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Note: The following texts are for the master students who are preparing for the English state exam. The texts will be followed by reading comprehension and vocabulary exercises. Also will be added speaking and grammar tasks in the exam. School of Geology and Petroleum Engineering Text 1 An Invitation to Geology Geology is the study of the earth. Physical geology, in particular, is concerned with the materials and physical features of the earth, changes in those features, and the processes that bring them about. Intellectual curiosity about the way the earth works is one reason for the study of geology. It is not an isolated discipline but draws on the principles of many other sciences. The earth is challenging subject, for it is old, complex in composition and structure, and large in scale. Physical geology focuses particularly on the physical features of the earth and how they have formed. Observations suggest that, for the most part, those features are the result of many individually small, gradual change continuing over long periods of time, punctured by occasional, unusual, cataclysmic it’s formation, the events. Shortly after its formation, the earth underwent melting and compositional differentiation into core, mantle, and crust. There are also practical aspects to the study of geology. Certain geologic processes and events can be hazardous, and a better understanding of such phenomena may help us to minimize the risks. The scientific method in a means of discovering basic scientific principles. The systematic study of the earth that constitutes the science of geology has existed as an organized discipline for only about250 years. It was first formally developed in Europe. Two principal opposing schools of thought emerged in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to explain geologic observation. One, popularized by James Hutton and later named by Charles Lyell , was the concept of uniformitarianism. Uniformitarianism comprises the ideas that the surface of the earth has been continuously and gradually changed and modified over the immense span of geologic time and that, by studying the geologic processes now active in shaping the earth. It is not assumed that the rates of all processes have been the same throughout time, but rather that the nature of processes in similar that the same physical principles operating in the present. The second, contrasting theory was catastrophism. The catastrophists, led by French scientist Georges Cuvier , believed that a series of immense, worldwide upheavals were the agents of change that, between catastrophes, the earth was static. Violent volcanic eruptions followed by torrential rains and floods were invoked to explain mountains and valleys and to bury animal populations that later became fossilized. In between those episodic global devastations, the earth’s surface did not change, according to catastrophist theory. Catastrophists also believed that entire plant and animal populations were created a new after each such event, to be wholly destroyed by the next. For all practical purposes, the earth is a closed system, meaning that the amount of matter in and on the earth is fixed. No new elements are being added. There is, therefore, an ultimate limit to how much of any metal we can exploit. There is also only so much land to live on. The early atmosphere and oceans formed at the same time. heat from within the earth and from the sun together drive many of the internal and surface processes that have shaped and modified the earth throughout its history and that continue to do so. The earliest life forms date back several billion years. Organisms with hard parts became widespread about 600 million years ago. Humans only appeared 3 to 4 million years ago, but their large and growing numbers and technological advances have had significant impacts on natural systems, some of which may not readily be erased by slower- paced geological processes. Text 2 Minerals and Rocks It is difficult to talk at length about geology without talking about rocks or the minerals of which they are composed. All natural and most synthetic substances on earth are made from the 90 naturally occurring chemical elements. An element is the simplest kind of chemical; it cannot be broken down further by ordinary chemical or physical processes. Chemical elements consist of atoms, which are, composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Isotopes are atoms of one element (having; therefore, the same number of protons) with different numbers of neutrons; chemically, isotopes of one element and thus acquired a positive or negative charge. Atoms of the same or different elements may bond together. The most common kinds of bonding in minerals are ionic (resulting from the attraction between oppositely charged ions) and covalent (involving sharing or electrons between atoms). When atoms of two or more different elements bond together, they form a compound. The nucleus, at the center of the atom, contains the protons and neutrons; the electrons move around the nucleus. The number of protons in the nucleus is unique to each element and determines what chemical element that atom is. Every atom of hydrogen contains one proton in its nucleus; every carbon atom, six protons; every oxygen atom; eight protons; every uranium atom, ninety-two protons. The characteristic number of protons in the atomic number of the element. In an electrically neutral atom, the number of protons equals the number of electrons. The negative charge of one electron just equals the positive charge of the proton. Most atoms, however, can gain or lose electrons. When this happens, the atom acquires a positive or negative electrical charge and is termed an icon. If it loses electrons, it becomes a positively charged cation, as the number of protons exceeds the number of electrons. If it gains electrons, the resulting ion has a negative electrical charge and is termed an union. A mineral is a naturally accruing, inorganic, solid element or compound. With a definite composition (or range in composition) and a regular internal crystal structure. When appropriate instruments for determining composition and crystal structure are unavailable, minerals can be identified from a set of physical properties, including color, crystal form, cleavage or fracture, hardness, luster, specific gravity, and others. Minerals are broadly divided into silicates and non silicates. The silicates are subdivided into structural types(for example, chain silicates, sheet silicates, framework, silicates) on the basis of how the silica tetrahedral are linked in each mineral. Silicates may alternatively be grouped by compositional characteristics. The non silicates are subdivided into several groups, each of which has some compositional characteristic in common. Examples, include the carbonates (each containing the CO3 group), the sulfates (SO4 ), and the sulfides. Rocks are cohesive mineral aggregates. Certain of their physical properties are a consequence of the ways in which their constituent mineral grains are assembled. All rocks are part of the rock cycle, through which hold rocks are continually being transformed into new ones. A consequence of this that no rocks have been preserved throughout earth’s history, and many early stages in the development of one rock may have been erased by subsequent events. Text 3 Volcanoes A volcano is a vent through which magma, fragments of rock and ash, and gases erupt, or the structure built around the vent by such eruption. Most volcanic activity is concentrated near plate boundaries. Active volcanoes send out smoke and steam and occasionally erupt. An erupting volcano gushes out ash, molten lava and smoke. Volcanoes form either at the edges of tectonic plates, or at hot-spots in the earth’s crust. Volcanoes differ widely in eruptive style, and thus in the kinds of dangers they present. Seafloor rift zones and hot spots are characterized by the more fluid, basaltic lavas. Subduction -zone volcanoes typically produce much more viscous, silicarich, gas – charged andesitic magma, so, in addition to lava, they may emit large quantities of pyroclastics and other deadly products like nuees ardentes. Lava is perhaps the leats serious hazard associated with volcanoes. It moves slowly, it can sometimes be predicted. The results of explosive eruptions are less predictable and the eruptions themselves more sudden. One secondary affect of volcanic eruptions, especially explosive ones, which occurs as a result of dust and gases being thrown into the atmosphere and blocking incoming sunlight. Lava is not generally life threatening. Most lava flows advance at speeds of at most a few kilometers an hour. So one can evade the advancing lava readily even on foot. The lava will destroy or bury any property over which it flows. Lava temperatures are typically over 500° C and may be over 1,400° C. Pyroclastics are often more dangerous than lava flows. They may erupt more suddenly. Explosively, and spread faster and farther. Cinders and ash are examples of free- falling pyroclastics. Another special kind of pyroclastic outburst is a deadly, denser-than-air flow of mixed hot gases and fine ash known as a nuee ardente, from the French for ‘glowing cloud.” A nuee ardente is very hot-temperatures can be over 1,000°C in the interior – and it can rush down the slopes of the volcano at more than 100 kilometers per hour, charring everything in its path and flattening trees and weak buildings. The volcanic structure divided into following parts based on their eruptive patterns and characteristic form, shield volcano, stratovolcano, dormant volcano, extinct volcano and active volcano. When a volcano emits lava as well as pyroclastics, a concave- shaped composite volcano or stratovolcano is built of alternating lava flows and beds of pyroclastics. Dormant volcano is a volcano that is not now erupting but that has erupted within historic time and is considered likely to do so in the future. A volcano that is erupting or is expected to erupt is an active volcano. Shield volcano is a volcano in the shape of a flattened dome, broad and low, built by flows of very fluid, basaltic lava. Extinct volcano is a volcano that is not presently erupting and that is not considered likely to do so in the future. Precursors are changes observed in or near a volcano that herald an impending eruption. There are several types of advance warnings of volcanic activity. A common one is seismic activity. Early signs of potential volcanic activity include bulging and warming of the ground surface and increased seismic activity. Volcanologists cannot yet predict the exact timing or type of eruption very precisely, except insofar as they can anticipate eruptive style on the basis of historic records, the nature of the products of previous eruptions, and tectonic setting. A single volcanic eruption can have a global impact on climate, although the effect may be only brief. Intense explosive eruptions put large quantities of volcanic dust high into the atmosphere, from which it may take years to settle. In the interim, it par- tially blocks out incoming sunlight, thus causing measurable cooling. After Krakatoa’s 1883 eruption, worldwide temperatures dropped nearly half a degree centigrade, and the cooling effects persisted for almost ten years. The larger 1815 eruption of Tambora caused still more dramatic cooling. 1816 became known in the Northern Hemisphere as the “year without a summer.” Such past experience forms the basis for fears of a “nuclear winter” in the event of a nuclear war, for modern nuclear weapons are powerful enough to cast volumes of fine dust into the air, and more dust and ash would be generated by ensuing fires. The climatic impacts of volcanoes are not confined to the effects of volcanic dust. The 1982 eruption of the Mexican volcano EI Chichon did not produce a particularly large quantity of dust, but it did shoot volumes of unusually sulfur-rich gases into the atmosphere. These gases produced clouds of sulfuric acid droplets that spread around the earth. Not only do the acid droplets block some sun-light, like dust, but in time they also settle back to the earth as acid rain. Text 4 How Old is the Earth? The ability to determine the numerical ages of rocks has changed the way you think about the world. But how can we determine the age of the Earth itself? Time earliest and preserved in the Earth come from the great assemblage of most morphic and igneous rocks formed during Precambrian time. The oldest radiometric dates, about 4.4 billion years, have been obtained from individual miner grains in sedimentary rocks from Australia. These grains – of the mineral zircon – show evidence of having experienced wet partial melting during the formation a magma, which then crystallized into an igneous rock, which in turn was weathered, eroded and redeposited, eventually to be incorporated into a sedimentary rock. Dates almost as old – 4.0 billion years – have been obtained from granite igneous rocks from Canada. The existence of such ancient rocks proves that continental crust was present 4.0 billion years ago, while the 4.4 billion year old mineral grains prove that the cycle of weathering, erosion, deposition, and cementation was operating then. Because we see wet melting and ancient sediment that was transported by water, we know that there must have been water on the surface of the Earth at the time the sediments were deposited. These ancient rocks are all from the Archean eon. Recall that the Hadean eon predates the Archean. No rocks that might provide radiometric dates are preserved from early Hadean time – none that we have yet found, at any rate. How long did the Hadean eon last, and, therefore, how much older might our planet be? Strong evidence from astronomy suggests that Earth formed at the same time as the Moon, the other planets, and meteorites. Through radiometric dating, it has been possible to determine the ages of meteorites and of Moon rocks brought back by astronauts. The ages of the most primitive of these objects cluster closely around 4.56 billion years. By inference, the time of formation of Earth, and indeed of all the other planets and meteorites in the solar system, is believed to be 4.56 billion years ago. Text 5 Metamorphic Rocks Metamorphism is change in rocks (short of complete melting) brought about by changes in temperature, pressure, or chemical conditions. With progressive metamorphism, existing minerals are commonly recrystallized, the crystals often growing larger in the process, and minerals stable at low temperatures and pressures may break down, to be replaced by other minerals stable at higher-grade conditions. Metamorphic rocks are subdivided into foliated and nonfoliated rocks. Directed stress may also lead to formation of foliated rocks, in which elongated or platy minerals assume a preferred orientation. Foliated rocks are named on the basis of their particular texture. Nonfoliated rocks are most often named on the basis of mineralogic composition. An amphibolites is a metamorphic rock rich in amphiboles. Amphibolities are not necessarily unfoliated rocks, for amphiboles commonly form in elongated or needlelike crystals that may take on a preferred orientation in the presence of directed stress. Most metamorphism is either contact metamorphism, which occurs in country rock close to the contacts of invading plutons and is characterized by relatively low-pressure mineral assemblages, or regional metamorphism, which is caused principally by platetectonic activity and emplacement of large batholiths, and is characterized by elevated pressure as well as elevated temperature. Metamorphic rocks are assigned to a particular facies, corresponding to a specific range of pressures and temperatures, on the basis of the mineral assemblages they contain. Index minerals are useful in assessing the general metamorphic grade of a rock and in determining regional trends in metamorphic grade. A variety of geologic settings and events lead to metamorphism. Most metamorphic processes can be sub- divided into regional, contact, and fault-zone metamorphism. Regional metamorphism is, as its name implies, metamorphism on a grand scale, a regional event. Regional metamorphism is commonly associated with mountain building events, when large areas are uplifted, downwarped or stressed severely and deformed, as during plate collisions. Rocks pushed to greater depths are subjected to increased pressures and temperatures, and are metamorphosed. Collision adds directed stress, producing abundant lineated and foliated rocks. Regional metamorphism involving changes in both pressure and temperature is also called dynamothermal metamorphism. The emplacement of large batholiths, which may or may not be associated with mountain building, raises crystal temperature over broad areas as heat is released from cooling plutons, so batholith formation may likewise result in metamorphism on a regional scale. Contact metamorphism is named for the setting in which it occurs, near the contact of a pluton. The pluton, emplaced from greater depths, is hotter than the country rock, and if it is significantly hotter, the adjacent country rock is metamorphosed. The pluton then is surrounded by a zone of metamorphic rock, also known as a contact aureole, or halo. (The term aureole comes from the Latin for “golden,” as a crown or halo might be.) Higher – temperature metamorphic minerals are found close to the contact, lower – temperature minerals farther away. Metasomatism may not occur in the contact aureole. Contact metamorphism, by definition, is a more localized phenomenon than regional metamorphism, since it is confined to the immediate environs of the responsible pluton. Contact – metamorphic effects also tend to be most marked around plutons emplaced at shallow depths in the crust. A metamorphic facies is a set of physical conditions that give rise to characteristic mineral assemblages. That is rock of a particular metamorphic facies contain one or more minerals indicative of a particular, restricted range of pressures and temperatures. Contact – metamorphic facies are the facies of low pressure and a range of temperatures. They consist of sanidinite facies pyroxene – hornfels facies, hornblende – hornfels facies and zeolite facies. The zeolites are group of hydrous silicates, stable only at low pressure and temperature. Regional – metamorphic facies are characterized by elevated pressure and temperature. The greenschist facies is so named because greenschist – facies rock commonly contain one or both of the greenish silicates chlorite and epidote. The blueschist facies is characterized by high pressure but low temperature. It’s name derives from the several bluish silicates kyanite, an aluminum silicate, and that form under these conditions. Text 6 Earthquakes Rocks subjected to stress may behave elastically or plastically Earthquakes result from sudden rupture of brittle or elastic rocks, or sudden movement along fault zones in response to stress. Most earthquakes are confined to the cold, rigid lithosphere. The pent – up energy of an earthquake is related through seismic waves, which include ground rupture and shaking, fire, liquefaction, landslides, and tsunamis. While earthquakes cannot be stopped, their negative effects can be limited by: seeking ways to cause locked faults to slip gradually and harmlessly, perhaps by using fluid injection to reduce frictional resistance to shear; designing structures in active fault zones to be more resistant to earthquake damage; identifying and, wherever possible, avoiding development in areas at particular risk from earthquake – related hazards; increasing public awareness of and preparedness for earthquakes in threatened areas; and learning enough about earthquake precursor phenomena to make accurate and timely predictions of earthquakes. Strain is deformation a change in shape, or volume, or both resulting from stress. It may be either temporary or permanent, depending on the amount and type of stress and the ability of the material to resist it. If the deformation is elastic, the amount of deformation is proportional to the stress applied, and the material returns to its original size and shape when the stress is removed. A gently stretched rubber band shows elastic behavior. Rocks, too, may behave elastically, although much greater stress is needed to produce detectable strain. Once the elastic limit of a material is reached, it may go through a phase of plastic deformation with increasing stress. During this stage, relatively small added stresses yield large corresponding strains, and the changes of shape are permanent. The material does not return to its original dimensions after removal of the stress. A glassblower, an artist shaping clay, a carpenter fitting caulk into cracks around a window, and a blacksmith shaping a bar of hot iron into a horseshoe are all making use of plastic behavior of materials. Faults and fractures come in all sizes, from microscopically small to hundreds of kilometers long. Likewise, earthquakes come in all size, from tremors so small that even sensitive instruments can barely detect them, to massive shocks that can level cities. The point on a fault at which the first movement or break occurs during an earthquake is called the earthquake’s focus, or hypocenter. In the case of a large earthquake, a section of fault many kilometers long may slip, but there is always a point at which the first movement occurs, and this is the focus. The point on the earth’s sur-face directly above the focus is the epicenter. When an earthquake occurs, the stored-up energy is released in the form of seismic waves that travel away from the focus. There are several types of seismic waves. Body waves (P waves and S waves) travel through the interior of the earth. Surface waves, as their name suggests, travel along the surface. The use of body waves to explore the earth’s internal structure is explored P waves are compressional waves. As P waves travel through matter, the matter is alternately compressed and expanded. P waves travel through the earth, than, much as sound waves travel through air. S waves are shear waves, involving a side-to-side sliding motion of material. Ground shaking may cause a further problem in areas where the ground is very wet in filled land, near the coast, or in places with a high water table. This problem is liquefaction. When wet soil is shaken by an earthquake, the soil particles may be jarred apart, allowing water to seep in between them. This greatly reduces the friction between soil particles that gives the soil strength, and it causes the ground to become somewhat like quicksand. When this happens, buildings can just topple over or partially sink into the liquefied soil the soil has no strength to support them. The effects of liquefaction were dramatically after a major earthquake in Niigata. Apartment building tipped over to settle at an angle of 30 degrees to the ground while the structure remained intact. In some areas prone to liquefaction, improved underground drainage systems may be installed to try to keep the soil drier, but little else can be done about this hazard beyond avoiding areas at risk. Not all areas with wet soils are subject to liquefaction. The nature of the soil or fill plays a large role in the extent of the danger. Coastal areas, especially around the Pacific Ocean basin where so many large earthquakes occur, may also be vulnerable to tsunamis. These are seismic sea waves, sometimes improperly called “ tidal waves” although they have nothing to do with tides. When an undersea or near shore earthquake occurs, sudden movement of the sea floor may set up waves travelling away from that spot, like ripples on a pond caused by a dropped pebble. Tsunamis can also be triggered by major submarine landslides or by violent explosion of volcanoes in ocean basis. In the open sea, the tsunami is only an unusually broad swell or ripple on the water surface. Like all waves, tsunamis only develop into breakers as they approach shore and the undulating waters touch bottom. The breakers associated with tsunamis, however, can easily be over 15 meters high and may reach up to 65 meters in the case of larger earthquakes. Several such breakers may crash over the coast in succession: between waves, the water may be pulled swiftly seaward, emptying a harbor or bay, and perhaps pulling unwary onlookers along. Tsunamis can travel very quickly speeds of 1,000 kilometers per hour are not uncommon and a tsunami set off on one side of the Pacific may still cause noticeable effects on the other side of the ocean. Text 7 STRESS AND STRAIN In discussing rock deformation, geologists often use the word stress, which refers to the force acting on a surface. The definition of pressure is exactly the same. However, the term stress often refers to “differential stress, strain” that is, a situation in which the force acting on the surface of a body is greater from one direction than from another. Pressure is commonly used to mean “uniform stress, “in which the force on a body is equal in all directions. For example, the pressure on a small body floating within a liquid is uniform-the same from all directions. Uniform stress is also called confining pressure. A rock in the lithosphere is confined by the rocks all around it and is uniformly stressed by those surrounding rocks. The related terms “lithostatic pressure” and “hydrostatic pressure” also describe uniform stress on a rock, but they convey additional information about how the pressure is transmitted to the rock: by overlying rocks (lithostatic, from lithos, the Greek root that means “rock”), or by water (hydrostatic, from hydro, the Greek root that means “water”). In response to stress, a rock will change its shape or its volume, sometimes both. This change is called strain. Uniform stress causes rocks to change their volume. For example, if a rock is subjected to uniform stress by being buried deep in the Earth, its volume will decrease. If the spaces (pores) between the grains become smaller, or if the minerals in the rock are transformed into more compact crystal structures, the volume change may be relatively large. Differential stress causes rocks to change their shape, and sometimes their volume as well. There area several kinds of differential stress (Figure 8.1). Tension acts in a direction perpendicular to and away a surface; this kind of stress pulls or stretches rocks. Compression acts in a direction perpendicular to and toward a surface; compressional stress squeezes rocks, shortening or squashing them and decreasing their volume. Shear stress acts parallel to a surface. It causes rocks to change shape by bending, or breaking. In response to shear stress, different parts of the rock may slide past each other like cards in a deck. Text 8 THE ROCK-FORMING MINERALS Geologists have identified approximately 3,500 minerals, but fewer than 30 of them are common in the crust of the Earth. Why aren’t there more minerals in the Earth’s crust? The reason becomes clear when we consider the relative abundances of the chemical elements in the Earth’ crust. Only 12 elements – oxygen, silicon, aluminum, iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, titanium, hydrogen, manganese, and phosphorus – occur in the amounts greater than 0.1 percent (by weight). Together, these 12 elements make up more than 99 percent of the mass of a limited number of minerals in which one or more of these 12 abundant elements is an essential ingredient. Minerals containing scarcer elements occur only in small amounts and only under special circumstances. Two elements – oxygen and silicon – make up more than 70 percent of the crust in atomic by weight. Oxygen itself constitutes more than 60 percent of the crust in atomic proportion – that is, the actual number of atoms of oxygen in the crust – and more than 90 percent by volume. Oxygen is a large, lightweight atom; not only are there lots of oxygen atoms in the crust, they also take up a lot of space. Oxygen forms a simple anion, O2- ; compounds that contain this anion are called oxides. Oxygen and silicon together form an exceedingly strong anionic complex called a silicon anion, (SiO4)4-; minerals that contain this anion are called silicates. Silicates are the most abundant of all minerals; oxides are the second most abundant. Other mineral groups based on different anions are less common. Text 9 EROSION BY WATER UNDER THE GROUND Water can also cause erosion underneath the ground. As soon as rainwater infiltrates the ground to become groundwater, it begins to react with the minerals in the regolith and the bedrock, causing chemical weathering. Among the minerals of the Earth’s crust, the carbonates are most readily dissolved. Carbonate rocks such as limestone are almost insoluble in pure water, but are easily dissolved by carbonic acid, a common constituent of rainwater. The attack occurs mainly along joints and other opening in the rock. When limestone weathers, it may be dissolved and carried away in slowly moving groundwater. In some carbonate terrains, the rate of dissolution is even faster than the average rate of erosion of surface materials by streams and mass wasting. When carbonate rock is dissolved by circulating groundwater, a cave may form. Caves are dissolution cavities that are closed to the surface, or have only a small opening. Cave formation begins with dissolution along interconnected fractures and bedding planes, where two different sedimentary rock units meet. A passage eventually develops along the most favorable flow route. The rate of cave formation is related to the rate of dissolution. As the passage grows and the flow of groundwater becomes more rapid and turbulent, the rate of dissolution also tends to increase. The development of a continuous passage by slowly moving groundwater may take up to 10,000 years, and enlargement of the passage to create a fully developed cave system may take as long as a million years. Terrains that are underlain by extensive cave systems are called karst terrains. Sinkholes are dissolution cavities, like caves, but open to the sky. Some sinkholes are formed when the roof of a cave collapses. Others are formed at the surface, when rainwater is freshly charged with carbon dioxide and hence is most effective as a solvent. Some sinkholes form slowly; others form catastrophically. An example of the latter occurred in Winter Park, Florida, in 1972. In a period of just 10 hours, a sinkhole developed and consumed part of a house, six commercial buildings, several automobiles, and a municipal swimming pool. The total cost of the damage was over $2 million. Events as dramatic as the Winter Park sinkhole are rare, but sinkhole collapse is a common occurrence in areas underlain by carbonate rocks. Text 10 EROSION BY WIND Wind is an important agent of erosion, especially in arid and semiarid regions. Processes related to wind are called eolian processes after Aeolus, the Greek god of wind. Because the density of air is far less than that of water, air cannot move as large a particle as water flowing at the same velocity. In most regions with moderate to strong winds, the largest particles that can be lifted by the air are grains of sand. Only the finest dust particles remain aloft long enough to be moved by suspension. Flowing air erodes the land surface in two ways. The first, abrasion, results from the impact of wind-driven grains of sand (Figure 6.4). Airborne particles act like tools, chipping small fragments off rocks that stick up from the surface. When rocks are abraded in this way they acquire distinctive, curved shapes and a surface polish. A bedrock surface or stone that has been abraded and shaped by wind-blown sediment is called a ventifact (“wind artifact”). The second wind erosional process, deflation (from the Latin word meaning “to blow away”), occurs when the wind picks up and removes loose particles of sand and dust (Figure 6.5). Deflation on a large scale takes place only where there is a little or no vegetation and loose particles are fine enough to be picked up by the wind. It is especially severe in deserts, but can occur elsewhere during times of drought when no moisture is present to hold soil particles together.
Article August 31st, 2023 Aiming towards unparalleled, frictionless access to public services Digitalization in governments can change the way societies work, lead to an improved human development index, and save billions of dollars. How? By building and offering proactive public services (PPS). PPS refers to public services that require zero or minimal interaction from citizens, while making maximum use of automation. Think tax declarations that take seconds, social benefits automatically deposited into your bank account, or a new driver’s license in the mailbox when an expiration date creeps close. Defining proactive public services The first wave of public sector digitization focused on making services accessible online. The next iteration is about automating these public services, so that they require as little interaction from users and service providers as possible. Proactive public services (PPS) represent the pinnacle of this new wave of digital public services. In their most sophisticated form, these digital public services can be designed entirely without user interaction – offering unparalleled, frictionless access to public services. Let’s take a look at what precisely do we mean when we talk about proactive public services In essence, PPS are digital public services that are being proactively provided to users whose eligibility has been predetermined by the service provider. The concept of PPS is not new. It emerged within broader debates around government service digitalization in the 2010s, and over the past few years several definitions of what constitutes such services have come out in academia. It is closely associated with (but not the same as) other concepts such as life event-based services and “applicationless” services. PPS differ from these concepts in that they are proactive, triggered by events, and range from proactive information to transactions. Key definitions and characteristics of PPS - Are proactive, rather than reactive. The main characteristic of these services is that they are provided proactively by the public administration, based on an assessment of potential users’ eligibility for specific government services or benefits, rather than initiated by the user. E.g. citizens can be proactively informed that their driver’s license is about to expire, rather than having to seek this information themselves. - Are triggered by events. PPS must be based on a trigger that initiates the service. Often, these are life events that the state is involved in, such as a birth or marriage. - Range from proactive information to proactive transactions. PPS can take different forms, ranging from proactively providing information (such as the above example on the expiration of a citizen’s driver’s license) to entirely proactive transactions without user interaction. Examples of the latter include the issuance of tax and personal identification numbers in Germany and other countries, or minors’ automatic enrollment in Estonia’s national health insurance scheme. Proactive Public Services – the new standard for digital governments Proactive public services are part of a wider transformation towards proactive government that delivers users public services without waiting for formal requests. It implies a capacity to anticipate societal and economic developments, as well as users’ needs, by capturing real-time information and applying it to re-design services.Dive deeper and read our white paper Get in touch Let us offer you a new perspective.
Soldiers Set Sights on Biodegradable Bullets We’re all aware that a bullet can kill. But did you know that a bullet can also decompose in the ground and sprout new life? Well, that’s the plan anyways. Let me back up a bit. Before now, can you say that you thought about the environmental impact of bullet casings? I definitely hadn’t. With all of the conflict that’s been rising between countries, it seems there were other things to be worried about! And while we’ve heard the solemn stories of death and destruction from all over, it wasn’t until I read this article that I realized there was something else going on. Now first of all, this makes sense to me. It makes sense that these casings are scattered all over fields, cities and training camps. Who is going to take the time to clean all of these up, especially if they’re lying in the middle of a war zone? But in reality, there are millions of these casings just wasting away, while their chemicals rust and pollute the soil and groundwater where they lay. So not only can these bullets be physically harmful, they can also have serious repercussions for the animals and environments around them. See the problem? Fortunately, the Department of Defense has been on this issue for a while and they’re looking for the perfect solution. So, what is it? The Department of Defense is asking for groups to submit proposals, with ideas for a biodegradable bullet. Essentially, the idea is to find the perfect prototype of a bullet that is packed with specialized seeds, which have the ability to eliminate ammunition debris and contaminants. At this point, it’s been suggested that the bullets be made from a similar material to recyclable water bottles and containers; however, whoever can create the most eco-friendly material will likely take the cake. Live Science has reported that some prototypes have already been in the making, with one of the designs germinating only after they’ve been in the soil for several months. And we’re not talking tiny bullets here, either. Some of the smaller casings they’re looking for are approximately 40mm (about the size of a grenade), to 120mm casings that are used for tanks. The cool thing is, it’s been reported that the shells will be able to clean the soil and even feed animals without any ill effects. The proposals are being solicited until February 8th, when one will be chosen to go into a 3-phase process of developing and administering. Sometimes, it’s hard to look at the big picture when the media is highlighting certain factors of events going on in our world. However, the advancements we’ve had in technology are not overlooking the aftermath of these events and what they mean for our planet. I think it’s very cool that these individuals have been spreading their concern about the lasting effects of bullet casings and that there is actually something being done! So far, it seems that 2017 is off to a good start. While I was pumped up about new tech toys coming to shelves last week, these kinds of creations often remind us that technology can be a whole lot more life-changing then just giving us Candy Crush and a better phone lens. What do you think of this topic? What would you use to create a biodegradable bullet?0
Looking at a rack of magazines, it's hard to find a cover that hasn't been photoshopped in to perfection. Now PhD computer science students at the University of Dartmouth have developed a software tool to rate photographs based on how much digital alterations were made. The tool, which is part of recently released research in the National Academy of Sciences is intended to bring a level of truth to media and advertising and create awareness for natural beauty, without Photoshop. “The ubiquity of these unrealistic and highly idealized images has been linked to eating disorders and body image dissatisfaction in men, women, and children,” the paper said. “In response, several countries have considered legislating the labeling of retouched photos.” The researchers hope the tool will one day be used to put warning labels on altered images, describing how much the photos have been changed. Would you support labels on heavily photoshopped images within media content and advertisement?
A sign that your body is preparing for the time when you might one day have a baby, a period (also known as menstruation) usually happens once a month. During puberty, the hormones (chemical messengers) progesterone and oestrogen are released by the brain and these ‘tell’ your ovaries and eggs to start growing and your periods will start. Periods usually start around the age of 12 (between the ages of 9 and 15) and stop at around age 45 to 55, when women go through the menopause. Once every 28 days, or thereabouts (see below), your ovaries will release an egg (known as ‘ovulation’). It travels along your fallopian tube to your uterus where the egg can be fertilised by a sperm after unprotected intercourse, starting the development into a baby. The egg will not be fertilised if you are not having sexual intercourse (or if you are having intercourse but use contraception). The unfertilised egg breaks down in the uterus where the unwanted soft lining also breaks down and these dissolve together and pass out through the vagina. About a couple of tablespoons of blood and tissue dribble out over the course of a few days, so it is quite a small amount. This is what’s known as your period. Your periods will stop if you become pregnant (no eggs are released while a baby is growing in your uterus) and while the baby is breastfed. When will it start? Your period can happen at any time – at home, when you’re at school, when you’re out and about – so it is a good idea to carry a pad with you in your bag just in case. These often come neatly wrapped so you can tuck one discreetly in a pocket. If you don’t have anything with you, you can roll up some toilet paper and pop that in your knickers until you can find a pad. Don’t worry – your first period is usually a very tiny amount of blood and discharge. Once you are having periods regularly, you will know when they are likely to start and will be prepared. The average period lasts for about 3 to 8 days. Periods at school You might worry about managing your period when you’re at school (changing your pad or tampon, possible leakage and being discreet) but do remember that all girls are in the same boat. If you’re caught short, the chances are one of your friends will be prepared. Your school should have special bins in the toilets for disposing used tampons and pads (which should never be flushed down the toilet) and there should be soap and paper towels or a hand dryer for you to wash your hands. If there aren’t, speak to someone in your school office. The time from the start of one period and the start of the next one is roughly about 28 days and is known as the ‘menstrual cycle’. Cycles vary from person to person – some women have cycles of 21 days and others of 35 days. All of this is very normal. Your periods will probably be irregular at first and be irregular for a while. It can take a couple of years before your body settles into a regular cycle. Keep a note of the first day of each period on a calendar so you can work out when your next one should be and ensure you’re not caught off-guard. If your periods don’t settle into a regular schedule after a couple of years, make an appointment with your GP to check everything is ok. If your periods have been in a regular cycle but they stop for longer than 3 months, you should also consult your GP. If there is any chance you could be pregnant, you need to see a health professional straight away.
The Sun sported a whole slew of substantial sunspots over the past 11 days (July 1-10, 2014). This movie and still show the Sun in filtered white light speckled with more and larger sunspots than we have seen in quite some time. Sunspots are darker, cooler regions on the Sun created by intense magnetic fields poking through the surface. The Sun may have passed its peak level of activity, but it will still be producing many more sunspots and solar storms during the rest of this solar cycle. The still image was taken on July 8 at 22:24 UT. Credit: Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA.
cds.cern.ch The CERN Superconductors team in the Technology department is involved in the European Space Radiation Superconducting Shield (SR2S) project, which aims to demonstrate the feasibility of using superconducting magnetic shielding technology to protect astronauts from cosmic radiation in the space environment. The material that will be used in the superconductor coils on which the project is working is magnesium diboride (MgB2), the same type of conductor developed in the form of wire for CERN for the LHC High Luminosity Cold Powering project. Back in April 2014, the CERN Superconductors team announced a world-record current in an electrical transmission line using cables made of the MgB2superconductor. This result proved that the technology could be used in the form of wire and could be a viable solution for both electrical transmission for accelerator technology and long-distance power transportation. Now, the MgB2superconductor has found another application: it will soon be tested in a prototype coil that could provide the solution to ensure safe trips for astronauts during deep-space missions. The idea is to create an active magnetic field to shield the spacecraft from high-energy cosmic particles. “In the framework of this project, CERN is testing MgB2 tape in a configuration that has specifically been developed for the SR2S project by Columbus Superconductors,” explains Amalia Ballarino, Superconductors and Superconducting Devices section leader. “In the framework of the project, we will test, in the coming months, a racetrack coil wound with an MgB2 superconducting tape,” says Bernardo Bordini, coordinator of CERN activity in the framework of the SR2S project. “The prototype coil is designed to quantify the effectiveness of the superconducting magnetic shielding technology.” During long-duration trips in space and in the absence of the magnetosphere that protects people living on Earth, astronauts are bombarded with high-energy cosmic rays that might cause a significant increase in the probability of various types of cancers. Because of this, exploration missions to Mars or other distant destinations will only become realistically possible if an effective solution for adequately shielding astronauts is found. “If the prototype coil we will be testing produces successful results, we will have contributed important information to the feasibility of the superconducting magnetic shield,” says Ballarino. There are many more challenges to overcome before a spacecraft shield can be built: various possible magnetic configurations need to be tested and compared and other key enabling technologies need to be developed. But the MgB2 superconductor seems to be very well-placed to take part in this challenging adventure as, among its many advantages, there is also its ability to operate at higher temperatures (up to about 25 K) thus allowing the spacecraft to have a simplified cryogenic system. Watch this “space”! \|The SR2S Project SR2S is a Collaborative Project under the Space Theme of the EU Seventh Framework Research Programme. The project started in January 2013 and will end in December 2015. The aim of the SR2S project is to provide a pathway for the further development of a protective shield for astronauts, which should be launched in the market within the next two decades. popularmechanics AUG 5, 2015 Giant superconducting magnets could protect astronauts from cosmic rays. CERN isn’t content with just having the largest particle accelerator in the world. It has other projects on its horizon, like protecting future space travelers from deadly cosmic radiation. Cosmic rays are one of the gravest threats space agencies have to contend with for any future Mars exploration. Space is a harsh environment full of radiation that’s damaging to life like us. While it didn’t prevent a short-duration spaceflight like the Apollo missions to the moon, sending humans beyond the Earth-Moon system will require us to do a lot more to protect them. But CERN thinks it can make a Star Trek-like shield system a reality. To that end, scientists there are testing the use of magnesium diboride superconducting magnets. The magnets are used in the Large Hadron Collider to create ultra-bright particle beams at a low temperature. Used in spacecraft shielding, they would create a sort of magnetosphere around the craft (likely the Orion capsule),simulating one of the mechanisms that prevents radiation exposure on Earth and in the upper atmosphere. The magnets would be coiled within the body of the craft, surrounding it with an artificial magnetic field. “The MgB2superconductor seems to be very well placed to take part in this challenging adventure as, among its many advantages, there is also its ability to operate at higher temperatures (up to about 25 K) thus allowing the spacecraft to have a simplified cryogenic system.,” CERN communications editor Antonella Del Rosso said in a post on the idea. We’re hoping they’re right, because radiation isn’t a danger only for traveling through space. Mars doesn’t have a magnetosphere as strong as Earth’s to protect lifeforms on its surface from space radiation, so advanced shielding technologies must be part of any survivable habitat on the surface of the Red Planet. NOTICE OF DATA BREACH Dear User, We are writing to inform you about a data security issue that may involve your Yahoo account information. What Happened? A copy of certain user account information was stolen from our systems in late 2014 by what we believe is a state-sponsored actor. We are closely coordinating with law... 12:15am EDT Breaking News The hashtag #GasShortage is trending on twitter for Tennessee. It will soon be trending elsewhere. My brother reported to me a few minutes ago that Gas stations in Greensboro NC are out of gas and those truck stops have only about 7000 Gallons as of 1155pm EST. The immediate... World Peace: The Final Chapter By Brooks Agnew Notes from 04 September 2016 World peace has been cited by pageant misses as their life’s work for more than a century. It is the stuff of happily ever fairy tales and Mendala shifting Disney movies. Guard dropping press releases misled Neville Chamberlain and countless other kings to... Forgiveness by Luckee1 as heard on 30 August 2016 http://tfrlive.com/luckee-with-truth-frequency-news-66847/ I know when I was a girl, I was told that we had to forgive others. The adults, especially those associated with church, always talked about forgiving others. They also talked about how Jesus died for our forgiveness. They would talk about things like forgive your... Original post is: Watch as amazing GcMAF treatment kills cancer cells in real time… holistic doctors ‘suicided’ over this stunning breakthrough A breakthrough cancer treatment appears to be the reason why a handful of holistic doctors were recently found “suicided” is now gaining worldwide attention as a potential universal cure for cancer. And new microscopic...
Tuesday, 9th November 2010 by Ian Brown The Burren is a distinctive limestone landscape and national park in County Clare on Ireland’s Atlantic coast. Technically one of Europe’s largest karst landscapes – rock features formed by the action of water – the region is dominated by elevated limestone pavements and domes and stark rocky plateaus. There are numerous historic locations in the Burren, most notably Poulnabrone Dolmen – a 2m high neolithic portal tomb which dates to somewhere between 3000 and 4000 BC. It is some distance from the road but we do get a distant look on Street View. When I was there some years ago the tomb was surrounded by a herd of cows and getting close involved ignoring dire warning signs that you were trespassing. Thankfully it now appears to be officially open to the public, with a car park and a path with interpretive signs. There are many lovely villages2 scattered in and around the Burren, including Kilfenora, which has a Burren visitor’s centre and a 12th century Cathedral featuring a number of high crosses in a newly-roofed area.
Identification and Recruitment (ID&R) of migrant families and students is challenging. The most obvious way to identify students is mobility. There are, also, very detailed and specific considerations in order to make an eligibility determination. The federal Office of Migrant Education (OME) at the Department of Education has put forth regulations and non-regulatory guidance, based on federal statute Title I, Part C. The tool for recruiting a student is the Certificate of Eligibility (COE). Once the COE has been completed, it is reviewed by a quality control committee. Only after determination of eligibility, services begin. ID & R is usually done by referrals from schools, migrant families and employers. Recruitment can occur in a variety of places – rural, urban or suburban. Each presents its own challenges. Collaboration with members of the community is essential to identify and recruit migrant children/youth. The burden of certifying that a family is migrants for the purpose of services falls on the State Education Agency (SEA), Pennsylvania Department of Education. \|Student Leadership/Special Projects\| High School - The Student Leadership Institute (SLI) has been in operation since 1989 as an initiative of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Migrant Education Program (PA-MEP). Each summer 50 high school students attend a 6-day residential college-level institute where they receive instruction in writing, public speaking and community service. The highlight of the SLI is a debate at the PA House of Representatives where students are divided in two groups each representing a different side on an issue that is selected by them in consultation with the director's input. Additionally, students complete their college essays during the SLI. Students are encouraged to return to their communities and become active, contributing members. Middle School – The 5-day residential middle school leadership program, Youth Power, has been in existence since the year 2010. Youth Power is a revolutionary, innovative and interactive series of student leadership workshops geared towards nurturing the leadership skills within students to achieve personal growth, resulting in a desire to create positive change in their lives and community. Over the course of five days, the Youth power team engages students with a combination of motivational, team building activities, small group discussions and individual personal development assignments. Most notably, students prepare and present their educational five-year plan. Congressional Awards - The Congressional Awards is the United States Congress' Award for Young Americans. It is a non-partisan, voluntary and non-competitive program open to all 14 to 23 year olds. Youth may earn certificates or medals (Bronze, Silver and Gold) depending on their attainment in four areas: Volunteer Public Service, Personal Development, Physical Fitness and Expedition/Exploration. This award is a great opportunity for students to set and accomplish goals and challenges. The award is self-paced. Earning the Award is a fun and interesting way to get more involved in something the youth already enjoy or something they would like to try for the first time. Regardless of the youth's situation, he/she can earn the Congressional Award. The Congressional Award has no minimum grade point average requirements. It accommodates young people with special needs or disabilities who are willing to take the challenge. Many PA-MEP migrant students participate in the Congressional Awards and have earned recognition at the Bronze, Silver and Gold medal ceremonies. Before/Afterschool /Saturday Tutoring – As a supplemental program, PA-MEP's main priority is to connect students with afterschool programs provided by the school or community. PA-MEP staff ensures that students who have a reading and/or math need and who meet the eligibility criteria, enroll in those programs first. Follow-up is provided to ensure attendance and progress of migrant students. If students are not eligible for other programs or no other programs are available, PA-MEP provides tutoring beyond school hours. Tutoring may also be provided to those students who, despite attending another program, are not making progress. Some tutoring may be done in-home on a one-on-one basis. Summer School – PA-MEP has award-winning supplemental summer programs. The National Summer Learning Association recognized PA-MEP with the Summer Excellence Award in 2011. Since the 1960's, the PA-MEP has been providing exemplary summer programs for the children of migrant farmworkers. PA-MEP's summer programs are essential in preventing the "summer backslide," wherein English Language Learners and children from low income households can lose up to three months growth in reading during the summer months. The PA-MEP summer program utilizes a thematic unit focus with resources developed to support primary content areas of math, language arts/reading, science, history or geography. Arts and music play an important role at each site, as well as technology. In many sites ecology, green living and service learning are incorporated. We view our comprehensive programming as a model for schools rather than the reverse. Our students are confident in their environment where culture, language and diversity is expected and respected. Programs operate typically for four or five weeks, for four to five days, with six instructional hours per day. All campus programs require a minimum of 110 hours of instruction each summer. The content, i.e. curriculum changes each summer so eligible MEP students can attend for 3 years and not repeat content. Our program does include transition grades: 5 year olds attending Kindergarten the following school year; students going from elementary into middle school and from middle school into high school. We also have credit accrual programs so that students that have had school year interruption complete high school in time. Physical activity (PE) is typically between 30 minutes to an hour each day and includes swimming, soccer and PE. Partnerships with many school districts and agencies provide students with a richer experience. Parent involvement and culmination activities are part of every program. Regular Term – During the regular school term, PA-MEP staff checks on student progress and facilitates enrollment in in-school/out-of-school educational opportunities that will assist migrant student progress. PA-MEP staff also assists with registration and act as liaisons with the school to ensure participation in parent involvement and other activities (e.g. parent-teacher conferences). See also, before/afterschool/Saturday tutoring. Life Skills and Reconnection – PA-MEP serves out-of-school youth (OSY), which are youth younger than 22 who have not graduated from high school or completed their GED. Throughout the year, OSY are provided with English as a Second Language (ESL) and life-skill lessons that will enable them to get acquainted with life in America and prepare them for high school reconnection or GED. For many youth, work is their first priority. OSY service providers have to be creative to engage this population. Services can be provided at places of employment, schools or in-home. Preschool Services – The main goal of preschool services is to prepare students for Kindergarten. First, we try to enroll students in developmentally-appropriate and Keystone-certified programs. If students are not admitted or placed in a waiting list, PA-MEP staff provides center-based or in-home learning. Each migrant student ages 3-5 are assessed using the Migrant School Readiness Checklist. Students receive an initial, school year and summer assessment to indicate their level of preparedness for Kindergarten. Parents are part of this assessment. They are encouraged to participate in in-home activities with their children, as their child's first teacher. Migrant students face obstacles to high school graduation due to their mobility. They may not have their records or may have many incomplete courses. Through credit accrual programs, accepted by the school districts, students are able to complete courses during the school year or summer. \|Binational Migrant Education Program\| For many years, the federal Office of Migrant Education (OME) has had a Binational Agreement with Mexico for cultural and educational teacher exchanges, among other elements. PA-MEP does a teacher exchange program with Mexico for five weeks in the summer. Six to eight teachers from Mexico come to Pennsylvania to work with the migrant children at different sites. The country's culture and history is shared with the students. Having Mexican teachers as part of the Binational Exchange provides authentic enrichment for our students and helps them continue to develop their Spanish language skills as well as their appreciation for and pride in their Mexican culture. In addition, when possible, we assist students returning to Mexico to have a filled out Transfer Document. Learn more about the Binational Migrant Education Program, visit the US Department of Education, Office of Migrant Education website. \|Consortium Incentive Grants\| Section 1308 of Title I Part C, allows for states to work together in Consortia agreements. These are two-year agreements where states work together for intrastate and interstate coordination. There are currently four consortia focusing on OSY, Literacy, Math and Binational communication between the US and Mexico. The consortia grants that PDE is participation of are: CORE (Comprehensive Online Reading Education) as a partner state. The objective is to create effective supplemental online instruction for emergent readers for Migrant Education Programs. This consortium grant concentrates on Literacy Skills – reading, writing, study skills and gradation plans; The Strategies, Opportunities and Services for Out-of-School Youth (SOSOSY). The Objective is to provide services based on scientifically-based research to improve the educational attainment of out-of-school (OSY) migratory youth whose education is interrupted; Using Innovative Educational Technologies (InET). The objective is expanding access to innovative educational technologies to increase the academic achievement of migrant students whose education is disrupted due to frequent moves across state lines and international borders.
The American painter Marsden Hartley embodied Maine, says the conventional wisdom. And here the conventional wisdom is mostly true. Hartley (1877-1943) was born in Maine and died there. He also made some of his most memorable work in Maine or in memory of it. Yet he spent much of his life away, trying to get beyond the place. About 90 works by Hartley are on view at the Met Breuer on Madison Avenue, which once housed the Whitney Museum of American Art. The show focuses on what we might call Hartley’s special relationship to the state. If putting things in context is the goal, the Met gives us a lot, and a lot more than Hartley’s bond with Maine. To say that life in Maine was a struggle for Hartley and his family is like saying that the winters there are cold. He was born in Lewiston, a grim factory town even when the factories were open. His mother died when he was five. He would leave school at 15 to take a job at a shoe factory. Raised part of the time in Cleveland, Hartley studied in New York, returning to Maine in summers, and eventually lived in Germany and France. He returned to Maine to live in the late 1930’s. Yet Maine would always be a subject for the artist, whose first subject was landscape. Hartley’s landscapes in the Met’s chronological progression started out somber, with lush grass growing up to the Hartley was in Germany from 1913 to 1915, where he assimilated abstract styles while World War I began. When his male lover was killed in the war, in 1914, Hartley assembled elements of military pomp in Portrait of a German Officer, which earned him a place in the fusion of cubism and other art experiments. In France in the 1920’s, Hartley journeyed to Provence to observe the world of Paul Cezanne. Yet Maine also found its way into his work. Exquisite paintings from that time include the elegiac Shells, from 1928, which has a dreamy feel of longing. Was it longing for Maine? Hartley kept a collection of shells in his apartment in Paris then, yet they seem to have been bought at curiosity shops and didn’t have anything to do with his home state. His later painting White Sea Horse, in the form of a coil, is equally delicate, a marine icon. There’s also a painting of a lobster against a black background from 1942, created before the over-branding of that image. The curators of the Met show, which travels to Maine in July, take the position that Hartley in his ambitions and his painting went global, that his work was not merely American, or of New England, or modernist. He painted views out of a window, the same framing that Henri Matisse deployed in his classic Collioure pictures. Matisse provided the template, yet the view was across Penobscot Bay toward the dark Camden hills. Hartley’s Matisse-inspired painting, Sea Window–Tinker Mackerel, was from 1942, a year before Hartley died. The last years of Hartley’s life were remarkably active, in which he would reveal much about himself. Those revelations are paintings of men, most of them at the shore or the beach, many not wearing much. Hartley revered Cezanne, and his deadpan, monumental Canuck Yankee Lumberjack at Old Orchard Beach, with his hands on his hips, can be seen as an homage to Cezanne’s The Bather of 1885. Was the figure’s skimpy pink suit sending a message beyond the salute to Cezanne? In Lobster Fishermen from the same time, the tallest figure in a group on a fishing dock wears a pink shirt, not usual attire among men in Maine then or now. A drawing for that painting has the tall figure in the same pink shirt, and the other men in purple. If this was an understated provocation, it still seems like a provocation. The showstopper here is the near-nude Madawaska–Acadian Light-Heavy (1940), a massively muscled hulk in a thong, or whatever the word was for that article of clothing in those days. In case of any misunderstanding, the picture’s background is crimson. The expressionless face could be Cezanne’s influence. The body in this case and others is all Hartley, or something from Tom of Finland. These figure paintings get a lot closer to their subjects than the landscapes that Hartley viewed from a distance, and closer than almost anything else he painted. There’s a rare intimacy to the pictures, but there’s also a feeling of veneration, as in paintings of saints. The ever-erotic St. Sebastian comes to mind. Unlike American painters from the era who showed heroic male figures working, Harley doesn’t do that. Saints don’t work. If Hartley had a salute to work in Maine, it was Knotting Rope (1939-40), the image of two hands pulling on a thick line. His celebration of the Maine landscape would take him back to Cezanne, in painting after painting of Mount Katahdin north of the city of Bangor. Yet his shameless and guileless male figures, clearly a pleasure for Hartley in his mid-60’s, were acts of courage in their expression of forbidden sexuality. “I only wish I were a big husky brute…It makes me terribly envious, when I see men swimming or running or boxing,” he said to a relative. Yet he could look, and he could paint, even when that involved a risk. People in New York will care more about that than about Hartley’s attitude toward his state. If the Met show has a problem, it’s a failure to mention (except for a brief reference in the catalog) Hartley’s racial feelings for Germany and Germans while the Nazis came to power. He likened Maine men to their German counterparts, and he painted some with seemingly Aryan blonde hair and blue eyes. The show’s about Maine, its defenders might say. Yet it’s also supposed to be about everything that Hartley brought to his vision of that place. “Marsden Hartley’s Maine” is at the Met Museum through June 18.
Helping HIVers who want to quit smoking: a status report Smoking rates in HIVers are higher than in the general population. So PositiveLite.com asked the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN) to conduct a review of smoking cessation programs for people living with HIV: what’s out there and how is it working? The Question: What research has been conducted regarding smoking cessation programs/interventions geared specifically towards people with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) who smoke? Key Take-Home Messages - Tobacco smoking is much more common among PHAs than in the HIV-negative population (1-5) - While most medical providers offer some form of smoking cessation services, AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs) are less likely to do so (5) - Additional research is needed to develop a clear set of clinical guidelines that addresses the issue of smoking as it relates specifically to PHAs.(6;7) - The majority of PHAs express a desire to learn more about smoking and its impact on their HIV status and their medication regimen.(8) - Due to psychosocial differences and special needs, smoking cessation efforts for PHAs are more complex than for the general population.(9) The Issue and Why It’s Important Nicotine (the addictive substance in tobacco products) dependence is thought to be the most frequent chemical dependence in the U.S. (1) with some suggesting it is as addictive as cocaine or heroin.(10;11) Smoking rates have been found to be significantly higher among PHAs than the general population (1-5) with estimates in the U.S. finding prevalence rates of 50-70% among PHAs (three times the national average) (3;5); and approximately 64% in Spain (double the national average).(4) Similar levels have been found among PHAs in Canada. For example, the smoking rate among patients visiting the HIV clinic at The Ottawa Hospital is estimated to be between 43-49% (2) compared to a smoking rate of 12% in Ottawa’s general population. In addition, the OHTN cohort study found that 54% of PHAs living in Ontario smoke (2), which is much higher than smoking rates among HIV-negative adults in Canada, which have fallen below 20% of the population. (12) PHAs who smoke face may also face an increased risk of bacterial pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular disease, malignancies, and lower health-related quality of life.(13-15) With increased availability of antiretroviral medications, PHAs are living longer, thus the long-term health implications of smoking have become more salient.(3) Within the PHA community, there is a strong belief in the health benefits of quitting smoking and general agreement about the need to be more actively promoting smoking cessation.(16) For example, 75% of respondents in a recent survey in New York indicated they had an interest in quitting while 64% had tried to quit at least once in the past year.(5) However, in another study, 33% of participants reported that they had not made a quit attempt since being diagnosed with HIV.(17) A reluctance to provide PHAs with smoking cessation programs that meet their unique needs has been suggested as one factor contributing to high smoking rates. (18) Others have pointed to a reluctance among PHAs to quit smoking as they felt it would not actually improve their health, referencing a perception held by some that “death from AIDS is the only inevitable outcome of a diagnosis of HIV infection.”(7) What We Found Smoking cessation interventions are for the general population According to the US Department of Health and Human Services Clinical Practice Guideline (Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update), tobacco dependence treatments are effective across a broad range of populations. (19) Individual, group and telephone counseling are effective and their effectiveness increases with treatment intensity. This guide highlights two forms of counseling that are highly effective - practical counseling (problem-solving/skills training) and social support . Numerous effective medications are available for tobacco dependence. Seven first-line medications (5 nicotine and 2 non-nicotine) reliably increase long-term smoking abstinence rates. These include Bupropione SR, Nicotine gum, Nicotine inhalers, Nicotine lozenges, Nicotine nasal sprays, Nicotine patches, and Varenicline. Counseling and medication are effective when used by themselves for treating tobacco dependence, but using them in combination is most effective.Telephone quitline counseling is effective with diverse populations as well. If a tobacco user currently is unwilling to make a quit attempt, motivational treatment should be used for future quit attempts. A systematic review of 23 studies found that group behavioural therapy [odds ratio (OR) 2.17, confidence interval (CI) 1.37–3.45], bupropion (OR 2.06, CI: 1.77–2.40), intensive physician advice (OR 2.04, Cl: 1.71–2.43), nicotine replacement therapy (OR 1.77, CI: 1.66–1.88), individual counselling (OR 1.56, CI: 1.32–1.84), telephone counseling (OR 1.56, CI: 1.38–1.77), nursing interventions (OR 1.47, CI: 1.29–1.67) and tailored self-help interventions (OR 1.42, CI: 1.26–1.61) were all effective in increasing cessation rates. (20) According to the same review, comprehensive clean indoor laws increased quit rates by 12–38%.(20) Another systematic review comparing nicotine effectiveness of Nicotine Replacement Therapy [NRT], bupropion, and varenicline found that all provide therapeutic effects in assisting with smoking cessation but varenicline was identified to be more effective than placebo, bupropion and NRT (in indirect comparison) (21). General medical providers vs. ASOs U.S. Public Health Service has a clear set of clinical guidelines to aid people in quitting smoking, known as the “5 A’s”: Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange. However, no set of similar guidelines exists specifically for PHAs who smoke.(6) One study indicated that there are not enough smoking cessation promotion activities in ASOs and that adherence to the “5 A’s” guidelines has been extremely low among PHAs.(16) Given that ASOs may have less knowledge regarding the smoking habits of their patients than general medical providers (22) (although this may not be universally true), some recommendations for increasing the uptake of smoking cessation among PHAs include stronger collaboration between ASOs and tobacco control researchers, who are better versed in population-specific tobacco cessation strategies.(23) Another study pointed out that all ASOs should be aware that tobacco quitlines exist throughout the U.S. and that their patients should be referred to such services when applicable.(24) According to another study, the nature of HIV care puts it in a unique and favourable position to offer smoking cessation programs because of the abundance of follow-up appointments and interdisciplinary care that PHAs receive. (6) PHAs and quitting smoking PHAs may face greater challenges to quitting smoking due to a unique set of social, economic, psychiatric, and medical needs that may affect their smoking habits and their ability to quit (6) The resulting overlap between treatment, care and support for HIV/AIDS, substance use, and mental illness makes smoking cessation among PHAs a more difficult proposition than in the general population.(5) As a result, less intensive interventions such as giving advice may not be enough for some PHAs to quit smoking. Therefore, some may benefit from more intensive interventions such as repeated counselling, nicotine replacement as well as psychiatric assistance.(9) According to one study, only 14% of respondents reported that they were both motivated to quit smoking and living without a codependency (cannabis or alcohol) or depressive symptoms. For these respondents, a standard tobacco cessation plan could be proposed but for those who may lack motivation and/or have another codependence a more intensive approach is likely required.(25) Smoking cessation strategies While there was a wide range of cessation strategies discussed in the literature, the main message was that more research needs to be conducted regarding smoking cessation programs tailored specifically to PHAs.(6) According to one qualitative study with HIV+ participants, there was an overwhelming desire for the creation of support groups exclusively comprised of PHAs who want to quit smoking, but the effectiveness of such groups has not been investigated .(8) A meta-analysis of 43 studies on effectiveness of various intensity levels of session length found that brief interventions (three minutes or less) led to abstinence rates of 13% of participants while longer interventions (10 minutes or more) led to abstinence rates of 22%. (19;26;27) In terms of the percentage likelihood of smoking cessation after six months, one study found increased abstinence from interventions providing advice (9%), counselling (12%), and nicotine gum (17%).(9) In some cases, smoking cessation involving medication (such as bupropion and varenicline) resulted in significantly higher abstinence rates than cessation involving counselling.(9) In addition, due to their broad reach and efficacy for smoking cessation, quitlines for smokers have been found to be cost-effective.(6) However, consistent access to a telephone may be a barrier for some low-income households.(6) Another study recommended a cellular telephone intervention as some individuals do not have adequate access to a vehicle or telephone service. The advantages of using a cell phone are convenience, flexibility, and confidentiality and the study suggests that cell phone counselling may provide a cost-effective solution to access-to-care barriers.(18) Lastly, some data suggests that a combination of counselling and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) may help decrease tobacco use among PHAs (6) while another claims that NRT doubles the quit rate compared to no treatment.(28) Factors that May Impact Local Applicability The literature dealt almost exclusively with data and research conducted in high-income countries (U.S., Canada and Spain) except for one study that reported on findings from India.(9) While these findings may be generalizable to the Canadian setting, countries cited in the literature have different smoking rates, HIV infection rates, smoking culture, regulations and availability of smoking cessation interventions. Therefore, some findings should be interpreted with caution. What We Did We searched Medline using a combination of search terms: Smoking Cessation (MeSH term) AND HIV (text term). We did not limit the search results by date of publication or study jurisdiction. We also searched the Cochrane Library for any potentially relevant systematic reviews using the following text terms: HIV AND (smoking OR tobacco), www.Health-Evidence.ca using the following search terms: HIV (text term) AND [Smoking cessation (category) OR tobacco use (category)], and DARE database (limited to 1996-2011) using the following search terms: HIV AND (smoking OR tobacco). Lastly, we reviewed the references in the studies found. All searches were conducted on 1 August 2012. About OHTN’s Rapid Response Servoce The OHTN Rapid Response Service offers HIV/AIDS programs and services in Ontario quick access to research evidence to help inform decision making, service delivery and advocacy. In response to a question from the field, the Rapid Response Team reviews the scientific and grey literature, consults with experts, and prepares a brief fact sheet summarizing the current evidence and its implications for policy and practice. Rapid Response Service. Rapid response: Rapid HIV Testing in Correctional Facilities Ontario HIV Treatment Network; August 2012 1. American Society of Addiction Med-icine. Public Policy Statement on Nicotine Dependence and Tobacco. Chevy Chase, MD: American Socie-ty of Addiction Medicine; 2010. 2. Balfour L, MacPherson P. HIV and Cardiovascular Risk: The Ottawa HIV Quit Smoking Study. The OHTN Conference. 2010. 3. Chander G, Stanton C, Hutton HE, Abrams DB, Pearson J, Knowlton A et al. Are smokers with HIV using information and communication technology? Implications for behav-ioral interventions. AIDS & Behavior 2012;16(2):383-8. 4. Fuster M, Estrada V, Fernandez-Pinilla MC, Fuentes-Ferrer ME, Tellez MJ, Vergas J et al. Smoking cessation in HIV patients: rate of success and associated factors. HIV Medicine 2009;10(10):614-9. 5. Tesoriero JM, Gieryic SM, Carrascal A, Lavigne HE. Smoking among HIV positive New Yorkers: prevalence, frequency, and opportunities for cessation. AIDS & Behavior 2010;14(4):824-35. 6. Nahvi S, Cooperman NA. Review: the need for smoking cessation among HIV-positive smokers. AIDS Education & Prevention 2009;21(3:Suppl):Suppl-27. 7. Niaura R, Shadel WG, Morrow K, Tashima K, Flanigan T, Abrams DB. Human immunodeficiency virus infection, AIDS, and smoking cessa-tion: the time is now. Clinical Infec-tious Diseases 2000;31(3):808-12. 8. Robinson W, Moody-Thomas S, Gruber D. Patient perspectives on tobacco cessation services for persons living with HIV/AIDS. AIDS Care 2012;24(1):71-6. 9. Kumar SR, Swaminathan S, Flani-gan T, Mayer KH, Niaura R. HIV & smoking in India. Indian Journal of Medical Research 2009;130(1):15-22. 10. U.S.Department of Health and Human Services. Surgeon Gen-eral's Report-How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease. 2010. 11. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Research Reports: Tobacco Addic-tion. Bethesda, MD: National Insti-tutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse; 2009. 12. Health Canada, Controlled Sub-stances and Tobacco Directorate. Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey, Smoking Prevalence 1999 - 2010. 2010. 13. Kohli R, Lo Y, Homel P, Flanigan TP, Gardner LI, Howard AA et al. Bacte-rial pneumonia, HIV therapy, and disease progression among HIV-infected women in the HIV epidemi-ologic research (HER) study. Clin Infect Dis 2006;43(1):90-8. 14. Crothers K, Goulet JL, Rodriguez-Barradas MC, Gibert CL, Oursler KA, Goetz MB et al. Impact of ciga-rette smoking on mortality in HIV-positive and HIV-negative veterans. AIDS Educ Prev 2009;21(3 Suppl):40-53. 15. Lifson AR, Neuhaus J, Arribas JR, van dB-W, Labriola AM, Read TR. Smoking-related health risks among persons with HIV in the Strategies for Management of Antiretroviral Therapy clinical trial. Am J Public Health 2010;100(10):1896-903. 16. Shuter J, Salmo LN, Shuter AD, Nivasch EC, Fazzari M, Moadel AB. Provider beliefs and practices relat-ing to tobacco use in patients living with HIV/AIDS: a national survey. AIDS & Behavior 2012;16(2):288-94. 17. Burkhalter JE, Springer CM, Chha-bra R, Ostroff JS, Rapkin BD. To-bacco use and readiness to quit smoking in low-income HIV-infected persons. Nicotine & Tobacco Re-search 2005;7(4):511-22. 18. Lazev A, Vidrine D, Arduino R, Gritz E. Increasing access to smoking cessation treatment in a low-income, HIV-positive population: the feasibility of using cellular tele-phones. Nicotine & Tobacco Re-search 2004;6(2):281-6. 19. Fiore, M. C. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Treat-ing tobacco use and dependence 2008. Clinical Practice Guideline. 2008. 20. Lemmens V, Oenema A, Knut IK, Brug J. Effectiveness of smoking cessation interventions among adults: a systematic review of re-views. Eur J Cancer Prev 2008;17(6):535-44. 21. Wu P, Wilson K, Dimoulas P, Mills EJ. Effectiveness of smoking cessa-tion therapies: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health 2006;6:300. 22. Crothers K, Tindle HA. Prevention of bacterial pneumonia in HIV infec-tion: focus on smoking cessation. Expert Review of Antiinfective Ther-apy 2011;9(7):759-62. 23. Harris JK. Connecting discovery and delivery: the need for more evidence on effective smoking cessation strategies for people living with HIV/AIDS. American Journal of Public Health 2010;100(7):1245-9. 24. Drach L, Holbert T, Maher J, Fox V, Schubert S, Saddler LC. Integrating smoking cessation into HIV care. AIDS Patient Care & Stds 2010;24(3):139-40. 25. Benard A, Bonnet F, Tessier JF, Fossoux H, Dupon M, Mercie P et al. Tobacco use in HIV infection. AIDS Patient Care & Stds 2007;21(7):458-68. 26. Reus VI, Smith BJ. Multimodal techniques for smoking cessation: a review of their efficacy and utili-sation and clinical practice guide-lines. Int J Clin Pract 2008;62(11):1753-68. 27. Kwong J, Bouchard-Miller K. Smok-ing cessation for persons living with HIV: a review of currently available interventions. Journal of the Associ-ation of Nurses in AIDS Care 2010;21(1):3-10. 28. Ingersoll KS, Cropsey KL, Heckman CJ. A test of motivational plus nico-tine replacement interventions for HIV positive smokers. AIDS & Be-havior 2009;13(3):545-54.
Governor Larry Hogan Meets with Piscataway Leadership and St. Mary’s College Students Part of a Three-Day Trip to Southern Maryland ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Larry Hogan today met with members of the Piscataway Indian Nation and the Piscataway Conoy Tribe; Tuajuanda C. Jordan, president of St. Mary’s College of Maryland; and anthropology and history students from the college who are documenting and collecting data on the historical sites of the Piscataways, one of the six indigenous tribes of Maryland. St. Mary’s College recently received a grant from the National Park Service to document five archaeological sites especially significant to Piscataway Indian history and culture. These sites are in Calvert, Charles, Prince George’s, and St. Mary’s counties. “St. Mary’s College is one of Maryland’s premier institutions of higher education and the work these students and Piscataway leaders are doing is very important and deserves our praise,” said Governor Hogan. “Their efforts will go a long way to help preserve and protect the rich culture and history of the Piscataway people and our great state.” Under the leadership of Julia A. King, professor of anthropology, students shared with Governor Hogan the lessons they’ve learned from their research, as well as exhibits they’ve created, including one that explores the arrival of British nobleman and future governor of Maryland, Charles Calvert, as seen through the eyes of the Piscataway people. The students uncovered a copper ring with the initials “CC” at Zekiah Fort, a fortified Piscataway Indian settlement in Charles County. The ring is believed to represent Governor Charles Calvert’s friendship with the Piscataways, and dates back to the 1680s. As a token of appreciation, members of the Piscataway people presented Governor Hogan with a gift—an engraved disk of a deer antler on a string of wampum. Wampum is a shell prized by American Indians living on the East Coast, and was a form of currency in historical times.
District Home Page \| High School \| Gifted Education \| Students \| Links for Students NEW Links Added Every Month! Our brain uses depth cues to help us perceive and make sense of the world around us. Artificial manipulations of these cues can cause us to think we are seeing something that isn't there! This web site is full of optical illusions and other visual 'manipulations;' you can also learn about concepts like size constancy and gestalt effects and other phenomena. Virtual Keyboard (for this one you need to enable Adobe Flash Player) This virtual keyboard allows users to play one octave of notes. With the click of a mouse, one can select from piano, organ, saxophone, flute, and many other instruments. There is also a chord feature, and six different drum beats; you can make your own music in no time at all! Ever wanted to tour somewhere like the United States Mint in Denver, Colorado, or the National Braille Press in Boston? This site has over 500 factory tours listed by state. What a great way to discover interesting factory tours in this area or anywhere in the United States! Make your own Comic (Even in a Foreign Language!) Using the icons on this site, you can create characters, move objects, and write stories for your own comic strips! You can even print or email your finished product to a friend! No matter how much you like logic puzzles, number puzzles, word puzzles, party puzzles, and more, you'll never run out of things to explore on this site! Let's see if you've 'got rhythm!' Program the kick drum, hihats, snare drum, and stick to write your own custom beat...even including your own unique drum solo! Searchable database of thousands of everyday heroes—stories of real kids and adults who have ‘stuck their neck out’ for the common good and made a positive difference in their communities, regions, and to the world. What is the difference between a ‘spread’ and a ‘bid’? What do banks do with the money that you deposit and what does the FDIC have to do with it? How is coin and paper money really made? Find the answers and more here; this website includes tips on creating a budget, how the stock market works, and more. According to Gifted Child Today, if the movie Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian whetted your appetite to learn more about the Smithsonian Museum collection, this website will get you even more excited about the 142 million objects in the museum! Along with interactive displays including an Apollo 11 mission page and spiders in space, this website includes tips for starting your own collection. This artist creates sculptures of such small proportions that you need a microscope to see it. Really!! Each piece usually sits within the eye of a needle or on a pinhead. Willard started making minute pieces of art in order to deal with dyslexia at school. Are you interested in composing your own music? Do you want to know more about different musical instruments? On this site you can search composers by country, look for a particular composer on a timeline, listen to famous musical pieces, and play various musical games including an opportunity to compose your own music. According to their website, "BrainBashers is a collection of brain teasers, puzzles, riddles, games and optical illusions. BrainBashers has thousands of puzzles and brain teasers, and with new material added every single day, including games and optical illusions, you can be sure there is always something to do. With over one hundred awards, BrainBashers is the place to spend a boring Monday afternoon training your brain." Sounds interesting! This page has been viewed 384 times. Page last updated on 04/11/2012 All images are property of Rootstown Local School District. Web Design donated by D. Fortney. Send an email to the Webmaster
The Windows CMD shell CMD.exe contains a number of 'internal' commands, additional 'external' commands are also supplied as separate executable files. External commands are generally stored in the C:\WINDOWS\System32 folder, this folder is part of the system PATH . This arrangement means that both internal and external commands are always available no matter what your current directory happens to be. ASSOC, BREAK, CALL ,CD/CHDIR, CLS, COLOR, COPY, DATE, DEL, DIR, DPATH, ECHO, ENDLOCAL, ERASE, EXIT, FOR, FTYPE, GOTO, IF, KEYS, MD/MKDIR, MKLINK (vista and above), MOVE, PATH, PAUSE, POPD, PROMPT, PUSHD, REM, REN/RENAME, RD/RMDIR, SET, SETLOCAL, SHIFT, START, TIME, TITLE, TYPE, VER, VERIFY, VOL In the main A-Z list of CMD commands the internal commands are indicated with a • When you are working from any other shell, such as PowerShell then none of the internal commands are available unless you first open a CMD shell. Arguments can be passed to an internal command, just like an external command, e.g. COPY /Y In some cases (when the command is being parsed by CMD.exe) the space before each argument can be omitted e.g. COPY/Y this can save time when working at the command line, but for scripts and scheduled tasks it is better to include the space. for example from PowerShell: PS C: > cmd /c date /t will launch a CMD shell, run the DATE /T command and then exit back to PowerShell. Of course in many cases this is not neccessary, (PowerShell has its own Date command) but can be useful if you need to run something 'the old way'. It is possible for a system to have an internal command and an external command with the same name. If you have a command called DATE.exe and want to run that in preference to the internal DATE command, use the full pathname to the file e.g. C:\utils\date.exe even if your current directory is C:\utils\ “Tongues, like governments, have a natural tendency to degeneration; we have long preserved our constitution, let us make some struggles for our language” - Samuel Johnson: Preface to the Dictionary Which.cmd - Show full path to executable. Escape Characters, Delimiters and Quotes
India generates about 620 million tonnes of crop residues having a great nutrient potential. At individual crop level, rice contributes the highest amount of 154 Mt gross residues followed by wheat (131 Mt). The disposal of crop residues, generated in large quantities, has become menace due to on-farm burning which, in turn, pollutes environment, causes land heating and killing of beneficial soil microorganisms and thereby reduction in productivity. The on-farm burning of crop residues has intensified in recent years due to unavailability of low cost and easily adaptable technologies for its handling and management and short time window availability between harvesting and sowing of crops. Honourable Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal has taken very serious objection to biomass burning and directed to solve the problem through technological means. Keeping in view the different agro-climatic zones, customized engineering solutions, coupled with bio-inoculants along with suitable package of practices are needed to meet the demands of the local farmers to recycle agri-residue into quality compost, nutri-rich animal feed and cheap rural energy source. In-situ and ex-situ management of crop residues has remained a major challenge due to lack of easily adaptable and affordable mechanical and microbiological technologies at farmers field. The need of the hour is to prevent the burning of crop residues to conserve the environment , health & wellbeing of people and farm land. Straw Management (Prevention of Crop Stubble burning) can be done in 3 ways. In-situ management : In-situ management involves incorporating the standing crop stubble into the soil for its decomposition inside the soil for increasing soil fertility by adding nutrients to soil. This method is resisted by farmers because it is time consuming & they have to wait to sow their next crop. However, in our CSR Project with IARI, CNH Industrial is working on expediting the decomposition process by using enzymes. Ex-situ management: This involves raking & laying of stubbles in a line on the soil. Later these are removed by baler & baled into bales to be sold off to power plants for power generation or pellet making Animal Feed Block: Crop Stubble/straw can be used for making animal feed. CNH Industrial’s Intervention: CNH Industrial has undertaken projects to showcase all 3 methods through its partnerships with Dept. of Agriculture of various State Govt. & ICAR- IARI. Through its New Holland Agriculture brand, the Company is the market leader in crop residue management with its advanced solutions including Gyro Rakes and Balers, providing a sustainable solution for energy generation through renewable sources in India and curbing environmental pollution by utilizing the surplus crop residue otherwise burnt in fields. Each New Holland BC 5060 square baler can help produce electricity for 950 rural homes for one year in one paddy season. New Holland is committed to its quest of finding effective and sustainable solutions for straw management for prevention of Crop Stubble Burning. In Collaboration with Department of Agriculture of different State Governments by adopting villages or Agricultural Universities CNH Industrial through its CSR intervention is responsible for donating equipment & providing support to run the Project to support the Government initiative to prevent burning of crop/ straw residue, creating awareness of the benefits of straw management solutions, explaining the possible revenue streams/ options available on baler output (straw baled), creating awareness on environment hazards under its CSR Initiatives. Project Partners & Locations: (9) Dept. of Agriculture, Min. of Punjab, Haryana, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra,. NDUAT, Faizabad, U.P., Pant Nagar Agricultural University, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Raisen M.P, IARI, KVK Haryana, KVK, Dadri, KVK Chandauli Benefit: Till 2020, 9614 tons of paddy straw have been baled rather than burnt, cutting CO2 emissions by 14,564 tons Usage of Straw: Generation of green energy, compressed biogas and ethanol generation, bio-fertilizers, paper industry, mush room farming and for cattle feeding. Short term benefits India generates about 620 million tonnes of crop residues having a great nutrient potential. At individual crop level, rice contributes the highest amount of 154 Mt gross residues followed by wheat (131 Mt). The disposal of crop residues, generated in large quantities, has become menace due to on-farm burning which, in turn, pollutes environment, causes land heating and killing of beneficial soil microorganisms and thereby reduction in productivity . The need of the hour is to prevent the burning of crop residues to conserve the environment, health & wellbeing of people and farm land has been achieved. Long term Benefits • Prevention of environmental Pollution by controlling emissions of noxious gases, CO2, methane & Nitrous oxide • Promotion of better long-term health benefits • Usage of a waste product, straw, in packaging industry, manufacturing of paper, mulching, billets & pellet production, mushroom farming, housing & power production • Creation of Localized power generation industry • Creation of new jobs in industries using crop residue/straw • Creation of an additional revenue source for farmers by sale of bales The project is in its 3rd year of operation at Kallar Majri, Patiala where it was launched in Oct. 2017. The project launched in Fatehabad & Panipat, Haryana in Oct. 2018. The project increased its reach to 3 more locations 2019 in Bhandara (Maharashtra), Thanoud (Chattisgarh), Pantnagar Agricultural University(Uttarakhand). This project was extended to 4 more locations this year to KVK, Raisen, M.P. NDUAT, Ayodhya, KVK, Dadri, KVK, Chandauli, U.P.in 2020
The C standard library declares a number of string functions in the By the standards of some other languages, C's string handling is fairly primitive. Strings are simply arrays of characters terminated by a null character '\0', and are manipulated via C has no string type. Instead, a "string" is a data layout, not a data type. Quoting the ISO C standard: A string is a contiguous sequence of characters terminated by and including the first null character. So what happens if you call a C string function with a pointer into a char array that isn't properly terminated by a null character? Such an array does not contain a "string" in the sense that C defines the term, and the behavior of most of C's string functions on such arrays is undefined. That doesn't mean the function will fail cleanly, or even that your program will crash; it means that as far as the standard is concerned, literally anything can happen. In practice, what typically happens is that the function will keep looking for that terminating null character either until it finds it in some chunk of memory it really shouldn't be looking at, or until it crashes because it looked in some chunk of memory that it really shouldn't be looking at. To partially address this, C provides "safer" versions of some string functions, versions that let you specify the maximum size of an array. For example, the strcmp() function compares two strings, but can fail badly if either of the arguments points to something that isn't a string. The strncmp() function is a bit safer; it requires a third argument that specifies the maximum number of characters to examine in each array: int strcmp (const char s1, const char s2); int strncmp(const char s1, const char s2, size_t n); Which brings us (finally!) to the topic of this article: the strcpy() is a fairly straightforward string function. Given two pointers, it copies the string pointed to by the second pointer into the array pointed to by first. (The order of the arguments mimics the order of the operands in an assignment statement.) It's up to the caller to ensure that there's enough room in the target array to hold the copied contents. So you'd think that strncpy() would be a "safer" version of strcpy(). And given their respective declarations, that's exactly what it looks like: char strcpy (char dest, const char src); char strncpy(char dest, const char src, size_t n); But no, that's not what the strncpy() function does at all. Here's the description of strcpy() from the latest draft of the The strcpy function copies the string pointed to by s2 (including the terminating null character) into the array pointed to by s1. If copying takes place between objects that overlap, the behavior is undefined. And here's the corresponding description of The strncpy function copies not more than n characters (characters that follow a null character are not copied) from the array pointed to by s2 to the array pointed to by s1. If copying takes place between objects that overlap, the behavior is undefined. So far, so good, right? Almost -- but there's more: If the array pointed to by s2 is a string that is shorter than n characters, null characters are appended to the copy in the array pointed to by s1, until n characters in all have been written. That second paragraph means that if the string pointed to by n characters, it doesn't just copy n characters and add a terminating null character, which is what you'd expect. It adds null characters until it's copied a total of n characters. If the source string is 5 characters long, and the target is a 1024-byte buffer, and you set n to the size of the target, strncpy will copy those 5 characters and then fill all 1019 remaining bytes in the target with null characters. Since all it takes to terminate a string is a single null character, this is almost always a waste of time. Ok, so that's not so bad. CPUs are fast these days, and filling a buffer with zeros is not an expensive operation, right? Unless you're doing it a few billion times, but let's not worry about premature optimization. The trap is in that first paragraph. If the target buffer is 5 characters long, you'd quite reasonably set n to 5. But if the source string is longer than 5 characters, then you'll end up without a terminating null character in the target array. In other words, the target array won't contain a string. Try to treat it as if it does (say, by calling strlen() on it or passing it to and Bad Things Can Happen. The description of the strncpy() functions is identical in the 1990, 1999, and 2011 versions of the ISO C standard -- except that C99 and C11 add a footnote to the Thus, if there is no null character in the first n characters of the array pointed to by s2, the result will not be null-terminated. The bottom line is this: in spite of its frankly misleading name, strncpy() isn't really a string function. dest='\0'; strncat(dest, src, size); as a better-behaved alternative, something that does what most people assume Now having a function like this in the standard library isn't such a bad thing in itself. It's designed to deal with a specialized data structure, a fixed-size character array of N characters that can contain up to N characters of actual data, with the rest of the array (if any) padded with 0 or more null characters. Early Unix systems used such a structure to hold file names in directories, for example (though it's not clear that was invented for that specific purpose). The problem is that the name strncpy() strongly implies that it's a "safer" version of strcpy(). It isn't. Most of the other strn*() functions are safer versions of their strcmp(). [TODO: Discuss the bounds-checking versions added in Annex K of the 2011 ISO C standard). strncpy()'s name implies something that it isn't that it's such a trap for the unwary. It's not a useless function, but I see far more incorrect uses of it than correct uses. This article is my modest attempt to spread the word that strncpy() isn't what you probably think it is. I've put together a small demo as a GitHub project. Last updated Mon Feb 17 08:33:27 2014 -0800
When you’re eating the foods that get you there (more on that in a minute), your body can enter a state of ketosis in one to three days, she adds. During the diet, the majority of calories you consume come from fat, with a little protein and very little carbohydrates. Ketosis also happens if you eat a very low-calorie diet — think doctor-supervised, only when medically recommended diets of 600 to 800 total calories. For patients who benefit, half achieve a seizure reduction within five days (if the diet starts with an initial fast of one to two days), three-quarters achieve a reduction within two weeks, and 90% achieve a reduction within 23 days. If the diet does not begin with a fast, the time for half of the patients to achieve an improvement is longer (two weeks), but the long-term seizure reduction rates are unaffected. Parents are encouraged to persist with the diet for at least three months before any final consideration is made regarding efficacy. Conklin's fasting therapy was adopted by neurologists in mainstream practice. In 1916, a Dr McMurray wrote to the New York Medical Journal claiming to have successfully treated epilepsy patients with a fast, followed by a starch- and sugar-free diet, since 1912. In 1921, prominent endocrinologist Henry Rawle Geyelin reported his experiences to the American Medical Association convention. He had seen Conklin's success first-hand and had attempted to reproduce the results in 36 of his own patients. He achieved similar results despite only having studied the patients for a short time. Further studies in the 1920s indicated that seizures generally returned after the fast. Charles P. Howland, the parent of one of Conklin's successful patients and a wealthy New York corporate lawyer, gave his brother John Elias Howland a gift of $5,000 to study "the ketosis of starvation". As professor of paediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital, John E. Howland used the money to fund research undertaken by neurologist Stanley Cobb and his assistant William G. Lennox. While all fruits are healthy, a handful of them reigns supreme when it comes to frying fat and de-bloating your belly. University of Kentucky researchers found that eating watermelon can lower fat accumulation, while another group of great minds discovered that honeydew can banish water retention and bloating. Spend ten minutes chopping up these slimming fruits for the week ahead. Enjoy them solo as a snack, throw them into yogurt or add them to salads. Watermelon is also one of these 50 Best Foods for Him—in Bed—share them with the man in your life. Hi Thea, That’s wonderful that IF has worked for you. Diets, and particularly fasting, can be very triggering for others with a history of an eating disorder. People who have been in remission can relapse. For more about what concerns and problems others have had, there is alot of information out there, and for starters I recommend this thorough article from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hunger-artist/201411/the-fast-diet-fast-route-disordered-eating On the other hand, an intermittent fasting-style diet just might feel simpler than trying to follow a more complicated eating plan—and that can count for a lot. “The idea of having a simple rule to follow may make it easier for people to avoid any mindless eating,” Peterson says. “I have had some people tell me that intermittent fasting made it easier for them to eat healthfully.” But people who started following the keto diet noticed weight loss for a few reasons: When you eat carbs, your body retains fluid in order to store carbs for energy (you know, in case it needs it). But when you’re not having much in the carb department, you lose this water weight, says Warren. Also, it's easy to go overboard on carbohydrates—but if you're loading up on fat, it may help curb cravings since it keeps you satisfied. The ketogenic diet is a medical nutrition therapy that involves participants from various disciplines. Team members include a registered paediatric dietitian who coordinates the diet programme; a paediatric neurologist who is experienced in offering the ketogenic diet; and a registered nurse who is familiar with childhood epilepsy. Additional help may come from a medical social worker who works with the family and a pharmacist who can advise on the carbohydrate content of medicines. Lastly, the parents and other caregivers must be educated in many aspects of the diet for it to be safely implemented. Every study seems to support cognitive and health benefits for IF. Studies are coming out showing it may help stave off heart disease and it’s even been shown to halt or possibly reverse brain-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s. If in doubt, check out Jason Fung’s youtube videos along with a couple of youtube researchers who do wonderful analytics, an American who lives in Japan who goes by, “Things I’ve Learned” and Thomas DeLauer’s IF material. I’ve been doing IF myself for a few months now and I feel better, more energy, better sleep, and controlled weight. Some cultures and religions have restrictions concerning what foods are acceptable in their diet. For example, only Kosher foods are permitted by Judaism, and Halal foods by Islam. Although Buddhists are generally vegetarians, the practice varies and meat-eating may be permitted depending on the sects. In Hinduism, vegetarianism is the ideal. Jains are strictly vegetarian and consumption of roots is not permitted. So as you're planning new weight-loss-related lifestyle changes, make a plan to address other stresses in your life first, such as financial problems or relationship conflicts. While these stresses may never go away completely, managing them better should improve your ability to focus on achieving a healthier lifestyle. Once you're ready to launch your weight-loss plan, set a start date and then — start. https://weightlossscience.tumblr.com/
The First Civil War of Mordor was the second major Civil War in Southern Middle-Earth and was inspired by the First Near Haradrim Civil War. The war was caused by a power struggle between the ruling Black Uruk ItsSecret and the competing Orc Morishi and his followers. The Rebellion ended with the victory of ItsSecret and the temporaly exile of Morishi and his supporters. Prior to the Civil War Mordor found itself in a difficult position. Compared to Gondor, Rohan, Isengard and Near Harad the faction was weak due to its relatively small number of players while being surrounded by strong regional powers. Therefore the long ruling leader of Mordor, a Black Uruk called ItsSecret, chose a neutral stance for the faction and wanted the faction to focus on building up its major strongholds for defense including Minas Morgul, Cirith Ungol and Barad Dur. While Minas Morgul and Cirith Ungol were built by ItsSecret himself, Barad Dur was built by an influencial Orc called Morishi. The neutral position of Mordor brought the faction into political isolation. Although Mordor had declared to support Isengard or Near Harad if attacked, it did not intervene in the Gondorian crusades against them. This way Mordor lost its most nearby allies while the new strenghend Gondor threatend to invade Mordor after their victories in Near Harad and Isengard. At the time the Orc Morishi and his supporter Samaranth001 tried to strenghen Mordorian ties especially to Near Harad and the at that time Viper RookieNinjas II. and his supporters. While tensions between ItsSecret and Morishi rose due to their disagreement on the political situation of Mordor, the First Near Haradrim Civil War was started at Poros. Its leader RookieNinjas II. rebelled against Serpentlord Karseius II. and also promised Morishi support against ItsSecret if he should also start a civil war. After RookieNinjas II. was able to defefend Poros against the first Royalist siege Morishi saw his oppurtunity and declared open rebellion against ItsSecret. Two sides fought each other in the First Civil War of Mordor: Supported by: Near Haradrim Rebels The Crown of Mordor: Supported by: Gondor, Durin's Folk The Rebellion had the goal to displace ItsSecret as ruler of Mordor and end the neutral stance of Mordor. While also allied with the Rebels of Near Harad both rebellions intended to reshape the South of Middle-Earth. There were also rumors about a planned Union between Near Harad and Mordor if both rebellions had succeded. Course and Result The Rebellion seemed to be a serious threat to the rule of ItsSecret at the beginning. But soon after the second and successful siege of Poros by Near Haradrim Royalists Morishi lost his most important supporters and faced a serious problem. The rule of ItsSecret was getting support by good factions, most notably Gondor, which had interest in securing the neutral position of Mordor. Also Morishi was not able to seek help from nearby evil faction like Near Harad or Isengard due to his previous support of the Near Haradrim rebells. The first battle of the civil war was a Rebel siege of ItsSecret's fortress of Cirith Ungol, however ItsSecret managed to stall the siege long enough for reinforcements in the form of the Kings of Gondor, Khazad-dum, and the Iron Hills, to scale the Ephel Duath and reach the battle, drawing Morishi and his followers into a valley where they were cut down to a man. Soon after, ItsSecret marched with his well equipped army to Barad Dur and forced the rebels to flee the lands of Mordor. While Morishi fled to an unknown location his supporter Samaranth008 was granted asylum in Near Harad, eventually joining Durin's Folk and earning back the wargear he had lost at Cirith Ungol from the King of Khazad-dum.. The rebellions outcome was catastrophic for the rebels. After they fled the lands ItsSecret consolidated his power over Mordor again and stood unopposed at the top of Mordor. Morishi and his supporters were exiled. The exile was retrieved later by an edict of ItsSecret. Although the rebellion failed to displace ItsSecret as ruler, it managed to end the political neutrality of Mordor. After the massive rearming of his forces ItsSecret was confident enough to renew his alliances with Isengard and Near Harad.
The construction of fortifications began upon the arrival of Union troops on May 5, 1864. The earthworks were engineered by Brigadier General Godfrey Weitzel, who was serving as Chief Engineer to Major General Butler in 1864. Weitzel would be promoted to Major General in August of that year. The ditch and parapet structure were commonly used and known as “field fortifications.” Their purpose was to increase the defensive endurance of a force holding a location. Far from being a simple ditch and mound, the components of the parapet were mathematically calculated to maximize the defensive characteristics of the fort. The outlines of field fortifications constructed during the Civil War varied widely based upon specific terrain, number of troops and artillery pieces, and proximity to other forts. Bastions constructed at the west and east corners of the fort allowed defensive fire in several directions. This is the most probable location of the 12-15 cannons garrisoned within the fort. Lying outside the earthworks were abatis constructed from felled trees and sharpened branches designed to slow the momentum and order of an enemy charge, causing enough delay for the defenders’ fire to be most effective. The land entrance to the fort, known as the “salle port,” would have been secured and controlled with a gated stockade constructed in typical fashion for the time. Logs 10-18 inches in diameter would have been flattened on 2 sides, placed upright in a line, sharpened at the top and buried about 4 feet into the ground. Smaller logs may have reinforced the joints. Embrasures (also called “Loopholes”) were strategically cut into the wall so men could stand upon firing steps and shoot from within the stockade. Photo by Sandy Goss Within the fort, existing buildings of the Wilson farm (est. 1835) were used for headquarters. Personal accounts describe Dr. Wilson’s house and office being used for lodging, while a barn was repurposed as a hospital. The dig undertaken by the College of William and Mary uncovered a brick foundation with a brick paved cellar; remnants of the 18th century plantation house built when the land was owned by the Kennon family. That house burned down after the war in 1876. Minie balls and a percussions cap excavated from the cellar fill give strong evidence of the home’s use during the Federal occupation. The second structure excavated consisted of a cellar with stairs cut into the subsoil, a buttress, and a long trench. Artifacts removed from this structure include a U.S. belt buckle and several Federal uniform buttons. Documented evidence proves the incomplete status of the fortifications when the Confederate attack ensued on May 24. Fitzhugh Lee’s very decision to attack the Eastern side of the fort (which today has the most imposing earthworks) supports this was considered a weak spot. The first mention of the fort being finished was in a letter written June 23, 1864 by Captain A. R. Arter. Its completion is set as a marker of the transition from the first active stage of occupancy to the second more relaxed phase when Wild’s Brigade was reassigned.
Diagnosis is the process of confirming the presence of cancer and obtaining the necessary information about the cancer to make treatment decisions. If you have signs and symptoms consistent with cancer or have had a positive screening test, your doctor will order diagnostic tests, which may fall into 1 or more of the following categories: Blood testing is the most common laboratory test. Results can be positive, negative, or fall in or out of a numerical range considered to be normal. If blood work has been done before, new numbers can be compared against previous results. Some blood test results may lead to other diagnostic tests. Except in rare cases, such as leukemia, there is no blood test that can definitively diagnose or rule out cancer. Blood tests can be used to: - Identify the effects of cancer or its treatment—Drops in blood cell counts may indicate problems with cell production in the bone marrow. This can be seen with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or cancers that have metastasized to the bone marrow. - Detect abnormalities in specific organs, such as the liver, kidneys, or bones. - Look for tumor markers—These are substances that are generally higher than normal in the blood, urine, or body tissues in certain types of cancer. Tumor markers are produced either by the tumor itself, by the body in response to the presence of cancer, or by certain benign (noncancerous) conditions. See the Focus box below for more information regarding tumor markers. Table 2 briefly lists selected tumor markers, and the cancers with which they are associated. Cirrhosis, hepatitis, ataxia telangiectasia, Wiscott-Aldrich syndrome, pregnancy Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) Inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, and liver disease; Tobacco use can also contribute to higher-than-normal levels of CEA Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) Choriocarcinoma (a rare cancer of the uterus), trophoblastic disease (a rare cancer that develops from an abnormally fertilized egg), cancers of the testis, ovary, liver, stomach, pancreas, and lung Pregnancy and marijuana use can also cause elevated HCG levels Medullary carcinoma of the thyroid, lung cancers Ovarian cancer, cancers of the uterus, cervix, pancreas, liver, colon, breast, lung, and digestive tract Multiple myeloma, lymphomas Bladder tumor antigen (BTA) Cancer is difficult to find, especially in its early stages. However, the sooner cancer is caught, the better the outcome. Imaging techniques—methods of producing pictures of the body’s interior structures—are often extremely useful for finding early cancers far too small to detect by other means. Imaging can also be used to determine if and where the cancer has spread, to plan surgical and other forms of therapy, and to detect recurrences following treatment. While imaging tests can be highly suggestive of cancer, by themselves they are incapable of distinguishing benign from malignant tumors. A biopsy is required for this. Imaging tests use different types of energy waves to produce pictures. These pictures can be taken all over the body. Some tests use contrast dyes to improve visibility of internal structures. Imaging tests include: To create an image of the chest or bones, x-rays are directed through the body and onto film. High-density tissue, such as bone, absorbs a lot of x-rays and appears white on the developed x-ray. Cancer involving bone will appear even whiter than the surrounding normal bone tissue. Low-density tissue, such as the air in your lungs absorbs few or no x-rays and appears black. Tumors in the chest typically appear gray to white on the film. Mammograms are x-ray images of the breast. They can identify an abnormality and often suggest the likelihood of cancer, but mammograms cannot diagnose cancer. CT scans also use x-rays to create images. The images are more detailed because the CT scan looks at structures from different angles. The CT machine takes continuous pictures and reproduces them on a computer screen. The images can be viewed as thin sections or slices, making it easier to see inside structures. Bone scans are images of the skeleton that highlight sites of bone metastases. To perform a radionuclide bone scan, the radiologist injects a radioactive substance into the blood, which is preferentially taken up by the actively dividing cancer cells. This area of increased cellular activity appears to a special camera outside the body as a “hot spot” in relation to the surrounding normal bone. MRI scans create images using magnetic fields and radio waves. In an MRI scan, the body is exposed to strong magnetic fields while tiny pulses of radio waves are sent through the area of the body that is being studied. The radio waves passing through the different tissues disturb the magnetic field, causing signals to be emitted. The signals are processed by a computer and translated into an image. MRI scans may be better for detecting differences in soft tissues compared to a CT scan. PET (positron emission tomography) scans are used to take computerized images of changes that occur in the tissues. The images are produced in color. For example, a radioactive substance is injected in the body. After a short time, the substance can be traced and watched to see how the body uses it. It can be helpful in spotting tumors that may not show up on other images. At times, PET and CT scans are combined to improve visualization and function in a specific area. An ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to create images, much like a submarine uses sonar to identify objects in its path. Sound waves are bounced off interior structures and their reflection is used to create an image. Ultrasound is commonly used to detect certain abdominal tumors in the ovary, pancreas, and liver. A definitive diagnosis of cancer ultimately requires a biopsy. A biopsy is a sample of tissue that is examined in a lab under a microscope by a pathologist. The biopsy will help determine if cancer is present, the type of cancer, and the tumor grade (how likely it is that the cancer will spread). A biopsy may be done as a procedure itself or during a surgery to remove suspicious tissue. Types of biopsy include: A superficial biopsy is used when a cell or tissue sample is easily accessible on a body surface. They rarely require a surgeon and can be done during a simple office-based procedure. Examples include a skin biopsy or Pap smear. Endoscopy is the use of a thin, flexible tube equipped with a light source, video camera, and various surgical instruments. The scope allows the doctor to view suspicious tissue. During endoscopic biopsy, a doctor can take tissue samples in an area that looks suspicious. Endoscopy is a generic term. Procedures are named for the specific areas of the body that are examined. For example, a colonoscopy is used to examine the large intestine while a bronchoscopy evaluates the lungs. In a needle biopsy, a needle is inserted into a suspected tumor and a small sample of cells or tissue is withdrawn. There are 3 types of needle biopsies: - Fine-needle aspiration—Fluid and cells from the tumor are sucked through a thin needle. This is commonly used to evaluate suspicious lumps in the breast. - Core-needle biopsy—A larger needle is inserted, and a core of tissue is removed from the solid tumor. - Stereotactic core-needle biopsy—A digital imaging camera is used to project an image of the tumor and determine its location. This process allows the doctor to position the needle in exactly the right place in order to get the desired sample. If a tumor is inaccessible through either endoscopic or needle biopsy, a doctor may choose to do a surgical biopsy. A surgical biopsy may be excisional or incisional. In an excisional biopsy, the surgeon removes the entire tumor and some surrounding normal tissue. In an incisional biopsy, the doctor removes just a portion of the tumor. If cancer is present, the entire tumor may be removed right away or later during another surgery. - Reviewer: Mohei Abouzied, MD - Review Date: 01/2016 - - Update Date: 05/12/2015 -
The Arctic sea is consuming Alaska's coastline. Since 1955, the rising water has eroded more than 300 meters of permafrost -- the frozen soil that helps protect the Arctic's delicately balanced ecosystem. It also serves as the foundation upon which hundreds of villages and thousands of people exist. A collaboration of universities, led by Penn State's Ming Xiao, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, is now working to understand exactly how the degradation will immediately affect the Alaskan communities and, eventually, the rest of the world. The National Science Foundation awarded the project $3 million, with a third of that going to Penn State. Xiao's Penn State team includes Christopher McComb, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, industrial and manufacturing engineering and engineering design. The rest of the funding will support work by Vladimir Romanovsky, professor of geophysics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks; Xiong Zhang, associate professor of geotechnical engineering at the Missouri University of Science and Technology; and Lilian Alessa, professor of landscape architecture and co-director of the Center for Resilient Communities at the University of Idaho. "What happens in the Arctic does not stay in the Arctic," Xiao said. "Permafrost contains double the carbon currently in our atmosphere. As it melts and degrades, that carbon can be released, causing more melting and degradation, affecting even more of the globe." The problem is so dire that the National Science Foundation established "Navigating the New Arctic" (NNA) as one of its Ten Big Ideas. Through the NNA, the NSF awarded $35 million in grants to researchers across the United States focused on understanding the impacts of global warming in the Arctic this year. "Our project has three main focuses," Xiao said. "We are working to understand how the ground is changing as it thaws, how the changing ground affects the infrastructure along the Alaska coast, and how these changes influence the social system of the people living in these areas." Each university involved will develop individual predictive models of how one factor may evolve as temperatures and sea levels continue to rise. Xiao and his team at Penn State will combine the individual models into one, which researchers can use to explore how one factor can influence the others, or how multiple factors can have different effects when compiled together. Currently, the connection between the physical degradation, the infrastructure and the social systems in an area directly impacted by climate change is not well understood, but the effects are certainly being felt. "In Alaska, the ice used to be thick enough for people to drive across it," Xiao said. "That is not the case anymore. People have fallen through the ice and have never been recovered. The people who live there, their homes are falling into the ocean as the coast erodes. Their way of life is disappearing." Individuals in the communities most affected can move, but, according to Xiao, they are losing much more than property. "It is not just the cost of physically moving," Xiao said. "They are losing thousands of years of tradition and culture. They are not just losing houses -- they are losing their homes, their families." Xiao also was recently awarded another NSF grant of $1.8 million as a co-principle investigator. The grant is led by Benjamin Jones at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Together, they will develop an international network that allows Arctic coastal communities to exchange information about the fundamental knowledge gaps in the science, engineering and societal issues associated with the continued degradation of permafrost. Xiao said the physical cost of warming is not limited to the Arctic, and eventually, everyone will feel the effects of the melting Arctic. "In 80 years, it is predicted the Arctic will be a wet, grim place," Xiao said. "At the same time, the ocean will continue to rise due to the melting ice in the polar regions, drastically changing New York, Florida -- coastal cities across the world." Currently, one area most affected is the Arctic coastal city Utqia?vik, previously known as Barrow. It is the northernmost city in the United States, and one of the northernmost cities in the world. The city is currently using sandbags to shore up its coast, which has unintended consequences. "The sea is brutal," Xiao said. "The waves are powerful, and they contain loose chunks of ice. They slam into the bags and shred them, which negates their barricading capabilities. Then the shreds end up entering the sea water." Over the next five years, the researchers will merge the models to provide precise data on how continued climate change will affect the coastal erosion, the infrastructure and the social systems. "We hope this model can have a real impact on decision making when it comes to preventing further damage," Xiao said.
During the Quaternary, at colder climatic periods, several times the area of the Larian Triangle was affected by large glacial flows down from alpine mountains to the edge of the Po Valley. During these advanced, glaciers exerted intense action of erosion and excavation on the rocks below and transported to the south of the huge amounts of rock debris derived from such processes. When the weather became milder, the ice melted, leaving these rock materials to form the so-called moraine deposits, characterized by a chaotic mixture of boulders, gravel, sand and even finer materials, of varied nature, which today are scattered many areas of the territory. The size of the boulders and their "diversity" relative to the rocks upon which they rest, have intrigued and attracted man since ancient times. Numerous Roman and early Christian inscriptions are engraved on altars, memorial stones or stelae cut from boulders. The erratic boulders were often destroyed and used as construction materials or to obtain ornamental elements of houses and churches, as well as various artifacts such as grinders, troughs, fountains, memorials road. Some of the most notable erratic boulders were declared "Natural Monuments" by the Lombardy Region in 1984, with the intention of protecting their integrity; in particular, in the area of Torno and Blevio, you may remember the Pendula Stone and Stone Nairola or Nariöla. The first, in the City of Torno, is a boulder ghiandone from Val Masino, resting on a narrow base of local limestone, probably thinned by man in order to accentuate the characteristic shape of a mushroom. The second, in the City of Blevio, looks like a large flat board, subhorizontal, always ghiandone protruding from the slope of the mountain. On this rock, along with some shells, there are other prehistoric engravings, particularly one resembling a footprint and a channel that runs like a gutter around the upper part of the rock, probably dating back to the Age of Bronze and Iron Age (I millennium BC.), and presumably related to religious beliefs and rituals. On this rock there are two different legends. According to the first, oldest, on the Stone Nariola was the devil; in front of him, on a altromasso (now destroyed), one of his companions, and together they enjoyed playing ball, rimandandosela one another. The second version, of Christian inspiration, perhaps born to exorcise the demons of the past boulder, instead justify the position protruding boulder with a miraculous intervention of the Virgin, which would keep him with his cloak. Particularly interesting are the rock tombs, mysterious tombs shaped tub carved into boulders and generally oriented east-west. These burials, most likely intended for persons of high rank, are a peculiarity of the area from Como to Ticino, the Valtellina by Brianza. Issue of dating, the boulders tombs are attributed by recent studies arc of time between the end of the fifth century and the end of the sixth century AD, between the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476) and the occupation by the Lombards in the Como area, after the surrender of the certificates in the fortifications of the Island Comacina Byzantines (588). I'll be back in the area there is a large concentration of these particular rocks: Avello of the Maas, the Avello of Rasina, the de Avello the Piazz, the Avello of Negrenza and Avello Cascine Negrenza. Some associations in the country have placed appropriate signs to facilitate the visit of the findings and ensure the maintenance.
A couple more refs on metadata: The W3C recommendation for metadata syntax and datamodel is RDF, the Resource Description Framework. There's a lack of really accessible introductory material to RDF, but you can find some interesting links at http://www.w3.org/RDF/ and some informal 'design issue' discussion papers on RDF and the 'Semantic Web' at http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/ The distributed harvesting of metadata model is a nice one; it would be fun to revisit this using Swish/DC/RDF, as a testbed for combining RDF-oriented search with fast free text searching... On Sat, 11 Mar 2000, Steve Thomas wrote: > PropheZine Owner wrote: > > Hi: > > I was wondering if you could take a step backwards and explain Metadata. > > Not sure what that is. > Metadata is "data about data" -- that is, in this case, data which describes > some file of information, e.g. an html file, a pdf file, an excel spreadsheet, ... > HTML permits the inclusion of metadata using the META tag in the HEAD section. > This is usually (in this context) ecoded as > <META NAME="metaname" CONTENT="some text"> > where metaname can be anything you like really. E.g. many people use > <META NAME="author" CONTENT="Steve Thomas"> > <META NAME="description" CONTENT="This is an email message describing metadata"> > <META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="swish; meta data; metadata"> > Now, the important thing to note is that the above is arbitrary. To make this > useful to a wide range of users and uses, you need agreed standards about what > metanames will be used, what they mean, and how their content is to be coded. > One such standard is "Dublin Core" -- which is so named because it was agreed > at a meeting in Dublin, Ohio, and is meant to provide a CORE set of names -- > not the be-all and end-all, just a core set of elements. Dublin Core is now widespread. > You can find lots more detail from my Bookmarks page at > Stephen Thomas, Senior Systems Analyst > Mail : Barr Smith Library, The University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005 > Phone: (08) 8303 5190 Fax: (08) 8303 4369 > Email: stephen.thomas@ adelaide.edu.au > URL : http://www.library.adelaide.edu.au/~sthomas/ > Unless otherwise stated, the content of this message reflects only my > own opinion, and not the policy of the University of Adelaide Library. > "I must Create a System, or be enslav'd by another Man's" -- William Blake Received on Sat Mar 11 06:37:56 2000
How to grow strawberries Strawberry production can be a profitable venture for small scale and part-time farmers. The crop requires a small space to start with and it has a ready market. Once established, the crop can be harvested for as long it is maintained. However, management of this crop can pose considerable difficulties that may result in massive losses. The following practices will help reduce damage from insects and diseases. Choose disease resistant varieties. Some plants are not susceptible to certain diseases or are less susceptible than other varieties. Resistance or tolerance to diseases will eliminate or greatly reduce the need for disease control. Plant disease free material. Since viruses cannot be seen at the time of planting, the grower must rely on good propagation and cultural practice methods used by the nursery in producing the plants. Virus-infected plants are infected for life, and plants infected with soil-inhabiting fungi can contaminate the site for years. Buy only healthy plants from reputable nurseries. Choose sites that have full sunlight. Avoid shaded areas. Plants need full sunlight to grow and produce fruit, but sunlight also helps the foliage and fruit to dry off quickly after a rain or heavy dew. Rapid drying will reduce fruit and leaf diseases. Ensure good air drainage and circulation within the strawberry planting speeds the drying off of plants and reduces the potential for infection. Botrytis (gray mold) requires wet foliage or fruit for infection to take place. Similarly, it is important that the soil dries out quickly after rain. Waterlogged soil increases the likelihood of disease infection in the root system. Red stele and verticillium are two soil fungi that can infect strawberry root systems more easily in wet soil. Do not plant new fruit plantings below older, diseased plantings. Disease organisms such as black rot can be carried in runoff water from a diseased planting to a healthy planting. Most disease organisms that cause foliage or fruit diseases require wet surface areas for infection to take place. By speeding the drying time after rain or heavy dew, the grower can greatly reduce the potential for disease development. Two important methods for accomplishing this in a strawberry planting are to maintain narrow rows and a low plant density within each row Cultivating in a diseased planting and then moving that equipment to a healthy planting without washing the soil from the equipment can transport disease organisms between plantings. Some crops can build disease organisms in the soil, which can devastate the next crop if it is susceptible to the disease. Strawberries should not follow tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, strawberries, raspberries or stone fruits for five years since these crops might harbour the Verticillium fungus. Avoid an area with a history of verticillium or red stele problems. Mulch to conserve moisture and smoother weeds. Weeds can be a big problem in strawberry beds. Hand weeding and using a generous layer of straw mulch are the best options for control. Mulch will protect a strawberry plant from cold injury. In some cases, strawberry plants may be injured but not killed by cold temperatures. Those plants are often susceptible to black root rot. Mulch also ensures that the produce is clean. Fungicide applications should be used only if other control strategies are not adequate to control the disease. Fungicide sprays will help in the control of powdery mildew and fruit rots. Harvest the fruits before overripe. The fruit rots will spread more quickly on overripe fruit. Overripe fruit also will allow a disease to build up in the planting, therefore making control more difficult. [The writer is an expert on sustainable agriculture]
This time of year means canola starts flowering. This is a big issue for NDVI calculations, as the yellow flowers disrupt the readings significantly. The example below shows a crop starting to flower last week. The colour and NDVI images below show that the areas flowering the most (which are probably the best parts of the paddock) actually show the lowest NDVI readings. For those who want the technical details on why this occurs, the yellow flowers reflect more red light and less NIR light, which causes the NDVI to fall. Both red and NIR bands are used in NDVI calculations. In addition to this, the flowers cover the leaves so we can’t physically see them from above. As ever, don’t hesitate to get in touch if we can be of assistance. If you need software support, firstname.lastname@example.org is available to you. If you are having troubles with boundary uploads then please email them to support and we will fix them for you – at no charge (we want you to be getting value from the platform!) All the best, Tim and Peta Neale and the whole team
Sage Kandu performed intense austerities to attain the ultimate goal – self realization. He built an ashram at secluded spot on the banks of . He did Tapas by standing between five fires in summer and in winter he performed Tapas by staying in cold water. The story of Sage Kandu is found in the Brahmapurana. Gomati River Indra, the King of Devas, was afraid of Sage Kandu’s asceticism as he worried that the sage would unseat him in the heaven. Indra deputed Pramolcha, an Apsara (damsel), to disturb the austerities of Sage Kandu. With the help of Kama (god of love), Vayu (wind god) and spring, Pramolcha created a perfect setting in the Ashram. Her songs disturbed the meditation of the Sage. Passion aroused in him and He took her inside the ashram. Sage Kandu used his powers to turn into a 16-year-old youth and made love to Pramolcha. Hundreds of years passed. In between Pramlocha asked permission to leave but the sage asked her stay. This continued for several years. One day Sage Kandu wanted to leave the hermitage in a hurry. When Pramolcha asked for the reason, the sage said he wanted to perform evening rites as the day was coming to an end. She laughed and asked why only today he needed to perform evening rites. The Sage then realized that several years had passed and blamed himself for the loss of religious merit due to his passion. Pramalocha got scared of an angry Sage Kandu and she began to tremble and sweat. She left for heaven and while flying to heaven, she wiped the sweat on the leaves of trees. Embryo in her had come out in the form of sweat. The sweat was put together by trees and it was nourished by the moon. It grew to become Marisha, a beautiful woman. She was the mother of Daksha. Sage Kandu then performed intense austerities and attained Moksha. The Sage had realized that what was standing between him and realization was passion. The company of Pramalocha made the Sage realize the futility of lust and passion.
In the mid-1700s, Benjamin Franklin served as a delegate for colonial America and spent a great deal of time traveling to London and Paris. During this period, it was quite popular and entertaining for amateur musicians to perform on sets of "singing" or musical glasses. Franklin attended one of these concerts and was intrigued by the beauty of the sound. Almost immediately, he set to work applying the principles of wet fingers on glass to his own musical creation.Read More What would you think if you saw a man chasing a thunder and lightning storm on horseback? You would probably wonder what on Earth he was trying to do. Well, if you lived in the 1700s and knew Benjamin Franklin, this is just what you might see during a terrible storm. Ben was fascinated by storms; he loved to study them. If he were alive today, we could probably add "storm-chaser" to his long list of titles.Read More For centuries, medals have been used to commemorate important events and to recognize and reward individual accomplishment and achievement. Serving as visual reminders of great events and people, these not so distant cousins to coins offer exceptional examples of the material culture of ceremony, celebration, and the public recognition of genius and creativity. By the 18th century, France had become the acknowledged leader of this practice of "sculpture in miniature." In fact, many of the dies for early American medals...were actually cast in France.*Read More
The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum is followed at Heath Lane Nursery School. The care and education of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) follow statutory requirements and guidance given by Government. The Early Years Foundation Stage This is the statutory framework for all children aged between 0 and 5 years. The Early Years curriculum is organised into 7 areas of learning. For each area of learning there is a set of developmental stages and early learning outcomes which describe what each child is expected to be learning at that stage. Teachers and Early Years Practitioners plan the curriculum to ensure the children make good progress towards the early learning goals which children are expected to reach by the end of the Reception class in their primary school. At Heath Lane Nursery School we support all children to make the best possible progress by ensuring that learning opportunities are rich and exciting and engage all children. There are 7 areas of learning: 3 Prime areas of learning - Communication and Language - Physical Development - Personal, Social and Emotional Development 4 Specific areas of learning - Understanding the World - Expressive Art and Design More information about the EYFS can be found on:
Are pictures more powerful than words? Images are more powerful than words. because: Turning words into images is easier for people to remember. but: Words can get the more comprehensive knowledge in detail. but: It is more efficient to produce creative and abstract ideas using words. Are pictures better recall than words? Pictures of objects were recalled significantly better than their names on the first two of four free recall trials. Free verbal recall is generally higher for objects or pictures than for their labels (e.g., Ducharme & Fraisse, 1965; Kirkpatrick, 1894; Lieberman & Culpepper, 1965). What is it called when humans remember pictures better than words? The picture superiority effect refers to the phenomenon in which pictures and images are more likely to be remembered than are words. This effect has been demonstrated in numerous experiments using different methods. Are visuals more memorable than words? According to marketing industry influencer Krista Neher, the human brain can process images up to 60,000 times faster than words. The point is with a picture, you can convey so much more information than you can with words. In fact, it can take a thousand words just to describe what is in one picture. Why are words better than pictures? Words are more effective than images when it comes to changing views: study. However, images do not appear to change opinions in the longer-term. Text is better at changing opinions, probably because it requires more engagement on the part of the reader, and in turn, gets them involved in the issue, researchers said. Why is visual better? The knowledge and communication skills are improved thanks to visuals. Visual content helps people with low literacy to perceive and understand the information they find challenging to read. Emotionally visual content connects a person with an object, stimulates our imagination, and improves comprehension. Do pictures help memory? Indeed, photographs can help memory in other ways. Concentrating while choosing a shot requires attention which in turn aids memory. And looking at photos later helps us remember more about the context and the events we chose to record. Do I have an eidetic memory? Being able to vividly retain an image in your mind after only brief exposure to it is incredibly rare. It’s known as eidetic memory. Some initial tests have suggested that a small percent of children and a smaller amount of adults have this special ability. Do images help memory? Interestingly, even taking a “mental photo”—that is, just pretending to have a camera—also boosted visual memories, but had the same downside of reducing auditory memories. This last result shows that memory is closely related to attention. Why are visual images so powerful? Why is visual communication so powerful? It isn’t just because of the pretty pictures; it’s straight-up science. The brain absorbs and synthesizes visual information faster than any other stimuli, making visual content an incredibly effective medium. Why are pictures worth a thousand words? “A picture is worth a thousand words” is an adage in multiple languages meaning that complex and sometimes multiple ideas can be conveyed by a single still image, which conveys its meaning or essence more effectively than a mere verbal description. Are images easier to understand than words? Pictures are not only more effortless to recognize and process than words, but also easier to recall. When words enter long-term memory they do so with a single code. Pictures, on the other hand, contain two codes: one visual and the other verbal, each stored in different places in the brain (Paivio).
6 Ways to Make Studying Stress Free Academics offer different knowledge and skills to every student who’s determined to learn, but it comes with a price. Any student won’t hesitate to tell you that studying can be stressful and exhausting no matter what level you’re in. An average schoolday is usually composed of long lectures, surprize quizzes and writing different academic papers, but it doesn’t stop there. You’ll continue your academic responsibilities at home by working on assignments and all-nighters will happen most of the time. Not every student has a strong tolerance against stress which is why most of them are showing poor performance at school. Any student wouldn’t be able to accomplish their goals if they’re not in good shape and you should do something to make studying stress free before it gets worse. Here are a few ways you could do to make academics easier for your mind & body. We offer you our 6 ways to make studying stress free A lot of students have a hard time concentrating on their studies because of distractions which is difficult to avoid since we’re surrounded by it. Distractions usually lead to unfinished academic papers or unread books and you’ll find yourself in the losing end if it continues. Stay away from any kind of distractions as much as you possibly can and studying at the library where silence is strictly enforced is a good example. Your own room can be a conducive place for studying provided that you have cleared any possible causes of distractions and you can to make studying stress free. Create a study plan Creating a study plan for master degree is not that difficult. It will take some research and time to accomplish it but this plan will help you to make studying stress free. Once you have made a list of the classes that you need and would like to take while you are in the graduate program, you need to start creating your class schedule. That will help you to make studying stress free. Adapt Smarter Study Habits Laziness would only lead to a failing grade and if you’re aiming to get positive results, you’ll have to change your study habits for the better. Managing your schedule, communicating with your teacher, getting your priorities straight and preparing your research materials ahead of time are some of the effective strategies to make studying stress free that you can set. It’ll take some time to get used to, but it’s for your own good. Prevent Studying At the Last Minute Studying is a lot more stressful especially if you’re doing it the day before an exam and you wouldn’t be able to concentrate due to the various feelings and emotions that are going through your head. Last minute cramming should be avoided at all cost because it’s not an effective form of studying. However, it can’t be helped most of the time. If you need to study before an exam, review the main points of your lectures the night before and do some supplemental reading the next day. Get Plenty of Rest Any student is more likely to perform better at school if they got a good night’s sleep, but it seems that there aren’t a lot of students who are able to do that since a lot of things are preventing them to sleep early. Staying up late results into poor productivity because you won’t have enough energy to perform various tasks for the entire day. Be sure to maintain a regular sleeping pattern because that wouldn’t just make studying stress free, it would make you feel healthier as well. Too much studying is really bad and you need to take a break from time to time. Spending too much reading or writing can generate stress which is why taking a short break will allow you to make studying stress free, even for a bit. Eating your favourite food, seeing a movie, hanging out with friends, listening to music, getting some alone time or anything else as long as it would relieve you from all of the stress you’re experiencing. Remember, “All work and no play makes you a dull person.” Stress can have a major impact in our lives and hopefully, these tips would certainly help you to make studying stress free. Do everything you can to avoid stress and you’ll certainly get more positive results out of your efforts
Cognitive decline is a source of fear and mystery for many adults, especially older adults. However, confronting that fear and solving that mystery may be easier than you think. Research on memory has started to focus less on the mechanics of the brain and more on understanding how lifestyle factors, including nutrition, chronic conditions, emotional health, and brain training, among others, may influence memory function and performance. Join us as we discuss cognitive decline in the context of lifestyle choices and habits that may help to reduce your risk for a diagnosis later in life and give you confidence that you are more “in control” than you might imagine when it comes to brain health. - Examine broad aspects of cognitive decline. - Identify nutrition as a protective lifestyle choice for brain health. - Engage in training exercises to support brain function.
Sequoia: The Next Generation of Supercomputer What would the former IBM chief executive Thomas Watson have to say about the current development taking place with computers? After all it was Watson who claimed in 1943 that the world would need about five computers. Today, that claim looks a little wayward, to say the least, with millions of computers being sold over-the-counter every year. When computer performance is bundled together, we have what is known as a supercomputer. In the US, plans are already underway to build just such a computing colossus that will overshadow all previous such systems. The “Sequoia” project aims to build the first computer capable of reaching the 20 petaflop mark. In comparison, “Roadrunner,” currently the world’s fastest computer, just about manages a petaflop, meaning that “Sequoia” would make it look more like the world’s fastest calculator. But what does 20 petaflops per second mean? Primarily, 20 petaflops is a value, a 20 with fifteen zeros, and is in itself nothing tangible. In order to form a better appreciation for what “Sequoia” with its 20 petaflops is capable of, it would take six billion people all equipped with calculators 1,000 years to do the calculations that “Sequoia” can manage in one day. That’s a scenario that in Watson’s day would have caused an uproar and been considered as being beyond even the wildest borders of fiction. Before “Sequoia” is put into operation, another system will ensure that everything runs exactly to plan. The supercomputer “Dawn,” primarily a delivery system, will be based on Blue Gene/P technology and reach performances of over 500 teraflops. Both computers will work in tandem, although “Dawn” will afford users the opportunity of developing or adapting their applications for Blue Gene technology and to test and improve their scalability. “Dawn” is, as such, a typical porting and developing system. It will be the system on which applications are created and these applications will then execute operations and calculations in the petaflop range on “Seqouia.” Since there are not so many of these applications around, the supposedly smaller computer takes on added significance for users. They can undertake and carry out initial tests and studies and attempt to pave the way toward such petaflop applications. The National Nuclear Security Administration, which commissioned the project, is a part of the US Department of Energy. It wants to see “Sequoia” in use by 2012. By then no fewer than 96 racks will provide accommodation for the 1.6 million IBM POWER processors. According to official press releases, “Sequoia” will contribute to increased security and reliability of the United States nuclear arsenal. It goes without saying, of course, that other types of security aspects pertaining to the nuclear arsenal will be simulated, especially with regard to keeping a secure eye on aging materials. All over the world, scientists have been searching for solutions to problems raised by the safe disposal and storage of nuclear waste. “We see the entire project from the point of view of the researcher,” said Klaus Gottschalk, IT Systems architect with IBM. “For him the use of the computer is easy to evaluate. Large sums are being invested to help drive development onwards.” However, this giant machine is not only capable of turning nuclear research into visible, viewable action. The enormous potential offered by a 20 petaflop computer extends to far beyond nuclear weapons safety. According to IBM estimates, the supercomputer will be able to forecast weather up to 40 times more precisely than is possible today, and be invaluable in such areas as astronomy, energy, biotechnology and climate research. ”Modeling and simulation is crucial for ensuring the ability of our country to innovate and compete globally,” explained Dr. Cynthia McIntyre, Senior VP at the Council on Competitiveness. At this point, IBM has not said exactly how much power “Sequoia” is going to need. But according to the company, the machine is set to break all records in this area as well. It has been estimated that it will be the world’s first computer to achieve an efficiency of 3,050 calculations per watt. In terms of supercomputing, the US is no longer the only big player. The IBM-JUGENE system in Juelich, Germany, means Europe is currently ranked 11th in a list of the world’s 500 fastest computers compiled by the universities of Mannheim and Tennessee. Accordingly, the Juelich Research Center has been top of the tree in Europe for the last two years in terms of fastest computer. Plans are already afoot in Juelich to install the first petaflop computer in Europe — incidentally also from IBM — by the middle of this year. In all probability, after an initial introduction, this supercomputer will force its way into the top three of the world’s fastest computers. It will be capable of one quadrillion computational operations per second. The new supercomputer’s roughly 295,000 processors will then be housed in 72 phonebox-sized cabinets in the computing labs of the Juelich Supercomputing Center. Replete with 144 terabytes of RAM, and together with the remaining computers at the research center, Juelich will then be operating at 1.3 petaflops per second. In addition to its high speed, the supercomputer will also have access to around 6 petabytes of hard disk. That more or less corresponds to sufficient memory to store all the information contained on over one million DVDs. This will be the first machine built specifically for the Gauss Center, which has centers in Juelich, Stuttgart and Garching in Germany. The Gauss Allianz is a European-wide consortium that bundles the performance capacity of all Europe’s supercomputers. According to a spokesperson for the research centre at Juelich, “The three centers should speak with one voice and provide a counterpart and intermediary for scientists, particularly on the international stage.” The Juelich Research Center’s main focus is to be found in fundamental research. The present Blue Gene/P system has around 20 applications that use up the majority of its computing time. Top of this list belongs to the quantum chromodynamics, or QCD, application. This application is closely related to quantum electrodynamics, which help describe the strong interactions of electrically-charged particles by means of exchange of photons — thus forming a theory from high energy physics. In total, scientists from all manners of disciplines — from materials science through particle physics to medicine and environmental research — will have the opportunity to book themselves some computer time on the Juelich system. An independent committee of experts will then decide on which plans are best suited and allocate computing time accordingly. Researchers will be pleased at the enthusiasm for investment in such projects. Achim Bachem, chairman of the research center, states confidently, “Computers capable of this kind of performance form a universal key technology in helping find solutions to the most complex and most urgent scientific problems.” About the Author Markus Henkel is a geodesist, science writer and lives in Hamburg, Germany. He writes about supercomputing, environmental protection and clinical medicine. For more information, email him at email@example.com or visit the Web site: http://laengsynt.de.
Most agree there are three main types of bear found in the Americas; the brown bear, the black bear, and the polar bear. Polar bears inhabit the icy regions of the arctic. Black bears are more common in the American Northeast, but also populate the entire continent from California to Florida. Brown Bears are found primarily in the Northwest along with their cousins the Kodiak and Grizzly bears. Although there are a number of sub-species like the Kodiak, all bears fall into these three main groups. Additionally, recent study has found that polar bears and brown bears may be mating to produce hybrid bears that are bigger and more aggressive than their relatives. Click here to cancel reply. Sorry,At this time user registration is disabled. We will open registration soon! Don't have an account? Click Here to Signup © Copyright GreenAnswers.com LLC
In the earlier days when it came to wound healing process, it was believed that keeping the wounds exposed to air, allowed them to heal quickly. But with the advancements in healthcare more secure and effective methods were discovered to help in wound healing and one successful method among these was ‘moist wound healing’.Instead of keeping the wound open, this method creates a moist environment surrounding the wound area which is ideal for the healing process to be more effective.And this is achieved through dressings that contain a special gel called ‘Hydrocolloids’ which is used to cover the wound areas. Image Source: Pexels Effects of Hydrocolloids At first, medical experts thought that the best way to heal wounds was to keep them in a dry state with the likes of plain gauze. But a discovery that was made around the 1960’s by Dr. George D. Winter proved that this was not the case. He was able to discover that the ‘Epithelialization Process’(i.e. – the surface area of a wound being covered by new cell generation of the skin whichprovides protectionfrom the likes of bacteria), in moist wounds was much faster than in dry wounds. This breakthrough, led to many research and development on the area of dressings, which ultimately led to the use of hydrocolloids. When it comes into contact with moisture from a wound’s exudate, it takes a gel like form that will aid in the development of new tissues and cells in the wound. There are many forms of these hydrocolloids under different trade names like duoderm, granuflex, replicare, etc. and all of these allows for a quick epithelialization thus preventing the wound from getting infected by bacteria that are in the environment. If scabs are formed in a wound due to the healing environment being too dry, it can dampen the skin cell replacement rate which will lead to slowing down the process of healing. But hydrocolloid dressings have the ability to prevent these scabs from forming in the first place.Another major benefit of these is that it reduces the frequency of changing the dressings unlike the normal dressings that usually need to be changed more frequently. When the wound is not being disturbed by thesefrequent dressing changes, it will reduce the risks involved with pain, scarring and even infections too. These dressings arealso very easy to remove from wounds unlike the normal gauze which poses a high risk of causing pain to a patient as the newly formed skin cells might be torn away when they are being removed. Through these innovative hydrocolloid dressings, moist healing of wounds has nowadays become a widely accepted form of therapy for wound healing as it allows for the perfect environment for a wound to heal quickly, without the risks of infection. Being able to be used even for a number of days at a stretch, the care that these hydrocolloids providecan be an ideal solution for anyone who is expecting a quick relief from his/her wounds.
A triumphant Christian Church, far from unifying the Roman world with a single faith, rent division and civil conflict throughout the empire. Every measure designed to crush and stamp out non-Christian belief met with renewed resistance, disaffection from the imperial cause and civil commotion. Yet the fanatical intolerance rampaged on, with increasingly more severe rescripts from the imperial court. The campaign to wipe out heterodox opinion realized its zenith with the reign of Theodosius I late in the 4th century. Theodosius - Murdering Fanatic Arrives from Spain decision of Gratian to elevate to the purple the competent son of a convicted traitor was of great significance in Roman history. Ultimately the dynasty of Theodosius presided over the dismemberment of the Roman Empire in the West. – Ferrill, The Fall of the Roman Empire, p68. one of those luminaries of the Church accorded the honorific Great, showed that a Christian Emperor could best any pagan emperor folly, indulgence and cruelty. While a Caligula or a Nero could unleash murder and mayhem on his family and entourage, Theodosius criminalized and punished a large part of the population of the whole empire, of which his treatment of Thessalonica is one In 390 the Romano/Greek population of the city was involved in a riot over presence of the local Gothic garrison. In the tumult, Botheric, the garrison commander, died. Enraged, Theodosius ordered his mercenaries to massacre spectators who happened to be trapped in the circus. Records Theodoret (393-466 AD) in his Ecclesiastical is a large and populous city, in the province of Macedonia. In consequence of sedition there, the anger of the Emperor rose to the highest pitch, and he gratified his vindictive desire for vengeance by unsheathing the sword most unjustly and tyrannically against all, slaying the innocent and guilty alike. It is said seven thousand perished without any forms of law, and without even having judicial sentence passed upon them; but that, like ears of wheat in the time of harvest, they were alike cut down. W. S. Davis, ed., Readings in Ancient History. tyrants, by the late 4th century thanks largely to the reforms of Diocletian and Constantine emperors had at their disposal a formidable and costly state apparatus. Draconian laws now could be energetically enforced. The worlds earliest totalitarianism of Catholic Christianity was inaugurated by Theodosius. No wonder to Christian scribes he became the Great. In short order, the Roman world was compelled to be Christian on pain of death! The fall of empire in the west was an acceptable price for the triumph of the Church of Christ. had, in his privileged youth, been military governor of Moesia. But after a charge of cowardice and his fathers execution for conspiracy he had languished in enforced early retirement in Spain. Yet when disaster hit the Roman world at Adrianople 378, the debacle led Gratian an inexperienced and 'pious' nineteen-year-old under the control of bishop Ambrose in Milan to appoint the thirty-two year old Theodosius as Augustus for the east. It was a reign almost cut short. After falling dangerously ill in the late summer of 380 (in Thessalonica) Theodosius was baptised by the local Catholic Bishop, Acholius. Unfortunately for the fate of civilization, thereafter Theodosius was more concerned with religious correctness than with the safety of the empire which now fell into his hands. The Pacifying of Constantinople "Let us believe the sole deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, under an equal majesty and a pious Trinity." – Theodosius (Codex Theod. xvi 1.2) Theodosius did not enter Constantinople until November of 380. He did so at the head of his army and with an entourage of Spaniards, determined to bring the capital of the Roman world – the "seat and fortress of Arianism" (Gibbon) – into the camp of Catholic Trinitarianism. In Constantinople, hitherto, all shades of theological subtleties had contended, a consequence, perhaps, of the still lingering tradition among the Greeks of philosophical speculation. But that tradition was soon to be extinguished. With troops deployed within the church of St Sophia itself, and undeterred by hostile crowds, the Arian patriarch Demophilus was deposed and the suitably "orthodox" Gregory of Nazianzus installed. Yet he lasted barely a month, to be replaced as Patriarch by a praetor not even baptised at the time of his appointment! The new bishop, the undistinguished Nectarius, held the job for the next 16-years, the catspaw of the emperor. In January 381 Theodosius issued the first of fifteen edicts directed against heretics and pagans. Over the course of the next forteen years, the master of the Roman world, chosen by God, sanctioned the destruction of non-Christian temples and sanctuaries; the burning of heterodox writings; and the exile or execution of recalcitrant polytheists and all who refused to believe, or at least to profess, the truth. Though never entirely eliminated, sectarian Christians lost possession of their churches and were forbidden even to assemble together. In May 381 Theodosius summoned one hundred and fifty bishops from the eastern provinces to the capital, resolved on the final extirpation of Arianism and every other sectarianism within the Christian camp. The canons issued in July from this First Council of Constantinople (aka Second Ecumenical Council) condemned all unorthodox beliefs as heresy. A particular target were the followers of Macedonius (otherwise known as "semi-Arians"), who balked at the promotion of the Holy Spirit as a third god in the peculiar Catholic trinitarian godhead. For its compliance to the Catholic cause, the see of Constantinople was promoted to "second in honour to Rome, as the New Rome", much to the chagrin of old Rome and its ally, Alexandria. "There follow in 381, 382, 384, 388, 389, 394, laws against the heretics – Eunomians, Arians, Apollinarians, Macedonians, Manichaeans – confiscating their churches, and handing them over to Catholics, forbidding their assemblies, exiling their bishops and priests, confiscating all the places where their rites were celebrated. The great number of these laws, several of which are repeated, prove that they were not everywhere carried out." – P. Allard, Christianity and the Roman Empire, p263. Winning Hearts and Minds by Capital Punishment! 'It is our will and pleasure that none of our subjects, whether magistrates or private citizens, however exalted or however humble may be their rank and condition, shall presume in any city or in any place, to worship an inanimate idol by the sacrifice of a guiltless victim.' With these words of an imperial edict, in 384 AD Theodosius made divination from the entrails of a chicken a crime of high treason which could be expiated only by the death penalty. All the many and popular manifestations of pagan worship were criminalized: torch bearing processions, the wearing of garlands, the burning of frankincense, the offering of libations of wine. Even harmless household gods were proscribed. Whereas earlier laws enacted against the pagans had often been mitigated or ignored by local magistrates who were themselves pagans or secular 'philosophers', now a magistrate who failed to rigorously enforce the draconian laws would himself become a criminal. To the delight of the Christian priesthood their 'pious' emperor set the entire machinery of the state against the pagan establishment. It was the clergy itself, however, who made up the vigilante 'brown shirts', desecrating temples and destroying idols. At every level the old religions were to be rooted out and joy of joy! the accumulated wealth of a thousand shrines and temples, amassed over a millennium, expropriated for the Christian Church. Once engorged on the wealth of the pagan world, the Church, in an act of sublime cynicism, moved rapidly to reintroduce the rituals and practices it had so Folly & Religious War Goths Theodosius, entrusted initially with the defence of Thrace, bought peace with the Goths by ceding large tracts of the Balkans for their settlement. Rather than hunt down and defeat the victors of Adrianople Theodosius decided to accept them as allies (foederati). Indeed, when the Gothic King Athanaric died in 382 he was honoured with a state funeral in Constantinople. Unlike most Roman citizens, however, the Goths were armed and ignored Roman law with impunity. Ruled by their own chieftains and not subject to crippling imperial taxation these Christianised tribesmen lived off the local populace as conquering heroes. accommodated the enemy within the empire, Theodosius then recruited whole regiments of the barbarians under their own officers into the army, where they became the dominant influence. Barbarianisation of the army went hand-in-hand with the enfeeblement of the legions. Starved of funds which Theodosius instead directed into the church to support a growing army of parasitic clergy, the demoralised troops were forced into part-time farming to feed themselves. The greater part of legions were downgraded to border guards. As such, they lacked the pan-continental mobility of an earlier age. Allowed to marry local women, the troops spent much of their time in market gardens and the barter economy. In such circumstances the tight discipline and continual drill which had allowed the Romans to defeat every barbarian enemy from the Scottish highlands to the Syrian desert had to be abandoned. The troopers also set aside their protective armour, which had become burdensome and expensive ironically at the very time the barbarian cavalries were adopting a simplified version of Roman armour. The border guards as a matter of policy avoided pitch battles with the enemy, a task now assigned to a few elite units of a mobile field army, which increasingly became little more than an overblown imperial bodyguard. For the eastern front, Theodosius adopted a cowardly policy of ceding four fifths of Roman Armenia to the Persians (387). Having thus secured his rear and barbarianised his legions, Theodosius used them to intervene in the 'religious politics' of the west, where Gratian had been deposed by another Spanish Catholic, his general Magnus Maximus. Gratian was executed in August 383 in Gaul, leaving his hapless 12-year-old half-brother Valentinian II taking instruction from Milan's city boss Bishop Ambrose. The bishop, wary of the rival Arian Christianity, widespread in the east and among the Gothic tribesmen, wrote a tract clarifying the new doctrine of the Trinity for the guidance and edification of the young prince, It was ostensibly on behalf of Valentinian II, Theodosius used his mercenaries to bring to an end the reign of Maximus (388) using an army mainly composed of Goths, Huns and Alans at the battle of Aquileia. A few years later, Valentinian was sent packing by another usurper Eugenius (392-394), a former teacher of grammar and rhetoric and Theodosius massed his barbarian Christian mercenaries against the regular pagan legions of the west. of the Frigidus River (6 September 394), on the border of Italy and Slovenia, proved to be the last serious attempt of the senatorial class to resist the Christianisation of the empire. Fighting at the head of 20,000 barbarians on the side of Theodosius was the Gothic chieftain Alaric, who sixteen years later would sack Rome itself. The Menace Behind the Throne Bishop can be found in this world more exalted than priests or more sublime than bishops." Since the days of Constantine Bishops had inveigled their way into the imperial entourage (compare this to the position of Stoic philosophers at an earlier date). Ambrose famously brought Theodosius to heel (and "penitence") over the massacre in Thessalonica, an incident carefully written up by Christian scribes to give maximum credit to the Church. Yet the true character of the ambitious Ambrose was shown in his power struggle a few years earlier with the Empress Justina (regent for the young monarch Valentinian II ) whose authority and faith he rejected out of hand and used Christian mobs to back up his position. At the moment when it seemed that the mob might have been seen off by the imperial guard, Ambrose "miraculously" discovered "martyrs' bones" in the besieged churchyard and mob-rule prevailed. The creation of saints and miracles now became a staple weapon in the Christian armoury. asserted his authority over the feeble-minded youths Gratian and Valentinian, was not inclined to cede power to the new "Catholic" monarch Theodosius nor was Theodosius the man to stand up to the senior churchman. In a notable incident, Ambrose, to his horror, learnt that the emperor had ordered Christian arsonists to rebuild a destroyed synagogue. The bishop defended the zealots and censured the emperor who meekly rescinded his an imperial court in both Milan and Constantinople. The year 394 was the last in which a single monarch ruled the Roman world. Yet with Ambrose as the Grey Eminence that "unity" merely amplified the insidious influence of the Catholic bishop. He saw off the challenge of the Arians and successfully propagated the notions of the "Trinity", discipline and regimentation; anti-Semitism became encoded in Theodosius's vast catalogue of intolerant laws; and women were made more subordinate than ever. The prison of the late Roman world now became dark and Bishop Ambrose, "was now at the head of the legions." Chris Scarre, Chronicle of the Roman Emperors (Thames & Robert Graves, Count Belisarius (London, 1938) Arthur Ferrill, The Fall of the Roman Empire (Thames & Hudson, Helen Ellerbe, The Dark Side of Christian History (Morningstar & Lark, 1995) Richard Fletcher, The Conversion of Europe (Harper Collins, 1999) Edward Gibbon, The Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire (1799) Michael Grant, The Climax of Rome (Weidenfeld& Nicolson, 1996) Michael Grant, Fall of the Roman Empire (Weidenfeld& Nicolson, Robert Wilken, The Christians As the Romans Saw Them (Yale UP, Robin Fox lane, Pagans & Christians (Viking, 1986) Some fifty articles are now available as a book. For your copy order: Copyright © 2004 by Kenneth Humphreys. Copying is freely permitted, provided credit is given to the author and no material herein is sold for profit.
Powell's blunt racism made him an unwelcome Tory member BBC Newsline (January 22) gave us a glimpse of MP Jeffrey Donaldson’s office. On the wall, opposite a portrait of Queen Elizabeth, was one of Enoch Powell. The name might mean little to some today but 50 years ago it was impossible not to be aware of him. He was perceived by some to be a champion of the ordinary man and woman, but others feared him. In 1968 he gave a widely publicised, carefully crafted and brilliantly presented address which came to be known as the ‘Rivers of Blood Speech’ in which he intoned, ‘like the Roman I seem to see the River Tiber foaming with much blood’. His target was a government policy which encouraged Commonwealth immigration as an aid to post-war reconstruction. Powell’s view was that the policy was bastardising the British race and its ultimate consequence would be racial conflagration. He wanted immigrants repatriated. Tony Benn said at the time of Powell’s constituency, ‘In Wolverhampton the flag of racialism has been raised’. The speech was replete with racial slurs and dubious assertions – ‘In this country in 15 or 20 year’s time the black man will have the whip hand over the white man’. In the wake of the speech there were attacks on racial minorities. Skinheads roamed the streets crying ‘Powell! Powell!’ and ‘Get back to your own country’! His ejection from the shadow cabinet brought striking dockers on to the streets with placards demanding, ‘Back Britain, not black Britain’. Powell’s blunt racism made him an unwelcome member of the Tory Party but he found a welcome with the Ulster Unionists and was elected in 1974 as MP for South Down. Donaldson, his election agent, said ‘he brought great intellect to our party’ and on Powell’s death he reflected, ‘our nation will mourn the loss of a true statesman who was held in very high regard’. Schools shouldn’t undermine authority of the family The school system has long been overburdened by the social issues of modern society with the expectation that it should find resolutions, while parents’ responsibilities are pushed to the periphery. Certainly, schools have an informative role on issues such as abortion, drugs, alcohol, smoking and on-line dangers but must avoid individual life-changing and life-endangering situations such as transgenderism and homosexuality. The Irish News has reported on schools facilitating these confused emotional conditions suffered by pupils who are still lawfully children and, as such, remain the responsibility of their parents or guardians. Teenagers are notorious for being influenced by peer and social fads and fancies which they will most likely mature away from. There is a possibility that teachers and school governors could be sued for encouraging emotionally confused pupils to follow their inclinations by providing special facilities for them. I consider that these serious emotional difficulties shouldn’t be the responsibility of schools but of parents and psychiatrists. To allow for the continuance of excellent education schools should ban all facilitation of serious personality problems and not undermine the authority of the family. Rasharkin, Co Antrim Simple fact of history boldly stated Congratulations to RTÉ on their documentary series, The Irish Revolution which started last Monday. In the first episode the narrator informed us that Britain ‘rejected the democratic mandate of the Irish people’, as clearly expressed in the 1918 election. It is rare to hear this simple fact of history so boldly stated. For too long, the dominant narrative in Irish historiography has succeeded in downplaying the reality of this seminal event in Irish revolutionary history – to the extent that it became known as ‘the forgotten election’. Roy Foster, former professor of Irish history at Oxford, for example, devoted less than half a page (p265) in his almost 400-page opus Vivid Faces to the December 1918 election. Back in 1965, by contrast, the eminent JC Beckett from the unionist community, acknowledged the seismic result as follows: ‘Sinn Fein could now claim, with justice, to represent majority opinion in Ireland’ [The making of modern Ireland, p 445]. Democracy would have dictated that Britain withdrew its troops, thereafter, and disbanded its armed police. But, then, that is hardly what empires are about. The first episode was not without its faults, however, such as the assigning of the Famine to the failure of the potato crop – without reference to the bulging granaries and the well-fed animals in our fields throughout the period in question. Terenure, Dublin 6 Thanks for invite but no thanks I would like to inform Peter McKenna of Dalradian (January 30) that I will not be taking up his invitation to visit the Dalradian site in Co Tyrone. I know enough about it already. I have seen the photos and read the reports. I have heard how Dalradian has caused division in the community. I have noticed how people who raise objections are being discouraged. Peter McKenna can make all the claims he likes about the benefits to local groups and the number of jobs on offer. I am not impressed with these promises nor are most people in that locality in Tyrone. This company has already met with strong opposition from the local community. As somebody concerned about the impact of mining on the environment, I am on the side of the local people who are protesting – not the gold miners. Fr JOE McVEIGH Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh Queen of the pop charts A very informative and well composed article on Ruby Murray (Weekend January 5). She made pop history on March 19 1955 with five records in the top 20. These were Softly Softly, Let Me Lover, Happy Days and Lonely Nights, Heartbeat and If Anyone Finds This, I Love You (duet Anne Warren). Softly Softly had already been number one for three weeks commencing 18 February. These were physical sales and this record will never be equalled nor bettered. On Friday March 10 2017 Ed Sheehan had nine of the top 10 hits but this digital record was due to downloads and streaming. Somehow computer clicks are very inferior to actual vinyl/CD product. Craigavon, Co Armagh
It was once said of one of our most famous presidents that, “Whether the subject of the moment was political economy, the Greek drama, tropical fauna or flora, the Irish sagas, protective coloration in nature, metaphysics, the technique of football, or post-futurist painting, he was equally at home with the experts and drew out the best that was in them.” The man spoken of is not often remembered for his insatiable desire to learn or his amazing memory. Instead he is remembered for his love of hunting, his instrumental role in the creation of the Panama Canal, his days as a rough rider, and the phrase “carry a big stick,” not to mention the cuddly toy known as a Teddy Bear named in his honor. Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States and our youngest president until John F. Kennedy was such an avid reader that he often read at least five books a week, reading more if time allowed. TR not only read books but turned his hand to writing books as well. Writing over 35 books, TR wrote more books than any other president to date. Like the books he read, TR’s written works fall in to multiple genres. The Naval War of 1812, which is still considered the definitive book on the subject, was published when TR was only 23 years old. This book helped to establish Roosevelt as a historian. He wrote other historical books including books on Oliver Cromwell and Gouverneur Morris. His several volume historical narrative, Winning the West, is considered among the best of its kind. He also wrote several books on the topic of hunting, creating a whole new genre, and increasing interest in the Wild West. Interspersed with stories of his own, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman provides a practical guide to killing both big and small game. Other titles include Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail and The Wilderness Hunter. Roosevelt was not shy about addressing deeper, more current themes in his books either. In one such book, The Foes of Our Own Households, he argued that America should enter World War I. In this same book he also addressed issues like socialism versus social reform, birth control, and farm conditions. Mark Twain once noted that had Roosevelt not gone into politics, “he might have completely dominated America’s literary scene.” While Roosevelt may never have had the chance to dominate the literary scene he has left us with a wealth of books that will delight generations to come. –Erin Sutter is a senior Ashbrook Scholar majoring in history and political science at Ashland University.
Bourgeois and Aristocratic Cultural Encounters in Garden Art, 1550–1850 offers an unparalleled opportunity to discover how complex relationships between bourgeois and aristocrats have led to developments in garden art from the Renaissance into the Industrial Revolution, irrespective of stylistic differences. These essays show how garden creation has contributed to blurring social boundaries and to the ongoing redefinition of the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy. Also illustrated is the aggressive use of gardens by bourgeois in more-or-less successful attempts at subverting existing social hierarchies in renaissance Genoa and eighteenth-century Bristol, England; as well as the opposite, as demonstrated by the king of France, Louis XIV, who claimed to rule the arts, but imitated the curieux fleuristes, a group of amateurs from diverse strata of French society. Essays in this volume explore this complex framework of relationships in the diverse settings of Britain, France, Biedermeier Vienna, and renaissance Genoa. The volume confirms that gardens were objects of conspicuous consumption, but also challenges the theories of consumption set forth by Thorstein Veblen and Pierre Bourdieu, and explores the contributions of gardens to major cultural changes like the rise of public opinion, gender and family relationships, and capitalism.
The augmented sixth, like most chromatic chords, usually leads to V. While the diminished seventh and secondary dominant are diatonic chords taken out of context, the augmented sixths does not have a direct diatonic origin. The outer voices of examples a) and b) both move from a major sixth to an octave in contrary motion. The first is a last inversion secondary dominant in C major, while the second is a phrygian cadence in C minor. The voice-leading of example c) includes both the Ab from the phrygian and the F# from the secondary dominant, resolving the interval of an augmented sixth by semitone in contrary motion to an octave. This is not to say that the augmented sixth is based on these progressions, merely that it is a similar, but intensified, progression to the dominant. More important than possible harmonic origins is the voice-leading of the augmented sixth rising expanding to an octave. The three types of augmented sixth all share this characteristic but each have slightly different inner voices. The effect in all three cases is of a strong tension (the dissonant augmented sixth) resolving onto the dominant (chord V). Italian augmented sixth There is no good reason why the three different types of augmented sixth chord are named after European countries, but so many writers use them that there is no alternative but to adopt them. The Italian augmented sixth is the most basic form - most similar to the phrygian cadence but with a raised sixth. It consists of the augmented sixth itself along with a major third above the root, and is the most common variant, particularly in earlier music (listen out for the Italian sixth near the beginning of Beethoven's famous Fifth Symphony). French augmented sixth This slightly more colourful sounding chord is more closely related to the secondary dominant than the Phrygian cadence. It is similar to progression b) in the first example but with the A lowered to Ab. The German augmented sixth is enharmonically the same as a dominant seventh chord (it sounds the same but is 'spelt' differently). It has two possible which are theoretically dependent on the way the chord is spelt, but in practice composers do not bother with such niceties. Resolving the German sixth onto a cadential 6/4 makes it possible to avoid the parallel fifths that are the result of directly resolving onto the dominant (seen in the second example below). information and orientation as you browse around TonalityGUIDE.com © Copyright Thomas Pankhurst
The article reviews and analyzes the problems and difficulties in taking the IELTS test. These problems and difficulties were identified during the courses devoted to the successful preparation for IELTS, through online discussion groups, as well as through the analysis of relevant sources. The author of the publication gives short methodical recommendations on each problem, and also illuminates the keys to the successful passing of the test. The information is for informational purposes only and will be useful both for those who are just beginning to prepare for IELTS. and for those who have already handed over it, but are not satisfied with the final scores. IELTS, the International English Language Testing System, is considered to be the high - stakes English test for study, migration or work. The test measures the language proficiency of those, who want to study, work where the English Language is used as a language of communication. The examination uses a nine - band scale to distinctly identify levels of the English Language proficiency (band scale, definition and description are shown in the Table 1). IELTS is available in two test versions: Academic - for people applying for higher education or professional registration; General Training for those migrating to Australia, Canada and the UK, or applying for secondary education, training programmes and work experience in an English - speaking environment. Both versions provide a valid and accurate assessment of the four language skills: listening, reading, writing and speaking . The test is considered to be fair to all and widely available. It means that IELTS treats all participants with the complete fairness, respect and strongly avoid all possible cultural bias. The examination accepts all standard varieties of native-speaker English, taking into account North American, British, Australian and New Zealand English. The test is available at more than 10,000 locations worldwide, including more than 50 locations in the USA, and there are 48 test dates a year . It is widely known that the test consists of 4 sections: - Listening. It takes 30 minutes, has 4 sections and 40 items; - Reading. It takes 30 minutes, has 3 sections and 40 items; - Writing. It takes 60 minutes and has 2 tasks; - Speaking. It takes from 11 to 14 minutes and has 3 parts. This article is aimed at providing some pieces of advice to those who want to take the test but still have some fears. The following methods were used in the experimental part of the article: - Method of scientific literature analysis; - Method of social survey; - Data analysis; At the first stage a wide range of different scientific resources were studied, such as articles in magazines, websites, and brochures; the free online course “Inside IELTS” were taken at futurelearn.com . This course helped to learn about the skills one needed for IELTS Academic. Also, the discussion groups, held during the course, were useful for conducting a social survey for identifying problems and fears among IELTS future takers. The below mentioned problem questions were revealed during the analysis: - What do you need to do in the WritingXReadingXSpeakingYListening sections of the test? - What are examiners looking and waiting for? - How are the WritingXReadingXSpeakingXListening sections assessed? - What different reading and listening skills do you need for ReadingXListening sections? Moreover, there are five more things about IELTS that people are most afraid of which were given on the official website : - to miss the answers in the Listening module; - not to have enough time; - to have nothing to write about; - to say the wrong thing; - to have nothing to say; Summarizing S. Braverman's pieces of advice it is essential to mention that: - There is only one solution for the Listening fear - practice. Practice enlarges confidence and teaches how to recover missed information. It gives an idea how to move on and get the entire test done well. Practice reveals weaknesses and difficulties, shows where the points are usually lost. Taking in respect these facts you will save points and improve the overall band score. - The most common fear for the ReadingXWriting sections is to not finish on time. The key point is to take control of the time and manage it carefully. There are several passages in the Reading section under no circumstances should you let one passage eat up all the time. At this step you may use one of the time management techniques which is called “Divide and Conquer”. In the very beginning of the test divide the time and write down when you will start working on each passage. Strictly stick to this rule. Even if there are some unanswered questions, move on to the next passage. - This is another fear where practice is the only one solution, but in this case you need to read a lot of essays on different topics and to absorb other people’s ideas. The truth is that the examiners do not care about the source of the information; it is the way an essay is written that matters. - Do not be afraid to express an “inappropriate idea”, because there is no right or wrong idea. As long as the student is speaking on topic and expressing their thoughts in a logical way and coherent way, no idea can harm the score. - One the most common fears for almost every examinee is the interaction with the examiner. The Speaking section sometimes makes people feel uncomfortable because there is not enough time to think (just 1-2 minutes). First of all you need to practice at least a couple of weeks before the examination: make a list of topics and speak to yourself. Some students get nervous about being recorded. Surprisingly the reason for this procedure is to evaluate the examiner, not the examinee. There are cases when students are not happy with their score and demand re - assessment, which can only be done if there is a recording of the exam . As it was mentioned before there are 4 sections in the test: Writing, Speaking, Reading and Listening. Let us have a closer look at what and how you need to do in the Writing section. The academic writing section lasts for an hour, and there are two separate tasks. The first task is a summary of some visual information. There could be a chart or a graph or a diagram or a set of maps to compare. The task is to summarize the information. Part 1 requires at least 150 words and it should be spent only 20 minutes. The second task is a formal essay, and you have 40 minutes to spend on that and produce at least 250 words . There are four criteria for the Writing section. For the first writing task the task achievement criterion is the most important one, it means that there should be up to 150 words and fully answered task question. For the second writing task the task response is an essential criterion, i.e. the answer should cover all points in the question, well-balanced arguments, and strong support of ideas with evidence and examples are to be given. Of course, the answer should contain 250 words . For both tasks three next criteria are crucial: coherence and cohesion (essays should be easily understood, well organized and clearly linked), lexical resource (essays should consist of a wide range of accurate and effective vocabulary), grammatical range and accuracy (essays should consist of a wide range of accurate and effective grammatical structures). The writing task Iis worth more scores than the task 2. The examiner combines scores and calculates the final score. The Speaking section takes for 11 to 14 minutes and consists of an oral interview between the examiner and the examinee. As it was mention before, all answers in speaking sections are recorded. In the first part a candidate answers some general questions about homes, families, jobs, studies, interests, hobbies and a range of familiar topic areas. This part takes between four and five minutes. In the second part a candidate is given a verbal prompt on a card and is asked to talk on a particular topic for between one to two minutes. The examiner then may ask several rounding - off questions. In the third part the examiner and a candidate are engaged in a discussion of more abstract issues and concepts which are thematically linked to the topic prompt in the second part. The discussion lasts between four and five minutes . Such criteria as fluency and coherence (if the language is fluent, easy to understand and if the ideas are linked together clearly), lexical resource (accurate and effective use of a wide range of an ordinary and a high - level vocabulary), grammatical range and accuracy (accurate and effective use of a wide range of non - repeated and non-basic grammatical structures without mistakes), pronunciation (the spoken language is clear and easily understood, the stress and intonation is used to add extra meaning, in individual words the stress is used correctly) are assessed during the Speaking section. The Reading section takes 60 minutes, it consists of 40 questions based on 3 reading passages with 2,000 - 2,750 words. There is no extra time for transferring answers on an answer sheet. Texts are supposed to be for non - specialists and taken from journals, newspapers and magazines. There are various types of tasks in the Reading Section and some notes how to complete them: - Note completion, matching headings and identifying writer’s views/claims (yes/no/not given) are considered to be one of the easiest tasks; - Multiple choice tasks: - A four - option multiple - choice task in which you choose your answer from options A to D. You need to read the question and the options as well as the relevant part of the text carefully . - A multiple - choice task in which you choose more than one answer (either selecting two answers from five options or three answers from seven options). This task focuses on locating information in the text, so it is important to look quickly through the text to find the right part before deciding on your answers . - Identifying information task (true\false\not given). This task focuses on actual information, not identifying author's views or claims. To complete this task you need to quickly locate the relevant part of the text and then to read it carefully. - Matching tasks: - Matching information task. A text is divided into sections or paragraphs, for each question, you need to decide which section or paragraph a statement appears in. (The wording in the text won’t be the same as the statements in the task.) The focus of the task is reading through a text quickly to locate information . - Matching features task. The “feature” can vary. It may, for example, involve matching statements with a list of people or a list of dates . - Matching sentence endings task in which you have to match the first half of a sentence with a list of possible endings . - Completion tasks: - Sentence completion. You need to use words from the text to complete sentences, taking care to make sure that the complete sentence makes sense and is grammatically as well as factually correct . - Summary, note, table or flow - chart completion. You have already seen an example of a note - completion task. You can use the keywords provided in the summary, notes, table, or flow chart to help you find the part of the text that you need to read carefully. - Diagram label completion. You need to complete labels on a diagram using a description of something in the text. To complete this type of task, you first need to quickly find the part of the text that contains the description that relates to the diagram, read this description carefully. - Short answer questions. The questions will be in the same order as the information in the text. Although there is no table, diagram, flow chart, or notes to guide you, the best approach is still to read quickly to locate the information you need, and then to read the relevant part more carefully . The Listening section lasts about 30 minutes and has 40 questions with 4 sections. The audio record is played only once. Of course, examiners are given some time to read the questions, write answers and check them during the listening. After the listening, there are 10 minutes to transfer answers to the answering sheet. The first two parts of the Listening section are about social needs, it can be a conversation or a monologue. The final two parts are about education or training context. A conversation is usually between up to 4 people, a wide range of accents are used in the listening. Here are some other common kinds Oflistening tasks: - Labeling a plan or map. You listen to someone describing a plan of a building or a map of an area. You have the plan or map, and you have a list of things on it. You have to match the things in the list to the places the speaker describes. This task tests your ability to follow directions and understand descriptions of where things are located . - Labeling a diagram. You listen to two people talking about an object, such as a machine. You have a diagram (a picture) and a list of different parts of the thing in the picture. Again, you have to match the things in your list to different parts of the diagram. These questions test your understanding of descriptions of what things look like, such as their shape and position . - Completing a flow chart. You listen to the speaker (s) explaining a process, in other words a large task that has several shorter stages. You see a written summary of these stages. This is called a flow chart. Some information is missing, and you have a list of options (A, B, C, D). You choose the correct option to complete the missing information. This tests your ability to understand step - by - step instructions, and to listen for the main ideas or facts . To sum all pieces of advice and tips concerning different IELTS sections and tasks it is important to highlight the following: - For the Writing section - strictly stick to the task and criteria of assessment, have more practice on the writing itself, follow simple rules of writing general academic and official essays; - For the Speaking section - practice is the main key to success; - For Reading section - read the instructions carefully (they will tell you how many words / numbers you can use in your answers), mind spelling, look at the picture (if you have one in the test) and the title to give you a general idea of the topic, and then look at the questions, practice with different types of reading: - reading quickly to get the general idea of a text; - reading quickly to locate information, for instance to locate the relevant part of a text to complete a task; - reading relevant parts of the text more carefully. - For the Listening section - practice is of a great importance, try to single out (or underline) keywords in questions, try to answer all question even if you are not sure, mind spelling. - IELTS Official Web Page. - 2018 URL:https://www.ielts.org/about-the-test/two-types-of-ielts-test (дата обращения 17.02.2018). - Inside IELTS: Preparing for the Test with the Experts. - 2018 URL:https: // www.futureleam.corn/courses/cambridge-english-ielts/2 (дата обращения 17.02.2018). - Braverman S., The five things about IELTS that people are most afraid of - and how to overcome them // Exam English Ltd. - 2014. URL: https://www.examenglish.com/IELTS/ielts_fears.php (дата обращения 17.02.2018). - Tehran Advanced Communication CentreZZtac - c.ir. - 2016 URL:http://tac-c.ir/ielts/about- ielts/speaking/ (дата обращения 17.02.2018). - More on reading tasks types. - 2018 URL:https://www.futureleam.com/courses/cambridge-english- ielts/2/steps/133200 (дата обращения 18.02.2018). - More on listening tasks types. - 2018 URL:https://www.futureleam.com/courses/cambridge-english- ielts/2/steps/133215 (дата обращения 18.02.2018). - IELTS Tips. - 2017 URL:https://leamenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/iells-tips/ielts-study-tips-and- skills (дата обращения 18.02.2018). - Frequently asked questions about IELTS. - 2018 URL:http://www.qposter.com/2016/10/frequently- asked-questions-about-ielts.html (дата обращения 18.02.2018).
The ethnological research centre (“ethnopôle”) “Pays de Courbet, Pays d’artiste” is an ethnological research centre. Awarded by the Ministry of Culture in 2010, the “Ethnopôle” label allows the Departmental Council to develop a national ethnological research and resources centre alongside its cultural initiatives. There are only ten in France, in 2018. Three themes have been defined for the Courbet Country centre: the relationship between artistic activities, population and territory; the arrangements for representing a territory and, finally, the arrangements for organising artistic and cultural initiatives. Promoting Courbet and the Loue Valley When the Doubs Departmental Council decided in 2003 to convert and develop the Courbet museum, it chose, from 2004, to associate it with three other sites that the artist travelled through and painted: the Courbet family farm in Flagey, the Source of the Loue site and the painter’s studio in Ornans. The aim was to support the cultural, social and economic development of the region by promoting sites situated within the Ornans-Salins-Pontarlier triangle. In 2010, the Franche-Comté Regional Department of Cultural Affairs (DRAC) awarded the project the “Ethnopôle” label, thereby unveiling the aim of the project: to become a centre of excellence built on the relationship between art and territory in order to promote the work of Courbet and the Loue Valley. Art and territory Exploring the link between Courbet and the Ornans region leads into a more global research involving Anthropology and the History of Art. The region is a central aspect of Courbet’s painting. Between a map, a poem, a hydrographic survey and a painting by the artist, what is said about the Loue? Can Courbet’s art contribute towards the advancement of certain scientific theories? Such thoughts echo the research being carried out in other regions celebrated by famous artists: Monet in Giverny, Gauguin in Pont-Aven, Cézanne in Aix-en-Provence, etc. Art and the local population Gustave Courbet belonged to the network of artists and intellectuals who, in the 19th Century, put forward a new vision of art by choosing to portray the local population as subjects, and on large canvases, of which he was one of the pioneers. To achieve this, he invited the inhabitants of Ornans to his studio to act as models for some of his works. In this sense, the painter may be seen, in his own way, as a 19th Century ethnologist. An ethnological research centre covers a wide range of activities: exhibitions, study days, publications, building up documentation, etc.
Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) With resonating effect across America, President George H. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law on July 26, 1990, by affirming: “I now lift my pen to sign the Americans with Disabilities Act and say: Let the shameful walls of exclusion finally come tumbling down (1990).” The purpose of the ADA (1990) was to prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities based on their disability. Specifically, the ADA (1990) primarily focuses on prohibiting discrimination in employment, public housing, and transportation issues. Relevantly, Mitchell L. Yell, David Rogers, and Elisabeth Lodge Rogers (1998), education authors, cite that Congress reported that by 1990, 43 million Americans were identified with physical or mental disabilities. With all the great advances, exclusionary and discriminatory treatment still blocked children and adults with disabilities from fully integrating themselves into society; Yell, Rogers, and Rogers (1998) explain: “Congressional findings also indicated that individuals with disabilities who had experienced discrimination based on disability had little or no recourse to redress such discrimination.” Given all the documented exclusionary and discriminatory treatment, America was ready for an all-purpose, all-inclusive ADA (1990) to unite and legally embed the special education/disabilities movement into ‘America’s consciousness’ for all-time. Yell, Rogers, and Rogers (1998) expound on the significance of ADA (1990) in modern-day America: “The primary goal of the law, therefore, is that persons with disabilities will enjoy equal opportunity to fully participate in the life of the community and have an equal opportunity to live independently.” Many legal experts see the ADA (1990) as an extension of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973). The ADA (1990) was wider in scope than Section 504 (1973) and more broadly inclusive in design and intent. Section 504 (1973) specifically prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in governmental/educational agencies receiving federal funds; inclusively, the ADA (1990) builds off Section 504 (1973) by connecting and extending these services against discrimination in the private sector as well. The ADA (1990) had broad applicability and is the final linchpin in the anti-discrimination of persons with disabilities campaign in America. The mavericks that kept exclusionary and discriminatory practices alive for years were hopefully silenced forever. As inclusive as its idealistic design, the ADA (1990), however, provided little more than did Section 504 (1973) for the education of children with disabilities. The ADA (1990) has confounded educators still about how to correctly apply and impart it in staff training sessions. Yell, Rogers, and Rogers (1998) explain the effect of ADA (1990) on educating children with disabilities: “When students leave school and enter the workforce, they will need to engage in self-advocacy. A duty of educators is the responsibility to inform students with disabilities (and their parents) of their rights contained in the ADA.” ADA (1990) basically reauthorized Section 504 (1973) and added employment protection in education; however, improved curricular programming for children with disabilities was not addressed. ADA (1990) impact was felt and realized on grand scale by America’s moral commitment to finally engrave a namesake law for all persons with disabilities, impacting and changing the face of America. The ADA (1990) represents the top tier of the anti-discrimination movement. In and of itself, the ADA (1990) has done nothing monumental in education, unlike its legal precedents that have significantly advanced the special education movement: What the ADA (1990) has done in American society is reaffirm the important protections of the Section 504 (1973) and the CR Act (1964), making all the education laws for children with disabilities ironclad in strength. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1990) The amendments to the EHA (1975) in 1990 were renamed and reauthorized as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 1990). The EHA (1975), known as Public Law 94-142, remains the landmark law for education of children with disabilities, but by 1990, changes in the law were imminent, and the IDEA (1990) was signed into law by President George H. Bush on October 30, 1990. There were three, major changes included in IDEA (1990): The first change, that is the changing of the term, handicapped student to child/student with disabilities, was merely a change in language; it was a legal attempt to achieve political correctness for the betterment of children with disabilities by focusing on the child/student first before disability. The second change, addressing students with autism and traumatic brain injury, were identified as a distinct class entitled to the law’s benefits, responding to the increasing number of these students. The adoption of IDEA (1990) now programmatically served students with autism and brain injury. This was a sharp break with the past when these students were excluded from participation: Addressing the much-needed gap in services was recognized and applauded in the service communities. The third change, that is a transitional plan, was required to specifically outline postsecondary outcomes in every student’s IEP age 16 or older; it was a tremendous victory for an ever-increasing number of aging-out students with disabilities that were graduating and exiting public school programs. Alarmingly, students with disabilities were often left with no educational and vocational choices after high school: This meant that students with disabilities remained isolated, creating family strife about the dismal uncertainties presented to them. Contact this dissertation formatting service to get help with writing. Nothing should stop you from getting your degree. It was neglectful and hurtful to transitioning students with disabilities. Their plight was saved with IDEA (1990), and the problem of transitional planning was remedied. The need for transitional planning established a growing number of successful vocational programs for students with disabilities. Vocational training for students with disabilities works well because students are trained in schools and then placed in community work settings, often with the assistance of job coaches, job developers, and teachers. Vocational educational and transitional services for students with disabilities are provided for in the individual education plan (IEP), outlining goals and objectives for successful transitioning to postsecondary environments in work, school, or training. In NYS, students are often referred to the state office of vocational educational services for individuals with disabilities for services as well as community agencies and providers. IDEA (1990) ensured by law that students must have an individual transition plan (ITP) to accompany the IEP. The implementation of functional and vocational assessments should be made a staple in transitional planning for students with disabilities and research findings support the effectiveness of these assessments. Students with disabilities meet success in vocational placements in trades like mechanical repair, building trades, culinary arts, and plumbing. In order to maximize success in vocational programs, students are now placed in a variety of training placements, providing hands-on experiences at different jobs. Support from teacher personnel is critical to success, identifying job skills and creating relevant, task analyses. IDEA (1990), by its design, answered the parental concerns for vocational and postsecondary training for students with disabilities that are transitioning and/or graduating from high school programs. IDEA (1990) accommodated parents in novel ways. Relevantly, Edward W. Martin, Reed Martin, and Donna L. Terman (1996), education authors, explain: “The IDEA provides many procedural protections for the parents of children with disabilities…Congress reasoned, after hearing testimony, that parents could not afford in many instances to challenge the school systems’ greater resources and so provided the legal fee remedied.” Most of the parental concerns focused on the placement of a child with disabilities. Conflicts arose concerning whether the child should remain in a regular education classroom or not. Martin, Martin, and Reed (1996) explain the modification of the regular education classroom: “The IDEA requires the school to consider modifications in the regular classroom before moving the child to a more restrictive placement…The IDEA requires state educational agencies to develop plans for such training, and does not allow the district to plead lack of qualified staff as a justification for removing a child from the regular classroom.” In response, most school districts took a proactive approach by training and sensitizing regular education personnel to the specific, educational needs of students with disabilities. These training or staff development sessions were collaborative efforts with special education staff to create a bonding, team effort between the regular and special education departments. IDEA (1990) was more than a reauthorization of the EHA (1975) as some believed at the time of its adoption. Rather, IDEA (1990) modernized the EHA (1975) into a more responsive and more accessible process for parents of children with disabilities. As time moved ahead in the 1990s, parents and advocacy groups still clamored for more opportunities to be heard to redress their concerns. Their concerns would be heard by more explicit means with the enactment of the IDEA Amendments (1997). American Disabilities Act, Congressional Record (1990). George H. Bush Presidential Documents (1990). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Congressional Record (1990). Martin, Edward W., Martin, Reed, and Terman, Donna L. (1996). The legislative and litigation history of special education. The Future of Children: Special Education for Student with Disabilities, v6, n1. Mitchel L Yell, Mitchell L., David Rodgers, Elisabeth Lodge Rogers (1998). “The Legal History of Special Education: What a Long and Strange Trip It’s Been, Remedial and Special Education”, v19, n4.
- Prison Planet.com - http://www.prisonplanet.com - Compact Fluorescent Lights Dumping Mercury Directly into Landfills Posted By admin On January 27, 2010 @ 5:37 am In Sci Tech \| Comments Disabled Natural News Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs have become all the rage over the past several years, touted by many as the preferable “green” way to light a home, save energy, and promote environmental responsibility. While they may use less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs, CFL bulbs are filled with toxic mercury that, when disposed of, contaminates landfills and the environment. A report released in 2008 from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection revealed that when a CFL bulb is broken, it can release dangerously high levels of mercury into the air. Mercury-vapor standards generally allow for 300 nanograms of mercury per cubic meter of air, however a broken CFL bulb can emit upwards of 50,000 nanograms per cubic meter, or more than 166 times the safe upper threshold. In Toronto, city officials require people to dispose of CFL bulbs at special hazardous waste facilities because they don’t want the city’s landfills to become contaminated with mercury. While used CFL bulbs are not legally recognized as hazardous waste, they are treated as such because they pose serious environmental threats when broken and released into the environment. Waste runoff and ground seepage from landfills can contaminate rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs, and underground water tables. Even though landfills are generally designed to minimize this kind of contamination, the rapidly growing usage of CFL bulbs could have disastrous environmental consequences if they are not disposed of properly. CFL bulbs also emit high levels of radiation, causing migraine headaches, sleep abnormalities, fatigue, and other health problems. Unlike traditional incandescent bulbs, CFL bulbs emit excessive “dirty energy,” or electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs), a fact that has received little attention from those on the mainstream “green” bandwagon who continue to endorse CFLs as the solution to the alleged climate change crisis. The voltage reduction technology in CFL bulbs causes high amounts of EMF pollution to be emitted. Similar to the kind released from mobile phone antennas and food irradiation machinery, EMF radiation poses serious health threats to humans who are exposed to excessive amounts of it. CFL bulbs have been found to greatly increase EMF exposure as they are often the most significant EMF polluters in homes that use them. Light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs, on the other hand, are a much safer alternative to CFL bulbs. Those who wish to transition from traditional incandescent bulbs to something that uses less energy would do well to investigate LED alternatives. Although they are typically more expensive than the other technologies due to limited acceptance in the mainstream, they are better for the environment than CFLs and emit far less EMF pollution. “When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” – Fall Of The Republic – Buy the DVD here Article printed from Prison Planet.com: http://www.prisonplanet.com URL to article: http://www.prisonplanet.com/compact-fluorescent-lights-dumping-mercury-directly-into-landfills.html URLs in this post: Natural News : http://www.naturalnews.com/028034_mercury_compact_fluorescent_lights.html Image: http://www.prisonplanet.tv http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/fix… : http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/fixer/article/739377--in-the-dark-about-throwing-away-fluorescent-lights, http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/s…: http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=171944&ac=PHnws, http://cflsafety.blogspot.com/: http://cflsafety.blogspot.com/ Buy the DVD here: http://infowars-shop.stores.yahoo.net/faofreprofba.html Compact Fluorescent Bulbs are Making People Sick: http://www.prisonplanet.com/compact-fluorescent-bulbs-are-making-people-sick.html CF light bulbs a serious healand th hazard to women children due to mercury content: http://www.prisonplanet.com/cf-light-bulbs-a-serious-healand-th-hazard-to-women-children-due-to-mercury-content.html Mercury in Fluorescent Light Bulbs Poisons Factory Workers: http://www.prisonplanet.com/mercury-in-fluorescent-light-bulbs-poisons-factory-workers.html Govt Bans 75-Watt Bulbs, Replaces with Mercury-Leaking ‘Efficient’ Bulbs: http://www.prisonplanet.com/govt-bans-75-watt-bulbs-replaces-with-mercury-leaking-%e2%80%98efficient%e2%80%99-bulbs.html Mercury-Packed CFL Bulbs Now Found to Fry Your Skin: http://www.prisonplanet.com/mercury-packed-cfl-bulbs-now-found-to-fry-your-skin.html Copyright © 2013 PrisonPlanet.com. All rights reserved.
Jerome Siegel, Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry at UCLA, notes that REM—while important—is just one component of the larger sleep picture. “I don’t think you can separate REM sleep and sleep in general,” he tells mindbodygreen. This means that it’s important to make sure you’re getting enough total sleep each night before you worry too much about time spent in REM vs. non-REM. With this in mind, researchers have found that the first stage of REM sleep typically starts about 60 to 90 minutes after we fall asleep, and it lasts around 10 minutes. As the night goes on, we phase in and out of REM cycles, and the time spent in each gets longer and longer. The last stage of REM can get up to an hour in length, so most of our REM time happens during the back half of our sleep. The amount of time we spend in REM will vary depending on our age, with babies typically spending more time in this sleep stage than older adults. But generally, Girardin Jean-Louis, Ph.D., professor of population health and psychiatry at New York University previously told mbg, “Healthy sleepers might spend approximately 20% of their sleep time in the REM sleep stage.” Given that most people need between 7-8 hours of sleep a night, that means around 90 minutes of REM sleep a night will be a sweet spot. But again, it depends on the person and their unique sleep needs. Signs that you’re not sleeping enough—and therefore, probably not spending enough time in REM—include problems concentrating and remembering, poor mood, low sex drive, lack of energy, food cravings, weakened immune function, trouble losing weight, and balance issues.
Budget 2019 India: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech did not evaluate the extant overall macroeconomic environment, but the Budget numbers only confirm data from other sources that economic growth has slowed down Union Budget 2019: The Union Budget is the annual financial statement of receipts and expenditure of the central government. The numbers for the year gone by are for the information of parliament. Estimates made for the year ahead are for its approval. This should ordinarily be a boring exercise, of little interest to anybody besides subject experts and economists, and market participants looking to the deficits numbers that can move financial markets. The Indian budget has however attracted wider interest on account of the outsized public sector, wide fluctuations in tax rates from year to year that affect both the middle-class and corporates, and the practice of announcing policy intent which strictly speaking is not part of the budgeting exercise. The budget numbers nevertheless throw light on the priorities of the government, and also on the state of the wider macroeconomy, since the fiscal policy is one of the two well established policy tools for stabilising the economy. Growth below trend tends to worsen the fiscal deficit on account of first revenue compression arising out of lower growth, and second, expenditure growth arising from the need to stimulate the economy by substituting for the decline in private demand and crowding in private investment. Governments also tend to window dress the numbers, leaving it to subject experts to go beyond the colorful window display to the shelves inside. What do the numbers over the two-year period between FY18 (actual) and the forward looking budget proposals for FY20 reveal? To begin with, corrections in two critical macro-aggregates contained in the Budget document are warranted. First, while the government’s Economy Survey of 2018-19 has taken the GDP estimates from the CSO’s Press Note of 31.5.2019. The budget document has however worked with an earlier estimate of GDP at current prices for FY19 (Rs 18,840,731 crore), instead of the CSO’s latest Provisional Estimate of Rs 19,010,164 crore. Second, the Budget has worked with the higher revised revenue estimates for FY19 contained in the Interim Budget for FY20 presented in Parliament prior to the elections, and not the latest and more accurate, but lower, Provisional Actuals of the Controller General of Accounts, contained in the Economic Survey. Although past practice has been to use the interim budget figures, since the CGA’s figures were available they could have been used. The difference is non-trivial, as the budget figure has overestimated revenues by Rs 1,66,512 crore. Such a shortfall in revenue collection is indicative of a weakening economy. Consequently, the revenue projected for FY20 is taken at Rs 17,73,811 crore, in lieu of the budget figure of Rs 19,62,761 crore. The calculations in the accompanying graphic use the CSO’s Press Note of May 31 for the GDP numbers, and the CGA’s revenue estimates for FY19 contained in the Economic Survey FY19, as the base for the calculations, as these approximate closest to reality. The revenue projection for FY20 assumes a growth rate of 13.48% over FY19, the same rate as projected in the budget. The forward-looking GDP estimate used for FY20 is what is used in the budget document. Ten features stand out from the Budget document: One, there is a continuing decline in the outlays on health and education (soft infrastructure), both in relation to overall expenditure (from 6.2% to 5.7%), as well as in proportion to the national income (from 0.8% to 0.7%). Two, the outlays on the hard infrastructure comprising IT, telecom, transport and urban development, have increased marginally from 0.9% of GDP and 7.9% of total expenditure, to 1% and 8.2%, respectively. Three, the outlay on agriculture has more than doubled from 0.3% of GDP, and 2.5% of total expenditure, to 0.7% and 5.4%, respectively, mostly for the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana. During this period, the outlay on rural development, however, declined from 0.8% of GDP and 6.3% of total expenditure to 0.7% and 5.1%, respectively. Four, the transfer of funds to the states for centrally-sponsored schemes has declined from 13.3% of the Centre’s budgetary expenditure to 11.9%. On the other hand, the Centre’s own outlay under central sector schemes has risen from 27.4% to 31.3%. Five, the outlay on major subsidies comprising food, fertilizers and petroleum has increased from 1.1% of GDP to 1.5%, and from 8.9% of total expenditure to 10.8%. The increase is mostly on account of food subsidy. Six, capital expenditure, including grants-in-aid by the Union Government for creation of capital assets, has remained constant at 2.6% of GDP. It, however, declined from 21.2% of total expenditure to 19.6%. Seven, the decline in the outlay on defence is both palpable and surprising. This has declined from 1.6% of GDP to 1.4%, and from 12.9% of total expenditure to 11%. The outlays on armament acquisitions for the three services have also not kept pace with GDP growth. Eight, total central government expenditure as a percentage of GDP has climbed from 12.5% to 13.2%. Read with seven above, it can be deduced that the entire increase is on the revenue rather than capital side. Nine, the fiscal deficit for FY19 works out to 3.3% of GDP, as against 3.4% in the Budget document, on account of the lower GDP base in the budget document. However, the fiscal deficit for FY20 works out to 4.3%, since the revenue estimates have been revised downward, as indicated above, while the expenditure estimates remain unchanged. Ten, while central government expenditure grew at 14.7% in FY19, it is projected to grow at a lower rate of 13.4% in FY20. If the economy is indeed in retreat, this is indicative of a cyclical, rather than counter-cyclical fiscal policy. The sharp increase in the fiscal deficit projected, despite the lower expenditure growth rate, is on account of the revenue compression arising out of lower growth. The finance minister’s budget speech did not evaluate the existing overall macroeconomic environment, but the budget numbers only confirm data from other sources that economic growth has slowed down. It would appear that the government expects monetary policy to do all the heavy pushing to get the economy back on track. The author is RBI Chair Professor, ICRIER. Views are personal.
Intervention will vary from state to state and there will have to be sufficient flexibility in central schemes to accommodate differences amongst states The first education policy was formulated in 1968. Thereafter, it was followed by the second one in 1986. Now, a committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of K Kasturirangan to formulate a new education policy. However, the key question is whether there is a need for a new education policy. It is undoubtedly true that what has so far happened in the education sector leaves a lot to be desired. However, whether the dismal performance is on account of a policy gap or there are other factors that are responsible for the current state of affairs remains to be seen. This piece looks at the rationale for a new policy in the school education sector. Let us first understand what has not happened in the education sector. Why has it not happened? How can it happen (whether through policy intervention or otherwise)? Two things have certainly happened during the current millennium. The infrastructure (school buildings) has certainly shown remarkable improvement though there is still a long way to go. And, thanks to the mid-day-meal, we have managed to get the child to the school. However, what is appalling is the poor quality of education that is imparted in most of the government schools. This is evidenced by the fact that the learning outcomes have actually come down during the past decade despite enormous amount of investments. The number of teachers has gone up substantially and the average pupil-teacher ratio comes close to the required levels. However, this does not solve the problem of quality. To begin with, a large number of teachers are not qualified to teach, yet they are teaching. According to a rough estimate, out of 8 million teachers, around 1.4 million fall in this category. Politics has seeped into this cadre in the most insidious manner resulting in a skewed distribution of teachers in most of the states as the tendency is to hang in and around urban areas. The Right to Education Act did precious little to salvage this. In fact, in some cases, like the no-detention policy and the mandatory provision relating to qualification and number of teachers, it created more problems than it solved. A tedious process of amendment had to be resorted to to correct some of the wrongs. Most of the action relating to education lies with the states. In any case, the country is too diverse to consider a single mandate by way of policy for the entire country. If a teacher does not go to a school in Kerala, he could well be “lynched”, but in some of the states of northern India, they consider it their right not to go to the School. There are instances of these regular teachers employing a “substitute” to represent them and even teach on their behalf. Can a policy solve the problems that beset this sector? In fact, as mentioned above, problems vary from region to region. In any case, if policies were to solve the problems of the country, they would have been solved long ago. There should be just a short policy statement outlining the objectives: Providing quality education to every child in the country. What is actually required is an action plan clearly outlining: What needs to be done? How it will be done? Who will do it? And, by when it will be done? The roles of respective entities should be clearly defined so that performance can be assessed. One has often wondered why should only the Central government assess the performance of states? Why can’t it be the other way round? The action plan needs to focus on the teacher who plays a pivotal role in imparting education. The entire value chain needs to be looked at, understood, and its interventions clearly outlined. Everything from pre-service training to the selection process, to in-service training, to transfer and posting, to engagement of teachers in non-educational activities, to their promotional avenues and morale will need to be looked at. An action plan for each state will have to be worked out in detail, clearly outlining the roles of the Central government and the respective state government. Intervention for each state will vary from state to state. Unlike the present dispensation, there will have to be sufficient flexibility in the central schemes to accommodate differences amongst states. The whole approach has to be outcome-based rather than input-based as has been the case so far. Our country has been obsessed with the western world. We had looked at Finland, England, Scotland, Holland and all the lands of the world but not at motherland. A lot of wonderful work is being done within the country but has so far gone unnoticed. “Policy” can not help in this regard. What needs to be done is to facilitate the identification, understanding and scaling of successful practices. If these homegrown practices have succeeded in the prevalent objective conditions, the chances of their replication and scaling are pretty high as compared to an ‘imported’ idea or practice. What is also required is imparting of learnings from states, like Rajasthan, that have turned it around through some remarkable state level interventions, both administrative and financial. Policy debates provide food for intellectual stimulation but what matters is what is done on the ground. Hence the dire need for an action plan. The author is Former secretary of the government of India
Protecting the head is something that many people do automatically. Football players and motorcyclists wear helmets. Construction workers wear hardhats. It is easy to understand why this is when you think about the scope of life impacts that can occur when a person has a brain injury. Some brain injuries are classified as traumatic. Even some injuries that might seem minor, such as concussions, fall into this category. If you have suffered a hit to the head or a violent shaking of your head, you should make sure that you familiarize yourself with some basic information about traumatic brain injuries. How significant of an issue is a traumatic brain injury? Approximately 2.5 million visits to the emergency room are made each year due to a traumatic brain injury. More than 282,000 people are hospitalized for these injuries each year. While TBIs don't discriminate based on any factors, they are more common in men than women. If you look at them by age, the elderly are the age group most likely to suffer from a traumatic brain injury. Children are also at an increased risk of TBI. How can these injuries happen? These brain injuries happen for a variety of reasons. Falls are the most common, but they can happen because of motor vehicle accidents, assaults and other events. When it comes to almost every age group, falls are the most common cause of TBIs that require hospitalization. The exception to this is people 15 to 44, who are more likely to be hospitalized for a TBI from a motor vehicle accident than any other cause. What can victims of these injuries do? If you think that you might have suffered from a TBI, you need to get medical care. There is a chance that the signs of a brain injury won't show up at the time of the accident. This makes them fairly dangerous since you might not realize the severity of the situation. Once you do get medical care and have that part of the injury handled, you might decide that you are going to seek compensation for the injury. This consideration is possible if the cause of the accident was someone else's fault. It might help to cover your medical expenses and other costs related to the accident.
The first image traditionally used in film adaptations of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is that of the three witches in the opening scene of the play. They lend a sense of foreboding to the story and are used to frame the unfolding story in terms of otherworldly influences changing the fates of those involved. However, the 2015 film adaptation opens in a different and more nuanced way that provides a subtle lens as to how society frames membership value from start to finish. This adaptation opens in a stark and foreboding highland scene of grief. A community is gathered around Macbeth and his wife as they mark the passing of their young son during funeral rites. The couple’s loss is palpable and there is an overwhelming aura of hopelessness and futility. The couple is surrounded by a community that seems to lend support. At the same time, the couple stands apart from the community and looks to each other for intimate support. This might not seem remarkable, and indeed might seem logical, however there is a sense of tension in the shadows and space between the community and the Macbeths. It is only after the funeral that the witches make their obligatory appearance. After this, the story unfolds along the well-known lines written by Shakespeare. Macbeth is victorious in battle and, as predicted, is elevated to the Thane of Cawdor. The elevation is recognized throughout Macbeth’s community in a stunning series of celebrations with the King of Scotland, in which the community and the Scottish hierarchy embraces Macbeth for his valor in battle. The plan to kill the King of Scotland was already conceived, however Macbeth’s decision to do so appears cemented by the King’s announcement of his son Malcolm as the Prince and presumptive heir. After the celebrations, the plan to kill the King of Scotland is executed by Macbeth and his wife. Malcolm, the erstwhile heir, subsequently encounters Macbeth, who challenges him to take up his father’s mantle. Malcolm rides off in the night to England, unable to assume this responsibility. With the heir apparent fled, the Scottish nobility selects Macbeth as the new King of Scotland as foreseen by the witches. What should have been a moment of triumph for him is tempered by guilt from the King’s murder and questioning of whether it was worth it. There are of course many moral tensions in these musings, however underlying this is the realization that the achievement was limited because the Macbeths have no children and no line to establish as future kings. Instead, he is installed as a placeholder – someone trusted by society at the moment but in the long run unable to solidify his power because society has defined the ultimate value of a leader as establishing a familial line – and thus establishing a predictable future. Shortly afterward, out of paranoia caused by the witches, Macbeth orders the deaths of his cousin, Banquo, and Banquo’s young son, Fleance. It was predicted that Banquo’s family would create the line that would rule Scotland and thus they are both perceived as a threat to the identity of Macbeth as a leader and to his ability to exercise the power he killed for. Banquo is subsequently killed, however Fleance is able to escape his would-be assassins. When Macbeth further becomes afraid of the power exerted by Macduff, a nobleman who had been a close friend, and Macduff flees. Macbeth is convinced that all threats from the Macduff line must be erased and orders the murder of Macduff’s wife and children. The rest of the Scottish court acquiesces to the public murders although there is an unsaid sense that this is the tipping point is respect for and loyalty to Macbeth. Even the power-seeking Lady Macbeth is shaken rigid by these murders and is seen talking to the ghost of her deceased son prior to her own death soon afterward. In these conversations, she laments the ways in which the events since his death unfolded and it seems she seeks to make peace with her son in order to make herself understandable to the aspect of her life that was most valuable. Finally, there is a battle between Macbeth and Macduff in which Macduff prevails and Macbeth dies at his hand. As the audience is left with the image of Macbeth’s body on a deserted plain, abandoned by the society over which he had once exercised supreme power, it then sees an image of Fleance walking across the plain, off to seek the future that Macbeth sought to deny him through assassination. The 2015 adaptation thus closes as it opens, with a single child who had been part of a community and had been used to define his parents’ place within that community. There are many areas of pluralism in Macbeth. However, the one that is perhaps least discussed but most decisive in the 2015 adaptation is the way in which society frames identity and inclusion. From beginning to end, there is a consistent thread of identity being confirmed through the establishment of a family in which to function. At the beginning of the film, the Macbeths are seen as supported by the community but also apart from larger society and left to rely on themselves, presumably because this is all that is left for them in the future. This is the case even though Macbeth is a revered warrior and his wife holds a high place in society. When Malcolm runs away from his inheritance, society is left without a leader and it turns to Macbeth as a protector but limits his abilities and powers by ensuring that Banquo’s line will continue on after Macbeth. Certainly, in Macbeth’s eyes, this weakens him and makes him less a part of society – instead, he is essentially a place keeper who has won his place due to acts done to protect society. This sense of not belonging is palpable throughout the rest of the film and drives Macbeth to do the unthinkable and murder an innocent family in a quest to solidify his control on an increasingly disillusioned society. Ultimately, this sense of not fully belonging because he will be unable to contribute to societal stability in the long term is the undoing of Macbeth, while the death of their child and their inability to serve as a family overwhelms his wife. Tellingly, this adaptation of the film ends with the image of a child walking off across the plain, offering the chance that he will return to claim the place that was guaranteed for him by society in the future. The 2015 adaptation of Macbeth places particular emphasis on the ways in which societal values frame those who are members of it and define who might operate on the margins in terms of value even when they seem to operate at the center in terms of prestige.
Every person is uniquely responsive to music despite illness, impairment or disability. Music Therapy is a health profession that develops this response. It engages people in a variety of musical experiences in order to restore, maintain or improve health. Music Therapy can focus on cognitive, physical, psychological, emotional and social needs. It focuses on meeting non-musical goals through clinical and evidence based music interventions. Through the development of a therapeutic relationship a person’s creative potential is fostered encouraging self-expression,autonomy and self-esteem.
Floral evolution is primarily driven by pollinators (Bradshaw & Schemske, 2003; Whittall & Hodges, 2007). The diversity in floral traits found in angiosperms, such as flower color, could be related with transitions in these traits (Rausher, 2008), as a result of different selective pressures exerted by pollinators with strong preferences for certain characteristics (Schemske & Bradshaw, 1999; Streisfeld & Kohn, 2007) or by changes in pollinator community composition (Ellis & Johnson, 2009). Thus, floral diversification and speciation among closely related plant populations may result from the isolation and/or local adaptation to the most efficient pollinators, which increase the number of visits per plant depending on their flower preferences (Harder & Johnson, 2009; and references therein). The adaptive maintenance of flower color variation is frequently attributed to pollinators, in part because they tend to promote assortative mating, i.e., preferentially visiting certain phenotypes (Waser & Price, 1981; Stanton, 1987; Jones & Reithel, 2001). However, many other reasons could explain the evolution of floral diversification, such as the potential uncoupling of the evolution of floral traits from pollinator-mediated selection (Strauss & Whittall, 2006). For example, pleiotropic effects on the biosynthetic pathways of floral pigmentation may drive the evolution to alternative flower colors (Armbruster, 1993; Schemske & Bierzychudek, 2007; Cooley, Carvallo & Willis, 2008). Many studies support that animal pollinator preferences may cause selective pressures on flower color, which may fluctuate depending on the structure and/or composition of the pollinator community (Melendez-Ackerman & Campbell, 1998; Gómez & Zamora, 2000). In this context, reciprocal transplant experiments between populations can be a powerful tool to assess how changes in flower color preferences of the pollinator assemblage contribute to an adaptive advantage of the local morph over the foreign morphs (Streisfeld & Kohn, 2007). Gentiana lutea L. shows flower color variation along the Cantabrian Mountains (Northern Spain). Gentiana lutea flowers are typically yellow (G. lutea var. lutea), though northwest Iberian populations have orange-flowering individuals, which constitutes a different variety of the species (G. lutea var. aurantiaca; Renobales, 2012). The pollinator assemblages are made up mostly of bumblebee species (Veiga et al., 2015; Sobral et al., 2015). Previous studies conclude that: (i) Gentiana lutea flower color variation does not result from adaptation to environmental factors, such as elevation, temperature, radiation, and precipitation (Veiga et al., 2016); (ii) Gentiana lutea is strongly dependent on pollinators for reproduction, and the plant has a positive relationship between the number of pollinator visits and the number of seeds it produces (Losada et al., 2015); (iii) there is a partial hybridization barrier among G. lutea color morphs (Losada et al., 2015); (iv) Gentiana lutea flower color influences pollinator visits and its variation is related to changes in pollinator community composition across populations, since part of this variation is explained by different pollinator selective pressures exerted on flower color among G. lutea populations (Sobral et al., 2015); and (v) the most abundant pollinators of our study species, Bombus terrestris and B. pratorum (Veiga et al., 2015), possess photoreceptors with low sensitivity to red colors; but other pollinators interacting with G. lutea plants, such as Bombus lapidarius, has high sensitivity to red colors despite the lack of photoreceptors required (Peitsch et al., 1992). In order to determine whether G. lutea populations are locally adapted to the pollinator community, we evaluated the effect of local and foreign flower color morphs on pollinator visitation rate by means of reciprocal transplants in two Gentiana populations. More specifically, we tested whether there is an adaptive advantage in the local flower color morph relative to the foreign morph in pollinator visits by comparing the (i) overall pollinator assemblage, and (ii) different visitor groups separately. We predicted that the local flower color morph would receive more pollinator visits than the foreign morph, and that the two different color morphs would receive visits by different pollinator groups in their local populations. Material and Methods Gentiana lutea L. is an herbaceous perennial geophyte (Fig. 1). During summer, the rhizome develops a flowering stalk of ca. 80 cm high, with a basal rosette formed by 4–8 oblong leaves. Flowers grow in two opposed cymose groups (each one with 15 flowers) at different stalk levels, above two elliptic leaves; and one flower crowns the top of the stalk. Flowers feature a rotate corolla with 5–7 lobules, 5–7 free stamens, and a fixed ovary with two nectaries on the base. The fruit is an ovoid capsule, holding elliptic and winged seeds of 3–4 mm (Renobales, 2012). This species needs pollinators—mainly bumblebees—to produce seed (see Veiga et al., 2015; Sobral et al., 2015). Gentiana lutea flower color varies between orange and yellow (see Fig. 1) along the Cantabrian Mountains (Northern Spain; Fig. 2). The western populations (west of Somiedo Natural Park) have orange-flowering individuals, whereas the eastern populations (east of Puerto de Ventana) have yellow-flowering individuals; and the intermediate populations show individuals with flowers of a gradation between these two color morphs. The study was conducted in July 2012 at the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula in two populations, one located in Sierra de Ancares (orange-flowered population) and other in Puerto del Pontón (yellow-flowered population), separated by approximately 160 km (Fig. 2). Population size was estimated by the total number of G. lutea individuals (>3,000 in both populations). Flower color of 75 haphazardly selected flowers (three flowers per plant, 25 plants) was measured the previous year in both populations by means of a spectrometer (USB2000+; Ocean Optics, Inc., Dunedin, FL, USA) and petal color spectra were processed using the SpectraSuite® software (Ocean Optics, Inc., Dunedin, FL, USA). The CIELab Colorimetric System (CIE P., 2004) was chosen to describe flower color variation in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum, through three variables reduced by principal component analysis (for additional details, see Veiga et al., 2015): L (brightness of color, from black to white), a (red color variation, from green to red) and b (yellow color variation, from blue to yellow). Individuals from the Sierra de Ancares population showed orange-colored flowers (L = 16.42; a = 11.77; b = 23.61), and from the Pontón population, yellow ones (L = 19.64; a = 3.84; b = 27.84). Although certain pollinator species may detect UV light, a previous study found no differences among G. lutea populations and between individuals with different color morphs (orange or yellow, discernible by human eye) in the UV light range (Veiga et al., 2015). Thus, we presume that UV light does not drive local adaptation among populations, and consider flower color in both, the UV and visible light ranges in this study. In July 2012, a reciprocal transplant experiment was conducted to analyze local adaptation of color morphs to pollinator assemblage of both populations (thanks to the field permission issued by the Environmental Territorial Service institution from León, Regional Government of Castilla and León, Territorial Delegation of Government of Spain—Identifier: 12_LE_325_RNA_PuebladeLilio_INV—Reference: 06.01.013.016/ROT/abp—File number: AEN/LE/103/12). Given the difficulty of transplanting plants in pots due to their extensive rhizomes, flowering stems used for the experiment were cut at the height of rhizome, placed in plastic containers with water (0.5 L), sealed with adhesive tape, and buried at ground level to prevent evaporation and ensure longer flower life. The effectiveness of this method was previously determined by checking the duration of flowering and pollination in a control population and verifying that the flowers were well-preserved in the first four days. For the reciprocal transplant experiment, 15 flowering stems were cut in the orange population (Ancares) and transferred to the yellow population (Pontón) immediately after collection, while simultaneously, 15 yellow stems were cut in Pontón and transferred to the Ancares population (foreign transplant treatment). Additionally, 15 plants of each population (orange in Ancares and yellow in Pontón) were subjected to the same procedures (cut, transplanted, and buried) for the local transplant treatment. The same day, plant containers were placed in each population within 1 m2 squares, set in random layout by picking the grid point using a random number table. Additionally, 15 plants were haphazardly marked to serve as a control in both populations. Thus, each population contained 30 experimental plants and 15 control plants (45 plants per population, 90 plants overall). Note that the stem height, the number of floral whorls per inflorescence, and the number of flowers were measured in all plant individuals to correct for possible plant morphological effects in the experimental results. We conducted 15 2-minute pollinator censuses on each of the 45 plants in both flower color morph populations over 3 days. According to previous studies, the observation sampling effort (30 min per plant, 1,350 min in each population) is appropriate to obtain an adequate representation of the pollinator spectra of this species and in this geographic area (see Materials and Methods section in Veiga et al., 2015; Sobral et al., 2015). For each census, the species that accessed the flowers and the number of flowers they visited were recorded. Every day and before the census, the number of open flowers on each plant was counted to correct for the effect of floral display in pollinator attraction. Plant censuses were randomly conducted under sunny conditions between 0800 and 1800 h. The number of visits per plant (visitation rate per 30 min) was used as a measure of pollination success. At the end of each census, a sample of pollinator taxa observed was collected and sent for further identification by entomological specialists from the University of Oviedo (Spain). Correcting any discrepancies between our visual identifications of bumblebee species and the lab determinations, species were grouped for analyses into eight morphological categories based on proboscis length (Obeso, 1992). The eight morphological groups were: group 1 (Bombus terrestris, B. lucorum); group 2 (B. hortorum, B. jonellus); group 3 (B. pratorum, B. soroensis ancaricus, B. lapidarius decipiens); group 4 (Bombus wurflenii); group 5 (B. mesomelas); group 6 (B. pascuorum); group 7 (B. (Psithyrus) rupestris); group 8 (B. hypnorum). Several generalized linear models (GLM) were performed, where the number of visits per plant was the dependent variable. The locality (Ancares and Pontón), treatment (control, local transplant, and foreign transplant), pollinator group (described earlier), and the interactions among these factors were included as fixed effects. The models were performed for all pollinator species pooled together and for each of the eight pollinator groups independently. Residuals of the dependent variable were fitted in all models with a Poisson distribution and a logarithmic link function. Additionally, pairswise contrasts were performed to analyze the differences on the visitation rate (number of visits per plant per 30 min) by the eight bumblebee groups between and within the transplant treatments and control group averaged for both destination localities. To test for local adaptation, the mean differences on visitation rate of group 1 and 3 bumblebees (the most abundant groups) were compared between each pair of treatments applied for the translocation experiment (foreign transplants, local transplants, controls), considering both localities (Ancares and Pontón). All analyses were performed using SPSS Statistics 20 (IBM Corp., Somers, NY). In total 951 insects (99% bumblebees belonging to the genus Bombus, and the remaining 1% belongs to the genus Apis or the family Vespidae) visited the plants (538 in Ancares, and 413 in Pontón), which represented 3,268 total cumulative flower visits (see Data S1). Bombus terrestris (group 1) and Bombus pratorum (group 3) were the main flower visitor of Gentiana lutea plants in Pontón, with 447 and 372 total cumulative visits respectively for each group (excluding control treatment, see Fig. 3). Bombus soroensis ancaricus + Bombus lapidarius decipiens (group 3) and Bombus (Psithyrus) rupestris (group 7) were the main flower visitors in Ancares (338 and 224 total cumulative visits respectively for each group, only for transplant treatments), being the latest group absent in Pontón, and Bombus hypnorum (group 8) was only present in this location (Fig. 3). In Ancares, a population of orange morphs, more visits per 30 min were observed to orange—than to yellow—flowering plants (32.5% versus 24.7% plants visited, respectively for each color morph); whereas in Pontón, a population consisting of yellow flowers, there was no difference in visitation rate between the two morphs (39.2% versus 41% plants visited, respectively for yellow and orange morphs; see Data S2). Number of visits per plant depended on the floral visitor group (P < 0.001; Table 1). Additionally, the number of visits per plant by floral visitor groups were affected differently per treatment: control, local transplant, and foreign transplant (as suggested by the significant treatmentfloral visitors interaction; P < 0.05; Table 1), and also by locality (as suggested by the significant treatmentfloral visitorslocality interaction; P < 0.05; Table 1). Results of the GLM to analyze the locality and treatment effects on the number of visits per plant for each pollinator group showed different flower color preferences, but only in the groups 1 (B. terrestris) and 3 (B. pratorum, B. soroensis ancaricus + B. lapidarius decipiens; significant treatment factor; group 1: P < 0.05; group 3: P < 0.01; Table 2). Group 1 and group 3 pollinators visited control and local plants similarly in both color morph populations (Table 3 and Fig. 4). \|Treatment Locality\|\|4.336\|\|2\|\|0.114\| \|Treatment * Floral visitors\|\|16.703\|\|6\|\|0.010\| \|Treatment * Floral visitors * Locality\|\|19.573\|\|9\|\|0.021\| Group 1 visited foreign transplant individuals more often than local transplant individuals, considering both locations (significant mean differences between foreign and local transplants; P < 0.05; Table 3). Group 1 pollinators visited control and local plants similarly in both color morph populations (Table 3 and Fig. 4A). However, the absolute number of visits by these pollinators was higher in Pontón (yellow morph population) than in Ancares (orange morph population). \|Floral visitors\|\|Factors\|\|Wald Chi-Square\|\|d.f.\|\|P\| \|Treatment * Locality\|\|0.692\|\|2\|\|0.707\| \|Treatment * Locality\|\|0.114\|\|2\|\|0.945\| \|Floral visitors\|\|Pair of treatments\|\|Mean-difference\|\|S.E.\|\|d.f.\|\|P\| Group 3 visited local transplants more often than foreign transplants in both locations (no significant treatment*locality interaction; Table 2). The number of visits by group 3 to control and foreign plants was equal considering both populations (Table 3 and Fig. 4B). Once again, the absolute number of visits by these pollinators was higher in Pontón (yellow-flowered population) than in Ancares (orange-flowered population). Our results show that Gentiana lutea plants from both locations face different sets of flower visitors with different color preferences—indicated by differences in visitation rate—suggesting that these differences may play a role in floral color divergence patterns. We found that the orange-flowering plants may be locally adapted to the pollinator assemblage since they received more visits than the yellow-flowering transplants in Ancares, the population of orange morphs. However, we found no evidence of local adaptation of yellow-flowering plants to the original population since the number of bumblebee visits was similar to the orange-flowering transplants in Pontón. This result differs from previous research, which suggested that flower color variation among G. lutea populations is related to selective pressures exerted by different pollinator assemblages (Sobral et al., 2015). Several possible explanations may help to clarify our findings. The different responses obtained in the Ancares and Pontón populations are likely due to variation in the pollinator assemblage and/or floral visitor preferences between the two areas (as experimentally demonstrated, Jones & Reithel, 2001). Ancares and Pontón have different pollinator assemblage and the species from the Ancares population may prefer local orange-flowering plants, while the species from Pontón population clearly show no preference for one of the two color morphs. Geographic variation in floral visitor preferences can result from changes in pollinator composition, abundance, and diversity (Price et al., 2005), even different plant populations that share the same pollinator group receive different proportions of flower visits from each species or functional group (Fenster et al., 2004; Tastard et al., 2014). Thus, pollinator-dependent foraging preferences may cause shifts in the optimal floral phenotypes (see Gómez et al., 2009; and references therein). Within the pool of G. lutea flower visitors in the Ancares population, the most abundant species (Bombus terrestris) has low sensitivity for red color detection (Peitsch et al., 1992; Briscoe & Chittka, 2001), which probably explains the reduction in this species visitation rate when increasing orange-flowering individuals (Fig. 4A). We suspect that other pollinator species with probably higher sensitivity to red color may increase fitness of the orange-flowering plants. Therefore, the fact that they perceive red color does not imply that they necessarily would prefer this color over others. In fact, B. lapidarius, present in other orange G. lutea (JA Guitián, pers. obs., 2012), shows sensitivity for red colors; although it lacks red color receptors (Kugler, 1943; Peitsch et al., 1992). If pollinator species with a higher sensitivity or innate preferences for red colors are present, orange-flowered plants would increase their fitness through the rising visitation rate by these pollinators. Therefore, variation of the pollinator community composition might affect the selective pressures exerted on G. lutea flower color, and ultimately affect flower color variation among populations via local adaptation. A second explanation is that the preference of certain pollinator groups could be dependent on the frequency of each morph in the population (i.e., the preferences for orange plants in Ancares are diluted in a context of yellow plants in Pontón). Empirical studies that examine plant species polymorphisms in flower color, morphology, or sex phenotype generally show negative frequency dependence (see references in Harder & Johnson, 2009). However, in some cases this selection occurred somewhat heterogeneously and studies have found that common (or highly efficient) pollinators tend to exhibit positive frequency-dependent foraging, while less common (or less efficient) species might exhibit negative frequency-dependence (Eckhart et al., 2006) or positive frequency-dependence (Malerba & Nattero, 2012). Our results show that differences in visitation rate between Ancares and Pontón populations depend on floral visitors from groups 1 and 3. Group 1 (B. terrestris) shows preferences for the least abundant morph in the population (orange in Pontón; negative frecuency-dependence). Conversely, group 3 shows a preference for the most abundant morph (orange in Ancares; positive frequency-dependence). Consequently, the preference of certain pollinator groups is dependent on the frequency of each morph in a population (Smithson & Macnair, 1996). Theory suggests that competition for floral resources might favor frequency-dependent foraging by some pollinator species, possibly contributing to the maintenance of flower color variation by frequency-dependent selection (Gigord, Macnair & Smithson, 2001; Eckhart et al., 2006). Additionally, data from this work and previous studies show that the different pollinator abundance, especially groups 1 and 3, varies between years in Ancares and Pontón populations, but not selective pressures exerted on G. lutea flower color (see Sobral et al., 2015). However, the pollinator assemblage composition can also vary substantially year-to-year (e.g., Herrera, 1988; Price et al., 2005). Bumblebee foraging may differ among years (Teräs, 1985), among sites (Elam & Linhart, 1988; Jones & Reithel, 2001) and between queens and workers (Teräs, 1985; Wesselingh & Arnold, 2000). The floral color choices of bumblebees appear not to be governed by innate preference only, but also by environment conditions and colors of co-flowering plants (Teräs, 1985). Consequently, preferences for different color morphs may change temporally according to the community composition, generating a mosaic of selective pressures on floral color. Therefore, further analyses considering data from multiple years are needed to clearly support the hypothesis of flower color adaptation to local pollinator assemblages, even though possible technical and logistical challenges that would lead to the long-term monitoring of the transplant experiment. In conclusion, the present study suggests no clear evidences of local adaptation to the pollinator community in each of the two G. lutea populations studied, even though some floral visitor groups (such as Bombus pratorum, B. soroensis ancaricus and B. lapidarius decipiens) consistently preferred the local morph to the foreign morph whereas others (such as Bombus terrestris) consistently preferred the foreign morph. Variation in pollinators foraging preference and visitation rate could generate a mosaic of frequency-dependent selection in G. lutea along the Cantabrian Mountains range. The consequences for local adaptation on G. lutea flower color would thus depend on variation in morph frequency, pollinator community composition and their effects on plant fitness.
Psoriasis is a common and chronic skin disorder but treatable skin disorder that affects 1 -2 of people in the U. U.S. See pictures, and read about psoriasis symptoms, treatment, diet tips, types, prognosis, and causes. The involved areas are usually found on the arms, legs, trunk, or scalp but may be found on any part of the skin. The most typical areas are the knees, elbows, and lower back. Psoriasis on Legs: Some before-after photos of Psoriasis patients treated at Life Force. Psoriasis patches on legs Before After Treatment Photos Click to read more about Psoriasis. Psoriasis patches on leg back Before After Treatment Photos Click to read more about Psoriasis. View over 57 photos of the five major types of psoriasis, including scalp, guttate, and plaque. Learn about treatments, diagnosis, & more. Read more. Kim Kardashian has been open about her struggle with psoriasis. See amazing before and after pics here! I used to have it so bad on the back of my legs. Psoriasis is a long-lasting autoimmune disease characterized by patches of abnormal skin. Areas of the body most commonly affected are the back of the forearms, shins, around the belly button, and the scalp. However, various treatments can help control the symptoms. Skin manifestations of psoriasis tend to occur before arthritic manifestations in about 75 of cases. It describes what psoriasis is, what causes it, and what the treatment options are. If you have further questions after reading this publication, you may wish to discuss them with your doctor. Psoriasis occurs when skin cells quickly rise from their origin below the surface of the skin and pile up on the surface before they have a chance to mature. They most often occur on the elbows, knees, other parts of the legs, scalp, lower back, face, palms, and soles of the feet, but they can occur on skin anywhere on the body. WebMD’s guide to psoriasis, including types, symptoms, and causes. WebMD: Better information. Erythrodermic psoriasis, characterized by periodic, fiery redness of the skin and shedding of scales in sheets; this form of psoriasis, triggered by withdrawal from a systemic psoriasis treatment, severe sunburn, infection, and certain medications, requires immediate medical treatment, because it can lead to severe illness. People who suffer from psoriasis know that this uncomfortable and at times disfiguring skin disease can be difficult and frustrating to treat. Photos: Psoriasis Triggers Moderate to Severe Psoriasis. This brief overview explains the main types of psoriasis that affect your skin, nails, and joints. Sometimes, after your symptoms go away, a new form of psoriasis will crop up in response to a trigger. Some cases, though, are more stubborn and require treatment. Further Reading:. For example, pain may be a symptom while a rash may be a sign. In cases of psoriasis, the signs and symptoms vary from patient to patient. Usually occurs after a strep infection (throat infection) and is more common among teenagers and children. Click to verify. How To Treat Psoriasis Methods To Deal With Kim Skin Condition Psoriasis can be worrying, especially when you see your child struggle with itching or discomfort. For most kids, psoriasis is limited to just a few patches that usually respond well to treatment. More serious cases might need more aggressive treatment. But the good news is that there are many options. It may go away completely before suddenly reappearing. The chronic skin disease psoriasis can cause an array of skin symptoms. Find out how to tell if your skin rash is psoriasis or another condition. 5 million Americans live with psoriasis. The condition does respond to treatment, but it may never go away completely and tends to come back. Do you know how to spot signs of psoriasis? Personalized tips and information to get and stay healthier every day. Kim posted before and after pictures of her legs on her website, telling fans she uses a bronzing make-up spray to keep the psoriasis patches at bay. MOST READ NEWS. Those marks on her legs look more like folliculitis than psoriasis. For example, skin with eczema, psoriasis or a cut sometimes develops a secondary impetigo. You may not see the blisters, as they usually burst to leave scabby patches on the skin. If it is not too sore, the crusts should be cleaned off with warm soapy water before the cream is applied. Children should be kept off school or nursery until there is no more blistering or crusting, or until 48 hours after antibiotic treatment has been started. Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin condition characterised by clearly defined, red and scaly plaques (thickened skin). An individual’s genetic profile influences their type of psoriasis and its response to treatment. Related information. Psoriasis Comprehensive overview covers causes, symptoms and treatments of this chronic skin disorder. Psoriasis signs and symptoms can vary from person to person but may include one or more of the following:. You may notice flakes of dead skin in your hair or on your shoulders, especially after scratching your scalp. Why does genital psoriasis sometimes require specific treatments? The pubic region – a common site of genital psoriasis, which can be treated in the same way as scalp psoriasis, but be aware that the skin in this area is likely to be more sensitive than on the scalp. Skin folds between thigh and groin – psoriasis in this area will normally appear nonscaly and reddish white in the creases between the thigh and groin, and may become sore wi th cracks forming. See Psoriasis and phototherapy and Treatments for Psoriasis. They have seen it all before! He had extensive lesions on his arms, legs, abdomen, chest, back.. 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Law, Politics, and Policy As They Impact DRM Check out our DRM in Canada Page ! All around the world, legal instruments such as copyrights exist to balance the rights of authors and inventors with the public good. But these laws are years - or decades - old. They aren't adequate to deal with Internet-age piracy, not to mention related issues such as on-line privacy. The laws need to be brought up to date. Since pertinent laws and law making vary from country to country - and even sometimes state to state in the USA - it's not possible to cover these issues comprehensively here. So we offer quick summary of the current situation, with some more detail following on the stake holders, experts, and current developments. Summary of Current Situation The governments of all technologically advanced countries are reworking laws impacted by digital commerce, notably copyright laws. Most copyright laws were written when copying a protected work was a non-trivial physical process. They have an implicit assumption that possessing a copy of a work is the same as having the right to use the work. This is patently false for digital goods, where, for example, the goods may already exist on my PC, but not be usable until I perform a Digital Rights Management transaction. In this author's opinion, it is the right to USE, not to POSSESS, which is at issue. This theme is expanded in Gord's submission Response to Consultation Paper on Digital Copyright Issues(PDF Format), which was submitted to the policy-forming arm of the Canadian government as part of their consultation process in this area. Copyright laws may not even be the right vehicle, since some content owners are trying to move digital goods to a License Contract model instead, putting the issue in the realm of contract law. These laws - and associated international developments, such as the World Copyright Treaty are in various states of formulation and adoption. Things are specially interesting in the USA, where a long history of constitutional and "fair use" rights is colliding with powerful Hollywood interests. The most pertinent legal development so far, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, is hugely controversial and faces many legal challenges. Through to the end of 2002, input received by government on these issues was disturbingly polarized. Consumers, most technology experts, and most advocacy groups opposed the use of invasive laws and technologies to protect content. On the other hand, companies which own content, or supply DRM technology, have supported them through Lobby Groups, political contributions to sympathetic members of Congress, etc. The political reality has been that content owning companies make a lot more political contributions, and hire a lot more expert lobbyists, than their opposition. The tide appears to be turning. Most consumer electronic companies and software companies (notably including Intel and Microsoft), and even the RIAA, have come out publicly against legislated-in anti-copy technology. The MPAA appears to the be the only significant American stake holder still in favor of such legislation. More on this can be found in the entry on the Business Software Alliance. Legislated-in anti-copy technology, if it did come to pass, has the potential to put far more monopoly power in the hands of, say, Microsoft, than they ever had during their many years of anti-trust litigation. It would also almost certainly (based on history) be cracked. In the absence of mandatory technology, DRM does not go away. It simply keeps improving on the tried-and-true free enterprise model. DRM-based businesses which give both consumers and content owners value will thrive, and those that don't will die. This is a good thing. Of course, mandatory technology is not the only issue. Spirited debate is under way regarding the tradeoffs between privacy, security, personal vs. commercial interests etc, surrounding DRM. This too is a good thing. Back To Top Influential Legal Experts Here are some lawyers who have chosen to become visible opinion shapers in the world of Internet law and thus, to a greater or lesser extent, the law as it relates to DRM. lawbytes is the internet home of Michael Geist, a balanced commentator, pre-eminent Canadian expert on cyber law, and author of "the" book on Canadian Internet Law. Michael also edits BNAs Internet Law News, a highly regarded free daily cyberlaw email newsletter which is not specific to Canada. Larry Lessig is an American law professor best known for his role in the Microsoft anti-trust case. He is a prominent libertarian voice and author of several books, most notably this one on the dangers of powerful corporations fostering misguided laws and ever-more pervasive Internet technologies. Pamela Samuelson is a California law professor who specializes in copyright, especially the practical evolution thereof in the Internet age. News Sources for Law and Technology Back To Top The WIPO Treaty This 1996 "World Copyright Treaty" was largely ignored until it achieved a critical mass of ratification in 2002, and still has not been ratified by most Western nations. Given the USA's record of unilateralism in international matters it surprising on the surface that they are one of the few advanced nations to ratify the treaty. It starts to make sense when you look at the nations whose last-minute ratification gave the treaty critical mass - places like Gabon(!). Clearly the United States does not expect huge copyright income from Gabon, but by "persuading" such nations to come on board they achieved critical mass for WIPO, making it an effective weapon to export their own copyright laws around the world. Pretty clever ! Hopefully it will not get as far as the DMCA being global law.. but that is clearly one of the objectives. A more typical Western reaction is that of Canada, which has not yet ratified the treaty because of concerns it's so vague that complying with it is useless at best, and legally dangerous at worst. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) The DMCA has generated enormous controversy since it was passed in 1998. Most notably, the DMCA's section 1201 effectively outlaws virtually all research into defeating copyright-related security technology. There are exceptions for "legitimate research", but a careful reading shows them to be of scant comfort to those at risk of prosecution. Ironically, this does more to deter "respectable" research than "underground" research, because respectable researchers have more to lose. And there are many examples of abuse of the DMCA to claim protection for everything from garage-door-opener designs to retail store's price lists, as documented on chilling effects. Indeed, other than being used against makers of mod chips for video game consoles, there are far fewer documented cases of the DMCA being applied to actually prevent piracy, than there are of misapplications beyond the legislators' obvious intent. During 2003 the DMCA has resurfaced in the form of state-level versions of the law, some passed and some pending. Most of them are based on proposed wording supplied by the MPAA - hardly an impartial party. In most cases this legislation goes beyond the federal version and could, for instance, be read to mean that Virtual Private Networks are illegal. While parties such as the MPAA argue that this is not the intent, the broad wording used is of real concern. On a similar note, the DMCA is being exported to other countries as part of various trade agreements; here is an example of exporting the DMCA to Chile. Opposition to the various flavors of the DMCA persists, as exemplified by pervasive anti-DMCA sentiment on most of the advocacy sites below. Back To Top The EUCD is designed to bring the EU in line with the WIPO Treaty and is widely regarded as Europe's equivalent to the DMCA. However, as this analysis shows, gaining consensus among the member states of the EU has proven extremely difficult. Back To Top The Technology Education and Copyright Harmonization Act, passed into law in the USA in November 2002, aims to support education by explicitly allowing reproduction of copyrighted material for cetain educational purposes, without requiring permission or compensation. Where it gets interesting is when TEACH meets the DMCA. Is it legal to defeat a content protection measure for the purposes of reproducing material legally under TEACH, when that same action is otherwise illegal under the DMCA ? As of 2003 this question, and many others, are being contemplated by the US copyright office as part of its 3-year review cycle. On the face of it, there is a contradiction, but there are powerful interests on both sides, and no quick technology fixes in sight. This issue is likely to simmer for some time as a result. What's in the Legal Pipe For better or worse the USA is leading in proposed DRM-related legislation. Due to the laudable visibility of the American legislative process, many pieces of legislation have been seen to be contemplated, proposed - and, usually, ultimately shot down. For the most part proposed legislation seeks to either increase the ability of content owners to protect their content, or to increase the ability of consumers to maintain fair use. It would take a separate Web site to track all of the proposals, so here are a few highlights. The Hollings Bill would have mandated the inclusion of security technologies such as Palladium into virtually all PCs and consumer entertainment electronics. Even if this were agreed to be a reasonable objective (which it is not) it is far from clear how this could respect "fair use" or be accomplished reliably with foreseeable technology. Organized opposition such as the Alliance for Digital Progress has effectively killed the bill. On the opposite side of most of these issues in the United States Congress, the proposed Digital Media Consumers Rights Act aims to specifically preserve the right of consumers to copy media from one form to another. As of this writing, neither of these bills seems likely to pass in 2003, if at all. Back To Top DRM Related Advocacy Groups For the most part, these groups are not directly concerned with DRM; that is, they don't find DRM as a concept good or bad. But they DO object to some draconian trends in legislation and technology, supported by Hollywood, which arguably sacrifice things the consumer values - like privacy and Fair Use, in order to protect Hollywood content. Of course, the major entertainment and technology companies have their lobby groups too. More background on some of the issues to consumers, technologists, political activists, and others, can be found on the Why DRM Sucks page. See their entry lower down. A UK-based lobby group which supports fair use and opposes, among other things, the (European Union Copyright Directive). A Web site dedicated to documenting the chilling effects of emerging Net-related laws. A grass-roots organization supporting fair use and opposing existing and proposed restrictive legislation which they believe undermines fair use. A Canadian site lobbying against adoption of DMCA-like legislation in Canada. A West-coast based civil liberties group which opposes DRM as a matter of principle and is a singificant thorn in the side of the RIAA, as demonstrated in this Dig at the RIAAs legal tactics. It's hard to argue with the EFFs philosophies of individual freedom and so forth, but some have argued that, by casting the issue in black and white (RIAA bad, DRM bad, P2P good), they are in fact playing into the hands of their enemies. The RIAA casts the issue in black and white too. A European consortium based in Brussels. Recently founded, it does not have much of a track record, but appears to be an umbrella group representing about a dozen national, libertarian-oriented organizations throughout Europe. The entertainment industry is probably regretting the day they legally harassed Professor Edward Felten for cracking SDMI's watermarks even though he was doing so as part of an open competition sponsored by the industry's own SDMI group. The lawyers subsequently backed off, but the damage was done; they had created another capable adversary, who built this Web site to promote fair use and the "freedom to tinker", and to oppose heavy-handed legal and legislative manouvering by Hollywood. To quote this recent (January 2003) group's fledgling Web site: "IP Justice is a new non-profit organization that works to promote balance in global intellectual property law. " Recently formed by a former EFF lawyer, Robin Gross , the emphasis is on international IP law and raising awareness of the erosiion of IP rights in the United States. A consumer advocacy group which seeks to preserve the right to home recording in the digital era. A consumer advocacy group that tackles issues from digital video broadcast flags to copyright reform. An anti-DMCA site with a free speech flavor, born of Richard Stallman's Free Software Foundation. DRM Related Industry Lobby Groups These groups represent the interests of various content and technology industries. They are largely pro-DRM, but only the MPAA favors government-mandated DRM. In some cases, such as the RIAA, these are pre-existing operational businesses within a given industry which include lobbying functions. In other cases, such as the Business Software Alliance, lobbying is the group's reason for being. A group that blurs the line between industry lobbying and consumer advocacy, whose members include both consumer advocacy groups such as digitalconsumer.org, and major industry heavyweights including Microsoft, IBM, Dell, and Apple. To quote their Web site: "The Alliance for Digital Progress (ADP) was formed to fight attempts to force the government to design and mandate technology solutions to digital piracy." A particular target seems to the Hollings Bill. This is a fortunate alignment of interests between groups who often don't agree on much. The Business Software Alliance is a software industry lobbying group historically concerned with preventing software piracy, similar to the SIIA, but with a somewhat different agenda and, unlike the SIIA, supported by Microsoft. Microsoft withdrew from the SIIA in 2000 when the SIIA appeared to support the government's position in the Microsoft anti-trust case. Interestingly, given its anti-piracy agenda, the BSA has recently stated its opposition to "legislated-in" DRM technology such as the Hollings Bill, and has even managed to get the RIAA to support their position, as captured in the Seven Principles document on their Web site. In their words: "a voluntary organization representing all sectors of the distributed computing industry." In plain English: a lobby group founded by kazaa and altnet that is trying to legitimize Peer-to-peer distribution of music. They have a business vision, and the intention is to involve ISPs and content owners in implementing the vision. Whether anything will come of it remains to be seen but it is an encouraging sign that P2P realizes it must grow up. The European Information, Communications and Consumer Electronics Industry Technology Association, which, in their own words, is "representing more than 10.000 companies in Europe, with 1.500.000 employees and revenues of over 190 billion Euro. EICTA’s mission continues to be to promote the common global interests of the represented ICT Industry in Europe." In regards to DRM, the EICTA is on record as opposing blanket levies on electronic equipment and media, and supporting DRM technology. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the global equivalent of the RIAA, with which they are "affiliated", which presumably means they are partially funded by the RIAA. They lobby on copyright and piracy issues worldwide, especially in Europe. Recently they have slammed electronics companies for not doing enough to stop piracy. The Motion Picture Association of America, the Hollywood movie equivalent of the RIAA. They have enormous political clout and have had the ear of United States presidents going back at least as far as Lyndon Johnson. As of spring 2003 the MPAA is alone in resolutely supporting hard-line, legislated-in copy protection in digital media systems. This is probably because the MPAA isn't at as much risk of disastrous backlash as the music industry is at the moment. In music, high-quality pirate content has been easily obtainable for so long that the industry is beginning to accept that it must win back consumers with attractive offers, (though legal heavy-handedness is still evident.) Pirated movies, on the other hand, have been a pretty low-quality experience due to the limitations of technology. So, the movie industry does not need to "win back" customers to traditional distribution, since it hasn't lost them in significant numbers yet. Given recent changes in technology (e.g. broadband Internet and DVD writers), the United States congress, and in the RIAAs position, the MPAA position seems likely to change sometime in 2003. (NOTE: The Web site is often down because of Net-based attacks, presumably from lovers of the P2P technology which the RIAA is trying to sue out of existence.) The Recording Industry Association of America, the powerful voice of major music studios. They are considered to be in league with Satan by the youthful Peer-to-Peer downloading crowd, whom they have resorted to suing on an individual basis. They are also expert - far more so than Silicon Valley - at influencing Washington, as their recent choice of a well-connected Democrat laywer as their leader demonstrates. That same choice, unfortunately, is probably a hint that they will continue to use legal attacks against new technology, more so than embracing it. To the extent that they are interested in maintaining existing complex business models which subsidize million-dollar salaries for their leader, it is hard to be too sympathetic. But that aside, theirs is a fundamentally difficult position in the face of downloadable music. The Software and Information Industry Association, a trade association for the software industry, formed by the merger of the Software Publishers Association (SPA) and the Information Industry Association (IIA) in 1999. Their mandate includes industry self-promotion and information sharing as well as lobbying on software piracy. Their membership consists of a large number of small companies, unlike the BSA, which has attracted the "whos who" of the software industry. As a result the SIIA seems unlikely to have a material impact on the evolution of Digital Rights Management. Back To Top Footnote: Contracts, not Copyrights ? Consumers intuitively understand copyright and fair use. Whatever copyright restrictions apply, say, to one book I own, more or less apply to all the others as well. Even if I don't understand it the way a lawyer might, I don't have to look in the back of the book to know what I can do with it. And I know that it's OK to copy a CD for personal use, and not OK to copy one to sell. Again, thanks to the uniformity of copyright, I don't have to look in the jewel case for fine print. But content owners may not like this uniformity. They may not wish to support copying, even if it is "fair use", or the legitimate reselling of digital goods. One way around these limitations of copyright is to position the transaction as a contracted license agreement defined by a EULA, not a sale of copyrighted goods.The user and the vendor negotiate a contract and the user is bound by its terms, whatever they may be. Of course, it doesn't really work like that. Software comes with huge, click-through "license agreements" that would take a qualified lawyer hours to decipher. And they brook no negotiation: click "no" to the agreement at install time, and you can't use the software. Worse yet, with every release, vendors seems to demand more and more of the user; some Microsoft EULAs now effectively give Microsoft root access to your computer ! However, the binding legality of such agreements is debatable, and in the USA, contract law is different from state to state. All in all this is a very fluid and confusing area. Eventually consumers will demand some uniformity of rules for digital goods transactions- perhaps after a few well-publicized fiascos in the area. But we're at least a few years away from it now.
The world knows Nelson Mandela as a man who forever changed the course of modern history and who will surely continue to leave his mark long after his death Thursday at the age of 95. You may know that he spent 27 years in prison, that he led South Africa out of apartheid and that he served as his nation's first black president. But did you know about the role of rugby in his legacy? His musings on Valentine's Day? The lessons he taught sympathetic prison guards during his time behind bars? Here are some details from Mandela's life that you might not have known. FATHER OF THE NATION Nelson Mandela's place as South Africa's premier hero is so secure that the central bank released new banknotes in 2012 showing his face. Busts and statues in his likeness dot the country and buildings, squares and other places are named after him. At Soweto's Regina Mundi Catholic church, a center of protests and funeral services for activists during the apartheid years, there is a stained glass image of Mandela with arms raised. South African Airways even emblazoned his silhouetted image on planes. A $1.25 million project to digitally preserve a record of Mandela's life went online last year at http://archive.nelsonmandela.org. The project by Google and Mandela's archivists gives researchers — and anyone else — access to hundreds of documents, photographs and videos. In one 1995 note, written in lines of neat handwriting in blue ink, Mandela muses on Valentine's day. It appears to be a draft of a letter to a young admirer, in which Mandela said his rural upbringing by illiterate parents left him "colossally ignorant" about simple things like a holiday devoted to romance. At his inauguration, Mandela stood hand on heart, saluted by white generals as he sang along to two anthems: the apartheid-era Afrikaans "Die Stem" ("The Voice") and the African "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" ("Lord Bless Africa"). A NEW LIFE When Mandela went free after 27 years, he walked hand-in-hand with his wife Winnie out of a prison on the South African mainland, and raised his right fist in triumph. In his autobiography, "Long Walk to Freedom," he would write: "As I finally walked through those gates ... I felt — even at the age of seventy-one — that my life was beginning anew." A WAYS TO GO Mandela is widely credited with helping to avert race-driven chaos as South Africa emerged from apartheid. But he could not forge lasting solutions to poverty, unemployment and other social ills that still plague his country. Though relatively stable, it has struggled to live up to its rosy depiction as the "Rainbow Nation." Since apartheid ended, the country has peacefully held four parliamentary elections and elected three presidents, and Mandela's African National Congress said in 2013 the economy had expanded 83 percent since 1994. But corruption in the party has undercut some of its early promise, and the white minority is far wealthier than the black majority, partly fueling violent crime. Mandela's last public appearance was in 2010. Bundled up against the cold, he smiled broadly and waved to the crowd at the Soccer City stadium during the closing ceremony of the World Cup, an event that allowed his country to take the world spotlight. Mandela had kept a low profile during the monthlong tournament, deciding against attending the opening ceremony after the death of his great-grand daughter in a traffic accident following a World Cup concert. MANDELA THE RECONCILER Mandela was born the son of a tribal chief in Transkei, a Xhosa homeland. Many South Africans of all races call him by his clan name, Madiba, which means "reconciler," as a token of affection and respect. THE HARSHER SIDE Despite his saintly image, Mandela could be harsh. When black journalists mildly criticized his government, he painted them as stooges of the whites who owned the media. Whites with complaints were sometimes dismissed as pining for their old privileges. To critics of his closeness to Fidel Castro and Moammar Gadhafi, Mandela insisted he wouldn't forsake supporters of the anti-apartheid struggle. Mandela eventually turned to fighting AIDS, publicly acknowledging in 2005 that his son, Makgatho, had died of the disease. The nation, which has the most people living with HIV in the world at 5.6 million, still faces stigma and high rates of infection. Mandela celebrated holidays and hosted dignitaries among the huts of rural Qunu in a replica of the prison guard's home where he lived during his final days of confinement. Ever self-deprecating, Mandela maintained he chose to recreate the home from Victor Verster prison because he was already familiar with it and wouldn't "have to wander at night looking for the kitchen." But his fellow South Africans saw the decision as an inspiring way to transform the old structure of imprisonment into one of freedom. Many of Mandela's close relatives live in Qunu, and the family burial plot is just yards from the home. 'A DEMOCRATIC AND FREE SOCIETY' A statement Mandela made during his 1964 sabotage trial revealed his resolve in the fight to end white racist rule. "During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people," Mandela said. "I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." Two months later, he and seven other defendants were sentenced to life in prison. UNITED BY RUGBY In 1995, Mandela strode onto the field at the Rugby World Cup final in Johannesburg wearing South African colors and bringing the overwhelmingly white crowd of more than 60,000 to its feet. "Nelson! Nelson! Nelson!" they chanted as the president congratulated the victorious home team. Mandela's decision to wear the Springbok emblem, the symbol once hated by blacks, conveyed the message that rugby, so long shunned by the black population, was now for all South Africans. Mandela became South Africa's first black president in 1994. At the close of his inauguration speech, he said: "Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world." "Let freedom reign. The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement! God bless Africa!" Mandela was confined to the harsh Robben Island prison off the coast of Cape Town for most of his time behind bars. He and others quarried limestone there, working seven hours a day nearly every day for 12 years, until forced labor was abolished on the island. In secret, Mandela — inmate No. 46664 — wrote at night in his tiny concrete-floored cell. It was forbidden to quote him or publish his photo, but go-betweens ferried messages from prisoners to anti-apartheid leaders in exile. Prisoners gathered in small groups for Socratic seminars, and Mandela offered lessons on the movement to guards he thought would be open to persuasion. All the guards were white; all the prisoners were black, mixed race, or Asian. 'LOOK INTO YOURSELF' "People tend to measure themselves by external accomplishments, but jail allows a person to focus on internal ones; such as honesty, sincerity, simplicity, humility, generosity and an absence of variety," Mandela says in one of the many quotations displayed at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. "You learn to look into yourself." NELSON AND WINNIE Nelson Mandela divorced Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in 1996, ending a powerful political partnership that had lasted through decades of struggle. As he remained behind bars, she became an activist leader in her own right, leading marches with a fist raised and building a base among the radical wing of the African National Congress. Madikizela-Mandela lost influence as Mandela pushed the ANC along a moderate course. They had grown apart politically by the time he emerged from prison, and soon the personal toll of the years of physical separation became apparent. But after Mandela retired from public life and focused on the family that had been relegated to second place during his struggle against apartheid, the mother of two of his daughters was welcome alongside his third wife at Christmases and birthdays. After his retirement from the presidency, Mandela regularly worked from an office in the recently refurbished Johannesburg building that houses the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory. The office includes framed photographs of Mandela in healthier times with his wife, Graca Machel, former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, fellow activist Walter Sisulu, and others. A boxing glove, cricket bat and a British police helmet are among the gifts on display. Glass cases show penned messages in books given to Mandela from people including Nadine Gordimer, the South African author and winner of the Nobel literature prize in 1991. Cornel West, an American civil rights activist, addressed his book, "Democracy Matters," to: "Bro' Nelson Mandela."
The Bloom Box: An Energy Breakthrough? In the world of energy, the Holy Grail is a power source that's inexpensive and clean, with no emissions. Well over 100 start-ups in Silicon Valley are working on it, and one of them, Bloom Energy, is about to make public its invention: a little power plant-in-a-box they want to put literally in your backyard. You'll generate your own electricity with the box and it'll be wireless. The idea is to one day replace the big power plants and transmission line grid, the way the laptop moved in on the desktop and cell phones supplanted landlines. The Future Of Energy? Bloom Energy Boxes Already Power Google, eBay, Others. Over the past several years, there’s been no shortage of talk about alternative energy, and its potential to change the world. The problem is that most of it is just that — talk. But tonight, a report that aired on 60 Minutes showed one alternative that is not only real, it’s already being tested by companies such as Google and eBay. You simply have to watch this. Bloom Energy are producing tiny fuel cell boxes they call “Bloom Boxes.” Two of these can apparently power a U.S. home (and only one for homes in countries that use less power). So how small are they? Look at the picture above, each device isn’t much bigger than a standard brick. Of course, they need to be surrounded by a larger unit that takes in an energy source (such as natural gas). But still, these units look to be about the size of a refrigerator and can easily fit outside of a home, providing it with clean, cheap energy. Ultra-Secretive Bloom Box Fuel Cell Device is Revealed. If you keep track of green technology companies, you may have heard rumblings about Bloom Energy, a secretive company that has raised nearly $400 million from investors like Kleiner Perkins for its supposedly game-changing fuel cell device. Now the 8 year-old company is finally emerging from the shadows with the Bloom Box, a $700,000 to $800,000 machine that 60 Minutes calls "a little power plant-in-a-box". So what exactly is the Bloom Box? The box consists of a stack of ceramic disks coated with green and black "inks" . The disks are separated by cheap metal plates. Methane (or other hydrocarbons) and oxygen is fed in, the whole thing is heated up to 1,000 Celsius, and electricity comes out. Bloom estimates that a box filled with 64 ceramic disks can produce enough juice to power a Starbucks.
Before the Caliphate was completely destroyed, it was weakened considerably. There were two means of weakening it. First, the Caliphate was made to adopt parts of the capitalist economic system, and there was an adoption of the Mejalleh, codification of Hanafi law on the pattern of Western legal code, in 1878. Then there was the political revolution carried out by the Young Turks. The abolition of the Caliphate was made a consequence of the defeat of the Caliphate in World War I. At the same time, Muslim lands were colonized before World War 1. India had become a British Colony after the 1857 Mutiny, the Russian conquest of the Khanates of Central Asia had already taken place, and the Netherlands had made Indonesia their colony. It is worth noting that the three largest Muslim countries of today, Pakistan, Indonesia and Egypt, the first two had never been part of the Ottoman Caliphate, although India was governed by Islamic law under different Muslim rulers; the third had been hived off from the Caliphate because of the Suez Canal. It is not generally noticed, but the Muslims of the world under colonial rule had two problems, not one. It was not just a question of getting rid of foreign rule, but also returning to the fold of the Caliphate. One of the most crucial experiences was that of India, which had been under the British Crown since 1858, and even before that, the power of the Caliph had been compromised since the era of Mahmud Ghaznavi. The Muslims of India acknowledged the Ottoman Caliphate, and this provided the British another reason to destroy the Caliphate. For the Muslims of India, accepting the caliph in Istanbul did not, in the immediate future, mean rejecting British rule. Muslims were given employment by the Raj, both military and civil. However, in World War I, Indian troops were used to fight the Ottomans and to occupy Arab lands. This proved to have caused conflicts among the Muslims. It was thus that the British used troops from one phase of colonization to garrison a second. It should not be forgotten that, under the Sykes-Picot Agreement, the French and the British had divided the Arab lands of the Caliphate, and both used colonial troops, the British from India, the French from Senegal; thus both used Muslim troops. Yet it was this experience of occupation that made the Muslims of India aware of the contradiction. This was why, Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar distributed pamphlets among the Muslims in the Indian Army reminding them it was sinful to fight against the Caliphate. The disappearance of the Caliphate was momentous enough; that Muslim soldiers had to be used against it, created a delicate situation. The loyalty of the troops came into question, and once soldiers of any one faith began to ask why they were fighting, what was to prevent all soldiers asking? This might have been why M.K. Gandhi muscled in on the Khilafat Movement, not just his need to gain public attention on his return from South Africa. His argument was that Muslims were a part of the Indian nation, and so Hindus had to share their concerns if they wanted reciprocity. Thus he persuaded the Khilafat Movement leaders to opt for independence as well as fight for the preservation of the Caliphate. It is worth noting that the abolition of the Caliphate convulsed the Muslims of India as the cause of independence had not till that point. One result was that the Muslim League leaders had to take part in it. It also moved a lot of people to either get involved in politics for the first time, or increase their involvement. The Caliphate was abolished, and the Khilafat Movement lost its raison d’être. Those who wanted to stay in Indian politics had to choose whether they wanted independence for a united India, or a separate homeland for the Muslims. Either way led to independence as a democracy. The Caliphate option seemed closed. It seems clear that Britain, which was then the leading world power, wanted the abolition of the Caliphate, but not so that it would lead to a revival of any claims. It is within this context that one is obliged to view the fading away of the claim of Sharif Hussain of Mecca on the title of caliphate, who was fobbed off with Kingdoms outside the Arabian Peninsula for himself and his sons, of which only Jordan remains today. The British played a key role in ensuring that the Caliphate was abolished, and it is worth noting that, during its occupation, jointly with France, of Turkey after World War I, it worked to this end. It is interesting that the main Arab leader after abolition, who opted to become a king, was the King of Egypt, converting from the Ottoman-granted title of Khedive. The Saudi Abdul Aziz became King in the Peninsula, and Sharif Hussain also adopted the royal title. This showed how traitor Muslim rulers tried to solve the problem of being sovereigns without being Caliphs. The old arrangement of the Khilafah and the Sultan, which had its origin in the adoption of the latter title by over-powerful walis (provincial governor) was abandoned, and the concept of a sovereignty with geographical limits rather than extending over the whole world, was introduced, as was that of a sovereign who was one of several sovereigns, not the sole one in the entire world. However, independence has meant for all turning from a colony to a republic. British colonies may have had an intermediate stage of Dominion status, but in all the power was transferred to a local elite, which took the place of the former colonial masters. This was the experience of all colonies, not just Muslims, but it was by then too late. If the Caliphate had existed, there would have been a fresh pressure, before which no local elite could have stood, that of making the ex-colony join the Caliphate. It needs exploring why the colonialist powers ensured the abolition of the Caliphate soon before there was a wave of decolonization, which would free the Muslim world. It must also be remembered that the collapse of the Russian Empire opened up the prospect of the freedom of the Central Asian Republics. The Turkish links of the Caliphate had to be ended. Indeed, it would be best to abolish the Caliphate, and ensure that Central Asia remained a Russian colony. In fact, Central Asia did not regain even notional independence until the collapse of the USSR, and even now Soviet-era apparatchiks still rule. The purpose of obtaining independence, which was liberation, has not been achieved. Therefore, the next step can only be obtained by the restoration of the Caliphate upon the method of the Prophethood. It is not a coincidence that the Muslims all over the world still look to the Khilafah Rashida as an example of ideal rule, even if some have not been under Muslim rule for a long time, first being under colonialists and then under the local ruling elites they left behind. Afzal Qamar – Pakistan Indonesia: Indonesia, ‘Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Indonesia&oldid=722301613 India: India, ‘Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=India&oldid=721862706 Egypt: Egypt, ‘Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Egypt&oldid=722011162 Select Writings and speeches of Maulana Muhhammad Ali, edited by Dr Afzal Iqbal, Islamic Book Foundation, Lahore, 1987 (2nd edition), p.311-357 World Communism by F. Borkenau, The University of Michigan Press, 1963, p. 285
I think students have wised up to us. We’ve meant well as we’ve given them small jobs and empowered them with assigned roles for classroom activities. We’ve asked them to be note-takers and time-keepers. They’ve pounded our erasers in the previous century, just as they clean our whiteboards today. We’ve invited them to brainstorm ways to solve real problems like organizing bulletin boards and planning classroom parties. And yet our students have begun to figure out that these jobs, even as they instill a sense of community responsibility, don’t really add up to cooking up the central ingredients to their education. We haven’t asked enough of our students in the jobs we create for them. As many educational thinkers mark the evolution of a new era of personal learning, students are beginning to explore, on their own, the multitude of learning spaces at their disposal. They can now choose alternative ways of acquiring the kind of education that will serve their needs. And they’re starting to figure out that what we educators haven’t done in any meaningful way is invite them to share in the real work of collaborating in designing their learning experiences. Self-Directed Study: An Example Let’s say you know some kids who have grown up playing Guitar Hero, and now they are passionate enough about music to want to learn how to play the real instrument. They can still jam with the guy down the street or even pick up a few pointers at the local Guitar Center. If they can afford it, they can hire an experienced instructor for guitar lessons. They can also study instructional videos on YouTube or at freeguitarvideos.com. If they get serious about music, they can apply to attend the Berklee School of Music. Or they can take courses from the Berklee School of Music Online. If they have digital access, they have the opportunity to learn by collaborating in music sessions via BandCamp or by studying free podcasts in “Music Composition and Production” from the University of Glamorgan on iTunesU, not to mention observing close-ups of the fingering techniques of all their favorite artists on YouTube. Better yet, they can study “How Music Works” at Coursera. Yet in our traditional classrooms, we continue to teach students to become passive recipients of the instruction we choose and design for them. Okay, so as their teachers, we’ve been around the block a few times, and we think we know what it is they need to know. (Usually, we can agree on the reading, writing, and arithmetic basics at least.) Yet, I wonder if our students will be ready to embark on a road that is truly less traveled – that is, designed entirely by themselves for themselves. Will they have the skills and capacities they will need for filtering information, finding qualified teachers, persevering through difficulties, and managing their learning? Or will they be marching, ill-equipped and misinformed, into the wild of self-directed education? What will cleaning whiteboards and planning parties do for them then? Thus, I’ve been trying to figure out how to give students the opportunity to experience authentic learning through real jobs within the context of developing my curriculum. I hope they can then build the capacities they will need to ultimately pursue learning on their own. So, this year, I built Student Learning Teams into my courses, hoping to fire up student engagement and to give my students a chance to explore new ways of learning that would have an immediate and perceivable impact. Now that we have advanced one quarter into the academic year, I have to say that we have traversed a rough and rocky road, and we’re definitely not there yet. Inspired by John Hunter’s TED Talk on “Teaching the World Peace Game,” I started kicking around ideas for implementing student committees that would let groups of students solve real problems related to their learning in my Language Arts classes. I had worked with students on committees to choose summer reading books, so I felt confident allowing them to choose some of the reading for my curriculum, for instance. After listening to Alan November present at ISTE 2012 on the concept of “Digital Learning Farms,” I refined my ideas further. Now I added the element of having my students conduct research and create materials for learning. I ended up with four learning teams my fifth- and sixth-graders could rotate through for each academic quarter: - Reader Librarians, who would maintain the classroom library and review the collection, as well as make a recommendation for a shared reading assignment for the class - Cultural Anthropologists, who would investigate and track the culture of the course, particularly with regard to homework - Training Specialists, who could create study materials and provide tutorials as needed; and - Resource Managers, who would conduct research and provide resources to help the other teams or to address any needs. Next I allowed students to meet as teams during one class period every twelve days in our rotating schedule. I followed the model of FedEx days (now called “ShipIt Days” at Atlassian, the company that invented them, for obvious legal reasons), where workers are allotted time to develop their own projects, but given the instruction to deliver something “overnight.” Thus, I asked my students to produce a written report at the end of each meeting. However well-intentioned my plans, my results thus far have proved less than inspiring. In one instance, I watched as two argumentative sixth-graders battled for an entire period about who should be their group’s “leader.” A few of my Cultural Anthropologists evolved into frustrated, over-zealous “homework police.” The boys among my Reader Librarians refused to read any “girl” books, while the girls couldn’t find a path towards compromise that didn’t mean totally giving in. My Resource Managers twiddled their thumbs as they waited for direction from the other groups – they had no concept of how to proactively determine what to research to augment the curriculum. It wasn’t a total loss, though. One of my Reader Librarian groups did make a reading suggestion to add to the curriculum, while another stirred up a lively hornet’s nest of a discussion about which books should and should not be included in our class library. The Learning Specialist teams seemed to have the greatest success — from one there emerged a singer-songwriter who performed his own composition about the “bonus” words in our vocabulary list, and another produced a video to reinforce a grammar lesson (though its members have yet to determine how to share it with the class). My guess is that students’ experiences in school probably lend themselves to understanding the nature of good instruction better than they do the ticklish circumstances of what to do when students don’t want to do their homework. Overall, though I’ve come to understand that I made more than a few mistakes, I believe our biggest problem has been trust. Though they were excited about their jobs at first, I’m not sure my students actually believed that I would really empower them to effect positive change in their learning environment. After all, when had they really been asked to take charge of their own learning – and actually entrusted to do it? So, I’m reading Adam Fletcher’s “Meaningful Student Involvement: Guide to Students as Partners in School Change” (made available by soundout), along with Marilyn M. Lombardi’s white paper for Educause, “Approaches That Work: How Authentic Learning Is Transforming Higher Education.” I attended a workshop with John Hunter and studied in person the power of his whole-hearted, caring demeanor, as well as the delicate balance of structure and guided inquiry that he uses when he asks students, “How are you going to solve that problem?” I plan to share John Hunter’s TED Talk with my students as an introduction to a probing discussion about what worked in the Learning Teams and what didn’t, We will dig deep to uncover what they see are the problems and where they think we need to go. Meanwhile, I hope to build a stronger sense of trust, so that my students will believe me when I tell them I want to empower them to take charge of their own learning. We have arrived at the first really important stage of our work together: learning from our mistakes.
Can Computers Decide When Humans Should Live Or Die? According to researchers, a simple formula calculated by a computer could be more effective then asking loved ones whether or not to 'pull the plug'. The program predicted the wishes of a patient accurately 78% of the time where as surrogates only made accurate decisions 68% of the time. Besides being more accurate then a surrogate, researches also claim the program will also preserve ethics. If the idea of a computer choosing whether you live or die gives you the creeps, advanced directives remain your best bet for specifying your future medical decisions, but very few people ever fill one out.
games, theory of games, theory of, group of mathematical theories first developed by John Von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern. A game consists of a set of rules governing a competitive situation in which from two to n individuals or groups of individuals choose strategies designed to maximize their own winnings or to minimize their opponent's winnings; the rules specify the possible actions for each player, the amount of information received by each as play progresses, and the amounts won or lost in various situations. Von Neumann and Morgenstern restricted their attention to zero-sum games, that is, to games in which no player can gain except at another's expense. This restriction was overcome by the work of John F. Nash during the early 1950s. Nash mathematically clarified the distinction between cooperative and noncooperative games. In noncooperative games, unlike cooperative ones, no outside authority assures that players stick to the same predetermined rules, and binding agreements are not feasible. Further, he recognized that in noncooperative games there exist sets of optimal strategies (so-called Nash equilibria) used by the players in a game such that no player can benefit by unilaterally changing his or her strategy if the strategies of the other players remain unchanged. Because noncooperative games are common in the real world, the discovery revolutionized game theory. Nash also recognized that such an equilibrium solution would also be optimal in cooperative games. He suggested approaching the study of cooperative games via their reduction to noncooperative form and proposed a methodology, called the Nash program, for doing so. Nash also introduced the concept of bargaining, in which two or more players collude to produce a situation where failure to collude would make each of them worse off. The theory of games applies statistical logic to the choice of strategies. It is applicable to many fields, including military problems and economics. The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Nash, John Harsanyi, and Reinhard Selten (1994), to Robert J. Aumann and Thomas C. Schelling (2005), and to Lloyd Shapley and Alvin Roth (2012) for work in applying game theory to aspects of economics. See J. Von Neumann and O. Morgenstern, Theory of Games and Economic Behavior (3d ed. 1953); D. Fudenberg and J. Tirole, Game Theory (1994); M. D. Davis, Game Theory: A Nontechnical Introduction (1997); R. B. Myerson, Game Theory: Analysis of Conflict (1997); J. F. Nash, Jr., Essays on Game Theory (1997); A. Rapoport, Two-Person Game Theory (1999). See more Encyclopedia articles on: Mathematics
Should designers be able to code? This topic never seems to die, with its endless blog posts, Twitter discussions and conference talks. But the developer’s involvement in the design process seems to be addressed very little. In traditional typography, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font was a matched set of metal type, one piece (called a “sort”) for each glyph, and a typeface comprised a range of fonts that shared an overall design. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used for describing the presentation semantics (the look and formatting) of a document written in a markup language. Its most common application is to style web pages written in HTML and XHTML, but the language can also be applied to any kind of XML document, including… Read more » Business cards are cards bearing business information about a company or individual. They are shared during formal introductions as a convenience and a memory aid. A business card typically includes the giver’s name, company or business affiliation and contact information such as street addresses, telephone number, fax number, e-mail addresses and website.
The production and consumption of tobacco leaves a wake of devastation for both people and the planet. On May 3rd, students from several Wheat Ridge area schools participated in the cleanup of Crown Hill and Discovery Parks during the 3rd annual Cigarette Butt Pick-Up organized by Jeffco PTA and Jeffco Public Health. Collectively, the students picked up: 4,996 cigarette butts from two parks in 45 minutes! The Butt Pick-Up helped to raise awareness about the impact of tobacco on the environment and to involve young people in the movement to create a healthier, tobacco-free community in Wheat Ridge. By participating in the event, students had the opportunity to engage with their community, connect to the natural world by cleaning up their local park and hear about leadership opportunities. Click here to check out more photos from the event. This event also highlighted the negative impact that tobacco production and litter have on our natural environment: - It is estimated that several trillion cigarette butts are littered worldwide every year, 1 flicked one at a time on our sidewalks, beaches, nature trails, gardens and other public places. In fact, cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world with an estimated 845,000 tons of butts littered globally each year.2 - Cigarette filters are made of cellulose acetate tow, not cotton and they can take decades to degrade.3 Not only does cigarette litter ruin even the most picturesque setting, but the toxic residue in cigarette filters is damaging to the environment and dangerous for animals and people. In addition, littered butts cause numerous fires every year, some of them fatal. - Research conducted by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimated that cigarette debris is responsible for killing at least one million sea birds and 100,000 mammals annually,4 and a recent study led by Elli Slaughter of San Diego State University shows that when cigarette butts enter the water supply, they are deadly to fish and marine life. 5 - Tobacco production is also responsible for global deforestation, requiring nearly 600 million trees annually to provide fuel for drying tobacco. That means one tree is destroyed for every 300 cigarettes produced. 6
Australia: Health Minister agrees to study health effects of e-cigarettes Australian health minister Greg Hunt has agreed to an independent inquiry into the health impacts of nicotine e-cigarettes. This comes after several MPs raised the issue in a party meeting, saying there was widespread support within the government for making nicotine e-cigarettes legally available. Australia’s drug regulator has banned e-cigarettes, putting Australia at odds with several comparable countries, including New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom. Source: The Guardian, 18 September 2018 Study: Chemical in cigarette smoke may damage important aspect of vision Exposure to cadmium, a chemical found in tobacco smoke, could make it more difficult for people to see in low-contrast conditions, such as low light, fog or glare, a new study suggests. Even those with 20-20 vision can experience problems with daily living if their contrast sensitivity is impaired. “This particular aspect of vision is really important because it affects your ability to see the end of a curb or put a key into a lock in low light,” said lead author Adam Paulson of the University of Wisconsin, School of Medicine. “It’s something that at this point in time there’s no way to correct, unlike visual acuity, which you can easily correct with glasses or contact lenses.” See also: JAMA Ophthalmology, Association of Cadmium and Lead Exposure With the Incidence of Contrast Sensitivity Impairment Among Middle-aged Adults Source: Reuters, 18 September 2018 Japan: Smoking cost the country $18.5 billion in 2015 Smoking caused 2.05 trillion yen ($18.44 billion) in damage to Japanese society in the fiscal year of 2015, a health ministry survey has shown. The damage mainly comes from medical costs, this includes treating cancer and other tobacco-related conditions. “Tobacco has various effects not only on people’s health but also all aspects of society,” said Ataru Igarashi, an associate professor of medical policies at the University of Tokyo. “Health-care costs are expected to drop due to the shrinking smoking population, but tobacco is still causing significant damage. Further countermeasures are required.” Source: Asahi, 19 September 2018 USA: E-cigarette warnings to appear in high school toilets nationwide The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will stage a massive education campaign aimed at the nearly 10.7 million teens it says are at risk of e-cigarette use and potential addiction, the agency said yesterday. In addition to placing posters in school toilets, the FDA is launching anti-vaping videos, targeted at youths, on social media. The FDA calls e-cigarette use by minors ‘an epidemic’. The trend was flagged in a 2016 report from the US surgeon general, which cited a 900% increase in e-cigarette use by high school students between 2011 to 2015. The new campaign is an extension of ‘The Real Cost Youth E-Cigarette Prevention Campaign’, which the FDA says is a nearly $60 million effort funded by fees from the tobacco industry. Editorial note: The FDA’s concerns strongly contrast with the latest ASH survey on youth use of e-cigarettes in Great Britain, which found that just 2% of GB 11-18 year olds use the devices ‘at least weekly’ and that use is almost exclusively found in current or ex-tobacco smokers. You can access the ASH factsheet on GB youth use of e-cigarettes here. Source: CNN, 19 September 2018 Philip Davies Conservative, Shipley To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control’s proposal for a worldwide ban on advertising, promoting and sponsoring e-cigarettes on the Government’s tobacco control plan; and if he will make a statement. Steve Brine, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care answered: The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is not proposing a worldwide ban on advertising, promoting and sponsoring of e-cigarettes. The Government supports proportionate regulation of e-cigarettes to ensure non-smokers and children are protected from accessing these products, and has implemented the European Union Tobacco Products Directive which ensures such proportionate regulation. A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified two items of correspondence received in the last six months about his Department’s participation in the 8th Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the WHO FCTC in October 2018. This figure represents correspondence received by the Department’s Ministerial correspondence unit only. The Department has also answered five Parliamentary Questions related to CoP in the last six months. As a global leader on tobacco control, the Department will engage constructively at the CoP, working closely with fellow members of the European Union and with other partners to continue to support measures proposed to reduce global harms from tobacco and ensure WHO FCTC Secretariat work proposals offer value for money. Source: Hansard, 17 September 2018 North East: Campaign launched as hospital is set to become a smokefree zone North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust is raising awareness about smoking cessation services among patients and staff, as part of a pledge to go smokefree by March 2019. The trust is offering nicotine replacement therapy and a referral to the community stop-smoking service for patients who smoke. Clare Henry, the trust’s specialist alcohol and tobacco nurse advisor, said: “over the next few months we will be spreading the message to as many people as possible about what we can all do to help go smokefree. We understand there are many reasons why people might choose to smoke outside the hospital… what we are looking to stress to people is the importance to have a healthy environment around our hospital sites… we are here to help smokers to quit.” Source: Hartlepool Mail, 9 August 2018 Ireland: Casual smokers dangerously unaware of the health risks A study published by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) has found that people who only smoke a few cigarettes a week have a 40% greater risk of dying from a smoking-related disease compared with non-smokers. Casual smokers, who account for one fifth of Irish smokers, are dangerously unaware of the risks associated with casual smoking, particularly over longer time periods. This problem is particularly acute for women aged 35 to 49 who smoke between one and four cigarettes a day, increasing their chances of developing lung cancer by one fifth. Doctor Des Cox, chairman of the policy group on tobacco at the RCPI, said that casual smokers “carry almost the same risk of cardiovascular disease as daily smokers. While great progress has been made to reduce smoking rates in Ireland, we still have 20 per cent of under-25s taking [it] up. This pattern of smoking is often perceived to have lesser risk and people continue this pattern of smoking over longer periods, increasing their long-term exposure to tobacco smoke.” Source: The Times, 9 August 2018 China: Xi’an city to ban smoking indoors Xi’an, capital of Northwest China’s Shaanxi province has announced a ban on smoking indoors in public places. The ban, which will come into force on 1 November, will also prohibit smoking in some outdoor public venues and will issue fines of up to ¥1000 for venue owners who fail to enforce the regulation. China currently has around 300 million smokers and has pledged to reduce the smoking rate from 27.7% to 20% by 2030. Source: China Daily, 8 August 2018 Tariffs on Chinese goods could harm US vaping industry Proposed levies on US imports from China could increase the price of e-cigarettes by around 15%. The US vape industry imported 91% of its vaping products from China in 2016, leaving them vulnerable to the US government’s proposed tariff on Chinese goods. According to a study in the Journal of Tobacco Control, this could cause a knock-on reduction in sales of approximately 12% and 19% for disposable and reusable e-cigarettes respectively. The vape industry is particularly sensitive to price increases due to the relative affordability of vaping compared to smoking. Euromonitor International’s Head of Tobacco Research, Shane MacGuill, said the tariff could have a “significant detrimental impact on the vapour product industry.” Source: Reuters, 8 August 2018 Journal of Tobacco Control: The impact of price and tobacco control policies on the demand for electronic nicotine delivery systems Smoking estimated to cost Japan over ¥2 trillion Japan’s Health Ministry has said that smoking cost the country ¥2.05 trillion in 2015, equivalent to around £14 billion. Smoker’s medical fees accounted for over half the total at ¥1.26 trillion, with cancer treatment and treatment for passive smoking costing ¥500 billion and ¥330 billion respectively. This is in addition to a further ¥260 billion in nursing care fees for smoking-related diseases and ¥98 billion for smoking-related fires. Ataru Igarashi, a member of the Health Ministry’s team and a specially appointed associate professor at the University of Tokyo, said: “We have found that smoking not only increases medical costs but also leads to financial losses in a range of areas such as nursing care.” Source: Japan Today, 9 August 2018 Philip Morris International under fire over ‘disgraceful’ PR stunt Philip Morris International (PMI), the world’s largest tobacco firm, has been accused of staging “a disgraceful PR stunt” by offering to help NHS staff quit smoking to help mark the service’s 70th birthday. PMI made an ‘offer’ in a letter sent to all NHS bodies in England and also to Simon Stevens and Matt Hancock. Mark MacGregor, PMI’s director of corporate affairs in the UK and Ireland, said in the widely distributed letter: “To support the 70th anniversary of the NHS, we are keen to work with you to help the 73,000 NHS employees who currently smoke, to quit cigarettes. This would be a collaborative campaign: you would provide cessation advice for quitting nicotine altogether, and for smokers who do not quit we can help them switch to smoke-free alternatives.” Paul Burstow, the former Liberal Democrat health minister in the coalition government, said in a letter to Simon Stevens: “Any such collaboration with the tobacco industry would be completely inappropriate and a breach of the UK government’s obligations as a party to the WHO FCTC.” Bob Blackman, chair of the APPG on Smoking in Health said: “They have the cheek to say they want to support the 70th anniversary of the NHS, but it’s clearly just a commercial opportunity to use the NHS to promote their heated tobacco products.” Steve Brine, the public health minister said he would tell NHS trusts not to get involved. Brine said: “Our aim to make our NHS – and our next generation – smoke-free must be completely separate from the commercial and vested interests of the tobacco industry.” Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH said: “This is a disgraceful PR stunt. PMI is pretending partnership would benefit the NHS, when actually it would give them a massive commercial advantage. They could promote their own harm-reduction products as NHS-endorsed.” Source: Guardian, 19 July 2018 British Government orders Phillip Morris to stop advertising “healthier” tobacco products, or face legal action The Government will take one of the world’s largest tobacco firms to court unless it stops illegally targeting UK consumers with tobacco adverts, a Minister has said. Yesterday the Department of Health sent a formal order to Phillip Morris International, which makes Marlboro cigarettes, telling it to remove poster adverts for “healthier” tobacco products from shops around the UK. PMI has been supplying newsagents across Britain with window posters promoting new iQOS tobacco heaters. The iQOS posters are in breach of a strict, long-standing ban on advertising tobacco and tobacco-related products, the Department for Health and the National Trading Standards Institute have confirmed. Public Health Minister, Steve Brine, said: “We have been explicit that the promotion of tobacco products is unlawful – as my letter to Phillip Morris International makes abundantly clear. We expect PMI to stop this unlawful advertisement of tobacco products and we will not rule out legal action if they continue.” Source: The Telegraph, 18 July 2018 North-East: Smokers’ stories wanted for ‘hard-hitting’ health campaign Tobacco control group Fresh wants people in the North-East affected by smoking to share their real life experiences. The aim is to put smokers’ real stories at the heart of a ‘hard hitting’ new campaign later this year, warning of the dangers of smoking. They are hoping to hear from former smokers who have been personally affected by ill-health or family members whose loved ones have suffered from a smoking-related illness. Ailsa Rutter, director of Fresh, said: “It is a brave step to share your experiences with others, but we know that it can have a powerful impact in encouraging others to quit. If you want to make a difference and are interested in backing the campaign, we would love to hear from you.” Source: The Northern Echo, 19 July 2018 Lancashire: More seizures of illicit tobacco in Nelson Action against illegal tobacco in central Nelson has resulted in a further seizure in under a week at one shop, and a manufacturing operation being uncovered at another. An inspection by Lancashire County Council Trading Standards and Lancashire Police on Tuesday, July 17, found a further 88 packs behind the counter at one shop, after a raid the previous Thursday netted over 2,200 packs worth £10,000. Officers then visited a second shop just outside Nelson town centre, where they found a production line for manufacturing packs of counterfeit rolling tobacco in an upstairs room. Source: This is Lancashire, 18 July 2018 Scotland: Avoidable death rate highest in the UK Scotland has the highest rate of avoidable death in the UK and the figures are getting worse, a BBC analysis has found. In 2016, the rate stood at 301 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with 287 in 2014. Experts blame social deprivation, with easy access to alcohol, tobacco and fast food also a factor. Dr Andrew Fraser, from NHS Health Scotland, said: “We know that people in poorer areas experience more harm from alcohol, tobacco and fast food than those in more affluent areas. Part of the reason for this is that it is easier to access the things that harm our health in those areas.” “To prevent death, disease and harm we need to take actions where and when they are needed. We must address harm from alcohol, tobacco, being overweight or obese. However, these are often common factors, co-existing in communities, groups and individuals, and so we must also address the environment we live in.” Source: BBC News: 19 July 2018 Scotland: Dundee has one of the highest smoking rates in Britain New figures from the Office for National Statistics show Dundee still has one of the highest rates of smoking in Britain, with more than one in five adults smoking. However, the number of smokers in Dundee is decreasing, due to a successful and sustained tobacco control strategy from the government. In 2011, 27.3% of Dundee’s population smoked 2017 and by this figure had dropped to 20.8%. Source: Evening Telegraph, 18 July 2018 UN-backed treaty against illicit tobacco trade set to take effect in September A UN-backed treaty aimed at stopping the illicit trading of tobacco products, is set to take effect on the 25th of September. The package of measures agreed by countries which 45 Parties and the European Union have ratified is known as the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. It was developed in response to a growing illegal trade in tobacco products, often across borders. The Protocol aims to make the supply chain of tobacco products secure through a series of governmental measures. It requires the establishment of a global tracking and tracing regime within five years of its entry into force. Other provisions to ensure control of the supply chain include licensing, record keeping requirements, and regulation of internet-sales, duty-free sales and international transit. Source: Government World Magazine, 18 July 2018 x Japan: First anti-smoking law gets go ahead – but it is lax and partial Japan has approved its first national legislation banning smoking inside of public facilities, but the watered-down measure excludes many restaurants and bars and is seen as toothless. The legislation aims to lower secondhand smoking risks ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics amid international calls for a smokefree Games. But ruling party lawmakers with strong ties to the tobacco and restaurant industries opted for a weakened version. The new national law bans indoor smoking at schools, hospitals and government offices. Smoking will be allowed at existing small eateries, including those with less than 100 square meters (1,076 square feet) of customer space, which includes more than half of Japanese establishments. Larger and new eateries must limit smoking to designated rooms. Violators can face fines of up to 300,000 yen ($2,700) for smokers and up to 500,000 yen ($4,500) for facility managers. The ban will be implemented in stages and fully enter into force in April 2020. Source: Medical Xpress, 18 July 2018 USA: Campaign helps smokers to quit The ongoing Tips from Former Smokers (Tips) campaign, which features stories of former smokers living with smoking-related diseases and disabilities, has had a considerable impact, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Tips campaign engages health care providers so that they can encourage their smoking patients to quit. In addition, resources are provided for health care providers, public health professionals, and mental health providers. More than nine million smokers were estimated to have attempted to quit during 2012 to 2015 as a result of the Tips campaign; conservative estimates indicate that over half a million smokers have quit for good. There were 267,594 calls attributable to the Tips campaign in 2017, which ran from January 9 to July 30. An estimated 1.83 million smokers attempted to quit and 104,000 quit for good as a result of the 2014 campaign. Non-smokers reported increased conversations with family and friends about the dangers of smoking and had greater knowledge of smoking-related diseases as a result of the Tips 2012 campaign. An estimated 1.64 million smokers made a quit attempt and 100,000 smokers quit for good as a result of the 2012 campaign. “Smokers who have seen Tips ads report greater intentions to quit within the next 30 days and next six months, and smokers who have seen the ads multiple times have even greater intentions to quit,” according to the report. Source: Medical Xpress, 18 July 2018 Link of the week Tobacco giant buys stake in medical cannabis One of the UK’s biggest tobacco manufacturers is seeking to diversify from the under-pressure cigarette market by taking a stake in a start-up researching medical uses of cannabis. Imperial Brands, the FTSE 100 company behind Winston and Gauloises cigarettes, is investing in Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies (OCT). It is thought to be the first time that a Big Tobacco company has invested in cannabis research in the UK. Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said: “Imperial talks of there being ‘significant potential’ in cannabinoid products but they’re not a pharmaceutical company, they’re a recreational drug company. This is all about developing the expertise they need to market cannabis not as a medicine, but as a recreational drug. It’s a bad move for a start-up like OCT to besmirch its reputation by taking money from an industry responsible for killing more than seven million people a year. And it bucks the trend. Major investors all round the world, from banks and pension funds, to insurers and sovereign wealth funds, are all getting out of tobacco.” See also: BBC, ‘Tobacco giant Imperial Brands invests in medical cannabis’ Source: The Times, 29 June 2018 North West: Burnley women urged to stop smoking Burnley has the second highest rate of women smokers in the country. In Burnley 25.5% of women are smokers, second only to Hastings in East Sussex, with fellow Lancashire area South Ribble having the least amount of women smokers at just 4%. Lancashire County Council has commissioned a ‘Quit Squad’ which encourages people to stop smoking, and includes support for pregnant women to quit in partnership with midwifes, health visitors and children’s centres. Shaun Turner, Lancashire County Council’s cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “We know how difficult it is to stop smoking, but we’re here to help. Current figures show that 16% of Lancashire’s population smokes, which is just above the national average. Rates in the county are falling. However, we are aware of tobacco use hotspots such as Burnley and our targeted work with communities will help us address them. Our aim is to cut smoking rates in Lancashire to 12% or less by 2022.” Source: Burnley Express, 28 June 2018 The protocol to eliminate illicit trade in tobacco products is live On the 27 June 2018, the conditions for the entry into force of the first legally binding instrument adopted under the WHO FCTC were met. The ratification of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, meant the necessary number of Parties to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products was reached, paving the way to eliminate illicit trade of tobacco products. This achievement is a milestone in the history of tobacco control, as the Protocol contains a full range of measures to combat illicit trade distributed in three categories: preventing illicit trade, promoting law enforcement and providing the legal basis for international cooperation. Moreover, it aims to secure the supply chain of tobacco products, through licensing, due diligence and record keeping, and requires the establishment of a global tracking and tracing regime that will allow Governments to effectively follow up tobacco products from the point of production to the first point of sale. The Parties can now hold the First session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol (MOP1) in Geneva, Switzerland, from the 8th to the 10th of October 2018, following the Eighth Conference of the Parties (COP8) of the WHO FCTC. Source: FCTC, 28 June 2018 Australia: WTO backs plain cigarette packets Australia has won a major trade dispute over its pioneering plain packaging for cigarettes, in a decision handed down by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Australia made it mandatory in 2011 for cigarettes to be sold in plain packets that carry health warnings. Seven years on, the WTO has rejected complaints from four nations that the laws violate international trade. Unless there is a successful appeal, the decision is expected to hasten similar regulations around the world. “Australia has achieved a resounding victory,” its government said in a statement on Friday. Cuba, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Indonesia – all tobacco producers – had argued that plain packaging infringed on trademarks and intellectual property rights. But the WTO rejected those arguments and assertions that alternative measures could achieve an equivalent benefit to public health. Financial Times, Australia wins landmark WTO ruling over cigarette packaging The Guardian, ‘Resounding victory’: Australia wins tobacco plain packaging dispute Daily Mail Online, ‘Australia wins landmark WTO ruling on plain tobacco packaging’ Source: BBC News, 29 June 2018 China: Low funding cited as top reason for lackluster smoking control Lack of funding has become a major obstacle to the enforcement of tobacco control regulations, according to a new report based on feedback from the governments of 18 major cities on the Chinese mainland. Wang Zhenyu, the head of the law firm that carried out the study, said “We found that lack of government funding is the biggest difficulty in tobacco control for many cities, and the problem has not improved over the past few years.” Of the 18 cities, nine disclosed the amount of money allocated for tobacco control for 2016. Beijing was top, with total funding of about 4.8 million yuan ($724,000), followed by Guangzhou, Guangdong province, at 4.6 million yuan. Funding on all the other seven cities was below 500,000 yuan. However, Jiang Yuan, director of the tobacco control office of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that although Beijing has placed more emphasis on tobacco control than most other cities in China, but the funding level is still far from adequate. She said, “Per capita funding is far below many other countries and regions, such as Hong Kong.” Source: China Daily, 29 June 2018 China: Paternal smoking linked to miscarriage risk Would-be fathers may increase their partner’s risk of miscarriage by smoking during the pregnancy, or even during the time leading up to conception, a large study from China suggests. Based on data for nearly 6 million pregnancies, researchers found that women whose partner smoked during the first few months of the pregnancy were 17% more likely to miscarry than women with nonsmoking partners. Women whose partners quit smoking around the time of conception had an 18% lower risk of miscarriage than those whose smoking partner didn’t quit, the study team reports in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. “Although we have known for a long time that if the mother smokes there is an increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes, dads who smoke also influence the ‘success’ of the pregnancy,” Dr. Alison Holloway, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Source: Reuters, 27 June 2018 Japan: Smoke exposure during pregnancy and infancy tied to hearing loss Kids exposed to tobacco smoke in the womb and early in infancy could have double the odds of developing hearing loss compared with children who were not exposed to tobacco at all, a Japanese study suggests. Researchers examined data on 50,734 children born between 2004 and 2010 in Kobe City, Japan. Overall, about 4% of these kids were exposed to smoking during pregnancy or infancy, and roughly 1% had tobacco exposure during both periods. Hearing tests done when kids were 3 years old found that 4.6% of the children had hearing loss. They were 68% more likely to have hearing loss if they were exposed to tobacco during pregnancy, and 30% more likely if they inhaled second-hand smoke during infancy, the study found. When kids had smoke exposure during both periods, they were 2.4 times more likely than unexposed kids to have hearing loss. Source: Reuters, 28 June 2018 US: Opinion: 12-year-olds can’t buy cigarettes. Why can they work in tobacco fields? In the US, a 12-year-old cannot legally walk into a store and buy cigarettes, but the law allows that same child to work in a tobacco field. A 16-year-old child tobacco worker told Human Rights Watch that tobacco was “the hardest of all the crops we’ve worked in. You get tired. It takes the energy out of you. You get sick, but then you have to go right back to the tobacco the next day.” When the seminal legislation the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed in 1938, it exempted agriculture from its extensive labor protections, including child labor. In 2011-12, the Obama administration attempted to ban teen work in tobacco, but farm groups claimed this would “kill the family farm” and the Obama administration promised to never implement them again during Obama’s tenure. Now, the Trump administration is working to remove hazardous work restrictions for students and apprentices that would allow minors to use chainsaws, meat slicers, compactors and other dangerous machinery for longer hours than currently allowed. We call on the tobacco industry to raise the minimum age of work on tobacco farms to 18 in the US and around the world immediately. It’s bad enough that the tobacco industry is willing to kill its customers with a dangerous product; it really should move to protect the workers who produce that product. See also: Guardian, ‘The US children working in tobacco fields’ Source: Guardian, 29 June 2018 Link of the week Cigarettes and Chimneys In a short 15 minute programme, Radio 4 tells the story of how Richard Doll’s research in the 1950s identified that smoking caused lung cancer and how the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) had to weigh in to ensure that government took the evidence seriously. When lung cancer, a new deadly disease, began to grip the nation, the NHS was focused on treatment, not prevention. Lung cancer was a disease that doctors couldn’t treat. The suggestion that something you could prevent – cigarette smoking – might be causing it, led to a radically new way of thinking about the role of the health service. The RCP has been in the forefront of promoting this change in perspective since its seminal 1962 report Smoking and Health, and it continues to promote the role of prevention in the NHS today with its latest report Hiding in plain sight. Many other RCP reports are also available for free to download on the RCP website. Source: BBC Radio 4, 25 June 2018 Opinion: Why don’t more young women vape? Sophie Jarvis from the Adam Smith Institute comments on vaping trends When it comes to tackling the harms of smoking we still seem to stick to an abstinence-only approach. It should be made easier for adults to switch to safer (but not risk-free) alternatives. Public Health England have to their credit highlighted the relative benefits of vaping by pointing out that it’s at least 95% safer than smoking. In other words, it would take 20 non-smokers to take up vaping to outweigh the good of one smoker switching the other way. British vaping laws aren’t that Victorian, but there’s room for improvement. While we allow vape shops and vaping in public places, e-cigarette manufacturers face stiff regulation and are prevented from talking about the relative risks of vaping compared with smoking. The EU’s Tobacco Products Directive limits tank sizes, regulates nicotine content, and restricts the ability for e-cigarette sellers to market their products effectively. We know from other countries that heavy-handed e-cigarette laws don’t help smokers: in Australia, where e-cigarettes are banned, smokers as a proportion of the population dropped by just 0.6% between 2013-2016. By contrast, the UK’s relatively liberal approach to vaping lead to smoking rates falling by 2.9%. Japan also banned e-cigarettes, but they allow heat-not-burn products which has resulted in a significant decline in cigarette sales. Source: Spectator, 25 June 2018 Note: The Adam Smith Institute has received money from the tobacco industry in the past Scotland: Smokers outside Larbert hospital to be fined Larbet hospital in Falkirk will soon be fining those who smoke too near the hospital premises. The Scottish Government aims to make it an offence to smoke within 15 metres of hospitals, as part of a tobacco control action plan which includes 44 specific actions. The NHS in Scotland has spent years trying to persuade smokers not to smoke in hospital grounds, and now intends to tackle the issue by bringing in new legislation. However no final decision has been made on whether vaping should continue to be allowed around NHS facilities – the Scottish Government aims to work with health boards and integration boards to “try and reach a consensus” on the issue. The move is part of tobacco control action plan aimed at addressing health inequalities and cutting smoking rates, particularly in deprived areas. Source: Falkirk Herald, 22 June 2018 USA: Study finds large increase in number of college campuses going smokefree Smoking continues to fall out of favour at colleges and universities across America, a new study has found. As of November 2017, over 2,000 U.S. college campuses were smokefree or tobacco-free (no smokeless tobacco use or smoking), compared with only 774 campuses in 2012, the report found. In 2017, 84% of smokefree campuses were tobacco-free, compared with 73% of smokefree campuses in 2012, according to the study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation. “Colleges and universities are ideal places to promote healthy behaviours that can continue for a lifetime, including being tobacco-free,” Corinne Graffunder, director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, said in an agency news release. Source: Health Day, 22 June 2018 See also: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Smoke-Free and Tobacco-Free Policies in Colleges and Universities – United States and Territories, 2017 (page 10 of PDF download) Signs that Philip Morris’s iQOS heat-not-burn product might not be a big hit Philip Morris International’s (PMI) lacklustre first-quarter earnings report has weighed heavily on the tobacco industry, after the company experienced a dramatic drop off in sales of its next-generation heat-not-burn tobacco devices in Japan. Their concern is that the device won’t be able to offset the secular decline in traditional cigarette sales. The rollout of the iQOS heat-not-burn device marked a significant change in how Philip Morris presented itself to the public and investors. The future, Philip Morris said, was going to be smokefree, and the company took out full-page ads in newspapers calling on smokers to quit and switch to alternative products. Japan was a seminal point for iQOS, and after rolling it out nationwide, it captured 80% of the heat-not-burn market in the country. However, PMI’s earnings report indicated it has burned through all of the early adopters of the new technology and now faced the prospect of convincing older, more conservative smokers to switch, a more difficult and costly task. It has since cut the cost of iQOS devices to try and boost sales. Source: Yahoo Finance, 22 June 2018 China: On-screen smoking scenes in Chinese media declining The number of scenes depicting tobacco smoking in Chinese movies and TV series have declined overall in the last decade, according to the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control. However the figures for 2017 were worse than in 2016, according to the public health charity. This is the 10th consecutive year the association has surveyed Chinese movies and television shows. Twenty of the top thirty movie blockbusters had at least one smoking scene last year, down 23% from 2007. The declining trend in TV series was even more apparent; 17 of the 30 most-watched shows had smoking scenes in 2017, down by 37% from 10 years ago. Under regulations issued in 2009 and 2011 by the former State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, smoking scenes are “strictly controlled” rather than banned. Source: China Daily, 25 June 2018 Opinion: Inconsistent regulators risk stifling UK vaping industry Gillian Golden, chief executive of the Independent British Vape Trade Association, discusses the impact of regulation on the UK vaping industry Independent vaping companies, free from ownership or control by the tobacco or pharmaceutical industries, make up 90% of what is one of the fastest growing industries in Britain. UK vaping businesses are known globally for their innovation and product stewardship, and locally, independent vape shops are one of the few areas of positive growth on British high streets. On average, members of the Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA) have seen a 24% reduction in business since the regulations were fully implemented in May 2017, forcing some businesses to close. While we are not happy with the current set of restrictions placed on the UK’s vape industry, the IBVTA is not anti-regulation, and has worked proactively to ensure that members comply with the relevant regulations. However, the lax attitudes from some enforcement bodies has meant that non-compliance, particularly online, has given a competitive advantage to manufacturers and sellers which aren’t following the most recent legislation. Our report, “The State of Compliance – One year on from the TRPR”, which launched in parliament this week, should serve as a wake-up call. We must review the inclusion of vaping in the TRPR at the earliest possible opportunity, and introduce proportionate, risk-based, vape-specific legislation which allows as many smokers as possible switch away from smoking. Source: City AM, 7 June See also: IBVTA: The State of Compliance Opinion: The impact of NICE on cardiovascular disease prevention Professor Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive and director Health and Social Care at NICE, looks into what can be done to decrease cardiovascular disease nationally and how to prevent missed opportunities in the future. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for just over a quarter of deaths and affects around 7 million people in the UK. Risk factors for CVD include smoking, obesity, mental illness, physical inactivity, and long-term factors like diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. These can all be addressed with the right care and support. For example, data from the Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) shows smoking levels in 2016 fell to 15.5% of the adult population. To encourage this, we recommend offering patients in hospitals, mental health, and maternity services advice on quitting. But despite an audit of 15,000 patients finding that of the 73% that had their smoking status recorded, only 28% were asked if they would like to quit. This suggests key opportunities are being missed to further tackle smoking rates. Source: National Health Executive, 6 June 2018 Japanese study: Children who were exposed to cigarettes in the womb and as babies are more than twice as likely to be deaf A study conducted by Kyoto University has found that exposure to cigarette smoke in pregnancy and as newborns raises the risk of hearing problems by 2.4 times. Three-year-olds exposed within the first four months of life are 30% more at risk of deafness and children are 26% more at risk if their mothers smoked during their pregnancies. Study author Dr Koji Kawakami, Kyoto University, said: “Although public health guidelines already discourage smoking during pregnancy and in front of children, some women still smoke during pregnancy and many young children are exposed to second-hand smoke. This study clearly shows that preventing exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy and postnatally may reduce the risk of hearing problems in children.” Source: Daily Mail, 6 June 2018 San Francisco approves ban on menthol cigarettes and flavoured e-cigarette liquids San Francisco residents have overwhelmingly voted to uphold a ban on all flavoured tobacco, alongside flavoured e-cigarette liquids. The city’s supervisors approved the measure last summer, but tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds and a coalition of businesses and industry associations challenged it. Nearly 70% of voters supported the ban, according to San Francisco’s election results. Tuesday’s vote ends a campaign that pitted Big Tobacco against former New York mayor and billionaire philanthropist Michael Bloomberg and public health groups. R.J. Reynolds, the maker of best-selling menthol cigarette brand Newport, poured more than $11.6 million into the effort. Bloomberg donated $1.8 million of the $2.3 million raised by supporters of the ban. Source: CNBC, 6 June 2018 China: Beijing’s smoking population drops by 200,000 The number of smokers in Beijing has dropped by about 200,000, three years after the city adopted its strictest tobacco control regulations, the municipal health authority said Wednesday. The adult smoking rate in Beijing is now 22.3%, or 3.99 million smokers. This means there are 200,000 fewer smokers than in 2015, the city’s commission for health improvement said. A total of 61 hospitals have opened smoking cessation clinics. The number of tobacco control volunteers has approached 15,000 citywide. Around 1,600 departments and over 7,300 individuals have been found to violate tobacco control regulations. Source: Xinhua Net, 6 June 2018
It is impossible to comprehend the experience of grief with mere words. And yet what else do we have to help each other understand it? There are no "tricks" or pat solutions or foolproof techniques that enable one to comfort a grieving person. This is because, like our faces and our personalities, our individual responses to terrible loss are various. While there are things you should not say, there are no words that are guaranteed to soothe. It is our presence with the grieving person that provides the best hope of comfort, our willingness to be with them, to listen to their pain, to share their sense of helplessness. It is not good to go through grief alone. And often those close to us who seem the logical candidates to be with us are so wounded and caught up in their own experience of loss that they can think only of themselves. This is why children who have lost a sibling often feel abandoned by their grieving parents. And it is at least part of the reason why parents who have lost a child divorce with such frequency. No one teaches us how to grieve or how to be with those who are grieving. Some people seem more able to comfort those who mourn, but then some people are better than others at all sorts of human interactions. Perhaps we can all get better at it by understanding the process and what we bring to it from our own life experience. Grief and mourning are surrounded by myth. First of all, people use the terms synonymously though they are actually different experiences. Grief is the thoughts and feelings experienced within oneself upon the death of someone loved. It is the internal experience of bereavement. Mourning is the taking of the internal experience of grief and expressing it outside of ourselves. This is a very culture-bound process. Contemporary American culture is focused on one imperative: get over it. The section on bereavement in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association contains the following sentence: "The diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder is generally not given unless the symptoms are still present two months after the loss." In other words, you have two months to grieve, and after that if you're not back to your old self, you have a mental illness. Another common myth is that there is an orderly progression through the experience of mourning. This is based on Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's characterization of how people respond to catastrophically bad news, starting with denial and ending with acceptance. In fact, bereaved people find themselves assaulted by a variety of conflicting emotions in a completely unpredictable sequence. And there are some losses that we are forced to live with but can never truly "accept." A further false belief is that grief is something to avoid. In fact, it is unavoidable; it cannot be overcome, only experienced. The only "treatment" is to teach people to tolerate some extremely distressing emotions, including anxiety, confusion, and a wish to be dead. Commonly, those in the early stages of grief believe that they are "going crazy." Bereaved people want to know, "How long will I be this way? What is the goal of this awful process?" The fact is that the loss of a loved one changes us permanently. There is no "closure," (a word hated by grieving parents) only softening. Dean Koontz said this in his book, Sole Survivor: The few times he had gone to meetings of The Compassionate Friends, he had heard other grieving parents speak of the Zero Point. The Zero Point was the instant of the child's death, from which every future event would be dated, the eye blink during which crushing loss reset your internal gauges to zero. It was the moment at which your shabby box of hopes and wants--which had once seemed to be such a fabulous chest of bright dreams--was turned on end and emptied into an abyss, leaving you with zero expectations. In a clock tick, the future was no longer a kingdom of possibility and wonder, but a yoke of obligation--and only the unattainable past offered a hospitable place to live. He had existed at Zero Point for more than a year, with time receding from him in both directions, belonging to neither the days ahead nor those behind. It was as though he had been suspended in a tank of liquid nitrogen and lay deep in cryogenic slumber. Loss is an inevitable consequence of the human condition. If we survive long enough we encounter many losses. The natural response to loss is grief—which looks much like depression: sadness, tears, diminished energy, changes in sleep and appetite, problems with concentration. A diminished self-esteem is more characteristic of depression. If we are grieving the loss of a loved one, we are sad, but we generally retain our sense of ourselves as worthwhile people. What we are trying to offer any person experiencing extended or recurrent sadness is hope. Our own experiences of loss and discouragement are what we have to inform our ability to console others. The bereaved are especially sensitive to the bromides with which the uninitiated, those untouched by personal devastation, attempt to offer comfort. The grief bulletin boards of the Internet are full of the anger of people who, confronting the worst moments of their lives, are offered well-meant but ineffective attempts at consolation. Some of them—and the thoughts they evoke in grieving people - are: He's in a better place. (But I'm not there with him.) You're lucky to have other children. (I don't feel lucky.) I know how you feel. (Have you had a child die?) What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. (Why don't I feel stronger?) God doesn't give us more than we can bear. (How easy that must be to say.) You're so strong; I couldn't do what you have done. (What choice do I have?) You can get pregnant again. (So this child was disposable?) How each of us confronts loss, in ourselves and in those we would help, defines us as few other attributes can. What we reveal in our attitudes toward grief and mourning determines whether we have anything to teach others. If we have not distilled from our own lives a sense of purpose in the face of implacable fate, how can we transmit hope to those who feel crushed by feelings of powerlessness and despair? All of us inevitably employ whatever beliefs we have, religious or philosophical, that help us to confront our mortality. Whether those we seek to help have similar convictions determines whether or not they will be useful. One need not partake of any particular doctrine, but it helps to believe in something—if only in the nobility of the human spirit in the face of the unknown. To be mortal is to bear the awful weight of time and fate. It is in a sharing this burden that we help ourselves no less than those whom we would help. We do this in an atmosphere of both pain and hope in an attempt, finally, to enable the pleasure that is also life's gift.
UC Food Blog MyPlate icon clearly shows many Americans how to formulate healthy meals for their families with the proper proportions of fruits and vegetables, protein foods, grains and dairy products. However, UC Cooperative Extension nutrition educators in Central California discovered that the infographic was too abstract for local low-literate families. They embarked on a years-long effort to translate the shapes and colors into a series pictures showing plates filled with healthful, real food. The concept clicked, so county and campus-based researchers joined together to document the effectiveness of a new curriculum shaped around pictures of properly portioned plates of food to share with nutrition educators around the nation and world. They wrote an article, A Picture is worth a thousand words: Customizing MyPlate for low-literate, low-income families in 4 steps, which was published in the July-August 2015 issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. In 2016, the article was named the “paper of the year” in a category of articles and research programs called “great educational material” (GEM). In the paper, the researchers shared a four-step process for creating a set of meal photographs that will resonate with families in different communities. The four steps are: - Review food patterns and determine meal combinations – This is done by asking clientele what foods they recently fed their families. Once the foods are identified, they can be modified to meet MyPlate recommendations. - Test meals and take final photographs – Prepare the meals, take photos and test the photos with the target audience. - Develop and test education messages to accompany photos – Messages should have few words, use family vocabulary and be written for a low-literacy audience. - Create and test education materials – After the suggested materials are created, they should be tested with the target audience. The UC Cooperative Extension Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is using the “My Healthy Plate” materials in reaching out to low-literacy and low-income families in California. The authors of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior paper of the year are Mical Shilts researcher at UC Davis; Margaret Johns, nutrition, family and consumer science advisor in Kern County; Cathi Lamp, emeritus nutrition, family and consumer sciences advisor in Tulare County; Connie Schneider, emeritus Youth, Families and Communities director for UC Agriculture and Natural Resources; and Marilyn Townsend, UC Cooperative Extension nutrition education specialist in the Department of Nutrition at UC Davis. My Healthy Plate education materials are available at http://townsendlab.ucdavis.edu. Lorrene Ritchie, Ph.D., RD, director of the Nutrition Policy Institute in the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR). “I applaud USDA's decisions to increase servings of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, cereals low in sugar, and healthy beverages, including breastfeeding,” said Ritchie, who has devoted her career to the development of interdisciplinary, science-based and culturally relevant solutions to child obesity. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released new nutrition standards in April for food and beverages served to young children and others in child care settings that participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Through CACFP, more than 3.3 million children and 120,000 adults receive nutritious meals and snacks at day care, afterschool centers and emergency shelters. The final rule is intended to better align the nutritional quality of meals and snacks provided under the program with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. letter of support to USDA. At USDA's behest, the Institute of Medicine convened a committee of eminent nutrition researchers to develop science-based recommendations for CACFP meals and snacks that meet the challenge of the Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act of 2010: to align the CACFP standards with the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans. “USDA has taken the IOM's recommendations and translated them into nutrition standards that help address obesity and overweight as well as food insecurity. The new standards are straightforward for childcare sponsors and providers and impose no new, added costs,” said Ritchie, who is also a UC Cooperative Extension nutrition specialist. This update to CACFP standards is an important step toward ensuring that young children have access to the nutrition they need and develop healthy habits that will contribute to their well-being over the long term, Kevin Concannon, USDA undersecretary, said in announcing the new standards. “Research indicates that America's obesity problem starts young, with obesity rates in preschoolers more than doubling over the last three decades and one in eight preschoolers classified as obese,” Concannon said. “Since taste preference and eating habits develop early in life, CACFP could play a crucial role in the solution.” Ritchie, who has conducted studies on the impact of policy on nutrition practices in child care settings, thinks USDA's process for developing the new nutrition standards is effective. “The new meal patterns demonstrate that the process for regularly updating nutrition standards in the federal food programs, using evidence-based IOM recommendations, is working well,” she said. “The new CACFP standards should make a significant beneficial contribution to the health and development of the nation's young children.” The NPI director, who has led a push to persuade the government to make water the drink of choice in the dietary guidelines and add an icon for water on the MyPlate food guide, also praised USDA's authorization of reimbursement for the expenses involved in providing bottled water in the rare instances when tap water is not potable. “UC Nutrition Policy Institute has a special commitment to expanding children's consumption of drinking water,” Ritchie said. The UC Nutrition Policy Institute's mission is to improve nutrition and reduce obesity, hunger and chronic disease risk in children and their families in diverse settings. NPI provides nutrition policy leadership built from UC Agriculture and Natural Resources' numerous research, and education activities, and works in synergy with research and outreach efforts being conducted throughout the University of California system. There are several ways to overcome these gardening pitfalls to help ensure you have a successful warm-season vegetable gardening experience. Plan, plan and stick with your vegetable garden plan! Planning is a key component to having a successful vegetable garden, but is frequently forgotten or overlooked. Planning includes selecting an appropriate location for your garden, choosing the correct varieties of crops for your space and developing a garden plan for what you would like to grow. When selecting a location it is important that the site receives at least eight hours of full sun, is close to a water source (hose, irrigation or hand-watering) and has good soil for optimal growth. Once you have an appropriate location picked out, creating a garden plan will help contribute to your growing success. Too often the overall size of the garden area and the size of mature plants is not considered. Keep in mind a young plant can become established and quickly overtake a small garden lot, challenging or dominating other plants for resources. “A well planned garden can provide fresh or preserved vegetables for use year-round. The plan should contain crops and amounts to be planted, dates of planting and estimated harvest, planting location for each crop, specific spacing between rows, and trellising or support required,” according to the California Master Gardener Handbook (see Figure 13.1 on Page 342). Invest a little time and develop a detailed plan to help guide you on where, which type and how many plants you will need for your space. Your vegetable garden plan will keep you focused while shopping at your local nursery and prevent impulse buys of tempting transplants! Caring for your vegetable garden Irrigation is a key component in a successful vegetable garden. Consistent, deep and sufficient watering will produce better tasting and superior quality fruits and vegetables, especially during the hot summer months when it is easy for the soil to quickly dry out. “As a rule” the handbook says on Page 349, “it will be necessary to irrigate your vegetable garden one to three times a week in summer ... The frequency will be determined by the depth of crop roots, soil texture, and weather conditions. Wet the soil to just beyond the bottom of the root system at each watering.” Even in a time of drought, vegetable crops require the soil to remain moist during their crop cycle. Poor irrigation practices and infrequent watering will produce smaller yields and poor quality fruits and vegetables. Weed prevention and maintenance is an important piece in caring for your vegetable garden. Without monitoring and controlling weeds, your crops could quickly become overrun by these pesky unwanted plants. Apply a three- to four-inch layer of organic mulch to discourage the growth of weeds. Prevent weeds by hand-weeding before they become established and go to seed. The UC Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program has detailed information available on its website about sustainable weed management in the home landscape. Harvesting (and enjoying) your crop Produce Fact Sheets to help guide you on when to best harvest your crops. “To get the most from your vegetables, harvest them when they are at the best stage for eating and store them under conditions that will keep them as close to garden-fresh as possible,” recommends The California Garden Web. “Vegetables will be crisper and cooler when harvested in the early morning.” (cagardenweb.ucanr.edu) Once harvested don't forget to enjoy the fruits (and veggies) of your labor. Few experiences can compare with the gratification of eating homegrown fruits and vegetables for the first-time! Learn more with UC Master Gardeners Interested in learning more about how to grow a thriving edible garden or home landscape? The UC Master Gardener Program has University trained volunteers who are eager to help. Volunteers are available to answer questions about preparing your soil, fertilizing, mulching and more. With local programs based in more than 50 counties across California there is sure to be a workshop or class near you. Visit our website to find your local UC Master Gardener Program, mg.ucanr.edu. UC Cooperative Extension in Riverside County is bringing together students, agencies, nutrition educators and gardening experts to work alongside families to grow produce in garden plots at a community facility. “Many people don't know how to get started gardening,” said Chutima Ganthavorn, the nutrition, family and consumer sciences advisor for UCCE and manager of its local UC CalFresh Nutrition Education Program. “Gardening takes space, water, resources like seeds and transplants, plus guidance and support. Our group is going the extra mile in Riverside County to help people grow and eat healthy food.” This year, the local coalition received $10,000 in support from the Kaiser Permanente Heal Zone project to expand a vegetable garden at the Community Settlement Association (CSA), a center where community members gather for UC CalFresh nutrition classes, weekly food distributions and other services. “A few years ago, the garden plots at the Community Settlement Association were neglected and weedy, while families struggled to get healthy food,” Ganthavorn said. “UC CalFresh teamed up with UCCE Master Gardeners and CSA staff to turn them into bountiful and beautiful edible gardens. Now our coalition is growing to include UCR Community Garden and Heal Zone members, including folks from City of Riverside Parks and Rec and Riverside Community Health Foundation.” In 2014, UC Master Gardener volunteers, nutrition educators and members of the community planted vegetables in five existing garden boxes at Community Settlement Association, 4366 Bermuda Ave. in Riverside. For planting day, neighborhood families – many who had taken part in UC CalFresh nutrition classes at the CSA – tilled the ground and planted seeds and transplants to grow tomatoes, bell peppers, summer squash, lettuce, green beans and Swiss chard. “We're fixing up a garden for the children,” said Gonzalo Rodriguez, who joined planting day with his family. “We're planting chili and tomato transplants and seeds, food that will provide vegetables and give the children the joy of caring for the plants.” In 2015, UC CalFresh arranged a $500 grant from Wood Streets Green Team, a local group that promotes sustainable living, to purchase fruit trees. Master Gardeners led volunteers to plant blackberry bushes, and peach, pluot, nectarine, plum, fuji apple and mini mandarin trees. They also planted quince, pomegranate, lemon and lime trees donated by a Master Gardener. With the Heal Zone funds and support from UC Riverside student Claudia Villegas, the recipient of a Global Food Initiative Fellowship from the UC Office of the President, an extended garden began to take shape. Villegas recruited students from Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Phi Chi Theta fraternities to transform a lawn at the community center with cinderblock raised beds. She is coordinating training sessions and encouraging local families to visit. “I want the community to feel comfortable coming to the garden,” said Villegas, a senior psychology major. “I want them to just come in and hang out and interact and talk about gardening problems.” The raised-bed plots have been assigned to families in the community. “They feel ownership and maintain the gardens,” Ganthavorn said. “They can keep the produce they grow, and any extra produce goes to the weekly food distribution program at CSA.” A gardening club now meets from 9 to 10 a.m. the first Thursday of each month at the community garden. UC Cooperative Extension coordinates gardening workshops with UC Master Gardener volunteers and nutrition and cooking sessions with UC CalFresh educators. A 4-H club for children in the community is also being developed at the CSA site by Claudia Diaz Carrasco, UCCE 4-H Youth Development advisor. The purpose of 4-H clubs is to help diverse young people discover and develop their potential and grow into competent, contributing, and caring citizens. “We believe that CSA children will benefit a lot by participating in 4-H learn-by-doing activities within the club,” Diaz said. 4-H clubs usually meet in the evenings or on weekends and offer self-chosen multiple learning experiences. For many years, a key international strategy to ending hunger has been to grow more food: push for higher yields, develop ways for farmers to intensify their farming, focus on technologies that drive both. But that focus may be shifting towards another strategy that better accounts for the environment and human well-being – agroecology. Barbara Gemill-Herren, a retired officer from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, spoke recently at UC Davis of the ongoing process at the United Nations to determine an international strategy for agricultural development. For many, a new paradigm needs to strike a balance between supporting small-scale farmers, supporting healthy ecosystems, and bringing in the technology that can help meet changing challenges for growers. Agroecology has recently entered the vocabulary at the UN as a potential unifying principle for agricultural development. As its name suggests, agroecology studies the ecology of the entire food system, focusing on environmental, economic and social dimensions and how they interact with one another. Beyond that definition, the term is used and understood differently by different groups. For some, agroecology is a scientific discipline, for some it represents a way for farms to be managed. For others, it is a social movement that brings local and indigenous knowledge to the center of agricultural development. At the United Nations meetings on agroecology, each of these interpretations of agroecology have been on the table for discussion — how they can be used to improve international agricultural development will be revealed in global conversations in the years to come. Agroecology endowment at UC Davis secures research opportunities Here at home, agroecology is on the upswing as well. Funding for a $1 million endowment in agroecology was recently secured at UC Davis to help fund the research, education, and outreach conducted by an agroecology faculty member. Collaborating with UC Cooperative Extension farm advisors from UC Agriculture and Natural Resources will be a key way for future work to connect with growers. Endowments offer reliable funding every year that allow faculty to plan longer term research. For research like agroecology that looks at how agricultural systems function, that flexibility is important, if not essential. Tom Tomich, director of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute, which helped raise funds for the endowment, says, “The endowment represents at a broad spectrum of philanthropists and shows that scientific approaches to agroecological systems science is appreciated by our stakeholders in California. It's a form of legitimization of systems science applied to agriculture.” Opportunities for collaboration between researchers and farmers Below are some thoughts from Gaudin on how she approaches her work and how she sees this agroecology endowment impacting research and education at UC Davis. How do you define agroecology? There are different definitions of agroecology for different people. Mostly I see it as research to understand dynamics of ecological processes and to apply ecology to agricultural systems design. Agroecology merges the food security and production goals of agriculture with resource use efficiency goals and environmental goals in agriculture. For many people, agroecology is a social movement to make systems socially just. While my focus is largely on biological processes, it's also about learning from small-scale farmers who have been successful in their management practices to see how we can translate those successes to other contexts. And that is very social in nature. At what scale do you research? Usually we tend to work at the field scale, looking at cropping systems and the landscapes that surround them. Looking at the field, we can see how the long term management of a farm has affected the soil and its functioning as well as productivity and provision of multiple other ecosystem services. Looking at the surrounding landscape, we can understand what the natural environment has provided to the farm system, and what the farm system provides back to the natural environment. Sometimes we look a meter out, sometimes a kilometer out. But beyond just the space we look at, we're really looking at time. Nature takes time. When you look at the field, it's an observation of what has been going on there for a very long time. How does agroecology research work with farmers? Working with farmers helps give research the long-term lens and management gradients we need to understand these agricultural systems, and gives us a landscape lens that many research fields can't provide. It also helps relate our research to production constraints that farmers have. There is also tremendous innovation in what farmers are coming up with. They have a specific problem and they usually have tried specific solutions. They test things out, they monitor their fields and see results, but maybe don't understand fully the underlying mechanism and potential impact on the environment. We try to get to the why; we try to connect the dots to enable scaling up and better understanding of the ecological processes regulating resource use efficiency. We're also looking a lot at resilience to stresses. And we find more and more interest in this because resources are not plentiful anymore and we now have to produce more with less. So how do we build resilience to the multiple stresses that come along? Are there ways that the management of a farm can impact productivity when a stress like drought occurs? We have a lot to learn from small growers and a lot to learn from growers who have constrained resources about what they have been implementing and experimenting with. How can we transfer those practices to different environments? How can we scale them up? How can we make it work in large-scale agriculture? There's a huge opportunity there. I want to see agroecological approaches to management implemented all over the Midwest, all over the Central Valley. I think agroecology is compatible with large-scale agriculture and critically needed. How do you approach research questions? I start with the problems a farmer didn't have. One project started with a tomato farmer who didn't have the same insect problem that surrounding farms had. So we ask, what is he doing that created this insect resistance, and how can that be used by other farmers? We met with several different farmers to discuss the issue, and wrote a grant to investigate specific hypothesis across a management gradient. We're now working with five different growers and using Russell Ranch, our long-term agricultural research facility, as a benchmark. I think conversation with farmers and their advisors is critical to develop relevant research questions and alternatives which have conservation of natural resources, biodiversity and provision of ecosystem services as a basis for improvement. It is also important to keep a positive feedback loop and bring results back to the community to foster farmer-to-farmer knowledge transfer. What excites you about this new investment in agroecology? The context of agriculture is changing and we now have a tremendous opportunity to promote agroecology as a viable and necessary strategy to build the sustainability and resilience of our agriculture. Farmers are seeking solutions, they are aware and interested. With climate change and depleted resources becoming more of a reality, growers are interested in putting soil improvement and ecological principles back into their management framework. And I think we ultimately care about the same things, we just need to find common ground and start speaking the same language. To do it we have to be open minded, both on the researcher and farmer side. Investment in agroecology will help us reach this objective and gives us an opportunity to think outside of the box. This gives an opportunity to be creative, cope with some of the pitfalls of science funding and take a participatory approach to interdisciplinary research to design holistic solutions that better use nature for a sustainable agriculture./h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h2>/h2>
Golfer’s elbow is caused by repetitive motion. So, as the title says, it doesn’t just happen to golfers. Anyone who uses their arms and hands to perform the same actions repeatedly, over an extended period, is a candidate. Known clinically as “medial epicondylitis”, it’s caused by inflammation of the forearm’s tendons where they connect to the inside of the elbow. In most cases, the dominant arm will be affected. The pain may come on gradually and often radiates down the arm but may be severe. And while golfer’s elbow can afflict golfers, football players, racquet sports enthusiasts, bowlers, weight lifters and other sports people, 90% of cases of golfer’s elbow are not provoked by participation in sports. Common activities rendering cases of golfer’s elbow are construction, plumbing and carpentry. Not Tennis Elbow Tennis elbow is a similar ailment but it’s not the same thing. The clue is in the clinical name – “lateral epicondylitis”. While this type of injury is also caused by repetitive motion and inflammation, tennis elbow attacks the outside of the elbow, whereas golfer’s elbow attacks the inside. Medial vs. lateral – still the elbow but a different section of it. And here’s how to tell the difference – if flexing your wrist downward provokes pain, it’s golfer’s elbow. If flexing your wrist upward does the same, it’s tennis elbow. If you’ve got a painful case of tennis elbow, you’re probably hoping it will “just go away”. While that may happen, you should know that the pain will return as the condition gets worse. Getting to a medical professional for an evaluation is the first order of business. Golfer’s elbow is less common than tennis elbow and perhaps slightly more complex to treat. But temporarily stopping activities which have led to your injury is important. The good news is that most cases of golfer’s elbow respond to non-surgical treatments. And at the front of the pack in terms of success and outcomes is physical therapy. With the goal of painless, full function, the wrist is regularly treated with exercise and other therapies falling under the category of physical therapy, including ultrasound and electrical stimulation. Other therapeutic tools commonly applied are night bracing and taping. As I said above, most cases of golfer’s elbow readily respond to the right treatment. Only 2.8% of cases require surgical intervention. And there’s even better news than that – most patients go back to exactly what they were doing before golfer’s elbow, following rehabilitation. Back & Body Medical OK. You may only watch other people golf on TV. That doesn’t mean you can’t develop golfer’s elbow. Anyone who performs repeated motions implicating the elbow is at risk and not just athletes – people who work with their hands to build things and fix things. At Back & Body, we’re pain relief specialists with all the right therapies to put your golfer’s elbow in its place. Working as a team which includes clinicians in the disciplines of physical therapy, chiropractic, acupuncture and sports medicine, we tailor care to individual patients. Contact us.
Public administration quiz questions answers, IAS Exam Papers, Exam paper, Model papers, Sample papers quiz questions answers, Objective Questions 2021, Multiple choice question 2021, IAS Exam Papers, Public Administration MCQs Paper. Public Administration Solved Questions and Answers Public Administration Quiz Objective Questions with Answers for Competitive Exams. These solved multiple choice questions (mcqs) are provided by BarveTips. Start Public Administration MCQs Paper : Objective questions on public administration, mcq question paper, Public administration questions, Administration mcqs pdf, Public administration questions and answers pdf. Public Administration mcq question paper and Answers Public Administration Quiz Objective Questions with Answers for Competitive Exams These Solved Multiple Choice Questions (mcqs) are provided by BarveTips. Current GK is a platform where you can read all types of Exam Papers, Model Paper Quiz, Sample Papers Quiz, History MCQs, Quiz Question Answers, Objective Type Questions, Multiple Choice Questions 2021 Public Administration MCQs Paper. Read More MCQs : - After 12th Class MCQs Quiz 2021 - SBI Clerk Exam MCQs Quiz Question Paper 2021 - SBI Clerk Previous Year Question Paper - Indian Army GD Quiz 2021 - Commerce Quiz Question - Current Affairs Related Commerce - Commerce Objective Quiz Question - Income Tax Objective Question 2021 - MLT Quiz Question 2021 What is Public Administration : To understand public administration it is necessary to understand administration first because by adding the word ‘public’ with administration it makes it public administration or public administration. Public administration is made up of two words ‘public’ and ‘administration’ in which public means people and administration means to rule. Public administration is a discipline which means public service, its main objective is service. The objectives of public administration in any country are based on its procedures, political systems and the principles of governance expressed in the country’s constitution. That part of administration which is for the general public is called public administration. Public administration is generally concerned with general and public policies. To explain the meaning of public administration, various scholars have given their own definitions, in which there are many differences, till date no such definition has been given with which all the scholars agree, that is, there is no such universal definition of public administration. . Given. For this reason, Gladden said that there are many forms of public administration and its definitions are very difficult. Public Administration MCQs Paper : 1. Which of the following administrative thinkers has defined administration as “the organization and direction of human and material resources to achieve desired ends” ? - (A) L. D. White - (B) J. M. Pfiffner - (C) J. A. Veig - (D) H. A. Simon 2. Which one of the following statements is not correct in respect of New Public Management ? - (A) It has market orientation - (B) It upholds public interest - (C) It advocates managerial autonomy - (D) It focuses on performance appraisal 3. ‘Good Governance’ and ‘Participating Civil Society for Development’ were stressed in World Bank Report of. - (A) 1992 - (B) 1997 - (C) 2000 - (D) 2003 4. If the administrative authority within a department is vested in a single individual, then that system is known as. - (A) Board - (B) Bureau - (C) Commission - (D) Council 5. Globalisation means. - (A) Financial market system is centered in a single state - (B) The growth of a single unified world market - (C) Geographical location of a firm is of utmost importance - (D) Foreign capitalist transactions Public Administration solved question : 6. By whom was the ‘Managerial Grid’ developed ? - (A) Blake and White - (B) Blake and Schmidt - (C) Blake and Mouton - (D) Mouton and Shophan 7. Who among the following says that public administration includes the operations of only the executive branch of government ? - (A) L. D. White and Luther Gulick - (B) L. D. White - (C) Luther Gulick - (D) W. F. Willoughby 8. The concept of the ‘zone of indifference’ is associated with. - (A) Decision-Making - (B) Leadership - (C) Authority - (D) Motivation 9. Who has analysed the leadership in terms of ‘circular response’ ? - (A) C. I. Barnard - (B) M. P. Follett - (C) Millet - (D) Taylor 10. Simon proposed a new concept of administration based on the methodology of. - (A) Decision-making - (B) Bounded rationality - (C) Logical positivism - (D) Satisfying 11. Who wrote the book ‘Towards A New Public Administration : The Minnowbrook Perspective’ ? - (A) Frank Marini - (B) Dwight Waldo - (C) C. J. Charlesworth - (D) J. M. Pfiffner 12. Who rejected the principles of administration as ‘myths’ and ‘proverbs’ ? - (A) W. F. Willoughby - (B) Herbert Simon - (C) Chester Barnard - (D) L. D. White 13. The classical theory of administration is also known as the. - (A) Historical theory - (B) Mechanistic theory - (C) Locational theory - (D) Human Relations theory 14. How many principles of organization were propounded by Henry Fayol ? - (A) 10 - (B) 14 - (C) 5 - (D) 9 15. Simon was positively influenced by ideas of. - (A) Terry - (B) Barnard - (C) L. D. White - (D) Henry Fayol Objective Questions on Public Administration : 16. Negative motivation is based on. - (A) Fear - (B) Reward - (C) Money - (D) Status 17. ‘Job loading’ means. - (A) Shifting of an employee from one job to another - (B) Deliberate upgrading of responsibility, scope and challenge - (C) Making the job more interesting - (D) None of the above 18. The theory of ‘Prismatic Society’ in Public Administration is based on. - (A) Study of public services in developed and developing countries - (B) Institutional comparision of public administration in developed countries - (C) Structural-functional analysis of public administration in developing countries - (D) Historical studies of public administration in different societies 19. Who among the following is an odd thinker ? - (A) Taylor - (B) Maslow - (C) Herzberg - (D) Likert 20. Which of the following is not included in ‘hygiene’ factors in the Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation ? - (A) Salary - (B) Working conditions - (C) Company’s policy - (D) Responsibility Public Administration MCQs Paper : 21. The ‘Gang-Plank’ refers to. - (A) Discipline - (B) Initiative - (C) Equity - (D) Level jumping 22. The history of evolution of the Public Administration is generally divided into. - (A) Three phases - (B) Four phases - (C) Five phases - (D) Six phases 23. Henry Fayol’s General theory of Administration is applicable at. - (A) Policy management level - (B) Top management level - (C) Middle management level - (D) Workshop management level 24. F. W. Taylor, the founding father of Scientific Management movement propounded the theory which was conceived to be a scientific methodology of. - (A) Careful observation - (B) Measurement - (C) Generalisation - (D) All of these 25. In which of the following are public and private administrations not common ? - (A) Filing - (B) Managerial techniques - (C) Scope and complexity - (D) Accounting
Series on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies Nr. 20 Proportionality is one of the key principles of the rule of law aiming to protect people from cruel or inhumane treatment. The principle has been established in international and regional human rights agreements and many countries have adopted reflections of it in their constitution or penal code. Its application to drug-related offences is firstly the responsibility of the legislators, in defining the level of penalisation of certain behaviours. The level of penalisation should be determined according to the severity of damage that a certain behaviour causes to others or to society. In the second instance, the courts and judges have to apply the principle of proportionality in defining the appropriate punishment for a particular case; and finally, proportionality also plays a role in the execution of this punishment. This briefing paper looks at specific criteria of proportionality developed in the context of drug control and describes a number of recent attempts to recalibrate the often grossly disproportionate nature of current drug laws and their enforcement around the world. Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.
history of the town Gurdaspur, the district headquarter,dates back to early seventeenth century. The town was named after Guriaji who bought the village and named after himself. Guriaji was a Sanwal Brahmin, who once lived in Paniar, a village five miles to the north of Gurdaspur. Guriaji had two sons - Shri Naval Rai and Shri Palaji. Shri Naval Rai's son Sahib Deep Chand was a contemporary of sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Gurdaspur is also connected with the activities of Banda Bahadur who was captured by the Mughal from the fortress of Gurdas Nangal in the month of December, 1715. Gurdaspur town was made the District Headquarter on 1st May, 1852 of newly formed Gurdaspur District (first named Adinanagar District). Gurdaspur is situated slightly on the north of latitude 32 Degree N and longitude 75 Degree E. Climatically it has all the peculiarities of sub mountainous tract, bracing winter, mild summer and annual rainfall of 35". Gurdaspur is directly connected both by rail and road with Pathankot in the North-East and Amritsar in the South-West from which it is 36 Kms. and 72 Kms. respectively. It falls on the Amritsar-Batala-Pathankot section of the Ferozepur Division of Northern Railway and also the Amritsar-Batala-Pathankot road, both of which run all through side by side. Gurdaspur has 'A' class municipal committee and according to census of 1991, the population of the town is 54733 & is spread over 10.85 sq.km. district of Gurdaspur came into existence in April 1849,after annexation of Punjab by the British. Mr.C.B.Saunders was directed to form a new district which should include two-thirds of Bari Doab-North of Amritsar. This district which covered the head of Upper Bari Doab had an area of 1826 sq. miles in the early twentieth century, with its four Tehsils of Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Batala and Shakargarh. district was created in 1849 with its headquarters first at Dinanagar and then at Batala. Gurdaspur was made the District Headquarters on 1st May, 1852. In 1859, Gurdaspur alongwith Sialkot was placed in the new Division of Sialkot. But in 1884, Gurdaspur alongwith Amritsar again become a part of the Lahore Division. Mr.H.P.Fane was the first Deputy Commissioner of Gurdaspur. The fate of Gurdaspur hung in balance for many days during the partition of 1947. territory of Gurdaspur District was a Muslim majority area and according to the notional division, it was to be a part of Pakistan. Mr.Mushtaq Ahmed Cheema was the Deputy Commissioner of Gurdaspur from 14th August,1947 to 17th August 1947. But Cyrill Redcliffe, the Chairman of Boundary Commission awarded the District minus Shakargarh Tehsil to India. Almost entire hilly region of Gurdaspur including the famous hill resort of Dalhousie was given to Himachal Pradesh as a result of re-organisation of Punjab in 1966. Two new Tehsils of Dera Baba Nanak and Dhar Kalan were created in 1995 and 1996 respectively. District Gurdaspur now consists of five Tehsils and is spread over on area of 3570 sq.kms. According to the census of 1991, the population of Gurdaspur District is 17,57,808. The climate of Gurdaspur District is more temperate than in the Central Punjab, and the district benefits largely by its proximity to the hills to which it owes not only much of its normally constant rainfalls but also the cool breezes which even in the hottest months frequently blow down from the upper ranges. The backward district of Gurdaspur which has literacy rate of about 62% was adopted for total literacy campaign during the year which is a border district of the state, has played a significant role in the defense of the country. Batala and Dhariwal are important industrial centers known respectively for the manufacture of machine tools and woolen products. Dera Baba Nanak and Sri Hagobindpur have great religious sanctity and Pathankot - a great tourist transit center has a number of picnic spots nearby.
Universal Instructional Design There are several concepts and laws that involve creating accessible learning environments. The two of the most relevant of these: the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and Universal Instructional Design (UID). It is important to be aware of the AODA, as it requires organizations to meet certain accessibility standards. The information contained within the best practices and tutorials will help you meet those standards. Universal Instructional Design is an educational concept which is becoming more and more prevalent. While Queen's University has no policy requiring its employees to meet the standards of Universal Instructional Design, it is helpful nonetheless to be aware of the principles of UID. Combining seven principles, Universal Instructional Design can be applied when teaching those students who have disabilities. Applying this concept assures that everyone is given the same opportunities to maximize their learning experience. The seven principles of universal design are: - Equitable Use - Flexibility in Use - Simple and Intuitive - Perceptible Information - Tolerance for Error - Low Physical Effort - Size and Space for Approach and Use When preparing lessons and material, instructors can consider the principles of universal design to make sure they are addressing the needs of all their students - those with disabilities and those of varying backgrounds can benefit from an altered educational plan. With this in mind, how can an educator apply principles of Universal Instructional Design to the classroom? Here are some examples. - Delivery Methods: The instructor can utilize a variety of delivery methods to address the learning styles of all the students in a classroom. Some examples of different instructional methods include: lecture, discussion, hands-on activities, projects, cases and internet-based interaction. - Learning Materials: See the Accessibility Hub's "How-to" Guides on how to make learning material accessible for students. Make material available in both print and electronic formats. Provide outlines for sessions to give students time to prepare accordingly. - Demonstration of Knowledge: Give students frequent and flexible opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge in ways other than written tests and papers. Consider using group work, demonstrations, presentations and portfolios to gage student understanding. - Physical Effort and Access: There are many resources within the for Faculty/Staff section for information to make the learning environment one that is physically accessible. Make sure that activities minimize the need for extensive physical effort and accommodate the physical skills of all students. Reduce the need for unnecessary physical travel by making material accessible and available to be submitted electronically.
Thermal analysis is a rapid routine method providing material characteristics data in relation to temperature and time Thermal analysis helps clients understand polymeric formulations, process history and final physical properties of materials. It is necessary to analyse specific properties of materials - such as polymers, composites, laminates, adhesives, coatings, pharmaceuticals, metals, glass, ceramics, fibres - by using a suitably rapid routine method in order to achieve specific results. Thermal analyses performed by our experts include melting and crystallization characteristics (enthalpy of fusion or recrystallization, thermal history of the material, nucleation of polymer), crystallinity studies, curing reactions and degradation analysis in different atmospheres, via rapid routine means. Thermal analysis techniques: Need help or have a question?
This week, while surfing through an online video site, I came across a documentary on a group of women living in Hunan, a remote region in southern China, who have a unique and interesting history to contribute to the world of translation and languages. This group of women created a set of characters that only they could understand, because at that time (between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries, that is, not so far removed from today) women in China did not have access to formal education; they therefore developed the Nüshu script (literally “women’s writing”) in order to communicate with each other. Some of the characters used in the Nüshu language were borrowed from Chinese, while others appear to have been invented. Nevertheless, all are represented with a thinner, more cursive font than those of Chinese characters, which tend to be written in a square-shaped manner. However, like Chinese, Nüshu is written from top to bottom in columns, and the columns are written from right to left. As noted earlier, in ancient Hunan, only men had access to the teachings of Nan Shu (“men’s writing”), and thus Nüshu was invented to be used secretly by the women of the region. It is interesting to discuss the method by which they communicated. These mothers, daughters, friends, granddaughters, and sisters communicated with the Nüshu language through embroidery on scarves and paintings on paper fans, with the goal of this means of communication being kept secret. The new language was passed down from mother to daughter or from friend to friend. Sometimes characters served as decorative frames or as decorative paintings on crafts, given the script’s more stylized and aesthetic appearance than its “masculine” equivalent. Most of the writings are poems with verses of five or seven characters. After the Chinese Revolution, women finally gained access to education, and Nüshu fell into disuse. Although no longer used, Nüshu is an excellent example of the importance of communication between people, and the constant desire to find ways to convey thoughts, feelings, and stories, free from external restrictions or constraints.
In this Very Short Introduction Kenneth Morgan provides a wide-ranging and thematic introduction to modern Australia. He examines the main features of its history, geography, and culture since the beginning of the white settlement in New South Wales in 1788. Drawing attention to the distinctive features of Australian life he places contemporary developments in a historical perspective, highlighting the importance of Australia's indigenous culture and makingconnections between Australia and the wider word. Balancing the successful growth of Australian institutions and democratic traditions, he considers the struggles that occurred in the making of modern Australia. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
There is a lot of discussion about the nature of the Chinese economy and its developing role in global capitalism. Much of the debate has focused on the tensions between a seemingly declining United States and rising China ― and possible changes in the global distribution of power. In the context of a global domination of US-backed neoliberalism, the “Chinese model” has been put forward by some as a possible alternative. However, not only is China's rise far from inevitable, its “model” has its own contradictions ― as the rise of labour struggles helps reveal. The Chinese economy has grown considerably since the 1980s. This can largely be attributed to low wages, the development of an export-oriented manufacturing sector and the decline of investment in the “real” economy (rather than financial sector) developed economies of the West. The global financial crisis led to a big rise in government stimulus spending in China to maintain exports. This raised inflationary pressures throughout the Chinese economy. One key problem with the stimulus spending was that it did not come with regulations ensuring businesses invest in “useful production”. This allowed the stimulus to be spent on financial speculation ― risking the sort of problems that developed in the US and other economies. China has also had to deal with declining consumer demand in the developed economies, which affects Chinese exports. This cannot be remedied by Chinese stimulus spending. This has led many in China to realise the need to create a much bigger domestic market for consumer goods. However, this requires higher incomes so a larger sector of workers could afford to buy the products. To do this, the government would have to raise wages. This would mean reversing a situation where wages are decreasing as an overall share of wealth. David Wessel, writing in the Wall Street Journal in June last year, reported that the unequal wealth distribution is leading the ruling elite to invest in multiple properties and leaving workers struggling to afford one property. However, as China’s growth since the 1980s has been largely based on low wages, this represents a problem for Chinese economic development. This contradiction was also seen in the sacking of Bo Xilai, a populist who often voiced his contempt for the rich, as head of the Communist Party-Chongqing branch, and the announcement of plans for a mass campaign of privatisation. Another development in the “Chinese miracle” is the outsourcing of labour to other south-east Asian countries and Chinese investment in places such as Africa for agricultural purposes. Due to the rises in wages for some Chinese workers, China is looking for places to source cheaper labour. The answer is being found in Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and possibly in Burma. The need for investment in agriculture in other countries comes as Chinese agricultural production has fallen. This is due to demographic shifts from rural areas into industrial ones as a result of greater demand for workers. Perhaps the most important and the most exciting development has been China's growing labour movement. Over the past 10 years, industrial action, protests and dissent have become a common occurrence in China. Workers' protests largely began in the early 2000s after the economic restructuring that lead to mass privatisation, lay-offs and high levels of corruption. One example was the Liaoyang workers' struggle in 2002 against corruption. The growth of the private sector was helped by the lack of regulation. This allowed enterprises to dictate conditions and pay to the vast amount of labour that was flooding in from rural areas. As labour shortages began to rise toward the end of the last decade, workers' protests began to take off around wages and conditions. Solidarity began to grow with a rise in inter-factory networks and collective action. Since 2009, labour agitation has grown with more than 90,000 incidents reported in 2009. There was almost certainly more, as many went unreported. This rise in workers' struggle was helped by the role of young workers in many manufacturing industries. Young workers could see the decline of the welfare offered by the state. Agitation also developed against an rising gap between rich and poor, through formal and informal channels. These struggles have highlighted the need for a centralised arbitration system that can provide equality in pay and conditions across enterprises and sectors. [Visit www.clb.org.hk/en for more information on Chinese labour struggles.]
by Scott Wheeler Thinking about going ice fishing in Lake Memphremagog this winter? If so, just maybe you’ll catch one of the world famous fur bearing trout—trout that are said to grow fur to survive the cold, snowy weather that is so much a part of life in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, fur that is said to molt off come spring and warmer weather. But don’t bet on getting one, because like other creatures said to lurk in the lake that straddles the Vermont/Quebec border, the fur bearing trout is only a man-made merry myth passed down throughout the generations. There are several different, yet very similar, stories floating around out there about the origins of this famous species of mythical fish. The following story is the one most often told: Although Harry Richardson—probably the most prolific photographer to ever live in Northern Vermont—gave the trout much deserved attention, many old timers in the region point to another long deceased, but lesser remembered photographer, as the mastermind behind the creation of this rare breed of fish. His name was Ralph Sessions, a man who operated a photo studio in Newport, Vermont, a small city located at the southerly end of Lake Memphemagog. As the story goes, at least the shortened version, it is said Sessions was struck by a humorous idea for a picture while fishing on the international lake that spans the Vermont/Quebec border—take a perch, wrap it in fur, take a picture of it, and make postcards of “the fur bearing trout.” Some years later, most likely during the 1930s, Sessions sold his studio to Harry Richardson. With Mr. Richardson long departed, it’s impossible to know exactly what was in his mind when, seeing Sessions’ photos of the fur bearing trout, he decided to have a taxidermist cover a fish with fur. A picture was taken of Richardson ice fishing on the west side of the lake with Owl’s Head looming in the background. Richardson then took that photo, along with the picture of the fur covered fish (also referred to as a “beaver trout”) and produced hundreds, possibly thousands, of postcards. It’s almost certainly one of the most recognized postcards in Vermont, if not New England. No matter how the story behind the fur bearing trout came to life, the one thing that is certain, is that the myth still lives on, and probably will for decades to come. There were many spin offs from Richardson’s trout. Don McNally, the first general manager of Jay Peak Ski and Summer Resort in Jay, Vermont, is seen fishing for “slopeside” trout on the ski trails of the mountain. Latest posts by Vermonter (see all) - Fantastic Works of Art from the Adirondacks of New York - May 12, 2017 - The Recipe Box: Memory Is Its Own Kind of Fiction - December 13, 2016 - Get a Special Halloween Treat with Vermont’s Haunted History - October 27, 2016
- Union members picketing - Meeting hall of the Victor Grange - Farm foreclosure - Farmer's strike blockade - Iowa Farmers Strike - The Great Depression: Strike Turns Violent - Stock Market Crash Impacts Farmers - Losing Farms During the Depression Losing Farms During the Depression Iowa Public Television In 1932, farm families watched prices hit extreme lows: 15 cents a bushel for corn, three cents a pound for hogs, two and a half cents for cattle. And with prices well below the cost of production most farmers knew that, sooner or later, they might lose everything. John Vermazen: Some lost the farm and we had two farms near us that renters would rent. Now I don’t know if those people had originally been land owners, but they were farms you didn’t have a chance in a snow storm of making a living on and people would come and maybe last one or two years and then they’d move on to somewhere else. Nobody particularly looked down on them. They didn’t know but what they’d be in the same situation themselves pretty soon. Iowa Pathways: Iowa History Resources for Students and Teachers Home ~ My Path ~ Artifacts ~ Timeline ~ Quest ~ Teacher Resources ~ Project Information ~ SponsorsIowa Pathways © 2005 - 2016 Iowa Public Television
While some diseases decreased, overall infections from foodborne illness remain the same In 2014, rates of infection from a serious form of E. coli and one of the more common Salmonella serotypes decreased compared with the baseline period of 2006-2008. Meanwhile, some other less common types of Salmonella increased. Campylobacter and Vibrio rose again in 2014, continuing the increase observed during the past few years, according to data published today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Today’s report summarizes the rates of infection per 100,000 population and tracks illness trends for key foodborne illnesses. Infection with Shiga-toxin producing E. coli O157, which can sometimes lead to kidney failure, decreased 32 percent when compared with 2006-2008 and 19 percent when compared with the most recent three years. These infections are often linked to consumption of undercooked ground beef and raw leafy vegetables. Salmonella Typhimurium, which has been linked to poultry, beef, and other foods, was 27 percent lower than it was in 2006-2008, continuing a downward trend begun in the mid-1980s. Two other less common types of Salmonella, Javiana and Infantis, more than doubled for reasons that are unclear. Salmonella Javiana is concentrated in the southeastern United States, but has been spreading within the Southeast and to other areas of the country. However, when all Salmonella serotypes are combined, there was no change in 2014. Campylobacter increased 13 percent and Vibrio increased 52 percent compared with 2006-2008. Yersinia has declined enough to meet the Healthy People 2020 goal. The data are from FoodNet, CDC’s active surveillance system that tracks nine common foodborne pathogens in 10 states and monitors trends in foodborne illness in about 15 percent of the U.S. population. Today’s report compares the 2014 frequency of infection with the frequency in the baseline period 2006-2008 and in the three most recent years. Overall in 2014, FoodNet logged just over 19,000 infections, about 4,400 hospitalizations, and 71 deaths from the nine foodborne germs it tracks. Salmonella and Campylobacter were by far the most common– accounting for about 14,000 of the 19,000 infections reported. “We’re cautiously optimistic that changes in food safety practice are having an impact in decreasing E.coli and we know that without all the food safety work to fight Salmonella that more people would be getting sick with Salmonella than we are seeing now,,” said Robert Tauxe, M.D., deputy director of CDC’s Division of Foodborne Waterborne and Environmental Diseases. “The increasing use of whole genome sequencing to track foodborne illness cases will also help; however, much more needs to be done to protect people from foodborne illness.” The recent decline in the incidence of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O157 follows several years of increasing scrutiny for beef products. Since 1994, the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has taken STEC O157:H7 extremely seriously and made a number of changes in its regulatory oversight of the beef industry to protect public health. "We are encouraged by the reduction of STEC O157:H7 illnesses, which reflects our science-based approach to beef inspection, and we look forward to seeing further reductions in Salmonella and Campylobacter infections as our improved standards for poultry take effect later this year, " said Al Almanza, Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety at USDA. "Data sources like FoodNet allow us to be strategic in developing our food safety policies, and we will do everything within our power to keep reducing cases of foodborne illness from all meat and poultry products." Under the provisions of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is planning to publish major new regulations in 2015. The regulations are geared toward ensuring produce safety, implementing preventive controls on processed foods, and improving the safety of imported foods. “Prevention of illness is the fundamental goal of our new rules under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act,” said Michael Taylor, deputy commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine at FDA. “We have worked with a wide range of stakeholders to devise rules that will be effective for food safety and practical for the many diverse elements of our food system. Once the rules are fully implemented, FoodNet will help us evaluate their impact.” The FoodNet report also includes results of culture-independent diagnostic tests (a new method for diagnosing intestinal illnesses without needing to grow the bacteria) done in the many hospital laboratories in the FoodNet sites. In 2014, the results of more than 1,500 such tests were reported. More than two-thirds of the tests were for Campylobacter. Other tests performed were for STEC, Salmonella, Shigella and Vibrio. Some of the tests had a positive result. However, the infections were not confirmed by culture, and so CDC experts did not include them in the overall FoodNet results for 2014. For more information on avoiding illnesses from food, please visit www.foodsafety.gov
Through the night, the figure of the great hunter Orion strides through southern skies. With two of the brightest stars at opposite corners of his hourglass shape bisected by three parallel stars marking his belt, Orion is one of the most familiar constellations in the heavens. Now, with just a few minutes spent gazing at Orion and reporting your sightings, you can join the cadre of international amateur astronomers contributing to make a world-wide night-sky map. In its sixth year, the GLOBE at Night campaign aims to shine a light on the rampant spread of light pollution, hoping for 15,000 worldwide reportings between now and March 6. As of this writing, their web-site’s thermometer graphic registered maybe 500. So lend an eye or two between 8:00 and 10:00pm (for our online readers, these same times hold true wherever you live). You’ll be comparing the number of stars you can see within Orion to a star map provided on the group’s website — www.globeatnight.org. Based on data submitted, the group will create a world-wide map of illuminating light pollution on Earth. And if not for science, take part for the fun of the hunt. Even within city lights, a clear night should reveal Betelgeuse marking Orion’s shoulder and Rigel at his foot. Darker skies reveal the three belt stars, Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. Away from the urban glow, the hunter is awash with stars, and you may even spot the string of pearls hanging from his belt, the Orion Nebula M42.
Ice ain’t all it’s cracked up to be and neither are these obsolete & abandoned factories that once made it, as these 12 examples coldly show. Judging by their architecture alone, many abandoned ice factories can be dated back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries – an era before the advent of economical household and commercial refrigeration. Home iceboxes, icehouses, fishing boats and ice cream producers had to acquire ice from somewhere, and that somewhere was the local ice factory. Take Crystal Ice in Sacramento, California. Built in the early 1920s, the iconic local landmark was gutted by fire in November of 2015, likely derailing or at least substantially affecting extant plans for redevelopment as the Ice Blocks urban retail spaces project. Flickr user Jim Jackson (AxonJaxon) captured the former ice factory in comparatively better days – February of 2014 to be exact. The former Consolidated Ice Company Factory No. 2 located in Pittsburgh, PA’s Lawrenceville neighborhood opened in 1907 and closed in 1951. Hard to believe the factory wasn’t bought, demolished or re-purposed over the subsequent half-century but hey, such is life in the Rust Belt. On the bright side, the ice factory and its associated two-story office building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the year 2000 and a portion is now being used by Ice House studios. Flickr user Rolfen captured the ruins of an abandoned ice factory in Öjersjö (near Gothenburg), Sweden in April of 2010. The photographer’s crisply detailed HDR images don’t detract from the overwhelming eeriness of the place – if anything, they enhance it! You’d think a place like Sharjah in the blisteringly-hot United Arab Emirates would do whatever it takes to keep their ice factory functioning… well think again. The abandoned Kalba Ice Factory now functions as an art exhibit space, presumably air conditioned. The 2015 Sharjah Biennial 12 held at the abandoned ice factory featured a series of artificial columns composed of “natural elements such as leaves, bark, shells, coral and dead birds, alongside human consumer products in the form of plastics and deformed sport shoes.” Wait, dead birds??
It's quite normal for loud noises to startle humans and pets alike. A fear of fireworks and lloud noises in general is common in dogs and other pets, and in many cases is accompanied by other anxieties, such as a fear of thunderstorms or separation anxiety. However, some dogs may experience an excessive fear or phobia to loud noises that can be harmful to their well-being. Common reactions dogs have to loud noises include: For many dogs, the age at which such a phobia develops is unknown. Sometimes, it can originate from being exposed to a sudden loud noise that is particularly disturbing. Some dogs may have been exposed to stressful or loud noises when young, resulting in a lasting bad memory. For fireworks, it may not be just the noise causing the problem for the anxious behavior. It may be the flash of light that accompanies the loud noise, the strong sulfur smell that comes after the explosion, or it may be the suddenness or frequency of the noise (an explosion or a screeching rocket). The most important step in solving your dog's phobia is to manage and decondition the behavior, and avoid doing anything that reinforces the behavior. For instance, if your dog is scared and runs away to escape the noise, that behavior is reinforced. Similarly, the fear response will be reinforced if you reward the behavior with extra attention by stroking your dog, or trying to reassure him or her in any other way. The opposite approach of becoming angry or reproaching your dog will also be counterproductive. One tactic that may be useful is playing a game with your dog to distract him or her from the fireworks or other loud noise, or having him or her play with another dog (as long as the other dog does not have the same fear). In some cases, your veterinarian may recommend anxiety medications for dogs to help alleviate phobias for loud noises and fireworks. Unfortunately, there are no drugs registered to treat these types of phobias in dogs. Treatments for fear of fireworks fall into two broad categories—drugs and alternative therapies such as dog appeasing pheromone (D.A.P.) and homeopathic treatments. The drugs most commonly used in reducing fear of fireworks include benzodiazepines, the alpha-adrenergic propanolol (generally administered with phenobarbitone), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). All of these have possible side effects, such as lethargy and sedation, some may cause vomiting, and none have really been proven to work in relieving the fear of fireworks. With SSRIs and TCAs, the medication needs to be started weeks ahead of the stimulus that causes the phobia. In many cases, this is hardly practical. For example, Acepromazine may produce sedation and can also sensitize your dog to sound, potentially making the problem worse. In contrast, natural homeopathic remedies, such as the Thundershirt, do not cause side effects and have received promising reports. In fact, 80% of dog owners who tried Thundershirt for a variety of anxiety problems noticed improvement in their dogs. Thundershirt is an affordable, drug-free solution for pets with anxiety problems. It uses gentle, constant pressure on your pet's torso (like a constant hug) to help calm your nervous pet. Like acupuncture and acupressure does for people, applying pressure to dogs has been proven to help calm them during fireworks or other noisy situations that can cause stress. Whether your dog's anxiety is caused by loud noises or separation anxiety, a crate can be an extremely helpful pet supply. Using a crate is helpful in keeping your dog safe from unforeseen dangers when you are away and even when you are at home. Plus, when used with proper training, your dog will come to think of the crate as its personal space. For more information on the benefits of using a crate, read our guide on crate training your dog.
On May 15, 2013, The Department of Energy (DOE) released new protocols “Methods for Determining Energy Efficiency Savings for Specific Measures” to improve the credibility of energy efficiency savings estimates throughout the United States. DOE has listed six goals for these protocols: 1) strengthen the credibility of energy efficiency program savings calculations; 2) provide step-by-step protocols to determine those savings for common energy efficiency measures; 3) reduce the development and management costs of EM&V; 4) support consistency and transparency in how savings are calculated; 5) allow for comparison of savings across similar efficiency programs; and 6) increased the acceptance of reported energy savings by financial and regulatory communities. The protocols were designed for widespread use, but are particularly useful for stakeholders in states where energy efficiency is relatively new and it is important to document savings accurately. Utilities, contractors, and energy efficiency program administrators in the U.S. use different methods for calculating expected savings for customers who retrofit or adopt energy efficiency programs. Twenty-six separate jurisdictions have implemented efficiency mandates for utilities to meet. Half of these jurisdictions mandate savings increases of 10% by 2020 and six require savings of 20% or more in the same time.1 Investment in energy efficiency has increased steadily in recent years and obligatory savings goals are being considered in new places. The method by which the energy savings are measured will have a significant impact on determining whether or when these goals have been reached. The DOE protocols, developed as part of the Uniform Methods Project in collaboration with the nation’s leading technical energy efficiency experts, are not uniform standards to be adopted by all jurisdictions that design energy efficiency programs, but rather a set of guidelines for jurisdictions to follow. The DOE states clearly that the protocols “do not provide stipulated values for energy savings,” but rather a common framework by which states, utilities, or localities can adopt regulations that follow the industry’s best practices. The voluntary guidelines give no specific criteria for measuring statistical confidence or for measuring the accuracy of savings estimates. This project will unfold over two-phases. In this first phase, the protocols are only for seven measures, which primarily relate to residential and commercial facilities including: refrigerator recycling, commercial lighting, commercial lighting controls, residential lighting, residential furnaces and boilers, residential and small commercial unitary and split system air conditioning equipment, and whole-building retrofits. The DOE chose these measures because they are ubiquitous across jurisdictions, represent a diverse set of end uses, and have high potential savings potential.2 In the second phase, the list will be expanded. Although the protocols potentially hint at a future national evaluation, measurement, and verification (EM&V) program, they do not purport to establish one. A reason that the protocols are not yet setup as mandatory standards is that a major question for energy efficiency measurements, “how good is good enough?”, does not have a common answer.3 Energy efficiency savings measurements compare the energy usage of a system to what it was assumed that system would have consumed without the energy efficiency system in place. The fact that these estimates rely on numbers that do not actually exist is one reason that different jurisdictions have widely varied answers to the above question. U.S. energy efficiency policy has largely been driven by a mix of building codes, appliance and equipment efficiency standards, and programs paid for by utility customers. In response to a need by state regulators to evaluate the success of efficiency programs paid for by rate-payers through utilities, local evaluation systems were established. These guidelines contain different protocols, definitions of savings, and levels of rigor applied in savings determinations, which have made it difficult to compare savings resulting from ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs across jurisdictions. One example of this inconsistency is how a “baseline measurement” is made. Baseline or “business as usual” conditions are an estimate of the amount of energy used by a system prior to a retrofit or in the absence of energy efficiency measures. Comparing the actual energy usage of a retrofitted system against these baseline figures relies on “counter-factual” situations because these figures are by definition invented. States, regulators and utilities can utilize a range of options, including making estimates based on control groups, to come to this baseline number. The differences serve the individual needs of jurisdictions. For example, one state may have very limited goals for energy efficiency without an established history of ratepayer-funded programs. Another state could have a long history of energy efficiency programs with stringent building codes and a demand for a high level of savings. In the latter state, stakeholders would likely have a need for a much more rigorous EM&V to ensure compliance than in the former state. The state with a long history of energy efficiency programs may not find it beneficial to compare its results to a state with a less rigid focus on increasing energy efficiency or vice-versa. The professional efficiency evaluation community has attempted to develop common practices and standard terms for efficiency evaluations, but so far it has not been successful in part because of the advantages states gain from adopting EM&V programs tailored to the states’ unique situations. As investments in energy efficiency increase across the country, driven in part by The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), and make-up a significant share of many utilities’ integrated resource portfolios, there is a growing demand for publicly available information on how the savings are determined and achieved.4 Further, if confidence in the reliability of figures grew, it would spur more investment in energy efficiency. The DOE protocols look to do both. Additionally, energy efficiency has steadily become a national issue. Although a federal initiative, ARRA offered funding for state and local governments to develop their own programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency. One bill, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, or the Waxman-Markey bill, would have subsidized energy efficiency technologies and federally mandated energy efficiency in buildings, home appliances, and electricity generation. The bill passed the House on a partisan vote, but failed in the Senate. The political stalemate in Washington may not derail energy efficiency legislation. Both Republicans and Democrats have praised the virtues of energy efficiency, which saves money for businesses, cuts fuel consumption, and lowers pollution. In the Senate, the Shaheen-Portman Energy Efficiency Bill would accelerate the deployment of technologies and practices that would increase industrial energy efficiency and improve productivity. Among other goals, it would expand the existing DOE Loan Guarantee program to include efficiency retrofits. The bill passed through the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on a bipartisan 19-3 vote. Of the passage, Senator Portman (R-OH) and Senator Shaheen (D-NH) said that it “is clear that energy efficiency is one area where we can all find common ground,” even when bipartisan agreement is rare.5 Clearly, there is federal movement to promote energy efficiency. Even though the DOE protocols are not a national EM&V program, they exist as a “common basis for assessing and comparing the performance and effectiveness of energy efficiency policies and investments across programs, portfolios, and jurisdictions.”6 If adopted widely, the protocols could provide consistent measurement across the U.S. in how these savings are calculated. Ideally, this kind of consistency will enable increased financing for energy efficiency measures as lenders and investors look to standardized metrics for risk assessment and pricing purposes. 1 “Methods for Determining Energy Efficiency Savings for Specific Measures,” Department of Energy, May 2013, 1-2. 2 Ibid., 1-3-1-6 3 “National Energy Efficiency Evaluation, Measurement and Verification (EM&V) Standard: Scoping Study of Issues and Implementation Requirements,” State & Local Energy Efficiency Action Network, April 2011 http://www1.eere.energy.gov/seeaction/pdfs/emvstandard_scopingstudy.pdf 4 “Methods for Determining Energy Efficiency Savings for Specific Measures,” 1-3. 5 “Shaheen-Portman Energy Efficiency Bill Passes Senate Energy Committee With Strong Bipartisan Support,” http://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=d14d72dc-e5fa-41b4-925c-6a0ab58ddc10 6 “Methods for Determining Energy Efficiency Savings for Specific Measures,” 1-2.
: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /var/www/vhosts/blender.ca/httpdocs/wrdprss/wp-content/plugins/related-links-blender/includes/core.php on line 111 Culture website BoingBoing has published a great article explaining how passwords can get cracked. Lot’s of easy to understand examples and best practices to keep you safe. A typical password consists of a root plus an appendage. The root isn’t necessarily a dictionary word, but it’s usually something pronounceable. An appendage is either a suffix (90% of the time) or a prefix (10% of the time). One cracking program I saw started with a dictionary of about 1,000 common passwords, things like “letmein,” “temp,” “123456,” and so on. Then it tested them each with about 100 common suffix appendages: “1,” “4u,” “69,” “abc,” “!,” and so on. It recovered about a quarter of all passwords with just these 100,000 combinations. Crackers use different dictionaries: English words, names, foreign words, phonetic patterns and so on for roots; two digits, dates, single symbols and so on for appendages. They run the dictionaries with various capitalizations and common substitutions: “$” for “s”, “@” for “a”, “1” for “l” and so on. This guessing strategy quickly breaks about two-thirds of all passwords. Choosing A Secure Password
Salvia officinalisis a member of the Lamiaceae (mint) family. Botany. A native of the North Mediterranean coast, sage is a hardy, perennial, erect shrub from 12 to 30 inches high. It has square, woody, wiry stems covered with down. Leaves are long-stalked, arranged oppositely, and about two inches long. They look pebbly and pucker-veined, are grayish green, softly hairy or velvety, with round-toothed margins. Whorls of four to eight flowers appear in late-spring through fall. The flowers may be pink, red, blue, purple, pale yellow, or white. They are tubular, one-half to three-quarters inch long, two-lipped with the upper lip straight or arched and a ring of hairs inside, with a purplish, bell-shaped calyx. Use. Sage is widely cultivated for medicinal, culinary, aromatic, cosmetic, craft, dye, ornamental and companion garden planting uses. Sage is lemony, camphor like, and slightly bitter. Young leaves can be used dry in omelets, breads, marinades, and poultry stuffing. It combines well with meats, fish, and poultry, vegetables, citrus, garlic, eggs, and cheese. Sage is used as a natural preservative for meats, poultry, fish, and condiments. Sage also contains terpene, camphor, and salvene. As sage dries, the camphor and salvene overcome the terpene--so dried sage smells stronger than fresh or growing sage. Sage is an ingredient in many perfumes, soaps, lotions, aftershaves, and cosmetics. Foliage dries well and can be used in herb wreaths. Climatic Requirements. Sage does well in full sun in well-drained, moderately rich clay loam soil. According to Simon, Chadwick and Craker the reported life zone of sage is 41 to 79 F and a soil pH of 4.2 to 8.3. Sage is fairly hardy and will withstand temperatures lower than 0°F if protected by snow or a mulch of leaves or straw. Propagation and Care. Because the foliage is the desired part of the crop, sage benefits from moderately high rates of nitrogen. Sage grows best in raised beds because it does not tolerate poorly drained soils or excessive watering. Prior to planting, test the soil for the presence of nematodes as sage is extremely sensitive to nematodes. Sage seed stores poorly, so conduct a germination test on a small lot of seed before sowing a large amount. Drill seed about three quarters of an inch deep in rows three feet apart, as soon as the soil warms in spring. Germination occurs in 7 to 10 days at 60°F. When seedlings are three inches tall, thin to 12 to 20 inches apart. Although a few leaves can be harvested the first year, large harvest should not be made until the following summer. Sage is easily propagated from cuttings, divisions, or layerings taken from new growth on established plants in the fall. Transplant them 12 to 20 inches apart in rows three feet apart. Water sage well until it is established. Keep foliage dry and bed well drained. Sidedress plants every spring. Water only sparingly in dry weather. Harvest. Harvest or prune plants two or three times from spring through late summer. For fullest fragrance/flavor, harvest just before plants bloom. Cut the plant back about four inches above the ground. To dry leaves snip them from the branches, and spread them on cloth or paper out of direct light in a cool, well-ventilated area. They may also be dried in a forced-air drier at temperatures below 125°F. When crispy dry, store leaves in an airtight, light-tight container. Dried sage has a stronger and slightly different flavor than the fresh. Sage leaves may also be frozen. If plants are to be overwintered, make a light harvest no later than September, or the plant may be winter-killed. After the fourth year, the plant becomes woody, less productive, and potency decreases markedly, so they should be replaced. Yield. Yields from second-year growth range from 1,500 to 2,000 pounds of dried sage per acre. Postharvest Handling (section by Marita Cantwell). Increased use of fresh herbs for culinary and other purposes has also increased the demand for high quality. The successful marketing of high quality fresh culinary herbs requires extreme care and attention to postharvest handling conditions. All the postharvest principles that apply to leafy green tissues apply to the handling of fresh herbs. Temperature is the single most important factor in maintaining quality after harvest. Despite the diverse botanical origin of the fresh herbs, the optimum postharvest temperature for fresh thyme, oregano, rosemary, mints, sage, parsley, cilantro, savory, marjoram, dill, and tarragon is 32 F (0 C). Under controlled conditions, a shelf life of 3 to 4 weeks can be achieved at this temperature. With a temperature of 41 F (5 C), a minimum shelf life of 2 to 3 weeks can be expected. See Figure 1. If herbs are harvested early in the morning, the need for cooling is minimized. If harvested later, the appropriate cooling method depends on the type of herb. Most respond favorable to room and forced air cooling. Herbs have also been successfully vacuum-cooled. A simple forced air pre-cooler can be constructed for small operations that requires only an adequate coolroom, a fan, and some simple carpentry. After temperature, prevention of excess moisture loss is the second most important postharvest factor affecting the quality and shelf life of herbs. Most herbs respond favorable with very high humidity (>95%). Some herbs can be held successfully in water (basil, mints, tarragon), whereas water loss in most can best be controlled by packaging and maintaining high humidity in the environment. Lowering the holding temperature to the recommended levels also greatly reduces water loss. Herbs can be packaged in bags designed to minimize water loss. When herbs are packaged this way, it is particularly important to maintain constant temperatures, to reduce condensation inside the bag and the consequent risk of fungal or bacterial growth. The bags may be partially ventilated with perforations, or may be constructed of a polymer that is partially permeable to water vapor. The relative humidly in the packing area, cold rooms, and transport vehicles should be maintained at a high level (>95%) where practical. Ethylene gas is another factor which limits the shelf life of leafy tissues. Ethylene causes yellowing of leaves, and an increased rate of deterioration. It is possible to routinely find one to three ppm ethylene in the environment surrounding fruits and vegetables during commercial handling. Young growing herb tissue responds to ethylene (5 ppm), whereas little effect was observed in mature herb cuttings. In addition, holding the herbs at the recommended temperatures also greatly reduces their ability to respond to ethylene in the environment. Careful handling to avoid physical injury to the leafy tissue of the fresh herbs is also important. Rigid clear plastic containers such as those sometimes used for sprouts may be used for soft herbs. "Pillow packs" (plastic bags which are partially inflated when sealed) may be an alternative packaging technique. Careless handling results in tissue discoloration, as well as increasing sites for pathogen attack. Growth of microorganisms can also be reduced by proper temperature management and good hygienic practices in the field and packing station. Chlorinated water can reduce microbial load if water is used during handling. Salvia officinalis - Broad Leafed or Common or Garden sage - used for seasoning. S. o. 'Aurea' - Golden sage - 18 inches tall, striking gold and green variegated leaves, compact and dense growth, good border plant S. o. 'Dwarf' - Dwarf sage - very compact grower, smaller leaf size, good border or rock garden or container plant S. o. 'Holt's Mammoth' - Holt's mammoth sage - three feet tall, larger and rounder leaves than garden sage, grows quickly and is good for cutting and drying in bulk quantities. S. o. 'Icterina' - Golden sage S. o. 'Minima' - Dwarf sage S. o. 'Purpurea' - Purple sage - to 18 inches tall, compact, aromatic, purple foliage, use like garden sage in stuffings, sausage, omelets, soups, and stews. S. o. 'Tricolor' - Variegated, Tricolor sage - to two or three feet tall, decorative leaves variegated in cream, purple, green S. clevelandii - Blue sage - to three feet tall, blue flowers, used in potpourris and recommended as a substitute for S. officinalis in cooking. S. elegans - Pineapple sage - to two to three feet tall, pineapple scent, brilliant red flowers, used for drinks, chicken, cheese, jams and jellies. S. leucantha - Mexican bush sage - to four feet tall, gray-green foliage, lavender flowers produced abundantly and dry beautifully, not winter hardy. S. sclarea - Clary sage - to three feet tall, huge pebbly gray leaves with spectacular lilac and pink flowers, the most unusual and showy sage. Abundant Life Seed Foundation, PO Box 772, Port Townsend, WA 98368. Applewood Seed Co., PO Box 10761, Edgemont Station, Golden, CO 80401. Bountiful Gardens, 5798 Ridgewood Road, Willits, CA 95490. W. Atlee Burpee & Co., 300 Park Avenue, Warminster, PA 18974. Caprilands Herb Farm, 534 Silver Street, Coventry, CN 06238. Comstock, Ferre & Co., 263 Main St., Wethersfield, CT 06109. The Cook's Garden, PO Box 65, Londonderry, VT 05148. De Giorgi Co., Inc., PO Box 413, Council Bluffs, IA 51502. Gleckler's Seedsmen, Metamora, OH 43540. Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co., Yankton, SD 57079. Harris Seeds, 961 Lyell Avenue, Rochester, NY 14606. Henry Field's Seed & Nursery Co., Shenandoah, IA 51602. Indiana Botanic Gardens, PO Box 5, Hammond, IN 46325. J.L. Hudson, Seedsman, PO Box 1058, Redwood City, CA 94064. Johnny's Selected Seeds, 299 Foss Hill Rd., Albion, ME 04910. Le Jardin du Gourmet, PO Box 75, St. Johnsbury Center, VT 05863. Earl May Seed & Nursery Co., Shenandoah, IA 51603. Nichols Garden Nursery, 1190 North Pacific Hwy., Albany, OR 97321. Park Seed Co., Cokesbury Road, Greenwood, SC 29647-0001. Pinetree Garden Seeds, Route 100, New Gloucester, ME 04260. Redwood City Seed Co., PO Box 361, Redwood City, CA 94064. Otto Richter & Sons Ltd., Box 26, Goodwood, Ontario, Canada L0C 1A0. Seeds Blum, Idaho City Stage, Boise, ID 83706. Shepherd's Garden Seeds, 30 Irene Street, Torrington, CT 06790. Stillridge Herb Farm, 10370 Route 99, Woodstock, MD 21163. Stokes Seeds Inc., Box 548, Buffalo, NY 14240. Taylor's Herb Gardens, Inc., 1535 Lone Oak Road, Vista, CA 92084. Territorial Seed Co., PO Box 27, Lorane, Or 97451. Thompson & Morgan, PO Box 1308, Jackson, NJ 08527. Otis Twilley Seed Co., PO Box 65, Trevose, PA 19047. Cantwell, M. and M. Reid. Postharvest handling of fresh culinary herbs. Perishables Handling No. 60: 2-4. Vegetable Crops Dept., UC Davis. 1986. Joyce, Daryl; Micheal Reid and Philip Katz, "Postharvest handling of Fresh Culinary Herbs." in Parishables Handling 58: 1-4. Feb. 1986. Veg Crops Dept., UC Davis. Kowalchik, Claire, et al., eds. Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs. Rodale Press. 1987. pp. 439-442. Newcomb, Duane, and Karen Newcomb. The Complete Vegetable Gardener's Sourcebook. Prentice Hall Press. 1989. 408 p. Organic Gardening Magazine, The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. Rodale Press, 1978. p. 629-631. Whealy, Kent. Garden Seed Inventory, Second Edition. Seed Saver Publications, Decorah, IA. 1988. 422 p. Simon, James, Alena Chadwick, and Lyle Craker. Herbs: An Indexed Bibliography 1971-1980. Archon Books, Hamden, CT. 1984. 770 p. Figure 1. Effect of holding temperature on the quality of sage after 1 (•) and 2 (n) weeks storage in perforated polyethylene bags. Visual quality was assessed on a five point scale (9 high, 1 low). From Joyce, Reid, Katz 1986. Figure 2. Sage growing near Hollister. Photo by Hunter Johnson. The authors are: Yvonne Savio, Vegetable Crops Extension, UCD and Curt Robinson, University Extension, UCD Reviewed by:Jeanine Davis 12/4/91
Learn how to draw wood here: www.dragoart.com/tuts/4691/1/1/how-to-draw-wood.htm How to Draw a Muskrat. 5. Another busy weekâ¦ Lori the Lumberjack, PSâ¦All tutorials, information and images are the property of Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only. To draw the correct texture of wood, make long pencil strokes up and down the paper in the same direction with the flat side of the pencil led. Each sieve should be thoroughly cleaned up before the test. Edge grain cutting boards are the simplest and best cutting boards for beginners. Use medium-grit sandpaper for this and go with the grain. Ocean Animals. Learn how to draw a rose in this step by step drawing tutorial, using materials you can find around your house. Step 13 Set the fill color of the wood grain to slightly darker brown #543f3a. Wood graining is actually the strie technique with a new step added. Set the color of the rectangle to #7d6154. The windmill Iâm going to show you how to draw today is a Dutch style windmill that I seen in my better homes and garden magazine. Step-4: Usage of Plexiglas template for wood cutting and designing. Draw the rest of his right hand and more of his left. A book review and a GIVEAWAY. The first step of the woodworking project is to build the frame of the tower. Step 2. How to Draw a Wood Frog - Step-by-Step Tutorial. The animation on the right shows how to draw a wood floor in one-point perspective. Purple # 31. by Gypsi8654. Learn how to draw an owl in this fun, easy step-by-step drawing lesson! Cartoon Characters. Use a damp cloth to remove it. Erase carefully the legâs corners which are behind the length line to form the necessary detailâs shape. Rainforest Animals. or Please help support this site with a donation. Sanding leaves dust on the wood, and clearing it is critical before you apply anything to it. Practise on a separate sheet of paper be 5. Print Tutorial. Step 8. The general rule is to use wood species that produce an edible product. Practise on a separate sheet of paper be. Some areas will be a little darker and some lighter, which is fine and enhances the natural feel of wood. Sign up. Plants. I think you will enjoy this step, my friend said it was interesting, and she isn't even interested in drawing or woo. Step by Step Drawing tutorial on How to Draw Wood Cart. This lesson is going to show you "how to draw wood", step by step.Wood first comes in the form of trees, and then when those trees are cut done or harvested, they are taken to a production plant, or various lumber yards … If you bought your piece from a craft store, it may already be sanded smooth for you. We temporarily stopped you from leaving DrawingHub so you could confirm, Begin by drawing a rectangle and separating it into strips - most posts are made of multiple planks bound together, like a barrel, so these strips represent the separate planks. How to Draw a Woodlouse - Step-by-Step Tutorial. All Animals (2287) All Categories. top 11 jon for 1 last update 2019/11/12 peters woodworking â¦ It talks about how wood should look when it breaks and snaps. It would still be a good idea to inspect the piece, and smooth out any rough patches. How to Draw a Wood Cabin. Step 6. Step 3. Step 2. This is a realistic sketch of the two different types of tree bark. Step 1. Jan, 03 2018. Read through it, so you can get a sense of what I am talking about. Posted on Sep 21, 2020. How to Draw a â¦ Posted on Sep 23, 2020. MDF doesn't have grain, so you won't have to worry about splinters or cracks. Edge gain cutting boards are different than END grain cutting boards. Draw outline for another rectangles. Step by Step Wood Grain Tumbler Video Tutorial. 10 years ago \| 399 views. Follow this step by step tutorial to learn how to draw a bamboo plant! Learn how to draw wood with a few easy steps! I’ll be using Prismacolor thick lead pencils and heavyweight white drawing paper. Not one tree has the same type of pattern within it's trunk. Its structure is reminiscent of a fan made of straight rigid feathers. You may have wondered what was in the upper left corner of the drawing. Practise on a separate sheet of paper be more. The typical testing procedure consists of the following steps: Weigh a dry soil sample which should be at least 500gr. Feel free to explore, study and enjoy paintings with PaintingValley.com 3. Plants. Let dry. As the name says, end grain boards have the end grain of the wood facing up for the surface that will contact the knives. Broken Mirrors. But if you want to improve your skills, then I recommend you two more lessons: how to draw a wood-grouse step by step. Draw four long cylinders for the bamboo poles. Dragoartofficial. View As : Standard Printable Step by Step. Branches the same, start by drawing the tree bark on two trunks and.! 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Generic drugs are the same thing as brand-name medication in every way: active ingredient, dosage, intended use, effects, side effects, route of administration, risks, safety, and strength. Pharmacologically, generic and brand-name drugs are identical: for example, leflunomide vs Arava, sulfazalazine vs Azulfidine, and azathioprine vs Imuran. Are generic drugs worse than brand-name medication? The FDA mandates that generic medications must be able to be used in place of brand-name drugs and must offer the same benefits as their brand-name equivalents, meaning generic drugs are not lesser knock-offs or counterfeits of their brand-name counterparts. The FDA also requires that generic drugs match brand-name medication in every way (except for appearance, due to trademark laws). There is no truth to the idea that generic drugs are manufactured in facilities of lesser quality or are in any way inferior to brand-name drugs. Many companies manufacture both brand-name and generic drugs, and the FDA applies the same standards for all drug manufacturing facilities. Why are generic drugs cheaper than brand-name medication? In truth, the only reason generic drugs are cheaper is because the manufacturers have not had to invest in developing and marketing a brand-new drug. When a company is bringing a brand-new drug onto the market, it has already spent a lot of money on research and development, as well as marketing and promotion of the drug. They have spent time and money on clinical trials, and they pass some of the costs of those trials onto the consumer. “Brand name medications will always cost more than generic drugs due to the need for pharmaceutical companies to recoup the money spent on research and development. In recent years, however, there are more factors that come into play that are causing drug prices to skyrocket. In recent news drugs like daraprim and epinephrine, very old drugs, have had their prices increased to astronomical levels due to unscrupulous drug companies,” says Stella Badalova, Director of Healthcare Relations and Clinical Development at Medly Pharmacy. “Other factors like the middlemen of medicine, insurance companies and PBMs (pharmacy benefit managers), are reimbursing drug prices at lower and lower rates causing drug companies to further increase their prices to make up the difference. This creates a chicken and the egg situation where drug companies blame increased pricing on low reimbursements from PBMs and PBMs lowering reimbursement due to what they find as unjustly high costs.” The Patent Process Ultimately, the company is granted a patent that gives the company the exclusive right to sell the drug. However, as the patent nears expiration, manufacturers can ask the FDA for permission to make and sell generic versions of the medication. Since other companies don’t need to invest in the development of the drug, they can make and sell it more cheaply. Furthermore, when more than one company is producing and selling the same drug, the competition between them can drive the price down even more sharply. When should I pick a brand-name drug over a generic medication? Because a generic drug is cheaper and does the exact same thing as a brand-name drug, you might think that you should take the generic drug every time. This is true most of the time, with the following exceptions: • There’s no generic available. (But even if this is the case, talk to your doctor. They may be able to prescribe you a cheaper alternative or recommend cost-saving programs to help you afford your copay.) • When you take a drug with a narrow therapeutic index — which includes lithium, blood thinners, thyroid, and anti-epileptic drugs — if your doctor prescribes you a generic, you should take the generic, and if your doctor prescribes you the brand-name, you should take the brand-name. That’s because when it comes to these drugs, tiny differences in the dose or blood concentration of the medication can cause serious reactions. • When you don’t do as well on the generic. While this is very rare, there are some individuals who respond poorly when switching to a generic, possibly due to minor changes in how the tablet is made and therefore how that person’s particular system absorbs the drug. “The FDA has a rating system to determine if a generic medication is a valid substitute for a brand name version. A generic manufacturer seeks to obtain an ‘AB’ rating from the FDA to market it as an equivalent generic,” Badalova explains. “What an AB rating from the FDA means is that the active ingredient is both bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent to the brand-name version and that the inactive ingredients used must be proven to be safe for use in humans. This is where individual sensitivities come into play. Just because the FDA has given a generic option an AB rating does not mean that you personally might tolerate that drug. If a generic company uses a different dye or preservative that is deemed safe for human use but you are allergic to, this can spell trouble.” How do I get my insurance to pay for brand-name medication? Insurance companies are naturally interested in increasing the use of cheaper generics over more expensive brand-name drugs in order to protect their bottom line. However, if your doctor recommends you take a brand-name medication, there are ways to get your insurance to pay for them. • Just choose the drug. Under some plans, you can choose the brand-name drug but will simply pay more. Depending on your plan, that may mean you have to pay the copay for the generic drug plus the cost difference between the brand-name and generic medication. • Go through step therapy. “Step therapy” requires you to check that other, cheaper drugs don’t work for you first, which means you will try less expensive alternatives before your insurance approves the brand-name. Step therapy is another form of prior authorization. It can take multiple rounds, with multiple drugs, before your insurance approves the brand-name medication. • Ask your doctor to write to the insurance company. Sometimes your doctor can convince the insurance company that the brand-name drug be added to the insurance company’s preferred drug list. • See if there is a manufacturer copay card. These cards help people on private insurance pay for brand-name drugs. There are also manufacturer patient assistance programs, which help people who meet certain requirements afford reduced-cost medications. Medly Pharmacy automatically applies copay cards and other coupons to your cart at checkout. “Luckily there are options available to alleviate some of these issues such as drug samples, free trials, patient savings programs, and drug coupons. If a patient can receive a sample or free trial offer for a drug to see if it is efficacious and tolerated it can save a lot of time and money,” says Badalova. To find out whether there is a generic version of your drug available, speak to your doctor or pharmacist. The FDA also offers some ways of checking whether or not your drug has generics available here.
Teams are more effective when they learn how to effectively combine their skills to complete a shared task. This is the essence of cross-functionality. Cross-functional teams are defined as consisting of members with different functional backgrounds (Keller, 2001). The presence of different skills in teams creates opportunities for organizational ambidexterity. However, this is only the case when teams learn how to effectively combine their skills to complete shared tasks. Otherwise, a high degree of skill specialization in teams only results in a division of work and fracturing of collaboration. Cross-functionality in teams has been linked to shorter development time (Eisenhardt & Tabrizi, 1995) and increased quality and improved performance (Keller, 2001). For Scrum teams specifically, Moe et. al. (2010) and Verwijs & Russo (2022) found that team effectiveness is inhibited when teams lack such cross-functionality. It is important to emphasize that cross-functionality does not mean that every member has the skills to perform any kind of task. This is highly unlikely and unfeasible for complex work, where the required skills take years to train and develop. The essence of cross-functionality lies in the ability of teams to leverage diverse skillsets of team members to complete shared tasks. So what are strategies to start improving? 👉 First, cross-functionality can be encouraged in teams by building a shared understanding of who has which skills in a team and at what level. A “skill matrix” is useful in this regard, especially for new teams. 👉 Second, members learn more quickly how to combine their skills when they actually work together on tasks. This explains why practices like “pair programming” are so beneficial to teams. It also explains why so many Agile methodologies emphasize the use of shared goals to encourage collaboration over the division of work. Teams where members only work on those tasks that fit exactly within their specialization will never become truly cross-functional. 👉 Third, teams can greatly expand their cross-functionality by training together. We’ve found that hackathons are particularly useful here. Instead of working on day-to-day work, teams instead pick a relevant challenge and try to complete it by working together. 👉 Fourth, many organizations still organize work along skill specializations because they feel it is more efficient. For example, all testers go together in teams, as do the designers, the marketers, and the developers. Work is then passed from team to team toward completion. However, such practices are markedly inefficient in complex environments where work is unpredictable and difficult. If you find that work is still primarily organized along skill specializations, your first priority would be to start to loosen this. Actions to start small and simple are: 1️⃣ During the (Sprint) Retrospective, identify 1 scarcely available skill that at least 3 team members will improve in the next Sprint. 2️⃣ Organize a workshop in the next Sprint, in which a team member who is skilled at a particular task demonstrates how they perform it and help others do it as well. 3️⃣ For the next Sprint, agree to limit your work-in-progress to no more than a third of the number of members in your team and work together on those items as creatively as possible. What is your experience with improving cross-functionality❓ What recommendations do you have to help a team start improving❓ Cross-functionality is one of the 20+ factors we measure to determine Agile & Scrum team effectiveness. Based on the results, teams receive evidence-based feedback on how to start improving. Why don’t you give the Agile/Scrum Team Survey a try? We offer a free version focused on individual teams and a paid version that shows aggregated results of multiple teams.
Names and Titles of Jesus Beginning the Journey (for new Christians). 1, 2, and 3 John 1 & 2 Thessalonians 1 & 2 Timothy 2 Peter, Jude 7 Last Words of Christ Christ Powered Life (Rom 5-8) David, Life of Jesus and the Kingdom Lamb of God Names of God Names of Jesus Sermon on the Mount 12. Psalms: Giving Thanks to Our Faithful God (Psalms 100, 107, 118, and 34) Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Boeckhorst, "King David Playing the Harp" (c. 1616, finished 1640s), oil on wood panel, Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Larger image. Psalm 100 - Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving The key idea found again and again in this short psalm is giving thanks. \|" A psalm of thanksgiving (tôdâ)" (NRSV)\| \|"Enter his gates with and his courts with praise; give thanks (yādā) to him and praise his name." The primary meaning of the root verb yādā is "to acknowledge or confess," here, to acknowledge and confess God's character and works. While hālal, "praise," stresses "acclaim of, boasting of, glorying in" God, the verb yādā, emphasizes "recognition, declaration" of a fact. The noun in the title, tôdâ, "confession, praise," was employed uniquely in reference to a type of sacrifice, usually translated a "thank-offering." The sacrifice was accompanied with praise or confession of God as a time of joy.1 Psalm 100 pairs with another verse from the Psalter: "He who sacrifices thank offerings (tôdâ) honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God." (Psalm 50:23) Psalm 100 is clearly in the "hymn" genre. One of the most beloved psalms in the Bible, it has quite a history. It was closely identified with the "thank-offering" in the temple, probably sung when thank-offerings were offered on the altar. In Jewish piety Psalm 100 is a regular part of morning prayers, included among the Pesukei D'Zimrah ("verses of praise"). "Old Hundredth," based on this psalm, is one of the great hymns of the Protestant Christian churches. Psalm 100 breathes thanksgiving and praise. Let's consider it briefly. Giving Thanks with Joy (100:1-2) This psalm has no author, but is identified as "a psalm," probably with an instrumental accompaniment. As mentioned, the title: "A psalm of thanksgiving" identifies it with the temple thank-offering. Many of the key words in these verses we've already looked at in previous psalms. For the first three verses I've put the NIV and KJV translations side by side, since many of us are familiar with the more traditional translation. Notice the abundance of praise words in the first two verses. \|"1Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 2Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs." \|"1Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 2Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing." Let's review some of the praise words: - "Shout for joy" (NIV), "make a joyful noise" (KJV, NRSV) rûa`, "shout, raise a sound, cry out." It is a jubilant word, a spontaneous shout of praise to Yahweh.2 - "Worship" (NIV, NRSV), "serve" (KJV, NJB) is `ābad, "work, serve," here "serve, worship" God, more properly, "perform the proper rites for,"3 "serving Yahweh with the Levitical service."4 - "Gladness" is śimḥâ, "joy, mirth." The root denotes being glad or joyful with the whole disposition.5 - "Joyful songs" (NIV), "singing" (KJV, NRSV) is renānā, "cry of joy." This noun is only found in three other poetic passages (Psalm 63:5; Job 3:7; 20:5). The verb is widely used as a shout of jubilation, joy at God's saving acts, holy joy.6 We Are the Sheep of His Pasture (100:3) Verses 1 and 2 are a call to joyful thanksgiving. Verse 3 gives the reason for the jubilation -- Yahweh is our Creator, King, and Shepherd. Verse 3 presents a minor difficulty. See how the NIV and KJV translations differ from each other: \|"Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his ; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture." (NIV) \|"Know ye that the LORD he is it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." (KJV) Verse 3b can be rendered "we are his" (NIV, NRSV, NJB) or "not we ourselves" (KJV, NASB). Here's why. The Hebrew word for "not" (lō´) and "his" (lô) sound alike. Both wordings have manuscript support. Either of the words could be used appropriately here. But the sentence goes more smoothly as "and we are his." I think it also seems to fit the context better -- creation and belonging to God that is carried out in verse 3c. Notice the warm sense of belonging that verse 3 creates in us. Why should we worship? (verse 1-2). Because Yahweh is God who created us. We belong to him, like a king with his people, like a shepherd and his flock. We are not alone! We belong to the family of God and are tenderly cared for as sheep. God takes responsibility for us! Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving (100:4-5) And so we praise him. The psalmist calls us into the temple to present a joyful thanksgiving offering, to praise him in the courts of the temple. "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." (100:4) I'm always curious about the praise words, since they instruct us in praise. We've seen them all before. The noun "thanksgiving" (tôdâ) and related verb "give thanks" (yādā) we discussed above. The noun "praise" in verse 4b is tehillâ, "renown, praise, glory," from the verb hālal, "praise, boast."7. The verb "praise" (NIV), "bless" (KJV, NRSV) in 4c is bārak, which we discussed on Psalm 103:1. This is both an invitation to enter his presence and gentle command to praise. Why should we praise? "For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." (100:5) Verse 5 gives the reasons for our jubilant praise -- God's character. These are qualities that we've seen throughout the psalms, especially in chapter 9 of our study -- his goodness and righteousness (ṭôb8), his steadfast love (ḥesed), and his faithfulness (´emûnâ9). \|Q1. (Psalm 100) What is the predominant emotion in Psalm 100? How does this psalm make you feel emotionally about God? What are the reasons for praise given in verses 3 and 5? What are the commands in this psalm? Psalm 107 - Give Thanks to the Lord for His Unfailing Love Another thanksgiving psalm is Psalm 107, that stands without any title or ascription in our Psalter. I wish we could give it more time, but read it on your own. "1Give thanks (yādā) to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. 2Let the redeemed of the LORD say this -- those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, 3those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south." (107:1-3) This psalm consists of a number of verses outlining Israel's woes, followed by a refrain, probably sung by a chorus: "Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men" (verses 8, 15, 21, and 31) Following each refrain is a reason for the thanksgiving: "... For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things." (107:9) "... For he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron." (107:16) or a desired response: "Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy." (107:22) "Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders." (107:32) It is a wonderful psalm of praise, detailing the appropriateness of our thanksgiving. It could also easily lend itself to corporate worship, with the congregation saying or singing the refrain and various readers taking the narrative portions. Psalm 118 - His Love Endures Forever Another wonderful thanksgiving psalm is Psalm 118, also without title or author. Let's examine a few choice verses: "Give thanks (yādā) to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." (118:1) The next verses almost beg for a choral response after each call: "2Let Israel say: 'His love endures forever.' 3Let the house of Aaron say: 'His love endures forever.' 4Let those who fear the LORD say: 'His love endures forever.' " (118:2-4) Now the psalmist begins to talk about how he has faced various perils, but has found God's help: "The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies." (118:6-7) Verse 6 is quoted in Hebrews 13:6. Throughout the psalm there are wonderful outbreaks of praise, such as: "The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous..." (118:14-15) "Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation." (118:19-21) The Stone that the Builders Rejected (118:22-23) Now comes a famous verse that the New Testament designates as speaking of Jesus the Messiah: "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes." (118:22-23) It is quoted by Jesus (Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10, 11; Luke 20:17) and the Apostle Peter (Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:4, 7). The imagery is from building construction, masonry. Houses of the poor were typically built from blocks of sun-dried clay, then whitewashed. Wealthier people would construct houses of stone (´eben) that was dressed to square it up using a hammer and chisel, sometimes a stone saw.10 Before placement in the building the mason would inspect each block for quality, trueness, squareness, and fit. Once he personally approved the cut stone, it would be incorporated into the building. The "chief cornerstone" (NRSV, NJB), "capstone" (NIV), "head stone of the corner" (KJV), is the stone that crowns the building, the most prominent and important stone of the entire structure.11 Jesus and Peter interpret the builders as the leaders of Israel -- the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees. They rejected the Messiah, "the stone," while Yahweh has designated him the Capstone, Keystone, Cornerstone (depending on your translation of the word). Another verse refers to Messiah in this way (quoted in 1 Peter 2:6; Romans 9:33; 10:11; and referred to in 1 Corinthians 3:11 and Ephesians 2:20): "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed." (Isaiah 28:16) Jesus is also referred to as the "a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." (Isaiah 8:14; Romans 9:32-33; 1 Peter 2:8). This Is the Day which the Lord Has Made (118:24) One of our most common antiphons or calls to worship is found in verse 24: "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (118:24) "Rejoice" is gîl, "rejoice, be glad." The root meaning is "to circle around," from which such ideas as "to circle in joy" and "dance for joy" are readily derived. The root meaning is applicable to vigorous, enthusiastic expressions of joy."12 The next two verses are found on the lips of worshippers during Jesus' Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday: "O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you." (118:25-26) The cry hōsanna is usually taken as a Greek transliteration of the cry for help "Save us" in verse 25.13 John records of the great crowds that: "They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!'" (John 12:13; also see Matthew 21:9-11) In that light look at the next verse in Psalm 118: "The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar." (118:27) With the words of this psalm the crowds welcomed Jesus as the Messianic King into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, while throwing palm branches on the road before him. But the leaders rejected him and had him crucified. Just before his crucifixion Jesus addresses the city with great sadness: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" (Matthew 23:37-39) Just as Jerusalem's leaders rejected him, Jesus cannot enter and reign in our hearts either until we acknowledge him for who he is: "The one who comes in the name of the Lord Yahweh." \|Q2. (Psalm 118) What does "the stone the builders rejected" (verses 22-23) have to do with the Messiah? What do verses 25-27 have to do with the Messiah? I Will Give You Thanks (118:28-29) "You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." (118:28-29) The psalm concludes as it began, with thanksgiving. The final verse repeats the first: "Give thanks!" This concludes our look at psalms of thanksgiving. Psalm 34 - Taste and See that the Lord Is Good However, there is one final psalm I'd like us to consider as we conclude our study of the psalms. It is a psalm of deliverance -- Psalm 34, one of the favorite psalms of all time. Its main structural element is an acrostic, with each verse beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This structure seems to limit the psalmist's poetic themes to couplets in single verses. However, you can see a clear division between the early part of the psalm and the latter part. - Rejoice with Me (verses 1-10). In a hymn of praise, the psalmist calls his hearers to rejoice along with him because of the wonderful deliverance he experienced from fear and trouble. - Learn from Me (verses 11-22). Now the psalmist assumes the teacher's role, and the genre shifts to a wisdom psalm with instructions reminiscent of wisdom literature such as Proverbs. The psalmist is identified in the title as David. The occasion is also given: "When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left." This points to an incident described in 1 Samuel 21:10-22:1. David suddenly becomes aware that Saul is serious about killing him. So that Saul can't capture him, David flees to the Philistine city of Gath, an arch enemy of Israel. The king is named Achish. (The psalmist's designation "Abimelech" probably refers to the name of a dynasty of kings of Gath. Abimelech means "son of the king."). When Achish's servants remind him of David's military prowess exercised against the Philistines, David gets worried. After all, Goliath whom David slew as a young man was from Gath. Out of fear that he will be executed, David feigns insanity. Achish concludes he is harmless and lets him go. David doesn't stick around. But once free from danger from both enemies -- the Philistines and Saul -- he composes this psalm of praise and exhortation. I Will Bless the Lord at All Times (34:1-2) The psalm begins with David's praise and then a call for others to join him. "1I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. 2My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice." (34:1-2) Here again we find the familiar praise words. "Extol" (NIV) or "bless" is bārak, that we found in Psalm 103:1 -- "knell, bless, praise, salute" (chapter 9). The noun "praise" is tehillâ, "renown, praise, glory," which we discussed above in Psalm 100:4b (from the verb hālal). "Boast" (verse 2) is the verb hālal, the root of "Hallelujah," which we first explored in Psalm 150:1 (chapter 4). Literally verse 2 reads, "In Yahweh shall glory my soul." Hālal means to "praise, hail, acclaim," but also to brag or boast in someone.15 "Rejoice" (NIV) or "be glad" is śāmēaḥ, " being glad or joyful with the whole disposition,"16 which we saw above in Psalm 100:2a. How often are we to bring praise to God? "at all times" (verse 1a) and "always" (verse 1b). This is something like Paul's admonitions: "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) "... Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 5:20) So often we reserve praise for Sunday morning worship. During the rest of the week we might read the Bible and pray, but is praise on our lips always? This is a matter of training, of habit. Write yourself a note where you can read it often: "Have I praised God in the last hour?" You'll fail often at first, but as you begin to remind yourself to praise, it will eventually come naturally to you. This is a part of being "transformed by the renewing of your mind" that God wants to do in your life (Romans 12:2). Magnifying and Exalting (34:3) Verse 3 has a pair of verbs and a command to praise: "O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together." (34:3, NRSV) "Magnify" (NRSV, KJV), "glorify" (NIV) is the verb gādal, "to become great or important, promote, praise." In the Piel stem as here it has a causative connotation, "magnify, consider great," calling worshippers to ascribe greatness to the Lord and to his name (Psalm 35:27; 40:16; 70:4).17 "Exalt" is rûm, "be high, lofty." A frequent idiom is the expression of God "being high" or "exalted," representing God's high rank18 In the polel stem it means "to lift someone high, exalt, extol God."19 Can mere man make God any higher than he already is? No, but he can make God's reputation more exalted by his testimony of God's deliverance. And that is what David does in verses 4 and 6. \|Q3. (Psalm 34:1-3) Why should we praise God continually? What are barriers to continual praise? What does continual praise do to our spirit? How are you training yourself to praise continually? I Sought the Lord and He Delivered Me (34:4-7) David gives his testimony: "4I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered (yāsha`) me from all my fears. 5Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. 6This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved (yāsha`) him out of all his troubles. 7The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers (ḥālaṣ) them." (34:4-7) No doubt the fears and troubles that David is recalling relate to the close call he had in the Philistine city of Gath. The term "delivered" (NIV), "saved" (KJV, NRSV) in verses 4b and 6b is yāsha`, in the Hiphil stem, "save, deliver, give victory, help."20 A synonym is found in verse 7b translated "delivers," ḥālaṣ, in the Piel stem, "rescue, deliver, save." The root idea is "to draw off," so here David testifies that God "pulls him out" of his distress.21 Those who seek Yahweh, who look to him, are radiant22 with joy (5a) rather than "covered" with shame and sorrow (5b). David "sought the LORD" (4a) and "called" (6a); Yahweh answered. How did he answer? David suggests that his deliverance was the work of "the angel of the LORD," a phrase which suggests Yahweh himself. "Encamp," ḥānā, has the root idea, "to bend, curve," suggesting that the ancient Semitic camp was circular in layout, or perhaps that the lines of a besieging force were circular.23 If Yahweh and his host of angelic armies sets up their military encampment around believers, nothing can get through to harm them. That is the image here. Angels rescued Lot and his family from Sodom (Genesis 19:1-22). An angel shut the mouths of lions to deliver Daniel (Daniel 6:22). Twelve legions of angels could have been instantly at Jesus' disposal in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:53). An angel woke Peter up in the middle of the night, released his shackles, and opened the doors of Herod's maximum security prison (Acts 12:6-10). Perhaps David had a similar experience of angelic intervention that allowed him to escape from the city of Gath in one piece. Taste and See that the Lord is Good (34:8-10) Now David invites his hearers to trust in the Lord also, so that they can experience his trustworthiness and abundant provision: "Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." (34:8) With the incident in Gath, God has been stretching David, teaching him to trust in, to rely on, to "take refuge" in the Lord. And God came through! Now David is excited to share this experience, to encourage others that they too can trust in God. He calls out across the centuries to you and me: "Taste and see that the LORD is good." "Taste" is ṭā`am, "taste, eat, perceive," with the primary meaning, "to try, or to evaluate with the tongue, normally with a view to consumption if the flavor is suitable."25 Have you tasted? Have you found that you can take refuge in the Lord? If not, step out in trust at your next opportunity, your next trial. You will find the blessing of the person who "takes refuge" in the Lord. David also exhorts us trust God for our provision, much like Jesus did for his disciples: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). David tells us: "9Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. 10The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing." (34:9-10) Lions are "king of the jungle," the top of the food chain. But when even lions are hungry, God will supply those who trust in God. That is the promise of these verses. We are told to do two things: - "Fear the LORD," that is, reverence him, put our confidence in him even when others around us don't take God seriously. - "Seek the LORD," that is, make a concerted effort to connect with him, even when our first efforts seem to fail. (See more on "seeking the Lord" in chapter 2 on Psalm 27:8.) I Will Teach You the Fear of Yahweh (34:11-14) Now David turns to a teaching mode. He has exhorted us to "fear the LORD" in verse 9. Now he spells out what this entails, the practicalities of serving Yahweh in a world that doesn't take Him seriously: "11Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, 13keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. 14Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." (34:11-14) Notice the strong ethical instruction about evil speaking, lies, unrighteous. Verse 13 spells it out in a negative format; verse 14 looks at it from a positive point of view. I am particularly interested in verse 14: "Seek peace and pursue it." What does that mean? "Peace" is shālōm. It is not merely the absence of strife, though that is part of it. Shālōm is something much broader. The general meaning behind the root is of completion and fulfillment, of entering into a state of wholeness, unity, harmony, a restored relationship. Implicit in shālōm is the idea of unimpaired relationships with others and fulfillment in one's undertakings.25 Seeking shālōm, moreover, is a state of fulfillment in God's presence, with God's help. So we are told to fear God, seek God. The same idea is found here. We are to both seek after God's wholeness and pursue it with all our strength. We are to chase peace and not quit until we have achieved it. A zeal for peace, a zeal for God. This is what Jesus was talking about when he said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness..." (Matthew 6:33). Lord, give me a passion for You that doesn't quit! His Ears Are Attentive to the Cry of the Righteous (34:15-16) Sometimes we may feel like our prayers are imposing on God. Not so, says David: "15The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; 16the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth." (34:15-16) God has his channel always open to hear you when you pray to him and he listens attentively. Many Are the Afflictions of the Righteous, but the Lord Delivers (34:17-20) In verses 4-7 David talked about God's deliverance in his time of need. Now he generalizes it for all believers. I called out and the Lord delivered me. You can call out, too, and he'll hear you as well: "17The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers (nāṣal) them from all their troubles. 18The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves (yāsha`) those who are crushed in spirit. 19A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers (nāṣal) him from them all; 20he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken." (34:17-20) Verse 20 is referred to in John 19:36 as referring to the Messiah. Two verses pop out for me: "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (34:18) I've been there. My heart has been broken. My spirit has been crushed. Yet I've experienced God there with me. He's there with you, too. When your troubles seem to crash down upon you and you nearly lose hope, he is with you. Call out, seek him in your lowest time. You'll find him close, nearby. Reach out. The other verse that I call to mind I remember best from the RSV: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the LORD delivers him out of them all." (34:19) We are not immune to the troubles common to this life. We even face death, sooner often than we would like. The psalmist who lived on the far side of the cross, believed in the Lord's ultimate deliverance from trouble. On this side of the cross we see that the Lord ultimately delivers from death itself. Resurrection is our promise. The message here is: Don't give up hope. Don't quit. The Lord is with you and he will bring you through even this! The Lord Redeems His Servants, Does Not Condemn Them (34:21-22) David, fresh from deliverance from Gath, concludes his psalm of deliverance with a word of hope. In the end, God will come through: "21Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. 22The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him." (34:21-22) In verse 22 there are two very precious promises containing images pregnant with meaning: 1. Redeemer of Servants (34:22a) "The LORD redeems his servants." (34:22a) We've come to the concept of "redeem" several times. We've seen the "Kinsman-Redeemer" (gā´al) who does not desert his own kin, but does what it takes to pay their debts, buy back their land, pay whatever ransom is necessary to secure their freedom. This word "redeem" here is similar, pādā, but focuses on the financial part of redemption, "to transfer ownership from one to another through payment of a price." In verse 22a, Yahweh values his servants so much that he will pay whatever is necessary to secure their freedom. This is fulfilled on the cross, where the Father gave his best, his only Son. And the Son's love and obedience met the piercing of the nails through his hands and our sins through his soul. He redeemed us at highest cost. We are worth an infinite amount to God. 2. Faithful Judge (22b) "No one will be condemned who takes refuge in him." (34:22b) Have you ever felt so oppressed by your guilt that you didn't think God could -- or should -- forgive you? That you were hopeless in your sin? I have a marvelous promise for you. If you take refuge in the Lord and his Messiah, Jesus, you don't have to worry about your sins. We are hidden in God's refuge. The Apostle Paul puts it this way: "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:3-4) Now all the lessons are available together in e-book and paperback formats. If you are wounded, God is close. If you are brokenhearted, he is near. Reach out. If you feel trapped he'll redeem you -- has redeemed you through Christ. If you feel guilty, he has given you an amazing promise: take refuge in him and your condemnation goes away. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:1-2) There it is, Psalm 34, a wonderful acrostic psalm of deliverance. It speaks across the ages from a miraculous deliverance from a Philistine city in 1000 BC, to the needs of believers in the twenty-first century AD. Our everlasting God is present to thank, to praise, to enjoy, and to deliver! \|Q4. (Psalm 34:18-22) What encouragement does David give to the brokenhearted? What does it mean that God "redeems" you? How can we avoid condemnation according to \|Exercise. For one of the psalms in this lesson -- or another psalm with a similar theme -- do one of the suggested exercises to help you experience the Psalms include such things as praying a psalm, meditating, reading to a shut-in, paraphrasing, writing your own psalm, singing, preparing a liturgy, and memorizing. Then report to the forum what the exercise meant to you personally or share what you've written with others. Lord, thank you for your great blessings in Christ Jesus. Teach us to always have thanksgiving on our lips. Teach us to take refuge in you when we are in trouble. Soothe our troubled souls when we are wounded and broken. And give us hope, joy, and shalom in You. In Jesus' holy name, we pray. Amen. - "All People that on Earth Do Dwell" - Ralph H. Alexander, yādā, TWOT #847. - William White, rûa`, TWOT #2135. - `Ābad, Holladay, 261. - Walter C. Kaiser, `ābad, TWOT #1553. - Bruce K. Waltke, śāmaḥ, TWOT #2268b. - William White, rānan, TWOT #2179b. - Tehillâ, Holladay, 387. The word is used as a technical term for "song of praise" in Psalm 145:1, Isaiah 63:7. - "Good" is ṭôb, "good" or "goodness," here "moral goodness" (Andrew Bowling, ṭôb, TWOT #793a). - ´Emûnâ means "firmness, faithfulness, fidelity" (Jack B. Scott, ´āman, TWOT #116e). - Adrianus van Selms, "Build," ISBE 1:553-555. - This phrase is made up of two words, rō´sh, "head, top, chief," and pinnâ, "corner." Hamilton notes that in Isaiah 28:16 it refers to a foundation stone, but in Psalm 118:22 to the stone which crowns the building (Victor P. Hamilton, pnn, TWOT #1783a.) - Jack P. Lewis, gîl, TWOT 346. - Eduard Lohse, hōsanna, TDNT 9:682-684. - John N. Oswalt, bārak, TWOT #285. - Leonard J. Coppes, hālal, TWOT #50. - Bruce K. Waltke, śāmēah, TWOT #2268. - Elmer B. Smick, gādal, TWOT #315. - Andrew Bowling, rûm, TWOT #213. - Rûm, Holladay 334-335. - John E. Hartley, yāsha`, TWOT #929. - Elmer B. Smick, ḥālaṣ, TWOT #667; Holladay 106b, piel 3. - Nāhar, metaphorical, "shine, be radiant (with joy)" Holladay 230b, II. - Victor P. Hamilton, ḥānā, TWOT #690. - Ralph H. Alexander, ṭā`am, TWOT #815. - G. Lloyd Carr, shālōm, TWOT #2401a. - R. Laird Harris, gā´al, TWOT #300. Copyright © 1985-2016, Ralph F. Wilson. <pastorjoyfulheart.com> All rights reserved. A single copy of this article is free. Do not put this on a website. See legal, copyright, and reprint information. In-depth Bible study books You can purchase one of Dr. Wilson's complete Bible studies in PDF, Kindle, or paperback format. - Names and Titles of Jesus - 1, 2, and 3 John - 1 Peter - 2 Peter & Jude - 1 & 2 Thessalonians - 1 & 2 Timothy - 1 Corinthians - 2 Corinthians - Abraham, Faith of - Christ Powered Life (Romans 5-8) - Christmas Incarnation - Colossians and Philemon - David, Life of - Great Prayers of the Bible - Jacob, Life of - Jesus and the Kingdom of God - JesusWalk: Beginning the Journey - John's Gospel - Lamb of God - Lord's Supper - Luke's Gospel - Moses the Reluctant Leader - Names and Titles of God - Names and Titles of Jesus - Resurrection and Easter Faith - Sermon on the Mount - Seven Last Words of Christ
Long, cold winters might mean staying warm – and staying indoors – for many of us. But depending on where you live, this might also mean you’re not getting enough of the “sunshine vitamin” – Vitamin D, which is produced in your skin in response to sunlight. Read our latest blog post to find out why it’s so important to get enough of this crucial vitamin. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin in a family of compounds that includes vitamins D-1, D-2, and D-3. Vitamin D is produced naturally by the body when it’s directly exposed to sunlight. You can also get this vitamin through certain foods and supplements. Depending on where you live, you may need to supplement with Vitamin D to ensure adequate levels of the vitamin in your blood. Vitamin D serves a few important functions in the body: Vitamin D regulates the absorption of calcium and phosphorus in the body, which helps to facilitate normal immune system function. This Vitamin is also an essential ingredient for normal growth and development of bones and teeth. If the body doesn’t get enough Vitamin D, you could develop bone abnormalities such as soft bones (osteomalacia) or fragile bones (osteoporosis). The latest research indicates that Vitamin D plays a role in reducing your risk of multiple sclerosis, decreasing your chance of developing heart disease, and helps to reduce your likelihood of developing the flu. According to recent research, Vitamin D may play an important role in regulating mood and warding off depression. Boosts Weight Loss According to a recent study, people taking a daily calcium and Vitamin D supplement were able to lose more weight than subjects taking a placebo supplement. Researchers concluded that the extra calcium and Vitamin D may have had an appetite-suppressing effect. The symptoms of a Vitamin D deficiency in adults include: The following factors may affect your ability to get sufficient amounts of Vitamin D through the sun alone: If you are concerned about your Vitamin D intake, your provider can perform a simple blood test to determine whether or not you have a deficiency. If you do, your doctor may order X-rays to check the strength of your bones. If you’re diagnosed with a Vitamin D deficiency you will likely be told to take Vitamin D supplements, in addition to eating more foods that contain Vitamin D and getting a little bit of sunlight. If you have a severe deficiency, your provider may instead recommend high-dose vitamin D tablets or liquids. Work with your provider to find out if you need to take a vitamin supplement and how much to take if it is needed. Foods that contain Vitamin D include:
iKeepSafe and Google have teamed up to create new and improved curricula about being a responsible digital citizen. Our hope is for technology to dramatically improve the lives of students and educators. Working together, we are committed to supporting education, as well as keeping students and teachers safe online. Each of the three classes is interactive, discussion filled, and allows students to learn through hands-on and scenario activities: Class 2: Manage your Digital Footprint • Students will be empowered with the information to make safe and appropriate decisions online by learning the importance of online citizenship, how to manage and create a positive reputation online and how to always explore the Internet and other digital communication in a safe manner. • Includes three lessons: “Protect Your Stuff,” “Be Respectful to Yourself and Others,” and “Street Smart.” Emily Ensign is a regular blogger for the Internet Keep Safe Coalition, an organization that gives parents, educators, and policymakers the information and tools that empower them to teach children the safe and healthy use of technology and the internet.
Walruses as polar bear prey and sea ice were on my mind last night and I remembered that we DO have detailed sea ice information for 1978 and 1972 – from the sea ice atlas put together by University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), which has ice concentration maps for Alaska going back to 1850 — and for every year up to 2013 (reported previously here). I’ve copied some of the ice maps below. It is clear that ice was available close to Wrangel Island in 1972 when walruses chose to haul out on the island in huge numbers. And in 1978, there was ice present to the north of the walrus herd, but they had moved away from the ice to get to St. Lawrence Island, where they hauled out in large numbers. This means it is more likely that food resources were the issue, not sea ice. UPDATE OCTOBER 3 2014:
New GCSE Grade System The Government have changed the grading system for all GCSE and BTEC subjects. The new grading system will be numerical "9 to 1" with 9 being the highest. This will replace the current grades of A* to G. Below is a table comparing the existing system with the new numerical system. Timetable for Changes 2016: Last year's results were all A* to G. 2017: English Language, English Literature and Mathematics only will move to the new grades: 9 to 1 2018: The vast majority of subjects will all move to 9 to 1 College and Post 16 The grades you receive for certain subjects will affect what you have to study at college and post 16. 2016: Pupils must continue to study English and Maths if they do not achieve a grade C 2017: Pupils must continue to study English and Maths if they do not achieve a grade 4 2018: Pupils must continue to study English and Maths if they do not achieve a grade 4 2019: Pupils must resit GCSE English and Maths if they do not achieve level 4 This is the latest information as at June 2017. New Accountability Measures for Schools and Academies What are Progress 8 and Attainment 8? Progress 8 is the new accountability measure aimed at measuring the progress of pupils for all grades across a full range of 8 subjects. It is a type of value added measure, meaning that pupils' results are compared to the achievements of other 'similar' pupils and measures how far a pupil's results are above or below their "expected outcome". Attainment 8 looks at the actual results and total score of a pupil across the range of 8 different subjects.
Photo: icelight (flickr) It may come as a surprise to learn that sponges are actually made from marine life. However, there are different types of sponges. Most household sponges are man-made from cellulose or plastics. But these natural sponges are actually made from the endoskeleton of a marine animal. Sponges are a primitive and peculiar group of animals. They are so different from other animals that they were once classified as a separate sub-kingdom called the Parazoa, meaning “almost animals.” They have no organs, no nervous system, digestive system, body tissue, or reproductive organs. Their bodies are basically a collection of cells in a jelly-like matrix, supported by a framework of proteins and calcium carbonate.. But my favorite thing about sponges is their ability to re-aggregate. If you take a live sponge and press it through a fine mesh, it will break down into a slurry of individual cells. But since the cells are really good at recognizing each other they can actually come back together and re-form a whole sponge. You can even make a “mixed sponge smoothie”, blending together cells of different species. But you can’t fool a sponge! The cells from each individual sponge will only reconnect with each other and not mix with cells of the other species or even with cells from different individuals of the same species. So eventually your smoothie will re-aggregate into whole sponges just like you had before.
As we all know, and nutritional experts have also confirmed, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. People who eat inappropriate food for breakfast, or skip the breakfast, have problems with metabolism, concentration and weight. So here are the top food types that will help you make your breakfast healthier and more powerful. -Start your day with good mixed breakfast -- eat oatmeal (e.g. oat with some fruit -- like banana or strawberries and low-fat milk). Oatmeal contains wide array of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants and it’s a good source of iron, protein and carbohydrates. Having oatmeal for breakfast helps you lower your cholesterol level, blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and some certain types of cancer. It’s packed with fiber that absorbs water, which significantly slows down your digestive process, eliminates hunger and controls your weight. -Eggs belong to the group of healthy breakfast food. Great source of protein. One egg contains 6g of protein. Besides proteins, eggs are rich in calcium, vitamin A and D. Eating eggs is good for healthy skin and eyes, because of the antioxidant lutein. People who eat eggs for breakfast feel replete for longer, while losing fat and transforming it into muscle at the same time. This is something very important for bodybuilders to know. Yogurt is rich in calcium, protein, riboflavin and vitamin B. It contains varying amounts of fat. One cup of low-fat yogurt has 9.3g of protein, 253g calories, 4.6g fat. Consummation of low-fat yogurt, helps you reduce your weight, because of the calcium. Proteins in it give you an extra edge if you are trying to get leaner. If you need to save calories and unnecessary sugar you should choose plain yogurt. For some extra sweetness, mix it with some fresh fruit. Frozen Fruit Smoothies Smoothies are rich in nutrients, they are delicious and tasty choice for your breakfast. Adding oats to them is perfect way to get more energy. USDA recommends that half of our meals must consist fruit and vegetables. Frozen fruit smoothie recipe: one frozen banana, 1 cup of frozen fruit ( strawberries, mango, cherries…) one cup of low-fat milk, or ½ cup of vanilla, or plain yogurt, 2 to 3 tablespoons honey, ¼ quick cooking oats ( not instant). Put the ingredients in blender and mix them well. Remember: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so you should start the day by eating healthy and powerful breakfast, which will provide you good energy till your next meal.
a series of quilt designs, based on genetic code. a square, bisected into a light & dark triangle, is rotated in 4 orientations to resemble the letters C, G, A & T, the 4 DNA bases. these blocks are then placed in sequences determined by the base sequence, so one can read the genetic code by looking at the quilt. the color and fabric choices influence the overall design. see also DNA rainbow & genographic world map & human genome random, & the genetic calligraphy & portein profiler & dna 11 & dna space & circos & cell biology infographics & personality dna & web 2 dna.
The Relevance of T. S. Eliot Among all the studies that have been made of the works of T. S. Eliot, too many have been concerned with how Eliot wrote and not enough with how he thought. And yet the true significance of Eliot’s works for our time may well be what he was saying, far more than how he was saying it. Russell Kirk’s newest book very likely will prove to be among the half-dozen most significant commentaries yet written on Eliot, and surely the best study to date of the development of the thinking of this powerful literary and cultural figure who moved steadily in the direction of Christian orthodoxy as the only antidote to the moral decay and chaos toward which he discerned the Western world to be heading. Eliot and His Age is a handsome 460-page volume with sixteen pages of notes, and an index including a useful index of “Topics and Ideas.” Dr. Kirk recognizes that there has been no major biography of Eliot, and even though he insists that this is not that biography, it is indeed an intellectual biography as well as an interpretation of Eliot; a biography enhanced by the fact that Dr. Kirk knew and corresponded extensively with Eliot in Eliot’s later years. But it is primarily in the development of Eliot’s thought and the implications of that thought for our time that Kirk is most interested. His principal aim, he states, “is to explain what Eliot was saying, rather than to praise the manner in which he says it.” In a sense the touchstone of the book is the concept of the “moral imagination,” a term which appears in the subtitle and which Dr. Kirk borrowed from Edmund Burke; but it is a term too that Kirk has made his own and by which, in general, he means the power of ethical perception which aspires to the apprehending of right order in the soul and right order in the commonwealth, particularly as this perception may be expressed through literature and the arts. The moral imagination, he points out, was the gift and obsession of Plato and Virgil and Dante, and it somehow lingered on even in the twentieth century in the works of such diverse writers as Frost, Faulkner, Waugh, and Yeats, as well as in Eliot. It has, however, become an increasingly rare virtue in the twentieth century, as the ideological demigods of scientism and progressivism and other enemies of what Eliot called “the permanent things” have taken fast hold on the modern mind. Thus Dr. Kirk sees Eliot as speaking to his age against the dangers of the age, much as Newman and Dr. Johnson had done before him. Kirk is inclined to contrast the concept of the moral imagination with, first, the “idyllic imagination” of Rousseau, who wagered all on the idea of the natural goodness of man—an idea which led him away from Christianity; and, second, against the “diabolical imagination” of such writers as D. H. Lawrence, who similarly wagered all on the natural beastliness of man—an idea which led him away from all religion. Eliot, on the other hand, reaffirmed the view of man that had been dominant for more than two millennia before the time of Rousseau, namely that man is, to use Dostoevsky’s phrase, “a marvellous mingling of good and evil”; and this recognition of man’s moral weakness as well as his strength led him in time to Christian orthodoxy and from thence to a belief that order both in the soul and in the commonwealth might in time be regained. As Dr. Kirk points out, Eliot’s Christian orthodoxy has been tolerated by some and sneered at by others—in England it was indeed regarded as something of a scandal—while his social ideas have frequently been ignored or disparaged; and yet Kirk rightly insists that like Samuel Johnson, Eliot “would have chosen to be judged upon his merits as a moralist and statist, not as stylist merely.” Hence this book “has to do with Eliot the champion of the moral imagination and with Eliot the critic of the civil social order.” Dr. Kirk gives us a picture of Eliot as a champion assaulting not only nineteenth-century smugness about the human condition but twentieth-century unbelief and despair; as a humanist but as a Christian humanist; as a man who believed that individual rationality and private judgment must be subordinate to the higher reason which “grows out of a respect for the wisdom of one’s ancestors”; as an enemy of the pragmatic materialist’s concept of man as an “edified ape”; as a man whose thinking was alien both to Freud’s view of man and to Marx’s, and above all to D. H. Lawrence’s view of man as mere rutter; as a man who perceived H. G. Wells, G. B. Shaw, and Bertrand Russell, all, as intellectual enemies of permanent things; as a man who admired the humanistic thought of Matthew Arnold and of Irving Babbitt—but who saw too the sterility of their secular humanism; as a man who perceived that morals flow from faith and that political systems, including democracy, work only where man’s morality is tolerably strong; as a man who saw and foresaw the fatal weaknesses of Progressiveness and of Communism, as well as of Fascism. In short, he shows us a man of a conservative habit of mind, a mind which fits both the classical and the Christian mold and hence tended to reinforce the wisdom more nearly of the ages than the wisdom of the past two centuries. In the eleven chronologically arranged chapters of his book Dr. Kirk takes the reader on a guided tour through most of Eliot’s major poems and plays, while drawing tellingly also from the major essays and articles, including those from The Criterion, which Eliot edited between the years 1922 and 1939, in order to document Eliot’s exercise of the moral imagination and his reaffirmation of the permanent things. He insists, for example, that Eliot’s poems are primarily not personal or sociological, as some would have them, but philosophical endeavors to relate the timeless to the temporal. The Wasteland, he observes, “is no glorification of the Past. What the reader should find in the poem, rather, is Eliot’s understanding that, by definition, human nature is a constant; the same vices and same virtues are at work in every age; and our present discontents, personal and public, can be apprehended only if we are able to contrast our present circumstances with the challenges and the responses of other times.” Kirk concludes that “ ‘Prufrock,’ ‘Gerontion,’ The Wasteland, and ‘The Hollow Men’ are delineations of Hell; Ash-Wednesday leads us up Mount Purgatory; and Four Quartets points out the way to the Rose Garden that endures beyond time, where seeming opposites are reconciled. Freed from Time, Sin, and Ego, modern man may know God and enjoy Him forever—if man does not presume to try to understand Him. With Four Quartets, Eliot at last achieves that ordering of the emotions or of the soul, which had been his aspiration for three decades.” Eliot saw perhaps as well as anyone else of his time the consequences of the loss of religion in the Western world. In Thoughts after Lambeth, he wrote, “The World is trying the experiment of attempting to form a civilized but non-Christian mentality. The experiment will fail; but we must be very patient in awaiting its collapse; meanwhile redeeming the time; so that the Faith may be preserved alive through the dark ages before us; to renew and rebuild civilization and save the World from suicide.” One might wish that Dr. Kirk could call his book The Age of Eliot rather than Eliot and His Age; but he could not, for this is not his age. As Eliot himself put it, “the real issue is between the secularists—whatever political or moral philosophy they support—and the anti-secularists; between those who believe only in values realizable in time and on earth, and those who believe in values realized out of time.” Thus far, however, the secularists appear to have won the day, for more and more intellectuals, both great and small, are settling themselves in the uninhabitable secular Wasteland of Absolute Relativism, and it remains to be seen whether in future decades we will be able to shape change or whether we will merely change shape. For obscurantism in poetry Eliot’s influence, it is true, has been incalculable; but for the moral imagination and the permanent things in life and of Christianity in particular, his influence has been far from overwhelming. And yet, observes Dr. Kirk, “It is conceivable that in some distant future time, when the history of the twentieth century seems barbarous and bewildering as the chronicles of Scotland’s medieval age, the piercing visions of Eliot may be regarded as the purest light which endured in that general darkness.” It is indeed conceivable, and Dr. Kirk’s study of Eliot’s thinking and writing will have contributed something toward intensifying that light. Dr. Arther S. Trace (1922–2005) was at the time of writing Professor of English at John Carroll University and the author of What Ivan Knows that Johnny Doesn’t, Reading without Dick and Jane, The American Moral Crisis, The Future of Literature, and The Furnace of Doubt, a book about Dostoevsky. Posted: July 15, 2012 in Best of the Bookman.
There is mounting evidence that tilapia, the third most consumed fish in America, is extremely harmful to our health, since it is grown in China in bad farming practices. Undoubtedly, tilapia has deserved its common use for it is quite inexpensive, can be bought skinless and boneless and is really tasty. And it would have been healthy if being wild. However, its origin is the real problem, for the tilapia we consume today is farm-bred instead of wild. It is absolutely impossible for one to come across wild tilapia on the market or even in restaurants. Actually, farm-raised tilapia is not health beneficial for several reasons. Healthy fish oil in wild tilapia is basically lacking in farm-bred one. Namely, while wild tilapia eats lake plants and algae, farm-bred tilapia is fed on soy pellets and GMO corn. It is of crucial importance that you opt for wild tilapia, since the farm-bred tilapia is deficient in the vital nutrients your body needs. Instead, it provides numerous harmful effects, including the following: High Dioxin Levels Dioxins are not only toxic, but can also affect your proper body and can even trigger cancer development. Farm-bred tilapia contains higher dioxin levels, in fact, 11 times more dioxins than wild tilapia. Moreover, as soon as dioxins get into the body, they take a long time to get out – around 7-11 years is half of what it takes for dioxin to be discarded from the body. Higher Pesticides and Antibiotics In general, farm-bred fish contain higher content of pesticides and antibiotics. This is due to the fact that farm fish are bred in a crowd, which makes them more susceptible to diseases, and they are often given antibiotics so as to keep them healthy. In addition, in order to kill sea lice, pesticides are also used. These pesticides are in fact so strong that can kill wild salmon when exposed to them accidentally. Farm-bred tilapia can lead to inflammation, according to newest research. The consumption of tilapia can in fact worsen already existing inflammation caused by a number of health issues including asthma, heart disease, and arthritis. It is a fact that tilapia is a much more serious risk factor for inflammation than bacon or hamburgers. Low Omega-3 to Omega-6 Ratios Another big difference between the two is the fact that farm-raised tilapia contains less healthy nutrients than the wild one. Moreover, farm-raised tilapia also contains less protein. Plus, the omega 3 fatty acids in farm-bred tilapia are not as beneficial as opposed to the omega fatty acids in wild tilapia. These fish are raised in pools, which makes them fattier and they often contain more omega 6 fatty acids, and overconsumption of omega 6 fatty acids increases the risk of inflammation. In farm-bred tilapia the omega 3 to omega 6 ratios in farm- bred tilapia are out of balance, so they have negative effect on our health. Cancer Causing Pollutants One of the main ingredients in the feed is chicken poop, as well as pig and duck waste. In general, farmed-raised fish is 10 times more exposed to cancerous organic pollutants than wild tilapia.
Analysis: Change over time How are invasive species changing over time? Use the map to see how invasives in freshwater, coastal, and upland ecosystems are expanding and moving from one year to the next. Since VS is so new, you’ll have the most success right now using one of these historical datasets: - Freshwater: Variable watermilfoil - Upland: Hemlock woolly adelgid - Coastal: Codium - Coastal: Asian shore crab Mission Analysis Steps 1. Launch the MAP 2. Click the "Change Search" button" - Select a species from the "Search by Species" pulldown - Show “ID confirmed by expert” - Select an initial date range: - Variable watermilfoil: - Hemlock woolly adelgid: - Asian shore crab: - Click "Map it" FROM 01/01/1996 TO 12/31/1998 FROM 01/01/2008 TO 12/31/2008 FROM 01/01/2004 TO 12/31/2004 3. Check out the map, and note where the species is found and not found 4. Click "Change Search" button to change the date range again: - Keep FROM the same, change TO by 1 year or more - Variable watermilfoil: TO 12/31/2000 - Codium: TO 12/31/2009 - Hemlock woolly adelgid: COMING SOON - Asian shore crab: TO 12/31/2005 5. Toggle back and forth between the maps and note the changes over time 6. Click "Change Search" button to change the date range again: - Like in STEP 4, keep FROM the same, change TO by 1 year or more - Do this as many times as you need to to reach 2011 What Does It Mean? Now it's time to look at the change you saw on the map, and think about why that change might be happening. You might also have expected to see a different kind of change happen than the data show, and want to figure out why that change didn't happen. Check out Elizabeth Stephenson's video to hear how she made sense of the Asian shore crab data she collected. 1. What’s the most important change you see from one date range to the next? 2. Why do you think this change is happening? - Do you think it’s because more people are looking for the species? - Do you think the species is moving and expanding its population? - How is this movement and expansion happening? 3. What do you imagine the map will look like 5 years from now? 20 years from now? What’s your prediction? Share What You Learned 1. Do Projects! Make a change over time movie, post to the VS blog, shoot a PSA, more! 2. Create your own Field Mission to get the VS community collecting data to test out YOUR prediction!
Myth: All fevers are bad for children Fact: Fevers turn on the body's immune system. Fevers are on the the body's protective mechanisms. Most fevers between 100 F and 104 F (38 C to 40 C) are good for sick children and help the body fight infection. The exception is babies less than 3 months of age. They should be seen by a healthcare provider right away. Myth: All fevers are to be treated with fever medicine Fact: Fevers need to be treated only if they cause discomfort. Usually that means fevers over 102 F or 103 F (39 C or 39.4 C). Myth: Fevers cause brain damage or fevers over 104 F (40 C) are dangerous Fact: Fevers with infections don't cause brain damage. Only body temperatures over 108 F (42 C) can cause brain damage. The body temperature goes this high only with extreme environmental temperatures (for example, if a child is confined in a closed car in hot weather). Myth: Without treatment, fevers will keep going higher Fact: Wrong. Because the brain has a thermostat, fevers from infection usually top out at 103 F to 104 F (39.4 C to 40 C).
- Jul 14, 2014 - 6 x 9 in. - 22 halftones. 80 line illus. The famous geological research ship Glomar Challenger was a radically new instrument that revolutionized earth science in the same sense that the cyclotron revolutionized nuclear physics, and its deep-sea drilling voyages, conducted from 1968 through 1983, were some of the great scientific adventures of our time. Beginning with the vessel’s first cruises, which lent support to the idea of continental drift, the Challenger played a key part in the widely publicized plate-tectonics revolution and its challenge to more conventional theories. Originally published in 1992. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
More Than A Number? Educators On What Standardized Testing Means MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. We are continuing our focus on education this hour. Later, we'll have a closer look at why some Memphis schools remain separated by race and class decades after a court ordered them to integrate. But first, we hear from educators. It's no secret that teaching is a rewarding job, but it's also a tough one. Some say it's getting tougher, what with crowded classrooms, troubled students and standardized tests. We wanted to get a view from the frontlines, so joining us now are three experienced educators. Rafe Esquith is a fifth grade teacher at Hobart Elementary School in Los Angeles. He's also the author of a number of books, including his most recent, "Real Talk for Real Teachers." Tequila Pennington-Calwise is a third grade teacher at Euclid Park Elementary School in Cleveland. She's also founder of Lady Bound. That's a mentoring program for middle school girls. And Elissa Malespina is a librarian at South Orange Middle School in New Jersey. She's also a former high school teacher. Welcome to you all. Thank you all so much for joining us. ELISSA MALESPINA: Thank you for having me. TEQUILA PENNINGTON-CALWISE: Thank you for having me. RAFE ESQUITH: Thanks for having us on. MARTIN: And, you know, altogether, you all have six decades of experience in education. So, Rafe, I'll start with you. You've been in the classroom for almost 30 years, just you yourself. Now as somebody who's seen a lot of national policies come and go, I wanted to just ask you what you make of Secretary Duncan's comments that education is the civil rights issue of our time. Do you agree with that? ESQUITH: I agree with it. It's a wonderful sentiment, but as a teacher on the frontlines, I don't think that sentiment actually takes place in professional development meetings and in too many classrooms. MARTIN: Why do you say that? ESQUITH: Well, because when the secretary says we want to move beyond an overemphasis of standardized testing, that's not really what's happening. Now with Common Core, we are being buried in more tests, and it's really an Orwellian nightmare where we hear the politicians say, we have to move beyond tests, but that's not what's really happening. Real teachers know that a real assessment of a student is not the test at the end of the year, but the skills that I have given that child that they're going to be using for the rest of their lives. And until we make that a reality, we're going to be here five years from now, with the newest system of standards, still arguing about the same problems. MARTIN: Common Core, just for folks who are not aware of it - we didn't get into this in any detail with the secretary - but it is a set of standards that's meant to bring American schools more in line with the education levels of other industrial countries, and also to be sure that the standards are pretty even across the country, the underlying assumption being that, you know, all Americans need to know certain things in order to compete, you know, internationally, and in the years to come. Now, Tequila, you've said that a lot of the accountability initiatives like Common Core have actually helped your classroom over the years. Do you want to talk about that? PENNINGTON-CALWISE: I believe that they've helped my classroom because I've made sure that I was at the forefront of all of the training and any type of in-services that have come about. But I do agree with him that it is a huge emphasis on testing. We are constantly assessing the children with high stakes assessments, and they pretty much burnout by the end of the year. You get an attitude of, I could care less about this test, when the test means everything in terms of how they go on to the next grade or, you know, what type of programs they can get into for middle school or high school. So it has helped me professionally because I make sure that I'm doing everything that I need to do to stay on board and make sure that my kids are able to, you know, hang with the program. MARTIN: Elissa, what about you? MALESPINA: I come at it from a little bit of a different perspective as a librarian. But as a mom, too, I see that our children are much more than a number, and our teachers are much more than a number because what's happening now is our teachers are being graded on their test scores. And as a librarian, I don't - you know, like, I am not directly affected by the children every day, but I'm going to have to come up with a student growth assessment that will be sort of based on my test scores and my evaluation will be based on that. We hear so many examples of teachers being based on test scores. One of my dear friends just got back his scores from - and he's a principal - and got back his scores, and he is much more than the nine that he, you know, got. And I know that because I know what he does every day in his classroom. So we can't really judge people by a number. I know my son is more than the number that he - you know, his test score is. And we're only looking at two things. We're looking at English, and we're looking at math. We're not looking at the total child. Social studies, art, music - all of those make up a whole child, and that is not what we're testing children on. MARTIN: Social skills, resiliency... MARTIN: ...The ability to recover from a setback, you know, that kind of thing. Rafe, what about you? What is it that - we've heard so much in recent years about, you know, high-stakes testing, good or bad, you know, many people are ambivalent about it. On the one hand, they don't want kids being sort of hidden away or their issues or their deficiencies kind of being hidden away. They want their kids to be able to compete not just nationally, but kind of internationally. On the other hand, I think a lot of parents and a lot of educators are very well acquainted with the issue of burnout and so forth. Rafe, is there - as an educator, are there solutions that teachers are talking about to kind of balance these two competing ideas that perhaps aren't making it into the conversations that you wish people would hear? ESQUITH: Oh, there are solutions. I mean, that's why I wrote "Real Talk." I mean, I'm in my 31st year, and what I have learned is - I go to the trainings, and, Michel, every teacher wants to assess the students. I assess my students all the time. We want to be held accountable. Students should be held accountable as long as we understand that a test score is that small snapshot of the total picture. But in a good classroom, matters of integrity, honor, character - those are the skills and the values that my students internalize. The secretary talked about going to college. Let's make two points about that. First of all, college is not for everybody, and I have very happy and successful students who didn't want to go to college, who are mechanics and machinists and they make a lot more money than I do. Second of all, many of our students - more than half of them who go to college - don't finish college. So clearly, even with all these supposedly improving systems, our kids don't have the real skills to finish college because college is more than simply a regurgitation of facts that you put down on a standardized test, and that is exactly what we're turning our schools into. A good teacher is a buffer to show the students, yes, we're going to take these tests because it's part of a flawed system, but I'm also going to show you really important, essential skills that you'll be using for the rest of your life... MARTIN: But, Rafe... ESQUITH: ...And that's... MARTIN: ...Let me push you on this question, though, of... MARTIN: ...How do you address the desire, the need, to be sure that kids are getting what they're supposed to get, without over-relying on the tests that so many people are now concerned about? ESQUITH: One of... MARTIN: What's your better idea? ESQUITH: One of my better ideas is that there's a very secret weapon that teachers need to be using in their classroom, and that's their former students. I have an army of former students who come back from college all the time, who are very successful in a variety of careers, to show my younger students a vision of what's possible. That's the real motivation, not that you have a 95, but to meet kids who come from their streets, who are immigrants from their countries, who are doing very well because they have adopted some of the values that good teachers have shown them. Kids need to have a real vision, and a number on a test, I think, both of our other speakers pointed out that kids are getting tired of it. How many times can an eight-year-old get up for the big game? And I have to laugh because I went to a Common Core meeting and the opening line of the meeting was that my primary job as a teacher is to get my 10-year-olds ready to compete in the international workforce. Really? A 10-year-old? I'm trying to get him to be a happy, well adjusted, excited individual who loves coming to school, loves working with his peers and loves to learn. I really don't think he needs to be getting ready for the international workforce when he's 10. MARTIN: Let me pick up on something that you said and ask Tequila this. And if you're just joining us, we are continuing our look at the nation's schools. We are talking solely about education this hour, and today, we're talking right now with a panel of educators. Together, they have six decades of experience in the classroom. That's altogether. I wanted to go back to this question you talked about of bringing the real world into the classroom. Tequila, you also mentor middle school students. You do this on your own time. PENNINGTON-CALWISE: Yes, I... MARTIN: And I just have to ask, you know, do you think that that's something that people should be required to do, and if they're not, I mean, how do you bring that in without investing so much of yourself? I mean, we talk so much about work-life balance in other fields, I don't know that you have any. How do you bring that in while still having a life for yourself? PENNINGTON-CALWISE: It's difficult, but, you know, I'm doing it from my heart. And I can't necessarily say that a person should be required to do it because when you're required to do something that you really don't believe in, you don't really do a good job at it. And when you're mentoring youth, you really need to have a huge heart and be able to do it. I'm the owner and CEO of Lady Bound and it's an afterschool program that I started on my own about seven years ago, and we basically do every type of, you know, thing that happens to do with emotional and social growth with our ladies. It's a very difficult time in their lives right now. Transitioning from middle school to high school is hard and it's very stressful. So the types of pressures that our ladies are facing is very different from what we faced. And Lady Bound basically teaches them how to cope and how to handle life's issues effectively - most of all, how to avoid, conquer and overcome the social and emotional obstacles that other people fail at and... MARTIN: Do you think that that should be part of the school day, though, or do you feel that you really can't have those kinds of real conversations at school? PENNINGTON-CALWISE: Absolutely, I think it can be both. There are very, very many opportunities in the school day where you can teach a child something emotionally. Just today, I had a student that was upset because he was given a consequence for his behavior, and I had to point out that, you know, in a real life, when you have a job and your boss tells you that you did something wrong and you get an attitude and put your head down at work, what's going to happen? And the other kids were like, well, you're going to get fired. And so those are real consequences and those are situations that we have to teach children how to cope emotionally. This is becoming our new crisis. This social-emotional piece is becoming a crisis in our school system, and it's something that can be done during school as well as done after school. MARTIN: There's so many things we could talk about. I did want to spend a couple more minutes talking about technology. Elissa, this is a particularly good issue for you, I think, as a librarian because you probably have hands-on experience with technology. We got a clip - as we mentioned, we've been reaching out on Twitter and via Facebook to get opinions from other people. MARTIN: Eliza Barry (ph) is a grad student and she worries that teachers aren't keeping up with technology as well as their students, and I just want to play a short clip from her. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVAL RECORDING) ELIZA BARRY: I've surpassed what most of the teachers are even able to do with new media at a very young age. I only see this issue getting worse because most of the teachers are only at, I would say, about an elementary school level of technological proficiency, and as they get older and technology moves faster, I don't really see them being able to keep up. MARTIN: Elissa, what do you say to that? It's kind of harsh, actually, but...it's a little bit harsh, but, I mean... MALESPINA: It was a little harsh, but... MARTIN: Well, what do you think? MALESPINA: I see what she's saying and it's not - it's the fact that we are being thrown with so many things, that technology training is not happening like it should be in our schools. And what's happening is that teachers are getting overwhelmed with everything, and so we have to show the teachers the benefit that technology can be placed in a classroom. We can't just put a computer in there and say, oh, the kids will figure it out, because then it just becomes basically a word processor or a brick. You need to have ongoing, differentiated, professional development for teachers, and that's the one thing that isn't happening as much in our schools as we should. There's a great model called the SAMR model for professional development and technology integration that we need to really move it to where our kids are really the ones producing the media. And to have teachers do that is an ongoing process, and there are some - you know, a lot of the teachers are not technology or digital natives. So they need to learn and you need to be - there has to be mentoring of teachers, and you have to, you know, walk them through. And once you show them, you know, something that you've done, then they're like, wait, I want to do that, too. And so if there's coaches and people in the schools that they can go to to learn how to use technology, then you see it happening. Because our kids are digital natives, they know how to use this stuff. They don't always know how to use it correctly, but they know how to use it. So we want to get them to where they're really stretching the limits and producing things and doing Google Hangouts and using Edmodo and using all these tools that are out there. And, you know, teachers can do that. They just need that little extra help. MARTIN: Well, before we let you go, we have about three minutes left, so I want to ask you to share - the beginning of the school year is a time of, you know, hope and trepidation. And I wanted to ask each of you in turn, and Elissa, I'll start with you. More hope or more trepidation for this school year? MALESPINA: More hope, I can always go in with hope. I always believe in hope. And I'm hoping that my students and, you know, my teachers can - we're doing a lot of cool stuff in my school. So we're really trying to push technology and the limits of technology. So we're going to be doing lots of Google Hangouts and breaking down classroom walls. And so, for me, it's hope because I can't wait to collaborate with all of these people. MALESPINA: And I think my students will too. MARTIN: Tequila, what about you? Are you thinking more hope or more trepidation as the school year begins? PENNINGTON-CALWISE: I definitely have more hope. I have a very optimistic attitude so I hope that my students enjoy third grade. I hope that they learn to the highest of their potential and I hope that they're happy. I hope that they feel loved. I hope that they feel safe, and I just really feel blessed to be able to share my experiences with them and to create a great year. So that third grade will be memorable for them, so they'll look back at their third grade memories and they can smile and say that was cool, we had fun. MARTIN: Rafe, what about you? ESQUITH: Always hope, optimism is the foundation of all good teaching. I do want to remind teachers, though, that you're not always going to succeed, even the best teachers fail all the time. And I also want to point out about technology, sometimes we think that we - 'cause we're great at technology we're becoming scholars. It's becoming overemphasized. Let's never forget that Shakespeare wrote Hamlet with a goose feather and he didn't need technology for that. So let's not confuse being technologically savvy with real scholarship. MARTIN: Well, real talk, OK. Rafe Esquith is a fifth grade teacher in Los Angeles. He's the author of "Real Talk for Real Teachers." He joined us from NPR West in Culver City, California. Elissa Malespina is a middle school librarian in New Jersey, she was at NPR's New York bureau. Tequila Pennington-Calwise is a third grade teacher in Cleveland. She joined us at member station WCPN. Thank you all so much for joining us. Let's check in a couple months into the school year and you can tell us how you're doing. MALESPINA: Oh, that would be awesome MALESPINA: Thank you. ESQUITH: Thanks, Michel. MALESPINA: Thank you so much for having me. PENNINGTON-CALWISE: Thank you, Michel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
- Posted June 4, 2014 by Ford Lightweight Concept uses advanced materials With fuel economy becoming more important than ever, there are only so many ways to get more miles per gallon out of a car. Ford has had lots of success with their EcoBoost engines, which have better fuel economy and more power than much larger engines. The next step in Ford’s plan for better efficiency is weigh savings, and a new concept from them shows off what is possible. The Ford Lightweight Concept vehicle was built using advanced materials in new ways, and shows how they might be applied to a mass production vehicle. The car the concept is based on is the Ford Fusion, and compared to the standard version of the car, it is down nearly 25 percent in weight. Ford will be using lightweight materials to lower the weight of the 2015 F-150 by 700 pounds, mostly due to the use of high-strength steel and aluminum. The F-150 is Ford’s bestselling product, so the application of this new technology will be the ultimate test in high volume production. The Lightweight Concept vehicle uses more than just aluminum, and combines weight savings throughout the entire design of the vehicle. Everything from the powertrain, seats, body, chassis, batter and interior pieces have lost weight using aluminum, magnesium and carbon fiber materials. Lightweight materials and applications for them have been developed along with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Program and Cosma International. The goal for them has been to use mixed-materials to make a lightweight vehicle that has the same durability and safety of a vehicle on the road today.
Al Hamsa In North America Back in July, F.G. Fitzer wrote about an ancient magical symbol, Al Khamsa, the eye displayed on the palm of an open hand, thousands of years old, that was said to provide protection against the Evil Eye. The symbol was in use across Europe, Africa and Asia… …and perhaps North America. The image below on the left is from a stone disk that was found in Moundsville, Alabama. What explanations can you think of for the existence of the same symbol in cultures separated by the Atlantic Ocean? Update, May 2013: Here’s a new Abstract Khamsa design, inspired by Tuareg artwork.