ef034173-c21c-47fa-9172-cc427a38dbf3> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://abirdsdelight.com/types-of-winter-birds-to-look-for-in-your-backyard | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178368608.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20210304051942-20210304081942-00444.warc.gz | en | 0.973967 | 1,622 | 2.546875 | 3 |
This month is ADHD Awareness month, a time to promote awareness and raise the profile of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) across the UK. It is an often misrepresented and sometimes misunderstood disorder that affects between 2% to 5% of school-aged children in the UK.
Therefore, teaching staff need to ensure that they adapt the classroom to suit those suffering from the disorder and understand the common behaviours.
We have put together some top tips to help you manage ADHD in a school setting.
Educate fellow pupils
Educating the class on the behaviours of certain children in the class will help them understand if they are treated slightly differently. Maybe involve the child who has been diagnosed with ADHD in the discussion, so they can explain how they feel.
Establish a routine
Make a routine and stick to it so as not to confuse the child and keep them on task. Establishing rules will keep every pupil in the class engaged and under control.
Make tasks interactive
A child with ADHD may find it difficult to sit still and focus on a full lesson. Making tasks more interactive will help keep them engaged. Letting them hand out equipment for the lesson will give them a purpose in the lesson and release some energy.
Create a quiet area
Consider making a quiet space where the child can take some time out from the lesson if they are feeling overwhelmed. Create some activities there that may take their mind off their anxiety.
You can find out more information about ADHD here. | <urn:uuid:0e268b89-6102-4418-8db0-8053e99c0bd7> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://sugarmaneducation.co.uk/2021/10/08/managing-adhd-in-school-setting/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663039492.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20220529041832-20220529071832-00395.warc.gz | en | 0.958946 | 303 | 3.546875 | 4 |
Having and maintaining a red worms compost bin is a fairly easy task. There are no dangerous chemicals to mix, expensive machinery to operate or complex steps to follow. All you need to do is make a compost bin, fill it with organic bedding, let loose the little red worms into the box and take care of them. In no time, you will have rich organic compost for your home gardening needs! It is as simple as that! But there are some essential particulars which should be considered. Paying close attention to these simple, minute details will be essential to achieving that result. If you do not take care to address these little details, your red worm compost bin will not succeed. So, what are these little details that we are talking about?
Things to Consider for your Red Wiggler Worms
Well one thing is temperature. Red worms consume food the fastest at 59-77 degrees Fahrenheit which is about 15-25 degrees Celsius. The coldest they can survive in is at around 50 degrees Fahrenheit or 10 degrees Celsius and the hottest is at 86 degrees Fahrenheit or 30 degrees Celsius.
Temperatures exceeding both points can harm your red worms. That is why it is essential to watch the temperatures in which your red worm compost bin is subject to. These temperatures indicate that your red worm compost bin can be placed inside the house during the summer season without subjecting it to any danger.
On the other hand, if the red worm compost bin is to be placed outside, it is strongly recommended that you place it in an area where it can be averted from direct sunlight and insulated against frost in the winter season.
Worm Composting Problem: Worms Climb to Top of Bin
Sometimes your red worms may try to climb to the top of the bin, do not panic. This is a very common vermicompost problem. This is a reaction of the worms to an abnormal status of your red worm compost bin. There are three possible reasons why they are doing this:
Right Moisture is the Key
One possible reason for this is that the bedding is already too dry or if this is not so, then maybe it is too wet. Another reason is probably because you added an ingredient into the compost bin which irritates the red worms. If the bedding in the compost bin is too dry, try moving it around while spraying it with water. You have to take note that the bedding should be moistened in such a way that it is damp but not wet, kind of like a well-wrung sponge. On the other hand, if the bedding is too wet, then this can be remedied by shredding some fresh, dry newspaper and mixing it with the other contents of your worm bin. You have to make sure that you mix the shredded newspaper with the contents at the bottom of the bin so that it can absorb any excess water that may have accumulated there. If it is still very wet inside the bin the next day, add some more shredded newspaper to the mix.
Give them the Right PH
Worms are also particular when it comes to the acidity of the material in compost bin. The acidity inside the compost bin should be at around 6.4 up to 6.9. They may be reacting to the acidity of the compost bin material if you see them trying to crawl out of the compost bin.
There is little to worry about if you see them trying to crawl out of the compost bin. Few ever succeed in doing so. But you have to tend to their needs if you want to keep them healthy and producing rich red worms castings for your garden. Therefore, taking note of these things when caring for your red worms is important. | <urn:uuid:910313a1-cee5-47f5-8d88-46a6c6bf9662> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://red-worms-composting-bin.weebly.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233510983.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20231002064957-20231002094957-00754.warc.gz | en | 0.947298 | 758 | 2.53125 | 3 |
One of the key points of traditional Japanese diet is serving the food. Japanese food is often served in small-sized bowls rather than a large size of a plate. Usually, dishes are placed in several bowls and eaten within an order. Also, Japanese people have a saying "hara haci bu", which means only eating until you are almost full. This saying is very common in families with children as well.
If you would like to keep yourself in control and count the calories of Japanese food, you may order a starter as a main dish or a few pieces of sushi as a starter. But still, when ordering sushi, you have to be conscious about the ingredients and cooking techniques. If you are currently following a diet, you should stay away from “tempura” named sushi, as they are the “fried” ones. If you are not sure which one is healthy when dining out, you should ask the waiter. But still, you can always keep in mind that healthier ones can be nigiri and sashimi. Sashimi is raw fish without any rice or other ingredients, and nigiri is fish over rice and usually served with wasabi.
Not surprisingly, like sushi, other Japanese foods contain mostly fish-related products a lot more than other Asian countries. This is a natural consequence of thousands of Japanese islands' geographical location. The traditional Japanese diet plan mostly is formed of rice, cooked and raw vegetables, fish and meat. To be more specific, it is a diet which is high in vegetables and grains, contains a moderate amount of protein and soy, and a low intake of dairy products and fruits. Also, in Japanese culture, snacks are rarely consumed and preferred in smaller portions. By this way, the country’s obesity level and risk of having heart disease or stroke are minimized automatically.
As Japanese style sauces may contain sugar or salt, it is better to pay attention when consuming. For example, a typical eel sauce may contain 5 grams of sugar in each spoon. Instead, you may prefer reduced sodium soy sauce. If you are controlling your blood pressure or salt intake, you may also ask to put the sauce on the side or not having it all.
If you are following a gluten-free diet, Japanese cuisine might not be easy to adapt but it can be a good choice when alternative ingredients are concerned and applied. As a typical Japanese meal consists of soup, rice, salad, meat/fish, and vegetables, it is very easy to find a way of your own. But still, it is very important to be careful about staple ingredients of Japanese cuisine such as soy sauce, rice vinegar and wine, sesame seeds and oil, soybeans and soy products, seaweeds like kombi, nori or wakame, and vegetables like ginger, daikon radish, Japanese eggplant, shiitake mushrooms, and scallions. The list might seem too much but it is possible to find the alternatives easily for each.
White coloured foods like white rice, white bread, and white noodles should be avoided if you are planning of getting low carbs. Instead, the advantage of countless vegetables can be used and preferred. For example, you may enjoy having oshinko (pickled vegetables) instead of edamame. Or eat sashimi instead of sushi as it does not contain rice. Basically preferring steamed and grilled food items along with low-carb soup alternatives, and staying away from white-coloured food items are always better for human health rather than having tempura or any kind of deep-fried dish. Also, you may enjoy drinking green tea along with your meal instead of other beverages as green tea contains natural antioxidants.
If you are a diabetic and still want to enjoy the beautiful Japanese cuisine, you should look for low-fat and high fibre dishes. Beans, peas, lentils, and green vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and spinach can be good options. Other than these, limiting batter fried food items, and having grilled meats or seafood instead should be considered as well. Miso soup, teriyaki and yakitori dishes, sushi, sokiyaki, somen, and desserts that include fresh fruits are commonly consumed among diabetics. Nonetheless, be careful about daily salt intake even consuming above items.
It is important to remind that eating healthy when having a meal outside depends on your choices. It always feels good to try new dishes and cuisine which can also affect the calorie intake. You may keep in mind above tips that we just shared, and still enjoy having tasty meals of Japanese cuisine.
If you would like to read more about Japanese cuisine, please click here. | <urn:uuid:08d230ab-5d05-404f-9495-44767e402a04> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://trysmartbite.com/blog/health-benefits-of-japanese-cuisine | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600401643509.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20200929123413-20200929153413-00151.warc.gz | en | 0.959544 | 953 | 3.125 | 3 |
Here at the Department of Amphibological Research, we take image recognition on new expeditions in the natural world and tease out the limits of intelligence. We invite you to collaborate with our team by providing new inspiration for our amphibological experiments!
1. Discover a specimen
Do you think you may have found something new and unseen by the cloud?
Capture and compose it for further analysis by our team. Check out our previous experiments to see which pictures may lead to the most amphibological results.
2. Artificial analysis
Use some kind of image recognition AI to ‘interpret’ the image. Our current favorites are Demitasse (app) and Google Cloud Vision API (online). Other popular platforms such as Amazon Rekognition are popular online platforms (you should be able to ‘try’ their products for free, after registration). CamFind, Image Recognizer and TensorFlow Object Detection are quick and easy alternatives for smartphones… but feel free to get creative: test your own image recognition softwares, describe the picture using only emojis or translate it into sounds. The only rule is that no direct human-to-human communication is allowed!
3. Equivocal Interpretation
Once you have a description you are happy with, fill in the submission form and send it our team. Our team of amphibological artists will render the new specimen based on your description. Interesting findings will be added to the amphibological archive for collective inspiration. | <urn:uuid:494c9de7-d007-4c41-87df-ca29e34390af> | CC-MAIN-2021-39 | https://amphibologicalresearch.wordpress.com/submit/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-39/segments/1631780058450.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20210927120736-20210927150736-00600.warc.gz | en | 0.911504 | 299 | 2.8125 | 3 |
The ideas for most of my blogs usually come from half-baked attempts to create some neat or useful feature that hasn’t been implemented in R. These ideas might come from some analysis I’ve used in my own research or from some other creation meant to save time. More often than not, my blogs are motivated by data visualization techniques meant to provide useful ways of thinking about analysis results or comparing pieces of information. I was particularly excited (anxious?) after I came across this really neat graphic that ambitiously portrays the progression of civilization since ca. BC 2000. The original image was created John B. Sparks and was first printed by Rand McNally in 1931.1 The ‘Histomap’ illustrates the rise and fall of various empires and civilizations through an increasing time series up to present day. Color-coded chunks at each time step indicate the relative importance or dominance of each group. Although the methodology by which ‘relative dominance’ was determined is unclear, the map provides an impressive synopsis of human history.
Historical significance aside, I couldn’t help but wonder if a similar figure could be reproduced in R (I am not a historian). I started work on a function to graphically display the relative importance of categorical data across a finite time series. After a few hours of working, I soon realized that plot functions in the
ggplot2 package can already accomplish this task. Specifically, the
geom_area ‘geom’ provides a ‘continuous analog of a stacked bar chart, and can be used to show how composition of the whole varies over the range of x’.2 I wasn’t the least bit surprised that this functionality was already available in
ggplot2. Rather than scrapping my function entirely, I decided to stay the course in the naive hope that a stand-alone function that was independent of
ggplot2 might be useful. Consider this blog my attempt at ripping-off some ideas from Hadley Wickham.
The first question that came to mind when I started the function was the type of data to illustrate. The data should illustrate changes in relative values (abundance?) for different categories or groups across time. The only assumption is that the relative values are all positive. Here’s how I created some sample data:
#create data set.seed(3) #time steps t.step<-seq(0,20) #group names grps<-letters[1:10] #random data for group values across time grp.dat<-runif(length(t.step)*length(grps),5,15) #create data frame for use with plot grp.dat<-matrix(grp.dat,nrow=length(t.step),ncol=length(grps)) grp.dat<-data.frame(grp.dat,row.names=t.step) names(grp.dat)<-grps
The code creates random data from a uniform distribution for ten groups of variables across twenty time steps. The approach is similar to the method used in my blog about a nifty line plot. The data defined here can also be used with the line plot as an alternative approach for visualization. The only difference between this data format and the latter is that the time steps in this example are the row names, rather than a separate column. The difference is trivial but in hindsight I should have kept them the same for compatibility between plotting functions. The data have the following form for the first four groups and first three time steps.
The plotting function, named
plot.area, can be imported and implemented as follows (or just copy from the link):
The function indicates the relative values of each group as a proportion from 0-1 by default. The function arguments are as follows:
||data frame with input data, row names are time steps|
||character string of at least one color vector for the groups, passed to
||logical indicating if time steps are arranged horizontally, default F|
||logical indicating if group values are displayed as relative proportions from 0–1, default T|
||logical indicating if parallel lines are plotted indicating the time steps, defualt T|
||logical indicating if lines are plotted connecting values of individual groups, defualt T|
||font size for axis values, default 1|
||logical indicating if labels are plotted on each axis, default T|
||font size for axis labels, default 1|
||character string of length three indicating axis names, default ‘Group’, ‘Step’, ‘Value’||
||additional arguments to passed to
I arbitrarily chose the color scheme as a ramp from light blue to green. Any combination of color values as input to
colorRampPalette can be used. Individual colors for each group will be used if the number of input colors is equal to the number of groups. Here’s an example of another color ramp.
The function also allows customization of the lines that connect time steps and groups.
plot.areafunction with different line customizations.
prop argument can be used to retain the original values of the data and the
horiz argument can be used to plot groups horizontally.
plot.areafunction with changing arguments for
Now is a useful time to illustrate how these graphs can be replicated in
ggplot2. After some quick reshaping of our data, we can create a similar plot as above (full code here):
require(ggplot2) require(reshape) #reshape the data p.dat<-data.frame(step=row.names(grp.dat),grp.dat,stringsAsFactors=F) p.dat<-melt(p.dat,id='step') p.dat$step<-as.numeric(p.dat$step) #create plots p<-ggplot(p.dat,aes(x=step,y=value)) + theme(legend.position="none") p + geom_area(aes(fill=variable)) p + geom_area(aes(fill=variable),position='fill')
Same plots, right? My function is practically useless given the tools in
ggplot2. However, the
plot.area function is completely independent, allowing for easy manipulation of the source code. I’ll leave it up to you to decide which approach is most useful. | <urn:uuid:5164d853-0ca2-437e-b5a1-8e52fbc4cecf> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://www.r-bloggers.com/2013/09/a-nifty-area-plot-or-a-bootleg-of-a-ggplot-geom/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103329963.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20220627073417-20220627103417-00135.warc.gz | en | 0.802632 | 1,663 | 2.734375 | 3 |
While most of the world is thought to be on long-term economic growth paths, more than one-sixth of the world is roughly as poor today as their ancestors were hundreds of years ago. The majority of the extremely poor live in the tropics. The latitudinal gradient in income is highly suggestive of underlying biophysical drivers, of which disease conditions are an especially salient example. However, conclusions have been confounded by the simultaneous causality between income and disease, in addition to potentially spurious relationships. We use a simultaneous equations model to estimate the relative effects of vector-borne and parasitic diseases (VBPDs) and income on each other, controlling for other factors. Our statistical model indicates that VBPDs have systematically affected economic development, evident in contemporary levels of per capita income. The burden of VBDPs is, in turn, determined by underlying ecological conditions. In particular, the model predicts it to rise as biodiversity falls. Through these positive effects on human health, the model thus identifies measurable economic benefits of biodiversity.
While most of the world is thought to be growing economically, more than one-sixth of the world is roughly as poor today as their ancestors were hundreds of years ago. The extremely poor live largely in the tropics. This latitudinal gradient in income suggests that there are biophysical factors, such as the burden of disease, driving the effect. However, measuring the effects of disease on broad economic indicators is confounded by the fact that economic indicators simultaneously influence health. We get around this by using simultaneous equation modeling to estimate the relative effects of disease and income on each other while controlling for other factors. Our model indicates that vector-borne and parasitic diseases (VBPDs) have systematically affected economic development. Importantly, we show that the burden of VBPDs is, in turn, determined by underlying ecological conditions. In particular, the model predicts that the burden of disease will rise as biodiversity falls. The health benefits of biodiversity, therefore, potentially constitute an ecosystem service that can be quantified in terms of income generated.
Citation: Bonds MH, Dobson AP, Keenan DC (2012) Disease Ecology, Biodiversity, and the Latitudinal Gradient in Income. PLoS Biol 10(12): e1001456. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001456
Academic Editor: Michael E. Hochberg, ISEM, France
Received: June 14, 2012; Accepted: November 12, 2012; Published: December 27, 2012
Copyright: © 2012 Bonds et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: MHB is funded by NIH Grant #K01TW008773 from the Fogarty International Center. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Abbreviations: DALY, disability-adjusted life year; IV, instrumental variable; VBPD, vector-borne and parasitic disease
Despite long-term economic growth trajectories for most countries, extreme poverty persists for more than one-sixth of the world. The distribution of wealth and poverty has a clear geographic signature. Along with 93% of the global burden of vector-borne and parasitic diseases (VBPDs), the tropics host 41 of the 48 “least developed countries” and only two of 34 “advanced economies” (Figure 1) –.
The latitudinal gradient in income is highly suggestive of underlying biophysical drivers. Latitudinal gradients are found among an extraordinarily wide range of intra- and inter-specific biological processes, from the evolution of animal body size to species diversity, and have served as centerpieces of a number of over-arching paradigms in evolutionary and ecological theory –. These common patterns suggest an opportunity for natural scientists to contribute to a more unified understanding of the role of biological processes in economic development –.
Among the many potential biological drivers, the burden of VBPDs stands out as fundamental to explaining geographic distributions of income. VBPDs continue to be among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality of poor populations. Unlike directly transmitted diseases, VBPDs spend much of their life cycle outside of the human host, in other host species or in free-living stages, and are thus especially dependent on external environmental conditions. There is now a consensus among many economists that at least some VBPDS, such as malaria and hookworm, have systematically influenced economic growth ,,–.
However, intense debate remains on the relative importance of general disease burden indices on global patterns of wealth and poverty. One side of this debate argues that tropical climates harbor more infectious diseases and offer inferior agricultural conditions, which together influence the overall level of health in the population ,,,–. This is thought to directly harm the acquisition of human capital and labor productivity, and increase mortality rates . The corresponding low life expectancies are known to also influence more subtle household allocations of resources, such as reproductive behavior, child-rearing, and long-term private investment.
On the other hand, some have argued that the effect of geography on development has only been through its historical influence on the formation of government and economic institutions –. Under this scenario, geographic constraints—notably, health conditions—have limited the movement of people and foreign investment that would have created the institutions necessary for long-term economic growth. Property rights, for example, did not enjoy constitutional protection in Central Africa because disease conditions prevented foreign settlers from establishing themselves successfully –. Instead of pro-trade institutions, extractive institutions were formed, and then preserved through reinforcing mechanisms over the course of modern history. In this literature too there is implicit agreement that the geography of human health has had significant impacts on economic development –. However, these effects are interpreted as due to the historical consequences of European colonial expansion, and are not considered intrinsically relevant to economic productivity today. Here, we query the validity of these analyses, which assumed that the underlying disease burden influenced the survival of European colonizers but not that of contemporaneous indigenous populations. The ultimate question is whether health effects are actively important today or are only a relic of history.
The distinction of whether the physical environment has systematically impacted economic productivity directly or only indirectly is important for both practical and theoretical reasons. If health is a fundamental ingredient of economic growth, then health care and nutrition would be essential components of macroeconomic strategies for poor countries, and would also be justified targets of foreign economic aid. However, if appropriate economic institutions are the sole significant barriers to economic development, then such aid may have no long-term economic benefits and would only be justified on humanitarian grounds .
There are enormous implications for how we understand broad-scale economic processes if they are systematically coupled to biogeographic and ecological phenomena. The literature on the ecology of disease transmission and evolution suggests intrinsically different behavior of infectious and parasitic disease than is typically assumed by economic models, and raises the importance of initial conditions on long-term outcomes –. An important example of the role of ecological processes on shaping human disease burdens is represented in the growing literature on biodiversity and health ,. Because VPBDs are dependent on other host species, competing parasites, and predators, their abundance may be sensitive to assemblages of other organisms in the ecosystem. Generally, high species densities increase the number of species that prey on disease vectors and free-living parasites. Lyme disease and malaria are but a few examples of diseases that have been documented to increase with the loss of other species in their food webs –. However, there is also evidence that diversity of plants, mammals, and birds are broadly correlated with diversity of human diseases . This hypothesis is further supported by the fact that biodiversity and human disease burdens are also correlated along a latitudinal gradient.
The possibility that these economic-ecological systems are coupled creates challenges for measuring causal pathways and points to the importance of scientific knowledge for informing statistical analysis. Here, we rely on the latitudinal gradient in income as a unifying framework to pursue a question of significance to the ecology, public health, and economic development literature: what are the relative effects of the burden of VBPDs and per capita income on each other? In pursuit of this question, we develop a statistical model that addresses an independently important question in disease ecology: what is the general impact of species diversity on the burden of VBPDs? To measure these relationships, we estimate simultaneous equations of per capita income and the burden of VBPDs, controlling for a range of factors. We find that the latitudinal gradient in income is explained by both the quality of institutions and the burden of VBPDs. The burden of VBPDs is, in turn, determined by underlying ecological conditions. In particular, it is predicted to rise as biodiversity falls.
The primary challenge for understanding relationships between the ecology of human health and global patterns of economic development through statistical analysis of country-level indicators is the problem of endogeneity : economic activity is hypothesized to be both a cause and a consequence of health. Simple ordinary least squares regression analysis would therefore produce biased estimates.
Endogeneity problems are addressed in econometrics through structural equation methods that rely on instrumental variables (IVs) in multi-stage regressions (for details on IVs see Methods) . IVs must be “relevant” and “excludable”—i.e., correlated with an endogenous explanatory variable of interest but not independently correlated with the dependent variable. There have been a number of studies that have attempted to measure the economic impacts of disease through IV methods ,,,,,. All such studies are limited by a general tradeoff between using broad-based health indicators (such as life expectancy or disability-adjusted life years [DALYs]), which are likely to have the most significant economic impacts, and identifying plausible instruments that are not independently correlated with income. While narrower health indicators, such as specific infectious diseases, are easier to instrument for, their effects on aggregate outcomes are more difficult to measure. As a result, conclusions from this literature have been challenged based on questions of the legitimacy of the instruments ,.
In light of these issues, we focus on the per capita burden of VBPDs as our health indicator; this has several advantages. First, VBPDs have been especially implicated in impacting economic growth. While many directly transmitted diseases, such as measles and influenza, are known to have had significant impacts on global mortality rates, their systematic relationship to economic growth over long time scales is less direct. Their high rates of transmission and short infectious periods are associated with rapid acquisition of host immunity, which often lasts a lifetime. Many directly transmitted diseases are also known as “crowd diseases” and tend to be associated with modern economically driven urbanization, and are less dependent on external environmental conditions. In contrast, VBPDs, such as malaria, leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, ascariasis, and hookworm, are more often associated with longer infectious periods, diminished immunity, and serial reinfection. They spend much of their life cycle outside of the human host in other animal hosts or free-living stages, and are thus especially dependent on external environmental conditions ,. While etiologically varied, their common ecological properties provide a basis for instrumentation.
We accordingly use a structural equation modeling approach that estimates two simultaneous equations for income and the disease burden, using relevant geographic and ecological variables as IVs . A schematic of the analysis is presented in Figure 2, which corresponds to the following structural equations:(1)(2)where M represents the natural log of per capita income, and the subscript i corresponds to the country; D represents the natural log of per capita DALYs lost to the following VBPDs: malaria, trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, dengue, Japanese encephalitis, ascariasis, trichuriasis, and hookworm ; and I is a composite index of six World Bank Governance Indicators (WGI): voice and accountability, political stability and absence of violence, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, and corruption . The variable, L, represents distance in latitude from the equator; T is a dummy variable for whether the country is located in the tropics; K is a dummy variable for whether the country is landlocked; E is the natural log of the per capita value of oil, natural gas, and coal production; B is a biodiversity index based on the species richness of plants, birds, and mammals; S is a dummy variable for whether the country is an island; and and are error terms. All variables are for the year 2002 unless otherwise noted. The model structure is discussed in detail in the Methods section, which also presents analysis of a wide range of alternative model specifications. More details on the variables can be found in Table S1 (Text S1).
The burden of VBPDs and income are estimated simultaneously, with exogenous geographic and ecological variables used as IVs. The IVs for disease are islands and species richness. These are strongly correlated with the disease burden but not independently correlated with income, and therefore can be used to make inference on the effect of disease on income.
Results for Income
Table 1 presents the results of our analysis, which tells a coherent story of the relationship between the geography of VBPDs and income (R2 = 0.84). The coefficient estimate of the impact of VBPDs on income, γ1, is −0.40, and is significant at the 1% level. This suggests that the average tropical country, with a logged per capita burden of VBPDs of 1.99, would more than double their per capita income if their disease burden were reduced to that of an average temperate country of 0.19. The effect of VBPD burden on income is also found to be statistically significant in all other supplementary analyses (Methods). Other statistically significant explanatory variables for income are the quality of institutions (γ2 = 0.38), the value of primary energy production (γ5 = 0.12), and landlocked status (γ4 = −0.54). These results broadly echo general conclusions from the literature ,. The fitted values of the model are presented along with the observed values in Figure 3 (left panel).
The dashed line represents the “perfect fit”; R2 = 0.84 and 0.76. The color represents the absolute value of the latitude.
Results for Disease
The model for the VBPD burden also appears to be well-specified, with an R2 of 0.75 and statistical significance at the 1% level for most of the explanatory variables. Consistent with the literature, the VBPD burden falls with income (β1 = −0.16), absolute latitude (β2 = −2.99), island status (β5 = −0.63), and rises discretely in the tropics (β3 = 0.96). The coefficient estimate for biodiversity (β4 = −0.29) is significant at the 1% level and suggests that if a country with a relatively high biodiversity index of 663 (such as Indonesia), were to lose 15% of its biodiversity, the burden of VBPDs would be expected to rise by about 30%. Figure 3 (right panel) presents the VBPD burdens along with the fitted values. Figure 4 (left panel) presents the biodiversity index along the latitudinal gradient, and Figure 4 (right panel) depicts the partial correlation of biodiversity and the burden of VBPDs.
(Left) Each dot represents a country. The biodiversity index is a composite index of species densities of plants, birds, and mammals, based on species area curves for every country; it is strongly correlated with the absolute value of latitude. (Right) Partial correlation plot of the relationship between biodiversity and the burden of VBPDs. All analyses indicate that biodiversity is associated with lower disease burdens after controlling for other factors.
As far back as Darwin and Wallace's theory of evolution, which was inspired by Malthus' An Essay on the Principle of Population, natural scientists have systematically borrowed theoretical approaches from economics. In the modern era, economic tools such as game theory, optimization theory, and time series analysis, have significantly contributed to our understanding of a range of biological systems, from the evolution of pathogen virulence and animal behavior, to the analysis of population dynamics and ecosystem structure –. However, with a few exceptions ,, integration in the reverse direction (from biology to economics) has lagged behind, leaving many open questions on broad-based biological determinants of economic growth.
The economic conditions of the extremely poor are, indeed, largely due to biological processes, which are manifest in health status ,. Infectious and parasitic diseases effectively “steal” host resources for their own survival and transmission ,. These within-host processes at the individual level scale up to global patterns of poverty and disease, and are evident along a latitudinal gradient. What drives these patterns?
There are significant differences between the respective approaches of economics and the natural sciences to understanding the importance of geographic and latitudinal variation. Correlated with latitude is a seemingly endless list of biophysical and socioeconomic phenomena, from soil quality and biodiversity to per capita income and religious diversity. Understanding the latitudinal gradient in biodiversity, for example, is one of many unifying questions in the search for underlying principles of biological organization. Scientists have thus addressed the problem with a correspondingly wide range of approaches and scales of analysis, from population genetics and kinetic theory to population, community, and ecosystem ecology –,. The result has been a number of competing paradigms as well as some important consensuses.
The latitudinal gradient in income, in contrast, has not been widely used to explore underlying principles in economics, and does not generally serve as a basis for integration with the natural and physical sciences. One of the most influential explanations in the economics literature is that it is merely an historical artifact, due to the process of colonial expansion from Europe –.
Methodologically, one challenge to understanding the relationship between geography, health, and economic development is a lack of scientifically based IVs. For example, used settler mortality rates as an IV for institutions, relying on the assumption that they influenced the formation of institutions but are independent of indigenous health conditions. This finding contradicts basic knowledge in microbiology and epidemiology. Vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, continue to be among the dominant causes of morbidity and mortality of tropical populations, just as they were of colonial settlers; partial immunity is acquired among those (foreign or indigenous) who are able to survive repeated infections ,.
The analysis presented here is based on an opposing hypothesis: VBPDs, while influenced by socioeconomic factors, are also determined by independent ecological processes, thus explaining their geographic signature. Disease conditions have, in turn, persistently influenced economic productivity. Our statistical model is derived from these conceptual differences and accordingly estimates income and the burden of VBPDs simultaneously. We find that the burden of VBPDs has had a substantial and statistically significant impact on per capita income after controlling for other factors. This result stands for a wide range of model specifications.
Among the ecological variables that are found to influence the burden of VBPDs, biodiversity is notable. There is an emerging literature on the relationship between biodiversity and human health, which emphasizes that VBPDs are part of broader ecosystems, and their prevalences are dependent on densities of natural predators, competitors, and other host species ,. However, understanding broader aggregate relationships have been confounded by three important considerations: (1) general biodiversity indices and disease burdens are positively correlated along a latitudinal gradient ,; (2) biodiversity and poverty are highly correlated ; and (3) the relationship between ecosystem structure and the disease burden may be highly variable over time and space, depending on the specific diseases and specific ecological assemblages . Because of these different factors, a general theory of the effect of biodiversity on VBPDs does not exist. After accounting for the effects of income, geography, and other relevant confounders, we find that biodiversity is predicted to lower burdens of VBPDs. Given the inherent underlying complexity, a fuller understanding requires more detailed studies of these relationships across disease types and ecozones.
The policy implications of these results are straightforward: (1) health conditions have influenced the ability of economies to grow over the long-term, as indicated in differences in contemporary levels of per capita income, and (2) well-functioning, diverse, ecosystems can serve public health interests. The health benefits of biodiversity therefore constitute an ecosystem service that can be quantified in terms of income generated. The theoretical implications may be equally important: economic development is coupled to ecological processes. Such integrated approaches between economics and the natural sciences are therefore necessary for explaining economic heterogeneity around the world and for identifying policies that can lead to sustainable global health and economic development.
Table 1 presents the results of two simultaneous equations estimated from a two-step IV method. For a better understanding of the data and methods, here we first heuristically present a simple example of our statistical model, which is used as a foundation from which we systematically build in control variables. The primary goal of this study is to measure the simultaneous effects of the burden of VBPDs and the distribution of income on each other. In the process of controlling for confounders we address a secondary objective, which is to measure the effect of biodiversity on disease. For heuristic purposes, we begin with a regression model of per capita income as the dependent variable and the burden of VBPDs as an explanatory variable. This approach is guided by a couple of basic statistical considerations, such as avoiding omitted variable bias and simultaneity bias.
Omitted variable bias occurs if the burden of VBPDs is correlated with other variables that are not included in the regression model but are themselves correlated with per capita income. It can be addressed by including the appropriate independent variables into the analysis, the choice of which is guided by theory and previous empirical work. In our preliminary analysis, we control for latitude, which is the most conspicuous variable that is correlated with VBPDs and also may be related to economic activity through other indirect mechanisms.
Simultaneity bias occurs when the explanatory variable is itself a function of the dependent variable. This is a serious issue in our study because poverty is known to be an underlying cause of disease. The standard approach to overcoming simultaneity bias in the econometrics literature is through the use of IVs in a structural equation model . The basic requirements for the IVs are (1) they are correlated with the endogenous explanatory variable (“relevance”) and; (2) they are uncorrelated with the error term (“excludability”) (see Assumptions and Limitations in Text S1 for more discussion of IV methods).
Identifying IVs for the burden of VBPD presents an opportunity for disease ecology to inform our understanding of the role of health on economic development. Two IVs for VBPDs that we test in this preliminary analysis are island status and biodiversity. Island status is a natural choice for an IV because: (1) ecological theory tells us that islands should generally have lower disease burdens due to lower rates of immigration/transmission and higher rates of extinction/eradication ,; and (2) island status is not independently important for economic growth in ways unaccounted for in the model. The characteristics of islands that could have economic relevance is their size and access to ports. Because we do not have complete data for many small islands, the island countries that we include cover a wide range of sizes, locations, and histories (discussed in more detail in Assumptions and Limitations in Text S1). We account for port access with a dummy variable for landlocked countries in subsequent models. These properties of the IVs are discussed in more detail in the section, Assumptions and Limitations of Instrumental Variables in Text S1.
Biodiversity, however, is a potentially more controversial choice for an IV because the literature on the relationship between biodiversity and health is ambiguous. On the one hand, biologically diverse ecosystems are thought to regulate populations of parasites and vectors through predation, competition, and dilution, putting downward pressure on human disease ,,. On the other hand, species richness has been shown to be correlated with diversity of human pathogens, potentially increasing the burden of disease . The first-stage regression is used to generate fitted values of VBPDs based on the IVs and all other exogenous variables. The first stage regression in this example is:(3)where represents the natural log of the per capita burden of VBPDs for country i; B is an index of the species richness of plants, mammals, and birds (see Table S1 for details); L is the absolute value of the latitude; and is an error term.
Column a in Table 2 presents the parameter estimates of equation (3). Column b presents results where islands are also included as IVs. Both island status (p = 0.00) and biodiversity (p = 0.00) are negative and highly statistically significant correlates of the burden of VBPDs. This is further confirmed by a simple F-test (in the case of both IVs, we test their joint significance) (p = 0.00), such that they easily satisfy the “relevance” criterion . Note that the parameter estimates for biodiversity (−0.34) and islands (−0.71) in these simple first-stage regressions are very similar to the parameter estimates for the full model presented in Table 1 (−0.29 and −0.63, respectively). Figure 5 (left panel) presents the partial correlation of biodiversity and income that corresponds to the results presented in Column b of Table 2.
(Left) Partial correlation of biodiversity and the burden of VBPDs estimated from equation (3). (Right) Relationship between per capita income and fitted value of VBPDs, , estimated from equation (3).
The second-stage regression is an estimation of the income equation. To overcome simultaneity bias, we substitute the disease independent variable with fitted values of disease from the first-stage regression:(4)where Mi represents the natural log of per capita income of country i, and is the fitted value of disease. Note that the IVs for disease (biodiversity and islands) must be excluded from this second-stage regression (otherwise the model is not “identified”). The results of the second-stage regression are presented in Table 3, and the regression line between disease and income that corresponds to Table 3 (column b) is presented in Figure 5 (right panel).
Testing the excludability criterion is not possible in models with only one IV. However, because the second specification has more IVs than endogenous explanatory variables (it is “over-identified”), we test the over-identifying restriction (Hansen's J). We find no indication that the IVs are correlated with the error term (p = 0.23) (for more details see the Assumptions and Limitations of Instrumental Variables in Text S1). Despite the simplicity of equation (4), the regression has a relatively high goodness of fit (R2 = 0.52), and is highly consistent with the results from the complete analysis presented in Table 1. Specifically, VBPDs are correlated with lower income, and biodiversity is correlated with lower burdens of VBPDs. Our goal now is to test the robustness of these results through a more rigorous analysis that includes a fuller range of statistical considerations.
Simple System of Equations
While equation (3) is an appropriate first-stage estimation of disease for the purposes of estimating a second-stage regression of income, it is not complete for our purposes. Because we hypothesize that income and disease influence each other, the most appropriate statistical approach is to simultaneously estimate equations for both variables. Consider the following second-stage equations of interest:(5)(6)Equations (5 and 6) represent the simplest possible set of simultaneous equations of income and disease that account for latitude, are “just-identified” (i.e., one IV per endogenous explanatory variable), and can therefore be estimated empirically. They each consist of one IV, which is, by definition, an exogenous explanatory variable in one equation that is excluded from the other equation (for details, see Assumptions and Limitations in Text S1). Landlocked status, K, is a common control variable in economics because a lack of ports is a major barrier to trade. However, being landlocked is an irrelevant factor for disease transmission and it is thus qualified as an IV for income; biodiversity, B, is the IV for disease. The fitted values, and , are generated from first-stage regressions: and .
Equations (5 and 6) are estimated via two-step generalized method of moments , with Stata 12. The results are presented in columns 1a and 1b of Tables 4 and 5, respectively. A first-stage F-test indicates that landlocked status is a relevant instrument in this simple specification (p = 0.00).
Full System of Equations
Equations (5 and 6) represent a system of equations that are sufficient to estimate the effects of the disease burden and income on each other. As in the simpler regression results presented in Tables 2 and 3, the burden of disease predicts lower income, and biodiversity predicts lower burden of disease. In order to test the robustness of these results, we introduce a fuller range of control variables in a stepwise fashion. There are two criteria that we used in selecting these variables: (1) they have been found in the literature to be determinants of the dependent variable; and (2) they are expected to be exogenous to this system (in particular, they are not determined by income or disease; for more details, see Assumptions and Limitations in Text S1).
As mentioned above, one of the primary hypotheses of interest is that the latitudinal gradient in income is partly due to disease ecology. The most prominent competing hypothesis is that it is instead due only to economic institutions. We therefore control for the quality of institutions via a composite index of World Bank Governance Indicators (WGI), similar to other studies (Table S1; Text S1). Because institutions, like disease, are thought to be influenced by income, we also instrument for institutions. Previous studies have used settler mortality rates as IVs for institutions, based on the premise that these mortality rates directly influenced colonial expansion, but are not independently correlated with income today ,,. However, we do not use settler mortality for two reasons: (1) we consider it a direct indicator of disease conditions, which we hypothesize to influence income today (these studies did not separately control for general disease burdens); and (2) there is no data on settler mortality rates for most of the countries in our dataset (only for countries that were colonized). Instead, invoking the same premise as these earlier studies, we allow the IVs for disease to also serve as IVs for institutions. First-stage regression results indicate that the IVs for disease are also statistically significant predictors of institutions (p = 0.05; Table S3). Though under-identification tests indicate that the instruments are relatively weak, our inferences are unaffected whether or not institutions is included as a control variable, and whether or not it is instrumented for (these different variations are not presented here).
For income, we consider two more potential IVs: ethnolinguistic fractionalization, F, and primary energy production, E (for details, see Table S1). Ethnolinguistic fractionalization is a natural consideration because it is considered to be a barrier to trade, a potential cause of civil strife, and is accordingly a common IV in global economic studies . However, over-identification restriction tests indicate that ethnolinguistic fractionalization is strongly correlated with the error term and therefore does not meet the criteria for an IV (Table 4, column 6b); this is highly consistent with recent studies by , that the disease burden may itself influence human “assortative sociality” and thereby drive patterns of human diversity. On the other hand, the value of primary energy production (oil, natural gas, and coal) is a useful control variable because it is an exogenous source of revenue for economies. For the disease equation, we add a dummy variable for tropical countries, T, because there is overwhelming evidence that many VBPDs thrive in tropical conditions due to metabolic and ecologic reasons . We do not, however, include tropics as a control variable in the income equation because preliminary analyses indicated that tropics are not statistically significant predictors of income, after controlling for other variables (i.e., latitude, disease, and institutions) (p = 0.90), but is collinear with institutions. Thus tropical conditions also serves as an IV for disease.
Tables 4 and 5 present the results of eight different specifications of the simultaneous equations estimated by two-step generalized method of moments in Stata 12 (details of the variables are in Table S1). Each of these specifications has been tested for identification (i.e., the strength of the IVs), spatial autocorrelation, and over-identifying restrictions wherever possible. The IV Moran's I test measures spatial-autocorrelation in the residuals. Statistically significant spatial-autocorrelation was not found in any of the estimates of the income equation (p-values ranged from 0.24 to 0.80), but were found in four of the eight estimates of the disease equation (p-values ranged from 0.07 to 0.54). Such spatial autocorrelation in the residuals tends to vanish when additional variables (i.e., that are geographically determined) are controlled for . However, the addition of more IVs increases the possibility of violating the excludability criterion, indicated by the over-identifying restriction test. The last three model specifications suffer from this problem (p-values for over-identifying restriction test are less than 0.1 in columns 6b, 7b, and 8b, indicating that the IVs are correlated with the error term). Despite these considerations, the parameters are very consistent across all models. The best overall specification is presented in columns 5a and 5b, which has R2s of 0.84 and 0.76, is well-identified with strong instruments and no statistically significant spatial autocorrelation. This system is represented by the following reduced-form equations that correspond to structural equations (1 and 2):(7)(8)The first stage regressions for the estimation of the income equation (7) are:(9)(10)Table S3 presents the outcomes of these first stage regressions. The identification criteria are easily satisfied. Island status and biodiversity are both significant negative predictors of the disease burden in both simple and more complex models. The first stage regression for the estimation of the disease equation (8) is:(11)which is presented in Table S4. The identification criteria are easily satisfied here as well. The landlocked and energy variables are especially effective predictors of income. The estimated effect of biodiversity on disease, and of disease on income, were statistically significant for all model specifications.
Variable definitions and sources. Details on variables definitions and data sources.
Analysis of tropical (a) and sub-tropical (b) countries. The parameter estimates are presented in columns a, b, and c. The corresponding independent variables are listed to their left. Robust standard errors are presented in parentheses below their corresponding parameter estimates. The lower sample size (and lower variability) among tropical countries results in few statistically significant estimates for the income equation. Nevertheless, the parameter estimates for the impact of disease on income is very similar across groups. IVInstrumented; lnnatural log; §units×10−2 units; ***significant at the 1% level; **significant at the 5% level; *significant at the 10% level. §units×10−2.
First-stage results in the estimation of income equation (1). Columns 2 and 3 represent parameter estimates for equations (9) and (10) respectively. The corresponding independent variables are listed on the left. Standard errors are presented in parentheses below their corresponding coefficient estimates; n = 139. ***Significant at the 1% level; **significant at the 5% level; *significant at the 10% level; §units×10−2 units.
First-stage results in the estimation of disease equation (2). The right columns represent parameter estimates for equation (11). The corresponding independent variables are listed on the left. Standard errors are presented in parentheses below their corresponding coefficient estimates; n = 139. ***Significant at the 1% level; **significant at the 5% level; *significant at the 10% level; §units×10−2 units.
The authors thank Robbie Burger for helpful suggestions on early stages of the research.
The author(s) have made the following declarations about their contributions: Analyzed the data: MHB. Wrote the paper: MHB APD DCK.
- 1. Lopez AD, Mather CD, Ezzati M, Jamison DT, Murray CJL (2006) Global burden of disease and risk factors. Washington (D.C.): World Bank.
- 2. UNCTAD (2008) The least developed countries report 2002. New York and Geneva: UNCTAD.
- 3. International Monetary Fund (IMF) (2009). World economic outlook, October 2009: sustaining the recovery. Washington (D.C.): International Monetary Fund.
- 4. McNab BK (1971) On the ecological significance of Bergmann's rule. Ecology 52: 845–854.
- 5. Willig MR, Kaufman DM, Stevens RD (2003) Latitudinal gradients of biodiversity: pat- tern, process, scale, and synthesis. Annu Rev Ecol Evol S 34: 273–309.
- 6. Hubbell SP (2001) A unified neutral theory of biodiversity and biogeography. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- 7. Enquist BJ, Niklas KJ (2001) Invariant scaling relations across tree-dominated communities. Nature 410: 655–660.
- 8. Brown JH, Gillooly JF, Allen AP, Savage VM, West GB (2004) Towards a metabolic theory of ecology. Ecology 85: 1771–1789.
- 9. Hewitt GM (2004) Genetic consequences of climatic oscillations in the quaternary. Philos Trans Biol Sci 1442: 183–195.
- 10. Hillebrand H (2004) On the generality of the latitudinal diversity gradient. Am Nat 163: 192–211.
- 11. Burnside WE, Brown JH, Burger O, Hamilton MJ, Moses M, et al. (2004) Human macroecology: linking pattern and prices in big-picture human ecology. Biol Rev 87: 194–208.
- 12. Diamond J. (1997) Guns, germs, and steel; the fates of human societies. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.
- 13. Bloom DE, Sachs JD (1998) Geography, demography, and economic growth in Africa. Brookings Pap Econ Act 99: 207–295.
- 14. Gallup JL, Sachs JD, Mellinger AD (1999) Geography and economic development. Int Reg Sci Rev 22: 179–232.
- 15. Hibbs DA, Olsson O (2004) Geography, biogeography, and why some countries are rich and others are poor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 101: 3715–3720.
- 16. Gallup JL, Sachs JD (2001) The economic and social burden of malaria. Am J Trop Med Hyg 1,2, S: 85–96.
- 17. Miguel E, Kremer M (2004) Worms: identifying impacts on education and health in the presence of treatment externalities. Econometrica 72: 159–217.
- 18. Bleakley H (2007) Disease and development: evidence from hookworm eradication in the American South. Q J Econ 122: 73–117.
- 19. Bhargava A, Jamison DT, Lau LJ, Murray CJ (2001) Modeling the effects of health on economic growth. J Health Econ 20: 423–440.
- 20. Bloom D, Canning D, Sevilla J (2003) Geography and poverty traps. J Econ Growth 8: 355–378.
- 21. Dasgupta P (1992) An inquiry into well-being and destitution, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- 22. Sachs JD (2001) Tropical underdevelopment. NBER working paper series 8819. Cambridge (Massachusetts): National Bureau of Economic Research.
- 23. Lorentzen P, McMillan J, Wacziarg R (2008) Death and development. J Econ Growth 13: 81–124.
- 24. Acemoglu D, Johnson S, Robinson JA (2001) The colonial origins of comparative development: an empirical investigation. Am Econ Rev 91: 1369–1401.
- 25. Easterly W, Levine R (2003) Tropics, germs, and crops: how endowments influence economic development. J Mon Econ 50: 3–39.
- 26. Rodrick D, Subramanian A, Trebbi F (2004) Institutions rule: the primacy of institutions over geography and integration in economic development. J Econ Growth 9: 131–165.
- 27. Nunn N (2009) The importance of history for economic development. Annu Rev Econom 1: 1–28.
- 28. Weil DN (2007) Accounting for the effects of health on economic growth. Q J Econ 122: 1265–1306.
- 29. Keeling MJ, Rohani P (2007) Modelling infectious diseases. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- 30. Guernier V, Hochberg ME, Guegan JF (2004) Ecology drives the worldwide distribution of human diseases. PLoS Biol 2: 0740–0746 .
- 31. Plucinski MM, Ngonghala CN, Bonds MH (2011) Health safety nets can break cycles of poverty and disease: a stochastic ecological model. J Roy Soc Interface 8: 1796–1803.
- 32. Keesing F, Belden LK, Daszak P, Dobson A, Harvell CD, et al. (2010) Impacts of biodiversity on the emergence and transmission of infectious diseases. Nature 468: 647–652.
- 33. Chivian E, Bernstein A. (2008) Sustaining life: how human health depends on biodiversity (eds.) New York: Oxford University Press.
- 34. Patz JA, Campbell-Lendrum D, Holloway T, Foley A (2005) Impact of regional climate change on human health. Nature 438: 310–317.
- 35. Dobson AP, Cattadori I, Holt RD, Ostfeld RS, Keesing F, et al. (2006) Sacred cows and sympathetic squirrels: the importance of biological diversity to human health. PLoS Med 3: e231 .
- 36. LoGidice K, Ostfeld RS, Schmidt KA, Keesing F (2003) The ecology of infectious disease: Effects of host diversity and community composition on Lyme disease risk. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 100: 567–571.
- 37. Dunn RR, Davies J, Harris NC, Gavin MC (2010) Global drivers of human pathogen richness and prevalence. Proc Biol Sci 277: 2587–95.
- 38. Paxton P, Hipp JR, Marquart-Pyatt S. (2011) Nonrecursive models; endogeneity, reciprocal relationships, and feedback loops. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, Inc.
- 39. Angrist JD, Krueger AB (2001) Instrumental variables and the search for identification: from supply and demand to natural experiments. J Econ Perspect 15: 69–85.
- 40. Bloom DE, Canning D, Sevilla J (2004) The effect of health on economic growth: a production function approach. World Dev 32: 1–13.
- 41. Bonds MH, Keenan DC, Rohani P, Sachs JD (2010) Poverty trap formed by the ecology of infectious diseases. Proc Biol Sci 277: 1185–1192.
- 42. Glaeser EL, La Porta R, Lopez-De-Silanes F (2005) Do institutions cause growth? J Econ Growth 9: 271–303.
- 43. Strauss J, Thomas D (2007) Health over the life course. Schultz PT, Strauss J, editors. The handbook of development economics, volume 4. Chapter 54, pp. 3375–3474. New York: Elsevier.
- 44. Hotez PJ, Brooker S, Bethony JM, Bottazzi ME, Loukas A, et al. (2004) Hookworm. New Engl J Med 351: 799–807.
- 45. Pascual M, Ahumada JA, Chaves LF, Rodo X, Bouma M (2009) Malaria resurgence in the East African highlands: temperature trends revisited. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 106: 13645–13646.
- 46. Grace JB (2006) Structural equation modeling and natural systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- 47. Kaufmann D, Kraay A, Mastruzzi M (2005) Governance matters IV: governance indicators for 1996–2004. Policy research working paper series. Washington (D.C.): The World Bank (3630).
- 48. Barro RJ (1998) Determinants of economic growth: a cross-country empirical study. Cambridge: MIT Press.
- 49. MacArthur R, Pianka E (1965) On optimal use of a patchy environment. Am Nat 100: 603–609.
- 50. Finn JT (1976) Measures of ecosystem structure and function derived from analysis of flows. J Theor Biol 56: 363–380.
- 51. Maynard Smith J (1982) Evolution and the theory of games. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- 52. Real LA (1991) Animal choice behavior and the evolution of cognitive architecture. Science 253: 980–986.
- 53. Dennis B, Munholland PL, Scott JM (1994) Density-dependence in time-series observations of natural populations - estimation and testing. Ecol Monogr 64: 205–224.
- 54. Frank SA (1996) Models of parasite virulence. Q Rev Biol 71: 37–78.
- 55. Bonds MH, Keenan DC, Leidner A, Rohani P (2005) Higher disease prevalence can induce greater sociality; a game-theoretic coevolutionary model. Evolution 59: 159–168.
- 56. May RM, Levin SA, Sugihara G (2008) Complex systems: ecology for bankers. Nature 451: 893–895.
- 57. Haldane AG, May RM (2011) Systemic risk in banking ecosystems. Nature 469: 351–355.
- 58. Dasgupta P (1997) Nutritional status, the capacity for work, and poverty traps. J Econom 77: 5–37.
- 59. Deaton A (2003) Health, inequality and economic development. J Econ Lit 1: 113–158.
- 60. Bonds MH (2006) Host life history strategy explains pathogen-induced sterility. Am Nat 168: 281–293.
- 61. Hall SR, Simonis JL, Nisbet RM, Tessier AJ, Caceres CE (2009) Resource ecology of virulence in a planktonic host-parasite system: an explanation using dynamic energy budgets. Am Nat 174: 149–162.
- 62. Mittlebach GG, Schemske DW, Cornell HV, Allen AP, Brown JM (2007) Evolution and the latitudinal diversity gradient: speciation, extinction and biogeography. Ecol Lett 4: 315–31.
- 63. Carter R, Mendis KN (2002) Evolutionary and historical aspects of the burden of malaria. Clin Microbiol Rev 15: 564–594.
- 64. Langhorne J, Ndungu FM, Sponaas AM, Marsh K (2008) Immunity to malaria: more questions than answers. Nat Immunol 9: 725–732.
- 65. Barrett CB, Travis AJ, Dasgupta P (2011) On biodiversity conservation and poverty traps. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 23: 13907–13912.
- 66. Wooldridge JM (2002) Econometric analysis of cross section and panel data. Cambridge: MIT Press.
- 67. MacArthur R, Wilson EO (1971) The theory of island biogeography, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- 68. Staiger D, Stock JH (1997) Instrumental variables regression with weak instruments. Econometrica 65: 557–586.
- 69. Hansen LP (1982) Large sample properties of generalized method of moments estimators. Econometrica 50: 1029–1057.
- 70. Easterly W, Levine R (1997) Africa's growth tragedy: policies and ethnic divisions. Q J Econ 112: 1203–1250.
- 71. Fincher CL, Thornhill R (2008) A parasite-driven wedge: infectious diseases may explain language and other biodiversity. Oikos 117: 1289–1297.
- 72. Fincher CL, Thornhill R, Murray DR, Schaller M (2008) Pathogen prevalence predicts human cross-cultural variability in individualism/collectivism. Proc Biol Sci 275: 1279–1285.
- 73. Githeko AK, Lindsay SW, Confalonieri UE, Patz JA (2000) Climate change and vector-borne diseases: a regional analysis. Bull World Health Org 78: 1136–1147.
- 74. Harrison S, Grace JB (2007) Biogeographic affinity helps explain productivity-richness relationships at regional and local scales. Am Nat 170: S5–S15.
- 75. Shea J (1997) Instrument relevance in multivariate linear models: a simple measure. Rev Econ Stat 79: 348–352. | <urn:uuid:979bdde5-7b62-4831-91b1-b2f65dd88173> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001456 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522556.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518215138-20220519005138-00170.warc.gz | en | 0.897754 | 10,831 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Even after tens of thousands of slip and fall injuries nationwide, some commercial property owners insist on using concrete parking bumpers (or wheel stops) in their parking lots. While these devices are intended to block the forward motion of vehicles in parking spaces and prevent accidents, they are a serious danger to pedestrians and serve as the source of countless serious orthopedic and neurologic injuries.
Both the Traffic Engineering Handbook and The American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) recognize the danger posed to pedestrians by wheel stops. The Traffic Engineering Handbook states, “ parking lots should be designed to avoid the use of wheel stops.” Where they are used they should not be placed in ”foreseeable pedestrian paths.” The American Society for Testing Materials publishes guidelines for the safe design and construction of parking lots. The Society warns that parking bumpers in the interior of a lot have disadvantages “for they may interfere with and present a hazard to people walking between cars….”
Both organizations tout the use of bollard posts in place of wheel stops. A bollard post is nothing more than a concrete cylinder that rises four to five feet above a parking lot surface. It too impedes the forward movement of vehicles. However, unlike parking bumpers, bollard posts can be seen more readily by pedestrians in parking lots. They are raised and are visible and therefore prevent tripping injuries that are common in parking lots that use wheel stops. | <urn:uuid:8f3e5283-fc97-4727-8fec-c7cdb25a7601> | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | http://www.personalinjurylawjournal.com/injury-law/parking-bumpers-the-cause-of-serious-slip-fall-injuries/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1413507441801.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20141017005721-00066-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950309 | 294 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Electronic switches are binary devices which sit within a circuit to control the flow of electricity. They work by interrupting the flow of electrons and switching the circuit on or off.
Switches contain terminals which connect to metal contacts. When the terminal and contact are touching, the switch is closed and the current can pass through. When the terminal and contact are not touching, the switch is open and the current cannot pass through the circuit.
The number of circuits controlled by a switch is referred to as "poles". The number of positions that the switch can adopt is called "throws". The combinations of these are:
The type of switch you require depends on the connections you wish to make within your circuit. Switches are often grouped by the way they are operated, for example, rocker switches that rock side to side. Alternatively, they are classified by their application, for example, keypad switches are used with keypads. Here are some examples of switch types: | <urn:uuid:284f52e3-a5dd-48c4-9385-80a0ad0ccf90> | CC-MAIN-2021-49 | https://my.rs-online.com/web/c/switches/?intcmp=MY-WEB-_-HP-BS10-_-Mar-21-_-switches | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-49/segments/1637964358842.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20211129194957-20211129224957-00287.warc.gz | en | 0.954618 | 198 | 4 | 4 |
New expertise impacts our day by day lives in each area, from the vehicles we drive, cell phones we use, computers and networks we access and energy we devour! In certainly one of my recent posts I had some fun with the topic … the six issues I would like our children to know about science ” … after all there are more, nevertheless it was a good begin. Polymer-based mostly, self-cleansing know-how makes new blenders superior to the old. Whether you are searching for a quick observe into computer science or simply need to discover out extra a couple of profession in computer data methods administration, you’ll discover what you’re in search of right here. The Grasp of Science program is designed for college students who wish to additional broaden or deepen their knowledge of pc science; both thesis and non-thesis options are offered.
Science supplies one of the best ways to understand the physical world, but it isn’t a source of values or that means. Born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England she held the position of Professor of Computers and Information at Cambridge’s pc laboratory until 2002. TimeShift is certainly one of the best science fiction video games like Halo out there with its unique gameplay mechanics. Since you might be utilizing the Internet, you’ve gotten the ability to make use of a computer for schooling and data functions. You will get a prompt and choose Protected Mode with Networking so you possibly can entry the internet to get the new drivers.
You may login to your IG account on every website and observe each of these celebs from your laptop. The science fiction and house feel of Lifeless Area has a very Halo feel to it though the darkish environment may not enchantment to everyone. This new utilization of know-how permit McDonald’s to make use of much less paper and have their employees take pleasure in their on the job learning expertise. That is what pc techs says when opening up a laptop computer or laptop that belongs to a smoker. There are 140 tenure track faculty members, seven departments, and three institutes: the Cylab, the Information Networking Institute, and the Institute for Advanced Engineered Programs.
In case your laptop turns ON, and have video, but your LAPTOP can’t begin into Windows, your laborious drive perhaps broken, or disconnected from your laptop’s motherboard circuit board. Brief for Small Computer System Interface, a parallel interface normal utilized by Apple Macintosh computers, LAPTOP’s and Unix methods for attaching peripheral gadgets to a computer. With DirectX, builders are able to taking most advantage of 3D capable graphics processing items, sound cards and different hardware because of the low level language help.
This is usually a 3D LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY/LED/Plasma HDTV, a 3D projector, or a 3D computer monitor. Sirsome time my computer make proceed beep when i start my com….but a while my com work appropriately…….is there ram’s fault. Computer Science & Expertise is the biggest undergraduate main in China and a few estimates I’ve heard say there are over 1,000 computer science departments in China and over 1,000,000 pc science majors at a time across these departments That is big! Within the book Wireless World, the authors outline the important thing options of mobile phone know-how stating: ‘cellphones, in contrast to personal computers, are small, mobile, continuously on, and potentially constantly linked’ (Brown, 2002: 5). The very fact that they are ‘cell’ and ‘continuously linked’ justify their role within society. | <urn:uuid:c95320ad-1589-47f8-b5af-aeb29b461595> | CC-MAIN-2019-39 | https://www.iammulvihill.com/a-new-design-for-laptop-chips.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-39/segments/1568514574588.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20190921170434-20190921192434-00077.warc.gz | en | 0.922646 | 761 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Mumbai: Google Home and Amazon Alexa smart speaker devices are increasingly finding their way into homes all over the world. A team from IIT Bombay and Swansea University (UK) are taking a different approach, though. They want to find out what happens if you place these sorts of digital devices in public streets in Dharavi.
In March this year, the team carried out an initial trial, placing prototypes outside two shops in Dharavi for several days. Even during this short period, the team witnessed useful and interesting interactions between the device and a wide range of people, from groups of young children to elders. Questions asked included the straightforward (“what’s the weather going to be”) to the profound (“what is our destiny”).
Using the results of this work, they have been creating two new versions that will be installed in 10 locations for several months. One version uses computer artificial intelligence (from Google) to answer spoken questions; the other though uses people who will try to provide a more
human-centred answer to the question. The team hopes to find out more about the sorts of use communities will have for these systems and how computer and human answers differ.
The project lead at Swansea University, Professor Matt Jones said, “We are really excited to be bringing these services to the streets of Mumbai. By working with community members we are finding new ways to think about technology, not just for India but for the whole world”. At IIT Bombay, Prof. Anirudha Joshi of IDC School of Design, directs the work and said, “The emerging voice technologies have literally given a new voice to a set of users in India who may find it to type out a search query. But we are still early in the use of voice for interaction with computers. These experiments will give us interesting clues about how to design future interactions.”
The project is funded by the UK science research body (EPSRC) and has had collaborative support from Google, Microsoft Research India and IBM Research India amongst others. | <urn:uuid:5d5c0b94-815d-4a73-9c31-b5fa8c346117> | CC-MAIN-2019-26 | https://indiaeducationdiary.in/putting-smart-speakers-streets-mumbai/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560628000044.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20190626013357-20190626035357-00374.warc.gz | en | 0.958384 | 424 | 2.578125 | 3 |
NEW YORK (Sep. 8)
Herschel Grynszpan, who assassinated a German Embassy official in Paris in November, 1938, has been turned over to the German military authorities by the Petain Government, under the terms of the armistice, the United Press reports from Vichy. (The armistice agreement provides that France must turn over any refugees the Reich desires.)
Grynszpan was taken to Germany by automobile, escorted by armed police, it was reported. French authorities said they had no idea of what happened to him in Germany.
(According to a Jewish Telegraphic Agency dispatch Herschel Grynzpan, who was lodged in a Paris Jail awaiting trial, was evacuated from Paris in June, before the Nazi entry into the capital, and was in a Toulouse jail in July a pseydonym. At the end of July he was transferred from Toulouse to an undisclosed point.
(On Nov. 7, 1938, Grynszpan shot and fatally wounded Ernst vom Rath, a secretary of the German Embassy in Paris, in protest against Nazi persecution of Jews, particularly the expulsion of Polish Jews from the Reich. The assassination was used by the Nazis as the pretext for pogroms throughout the Reich and other measures against the Jews.
(Grynszpan was held in a Paris jail pending trial, but the trial was indefinitely postponed when the war broke out. The youth asked the French authorities for permission to join the army and fight against the Germans, but permission was refused.) | <urn:uuid:0e62087d-8ae8-4b30-9892-382ff13d99be> | CC-MAIN-2015-27 | http://www.jta.org/1940/09/09/archive/herschel-grynszpan-reported-in-nazi-hands | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-27/segments/1435375097475.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20150627031817-00225-ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972059 | 315 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Playing 123 kids count daily, you can prepare your little child for preschool any time and anywhere you want. Good for parents and teacher who have kids in kindergarten, preschool, and toddler age. This application help improving a counting skill, hand writing, and a better memory of number. Cute animal randomly shown help them to see various animal characters and color, it also helps kids to count the number better and improve writing skill of number correctly. All pictures and concepts were created by my kid age 11 years old and test by my youngest boy age 4 years old. Have fun!
How to play?
To practice 123 Kids, simply write on number 1-15 orderingly or you may choose to repeat writing skill eg."number 1 for four times" or else. When kids Click on animal character, it will say the correct number that they currently play.
123 Kids MA (com.mintmomeg.123kidsma) is a Mac software application that has been discovered and submitted by users of Software.com.
Operating System: Mac
Default Install Path: /Applications/Games/123 Kids MA.app
Minimum OS version: 10.5 | <urn:uuid:041ba560-e096-4b30-b7ae-58ac3747bca3> | CC-MAIN-2017-09 | https://software.com/mac/games/123-kids-ma | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501174163.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104614-00226-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906871 | 235 | 2.6875 | 3 |
The Skill of Listening
Updated: Jan 29
In a recent post, I wrote about our five senses. Talking about how we rarely just simply observe what we touch, smell, taste, see or hear. Rather that we make an instant judgment if we like or dislike it.
Today, I am focusing on what and how we listen can affect our experience with our significant other, co-workers, supervisors, children, surroundings like nature or traffic, including ourselves. What I came to realize is that it takes a lot of practice to listen. It takes a lot of patience to carefully pay attention and possibly hear what is happening underneath the surface.
During one of my "Experience at the Mindfulness in America Summit," sessions we did a listening exercise. We were a group of 5-6 people and one person was telling a story and the other 4-5 people were asked to just listen. For some, it was difficult to just listen without commenting, agreeing, or asking questions. Although, we knew we later had a chance to ask questions or talk about whatever one person was talking about.
I did the same practice with a group last week, 1-on-1, with a similar outcome. By just listening it was hard not to immediately exchange information as it would help with making a connection.
Observing the participants in both settings taught me that it is a very uncomfortable experience, for the one talking as well as for the one listening, if we can't connect with each other, which words, acknowledgment, and questions would do.
When we increase our listening skills of just hearing what the other person is saying, without bringing in our thoughts and conclusions, we might be able to learn new insights into what is being said that we don't know when we interfere. Our minds are so easily distracted that a new thought or a new direction of conversation could lead us to miss the purpose of this conversation. By letting them verbalizing their thoughts and having someone listening to them might give us the answer we were looking for. As our perception and understanding differ from each other.
The interesting part is that the lack of listening to others seems mainly because we want to be heard. We all have thoughts that come up when we hear other people talking, which is why we comment or question during a conversation. Additionally, I am sure it doesn't help that whatever we do, we believe not to have enough time to listen.
Next time we are in a conversation with someone, let's focus on just listening to what they have to say. It will feel awkward and we will notice how little we usually listen to anybody or anything. This practice might open our ears to new sounds like in nature, birds who are flying to the south, squirrels playing with each other under a pile of leaves, or a river in the distance. What do you hear in your surroundings now? | <urn:uuid:88fe9649-856a-428d-a81b-6cdd78079ffe> | CC-MAIN-2020-34 | https://www.mindfulbeingllc.com/post/the-skill-of-listening | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-34/segments/1596439738653.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20200810072511-20200810102511-00456.warc.gz | en | 0.981123 | 582 | 2.625 | 3 |
Innovation is not going to end poverty
Central to some of the biggest projects in recent years that address poverty is the idea that innovation is the single most important element in bringing change. The Gates Foundation put money behind new condom designs, systems that re-use waste water for drinking and no-water toilets. Companies like Facebook, which wants bring the Internet to everyone in the world, are hoping that its products and efforts can spark life-changing innovation.
Inherent in this push is the idea that poor countries can’t innovate and wealthy countries can. That is plain wrong. The recent Global Innovation Index shows that many countries score well on innovation, despite having small economies. Malawi, for example, rates well on the index and happens to be one of the world’s poorest countries. Tiny Vietnam is apparently more innovative than the emerging economy that is Brazil. Plotting innovation against GDP shows some correlation between national wealth and innovation, but it is not that simple.
Innovation is happening everywhere, but innovation doesn’t necessarily solve every problem. The very idea was challenged by Kenyan activist Ory Okolloh Mwangi. She was part of the team that developed the post-election violence crowd mapping platform Ushahidi in 2008. She worked for a time for Google Africa and is now leading investments for the Omidyar Network in Africa. Quartz named her as one of the top African innovators last year, a term she later explained is deeply problematic.
“I’m concerned about what I see is the fetishization around entrepreneurship in Africa,” she said in an interview. “It’s almost like it’s the next new liberal thing. Like, don’t worry that there’s no power because hey, you’re going to do solar and innovate around that. Your schools suck, but hey there’s this new model of schooling. Your roads are terrible, but hey, Uber works in Nairobi and that’s innovation.”
She points out that calls for innovation in Africa are not seen in countries like the U.S. Greece, she says, was not told to innovate its way out of its financial crisis. It worked with the European Union, Germany and other countries to come up with a solution to its financial woes. Major social change requires addressing core problems. Innovation is not going to solve the problems of racial and economic inequalities in the U.S.
“I didn’t see anyone entrepreneur-ing around public schooling in the U.S. You all went to public schools, you know, and then made it to Harvard or whatever. You turned on your light and it came on. No one is trying to innovate around your electricity power company. So why are we being made to do that? Our systems need to work and we need to figure our shit out,” she said.
The fact that the top countries in the Global Innovation Index are Switzerland, the U.K., Sweden, Netherlands and the U.S. may be the result of their economic prosperity, not the cause. In Ghana, entrepreneurs are making bicycles out of bamboo. Children in Uganda are re-purposing electrical and radio parts to make speakers in bottle gourds. India is home to the cheap tablet and the $50 no-electricity refrigerator. Examples of innovation across the world are plentiful and they have an impact.
When sickness spread in U.S. cities like Boston and New York at the turn of the 20th century, it was public action and regulation change that led to widespread improvements. Innovation has never been the way out of poverty for massive groups of people.
Originally published at www.humanosphere.org on January 29, 2016. | <urn:uuid:b428b540-d3a9-4f86-897f-c18108420e9b> | CC-MAIN-2017-43 | https://medium.com/@viewfromthecave/innovation-is-not-going-to-end-poverty-4b381c7da66e | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-43/segments/1508187824471.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20171020230225-20171021010225-00485.warc.gz | en | 0.964968 | 772 | 2.59375 | 3 |
In 1921 Agnes Macphail clinched one of 235 seats to become elected as the first Canadian woman in the House of Commons. Almost 100 years later, women secured their first century of elected offices in the 43rd Canadian Parliament. While the number 100 appears celebratory, a closer look reveals a modest 28% increase in women’s representation since Macphail’s election. As the pandemic continues to widen gender gaps across the Great White North, now more than ever, we must hyper-focus on women’s participation in national electoral politics, as upholding a right fought for by Macphail and others alike, would be the Canadian thing to do.
Community leadership is considered a likely pathway to Parliament Hill. Despite being informal flag bearers in their communities, women are less likely to enter electoral politics — often being ones who change rather than win elections. When they do run, often they are uphill battlers against former premiers, Olympic medalists and multiple-term winners. The overwhelming statistic: less than 15% of female nominees won their campaigns since 1921.
“More Women Elected Than Ever Before” is the familiar headline we see post-elections but observing election participation over the century reveals an untold story. As we celebrate steps towards gender parity in elected offices, a closer look at the difference in participation between men and women highlights that the gap in electoral participation has actually deteriorated since 1921. Today, perhaps the biggest roadblock to Parliament Hill lies in nomination.
The punctuation created by the pandemic can shift us away from the incremental style of policy making to one that calls for innovation and speed. Therefore, it is important to identify the factors preventing women’s participation in electoral politics in order to work towards a gender balanced parliament 100 years in the making. The policy window has swung open and it begs a simple question:Why aren’t more women running for office?
Lack of confidence is the preliminary basis for why more women don’t pursue electoral politics — a factor that forms quite early on in one’s childhood. By not prioritizing and practicing confidence building and assertiveness early on , women downplay their skills later in life. This causes women to doubt their political potential, reducing interest in running for office.
In college, women encounter and are exposed to rape, sexual violence and harassment, which influences their career choice and further contributes to women doubting their ability to run for office. According to a Brookings study, when in high school, both genders expressed similar interest or the lack thereof for running for office. However, once in college, men were two times more likely than women to assert a definite interest in running for office. Gender-based violence and harassment that women face quite early on thus becomes a major factor as to why more women don’t pursue electoral politics. This is an even bigger issue for women who identify as LGBTQIA or are of color as the intersectionality further contributes to gender-based violence and harassment.
Women are six times less likely than men to be appointed as candidates. This underrepresentation is another reason why more women don’t have the impetus for pursuing elected office and are more likely to sign up as volunteers instead.
Political establishments, i.e. “gatekeepers” nominate candidates that have easy access to money. Women, on average, earn less than men. Men not only raise more money than women, but they also donate more to male candidates. Financing their nomination and election campaign thus becomes a major barrier to electoral politics for women, and an even greater deterrent for women of color.
The media, far too often, contributes to negative stereotypes when covering women in politics. Women politicians are often asked about their appearance and personal life, i.e. “negative viability coverage” whereas men are questioned about their political agenda. Women also typically receive less coverage by the media in comparison to their male counterparts. Such gendered media coverage dissuades citizens from voting for women, lowers women’s confidence in their political ability and as a result, discourages them from running for office altogether.
Gender stereotyping and discrimination are consequential and recurring factors contributing to women’s low electoral participation. Explicit sexism is based on gender stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. One in five Canadians hold explicit sexist views; these individuals may choose to not nominate or vote for female candidates. Women internalize this kind of overt sexism present in politics, which contributes to their lack of confidence, and ultimately a declined interest in running for office.
While Canada champions itself as a beacon of diversity, we are behind 60 countries with regards to women’s participation in national electoral politics — nearly a century after granting the right for women to run in elections. Many refer to legal quotas when it comes to increasing women’s participation, but a check-box answer to the problem is hardly appreciated by generation Y. Women’s groups in North America have also rescinded their support on legal quotas in favor of training and education for holding political office. However, when formulating training programs that foster diversity, policymakers need to be mindful of the assumptions they are making – for more often than not, their one-sized programs strive to fit all.
In regard to increasing education and understanding of a woman’s political career, perhaps a human rights-based approach is the way to go. While gender parity in the House of Commons is at an all-time high, it falls short of the UN’s recommended 30% critical-mass threshold for female decision makers in government.
The federal focus shouldn’t distract us from realizing provincial disproportionality in women’s representation. However, the gap seems to be closing within each province as more women participate in the provincial level. Perhaps it’s the closer proximity to civil society institutions that’s increasing the prevalence of female leaders at lower levels of government.
To emulate representation at a federal level, we must go back to the basics: empowering Her to run for office.
Mangione, K. (2020, July 07). When it comes to going back to work, COVID-19 is impacting Canadian mothers more than fathers: Study. Retrieved from https://bc.ctvnews.ca/when-it-comes-to-going-back-to-work-covid-19-is-impacting-canadian-mothers-more-than-fathers-study-1.5014244
Kirkey, S. (2019, November 07). From Lisa Raitt to Renata Ford, these are the five high-profile women who lost Monday. Retrieved from https://nationalpost.com/news/from-lisa-raitt-to-renata-ford-these-are-the-five-high-profile-women-who-lost-monday
Heard, A. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sfu.ca/~aheard/elections/women-elected.html
Elect Her: A Roadmap for Improving the Representation of … (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.legco.gov.hk/general/english/library/stay_informed_parliamentary_news/representation_of_women.pdf
Lawless, J. L., & Fox, R. L. (2016, July 28). Not a ‘Year of the Woman’…and 2036 Doesn’t Look So Good Either. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/research/not-a-year-of-the-woman-and-2036-doesnt-look-so-good-either/
Evidence – FEWO (42-1) – No. 108 – House of Commons of Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/FEWO/meeting-108/evidence
Warner, J. (n.d.). Opening the Gates. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2017/05/19/427206/opening-the-gates/
Evidence – FEWO (42-1) – No. 109 – House of Commons of Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/FEWO/meeting-109/evidence
Publications – CRIAW-ICREF. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.criaw-icref.ca/en/page/publications-action-on-barriers
Pas, D. J., & Aaldering, L. (2020). Gender Differences in Political Media Coverage: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Communication, 70(1), 114-143. doi:10.1093/joc/jqz046
Wasburn, P. C., & Wasburn, M. H. (2011). Media coverage of women in politics: The curious case of Sarah Palin. Media, Culture & Society, 33(7), 1027-1041. doi:10.1177/0163443711415744
Women in National Parliament – Inter-Parliamentary Union. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://archive.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm
Feminist Interventions in Political Representation in the … (n.d.). Retrieved from https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/10502
Equal Participation of Women and Men in Decision-Making … (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/eql-men/FinalReport.pdf
More on the Authors
Public Policy Association of Graduate Students (PPAGS) | <urn:uuid:e9789fbf-50cf-4d91-974b-c914be48745e> | CC-MAIN-2022-49 | https://sciencepolicyconference.ca/posts/nominate-her-womens-participation-in-electoral-politics/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-49/segments/1669446711475.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20221209181231-20221209211231-00583.warc.gz | en | 0.935354 | 2,123 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Zope is a free and open-source, object-oriented web application server written in the Python programming language. The term ZOPE is an acronym for “Z Object Publishing Environment” (the Z doesn’t really mean anything in particular). However, nowadays ZOPE is simply written as Zope. It has three distinct audiences.
- Site Managers
- Individuals who use of Zope’s “out of the box” features to build websites. This audience is interested in making use of Zope’s existing array of features to create content management solutions. They are generally less concerned about code reuse than the speed with which they can create a custom application or website.
- Individuals who wish to extend Zope to create highly customized solutions. This audience is likely interested in creating highly reusable custom code that makes Zope do something new and interesting.
- Individuals responsible for keeping a Zope site running and performing installations and upgrades.
This guide is intended to document Zope for the second audience, Developers, as defined above. If you fit more into the “user” audience defined above, you’ll probably want to start by reading The Zope Book .
Throughout this guide, it is assumed that you know how to program in the Python programming language. Most of the examples in this guide will be in Python. There are a number of great resources and books for learning Python; the best online resource is the python.org web site and many books can be found on the shelves of your local bookstore.
1.2. Organization of the book¶
This book describes Zope’s services to the developer from a hands on, example-oriented standpoint. This book is not a complete reference to the Zope API, but rather a practical guide to applying Zope’s services to develop and deploy your own web applications. This book covers the following topics:
- Getting Started
- This chapter provides a brief overview of installation and getting started with application development.
- Components and Interfaces
- Zope uses a component-centric development model. This chapter describes the component model in Zope and how Zope components are described through interfaces.
- Object Publishing
- Developing applications for Zope involves more than just creating a component, that component must be publishable on the web. This chapter describes publication, and how your components need to be designed to be published.
- Zope Products
- New Zope components are distributed and installed in packages called “Products”. This chapter explains Products in detail.
- Persistent Components
- Zope provides a built-in, transparent Python object database called ZODB. This chapter describes how to create persistent components, and how they work in conjunction with the ZODB.
- Zope relies heavily on a dynamic technique called acquisition. This chapter explores acquisition thoroughly.
- When your component is used by many different people through the web, security becomes a big concern. This chapter describes Zope’s security API and how you can use it to make security assertions about your object.
- Debugging and Testing
- Zope has built in debugging and testing support. This chapter describes these facilities and how you can debug and test your components. | <urn:uuid:ee45a058-c8e7-4f40-91c5-c05c4b92a80c> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | https://zope.readthedocs.io/en/4.x/zdgbook/Introduction.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593655887319.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20200705090648-20200705120648-00244.warc.gz | en | 0.903903 | 670 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Worried about suicide
Sometimes, life can present overwhelming situations that can be difficult to deal with and people might consider suicide as a possible solution to end their pain. People with depression or anxiety are also more likely to attempt suicide than other people.
We can all play a role in preventing suicide by looking out for possible warning signs, reaching out and talking about it.
If you are in an emergency, or an immediate risk of harm to yourself or others, please contact emergency services on 000. For other support services go to Get support now.
What are the warning signs?
Someone who is thinking about suicide will usually give some clues or signs to people around them, though these may be subtle. Suicide prevention starts with recognising the warning signs and taking them seriously.
Reasons for suicidal feelings
There are many reasons why someone considers suicide, which can be quite complex, but there are certain indications that may help us determine whether a person could be at risk of suicide.
Talking to someone about your suicidal feelings
It can be very difficult to know what to do when you are having distressing thoughts about suicide. You may be ashamed to talk about it or worry that people will judge you, or not take you seriously. However, talking to someone you trust and feel comfortable with about how you are feeling can help.
Having a conversation with someone you're worried about
If you're worried that someone you care for is considering suicide, ask if they're OK, share your concern, offer to listen or support them by going to see a professional together.
Getting through difficult moments
If you or someone close to you is experiencing suicidal thoughts or feelings, safety planning can help you get through the tough moments.
It involves creating a structured plan – ideally with support from your health professional or someone you trust – that you work through when you’re experiencing suicidal thoughts, feelings, distress or crisis. | <urn:uuid:3bdef567-2412-4431-a27e-bdefdfddbd76> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/suicide-prevention/worried-about-suicide/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247517815.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20190222114817-20190222140817-00487.warc.gz | en | 0.96826 | 387 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Preserving a National Heritage
Hana Shams Ahmed
A miniature model of the street
An intricately lined street. The smell of bakorkhani. The sound of prayer bells from Puja mandaps in the vicinity. And a picturesque set of buildings lined up delicately against each other, like those out of the pages of an old history book. These are the sights and sounds of Shankhari Bazaar that have preserved the aura and mystery of the Mughals and colonial times making this part of Old Dhaka a unique architectural and archaeological wonder.
But age has taken its toll and for how long the narrow streets of this mahalla (traditional neighbourhood) will be able to survive the apathy and antagonism of the concerned authorities is anybody's guess. It has already had its share of bad press when 19 people died in a building collapse in 2004 and an alarming 91 buildings were marked for demolition. But why demolition instead of restoration? USG (Urban Study Group) a voluntary organisation, formed by a group of architects and students from BRAC University have been campaigning for the conservation of Shankhari Bazaar's structures since June 2004.
USG organised an exhibition at the National Museum titled 'Save Shankhari Bazaar' with drawings, images and models of the location. The exhibition was sponsored by UNESCO. What fascinates the viewer's attention on entering the gallery is a large panoramic view of present day Shankhari Bazaar. With a collage of 140 photos placed side by side it gives the visitors a complete picture of the place with shops, houses, temples and even the modern constructions. Although the modern constructions are easily distinguishable from the antiquated ones, for the benefit of the visitors, the former have been kept colourless while the focus of the exhibition retains colour.
Another noteworthy exhibit on display is the miniature model of both sides of the street carved out of wood, which took about 10-12 days to complete. Photographs of the <>mahalla<> from all angles were accompanied by short descriptions of historical facts and design specifications. Every single structure lining the street has been meticulously numbered for identification. Celebrations carried out in the neighbourhood including the biggest Hindu festivals have been skilfully encapsulated in the photographs taken by USG members.
Shankhari Bazaar, which is located near the intersection of Islampur Road and Nawabpur Road, the two main thoroughfares of Old Dhaka and only a block away from the Buriganga River, derives its name from the craft of making involving shankhas. Shankhas are intricately decorated bangles crafted from slices of Shankha or conch-shells. Shankha is the symbol that indicates that a Hindu woman is married. Shankhas are also a common content in Hindu religious ceremonies. Photos of craftsmen working with shankhas and carving images of deities also feature in many of the photographs at the exhibition.
The photos displayed at the exhibition focus on the unique characteristics that make up Shankhari Bazaar. If this ancient mahalla is demolished or not restored soon enough, this historical relic will be lost forever. It is the oldest area in the country and as such deserves the status of a national heritage site instead of just a passing glance from outsiders. “Dhaka is a 400-year-old city,” says Taimur Islam, the team leader of USG who, along with his wife Homaira Zaman and architecture students from BRAC University set up the voluntary organisation, “but we use it just as a date. When the Mughals came to Dhaka they settled in Old Dhaka, and it's Old Dhaka that gives it this age.” He illustrated this fact by comparing it with ancient European cities.
“When we look at photos of London or Prague, we can instantly identify the cities,” he continues, “what makes Dhaka unique is Old Dhaka.” A legal framework is needed to conserve and preserve this old neighbourhood to give it an appearance of variety and richness. Bangladesh does not have a policy for architectural conservation. This poses a serious problem in executing and implementing conservation projects. The USG made a presentation to the mayor two years ago detailing all the aspects of conserving Shankhari Bazaar's heritage. But although he diplomatically appreciated their hard work he dismissed the whole project on the grounds of it being 'very good for a seminar but not practical for our country'. For the politicians to comprehend the importance of this conservation project there needs to be awareness in the general population and this exhibition is sure to touch the right chords.
Copyright (R) thedailystar.net 2006 | <urn:uuid:cd8788e0-2744-4542-9395-0694edfea913> | CC-MAIN-2018-39 | http://archive.thedailystar.net/magazine/2006/09/01/exhibition.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-39/segments/1537267157569.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20180921210113-20180921230513-00483.warc.gz | en | 0.959706 | 953 | 2.703125 | 3 |
The idea for what is known as the “Scotty Rocket,” came to Scott J. Horowitz and several fellow astronauts during brainstorming sessions after space shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas in 2003. “The idea was ‘safe, simple and soon,’ ” Horowitz said. Build the new rocket “in line,” with the spacecraft on top so debris won’t hit it during launch. Use shuttle technology whenever possible because it’s already certified to carry humans. And build it with shuttle engineers — to get it done quickly. “Quite frankly, people weren’t very interested,” Horowitz said. Things have changed.
NASA’s New Spaceship Builder Has Sights on the Moon, Mars Washington Post
A Northrop Grumman-Boeing team today unveiled its plans to design and build NASA’s proposed Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), a modular space system intended to carry humans to the International Space Station by 2012 and back to the moon by 2018.
The CEV comprises a crew module that builds on NASA’s Apollo spacecraft, a service module and a launch-abort system. It is designed to be carried into space aboard a shuttle-derived launch vehicle
Squinting up into the bright sky, more than 400,000 people waited for Discovery in the California desert on that October morning in 1988.
The space shuttle program had been grounded for almost three years after the Challenger disaster. But the successful flight of space shuttle Discovery felt like a new beginning to the crowd. People whooped and sobbed as the shuttle punched out two sonic booms and glided to a landing at Edwards Air Force Base.
Almost 17 years later, Discovery is again returning the grounded space program to flight
NASA is set to begin rolling out the results of a landmark space exploration architecture study that calls for building an Apollo-like astronaut capsule and conducting up to six lunar sorties per year using rocket hardware derived from the space shuttle.
Sixty days in the making, the Exploration Systems Architecture Study will go a long way toward defining the approach and the hardware NASA will use to return astronauts to the Moon by 2020, and eventually go on to Mars.
According to a new NASA study, when America goes back to the moon and on to Mars it will do so with hardware that looks very familiar.
NASA has decided to build two new launch systems – both of which will draw upon existing Space Shuttle hardware. One vehicle will be a cargo-only heavy lifter, the other will be used to launch the Crew Exploration Vehicle.
Transformational Space Corp. (t/Space), a company founded in response to the new U.S. vision for space exploration, thinks it can help NASA close the gap between retiring the space shuttle fleet and fielding a Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) to carry astronauts beyond Earth’s orbit. The Reston, Va.-based company already already convinced NASA to give it $6 million in exchange for advice on how the U.S. space agency can reach beyond the traditional aerospace industry to answer a presidential call to return to the Moon by 2020. Now t/Space is hoping to convince NASA to part with $400 million in exchange for an Earth-to-orbit crew transfer vehicle, which company executives say they can have ready in 2008.
The Future of Flight? Popular Mechanics
When NASA requested designs for a Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), two major teams–one headed by Lockheed Martin and one by Northrop Grumman and Boeing–took on the challenge. The winning concept will be chosen in 2008, and the manned vehicle flown in 2014.
Northrop Grumman and Boeing, who are teaming to design and build NASA’s Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), Tuesday unveiled the major companies that will support their efforts to fulfill the nation’s Vision for Space Exploration.
About one of every seven NASA workers nationwide will be transferred or paid to leave in the next 1 1/2 years as the space agency focuses on President Bush’s moon-Mars exploration plan, officials said Thursday. However, many of those who depart likely will be replaced by new workers with skills more closely aligned with the new, deep space mission. NASA employs about 18,900 government workers.
Replanting boot prints on the Moon. Hurling expeditionary crews to distant and dusty Mars and other destinations. Executing a 21st century outreach campaign to faraway worlds demands a safe, sustainable, and affordable transport vehicle system. In January 2004, U.S. President George W. Bush set NASA in motion to begin developing a new spaceship to carry humans into Earth orbit and beyond. Tagged the Crew Exploration Vehicle, CEV for short, it would be the first piloted vehicle to explore beyond Earth orbit since the space agency | <urn:uuid:ce29172c-59e0-4dc7-aedb-90af17ea5ffe> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | http://marsnews.com/archives/category/crew-exploration-vehicle/page/2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257644701.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20180317055142-20180317075142-00181.warc.gz | en | 0.923194 | 987 | 3.375 | 3 |
Up to 60 per cent of babies are born with jaundice, a result of the liver struggling to process waste products as it adjusts to life outside the womb. But if the jaundice hasn't disappeared within two weeks of birth, that yellow hue could be a sign of a form of potentially fatal liver disease called biliary atresia, one of 100 forms that can affect newborns.
It's a sign that bile isn't being secreted into the intestine, which means the liver isn't working properly and if a baby doesn't have surgery in time, they are likely to end up needing a liver transplant. And the clues lie in a baby's nappy.
As well as having yellow skin, a baby with liver disease is likely also to have distinctively coloured stools and urine. Urine should not be persistently yellow or strong smelling, it should be clear. Stools should actually be green or, in bottle-fed babies, English mustard-yellow and, in breast-fed babies, daffodil yellow. They should not be pale. If you notice those signs in your baby's nappy, you must see your doctor immediately | <urn:uuid:188d6a25-096f-4861-9d8e-fbf38e17469e> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | http://us.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/mother-and-baby/20080513129/nappy/awareness/babies/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886117911.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823074634-20170823094634-00238.warc.gz | en | 0.964123 | 237 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Committing to Inclusion in the Fight Against Racism
The fight against racism and discrimination is once again at the forefront of public consciousness. Tensions came to a boil recently after a cell phone video captured a Minnesota police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, eventually killing the unarmed Black civilian accused of attempting to pay with a counterfeit $20 bill. Public outcry soon followed, sparking protests and demonstrations against police brutality across all 50 states as well as major cities across the globe.
Sweeping reform has already begun in many major cities, but efforts must not end with law enforcement. While most organizations have policies prohibiting discrimination, a 2019 Glassdoor survey found that 42 percent of Americans have indeed either witnessed or experienced racism in the workplace.
To make an impact, it is imperative to take meaningful and actionable steps to foster an environment of true inclusivity within organizations. Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Review your organization’s recruitment practices. An organization’s workforce should be reflective of the communities it serves. California boasts one of the most diverse populations in the nation, so a commitment to a diverse workforce should be ingrained in any succession planning to give a representative voice to everyone in your community.
- Reach out and listen. Call your colleagues or organize a Zoom meeting, offering a platform to those who may have insights on ways your organization can foster a more inclusive environment. Don’t shy away from having difficult conversations.
- Organize. Form a committee to ensure your organization is achieving stated inclusion and diversity goals.
- Create an inclusive outreach guide. Follow City of Seattle’s lead and develop an inclusive outreach and public engagement guide. The guide can offer practical resources for staff to foster inclusive public engagement.
Diversity is not just beneficial for people of color or even for optics, it’s better for business. According to a recent study on business and diversity by McKinsey & Company, companies with increased ethnic and gender diversity were 21 percent more likely to experience above-average profitability.
Equality in the workplace should not begin and end with a one-time statement of solidarity. Now more than ever, organizations must stand up and take a firm stance against racism and discrimination of any kind. | <urn:uuid:1aa47a90-56f5-4dd2-a571-06e3c0321ba6> | CC-MAIN-2020-34 | https://www.capio.org/post/committing-inclusion-fight-against-racism | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-34/segments/1596439735836.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20200803224907-20200804014907-00026.warc.gz | en | 0.942297 | 455 | 2.765625 | 3 |
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is the nation's most effective environmental action organization. We use law, science and the support of 3.1 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all living things. NRDC was founded in 1970 and our staff helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act, and many of the implementing regulations; our water enforcement cases played a major role shaping current water policy throughout the country. Today, our staff of more than 500 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy and communications experts, and others, work out of offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Bozeman, Montana and Beijing.
Work is a central element in the lives of most adults, but relatively little is known about the occupational health implications of climate change. NRDC is seeking a two-year, full-time Climate Change and Worker Health Science Fellow who can provide subject matter expertise and conduct multi-disciplinary research and analysis on the occupational health effects of climate change. As part of the Federal Policy team of NRDC’s Climate and Clean Energy Program, the Fellow also will develop broadly accessible communication materials about occupational health and climate change to support NRDC’s community partnerships, public outreach, and advocacy on climate and clean energy policies (including climate adaptation).
Specific topics and projects undertaken by the Fellow will depend on their expertise and NRDC’s programmatic priorities. Some examples of potential projects include:
- Investigating the health implications of severe drought on outdoor occupations such as construction, agricultural, or recreation workers;
- Identifying indoor and outdoor worker populations most vulnerable to wildfire smoke;
- Quantifying the risk of occupational injuries or workplace accidents associated with prolonged work in preparation for, or response to, wildfires, hurricanes, or other extreme events;
- Assessing how the occupational health threats of climate change interact with other socioeconomic stressors and disparities;
- Quantifying health care costs imposed on indoor and outdoor workers by climate-related hazards; and
- Modeling how adaptation measures like an occupational heat safety standard might reduce health harms and related costs, or limit broader economic costs.
The Climate Change and Worker Health Science Fellow is supported by NRDC’s Science Center and its Science Fellows program, which is a key element of the Science Center’s mission to enhance NRDC’s scientific capabilities and provide resources and support for policy and advocacy work. The Science Fellows program provides young scientists interested in working in the science, policy and advocacy arena with professional experience and on-the-job training; it is an excellent opportunity to refine existing skills and build new ones, develop professionally, publish work, and gain important competencies.
The Fellow will ideally be based in our Washington, D.C. office, although exemplary candidates will also be considered for our New York, NY office or our San Francisco, CA office.
The Fellow’s core responsibilities will include:
- Working with the Climate and Clean Energy program, the Science Center, and other NRDC staff to identify, understand, and communicate the health threats of climate change to indoor and outdoor workers.
- Accessing, reviewing, and analyzing relevant literature, datasets, and analytical and screening tools from federal, state, and local sources to advance scientific understanding of the occupational health implications of climate change, inform and guide NRDC advocacy, and support outreach and engagement with decision-makers, labor groups, and other organizations and communities.
- Developing relationships with subject matter experts and labor representatives to aid with identification of climate-related occupational health threats, data collection and analysis, and public outreach and engagement.
- Drafting reports and peer-reviewed publications outlining methods, findings, and recommendations based upon occupational health analyses conducted at NRDC.
- Developing and reviewing legislative and regulatory proposals to protect workers from the health effects of climate change.
- Responding to inquiries about the health implications of climate change on workers from NRDC program, policy, communications, and legal staff; colleague organizations; labor and health partners; and the media.
The following qualifications are required:
- A doctoral degree in sociology, occupational psychology, occupational safety, or a related field, and familiarity with a range of health impacts of climate change and associated literature. A candidate with a Master’s degree and relevant academic and/or work experience may also be considered.
- Familiarity with occupational health databases and their analytical uses and drawbacks.
- Excellent quantitative, problem-solving, and communication skills.
- Demonstrated success working with multi-disciplinary teams.
- Experience communicating with non-technical audiences.
The following qualifications are desired:
- Expertise in interpreting and analyzing economic data.
- Experience working with labor and/or community-based groups.
- Experience with environmental policy analysis or advocacy.
- Familiarity with the intersection between occupational health and disparities associated with race, ethnicity, gender, and/or socioeconomic status.
- Media training and/or experience giving media interviews.
Interested applicants should submit a letter of interest that addresses: (a) why the fellowship with NRDC is desired; (b) how the candidate is qualified, including relevant work and/or research experience; and (d) how the candidate hopes the fellowship will affect her/his career goals. Applicants should also submit a resume and a writing sample.
NRDC is committed to workplace diversity and inclusion. We are equal opportunity employers and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity and expression, marital status, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a pleasant working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and commensurate with experience. Consistent with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
To apply, please visit www.nrdc.org/careers and upload your resume and cover letter through our online portal. We would like you to upload any additional papers or project work that you think would showcase your abilities. Please no phone calls, emails, faxes or in-person resume drop-offs. Please reference where you saw this posting. NRDC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
If you are having technical difficulty while applying, please reach out to Customer Care by dialing 1-800-889-4422.
For further information about NRDC, please visit www.nrdc.org. | <urn:uuid:5e11f8c2-627f-40ab-92cb-a55a28743250> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | https://job-openings.monster.com/climate-change-worker-health-science-fellow-washington-dc-us-natural-resources-defense-council-inc/4bd05b9d-a042-4f61-9d97-e1729cbb4705 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027312025.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817203056-20190817225056-00347.warc.gz | en | 0.924662 | 1,365 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Computer Programming Course with Python Training Online
Python is a simple programming language and Python Training is ideal for beginners. The course is a step by step…
Python Training Online is a year subscription of 8+ hours of tutorial videos with access to discussion forums, assignments, interview related questions and scripts in python. The course explains the math functions of Python and data structures. A brief tutorial on OOPS concepts XLRD Parser. The course ends with regularly used python libraries.
Trainer : Karthik & Pavan
Karthik Kosireddi (Personal Profile) : Software professional with experience in many reputed companies both as techie and admin. A trainer, enjoying the reputation of creating hundreds of software testing experts around the world.
1 year of Computer Programming with Python Subscription includes:
8+ Hours of HQ Videos
Life Time Access to Discussion Forums
Email & Forum Based Technical Support
Access to Computer Programming with Python Scripts,Interview Questions & Assignments
Computer Programming with Python Training Videos(31 videos, 08+hours)
Computer Programming with Python Live project
Computer Programming with Python Course Content
Chapter 1: Introduction
- 1.1 Before you start
- 1.2 Getting Started
- 1.3 Our first program.
Chapter 2: Warming Up
- 2.1 Introduction
- 2.2 Basic Arithmetic’s
- 2.3 The – If Statement
- 2.4 The For – Loop
- 2.5 The While – Loop
- 2.6 Type Conversion
- 2.7 Summarizing
Chapter 3 : Expanding Our Knowledge
- 3.1 Introduction
- 3.2 Further Arithmetic’s
- 3.3 Better Conditionals: elif
- 3.4 Better Conditionals: and/or
- 3.5 The First project
Chapter 4 : Functions
- 4.1 Introduction
- 4.2 Function Usage
- 4.3 Math Functions
- 4.4 Math Functions 2
- 4.5 Math Functions 3
Chapter 5 : Data Structures
- 5.1 Introduction
- 5.2 Lists with Strings
- 5.3 Lists with Numbers
- 5.4 Strings as lists
- 5.5 Nested lists
- 5.6 Further lists functions
- 5.7 Dictionaries
- 5.8 Further Dictionaries functions
- 5.9 Finding Elements
- 5.10 Useful Code snippets
- 5.11 Accessing Dictionary Values
- 5.12 Updating Dictionary.
- 5.13 Delete Dictionary Elements.
- 5.14 Properties of Dictionary Keys.
- 5.15 Builtin Dictionary Functions and Methods.
Chapter 6 : Files and Directories
- 6.1 Creating Files
- 6.2 Reading Files
- 6.3 Copying, Moving and Renaming Files
- 6.4 Creating, Deleting Directories and Files
Chapter 7 : Exceptions
- 7.1 Capability and Application of standard exceptions from Python
- 7.2 Using : try catch finally blocks
Chapter 8 : Classes Objects (OOPS concepts)
- 8.1 Overview of Object Oriented Programming Terminology
- 8.2 Creating Classes, Inheritance, Function Overloading, Operator Overloading, Instance etc
Chapter 9 : Regular Expressions
- 9.1 Using Python “re” module of python and using “match” & “search” keywords how we can find data using different sets of defined expressions
Chapter 10 : XLRD parser
- 10.1 Simple parser to parse the XLS file using python module XLRD.
Chapter 11 : Frequently used Python Libraries
- 11.1 Paramiko (SSH) – A library to ssh to the Unix machine and perform actions with respect to it.
- 11.2 Requests (REST API calls) – A Library to use and perform REST API calls to web service. | <urn:uuid:5f1e7b4b-e12d-4a86-bd3e-dd9de9cf8b13> | CC-MAIN-2017-26 | http://itelearn.com/course/computer-programming-with-python-training-online/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128319688.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20170622181155-20170622201155-00070.warc.gz | en | 0.730628 | 818 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Origin: Mexico and Worldwide
Attribute: Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock. It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. Obsidian is truth-enhancing. A strongly protective stone, it forms a shield against negativity. It blocks psychic attack and absorbs negative energies from the environment. Obsidian draws out mental stress and tension.
Healing: Obsidian's greatest gift is insight into the cause of dis-ease. It aids the digestion of anything that is hard to accept and promotes physical digestion. It detoxifies, dissolving blockages and tension in the physical and subtle bodies, including hardened arteries. It reduces the pain of arthritis, join problems, cramps and injuries.
Position: Place as appropriate on affected body part. | <urn:uuid:f4228c9b-4447-4e3e-9286-25fed6289f99> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://stacilynnsjewelry.com/products/copy-of-brown-obsidian-earrings-w-swirl-1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679102469.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20231210123756-20231210153756-00057.warc.gz | en | 0.932196 | 170 | 2.609375 | 3 |
1962 was a peak year in market share for GM, with 52% of the U.S. car market. Today they stand at 18%. The decline was not sudden nor should it have been unexpected. There were rumblings of change all around them, beginning with the rise in oil prices in the 1970’s, but they were ignored. By the 80’s they finally realized that the Japanese could not only make better cars, but also make them more efficiently, and they were popular with the U.S. market. What took the leadership so long to realize this? Part of the answer is the mental models they operated within.
Peter Seng, in his book, “The Fifth Discipline”, defined mental models as, “deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even pictures or images that influence how we understand the worlds and how we take action. Very often, we are not consciously aware of our mental models or the effect they have on our behavior.” This is not new. The idea of mental models was first postulated by the American philosopher, Charles Sanders Peirce in 1896.
The assumption under which GM functioned were never written down, but, the following were obtained from interviews of retired former senior GM executives:
1. GM is in the business of making money, not just cars
2. Success flows from rapid adaptation, not technological leadership (automatic transmission was last major innovation)
3. Cars are primarily status symbols: people want to upgrade
4. The U.S. car market is isolated from the rest of the world
5. Fossil fuels (oil) will remain cheap and abundant
6. The government is an enemy and so are unions
7. Planned obsolescence works (quality less important)
8. Efficiency of mass production beats other approaches
9. Bigger is better – we can manage anything
Imagine how these filters and perceptions of the world affected the decisions GM was making. Mental models are subtle, yet very powerful. And not all models are bad, in fact, they help us organize and navigate our lives. For the most part, they have helped us survive. The issue is that they can influence our behaviors without us even being aware. In fact, they can at times cause a collective herd mentality that in the case of GM, had disastrous effects.
What are the unwritten rules or mental models in your company? It’s the stuff you talk about that is not in your employee handbook, or the bits of wisdom you provide to new employees to help them adjust to your culture. Are the mental models of your most senior executives different from the rest of the staff? How are your individual or corporate wide mental models affecting your decision-making? How are they possibly blinding you from growth opportunities, competitive threats, or changes in your target audience purchase patterns?
Take the time to reflect and write down your unwritten rules – whether in your company or in any other aspect of your life. Question them. How do you know them to be true? Are they helping or in actuality, limiting beliefs? Share your mental models with others in your company and look to get to the data behind them and see if they can really stack up or if they are just assumptions that filter your thinking and actions.
Being consciously aware of your mental models and intentionally managing them can not only free up your thinking to new possibilities, but also shed light upon blind-spots. | <urn:uuid:8bb56a4a-ca51-46f3-a3be-dac6804b9d16> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | http://www.lasoi.com/points-of-view/2016/6/16/can-you-trust-your-mind | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247481122.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20190216210606-20190216232606-00597.warc.gz | en | 0.973311 | 707 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Sep '11 - Nov '11
We learn at elementary school that the morning sunlight took eight minutes to arrive. Each ray of light from the sun acts as an exiled messenger who indicates whether the star is on or off. When the sun dies, it will take eight minutes for its last message to reach the Earth.
As Stephen Hawking states in A Brief History of Time, ‘the death of the sun does not affect us immediately because we are not in its future light cone‘. Since the fastest way we can perceive distant events is through light, its direction and speed of travel limits how quickly we can experience an event. Mapped through time, the event forms a conical horizon around itself whose width is determined by the speed of light rays; if the observer is within its boundary, we can perceive the event; if outside, there is no way we can know of it. In other words, our universe is structured so that we are always looking at the past.
Throughout history, light had been the signal that bridges past, present, and future, and brings about the beginning and end of time. According to ancient Hebrew belief, life takes a linear path, beginning with the Genesis Creation myth where God said, “Let there be light!”. In the Judeo-Christian worldview, the eschaton – the end of time – was crucial in establishing the belief that linear time justified a particular system of ethics and law.
In the Myth of the Eternal Return, the mythologist and religious historian Mircea Eliade describes a worldview where the universe is cyclical and is destined to repeat itself in a self-similar form for an infinite number of times across time and space. This worldview was inherent in Indian (and later Egyptian) philosophy, and was later taken up by followers of Pythagoras as well as the Stoics. The cyclical view of time was more in keeping with pre-historical, agrarian communities in which seasons and daily cycles had more significance than the progress of civilization and history.
The linear view of time tends to dominate modern thought, and we obsess over possible environmental and apocalyptic endings to human history. However, some contemporary astrophysicsts, following Einstein, have analyzed the behaviour of light and the nature of space-time as an infinite universe, with implications similar to cyclical views of time and history.
(left) An event is visible through time, like a pebble thrown into a bond creates outward waves /// (right) An event in the present can only be perceived in a certain region of space-time.
Knowing that our time in the sun is limited, sometimes we try to capture time and light with images. Albrecht Durer’s etching, “Melancholia I” associates light with order and darkness with chaos. The composition places the products of the imagination – geometry, mathematics, tools, and architecture – within the timeframe of an hourglass running out.
In this picture, the imagination succeeds in creating a mental zone that overrides both astrophysics and religion – it holds together past, present and future with rays of perpetual sunlight – messengers of time etched in metal.
/// next week: skin, shell and skeleton part I
Nuclear Bomb Test, Bikini Atoll, 1946. The small black figures just outside the cloud are decommissioned World War II Battleships from the US Navy. // In addition to an urban investigation into the power structures of Moscow, I've been looking at ideas about the sublime and its relation to...
-- Yesterday China launched Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace-1), its first step towards a manned orbital space station. I remembered reading that the last Space Shuttle mission, STS-135, finished earlier this year, signalling an end to America’s utopian dream of colonizing space. As I read more...
I've just started on the Cooper Union MArch II course, and am excited to be here in New York to say the least! I'll be sharing my project work for studio, sculpture, and elsewhere over the upcoming year. For this first post I thought I'd share something I wrote for a course appropriately titled... | <urn:uuid:aa225bc9-9711-4271-a538-6e2a4c837287> | CC-MAIN-2015-48 | http://archinect.com/blog/21834743/archaeologies-of-the-future | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398459214.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205419-00243-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949421 | 856 | 3.546875 | 4 |
Orrefjell mountain, in Salangen valley, Northern Norway, has one of Norway’s largest uranium deposits. The area is used for recreation and as pastureland for rough grazing animals, and the catchment area to the south is settled, with farms and houses. What does it mean to live on a mountain of uranium?
The main purpose of the research project Case Orrefjell was to investigate the implications of living in and using an area with elevated levels of radiation. The project was a cooperation between natural and social scientists with a broad scope covering studies of local geology, environmental transfer of radioactive substances, human exposure to radon, and the risk perception of people living in the area. Local residents were strongly involved by measuring radon in their houses and answering a questionnaire. A class of first-year students from the local high school assisted with the fieldwork, local involvement and outreach of the project.
Geology and environmental transfer to biota
The uranium deposit at Orrefjell was first discovered in the late 1950s by Henry Lund from Salangen and further documented by Geological Survey of Norway over the decades that followed. The geologists involved in Case Orrefjell provided a baseline evaluation of the geology in the area, adding to existing knowledge. The biologists and environmental chemists used this information to locate sampling sites with a gradient of background radiation. To evaluate the transfer of radionuclides from soil to plants, both were sampled at each site. The collected plant species are either important for grazing animals or berries picked for human consumption.
Generally, the uptake of radionuclides in biota varied with the concentration of the radionuclides in the soil, as shown by uptake of radium-226 (a daughter nuclide of uranium) in bilberry heath and berries. Interestingly, the heath accumulated higher concentrations than the berries. There are no indications that the elevated background radiation or consumption of local products poses any major risk to those who use the area.
Another of the daughter nuclides of uranium is radon, a noble gas known to increase the risk of lung cancer. Norwegian authorities set a limit of radon in houses to 200 Bq/m3 above which homeowners are advised to implement mitigating measures to lower the radon concentrations as much as possible, preferably to below 100 Bq/m3. The physicists in the project suspected that the uranium at Orrefjell could influence the radon concentrations in nearby houses, so we asked all households in Øvre Salangen to measure residential radon during the winter 2016/17.
In some places, 20-30% of the households exceeded the recommended upper limit of 200 Bq/m3 in Øvre Salangen. Nationally, less than 10% of houses have radon concentrations above 200 Bq/m3, and the percentage of such houses is clearly higher in Øvre Salangen and highest close to Orrefjell itself. However, large variation in radon concentrations in neighbouring homes is common and may be due to the local variation of radon in the ground, building constructions, airtightness towards the ground and habits of aeration and heating. Everyone should, therefore, measure the radon concentrations in their own home.
The physicists and the geologists in Case Orrefjell are also working together to develop and improve the national susceptibility map for radon. The data from Case Orrefjell will be used in this process.
Risk perception among inhabitants
The social scientist conducted a survey of inhabitants’ awareness of risk from radiation in general and from radon exposure specifically. About 200 respondents completed the survey, of whom 71% live in Salangen. Of the respondents living in Salangen, 70% were aware of the elevated uranium levels in Orrefjell, but also replied that this did not affect their use of the area.
The greatest radiation risk to human health in the Orrefjell area is the exposure to indoor radon and most respondents were aware of this health risk. They also knew that the Norwegian authorities recommend all households to measure radon levels, but only one in five had acted accordingly and performed measurements. Some had found elevated radon levels in their houses, but very few had taken steps to mitigate the danger. This aligns with their apparent complacency about being exposed to radon, and their lack of perceived risk in their living and working environments.
Only 10% could recall having received information about radon from the local authorities and 80% of respondents welcomed more – and more easily accessible – information on local radon. We, therefore, provided the municipality with basic information about radon for distribution.
Different trails to the summit – a common view
By connecting scientists from various fields, and actively involving local residents, we approached Orrefjell from different angles. As researchers, we all learned something beyond our own discipline. In addition to strengthening the specific knowledge about Orrefjell and radiation exposure routes for humans and animals, the project provided insight into how information is received by the public, which in turn is a valuable input to authorities on how to adjust and improve communication. | <urn:uuid:b3a41eb1-eb04-4205-87a6-05efe7844d24> | CC-MAIN-2019-39 | https://framsenteret.no/2018/06/what-does-it-mean-to-live-on-a-mountain-of-uranium/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-39/segments/1568514573011.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20190917020816-20190917042816-00141.warc.gz | en | 0.954459 | 1,059 | 3.6875 | 4 |
This is a bit of a rehash of a post I did back in 2005, but Novell did it right when it came to handling user credentials way back in the late 80's and early 90's. The original documents have pretty much fallen off the web, but Novell chose to use a one-way RSA method (or possibly a two-way RSA method but elected to not retain the decryption key, which is much the same thing) to encipher the passwords. The certificate used in this method was generated by the tree itself at creation time, so was unique per tree.
The authentication process looked something like this (from memory, see also: primary documentation is offline)
- Client connects to a server, says, I want to log in a user, here is a temporary key.
- Server replies using the temporary key, "Sure. Here is my public key and a salt."
- Client says, "I want to log in bobjoe42.employees.corporate"
- Server replies, "Here is the public key for bobjoe42.employees.corporate"
- Client crypts the password with bobjoe42's certificate.
- Client crypts the cryptotext+salt with the server's signing key.
- Client says, "Here is the login for bobjoe42.emploees.corporate"
- Server decrypts login request to get at the cryptotext+salt of bobjoe42.emploees.corporate.
- Removes salt.
- Server compares the submitted cryptotext to the cryptotext on bobjoe42.employees.corporate's object. It matches.
- Server says, "You're good."
Unfortunately, the passwords were monocased before crypting computation.
Fortunately, they allowed really long passwords unlike many systems (ahem 1993 version of UNIX-crypt).
That said, this system does a lot of password-handling things right:
- Passwords are never passed in the clear over the network, only the enciphered values are transferred.
- Passwords are never stored in the clear.
- Passwords are never stored in a reversable way.
- Reversible keys are never transferred in the clear.
- The password submission process prevents replay attacks through the use of a random salt with each login transaction.
- The passwords themselves were stored encrypted with tree-unique crypto certificates, so the ciphertext of a password in one tree would look different than the same password in a different tree.
You can get a similar system using modern web technologies:
- Client connects to server over SSL. A secure channel is created.
- Client says, "I'm about to log in, give me a salt."
- Server returns a salt to the client.
- Client computes a salted hash from the user-supplied password.
- Client submits, "I'm logging in email@example.com with this hashtext."
- Server compares the hashtext to the password database, finds a match.
- Server replies, "You're good, use this token."
However, a lot of systems don't even bother going that complex, relying instead on the SSL channel to provide transaction security and allowing unhashed passwords to be passed over that crypted channel. That's "good enough" for a lot of things, and clearly Novell with rather paranoid back in the day.
As it happened, that method ended up being so secure they had to change their authentication system when it came time to handle systems that wanted to authenticate using non-NCP methods like, oh, CIFS, or Appletalk. Those other protocols don't have mechanisms to handle the sort of handshake that NCP allows so something else had to be created, and thus the Universal Password was born. But that's kind of beyond the scope of this article.
Yep, they did it right back then. A network sniffer on the network (a lot easier in the days of hubbed networks) was much less likely to yield tasty numnums. SMB wasn't so lucky. | <urn:uuid:7cd751b1-24f5-414c-8cda-badb39eb8108> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://sysadmin1138.net/mt/blog/2014/01/netware-retrospectives-part-2-authentication.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738662882.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173742-00046-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923926 | 868 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Philip and Nathanael. 1:43-51
Jesus continues to gather a band of followers. Philip is invited to "follow" and Philip invites Nathanael to "come and see."
v43-44. Jesus is about to head for Galilee and invites Philip to come with him. All we know of Philip is that he comes from Bethsaida. He, like most of us, becomes one of the less than outstanding disciples.
v45. Clearly Philip thinks that Jesus is the messiah and so he searches out Nathanael to tell him the news that he has met the coming one, the one whom Moses and the Prophets wrote of. Nathanael may well be the common name for the Bartholomew (son of Tolmai) referred to in the synoptic gospels, but of course, Jesus had many disciples, not just the twelve apostles. In 21:2 John tells us that Nathanael comes from Cana.
v46. Despite the face that there is no scriptural support for Nazareth being the home of the messiah, Nathanael responds with the comment, "So, something good can come out of Nazareth." Obviously he doesn't have a high regard for the town. Philip, in common with the Rabbis of his time, uses the formula expression "come and see" - check it out for yourself.
v47. Jesus has heard Nathanael's comment and so his word's of greeting reflect this knowledge. Jesus' words may well be tongue-in-cheek, or at least a "here's a forthright person who says what he thinks." It is unlikely that Jesus is making a comment about Nathanael's moral superiority.
v48. Nathanael is taken aback by Jesus' comment and asks how he knows about him. Jesus tells him that he saw him under the fig tree at the time Philip spoke to him. The word "before" may not mean before in time. There is no point in Jesus seeing Nathanael "before" he meets with Philip. It is most likely that Jesus is simply saying that he knows what Nathanael said when met with Philip. The only significance in the fig tree is that Jesus knows the actual tree Nathanael was under at the time he made his comment.
v49. Although, on this occasion, Jesus' insight is possibly little more than overhearing what was said, Nathanael responds with a confession of faith, proclaiming Jesus as messiah. The two phrases he uses are equally messianic titles.
v50. Even Jesus doesn't think his insight is earth shattering, but if Nathanael is willing to follow Jesus as a disciple then he hasn't seen the half of it.
v51. Jesus now declares what amazing things Nathanael will get to see. Jesus uses the imagery of Genesis 28:12, the vision of Jacob's ladder. Nathanael, along with the other disciples, will see the real Jesus, they will get to glimpse Jesus on his heavenly throne surrounded by ministering angels.
Truth and attitudes|
Having moved from the idea of objective truth, Western society now grasps at a relative plurality of ideas. Of course, although we now affirm diversity, it is a diversity selectively filtered through a politically correct mesh.
A paper on the changing face of education noted that "a child today could come home from school and find the attitude of their parents wrong." In an age where divine truth is no longer recognized, it's interesting that so many educationalists believe they have cornered the truth market with their correct attitudes.
The paper quoted from a social history textbook of the 60's using it as an example of "wrong attitudes." "Since those far-off days men have changed the landscape. Densely wooded country has become prosperous farmland, swamps and stony outcrops have been transformed into cities and rivers are being turned in their courses to provide irrigation and power to a rapidly developing industrialized nation." From a pragmatic point of view, this information factually represents the development process, but it fails to promote the politically correct environmental attitudes of the thought police.
An insight into significant truth will inevitably affect the way we see everything, but the trouble is, what is true for one person is not necessarily true for another. In a pluralist society, truth and justice is like beauty; it is all in the eye of the beholder. The question facing modern society is whether we can live with this plurality, or whether we will continue to escape into the notion, "I think and it is true."
Philip invites Nathanael to discover significance in Jesus. "Come and see," he says. Nathanael really doesn't think that Nazareth could produce anything that is significant, but he checks it out, none-the-less. Jesus, as always, is his unsettling self and so Nathanael soon sees and believes. "Well, you ain't seen nothin yet" says Jesus. The disciples will inevitably gain an insight into the person of Jesus, and that insight will affect the way they perceive everything about them. Jesus is a heavenly man, in fact, a divine man who has entered our time and space. His origin determines the significance of his words and work, and once his words and work are our focus, everything is subsumed by them. The only question then is whether we can live with others whose significance lies elsewhere, or maybe the question is whether they can live with us and our wrong attitudes.
How does faith in Christ affect our attitudes?
Print-friendly: Sermon Notes. and Technical Notes
Index of studies: Resource library
Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources
Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons | <urn:uuid:4b54f3e8-ef5a-4556-b025-2d8219b0c5ef> | CC-MAIN-2015-27 | http://www.lectionarystudies.com/studyg/epiphany2bag.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-27/segments/1435375097730.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20150627031817-00043-ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964573 | 1,178 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Is it spring or winter ?
The weather has NOT cooperated this week in being a teaching aid for my winter unit. But THATS OK! I WILL TAKE IT!
One of the activities we did today was exploring curved and straight lines . All letters are comprised of a straight line, a curved line or a combination of the two. First we drew a snowman with curved lines. (Also great for talking about the letter O and the number zero and talking about the number 3 and the ordinals first , second, and third. You can discuss top , bottom and middle and smallest and largest. SEE HOW EASY IT IS TO TEACH WITH SUCH SIMPLE IDEAS ! ) After the snowman ( who’s hat had straight lines ) we looked at letters and discussed did they have straight lines or curved lines. We sorted the letters on little cards. ( MATH!!!!)
We also played the IPAD today. The interest is slowing a little one it, like with any toy. Some games you sign into have you put in a players name. I generally just set them all up on my name because it won’t let you load 16 names. Well…. as I changed screens today, I noticed that someone was a little smarty pants. 🙂
A science activity we did today was making SNOW! Yes, fake snow, but snow! Dallas had picked this up from the dollar tree last week and I was so excited. I had some last year but it was used and I had not been to the education store to restock. Our snow was made from a simple power that you add water too and it FLUFFED up immediately. Thanks Dallas!
It was a fun day. We played inside and outside. I had hoped we would get to the park but we ran out of time so we just played a little extra outside today.
Happy Weekend ! | <urn:uuid:22a2c82b-8d1b-4a85-abae-e9c03b73ed1b> | CC-MAIN-2019-22 | http://siloampreschool.com/2012/01/is-it-spring-or-winter/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-22/segments/1558232260358.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20190527005538-20190527031538-00040.warc.gz | en | 0.98211 | 386 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
The laboratory led by CGSB faculty member Mark Siegal has found mechanisms by which yeast employs a bet hedging strategy that enables some cells to survive in harsh environments, which increases overall population fitness when environmental shifts are unpredictable. In a paper published this month in the journal PLoS Biology discovered heterogeneity in cells that can are associated with bet hedging , which is also likely to be an important strategy by which microbes infect humans and evade antimicrobial treatments. The Siegal laboratory has found that populations of genetically identical yeast have a broad distribution of growth rates and that slow growth predicts resistance to heat killing. They identify several gene products that are likely to play a role in this bet-hedging strategy and confirm that Tsl1, a regulator of the production of the sugar trehalose, is an important component of stress resistance. They suggest that trehalose synthesis is part of a complex mechanism that underlies bet hedging in yeast. | <urn:uuid:e323239e-f16b-4a54-889c-106aeee12596> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://as.nyu.edu/departments/biology/events-news/news/2012/siegal-lab-discovers-bet-hedging-in-yeast.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233510100.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20230925215547-20230926005547-00284.warc.gz | en | 0.965704 | 194 | 2.890625 | 3 |
NASA Captures EPIC Views Of Earth
Think you’ve seen an accurate image of Earth from space? Think again.
Turns out, we’ve been lied to. Until recently, most images of Earth from space have been composites — multiple images taken at different times and pieced together to show the full “blue marble.”
But now, thanks to NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (appropriately nicknamed EPIC), we can see a single shot of Earth in real time.
Affixed to NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR, about 1 million miles from Earth, EPIC takes a color image of the sunlit side of Earth at least once every two hours, providing a spectacular vantage point for scientists and mere mortals.
“With EPIC, you see cloud structure from sunrise on the left to sunset on the right,” Jay Herman, EPIC instrument lead investigator, said Monday at a media briefing at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco. “It’s the only view we have like this where everything is at the exact same instant in time, even though the local times are different.”
Behold, this was Earth at precisely 1:13 p.m. ET on Dec. 13:
Looks kind of like you thought it would, right? But remember, the data packed into these photos is revolutionary.
EPIC takes measurements in visible, ultraviolet and near-infrared wavelengths, allowing researchers to track multiple features, including vegetation, aerosols and ozone, in real time as the planet rotates.
The height and location of daytime clouds in the above photo, for instance, can help scientists track weather and calculate Earth’s energy balance for climate studies.
Another instrument on DSCOVR measures the heat emitted from Earth and the total amount of solar energy that reflects off the planet, providing a valuable missing piece of energy information, —> Read More | <urn:uuid:cac52b36-519d-4b63-a4af-c42efc5caf66> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.phenomenica.com/nasa-captures-epic-views-of-earth/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719453.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00349-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.888817 | 408 | 3.78125 | 4 |
What is a Risk Assessment?
Avalution defines the risk assessment as an identification and analysis of business risks that may affect an organization’s ability to deliver its most important products and services, with the objective of understanding the effectiveness of existing controls, as well as additional controls to decrease the likelihood or severity of a disruption.
A risk assessment enables an organization to understand the risks to and vulnerabilities of its most critical activities and supporting resources, as well as the impact that would arise if an identified risk leads to an actual disruptive incident.
A properly conducted risk assessment, performed in conjunction with a business impact analysis (BIA), enables an organization to clearly identify key risks to its most critical activities and resources. The information resulting from this analysis enables management to identify where risks exceed its risk tolerance and sets the stage for developing business continuity strategies and plans to reduce the likelihood of a disruption, shorten the period of the disruption, or limit the impact to the delivery of the organization’s key products and services.
The major outcomes associated with the risk assessment include:
- Understanding of potential business risks, including their likelihood and impact
- Identification of existing controls, and potential control enhancements or new strategies to mitigate business risk by protecting resources (as to decrease the likelihood or severity associated with a disruptive incident)
What are the Common Challenges with a Risk Assessment?
Understanding the Risk Assessment
It is not uncommon for organizations to struggle with understanding the purpose and usefulness of a risk assessment. Some may suggest foregoing the risk assessment altogether. However, before an organization can develop strategies to mitigate against risks facing the organization, it must first understand what those risks are. By performing a risk assessment, the organization is able to identify all the relevant risks to the business, as well as understand what the likelihood of that risk occurring is and what the associated impacts would be. The business can then measure the identified risks against the organization’s specified amount and type of risk that it may or may not be willing to take, relative to its objectives.
Knowing what to do with the Outcomes of a Risk Assessment
Many organizations have difficulties taking the outcomes of the risk assessment and applying them to the business in a practical manner. As a first step, upon completion of the risk assessment, it is imperative to conduct a gap analysis to understand which risks identified during the assessment exceed the organization’s risk tolerance. These risks can be identified by asking two key questions:
- Based on the results of the risk assessment, which risks associated with the loss of that activity or resource exceed the organization’s stated risk tolerance due to lack of response and recovery planning or control measures?
- For the risks identified in #1, what are the risk treatment opportunities or controls available to the organization to get the risk below the organization’s stated risk tolerance?
The answers to the second question form the basis for strategy selection to treat the identified risks. After reviewing the various options and performing a cost-benefit analysis, management will select the strategy it feels is most appropriate, then the organization can begin developing business continuity plans that reflect the selected strategy.
When Management Chooses to do Nothing
Selecting mitigation strategies can often be difficult – or even contentious – for some organizations. A common source of frustration occurs when management chooses not to address certain risks. However, choosing to not take action to treat a risk is an option and a strategy itself. There are many reasons why management may choose to accept a risk and not take any action. Most commonly, management feels that the costs (measured in dollars and/or time commitment) outweigh the benefits, or the costs are simply too high, and the likelihood of the risk being realized are too low, to justify taking proactive measures to treat the risk. Instead, management may opt to address the risk from a reactive standpoint should it occur. Another common reason management may choose to accept a risk is, that the potentially impacted product or service may not be critical to the organization’s long-term business strategy. Avalution’s consultants can help advise on what risks are acceptable and which ones may require additional mitigation.
Risk Assessment versus Threat Assessments
Organizations are often confused whether a risk assessment and threat assessment are one in the same. The short answer is, no. While Avalution is capable of assisting organizations with both types assessments, they are two very different things. A threat assessment focuses on specific threats to a business (e.g., hurricane, fire, flood), while a risk assessment takes a resource-based loss approach, which looks at risks associated with the loss of specific facilities, personnel, technology, or third-party suppliers – agnostic to what threat actually caused the loss of the resource. In the latter example of a risk assessment, we don’t focus on why we lost access to the specific resource. Instead, we focus on what the likelihood of that loss is, as well as the impacts associated with the loss. Avalution’s Catalyst tool is built to easily conduct a resource-based risk assessment using inputs from the BIA and can help make this an effective tool in assessing your organization’s risk. The threat assessment on the other hand, is much more focused on the likelihood and impact of a specific event occurring. For example, what is the probability and impact of a specific threat affecting operations.
Avalution’s key differentiators when it comes to helping organizations with their risk assessments are two-fold. First, is Avalution’s breadth and depth of experience. In our 10+ years of experience, we have worked in almost every industry and with organizations of all sizes. This perspective gives a unique vantage point to help you understand what risks exist and the most effective means to manage those risks. Clients find great value in Avalution’s post-assessment analysis, as we don’t just leave the client with results of the assessment. Instead we help them make sense of those risks as it relates to their organization’s risk tolerance and objectives.
Our other big differentiator is our business continuity software solution, Catalyst. Catalyst helps remove unnecessary complexity from the BIA and risk assessment process. This results in fewer meetings and reduced time commitment from the business. Catalyst introduces automation to the risk assessment process by allowing the user to ask a few additional questions during the BIA, and then the responses are used to calculate the risk score automatically. This allows our clients to spend more time on strategy selection and planning, and less time on aggregating the information obtained during the assessment.
Avalution’s process for conducting a risk assessment can be broken down into three phases:
- Assessment Preparation: During this phase, Avalution will work with the client on developing the appropriate rating scales for impact and likelihood, as well preparing interview participants to think about specific risk assessment-related topics ahead of the discussion.
- Data Gathering and Assessment: While the BIA typically precedes the risk assessment, Avalution collects much of the data required to perform the risk assessment during the BIA meeting. Due to the nature of the topics covered in the BIA meeting, a few additional probing questions allows us to garner the information needed to successfully complete the risk assessment.
- Post-Assessment Analysis: During the analysis phase, we seek to understand where specific risks exceed the client’s predetermined risk tolerance. These risks are sorted by their assigned risk score (Catalyst automatically calculates and ranks identified risks according to the risk score). Clients who are using other software or no software at all have nothing to fear, as Avalution will perform the data aggregation and reporting as part of the assessment. Avalution will then work with the client to determining prioritization for key risks to mitigate. Once the key risks have been identified, Avalution and the client can begin to identify risk treatment strategy options and present those to leadership for selection.
During a recent risk assessment, Avalution worked with a mid-sized life sciences company on a business impact analysis and risk assessment. While the outputs of the BIA helped the organization understand its recovery requirements and served to inform the development of current state recovery plans, the outputs of the risk assessment helped the organization identify it’s most impactful and likely risks overall. While the organization was aware of the existence of some of the risks even prior to the assessment, the organization did not have a solid understanding on where the risks fit into the risk profile of the organization as a whole, or how they measured up against the organization’s stated risk tolerance.
In considering the organization’s risk tolerance overall, the client was able to prioritize risks for mitigation, as well as identify risks that leadership was willing to accept. The client identified at the beginning of the assessment that it was most unwilling to accept downtime that impacted critical infrastructure that enabled core lab and development activities. While other operational enablers were important, these functions were deemed most critical. Avalution and the client used the outcomes of this assessment to develop a risk register in conjunction with a multi-year plan reduce the organizations risk footprint. This approach takes a realistic view of addressing the organization’s overall risk footprint and does not attempt to boil the ocean and address every single risk, nor does it dedicate all of its resources towards planning for and mitigating “black swan” events (highly impactful, but extremely unlikely, disasters).
This risk assessment in conjunction with the BIA laid the foundation for the client to not only be able to confidently plan for disruptions with current-state recovery capabilities, but it helped the client identify a clear path forward for implementing strategies to both reduce the likelihood of the risks occurring, as well as identify optimal recovery strategies, should the risk be realized. | <urn:uuid:56bff94f-622f-45ab-8675-31f28a2b8487> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://avalution.com/risk-assessments/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370525223.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20200404200523-20200404230523-00313.warc.gz | en | 0.955345 | 1,978 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Depression and feelings of loneliness are the most commonly seen factors for every individual on a daily basis. The reasons for the same vary from person to person. For some it may be family or personal issues while for some it is professional or work related issues.
Many a times, these symptoms are self-limiting while during some instances it becomes the need to intervene with professional help. The help may be sort from family, friends or a counselor. Even a small night walk with family and chatting together helps ease out these symptoms.
The best way to tackle these symptoms is to talk out your mind. Talk all that you feel about that situation to your close ones who will understand you well. Get the advice or help from them in order to feel relaxed. This way it helps one to ease out the burden.
In case one is unable to talk out, then the emotional burden increases which makes self to go into various psychological problems. Let it be any time of the day, if you feel relaxed make a call to your loved one and speak up so that you feel fresh and light.
Lack of people to speak to and the inability to understand oneself and share the feelings can create hazardous effects to your mind. This is more needed for the students appearing for the exam right now as they are filled with fear and tension that needs to be addressed by the family and teaches in particular. Let out a chance to speak out their mind and that will allow them to concentrate more and bring out great results.
So catch hold of your friend, crack some jokes, laugh to the core and feel fresh and relaxed free from depression. | <urn:uuid:6125d7ab-758a-4e2a-a917-780a277a6c2b> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://blogs.medindia.net/talk-out-4279.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371896913.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20200410110538-20200410141038-00059.warc.gz | en | 0.969055 | 327 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.